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  1. #51
    I came in like a wrecking ball... [Desolate Divine]'s Avatar
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    Abbee Strauss
    Tide Song Hotel Bathroom
    Affected RPers: Sorta none, sorta everyone else in the lobby


    Abbee attempted to dry her eyes, and compose herself before she attempted to head back into the lobby. Technically she was assigned to be helping Triad, and she was hardly any help now. She still felt the pain in her chest, however figured that focusing on the task at hand would distract her from it. But before she knew it she found herself teary again.

    "I've upset you, haven't I...?" said Victini's voice in her head.

    She wiped her eyes before chuckling to herself.

    "Why ask?" She replied with her thoughts, "If you're poking around in my head to ask this, you already know the answer..."

    Abbee was mostly joking with that statement, not being cruel or snide. That sense of humour was what caused her and Victini to click as well as they did over the last few years. She heard a slight chuckle in her thoughts.

    "Can we talk?" Victini asked.

    "Sure, but I'd just about die of embarrassment of anybody saw me like this..."

    "Then I take it you don't have an audience in there?" Victini asked.

    "It's empty. You can come in..."

    A few moments later, Abbee heard the door creak, as light footsteps made their way towards her. She was still hunched over the sink, looking down, and on the ground in her vision, walked Victini, who looked up at her somberly.

    "I'm sorry..." Victini said via Pokespeak, which Abbee had only been able to understand in recent weeks.

    "What for?" She asked, jokingly. She was struggling to piece together her emotions to some logical explanation, and figured if she wasn't certain about what was going on in her head, how could he be, and therefore what is he apologizing for?

    "Good point..." he chuckled weakly, "If I had a clue, we wouldn't be in this mess would we? So tell me, what's going on? Because you're not usually the sort to let something like this get you this down. Is it because of Cassandra?"

    "No!" Abbee said quickly, not wanting Victini to think she held any sort of ill will, or resentment towards Cassandra. After hearing the truth of what happened on and after the S.S. Wishmaker from Jon and Victini, she felt nothing but respect for the Diamond Ladies for the way they turned over a new leaf.

    "I'm not mad, and I'm not jealous. I'm just..." Abbee began, before struggling to articulate exactly how she felt, before groaning to herself in frustration at this verbal block she faced.

    "You know what happened in the weeks before I met you right?" Abbee asked, knowing Victini knew the answer. He nodded solemnly.

    "I lost my Dad, completely by surprise. Mum had been gone for years, and Tyler and I weren't exactly close so Dad was all I had, and he had been ripped from me, and I had no clue that when he dropped me off at the Eon Academy that that would be the last time I would ever see him." Abbee explained, "That week I went back home for the funeral, I had never felt more alone. I was with Tyler, and long term, I was going to live with him, but he and I barely knew a thing about eachother. We had an easier time talking to complete strangers than one-another. After the funeral, I went back to Mossdeep to finish the summer, because the people there felt more like family to me than my own brother did, and I wanted just another week or two before I had to go back to feeling alone. Then you came along, and even after we went home after summer, I didn't feel alone anymore..."

    "When you asked me if it would be okay for you to team up with Cassandra again for this mission, I knew that there was a chance that you would want to stay with her when this is all over. And as much as I knew I would miss you if that happened, I wanted you to do what would make you happy. I even released you from your Pokeball, so that the choice would be completely yours...."

    Abbee wiped her sleeve against her eyes.

    "I was okay with it, because I knew that whether or not you were with me or Cassandra, the bond we had was real, and would persevere. Even if you were on the other side of the planet, we'd always be friends. That our time together meant something." Abbee said, "Then I find out that Cassandra didn't take you on to her team, weeks after you originally left, and instead of being honest with me about it, you left me in the dark. I locked myself in a storage room, because I had no way of knowing whether it was safe to get out, and needed you then..."

    Victini remained silent hearing this. Abbee wasn't trying to condemn him, but just trying to explain how she felt about this, and he understood that. It just sting a little.

    "Then, after hearing me ask Cassandra to let you know I want to talk to you, you don't even let me know you are there, until Cassandra started talking about how difficult their situation was after the Wishmaker incident, and it was to convince her to come out of hiding. After that, it was more catchup, and I may as well have been a complete stranger, or not even there at all..."

    "Abbee..." Victini began, however Abbee continued.

