{RP} Ryme Chaos

[Winter]

GM's Note: Welcome to Ryme Chaos, a Pokemon RP set in the same world as the Detective Pikachu movie! That being said, this RP is intended to be spoiler free, for those who haven't seen the movie, and should not require any knowledge of the movie or game to play.

Plot
Ryme City, it’s a modern marvel, a hub for technology and a paradise for Pokemon, as well as the humans who choose to live beside them. Here, people and Pokemon live in harmony, and if a Pokemon stays by a given human’s side, it’s because they want to, not because a Pokeball dictates it. Formal battles are prohibited by law, and trainers visiting the city from other regions are placed under heavy restrictions—first and foremost being that they are not allowed to carry empty Pokeballs into the city. Doing so is a crime punishable by heavy fines, but using those Pokeballs to catch Pokemon is even worse, punishable with jail time. Most residents of Ryme, both human and Pokemon, like it this way. Love their peace and harmony. There are so many other places in the world to go if you don’t like the lifestyle here, most will tell you if you bother asking, but there is only one Ryme City. At least, for now, as there have been multiple pushes to build more cities like Ryme in other regions, places for Pokemon who need help, or wish to have a safe place to live.

Which is why almost every permanent resident in Rhyme City was baffled when there was a sudden push for reform...a push for Pokeballs and the capture of Pokemon to be allowed within the city. Originating from a research company relatively new to Ryme, most assumed that the administration of Megans Technologies would quickly come to understand the principles Ryme City was founded on, would see that their way of life was beneficial to Ryme’s people and Pokemon. This was not the case. In fact, they pushed even harder when residents didn’t seem interested.

In fact, they dug deep into the city’s own history, did their homework, and struck again. There had been incidents in Ryme’s past, their administration argued, where having a majority of the city’s Pokemon population easily stored in Pokeballs would have been better for public safety. The most significant of those incidents had only happened seven years ago—many of the residents still remembered it. What would happen, they asked, if something similar were to happen again? What would happen if Pokemon began attacking buildings? People?

And then, not long after that push, Pokeballs began appearing on the streets of Ryme City. Battles started to break out, and Pokemon began going on rampages. Both people and other Pokemon were quickly put in danger, and the RCPD scrambled to contain the incidents. The residents of the city, who had not been swayed before began to take sides—some, concerned for the safety of the public, began agreeing that it might be best to have most of the city’s Pokemon population easily containable while others argued that the events had likely been caused as a result of the Pokeballs that were now popping up on the streets. Of course, things only worsened when public officials began to take sides...and one of the largest supporters for keeping Ryme’s Pokemon free was attacked by rogue Machamp at a public rally, only to be saved by a few of the city’s new illegal trainers, who battled the Pokemon before one of the rescuers caught it.

These illegal trainers were arrested for possession of Pokeballs with intent to capture, sparking outrage among the supporters of change—they had saved people, they had stopped the attack, why in the world were they being arrested when they should have been hailed as heroes? Chaos has descended upon the streets of Ryme since the attack and arrest, pitting trainers against partners in dangerous and illegal battles. The number of Pokeballs and reported Pokemon captures within city limits have skyrocketed, as well as the number of “rogue” Pokemon attacks. The RCPD is scrambling to do its best to protect all residents of Ryme, as well as uncover the origins of the Pokeballs cropping up on the streets. Given the number of battles and rogue attacks, they’ve already got their hands full, and are readily welcoming on as much good civilian help as they can get.

So, welcome to Ryme City. Are you prepared to take a side, and fight for what you believe in?

Extra Info

Ryme City welcomes visiting trainers with open arms, with a few restrictions

They must have a digital passport
All empty Pokeballs and “Battle Items” must be deposited elsewhere before entering the city. Trainers attempting to pass through Customs with any banned items will have said items confiscated, with no chance of return upon exiting the city.
They are allowed to carry a team of up to six Pokemon with them, however an updated registry of their team is required to be attached to their passport at all times.


PCs are available for visiting trainers to access all of their Pokemon, but are only available at small, pay to use facilities called “swap centers.” The most prominent swap center chain in the city is Swap n’ Go.
Though RCPD is accepting civilian volunteers, all volunteers must be able to pass a background check and undergo a quick educational course informing them of what situations they are allowed to handle, and how to handle them. Volunteers caught handling situations in an improper manner can and will have their volunteer privileges revoked, and may face fines or jail time.



Rules

All standard PXR rules apply
Be kind to your fellow PXR members, and leave Detective Pikachu game and movie spoilers out of the RP and it's affiliated threads, this RP is intended to be spoiler-free
Obligatory no god modding or using other’s characters without permission
Be nice to each other
Please keep RP contents PG-13 and under on all fronts
Knowledge gained OOC stays OOC unless otherwise specified
Please be active, or give warning before going inactive if possible
Have fun~


Accepted
Saraibre Ryu with Shay Draklyn (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?21405-SUDS-Ryme-Chaos&p=296631&viewfull=1#post296631)
Neo Emolga with Nathan Cole (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?21405-SUDS-Ryme-Chaos&p=296710&viewfull=1#post296710)
Noblejanobii with Catalina "Cat" Ines (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?21405-SUDS-Ryme-Chaos&p=296711&viewfull=1#post296711)
Winter with Rain Caulder and Byron "Perry" Parisi (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?21405-SUDS-Ryme-Chaos&p=296875&viewfull=1#post296875)
Death's Spook with Sycorax Grimm
(http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?21405-SUDS-Ryme-Chaos&p=296905&viewfull=1#post296905)
Reserves

The SU and discussion thread for this RP can be found here (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?21405-SUDS-Ryme-Chaos).

[Winter]

Rain Calder
Ryme City Transit Station
Arceus, she hated public transit, and traveling from one region to another was always a pain. She’d done it a few times before, but she usually traveled with her unit rather than alone--or, at least, without another human. She snapped her head towards her Gengar as he growled at yet another person that got too close, and did her best impression of a scowl. “Azriel, manners,” she ground out, “we are here as a gesture of goodwill from Sinnoh! Act like a good representative, not a rabid Luxray.” Next to her ear, there was a soft hiss--a sigh from her overprotective Gengar. It wasn’t an actual answer from him, but it was as good an answer as any, as she didn’t feel him bristle or hear him hiss at the poor souls stuck around them again.

“Everything looks good, Ms. Calder, you can head just past me, through those doors to the left, down the hall through to the grand entryway and reach the rest of the city from there. Welcome to Ryme City, we hope you have a pleasant stay.” The agent who had been looking over her information seemed nice enough, but it appeared he’d failed to notice that she couldn’t see. Not that she minded--it wasn’t as though she was helpless. She let Azriel’s hand against her arm urge her forward, up to the table on which her suitcase and messenger bag rested, but it was one of her twin Gastly that nudged her hand up to find the handle of her suitcase, then the strap of her messenger bag, which she collected easily before allowing Azriel to guide her through the aforementioned doors, what sounded like a very large entrance hall, and finally out into the open air of Ryme City. Thankfully, even with as on edge as he was, Azriel remained on good behavior, and they reached the street without incident. She could feel the ever-shifting press of Nuala and Cerridwen close to her, and she was reminded again of how those who saw the pair wondered how she could breathe with the two of them and Azriel hovering so close to her.

Finally out of the building, Rain paused to dig a bone conduction headset out of her bag, which she plugged into her personal cell phone. Before she could slip it into place, however, Azriel spoke up. “Catching a cab would be best,” his familiar rasping voice warned, but she shook her head in reply.

“Catching a cab is easiest,” she corrected, slipping effortlessly into her first language, the one she and Azriel shared. “But walking will give you and the girls the opportunity to sightsee. New terrain means we need new intel.” The Gengar huffed yet again beside her—Az knew she was right, and he hated it. That didn’t mean he was done yet, though.

“A compromise, then?” he proposed, and she tilted her head, eyebrows arching over the plastic frames of her oversized sunglasses.

“What kind of compromise, Az?” Rain asked lifting the headset to put it on anyway, pressing the power button to turn it on.

“We take a cab to the hotel, you check in, drop off your suitcase, and then we can walk to the police station.” He had a point with that one, at least--Rain didn’t care much for her appearance, but she knew others would, and dragging her suitcase around would likely attract more attention than she was interested in drawing to herself just yet. That, and she didn’t need Azriel and the Gastly ripping into any poor fool who thought it might be wise to attempt mugging her.

“Fine, fine,” she conceded in English before adding in, “if you want us to catch a cab, you’re going to have to help me hail one.”

Byron Parisi and Rain Calder
Ryme City Police Department
Though busy days at Ryme City’s Police Department were great for job security, Byron Parisi wouldn’t have minded a slow day or two. Or even a slow hour. As it was now, when he wasn’t greeting visitors (who were usually in to report yet another instance of illegal battling or rogue Pokemon, he was answering phone calls from citizens about...well, much the same thing. Rarely, there was a more average call--an old lady whose Eevee had gotten stuck in a tree, noisy neighbors, Aipom that wouldn’t stop rifling through trash cans, that kind of stuff, and Perry was thankful for the normalcy of those calls, though he knew they were low priority for the RCPD.

Oddly, Perry didn't find himself inclined to worry about his safety. Though busy, the RCPD was doing a fantastic job...and he had faith that he could rely on his Pokemon partner in a pinch.

Well, at least when the little fluffball was awake. A glance down at the backpack resting on the floor told him that Kiri the Espurr was still very much asleep at the moment, and he smiled down at the bag his partner used as his personal sleeping bag before the doors to the lobby from the outside opened. “Hello, welcome to the Ryme City Police Department, how...can we...assist you...today?” He started the greeting on instinct, but it slowly failed as he actually took in the woman who walked into the lobby.

There wasn’t much impressive about her, exactly—she was short, maybe in her late teens at the most, with short, dark hair and most of her face obscured by large sunglasses. What drew more attention, though, was the Gengar beside her, its arm wrapped around the girl’s in an almost gentlemanly manner. A pair of vapor shimmers shifted around the odd pair, and once or twice, Perry would have sworn he saw a flash of eyes, or the haze take on an almost purple color—other ghosts? Gastly, maybe?

The pair made their way across the lobby, and some of those waiting shifted away from the group, murmuring to each other. Perry thought he saw the corners of the girl’s mouth twitch up as she and her Gengar continued to move, until they reached the desk where he sat. Curiously, the woman’s head did not quite turn towards him in a way that would suggest she was looking at him, even when she spoke. “Hello, I’m Agent Rain Calder from Sinnoh’s FBI, and this is my partner, Azriel.” She made a vague gesture towards the Gengar, and Perry felt his eyes going wide as saucers. “I was told Chief Moretti is expecting us. We’d have had an appointment, but with the way travel has been lately, you can’t tell how quickly you’ll get through travel checkpoints here,” she sighed, and shook her head slightly from side to side.

“Ah, Chief Moretti--just a moment, I think he’s in a meeting at this time, but let me check…” Looking into the scheduling system to figure out if the chief was already occupied took far longer than it normally would. FBI, this woman worked for the Sinnoh FBI--what was she doing here in Ryme? Sure, the situation was far from ideal, but was it really necessary for visitors from other regions to start coming in? The surprise from the information was making it hard to concentrate, and Perry found himself misclicking everything he tried to hit.

“...And I thought the computer systems back home were convoluted,” the woman commented softly after a few minutes of awkward silence as Perry struggled to pull up the information he needed. In a moment, the young man found his cheeks burning in embarrassment.

“No, no, it’s really not that bad, I’m--uh, I’m just new. I apologize for the inconvenience, Agent Calder,” he offered quickly, and the woman chuckled. A moment later, Chief Moretti’s schedule flashed across the screen, and Perry found himself breathing a sigh of relief before looking back up to the tiny FBI agent. “There it is! It looks like he’s in a meeting right now, but he should be done in the next twenty minutes, if you don’t mind waiting? I’ll send up a message to let him know you’re here as soon as possible, though.” This time, a smile did tug at the woman’s lips, and the Gengar at her side let out what sounded like a snicker.

“We can wait.” she told him simply. “It’s not as though we have anywhere more pressing to be.”

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Hi-Hat Cafe

As Nathan spent the afternoon searching on his laptop at the quiet Hi-Hat Cafe, the news he read had varying opinions on the whole recent developments regarding the induction of Pokéballs, battles, and what was to become of Ryme City's future. It begged the question whether the human and Pokémon tradition of living in harmony would have to change. He knew Megans Technologies was sweeping in, seeking to put the old ways down. There was likely to be a transition period. A time when it was both okay for people to have Pokémon out in the open as partners, and okay for people to own Pokémon in Pokéballs. But he had a feeling it wouldn't stop there. He had a feeling it would only be a precursor to what could come next: Pokéballs being mandated for security reasons. With the rogue attacks and the recent incident involving the Machamp attack on the public official, they had ammunition to justify it.

He had been there hunched over a laptop computer for the last three hours with his pure black coffee finished long ago. All while thinking his next move and what the options were. There was varying opinions about the situation. Some felt there wasn't a problem and Pokéballs would be fine. Others believed this was the first step toward eventually forcing everyone to contain their Pokémon and the wild Pokémon of Ryme City being subject to capture. It got Nathan thinking how the line would be drawn and who would draw it.

"But it works for many other cities and Pokémon trainers." It was often the response he heard to those questioning and undermining the principles that made Ryme City the way it was. And as Nathan thought about it, sure, it worked for them. Trainers were often going around with a whole team of Pokémon. In some cases, those Pokémon loved their trainers and it was fine. But in others, there was still subject to abuse. Members of gangs like Team Rocket and Cipher had a history of using abusive practices on their own Pokémon.

But even in the defense of Pokémon trainers, there was a whole variety of reasons a person would have Pokémon as companions. In Nathan's eyes, there was nothing wrong with that. If he wanted to, he could have easily proposed to Kano, his Cinccino, if he wished to take part in some kind of activity or something like that. Despite it still being illegal in Ryme, some Pokémon liked a good battle, though collateral damage and possible participant and spectator injury were always a risk, even in regulation stadiums. Others wanted their Pokémon to perform in contests, musicals, or whatever competition their owner had in mind. And there were plenty of Pokémon that were clearly happy and enthusiastic to participate in such.

It was primarily the use of Pokéballs that concerned him. He had seen plenty of citizens live peacefully with their Pokémon for decades without even touching a Pokéball. Having Pokémon out free on the streets wasn't a problem in the past. And the citizens were aware and accepting of the risks. And he understood that Ryme City wasn't for everyone. Not everyone would be cozy with having powerful creatures out in the streets among them. They could, after all, discharge fire and electricity, or cause devastating earthquakes and fissures. Some could debate how could Ryme City even still be standing while running those kinds of risks?

Nathan felt the answer was simple. These Pokémon and the humans they lived with, if they lived with a human, all shared the same thing. Ryme City was home. A Pokémon wouldn't just devastate their own home and the homes of other Pokémon that lived here. Sure, it took a great amount of faith and trust in the system to make it work, but he knew responsibility and care was what made it happen for all those years. The system, while fragile, was incredible when it worked.

Which was why the induction of Pokéballs was something that he felt was the problem. All the Pokémon in Ryme had never known about these strange and bizarre capture devices, and that there was a level of fear to them. What happens to the Pokémon inside? There were some that compared it to being in a coma, being blind and deaf, or other fearful states. But the thing that clued Nathan in on the problem was that almost always, Pokémon tried to avoid capture. To capture a Pokémon, a trainer had to weaken them to the point where they could no longer resist the restraining power of the Pokéball, and would eventually give in and submit to the trainer. To Nathan, it seemed harsh to subject a Pokémon to that abusive duress and put them into submission against their will. Why not try to just bond with the Pokémon instead? Why even resort to using a capture device in the first place? He felt a natural bond was the ideal way to befriend these creatures. If it was clear the Pokémon didn't want to bond and wanted to stay independent, that should be respected.

"Weren't you around seven years ago?" when one of the university students was conducting a survey panel to all the cafe's patrons for a class assignment. "And if so, how did it make you feel?"

Nathan looked at the young college girl's eyes after she had unintentionally broke his train of thought. Those brown eyes, long brown hair, comforting visage, they all spoke of a girl that was looking for the right answers just as much as he was. She had her own Pokémon, a very clingy and bubbly Floette, perched happily upon the girl's shoulder. That sign made it clear she was a regular Ryme City citizen just as much as he was.

"I was here," Nathan replied to her. "Let's just say it came and went, but we all got back on our feet."

"Was this Cinccino your partner at the time?" the girl asked, noticing the white and gray chinchilla Pokémon relaxing on the table besides him. "Were you among those that were affected?"

It wasn't exactly the most ideal question to ask Nathan, but he figured there was probably a good reason why this girl was doing this survey. She seemed to take the assignment personally. As though there was something more she was hoping to accomplish with it and not just hoping for that A+ from her professor. Maybe take it to the next level. Maybe get the message out there far and wide that Ryme City needed to stay the way it was supposed to be. Maybe it was worth opening up this one time.

"Right, Kano is and was my partner both now and at the time," he told her, recalling the events of seven years ago. "We were on Charti Street when it happened and the streets went up in panic because nobody knew what was really going on. I believe you probably already know what happened shortly after the incident started, so I'll spare you the details. Let's just say it made me see things in a different perspective during and after the crisis. But that whole incident stems from someone being irresponsible, not because we can't trust the Pokémon who live with us."

"In the wake of what happened," she asked him, "do you feel anything should be changed about the way Pokémon and humans live in Ryme City?"

"No, we've all moved on from it," he told her. "If it bothered me, we would have moved elsewhere by now. We're willing to accept the risks. It's why we continue to stay."

"Thanks, your input has been really helpful," the girl told him with an appreciative smile. "I hope you have a good day."

