Unreal Archipelago: Zone of Mysteries

[Lil'twick]

Missingno. Master-

You ponder the existence of the Genesect before you. Why go through all of this trouble if they just needed its drives? However, there was a stray, errant thought that entered your head. As if a response to the Tropius comparison. If a man was given a Tropius, he'd be able to have as many bananas as he wanted. Whenever. If you just got your friend a banana, you'd need to get him another one if he asked for more.

It leaves as soon as it is said, leaving a sense of bewilderment. No matter, it was time to ransack old, decrepit offices! Certainly, nothing bad has ever happened to anyone investigating the reason the Phantom Isle came into existence! Certainly. Nothing. Bad. Even if this was only tangentially related. It was still a string, a strand, of relation.

You and Goggles head into the first office, and Goggles easily opens it with a slap of the tail. The smell of layered dust and mildew hits you as soon as you enter this office. You could see a puddle of murky water in the corner, and the small pitter patter of a leaky pipe from the ceiling. It was most certainly rusty sludge at this point. You try opening the drawers and find most of the papers here are waterlogged. Nothing was legible, it was just paper mush.

You then enter the next office, before Goggles immediately grabs you. You then notice what use to be a room was now a large hole. A sinkhole, from the looks of it. Dangerous, but not information here. You try the next door and hear screeching. A giant Raticate, and a horde of Rattata behind it, all chitter their teeth at you. You immediately close it. Not dealing with a rat nest today.

So, there was one last locked office, and so far your luck had been shit. Goggles opens this one up, and you see what seems to be a well-preserved room. Layers of dust and cobwebs, but nothing besides the signs of time. You hesitantly head towards the desk and start searching. While most of the contents were cleared, you see a folder. You open it up and don't see any papers within. All you could see was a scribbled, smudged napkin with words on it. But, it looked rushed, and barely anything could be made out. But, there was enough.

'Drives scattered...forest...Douse...center...mines...Chil l...'

Those were the only words you could make out. Yet, that was enough context for you. These drives were all scattered in various places on the island. It was time to go on a giant, long-winded scavenger hunt to get all of these back. Yet, this was at least a reachable goal. So, it was best to decide where to go searching first.

Where do you go?

[Missingno. Master]

Originally Posted by Lil'twick

Missingno. Master-

You ponder the existence of the Genesect before you. Why go through all of this trouble if they just needed its drives? However, there was a stray, errant thought that entered your head. As if a response to the Tropius comparison. If a man was given a Tropius, he'd be able to have as many bananas as he wanted. Whenever. If you just got your friend a banana, you'd need to get him another one if he asked for more.

It leaves as soon as it is said, leaving a sense of bewilderment. No matter, it was time to ransack old, decrepit offices! Certainly, nothing bad has ever happened to anyone investigating the reason the Phantom Isle came into existence! Certainly. Nothing. Bad. Even if this was only tangentially related. It was still a string, a strand, of relation.

You and Goggles head into the first office, and Goggles easily opens it with a slap of the tail. The smell of layered dust and mildew hits you as soon as you enter this office. You could see a puddle of murky water in the corner, and the small pitter patter of a leaky pipe from the ceiling. It was most certainly rusty sludge at this point. You try opening the drawers and find most of the papers here are waterlogged. Nothing was legible, it was just paper mush.

You then enter the next office, before Goggles immediately grabs you. You then notice what use to be a room was now a large hole. A sinkhole, from the looks of it. Dangerous, but not information here. You try the next door and hear screeching. A giant Raticate, and a horde of Rattata behind it, all chitter their teeth at you. You immediately close it. Not dealing with a rat nest today.

So, there was one last locked office, and so far your luck had been shit. Goggles opens this one up, and you see what seems to be a well-preserved room. Layers of dust and cobwebs, but nothing besides the signs of time. You hesitantly head towards the desk and start searching. While most of the contents were cleared, you see a folder. You open it up and don't see any papers within. All you could see was a scribbled, smudged napkin with words on it. But, it looked rushed, and barely anything could be made out. But, there was enough.

'Drives scattered...forest...Douse...center...mines...Chil l...'

Those were the only words you could make out. Yet, that was enough context for you. These drives were all scattered in various places on the island. It was time to go on a giant, long-winded scavenger hunt to get all of these back. Yet, this was at least a reachable goal. So, it was best to decide where to go searching first.

Where do you go?

Give a man a banana and he'll eat for a day. Give a man a Tropius and he'll eat for the rest of his life. This was the old saying that passed through ZZLZZ's head as she pondered the reasoning behind the creation of this Genesect. Why this was the case she knew not- what did that have to do with this? Was it not possible to create Genesect drives without creating a whole-ass Genesect? Or could Genesect itself create the drives? No, that couldn't be right, or else they wouldn't have their current predicament at hand, would they? But then did that mean this Genesect was created for the singular sole purpose of just... making a set of drives to power this thing? And why Genesect drives, of all things? Was there no better option than creating a Mythical Pokémon only to commandeer its drives? Of course, ZZLZZ couldn't begin to fathom what the alternate options, if any, might even have been, and so she didn't dwell for too terribly long on this idea. No, right now, her focus had to be on the search for information. Because holy crap, did her focus have to be on this.

The first room was a dead end. A leaky pipe continuing to drip rusty sludge into the room, and the water damage could be seen big-time as she opened up some drawers. There had been potentially helpful papers in here once upon a time, but by now, "paper" no longer seemed to be the correct descriptive term. It was all waterlogged pulpy mush. Not a letter of legible writing to be found.

The next room was no longer a room. If Goggles hadn't grabbed ZZLZZ, she'd have fallen straight down into what appeared to be a gigantic sinkhole. The room after that contained a Raticate and a horde of Rattata. ZZLZZ immediately closed the door on that one- she could probably take them in battle, but she really wasn't sure, and she really, really didn't feel like finding out for sure one way or another.

This left just one office to go, and ZZLZZ wasn't feeling particularly optimistic. Their search was off to a slower start than a Regigigas. Still, Goggles broke down the door, and ZZLZZ could see that this room actually seemed pretty well preserved. Dust, cobwebs, sure, but nothing in the way of actual damage. The room itself had been cleaned out of most everything, but there was at least a folder. It contained... a napkin. Upon which some barely legible words had been scrawled. Yet, ZZLZZ's eyes widened behind her thick glasses as she saw the words "Drives", "Douse", and "Chill", her body glitching out even more wildly for a moment as it tended to do when she got excited. "OK, this confirms it- the drives are scattered throughout the island," she whispered excitedly to Goggles and Genesect. "Douse Drive and Chill Drive- those are two of them! Alright... from what I can read of this, it seems like the Douse Drive is in the forest, and the Chill Drive is in the center of the mines. Nothing about the Burn and Shock Drives, but we got more to go off of than we did before, and I'll take that," she grinned. "I'm thinking maybe we go for the Chill Drive first," she murmured. "The center of the mines sounds a bit more dangerous than the forest, though I don't expect the forest to be particularly safe, either. But still, I think it might be a good idea to get the one in the mines over with as quickly as possible." She did not voice the notion of the mines caving in, but she was damn well thinking it, and that only strengthened her resolve to go there first- if they were to cave in, better they do so before she retrieve the Chill Drive than after. "Goggles, what do you say?" she added to her Flygon.

"Flyyyy gon gon!" Goggles nodded resolutely.

ZZLZZ nodded back, then turned to Genesect. "Genesect, we'll need your help to find where to enter the mines," she said. "You know this place way better than we do, after all."

[Lil'twick]

Missingno. Master-

Parsing together the information you have, you reach a potential conclusion. The words point to the Douse Drive in the woods. The Chill Drive is in the center of the mines. And nothing on the Burn or Shock drives. You were confident in that being the answer. Even if the word spacing seemed to imply more had faded over time. No matter, you looked at Genesect and asked it where the mines were.

It then nods and starts to move out of the abandoned power plant. A few minutes later, a little way into the bog, you notice a sunken tunnel. It was a hole in the ground easy enough to miss. The mines had spanned the entirety of the island, after all. Any damage topside would almost assuredly sink into the bottom. And you noticed this, as sludge-like matter oozed and dropped from the ceiling. The tunnel you were in was most assuredly unsafe.

Yet, you're safely led into a much larger tunnel. You could feel metal underfoot, and shine your light to see tracks. The entirety of the mines felt... electrified. As if something was lurking in here. Waiting for someone else to arrive. Genesect looks around and nods. You could see its eyes rapidly blinking. It was as if it was trying to locate its own drive. Yet, the electricity in the air was causing interference. You noticed your tech being interfered with as well. Great. The flashlight worked, at least.

You then notice the tracks, with it sloping downward. From left to right, the left seemed to rise closer to the surface. The right is heading deeper into the soiled earth. Though, the center of the island may not even be the center of the minds. And it took you some twists and turns to even get into this mineshaft. You could be anywhere, and could not determine your location.

What do you do?

[Alilatias]

Originally Posted by Electric Blue Eye

Fox did his best, having turned into the ten year old little boy his persona seemed to embody, while those of the Zorua line had a habit of using their illusionary abilities to live among the populous, he was also half ghost and the trainer often wondered if Zorua in a previous life might have one point been human himself.

The boy was average looking with dark black hair, though a strike of brown, reddish clump of hair stuck out in the front of his forehead, he wore a white t-shirt and blue sweater zipper jacket over it and had normal jeans and tennis shoes, the boy was fair in complexion, particularly snow white and piercing blue eyes like crystal ice, he smiled weakly when he would look at his trainer, he was still relatively shy, if he was in his Hisuian form he would probably have his face buried in his coat.

The boy did the best he could to communicate simple words and letters to Ethan in sign language.

Taking a look at the ever swirling mass of spirits that made their home in the ghost/dark type was hard and Ethan figured that this must be just but a sample of what the lord of hell must see down in the human realm of the underworld, though those myths were stories humans came up with, Ethan often wondered if there was a distinction to a god of the world that took the form of a human, he knew them as Hades, if Hades often looked at The River Styx like he was at the Spiritomb that struggled to commune with them, he’d surely have gone mad by now.

Eventually they managed to get what they needed out of it, “A Laptop and a…” Ethan paid some attention to the sort of shape Fox was trying to make, “A disc?” As he got up he accidentally stepped on what looked like a broken piece of half of a Masterball.

As they opened up the laptop to find clues the spirit that was lingering in secret appeared, Ethan had a second chance to approach a human ghost and not just directly tell them that they were already dead, he had already made it painfully obvious to Giratina earlier he lacked a fair bit of sensitivity.

If only the lord of the reverse world knew, that he was just too messed up to sugar coat things. He had grown up but a lot of times his mouth and what came out of it was often unfiltered.

“Alright…um…what can I say to get you to understand…you see…” seeing her trainer struggle to get the words out, Luna decided to jolt him with a mild amount of electricity that she managed to retain from her brief time as a Jolteon, “Owww!” Ethan jumped in his seat, “YOU’RE DEAD. D.E.A.D. DEAD. Like dead as a door nail, your time on earth has unfortunately come into an abrupt end and your life is basically over…but.” Ethan suddenly paused, “That doesn’t mean it’s completely over, your spirit is trapped here, you’ve perished from a possible connection with the very train you happen to be riding in on,” Ethan went on to explain the circumstances the spirit unknowingly found himself in, the train that rode the eternal, ever infinite tracks of the world in between that of the living and that of the reverse world, how he was tasked in helping those that needed a little additional help moving on and the lord that needed to see to it their acceptance of their fate…

“I think that about covers everything…” the trainer looked down at his Umbreon, patting her on the head for giving him an additional push herself in what he was holding back from saying. ‘Thanks.’

“Breee~”

“Were you perhaps working on a TM/TR or some kind of code involving a Pokeball before you died?”

Quoting this as it has been a while.

Electric Blue Eye:

The man's eyes widen as you explain the circumstances leading to everyone's presence on the train. He calmly replies, "I see. You did mention that the conductor of this train means for you to spur me on to accept my fate, but I'm not particularly against it at all. My physical form is already gone, and I don't know of anything in the world that could reverse that course, folklore or otherwise. So there must be something else keeping me here, perhaps a hole in my memory or knowledge I am supposed to impart to you."

He looks back to the laptop. "Go on, press the power button. You'll see a prompt asking for a password. Type 'Savan' - my name, by the way. Yeah, my name as a password may seem amateurish, but it's how our little group gets to tell our laptops apart since corporate for some reason forbids physically customizing our laptops otherwise. Everything within is protected by even more passwords anyway. Since I can't do anything with this anymore, I can tell you that, among other things, my laptop contains data on all the known TMs in the world, and is capable of writing some of that data onto blank discs. Along with the one you see on the desk which appears to be undamaged, there is another inside the laptop. This is something I carry around to reward well-meaning trainers we meet out in the field."

With a heavy sigh, he admits, "It seems you'll be the very last."

He starts teaching you how to use the laptop to upload the data to the two blank TMs for this purpose, and you quickly understand enough that you'll be able to obtain 2 TMs of your choice should you choose to do so. Aside from the TMs, there are several files on the laptop that, at a glance, are named after things that you either can't understand or are largely irrelevant to your task at hand. All except for one. You ask Savan about the conspicuous folder marked 'Distortion World Project'.

Savan pauses as he tries to remember the password for that folder, let alone anything about what was inside. "...Well, looks like there was a hole in my memory after all. I can tell you that Layla and I were not the only colleagues that arrived to the Phantom Isle on this research trip, there were two others with us. Our department leader left to return to Silph Co, as she told us, while the remaining three of us boarded that ill-fated train. The name of the third person is Dawson, and I remember he was sitting right over there. He might remember more."

He points to another seat on the train, but when you, Luna, Fox, and the Spiritomb investigate, you don't find anything indicating that the spirit of this third person is even there at all. You even sense a wave of confusion from the necklace, along with Savan looking puzzled as well.