    "I'm not angry, and I'm not jealous." Abbee repeated, before taking a brief second to think over her next words.

    "I was okay with you teaming up with Cassandra, maybe even staying with her after all this is over, because I believed that our bond would survive that. But then, all this happens, and in a few short weeks, it looks like it is completely gone, that the last three years were nothing..." Abbee said, starting to tear up again, "And all of a sudden, I'm fifteen again, having just been orphaned, alone in the world again, and terrified by it..."

    Victini jumped up onto the counter, now closer to eye level with Abbee, who could now see he was teary himself.

    "Why are you crying?" She asked jokingly through tears.

    "Because of how dense I've been..." Victini retorted back, joking equally through his own tears, before attempting to hug her, however his short limbs made that very difficult.

    "I'm sorry." Victini said, "I've been so distracted by what's going on, and wanting to help Cass out, I didn't think enough about how I was treating my other best friend..."

    Abbee smiled a little hearing him say that.

    "Thank you. It really means a lot..." Abbee said, "And if when this is over, you want to stay with Cass..."

    "Abbee, it's-"

    "Just keep in touch when you can." Abbee said, "Now and forever. Let me know you're happy, safe and doing well. Let me know you still think of me amidst whatever crazy adventures you get up to. That's all I ask..."

    "If..." Victini said, "I decide to stick with Cass, you have my word. Even if I have to learn to read and write, or send a messenger Pidgey..."

    Abbee laughed at the thought of Victini attempting to type an email on a public computer with his little arms, before noticing her reflection in the mirror.

    "Goddamn, if I don't clean myself up, people will think Alola's fate is in the hands of a pair of cry-babys..." Abbee said, as she picked Victini up, placing him on her shoulder, before trying to clean up her damp eyes.

    "If anyone asks about the red eyes, we tell them we were smoking in here..." Victini said, nearly falling off Abbee's shoulder as she jolted with laughter.

    "Somehow, I think people would trust a pair of cry-babies more than a pair of stoners to keep the island safe..."

    Once Abbee and Victini were content that they weren't going to attract too much attention to what had went down in the bathroom, they both left, trying to slip back into the small crowd that had gathered in the lobby...

  2. #52
    The Queen of Shaymin
    Noblejanobii's Avatar
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    Avery Miller & Abital Ecke
    Tide Song Hotel Lobby
    Affected RP'ers: @Desolate Divine @Shruikan @Chakramaster @Neo Emolga


    As Avery collapsed onto the floor, Abital frantically looked them over to ensure they were okay. "I'm fine, I promise," Avery said quietly. "I'm not used to walking on four legs, that's all." Abital began to quickly sign something but stopped when Avery cupped their face. "Hey, I'll be okay. Maybe we can find someone who knows how to reverse this."

    Meir suddenly went on alert, electricity crackling from the Raichu's cheeks as he got into an attacking position. The spouses looked over at the Raichu to spot a trio of women in butterfly costumes approaching them. They looked... familiar somehow.

    “Hey there, Avery,” Cassandra greeted them. “We saw you walk in and we figured you might need some help with those extra legs you now have…”

    The realization suddenly hit Avery like a goddamn eighteen wheeler. They knew that voice. "C-Cassandra?" they stuttered out. They quickly stuck out their hand towards Meir. "Easy, buddy, they're friends." The Raichu glanced back at his trainer's spouse before standing up and letting the electricity dissipate. Despite their butterfly themed costumes, Avery knew it was them. It might've been several years but they knew the Diamond Ladies when they saw them. It was a bit weird seeing them in costume but Avery was in no place to judge given it was their costume that got them horse legs in the first place.

    “Long time no see…” Violet told them.

    "That's an understatement," Avery responded with a laugh. It had been four years since Avery had last seen them in person. Avery had heard about the fire that supposedly killed them and had always hoped that in reality the girls used it to disappear but hoping and actually seeing it to be true were to very different things.

    “Yeah, about this curse…” Jarena smiled sheepishly to Avery, knowing how this kind of incomplete affliction worked. “I think you probably already guessed it’s an incomplete spell you got hit with and you were only half-transformed. We can dispel it, but that only works if we let the curse complete. Otherwise it’s kinda like using a mixing bowl to bake a cake when it’s already got half of an unfinished pancake batter in there and you’re not allowed to let food go to waste.”

