Stalkers RPG: Dustwoken - Main Action and Team Status [SEASON 1] [Archive]

Neo Emolga

05-06-2022, 01:05 AM

Seabourne Town Map

https://i.imgur.com/qLy6y0Z.png

(1) Beachwood Farmstead – Owned by Benni the Appletun, this is one of the few remaining active farms within Seabourne and has been doing well thanks to Benni’s ability to keep up with demand and has been careful with her crops. For the time being, the Savants have been staying here in this location while Benni has been providing you and your allies with welcoming hospitality.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=326337&viewfull=1#post326337)

[Medallion of Youth] was found here.

(2) Beachwood Orchard – This is the field where Benni grows most of her crops. Due to her consistent care, the fields and orchards are doing quite well and have plenty of fresh and delicious fruits. While Benni is usually welcoming, she greatly dislikes it when Pokémon wander about in her orchard.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323087&viewfull=1#post323087)

[Raze Cache] was found here.
=Ohnashan Note= (https://i.imgur.com/mx2mDKI.png) was found here.

(3) Kako Industries Field – Kako Industries, a commercial farming operation, has ownership of this large field of tancorn, a semi-sweet corn-like vegetable that most Pokémon find delicious and appears in many recipes throughout the world.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323222&viewfull=1#post323222)

{Destroyed Taika Temppeli: Needed Taika Tekstit AND Palauttaminen Mantra}

(4) Kako Industries Farm – This commercial facility processes the tancorn that is grown and harvested in the northern field. While the facility is in generally working condition, there has been wear and tear over the years and a lot of the equipment is due for maintenance or to be replaced entirely.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323386&viewfull=1#post323386)

[Putki] was found here.

(5) Jadebreeze Forest – This small patch of trees is one of the very few forests in Seabourne as most of the area is costal. Not too many Pokémon go out of their way to visit it and generally no one wanders into it. It’s too large to make public use of, but too small for the adventurous to explore.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323557&viewfull=1#post323557)

{Old Dusty Lockbox: Missing Medallion Key}
@{Funsui} - ~5 Kurosuōbā~@

(6) Seabourne Public Library – This rather large library is filled with both fiction and nonfiction books and print media. While there are a few audio tapes, the collection is quite limited and most visitors don’t expect much out of it. In general, the building, despite being old, is still in good shape and sees visitors on a daily basis.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323038&viewfull=1#post323038)

=Sarkkan Note 2nd Half= (https://i.imgur.com/07tmdcy.png) was found here.
@ - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.
@ - ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.

(7) Seaport Lofts – This large apartment building is home to several middle to low income Pokémon. The building hasn’t been maintained for a while and the landlord, Kreetea the Victreebel, only has her concerns set on collecting rent despite tenant complaints. As a result, a few lights don’t work and the walls and floor could use fixing, but no one is volunteering to do it for free.
<UNSEARCHED>

(8) Seaport Plaza – This small strip of stores includes The Canopy Bakery, run by the young Tatch the Pachirisu, which Tatch keeps colorful and cheery while fresh and delicious aromas waft about the store. In the center is First Choice Hardware, run by Namrea the Krokorok, which has most of the tools Pokémon could need though empty shelves and low inventory have often been a gripe for her customers. Meanwhile, the last small retail spot has been vacant, but was last used as a wine and liquor seller. Some of the signs and shelves still remain, although barren.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323220&viewfull=1#post323220)

=Sarkkan Note 1st Half= (https://i.imgur.com/C6Gl6FT.png) was found here.

(9) Macro Market – A mid-sized supermarket franchise that has an active location in Seabourne. Macro Markets are known for being quick, easy, and upbeat to shop at with a convenient selection of produce, grains, frozen foods, seafood, and meats, and this Macro Market is no exception.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323295&viewfull=1#post323295)

@{Shadow Vase: [s]Missing Dark Flower} ROCK – (6 Purity Damage)@

[=1st Half of the Macabre Mantra= (https://i.imgur.com/Mc1dJpZ.png)] was found here.

(10) Seabourne Geothermal Power Plant – As the main power supply for Seabourne’s power grid, simply put, without it, Seabourne would be left in the dark. The plant itself is in good condition, but has been lacking personnel support lately. Meanwhile, some of the machinery is in need of maintenance.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323978&viewfull=1#post323978)

[The Avain] was found here.

(11) Hitchhiker Restaurant (ABANDONED) – What used to be a popular grill and meeting space for dinner and alcoholic drinks fell on hard times after the owner, Prete the Meganium, lost his wife Ficea due to a stroke, and become clinically diagnosed with depression. The spark of life that the restaurant staff and customers enjoyed was gone, and soon the numbers died down. Today, the restaurant is mostly vacant and slowly falling victim to the elements.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323331&viewfull=1#post323331)

{Old Combination Safe: 4-Number Combination}

was found here.

(12) Reliable Med Clinic and Urgent Care – Despite being on the quiet western side of town, Reliable Med is true to its name and most Pokémon in Seabourne prefer it over even the main hospital itself. Doctor Vanni the Umbreon and her assistant Shesa the Arbok make a good team and most Pokémon find it quick and find the staff friendly and attentive.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323384&viewfull=1#post323384)

(13) The Baywill Museum and Gallery – Almost seemingly out of place, this large and expansive museum is host to thousands of artistic paintings, sculptures, relics, and artifacts from many civilians and centuries. While it does get quite a few visitors, it’s the kind of museum one would expect to see in a big city and not a small fishing harbor town like Seaboure. Hershal the Torterra, who owns the museum, occasionally visits from time to time, investing in Seaboure for the long-term, expecting the town to grow. However, so far his investments haven’t had the desired effect as of late.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323039&viewfull=1#post323039)

{Skeletal Murkrow Cabinet: Missing Wings}

@[Fang of the Broken] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ was found here.

(14) Greenvale Centre Apartments – As a luxury apartment building, only those that make a considerable income can afford to live here. The building is very well kept and feels inviting with all of the flowers and shrubberies on the outside and inside.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324278&viewfull=1#post324278)

was found here.

(15) City Hall – Run by mayor Mortek the Garchomp, this large building has existed since Seabourne’s founding and has been kept in good shape ever since. Though usually welcoming, lately the building has had a rigid and almost intimidating aura to it given everything that has been going on.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324850&viewfull=1#post324850)

{Mural of Time: Indentation of Youth}

(16) Mortek’s House – This is the mansion where Mortek and his wife Tayou live. It is kept in impeccable shape and is roomy and lavish enough to support a family, even though Mortek and Tayou have no interest in having children. And by now, they’ve gotten too old for it.
<UNSEARCHED>

(17) Centerbrooke Apartments – As another medium-income apartment building, Centerbrooke used to not be renown for much until strange, paranormal occurrences started to take place only five years ago. Strange writing on the wall, flickering lights, strange eerie music playing in the halls at night, and rumors of it being haunted by a child Sandshrew. Some of the tenants think it’s pure nonsense, while others seem to randomly wake up screaming and are looking to move out.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324279&viewfull=1#post324279)

[=Sigil Fragment 1=] (https://i.imgur.com/LKUlXl8.png) was found here.

(18) Copper Plains School – As an experimental school for young and adolescent Pokémon, Copper Plains focuses more on technical skills like math, writing, and science as opposed to the arts like painting, music, and acting. Most young Pokémon aren’t too happy with the school and find themselves prone to feeling uncreative and unexpressive. The building itself is old and wasn’t always a school, but the grounds are maintained and the learning environment feels safe, at least.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323061&viewfull=1#post323061)

[Eye of Blood] was found here.

(19) Overlook Apartments – This well-maintained apartment building is relatively new and was recently constructed to replace the old, dilapidated Steiner apartment building that was rumored to be haunted and was the site of several brutal murders in the past. But something dark about the Steiner building didn’t leave when they cleared the rubble that short while ago. Some Pokémon that live her attest that they’ve had strange dreams involving “the furnace” and medical diagnoses that were never in their family history before, begging the question if there’s a relation or if it’s just coincidence.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324352&viewfull=1#post324352)

[Eye of Shadow] was found here.

(20) Seabourne Post Office – This old brick building has been standing for generations and hasn’t changed very much over time, although modern additions like plumbing and electricity were added that weren’t there before when the building first went up. One of the workers there, Misch the Tangrowth, has recently gone missing and there’s been no trace of him.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323839&viewfull=1#post323839)

[Aether Prism] was found here.

(21) The Colbyi Estate – This mansion used to be owned by Fredno the Electivire, a kindly old gentlemen who used to host parties and invite anyone that was pleasant company. After passing away, the estate was bought by Colbyi the Turtonator after the bank had seized the property and Colbyi was able to buy it before it hit the market. Now, Colbyi lives a lavish lifestyle here, unconcerned at whatever else is befalling the town.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=326181&viewfull=1#post326181)

{Chest of the Guiltless: Implantation of Sin}

(22) Charms and Chimes Gift Store – This cheerfully-colored and welcoming store and apartment is owned by Jupo the Whimsicott, who inhabits the second floor apartment with her roommate, Narshen the Cinccino, who runs a small financial advising business in an office area on the second floor.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323616&viewfull=1#post323616)

[Eye of Blood] was found here.

(23) Seabourne Hospital – This large, brown and gray stone hospital has been with Seabourne for generations, but it has a dark history and much of it is covered up with deceptive marketing, public relations damage control, and deceit. Proof of some of the more heinous incidents of medical malpractice and patient moralities due to negligence has been hidden or destroyed.
<EXTERIOR SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323967&viewfull=1#post323967)
{The Fallen Mantra Mural: Unspoken Macabre Words}

[Ancient Chalice], [Ceremonial Knife], [Occult Figurine], and were found here.

(23a) Interior <SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324121&viewfull=1#post324121)

@{The Aborted Blood Door: Bloody Keyhole OR <Security>} Diabolic Razor Edges STEEL – (3 Sanity Damage)@

(24) The Percho Mill – This old, small factory and steel mill produces all kinds of steel parts and components as a supplier for many assembly plants throughout the region. The owner, Beltha the Salazzle, has wanted to expand on the building to generate more business, but its historical status and its proximity to the hospital prevents her from doing so, much to her frustration. As a result, the mill has a stressful and overworked environment due to the amount of work and lack of capacity and staff.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324581&viewfull=1#post324581)

{Storm Drain: ^Small Pokémon^}

[Steel Valve] was found here.

(25) Seabourne Office Plaza – This complex of white-collar offices are relatively new to the town and replaced a series of small residential homes that were in poor condition. Both Brixel, a chemical corporation and Ennomark, a distribution company, have corporate offices here. Building B was once used by Restro Insurance, but vacated two years ago when the company went under. Employees of both Brixel and Ennomark have attested to seeing odd flashes of red light in Building B, especially during the evening hours when they’ve had to work overtime.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325542&viewfull=1#post325542)
{Shadow Vault: Vault Key Mechanism}

[b](25a) Brixel Chemical Corporate Building <UNSEARCHED>
(25b) Seabourne Office Plaza Building B (ABANDONED) <UNSEARCHED>
(25c) Ennomark Distribution <UNSEARCHED>

(26) The Embermark Plant – This meat-packing plant has been controversial by activist groups for years, as it deals with preparing and processing countless catches of Shellder, Krabby, Goldeen, Magikarp, and many other fish Pokémon for distribution in that grim subject matter of “who gets to eat and who gets to be meat” debate. Other non-aquatic Pokémon like Farfetch'd, Miltank, Bouffalant, Tauros and many others are slaughtered and processed here as well for their poultry and beef products, having lost the battle of being considered “too civilized for slaughter.”
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=326336&viewfull=1#post326336)

[Bloody Metallic Key] was found here.
{Flooded Sewer: Missing Valve}

(27) Southshore Chapel – This large and ornate cathedral is dedicated to the worship of the Eon twins, Latios and Latias, under the practice of Eonology, which believes it wasn’t Arceus who created the world, but instead these two brother and sister Pokémon with what they call the “Balancing Power.” Masses consist of songs and sermons. Unfortunately for Eonologists, many Pokémon denounce this circle of faith and as a result, the chapel is often vandalized with offensive graffiti or the damaging of the cathedral’s statues.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323367&viewfull=1#post323367)

{Statue of the Blood Sister, Latias: Missing Eye AND Missing Eye}

[Severed Head of the Blood Sister, Latias] was obtained.
{Statue of the Shadow Brother, Latios: Missing Eye AND Missing Eye}

[Severed Head of the Shadow Brother, Latios] was obtained.
=The Vandalized Plaque= (https://i.imgur.com/tI8CHXb.png)

(28) Beachwood University – This old but still in relatively good shape university has a long history of preparing students for vocational roles, such as engineering, architecture, metalworking, construction, and other blue-collar positions. Ever since Namrika the Braixen was murdered by the Stalkers, students haven’t been showing up to class and have been using the current situation to excuse themselves from school, but demand passing grades and graduation regardless. There are a few students that still show up to class religiously and expect to graduate while the “cowards” should not. As a result, it has erupted into a bit of a civil war on campus.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323569&viewfull=1#post323569)

{Phudistus Makuuhuone: Missing Arvomerkki}

(29) Twinbank Apartments – Mostly used by Beachwood University students, the Pokémon living here are often rowdy, noisy, and have been known to be up at all hours at the night. Pokémon that prefer quiet time and to get a good night’s sleep would hate living here, but for those that like to party and socialize, it’s a paradise. However, the building is often dirty, trash is littered about, and graffiti is rampant everywhere. Meanwhile, there is the presence of the “Middie Room” on the second floor, an apartment where the last three tenants all committed suicide, one by hanging, another by drug overdose, and the third by self-inflicted stab wounds. The Middie Room apartment has been locked up since the third suicide, but it’s the subject of many ghost stories on campus.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323748&viewfull=1#post323748)

[Burnt Wings Mount] was found here.

(30) Anchorpoint Warehouse A – Mainly used by the Anchorpoint Shipping Company, this warehouse is used for product storage and has many freight containers along with repair equipment. Ordinarily, nothing too out of the ordinary has been here, although a short time ago, there’s been rumors of Pokémon going inside late at night, thought to be Beachwood University students performing a hazing ritual, only no one ever came back out. However, no bodies or anything of that nature has been found. At least not yet.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=326180&viewfull=1#post326180)

[=Broken Vacant Apparatus Cube=] (https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=0f02960af5f4) was found here.

(31) Anchorpoint Warehouse B – As the eastern warehouse used by the Anchorpoint Shipping Company, most of the space in this warehouse goes unused, although the back half of it is being used to store boxes and crates of metal parts and tools. Recently, there was a pool of blood found here, but no body. A DNA test was performed on the blood, but there were no records on file as to who the blood belongs to.
<UNSEARCHED>

(32) Birthright Chapel – Those belonging to the Birthright parish believe in the original creation story of Arceus. In recent years, this small church has fallen into disrepair, despite having a solid 75% attendance capacity. Lately, there have been heated rivalries toward Southshore Chapel’s attendees, and evidence of the rivalry can be found in graffiti on the walls and offensive symbols cut into the stones.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323247&viewfull=1#post323247)

{Stone Lockbox: <Security> (https://i.imgur.com/GkjaKVY.png)}

(33) Shoreside Houses – These cozy houses enjoy scenic views of the beach and a calm of welcoming atmosphere. Most Pokémon would enjoy living in one of these houses, but there’s only so much room and only those that make a steady and considerable income can afford them. The only issue is the unsightly abandoned harbor to the west.
<OUTSIDE UNSEARCHED>

[b][u](33a) Kasso the Heracross’s House <UNSEARCHED>
(33b) Eltzen the Ambipom's Mansion <UNSEARCHED>
(33c) Altrea the Eldegoss’s House <UNSEARCHED>
(33d) Korak the Nidoking’s House <SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323723&viewfull=1#post323723)

[=2nd Half of the Macabre Mantra= (https://i.imgur.com/aUxPiox.png)] was found here.

(34) Vanni’s Estate – This large, welcoming estate is owned by Vanni the Umbreon. Overall, the building is kept in good shape and the atmosphere is quite inviting. Meanwhile, the grounds are well maintained and feature plenty of flower beds and well manicured shrubberies.
<UNSEARCHED>

(35) Anchorpoint Shipping Company Headquarters – As one of the main shipping companies in Seabourne, Anchorpoint is one of the leaders in overseas shipping and aquatic freight carriers in the region. Meanwhile, this structure also features a marketplace for Pokémon selling fish to be used as seafood. Again, there is still some backlash here as many of the fish are indeed water Pokémon.
<UNSEARCHED>

(36) Seabourne Coast Guard – Servicing as the maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and security authority for Seabourne, many of the Pokémon who work here are well-trained and are vigilant. Meanwhile, the building itself is highly secured and is active at all hours of the day and night.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323058&viewfull=1#post323058)

@ – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.

(37) West Dock Marina – Harbored here are a number of fishing and recreational boating vessels owned by several of the Seabourne citizens. As part of long age-old tradition, when the owner of a boat passes away, their boat is sunk to the bottom of the ocean as opposed to being inherited by their family. Oddly enough, the Stalkers have been in compliance with this tradition for their victims in an eerie, morbid way…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325277&viewfull=1#post325277)

[Destroyed Ritualli Tome: <Repair>]

(38) The Righteous Rider – This large commercial fishing vessel has been used for roughly about a decade now. Captain Gresdo the Toxicroak is the proud owner of the vessel, although his crew has dropped considerably as Gresdo has high expectations and is known to sail into perilous waters.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325673&viewfull=1#post325673)

(39) XSHO Freighter 413 – Owned by the XSHO Freight Corporation, this large container vessel has been ordered to stay at port due to an incident where a Morgrem was crushed to death by a shipping container snapping from the harness. Malco the Toxtricity, the head of the Seabourne Coast Guard, has ordered Llanas, the captain of the ship, to stay docked while they do a full investigation. He believes it was an intentional murder while Llanas insists it was simply an accident. Nonetheless, they have quickly grown to despise each other.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324699&viewfull=1#post324699)

{Broken Freight Locker: Fire Source}

(40) Seabourne Police Department – While the coast guard handles all of the aquatic law enforcement, this building handles all the Seabourne concerns on land. Unfortunately, while it was able to handle the demand in earlier years when crimes were small, this understaffed and underequipped small police precinct isn’t able to address all of the crimes and atrocities that go on in Seabourne.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323056&viewfull=1#post323056)

=Majutsu Investigation Report= (https://i.imgur.com/DTI0yfk.png) was found here.
@[Kagami] - ~4 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.
@ - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.

(41) Oceanwatch Condominiums – This large condominium building is home to quite a few residents in Seabourne. Generally, it is in good condition and has a nice view of the ocean, but it has its cons as well, including problems with noise and tenants getting on each other’s nerves. The only thing that can’t be explained is who or what is responsible for the odd clicking sound that goes on throughout the building during nighttime hours.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323453&viewfull=1#post323453)

@[Kaba] - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.

(42) The Flying Ace – This black salvaging vessel is owned by Velay the Buizel, who ran away from home and had hopes of being an expert salvager and getting rich off of finding shipwrecks and discovering long-lost treasure. However, he hasn’t found much recently and is often found bartering leftover trinkets for a bite to eat. The Flying Ace itself is in relatively good shape, but without getting the money to maintain it, that may not last for long.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=326006&viewfull=1#post326006)

[=Sigil Fragment 2=] (https://i.imgur.com/SOmj7uL.png) was found here.

(43) Oceanwatch Citizen Ships – As a space for tenants of Oceanwatch Condominiums to keep their boats and vessels, generally this area is well maintained and cleaned, but sometimes busy. And while there’s unassigned spots, the tenants are very particular about who ties down their ship and where.
[B]<DOCKS UNSEARCHED>

[b](43a) Small Marina <UNSEARCHED>
(43b) Dantus’s Yacht <UNSEARCHED>
(43c) Hashani’s Yacht <UNSEARCHED>

(44) Jade Acres Park – This park used to be more active years ago, but over time, it started shrinking as the trees on the outside started dying off, leaving only the trees in the center surviving. There’s an old legend that the park was formed after the dead body of Belthan the Chesnaught, a noble defender who protected the town in ancient times, was buried there and his spirit allowed the small forest there to grow. With the park seemingly fading away, there’s rumors that even his vigilant spirit is giving up…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323347&viewfull=1#post323347)

@{The Altar of Vacancy: Cube-Shaped Hole} Void Rapture GHOST – (5 Sanity Damage)@

[1st Half of the Void Orb] was found here.

@{Dorimugeto: Sunadokei Taburetto} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@

(45) The Multok Apartment Complex (ABANDONED) – This slowly crumbling apartment building on the western side of town used to be owned by Multok the Sableye, who despite being a ghost, was often quite friendly and even liked to befriend his tenants. And then one day, he just disappeared, as if he was ready to move onto the next life, but no note was ever left behind. Eventually the building fell into disrepair and the tenants eventually moved elsewhere, leaving the cold, empty building behind…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325333&viewfull=1#post325333)

{Child’s Lockbox: Heart Keyhole OR <Security>}

(46) The Silver Candle Theater House (ABANDONED) – This large, creepy theater was last used over thirty years ago and has gradually been decaying from the elements. The former owner, Annosha the Hatterene, is said to have kept the theater going as long as possible, even well into her elderly years and even beyond coming down with severe dementia. Those who recall the very last show, “Those Amber, Amber Eyes” ended on a bad note when Annosha interrupted the final performance, screaming and wailing and ordering everyone to leave. Since then, very few have ventured into the old theater house, and no one is even sure how Annosha even died. If she died…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323196&viewfull=1#post323196)

{Broken Mirror Door: <Repair (https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=0309eaef27ca)> AND Indentation of Fragility AND Indentation of Hideousness}

(47) Our Little Paradise Diner (ABANDONED) – This small café and eatery used to be a nice, relaxing place to grab a bite to eat away from the hustle and if Pokémon wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet. It closed down years ago and has slowly been a victim of overgrowth. Sometimes vandals and trespassers try to explore it, but it’s rumored that if you take something away, it forces you to leave something else behind.
<UNSEARCHED>

(48) The Holly Home (ABANDONED) – The Holly family, a family of Mightyena and Poochyena, used to reside here a few decades ago. The mother and father, Mayla and Errando, had four children, Yetna, Mishy, Orlanz, and Kesni. No one knows what ever happened to the family or who is the official owner of the house now, but it continues to stay quiet and empty with all of the family’s furnishings still there, still waiting for them to come home. Most of the valuables have already been burglarized, but there are rumors that one can hear whispers of “the fifth child” and “hours… hours… hours…” drifting around the empty halls and rooms.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325674&viewfull=1#post325674)

@{The Derelict Crib: Body Cavity} Damned Screaming GHOST – (5 Sanity Damage)@

(49) Emerald Fields Townhouses (ABANDONED) – As somewhat of a bizarre anomaly, there was a time when three houses were here. One of the houses, the Elona House, still stands in oddly perfect condition and even looks like it continues to be maintained despite no one actually performing work on it for years. The only catch is those that enter it never come out again. The second house, the Nowela House, lies in ruins, clearly having fallen apart from age and decay. Lastly, the third house, the Dewall House, simply no longer exists. There is only a barren plot where it used to be, and the only slight indication that implies anything was ever once there in the first place is the fact nothing grows in that plot. No grass, no weed, no nothing. Grass-type Pokémon also seem to experience seizures if they stand in that plot for some unknown reason, and it only stops if another Pokémon pulls them out of the plot…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324378&viewfull=1#post324378)

{Foreboding Presence: Location}
@{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Shukufuku no jonzai} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@

(50) The Sunshine Farmstand (ABANDONED) – Sunshine Farm used to sell plenty of fresh vegetables and produce in this once lively farmstand. It also functioned as a brewery, selling fermented Oran ciders and other alcoholic beverages. However, despite years of success, the owner, Kayto the Delcatty, fell on hard times when a customer sued her and Kayto lost the case, forcing her to liquidate all her assets and sell the stand and the entire farm.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325278&viewfull=1#post325278)

[=Assassin’s Cant= (https://i.imgur.com/facowOL.png)] was found here.
@{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Pureto jo} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@

(51) The Sunshine Farm (ABANDONED) – What used to be a warm, lively farm now leans on one side, barely holding up the main farmstead. The former owner, Kayto the Delcatty, was sued for everything she owned and was forced to declare bankruptcy, but even selling off all of the property was not enough to repay what she owed. No one knows where she is now, if she’s even still alive, but it’s been quite a few years now and no one has heard from her since. Some say Kayto was never quite the same, and the last time any Pokémon in Seabourne saw it, it seemed like she left a piece of herself behind in that old, sad farmstead.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325043&viewfull=1#post325043)

@{Hall of the Impaler Hatch: Blood Wreath Offering} Insidious Siphon Spirit GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@

(52) The X House (ABANDONED) – No one is quite sure what is house or building is or who even owns it. The odd thing is there’s no public records of it existing and nothing in the town hall archives even mentions owners, building permits, or any hiring of contractors to build it. Meanwhile, the windows have been sealed with masonry and no one is really sure about the age of the building or what it was even once used for. There is only a single door with the most unusual lock…
<UNSEARCHED>

(53) ThE PiT (ABANDONED) – As another mysterious building, what used to be a small, two-family apartment building was the site of a brutal series of murders where six Pokémon were murdered and all of their hearts were ripped out of their chests. No one ever found the hearts, but instead, the building was boarded up. It is suspected vandals put the words “ThE PiT” in grizzly, blood-colored lettering by the front door. Most pillagers don’t like to visit it. They say some of the decay in the walls, flooring, and even in the ground have the tendency to depict faces…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325003&viewfull=1#post325003)

@{The Shackle Door of the Beheaded: Missing Head of the Blood Sister AND Missing Head of the Shadow Brother} Grim Vision of Torment - DARK (3 Sanity Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@

[Deadpus's Phylactery] was found here.

(54) Pleasant Waters Harbor (ABANDONED) – Most Pokémon in Seabourne will recommend to avoid visiting Pleasant Waters Harbor and have even warned the name is a misnomer. Most of the ruins don’t seem surprising as decades ago, it used to be a boardwalk area with small stores on the ground level and small apartments on the second. Most of the building has collapsed, but vandals and scavengers have claimed that strange, frightening things can be found there, making it an unattractive place to visit. Things resembling their own personal fears and anxieties, as though there’s something psychological about this dark, forgotten place that seems to know more about you than you know yourself.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323333&viewfull=1#post323333)
@{The Deranged Clockwork Door: Corrupted Conduit Pyramid AND Servitude Essence AND Implementation of the Demonic Instruments} – Hellish Deranged Presence – NORMAL (6 Purity Damage)@

(54a) The “Silent Song” Ship <SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323448&viewfull=1#post323448)

{Crucified Starly Effigy: [s]Stake Sacrifice}

@[Fang of the Traumatized] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage) was found here.

(55) The Comfort Forest – This small forest may look like a typical natural preserve or a simple park from a first glance, but it is in fact a graveyard where Seabourne buries its deceased citizens. Instead of graves and headstones, the citizens plant a tree at the site where they bury the body. It was originally started with the intention of starting new life where one life ends. Others have noticed the trees seem to “behave” differently in this forest. Some claim of voices and whispers at night. What’s also strange is it seems psychic type Pokémon have a hard time dealing with this forest. They hear a certain, unbearable screaming in their heads that no other Pokémon seems to hear…
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323869&viewfull=1#post323869)

{Disfigured Headless Gardevoir Corpse: Sacrifice of the Dishonored}
{Unmarked Grave: Depiction of Death}

(56) Velli’s Home – Most Pokémon in Seabourne will tell you to beware of Velli the Sylveon, convincing she’s raving mad and is hopelessly delusional. Her house is in bad shape with the dining room having completely collapsed in upon itself. However, Velli still lives there. Alone. Some wish they would commit her to an insane asylum, but none of the police officers or townsfolk feel brave enough to confront her like that. Instead, she lives mostly like a hermit, growing her own food, living in a decaying house off of a road very few Pokémon still travel on.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323859&viewfull=1#post323859)

[Encrypted Stake] and [=Sigil Fragment 3=] (https://i.imgur.com/DspIJcm.png) were found here.

(57) The Blackstone Mansion (ABANDONED) – This large, dark, forlorn mansion was once the home of Basol the Swanna and Kurita the Swellow. Despite their attempts, they simply couldn’t start a family as none of their eggs would hatch. After they had been reported missing, they were later found dead from what looked like a supposed suicide pact. Now, the house stands cold and silent with Basol’s and Kurita’s possessions still there, caked in dust as the elements slowly cause the mansion to crack and crumble.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324771&viewfull=1#post324771)

{Corpse of the Free: Hole of the Broken AND Home of the Crippled AND Hole of the Traumatized}

(58) Bakot’s Bed and Breakfast (ABANDONED) – This small café and hotel used to be a warm and comfortable place to stay, but the owner, Bakot the Patrat, released the café’s distant location wasn’t ideal and it didn’t see the customers he needed to keep the establishment in business. After only three years of business, he closed up shop and it’s been empty and quiet ever since. Sometimes the wind passes through the broken windows and rings the bell by the door, as if the ghosts of yesterday still visit from time to time.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324284&viewfull=1#post324284)

=The Red Message= (https://i.imgur.com/Ld8A729.png) was found here.
@{Blackened Cellar Door: Blackened Keyhole OR <Security>} Unhinged Nightmare - DARK (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@

(59) The Slacker’s Shack – Unknown to most parents, the Slacker’s Shack, what used to be a house and tavern owned by Lunko the Roserade before she abandoned it due to failing business, now takes the role of a dirty secret clubhouse that rebellious teenage and young adult Pokémon use for late-night drinking, gambling, drug abuse, and other nefarious deeds that they don’t want their parents to know about. While the building isn’t in the best condition and the rebellious Pokémon that use it don’t necessarily clean up after themselves, it is one of the only few buildings on this side of town that at least sees some kind of activity these days.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323478&viewfull=1#post323478)

@[Pureto jo] – ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.
@[Fang of the Crippled] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ was found here.

(60) The Roylea House (ABANDONED) – This old white house has turned gray and dirty over the years of neglect it has faced. No one still alive today knows very much about who Roylea was or even what Pokémon they were, but most are under the assumption they’ve long-since passed away. Usually it is quiet by this house, although the windchime that hangs by the front door still rings as the desolate wind gusts by.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323887&viewfull=1#post323887)

{Old Grandfather Clock: Missing Hands}
{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Atifakutotaburetto}

@[Atifakuto (Artifact)] - ~4 Kurosuōbā~@ was found here.

(61) The Last House (ABANDONED) – As with the Roylea House, no one knows who lived here, either, but there is no name by the door to discern who or what even lived in this now vacant house that was the last one build on this block before city planning decided not to continue developing this area of town due to its fading popularity. So it simply got the name of “The Last House” and it continues to stay vacant, although there are claims that the house is still furnished.
<SEARCHED> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323991&viewfull=1#post323991)

{Black Sanctuary Hatch: Mark of the Lily}

[Obscurité Shadow Essence] was found here.

Neo Emolga

05-06-2022, 01:05 AM

Suspect List

1 Mortek the Garchomp ♂ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325468&viewfull=1#post325468)
2 Tayou the Salamence ♀ MURDERED BY THE STALKERS <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325002&viewfull=1#post325002)
3 Benni the Appletun ♀ <Lewisia's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323084&viewfull=1#post323084)
4 Raboa the Drapion ♀ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323147&viewfull=1#post323147)

@[The Blackened Rose] Horrific Defilement - DARK – (6 Purity Damage)@ was acquired.
5 Santea the Lilligant ♀ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324257&viewfull=1#post324257)

[The Olemus] (Essence) was received.
6 Draiet the Chewtle ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
7 Tatch the Pachirisu ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
8 Namrea the Krokorok ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
9 Devin the Snorlax ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
10 Chenny the Zebstrika ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
11 Vanni the Umbreon ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
12 Shesa the Arbok ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
13 Jackia the Combusken ♀ MURDERED BY THE STALKERS
14 Sal the Torchic ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
15 Verio the Toucannon ♂ COMPLIANT <Lyric's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323661&viewfull=1#post323661)

@[The Demonic Instruments] Infernal Discharge - ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ was received.
16 Farshira the Staraptor ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
17 Kammia the Starly ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
18 Krago the Staravia ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
19 Colbyi the Turtonator ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
20 Jupo the Whimsicott ♀ <Lewisia's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323884&viewfull=1#post323884)
21 Narshen the Cinccino ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
22 Eltzen the Ambipom ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
23 Rochel the Croconaw ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
24 Danuel the Banette ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
25 Ressi the Grotle ♀ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325768&viewfull=1#post325768)

[Aether Prism] was received.
26 Kasso the Heracross ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
27 Sanfer the Druddigon ♂ MURDERED BY THE STALKERS
28 Myta the Chespin ♀ <Colored's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323300&viewfull=1#post323300)
29 Nimsher the Gabite ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
30 Jamsaki the Servine ♀ <Colored's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323449&viewfull=1#post323449)

@ – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ was received.
31 Korak the Nidoking ♂ COMPLIANT <Lyric's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324122&viewfull=1#post324122)
32 Zakra the Kadabra ♀ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323747&viewfull=1#post323747)
33 Sarkkan the Beautifly ♂ COMPLIANT <Colored's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323192&viewfull=1#post323192)
34 Caily the Charmeleon ♀ <Maya's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323521&viewfull=1#post323521)
35 Vocco the Wigglytuff ♂ COMPLIANT <Nicklefool's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323146&viewfull=1#post323146)
36 Altrea the Eldegoss: <Diplomacy> ♀ <Lewisia's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323771&viewfull=1#post323771)
37 Vendros the Noctowl ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
38 Malco the Toxtricity ♂ MURDERED BY THE STALKERS
39 Drestan the Pelipper ♂ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=326089&viewfull=1#post326089)
40 Erine the Swoobat ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
41 Captain Gresdo the Toxicroak ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
42 Min the Golurk (Genderless) <UNQUESTIONED>
43 Jobo the Conkeldurr ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
44 Llanas the Primarina ♀ <Lyric's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325361&viewfull=1#post325361)
45 Ohu the Dhelmise (Genderless) COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=324698&viewfull=1#post324698)

[Broken Vault Key Mechanism: <Repair>] was received.
46 Fletcha the Passimian ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
47 Krish the Mienfoo ♂ MURDERED BY THE STALKERS
48 Dantus the Dragapult ♂ <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323473&viewfull=1#post323473) <ChiChi's Follow-Up Diplomacy> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323503&viewfull=1#post323503)

{<[s]Diplomacy> (https://i.imgur.com/h5dHBlK.png) OR Drug Evidence}

@[Bloody Thorn Wreath (Part 1 of 3)] Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ was received.
49 Yanza the Purugly: <Diplomacy> (https://i.imgur.com/nKQD6ap.png) COMPLIANT ♀ <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325279&viewfull=1#post325279) <ChiChi's Follow-up Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325315&viewfull=1#post325315)

=Seabourne Police Report= (https://i.imgur.com/CFTvblK.png) was received.
[Emerald Fields Townhouses Burial Location] was received.
50 Velay the Buizel ♂ COMPLIANT <Lyric's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=325543&viewfull=1#post325543)
51 Hashani the Noivern ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
52 Velli the Sylveon ♀ COMPLIANT <Colored's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323687&viewfull=1#post323687)
53 Terron the Linoone ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
54 Betta the Zigzagoon ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
55 Kabi the Lycanroc ♀ COMPLIANT <Nicklefool's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323086&viewfull=1#post323086)
56 Tresko the Raboot ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
57 Talchea the Azumarill ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
58 Nali the Azurill ♀ <UNQUESTIONED>
59 Junlus the Accelgor ♂ <UNQUESTIONED>
60 Kulsso the Rampardos ♂ COMPLIANT <ChiChi's Interview> (https://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php/33294-Stalkers-RPG-Dustwoken-Main-Action-and-Team-Status-SEASON-1?p=323578&viewfull=1#post323578)

#[Eye of Shadow] Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage))# was received.

Neo Emolga

05-06-2022, 01:06 AM

(Bonus fluff post in case needed)

Neo Emolga

05-06-2022, 01:13 AM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 1: Day Cycle Action now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE ("https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3232472/my-countdown)

(Monday, May 9, 2022 12:00:00 AM EST)

C0L0R3D Guildmaster Wigglytuff ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee

EmeraldSky

05-06-2022, 02:07 AM

I'm going to start by searching the library--maybe there's still some books in there that have clues?

Scytherwolf

05-06-2022, 04:38 AM

Gonna try searching (13) The Baywill Museum and Gallery. Seems like a museum could have some interesting info?

Lychee

05-06-2022, 05:49 AM

2013
I'm going to search 40, the police department. Maybe I'll get some special intel by snooping around, but at the very least I can find out who is on the force.

C0L0R3D

05-06-2022, 05:51 AM

Chakramaster

05-06-2022, 12:32 PM

Noblejanobii

05-06-2022, 06:10 PM

ARandomTool

05-06-2022, 07:20 PM

sammy0295

05-06-2022, 08:20 PM

https://i.imgur.com/AwHwFta.png

We have like, invisibility, right?

https://i.imgur.com/Fj13P1R.png

I wanna wander about in the orchard.

Search (2) Beachwood Orchard

Neo Emolga

05-07-2022, 12:38 AM

I'm going to start by searching the library--maybe there's still some books in there that have clues?

As soon as the dawn arrives and you find the library has opened, you leave Benni’s farm behind and you make your way toward the old library, moving along on the old worn-down road that leads straight to Seabourne, paying no mind to the dust that settles on your small, yellow feet as you walk along. You find the library straight ahead, but before you head inside, you decide to look around the outside perimeter first. The morning sunlight is bright and easy to work with, so you decide to take advantage of it with your searching.

From your initial evaluation, the building is still in relatively ok shape, but could use some restoration work here and there as some of the old bricks could be replaced and it appears the old windows haven’t been given the cleaning they need for quite a whole. A little bit of groundskeeping wouldn’t hurt either, as it seems a few of the weeds here had settled in along the wall.

Around the back corner, you see a small ripped piece of paper that catches your eye, and when you pick it up, it seems to be the second half of some note or message:

https://i.imgur.com/07tmdcy.png

=Sarkkan Note 2nd Half= (https://i.imgur.com/07tmdcy.png) has been added to the Team Records.

You try to look around to see if the other half of it is somewhere around, but it’s just no where to be seen. As you look off into the distance, you wonder if maybe the other half was blown away in the wind and could be miles and miles away from here by now. You hope that isn’t the case and maybe somewhere around here, the other half of this can be found…

After finishing your search outside, you head inside where it seems not too many other Pokémon have arrived. It’s quite peaceful and quiet inside among the many shelves and tables and chairs of varying sizes and heights to accommodate Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, although the furnishings and furniture are quite old and look like they’ve seen many years of use from generations of Pokémon coming and going. The marble floor almost feels cold beneath your yellow feet, and the height of the shelves almost seems overwhelming, but you investigate what you can within your reach, realizing stationed in the aisles, there are old metallic adjustable ladders and platforms for smaller Pokémon to use to reach the higher shelves. As you look up, the upper walls and ceiling almost reminds you of a gothic cathedral in style.

Many of the books seem quite old, covering histories of Pokémon civilizations and famous figures, catching your curiosity, but unfortunately you simply don’t have the time to dive into all of the books located here. Other books cover all kinds of various subjects from famous architecture, agriculture, biology, and early machinery. You can sense from the books that the Pokémon here in this world aren’t quite as technologically advanced as humans back in your own home world or Origine, but they still have come a considerable way with their engineering and societal structures. You’re convinced you won’t find anything like computers, smartphones, and GPSs while you’re here, but you’re still impressed nonetheless.

It isn’t until you get to one of the shelves in the back that things seem to take an odd turn. After using one of the adjustable platforms to raise yourself up to the 9th-level shelf, you notice the books here deal with ancient theology and mythology. Some of them even deal with witchcraft and other occult-like teachings and manuals, bound by brown and black leather covers, strange emblems, and spidery-like runes in another language that you’re convinced you’ll probably not learn in this lifetime.

You feel a presence coming from a few of the books, and from an initial investigation, it looks like some kind of strange, brown, rectangular stone tablet was placed here. Alongside of it appear to be a batch of strange black pages. You first start with the stone tablet, wondering why it was placed here. You grab the edge with your paw, and pull it out from the shelf…

Maya has inherited 2 Points of Kurosuōbā…

The tablet… it feels so strange in your yellow paws, and it feels like it’s trying to connect with you, almost assimilate with you in a way that makes your spirit shiver for a moment. You’re taken back, not sure if this is some kind of trap, but you find yourself unable to fight it, disarm it, or prevent it from settling upon you. It’s followed by a slight sense of trance vertigo, but when you try to regain your bearings, you see the tablet is written in some strange rune-like wording. And the language is odd as you look upon it. You can’t read it, but somehow, you feel like maybe in another past life… or in another time and space… you could. It doesn’t make sense to you, at first…

@[Shukufuku no jozai] - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then reach for the pages, and upon your yellow paw clasping around them and pulling them out of the shelf, you feel that same familiar feeling… yet again…

Maya has inherited 3 Points of Kurosuōbā…

The pages… you feel like you can almost understand them, but not quite enough to grasp what they truly say. It’s almost frustrating as you like you can just taste the answers, but you still feel like you’re a million miles away from them. Meanwhile, it seems like the essence of these strange, enigmatic artifacts have strangely affected you in some odd, mysterious way.

@ - ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

The pages aren’t complete and it seems like this is only part of the story… whatever this story is about. You frantically search the rest of the shelf, trying to find the remainder of the pages, but it seems like they’re simply nowhere to be found. It almost makes you dizzy to come here looking for answers, but now you have far more questions than you can possibly hope to answer…

You take the strange relics with you, but you decide to head back to Benni’s farm early, simply overwhelmed from everything you have found here. This presence, this feeling now encircling your spirit… you’re not sure what it wants with you. It still lingers within you by the time you make it back to the farm. You almost feel like you just simply want to sleep…

This tablet and these pages… they all seem so mysterious. Where did they come from…?

Are they even from this world… you wonder…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-07-2022, 01:23 AM

Gonna try searching (13) The Baywill Museum and Gallery. Seems like a museum could have some interesting info?

When the morning arrives, you leave Benni’s farmstead and you beat your dragonfly wings to quickly speed over the Beachwood Orchard and the Kako Industries crop fields. The large museum quickly comes into view and you speed your way towards it, first investigating the exterior grounds.

From your initial assessment, it seems Hershal has put a lot of time and effort into making this building his passion and pride, though it seems it was all built during a time when he thought Seabourne would develop quickly and citizens and tourists would be flocking to his museum in droves. However, it still stands mostly alone despite plenty of hard work and time being put into the fanciful architecture and building construction.

Inside, the collections that Hershal has put together are quite impressive. The first half of the museum includes many fine art and sculpture collections from what appear to be a wide variety of Pokémon artists and craftsmen. Many of them depict scenes of nature, famous battles of wars long ago, portraits of famous figures, and paintings of both cities and towns. You wonder if these are all actual places in this world, or if they’re simply original creations straight from the artist’s imagination. But you feel it’s likely a combination of both.

Nonetheless, in the art gallery, you don’t find anything that looks suspicious or gives off an odd aura of any kind. A few of the sculptures and paintings give off strange and eerie vibes from some of their macabre depictions, but you feel that’s mainly the artist’s taste and style. Nothing in your Savant senses raises any alarms…

In the museum portion of the building, you find many old artifacts, tools, jewelry, equipment, and old furnishings that you think might be thousands of years old. Many of the exhibits remind you of what you might see in a museum back in Origine, but here the artifacts and relics seem almost alien in nature. Many of these varying relics leave you wondering just how and where these were created. Some of these tools have obvious similarities to tools you’ve seen before, like tongs and dining utensils, but others seem to be so mysterious in shape and design that you can only guess what they’re used for.

Upon arriving at another exhibit, you find yourself looking upon old furniture from a strange, almost dark-ages era. Most of these tables, chairs, and containers don’t seem too out of the ordinary, but you come across one cabinet that has some strange, uncanny feeling to it. It almost seems to be made of blackwood and bone, and nestled at the top seems to be a skeletal Murkrow. At first you think its quite an impressive and accurate artistic depiction that this carpenter put together until you take a much, much closer look and you realize this is no artistic work…

It's an actual Murkrow’s skeleton…

The odd thing is the skeletal wings that should be there just aren’t and look like they were intentionally removed at one point. You also try to see if the cabinet can be opened, but it’s locked shut and you can’t seem to find any kind of lock mechanism or tumbler. But then you realize… the Murkrow… is the lock. Trying to open the doors seems to make the skeleton budge, as if something related to it is preventing the doors from swinging open…

{Skeletal Murkrow Cabinet: Missing Wings} has been noted in the Team Records.

You try to search the rest of the museum, wondering if the wings were just misplaced around here, but you simply can’t find anything in any of the storage rooms or in any of the other exhibits. In one of the crudely neglected storage rooms, you find several artifacts here that were either damaged or destroyed as a result of shipping or simply were found broken in the first place. Some of the items here look like they’re in a queue to undergo restoration before they can be put on display, but it looks like they’ve been neglected for quite a while now.

In one corner, you find what appears to be an ancient suit of military armor that still seems to be in relatively good shape. It seems like the only reason it’s here is to redo some of the paint and etchings, but you decide it would be way better if you use it as a form of protection.

Scy the Yanmega has equipped the +|A| Commander Armor|+ (4H, 2S)

You put it on and it fits quite well, feeling it was uniquely designed to offer strange protection, but also adapt to varying Pokémon sizes. It even feels comfortable, further protecting your dragonfly-like carapace.

You’re not sure how Hershal might feel about you using this ancient commander’s armor, but then again, you remember it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. Besides, you feel it was meant to be used to protect the wearer, not forever sit in a storage room.

You decide to head back and fly to the farmstead, letting the others know what you found here.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/469.png Scy the Yanmega (L: Bug / Flying)

Health: 24/24 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/16 | Dodge Rate: 20%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Commander Armor|+ (4H, 2S)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-07-2022, 07:33 PM

2013
I'm going to search 40, the police department. Maybe I'll get some special intel by snooping around, but at the very least I can find out who is on the force.

When the morning arrives, you decide to head deep into town and scope out the police station, hoping to get an idea of who works there and maybe get an update on the situation and what they know. You also hope to find something there related to the Stalkers and get a better idea of the situation at hand.

As you effortlessly levitate your egg-shaped body over the dusty old road, you see only a few Pokémon out and about, and even then in broad daylight, they seem a bit at unease. Nearby, Ninetales and a Noctowl look at you curiously, having never seen a Tapu Lele like you before. While they seem to innately know you’re a Pokémon, it’s the very first time they’ve seen one of your own kind before.

Upon arriving at the police station, you see the small, gray-stone police station not too far off from the dockyard. The weather seems somewhat sunny today and the smell of the sea quickly hits you as you approach to get a closer look. You decide to start by searching the grounds and exterior first. From what you can see, the police station is quite a sturdy building, especially toward the lockup area. A strong felon Pokémon, even one capable of causing earthquakes and fissures, isn’t going to be able to cause any kind of trouble in there. Meanwhile, the rest of it seems quite formidable and there aren’t too many windows. The only ones appear to be small slits, enough to allow some illumination and ventilation, but narrow enough to prevent any intruders or escapees.

The exterior doesn’t seem to reveal too much. Nothing seems to catch your attention, so you decide to head inside. From an initial assessment, it doesn’t seem at all welcoming. The lack of décor and the abundance of simple furniture seem to add to the intimation that almost makes you feel like you’re here for a crime you didn’t commit. Meanwhile, you can see the building was intended for a staff of at least two dozen Pokémon, but many of these desks and stations are completely empty and just have been used for storage. It’s also obvious there aren’t any official detectives working here. At one point, it looked like there were at least four with their own offices, but now there’s nothing but piles of papers and boxes on these desks.

From the staff that are around, you can see Dantus the Dragapult is the sheriff here with Yanza the Purugly as his deputy. Both of them look quite busy and don’t seem to pay you much mind as you pretend to be here for filling out permit forms. You decide to make a note of Dantus and Yanza working here, wondering if they might be able to provide some information later if they’re willing to help and cooperate. But, you imagine they don’t seem like the warm, fun, and friendly type judging from their behavior.

Once Dantus and Yanza aren’t looking, you decide to quietly slip by the main office area and check out the rest of the police station, heading into the archive and evidence room. You imagine there might be a lot of useful material here, but it likely isn’t the place Dantus and Yanza want you poking around in. But you tell yourself you’re doing this for their own good and the rest of the town. You have a feeling they most likely won’t grant you permission and there’s no time to hassle with that.

As you quietly enter and close the wooden door behind you, you can see even after flicking up the old light switch, it’s still rather dark in here and the only old overhead ceiling light gives off a very dim illumination. On top of that, it’s also rather claustrophobic, dusty, and not the most organized place with some loose papers and binders here and there that still need to be organized. It’s quite obvious a file clerk is another staff position they need to fill here.

You skim the shelves and find most of files, binders, boxes, and folders are organized by date with a first-in first-out basis. You find the oldest documents here are close to ten years old, which seems to be their record retention span until they go into offsite storage with anything unsolved being considered a cold case. After examining a few at random, you see typical cases of vandalism, theft, and domestic disputes. Occasionally there are murders, but nothing seems supernatural about them. Killings out of revenge, muggings gone horribly wrong, or simply an unhinged individual losing their minds are all there, but nothing out of some occult-related incident that you thought might be related to the Demoni.

It isn’t until you get to the records that are roughly six years old do you find something unusual. One binder seems to have the label of “Majutsu Files” and you find unusual mentions of Pokémon that seemed to belong to some kind of cult, sect, or organization. You begin to wonder if this is in fact related to the Demoni and the Stalkers and it seems like there might be a link here. One file in particular, dated 28KTN3013, almost makes you do a double-take when you read it.

https://i.imgur.com/DTI0yfk.png

You realize you and the others staying at Benni’s weren’t the first group of Savants that were here before…

=Majutsu Investigation Report= (https://i.imgur.com/DTI0yfk.png) has been noted in the Team Records.

Other similar reports can be found involving other members of this “shadow organization” that was never identified before. Other mentions of Majutsu can be found here, but there isn’t anything conclusive when it comes to evidence in this binder.

At least… not until you find a roughly beat-up cardboard box right besides it. You also see it’s been labeled “Majutsu Materials” with a black marker. You decide to lightly cut the packaging tape to carefully open it, hoping no one is going to be looking for this box anytime soon.

Inside, you find two strange objects that were confiscated and put into this box. The first one seems to be a kind of plate with a strange, reflective surface. You pick it up to take a closer look and suddenly you see your own misty and distorted reflection. Behind your reflection, it seems almost hazy and dreamlike, and suddenly it flushes you with a strange, mystifying feeling…

ChiChi has inherited 4 Points of Kurosuōbā…

@[Kagami] - ~4 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

You feel almost overtaken for a minute, not sure what just seeped into your spirit. It almost feels like a stain on your soul, unable to be washed or flushed out. And you’re not sure what it even means or why this is happening.

You then try to examine what appears to be some kind of jagged, thorny-shaped symbol or insignia on a dark metal plate, but it too… seems almost infected and tainted with something truly unnatural…

ChiChi has inherited 2 Points of Kurosuōbā…

You shiver, feeling like more than half of you has been detached and disconnected from this very realm of reality. It almost feels as though some other kind of dimension is trying to lure you and enrapture you through these bizarre artifacts. But you can only wonder… how were these relics put into this box so nonchalantly? Surely whatever Pokémon put these here had to have been affected by this or at least knew about it… right?

You sheepishly stash away the odd emblem plate, truly hoping no one else comes in here with you because with the way you look and feel right now, you’re quite certain they’ll know you’ve been tampering with things in here and they would catch you red-handed.

@[Shocho] - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

After shaking off your uneasiness temporarily, you decide to head out of there, trying desperately to remain quiet and keep your relaxed composure. Thankfully, when you exit the archive and evidence room, Dantus and Yanza are nowhere around. You quickly head for the front entrance, push your way out the front door, and turn around to make your way back toward Benni’s farm. You feel light-headed, but you try to calm yourself. The open air at least makes you feel a little better, now.

Other Pokémon around you are almost suspicious of you and wondering what might be wrong. A nearby Chansey stops to take a look at you while an elderly Ampharos stops crossing the road to watch you, but you try to calmly levitate and float away from them, making sure none of them watch you as you make your way north back to the farm.

Thankfully, after heading down that final road and looking behind your back, you’re almost certain no one watched you head back to the farm.

…

…almost…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/786.png ChiChi the Tapu Lele (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-07-2022, 08:38 PM

2016

Okay, note to both self and all. Stay away from that ‘PiT’ until absolutely mandatory. O-or do go whenever, I’m not really in charge of you… sorry.

2017

Something to do, though… by looking through archives of past Stalker journeys, Lita’s taught me one important fact: get your bearings with those Stalkers!

[ACTION DECIDED: Search (36) Seabourne Coast Guard]
Focus on looking for anything Stalker related, but I’ll take what I get.

While ChiChi decides to investigate the police station, you decide to do your part this morning and see what the Coast Guard has been up to. While you initially feel there’s much more likelihood that evidence was found on land, it’s quite possible something was found on a ship out at sea or possibly washed up on shore. And if something was, the Coast Guard would know about it.

You head south toward the shore, trotting on the old dusty path on your two small green feet. After a rather long walk through town and admiring the many stores and houses that make up the heart of town, you eventually arrive at the docks and come across the rather large and highly secured black and gray stone building. You see it’s three stories tall and made to be resistant to the water, both low and high tides. There are only a few windows, and they’re kept secure with metal bars in front of them, making sure no one uses the windows as an entry point.

You first start by searching the exterior, but even after getting your feet literally wet in the water, you just don’t see anything that seems strange or out of the ordinary on the outside. After shrugging, you decide to just head inside to see what you can find.

The interior is somewhat spacious and while the inside doesn’t exactly feel homey or incredibly warm and welcoming, it at least seems organized and functional. The overhead lighting gives enough illumination here and there are a few Pokémon here simply waiting for their turn to be called up to a receptionist.

You decide to quietly and stealthily slip by the scrutiny of the staff and do your own looking around. From what you can see from the staff list, Malco the Toxtricity runs the show here, and judging from his composure, he’s definitely not one for fooling around and seems to take his job seriously. Meanwhile, two of his direct reports, Drestan the Pelipper and Erine the Swoobat, are also working here. Watching Drestan from a distance, you feel the pelican bird Pokémon is trying his best, but when Malco isn’t looking, he doesn’t look so sure of himself. Meanwhile, Erine, on the other hand, seems to be more of a go-getter, working hard and currently having discussion with a Vaporeon. You can’t quite make out what they’re saying, but neither of them seems to be at edge for the time being. While they don’t seem to be friends, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for alarm.

From what you can find, there doesn’t seem to be much in the ways of Stalker reports. Of the papers you find laying around, many of them are simply patrol reports, procedure documentation, and other things regarding logistics. They’ve either kept what they’ve found very secure, or they simply haven’t found very much…

When you come across one of the temporary material holding rooms, which you find is meant for holding dangerous or potentially harmful material found on the beach, in the water, or confiscated from a criminal’s ship, you find an odd batch of black papers that seems highly unusual considering the norm for papers around here seems to imply most papers used in this world are white paper materials.

You decide to pick up the stack of black papers and you suddenly feel very strange…

Colored has inherited 3 Points of Kurosuōbā…

This kind of paper… these runes etched into them… nothing about it makes sense. You feel a strange, almost spiritual hook pull you in for a moment as your green hands make contact with them, and the you feel those presences squirm their way into your soul. The runes… the words… they almost seem like something you once knew, but like a forgotten memory, nothing comes out of the darkness. But something… something about it feels important, so you decide to take these with you…

@ – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

It makes you feel a bit light-headed, almost as if you wouldn’t really mind simply lying down and letting yourself drift off to sleep for a little bit…

After you regain your composure, you search out the rest of the Seabourne Coast Guard building, but nothing else seems to appear before you. But these black pages… somehow you feel these really don’t belong here. They just can’t be normal…

Once you’ve investigated everything that you felt was work looking into, you decide to head back north to make it back to Benni’s farm. You feel you have a few more answers and new leads to look into, but there are still a lot of questions you have…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 3/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-08-2022, 12:52 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/1RwvMmbr/Jirachi-Neutral.png

I'm gonna take it a little easy for now. Make sure everything is okay at the school. Maybe I can get some lead from there.

https://i.postimg.cc/MpdPR9gk/Jirachi-Cheerful.png

Maybe I can even make a kids day a little better and play! At least help try and cheer them up if anything.

(18) Copper Plains School

When the early morning arrives, you decide to head over to the Copper Plains School, located right in the heart of town. After levitating your way toward the school itself, you draw a bit of attention to yourself as other Pokémon in the streets look toward you, wondering who you are and why they’ve never seen your species of Pokémon before, but you try not to pay too much mind to it and carry about your business. Instead, you carry on with a confident smile that assures passersby that you’re not up to trouble.

When you arrive at the school, quickly you can see the large light-gray stone building looks like it’s been here for quite a few years and you can easily tell it wasn’t always a school. From your best guess, you imagine it was originally built to be a multi-level factory with large assembly lines, mainly manual ones for the most part. The grid-layout windows give you that impression as well, and those were never renovated with something different. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of exposed pipes and ducts, which look like they aren’t used anymore, but were most likely used to expel exhaust or other fumes.

Overall, the building does seem somewhat bland without much character to be impressed about when it comes to architecture. You also take a look around and notice there’s no playground, no sports field, no recreational area, and not even a path to take a walk or a park bench to relax and enjoy the outside. To you, considering this is supposed to be a school for kids of various ages, something doesn’t seem right about that…

You decide to search the exterior first, trying to see if the Stalkers were around here. There’s a little bit of litter here and there, but at first, you don’t notice anything too out of the ordinary. By the back loading dock, there’s an old dumpster and a few empty metal barrels besides a pile of splintering wood crates and broken down pallets. You feel a strange sensation coming from something tucked away behind one of the barrels, so you decide to take a closer look. It almost seems to be a white and red ball, and when you place your hand on it…

#Blood Hemorrhage – NORMAL (4 Health Damage>)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 72 out of 100: Failed!

Chakra has suffered 2 Damage to Health (halved from Steel resistance)

Immediately you snap back and drop it, realizing some hideous mechanism in this sphere tried to pierce into your hand using a spiked protrusion that was previously embedded in this device. It struck a little bit, causing you to wince in sudden pain, but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Carefully, you take a second look at this nefarious contraption, and you see it looks like whatever caused it to react this way can’t trigger it again.

Carefully, you pick it up a second time, and look it over. It almost seems to be an eye of sorts. A strange, hideous bleeding eye. And you’re not even sure if this is your blood… or the blood from something else. But it continues to drip every now and then, dropping a crimson teardrop of blood every two or three minutes onto the ground. And it never seems to stop…

Having a strong inclination to believe this is some macabre Demoni device, you decide to take it with you, especially since there’s a possibility a child Pokémon could discover it here and hurt themselves.

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

After reviewing the outside of the perimeter, you decide to head inside to see what the interior of the school is like. And upon entering, you find it quite drab in nature. The walls are plain white, the tiled floor is a dull brown and black marbleized motif, and the hallways and walls are totally bare and feel so lacking in color and life. But then as you recall, this is an experimental school attempting to focus far more on technical skills like math, writing, and science with nothing of the creative arts like music and painting. However, you didn’t think they would purge out any semblance of color or creativity here as well…

You go from classroom to classroom and most of them look the same save for variance in the learning materials on the walls, mainly taking the forms of charts, posters, and reference materials. From an initial review, you feel like they really went out of their way to purge out any form of distraction that students might face here. Instead of colorful learning materials that catch the eye and fun and creative books, everything seems so black and white when it comes to what these kids look at all day long. You can definitely sense all day, math and technical literature is being pounded in these students’ heads without much of a break to just do something fun for a while. By giving them nothing else to focus on save for the lesson at hand, there’s very little room to be distracted by something else.

You find there’s quite a number of young students here, including Sal the Torchic, Kammia the Starly, Krago the Staravia, which you learn is the big brother of Kammia, and Betta the Zigzagoon among others. And a lot of these students just seem to be anxious, quiet, depressed, or just complacent with this setting, as though they have come to expect nothing fun or interesting to come out of any of this situation. It seems to you like it’s been this way for years, only lately it seems like it has only gotten worse with the anxiety induced by the Stalkers and the rise in murders.

It seems the only teacher still teaching here happens to be Hashani the Novern, and judging from the photographs, he seems to be fairly old. He also doesn’t seem to be very cheery at all and presents the lectures and material with a very pessimistic attitude, as if he expects the students he’s teaching to not perform perfectly. And judging from his paperwork you come across, anything less than perfect scores merits extreme disappointment.

From the ledgers and staff lists you find in the administrative office, there used to be three other teachers. Hetton the Slowking, Culkant the Floatzel, and Quan the Marshtomp. But as you flip through the pages, there doesn’t seem to be any indication of what happened to them and where they are now, but you get the feeling that they were here not that long ago. It makes you wonder if they left and ran for their lives or if something terrible happened to them…

You continue to search through the administrative office and you find some rather unpleasant discoveries. You didn’t suspect it at first, but it seems Copper Plains School is incredibly strict when it comes to discipline, enough to the point where they’re willing to inflict physical harm on a student for disobedience. You find some rather unpleasant disciplinary tools including a striking baton and even arm, leg, and appendage restraints along with muzzles and cuffs. There’s even security guard body armor, which seems wholly unnecessary, but it is what it is.

You decide to take the Security Armor and put it on, feeling you’ll put it to much better use than whatever seemingly cruel intention previous wearers of it may have had in the past…

Chakra has equipped the +|A| Security Armor+ (2H)

It’s a bit snug in some areas, but otherwise it seems to fit you just fine. You feel as though the interior plates and padding should be able to provide a little protection against what you might encounter, especially considering the grotesque eyeball you came across earlier.

After not finding much else around here, you decide not to linger around, almost feeling like you wished you didn’t come across the ugly truth behind this school. You decide against sticking around to get some playtime with these children, having a feeling this is definitely not the place for that kind of activity to happen, and they would be far better enjoying that outside of school…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Security Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-08-2022, 09:31 PM

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972125532869242941/972198034022744074/Lewisia_Neutral_Portrait_smol.png "I believe I shall remain behind today. While searching is important, it might always be worth questioning our closest ally at the moment to see what she knows. For that reason, I shall Speak with Benni regarding what she knows about the situation thus far."

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE, MODEST
+1 Shared Type (Grass)
+Modesty Grass vs Dragon

Rather than heading out this morning, you decide to get Benni’s take on the whole situation over breakfast. She’s prepared some fresh muffins, fruit, and sweetened jam rolls for everyone and offers a few to you. She’s also prepared a batch of fresh tea and fruit drinks as well and while it’s not the home you remember back on Origine, it still feels welcoming and homely in a new but comforting way that makes you feel at ease here.

https://i.postimg.cc/8cth4wg9/Benni-Normal.png “Oh hon, thanks for speaking with me. It’s good to have company again and even just you all being here is a relief.”

She looks away for a bit, trying to gather her thoughts about the situation. From what you can tell, she’s lost many hours of sleep over it, but after a few moments and a deep breath, she looks to you. You can tell she trusts you, even though you have only known each other for a short while.

https://i.postimg.cc/3rvNZtYv/Benni-Worried.png “I’ve seen a number of things…”

“…I guess I should start with Raboa,” Benni sighs. “She works at the Kako farm just south of here and… well, we used to be friends. Up until recently. We… used to sometimes chat, maybe even grab a drink together. She liked to talk about country music and I liked to share baking recipes, like the ones for these muffins and pastries I made this morning. I’d even show her a painting I did every now and then and she always gave me such nice completements.”

“I just don’t know what I did wrong,” Benni swallows hard. “Maybe it was something troubling her at home, with her family, or at her job. I just don’t know, but she just became very bitter. She grew impatient, like I was trying to waste her time by asking if she wanted to meet for breakfast sometime. I even invited her to come here when she had a break but she snapped at me and shouted no right at me. She… really didn’t need to do that!”

“I tried to meet with her as I saw her working in the field,” Benni explains, her expression looking very anxious. “I just wanted to talk, to understand if I could help her in any way, but she told me to… … I don’t want to say it. I went home in tears and cried for nearly an hour. I felt so lonely again…”

…

She takes a minute to gather her emotions again, and after she sighs and tries to focus, she looks to you again.

https://i.postimg.cc/8cth4wg9/Benni-Normal.png There was… something else I noticed.

She had something new with her. It almost looked like a black flower or something, which seemed a bit odd. We really don’t get too many black flowers around here, so I don’t know where she found it… or if it’s even real. Something about it didn’t seem right last time I saw her with it…”

“It almost reminds me of what I saw two days ago at the Macro Market when I was shopping for a few odds and ends like groceries and some new baskets,” Benni further explains. “I saw some nice pottery around there and I thought I might buy one or two if they had a design I liked. Now… this might just be me, but there was a very strange vase there that… it just didn’t seem like it belonged with the others. The other vases and pots were nice and colorful, but this one was just… jet black with some odd red… markings or symbols on it. I almost picked it up but as soon as I touched it, I felt this horrible… horrible feeling of darkness and hopelessness. I suddenly jumped, thinking I heard a snarl in my ear, but there was no one around. I just decided to leave it alone and I ended up walking out of the store not buying anything at all, which I almost never do. I don’t know why, but I just… haven’t gotten the courage to go back there, which is the oddest thing.”

https://i.postimg.cc/3rvNZtYv/Benni-Worried.png “I had… a nightmare that evening,” Benni sighs, shivering a bit. “I was running through some… dark factory or something, I can’t explain… but every time I tried to leave and go through the exit doors, I just ended up in some other dark hall or assembly floor. It was like some shadow was taunting me and I couldn’t understand anything logical anymore. And there were just… thorny vines growing and whipping around everywhere. Out of the floor, in the ceiling… in the walls too. Oh god… one of them wrapped around me and pulled me into this… dark hole and I… I screamed before I suddenly woke up.”

“I’ve lost sleep just wondering,” Benni shivers, looking down a bit as she collects her thoughts. “Just… what happened to Raboa? Why did she suddenly become like this? Is… I don’t know… is that vase and that rose she has related? I don’t even know if I can talk to her about it. She would think I’m out of my mind and I can’t even argue with that…”

https://i.postimg.cc/8cth4wg9/Benni-Normal.png “Listen, I’m just… happy to have someone hear me out for once,” she tells you as you look intently upon her. “I just… know there’s something going on around town but it’s hard to talk to anyone about it. At least… not until you all arrived…”

She takes a long sip of tea and it seems to slightly give her some comfort. But still, from the look on her face, you can tell this has been bothering her for quite some time…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-09-2022, 12:12 AM

He puts a jar of suspicious black fog under his bunk. Why is he keeping that stuff?
"Alright, no point in a silver tongue if I don't lick anyone with it... General interview with 55 Kabi the Lycanroc, absolutely and always Diplomacy."

...Hey, why'd you say that out loud, I'm the one writing your actions.

"And I'm the one doing them."

Once the morning arrives, you decide to head out and track down Kabi. After searching the town directory, you find she’s a student at Beachwood University.

After you manage to track her down, you introduce yourself and use your artistic way of talking to her. From your observations, she seems focused and quite practical, not easily distracted by the things around her. You find yourself taking the side of a “help me help you” stance with her. If she can help you uncover more information about the Stalkers or anything she’s seen that obviously doesn’t belong, you can deal with it so she doesn’t have to and that’s one less thing to distract her from her studies, which you gather is something she deems important.

#55 Kabi the Lycanroc has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/dVsVr5gF/Kabi-Normal.png “Good, because there is something you can help me with. Or should I say someone.”

“Vocco is a Wigglytuff that lives in Twinbank Apartments,” Kabi informs you. “In fact there’s quite a few of us that live there because the rent isn’t too bad and it’s next to the university. But I wish he didn’t.”

From what you can gather, it definitely seems like this Vocco that Kabi has informed you of has been a daily menace to not just Kabi, but quite a few other Pokémon as well…

https://i.postimg.cc/mZjqhV3C/KabiFury.png “He’s stolen my things, Sarkkan’s things, and I’m sure he’s stolen Caily’s stuff as well. He steals more things than a kleptomaniac on adrenaline! And I’ve had enough!”

“I’m sick of having my things taken away from me, and I know he’s selling them to other Pokémon. I shouldn’t have to take drastic measures and hide my things just because that ******* wants to make quick bucks from other Pokémon’s belongings. I can’t find my grandmother’s gold bracelet anywhere and I know he’s the one who stole it and probably sold it. She meant to pass that bracelet down to me and that was irreplaceable!”

https://i.postimg.cc/dVsVr5gF/Kabi-Normal.png “Do us both a favor and investigate him. I’m sure he has something of value he stole from someone else. Maybe even these 'Stalkers' that Pokémon around here keep talking about, although I have yet to see any evidence of them myself. But I have other things that need my time besides them.”

“I can’t get anywhere near Vocco because he knows who I am and he’ll never confess the truth to me. You, on the other hand… he doesn’t know you and maybe if you act like you’re interested in buying some of his stolen items, he might let the tongue in his fat mouth slip and confess to something we may both need to know. And I can’t rely on Sarkkan anymore. It’s like he’s given up on trying to get to the bottom of this. We used to be friends, but I just can’t work with him anymore.”

“Besides that, Caily told me she found some kind of strange, locked hatch on the campus grounds toward the back of the main building,” Kabi informs you, calming down a bit. “She said she wanted to show me sometime to see what it’s all about but really, I haven’t had the time to go on a sleuthing run. She wastes her time with these things and it’s no wonder why her grades are getting hit as a result. But that’s her and her own business. If you’re interested, talk to her about it, but I’m quite sure it’s nothing of any value.”

“Look, I need to go to class, but if there’s anyone who might be hiding a trove of dirty secrets, it’s Vocco. If you find anything, let me know, and I’ll do the same if I learn of anything else going on.”

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/122.png Nickolas "Nicklefool" Foligan the Mr. Mime (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Hisuian Zoroak, Mr. Rime, Decidueye, Gardevoir, Aegislash
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-09-2022, 01:05 AM

https://i.imgur.com/AwHwFta.png

We have like, invisibility, right?

https://i.imgur.com/Fj13P1R.png

I wanna wander about in the orchard.

Search (2) Beachwood Orchard

While Lewisia has her chat with Benni, you decide to slip out the back and do some searching of your own. You find having Benni distracted definitely makes this significantly easier...

Mainly Benni’s orchard, even though you’ve heard she really dislikes it when other Pokémon do this. But you’re confident you won’t be caught. At least you’re hoping you won’t.

You make sure you look behind you to ensure no one is watching and you then carefully make your way into the orchard, taking special care to leave as little evidence as possible that you were here. Especially when it comes to footprints left behind from your hooves.

From what you can see, Benni definitely takes very special care of these fruit-bearing trees and berry bushes. They’re well-fertilized, protected from any kind of destructive bug Pokémon, and the fruit is incredibly fresh and ripe for the picking, although you reject the temptation of grabbing one and snacking on it. You did, after all, only just eat breakfast not that long ago.

Passing through the rows and rows of fruit-bearing trees and bushes, you don’t think anything seems to be wrong here. At first, you question if this was really worth possibly getting in trouble over, but you continue with your search anyway.

And you almost manage to comb through the whole orchard without anything too eventful happening… at least not until you get to the very southwestern corner of the orchard. You see a small patch of dirt here that looks like it was recently disturbed, as though someone recently buried something here. It wasn’t quite obvious at first, but it stood out to you after you noticed the discoloration.

You look around you to make sure the coast is clear and once you confirm no one is watching you, you decide to dig through this particular spot. After displacing the dirt a few inches downward, your hooves make contact with something solid. You remove the dirt from this metallic shape and soon enough, you discover it’s some kind of metal box. You wrestle it out of the ground, blow off the dirt, and find the latch to open it. And once you see what the box contains, you’re almost completely shocked.

Drugs. Narcotics to be exact. There’s dozens of liquid vials and different types of syringes here along with a manifest of all the contents inside, likely as a part of this being prepared to be sold to a dealer. And from that list, you find these cocktails are called Raze, supposedly one of the most powerful and hallucinogenic drugs out there. While you may not be familiar with much of Seabourne Town’s laws and regulations, you have a pretty good feeling this is way out of line.

Why this is buried in Benni’s orchard is anyone’s guess. At first you think that some nefarious criminal is hiding them here, but you assume that initially judging from Benni’s hospitality. But then it strikes you that Benni might know about this and is hiding something. In fact, it might even be hers. You decide to take it, thinking the police might want to know about this or can give you answers as to who might be the one really responsible. At the same time, it also serves as a litmus test. If Benni asks and seemingly accuses the Savants if anyone has been in the orchard, you’ll confirm she knows about this cache of Raze suddenly missing and that it was hers the whole time. While you appreciate her hospitality, you still feel your conscience has to prevail when it comes to things right and wrong.

[Raze Cache] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You quickly put the dirt back into place and try to make it look exactly the way you found it. You even take a look up at the sky and it seems to be getting cloudy. Good you think. If it rains, that should make it impossible to tell I was ever here…

You decide to make your way out of the orchard, but then something else catches your eye just before you leave. From a distance, it almost looks like a rusted rectangular piece of metal, which seems a little unusual. As far as you can tell, Benni doesn’t use any harvesting machines.

But as you take a closer look, there’s something very different going on here. You see it’s not metal at all, but instead what was an old piece of paper, left to become dingy and dirty just sitting in the elements. It almost seems worthless to you until you flip it over.

And it seems like the most unusual note. The text is written in a strange style and the letters almost seem to glow despite the condition of the paper. Meanwhile, the passages almost seem like some kind of strange, prophetic narrative…

https://i.imgur.com/mx2mDKI.png

=Ohnashan Note= (https://i.imgur.com/mx2mDKI.png) has been noted in the Team Records.

