[RP] Journeymon: Blackout

[Saraibre Ryu]

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t100/Saraibre/JourneymonBlackoutBannerComplete_zps80463ec2.png


Based on the comic concept by Sabi.

The world of Pokémon. You know it, and I know it. Safe to say everyone knows about it. You live in it after all as someone who trains, breeds, interacts with Pokémon. Everyone has a different fancy, but what all keeps a shared commonplace is that Pokémon are involved. You partake in Contests, you work for a ribbon, go to festivals, and prove your finesse and grace. You breed Pokémon and maintain their prime form, you know the ins and outs of a Pokémon, how to keep them at their peak and know how to help others. You battle with them, you travel, go on a league challenge and battle other trainers, avoiding a loss to avoid that terrible black out.

But what if one day… someone didn’t wake up from that black out?

Several cases of comatose trainers abruptly exploded out of the blue, unknown cause and unknown origin. A black stain on their skin was the only sign, and the amount of testing, healing, medicine could not get rid of it. Pokémon were affected in a different way to this mystery infection, though showed no black stains. Pokémon that fell in battle, rather than go temporarily still in a form of mock fainting, nearly died. Accusations of attempted murder were on the rise as more and more cases of trainers were growing ill. There were no symptoms, no clear way of infection or how it was being spread around. Soon those who weren’t trainers began to fall ill, however had no cases of temporary comatose or near fatal conditions, they just held the stain. Battling was strictly prohibited until the cause and a cure could be found. One relation had been found though while patients were under study: Pokémon prevented the advancement of the infection.

Pokémon though, seemed to be the cause of it as well. Soon the majority of the population was marked with what was given the nickname, ‘Blackout Infection’. Half of the human population was affected by it, and numbers were growing stronger. Soon cases of trainers being found dead next to their partner’s bodies began to pile up all over the world. Autopsies proved that murder wasn’t the cause, and it wasn’t poisoning or suicide. It was the Blackout. Studies over the years yielded no cure, only a second link that Pokémon gave off a natural preventative, as long as said Pokémon were alive, and in the presence of those they bonded with. They claimed the effect was pheromones, naturally occurring chemicals in various Pokémon species, but there was no pin point factor in finding a vaccine. There was an international wide ban on battling until a cure was to be found for the Blackout.

And then in the next five years the human population dropped by a massive 65%.

Massive riots caused an influx of conflicts where many people were caught in crossfires of battling and criminal take over. People and Pokémon alike died in the largest massacre on the planet. Many people fled to rural areas, leaving large cities abandoned and the majority of regions looking nothing more than an abandoned ghost town. There was no law anymore, no government and no society.

The riots happened six years ago. Nature has begun to overtake some of its old land back, society is in shambles and everything of the old world is gone. Technology is minimal, limited to Pokeballs and whatever you can make run if you strike a miracle by finding a generator. If you’re found by a small group, the only group known to have some form of law abidance to them called BOA, they will send you to a quarantine to test for the effects of the Blackout in order to find a cure. They have little technology, but far more than anyone else. Pokémon are scarce, and some of the hardest places to traverse are seen as taboo locations due to a high chance of death.

Out of everything, one thing is for certain.

If your team, dies, you die. If you die, then your team does as well.

Why does this sound like a Nuzlocke…?
Congrats, you’ve figured out what this is. Yes, it’s a Nuzlocke RP. Only that you have no gyms to face, no Elite Four, you need to survive in an empty Pokémon world on survival skills and wits. Everyone has Blackout, your character has it too. You’re at the mercy of the GM, who may grace or gild your performance. You’re a victim of dice rolls, critique and maybe even your fellow players. There are NPC’s to help you along the way, and should you make some friends, they may be able to save you should you be lucky enough.

How does this work?
You play it out like a typical Role Play. How you RP will yield you certain rewards, or certain consequences. What are these rewards and consequences? Well the rewards are of many types and it’d be no fun to tell you… though we all know the consequences for performing badly in a Nuzlocke.

Pokémon Capture:
When you enter a new area, you may request a capture session from myself, or another person who may be helping me with Co-GM duties. Since changing areas in the Pokémon world doesn’t happen often, requesting a session will happen and you will find a Pokémon. What that Pokémon is, what they know, their nature and ability, and when you find it though, could happen at any time you’re in that area. We’ll keep close to the species of each area based on the games but we may deviate some surprises here and there.

Training:
Of course you’re going to run into Pokémon to battle and train. I wouldn’t be a fearful RPM/GM if I didn’t send a swarm of Beedrill after you! No wait, that’s cliché. Golbat. Yeah Golbat. Anyway, successfully figuring out how to beat Pokémon will earn you rewards. If I feel you’ve had a Pokémon for long enough and it has performed well, you can request for an Evolution. Like asking for a Pokémon, this could happen at any time, though in a less random amount of time as Pokémon. Also as in Pokémon anime, they have four moves, and you can request a move change as well. You may pick which move it is and how you will obtain it, or work towards trying to get a certain move and wait on an approval.

Battling other NPC’s:
Yeah this isn’t avoidable, I mean, I gotta throw in the chance of death somewhere right? This is Nuzlocke! Sometimes you will get challenged by the odd wandering trainer. Usually they are out to steal your stuff by hindering your lifespan and killing one Pokémon, and then doing a hit and run. Others are out for blood. Some just want to test you, and aren’t out to get you. How do you know which one is which? You don’t, that’s the fun part. Not only that, but players can battle each other to help each other train, or if you really don’t like Amy-Lee’s character for slapping your character’s crushes’ rear end, then you can give them a lesson too. Successfully battling or training also yields rewards. Or death, that’s an option too.

How do I know if I’m winning or losing a battle?
Mostly based on my judgement and a little of RNG, because who doesn’t love some RNG. Okay maybe a bit more than a little RNG. I’ll make notes about how you/your Pokémon is doing in a battle should I be controlling the NPC. If you are battling with another RPer, I will mention notes in either the SUDS thread or PM’s. Yes, I will roll for attack crits, secondary move effects and all that jazz. If you see a Ratatta, you better be scared. Those things are killers.

Saving Grace:
These are points you can accumulate through the RP by completing hard tasks. It’s basically a get out of jail free card. If you believe you are in imminent danger and have no way of getting out alive, you may use one of these grace points and one of the befriended NPC’s may come to your rescue. Yes I said may. It’s not guaranteed but if you’re gonna die, might as well die trying. These points are few and far between but not impossible to get. You can work on saving each other if people so desire, but that is if you run into anyone else. SG points also come in the form of one of your Pokémon evolving mid-battle, an act of karma or a brand new NPC coming into the mix.

NPC’s:
These are characters played by myself and another person who is co-GM. No I’m not gonna tell you who because that adds to my the fun. NPC’s that show up will be listed in an NPC information post, and updated as you find out more information about them. This includes some of their personality, their team and bits of background information. Paying attention to the info also may help you improve your chances should you use a saving grace.

Rewards and Consequences:
Yes I mentioned these before, however I'll make it clear once again. Rewards may be found if you have your character looking for something. If your character finds something, I will post it as an Inventory Update in the SUDS thread. If not, nothing will be posted. If a post contains a character finding something not mentioned in a story update, consequences will happen. Consequences also happen if your character makes a poor choice, or repeated poor choices. It all depends on how you play the game.

Rules:

Typical RP rules apply. This is a T rated RP so you may use mild swearing.
No cheating and no modding. Yes these are part of typical RP rules but I will reiterate them.
No legendaries. They have a purpose for later on in the RP.
As GM what goes on goes on. I’m not really that mean, but I am creative…
Please do not evolve Pokémon without following the game rules, same with moves. This will be seen as cheating and I will ban-jo you out of my RP
If one of your Pokémon dies, it dies. Remember this is a Nuzlocke oriented RP and loss is a part of a Nuzlocke. Play your best! Deaths will be decided based on performance with some luck. I don’t randomly go ‘kay now u dead’ because I’m feeling like an ass.
Have fun!


Grassy_Aggron, Velocity, Phantasm.Angel and Sieses will start scattered in various corners of Rustboro City. Their current objectives is to find some basic supplies and communication. Whether you want your characters to meet is up to you.

Death's Spook, DesperadoBRT, SpinelWolf and The Operator will start scattered across Slateport City. Their current objective is to also find some basic supplies, and some form of transportation, either via water or land. Whether you want your characters to meet is up to you.

Remember everyone is scattered at the moment and has some distance between yourselves and them. If a character finds an item, I will post in the SUDS thread for rewards and consequences that I cannot put into story. Objectives will be updated in the SUDS thread as well.


I will post events and NPC interactions at... some point. Maybe~ I'm evil like that.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jacob
Slateport Shipyard>Slateport Market
Affected RPers: none

I put my forefinger up to my lips. The gesture for silence. Shruikan knew the meaning of it. We lived in rough times, and precautions had to be taken. The streets of Slateport City were dark, and dangerous to be found in. There was a time when law existed. But not now.

Shruikan and I edged along the buildings, moving slowly with the shadows. Though the sound of waves crashing against the southern and eastern borders of the city masked most of the noise we made, we weren't taking any chances of being found. After an hour, we had found our way to the street that used to be the Slateport market. I had heard off the person I used to live with that it was run by criminals now, any supplies that were there are owned by gangs. I have never been here before. But we need to survive. And to do that we need to take any supplies we can find, but even more so, we must stay hidden.

[Metal Gear Snivy]

Quinn
Slateport City - Beach
Affected RPers: N/A

'It seems there's nothing here,' Quinn thought to himself. He was looking out at the ocean that connected Slateport, Dewford, and Petalburg. Well, technically, the Route after Petalburg, but still Petalburg. He missed being able to just go outside and look out at the sea with the calming waves all day. But, ever since the Blackout, it was rare to be able to look out at the waves like this. Everything was downgrading, just like before civilization.

"Wiggly!" Custard cried out. She was getting a little impatient with Quinn about terms of items. Even though they were on an island (That's actually pretty big.), there were still supplies. Quinn groaned at the thought of having to get into a scrap with hoarders for items, or thieves, or gangs, or anything threatening. Though...some hoarders could be nice, but it's not worth trying to see if they are. But...supply gathering is supply gathering, be it for basic survival or getting off of the land--Oh. Quinn and his pink ball of fluff (IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE) set off to the actual town to get some survival needs...

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Slateport Behind the museum>Mart
Affected RPers: not yet

Kyle peered around the corner of the Museum in Slateport. The area ahead seemed open. He eyed this area distrustfully. His Rampardos nudged at his side affectionately. He looked back at her. "Getting hungry, Gaia?" The Rampardos nodded. "Yeah me too Gaia, me too." He coughed from behind his scarf. Gaia cocked her head with a worried expression. "I'm fine, Gaia." The Rampardos grinned. He took a look around the corner again. He could see the Pokémon Mart from his position. He hoped there was some food or something to be found there. He glanced around. He could see nothing moving in the shadows. He advanced to a nearby bush. He lowered his profile as much as he could. He began to crawl toward the position he picked next to get closer to the Mart. He took a look behind him. His faithful Rampardos followed standing tall and proud. He thought to himself, "Silly thing, she is going to give us away." He whispered to her, "Down." Gaia lowered herself as instructed and laid on her belly. Kyle stared at his Pokémon. There was no way she would be able to crawl like that. "Crawl," he whispered. The Rampardos eyed him. She didn't really want to crawl but she moved up enough and began her awkward crawl. He looked from behind his cover which was little more than what may have been part of a car. It was dented and destroyed but he could lie behind it. He examined the mart. He was only slightly closer. He couldn't see any suitable cover. He instructed his Pokémon to stand. "Okay, we are going to run there," he pointed to the building. "We have to be fast and quiet." Gaia nodded. "Ready on three, one... two... thr, Gaia..." Kyle didn't have time to finish. He was running behind Gaia.

Once they made it to the Mart Kyle looked around. "Okay, we may be goo..." He was broken off by a cough. Gaia nudged him again. She seemed concerned. "Really, I'm okay." He honestly didn't believe himself. He peered around. "Okay, we will move to the front door." Once they positioned themselves. Kyle nodded to Gaia who prepared to knock down the door or fight whichever was necessary.
Kyle placed a hand on a door handle.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Poké Mart
ARPers: Dragotech


Looking through the old shelves of the run down Poké Mart a young woman wasn't finding much. At least nothing she could use. It looked like others had the same idea she had and already took everything of value. Or the stuff that was visible at a first glance that is. There could be some hidden supplies around, but it would require some work. With a heavy sigh she leaned against an empty shelving unit on her left side, resting her eyes for a moment. She then felt a nudge against her exposed side, and in response the brunette cracked open one violet eyes to make sure it was what she thought. Sure enough the gentle nudge was from her Typhlosion. She raised one hand to place on his head, just above the scarring on his face. A massive area of his face was scarred, looking much like a bandit's mask with jagged edges. The injury that caused the sight also made him completely blind, but not incapable of battle. But that's for another time.

"Guess you haven't found anything either," the young trainer said softly, running her finger tips through the dark blue fur.

"Sadly no," the fire-type replied, his voice deep and calming. "But that does not mean that this place is completely bare. There should at least be some scrap material we could find some use for. If we can't find anything still then our next target is the Center."

"Sounds about right. I'm sure most of the medicine has been taken though, if not all of it. However it can't hurt to look."

A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. She was glad now for her expierences before now, even if some had more permanent affects she'd rather live without. Her hand moved from the Typhlosion's head to grab at her pant leg, though if one looked carefully they could see she was holding onto something that was hidden under the material. With another affectionate nudge the brunette was brought out of her reminiscing of bad memories. She gave him another pat before once again standing fully.

Suddenly the fire-type's ears twitched and he quickly turned his head to the front entrance. When the pair originally entered the door was unlocked, and once examining it they found the door they found that the lock had been broken. At the time it hadn't bothered either of them for they had not seen traces of any other trainers or Pokémon in the area, so without a second thought they simply closed the door behind them and started looking around. It would appear as though their assumption was incorrect and there were others in the city. However it has yet to be seen if they were friendly or hostile.

"We should become hidden," the trainer spoke, getting a nod in response from her Pokémon companion. With a quick look around the two noticed that the front counter was more or less intact and would at least hide them from sight to anyone entering the building. If worse came to pass they'd fight, but perhaps they could wait it out and whoever was trying to enter would see that nothing was to be seen when first looking around and not look any further. With haste the two went behind the counter and ducked down. Now was the waiting game.

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn)

A smug, self satisfied voice told him, "We aren't alone here. Excellent.".

Derek Chase did something relatively rare for him, and looked down to talk to someone. Athena the Azumarill's ears were twitching, and her grin was becoming wider by the second. On most Pokemon of her species, the sight would have been quite cute. But when Derek saw Athena casually playing with the intestines of a Mightyena pack once, 'cute' went out the window for him in terms of adjectives he'd use to describe her.

Athena rocked back and forth on her heels, the grin on her face getting more viciously anticipatory by the instant. Derek shook his head and chided,"Athena, we aren't going to fight people just because we can. It's wasteful and wrong, especially because making allies to watch our backs could in no way hurt."

Athena gave him a pleading look with big, soft brown eyes. The effect was ruined by the fact that she was using them to beg for the green light to commit a homicide.

"Stay in the water. If–if–these guys show hostility, take them out as quickly as possible. All right?"

Athena sighed, but she slipped silently into the water, no one the wiser. Derek smiled, the expression much kinder and more natural on his face than on the Azumarill's.

As he walked across the beach, Derek saw a trainer walking toward the city. Although Derek's last few experiences with trainers ended with a rather nauseating front seat to Athena's idea of "art", his face still brightened upon seeing another human being. Back before Blackout, Derek had been quite drawn to people, making friends easily and without effort. Now, he had to overcome natural suspicions while simultaneously being cautious of any potential assaults on his person. It was a rather good thing, in his opinion, that Athena was such a fighter. Sometimes, Derek could circumvent fatalities completely when someone saw just how screwed up in the head his friend was.

As Derek walked, he spread his arms out, palms face up. His voice was kind with an undercurrent of excitement as he said to the trainer,"Hi! I'm Derek. Are you looking for something? Maybe I can help."

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: N/A

A lone girl slunk around the shadows of a park, which lay behind the building which was once known as the Pokémon Trainer’s School. She had to scoff at the very idea; it wasn’t possible to learn to be a trainer from anything but experience, and anybody stupid enough to try otherwise was better off dead.

Still, a building meant supplies, and supplies were good in Alex’s opinion.

The young girl was over to the back window of the building before anybody - at least if there were anybody to witness it - could have noticed a thing. Not caring about the status of the building (and never really caring about stealth), the girl was quick to shatter the top of the window with a rock. It was simple, then, to unlock it and crawl in, for her small frame was good for something.

With a brisk flick of her wrist she activated her Pokéball, and Killer stood by her side. The hellhound looked around the room eagerly, for he took his name quite seriously, and whined when he saw they were alone.

“I know, boy,” Alex said, patting the dog on the head. “Trust me, I want to kill somebody just as much as you do, but there’s still nobody around. Plus, even if there was, we can’t kill everybody. You know that.”

The Pokémon seemed to be mollified by that statement and, understanding his second purpose, let a small fire lick at his maw, lighting up the room. Alex smiled at her companion, and the two immediately began to comb the building for usable goods, praying that they hadn’t been beaten there by anybody else.

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Outside the Slateport Mart>Inside the Mart
Arpers: SpinelWolf

Kyle slowly opened the door sliding it left. It felt as if it had been breached at least once before. He examined the inside of the Mart. He couldn't see much more than near bare shelves. He moved in closing the door behind him and looked for nearby cover. Gaia followed him in and took a long look as well. Kyle nearly expected an ambush. He moved around cautiously checking between rows a shelves. It seemed almost like they were alone. Gaia searched shelves disappointed by the lack of supplies. The Rampardos thought she heard something. She took a moment and put her hands on the counter. She slowly peered over the counter. Seeing what she saw she cocked her head to the side. A human hiding with a Typhlosion was an unusual sight to her. Unsure of what to do, she looked over towards Kyle and gave off a calm call. Kyle looked up. "Found something girl?" Kyle continued to look around checking to see if it was clear. Gaia called once again impatiently. Satisfied that they were alone Kyle turned over to his Rampardos. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He wondered what she found that was so important. "What is it, Gaia?" He raised an eyebrow as she peered over the counter again.

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, Devon Company Ruins

Perry awoke with a jolt, literally. His Pachirisu Chloe had been serving as his alarm even before everything went to hell, and today's small burst of electricity was the same as any day before. That was the only constant in his life, everything else was in constant flux. Like his sleeping arrangements. A few days ago, Perry had been sleeping on the ground, half-halfheartedly squeezed into bushes in a vain attempt to hide himself should any predator come lurking around. But now he was on a very comfortable couch, ripped a little, but comfortable all the same. The trainer looked around the room and tried to refresh himself with where he was. A quick scan reaffirmed that he was still in the remains of the Devon Company headquarters he had stumbled into last night.

The couch was the only piece of furniture left in the office he had made his own. Everything else had either been dragged down the stairs by looters or pushed out the window by the rioters that had preceded them. With it's bulk and weight, the couch had stood alone against the collapse of order. The rest of the room was hardly in better shape. There were a series of pictures dotting the walls, but each had suffered some form of vandalism, whether it be paint or knives stuck into the canvas. Signs of frustration from angry folks who had been too late to kill Mr. Stone before he had fled to who-knew-where.

Perry shuddered. When he had been drop-dead tired, the room had seemed like an oasis in the desert, but in the light of day, it was just another monument to how bad things had gotten. Eager to leave, the trainer wordlessly gathered his meager belongings, let Chloe jump on his shoulder, and headed down the stairs.

He looked for each supplies on each floor, but everything that wasn't nailed down was either gone or smashed to pieces. The remains of computers didn't interest Perry, not nearly as much as more practical matters. Three floors down from the office he had slept in, the trainer stepped into a break room, hoping to find some long-lasting snack cakes that hadn't expired, but only found a frayed rope hanging from the ceiling. He left before he could see what had been hanging from it before it broke.

Mercifully, a distraction came in the form of Chloe who was perched on one of the shattered windows and chattering excitedly. Perry thought that the electric rodent had found something, but instead she gestured down the street at the hollow remains of the Rustboro Trainer School. "You heard something?" the trainer asked.

A quick explanation whetted Perry's curiosity. But although he acquiesced to his Pachirisu's desire to investigate, Perry was reluctant to approach the noise. He was eager to find other people, yes, because he wanted there to be some semblance of order, of civilization. But when it came to rebuilding society, Perry knew he wasn't anyone's first pick. He had seen the depths that people sunk to when chaos gave them a free hand, and it scared him. So, Perry decided to approach this unknown force cautiously, holding back for a while to see what new developments arose.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Rustboro -> Rustboro Pokemon Center.
ARPers: None.

