[SEASON 2] The Stalkers RPG - Main Action and Team Status [ENDED... FOR NOW]

[Neo Emolga]

"Time to see if there's any other information I can get."

Search: (86) Beldyne Laboratories

You arrive at the light-gray building known as Beldyne Laboratories, which seems small compared to the many other research facilities in the area, but you know not to underestimate anything just by size alone.

You start your search by covering the outside grounds. Even while this research facility is on the darker side of Silvercoal City, everything seems to be well-maintained and unlike the nearby factories, nothing here seems even close to falling into disrepair. Whatever operations and research that happen here seem to be well-funded.

You sneak into the building through a ventilation duct and then have a look around. Inside, the walls, tiled floor, and ceiling are spotless and it reminds you of a hospital in terms of cleanliness and sterilization. As you quickly learn, Beldyne isn't just one company, but actually serves as a network hub for many other research firms that are working as joint operations. Some of the more recent developments have been focused on both cybernetic and biological limb restoration while others are devoted toward building stronger and faster computer hardware, circuitry, and memory storage devices. It also seems like one of the major projects happening here is a major development to build the first Hypercomputer.

You try to make your way into the medical research room, but it seems to be locked. At first, this wouldn't be too surprising since there are technological secrets that some firms would want to keep confidential, but then you notice something else upon a closer inspection.

The DDX Access Chip needed to read the biometric handscanner has been forcefully removed from the door security computer. You instantly realize whoever last used this door wanted to make sure it was permanently locked and couldn't be opened again in the near future by removing this essential component. Someone wanted to buy a lot more time by making this extra work around for anyone trying to access what's behind this door, which as you link it with the current events surrounding the Stalkers, is very unlikely to just be a coincidence. You begin to consider the individual that last used this door could be a Stalker. Or someone or something helping them.

Locked Door: {Locked Medical Room: Missing DDX Access Chip, Biometric Hand Scanner} was noted in the Team Records.

You search through the rest of the building to see if there's any sign of the missing DDX access chip, but it seems it was removed from the premises completely. Or it was destroyed and disposed of. You feel you're either going to have to replace it or find a new one to reactivate the door. That, and you're going to need someone who has the biometrics to get authorized access through the hand scanner.

After completing your search, you head back into the city, wondering where the access chip might be...

Pixel the Porygon-Z (M: Normal)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Science | Learned Abilities: Investigate
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[LKWayvern]

It's day, right?
I'd like to take advantage of my Diplomacy perk on Elton the Grotle

[azura evley]

im going to interview !73. Maknon the Pancham(normal interview)

[Suicune's Fire]

Well, this is really boring on my end. I can't say if this is a good or bad thing, honestly, is what's disturbing me right now.

Let's shake things up a tiny bit. Search 47c, Azure Water Towers, the top floors.

You swim down to the Azure Water Towers once more and go directly to the 16th floor, where Marta left off. You paddle through the hallway and find nothing, so you swim up a level and hear some chatter nearby. Curiously you float over to one of the apartment doors and swat the underwater doorbell with your paw. A chime rings throughout the apartment and you see a door slide upwards into the wall cavity, as most doors in this apartment complex do. You come face-to-face with a Corsola whose worried look appears to have been there for a while.

"H-hello. What is it?" he asks frantically, and it's clear to you that he's in distress. You enquire about his troubles and he just looks at the floor in anxiousness. "It's my cousin...she lives with me and she's really, really sick right now. I need to get some herbs, but the only ones that will cure her are expensive, and I just can't afford them." He looks hesitant for a moment as you glance past him and see his sick cousin lying on a couch in the apartment. "Y-you don't have to help, but...if you happen to find them, or if you can buy them somewhere...please, I'm begging you... My cousin won't last much longer."

He quickly dashes into the apartment and gives you a waterproof note with a list of required herbs on it. He apologises for causing an inconvenience and says he has to go, shutting the door.


SEARCH MISSION OPENED: Find x1 [Rare Flower], x1 [Heal Powder], x1 [Energy Powder], x1 [Energy Root], x1 [Revival Herb], and x1 [Calming Herb].