Yume is mentioned several times along with some other strange-sounding names. But what is Yume? And who is this Ohnashan that seemed to have written this? Are they even still alive?

You take it with you, not sure if it might serve as some kind of link or guide. Having been here long enough, you decide to carefully and quietly use the road to head back to Benni’s farmstead, also ensuring you hide the raze cache in a very hidden spot that not even Benni would think to look in. Just in case…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-09-2022, 11:00 PM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 1: Night Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/lpm0tCS.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3238428/day-1-night-cycle)

(Thursday, May 12, 2022 11:00:00 PM, Time EST)

C0L0R3D Nyan Pikachu ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee

ARandomTool

05-10-2022, 01:48 AM

Lychee

05-10-2022, 05:07 AM

C0L0R3D

05-10-2022, 06:40 AM

Scytherwolf

05-10-2022, 11:19 AM

Think I'll search (46) The Silver Candle Theater House. .O.

Chakramaster

05-10-2022, 11:31 AM

Noblejanobii

05-10-2022, 01:19 PM

EmeraldSky

05-10-2022, 04:07 PM

I will take a risk and search Birthright Chapel

Neo Emolga

05-10-2022, 11:04 PM

Cracking his knuckles, he writes down notes on his glove with a particularly nice fountain pen he totally didn't just steal from the Lycanroc why would he do such a thing.

Afterwards, as the sun goes down, he checks them.
"...Yup, ink runs when you have sweaty hands. Oh well, in any case, you know what they say... "THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME..." to do dirty business in stolen goods. Time to talk to our local fence..."

Diplomacy-Talk to #35: Vocco the Wigglytuff.

After the sun sets, you decide to have a conversation with Vocco the Wigglytuff, and already knowing a bit about how he operates gives you the edge in building your reputation about him. He isn’t too hard to find as his large shape and pink and white skin result in him standing out by the entrance to the Twinbank Apartments, where you know he lives.

When you approach him, you politely introduce yourself, but keep your tone down low, as if you’re going to engage in a shady conversation. You take on the persona of a thief and scoundrel yourself, speaking in hushed tones, keeping your sentences brief, and that you make this more about business. He seems to take a liking to your approach and lightly looks to his left and right to make sure no one is within earshot.

#35 Vocco the Wigglytuff has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/sgphmzFb/Vocco-Normal.png “So, you’ve come looking to buy something?” he asks you. “As long as you don’t tell anyone where you got it. And trust me, I have ways of finding out who’s got a fat mouth around here.”

“No,” you smile with a guile composure. “I’ve been told what you have is valuable, but a smart buyer never completes the transaction on the first visit. First, we negotiate, but before that, I want to know more about you. Tell me about yourself. And your ‘suppliers.’ And by suppliers, I mean Sarkkan, Caily, and Kabi.”

https://i.postimg.cc/zXHWLWxz/Vocco-Happy.png “Ha, what, are they accusing me of stealing from them again?” he laughs. “Did they finally get evidence? I doubt it! Please don’t tell me they hired you to investigate me, because then you’re both dumb.”

“They didn’t hire me,” you tell him. “Does it look like any of them could? They have nothing to pay me with and I don’t work for free. I’m onto something with the three of them but I don’t have what I need, yet. Help me help you. I think one of them might be a Stalker. And dirt found on them means eyes are taken off you. So tell me what you know.”

https://i.postimg.cc/sgphmzFb/Vocco-Normal.png “Fine, but these Stalkers are just a dumb rumor. What, are you afraid of them like they’re the boogeymon or something?”

“No,” you firmly tell him, standing collecting before you toss a lie his way. “I had a personal connection with one of their victims. Details you don’t need to know about. But let’s just say there’s a blood debt I intend on cashing in on.”

You just show your silence, and suddenly he feels a bit taken back. You make it clear you mean business and it’s something you take seriously.

https://i.postimg.cc/sgphmzFb/Vocco-Normal.png “The deal is Kabi hasn’t been worth anything as a ‘supplier’ lately,” he informs you. “Haven’t been for a while now. She’s hiding her stuff somewhere new but I haven’t figured out where, yet.”

“She’s also been spending more time away from campus and her apartment. Totally not like her, usually. I don’t know whether she’s found new friends or a new place to unwind but frankly, I don’t give a damn. It’s easier without her around anyway.”

https://i.postimg.cc/zXHWLWxz/Vocco-Happy.png “Caily, on the other hand… she’s hilariously clueless. She misplaces her things along so it’s not hard to pluck a thing here and there. She might have rich parents out of town.”

“If you ask me, I don’t think Caily is any kind of ‘Stalker’ or murderer,” Vocco giggles. “She’s way too much of an imbecile. You’d think by now she would have gotten her head out of her ass, take a breath of fresh air, and have a big brain moment, but no, she’ll never wake up. She’s the kind of Pokémon a Stalker could take out and she’s never know what happened. You sure wouldn’t see me getting any kind of sympathy on if that were to happen.”

https://i.postimg.cc/sgphmzFb/Vocco-Normal.png “And of course there’s Sarkkan,” he rolls his eyes. “Sarkkan and Kabi used to be friends but I think Kabi got tired of him or something. I mean let’s face it, they’re nothing alike and it seems like every passing day their friendship turns more and more into a rivalry. They used to be study buddies and hung out, but I don’t see what a freaking wolf sees friendship in a butterfly. That’s the kind of thing that was doomed from the start. She’s more the instigator when it comes to that whole relationship.”

“Anyway, enough about that,” Vocco replies to you. “I’ll show you the goods for now, but it’s only a sample preview.”

He then shows you a few of his most proudest possessions, and you only act interested before seemingly going on auto-pilot. Most of jewelry and baubles aren’t worth incredibly much, but he does have a way of overselling his wares, pointing out their uniqueness and rarity as opposed to speaking the truth that it’s all only metals and stones that just happened to be rarer than all the others.

After yawning, he decides to head off to sleep and doesn’t even mention farewell. You see that the night sky is now fully active, so you decide to turn around and head back to Benni’s farmstead.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/122.png Nickolas "Nicklefool" Foligan the Mr. Mime (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Hisuian Zoroak, Mr. Rime, Decidueye, Gardevoir, Aegislash
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-11-2022, 12:41 AM

2012
I'm feeling a little shaky tonight...

2013
But it definitely sounds like Bennis friend the Drapion has got something on their mind, and doesn't want to talk about it. Could be anything, but could also be a clue!

2014
I'll go talk them out of whatever foul mood they're in!...Or sympathize. And ask about that weird flower... There, now I'm motivated!

Talk to 4 Raboa the Drapion ♀ and use Diplomacy

Having heard a bit about what happened between Raboa and Benni, you decide to see what the story is from Raboa’s side. And you feel confident you can talk her out of whatever is really bothering her.

The main focus you intend on targeting is how all of a sudden it seems. Surely Raboa has a reason for it.

You find Raboa outside not at the Kako Industries Farm, but instead by the Seaport Lofts where she lives. And you can easily see this is not a clean or nice apartment building. You could easily see yourself getting tired of seeing the garbage everywhere all the time and that certain furnishings are breaking down and falling apart. But Pokémon that are struggling financially just have to put up with it…

As you realize, Raboa has no actual ownership of the Kako farms. She’s only a worker there and you figure that might be one reason among many that daily things like that eat away at her. Besides her, you can see she’s already had a few bottles of hard cider and you imagine she’s feeling the effects.

You introduce yourself and it seems Raboa is a bit perturbed that you’re interrupting what really just seems like brooding to you. And then you ask her if everything is alright.

https://i.postimg.cc/vZzrrn6p/Raboa-Sw-eat.png “No. No, in fact that’s a stupid question. Nothing is ‘alright,’ can’t you tell or are you-“

You instead sit besides her, showing you’re intent on giving her time to speak, vent, complain, or simply speak her mind. You can tell she didn’t expect this from a total stranger and it seems like it’s something she hasn’t felt for a while. Not since she’s started pushing everyone back. Including Benni.

“I want to know what’s hurting you,” you tell her.

…

#4 Raboa the Drapion has become Compliant.

You make it clear you know, but you’ve shown you’re not angry with her and you’re not confronting her over what she did to Benni.

https://i.postimg.cc/vZzrrn6p/Raboa-Sw-eat.png “Everything… everything hurts,” she tells you bitterly. “Every day I wake up wondering ‘gee, I wonder what god-forsaken thing is going to piss me off today’ and I probably won’t be ready for it. I’m never ready for it.”

“Was it always like this?” you ask her, empathizing with Raboa. “Or did this only just happen recently?”

A cold breeze suddenly gusts by as you look to Raboa intently. All the while, it’s deadly quiet as the only light around you seems to be from the moon and an old streetlamp.

“N-No, it wasn’t…”

…

It wasn’t until you came across that thing. Wasn’t it? That “flower.”

Your eyes say it all, and your innate psychic power is able to probe into Raboa’s memories and emotions. The answer is clear to you that no, no it wasn’t always like this. That thing did it to her.

“It’s like I… I know I want… but I… I-I can’t…” Raboa mutters, but is unable to piece together the emotions she feels.

“Give it to me,” you assure her. “You know it has done nothing good for you. You only hold onto it… because it wants you to. Don’t think about it, just get rid of it like you’re ripping off a bandage. It has to be quick or it’ll try to stop you.”

“I…”

She does as you say, but what happens next is not what you expect. Instead of handing it over, she tosses it into the air, the only way she can quickly free her dark bondage to it. Instinctively, you try to catch the jet-black flower in the hopes that it doesn’t break and shatter on the ground.

And you successfully catch it, but…

@Horrific Defilement – DARK (6 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 99 out of 100: FAILED!

…

…

Have you always been happy, Chichi? Have you?

H̺͎̩ͤ̐ͥa̫͕̯̣̟̲̗̠̟Ve̯̻̬̤͈ ̭̮̗̲̰̲ͫ͊͆̋̌͗Ỳ̺̥̬̰̝̀͛̿ͥo̰͋U͈͔̮̙͙͔͓̖̭͎?̎́͑̏ͩͬ̍̍ ̽̚

…

“I… deserve to be happy.” You think to yourself. You know you’re not wrong, but…

…

…

“Like ȟ̬̩͉̙̄ͣ͋e̫̙̮͙̰̦̯̦͓̭̭ͩͯ̅̆ͯ̈̌̇ͨͤͧl̯̪̥̤̩l̈́̓̍͐̽̒̍̒͑ͤ̔ ̖̙̤͔̤̝̼͖̹̫̝̗̙̪̼͆̆ͤ̉ you do.”

ChiChi has suffered 3 damage to Purity.

…

You forget everything for a moment. What you’re even doing here, what time it is, and part of your mind even manages to get you to think you’ve forgotten that you’re being watched and that there are eyes and t̘̔͝hǐ̠̙ͯͩͅñg̋͊ͪ̋͐s̆̍̏ͦ̄ͤͦ ä͉nd̻̲̮ ̷̲̮̭͚͙ͩ͆ͤ͐͆it̳̮̕’͔̲̟̈́̌̑s͍ ͯ͒̒ͧ͐͏alͬ̓̐͗̒͊̓ͦ̌́ͨr͑̄͆ͩeǎ̺͇̫͇͔̩͇͙̫̹̺̽̐̿̈́͂̏̆ͮ̀͗dy ̘͔̼̠̩͖̬ ͕̞̼͍̥̘̃̔͆͒̈̚g̫̗̝̺̮͔̖̫̺̱̫̳̪̹̏̃̍͒̓̓̀͊͌̑ͨ̇͐̌ot̲͙̤͓͇̜ͅ ̩͔̪̟̰̩ͅt͒ͯͪ͒ͨ̾ͯͩ̈́ͤe̼̖̹͔̩͈̳̯͙͛̃ͣ̾̈͗̒ͤͣn͗̄ ̱̱̘̫̗̮̝̹͕̗̙̜̦̠̐̃̈́̋ͯ̓͋̀͋̐͌̓̌ͩͯͅf̯̭̦͔̤̔͋̿͆̈ͣͥ̐̍̓̒̃ͭͅ ͕͖̬̣͚̦̟a̔̋̾̎ͯ̋̃r͔̼̟̰̞͍͙̯̼̭̟̙̩̒̉̏ͮ͂̋̃͐͐̍ͯͦͨ̚ͅ ̂͊͗̓̒̈́ͣ̆̎ͤ́̐̆̾b͂͐̈ͭ̎eỵ̪̭̝̞͍̪͚ő̭̪̭̘ͨͭ͑̈́̐ͣ̉̔̉̎̐̎̾̋ ̹͓̞͕̜̖͚̟̠̟͍nḋ̰͚̥̝͈͚̤͉͍͕̳͑̇͑̌̍̾͂̋̍͛ ̮̠̜̰̝͚ͤ̌͆ͪͩ̚s̥̤͇̘̹̤̤̬̹̙̺̹͔͕̠ͧ̐̅ͦ͛̄͗̂͊̽̏̓̓͗̚ja̖̲̯̖͙ ̻̣͍͇̲f̥̯͔͎̭͈ͅjͮ͌̈́ͩ͑̐͋ ̳͙̖̝͉͈̗̜̮̪͇̠̾ͧ̃͋ͧͪͧ̋̅̓ͯ̚ ̠̯̘͓̫͙̳̅̽ͮ̈́̋̓͑i̮̩̤͓͓͓̩͇͔̯̘͇̬ͨ̄̒̐̎̉͐̔͛̃̑̒̈̚ͅoͦ̆͌ͦj̠ ̹̫̦̥͍̞a͕͙̮͔̭͔̺̺͇̳̹͚;̣̙̯̥̮ͫͭͣ̆̅e̩͇̍̾a̙̗̖͔͖̣̤̮͔͚̭̺̯ͅ ͖s̫̙̮͉͕͑͒̅ͧͩd̪̝̗̫̲̖͙̯͈͚͙̲̭͖͈

ChiChi has suffered 3 damage to Purity.

@[The Blackened Rose] Horrific Defilement - DARK – (6 Purity Damage)@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

…

… “Are you okay?”

…

…

No. No. You think. None of you are real. You’re all just… dead things. You, him, her, everybody. What are all of you thirty… fifty… a Ḧ̷̗͉̱̠̭̭̱͚̯̞̺̑ͣ̍́ͥ͆͐ͬ͒̂͘͟Ǘ͖̯̗͕͛̈́̚N̵̋̅͝҉̞̮D͐́ͤͩ̀̚ ̨̘̳͍̱̱͈̰͕͕͇̬͔͚͈͋́̇͆ͫͬ̊̚̕R͟͡E̪̰̮̖̣͙͇D̷ͭ̾̌̕͞ years from now…?

…

Ỵ̤͎͚̫͎͕̹͚͓͖̱̤͔o̘͇͉̗̫̗̰u’̯̖͔̩̤̱̙̣͓̖͎r̳̦̩͇̬͈̘̤͚̺̦̥ͅ ̪̙e̳̘̦ ̖͈̲͍̱͙̻̫̮̬ͅa̘̥̣̙̳̰̜ll̤̼͔̖͓ ̣͔͕͈̠̙̦͖̱̜̞̱ͅj̻̩̹̯̞̺u͖͇͇̠̭̬̟st͖̦͇͚͉͙ ̪̭͓̫̭̫̺̯d̹̱̲͇̭͇̬̯̳̥̗e̖a͙͎̼̲̤̫̱̦̭ͅd t̜̠̳͚͇̞̹̻̫̙̜h̺̗̣̱̲̰̘̟̳͈̳̹͎̞̝i̘̙̤͙̗n̫̬͉̖g̳̞̙̜͖̖̞̘͓͔ ͎ͅs͈̥͈̩͖̤̮̰̯͕̪̳̮…̰”

…

You leave and head back home for the night. Ha ha you think. No, that’s a lie. Benni’s home is not my home.

…ṱ͔he ̟̯̼͍̼ͅde͓͍͙̘̬a͈̣̳͍̤ḍ̤ ̜̫̙̫͓̟̞̮͕̰̺̲̣̣h̪̯͙̺͔͕̗̲͍̝͍̣a̯̠͍͎̩̯͕v̦̮̗̪͙̲̫e n̞̤͙͓̪̳̲̪̺͔̦ͅọ̞͙̭̮ ̼h̞͔̪͔̳͔͕͈̣͕̮̼͎͕o̰͖̥͓̣̪̭̞̟̹͕ṃ̹̮̘͕̘̥̬e...̥͇

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/786.png ChiChi the Tapu Lele (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

sammy0295

05-12-2022, 07:17 PM

Search (9) Macro Market

Neo Emolga

05-13-2022, 12:51 AM

2022

Okay, based on some observations I know exactly who I’m talking to. With Diplomacy, just so ya know.

2023

Hello there, I’m terribly sorry for bothering you at this hour. It’s just that… I’ve heard a rumour that you’ve been trying to find out more about these Stalker things? And I’ve found a weird note that I think links to you, though I haven’t brought it with me. What exactly is up with this?

[ACTION DECIDED: Interview 33, Sarkkan the Beautifly with Diplomacy. Hone in on details regarding the odd note we found.]

Given what you and the other Savants have come across with regards to what seems to be a conflict situation between Sarkkan, Caily, Vocco, and Kabi, you decide to see what Sarkkan’s side of the story entails.

When you find him at his apartment at the Twinbank Apartments building, you knock on his door and it seems like he was about to head off to sleep, but you managed to get a hold of the Beautifly just before he headed off to bed. It seems he isn’t bothered at all by you being here and he invites you in. While his apartment is a bit small and his sleeping area is only a few feet away from his kitchen, it still feels clean and cozy there and there’s a small wooden table in the middle that can seat three small to medium Pokémon. Anyone larger than that and it would definitely be very cramped.

“Hello there, I’m terribly sorry for bothering you at this hour,” you tell him, “It’s just that… I’ve heard a rumor that you’ve been trying to find out more about these Stalker things?”

https://i.postimg.cc/rp3pZ7fX/Sarkkan-Normal.png “Hey there, no need to be sorry about that,” he replies to you in a way that feels reassuring. “I’ve studied for long hours at night before, but thankfully tonight I don’t need to do exam prep.”

He decides to make some tea for you and himself and while the teapot is being warmed up on his stove, he grabs a chair and sits down, keeping his wings spread out and tries to make himself comfortable. You grab your own chair, sit down with him with your leaf tail sticking out the back of your seat and decide to hear him out.

#33 Sarkkan the Beautifly has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/KzT86QWK/Sarkkan-Sw-eat.png “Stalkers… yeah, where to get started with them…” he begins, trying to collect his thoughts. “What I’ve figured out is this isn’t your typical mystery story. I’ll admit, I do read a lot of mysteries. That’s definitely my favorite literature genre. For fun, I try to figure out the endings and who did it before the end of the story and I’ve been getting better at getting it right. It’s fun if you’ve ever tried it.”

“Stalkers are… not your everyday mystery story. I realized that early on as I tried to put together what is really going on in this town and now I’m getting a bit nervous none of this is what I thought it was. I even tried to study a few past real-life detective cases and ok, those made sense. The evidence, the trials, and the motives all made sense most of the time. But here, barely anything makes sense but I’ve been trying to piece together whatever I can. These murders just seem more like happenstance and none of the victims seems to know their attacker. That’s really unusual.”

After the metal teapot whistles with steam coming out, he pours out a nice cup of hot tea for you and himself. It has a kind of nice, almost floral like flavor and aroma to it, which you imagine is probably his favorite.

https://i.postimg.cc/s2vXc394/Sarkkan-Happy.png “Drink up!” he tells you with a bright-eyed expression. “I think I like this flavor the most. It’s a mix of cinnamon and cyanflower extracts with a few slight notes of hazelleaf. Plus it helps me sleep easier. That kind of thing helps when I just need to rest my head and not think about all the studying material I have swimming in my head just before an exam!”

You take another sip and while it’s still a bit hot, you can see why he likes it, even though it’s your first time ever having a tea like this. Nonetheless, you thank him for his hospitality and ask about what he’s found about the Stalkers, even if it doesn’t seem at all normal.

https://i.postimg.cc/rp3pZ7fX/Sarkkan-Normal.png “I realized early on that these Stalkers are definitely capable of the supernatural,” Sarkkan tells you, not sure how you’d react to that. “They can definitely blend in and they are clearly wearing disguises. The other thing I realized is they always strike at night, never during the day.”

“Here’s where things get a little weird,” Sarkkan explains, pulling out one of his notebooks, putting it on the table besides his teacup, and then opening it before flipping through page after page of notes. “Each Stalker has their own unique way of killing their victims. Like some kind of twisted signature. One of these Stalkers has some kind of… I dunno, power, tool, or something that causes rapid decay. As in these victims will be found in the morning as skeletons. Like Chalpi the Girafarig and Wilfrea the Nickit. Pokémon literally saw them the day before totally alive and well and the next day it was like they had been dead for over a decade. I just… can’t even begin to explain how or what makes that possible. There’s no kind of fungus or bacteria or just… anything that’s capable of that.”

https://i.postimg.cc/KzT86QWK/Sarkkan-Sw-eat.png “It… gets worse,” he tells you, flipping to the next page. “Another Stalker does something that really messes with the victim’s mind. There’s been a few cases of Pokémon being found in a self-mutilated state. Like they were… yuck… trying to rearrange their skin and body parts until they bled out. I don’t know what would ever drive a Pokémon to do such a thing, but there’s got to be something supernaturally wicked about that. Like some kind of mind control or something. Right now, the only victim I was able to do some research on was a Floette named Kaliate. I couldn’t really stomach to look at another…”

“Beyond that, I’m having trouble drawing conclusions,” Sarkkan tells you regrettably, taking a sip from his tea using his proboscis. “The fact there’s multiple Stalkers working all at the same time makes this harder. And they have no qualms about killing anyone, even children. I tried to get Kabi’s help with some of this but she told me I really shouldn’t be meddling with this stuff. I don’t get it. We used to be good study buddies when it felt like we were the only ones who actually cared about doing well in our classes. Now she’s barely ever around, doesn’t reply to notes I leave for her, and every passing day it’s like she grows more and more distant. I’m wondering if maybe she’s just not really taking any of this well at all.”

“I’ve found a weird note that I think links to you,” you explain to Sarkkan, “though I haven’t brought it with me. What exactly is up with this?”

https://i.postimg.cc/KzT86QWK/Sarkkan-Sw-eat.png “Weird,” Sarkkan explains. “Do you know who wrote it? Well, I guess I’d have to see it to be able to get a better understanding about what it is. Definitely bring it next time, I’m curious to see what this is about.”

“Well, it’s getting late,” Sarkkan tells you as you both finish your tea. “Hopefully you enjoyed the tea and hey, please come back and visit whenever you’d like. I hope you can find something out there that can help us understand just what is really going on around here…”

“And hopefully soon because… yeah, I really don’t want to die…”

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 3/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-13-2022, 02:59 AM

Think I'll search (46) The Silver Candle Theater House. .O.

Feeling more brazen tonight, you decide to head west toward the western deserted side of town, rapidly flickering your dragonfly wings and speeding through the dead of night as you’re intent on seeing what kinds of dark mysteries are hidden at the theater house, which seems to be one of the more intriguing locations in town with an odd history.

From the outside, you see the large theater house is in a very ugly, decrepit state, although that doesn’t seem unusual given this area of town has fallen apart and has become more of a cancer with many blighted structures. From what you can tell, it looks like it’s been like this for over 30 years now. The stone walls are coated with dirt and are crumbling while the supporting columns that once gave the theater a regal and proud appearance now look filthy and grimy as dead vines have wrapped and forked their way around them, looking as if they were trying to strangle them before dying as some last macabre death wish.

Meanwhile, the grounds have become untamed with overgrowth that looks like at one point it tried to swallow the building, but then everything mysteriously died. The vines, the weeds, the gnarled trees… no piece of vegetation was spared. Dead, knotted plants in hideous-looking clusters and thorn bushes are scattered about, looking like they all wanted to infest and devour the area before the land itself became unbearable and then everything rotted into a dead husks of their former, seeming completely mad former selves.

You dart and hover around using your wings as you inspect each aspect of the building from the ground, the walls, and nooks and crannies, quite sure there’s nothing on the ground you want to land on it for. However, you don’t find anything around the large building worth noting. Quite frankly, it’s a hideous place and in the moonlight, it looks like something fresh out of a nightmare.

You decide to head in and go through the front entrance, the way the theater-goers used to go through many years ago when this place looked far more respectable. Now, all the glass windows on the doors are broken, the brass metal frames and handles are filthy and crusted over, and something smells stuffy and stale as soon as you step inside.

Inside the main gathering area, the lighting is nearly nonexistent and it’s almost pitch-black inside, which would have been a problem if you didn’t have eyesight that could accommodate low-light conditions. The main hall, which used to be large, wide, and regal as a place where attendees would gather and buy tickets, enjoy the finest wine before the performance, or simply wait until they were called to gather in the main theater. You see the floor is made of a fine marble and you imagine it used to look nice and fancy before all this debris and rubble from the crumbling ceiling started falling all over it. Meanwhile, the main ticket desk has almost fully collapsed and almost all of the wood has rotted away, but you can tell at one point it was made by a master carpenter and had a very finely-crafted presentation to it. The area that was reserved for wine-tasting and serving has also suffered a similar fate with the once fanciful casks having broken and rotted while most of the wine bottles and wine glasses have been broken into pieces while the few remaining ones are covered in grime and would need a serious cleaning to be sanitary enough to drink from again.

The now grimy stone walls also used to display fine artwork and memorabilia from past performances. All of that, however, has now been slathered with filth and rot and now the depictions look much more nightmarish. Pictures of fine landscapes have mold and grime over them, making them look discolored and freakishly apocalyptic while paintings of famous Pokémon and past actors, now with mold and decay, make them look much more like fetid zombies. One painting of a female Goodra in fine sophisticated dress attire has her mouth covered by a blotch of black mold, and now she looks like a hideous ghoul that’s screaming with her jaw barely hanging on.

You decide to carry on and hover your way into the main theater hall. You don’t even need to push the door open to go inside as they’ve already rotted off their hinges and now lay like dead bodies on the marble floor.

As you enter the main theater, you can already see about half of the seats, which came in various sizes and forms for Pokémon of many different shapes and sizes, are now all missing while the other half are ravaged, broken in half, and/or rotting with more mold of their own, all creating a hideous display of neglect and forsakenness. You think maybe a mere two or three of these once cushioned and comfortable seats in this entire theater are still in working condition. As you look around the rest of the theater, you see the once-fancy ceiling with its regal arches, VIP balconies, and lavish glass chandeliers is now a gross caricature of its former self.

Meanwhile, the performance stage is another horrid sight to behold. Half of the wooden stage has collapsed in on itself while the other half is splintered and rotting as well. Still, despite it being a sad and pathetic sight of what used to be a rich, lavish place for sophisticated Pokémon to enjoy an evening of socializing and fine performances, you don’t find anything out of the ordinary, though you imagine those with weak nerves would have bolted out of here way before they even got to this main theater area.

You then search the back area where theater performers had access to dressing areas, props, makeup supplies, and things of that sort, although you find more rot and neglect here as well all along the floor, walls and ceiling. And most of those costumes, makeup supplies, and props are all still here, although like the rest of the theater, they’ve fallen apart, dried up, and rotted over.

Past the many collapsed lockers and cabinets where the theater staff and performers once kept their personal belongings, you see an odd, mirror-covered door that shows a dim reflection of you. You take a closer look at it and it seems like it’s the entrance to some kind of special, back area that might be for the lead performer. You try to grab the fancy door handle and pull it open, but it seems like it’s locked and then suddenly…

#Grim Visage – GHOST (7 Health Damage)# Trap 20% Evasion Test: 78 out of 100: Failed!

Out of nowhere, the entire mirror S͕̠̻̭h̿ͫ͛ͤͨ̃ͣa̹̣͈̤̺̯͍ͦ͒͗̓ͩ̉ͤt̮̩ͥ̇te͚̺̝͕̝͐̌̋ͬ͌r̃͐ͥ̆ ̬̖͖͎̖͔͐̉s͎͂ ̟̑i̻͎ͅn̫̺ͫ́̇ͅt̩̭̲͆̉̚o̘͍͔͗̊ͤ ̮͖̟̼͓͈p̯̼̪͛ͭ̚ie̠̞̮͓̳͉͈ͭͭ̌ͨ̾ͤ̅c̯͈̺͙̖̭ͩ͑ͬ̾̊ͯes̘̱̐̓̿ͣ ̳̗ and you almost yelp in horror as you suddenly feel invisible, blade-like knives and sharp edges violently slice into your carapace…

Scy has suffered 3 Health Damage (4 Damage resisted by +Commander Armor+)

Your armor takes most of the damage, but you still feel the pain. And it’s pain that you can’t understand. None of the shards even touched you before they fell to the ground. But… it was as if the mirror and your reflection became a sudden extension of your actual self, but… how is that possible? you think…

Nonetheless, you look before you to see the mirror, now in a pile of pieces. Besides the door, you see two circular indentations, and the only things you see scribbled here are “fragility” and “hideousness.”

{Broken Mirror Door: <Repair (https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=0309eaef27ca)> AND Indentation of Fragility AND Indentation of Hideousness} has been noted in the Team Records.

You think you can put it back together with your repair ability (https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=0309eaef27ca), but something… seems off. It’s like the reflection of the mirror… your reflection… is f͇̯̋̄r̫̲̯̫̖̊̌͂ͥͮo͆̆̏̾̈́̊̃z̠͆eͫͨ͌n̩̳̻̯͎̭ͅ into the shattered pieces…

All the while… the whole thing just seems so…

…so…

…̈̓̒ͭ̊ͩiṇ̥͈̰̱̞̾̓̈́͗̏̾̒ͅh͍̖̞̦̦̹̙͗ͬ͛̈ͧ̽̿e͎̜̐͂re̐̃͑̽ͪ n̝̝̯̞̮̏ͤ̃͛̓͒ͅt̹̤̳̺̻̺͖͑̓̾̈́͗̌ͤly̗̳̩̙̳̣͂̆̆̄͆̔ ̹̰̥̮͛̃̈́ͧë̖̯̔v͖̹͓̰͈͖̓̃̔͑ͮͣ͑ͅil̫̲̤̯͓̰͋ͩ͒́͗̑…̖̟̞̅̾͒̃ ͎

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/469.png Scy the Yanmega (L: Bug / Flying)

Health: 21/24 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/16 | Dodge Rate: 20%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Commander Armor|+ (4H, 2S)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-14-2022, 02:09 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/Bnq7XrYc/Jirachi-Annoyed.png

Well that last experience wasn't the most pleasant, but at least we have...something of an idea. I'll keep searching and move to another spot.

https://i.postimg.cc/YCnRjhmM/Jirachi-Smile.png

I'll search: (8) Seaport Plaza and see if there's anything I can find here.

As the sun goes down and the moon becomes visible in the eerie sky, you decide to head toward Seaport Plaza. It’s a small strip of stores and while one of the retail lots is vacant, it’s still close to the center of town and still feels at least somewhat secure being in close proximity to the rest of the Seabourne community.

You notice the only two active stores, The Canopy Bakery and First Choice Hardware, both recently closed for the night and both Tatch and Namrea have gone home. While things have become quiet here tonight, you decide that gives you plenty of time to take a look around without anyone looking suspiciously at you.

You start by searching around the exterior while there’s at least some light left remaining. The grounds aren’t too shabby, although a little bit of maintenance in terms of weeding and filling in cracks is needed here and there. Overall, the structure is still in pretty good condition even if it isn’t new and it seems like Tatch and Namrea are respectful of the property.

By a nearby empty metal barrel that has started to rust, you find what looks like an unusual slip of paper seemingly tucked away here. You reach in and pull it out, flipping it over to see what’s written on the other side. It seems very familiar and you notice familiar names like Sarkkan and Vocco. This definitely seems like the missing other half of the note that was found earlier…

https://i.imgur.com/C6Gl6FT.png

=Sarkkan Note 1st Half= (https://i.imgur.com/C6Gl6FT.png) has been added to the Team Records.

You continue your search through The Canopy Bakery, which is closed for the day, but still carries that welcoming aroma of fresh baked goods even into the evening hours. You can also sense some scents of fruit jams and chocolate, which start to make you hungry.

The interior seems quite welcoming with plenty of hanging plants and homestyle décor to make the bakery seem welcoming and cozy. There’s also a few seating areas with cushioned chairs of all sizes to accommodate different Pokémon. In all, it does seem like a nice and cozy café and bakery. You feel as though it’s almost a shame it’s closed at the moment, as you wouldn’t mind trying a sample.

You decide to continue through the First Choice Hardware store which seems like a useful place to have around. The metal shelves are in good condition and the layout is fairly simple. There isn’t much in terms of décor as it’s a place mainly for utility shopping. You see the metal shelves and racks are mostly in good shape, but restocking seems to be a major issue here. You’re not sure if its because Namrea the Krokorok isn’t managing it well or if there’s supply chain issues somewhere along the line, but you can see it being difficult to come here time after time only to leave empty-handed because what you wanted just wasn’t in stock. Still, like the bakery, you don’t really find anything that seems suspicious.

In the third and vacant lot that was last used as a wine and liquor seller, you can see some of the décor and signs are still hanging, but the shelves are totally bare and the dust and debris was never cleaned. It’s also a bit eerie inside and you find a few instances of broken glass that was never cleaned up when unsold inventory was being carried out. In the manager’s office, you don’t find very much was left behind in terms of books and accounting ledgers. The desk was also left behind and doesn’t seem to be in very good condition, likely the reason why it wasn’t taken. In one of the broken drawers, you find what appears to be a metallic armor set, possibly either forgotten or discarded. You have the notion that it was worn in case the owner was attacked by a looter, but now that this place is abandoned, it won’t have that issue any longer. Since it doesn’t look like anyone is ever coming back for it, you decide it would be of much better use to you.

You see it’s stronger than your Security Armor, so you decide to exchange one for the other and hold onto the Security Armor in case someone else needs to use it.

Chakra has equipped the +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H) and has moved the +|A| Security Armor+ (2H) to the Team Inventory.

You don’t find very much else remaining her after doing your search. As it’s starting to get late, you decide to head back to Benni’s farmhouse and get some sleep. Overall, you’d say it was a good night for searching, and as you climb into bed, you mentally prepare yourself for whatever tomorrow may bring.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-14-2022, 03:02 AM

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972125532869242941/972198034022744074/Lewisia_Neutral_Portrait_smol.png Hmm... well based on my interview with Benni, I think searching the Kako facilities is a first priority. So, I'll start out searching (3) Kako Industries Field.

Based on what was found in Benni’s orchard, you’re wondering if something else was stashed away at the Kako Industries Field where they grow row after row of tancorn. If there’s more raze buried here, you’re quite sure the police will want to know and it might prompt them to assist and support your investigation even though you’re here to stop the Stalkers, not for a drug bust.

It’s a short stroll from Benni’s farm, although the night sky and the darkness feels like it may present a bit of a challenge when it comes to trying to find anything that might have been hidden. Still, you decide to give it your best shot although there’s quite a lot of area to cover tonight. All the while, the breeze gently passes through the stalks, creating a soft and placid rustling sound. Meanwhile, it feels nice and gentle as it passes through the leaves on your back and through the petals of the Sakura flowers on your head.

You start from the north and head south, doing a kind of horizontal sweeping zig-zag pattern search to make sure you cover the most amount of ground possible and don’t go over anything twice while possibly missing a spot. While it isn’t difficult or taxing at first, it does become tiresome and tedious rather quickly. Tancorn, while new and interesting at first to you, quickly loses its novelty when stalks and stalks of it become the only things you see for hours to come. And all the while, you don’t find anything all that unusual among the stalks…

…at least not until you get toward the southern area.

The whole while up to this point, you were almost thinking this wasn’t going to yield anything and would only amount to good walking exercise, but then you find what appears to be a spot that the tancorn just doesn’t seem to grow all that well. And it strikes you as odd considering the rest of the field is in pretty good shape and has been well-maintained. So when you come across this one particular section, the few stalks planted here are small, haven’t been growing too well, and you’re quite sure the tiny and unappetizing husks of tancorn grown here won’t ever be sold on the market. But you’re curious as to why this is.

Using your Shaymin senses, you try to focus and empathize with the stalks as if to speak with and understand them. Just why are they never able to grow well? Surprisingly, the answer becomes clear to you quite quickly.

…there’s something solid underneath them and the stalks yearn for deeper, more refreshing soil, but they are denied. Something the roots can’t penetrate at all is just underneath them and as a result, the stalks barely get any nutrients here.

Carefully and respectfully, you replant the tancorn stalks away from this spot and put them among their peers in areas with deeper and richer soil. To these stalks, it’s like no longer having a rock to sleep on, but instead a nice fluffy mattress. You definitely know they’ll grow much better here and it already seems like they greatly appreciate the relocation.

With that out of the way, you then try to see what exactly this solid obstruction under the soil even is in the first place. You use your two pink paws to brush off the dirt and it seems like it’s some kind of underground hatch entrance. At first, it almost reminds you of an ancient in-ground mausoleum. You find the old metal ring handle that is used to open the hatch, and at first, it takes you quite a super-Shaymin effort to yank it open, but once you do, the ancient stone hatch slides open, revealing a strange staircase underground. Already, you’re expecting to find out this is some kind of tomb and you’re going to be finding a lot of dead Pokémon skeletons.

You feel up for adventure tonight, so you head downstairs into what looks like a very old and ancient temple entrance that must have been used many years ago. The strange, dark markings on the stone walls almost look like creepy voodoo to you. However, so much of it is damaged and crumbling apart so you feel it’s unlikely any of it is capable of cursing or hurting you. It isn’t until you get to the main, cryptic-looking stone door that you see something happened here a while ago. The Taika Temppeli, as this place is called, was destroyed. By what, you’re not quite sure, but it’s possible just regular wear and tear and old age might have been responsible. There doesn’t seem to be much to salvage here until you find the remnants of an old book that was left behind. It’s in bad shape and a lot of the pages are missing and torn or are too soiled and filthy to read, but some of the pages and ancient passages are still legible. You feel mainly only about 15% of the book is still legible, but at least it’s better than nothing.

From what you can read, this book appears to be some kind of old tome or prayer book and it appears to be connected with this temple. And this temple, as described in the book, seems to be an ancient ritual place. However, looking at it makes you think something along the lines of blood sacrifices and holocausts were likely done here and maybe this place is better off in pieces. The book describes “The Phudistus” ritual, but it’s not quite clear what this really is about. At least not at first, but in the later pages, it mentions “cleansing” and the purging of evil. But when you look back at the entrance, you see the whole thing is in ruins and has collapsed in upon itself. Part of you wonders maybe whatever remains should just be collected and put in a museum and call it a night. The whole feeling of the temple feels somewhat dark to you anyway.

But when you get toward the end of the book, it almost seems as though not all hope is lost for this ruined place. It speaks of the sacred texts, the “Taika Tekstit” as they are called. And then it mentions the Palauttaminen Mantra, the words of restoration. With these two combined, “what was once broken and fallen may become whole once again.” The texts describe a moment in ancient history when this was used to restore an ancient ziggurat that was destroyed in warfare, but now made whole again.

It has you wondering… would that actually work for this temple? Is this some kind of perhaps… constructive kind of voodoo? Maybe there’s only a one in a million chance of ever finding these relics anywhere, but you still make note of it, just in case.

{Destroyed Taika Temppeli: Needed Taika Tekstit AND Palauttaminen Mantra} has been noted in the Team Records.

Though everything associated with this place seems dark and creepy, it does make you wonder if it might hold some kind of answer when it comes to dealing with the Stalkers. After all, being one with the darkness to defeat another agent of darkness doesn’t seem like it would be that absurd to you in concept and practice. But you still feel it would be smart to be on your guard either way.

You decide to head out and by the time you return to the surface, you yawn and feel a bit too tired to continue. You then head back to Benni’s, thinking a nice cool glass of water and then a trip to bed would feel quite swell right about now.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-14-2022, 07:00 PM

I will take a risk and search Birthright Chapel

As the eerie moon hangs overhead in the night sky, you decide to head south through town and head toward the Birthright Chapel, just before the shoreline. It’s a bit of a long walk through town, which you notice doesn’t seem to be too lively at night. Some areas of town that have closed up for the evening make you feel a bit uneasy, resulting in you walking a bit more briskly on your two yellow feet.

When you finally get to the chapel, you find it to be quite eerie. The chapel looks quite run-down with its stone walls cracked and crumbling, it’s wood features splintering in a few places, its stained-glass windows have been caked with dust and dirt, and in general, you’re surprised this location is even still being used.

You decide to search around the chapel grounds and you find that vandalizers have been here fairly recently, painting “temple of the false god” in red paint over the two wooden doors of the main entrance and “burn the blasphemers” in noxious-looking black paint on the side stone wall wall. You also see some of the windows were recently broken and trash and excrement are scattered about as well as evidence of blatant disrespect. A nearby statue of Arceus has also been damaged with the head broken off and stolen while the rest of the body has been smeared with excrement and black paint. Despite your search, you don’t find anything that seems to be unusual on the outside, though you feel a sense of scorn for whoever did these acts of vandalism.

Quietly, you enter the lonely chapel to see what’s going on inside. The main gathering area is on the shabby side with wooden pews of various sizes in only fair condition. The wood sealant is chipping off in many places and some of the pews have been roped off due to them being too damaged to be used. The walls and ceiling have a few pieces of artwork to honor Arceus, but many of them have faded over the years and the colors now seem pale. A lot of the candle fixtures and ornamentation has seen many years of use and it shows.

As you go into the back area, you notice this is where the pastor Junlus the Accelgor keeps his supplies to perform services, such as ritual plates, a holy book, ceremonial jugs, candles, and other supplies. His living area is further in the back, but it’s very small and quaint. You find it consists of only two rooms, his small bedchambers and his kitchen area where he prepares meals. Downstairs, Kulsso the Rampardos, a servant of the Birthright Chapel, resides in an even smaller studio apartment situation where his living and dining area only consists of a single room. Besides his bed and the most basic furniture like his dresser and lampstand, there isn’t much here besides a few comic books and a small backpack of finishing equipment. You imagine he doesn’t spend much time down here and only uses this area mainly for storage and for sleeping.

As you prepare to head out, you find an odd-looking lockbox tucked into the corner of the storage area that almost seems out of place. It’s made of an odd, crimson-tinted stone that doesn’t seem to be related to any of the other ceremonial equipment here, but still seems to be some kind of ritual related lockbox.

You try to open it, but it seems to be locked. You examine the keyhole and you feel confident you might be able to pick this with your lockpicks, but it might take a bit of work… (https://i.imgur.com/GkjaKVY.png)

{Stone Lockbox: <Security> (https://i.imgur.com/GkjaKVY.png)}

https://i.imgur.com/GkjaKVY.png

You’re quite curious to know what exactly is in this strange, almost otherworldly lockbox…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-14-2022, 08:22 PM

Scy has been murdered by the Stalkers.
Scytherwolf

After visiting the dark remnants of the Silver Candle Theater House, Scy had attempted to fly back to Benni’s farmstead…

…but she never made it… and she never came back that night…

Instead, her body had been found only a short distance north of the Baywill Museum and Gallery besides the dusty curved road. In the early hour of dawn, both Dantus and Yanza had been notified of the Yanmega’s dead corpse. When they found Scy’s body, they saw her wings had been ripped out and forcefully rammed down her throat, causing her to suffocate…

Yanza had looked the body over from different positions and angles to get the full assessment, taking notes on her small paper booklet as she made her observations. After having seen murders like this before, it seemed like she had grown rather desensitized to this.

https://i.postimg.cc/rm1X55LB/Yanza-Bored.png “I didn’t know there was a Yanmega living in this town,” Yanza stated to Dantus as he levitated above the dusty street only a short distance away. “Does she look familiar to you, because this is the first time I’ve seen her before.”

Dantus was silent, looking toward the dragonfly’s now wingless dead body. The dragonfly’s mouth was stuffed full of her own wings, now as a hideous crumpled mass. He already knew this was the work of one of the Stalkers and he already knew their name. And he knew he didn’t even need to mention this to Yanza.

She had seen enough of this to know this as well…

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “This was an outsider,” Dantus stated with cold confidence. “Nothing more.”

Yanza lightly nodded, having a hunch that had to be the case. The plump, toughened, no-nonsense Purugly made the assumption this Yanmega was probably a vandal or looter, but she knew she needed evidence to validate that and that was something not worth pursuing given what she and Dantus were already dealing with. And she also knew she didn’t care. The Yanmega was dead, so whatever her business was in Seabourne, that came to a screeching halt for good.

And she had seen this kind of murder signature before. Several times in fact. Razela the Pidgeot, Ezland the Crobat, and Cruben the Mothim… all killed this exact same way. Their wings ripped off, and their throats and mouths stuffed with their crumpled, bloody remnants of their own wings.

EXONULL… Yanza wrote down in her notebook. She knew whoever this was truly abhorred any Pokémon that could fly. All of them from the young and the old were ripped of their privilege and made to suffer and die for it. And this Yanmega was no exception, shown no mercy from the wrath of this Stalker.

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “I think I realized…” Yanza muttered to Dantus, “…every one of them was still alive while their wings were being force-fed down their throat.”

Dantus nodded. He had observed this fact early on in the investigations. He didn’t hold it against Yanza for not immediately observing this, as these cases were highly unusual. But almost innately, as a ghost type and as a senior police officer, he was far more aware about the nature of what death truly looked like.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “Complete your observations and report and let’s go,” Dantus commanded. “There’s nothing more for us to do here.”

Doom Tracker:
1/15

Xerneas

05-14-2022, 08:29 PM

Scytherwolf

Not all hope is lost…

You have known death before, Savant. And you already know death is not the end. The book of your story here has not been shut, and you shall breathe new life once more. Search for new determination in your heart and spirit, and I will ensure it can be found.

You answered my plea for help, and so I shall answer yours. Go forth once again and save this town of Seabourne. Save these Pokémon because I know my faith in you is true…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-14-2022, 08:34 PM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 2: Day Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3246897/day-2-day-cycle)

(Tuesday, May 17, 2022 5:00:00 PM, Time EST)

C0L0R3D Nyan Pikachu ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

C0L0R3D

05-14-2022, 08:59 PM

ARandomTool

05-14-2022, 09:46 PM

DayBreak

05-14-2022, 09:53 PM

Scytherwolf

05-15-2022, 12:41 PM

Neo Emolga

05-15-2022, 07:43 PM

https://i.postimg.cc/MGY5czrk/Emolga-My-Bad.png Totally goofed and forgot about this last Day 1 Night Cycle post (sorry sammy!) so here are the results before we jump into the exciting outcomes of the Day 2 Day Cycle posts!

*Turns the clocks back for just a bit, moon’s back in the sky, the stars are out, and… action!*

Search (9) Macro Market

Curious about what you heard from Benni regarding the vase she found, you head southeast to the Macro Market, wondering if there really is something nefarious there or if something else happened to Benni and maybe the vase was some kind of hallucination. For all you know, it could simply be a false alarm, but you want to see for yourself and validate it before going any further.

Intentionally, you wait for the store to close and for the last minute shoppers to be ushered out of the store minutes before it shuts down for the night. You see the owner, Devin the Snorlax, lock up the front entrance while you quietly hide behind the eastern side of the Seaport Plaza building and watch from a distance. You’re not sure if he even knows about the vase, but right now, you figure it’s safe to assume he doesn’t until you can either ask him yourself or if you happen to find out from someone else. But the wiser part of you decides not to disclose it. Devin or one of his employees might toss it out and it could be destroying valuable clues that relate to the Stalkers.

After he leaves and heads west, you wait for the coast to be clear and then you perform your search, using the cover of night as you gallop on your hooves toward the main building. Though you know the vase is inside, you decide to first search over the perimeter to see if there’s anything else that seems suspicious out there.

You see the main building itself is in pretty good shape and besides a random piece of trash here and there and a few overgrown weeds, nothing alerts you as being unusual or nefarious. You figure Devin is on top of keeping this place maintained, and in terms of security, he has it pretty locked up tight. At first, you think you might not be able to sneak in and take a look around, but you find the metallic pulldown door by the loading dock in the back wasn’t fully closed and thus the lock at the bottom was never engaged with the receiving clip in the bottom of the door itself. And as a result, you see an opportunity in that oversight.

Using one of your hooves, you slide up the door quietly and just enough to slip inside under the pulldown door. You take a look around in the loading and storage area, finding boxes and pallets of store merchandise ready to be stocked on the shelves tomorrow morning. It’s a bit dark, but in the dim light coming from the windows, you can see just enough to make out the outlines of objects and recognize what they are.

You don’t find too much in the employee and office area of the store, but you get an idea of the kind of Pokémon that Devin is just from seeing how he works here. His ledgers and records are pretty well-organized and you see he keeps a lot of notes about inventory, restocking, employee hours, and logistics of that nature. Staff notices are kept up to date and he keeps chalkboards of information and store guidelines in plain sight on the walls for his staff to see and observe.

You then venture into the main store area, trotting on your hooves on the gray-tiled floor as your head looks left and right and up and down in all directions looking at all the store shelves and displays around you. You immediately take note that Macro Market is mostly a food store, but there are a few shelves for seasonal items, home goods, and office supplies, although that’s definitely not the main specialty of this place and any shopper would see their purchase options are limited with that regard. Still, you imagine around this area is where Benni ran into that vase, and you intend on seeing if you can find it to get a better idea of what it is about.

Most of the store doesn’t seem unusual in any way. There’s a bread aisle, a grain aisle, an aisle for produce, and so on. The meat and seafood aisle has you do a bit of a double take. Pokémon in this world do eat each other and you quickly find that out. Fillets of Seaking, Remoraid, Lumineon and many other fish Pokémon are readily available for purchase and no one is going to stop you from buying a freshly prepared Farfetch’d or a Hawlucha to roast in the oven. Beyond that, even steak cuts of Tauros, Miltank, and Bouffalant are available, along with ham shanks and ribs from the bodies of a Pignite and Grumpig. And for those wanting something gamier, there’s Stantler and Sawsbuck meat available as well. It all asks the grim question of who gets to eat and who gets to be meat.

You try not to think about it too much…

You decide to move on and try to get that out of your mind. For the most part, nothing seems all that unusual about the store. But then when you come toward where the home goods are, you steel yourself, looking at the various home items like flower pots and small gardening tools like small shovels and watering cans before you get to the vases on the display shelf. You come across the same vases that Benni talked about previously. The colorful, welcoming, and pretty vases are easily the ones that stand out the most. But you’re specifically looking more for that black, nefarious one that Benni spoke of…

…and you find it.

It’s easy to miss and overlook considering the more colorful vases and pots surrounding it stand out far more than this one does. As Benni described, the vase is a pure jet-black color and you notice the dark crimson runes on it that very much look like some kind of demonic symbolism or dark language. Having known Benni came into contact with this thing and had a horrible reaction to it, you instead look it over and analyze it from different angles without actually touching it, taking her word that this nefarious relic will do something wicked to you if you come into contact with it.

You then carefully peer into the vase without touching it, and it almost looks like a dark oily vortex sitting at the bottom like a whirlpool to oblivion, ready to swallow anything you throw into it. All the while, it absolutely reeks of foul Stalker presence. Benni was right, this is definitely some kind of Demoni artifact that is being hidden here as either some kind of trap to harm the innocent or is being hidden here for some kind of other dark purpose.

As a test, you try putting a single grape you plucked from the produce section into it to see what happens, but the grape is sucked into the vortex without a trace of it left behind and you can only imagine what kind of dark or hellish dimension it was suddenly pulled into. Still, nothing changes and instead the vortex keeps spinning… churning… still demanding something else as an unholy sacrifice…

It hungers for the blackened rose you think. It’s the only shadowy thing that this could connect to…

@{Shadow Vase: Missing Dark Flower} ROCK – (6 Purity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

Before you leave, you decide to leave a paper note of “don’t touch” by the vase, hoping shoppers coming through here don’t make the same mistake Benni did.

You complete your search through the rest of the building, but nothing seems unusual to you. Still, before you leave, you look back to the shelf with the vases.

Some Stalker was here… you think. They were right here in this store and no one even realized it and suspected anything foul was going on…

To you… that’s the most frightening thought…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-16-2022, 12:43 AM

2041

I’ll not mince words. Exonull is a stalker we got done, they target winged folk, and Scy is still technically at risk of them. Crumbs. Now let’s get to this.

2042

Hey there… things are a bit scary right now, but I think we’re gonna be alright. Do you think you’ve seen anything funny around that may relate to these Stalkers?

[Action decided: Interview 28, Myta the Chespin. No diplomacy needed, and I won’t pressure her for info she doesn’t wanna share even with rapport.]

Interview Rapport: VERY POSITIVE
+1 Shared Type (Grass)
+1 Shared Evolution Stage (Basic 1 of 3)

As the morning sun rises, you decide to head out and see if you can meet up with Myta the Chespin to find out if she’s seen anything unusual lately. From one grass type to another, you think you would be the best candidate to connect with her and get her take on how things are going in Seabourne.

When you find her, you see she’s leaving her apartment at the Seaport Lofts, carrying a small duffle bag on her shoulder. She seems to be calm and confident and you notice she takes special care about her looks and appearance. You decide to approach her and introduce yourself with a warm smile.

https://i.postimg.cc/fWthNHRR/Myta-Excited.png “Oh hey there!” she greets you warmly. “Colored you said your name is? Nice to meet you, I’m Myta! Hey, I was just about to head off to work, but I’m early so I’ve got a few minutes if you’d like to chat!”

You smile and nod, taking a bit of care to not switch over to a grim subject too abruptly, but still, you’re really hoping Myta can provide some answers as to what you’re looking for.

“Hey there… things are a bit scary right now,” you tell her, “but I think we’re gonna be alright. Do you think you’ve seen anything funny around that may relate to these Stalkers?”

As you imagine, the subject of the Stalkers easily takes the smile and pep out of Myta’s composure. You quickly see Myta herself is quite familiar with them…

https://i.postimg.cc/rFX7LMHf/Myta-Worry.png “Oh… so that’s what this is about…” she states with a solemn tone.

She shivers a bit from the thought, and you can tell this is something that’s been bothering her quite a bit. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she looks to you very nervously. She looks far off to the east, and it seems like one of many things has been on her mind.

https://i.postimg.cc/y6MCYFDX/Myta-Frustration.png “Some monster, probably one of those Stalkers, outright vandalized the Latios and Latias statues at the Southshore Chapel. I go there every weekend to attend morning prayer service, and I couldn’t believe it and neither could the other parishioners. Some absolutely sick maniac dug out all of their eyes and then vandalized the plaque with some creepy as all heck message about robbing them of their eyesight and they were bragging about it or something like that. It’s really creepy.”

But then Myta looks off in another direction. It seems like something else is on her mind when she thinks it over a little more. Her expression darkens a bit from just her thoughts about it.

https://i.postimg.cc/qvcbrKKR/Myta-Anger.png “Or… it could have been someone from the Birthright Chapel,” Myta continues, gritting her teeth in anger. “They are the worst. Absolute swine, I swear I have no respect at all for the whole lot of them. It wouldn’t be the first time someone from that filthy cult harassed us and vandalized our church. And I…”

She stops herself and comes to a conclusion. Then she looks to you, thinking she might have figured something out.

https://i.postimg.cc/xdxWrHrm/MytaRage.png “One of them HAS to be a Stalker!” she insists. “I can just feel it! That creep Junlus… yeah, that creepy Accelgor could be one. He’s such a mean bastard and hates everything about Eonology. Yeah, well feeling’s mutual, buddy, I hate him too and his hideous cult. And that slimy Rampardos… Kesto… no… ugh, what’s his name… starts with a K… uh… Kul… Kulsso! Kulsso, that’s it! Ugh, it sounds like the noise someone makes just before they vomit! He’s Junlus’s right-hand lackey slimeball who does all his dirty work. I’m sure he’s going around spying as well. Yeah? Well, two can play at that game!”

She shakes her head, but then takes a few deep breaths, tries to calm herself down, and then looks back to you.

https://i.postimg.cc/j5DBR5KF/Myta-Relieved.png “Oof, sorry to lose my cool like that, I just… ugh, they make me SO MAD.” Myta tells you, trying to contain her anger. “But listen, Colored, I think it would be a good idea to talk to Jamsaki. She’s a Servine and she’s super nice and really smart. And she’s the Eonlogy priestess who is the overseer for the Southshore Chapel and I’m sure she’d be willing to help you. And I’m sure she could use your help, too.”

After taking another deep breath, she tries to relax and tries to channel her anger into energy and determination.

https://i.postimg.cc/0Qjc7HBM/Myta-Confident.png “So how about it?” Myta asks you with a confident smile. “Let’s find out who did this and bring them to justice! After work, I’m going to do a little spy work of my own to see if I can uncover something. And this time I’m bringing my camera to get some proof. I’ll let you know if I find anything and hopefully I can catch them red-handed! Wouldn’t that be awesome!? The cops will rip them a new one if I can get enough evidence!”

“And maybe you can talk to Jamsaki to see what help she needs!” she recommends to you. “Tell your friends we can use their help, too! Let’s do this! I’m sure Jamsaki will reward you with something if she can! And if not, I’m sure you’ll win some nice divine favor with Latios and Latias! Nothing beats that!”

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 3/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Chakramaster

05-16-2022, 11:13 AM

sammy0295

05-16-2022, 09:34 PM

Search (12) Reliable Med Clinic and Urgent Care.

EmeraldSky

05-16-2022, 10:28 PM

I'm gonna use my Security Skill to try and untrap one of our items

Noblejanobii

05-16-2022, 11:41 PM

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972125532869242941/972198034022744074/Lewisia_Neutral_Portrait_smol.png I will go search (4) Kako Industries Farm

Neo Emolga

05-17-2022, 01:38 AM

"I'm a terrible person. We heard rumors of goodies, and I'll be the gremlin to bite the bullet, take some damage, and loot the room."

Search (11) Hitchhiker Restaurant (ABANDONED). Remember to write the 4-Number Combination on arm with fancy fountain pen that was always mine to begin with yesyes no petty or felony theft here

As the morning comes, you decide to venture to the southwest and head toward the abandoned Hitchhiker Restaurant on the outskirts of town. It’s a bit of a long walk, but with the safe combination in hand, you’re curious as to what is in this mysterious old safe that was left behind.

After a long walk on the dusty roads, eventually you find the restaurant sitting essentially by itself with very little else surrounding it besides the clinic and the abandoned Multok Apartment Complex. At least here, no one is going to be suspicious of you, but you’re quite confident that no one has looked down this direction for quite some time.

You first start your search looking around the exterior. From your initial review, it doesn’t seem like the restaurant has been abandoned for all that long, but you’re seeing a few signs of neglect. You’re guessing this place has been vacant for at most maybe only four or five years by now. From that, you see the structure is still in relatively okay shape and that with a little repair and updating, it could be back up and running. Still, it doesn’t look like anyone plans on swooping in to fix this place up. You could easily see nothing here changing even ten or twenty years from now.

You don’t find very much outside, however. There’s some trash, a few bits of broken glass, some metal cans, and some rusting kitchen pots and pans that look like they were supposed to be collected in the trash. However, they never ended up there and instead have been sitting here neglected for years. You don’t find anything of value out here, so you decide to head inside.

The front entrance consists of two windowed double wooden doors that could use a few touch ups in terms of finish, but you find the entrance was never locked. Either that or someone undid the lock and never cared to lock it back up behind them. The door seems to swing open just fine and you decide to walk in and take a look around.

From a first glance, most of the restaurant seems gutted in terms of furniture. A lot of the causal pop culture memorabilia that used to be all over the walls was all taken off, leaving a rather unsightly patchwork of missing plaster and outlines of the objects that used to be there. Meanwhile, the tables and chairs were all taken away, leaving only the booths in neglected condition. The lighting also seems to have been ripped out as wires simply hang from the ceiling limply.

When you check out the kitchen, you find most of the cooking equipment is gone and the only things that were left are ovens and stoves that no longer work. It also looks like it hasn’t been cleaned out for quite some time and the floor is caked with dirt and dried grease.

It isn’t until you get to the manager’s office do you find the old safe, which looks pretty solid and heavy. You imagine the weight of this old metallic safe is probably caused it to be left behind. Nonetheless, you decide to give this combination a shot, and you find the four sets of dials on the front with the numbers. They’re a bit faded and don’t spin as well and as smoothly as they used to, but you’re able to spin the dials to 17, 8, 42, and 32 as what was stated on the paper note you found.

Nicklefool has used the [4-Number Combination]

After pulling the old brass handle downward, you then pull on it, causing the door to swing open. There’s a bit of a creaking noise as you open it, but you figure that was to be expected.

{Old Combination Safe: 4-Number Combination}

Inside, you find only the top shelf of the safe is being used. Nothing was ever stored on the bottom. For the looks of things, Sarkkan never kept any of his things here. But you also begin to think maybe he never even knew about this in the first place. It all makes you wonder exactly why that note was ripped in half and never given to Sarkkan.

You investigate the top shelf and you find several pieces of jewelry here. Most of them are purely ornamental, but you do find an old set of wooden prayer beads that were blessed many years ago. As you wrap your hands around them, you feel the blessing bestowed upon them long ago may help protect you from some of the darker forces of evil here. You decide to put them on, and suddenly the presences of the shadows and the darkness don’t seem as intimidating as they once did…

Nickelfool has equipped the +|J| Prayer Beads+ (2P)

Among the other valuables that were stashed away here, you find what appears to be an envelope that looks to have never been opened. On the front of it, you see “To Kabi, from Dad” on it. Judging from the number of items that were put on top of this, you imagine this has been here for a while, and now you realize it was definitely Kabi who wrote that note to Sarkkan and it’s actually Kabi’s things that are stored here.

You find you’re able to open it without ripping the envelope, allowing you to read it without making it look too obvious it’s been tampered with. When you unfold it, you read the words…

Kabi,

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine just how many years have passed on by, and here you are, heading off to Beachwood University, which I know is a great school and I know you’re going to do amazing things there. Ever since you were a pup, you’ve always sought out to do your best and you never let anyone stand in your way. Sometimes even me. But despite all that, I just want you to know that I’m so proud of you. You’ve become such a fine young lady and I can’t wait to hear about all your experiences over there.

If you ever need anything, even just the little things, please let me know. I know sometimes it can be really hard, especially on your own, but I always want you to know that I’m with you and supporting you all the way. And mom, too. She’s with you in spirit, and you remind me so much of her. She would have loved to see just how amazing you’ve become.

I wish you all the best out there, but knowing you, I’m sure you’ll be ready to take on anything. Best of luck!

Love,
Dad

You fold the piece of paper back into the envelope and you decide to hold onto the note, quite sure Kabi most likely won’t ever notice it’s missing. But you have a feeling somewhere along the lines… you might need it for something…

has been added to the Team Inventory.

After that, you decide to close the door to the safe and lock it up once more, creating the illusion that no one was ever here.

After searching the rest of the restaurant, you don’t find anything else of interest. You simply head out the front doors, letting the slowly creeping shadows once again descend upon a place that used to be full of life and laughter, now hushed as a testament that the only thing time leaves behind is silence…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/122.png Nickolas "Nicklefool" Foligan the Mr. Mime (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Hisuian Zoroak, Mr. Rime, Decidueye, Gardevoir, Aegislash
[u]EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Prayer Beads+ (2P)

Neo Emolga

05-17-2022, 03:00 AM

2045
"A death already?! Things are going south pretty fast..."

2044
"... But it's not too late to turn this around! I spent last night digging through our stash, put the two halves of the note together to get the full combination. Nickolas is already checking the café, so I'll check out this place." They point to (54) Pleasant Waters Harbor on a map of the town. If you want answers about what the hell is going on, naturally go to the most creepy areas. Made sense to the the Nidorina.

"Maybe I can have a word with some of the officers later, but I'll probably get to that tomorrow."

(I love your PMD-style portrait icons! :3)

Realizing you’re in a race against time, you decide to delve into what might be one of the darkest hearts of this town. The places you were warned not to go. But as the sun rises, you head southwest toward the shore, here where the old Pleasant Waters Harbor is.

It’s a long hike and it makes your clawed feet feel tired by the time you get there, but you persist nonetheless, keeping your ears open and your gaze sharp for any nefarious thing that might be lurking here. Right now, all you hear is the crashing of the waves upon the sandy and rocky shore and the splintering docks up ahead. The occasional moan from the hull of the “Silent Song” ship can be heard as well, sometimes unexpectedly as the wave caress the hull. And sometimes it almost sounds like a voice. You swear it almost sounds like the word “runnnn.” Again and again.

When you come before the collapsed harbor buildings, you see just how dilapidated the port really is. The once lively boardwalk and its long continuous structure is half-collapsed into a pile of splintered wood and ruins. Even sifting through the piles doesn’t reveal very much of value. You find what looked like it was once an old bar counter along with the pieces of a barstool. And you find the shattered remains of a glass mug as well. You then head over to another structure that fell apart and you find an old bed underneath that was crushed and snapped in half. But again. You dig through the rubble and ruins a bit more, wondering if there was anything really left behind that might have been of some value, but either there never was or it was already taken away by scavengers long ago.

“Ruuunnnn…” the moan of the Silent Song ship creaks out.

You continue digging through piles of rubble, but you only find destroyed furniture, rotting books, broken glass, and twisted metal. Almost next to nothing is worth salvaging and the little that remains intact consists of mostly everyday tools and items like pots, shovels, blankets, and so on that you see no need to take with you.

You then decide to move onto the other half of the boardwalk structure, taking care to watch your step. You’re not quite sure how much of this boardwalk can still withstand your weight, but you imagine one wrong step could send you tumbling down to the sandy dirt below.

“Runnnn…” the moan from the ship creaks out again.

Inside one of the few intact areas of the main structure, you come across what used to be a small café, but there’s very little of it left and a giant gaping hole lies in the middle. Meanwhile, there’s a few old wooden tables and chairs while a creepy metal chandelier has been wrapped with spider webs. You’re not able to go too much inside considering most of the floor is missing, so you decide to simply head out and see if there’s anything else in the remaining store and apartment entrances.

And then when you step out, something odd happens. You don’t realize it at first, but something suddenly makes you feel uneasy. And you’re not sure why. The sun is still in the sky, the waves are still crashing on the beach, and the ship is still rocking from the waves and…

…and it’s like you’ve gone c̔͐͊͋ͯ͊o͎̹͇ͯ̂̒mp̓̇ͩ̑ͩ̌l̮̯̘͖̦e͉̮̗̤̣̣̙ͫ̃̆ͧͪ̅̃t̰̞e͉͐l ͚̬͇͔̭̰͍̑͛̍ͧͯ͆̉y͛͒ͬͪ̿ͭ d̊̌̌ͬ̒ȇ̿ͨ̓͂ͥ̉afͭ.̜̠͙̪̻ͅͅ

You suddenly can’t hear anything. Not the waves, not the moan from the ship. You tap your blue clawed foot on the wooden boardwalk but you don’t hear any noise. You clap your clawed hands, but there’s nothing. And you try to shout “hello, is anyone there!?” but no sound or noise leaves from your mouth. At least not anything you can hear…

And you suddenly begin to panic… until suddenly you do hear something.

”Thock!”

You almost jump as the sudden sound comes from behind you and you feel your heart suddenly racing, though you can’t even hear your own heartbeat.

“THOCK!”

It gets much louder. That noise… it’s coming from inside one of the harbor structures…

You decide to investigate, though something urges you not to. But you tell yourself you have to know. The other Savants need to know, also. You push yourself to enter where the noise is coming from. It’s a shop. A small retail shop.

What’s the worst that’s possibly in here?”

…yo͕̾U̬ ͯ͆k̓i͔̰͍͖D ͓̲̭̣̠̺y͍̝̬͈͉̻͐̎̎͑ͦ̚o̙̟͚̫͔̤̥ͩ̌̏̎̃͊͂u͙͙̻̲̹̟̍̒ͪ̊ͩ̂R͑ͤ ͙̫̬̲͙͕͎̓̔ͯ̂ͭṡ̜E͙̤̝̥ͅl͇͈̍̏F̫̝̙̦͋̊ͨ͂.̬̦̭̦ͥ̎̔́ͧ͑ ͎̺

You step inside and suddenly it’s like you’re taken back in time. It’s a lovely summer day and there’s Pokémon all over this beautiful boardwalk enjoying the sea breeze, the sights and smells of the beach, and you look out to the ocean to see plenty of Pokémon enjoying a swim in the water, sailing on a boat, running along the boardwalk having fun, and you can’t help but smile to yourself having totally forgotten what you were even doing just a few minutes ago. You can hear laughter, Pokémon children playing games, and couples in love enjoying their time at this beautiful harbor. It doesn’t hit you at first until you suddenly realize there’s something odd going on.

Everyone is looking away from you. You can’t see any of their faces as they’re all facing in other directions. You can only see their backs or at most their sides. But you’re not able to make out anyone from the front.

And then…

..͓̹̩̤̻̻.͞An͇̞̦̦͔d ́t̰̻̙̳̝͘h̯͇e͡n ̴͈͇̩̦̭t̞̮̩ḫ͟e̥̥̻͉̟̠̙͠y͔̙͈͖͓ ̭̣̼̀AL̳̰̣̞̠͚ͅL͏̥͉̮͉͉ l̰̱̯ook ͠a͙̳t̛̜̯͔̟̱͙̭ ͖͎͕you̢̜.͚̜̘̮ͅ

@Hellish Deranged Presence – NORMAL (6 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 37 out of 100: Failed!

Oh… god…

Lyric has suffered 3 Purity Damage.

…You see none of them have a face. They’re all just blots. Crowds… and crowds… of…

.͕̝̲͡.̤̫̹̝.͙̤̬̣͚͠B̢LO̼̞̱̫̙͙͎T̲́S

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

“No, no… this can’t be… real…” You mutter… “This…”

And you try speaking again, but there is only silence.

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

Who… are you all!? You want to shout… you want answers… but all you speak is silence and all you get is nothing. Nothing. Nothing… but…

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

You frantically run into the store away from the crowds of blotted faces and you see everything has returned to “normal” behind you. The decrepit reality of the Pleasant Waters Harbor returns, but what you frantically stumble across has you f̯̯̭r̫̫a̼̜̝͎̘̬n̖ṱ̱̞̮i̗ca̹͙͢l̢l͚y ̕s͡c̗̜r̴͎͔͖̤͙̰e̼̫̼̟̪̖ạ̴̖̥ͅm̸i҉̹̠͚̘n̺̝̘̦͈̪̣͢g̩̞͕ͅͅ ̗̜… but no… there is nothing, for no sound leaves your mouth…

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

And what stands before you in this decrepit store lies one of the most bewildering abominations you’ve ever seen… and you realize this… this is what is responsible for the hideous noise that keeps making your heart jump.

Lyric has suffered 3 Purity Damage.

It’s a sight that almost makes you want to peacefully die… and leave this place however possible. But no, instead the hideous contraptions have been wrapped into and around this door like an ungodly machine. But even then, it remains incomplete. Missing even additional pieces that need to be affixed to this apparatus of sin. You see a missing pyramid indentation, yearning for some infernal pyramid-shaped object to be rammed into it. And then you see a hideous black glass chamber, and its as if there was once essence in this chamber… an essence… of slavery. Of servitude. Not just of one… but of all. And lastly, something even more foul. Tools… instruments… demonic instruments… are needed to bring this mechanical abomination to working order. None of this chaos makes sense… but you realize there is no choice. Or else no answers will come of this thing…

@{The Deranged Clockwork Door: Corrupted Conduit Pyramid AND Servitude Essence AND Implementation of the Demonic Instruments} – Hellish Deranged Presence – NORMAL (6 Purity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

You can’t bear any more of this. You turn around and race out the door, almost tripping and stumbling on your way out. The deceptive dream-like vision of the crowds of Pokémon with blotted faces is gone, and instead you see the Pleasant Waters Harbor as it really is. Scorned. Broken. Forlorn… and forgotten…

…maybe the way it should be…

Hoping to save and spare your spirit from any more suffering, you dash toward Benni’s farmstead as fast as you can, barely able to comprehend the nightmare you just saw and experienced…

“Ruuunnnn…” the moan of the Silent Song ship creaks out…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Lychee

05-17-2022, 11:26 PM

Even though I want to talk to Caily and the cops, I think it's probably safer if I chat to a student at night, and the police during the day.

Dantus seems to know what's up, and I might have a lead for him on the supply of Raze in the district-- at least, I can find out more or help out in their investigation?
Similarly, that was MY out of town friend who died! I've certainly got a few questions about whatevers going on here! I deserve to know! Could we all be about to die in horrible ways?Id love to find out how many serial killer signatures are out there... How many psychos?? I won't use the words demoni or stalker though.
And... Are there any upsetting-but-useless pieces of evidence they've confiscated? Maybe they should hand that stuff over to me, to placate my TERRIBLY DISTRAUGHT MOOD WAAAH

Talk to Dantus the Dragapult and use Diplomacy

Neo Emolga

05-18-2022, 01:10 AM

https://i.imgur.com/LZLLSW5.png
Sorry if I'm late guys, I died. But I'm better now.

And you know what? I better NOT die the same way again. I demand variation in my deaths! Originality!

Anyway, I'm gonna go explore (44) Jade Acres Park.

Oh, and if you think this drawing is ugly? Give me a break I was just reincarnated!

Taking just a moment to get accustomed to the Heracross form you once had many years ago, you head out with the morning sun, intent on seeing if there’s anything unusual going on with Jade Acres Park. It’s a bit of a hike from Benni’s farm, but you make the trip nonetheless and arrive after about an hour of walking.

From what you can see initially, the years haven’t been too kind to this park. It’s surrounded by a ring of trees that have shriveled up and died out into husks. Meanwhile the further out you go, the more decay you see until there’s virtually nothing left. You’re not even sure why, but nonetheless, you head closer to the small forest and keep a watchful eye out for anything that looks unusual.