The point of it all was he felt you couldn't just give up on something you've believed in most of your life just because of some incident like that. To him, that was like giving up on a car just because of a flat tire, or giving up on a child's life just because they got a fever. Giving up on what made Ryme City the unique and special place it was for humans and Pokémon just because of a single incident was a terrible practice. He admitted it wasn't the perfect utopia, but no place in the world could attest to being that. And other crisis events occurred all around the world, so this wasn't just a Ryme City problem. He could easily bring up other international crisis incidents involving Team Rocket, wayward legendary Pokémon, and the like. But they were stopped and life went on. And in terms of the new incidents popping up, while Nathan didn't have the evidence yet, he had a hunch the stray, wild Pokémon living in the city were feeling pressure and stress from the new presence of Pokéballs, and that was why there were rogue attacks now. But it was only a hunch, and he knew he didn't have the veterinarian skills to confirm that. Of course, he knew Megans Technologies wouldn't stop their venture because of a theory. Not unless there was hard, confirmed evidence. Of course, how does one interview a Pokémon to get their side of the story?

The incident seven years ago gave him a different kind of empathy for the creatures and what they might be feeling and thinking. His main argument against the new presence of Megans Technologies and their Pokéball manufacturing was on the basis of "if you were a Pokémon, do you think you'd want to live in a Pokéball, or out in the open?" And if the reply was in the later, then how could that same person justify using them? And he knew that some Pokémon just didn't mind being in a Pokéball. But what about preference? What if things were changed and the Pokémon had the choice instead of the human?

For now, Nathan had his sights set on one core objective. He needed to figure out ways of keeping Megans Technologies at bay and stop the circulation of Pokéballs. For the time being, the Ryme City Police Department still considered wild Pokémon capturing to be illegal. He needed to make sure things stayed that way, but there was still plenty of work to be done beyond that.

It was time to take that first, critical step. And he knew he wasn't alone.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Shay Draklyn
Ryme City Entrance

Three hours.

It had been three hours.

Shay underestimated the amount of faith in the city's policies these people had. She knew she would need to be checked and have to explain her status and passport, but this was a bit extreme. Despite her disgruntled state, it was insight into the conflict she was here to try and help solve. Being a rather proficient in Pokemon Battles and a few regional League records that were very impressive was what was giving her a front row seat to Ryme City security. Every bit of background information, calling her parents at home of all things in Johto, and checking the only PokeBalls she had brought, which had her Pokemon in them; it was the works. Havoc's temperament wasn't helping, and it made Shay question why she brought the fightiest Haxorus she had with her to the most peaceful and harmonious place in the world. At least, so it was advertised. After being asked the same questions over and over, she was permitted entrance to the city. Havoc was allowed out of her ball and Choros was extended the same. The rest of her team would have joined them, but after all that hassle, they were too tired to leave.

Shay took a look at the tall buildings and Pokemon filled skies. It still wasn't the same as Blackthorne, but it was certainly different. The towering black and red dragon behind her however, broke her moment of observation. She turned, seeing Havoc with her adopted Jangmo-o sister clambering on top of her head. Shay stared at the Haxorus until a small staring contest had begun with the Pokemon. Soon enough Choros joined in.

"I know you want to size everyone up, but this is a no fight zone unless otherwise stated, got it?" Shay sternly stated in a quiet voice. "We're already gonna be on a watch list."

"Haaaax."

"Do you want to set a good example for Choros?"

"...ax..."

The trainer patted one of the sharp, axe-like tusks on Havoc's face. "That's what I thought. I doubt there are going to be any other Shiny variants around so you stick out. You and Asharas."

Shay also was making her position as a tourist known by wearing all the Pokeballs on the strap of her messenger bag. It allowed her Pokemon easy access to their Pokeballs, and they could easily come in and out when they pleased. It might attract unwanted attention, but she was presenting herself as she was. If she was going to get comments on it, it would filter out who was worth having the engaging conversations with, and those who would be ignored if they were closed minded enough to start a fight. Also to ignore those people so that Havoc didn't start any arguments of her own. There were many more Pokemon than the two of them had seen in a populated space, so it would be a test for Choros and Havoc. The Jangmo-o hopped off of the Haxorus' head, and started hopping down the street. Havoc was quick to follow her to keep her from getting in trouble. Shay sighed, tapping the other four Pokeballs on her bag. Each one wiggled back with a quick blinking of a light.

"Well if you're all ready to go, let's find that police station... if underground battles are a problem, we can get started with that."

It was going to take them awhile, since the towering black Haxorus was bound to catch several people's attention, especially when it was chasing such a small dragon Pokemon. People might get the wrong impression. On second thought it might have been a better idea to explore and then ask for directions later.

[Noblejanobii]

Cat Ines
Ryme City Entrance
Impacted RPers: Saraibre Ryu

Cat took a deep breath of the Ryme City air. She waited until CB was in position then counted down in her head. 3...2...1... action! Giving a big smile, Cat shouted, "What's up kitty cats, it's Cat Cast here in Ryyyme City! Today I'll be covering a scheduled protest in the center of the city! With the rising controversy around the use of pokeballs and free roaming partner pokemon, we've seen a lot of protests recently, and today I plan to interview some of the people at this protest to see exactly what their reasons behind their stance on the issue is. So if you're cool with that and want to see more content like this, don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe to be part of the kitty cat family!" Cat posed for a second before signaling cut. "Alright CB that's a wrap!"

"Hop hoppip!" Cottonbloom cheered as she floated down to Cat. Passing the camera over to Cat, the two watched the footage.

Cat nodded her head a little before saying, "You think we can do one more take from a different angle?" Cottonbloom quickly nodded and took the camera back from Cat. "That's my girl."

Cottonbloom flew into a new position and waved her tail to signal she was ready. Cat took another breath and began to count down in her head. 3...2...1... action! ""What's up kitty cats, it's Cat Cast here in Ryyyme City! Today I'll be covering-"

"HOPPIP!" Cottonbloom screamed, diving down and tackling Cat out of the way as a Jangmo-o hopped by followed by a large Haxorous. Cat fell onto her butt, her hat flying off and landing on the ground a little ways away. Cat took a moment to gather herself before checking to make sure her partner was okay.

"You're not hurt are you, CB?" Cat held her partner over as she checked her over.

"Pip pip..." Cottonbloom replied, shaking her head a little.

Cat smiled and rubbed Cottonbloom's head. "Good, I'm glad. I'm fine too. And hey you even managed to hang onto the camera. Good job." Cat stood up and looked around. "Now where is my hat?"

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Charti Street

On that day seven years ago...

It had been a while since Nathan last came down this open, busy street, but every time he did, it took him back to that day when it all started. He had flashbacks of the panic, the hysteria, screams, and then it hit. When suddenly everything familiar had become foreign and for those few hours, him and everyone around never felt so lost before, wondering if what had transpired was permanent. Wondering if this was their life now.

But that was all past tense. That was all seven years ago, but the effect still persisted today. When people started questioning Ryme City's values. It all pointed back to how the choices and actions of a few can ruin everything for everyone.

It was something that Nathan felt was exclusive. He felt you would have had to be there to understand. In one way, the incident made the tradition and culture questionable. In other, it opened his eyes to something else.

And at the same time, Kano the Cinccino looked around as well. He didn't entirely know why his human partner was here, but he had a feeling he knew why. Because it involved him just as much as it involved Nathan. Things were on the brink of changing, but here they were, back at the beginning. Back where it all started.

As Nathan remembered, Pokéballs were contraband to a degree. Visitors could only carry them into the city provided they already contained Pokémon inside. Empty ones were confiscated as they implied they could be used for catching wild Pokémon in the city itself. That was not stopping the black market, however. And despite battles within the city being illegal, that wasn't stopping underground cage matches either. In recent days, the reported number of contraband Pokéballs and illegal battles was escalating.

And Nathan suspected Megans Technologies had something to do with it. On the outside, it seemed to be a company pushing for reform by encouraging officials to do away with these laws and allow Pokéballs to be sold legally, stressing that these capture devices are better for public safety. Until those laws were lifted, however, Megans would be unable to sell them, which meant they had to rely on some other form of income to continue their operations, or they were disregarding the laws through illegal distribution. The problem was the RCPD already had its hands full trying to keep on top of all the recent incidents. Illegal and criminal activity on Megans part would be hard to track down and investigate due to the higher intake of pressing issues that needed immediate attention. The RCPD couldn't investigate possible leads if there was a rogue Pokémon attack downtown and civilians were in danger.

But he had been here for 36 years, and he remembered what life was like 29 years ago before the incident. Rogue Pokémon attacks back then were very seldom and usually there were reasons for it. So why was there a sudden escalation? He knew they wouldn't attack without reason. They didn't do that in the past unless there was something triggering it.

He truthfully didn't want to suspect Megans Technologies of being responsible, but triggering crisis incidents outside of public scrutiny could both be a business and political motivator for the new company that was competing with the international business giant, Silph Company. If they were triggering the incidents, Megans could also decrease their frequency if and when Pokéball ownership was legal, making it appear that their claim was right when really they were orchestrating it. Considering the nature of the industry they were in, they needed to build reputation to compete and what better way to do that than to look like they were proactively supporting public safety and interest?

He figured there was more than one way to get to the bottom of it, but they involved their own difficult challenges. He could do his own investigation on Megans and whatever confidential resources they had in their network, but that would be a complex task and if there was anything nefarious going on in the company, it obviously wouldn't be out in the open for public scrutiny. Something dark like that, if it existed, would be buried in deep, and unless he knew what to look for, it was like trying to find a needle in a warehouse of haystacks. He needed keywords, projects, triggers to look for. Otherwise he was going in blind and the Megans Technologies network would be a labyrinth. In terms of hacking into their network, he knew he needed to be in and out quickly. Wandering around the network would only get him caught and in trouble. Most unethical hackers knew exactly what to do go for. Credit cards, social security numbers, trade secrets, and other confidential information. But in this case, he wouldn't even know what the finish line looked like. He knew he needed something more.

The other alternative was just as, if not even more difficult than the first: Somehow communicate with a confirmed rogue Pokémon. He knew his partner, Kano the Cinccino, could potentially speak to them, but unless Kano was able to suddenly learn English or read and write, there was no way he could relay the information back to Nathan. And he had a feeling what could be triggering these rogue Pokémon attacks was complex and wasn't something very obvious. While most of the public saw these rogue Pokémon as the perpetrators, maybe the truth was they were actually the victims. The victims of something Megans could have been doing? There was no true way to tell at the moment, but there was that shred of plausibility and it merited investigation. But even if Megans wasn't responsible, knowing why these Pokémon were going rogue was very valuable information toward solving the crisis. The real problem was getting it. The rumors of Pokémon that could speak to humans were shaky at best, and even the number of Pokémon that could fully understand human speech were few and far between. Still, he needed this information and until he learned more, these rogue Pokémon were the only ones that had it. For 29 years, rogue Pokémon attacks were almost unheard of, so what happened between then and now? What really happened on that day seven years ago?

It was why he found himself standing here again, wondering. Wondering if there was, perhaps, a way to leverage a solution out of a crisis. Could something that once incited fear and panic in these very Ryme City streets be used as a tool? He was there, seven years ago, suddenly lost and alarmed at the situation at what had become of him and those surrounding him. And he remembered the hysteria clearly. There were times in his dreams that he could still hear the disfigured screams. Today, he was here wondering if that same situation of pure chaos now actually held the one and only key toward getting the real answers.

He knew some people might think of the whole idea as crazy. Even he questioned if it was really the right thing to seek out. But if it actually worked, it could be exactly what Ryme City needed to stay the way it was meant to be. And until he found a better solution, this was all he had to rely off of.

He decided to do it. Mainly because he didn't have any other solution in mind in the haze of the situation, and time was running out. The rogue attack incidents were getting worse and Megans was pressing in closer and closer toward pulling apart the moral foundations that Ryme City was built upon. He didn't want to grow old in a changed and reformed Ryme City wondering if he actually had the solution and could have saved something important at a time when people and Pokémon needed it most, but didn't simply because of raw, naked fear. He had this one chance and he knew he could sooner forgive himself for at least trying and failing as opposed to never trying at all.

Too many times, fear had stepped in the way of doing the right thing. And while fear might have gripped him seven years ago on this very street, today was something different.

It was at that moment that he turned around and walked away from Charti Street. These first few steps weren't going to be easy and he could only guess where it was going to take him, but someone had to do it.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Shay Draklyn
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii

Large crowds of people, Pokemon to try and chase... Choros was having the time of her life. Luckily most people were wary of HAvoc chasing her around as Shay took meandering steps around the city. It wasn't any Nimbasa or Goldenrod City, but it did have it's own unique flair. It reminded her a bit of her home stay: Draklyn Reserve and Sanctuary. A few kilometers of land in the Blackthorne Steppes dedicated to housing, rehabilitating and taking care of many of Blackthorne resident's and trainers Pokemon. They weren't the only ones however: Pokemon found in the wild who needed a second chance, poached Pokemon from various regions came to stay. Those recovering few were registered in Pokeballs under the Draklyn family name; mostly Shay since she was one of the only Trainers in the family. Some Pokemon even came to learn how to better defend themselves from other wild threats of their own volition. The one rule of the Draklyn R&S was simple: freedom to come and go as they pleased. Ryme City was certainly different, but whenever there was something new like this, someone else had the idea to bring it down.

Speaking of bringing things down, the sounds of people gathering and the sight of large signs caught the trainer's attention. It was clear signs of a protest beginning to happen, and of course, that's where her two dragons were heading. If Choros liked anything, it was large groups of people, and Pokemon. Those immediately meant friends as far as the Jangmo-o was concerned. Shay picked up her pace until the pair of them managed to knock someone over, and keep running. It was a woman with a Hoppip, and one rogue hat sent flying. Well now it was time to reign those two in.

"H and C!" Shay shouted as she got within a few feet of the stranger. She waved for the two of them to come back, once Havoc had swung her head back around, using the temporary distraction to pick up Choros in her arms. Shay turned to the woman. "Sorry, they get distracted in new places."

They, finally having arrived with Choros squirming in Havoc's claws. Their trainer gave them a stern look, and they looked at the situation. Choros ceased her attempts at escape once they both realized their haste had bowled someone over. A simple head motion from Shay, towards the Hoppip and stranger indicated a need to apologize. "Well, go on you two, what do you say?"

Havoc lowered her head a bit, looking off to the side. "...orus."

If Choros hated one thing, it was being in trouble. Havoc put the Jangmo-o back onto the pavement, letting her scamper off to pick up the lost hat. The dragon returned with a warily slower pace, holding her head up as high as she could to offer the woman back her green hat. A muffled sound from her full maw came out, an attempt at a genuine, if not muffled apology. After a few seconds, Havoc picked her up ones again, getting the small dragon closer to eye level with the woman.

"Your Hoppip okay?" Shay asked, offering a partially closed hand as a gesture of hello to the Hoppip.

[Noblejanobii]

Cat Ines
Ryme City Entrance
Impacted RPers: Saraibre Ryu

Cat looked up as the partner to the dragons approached her. She quickly caught sight of the pokeballs on her chest, and mentally corrected herself. Trainer, not partner. Cat stood up and brushed herself off a little. She smiled and shook her head. "Nah it's fine, it happens." She looked down as the little Jangmo-o approached with her hat. Cat bent down and took it. "Thank you!" She pat Choros on the head before putting her hat back on.

Cottonbloom hovered beside Cat as the interaction occurred, watching the two dragons in a mix of fear and awe. She had never seen a real Haxorous before, and was slightly intimidated by how big the dragon was. Still, when the trainer asked how she was feeling and extended her hand, Cottonbloom felt somewhat more at ease. She floated forward and bumped her head against Sabi's hand. "Hoppip! Hop!"

Cat giggled and said, "Yeah, she's not hurt. Thanks for asking. Hoppip may look frail but CB's one of the hardiest Hoppip I've ever met. Ain't that right, CB?"

"Hop pip!" Cottonbloom gave a confident nod in agreement.

Cat took her camera back from Cottonbloom and looked at Shay. "So you're a trainer? Where are you from? And what brings you to Ryme City?"

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Nathan's Apartment, Hickory Street

A cold air drifted through Nathan's dusty apartment as he worked tirelessly for hours doing his research. There was a lot left undone in his small but functional apartment. Unopened mail was scattered on the metallic center table, the dishwasher had finished the last load days ago but remained shut, a thin sprinkling of dust had covered most of the rarely-touched furniture, and Nathan couldn't remember the last time he actually made his bed before sleeping in it.

He spent the last two hours in his dimly lit bedroom researching online while Kano the Cinccino enjoyed sleeping in what was Nathan's bed as opposed to the smaller pen that was supposed to be his. As to Nathan, what he researched might have been the most absurd thing to him at first, but he had already factored in all the alternatives and they didn't hold the same promise as his current pursuit.

There was the option to find a Pokémon that could speak both to Pokémon and humans through English. And he would have to trust this Pokémon. The time needed to find such a Pokémon would be immense and there was no guarantee it would work. Not to mention trying to teach a Pokémon to speak, if it were even possible, could take years. Which was why he needed to try to perform this crucial interview himself to get the real answers. So in those last two hours, he tried diving for information on how exactly a human could become a Pokémon, for at least a temporary amount of time.

To his surprise, where he thought most topics of discussion online would treat the whole prospect like a joke, the subject matter wasn't regarded as ridiculous as he anxiously expected to many online sites. Many sites had claimed it had happened before, though there was no real dependable and truly scientifically validated means to do it. Some claimed certain Pokémon were capable of doing such a thing, others claimed a mixture of regents and untested recipes could do it, and there was even a claim that one human had become a Pokémon and had visited an entire other world solely inhabited by the creatures and came back to tell the tale. However, as expected, almost everyone else doubted that claim as there was no evidence to support that.

