The Stalkers RPG - Main Action and Team Status Thread [SEASON 3] *SWEET VICTORY!*

[Neo Emolga]

Hi Franny!

We're back! How are you? Pretty busy lately? Just wanted to know if anyone came in with some suspicious cuts. We're on the lookout for a medium sized 'mon with mostly green coloring, and they should have cuts, like from a razor leaf attack. Have you seen anyone come by with that description?

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

You find Franny the Mismagius taking a break after what seems like a long shift. She's enjoying a cup of coffee in the medical break room, which you imagine must be pretty helpful when it comes to trying to stay awake and focused after many long hours of work. But it seems like she's finished what she needs to get done and there isn't too much else lined up on her work plate for now. You greet her and she seems happy to see you.

"Oh hi there, good to see you again, Madder!" Franny greets you with a grin. "I've been working pretty hard as usual, but I'm hanging in there. But thanks for asking, you're the only one who really comes in to check up to see how I'm doing!"

You inquire about seeing any medium, green Pokémon coming in with cuts, especially from a Razor Leaf attack. She looks curiously at you, but she shakes her head.

"I can't say I have," Franny tells you, looking a bit glum she's not able to help you with that. "Someone with suspicion... you know, there's a chance that they didn't check into this hospital because of that. Wouldn't be the first time I've heard of someone trying to do the job themselves instead of having a professional look into it. If that's the case, they probably tried to bandage their own injuries, but as I know from personal experience, Pokémon that do that may not do the best job. And sometimes they don't always stop the bleeding correctly. From a medical standpoint, a Razor Leaf may not have caused severe bleeding or severed any major arteries. However, even in those cases, hemostasis isn't easy to achieve if they didn't have a sutures or hemostatic matrix kits. Their bandaging might be a really messy job, may have bled through in a few places, or weren't applied correctly. You'd probably be looking at a rushed job, especially if they didn't stick around after taking on an injury like that."

"It also depends on what kind of Pokémon they are," Franny explains. "Some Pokémon would barely get cut from that while others would take on some serious pain. If you're not sure about their species, then the only way to determine that is by going on how they reacted. That might help you gauge just how hurt they were."

"I wish I could help you more, but I can't really say much unless I know the species of the afflicted," Franny tells you, looking a bit sympathetic. "You might want to try asking Kexin. He's a doctor here, and he's a Sceptile, so he's more familiar with what grass-type attacks could do and what kinds of injuries might result from a Razor Leaf attack. He's also the really precise and analytical type. That guy definitely knows his stuff, but I think he would also need to know the species. Heck, he might ask you for their height, weight, date of birth, what they last ate, what their blood type is, and all the other stuff you probably don't quite know. He's kind of funny for that."

"Well, I should wrap things up," Franny tells you. "My shift's almost over and I could really use some time at home for a while. I hope you find this guy. Sounds like he's nothing but trouble, really. But I'll see you around, Madder! Always nice to chat with someone friendly!"

She then heads off to finish up her last remaining tasks before clocking out.

Madder the Mimikyu (S: Ghost/Fairy)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Lockpick | Learned Abilities: Exorcism
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

I'll search (8) Overland Metalworks - (8c) Floors 6-10

You decide to search the upper floors of the Overland facility tonight. When you get to the 6th floor, you discover this is where Overland runs diagnostics on engineering equipment and does a lot of mechanical testing. It also seems to be a place where Overland tests new metallic alloys and runs density, endurance, and malleable testing on them to see which ones might be more useful for certain purposes, if they determine the alloy can find a niche to work with.

From the looks of things, it seems activity around here has decreased and not too many Pokémon are still active in this department on these floors. A lot of new materials still haven't been tested and it seems like most of the experimentation and prototype builds have been sitting unused for a while now. You're not sure if it's related to the Stalker attacks or if Overland hasn't really seen too much return on investment for these activities.