"Maybe he survived the accident, or he wasn't even pulled into this realm like Layla and I were? Looks like we've no choice but to try to figure out what the password I'm forgetting is, or... Finding someone that can hack into this. Like my brother in Goldenrod City."

For the time being, Savan doesn't elaborate as to the exact relationship he has with his brother or any more details, seemingly withdrawing into his thoughts as you can feel the train's course shifting once again. The void gives way to the view of Saffron City once more, this time under a shroud of darkness as night had evidently fallen upon the world of humans. The train moves along the physical tracks in your world as it makes its way to the border separating Kanto from Johto. It passes through the physical trains at rapid speed at no consequence to the people still living within, and you bear witness to the ingenuity of the engineers that built those trains and laid the tracks that connected Saffron and Goldenrod as they wind through the mountain range separating both regions. While the Phantom Train and those you saw at the Phantom Isle were of a more traditional style, Johto and Kanto used Magnet Trains, lacking proper wheels and instead hovering above the tracks. You end up passing below the majestic Mt. Silver, though you don't see much aside from the occasional flashing lights emitted by certain Pokemon or campfires in the distance on account of the darkness.

It isn't long before your train leaves the mountains behind, and you find yourself traveling in Johto proper, your surroundings becoming brighter as the train approaches a shimmering city in the distance, until the train eventually coming to a stop in the bustling city of Goldenrod. Compared to Saffron, the activity seemed much more lively here - along with a much higher chance of being seen appearing out of thin air once you step out of the train.

Savan seems very eager to leave the train alongside you. "Since I can't physically hold anything, you should bring that laptop with you. And anything else I might be forgetting."

Forgetting indeed. You still see the broken half of a Master Ball underneath the table. What do you plan to do now?

[Missingno. Master]

Originally Posted by Lil'twick

Missingno. Master-

Parsing together the information you have, you reach a potential conclusion. The words point to the Douse Drive in the woods. The Chill Drive is in the center of the mines. And nothing on the Burn or Shock drives. You were confident in that being the answer. Even if the word spacing seemed to imply more had faded over time. No matter, you looked at Genesect and asked it where the mines were.

It then nods and starts to move out of the abandoned power plant. A few minutes later, a little way into the bog, you notice a sunken tunnel. It was a hole in the ground easy enough to miss. The mines had spanned the entirety of the island, after all. Any damage topside would almost assuredly sink into the bottom. And you noticed this, as sludge-like matter oozed and dropped from the ceiling. The tunnel you were in was most assuredly unsafe.

Yet, you're safely led into a much larger tunnel. You could feel metal underfoot, and shine your light to see tracks. The entirety of the mines felt... electrified. As if something was lurking in here. Waiting for someone else to arrive. Genesect looks around and nods. You could see its eyes rapidly blinking. It was as if it was trying to locate its own drive. Yet, the electricity in the air was causing interference. You noticed your tech being interfered with as well. Great. The flashlight worked, at least.

You then notice the tracks, with it sloping downward. From left to right, the left seemed to rise closer to the surface. The right is heading deeper into the soiled earth. Though, the center of the island may not even be the center of the minds. And it took you some twists and turns to even get into this mineshaft. You could be anywhere, and could not determine your location.

What do you do?

With ZZLZZ's first course of action set firmly in mind, it was now simply a question of where to go from there. And for that, she had to turn to Genesect. And true to what she'd hoped, the Paleozoic Pokémon knew this island far better than her. They were off at once, with ZZLZZ and her Flygon not far behind.

Soon, they came to a sunken tunnel in the bog. It was easy enough to miss if you weren't looking for it, and possibly even if you were. It was a dangerous trek, to be sure- any damage to the land above would surely impact the tunnels beneath. And there was considerable damage topside. ZZLZZ eyed the ceiling as it dripped and oozed with sludge, but nothing bad happened, and she soon found herself in a much larger tunnel. There were tracks underfoot, accounting for the metal she felt herself walking on. And the whole thing felt... electrified. As though something was lurking within.

ZZLZZ looked at Genesect- it was blinking its eyes rapidly, seemingly trying to locate the drive, but to no avail. Too much interference from the electricity in the air. ZZLZZ took out her Pokédex and her PokéGear, and found that they were likewise affected by the interference. This was a dangerous place, but in ZZLZZ's mind, that was all the more reason to get it out of the way. If they had to come here, better to get it done with sooner rather than later, because if one of Genesect's drives was here, they did in fact have to come there.

Soon, they had a decision to make. Left or right? Going to the left would take them closer to the surface. Going to the right would lead deeper underground. "...the center of the mine would naturally be deeper underground, wouldn't it?" ZZLZZ said, breaking the silence. "Any paths upwards would likely just be leading to another exit- there must be a lot of them all over the island, after all." And then, she took out a Poké Ball. "Sandy, come out!" she added, as her Wormadam emerged, able to stand on the ground at last.

"Worrrr... Worma..." growled Sandy, peering sharply around at her surroundings.

"Sandy, we're going to be going deeper into the mine- one of Genesect's drives is down there," explained ZZLZZ. "Use your String Shot to mark where we've been, OK? I don't know how much of a labyrinth it is down there, but I'd like to have a trail we can follow back up if need be."

"Dam worma worma!" nodded Sandy. She set to work at once, leaving white strands of sticky silk on the tunnel walls as ZZLZZ led the way to the right- the path leading deeper underground. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but she wasn't about to let that get the better of her, not when there was a Bug-type relying on her help. That said Bug-type happened to be the Mythical Pokémon she so identified with certainly didn't hurt, either.

[Electric Blue Eye]

Originally Posted by Alilatias

Quoting this as it has been a while.

Electric Blue Eye:

The man's eyes widen as you explain the circumstances leading to everyone's presence on the train. He calmly replies, "I see. You did mention that the conductor of this train means for you to spur me on to accept my fate, but I'm not particularly against it at all. My physical form is already gone, and I don't know of anything in the world that could reverse that course, folklore or otherwise. So there must be something else keeping me here, perhaps a hole in my memory or knowledge I am supposed to impart to you."

He looks back to the laptop. "Go on, press the power button. You'll see a prompt asking for a password. Type 'Savan' - my name, by the way. Yeah, my name as a password may seem amateurish, but it's how our little group gets to tell our laptops apart since corporate for some reason forbids physically customizing our laptops otherwise. Everything within is protected by even more passwords anyway. Since I can't do anything with this anymore, I can tell you that, among other things, my laptop contains data on all the known TMs in the world, and is capable of writing some of that data onto blank discs. Along with the one you see on the desk which appears to be undamaged, there is another inside the laptop. This is something I carry around to reward well-meaning trainers we meet out in the field."

With a heavy sigh, he admits, "It seems you'll be the very last."

He starts teaching you how to use the laptop to upload the data to the two blank TMs for this purpose, and you quickly understand enough that you'll be able to obtain 2 TMs of your choice should you choose to do so. Aside from the TMs, there are several files on the laptop that, at a glance, are named after things that you either can't understand or are largely irrelevant to your task at hand. All except for one. You ask Savan about the conspicuous folder marked 'Distortion World Project'.

Savan pauses as he tries to remember the password for that folder, let alone anything about what was inside. "...Well, looks like there was a hole in my memory after all. I can tell you that Layla and I were not the only colleagues that arrived to the Phantom Isle on this research trip, there were two others with us. Our department leader left to return to Silph Co, as she told us, while the remaining three of us boarded that ill-fated train. The name of the third person is Dawson, and I remember he was sitting right over there. He might remember more."

He points to another seat on the train, but when you, Luna, Fox, and the Spiritomb investigate, you don't find anything indicating that the spirit of this third person is even there at all. You even sense a wave of confusion from the necklace, along with Savan looking puzzled as well.

"Maybe he survived the accident, or he wasn't even pulled into this realm like Layla and I were? Looks like we've no choice but to try to figure out what the password I'm forgetting is, or... Finding someone that can hack into this. Like my brother in Goldenrod City."

For the time being, Savan doesn't elaborate as to the exact relationship he has with his brother or any more details, seemingly withdrawing into his thoughts as you can feel the train's course shifting once again. The void gives way to the view of Saffron City once more, this time under a shroud of darkness as night had evidently fallen upon the world of humans. The train moves along the physical tracks in your world as it makes its way to the border separating Kanto from Johto. It passes through the physical trains at rapid speed at no consequence to the people still living within, and you bear witness to the ingenuity of the engineers that built those trains and laid the tracks that connected Saffron and Goldenrod as they wind through the mountain range separating both regions. While the Phantom Train and those you saw at the Phantom Isle were of a more traditional style, Johto and Kanto used Magnet Trains, lacking proper wheels and instead hovering above the tracks. You end up passing below the majestic Mt. Silver, though you don't see much aside from the occasional flashing lights emitted by certain Pokemon or campfires in the distance on account of the darkness.

It isn't long before your train leaves the mountains behind, and you find yourself traveling in Johto proper, your surroundings becoming brighter as the train approaches a shimmering city in the distance, until the train eventually coming to a stop in the bustling city of Goldenrod. Compared to Saffron, the activity seemed much more lively here - along with a much higher chance of being seen appearing out of thin air once you step out of the train.

Savan seems very eager to leave the train alongside you. "Since I can't physically hold anything, you should bring that laptop with you. And anything else I might be forgetting."

Forgetting indeed. You still see the broken half of a Master Ball underneath the table. What do you plan to do now?

Ethan listened to the spirit tell his tale, one singular thing caught his attention more than anything else, the possibility that someone escaped the jaws of fate and evaded death, that could change everything...then there was the question of why their leader let them go on this expedition on their own in the first place.

There right in front of him he had one of the most wanted information databases at his fingertips, Ethan had an all access pass to nearly every move that could taught through Technical Machines, while most of them could be bought in the market but considering he was not in any position to be able to buy any because of the situation he found himself in, he had to think a little bit long and hard on what sort of TM would most benefit him and his team, however no matter how much time he spent thinking, there were two moves that just did not want to stop zeroing into his line of sight…

Maybe it was because of this whole scenario he strangely found himself or the influence that the lord of the abyss was having on him but with his choice made he ended up placing the discs in one after another once he had settled on downloading the contents of their info and retrieving a x1 TM Phantom Force and x1 TM Draco Meteor. Clearly focused on the Ghost/Dragon Type that had allowed him on board of the train.

With that being the only open accessibility to the darn laptop, he had to accept his inability to hack into the system, he sadly was never good at the tech thing. Ironic he supposed, considering how sophisticated security systems had gotten over the years, that’s why he acquired Plinko, the digital duck made his ability to sneak in and out of his security facilities undetected much easier.

You’re brother huh… he wondered, if his previous experience had taught him anything it was that once he stepped outside of the train, the natural real world would have its own unique hurdles and the train’s destination was all but determined by the one that needed to move on and if the Scientist named Savan’s desired to crack his laptop for information and the only person he trusted so happened to be in Goldenrod- naturally it was very similar as last time, as Ethan, his Zorua and Umbreon all felt the all too familiar tug and pull the train did as it jumped from its none existent rails to the physical tracks now opening up to the moonlight and twinkle of the stars.

The train had defiantly left the city of Saffron had somehow gone through, passing between the more modernized trains of the region, the faster, slicker bullet trains compared to their more extravagant black and gold trimmed train they had grown accustomed to.

Ethan quickly grabbed the laptop but before he boarded off he went back to collect half of a Master Ball he had noticed rolling around the bottom of one of the cabin’s tables pocketing it into his jacket pocket, there shouldn’t have been anyone that could sense the ghost companion that Ethan would have next to him and since he had his Zorua Fox transformed as a ‘mute kid’ he would be able to talk to the ghost as if he was talking to the kid next to him, that would make it a little bit easier for them not to look like total weirdos. Of course there was the Spiritomb too, since having it hop along would just slow them down he asked it first if it was alright for him to carry the part that anchored the swirling mass of spirits to the physical world, she belonged to Layla and if the plan was to eventually meet up back with her, it was probably a good idea to bring her along...which then gave the man a thought, did Savan have any Pokémon that belonged to him?

“It might’ve been a while since you once boarded that train you know,” he turned to Savan “So even if you were to remember where your brother lives, just don’t be surprised that a lot may have changed since the last time you saw them.”

OoC: Accepting the TMs Phantom Force and Draco Meteor, thanks!

[Electric Blue Eye]

lilboocorsola - Please Reply in Slategrey

Arriving to the foreboded local of Phantom Isle, having some connection to its past, it seems the isle had spared you or perhaps those closest to you of their lives…

Once was considered luck, a second time dumb luck and third perhaps a coincidence but any more than that…and you might not have been so lucky or perhaps they’d call it a miracle?

None the less you were a chaperone to your two little Corsola’s, one a shiny blue tint of coral but it wasn’t just the color that told him apart, it was his region of Johto that made him distinctively different from that of his companion’s…a Glaraian pale Corsola, whose ghost white complexion made it more appealing for her to visit such a known haunted place.

You look at the map, with a gaze of curiosity and nostalgia, besides curiosity killing the Meowth, nostalgia was just as if not at all far more dangerous…nostalgia had a way of tricking people into seeing past events and even people in a better light than they actually were, was coming to the haunted theme park to ‘experience’ the way you felt then really all that wise?

Whether by happenstance, the Rollercoaster, Rollerquaza was still standing but a little further off into the distance but the fog did not in fact absorb it into the mist like it did with the parks’ other locations, however, any chance you may have wanted in seeing it up close were dashed when you remembered a five star restaurant that you had hoped to explore one of the last times you had been there.

The Restaurant was part of the large theme park’s hotel exquisite dining options to those that had status…or were willing to spend enough money on getting a table, it was before the days of holding tables with online queues and reservations of the like, to be allowed in you had to have fame, fortune and everything that came with it or you wouldn’t even be allowed to see the inside.