Before you even reach the heart of the forest, you come across a small stone table that at first you mistake for a park bench, even though it seems like it is randomly placed here among several dead trees. The odd thing is there’s a square-shaped hole in the center, which you’re not sure what it’s there for. You lean in to take a closer look and…

@Void Rapture – GHOST (5 Sanity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 75 out of 100: FAILED!

…you mistakenly make contact with the bench. And it’s like you feel a part of your br͆̔ain͂̈́͆̑͗ͭ̏ ̠̥̠̜ͭͯͦ̊ͩͅr̮̹̙̙̭̦̬ot͕̫͙̬̰͕̻̃̂ͪ̌̇ͦ͐ṫ̝̜̮̻̲̫̔̅̓̎̾e̘̽ d̲̰͍ of̟͉͖͚̱͍̖f̙̪͒̋ ̿̔a̙͇͙̟̩̠̬͌̎̾ͯ̀ͧͯnd̋̊̐͑ͧ̈́̚ ̗̪̻̳͚š͔͎̫̥̥̰̼ͬͬ͛͋̅̓t̤͓̳͕̋͐ͥ̋ạrͮ̈́̂͌ẗ̆ͣe͙̹͖ͤ̓̈́̓ͨͭ ̮͕͙d̞̪̺͍̉ͯ͒ͩ f̟͉̣̟̃̾͊͌e̝̻̹̣̜̩ste̽͑r̥̻̻̻̣͍̪͒ͧ̉̓̓ͦͣi̙͂nͦͫͧ̇ͩ͌̆g̒̆ ̩̰̱̖̖̓͛͊ i͍̼̟̺n͉̮̪̾̎̈́t̜̑o̬͇͓̲ͤ̏͒̈́ ̄̌̈̈̈ͬ̚t͂̂̉̔ͪ̇͂he r̼ͧë͎̖͙̪̺̍̋̇̍s͕̰͙͎͎t͓̗̪͔̦̙͂ͪ́̊ͯ̑ ̮̗̥̓̈ͬȍ̲͈̟͙̬́̋̽̐f͎̲̀̂̊ͅ ͇̝̥̻͊͒̀̾i͙͔̜͍͓̱̬t̙̣̞͔̠̳, ̈̿mã͔̫̪̾ͨk̜͖͒̍î̻͎̮̃ͣn̘̯̱̓͐̊g͕̻͙̬͇̜̒̾͂̐ͤ͗ ̰́ȳ͙o̟̫̻̐́͐u̫͚̟̝̦̟̒̈́̾̔̑ͫ ͔̖̯ͩ͋̽w͓̩̰ͅr͐̈̓͛ͬ̚ȅ͉̪͕̘̟̖̈́̂ͤ͂̅t̺̜͈̎͗̓ćͦ̌ͬ̅̎͒hͮ͋ͩ ̣̰̫͍̖̉̃ ̪͓͎̓͆͑̎ͅa̜̪͇̪͎̰ͫ͑̐̊̾͒nd̫̤͓͔̜̈͊̈̏̓ ̤͉̙̫͊̓ͤͭa̘̪̬̱̭̽́͂̃̿ndd̬͔̪̖̞̳l͍͎̹n̈́͋ͮ́́i͖͖̬̯w̄̌ajͤ͐ ̫͓d͑͋ͥͦ̽ͯsf̙̜̰̝̜̼̍͛̔̇̓̑s̠̰͑ͦa͖̺oi͉͉͖͍ͅe̞̣ͥͨ ̘̯͚ạ̥̜̫̯i̯̦͔̅̊̚fd͇͈̰͎͇̘ͭ̀ͯ̓͑̚a̬̻̝̋̒̐s̮̤̖̣̞̰̟l ;̿

Scy has suffe̠͎͕̲͉ͯ̉̊ͥͧred 2 Sanity Da̮̝̣ͯ̎͌mage.

…it makes you twitch. Just a bit. Like a little jig before it suddenly feels like it becomes a full-blown seizure and you suddenly find yourself lying on your back on the ground, spasming. It gets worse when you make the mistake of reminding yourself that you’re all here ã̻̯̥̰̤̼̈ͥ̿̽̍ll̃̑̃̽ͤͪ͌ ̭̓a̮loṇ̣͓̰̰͉̄͌̇͒̆ͪe and there’s no one coming to help you.

Scy ha̮̝̣ͯ̎͌s suffered 3 Sanity Damage̠͎͕̲͉ͯ̉̊ͥͧ.

You make up what feels like hours later, jaw hanging open and you snap to attention, almost gagging in the process. Part of you wonders if you died again and this is just you waking up to enjoy a fresh new nightmare, but no… instead you see this one hasn’t ended yet. And you get up, looking at what caused this in the first place…

@{The Altar of Vacancy: Cube-Shaped Hole} Void Rapture GHOST – (5 Sanity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

You really feel like you didn’t deserve that. Still, once you get back on your blue spiked feet, you look back at the altar, making sure not to touch this awful thing. You observe the cube-shaped hole, realizing there’s something that’s supposed to go there. What, pray tell, you can only imagine, but for now, you need to move on.

You head more toward the center of the park, where the last few living trees go from surviving to thriving. But what you find in the center of it all almost seems to be a complete anomaly. There’s a small tear in the fabric of space and reality here, forming a kind of portal in the ground. It almost seems like it leads to an entirely new world. You take a closer look, but then it’s like the portal senses you… and wants to connect with you. You back away, but instead it connects with you…

Scy has gained 3 Kurosuōbā.

You suddenly feel like a part of you was suddenly interwoven into a completely alternate dimension. You feel strange, but all of a sudden, it’s like you know this portal’s purpose. It’s like… it’s simply waiting to receive something.

@{Dorimugeto: Sunadokei Taburetto} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ has been noted in the Team Records.

For just a brief second, you seem to understand. A sudden vision of an hourglass comes to mind, but for what, exactly? What does it all mean? It all just seems like shadows shortly after, like they’re hiding a riddle that you used to know.

You decide to turn around and leave, feeling like all you’ve found here were new mysteries… and not the answers you were hoping for. Maybe it will all mean something in time, but for now, you find yourself unable to go further, leaving you heading back to Benni’s farmstead to try and gather your thoughts. What could it all mean?

Once you arrive back at Benni’s you decide to rest it off a bit and wait until sundown. Thankfully, the taste of her Pecha Berry muffins is delicious and it makes you feel at ease again…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 3/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-19-2022, 01:52 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/YCnRjhmM/Jirachi-Smile.png Hmm, this place doesn't seem like it would hurt to search.

https://i.postimg.cc/y8YnVFxL/Jirachi-Sigh.png At least I hope not...

Search: (27) Southshore Chapel

With the morning sun now high in the sky, you head toward the Southshore Chapel, the main heart of Eonologist worship and religious service. You’re already aware there is a massive rivalry between parishioners of Eonology and those that believe in the creation story of Arceus, Birthright. But you want to see what’s going on from the Eonologist side, or at least where they practice their religion.

When you arrive at the large and ornate cathedral, you can honestly say the exterior is quite remarkable and features plenty of beautiful architectural elements that have similar traits to gothic cathedrals. Beautiful stained-glass windows depicting Latios and Latias, a high and admirable steeple, towering spires, and many ornate statues are just a few of the features your eyes are drawn to. Meanwhile, the grounds are kept in admirable shape. Whoever has been keeping the grounds clean is doing quite the job.

…but you quickly find it may not be enough.

Evidence of just how intense the feud between Eonology and the Birthright parishioners is quite evident. Vandalism denouncing and defaming the eon twins with blatantly defamatory slurs and obscenities is quick and easy to find and you can already see spots of where previous graffiti was painted over. Meanwhile, you see two security guards, an adamant Raichu and an imposing Mienshao are doing patrols around the building, just waiting to find someone reckless enough to vandalize the cathedral again. It makes you wonder if they were hired or if they’re parishioners themselves that got sick and tired of seeing their house of worship get defiled like this over and over again and decided to volunteer to stop it from happening yet again.

As you investigate the front of the cathedral’s exterior, you find the two statues of Latios and Latias that were also defiled and vandalized. Before, they used to be beautiful stone statues of the eon twins, but constant vandalism has done permanent damage despite attempts to repair them and paint over damage and slanderous graffiti. As you can see, the both of them had their eyes removed, seemingly almost dug out. You imagine it must have been a pretty strong tool, but upon a closer look, you find something more… disturbing.

They didn’t just have their eyes dug out. They’ve been wholly defiled, and with a supernatural flushing of evil that you strongly feel only the Demoni would be capable of. Latias’s eyes are dipping with blood, and actively dripping no less. You’re not even sure how that’s possible, but from what you can see, there’s a seemingly bottomless reserve of blood continuously flowing from them as a light trickle. And where the blood is falling, a small river of blood flows through the groves of the tiled stone walkway. When you look at the Latios statue, it’s a similar situation, only instead of blood, there’s a sickly jet-black ichor coming out.

{Statue of the Blood Sister, Latias: Missing Eye AND Missing Eye} has been noted in the Team Records.

{Statue of the Shadow Brother, Latios: Missing Eye AND Missing Eye} has been noted in the Team Records.

Between the two statues, you find the stone plaque that was put here has been vandalized as well, but it looks much more like the work of a Stalker than an everyday intolerant thug:

https://i.imgur.com/tI8CHXb.png

[font=papyrus]=The Vandalized Plaque= (https://i.imgur.com/tI8CHXb.png) has been noted in the Team Records.

Clearly, there’s a Stalker that’s aware of the feud between Eonology and Birthright and they’re using it to hide their dirty work.

You then head into the chapel, and you find at least the interior isn’t nearly as vandalized as the exterior. You can see evidence that illustrates recent repainting and repair was done as a result of the vandalism, but at least nothing new has crept into here.

Meanwhile, the inside is quite a marvel to behold. Beautiful murals of Latios and Latias with heavenly depictions. The pews are also in good condition and the white tiled floor makes the interior feel clean, pristine, and holy. The ceiling arches also go up quite high and it all makes you feel so small in comparison. And by the altar, there’s many candles, banners, and two fountains side by side.

It takes you back a bit, and you feel almost saddened knowing the truth that it’s not true despite how firmly these Pokémon believe in Latios and Latias and their divine “Balancing Power” which doesn’t exist in the capacity these Pokémon believe. Still, you know it’s not true. You’ve seen and know of Afterhaven and Origine, and Latios and Latias are only minor legendaries, not the prime creators of the universe. But you decide to respect the beliefs of these parishioners knowing there are clear and obvious signs that singing praise to these two Pokémon means everything to them. And you have the notion that if the real Latios and Latias were to ever find this place and see this, it would inspire and encourage them to make sure their efforts would be rewarded with kindness, empathy, and leadership for these Pokémon. Even if the aspect of them owning the world’s creation is not true.

You don’t find anything else that seems suspicious about the interior, so you decide it’s time to head back to Benni’s farmstead. The defiled statues have you concerned, but you know helping these Eonologists deal with these Stalkers would be a win/win situation for all of you.

And judging from what you found earlier, you have the notion you’re already a critical step toward finding just that…

[size=5]https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-19-2022, 07:35 PM

Search (12) Reliable Med Clinic and Urgent Care.

As the morning sun rises, you decide to head down from Benni’s farm to investigate the Reliable Med Clinic and Urgent Care. From the rumors you’ve heard, it’s even more reliable than the Seabourn Hospital, but you’re hoping not to have to discover the hard way through medical intervention exactly why that is the case.

The trip southwest on your hooves doesn’t wear you down and soon enough you arrive, finding the main building in fairly good condition. You start your search by investigating the exterior, finding that the grounds are kept in good shape by not allowing the surrounding foliage to become overgrown. You also don’t see any significant damage done to the building, unlike the Hitchhiker Restaurant you saw Nicklefool enter just moments before.

On the outside by the southeastern wall, you find a small glint in the dirt that catches your eye and something about it strikes you as unusual. It seems like there’s something buried here, so you use your hooves to dig it out and you find it’s a beautiful ruby pendant on a gold chain. Despite being dirty when you initially dig it out, you rub off the dirt and dust using a discarded towel and it looks much better. You decide to put it on and just you wearing it puts you in a state of comfort.

Sam has equipped the +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Judging from the looks of things, you’re under the impression this had been here for quite some time now. Years, in fact. You’re not sure who the original owner is, but you’re pretty certain they’re never coming back for it. In fact, you figure it’s likely they gave up searching for it long ago. You may never know, but you accept that it’s yours now.

You then decide to investigate the interior of the clinic, making your way through the single wooden swinging door. Upon stepping inside, you find the entrance and waiting room quite clean and welcoming with stark white walls and pretty wooden furniture. There’s nice scenic artwork hanging on the walls in the waiting room while there’s plenty of padded seats to accommodate Pokémon of all shapes and sizes. You find Vanni the Umbreon and Shesa the Arbok keep things nicely in order here, though you find they’re not overly busy today and they don’t have any patients being examined. The waiting room is empty for now and they’re catching up on paperwork for the time being, so it allows you to sneak about to see if there’s anything unusual going on here.

You find the clinic has three patient rooms and a back office area, but nothing about them seems to raise any red flags. The patient rooms seem pretty well-stocked in terms of supplies and equipment, although you realize these Pokémon are several generations of technology behind humans, although you still find a few medical devices that only these Pokémon have ever used. The only other room in the back has supplies and a small lab work area with many glass vials and medicines, but you don’t seem to find anything here that feels like it has any connections to the Stalkers.

You don’t find anything on the inside that causes you to think there’s anything nefarious going on here, so you decide to head out and walk back to Benni’s, preparing for what’s to come tonight…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

05-19-2022, 08:08 PM

I'm gonna use my Security Skill to try and untrap one of our items

https://i.postimg.cc/VNg1Zcpm/Emolga-Bright.png
Oooh, you’re letting me choose which one? Sweet!

You decide to stay in this morning and work on removing the curse off of the Blackened Rose. You’re already aware ChiChi experienced this curse itself while receiving it from Raboa, who clearly was falling under the grim effects of this defiled flower. While you may not know all the details regarding this curse, you’re aware even just touching this corrupted thing causes the melancholy and self-destructive affliction.

First, you put on a pair of rubber gloves over your yellow paws and you put on a pair of safety goggles, just in case something foul sprays or bursts out of it. As you investigate and analyze the blackened rose, you try to search for signs or indications as to where and how this corrupting effect is being caused. Nothing physical seems to give any clues, but you weren’t expecting any given what you’ve know about what this curse tries to target. This afflicts Pokémon on a spiritual level.

@Horrific Defilement – DARK (6 Purity Damage>)@ Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 77 out of 100: Success!

You realize the black rose has been coated with a cursed dark ichor that cannot be perceived on the physical plane. Normal washing with water and scrubbing with soap doesn’t remove it either. Disinfectant spray will at least get it started enough to penetrate into the vile coating, but to really purge it out, you find yourself asking Benni if she has any holy water around, which you use to clean the rose after breaking up the coating. After ten minutes of generous soaking, the defiled ichor coating is washed away and the rose is clean, even though it still reeks of Stalker presences. But at least now it’s safe to handle.

The Horrific Defilement curse has been removed from the Blackened Rose.

With that done, you then place the Blackened Rose back in storage. While it will always have a Stalker’s taint on it, at least now it is safe to handle.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-19-2022, 08:43 PM

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972125532869242941/972198034022744074/Lewisia_Neutral_Portrait_smol.png I will go search (4) Kako Industries Farm

You decide to use this morning to investigate the Kako Industries Farm itself now. It’s a very short distance from Benni’s farm, which is good as after yesterday’s long and tiring investigation through the tancorn field, you feel you could use a break from walking.

From the outside, you look up and see a lot of the old industrial farm has seen a lot of use over the years and a lot of the equipment is almost fully depreciated, but still works. However, a lot of it looks like it could break down any minute now and your only solution would be to replace it. Every day these machines work feels like yet another day of borrowed time.

The structures themselves also show their age. The tancorn silos look like they’ve been in operation for several decades now and you see the metal plates and panels peeling and rusting in a few spots as well. And the main structure of the facility could use a lot of renovation work done simply to update it.

It isn’t until you search around the western silo do you find something odd. It’s something unique that you can sense whereas normal Pokémon would never ever know it was here. About four feet away from the silo, you feel the source below you and start digging, feeling a strange shadowy presence in the ground. You use your pink paws to dig a hole, and eventually you come across something solid. At first, you’re reluctant to touch this black, smoky orb, but after holding it, you assume it’s safe when you realize it’s not trying to defile or infect your mind and spirit.

As you look upon the smoky baseball-sized orb, you feel it fully charged with a shadowy power. At first, you cannot fathom its purpose or why it’s here, but suddenly it hits you. This device is a conduit, charged with a shadowy energy very similar to a relic battery. Somehow, someway, this stored power is meant to be used as an energy source. But you don’t know if its meant to be used for a machine, a ritual, to charge a weapon, or possibly even swallowed. You decide to hold onto it for now, hoping in due time you discover what this thing’s purpose is.

[Putki] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then search the main structure. Here, the harvest tancorn is cleansed, prepared, packed, and sent off to distribution. The machines also seem very worn-down and it amazes you some of them are still running. However, they’re definitely on the loud side and you hope the next generation of machines will be much quieter.

You check one of the storage supply cabinets, and you find more tools and equipment like harvesters, fertilizer spreaders, pest deterrents, and the like. You even find a pile of weapons and armor, likely used to defend the farm from raiders or thieves. They look old, worn, and like they haven’t been used in quite some time, but you find a decent looking set or armor in the pile that’s still in decent working condition. It appears it was intended to be for a guard on sentry duty. Since it doesn’t look like any of these will ever be used again, you decide to take one set and wear it yourself.

Lewisia has equipped the +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H).

The rest of them look too worn-down to be of any use and just don’t seem reliable. Meanwhile, the weapons have become worn, brittle, and rusty. You hope for Kako’s sake they won’t need to defend the farm any time soon. Or you hope they’ll at least be able to battle well using their own natural powers and don’t need weapons or armor.

After investigating the rest of the interior, you decide to head back to Benni’s farm just as the sun begins to set. All the while, the black smokey Putki orb never seems to rest as its dark energies continue to swirl about in the globe…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-19-2022, 08:50 PM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 2: Night Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/lpm0tCS.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3255241/day-2-night-cycle)

(Sunday, May 22, 2022 5:00:00 PM, Time EST)

C0L0R3D Playground Pichu ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

DayBreak

05-19-2022, 09:02 PM

C0L0R3D

05-19-2022, 10:14 PM

Chakramaster

05-19-2022, 10:48 PM

sammy0295

05-20-2022, 05:37 AM

Search (59) The Slacker’s Shack

EmeraldSky

05-20-2022, 08:02 PM

I will talk to Caily the Charmeleon tonight

ARandomTool

05-20-2022, 11:16 PM

Scytherwolf

05-21-2022, 11:11 AM

I'll search (5) Jadebreeze Forest.

Noblejanobii

05-21-2022, 03:55 PM

Neo Emolga

05-22-2022, 05:59 PM

2049
" You know what. I hate being forced to run away and I hate leaving business unfinished even more. I'm gonna go back to those docks and check out that Silent Song Ship, and if need be I will knock some heads!! "

2050
" I am just staying far away from that horrifying monstrosity this time. When the sun rises I'm probably gonna take out some interviews because I'll probably have all the excitement I can handle for a while in today alone... "

2051
" .... Xerneas, If I die again, you had better not reincarnate me as a Latios. That'd make things real awkward with interviews... "

Gathering your bravery, you decide to head back to the Pleasant Waters Harbor, but this time to investigate the lone “Silent Song” ship. After what you experienced before, you set your mind and spirit to be ready for anything. The moon is high and it lightly illuminates the ground below with its faint glow. Rather than seeing it as eerie, you see it as hopeful, and that light can pierce through even in the darkest of places, driving back the cowardly shadows.

The journey southwest almost plays as it did before. For now, you’re not worried about the deranged clockwork door you came across earlier despite its disturbing apparatuses and the hideous noise it made. As soon as you arrive at the harbor, you head directly for the ship itself, still being pushed and buffeted by the waters. You see the moon reflecting off the waves as your blue clawed feet set foot on the wooden docks. It’s very quiet tonight, but you can still hear the waves below and all around.

You hear the creaking noise of the ship once again…

“Runnn..” the moaning sound creaks out.

No.

Despite the weathered condition of the wooden ship itself, you board it, taking care to watch your step to make sure the wood you step on looks strong and stable enough to support your weight. You imagine it’s been years since anyone has been here, but nonetheless, you keep watch on every shadow, trusting none of them. Despite your heart racing, you investigate the deck, leaving no corner of the ship overlooked.

You don’t find anything of value on the deck itself. Anything that’s made of wood is splintering and most of the metal components have become worn and rusted over. You then investigate the bow and the stern, but you don’t find anything that raises any red flags. All there is here are frayed ropes, broken tools, and splintered crates and buckets.

You then decide to head below deck to see if there’s anything here. You look around in the dark and dimply-lit corridors and see most of the ship has been stripped clean of anything useful, leaving only the broken, rusting, and splintering remains behind. You get the impression this ship was once used as a small cargo freighter, but clearly those days are long behind it now. The barrels left behind are incapable of holding anything liquid with the amount of wear they have taken and the crates look like they could easily break and collapse if anything over twenty pounds was stored within them. Clearly if there was anything salvageable on this ship, it’s been taken away.

It isn’t until you get to the back of the cargo hold that you come across something you were not expecting to see.

And you realize you’re not alone on this ship…

“Noo…” the voice moans. “Please… just let me die already…”

You remain quiet, not sure if this is some kind of illusion or trick considering what you experienced before at the harbor itself. You steel yourself, preparing for anything as your heart pounds in your chest.

“Why…?” the voice asks. “Why do this…? Haven’t I suffered enough…?”

You soon find out where the voice is coming from. You do a double take to see before you… a Starly has been crucified to the back wall of the ship’s cargo storage area with his spread wings and feet having been nailed against the wall. What strikes you as especially disturbing is the blood-soaked white and gray bird absolutely should be dead given the condition of his ravaged and broken body, but still lives… somehow.

You sense some dark, foul work has been done here. This Starly’s corpse has been seemingly reanimated, similar to a zombie, locked in an undead state between life and death. But unlike the zombies you traditionally know, the poor bird’s personality and consciousness is still there and he’s not out to devour the flesh of the living. Meanwhile, you see the poor bird has been permanently blinded on top of all the additional misery he’s been put through.

“Who… are you?” you ask.

The very sound of your voice suddenly makes him lurch. It seems as though the only visitors he’s had on this ship is the Stalker who did this to him.

“Ralon… oh help me… help me… whoever you are…” he moans. “It’s… E-Exonull… Exonull did this… to me…”

Eẍ̱͎͙̥̩̮́̽͊̑̿͑o͉̮̹̮̳n̟̥̓̔u̗̱̳̗̲̹͗ͥ̾̇͌̋l̗̳̖̉̉̄̐ͅl̯̲ ͓͇̤͉͚…

The very Stalker known to have a deep loathing for flying Pokémon. The very one that murdered Scy just last night. And what you see before you is nothing but pure, heartless cruelty. You feel pure anger gather in you, making you restless until you see justice for the heartlessness has been done here.

“What can I do?” you ask Ralon.

“Exonull… is trying to kill my whole family, using me as bait!” he cries out. “Exonull taunts me every night about it. You need to warn my dad Verio and my mom Farshira not to try and search for me. And tell my sister Kammia and my brother Krago the same! Tell them… I’m gone…”

“What about you?” you ask. “What… happened to you?”

“I… I can’t live like this, my body is in… so… much… pain…” he cries. “I shouldn’t… even be alive. I need… I need… my spirit… it’s been chained to this dead body. There’s only one way to break the link…”

“And what’s that?” you ask.

“…A stake to the heart…” Ralon tells you. “Not just any stake. It was driven through my heart before, but a dark encryption was put onto it. It locked my spirit in my body… and I can’t… die. It… has to be driven back in to cut the link… and… and allow me… to pass away.”

“What about Exonull?” You ask, hoping to get the identity of the Stalker that did this. “Who is Exonull? They need to be stopped!”

“I… wish I knew for sure, but my eyes are gone…” Ralon tells you regrettably. “Exonull’s voice… sounds feminine. Young. I… don’t know much else… I’m sorry. Everything… hurts so… much…”

“It’s fine,” you tell him, “that’s already a big help. Just don’t give Exonull any clue anyone else was here. I’ll find this encrypted stake. Do you have any idea where it might be?”

“I… I don’t know…” Ralon weeps. “She could have hidden it anywhere. Please… please hurry…”

{Crucified Starly Effigy: Stake Sacrifice} has been noted in the Team Records.

“Just hold on… I’ll be back…” you assure him.

“You’ll be home, soon.”

Home. A second chance in Afterhaven, to be born again and away from this dark, forgotten place. A chance at a new life awaits Ralon if you can find this encrypted stake… and free him from this terrible pain.

You head up and back on the docks of the Pleasant Waters Harbor, heading back to Benni’s farmstead… trying to figure out where this stake could possibly be in Seabourne…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-22-2022, 07:25 PM

2052

Well, ya know what they say! Night time is the right time to dig into religions that aren’t correct despite their sheer devotion!

2053

That came out very wrong. Sorry. Anyways…

2054

Hey there! I’ve been told to have a chat with you from somebody else, mostly about helping you and the other Eonologists out a bit. Surely won’t hurt for some divine favour from the Eons, right? Plus, any chance you’ve seen stuff that may relate to these Stalker folk? Sorry if that kinda… drags down the mood.

[Action decided: Interview 30, Jamsaki the Servine. Chat about anything I could do for some good old divine favour, as well as some hints regarding any potential Stalker sightings.]

Interview Rapport: EXCELLENT
Same species line

Based on what Myta told you, you decide to seek out Jamsaki, and you easily find her at the Southshore Chapel this evening. As you see her, she seems calm and relaxed, as though the threats of the Stalkers and the Birthright worshippers haven’t even made a dent on her spirit.

You approach her, introducing yourself and offer to help her and the other Eonologists a bit. And you also inquire about the Stalkers, hoping to figure out what she knows. A warm and welcoming smile comes over her as she’s delighted to make your acquaintance.

https://i.postimg.cc/dVn7rCV7/Jamsaki-Happy.png “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Colored! I hope you’ve been well this evening and I hope you feel welcome here at Southshore Chapel.”

“I’m also thankful for your offer to help us and our parish,” she continues. “As the head priestess, I’m always happy to see newcomers. I know these are difficult times we are facing, but our faith in the eons and in our families will guide and protect us. Always.”

“As the brother and sister creators guide and watch over each other and us all, we need to do what we can for each other regardless of who stands in our way.”

https://i.postimg.cc/cJHvmJvF/Jamsaki-Normal.png “Indeed, we need to help each other in these circumstances.” Jamsaki tells you, nodding and expressing her appreciation at your offer to assist. “I’m not sure if you’ve seen the eon statues out front, but unfortunately someone vandalized them yet again. Now, very often I know exactly who the vandals are and they’re always Birthright fanatics. And like the walls, the grounds, and the other statues we have here, often they vandalize using paint or by damaging the property itself.”

“But this is something different. I’ve sensed a darkness in those two statues that is unlike anything the Birthright vandals do. And I believe this is the work of the Stalkers you speak of. While it might be a coincidence, it just feels unlikely this is the case.”

https://i.postimg.cc/Qdj9FmhG/Jam-Saki-Frustrated.png “At first I confronted Kulsso about this,” Jamsaki explains, looking like she isn’t fond of this memory. “We got into an argument and he believed I was accusing him when really I just wanted answers. But they’re always like that.”

“I don’t dare go to Junlus because I know it would turn into a physical brawl and that’s the last thing we want between our two parishes.” Jamsaki explains, realizing the situation has been very volatile. “But I saw Kulsso the other day at the library. And he had one of those eyes with him. It immediately made me think of the damage that was done to the eon statues and I think it’s related, but I don’t know if he’s responsible for it. He’s obsessed with that dark eye and I can almost sense it has polluted and corrupted his already malevolent mind. I don’t know where he found it but it’s definitely not his.”

“And it almost reminded me of the eye I saw at the Charms and Chimes gift store,” Jamsaki recalls. “I’ve shopped there before and there’s all kinds of colorful and cute baubles and trinkets. But that bloody eye on that display shelf… it was so out of place. I know I should have mentioned something to Jupo, but I don’t think she would take the situation seriously. With how carefree she is… I’m always concerned. I would hate to see something horrible befall her because of her oversight. She’s… just too blissfully naïve. But if you could look into this for her sake, I would appreciate it. And I need someone to talk to Kulsso. I need the truth about what he knows, and why he holds onto that eye.”

https://i.postimg.cc/cJHvmJvF/Jamsaki-Normal.png “Maybe there’s something else you can help me with, Colored,” Jamsaki tells you, showing you a glowing orb that has a milky haze swirling around in it. “I found this… strange globe this other day on one of my morning walks in Jadebreeze Forest. I’ve tried to figure out what it means, but I’m still not sure and I’m thinking maybe it’s time I have someone else look into it. What do you think?”

She then presents the milky orb before you, and you hold out your green hands to receive it. As the orb rolls out of her small, green leaf-like hands and into your hands, suddenly you feel a strange sensation…

Colored has inherited 3 points of Kurosuōbā…

You feel distant for a moment, almost as if in a trance. Before, the orb seemed like a seemingly meaningless milky crystal ball, leading you to believe it was some purely ornamental bauble. But as you hold it before you, it almost seems to make a bit of sense, like a dream you suddenly remembered after waking up just moments ago. You can almost make out images… scenes of things happening at this very moment. For a second, you swear you can see a glimpse of Lyric the Nidorina investigating what looks to be an old ship… and Benni… heading off to sleep.

Is this… are these visions what’s happening now?

And then you realize Jamsaki does not see the same things you do. She only continues to see the white milky haze that has no answers and shows her nothing. But to you… there is something more to this. There is an indefinable mysterious power here that permeates you, but you still remain unable to understand the complexities to this otherworldly relic…

@[Shiryoku] - ~3 Kurosuōbā has been added to the Team Inventory.

What created this… where is it from?

You shiver, but you can only tell Jamsaki one thing.

“I’ll… look into this,” you tell her, still trying to grasp what this is all for. “Thanks.”

https://i.postimg.cc/cJHvmJvF/Jamsaki-Normal.png “I appreciate it, Colored. I wasn’t sure if there was anyone out there that I could trust with this, but… something about you seems different. Special, in fact. I don’t know what it is, but please let me know if you find anything.”

You tell her you’ll let her know, and then you head back to Benni’s to get some sleep tonight. But in the meantime, as you walk back on the dusty roads back to the farm, you take another look at the orb… showing you another brief vision as the calm white glow from the moon casts over you…

What is this thing…

…

…what is happening to me…?

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-23-2022, 12:21 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/1RwvMmbr/Jirachi-Neutral.png So the rumor of this place is there's some unexplained clicking sound. I wonder what could be causing that. Maybe this place is due to some investigating. So I'll put my detective hat on and do some sleuthing here myself!

Search: (41) Oceanwatch Condominiums

As the moon appears in the sky, you head southeast toward the eastern docks and where the Oceanwatch Condominiums are. You imagine most Pokémon that live here are home by now, but you figure you can still get in plenty of searching without being noticed.

When you first arrive, you decide to look around the exterior of the building, even though the moonlight is just about the only illumination you have to work with save for the faint light generated by a few street lamps nearby. The main three-story building itself is in generally good condition, but you still find traces of litter here and there as well as some minor graffiti on the walls.

As you search along the walls, you find there is a small indentation in the gray brick wall and when you investigation it further, you find one of the bricks seems loose and can be pulled away. You then look inside, not really expecting to find anything, but it seems a strange book cover was hidden here. You decide to pull it out, and the most unusual sensation happens…

Chakra has inherited 2 points of Kurosuōbā…

It leaves you feeling a bit odd, even though for some strange reason, there are no pages in the book and it looks like some kind of circular plate or marking on the cover was removed. But you’re not sure why or by whom. All the while, after looking at both sides of the cover, you swear it doesn’t at all seem like a normal book cover, but you can’t quite understand or fathom what makes it different…

Still, you take the cover with you and put the stone brick back into place.

@[Kaba] - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

Your best guess is someone wanted to disassemble this book to prevent it from being reassembled, but didn’t want to destroy it. You’re not quite sure why this is the case and what would prompt this kind of action. Perhaps this was a way to protect the book and come back to it later?

You then head inside the condominiums, entering through the main lobby before finding yourself standing before a flight of stairs. In terms of interior décor, you find it rather uninspiring, mostly having bare white walls, rather stale-looking lighting, and a few houseplants that look like they haven’t been cared for very well. The edges of the leaves are browning and it doesn’t look like they’ve been watered for days.

You search around the hallways, unsure if you’re going to hear that odd clicking sound. When it finally reveals itself, it comes along as faint tapping at first, and you try to estimate where it’s coming from. Initially, you think it’s coming from the far end of the second floor, but when you search around there, the way it echoes misleads you and makes you think it’s now coming from further down the hall past rows and rows of apartment doors. And when you try to go there, again, it seems to move, as if playing a labyrinth game of hot and cold with you. You’re not sure if it’s some kind of anomaly or if something or someone is fully conscious and aware that you’re trying to track them down, but nonetheless, your attempt to find out what’s doing this keeps going unfulfilled despite your best intentions to save the Pokémon that live here some sanity from this pesky noise.

What started as determination quickly becomes frustration and then ultimately a forfeit. Instead, you decide to simply search and sweep the building, trying to tune out the clicking and tapping noise while you work.

In one of the recently abandoned condominiums, you find what looks like a piece of jewelry that must have been either left behind intentionally or the more likely case, fell out of a moving box or container by accident and was left behind, never noticed by the original owner. You put it up and realize there is a small minor blessing on it, likely created by some sort of mystic or priest. You’re not even sure what religion or sect was responsible or what the protective runes on it even mean, but wearing it makes you feel more at ease, as though it’s giving your spirit a bit more courage and endurance even in the darkest of places…

Chakra has equipped the +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

When you search the rest of the building, you don’t find anything else that seems out of place. Meanwhile, you’ve taken note of all the Pokémon that live here, which consists of Sanfer, Nimsher, Zakra, Malco, Drestan, Erine, Dantus, Yanza, Hashani, Talchea, and Nali. Even at a late hour, there’s still plenty of noise and for some reason, it’s common for Pokémon to have loud and harsh arguments that you can hear through the walls. It could be from the tapping… or something else entirely…

You feel you’re not going to be able to solve this mystery for now and it’s already getting late. So you decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead and get some rest…

Later that night…

You come back to Benni’s dark and quite farmstead to find the Appletun has already gone to sleep for the night. Still, you decide to head over to the storage cabinet to add the Kaba cover to the rest of the items here, wondering what most of them are even for.

But then, as soon as it gets close to the other items… something happens…

For a moment, the cover forces itself open, and then the Burakkupeji black pages seemingly leap out of the cabinet all on their own and gather within the book itself, all in order and all facing the right direction. The whole time, you can’t understand what is happening, but as soon as the book is filled with its missing pages, it closes on its own, and then the Shōchō emblem leaps from the shelf it was stored on and locks into place on the front cover as if pulled into place by powerful magnetism…

@[Kaba] - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@
@ - ~3 Kurosuōbā~@
@[Burakkupeji 2 of 2] – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@
@[Shōchō] - ~2 Kurosuōbā~@

Have been combined to create the @[Shadoumemorizu no hon] - ~6 Kurosuōbā~@

Chakra has inherited 6 points of Kurosuōbā…

Now in your hands, the strange book lies completed, all while you feel you’ve been swept away into a strange, dream-like trance and just came back from vising a world so incredibly far away. Clearly, this book and the effect it has on you are connected, but you’re not sure what it means. But it feels like you’re closer to understanding why. This book… clearly it can’t be from this world… can it?

You flip through the pages, and despite the odd markings on the black pages, you feel like you can almost understand it, even though you’ve never read any book like this before and especially not in this mysterious language. You almost feel in another time, another place, you could distinctly read this.

What does it all mean?

You feel like you’re so close to the answers, but they still feel like a world away at another time…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Lychee

05-23-2022, 04:38 AM

Neo Emolga

05-24-2022, 12:02 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/QMmW3CVz/Emolga-Sw-eat.png And I did it again. Sorry Lychee!

Here’s the results of ChiChi’s Day 2 Day Post that I accidentally skipped over. Totally wasn’t intentional! You’d think I would have seen that nice bright pink font! :P

You know the drill! Clocks turn back, sun’s back in the sky, and… action!

Even though I want to talk to Caily and the cops, I think it's probably safer if I chat to a student at night, and the police during the day.

Dantus seems to know what's up, and I might have a lead for him on the supply of Raze in the district-- at least, I can find out more or help out in their investigation?
Similarly, that was MY out of town friend who died! I've certainly got a few questions about whatevers going on here! I deserve to know! Could we all be about to die in horrible ways?Id love to find out how many serial killer signatures are out there... How many psychos?? I won't use the words demoni or stalker though.
And... Are there any upsetting-but-useless pieces of evidence they've confiscated? Maybe they should hand that stuff over to me, to placate my TERRIBLY DISTRAUGHT MOOD WAAAH

Talk to Dantus the Dragapult and use Diplomacy

You decide to head over to the Seabourne Police Station and talk to Dantus, the very sheriff of Seabourne Town. You figure he must know a lot of the details regarding what’s going on, but you figure as he’s the sheriff of this town, you’re going to need to convince him to trust you and the other Savants.

When you find him, you observe from a distance that while he’s exceedingly busy, especially considering the police force is greatly understaffed and he doesn’t have the law enforcement and detectives he needs, he doesn’t rush, he doesn’t stress out, and he seems to be a Pokémon of few words. You can’t imagine how he remains so calm and collected under such intense pressure…

“Hey there!” you call out to him, frustrated about what’s going on. “Dantus, right? I need your help!”

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “You and everyone else in this town,” he replies, not even looking to face you as he continues looking over crime dossiers. “You’re going to need to get in line, unless you have a damn good reason why I should drop everything and work on your problem.”

You see he’s going to be a tough nut to crack and he may not be as easy to convince as some of the other civilians you've encountered…

https://i.imgur.com/h5dHBlK.png

#48 Dantus the Dragapult: {<Diplomacy> (https://i.imgur.com/h5dHBlK.png) OR Drug Evidence}
(you can either complete the word search or give him the drug evidence)

Given your skill in speech, you find yourself needing to find the right words to convince him that you need his full cooperation despite him having his hands full with everything else he’s got going on. That, or give him something that proves your skills are something he needs to strongly consider supporting and to gain his cooperation.

You consider your next move carefully…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/786.png ChiChi the Tapu Lele (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-24-2022, 02:14 AM

Search (59) The Slacker’s Shack

Tonight, as the moon is clearly seen in the sky, you head east, cutting across the large barren landscape between Benni’s farmstead and the Slacker’s Shack. The expanse is so empty, wide, and eerily silent that for a short while, it almost feels like you’ve walked off the face of the planet and into a seemingly dark and infinite realm of emptiness.

And then you come to the dark and sickly-looking northeastern side of town that simply looks sad, decrepit, and forgotten. All except for one location. And that’s where you’re heading tonight, although you find yourself needing to get in close to detect there being any kind of life to this scorned place.

You arrive at what is called the Slacker’s Shack, what used to be a small two-story house and tavern owned by a Roserade before the business failed. Here, the windows have been covered up with heavy towels and wood planks, but you can still find faint traces of light coming from behind them. And you can faintly hear chatter and laughter inside.

You first investigate the outside. Without a doubt, the building is a neglected mess and you find a lot of the teenagers and young adults haven’t at all been responsible when it comes to keeping this place clean. But you can see that not many parents bother coming around this part of town, so it hasn’t been noticed and discovered.

There is something among the refuse that doesn’t stand out as ordinary garbage. Toward the back of the building, tucked into the walls just enough… it appears to be an odd stone plate… reminding you of something you might have seen back at the farmhouse. Something one of the other Savants picked up along the way.

The tablet Maya found at the library…

You see that it seems to have some strange engravings upon it, written in a language you’ve never seen before. You place your hoof upon it to pick it up and take a closer look, but…

Sam has inherited 2 Points of Kurosuōbā…

It takes you back, as if you’ve woken up from a lucid dream that you remembered from years ago… but only for a moment. In the end, it feels like only a faint childhood memory, but it leaves you wondering… what is this…?

…is there more to this…?

@[Pureto jo] – ~2 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

You take it with you, not sure what it is for, but still feeling it has to be something important. You’ve never felt anything like that before…

…at least not here. Not upon Origine. But if not in these places…

…where did you feel this before?

You decide to carry on, continuing your investigation in the shack itself. As you sneak your way inside, you find the interior is only dimly lit from a few candles and lanterns. The light and shadows seem to dance on the walls, all of which are in shabby condition. Meanwhile, all of the furniture looks cheap and mismatched, as though all of it was acquired for cheap at garage sales or dumped in the street to be collected as trash. The chairs, sofas, tables, and cabinets look like their best years are long behind them while the worn wooden floor looks old, tired, and it’s quite obvious the Pokémon here don’t care too much for being clean with all of the wrappers, containers, empty bottles, and food crumbs scattered about.

And you see some familiar faces here, too. Jupo the Whimsicott, Narshen the Cinccino, and Erine the Swoobat are here with Jupo often giggling and leading the conversation, gossiping about her customers. Danuel the Banette doesn’t talk much, mostly enjoying his alcoholic drinks while listening to Jupo’s recollections. Myta is also here, mixing different drinks and pretending to be a bartender sometimes to mixed levels of success. Kabi is also here, but doesn’t seem to be as engaged as the rest of the group, barely uttering a word the whole time. At times, Caily the Charmeleon jumps in on the conversation as well, gossiping about other students at school, especially Vocco, who the crew badmouths quite a bit. You have quite the hunch Vocco has never been invited here and doesn’t even know about this place.

Meanwhile, Velay the Buizel seems to be a newcomer here, looking like he only just recently found out about the secret society that gathers here at some nights. He's sometimes pushed to join in on the conversation too, and the group lets him describe some of the stories he has while on fishing voyages. The group finds the more he opens up and the more drinks he’s had, the more interesting he becomes. He even later gets pushed to sing a song that Erine the Swoobat wrote as Tresko the Raboot, still somewhat new to playing a guitar-like instrument, tries to come up with a tune to go along with it. At times it sounds like a goofy karaoke, but at other times it seems to sync together well and you almost want to record it if you could.

Despite it sometimes getting a bit rowdy, you can’t help but feel relaxed and at ease here in this hidden place, like a home away from home where the rules don’t matter. Sometimes the conversations almost make you laugh as well. Other times you almost feel like taking a break from your investigations to join them. All the while, something about it touches you. Tonight, it might seem silly and reckless to these Pokémon and quite rebellious to the parents these young adults and teenagers have. But for a moment, you think… twenty… thirty years from now when all these young adults have grown up and left this place and this town to go on with their lives… they’ll remember this place. They won’t forget this shabby tavern and the late-night adventures they had here. They’ll remember the friends they had here and the laughs they had together.

To the good old days… the ones we’re having right now…

You head upstairs to find the living area that Lunko lived in before closing up the tavern. Now, it’s mainly used as a small storage area where the crew keeps drinks, drugs, party games, sleeping rolls and bags in case they need to spend the night here, and plenty of plates, utensils, and containers for parties. There’s plenty of other random old belongings here that some keep here as keepsakes and others for storage.

Meanwhile, the condition of the rooms up here are similar to what’s downstairs. The wooden walls are aged and splintering and the windows have been broken for a while with only dirty towels hung over them to keep the rain out. The ceiling lights no longer work and it seems like the candles that were here to light the room burnt out a while ago.

You don’t find anything unusual at first, but then something among them seems unusual.

You shift through them with your hoof just before…

@Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ Trap 40% Evasion Test: 34 out of 100: Success!

You quickly withdraw your front hoof, realizing indeed… there is something foul and hidden here that you almost came into contact with. You focus your attention and you sense it…

…a Stalker’s taint.

It suddenly strikes you… someone among this group is a Stalker. There’s no way someone unassociated with the group could have hidden this here without them being seen as a normal member of the group. What you see before you seems to be a tooth at first, but you sense something dark and supernatural here. Upon closer inspection, you see it’s a fang, infused with a corrupted and crippling nether energy.

Carefully, you wrap the fang in an old blue towel. It doesn’t remove the crippling nature of the fang, but it at least makes it safe for you to carry back to Benni’s farmstead.

@[Fang of the Crippled] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

After taking one last look around, you don’t find anything else up here. Carefully and quietly, you head back downstairs, just managing to avoid detection. You then slip out the back and head into the night…

…wondering who in that group is hiding a dark secret…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 2/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

05-25-2022, 02:41 AM

Lychee
Resolving this here:

https://i.imgur.com/eUvaEYR.jpg

#48 Dantus the Dragapult: {<Diplomacy> (https://i.imgur.com/h5dHBlK.png) OR Drug Evidence}

You realize Dantus is not the type of Pokémon that gets emotionally attached to anything. It’s quite clear he’s become desensitized from his career and the situation with the Stalkers is no different. But you find there’s at least something he cares about…

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you tell Dantus cynically. “I must have you mistaken for someone else. See, I thought Dantus was the sheriff of this town and silly me, I thought you were actually him.”

He drops what he’s doing and bingo. Now you have his attention.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “You should have known that by now,” he looks back at you, abandoning his dossiers for the moment. “Yes, I am Dantus and I am the sheriff of this town.”

“Then start acting like it!” you call out to him. “You know you and Yanza can’t handle all of this. Tell me, when did you have the highest number of cops and detectives working here? Judging by the number of desks, it had to be… say… two, three dozen at one point? How long ago was that? And what do you have now?”

He goes silent, taking his small, blue clawed hands off of the pile of dossiers as he turns around and narrows his gaze upon you. He doesn’t give you an answer, but you know you don’t need one. He did once have that many. And not too long ago at all. You keep firm with your approach, knowing Dantus would never open up to anyone that’s a softie or can’t stand their ground. You know around him, you need to show you have balls, even if you personally think it might come across as rude to someone else.

“I want to know everything you’ve got on the Stalkers,” you insist to Dantus. “Everything. Not the watered-down ‘civilian’ version of the story.”

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “What would you even do with it?” he asks you. “I don’t lay all my trust on just anyone.”

“Then who would you trust?” you ask him rationally. “I’m not asking for payment. I had a friend murdered by these Stalker bastards and I want their head screaming on a stick just as much as you do. And really, your concern is trust now? What do you have to lose besides… oh, I dunno… your entire town at this point? Let me tell you how the story ends if you don’t help me help you. You die, Yanza dies, your whole family dies, and so on and so forth because well, at least you didn’t trust the wrong Pokémon here, right?! What a deal. No, your trust dies with you if we don’t help each other. You know what’s going on in this town and you’re actually still worried about who might be privy to your investigation? That’s what you’re afraid of?”

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “I’m not afraid of anything. Fine, if this is what you’re after, then consider yourself lucky, because I’m at the point where I don’t give a damn. I’ll tell you what I know not because I think you’re some secret all-star detective or you’re some good Samaritan, but because I actually want to see if you can back those claims up and actually make use of what I’m about to tell you.”

“Seabourne has had murders in the past,” Dantus begins. “Every town does. But we knew something was going on when five… possibly six distinct murder signatures intensified in town. Some of them leave names, proud of their kills. Others seem to prefer being anonymous. We lost some detectives and Yanza and myself can’t gather what we really need with just the two of us now. So if you think you have the balls for this, then do it and prove it, because I don’t envy anyone who will need to dig further into what has already caused several of my detectives to put in their resignations. We’re not even running on fumes at this point.”

“I know you’ve heard of Exonull,” Dantus tells you. “Likes to kill flying Pokémon. We’ve tried to find inconsistences in case this was a bad assumption but there’s never been one. This Stalker will only go exclusively after these types of Pokémon. They rip their wings off and make the victim suffocate on them. We originally classified these as hate crimes, but something in them appears to be rooted in jealously with traces of self loathing. That’s why these cases didn’t make sense to me at first, but then I was able to grasp this Stalker has had their aspirations altered and corrupted.”

“Inzaketh is another one,” Dantus explains. “You wanted to see evidence of this Stalker? This is what it looks like, but don’t mishandle it.”

He then hands you what looks like a piece of a wreath of thorns with blood on them, using a cloth towel to carry it before he passes it to you…

#Dark Lacerations – GRASS (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)# Trap 30% Evasion Test: 89 out of 100: Failed!

You reach out to grab it, but your black hands lose their grip on the towel and you instinctively grab the wreath before it hits the ground not realizing it’s cursed and dangerous…

The thorns quickly šͤ͊̊͂͑i̻̲̯̼̮ͨ̇͗͆ͧnk ̖̯̞̒̎̏i̻̲̮̜̝̾̎̍̒ͤn̬̪̪̪͍̩t̼̩͙̯̬̠͈̓ͮ̒̽̄ͪ̒o̮̎ͣ͂ͨ̊ ͍̤͉̝ yó̎ŭ̘r͉̻̈́ͨ ̖͙̗̼ͧ̆̈́ͥfl̩̠̠̯͇e͙̰̤̦̹͉ͫͮ͋̔͆ͧs̻̏hͫͣ́ and you gawk and moan in pain, eyes bulging, blackening, and you feel like you could vo̭̲̔ͤm̜͓̹̗̭̰̗͌̍ͩ͛ͧ̈́̿it̗̟̣̙ ̾͋̓͂ͬ̊ͤṵ̥̱̼̹̾̌̉̈̐p̄̉͊ b̠̖͓̳͔͉͙̀ͨ̏ͩͤͣͧl̮̹͍̩͌̒̍̿o̫̯̠̥ͬ͒ͣ̏ő̦̯͉̳̲̗̐̆̓͆ͥd̑̃ͬ ̰̮̣̬̽ ̙͓͋̃ăͮ̌ͣ̂͆̂ṇ̼͓͖͔̩̹̆ͬ̓ͧ̍͌̚d̯̺ ̲̳̖̟͔̘̮̽ͮͬ̂̏͒ͮi̩c̠͚̮͇͈ͦ͂̍ͮ͋h̥̩̟͕͍̾̐ͫ̍ͯo̞̠ͯ̽͆ͣͫ ̦̺̠r right out of your very soul.

ChiChi has suffe̟̯̖͉̲̻͉ͮ̊ͭ̽ͧͫ̂red 4 Damage to Hea̪̯̰̮͉͎͐͋̈ͭ̍͑lth and Pur̖͎ͪ̆ity.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “Didn’t I just say to be careful with that? Don’t touch that damn thing again, it almost killed one of my other detectives. Just before she quit.”

You nod, feeling sick and in pain, but this time, you carefully wrap the towel over the wreath fragment.

@ Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

“To get to the point,” Dantus continues, “that’s Inzaketh’s work. Anything with spikes, thorns, briars, you can thank them for that. We’re not sure why this is a signature trait for this Stalker, but every victim we’ve found was killed by organic materials like these. We did the math and never once did we find someone lacerated or impaled by something made of metallic or synthetic materials. Inzeketh only uses what can occur in nature.”

“If you’ve heard of Pokémon killing themselves by cutting themselves up and trying to rearrange the severed and extracted pieces, that’s from a Stalker named Languished,” Dantus continues. “At first, we believe this was solely from inflicting a kind of psychic psychosis upon the victim up until this went deeper. It becomes more psychologically self-destructive. Those who know the victims claim they heard them hating themselves, trying to rearrange all the ‘ugly’ parts to become something beautiful. Obviously none of it worked, but it had the victim believing they had to suffer for it and it was an ends to justify the means up until it kills them.”

“Fallow is not a Stalker many know about, but we have some material on them,” Dantus explains further. “This is your child-killer. I only know a few details, but Yanza has been more on top of this one. At least three children have been murdered by Fallow with their faces blacked out with oil or black paint. We believe it must have been heated to the point of boiling. Attempts to remove it from the faces of these children revealed it can’t be done, leaving the child essentially faceless.”

“We believe there’s two others,” Dantus tells you. “We don’t have names, however. Not yet, but that’s where you can come in. There is a Stalker that causes rapid and unnaturally fast decay and decomposition in their victims. And the other is an anomaly. We’ve found several Pokémon victims, dead from a brain aneurism in their sleep. It was believed to be natural causes at first until it kept happening multiple times. And it took us some time to realize there were reports of some Pokémon experiencing dreams of murdering the aneurism victim on the same night that victim died. That’s no coincidence and that’s already happened multiple times. A therapist named Velta, a Mothim, came to us against patient confidentiality protocol and reported this happened with several of her patients and that these patients woke up feeling depression and guilt. We were about to inquire for more details about these reports and the discussions she had with her patients before Exonull killed her, too.”

“I’m now going to need to refer you to Yanza if you want her side of everything,” Dantus tells you, getting back to his dossiers. “She’s been out in the field more than I have. I have enough to do here as is, so if you’re serious about this, take what I’ve told you and make damn good use of it.”

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/786.png ChiChi the Tapu Lele (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-26-2022, 02:09 AM

I will talk to Caily the Charmeleon tonight

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Similar Evolution Stage (2of3)

Tonight, you seek out Caily, who you find walking home from the Slacker’s Shack that Sam had visited not too long ago. You manage to get a hold of her before she goes to her apartment in the Twinbank Apartments building.

You approach Caily and introduce yourself.

https://i.postimg.cc/P5s0cfnM/Caily-Happy.png “Sup, Maya, how’s things going?” she asks you in a cheerful, friendly manner.

Having gotten several pieces of the story, you’re aware of where Caily might fit in when it comes to the situation regarding Sarkkan, Kabi, and Vocco, so you decide to inquire more. And you ask if Caily might know something about the Stalkers or has seen something unusual lately.

https://i.postimg.cc/XYft0MV6/Caily-Normal.png “Yeah, it’s a complicated thing,” she replies. “Sarkkan and Kabi used to be friends. They used to study together and they were pretty bookish. Yeah, not my style. Hey, as long as I pass my classes, it’s all good. Sarkkan is pretty serious about getting the best grades he can, but hey, to me, that’s just raising the bar on yourself, you know what I’m saying? Being straight A means you always gotta be straight A with no time for your own life.”

“Well, Kabi was like that, too,” Caily continues, smirking. “I think she got sick of him, you know? Maybe she’s quitting the whole ‘gotta be the valedictorian’ thing. Yeah, who needs that? See, we invited Kabi recently to the Slacker’s Shack, a fun little place we’ve got on the side of town that the adults think is abandoned. She came tonight, but she’s still kinda moody. Didn’t want to drink anything, didn’t want to chat much, but hey, maybe in time she’ll be like the rest of the crew, eh? Heck, if Sarkkan were to lighten up a little and learn how to have fun, I’d invite him, too, but nah, the dude’s just going to study all night long and sure, he’ll have a whole lot of A+s but not a whole lot of friends. See, friends are more important that some red letter on an exam paper.”

“Vocco… well, Vocco is Vocco and I’ve yet to see him invited to the Shack, but that’s mainly because of the stuff he’s done,” Caily tells you. “But I think he’s been dealing with his own issues. He’s got a kleptomaniac thing going, but he’s been struggling with identity as well, having recently come out as trans. He never talks about his parents and yeah, I just don’t want to ask. Heck, my mom’s got impossible to satisfy tastes and my dad’s cool and chill, but he’s a lazy-butt. Heh, I can be a lazy-butt too, at times. Drives mom crazy.”

“Ok, so… weird stuff,” Caily tells you, almost snickering. “So one of my professors… Zakra… she’s a real pile of trash. Math freak, big ego, ugh… she’s just a real pain in the ass. So the other day in class, she had some weird stone tablet with her and I had no idea what she was doing with it. She said she recently found it, but couldn’t understand it. So I was like… well, miss, why hold onto it? She’s trying to find someone that can help explain it to her. Like… huh? Isn’t she supposed to be some super-smart psychic? That’s rare that she admits there’s something she doesn’t know when she always acts like she knows everything. But hey, if you talk to her, ask her about it. Maybe someone’s pranking her. Ooh, I hope so. But anyway, see if you can figure it out, because I’d love to see someone stump her. I looked at the thing and I just shrugged. No idea what it’s about. Looks like something that would just put dropped on a museum shelf and no one would touch the thing again for eons.”

https://i.postimg.cc/XYft0MV6/Caily-Normal.png “Oh yeah, and Verio,” she reminds herself. “He was delivering mail yesterday and I just happened to run into him. Was a pretty nice day, but the guy seems really stressed out regardless of how nice the weather is. I mean he’s always been a little on edge, but it’s been pretty bad lately. Way more than usual. He even mentioned something about ‘the demons’ and kept muttering like there was someone with him the entire time when he was totally all alone. Like I could hear him say ‘stop watching me’ or ‘I need more time’ and other weird stuff like that. It’s odd, usually he’s not like that. I dunno, maybe talk to the guy, see what’s up. I tried but he didn’t want to talk about anything and he just went along on his way. Weird stuff. Maybe he’s been dealing with these Stalkers? Or… damn, didn’t really occur that he could be one himself, but I suppose that’s plausible, too.”

https://i.postimg.cc/P5s0cfnM/Caily-Happy.png “But hey, no sweats, we just gotta hang in there and not let things like this break us down, eh?” she looks to you with a confident smile. “These kinds of things are always temporary.”

“But anywho, nice meeting you, Maya!” Caily beams. “You have a good night and hey, maybe join us at the Shack sometime, eh? Just don’t go telling anyone’s parents about it. It’s our little secret!”

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-27-2022, 07:48 PM

He attaches The Rose to his chest like a corsage. Good thing it was untrapped, the thing would flatline him easily!

"Alright, loose ends time. Equip the Security Armor from inventory, then PUT THE THING IN THE THING!

...By which I mean stab the vase at the Macro Market with this spooky rose and try not to die horribly. Full health's gotta count for something, right?"

Knowing what you are about to do may have dark and unexpected consequences, you take the plated security armor from the storage cabinet and put it on. And then you grab the Blackened Rose, feeling at least a bit more ready for anything.

Nickelfool has equipped the +|A| Security Armor+ (2H)

Tonight, you head toward the Macro Market, letting Benni know you’re going to get to the bottom of this dark anomaly she discovered. She sighs, hoping for the best although she doesn’t know what to expect and what will come out of all this. Either way, she’s hoping the next time she goes to the Macro Market, this dark vase will be gone and no trace of it will remain. From there, only time can heal the wounds as the memories get more vague, the details decay, and the whole experience becomes forgotten.

You leave the farmstead and walk your way toward the Macro Market, intent on seeing what this dark relic might have in store. As you’ve see times before with the Stalkers, to put an end to them, it requires one to be on the offensive. And now you’re doing just that.

You make your way to the back of the store and enter the same way Sam did last night, using the broken pull-down door as your entry point. The latch still has yet to be repaired, but in the end, it makes it easier for you to get inside. The whole time, however, it reminds you of just how easy it would be for anyone to shoplift anything they wanted out of this store.

Once there, you head through the loading and storage areas and then into the main market area. And then you head toward where the home goods are, finding the same pots and vases that Sam discovered earlier. It takes a minute to find it, but you track down the location of this dark relic and while shadowed in the presence of the more colorful vases, it still has the presence of the Stalkers… a presence that normal Pokémon cannot detect.

Carefully, you place the Blacked Rose into the vase…

Nickelfool has used [The Blackened Rose].

@Deep Corruption – ROCK (6 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 83 out of 100: Failed!

As the dark rose is inserted, the vase suddenly rattles, causing you to impulsively withdraw your hand out of shock… but in the process your wrist ma̠͍̪͚̜̗̤ke̙s̲̗̪ͅ ͉̞co̥̖̮͕̳̱̗n̥̺̻̦̼̮ta͎̥̯̜c͎͎͖t͉ ̤͕̩w̺̘̜͎̳͇i̦ṯ̯̗̻̗h̘̟͈̪̬̦ t͖̘̭̥ḫe̜͉ v̰̖̘ͅas̹e̫̪…

…your vision darkens for a moment as you feel a sudden fear and hopelessness take a firm grip on your throat…

…you’re still fighting? Why? You already know how this ends…

“I need… to save this town,” you try to remind yourself as you fight against this belittling voice.

…so it can die another day from something else. You cannot stop it from becoming dust. Does delaying
the inevitable really mean that much to you?

You clasp the prayer beads that are strung around your neck. The blessing upon them absorbs some of the darkness, allowing you to breathe…

Nickelfool’s +|J| Prayer Beads+ (2P) have absorbed 2 Purity damage.

But the relentless assault continues… far beyond what they can resist…

…you, him, her, everyone… everything you see and love is GONE. In 80 years or so, everyone you’ve ever known will be dead, buried, and forgotten under a crumbling, grime-slathered grave. These buildings will be collapsed… these plants withered… it all gets older every day and there’s nothing you can do to stop it…

“…”

…and you’re guilty of it, too. Guilty of believing you actually have any kind of control over any of this. You keep doing it, but you can’t even pretend like you understand what’s really important. It’s like trying to paddle backwards before you tumble down the waterfall. You gain nothing.

Ṉ̬͕̱̼͖͎̙͓͕̝̟̹͇ͪ͑͊̓̈́̈ͦͮͭͧ̂̀͊͛͜͠͠Ờ̷͍̩͔̰̩ͦ̀̈̈́̃̅ͮ͐͜ ̝̖ͅͅT͢͞HÎ̶̤̯̟͙̱̰͚͇̥͚̮̥̝ͩ̿͑̅̂ͣ̄̉͂͐̍̾N̴̶͘G̢͊̾̑͋ ̗͙̙̱

You only suffer longer. That’s what you gain.

Nickelfool has suffered 2 Purity damage.

D̑ͩo ̥yͥO͚̓U̺͉ ǩ̝̞̠̄̍n̖̾O͇̩̻͛̓̅W ̗͍͌̑th̫̳͚E da̗T͎̫͋̈́E͈͈͗ͤ i͆T͛ͥ̑ ̬H̤̦ͪ͌A̦̦pp͇̲͎͒ͥ̂EN̓̓͑S̲̐!͍͚̙̓́͐?͊ͮͣ ̥̑D͇͕̮̄͊ͨO yOU̝!̝͇?̱̞͋ͬ

…And to think the only thing that keeps you sane… is the fact you’re ignorant of it all. You don’t know the day you die. Or how it will happen. Or the day the world finally buries and forgets the last remaining traces of you, as if you never existed. But what if you did know?

W͔̞̓ͫH̄̈a̤̱ͩ̊T If̘̘ͥ̌ ̼ͭͬͅỴ̻ȏ̙̝̈U͈ D̋i͎͂d̦͆!̩?͕̘̊̒

And then for one dark moment, your mind is flushed with the possibilities of how many ways you could die and when it could happen. It’s the fact you truly don’t know, but it’s that incessant voice that tells you yes, it will happen in one way or another. And you don’t know when. It could be in minutes… it could be tomorrow… or years from now. And the many… many ways anyone could die. It becomes a hellish soup of how, when, why, where, by what and possibly by who… it’s the questions that leave your will feeling hollow, almost devoid of determination. But then for a second, you can comprehend them all… and it suddenly guts any bravery you might have mustered…

Nickelfool has suffered 2 Purity damage.

It ends shortly after, but it leaves your spirit feeling wounded… broken… questioning just why you’re even doing this in the first place and why the hell you’re even here… wondering what do you truly deserve for what you’ve done… or what you hope to have…

When you look up and snap out of the trance, you no longer see the vase before you. There are no dust or fragments of it anywhere as if it was only just some horrible figment of your imagination, but instead some grim, leathery paper-like material lies before you on the shelf where the vase once was. You pick it up, and feel a sense of shame and guilt in doing so…

https://i.imgur.com/Mc1dJpZ.png

[=1st Half of the Macabre Mantra= (https://i.imgur.com/Mc1dJpZ.png)] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You’re not sure what it means in full and it’s only an incomplete part of something else. Something darker. But you can make out certain words and phrases… “we are all banded by evil…” … “just one among many…” …and “eat your guilt.” But the rest is vague, broken, and missing critical pieces. For a dark moment… it looks and feels almost as stripped as you do right now…

You decide to leave the store… feeling like less of yourself than how you first came in…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/122.png Nickolas "Nicklefool" Foligan the Mr. Mime (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Hisuian Zoroak, Mr. Rime, Decidueye, Gardevoir, Aegislash
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Security Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: +|J| Prayer Beads+ (2P)

Neo Emolga

05-27-2022, 08:45 PM

I'll search (5) Jadebreeze Forest.

As the largest forest in Seabourne Town, you decide to take the short walk from Benni’s farmstead to see if it is hiding any secrets of its own. It’s a small forest, seemingly innocent and likely not scrutinized by most of the townspeople here, but you decide for those very reasons, it might hide something. In dark and forgotten places… you know these Stalkers might see an opportunity…

As you head into the trees, you almost feel a sense of peace and escape. It has a tranquil feeling, almost supernatural to a degree. As you go further in, you look behind you and now see you’re surrounded by trees in all directions, providing plenty of shade with their leafy branches… as if a protective barrier shielding you from whatever harm might drop from the sky. All the while, the forest is quiet tonight, as if carefully sleeping and dreaming in these silent shadows. And yet never once do you feel lost or bewildered… but instead invited further in. Only the occasional rustle of the breezes caressing the leaves can be heard, and it almost reminds you of the ocean.

You’re almost surprised other Pokémon don’t come to this place for relief… at least you don’t think they do… …or do they?

The question you mull over suddenly gets plucked out of your mind when your blue clawed foot strikes against an old, metallic lockbox, gently placed in one of the small shrubs and carefully hidden from sight as the wild grass encircles it. You bend down to take a closer look, and while the old dusty lockbox looks to be like an antique, it was moved to this very spot. Recently, in fact. But why?

You try to open it, but it’s locked shut. You see what’s needed to unlock it, but it’s the most unusual key. You realize some kind of medallion-shaped object would need to be placed into the indentation and then turned, where several hooks and latches in the lock mechanism would be pushed and pulled in just the right way that the lock’s mechanism would be disengaged. And because of this unique design, you imagine standard lockpicking tools would not be able to do the job the key medallion would be able to do…

{Old Dusty Lockbox: Missing Medallion Key} was noted in the Team Records.

What also strikes you as unusual is that the lockbox does have a faint trace of Stalker corruption, but only just a bit. It makes you wonder just why it would only be in a small amount as opposed to the full defilement most Stalker belongings seem to have…

You decide to take note of it and possibly come back later if you find the medallion key that looks like it could be compatible with it.

As you further walk into the forest, you discover a very small clearing in what feels like a hidden, very forgotten part of the forest. In the center of that clearing you find what looks to be a well… very otherworldly in design with a purple-colored ornamental roof and what appears to be a somewhat crystalline basin… seemingly looking like it was pulled out of some fantasy world.

You approach it and come closer… and then look into the well itself, just wondering what might be inside…

…

…upon being close to death, there are those that say they see their memories and their lives flash before them…

…

…but here, you see different kinds of memories flash before your eyes as you stare into the strange, glowing cyan-colored water… all starting from the day you were born… in every life you’ve lived. They are vivid now, and they are ambiguous at first. They almost play out like movies… visions of the past lives you had. You see yourself… as if sensing like you did these things before, but in another time and place… not in your past… but at some time… years and years ago… generations of time playing out before you… in visions…

…and you see yourself do the fantastical and in places of both wonder and darkness. Your aspirations, your fears… but running… flying… heart racing…

…

…what am I watching… what am I seeing here…?

It doesn’t make sense in the beginning, but as time passes, the visions become more familiar. What was forgotten is suddenly remembered as you breathe in what feels like the memories you once had while sleeping.

…

Dreams.

ALL of them. All the dreams you ever had in all your lives replay out before you, and suddenly you remember them all. The adventures of your best dreams, the stress and fears of your nightmares, but the well assures you that you are safe… and that you are here…

…to learn…

…to discover what your dreams truly are and to grasp the full power of each of them. Even when they made you feel scared, weak, worried… but also when they made you feel empowered, courageous, or even when they made you feel strange and perplexed at what could defy logic and reason. But you see through new eyes and reflect upon these dreams that were reborn for you… all to learn from them...

Scy has inherited 5 points of Kurosuōbā…

“…is this real… is there more to this…?”

@{Funsui} - ~5 Kurosuōbā~@ was noted in the Team Records.

You awaken… feeling as though you’ve traveled for a very faraway place… a dream library… for a long time… and viewed the entire archive… but have only been standing here for a few minutes. But you remembered it all… the strange, the uncanny, the nightmarish, and the fulfilling… and everything beyond and in-between.

You feel so close to understanding what it’s truly all for, but you’re just a small grasp away. For a brief moment, you still can’t understand who constructed this well, but you feel you know why it’s here. Truly… there has to be an answer… a purpose… a meaning… and you’re just a breath from understanding the essence of this discovery.

It’s getting late, and you decide to go for now. But you feel like coming back in time… returning to this place… revisiting your dreams once again… to possibly understand what links all this together… and what it’s all for… you feel so close… but still just too far away to understand…

You return to Benni’s farmstead… feeling different… but refreshed… and inspired. As though you can’t wait to sleep tonight… and to dream once more… to continue the stories… to add more to your library… of dreams…

…

Yume awaits you, Savant...

…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-28-2022, 02:34 PM

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972125532869242941/972198034022744074/Lewisia_Neutral_Portrait_smol.png I can't say I seem to recall every attending a school before. Hm... well, regardless, I'll be attending one now, even if I doubt this is the intended way to do so. Perhaps I'll still be able to garner some knowledge from this higher institute of learning? Let's find out. Time to search (28) Beachwood University.

As the moon is lit up in the sky, you venture out of Benni’s farmstead and head south through town to investigate Beachwood University, trying to follow leads that one of the students there may be a Stalker. The night is quiet and the dusty roads seem quite vacant. You’re not sure if it’s because of the late hour or if because Seabourne’s citizens are now too afraid to venture out in the nighttime hours. Either way, the peace and quiet is nice, but the loneliness is concerning, especially given the fact there are Stalkers constantly on the prowl… pretending to be normal Pokémon.

When you arrive at the university, you find the campus building is quite old and looks like it’s been through several renovation and repair jobs, although from your perspective, some of them look like they were rushed and only put a bandage on the real issues at hand. Attempts to repair brick walls and incorporate the repaired portions with the portions that were unaffected were handled poorly. And some areas of the walls weren’t even painted, as if the repair job was solely to keep it functional and not show any concern for the appearance of the building.

You decide to pursue the information that Kabi gave earlier regarding what Caily found, seeking out the locked hatch at the back of the building. You’re thinking it’s probably only some custodian or groundskeeping storage area, but you decide to see if you can find what she was talking about. From your perspective, it has to mean something and something about it had to have struck her as unusual. Otherwise she never would have mentioned it.

From an initial search of the exterior grounds and building perimeter, you don’t find anything drastically unusual besides a few pieces of litter in the form of papers, crushed food cans, and scrap metal. But using the moonlight as your guide, you eventually find what this locked hatch is in the location Kabi mentioned. And from an initial look, it doesn’t seem like it’s at all related to the building itself. And it doesn’t look like the groundskeeping supply cabinet, either.

Instead, it’s made of stone, bearing a similar design and style that immediately reminds you of the Taika Temppeli you found in the Kako Industries Field. You tell yourself there’s no denying the resemblance and that somehow the two are linked. Laying before you is a stone hatch bearing an unusual-looking marking… and then you realize there was something here that was removed some time ago, leaving only an outline marker of where the sigil used to be. It appears some kind of insignia was once here and was removed, and it seems as though this functioned as some kind of key. With it removed, you find five small indentations with groves and rounded nubs inside of them. You try to see if you can bypass this ancient and unusual locking mechanism using your lockpicking tools, but you find it’s impossible. There are five contact points the missing insignia key triggers all at once and you would have to grow three more arms to be able to pull off simulating the insignia key’s activation.

{Phudistus Makuuhuone: Missing Arvomerkki} has been noted in the Team Records.

You look up at the rest of the university once again and something about history comes to mind. Like maybe this university was something else at one point, even though the hatch seems to be ancient. It gets you wondering, but you figure it would require a lot of deep investigation to get all the answers, and right now you’re convinced it could take years and you don’t have that kind of time. For now, you just decide to keep a watch out for that insignia, wherever it might be. You’re just hoping it’s still out there somewhere…

You then use the rest of the evening to investigate the rest of the university, finding the campus to be quite small and it feels odd with some sections of the building looking decrepit while others look like they were recently renovated. The whole interior feels almost like patchwork in a chimera kind of way.

As you search the style-varying classrooms and halls, you can also tell there’s been plenty of unrest going on here as well between students that insist on excusing themselves from attending class to those that feel their education is still critical to the point where they still attend each session. Meanwhile, you find a lot of the classes here are teaching vocational roles for engineering, architecture, metalworking, and so on. However, the whole while, you keep thinking about that Phudistus Makuuhuone hatch just outside. What did this building first start off as many years ago? Was it once connected to that many years ago and just has been undergoing a constant and unsteady mutation over time into this university? You keep looking for signs that might link the two… paying special attention to any ancient-looking walls and fixtures. They’re few and far between on this campus now and they haven’t been well-preserved, but there are some traces there. Old stone columns feel like a reminder, along with a mural by the back of the building that looks like it’s been faded out long ago, but you can still see very faint traces of what might have been some kind of religious depiction. They all have something in common in that these remnants are too heavy and huge to remove.

The whole time you wander through the hastily-constructed patchwork hallways, you also consider it somewhat unusual there’s a distinct lack of a basement area access when you feel like the layout of the building implies there’s something underneath given the floorplan layout. You feel like there’s indications that one exists and the hatch implies there’s something under the first floor, but there’s simply no way to access it from the inside and the stone foundation floor feels very thick, as though no one would dare to consider digging through it to see what’s underneath. And you realize it’s quite likely no one that uses this building even considered there’s possibly something underground. They simply believe under the main floor, there’s nothing but dirt, so why dig through it?