You get to the 7th floor and you find it seems like there was a minor engineering accident and one of the machines had broken down. It almost seems like something exploded and it seems like some gray-furred Pokémon was hurt in the incident. You find a few clumps of gray fur, and while it seems it's probably not Stalker related, you decide not to leave it up to chance. You take one of the clumps with you.

Pokémon Sample [Gray Fur] was added to the Team Inventory.

You move on to search the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors, which mainly seem like additional testing areas. It seems these areas are used even less than the 6th and 7th floors and while Overland keeps trying to find some kind of purpose for them, most of it is wasted space or just used for supply storage. You don't find too much else that's noteworthy about this area, so you decide to head back and return to base.

Carly the Heracross (M: Bug/Fighting)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Diplomacy | Learned Abilities: Rescue/Escape
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

Protect Tashy again.

You head over to Tashy's apartment, knowing last night was a very close call and Tashy definitely needs protection. And that she promised to make you epic-level brownies and that's not an offer you're going to turn down. You're not sure if she's just a really awesome chef or if she's actually using Seinaru to make stuff taste better. Either way, her stuff's good and you don't really care.

#45 Tashy the Furret will be defended against all Stalker attacks for this Night Cylce.

She also likes your taste in music so that works wonderfully for tonight.

Eric the Bulbasaur (S: Grass/Poison)

Health: 3/4
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Repair | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

I'll interview #33 Kanja the Kecleon, while keeping an eye out for any cuts she may have.

Interview Rapport: NEUTRAL

You find Kanja at the police station, working alone at her desk. Things are dark and quiet and it seems like she's the only one here.

You also observe she's wearing several bandages under her uniform. It doesn't look like they were wrapped around very well, and in some of the more hard to reach areas like her back and tail, she has forgone trying to wrap them. You do notice several cuts in the areas that weren't bandaged, however.

"Hey, find anything new?" Kanja asks you. "I can't say there's much to add on my side. Surprisingly, there were no murders last night. I couldn't tell you why that is. Can't let our guard down because, well, you never know, they might try to pull off a double homicide."

Kanja notices you've been observing her injuries.

"Oh these?" Kanja casually replies and shrugs. "I got a little over myself and got into a bar fight at Another Round. See, I was out on patrol there and some drunk douchebag Combusken shouted 'damn the police' at me and threw a beer bottle at my head. That really hurt. I should have just arrested him for assaulting an on duty officer, but... I took it personally and fought with him. Lots of broken glass, hence how all this happened. I didn't want anyone asking questions and I wanted to keep it off the record so I just tried to dress the wounds myself. Yeah, I probably didn't do the best job, but hey, I'm a cop, not a doc."

"Anyway, I've been looking into Edder," Kanja tells you. "We think he may be a Stalker and that he might be Bloodwish. I tried to interrogate him but nothing he says really makes sense. Maybe search around the Deckler Apartment Building. He may not be of much help, but maybe something around his place might say something."

"On that note, I probably won't go on patrol tonight," Kanja tells you with a bit of a grimace. "My left knee still hurts and it will probably be a little while before I'm back on my feet again. I've got plenty of paperwork to catch up on anyway."

"If you find anything new, let me know," Kanja tells you before turning around to finish her paperwork tasks. "I'll look over whatever evidence you have. Together, the more we know, the more we'll be able to get to the bottom of this."

Hope the Alolan Vulpix (S: Ice)

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

[Neo Emolga]

I really feel bad for Rolia, maybe I should have brought Theo along after all just to kind of be nice to people and boost morale. Theo would probably make a great friend to her.

Anyway, since the time is opportune I'll take her advice and go and talk to Jenny the Lycanroc. Just sort of inquire into if she's anything that particularly stands out as odd, maybe some location or item someone has, or like if someone's suddenly appeared with a bunch of cuts on them or something.