Since its closure though, that wouldn’t or shouldn’t have been an issue, as your party inevitably pass through the gated doors of the venue, you have a sense of déjà vu, or at least a similar sensation of the like, sort of like you had been here before or perhaps like your soul and body were out of sync, naturally you might have thought that the gated door had smacked you harder than you thought but as you continue to rub your nose you see the love birds seemed like they were questioning it as well.

You turn back but see that the fog has made it impossible to see where you had come from and so now you had no choice but to head for the restaurant you were already set on exploring.

The happy couple and you walk the grounds, noticing a large water fountain in the center, that cut the path to the left and to the right, each side seemed to once have vibrant bushes of flowers that had all but dried up and died, now only the roots and a few vines had been left in their place and when you arrive to the sculptured fountain you find the contents being spewed to be filled with dirty algae that seems to cycle through the water fountains contraption, what you made out of the fountain’s sculpture was a number of water types pillared on top of one another, you can make out the sculpted figures of a Kingdra, Horse, Poliwhirl and Feebas but the rest were too eroded or broken to make out.

Just before you press on, you hear a voice in your mind say Life…or…Death, you look back and all around your surroundings but there was no one around other than you and your Pokémon, so what gives…but before you get to the once golden trimmed doors of the restaurant, you must choice a path, right or left, life or death.

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Electric Blue Eye

lilboocorsola - Please Reply in Slategrey

Arriving to the foreboded local of Phantom Isle, having some connection to its past, it seems the isle had spared you or perhaps those closest to you of their lives…

Once was considered luck, a second time dumb luck and third perhaps a coincidence but any more than that…and you might not have been so lucky or perhaps they’d call it a miracle?

None the less you were a chaperone to your two little Corsola’s, one a shiny blue tint of coral but it wasn’t just the color that told him apart, it was his region of Johto that made him distinctively different from that of his companion’s…a Glaraian pale Corsola, whose ghost white complexion made it more appealing for her to visit such a known haunted place.

You look at the map, with a gaze of curiosity and nostalgia, besides curiosity killing the Meowth, nostalgia was just as if not at all far more dangerous…nostalgia had a way of tricking people into seeing past events and even people in a better light than they actually were, was coming to the haunted theme park to ‘experience’ the way you felt then really all that wise?

Whether by happenstance, the Rollercoaster, Rollerquaza was still standing but a little further off into the distance but the fog did not in fact absorb it into the mist like it did with the parks’ other locations, however, any chance you may have wanted in seeing it up close were dashed when you remembered a five star restaurant that you had hoped to explore one of the last times you had been there.

The Restaurant was part of the large theme park’s hotel exquisite dining options to those that had status…or were willing to spend enough money on getting a table, it was before the days of holding tables with online queues and reservations of the like, to be allowed in you had to have fame, fortune and everything that came with it or you wouldn’t even be allowed to see the inside.

Since its closure though, that wouldn’t or shouldn’t have been an issue, as your party inevitably pass through the gated doors of the venue, you have a sense of déjà vu, or at least a similar sensation of the like, sort of like you had been here before or perhaps like your soul and body were out of sync, naturally you might have thought that the gated door had smacked you harder than you thought but as you continue to rub your nose you see the love birds seemed like they were questioning it as well.

You turn back but see that the fog has made it impossible to see where you had come from and so now you had no choice but to head for the restaurant you were already set on exploring.

The happy couple and you walk the grounds, noticing a large water fountain in the center, that cut the path to the left and to the right, each side seemed to once have vibrant bushes of flowers that had all but dried up and died, now only the roots and a few vines had been left in their place and when you arrive to the sculptured fountain you find the contents being spewed to be filled with dirty algae that seems to cycle through the water fountains contraption, what you made out of the fountain’s sculpture was a number of water types pillared on top of one another, you can make out the sculpted figures of a Kingdra, Horse, Poliwhirl and Feebas but the rest were too eroded or broken to make out.

Just before you press on, you hear a voice in your mind say Life…or…Death, you look back and all around your surroundings but there was no one around other than you and your Pokémon, so what gives…but before you get to the once golden trimmed doors of the restaurant, you must choice a path, right or left, life or death.

As the group passed through the golden gateway, Jess felt a strange sense of almost wistful nostalgia - like her soul had been here before but not her body. While the smack to her snout quickly returned to reality, she had assumed her "gentleman" escort had let go the door due to distraction - but Haruki shook his head, seemingly baffled by the handle pulling away of its own accord. She shrugged, but still couldn't shake the lingering feeling of familiarity despite having never set foot within the building before.

On the contrary, the gang gaped in surprise to see just how expansive the estate was - for rather than finding a direct route to the restaurant, they were greeted beyond the foyer first by what must've been a lush, gorgeous garden; flowering hedges once well tended by caretakers now grown wild and withered, overtaken by weeds so that only dry roots remained. Nevertheless the coral couple carried on their merry way anyway, as if strolling leisurely through a park promenade - completely oblivious to the courtyard's lack of color as the two blissfully ignorant lovers continued their courtship.

As they wandered the grounds, they came upon a giant fountain diverting the walkway like a river's flow, yet its own current seemed almost completely stopped. A gross film of algae covered the stagnant surface, dying even the thin streams trickling forth from the fount's spouts a sickly green. Constrictive vines climbed up the side of the structure, choking central sculptures further - of which most were too worn and weathered to distinguish, but four sturdily resilient remainders still stood out as recognizable Water Types: a regal Kingdra, its younger cousin Horsea, durable Poliwhirl, and humble Feebas.

Before they could progress past however, a voice murmured softly in mind, presenting a choice of path: Life… or… Death. Jess glanced about in confusion - but there was no one else beside her except the perplexed pair of Pokémon partners, who peered up at their trainer in puzzlement, having apparently not heard anything out of the ordinary. Again that forlorn foreboding crept down her spine, but for lack of a better option she let Kas make the call seeing as she was the guest of honor. Choosing a direction at random, the spiritual stone favored floating down the left lane, and the others followed suit - hopefully headed towards the famous forsaken food hall, forgotten and deserted by its once wealthiest diners - and not about to become dessert themselves by stepping straight into the jaws of death...

[Electric Blue Eye]

lilboocorsola - Please Reply in Slategrey

It was a tad ironic that a ghostly specter belonging to the remnants of a fallen coral was the one to pick for your little group, well, it’s not like you knew the down sides, because it was a lot like the story of ‘The Lady, or the Tiger’, up to the point the door open the chances of ‘Life’ or ‘Death’ were the absolute same, unless you knew beforehand what was waiting for you on either path…

The troop moseys along the left, the path you believed meant ‘Life’ of course there was no way of truly knowing as it was never made clear by the voice that the left lane represented ‘Life’.

You climb the short stairs and reach for the handle of what appeared to be a once very exquisitely modeled door that just about screamed ‘Upper Class’ and as you opened it you all but are prepared to see the inevitable, a large empty hall, tables all turned upside down, broken chairs, air filled with dust, dirty table clothes, broken dishes, the works…but you were wrong.

“Hello miss,” a women in a finely black and white dress came from behind the corner of your eye behind the podium with a friendly demeanor, “Are you looking to make a reservation?”

You of course were still in a bit of shock because before you is a nicely lit local, a shimmering chandelier in gold plating in the middle of what appeared to be a large dance floor brightening up the place, there were a number of tables that looked to be already taken, a number of other people with parties of their own seated and chowing down on a number of different but tasty looking delectable foods, your nearly almost broken nose is even able to catch a whiff of some of them in the air, it was enough to make your mouth water and tummy grumble, it was the perfect place for a date and the date’s chaperone to enjoy, the women, give or take was probably in their early twenties continued to look at you till you responded with an obvious ‘no’ as you were pretty unaware of the need to make any sort of reservation in advance. Looking at their name tag, their name was Megan.

“Not a problem,” she responded back going behind her podium to take a quick look at the guest list, “Well I don’t seem to have anything till 2030- oh, hello Megan!,” she bumps her hand on her forehead, “I just remembered now, there was a sudden cancellation made earlier today if I recall correctly, it was for today and we could actually fit you in right now but before we take you to your table, allow me to explain a few things first, the way our restaurant is designed is what you’d call an a full course dining experience, everything is included, the 12-course meal course consists of hors-d'oeuvres, amuse-bouche, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, main course, palate cleanser, second main course, cheese course, dessert and mignardise. Just let us know if you're allergic to anything, you will need to pay in advance before we seat you and yes the tip is included in the bill, when the reservation was originally made by the guest the amount they paid was considered non-refundable, but better not to have it all completely to waste, so you won’t need to pay the $120,000 the meal is worth instead you’ll just need to cover just the party fee and tip. The additional costs were $2,000 for the trainer, $500 for every Pokémon joining you, $1,000 of the tip comes to $4,000 in total to eat for here today unless you wish to have others in your party join in.” She soon hands you a menu.

The Menu consists of regional based cuisines around the world, it was an experience type of plating, all you have to do is choose which one for the whole table. Your choices were as followed: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Paldea…there was also a special Fizzytopian option, “Surprisingly no one really chooses that one, but if you are feeling adventurous by all means, I won’t stop you.”

Once you’ve decided on how many of your party would join you, made your choice on the course and paid, the hostess will show you to your seat.

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Electric Blue Eye

lilboocorsola - Please Reply in Slategrey

It was a tad ironic that a ghostly specter belonging to the remnants of a fallen coral was the one to pick for your little group, well, it’s not like you knew the down sides, because it was a lot like the story of ‘The Lady, or the Tiger’, up to the point the door open the chances of ‘Life’ or ‘Death’ were the absolute same, unless you knew beforehand what was waiting for you on either path…

The troop moseys along the left, the path you believed meant ‘Life’ of course there was no way of truly knowing as it was never made clear by the voice that the left lane represented ‘Life’.

You climb the short stairs and reach for the handle of what appeared to be a once very exquisitely modeled door that just about screamed ‘Upper Class’ and as you opened it you all but are prepared to see the inevitable, a large empty hall, tables all turned upside down, broken chairs, air filled with dust, dirty table clothes, broken dishes, the works…but you were wrong.

“Hello miss,” a women in a finely black and white dress came from behind the corner of your eye behind the podium with a friendly demeanor, “Are you looking to make a reservation?”

You of course were still in a bit of shock because before you is a nicely lit local, a shimmering chandelier in gold plating in the middle of what appeared to be a large dance floor brightening up the place, there were a number of tables that looked to be already taken, a number of other people with parties of their own seated and chowing down on a number of different but tasty looking delectable foods, your nearly almost broken nose is even able to catch a whiff of some of them in the air, it was enough to make your mouth water and tummy grumble, it was the perfect place for a date and the date’s chaperone to enjoy, the women, give or take was probably in their early twenties continued to look at you till you responded with an obvious ‘no’ as you were pretty unaware of the need to make any sort of reservation in advance. Looking at their name tag, their name was Megan.

“Not a problem,” she responded back going behind her podium to take a quick look at the guest list, “Well I don’t seem to have anything till 2030- oh, hello Megan!,” she bumps her hand on her forehead, “I just remembered now, there was a sudden cancellation made earlier today if I recall correctly, it was for today and we could actually fit you in right now but before we take you to your table, allow me to explain a few things first, the way our restaurant is designed is what you’d call an a full course dining experience, everything is included, the 12-course meal course consists of hors-d'oeuvres, amuse-bouche, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, main course, palate cleanser, second main course, cheese course, dessert and mignardise. Just let us know if you're allergic to anything, you will need to pay in advance before we seat you and yes the tip is included in the bill, when the reservation was originally made by the guest the amount they paid was considered non-refundable, but better not to have it all completely to waste, so you won’t need to pay the $120,000 the meal is worth instead you’ll just need to cover just the party fee and tip. The additional costs were $2,000 for the trainer, $500 for every Pokémon joining you, $1,000 of the tip comes to $4,000 in total to eat for here today unless you wish to have others in your party join in.” She soon hands you a menu.

The Menu consists of regional based cuisines around the world, it was an experience type of plating, all you have to do is choose which one for the whole table. Your choices were as followed: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Paldea…there was also a special Fizzytopian option, “Surprisingly no one really chooses that one, but if you are feeling adventurous by all means, I won’t stop you.”

Once you’ve decided on how many of your party would join you, made your choice on the course and paid, the hostess will show you to your seat.

As the party followed the left path, they were soon led to a short set of stairs, terminating at an exquisite exit. Jess gulped as she grasped the gilded crystal knob, feeling out of place even touching such an ornate piece - but breathed deep as she slowly turned the handle, entering with extreme caution into the presumably dark and deserted dining hall...

To their surprise though, they were welcomed instead by warmth and brightness bathing the entire enormous room in gold from a glittering chandelier overhead, dancers dressed to the nines bobbing beneath the glowing baubles like fairy lights on the grand ballroom floor. Other guests were seated amongst the many rows of tables chattering and daintily chowing down on delectable-looking dishes, with a delicious blend of smells wafting through the air - like casting a magic spell, the alluring aroma so strong even her stifled nose could sense the mouth-watering fragrance, unable to resist such literal refined tastes.

From behind the podium, a young woman garbed in majestic but business-like monochrome gown stepped out to greet the group, asking if they'd like to make a reservation. Jess shook her head, sadly suspecting they wouldn't even be allowed in at this rate, but the lady - "Megan", according to her fancy nametag - simply smiled as she returned to take a look at her ledger to see if there was any available opening slot for three.

"Well I don’t seem to have anything till 2030- oh, hello Megan!"

The girl grinned as she slapped her forehead, such slapdash instinctual response almost at odds with the proper (if not slightly snobbish) atmosphere. The gesture and phrase felt oddly familiar somehow, like Jess had seen it on a TV program before - an old teen sitcom of sorts... Before she could sift through the memory static though, their hostess carried on to explain the whole "full course dining experience", rapidly firing off one round of prospective food after another (to the point Jess doubted she'd even be capable of downing it all before her belly burst to capacity). She even utilized some fancy foreign labels Jess had never heard of before, which she struggled to process with her rusty broken French. (Something about "mouth amusement"?)