Chilly wind played with the ends of black hair as Jade Araceli walked through the ruins of Rustboro City. She shivered within her brown jacket and watched the sky, appreciating the colors as the sun bled out into the horizon. Rustboro's crumbled brick streets and dilapidated masonry buildings were no longer beautiful, but the sky still retained its majesty. As did the elegant white figure that she could see swooping down out of the clouds - Asteria, Jade's favorite Togekiss.

The downy white avian fluttered to a graceful halt on the road beside Jade and looked up at her with a smile. Jade ran a hand down the feathery neck, rubbing between her friend's wings. "So, did you see anything?"

Asteria nodded, smiling appreciatively at the scratches. "I couldn't see many signs of life," she reported. "There were a few humans milling around; however, I didn't see any near the Pokemon Center. We should be relatively safe. As safe as we can be in such a cramped area, anyway."

With a nod and a final pat of Asteria's head, Jade set off down the road at a brisk pace. The Togekiss took to the air with a flutter of her wings, gliding along beside Jade. Before long, the two of them reached a largish white building with stains where the red 'P' sign had been before some maniac carried it off. The door had long been broken down, and there was some very unfriendly graffiti sprayed on one of the windows. Seeing it made Jade burn with cold anger. "I'm going to head in," she said, holding up Asteria's Pokeball. "I'll call on you if I need you." She returned Asteria to the little capsule and picked her way over the broken glass, pausing to check for old snacks in the vending machine - no cigar - before moving with a familiar confidence into the Center's storage area to hunt for medicines and, with luck, the dried food rations sometimes kept there for emergencies.

[Metal Gear Snivy]

Quinn
Slateport City - Beach
ARPers: Death's Spook (Derek)

As Quinn was leaving the beach to enter the actual city, he saw another person come forward. At least he wasn't the only person near the oceans. Yet, he spread his arms out as if he was going to give him a hug...?

"Hi! I'm Derek," he informed. "Are you looking for something?" It seemed he would be happy to help, but Quinn thought it a little...suspicious. Rarely anybody randomly comes up to you and asks if you want help anymore. Well, people do, but it usually seems that they have an ulterior motive. Although... Derek does seem like he wants to help just for the sheer... joy of it. The only thing that was holding Quinn back from accepting was the fear that he'd loot him. Yet, his Wigglytuff has been known to do it from time-to-time yet he still trusts her.

"I'm looking for supplies," Quinn answered. "I was just heading into the city itself to see if there were any loose supplies there." Well, if this mystery man did have some evil intentions, Quinn might as well milk his help for some supplies before he possibly turns. Before he decided to start heading towards Slateport, he felt a tugging on his shirt. It turned out to be his Wigglytuff, Custard, asking for his attention. It let out a quiet "Wiggly!" of happiness, indicating that she found something. It turned out to be a red, star-like jewel that she found. "Did you steal that?" Quinn asked his partner.

"Wiggly!" (No.)

"Alright, good..." He turned back to Derek. "So, would you mind helping out, Derek?"

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jacob
Slate port Market>Slateport Pokemart
Affected RPers: Spinelwolf, Dragotech

"I guess we are going hungry tonight." I said to Shruikan, who gave me a solemn look. This situation was becoming more and more common. Suddenly I had an idea.

"It is obvious Slateport has nothing for us. Why don't we leave?" I said, "I heard rumours of a Cycling road north of here. It used to act as a highway to Mauville. Probably still does. If we are lucky, we might find a bike there."

Shruikan barked happily. Luckily not too loud.

"We will head to the Pokemart first," I said, "See if there is anything."

Truth be told, I didn't have much faith in there being anything better in Mauville, or any of the other cities. But I was tired of constantly telling Shruikan we wouldn't be eating. He seemed happier than usual at the thought of somewhere new, and I hoped we wouldn't find something disappointing elsewhere.

We walked south, still making sure we weren't seen, and found the old Pokemart. But something was off. I went to turn the door, and found it unlocked. It could have been unlocked 6 months ago. Or 6 minutes. Either way I wasn't taking any chances.

"Swords Dance, Shruikan." I whispered, "Be ready to use Night Slash if need be."

I pushed open the door and walked in, finding a young man dressed in grey, with a Rampardos, peering over the counter.

"Be ready," I whispered to Shruikan.

"I guess the Pokemart was the obvious choice for food?l I said to the young man as I looked around at the empty shelves.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Poké Mart
ARPers: Dragotech, The Operator


The young trainer took a deep breath when she heard the door open. She had her back flat against the wall behind the counter, her companion flat on his stomach on the tilted floor. The fire-type took a could quick sniffs and with a fore paw he moved a loose tile out of the way as quietly as he could. His trainer looked over to see that there were some items that were hidden in a shallow hole. Some length of rope and oran berries. Both would come in handy so she quickly took the items and placed them in her shoulder bag.

She then went still, hearing heavy footsteps heading in their direction. Again she flattened herself best she could behind the counter against the wall, but neither she nor her Pokémon could remain hidden when something looked over the counter. When the young woman looked up she saw red eyes staring down at her and her partner. For a moment they just stared until the dinosaur like Pokémon turned slightly and gave a call, most likely to its trainer. She heard a male voice sound in response, and she cursed under her breath. The Typhlosion huffed a bit, not happy about this situation either. What felt like longer than a mere moment later another set of eyes peered over the counter, and when their eyes met she tensed. It wasn't visible, at least not until another male voice called out. She couldn't help but feel fear tightening up her chest. One-on-one would normally be no problem, but now with someone at the only exit it could cause trouble.

"What do you want to do?" the fire-type asked his trainer quietly. "Stay and see if we can form alliances or fight our way out?"

The trainer took a deep breath to calm some of her nerves. The odds of getting out unharmed were not in their favor. Even if they couldn't form an alliance they could at least attempt to make a bargain for safe passage in the least. She was tired of fighting and repairing the damages to her clothing and equipment that came with the fighting.

"We all probably should have learned by now that the Mart would be completely bare. Guess we can't shake that little bit of hope that there is something of value left," she then said aloud, replying to the second male voice before standing. It was then that she learned that the other man was accompanied by an Absol. "I do hope that we can be civil. I cannot speak for either of you, but I for one would like a break from the constant fighting."

The Typhlosion was fully standing when his trainer finished speaking. He might not be able to see who all was was in the room, but he had a good idea were everyone was due to their scents and the sounds of their breathing. He didn't have his neck flame lit and looked rather calm, not wanting to provoke the other Pokémon by appearing to be in an aggressive state. Best not to start a fight that they weren't sure they could walk away from.

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: Phantasm.Angel

Unfortunately for Alex, it seemed that the place had indeed been looted previously by somebody else. The most interesting thing she could find was an old radio, which she was fairly certain was useless without power. Still, she stuck the thing in her pocket, for if she found a power source she’d then be able to see if there were any large groups of people in one place. She hoped that there was, because she really wanted a challenge.

Feeling particularly defeated by this lack of loot, the girl fell into an uncomfortable chair and sighed. It really was lonely without other people around, she would admit, but what she missed most was battling. There was a time when she would travel the regions, participating in various tournaments held for various reasons. No matter how badly she did she was always hailed a prodigy for even qualifying, which only increased her drive for battle.

It was in one of these tournaments where she’d first seen her opponent fall to the Blackout, and though it had horrified her at the time, the man’s death (or coma, as it has been at the time) only made the victory more sweet to her. Eventually the thrill of killing her opponents replaced the praise as her reasons for battling.

The girl certainly knew that Killer had worked at bringing this feeling out in herself, for this had become all too clear when the hellhound had killed her old Breloom for not finishing off an opponent, and then proceeded to do it himself. With this memory in her mind, Alex wasted no time in scratching the bloodthirsty hound behind the ears for being such a good companion, and it was during this act that the beast let out three quick (and quite) barks, which was code for saying that somebody was approaching.

“Now remember, Killer,” the girl said with a dark smile, “we need to see if they’re useful to us first. If they are, you can kill them later. Got it?”

The hound gave her a reproving look, but didn’t question orders as he went and rolled up into a ball in a particularly dark corner of the room. Alex didn’t get up from her seat, but her eyes darted between the single door and window in the room so that she wouldn’t miss the newcomer’s entrance.

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Inside the Slateport Mart
Arpers: SpinelWolf, The Operator

Kyle looked at the young woman hiding behind the counter. He was fairly unsure what to do. He was definitely certain the building was not clear now though.

"I guess the Pokemart was the obvious choice for food?" Kyle looked over at the door. He shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much... Doesn't seem to be much food here." Kyle said under his breath.

"We all probably should have learned by now that the Mart would be completely bare. Guess we can't shake that little bit of hope that there is something of value left," the woman began, "I do hope that we can be civil. I cannot speak for either of you, but I for one would like a break from the constant fighting."

Kyle looked down at her, "Honestly, I don't feel like fighting today, you Gaia?" The Rampardos shook her head. She walked up and took a look at the strange Absol.

Kyle walked around keeping an eye on his Rampardos. He looked at some trash and debris and saw a little bit of something. A Full Heal? He slid it into his pocket and kept looking to see if there was anything at all edible.

Gaia standing near the Absol still cocked her head to the side grinning and called out a short greeting. She then moved to her trainer's side sniffing at shelves hopefully. She listened to the sound of her complaining stomach.

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn)

Derek smiled: this was already going so much better than his last conversation. Granted, he doubted that very much could go worse; that Camerupt's trainer looked quite disturbing, dead. It would have been a sobering reminder that these days, it would have been entirely possible for Derek to be six feet under instead, except that Derek was never the type to allow such things to sadden or frighten him.

Speaking of fright, the top Athena's tail was creeping towards the Wigglytuff across from Derek, completely indiscernible from the waves in the evening light unless one happened to be looking for it. Fortunately, Derek was an astute person, and he figured that Athena would attempt hostile action on the assumption that everyone else was better off dismembered. So, Derek smiled and called out,"Come on out from the waves, Athena, and meet our new friends."

Athena jumped from underneath the waves, completely shocked (and slightly annoyed, though it didn't show) that she didn't have to kill the Wigglytuff, and by extension, the trainer in front of her. She regained her composure quickly, though, and gave a slight smile, seeming completely normal.

Derek smiled at the not hostile trainer talking to him,"Athena and I have been wandering around. Unfortunately, there's been more than one unfortunate accident, so we have some non perishable food. I just ate fish with Athena, so do you want a bite to eat before we begin?"

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jacob
Slateport Pokemart
Dragotech, Spinelwolf

The blade on Shruikan's head was encased in shadows, and he was ready to attack, like I said.
"Shruikan, they're fine." I said. The shadows disappeared and Shruikan sat down looking at the other Pokemon.

"So there is nothing here?" I said, "Damn it. I am leaving and wanted some supplies. I guess we are going hungry for a little while."

I walked towards the door and opened it.

"I am going to try and find a bike at the Cycling Road, and get out of here. I have been in Slateport for a while an there has been nothing." I said, "You guys can tag along if you like. I don't mind."

I walked out of the store closing the door behind me.

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Inside the Slateport Mart
Arpers: SpinelWolf, The Operator

Kyle looked over at Gaia, "You wanna go follow Weirdo One?" The Rampardos gave off a shrug and then a nod. "All right... Let's go..." Kyle took a moment to stop and look at the woman. "You want to come too? We all may need the extra hand now-a-days and seeing as you were hiding behind the counter... Yeah... you may want to come too for personal safeties sake."

Kyle walked out the door with his Rampardos grinning subtly. Apparently Slateport wasn't going to be one of her favorite places in the world. She was ready to move on to another place and maybe catch a bite to eat.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Poké Mart
ARPers: Dragotech, The Operator


In all honesty the trainer wasn't surprised when the two men decided to leave as soon as they saw how torn up and barren the Mart was. Though was surprised her was the offer to travel with them. She had been made that offer before, though rarely, and it always lead to something unpleasant. Namely those who offered to travel with her decided to turn against her and just use her. If it wasn't for the Typhosion that traveled with her then she would have been dead long ago. But instead of letting memories come forth she then turned her attention to the trainer who had entered first, the one with the Rampardos.

"You want to come too? We all may need the extra hand now-a-days and seeing as you were hiding behind the counter... Yeah... you may want to come too for personal safeties sake."

The brunette crossed her arms. She wasn't too surprised, but that didn't mean she was any less annoyed. Just because she was a young woman a lot of other trainers thought she was defenseless. She could hold her own just fine, even with some hidden altercations. Having a Typhlosion to back her up was just a beneficial bonus.

"Don't take it to heart, young one," the fire-type spoke, nuzzling her shoulder. "We both know you can take care of yourself, and that's all that really matters."

The female trainer sighed before she then jumped over the counter, not bothering going around it like her partner did just a moment later. Leaving the city wasn't a bad idea, and changing locations in a group could be safer than doing so alone. So she'd take the offer, if only for a while. She'd keep an eye on the other trainers and their Pokémon, however.

"I was only hiding in an attempt to avoid conflict, not that I can't handle it," she then said. "But after fighting for so long one's body can only take so much more. I was hoping that perhaps we could get a much needed breather." After another moment she spoke again.

"My name is Spinel, and my partner here is Rayner."

[Metal Gear Snivy]

Quinn
Slateport City - Beach
ARPers: Death's Spook (Derek)

Quinn saw a blue mouse pop out from some water and walked toward his new ally. At first glance, it looked like it was surprised that Derek was with him and not alone. But a second look proved him wrong by showing Quinn that the Azumarill was smiling. It didn't seem normal, though. Why would it be(e) so shocked to see someone new? Even in the apocalypse, it shouldn't be too surprising to see your friend talking to a random stranger about... about... Well, about anything, really. It could be all for survival. He shrugged off the thought about the Azumarill giving him a slightly dirty look and responded.

"Sure, it's probably a good idea to do so, first," Quinn replied. Food is a big priority (It doesn't have negative priority or a priority of 0, it has a priority of +2 if you know what I mean. ;D), even more so than any other need. Well, except for healing items, but he DOESN'T HAVE THAT, NOW DOES HE?

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Inside the Slateport Mart
Arpers: SpinelWolf, The Operator

"I was only hiding in an attempt to avoid conflict, not that I can't handle it," she then said. "But after fighting for so long one's body can only take so much more. I was hoping that perhaps we could get a much needed breather." After another moment she spoke again.

"My name is Spinel, and my partner here is Rayner."

Kyle looked back at her. "Kyle and my friend here is Gaia." Gaia growled a low contented growl and called a greeting. "She is probably a bit nicer than me, and I'm sure you could handle yourself, but you still looked pretty d@mn scared, and didn't exactly choose the most tactical position granted it would have made decent cover for an ambush if you planned on showing immediate aggression, but not for any other tactical purpose. Seriously, I don't think anyone wouldn't check to see if anyone was hiding there at some point."

He shrugged, "Sorry about that anyhow, it wasn't my intention to be rude." He thought for a moment. "And sorry about the lecture."

He turned to "Weirdo One." "Ready to head out?"

[Grassy_Aggron]

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Nirr/Jade
Edge of Route 116/Entry of Rustburo City ---> Devon Corporation Ruins
Affected RPers: None so far.

Enja peered at the remains of the towering industrial giant that scarred the landscape in the distance. "Scar" perhaps not being quite the right word, as the building had been built with an architecture even she could appreciate. Grand and imposing but also welcoming as any castle gate, she knew the steeple was not as she had once seen it, that it would only be a mockery of itself until it could be restored. Perhaps, in time, she could restore the once illustrious city itself. Devon had been a very innovative company that tried to balance both nature and mankind, finding a happy medium between the two. Its studies into dream technology had later been expanded on into the Dream World in another region, and its innovations with Pokeballs were well known alongside the Apricorns in Johto. She hadn't had the honor of working there, but the company she had worked for, Innoventions Inc., had taken on one of their problems and...well, sort of figured it out. They had made great progress until the Blackout happened.

She sighed. Her company had tried so hard to stay afloat as things happened. The main headquarters in Sootopolis City, had lost contact with the branch - her branch - situated in Slateport City, and as power had been lost, eventually, even their generator had failed, although she had made sure to take some precautions for the data to ensure its survival and eventual use. Now, however, she needed to establish contact. She knew, deep in her heart, that some of the isolated areas had to have suffered less damage and would be supporting technology...and if she could find a way to contact the main company, perhaps she could find out more information. When the Blackouts had happened, every company had shifted focus to trying to find a cure.

Devon was tasked with researching the Pokemon.

The Space Center turned its focus on seeing if the sun had anything to do with it.

Silph Co. was tasked with creating a cure.

Innoventions Inc. had to supply the needed materials.

Pokemon Centers and Marts had to do the distribution.

Gyms and the Elite 4, along with police, had to keep order.

Add on every other company, and it quickly began to develop into a worldwide effort. But the moment the order was lost, the chain of command began to collapse. Centers and Marts were overrun for a cure that, to her knowledge, never was developed. Devon collapsed here, and couldn't continue its research which had already proven to be helpful in slowing the disease. The Space Center went quiet as contact was lost with the rest of the world. Her company, in Slateport anyway, had power for the longest amount of time and held off looters, but even that went under.

She had to find a way to help. Because of the disorder she couldn't do anything for those that needed it, and one by one had watched her coworkers scatter or die. She knew some of them still had to be alive, and she was hunting for them, and any other engineers or specially talented people she could find. The more on a team, the better chances of getting things up and running again. To find a cure would take ingenious minds and technology that was present but broken.

<Enja, the building may have materials we need,> a soft mind touched her own, and she turned to look at her Aggron, a massive beast with a grey, rocky body and a metallic, triceratops helmet as well as armor. Unlike most, however, Jade's armor was a distinct green, as she had fed her fake emeralds since she was an Aron. Her Lairon phase had been a bit humorous, splotched with both normal steel and green tinted ones...Clearly, the most awkward of phases.

"I know," her voice came back in a soft whisper, "so let's go, Jade. Anything I can get my hands on, I could use it to fix. They had computers here. I don't hold any hope they work anymore, but if I can repair them..."

<We can find much needed answers.>

"Yes, exactly. Follow close." They began their quick move, armor and overalls, across the street, staying close to the rusting iron fence. She was quiet, and Jade equally so - the Aggron had learned to be light on her feet and stealthy, although maintaining a careful nature. I miss my workshop being by the ocean, but there may be hope for it yet...

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Rustboro Pokemon Center -> Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja), possibly Phantasm.Angel (Perry) and Sieses (Alexei).

For several minutes, Jade methodically picked through the scraps that had been left in the Pokemon Center. She found a few cans of vegetables, which were welcome but not necessary to someone who had come prepared, but she did find something of value - a Super Potion. She recognized the orange canister peeping out of a pile of discarded latex gloves immediately. Much to her delight, it was still full of valuable healing solution. She quickly packed it into her bag and kept searching.

After Jade had finished with the supply room, she moved on to the others. Her hopes were low, but she found herself a bit disappointed even then. All of the emergency radios had been swiped, which was frustrating. She had been hoping to find one so that she could get a hold of other people. As much as she liked Asteria's company, having others to live with in this hellhole could be pleasant, and she could always leave if she found that she had come so far as to resent all human company.

Something glinted in the dim twilight, catching Jade's eye. She bent down and picked it up - some sort of keycard. It wasn't anything from the Pokemon Center, but it looked like it might be important. On the offchance any doors were still operational, that was. Part of her was tempted to leave it behind, but she decided not to. It wasn't going to be a burden, after all, and maybe it would come in handy.

Once Jade stepped outside the Center, she released Asteria again. The Togekiss tilted her head. "Did you find anything good?"

"Some canned vegetables," Jade listed, "a Super Potion, and some sort of keycard. No luck with the radio, though. Looks like Devon's the next best choice. They made Pokenavs once upon a time, after all."

"Good idea," Asteria said. "Do you want me to scout ahead again?"

Jade nodded. "Please."

With swift, graceful movements, Asteria took to the sky. When she returned, she looked a little nervous. "There's a girl out there, with an Aggron. She didn't seem very contentious, but it's impossible to tell for sure. They're right in front of the building. What should we do?"

For a few moments, Jade considered the options. "I'll go and talk to her. Stay airborne. If she gets hostile, blast the Aggron with your best Aura Sphere. Hopefully we can make friends. Sound good?"

"Okay," Asteria replied. "I'll be watching." Once more, she flew up, becoming just another Pokemon circling the city. Satisfied that she was in no imminent danger, Jade walked toward the Devon building. Sure enough, there was a girl there - although 'young woman' would be more accurate - with dark hair, a curious helmet, and a strange green Aggron.

Deciding that it would be safest to alert the other before approaching, Jade called out. "Hello, there." She held up her palms to show that they were empty. "My name's Jade. I'm trying to track down some form of long-range communication, and I have food that I can share if you'll help me. What do you say?"

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, The Streets of Rustboro
Affected RPers: Sieses

After much prodding on Chloe's part, her trainer reluctantly decided to investigate the source of the sound. After a final survey of the lobby of the Devon Corporation in case he had overlooked anything useful in the last five sweeps, Perry was ready to head out. But before he could take a second step, he felt a familiar tugging at his leg. He looked down to see his Pachirisu holding what appeared to be an old PokéNav and barely holding in her excitement about the find. Perry sighed and took it off of her paws, while Pickup was a useful ability to have after societal collapse, it did have the unfortunate effect of turning his Pokémon into a pack rat.