The labyrinth of possible means and answers seemed just as complex and winding as what he might have expected trying to hack into Megans Technologies networks. But at least here he wasn't doing anything illegal or would get him caught and have the authorities pounding at his door. But there was one lead that he found that might have validated answers. A Pokémon researcher in Goldenrod City, named Bill, reportedly had unintentionally turned himself into a Pokémon during his studies on teleportation. He was wondering if, in fact, this Bill had investigated it further as follow-up research. If anyone in the world had really found the means to accomplish such a thing, it would likely be him. A researcher of his experience would at least try to go for a verified means.

It took a bit of courage to pick up the communicator and give the researcher a call, but he decided to try it anyway. He typed in Bill's number, watched the video display feed, and waited for a response. Shortly after, the video turned on to reveal Bill, wearing his usual grin accompanied with his wavy brown hairstyle.

"Hey there, you've reached Bill the PokéManiac!" the friendly and welcoming voice of the researcher had spoke on the other line. "Who is this?"

"Hi Bill, my name's Nathan Cole," he spoke to him in a direct tone. "This might seem like an unusual request, but I need your help with a few things. It's in direct response to the current Ryme City crisis."

Nathan figured if he wanted to get Bill's help, he needed to be as open and as honest as possible, hiding nothing. In essence, there was no reason to bring Megans Technologies into this. While he had his suspicions about the encroaching company, those didn't need to be known to the researcher.

"Ryme, huh?" Bill asked, sounding and looking fascinated. "Always wanted to visit there but never had the chance! I heard Ryme City was having some problems down there?"

"That's right," Nathan replied with a nod, figuring it was likely some of the recent events had attracted media attention. "What we have on our hands are rogue Pokémon attacks. As a resident of Ryme for 29 years, this isn't usual and is fairly recent. But while the RCPD has their hands full trying to neutralize the attacks and do damage assessment, I want to investigate what might be the root cause of all this. I think the only way to accomplish this is to interview one of these rogue Pokémon."

"Ohh, that sounds hard and a bit dangerous," Bill replied with a look of caution, knowing a provoked or angered Pokémon was hard to control and capable of seriously hurting someone. "Not a lot of Pokémon understand human speech, however. Certain commands and attack orders, sure, if the Pokémon trusts their trainer. Thing is that's usually a one-sided conversation, of course! You're not going to understand too much of what the Pokémon says back to you as you probably know."

"That's exactly why I'm calling," Nathan confirmed. "I'm trying to do my own side investigation and this is where I've hit a roadblock that you might be able to help with. I need to know if you might have something that could change me into a Pokémon to perform the interview myself. I've considered all the other options and this was really the only one that would give me the full and unaltered information I need from one of these rogues. I feel we may not be able to get the answers otherwise and word has it you may have unintentionally discerned the means to do this."

He could hear and see Bill sigh, looking like he was trying to gather his thoughts, but then he eventually responded.

"Uhh, yeah, about that," Bill replied, sounding more bashful than doubtful. "I'll admit I've delved a bit into that in those rare occasions I have some downtime, although the first time was a total mishap! A few people have looked into this kind of thing, though let's just say a lack of study sponsors that think such a thing has any utility or market value are, well... they're just not out there. And neither are willing study participants, which of course have to be human for this to work! Unlike some medicines and new healing items that you can test on Pokémon, you can't exactly test something that changes the recipient into a Pokémon on someone that's a Pokémon already! I'll admit, it sure would be fun as a prank and I'm sure many teenagers would love it, but you're talking about an untested serum that would be expensive as the raw materials are tricky to find. No one would pay that much just to, well, you know, jump out from behind a bush as a Pikachu and scare their parents!"

As Nathan knew, the approval process from regulatory branches of the government would be hell on these researchers to make such a thing available to the public. That and it being untested carried a presence of it becoming a liability. The only other choice was to thoroughly test it to verify its safety for public use, but that would only be considered if the return on investment was there. With all those factors considered, he had to decide if he would take the risk and subject himself to whatever consequences that would be involved because of it being relatively untested..

But as he told Bill, his number of options was low and his time was short.

"I think we can both gain something out of this," Nathan told Bill. "You said you needed willing human study participants and I may have found a justified use for this. If you send the serum, I'll take daily temperature readings, report any side effects, and will send you whatever information you need regarding any other in vivo study details you require."

"Whew, you're pretty brave, I'll give you that," Bill replied, wondering if Nathan might just be one in a million. "I'm sure you're going to want to have the agent that should change you back, of course. I'll send that too, but if you could give me ten days of research data, you'd be doing me a big favor. And hey, you know, give me some insight as to how that interview goes. If that works too, you know, I might be able to get some sponsors for this kind of study if they see the ways it can be used!"

While Nathan was hoping this wouldn't be a big mistake, there was only one way to find out. Still, he'd rather live with the regret that his attempt to find a solution failed rather than live with the regret that he stood by and did nothing while Ryme went to shambles around him.

"Sounds like a deal," Nathan replied. "I'm transmitting my address to you now."

"I just need one more thing," Bill requested. "What Pokémon would you want to try on for size?"

Considering all that which happened, that wasn't too difficult of a question.

"Cinccino," he told Bill. "Having raised one of my own, I have quite a bit of experience with the species."

That and as Nathan recalled, that experience went a bit beyond even just owning one...

"Not too bad, thankfully that's not too super-rare of a Pokémon," Bill replied. "I'm quite sure I have the DNA of that one on file. If something goes wrong, let me know right away. Hopefully I'll be able to talk you through it!"

Ten days. It was going to be a bit tricky for Nathan to work around that for that kind of duration as a Cinccino, but he needed to uphold his end of the research deal to Bill. That and take very detailed notes regarding the performance of the serum.

"Sounds good," Nathan confirmed. "I'll get started right away once I receive the package."

"Well good luck!" Bill smiled. "Looking forward to working with you!"

"Take care," Nathan replied.

After the connection was ended, Nathan made a checklist of things he might need for this study. While the package shipping was in process, he needed to make sure he had enough food, supplies, and everything else both he and Kano needed. Human interactions and transactions needed to be completed now before the ten day trial had gone into full swing. It wasn't like he could head off to the local grocery store as a Cinccino and not cause commotion when he tried to pay with a credit card. Bills needed to be paid in advance, and he needed to inform anyone he had regular interactions with that he would be away for a short while. For the next ten days, he needed to make sure there was nothing on his calendar. At least nothing he needed to be present as a human for. In terms of Anotech, he was already on a work from home basis with them, but he needed play it as if his microphone and video feed were malfunctioning, but could still type while listening in on meetings.

While it might be a challenge for the upcoming ten days, it would be worth if he was able to get a hold of information from one of the rogues. But until he got that information, all he would have at the end of the day were suspicions but no real leads to pursue.

He wasn't about to wait until time ran out and he only found the truth when it was too late...

[Saraibre Ryu]

Shay Draklyn
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii

Somehow, Shay managed to get herself locked into human conversation. One of her least favourite things to do but she couldn't just let someone get bowled over by a dragon. She expected at least a little hostility, something about trainers being in their city when it was a place of wild Pokemon freedom. So far this woman seemed decent enough. Choros gave her best equivalent of a Jangmo-o smile, and perked right up with the head pats. The Hoppip, Cottonbloom, seemed to warm up to her. There were plenty of them in Johto so she knew how to handle them. Taking a moment to look over the plucky pink Pokemon, Shay could tell they were pretty healthy. Leaves looked verdant and the little guy seemed to enjoy the... well Shay couldn't call them trainers or owners. Persons? No, the security had mentioned something about partners. That was likely the optimal word she would have to resort to.

The bombardment of questions snapped Shay out of her examination of Cottonbloom. It took her a moment to replay the words in her head, just to appear to be paying more attention than she was. "Yeah, that's right. I'm from Johto but I travel around a lot, as Trainers do."

Havoc had been staring at Cottonbloom the whole time, while Choros was happy to play plush Teddiursa for awhile until she saw Cottonbloom's face. Choros took notice of Cottonbloom's conflicted feelings, she wriggled out and climbed up Havoc's head, sitting on top of it to show she wasn't so scary. Shay looked between the two of them, knowing exactly what that look in her Haxorus' eye was for. She turned to the Hoppip. "Don't worry, Havoc won't start trouble, but she'll end it. If you aren't used to seeing one of them, congrats: that's the rarest kind of Haxorus you'll find."

Right, the woman was still asking questions.

"I'm here to see what all the fuss on the news has been about. It's off season for most of the Leagues and I hadn't been here before so... maybe help people out with the... difference of opinions." Shay carefully answered not wanting to offend this stranger.

There were plenty of people around with listening potential. The last thing Shay wanted was to get ganged up on. Not for her sake, but for Havoc's protective nature. She was a stubborn ol' dragon, and one who did not need to start a Pokemon Battle in the middle of the street.

[Winter]

Byron Parisi
Ryme City Police Department
No one wanted to sit by the FBI agent and her Gengar, it seemed. As soon as they had moved over to sit amongst the lobby's chairs, a full on crowd of people got up and moved away, leaving them with quite a bit of extra space where there had been none. The Gengar had made a snickering noise in response, but Agent Calder said nothing...and watching the way the Pokemon practically led her to a seat, Perry began wondering if there was something else going on with her. As bizarre as this was, he grew even more curious as the vapor haze seemed to shift away from them, moving out into the room before vanishing from sight.

Of course, he didn't have much time to think about it, however, as the phone rang and he had yet another call to deal with.

Rain Calder
Ryme City Police Department
Funny, it seemed even people here in Ryme City were wary of Ghost Pokemon. Rain had heard a number of people rise to move away from where they were sitting as she and her Gengar approached, an action she found almost amusing. Though she had learned how to interact with people, and even how to be somewhat comfortable around them, Rain definitely didn't mind the peace and quiet that spending time alone provided--especially given how rowdy things could get with her family back home. Besides, no one sitting close to her meant fewer questions, and that was probably for the best if she was honest. Once seated, she gave Nuala and Cerridwen free reign to explore and seek out what information they could find on their own, a request the twin Gastly gleefully fulfilled. Rain felt the temperature around her raise slightly as the pair darted away, and smiled a bit to herself. Nuala and Cerridwen had always been curious and a bit high energy, more like a pair of rambunctious baby sisters even though Azriel was pretty sure they were older than she was. They had always watched out for her, though, and Rain could hardly imagine working with any other Pokemon as her eyes and extended ears.

She wasn't sure how long it was before someone came to get her, but she heard a door open, followed by a surprised yelp from the young man working the desk before a deeper male voice called for her. "Agent Calder?"

"I'm here, sir," she called, pushing herself up easily and turning herself towards the source of the voice. It was only a moment before Azriel’s hand took up its usual position on her arm, turning her ever so slightly, adjusting before gently nudging her forward.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Agent Calder. I’m Chief Moretti,” the male voice offered, and Rain was surprised by the warmth in it. He sounded oddly friendly, though she could hear just a bit of that stress in his voice as well.

“The pleasure is mine, Chief Moretti,” she replied, allowing herself to offer the man a small smile before nodding her head towards her Gengar. “Azriel’s as well.”

“Agreed, a pleasure,” Azriel agreed, but Rain knew that to the Chief, it sounded like a “Gen, Gengar!”

Though she didn’t see it, the chief nodded in appreciation to the Gengar, and then gestured back to the door. “Why don’t we move to someplace a bit more comfortable? My office is just down the hall.” Of course he’d want to get down to business as soon as possible, and she allowed Azriel to lead her through the doorway and down the hall to the Chief’s office. Her partner carefully directed her to a chair as Moretti moved behind his desk. There was a snort as the Chief’s partner Houndoom lifted its head from the enormous pillow it was curled up on to see who had entered the room, but after a moment the dog Pokemon’s head dropped back down and it appeared to return to its nap.

There was the creak of an office chair as Chief Moretti sat down and let out a long, relieved sigh before addressing them again. “Really, I can’t thank you and your team enough for coming, Agent Calder. We’re at a loss here--it’d likely be far easier to figure out what’s going on if we had more manpower, or fewer incidents of battling or Pokemon going rogue, but...Ryme’s been such a peaceful city for so long, there’s never been a need for a larger police force.”

“Save for that incident seven years ago,” Rain murmured bluntly, and the Chief flinched.

“There wasn’t much we could have done about that. No one suspected--” She held up a hand and shook her head slightly.

“I apologize, we’re going to get off track. That’s not what I intended, and you certainly couldn’t have done anything yourself, you weren’t chief at the time. That happened, what? Two? Three years ago?” She’d come across the information during one of her many attempts to research the city and RCPD before her trip out, but she couldn’t quite remember the number of years Chief Moretti had held his position off the top of her head.

“I’m coming up on three years next month, but I won’t keep the position if this city’s in ruins,” he grumbled in reply.

“We’ll get this sorted out before the city’s reduced to rubble, sir. I assure you, Sinnoh sent you some of it’s finest, and we’re going to give it our all. What discoveries have you made so far? The media didn’t have much information to offer when I tried looking into it, and the case file we were sent didn’t have much detail in it either.” The Chief coughed uncomfortably, averting his eyes, and she felt Azriel tremble next to her in silent laughter. It was enough of an answer, and that didn’t inspire much confidence in her.

Nothing, then. Or close to it.

“The Pokeballs making their way into the city are being smuggled in by someone, or a group of someones, who are exceedingly good at covering their tracks. We’ve always had a minor problem with illegal battle rings, but it’s gotten far worse, and we can’t crash and contain them fast enough. Even when we do, we don’t have the prison space to hold everyone--even if we’re just trying to hold the people who aren’t registered trainers but have Pokeballs on them. A few of the Pokemon who’ve gone rogue have been either captured in those illegal Pokeballs or otherwise contained by Ryme residents and their Pokemon partners, and we’ve got them contained, but...we can’t figure out what’s happened to them. Initially, we’d planned to release them back into the public, but they’re still displaying signs of aggression and destructive tendencies.” There was a squeal of protest from his chair as the Chief leaned back in it and ran his hands through his graying hair. “We’ve got a few other high profile helpers here from other regions, including a young lady working on obtaining official professor status that came from Kanto that’s been here for almost a week. She’s working on a focus in Pokemon behavior, and while she’s been trying to work with the contained rogues for most of that time, she hasn’t made very much headway.”

Rain’s eyebrows rose above the frames of her sunglasses. “They’re still displaying aggression and destructive tendencies? Isn’t that unusual?”

“Unless they’ve been mistreated by humans, or particularly aggressive species, it is,” Azriel agreed, not waiting on Moretti’s reply.

“You know I know that,” she replied under her breath, earning them raised eyebrows from Moretti, but the man simply answered the question.

“It is, and as I said, our visiting helper is completely baffled. I can introduce you, if you’d like. Let you see with your own eyes what we’re dealing with.” It was then that Rain couldn’t resist letting out an almost delighted laugh of surprise. Chief Moretti gave her a look of utter bewilderment as the Gengar beside her began snickering as well.

“Chief Moretti, what did they tell you when they informed you I was being sent?” she finally asked him, reaching up to adjust her glasses where they’d slid down her nose.

“Just that a specialist in information gathering would be coming to assist us, and a name. Rain Calder. May I ask what it is that you find so funny, Agent Calder?” he asked, sounding annoyed now.

“Just that I won’t be seeing anything with my own eyes, sir. I’m blind. Azriel and I would love to meet with your visiting specialist, though, and try to make a few observations of our own, if possible. From what I’ve heard, I find it difficult to believe that all of this is mere coincidence.”

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Nathan's Apartment, Hickory Street

It arrived in a nondescript package. Two syringes, one to turn him into a Cinccino for the next ten days, and the other to change him back when his investigation was done and he had done his part of the research study for Bill. The only thing Bill warned about in the instructions he included was Nathan needed to add a few drops of blood to the reversal serum before using the Cinccino syringe. That would program the reversal serum to work with his DNA structure to change him back when he was ready. Not doing that would have given him a lot to think about as he would be spending the rest of his life as a fuzzy gray and white chinchilla Pokémon because he had nothing to change himself back with.

After shopping for what he needed, he now had enough food and supplies for both himself and Kano for the ten-day period. He was also mindful of what the living situation would be like. Many of the essential things he needed were placed on the ground instead of being stored up high on shelves and in upper-level cabinets. Things that couldn't be moved, like the bathroom sink, had to have some way of getting up there, so he had bought a few small step ladders and placed them where he knew he would need them to get that accessibility. He also tied some string around the door handle when he was ready to leave. The only thing he would need to remember to have on him was his apartment key. He decided once he got into his Cinccino form, he could wear it like a necklace, but keep it hidden in the fuzzy white scarf he would have around his neck to avoid suspicion.

After following Bill's instructions and inserting a few drops of blood into the vial for the reversal serum, he put it in the cabinet below the bathroom sink. It was definitely something he couldn't afford to have get stolen or become lost.

Lastly, he planned on using his laptop to type his research reports out to Bill. He wouldn't be able to speak with him and writing might be challenging when he would have to work with paws instead of hands. After going through the papers that came with the package, Bill had some research feedback he was hoping to collect on a daily basis for all ten days, including getting the answers to such questions like:

How are you feeling today? Are you experiencing any illnesses or aches?
How are your senses reacting? Do you have any differences in the way you can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch?
How are your mental facilities performing? Are you feeling any behavioral differences, having trouble recalling human memories, or have you noticed other unexplainable changes in cognitive abilities, such as clumsiness, forgetfulness, or mood changes?
Are you able to make use of all your appendages, such as wagging your tail, flapping your wings, etc.? Do they feel like they're functioning at full capacity?
How is your speaking ability? Are you able to converse with other Pokémon? Are you able to articulate English words in your Pokémon form?
Are you able to perform the moves as the Pokémon you have become? If so, do they have the same potency as a natural Pokémon (if it can be measured)?

And there were at least a dozen other questions that did a deep dive into the outcome of how well the serum was performing. Without a doubt, Nathan could see Bill had prepared this questionnaire for what he was hoping would be a whole series of study participants, but he could tell he didn't get the willing volunteers after all.