Ultimately, you don’t find anything else that gives you clues, but you feel if you can find that insignia, something might make more sense here…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-29-2022, 12:01 AM

((Am I just routinely too late to submit an action?? My last action got ignored ;_;
I guess maybe I actually am for this one, the countdown says 0. Blehhhh. What do I do now? ))

Alright! Its possible that I had a busy night, and its possible that I did nothing at all, but either way, I'm off to do another interview today!

ChiChi is aiming to talk to Kulsso the church leader, using diplomacy, of course. But.... I do want to get that eye off him. And any information he has gathered about it-- I know he's been at the library! Its a public place, I haven't been spying or anything!

(NOT forgetting this time!)

You find Kulsso the Rampardos coming back from the library to the Birthright Chapel, but you realize he’s only a servant to Junlus the Accelgor, where Junlus is in fact the church leader. Still, you’ve heard Kulsso has the eye and you want to know more about it.

You approach him and politely introduce yourself to him, although he doesn’t seem at all interested in talking to you. But you follow him for a bit despite his attempt to walk past you and dismiss your inquiry.

“Do you know anything about the Stalkers?” you ask him, trying to delve into any information he might know. “Or have you seen anything unusual lately?”

https://i.postimg.cc/KjvX6Dzn/Kulsso-Normal.png “Of course not,” he dismisses your questions as he refuses to make eye contact. “I’m a simple servant for Junlus, and that’s all you need to know.”

But you know better than that.

You close your eyes, smirk, look away a bit, and then open one eyelid look at him in the corner of your eye.

“Tsk, tsk…” you smirk. “You think I don’t know about that eye you have? I’ve heard from multiple Pokémon and reliable sources that have seen you with it. So let’s see, that makes you a sinner, a liar, and possibly a thief. I’ll give you a break, though. You can tell me how you came across it and you can avoid trouble with Dantus and Yanza, along with your master, Junlus. Or I can let them know about this and that it’s very plausible grounds to open up an investigation on how you might be a Stalker, which will undoubtedly land you in prison and excommunicated from your parish. Unless you give me some really great reasons why not to do this.”

https://i.postimg.cc/ncrbT2Nx/Kulsso-Shocked.png “You wouldn’t!” he suddenly exclaims in shock. “Don’t you dare, I… I can explain everything! How many Pokémon even know about… ugh…”

#60 Kulsso the Rampardos has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/PxMsVRtX/Kulsso-Frustrated.png “I… I found this… eye… in one of the pews in the Birthright Chapel.” He confesses. “I was cleaning the interior of the chapel and there it was. At first I thought it was some toy that a child left behind until I realized the true dark nature of this… thing. I… held onto it wondering if someone would come later to ask for it, but something about it made me feel ill. See for yourself.”

He then hands you the dark corrupted eye…

#Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage)# Trap 30% Evasion Test: 13 out of 100: Success!

“Stop touching it, it’s corrupted!” you exclaim to him, suddenly observing what’s going on.

The whole time, it has been leaking a black, pus-like ooze and every drop of it has been absorbing into his dark-gray hand and wriggling its way into his spirt. Out of shock and alarm, he drops it onto the ground where it rolls over a few times on the sandy gritty earth before stopping… now looking up at you directly… as if alive͓ ̖aͅṋ͇d̤ ͇̱s͚̜ta̖̤̝rt̹͈ͅi̘͓ng̪͖͔ i̺͕ͅṉ̹ṭo y̤ọu͕r ̦ͅͅsou͕̻l̹…

https://i.postimg.cc/kMfPxz1w/Kulsso-Shout.png “How is it doing that!?” Kulsso shouts in shock. “What is this foul thing!?”

“I need a towel…” you tell him as you bend down to take a closer look, knowing as a servant to Junlus, he should have something like that on him. “Something to wrap it with. This thing is absolutely rife with Stalker contamination.”

He takes a step back, but still keeps a panicked and concerned glance at the eye like it could jump up and start attacking him at any second.

https://i.postimg.cc/ncrbT2Nx/Kulsso-Shocked.png “How… can you be so sure?” he asks.

But it almost feels like a stupid question to him seconds later. Even he, as a normal Pokémon unaware of the Savants and your ability to detect dark presences, can see this unholy object is inherently evil. He excuses himself and reaches into his side carrying pack to give you the thickest and most absorbent towel he has on him at the moment. You take it, throw it on top of the eye, and wrap it before picking it up.

#[Eye of Shadow] Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage))# has been added to the Team Inventory.

https://i.postimg.cc/PxMsVRtX/Kulsso-Frustrated.png “Dear Arceus, please, whatever you do, don’t tell anyone about this…” he pleads.

“No,” you tell him. “You have to warn the others. They need to be on the lookout for things like this and they need to know about this thing you found so they’re aware of the details. Kulsso, they’re after you, Junlus, they’re after members of your parish, and they’re after children and innocent Pokémon.”

He hesitates for a moment, and then it becomes apparent what the eye has been doing to him. Lying, hiding… eating away into his spirt… turning him into something darker. He suddenly thinks about all the other Pokémon in town he knows and what risks are at hand if he doesn’t let the others know…

https://i.postimg.cc/KjvX6Dzn/Kulsso-Normal.png “I… understand,” he tells you, nodding, trying to pull himself together. “You’re right. I… well, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

“It’s about Santea,” he lowers his voice. “I… I think she might have something similar to this… dark eye. She… she works at the library and I saw her trying to conduct research on this… jar or some container holding a purple and black… I… it looked like some kind of soul or spirit was inside of that vessel. She’s normally very quiet and… might I say mysterious. I don’t know if she’s hiding something or if she’s conducting dark work in secret. Dare I say some of the books I’ve seen at that library strike me as unusual, dealing with the occult… with ancient dark work. I saw one of the books she was looking through and I could only make out one word. Phudistus. Someone… maybe you need to ask her about it. Find out what she knows, if you can. But me… I can’t. You see, I have... I don't have the best reputation with her...”

https://i.postimg.cc/PxMsVRtX/Kulsso-Frustrated.png “I apologize for earlier,” he tells you. “With everything that’s going on… it’s hard to trust anyone now…”

“It’s not too late…” you remind him. “But we’re running out of time…”

…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/786.png ChiChi the Tapu Lele (M: Psychic / Fairy)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

05-29-2022, 12:32 AM

#27 Sanfer the Druddigon has been murdered by the Stalkers.

That next morning, a new murder had been reported by Nimsher the Gabite. She had found the older dragon Pokémon dead from a brain aneurism, having never woken up from his bed. In times before, this might have been seen as natural but unfortunate.

But by now, Dantus and Yanza knew not to dismiss these particular kinds of incidents this way.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2cvwj0m/Yanza-Normal.png “Sanfer, age 47,” Yanza stated as she took notes and looked over his ID and information. “Worked fulltime at Ennomark, family and next of kin outside of town. Relocated roughly four years ago due to company decisions.”

She felt as though it was almost useless to go through his medical records and history. At this point, she knew a Stalker had something to do with this. But what kept baffling her was how they were doing it.

“We don’t even know the name of the one doing this, do we?” Yanza asked.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “This one keeps alluding us,” Dantus replied, having been unable to figure it out himself. “At this point, it could be multiple entities.”

Yanza flipped through her notes, trying to figure out some kind of pattern to all of the murders that were related to this particular Stalker. But it was like a labyrinth that kept pulling her in other directions.

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “This one has been impossible to figure out,” she sighs. “Apparently the victims die in their sleep from the aneurism, but then other Pokémon reported having some kind of nightmare where they were the killers. Now, if I’m not mistaken… Rujlo reported having one of those kinds of dreams, but then later was killed by Inzaketh. So he couldn’t have been a Stalker himself, right?”

At this point, Yanza could only draw theories. Theories that would be nearly impossible to test and would no doubt consume precious time. But she knew it was either this or be chasing shadows. It was as though they were playing tricks on her.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “It’s unlikely,” Dantus replied, still taking a bit of caution with that assumption. “I wouldn’t say impossible, however.”

But then, he looked to the body of the Druddigon, wondering what that dream must have been like. How could the two of them even search for clues… when it seemed the crime happened in a place and realm they couldn’t even enter…?

Doom Tracker:
2/15

Neo Emolga

05-29-2022, 12:36 AM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 3: Day Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3270057/day-3-day-cycle)

(Tuesday, May 31, 2022 9:00:00 PM EST)

C0L0R3D Cotton Candy Whimsicott ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Chakramaster

05-29-2022, 03:47 AM

Might be taking it a little easy here, but I feel I need to help with some more searching.

(22) Charms and Chimes Gift Store

DayBreak

05-29-2022, 06:55 AM

C0L0R3D

05-29-2022, 08:02 AM

EmeraldSky

05-29-2022, 08:01 PM

I will spend today untrapping one of our trapped items

sammy0295

05-30-2022, 01:33 AM

Search (33d) Korak the Nidoking’s House

Lychee

05-30-2022, 01:34 AM

Neo Emolga

05-30-2022, 01:16 PM

Might be taking it a little easy here, but I feel I need to help with some more searching.

(22) Charms and Chimes Gift Store

When the dawn arrives, you wake up from the one of the spare beds that Benni has provided and you head out after having eaten the fresh pancakes and waffles she has provided. There is some overcast now and the skies seem a bit gray, but otherwise it doesn’t seem like anything is out of the ordinary.

You head toward the Charms and Chimes gift store, following the lead about one of the corrupted eyes being there, hidden either beyond Jupo’s perception or she doesn’t realize the true nature of what’s she’s dealing with. Since you’d rather not be caught “shoplifting” and attempt trying to explain what’s going on, you decide to go out early before the store even opens and before Jupo can discover you there.

When you arrive, you see the store and the second floor apartment have a welcoming and charming exterior and presentation. While it appears a bit gray considering the weather and the surrounding atmosphere, you still feel at ease and it makes you feel like it’s the last place anyone would ever expect to run into the Stalkers. It feels even safter and more protected than the two cathedrals.

You search around the exterior, noting that there’s no litter and it’s kept impeccably clean and well-maintained. If there was ever once any graffiti or damage here, you’d never guess as it seems like the chocolate-colored brick walls were freshly painted less than a year ago. There are also fresh flowers growing here and the outside décor of sculptures and pinwheels gives it a very “come on in” feeling that feels nicely inviting.

From what you can see, it’s still a bit too early for the store to be officially opened, but you decide to sneak in to get a head start. Jupo isn’t around, which might be for the better considering the nature of this eye you were told about.

You step inside the store and immediately your eyes don’t know what direction to look in first. There’s colorful baubles, trinkets, jewelry, crafts, and creations of all sizes in all directions. Colorful statuettes, creative paintings, painted miniatures, glasswork, ornamental jewelry, metal sculptures, and hundreds of other items line the shelves, hang from the ceiling, and line the walls. You could easily see yourself spending a fortune if you allowed yourself to get carried away.

You almost forget about the eye, but then you remind yourself and look for it among all the trinkets. As you do so, your beliefs about the situation change as you realize it’s likely Jupo never noticed the eye considering the myriad of other belongings she has.

And then you find it, very similar to the other Eye of Blood you found at the Copper Plains School. It too, has the same strange dark sensation that the other one did, and you’re convinced the two are definitely related. Gathered around it on the wooden shelf is a small puddle of blood.

Carefully, you attempt to pick it up…

#Blood Hemorrhage – NORMAL (4 Health Damage)# Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 77 out of 100: Success!

Remembering from what happened last time, you grab a few paper towels from the restroom and you lay one down flat besides the eyeball while you roll up one of the others and lightly roll the eye safely onto the other paper towel. Then, you roll up the other like a hammock, cradling the eyeball safely.

Once outside, you then drop the wrapped eye onto the ground, having it land hard enough to fool the trap mechanism into thinking someone made contact with it. The spike embedded into the eye triggers, but does nothing except rip harmlessly through the paper towel. You then pick up the eye, wrap the spiked protrusion with one of the last remaining paper towels, and stow it away.

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

You then investigate the rest of the Charms and Chimes gift store, along with financial advising firm Narshen runs on the second floor. From here, you don’t see anything that causes any alarms. Narshen, while Jupo’s roommate, doesn’t seem to be in any kind of relationship with her and they mostly keep to themselves, though you see Jupo has been trying to persuade him into doing activities around town like suggesting they go to the marina or grab something from the Canopy Bakery. But it doesn’t seem like he’s been taking her up on those invitations.

After that, you decide to head out and prepare for tonight.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Scytherwolf

05-31-2022, 02:17 AM

I think I'll search (29) Twinbank Apartments

Noblejanobii

05-31-2022, 01:23 PM

I'll go speak with 36 Altrea the Eldegoss

Neo Emolga

06-01-2022, 01:11 AM

Lyric is just going to slowly approach Verio the Toucannon. This was... what Ralon had told them to do. To warn his family. They'd try looking for the stake later, but for now, warning his family about Exonull came first. They figured it'd be best to talk to Ralon's parents while his siblings were hopefully at school, so they didn't have to hear this. Rather than being their normal self, overflowing with energy, the Nidorina was eerily calm. The harsh reality of what was happening, the lengths the Stalkers would go, had finally hit them. It made it hard to be a light of hope.

... But they weren't going to stop trying to be one. Steadying their nerves, and readying their knowledge of diplomacy, they spoke up, finally ready to start interacting with the townsfolk. Not the best way to introduce yourself, but they had to do this.

2058
"Excuse me, sir. You're Verio, aren't you? My name is Lyric and..."

"I'm... afraid I have some news regarding Ralon." The Nidorina's ears lowered, already feeling a growing pit in their stomach. Swallowing the knot in their throat and letting out an exhale, they attempted to steady their nerves.

2059
"He's not going to be coming back... I'm certain you've heard of the murders over the last couple of days at the hands of Exonull, one of which was a Yanmega, my friend... Ralon was one of the other victims... I found his body a little ways out of town... Or at least, what was left of it..." They'd spare the Toucannon the horrific details. Just thinking about the horrific state he found Ralon in, trapped between life and death, only made their stomach turn. They were also careful and vague, never specifying where exactly. They weren't about to deliver the Starly's family to Exonull's doorstep on a silver platter. Taking another moment to exhale and try and lower their tension, they continued.

2060
"If you have any information, even if it's something small or seemingly inconsequential, it would be a massive help sir." Lyric was determined now. The last two days since they'd arrived had given them a new drive. Ascension be damned, they were going to help people, especially now that they have every memory of every one of their past selves, the good and the downright evil. And the first step towards their goal was stopping the Stalkers that were here in their tracks.

Before Verio heads to the Seabourne Post Office this morning, you find him and manage to get his attention before you quickly introduce yourself. You’ve been told he’s dealing with particularly hard times, and you feel strongly compelled to tell him about what’s been going on with Ralon.

From what you can perceive by reading his face and body language, he’s fearful and greatly anxious. You can even see he’s reluctant to go to work today, but you can gather he understands that he still needs to earn money to provide for his family needs to come before his personal fears. He simply won’t let those cause his family to fall into financial ruin.

“Excuse me, sir,” you tell him as he looks at you. “You’re Verio, aren’t you? My name is Lyric and…”

He looks at you intently, trying to calm himself. It seems he can tell just from your expressions that what you have to tell him is very terrible news.

“I’m… afraid I have some news regarding Ralon,” you tell him, lowering your ears in sympathy as you feel a bit sick inside. “He’s not going to be coming back… I'm certain you've heard of the murders over the last couple of days at the hands of Exonull, one of which was a Yanmega, my friend... Ralon was one of the other victims... I found his body a little ways out of town... Or at least, what was left of it...”

He remains silent, taken back from the news you tell him. Gathering your strength, you continue…

“If you have any information even if it's something small or seemingly inconsequential, it would be a massive help sir."

https://i.postimg.cc/cJrxrF9H/Verio-Normal.png “Where is he…?” Verio asks you.

But you explain the danger, knowing this is exactly what Ralon feared and that the last thing he wanted was for his family to come looking for him and put their own lives in danger. To gain Verio’s trust, you explain the full situation, giving him all the details regarding what you found on the Silent Song and the condition of Ralon’s body and spirit. And then you explain what needs to be done with the stake.

He falls silent. But you see his face and… it’s as if he already knows… but you telling him all this confirms you truly have seen what has become of his son… even though he knew the answer to his question already. But you pass his test of honesty and truthfulness, thus gaining his trust.

#15 Verio the Toucannon has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/cJrxrF9H/Verio-Normal.png “I know where the stake is…” he mutters, looking away. “And… I know what’s going on with… my son. Velli has it. She using it to blackmail my family, especially my wife Farshira, and if Velli isn’t Exonull herself, then she knows who it is and she’s an accomplice.”

“It’s because I found these,” Verio tells you, laying out a series of jagged, demonic-looking tools and equipment. “I know these are related to the Stalkers, but Dantus and Yanza have not heard me out and they’re slow to believe in anything supernatural or superstitious. As a result, my son… paid the price. Velli told me if I return these to her, she’ll give me the stake to release him from his spirit shackle, but there’s no way to save his life. And there’s… no way to give him the full life he should have deserved to have. I… …

…I can’t bring myself to do it. I can’t… kill my own son…”

“I need you to take these because I don’t think I can trust anyone else, but be extremely careful with them,” Verio warns you. “They’re Velli’s and I know she’s working with the Stalkers. You absolutely mustn’t give them back to her, no matter what she tries to bargain with. She’s completely mad and I don’t know why she’s working with them. Probably because she’s either gotten corrupted herself or if she truly is an accomplice and isn’t one herself, she likely thinks they’ll spare her if she helps them. But I don’t believe that at all. They’re just using her.”

You see the demonic instruments laid out before you, and you carefully approach them…

@Infernal Discharge – ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 14 out of 100: Success!

Heeding the Toucannon’s words, you first inspect the Demonic Instruments. Their jagged shapes, the foul black metal, and the spidery evil runes on them that absolutely reek with the sins of the Stalkers… and you suddenly are reminded of something…

…

…And lastly, something even more foul. Tools… instruments… demonic instruments… are needed to bring this mechanical abomination to working order. None of this chaos makes sense… but you realize there is no choice. Or else no answers will come of this thing…

…

You remember the door… that nightmarish abomination lurking at the Pleasant Waters Harbor…

Carefully, you wrap the Demonic Instruments with a towel, sensing they are intensely infused with a foul, devilish evil.

“Thanks…” you tell him, taken back from your memories. “I believe I know what she’s intending to do with these…”

You believe Velli has something to do with that door. Either she had a hand in creating it or she has access to whatever horrid abomination that place must be hiding. Or both. You’re not sure what has happened to her, but she absolutely can’t be trusted now…

@[The Demonic Instruments] Infernal Discharge - ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

https://i.postimg.cc/cJrxrF9H/Verio-Normal.png “Please… stop them however you can… before any others have to suffer like this,” he pleads with you. “And please let my son know we love him…”

The whole time, he tries to hold in his emotions, but as he turns away to let the rest of his family know what has happened, you cannot imagine the emotional weight that must have on this father Toucannon.

It doesn’t surprise you when you see a tear forming around his eye…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-02-2022, 02:37 AM

(Lost access to my icons, so… whoops! Colour coded text!)

”So then, we should-”

“Ah, not so fast! It’s time I had my say!”

“Didn’t expect you to be so keen. But sure, Silver, what’ve you got?”

“You’re welcome. Now then, follow my lead…though it may as well be yours as you’ve been on about it before.”

[Action decided: Interview 51, Velli the Sylveon. Be prepared for Diplomacy if she’s a little too… loopy.]

You decide to pay a visit to Velli the Sylveon, living almost entirely in seclusion in her house on the far outskirts of town. It almost seems as though she doesn’t get too many visitors, but when you get to her creepy-looking house that is becoming overgrown with vines and weeds while the dining room has collapsed in upon itself. You knock on the old, rotting door and you feel if you were to strike it any harder, it might just punch a hole right though it.

After a few moments, while you almost question your decisions coming here, she opens the door, beaming with a smile.

https://i.postimg.cc/SR1XN9s9/Velli-Happy.png “Heehee!” she giggles, “hello there! Tis a fine day, yes? Yes? Beautiful weather we’re having!”

You take a glance up at the sky and the dark overcast implies it is about to rain any minute now…

But… in order to get through to Velli with your skills in diplomacy, you realize you’re going to have to get on her level… and perhaps portray yourself as completely deranged as she is…

“My favorite type of weather, yesss,” you hiss with a smile, gazing directly into her eyes. “My name is Colored! With a ‘C’ not with a ‘K’ heh, heh. I heard you were all alone and might be up for a chat on this fine day!”

#52 Velli the Sylveon has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/SR1XN9s9/Velli-Happy.png “Ooooh, I would looove that!” she beams, shivering with glee. “You see, usually it’s only me, Melgan, and Mrs. Hampers. Here, let me introduce you to them! I’ll make tea for us all! Come in, come in, don’t just stand there out in the snow! It’s too cold outside, dearie!”

…Even though it’s clearly not snowing and doesn’t look like it has been for months…

“Of course!” you jump with joy, keeping in character to convince her you’re just as kooky as she is. “Lead the way!”

You follow her into the kitchen, just barely keeping the old front door on its rusting hinges as you close it behind you. And as you walk through the hallways of her house, you see webs of cracks in the walls, your two beige feet step upon loose and cracked floor tiles, and there’s a smell of mold throughout the decrepit house. To say this place needs renovations would be folly. It clearly needs to be torn down.

As you walk through the crumbling house, you see plenty of shelves and tables of strange vials, pots with bizarre herbs and plants growing out of them, and you find bins where she seems to be cultivating mushrooms and fungi. You’re not quite sure what she’s doing with them, possibly studying botany, chemistry, or some other kind of science. Given her bizarre demeanor, you’re not about to rule out witchcraft or alchemy, either…

When you arrive at the kitchen, you find it in a pretty miserable state just like the rest of the house. The back window has long been broken as a draft wafts through the room, the rusting chandelier only has three of its ten candles lit, and the dining table looks old and lopsided. Sitting at the table in dirty, dusty wooden chairs is an old stuffed tutu-wearing Buneary with stains all over it and what appears to be a skeleton of Patrat, one that looks like they’ve been dead for a very long time…

https://i.postimg.cc/SR1XN9s9/Velli-Happy.png “Welcome!” she tells everyone. “This is Colored! Now Melgan and Mrs. Hampers, say hello! I’m so happy to have such wonderful guests today!”

“Hi there!” you tell Velli’s ‘guests’ with a smile and a wink. “Oh Mrs. Hampers, I looove that dress!”

Mrs. Hampers remains completely silent…

You pull up one of Velli’s dusty chairs to join everyone at the table, noticing the collapsed dining room just a few feet away to your right. The ceiling fell down upon what used to be a table large enough to seat ten Pokémon. Now, everything is a splintered mess and buried under a pile of broken wood planks, snapped wooden rods, and other pieces of rubble. You’re not sure what caused that to happen, but it looks like it’s been that way for years now.

All the while, Velli brews some tea on her slightly rusting kettle. You’re quite surprised the gas line is even still working, but Velli does have to use a match to get the fire going.

https://i.postimg.cc/tRBnzK5g/Velli-Normal.png “So, Colored, what do you fancy for a chat!?” Velli asks you as the tea kettle warms up. “Surely you must have oh so many interesting tales to tell!”

“Oh, I do, I most certainly do!” you giggle with glee. “Let’s see let’s see…”

You make up a story about riding a Ponyta and exploring the jungles of Kaboo, which greatly entices Velli, who joins in on the tale as if she’s a supporting character in the story. The tale quickly spirals into sheer madness, with Velli claiming she beat you in the sandbox races while you refuse to admit you were defeated and that the game was supposed to continue on Starstrider Imperial starship, but didn’t. You insist the game never ended and is still ongoing.

And then the tea kettle whistles and Velli quickly jumps to excitement to pour four cups of tea for everyone. One for you, one for her, and one for Mrs. Hampers and for the long-deceased Melgan the Patrat. Somehow you get the feeling only two of these four cups of tea will actually be enjoyed by their recipients, but you play along anyway, avidly gazing admirably at the tea like a child that just unwrapped a Christmas present.

https://i.postimg.cc/SR1XN9s9/Velli-Happy.png “Drink up, everyone!” Velli beams with a smile.

And you pick up the dirty, chipped teacup to take your first sip…

#Chemical Intoxication – POISON (SPECIAL)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 44 out of 100: Failed!

The rich taste and aroma doesn’t strike you as odd, and you finish your tea feeling refreshed. You start to sing the first song that comes to mind…

…and that’s the last thing you remember.

…

You wake up feeling woozy, unsure of what was a dream and what actually happened. When you open your eyes, you find yourself outside lying face-down just before a droplet hits your nose and a second one hits your leaf tail. As you look up at the gray skies, you realize it’s starting to rain and gradually the amount of rainfall begins to increase.

You look around you and you’re not sure where you are for a moment, but you realize you’ve woken up off to the side of the dusty road, a short distance away from the Colbyi Estate. It takes you a few seconds to regain your bearings as you get up and stand on your own two beige feet again. You really don’t have any clue how you got here…

To be sure, you look yourself over and you don’t seem to be injured in any way. You’re not sure why Velli drugged the tea she served, but you see it’s starting to get late and you feel it’s best you plan for tonight. But before you go, you look down on the ground and see a small piece of soiled, dirty paper that must have been lying under you while you were unconscious. You pick it up and see…

https://i.imgur.com/0trhYKr.png

So it wasn’t a dream after all.

You’re not sure what it really means in the end, but you just decide to then head back to Benni’s farmstead, sprinting a bit to get out of the rain…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-04-2022, 12:35 AM

I will spend today untrapping one of our trapped items

Selecting one at random!

#[Eye of Shadow] Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage))#
@[Fang of the Crippled] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@
@ Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@
@[The Demonic Instruments] Infernal Discharge - ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@

And #4 was selected, so you’re going for the Demonic Instruments.

Having just come across the Demonic Instruments that Lyric received from Verio, you decide to try your best at disarming the deeply defiled tools. Your senses are on full alert, easily feeling and detecting how saturated with evil these tools are.

Before you get started, you try to analyze and assess them from all angles, trying to discern exactly how this curse functions.

@Infernal Discharge – ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 89 out of 100: Failed!

You’re not able to figure it out at first, but you believe there’s a chance it’s been coated with some kind of black, vile ichor. However, upon attempting to use alcohol to remove it, you find out the curse the result of an electrical essence infusion, and it triggers just as you attempt to remove a coating that is not actually there.

You nearly yelp out of your skin when you feel the demonically-infused discharge cő̀͛u͊r̄ͨ̅ͥͤ̓̄se̻̩͙͈̗̲ͤ̽ͥ̔͐̚ ̗̘͈̭͓̦ͦ̏̉̑̚̚t͕̏h̥̬̲̫̒̅͋͊r̦͓̣̖ͭͤ͒ͧȏ͗ͤuḡ͇̲͖ͤ̉̉ ̩h ̆ͧ̎yo͖̤̹ͫͥ̎u̠̦̲ͅr s͖͕̘̙͈ͬͮͬͩ̂piͦ͋̉̿̾ͩ̓n̿ͣe.ͩͧ̓̅ͨ

Maya has suffered 4.5 damage to Purity (halved by Electric).

It feels like a sudden gͤͩ̆u̽̓͒ͣ̏̎t͍̱̅͆-̖̲p͇̏u̜͆nc̼̙̤̟̳̠h to your š͚̯̘͖͇̪͌ͬ̑̉̓͗ͅou̘̞̙̰l, but you then understand what you’re dealing with. This is not the curse you were thinking it was. Instead, you decide to ground the demonic instruments, using a clay comprised of holy water. While you can’t seal off the working ends of the demonic tools themselves, you can cover and seal the handles and grips of the instruments to make them usable without triggering the grizzly electrical discharge. Once you’ve molded the purified clay around them, you then use Benni’s kitchen oven as a kiln to dry the clay, forming a stone-like handle coating on the grip that prevents the curse from triggering.

The Infernal Discharge curse has been removed from the Demonic Instruments.

With that done, you then place the [Demonic Instruments] back in the cabinet, ready and waiting for the next time they need to be used.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 19.5/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-04-2022, 02:33 AM

Search (33d) Korak the Nidoking’s House

When the morning arrives, you head south toward the Shoreside Houses, intending to investigate Korak the Nidoking’s house to see if there’s anything unusual here and if you can possibly learn more about him.

As you trot south, you take a look up at the sky and you see the dark gray clouds gathering. Every now and then, you feel a raindrop land on you or you see them patter on the dusty road you walk on. It’s oddly quiet today and vacant around this area and you’re not quite sure why that is the case. It definitely seems like there’s more than just the weather going on.

When you arrive at Korak’s house, you see it’s in fairly good condition and your initial investigation of the perimeter of the property doesn’t seem to yield anything suspicious. Korak seems to have a liking for a more classical and contemporary style and it’s clear he makes the money to afford it and keep his house and property in impeccable shape, though he’s not rich by the current economic standards. But you gather he likely can afford maids and landscapers to take care of his house for him while he works. As such, you don’t even find so much as a single piece of trash and only a few rogue weeds have managed to take hold for now.

You then decide to sneak inside through an unlocked window that was left slightly ajar. As you investigate the inside, you see the interior seems to be in a similar condition as the exterior. Well-kempt, meticulously organized and neat, and you find Korak has a liking for books, especially ones about ancient culture, history, and archaeology. Meanwhile, a lot of his furniture seems old and he has a liking for antiques and vintage items, as long as they’re in good condition. While he may like old furniture, he doesn’t care for anything with a rustic appearance or style. He much rather prefers the kinds of pieces that remind you of old Victorian era furniture with elegant and fanciful carvings and construction.

By trade, you find he’s a professor who teaches architecture at Beachwood University and it seems he earns an admirable amount of income from his profession. You can see he’s been trying to influence his students to adopt more of a conservative culture mindset when it comes to his curriculum and study assignments.

All throughout the house, you don’t find anything that seems to raise any red flags. You find yourself nearly about to just head back to Benni’s house until you take a closer look through Korak’s archaeological collections. Something here doesn’t seem right and you feel a dark presence coming from something stowed between some of the books he has regarding ancient languages. When you pull the shredded leathery, paper-like material out, it seems familiar…

https://i.imgur.com/aUxPiox.png

[=2nd Half of the Macabre Mantra= (https://i.imgur.com/aUxPiox.png)] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You’re only able to make out certain vague details. Only things like “a dream…” “A nightmare…” “to become the thing…” and “THIS IS EDIFICE.”

…

Edifice.

You suddenly realize what exactly this means. But to be sure, you head out the back window you came in and make your way back to Benni’s farmstead. There, you find the other half of the Macabre Mantra, and you put the two halves together…

https://i.imgur.com/WzcJcj9.png

The [=Macabre Mantra= (https://i.imgur.com/WzcJcj9.png)] has been completed.

You then read the words… broken into two distinct overlapping passages…

…

We are all banded by evil
It seeps into all of us
You cannot run from your sins
You will learn to eat your guilt
Relinquish your innocence

You are just one amongst many
A dream of my own design
A nightmare no one escapes from
To become the thing you seek to kill

This is EDIFICE.

…

You then realize what this all means…

Edifice is the name of the Stalker…

…the one killing innocents at night…

…in their dreams…

But the death becomes real, and that’s what causes the aneurism. Suddenly it all falls into place, but judging from what you see before you, it’s possible Korak has something to do with it…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 2/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

06-06-2022, 12:49 AM

I want to talk to Zakra the Kadabra! They're a lecturer at the uni, Caily says they saw them with an unusual stone tablet! I will certainly pay diplomatic respect to their knowledge as a teacher, but my goodness, I reckon I need to hold that tablet for a bit!
My friends and I have found a few artifacts that are similar and seem like relics of an ancient civilization right under our very noses! Isn't that cool, Zakra? Imagine, imagine if even the school here was right ontop of some massive buried ziggurat!
(I would love to bait her into telling me anything extra about the old texts/locations/relics, if she knows anything!)

You decide to pay Zakra a visit, having heard about the ancient stone tablet she has from Caily. You have a hunch that it may be related to some of the other relics you and the other Savants have been coming across, but you first want to see it for yourself.

You find the engineering professor between classes, although lately student turnout has been low due to fears of the Stalkers. And lack of compliance, which seems to be one of the more major reasons why students aren’t showing up to class, but are still expecting to be passed.

You greet her and introduce yourself, and from her initial composure, you find that yes, Caily was right. She definitely has a very testy, arrogant, and egotistical aura about her. Trying to get her to respect you right away might prove difficult, but you’re confident you can make it possible.

You explain about your interest in her stone tablet, and that you and your friends have come across other similar artifacts that you think might be related, but she almost instantly scoffs at the very idea.

https://i.postimg.cc/05wKPfKC/Zakra-Happy.png “You?” she almost laughs. “I’ve spent quite a few hours researching this tablet, its very material and natures, and its purpose, and even with my own superior intellect I haven’t been able to yield answers. Nor have I been able to discern what this language is. You truly think you can derive these answers without haven’t even seen it yet? Preposterous!”

“Oh come on, at least let me see it,” You smile to her. “Give someone else a try, why not?”

Despite it having already perplexed all of her students and herself, she decides to let you have a try. All the while, she still scoffs, thinking this will only just be another amusing display of watching yet another Pokémon struggle and fail.

She takes you into her office, which is very meticulously organized and arranged in a very maximum efficiency manner. Her solid oak desk, her bookshelves, and the arrangement of the furniture are all done with efficacy in mind with very, very few personal items. As you can tell, she keeps things very professional.

From her desk drawer, she slides the ancient stone tablet out, and lays it out before you on the desk. The ancient stone looks familiar, very much like the Kagami tablet plate you found at the Seabourne Police Department earlier.

You look it over and place your black, knob-like hand upon it, gazing at the ancient text with your eyes…

…and suddenly it feels like the rest of you slips away… drifting…

ChiChi has inherited 4 points of Kurosuōbā…

…drifting…

…and then all of a sudden you realize everything…

What really is Kurosuōbā? What are these strange relics that have been found before you, like this one… like all the others…?

You realize what they’re all for. Where they’re all from. And it’s suddenly an answer you were never expecting, but it all makes sense in the end.

…YUME…

…the place the soul visits while the body sleeps. The realm of dreams. A parallel dimension that exists in another physical universe, but where far, far more is possible in reflection of the wonder, terror, and even the ambiguity of dreams. In other times, what it could make possible was called magic, or witchcraft… but only by those that didn’t understand and didn’t believe…

…and what you’ve found goes even far beyond the lucidity. Beyond what one can achieve long after they have become aware they are dreaming… aware they are in Yume, and have turned it into a handicraft, creating powerful artisan tools and relics that simply couldn’t be made anywhere else but in Yume through the power of their own dreams…

…but what if you were told there was a way to connect Yume to Vie? What if you were told the bridge could be through a Savant… one like yourself? Able to make what was only possible in Yume possible in Vie?

You realize this is where the tablet and the other Kurosuōbā-inducing relics are from. They are arcane relics that were created in Yume, the realm of dreams, and were brought into the physical realm of Vie. And it all makes sense why Zakra and the others would never be able to understand these artifacts or their purpose. Or who made them. Or where they are truly from.

Reading the tablet, you understand the mission that was attempted here in Seabourne… and how it connects to you… and the Stalkers…

The mementos…

…before they became Stalkers, each of these Pokémon had a life… a life of achievement, reminders of love from family and friends, feelings of fulfillment, and these all became memories… memories embedded into various belongings…

…you realize what can become possible. Find these mementos and construct the Dream Altar… the Yume no Saidan, fueled by the power of the Shiryoku, the orbs of vision, the relics that will remind the victims of who they really are.

Reconstruct the Yume no Saidan…
Obtain a Stalker’s Memento…
Use a Shiryoku to empower the victim with Yume’s strength…
And speak the Stalker’s name… their true name… the name they have as a Pokémon, and not the name of the one enslaving them…

…They will awaken… remember who they truly are… and be empowered… by their own hopes and dreams… and Yume will channel that power through them to crush the Demoni that hungers on their spirit to commit abominations… travesties that can now finally come to an end…

ChiChi has become Tatsujin.

Your body becomes like white as you are surrounded by an otherworldly glow, and Zakra can only gaze upon you, spellbound, unable to comprehend what she has just witnessed. And suddenly she is humbled by her lack of understanding as you harness this knowledge and tell her… relinquishing your newfound knowledge and insight.

#32 Zakra the Kadabra has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/C5kR7hp2/Zakra-Frustrated.png “Never… never could I have imagined something like this could be possible,” Zakra tells you, almost feeling shame and humiliation for having so recklessly harbored wrongful thinking. “Forgive me, for I simply did not know and I was wrong to assume.”

She hands you the tablet, realizing you will put it to its true intended use as the Tatsujin you have become, as if it was always yours to begin with…

@[Atifakutotaburetto] (Artifact Tablet) – ~4 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

As you hold it in your hands, the texts upon it tell you it is a summoning order, a request for the Atifakuto. And this is just one part of the Shadoutsuru, a series of shadow tools needed to construct the Yume no Saidan. The other part you already have… the Kagami, the mirror which you suddenly realize is a channel to Yume. It will be one more critical step you need to complete.

Your glowing hand upon the tablet gives you insight and focus… and a place comes to you in a vision… and you recognize it as the Dorimugento, a dream gate… located at the Roylea House… there you realize the Atifakutotaburetto can be sent into the gate, and Yume will deliver and fulfill the request…

https://i.postimg.cc/ZKzBRdrz/Zakra-Normal.png “Dream gates… never would I have imagined there are such things…” Zakra tells you, still grasping what has just transpired. “…or even a realm called Yume to begin with. I know there are many dark secrets in Seaborune. Places that most Pokémon don’t venture into. I believe these dream gates… these Dorimugeto as you call them… they must have been hidden for a reason.”

“Tonight… when you dream… focus your attention on Yume and where else it might connect in Seabourne. For me, when I meditate in this physical world, I know this helps me to remember what was lost, to clear and defog the ambiguity, and from that, I gain new clarity. But perhaps this is something you can try in Yume… and maybe you’ll learn something with the power you have gained…”

And in that moment of realization, you now understand why the goals and aspirations of all are also called dreams…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-06-2022, 02:32 AM

I think I'll search (29) Twinbank Apartments

As the morning arrives, you enjoy a morning breakfast of berry waffles and apple tea that Benni baked and brewed just minutes ago. Once you finish breakfast with the others, you start heading to the Twinbank Apartments, used mainly by the Beachwood University students in place of a campus dorm.

While walking along the dusty roads to the dorm-like apartment building, you look up at the sky, realizing it’s about to rain soon. Considering there isn’t too much tree cover on these roads, you’re hoping to be back before it starts really coming down.

When you get to the Twinbank Apartments building, you see the dark gray-stone building is only a short walk away from the main university building itself, almost feeling like it’s still part of a small campus plot. The building itself doesn’t seem to be in bad shape, but you notice despite its close proximity, it still looks very different from the university itself. For one thing, it doesn’t look like it was built in pieces and renovated in fragmentary phases over the years. Meanwhile, the three-story apartment building seems to be in good shape when it comes to structural integrity, but the amount of litter, dirt, trash, graffiti, and other refuse due to negligence is quite abundant. But as you look around the building and look at the walls, you don’t see anything that looks overly-suspicious or seems Stalker-related. Most of these seem to be gang tags, graffiti scrawl signatures, and other various forms of rebellious vandalism.

Inside, the once-white now very faintly-gray hallways of the apartment building feel a bit narrow and you imagine two-way traffic might be difficult for larger Pokémon living here… if they can live here in the first place. While the stone-tiled floor and the plaster walls are relatively in okay condition, there are still scuff marks and signs of more graffiti, only its much more minor this time. However, judging from the slightly off-color paint patches you see on the wall, it looks like graffiti cleaning and painting over happens here quite often.

About half of the apartments are occupied while a quarter of them are being refurbished and renovated and the remainder are simply vacant and empty, waiting for a new tenant to occupy them. But you see the apartments aren’t all that bad, consisting mostly of single and double bedroom setups that each come with their own bathroom and kitchenette.

One thing you quickly notice is the noise. Pokémon living here are quite noisy and you hear rather trashy-sounding music mixing from different directions from different sources. It honestly sounds pretty awful to you, but you imagine the Pokémon living here may be used to it by now. For you, you feel that might take way too long for you to ever tolerate.

You don’t really find anything suspicious at first, but you realize one of the last remaining rooms that has been closed off is the “Middie Room” on the second floor, the site of where the last three tenants all committed suicide. When you get there, the door is simply locked, but you find something unusual about that lock.

…it’s been broken. It’s hard to tell on a first notice, but someone managed to force the lock and dismantle it without it looking too obvious, minimizing the amount of perceivable damage.

You’re not sure how long it’s been like that or who did it, but you find yourself easily able to open the door and look inside. When you step in, you see the previous tenant’s belongings are all still there, but the back windows have been boarded up with wood planks, so much so that it’s impossible to see the outside and no one can look into this apartment from the outside. It also looks like the apartment has been a derelict for a while.

As you realize, “Middie” was not the name of the last tenant. It was in fact Reyvol, a young Murkrow that used to be a student at Beachwood University like many others living here. His belongings don’t seem all that unusual for a university-age student living here and they’re all still here as if they’re still waiting for him. However, there’s a slight coating of dust, almost to imply it has been a few years since they’ve been touched. Most of Reyvol’s belongings imply he was into pop culture and trendy modern music, having large collections of records on his shelves. A lot of his class textbooks and notes are still here as well, again, all just resting there as if he was expected to be back shortly after his last departure…

But then, among his belongings, there’s a strange decoration hanging above his bed perch. At first, the burnt skeletal bird wings are easy to dismiss as some decoration, although you admit it could be considered “edgy” in a way and it doesn’t really seem to fit too well with his other belongings. But as you approach them, more and more you get a bad feeling about these skeletal wings…

…ṯ̰ͥ͌ḧ̫̤́̇ey ͑remͤͪi̦̠n̜d͉̟̓̈́ ̣̓y̰ͨõ̘u̫͍͆̉ ͓͍͔̇ͤ̉o͍͓f ͓̦͑̓ś̺̗̚o̜̖ͤ͒m̫̻͆̎e͔̮ẗ͈hi͍͇n̹̱͇ğ̤̟ͮ.͓..

There’s a faint presence of Stalker taint on them…

…there’s something about their size…

…you think you’ve seen something like this before…

…

When you put everything together, it almost makes you want to vomit…

Reyvol was the third suicide victim in this dorm. And the wings mounted on the wall… are his. Someone dug up his corpse and defiled it, removing the skeletal wings and put them here back in the very spot he killed himself, as if he couldn’t ever leave this place… this very spot where he took his own life, although you have the feeling unnatural forces had a part in that and that Reyvol’s despair may have been… influenced. Still, the rest of the body seems to be missing. And you start to wonder where it might be but then… you shiver…

…because you already know.

…the rest of Reyvol’s corpse is on display. At the Baywill Museum and Gallery, mounted on that grizzly cabinet you saw before. Instead of resting in peace, Reyvol’s remains, stripped of his wings and now defiled with Stalker taint, is a gross caricature of macabre “art” that unknowing Pokémon now pay to see like this Murkrow’s body is nothing more than ornamental decoration. Once again, you see the sheer cruelty and malice of a flying Pokémon’s death.

“God damn you, Exonull…” you mutter.

You remove the burnt wings mount, knowing what needs to be done with them next. It’s clear only Exonull knows about this and has placed these wings here the way someone hides a key to use for later.

has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then leave the “Middie Room” apartment, closing the door behind you. You then leave the apartment building, making your way north down the roads back to Benni’s farmstead just as the rain starts to come down.

When this is done, you feel the least you can do is put Reyvol’s body back together, remove it from the cabinet, and give him a proper burial once again. All the while, you hope his spirit, in whatever form he decided to become through Afterhaven, is doing well, away from the misery he encountered here…

As for Exonull, you know what you intend to do. They made it personal… you’re not letting that go unpunished…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-07-2022, 01:19 AM

I'll go speak with 36 Altrea the Eldegoss

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Type (Grass)

You decide to seek out Altrea, who you discover is an old Eldegoss that retired from being a jeweler well over a decade ago. Instead, you find her at her house, relaxing outside on an old metal bench that has been losing its white paint over time. Even though it looks like its about to rain, the cotton bloom Pokémon doesn’t seem at all concerned about it, simply smiling to herself as she’s reading a book, one with the title of “Buried By Water” and it almost seems like a mystery book.

You introduce yourself and she looks up with a smile, not expecting company, but liking the fact you decided to stop by.

https://i.postimg.cc/sDrfzc1Q/Altrea-Normal.png “Hello there, Lewisia, dearie,” she tells you. “Good morning, what brings you here today?”

You mention that you’re trying to discern what’s going on with the Stalkers, trying to find out who they are and put an end to their murderous crimes. She nods, understanding why you would be out to do that, but something about her reaction still seems off. It almost seems complacent.

She puts her book aside, offering you a space on the bench to sit down and feel at ease. As you leap up upon the bench to join her, you notice something strange but familiar. In a side linen pouch she has, you see the same smoky, baseball-sized orb you found back at the Kako Industries Farm.

A second Putki…

You’re not sure where she found it, but you hope you can convince her to give it up to you…

https://i.postimg.cc/sDrfzc1Q/Altrea-Normal.png “When you get to be my age, you notice things about Pokémon,” she tells you, smiling slightly. “Their eyes, their faces tell you a lot about their story. About the life they’ve lived. About what they will probably go through. Yours is unique, Lewisia.”

You wonder how this might be so, but you listen further.

“You don’t fear death, do you?” she asks you, although it looks like she already knows the answer. “You don’t. But I can tell you want to help others. Help this town, selflessly in fact. You want to save all their lives. But something about you seems special. May I ask you a question?”

You’re uncertain of what this question might be, but you agree to it.

“Is there life after death?” she asks you.

You almost freeze in place and your eyes go wide…

But she sighs with a smile, almost mysteriously.

https://i.postimg.cc/7P7PjcPr/Altrea-Happy.png “Oh, you don’t need to tell me about it,” she smiles comfortably. “I’ll see it soon enough. The same way my mother, my father, and my brother have all seen it. Someday it’ll be my time, too…”

“But you still have time,” you remind her, not sure how she was able to discern this so easily. “But please, I want to help this town. Have you seen anything that might be alarming? Anything at all?”

She looks off into the distance, trying to think and gather her thoughts. All the while, she smiles calmly, as if it doesn’t bother her. You’re not sure if she’s fearless and brave, or if deep inside she has become apathetic to the whole situation.

https://i.postimg.cc/sDrfzc1Q/Altrea-Normal.png “I recently was admitted to the hospital,” Altrea tells you, looking like she didn’t quite want to disclose this, but decided to since you specifically asked. “I fell, broke my hip, and needed surgery. Took me some time to be able to walk again. But I know I’m getting older every day.”

“While I was undergoing physical therapy, they had me walk around the hospital,” she told you. “The nurse, Rochel… she was awful. Not ‘oh she’s definitely a Stalker’ awful, but she really needs to learn manners. Now, while I was walking, she would often leave me to myself, which is not what a nurse should do, but this is Rochel we’re talking about.”

“During one of my lonely walks, I found something on one of the outside walls,” she tells you. “Hideous thing, really. Well, it looked like one of those ads… or motivational artwork murals or something. Yes, it was a family depiction, a Greedent and Skwovet family, in fact. And I could tell it once looked uplifting and encouraging to both patients and families. Common thing to see. Only someone had made of mess of this one. Vandalized it to look just atrocious. Gad. The eyes of the Greedent were blotted out and the entire faces of the Skwovet were blotched out. And then in hideous black lettering, it said ‘only the mantra of macabre words is understood here.’ Whatever that means. I was just happy to get out of there.”

You think it over and it almost sounds familiar, but you nod in agreement that it sounds like something you need to look into and sounds like something a Stalker might have had a part in tampering. You then look toward Altrea’s Putki, asking her about it.

https://i.postimg.cc/7P7PjcPr/Altrea-Happy.png “Oh this?” she asks you, pulling out the smoky orb out of her pouch as she seems keen to talk about it, “I found this while digging holes for my flowers. Intriguing, isn’t it? Santea asked me about it when she noticed it the other day… she works at the library, you see. She thinks this orb might be related to what she’s researching. Something called… Puhdistus… whatever that is. I’m going to hold onto it for now, maybe one of these days she can tell me if it really is anything or if it’s just one of those fancy baubles that Charms and Chimes store likes to sell.”

You find yourself having a tough time trying to convince Altrea to give the Putki to you. At the moment, you’re not able to persuade her she’d be better to leave it with you than to leave it with Santea…

#36 Altrea the Eldegoss: <Diplomacy>

You decide to thank her for her time, and at that moment, the rain starts to fall.

https://i.postimg.cc/sDrfzc1Q/Altrea-Normal.png “Looks like we’d better head inside,” Altrea tells you, “although I don’t mind a nice gentle rain every now and then. I’d welcome you in, dearie, but things are a bit of a mess in there right now. My maid never showed up. Maybe some other time.”

You nod in agreement, hoping someone might be able to talk Altrea into giving up that Putki. While you’re not sure what it really is for either, you have a feeling between the Phudistus Makuuhuone and the destroyed Taika Temppeli, you’re way further ahead in uncovering the mystery behind this Puhdistus thing than Santea is. Or at least you think so.

Although the more you think about it… the more you realize maybe it would be better if you work together with Santea…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-07-2022, 01:33 AM

Active Dark Event 2: Mission Disclosure:
10%/100%

From the events of this morning, the Demoni have discovered reliable information that has informed them that there is a new entity besides the local Seabourne Police pursuing them and attempting to stop their efforts. Most of the details regarding this new threat still remain ambiguous to them, however, but they are now pursuing more information if it can be found and to be watchful for any new discoveries that might shed more information regarding this new entity. At the current time, most of the Demoni aren’t too concerned about this new entity, assuming their efforts will not come to fruition and will continue to be mislead the same way the police have been.

Neo Emolga

06-07-2022, 01:36 AM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 3: Night Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/lpm0tCS.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3285385/day-3-night-cycle)

(Thursday, June 9, 2022 10:00:00 PM EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

C0L0R3D

06-07-2022, 05:08 AM

Scytherwolf

06-07-2022, 05:10 AM

I'll search (20) Seabourne Post Office. See if I can find anything about the missing worker.

DayBreak

06-07-2022, 04:38 PM

Chakramaster

06-07-2022, 09:15 PM

So like I promised. I'm gonna take a chance here. I'm gonna go out and search the forest. Wish me luck!

Search: (55) The Comfort Forest

Noblejanobii

06-08-2022, 04:24 PM

I'll question 20 Jupo the Whimsicott ♀

EmeraldSky

06-08-2022, 08:00 PM

I will untrap another item tonight.

Lychee

06-09-2022, 10:19 PM

Neo Emolga

06-09-2022, 11:17 PM

You know, after the curious experience of getting drugged for some reason, I think I fry the Gyarados and get a thing over with. Exonull genuinely be damned!

[ACTION DECIDED: Deliver the Skeletal Murkrow Wings to the cabinet in the museum. If anyone strikes me down, you’ll be seeing me again! As a… Morelull. If Xerneas is doing a line thing.]

(Pst, it’s randomly decided!)

When the evening hours have arrived, you’ve decided now would be a perfect time to head toward the Baywill Museum and Gallery to find out what’s really being hidden in that macabre cabinet.

As you step outside of Benni’s farmstead with the Burnt Wings Mount, you find it’s still raining and the skies look dark and murky. There isn’t much light either, but you find that helps you stay hidden, also.

When you arrive at the museum, you find everything has been closed down and locked up with everyone having left and gone elsewhere for the evening. Normally, you’d find it a bit tricky to get inside, but due to your small and nimble frame, you’re able to slide your way through a loose grate on the outside and through the ventilation ducts and make your way into the museum itself.

Following Scy’s notes, you head to the exhibit where old furniture from that strange, dark-ages era is on display. And then you find cabinet, seemingly made of blackwood and bone, but most notably with Reyvol’s skeletal corpse mounted on the top with the wings removed. Carefully climbing to the top of the cabinet, you carefully place the burnt wings mount into position using your two green hands, and it locks into place, causing the lock mechanism in the cabinet to be disengaged with a clicking sound.

Colored has used the [Missing Wings Mount].

{Skeletal Murkrow Cabinet: Missing Wings}

Carefully, you open the two double-cabinet doors, and at first, it almost seems like the cabinet is completely empty, much to your initial shock and disappointment. However, upon a closer look, you see there’s a small, blackened fang-like object on the single blackwood shelf that is easy to overlook and was easily camouflaged with the darkness of the shelf.

You reach to grab it and…

@Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage and 3 Purity Damage)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 29 out of 100: Success!

…suddenly you withdraw, sensing a dark, cursed presence in the fang itself, easily indicating this is the work of the Stalkers, and most likely Exonull at that. Taking a look around, you find what looks to be an old white handkerchief in one of the display cases. You take it, wrap the fang with it, and then take it with you. It seems you were right, the curse needs direct contact and the handkerchief protects your hand from its malicious effects.

@[Fang of the Broken] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

With that done, you then shut the doors of the cabinet. As no one is looking now, you decide to take Reyvol’s skeletal remains off of the top of the cabinet, removing the nails and undoing the bindings that kept it positioned up there. You feel it’s the right thing to do and take him out of this place.

After leaving the museum carrying the fang and Reyvol’s remains with you, you then head north back to Benni’s farmstead, but before you go there, you stop by Jadebreeze Forest. It’s still raining outside and you feel each drop that plummets and lands on your grass snake body, but it’s a peaceful and gentle rain. It doesn’t even bother you.

Stepping into the forest, you find a quiet spot by one of the trees, and you decide to dig a hole there. Though the ground is a bit soft and muddy, you find it easy to make a hole even without a shovel.

Once it’s deep enough, you place Reyvol’s remains there at the bottom and gently move the soft dirt back into place on top of the Murkrow's skeleton. After patting it down and wiping your hands off using a few leafy branches, all you can hear is the light pattering of the rain all around you. After taking a short, quiet breath, you say a silent prayer for Reyvol’s spirit. You hope wherever he is now in whatever life his spirit has become, it’s a happier one, away from the darkness and despair he experienced here. But you also vow that you will do what you can to ensure that what happened to him won’t happen to anyone else. In the meantime, this quiet, hidden spot in Jadebreeze forest seems like the most quiet and peaceful place you could think of, and it feels like the remains of what was a past life of his can now be at rest.

You then head back to the farmstead, and even though its still night and the rain still comes down, you can swear the skies seem less murky and just a little bit brighter now than they did before…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-10-2022, 12:49 AM

I'll search (20) Seabourne Post Office. See if I can find anything about the missing worker.

Tonight, you decide to head down to the Seabourne Post Office, wondering what might be hidden there. From what you’ve heard, you’re investigating this site to see if there’s any indication as to what might have happened to Misch. You’re not sure if there’s a reason for his sudden disappearance, or if there’s something related to the Stalkers here. Still, you’re confident you might find something that no one else has come across.

While you walk down the path, the rain comes down lightly all around you, lightly tapping and trickling down all around your dark-blue carapace. It’s a quiet and almost peaceful night with the only sounds being the light patter of the rain, but you still keep your wits about you and make sure there aren’t any suspicious moving shadows in the dark, knowing your guard can’t be let down when the Stalkers are still out and targeting anyone who is caught unaware. After all, you’re still well-aware of what went down only two nights ago…

When you arrive at the post office, you see the old brick building has been closed for tonight and all the lights in the building are off. You start your search by going around the perimeter to see if there is anything unusual. So far, nothing about the state of the building seems to be out of the ordinary, even though it is old and likely has been here for many generations. Even checking the old bricks to see if there’s any hidden caches doesn’t yield anything.

Back the back of the building, you find a small shrub bush that was recently planted here, but you sense a kind of odd, shadowy energy ebbing from it. You take a closer look and at first, you think the shrub bush might be cursed and afflicted with something, but the branches and leaves seem to be in good condition and don’t show any signs of abnormality.

It takes you a while to find the source of it, but buried by the base of the bush, you find what looks to be an oddly shaped stone just barely peeking out. You reach in to dig it out, and once you do, you discover it wasn’t the bush that was the source of this energy, it was this odd prism.

You brush the dirt and mud off with your clawed head and inspect it closely from multiple angles. It looks to be somewhat shadowy and murky, as if it contained ethereal oil inside. You’re not sure why it was placed here or what this is even for, but you can sense there’s got to be some kind of supernatural purpose to this thing. You take it with you, wondering what it might be for…

[Aether Prism] has been added to the Team Inventory.

After checking out the rest of the outside, you then make your way in, using an old window to make your way inside. Just like the exterior, the inside seems old and it doesn’t look like it was remodeled very recently, although the painted walls and the tiled ceiling still seem to be in good condition for the most part. Additional paper and stationary products like boxes, envelopes, and cartons are available for sale here for those who need these materials to mail any letters or packages.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty of P.O. boxes here. Most of them seem locked and the ones that aren’t don’t have a current owner yet, but there is one you find that looks like it once was used many years ago, but has been forgotten about for a while. Besides some old mail in it that was forgotten about and outdated by over three years, you find a small envelope with a small package inside. Since the original owner is never coming back for these things, you open it and discover a beautiful diamond necklace inside. It must have been sitting here for years, likely ordered and delivered some time ago, but never claimed.

In your clawed, blue hand, it seems to radiate with a unique energy, and it almost seems like the diamond itself has some kind of blessing or enchantment… but from what and how this was done, you have no idea. Still, you decide to wear it and it looks quite nice, almost making you feel rich and famous given this necklace must be worth quite a bit.

Scy has equipped the +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

After searching the back room, you find the employee area, and you discover that besides Misch, Verio works here during the day as well. From what you see, they’re the only two workers here, and with Misch missing, Verio is alone and the only support he has is an off-site supervisor. Judging from the employee records, Flaynak the Hariyama, the supervisor, only comes once every two weeks to check up on things.

You imagine without Misch and with Flaynak barely even being around, Verio is alone, worried about his family, and now his son is barely even alive. You can see why Verio has become paranoid and fearful in these dark times…

Unfortunately, you find the last time Misch clocked in was two and a half weeks ago. And that’s the last known record of his whereabouts. From what you gather, he may have fled Seabourne in panic without notifying anyone, or he may be dead as just another victim of the Stalkers. The only other possibility is he could be in hiding, but you imagine he would have had to come out by now…

You decide to head back to Benni’s, feeling you came across a lucky find tonight, which felt good for once. It was definitely worth the trip through the pouring rain.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

06-11-2022, 01:40 AM

2069
"I promised Ralon I'd get that stake, and I'm getting it if it's the last thing I do! I'm heading to Velli's home (56) and finding it! Plus, if Velli really is Exonull, then going by the pattern over the last couple days, she should be out of the house for a bit doing... Stalker things."

2070
"Plus, worst case scenario, if she comes back or otherwise notices me while I'm searching, I'm a Poison-type and she's a Fairy-type. I'll let you guys to the math on that one~. Hopefully I can avoid a proper conflict, however."

2071
"Though it might be a good idea for me to bring a few things to wrap whatever horrors I find. If they're as cursed and dangerous to handle as those demonic instruments, it'd be better to be on the side of caution. It might also be a good idea for me to leave my shirt and bag behind. I can't have Velli easily recognizing me if she does come back, and let's be honest, those two things are easily my most defining traits, appearance wise. Outside of those, I'm just another Nido in the crowd."

As the evening arrives, you plan to head to Velli’s home to see if the Sylveon has the stake hidden somewhere around her house. As you realized, Colored wasn’t able to get a hold of it by trying to consult with her directly and it ended up with her getting drugged, so you decide to take the alternative approach and see if you can steal it from her without even confronting her.

As you make your way toward the dilapidated house, the light rain falls everywhere around you and on you, sliding along your blue-armored body. Thankfully, the darkness of the evening and the sound of the rain falling makes it easy to conceal the sounds of your steps.

And then, you arrive at the house itself, where Colored was just this morning. From an initial assessment of the property, you can see the house itself is in terrible condition and that Velli herself must be either deranged or desperate to stay here, but you’re convinced it’s the former of those two. Of all the abandoned places she could stay, she chose this one for some reason. But you wouldn’t rule out that it may just be a very old family home she simply can’t part with regardless of how horrible it has been falling apart. Or she has simply lost her mind.

You search around the perimeter first, seeing this would be a building inspector’s worst nightmare. The stone walls are significantly cracked and most of the old windows are broken. And in many places, the roof reminds of Swiss cheese and you can easily figure a lot of this rain is ending up inside the house as well. The property is also in bad shape with weeds and vines taking over everything, but you figure if Velli couldn’t care less about the condition of the house, she certainly doesn’t care about the condition of the yard, either. At this point it’s like being concerned the walls of the room would look better painted blue while the building is on fire.

You don’t find anything outside, so you decide to bravely head inside and hope what remains of the structure at least holds up until you leave. You find entry into the house fairly easy considering the dining room is mainly just a pile with plenty of openings to crawl into the rest of the house. But in the dining room itself, you don’t find much besides broken pieces of rubble and the splintered remains of the dining room table and chairs.

In the kitchen, you find much of the room is falling apart. The ceiling, which has plenty of water damage, is patched with brown blots while cracks and holes are scattered above. The floor also has many broken, cracked, and loose tiles. Very few of them remain fully intact and even so, they’re absolutely filthy.

All the while, it smells like wet, filthy mold in the house. As you search through the kitchen, you find Velli doesn’t bother to clean her dishes either. The plates, pots, pans, and utensils are disgusting and crusty. The gas stove still seems to be working, but the lighter is long-broken and the grates are old and rusty. The oven seems to be badly damaged as well and it’s quite likely it doesn’t work anymore either. You also find Velli’s odd make-believe companions. A spoiled, stuffed Buneary wearing a tattered tutu and the skeletal remains of a Patrat that you hope died of natural causes before coming here and wasn’t subject to being in Velli’s presence in this god-awful house while alive.

Searching the living room ends up being a similar experience, and here, the vines and weeds have invited themselves inside. Meanwhile, Velli has been using this area to cultivate many herbs, plants, fungi, and other odd vegetation. While the rest of the house looks like hell, it seems she cares much more about these than anything else.

As you search the living room, you sense the taint of one of the Stalkers. It takes you a bit of time to pinpoint the source, but once you do, you’re able to locate the stake, hidden in a hole in one of the walls. Without your Savant sense, you’re pretty sure you might have never found it, but when you look at it, it definitely seems to be the stake Ralon and Verio were talking about. Thankfully, it seems safe to touch and doesn’t seem to be infused with any curses. The other good thing is it’s likely Velli won’t notice its missing until you’re long out of here.

[Encrypted Stake] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You decide to search the rest of the house, going up to the second floor carefully on the creaky old wooden stairs that have many black patches of rot. You’re thankful for the rain loudly tapping on the roof, muffling the sounds of you going up the stairs. You find Velli has three rooms up here, her bedroom, a study, and a washroom. All three of them look like they could crumble to the bottom floor any second now.

Velli’s asleep in her bed at the moment, or what’s left of it. Most of the mattress has been ripped open while the old wooden bedframe is leaning on the side. Meanwhile, the plaster walls are rotting and the smell is almost unbearable. As it rains outside, drops of water are plopping in.

You then decide to investigate Velli’s study, where it seems like the vast majority of the books and papers in haphazard piles here are science and botany-related. You skim and flip through a few of them, but there’s far too many to investigate individually. But then, you find a darker side of Velli’s miniature library. It seems here, she has plenty of recipe books for creating poisons, toxins, and psychological drugs. She even has a few of them on occult like literature, including some references to Unohdus. When you take a closer look at these books… you have a feeling they’re definitely not from around here…

Lastly, one of the burnt books she has that’s only half-legible is one based on something called “Létal” only the details quickly become flushed out with the page having been burned. But buried in the sleeve of the back cover, you find the fragment of a disc or medallion of some sort…

https://i.imgur.com/DspIJcm.png

Judging by the damage, you believe there must be two other pieces. Normally it looks like garbage, but there’s a strange, dark resonation coming from it. You decide to take it with you and then bury the burnt book back into the pile, hopefully Velli won’t ever notice.

[=Sigil Fragment 3=] (https://i.imgur.com/DspIJcm.png) has been added to the Team Inventory.

Lastly, you decide to investigate the basement, and here is where things become truly bizarre. The cellar, as dank, damp, and filthy as it is, seems to be where Velli does most of her daily work, running bizarre experiments and from what you gather, she seems to be combining science and occult-like witchcraft together. In one corner, you find a Mienfoo that looks like it was somehow turned into a grass type, but the transformation went too far and now they’re half-plant. From what you can tell, they don’t seem to be sentient anymore either.

You also pass by various shelves of jars, vial racks, bizarre lab equipment, and more of Velli’s experiments. Another grotesque experiment you find has the head of a Dunsparce lying on a table, hooked up to various tubes and wires. You can’t understand the purpose of this, but then you realize the head… is actually still alive. He can’t speak or move, but you see the eyelids twitch and he still reacts to certain stimuli. You see he twitches a lot when you approach, as if he’s trying to tell you something… but can’t...

Lastly, the third experiment you find is a Cufant on her back that looks like she was recently opened up for surgery experimentation. You too, at first think she’s dead, but you find she’s still deep into sedation, as if some kind of unnatural coma. When you read Velli’s notes half-soaked in a puddle of blood, you feel sick. She’s trying to perform a necropsy while keeping the subject alive. To her, its like some twisted game, trying to see how many internal organs she can remove without killing the subject. It suddenly makes you think of Ralon, caught in a state between life and death. Surely this isn’t a coincidence…

You decide to head out of that nightmarish place, not sure if that confirms Velli as a Stalker, but it definitely confirms her as a sinful and disgusting abomination to all Pokémon…

As the rain comes down, you dash away from Velli’s house, moving through the fields and along the roads like a shadow, hoping to blend in, disappear, and never be seen again. And you just hope that the whole time, Velli never even knew you were there and she was just sleeping the entire time…

…

#Tracibility – NORMAL (SPECIAL)# Trap 30% Evasion Test: 31 out of 100: Failed!

…

…s̯͚̲̜h͕̣̘̰̝̞̫e̦̘͓͔̤̮͓͚͓̯ w̗̦asn̺͓̙̻̯̣̹’̙̩̟̠̘͓̳̘͍̼t͎̰̮͇̭.̻̥͇͓̖̺͎̠̼̩͍̣͓̜..

…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-12-2022, 02:21 AM

So like I promised. I'm gonna take a chance here. I'm gonna go out and search the forest. Wish me luck!

Search: (55) The Comfort Forest

You decide to head into the Comfort Forest this rainy evening, wondering what answers you might find here in this unusual but seemingly peaceful graveyard.

As you head in deeper, you’re left feeling a bit of dread, as if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, especially on a night like this. But you still take a deep breath and lightly float among the trees as the raindrops lightly patter on the leaves of the trees above you and at times on your star-shaped body. Your determination is still rising stronger than your fears and anxiety, but it still feels like a tug of war at times between the two emotional forces.

…

You go in deeper and you begin to see strange engravings and markings on the trees. In the darkness of the rainy evening, they look warped, bizarre, and strange, but you feel compelled to take a closer look at them. You soon realize what was making you feel uneasy before, are just these trees are functioning like headstones, and these markings indicate names, dates of birth and death, and sometimes statements. However, overtime, the messages fade, become warped as the tree grows, and become covered up, sometimes looking more like disfigured, spidery runes.

You can see why traditional gravesites and markers don’t do this…

…

…can……t ……o b……k…

…

And then, something unusual in the forest gives you the chills as you levitate and float among the trees… as it comes from a distance… and then suddenly all around… before shifting directions in the dark… drifting… echoing… bouncing…

…

@Scream of Oblivion – PSYCHIC (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ Trap 40% Evasion Test: 19 out of 100: Success!

Hastily, you burst forward, rushing in as fast as you can, suddenly sensing the extreme and immediate danger that you’re in. Quickly, you cut through the air and you spot the beheaded corpse of a Gardevoir. Despite how grizzly the sight is and how traumatizing and paralyzing it would be to most Pokémon, you suddenly spray the open neck with a Life Dew, sealing the wound with healing waters. Despite the recipient being clearly dead… it closes the severed throat of the Gardevoir…

…leaving it unable to scream… that psychic scream…

The @Scream of Oblivion – PSYCHIC (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ trap on the {Disfigured Headless Gardevoir Corpse: Sacrifice of the Dishonored} has been disarmed.

You take a deep breath and sigh, thankful you just dodged a bullet there. You weren’t expecting to discern the mystery beyond the psychic screams so quickly, but at least you were able to do something about it…

Now that the immediate danger has vanished, you look down at the beheaded Gardevoir, trying to get a better idea of what happened here now that you have the time to look at it more closely. You’re not sure what’s going on with this corpse, but it reeks with Stalker presence and then you realize this isn’t your typical decapitation assassination. Something nefarious has been done with this Gardvoir’s corpse and you have a feeling it has something to do with the missing head and there was a reason it was removed. Maybe… just maybe putting the head back might do something…

{Disfigured Headless Gardevoir Corpse: Sacrifice of the Dishonored} has been noted in the Team Records.

You’re not sure what the full story is when it comes to this beheaded Gardevoir, but you think the answers might be revealed if and when you find the head…

You continue searching through the forest, seeing if maybe the head is nearby. However, combing through the damp trees and bushes while the rain falls all around you ends up in a futile search…

…at least in terms of finding the head.

You do, however, find s͈̣̻̜͚͖͚͛ͤ̈́ͦ͌͒ͪo̯͉ͮ͛m̓̿ͪe̪̪̖͓̮thi͇͍̮̓̅̑̆ͅn̟̏͂̈́̿͆̐̚ ̰̳̣̱͉͈g ͙͚͙̜̲e̖̮͕l̠̭ͦ̽s̭͚̜͖̳̮̰̑ͮ̂̋̊͊̾ḙ̫̬̝̳̺́ͣ̔̈́̅̈́ here and it seems to be unusual. While everyone else who was buried here were buried under trees, you find some other grave that seems to be more traditional. But there is no name or anything else on it. It doesn’t seem alarming at first, so you levitate toward it to take a closer look…

@Kiss of Death – GHOST (5 Sanity Damage, 5 Purity Damage)@ Trap 40% Evasion Test: 86 out of 100: Failed!

…

And the gaping vo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟id of the nether appears before you in a swirling vortex, sudden̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇ly feeling as if the fä́̉ͦc̝ͩe͐̿̑̎ ͮ̇̿͒of ỷ̯̣͈̖͖̪͓̅͆͋ͯͮͭo̪̠̬͎͙̎̽ͬ̃͗u̮͓͕̦ͭͧ̾ͩr s̉͌o̟̙ͬ͆ͮͅul̺̙̜̘̰͖͒̓͐͑̒̚ ̞͎̦̜͈̠̥ͤͮ̅̆͗ͧͤi̖s̝̜̮͕̖͉͇ ̞ͅri̘̖͐̓p̰̣̲ͮ̑͌pͣ͒̾ed͚͚̙̎̽ͣ r̭̱͙̱̂̏͐̏ï̒̄g̓̈́̏͗͗h̼̞͇̣̗͇̖ͧ̃͒̾̎ͯ̾t͖͍́̃ o̮̖̗̣ͭ͒ͫ̾ff͎̲̱̱̝ͧ͑ͬ̉͋ ỏ͉̭̜̻̲̻̠ͬ̈́͗͂̑ͩf̥ ͇̙̙͚̹̮ͥ͛̽̒ͣ̎i͔̯̱̘̺̽ͦ̿̓͊t͇͚̘̄͊̎s ̠̼̈́͐f͓͕̪͕͑́ͯ̐o̓̐͐͆́͗͋u̲̻̱͚̘ṋ͍̪d͙̰̜͉a̠͖̼tio͔͚̟ͤ̒̉n ͤ͋̔̓̊̋̚s ͎͇̆͛i̒̈̄̂ͬ̚n̽͑̎̚t̼͕̤̱̼́ͨͮ̋̚o̗͉͖̱͔̭ ̖̖̘̆̉̌a ̗̻̮̾ͣ̈a͉͔̫̟̾ͨ̓̔ḱ̖̳̒͑ͅdlͭͨ;ld̯̞̬ã̯͙͎̉ͥl̻͍̞̩̂̅ͯ͑sͪ ͉̳̞̻͗͒ͣdǰ̖̠̠͓̖͗ͣ͛̂a͓̬̬̺j̥̘̫͉͓̰͕dk̙̖̩͔̝̱̃ͪ̓̈́̓ͣj̥͑k ̏ͬ̐̔̚v̩n̿

Chakra has suffe̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘red 2 damage to San̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇ity and 2 Damage to̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ Purity (Doubled, weak to Gho̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟st (1 Sanity Damage and 1 Purity Damage absorbe̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘d by the +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)))

…

You’ve never felt this h̬̠̥͖̒̔̔̓o͕̮̻͇̭̭̪llo̩̦͖ͬ͂ͮ̄ͅw before, but no̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟w here you are, detached with a blee̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘ding spirit and the wo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟rst part of it is that feeling like you’ve forgotte̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘n something. Something precio̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟us. But it’s like money you’ve b̳͚̪̘or̬̥̱͇̠r͉̱̣̻̮̮owed ̠͈̦͔͕͍̦b̪̲̙̭̫ef̻͖o̩̼͎̬̯re ̜ti̱m̹̬̯̠̳͍e̩̹̹̳ ̯̪̮̭b̰e͚̮ga̘̲͇̲͇n͎̪̪̲͈ and no̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟w you’re sitting here, a worthless spec in the universe, contemplating what you’re really worth after all the debt keeps you shacked down like the slave yo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟u are.

They’re just memo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ries, Chakra. Worthless memo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ries. Bad! You don’t nee̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘d them.

And yet you cling to them, like you in̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇sist on being a century behind eve̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘ryone else. No̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟t good! You’re finishing last after eve̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘ryone’s gone ho̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟me and even forgot you we̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘re still in the race. But it’s like a nightmare where you’re still chasing youre̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘elf in a labyrin̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇th of your own design. Every lie, every sin, every regret is on display here, the horrible museum you’ve built fo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟r yourself…

…you’d better try again.