The trainer opened up the device without expecting much, and wasn't disappointed. Though their catchy jingles had pronounced otherwise, it was clear that the Pokémon Navigator, the so-called essential tool for trainers, could not survive the end of the world. The screen of the device was cracked down the middle, and when the display was pressed, colorful ripples shot out from the point of impact. Its power cell was dead and there was no way to recharge it with Hoenn's power plants abandoned. Still, Perry couldn't throw it away, not in front of Chloe at least, so he put it into his backpack while congratulating his Pachirisu on a useful find. It had the potential to be very useful, considering both the Match Call feature and the map installed in it, but the trainer couldn't begin to decide how he could fix it.

Picking up his Electric Pokémon and placing her on his shoulder before she could locate any more junk, the trainer walked through the door and out into the street. Chloe chattered quietly in his ear and pointed to the source of the noise she had heard, a boarded up building that once served as Rustboro's prestigious Trainer School. Knowing that stealth was not his strongest suit, Perry entered the front door of the building with his hands away from his body, palms out in what he hoped was the universal sign for "Please, don't kill me."

Perry and his Pokémon had done this many a time and had decided on a plan whenever they ventured into potential danger. If the situation turned threatening, Chloe would unleash a blinding Discharge attack and the duo would beat a hasty retreat. But instead of the pack of hockey-mask wearing bikers he had been expecting, the trainer found himself looking at a rather small girl sitting in her chair while a Houndoom stood at her side. Still, Perry and his Pachirisu didn't let their guard down. The girl's unreadable face was not altogether reassuring and the mere fact that she could raise a Pokémon known for its viciousness meant that there was little doubt that she was no victim.

As Chloe bristled on his shoulder, Perry stepped into the building's shade. "I come in peace," he said, feeling almost as lame as he sounded.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jacob
Slateport City
Affected RPers: Dragotech, Spinelwolf

I heard both people walk out of the store, and waited for them.

Shruikan gave me a strange look. A worrysome one.

Are you sure they can be trusted? If they attack us, I will struggle to take both of them.

I put my hand on his head, and scratched him behind the ears.

"There is safety in numbers," I said to him, "And if they turn on us, we run. We have run from plenty worse than these two."

I turned to face the two people.

"I'm Jacob. This is Shruikan." I said coldly. Even though I offered for them to travel with me, I didn't trust them. They hadn't earnt that.

"I am assuming you want to come with me, seeing as you have come out here straight after." I said, "I'm heading to the north gate now and leaving in an hour. If your there, thats fine and dandy. If not, good luck to you."

I walked north with Shruikan, straight to the gate. I had no possessions to collect, so all I had to do was wait.

[Grassy_Aggron]

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Nirr/Jade
Devon Building
Affected RPers: Velocity (Jade Araceli)

It was certainly taller in person. Standing before the entrance of the building, the main doors had been busted down a long time ago, only closed in emergencies as the company was open 24/7...normally. Its great tan exterior had most of the windows broken, vines creeping up more on the side facing the grass than the weed infested, cracked stone pathways that bordered it, East and South. Up on the very highest floor and overhanging them was a great stone beast, mouth open and wings spread. It was a Dragonite statue, meant to show both courage and power, but also to be respected. That was what the Devon Corporation was, and always would be. When humanity and Pokemon alike pulled themselves out of this chaos, it would be remembered as it was. She began to take a step when her companion's voice breached her mind.

<We have company...>

Enja turned, noticing the woman approaching. She was younger than herself, but built very tall and muscular...and had an extremely noticeable knife on her left hip. Before she could respond, she called out a greeting, lifting her hands in the universal sign of no ill harm. What caught her interest was what she had to say next. "My name's Jade. I'm trying to track down some form of long-range communication, and I have food that I can share if you'll help me. What do you say?"

Enja couldn't help but start laughing. "Your name is Jade? How ironic! My Aggron's name is Jade!" Her companion seemed to offer a sheepish grin at that outburst. "Hi there! My name is Enja Niir. It's nice to meet you, although now I have to rename my friend here!" She held out her gloved hand for a handshake. "Seems we're both thinking about the same thing. I know one possible place to contact if we can get something working. I'm after the computers here. As for food, we can pool what we have, no problem! My Jade can always go out and hunt Zigzagoon if needed. I mean, I have some jerky I made from the last one she caught." She tapped her fanny pack. "It'll be nice having some help, seeing as I can't find any of my coworkers. Then again, I probably should have checked more areas...Hmm." In hindsight, probably a good idea.

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn)

Derek smiled again, before plopping his pack down on the ground and rummaging through it, pulling out a can of tuna and some bread. He handed both to the trainer before saying,"Like I said, I already ate. But if you don't terribly mind, would you please tell me your names? I don't want to refer to you as 'trainer' and 'Wigglytuff.' We should also probably decide where to go, as I don't think just hanging around the beach, staring at the stars, is going to do much in terms of us not dying."

Meanwhile, Athena decided that she needed to redirect her excitement for a battle that wasn't going to happen into something more productive, and seeing the shiny star in her opposite number's hand gave her an idea. She plunged back into the waves and started rummaging under the waves, hoping to find something on or underneath the shallow seabed. Her ears gave her an advantage, allowing her to know where in the seabed there were likely to be things that would not appreciate her intrusion on their day.

Of course, she still liked to occasionally intrude on their day anyway (before ending it prematurely), but at least she knew what she was getting into.

[Suicune's Fire]

Tya Pascol
Rustboro City
ARPers: N/A

Tya dragged herself over the border into Rustboro City. Heavily she collapsed on the concrete of the walkway that wound through the city before her and panted, hanging her head between her shoulders as her fringe reached for the ground. She expelled breaths at a constant and solid rate, trying to regain a sense of awareness before she planned to seek any sort of refuge. The looming towers around her seemed to provide the implication of safety, but she knew better than to immediately trust them. As well as safety, tall, suspicious buildings were also an open trap, beckoning weary travellers into their depths to corner them...lose them in an illusion of stability.

She was not going to fall for that again.

Pulling herself from the ground and becoming suddenly aware that predators could be lurking, she targeted a house not too far away, glued to the outskirts of the city. Many houses seemed to be grouped in the same general area, and it was in those abodes that she assumed she could find what she was always on the lookout for: supplies. Survival was not only something she sought for herself, but her companion as well. Supplies of any sort were difficult to come across, as most products were no longer manufactured. Society's collapse was only a few years in the past, however, so she was sure that plenty of the world's supplies were still in existence. She would have expected an overflow of them to be lying about somewhere, especially after more than half of the population dropped off the face of the earth without their worldly possessions, but scavengers had often proven her wrong on that front.

Wandering cautiously toward the house closest to her, Tya jumped when a taillow fluttered overhead, screeching a horrid call of what was presumably fear.

"The city is inhabited," a low, calm voice from behind her sounded, although she had not needed to hear the words to already suspect that they were accurate.

The sound of claws clicking on the concrete combined with the rustling of static fur brought her gaze to the side, where it flickered for but a second before returning to inspect her surroundings. "We won't be here long," she answered.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja).

There was a small part of Jade that wondered uncharitably how such an excitable woman was surviving out here. Banishing the thought from her mind - looks could be deceiving - she gave Enja's hand a brisk shake. "It's good to meet you," she said, "although you don't have to change your companion's name on my account. That reminds me..." She whistled, prompting Asteria to swoop down and land beside Jade. The Togekiss waved a wing over her chest and dipped her head in a bow. "This is my friend Asteria."

It had been a while since Jade had met new people, so small talk was a bit tough for her. Moving into the building in the hopes of getting her new ally to follow, she said, "You mentioned coworkers and people you could contact. Were you a Devon employee? I don't know much about the company itself, save that they made devices like the Pokenav."

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: Phantasm.Angel

Finally the door to the room opened and a huge man entered. At one point being as overweight as he was would have been reason to make fun of him, but the fact that he was still that overweight - despite the scarcity of food - meant that he was probably a really useful person to have a round.

Still, the girl had to question, was he really?


The girl’s eyes drifted off to his Pokémon - a Pachirisu, which wasn’t exactly the most violent of its typing. Still, they were still alive, weren’t they? That had to count for something, although Alex couldn’t think of what exactly that was.

“I come in peace,” the man said, holding his palms out in a manner that clearly stated that he didn’t want to get into a fight, thank you very much.

Alex allowed her brow to arch slightly as she took this in. He was a dork, of this she was sure, but that certainly didn’t mean he couldn’t still be useful. She had little doubt that he survived on cunning and not power, which would mean he probably wouldn’t mind having somebody with him who could fight off any threats. Furthermore, he could help the girl find food so that she could finally eat properly for the first time in years.

May as well get as much use out of him as she could before she set Killer on him, at any rate.


“Duly noted,” Alex said dryly. “Now, what other reasons do you have for coming here? While peace is well and good, I’m sure you have other motives as well.”

The girl shifted in her seat to a more serious pose, and drilled her emotionless gaze directly into the man. While there was no emotion to it, she found that most of the time people felt it better to answer her truthfully when under it, and so she saw no reason to stop now. Plus, if this man couldn’t handle one little look, then his continued existence was only a fluke that needed to be corrected as soon as possible.

The shadows shifted in the darkened corner of the room, because Killer knew as well as Alex that the answer to this question could very easily lead to the man being marked as useless, and that the girl would happily keep her promise to him.

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, Rustboro Trainer School
Affected RPers: Sieses
The girl’s response and demeanor were all business, and while such a demeanor would have undoubtedly led to stuttering and sweating a few years ago, Perry had grown accustomed to being addressed this way. After all, people were in the transition process from apocalyptic to post-apocalyptic, so manners were far less important than survival. The trainer planned his reaction carefully; the girl’s Houndoom did not look like it was in the mood to let him try for a good second impression. Dismissing several approaches in seconds, Perry settled for honesty, always at least the second best policy. “My Pokémon heard a noise,” he said, “and we decided to investigate in case its source posed a threat to us. In addition, we surmised that it could have been caused by a survivor or group of survivors that may be recruiting.”
The obese trainer laughed shortly, “You can probably tell, but the two of us aren’t the toughest of customers. Travelling in a group would provide far greater protection, and it would restore some semblance of law and order.” Chloe nodded on his shoulder, and chattered quietly.
Years of friendship had enabled Perry to somewhat translate the electric squirrel’s high-speed language, and he understood her warning. Chloe was nervous about the reception her trainer’s answer would receive and Perry agreed. While Perry’s goal was the reformation of a society based on the rule of law, he had not encountered too many survivors of the Blackout that had agreed with him. It shouldn’t have surprised the trainer, but the fact was that some of those who had made it this far could claim to be thriving under the new conditions.
It was tempting to ask questions of the other trainer, but judging from her fierce Pokémon and bearing, Perry was guessing that the girl he was trying to reason with might be one of them. Still, he had told her his intentions with perfect sincerity, and she would either let him live or try to attack him. And if the latter happened, well, Chloe was prepared for that eventuality.

[Grassy_Aggron]

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Niir/Jade
Devon Building.
ARPers: Velocity (Jade)

The handshake was brisk and brief. "It's good to meet you, although you don't have to change your companion's name on my account." Araceli frowned a little. "That reminds me..." The woman let out a high pitched whistle, and from the sky a figure swooped down low, landing on small feet. She recognized the blue and red spotted figure as a Togekiss, and hearing the name - Asteria - she couldn't help but grin.

"Oh, a Togekiss! They are said to share blessings with those that avoid needless strife. That's a good Pokemon to have - very good luck! She looks very well taken care of too, which I'm glad to see." Only now Araceli was walking into the building. Small talk wasn't her strong point, eh?

"You mentioned coworkers and people you could contact. Were you a Devon employee? I don't know much about the company itself, save that they made devices like the Pokenav." Enja let out a small laugh.

"No, not quite. I am the lead engineer for the Slateport City branch of Innoventions Inc. We did work with Devon on several occasions, as well as other larger companies." She still say "am" because, as far as she knew, the branch wasn't truly dead as long as the data was around. "Devon did invent the Pokenav, but they also made strides in Dream World technology and several variations of Pokeballs. They even started a way to talk with Pokemon, which our company then took over when they switched to developing yet another Pokeball." She felt some glass break under her boots, but ignored it as the safety-regulation grade soles shrugged it off. Even after six years, they still were nearly brand new. "I have reason to believe the main HQ of Innoventions Inc. is still operational, and if I can contact my big boss, maybe I can find out more. We always were prepared..."

After all, who had enough fuel to power a giant generator for several months? Her branch did, even when the rest of Slateport went dark. If they had been that prepared - on HQ's orders no less - there was no doubt the main base was even more prepared. But, if they had fallen in such an isolated city...No, no, no. There is always hope, and somewhere there is a city that is alive and well, orderly even! And if worst came to worst, she could always return to her homeland. Her parents were still alive, she knew that much.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City
ARPers: Dragotech, The Operator


Spinel let out a deep sigh. She hadn't meant to come off as she had. She was just tired of people assuming something because she was a woman. But that was the least of her worries. As her partner had said, what mattered was that she knew how to take care of herself.

"It was rather stupid of me to corner myself as I had. Should have learned from the last time that failed. However at least this time it didn't break out into a fight," she said. "I seem to appear in an area where women are hardly seen, and with our population decreasing... I think you can put the rest of the pieces together."

She didn't go any further for the memories would surface again, which was the cause of her earlier fear. Being ganged up by older men left her somewhat fearful and distant towards other, even if they didn't deserve it. She felt more comfortable around other women, but she only truly relaxed around Pokémon. So even now she was on edge, but physically she was at least somewhat relaxed thanks to how close Rayner now walked beside her. She then heard the Absol's trainer, Jacob, said they had about an hour before they were to depart.

"Long enough to quickly search the Center. There might be hidden compartments we can find like at the Mart," Rayner suggested.

"Then I'll meet you in an hour, Jacob," she replied. "Rayner and I are going to see if there's anything salvageable in the Center," she said before turning on her heel, heading for the red roofed building. "If you wish to join me Kyle, I won't stop you."

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja).

(Sorry for the short posts. I'm hurried and I don't have much material.)

Apparently, Jade's first impression was right - Enja was a chatterbox. She was rather surprised to find that she didn't mind. She let Enja talk as she pushed open the door to the wrecked Devon lobby. It was pretty messed-up; the chairs had almost all be carried off, the wallpaper was peeling, and there was a suspicious red stain near the receptionist's desk. The sight of it made Asteria shudder, and Jade tapped her comfortingly on the shoulder.

Jade worked as she spoke, picking through the trash cans and closets. "That's a good thought," she said. "Maybe I could lend you a hand when you get back. I have quite a bit of medical knowledge myself. Was your company at all involved with cure development?"

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jacob
Slateport City North Gate
Affected RPers: None

Shruikan and I walked to the north gate, arriving after 10 minutes. I sat against the fence next to it, and waited.

"How do you feel about this?" I said to Shruikan, "We haven't travelled with anyone since Gavin and Slip."

Shruikan growled at the thought of our old friends.

"Let's hope for our sake, and theirs, they don't betray us like Gavin." I said, "More so for their sake. We don't go down easy."

I sat back, and remembered the events in Slateport, 1 year ago. At the time, I had become friends with someone a year younger than me, and his Gengar. Gavin and Slip. We stuck together, and watched each other's back. Though Gavin was stupid.

One night we snuck in to the main HQ of one of the stronger gangs. If you wanted food, the gangs supplied it. But there was a cost. And if you couldn't pay it, you were owned by the gang.

Gavin and I saw ourselves like Robin Hood and Little John. We snuck in to their warehouse, and took what we needed but were found. We fled in opposite directions, meeting up at the place we were staying at. I thought for sure that Gavin would have been found by the gang, and should have known something was up when he came back alive.

The moment I turned my back, I heard him mutter something to Slip.
"Hypnosis."

I turned to face him, and saw dark waves pulsating from the Gengar, as I became drowsy. Turns out he was found. But they realised that even if they caught him, I would be more a nuisance. They told him that they would let him join them, if he turned me in.

If Shruikan didn't get between Slip and I, I would have fallen asleep and probably been killed by the gang. The psychic attack didn't affect Shruikan, who then used Night Slash, knocking down the Gengar, who almost went unconscious. Knowing that the disease would kill Gavin if Shruikan attacked again, I had him stand down, and went to leave with the food. I turned my back, and went to walk off. However he had Slip attack me again. Toxic. The attack hit me, and Shruikan used Psycho cut, knocking out, and in turn killing Gavin and Slip.

For months after that, I was distraught, and sick. Gavin was my friend, and I was in shock that Shruikan and I killed him. It took me a while to accept that I did what I had to do. It took even longer to recover from the toxic attack. The potency of it weakened me, making me unable to move much for a few months. I had to rely on Shruikan for almost everything.

"I think these two are better." I said to Shruikan, "Gavin was an idiot. He didn't see that the gang would have killed the both of us."

Shruikan said nothing, but I saw the blade on his head glow for a second. Swords Dance. Shruikan was vigilant. I smiled to myself.

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: Phantasm.Angel

Alex could tell that the other trainer took a few seconds to plan a response, which was good. She was honestly surprised with some of the stupid things that trainers blurted out in this apocalyptic world. In fact, she was surprised at some of the things that trainers blurted out in the pre-apocalyptic world, but talking wasn’t half as big of a deal back then, so she had let it slide.

“My Pokémon heard a noise,” the man said bluntly, “and we decided to investigate in case its source posed a threat to us. In addition, we surmised that it could have been caused by a survivor or group of survivors that may be recruiting.”

Alex was pleasantly surprised by this. The man wasn’t a leader - going as far as saying it openly, in that he wanted to join an existing group - which would make it much easier for the two to work together. Furthermore, he went to investigate a sound when it was a potential danger to himself, which demanded bravery. If he weren’t brave he may as well not exist, in this new world.

Alex was dragged from her thoughts by the man’s laugh.

“You can probably tell, but the two of us aren’t the toughest of customers,” the man confirmed. “Traveling in a group would provide far greater protection, and it would restore some semblance of law and order.”

He was still being blunt, Alex noted with an approving nod of the head, which could easily be mistaken for her saying that she understood what he was saying. There was only one things she didn’t agree with, and she was certainly going to comment on it.

“Unfortunately, this world is now lawless,” she said, adding a sigh in for good measure. “All the groups I’ve encountered have resembled Team Rocket, not the League. It’s possible that there’s one which follows the beliefs you hold, but they’re certainly not anywhere around here.”

The girl’s eyes swept over the two once more, and when her eyes landed on the Pachirisu an idea struck her.

“I happen to have a radio in my pocket,” she said, hitting her pocket lightly with her palm. “It’s out of power, unfortunately, but do you think it would be possible for your Pachirisu to power it? I’m afraid I’ve never raised an electric type, so I wouldn’t know.”

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, Rustboro Trainer School
Affected RPers: Sieses

Perry suppressed a grimace at the girl's comment about the world being lawless. Of course, he hadn't found any groups dedicated to the rebuilding of society either, or else he would have joined them. Instead most were living by the mantra of survival of the fittest and were willing to exploit and harm others for their own benefit or pleasure. But against the conclusion his experience had provided him, Perry had hoped that he had just had bad luck when it came to finding groups. Now that this girl corroborated the theory that there was no more order to go back to, he was afraid more than ever of what the future would hold.

But the trainer narrowed his eyes and focused on the present and the task at hand. "To be honest," Perry said, with a glance at his partner, "we've never tried it before." Gears began turning in his head and soon Perry was talking more to himself than anyone else, including Chloe, "But it makes sense, if we can match the intensity and make-up of the component spark provided by the intended power source, then the circuit should begin replicating itself almost instantly."

Snapping out of it, Perry sheepishly grinned at the other trainer, "So, in other words, I think we can do it." His focus then turned to his Pachirisu, "What do you think? You'd need to be a lot more focused than you usually are when you electrocute things."

Chloe chattering conveyed her confidence, but quickly had another idea. Climbing into Perry's backpack, she rustled through their provisions until she pulled out the PokéNav that she had found earlier. The Pokémon then eagerly pressed it into her trainer's hand, whose face began to light up with dawning realization.

"Of course," he exclaimed and quickly set the device gently onto the floor of the trainer school. Chloe leaped off of his shoulder and her white and blue fur began to bristle as she began to store the electricity that she would normally let dissipate into the atmosphere. "If you want to take out the radio," Perry said to the other trainer, "after all, it'd probably be for the best if you didn't get shocked."

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Pokémon Center
ARPers: none


Not waiting for a reply from Kyle the brunette walked the couple of minutes it'd take to reach the Center. She and her Typhlosion had to pry the doors open for the power died in the building long ago. The only light source was that of the sunlight coming in through windows or wholes in the walls. Even in the low light Spinel could already tell that there wasn't much left.