{Sick Corsola: x6 Herbs} was noted in the Team Records.


Tazz the Suicune (L: Water)

Health: 6/6
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: First Aid | Learned Abilities: Restrain
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Ladybugclue]

Interview number 37 Mindu the Basculin

[Neo Emolga]

Excuse me, Kure? I appreciate the tea last night. Right now, though, I would like to learn Exorcism from you. And I have one question - I know that two others have already learned the skill and you said you could only teach it to three. Do you know if you'll be able to teach it to others later, after you've had the time to... 'recharge', so to speak?

Learn Exorcism from 124. Kure the Doublade.

You return to Kure's apartment, where he seems to have been expecting to see you. He welcomes you inside once again and it seems as though he already knows your reason for being here.

"You are most welcome," Kure tells you in a calm tone. "As for when my energies are revitalized so that I may teach others using the same transcendence ways of the exorcist, I am not at liberty to say, as I do not know for certain myself. It took years before I was able to harness the strands of the universe to perform these kinds of teachings, for the standard way of learning takes many, many years. The means in which I have been using for you Emissaries is far beyond even that. I suspect it may be years before I could train someone using these means again, unfortunately. But we must make best use of what we have available with the time that remains. You may be the last I will be able to teach for a long time, but it will matter not if you use your powers to their fullest potential for the cause of good."

Kure then welcomes you forward, letting you know the training is ready to begin. You approach him, and then do as he instructs.

"Close your eyes," Kure tells you in a soft voice. "Listen to my voice. You will know when it is time when I say..."

"AWAKEN!"

You open your eyes and all around you lies a crumbling world. Fallen skyscrapers in flames, roads ripped to pieces and hovercrafts have been tossed about like leaves in the wind. While the chance for hope has paled all around you, you stand alone as an unyielding rock against the crashing waves.

But you are not alone...

Inside, the white fire flickers, and you lock gazes with an Enthraller speeding toward you from the south side. While these demonic apparitions deceived plenty of Pokémon before, you instantly recognize and pierce through their lies, their deception, and their wickedness. They don't know you... but you now know them and see what they are truly are.

Soulwretch. Malice. Hatespitter. Them and many other Enthrallers creep and slide through the air as wicked trails of darkness follow them.

"All your dreams..."

"Everything you so desired can be yours..."

"Beyond imagination..."

Their beckoning hungers. Their temptations fog the air like a rich aroma. Visions of power and desire try to squirm their way into your mind. But your eyes narrow on them as the light reflects off your wings and you utter but just one word.

No.

Your strike of light flies through the air like a holy sickle. The darkness has grown like an infestation of weeds, and now you are the reaper. Your eyes flare with the gaze of rejection, and like mere leaves against a wall of steel, their lies and their lusts are held back against your adamant resolve and determination.

The slicing light strikes furiously against the Enthraller of Malice, ripping the dark shadow across the neck and abdomen as the light destroying its dark essence completely. The others surge forward, but you unleash a whirlwind like unlike any other. Dancing, slicing winds like razors fly around your wings, shredding the Enthrallers like paper.

Doomlust, Sinwrap, and Killfang try to attack your flank, but you spin and dash into the air before looking down upon them. They try to reach out with their wicked hands, but you unleash a rain of spears upon them. Glowing, brilliant white thorns of light blast out from you, impaling them repeatedly before shredding them down to nothing. You now see what kills your true enemy. You now recognize what this darkness is and what it hungers for. But most importantly, you know how to shackle it down and obliterate it.

These are the demons that you fight. Controllers. Liars. Aspiring puppet masters of deceived Pokémon. Hidden and concealed to the naked eye, they have hidden and alluded many before you, but now with this newfound power that has been transcribed upon your soul, you hold the weapon to flush them out, break the link held upon their host, and eradicate their cowardly and deceiving existence.

In the war against the Abyss's legions of darkness, you're not just an Emissary. Not just an obstacle.