All the while, Kano was watching Nathan curiously as he was preparing all this. At the current time, it might have seemed strange, but it was going to make sense in a few minutes. Nathan then took the transformation serum, injected it into the vein in his arm, and then pressed the plunger down to get the serum into his bloodstream.

He was caught off guard at how quickly the serum worked. In mere moments, he found himself rapidly shrinking, bones suddenly reforming with disturbing popping and crunching sounds, and gray and white fur coating him from head to toe. He instantly found his shirt and pants becoming rapidly oversized and as a result, they were ripped in a few places because of the rapid transformation. The change in his eyes and ears caused him to go blind and deaf for just a flicker of a moment before his hearing and vision returned with the new Cinccino ears and eyes had now had.

Suddenly not having knees caused Nathan to stumble and land on his now gray-furred chest and even the white fur from the soft scarf around his neck landed a bit in his mouth. By the time he used his new paws to push himself up off the linoleum floor, he felt the long fluff strands wrap around his back and stream out from along his sides.

After getting back to his feet, he took a look around with his new eyes, suddenly seeing everything in his apartment from below and only from about a foot and a half from the ground.

It all suddenly felt so foreign and familiar at the same time.

"What did you DO!?" he heard a voice call out to him.

Nathan, still getting used to his Cinccino form, turned to look at Kano, who he figured would have really liked to know just what was going on. The strange thing he realized was while as a Pokémon, the ability to talk and communicate with them felt like natural instinct. But it wasn't just that, either. There were other natural instincts and tendencies that he suddenly felt influencing his thinking as well.

"It's only for a few days," Nathan told Kano, trying to keep himself thinking straight. "I need to find out why there are Pokémon going rogue. The only way I could do that was talk to them, and the only way to do that was do this."

For a moment, Kano wanted to interject to say that he could have helped with that so Nathan wouldn't have to go to this extreme, but then he realized why it wouldn't work. There was no real way to communicate beyond body language and Kano realized Nathan needed something far more than just that.

"I see," Kano nodded, looking a little ashamed he just didn't know how to speak English. But before long, he tried to crack a shy smile. "You look really good though! Almost looks and feels like you're my brother or something."

"It does, doesn't it?" Nathan couldn't help but agree.

But at the same time, he couldn't deny how cozy his new form felt. As he tried walking around, he couldn't get over how big his ears had gotten as well. And looking at himself in the mirror was surreal to him.

"I could, well, guide you if you'd like," Kano offered, feeling strange about offering this kind of help to what used to be his human companion. "Might be helpful since it sounds like these rogue Pokémon will be dangerous."

"That would definitely be a big help," Nathan agreed with him. "Some of it feels like it's coming naturally, but I can't be entirely sure."

It would be the first time any human to Pokémon companionship had this kind of interaction, but to Nathan, it felt like it would be a valuable experience. And if he was going to confront these rogues, not only did he need to look and talk like a Cinccino to try and get his questions answered, but he sure needed to know how to maneuver, behave, and perhaps even fight like one too if the situation suddenly became dire.

[LKWayvern]

Kris Douglas(Resident)
Outside Kris Douglas’ Appartment, Roseli Avenue
Affected RPers: None

“I’m just saying, er--” Kris patted down herself, searching her pockets. “Oh, no, where are they, I--”

‘I have your keys, Kris’

“Thanks, Mint. Right. And there’s my phone. I was just-- what was I saying?” Kris glanced about at the busy sidewalk, suddenly becoming aware of the people and the noise. And their partners. Partners, right. She started walking again, Mint by her side. “But just-- what if? If there’s an, an earthquake or something, surely it’d be more convenient to get all the Pokemon out if you could just-- just scoop them up, right? People tend to die in housefires when they run back in to get their herdiers and growlithes and-- and instead they just scoop the dog out! Or fish. Do fish die in housefires, they’re in the watertanks-- or you could just put the fire out with a-- with a goldeen or--”

‘I don’t believe a growlithe would have anything to fear from a housefire. Don’t they have that ability?'

“Right, yeah, they do, don’t they. Right.” Kris lightly knocked their forehead. “But the earthquake thing, or hurricanes.”

‘If there were an earthquake, I don’t think people would have the forewarning to evacuate…’

“Oh…”

‘But I’ll protect you, I can scoop you out with Teleport.’ Amusement was evident in the gardevoir’s telepathic bleedover, a smirk on her face.

“Heheh. Thanks, Minty.”

‘Of course, dear.’

“You always know what to say.” She licked her lips. “You wanna get a doughnut? Strawberry?”

‘Hee, certainly.’

Kris slipped their yellow headphones on, heading down the street again as a podcast played in their ears, Mint sweeping along quietly behind her as they entered the nearby bakery.

“Oh, hello again, Kris dear.” The owner smiled at her. “The usual?

“Hi there! Yeah, strawberry doughnut and peppermint hot chocolate.”

“Coming right up.”

“By the way, Minty,” Kris turned back to her partner as the owner went to prepare the order. “I was, was wondering something.”

‘Hm?’

“What do you think it’s like in a Pokeball?”

‘I truly don’t know. No one seems to have bothered to document it, to my knowledge.’

“Do you think it’s like falling asleep? Or in the Pokemon Storage System? What if you just fell asleep and got put in the PC and then you were taken back out and it’s like, years later, and everyone you knew was years older. Do you guys age in Pokeballs and PCs? There’s gotta be research on it, even if they haven’t been around super long there’s been things like Pokeballs for a while, right, there’s apricorns. There was a fairy tale about something like this, right? Falling asleep way long?”

‘Several, actually. And in mythology. Xerneas and Yveltal are said to hibernate for a thousand years each.’

“Oooooh, I wonder if anyone wrote a story like, modern retelling, Pokemon got locked in a Pokeball for a hundred years and-- oh, jeez, that’d be horrible. And cool. You could see the future!”

‘...And I’d never see any of my friends again.’

“Oh. Oh, jeez, sorry. And you’d just be… alone and displaced. Uh--”

‘It’s alright. I suppose the future would be quite fascinating…’

“Don’t Xatu see the future? You could ask a Xatu what it’s like!”

“Strawberry doughnut and peppermint hot chocolate?”

“Here!” Kris grabbed the order, handing the doughnut to Mint. “Hey, wait.”

The Gardevoir took the treat, biting into it.

‘Don’t forget napkins.’

“Napkins! Right! Also, don’t they have a bunch of the rogue Pokemon captured? Has anyone asked them why they’re rogue? Do they still, like, talk?”

‘I suspect if they did speak, they’d only be able to record ‘Garde, Gardevoir’.’

“Come on, Minty, you’re not the only telepath here.”

‘True, but I suspect the RCPD would be busier containing and neutralizing the threats than finding telepaths. They’re kept on their toes these days.’

“Right… But maybe… uh, maybe you could… Like, if we volunteered…”

‘Are you sure, dear? You’ve got quite a lot on your plate already. And there’s also--’

“Yeah… I don’t know. I’ll think about it?”

They stepped through the automatic doors.

‘Well. I’d be willing to ask them, if you asked me to, dear.’

“Or… if we found one?”

‘...If you asked me to, Kris, of course.’

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Saraibre Ryu

Things were slightly different since that incident, but in some ways, quite the same. After finishing the first day's report to Bill, Kano helped train Nathan in all the ways of being a Cinccino. For the former human, it was quite the surreal experience.

"It feels different, but I think I'm getting used to it," Nathan told his Cinccino partner.

"Well, we might need to do some more practice on your Tail Slap maneuver, but it's getting there," Kano said to him with an optimistic smile. "You don't need to focus and concentrate so much. Just give it a quick lash out and hit fast and swift. But you're doing well for your first few times."

"Think it's enough to handle those rogues?" Nathan asked, hoping it wouldn't come to that. "It would really just be to make them flinch and make a quick getaway if things go sour during that questioning."

For Kano, it was hard to figure out for sure. On one hand, Nathan seemed eager to get out there, but on the other, while he certainly looked and would definitely never be suspected of being anything but a typical Cinccino, his fighting ability needed work. Of course, he had only been this way for a short while.

"I think we'll be okay if we go together," Kano suggested. "If things get rough, I'll bail you out."

"Sure," Nathan agreed. "Hope we get something out of this."

After keeping the apartment key hidden in his scarf fur, Nathan and Kano quietly made their way out of the apartment and made sure they weren't seen, at least until they made it down the stairs and into the streets. For Nathan, the world was a very different place now that he was like this. Stairs were more of a challenge, jumping up to reach a door knob were more of a frustration, and everyday things that were easy to do as a human were difficult for a small Pokémon such as himself. Meanwhile, he took care not to blow his disguise in front of any other humans or Pokémon. He needed not only to look like a Cinccino, but he needed to act like one and not do anything that would raise suspicion.

It seemed odd to actually want to pursue a rogue Pokémon, but it was the only way Nathan was going to get the answers he wanted. He needed to find out if the induction of Pokéballs was the root cause of what was going on. While he didn't like the whole basis of these devices and he was sincerely hoping he wouldn't have a first-hand experience with being inside of one now that he was like this, he needed to know for sure.

For almost three hours, Nathan and Kano had wandered through the Ryme City streets, trying to find a rogue. While tensions were still high in Ryme and everyone was on edge, they didn't run into any. They had walked quite a fair distance away from the apartment, and Nathan found himself settling into being in his new form more effectively. What he liked the most was the fact it was extremely difficult for a Cinccino to get dirty. And in a city like Ryme, that was a nice trait to have, especially as they made their way through many alleyways, busy streets, and at times even around storm drains and dumpsters. He felt like if he had been any other species of Pokémon, he would have been beyond filthy by now.

Eventually, they had arrived at the Ryme City entrance. Absolutely exhausted, Nathan had to sit down besides a few rusty trash cans, take a break, and catch his breath. At first he thought it was just him, but he also Kano was also burnt out.

"Still nothing..." Kano sighed, looking tired. "Figures when you're actually looking for one, they don't show up."

"No kidding," Nathan sighed.

As he tried to recover, Nathan watched the people pour into Ryme from the entrance. Some of them were unnerved, others didn't look like anything was wrong. Around this area, there were a lot more people and Pokémon than usual, but considering this was one of the main central gathering areas, it was understandable. He had also seen that a protest was beginning to form and he was definitely not new to these. He might have even put it on his calendar and would have been out there supporting it, although now he was out there like this for a whole different purpose.

His eyes had glanced around and he spotted one woman with a Hoppip conversing with what appeared to be a dragon trainer. From what he assumed, her dragons were very active and it almost seemed like she had difficulty keeping them under control.

All the while, the protest was intensifying. Many of the protesters were holding signs expressing harsh criticism for the capture of Pokémon and their disdain for Pokéball usage. However, they weren't without opposition either. He could hear several outcries from those expressing public safety as a priority. Meanwhile, caught in the middle, multiple RCPD officers were making sure things didn't get violent and were ready to arrest anyone who threatened to take it to a dangerous and unsafe extent.

"I don't know much about Pokéballs," Kano admitted. "Personally, I think things are okay without them."

Nathan nodded a bit, but then he looked into the crowd and something seemed wrong. At first, he thought the police officers were having difficulty keeping some of the protestors under control. But then he realized there was sudden pandemonium and people were actively trying to run. Many of them stumbled to the ground while others were screaming, abandoning the protest march.

And that was when they emerged. Rogue Pokémon. The two Cinccino quickly spotted three of them, charging, swatting, and rushing their way through the crowds. The first was a Pangoro, easily throwing shouting and fleeing humans away and quickly striking down whatever partner or trainer Pokémon tried to stand up to it. It seemed to have no qualms about knocking a Teddiursa, a Butterfree, and a Wooloo completely out cold without any remorse. One of his partners, a vicious Zoroark, was using its claws to slash and violently lacerate anyone who was even remotely near it. And lastly, likely the worst of the three, was a Salamence flying above the crowd and coughing up fire into the dispersing crowds. A whole delivery truck was set ablaze and the driver just barely managed to get out of the vehicle before it was engulfed in flames.

Almost instantly, screaming, shouting, and sounds of commotion were coming from everywhere.

Nathan had read up on several rogue Pokémon attacks before with images of the aftermath, but very few were as bad as what this incident was turning out to be like. And it was only just getting started.

"Hoo boy, oh man, this is bad," Kano spoke anxiously. "You sure you even want to try talking to one of those guys!?"

"This makes... absolutely no sense," Nathan shook his head in bewilderment. "They're attacking anyone and everyone for no reason whatsoever. But I have to try. Getting their attention might delay their attacking a bit."

He decided to approach the Pangoro, and while everyone else was trying to get away from the three rogues, he tried to edge in closer, avoiding the waves of fleeing people and emergency responders that were losing control of the situation. As he kept eyes on the monstrous panda Pokémon, he needed to be within earshot of him, but keep a safe distance in case he needed to make a run for it.

As the Pangoro smashed apart a police car just seconds after the officers inside just barely escaped with their lives, Nathan climbed to the top of a street corner newsstand and tried to call out to the aggressive rogue Pangoro. It was hard to speak over the noise, but he tried shouting as loud as he could.

"HEY! HEY!" He cried out. "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?"

The response was not was Nathan was expecting. Even though he knew the Pangoro could hear him and understand what he was saying, it was completely ineffective. The mindless rage carried on as the Pangoro smashed his fist into the front of a blue sedan, smashing the windshield and crushing the entire engine block in the process.

"YOU'VE GOT TO STOP!" He tried again. "COME ON, THESE HUMANS WERE NOT GOING TO HURT YOU! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!"

Still nothing. And still the complete rage carried on. Except now the Pangoro was getting closer and closer, and he knew it would be only seconds before he would charge his way into the newsstand and rip it to pieces completely.

"Nothing's working, you've got to run!" Kano called out to Nathan.

As much as Nathan hated to admit it, his Cinccino partner was right. This attempt to talk to them was a hopeless failure and this was a rage unlike any other. He immediately turned around, jumped off the newsstand and onto a few trash bags to break his fall. Once he was back on the sidewalk, the two chinchilla Pokémon fled just moments before the Pangoro ripped the newsstand to shreds, sending papers and debris flying in all directions.

The two ran to safety in a nearby alleyway, outside and away from the rampaging Pangoro.

"There's no way..." Nathan struggled to catch his breath. "There's no way all that is just because of a few Pokéballs."

"I've never seen Pokémon get this angry..." Kano told his partner, feeling worried. "They care nothing about their own welfare and only seem intent on doing as much damage as possible!"

It was then that it finally hit him. This wasn't about the threat of capture, resentment toward underground battles, or whatever dying tradition Ryme City was trying to keep intact.

As he looked into the Pangoro's furious and deranged eyes from a distance, he realized something was very wrong.

There was no reason at all for this level of anger. And it was there that he discerned that this anger was not this Pokémon's own doing. Someone else was orchestrating this attack and had engineered a way to trigger such mindless fury...

He didn't know who... but he had a very bad feeling about why they were doing it and what they were hoping to gain out of it...

[Winter]

Rain Calder
Ryme City Police Department

RCPD was hiding the captured rogues and the woman studying them in an older annex building, but that didn’t mean the building wasn’t secure. They’d been slowly trying to update the building for years, Chief Moretti explained before placing a call to their visiting specialist to ensure she wasn’t busy. It turned out that right now was a perfect time for her, and they were invited to let themselves in—Moretti knew the door codes, after all. During the exchange, it was glaringly obvious that whoever this specialist was, the Chief had a hard time keeping up with her. It sounded as though she frequently cut him off midsentence, and anything he actually expected from her was the opposite of what he got. Of course, that just made Rain more curious about who exactly this woman was.

She got her answer three hallways, an elevator, a keypad, five hallways, and another keypad later. Azriel assured her at one point that he was keeping an eye out for danger, but they both knew that was the case without his offering the information...besides, Nuala and Cerridwen hadn't yet returned, and she knew they'd have everything to say if they had found anything dangerous yet--it was almost as though they had an internal radar on her sometimes. A second after she heard Chief Moretti push the door open, she was greeted by a blast of cold air and the sound of fingers tapping away at a keyboard some distance away. The sound of typing stopped quickly as the Chief cleared his throat and announced, "As promised, I've brought you a visitor, Miss Redwood--wait, where has your Gyarados gone?"

There was the familiar rolling of a desk chair on what sounded most like cement a distance away, and given the first few noises she'd heard, Rain suspected the room they were in was large, but she hadn't necessarily expected to hear the woman kept a Gyarados, especially out in the open. "He's cooling down. We figured you'd prefer Puddle confined to a Pokeball rather than the building reduced to rubble the next time one of our angry friends tries to take my hand off again." Behind her sunglasses, Rain blinked in surprise. Though she could tell the woman meant every word that left her mouth, it was delivered in an airy, carefree tone that suggested she saw absolutely nothing wrong with any of the words she'd just spoken. Next to her, Azriel was just as surprised as the Professor-in-Training stood from her rolling desk chair, nearly tripping over the Vaporeon curled around her feet, and stretched.

Her standard issue white lab coat was the only professional thing about her, and even that bore an air of casualness that most professors seemed to lack, rolled back to her elbows as it was. Beneath it, she wore a pale green button up tucked into khaki capris, but mostly open over a brown and cream striped crop top that looked suspiciously like it was the top to a bathing suit. “Arceus help us,” Azriel muttered, “she looks like another Kukui.” Rain disguised her ensuing laughter as a cough into the elbow of her free arm, but refrained from replying to him as the woman approached them, all smiles and warmth.

"I suppose keeping the building intact is ideal," Moretti agreed, though he sounded as though some part of the discussion had made him uneasy. "But then, that means they're continuing to display hostile behavior?"

"That's correct, sir," the woman confirmed, a small frown pressing her eyebrows together and tugging the corners of her mouth down momentarily before her attention hopped back to Rain again. When it did, her green eyes filled with delight, "But we can discuss that later--I can't believe you brought me a guest!" Now, it was Moretti's turn to frown.