Chakra has suffe̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘red 3 damage to San̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇ity and 3 Damage to Purity (Doubled, we̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘ak to Ghost)

Í̿ͦ͋̾ͫ͂t̤̻̭͙̗'̚s ̟̩̞̰͖̝̭̏ͮͤ͊̃̃ͧt̜͋î̯͕̺̰̬̟̆ͣ̈̉̀mͮͦͭ̄ͮe͊͑ t̿̍̇ͤ̍́̓ó͇̞͕̩̦ͮ̎̽́ ̱͓͎̙̉̑ͭ̎pͦ͑̊͐̊͂i̿ͨ͑̐̊͆ͧc̖̯̬ͣ̂ͦk u̞̖̓ͤp̺̞̪̬̗̓ͯͥ̈̚ t̝͈̮̏͊͆h̞̮̜̙̙̙͔͌̔ͮ̓ͯ̾̚e ̞p̫͍͙͈̫̘i͈ec͇̰ͅe͎s,͉̦͔̩͉̹̎̃ͦ͋̂̔ ͔̬̳̠̠̗̲ͯ̋ͮ̔̓͌́C͈͔̫̽ͦ͒h̖akr̬͈͍̹̙̙ä́͋ͦͨ

But you don’t want to̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ and it’s easier to just accept the failure. It’ll take forever to put it all back together, and what would it be worth in the en̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇d? A few seco̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟nds of dopamine? What reminds you that it’s actually worth it?

Nothin̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇g reminds you. You remind yourself it’s not really worth it. So̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ you let the pieces all just sit the̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘re. For eternity. Because it’s just so much damn easier that way to be apathetic and n̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇onchalant about the whole thing. That’s you. That’s the failed masterpiece̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘ you leave for yourself. That’s the choice you make and the legacy you left behin̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇d.

You o̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟wn that and n̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇ow you’d better be proud of it…

Chakra has suffe̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘red 4 damage to Sanity and 4 Damage to Purity (Double̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘d, weak to Ghost)

https://i.imgur.com/MgtX4O9.gif

…We tried to̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ warn you Chakra.

But it’ll be okay. Let the thoughts and dre̝͚͎̬ͧͭ͐͐͘ams settle in. Let them muck about so much that you can̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇’t even put the basic facts together and the next thing you know, you’re putting triangle pegs into square holes and the cro̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟wd goes wild because it’s all in your twisted, delusion̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇al mind and they’re just there to provide your psychosis the validation it needs to continue destro̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟ying yourself. You can shut the shades and lower the volume on everyone else. Cast the magical spell where everyone plays dead forever and you spend all day co̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟rrupting your own wishes like a masochist genie with schizophrenia.…

They’ll look up to you, Chakra! You know them! The screaming insects, Chakra. With their little mo̢̘̥̻̱̟͗̓ͣ̄̈́͜͟uths and mandibles, ṡ̀ͤcr̴͓é̳̣̐am͜in̨g̟̘ ͓̄a̳͗n͖d͕̤ͪ͑ d̲̺̩͜a̛n͉̼c̱̦̜̆ͩ͑i̠͔̝n͠g͇̯͓̒̃ͤ͞ ̴ͬͥȧ ̻̪̘͞j͛̅͗҉͇̞̱i͞g͠ while the old trõ̳͙̩̦̹̳̖͑ͩ͊ͪͦ̉mbone plays and the skies get suddenly lit aflame. Just because everyone’s dyin̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇g doesn’t mean it can’t be a good time, Chakra.

Maybe it’ll always be like this, Chakra. Maybe it’ll always cõ̳͙̩̦̹̳̖͑ͩ͊ͪͦ̉ntinue this same inan̥̝̖̬̄͗͛̇e way for years. It can be the gift that keeps on giving, Chakra.

I̅̋̚t̹̞̫̳̆ͧ̐̒̃ͅ ̺̩͖Ca̬̥ͭͦN̢̼̊ ̡̇͗͋ͥ̈́̅ͨḇ̞̱̞̓̏͆̒E͟ ̜̦̗͑̔̿́t̗̺̗͇̫̜̔̃̇̿ͯ̆h̻̻̝͓̪E̥̬ͨ̚ ͦ̉CU͘R̹ͧS̺̥̰Ḙ̣͖̰̱̉ͤ̿ͥ͐͟ ̙̦̈ͦt̫̭̠ͫ͐ͬ͜h͏̩̬̻̹̙A͓͔T̴ ̬̮̻͚͇̖̍̉̐̒ͮ͗k̭̠E̯̪͓E̖̣̦͎̫̗̅ͯ̌̽ͯ̋P̩̩̐̿s̢̽̀͊̑͛ͮ ͂̈o̅̍Ǹ͗̅ͩ̔ͪ̚͡ ̟̦̝̤͇ͭ͑̒̏̌Ta̮̟͉̤ͭͫͧ̔͘k̥̰̦̙̀ͦ̂̎̋̕ͅİ͟NG͈̝̲̮͋͋ͦͥ͆ͅ,̂ ̝̫̜̰͈͔̎ͧͯ̈́͋ C̲͖̰͒̑̚͡ha͖̫͖̯̲͕̞̐̐̾̃̓̈́̓KṚͭA̶̘̘̮̻͔̞̞ͦ̔́̈͒̔͆.̶͊͋̓̏ ̻̝̖ͅ

…

…

With your subconscious as the only thing keeping you attached to reality, you reach forward, almost in hopeless desperation…

…and you break the conduit.

The glass breaks, the hideous, spirit-destroying ether simply drifts into the atmosphere, and vanishes. Although you truly wish you hadn’t experienced that yourself…

You almost hear yourself moaning, gasping, struggling, unsure of what were motions and sounds cut and caught between the dream and the waking reality.

The @Kiss of Death – GHOST (5 Sanity Damage, 5 Purity Damage)@ trap on the {Unmarked Grave: Depiction of Death} has been disarmed.

The {Unmarked Grave: Depiction of Death} has been noted in the Team Records.

The unmarked grave stands before you. The board of rotting wood stands visible before you now and you can read it. Suddenly the words come into focus…

https://i.imgur.com/TjNiNKN.png

=The Bloodwood Message= (https://i.imgur.com/TjNiNKN.png) has been noted in the Team Records.

After getting up and dusting yourself off, you decide you’ve had enough for the night and you’d rather head back and get some sleep. You’re a little anxious about a hideous nightmare coming out of this to continue to horrendous saga of psychosis you’ve experienced here, but you’re just too tired to keep going on with this.

Softly… slowly, after picking yourself up, you drift and levitate your way toward the forest’s closest exit and head back to Benni’s farmstead. It’s hard to focus, but at least it seems peaceful again. The rain still carries on around you, pattering on the leaves of the trees, easing the silence, bringing you back to what’s around you. Soon, Benni’s farmstead comes into view again, like a sanctuary… a place to call home for now…

You’re thankful the beds she has provided for you all are very comfortable. You’re looking forward to that tonight…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

06-13-2022, 01:04 AM

I'll question 20 Jupo the Whimsicott ♀

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Type (Grass)

After the sun has gone down, you head to the Charms and Chimes gift store to talk to Jupo. The store closed hours ago, but she’s still there and likely in her second-floor apartment.

The light rain lightly taps and trickles all around you, although it feels somewhat refreshing and rejuvenating to a grass Pokémon such as yourself. By the time you walk all the way to the gift store, you’re soaking wet, but you shake the water off of your shrub back and off of your flowers and leaves. You then lightly knock on the apartment door and shortly after, Jupo the Whimsicott opens the door and greets you.

https://i.postimg.cc/V6mVFSHZ/Jupo-Happy.png “Oh haaiiiii there!” she happily greets you, “Nice to meet you, who might you be?”

You’re a bit surprised Jupo still lets her guard down like this, especially in a time where the Stalkers are lurking around, but you think maybe she’s just always been like this.

You politely introduce yourself, telling her you’re trying to learn more about the Stalkers and to see if she knows anything and would be willing to help. You’re also interested to know if she’s seen anything strange lately.

https://i.postimg.cc/wBhrJ5Fs/Jupo-Normal.png “Ah, Lewisia!” she smiles. “Nice name! So… Stalkers… maybe… maybe maybe… let me think for a minute, but hey, let’s get out of the rain, shall we? Not a big fan of rain, you know! I get wet and it takes practically a week to get all this cotton dried off!”

You follow her upstairs to her apartment, taking note of the surroundings. Without a doubt, Jupo seems to love colorful, cute, sweet-looking things. Her apartment has the kind of décor and theming that you think a candy store would have. You can also see she’s madly in love with Narshen the Cinccino. She has love notes and happy doodles for him in the most random of places.

https://i.postimg.cc/V6mVFSHZ/Jupo-Happy.png “So hey Lewisia, get this,” Jupo tells you as she pours a glass of hyper-sweet cola for you and her. “There’s some out of towners stuck here because of the Coast Guard telling them to stay on land for whatever reason. You know the guys, some sailor or scavenger types and stuff like that. Velay is one of them, but there’s this other weird guy. Ohu, or something. That creepy Dehlmise, guy! Yeah, I know, they’re weird!”

“So they come into my shop and… get this,” Jupo giggles. “They think I run a pawn shop! They actually try to sell things to me! Before I can even interrupt Ohu to tell them they’re a total poofhead and got things wrong, they’re like ‘oh, this is some rare and ancient item and I’m sure someone’s gonna be interested in it’ and I’m looking at this thing and I’m like ‘no way, that can’t be it.’ It’s a piece of junk! And it’s broken! Why would I be interested in THAT!? I’m no fix-it flunky either! That was totally weird. And I guess word go around and some Mienfoo guy… Krish I think his name is, tried to sell a key with a heart insignia on it to me. Now that… I almost bought because it did look kinda cute, but I don’t want this crazy rumor going around that I’m buying random stuff. Everyone’s gonna want to dump their junk on me and I don’t want that now!”

https://i.postimg.cc/wBhrJ5Fs/Jupo-Normal.png “Right, right, you mentioned Stalkers!” Jupo corrects herself with a smile. “Ah, I’m not worried about them. I mean come now, I’m not seriously a major threat to anyone! I just sell fun little gifts! They wouldn’t come after me now, would they?”

You look off to the side, not sure how brutally honest you should be with Jupo. You know the truth is the Stalkers do not discriminate against their victims. Anyone could potentially be a target. Even Jupo, regardless of what she does for a day job. Meanwhile, she’s drinking her cola and you decide to take a sip but it’s way too sweet for you.

https://i.postimg.cc/wBhrJ5Fs/Jupo-Normal.png “One thing was a little strange, come to think of it!” Jupo tells you, looking off to the side just thinking about it. “Terron and his little daughter Betta were in here yesterday because Betta wanted a few toys and things, which we do sell if you’re interested in buying some for a kid you know! It’s cute, though, Betta spends a lot of time with her dad, though the guy should ease up and enjoy life! He always seems so worried! She likes to draw with chalk and usually I don’t carry that, but I decided to sell it mostly for her and a few of the other kids that come around.”

“Okay, okay, so I know while that’s not usual, a few days ago I sold some chalk and a few other toys to Betta and Terron paid for them,” Jupo smiles, trying to recall all the details. “And then, fifteen minutes later, they come back to the store, Betta’s rushing in with panic and she’s like ‘daddy, daddy, help me find it’ and he’s like ‘help you find what’ and she’s like ‘oh, but I can’t tell you, it’s a secret thing’ and I’m giggling because I’m just thinking ‘honey, how’s daddy supposed to find it if you don’t tell him what it is?’ But she said she left something behind and I couldn’t imagine what. I mean heck, I don’t have all my piles and piles of inventory memorized, so if a kid left a toy or a thingy on a shelf, I’d never be able to tell what was theirs versus the regular store goodies and stuff! I mean I tried to help, but we couldn’t do much. Terron just had no clue what she was talking about! She must have spent a half hour looking up and down the shelves before giving up. I just told them I’d keep an eye out for anything unusual and she giggled. The whole thing was a bit odd, but I haven’t had them come back since.”

https://i.postimg.cc/V6mVFSHZ/Jupo-Happy.png “Anywho,” Jupo tells you, finishing up her cola. “Can’t think of anything else at the moment, but if something comes up, hey, let me know!”

Give her a friendly nod and wish her goodnight. After heading out the door and back into the light rain, you decide to head back to Benni’s, and even though Jupo told you to take the cola home with you and you do just to be polite… you don’t foresee yourself finishing this…

…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-13-2022, 01:19 AM

I will untrap another item tonight.

And we’ve got…

#[Eye of Shadow] Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage))#
@[Fang of the Crippled] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@
@[Fang of the Broken] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@
@ Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@

Going for #3, Fang of the Broken:

-------

Not wanting to head out into the rain tonight, you decide to see if you can take some of these Stalker items and devices and make them safe to handle for whatever they’re for. Unsure of what to start with, you pick one at random and take the Fang of the Broken.

@Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)# Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 6 out of 100: Success!

Carefully handling the Fang, you first use metal tweezers to hold the fang in place. You sense there’s a foul Stalker presence coming from this fang and simply touching it triggers this embedded curse.

Using a brush and some spare paint that Benni had in storage, you cover the fang with a clear, glossy paint as a protective coating sealant. It seals and locks in the curse with the coating now serving as a protective buffer while keeping the fang’s shape and stored power fully intact so it can be used for whatever the Stalker intended this for.

The @Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ trap on the [Fang of the Broken] has been disarmed.

With that done, the fang is now completely safe to handle for whoever needs to use it in the field.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 19.5/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-13-2022, 02:51 AM

ChiChi will check out that Dorumigeto at the Rolyea House. I'll take some of the other kursouba items along to try to puzzle out how things fit together or where things go. Let's see if we can dig some answers out of it!

Tonight, as the rain lightly falls, you gather the Majutsu relics that you have acquired, put them in a spare messenger bag that Benni lends to you, and you head out into the evening, heading directly east across the barren expanse from Benni’s farmstead.

It’s quiet here tonight, and as you levitate through the air, you see yourself illuminating the area around you with an almost mystical and magical light. The power of this Tatsujin trait you have gained still seems so mysterious to you, but as you’ve come to be enlightened by it, it’s not the deadly corruption you once feared. It seems as though it’s neither wicked nor virtuous, but instead an aspect all of its own.

When you arrived at the Roylea House, you see it’s been abandoned for quite some time, but unlike some other abandoned places in Seabourne, it seems like one of the less intimidating ones to investigate.

You first search the exterior, which the yard has become overgrown, but it doesn’t seem like anything drastically unusual has happened here. Even the house’s windows haven’t been broken, but they do look like they haven’t been cleaned in a long, long time and it’s very difficult to see anything inside. Meanwhile, the painted stone block walls have started chipping to reveal the gray stones underneath the coat of paint, but no significant damage has been done.

Quite truthfully, you feel someone could move in, clean it up, and it might be a comfortable place to inhabit, although it’s quite a distance from town. Besides that, there isn’t too much else to find outside, so you decide to head to the front door to see if it’s open. A few tings and soft chiming sounds from the windchime can be heard, but tonight it seems a little quieter than usual…

You find the front door locked, but entry into the house proves to be rather easy by going through one of the windows near the front door. One of them was even left open, so you raise the window, climb inside, and take a look around.

You immediately find yourself in a living room, and it seems the glow that comes from you now is also helpful for illuminating the room around you. Most of the old wooden furniture, the old paintings, the fireplace, and the grandfather clock seem to be in pretty good shape, although a bit worn and dusty. Still, you look around and you’re still not sure why this place was abandoned. As you look through all the furniture pieces, you come to the old grandfather clock and it seems something unusual is going on.

The hands of the clock are missing.

You first don’t think it’s all that big of a deal, but then you take another look. It seems as though they were taken out very recently. The dust that was clinging to the cabinet door was recently displaced from what must have been small paws. It seems a small Pokémon was recently here and tampered with the clock, but you’re not sure why.

It makes you wonder… might something happen if you put the clock hands back?

{Old Grandfather Clock: Missing Hands} has been noted in the Team Records.

You decide to continue looking around the house, now stepping into the small kitchen that again, shares a lot of the traits of dust and slightly worn furniture. It honestly feels like it has a bit of a homey and rustic feel to it with décor that reminds you of old country living, similar to what Benni has at the farmstead. While there isn’t any running water anymore and none of the lights work, you feel it still seems to be in decent condition.

You then head upstairs into the bedrooms. One of the bedrooms seems to be fairly empty with only a desk and a few boxes, which seems to imply someone recently moved out. The dusty walls and the discolored white squares on the gray walls imply there were pictures, diplomas, or something hanging on the walls, but was removed. The only thing now is the old oak desk, which still seems to sit idly in the middle of the room, waiting for someone. You search through it and you only find old writing pens that have dried up and a few graphite pencils and charcoal. There’s also envelopes and papers here, as well as old accounting ledgers and personal finances and banking information all belonging to someone called Kraine, a Floatzel whose whereabouts you can only guess at this point.

The other bedroom is where you find the Dorimugeto Dream Gate, hidden behind the old dusty bed. As you look into it, it looks to be an open rift, still swirling like a small whirlpool of cyan, blue, and violet-colored waves and ripples.

Knowing what you need to do now, you take out the [Atifakutotaburetto] artifact tablet, containing the instructions of what your request is and what you want back from Yume. Carefully, you slide the tablet into the rift and it submerges into the energies, as if being dipped into liquid.

“Take care of this, please.” the otherworldly voice on the other side tells you in a strange language you now can fully understand. “They’re tricky to make so don’t go breaking it now.”

“I understand,” you tell them in this new Yume language. “I’ll take good care of it.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” they reply.

ChiChi has used the [Atifakutotaburetto]

@{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Atifakutotaburetto} - ~3 Kurosuōbā~@

What comes from the Dorimugeto after that is one of the most mysterious relics you think you’ve ever laid eyes on. As the [Artifakuto] comes forward from the portal, you take it in your small black hands, and from a first look, it almost looks like a mechanical device of sorts in a diamond-shaped container that allows you to see all of its inner working components. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen, but the closest thing you can compare it to in terms of things you’ve seen before is an engine. An ancient engine made and forged in Yume, the realm of dreams. And it also seems to consist of several crystals of multiple rainbow colors, charged and running with a glowing liquid-activated mechanisms.

@[Atifakuto (Artifact)] - ~4 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

In addition to that, it seems a mysterious piece of jewelry has emerged as well, just a moment before the Dorimugeto gradually closes and disappears without a trace. You pick up the necklace, seeing it consist of three overlapping stars, one of cyan, one of light blue, and one of violet as a mysterious chain made of otherworldly metallic material forms a loop. You’re not quite sure what it does, but you wear it around your neck and suddenly… you feel a mysterious revealing power come over you…

ChiChi has equipped the +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

…suddenly, you’re shown a vision. A dream-like revealing realization of past time and answers you seek. An otherworldly, dreamlike awareness you didn’t think was possible…

…Raboa the Drapion…

…Zakra the Kadabra…

…Dantus the Dragapult…

…Kulsso the Rampardos…

…

…these four Pokémon… the ones you’ve talked to in the past… are innocent. None of them are Stalkers…

…none of them are struggling to fight a Demoni from within…

It almost baffles you for a moment, but suddenly it establishes a newfound trust for these four Pokémon. None of them are hiding as your enemy.

When you arrive back at Benni’s farmstead, you put the Atifakuto into the cabinet, and when it rests besides the [Kagami], it generates a reaction. Suddenly the Atifakuto seemingly springs into life and rapidly grows whip-like appendages which then latch onto the Kagami mirror. It then opens and transmits through to the mirror and melds with it’s glossy, reflective surface to become the Shadoutsuru, a collection of mysterious hand-held devices and instruments that look almost like art tools, but with a strange presentation that almost reminds you of magical devices that remind you of wands and wizarding tools.

The [Kagami] and the [Atifakuto] have been combined to create the @[Shadoutsuru] (Shadow Tools) – ~6 Kurosuōbā~@

Suddenly it seems to make sense. To you, as a Tatsujin, you’re able to instantly discern what these are for and suddenly you’re captivated by the power these tools have when you realize what you can do with them.

Anything you can dream up and draw… becomes real. And it doesn’t even require supreme artistic talent. All you simply need to do is close your eyes, and let your imagination wander, peering into Yume through your dreams and thoughts. In the hands of a Tatsujin as yourself, it seems and feels like magic you’ve used every waking day of your life, as simple of an activity as washing your hands or singing a song you know so well.

Before you on a piece of paper, you created a nature scene of a flowing river, born from a place you saw in your imagination. And not only that, but on the paper, things move. The branches of the trees you had drawn now sway with their leaves rustling. The river you had drawn now flows. You swear it’s like watching a movie on a piece of paper…

And then you realize with these tools… you have essentially become a goddess. The truth is soon realized that you’ve just created a whole new world on this paper, now existing in another time and place in another dimension. With these tools, you could write a book about a world and it would become actualized… a race of creatures or new Pokémon could be born and would live in worship to you as their creator who brought them forward from the nothingness.

You realize you need to put these away for now until the time is right to use them. But as you go to sleep tonight, imagining all the wonders and creations you could forge into real places. Endless worlds you could visit, endless societies of creatures or Pokémon you created would be forever in your debt as they owned their entire existence to you.

And it all connects together when you think about why…

…Why imagination is more important than knowledge. Because knowledge will be power in knowing what is… but imagination can be power in knowing the infinite possibilities of what could be…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

Neo Emolga

06-14-2022, 02:18 AM

Active Dark Event 2: Mission Disclosure:
20%/100%

The Stalkers have received further intel regarding their pursuers. From what their reliable sources have told them from their observations, there is confirmation that this new batch of pursuers are utilizing supernatural resources that go beyond what the Seabourne Town police are capable of. It has clued them in that these new Pokémon have blended in with the local populace just like they have. However, they have been unable to discern these new pursuer Pokémon from local civilians. They don’t know how many are involved, where they are based, or what species they are save for two. The few minor scraps of information they have aren’t enough and all they have now are theories that need to be investigated further, but they have started to form a list of leads that should be looked into.

Where the police were on the defensive and not able to make very much headway into the investigation due to how overwhelmed they are and the number of remaining staff they have on hand to look into these matters, this new investigative force of Pokémon has made up for that lack of power and have taken an offensive stance in terms of probing deep into the activities of the Demoni.

For the most part, the Demoni are still not overly concerned about this potential new threat and don’t believe it will jeopardize the mission before it can be completed.

#13 Jackia the Combusken has been murdered by the Stalkers.

There wasn’t much else Yanza could do when she came across Jackia’s body…

It was a similar incident as the one yesterday. Once again, with no warning at all, Jackia died in her sleep from a brain aneurism, but the evidence yielded nothing in addition to what she didn’t know already.

It had become so commonplace now that Dantus hadn’t even gone out to investigate with her. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing new to find here. Jackia was just another victim of Edifice, to the point where he hadn’t stopped what he was already doing to delve into this further. She would only have the same ambiguous and almost useless answers to the same questions. She already knew what killed her, but she couldn’t understand the source of it all and who was really responsible.

But the most difficult part for Yanza was trying to talk to her son, Sal…

https://i.postimg.cc/BvWCHMSc/SalCry.png “I just found her like this and she isn’t breathing!” he started to cry profusely. “I don’t know what’s wrong! Why isn’t mommy waking up!?”

Yanza, putting her paw to the Combusken’s neck, still found no pulse. She hated to have to break the news to this child, who had no caretaker now and looked to be only about ten years old.

Of all Pokémon to go after, why did it have to be a mother?

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “There’s nothing we can do,” Yanza told the young Torchic. “Your mother passed away in her sleep last night.”

Already facing harsh depression and anxiety, it felt like a nightmare the young Torchic could never wake up from. Nothing could have prepared him for this. In the meantime, Yanza didn’t want to go into the details. It wouldn’t change anything and it would only make things worse if he learned his mother’s last moments of life in this world were going through the nightmare of being murdered in her dreams before it killed her in real life. Nothing of it would make sense to the Torchic and it would only add more questions.

…Nothing seemed to come from these answers…

https://i.postimg.cc/7LgnV0bv/SalWail.png “WHY!?” he shouted, wailing uncontrollably. “Why did it have to be her!? W-what am I supposed… to do now!? I… I don’t want to be all alone!”

And yet Yanza didn’t have any answer. She didn’t know how he could possibly move on from this, but it was likely going to have to result in finding Jackia’s family records, seeing if she had any relatives that could take care of Sal, and hope he could somehow live a normal life after experiencing this kind of emotional trauma. And if that didn’t work, it might come down to trying to find foster parents…

…but deep inside, she knew she was lying to herself.

…she knew this boy could no longer live a normal life after this…

Doom Tracker:
3/15

Neo Emolga

06-14-2022, 02:23 AM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 4: Day Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3297940/day-4-day-cycle)

(Thursday, June 16, 2022 11:00:00 PM, Time EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Scytherwolf

06-14-2022, 04:55 AM

I think I'll search (23) Seabourne Hospital. Seems like it's pretty sketchy?

C0L0R3D

06-14-2022, 11:18 AM

Chakramaster

06-15-2022, 10:31 AM

Well I can say for sure something about a power plant feels a bit familiar. So maybe I'll give this a quick search.

Search: (10) Seabourne Geothermal Power Plant

sammy0295

06-15-2022, 01:59 PM

Search (61) The Last House (ABANDONED)

EmeraldSky

06-15-2022, 02:35 PM

I will untrap the shadow eye.

DayBreak

06-15-2022, 07:03 PM

Neo Emolga

06-17-2022, 12:45 AM

I think I'll search (23) Seabourne Hospital. Seems like it's pretty sketchy?

When the morning arrives, you decide to grab a fresh muffin breakfast that Benni has prepared for you all and then decide to head out to investigate Seabourne Hospital. You’ve heard some not-so-nice things about it, and you’re wondering if it’s possible some of the Stalkers saw and opportunity here.

After walking a few miles through dry and dusty weather, you soon arrive at the hospital. And upon a first glance, it doesn’t seem like the most welcoming place. It’s a rather large and almost imposing gray and brown stone building and even the main building doesn’t feel trustworthy.

You shudder to think how many Pokémon had this rather bleak and depressing building as the last thing they saw of the outside world before they were admitted into this hospital only to never come out alive…

You decide with the hospital being as large as it is, you’re only going to have time to investigate the exterior grounds. The massive inside will need to wait for another time or will have to be handled by someone else.

As you make your way around the exterior, while the building itself is in good shape and isn’t at all something that direly needs renovation, it still doesn’t feel welcoming. Attempts must have been made some time ago to include fountains and flowers for decoration, but they’ve been neglected for quite some time and instead, the exterior atmosphere seems somber, quiet, and very neglected as if that’s how they treat their patients, too. The whole impression you get from it all seems to feel as though being admitted here means your chances of dying are much greater than recovering.

You then arrive at what used to be one of those motivational murals. You then identify that it was the mural that Altrea had mentioned to Lewisia, and you see the words “only the mantra of macabre words is understood here.”

But something seems horribly wrong…

You recalled that from Lewisia’s report, Altrea mentioned it depicted a family of Greedent and Skwovet, and that the Greedent’s eyes were “blotted out” and that the entire faces of the Skwovet were fully “blotched out.” While the lettering is the same…

…you look up to see the Pokémon depicted on the mural are different…

Instead, you see a father Blaziken and a mother Combusken with their eyes blackened out and a young Torchic with his face blotched out. It looked like what was there originally was a happy moment with this family enjoying a beautiful day outside, but now it’s corrupted. For a moment, you’re wondering if what Altrea found was another mural besides this one, but you’ve investigated the entire exterior and this seems to be the only one…

{The Fallen Mantra Mural: Unspoken Macabre Words} has been noted in the Team Records.

…

…No…

…You know you’re right. You know this is the same mural.

It was changed.

It was changed because…

…

T̠ͪh̯ã̓ͣt̫̠ͫ̎̀ͅ'ș̈́ w̓̅̀h̬o͍ E̮̺ͅdif̰i̠̻͔͋̐̂c͎͎ͅe's͇ͤ nȇ̬w͚͓̥̅̃ͦe͓s̆t ͫvic͛̂̑t̺̬͗͛i̳͚ms̤͓̼ͣͩͦ a̗̭ͣ͒r̪̠ͫ͋ẽ͇!!̪̦ͅ!

For a brief moment, you swear you can hear the faint cry of a Torchic… and it even causes you to look around... only to find nothing...

…

You decide you really don’t want to be here anymore…

Not like this…

With a heavy heart, you go back to Benni’s farmstead and you try to flush out the thoughts and the sights of what you just saw here today.

Instead, it doesn’t work that well and they still linger hard in your memory…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

06-17-2022, 01:32 AM

So... Colored has informed me that she's willing to go and 'dance with the Demoni' before picking up those odd blood eyes. I suppose that mean's she only could have gone to one place.

I ain't gone yet! Mostly so I can clarify what I'm even doing with these things.

[Action Decided: Take the Eyes of Blood back to the Southshore Chapel and plonk 'em in that Latias! I'm ready to deal with one half of this corrupted Eon mess!]

After waking up and eating breakfast, you grab the two Eyes of Blood from the storage cabinet and make your way back to the Southshore Chapel. It’s a dry and dusty day and it almost seems surprising most of the rain from last night has already dried up. Still, as you make your way to the Southshore Chapel, you’re not quite sure what to expect, but you highly doubt anything blessed or holy is to come out of this.

As you can tell, both of the eyes are in fact still bleeding and yet it seems like the blood never runs out despite the fact there’s no way these eyes would have been able to store this much. Something dark and uncanny is definitely at work here.

You arrive before the once-beautiful stone statue of Latias, now with her eyes dug out while the statue itself seems infused with a deep evil. Meanwhile, blood also trickles from the eye sockets. Looking at both of the eyes that seem to almost follow you as if they had minds of their own, you take each of them and place them into the eye sockets of the Latias statue…

Colored has used both [Eye of Blood] on the Statue of the Blood Sister, Latias.

{Statue of the Blood Sister, Latias: Missing Eye AND Missing Eye}

Both eyes seem to bleed out just a little bit more, and then they just stop. Suddenly, you hear a grotesque moan, and then the head of the statue falls off, as if someone had instantly decapitated it with a razor-sharp katana.

You quickly grab the statue’s severed head, trying to prevent it from crashing to the tiled ground and smashing into a million pieces. You catch it successfully in your small green hands, and you see the eyes of the severed head suddenly look back at you… throbbing…

#Deranged Vision of the Demoni – PSYCHIC (6 Sanity Damage, 6 Purity Damage)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 25 out of 100: Success!

LOOK AWAY!!!

Instinctively, you put the head down and you shut your eyes and look away in the other direction, suddenly putting full faith and trust into that voice in your head.

The vision of hatred and death… it never comes to you. It instead fades to nothing with no victim to claim, and instead of plunging you into the abyss of a million horrors that this “dying” severed head would have thrown you into, it could not gaze into your soul and implant its malice and spiritual sickness. Instead, the head “died” with no one to claim as its victim as it descended into death.

The sudden spike of that hellish presence dies down like the sudden ceasing of movement of a flailing arm of a drowning Pokémon. You suddenly feel it’s safe to open your eyes, turn your snake-like body to carefully and cautiously look upon the head, and you find the dark and hellish danger has now passed, leaving only calm, eerie silence around you…

You pick up the severed head of the Latias stone statue, having a feeling you might need this for something else. Thankfully, it’s safe to handle now, and on top of that, the eyes are no longer bleeding all over the place. What was once beautiful and god-like was suddenly corrupted and evil, and what was once corrupted and evil is now dead, as if the only victory in this misery was nothing short of euthanasia.

[Severed Head of the Blood Sister, Latias] has been added to the Team Inventory.

Taking a deep breath and thanking your lucky stars you managed to react in time, you decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead to prepare for what must be done tonight. There’s still the head of Latios that needs to be dealt with, but for now, you’ve gotten the sister taken care of.

Just one last eon Pokémon to go…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-17-2022, 06:35 PM

Well I can say for sure something about a power plant feels a bit familiar. So maybe I'll give this a quick search.

Search: (10) Seabourne Geothermal Power Plant

When the morning arrives, you wake up and head down to grab a fresh breakfast that Benni has prepared. After you finish, you head out and start to make your way toward the Seabourne Geothermal Power Plant, drifting through the air as you head southeast.

When you arrive, you first look around the exterior, which seems to be a large piece of property and it takes up a good few hours to check most of the nooks and crannies around the pipes and equipment, which all seem to be in good working shape. While you’ve noticed Seabourne has plenty of old buildings and quite a few of them are not in good condition at all, it definitely isn’t the case with the plant. You feel you’d be pretty hard-pressed to find any spec of rust anywhere on the metal pipes, machines, and equipment that still escape your knowledge of what they might be used for. It also seems to be quite clean and everything appears to be in good working order.

Around one of the maintenance cabinets used for storing tools and equipment, you find some kind of device that doesn’t look like it belongs with the others. When you look it over, it seems to be a key of sources, but it’s definitely not a traditional one and almost seems more like some ritualistic tool. But the shape and design of it definitely implies it’s a key of sorts.

[The Avain] has been added to the Team Inventory.

When you search the interior, you find plenty of machines, equipment, and controls that seem to be in good working order, but you’re not sure what each of them are used for. You do notice that it seems to be eerily quiet around here, and one of the few employees you see working here is Chenny the Zebstrika. From her composure, she seems relaxed and easy-going and doesn’t seem to show too much concern. Meanwhile, it seems like the rest of the plant can be self-sufficient when it comes to ongoing operations, though Chenny ensures everything stays that way. If something does go wrong, she’s around to assess the situation and troubleshoot whatever might need to be corrected.

Overall, the situation inside the plant seems to be under control and you don’t think the Stalkers have been in here at all. You don’t detect any dark presences or sensations of evil.

Once you’ve confirmed the coast is clear inside the plant, you get back out and make your preparations for tonight.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

06-17-2022, 11:16 PM

Search (61) The Last House (ABANDONED)

You wake up with the morning sun, and shortly after you grab the berry muffin breakfast that Benni has prepared. You notice she’s been quiet lately, but given everything that’s been going on, you can seemingly understand why. It almost seems she knows that you’re making good progress toward learning more about the Stalkers, but she still seems wary, concerned that they might find out what’s really going on here. It seems the more you uncover, the more she’s worried about the possibility your efforts being traced back to here.

After you finish and head outside, you make your way east toward the last mysterious house at the very tail end of what is an old residential street that has almost completely faded with time and lack of use. You can foresee that in less than ten years, it may seem impossible to tell there was ever a road here to begin with.

Once you arrive at the Last House, you see the main structure isn’t in the best of shape and looks like it has faced years of dusty neglect and has taken a beating from the elements in terms of windstorms, heavy rain, and hot dry weather. Paint is peeling off of the wood, molding has begun to warp, splinter, and snap, and the windows have become too dusty and dirty to see through.

Something about the building has a peculiar way about insinuating it’s more than just a typical residential house, although from an initial glance, it can appear to be that way. When you get to the backyard of the house, you find a mysterious metallic hatch roughly a hundred feet away from the main structure. As you look it over from multiple angles, you guess that it seems to lead to some underground area, only it looks like it’s been locked for quite some time and quite a lot of dust and dirt has accumulated on it. You take a closer look at where the handle is and it looks like some kind of hexagon-shaped token or medallion is supposed to be fitted into here to disengage the lock mechanism. The indentation also has a very faint insignia of a lily flower. Considering this kind of lock, you don’t think it can be picked with a standard set of lockpicks.

{Black Sanctuary Hatch: Mark of the Lily} has been noted in the Team Records.

Since you can’t get any further with it, you decide to leave it alone for now. As you look back to the house, you get the impression there’s quite a few other secrets here…

You then climb in through a sightly open dirty window and take a look inside to see if you can find anything else. From an initial glance, you don’t see anything unusual, although all of the furniture is still here despite no one knowing who or where the original owner is. A lot of it is dusty and looks like it hasn’t seen any use for a while now, but you get the idea this was a place where a large group of Pokémon once resided. You notice the dining room has quite a few chairs around it of various sizes for varying Pokémon. You estimate at least ten Pokémon were residing here at one point, but it seemed like it was only for a temporary basis. You find makeshift beds, bedrolls, and storage areas that almost remind you of how temporary an encampment would be.

From an initial glance, the living room, dining room, kitchen, and the bedrooms don’t seem that ordinary, but you see that everything seems to imply this house functioned more as an outpost of an organization as opposed to being a family home, even though it seems to be a disguise. You can tell from the dust and the lack of food in the cupboards that it’s been a while since anyone has been here, but they left intentionally without telling anyone. But you still get the impression that they intended to come back eventually, whoever it was. You’re not sure if they ever will, but for now, you’re here.

You decide to probe deeper when you get to the small and dusty home office, and it seems to pay off. When you open the locked drawer of the old desk that’s there and really delve deeply into the papers and notebooks you find, you find ledgers and papers of a dark and mysterious origin. You flip through them and what you find isn’t what you quite expected. The whole time, this small and easy to overlook home office is actually functioning as a reference library and archive, although it’s not easy to discern it from an initial glance.

Many of the records mention Black Moon, a syndicate of assassins and demon hunters. As you read further into the details, you soon understand that this house was used as an outpost for this Black Moon syndicate and they knew they would be here for only a temporary amount of time. But their origin proves to be interesting.

They too, were Savants just like yourself and the others staying at Benni’s farmstead. But instead of staying with Benni, they were staying here.

And their story is similar to yours, but different in others. Instead of being turned into Pokémon and brought to Seabourne by Xerneas like you and the others were, they were brought here by Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. And unlike your team of Savants, these Black Moon Savants had their memories wiped and lost their desire to return to a home they didn’t even remember. Instead they persisted in living here instead, deciding to continue the work of hunting the Demoni even after their initial mission was completed. It seems as though given what Xerneas did as an alternative, you kept your memories to avoid losing sight of who you truly are in heart and mind. Thanks to that, you haven’t lost your understanding that there will come a time you will need to return home and you haven’t forgotten what your true home is. But for these Black Moon Savants, you can’t help but feel sympathy for them. They too, had families, lives they left behind, and friends that they never did see again and never remembered. All the while, those that they knew never found out what happened to the person that suddenly went missing one day and never came home. Some of them may even be still out there searching for their lost loved ones…

You’re thankful Xerneas didn’t make the same mistake Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf did…

You learn that these Black Moon Savants used special weapons to hunt down and destroy the Demoni. Because the Demoni are so powerful, using one of these weapons on them exhausts the power of these Black Moon armaments. But the important part you discover is that they only harm the Demoni, not the victim they have assimilated. They were specially designed and forged for this very reason and purpose.

It makes you wonder about that vault you found outside. If it’s a kind of armory for Black Moon weapons, you find they might prove to be quite valuable and might help you destroy the Stalkers that have come to this town. In the meantime, the ledgers account for three weapons that were disassembled and had their components stored in places of safety. You read the details on three of them: Ombre, a jagged dagger that allows the assassin to strike as though they are like an invisible ghost. Obscurité, a dark bow that summons and fires its own silent and very deadly arrows from the darkness. And lastly, Létal, a deadly chakram weapon that has the power to sever and slice through a Demoni’s dark spirit. All the other Black Moon weapons were used and these remainders were stored away in case the Demoni ever resurfaced…

And yet just such a thing has now happened…

You search through the remaining journals for more information regarding where these components might be in Seabourne, but you only find vague references and not exact locations. It’s enough to give you assurance they’re somewhere here in this town, but the exact locations were not documented. You get the feeling this might have been for secrecy and security purposes, but now, at a time you feel you and the other Savants could make use of them, you’re going to need to hunt down these components the hard way. No one from the original Black Moon Savant group is around to help you uncover this information.

Lastly, one of the combat manuals on how to use these assassin weapons gives you some insight as to how these weapons function and what they’re capable of. As you flip through the pages with your hooves, you learn a few valuable details.

To be most effective, the assassin needs to be a Pokémon that is strong against the Pokémon that the Demoni has taken over. As a grass type Pokémon, you find you would be able to quickly strike down a water, ground, or rock type Pokémon if they happen to be a Stalker.
Using a Black Moon assassination weapon on a Pokémon that isn’t a Stalker will have no repercussion. These special assassination weapons were specifically designed to strike down and destroy the dark souls of the Demoni while leaving both the physical form and spirit of the victim intact and alive.
Black Moon weapons and their components can only be realized and understood by Savants. Normal Pokémon will never comprehend the mysterious and labyrinth-like nature of these special assassination weapons.

Lastly, you find the disassembly details of the three remaining Black Moon weapons. You learn that while unassembled, the Demoni and the normal Seabourne civilians cannot discern the true nature of these weapons, unlike if they were fully assembled.

Ombre – Was broken down to only a blade and a hilt. To be reassembled and powered once again, it would need both of these parts and an Aether Prism to recharge its dark energy.

Obscurité – Needs the bow base, the detached shadow essence to summon arrows from the darkness once again, and an Aether Prism of its own to recharge it and prime it for combat.

Létal – Needs the chakram base, as well as the runes to be placed upon it once again as they function as a kind of shadow inscription that gives the chakram its ability to slice dark souls into ribbons. Like the other two weapons, it too needs an Aether Prism to be recharged.

You soon understand from these journals and records that once you have one of these weapons fully assembled and ready, all you need to do is find out which of these Seabourne civilians is possessed by a Demoni and use the weapon to strike them down and destroy the Demoni’s dark soul forever, freeing the victim’s spirit and body from their clutches. Thankfully, by pure luck it seems the Demoni haven’t discovered the Black Moon Savants had a base of operations here and had remnant weapons disassembled and stowed away for protection, but you’re not sure how much longer that luck may hold out before something is discovered.

After gathering all of this information, you feel compelled and ready to continue the work that the Black Moon Savants started…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 2/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

06-17-2022, 11:36 PM

I will untrap the shadow eye.

Deciding to make these wicked relics and tools of the Stalkers safter to handle, you decide to work on the Eye of Shadow, knowing it has some sickly dark mechanism that is loaded into the eye but has not been triggered yet.

…You’re hoping to trigger that safely without having whatever black ooze that’s coming out of this eye become injected into someone’s body. One wrong touch is all it takes.

Carefully holding the eye in a towel, you head outside and place the towel down in the dirt ground. After unraveling the towel, you find the eye, and in a disturbing way, it quickly turns to you on its own, looking at you… staring at you at all times. But you remain unfazed by it and decide to work on safely removing the vile trap mechanism on this dark artifact.

You decide to grab a hoe that Benni uses for her garden out of the field storage shed she has near the house. When you arrive back at the eye, it moves on its own, always locked on your position and always looking at you regardless of where you stand. As a result, it’s impossible to strike it from the back, so you go for the front, carefully keeping the flat metallic plate in front of the eye’s iris at all times, knowing something malicious is intended to trigger from it.

Taking a deep breath, you thrust the hoe forward, striking the eye with one quick blow…

#Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage)# Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 52 out of 100: Success!

The mechanism snaps and suddenly a gush of black, noxious fluid gushes from the eye as a spring-loaded injector blade thrusts forward. However, instead of burrowing into some unsuspecting victim’s flesh while injecting that vile black ooze into their spirit, it harmlessly strikes the flat metallic plate of the hoe and no one is harmed in the process.

The Spirit Hemorrhage trap on the [Eye of Shadow] has been disarmed.

You simply wipe the black ooze off of the hoe and store it back in the shed. With that done, you safely pick up the [Eye of Shadow] and return it to the storage shed, wrapped in the towel again to absorb the black ooze that still trickles out of it.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 19.5/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Noblejanobii

06-19-2022, 03:02 PM

This is severally late because I only just saw you say I could still submit an action so feel free to ignore this haha

I'd like to untrap @[Bloody Thorn Wreath (Part 1 of 3)] Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@

Neo Emolga

06-21-2022, 01:36 AM

2074
" I'm going to go back to the Silent Song ship and finally free Ralon. I'll be the first to admit that I've been careless lately on account of my emotions ruling my decisions, so this time I'm going to make damn well sure I'm not followed on my way there. "
2075
" Sides, he's been trapped in that hellish in-between state for long enough, and the bits of info he was able to give me did prove valuable, so saving him and finally bringing him home is the least we can do! All I can hope is that next time he's able to live a fuller life without all of this Demoni crap. Hopefully one of these days we can free the others that Velli has been experimenting on, but for now, we'll have to do what we can. "
2076
" Though I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that Velli is at the very least in league with them, so we may have to do something about her relatively soon anyway. "

After waking up and the morning sun comes in through the farmstead window, you decide today is the day that Ralon should finally be free. After having breakfast with the others, you take the encrypted stake from the storage cabinet, and you head south toward the Silent Song ship at the Pleasant Waters Harbor. You can’t even begin to comprehend the kind of pain and suffering that Ralon has been enduring, but you hope by tonight, it’s all over and he can finally be at peace.

During the morning walk, you feel the dry and dusty wind blow dirt and sandy grit around you. Thanks to the armor covering your body, it barely affects you. And then, after a long and lonely walk, when you finally do arrive, you quickly head toward the ship, still in the same place you left it last time. It feels as though each consecutive time you visit this place, it feels less threatening, as if it’s losing its grip on your fears.

You soon board the Silent Song, and head down below the deck toward where Ralon is. You’re not sure what his next life will be like, but you know it’ll be away from this dark, forgotten place. When you finally reach Ralon, it seems not much has changed since the last time you were here. He still hangs in a crucified position with his head down, still unable to see, still unable to die naturally. You’re not sure if Exonull had returned since the last time you visited, but when she does return, she’ll find Ralon is no longer under her control.

He'll finally be free, much to her distain as you imagine.

“…Ralon?” you ask the tortured Starly.

He suddenly jolts awake, but for him it’s still painful and he recoils a bit from the sudden, agonizing moment. And he still cannot see, but you can sense he has recognized your voice… and even though he hasn’t said so, you’ve given him hope just from your presence.

“…Thank you for coming back…” he says weakly. “Exonull came back last night. She seemed… agitated. I think… I think she knows about you and the others…”

The news of this makes your heart sink, but you have a strong feeling Velli has something to do with it.

“Ralon, it’s time,” you tell him. “I have the stake. It was hidden in Velli’s house. I think she may be an informant to the Stalkers.”

“She betrayed us…” Ralon whimpers, looking away. “Betrayed… everyone in Seabourne. Now look at what she’s done. She’ll do it again. I know it. And I’m just sorry I can’t help you… stop her…”

“You’ve already helped me quite a bit,” you assure him. “But like I said. I have the stake. You can be free from this place, from this body… if you’re ready. This might be painful.”

He goes silent, shivering a bit. You almost want to tell him about what comes after all this is done… Afterhaven, another life, but you know you can’t disclose these secrets. It has to be protected at all costs, even in dire circumstances like this.

“…I’m ready,” Ralon tells you, sounding anxious. “Please tell my family… I love them. Please tell them… goodbye…”

“I will…” you promise him.

A moment of dark silence fills the air. You decide to make this quick. No counting to three, or anything like that. No sense drawing this out any longer than it needs to be. You take a deep breath, grip your armored hand on the stake…

…and drive it through Ralon’s heart.

Lyric has used the [Encrypted Stake].

He suddenly shrieks… for never before has he known such pain…

{Crucified Starly Effigy: Stake Sacrifice}

Sadly, what Velli and Exonull have done to Ralon made it so death does not come quickly and it definitely isn’t simple and clean. Black pus and ichor gushes from the stake and the whole time, Ralon’s body convulses, spasms, and he can’t even speak… only gurgle an ungodly sound of pure, raw suffering.

What have I done…?

But you force yourself to say there was no other way. You know… this was meant for Ralon’s family to see… and to suffer with. As Ralon’s body loses control of himself, Velli and Exonull wanted this horrendous and grotesque display to burn forever in horror in the minds of Ralon’s family. And you know… you know it would have done endless traumatizing damage to them forever more and they would never leave this place the same. You denied Velli and Exonull that sadistic pleasure.

Ralon mutters words that you can’t understand. His voice is muffled by black pus oozing out of his mouth while his muscles give up the fight against the pain and become stiff and locked in rigor mortis… despite still being “alive” unnaturally.

“Lo…ve…” Ralon’s final dying breath mutters in a painful whimper. “…Fam…ily… …pe…ace… … ha-ha…ppi…ness… …”

…

He tried to think of the happiest thoughts he could before he passed. The things he loved, the things he knew were worth fighting for. And then there is silence…

…

…Ralon’s body no longer moves…

…

A sudden vision comes upon you, suddenly forcing you to sleep. You try to fight it, but it proves to be too strong, and for a brief moment, you see Ralon’s ravaged body. His ravaged, eyeless body, the horror his family was meant to suffer with… but you selflessly take it in their place.

https://i.imgur.com/a374Swz.gif

…

Nothing…

…

Except you know that’s a lie…

You wake up and nothing moves, as if the air itself has been petrified into stone. The only thing that breaks the stillness is the black pus that continues to ooze from Ralon’s mouth to drip upon the floor. But then… something else comes out of his beak. It plummets to the wooden floor, and you take a closer look, sensing a Stalker’s presence… Exonull’s presence… coming from this strange, hook-shaped object…

You reach down to pick it up to take a closer look and…

#Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)# Trap 30% Evasion Test: 41 out of 100: Failed!

Lyric has suffered 1 Health Damage and 1 Purity Damage.

It suddenly pierces through your skin and only mildly hurts at first, before suddenly escalating…

…and you cannot hold back a s͈̫͎͈͙̯̰̜ͦ̋̾ͪ̇̉̑̔c̫̗͎̗̗͚͍̖͕̆͑̋ͣ̔͛ͩ̓̚rͣ̑͛͂ͯeaͬ͐ͤ̍̆ͅ ̞̤͇ͅmͮ̏̊̋͗̒.

Lyric has suffered 2 Health Damage and 2 Purity Damage.

You sudde̟̫̟͈̣͇̱̼̪̥͖̭̻nly moan and vo̲̯̪̯̘͈̙͎̘͕̖̣̭͕̖mit before your eye̟̫̟͈̣͇̱̼̪̥͖̭̻s ro̲̯̪̯̘͈̙͎̘͕̖̣̭͕̖ll back and̜̬͙̟͙̘̭ ̣͚̯̲̙̰ỵ̠̘o͙͕͇͍̺͕uͯ s͙͔̮̫̦͈͌̽́̑̑̎t̘͇ͣ̚a̝̺̹̦͖r̥̠̻̫̱͙̪̐͂̂͂ͯ̇̚e̒̅̃ͥ̎̽ͩb̽e ̣ͦw̖̪͍a̮̯͚̫̭̦͐ͪ̍͐̍̚r̦͎͕̳̥̗̄̆̎̇ͯ̓eo̱͉̫͕͎̺͆̏̂̃ͬ͒b͗͂̊ ͫ̅͐l͕̬̣̜̼̯̘̎̔̐̏̏̎͊i̯̫̫̘̲͒̔ͮ̿̆v̑̋̎̎ͮǐ̝̱͕̐͊oͦ̆ͯ̎̓̍͗ ̪̣̰͓̺̯̲ni̟̺̩͈͔ͅsa̮̥̠͂͆͛t͚̠h̪͎͙̗͉̙ͯ̊͋̓ͩ͐a̬͍nd.

Y͓̜ͥ̄ó̋̑u̥̥͗̌ c̰͖͇̾̄̈ry,̀ ̯̬̥j̱͐ṳ̣st̹ ̔w̦ͨͧͅa̱͂n̤͒tĭͪn͗̅̂g̩̼͚ ỉ̉t ̙͒t͚̣o̱̬͊͛ ̠͖͓̂́͗st̉op̖̣̣ͥ̓ͪ.

When you finally break through the pain, you realize… this horrendous thing was forced into Ralon’s body and he’s been suffering with it the whole time. The horror you just experienced was only a mere sample in comparison to what Ralon had to endure.

You wrap the fang in a rag, twitching and heaving a bit. It feels like this is never going to get easier…

@[Fang of the Traumatized] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage) was added to the Team Inventory.

You then carefully remove Ralon’s body from his crucifixion mount and wrap the poor Starly’s body with an old brown blanket. Up close, you can see his physical condition was even worse than you originally thought, but you’re just hoping right now he’s safely in Afterhaven, free from his unholy and unnatural spiritual bondage here and now deciding how he wants his next life… a happier life… to be like.

But as for you, you leave, taking Ralon’s body with you… taking him home to his family so they can give him a proper funeral and burial away from the dark, lonely, forgotten place of suffering. The sights… the visions… and the nightmare you saw… Ralon’s family never has to see that. You never need to tell them what you saw, and instead they can remember the happier moments… holidays… birthdays… family vacations…

…when times were better. When happy memories were made.

It’s still early in the morning when you arrive at the Overlook Apartments, just as Verio is leaving for work. As the Toucannon closes the wooden door behind him, he thinks today is going to be like any other day, but then he turns around and sees you standing just outside his apartment door, holding the brown blanket, wrapped in a bundle.

For a moment, he stops. Time stops. It’s time that will never come back… and the look on his face tells you… he knows. You don’t need to hide anything… but you never intended to.

…

“He wanted… to say he loves you… and goodbye…” you tell him softly, feeling a hard lump in your throat. “Love… family… peace… happiness… those were his last words…”

…

They become words you both will always remember. They become words you both will never forget…

…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 17/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 11/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-21-2022, 01:58 AM

This is severally late because I only just saw you say I could still submit an action so feel free to ignore this haha

I'd like to untrap @ Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@

Though you’re not quite sure which Stalker conjured up this grizzly wreath of torment and pain, you decide to trim it down and make this piece of the thorn wreath much safer to handle. Though it looks like there’s two other parts of this thing that haven’t been accounted for, you feel you can at least get started on this one.

Carefully, you unwrap the wreath piece and you still it’s quite thorny and said thorns are also coated with blood, which you easily sense are tainted as well. Getting pricked by one of these thorns would not only pinch and hurt, but it would make your soul wretch in agony as well. And you decide to put an end to that.

@Dark Lacerations – GRASS (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 18 out of 100: Success!

You decide the best and only real way to do this is to take a pair of clippers and remove the thorn-like ends that are covered in tainted blood. You carefully use your pink paws to grasp the clippers and snip each thorn end off with the patience, precision, and care of a master surgeon. After about an hour of meticulous snipping, you check over the wreath part one last time to ensure no thorns remain. While it still bears the demonic taint of the Stalkers, you’ve made it quite safe to handle, as if it were nothing more dangerous than a simple holiday Christmas wreath.

As for all the clipped ends, you sweep them into a metal pan and toss them into the fireplace, allowing the flames to consume and purge the world of these hideous and macabre thorns.

The Dark Lacerations trap on the [Bloody Thorn Wreath (Part 1 of 3)] has been disarmed.

You’re convinced there’s still two more wreath parts out there, but you’re confident you’ll be ready for them when they show up and that they’d do well not to underestimate a confident, crafty, and determined Shaymin like yourself.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-21-2022, 02:01 AM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 4: Night Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/lpm0tCS.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3310716/day-4-night-cycle)

(Thursday, June 23, 2022 11:00:00 PM Month, Time EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Scytherwolf

06-21-2022, 05:27 AM

Well, guess it's time to search the interior (23a) of Seabourne Hospital.

DayBreak

06-21-2022, 10:05 AM

C0L0R3D

06-21-2022, 06:50 PM

Lychee

06-22-2022, 07:13 AM

Chi chi had an accidental nap all day (wait, do I have to post to say I slept/did nothing and healed? Oops!) but is ready to do some chatting tonight!

Following up on the chat with Altrea, ChiChi logs that old lady as someone to talk to later. Unfortunately, if she dies tonight, at least it's likely they'll be able to find that Putki orb at her house. If Santea dies, then they'll never know how much she knew...
So ChiChi is off to talk Diplomatically, of course, to the librarian. She's gonna take a Putki, and spark up exactly the same conversation that Altrea has already had with her-- show her the orb, ask about Puhdistus, and possibly dig for more locations or items or rituals. And you know what, maybe see if she's friends with that Nidoking in archeology- since its ancient things we are talking about here. If she's friends, be a little more wary. If not, possibly just tell her not to bother talking to him.
ChiChi may be glowing like some sort of weird godly figure, but that's not actually out of the ordinary for her species of Pokémon, so she's hoping that nobody else will find it too weird either.

Chakramaster

06-23-2022, 08:44 AM

I'll take things a little easy tonight and search (14) Greenvale Centre Apartments

EmeraldSky

06-23-2022, 02:34 PM

I will explore Centrebrooke Apartments

sammy0295

06-23-2022, 11:14 PM

Search (58) Bakot’s Bed and Breakfast (ABANDONED)

Noblejanobii

06-24-2022, 01:18 PM

I'll search (19) Overlook Apartments

Neo Emolga

06-25-2022, 12:10 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/0NfpZcsh/Emolga-Relieved.png (Sorry for the few days of silence, it’s been kinda a busy week!)

SPECIAL DISCLAIMER NOTE: Core content components of this search result were planned and made months in advance, but I also found out and I’m sure some people here also learned about the overturning of Roe VS Wade US Supreme Court verdict that happened just today. And I know some people on both sides are pretty passionate and adamant about their beliefs and feelings about it. As you have already found out, Fallow's Stalker route does have a modus operandi with killing children and that just happens to land right down in this search post. That said, you probably have a good idea of where this is going.

This was a total freak coincidence and what you read here isn’t meant to be a political message injection on my personal behalf. PLEASE don’t take it that way, I generally try to avoid doing this but in this instance it’s pretty impossible given the nature of things and how this just happened to occur at the same time.

Regardless of what your views on the whole subject matter are regarding abortions, this was made on the basis that for it or not, it’s gruesome and bloody either way and this encounter was built with that in mind. I did try to think of ways to spin this whole encounter in another direction and I kept drawing a total blank because to go off course and deviate from it goes against the Stalker’s MO and their route storyline with it being connected to Seabourne Hospital’s abortion clinic area. I did my best to try and rethink of ways to handle this in less of a gruesome way so hopefully what you may read here (and what might be to come with Fallow's route) doesn’t anger anyone considering what just happened with the SCOTUS decision, but my options were pretty limited.

That said, I’m hoping no one is particularly bothered by this, but if you are and want to talk about it, let’s please take that to private messages. Please bear in mind everything in Stalkers RPG is all fictional and is just meant for some dark spooky fun. This isn’t meant to step on or sway anyone’s political, religious, or personal beliefs and I try to keep what happens in Stalkers RPG detached from that stuff. The timing of this was just… wow, but it’s bound to happen every now and then.

Thanks for your understanding.

Well, guess it's time to search the interior (23a) of Seabourne Hospital.

After having searched the exterior of the large Seabourne Hospital, you decide to use tonight to look around inside. There’s quite a bit of ground to cover, so you head out early and get started.

It’s a slightly cold night tonight, which seems unusual given the kind of temperatures you were experiencing earlier. Though your hard dark-blue carapace does shield you from most of the chilly winds, every now and then it does make you shiver on your way south toward the hospital. It leaves you feeling once again that something dark and macabre will happen tonight…

When you finally arrive, you see this is one place in Seabourne that is always active at all hours. When you enter through the front door and end up in the hospital’s lobby, you find it to have a very cold and mirthless feeling, as if the hospital itself is self-aware that far more misery comes from this place than happiness.

Tonight, you still find plenty of Pokémon in the waiting room and you see faces of anxiety and doubt. In one corner, you see a father Pignite trying to keep his anxious Tepig daughter calm. Besides them is a Toxel in a wheelchair that seems to be in a great amount of pain, but the ER is simply too backed up to admit her at the moment. All she can do is wait and wince, hoping someone can help her soon.

You manage to quietly slip by security at just the right moment and deftly swipe a visitor’s badge from the security check-in desk. As you brisky walk away from the desk and then return toward a normal pace once you’re further down the halls, you see plenty of nurse stations, supply cabinets, patient rooms, and plenty of visitor waiting rooms. All around you, you have a sympathetic feeling… just wondering how much pain has been felt here and how many tears of sadness have fallen upon these cold, tiled floors…

Because of the vast number of rooms, you try to focus your attention… using your Savant senses to direct you toward anything that might be an anomaly. You don’t detect anything on the main patient floors, but the whole time, you feel a cold and melancholy aura around you. As you pass by the individual patient rooms, you feel a sense of hopelessness and doubt. In one room, a Shuckle recently had to have a limb amputated and now he is unsure what this means for his future. As you pass by the nurse stations, you sense frustration and a feeling of being overwhelmed. One Raichu nurse that looks like she’s worked too many hours is just barely keeping it together with a cup of coffee while another Breloom nurse looks like she’s on the verge of collapse as her legs continue to hurt.

And as you walk these halls, you see different areas for different patient abnormalities. It seems the Pokémon of Seabourne aren’t quite as advanced as humans are. There are no machines, no computers, no heart or eKG monitors. Their oncology area seems the most in disarray and you find these Pokémon don’t have anything like radiation treatment or chemotherapy. The best they can do is try to surgically remove tumors and use the few herbal medicines they have available.

Their medical devices also seem as though they’re at least seventy years behind what humans have. And in addition to that, their surgeons and doctors struggle with diagnoses and treatments given the vast variance in Pokémon species that are admitted into the hospital. Still, you don’t find anything that raises any red flags when it comes to the investigations into the Stalkers.

At least not yet…

When you get to the basement, you find most visitors aren’t allowed down here, but you do your best to keep to the shadows and hide yourself. Down here is the morgue, which seems to get too many new admissions. But what comes after that feels like an anomaly and you suddenly detect the presence of a Stalker coming from the abortion clinic’s door. Here, given the notice sign on the door, it seems as though unwanted Pokémon eggs are taken here for termination.

However, when you approach the double steel doors, something seems odd and there’s a puddle of blood, murky vital fluids, and pieces of infant body parts surrounding the doors. There’s roughly a one-inch gap between the floor and the bottom of the door and it’s enough for all this grotesque goop to spill through. In the murky, bloody liquid, you find what looks to be pieces of a Igglybuff’s hand, part of a Tyrogue’s toes, and other infant remains.

Steeling your stomach, you reach for the door and…

@Diabolic Razor Edges – STEEL (3 Sanity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 17 out of 100: Success!

You suddenly realize the door is demonically infused with a hideous diabolical energy, turning the metal of the door handle into a spiritual lacerating trap. You quickly pull your hand away and take a closer look, seeing the handle itself is a bloody mess and there’s even blood trickling out of the keyhole. Though a normal Pokémon would think this was a gruesome accident, you detect the foul presence of a Stalker’s dark handicraft at work here.

@{The Aborted Blood Door: Bloody Keyhole OR <Security>} Diabolic Razor Edges STEEL – (3 Sanity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

Unfortunately, you don’t have the key and you don’t have the means to pick and disable the lock itself. Still, you figure if the key was recently used for this door, chances are good the key itself has blood on it as well, and might be in another location where blood might be found to disguise its grim nature.

You make a note of this and decide either you or one of the other Savants might need to check this out later.

By this time, you’re feeling a bit tired and you’ve combed through most of the hospital already. You decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead and get some good night’s sleep. It’s been a long day, but you feel you may be onto something here…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/214.png Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

06-25-2022, 01:40 AM

[ I'm not sure what else to do from here, but I'm going to interview Korak the Nidoking, and just in case, I'll have Lyric go into Diplomacy mode should the need arise. ]

2079
Lyric spent the entire afternoon after delivering Ralon's body just recovering at Benni's farmstead, trying to process everything. Ralon mentioned that Exonull was particularly aggravated, and they just knew that it had something to do with the stunt they pulled getting the encrypted stake. They were just glad his family didn't have to see that.

Having heard that one of the Macabre Mantra pieces was found in Korak's house, they figured they'd pay him a visit tonight to see if they can't get any info off of him. They hoped that this would be a little easier with the evolutionary line that they shared.
2078
"Excuse me mister, mind if I speak with you a moment? I've heard you teach archeology at Beachwood University and was wondering if you've heard of any interesting discoveries, or possibly even had them yourself."

They wouldn't normally admit this, but in their Ampharos incarnation, back when they were a Flaafy, they were a bit of a bookworm, spending entire days reading whatever had caught their fancy. Of course, they seldom had good grades on account of their fixations almost never being on what they were studying at the time. Still, they felt they'd be able to get more information by relating their previous self's interests to those of the Nidoking. Plus, getting information was probably just mildly important, so it was worth giving up a bit of their self-imposed "cool and calm 'mon" image for this particular incarnation.
2080
"I may not look it, but I've actually been quite fascinated by ancient history. I feel there's a lot we can learn from cultures gone by! Plus, it never hurts to learn more about Pokémon that came before us, and I believe that the more we know about them and how they lived, the more we can improve life for everyone in the present and future."

... Even though they meant what they said about everything else, the part about their interests was slightly stretching the truth. They only had in interest in it when it was their active fixation, and that stuff changed like the weather.

When the night arrives, you head down to Korak’s house, nestled among the several Shoreside Houses by the shore. It’s a bit chilly tonight as you take the long walk from Benni farmstead, but you keep focused and hope to learn something useful from Korak himself.

When you arrive, you knock on the door and he opens it to see you. He’s a bit surprised to have a visitor he wasn’t expecting, but he welcomes your arrival regardless.

“Excuse me mister,” you begin, “mind if I speak with you a moment? I’ve heard you teach archeology at Beachwood University and was wondering if you’ve heard of any interesting discoveries or even had them yourself.”

#31 Korak the Nidoking has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/B6mjVjsn/Korak-Happy.png “Hello there!” he greets you. “You’re close, I actually teach architecture at the university, but archeology is something I study on the side and when possible, I try to incorporate that into studies of modern floorplan design and drafting when it comes to my lectures about today’s architecture. There’s a surprisingly valuable wealth of knowledge and understanding that can be gained from learning and analyzing what Pokémon did in ancient history when it comes to building design. If these design techniques were understood then, we can use them to understand hem today. For example…”

You can sense he’s quite passionate about the subject manner and continues to discuss it as he invites you inside. He gives some examples from ancient history, the way old amphitheaters were designed and how that knowledge is used today. And he also covers areas where there were faulty designs and why those practices are no longer used. The whole time, it seems he automatically assumes you already have a vast knowledge about these kinds of things.

“I may not look it, but I’ve actually been quite fascinated by ancient history,” you tell Korak. “I feel there’s a lot we can learn from cultures gone by! Plus, it never hurts to learn more about Pokémon that came before us, and I believe that the more we know about them and how they lived, the more we can improve life for everyone in the present and future.”

https://i.postimg.cc/B6mjVjsn/Korak-Happy.png “Splendid!” he grins. “I wish a lot of my students felt the same way as you do! I can’t tell you how many of them assume old designs and ancient structural engineering practices are no longer relevant. The nerve! I’ve pointed this out plenty of times to them and still, a number of them continue to fail my exams because of these assumptions they make. How can they even begin to work on buildings of the future if they can’t understand the buildings of the past!? It just baffles me. They would do well to study harder, I’m sure.”

“I’ve studied quite a share of history in my time and I feel if one wants to prepare for the future, they need to learn what happened in the past, because as we know, the past has this tendency to repeat itself,” he tells you. “And it repeats because Pokémon fall into the same societal traps and misunderstandings! It’s a tragic lack of education that causes these things. To me, ignorance is a malaise and that spreads to others that don’t know either!”

It seems he likes to talk about these things quite a bit, but you’ve noticed the conversation hasn’t gone anywhere near toward what you’re hoping to learn about regarding the Stalkers. So when things settled down and you’ve given him the chance to spill his aspiration for history and archeology, you ask him about some of the more recent things going on around town. The odd weather, and the subject of the Stalkers.

https://i.postimg.cc/Y0jvKtqf/Korak-Normal.png “Yes, I think just about every Pokémon living here in Seabourne has had at least some kind of encounter with them,” he tells you. “Well, maybe not directly, but in some indirect capacity at least. I don’t know what they’re up to, however. I dare say I’m not well-versed into these kinds of things. The psychology of killers is just something I’d rather not touch, and while psychological warfare and things of such nature appear quite often in history, I don’t believe what we’re dealing with here falls within those same fields, if you know what I mean, of course.”

“The only thing I’ve noted as of late is one of the murals at city hall,” Korak explains. “Someone recently vandalized it and stole the bronze medallion that was there. if there’s anything I despise, it’s vandalism. It’s truly deplorable. I’ve seen what vandalism can do and all throughout time and history, it is a menace.”

“Well, it is getting rather late,” Korak tells you. “Thank you for a delightful conversation and I wish you good night.”

He then heads off to sleep and you decide to make your way back toward Benni’s farmstead. All the while, it still feels as though the night has gotten a bit colder.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 17/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 11/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

06-27-2022, 01:21 AM

Time to go digging in a place where my hunches direct me so! And by that, I mean going to a place we’ve already looked at. Hand me that mantra and wish me luck!

[ACTION DECIDED: Take the Macabre Mantra to the mural in Seabourne Hospital and read that bad boy out! See if we can follow up on anything with Korak!]

As the moon rises overhead, you head out into the night, taking the eerie and cryptic words of the Macabre Mantra with you. You’re not quite sure what to expect once this is done, but you know that if you’re to find the source of truth behind the Stalkers, it’s going to mean going into the dragon’s den.

Once you arrive at the hospital, you head toward where the mural is. It hasn’t changed since the last time it was seen and still depicts the grim caricature of Jackia and Sal as well as the unknown Blaziken father, but you have a feeling that if Edifice kills again, that might change things.

Feeling a bit anxious, you take the words of the mantra and you speak them out loud…

“We are all banded by evil…” you begin, feeling uneasy about these words. “It seems into all of us. You cannot run from your sins. You will learn to eat your guilt. Relinquish your innocence. You are just one amongst many. A dream of my own design. A nightmare no one escape from. To become the thing you seek to kill. This is EDIFICE.”

…

Colored has used the [Macabre Mantra].

{The Fallen Mantra Mural: Unspoken Macabre Words}

For a moment, there is nothing, and you almost begin to wonder if something went wrong or if a step was missed.

And then, from the blackness of the night…

#Deranged Sin Voices – PSYCHIC (8 Purity Damage)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 76 out of 100: Failed!

…

“Colored, help!” you hear a voice cry out. “Please help me!”

You turn frantically, looking in all directions, but there is nothing. This area of the hospital remains quiet and there’s no one around.

“Who… who’s there?” you ask. “What’s… what’s wrong?”

And there is silence. For a minute, you wonder if you’re just imagining things, but you feel anxious again. There’s an unusual amount of stillness now. You feel like someone should have been passing by in that hospital now, but there’s been no one you can see in the windows.

“Where are you, Colored!?” the voice cries out again. “I can’t find you!”

“I’m right here!” you should back. “What’s…!”

And then you stop yourself, realizing what you said was a mistake. Suddenly, the lights in the hospital shut off and the faint illumination they gave this outside area goes dark. Even the very faint moonlight is suddenly gone when you look up and dark clouds smother and blot out the moon and the little light it was producing.

For a moment, you see nothing. It’s completely pitch black. You turn in all directions, but then you see something… disturbing.

The faces. The faces of Jackia, Sal, and the Blaziken father… are revealed, and they are the only things that can be seen in the void-like blackness. And their faces are distorted, as if they were burned, scarred, and then warped and melting like their faces were made of nothing more than goopy clay.

Colored has suffered 1 damage to Purity.

“Get me out of here, this isn’t real!” you shout.

But your demands fall upon silence. You only hear l̯̥̱͈a̙͐u̥̟̹̙̫̹̐̅̅̌̎ͦg̤̞͎͉̺h̬̣͍̾͊́i̤̞͙͚̹̎̔̉̄̑n̗ ̣g and it sounds grotesque.

“You could have protected Jackia,” the shrieking voice mocks you. “But you chose not to. You chose to put her in harm’s way.

Y̓̆̌̈oU̯͔͚̣̖̜ͅ C͇͓̥̰̃͗̊ͫh̜͔̦̺ö́ͥͣ̿̌͑͛S̗É̝͍͔̤̅̓̚ ̫͓̦̯͎͇̻̂ͧ̔̅̔͛ͥTo͆̑́̓̆̔́ ̀̌̊̔̚LĖ̻̙̣̭͉̺͐̆̒̾͐̀ͅt̻̦̼͕̲̅ͭ͋ͥ̚ ̻̝͎̲̼̳H̝͐e͋̆̽̾͛ͨR̿ͣ̄̂ ̣̜͔̘̙ͯ̃̈͐̒̏̿ͅͅD̦̬̜͓I̝͓̩ȅ̀”

…

“No!” you shout, refusing to believe that. “There’s no way I could have known she would be the next target! And why…

…no…

YOU were the one that killed her!” you insist, denying your guilt.

At first you thought the truth would protect you. The fact that you could not protect every citizen in this town all at once. It would be impossible. It wasn’t your fault and you couldn’t be blamed for what happened. If you had known, you would have done everything in your power to protect her last night.

But here, the truth… the facts… ar͈̻͈̘e̫͇̹͇͔ ̳̘̬̦̹͍ͅb̯̩͕̗͍l̥̳̺̩̱a͍̹̟s͍̙̭̥̟p̭ẖ̩̫͔̙eͅͅmy̱͍̫̰ ̹̖.

The facts don’t provide you with a shield in this place. Instead, your brain goes cold, and then you suddenly feel like you had your mind melt. Facts no longer make sense, the things you remember are disjointed and now hardwired all the wrong way. Up is suddenly left, and suddenly its wrong and forever wrong. Your name is jumbled, the letters melt and don’t make sense anymore. And then even more chaos and anarchy is added in viciously, making you think incoherent thoughts that soon turn to destruction and murder…

Up is death. Left is massacre. Your name spells suffering in another language, and then it is blown apart like the trillions of pieces of billions of victims…

Color̆ͬ̾ͬ̒̍̈́ed has s̙̼̝͇͉uf̭͕f̟͈e̞̰͍r͕eḏ 3 damage to Purity.