"Even if we can't find any medicine we should find some scrap metal at least. That always has good uses down the line," the trainer spoke. Whenever they could find scrap metal that was easily transported, normally stored in her bag, they'd take it. Especially since some of the gear that they always carried could easily be broken and the only way they could repair it on the road was if they had spare metal on them.

"I don't hear anyone or anything in the immediate area," Rayner spoke, standing on all fours and slowly moving his ears and head around, carefully listening.

"Then let us search quickly for anything we can use and take and get back to Jacob," the trainer responded, walking further into the building.

"You think he and his Absol can be trusted? I sensed before that they were ready for a fight."

"We're living in a tough time where only the strongest survive. All of us should be ready to defend our lives." Spin took a short pause before adding, "But that still doesn't mean we can't try to repair the damage done and learn to trust others once again."

The fire-type smiled. "Wise words, young one. Now let us see if there are any hidden gems here like there were at the Mart."

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Inside the Slateport Mart
Arpers: SpinelWolf, The Operator

Kyle sat against a building. He thought about a few words, "I think you can put the rest of the pieces together." She said that before wandering off to the Pokémon Center.

Kyle looked over to his Pokémon. "Do you think we should go and watch the building? Not sure if it was a terribly good idea letting her leave alone. It's obvious these two won't have a problem. His Pokémon looks ready to go even now." Gaia shrugged. "Wanna go for a little run then, girl?" The Rampardos nodded.

"Hey, Jacob, we are going to make sure Spinel doesn't have any... unexpected company... join us if you want, but we can catch up if you don't. A good sign we need a hand is if the ground starts to shake."

Kyle and Gaia ran off towards the Pokémon Center.

[Suicune's Fire]

Tya Pascol
Inside a house in Rustboro
ARPers: N/A

Realising there was likely nobody around after pressing on the door and allowing it to creak open, the girl crept inside. She threw a glance over her shoulder and held the door open for her pokemon, who cautiously crept through. His blue and yellow fur bristled as he inspected the first room, which was rather open and shrouded in the darkness caused by dirtied windows with layerings of cobwebs. What little light made it into the stale home was mingled with dust and seemed somehow unclean. Thankfully, Tya did not have to be picky about unclean light.

Removing her backpack over her shoulder, she unzipped the main compartment and fished out a circular contraption with a rubber handle. She held the contraption in her left hand as her right worked the bag onto her back again, and ensured the door was closed before turning to her electric pokemon. She needed not to say anything before the manectric grunted softly and loosed a bolt of lightning onto the contraption, the immediate light illuminating the area and powering the small generator in the girl's hand. Sparks hopped about and threatened to sting her skin, only to retreat at the touch of the rubber handle.

The room's contents were much more distinguishable and warranted an immediate inspection. Ordering her partner to creep into a hallway to the right and informing him that she would follow shortly after she fleshed out a room to her immediate left, she wandered into her targeted location and lifted the contraption. It spun wildly and caused quite a ruckus when it was on, but the light it generated from the constant flow of electricity was perfect for enabling her to see. She briefly wondered if it would perhaps attract some unwanted and curious people roaming about the city, as she knew it was populated, but hoped that she was wrong.

The room she had crept into was presumably the master bedroom of the house. Half the ceiling had collapsed in onto the large bed at the back of the room, a bathtub which had been on the top storey propped up by the fallen planks of wood which were still half arranged in a floor-like manner. The drawers of a dressing table along the right wall had been violently ripped out and rummaged through, and it was then that Tya knew that there was probably nothing for her in that house. It had likely been ransacked years ago, and no valuables would have been left behind.

Scowling, she turned to exit the room and thought again of her goal to seek out any form of communication. She knew that the government had collapsed, but there was bound to be someone still at the head of the region, and contacting them would put her in a powerful position, especially if she offered to work for them. She doubted that her fantasy was even close to accurate, but it was all she had to go off.

"Mack," she grunted softly, but audibly enough for her pokemon to hear, "anything useful over there?"

"No," came the curt response, but she could tell that he was still searching.

She came into view of the manectric, who was sniffing around the base of a wardrobe in another room. He eyed her from in front without particular emotion. "Well...if we can't find anything here, we should stay here for a bit to rest."

The pokemon lifted his nose and remained still before glancing coolly back to her and nodding once.

~SF.

[NuzlockeLover]

Jackson
Rustburo City- His house
ARPer's: N/A

"Kronos, use Bullet Punch" The Scizor flew up to the dummy and hit it with a flurry of punches. When Kronos came back, the dummy was all beat up and broken. "Good job Kronos. You broke another dummy."

"Sci..."

"Don't worry. We've got tons more." As Jackson went to get another dummy Kronos ran over to the door, like someone or something was going to come inside... As Jackson came back in with another dummy he became curious....

"Something wrong Kronos?"

"Sci. Scizor."

"What? Someone's coming?" Jackson was becoming worried. What if when the person came in and killed Kronos? This was not good...

"When they come in make sure to attack them with everything you got. But only if they are threatening us."

"Scizor..." Kronos got ready for an attack and Jackson got ready to fight as well. This could be the end of them both...

OOC: This is my first ever RP so don't judge me.

[Grassy_Aggron]

(You hath been judged, NL. And you have been deemed fabulous. :D )

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Niir/Jade
Devon Building
ARPers: Velocity (Jade Araceli)

Enja didn't pay much attention to the red stain. She knew it was blood, but convinced herself it was ketchup. People loved ketchup after all, although she wasn't particularly fond of the fruit used to create them. How strange that something she didn't like was changed to something she does like. Kind of like gum. Shame she hadn't actually figured out what it's made of. Gum, sugar free, was good for the teeth after eating. Yep! What an interesting fact - from what she knew it was because it made you salivate, which in turn helped wash acids and bacteria off the teeth. How fascinating. Maybe she should have become a dentist instead of an engineer. A dental engineer. Did that even exist? Hmm.

"That's a good thought," her new partner stated. "Maybe I could lend you a hand when you get back. I have quite a bit of medical knowledge myself. Was your company at all involved with cure development?"

"Medical knowledge is good to have. A doctor and an engineer - inventing the way into better health!" She gave a small laugh, trying to find usable wires and the like. They hadn't gotten to where she wanted quite yet, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything valuable here. "As for that last part...Yes and no. Silph Co. was in charge of developing the cure. My company was involved in supplying the materials, which we did, although it started to get more difficult as disorder became apparent. The shipyard in Slateport was very useful in transporting supplies, but as the sailors and boats got caught in the violence..." She didn't need to finish her statement. It was easy enough to see what happened.

There was no cure still, that much was clear. If there was, it certainly hadn't made its way to Hoenn.

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: Phantasm.Angel

“To be honest, we’ve never tried it before,” the other trainer admitted, just before starting to talk to himself. “But it makes sense, if we can match the intensity and make-up of the component spark provided by the intended power source, then the circuit should begin replicating itself almost instantly."

Alex stared at the man blankly, although the only visible hint of her confusion would have been her tilted head, since her eyes remained emotionless as always. Her only skill before the Blackout was battling, and since there was no reason to gain other skills afterwards, everything he said went right over her head. Whether or not he noticed this she didn’t know, but he quickly simplified his statement.

“So in other words, I think we can do it,” he said with a sheepish grin. He then turned to his Pachirisu and started talking with it. The small rodent quickly got a broken PokéNav out of the man’s bag, and this seemed to give him an idea. The Pokémon quickly started bristling, and the trainer turned to Alex and said, “If you want to take out the radio. After all, it’d probably be for the best that you didn’t get shocked.”

Alex stared at him cautiously as she retrieved the radio from her pocket, and quickly got up to set it down on a nearby desk. She quickly scooted away from the thing, because it was entirely possible that he would have used this situation to his advantage. After all, trickery was an easy to live in this world. Cowardly, but easy.

“So, can you explain what’s happening?” the girl asked, eying the him warily. “In english, preferably.”

Killer made a sound that said that he really didn’t understand why his trainer was putting up with the other one, and Alex was quick to send him a quelling look. They still hadn’t talked about how the other trainer got his food, and so he was still useful to them. Bloodthirsty though Alex may be, she still fancied herself being rather smart.

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, Rustboro Trainer School
Affected RPers: Sieses, possibly Grassy_Aggron, Velocity, NuzlockeLover and/or Suicune's Fire

Perry picked up the radio that the girl had set on the desk and was pleasantly surprised to see that Devon's near-monopolistic control over Hoenn's consumer product market had some benefits. Setting the PokéNav next to the other device, Perry began to address the other trainer's question, "Both of these machines were built by the Devon Corporation and, as such, are both powered by the same model and make of rechargable battery, partly because it was easier for customers to get it repaired, but largely because standardization was cheaper." Now, he turned to his Pachirisu, "My plan is to get Chloe to replicate the same electric jolt that would normally be created by the alterations caused by a power cord and use it to reboot both devices."

Failing to notice the silent exchange between the Houndoom and its trainer, Perry helped his Pachirisu crawl up on the desk, where she began to examine the back of both the radio and the PokéNav, pulling off their backs to take a look at the batteries inside. "While we may not have done this before," Perry said, "Chloe knows a lot about electrical theory on account of the training she had before I met her."

After another minute of exploring, the Pokémon gave her trainer a nod. "Alright," Perry said, "she's ready." He stepped back, and motioned for the girl and her Houndoom to do the same. When she was satisfied with the distance, the Electric Pokémon's fur began to bristle with energy as blue sparks leaped their way across Chloe's fluffy tail. Then, with a sharp cry, she let loose a massive discharge of energy that lit up the whole room, and beyond as light seeped through the worn-down building, revealing the position of these two trainers and their Pokemon to anyone who might be watching.

But that wasn't a concern for Perry right now, he was paying more attention to the whip-like tendrils of electrical energy that were striking the floor far enough away from the others as to not cause harm, but still close enough to keep them awake. Chloe then gritted her teeth and focused, and one by one, the off-shoots of electricity died out, until there were only two, gradually working their way over to the broken machines. The PokéNav was the first to be hit, followed shortly by the radio. As energy surged into them, both devices came to life as the radio began blaring static, and the PokéNav's display screen lit up.

The Pachirisu looked at her handiwork, and, satisfied, stopped generating electricity. She crawled off the desk and over to Perry, getting back on his shoulder as he thanked her for a job well-done. Then, he picked up the PokéNav, and was disappointed to see that, while charged, its screen was still cracked, severely hindering its capabilities. With a grimace, he stuffed it back into his bag, and then grabbed the radio and handed it to the other trainer. It was still blaring static, and Perry had to speak over it, "I think it's safe to say it worked."

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja).

Enja's quip made Jade smile a bit. It might have been a workable slogan, were there anyone to share it with. However, there wasn’t, and there wasn’t much chance that they would be able to fix that anytime soon. Not that that wasn’t a reason not to try – according to Asteria, in any case. The Togekiss’s relentless optimism could be a spirit-lifter at times. It could also be incredibly irksome.

“Silph Company, eh?” asked Jade, still picking her way through the lobby. “I don’t know a lot about Devon, but I do know about Silph. They were responsible for many leaps in medical technology, including a Potions update that halved the time it took to complete the healing process. It’s a shame that it wasn’t enough.” She paused as she searched behind the receptionist desk – there was, thankfully, no corpse – and added when she came back up, “Supplies in Slateport, though... I’d think they were all looted, but maybe some survived. Do you know what was among them?”

Once she had finished her inspection of the lobby, Jade hovered by the door to the stairs, waiting for Enja’s answer to her question.

[Suicune's Fire]

Tya Pascol
Inside a house in Rustboro
Affected RPers: Sort of Phantasm.Angel and Sieses?

No more than a moment after Mack looked around did a sudden brightness catch his attention. The room Tya had just been in held the most amount of light, and it had suddenly grown stronger for a brief moment before dulling. His eyes were fixed where he had seen the increase of light, and promptly Tya whirled around to view the exact same thing. The strength of the brightness was still more than it had been before the flash, which made it certain that whoever was in the house nearby was illuminating the place for a reason.

Human and pokemon exchanged a brief glance before both shot down the hallway toward the back of the house, skidding to a halt in the last room. Tya brushed aside one window's thick, mouldy curtains in order to view the light from another perspective, knowing that just one building across was another traveller, probably just like her, with a pokemon similar to Mack. However, she could not be sure of their motives, and had to be cautious until she was to discover them.

"Our options are clear... Avoid these people or figure out what they're after," she muttered to her electric type companion, resting her eyes on his face.

He was focused, although traces of concern seeped through his fur and mixed with his expression. "We have been seeking a form of communication for quite sometime now. They could have means of contacting others and share it with us..."

"...Or they could be after the same thing we are," Tya finished, procuring their answer. She knew what she wanted to do, and there was only one way to approach it: stealth.


~SF.

[Metal Gear Snivy]

Quinn
Slateport City - Beach
ARPers: Death's Spook (Derek)

((Sorry I haven't been able to post, school has taken energy out of me. And I'm out of Chills.))
"My...name?" Quinn thought to himself. Is it safe? Well, it's just a model name. "It's Quinn. And this is my Wigglytuff, Custard." -Insert facepalm text here- Why...Just...Why. Why would you tell someone your Pokemon's stupid nickname. Seriously. Quinn accepted the can and opened it up with the reward of watered tuna. Who knows when the next meal would be?

"Wiggly!" Custard exclaimed. Well, it seemed she wanted something, too. He handed the pink blob the loaf of bread to eat; it wasn't something he preferred with anything else and was fine with just tuna.

"We should also probably decide where to go, as I don't think just hanging around the beach, staring at the stars, is going to do much in terms of us not dying," Derek said. It's true. Just staring at the stars isn't going to help much. Ironic that a red, star-shaped stone was just found now recently soonish by Custard. How is that stone going to help in this apocalypse again? It's not worth overthinking about it, but what is more important is where to go.

"I remember that there's a Mart back in the city," Quinn suggested. "There might be some supplies left like Full Heals or Super Potions or...something that will help." In all truth, Quinn didn't exactly know what was left and if it was raided by anyone who came. It wouldn't hurt to check it, though. Anything would be helpful now. Well, almost anything. Quinn glanced at the Star Piece once more before slipping it back into his pocket.

[NuzlockeLover]

Jackson
Rustburo City- His House and Trainer School
Affected RPers: Phantasm.Angel

As Jackson and Kronos got ready for an attack, they heard something starting to turn the doorknob. They readied themselves for any sort of attack... but it never came. Nothing happened but the door was open. They looked down and what they saw surprised them...

"Bwahahahaha!" Jackson laughed, "We were scared of a little Eevee.. that's holding something in it's mouth..." Jackson took the thing out of the Eevee's mouth and saw that it was, "A PokeNav?" Jackson wondered, "What's an Eevee doing with a PokeNav?" Jackson looked down and saw that the Eevee was no longer there. "That's weird... Well, anyway Kronos, let's go outside and see if we can find anything useful, that okay?"

"Scizor" Kronos nodded his head as if to say yes.

"Okay then, let's go."

After they left the house they went over to the Trainer School and looked inside.

"Hey, there's someone in there." Jackson went over and opened the door. "Hello?" Then all of a sudden the person turned around startled as did their Pachirisu. "Sorry to bother you," Jackson said, "But I saw you from outside and I was wondering what you were doing in here..."

[Grassy_Aggron]

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Niir/Jade
Devon Building
ARPers: Velocity (Araceli)

Enja saw a small smile tug at Araceli's mouth, and couldn't help but grin inwardly that she had managed to amuse someone. Indeed, she was always the type to try and make others laugh, and it always made her feel good when she did. Her attention was caught by her companion stopping at the stairs to ask her a question. “Silph Company, eh?” she started. “I don’t know a lot about Devon, but I do know about Silph. They were responsible for many leaps in medical technology, including a Potions update that halved the time it took to complete the healing process. It’s a shame that it wasn’t enough.” She paused. “Supplies in Slateport, though... I’d think they were all looted, but maybe some survived. Do you know what was among them?”

"Aye, that they were. Saved a lot of Aggron back in my homeland when they got injured." Enja, however, was curious about that last question, and she put her hand underneath her chin as she thought. "I do know what was among them because I helped ship at least half of the total items that came through, but it's been a few years so let me gather my thoughts." Items? Yes...They were supplying items to every company, so the list was quite varied. "Medical supplies, extra training items like Pokeballs and Revives, syringes, food, metal, oil, generators...Sometimes we even shipped Pokemon...and..." She shuddered a little bit, lowering her voice. "When the riots started breaking out, we were even beginning to ship guns and body armor for the police to use."

How she hated violence...

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: Phantasm.Angel

"Both of these machines were built by the Devon Corporation and, as such, are both powered by the same model and make of rechargeable battery, partly because it was easier for customers to get it repaired, but largely because standardization was cheaper," the trainer explained. "My plan is to get Chloe to replicate the same electric jolt that would normally be created by the alterations caused by a power cord and use it to reboot both devices."

He turned his attention to his Pachirisu, which quickly started to examine both electronic devices.

"While we may not have done this before," the other trainer explained, "Chloe knows a lot about electrical theory on account of the training she had before I met her."

That last tidbit of information was interesting. Alex really couldn’t think of what training a Pachirisu would need to know how electronic devices worked, but it would make life in this post-apocalyptic world much easier. It was nearly a minute that the squirrel examined both devices before nodding at it’s trainer.

“Alright, she’s ready,” the other trainer said, and stepped backwards while motioning for Alex to do the same.

The small girl was more than happy to comply with this order, and as soon as the Pokémon was satisfied with the distance she let out a sharp cry and filled the room with light. Alex - not pleased with the sudden loss of her first sense - snapped her finger once, and Killer was quickly in front of her with a translucent blue shield up around them. While it did nothing to help with the lack of sight, it would protect them should anything use that opportunity to attack.

Nothing did, though, and soon there were only two tendrils of electricity left, which seeped into the two devices. Alex - who hadn’t expected such an unorthodox method of powering them to work - was surprised to see that they both jumped to life. The radio, though, was only blaring static, and the PokéNav’s screen lit up, although it was broken.

“I think it’s safe to say it worked.”

Alex looked up at the other trainer with a raised eyebrow, but before she could comment on the matter Killer let out a string of three small barks, and Alex suppressed a groan.

“Congratulations, guy,” Alex said, suppressing any sign of annoyance towards the other man. “You’ve just alerted everybody nearby to our location, and one is now headed this way.”

The hellhound let out three more small barks, and this time Alex couldn’t help the groan that escaped, however quiet it may have been.

“Two,” she corrected. “There are two headed this way.”

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, Rustboro Trainer School
Affected RPers: NuzlockeLover and Sieses

Perry detected some skepticism to his claim that the devices were working, but he was sure that their respective issues were no longer a lack of power, but rather due to other factors, such as the PokéNav’s cracked screen and the radio needing to be tuned to a correct station, but before the trainer could voice these concerns, the girl's Houndoom began to bark and its trainer translated what it meant. Two people were heading for them and Perry could feel a wave of irritation.

Okay, admittedly, lighting up a building in a dark and abandoned city was sure to attract attention. But, it worked didn't it? Besides, there was no way to know for sure that whoever was approaching had ill intentions. Yeah, Perry reasoned, maybe they were just curious like he was and were only searching for other civilized souls. And if not, well, that's where Chloe would come in, plus, the girl's Houndoom was probably no slouch at violence, given its species and the odd, hungry looks it kept shooting him.

"So," Perry said, "what should we do?" But before a response could be given, the door opened, and Perry found himself looking at a trainer and Pokémon. The boy had dirty blonde hair and a striking set of grey eyes, maybe even a match for the Houndoom's trainer in a staring contest. But what drew his attention far more was a powerful-looking Scizor. Perry shot a quick glance at Chloe, then at the other two Pokémon in the room, and wondered if Chloe was the only cute Pokémon left.

Refocusing, Perry waited for the new trainer to speak, and was instantly relieved when he did. He didn't sound like a thug, he lived up to Perry's hopes. Here was someone who even after the fall of society still apologized for bothering people. Regaining his composure, the portly trainer made a hasty explanation, "We were trying to power up some electronic devices we found with my Pachirisu's help." Chloe coughed and Perry blushed, "Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Perry Sterling, that's Chloe, and this is-" He trailed off as he gestured towards the short girl and her Houndoom.

[NuzlockeLover]

Jackson
Rustburo City-Trainer School
ARPer's: Sieses and Phantasm.Angel

"So wait.... something's coming? What is it? Kronos, do you have any idea what it is?"

"Sci-scizor"

"You have no idea? That's a first... Oh right. I'm Jackson. Good to meet 'cha."

Jackson was surprised that Kronos didn't know what it was. He almost always knew what was coming. He has an amazing sense of smell and hearing. Since Kronos didn't know what was coming, he couldn't get ready for an attack because he didn't know if it was friendly or not. But he guessed it was not friendly... So Jackson got in his ready stance as well as Kronos.

"Kronos."