    “Yeah, it’s like that…” Cassandra informed Avery. “I think this transformation was trying to turn you into a Keldeo, but whoever was casting it was using a direct contact spell instead of a hex implant, and they got interrupted halfway through. We can restore you, but it means we need to complete the Keldeo transformation, and then we can work on getting you back to your normal human self.”


    "Oh goody," Avery said with a laugh. "Do I get water powers this time since I can already understand Pokespeech?" they joked.

    “Victini-ni!” (“It’s painless, we promise!”) Victini told Avery optimistically with a smile. “Vic-tini…” (“But it may feel really weird for a second…”)

    “If you’re ready now, we can handle this however you want,” Cassandra offered. “But if you need time to think it over or just mentally prepare yourself, just let us know. Anytime you’re ready, really.”


    So they could dispel it? That made sense. It was a bit of a relief to Avery, if they were candid. They weren't exactly keen on spending the rest of their days as a centaur. Still, the Ladies offered to give Avery a moment to think it over and took the time to go speak with some others.

    Avery felt a tap on their shoulder and glanced over. Abital quickly signed to Avery. "Who are these ladies?"

    "A-Ah right." Avery adjusted how they were sitting and began to sign to their husband. "They're old friends from the Wishmaker. These are the Diamond Ladies, the ones that initially I was hired to help track down and arrest on suspicion of using Shadowcraft."

    A look of alarm came over Abital's face. "They're the ones that turned you into a Pokemon?" Abital signed frantically.

    "Yes," Avery confirmed, "but you don't need to worry. They've changed their ways. I witnessed it first hand," they signed.

    Abital paused and looked over at the Triad. He vaguely recognize Jarena as at least looking similar to the doctor that had healed him at the clinic. Had it really been she? If so... perhaps they were trustworthy. Abital turned back to Avery and shook his head to indicate he wasn't sure what to make of this.

    "I know, it's okay. It's a lot to take in." Avery reached out and pulled Abital into a hug. "Just take my word on this, we can trust them," Avery whispered.

    Abital sat in silence for a moment longer before nodding, indicating he trusted Avery's decision. He quickly kissed Avery before standing up and walking over to the Triad. He wasn't sure how to approach them without startling them but there wasn't much he could do about that. Abital gently tapped Cassandra on the shoulder and, once he had their attention, gestured towards Avery. "They're ready now," he signed, unsure if they would be able to understand.
    Last edited by Noblejanobii; 05-13-2021 at 08:49 PM.
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  3. #53
    "I was stupid... So stupid"
    Shruikan's Avatar
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    Luneth Tarot
    Tide Song Hotel
    Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga, @Chakramaster, @Noblejanobii, @Desolate Divine, anyone else in the hotel


    “Luneth.”

    Luneth was startled out of her trance at the sound of her name. She looked up to see a lady in a Butterfree costume. How had she recognised her in Vulpix form?

    “It’s me, Cassandra, but… don’t mind the Butterfree costume. Listen, I may not know all the details as to why you’re here, but… I’ve been told you learned a few tricks since the last time you met us. Truth is, the three of us would seriously welcome help in getting these witchcraft victims healed and restored. The three of us trying to handle it all on our own is nearly killing us.”

    “Vul-”(”I-,”) Luneth gulped. “Vulpix, vul vulpiiix vul.” (“I’m not sure I’d be much help. I don’t know much Shadowcraft, only the really basic stuff. The most powerful spell I know is the one you used on the Wishmaker, to turn the people back from pokemon. And I don’t even have any reagents with me, they’re with my clothes and pokemon in a back ally somewhere.”) Luneth took a breath to steady herself. “Vul vulpix” (“But I’ll do whatever I can.”)

    The witch she’d overheard had been after the Diamond Ladies because they though they were defectors. If she helped out, she’d be a target too. But this way she could fight back at least.

    The Luneth watched as a new person entered the hotel and the ladies went over to talk to him. He looked familiar, but at first Luneth couldn’t place him, until she heard Jirachi mentioned. He’d dyed his hair, but he was definitely the same trainer from the Wishmaker. He even had his same Pikachu with him. Luneth was ashamed to realise she still didn’t know his name, but she was pleased to know he was there and safe. And maybe Jirachi’s power could help protect everyone.