"Agent Calder is hardly a simple guest, Miss Redwood, she's here to assist us from Sinnoh. Agent Calder, this is Miss Liesbet--"

"Liz," the woman said sharply, interrupting the Chief, but not enough to stop him.

"--Redwood, professor in training. Miss Redwood, this is Agent Calder and her Gengar is Azriel."

"Don't listen to him, just Liz is fine--preferred, actually--but I'm pleased as pecha berries to meet you! It's nice to have company when you spend most of your day holed up in a lab like a Dwebble hides in its rock shell." She cut her eyes to Moretti as she extended a hand to Rain, and Azriel let out another snicker. The Chief looked uncomfortably between them for a moment as Rain did nothing, then gave a little cough before Azriel took over.

“She’s offering you her hand--lift your right arm at a ninety degree angle, straight forward,” he directed, and his Trainer obliged, though she fumbled for just a second. Rain wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but the professor in training’s hand was cool, but rough in her own, and she had a firm grip.

“Azriel and I are pleased to meet you as well. We understand you’re working with the contained rogue Pokemon?” Rain asked, and the woman nodded as there was a beep that sounded like a phone’s message tone off to her side, where Moretti was standing.

“Yeah, all the rogues that have been contained were moved here once the RCPD deemed it safe enough to do so--I actually caught a flight here from where I was studying Pokemon-human relations in Alola with Professor Kukui as soon as the news got out that they’d contained a few. We thought they’d calm down once they’d been away from people and potentially overwhelming stimuli for a while, but…” Liz raised a hand to tug at a lock of chestnut curls that had escaped the short, unruly ponytail the rest of her hair was kept in. There was another series of beeps, and Azriel watched as Moretti frowned, pulling a phone out of the pocket of his slacks. Once he looked at the screen, he paled.

“I need to step out for a minute, I’ll be back soon,” he offered before quickly stepping out of the room. Liz glanced after him with raised brows, and Rain didn’t give her a chance to continue in the silence that followed.

“Any idea what that might be about?” She nodded towards the direction she’d heard Moretti walking away, and Liz shook her head, still not having caught on.

“Could be a dozen different things, chaos is almost a daily occurrence here. Sometimes it’s battles, sometimes it’s rogues, sometimes it’s something completely different, but I’m honestly surprised he made it this long without his phone blowing up. I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough, though.” She sighed and shook her head after him before getting back to her previous topic of conversation. “But they’re not improving. Sometimes they calm down a little, but it’s usually short-lived, and if another human or Pokemon approaches them? Straight down the drain. Like I told Chief Moretti, I finally had to put my Gyarados back in his Pokeball because if another one took a nip at me or snarled at me, he was going to flatten the building. Puddle’s a bit better tempered than most Gyarados, but even he’s got his limits, and I know better than to try pushing him.”

“It seems pretty quiet in here--are you keeping the Pokemon in separate rooms, or…” It was then that her lack of sight was obvious. There were a few sizeable cages around the room, and even from their position halfway across the room, Azriel could see an Ursaring passed out against the bars of its cage. Liz frowned for a moment before her eyes widened, glancing from Rain to Azriel several times before her mouth popped open in a surprised ‘o’ of sudden understanding.

“Most of them, though I’ve got a few in here. RCPD set us up with a very helpful Chansey who Sings some of the rowdier Pokemon to sleep when they start causing trouble. It’s my understanding that she's just as troubled about the behavior of our guests as the rest of us are--that’s to say, I’ve got a Slowking traveling with me, and he’s been talking to her.”

Rain tilted her head slightly, giving a hum of interest at that last part. “Has he tried talking to your--you called them your guests? Or--do you have any ghost Pokemon among your visitors?” Liz’s expression fell slightly, and she let out what sounded like a sigh of defeat.

“It was one of the first things we tried--having Ein talk to some of them. It didn’t work. It was a lot of senseless attacking and wordless screeching. Eventually we agreed it best not to keep at it. As for ghost types, we--” Liz was prevented from finishing her sentence as Chief Moretti came rushing back into the room.

“Ladies, we’ve got a large scale rogue attack in progress! Agent Calder, I need you to come with me,” he ordered, and Rain found herself moving towards his voice automatically.

“We’re coming along too!” Liz announced before twisting back towards the Vaporeon that had been sleeping under her desk chair. It had started to stir at the commotion, but blinked and rose as Liz spoke directly to it. “Splish, we gotta roll out, got more guests to pick up!” At that, the Vaporeon bolted towards her, and they followed quickly after Rain and the Chief.

[Noblejanobii]

Cat Ines
Ryme City Entrance
Impacted RPers: Saraibre Ryu Neo Emolga

Cat listened carefully to Shay’s words about her Haxorus’ nature and how it was rare among this breed of dragon Pokémon. She lifted her camera and began to film Havoc a bit. Even if she didn’t include it in a future video, she’d never seen a Haxorus this close before either so she wanted to remember it.

“Well both your partners look very healthy. Though as a battler you get a special healthcare plan for them, right? So they get better treatment than your standard trainer.” Cat lowered her camera a bit and smiled. “Course, we here in Rome City don’t normally have any issues with battling so we don’t need those special healthcare plans.”

Cat paused and started to ask, “So you think you can help with the po-“

“HOPPIP!” Cottonbloom screamed, grabbing Cat and pulling her out of the way as a Zoroark slashed in their direction with its claws. Puffing up in anger, Cottonbloom released a flurry of cotton spores to distract the Zoroark while Cat grabbed Shay.

“Rogues! Crap, should’ve known!” Lifting up her camera and filming them as the three rogue Pokémon attacked the crowd of protestors, Cat began to back pedal a little. “We need to move back! The Ryme City Police will handle this!” Cat paused to get more shots of the Salamence and Pangoro, pausing when she saw a couple of Cinccino seeming to try and talk to the Pangoro.

Cat zoomed in and focused on the two little Pokémon, filming their pleading with the large daunting Pokémon before they fled when it tore up a newsstand. Cat whistled. Adjusting the microphone on her shirt, Cat began to speak into it. “What’s up kitty cats, Cat Cast here filming an attack by three rogue Pokémon on a previously peaceful protest surrounding the pokéball debate in Ryme City. I’m here with a trainer and several others as we try to keep our distance from the destruction. CB! Look out!”

Cottonbloom dove just in time to avoid a torrent of flames from the Salamence. Zooming back to her partner’s side, the hop pip puffed up defensively, ready to do her best to keep the rogues at bay with Cat filmed.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Shay Draklyn
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Neo Emolga

It was almost a natural reflex. Shay took an instinctive step back, barely avoiding the Zoroark's claws cutting between herself and the stranger. Chaos erupted in a second and Shay had little time to process it all happening. First, there was an enraged Zoroark trying to claw their eyes out. Cottonbloom went into full defensive action, and Havoc followed the same. That was until there was another crash from behind her and Choros. Second to the fray, an equally angry Pangoro. Vendor's and newstands didn't stand a chance in it's path. Havoc was now torn between which of the two; she knew she wasn't supposed to pick a fight, but this fight had already started. Suddenly, a flash came from the Quick Ball on Shay's bag, materializing a fellow party member between the two humans, and their dark assailant. A very fluffy, static sparking Galvantula, Cayci, was to become this illusionary master's new target.

That was one thing that didn't make sense to the trainer: Zoroark were quite capable of messing with people with illusions. An all out attack like this made no sense to her. Even the most temperamental of Zoroark created the most elaborate and frightening of spectacles rather than brute force it. The Pangoro could be explained, but thousands of questions a second were coming to Shay's mind. Choros hopped onto the ground, moving between Cayci and the small group they had formed. Choros wasn't as seasoned as the rest of them, but learning from Havoc had taught her a few things. A powerful barrier was brought up against the Zoroark as it's claws buffeted it with unrelenting force.

'Well at least there isn't a drag-'

The roar of a familiar beast caught her attention in the sky. A blue, and red crescent winged dragon was having an equally as upsetting rampage.

"Oh no-" Shay felt herself being pulled away by the resident, mentioning something about rogue Pokemon and the police. Shay followed for a second, listening to the woman's intro with her camera. Podcast, that was probably what she wanted to say. Still, there were people, Pokemon, and destruction happening. There were three, fully evolved Pokemon about, and Shay knew the most dangerous of those three, was the Salamence. She knew dragons, she had dragons. Knowing these creatures was in her soul.

Shay made a decision. Grabbing a Moon Ball from her pouch while Choros was stalling for time, she turned back to Cottonbloom and her friend.

"I'm here now. I know dragon types better than anything, and if that Salamence keeps that up? A few city blocks are going to be on fire at best. They need something else to try and fight, and I'm not seeing any volunteers that are lasting more than a second." She threw the ball in the air, unleashing the friend inside once it hit the apex of it's height. A slender, bat wyvern known as a Noivern came out, wings flapping and anticipating instruction. "Sonata, remember what I ask you to not to do Spirit and Ryouskan? Do that to that Salamence."

Normally, Sonata would use her Telepathy ability to communicate a confirmation, however there was little time to speak. The Noivern sped off with a few flaps and a mighty gust of wind, leaving the other three Pokemon. Shay looked at the Pangoro and the Zoroark. Cayci was the better option for the fox: she had sharp eyes, she was fast, and could tie it down and wear it out. Zoroark didn't have the same kind of raw physical strength as Pangoro, but this even seemed too much for the Pokemon. Her own two Pokemon looked at her for a sign confirmation. Shay nodded at the Galvantula, knowing she wouldn't need her instruction to try and subdue the creature. As for Havoc, her eyes burned with a happy need for combat. Shay pointed the Haxorus at the Pangoro, knowing she could handle the pressure that such a Pokemon could give. Shay's trainer style was very strange by typical standards: she didn't give as much instruction, often letting her Pokemon do as they wanted once she helped them find their skills. She interrupted when she saw something her Pokemon didn't. She couldn't watch three battles at once, even if she knew the Pokemon capabilities well. Despite what Shay knew, there was just something different in the air. Something in the back of her mind tingled with familiarity, but what was it? She couldn't watch all three of them, she needed more eyes. If only someone...

'The camera.'

Shay turned back to Choros, who was about to chase after Havoc, but stopped by a quick sneaker to the chest. "No, Choros, I need you to stay and defend her with your Protect."

Then, she turned to the camera woman and her plucky Hoppip. Credit was due where credit was due: Cottonbloom certainly had moxie. "I need you to film as much of these Pokemon as possible. I'll answer whatever questions you want later, just make sure you get as much as you can."

(These next few scenes are purely for organization's sake and interaction's sake)

Cayci vs Zoroark
The Galvantula's simple strategy was to wear the dark type down by out speeding it, and hitting it with as much Sticky Web as possible. Galvantula had just a smaller edge in the agility, but Cayci having to actually use that move to avoid attacks? Something was definitely wrong here. She was losing some fur off of her legs thanks to the rampant claws and furious swiping. The Sticky Web wasn't sticking as well as it should, but at least when the Galvantula's opponent tried to move on to other targets, she remained an obstacle in it's path. Between her little arms, electricity formed in an orb, and was flung at the fox with the speed of a lightning strike itself. It hit the fox but it remained unfazed. The only shift in it's body language was more motivation to assault the electric spider. There were still no illusions in play, and hopefully that was for the better.

Havoc vs Pangoro
You wouldn't believe a dragon had an appreciation for martial art style combat unless you would have seen it. Haxorus didn't have the same bulk as Pangoro, but they hit incredibly hard and fast. Parrying between each punch and heavy-fisted slam with Hone Claws, Havoc was almost overwhelmed the first few seconds of combat. The sheer force this bear was putting out felt abnormal. Still, Havoc did not yield in times of dire need, and people needed protecting. There was no protecting the pavement though, as craters and claw marks scarred the street and side walk. Every time something else came between Havoc and her opponent, it was one Dragon Claw swipe away to redirect the attack away from whatever poor Pokemon would have been on the receiving end of it. After a trading of blows with no precise hit, the Pangoro took a wide swing of it's arm, hitting Havoc right in the chest and sending her flying into a nearby alley way. The Haxorus hit the ground hard, after having a dumpster try and break her momentum. Havoc coughed, and took the few seconds to get back up, not noticing the two Cinccino behind her. With a swish of her tail, she took a mad dash to dive at the Pangoro before it could hit anyone or anything else.

Sonata vs Salamence
Noivern's were naturally faster than most other dragons, but Salamence had more bulk and raw power. Sonata's attempts to try and communicate with the dragon were met with the equivalent of radio static, only if such a sound was able to shriek and scream at whoever was trying to access it. Sonata could fly circles around this Salamence, and did just that, trying to act as a distraction while intercepting flames with Dragon Pulse and stopping debris from crashing on the poor civilian's with Psychic. What was giving her the flight advantage was the use of Tailwind. There was no way the Noivern was about to out-power a Hoenn dragon. Getting it to come back around towards shay may not have been the wisest idea, but keeping those three rogues in one place would help the police out. There were snaps and beams of draconic and fiery energy flashing across the reflections in glass windows, likely terrifying anyone who was on the inside.

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Saraibre Ryu

As the situation got worse, Nathan knew this was going to be talked about for years and he figured this was likely going to be used to justify the use of Pokéballs to keep Pokémon contained.

Right now Pokéballs were the least of Ryme City's issues.

He was certain something else was going on. Someone had to be arranging and triggering these kinds of mindless rages to gain something out of it. The Pangoro, Zoroark, and Salamence were no longer thinking rationally, only hellbent to destroy and harm as much as possible. This couldn't have be natural for the three of them and Nathan was convinced this anger and rage was not their own, but something nefarious in the form of a chemical or device that had to be triggering this reaction.

The other girl had already been trying to capture the incident on film, but seconds later, a rush of flames forced her to have to fall back and narrowly avoid getting caught in the sudden inferno that nearly smothered the street with fire and flames.

There's a pattern to this. The Machamp attack on the official and now this. This is not a coincidence. Someone is intentionally triggering anger in stronger, fully-evolved Pokémon that would be hard to neutralize and control. They want to unleash as much damage as possible.

But he couldn't understand who would do it, and why. Someone out there wanted Ryme City's traditions utterly destroyed and defamed and was willing to put the lives of both humans and Pokémon on the line, not to mention obtain the resources, planning, and logistics to make these rogue attacks possible and effective. They cared nothing about the collateral damage and how much devastation this was going to do to the city's reputation. If only he knew who would go to such an extent, and for what purpose?

The dragon trainer's Haxorus had attempted to confront the hulking panda Pokémon, and Nathan and Kano had beheld a full on clash of titans. They had exchanged blows and Nathan could tell the trainer of this Haxorus had definitely prepared her well for combat, but unfortunately, with a swing of his arm, the Pangoro had thrown her into the nearby alley that Nathan and Kano were taking cover in. But the Haxorus refused to give in and immediately got back into the fight.

"We've got to get in there," Nathan told Kano. "That Haxorus needs our help."

"Are you sure, that's dangerous!" Kano warned him.

But he only needed to take a look around at the chaos and destruction to get an idea that what Nathan said was true. If they didn't stop these rogues, things were only going to get even more deadly and destructive.

"Well, alright, but what's your plan?"

"Go for the eyes," Nathan suggested. "Use a Tail Slap on the left one and I'll take the right. It should temporarily blind the Pangoro and should give the Haxorus a combat advantage."

"This is going to be tough..." Kano muttered uneasily. "If you pull this off, consider yourself an official graduate of Cinccino school."

"I'll take you on that offer." Nathan smiled as he prepared to rush in.

Nathan's first impulse was to confront the Pangoro from behind. He was going to take advantage of the fact the panda would be preoccupied with what he would recognize as the biggest threat. Once he approached and made his way onto the street and around a burning motorcycle that was set aflame by the Salamence, he ran up and used his paws to latch onto the Pangoro's back, digging into the coarse fur and gripping hard with all of his might. Shortly after, Kano latched on as well, but his added experience in leaping as a natural Cinccino allowed him to reach a higher elevation on the Pangoro's back.

Nathan deemed it would be unlikely the Haxorus would be able to strike a blow from this angle and the Pangoro would be unable to reach him here. Even if the Pangoro stopped to try and shake him off, he knew that would open up the possibility to have that critical distraction open up an opportunity for the Haxorus to land a powerful strike, and that would be just as helpful in their attempt to neutralize this enraged Pokémon.

But the rage in these Pokémon was harsh. They weren't even thinking rationally or tactfully, and as Nathan realized, the Pangoro didn't even consider him and Kano as a threat. Stopping to swat off and strike two Cinccino would not satisfy this enraged Pokémon's engineered hunger for destruction as much as striking down the Haxorus, destroying everything in his path, and harming other innocent civilians and Pokémon would. He discerned that whatever triggered this was made with one intention: unleash as much destruction in as little time as possible, no matter the cost. And stopping to deal with the two Cinccino when they were not enough of an immediate threat ranked significantly lower on that hierarchy than everything else.

As the fight continued, both Nathan and Kano struggled to climb and ascend upon the Pangoro's back, reaching toward the base of the neck. The Pangoro's sudden shifts of movement made it hard to hold on, but he knew if they didn't stop him, more people and Pokémon would get hurt. He held on strong as his life and the lives of others depended on it.

Kano was the first to reach the area around the Pangoro's neck, but Nathan quickly saw that once one of them reached that area, they were within range of the Pangoro's arms. Just as Kano prepared to strike the Pangoro's eye, the jet-black hands reached for the Cinccino and grabbed him before he could get the strike in.

"No!" Kano shouted, trying to break free. "Get your paws off of me!"

Nathan knew there was no way he could contend with the Pangoro's raw physical power. His only choice was to carry out the task at hand and hope that the blow to the Pangoro's eye would be enough to cause enough shock and pain to make the Pangoro release his grasp.

With the Pangoro's paws grasping Kano, there was nothing left to stop Nathan.