Jess could hardly keep up with the extensive (and increasingly expensive-sounding) list as the sly sales pitch swiftly switched to terms of payment, informing her the customer who canceled had already forwarded in advance a non-refundable amount of $120,000. The idea that anyone could afford to burn all that cash without reimbursement blew Jess's mind, and while the attendant assured she'd only have to shell out a further (much less exorbitant) fee of $4,000 to cover the remaining in-house charge, she still felt bad dining on someone else's dime. ...Then again, just letting all those dollars go to waste on an empty seat and stomach would be even worse, right?

She glanced at her cohorts, and Haruki met her gaze with begging black eyes as he beseeched pleadedly like a puppy by tugging her pants leg, stubbornly refusing to back down no matter the cost - determined to fulfill the promise of providing his partner with the best fine dining experience possible. Compared to her doe-eyed beau, the doleful date in question displayed no outward emotion, but Kas cast a dull look towards the steady procession of silver-lidded plates coming out of the kitchen, pale pink pearls dimly shining with curiosity.

Jess sighed in surrender as she whipped out her wallet to retrieve a wad of $4,000, carefully counting out the bills to ensure it was within her budget. ...Privately thinking she'd only just recovered the expenses from compensating the stolen trade boat Kief and Kanna lost at sea, before freeing the poor coral prisoner from her lonely isolation chamber on the island; but figured it was worth it to treat to a belated celebratory feast - willing to splurge a bit to let the liberated rock revel in experiencing exotic spice of life, now that she was released from her shackles.

Megan smiled upon securing the money, handing over a menu to choose a regional theme for the meal. Jess was still reeling dizzily from the infodump as she stared at the overwhelming blanket banquet selection in a daze. While personally partial to the Johtonian palate of her hometown, she presented the final decision to the blue-and-white duo. Haru was clearly intrigued upon hearing the "adventurous" Fizzytopian option, and Kas merely nodded in agreement. Jess swallowed as she locked in the order, hoping she wouldn't regret spending so much of her own savings in addition to a stranger's unknowing charity on such supposedly extravagant supper...

[Lil'twick]

Missingno. Master-

Feeling that going deeper was the wiser idea, you take that path downward. You do resend out your Wormadam, however. The Pokemon looks at you and nods. It was smart to leave something behind to track your progress. Like how Theseus took Ariadne's thread to take down the minotaur. So, you heard the sticky squirts of string shot every so often as a marker.

As you progress, you start to hear static. Grabled messages coming from your devices of old voicemails. They were distorted... and haunting. Sweet words now feeling uneasy and malicious. It was odd how much errant electricity was in the air, however. Especially if the mines were supposed to house the Chill Drive. Perhaps you did end up getting some of your data wrong?

Though, it didn't matter, as you soon hit a dead end. There was almost no light here, and Genesect shined its eyes around. You could see some coal veins, and hear the sound of water. You most likely were beneath the ocean at this point. It would be too dangerous to try and mine any further here, for the risk of flooding. So, with a defeated sigh, you turn back around.

Yet, as you head back up you notice something odd. Sandy's String Shots seemed to have disappeared. You were only heading down a linear path, so where did they go? Well, luck would have it, you'd have your answer soon enough. As you got back to the crossroads point, a giant sticky web was blocking off your way. You didn't see what spun it but could see it was electrified. Most assuredly a Galvantula, based on the size.

How do you proceed?

[Electric Blue Eye]

lilboocorsola - Please Reply in Slategrey

“Excellent choice, oh waiter!” the hostess takes the menu from you while a man in a waiter uniform comes to fetch you, he looks young and able bodied, not too scrawny, a little more upper body, with broad shoulders, he has dark short hair, stunning blue eyes and more of a white complexion. Going based off of his tag, his name was Conner.

“Right this way,” you pass by a number of tables, seeing different sized parties enjoy a variety of different delectable types of food, one table seems to be eating a sampler platter of sushi inspired to look like the swirling masses of the Whirl Islands in what you figured was a part of the Johto selection menu, while another table was enjoying a parfait which used real Moomoo Milk that came directly from a farm on Route 39 which was covered in layers of yogurt, strawberries and granolas.

Then there was a table that was sharing a Chesto covered cake and for an entrée on a different table they were enjoying a Tauros beef steak paired with mash potatoes and asparagus.

Just passing by all these tables makes you wonder what sorts of dishes you’d be presented with yourself which just added to the excitement; you are promptly given a table near the large dance floor in where Conner pulls the chair for you to seat on, “I’ll be right back with your appetizers.” You and your Pokémon seat enjoying the atmosphere and were already presented with glasses of water in a pitcher for you to serve yourself, he comes back with a complimentary Fizzy Bubble Water which was a cold glass of blue berry sparkling water colored with a syrupy turquoise topped by a dot of whip cream and cherry on top of that.

He presented a silver tray of food with a cover on top before placing it on the table, “I’m not sure if anyone explained the rules to you but in order for you to enjoy your food at their at most peak you have to wait about ‘3 turns’ before starting…that of course applies if you manage to knock out your competition beforehand, however if you choose a more artistic form of battle the battle still ends if there was a knockout but you have a chance at victory by scoring big points with the audience at the end of the 3 turns.” Conner walks up to the platform and reaches one end of the dance floor, it was now you realize that it wasn’t a dance floor at all, it was a battle field and with your meal came entertainment, but in this case, you were the entertainment.

Now your choice is between a regular battle or a contest like battle, regardless of what you choose, once the battle was over you could finally grub.

Whatever you choose, you won’t be able to eat until you overcame the obstacle before you. “Go Kraig!” the waiter tossed a Ghostball to reveal a Sableye that leapt and jumped into action, landing on the stage and doing a little jig, as it creepily awaited it’s orders, the rest of the room looked like they were on pins and needles in anticipation to what you would choose and what you had in mind to face off against it. “Ladies first.” Conner lets you know, that you had the first move.

Updater Note: If the Contest Battle is chosen, you are allowed to make up to three orders and be as imaginable with your descriptions as possible, keep in mind that the more elaborate the descriptions are there will be a higher rate of fail and what you may have had in mind may not be what gets produced, have fun~

[Alilatias]

Electric Blue Eye:

Picking up Missy the Spiritomb, of which the keystone was surprisingly light compared to typical Spiritomb that would be beyond the capabilities of most humans to carry, you sense the anchored 108 spirits regarding you curiously. They had not been held like this in years, after all. Perhaps if you were some random stranger, they would have perceived you to be a threat and attacked you, but Fox must have explained the whole situation while you and Luna had your audience with the train's conductor.

Missy the Spiritomb has temporarily joined your party!




Species: Spiritomb | Gender: Female
Type: Ghost / Dark | Terra Type: Fairy | Ability: Infiltrator

Level: 35 | Held Item: (None)

Moves
Level-Up: Confuse Ray (-), Curse (-), Night Shade (-), Pursuit (-), Shadow Sneak (-), Spite (-), Hypnosis (6), Feint Attack (7), Hex (11), Payback (15), Nasty Plot (19), Dream Eater (19), Extrasensory (25), Ominous Wind (25), Memento (30), Sucker Punch (31), Dark Pulse (34)

Egg Moves: Ally Switch, Smokescreen

TM/TR Moves: Imprison, Pain Split, Scary Face, Taunt, Tera Blast

Move Tutor: Snatch, Telekinesis, Uproar

"My Pokemon?" Savan wondered. "Oh! I did have one with me, and I left two others at Silph. Co. If it's truly been years, I hope someone went to check on them to give them a new home."

You and Luna watch as Savan attempts to locate the Pokeball containing his Pokemon, and when Luna decides to investigate more closely, a Cherish Ball appears from under the seat where Savan was. The Umbreon reaches under the seat and bats at the Pokeball, causing it to roll out and hit the table. It pops open, and out comes... A strange four-legged Pokemon that most would find difficult to describe, at a level where one would think anyone describing its existence to be the ravings of a madman. A white helmet covering its face and chest, three fins protruding from the back, green front claws, and a black body. A Silvally.

Even after Missy and Savan try to explain the situation, the confused Silvally appears to be staying put on the train for now. "Well, they were always more of a guard dog, and I don't normally order them around. Oh well," Savan sighs.

Finally, you step out of the train, Fox disguised as a kid next to you. This time around, you make sure not to step out directly in front of someone staring in your direction. Some people nearby initially express shock, including one bystander remarking that 'most people making use of the Teleport move usually warp to Pokemon Centers, not inside a train station', but you otherwise manage to make your way outside into the bright streets of Goldenrod without incident. Even in the middle of the night, the lights were so bright that it barely made any difference to the people out in the streets at this hour.

Savan starts to explain, "So I don't think I ever told you what my brother did for a living. Assuming he's still up to his usual antics, you'll have a difficult time asking any random passerby about him. He's a private investigator, but not one that really does things above board. He usually finds people that have run afoul of those abusing their influence, does whatever possible to resolve their problems, and as payment he takes whatever he needs from those that he investigates. For example, there was an incident a few years ago where the Goldenrod Gym had been greatly damaged following a series of challenges. Normally, the League funds repairs, but there was much happening across the world at the time that they deemed this to be low priority, asking all challenges to be resolved outside of the gym in the meantime. So someone approached Gym Leader Whitney and her trainers with the intention of starting an idol group in order to raise money to make repairs to the gym, but my brother, being a massive fan as he was, decided to look into this person. He stole their laptop, broke through its security, and found out that the challengers that damaged the gym were actually associates. But since he obtained this information illegally, the authorities couldn't use any of this as evidence to lock them away. But Whitney and her trainers were saved from their schemes, and Whitney's fans are probably still chasing them across the world and making their lives a living hell, at least."

He ends the explanation by admitting, "It's why I'm not telling you his name just yet, because even asking after him might draw the bad kind of attention. The last time I saw him, he was usually around the Goldenrod Radio Tower, hacking into their networks to read any information they had about things they were planning to talk about in the future. I'd imagine they would have upgraded their security by then. Maybe the best way to find him would be to either visit the Tower or try challenging the Gym yourself."

This late at night, both locations were sure to be closed. Savan started describing other places you could visit to pass the time and think over your approach to finding him, like the Game Corner, the Goldenrod Department Store that was probably having late night sales, or the Goldenrod Tunnel which likely had vendors peddling rarer items but might be filled with rowdy trainers. Or you could just wait in front of the Tower or the Gym instead. What were you going to do?

[Missingno. Master]

Originally Posted by Lil'twick

Missingno. Master-

Feeling that going deeper was the wiser idea, you take that path downward. You do resend out your Wormadam, however. The Pokemon looks at you and nods. It was smart to leave something behind to track your progress. Like how Theseus took Ariadne's thread to take down the minotaur. So, you heard the sticky squirts of string shot every so often as a marker.

As you progress, you start to hear static. Grabled messages coming from your devices of old voicemails. They were distorted... and haunting. Sweet words now feeling uneasy and malicious. It was odd how much errant electricity was in the air, however. Especially if the mines were supposed to house the Chill Drive. Perhaps you did end up getting some of your data wrong?

Though, it didn't matter, as you soon hit a dead end. There was almost no light here, and Genesect shined its eyes around. You could see some coal veins, and hear the sound of water. You most likely were beneath the ocean at this point. It would be too dangerous to try and mine any further here, for the risk of flooding. So, with a defeated sigh, you turn back around.

Yet, as you head back up you notice something odd. Sandy's String Shots seemed to have disappeared. You were only heading down a linear path, so where did they go? Well, luck would have it, you'd have your answer soon enough. As you got back to the crossroads point, a giant sticky web was blocking off your way. You didn't see what spun it but could see it was electrified. Most assuredly a Galvantula, based on the size.

How do you proceed?

The general idea was a smart one- with Sandy using her String Shot to mark the path they took, they made their way further down into the mine. As they progressed, ZZLZZ could hear static. She blinked in confusion, and dug out her PokéGear. It was the source of the noise, and it was more than mere static- it was replaying old voicemails, but in distorted tones, the words garbled. And a good chunk of those voicemails had been from Maribel, too- it unnerved ZZLZZ to hear her girlfriend's voice distorted so.

"Weird," she murmured, after having pocketed the PokéGear. "There's a lot of electricity in the air... but I thought this was where the Chill Drive was supposed to be?

"Worma worma, Wormadam?" Sandy spoke up, shrugging her rocky shoulders.

"...are you saying maybe there's more than just the Chill Drive here?" ZZLZZ asked. When Sandy responded with a firm nod, ZZLZZ gave a nod of her own. "It's entirely possible," she murmured. Those notes only spoke of the Chill and Douse Drives, after all... Maybe the Shock Drive ended up here as well. That'd be great if that were the case, honestly- two Pidgey with one Rock Throw, as it were," she chuckled.

The chuckling, however, was short-lived. Tehy soon reached a dead end, and Genesect's eyes provided the only light. ZZLZZ could see some coal veins, but more concerning was the sound of water. "...we must be under the ocean," she murmured. "We better turn back. There's probably a reason they stopped digging here, after all..." The lack of progress was disheartening, but ZZLZZ refused to give up. They'd basically only just started, after all. She turned around, leading the way back up. But as they went, she noticed something. Or rather, she noticed something that was not there to be noticed; Sandy's String Shot trail was gone.

"WORMA?!" Sandy exclaimed indignantly. She hopped over to a bare stretch of rocky wall, best approximation of hands on hips as one could expect from Wormadamian anatomy. "Dam worma worma, worma Wormadam!" she ranted, gesturing at the bare rock.

"Sandy, take it easy," ZZLZZ urged her Sandy Cloak Wormadam. "I believe you, I know you were marking the path. But honestly, that brings me to a more disturbing question- if you were marking our path... what was removing the trail?"

"Worma..." murmured Sandy. Her indignation had dissipated by this point, and as the realization sank in, she looked wary.