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Evolution Stage

You find Jessy the midnight form Lycanroc working at the Guzzle Hustle gas station, which as you can see doesn't get too many customers at this hour. You find Jessy reading a magazine about craft beers and she looks up and sees you. She smiles with an almost impish grin, stashes away the magazine, and smirks.

"Sup?" she asks. "Funny seeing you here without a car, but hey, I'm not one to judge. But if you're here for the convenience mart, they're late on restocking the shelves. You'll only find water, that nasty ginseng tea, and that lame Sidewinder energy drink that tastes like wee-wee."

You ask her about the Stalkers and if she's seen anything weird. She nods, looking like she's seen a few things that stand out as unusual.

"For one thing, we don't get too many customers at night," Jessy tells you with a smile. "Which is great because it means I can do nothing and get paid. I actually work on my brewing recipes while I chew the fat here. But every now and then, someone comes along with their car."

"I think Yandil is the only guy that shops at the mart at this hour," Jessy explains. "The guy's a freak. He's always mumbling to himself, talks to himself, probably has some freaky split personality disorder, and buys the weirdest combinations of stuff. Five nights ago, he bought an air freshener, permanent markers, four cases of that nasty Sidewinder energy drink, and some black touch-up paint meant for cars. What the hell, he doesn't even own a car. And why shop here, he could get all that and more at the ApexMart. Makes me wonder if he was kicked out of that place by the manager."

"I talk to Britera sometimes," Jessy tells you. "She's pretty cool. Not sure why she of all Pokémon decided to become a cop, but eh, she seems to be good at it. We often talk about work and stuff and she keeps telling me the whole thing with the Stalkers seems to just keep taking her in circles. She doesn't seem too thrilled about her fellow cops. She feels Lexin is too focused on being focused that he doesn't do anything and Kanja just keeps shooting down her theories and hunches and makes everything go in circles. She also complains about Sten a lot. Mentions he just takes pictures, notes, makes a lot of snide comments, and then doesn't actually contribute toward the investigation. Sounds like a real fine mess if you ask me. Thankfully, I'm the only one here at this hour, so I don't need to interact with dumb coworkers like that."

"Anyway, I need to find where the hell that sledgehammer went to," Jessy sighs. "I've already looked around and couldn't find it. With my luck, some jerkoff probably stole it. If you happen to see it, let me know."

She then returns to reading her magazine, licking her chops a bit.

Julia the Weavile (M: Dark/Ice)

Health: 4/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Repair | Learned Abilities: Exorcism
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

I'll search Whitehill manufacturing (7a) Rooms 1-5 looking for anything to do with Yandil

You search Whitehill Manufacturing at night, where it seems like the old building is very quiet in the nighttime hours. You head to the first five floors, trying to see if you can find something that connects Yandil to the investigation. Inside, the building has old-style furnishings and trimming, but the equipment, desks, and technology is modern day.

As you can see, a lot of what makes up the first, second, and third floors is a lot of spacious area for large paper milling products and very large machines that make massive rolls of paper in the form of very large cylinders. Others create cardboard stock and cardboard boxes of varying sizes to be bundled with a zip-tie and then shipped off in large crates. Everything at this hour seems to be completely quiet, but you imagine during the day, these machines are probably very hard at work.

When you get to the fourth floor, this is where you see more of the administrative employees work. It seems there are quite a few employees working here, but you're not sure if they've left town and simply abandoned their belongings at work. Regardless, some Pokémon here are in charge of finance, accounting, legal, marketing, and another section on the fifth floor is reserved for technicians, engineers, and mechanics.

You find Yandil's desk here, and you discover there's papers, notebooks, diagrams, technical sheets, component drawings, test results, and engineering testing equipment just in piles everywhere. A lot of it seems pretty confusing and you can imagine having to work with all this stuff really might drive anyone insane. As you flip through some of the things Yandil has left everywhere, you can almost see from Yandi's handwriting that at times, he seems to write with rushed anger. Lines are darker and thicker, sometimes tear right through the paper, and the amount of redline markup he leaves on memos and engineering drawings gets pretty thick and ugly. His comments toward other engineers aren't very nice either. One says "This is stupid, what are you thinking?" and another says "Must I do everything for you?"