You don't need to focus and concentrate so much. Just give it a quick lash out and hit fast and swift...

Kano's sound advice to his partner was about to save his life.

Targeting the Pangoro's right eye, Nathan did just that. Strike fast and hard repeatedly. With a sudden twist of his body, Nathan managed to land four powerful blows upon the Pangoro's eye with his hard tail, hitting the retina hard and forcing the Pangoro to release his grasp upon Kano. Despite the rage, the Pokémon was still affected by pain, and the sudden loss of eyesight was not accounted for.

The sudden shock caused the Pangoro to stumble and both Cinccino were thrown off of the hulking panda Pokémon. Nathan felt a painful shock in his back as he landed on the concrete sidewalk and Kano was thrown into the street, rolling to break the fall.

It was a start, but they still had the other eye to strike.

[Noblejanobii]

Cat Ines
Ryme City Entrance
Impacted RPers: Saraibre Ryu Neo Emolga

Cat adjusted her camera's view as Shay began to unleash her own team. "It seems a trainer has decided to enter the playing field! I met her a few minutes before recording and from what I can tell, she knows dragon types better than most, so if she says the Salamence will burn down a few city blocks then I think it's fair to trust her to prevent that from happening, don't you?" Cat tried her best to film the action as best she could, even before Shay gave her instructions. This was the closest she had ever been to an attack. It was dangerous, yes, but the more footage they had the better.

It seemed Shay agreed, even using an interview as a bargaining chip. Cat saluted back to Shay. "Well do Miss Dragon Trainer!" she called back. Ducking out of the way to avoid an exploding motorcycle from the spew of flames leaving the Salamence's mouth, Cat signaled to Cottonbloom. "Get the Go Pro out of my bag. You start filming too." The smart little Hoppip nodded and began to dig through Cat's bag as she continued to film. Cat trained her camera on the Pangoro and quickly took note of two Cinccino that were struggled with the giant panda. It was a tough fight, the huckling beast unable to totally shake the two scarf Pokémon entirely. One of them finally managed to get a strike in, taking out the Pangoro's eye. By now, Cottonbloom had gotten out the Go Pro and was filming as well, so Cat lowered her camera for a second to shout.

"Shay! Those Cinccino managed to land a strike on the Pangoro's eye! Direct your Pokémon to take out the other! Maybe it'll take the beast done for now!" She wasn't a trainer so Cat didn't know much about fighting but it was the best she could do to help besides filming from two different angles. She ducked out of the way as another blast of dragonic energy tore through the street near her. Cottonbloom released another flurry of Cotton Spore at the Salamence as it got close. Anything to slow down the beast to allow the Noivern an advantage. "Don't get too close, CB! Keep your distance even while filming."

"Pip pip!" Cottonbloom dove out of the way, still keeping her body between her partner and the chaos even while trying to provide a separate set of eyes on the battles with the Go Pro. She didn't fully understand why this much footage was needed, but if it was what her partner wanted then that's what she'd do. She wasn't particularly strong so she'd just have to aid and protect Cat in any other way she could.

[Winter]

Rain Calder and Liz Redwood
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Neo Emolga, Saraibre Ryu, Noblejanobii

Chief Moretti’s plan, it turned out, was to pile the entire crew into a squad car and haul it to the scene of the latest incident. This was no easy fest, however, given he had both ladies and their Pokemon to contend with, though it was u;timately resolved by Liz and her Vaporeon sitting in the passenger seat while Rain and Azriel took the back seat. In their mad dash to get to the Squad car, Nuala and Cerridwen had returned only briefly before Rain sent them to scout ahead for what information they might be able to find.

Thankfully, the chief left the car’s radio on, and she and Azriel got their own fair share of information on their way into the mess--and it was going to be one heck of a mess. Pangoro, Zoroark, and Salamence of all the Pokemon in the city--at least she knew her own team had the ability to take on some of the Pokemon easily. It sounded as though the Salamence was spewing fire across the area, and she wondered why it sounded as though none of the officers in the area had deployed Growlithe with flash fire abilities to help minimize the damage to the area--she’d heard that the puppy Pokemon was a popular partner with both members of the city’s police and fire departments, and it wasn’t as though the ability was uncommon. At the very least, she suspected her Litwick would prove helpful if the Salamence hadn’t been taken care of by the time they arrived...and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be. Dragon Pokemon were notoriously tough to take down, but then, she had a way to assist with that as well, and she knew Grace would be delighted to help out. The Pangoro and Zoroark though… At the very least, it sounded like some people and Pokemon had been stepping up to try to combat the problem Pokemon already.

Rain was so wrapped up with her own thoughts and plans that she was completely startled when Moretti and Liz both gave shouts of surprise and the car swerved. Azriel threw an arm across her in an attempt to steady his smaller trainer, but it did little to soften the car’s jerky stop. “Glad to know they’re keeping updates on the access points to the area!” Liz snarled from the front seat, her arms wrapped around her Vaporeon in a death grip.

“The officers in the area are focused on the people and Pokemon in front of them,” Moretti tried to offer as explanation, but Liz was having none of it. Rain listened in bewilderment as the professor-in-training aggressively shouldered her door open and the chief radioed in a warning about a few flaming cars in the roadway. She’d already been warned that the back doors of this particular car didn’t open from the inside, but Liz didn’t make her wait, and she still seemed angry, if the way she yanked the back door open was any indication. Rain wasted no time in scrambling out of the vehicle herself, only to be greeted by a pair of very worried Gastly.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Cerridwen asked, bumping her shoulder while Nuala circled her legs like her mother’s Glameow often did when she was seeking attention.

“Girls, girls, I’m fine,” Rain answered in startled English, but that was short-lived. “I need to know the situation, I’m okay, but what have you learned?” Liz gave her a look of surprise as Azriel exited the car and turned to look at what appeared to be a still-ongoing series of fights in the area.

“A Pangoro, Zoroark, and Salamence are all attacking the public up ahead. There are a few Pokemon trying to fight them off, but not many. Two Cinccino and a Haxorus against the Pangoro, a Galvantula against the Zoroark, and a Noivern against the Salamence, as well as a Hoppip that appears to be filming the events. We suggest Flicker and Grace assist against the Salamence, Ollie would have a slight advantage against the Pangoro, but it’s attracted enough of a crowd, and the Zoroark appears to be giving the Galvantula trouble. Unfortunately, aside from attempting to hand out status effects, we, as well as Azriel are at a type disadvantage, and likely wouldn’t be helpful in battle.” It was Nuala that answered, and Rain shook her head--their own lack of an ability to impact the fight was fine--it was likely she’d need them operating at full capacity as extensions of her eyes and ears.

“I’ll need your assistance comprehending and controlling the situation. Your lack of a type advantage is fine, but I agree with your assessment regarding Grace and Flicker--I thought they’d be best positioned against the Salamence. If the Galvantula needs assistance with the Zoroark, I’m sure Ollie would prefer the fight with fewer participants, and I’ll trust your judgement there.” She twisted back towards where she thought she’d last sensed Azriel. “I’ll need to make it there in one piece. Think you can get me there?”

“Look, I don’t know what kind of language you’re speaking there, but the situation looks like it’s pretty hairy,” Liz interjected, and Rain jolted in surprise, having almost forgotten she was there while trying to make plans with her own teams.

“It is--trying to figure out a plan of attack for my team. Looks like there are several Pokemon trying to fight the rogues, and none of them have taken down an opponent yet. I’ve got a Litwick with the flash fire ability that should be able to help minimize the damage being output by the Salamence, as well as a Froslass that should be able to help weaken and immobilize it. Sounds like the Pangoro has attracted a bit of a crowd, but there’s a Galvantula trying to battle the Zoroark that sounds like it could use some help. I think we’ll be directing my Decidueye to help there, but we need to actually get into the thick of things before we can implement any of this.” Unknown to Rain, Liz blinked at her in shock before shaking her head as if trying to clear it.

“...I don’t want to know where you got all that information from, do I?” she asked, and Rain chuckled in reply, shaking her head. “I can help you get there, and I guess we’ll see what help my team can offer when we get into the thick of things?” Rain surprised her by holding her hand out towards her, and Liz took it before tugging her into the thick of the chaos that was the city entrance. She kept up a pace that Rain appreciated--not too quick for her, but not too slow, either, though she paused once, jerking Rain back as something big flew past quickly enough that she could clearly feel the breeze, and crashed into something before it shot back past them.

“Haxorus,” Azriel offered simply, seeing the bewildered look on her face. He refocused in just a moment though, then telling her, “get Ollie out now, before that Zoroark rushes the Galvantula again. Positioning Flicker to intercept the Salamence’s attacks will be tricky, but it shouldn't be impossible to make happen. Grace would just need to communicate with the Noivern to try to redirect the fire Flicker's way."

Rain released the team members in question, quickly passing along instructions to a Decidueye who was clearly uncomfortable being deployed into a close combat situation in an area still filled with people, then a yawning Litwick who was only just barely enthused by their role and a Froslass that looked eager to please. Ollie had always been almost painfully shy, and though he was capable of spending time around people, he actually preferred spending his time doing solo missions or in his Pokeball. On the other hand, Flicker had always had a...unique attention span, and Grace was forever going out of her way to earn more praise. They all understood their roles, however, and Rain allowed Liz to pull her (with Azriel, Nuala, and Cerridwen in tow) to the shelter of a storefront that looked like it hadn't been hit very hard since the start of the attacks as her Pokemon jumped into the fray as well.

For all his dislike of the situation, Ollie's entrance into the fight between the Galvantula and Zoroark was explosive. The illusion-wielding Pokemon was so focused on the electric spider Pokemon before it that it didn’t seem to notice the incoming Decidueye until Ollie unleashed a spectacular Razor Leaf at the Zoroark, chasing it with a Leaf Blade. The Razor Leaf struck, but the fox Pokemon twisted block the Leaf Blade with it's arms, which took the brunt of the attack, and though it looked painful and the Zoroark responded with a sharp hiss, it didn't look particularly fazed by the attack. The Decidueye's eyes widened in surprise, but before he could move away from the faster fox Pokemon shifted, balling one of its hands into a fist and slamming it low--a Feint Attack, into the bipedal bird's abdomen, sending Ollie flying back. He tried his best to control his landing, but he still had trouble steadying himself. Well, at least now he had the Zoroark's attention away from the Galvantula.

Unlike Ollie’s target, Grace’s sights had been set on a target that was capable of moving any direction, one not restricted by gravity...and it was locked in a fight with another fast-moving target. Not only that, but she had to try to follow all this, launch her own helpful attacks, and this had to be done with a disinterested-looking Litwick tucked under one arm. Though Flicker had proven time and time again to be a helpful team member when push came to shove, he was known to be a bit...difficult to work with, and easily distracted. Right now, they couldn’t afford that, they needed his full attention to be on the Salamence and it’s attacks so he could absorb them with the help of his ability. In short, the plan was for Flicker to act as a fire shield for Grace, who was going to be throwing the bulk of the moves around to try and help the Noivern take the Salamence down before it could cause much more damage to the city.

The Froslass’ eyes tracked the dragons across the sky, waiting for the start of an opening. There would be one coming, there had to be, it was just going to be tricky timing this properly so that it didn’t hit the Noivern as well. Grace took a deep breath, readied herself and--”Heya, I’d like to help, if I can!” She blinked as the Vaporeon she’d seen hovering near the woman who seemed to have taken up guarding her trainer bounded up to her side. “I can use Aurora Beam, and it shou--” The Vaporeon yelped as both Pokemon missed the Salamence unleashing a torrent of flames that caused a motorcycle to explode.

“Look, if you’re gonna help, then help,” Grace told the chipper sounding water type before turning her attention back to the Salamence and Noivern. “I need to try to minimize the damage that Salamence causes--this little one here,” she lifted a still bored-looking Flicker, “he should be able to stop most of the flames, so long as I can keep him in the Salamence’s path, and then ice--as long as we don’t hit the Noivern, we should be able--Ollie!” Grace started forward for just a moment, having seen her fellow teammate thrown by the Zoroark, but a cry from the Litwick under her arm stopped her.

“Ollie can fight his own battles! The Salamence, Grace!” Flicker shouted, and the Froslass froze. She refocused, her eyes shooting back to her target as the Salamence moved, placing it’s back to her and the Vaporeon. There. That was it.

“If you’re going to attack, do it now!” she barked to the Vaporeon before extending her freezing power out, forming chunks of ice in the air and sending them shooting towards the Salamence. A moment later, a colorful beam of light shot past her towards the Salamence as well, and Grace could only hope the attacks would work in their favor.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Shay Draklyn
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Neo Emolga Winter

The chaos and screaming was only growing more and more with each passing second. In reality, only a few minutes at most had passed, but it felt like an eternity. Shay was trying to track three different battles at once, and although her filming buddy was only trying to help, she was not a fan of back-seat battling. There wasn't time to argue about it. Whoever those two Cinccino were, they were incredibly stupid, or incredibly brave. She knew Havoc could handle the fight. Soon the sound of police sirens came behind her, and Shay looked away from the combat for a brief moment. People and more Pokemon... and someone with a lot more Pokemon on them than the Trainer thought should be with a Ryme City resident. Maybe they weren't from here? There wasn't time for questions, only action.

Shay saw the additions to the fray, a bit thankful for the back up as these Pokemon were acting far out of their normal behaviours. Even enraged Pokemon in the sanctuary would have had a brief moment of pause by now. Shay grew up around Tyranitars and was there when the Lake of Rage had the Gyarados incident-

Thats what it was. The incident at the Lake of Rage.

It was a huge city with radio towers probably everywhere. The incident happened so long ago, no one would think it would resurface. Especially since that was a Team Rocket fiasco. Shay needed to make phone calls as soon as she could. A second glance at Havoc drew her attention away, as a thundering crash caught her attention. Shay stared in worry as there was a Pangoro, the two Cinccino, and a small crater in the ground. Havoc wasn't anywhere to be seen for one second too long. Instinctively Shay took one step towards the destruction, then stopped. She knew Havoc. Havoc trusted Shay. This had happened before. She had gotten back up before. Havoc always got back up...

The trainer had to stop Choros from running into a fight she wasn't going to win. They needed her here, and all they could do was wait.

VS Zoroark
Watching the Decidueye, Cayci was glad to have a friend in the fight. Taking the opportunity, she lobbed a ball of Sticky Web at the closed claw of the Zoroark. It couldn't cut webs if it had no claws, and trying with fangs may leave it's mouth shut. The Galvantula sprung another Electro Ball into the fox's back before taking a chance and leaping onto it with all four legs. It was manageable with the archer owl keeping it's attention, but that attention snapped like a log in a Bewear's paws. Cayci began forming as many Electroweb's as she could, trying to slow this manic Zoroark down as much as possible. It was starting to work, but not at the pace she had hoped for. At least now the Zoroark was mostly stuck within a five by five foot square, but Cayci was taking a hit to the head for it. Yellow fur flew as dark claws raked across the top of her head. That Night Slash hurt, but between a Decidueye and a Galvantula, a Galvantula wasn't going to hurt as much from such a blow. Still, Cayci couldn't take another hit like that.

The Galvantula looked up at her new combat partner. 'If you wanna hit 'em, don't worry 'bout me! I can still out sprint this guy!'

It had to decide to take off the Galvantula backpack, or go for the easier target.

VS Salamence
Sonata was playing a dangerous game with the Salamence. Being more powerful meant more destruction, and the Noivern couldn't keep up with every flaming blast sent in the direction of civilians and onlookers. Her psychic abilities left much to be desired in terms of say, an Alakazam, but she was doing her best. Licks of flame had touched her fur and scales, and even the stray embers stung just a bit. The Noivern knew she couldn't take a hit from this Salamence, but so far, her flying skills were far superior. Perhaps it was now time to try a direct approach.

Or so Sonata thought. In her head she felt that familiar instinct. The one where someone friendly nearby was going to attack, and she couldn't help but feel she was in the way. Looking down for a moment, she spotted more Pokemon as the Salamence redirected it's fury upon the ground once more: A Froslass, a Vaporeon and a small candle-no, a Litwick. She could see the energy coalesce, a light blue one that she knew too well. She hated that energy, but that was where her instinct was coming from. The Tailwind was still with her, and she had an idea. Doing a quick circle around, Sonata put all of her effort into making sure that Salamence was hit. That dragon could see that what he attempted to ignite before had to fight back, and was looking to easily dodge out of the way.

That was until a Noivern slammed the dragon into both of the oncoming attacks. Sonata took a few seconds to gain airspace between her and the blue beast, knowing those claws and fangs weren't just for show. Sonata took the moment, looking at her two allies and thinking quickly at them. 'I'll be safe from your attacks. Keep going!' She wouldn't be safe from the Salamence's though, but it had a choice between the two of them now.

VS Pangoro
Havoc didn't expect two Cinccinos to suddenly appear, climbing up the Pangoro's back as they exchanged blows. The Haxorus didn't pay much mind to them, not wanting to alert the bear of their presence. That didn't stop one of them from being grabbed, and the second to become very upset by it. Still, while one of them was held, that meant that paw was being used. Purplish energy formed in the Haxorus' palm, striking in the softest bend of the elbow with Poison Jab. At this time, the Cinccino was going for the Pangoro's eye. A bit of a dirty tactic, but now wasn't a time for honour and Havoc had to respect that. The roar was nearly deafening in the dragon's ear, and yet, both of the small Pokemon ended up being flung. Havoc took the one second opportunity to get in a sweeping Low Kick with the half blinded menace in the state it was, bringing it down to one knee with a hefty strike. The bear screamed in rage once again, grabbing Havoc by her tail and throwing her as far as it could to the side. It wasn't enough to harm the Haxorus, but claws carved the pavement to prevent her from losing footing.