    Cassandra also mentioned Avery being there, which caused Luneth to look around. She hadn’t noticed Avery before, but she hadn’t exactly been the most aware of her surroundings. Now she looked she could clearly see a half Keldeo centaur Avery. Luneth wasn’t sure if they were really unlucky, ending up cursed right after getting help for their spouse, or lucky that neither curse was that bad, considering some of the spell thrown around today…
    She lightly pawed at Cassandra’s leg.
    “Vul? Vulpix vul vul?” (“Is there anything I can do to help with Avery? I’ve done pokemon transformations before, though not like this one”)

  4. #54
    Cheers and good times! Neo Emolga's Avatar
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    Triad (The Diamond Ladies)
    Tide Song Hotel, Akala
    Affected RPers: @Desolate Divine @Shruikan @Chakramaster @Noblejanobii


    After it had been a while since Victini had quietly walked into the bathroom to console Abbee, the two of them had emerged, with Victini perched on Abbee’s shoulder. While Cassandra didn’t fully know what kind of conversation the two of them had, she had a pretty good idea, even without the details.

    As Cassandra thought about it, she felt what had just happened was a simple misunderstanding. It wasn’t Victini’s fault for getting carried away with this reunion. It had been four years after all. But in the end, the way Cassandra saw it, Abbee was Victini’s trainer now. It wasn’t fair to her to keep plucking Victini away like this, old friend or not. And at the same time, Cassandra hadn’t realized the emotional and personal bond that Abbee now had with Vicitni was particularly strong. Stronger than she originally thought.

    She knew she had to let go.

    For real this time. Even if it meant turning down Vicitni’s offers to help or chat, because as she had seen, even just chatting with Victini one on one was enough to affect to affect Abbee emotionally. In the end, Cassandra knew it was her decision to live as an Eevee in Starglade that resulted in this, and she understood the cost of doing that was abandoning everything she had in that previous life. The little money she had left, her last few personal belongings, and most of all, her own Pokémon, and that included Victini as well. On top of all that, she had a new team of Pokémon now. While she appreciated all the guidance and help that Victini had given in the past, she knew she needed to count on Gale, Angel, Nami, Berri, Marche, and Ace instead. All six of them had come from difficult and troubling backgrounds with previous trainers, and they needed her care and attention, also.

    “Vic-ti…” (“Hey, Cass, I just wanted to say something…”) Victini told her as he looked to her from Abbee’s shoulder.

    “I know you want to try to make this a cooperative thing,” Cassandra replied, knowing it was in Victini’s nature to try and make everyone happy. “But it can’t be. We had a good run, but you’re Abbee’s Pokémon, now. She cares about you and she needs you. We’ll always be friends, but we can’t be partners. Not like we used to.”

    Victini sighed, looking a little downcast.

    “Vic-tini…” (“I really don’t like choosing like this…”) he replied, frowning a bit.

    “I want you to fully be Abbee’s partner from now on,” Cassandra told him, laying it down in a firm and solid tone to show she meant it. “It doesn’t mean we need to start acting like we don’t exist to each other anymore or go to extremes to avoid each other because that’s not necessary, but you belong to her and she belongs to you. A bond that strong… you can’t let anything or anyone come between that. Not even me.”

    Victini was silent, looking down and unable to look into Cassandra’s eyes. Thoughts were swimming around and around in his head, but he understood what Cassandra was saying.

    “Vic-ti…” (“Okay…”) Victini replied, softly nodding after thinking everything over. “Vic-tinini…” (“I’m Abbee’s Pokémon, the fat lady has sung.”)

    “Thanks,” Cassandra smiled to him. “I know I don’t even need to tell you to be good to her. You already have been.”

    Cassandra could see he was starting to get a bit teary-eyed, but she knew this had to be the way of things.

    Shortly after, Abital had gently tapped Cassandra on the shoulder to her attention, gesturing toward Avery. While Cassandra didn’t quite understand the sign language, the motions and the gestures were enough to give her the insight to understand it meant Avery was ready.

    “Thanks, we’ll take it from here,” Cassandra told him as Jarena and Violet had gathered around Avery.

    For this spell, it was slightly different, as the reagents had already been spent to start the spell, it was just never completed, like a cake batter that just needed more mixing. Still, there was something on Jarena’s mind that she couldn’t quite understand about this whole situation.

    Luneth had lightly pawed at Cassandra’s leg, and she had looked down to see the Alolan Vulpix wanting to get her attention.