They proceeded onward, and as they reached the crossroads from before, they could see something blocking their way- a web, and it was electrified. "...Whoa," breathed ZZLZZ. She adjusted her glasses, her body glitching out especially wildly as she carefully approached. "Such craftsmanship... and that powerful electric current... this is the work of a Galvantula, it's gotta be," she nodded decisively, all worry drained from the Bug Catcher as she proceeded to nerd out over the nature of their roadblock. "A Joltik couldn't produce a web this big without considerable time and effort- time it didn't have with how long we were down there, and even if it did have that kind of time, it certainly wouldn't have had the sort of electrical capability to charge it up like this. And... oh, dear, we have to get through this, don't we," she added, her smile fading as the gravity of the situation made itself known to her. "Ooh... I don't even want to destroy this- a Galvantula web is a beautiful thing, and this is how Galvantula catch their prey, the poor thing's just trying to survive here, same as everything else... but how?" she murmured. "None of my Pokémon know Teleport or Ally Switch, and I don't think it's a good idea to risk using Dig in here..."

Sandy facepalmed (facerocked? That sounds more painful than it actually is). "Worma, worma, worma," she groaned. "DAM!" she exclaimed, snapping ZZLZZ out of it. The glitched-out Bug Catcher looked curiously at her Sandy Cloak Wormadam. "Dam worma worma, worma Wormadam dam," Sandy was saying, with an air of explaining the obvious with perpetually thinning patience. With her rocky arms, she motioned to the web, then mimed the action of pushing open a door. She hopped through where this door supposedly was, then mimed closing it shut behind her. Then, she gestured to the web again, and then pointed to her eyes as they momentarily glowed blue.

ZZLZZ's own eyes lit up in a somewhat more figurative manner. "Of course!" she breathed. "You're saying you can use Confusion to move the web out of the way and then once we're all out, you just put it back?"

"Daaaam," Sandy nodded, relieved her Trainer caught on.

"Well, I'm all for that if you can make it happen," said ZZLZZ. "It might not be too easy to pull it away from the rock wall where it's attached, all while keeping the structural integrity of the net intact. And we're not just dislodging the rocks, either," she added firmly. "The last thing we need is to cause a cave-in down here. So Sandy, I have to ask you in all seriousness- can you do this?"

The Wormadam met her Trainer's gaze unflinchingly. She would not have suggested this course of action if she had anything less than 110% confidence in her own psychic abilities, and said confidence wasn't exactly unfounded, either. "Dam worma!" she stated with a firm nod.

ZZLZZ nodded back, her smile returning. "Then let's do this," she replied. And with that, Sandy turned to face the web, and focused hard. She was a very strong-willed Pokémon, ZZLZZ knew, and strength of the mind was crucial for moves like Confusion, Telekinesis, and Psychic. Perhaps all that confidence really did have a basis in reality.

[Electric Blue Eye]

Originally Posted by Alilatias

Electric Blue Eye:

Picking up Missy the Spiritomb, of which the keystone was surprisingly light compared to typical Spiritomb that would be beyond the capabilities of most humans to carry, you sense the anchored 108 spirits regarding you curiously. They had not been held like this in years, after all. Perhaps if you were some random stranger, they would have perceived you to be a threat and attacked you, but Fox must have explained the whole situation while you and Luna had your audience with the train's conductor.

Missy the Spiritomb has temporarily joined your party!




Species: Spiritomb | Gender: Female
Type: Ghost / Dark | Terra Type: Fairy | Ability: Infiltrator

Level: 35 | Held Item: (None)

Moves
Level-Up: Confuse Ray (-), Curse (-), Night Shade (-), Pursuit (-), Shadow Sneak (-), Spite (-), Hypnosis (6), Feint Attack (7), Hex (11), Payback (15), Nasty Plot (19), Dream Eater (19), Extrasensory (25), Ominous Wind (25), Memento (30), Sucker Punch (31), Dark Pulse (34)

Egg Moves: Ally Switch, Smokescreen

TM/TR Moves: Imprison, Pain Split, Scary Face, Taunt, Tera Blast

Move Tutor: Snatch, Telekinesis, Uproar

"My Pokemon?" Savan wondered. "Oh! I did have one with me, and I left two others at Silph. Co. If it's truly been years, I hope someone went to check on them to give them a new home."

You and Luna watch as Savan attempts to locate the Pokeball containing his Pokemon, and when Luna decides to investigate more closely, a Cherish Ball appears from under the seat where Savan was. The Umbreon reaches under the seat and bats at the Pokeball, causing it to roll out and hit the table. It pops open, and out comes... A strange four-legged Pokemon that most would find difficult to describe, at a level where one would think anyone describing its existence to be the ravings of a madman. A white helmet covering its face and chest, three fins protruding from the back, green front claws, and a black body. A Silvally.

Even after Missy and Savan try to explain the situation, the confused Silvally appears to be staying put on the train for now. "Well, they were always more of a guard dog, and I don't normally order them around. Oh well," Savan sighs.

Finally, you step out of the train, Fox disguised as a kid next to you. This time around, you make sure not to step out directly in front of someone staring in your direction. Some people nearby initially express shock, including one bystander remarking that 'most people making use of the Teleport move usually warp to Pokemon Centers, not inside a train station', but you otherwise manage to make your way outside into the bright streets of Goldenrod without incident. Even in the middle of the night, the lights were so bright that it barely made any difference to the people out in the streets at this hour.

Savan starts to explain, "So I don't think I ever told you what my brother did for a living. Assuming he's still up to his usual antics, you'll have a difficult time asking any random passerby about him. He's a private investigator, but not one that really does things above board. He usually finds people that have run afoul of those abusing their influence, does whatever possible to resolve their problems, and as payment he takes whatever he needs from those that he investigates. For example, there was an incident a few years ago where the Goldenrod Gym had been greatly damaged following a series of challenges. Normally, the League funds repairs, but there was much happening across the world at the time that they deemed this to be low priority, asking all challenges to be resolved outside of the gym in the meantime. So someone approached Gym Leader Whitney and her trainers with the intention of starting an idol group in order to raise money to make repairs to the gym, but my brother, being a massive fan as he was, decided to look into this person. He stole their laptop, broke through its security, and found out that the challengers that damaged the gym were actually associates. But since he obtained this information illegally, the authorities couldn't use any of this as evidence to lock them away. But Whitney and her trainers were saved from their schemes, and Whitney's fans are probably still chasing them across the world and making their lives a living hell, at least."

He ends the explanation by admitting, "It's why I'm not telling you his name just yet, because even asking after him might draw the bad kind of attention. The last time I saw him, he was usually around the Goldenrod Radio Tower, hacking into their networks to read any information they had about things they were planning to talk about in the future. I'd imagine they would have upgraded their security by then. Maybe the best way to find him would be to either visit the Tower or try challenging the Gym yourself."

This late at night, both locations were sure to be closed. Savan started describing other places you could visit to pass the time and think over your approach to finding him, like the Game Corner, the Goldenrod Department Store that was probably having late night sales, or the Goldenrod Tunnel which likely had vendors peddling rarer items but might be filled with rowdy trainers. Or you could just wait in front of the Tower or the Gym instead. What were you going to do?

“Sorry Missy, I should have asked first before picking you up.” The trainer further explaining how he often had to carry his own Spiritomb, who unbeknownst to even him, had within itself 108 spirits at which point when alive belonged to an array of very skilled thieves that had all met an unfortunate end during their own lifetimes’…

He had produced an indigo colored Kanto Styled Pokedex that had an unfortunate slash on the front cover of it, despite its outward appearance was still plenty capable of learning the potential Missy still held within her as a battler.

Hearing Savan talk about his Pokémon he had left in Silph Co.’s offices shocked him to say the least, ultimately Pokémon had a whole another physiology compared to human’s- of course it was without question that, that also meant they could endure a lot more than an average human being, especially if they were kept inside of a Pokeball, the sphere was known to place Pokémon into a long stasis, that prevented aging for the most part but in the end no one could escape death forever…unless they were born or perhaps made to be special.

Luna seemed to have developed a knack at finding things, her red glowing ovals soon activating as a sort of ‘radar’ to help her sense her surroundings better, they eventually guided her upon a Cherishball which by Ethan’s standards usually contained exceptionally rare and powerful Pokémon which proved to be true as to what came out of it next, was none other than a sub-legend Silvally, it was still a little bit astonishing to think the Scientist would consider it as nothing more than a guard dog. Savan seemed so nonchalant when talking about such a mythical creature and as he had done some research on the species, the Pokémon that came before this one was only able to achieve such a feat only after creating a strong bond in order to evolve…so why was Savan so detached at the notion of his partner? Was it because it was just easier, after you died it’s not like you could do anything on the matter he supposed.

Looking back at his own bond evolution Pokémon, Umbreon, that bond must’ve been quite special…

It didn’t seem like any amount of convincing from either its’ ghost trainer or the ghostly kid interrupter would make it budge an inch however.

They couldn’t go and waste time trying to convince it, so Ethan figured to forego the effort, “Don’t worry about it, Giratina will at least let you stay in the confines of the train,” though he thought, they probably wouldn’t have cared if the Silvally ended up jumping out with no-real reason to stop it.

They stepped out of the dimensional rift with little to no issue, luckily the illusion of them appearing out of thin air was momentarily confused for having used ‘Teleport’ and since it was already night there were barely any people out, he always wondered about the night life in Goldenrod City was like, it seemed rather dead somehow, yet he had always thought there would be some sort of entertainment to their night life.

Savan explained his brother’s situation to Ethan which in a way correlated with much of his own, ‘chaotic good’ he mused, would they possibly qualify as one of Giratina’s helpers, perhaps?

To find them he may have had to think similarly to them, bringing up the cities map on his Poryphone he looked at the potential spots that an article informed him about as popular tourist traps.

Ethan was tempted to go into the Game Corner since hadn’t played the slots in more than seven years, he had a bit of an itch to scratch, it was just too bad there was no possible way for him to ‘purchase’ a new, rare Pokémon…then he figured if Savan’s brother liked hacking into tough and complicated systems…he’d have an almost infinite win streak if they managed to switch the win rate of the electronic machines at the gambling games, so that’s where he proposed to go, “Let’s go gamble!.”

[Naru]

Lit

Kale and Kyle nod to one another before bursting through the current, feeling the resistance as you push through. You were here, an abandoned mining camp located deep within the mines. You could see old scattered mining equipment, radios, lights, minecarts. But something else catches your eyes: the abandoned minecart system, and all the wires that flowed out from it.

Suddenly, you realize why it's made it's home here... why it wandered in. It had made a web here, a theoretically one, sure. But here it could connect to things, it had the wires to do it, and the equipment to flow in and out of. For a being of absolute energy, this was the place to be. You now understood why your electronics had been malfunctioning --- it had been hopping through the electronic rails, haunting you every step of your journey. It did not want you to arrive here, be it fear or simple comfort. It did not want you to remove it from this place.

"UNNNZ" It shrieked, lanterns flickering as it sparked with energy. This was it's home, it's web, and you had wandered in. Like a lamb to the slaughter.

"UNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNZ!" Static crackled, and it's long tendrils rose from the Earth. It looked bigger, Charged up. It's golem eyes fixed on you, Locked-On to your position. It raised it's arms, throwing down a Thunder Cage to keep you locked in a battle with it. There was no turning back now.

Boss Regieleki
Health Gauge: 100%
Status: N/A

[Alilatias]

Electric Blue Eye:

You make your way to the Goldenrod Game Corner, Savan guiding you along the way and the spirits that make up Missy disappearing into the keystone. You notice that the conductor of the train has been unusually silent throughout all of this, though you can still feel its watchful gaze. At the entrance of the Game Corner, you notice that there are many patrons playing together at the poker tables, but strangely none at the slots. You see what appears to be a worker cleaning the machines, and noticing your presence, he starts talking to you.

"New to the city, huh? No one plays on these slots anymore, because someone has been spreading rumors that they're rigged to never give out the jackpot. Without any evidence, of course. The ruckus made regional news for about a week, and people claiming to be from the League even came by a few days ago and said they didn't find anything unusual about these machines. However, they did take issue with our selection of prizes..."

Glancing over to the prize counter, you quickly realize that there aren't any Pokemon available anymore. The worker apparently mistakes your discerning look at the list of prizes as interest in the establishment as a whole, and gleefully leaves a suitcase containing 100 coins at your feet, telling you to have fun before he resumes his cleaning duties elsewhere.

"Ah, so it seems that movement has produced results ever since my untimely passing," Savan muses. Sensing your inevitable question, he explains further, "There's been a group of activists arguing that it is immoral for Pokemon to be sold or given out as prizes in this way. I believe they first made their presence known by protesting Fizzytopia's Global Trade Station for allowing Pokemon to be bought and sold with items and money instead of the standard mutual Pokemon-only trades, but evidently the Fizzytopian government threatened to arrest members of the group for mass littering, and the League ignored them at the time as well. The weird part is, no one has seen them in person, as they made their demands known by plastering flyers all over the place, at least according to my admittedly outdated knowledge. The last time I saw my brother, he was considering looking into that group, starting by trying to figure out where they got the resources to create so many flyers. He got uncomfortable vibes from them, he said. That said..."

Savan voices out a question, knowing that nobody else in the casino could perceive him. "The League doesn't normally concern themselves with the inner workings of a casino, as that is a problem for the local government. I wonder where the Pokemon went? They were always the main draw of the casino, and it's clear that this establishment has fallen on hard times between the accusations and the Pokemon being taken away to gods know where. After all, they normally give 1,000 coins to start, only giving you a hundred means they are clearly desperate enough to take advantage of your tourist status to buy more coins directly from them. It doesn't take a scientist to know that there's something odd about this whole situation. If my brother is around, I bet he would be looking into this too."

Observing the crowd, you don't see anyone that would have any familial resemblance with Savan at first glance. If you choose to investigate, what would your approach be? Directly ask the worker for more information, or try your luck with the slots or the poker tables while observing what everyone else does?