You are a warrior.

When the vision ends, you realize the true nature of what you experienced. You have known what it's like to train the body through workouts and what it's like to train the mind through careful study and repetition. But this... this was training for the soul. A training unlike any other.

And now you can't wait to get to the fight.

Congratulations! You have learned Exorcism!

Velo the Togekiss (M: Fairy/Flying)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Science | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect, Exorcism
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Suicune's Fire]

I would like to interview 100. Krikle the Roggenrola

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE, MODEST
+1 Shared type (Rock)
Modesty +1 Weak to Rock

You approach Krikle as he's happily walking to Brookheights School. You see many other students and parents along the same trail as you approach, and some of them eye you suspiciously. It's times like these when an Emissary badge would come in handy, but you decide to ignore the suspicion and ask Krikle if he has some time to talk. The little Roggenrola looks up at you with curiosity, and if he had a mouth, you know he'd be grinning.

"Are you a Archeops?" he questions, and if it hadn't already been obvious from his small plastic backpack, you can see that he is very young. "My daddy says that I shouldn't talk to strangers but I think you're very good," he affirms. "He's a kys...spyci...psychatris!"

You assume he tried to say psychiatrist, but dismiss it as you ask him about his friends, and whether he knows about anything strange happening at his school lately.

"Um...well...my friend Wanaloo is really, really sad right now," he explains, and you can tell that he's trying to be as helpful as possible. "His daddy is in hopsicle, and he's very scared that he'll get more hurt. Maybe even die," he whispers, as if it's taboo to mention. "And my friend Haime wasn't at school yesterday b'cause her mum died. I think she won't be here today either..." He points his crestfallen expression at the pavement. "I hope that doesn't happen to my daddy... I'm scared that if I'm not there, he'll get hurt. He's really soft, but I'm hard as a rock and I want to protect him... But I'm only little..." He looks back up at you to clarify. "He's a Ampharos."

You can only conclude that this Roggenrola was adopted, as biological relation couldn't be possible between the two species. Regardless, you thank the Roggenrola for his time and ask if he has any last information for you.

"Well...my daddy got something a little bit weird the other day. I saw it at his work but I think he takes it with him to keep it safe. But anyway...I have to get to school now. I just started elementary school but I don't like going there because I feel scared..." He rattles a little, then looks up at you again as his worries seem to fade. "But I have to be brave for my daddy! Okay, bye!"

He runs off toward the school, and you head back to the clubhouse, thinking over what information the little Rock-type gave you.


Felix the Archeops (M: Rock/Flying)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Science | Learned Abilities: Investigate
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

One more area to search tonight. Then I'll move on to the power plant or something next. Looking back over things. I've got a strange feeling about the thoughts of the place.

Interview: (49) Shrig the Joltik

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Pokémon Type (Electric)

You meet with Shrig after school just outside the Brookheights School. From what you can tell as a first impression, it seems there isn't very much that brings this Joltik's spirit down. Even the news of the Stalkers doesn't look like it has weighed down upon him.

You start by introducing yourself to him.

"Hi there, Zeal!" Shrig addresses you. "I haven't seen you around before. What can I help you out with?"

You explain that you're trying to gather information about the Stalkers. Even before you get to finish, he nods, as he understands what you're trying to do and fully supports it.

"We can't be afraid," Shrig nods in agreement. "That's just what the Stalkers, no, the Enthrallers want. The Stalkers are simply enslaved Pokémon. It's the Enthrallers that are the real enemy. As soon as the term floated around, I looked into it. A lot of Pokémon think they're just bedtime stories to scare children, but these things are real."

"Listen," Shrig opens up to you, "I may seem like a small Joltik to most, but I know things many others don't. I do a lot of reading into things. As much as I wish I knew who the Stalkers are, the Enthrallers are extremely sneaky and they know how to hide in the shadows. Most Pokémon don't really truly believe in them either and just think the Stalkers are some kind of cult or band of psychotic serial killers. But there's something so much more than what lies underneath. I can feel it, but it's something that just hadn't been covered in an already existing book."