    “Vul? Vulpix vul vul?” (“Is there anything I can do to help with Avery? I’ve done Pokémon transformations before, though not like this one.”)

    “Yeah, I’ll admit I haven’t done this one before either…” Cassandra replied as she flipped through one of her Shadowcraft tomes. “We usually used the transformation hex method, laying the hexes on objects after using hairs and fur strands acquired from pretty common Pokémon. This one’s… different.”

    “So… riddle me this,” Jarena asked Cassandra and Violet as Violet got a spare beach towel ready. “Why turn Avery into a Keldeo? Isn’t that like… a really super rare Pokémon?”

    “Don’t overthink it,” Violet replied, simply preparing to get the transformation reversed. “I saw someone got turned into a hunk of diamond out there on the street. They don’t care.”

    “Yeah, but… how did they get a sample of Keldeo, and why use it?” Jarena asked curiously. “I mean, with all the other common options you have for Pokémon to turn people into, why use one like that instead of say, a Ratatta or Pidgey?”

    Violet wasn’t sure, but right now, her concern was trying to figure out exactly which spell the original caster had started. Unlike Jarena’s flowery transformation that persisted on its own until it was completed, Violet’s original assessment was that this half-Keldeo transformation was completely stopped. If it wasn’t continued, Avery would be in this centaur state permanently.

    Meanwhile, Cassandra realized this, also, but she hated bringing up bad news like this after she had originally said it would be promising they could resolve this tonight.

    “I… was wrong, I don’t think we can continue from where the original caster started,” Cassandra told the others. “For one thing, I don’t know what exact spell they used, where they left off, and if the reagents they were using had already been consumed, or if they were only spent midway.”

    “Couldn’t we just Nox Purge her?”” Jarena asked.

    “Seriously?” Violet sighed, looking tired. “Cass and I nearly killed ourselves trying to do that for you. We haven’t even had a fifteen-minute break since the last one.”

    “Yeah, but we got Luneth here, now,” Jarena told her. “I mean, if she pitches in and the strain is distributed among the four of us, that shouldn’t be so bad.”

    Cassandra nodded and felt that was a good idea, but she still felt very spent from having to undo Jarena’s curse and that not even a four-way distribution would be enough to make it bearable for them, at least not right now. She then looked at her phone, seeing the time was about 6pm. After thinking about it a bit, she then looked to Avery.

    “This is going to be a little tough…” Cassandra told Avery and Abital. “I thought we could continue the transformation and then simply undo it with an Affliction Reversal spell like what we did on the Wishmaker, but it’s not that easy. We don’t know what spell they used and we don’t have anything like that in the tomes that we have, so the only option we’ve got is Nox Purge, which is very effective and would resolve this, but it’s very demanding. We can do it for Avery, but we already had to do it for Jarena just a few minutes ago, so we badly need some recovery time or it’ll choke us in the middle of casting. Come tomorrow morning, with Luneth’s help, we should be able to do it for you without a problem. Ideally, a good night’s rest for all of us would probably be the best way to handle this.”

    “We’re going to need time to teach Luneth how to do this if she doesn’t know already,” Violet added to that. “Besides, it would be damn good if she knows. The three of us can’t handle all these victims.”

    Cassandra knew it meant Avery would need to spend the night as this centaur form they now had, but Cassandra saw it as the only option. Otherwise it meant a suicide mission trying to take whatever books Agatha’s witches had and hope the spell they were looking for was in a tome they had but the Ladies did not. The risk was far too great.

    “Let’s just grab some dinner, if there’s… anyone still cooking stuff, that is,” Jarena asked, not sure if any of the restaurants or food vendors were still working due to the current crisis. “I mean, I’m cool with just fruits and veggies from the market stand, but I know most folks here probably aren’t keen on a… well, Buneary diet.”

    “Might be best for now,” Cassandra replied, nodding. “I think we all need a refresher after what happened today…”

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  6. #55
    I came in like a wrecking ball... [Desolate Divine]'s Avatar
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    Abbee Strauss
    Tide Song Hotel
    Affected RPers: Everyone and nobody in particular but @Neo Emolga and @Shruikan


    It didn't take long for Abbee and Victini to be noticed, however it was to be expected when Victini spoke to Cassandra from Abbee's shoulder, allowing Abbee to hear the entire exchange.