You imagine a distorted world where everything is lit aflame. The buildings are upside-down, melting, the streets are consuming lava, the trees are raging fireballs while the Pokémon you see are warped, frozen, and then pulled apart, as if the entire world has been inflicted with a hideous virus and now what should be the apocalypse is in fact the very beginning of a new, burning world. You see yourself, now turned into a monster with a Snivy’s head, the body of a Pidgeot, the ears and paws of a Cinccino, the feet of a Palpitoad, and with a Morelull’s mushrooms growing out of your head. And the others… the other Pokémon around you are all the same way as chimeras of multiple Pokémon that don’t fit at all together, but also with their bodies warping… melting, being randomly ripped apart and then scattered… only to be put back together like puzzles haphazardly-assembled completely wrong.

The world is bathed and lit aflame again, and then suddenly frozen like cold frosty death, and yet you cannot feel hot or cold… only pain.

And the worst part of all…

Your brain… your mind… isn’t even afraid of this anymore. B̖e͖̱̗̩̟͕c͙̠̬̦̯̗͕ḁ̩̘͙̣̖̻u̲͔̱͕̬͕s̜̰͎e̻̱ ͖̘i̭t’s ͇̮̺̥t̜̟̣̘he͇̟ ̱̼̥͖͉n̙̱͇̦̫͍e̟̣̣͔̥̬̬w ̜͕̲no̞̭͓r̥̗̣ma̼l̫. This is what the rest of the future will be like. Your future. Everyone’s future. You gawk, your vision becomes blurry, and then suddenly… you cannot help but defecate where you stand, right on the twisting sidewalk that’s suddenly lit aflame again. It comes out of your b͒͋͐̓͊̊́ͫ̃ͤ̓̚l̤̠̩͔͚͓̹̟͈̩̣͉̣ͩͦ͑̓ͫ̇̐ͪ̑̅ͥ͗͌e͓̼̱ͪ͋͒̅ͫ̋ ͇̠̹ẻͥ̉̍̉ͦ̊̔̅̒̄ͪ̑d̝̠͉͕͚͉i͐ng colon like hot, fiery lava, but once it has been expelled from your scorching anus, you feel better, although the burning still remains. You should have been embarrassed, but instead… you’re bashful but proud. You giggle.

Something terrible makes your hideous, chimera-like body turn around to see what your excreted fecal accomplishment looks like, and then you gawk at the sight of it, just laying there in a putrid pile.

…It’s the rotten remains of youṟ̳̰͍̘̼͖̜̮͍̯̱ ̭̜͚̳͈̱̦̲͓̹̟̱b̲̖̘̖̘̞͎͓̠̭̭̣͔̱ͅrain.

But you laugh, because you don’t need it anymore. In fact, you’re better off without it! You twitch, dance a monstrous jig, and then you rip off your own Cinccino arm and use your other arm to hit yourself in the head with it as the world continues to scramble out of control!

DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE

Blood is all over you.

But you find yourself unable to die. It’s simply not enough. Instead, you rip off your Cinccino ears… and then your Palpitoad feet, followed by the Morelull mushrooms… blood gushing into the flames. When that’s not enough, you drag yourself by your one remaining arm to a blacker-than-death wrought-iron fence and then forcefully RAM your eyes into the spearhead-like tips. They burrow deep into your eye sockets before nestling themselves into the empty cavity where your rotting brain used to be. Sickly black and red blood oozes from your mouth, piling the mucus-like goop onto the flaming sidewalk below.

You howl from the tremendous, suicidal pain, and with one last horrific laugh, you shout loudly and your voice booms throughout the entirety of this hideous abomination of a world you now dwell in. It echoes throughout the burning lands, as if you’ve become some dark, unholy god for all to be called to with your horrendous booming voice.

“THiS iS EDiFiCe!!!” You gleefully shriek with unholy laughter.

The world ignites again and the macabre flames rage higher. All of the twisted and hideous chimera-beings that are around you cheer with thunderous applause…

…your performance has truly inspired them, and now they bow and pray.

Colo̞̖̣̼̞͇͙̦̼͙̰red has Ŝ͍͎̞̫̗ͦͮͫ̌U̪͕̥͔̹̟͍̘͔͋͗͆ͨ̍̆ͫ̍̈́F̪̥͚̍̈́̍F̳͕͇̲͛̈̋̉Ĕ̓̓ ̂ͮ̄̉̅̏̋̃̇Rͮ̅Ẽ͓̤͓͈͂͌͋D 4 damage to Ṗ̫̖̱̞̥̫̙͉̺̿͊́ͯͣ̑̈̊͐ͅU̦̜͖͚̠̣̹̳̫̻̼̐̒͒̇̎ͧ̍ͧͯͩ͆R͒ͦ̅̎͌ ̰̩̺̱̼͖͚̲͖͎͉̫̲͈̐ͪ̐̏̈́̄́̊͋Ỉ͊͋ͥ̾̄ͩ͂͂͒̇̈̄̃TY.

…

You wake up… mumbling. Unconsciously, unwillingly, you find yourself almost on autopilot…

“seeps into all of us… eat your guilt… a dream of my own design… a nightmare no one escapes from…”

You gasp. You cannot control what you are saying.

“…to become the thing you seek to kill…” you moan… not even sure if the words you utter from your own mouth are your own.

But you stop. Stop before mentioning the name of Edifice. Finally, you can control yourself again and you feel yourself unbound by this horrendous presence…

Before you, the mural has collapsed. The entire wall is in pieces, now spilled out before you as if an explosive went off and made the wall crumble. The sight surprises you for a moment, but then you notice the individual pieces of the wall and the mural that was once depicted.

Before the wall crumbled, the mural… it changed. It no longer depicts the Blaziken father with Jackia and Sal. You pick up a few of the pieces as if looking at a giant concrete jigsaw puzzle, but the depiction… what was on that mural before it collapsed… had changed.

You almost weep in desperation and panic when you realize what the new mural was before it crashed to the ground and what it would look like if you tried to put it back together.

Now it depicts YOU. You… in your hideous chimera-like body, and the world burning around you in a hellish landscape bathed in madness and deranged psychosis. But now even that is in pieces. But you’re actually thankful, because you don’t want to see what the end result looks like.

You toss the pieces aside, genuinely hoping no one ever tries to put this back together. But where the mural once was, there’s now an empty, black cavity, revealing a mysterious alcove that was sealed by the now-collapsed wall. You move your snake-like body to climb over the pile of concrete fragments to see something was sealed into this alcove.

What you see looks like a very old cup with artistic engravings on it, an artisan ritual knife, a strange voodoo-like figurine, and an old armband that looks like it has blood stains on it. All of these items look to be ancient and very old, as if they were supposed to be in a museum or part of someone’s personal collection.

You’re not sure why these were put here, but it almost seems like they were sealed in here… to prevent someone from finding them, as if they were trying to sweep something under the rug and hide it without destroying it. Someone… Edifice most likely… hid these here, perhaps unable to destroy them… but fearful that they might be used against them… whoever they are.

You take them with you, not sure how, where, and if these can be used somehow, but something about them seems mysterious and you strongly feel there has to be a reason why these were hidden here.

[Ancient Chalice], [Ceremonial Knife], [Occult Figurine], and were added to the Team Inventory.

Still overwhelmed from what happened, you pick yourself up and head back to Benni’s farmstead, but the whole walk home, you shiver, still seeing glimpses of the horrendous nightmare in your imagination… still checking your body to ensure you’re still a whole and normal Snivy… and that fragments of that dream weren’t taken with you beyond what still dwells in your mind. But thankfully, in terms of the physical real realm, things seem normal…

…It almost feels alarming how what should be normal and neutral feels so sanctifying after what you went through…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

07-01-2022, 08:21 PM

https://i.postimg.cc/0NfpZcsh/Emolga-Relieved.png
Whew, finally I’m feeling much better. Still a bit of a cold to shake off, but I’m getting there and can start doing these again.

Thanks for being patient!

Chi chi had an accidental nap all day (wait, do I have to post to say I slept/did nothing and healed? Oops!) but is ready to do some chatting tonight!

Following up on the chat with Altrea, ChiChi logs that old lady as someone to talk to later. Unfortunately, if she dies tonight, at least it's likely they'll be able to find that Putki orb at her house. If Santea dies, then they'll never know how much she knew...
So ChiChi is off to talk Diplomatically, of course, to the librarian. She's gonna take a Putki, and spark up exactly the same conversation that Altrea has already had with her-- show her the orb, ask about Puhdistus, and possibly dig for more locations or items or rituals. And you know what, maybe see if she's friends with that Nidoking in archeology- since its ancient things we are talking about here. If she's friends, be a little more wary. If not, possibly just tell her not to bother talking to him.
ChiChi may be glowing like some sort of weird godly figure, but that's not actually out of the ordinary for her species of Pokémon, so she's hoping that nobody else will find it too weird either.

From what you’ve gathered, not too many Pokémon talk about Santea the Lilligant as she mostly keeps to herself quietly, but you manage to track her down to her apartment at the Seaport Lofts after working the day at the library. It seems as though being a librarian is her dream job, as quiet reading is perfect for a quiet Pokémon such as herself.

As you make your way through the silent night toward the Seaport Lofts, you’re hoping she’ll open up to you and reveal her secrets, so while the night is still young, you head out and lightly knock on Santea’s apartment door. When she opens the door and looks upon you, you get a reaction from your Dreamwatch Necklace, radiating with a warming reassurance while it is as if a serene and trustworthy voice is whispering to you…

Santea… this Lilligant before you… is not a Stalker. Her soul does not struggle against the Demoni, thankfully…

https://i.postimg.cc/XqVZgK6D/Santea-Normal.png “Hello there,” she greets you, still a bit on the cautious side as she hasn’t met you before. “Who might you be?”

Despite being cautious, she remains calm, though you can understand she has every reason to beware of each Pokémon she comes into contact with. Still, you assure her that you mean no harm and you calmly introduce yourself.

“Hello, Santea, my name is ChiChi,” you tell her as you present the Putki before her. “I have acquired one of the Putki. I believe you have been studying Puhdistus for quite some time. I wish to know more about it.”

She blinks out of surprise and takes a double take, never expecting anyone else to know about this ancient and seemingly dark magic.

She politely invites you into her apartment, which seems calm, quiet, and peaceful. As you take a look around, you can smell an incense burner and the apartment rooms are illuminated by peaceful candles that emit a calming, almost otherworldly glow. You almost immediately feel at peace here.

#5 Santea the Lilligant has become COMPLIANT.

https://i.postimg.cc/KjJ1pKZc/Santea-Happy.png “Welcome,” she beams happily. “You know, I don’t have too many guests over, and I’ve never had anyone to talk to about Phudistus.”

She goes and brews some sweet herbal tea for you and herself as you take a place at her circular cherrywood table. While her apartment is small, it’s nice and cozy as you feel as though it has everything anyone could ever need without all the materialistic things they don’t. She has plenty of books on her shelves, a nice cozy reading area with a stuffed bean bag, and a soft plushy bed to relax on. She also has paintings of nature scenes on the walls as if they were windows to an outside world of serenity. It makes it easy to be at ease in here and forget about the Stalkers for a while.

https://i.postimg.cc/d1RkdHpy/Santea-Frustrated.png “I’ll admit I was wary about Puhdistus at first,” Santea tells you, admitting she had doubts when she first started reading about this shadowy magic. “I learned a lot about the history about it, and some of it is rather dark. At times I almost stopped myself from continuing, but what drove me to delve in further… yes, it was the Stalkers. No one was trying to stop them, and more and more victims kept turning up. I don’t want to end up like them, so I looked for anything I could that might help me defend myself, and that’s when I discovered Puhdistus.”

https://i.postimg.cc/XqVZgK6D/Santea-Normal.png “I cast my doubts about Puhdistus aside,” she tells you. “It’s like a knife. It can be a dangerous and deadly weapon, but it can also be a helpful and life-saving tool. I decided despite how dark it seemed, I would try to use Puhdistus for good causes. To help protect myself and others.”

“I learned a band of fighting-type Pokémon, the Iahko, had recently recovered a forbidden, ancient magic called Taika,” she tells you, explaining what she has learned from her reading. “After being hunted down by a group of evil psychic type Pokémon, the Iahko learned and wielded Taika to find ways to obliterate evil entities and promote healing, even if Taika may look dark and shadowy on the exterior. So I knew it could be used for good causes.”

“I believe it can be used to stop the Stalkers,” Santea explains, opening one of her books on the subject matter. “See, the Puhdistus Ritual is part of this Taika magic. Now, it may seem like this a bit outlandish, but I believe our very town of Seabourne was in fact once a source site of Taika at one point or another. At one point, there was a Taika Temppeli, or a Taika Temple to be exact. It was destroyed many ages ago, but there exists one spell that can undo the effects of time, and that requires the sacred Taika Tekstit, or the Taika Texts to be exact. And the second thing it needs is the Palauttaminen Mantra, the Mantra of Restoration.”

“Somewhere in town, the ruins of the Taika Temppeli should be here, but I have no idea where they might be,” Santea sighs. “If we could find those Taika Tekstit and the Palauttaminen Mantra, you know, we might just be able to use a bit of Taika to restore the Taika Temppeli.”

“So you’re probably wondering what we might be able to do with the Taika Tempeli if it can be restored. Well, it’s a start, but we’d need the Completed Välineitä, which is a set of Taika Instruments. And those consist of a Taika Ritualli Tome, The Varjo Välineet, or ‘Shadow Tools’ and lastly, the Olemus… the essence.”

Before you, she places a jar containing a purple and black mist-like wisp.

https://i.postimg.cc/KjJ1pKZc/Santea-Happy.png “This, right here, is the Olemus!” she tells you happily. “Oh, I know it looks dark, but it’s safe to handle. I want you to have it, because I believe the Tatsujin are the key to unlocking the true potential of these relics and artifacts.”

You see that it matches the description what Kulsso mentioned to you before, though at the time, he had reason to be wary of it considering he was not aware of what it is or what it’s for. You watch it for a few seconds, flickering about inside the jar like a dark, shadowy firefly.

[The Olemus] (Essence) has been added to the Team Inventory.

https://i.postimg.cc/XqVZgK6D/Santea-Normal.png “Now, once the Varjo Välineet are gathered at the Taika Temppeli, that’s when the Puhdistus Ritual can be performed,” Santea explains further. “This Cleansing Ritual, from what I’ve read, can be used to banish dark and evil spirits. To do that, each time the ritual is performed, a Putki is used, which serves as a conduit to summon and channel the Taika energy needed to fulfill the banishing. That’s exactly what you’ve got right there! The other thing that’s needed is the Stalker’s Phylactery.”

https://i.postimg.cc/d1RkdHpy/Santea-Frustrated.png “These Phylacteries… they serve as anchors for the Demoni to allow them to persist in the material plane for an indefinite amount of time. And the Demoni, I learned, are the dark and evil spirits that have been possessing Pokémon and causing them to do murders on their behalf as the Stalkers for some wicked objective. I found out that’s why we haven’t seen the Demoni in their true forms. They’re using us as puppets and hiding among us!”

You’re not surprised to see Santea has managed to uncover so much information about this as she goes through multiple books regarding the subject matter. Most of the tomes she shows you look like they’ve been in the library for many years and it doesn’t look like too many Pokémon have read them, likely thinking they were just fantasy stories or old wives’ tales. On top of that, all of the pages are handwritten and you’re quite sure none of these books have a version that went through a printing press.

https://i.postimg.cc/XqVZgK6D/Santea-Normal.png “I imagine these Demoni are hiding their Phylacteries in very secret and highly protected locations,” Santea tells you, knowing how critical these are to them. “But I believe if you can find them, they can be the key to stopping these Demoni. If the Phylactery is found and used in the Puhdistus Ritual, it will free the victim from the Demoni’s grasp and rip the Demoni linked to them to shreds, committing them to an eternity of torture and harassment in an underworld realm called Kadotus as they only exist in fragmented pieces. I mean, it sounds rather merciless, but these are the Demoni we’re talking about after all. They were supposed to be serving eternal damnation in Unohdus for all their evil deeds and then started doing this to us, so I can’t really feel sorry for them.”

“Well, it’s becoming late for me…” Santea tells you, though she seems very happy to have shared her knowledge with you. “I know this may seem like a lot, but I want to help you and I’m always available to answer questions about the Puhdistus Ritual if you have them. It’s been a pleasure to speak with you, ChiChi, and let me know if I can be of any help.”

…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

Neo Emolga

07-02-2022, 01:41 PM

I'll take things a little easy tonight and search (14) Greenvale Centre Apartments

As the moon appears in the sky, you head out for the night, intending to investigate the Greenvale Centre Apartments. The air is calm and still as you levitate your way toward the luxury apartment building. It feels quiet tonight, almost in a strange, uncanny, and eerie kind of way.

When you first arrive, you don’t see anything distinctly out of the ordinary and the exterior grounds actually seem welcoming despite the dark situation surrounding the town and the current conditions with the Stalkers. The outside lighting is fairly substantial and it almost feels like it would be a safe haven away from the threats of the Stalkers, but you know there really isn’t a safe corner anywhere in Seabourne.

…at least not yet.

You search around the exterior of the building, investigating every nook and cranny within reasonable time. You’re impressed at the state of the groundskeeping, especially given the emergency state that the town is in. Truthfully, if you had the money, you might consider living in a cozy, spacious place like this given the welcoming and clean exterior.

Outside in one of the potted lily flower patches, you see the very faint glint of metal and when you investigate it further, it looks to be a vintage sapphire amulet. It appears to be quite old but in still very good condition. As you hold the gleaming amulet in your hands, you feel a kind of protective radiance coming from it, as though it was blessed and imbued with a protective spiritual barrier many ages ago. While the blessing used to be stronger, it still has a good amount of it’s protective radiance.

Chakra has equipped the +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P) and the +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P) has been moved to the Team Inventory (Equipment Items).

You then search the interior of the building, and even from the moment you walk in, the inside walls are clean and pristine, the tiled floor is of intricate and artisan quality, and the lighting feels warm and welcoming even in the night hours. The lobby is quite spacious and almost feels like a hotel, but you can imagine it’s quite expensive here.

Most of the individual apartments are locked, but you are able to investigate the hallways and initially, you don’t find anything that causes any suspicions. The whole time, it does seem quiet tonight, but you also realize that many of these apartments are vacant, likely due to the high rent demand.

When you get to the far east side of the building, you see a finely-crafted mosaic tile artwork on the wall, with each hexagon tile depicting an individual picture that overall make up a much larger picture of a shoreline sunset when viewed from a distance. Among the tiles, you find individual images of natural art like sunflowers, leaves, clouds, and the like.

One of the tiles, as you detect with your Savant senses, seems to radiate a mysterious energy, and you suddenly realize it was cleverly hidden here to look like one of the others in the mosaic when really, it was not meant to be part of the overall artwork. You find this mysterious energy coming from a hexagon tile depicting a black lily, and you find it’s easily removed unlike all the others that have been affixed to the wall.

You realize that this is a key to something else… and you decide to take it with you.

has been added to the Team Inventory.

…

From what you can gather and assume, only another Savant could have left this here for other Savants to detect, find, and use. It has you believing one of the Black Moon guild members left this hidden key here for others to find while natural Pokémon would never suspect anything unusual or out of place with this tile.

You’re only hoping you’re able to continue their work before it’s too late…

You make one last check around the building, but nothing else seems to be hidden here or seems to strike you as suspicious. As you’re growing tired, you decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead and get some sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

07-02-2022, 02:50 PM

I will explore Centrebrooke Apartments

As the hour grows late, you head out from Benni’s farmstead and make your way toward the Centerbrooke Apartments, having heard odd rumors about the place. It’s a short walk south from the farm, but you can’t help but feel it’s rather still and lonely out tonight. On previous nights, the wind would course its way through your yellow fur and whip your long ears around, but tonight it’s as still as death, and now you’re not sure which of the two is the more eerie feeling to have right now…

When you finally arrive at the building, you have uncertain vibes about the place. The exterior seems a bit frayed, with weeds and shrubs growing where they shouldn’t be, moss growing on the sidewalks, paint peeling off of the walls, and the wood splintering in places. A few of the windows are cracked as well, and overall, it doesn’t feel like a welcoming place to live.

You search the inside and the situation in the main lobby seems to be about the same. The wooden floor looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years and the walls show sign of discoloration. Where they were once white, they’re now a light beige color from the dust and the overall aging. In some places, the paint is peeling off as well.

You notice by the directory that Namrea the Krokorok and Chenny the Zebstrika live here. Jackia the Combusken lived here with her son Sal as well, although they still haven’t removed her name, yet. But many of the slots are empty, indicating many vacant apartments.

Pursuing the rumors, you find the lights do flicker, but that’s mainly from the age of the bulbs or perhaps a faulty wiring job or even a disrupted electrical output. Meanwhile, in some of the empty rooms you’re able to investigate, there are markings and words on the walls, but most of them have faded out. You also see outlines of furniture and other indications that someone was here at one point, but then left.

It wouldn’t seem unusual at first and to most Pokémon, it would seem like someone simply moved out and that was it. But you’re able to detect other presences and you can almost sense the presence of another Savant here. One of them had to have taken residence here before, but only signs and indications were left behind. Their messages on the walls were scrubbed away but not painted over, and you can only make out single words and parts of phrases…

…They were taking notes. They were mapping out who the potential demons were, only the townspeople thought wrong of them. They thought this was mania and not the work of a skilled Savant demon assassin. Sadly, most of it was wiped away by the landlord’s cleanup crew and there’s very little of anything left of the work they started.

There are barely any remnants left, but in a corner of one of the vacant rooms, you find a piece of something, still radiating with Savant presence…

https://i.imgur.com/LKUlXl8.png

[=Sigil Fragment 1=] (https://i.imgur.com/LKUlXl8.png) has been added to the Team Inventory.

You believe you’ve seen something like this before, part of a larger puzzle. You’ve gathered all the answers you can here, but you have a strong feeling there’s still more to be found.

As it’s starting to get late, you start heading out of the building. While you head for the exit, you can almost hear what must have been the rumor regarding music playing in the night, sounding like occasional piano keys being struck, causing an odd, eerie echo in the hallways that sometimes gives you the chills. You’re not sure where it’s coming from, but it could just be one of the tenants. As for the rumor of the child Sandshrew haunting the building, you don’t see anything that seems to imply that, but you’re wondering if maybe that and the music are somehow connected…

After heading back outside, suddenly the sounds go deathly quiet again, and a sudden silence washes over you as you walk back toward Benni’s farmstead tonight.

…they were here before… what did they find…?

…if only someone believed them… if only they actually listened…

…maybe none of this would be happening right now… maybe it would have made sense if they had the chance to explain…

You look at the Sigil Fragment once more, recalling that there were other Savants here… Savants that had their memories washed away thinking it was for their own benefit… only to have them lose sight of who they truly were… and now they are gone. They learned from their mistakes. You and the others are a testament to that. But what became of all those former humans? Did they never find their way back home?

You know you may never find the answer to that, but you feel you can at least try to make sure the work they did and the sacrifice that was made was not done in vain…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/025.png Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 19.5/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

07-02-2022, 09:21 PM

Search (58) Bakot’s Bed and Breakfast (ABANDONED)

As the night comes, you head east toward the broken and derelict side of Seabourne. After leaving Benni’s farmstead behind you as you head eastward into the night, you take in the still night air, quiet as if the air itself were petrified. Nothing moves except for you, as if everything else has been frozen into the stillness of death.

Virtually no sound is made around you save for the trotting of your hooves on the gritty, solid ground. As you head further east, the surrounding terrain is almost empty and devoid of life. For a brief moment, it seems like you could be in the middle of a vast wasteland whisked off to an empty and barren world forgotten by all. The realization that you could never be found by anyone feels both relieving and terrifying at the same time.

You press forward, trying not to think about it too much. Soon the old, abandoned café and hotel comes into view, and you can tell it used to be a calm, quiet, and homey kind of place built on Bakot the Patrat’s hopes and dreams of having a small business of hospitality. The exterior once appeared to be a warm and welcoming wooden cottage-style building, but after only three years of bleak business, the boarded up broken windows, the quiet darkness surrounding it, and the emptiness that remains is all that’s left.

Now, too much wear and tear has come upon the building for it to ever be useful again and Seabourne never saw the growth Bakot was hoping for. This side of town became like the dead, diseased limb of a tree, withering and broken with no life to show for it or fruit to bear.

Tonight, the air is still, the atmosphere is cold and quiet as a tomb. You start your search around the exterior of the building, working your way through the dead shrubs and bushes that don’t seem to hold anything besides dead memories. In the back, there was even a small picnic area with tables and chairs, only those too have rusted over and have fallen apart with age and neglect.

On the side of the stone building, you find a cellar door that leads downward and you recognize it as the area where supplies and food stock were stored. You soon approach it, hoping to see if it can still be opened and if there might be something useful inside…

@Unhinged Nightmare – DARK (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ Trap 40% Evasion Test: 6 out of 100: Success!

…Instead, you quickly back away, just a mere second before a shadowy tentacle-like tendril tries to take a swipe at your throat and inject its dark, defiled soul venom into your essence. Thankfully, the dark abomination is constrained and bound to a close proximity to the cellar door, so as you make further distance away from it, it can no longer reach you, as if held by an invisible chain that you cannot see. It withdraws in disappointed frustration, hiding back into the cellar door and hoping for some other unsuspecting victim to strike at from the shadows.

You make a note of this trap, making sure the others know about this before they attempt to deal with it.

@{Blackened Cellar Door: Blackened Keyhole OR <Security>} Unhinged Nightmare - DARK (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

From what you can see from your position of safety, the black cellar door seems to be locked. Unfortunately, you don’t have the key with you and you don’t even want to attempt to pick it with the limited knowledge that you have, especially with that abomination still there. You decide it’s best to just leave it alone for now until someone else can deal with this.

Instead, you head inside from the main entrance. The front doors are both unlocked, but as you enter, you find there really isn’t much besides empty worn-out rooms that have had everything stripped away and removed. What you come to is an empty café where not even the tables and chairs remain, simply a large empty dining room and waiting area. The once-colorful murals of Seabourne Town on the walls have become faded over time and the weather damage to the walls almost makes the scenes look more post-apocalyptic instead, as if the town as a whole is discolored, crumbling, and falling apart.

Meanwhile, the ten rooms that were meant to serve as the inn upstairs have been stripped clean of anything. All the furniture is gone and the only things that remain are boarded-up windows, although some of those boards have fallen off by now from time and the weather.

There is one room that looks like it was used as a temporary hideout for a short while. Whoever was here knew no one would come looking for them in this quiet abandoned place. A few things were left behind, including a small candle lantern, a large bedroll, some bottles of water that have half-evaporated, a few cans of soup and other food, and a few pans and pots, as if whoever was here last had prepared to go camping. You find a few papers, which look like writings about Majutsu, but one note in particular stands out for you…

https://i.imgur.com/Ld8A729.png

They are protected now, Radaven.
Only the Tatsujin can harness the Power of the Yume no Saidan.
Only the Savants can hold this potential.
To answer the cries of this world and stop the Demoni.
We will find them with the power of Majutsu and remove these evil threats.
I have hidden the Shiryoku in the places of protection.
We will need them later.
Then we will need the memory conduits.
The things the victims of the Demoni hold dear to their hearts.
Know the name of the vile Demoni.
Know the name of the Victim.
Yume will answer and we can save them all from the wrath of this evil.

=The Red Message= (https://i.imgur.com/Ld8A729.png) has been noted in the Team Records.

You believe you have an understanding of the note and what it is far. The “memory conduits” as you read are the mementos that were mentioned earlier. Items of remembrance and recollection that the victims of the Stalkers have some emotional ties to… something that would make them recall earlier memories. But to make the ritual possible, you know you will need these mementos and to know the name of the Demoni and the name of the Victim. Only then can the victim be empowered to fight off their own demon…

The message here makes it clear that a Shiryoku is needed as well, and this ritual needs to be performed by a Tatsujin at the Yume no Saidan, or the “Dream Altar” as you’ve interpreted. If the others didn’t know about this, this makes it clear now. The final pieces are coming into place. Radaven, if he or she was ever here at one point, might not have received this message, but you’re confident you can continue the work where this author left off. What they attempted to do may not be in vain after all.

You search through the rest of the building, but there is only dust, debris, and refuse. You decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead. As your four hooves trot upon the dusty, forgotten arounds, you have further understanding of what’s required for this Majutsu ritual, realizing that it’s not something to be feared, but instead something that may turn the tide of this war against the Stalkers and their Demoni puppet-masters.

There’s still time, but you must hurry…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 2/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

07-05-2022, 05:59 PM

I'll search (19) Overlook Apartments

Tonight, after eating a shepherd’s pie dinner at Benni’s and giving yourself some time to focus, you head southeast toward the Overlook Apartments. The whole journey down, you swear the air feels deathly still and your paws pressing on the grit of the road are the only things that seem to make a sound for miles around you.

From what you heard about the rumors surrounding this place, the Overlook Apartments were made to replace an older Steiner apartment building that was haunted, but this new structure has had issues of its own, including strange dreams involving a furnace and new medical diagnoses that were never part of the family history. Part of you wonders if it’s simply coincidence or if it might have something to do with Edifice and the dreams they have been inflicting on the civilians here.

When you arrive, it almost seems as though the Overlook Apartments are one of the, if not the newest buildings constructed in Seabourne. When it comes to the buildings in the center of town, it seems they get the best treatment and are the soonest to get new additions while everything on the outskirts seems mostly forgotten.

You first spend the last few hours of daylight searching around the exterior. From what you notice, the dark gray walls are quite clean, the windows are in good condition, and the grounds seem pretty well-maintained. If you hadn’t heard the rumors, you wouldn’t have suspected of anything being wrong with this place.

When you head inside, you find the interior seems fairly normal, in good condition, and nothing seems suspicious. There’s a few empty rooms that don’t have tenants, but you feel even after just searching through them, nothing seems wrong and you personally find it wouldn’t be a bad place to move into if the rent was reasonable.

You search both the first and second floors and nothing seems to go awry. You find there’s a basement level, which usually isn’t used by tenants and it seems to be only for regulating the water, electricity, heat, cooling, and other utilities. Most of the area has many pipes and wires along the concrete walls. They’re a bit rudimentary, but they get the job done especially considering the Pokémon here are still about seventy years behind humans in terms of technology. Meanwhile, down here in this cold, concrete area, the lighting is very dim and you imagine no one really goes down here unless they need to.

It almost feels like there’s really nothing much to find here at first, but then you come across something strange and unusual. There’s a chalk drawing on the floor, and it looks to be a child’s crude depiction of a Pokémon’s skeleton. There’s also crude drawings of eyeballs, and when you look around the room, you suddenly spot something eerily familiar rolled into the corner of the maintenance room.

There, rolled into a corner besides a few sticks of chalk and an old wooden top, you spot one of the eyes and you realize it’s the second Eye of Shadow that belongs with the one that was already found with Kulsso the Rampardos. It continues to excrete a black, vile ichor and it now sits in an oil-like puddle of it. You’re already well aware these things are rigged with a booby trap, so you decide to look for some kind of long tool that can help you disarm this thing.

In the janitorial closet, you find a long shovel that feels like it should do exactly what you need it to. After taking it to the eye, you aim the back end of the spade and quickly strike the eyeball…

#Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage)# Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 51 out of 100: Success!

The mechanism in the eye triggers as it thinks an unsuspecting victim touched the eye. Suddenly, it causes a burst of black ichor to be ejected as a hidden blade embedded in the eye strikes out, only to hit nothing but air. It causes more black ichor to be splattered on the concrete floor, but at least now its disarmed and won’t cause harm to anyone.

Grabbing a spare rag from the janitorial closet, you wrap the eye carefully and take it with you, knowing exactly what it’s for…

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

With that taken care of, you can’t help but look back at the chalk drawings. The Stalker responsible for these may very well be a child and no one suspects a thing about it…

You then head out and make the walk back to Benni’s farmstead. The still, night air persists and it almost seems too quiet for your liking…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

07-05-2022, 06:29 PM

#38 Malco the Toxtricity has been murdered by the Stalkers.

Languished.

It was the thought that instantly came to Yanza when she looked at the horrifically-mutilated body of the Toxtricity.

The tall, bipedal purple and yellow lizard had been corrupted into trying to rearrange his face and appendages using a grotesque array of household tools like carving knives, scissors, thread, glue, needles, and other cringe-inducing items only for it to fail miserably.

Now, the restroom of the Seabourne Coast Guard building was a bloody mess as the now blood-splattered mirror had become Malco’s worst enemy besides himself. As for Malco, he was now lying in a pool of blood with a few pieces of his face and body besides him… pieces that he had intended to reattach to himself but never did before dying from too much blood loss.

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “Kill me if you even start to see me doing this to myself…” Yanza sighed to Dantus, still not entirely desensitized to the way Languished performs their murders. “I’m sure you probably want the same.”

Dantus was silent as he looked over the victim’s body. In truth, he thought his mind was too strong and had the vigilance to avoid succumbing to such a fate, but he could have sworn Malco would have been the same way. They were, after all, not that far apart in terms of profession and personality. Now the Coast Guard was without a director and that left only Drestan or Erine to take his place, neither of which Dantus had much faith in.

But after looking over the situation, despite his usual lack of empathy and ability to see himself in the misfortune of others, he took the time to be more open-minded with what happened to Malco. After a few moments of silence, he decided maybe it was better if he did mention something in Yanza in the possible event that something like this did befall him. He tried to imagine what it would be like if he took tools like this and self-mutilated himself in a horrific display of butchery.

And once the idea implanted itself in his brain, he decided he never wanted it to be in the realm of possibility if Yanza could help it. He was not too proud to admit he too, could potentially be a future target…

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “Fine, we’ll cover each other,” Dantus confirmed. “No fear, no hesitation.”

Yanza had blinked twice, almost suspecting Dantus would never respond and would simply fearlessly face anything despite the consequences. Even something like this. But it looked like sighting after sighting of Languished’s gruesome work time and time again… perhaps it was making even the strongest wills and minds have second thoughts about how far and how much they were willing to go through…

Doom Tracker:
4/15

Neo Emolga

07-05-2022, 06:33 PM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 5: Day Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3338388/day-5-day-cycle)

(Saturday, July 9, 2022 3:00:00 PM EST)
(Giving extra time due to me being a little late with these!)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Shruikan Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Scytherwolf

07-06-2022, 03:20 AM

I'll take a look around the (49) Emerald Fields Townhouses.

C0L0R3D

07-06-2022, 08:28 AM

DayBreak

07-06-2022, 09:54 AM

Chakramaster

07-06-2022, 11:14 AM

I feel like I'll keep searching around for now. Until I have need elsewhere at least.

Search: (24) The Percho Mill

Neo Emolga

07-06-2022, 02:41 PM

I'll take a look around the (49) Emerald Fields Townhouses.

As the sun rises, you decide to help yourself to a few of the muffins that Benni baked early this morning and you head west to investigate the Emerald Fields Townhouses, which seem to have an odd amount of rumors and urban myths behind them. You’re not sure which ones are real and which ones might just be old wives tales, but you decide the only way to really find out is to see for yourself and put those rumors under your own validation process.

The other matter in the whole ordeal is the fact if the Stalkers had anything to do with the place, you need to know and find those things. Because if you don’t, who will? The answer you feel may be nothing. No one.

After finishing breakfast, you cross the long barren divide between Benni’s farmstead and the derelict, northwestern side of Seabourne. When you finally arrive, you find that at least the place matches the description. One house here, the Elona House, seems to be in perfect condition, as if not only do the inhabitants still live there, but they take extreme meticulous care of the property in an almost obsessive way to make sure it stays looking as new as possible. And considering the state of the surrounding area, it seems completely unnatural for something to be this way and you’re quite sure something else is going on. But then the other thing you’ve heard is that those that enter this place never return. And you’re left unsure if you really want to discover why that is at the cost of succumbing to the same fate… whatever the true nature of that fate really is.

Secondly, the Nowela House seems to be the only thing here that makes sense given the situation and the surrounding environment around the Emerald Fields Townhouses. The house itself lies in ruins with the only things still standing are basic pieces of the original wooden framework. Only half of one side has walls left and even then they’re in terrible condition and provide no shelter at all. You decide to start here and look around through the rubble of a house that must have fallen apart years ago from age. But whatever was left behind is too damaged to make any use of. Broken pipes, rusty metal, shattered glass, and splintered wood are about all you find here besides several broken pots, a crushed wooden crate, and other similar junk.

You then decide to investigate the Dewall house, or at least the vacant, empty plot where nothing exists save for dirt. As you confirm, no grass, no weed, absolutely nothing has grown here for ages, and you’ve even heard that not even grass type Pokémon can bare to stand in this location for any duration of time at all. Thankfully, that’s not something you need to worry about as the Pokémon you are.

Taking a deep breath, you step into the empty plot and you feel ŝ̒͋͊̾õ͖͔̟̑̓m͖̞̓̎e̫̠t̩̝͖͎ͧͭ̅̾h̝̩̭̤͕̻̲̄̆ͪ̆̂̒̓i̐̋̀̑ ̝͎͚̬̝͗n͎g uncanny at first, but you cannot explain it, as if a sense you never realized you had before is being triggered and is suffering for it, but you cannot tell what.

{Foreboding Presence: Location}

There’s something buried here, but you cannot discern where. It all looks the same to you and there isn’t any kind of disturbance in the ground that would clue you in on its location. And then you realize something else that’s bizarre.

You don’t leave behind footprints behind you. You don’t even cast a shadow in this plot of land…

You step out, realizing you could spend all day trying to dig here only to find nothing. As soon as you leave this anomalous area, your shadow reappears and you feel a strange relief, as if you can breathe again. But you cannot even begin to explain just how that was possible.

Lastly, you turn back toward the Elona House. You’re a bit hesitant to go inside, but if anything is lurking in there, you need to know why and what’s the true story behind this place. Looters and pillagers have gone in attempting to pluck whatever they could from the place only to lose everything, far more than what they started off with. But why? And how did it happen to all of them?

You approach the front door of the immaculate, pure-white house and the perfectly clean brass door knob is easily turned and you realize the front door isn’t even locked, as if all guests and visitors are welcome to come on in. You step inside and almost naturally, the door closes gently behind you…

The living room is perfectly clean and homely with plenty of cushy seating for at least eight Pokémon while the fireplace mantle is clean and quite presentable with perfectly polished candle holders and lovely paintings on the wall. Not a speck of anything… dust, debris, or anything of that nature is in sight and you can only wonder how does anyone keep a place like this so clean all the time? You think it would take an army of well-funded and very motivated Cinccinos to keep a place looking like this.

It isn’t until you get to the den do you realize what might be the answer to this mystery. But before you do, you feel a strange but familiar presence wash over you as you look into the Dream Gate…

Scy has inherited 3 Points of Kurosuōbā…

You soon begin to glow as you ascend to become a Tatsujin, and you realize this is a gateway to Yume, a direct portal to the world of dreams…

Scy has become a Tatsujin…

@{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Shukufuku no jonzai} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ has been noted in the Team Records.

You realize it’s for the , the Blessing Tablet that was originally found in the Seabourne Public Library. And that very tablet contains the instructions behind the request, an order to receive the [Kage no Shukufuku] Shadow Blessing as needed for the Majutsu ritual. All you would have to do is carry that tablet back here and insert it into the swirling black and cyan-colored twisting portal. It all suddenly makes sense to you, as if you knew about this information long before and only just suddenly remembered.

And then you realize the truth behind this place. Why those that entered it came here and never came out. It makes you wonder just how many of them mistakenly touched the portal to unintentionally be taken into Yume only to never come out… or at least never go out the same way they went in. How many vandals and pillagers went into Yume and may still to this day be perplexed and unaware of what realm they really stepped into…

As for the Elona House itself… and how it stays untainted by time and withering, you realize the house itself has its foundation built into the portal and the house itself is only an extension of it. If and when the portal closes, you might imagine in time, the Elona House may start to become like the Nowela House. Or at least until your thoughts take you elsewhere and on another track of thinking…

Elona…

Nowela…

Dewall…

E… N… D…

This area itself… it’s a literal depiction of the passage of time. Elona is how it all begins… a nicely and newly constructed house fully furnished… whereas the Nowela House is a depiction of what ultimately every house eventually becomes. Ruins… and rubble. And the Dewall House… is pure nothingness. Where not even the dust of what once was remains… where not even you seem to exist in that space and it is the literal depiction of when all life is gone…

Only when you realize it do you see the similarities, but it didn’t happen a moment sooner. All three houses have the same plot of land and would have had the same floorplan. When you leave, you almost feel like you now have more questions than answers. How is such an anomaly possible, and why is it here? Are you the only one that realized this, yet? And if not, who else knows?

You decide to head back, thinking about the tablet that’s needed for the Dream Gate, but then there was the matter of barren Dewall plot of land. Someone hid something there because they knew it was a strange, uncanny protected area, but why, and what did they hide? Something… something unnatural would have had to drive someone to bury something in such a place and there had to be a good reason for it. They needed it out of the way…

Could even the Dewall house… or at least that plot of land… even wipe away the taint of the Stalkers? Is that why something was hidden there?

…

https://i.postimg.cc/cCTptNBb/ScyKusho.png Scy the Tatsujin Heracross (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: [s]Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

07-09-2022, 12:16 AM

Okay, the coastguard leader... yikes. I feel bad for the fella, but hopefully the coastguard itself will live on!

But I know what I'm handling! Black Moon Savants, we're not letting this die out! If anyone wants to tackle the shadow Latios, I wish you good luck.

[Deliver the Black Lily Insignia to The Last House.]

When the morning arrives, you awake from your bed and help yourself to the breakfast muffins that Benni has provided to the Savants. After finishing them with a cup of black tea, you take the Black Lily Insignia and you head east toward The Last House, which was recently discovered to be a secret outpost for the Black Moon guild.

Thankfully, the air this morning isn’t quite as stale as it was yesterday. It’s quiet, but it at least feels like there’s more life today, even as you cross the wasteland divide between Benni’s farmstead and the Last House.

When you arrive, you make your way toward the outside cellar entrance and you spot the hidden, dusty hatch with the black lily marking. You then take the Black Lily Insignia tile, firmly place the hexagon-shaped tile into the slot, and press down, triggering the unlocking mechanism.

Colored has used the .

{Black Sanctuary Hatch: Mark of the Lily}

As the door slides open, you’re not quite sure what to expect. It almost seems like an armory, but you know only a few of the weapons still remain. As the door slides fully open, a stone staircase is revealed and heads downward. And you head downstairs and take a look around.

Indeed, it was an underground armory at one point, but almost everything has been plucked off of the weapon and armor racks. At the same time, there also seems to be a lot of tactical notes and reconnaissance maps on the concrete walls. There’s notes about observations about the demons, activity patterns, and when their targets most likely appear. You can almost envision what the scene must have looked like years ago… a band of Savants like yourself, no longer aware of the humans they used to be, but working as the Pokémon they become to undo this vice of evil that plagued this town before many years ago. Most of their work was preserved, but it seems as though not even the townspeople knew about them or what they were even fighting. And it hits you for a profound moment that you could have been here, here with them and just like them.

On one of the shelves, you find a glass cylinder container containing a kind of black, shadowy energy that radiates a dark violet glow. You see it’s also given the label “Obscurité Shadow Essence” with a piece of masking tape. You take the jar with you, knowing if you’re hoping to reassemble the Obscurité, this is one of the essential components.

[Obscurité Shadow Essence] has been added to the Team Inventory. (Black Moon Relics)

As you hold it in your green hands, you can almost sense you’re not alone and you quickly turn behind you to see if anyone is really there. You don’t see anyone, but you can almost feel them.

And moments later, you can catch a glimpse of them…

https://i.imgur.com/NcZApeQ.png

…

“I know your story…” you mutter, almost certain whoever this Zoroark is can hear you. “Uxie… Mesprit… and Azelf… they made a mistake. They shouldn’t have taken your memories the way they did. Do you… at least remember your name…?”

…

“Chercher…” he mutters. “But you needn’t worry about us, Savant. Our time here was many, many years ago. We thought our work was done, but they came back. And these Demoni are far worse than what we faced…”

“Is… Obscurité your weapon?” you ask Chercher. “I’m trying to reassemble it, along with the others. Ombre and Létal. We need your help with that if you can lend a hand. We don’t know where the other parts of these weapons are.”

“Indeed, Obscurité was my weapon, the last of which I had and the one I never used in combat,” Chercher replies. “I don’t know where the parts of the other two weapons lie, they weren’t mine, but the other parts of Obscurité… that Dhelmise… Ohu I believe its name is… has the vault key that is located in what is now the Seabourne Office Plaza. That’s where I stored the bow of Obscurité. With that bow, the essence you have, and one of the Aether Prisms we hid, it can be made whole again. And to know my bow finally had the chance to destroy one of these Demoni… it would let my spirit finally find rest…”

For a moment, you fall silent.

“Sorry to hear about your passing…” you tell him.

“It doesn’t matter,” he tells you. “Do what you can while there’s still time…”

At that moment, the presence disappears and now you feel as though you’re in this chamber all by yourself now. You have a feeling this might not be the last you’ll hear of Chercher…

After leaving the Black Moon Sanctuary behind, you head back to Benni’s farmstead to begin your plans for tonight. Despite how dark things have become, there’s still hope that maybe the unused answers of yesterday can still be the solutions of tomorrow…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Lychee

07-11-2022, 04:40 AM

Noblejanobii

07-11-2022, 01:14 PM

Well recent events it only seems fitting to go search (39) XSHO Freighter 413 for clues

AgloMe Oen

07-16-2022, 12:51 AM

2082
I just realized we had both Shadow Eyes (this is what I get for falling behind on my reading up).
2083
Anyway, I feel like it'd be oddly fitting for me to head to Southshore Chapel and put those things on the Latios statue, considering one of my incarnations is a Latios.

[Deliver the Shadow Eyes to the Latios statue in the Southshore Chapel]

Oh sure! I mean̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ really, because what could possibly gõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂ wrong? I’ll tell you! Quite a lot!

It’s a beautiful day this morning! Full of frḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅsh air, which Malco doesn’t get to quite en̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏joy as much! You start it all by stuffing your face with Benni’s extra fluffy muffin̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ breakfast and yet again, she doesn’t say anything like she’s been MUTE for the past few days (did Neo forget to handle his RP accõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂unts again? For shaaaaame!)! And then̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ you grab both of those lovḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅly, ichor-puking shadow eyes that you know for sure would make a lousy last minute mother’s day gift and you skip your way to Sõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂uthshore Chapel to find out what happens whḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅn you ram those things into the n̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏oggin of that ugly, corrupted Latios statue!

You insert the first eye and it plugs right õ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂n it like it’s nothing more than a really grotesque Lego brick! And then you poke in the second! And everything seems fine and dandy beforḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ the head sudden̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ly rolls off the dragon̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ bird’s (or whatḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅver Latios is actually supposed to be) and you instinctively catch it before it crashes to the ground. Yõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂u look at it, and then all of a sudden, it rolls and turns to look back at you, opens its gawking mouth in a lovely and hideous way, and stares in̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏to your soul! Say cheeḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅeeese!

[Severed Hḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅad of the Shadow Brother, Latios] has plõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂pped into your Team Inven̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏tory!

#Deranged Vision of the Demon̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏i – PSYCHIC (6 Sanity Damage, 6 Purity Damagḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ)# Trap 30% Evasion̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ Test: 82 out of 100: Failed!

Oops. You look right into it! Hi there! And it smiles back! Nah, just kidding, in̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏stead, it unleashes a delightful Pͮ̽S̬̔YCͮ̽̎̎͒̋̍Ḧ̘͇̠̟̰͇ͫͮͮͥ̽I̿̍̍ͯ̓ͯ̐C̹ͬ ̥̐S̋̋̇̏̇̚C͎̝̑͒R͙̐E̮AM into your facḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ, which then makes its way into YOUR BRAIN, and also, your soul, because that wasn’t feeling enough tormen̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏t already. As you can imaginḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ, it actually doesn’t feel too good, unless you’re a masõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂chist!

Lyric enjoys sufferin̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏g 2 Damage to Sanity and 2 Damage to Purity (doubled, Psychic vs Poison mḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅans extra fun!)

At first, it kind of feels like you dreamed you were driving a steamroller, turned somḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ schoolchildren into Poké-pancakes, and then̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ ate up some raw body parts before waking up from the most horrible hangover you’ve ever felt only to realizḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ what kind of horrible, atrocities you’ve committed in your deranged stupor! Your sins crawl all over you like insects in a dire search of their n̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ext Happy Snack! Go on, feed them, they’re hungry!

Lyric en̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏joys suffering 4 Damagḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ to Sanity and 4 Damage to Purity (doubled, Psychic vs Poison̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ means bonus pain and humiliation!)

And then you actually don’t feḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅl anything. At least not for a moment, until you suddenly realize the guilt is gone and it’s like you’ve been possessed by a demon̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ so bloated with sins that when they burst, you burst and all your sin̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ essences go flying all õ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂ver the place like a really nasty, messy sneḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅze! It’s even grosser than it sounds!

But it’s not done yet! You just gapḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ with your mouth wide õ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂pen, mind half-rotted while your soul is being crumpled in̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏to little twisty pieces that have that special melt-in-your-mouth feḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅling! And then it gets kinda gross, like all brõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂wn, slimy, and gooey. A real messen̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ce! Ha ha, see what I did there!?

Lyric enjoys suffḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅring 6 Damage to Sanity and 6 Damage tõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂ Purity (doubled, Psychic vs Poison means… oh n̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏o, you’re dead!!)

See, here’s the problḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅm. In normal circumstances, you wõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂uld have gone full on evil and start thinking of eating babies, belching, and turning the leftover bon̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏es into fashionable jewelry! Thankfully for you, your Savant soul resists total termination like that (pansy), but everything else about yõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂u is decaying cadaver! It’s a shame you didn’t don̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ate your body to science before this happened! Thankfully, I can still attach strings to it and use it as a puppet. Or a piñata. Give me time, I’m still trying to decide!

You’ll reincarnate sõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂on, because death is no excuse to stop working! And yḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅs, you lose some vacation time for this! Complain̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏ to HR about it if you don’t like it!

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/030.png Lyric Wintḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅrheart the Nidorin̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏a (M: Poison)

Health: 17/20 | Sanity: 8/20 | Purity: -1/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂macy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionnḛ͕̱ͬ͑̈̉ͅ, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defen̦̳̻̪̙̺̥͇̬̻̞͕̺̫ͯ̈̐̂̔̊̾̄ͭͫͦ̈̂̏se Armõ̹̲͙̗ͫͭ̂r: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Active Dark Event 1: Kill Counter:
5/15

Xerneas

07-16-2022, 01:05 AM

DayBreak

We must never lose faith, even in these dark times. Defeat cannot happen if we get back up and rejoin the fight. Anything is possible as long as you never quit and never give up, even when facing defeat… even when facing death itself.

And so you must do the same. Light will drive back the darkness and chase the shadows away. I have renewed your soul, refreshing your spirit, and have given you a new body and a new chance to be the hope that Seabourne needs right now.

Arise from the grave once more, and rescue these Pokémon…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/729.png Lyric Winterheart the Brionne (M: Water)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

07-17-2022, 12:53 AM

I feel like I'll keep searching around for now. Until I have need elsewhere at least.

Search: (24) The Percho Mill

When the morning arrives, you grab a muffin breakfast with the other Savants and then you head south toward the Percho Mill to see what might be there. You’re not sure if the Stalkers have used it as a hiding place, but you decide it’s worth investigating to confirm if you were right or not. While it doesn’t seem like the most nefarious location in Seabourne, you never know. After all, holy grounds in this town have seen their share of defilement as you already know…

When you arrive, you start your investigation by searching around the outside, floating and drifting through the air as you look for any signs or indications of anything unusual. Judging by the exterior, you see there’s a lot of daily activity here and this old mill seems to be quite overworked in terms of use. A lot of the exterior grounds seem to be barren and devoid of any vegetation as it looks like a lot of activity happens. The constant moving of supplies, transports, and raw materials of metals, ores, and ingots has caused a lot of the vegetation in the area to be killed off as anything that attempts to grow is constantly being crushed and covered by heavy materials.

Outside, you find a storm drain and it seems as though it was recently accessed. A very slight trace of Stalker essence is here. It’s a tight fit, but you manage position yourself just right so that your star-shaped body can slide in where most Pokémon would never be able to fit in.

{Storm Drain: ^Small Pokémon^}

Once in the large drainage channel pipes, you take a look around to see if there’s anything that was left behind. As you find some rubbish and forgotten trash in the pipe, you discover this area has been disturbed recently. You follow the trail and tucked away, you find a steel valve that was recently removed that appears to belong to a pipe junction, likely to control water flow. It’s a little beat-up, but still in good enough condition to work. While those aspects of it aren’t unusual, you sense a slight trace of Stalker presence on it, making you wonder if a Stalker sabotaged a pipe system and flooded some underground area, but kept this here in case they needed to access it again.

You decide to take it with you, having a feeling there may be more to the story when it comes to where this belongs and where it was used. But most of all, why it was used. You’re beginning to think they’re hiding something and this might just be the key to find it.

[Steel Valve] was added to the Team Inventory.

Besides the valve, you find what appears to be a worn-down metal trunk container that looks like it hasn’t been opened in a long time. You’re not sure if anyone has even seen it, either. There’s no trace of Stalker presence around it, leaving you to believe that even the Stalker that was here didn’t notice this or simply didn’t care about it.

You put your hands on the lid and open it. It creaks as the lid is lifted, but when it is fully opened, you look inside. You only see some old shredded, Styrofoam-like packaging material at first, but after digging through it a bit, you find some solid object hidden under it all. When you grab it and lift it out, you discover it seems to be some armor. It almost seems ancient, but it was preserved well in this beaten-down trunk all this time. You’re not even sure what violet-colored metal compromises these plates, but it almost seems alien to you in nature.

Seeing it is an upgrade from what you have already, you decide to put it on. After you finish fastening the armor over your star-shaped body, it almost gives you a feeling of invincibility and spiritual fearlessness.

Chakra has equipped the +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P) and the +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H) has been moved to the Team Inventory (Equipment)

You don’t find anything else here, but you can’t complain, today definitely felt like you had some luck this time.

You decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead and prepare yourself for what might come tonight…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

07-23-2022, 01:17 PM

ChiChi finally wakes from a hazey dream-state to try to do something.

First, equip the Blessed Armband from the team inventory!

Then, she plans to go out and interview Ohu, using diplomacy.
She knows Ohu tried to sell something to a shop, she knows Ohu probably has a key and would certainly like to know its history! Its cute! I'd buy it!
Secondary to that, ChiChi wants to find out about the politics of the seafarers- does Malco's death affect Ohu? Does it affect Llanas much? Anyone been acting weird and cagey?

(Neo Emolga finally wakes from a hazy dream-state to try and do something xP)

ChiChi has equipped the +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P) and has returned the +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker) to the Team Inventory.

This morning, after enjoying your muffin breakfast, you decide to head out and speak to Ohu the Dhelmise, hoping you can learn something more from it and uncover more about this mechanism it came across recently. You’ve heard Ohu is looking to sell it at a respectable price, but you’re hoping you might be able to talk it down and possibly talk it into relinquishing it completely free of charge.

You find Ohu works and currently lives on the XSHO Freighter 413, which has been ordered to remain docked due to the situation with the Stalkers and due to the situation with a Morgrem being crushed by a shipping container. At first, you think it might be due to law enforcement trying to prevent the perpetrators from escaping, but at the same time, it’s also preventing anyone who might become a victim from escaping as well. And as you are already well aware, the Stalkers have no intention of leaving until the dark mission is done.

When you board the XSHO Freighter and find Ohu, you see the Dhelmise with the broken pieces of the mechanism. You decide to talk to Ohu to see what you’re able to learn about this device and what the full story is. You then introduce yourself and ask about the key and the seafarers.

https://i.postimg.cc/XY8MKgyr/Ohu-Normal.png “Greetings, Chichi, indeed, I do,” Ohu tells you with a seemingly enigmatic voice. As it speaks, you cannot sense where its voice is coming from. Instead of coming from a mouth, it seems to emanate from its body and it almost seems more like a voice in your head as opposed to a voice that your ears can hear.

Ohu presents the broken key mechanism before you, and you see it’s in pretty bad shape and has multiple fragmented pieces, but it seems like everything is there at least. While you’re not an expert in restoration projects, it might still be capable of being repaired, but you can tell Ohu simply wants to sell it as is and has no intention of restoring it before parting with it for money.

“I found this salvaging a short distance off of the coast, and it seems to be very old,” Ohu tells you, thinking there may be a potential small fortune in store if it can find the right buyer. “I may not know its true nature, but I believe it may fetch for a high price. I’m sure a museum or a collector might be interested.”

You can sense a presence coming from this broken device, and you recognize it as the kind of shadow essence found in other Black Moon artifacts, but this one, judging from its age, existed even long before the rest of the guild did and they simply decided to make use of it in their own way. Still, this signature is distinctly something you’ve felt before and you’re confident this definitely has to be related. However, you know you need to get it out of Ohu’s possession and talk it into giving it to you free of charge. You realize it’s going to take a bit of work, but you think you have an idea.

“So who have you tried to sell it to so far?” you ask, looking dubiously at the relic. “Baywill seems to be the only museum in town and I don’t think they’re into broken stuff. Everything there seems to be in impeccable shape.”

https://i.postimg.cc/XY8MKgyr/Ohu-Normal.png “You would be correct,” Ohu replies, its tone changing and sounding like disappointment as it has already realized this. “However, I am still trying to sell it to the local collectors.”

“And who might that be?” you ask.

Ohu falls silent. The sea creeper Pokémon doesn’t seem to have too many answers and you get a feeling it has already failed multiple times with that attempt as well.

“Well, okay, how about this?” you ask the anchor-shaped Pokémon. “I mean, if you had all the money you could ever want, what would you pay for it? And what would you do with it if you bought it?”

Again, Ohu falls silent and still fails to come up with an answer. Suddenly the sea creeper isn’t looking at the broken relic the same way it did before.

https://i.postimg.cc/XY8MKgyr/Ohu-Normal.png “I suppose I must ask what would you do with it if you were in my position?” it asks you, curious to know.

“Sure, I have the perfect idea!” you tell Ohu with a smile. “Find someone I know who can fix it up and together we can figure out what it’s really for! It does seem pretty mysterious and I think finding the answer to that mystery would be much more exciting! Who knows what might happen?”

As Ohu thinks it over, it realizes this is not going down the way it thought it would. It looks over the broken key mechanism, and decides this is going to be a very hard sell, and even in the end, it may not be satisfied with the results and the time and effort that it has already invested into it to no fruition and that continuing to pursue it in this way would only lead to further loss. In another way, Ohu seems to understand your mission as well, and it seems like the whole intention of discovering its true purpose and restoring it to achieve that is a worthwhile intention to pursue.

#45 Ohu the Dhelmise has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/XY8MKgyr/Ohu-Normal.png “I believe you are wise to take on such an endeavor, but it is not something I can do,” Ohu tells you admirably, offering the mechanism to you instead. “I have tried multiple times to sell this salvage as you have discerned, but I now see that I must part with it and seek new opportunities. Instead, I want to leave it with you. As for me, I will continue my work, seeing what other relics and artifacts might be out there for me and the rest of my team to discover, wherever that may take us.”

has been added to the Team Inventory.

“Wish me luck!” you tell Ohu as you carefully take the pieces of the broken mechanism, assuring the Dhelmise you’ll do your best to figure out the meaning behind this enigmatic relic.

https://i.postimg.cc/XY8MKgyr/Ohu-Normal.png “In the meantime, I am hoping we will not be here much longer,” Ohu tells you, looking off into the distance. “Llanas does not like being told what to do, and she may even see Malco’s death as a blessing in disguise and as a justifiable rationale to plan our escape. However, there is still the remainder of the coast guard that may take legal action against us if she attempts to have the ship leave port without clearance. The alternative of compliance only to be targeted by the Stalkers is a danger in itself. There is no good choice in the matter and I imagine Llanas will be forced to make a decision as the ship’s captain or take a vote on it. My vote, as you likely have already guessed, would be to leave as soon as possible regardless of the law. Things are much too dangerous here and our lives are at stake.”

“I must go, but before I do, there is something I have observed,” Ohu tells you, keeping his tone of voice down. “The coast guard seems disjointed from the local law enforcement. I have been to other towns and this is not usually the case. Normally these kinds of organizations work together in cases that are far less severe than what is going on in Seabourne right now. I think something is undermining them from within and it seems to be intentional. Malco’s death… this can’t be a coincidence, but I fear its not the end of dark events that may soon be coming for us all.”

The Dhelmise leaves you thinking it over, and in turn, leaves you with the wisdom that it would be best to keep a watch out for patterns as to what happens next…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

07-23-2022, 03:32 PM

Well recent events it only seems fitting to go search (39) XSHO Freighter 413 for clues

When the morning arrives, you join ChiChi and head toward the XSHO Freighter, but while she talks to Ohu, you decide to investigate the freighter itself.

When you see the large steel freighter ship for yourself from the outside, it seems to have been in service for at least a few years and while there is some wear and a few small rust spots, its still in generally good condition and likely has at least ten more years of life to it.

You explore the upper deck and while there are plenty of metal shipping containers of varying shapes, sizes, and conditions, you still don’t find anything that raises any alarms at first. But the deeper you go into what some of these containers are holding, you find signs of smuggling contraband items in containers that are not so obvious and it has you going on full stealth once you realize what you might have come across. Packages of illegal drugs, weapons, and the like are definitely kept in some of the more secretive locations that would evade scrutiny from any kind of surveyor. You also think some of these items may be stolen or counterfeit and weren’t part of the ship’s original manifest. But while these may be crimes, they’re not related to the Stalkers themselves. None of their dark signatures seem to be here.

When you explore the lower deck, you find more of the same and it has you wondering what really became of that Morgrem. Was that really an accident, or did they, like you, find something they shouldn’t have and someone needed to keep them quiet for good? You can see why Malco opened up this investigation based on this suspicion, but with him dead now and the issue with the Stalkers becoming a more severe priority to the town’s local law enforcement, you shudder to think no one may ever get to the bottom of this and discover the real truth, even if this potential murder may be unrelated to the Stalkers themselves…

As you navigate your way along the cold, metallic floors of the dimly-lit ship, you then arrive at the freight lockers, and it’s here where you suddenly feel a Stalker’s presence. One of the lockers that looks like it hadn’t been used in a while has suddenly been tampered with relatively recently and to any crew member, they never would notice this and feel the Stalker presence. You inspect it closer, using a nearby metal stool to boost your hedgehog like body up to take a detailed look. From what you can see, it seems like this locker was unused for a while, and then someone stowed away something in here, locked it, and then even destroyed the lock itself so the door could not be opened through conventional means. Essentially it was a different take on “locking it and throwing away the key.”

The lock seems too damaged to try and pick as you imagine the tumbler mechanism has been severely crushed and not even your best picks and tools could work around the damage. Meanwhile, it looks like the whole mechanism would need to be gutted out and replaced as it seems to be well beyond repair.

But as you consider this, it does give you an idea and maybe that’s exactly what you need to do. Given the firm steel doors of these lockers, you think a precision fire-based tool like a blowtorch that can specifically target this lock itself might just be exactly what you need.

{Broken Freight Locker: Fire Source} has been noted in the Team Records.

As tempting as it would be to simply grab a fire Pokémon to do the job, you fear any kind of flamethrower attack or such might be too much and anything inside could potentially be damaged. This would need to be done precisely and carefully with an almost surgical-like precision. And while you try to look around for a blowtorch nearby that might do the job, you don’t find anything that could that. The closest thing you find is an old lighter that would never get the job done before it burnt out.

You make a note of it, detailing the damage and what components of the lock would need to be targeted to dismantle it and get the door open. With that written down, you decide to be on the lookout for some kind of precision fire-based tool that might be able to handle this lock. But in the meantime, it does get you wondering what’s inside and what one of these Stalkers didn’t want you to find…

You don’t find anything else of note on the ship itself, so you decide to head back to Benni’s, joining up with ChiChi as you both prepare for tonight.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/492.png Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

07-23-2022, 03:39 PM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 5: Night Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/lpm0tCS.gif
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(Wednesday, July 27, 2022 12:00:00 PM)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

DayBreak

07-24-2022, 04:09 AM

C0L0R3D

07-24-2022, 02:24 PM

Chakramaster

07-24-2022, 04:12 PM

Neo Emolga

07-24-2022, 07:36 PM

https://i.imgur.com/qUMUsU2.png
"Y'know, I may as well take a crack at this. Gonna be heading off to (5) Jade Acres Park. Besides, I'm not exactly too keen on putting myself out there tonight, considering I just had my soul twisted into a pretzel, and even then I just barely died on account of my weakness to the Psychic Scream."

https://i.imgur.com/XCJnLQp.png
"Once I start doing interviews and looking around again, I'll grab the necklace from our storage. But for now, I've got something I need to do. Sides, I'm assuming more Tatsujin will allow us to move around these rituals faster, even if I don't understand a lick of any of it. Plus, it'll give us insurance in case Scy and ChiChi are struck down, since I can imagine the Stalkers aren't too pleased with us now that they know of our existence." ... Lyric you're completely missing the fact that you'll be painting yet another target on your back. Not to mention, it's partially your fault.

[Dial-up modem sounds]

https://i.imgur.com/1GNvPUi.png
".... Wait, when in the name of Xerneas did Scy become a freaking Tatsujin?!"

(If I don't respond on the Day 6 Morning cycle, just assume Lyric's taking another trip to Jade Acres Park. Internet's been on the fritz lately and I have no idea when it'll cut out.)

As the night arrives, you feel a kind of uncanny nostalgia enter you as you return to the Brionne form you once had many years ago in a previous lifetime. It only feels odd for a minute or two, but eventually it all comes back to you with ease as if you were simply putting on an old set of clothing you haven’t worn for a very long time.

With the moon in the dark skies overhead, you make you way along the dark and dusty roads toward Jade Acres Park, intent on investigating the dream well that exists there, hoping to inherit some of its Kurosuōbā and be more connected to Yume. This mystery is slowly starting to reveal its true nature, but you feel as though there’s a universe so far beyond into it that you could spend trillions of years inside of that realm and still not discover everything. As an even more profound thought… it may be impossible as the realm is ever-growing… ever-changing forever, deep into the infinite expanse. Anyone with a love for wanderlust and exploration would be ensnared by it and might never realize that in the time they were gone, eternity passed on by in the world of the living as though it was nothing more than a simple evening sleep before the dawn of a new day.

As you enter the forest, you feel that sense of reassurance and peace, as though you have stepped into a placid haven away from the sins and crimes of the world gone mad that lies just outside. The breeze blows through the trees, causing a gentle rustling in the branches and leaves that sounds like the whispers of secrets. It almost makes you wonder if the Funsui well is having an effect on this small forest, as though Yume is slowly spreading into this mysterious place.

When you arrive at the Funsui well, you see the small clearing, hidden among the trees like it is its greatest secret and could easily be the material of myth and legend. The well with this crystalline basin and purple-colored ornamental roof stands before you, almost inviting you to approach like it’s an old friend you have become reunited with. You draw closer, climbing the wall of the well with your flippers before boosting yourself up and leaning over to peering into its mysterious cyan-colored waters.

The memories… they come to you in the form of visions. The moment you were born, the places you traveled to, the things you felt, and it seems to know your secret… that you’ve lived several Pokémon lives upon different worlds throughout the universe and throughout the duration of time. All the emotions you felt all these times… it makes you feel so alive to suddenly feel the happiness, sadness, fear, anxiety, and aspiration of all these lives in such a short amount of time… all to realize these bodies you’ve inhabited are simply vehicles for your spirit, like a pilot in a plane or a driver in a car…

Lyric has inherited 5 points of Kurosuōbā…

Do you remember visiting Yume, Lyric…?

You have the feeling like you’ve known all this time, but just didn’t have the words to explain it. Whenever you decided to lay your head down and sleep. The places you saw, the dreams you experienced… these were the places your soul had seen while your body lay dormant, waiting for its pilot to return. Without that living spirit, you already know what happens. The body simply decays and fades to dust while the spirit lives on.

Yume is to inspire all of creation, to see what the subconsciousness of your mind can create given unlimited and unfathomable power to forge, craft, and design… and to take that inspiration into the world of the living. Just because we are sleeping does not mean we are not creating… exploring… experiencing… believing… in anything and everything that can possibly be…

“…Imagination…” you mutter.

A force far, far more powerful than knowledge. Where knowledge is simply comprehending and leveraging what exists, imagination is the pathway and soul of discovery… to what could exist and what will exist in a far more infinite potential. It is as though the universe suddenly makes sense to you, a profound and vivid realization that only very few recognize. It’s all about creation… infinite… endless creation… what was started at the beginning of time… and what will continue forever…

For the longest time, you thought dreams were simply miniature mysterious adventures during your sleeping hours that seemed to serve little to no practical purpose… not until the mystery was understood and recognized. And to those that achieved lucidity… the power they hold within Yume can make them gods of the realm, perfecting the power and craft that their soul and spirit desires. Just because we are sleeping doesn’t mean we aren’t creating, and you then realize that all the places you saw in your dreams and the people you saw in them… they’re all there in Yume…

…you created them…

You break your gaze away from the waters of the well, realizing it is getting late, although you feel like you’ve traveled for millennia across infinite expanses in only these last few hours. You feel as though your mind has been opened further, recognizing the connection of Yume to this realm and all that live within it.

As you head back to Benni’s farm, you realize there is still a journey to undergo, but you’ve taken those first steps of what is clearly a never-ending journey, but more of a goal of at least preparing for that eternal realm. Even beyond the universe of infinite creation, there is another in a mirror universe, one only seen by the dreaming souls of the world, a place that not even the Demoni can find… a sanctuary of creation known as Yume…

You almost chuckle at the thought of it… the Demoni… so ignorant and oblivious to what Yume is and the power the living can yield from its infinite possibilities…

…truly they have no idea what is coming for them…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/729.png Lyric Winterheart the Brionne (M: Water)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Scytherwolf

07-25-2022, 05:12 AM

I'll take a look over at (19) Overlook Apartments.

Neo Emolga

07-27-2022, 02:05 AM

Heck yeah, back into adventure! So then, I think I’m willing to wander into the night and look into one very peculiar thing - unhatched bird eggs! No, I’m not making any omelettes. That’s a low blow, even for me.

[Investigate the Blackstone Mansion! You know, the one with the Swellow-Swanna blood pact.]

As the night arrives, you head east toward the Blackstone Mansion, home of Basol and Kurita, a Swanna and Swllow that couldn’t bear children and were later found dead in what appeared to be a suicide pact. As you have only the basics of the story that went on here, you decide to see if there’s anything missing and while you feel the situation surrounding Basol and Kurita might not be directly related to the Stalkers, it still seems unusual. You’re not ruling out the possibility of the house having its own dark secrets that not even the avian couple knew about.

As you leave Benni’s farmstead and walk across the long, dusty expanse between the farm and the mansion, the ground feels oddly dusty and cold underneath your Snivy feet. All the while, the light from the moon is only minimal, and this area of town is eerily quiet.

When you arrive at the mansion, you feel an odd, dark familiar feeling of this feeling very much like a traditional haunted house. No lights are on, and you can see the weathering of the wooden walls, molding, and the paint peeling off in unsettling chips.

You search around the exterior, getting a better idea of the wear and tear that this has suffered through over the years of being abandoned for so long. The whole time, you think if there’s a possible curse going on here, as not even the grass and weeds seem to grow all that well around here. Anything that tried has dried out and died. The stone path through the gardens has begun to fade away under the dust and dirt, the old fountain by the back looks like it hasn’t had water in it for over a decade, and the hedges had overgrown out of control before they died, leaving dead and misshapen masses of overgrowth. In the dark, they make intimidating shapes, almost looking like ghouls and abomination monsters.

You don’t find anything of significance out here, so you decide to check the interior. You start with the front door that looks like the lock simply rusted and crumbled over time. You reach out with your green hand and you open the door, hearing the old wood and rusty hinges creak. You then step inside into the foyer, which doesn’t seem overly huge, but it leads to many other rooms of the house, including a living room to the right, a dining room to the left, and then the kitchen toward the back while the upstairs leads to the bedrooms.

However, everything is dusting and dingy. Moonlight comes through the windows and it allows you to see at least somewhat in the dark, and what is allows you to see are the decaying memories of years past. Dust covering over furniture, chairs that have been empty for ages, lights and candles that haven’t seen illumination for years. It makes you wonder what it all must have looked like when it was all new with a newlywed couple ready to start a family…

…but never could.

And yet they planned. You find what must be one of the most heart-wrenching sights to behold when you climb the stairs to the bedroom floor.

A baby’s nursery… a lonely and empty crib caked with dust and baby toys that never felt the loving embrace of a young child’s attention and curiosity. And the walls playfully and once colorfully painted in a myriad of cute themes like a grassy flower field and dreamy clouds. Now the colors have faded, and the paint is chipping off of the walls like a dream that’s crumbling apart.

Meanwhile, the rest of the floor is cold and dark as well. The master bedroom and bathroom lie vacant, with Basol and Kurita’s belongings all still there, waiting but forgotten. And yet, even after all this time, you can’t understand why.

But it isn’t until you attempt to make your way into the basement cellar that you discover something… horrific. Upon the now bloodstained cellar door, you find a massacred Pidgeot with her wings ripped off and her mummified body gutted and merged into a grotesque lock mechanism. Upon the neck of this poor creature, there are three holes marked with a demonic symbol. You look at them closer, and suddenly they twitch, jitter, and almost spring to life, screaming into your mind…

…Broken…

…Crippled…

…Traumatized…

Some of these feelings felt familiar.

This Pidgeot… she used to be free, she used to be happy. And it was as if… something or someone just absolutely loathed that beyond anything else.