[Electric Blue Eye]

Originally Posted by Alilatias

Electric Blue Eye:

You make your way to the Goldenrod Game Corner, Savan guiding you along the way and the spirits that make up Missy disappearing into the keystone. You notice that the conductor of the train has been unusually silent throughout all of this, though you can still feel its watchful gaze. At the entrance of the Game Corner, you notice that there are many patrons playing together at the poker tables, but strangely none at the slots. You see what appears to be a worker cleaning the machines, and noticing your presence, he starts talking to you.

"New to the city, huh? No one plays on these slots anymore, because someone has been spreading rumors that they're rigged to never give out the jackpot. Without any evidence, of course. The ruckus made regional news for about a week, and people claiming to be from the League even came by a few days ago and said they didn't find anything unusual about these machines. However, they did take issue with our selection of prizes..."

Glancing over to the prize counter, you quickly realize that there aren't any Pokemon available anymore. The worker apparently mistakes your discerning look at the list of prizes as interest in the establishment as a whole, and gleefully leaves a suitcase containing 100 coins at your feet, telling you to have fun before he resumes his cleaning duties elsewhere.

"Ah, so it seems that movement has produced results ever since my untimely passing," Savan muses. Sensing your inevitable question, he explains further, "There's been a group of activists arguing that it is immoral for Pokemon to be sold or given out as prizes in this way. I believe they first made their presence known by protesting Fizzytopia's Global Trade Station for allowing Pokemon to be bought and sold with items and money instead of the standard mutual Pokemon-only trades, but evidently the Fizzytopian government threatened to arrest members of the group for mass littering, and the League ignored them at the time as well. The weird part is, no one has seen them in person, as they made their demands known by plastering flyers all over the place, at least according to my admittedly outdated knowledge. The last time I saw my brother, he was considering looking into that group, starting by trying to figure out where they got the resources to create so many flyers. He got uncomfortable vibes from them, he said. That said..."

Savan voices out a question, knowing that nobody else in the casino could perceive him. "The League doesn't normally concern themselves with the inner workings of a casino, as that is a problem for the local government. I wonder where the Pokemon went? They were always the main draw of the casino, and it's clear that this establishment has fallen on hard times between the accusations and the Pokemon being taken away to gods know where. After all, they normally give 1,000 coins to start, only giving you a hundred means they are clearly desperate enough to take advantage of your tourist status to buy more coins directly from them. It doesn't take a scientist to know that there's something odd about this whole situation. If my brother is around, I bet he would be looking into this too."

Observing the crowd, you don't see anyone that would have any familial resemblance with Savan at first glance. If you choose to investigate, what would your approach be? Directly ask the worker for more information, or try your luck with the slots or the poker tables while observing what everyone else does?

“Not exactly the sort of atmosphere I would have expected, if anything, this is just sad…”

He thought back to the amount of coins he had amassed, he never got to reach the heights some high rollers had gotten- scoring to the millions, getting to such a point that they had so much money they would have never managed to spend it all in one lifetime…for him, the Coins for Prizes’ market held a number of rare Pokémon, diving into their records Ethan had discovered that there was even a limited time sell of mythical Pokémon and to this day no one even knew how the market was able to acquire such legendary Pokémon.

At the time he felt the same way as Savan had described, it never made sense how the market was able to get so many rare, exotic Pokémon in such a short amount of time, of course maybe that was the reason for keeping those at the highest tier of rarities along with such a high price tag…yet even if there was some form of shadiness behind the Pokémon being ‘bought’ there was still one that always caught the trainer’s eye as he passed through the old’ shop.

‘Vee’

He had just gotten the amount necessary to acquire her when the league in Fizzytopia had shut down the local Casino and Coins for Prizes shops. ‘Sorry kid, due to concern of public safety and unrest we are closing down shop.’

It wasn’t till a little later that he had received word that the old regime was out and a new one was making their way in. During that time there had been a clear indication of unrest, there were riots, protests and over all chaos…at the time he didn’t know what he wanted to do or which side to choose and when he finally did think of his next course of action, a mysterious wormhole opened and transported him to another world…

The last time he witnessed that Eevee was during that time, when it and others of her kind of exceptionally rare Pokémon were being transported to Arceus knows where, to think how much had changed, in what felt like a blink of an eye so happened to be more than half a decade.

Lost in thought Ethan somehow realized that Giratina had been kind of quiet this whole time, Do you find this form of entertainment boring? Ethan pondered, Was it perhaps the lack of curiosity or perhaps knowing that it was all pointless in the end? It was probably the latter, since he witnessed everything end as it did with these spirits…

The man in the dark jacket and jeans with his brown combat boot combo moseyed on along and noticed a clear indication of the slot machines being ignored for table games, that was until one of the housekeeper came around cleaning and explained to him why that was, notifying him of their having been a rumor of the slots being rigged in the houses fair, he heard mention of the league having come to investigate the claim, of course going based off of Savan’s story about a group saying they came from the league and tricking the gym leader, what if there was a connection right there in front of their face?

Ethan was then offered a round of 100 coins to play with but that gave him an idea, he checked his Poryphone and tracked down an app he hadn’t bothered using for as long as he had been originally gone for, he had a bit trouble remembering his password and account info, he had almost used all his tries up when on the last attempt he managed to crack the code, there sitting on his coin bank was 203,279 coins he never got to use…if he needed to gain some info, he needed to get close to those patrons that frequented the gambling den…with the amount he had, he could do just that.

The trainer figured he should try his luck at the card tables, playing some black jack would probably be his best bet, he turned to his Pokémon that joined him, luckily it wasn’t out of the norm to have a kid gamble so his full on illusion Hisuian Zorua in his child form shouldn’t have been a problem, Luna on the hand had decided to take a nap by her trainer’s feet and Spiritomb’s many spirits had decided to seep back into the home of the ancient relic he was carrying around.

Ethan sat down and inserted his card, betting a reasonable amount first in his attempt to start off slow, he’d start off with some idle chatter from those betting with him, but since most gamblers were usually more to ‘themselves’ unless they were some hotshot or drunk he had his work cut out for him, he rose his hand to the nearest waitress and requested a ginger ale on the rocks as he turned to someone next to him and asked, “You have any luck with these table games?’

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Electric Blue Eye

lilboocorsola - Please Reply in Slategrey

“Excellent choice, oh waiter!” the hostess takes the menu from you while a man in a waiter uniform comes to fetch you, he looks young and able bodied, not too scrawny, a little more upper body, with broad shoulders, he has dark short hair, stunning blue eyes and more of a white complexion. Going based off of his tag, his name was Conner.

“Right this way,” you pass by a number of tables, seeing different sized parties enjoy a variety of different delectable types of food, one table seems to be eating a sampler platter of sushi inspired to look like the swirling masses of the Whirl Islands in what you figured was a part of the Johto selection menu, while another table was enjoying a parfait which used real Moomoo Milk that came directly from a farm on Route 39 which was covered in layers of yogurt, strawberries and granolas.

Then there was a table that was sharing a Chesto covered cake and for an entrée on a different table they were enjoying a Tauros beef steak paired with mash potatoes and asparagus.

Just passing by all these tables makes you wonder what sorts of dishes you’d be presented with yourself which just added to the excitement; you are promptly given a table near the large dance floor in where Conner pulls the chair for you to seat on, “I’ll be right back with your appetizers.” You and your Pokémon seat enjoying the atmosphere and were already presented with glasses of water in a pitcher for you to serve yourself, he comes back with a complimentary Fizzy Bubble Water which was a cold glass of blue berry sparkling water colored with a syrupy turquoise topped by a dot of whip cream and cherry on top of that.

He presented a silver tray of food with a cover on top before placing it on the table, “I’m not sure if anyone explained the rules to you but in order for you to enjoy your food at their at most peak you have to wait about ‘3 turns’ before starting…that of course applies if you manage to knock out your competition beforehand, however if you choose a more artistic form of battle the battle still ends if there was a knockout but you have a chance at victory by scoring big points with the audience at the end of the 3 turns.” Conner walks up to the platform and reaches one end of the dance floor, it was now you realize that it wasn’t a dance floor at all, it was a battle field and with your meal came entertainment, but in this case, you were the entertainment.

Now your choice is between a regular battle or a contest like battle, regardless of what you choose, once the battle was over you could finally grub.

Whatever you choose, you won’t be able to eat until you overcame the obstacle before you. “Go Kraig!” the waiter tossed a Ghostball to reveal a Sableye that leapt and jumped into action, landing on the stage and doing a little jig, as it creepily awaited it’s orders, the rest of the room looked like they were on pins and needles in anticipation to what you would choose and what you had in mind to face off against it. “Ladies first.” Conner lets you know, that you had the first move.

Updater Note: If the Contest Battle is chosen, you are allowed to make up to three orders and be as imaginable with your descriptions as possible, keep in mind that the more elaborate the descriptions are there will be a higher rate of fail and what you may have had in mind may not be what gets produced, have fun~

The hostess happily received the menu back along with entering Jess's order, before calling for a waiter to bring them to their table. A handsome, hardy-looking young man with dark hair and striking blue eyes appeared to guide them to the destination, and Jess blushed a bit as he bowed graciously before her, admittedly smitten slightly as she admired such an attractive physique. She couldn't help but feel a little giddy as she followed the broad-shouldered busboy from behind, figuring if she was stuck acting as chaperone in such a sappy romantic setting she may as well enjoy the opportunity to ogle some "eye candy" of her own.

As they passed by other patrons, she could see them sampling all sorts of rare regional delicacies; such as a large sushi platter shaped like the Whirl Islands, and for dessert a delicious-looking fluffy parfait presumably made using fresh Moomoo Milk. It made her mildly homesick and melancholic, missing the nostalgic meals her mother made in childhood that she used to share with her sibling. She wondered how Daisy was doing now, as she hadn't heard from her lil sis in a while - making a mental note to ring her up later and try to arrange a lunch meeting of their own so they could catch up.

Upon arriving at their assigned seating, the gallant garçon politely pulled out a chair for her to sit, while Haruki chivalrously did the same for his grateful dead date. Conner, as he was called according to his nametag, promised to be back soon with refreshment drinks and appetizers, leaving the three for the time being to relax and soak in the pleasant ambiance. Craning her head to check the surrounding parties' spreads, another group was splitting a Chesto nutcake, a second slicing into a juicy classic Kantonian steak - so on and so forth. Haruki was watching hungrily as well with drool already dripping from his mouth, as Kasuri simply stared calmly beside him. Jess licked her lips, wondering just what kind of local cuisine specialties they were in for by comparison.

Conner came back quickly, carrying a pitcher of plain water and crystal glass cups - along with a complimentary Fizzy Bubbles sparkling beverage flavored with blueberries and a dollop of whipped cream. (Jess only tried a small sip, letting the other two partake in the snappy sweetness together via a pair of straws.) Picking up another covered tray of already tasty-smelling treats from the trolley, he presented the plate with a graceful flourish - but before removing the silver lid, he bade her rise as he clapped his hands, and the dancers all cleared the floor to reveal an arena as he explained the real rules of the restaurant (which his "ditzy" colleague oh so conveniently failed to mention at the door).

Apparently, they would have to wait "three turns" equivalent to rounds of battle before they could savor the food at its finest. As Connor took up position at the platform on the other side of the stage and called out his own Sableye with a smug smirk, the other diners all paused their eating to eagerly spectate the match - curious to see a commoner pauper take on the challenge. ...Jess speculated if this was the reason she had been asked if any others would be joining with her today, skeptically wondering if it was in fact a "pay to win" situation. (If only the establishment accepted Rare Candies as credit rather than cash upfront, considering the massive hoard still sitting in her savings account even after passing out a large portion of it through a Cute Contest giveaway event.)

On that note though, one of the options of combat style offered to her intrigued the girl greatly, filling her own self with confidence. Contests were her forte after all, and she had faith in her partner; as Haru himself was a veteran champion, with a Tough ribbon trophy at home to prove it. The Johtonian Corsola keenly jumped up at the chance to show off his capabilities in front of his girlfriend, as Kas silently observed the proceedings with the same monotone expression as always - but her mildly shining half-moon eyes betrayed an expectant excitement.

"All right, Haruki, let's give these folks a real show then, shall we?" Jess grinned as an idea suddenly occurred to her, speaking softly so as not to give away the gameplan (which she recognized in itself was a risky gamble, but would hopefully be worth it and wind up paying dividends if they successfully managed to pull it off). "I want you to hold the dishes steady with PSYCHIC whilst I rip the tablecloth out, then I'll use it to cover you like a magician as you CAMOUFLAGE yourself. Try to make it seem as if you've transformed into a BEAM of BUBBLEs directed at the opponent!"

[Alilatias]

Electric Blue Eye:

Making your way over to the blackjack table, you take your seat there, with Luna electing to nap by your feet and Fox curiously watching as a... Fox taking on the form of a child does. Savan stands behind the other patrons, clearly taking advantage of the fact that they can't perceive him. The other patrons and the dealer regard you curiously, clearly not recognizing you as a regular, and especially that you'd apparently bring a child with you.

"I would think tourists with children would be more entertained by the slots," one of the other patrons says to you.

Another adds, "I saw you talking to that other guy cleaning the slots. Let me guess, they only gave you 100 coins? That's not enough to play at this table. You're gonna have to pay up at the receptionist for more. Unless you happen to have virtual coins from another region or something. But if I were you, I'd turn back and run. We've all had horrible luck the past week, and we're really just here for the memories before this place is gone."

Sure enough, the table was high tech enough to support the ability to access coins from another region, and you can wirelessly connect your phone into it... And that's exactly what you do to make your starting bid. What everyone else witnesses in this event shocks them.

"What the hell? Fizzytopian coins?"
"I thought their casino was shut down years ago! There was a whole thing about their coin balances being wiped out too!"
"Yeah, their government was supposed to have converted them to something else! I know because my ex-girlfriend in New Fizz City kept freaking out about it! There were even riots and everything because most of their economy used to be based on casino coins!"