    What she wasn't expecting was for Cassandra to cut the tie with Victini as trainer and partner, so to speak. She made it clear to Victini that Abbee was his trainer now, and he needed to stick with her. Whilst it shocked Abbee, and she knew it couldn't be easy, she understood why Cassandra did it. Victini liked keeping everyone he cared about happy, and if there was a chance he could somehow be shared between the pair of them, he would take it, no matter how slim, and avoid making the hard decision until he had to. Cassandra what Abbee didn't have the strength to, for his sake. She felt a twinge of guilt at how happy she was to hear Cassandra say those words. Victini accepted it with his usual humour, however was teary.

    As Cassandra's attention focused to the task at hand, Abbee tilted her head to rest against Victini's frame on her shoulder, before raising her arm, giving him a scratch behind the ears.

    "Hey..." Abbee said quietly, "She will be okay. I haven't known her long, but she already is one of the strongest people I know, and I'd bet in part she has you to thank for that..."

    "Thanks..." Victini said quietly, as he attempted to dry his eyes.

    "When they're ready, let's find something to eat before the meeting." Abbee said, "You can have as many desserts as you'd like, as long as they don't reappear if things get intense."

    Victini laughed, remembering a training battle they had with Jon, after Victini and Abbee went out for lunch, where he overate. The look on Jon's face was priceless when Victini's Death By Chocolate Sundae and Apple Cinnamon Pancakes made a reappearance on Latios' face after a sluggish V-Create...

    When Jarena mentioned getting dinner, and Cassandra agreed, Abbee chimed in.

    "Lead the way." Abbee said, "I'll watch our backs until our appointment this evening."

    When the Vulpix that Triad had been talking to was unoccupied, Abbee made her way towards her, crouching down, and speaking quietly as to not be overheard. She had heard the conversation about the Vulpix's true nature before.

    "If you don't mind, you should probably come to this meeting tonight too." Abbee said quietly, "Jon might be a little peeved that I invited you without clearing it by him, but if Triad trust you, and you can help them with Shadowcraft, it's worth you being there as well..."

    "You're brave." Victini said, "Risking the wrath of Jon..."

    "You didn't hear him talk about when you guys went to catch his little green friend. Short of Alyssa, he trusts nobody more than he trusts Cassandra, not even myself and Dylan, though that's more due to inexperience and youth." Abbee replied, "If Cassandra trusts her, and she can help, Jon shouldn't be too mad..."

    If you want your character present at the meeting, have them be invited by Steven or Cynthia. Jon is big on keeping information secure, and Abbee isn't going to allow herself and Triad to be followed there by anyone who isn't invited to it. This is purely for keeping in character.

    Jon Drake
    Streets of Heahea City
    Affected RPers: None


    Wanting to investigate further, Jon had spent the last hour or so riding around the streets surrounding the attack site. Whilst Giratina was easy enough to hide in a Pokeball, the group of witches who attacked wouldn't be as difficult to hide, short of teleporting to the site of the attack. Even if they didn't come as a group, or weren't in their cloaks, with enough time and intuition, one could gain an idea of their movements.

    Riding around, he had a small tablet mounted to the handlebars of his bike, looking for security cameras in the nearby streets. On the tablet was a map, that he would mark with the locations and rough viewing angles of the cameras he saw.

    As he did this, he thought more about Giratina. Knowing from experience, the only way to hide a Pokemon like that would be with an unregistered Pokeball, which in and of themselves were highly illegal. If Giratina was in a Pokeball, it would have to be unregistered, otherwise the League would be aware of who it is registered to and where it was been scanned by PCs and medical equipment. Of course there was also the chance Giratina used some interdimensional travel, however he wouldn't know until he saw the security footage of Giratina appearing. If Giratina was in an unregistered Pokeball, they could potentially get some leads, but it would be tricky.

    Jon felt his phone buzz, and saw a call from Alyssa on screen.

    "Jon, are you okay?" she asked, trying not to sound worried as she did. Jon knew that she didn't want him to know just how worried she got. She knew he wanted to do what he could to help in the situation, and figured that if he was too worried about his wife at home freaking out over his safety, he was more likely to slip up. That didn't stop her from worrying though.

    "I'm fine. You saw the hospital?" he asked.

    "Yeah, and I saw your friend getting involved." Alyssa said, "Then it just went down. Is it okay?"