"I only wish I was an Emissary like you," Shrig the Joltik tells you. "I just don't have the kinds of inner sight and senses that you do, but I'm trying my best doing what I can. I tried to do some digging, and I found all kinds of information, but I'm not sure what's authentic and what's dismissible. But here's something I came across recently while I was out and it seemed really odd. It looks like some kind of code I just can't figure out, but I did a little research at the library one afternoon. While I love puzzles, this one is just something I can't figure out completely on my own. Some might think I'm crazy for reading such a thing, but I'm thinking it may not be so outlandish after all."

He then hands you a slip of old paper. There seems to be an ancient code on it, but only bits and pieces of it are completed and deciphered.



=Ancient Language Decryption Key= has been added to the Team Records.

"It's some kind of ancient language," Shrig explains. "I found this on the way to school, but why would something anicent like this be laying around Silvercoal? Still, even after hours of research into ancient languages, I could only determine what four of those ancient symbols translated it to. Maybe there's another missing piece of this? It's ripped and the other half might have been separated from this."

"I only wish I could provide more, Zeal," Shrig tells you, feeling hopeful even though there is a longing to help contribute even more. "We all have to keep an open mind. That's the only way we'll be able to get to the bottom of all these secrets."

"Well, I need to head home," Shrig tells you, seeing it has gotten later. "I've got a lot of studying to do, but I can't give up and you can't give up either. Best of luck to you and the other Emissaries. You're our only real hope..."

He then says his goodbyes and begins his walk home.

Zeal the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Security | Learned Abilities: Investigate
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

Even though it is likely busy processing the Stalkers' latest victim, Lita decides to finish her search of the police station.

(15b) Floors 4-6

You continue your searches through the Silvercoal City police station, this time to the administrative floors and police report archive areas. On the fourth floor, you find the old evidence archives. Rows upon rows of boxes of old evidence for both solved and cold cases persist on the shelves here to be retained for further investigation or reference if necessary.

While there is a wealth of evidence here for other cases, it seems limited for what is known about the Stalkers. That, and it seems like most of that evidence is still in processing. However, one piece of evidence seems to have been recently processed, and you take a look at it.

Evidence Report 7341 15/19/4813

EVIDENCE DESC: It seems to be an eye of some sort. System recognition indicates it's supposed to be the eye of a Braviary. Investigation team can't determine its purpose. It has groves in the back, but we can't determine what these are for.

LOCATION: Next to the body of Duhan the Mr Mime. As according to report #175 "Oblivion" case, Duhan's body was covered with black tar and oil. Cause of death is unknown, but was IDed by DNA testing.

EVALUTION: We're pretty certain this is related to a "Stalker" known as "Oblivion," but these are precursory evaluations that we haven't been able to make certain. It seems it may have been left behind unintentionally, but that's only a hunch. We plan on doing further investigation to see if we can confirm.

Looking over the eye, it seems to be made of stone, and as you look at the back, the groves mentioned are there, but you realize what the eye is for. It is likely to be a key of some sort. Meanwhile, you realize the assumptions of the investigation team were correct. You can sense a very faint dark and otherworldly presence surrounding the eye. One that you've detected to be the trace of a Stalker.

While taking evidence seems a bit wrong, you know this device is something the Emissaries might be able to use, whereas here, it could stay in records lockup for years without its true purpose being discovered. You decide to take it with you, thinking it might be useful in trying to track down this Stalker known as "Oblivion."

Item [Eye of Braviary] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You search the rest of the police station upper floors, and while there are countless records of police findings and evidence collections, there is virtually nothing that directly relates to the Stalkers themselves. It seems most of the information that is current is what Pormalu currently has all over his desk.

You decide to head out and return back to base.

Lita the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Security | Learned Abilities: Rescue/Escape
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Spiderc]

Checking out that chemical plant went fairly well for me, so far so I'm going to go onto the next one!

{Search: (48a) Balek Manufacturing Plant Floors 1-10}