"Sci?" Kronos looked over at Jackson.

"Let's fight this battle like it's our last..."

Jackson's parent's always told him that when he became a trainer- 'fight every battle like it's your last.' That was just what he was about to do...

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach->Slateport City
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn), possibly SpinelWolf (Spinel), Cobalt (Jacob), and/or Dragotech (Kyle)

Athena got out of the water and poked at Derek. Derek looked down, and saw a glint of metal in her palm.

"Huh. Cool. A key." Derek pocketed it.

"Anyway, Quinn. We probably should go to the Mart." Personally, Derek thought it to be a very low order of probability that there would be anything useful there (because everyone would think to go to the mart), but he thought that it would be possible to gather more allies there as well (for the same reason). He didn't spend anymore time on conversation, simply leading the way forward and expecting Quinn to follow. He did hope to find new people to talk to, and he really hoped they'd be friendly. But if they weren't. Well. Athena could some restlessness out of her system.

OoC: Short post is short. Bleh.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Everyone now has free objectives and can do what they like. If you are specifically searching an area in hopes of finding something, please let me know specifically.

NPC: Unknown
Slateport Beach
ARPer’s: DesperadoBRT, Death’s Spook, anyone else at the beach.

The fog was growing thick over the ocean that hugged the coast of Slateport. The water was silent but one with trained ears would be able to hear something coming. A pair of large red eyes glowed brightly in the mist, revealing nothing to the pair on the beach. The eyes didn’t move, but only stared for a while. Soon they started moving closer towards the beach. There was the silhouette of something tall standing on a mass where the red eyes were.

“I’ll excuse the fact you don’t know this, however, that key the Azumarill picked up… yeah that kind of belongs to me.”

The mist cleared a bit due to the red light, giving off the not-so-darkened image of a Tentacruel with a young adult male standing on top of him. His clothing was damp from the ocean, but all cotton cargo pants and a heavier blue sweater could be made out. His face was a bit harder to see, but brown hair could be observed poking out of his hood, and swimming goggles were around his neck. They weren’t the cheap kind either, ones that well paid divers owned back in the day. There were also gloves on his hands, ones modified to be fingerless. The Tentacruel however, opened his actual eyes, staring at the Azumaril with a blank, yet serious gaze.

He examined Quinn and Derek, though did not know their names. “Let’s not have this start trouble now. That’s the last thing you want in the middle of the night, especially around here. You don’t look like you’re part of ‘The Wake’ though.”

NPC: Unknown
Rustboro
ARPer’s: Anyone within hearing range.

She was running, as that’s all she could do at this point. Her hood was flying behind her, clinging with its seams against her wind breaker. Yes she was running that fast, or at least seemed to against the wind. A purplish pink, big eared creature was running next to her, a fierce glare in his eyes as the pair ran from something. Soon a shadowy image of a large ghostly figure stopped the girl in her tracks, as well as the Pokémon known as Nidorino. It struck out with a strong hand and sent the pair of them to the ground, skidding into a nearby sign that had managed to survive the past few years of chaos.

She groaned, as did her Nidorino. He was first to rise though, but quickly captured in the hands of a large Dusclops, levitating in the air, but thrashing to break free.

“No! Grind!”

“Oh hush you.”

Another girl walked over, looking smug and was clearly the owner of the Dusclops. She stood a good distance from the girl and the struggling Pokémon. “Its not nice to steal from Wake y’know. Give back that compass and medical kit.”

“Those were mine!” The girl protested. “I’m taking them ba-”

She squeaked, seeing that her pursuer was right on top of her, digging her muddy foot into her chest. “We took them first so they’re technically ours. Besides, you know how Blackout works.”

She pointed at the Nidorino, who looked entirely aggravated. The girl looked between her Pokémon, and the girl, who had another woman and a man following behind her. Out of the trio, the Dusclops trainer was the youngest.


OOC: WOO NPC INTERVENTION.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Pokémon Center
ARPers: none


Spinel and Rayner took some time to look around the Center. It was obvious others had came and searched the area before with how some things were thrown around recklessly. She was able to find some small scraps of metal, easily to manipulate but not high quality material. But she wasn't going to let it go to waist and decided to pack it in her bag, thinking that she may be able to find some use for it.

"Looks like this was a waste of time, Rayner," the trainer said before she looked at her partner. She noticed the fire-type was on all fours, sniffing the ground. "What's up?"

"I smell Pokémon," the Typhlosion said. "But it's possible it's just a partner from someone was here before or if it's still here. So we best be on our guard just in case there is another human here with their Pokémon or if a wild one has made a part of the Center its den."

Spinel nodded before she went back to give the place one last quick look over. She didn't want to spend too much time here since she was to meet Jacob and Kyle soon at the north gate. She wouldn't be surprised at all if it was just a false alarm. Rayner had caught the scent of Pokémon before but the area ended up being clear. It has been a long time since they've seen a wild Pokémon, so even if a part of her wanted to see one she wasn't going to keep her hopes up. If anything she would be expecting to find a rouge trainer with his Pokémon ready to jump them. But she didn't know until she really looked to see if the fire-type's claims were true.

[Metal Gear Snivy]

Quinn
Slateport City - Beach
ARPers: Death's Spook (Possibly)

"The...Wake?" Quinn questioned this mysterious man. He felt no need to get into a brawl with him, mainly because that Tentacruel looked like it meant business. srs busness What the man said was a little odd. That key is his? When did he drop it and what does it open? Also, how did Derek's Azumarill get a hold of it? These questions could be possibly answered later, the thing he said that interested Quinn the most was the mention of "The Wake." A wake was normally something that a wave does. But a group named after that? That's silly. But, with such a stupid name, they had to be serious! Look at Team Rocket! They had a semi-stupid name, but they meant business! Okay, that's not what Quinn thought, ((OOC: but that's what I thought.))

"Wiggly?" Custard asked. Okay, everyone is curious about The Wake. Well, everyone on Quinn's team. ...Which was just Custard. SO, Custard and Quinn were curious about the wake. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant The Wake. "Wiggly tuf tuf tuf!"

"No, he isn't stealing. Yes, I know you--This is getting tiresome. Didn't we just have a conversation like this a little while back?" He was right, they had this conversation, like, two or three posts hours back.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja).

For a moment, Enja's affected tone made Jade's expression soften. However, she quickly returned to her usual businesslike manner. "A few years ago, hm? That means that they're almost certain to be gone, and that's a damn shame. Not that we can get to Slateport easily; Asteria can only carry -"

"Jade."

Asteria's agitation made Jade turn around, fast. The Togekiss was standing in the doorway, wings folded over her heart and pain written on her face. "Someone's in trouble. I can sense pain, fear, despair... Jade, if we don't help then this person may die."

Tense silence was Jade's only reply for several seconds. On one hand, intervening in someone else's fight could get them killed. On the other, inaction would tear Asteria apart, and possibly cause a completely preventable death. Sighing, she looked from Asteria's worried face to Enja. "Asteria's instincts are rarely wrong. I don't suppose you'll lend us a hand?"

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn)

Derek smiled very kindly at the man as he tossed him the key. In fact, he was so kind that, between his childlike grin and the fact that the toss required far greater movement, if you didn't know what to look for, you could missed the slight motion from his hand that slid out the switchblade he kept up his sleeve into his palm.

"Pity. I had hoped I would be able to get some use out of the key. Ah well. Hey, what if you tell us what the Wake is? You're fighting them, and if they're powerful, you might need help."

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Outside the Pokémon Center
Arpers: none

Kyle stood away from the center. He kept his distance watching it. Gaia was posted to flank anyone who would come up on his position. He stood in a spot relying on mild concealment whereas Gaia was no where to be seen. She was well hidden and keeping an eye on her trainer.

Kyle watched the Pokémon Center. His vigilant eyes watched the center. Spinel would not receive unexpected company, at least none that themselves would receive unexpected company.

He spotted a small bag sitting under debris. He plucked it out. He found a small bag of Tauros Jerky. He eyed it and put it into his pocket for later. Maybe he would get lucky and find other rations.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Jin Leix
Fallarbor Town, Border to route 113
ARPers: N/A

Jin looked to the side, briefly, to where he would head next. The ash-covered route 113 was foreign to him, and he presumed that it might have a local inhabitant waiting for him, a life-saving partner that he could add to his team (currently consisting of one Pokemon).

Fallarbor Town, unless nature or a gang of bandits intervenes, would be where he would live for now-possibly all of his life, too, if nothing bad happened. The residents hadn't been hit hard by the panicking, mindless civilians, trying to find whatever they could, mainly because of a lack of panic-stricken people in general. As there weren't any gangs he knew of, it was safe for now. As far as he knew, it had the only functioning Pokemon Center in all of Hoenn (lack of PC aside), which was now a life-saving facility. The inhabitants were a peaceful folk who would prefer focusing on rebuilding the town into something like its former self rather than try to expand its borders, despite the fact that now, ironically, in the apocalyptic scenario they still lived in, was the best time to try an expansion.

Everyone had a roof over their head (though nobody was exempt from sharing houses) and could get food to eat. It was all rationed: everyone got a fair share. Everyone had a role to play: The majority were either rebuilding or farming; A few people, including Nurse Joy, were operating the Pokemon Center in case of emergency; A few others, the ones with the strongest Pokemon in the area, served as law enforcement.

Jin was absolutely none of these people. Jin was an outsider. Albeit, they gave him a small salad as a "Welcome to Post-apocalyptic Civilization" present, and the people weren't paranoid enough to assume he was a thief (ironically, that was true), there was nothing else for him aside from the Pokemon center, and thus far, it had been peaceful, so he didn't even get to use that, apart from the obligatory heal the instant he got there.

Jin had a Deck of Cards and a load of non-perishable food, nicked off of the careless in a city who didn't realize exactly what Anarchy entailed for them as they ripped through grocery stores and PokeMarts to get some kind of edge in the 'lawless' world they've been delivered into. Jin was a thief by nature and by trade, though rarely had anything been that easy. It was almost a kind of sick joke of some sorts. Now, Jin could easily say it was an apocalypse: Large amounts of life died and civilization took a toll that might take anywhere from a decade to a century to recover from, which, in his mind, were the main two requirements. However, it was a combination of stupidity, inaction and insanity (in that order) that made it into the giant mess that it was. In all reality, in a world of truly sane people, civilization would have been harmed economically by the whole massive loss of life (though the grave business would have taken a toll), but nothing more: The world could have gone on, easily. It could even have been said to be an 'unfortunate solution' to the problem of overpopulation. Sadly, the panic proved that a majority of people were, indeed, insane.

Jin himself was currently searching around a broken house on the far edge of the place. Jin didn't consider it theft as much as simply scavenging resources. He really didn't need much for food: Medical supplies for Percival, for healing injuries out in the field, THAT would be useful. A Knife or a Hatchet could also be useful. Scrap metal, wires, electronics...Anything, really. He got back to his work in searching, done from his small break. He wasn't going to search anywhere else: One house would do, considering that he didn't want to anger the inhabitants and he'd rather get going before the sun set. He didn't plan on completely abandoning Fallarbor town, though, unless something bad happened to it while he was gone. Either way, he was leaving for now.

Percival was leaning on the only wall standing in the house, watching Jin work, and keeping an eye out for any threats to his master. A recently-obtained master, yes, but his master nonetheless. Gallade and Gardevoir were nothing if not loyal to the bitter end. He was a laid-back and happy-go-lucky Gallade, but a Gallade all the same.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport City - Pokémon Center > North Gate
ARPers: Dragotech, The Operator


There ended up not being any other humans or Pokémon in the building, but in the back the young trainer found good quality sheet metal. A lot better than the few scraps she had found previously. She wasted no time in snagging and packing it. She had to break it down into smaller pieces to fit in her bag, but that didn't take long thanks to her fire-type.

"Looks like there's nothing else here. Might as well meet back up with Kyle and Jacob. They should still be at the gate," Spinel said.

Rayner nodded and then the two quickly made their exit, not wanting to waste anymore time. No need to keep the boys waiting any longer than necessary. They didn't even bother closing the doors behind them, the place being run down and barren as it was. As they then made their way to the meeting spot Rayner's ears twitched and he turned his head slightly. Normally Spinel would become alert but since there was no growl following the motion she figured that whatever he heard was no threat and just kept on walking. ((OoC: He picked up Dragotech's characters' scents, fyi))

Time to finally leave this place and hope the next area has more to offer, the brunette thought as she approached her destination, wondering if they actually waited for her or left before she could show up.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Bunnying permission for both characters given over Skype.

Jacob
Slateport North Gate
Affected RPers: Dragotech, Spinelwolf

"Looks like we have company Shruikan." I said, as I saw Spinel and Kyle approach us. The Absol was silent.

"The cycling road is a few hundred metres north of here." I said, "It is a direct route to Mauville, and from there we have the choice to either go north to Fallarbor or Lavaridge, West to Verdanturf or Rustboro, or East to Fortree and Lilycove. I studied a lot of maps. If we are lucky, we might find some push bikes. They are relatively silent, quick, and work well in most terrains. Perfect transport."

We began walking north, remaining silent. After a few minutes we found the building that was the entrance to the cycling road. I walked over to the door, and walked in, wondering if we would find what we were looking for, or something much worse.

[3m0d0ll]

Name: Jenn
Location: Fallarbor Town > outskirts
ARPs: uh

A dull ache from her right temple woke Jennifer up. It wasn't the usual throb of a hangover or injury, more like a very slight, constant pressure against the backside of the eye. Rolling to her side before setting herself upright, she began to come to.

'Uhg... What time is it..?' she thought, patting the sides of her legs, feeling for a cell phone or other device that might display the time. 'Oh, right; no pockets,' she grumbled to herself as she stood. After a much needed stretch, she pulled a PokeBall from her bag, releasing her Mienshao, Vidar.

"Alright, Vid, we're going into town today. Help me pack up camp, alright?" He showed his obedience with a single, confident nod.

Within a couple minutes, any trace of her residence was removed (not like there was much to hide, being that her only real possessions were a sleeping bag--now tightly rolled up and hidden under ashen leaves--and a small pack of hygiene supplies), and they made their way north to Fallarbor.

[Grsspkmnmaster]

Marleena Aller
Fallarbor Town, Border Rte. 114

I bent down, reaching for another weed in the moist dirt. Gripping the stem in my forefingers, a quick yank revealed the earthen root. I shook it to get more dirt off before tossing it in the basket at my side. I stood up again, wiping some sweat from my forehead. Fortunately the ash from Mt. Chimney kept it relatively cool here, but hard work was hard work. I looked around at the other rows in the field before getting back to work. This was home, this was people working together for a common goal. I went back to weeding, letting my mind wander a bit. Proteus, my Swampert, was out helping till some new fields. He was strong enough to pull a plow, although his talents better suited him for removing large rocks. Knowing at least that nothing serious could happen to either of us on the fields, I knelt down and kept pulling weeds.

What felt like hours later, I stood up at the end of my row. The basket was full of small weeds, and I stood up and leaned back to stretch. The sun was probably just reaching it's high point now, so I was glad to be finished before the heat started coming down. Looking over the expanses of the field, I noticed a small group walking from the far end towards us. I smiled, and started walking towards them when I noticed a particular quadruped walking beside them. I leaned down towards my Swampert. "So, you boys got done early too. Good." I patted Proteus on his head, which he only returned with a smile. "Let's head back to town for lunch, and then we'll see what else can use doing around here." With silent agreement, Proteus padded next to me and we started heading back.

[Grassy_Aggron]

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Nirr/Jade
Devon Building
ARPers: Velocity (Araceli)

Enja caught a small glimpse of sorrow on her new friend's face, but it quickly disappeared. "A few years ago, hm? That means that they're almost certain to be gone, and that's a damn shame. Not that we can get to Slateport easily; Asteria can only carry -" She suddenly whipped around, and only now did she look over to see the Togekiss landed and looking worried. In pain, even. After a few moments, Araceli sighed and looked back at the somewhat crazy engineer. "Asteria's instincts are rarely wrong. I don't suppose you'll lend us a hand?"

Enja glanced at her Aggron, who's thoughts quietly slipped into her mind. <Asteria is right. Someone out there needs help...It'd be wrong to turn a blind eye. But you already knew that, raised as you were. We have been partners for decades. The computers here are fried. There is no use in trying to stay.>

Thinking for a moment, the dark skinned woman clapped her heavily gloved hands together. "Well, that's that then. Time to go save a person and stop evil-but-trying-to-survive people. Who knows? Maybe they'll have something which can help us, and if not, another companion to join us would be nice. And even then...saving someone in a world that's gone a little bit mad, that's nice and so rare now." She pointed back to the door they had come. "You can get there faster that I can with your Togekiss. Maybe you should confront them first to buy that person time, while my partner and I get back downstairs and catch up. You have someone who is specialized in special attacks. My Jade is specialized in physical. We can handle them together."

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Jin Leix
Fallarbor Town, Border to route 113, crossing over.
ARPers: 3m0d0ll (Possibly).

...Nothing. Jin had declared there was nothing in the rubble of the ruined house. Knowing the townspeople, they probably scavenged it up for the good of the many long before he arrived. There was nothing to find here.

Eventually, he'd settle here, maybe...But for now, he was on his own, with only Percival as company. It was a feeling he was familiar with for quite a while now-he had been traveling mostly alone, stealing what came and what went while the world was collapsing. There were very few times he was truly alone, though now, with only one Pokemon-a Pokemon he had obtained a month ago, no less-he was the loneliest he's ever been in his life. Granted, Jin was going to change that soon. Hopefully.

For now, Jin had route 113 to look forward to. The ash-covered lands were a new road for him to walk on. He wouldn't go too far on the route, though-Fallarbor town was a place where he needed to stick around, considering it had a Pokemon Center.

Jin started walking towards route 113, passing rows of crops on the main road. He could see people toil away at the food they needed so badly. It was hard work, but this was an infinitely better state than a typical town he's visited. And by town, Jin meant 'ruins of civilization.'

<"So, where to next?"> Said a voice in Jin's head. Percival's voice. <"I figured it was only a matter of time before you'd leave Fallarbor town.">

"I'm just exploring this route for a little while. I don't feel like leaving Fallarbor town that quickly...It has the only functioning Pokemon Center that I know of, possibly the only one left in the world. I'm not straying that far away." Jin thought back. Maybe he could become a telepathic right back, but for now, thinking was the only real way to respond.

<"Ayup, understood, boss. I figured you wouldn't be completely abandoning the most ordered place in the whole world that quickly."> Percival quipped.

Jin was walking straight ahead, to the ashy borders of Route 113, but he was looking at the men and women in the cropfields. If someone was walking towards him that seemed of interest, Percival would let him know. Percival was the only Pokemon Jin had left-if either of them died, so would the other. It was that simple, and Percival knew it, so Percival would not leave him in the dark.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja), Sabi (NPC).

Large red flags waved in Jade’s head when Enja suggested Jade and Asteria head off first. Seeing her worry, Asteria switched to telepathy to inform her that <She doesn’t seem like the sort that would try to trap us. You can tell that she sounds and looks honest, but I'm empathetic, and I still can’t pick up a scrap of duplicity.>

Jade turned to Enja and nodded curtly. “All right. But follow close behind, if you would. Asteria and I can probably handle whatever’s out there, but backup’s never imprudent.”

That said, she opened up one of the tall windows. Asteria hopped onto the sill, and Jade climbed up behind her, swinging onto the feathered back with ease born of practice. The Togekiss dropped off into the chilly air and flapped to gain speed. Her urgency was out of place for someone who was usually so placid, but Jade understood it. Asteria, bless her soul, would cut off her wing to do some good for their ruined world. It was a trait that Jade often understood, resented, admired, and tempered.

Only a few minutes passed before they landed on the roof of a relatively intact building, from which they could clearly see a girl being crushed by a young woman’s boot. Nearby, a Dusclops held a Nidorino captive in its hands, and two other people lurked behind. <They’ll kill the girl.> Asteria was matter-of-fact, which meant that she was on the brink of fury. <And the Nidorino. We have to stop them. I can hit the Dusclops with an Air Slash; that’ll give them both time to escape.>

“Not the girl,” muttered Jade. “She’ll be just as stuck. Hit the Trainer with a Thunder Wave.”

Asteria was quick to retort, <That’ll give the Dusclops time to kill the Nidorino.>

Quickly, Jade formed the solution. “Okay; here’s what we’ll do. Loose the Air Slash first. Then swoop down and ram the Trainer. If she gets out of the way, fine. If we manage to break some ribs, excellent. Fair?”

After Asteria’s nodded assent, they quickly carried out the plan. A bolt of bright white light, razor-edged and blindingly fast, lanced toward Dusclops. Asteria then dropped out of the sky, zooming toward the ghost’s Trainer.

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos and Perry Sterling (Bunnying Rights)
Rustboro City - Pokémon Trainer School
Affected RPers: NuzlockeLover

“So,” the other trainer asked, “what should we do?”