EXONULL…

{Corpse of the Free: Hole of the Broken AND Home of the Crippled AND Hole of the Traumatized} has been noted in the Team Records.

“The fangs…” you mutter, feeling that familiar dark sensation.

The holes seem like just the right size for the fangs that were found earlier and are back in storage at Benni’s farmstead. In fact the only one that’s missing is the one that resembles the broken.

Still, while you don’t have all three fangs at the moment, you’ve got no choice but to turn back and come back later once you have them. But as you look up one more time at the Pidgeot, you still have the feeling that whoever Exonull is had an absolute hatred for this poor bird.

As you leave the mansion behind and head back to the farmstead, you can only wonder what lies beyond that locked door. All signs seem to suggest it leads to an even bigger hatred, and for the first time, you almost feel thankful and fortunate not to have wings…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Lychee

07-29-2022, 05:00 AM

"I think it's high time we talk to the leaders of this town... And I'm pretty sure that's Mortek or Taiyou, but I'm not entirely sure!"

Interview Tayou the Salamence with Diplomacy

Neo Emolga

07-30-2022, 05:29 PM

https://i.postimg.cc/YCnRjhmM/Jirachi-Smile.png It may not be the best time to go investigating here, but at least there shouldn't be many people here at this hour either.

I'll search (15) City Hall. Just to see if anything jumps out.

https://i.postimg.cc/y8YnVFxL/Jirachi-Sigh.png Then I'l head back for some good sleep.

After the night falls, you finish eating your vegetable pot pie dinner and head out, drifting south as you float through the air to head toward Seabourne City Hall. The moonlight faintly lights the way and it’s just enough to make out most of the things in the dark, though anything that’s in the shadows needs a closer look.

When you arrive, you behold the large, old building that has been a major part of Seabourne since its very beginning, although now, especially in the dark, it almost seems imposing with its tall columns, gray stone walls, and molding ornamentation that casts strange and eerie shadow shapes upon the ground and along the walls. It almost seems spidery and enigmatic in nature in a way that the original founders never intended. But part of you wonders if this kind of imposing visage took hold only recently…

You search the outside grounds and exterior and though the bushes and the surrounding property are in good shape, something still seems off about it all. You have the feeling perhaps it might make more sense in the daylight, but for now, at night, it leaves you with an uneasy feeling, like suddenly detecting a cancer before it has any kind of profound visible appearance before the naked eye.

When you arrive at the back of the building, you see a nicely-carved stone and metal mural that looks to have been carved and crafted several decades ago by a skilled artisan Pokémon. It depicts a scene of community, time, and belonging, with a vivid depiction of the town’s founding history and the Pokémon that were a part of its past, currently part of its present, and the ones that will be part of its future, bearing in mind the old and fully-evolved Pokémon, the young Pokémon in their basic and baby forms, the middle-aged, and many other demographics of all Pokémon types and natures coming together in harmony, all crafted in stone with the Pokémon demographics depicted on metallic medallions roughly the size of a small dinner plate.

It all seems normal and like an impressive work of art on its own until you discover it has been tampered with. Where you find the inscription “the young, the youth inherit the future,” the medallion has been removed. Upon closer inspection, it looks like it was pried out with force. The edges of the stone are chipped.

As you get closer, you can sense Stalker presence as well. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a strange, oily ichor-like substance where the medallion used to be.

{Mural of Time: Indentation of Youth} has been noted in the Team Records.

You’re not sure why the Stalker responsible for this vandalism even did this in the first place, but you concur that somewhere this missing medallion was stashed away and likely might be used for some darker purpose. But you can’t fully understand why they selected this kind of object. You’re wondering if the Stalker is trying to send a dark message, perhaps to incite fear. Or perhaps they’re hiding something like they usually do. You also don’t dismiss the fact this could be a work in progress and they might return in time, but for now, you wonder if putting the medallion back might reveal something, once you find it.

Upon investigating the inside, you find this is where both Mortek and Tayou work. The interior is well-kempt and quite clean, although tonight there is no one around as the building is closed and will resume operations tomorrow morning. There is a lot of fine furniture here, but the plain white walls seem unusually bare and lack décor that might make the place feel a bit more inviting. From what you can tell by reading a few of the documents regarding town policy, Mortek seems distrustful of most of the Pokémon in this town, and Tayou, who is supposed to be the law enforcement overseer of Seabourne, seems to be missing in action when the current time is dire and has left Dantus and Yanza to deal with most of the fallout of this situation on their own. Had it not been for you and the other Savants, you have a feeling the chances of this town surviving with these two at the helm are between nil and slim…

As it starts to get late, you decide to head back and return to Benni’s farmstead to get some sleep. But after tonight’s investigation, you have a feeling you are now understanding exactly how these Stalkers were able to infiltrate into this town and dig their evil roots into it…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

07-30-2022, 05:36 PM

I'll take a look over at (19) Overlook Apartments.

Hey, Noble searched this spot already. Did you want to choose another action?

Scytherwolf

07-31-2022, 05:13 AM

Hey, Noble searched this spot already. Did you want to choose another action?

Damnit I thought I had checked thoroughly! Okay, how about (53) ThE PiT (ABANDONED)?

Scytherwolf

07-31-2022, 05:14 AM

Hey, Noble searched this spot already. Did you want to choose another action?

Damnit I thought I had checked thoroughly! Okay, how about (53) ThE PiT (ABANDONED)?

sammy0295

07-31-2022, 03:39 PM

Search (51) The Sunshine Farm (ABANDONED).

Neo Emolga

08-07-2022, 06:45 PM

"I think it's high time we talk to the leaders of this town... And I'm pretty sure that's Mortek or Taiyou, but I'm not entirely sure!"

Interview Tayou the Salamence with Diplomacy

As the moon rises above on the dark skies, you head outside, intent on getting some answers from Taiyou the Salamence. As she is the main law enforcement overseer, you feel she hasn’t been nearly as active in this investigation as she should be, seeming as though she’s only trying to save face.

You find her heading away to Mortek’s Home, looking like she’s off to spend the dark evening hours at something that clearly doesn’t look like it has much to do with bringing the Stalkers down. However, you can already see from her composure that seems carefree, unconcerned, and apathetic to the plights of others around her. Meanwhile, she also has an aura of toughness to her, letting others know that she doesn’t need to care because she can handle her own and that’s the only one she really cares about.

You approach her, taking a deep breath and knowing just how to respond to this kind of body language. If she’s going to act tough, you’re going to need to act tough as well to get on her level.

“Hey, Tayou!” you call out to her. “Get over here for a minute!”

You know this is going to have some impact on Tayou. Here you are, a stranger, ordering her around without a trace of politeness. Now, you already know she doesn’t care for formalities just from how she composes herself, but the telling her what to do definitely gets her attention.

She stomps toward you, looks at you with a rather confident smile, in an almost challenging way. It’s very rare that other Pokémon have the balls to stand up to her and get her to listen, but you’ve done exactly that.

https://i.postimg.cc/3wNprRYN/Tayou-Normal.png “Funny, I don’t remember seeing your face around here lately,” she tells you as she wonders what your business is. “First off, no one tells me what to do, because I’m not going to listen.”

And then you narrow your eyes and smile. Darkly.

“But you just did,” you flash a confident smirk.

She’s almost taken back a bit, not having faced someone with this kind of gall for quite a while. And yet before she can counter with something witty, you keep your pace.

“I’m not here to play games,” you tell her, getting right to the point. “This town, your town, is rapidly going to hell. I’m not sure if you’ve looked at your graveyards in the past month or so, but your dead sure aren’t getting lonely. Does the idea of ‘Stalkers’ ring a bell?”

https://i.postimg.cc/3wNprRYN/Tayou-Normal.png “Go talk to Dantus and Yanza if you have questions for the local law enforcement,” she tells you, blowing you off. “I just don’t have time for this.”

“How about time for a battle?” you ask, smirking. “Come on, just a friendly sparring match. You seem tough, why not? You’re not afraid, are you?”

You know all too well that your fairy-typing would make short work of her, and Tayou seems to be aware of this too, hence why she doesn’t jump on the idea right away and seems to struggle with her thoughts and conjuring up a response. You take advantage of this and confront her with no fear, no hesitation, and she doesn’t like that. Not one bit. If gives you the insight that she really only likes challenging those she knows she has a good chance of beating down, and you definitely don’t fit that criteria.

“What if I was a Stalker?” you ask her, flashing a dark smirk. “But ah, of course it wouldn’t be a battle, then! In fact, you want to know a funny thing about Stalkers?”

You then get up close to her and speak closely into her ear, using your deepest and darkest tone of voice.

“THEY DON’T ASK BEFORE THEY KILL.”

#2 Tayou the Salamence has become Compliant.

With a deep breath of anxiety, Tayou folds and takes a step back. To simply deny this being a problem would be hypocritical of her, and she has a special kind of hatred for Pokémon that are like that.

https://i.postimg.cc/Wbm0XC5N/Tayou-Frustrated.png “Fine, fine, just tell me what the hell you want,” Tayou tells you, looking like she wants this conversation to be over.

“You know something about these Stalkers,” you tell her. “You have to. I want to know what you know so someone like myself can deal with them. Harshly.”

She tries to collect her thoughts, and she lets you in on some information, but most of it are things you already know or the rest of the team discovered. It takes her by surprise to realize you’re deadly serious about bringing them down and you have the knowledge that already proves that. But then she lets you in on something that wasn’t known before. Something even you weren’t expecting.

https://i.postimg.cc/Wbm0XC5N/Tayou-Frustrated.png “You need to keep this a secret… at all costs,” Tayou tells you, keeping her tone down. “At least two Pokémon, Ovald the Mudsdale and Ankha the Stantler, both died trying to investigate this further, and I don’t want to send in yet another Pokémon to die like they did.”

“Betta, that little Zigzagoon that’s Terron’s daughter… is a Stalker,” she tells you in a cold tone of voice. “I’m dead-serious. The only reason she can’t be prosecuted by a Seabourne criminal court is because she’s a minor and whatever god-forsaken thing that has possessed her has done a damn good job covering her tracks. Enough that Ovald and Ankha, who I sent to perform reconnaissance on her after she was seen hanging around the goddam PIT of all places, ended up dead. And I don’t believe in coincidences. But she can’t be prosecuted on coincidences, witness testimony, and hunches alone. We don’t have the hard evidence and unless we want to bloody jeopardize the entire judicial system here by making an exception, we have to watch and wait and catch her in the act. And that sure as hell hasn’t been working lately.”

“As for The Pit, the ungodly door she put there…” she continues before correcting herself, “…no, her ungodly demon, put there, is nothing a young girl of her nature would ever concoct. And yet somehow she gets around it like there’s nothing to it. Ovald told me he saw this with his own eyes before he took the next step looking into it further and got himself killed for it, and the only reason why I told Dantus and Yanza to stay away from there is because I don’t want them both dead like Ovald and Ankha. If you’re wondering why it seems like we’re doing nothing, that’s why. And yet that’s all we damn have even though that’s probably where all the evidence is. We have the warrant already issued but the place is a goddam deathtrap. In trying to pursue other strategies and options, we still haven’t been able to catch her in the act with evidence that can be validated. Trust me, if you can come up with something to put an end to this hell, I’m all for it, but it’s driven me nearly stir-crazy.”

“If you’re serious about going to The Pit and breaking your way in there, you sure as hell better be prepared,” Tayou warns you carefully. “Trust me, consider yourself already pardoned for any trespassing you need to do, and that goes for all these Stalker bastards. But at this point, I don’t even think a holding cell is going to be able to contain whatever abomination is living in that girl’s head…”

“Look, that’s all I can offer for now, but again, don’t tell anyone about this,” she tells you as she prepares to leave. “If she finds out we’re this close to exposing her, there’s no telling what she’s going to do, but I have a feeling it ends up with all of us dead. Yes, DEAD, just like you said.”

She then leaves, but you have the feel that judging from her tone of voice, her body language, and everything she told you and want it took for her to disclose that information…

…you’re convinced she’s telling the truth…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

08-07-2022, 07:42 PM

Damnit I thought I had checked thoroughly! Okay, how about (53) ThE PiT (ABANDONED)?

As the sun disappears beyond the horizon and the moon soon hangs above in the sky, you head down to the far southwestern area of town, another grim area where some of the most unsetting things have been found. It’s a long walk through this deadly silent night, but you feel brave enough to make the trip to see what exactly is lurking around here.

After coming along the deadened and forgotten road, you find the unsettling two-family apartment building, the place where six Pokémon were murdered. Even from a distance, you can see this once homey building now looks like something out of a freakish nightmare. The building is falling apart, the windows are all boarded up, and the paint on the walls is peeling off like a cancerous decay. Meanwhile, the shadows seemingly molest it with hellish and unsettling shapes that look like melting eyes and howling faces.

Murdered. Six of them. With their hearts ripped out, never to be found. It makes you wonder if they were burned, buried, or as you shudder just thinking about it… eaten. But it was so long ago and you have a feeling no one will ever find out what really happened to them.

You start by searching the exterior grounds… overgrown weed fields that reveal nothing, but as you soon discover, hide nothing as well. There is a very, very faint Stalker presence here, but it doesn’t come from these weeds, and you find nothing among the shrubs and grassy patches that seems to be the source. But as you search around the exterior of the house, it seems the house itself… or something deep inside… is what is giving off this repulsive aura.

Unfortunately, you don’t find any way inside. The cellar in the back seems to be abandoned, and though you can enter it and go underground, it doesn’t connect with the rest of the house upstairs. And down here, you find only junk. Old rusty tools, broken and damaged building materials, paint that has gone dry years ago, broken glass, damaged wooden parcels, and other similar items simply have you turning up with nothing important. But you’re convinced not even the small cellar was used for any murders. Still, you get the uncanny feeling that some of the shadows down there play tricks on your eyes. In the dark, an array of tools on a pegboard looks like the gaunt, decaying face of a Gothorita. In the corner, a haphazard pile of broken materials looks like the broken and butchered body of a Lurantis, looking up at you with a dying gaze…

It makes you wonder if it was intentionally arranged this way… that someone with morbid artistic ability knew how to conjure these depictions and mind tricks using broken materials and lighting ploys to make these grizzly depictions seem authentic to most perceptions. And yet you see them constantly around you, giving you that unnerving feeling… that you’re being watched… that the shadows are more than what they seem to be…

You find yourself not able to tolerate it for that much longer and you make a bit of a sprint out of the cellar. You shut the rusting cellar doors behind you, once again plunging everything down there into pitch blackness once again…

You get arrive at the front door, and you see this is where things get strange. By the damaged front door, you see the words “ThE PiT” in blood-colored lettering. The door itself has been shackled with jet-black chains and large padlocks. Two metal stakes are here… one is slathered in blood and the other is soaked with a gross, black ichor. By the base of stakes, you can just faintly make out the words “blood sister” by the bloody stake while the words “shadow brother” are by the greasy black one.

You’ve seen something like this before. It all makes sense until…

@Grim Vision or Torment – DARK (3 Sanity Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 83 out of 100: Failed!

…it almost feels like a disorienting vertigo. A dark nightmare suddenly takes up your eyes and you lose sight of the house, but the vision itself is broken and damaged. The blessed diamond necklace around you suddenly triggers, absorbing most of the hideous vision that attempted to burrow into your mind. But all you have now are fragments, corrupted by dream static, as if what your mind tried to play was a badly ruined video and only bits of it still remained.

All you’re left with are out of context depictions of decay. Death and the passage of time seem to be a theme among the flickering visions among the broken, shadowy static. The vision is so corrupted and ripped apart that it makes very little sense to you, but it leaves you with the sense that you didn’t miss any important details. Instead, it makes you feel slightly uneasy, but thankfully the damage is only nominal.

Scy has suffered 1 Damage to Sanity and 1 Damage to Purity (2 Sanity Damage and 2 Purity Damage absorbed by the +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P))

And then it just ends, making you feel no worse than if it was just a taunt or an offensive comment. And you look up at the stakes again, confirming what you were thinking before.

@{The Shackle Door of the Beheaded: Missing Head of the Blood Sister AND Missing Head of the Shadow Brother} Grim Vision of Torment - DARK (3 Sanity Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

And just below them, you find a note… a note written about the blind… written in blood…

https://i.imgur.com/TVEK2cJ.png

=The Blind Note= (https://i.imgur.com/TVEK2cJ.png) has been noted in the Team Records.

The heads… the heads of Latios and Latias. It suddenly makes sense now, and this is where they were intended to be placed. The missing eyes… the blood… the ichor… the vision that seemed to blind you for just a brief moment there…

As you sense it, there’s no getting beyond this shackled door until you find out what must be done to undo this, but you already have a feeling you know. You know you’ll need to go back to get them, but it will have to wait for now.

But as you take a few steps back and behold what lies before you… it makes you wonder just what horrors wait for you beyond these doors…

You then head back to Benni’s farmstead, still processing what could be there and what it all means with the damaged vision you just beheld. Beyond those doors may be horrors… but there are also answers…

https://i.postimg.cc/cCTptNBb/ScyKusho.png Scy the Tatsujin Heracross (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 14/20 | Purity: 19/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

08-10-2022, 01:04 AM

Search (51) The Sunshine Farm (ABANDONED).

As the night looms overhead, you head out and make your way west toward the Sunshine Farm. It’s a short trot for you as you make your way from the Beachwood Farmstead to the vacant side of Seabourne. As you cross the fields, you begin to see the darkened, forgotten remnants of what used to be fields of vegetation, flora, and life… now decaying as former husks of themselves.

As you come before the abandoned Sunshine Farm, you now see what used to be Benni’s western neighbor now lies as a broken, vacant derelict. What became of Kayto the Delcatty after being financially destroyed is all but a mystery, but now the Sunshine Farm barely stands as a crippled reminder of how cruel the world can really be. All of Kayto’s dreams, passions, and desires… the eviscerated remains are before you. Rusting empty silos, once bustling with produce and passion, now hollow metallic husks that have lost their soul. And Kayto’s homestead… where the heart once was. Once, it was Kayto’s dream house. And then the dream ended, was gutted, and then stripped from the dreamer… only to become this sad, hollow nightmare… where the dream went to die.

Outside, the house itself looks sad, the way a pet misses their owner that never came home one day. Splintering wood, peeling paint… the vacant porch chairs that haven’t seen their owner for years when in times past, Kayto spent many a sunny afternoon here with friends and family. As the chilling night wind breezes around you, you can almost imagine glimpses of the memories that time and reality swept by…

…and now there is emptiness.

You search the outside yards first, not sure if any of the Stalkers have been using this place for their nefarious deeds, but you feel this place is well out of sight and scrutiny. Any one of them may have seen this melancholy place as an opportunity rather than a place to lament. But what you find are empty dead fields, dead flowers that were choked, strangled, and then overtaken by weeds before everything died from a lack of sustenance. You can almost feel their pain as the grass type that you are, but already what little life they once had has been long gone. What your hooves fall upon are the shattered remains of it all.

The area around the house is no better. In another time, Kayto would have seen you, welcomed you inside for a chat, or even make refreshing lemonade for you both to enjoy on her porch. You’re exactly the kind of Pokémon and friend she would have loved to meet, and you would be welcome any time you wanted to drop by. You both would have watched the sunset from her porch, smiling and enjoying the summer days with cool drinks and memorable company and comradery.

…But you came too late. And now everything is gone.

Instead, you head inside, using your nose to nudge your way past the old, lowly wooden door as you enter the foyer of the house. And you almost can’t help but wince when you gaze upon the inside. All of Kayto’s belongings are still here, caked with dust, dirt, and they’re falling apart. You can instantly see she loved art, loved bubbly creativity and color. And she would have been horrified to see all of her possessions now… faded, broken, fallen. The dusty shelves, the discolored and ruined paintings, broken knick-knacks that once gave the room life, love, and color. And Kayto had stories to tell about all of them… where she bought them or who gave them as a gift, how they cheer her up even on a rainy day. She could have talked for hours about any one of them. And now they sit in silence…. waiting.

But she’s never coming home.

Kayto’s kitchen and dining room tell a similar tale. You can easily see she loved to cook. You find a vast array of cookware and kitchen tools, and you find almost a miniature library of cookbooks. You imagine them as they once were, not as the rusting pots and pans or moldy books they are now, but as they used to be, pristine and new with Kayto happily wanting to use them and get creative. The broken tiles, the collapsed table, the fading walls… for a moment, you imagine them before the collapse, and the vision almost plays out before your eyes as your imagination goes back in time… a happier time.

It seemed as though she had company often, friends and happy gatherings with warm company, delicious food, and a place for everyone at her impressive dining room table. For a moment, you can almost imagine it, the splintering table restored, the dusty candleholders now shining brightly with warm, inviting candlelight. There would have been a place for you here, a seat at the table just for you to join Kayto and her friends, friends that would become your own. Lively stories, laughter, and good food for everyone to love and share as Kayto was more than proud and generous to share it with you and all the others…

…But you came too late. And now everything is gone.

You search the upstairs, where Kayto’s bathroom and bedroom are. As you can tell, Kayto wasn’t intent on fancy arrangements. All she wanted was a nice, happy, and cozy home. And she had it here. An inviting bathroom to wash up and a cozy bedroom filled with the things she loved most. At the heart and center of the room was a cozy cloth pink plush mat that was easy to fall asleep with and have pleasant dreams on. Now, dust and dirt covers everything, the colors on the paintings and the walls have faded. The once cheerfully-painted ceiling made to look like a cloudy sky has gone gray with water damage blotches everywhere… as if the illusion of a peaceful and dreamy cloudy day looks like one where a thunderstorm is about to break out.

You head back downstairs. At first, you believe it was spared. That it was left alone, undefiled.

But then you found the horrible truth. Upon getting to the bottom floor, you find the door that leads to the downstairs cellar where Kayto brewed wines, ciders, and all kinds of other fresh fruity beverages with her produce that she sold and generously shared with friends.

In the darkness of the cellar, you find a wooden hatch that goes further underground. A second sublevel that you weren’t expecting in a house like this.

And there was something else you weren’t expecting either…

@Insidious Siphon Spirit – GRASS (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ Trap 40% Evasion Test: 85 out of 100: Failed!

You overlook the dark, hungry, and ungodly vegetation that surrounds the hatch. The shadows concealed them, the dark corners of the room made the perfect cloak. And now that you’re here, they desire to f̣̭̽̄ē̤̳̫̳̹͕̄͒ͫͨͤe̯̫̝̲d̰̮͍̩̞͔ͦ̆̋̈́̉̐ͥͅ.

Sam has suffered 1 Damage to Purity (Halved, Resistant to Grass) (2 Sanity, 1 Purity Damage Absorbed by +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

But so much of their effort goes in vain. You tightly resist against their demonic, sapping vampirism, and even your ruby pendant suddenly glows with a protective red light that shields your soul and mind like a valiant, adamant guardian. The dark influence barely gets a lick of your conscience as you back away. It coils back to surround the hatch once more, disappointed at the lack of sustenance it was hoping to leech from your mind and soul, not expecting a Deerling like yourself to have such strong and protective defenses.

And then it comes to you. The presence of the Stalkers. One of them did find this place, having no sympathy for the dream that its previous owner tried to build. As you guessed… they saw an opportunity, and they definitely took it. This entire area of the cellar reeks with a repulsive Stalker stench…

And then you see the mantle in the shadows of the darkness, a mount of twisted roots and briar thorns. There is a missing piece here… and then suddenly it makes sense to you. Your eyes get used to the shadows and before you lies the Hall of the Impaler. The hall of thorns is shut for now, but you remember what’s missing. The wreath of thorns. The last missing piece in this dark chaos of thorns and briars.

@{Hall of the Impaler Hatch: Blood Wreath Offering} Insidious Siphon Spirit - GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

What lies ahead seems agonizing and dreadful, but even in this dark place, there may be hope and answers. Sometimes the deepest truths are in the darkest places. You have the feeling no one besides the Stalker responsible for this twisted, thorny madness has been here in a long time.

You turn around, not having the solution now, but you swear you’ll be back to get to the bottom of the dark secrets that lie here. What will defeat these Stalkers…

…persistence and determination. Those will be the keys to your victory.

As the moonlight begins to fade, you head back to Benni’s farmstead. There is still life and hope here, and you will do anything to keep it alive.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 23/24 | 2/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

08-10-2022, 02:09 AM

#2 Tayou the Salamence has been murdered by the Stalkers.

“…but I have a feeling it ends up with all of us dead. Yes, DEAD, just like you said…”

As she walked away from ChiChi, she didn’t realize the error of her words. She didn’t realize what was lurking in the shadows… out of sight… waiting, watching… stalking…

It was an especially loathsome morning for Dantus and Yanza. Tayou was brutally murdered, her wings ripped off, and once again forced into the victim’s throat… Tayou’s throat, to die and suffocate on. To the once Bagon that yearned to fly… it was a hideous and cruel way to be killed. And this time, Exonull made it personal.

It was rare… rare for Dantus to let emotions course through him. He was calculating, hiding his fears, his anger, his frustration… cloaked behind a stoic face. But they were at the front door of his heart... banging, screaming to be let inside.

https://i.postimg.cc/FR5XfDwb/Yanza-Anger.png “Are you seeing this!?” Yanza nearly screamed. “This can’t be happening! That can’t be Tayou! NO WAY!”

Fear… anger… confusion and denial were racing through her head. And the voices came… voices telling her that she should have been there… if only she caught them in the act, stopped Exonull before they had the chance to kill Tayou, this might not have happened. And an endless array of what ifs plagued her mind.

…she wasn’t even sure if she could do this anymore as things seemed to become darker and hopeless.

https://i.postimg.cc/NFQhDLs5/Yanza-Frustrated.png “Dantus…” Yanza muttered, completely in disbelief, “What… what the hell do we do now?”

Dantus himself was unsure about what Seabourne’s future would be like now that Tayou was dead. Tayou… the mayor’s wife and the overseer of city code and law… now dead. What really could be done with things so dire now was beyond him, but he insisted on shutting down emotional impulse. Drastic times called for drastic measures.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “This makes me the new overseer,” Dantus told Yanza. “And as overseer, I want you to be Sheriff, now. Find whoever you can trust. Deputize them. This time we go on the offensive. We need to uproot their secrets at any cost. I don’t care if we need to bastardize the lawbooks, we do whatever the hell we need to do to keep this town alive.”

Yanza nodded as she looked back to Tayou’s body before covering it with a cloth. No one needed to see Tayou like that. As far as Yanza was concerned, it was their time to fight back. She would not let this go unpunished…

Doom Tracker:
6/15

Neo Emolga

08-10-2022, 02:13 AM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 6: Day Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3404790/day-6-day-cycle)

(Saturday, August 13, 2022 11:00:00 PM EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf[/MENTION [MENTION=5070]Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

C0L0R3D

08-11-2022, 01:02 AM

DayBreak

08-11-2022, 03:22 AM

Chakramaster

08-13-2022, 02:10 AM

Hmm, not really sure where I should search this time honestly. So I'm just going to search: (37) West Dock Marina

If anyone else thinks I should do something else. Let me know before time!

sammy0295

08-13-2022, 05:20 PM

Search (50) The Sunshine Farmstand (ABANDONED)

Neo Emolga

08-14-2022, 11:53 PM

....okay. A lot happened then, but we know where these heads go! I’ll go and take myself this bullet for you folk, see if Tayou’s whole talk about Betta will lead us somewhere. Hope it does, even though she’s... ya know.

{Take the Severed Eon Heads to ThE pIt. Let’s see what I can dig up!}

With the morning sun in the sky, you steel your stomach and heart against what you must face at THE PIT. You prepare your mind and spirit for whatever you might face there… whatever dark sights you must behold in these deathly silent places. Quietly, you eat the breakfast of fruit and berries that Benni has prepared for everyone, and once you finish, you take the severed stone statue heads of Latias and Latios with you and head to THE PIT.

With the head of Latias in your left hand and the head of Latios in your right, you make your way to the disheveled and defiled southwestern area of town, a place where few civilians are brave enough to go given the dark history of these bloody places. And it’s then when you come across the macabre two-family apartment building. A place where Pokémon once called home.

And then it became a place where six Pokémon were brutally murdered and it was never called home again. But despite these six victims and the fallen police officers that attempted to enter this place, you insist that you won’t be the next. Not today.

Even in the morning sun, the apartment building now only known as THE PIT still plays tricks on your eyes… on your reality… and tries to ravage and molest your mind with its hallucinations. You can almost make out faces in the peeling paint… howling, gawking mouths and maws in the holes and wincing eyes of pain with the cracks in the stone. And yet… all these faces have something in common.

They’re all in horrible… terrible… unbearable pain.

You come to the front door, the heads in your hands, the beheadings of the false gods. For a moment, you feel like the envoy of a dark message… the herald of the wicked lie. When you arrive at the front door with its hideous shackles and jet-black darker than death padlocks… you find ì͎t̯̦̜̫ͭ͊̒͑ ͍͍̞̙̱̯̺ha̘̙̼̣̹ͣ̒͒̊̈s̟̩̙̰̋̈̎̒ ͮ̒ͩ̈͊a͖̙͙̣̭ ͤͧm̩̝͔̠̞̦͆̄̄ͯͭ̒é͎͔̯͙̟͂͒ͮͦs̫͍̠̯̔ͨ̂̀ͣͅsạ̭̣̺̥͚g̏̌̄͋ ̬̬̭͖̝̉e̖̞͖̞̞͚͕̾́ͫ͋̆̏ͣ ͔͕ͯͨͤͅfo͉͍̽ͦr̬̝͎̤͉̈́ͬ͗ͧ̚ ̘̦̪͍̱̃ͣ͌̃ͮ̈ͅy͌ͭo͙̩͚͖̞̖̦͌̓̃̇̎̾̆ȗ͒̓̓ͣͬ̄.̖̞̠̈ͨ͒

@Grim Vision of Torment – DARK (3 Sanity Damage, 3 Purity Damage)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 100 out of 100: Failed!

The nightmare begins, and you suddenly see everything around you fall apart like an apocalypse that insisted on not being a second too late. The sudden passage of time is horrendous, speeding like a bullet train to an apocalyptic future… as if in a hellish rush to get to the inevitable heat death of the universe.

You see yourself collapse like dust in almost an instant while your skeleton appears to be screaming in agony, frozen in horror as your eyes have long sunken back into your skull and the carrion has long devoured your rotting, stinking remains.

Your head uncontrollably shakes, twitching, throbbing as your eyelids twitch and your brain burns. You try to fight it, insisting that it’s not real.

Colored has suffered 3 Sanity Damage and 3 Purity Damage.

B̩̤̗̣̻̥̍̆̀ͭ̓ͥut͎̲̣̥͚͙̩ͨ̾̊͛ͪͦͨ ̞͚it̹̩̭̟̱̮̙̔ͣͤ̒͆̆̍ fe̦͙̫̼̋̆͌̐ȅ͎̟̠̠̱̜̺̾ͦ̔̏ͨ̎l̳̓s̅ ͔̫͚͎r͑̉e̱̯̼ͅa̹͔͈̖l͎̍. And even though you don’t experience any of the physical pain, you are mentally and spiritually devoured. And then it ends, making you feel like less of yourself, mouth open, moaning like a zombie, not even sure if the damage you suffered is permanent and that piece of sanity is forever lost, leaving you hollow.

You still stand, but your mind takes a moment to recover… the allegorical moment it takes to get back on its feet.

You don’t let it stop you, and instead you approach and mount the heads on the stakes. You place the head of Latias on the bloody stake and the head of Latios on the black ichor one.

Colored has used and [Severed Head of the Shadow Brother, Latios]

@{The Shackle Door of the Beheaded: [s]Missing Head of the Blood Sister AND Missing Head of the Shadow Brother} Grim Vision of Torment - DARK (3 Sanity Damage, 3 Purity Damage)

For a moment, you can almost hear a very faint pair of screams, and then the sudden crashing of metal. The chains… the padlocks… they all fall apart to the wooden floor planks in a pile of black links and twisted metal. And the old wood door doesn’t even swing open. It just falls backward and the interior of the apartment building is revealed.

Steeling yourself, you walk inside.

Six hearts ripped out…

Inside, the foyer is hideous and looks like something out of a sadistic funhouse from hell. Holes and gashes in the walls and ceiling, almost triggering a reaction of trypophobia from you. It’s as if thousands of faces watch you with vacant black eyes, pitted noses, and howling, gawking mouths. The stairs heading upwards and the ones going down play tricks on your mind as well… the marbled wood once again looking like melting, distorted faces of various Pokémon in horrendous anguish.

But you head upward, trying not to look at them for too long.

You arrive at the second floor and you suddenly realize they never did come to clean the crime scene. You find the remnants of the murders after the bodies were taken away. Dried blood years old, splattered on the floors and walls and pooled in places where the victims died. It’s gone dark and brown with the passage of time, and it has long soaked into the wooden floor.

The faces on the wall continue to observe, silently screaming, as if they’re trying to tell you something but they can’t. You walk into the first bedroom and there is blood all over the old bed. You almost expect to see a body here, but there is nothing. It was taken away years ago, but the aftermath of the murders are still here.

Damaged and broken pieces of the ceiling dangle from above like twisted, broken hands, fingers, and claws, and the stench of dust and mold almost makes you cough and sneeze. You walk around the room and come before a large, dirty mirror, but when you look into it and see your reflection, you’re almost horrified. The brown and black blotches on it almost make you look like a zombie with hungry, flesh-devouring tumors all over you as your once vibrant green and beige Snivy colors now look brown, gray, and pale.

The dresser in the corner… the desk along the wall, and the bookshelves have all been overtaken with dust and cobwebs. Their contents… what’s left of them, have long been forgotten. But you still see the faces in the wood.

You leave and go into the kitchen, which looks like it was turned into a slaughterhouse. The kitchen table that was used as a butcher block is soaked with old blood that dried up years ago and you find splatter on the crumbling tiled walls. The knives are gone, but you imagine that was only because they were confiscated as evidence.

The bathroom is a similar situation. Someone died in the bathtub and the blood was never washed away. You’re not sure what Pokémon they were, but you find patches of brown, blood-soaked fur… the only remnants of the victim. And as you look at the murky bloodstains in the bathtub, it seems to make another grimacing face, like it wants to scream but doing so will cause its jaw to fall out.

You head downstairs and into the basement apartment. And as you reach the final step, there is sudden, total darkness. The only thing you can see is a dusty old light switch on the side of the filthy stone wall.

Impulsively, you flick the switch.

The lights shouldn’t have switched on you suddenly think, forgetting for a moment that the building was long abandoned and the power was probably cut off years ago. Why did I think there was still power running? It’s useless.

But no, you’re wrong. All the darkness is suddenly washed away with light. Light that reveals everything as the shadows and darkness step aside to reveal the he͈̺̬̩̰͕͒̓͒̇ͧ̈l̘ͫl̼͖̙͑̋̉s̆̔͊̾͌ḣ̄o͕̥̹͙̅͗ͥͤ̋ͅw they were keeping wrapped this whole time.

%The Fetid Chamber (4 Health Damage, 4 Sanity Damage, 4 Purity Damage)% Trap !!CANNOT BE AVOIDED!!!

At first, the sight just doesn’t make sense. You heaps of skeletal remains but the sudden horror of what’s happening here is something that breaches your sanity. All along the walls, the floor, the gnarled and rusting tables and furniture, you see the words…

“Never wanna grow up… never wanna grow up… never wanna grow up…”

They’re everywhere. And the smell, the hideous overwhelming presence of Stalker essence… this truly is the lair of one of them. It’s…

SOULPUS…

A name only few know.

As you shamble among the piles of bones, they break, they stab into your flesh, and the lights, the mind-shredding revelation that these were all once living Pokémon…

It eats away at every bit of you.

Colored has suffered 4 Health Damage, 4 Sanity Damage, and 4 Purity Damage.

…Daddy, is that you…?

“No…” you mutter.

…D́̓̽̇̚ä̭d̙̰͎̽͂̂d͎̩̠̭y

“I’m… I’m not…”

I… I can’t control… Daddy… I… help… me…

But you don’t know where the voice is coming from. There are only the skeletal remains here. But what you’re experiencing… it suddenly comes to you in the form of a vision, a broken engram…

…something else left behind… by Betta. Betta the Zigzagoon… Terron’s daughter…

https://i.imgur.com/EbdKRrv.gif

“Wanted… couldn’t… can’t… be young… forever… tricked…”

Deadpus never found the message. It was left behind by Betta’s spirit, an engram that the demoni couldn’t not detect… but you could. At least only the pieces that Betta could hide in her desperation.

In the broken corner of the room, you see the cylinder… comprised of a dark, highly demonic design. As you approach it, you suddenly are overwhelmed by the cloud of death, taking the form of a dark, brownish cloud that floods around you…

#Breath of Decay (3 Health Damage, 3 Sanity Damage)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 74 out of 100: Failed!

Colored has suffered 3 Health Damage and 3 Sanity Damage.

It eats you from the inside and outside, and in the process, the agony and hopelessness helps itself to your brains and spirit like a buffet. You can’t help but vomit, but you regain your determination and press forward. At your small green feet, you see the dark, demonic Phylactery of Deadpus. The very demoni that is currently commandeering Betta’s body… making her kill her victims by causing their rapid decay… and stealing all of their unlived years to be inherited to herself.

The realization almost too unbearable to cope with.

[Deadpus’s Phylactery] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You know the truth now. The truth that Tayou had spoken about before she was killed. Everything she said about Betta was true, but she and the rest of her team couldn’t take those last critical steps. And you can see why. There was nothing but pure mind-consuming hell in these chambers.

The dark chamber vessel that you now hold is the dark anchor that Deadpus depends upon to continue persisting in this world. The demoni depends upon it, but while you know destroying the Phylactery is impossible with conventional methods… there is something else that can be done…

Battered, wounded, impaled, and nearly on the verge of weeping, you struggle to go back up those stairs… outside of this accursed place that’s condemned in more ways than one. The vessel in your hands is emitting so much evil and dark Stalker presence, but you keep a deathgrip on it, refusing to let it go… insisting to drag it to its final judgment like a bailiff taking away a convicted prisoner.

Justice must be done… Betta must be freed… however it can be done…

The PIT falls into dark silence once again as you left it behind you. You don’t look back… you don’t think about what has happened there or the things you saw that would break you forever if you think about them too much.

You did what you said you would do… the whole reason you were here… And now there’s one thing left to do…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 9/16 | Sanity: 7/20 | Purity: 12/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Lychee

08-15-2022, 12:57 AM

Neo Emolga

08-17-2022, 01:07 AM

(Oh look at that, I'm actually awake in time for this-)

https://i.imgur.com/iJeZKw8.pngLyric stared blankly into the distance, so tired after what quickly became a recurring nightmare. Rather than eat a light breakfast, they ate heavily. They needed the extra fuel to get through the start of today after last night. One of the head honchos of the police was killed, once again by Exonull.

"We're running out of time," Lyric muttered, before shaking their head. What were they doing, they needed to help others have hope...!

https://i.imgur.com/RljICyH.pngBarely concealing their dread with their normal smile, they tried to force themself into the attitude they had going in. "But... but we're not beat yet...! We've got most of the pieces of one of those weapons that can fight the Stalkers!" ... They just made themself scarce soon after, feeling like they'd only made themself look like an idiot. Needing a moment to think, they went off towards Jade Acres Park.

... They started this, their journey to enlightenment, and now they were seeing this through...

Stopping in front of the well, their flippers stopped responding. They couldn't seem to make those last few motions to cast their gaze into the pool. Behind their eyes, they quickly flash over their previous lives, needing to take a nerve-calming breath when they look over one of their lives as a human. They'd forced themself to forget the name, all they knew was that they were a truly despicable excuse for a person. Understandably, they'd been kicked down a few rungs of the path to Ascension following that life's uneventful end.

https://i.imgur.com/VBofuSG.png
Looking back at the well again, Lyric began to pull themself up the side. As they did so, a question formed on their lips, one that'd they'd been telling themself to ignore since they regained their memories.

"Before I become a Tatsujin, I need a second opinion... Am I, deep down..."
https://i.imgur.com/rBg5pWB.png
They reached the top, and looked down into the well. "... Am I really that good of a person?"

With the morning sun, you head to the Jade Acres Park after having eaten a large breakfast that Benni was more than happy to prepare for you. With the intent on becoming a Tatsujin, you seek out the well once more, hoping to get a better understanding about yourself… a better understanding about your dreams…

…about everything.

You find the well again after navigating your way through the calming, placid forest that feels like navigating through a deep sleep. It seems brighter in the daylight now, though only small blotches of sunlight peer through the canopy of trees. As the breeze caresses the branches and leaves, the patches of sunlight move about like playful fairies, as if an unseen child is letting loose their creativity upon the area. For a moment, you wonder if its simply an unborn child at play, preparing for tomorrow when they step foot upon the world to live out a new life.

…It makes you wonder for a moment… what does a unborn child dream of…?

“Before I become a Tatsujin…” you mutter into the calming, dreamlike waters of the well, “…am I, deep down… am I really that good of a person?”

The waters ripple just a bit, as if the well has heard your question. You let your eyes get carried away as they take you to another vision… one of hopeful wisdom as you behold the lives of others… and the lives of what could have been you.

What defines a good person…?

…for some it means many different things… some believe good is measured in strength or wealth… or courage or bravery…

…or selflessness or acts of valor…

The waters go silent for but just a moment, giving you time to absorb the considerations as if like a transcendental meditation.

Did you make someone smile today… and did you share that moment with them with a smile of your own? Did someone… a child… look up to you today and say to themselves “I want to be just like them” and you inspired them for life to live for a noble cause? Or did you go all the way and save someone’s life today? Did you give them a second chance to accomplish their dreams and for their friends and family to believe in hope once again because of something you did? Did you sacrifice something you held dear just for someone else? Did you feel pain and shed blood so someone else didn’t have to?

…

You are a good person, Lyric…

…and it’s because you question yourself…

…it’s because of that introspection and your drive to learn wisdom from your mistakes…

You close your eyes and nod, thinking about it more. There are many who believe they are good when they only lie to themselves. There are those that believe in something untrue and force it upon others but believe they are doing it for their own good.

You don’t have the arrogance, Lyric. The people to be feared most are the ones that never have doubts or the ones that never challenge or question what lies before them. They’re the ones that think they have all the answers. A question replied to with a lie is an answer stolen…

…but you’ve moved on from that. You wash your body to remove the dust and grit of dirt, sweat, and stain so that your body is cleansed once more. But shouldn’t your mind and spirit be able to perform that same kind of refreshing renourishment? Guilt… remediation… and atonement… those are what the spirit needs to know that it must be cleansed the same way one recognizes that one’s body is dirty and is in need of being cleansed.

Turn regret into teaching. Turn shame into wisdom. Turn jealousy into motivation.

“I am here… I wish to be cleansed…”

You remember that you came here to save this town… knowing full well that you would come face to face with horrors that would burn themselves into your mind as the shadows licked and bit away at your soul. The horrors of the Stalkers would strike you… attack you… and attempt to lacerate, burn, and impale your skin and flesh. You did this… you willingly accepted this sacrifice because you saw this town was in need of your help… in need of your strength… and you were willing to accept that cost and that sacrifice…

…that’s what makes you a good person, Lyric.

Lyric has inherited 5 points of Kurosuōbā…

Redemption and atonement will be found by those that seek it. Those spirits that yearn for answers will find their way. Let your dreams guide you… open your mind to infinite possibilities… understand the good from the bad, the inspiring and the horrifying… and let your heart take you to the path that aligns with your spirit…

Lyric has become a Tatsujin…

You see you have begun to glow… the signature trait of a Tatsujin. For a moment, you look up at the sky, reflecting upon all that you know and have experienced.

It’s not too late…

…today still carries on…

…

…as long as you’re still standing…

…

…as long as you never give up… you cannot lose…

…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNCBpN3h/Lyric-Kusho.png Lyric Winterheart the Tatsujin Brionne (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

08-22-2022, 11:31 PM

Hmm, not really sure where I should search this time honestly. So I'm just going to search: (37) West Dock Marina

If anyone else thinks I should do something else. Let me know before time!

After you awaken with the rising of the sun, you eat the berry muffins that Benni has prepared for your breakfast and then wish her well as you head out to see what else you might be able to find in your pursuit of the Stalkers.

Once you step outside, it feels a bit as though the sun isn’t quite as bright as it used to be, but nonetheless, you levitate your way south toward the West Dock Marina, one of the few places that hasn’t been investigated, yet. You’re not sure what you might find there and if the Stalkers deemed it as a reliable place to hide some of their nefarious relics, but you decide it’s worth looking into. After all, you and the others have found their dark artifacts in the most unlikely places…

Upon arriving, you see there’s only been a minimal amount of activity here. Most of these ships and boats simply float mirthlessly as the very light and subtle waves bob them around bit by bit. As you drift and float above the docks looking curiously at the waters, you can almost make out the ships that have been sunken to the bottom of the water, each one resembling an owner that passed away. You’d guess it’s at least fifty feet deep down there, which is thankfully deep enough to the point where ships still in commission likely wouldn’t crash against them.

Still, you decide not to go searching down there for anything. You doubt you’d be able to hold your breath long enough to do that, and you feel it’s unlikely the Stalkers hid anything down that deep. Especially if none of them were water Pokémon. Besides, even focusing your attention down there, not even the slightest traces of Stalker presence seem to be felt from that direction.

You then search ship by ship, floating above them to see what might be here. Most of these seem to be light fishing vessels, designed to catch other water Pokémon deemed to be food, like Krabby, Goldeen, Remoraid, Clamperl, and other similar Pokémon. Other ships and boats seem to be purely for recreation, and these haven’t seen activity for a while. Nonetheless, they come in all different styles, sizes, and conditions. You can easily tell which ones are owned by rich Pokémon and which ones are owned by Pokémon that can barely afford them.

You do find one modest recreational ship that looks like it was recently vandalized. The captain’s cabin was recently broken into, the control room has had its windows broken, and it looks like they tore their way through the drawers, cabinets, and closets to loot whatever they could. It makes you wonder why they didn’t try to steal the whole ship, but then you figure that might have taken too long and they didn’t have the key to start the ignition. All the damage and looting here looks like it was done in haste and it was likely the thief didn’t spend any longer than five minutes here.

In one pile, you find a lot of books and manuals that were thrown around and badly damaged. Normally, you feel this wouldn’t be unusual, but among the books, you find one book in particular that looks like it sustained considerable damage. It’s not like the others and when you hold your hand out, you can sense a familiar presence about it.

Puhdistus…

You decide to gather up the ripped pieces and damaged cover of the book. From what you can gather, this definitely feels like a ritual tome rather than a novel or manual of any kind. Why it was hidden here… you’re not quite sure, but it’s possible whoever owned this particular ship wanted to look into it further.

After doing a little more searching, you realize who owns this particular boat. Santea the Lilligant. It explains the large number of books, and some of the flower motifs you see on the walls and décor. You recall she was investigating the Puhdistus Ritual as well, but she probably didn’t get the chance to investigate this book, yet…

[Destroyed Ritualli Tome: <Repair>] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You’re not sure if Santea is even aware her boat was looted and her belongings were damaged, but you decide it’s best to focus on the ritual for now and get this book back together again. The damage to this ship can be repaired. The damage the Stalkers would do to this town and this world are not.

Even in pieces, the destroyed tome still radiates with that unusual aura that the other Puhdistus relics give off. You can only imagine what it might be capable of once the book has been repaired and made whole again…

You don’t find anything else unusual in the marina, so you decide to head back to the farm and prepare for tonight. You’re not sure what you might do yet, but there’s still time to decide…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/icon/385.png Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

08-23-2022, 12:14 AM

Search (50) The Sunshine Farmstand (ABANDONED)

With the rising of the morning sun, you wake up and make your way downstairs, joining the others for breakfast before you head out. The sky has some overcast this morning, casting a light gray shadow upon the land.

You step outside and trot your way west toward the Sunshine Farmstand, understanding that this is where Kayto once sold her harvested produce and alcoholic beverages. When you arrive, you find the solemn, lonely farmstand seems just as melancholy as the farmstead itself. What used to be a brightly colored produce stand with flower design motifs has become brown and splintered. On the outside, you find a lot of empty crates that look like they haven’t been used or touched in years and on that same note, probably won’t ever be used for anything again. Several empty barrels are here as well and whatever liquid they once held has dried up long ago.

Among these neglected containers, you sense a strange presence that feels foreign at first, but then you recall where you’ve felt that sensation before. Someone from Black Moon was here and you seem to have the idea that the farmstand was alive and thriving at the time this leathery piece of parchment was placed here.

You find it tucked behind one of the barrels, and you use one of your hooves to pry it out and pull it closer to you so you can read it…

https://i.imgur.com/facowOL.png

[=Assassin’s Cant= (https://i.imgur.com/facowOL.png)] has been added to the Team Inventory.

Tueur…

We shall never see home again…

And you know from what you’ve been told… they never did. For a brief moment, these Black Moon Savants feel almost like brothers and sisters… their memories wiped and with that purging, their motivation to go back to the world they came from. It almost makes you wonder if in time, they even forgot what humans looked like, now living in a world where humans have never walked and were only the material of fairytales, as if they were akin to centaurs, mermaids, and goblins…

Inside the farmstand itself, you find the grocery bins and baskets have long been empty and it seems as though no one thought they were even worth stealing. Dust and cobwebs have taken their place, along with empty crates, splintered wood, and old dirty cups and mugs that probably won’t ever be used again.

Off to the side, you find an enclosed storage area for items that weren’t for sale, such as labeling tools, extra bins, signs, and other supplies Kayto kept for helping with promoting her store and keeping everything clean and maintained. But it’s not the only thing you find in here…

You come across another Dorimugeto dream gate, cleverly hidden in this storage area that likely no one was going to come across. But as you think about it, anyone that did and was tempted to touch it was whisked away into Yume and got lost in there for better or for worse.

As you approach the blue and lavender-colored swirling vortex, you feel its presence around you, bathing you with a gentle breeze forged from dreams…

Sam has inherited 3 points of Kurosuōbā…

For a brief moment, you feel as though you’ve been taken to a faraway place and you recognize it as Yume’s presence. Suddenly, even just figments of your imagination feel closer to being real, as if memories that you once lived in before many years ago. As you close your eyes, you see a few of your more recent dreams replayed like movies. Engrams of dreams that seemed broken and ambiguous are suddenly made clear and complete, like a book that was put back together into a complete and coherent story.

@{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Pureto jo} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ has been noted in the Team Records.

The Pureto jo tablet… or the plate tablet to be exact. It’s a message… like an order form or decree to receive the Shadow Plate, or the Shadoupureto to be exact. While most of Yume is like a dream wonderland, there is still a part of it that is based on nightmares. To be complete, even relics for the ritual are needed from there. The dark side of Yume is not without its own secrets.

And while nightmares may seem needless and terrifying at first, you realize and remember that Yume is and can be a training ground for the soul. Nightmares have their purpose, too. In Yume, the horrors cannot hurt you, but instead build your resilience and resistance to the forces of darkness.

You don’t find anything else here, but you make note to come back with the Pureto Jo once you’re ready to receive the Shadoupureto. You figure it’s been many long years since the gateway was hidden and opened, but it’s not too late to continue the work that was unfinished, even if its many years later than what was originally anticipated.

As the sun begins to set, you trot your way back to the farmstead with the Assassin’s Cant in your travel pouch. The work and the sacrifice of the Black Moon Savants… that too, is work that needs closure…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/585.png Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 23/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

08-23-2022, 12:37 AM

Alright, it's time to find Yanza, get diplomatic, get deputised, and get all the info on this case.
If I have to admit I was the last one to talk to Tayou, I will... But the information she shared is probably what got her killed, so I'd watch out.

After waking up shortly after the others, you go downstairs to enjoy some of Benni’s berry muffins before grabbing your things and heading outside to see if Yanza the Purugly might be able to provide more information. Considering they’ve already lost Tayou and Dantus has his hands incredibly full, she might be willing to cooperate with things being as desperate as they are.

After heading to the Seabourne Police Department building, you enter inside and you find Yanza is there alone among many empty desks that have been simply used to stack papers, documents, boxes, and photographs on top of. There’s a lot of evidence and reports to go through, and you can tell from her face that its just an overwhelming amount of information to sift through. And the look on her face tells you she’s had more than a belly full of it.

“Hey, Yanza?” you call out to her. “Name’s ChiChi! I’m looking into these Stalkers and I’m trying to get more info on them. Think you could help us out?”

She looks up from her pile of papers and sighs. She does a bit of a double-take when she sees you, especially as a Pokémon she’s never seen before… and slightly glowing at that.

https://i.postimg.cc/rm1X55LB/Yanza-Bored.png “Look, hun, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t just go about showing everything and anything to anyone,” she tells you, looking iffy about the whole proposal. “I’ve already had a few good officers and detectives get killed from these Stalkers and I can’t hand out critical information to someone I just met, even if we are extremely short-staffed. That and I have reason to believe there’s cutthroats in town working against us. I swear that Velli the Sylveon belongs in a maximum security prison. She’s a freak.”

Though you were hoping Yanza would be more open toward sharing her investigation notes, you think you just need to present your proposal for support in a different way. But you can’t blame her for being on the defensive with this one. Seabourne has suffered a lot already and after realizing Velli is a traitor to the town, Yanza can’t bear to have critical information shared with the Stalkers. It could doom the entire town… possibly the entire world if it fell into the wrong hands. But still, you need to know what she knows… and at the same time, you have information that could prove critical to her as well.

Now if you could only just find the right words to say…

https://i.imgur.com/nKQD6ap.png

#49 Yanza the Purugly: <Diplomacy> (https://i.imgur.com/nKQD6ap.png)

You already have some ideas on how to present this… it all comes down to just piecing it together in a way that would convince Yanza to share everything she knows with you, even if you might be a total stranger to her…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

08-23-2022, 12:42 AM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
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(Friday, August 26, 2022 9:00:00 PM EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Scytherwolf

08-24-2022, 02:30 AM

I'll look around (45) The Multok Apartment Complex (ABANDONED)

DayBreak

08-24-2022, 04:14 AM

C0L0R3D

08-24-2022, 07:05 AM

Chakramaster

08-24-2022, 10:50 AM

I'm gonna take the night to just chill. Maybe it'll help a little in the long run. I'll go visit the well in (5) Jadebreeze Forest.

Neo Emolga

08-25-2022, 02:29 AM

Lychee Congrats on completing that word search! Here are the results! Note that this doesn’t count as your Day 6 Night Cycle action, so feel free to make one!

…

You can’t blame Yanza for having her guard up with everything that’s going on. Between her and Dantus, you feel Yanza has been out in the field more and seems to have more street smarts when it comes to finding out what’s been going on. That, and she make sure she watches her back.

“We had our own run-in with Velli, also,” you tell the Purugly, letting her know she isn’t alone when it comes to dealing with the traitor Sylveon. “And we found something else. Something Velli would kill to know about and share to the Stalkers.”

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “And what would that be?” Yanza asks, wondering just how more extreme things could get. “Could it have something to do with the fact that… you’re glowing? Because that’s got me wondering.”

You imagine the newly-appointed Sheriff hasn’t had too many run-ins with the supernatural and this is likely her first time. As you might expect, any Pokémon that sees it and is unfamiliar with it might feel uneasy.

“That’s just part of the story,” you inform her, feeling you can trust her with this information. “I’m sure you’ve already figured out the Stalkers are working on a supernatural level. They’re dark spirits called the “Demoni,” hijacking the minds and bodies of innocent Pokémon and then corrupting their dreams and desires to slaughter unsuspecting victims. As a result, we’re not going to be able to eliminate them using conventional means.”

Yanza nods, looking at her pile of police and investigation reports. You figure she’s seen plenty to get that feeling. And you can tell from the look in her eyes that at first, she didn’t believe it for the longest time and tried to apply logical deduction and what was possible within the frame of reality. But you already know it’s beyond the understand and conventional practices a Pokémon from this world might be used to.

…No, something much darker and sinister that’s beyond imagination is at work here…

https://i.postimg.cc/T2cvwj0m/Yanza-Normal.png “I think it’s clear we need to team up before it’s too late,” she tells you, understanding that there’s a lot more happening behind the scenes. “I want to know what you do and in turn, I’ll try to get you caught up on everything Dantus and I have found. As Sheriff now, it’s totally in my authority now to do this, and now that we have no deputies, it’s time for me to fix that.”

#49 Yanza the Purugly: <Diplomacy

You tell her everything from start to finish, each of the findings that you and the other Savants have come across. The whole time, Yanza pays very close attention, never realizing there were so many hidden details regarding what the Stalkers have been hiding.

She also knew nothing about Black Moon or the Puhdistus and Majutsu Rituals, but she’s able to get caught up quickly and it has already added to the scope of the operation and the possible alternative means to eliminate these Stalkers. These rituals are beyond anything she could have foreseen, but you show enough evidence that they are entirely believable and can be validated. And that you’ve given strong consideration to pursue them as solutions to this problem plaguing Seabourne.

#49 Yanza the Purugly has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2cvwj0m/Yanza-Normal.png “Damn, I wasn’t expecting even half of that, but you just blew my mind away,” Yanza remarks, refusing to have any doubts about any of this. “Ok, time for my end of the bargain.”

“The evidence behind Deadpus and Betta the Zigzagoon is clearly damning,” Yanza begins, writing down in notes and diagrams as she explains her investigations and shows you the police reports that confirm these allegations. “I don’t know how you plan on killing Deadpus, but do it as soon as you can. There’s some dark evil crap going on here.”

“We both know about Exonull,” Yanza continues. “She loves to target flying Pokémon and she’s already killed a number of them already. Including Tayou, and I swear she was already past redemption even before that. The evidence you found and we found highly suggests Exonull is one of those Beachwood University students. Sarkkan, Caily, Vocco, and Kabi are all possible suspects on this. You mentioned Sarkkan was never at the Slacker’s Shack, so I believe that rules him out. This one we still need confirmation, but we’re getting damn close.”

“Then we’ve got Fallow,” Yanza tells you as she opens up a new case file. “This pile of trash is a child-killer. Now, I know the evidence we have behind this guy is minimal, but I have a strong hunch I know who is behind this. Take a look at this and it might start to make sense.”

https://i.imgur.com/CFTvblK.png

=Seabourne Police Report= (https://i.imgur.com/CFTvblK.png) has been added to the Team Records.

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “I swear I hate these old typewriters,” she sighs.

“Anyway,” she continues, “I don’t think the rehab worked. At least not long term. And it got me thinking just why the hell Drestan would be carrying around an Oddish doll to bring it to the Dewall address. Well, you read the report. The creepy bird’s brain is fried, that’s why.”

[Emerald Fields Townhouses Burial Location] has been added to the Team Inventory.

“This is the exact spot he mentioned,” Yanza tells you, showing you an ‘X’ marker that Drestan himself had drawn on a map. “I swear we had to interrogate him hard to explain what pray tell this was all about and he sure didn’t make this easy. An initial look at the actual site didn’t reveal much. There’s nothing there and we didn’t have clearance to dig there at the time. Dantus thinks it’s a lie but I still say it’s worth looking into, but I haven’t had even an ounce of free time to dig it up myself. If you or one of your friends could do that, have at it, you’d be doing us a major favor.”

“Anyway, I have no idea how Drestan is still working as a coast guard,” Yanza sighs. “That’s one thing about the police and coast guard of Seabourne… we sure as hell don’t get along. Malco, in my opinion, was a forgive and forget idiot and I’m not surprised he died. It left Drestan and Erine in charge and they both have been doing a glamorously piss-poor job at helping this investigation. If you ask me, I think they’re traitors just like Velli is.”

https://i.postimg.cc/T2cvwj0m/Yanza-Normal.png “Moving on, our fourth confirmed Stalker is Inzekth,” Yanza explains, showing you a batch of new files. “Something about this psychopath loves impaling victims with thorns, branches, and other natural-based impaling weapons. At first, I thought it might be a grass type, but something about these things doesn’t even seem natural. That and these reports about what’s been going on at the Sunshine Farm only seem to confirm that. These are plants that I’m convinced aren’t even native to this world, growing underground with no sunlight and limited nutrients. That and the fact they prey on the living.”

“Languished is the fifth of these freaks,” Yanza continues. “I’m suspecting that like Betta, we’re dealing with another kid here. Or at least a Pokémon that acts and behaves like a kid. Meanwhile, they seem obsessed with beauty. And the crap they do to their victims… it’s beyond grotesque. Nearly made me vomit the first time I saw it. In layman’s terms, the victim starts cutting themselves up and performs some ungodly self plastic surgery only to make it worse and worse. And they bleed out in shredded pieces. Definitely not a way I want to die.”

“I’m convinced this creep’s layer is in fact the Silver Candle Theater House,” Yanza continues, flipping through the notes you’ve provided before she finds what Scy discovered there earlier. “I swear, whoever this Scy friend of yours has guts to walk into that creepy as all hell cesspool, but I’m glad she did. We just need to figure out what the hell is lurking behind that door.”

“And we have our last and final Stalker, Edifice,” Yanza takes a deep breath. “Yeah, we both have seen what’s been going on with this. The brain aneurism is not natural. I had to talk to Reyond the Glaceon about this. He’s a psychiatrist and he’s reported getting claims of his patients sometimes having dreams where they kill a Pokémon and to no coincidence at all, it’s the same Pokémon that suffers the brain aneurism. So what Edifice does is make some Pokémon dream they’re the killers and the victim in the dream actually dies in real life. Reyond managed to get enough details about these dreams to find out who was working alongside who and they confirmed it. It’s pretty freaky stuff, but it’s exactly what we’re dealing with here. That and the fact Edifice seems to have this reoccurring theme where everyone is a killer and bound by sin or some crap like that. Again, it’s another mind game and it’s best if no one even thinks about it for too long.”

“A ton of this evidence seems to point toward Korak,” Yanza tells you, showing you the investigation evidence and matching it with what the Savants found. “I’ve talked to him, too, and why he’s constantly being depicted in these weird drawings, but he totally denies it and offers to help the investigation instead to prove it’s not him. I’ve even given him a chance and instead I get pointed in the wrong directions with him. Do yourself a favor and don’t even talk to him. He’s playing games with us and I think he’s trying to portray himself as the victim when really, my hunch is this fraud is a Stalker himself. Problem is even if I had evidence, I have nothing to stop him with. Although with these weird rituals and demon killer weapons you showed me, have at it with him.”

https://i.postimg.cc/T2cvwj0m/Yanza-Normal.png “Whatever you do, don’t work with Korak,” Yanza advises you. “I’ve already tried it and even though the guy is supposed to be smart and knows a lot of things about the history of this town, which I thought might be useful, he’s nothing when it comes to this investigation and I have a firm understanding why that is. He’s likely one of them. If you want help, you come to me or Dantus, though he’s more than busy now and has his hands full. But I can help you. Vanni the Umbreon might be able to help you as well. She’s well aware of some of the medical prognoses that have happened to many of the victims and she might be able to guide you with that, too. Ask her about Drestan, she can provide you with more details and can follow-up with that investigation report I gave you with her own medical notes. If you pair those together, it may be everything you need to confirm Drestan’s true nature.”

The Stalker Status in the Team Records has been updated.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2cvwj0m/Yanza-Normal.png “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done so far,” Yanza tells you with a tired sigh. “I’ll admit, we’re dealing with something on a whole other level here and it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before. I’ve been unable to conjure up any real options to deal with these demons, but it seems like these rituals and demon-killer weapons are the way to go, though I have no idea where to get started with that voodoo stuff myself. But I’ll look into seeing if I can uncover more about what these Stalkers are up to. That should at least give you the truth so you can take aim and pull the trigger on these creeps.”

You nod and reply in thanks, grateful for the valuable information she’s provided. To say the least, you’re thankful for the helpful ally you have gained in this investigation…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

08-26-2022, 01:19 AM

I'll look around (45) The Multok Apartment Complex (ABANDONED)

With the coming of the night, you head out, making your way west toward the Multok Apartment Complex. The air tonight feels still and stale as you make your way into the shadows, and it almost sends the slightest of chills through your dark blue carapace. The clouds seem to hide the moon tonight, so there’s even less light than before.

There isn’t much nightlife activity tonight, as it almost feels like the stale air itself is serving as some eerie and supernatural curfew. Once you arrive at the apartment building, you notice how much of a state of disrepair the three story building is in. From the outside, it’s literally crumbling apart and the brown bricks that were used to construct it seem to be cracking and crumbling faster than usual. Meanwhile, virtually every window is broken completely and the inside seems as dark as the void.

You first search the outside grounds, and it seems odd and unusual that the exterior condition of the building makes it seem like it’s been crumbling for many, many decades when really it has only been a few years. The bushes and shrubs that were supposed to be growing here were overtaken by weeds, and now it seems like even the life has been sucked out of those as well. The stone patio has crumbled apart and the outside furniture has collapsed as if it’s been neglected for over a hundred years. Nothing about the situation seems natural.

Slight traces of Stalker presence can be slightly felt all around. It seems to bear a familiar signature, and judging from what you’ve been told, you believe you have a handle on what’s been going on here.

“Deadpus…” you mutter to yourself.

The Stalker that sucks the life and youth out of anyone. But it seems like even her aura has some effect on the surrounding environment.

You head inside, using an old flashlight to navigate your way around. From what you can see, the interior reveals a very hollow, empty, and cold building that was completely cleaned out. The only things remaining are a few old hallway lamps that no longer work. As you can tell, anything that was nailed or bolted down was left behind, but you see that all of the tenants have left long ago with Multok’s mysterious departure. Unlike some other houses and buildings in the area, at least the tenants had the chance to gather their things before they left. But now, it’s as if the building is completely devoid of life, like it’s nothing more than an empty husk without a soul.

Every apartment you check is essentially empty, leaving only slight traces of rubbish such as scrap papers, empty tin cans, and broken pieces of wood and metal. Meanwhile, it’s eerily quiet in this building, as if it feels like you’re the only one that’s walked these halls for hundreds of years when you know it hasn’t been that long.

And then, in one of the rooms, you find something starkly unusual. Under a discarded old gray tarp, you find a child’s lockbox, one depicting hearts, stars, and rainbows while the rest of it is colored a cheerful pink. And yet, despite its rather playful and cheerful appearance, it seems slathered with Stalker presence…

…Deadpus’s presence…

{Child’s Lockbox: Heart Keyhole OR <Security>} has been noted in the Team Records

Despite having a basic lock, you can’t break or pry it open, but it’s clear this belongs to Betta the Zigzagoon and she placed this lockbox here for a reason. It doesn’t feel like a trap, but it does feel like she put it here to put it out of her mind in this cold, hollow, and forlorn place of emptiness. Perhaps… in a way, it felt like she was casting it into the void without actually doing so.

There’s something in here she doesn’t want anyone to see. It has to be one of her dark secrets…

Without any means of getting it open, you decide to leave it for now, even though you’re pretty convinced Betta won’t be coming back here for it unless she really needs to.

After searching the rest of the building, you don’t find much else besides emptiness, but you do make a note about the lockbox in the hopes someone can use the key or pick the lock to see what exactly Deadpus wants Betta to hide here.

You then head back to Benni’s farmstead, looking over your shoulder. You’re not sure what Betta is up to tonight, but she’s out there… somewhere… perhaps watching you. You look around and you don’t see anyone, but you can’t help but get the feeling she’s watching someone right now.

https://i.postimg.cc/cCTptNBb/ScyKusho.png Scy the Tatsujin Heracross (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 14/20 | Purity: 19/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

08-27-2022, 01:32 AM

( Gonna put on that Dreamwatch Necklace as extra insurance and go see about speaking with (44) Llanas the Primarina tonight )

Lyric was going to have a long night ahead of them. After having a filling dinner, they decided to go out and try to interview some other Pokémon. Though they figure it'd be a good idea to have access to the knowledge about whether or not they've spoken to a Stalker. Grabbing the Dreamwatch Necklace from the equipment storage and putting it on with slight difficulty, they left into the town.

As they walked through the emptier roads, their mind drifted back to those they'd met. Of course, he'd never really interacted much with the other Savants, as from day one, they could feel the sand running down the hourglass, the seconds ticking down to demise. But of course, there were those they'd helped, and even one in particular they'd saved.

Suddenly they realized: they'd told several people their name back when they were a Nidorina. If the Stalkers were catching onto their plans, then they'd have to be a bit more cautious. After all, at first glance you could never know who could be working with them. They decided to go by a shortened version of their last name, "Winter", for this lifetime, at least for the moment.

Eventually, they realized that they'd made it into town, having zoned out for quite a while there. Shaking themself back to waking, they looked around for a moment, before their gaze fell upon a Primarina. They hoped that this would be an easy interview. After all, they were still trying to get the hang of movement. Maybe they could get some tips? Even with their muscle memory returning, they recalled staying close to or in the water during the lifetime they had this form.

"Excuse me, can I ask you a few things?" Lyric called out, moving towards the other Water-type with... well, a lack of grace to put it simply. Tatsujin or not, Brionnes were not built for land.

Lyric Winterheart has equipped the +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

You prepare for tonight by having a large dinner that will keep you going for quite a while. You then put the Dreamwatch Necklace on, wondering what it might reveal about Llanas and if she’s a Stalker. Thankfully, none of them would know what this necklace does and the valuable secret kept within it…

As you feel it around your neck, you focus your mind and memories on the necklace as it begs to discern and peer into your recollections and the Pokémon you’ve spoken to… their true natures revealed… their intentions unraveled.

…

…Verio the Toucannon… husband of Farshira and father of Kammia, Krago, and the departed Ralon… is not a Stalker…

…

You had a feeling he wasn’t, but considering the nature of the Stalkers, you can never be too sure. But still, there is one other that comes to mind…

…

…Korak the Nidoking… professor at Beachwood University…

…is the Stalker EDIFICE…

…

For a few seconds, the truth is revealed, and the facial memory of Korak is stripped away to reveal the dark and loathsome Demoni, Edifice. The one who kills others in their dreams… the one who bestows guilt and regret upon all. Your breath is almost stolen away as this realization is discovered, and you realize that Korak was truly lying and misdirecting the team the whole time. Yanza, too, had her susceptions about him, and now you see her intuition was correct.

Korak truly is one of the afflicted… and all his actions and words are not his own, but that of E̜dĩ̦̣̬̘̽ͥͨf͈̱͇̲ͬ̆ͦ̈̅ͅi̖͎̥cͯ̇͛͐ͬ̽̾e…

#31 Korak the Nidoking has been confirmed as the Stalker EDIFICE.

At the moment, there’s not much you can do even with this knowledge, but in time, once the preparations are made, you can use this truth… this knowledge… and put Edifice down. For good. Forever.

After shuffling your way into town, you find it’s rather quiet and empty tonight, but you still manage to track down Llanas. As she is the captain of the XSHO Freighter 413, you find her on the ship itself, which looks like it’s been docked for a while. You almost feel surprised that she doesn’t seem to be bothered very much about the situation, and she’s simply relaxing on the deck, drinking what looks to be very similar to margarita.

The Dreamwatch Necklace slightly reacts as you approach her…

…Llanas the Primarina… is not a Stalker…

You sigh, finding that’s a relief. It does establish more trust in her, but you also know that there are Pokémon working with the Demoni, even if they’re not Stalkers themselves. To confirm if she’s a dark ally or simply a civilian living her normal life… there’s only one way to find out…

“Excuse me,” you approach Llanas, hoping she might be able to help you, “Can I ask you a few things?”

Interview Rapport: EXCELLENT
Same evolution line!

She looks to you with a confident smug grin. You can tell from the look in her eyes that it’s been a long time since she’s seen one of her own kind, so this was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. To her, you’re kin and she respects that.

https://i.postimg.cc/PJVz18vV/Llanas-Happy.png “Hey, haven’t seen you lately,” Llanas smiles. “Enjoying this little miserable town, eh? Well, you’ve come to the right place, we’re making the best of this crappy situation and just enjoying ourselves.”

It does make you wonder just how Llanas can be so carefree at a time like this. Despite the grim situation and the stale feeling in the air with the cloudy, murky skies overhead, Llanas seems to be enjoying herself like she’s on vacation. You’ve already confirmed she’s not afflicted with the Demoni, but she does seem rather apathetic about the situation.

You decide to ask her about the Stalkers, wondering if she’s aware about the situation and if she’s seen anything out of the ordinary. She sees you’re concerned, and while she’s carefree about the situation, she decides to help you, even though her attitude about the situation differs from yours.

https://i.postimg.cc/pVsBw3cQ/Llanas-Normal.png “Yeah, there’s something damn odd about what’s going on around town,” she replies, though she doesn’t seem at all anxious about it. “See, I haven’t even been in town for that long and neither has the rest of my crew, but Malco was a tremendous pain in the ass for me. If there’s one thing I really hate, it’s tone-deaf morons like that dunce telling me what to do, and he’s been doing that to all the ships currently docked here. No way. Well, big surprise, I just found out a Stalker killed him.”

“I met a young guy, Velay is his name,” Llanas smiles at the thought of it. “Charming Buizel fellow, really. If only he were a little older and wasn’t so broke, I might have considered dating him. Nothing else to do here while we’re grounded, so might as well! He’s got a lot of interesting stories. I invited him for a drink and he gladly accepted. God, men can be so difficult sometimes, but he’s a fine chap. Not the luckiest son of a gun, but I could have seen myself making the same mistakes he has.”

https://i.postimg.cc/PJVz18vV/Llanas-Happy.png “And he’s invited me for drinks, too,” Llanas smiles, looking off a bit as she fantasizes. “His ship, The Flying Ace, isn’t anything like this huge commercial freighter, but he’s into salvaging and finding shipwrecks to plunder. See, that’s a young man with a sense of adventure. What I wouldn’t give to be a little younger and join him for such escapades, you know what I’m saying?”