You find another complaint report that it seems like Yandil only got halfway finished before he stopped for whatever reason. As you look it over, it seems like he was going to send a report to the Pokémon Resources Department about Jeddi the Bewear. As you look through his list of complaints, it seems like either she's done a lot to Yandil or Yandil is exaggerating his claims. A lot of these claims involve stolen documents, sabotaged computer equipment, nasty office pranks, lack of hygiene, and it seems Yandil complains about every noise Jeddi makes from her random laughing, loud sneezes, the noisy way she eats lunch with a metal fork and glass bowl, and he's convinced she clears her throat loudly just to piss him off.

As you look at Yandil's computer equipment, you can see Jeddi still hasn't stopped. Right on his computer screen, she wrote "you belong at a circus, you freak" in red lipstick and you notice she left a glue trap right on his chair, which you imagine wouldn't do the Smeargle any favors if he doesn't notice it the next time he sits down.

You decide to investigate Jeddi's desk, and while her desk isn't at all tidy either, it's for different reasons. You gather that she works on the factory lines and it seems she's in charge of reordering supplies, handling machine diagnostics, and carrying out vendor orders. A lot of her desk is covered with food stains and crumbs and you notice she's not very proactive when it comes to taking care of wrappers, empty cups, and food containers. You also see she's one of those employees that steals the food of her coworkers, as you can see there's an empty bag with a nametag of "Razi" on it while another brown paper bag has "Bervo" written with black marker. They look like they've been there for weeks and she hasn't bothered throwing them out.

You search the other areas, and in one empty cubicle, you find a white feather. You're not sure if it belongs to an employee that left or one that was using the cube for some unknown, temporary reason. You check around but none of the drawers or cabinets are locked, so you figure they didn't hide anything here. You decide to take it just in case there's a chance it belongs to a Stalker.

Pokémon Sample [White Feather] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You search through the rest of the fifth floor, but you don't find too much else that raises any alarms or red flags. You just decide to head back and take note of what you found.

Sarah the Archen (S: Rock/Flying)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Security | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

Gonna get crackin!

I'll get started on this [White Candle] tonight and see if this [Red Skin] reveals anything. Good luck to the rest of you guys! <3

Working through the night, Tashy makes herself a nice cup of heavenly coffee for both Eric and herself and uses her Seinaru to bless the [White Candle] that was found at Lexin's house. It makes the once ordinary candle become illuminated with a holy, reassuring glow of tranquility.

[White Candle] has become [Blessed White Candle]

She then screens through the [Red Skin] sample to see if it links with a Stalker's essence signature. While she processes it, both of her paws glow with a white light while the sample itself glows as well. She closes her eyes and still smiles during the whole procedure, but when she's done, she just looks at the [Red Skin] sample and shrugs.

Pokémon Sample [Red Skin] does NOT belong to a Stalker. It has been removed from the Team Inventory.

She makes brownies for Eric, and you imagine Seinaru HAS to be involved because they're beyond delicious with zero calories and no carbs.

[Neo Emolga]

Search (25) The Copperplate Hotel (Abandoned)

You head to the southeastern corner of Southwarren, where things get a little dingy and dirty here. The Copperplate Hotel adds to this dingy feeling, as the hotel's condition only continues to worsen. As you search around the outside, you see the whole building has begun to fall into disrepair and very few Pokémon hang out around it. You're also convinced that if anyone were to ever want to work with this property, they'd probably have to tear the whole building down and build something new.

You head inside and the interior is very creepy, especially at this nighttime hour. There is very little lighting, forcing you to have to use a headlamp to see your way around. The wood has rotted down quite a bit, the paint on the walls and ceiling is peeling down in strips, and there is dust, debris, cobwebs, and dirt everywhere. Most of the windows are also cracked or broken, and the only ones that aren't have been so caked over with dust and dirt that you can barely see out of them.