Before Alex had any time to answer, though, one of the two oncoming trainers entered the building. The only interesting feature of the man - Alex thought - were his gray eyes, which reminded the young girl very much of her own. Emotionless yet always scanning their surroundings. There was also a large Scizor accompanying him, which showed that he was no slouch in battle.

“Sorry to bother you,” the third trainer said, “but I saw you from outside and I was wondering what you were doing in here...”

Decency; the last thing that Alex would have expected from the man, and yet he was showing it. The second trainer seemed to realize that as well - or perhaps he was just naturally loose-lipped - because he was quick to explain exactly what they were doing to cause all that light, which Alex felt was information that should have been kept withheld.

“Sorry, where are my manners?” the second mused as soon as his Pachirisu coughed. “My name is Perry Sterling, that’s Chloe, and this is -”


Perry - Alex didn’t know how much she liked knowing his name - motioned towards her as he trailed off, evidently only realizing that he hadn’t previously gotten the girl’s name. She decided that, at the very least, the man would be good to have around for a laugh or two.

“Alexei Stratos, but please call me Alex,” she said with a curt nod. “This is Killer.”

The manner in which Perry’s face darkened told Alex that he wasn’t at all pleased with the name she’d bestowed upon her partner, and she was quick to explain her motives. After going over it in her head, she really wasn’t in the mood to get into a fight with him - no challenge, for one thing.

“I’d named him that before the Blackout, when I was only eight years old,” she said by way of explanation. “I thought it sounded cool, and I wanted to be the best trainer I could be. Therefore, my Pokémon would clearly have to have the coolest names I could think of.”

That seemed to appease him slightly, but he was cut off from pursuing the matter any further when the third trainer - who seemed to be in the midst of a conversation with his partner - said, “Oh right. I’m Jackson. Good to meet ‘cha.”

Alex decided that she may as well eavesdrop on the two, since their conversation was clearly much more interesting than the other two in the room, and she fought off a grin at what she heard.

“His Scizor expects an attack,” Alex said to Perry, motioning towards the other man (as though that were necessary). “No threat should be ignored these days, as I think you know - so prepare.”

Both Perry and Chloe exchanged dark looks that betrayed nervousness, and Alex decided to leave them to their own devices. Striding over to Killer, she patted the hellhound on the head as she asked for the number of people around - for some reason the dog had a bad habit of no longer announcing after two. The sheer amount of barks staggered her, though - around seven of them.

Fortunately, the worry that they were all on the same side - Alex wouldn’t have been worried about that had she been alone, but with Jackson and Perry around it was another story entirely - was quickly dissolved when a voice pierced the relative quiet of the air.

“Those were mine!” the feminine voice protested. “I’m taking them ba-”

A squeak quickly revealed that whatever the voice had attempted hadn’t gone very well, and both Alex and Killer exchanged looks. It would be best to strike while a potential ally - on each side - was still alive, even if the Houndoom was of a right mind to dispose of said ally as soon as the battle was finished.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m going out there,” Alex said, striding towards the door with her signature silence to each step and her Pokémon by her side. “Feel free to follow, if you want.”

((OOC: Well, this post has gotten ridiculously long, hasn't it?))

[3m0d0ll]

Name: Jenn.
Location: Fallarbor Town.
ARPs: None.

The sun beat down on Jennifer's bare shoulders and she instantly regretted leaving her sunscreen back at camp. The thin trees she had to navigate to get to Fallarbor Town were hardly large enough to produce proper shade and she could feel her fair skin beginning to burn.

'I guess if I don't die of Blackout, skin cancer is my next bet,' she thought to herself and chuckled. She thought about repeating it aloud for Vidar to hear, then decided against it--he wasn't as glib about the disease as she was, and their living situation was tense enough as is. His worry and aggravation wasn't worth a simple joke.

The ash on the ground thinned, revealing more of the hardened dirt and fallen leaves below - a sign that they were getting much closer to what little civilization there was left this side of Mt. Chimney.

Also there was a wooden post to her left that said "Fallarbor Town: A farm community with small gardens. 0.5 miles ahead," but never you mind.

Focusing on the path ahead, she let her mind wander to life in Lavaridge just before the outbreak. She was 8 and studied the Pokemon world around her intently under the watchful eye of Mr. Burns, the town's Gym Leader. Since Lavaridge was so far west and the routes there were so teacherous (ehehe), he didn't receive many challengers and opened his home to tutor any children who had a desire to learn. She wouldn't venture to say that she was the best student, but she had heart and it showed in her battling capabilities.

The sound of rocky pavement beneath her feet snapped her back to reality, and she looked ahead of her, the Pokemon Center was just in view. The faint smell of food and wood made her stomach gurgle, as if to say, 'Hey, why are you walking so slow? Can't you see that I'm empty!' and she smiled, suddenly breaking out into a run for the Center, where she knew a nice, warm breakfast would be available to her.


---

"Ahhhhhh..." she groaned, satisfied. Her face felt warm from the bowl of chowder and peas she'd just inhaled, and it now sat comfortably at the bottom of her belly. Vidar at her side wiped crumbs of PokeFood from his lips, just as content with his meal. She arranged herself in her seat as her eyes scanned the bill a Nurse's Aid had left on her small table, mentally pursing her lips at the cost. "I shouldn't have ordered that extra set of biscuits. Oh well." Wrapping the three extra bundles of bread in a napkin, she tossed some Poke, along with a decent tip, onto the table and began to walk towards the door, not having a specific destination in mind. From behind her she heard a voice, "Oh, Jennifer, please wait a moment!"

Turning, she saw Nurse Joy--or one of them, anyway--scurrying around the counter and towards where she stood, "If you're not too busy, I was wondering if you could run an errand for me."

'Gah, you know I'm never busy, and even though I'm not, I don't feel like doing any favors.' "No, I'm free. What do you need?"

"Could you possibly go just passed the western part of town to Route 144? There you'll see Mr. Cainam's house (ooc: Manic backwards, heh) and I have a package there waiting for me. I would go, but the other Joy called in sick so I have to stay and mind the Center. I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure, no worries--" I really don't want to have to do this "--I'll head there right now." Joy gave me a nod of thanks and scurried - it's really the only would that could be used to describe how she runs - back to her desk.


//I'm assuming that the Blackout started ~8 years ago, meaning that the population drop and riots were partially simultaneous (which would make sense). If you had a different length of time in mind, Sabi, then I'll just edit my post.
//Also, I'm gonna use the $ instead of the Poke symbol cos.
//And Cami expressed her hatred for having to read long, small-texted posts, so different formatting for me... *small tear*
//I was going to go all the way to Route 114, but this is long enough as it is.
//Lots of ooc stuff, wooo.

[Grsspkmnmaster]

Marleena Aller
Fallarbor Town

The dusty walk back towards town was pretty uneventful. Some people who already had gotten their lunches were walking out to the fields, a few mechanics seemed to be heading out towards the generators. Heading towards the Pokémon Center, Proteus closely behind me. The automatic doors swish open, and a gentle zephyr of cooler air greets me as I walk in. People are either working or eating, Nurse Joy heading back towards the service counter. I take a seat at a table with a few other people. "Hey guys, anyone hear about the work on the generator? The farms are coming along, we might be able to increase rations next harvest if things keep up." I lay a bowl of Pokéfood down for Proteus who digs in heartily as I start cutting up my biscuits.

[NuzlockeLover]

Jackson
Rustburo City
ARPer's: None

"Yeah.... I'm going with you Alex...." Jackson said quietly, "You coming Kronos?" "Scizor..." Kronos said, walking out the door with Jackson. As soon as they walked out the door, Jackson's PokeNav rang. He looked to see who was calling, but all it said was- 'Unknown'... He answered the call and nervously asked, "Hello?". The person on the other line said in a voice he could barely understand, "Why did you take my PokeNav.... I'm coming to get it back right now..." Then the other person hung up with Jackson's face frozen in fear of what could be coming. "I'm not sure what's coming, but I'm not sure if I want sure I want to know, how 'bout you Kronos?" "Sci-zor..." Kronos said shaking his head. Jackson gulped, as he wondered what could be coming, he didn't like the possibilities... "Let's go Kronos...." "Sci," Kronos said putting his claw on Jackson's shoulder. "You... you want me to stay and fight?" "Sci," Kronos told Jackson nodding his head. Jackson nodded his head in agreement. "You're right, fight all battles like they're our last...

[Saraibre Ryu]

NPC: Unknown
Rustboro
ARPer’s: Sieses [and who Sieses is bunnying], NuzlockeLover, Grassy_Aggron and Velocity

The weight on the girl’s chest was starting to cause her pain. Her aggressor wasn’t letting up, and was slowly leaning more and more on her foot, waiting for the girl to just give up. All the while her Nidorino was being spun in all kinds of circles by her Dusclops. The pair of people behind her kept watch, and that’s when one of them noticed something coming towards them from down two blocks. They poked at their leader’s shoulder, who was dwarfed by them in about a foot and a half in height.

“Hey Kelly, there are people coming this way…”

The woman, identified as Kelly, looked up and saw spots of people in the distance. She grabbed another Pokeball, smiling all the while as an Arbok appeared in a flash of light. His purple scales bore scars of past battles, but he seemed to wear them proudly as trophies of past victories. The piercing eyes on the snake leered forward, seeing the motion ahead of them as the bodies of humans and Pokémon began to become clearer. Kelly stood, a foot on the girl while the girl and her Nidorino were given a moment to breathe. Even Kelly’s Dusclops had stopped spinning his victim in circles to see who was approaching them.

“Mancer, Poison Sting please. Just a warning shot.”

The Abrok grinned, lowering his head and aiming carefully. Rather than a spray of toxic needles, Mancer had another idea. He saw a device in one of the trainer’s hands that looked quite troublesome, and sought to get rid of it quickly. With a blindly fast motion, a single, narrow and lavender needle passed between his fangs, hitting the PokeNav and shattering it into pieces.

“Good boy Mancer.” Kelly patted his head affectionately. “I’d stop there if I were you people. This isn’t any of your business, this is Wake business. Mancer here gave you a well restrained warning so you all can go back to your… whatever it was you were doing.”

Kelly didn't quite get the answer she wanted when her Dusclops was thrown aside by an Air Slash attack, giving the Nidorino the break in concentration that he wanted to escape. Unfortunately, the Arbok was much faster than predicted, and slammed a tail on the backside of the Poison type, holding him up with a tightly squeezed tail. He looked up quickly and hissed while Kelly saw something white heading right for her. She snapped her fingers, but was forced to side step off of the girl she was standing on, letting her break free and run off away from her pursuers. She stopped when she was a good bit away from them, needing to her her Nidorino back.

"Okay, that wasn't fun." Kelly said, avoiding the brunt of the attack but having her arm awaiting a future bruise. "YOU TWO."

The other two grunts shuddered, a Grumpig next to one of them who was too slow on the draw, and an Electabuzz owned by the other.

"S-sorry Kel-"

"Sorry doesn't CUT IT. I expect you to have a Protect up when I SNAP FOR IT."

The other two whined in response. Kelly turned back to the girl she was chasing motioning to her Arbok. "I've still got your Nidorino, and just because Mancer can't watch him slowly rot to death, doesn't mean he can't suffocate him."

"Grind..."

"As for the rest of you, no one gets to hit Nightshift like that and get away with it."


GM Note: NuzlockeLover, you didn’t obtain the PokeNav in an Inventory update, therefore losing it was a consequence for not following the Inventory Update rule. Please avoid finding things you aren’t awarded next time. Also other people would like it if the posts that were involved with their characters that affected yours were a bit more acknowledged too. ^^



NPC: Unknown
Slateport Beach
ARPer’s: Death’s Spook, DesperadoBRT

The male caught the key as it was thrown to him. He pocketed it quickly as his Tentacruel stared at the pair of them. He sat down on the jellyfish’s head, relaxing a bit as the pair of them didn’t even know what the Wake was. He looked back, seeing the sun was starting to peak over the horizon again. No doubt the other half of Hoenn was awake by now, and somewhat alive.

“Well if you don’t know what the Wake is, you don’t seem to be one of ‘em.” He started. “They’re a group of people trying to rework society back into Hoenn, but some of them have their own ideas about it. Not much more than that, other than at night, they sure like to keep a curfew. Sure, getting help against some of them would be nice, but they aren’t too fond of being out in the unpredictable ocean.”

He seemed to think for a moment, as if getting an idea of some kind. “I don’t need help with them right now, but I could use help with something else. You said you wanted to get use out of the key, so you could come with me to the Abandoned Ship down a good hour swim away from here. Ocean’s colder these days so you could ride my Lapras if you want. I know water Pokémon that aren’t to be messed with and your Azumaril fits that bill nicely. As for you there with the Wigglytuff, I figure the pink guy has some skills that could help. If you want to come along that is, I’m not one for forcing people to do what they ain’t feeling up to.”

He waited for an answer. “No tricks or anything. Mow-D and I swear it.”

“Cruuuulll…” The Tentacruel moaned.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Jin Leix
Route 113
ARpers: N/A

Jin took his first steps on the ash-coated route. The ash from mount chimney, cool and snow-like, flew down from the mountain onto this route quite often. The ash wasn't blinding, but the omnipresent coat made it difficult to have plants grow. On the other hand, the volcanic soil was also very healthy for the plant life. It was a double-edged sword for them, Jin supposed.

Jin kept his eyes peeled for any signs of movement. What would happen next-if anything happened next-would be based on whether a person or a Pokemon was what turned up. A person might be anything from a bandit to a very, very needy person, but typically the results were the same for Jin-a fight would break out and the other guy wound up dead. Or Jin, but Jin obviously hadn't died yet. A Pokemon might indicate a person nearby, which would lead into the same outcome, but on the other hand, it could be a wild Pokemon instead-which meant it could quickly become a part of Jin's team. Having multiple Pokemon exponentially decreased the chance of his death. They were also friendly company, which was hard to find in a world like this, especially from other human beings.

Percival followed closely behind, ready to alert Jin of any minds he figured out were in the area. Jin liked Percival's telepathic abilities-albeit they could easily be blocked from reading too deep, even by non-Dark types, just knowing minds-and henceforth, life-was in the area at all was enough to change a whole situation on it's head.

<"So, how far will we go?"> Percival asked.

"Maybe the end of this route, maybe a bit of the way into the north end of route 111...It depends." Jin thought.

<"Good, that Pokemon Center is a place I want to see again in the near future."> Percival responded. He did love how his injuries were almost instantly healed by those marvelous machines of theirs.

"As do I, Percival, as do I." Jin thought. That place could-and probably would-save lives.

You don't stray from what could save your life.

[Grassy_Aggron]

(What do you mean possibly Velocity? Her character attacked you, I'd say she's very much involved XD)

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Niir/Jade
Rustburo City
ARPers: Velocity, possibly Sieses (and bunnies), Nuzlockelover, and NPC

Araceli had her obvious hesitation when she suggested they split up, and it made sense. They had just met, and they were trudging off to battle - so she was nervous she would flee. But she wasn't, and it appeared her Pokemon reassured her because she agreed to it. Araceli then instructed her to follow close behind before taking off, which was a bit more difficult considering that they had to pick their way back down to the floor. As they did so, she formed a quiet plan with her Pokemon. She had good coverage moves, but there was still both terrible weaknesses to Ground Type and Fighting Type moves.

<We have cover from Asteria with those. It will be fine.>

Right, that was true. Plus Jade had a move to deal with Ground Types...But in any case, as they got closer, they ducked behind shrubbery that, in this case, Jade's unusual coloring actually helped their disguising. Enja peered through the shadowed leaves just in time to watch an Arbok spit a needle at an item someone else was carrying, destroying it. In addition to that, she heard something about the Wake. The name seemed vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't focus on that as Asteria slashed the Dusclops allowing the Nidorino to escape while the trainer had to sidestep, allowing the girl pinned beneath to flee. Only, she stopped once the Arbok pinned the poor Poison Type once more.

So what she gathered was the Nidorino's name was Grind, the Arbok - Mancer - and Dusclops - Nightshift - owner was Kelly, and the leader. The two thugs had a Grumpig and Electabuzz. Enja's mind wasn't too worried about Mancer and Nightshift, and even Grumpig wasn't too much of a threat for her partner. But Electabuzz could be, and against Asteria, it could be a death sentence.

She kept her voice very low, and with the noise the others were making, knew she couldn't be heard. "Jade, we're going to wait. If she can get that Electabuzz over here without it knowing..." She saw Asteria and on her back, Araceli. Grabbing twigs that had fallen, she spelled out "Lur Electa here", not having the needed amount of twigs present and not willing to break any off the bush in case that sharper sound was heard. Araceli probably couldn't read the relatively small text, but Asteria, being a Flying Type, had sharper eyesight and as a result, hopefully could.

<What do I do then?>

Quietly, "If it is near the bushes...You're going to use Head Smash." She noted her Pokemon wince a little. "I know...It will...probably knock it out and...kill its trainer. If it doesn't - and I hope it doesn't - it'll leave it incapacitated. A smart trainer will withdraw." Although she had to question how smart its trainer really was.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Grassy_Aggron (Enja), Sabi (NPC), Sieses (Alexei and Perry), NuzlockeLover (Jackson).

Adrenaline thrilled through Jade as Asteria pulled out of her dive. The Togekiss wheeled over Rustboro, staying decidedly out of range of all but the most accurate attackers. It seemed that their assault had only been partially successful - while the girl had managed to break away, the Nidorino had merely exchanged a Dusclops captor for an Arbok. That alone was frustrating but easily remedied; the real problem was that the other two Trainers had released their Pokemon. Jade could see a Grumpig standing at the ready, but the real concern was the Electabuzz hovering at the edge of the group. Asteria could deal with Ice types and Rock types just fine. However, Electric-types were a different story. Typically they hit hard and fast, and Asteria had no moves suited to countering them. Jade's mind reeled as she tried to think of a solution.

<Jade.> Asteria's voice was calm and composed. <Enja wants us to lure the Electabuzz toward her. She's in the bushes on the left side of the road, behind the Trainers.>

There was a plan that Jade could latch onto. Fortunately, the Electabuzz was already somewhat close. "Okay. We need to piss him off so much that he won't start spitting out lightning bolts. Circle back, start pelting him with Aura Spheres, and then get past the bushes. Don't worry about power, just get them out. And if Electabuzz gears up for an electric attack, don't worry about me; just dodge and dodge fast." If they were going to complete this rescue, they would have to conserve energy.

A blue glow formed around Asteria's body as she gathered power. Jade could feel the energy crackling around her, and she bent low over Asteria and tightened her grip as the Togekiss sped up and dropped down to go on the attack. A hail of cyan fireballs rained down from her mouth as she went through her bombing run, all of them concentrated on a single electric ape. Even amid the wind and speed, Jade could feel the tension in her companion's body. She sympathized; one wrong move and they were positively dead. Fortunately, Asteria's reflexes were excellent, and there was no one else in the world with whom Jade would trust her life.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

(I asked Sabi on this: Pokemon have a few minutes or so to live if their Trainer dies-during which time a Trainer can make it a part of their team-before Blackout kills the Pokemon.)

Jin Leix
Route 113
ARpers: N/A

Jin had hiked for about thirty minutes now before he stumbled upon, well, any civilization whatsoever, really. It was actually surprising to see a house out here. Moreover, the house was only missing one wall-it's roof and other three walls were intact, sheltering it from the gentle rain of ash.

Jin rubbed his hair, shaking ash out, and put on his hoodie so he wouldn't have to deal with it. Percival took an even more battle ready stance-that place was safe and empty in and of itself, but it's nature made it the perfect bait for a trap. Jin, however, didn't go any farther than he did: that would be investigated on the way back, he decided. Finding a Pokemon-maybe-was his primary concern.

Jin started to head into the tall grass, remembering the days when Pokemon were practically packed in any grass taller than one's waist. Granted, he never got far with capturing, aside from an Abra. All the others were beyond his ability to obtain: his Abra, named Lester, had no moves to attack with outside of Teleport, so all Jin could do was throw PokeBalls, which they always broke out of. Granted, he got better luck once Lester evolved, but that was the start of the Blackout riots: He needed Pokemon. And now they were all dead. Percival was the reason he lived today, in fact.

The battle he lost Lester, his only Pokemon and a fully-grown Alakazam at the time, was in direct confrontation with the leader of a small gang who liked hoarding food in Mount Meteor. Jin got lucky in that battle-a rival gang attacked the bandits, forcing the Leader to fight alone while his underlings dealt with the raid. Unfortunately, his opponent wielded a Houndoom, and Lester's attacks were Energy Ball and Psychic. There was almost no worse match-up than that. Lester was mortally wounded during the battle, a minute or so from fainting when it happened. Upon the realization of the fact, the leader was too busy gloating over Jin's imminent death to realize that A), Blackout did not kick in until the Pokemon was actually unconscious, and B), killing the leader himself would work equally well. Jin threw his only knife at the leader, which thankfully landed the pointy side in. That in and of itself wasn't lethal-it hit the leader in the side. Jin was a thief, not an assassin. Fortunately, he and his Houndoom were too shocked to prevent Jin from kicking him off the cliff he stood against, killing him from the fall. That did not kill the Houndoom immediately, to his dismay, and the Houndoom seemed enraged enough to not think of just joining Jin and saving both of them, so Jin returned his fainting/dying Lester and ran like hell towards the battle, hoping that he could take a Pokemon off an unlucky combatant before Blackout could take him.