The Pangoro still had one eye open, and Havoc could see, it was glaring at the one who caused it this problem in the first place. It's body began to glow slightly blue and with one eye open, head for the first Cinccino it could see. She couldn't let the small comrades be hit with that. She knew the power of that move... Superpower. The dragon sprinted with all the speed she could muster to get between the small Pokemon and the much larger force, and by the time her body was in the way, she felt a painful force crush her into the concrete.

Havoc didn't see anything. There was only darkness. For a second, everything was calm. The weight from her back lifted, and the pain was becoming numb. She couldn't do much more. Her scale armoring was dented, maybe her tusks were chipped at this point, she wasn't sure, but there was an ease to being still. The dust around her had not settled yet, but the very distant sound of the chaos was beginning to filter in. Havoc thought, she could still hear that angry Pangoro... what about those Cinccino's? What about Choros? Was she safe? Was Shay safe? Did she win-no, she didn't win. Havoc remembered one point like this before. No, there wasn't leaving anything up to chance. This Pangoro was going to be stopped, and Havoc wouldn't stop until it was.

She had to hold on so Shay wouldn't worry.

The sound came back to Havoc's ears. It was only perhaps twenty seconds, but in a fight, that was plenty of time. Havoc's eyes flashed open, burning with adrenaline. There was no fight or flight in Havoc, there was only fight, and until it faded, she was going to do just that. As the panda went for another punch, Havoc sprung up what parts of her body she could, intercepting the clenched fist with her claws and digging in as hard as she could. Using that as a hold to bring herself back up, the Pangoro went for another strike- this time at Havoc. Havoc did the same thing, shaking with adrenaline and fury. All claws were dug into their positions, acting as an anchor to keep the Pangoro from thrashing. Havoc roared, hoping that the two Cinccino could hear her.

'I've got the arms, go for his other eye, now! We end this fight.'

There was one small advantage to this situation: neither of them could really use their arms or reach with fangs or feet, but a Pangoro didn't have greataxe-like tusks on their faces.

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Saraibre Ryu Winter

The task to neutralize the Pangoro was slightly working. Working in that it got the hulking panda Pokémon to focus its attention on its attackers as opposed to leveling as much of Ryme City as possible. The other silver lining was they managed to buy the civilians enough time to vacate the area before things got considerably worse.

It meant anyone arriving on the scene was summoned to deal with the threat as opposed to trying to get away, and one such new arrival included a young woman in her early twenties wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans and dark glasses. Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan had seen her, but decided not to pay her any mind because he had his attention on the Pangoro and setting up for the strike on the other eye.

But his attention was seized for a moment once again when she summoned her ghostly Pokémon companions to deal with the wayward rogues. With his hearing improved significantly with his new form, he heard and could have sworn this new arrival was actually conversing with her Pokémon.

He didn't believe it at first, but for a brief moment, it was confirmed. The words that came from her mouth were in fact the language of Pokémon. And he could only understand them because he was a Cinccino.

How is that possible?

But with the fight still at hand, he couldn't pursue it for that much longer, though the reality of it hit him that had he known about this, taking such a drastic measure and turning himself into a Pokémon was completely unnecessary if he consulted such a person first. This lady had the potential to speak to Pokémon and all the things he set up and aspired to do with the interview weren't even necessary.

But he could worry about that later.

In the meantime, the Haxorus had struck a heavy blow against the Pangoro, but was then flung away and then targeted Nathan himself, preparing to unleash a brutal Superpower attack against the former human. He quickly tried to get back to his feet before the Pangoro could unleash its assault, but there wasn't much to take cover behind. And when he least suspected it, the Haxorus had charged in and took the blow instead.

For Nathan and Kano, it was hard to figure out to get the next strike in with the Haxorus and the Pangoro exchanging heavy and brutal blows with dangerous thrashing in all directions. Unlike before, trying to get on the Pangoro's back once again was providing to be risky and difficult and they had yet to see another good opportunity to give it another try. Any attempt to get in there came with a heavy risk of getting stomped on by either combatant or taking a serious blow from a stray attack.

That was, until the Haxorus had locked the Pangoro into place, using as much physical brawn as she could to keep the savage panda suppressed.

"I've got the arms, go for his other eye, now! We end this fight."

He could understand the Haxorus's command, and both of them could now make their move.

"Hold on, I've got it!" Kano acknowledged the Haxorus's decree.

To Nathan, trying to get in there would only obstruct Kano from making his attack on the remaining Pangoro's eye. With his limited knowledge of Cinccino's attacks, he decided to implement another tactic. A nearby police car had been crushed by the Pangoro's assault just minutes ago, but there was enough room for a small Cinccino like himself to slip through the wreckage. He needed to find something, anything that might be useful in taking down this hulking juggernaut.

And then, just besides the floor on the front passenger's side, he found a Voltx ONST Taser gun, jet black with a yellow dash marking on the side. He quickly grabbed it with the charge pack and headed back into the fray.

He arrived just in time to witness Kano laying a furious Tail Slap attack on the Pangoro's remaining left eye striking five painful swipes and causing the hulking bear to roar with anger and madness over the full loss of his ability to see. The reckless flailing from the Pangoro caused him to break free of the Haxorus's grasp, but now him had no direction or pattern to its relentless rage. It forced Kano to have to fall back and take a defensive position to avoid becoming the victim of a stray attack.

In Nathan's line of work, one couldn't be too careful. He had a similar taser gun in his possession at home, so he knew exactly how to lock in the charge pack, set the Voltx ONST to the highest electrical discharge he could get out of the incapacitating firearm, and then took aim. It all happened so fast that he didn't even stop to consider the wisdom of his sudden decisions.

He then used his right paw to pull the trigger, launching the twin bared darts at the hulking panda and puncturing the Pangoro's skin. It was then followed by 75,000 volts surging into the panda's body, sending furious signals through the Pangoro's nerves. It was more than enough to drive massive pain to the hulking juggernaut while causing severe muscle contraction. He held the trigger down for a few additional seconds, knowing while most of these taser guns were meant for incapacitating humans, a hulking Pangoro was going to need more punishment to get it to be suppressed. If the Pangoro even managed to stay conscious after that kind of treatment, he would only remain up until the Haxorus made short work of him. With both of his eyes temporarily blinded, with his muscles contracted, his nerves shot, and now crippled with furious pain, it would be a cakewalk for the dragon to deliver the knock-out strike and finish this angry titan for good.

He quickly tossed the expired taser gun aside, totally forgetting that he was supposed to be incognito as a Cinccino and not use human technologies. Only when it hit him did he suddenly become anxious, looking around and hoping no one saw him in the act. The others were fighting the Salamence or the Zoroark, and Kano and the Haxorus had been preoccupied with fighting the Pangoro. For a moment, Nathan took a sigh of relief...

...up until he noticed the Hoppip, filming the whole incident with a Go Pro camera for a news report.

He knew you could train a Cinccino to do many things. Loading a taser gun quickly and precisely with the charge pack, configuring its settings, disengaging the safety lock mechanism, aiming with it, and discharging the barbs while holding down the trigger for additional electrical discharge was definitely not one of them. Even if the RCDP religiously trained Cinccino for tactical combat operations, which they totally did not, they would never get to that level of knowledge and technological expertise to ever use an incapacitation firearm like that.

He was still for a moment and only then did the consequences of his actions occur to him, but he decided this was not the time to worry about it. Besides, trying to remove the camera from the Hoppip's possession would only make things worse. The last thing he needed to suggest was that he knew how cameras worked as well. Moreover, the Hoppip could fly and go well beyond his reach.

Maybe... just maybe if he pretended it didn't happen, no one would notice or care. He focused on the Pangoro and the Haxorus, waiting to see if the Haxorus would be able to deliver that final strike. He knew he would do well to stay a safe distance at least until he made a confirmation if the battle-seasoned dragon made her move.

[Death's Spook]

Sycorax Grimm
Basement of police station => Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Saraibre Ryu Winter Neo Emolga

Mrs. Grimm made sure to make the appropriate gasp of shock when she saw the body.

It was, in fact, less difficult than she thought to act. She had seen dead bodies before, but when the medical examiner told her that the the body wasn't pretty to look at, Grimm had merely assumed that the man she needed to identify had been murdered brutally.

Instead, the man's body was papered in scars, lines of inflamed and bloody wounds, blacks and pinks surrounding them. They covered him like a bizzare painting, obscuring the very shape of his legs and arms. His face was barely more recognizable: it kept its geometry for the most part, but whoever did this took the liberty of stabbing both of his eyes and leaving nothing of his nose but some hideous burn scar.

Grimm's mind flew at a mile a minute. Torture, at least when it was this intimate, was a lot more difficult to even attempt than most people realized. Only two types of people could even theoretically achieve the necessary state of mind to attack someone with the intent to cause them sustained pain: sociopaths who felt nothing for the victim, and people who had genuinely learned, first hand, what hatred was. Grimm's gut was betting on the second one. While Grimm couldn't precisely identify why that was, she would not have gotten as far as she had if she didn't know when to listen to her intuition.

Aloud though, Grimm barely spoke loud enough for the ME to hear, "Yes, that's Joseph Cady." Grimm heard some commotion from upstairs, but ignored it.

Dr. Ru Diao, the coroner, gave Grimm a look of sympathy. The ME was a very large woman, and Grimm could scarcely believe that Dr. Diao's large hands were delicate enough to wield a scalpel. Dr. Diao gently took off her gloves, washed her hands, and offered Sycorax a hug. Sycorax hesitated, but permitted it.

When they broke apart, Ru said, "I would not have shown you this if I didn't need a positive ID on the body. Unfortunately, Professor Cady had no family, and the closest person who knew him whom I could reach was you. I don't know how to tell you this delicately, but when I had first seen these cuts, I had hoped the good professor had died before receiving them. Unfortunately, I have no reason to be optimistic, and plenty of reason to be pessimistic. So, I must ask, does Professor Cady have any enemies?"

Grimm couldn't help but darkly observe, "Apparently, yes."

"I am sorry, I should have clarified. What I meant was, does Professor Cady have any enemies that you know of?"

Privately, Sycorax knew that a great deal of people could have wanted Cady dead. Slowly dead, at that. But she was actually being truthful when she said, "Nobody I can think of who would be capable of this."

Upstairs, the commotion grew more intense. Mrs. Grimm pulled out a pair of Pokeballs, and Dr. Diao made a face. Grimm adjusted her tie and put a chagrined look on her face, "I know it's a bit crass, but I think there's something going on upstairs." Catbert and Taylor came out of their pokeballs. Grimm did not bother with subtlety, but did say, "Thank you very much, Dr. Diao. I hope your investigation bears fruit," before the Golurk scooped up both their trainer and their teammate and ascended with both of them through the ceiling.

As Grimm got to the ground floor, she realized that while nobody going to be capable of telling her what was going on, nobody needed to either. The flurry of police officers, all rushing to a specific site, told Sycorax all that she needed to know: there was an attack going on. Grimm's tone communicated her rage quite nicely, "Taylor. The attack site. Immediately." She glared at the receptionist, as though daring him to stop her.

Oh, she was going to find the unfortunate degenerate who caused this attack.

*******

As Taylor got closer to the attack site, Grimm decided that she was only going to kill the person responsible for this if she was feeling unusually merciful.

Taylor threw both Catbert and Grimm forward, and Grimm caught her Luxray's mane in midair. He bounded forward gracefully, and she barely felt it when he hit the ground.

She dismounted, and immediately began to give orders. "Catbert, Zoroark. Taylor, Salamence."

Catbert gave a grin, and lightning crackled around him as he attempted to rush the Zoroark with Wild Charge. Grimm winced slightly, as while Catbert loved violence, he cared a bit less about avoiding harming his allies. She had to hope the Galvantula and Decidueye would have the good sense to get out of the way of his attack: it was a small blessing that they would both resist it if hit. Taylor watched the Salamence more carefully, waiting for their chance before attacking the dragon with a Shadow Punch; Grimm was far less worried there, as the move was a precision attack that would almost certainly only hit unintended targets if said targets deliberately got in the way.

Grimm moved to throw another pokeball to deal with the Pangoro, but she hesitated as the Pangoro screamed in pain. She traced the darts of a taser to one of two Cinccinos, who was presently throwing the taser that fired those darts away.

Grimm rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but turned away and focused on her Pokemon. This definitely bore thinking on--after she tested to make sure nobody slipped her a hallucinogen--but not with something so urgent at hand.

(OoC: Blah RP post is blah. I wish I had posted way sooner, but moving was a pain)

[Winter]

Rain Calder and Liz Redwood
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Neo Emolga, Saraibre Ryu, Noblejanobii, @Death’s Spook

There was far too much going on, and Rain was having trouble keeping her thoughts straight. The number of different sounds in the area, from the screams, crackling flames, and the sounds of all three Pokemon battles was starting to get overwhelming. Around her, Azriel, Nuala, and Cerridwen were all relaying information about the fights to her. She’d heard Grace cry out for Ollie earlier, but Cerridwen assured her the Decidueye was back up and fighting again. Nuala informed her that Grace herself had launched a successful attack on the Salamence, alongside Liz’s Vaporeon.

And then there was Azriel’s reports on the battle between the Haxorus and Cinccino pair and the Pangoro. She’d heard a loud commotion earlier, followed by silence before it sounded as though either the Haxorus or Pangoro had gotten back up. She assumed the fight was tense, because Azriel had stopped relaying information completely before there was a roar of pain from the massive panda Pokemon. “...Did that…? That Cinccino just—it looks like one of the Cinccino just tased the Pangoro. I...I admit, I was not aware they were trainable to that extent.”

“It what?” Rain asked in surprised English, and beside her, Liz jolted. It was the first loud words Rain had spoken in several minutes, as well as the only thing she’d spoken in English after dispatching her team.

/He’s informed her about the Cinccino,/ the mental voice of the Slowking beside her supplied, and she glanced down at the intelligent Psychic type she called Ein.

/Is she really communicating with them? I mean, I know N Harmonia could speak to Pokemon, and psychic types can establish telepathic team bonds, but her whole team.../

/Is composed of ghost types, yes. She’s communicating with them, and it appears she’s doing so as though she’s a native speaker of the language, but we have more pressing matters to face, don’t we?/ With a jolt, Liz realized that Ein was indeed correct, no matter how much she desperately wished for the time to speak to the other woman and understand what exactly was going on here--and there was a lot going on, she realized as what seemed to be yet another trainer joined the fray.

“Ollie, move!” Cerridwen shouted as the Luxray barreled towards the Zoroark, and the bird Pokemon launched himself away from the fox while shouting to the Galvantula still attached to it much like one of those popular children’s backpacks.

“Hey! Bail out!” he shouted, hoping the electric spider got out of the careless Luxray’s path before they were seriously hurt.

Grace and Flicker, however, were too busy with the Salamence to allow themselves time to look over at the chaos that had interrupted Ollie and the Galvantula’s fight. Though the dragon hadn’t previously noticed the pair and their new Vaporeon friend before, their opening attacks had given their presence away, and it certainly noticed them now. As they watched, the Salamence’s attention snapped to the trio on the ground, and Grace knew they only had seconds to react as she spotted small embers of flame lick at the dragon’s opened mouth--it was readying for a flamethrower. “Move--” Splish started, but Grace cut her off abruptly.

“Behind me, now!” she barked before tossing the tiny candle Pokemon she’d been holding into the air just as a torrent of flames exploded from the dragon’s mouth. Splish gave an instinctive cry of alarm that drew Liz’s attention, and Ein had to stop the woman from running forward to try to aid her second-oldest friend.

But the flames never touched them. Instead, Flicker gave another yawn, opening his small mouth wide to swallow the flames. In response, the small fire atop his head grew absolutely massive in size before he returned the favor by spitting a massive Ember attack back at the dragon, which dodged out of the way--

Straight into the Shadow Punch thrown by a Golurk that had just joined the fight.

A Golurk that apparently one of their fellow teammates had warned Rain was now present, as the tiny woman screamed in English above the roaring of the dragon as its wings momentarily faltered, “Grace! Use Blizzard!” She didn’t have to be told twice. In fact, the Froslass smiled as she snatched Flicker easily out of the air and set him down beside Splish, who readied for another Aurora Beam assist. This attack took a bit longer to charge, and Grace felt the temperature of the air around her plummet as she focused on the Salamence, building up the ferocity of the storm she would unleash on it. This fight was ending, and it was ending now.

"I'm so sorry," Grace whispered, and unleashed the move on the Salamence, an orb of vicious, frigid wind and ice exploding around it in the blink of an eye.

[Saraibre Ryu]

Shay Draklyn
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Winter Neo Emolga Death's Spook
Shay didn't regret her decision to say. The bit of time it did take for officials to show up was too long for her liking. She was also of the opinion that they came under prepared for the situation. Be it because there were already people here handling the situation, or they simply didn't have the power to do so, it wasn't a good thing in her eyes. It looked like things were becoming more under control, and the eager Jangmo-o nearly nipping at her ankle knew it as well. Shay looked down and found Choros, claws dug into the concrete. All she had to do was nod and the dragon was off like a shot towards Havoc.

Now Shay had to watch that Salamence. A one on one turned into a one versus... a handful. It was hard to say how many were actually in combat with the blue and red beast. It seemed confused between the anti-air tactics and the one well within it's melee range. In those moments of anger, two more attacks came for it. Sonata was apt at avoiding them, but Shay could tell, even she was having trouble with her ability to avoid them all. With her left Pokemonless at the moment, Shay turned to the person she had been talking to previously. First, there needed to be an idea given to Sonata. Shay whistled a sharp, loud whistle, catching the Noivern's attention. A quick glance towards her Trainer, and a few exchanged thoughts and she knew immediately what to do.

Shay turned to the blogger. "Hey, what else does Cottonbloom know? I have an idea, and I know Ryme isn't much for battling, but I'm going to need your Hoppip's help..."

Then she realized that there was another issue. "... what was your name? I might have missed it when the pavilion exploded into chaos."