On the first floor, you find the lobby, which is large, vacant, and has plenty of dusty, dingy furniture that hasn't been used in decades. The ceramic tiled floor is coming apart and it looks like the indoor swimming pool hasn't been filled with water in a very long time.

You search the rooms, but all you really find are dusty beds, peeling wallpaper, and dirty carpets. None of them really seem to have anything useful that was left behind. You then make your way to the staff and service areas. The elevator seems to be fully dead and there's no way to restore power to it. Meanwhile, you notice something very strange about the door that leads to the basement levels.

It's slathered with occult-like markings, satanic-looking insignias, and shadowy, nefarious symbols. It's hard to make out the demonic scrawl raked deep into the metallic door, but you make out some words:

ThIS iS thE DooR tO HeLL. WhERE OnlY thE WoRsT oF thE woRsT EntEr HErE.

You try to open the door, but it won't budge. Seems like it's locked, and when you take a closer look at the macabre doorknob, you see what looks like a hellish emblem by the keyhole. The word "HeLl" is etched here with very demonic scrawl-like lettering.

Locked Door {The Door to Hell Locked: Hell Emblem} has been noted in the Team Records.

You decide to leave it alone and head to the upper floors. Most of the rooms up here are in the same, dusty, messy condition, only now there are holes in the floors and there are plenty of places where any heavy Pokémon could cause the floor to give out from underneath them.

When you get to the third floor, one room, Room 307, seems to have something unusual. The room is much darker than the others, where the furniture is black, the walls are a gothic motif, and the furnishings make it look like the room belongs to a witch or warlock. You find a centerpiece table that seems to have some kind of bizarre candle resting on it. It's a candle unlike anything you've seen before, and judging from the look of it, you're pretty sure it may not even work with a normal flame.

You decide to take the candle with you, feeling a strange, almost ghostly feeling coming from it.

Item [Unlit Candle of the Departed: Burning Icicle Flame] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You search throughout the rest of the abandoned hotel, but you don't find too much else besides more of the same dusty, dingy, forgotten hotel rooms that the other floors had.

You decide to head out and return to base with your findings.

Sam the Deerling (S: Normal/Grass)

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

[Neo Emolga]

Search: Machine Depot #1. Sounds like my kinda place, fixing stuff and not getting killed by rusty things.

At night Zell is nowhere to be found, but this large machine depot still has plenty of gizmos and gadgets laying about. While the building is a bit smoky and shabby, it's hard to tell what's a valuable machine, what's junk, and what actually works from what's broken. But you still look around to see what you can find that might be helpful or might give some clue as to who the Stalkers really are.

On the outside of the dark gray building, you find a jade leaf that looks like it got caught on a loose cluster of rusty wires, which strikes you as usual. It couldn't have come from one of the trees at the park, as they're just a bit too far away, and there are no other trees in the area. You begin to believe it might be from a Pokémon. It's a mystery as to who might be the owner, but you decide to take it. Tashy could screen it to see if it does it fact belong to Stalker, so you decide to take it with you to see what she might be able to find with it..

Pokémon Sample [Jade Leaf] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then head inside and look through the piles of electronics, machines, and devices that Zell has accumulated over time. Most of them seem to be things he's been working on, but some of them seem to be kits that he has built himself.

One of the metal tables seems to have something that doesn't quite fit in with all the others. As you look it over, it seems to be come kind of circuitry that belongs to a control panel device, only this hardware has nothing to do with the engine parts and components are around it. Somehow, you have the feeling this might be needed later on and it seems like one of the circuit boards that Zell has long forgotten about. Maybe you could put it to better use.

Item [Control Panel Circuitry] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You continue your search around the rest of the machine shop, where Zell has his desk, his papers, his schematics, and his piles and cabinets stuffed with spare components, resisters, capacitors, chips, and many other bits and pieces of circuit boards.