The dealer muses, "In theory, we aren't supposed to accept Fizzytopian coins anymore, but this is interesting enough that I'll let it slide... If the table software accepts them. I'm not sure if it will. It clearly recognizes the origin of your coins, but I don't know if the engineers ever coded in anything to block them, after what went down in Fizzytopia."

Looking down at the table, you notice the virtual coins suddenly flicker. They had Fizzytopian symbols before, but now they have taken on the same appearance as the other coins from Johto. Your phone also buzzes with a text message, the caller ID simply being "G".

"Please have fun on my behalf, and keep them distracted as long as you can. I don't normally ask for help as I investigate, but I feel I have no other choice. Beware the dealer especially, the other workers don't know what he's been doing. I'll find some way to repay you after all of this is over."

Suddenly, you notice your necklace glowing, and hear a familiar voice in your head. "If it is not yet abundantly obvious, something has their eye on you. I know not their intentions, as you lot are ever scheming, but I do not sense the hand of mine enemies here, and thus see no need to intervene. See to your task and take care not to remain distracted for long." The voice fades away, and with it the glow in the necklace.

"Well, that wasn't what I expected," the dealer remarks. "Very well! Let's begin!"

About half an hour later, you end up with a massive win streak, with a big pile of virtual coins in front of you. The other patrons were cheering you on all the while.

"This guy's going to clean the house tonight! Not that it matters since there aren't really any worthwhile prizes to be had at this location."
"He's from Fizzytopia though, if he came this far for sightseeing, he could easily go to another region to claim prizes there!"

The dealer was becoming increasingly displeased, hand up to his chin as if he was trying to figure out how to deal with this situation. Other casino staff were present, but they all seemed very amused in comparison. One of them, who had a noticeably fancier suit than the others, leaves the crowd to enter a room close to the prize counter.

And then... The screen on the table suddenly replaces all of the coins with a visage of a blue and pink Pokemon with round yellow eyes, the Porygon Z clapping with its two round flippers.

Savan crosses his arms at the sight. "Well, that's one way to rig things, but I would have assumed most networks would have accounted for this possibility already. Unless the firewall was already down to begin with."

You suddenly see the dealer's hands move towards a back pocket, and the Porygon finally realizing its mistake. It disappears underneath the pile of virtual coins you had gathered, when the dealer suddenly produces an orange and yellow Repeat Ball. "I knew there was something off about you. A cheat like you only deserves one prize!" The crowd scatters as they realize what is about to happen when the dealer throws the Pokeball onto the table. It opens to release a pile of very real physical coins that quickly materialize into the shape of a golden Pokemon, a Gholdengo. It looks down at you with a mischievous grin, flipping one of its thousand coins in its hands.

How will you respond to the dealer's accusation and this threat?

[Electric Blue Eye]

Originally Posted by Alilatias

Electric Blue Eye:

Making your way over to the blackjack table, you take your seat there, with Luna electing to nap by your feet and Fox curiously watching as a... Fox taking on the form of a child does. Savan stands behind the other patrons, clearly taking advantage of the fact that they can't perceive him. The other patrons and the dealer regard you curiously, clearly not recognizing you as a regular, and especially that you'd apparently bring a child with you.

"I would think tourists with children would be more entertained by the slots," one of the other patrons says to you.

Another adds, "I saw you talking to that other guy cleaning the slots. Let me guess, they only gave you 100 coins? That's not enough to play at this table. You're gonna have to pay up at the receptionist for more. Unless you happen to have virtual coins from another region or something. But if I were you, I'd turn back and run. We've all had horrible luck the past week, and we're really just here for the memories before this place is gone."

Sure enough, the table was high tech enough to support the ability to access coins from another region, and you can wirelessly connect your phone into it... And that's exactly what you do to make your starting bid. What everyone else witnesses in this event shocks them.

"What the hell? Fizzytopian coins?"
"I thought their casino was shut down years ago! There was a whole thing about their coin balances being wiped out too!"
"Yeah, their government was supposed to have converted them to something else! I know because my ex-girlfriend in New Fizz City kept freaking out about it! There were even riots and everything because most of their economy used to be based on casino coins!"

The dealer muses, "In theory, we aren't supposed to accept Fizzytopian coins anymore, but this is interesting enough that I'll let it slide... If the table software accepts them. I'm not sure if it will. It clearly recognizes the origin of your coins, but I don't know if the engineers ever coded in anything to block them, after what went down in Fizzytopia."

Looking down at the table, you notice the virtual coins suddenly flicker. They had Fizzytopian symbols before, but now they have taken on the same appearance as the other coins from Johto. Your phone also buzzes with a text message, the caller ID simply being "G".

"Please have fun on my behalf, and keep them distracted as long as you can. I don't normally ask for help as I investigate, but I feel I have no other choice. Beware the dealer especially, the other workers don't know what he's been doing. I'll find some way to repay you after all of this is over."

Suddenly, you notice your necklace glowing, and hear a familiar voice in your head. "If it is not yet abundantly obvious, something has their eye on you. I know not their intentions, as you lot are ever scheming, but I do not sense the hand of mine enemies here, and thus see no need to intervene. See to your task and take care not to remain distracted for long." The voice fades away, and with it the glow in the necklace.

"Well, that wasn't what I expected," the dealer remarks. "Very well! Let's begin!"

About half an hour later, you end up with a massive win streak, with a big pile of virtual coins in front of you. The other patrons were cheering you on all the while.

"This guy's going to clean the house tonight! Not that it matters since there aren't really any worthwhile prizes to be had at this location."
"He's from Fizzytopia though, if he came this far for sightseeing, he could easily go to another region to claim prizes there!"

The dealer was becoming increasingly displeased, hand up to his chin as if he was trying to figure out how to deal with this situation. Other casino staff were present, but they all seemed very amused in comparison. One of them, who had a noticeably fancier suit than the others, leaves the crowd to enter a room close to the prize counter.

And then... The screen on the table suddenly replaces all of the coins with a visage of a blue and pink Pokemon with round yellow eyes, the Porygon Z clapping with its two round flippers.

Savan crosses his arms at the sight. "Well, that's one way to rig things, but I would have assumed most networks would have accounted for this possibility already. Unless the firewall was already down to begin with."

You suddenly see the dealer's hands move towards a back pocket, and the Porygon finally realizing its mistake. It disappears underneath the pile of virtual coins you had gathered, when the dealer suddenly produces an orange and yellow Repeat Ball. "I knew there was something off about you. A cheat like you only deserves one prize!" The crowd scatters as they realize what is about to happen when the dealer throws the Pokeball onto the table. It opens to release a pile of very real physical coins that quickly materialize into the shape of a golden Pokemon, a Gholdengo. It looks down at you with a mischievous grin, flipping one of its thousand coins in its hands.

How will you respond to the dealer's accusation and this threat?

Huh, interesting…it looks like we may have just discovered a hacker in our midst…could it be the brother you were talking about Savan. Ethan quickly read the bubble notification of text before swiping it out of existence from the front of his phone’s screen.

This was going to be as easy as taking candy from a baby, that was if he had the perfect tool for the job…if you didn’t you were pretty much out of luck. It was a good thing he had a Pokémon capable of disguising himself into any Pokémon they needed him to be…

His deaf little ‘brother’ had gotten up and signed that he needed to go and use the restroom, with most eyes on Ethan, the older brother, his little brother managed to go inside the male’s quarters unnoticed, checking to see that the coast was clear before transforming into a little ‘Joltik’, scurrying back to the table all the while dodging, maneuvering past a few people that were walking about and casting a spider web to return back to his seat, dropping down underneath the table before transforming again but this time into a smaller version of a ‘Luxray’.

Ethan could’ve had their ghost companion do some of the heavy lifting but decided against it, the spirit needed rest and he wasn’t about to make him work in his afterlife even if he was stuck in between limbo, anyone around wouldn’t think twice about their being a Pokémon underneath the table, since his Umbreon was already there.

Ethan had played these types of games before, for one thing the dealer usually already knew the type of card he had before dealing them out, even without seeing them they had a rhythm to the way they shuffled and dealt the cards even having the cards they needed to win hidden underneath their sleeves, the only one that didn’t know anything was the player, assuming the dealer was smart, but in a rinky-dink place like this it was a wonder what this hacker was so invested in uncovering.

The necklace around Ethan’s neck glowed, connecting to the almighty god of the distorted world.

Something about what he said, made him think- Giratina would allow him or others do what they liked unless it involved the threat through the warp hole that took Froslass away and may have potentially been the cause for murder of its trainer, that meant the stakes weren’t stacked high enough for it to intervene just yet.

As the night went on Ethan began to bet higher and higher as his ‘Luxray’s’ eyes allowed him to see exactly which card would get played next, admittedly getting himself in a nice position of a small fortune, in the end it was just money- live or die it was pointless in the end but he seemed to have ruffled the feathers of the dealer in particular and he didn’t know anyone that would be as passionate about losing when the place seemed to already be going under so it made him surprised to see his sudden outburst.

Suspected of cheating was one thing, but one had to have proof behind it…unfortunately it looked like an unexpected digital wrench in the form of a Porygon-Z leaping out of the digital screen casted that light on him entirely. Ethan sat there half shocked as the twisted digital duck hid behind the coins he had amassed before the dealer decided to send out a repeatball and reveal a Pokémon made of literal coins itself, a Gholdengo. Choosing to play judge, jury and executioner.

Ethan stood up, still holding on to the old relic, “Woah, are you accusing me of cheating?! How dare you, I came here in good faith at this respectable establishment to play some cards and lose some money, you know- just to blow off some steam. I have never been so disrespected before today, that’s it! I will just take my winnings and leav-” he began to shout causing a scene before his Umbreon and ‘Luxray’ got the gist of his act and decided to flip the table over, “Normally I’d stay and fight but this time how about we, nah, on second thought, oh Missy~,” he politely called out, “Do us a favor and Imprison this gold surfer, follow with Taunt and cast a Smokescreen so that they can not follow!”

[Alilatias]

Electric Blue Eye:

As you and your Pokemon suddenly flip the table, causing the Gholdgengo standing on it to lose its balance and landing on the floor with a loud thud, you momentarily see some kind of device underneath the table that would have been within the dealer's reach...

But your sight of it is quickly obscured when Missy answers your summons, the 108 spirits coming out of their keystone to cast an Imprison on the flamboyant collection of coins. You see the Gholdengo leap over the table with purple glowing eyes, landing on its feet with the sound of metallic coins clinking, but the ghastly energy it was gathering quickly fizzles as the Imprison takes effect, sealing off all moves that both Missy and the Gholdengo shared. The spirits within Missy twist into the visage of a taunting grin, though she is cut short by the Gholdengo scattering a shower of coins, a rain of gold, many slamming into the spirits and causing them to retreat back into the keystone as Missy is buried underneath them.

You take a quick glance at the Gholdengo and notice that it appears to have shrunk in height. It may have used up about 25% of the coins it was made up of in that attack. You see the dealer leap over the flipped table as well, pointing at you with one hand while clearly glancing at the device attached to the underside of the table. As the Gholdengo attempts to fling a coin aimed directly at you, a plume of smoke suddenly bursts out from underneath the pile of coins that had previously buried Missy, obscuring the vision of all combatants, the Spiritomb cackling all the while. The coin that the Gholdengo tried to throw at you instead flies above Luna, instead going into the slot machine behind you. The slot machine greedily accepts the single Gholdengo coin, and seems to be eagerly awaiting for someone to turn the crank to give the machine a spin.

Behind the veil of smoke, you hear the dealer shouting at everyone else. "Why are none of you helping?!"

The worker that was cleaning the slots earlier responds, "Sir, to accuse someone of cheating without any actual proof is a very grave thing to do, and he is right to defend himself under the threat of being attacked by a Pokemon. You were only barely hired a few days ago, and we do not rough up our patrons unprovoked out of nowhere, especially since that means risking immense amounts of property damage, something this patron from afar has avoided thus far. You should have let the rest of us handle this first, as there is no evidence that the Porygon in the table even belongs to this visitor!"

A patron responds, "Yeah! We were all losing everything for hours before this guy showed up! Why is it suddenly a problem that someone walks in and starts winning everything?"

Everyone else is clearly too busy arguing among themselves to do much of anything else. Savan remarks as he rejoins you, "That's quite the mess this has become. My brother did have a Porygon too, won from this very casino, with entirely legit methods, I might add. The Porygon was the very reason he got into the hacking business afterwards. Causing a scene like this isn't normally in the cards for him. I fear he's either losing his touch, or this is a different Porygon. I've been trying to spot my brother in this crowd, and I can't find him at all."

You could slip away now, but that would mean leaving Missy behind, not to mention the Porygon, whoever it belonged to. And finding out whatever this dealer's, uh, deal was. Indeed, you see the Goldengho stumble out of the smoke cloud, somewhat disoriented between having much of its abilities sealed and wandering out of there. You notice that the smoke is starting to dissipate, but not yet enough to see whatever the dealer was doing. How do you plan to proceed?

[Electric Blue Eye]

Originally Posted by Alilatias

Electric Blue Eye:

As you and your Pokemon suddenly flip the table, causing the Gholdgengo standing on it to lose its balance and landing on the floor with a loud thud, you momentarily see some kind of device underneath the table that would have been within the dealer's reach...

But your sight of it is quickly obscured when Missy answers your summons, the 108 spirits coming out of their keystone to cast an Imprison on the flamboyant collection of coins. You see the Gholdengo leap over the table with purple glowing eyes, landing on its feet with the sound of metallic coins clinking, but the ghastly energy it was gathering quickly fizzles as the Imprison takes effect, sealing off all moves that both Missy and the Gholdengo shared. The spirits within Missy twist into the visage of a taunting grin, though she is cut short by the Gholdengo scattering a shower of coins, a rain of gold, many slamming into the spirits and causing them to retreat back into the keystone as Missy is buried underneath them.