As it happened, the leader of the rival gang-who also died to a cheap attack-was handling a Gallade. Percival, specifically. Percival, upon realizing he needed a new trainer or he'd be visiting the grave a little sooner than he'd like, took his master's PokeBall and reached out to contact a new trainer. Jin responded, running towards the Gallade like his life depended on it-because it did. They fortunately met, and Percival managed to take on-and take down, thanks to a lucky hit-the pursuing Houndoom. Jin and Percival (mostly Jin) tried healing Lester, but Percival knew no healing moves, and Jin lacked items to heal with. Percival's presence for those few minutes was enough to secure Jin's life before Blackout took Lester. Lester the Alakazam had said his last words to Jin and Percival via telepathy, each in private. Jin heard Lester's simple request to stay alive for him and to not be sad about his passing. Jin assumed Lester's last words to Percival were about protecting Jin, though Percival never confirmed exactly what he said.

<"You're crying.">

"Huh?" Jin said, rubbing his face. Sure enough, a few tears were there. He had mostly gotten over Lester's death-it wasn't the first he had, though it hit closest to home.

<"Best keep looking around for that new partner we wanted, rather than waste our time thinking about what happened before, eh?"> Percival said. Percival was a more...Upbeat Pokemon. Granted, Jin guessed that it probably hit Percival harder to have his master killed than how Jin feeled over Lester. To a Gallade, loyalty to one's master was everything, and the life of the Pokemon was inferior to the life of the master. To let him or her die-to fail to protect him or her-was equal parts shame, guilt and betrayal. Jin never saw Percival cry, though, or show any remorse over it. Jin assumed he did it while Jin wasn't looking-no weakness in front of his new trainer.

Percival was right, though: Best to move on and look for that new partner.

Jin started walking towards the east again, into the thick grass.

[NuzlockeLover]

Jackson
Rustburo City
ARPer's: NPC

As soon as Jackson was about to put the PokeNav away, a needle hit and shattered. "What the-" He looked around and saw two people in the distance. There was an Arbok over there as well. 'That must be what fired the needle at me...' Jackson tapped Kronos and told him to look where he was looking. When Kronos saw the trainers he narrowed his eyes at them and lifted his claws up menacingly. "Kronos. Get ready to attack..." "Sci." Jackson climbed on to Kronos' back and whispered to him to jump towards the trainers when he gave the word. They waited for a couple minutes then Jackson whispered, "Now. Go." Kronos jumped and, with the help of his wings, was able to jump all the way over to the other trainers. The two other trainers turned around astonished. "What's the deal with firing Poison Stings at people hm...?" Kronos got into a fighting stance to get ready to fight their Pokémon. Jackson got ready to fight as well. They were ready. They had to protect their friends. Their family. They had to protect them....

[Death's Spook]

Derek Chase
Slateport Beach
ARPers: Desperado (Quinn)

Derek's smile grew wider and warmer,"We'd love to help! At least, Athena and I would. We've been keeping near water because it's easier to get food if we run out. But we were kind of hoping to get Rustboro. How about you take us there after you're done?"

Athena grumbled as there there was nothing more she would desire than to literally open this guy's neck and see what worked inside. Derek shot her a quick Look, and she subsided. There was a bounce in Derek's step as he moved towards–

"Hey, what's your name, anyway? I already know your name, Mow-D," Derek said to the Tentacruel before turning back to his trainer,"but you haven't given me any reference to use for you other than 'me' and 'I', and for reasons I hope are obvious to you, I just can't use those." He said the last one with a laugh lurking near the surface.

[SpinelWolf]

((Bunnying permission given by Dragotech))

Spinel
Slateport North Gate
Affected RPers: Dragotech, The Operator


When the three entered the gate it shouldn't have been a surprise that there wasn't anything useful immediately visible to them. Spinel broke away from the two to look around a bit, Rayner walking close behind her on all fours. During her travels she had trained herself to look more closely at things, trying to find hidden little treasures no matter what it is. She honestly didn't think they'd find much since this had to be a main route for other trainers. However after moving some rubble around she found a piece of paper with faded text.

"Found something," she said, taking the paper in her hands. "Looks like a set of numbers, but I can't make them all out."

"What are the numbers you can read?" Kyle asked.

"8-2-4 3-7," the young woman replied.

"I wonder what the numbers could be for," the Typhlosion mused, knowing that humans used numbers for different things. Codes, phone numbers, and locks are the most common things that numbers are used for in his experience. Now it was just figuring out what the other numbers are and what they could be used for.

[Sieses]

Alexei Stratos and Perry Sterling (Bunnying Rights)
Rustboro City Streets - Combat Zone
Affected RPers: NuzlockeLover, Grassy_Aggron, Velocity, Saraibre Ryu

“Yeah...” Jackson said, “I’m going with you, Alex...”

Before they got very far, though, the man was distracted by a PokéNav that was somehow working (maybe a stray blast from Chloe?) but Alex didn’t wait up for him. There was a fight going on, and Alex wouldn’t be deterred from involving herself in it.

Perry seemed to decide to follow as well, with his rodent taking it’s place on his shoulder. He didn’t speak a word, though, and Alex took this as a plus. Neither of them knew where the assailants were, so they couldn’t take the risk of giving away their position before they knew where the enemy’s was.

Unfortunately, when they first got a view of the lot, the leader of the group of thugs seemed to notice them first anyway. Quickly an Arbok was sent out and launched a poison sting towards them. It was aimed more towards Jackson, though, so Alex made no move to stop it, instead deciding to be ready for any further attacks.

She regretted this when none came, and the PokéNav in Jackson’s hand shattered.

“I’d stop there if I were you people,” the girl in charge said, and Alex felt a shot of irritation burn through her at the words. “This isn’t any of your business, this is wake business. Mancer here gave you all a well restrained warning so you all can go back to your...whatever it was you were doing.”

Alex didn’t even need to attack the woman to vent her frustrations, for an Air Slash attack collided with her Dusclops, throwing it to the side. To make the situation all the better, the trainer was forced to dodge as her own assailant - a Togekiss - lunged directly at her. She even tried a similar finger-snapping trick to Alex’s, but it did nothing at all, and she started to vent her frustrations towards her subordinates.

Alex used this pause to her advantage.

“Perry,” the girl said in a command voice that bode no arguments, “could Chloe repeat a similar flash to earlier if she wanted to?”

“Yes,” the man said with a nod. “It’s what we normally do, when we’re in danger.”

“Right then. I want you two to get hidden and when I snap my fingers five times,” the girl started as she demonstrated what she was talking about, “I want her to do it, alright?”

The two stopped to stare at each other for a moment before turning back to Alex and nodding. The dark skinned girl was quick to wave them off towards an alley off of the street, and they were quick to head there.

Turning back to the battle, she saw a sight that was both incredibly brave and incredibly stupid - the Togekiss was attacking the Electabuzz that one of the grunts had sent out. Alex could see the strategy - take out the grunts and the leader will be easier to deal with - but couldn’t she have taken out the Grumpig? Killer could have easily dealt with the Electabuzz!

Then again, Killer could also take out the Grumpig easily enough.

“The Grumpig, Killer,” Alex said simply, and her fingers snapped three quick times with practiced precision.

A ghastly purple energy started collecting in the hellhound’s mouth, and it quickly spat the Shadow Ball attack out at the pig. That wasn’t enough to satisfy Alex, though, and with a twitch of her head and three more finger snaps, Killer was launching a second Shadow Ball at the Dusclops.

“What’s the deal with firing Poison Stings at people, hmm...?”

Alex turned to Jackson to see that he had sent his Scizor towards the two grunts, but she was too hung up by what he had said to acknowledge that. The Blackout had been going strong for five years, and yet this man didn’t know how it worked yet...?

“This isn’t the time to wonder about such things,” was all the girl said, in the end. “Focus on the battle for now.”

[Dragotech]

Kyle
Outside the Pokémon Center
Arpers: Spinelwolf, TheOperator

Kyle and Gaia followed behind Spinel and Rayner up to the North Gate. Spinel found some numbers. Kyle had requested the readable numbers.

They were: 8-2-4 3-7.
Kyle thought for a moment.
Kyle stated, "No clue..."

Gaia stood wondering why numbers on thin wood seemed to matter to the humans.
She shrugged it off and looked around the general area.

Kyle reached into his pocket. He pulled out the jerky. "Well I guess a snack couldn't hurt though."
He opened it and set aside about a third of the package and handed it off.
He gave that third discretely to his somewhat distracted Rampardos.

Gaia took up on that offer and devoured the jerky. He smiled slightly and let it fade before he turned back around.

Kyle, "Finish up and lets start searching for bikes."

[Saraibre Ryu]

NPC: Kelly
Rustboro:
ARPer’s: Grassy_Aggron, Velocity, NuzlockeLover, Sieses [and those he’s bunnying]

Kelly sneered, counting the number of people she had to deal with. It was as if they had all come out of the wood work to help the poor little girl out. Her other two goons behind her looked ready with the Electabuzz and Grumpig, while her Dusclops and Arbok stood in front of her. A fight was a fight and there was no way about it. If she had to kill someone then sure, it was the way these days. She saw Mancer’s head snap right and glare into the sky, and she followed his gaze. Soon enough a succession of Aura Sphere’s was heading not her way, but aimed at the Electabuzz of her other employee. Her employee noticed eventually as he pointed it out to his Pokémon.

“Rev use Thunder Punch!”

The yellow and black being complied by grunting, and hitting his fists together, creating a blaring electric charge that enveloped his knuckles. He swung a fist at one Aura Sphere, forcing the energy to disperse as it was pushed back just a little every time. The Grumpig saw the newly arriving Scizor and thought that just wouldn’t do. Before the bug or his trainer had a chance to respond, he enveloped him with a Psychic attack, sending him flying back with a flick of a finger. The Scizor was sent back onto his side of the field with everyone else with a crash. That Grumpig liked bugs at a distance, not up close for socialization. Unfortunately Grumpig was so preoccupied getting the bug out of the way that he didn’t see the Shadow Ball coming, and was hit square in the stomach, coming down to one knee for only a moment.

“Tarot, come on!”

“Pfft… amateurs.” Kelly scoffed, turning back at her pair while her Arbok held the Nidorino in place and her Dusclops. The Dusclops saw what had happened previously, and unlike the Grumpig, didn’t need a command to know what Kelly wanted him to do. His hand formed into a fist, purple wispy energy surrounding it as he thrust it forward at the Shadow Ball, sending it back towards Killer. His gaze was as vacant as a Dusclop’s could be, but he had that feeling of ‘you’ll have to do better than that’.

Meanwhile, the girl who was the target for this whole situation, was standing behind the group, unsure of what to do or how to help. This was her fault and she needed to do something about it. She did have other Pokémon on her, but none were quite capable of dealing with the Wake’s Pokémon.

That was unless she used…

“Hey! Stop this now! Just let us go our separate ways and then no one has to end up seriously hurt, or worse.”

Kelly stopped to laugh. “Oh no you started this, and people had to get into business that wasn’t theirs. Someone is getting hurt. We could always use your Nidorino as a volunteer?”

“D-don’t…” She started, before picking up her voice again. “Don’t make me use Lillian.”

“Lillian? Is that a threat?” Kelly looked at Mancer, who seemed amused while the Nidorino was struggling less and less. “Mancer, toss him. He’s not going to last much longer.”

The Arbok complied by twisting his body around and throwing the Nidorino as hard as he could towards it’s trainer, who caught him but not before being sent to the ground. The pinkish purple rhino rabbit was still alive, but was very worn out from being wrapped up by a homicidal serpent.

“Poison Sting again.”

Rather than a single needle this time, Mancer opened up a spray of deadly toxic needles not at the Pokémon, but the trainers instead.



NPC: Unknown
Slateport Beach
ARPer’s: Death’s Spook, DesperadoBRT

The man rubbed the back of his head in thought. “Rustboro… hmm… I might be able to if I can call a boat from someone I know. I know I can get you as far as Dewford with what I have, but I’ll see if I can get you someone if I can’t, to get to Rustboro. Sounds fair enough for a deal to me.”

The boy pulled out a Net Ball, and opened it up in his hand. Out of it came a large blue and grey creature with a sturdy shell on her backside. She moved her head left and right, before looking at her trainer, and the other two newcomers. She looked at her trainer again. The guy laughed a bit at the mention of what his name was, knowing that might have been a nice fact to know.

“Eh sorry, manners slipped my mind again. My name’s Harrison, and you already met Mow-D. This is Tania.” Harrison gestured to his Lapras. “She’ll be able to carry you to where we’re going and keep you completely dry to boot. Ocean’s gotten colder and all the more unhappy lately, so she’s probably the safest ride you’ll have on the ocean side.”

Tania nodded and confirmed Harrison’s comments.

“Well if you’re all ready, just hop on and we can get on our way.”

Random NPC
Fallarbor Town
ARPer’s: Grsspkmnmaster

One of the locals who was eating soup spoke up, having an Electrike munching on some food just under his spot at a table. Even a few of the other workers stop mumbling their daily conversations to chip in.

“Well the generator is having some issues, but we’ve been able to keep it stable.”

“Output isn’t one hundred percent though. We need someone to get those parts so it can stay that way. Temporary repairs will only last so long.” Another replied to the first.

“Yeah I know, but getting to New Mauville these days is even more dangerous than before. I think we’re better off trading one of the other northern communities for one. Hell we could make it ourselves if we had someone who knew how and the scrap for it.”

“Either someone is daring and experienced enough, who won’t die, goes to New Mauville, or we try to get in contact with some other city and maybe barter. Neither of those sounds solid if you ask me.”

“Nothing is really solid or concrete anymore.”



Capture Session: TNT

Percival senses something is amiss, before jumping out of the way of an electrical blast sent right for him. He doesn’t see what it is immediately, but a circular form of three metal orbs, all with magnets and eyes catch his attention.


http://sprites.pokecheck.org/i/082.gif

Thunder
Double Edge
Double Team
Lock-On




TNT, please PM me your next post about capturing the Magneton, and await approval. After approval, you may post the same capture post here with the remaining information. Ability and nature will be provided after approval in a PM.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Jackson
Rustburo City
ARPer's: Sabi(NPC)

As Jackson was about to tell Kronos to attack, he saw a flurry of Poison Stings. But before he got hit, Kronos got in front of him and absorbed the attack. It didn't even poison him since he's part steel type. "OK, you just crossed the line! Kronos! Aerial Ace!" Jackson yelled. Kronos jumped up in the air and shot towards the Arbok. But instead of one Aerial Ace, he did it over and over again.

Jackson punched his fist into the air saying, "Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout Kronos! Now Bullet Punch!" All of a sudden Kronos disappeared than reappeared behind the Arbok then started to punch it in a flurry of punches. "Now use a Metallic Aerial Ace!" Kronos made his claws like metal then continued using Aerial Ace until the Arbok fell over. "Kronos. That's good. Come over here." Kronos jumped over to Jackson and Jackson got on his back. Kronos then jumped over to Route 116. "Sci. Scizor."

"I know. We should've stayed to help. But it was just getting to dangerous. Lets go." Jackson got off of Kronos' back and started walking. "I mean, I would've liked to help, but it was getting to dangerous. They launched Poison Stings at me. Now lets get going." They walked over to the tall grass. Jackson was hoping to find a new team member. Hopefully they would.

This post is invalid for the following reasons:

1: Scizor was thrown back by a Psychic attack from Grumpig. This was seemingly, completely ignored.
2. Bombarding an NPC's Pokemon in a battle or ANY character, without giving a chance to properly respond and claiming they hit is Godmodding and against the rules.
3. Claiming an NPC Pokemon fainted in battle without permission. This is also Godmodding and against the rules. As I play all the NPC charcters, they all belong to me.
4. Ignoring the other three hostile Pokemon currently in battle, along with a lot of the other things going on in the situation.

NuzlockeLover, you need to be more aware of what is going on, and what characters are speaking to yours and the situation around your character. I've gotten complaints of you ignoring interactions with your characters that are rather relevant to what is going on. You also need to not Godmod, as said in the first post, I am playing all the NPC's, and the results of battle are all determined by me as a GM. As such I have to give you a formal strike, as this is story breaking and not something I can consequence properly within the RP itself. The guarding from Poison Sting was clever, but the rest is rather unrealistic and breaking of an important rule. Two more and I will have to remove you from the RP. Please remember the rules when you write your posts.

RP may proceed as normal.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Jin Leix
Route 113
ARPers: N/A


Magneton
Thunder
Double Edge
Double Team
Lock On

<"Oh! Oh oh! I found something!"> Percival went. Jin turned his head, and saw...Three metal orbs, floating in midair, connected, with two magnets for each one. He recognized it from where his dad used to work with: A Magneton. He had heard from the locals that the local Pokemon were primarily Spinda, with a few Slugma and the rare Skarmory to round out the food chain. Jin didn't properly expect the Magnet Pokemon, but it was a reliable-and powerful-addition to his team of one, and considering that it WAS a team of one, really, Jin would have taken a Sunkern. Magneton was pretty awesome, all things considered.

"Take a good look, Percival, because I think we've found a new teammate! Use Drain Punch!" Jin thought. Percival was a mind reader and didn't need Jin speaking for his orders. Percival's fist glowed a nice, deep green, as Percival came in for a hard strike on the Magneton. The Magneton tried floating up higher than Percival, but Percival jumped up to hit Magneton in midair, sending the latter down to the ground, with a nice 'thud.' Jin smirked. He was off to a good start.

The Magnet Pokemon was not amused by that. Picking itself off the ground, the Magnet decided that it disliked it's previous bout with the Gallade's fist, and started to use his most infuriating move to deal with. He started speeding up, flying back and forth in a dizzying manner, leaving illusionary clones behind as he picked up speed, until finally, he stopped as two more of it joined the fray.

<"What the-how did it-what's going on?!"> Percival said.

"Clearly you haven't seen a Double Team." Jin thought back, as he started to scoop up some of the ash in his hands. "I'm not good at describing it, but basically, there's still only one Magneton-the other two aren't even there. We have to find out which one...And I think I know how. Lure the Magneton in closer to me, if you can." Jin added, continuing to add ash to his palms. He had a plan.

<"A bit risky, sir, but Roger!"> Percival said. He disliked the idea of the dangerous, animate, floating magnets getting anywhere near his new master, but he'd rather not flail blindly at it. Still not entirely sure what a Double Team was, other than that there was still only one of those pesky magnets, he Teleported back, behind Jin and a good distance from the Magneton. Jin had scooped up all the requisite ash for his simple plan, and was ready to dogde whatever the Magneton threw at him or Percival.

As predicted, the 'three' Magneton closed in on the Gallade, towards its effective range and passing the human, ignoring it as a threat. It was a human, what would it do that could actually harm a Steel-Type again? No, the Gallade was the main issue, with that nasty Drain Punch of his. It had missed him once with its powerful electricity-it wouldn't let it happen twice. Its eyes turned red-all three of them-as a red ring was launched at the Gallade. Its target tried swerving to the left, but that endeavor failed. It didn't harm him, but what it would do next WOULD harm him.

Jin took the opportunity of the Magneton's proximity to throw the Ash he obtained at all three Magneton at once. The ash singed the real Magneton's eyes, like a Sand Attack, as the other two clones dissipated. Jin wasn't aware of what Magneton EXACTLY did, but now wasn't the time for pondering on that. "Drain Punch!" Jin ordered.

<"On it!"> Percival responded. Percival wasn't exactly aware of what the Magneton did either, but it didn't stop him from using Drain Punch again. He approached fast, and slammed his fist into the magnet Pokemon hard, sending him back some. So far, so good. It looked pretty hurt at this point. <"It looks like it might be ready for capture, sir!"> Percival added.

The Magneton was not happy about his opponent's little trick-the Human WAS a threat, though not offensively. Ignoring the pain, it chose to back off farther than the Drain Punch pushed him-Thunder's Typical effective range was a non-issue this time. He charged himself thoroughly with electric energy, the currents going beyond the measely Thunderbolt, and launched a massive stream of electricity towards his target-still the Gallade, of course, as he was doing all the damage. The Gallade, seeing what he was doing, had ran behind a tree during the charge-up, but that was made totally irrelevant with the use of Lock-On. The Magneton was fit to laugh as the Thunder, initially going straight for the tree, instead decided to defy physics and logic, take a sharp arc around the tree, and slam into the Gallade with immense force. It was not a hit to be taken lightly.