It does make you wonder about Velay. You haven’t spoken to him before, but the way Llanas talks about him, it does have you wondering what kind of guy he is. Llanas goes on about one of his salvaging stories, and to you, he comes across as a guy that would rather be broke, but at least happy about what he’s doing. Adventure, salvaging, searching for lost treasures…

https://i.postimg.cc/pVsBw3cQ/Llanas-Normal.png “So yes, there was something odd I found on his ship, The Flying Ace, while I was looking around while he had to use the restroom,” she explains to you. “Some broken medallion thing that seriously looks like it wasn’t even from this planet. At first, I thought it was just some trinket he was meaning to sell. I showed it to him, but he said he had no idea where it came from. Makes me wonder about him. Velay doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would be a Stalker, but eh, I haven’t thought about it too much. I just put it back and figured he can do what he wants with it.”

“So with Malco dead, it does have me wondering what the Coast Guard is doing,” Llanas smiles and shrugs. “If you ask me, his two coast guard operatives, Drestan and Erine… they’re something else. Both mental cases if you ask me. I don’t know if Malco being dead means we’re free to sail out of here, but the last thing I need is yet another infraction on my naval license. Besides, I’m technically still on the clock and getting paid although we’ve already long-unloaded our cargo, so our job’s done. We’re still here because Malco felt everyone was a suspect so we were ordered to stay put until further notice. Well, does him getting killed count as ‘further notice?’ Sounds about right to me.”

“Anyway, that’s about all that I know when it comes to this stuff,” Llanas smiles to you. “Night’s young, so if you’re still up for it, have one of these drinks with me sometime!”

You tell her you’ll think about it before wishing her goodbye.

On the way back to the farmstead, you consider everything that Llanas tells you. More and more, you hear reports about something strange going in with the coast guard. And then there was the medallion fragment that she found on the Flying Ace. You’re thinking maybe you’d want to have a look at it yourself to see if there anything kind of connection to everything else you’ve found…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNCBpN3h/Lyric-Kusho.png Lyric Winterheart the Tatsujin Brionne (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

Neo Emolga

08-27-2022, 01:52 AM

So this morning gave me quite the spiritual beating and a half, though we at least know what’s up with Betta now! But jeez do I need myself a break... So now it’s been pointed out to me, I’ll just rest instead.

Feeling both physically, mentally, and spiritual exhausted, you decide to get some extra rest tonight and give your body and spirit time and space to recover. Some of the rather grim sights and pain still linger and haunt your mind, but after giving yourself some time to heal, you figure you’ll feel much better tomorrow morning.

You climb into bed and get comfortable under the fluffy bedsheets, pulling them close to your chin as you lay your tired head on the plushy pillow that Benni has provided you. It feels warm, cozy, and safe here, and it allows you to gently close your eyes and allow yourself to drift off to a calm and restful sleep. Instead of the darkness feeling blinding, shrouding, and threatening like it did before, it begins to feel more like a protective blanket… a blanket of peace, quiet, and protection.

Colored has recovered 8 Points of Health (full), 10 Points of Sanity, and 12 Points of Purity (full).

As a pleasant surprise, Yume bestows a good dream upon you. You dream of having green leafy wings, and they allow you to fly high besides a miraculous sunrise unlike anything you’ve seen before. Below you is a mystical beach with pink and white sand while lively palm trees are scattered alongside the shore. The very sight and feeling of this seems like nirvana and the horrors that the Stalkers have inflicted upon you simply melt away into nothingness. You glide, fly upwards, and playfully flip and somersault in the air as if you were always born to do this… and yet the feeling never grows old.

And you smile as you sleep, feeling as though for that beautiful moment, you’re invincible and will always be happy…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 17/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

08-27-2022, 04:02 PM

I'm gonna take the night to just chill. Maybe it'll help a little in the long run. I'll go visit the well in (5) Jadebreeze Forest.

You decide to go out tonight and head into Jadebreeze Forest, having learned of the secret Funsui well within that mysterious, enigmatic clearning. After eating dinner with the others, you go outside, seemingly surrounded by the stale air around you. The skies are murky overhead with dark clouds and there isn’t very much moonlight to work with at all, but you make the best of the situation and head into the nearby forest anyway.

As you drift through the air and levitate your way through the trees, almost within seconds it feels like you’ve entered a completely different world, and the atmosphere around you doesn’t feel stale or as dark as it is just outside. It almost feels completely detached from Seabourne Town… detached from Vie entirely…

In areas where it should be pitch black, there is still a faint illumination here, which seems almost unnatural. Nonetheless, you keep following the instructions you were given to reach the well. All the while, it feels as though the trees are providing you cover, protection, and sanctuary in this strange and mysterious forest. From the outside, you’d never suspect this presence would be within here, but as you enter, it almost coaxes you into a feeling of gentle, welcoming wanderlust. For a moment, you feel all the allure of getting lost while exploring new sights and experiences without the anxiety of not being able to find your way back.

Eventually you reach the well, and you find the small clearing where the well lies in the center. You had been told the well seemed as though it were from another world, and you see exactly what they meant once you see the purple-colored ornamental roof and the crystalline basin of this seemingly mythical structure. You float your way toward it, allowing your childlike curiosity to be drawn toward the waters.

You then look over the walls of the crystal basin, and peer into the waters inside. The cyan-colored liquid is unlike anything you’ve ever seen more, but you gaze into them, close your eyes, and then make a wish…

…

I want to know the secrets. What can you tell me about my dreams?

…

For a moment, you are enveloped by a gentle, dreamlike light. With your normal eyes shut, you open your true eye and use it to look upon the waters of dreams… the realm of Yume… and everything it could ever desire to tell you about what you’ve seen, felt, and experienced…

…and then suddenly it all comes to you.

The memories come back to you. Before, they were only figments of recollection, engrams that remained as only fragments, but now they replay before your visions in their full entirety. The lives you’ve lived before, the emotions you’ve felt… suddenly all of this understanding comes back and the things you’ve forgotten are made clear again…

But with the memories of those past lives, Yume shows you the dreams you had in all those previous lives, and it feels like you’ve spent centuries here reliving all of those dreams when it has only been a few minutes. The unbelievable adventures you’ve had, the journeys to faraway impossible places, and the experiences you now remember come back to you…

…

Chakra has gained 5 points of Kurosuōbā…
Chakra has become Tatsujin.

…and it’s then that you understand and acknowledge Yume and everything it has to show you, like a teacher… a training ground and workshop for all things your imagination and dreams can conjure from the nothingness. It is here that you realize you can do and become anything, create and share whatever you wish to see, and take on a journey to anywhere you wish to go, however near or far…

…it’s all up to you.

The miracle of linking Yume to Vie is made apparent to you, and you realize just how limitlessly strong this knowledge is, though you understand how it needs to be approached with special care. By no means it is an easy undertaking, but it is within possibility with the right knowledge and practice.

Having seen everything you could within this time, you close your true eye, and then open your normal set of eyes to see you have become a Tatsujin, and now like the rest of the forest, you have your own source of illumination as you radiate a gentle, calming glow the way a spirit would.

The power and understanding of Yume are within you now, and you head back, having found everything you were hoping to find and unraveling the mysteries of answers to questions you weren’t even aware of before you stepped into this forest.

You drift and lightly levitate your way back to the farmstead, and even upon leaving the forest, the air around you doesn’t feel as bleak and stale as it once did. Tonight, you feel full of hope, promise, imagination, and creativity that feels like it can go anywhere… do anything… and achieve the impossible…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNWWGsYK/Chakra-Kusho.png Chakra the Tatsujin Jirachi (S: Kūsho)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Lychee

08-29-2022, 02:55 AM

Neo Emolga

09-01-2022, 12:51 AM

Oh dear! Oh my! I was so caught up thinking and chatting I forgot to hop to it! Or... Hover, I suppose.
I'll go have a diplomatic debrief with Mortek, and see if Taiyou left anything behind that might help us... Avenge her? Maybe that's the wrong word for it. But still!

With the night looming overhead, you head out into the stale air. You make your way due south directly toward Mortek’s home, but you imagine it won’t feel homely in the slightest and you’re expecting not to get a warm welcome considering the situation. Still, you know for a fact that the Stalkers will prey upon weakness.

Answers will be your weapons…

…and you need them now.

When you arrive at Mortek’s residence, you find him outside all alone… brooding in the darkness. Frankly, you’re not surprised to see him this way, but at least he isn’t suicidal. While he’s not one to get emotional, the death of Tayou was more personal that he would expect and now he is feeling pain that he didn’t think was possible. Where she once was, there is now emptiness and a void. That crushing effect never goes away easily, if ever at all.

You softly approach, but he already knows you’re here. You almost expect him to attack out of rage, distrust, or even as a result of the pure insanity that has started to take him over. But no, instead, he continues to brood, his breathing growing heavier and more labored, his eyes almost never blinking.

“You know they’re still out there, Mortek,” you tell him, knowing with him, it’s better to be blunt.

You know it’s how he would have approached this conversation when Tayou was still alive…

…or if he had never met her.

But he is silent. He doesn’t make eye contact and instead continues to look at the moon, barely visible beyond the clouds… as if the moon is his hope and the clouds are all the darkness, anger, and frustration he feels, encroaching in on that hope and light in his life. You sense he’s losing it and it’s taking him off the path.

He is still on the outside, but inside, he is quaking as his emotions of fear, anger, frustration, and determination wage a four-way war with his mind and soul as the battlefield. And war, as you know, is costly for all sides… for all those involved. You sense he is very good at hiding these feelings and this ravaging emotional warfare, but you know this needs to stop before it consumes him and there’s no going back…

“MORTEK!!” you shout at the top of your lungs.

There is silence, but you look into Mortek’s eyes and it seems there is now a ceasefire. The armies have been called to stand down and fall back, because an unexpected fifth force has entered the battlefield… and this force has more cunning, determination, and possesses power far beyond what they could ever comprehend in this lifetime. This fifth force of raw, unbridled tenacity is…

…you.

https://i.postimg.cc/pX5Cj9SS/Mortek-Frustrated.png “I don’t suppose you have some kind of miracle that might bring her back?” he asks, still avoiding eye contact.

But you know the truth.

You don’t need to, because deep in your heart, she has already been reborn elsewhere, starting over. She’s holding on, trying once again, somewhere out there among the stars in a new life, a new body… one of her choosing to see how much she can accomplish with it. She isn’t truly gone.

But you’re still here and there’s still work to be done. So for now, you ignore the question, because both of you already know the answer and the question had no purpose beyond letting Mortek cope with the grief… the denial, the anger, the bargaining, the depression…

…the acceptance.

“We can’t make this different,” you answer him. “But with what little time we still have left, we can make it different for those around us. This town. These Pokémon. Because it’s not over for them. They can still survive.”

“I’m not expecting you to fight,” you continue. “I just need to know what you know about them. The mission your wife started. The one we’ll continue. I need to know the details. Nothing is too small. Nothing should be overlooked. Even the slightest thing can be important.”

What do you know about the Stalkers…?

https://i.postimg.cc/pX5Cj9SS/Mortek-Frustrated.png “I know they’re hiding among us,” Mortek tells you, looking down at the dry dirt that rests before him.

“I had to talk to Verio who recently lost his son,” Mortek continues after taking a deep breath. “I didn’t feel so alone after that. He told me about the Demonic Instruments he found, and how they were deeply imbued with evil. The same source of evil that has been killing everyone lately. But there was something else that I saw that he seemed to have overlooked. I’ve seen that face before. Depression, doubt, he must have been missing it this entire time and needed a second set of eyes.”

“It’s his daughter, Kammia,” Mortek grunts, looking away for a bit before looking back to you. “She found something that looks like it has taken some kind of hold on her. A dark fascination of sorts that might have targeted her child curiosity. It seemed to be some kind of flower terrarium, and she was more than happy to show me, despite being someone of a personal stranger to her father. She thought it might cheer her up and she just happened to find it laying around, which had me feeling suspicious. I looked at it and from an initial glance, nothing seemed wrong at first. Roses, lilies, tulips, all in clusters, but the more I thought about it and the more I remembered it, the more the image burned into my brain.”

“There’s something wrong with it. Something unnatural. I don’t know what exactly it is and I didn’t feel it at first until something pushed me to hold it in my claws and it made me feel uneasy. I could only give it back to her, but something still doesn’t feel right about it. Who made it and how did she find it? It’s construction and design doesn’t… it just doesn’t seem like it was ever from here. Like it’s alien in nature or is some kind of fake or counterfeit, but I knew if I said something, they would have thought I was raving mad…”

You then look to him, assuring him there’s nothing wrong with feeling this way.

“Three months ago, if you told them about the things they’ve already seen and heard about with what these Stalkers have done, they would have said it was all insane,” you tell him, assuring him there’s nothing mad about any of this. “There are things… dark things beyond the construction of anything that’s possible and attainable here. We’ll look into any of them.”

#1 Mortek the Garchomp has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/13xHrmh3/Mortek-Normal.png “One more thing…” he tells you. “Ressi. She told me she had a dream where she murdered Sanfer, and it sounds like the work of Edifice. She thinks it had something to do with a strange prism-like object she found, but I don’t think they’re related. The problem is Hashani and Terron had the same dream from what I’ve heard and they never mentioned anything about a prism, even after I asked them specifically about it. But that prism… she showed it to me and I had never seen anything like that before in my life. Unlike the terrarium, what I saw seemed foreign and enigmatic, but at least not nefarious. But I still have no idea where it came from or what it’s for.”

“I’ll keep an eye out if I see anything else,” Mortek tells you. “But I agree with the others that something seems wrong with the coast guard. They haven’t been replying to me either and I have reason to believe they’ve been compromised by these Stalkers or at least by something trying to aid them. Malco… he was the only one I had correspondence with now he’s gone. Along with so many others. And now the coast guard is completely unresponsive.”

“Thanks for reaching out, but now I need some more time,” He looks away with a sigh. “After being unable to sleep or eat, I haven’t been up for talking after the whole incident but something you said… just seemed to help get my head out of the fog…”

You nod, understanding where he’s coming from. You tell him goodnight before you start heading back toward Benni’s farmstead. The air doesn’t seem quite as stale on the return trip, as if it got easier to breathe.

You feel it’s no coincidence…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

09-01-2022, 01:21 AM

#47 Krish the Mienfoo has been murdered by the Stalkers.

While Yanza didn’t know the victim personally, it never made this easier. Especially when it involved a young child. And it didn’t look like the Mienfoo died peacefully either. He had been choked and suffocated until he died from lack of oxygen. And even after death, his face had been smothered by black pain… as if erased.

https://i.postimg.cc/YqncNpJC/Yanza-Sw-eat.png “…Fallow…” Yanza muttered.

They had seen this before. The Stalker that takes the lives of children, leaving dead bodies of those that didn’t even get a real chance in life.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqyhK1sK/Dantus-Normal.png “You still think this is the work of that Pelliper? Drestan?” Dantus asked her, remembering she had been pursuing this Stalker specifically. “I read that report you had written up. It’s a lead, but I don’t think it solidifies the claim. We need more evidence.”

But Yanza had given up on due process. She had already met the Savants and knew they were taking a different path. Something she didn’t quite understand, but they were fighting the beast with the only things that could kill it. This was beyond her level of understanding, and it irked her that she wasn’t in a position to do more.

They were dealing with the Demoni here, and there wasn’t going to be any kind of due process that would make sense given the situation. But in the meantime, Yanza took a closer look at the body and something caught her eye besides the Mienfoo’s corpose. It appeared to be a key with a heart at one end, and it looked like it had to belong to some kind of rudimentary lock. Like something a child would use.

[Heart Key] has been added to Yanza’s possession.

“They might know what this is about…” Yanza thought to herself.

https://i.postimg.cc/NFQhDLs5/Yanza-Frustrated.png “I already know it’s Drestan…” Yanza growled. “If it were up to me, he’d be behind bars, rotting there for the rest of his god-forsaken life.”

Dantus was about to interject with trying to make a point about keeping law and order intact, but then even now it got him wondering… just what would it take to get to the point where they had to forsake the rules for basic survival? Did it have to be now, or would he risk waiting until it was too late? When was the right time?

He was going to have to be responsible for that answer with the way things were going…

Doom Tracker:
7/15

Neo Emolga

09-01-2022, 01:24 AM

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 7: Day Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/hsVfV1U.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3451876/day-7-day-cycle)

(Sunday, September 4, 2022 10:00:00 PM EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Scytherwolf

09-01-2022, 09:42 AM

Guess I'll search the (25) Seabourne Office Plaza exterior.

DayBreak

09-01-2022, 10:28 PM

Chakramaster

09-03-2022, 10:19 PM

C0L0R3D

09-03-2022, 10:43 PM

Lychee

09-04-2022, 06:43 AM

Neo Emolga

09-04-2022, 11:18 PM

Guess I'll search the (25) Seabourne Office Plaza exterior.

With the arrival of the new day, you get up early and Benni share some of her fruit and berry danishes and breakfast pastries with you, along with some freshly squeezed berry juice. After enjoying the deliciousness of them, it feels refreshing and invigorating before you head out and decide to investigate the Seabourne Office Plaza to see if there’s anything hiding there. It doesn’t seem like the most threatening area in town, but that doesn’t rule it out as it being a place that has its own dark secrets.

You step out the door and the air feels better today than it did yesterday and it does seem like more Pokémon are out and about. After heading south and making the walk there from the farmstead, you decide there’s really only enough time to search the exterior. The interiors of the office sections will need to wait until later.

At first, the exterior grounds don’t seem to be that much in disarray. They seem as though they were still being maintained until only fairly recently, and you imagine it’s mainly because whoever the landscaper is might have prioritized their life before their work and have fled town or are still in hiding trying to protect themselves. Either that… or they were recently killed…

The plants and shrubs seem to be a bit overgrown, but in general they’re still in good health and don’t look like they’ve become diseased. The stone paths and walls seem to be in good condition as well. Closing your eyes and using your Savant senses gives you a clue and feeling as though the Stalkers haven’t been here. But you still get the feeling that something else that’s surreal has been around.

You manage to track it down as another mysterious presence when you get to the back of the Brixel building. It’s easy to mistake a very old-looking metallic hatch as an abandoned underground maintenance area, and it seems most Pokémon have completely ignored it and haven’t been curious enough to mess with it. Instead, you use your armored hands to scrape away the dirt and debris and there’s definitely more to this hatch than what meets the eye. Had it not been for your heightened senses, you feel you definitely would have missed it as well.

The entrance to an underground vault is here, and you’re familiar with this kind of presence. At one point, Black Moon was using this and it bares similar markings and essence, but age and the weather have made it easy to overlook. It also seems like this vault existed here long before these office buildings did.

You try to open it by pulling on the metallic latch, but it seems like there’s a major missing component. There’s a rectangular slit that looks like it was supposed to contain a highly mechanized key of some sort, and it almost seems familiar…

{Shadow Vault: Vault Key Mechanism} has been noted in the Team Records.

You then realize you have the mechanism key back at the farmstead, but it’s still in pieces and in need of repair. Once completed, it should be able to slide and lock into the slit and then allow the door to be opened. In fact, you believe you may not even need to pull on it and it should be powered enough to slide open on its own once the mechanism is in place.

After another brief look around, you don’t find anything else that seems to stand out as suspicious, but you are wondering what exactly that old vault is hiding, and if it’s possibly connected to the Black Moon Weapons.

If it is… you know you’re going to want to get in there as soon as possible…

https://i.postimg.cc/cCTptNBb/ScyKusho.png Scy the Tatsujin Heracross (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 14/20 | Purity: 19/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

09-05-2022, 12:56 AM

(Lyric is going to interview Velay the Buizel with Diplomacy, specifically regarding his collection of Artifacts, and even more specifically, the Medallion Llanas told them about)

Lyric had confirmed their gut feeling regarding Korak, and now they knew full well that the Nidoking was not to be trusted. Now it was time to follow up on the lead Llanas had given them. They were quite interested in this Velay character she'd mentioned, as well as the medallion. First off was getting info on the guy himself. They quickly ate their meal and helped Benni out with some minor chores. As they were heading out, they looked to the other Savants and tapped their necklace.

"Guess my gut was right after all, loathed as I was to admit it. Korak's true face is Edifice. So now we know one of the Stalkers' identities. I'll leave the necklace in storage tonight. I've got someone to talk to first."

Guessing Velay would be on his ship at this hour, the Water-type set off towards the Flying Ace to talk with him. Internally, they hoped he'd be willing to show off some of the stuff he's found, and maybe Lyric would be able to make sense of some of it.

"Morning," Lyric called out to the Buizel, giving a wave. "Name's Winterheart! I heard you're a salvager, and I was wondering if you've picked up any trinkets that're... particularly interesting."

Lyric knew all too well the desire for adventure, somewhat sure they'd at least attempted it before promptly being flat on their face (figuratively and literally). While they did feel a bit guilty about not being able to help support him, they'd hopefully at least get some insight on that broken medallion the Primarina had mentioned.

This morning, you grab some fresh fruit that Benni has provided everyone for breakfast. Once you finish and you help Benni with the cleaning and tiding up, you decide to take off the Dreamwatch Necklace and leave it back into storage. With all of that taken care of, you decide to pay Velay the Buizel a visit to see what he knows.

As expected, you find Velay reorganizing some of the supplies and storage crates on his ship, the Flying Ace. It still looks like he’s got a lot of work to do, but he’s more than happy to take a break for a chat and to catch his breath. Already, it seems like the water otter has been up early to get some of this much needed work done.

“Morning,” you call out to him after waving. “Name’s Winterheart! I heard you're a salvager, and I was wondering if you've picked up any trinkets that're... particularly interesting.”

He turns around to look at you, and does a double take when he first sets eyes on you.

https://i.postimg.cc/Mp928GQZ/Velay-Shock.png “Whoa!” he exclaims, taking a few steps back in shock. “You’re… glowing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Brionne that glows before! Is that some kind of curse or magic spell!?”

…

You almost forgot about that, but you decide to brush it off with a smile, although you imagine it would be hard to explain the whole story about that.

https://i.postimg.cc/rpz6yL11/Velay-Somber.png “I mean… ah, my bad, I hope that didn’t come as rude,” Velay tells you, feeling a bit bashful and ashamed. “I just remembered there was an Ampharos named Julby that glowed in a slightly different way, but it turned out she was really sick with a medical condition that was causing unintentional electric discharge. Hopefully it’s nothing like that and you’re feeling ok! I won’t ask, though!”

He takes a step back, trying to recompose himself and scratches his head bashfully with his paw, looking a bit embarrassed. He then takes a deep breath and tries to start over, remembering your original request.

https://i.postimg.cc/7ZH8czbQ/Velay-Happy.png “Ok, starting over, it’s nice to meet you, Winterheart!” he tells you with a smile. “My name’s Velay and you’re right, I’m a scavenger, always looking for adventures and forgotten treasures! I’m hoping one of my finds someday can make me rich, but I’m more in it for the mystery and excitement! It’s definitely my passion to explore forgotten shipwrecks to find lost artifacts and forgotten bounties! Money is nice but the adventures are the best!”

…

And then he goes a bit quiet…

https://i.postimg.cc/pdSw-p1Cg/Velay-Sw-eat.png “Although…” he winces, looking a bit embarrassed again, “I haven’t found that treasure trove yet and I’m a bit broke. Ah… yeah, you see, this ship is my home, too, and I don’t even have enough to pay for a rent advance. At least when you live on a ship like I do, you don’t have to pay that kind of thing.”

“I’ve also been stuck here because of the Stalkers,” he sighs. “Malco ordered everyone to remain docked, including me. I was only trying to unload some of my artifacts and sell them to the Baywill Museum and Gallery, only they didn’t quite fetch the price I was hoping for. And I was hoping to be on my way soon after that. But now I’m not allowed to go and I recently heard Malco was killed, so I’m getting a bit worried here.”

You then remind him to ask if he’s found anything interesting, and he begins to think over his remaining inventory and finds. You then mention the conversation you had with Llanas and you let him know you’re a friend of hers.

#50 Velay the Buizel has become Compliant.

https://i.postimg.cc/7ZH8czbQ/Velay-Happy.png “Of course!” he smiles. “Any friend of Llanas is a friend of mine. We just met a few weeks ago, but she’s been really nice and fun to talk to as we’ve been passing the time.”

“There were a few things that I didn’t sell to Baywill because I’m convinced I can get a higher price for them elsewhere! Hey, I’m sure of it! I found a few pearl necklaces that I’m trying to repair and make presentable again up as well as cleaning up some old coins that I found. Hey, in this profession, you need to be pretty good at cleaning and restoration, and that’s quite a bit of work, but it’s fun!”

“And there’s a piece of this strange, broken medallion I found before, but I’ve been so busy that I forgot where I put it on this ship…” Velay replies, looking around and shrugging. “You know, I’ve tried like crazy to find the other pieces of it to see if I can put it back together, but I haven’t had much luck. It was a dull silver color and had this strange black X marking on it. Or maybe it’s a cross? I don’t know, but even if I found it, I can’t sell it to Baywill anyway because they don’t buy any broken or dirty things and I’ve already got my work cut out for me, so I might just need to scrap the idea of trying to find the other pieces to put it back together and restore it to turn a profit.”

You decide to inquire further about it, letting Velay know you’re trying to find something that might match that description.

https://i.postimg.cc/h4mB7gHM/Velay-Neutral.png “Hmm, I know it’s around here somewhere…” he looks around, trying to recall where he last saw it. “I mean if it’s something you really want, I’m totally cool with you having it since I just don’t have the time to work on it and I’ve kind of given up on trying to find the rest of it. I’ve got so much stuff that needs reorganizing…”

He sighs, feeling a bit bad that he can’t hand it over because he can’t quite find it, but it seems he’s convinced it’s still somewhere on the ship. He can’t sense the resonance of it like you can, so a search for him might take days while for you, it might only take a few hours.

https://i.postimg.cc/rpz6yL11/Velay-Somber.png “Say… could I ask a favor?” Velay asks you, looking a bit bashful like he’s been hiding something that’s been bugging him. “I know this might sound wrong, but I’ve had to resort to searching some of the abandoned places around town to see if there’s any lost treasures or things like that. I feel bad, but I’m really low on cash right now and I had to sell some of my furniture just to buy food, so any kind of silver or gold trinket that might have been left behind would be really nice.”

“Well… eh… I decided to check out the Colbyi Estate,” Velay confesses, flushing with embarrassment. “It’s a short walk from the harbor and you can even see it from the back of the ship. Well… eh heh, I thought it was an abandoned, creepy old mansion and I wanted to check it out in case there were some long-lost forgotten jewels or things like that in there. I did some searching around and I didn’t realize it was actually inhabited and Colbyi was only just upstairs, sleeping. I must have woken him up and I heard him come storming down and heard him shouting, so I fled!”

https://i.postimg.cc/pdSw-p1Cg/Velay-Sw-eat.png “Okay, I know, I shouldn’t have done that,” Velay winces. “I usually only check out abandoned shipwrecks and abandoned caves and coves, so I’m not used to this kind of thing. Still, there was something in his fancy den that seemed really weird. It was a really nice, white chest with the depiction of a smiling and cheerful Audino painted on it. I tried to take a peek inside the chest, but I couldn’t get it open, and when I looked at the lock, I saw there was missing rectangular metal slot that looked like it was for some kind of key or something. Now, in my time dealing with locked containers and doors, I’ve seen all kinds of weird locks that do all kinds of gimmicks to prevent theft, so this was normal. But there was something odd going on with this lock. There was this gross, black oily stuff all over it, and with this oil, I saw the words ‘sin, sins of all’ and it was the creepiest thing ever. And I got to thinking either Colbyi did that himself and he’s really off the deep end and could be a Stalker, or he did not and someone else did that inside his house. Either way, both of those possibilities really creep me out and I’ll admit I’ve lost sleep just thinking about it but I can’t tell any of the police investigators that I was trespassing like that only Colbyi’s property.”

“Maybe… check it out if you can?” Velay asks sheepishly. “I know it’s trespassing, but I’m thinking something weird is going on with that chest and maybe there’s something you might be able to find that sheds some light on this whole Stalker situation. Like I said, I’m not the best at sneaking around and I had to dash out of there before I could look into it further. If Colbyi really is a Stalker, we gotta know so the police can do something. Hopefully you can take a better look while that old guy is snoozing. It might be for his own good if he’s innocent but someone else has been snooping around his house and messing with his stuff.”

https://i.postimg.cc/J4cCPx7k/Velay-Normal.png “Well, that’s all for now,” Velay shrugs with a smile. “Thanks for dropping by to visit, it was a pleasure to meet you, Winterheart! Feel free to stop by anytime and I’d gladly invite you for some coffee… if I can get the machine working again that is. Or if I can get a little dough to restock my tea supply. But hey, chats without drinks are okay, too!”

You smile as you tell him goodbye and give him your best wishes as you head back to the farmstead, though what he mentioned about the Colbyi Estate and what Colbyi might be hiding does have you concerned…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNCBpN3h/Lyric-Kusho.png Lyric Winterheart the Tatsujin Brionne (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

09-11-2022, 05:47 PM

I'm gonna buy a little more time here. Think there's a little more to uncover before we get to cracking and finishing things around here.
We just have to hurry before too many more innocent lives are taken! (38) The Righteous Rider

After rising up with the dawn, you help yourself to the breakfast that Benni has provided you and then head outside, intent on investigating the Righteous Rider ship to see if perhaps the Stalkers were there at one point and planned to make it a part of their sinister plots.

Once outside, you feel the air and atmosphere isn’t quite as bad as it has been in previous days, but you’re not sure how much longer that’s going to go on for. The Stalkers continuously creep toward their dark goals and you feel in due time, the closer they get, the more morose things may become. What you see now could be a trace of hope, or it could be leading into a false sense of security.

After levitating your way toward the ship, you stand before it and see the large metallic commercial fishing vessel has been in operation for about ten years and only shows minor amounts of wear and tear. As with the other ships that have been ordered to remain near Seabourne Town, the Righteous Rider has been docked here ever since the Stalker crisis had started, keeping all possible suspects grounded to make sure potential Stalkers don’t attempt to escape and get away with murder.

However, you know the truth… they’re here until either they succeed or they fail and wouldn’t attempt to escape regardless, at least not to the point where they would abandon their mission. And these Demoni are so hellbent on accomplishing their goals that they would sooner sacrifice themselves to do so if it meant buying time for the others to complete their mission. In a way, you’ve realized the Savants have had to do exactly the same, remaining in Seabourne Town and pressing forward regardless of what gets thrown at you and the others… never backing down.

Thanks to your levitation power, you’re able to easily survey the exterior of the vessel and not have to be concerned about having to take a swim to do so. You do a full inspection of the entire perimeter, but you don’t see anything that seems unusual or gives off a trace of Stalker presence. The hull of the ship is entirely intact and despite a few scratches and dents here and there, you figure this ship will still be in operation for quite a while. Other elements of the ship, including the bridge, cranes, masts, nets and other supplies still appear to be in good working condition and show no sign of having been manipulated by the Stalkers. You then decide to sneak aboard and see what might be on the ship itself.

While Gresdo the Toxicroak has a small crew consisting of Min the Golurk and Jobo the Conkeldurr, you have the feeling they don’t really think for themselves all too much. From your external observations, Min is eerily complacent and obedient to all of Gresdo’s commands and orders with no hesitation or objection at all while Jobo himself seems somewhat dim-witted and can’t really think beyond simply lifting heavy crates and taking on tasks that require a lot of strength but definitely don’t require intelligence.

Your immediate thought is the crew must be hurting financially due to being unable to head out to perform their early morning catches and bring back the hauls to the market. Instead, you’ve noticed that Gresdo has the crew performing labor-intensive tasks on land, including hauling of heavy construction equipment, shipping crates, and waste disposal at the Anchorpoint Shipping Company Headquarters as a supplemental source of income. Meanwhile, they’ve been using the ship itself as a storage facility beyond using it as lodging for themselves.

Some of these wooden crates and metallic containers seem sketchy and you have a feeling Gresdo and his crew aren’t aware about the suspicious cargo they’ve been handling. In some of these containers that you gently investigate, you find money printing plates, most likely used for printing counterfeit money. Others include drugs, illegal weapons, and even some explosives that appear to be military-grade. In another crate, you find what looks to be a set of combat armor, which appears to look like it’s intended for some kind of insurgent warlord.

You decide to take the armor, feeling it would benefit the Savant cause way more than whatever warlord this might be going toward. You’re quite sure by the time they realize the armor is missing, Gresdo and his crew will be long gone… hopefully after everything is resolved with the Stalkers…

+|A| Combat Armor+ (3H) has been added to the Team Inventory (Equipment)

You almost wish all of this nefarious cargo could be dealt with and investigated further to determine the source, but for now, it’s more important to focus on the Stalkers, which is keeping the entire world at stake. After you finish your search upon this ship, you come to realize the Stalkers haven’t been here yet, but at least you’ve made sure…

As the sun begins to set, you decide to head back to Benni’s to make it back in time for dinner and prepare for tonight. The clouds are starting to gather overhead and you’re beginning to suspect there might be rain.

Perhaps this really was the calm before the storm…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNWWGsYK/Chakra-Kusho.png Chakra the Tatsujin Jirachi (S: Kūsho)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

09-11-2022, 07:25 PM

Phew! Now I’m in better shape, let’s get back to digging for info. My target this time is that Holly Home place, as I feel it may hold a link to Drestan somehow... whole kid thing and stuff? Maybe? Guess I’ll have to see.

After waking up in the morning, you graciously thank Benni for the early morning breakfast of fresh fruit and breakfast pastries before stepping out the front door to head immediately west toward the abandoned derelict of the Holly Home.

The walk toward the house itself doesn’t seem at all foreboding and almost seems peaceful with the calm and pleasant weather. Still, you decide not to get your guard down and despite the abandoned house being relatively close by to Benni’s farmstead, you brace yourself for anything.

Upon arrival at the dark-brown house, you see it isn’t completely in disarray. Neglect has caused some of the external features of the wooden house to need servicing, like new paint, replacing some of the rusted metal fixtures, and some new masonry might help it look new again, but it at least doesn’t look like its on the verge of collapse like some other places you’ve seen. In contrast, compared to some of the other buildings in this section of town, it’s one of the nicer-looking places here and you don’t feel that intimidated investigating it today. Some of the windows are broken from pillagers trying to snatch whatever valuables might still be around, but you find they could still be easily replaced if someone wanted to live here again, although the rest of the surrounding area says that would be a bad idea.

In your hunt to see if Drestan really is Fallow, you come up empty-handed when it comes to the outside of the house. The yards are in disarray, but there’s nothing really out of the ordinary here. You then decide to go inside and it doesn’t take very long for you to learn more about the story of this place.

Inside, most of the Holly family’s belongings and furnishings are still there. You figure anyone looting the place would only be looking to take things that were valuable and easy to carry like money or jewelry, but the heavy objects like cabinets, bookshelves, and desks still remain. Looters that weren’t interested in their low-value items like family pictures, books, knick-knacks, flower pots, and other simple things still remain, gathering dust while waiting for the family to come home after being gone for years.

Who is the fifth… the fifth child…?

From your investigations into the Holly family’s life, you see Mayla and Errando, both Mightyena, had four children, Yetna, Mishy, Orlandz, and Kesni, all Poochyena. As you search among the family photos and family documents, there doesn’t seem to be any indication of a fifth child. Old photographs and family documents like birth certificates clearly only depict four of them.

But as you wander around the derelict house, you can almost hear the word “fifth” and “five” and it has you turning your head searching for the source of the noise, not sure if its wind coming in through the broken window or simply created from taking steps on the wooden floor.

Another strange thing you’ve noticed is all the clocks in each of the rooms seem to be stopped at the same time. It strikes you as unusual because it seems like it’s only been a few years since the house was abandoned and at least a few of these clocks could have still been running given the long battery life they should have had. Instead, they’re all stopped at 2:14, which seems more unusual given all these clocks should have died all at different times. The coincidence is unnerving to you and you believe something else had a part in having everything stop at this one time.

You come across one room and it appears to be a baby’s nursery. At first, it doesn’t strike you as unusual, but then you recall from the photographs that Yetna, Mishy, Orlandz, and Kesni all seemed to be fairly grown up children and the youngest, Kesni, looked to be at least five years old and wouldn’t need a nursery like this. And yet, as you look around, the room is furnished with colorful childlike paintings on the walls along with cute-looking baby toys and supplies. It seems unusual given most of these should have been discarded after Kesni grew up and didn’t need these anymore. Meanwhile, the room looks rather clean and comforting, as if seemingly resistant to the dust collecting on the rest of the things in the house.

…The fifth…

In the center of the room, you see a colorful baby crib that looks like it was just built or purchased yesterday. You decide to approach and take a look inside to see if anything was left behind.

@Damned Screaming – GHOST (5 Damage>)@ Trap 40% Evasion Test: 41 out of 100: Failed!

You see the empty space in the crib before you and suddenly you realize the trap that you’re in. But before you can duck down, it finds your mind and rushes toward your brain. You can only scream at the nether energies fill your head with anguish… and suddenly your eyes go white…

You can only twitch and shake as your body feels paralyzed and your brain feels like it’s being crushed into a blender before the maniacal machine from hell is mercilessly turned on and everything that defines you is turned into glue.

Colored has suffered 2 Sanity Damage.

The room melts. The baby toys suddenly show their true nature and it was all part of a demonic ruse. It was never a nursery, just part of an illusion and the room that used to be a nursery was converted into a storage cabinet…

But what… what happened…?

You don’t quite understand what the meaning behind the fifth child is. Why none of this makes sense.

The void in that crib… it takes shape and form from the blackness and you see something hideous begin to appear, but you know it’s only in your mind.

https://i.imgur.com/GZUrg7y.gif

The nightmare in your vision beholds an Espurr and nothing about it makes sense. The first thing you consider is that seems like it has nothing to do with the Holly family. It was a family of Mightyena and Poochyena and the family photos and records confirm that. There was no fifth child…

…

…o̮͎̖̎͊͋r̞͙͇͔͇̭̘ w̪̥͙͕̗̪͋́̋ͤ̀ͤå͉ͬͅs ̲͉̖͆͂̿th̞̖er͔̹͈͖̍̄̌ͯe͓̚.̤̝̓͑.̝̗ͫ̂.?̯̰͖̘̳̓͊̈̔ͮ̏ ͓

…

The nightmare continues and you feel lost, still trying to grasp the situation. But dark things begin to come to mind and they begin to drop engrams of the story like planting bad, sanity-consuming seeds into your brain. They take root, they begin to germinate… and they g͔̘̹̘̙̬̟̋̊͛̐̐ͩ̂r͐͛ͦ͑o̰̜̻ͧ͗ͦw̘̪̙̪ͦͪͥ̒…

The father… Errando…

Errando… what did you do…?

…

W͕̜̗̰͉̗ͦ̍ͯ̏ͬͮH̞̯̹̟̣͖aT ̟̐Di͖̹͓̠̹d ̹͚͚̘̑̎ͥ̔y̻̰̳͖̪OU̺ Dͣͦő ̋̒͂̀̂E̱̦͕ͬ̆́ͮͅĔ̜͍̹̻ͬͬ͑ͨͅra̞̱̠̳̓̎ͤ̂Ṇ̠D͙̄O̾͆ͨ̌!̰̉? ̃̍̍

And suddenly you see what the nightmare is about. Suddenly it hits you like a truck speeding down the highway, and you vomit what feels like spiritual essence mixed with the fluids in your skull.

Errando had five children.

Five children.

Four of them were with his wife Mayla.

The fifth was with a Meowstic named Kabina…

…and the baby Espurr they would have had together was aborted before it could be born… to hide the fact Errando betrayed and cheated on his wife and abandoned his family. The scream in your mind makes the truth clear and you feel a kind of dark, psychological sickness when you realize Fallow’s Stalker presence here. And this empty crib is the essence of a child that could have been and could have had a life to live… but was terminated to hide the sins of the parents.

Fallow, as you painfully realize… adores this and doesn’t hesitate to reveal this dark truth to everyone that comes here. And as you look around you at the dark secret of this house, you realize this is everything Fallow could have wished for. The ultimate happy ending of a child-killer. A family destroyed by the truth… and the death of an unborn child out of choice… out of a lie and out of deception. But like a buried weed, the sin still found its way out of the dirt that tried to cover it. It poked out and grew and grew into a monster.

What happened to Mayla… what happened to Yetna, Mishy, Orlandz, and Kesni? Did they find out? Why did they never come home…?

There’s only one logical answer…

Cȍ̺̺̳̟́͂̎lored has su̜̝̰̹͉̇̿ͣ̐̓ffered 3 Sanity Damȁ̽͆̒ͨge.

@{The Derelict Crib: Body Cavity} Damned Screaming GHOST – (5 Sanity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

There’s a reason why no one came back to pick up the pieces…

You try your best to crawl out of the house, keeping your eyes shut as much as possible, trying to avoid looking at the family pictures on the walls and shelves, trying to shut out the noises of “the fifth child” that seem to whisper into your ears. But it’s like a maze of horrors as you try to navigate it blind and every time you try to slightly open your eyes to peek and find guidance to reach the exit, they seem to land on pictures or depictions of the once happy Mightyena and Poochyena family.

…But all of them now have a vacant black space… a black, Espurr-shaped space. Like a shadow that watches from the darkness… a birth from sin that caused betrayal and death… leaving you cringing and turning your gaze away as the whispers keep drifting into your ears.

Eventually you find your way to the entrance and you make a mad dash for it, throwing open the wooden door with a slam that seems to echo throughout the western area of Seabourne Town. You’re suddenly back outside and you see dark clouds in the sky beginning to gather, to take form, and you see it looks like it’s going to rain soon.

You almost shamble trying to make your way back to Benni’s farmstead. You stumble once and in trying to get back up, your gaze lands upon the house once more…

…and for one dark moment, you see the face of an Espurr looking at you from the window of where the nursery would have been. Watching. Staring. Never once moving or blinking.

You turn around, get up, and sprint toward Benni’s farmstead nea͍̼͙rly͎̯̬̗͉̯̻ ͚͓̮̠scre̺ͅa̬̠̦ͅmi̺̭̞ng̩̭͉̬̞…͕̮̭̜̤

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 12/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Neo Emolga

09-17-2022, 12:37 AM

I still haven't exactly healed myself, so I'm not tempted to go get that horrible terrarium off a child. Instead I think I'll follow up on a slightly safer lead, and diplomatically ask Ressi the Grotle if I could hold onto that prism for a while. It sounds like a component we might need!

After waking up, you still feel the darkness lingering onto your soul, but decide time is of the essence and there isn’t enough of it to be wasting. You decide to power through that dark pressure and that morning, after eating breakfast with the others, you decide to head out and speak to Ressi the Grotle.

You find her working at the Seabourne Office Plaza, working a day shift as an administrative assistant for the Brixel Chemical Corporation. It seems like an average office job and strikes you as possibly a bit dull, but to Ressi, it seems to be a good fit given her kind of demeanor. You can tell quite a bit about her personality even just by looking at her desk. It’s extremely orderly, very clean, and everything is labeled clearly and sorted in alphabetical order.

Despite the pain your spirit is facing, you feel a discussion with Ressi is likely very low risk, so you decide to approach her and you ask about the Aether Prism as well as what she knows about the Stalkers.

https://i.postimg.cc/mDZXBZww/Ressi-Frustrated.png “I want to figure out what’s going on, too, but I can’t,” Ressi tells you, feeling frustrated about it. “The other night, when Sanfer died, I had a dream. Hashani and Terron were there, and we just attacked him. Mindlessly and for no good reason. I kept stomping on his body and crushing his bones. And the strange thing was that it felt right and noble in the dream, but I woke up feeling horrible guilt over it, especially when I found out he actually died. It left me feeling personally responsible for it…”

“Have you heard of Edifice?” you ask Ressi, wondering just how much she knows about the Stalker that caused this. “We believe he is responsible for that. Yes… Sanfer died that night, but it wasn’t your fault. You had no control over your own self in that dream and neither did Hashani or Terron. You know in your heart you would never do that to Sanfer or any other Pokémon.”

Ressi still looks down, trying to consider what you said. You can sense she hasn’t talked to either Hashani or Terron about this, yet, but you feel it might do her a whole lot of good if she opened up about this to them. They too, may be feeling this same way, and you know it’s exactly the kind of guilt and shame Edifice wants his victims to be feeling.

https://i.postimg.cc/W3993RYP/Ressi-Normal.png “Maybe I just need more time,” she tells you, still looking like she might be keeping some of this bottled up. “I didn’t want to get mixed up in any of this. Maybe it’s related to this prism, maybe it’s not. I don’t know and I hate not knowing.”

You decide to use that to help inform Ressi. You gather that she doesn’t like being in the dark about these kinds of things, given how orderly she keeps her belongings. It strikes you as someone who wants to know where the answers are at all times and have the assurance that knowledge is close at hand. So you decide to give her the information she wants to know.

“It’s an Aether Prism,” you inform her, assuring her. “We believe it may help us fight back against some of these Stalkers. As you’ve probably realized from that dream, these are supernatural killers and they can’t be stopped with only conventional weaponry. These Aether Prisms, like the one you own right here, may hold the power that can stop them on the same supernatural plane that these Stalkers operate on.”

Ressi turns to look back at the prism in her possession, and she nods, feeling a kind of supernatural essence dwelling deep inside this energy conduit. You sense her lack of understanding of how these function and what they’re for is frustrating to her, but she accepts she can’t be expected to know everything. As she realizes, not everything can be sensed down to explainable science and logic.

https://i.postimg.cc/W3993RYP/Ressi-Normal.png “And Edifice…?” she asks, looking back to you as you’ve informed her about the identity of one of these Stalkers. “You’re sure he was responsible for that horrible dream and the death of Sanfer?”

You nod, and then look directly into her eyes.

“We even know who exactly this Stalker is,” you tell her, but decide for her own safety, she can’t know who Edifice is or else she could easily become the next target. “I wish I could tell you, but if the Stalkers were to ever find out that you know this, it could be deadly. I want to assure you we’re on it and we’re doing everything we can.”

#25 Ressi the Grotle has become Compliant.

She then slides the Aether Prism to you, as you have assured her with the knowledge you have, it’s far better to be in your hands.

https://i.postimg.cc/GtHXTM6T/Ressi-Happy.png “Take it,” she tells you with a confident smile. “I didn’t know what this thing was about before, but it sounds like you’re much more on top of things than I am and if this can help you stop Edifice or those other Stalkers, I’m all for you having it.”

You place your hand upon the prism and you feel that same familiar otherworldly energy deep within it… the same you have felt from the other Black Moon weapons and relics.

[Aether Prism] has been added to the Team Inventory (Black Moon Relics).

“Thank you,” you tell her.

https://i.postimg.cc/W3993RYP/Ressi-Normal.png “There’s… something else, one other thing before you go,” Ressi tells you. “My apartment is at the Seaport Lofts and I think I might have stumbled across something else that seems a little similar to this. It was toward the back of the building and it had this strange symbol. I was taking my trash out the other night and a bunch of scrap paper sheets got caught in the wind and got blown around. I had to go fetch all of the pieces, but one of them landed toward this… odd symbol and at first I thought it was just some graffiti, but there was this strange presence from it. At first I thought it was just my imagination, same thing like this prism, but I got the feeling that maybe it wasn’t. I haven’t told anyone about this yet so I’m not sure if I’m the only one that knows about it. If you decide to come over tonight, I can show you where it is.”

It does make you wonder… could this be related to the other Black Moon weapons and relics, or possibly be about something else? You make a mental note of it, thinking if Ressi has had some exposure to these supernatural relics, it’s likely what she found could be related and that it isn’t just some graffiti.

“I’ll look into it,” you assure her. “Thanks for your help and please, take care of yourself. It’s getting dark and dangerous out there.”

She nods, and then you decide to head back to the farmstead. It’s coming close to the end of Ressi’s workday as well, and you’re just hoping she makes it back home okay.

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P)

Neo Emolga

09-17-2022, 12:56 AM

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 7: Night Cycle Actions now!
https://i.imgur.com/lpm0tCS.gif
Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE (https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/3487000/day-7-night-cycle)

(Wednesday, September 21, 2022 12:00:00 AM EST)

C0L0R3D Chakramaster ARandomTool EmeraldSky sammy0295 Scytherwolf Noblejanobii Lychee DayBreak

Scytherwolf

09-17-2022, 07:17 AM

I'm going to repair that key for that vault at Seabourne Office Plaza.

DayBreak

09-17-2022, 04:06 PM

Lychee

09-19-2022, 04:13 AM

Neo Emolga

09-29-2022, 01:51 AM

I'm going to repair that key for that vault at Seabourne Office Plaza.

After deciding to stay in tonight, you gather the broken components of the ancient vault key mechanism and work on reconstructing them to their former state. You find the best way to begin is to try and categorize the individual pieces as you discern what their role is in the machine. As you sort through the metal rods, latches, plates, screws, and other parts, it definitely feels like you have your work cut out for you. And something else quickly becomes apparent…

You find not only has the mechanism been badly damaged, but even beyond that, the apparatus is complicated and involves a lot of complex, bewildering components that not only need to be placed in proper alignment, but many of them are in desperate need of repair and need to be refurbished and rewelded before they can be placed correctly. As you go through the components and try to match broken pieces together and restore them, there are others that need to be bent back to their previous precise shape and alignment. Without access to any kind of metalworking devices or smelting tools, you find it impossible to create new parts to replace the broken and damaged ones, forcing you to use exactly what’s in front of you for better or for worse.

As you go through the very painstaking process, you can only imagine what kind of advanced engineering when into creating this contraption, but you find yourself having to learn its functions in order to restore it and you find it very difficult without any kind of text guides or mentoring.

After nearly spending the entire night piecing the ancient apparatus together part by part, trial and error, all while refurbishing the pieces that were bent, broken, or cracked, you find yourself worn out, but finally the task is complete…

<Repair>[/s]] has become the [Vault Key Mechanism]

Without a doubt, the Tueur were more talented than what they got credit for and you can tell ordinary Pokémon would not have been capable of this level of ingenuity. It becomes clear this was the reasoning, that only Savants would have this kind of capability while native Pokémon to this world would find this technology far too alien for them to understand. Still, with the device restored as best as possible given the age and condition of the machine, you feel it should at last be ready for deployment at the vault and reveal its dark secrets…

If you really want to try this rather brutal puzzle… here is the link and GOOD LUCK! (https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=21d157ab4ef8)

(WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE COMPLETED):
https://i.imgur.com/j9nkTf8.png

https://i.postimg.cc/cCTptNBb/ScyKusho.png Scy the Tatsujin Heracross (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 14/20 | Purity: 19/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy, Repair, Security
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:
[b]Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

10-04-2022, 01:03 AM

(Lyric is gonna check out the Flying Ace to see if they can't find that medallion)

The Water-type smiled at the supposed gaining of a new ally. They didn't get a gut feeling like they had with Korak, but they'd consider putting the pendant back on when they went to do their interviews. But for now, they wanted to take a look at the Buizel's ship. Putting on the thin black vest they wore as a Nidorina to try and cover some of their glowing, they set out for the ship.

"The more we get, the better shot we have against the Stalkers," Lyric mumbled to themself as they travelled the mostly empty roads. "Regardless of whether or not the Medallion is related to them, or a Tatsujin relic, or even something else, getting some knowledge of what exactly it is would probably help..."

After the night falls, you decide to see if you can find the broken sigil fragment that Velay mentioned earlier. It’s a bit of a long, shuffling walk in the dark toward the Flying Ace, especially as a Brionne. By the time you get there and catch your breath, Velay is fast asleep. Since he didn’t seem to mind you taking the fragment if you can find it, you decide to get started as his ship is rather large and a lot of containers and piles of belongings are laying about. You figure trying to find this fragment through traditional sifting, shuffling, and digging could take weeks and you just don’t have that time. You figure you’re going to need a whole different approach for this rather daunting task.

You decide to start from the top, investigating the bridge. For the most part, Velay’s ship seems to be in alright shape in terms of condition, although it’s a bit of a mess and it seems like keeping the ship clean and orderly isn’t on his list of priorities. Not to mention being a salvager isn’t the cleanest of professions and you can tell a lot of rubbish from shipwrecks and from the bottom of the ocean made it onto his ship and was never swept away.

On the lower interior deck levels, you find plenty of crates, metal barrels, boxes, and other used and battered containers holding various tools, objects, debris, and other odds and ends of things that Velay still needs to get organized, cleaned up, and appraised. However, most of it doesn’t seem too valuable and you’re not sure why he still hangs onto most of it, but you get the feeling that he still feels some of these things are personal trophies to him and despite their dingy nature, he has fond memories instilled into them. Memories of adventure, discovery, and

After about two hours of searching, you try to focus with your spirit and your Savant senses as opposed to relying on only what you can see with your eyes. The Black Moon essences of the fragment aren’t as easy to detect as the presence of demonic Stalker relics, but there is a slight supernatural signature to them that you feel should resonate with you as you get closer to it. However, given the fact it’s broken, it takes that much longer to find it among the piles of debris and other junk.

As you navigate your way through the metallic hallways and chambers, you close your eyes at times, trying to sense the slightest and faintest of Black Moon presence, which you’ve felt before from having come across other relics that the guild has created. There are plenty of times when you feel nothing, but as you head to the back of the vessel, you then pick up the trace, even though it’s very, very faint and would never be detected by an ordinary Pokémon. It becomes almost a game of hot and cold in the dark as you need to keep your eyes shut to avoid having the sense of sight distract you from this sixth sense that needs your full concentration. While it causes you to bump and nudge into some of the random containers and piles of things that Velay has around, you approach the presence until it becomes stronger and stronger, although only in very minute amounts. When you feel you’ve reached the center origin point of the presence, you then finally open your eyes and look down at the piles of dirty and broken metal objects laying in a pile before you. As you sift through them, you find the lost fragment:

https://i.imgur.com/SOmj7uL.png

[=Sigil Fragment 2=] (https://i.imgur.com/SOmj7uL.png) has been added to the Team Inventory.

Undetectable by normal Pokémon, you sense this is one of Black Moon’s last relic pieces and it matches the format that the other two pieces had.

Having found what you were looking for, you head back to Benni’s farmstead and then you find the other two broken pieces…

https://i.imgur.com/LKUlXl8.png

https://i.imgur.com/DspIJcm.png

Taking the other two pieces, you place them together, and then with an uncanny, supernatural presence, the three pieces fuse together with a dark, violet-colored light. Once it dies down, you see the completed sigil before you, as if it was never shattered in the first place…

https://i.imgur.com/GvJGBoZ.png

The Black Moon Sigil Fragments have become the [=Black Moon Assassin Sigil=] (https://i.imgur.com/GvJGBoZ.png).

The Black Moon presence radiating from this emblem becomes far stronger, and you realize whatever destroyed this sigil must have been a very powerful presence of evil trying to prevent its reassembly. Part of you wonder if this same evil presence might have been one of the reasons why Black Moon was eliminated so many years ago, and why only their relics remain.

Nonetheless, you intend on continuing their work… knowing it’s exactly what the Demoni don’t want you to do. You’re not sure how this sigil will be used, but you have a feeling it may be close by and soon it will yield the answers you’re seeking.

For now, you decide to head off to sleep, feeling fulfilled and satisfied that you’ve taken yet another step toward saving Seabourne…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNCBpN3h/Lyric-Kusho.png Lyric Winterheart the Tatsujin Brionne (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy, Repair, Security
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>

Chakramaster

10-05-2022, 12:15 AM

There's still a few places we've yet to search. So I'll help out by keeping up the search for more details!

Search: (30) Anchorpoint Warehouse A

C0L0R3D

10-05-2022, 06:28 AM

Neo Emolga

10-09-2022, 02:08 AM

ChiChi will put on the dreamwatch necklace and go talk to Drestan. Diplomatically.
Time to prove your innocence, or spin me a very guilty story, coastguard!

I like to think since ChiChi is glowing and also a weird species, it might be like getting a visit from the ghost of christmas past!
Pleasedontkillmeeeee

As the night falls, you decide to get to the bottom of what might be surrounding the Seabourne coast guard. It seems as though there are many who believe the coast guard may be compromised, and you can see their reasoning given Malco’s death and their lack of cooperation in working with the police department.

While you eat the delicious pot pie dinner that Benni has prepared for everyone, the taste and the conversation about the weather aren’t on your mind right now. You’re almost on autopilot as you think about what may discerned tonight and how it all fits into the bigger picture, and when the meal is done, you simply head to the supply cabinets, take the Dreamwatch Necklace, and place the Blessed Armband back in storage.

You then head out into the night, intending to confront Drestan to see if the suspicions are correct, or if they’re simply heresy and unfounded rumors. You might not be able to completely discern the truth by talking to Drestan, even diplomatically, but you can see what the Dreamwatch Necklace says…

ChiChi has removed the +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P) and has equipped the +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker) instead.

For a moment, you revisit those past conversations in your mind. Mortek, Roboa, Santea, Ressi, Zakra, Ohu, Dantus, Yanza, and Kulsso… but the necklace confirms none of them are Stalkers.

You head to the Oceanwatch Condominiums and after a long, dark walk to the far southeastern side of the town, you finally arrive and look for Drestan’s apartment. Using the directory, you find he lives in a second floor apartment, which like many of the others, has a nice view of the ocean. Once you arrive at the front door, you gently knock twice, and shortly after, Drestan the Pelliper opens the door and stands before you, looking a bit dubiously at you given he’s never seen your species before. That and most Pokémon don’t glow the way you do…

…

…you feel a tingling sensation coming from the Dreamwatch Necklace…

…FALLOW… FALLOW… FALLOW…

For a glimpse of a dark moment, you behold the hidden apparition driving Drestan’s body. It becomes extremely difficult to hold back your shock, but you managed to do so without alerting the Demoni within…

#39 Drestan the Pelipper has been confirmed as the Stalker FALLOW.

https://i.postimg.cc/9XTM2yXW/Drestan-Normal.png “Strange, I don’t usually get visitors at this hour,” he tells you. “Who might you be?”

You know the truth… that Fallow is the one murdering children, probably one of the more egregious Stalkers, but you hide the knowledge that you have just realized.

“Hi Drestan, I was hoping you could help me out,” you tell him, introducing yourself. “I’m Giselle and I’ve been hired to help look into the situation with the Stalkers and some of the murders that have been happening around town. Have you been aware of their presence, or any strange happenings around town? Any little thing can help if you’ve seen it.”

https://i.postimg.cc/SRWNGb1X/Drestan-Frustrated.png “Can’t say I have,” Drestan replies. “Is that all? I need to get back to what I was doing, so if there’s nothing else you need from me, then good night.”

The fact you know he’s lying makes you feel far less guilty about your own lies to him. It’s clear Fallow doesn’t suspect anything, but you can already see he’s attempting to terminate this conversation as soon as possible and leave you empty-handed with no leads. In fact, if anything, you discern he would likely relay this encounter to the other Demoni.

“You’re a member of the coast guard, right?” you ask, ignoring his last question. “Listen, I heard about your boss, Malco. My condolences, Mister Drestan, that must have been a real shock to finally find your boss was killed like that. Thankfully my supervisor and I are always on great terms. Makes for great teamwork!”

You know Fallow couldn’t possibly care less, but he thinks he still needs to put on a convincing display. And it gives you an idea. Just how far would Fallow go to cover his tracks…?

…would he throw one of his fellow Demoni under the bus to save himself? It’s time to find out…

“Listen, I’ve been personally looking into Exonull, a Stalker who is known to murder flying Pokémon,” you tell him, imploring a sense of urgency. “They’ve already killed several flying Pokémon, including Tayou and a good friend of mine, Scy, among several others. Drestan, please, you’re a flying Pokémon, too. You’re in danger and I need you to help me! Help me so I can help you.”

You’ve locked him into a tight spot. He knows he needs to show some cooperation and concern, as if he really was a Pelipper. Deviating that would be an open door for you to drill him with further questions, like why he wouldn’t be concerned… questions that he would have immense difficulty answering without flimsy lies and would have stark inconsistencies. He has no choice now but to comply.

#39 Drestan the Pelipper has become Compliant.

Drestan goes silent and fakes unease while you feign anxiety and concern when really… it’s concentration… …so you can read his mind while he ponders…

…

…I knew Exonull would be sloppy with this whole mission! That stupid ***** can’t help but try to treat this like it’s some stupid ****ing race and she needs to show off like this is some damned murder pageant party and she’s gotta be the queen winning top prize. We were supposed to be covert and stealthy about this and NOT REVEAL OUR GODDAM NAMES. What the hell is her problem?

Damn it, I bet she did something that got these *******s on my case as well. You know what, to hell with her. And you too, Languished, you’re blowing my cover here and I’m not doing favors for you anymore. Seriously, you had to go and kill Malco, who is supposed to be this dumb birdbrain’s boss. There’s hundreds of other victims you could have picked but no, pick the one that makes me look the most suspicious and now I’ve got to change plans and work around this. How am I supposed to come up with some explanation for it and think ‘oh no, what would this dumb birdbrain do’ like I know what kind of fecal matter runs through a Pelipper’s brain. Thanks for goddam nothing, you useless *****.

First, I gotta get these pricks out of my face. You can go and eat your own ****, Exonull, you got yourself into this. Leave me out.

…

https://i.postimg.cc/SRWNGb1X/Drestan-Frustrated.png “I’m… really thankful for your concern and I’m sorry if I was doubtful before,” Fallow continues with his acting and his lying. “It’s hard to trust even my neighbors these days.”

“You’re really the only Pokémon that’s come to show some concern and you seem to have some good leads, so maybe I can help a little,” he continues. “I’ve done some slight investigations myself and one of the students at Beachwood University was one of the topics of discussion that Malco, Erine, and myself had. It’s about Kabi and some of the reports that have been surrounding her. While about most Pokémon have experienced some degree of anxiety during these times, reports about her behavior have been concerning and many of them say it’s quite drastic. Maybe it’s something to look into.”

“Sure, thanks for your time,” you nod with a simple smile. “I’ll look into that, have a good night, now!”

…“slight investigations” you think to yourself as he quickly closes the door without a word and you turn around to head back home. “and what discussions with Malco is he talking about? Some reports? It all sounds so vague!”

And it makes no sense where Drestan… no, FALLOW got this information from if he was really in Drestan’s place. You know the Coast Guard would not have involvement with what’s going on at the University unless it was a maritime incident, which obviously doesn’t fit with what’s been going on with Kabi. The claim of these discussions, reports, and investigations that Fallow is talking about seem fabricated and bear too many inconsistencies, especially with his false claim that he knew nothing about the Stalkers before but only started to reveal this information when you locked him into your crosshairs. No, his knowledge about Kabi comes from another source of information, and it has nothing to do with Drestan.

…“he really is throwing Exonull under the bus with this one, isn’t he…?”

But it makes sense why he would do this. He needs to buy time. They’re drawing closer and closer to their goal day by day, but so are you and the other Savants and the race is getting deadly. In the chance event not all of the Demoni survive, he wants to make sure he himself is among the survivors. There is a chance that while they may achieve their goal, some of the Demoni may be vanquished before that can happen. You sense he'd rather have Exonull take the fall in his place if it had to come down to either him or her.

But you’re not entirely sure if you can even remotely trust Fallow, either. In the end, you’ll need to decide if it should be confirmed by talking to Kabi again. She may have misled Nickelfool back when he first talked to her, but now things are different…

…and you know things are about to change even further…

https://i.imgur.com/7MOdjx1.png ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy, Repair, Security
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

Neo Emolga

10-15-2022, 12:04 AM

There's still a few places we've yet to search. So I'll help out by keeping up the search for more details!

Search: (30) Anchorpoint Warehouse A

With the night sky overhead, you join the others with a dinner of pot pie freshly made from Benni’s oven and once finished, you head out into the night, deciding to investigate the first of the Anchorpoint Warehouses.

As you drift through the quiet, still air, you recall the rumors that were said about this place, and that you overheard Pokémon from Beachwood University may have snuck their way into this warehouse to perform a hazing ritual, but then weren’t seen again. When you arrive at the warehouse, part of you thinks maybe the rumor was just a tall tale, or maybe these were actually victims that were never seen again and ended up as many of the missing Pokémon reported to the police.

You decide to start by searching the exterior, taking note of the dark metallic building’s condition. While it seems to have been used for many years, it still stands firmly and doesn’t show any signs of serious damage besides a dent in the metal walling here and there. Meanwhile, you notice there aren’t any windows, and while this does protect the inside materials from theft and exposure to the light, you know it prevents scrutiny as well. Any number of nefarious actions could have been performed in here and no one would know about it.

You don’t find anything suspicious on the outside, so you decide to search the inside. The massive sliding doors end up being locked, but you find a way to enter through the roof, using your small nimble size to make your way into a ventilation duct and then into the main storage area itself. It’s dark and dirty, but your new natural glow makes it easy to make your way around without the use of a flashlight or other light source.

Almost immediately, you sense a Stalker’s presence here, and it has you on high alert. One of them must have found there way in here and you begin to think that maybe the rumor is true after all. Among the many wooden and cardboard crates and boxes in towering stacks and piles, you search for anything out of the ordinary that might show a sign of what happened here and what might have been left behind as evidence. You follow the dark sensation, and it leads you to a dark, seemingly forgotten corner of the warehouse. Thanks to the fact you glow and illuminate the area around you, it becomes easier to see what it is that was left behind here.

On the dark, concrete floor of the warehouse, you find multiple dark, twisted flesh and skin-colored pieces that bear the stench of the Demoni. From your experience, you sense this broken, once cube-shaped device bears Fallow’s presence. What it might be for, you’re not sure, but you decide to gather up the pieces and use a nearby black contractor bag to hold them all in.

[=Broken Vacant Apparatus Cube=] (https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=0f02960af5f4) has been added to the Team Inventory.

You have a feeling this might be another broken key that Fallow must have used before destroying it and leaving it behind, thinking no one would attempt to put it back together. You feel it’s worth a shot to try, especially considering you might already have an idea of where it belongs. A few days ago, you recall that Scy had reported seeing a cube-shaped hole upon an altar in the Jade Acres Park. While you haven’t seen it yourself, something about the name “Altar of Vacancy” has you thinking it might be related to Fallow, but first, you decide to take the black contractor bag back to Benni’s farmstead to see if you or someone else in the group of Savants can maybe put this back together and undo what Fallow did here.

After gathering the last of the pieces, you do one last check around the warehouse, but you don’t find anything else that seems out of place. It seems uncertain if the rumor about the disappearance of the university students was really true or not, but given the fact there was a Stalker here at one point, you still have to assume the worst if they never really did come back. While you haven’t found any signs of bloodshed or incident of attack, you’re fully aware that not every Stalker kills their victims violently.

Once you’ve found your way back out of the warehouse through the roof again, you decide to head back to the farmstead and get some sleep tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will yield more answers…

https://i.postimg.cc/SNWWGsYK/Chakra-Kusho.png Chakra the Tatsujin Jirachi (S: Kūsho)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy, Repair, Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|A| Guardian Armor+ (4H, 2P)
Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

Neo Emolga

10-15-2022, 01:20 AM

I got very confused regarding cycles and stuff! Turns out I can still do stuff, so let's roll with that uh yeah!

[Searching the Colbyi Estate. Still don't exactly care for the spelling
at the minute.]

Yeah, the time limit for cycles is more of a thing to say “if you’ve made your action before time’s up, great, but if time expires and you haven’t made an action yet and all the other actions from everyone else have been covered, we may be moving on without you to the next cycle.” But if you get your action in before time’s up, it definitely gets counted. I would definitely not start the next cycle if there’s still time on the clock.

Of course since I’ve been really slow with doing these lately (I definitely want to finish this season but have been pretty burnt out), yeah, it hasn’t meant very much. But you can totally submit actions after time’s up and if I haven’t addressed the latest action posts from other people who have posted before you, your action is definitely getting in on the queue.

And yeah, I don’t know how I came up with the name “Colbyi.” I just try to hammer out whatever might sound like a fitting name for each Pokémon and then move onto the next. xD

------

Once the evening arrives, you join the other Savants in Benni’s dining room, enjoying the pot pie dinner she has prepared. The delicious taste feels like home, and it gives you a sense of warmth that makes it easy to forget what’s been going on around town, but once dinner is done, you know it’s time to head out and continue the mission as planned.

Tonight, you decide to head to the Colbyi Estate. Over dinner, Lyric mentioned a discussion that she had with Velay and that Velay had investigated the mansion, thinking it was abandoned. There was mention of a chest that was there that Velay had found, and you decide tonight would be a good time to try searching, hoping Colbyi is asleep or preoccupied while you investigate it.

You wait until a later hour before you head toward the estate itself on the far eastern side of town. From what you heard about Velay’s searching, it doesn’t seem like Colbyi has any kind of security or guards, but you decide to be careful and make as little noise as possible, hoping to not have to resort to any kind of banging or heavy pushing. Thankfully, as a Snivy, you find that’s going to be much easier than the kind of unintentional ruckus a large and heavy Pokémon might create. Moving through the grass and shrubs outside will be right at home with you and will easily keep you concealed during your searches while a Buizel like Velay would stand out easily. So you know you’ve got that edge at least.

While the night is young, you first search the exterior, just in case there was anything that might be suspicious that Velay might have missed. You find the estate is quite lavish with wrought iron fences, finely-carved stone walls with impeccable masonry, and gardens that are empty for now, but likely once were filled with colorful and lively vegetation, and only are empty now simply because Colbyi himself couldn’t care less about maintaining a garden or paying someone else to do so.

Meanwhile, as you deftly move and scope out the house from the shrubs around the outside, you see the mansion is old and dark and has seen many years of wear, but still seems to be in good standing condition despite a few blemishes of age. Still, at these nighttime hours, it does look creepy and unsettling and it’s not the kind of place you’d expect to see a happy and bubbly owner to live in. And you feel children would be terrified of the dark around here. Instead, now, you expect that the mansion itself is now a reflect of the owner in that it’s old, colorless, and lacking new life to it.

After waiting for a while, you notice all lights in the mansion seem to turn off, so you figure Colbyi has likely gone off to sleep. From your initial search discovery of the exterior, you use a lightly ajar window on the basement level to deftly sneak your way into the cellar. Thankfully, due to your small and nimble grass snake body, it’s easy and you make less noise than what a gust of wind would create. Once you’re inside, you find yourself standing in Colbyi’s wine and cider cellar, which looks old and covered in dust and cobwebs. You’re quite certain Colbyi will likely die of old age and natural causes long before any of these bottles even get looked at by him and whoever is in his will may end up having to deal with these. As you look upon the dusty bottles, you’re not even sure if there’s still liquid inside of them or if it just evaporated over time and Colbyi never knew.

Using a small flashlight, you search through the remainder basement cellar, finding mostly junk and old forgotten furniture that will likely never see much use again beyond being sold at an estate sale or end up in a garbage pile. Besides the long-forgotten belongings, you also find a small servant living quarters here, which doesn’t look like it has seen use for years either. Frankly, you’d feel sorry for any poor soul that would have to live in this cold, dark place just to make a living.

After heading up the dark stone cellar stairs, you arrive on the first floor, carefully making your way around silently and cautiously. Your small beige feet and light weight make it easy to stay silent around your search through the house, as if you’re simply a quiet ghost moving about the mansion. You decide to head your way directly toward the den, which looks well-furnished with cushy plush chairs set before a large brick fireplace while many fine paintings are hung on the walls. However, everything is dusty and old with cobwebs everywhere and it doesn’t look like the fireplace has been used in over a decade.

You then find the chest that Velay was talking about, a stark white chest with a jubilant Audino painted on it. Initially, the chest itself gives you the feeling of purity and innocence as your eyes look upon it, but something seems wrong. You look at the lock in the front and you find the black, oily substance that Velay warned about earlier, and you sense something he didn’t.

…this is the work of a Stalker. You don’t just feel it from your Savant senses, you can almost taste its stink.

Around the substance, you see the crawled word “sin” and “sins of all” as if someone took a quill and scribbled these twisted black words here. There’s also a missing metallic slot where the black goo is, and it seems like it used to be a metal plaque that was part of the chest, but now it’s gone. You’re almost certain there’s locking pins and mechanisms to this chest, but its too dark and it’s covered with the black ooze.

You have a feeling something was done to that plaque as well, wherever it might be right now. Still, you take care not to touch the black ooze itself, knowing besides being disgusting as is, it’s likely tainted and will likely leave you feeling sick and spiritually corrupted.

You carefully and quietly try to open the chest anyway, but it’s clear the plaque that’s missing is in fact the key and this originally wasn’t some kind of supernatural effect, it started as a conventional lock mechanism. However, some Stalker tainted this chest and now the plaque itself is some kind of tainted injection of darkness that you think might have some ungodly effect if you were to try inserting it back now.

{Chest of the Guiltless: Implantation of Sin} has been noted in the Team Records.

Still, unless it’s done, you’re never going to find out what’s inside this chest.

Carefully, you decide to leave it alone for now and search about the rest of the estate as much as you can without disturbing Colbyi. You managed to search the entirety of the first floor and the attic level, but you’re only able to search half of the second floor before you get too close to Colbyi’s master bedroom. And you decide that’s far enough and itself worth searching inside that room itself. You don’t sense any kind of unusual presence coming from there, despite all your concentration and focus. In fact the only sensation you feel directs you back toward the den where the chest is. Nothing comes from the master bedroom or master bathroom itself.

While you make significantly more progress throughout the old, lavish mansion than Velay did, you don’t find much else besides neglected fancy furniture, old libraries, many oil paintings, lavish carpets, and other fine and expensive furnishings. After seeing most of the remainder of the mansion without finding too much out of the ordinary, you decide to head out to report your findings, heading back through the cellar before heading back into the night. It seems like you’ve had much more luck than Velay did and Colbyi would never know you were here, but you imagine a Snivy such as yourself is definitely better at getting around and doing this kind of stealthy searching.

As you head back toward the farmstead and consider what you came across tonight, it's unknown where that slathered plaque might be right now and you don’t think you’ve seen anything in the farmstead storage that looked like it would belong to that lock. Still, at least you’ll know what it’s for once you find it and you imagine it will be pretty unmistakable when you see it.

And right now, you’re hoping you come across it sooner than later…

https://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/495.png Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 12/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy, Repair, Security
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>