You take a quick glance at the Gholdengo and notice that it appears to have shrunk in height. It may have used up about 25% of the coins it was made up of in that attack. You see the dealer leap over the flipped table as well, pointing at you with one hand while clearly glancing at the device attached to the underside of the table. As the Gholdengo attempts to fling a coin aimed directly at you, a plume of smoke suddenly bursts out from underneath the pile of coins that had previously buried Missy, obscuring the vision of all combatants, the Spiritomb cackling all the while. The coin that the Gholdengo tried to throw at you instead flies above Luna, instead going into the slot machine behind you. The slot machine greedily accepts the single Gholdengo coin, and seems to be eagerly awaiting for someone to turn the crank to give the machine a spin.

Behind the veil of smoke, you hear the dealer shouting at everyone else. "Why are none of you helping?!"

The worker that was cleaning the slots earlier responds, "Sir, to accuse someone of cheating without any actual proof is a very grave thing to do, and he is right to defend himself under the threat of being attacked by a Pokemon. You were only barely hired a few days ago, and we do not rough up our patrons unprovoked out of nowhere, especially since that means risking immense amounts of property damage, something this patron from afar has avoided thus far. You should have let the rest of us handle this first, as there is no evidence that the Porygon in the table even belongs to this visitor!"

A patron responds, "Yeah! We were all losing everything for hours before this guy showed up! Why is it suddenly a problem that someone walks in and starts winning everything?"

Everyone else is clearly too busy arguing among themselves to do much of anything else. Savan remarks as he rejoins you, "That's quite the mess this has become. My brother did have a Porygon too, won from this very casino, with entirely legit methods, I might add. The Porygon was the very reason he got into the hacking business afterwards. Causing a scene like this isn't normally in the cards for him. I fear he's either losing his touch, or this is a different Porygon. I've been trying to spot my brother in this crowd, and I can't find him at all."

You could slip away now, but that would mean leaving Missy behind, not to mention the Porygon, whoever it belonged to. And finding out whatever this dealer's, uh, deal was. Indeed, you see the Goldengho stumble out of the smoke cloud, somewhat disoriented between having much of its abilities sealed and wandering out of there. You notice that the smoke is starting to dissipate, but not yet enough to see whatever the dealer was doing. How do you plan to proceed?

Ethan’s eye’s zeroed in on the mysterious device underneath the table that his Pokémon had just flipped over, How did we miss that? unless the device belonged to the hacker, they needed to get their hands on it before anyone else tried to retrieve it.

It looked like Missy was more than willing to listen to his plans, all the while it looked like Ethan had stirred up a tad of unrest among the regulars that had no issue losing but once they were beginning to root for him to hit it big, to then suddenly be accused of any wrong doing without proof...he may have managed to sway the general public to his side.

Luckily it seemed that going the none offensive route may had just gotten them the sympathy of the patrons, it seemed kind of pointless to fight, his top priority was protecting Missy and the Porygon, Luna and ‘Luxrary’ on the other hand were trying to get their trainer’s attention to the slot machine that had somehow absorbed the coin that Gholdengo had thrown at them.

Something told him that he needed to pull the handle down, as if it were suspiciously calling out to him to do so but they’d need to continue to keep their foes on their toes.

Then there was familiarity he felt with the Porygon’s ability to transport itself into digital space, the question was why and was it perhaps doing the bidding of the hacker? For Savan to recall his brother once owning a Porygon if it was in fact somehow connected to his brother, the scientist considered this to be somewhat a messy situation and was in fact not like he used to operate.

“Trust me, depending on the situation, sometimes messy was all they may have had available.” Right now, they needed to do what they could, they’ve managed to hinder their moments, but escaping and leaving without any real reason other than being accused would just prove the accuser right and that wasn’t something Ethan was about to let slide. If authority figures were the vain of his existences, there was about just something the professional thief hated as equally as much, and that was being accused of a crime he had yet to commit.

Theft was like an art form, the artist behind any given crime had a signature of sorts and this wasn’t the sort of crime he himself would willingly put his name on.

“Fox, transform!” Like a magician’s assistant ‘Luxray’ leapt into the air before summersaulting midair as he created the powerful illusion of a Snivy one very similar to the one his trainer himself owned, “Quickly use your Vines to grab and pull Spiritomb and Porygon to us now!”

There was still something he needed to do to investigate, “Luna!” He called out to his Umbreon, “Use Psychic to grab the device underneath the table and bring it to me!”

“Bree~!”

Depending on how the next round potentially played out, if all his Pokémon managed to get around him, he’d pull the lever of the slot, wait to see what would happen and run outside, if the dealer wanted a fight they’d have one in a little more open space.

[Alilatias]

Electric Blue Eye:

Your Pokemon start putting your plan into action, the observing crowd seemingly being wowed by your apparent Luxray suddenly transforming into an extra smug Snivy, Fox ready to extend a helping vine over to Missy and the Porygon that he saw earlier... Except the smoke was still there for now, and the Porygon as far as he knew remained inside the table. The Gholdengo still remained a threat, and it made that known by suddenly emitting a Dazzling Gleam, catching everyone off-guard, momentarily blinding everyone outside of the cloud for a few seconds. When your vision recovers, you see Fox's form shifting between that of the Snivy and his true white and red Zorua form before he finally regains complete control and remains as a Snivy, and both he and Luna were shaking off the damage they must have taken from the attack.

The patrons were obviously not pleased. Some started shouting profanities, while others began to brandish their Pokeballs, ready to join in the brawl. You could hear the casino staff begging anyone else not to intervene amid the chaos, saying that the manager was already calling the Goldenrod police force and that they should be arriving to restore order in about a minute.

The smoke from Missy clears, and Luna, remembering her earlier orders, mentally seizes the device that had been attached to the underside of the table. Said device was now also in the grasp of the 'dealer', but this did not deter your trusty Umbreon. Nor did she pay any mind to the Gholdengo that sprung forward, charging towards her with its head down. Like a true follower of the lord of shadows, she dragged the device towards herself, with dealer in tow, and then suddenly yanked it off to the side - with the dealer finally losing his grip when he and the Gholdengo collided into each other, with much of the Pokemon made of coins scattering across the floor.

Fox also takes this opportunity to quickly whip away the coins covering the stone anchoring Missy, bringing her back to your side. However, the table supposedly containing the Porygon proves too heavy to move.

The Gholdengo starts to reassemble itself as Luna gently places the odd device into your hands, and you notice that the Gholdengo was probably at about half of its original size now. However, the bystanders take this chance to physically pin down the dealer, while also yelling at him to explain what the device that Luna just took from him was, and to recall his Pokemon. Looking more closely at the device, you see that it is a cell phone of a more recent model than yours, and you see a clearly fainted basic Porygon (judging from the swirly eyes and the sharp polygonal edges) on the screen. Savan boasts, "Ah, looks like there had been a battle in cyberspace, and my brother's superior Porygon evidently won. As expected!"

"To hell with that!" The dealer yells towards the patrons and casino staff restraining him. "My orders were to get this place shut down! They never said anything about leaving this place intact! Destroy the table and the other Porygon inside of it first!"

Before you and your party can react, the Gholdengo suddenly fires a multi-colored beam of light that collides with the table, causing the glass screen to crack and the wooden legs to splinter as the force of the attack sends it flying into the wall, several patrons forced to dive out of the way as well. The Gholdengo's assault stops there for now, recharging from the Hyper Beam it just used...

You run over to the slot machine and try pulling on the lever in the meantime, to the bewilderment of the onlookers. It continues spinning and spinning... And the Gholdengo appears to be mesmerized by the sight. Maybe it senses that one of its coins is being used for this?

You can see some of the patrons getting ready to release their own Pokemon to subdue that menace, which would surely cause even more damage to the establishment. Not only that, but as you heard earlier, the Goldenrod Police were due to arrive at any moment, but there was no telling what their first impression of events would be if this wasn't under control by then. And what of the Porygon-Z?

What will you do?

[Electric Blue Eye]

Originally Posted by Alilatias

Electric Blue Eye:

Your Pokemon start putting your plan into action, the observing crowd seemingly being wowed by your apparent Luxray suddenly transforming into an extra smug Snivy, Fox ready to extend a helping vine over to Missy and the Porygon that he saw earlier... Except the smoke was still there for now, and the Porygon as far as he knew remained inside the table. The Gholdengo still remained a threat, and it made that known by suddenly emitting a Dazzling Gleam, catching everyone off-guard, momentarily blinding everyone outside of the cloud for a few seconds. When your vision recovers, you see Fox's form shifting between that of the Snivy and his true white and red Zorua form before he finally regains complete control and remains as a Snivy, and both he and Luna were shaking off the damage they must have taken from the attack.

The patrons were obviously not pleased. Some started shouting profanities, while others began to brandish their Pokeballs, ready to join in the brawl. You could hear the casino staff begging anyone else not to intervene amid the chaos, saying that the manager was already calling the Goldenrod police force and that they should be arriving to restore order in about a minute.

The smoke from Missy clears, and Luna, remembering her earlier orders, mentally seizes the device that had been attached to the underside of the table. Said device was now also in the grasp of the 'dealer', but this did not deter your trusty Umbreon. Nor did she pay any mind to the Gholdengo that sprung forward, charging towards her with its head down. Like a true follower of the lord of shadows, she dragged the device towards herself, with dealer in tow, and then suddenly yanked it off to the side - with the dealer finally losing his grip when he and the Gholdengo collided into each other, with much of the Pokemon made of coins scattering across the floor.

Fox also takes this opportunity to quickly whip away the coins covering the stone anchoring Missy, bringing her back to your side. However, the table supposedly containing the Porygon proves too heavy to move.

The Gholdengo starts to reassemble itself as Luna gently places the odd device into your hands, and you notice that the Gholdengo was probably at about half of its original size now. However, the bystanders take this chance to physically pin down the dealer, while also yelling at him to explain what the device that Luna just took from him was, and to recall his Pokemon. Looking more closely at the device, you see that it is a cell phone of a more recent model than yours, and you see a clearly fainted basic Porygon (judging from the swirly eyes and the sharp polygonal edges) on the screen. Savan boasts, "Ah, looks like there had been a battle in cyberspace, and my brother's superior Porygon evidently won. As expected!"

"To hell with that!" The dealer yells towards the patrons and casino staff restraining him. "My orders were to get this place shut down! They never said anything about leaving this place intact! Destroy the table and the other Porygon inside of it first!"

Before you and your party can react, the Gholdengo suddenly fires a multi-colored beam of light that collides with the table, causing the glass screen to crack and the wooden legs to splinter as the force of the attack sends it flying into the wall, several patrons forced to dive out of the way as well. The Gholdengo's assault stops there for now, recharging from the Hyper Beam it just used...

You run over to the slot machine and try pulling on the lever in the meantime, to the bewilderment of the onlookers. It continues spinning and spinning... And the Gholdengo appears to be mesmerized by the sight. Maybe it senses that one of its coins is being used for this?

You can see some of the patrons getting ready to release their own Pokemon to subdue that menace, which would surely cause even more damage to the establishment. Not only that, but as you heard earlier, the Goldenrod Police were due to arrive at any moment, but there was no telling what their first impression of events would be if this wasn't under control by then. And what of the Porygon-Z?

What will you do?

“Good job Fox and Luna, you too Missy!” Ethan congratulated his small team of rogues that managed to out maneuver the dealer, which seemed to have reached a fever pitch of temper that caused him to become quite unstable and spout out hasty actions that had no cynical thought to them.

A few key words seemed to indicate that they may have had a hand in ruining the establishment they were currently inside of, while the details would need to become dug into further, there could have been countless number of reasons for this, perhaps the location was the perfect ground to break on, in order to build a much more expansive place of business and the only thing that could’ve stood in the way was the deed to the space. Rival business or big corporations were always looking for a method to expand and while they were greedy, they had the means to hire others to make it look like an accident or pressure them to sell, Ethan couldn’t help but wonder as he had an overactive imagination, regardless of the reasoning it looked like he had made a swift enemy of someone he wasn’t even looking for and was now a primary target for the dealer to exact their frustration on…well, what else was new...the trainer had learned that it was rare to meet someone that actually was truly angry at them, he just so happened to become a thorn in their master plan.

Ethan took a glance at the device not knowing exactly what it could have been for, but from what he gathered the Porygon-Z that had originally hid behind the stack of coins and the one that had been left knocked out on the table had somehow been engaged in a cyber battle all along, Savan even interjecting the fact that perhaps the one fully evolved was perhaps the very Porygon the scientist mentioned earlier, belonging to his brother having upgraded since then, even in spirit Savan sounded almost proud of him. Ethan pondered if perhaps that’s what his older brother may how thought of him in spirit, could he be watching him even now without him realizing it?

“So that message from earlier was almost definitely your brother Savan...good! Then we’ve made contact and now that I have this device he’d have to listen to our tale of woe.”

As Ethan pocketed the device, the gang had been bombarded by attacks, with the Dealer escaping the grip of the crowds’ attempt at pinning him down, freed he quickly ordered his Pokémon to attack, casting a powerful gleam of crystallized light which even glitching the illusion of Fox’s appearance momentarily and dealing a dent of damage to Umbreon’s otherwise impressive defensive capabilities, just went on to show that they were able to handle the situation better than the materialized coin monster could’ve anticipated.

Ethan knew he couldn’t stay there any longer as he had heard someone mention the cops had already been called and what with their offices nearby he knew he had five, ten minutes tops to deal with the Dealer.

He tripped over a few tossed around pieces of furniture and pulled the lever containing one of Gholdengo’s coins and with them still recharging from their trainer’s reckless orders plus the added benefit that the coin belonging to the Steel/Ghost may how temporarily hypnotized.

“Alright everyone while it’s still distracted, let’s give it everything we got! Fox Bitter Malice, Luna Dark Pulse and Missy Ominous Wind!”