Jin's jaw went agape at the sight of the arcing thunderbolt. From his view, he could see the red target illuminate as the shot was fired-whatever it was, it made the attack home in on the target. Gallade was not in the best of shapes after that-it wasn't critical, nor did it paralyze him from the looks, but it was a very powerful attack nevertheless...Percival stood up fairly quickly, but Jin firmly decided that this would be it for today. Not with those kinds of injuries would he go any further, lest he risk his life. He'd just go back to the Pokemon Center and heal up Percival, and presumably his new Magneton. Unless, of course...

No, no no, don't think about what happened to Lester. Jin just chucked the PokeBall at the Magneton without any further thought on the subject. His aim was true, and the Magneton didn't notice-still focusing on the one that could actually injure it. The Magnet Pokemon was sucked up in red light into the orb, which fell to the ground and started to roll, back and forth...Back and forth...Back and-

Nope. The Magneton came back out of the sphere, breaking it, and it didn't look particularly pleased at Jin. It may have not been aware of what had hit it, but it was definitely aware that Jin posed a credible (if vague) threat at this point. The Magneton, frustrated, charged forward at Jin with alarming speed and a golden trail of energy behind it. Jin ducked at just the right time, having the three hovering magnets sail over his head. The Magneton itself narrowly avoided ramming into a tree.

Percival did not need orders to know what Jin wanted, nor would he have been inactive enough to wait for them, though Jin turning his head and nodding at Percival when he saw what he was doing was a plus. The Gallade's arms, including his elbows, were now a very bright blue, and wasting no further time on the charge-up, launched several blades of Psychic energy at the Magneton. It turned around JUST in time to see the attack, but definitely not in time to get out of the way. It was weak in comparison to the Drain Punches, but the Magneton was really starting to show it's exhaustion: The three magnets were having a hard time keeping off the ground.

Jin readied another PokeBall, but the Magneton was now furious beyond belief. Thinking that winning this fight was now out of the question, it decided that-why not-he ought to go out swinging as hard as he could. It charged at Jin, full speed ahead, with a golden trail behind it, just as Jin released the PokeBall from his hand.

The PokeBall was a foot away from Jin before the Magneton-a half-second ago, three yards away-was sucked into it. That was close.

...Back and forth...Back and forth...Back and forth...Back and forth...Back and forth...Jin was sweating a little, backing up from the PokeBall. If he was thickheaded enough to stay that close to the PokeBall, and if the Magneton broke out, the retaliation the thing would bring would be almost impossible to avoid, and probably lethal. Even then, Jin was worrying how quickly it could attack...Back and forth...Back and forth...

...Back and forth...Ping!

Jin breathed a sigh of relief. That Magneton put up a good fight, though that meant that it was a good Pokemon. Jin smirked as he picked up the new home of the three magnetic orbs.

<"I almost had a heart attack when it charged you again."> Percival said, simply. <"Shall we press on?"> he added. Percival was clutching the spot where the Thunder had landed, and definitely looked in pain, but was standing and moving.

"Negative. We're going back to Fallarbor town, I'm not going to risk any more run-ins." Jin replied. He started walking west, back to town. He'd rather have to walk back here than lose Percival. Not to mention, either way, he'd have to make a run back to Fallarbor Town, with his new and severely weakened Magneton the only reason he lives-IF he lives, anyways.

Percival agreed with his logic completely, moving behind his master, still keeping at the ready, in case anything else happened. He kept his eyes-the ones on his face and the one in his head-out for any more signs of life.

(OOC: I know I bounced back between perspectives a lot. I've read too many ASBL rounds, I guess.)

[Grsspkmnmaster]

Marleena Aller
Fallarbor Town

Listening to the discussion of the other men while eating. I knew most of them, the electrical workers were pretty much the heads of the community, without any of them the generator obviously wouldn't work and we'd be far worse off. They mentioned needing parts that would be in New Mauville. I wasn't familiar with a New Mauville, but I knew there was a plain Mauville City a little to the southeast of here. I finished my food, remarking, "I don't see how that's all too hard. I can take Proteus with me and we can wipe away anything that gets in our way between here and Mauville. All the fire types near Mt. Chimney and I might be able to make it through Mauville from the north. There's gotta be a way through there, then I can ask about the parts we need." I stand up. "We've been fighting hard to keep everyone here safe, we can't give up now no matter what."

I turned to Proteus. "What do you think? A little trip to see something outside of Mauville might be nice." He grinned and stood on his hind legs, signaling his agreeing with me. I smiled, "Sounds like a plan then. We can ask about New Mauville when we get to Mauville. I'm sure we can find The Boss and ask if we can make the pickup. Shouldn't be too much more difficult after that." I started walking out, leaving some money on the table with the empty bowls. I had this feeling as I walked back into the hot sun and the fresh air washed over me as the sliding doors wooshed shut, that this was going to be the start of something much bigger than myself.

[SpinelWolf]

Spinel
Slateport North Gate > Route 110
Affected RPers: Dragotech, The Operator


After searching around for anything else and coming up empty handed Spinel let out a heavy sigh. She turned to the boys to see them continuing to try to find anything useful. She gave a quit pat on the head to her Typhlosion before he went on ahead to the door as his trainer addressed the others.

"I'm taking point. With Rayner's superior hearing he could pick up on anything trying to hide. I'm going to wait for a bit before moving on," she said before turning to follow her fire-type.

Outside she didn't see much. Wild Pokémon were a rare sight nowadays, but not completely uncommon. By how Rayner's ears were twitching there was probably one or two wild Pokémon in the area. Perhaps they'd be lucky enough to see them, or even get a chance to add one to the team. Spin wasn't holding her breath on it, but for a little while now she's been wanting to add another member to the team.

"So far I don't sense any threats," the Typhlosion spoke. "It should be safe for us to keep moving on to the next city."

"Sounds good. There's no rush at the moment, so might as well take our time and enjoy the peace while it lasts," the young woman replied, the pair then taking an easy pace under the cycling road. Can't take the fast way since they didn't find any bikes after all.

[Dragotech]

Kyle
under Cycling Road
Arpers: Spinelwolf, TheOperator

Kyle kept a keen eye on all the grass. He wondered if a Pokémon would show itself. He had that feeling that they were being watched.

Gaia looked from side to side nervously. She was sure they weren't alone.

Kyle was less annoyed about the lack of bikes to be rode, and he would have preferred to take the high ground, but he preferred safety in numbers than going it alone.

Kyle rested a hand on his nervous Rampardos.

This helped calm the nervous rock type down. She cocked her head to the side with a slight grin.

Kyle turned and continued to follow the group. He was hoping there was not some ambush set up around here they did sacrifice the high ground after all.

Kyle took a moment to examine the water. He was not about to let his guard down, but took a moment to try and enjoy himself.

Gaia on the other hand did not like the water. She decided to let it know of her displeasure.

He let off a subtle chuckle as she scratched at its surface. Her recoil at getting her hands wet was even more amusing.

The dinosaur admitted defeat and kept moving. Kyle, "I take it you don't want to go for a swim then?"

Gaia cocked her head and displayed a look of general annoyance.

He chuckled.

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Perry Sterling
Rustboro City, the Streets of Rustboro
Affected RPers: Grassy_Aggron, Velocity, NuzlockeLover, Sieses, and NPCs

Waking up this morning, Perry never would have guessed that he would become embroiled in a brawl of Pokémon. But then again, he never had any idea what would follow the post-apocalyptic sunrise. Still, a loose coalition of Pokémon and trainers fighting a sinister gang that was tormenting a young girl, it was like something out of Mad Max. But this wasn't a movie, this was real. And these trainers and Pokémon weren't actors, they were in serious danger. Perry winced as Aura Sphere met Thunderpunch and energy flew all-around. He stayed back with Chloe, waiting for Alex's signal. She knew what she was doing, or at least, she had a better idea than he did, Perry reasoned. No, the best thing for him and his Pokémon to do was to stay out of the way and wait for the signal.

The signal was all that mattered, the fight could go either way, but with a Discharge prepared, they could make a hasty escape. Or at least, Alex and Killer could. Perry struggled to remember, but he couldn't recall telling the others about his Pachirisu's Discharge attack, meaning that they would be just as blind when the time came. Perry was about to warn the others when he bit back the cry. Warning the others could mean that their opponents would be equally prepared for the attack, and then it would only be in naught.

Perry's weighing of options was cut short though when another burst of purple needles erupted from the cobra Pokémon. Perry watched their trajectory briefly and realized that this was no longer a Pokémon Battle, trainers were fair game too. "Chloe, Light Screen! Everybody else, get down!" Perry yelled with more authority than he ever felt before in his life as Chloe leaped off of her perch on his shoulder and summoned a honeycomb patterned wall of yellow energy. Admittedly, Reflect usually would have been preferable to Light Screen for a Poison Sting attack, and the size of the screen, encompassing the entire main group of trainers, would have weakened it considerably. However, Light Screen was far better at weakening ranged attacks such as this variation of Poison Sting and the number of needles should have lowered the individual strength of each one. A few would get through the wall of golden light, sure, but hopefully the trainers would dodge the worst of the blow and passing through the screen would take a lot of the punch out of the missiles.

With a yelp of pain, Perry looked down and saw that one needle had punctured the sleeve of his orange sweatshirt and the soft flesh of his arm. Grimacing, the trainer grabbed the purple projectile and pulled it out of his arm, tossing it aside before sinking to his feet. His Pachirisu quickly approached him and began trying to roll up his sweatshirt in order to examine the wound, but Perry pushed her away. "No, Chloe," he said firmly, "The signal, you have to pay attention to the signal."

[Grassy_Aggron]

Grassy_Aggron
Enja Niir/Jade
Rustburo City
ARPer’s: Saraibre Ryu, Velocity, NuzlockeLover, Sieses, basically anyone at the battle

Well, it seemed her plan had been a success, somewhat. Down comes Araceli and her Togekiss, raining a frenzy of Aura Spheres on the Electabuzz. Its name was apparently Rev, and it used a volley of Thunder Punches to block the incoming attacks, either disrupting them or knocking them off course harmlessly. However, each strike pushed him further back towards their bush, every inch closing the gap rapidly. Closer and closer they drew, all completely unaware of the waiting ambush. When at least Rev came into close enough range, the trap was sprung.

Jade's green body was cloaked in an earthy, sparkling grey, radiation from her horned skull. Without hesitation she leapt forth as they were distracted by a Scizor and Houndoom, charging at her close opponent's back with her Head Smash. Enja came out of the bushes as well, holding her trusty wrench at her side but not up in a fighting position. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but she knew that Arbok would attack humans without any hesitation, and she figured she might be able to block with the wrench.

...Probably not, but it was worth a try. Jade was not to kill the Electabuzz but to severely cripple it, as death was unneeded and a waste. "Hey," she called out to Kelly, the leader, waving in an excited jubilee that only she could manage, "come on now, is like, three stolen supplies by a kid really worth all of this effort and pain? I can look after her and make sure she doesn't steal from you again, if you want. Life is precious, and I don't want to see anyone die today." She glanced at the Electabuzz's trainer. "That includes you and...Rev, I think I heard you call him. He doesn't deserve to die for such a silly little problem, and neither does you."


(Meh post is meh. YAY LECTURES. All the feelz.)

[Saraibre Ryu]

NPC: Kelly
Rustboro:
ARPer’s: Battle Folks

Kelly wasn’t entirely impressed that the Poison Sting attack was deflected by a Light Screen attack, though a yelp of pain removed that feeling if mild disappointment. Mancer also seemed pleased as well. The three of them were ready to launch another consecutive attack when from behind her, one of her goons screamed as the Electabuzz under their ownership was sent flying in the opposite direction by a green Aggron. Rev crashed into a nearby tree after being launched, and came to the ground with a hard thud. His trainer felt a wash of fatigue and pain overcome the left side of his neck, indicating where his Blackout infection was worse.

“The HELL was that?!”

Now there was a girl with a wrench on one side of them. There were multiple trainers to their front. Kelly mentally count to herself silently, and now with the Electabuzz nearly out of commission, things weren’t looking good. Yes, she wanted to beat up the other kid, but she wasn’t stupid. At this rate, it wasn’t becoming worth the effort. As much as the one with the wrench was right, and Kelly didn’t want to admit it, she was going to have to back off. The owner of Rev seemed terrified by her words, while the owner of the Grumpig seemed slightly shocked at Enja’s Aggron.

“Kelly…”

Kelly noticed the green Aggron as well. “Yeah… green Aggron…”

She was quiet for only a second. Rev was recovered by his trainer, being held upright by having one of the yellow and black Pokémon’s arms over his shoulder. “We should get out before we lose Rev… or the Aggron… that Aggron will-”

“Don’t tell me what to do Mark.” Kelly snapped at him, turning to the rest of the opposition. “Don’t you think this is over kid.”

“Rev, use Teleport.”

“This is personal.”

The antagonists took a few steps back, and within seconds the lot of them were gone. The commotion came as quickly as it went, leaving nothing but the girl and her Nidorino as the only remaining strangers. The girl without a name relaxed a bit, too much in fact. She fell backwards on her rear end, remembering her Nidorino, Grind, was worn and weary from being tossed around like a rag doll. She inspected him, seeing that most of the damage was caused by the Wrap attack from earlier. All the pink rhino rabbit wanted to do right now was lay on the ground, though kept his eyes open long enough for the girl to check her infection, which was present along her wrist.

“It didn’t get worse… okay…” She sighed, standing up to look at the others. “Thank you, very much. I owe you a lot for what you did and…”

She stopped, seeing that one of them, Perry, was looking a bit out of it. She then noticed his arm had a small tear in it, and there was a single, misplaced Poison Stinger not far off from his spot on the ground. Immediately the girl began to freak out, rummaging around her bag for something.

“Oh dear, that’s all my fault… you’ll get ill if that’s not dealt with and – here it is!”

The girl pulled out a pink bandage that appeared as if it was stained that colour, and felt a tad sticky on the one side. She walked over and showed it to Perry, quickly explaining what it was before he had much of a chance to reply.

“It’s one of my Pecha Bandages. It’s not really meant for curing poison since I don’t do it much… but it’ll prevent it from getting worse. I’m a poison specialist so… at least I know a place closer to here that could help with that…” She began. “I was heading to Fortree, I hear there remains most of that city since the incidents. They’re working with the Fallarbor farming settlement to get Hoenn back on track again, and then hopefully Unova and Sinnoh. Verdanturf is working on salvaging, which is where I was before those from the Wake jumped me…”

“Ni.” Grind groaned.

“Oh, yes. Right. Sorry I’m terrible.” She stood up straight and dusted herself off. “I’m Hadley, and this is Grind. I used to be from Kanto but I moved before Blackout happened. I don’t mean to pry, but do you have any plans s of lately? If you don’t have any place to stay, a lot are heading to Fortree and scavenging what they can along the way. It’s safer up there than it is down around these parts of Hoenn nowadays… I was escorting medical supplies around and yeah… I’m sorry I’m all over the place.”

New Objectives:
Head to Fortree City Settlement [Long Term]
Head to the Salvage and Scavenging point in Verdanturf [Short Term]

OOC: Yeah it sucked but I figure we should move on.



Capture Session: SpinelWolf

There's something odd in the water just offside the route... you aren't sure what ti is, but every time you look, you swear that lily pad has moved twice since you blinked. You take your eye off of it for one second... and then it jumps out at you!


http://sprites.pokecheck.org/i/271.gif

Bullet Seed
Icy Wind
Mist
Tickle

SpinelWolf, please PM me your next post about capturing the Lombre, and await approval. After approval, you may post the same capture post here with the remaining information. Ability, gender and nature will be provided after approval in a PM.

[VeloJello]

Jade Araceli.
Devon Building.
ARPers: Rustboro people.

Once the present threat was gone, Jade signalled Asteria to land. The Togekiss touched down on the edge of the group; when Jade got off, she could clearly see the look of worry on her partner’s face. A quick once-over of the gathered Trainers quickly revealed the reason: one of them, a boy who looked too unfit to even be alive in this environment, had taken a Poison Sting.

However, Jade had little enough time to worry about that; she had to pay attention to what the girl they’d risked their lives for was saying. “So,” she said, once Hadley had finished saying her piece, “you’re a caravaner.” There was no accusation in her tone; more of an odd wistfulness. So many of them didn’t come back, all of whom were deeply missed.

<She’s a healer, too,> Asteria interjected. <If Enja wants to go with her, I say we go.>

After nodding to Asteria, Jade turned to Enja. “Asteria says go, and I think we don’t have a better plan. Both of us need technology and relative calm to be of any use. You can do what you like, but the more the better in the way of safety."

[Grsspkmnmaster]

Marleena Aller
Fallarbor Town

Walking back up a hill behind the Pokemon Center, I started the trek up towards the Admin's house. Since the plague had started, and most of the infrastructure of the town had gone to pieces, there was a lot of chaos. However, we had found one guy who had a good idea how to fix everything up. His name was Samuel McDaniel, a civic engineer. Most of us joked about putting "Civic Engineer Extraordinaire" on the sign to his office, but only because he had certainly deserved it. He had studied in Johto, even worked on some of their public projects before getting called back to help deal with the Blackout. He was a friendly face around the community, and once we had figured out what this disaster was, it was fairly obvious that he should be put in charge of rebuilding all the stuff we needed to survive. He organized the work on the farms, though his big project was getting the generator for the town up and running.

I walked up the hill to the small camper which was parked at the top of the hill. A wooden sign staked in the ground read simply, "Samuel McDaniel, Civic Engineer". A little ways beneath the sign someone had painted "Town Admin" in black, though the lettering wasn't as neat as the rest of the sign. I walked up to the camper, leaves crunching under the feet of my boots. The camper as small and simple, but as always, it was lit brightly from the inside. I stepped up to the door and knocked twice, rapping my knuckles against the sheet metal door. I heard some stirring before Samuel's voice beckoned me in.

I stepped in and up the small stairway, turning to the home and makeshift office. Samuel stood with his back to me, hunched over his writing desk. He was one of the older residents in Fallarbor, but no one ever held it against him or mentioned it. His greying hair was tied back into a ponytail, his plaid shirt covered by the dirty blue jean-overalls which he almost never took off. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing arms that looked like they belonged on a younger man, muscles showing through the tanned skin. This wasn't a man who stood behind a computer and just directed. He built the things he designed. At least, when he had time and the patience for it. His Alakazam was sitting on the corner of the desk, apparently looking over the designs for the new irrigation setup we were supposed to install over the winter. It was a ways out, but there never could be too much planning in this town. Samuel turned around, "Oh, sorry to keep you waiting. Was just looking over these plans here." He wiped his already clean hands on a towel hanging off his shoulder, probably just from habit, before stretching it out to me for a handshake. "So, what brings you to my office?" His cheeriness seemed so off kilter from the situation, but I enjoyed it for once.

I shook his hand. "Admin, I heard the electrical crews need parts from New Mauville in order to fix the generators, but that no one really wants to make the trip. I was thinking I could go. Proteus and I could make the trip." I walked past him to point at a map of Hoenn on the wall. "I was thinking, we could circle around the base of Mt. Chimney, head towards Lavaridge and see if I can stay there in case I need to rest up from anything that happens between here and there. Then I head down to Mauville, and New Mauville's right around the corner. As long as those other towns haven't been wiped out, it shouldn't be too tricky." My finger traced the route I described, Samuel raising an eyebrow, one hand wrapped around his mouth in a pondering gesture. He thought it over for a bit. "Well, I suppose it could work... but I'd rather you don't go the trek alone. You'll need at least some good equipment to take you out that far." He sighed, "But I don't know what I have to spare, most of my supplies are either being used, or being taken apart in order to fix other things." However, he walked past me, sifting through boxes as if looking for anything which he could give me for my journey.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Jin Leix
Route 113, to Fallarbor Town.
ARPers: N/A

The ash he had walked on and disturbed the way there was steadily being covered back up by the time Jin made it back to the house again. He wasn't bothering with it at all now: He'd prefer the Pokemon Center to a few shoddy healing items. He was fast in his pace, though not running: Running attracted bad attention.

Percival kept along, trying to keep Jin's pace. Being wounded like he was didn't make for a fun time in doing that, though he wasn't Paralyzed. If he was Paralyzed by that Thunder, then Jin would have had a rough day defending himself from any ambushes or the like. That wasn't the case, thankfully.

Doubly thankfully, Jin wasn't stupid. He'd run the hell away from whoever was trying to make him have a bad day, not stick around. He was smart enough to think twice about attacking a Weedle, in fear of the swarm of Beedrill that would result, so to speak.

On the other hand, it was likely that his trip back would be as uneventful as the trip forward, up until the Magneton appeared. It was also true that Jin succeeded in capturing another partner, which was a life-saving find. Or could be one, if he could utilize it properly.

And it didn't die on the trip there. It was barely capable of levitating after what Percival put it through. Granted, it was one tough cookie, though that was bonus on Jin's list. He wanted Tough Cookies on his side of the playing field.

If his team died, he died, and tough cookies were hard to kill.

(OOC: Short post is Short, bleh.)