Havoc
Now Havoc had met a lot of Pokemon with a lot of different skills. A taser was not something she expected, but she took whatever she could. As the electricity ran it's course, the tusks on her face began to glow with teal energy. Growling and swinging her head left to right, Dual Chop took it's toll as there was no dodging that in the position the Pangoro was in. When the Haxorus could, she shifted her weight forward, making sure to not crush her comrades and to force the Pangoro on it's back, should it still have the energy to get back up once more. The Pangoro struggled to stay up, a knee down on the street, still attempting to stay up once again. One arm broke free, and tried to raise up to get one final blow in, knowing it's opponent had only slightly more energy that it did.

What happened next was almost comical. A small grey blur smacked headfirst into the Pangoro, making it flinch and knocking it over slowly onto the ground. Choros, a little dazed, landed on the ground next to the heavily beaten Havoc. The Pangoro remained still on the ground. Havoc and Choros waited a few seconds before determining a relaxing conclusion: it had finally been defeated. Havoc remained standing, though arms were limp, scales scuffed and dented, bruises beginning to form under her natural armor. There still was a job to do. She looked at the pair of Cinccino, breathing heavily but still concious.

"Unorthodox... but well fought... where is safety for you two?"

"Yeah, we or I can get you at least somewhere safe!" Choros chimed in. "Or at least part way. Return the favour for helping my big sis' Havoc."


Cayci
Suddenly there was a Golurk. Suddenly there was a Luxray. That Luxray was charging right at the Zoroark, and by extension, her. Cayci had a few options to consider: take a bit of the hit and make sure the Zoroark was hit, and not lose her grip and Sticky Web, or two, leap off at the last second, take no unnecessary damage and play the guessing game. Cayci decided the latter, waiting until the last moment to vault herself off of the illusion fox and onto a nearby pile of debris. It didn't leave time for the Zoroark to dodge the hit, as was evident by the sparks and electricity crackling in the air. The Galvantula frowned, well, as much as a spider could frown. Now she had to reassess her trappings, as some of them had been annihilated by the Wild Charge.

Well if there was anything Cayci was good at, it was making webs. She could lob globs of sticky so that the Zoroark wouldn't be able to move. Of course, the Zoroark still had the rage and energy to break these pockets of web, but it would either have to do that, or fight the Luxray in front of it.


Sonata
She had to take a moment to keep track of all the players in this game. He head began to spin a bit, before she heard a sharp whistle from a familiar face. Sonata's attention drew to her trainer, and she hovered closer, temporarily blocking out all the other noise in her mind. The conversation was brief: all the cotton spores in play could help with the Salamence, and with Sonata's control of the wind, it may just bring the Salamence down. Sonata nodded, lowering her altitude and spiraling around the cloud of soft particles, sending them upwards towards the dragon quickly. A ping in Sonata's mind came as the air chilled to uncomfortable temperatures. Sonata had an idea.

Moving fast she altered the wind currents and put the cotton in the path of the Blizzard attack. The moisture in the air would freeze around the cotton, essentially creating small packets of ice. Those would be thrown into the Salamence, hopefully adding to the sting of the assault. It was a bit of a dirty move, but there were lives on the line. The icy storm connected with it's intended target, and the Salamence roared in pain. Hopefully that would be enough to bring it down, but just in case, Sonata was ready with Psychic to catch it before it broke a few bones on impact.

[Noblejanobii]

Cat Ines
Ryme City Entrance
Impacted RPers: Saraibre Ryu Winter Neo Emolga Death's Spook

As the chaos of the battle began to unfold around her, Cat saw reinforcements began to roll in. Finally the Ryme City police were here which meant they could handle the situation, right? Cat looked over at Shay commanding her Pokémon with such confidence. They'd both be in trouble soon if they didn't leave the scene, since battles were strictly forbidden in Ryme City. And even if Cat wasn't directly commanding Cottonbloom, she could still get in trouble. She couldn't afford a fine and jail time would cost her not only her part time job but also a lot of subscribers, so there would go her income. Still, Shay didn't seem to waver as the the police officers sent out their own Pokémon to help, so perhaps she could linger just a little longer.

Cat turned her focus back on the Pangoro just in time to witness a very peculiar sight. As the beast was restrained by the Haxorus, one of the Ciccino got its paws on a taser. It quickly locked and loaded said taser gun, configuring the various settings before firing into the beast, unleashing thousands of volts into the Pangoro. With that large of a shock, the hulking panda was down an out. Cat zoomed in on the Cinccino. It seemed relieved until it spotted Cottonbloom filming from the skies. Pokémon expressions were hard to decipher at times, but the Cinccino seemed almost... unnerved. Almost like it was caught doing something it shouldn't have been doing. Cat began to zoom in further, trying to see if there was a collar or any other identifying features that could help her trace the Cinccino later. There didn't seem to be any, which was suspicious. The RCPD always marked their Pokémon in some form, which meant it wasn't an official police trained Pokémon. But it didn't have any sort of other markings either that would indicate it was someone's partner. So was it a stray then? Wild and stray Pokémon certainly weren't known to be able to fire tasers. This was all very suspicious.

Cat was taken out of her thoughts on the Cinccino by Shay's voice calling out to her. "Hey, what else does Cottonbloom know? I have an idea, and I know Ryme isn't much for battling, but I'm going to need your Hoppip's help..." Shay paused for a moment before adding, "... what was your name? I might have missed it when the pavilion exploded into chaos."

She smiled a little and said, "My name's Cat Ines, though most people know me as Cat Cast from Pokétube. As for what moves CB knows..." Cat furrowed her brow for a moment as she tried to recall Cottonbloom's moves. Shay was right, Ryme City was a big no battle zone. As a result, Cat was pretty sure CB only knew status moves. Ah no... didn't she know one attack? Or had she replaced that with a status move. Now was not really the time to forget these kinds of things! "I think she knows Stun Spore and Sleep Powder... then there's Cotton Spore and... I think her last move is either Rage Powder or Fairy Wind. I can't really remember since this," Cat gestured to the colliding titans around them, "doesn't exactly occur daily so I've only seen her use her moves a few times. And since I'm not a registered trainer I can't exactly readily check her status. Hopefully the moves she definitely knows will be enough for her plan right?"

Cat wasn't exactly keen on using Rage Powder. On top of the fact that she wasn't 100 percent sure CB even knew the move, Rage Powder would make CB the center of everyone's attention, which meant all attacks would be directed at her. CB could be seriously hurt with all the fire and ice attacks going around. Even if knowing moves like Cotton Spore meant she was decently high in level, that didn't mean she could take too many hits before she was fatally injured. Cat wanted that to be a last resort. Her partner's life and health were her first priority here. And that's not even considering how much the Go Pro CB was holding cost. But Cat was willing to lose that, she wasn't willing to lose CB.

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Saraibre Ryu Winter Death's Spook

With nothing stopping the Haxorus now, she made her strike against the seemingly unstoppable panda juggernaut. But even under the influence of whatever concoction was driving it to fury, it could only take so much punishment. However, it seemed the Jangmo-o insisted on getting the last strike in, headbutting the Pangoro until it finally collapsed.

Unorthodox... but well fought... where is safety for you two?"

"Someone needed to step in." Nathan explained to the Haxorus. "Thankfully enough of us did."

"Yeah, we or I can get you at least somewhere safe!" the Jangmo-o chimed in. "Or at least part way. Return the favour for helping my big sis' Havoc."

For the time being, Nathan was still a bit concerned he had been seen using that taser gun. He could feel eyes were upon him, but he decided acting as natural as possible was the best course of action. He simply used his paw to pat the dirt and dust off of the white fur scarf around his neck and tried to act like he was always like this. He couldn't rewind back to that moment and consider possible alternatives, but the least he could do was move on and dismiss it as past. Besides, with Kano near him, it was even possible they might get mixed up with which of the two Cinccino had even used the taser gun in the first place if they took their eyes off of them for even just a second. There was extremely little to differentiate one Cinccino from the other.

"You're right, we should go." Nathan agreed. "I don't think we could contend with that Salamence or that Zoroark."

He felt things like that were left in more capable hands. The dragon trainer and the police were already on site, and at this point, Kano and himself might only get in the way. Besides, the Salamence could fly where they couldn't, and the Zoroark was very quick and sneaky. Trying to climb on its back would be much more daunting of a task and they were already worn out from contending with the Pangoro. After all, his original intention was just to speak to one of the rogues, not fight with them. But from what he knew now, there was a different situation at stake.

The anger and rage of the rogues was not their own. It was artificially created and had to be triggered somehow, either by a chemical or some traumatic psychological means. For the rogues to completely lose all rationality and wanton disregard for their surroundings and anyone around them was far outside of their normal nature. While it was true that some Pokémon could become aggressive over territory or loss, there was no reasoning or rationale for this kind of violence.

He offered to let the Jangmo-o lead the way away from the attack site. The sooner they left the scene, the less of a chance he'd have anyone asking him specifically about the whole taser gun incident. If he disappeared into the shadows, it wouldn't matter how many people and Pokémon saw it on television or whatever. As far as he knew, there was no distinguishing feature he had that would separate him from another Cinccino.

But he had to be careful and not let something like that happen again. He couldn't let anyone figure his secret out...

[Winter]

OOC: I'm just going to go ahead and apologize for what feels like a giant mess of a post, but hopefully this will get things moving again~

Rain Calder and Liz Redwood
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Neo Emolga, Saraibre Ryu, Noblejanobii

Everyone started talking almost all at once, leaving Rain struggling to keep up yet again. "The Pangoro's down," Azriel told her, and began to say something else when a roar of pain ripped through the air. As her Pokemon watched, the cotton spores Sonata had directed the dragon into stuck to its wings and froze in place thanks to Grace’s attack, and it struggled to flap its wings once, twice, three times before it began to descend.

"Salamence is losing air fast, the Noivern guided it into a cloud of cotton spores before Grace's Blizzard hit, which made it much more effective," Nuala supplied before Rain could ask what in the world was going on. "If we don't stop it--"

"Ein, can you slow the Salamence's fall with Psychic?" Liz asked, raising her voice to be heard over the roaring of the dragon. Rain nor her companions heard the Slowking's response, but there was a firm, "Anything is better than nothing, just do your best. If it's not going to work, just warn me," a moment later. There was a pause before the sound of a pokeball releasing its resident filled the air, and the bellowing croak of a Politoed greeted those in the vicinity. "Linus, I'm gonna need your help, buddy--think you can Ice Beam that Pangoro down for me? He's real grumpy and I don't want him going anywhere and hurting anyone else." The bipedal frog Pokemon gave a peculiar humming noise in reply before bouncing off towards the downed Pangoro to freeze it into immobility. Before the Salamence could fall much further, Ein broadcasted his intent to attempt a Psychic catch of the Pokemon in the area and quickly followed the announcement with the move, attempting to lower it to the ground slowly and gently, an effort which drained him.

"The two Cinccino, including the one who used the taser, seem to be allowing another trainer's Haxorus and Jangmo'o to help lead them out of the area to a safer location. I'm very curious about them--what would you like to do?" Azriel asked her, and Rain knew she had to make a decision quickly.

“Nuala, follow the Cinccino.” That she should remain unseen was understood, that was part of her permanent job description. “Figure out where they’re going. If you need to keep an eye on them for a while, meet us back at the hotel, but make sure we can find them again later if need be.”

“Understood.” The Gastly’s reply was quick and flat before Rain felt her presence disappear, leaving her with Azriel and Cerridwen to face the rest of the situation present. “Cerridwen, how’s Ollie doing?”

Ollie, as it turned out, was managing, but not excelling. Though the Luxray’s Wild Charge had weakened the Zoroark, it’s hadn’t put it down for the count yet. He was relieved to see that his battling companion, the Galvantula, had managed to avoid the brunt of the attack as well, but all the web she’d spun to confine the Zoroark was mostly gone now. This left the rogue Pokemon more free to move, and now that it was capable of doing so, it went absolutely wild, whipping around and lunging towards him, but this action only lasted for a moment. He felt the temperature of the air around him plummet, and realized then that Grace had seemingly finished her own business with the Salamence, and had turned her attention to the remaining Pokemon still in motion. “Don’t. You. Dare!” the Froslass snarled a moment before another Blizzard exploded around it, the force of which pushed him back. He threw a wing up to shield himself from the force of the wind, and when he lowered it, he was mildly impressed to find the Zoroark encased in a block of ice. Unlike the reaction that had brought down the Salamence, which had been fueled mostly by the free-floating Cotton Spores, Grace had actually managed to freeze the Zoroark in place, effectively stopping its reign of terror...much to the seeming shock of the Vaporeon standing beside her.

“Typical,” Flicker muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “She’s cool under fire until Ollie looks like he might be getting it a little rough…” To her credit, Grace didn’t reply to the Litwick, nor did she rush to Ollie’s side as the bipedal bird straightened before making his way over to Rain with a bit of a wobble to his step.

Meanwhile, Liz was focused on the status of her team. As her Politoed gleefully finished freezing the Pangoro in place, Ein, who had nearly finished bringing the Salamence to the ground, sat abruptly. “Whoa, whoa, easy bud!” she cried, her hands reaching out to brace themselves against one of the Slowking’s arms. “You alright, Ein?”

/That Salamence is indeed as heavy as it looks, that’s all. I’ll need some rest after this, but I’ll be okay,/ he assured her, though he didn’t risk taking his eyes off the Salamence. /You should redirect Linus, before he starts trying to serenade us all./ Liz blinked, and looked up to see the Politoed bouncing and clapping around the downed Pangoro, letting out excited little croaks that most of her team knew were the prelude to an entire ballad if they didn’t redirect his attention soon.

“Linus, if you could be a dear and put that Salamence in timeout as well, we’d all appreciate it~” she called before shifting her gaze to where Splish stood by Rain’s Froslass, looking somewhat horrified by Grace’s freezing of the Zoroark. “Splish, it’d be great if you could start working on the fires burning in the area. I’m sure the fire department will be here soon, but until then, let’s try and halt some of the damage, okay? Linus, you help Splish out when you’re done, got it?” The Politoed gave a much louder, bellowing croak in acknowledgement before bouncing off towards where Ein was lowering the Salamence to the ground. Splish gave a swift shake of her head, as if to clear it before bounding off to the biggest fire burning in the area and unleashing a Hydro Pump at it.

[Neo Emolga]

Nathan Cole (Resident)
Ryme City Entrance
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Saraibre Ryu Winter Death's Spook

Normally, Nathan wouldn't let some other trainer's Pokémon advise him what to do, but it was easy to say things were definitely not going as he was anticipating. The prospect of being taken "someplace safe" made Nathan sigh and roll his Cinccino eyes when he knew this city like the back of his hand, and yet here was a newcomer tourist dragon thinking he knew better than the locals did.

He reminded himself to just keep acting like these trainer dragons were more capable. It was almost painful to the pride for him, but he figured best play along and ditch the Jangmo-o when the opportunity presented itself. After all, he knew these dragons that were new in town would likely get lost in two minutes and might even find themselves unintentionally right back where they started. But for now, he was watching, waiting, just yearning for that moment to break way and not have this scaly dragon chaperone him and Kano like some parent on a elementary school field trip.

"What were you thinking back there?" Kano quietly whispered to Nathan as they walked along. "I'm flattered you think my kind would really know how to handle one of those things!"

"Shhhh, I got ahead of myself, I know," Nathan whispered back to him, trying to keep out of earshot of the Jangmo-o. "We made it out alive, so let's forget about what happened."

Nathan then looked forward at the Jangmo-o, waiting for the dragon Pokémon to take one path down an alley while he and Kano would take another. When he saw a good moment for the two of them to give the dragon the slip, he took it and with Nathan leading, the two of them quickly dashed down another alley and through a completely different street. After heading down five blocks through alleyways, side streets, and narrow street enclosures, he was convinced the Jangmo-o wouldn't be able to find them and would only turn around to look when it was far too late and they had disappeared without a trace.

"So how many people and Pokémon do you think saw that?" Kano asked as they found a quiet place to stop before heading back home to Nathan's apartment.

Nathan's heart sank a bit.

"...Probably more than you think," he had difficulty saying.

"What does THAT mean?"

He really didn't want to spill the details, but he figured they probably weren't going home until he did. Besides, the last time Nathan tried lying, it only built things up to be worse and worse when the truth finally popped out.

"...The reporter there had a Hoppip with a news camera," Nathan swallowed hard. "It was recording the whole battle with the Pangoro and I had only noticed it was aiming that camera right at me after that whole taser gun incident went down. If that gets broadcasted on national television, and it probably will considering that was one of the worst rogue incidents to date and she was the only reporter on the scene the entire time, the whole country could potentially know about this."

Kano looked horrified. But only for a moment, up until he started laughing and Nathan wasn't sure if his own Cinccino was losing it and going mad or was taking the whole thing as a "sucks to be you" situation.

"If they find you," Kano giggled, just thinking about it, "they're going to think you're some prodigy Cinccino and they'll expect you to do all kinds of human-like tricks and antics for them. Maybe you'll become famous, but then you won't be able to change yourself back!"

"IF they find me," Nathan reminded him, trying not to imagine spending the rest of his life like this as a fluffy chinchilla Pokémon. "Right now they have no idea where I am or where I just ran off to. For all they know, you could be me, or I could be you, and I'm sure we're not the only Cinccino in this entire city. I wish them happy hunting, because I sure wouldn't try to pursue it in this huge metropolis even if I was the most curious person watching that whole episode. As long as I don't let that kind of slip-up happen again, I think I'll be fine."

Nathan then started heading home, with his Cinccino partner closely behind him.

"You'd really better hope so," Kano chuckled a bit as the humor softly died down. "Pray all you become is just a... what do you call them, con...con-seecy..."

"Conspiracy theory," Nathan sighed, rolling his eyes again. "Yes, that would be great. I've always wanted to have my fifteen minutes of fame amount to something like THAT."

It was more than enough to get Kano to starting laughing again.