It seems as though most of the papers aren't really anything much besides his normal day-to-day components, papers, manuals, and soldering tools, but then tucked away in a corner, you find one piece of paper that seems burnt and it seems like Zell probably doesn't know it's here. You pull it out and see it seems to be some kind of riddle...



Judging by the four spaces, you have an idea that it likely links to a four letter word.

Note =Burnt Page= has been added to the Team Records.

After finishing your search on the remaining areas of the machine shop, you don't find anything else that seems to be of significant use. You then decide to head back with the things you have found here.

Rusty O'Toole the Lucario (M: Fighting/Steel)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Security | Learned Abilities: Rescue/Escape
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

#58 Edder the Sigilyph has been murdered by the Stalkers.

Location: Outside Dern's Delicatessen
Cause of Death: Incinerated

Outside of Dern's Delicatessen, Britera the Braixen and Lexin the Flygon had been trying to get Deen the Timburr to relax and give a coherent witness testimony. They could easily tell it had been his first time seeing a murder, and this was a grizzly one at that. He had already vomited twice over it, and both Lexin and Britera knew it had to be the smell that was getting to him. Deen was trying to remain calm, but it was still well out of his comfort zone.

"I swear I'm never going to forget that smell," Deen grimaced, looking at Edder's husk of a corpse.

"Relax and take it easy," Britera told him. "When did you find him like this?"

"Only about an hour ago," Deen replied. "Guy's body was still smoking. I don't even know... who is this?"

"Edder," Lexin stated in a cold voice. "The body is badly destroyed and almost recognizable, but I can distinguish the Sigilyph features. Thankfully, they're unique and there's enough remnants of them to make the determination."

Britera tilted her head and looked over at the corpse, nodding. She too, could see traces of the colorful, fork-like Sigilyph appendages among the burnt and incinerated remains. All the while, Sten was taking pictures, making faces, and shaking his head at the sight and the smell of the Sigilyph's husk of a corpse. Every now and then, he'd put the camera aside and take notes.

"Edder?" Deen asked, looking perplexed as to why it had been him. "That crazy old bastard? Who'd want to kill him?"

"You'd be surprised," Britera replied. "The elderly make easy targets, unfortunately. And it seems like no one cared or knew enough about Edder to watch over him while he was out tonight. He probably even forgot what time it was and thought the deli might still be open at this hour."

"And what's Ka-rra-sin?" Deen asked, looking at something he found on the road. "Looks like weird letters right here."

Britera stepped around to take a look at what Deen was referring to, and it surprised her also. It seemed like something she hadn't seen before. She looked at them from the same angle as Deen, as the letters were rapidly disappearing with the gusts of wind and already there was some smudging.

"Karrasin," Britera stated, making out the letters written in the ashes. "I wonder... we've found other murders like this before, but we never found these ashes."

"Possibly blew away before we saw them," Sten stated, taking a picture of the word. "What do you think means? Possible Stalker ID?"

"Maybe," Britera shrugged. "Could be a code phrase. Or some kind of occult lingo. That's the stupid thing, you never really know with these maniacs. They put random crap like this all over the place. We end up wasting so much time trying to figure it out while they keep doing this."

"It seems like they were wrong about Edder," Lexin stated in a cold tone. "There were many who believed he was psychotic, but it turns out he's the victim this time. We might need to look back at whoever made these claims."

"You do that and I'll see if I can look into what this whole 'Karrasin' thing is about," Britera replied. "Maybe there's another mention of it somewhere in some of the past records."

Lexin nodded, but to the best of his memory, he hadn't seen it before. Despite his best intentions, once again, it always seemed like the Stalkers were so many steps ahead of them and they kept struggling just to remain on the trail, never mind catch up to them...

Doom Tracker:
3/20

The Enthrallers have learned a fraction about your mission...
Mission Disclosure: 20%/100%