    "They used a cheap trick, but I think it is better now..." Jon explained, "I showed up a few minutes after my friend, and by the time I was there, Dylan had them on the ropes."

    "How is he doing?" Alyssa asked, having become quite fond of the young man that had lived with them for the last three years. She viewed him as a mixture of younger brother and foster son.

    "It's hard to say..." Jon sighed, "In the fighting his Metagross killed two of the witches, and he took it pretty hard. If he hadn't have intervened a lot more people would have died, and the fact he knew what was happening was because of a hunch I dismissed but he followed through. He has a good head on his shoulders, and his instincts are on point. It's just a matter of making sure he doesn't doubt himself and his own conviction..."

    Alyssa sighed, sad to hear that Dylan was struggling a bit with what he had to do.

    "How's Lili?" Jon asked. Amelia, he and Alyssa's three year old daughter was at home with Alyssa. Even if they didn't have kids, Jon wouldn't have wanted Alyssa here. She came on the S.S. Wishmaker, having gotten herself a media pass, and Jon wasn't in a position to stop her without giving away the job he was working, and it terrified him, thinking back to the potential danger to her. He was glad that Alyssa didn't come, and had reason to hold down the fort.

    "She just woke up from her nap." Alyssa said, "I'll go get her."

    A few moments later, Jon could hear Alyssa in the distance, telling Lili Daddy is on the phone. After the sound of the phone being fumbled, Jon heard the familiar voice of his daughter on the other end of the line.

    "Daddy?"

    "Hey Lili..." Jon said, now wishing more and more that Agatha had have stayed in whatever decrepit crypt she crawled out of, "How're you doing?"

    "I'm... okay..." she said, though Jon wasn't convinced, "When are you coming home?"

    Hearing this pained Jon. Since Amelia was born, Jon had run the Eon Academy, meaning he was always a few minutes away from her at most, even bringing her along to the sessions he ran there. This was the longest he had been away from her.

    "As soon as I can, and not a moment longer." Jon said, "I know you and Mummy are waiting for me, so I won't dawdle. I just... have some things I have to do here first..."

    "What things?" Lili asked, "You're not battling, because you aren't in the TV..."

    Jon chuckled, realizing she was too smart for her own good.

    "No, I'm not battling, I'm just helping a friend out." Jon explained, "I will tell you all about it when I get home."

    Thinking about what happened at the hospital today, and the people who got caught up in the battle, and wouldn't be going home again, Jon felt a wave of pain wash over him.

    "I love you Lili, forever and always." Jon said, "Don't ever forget that..."

    "I love you too Daddy." she replied, "Please come home soon..."

    Amelia handed the phone back to Alyssa, who Jon quickly caught up on the days events, before arranging another time to speak, so that Alyssa would know when to expect an update, and know not to call and risk blowing his cover by doing so. As the call ended, Jon sighed, wishing he could be anywhere but here. The last thing he wanted was for Alyssa to lose her husband, and Amelia to grow up without her Dad. And Jon really wanted to say thanks but no thanks when Cassandra approached him, and Steven recruited him for the mission. But he also knew that Cassandra took a chance on him and answered his call three or four years ago, and the threat she described had the potential to reach him and his family in Hoenn. He couldn't sit by and do nothing, when he stood a decent chance of helping.

    Realizing that he needed to get moving if he wanted to get this map fully marked before the meeting, he shelved the thoughts haunting him, replacing them with a fierce determination to resolve this conflict as soon as he could.

    "Stay alive, and deal with this s**t. Then you can go home..." He thought to himself.

    Dylan Squier
    Eon Squad's Villa
    Affected RPers: None


    Dylan had made his way back to the Villa that served as HQ, as there they had the computers and database access to investigate.

    Pulling out the four banknotes that he had received from the Pawn Shop before meeting Brianna, he quickly inspected them to make sure there weren't any dead giveaways that they were counterfeit, and when he was mostly certain they were legitimate, opened up the Alola Treasury Database, a gargantuan list of all bank notes that are in circulation.

    When governments first proposed keeping a database of all banknotes a few years ago, there was a lot of debate whether the effort was worth the reward. However with the amount of illegal weapons and unregistered Pokedex's, healing machines and Pokeballs in circulation, the debate ended up siding with creating the database which in and of itself took years to get to a viable level. All the banks had to have their ATMs modified to scan the serial numbers on the banknotes and record the accounts they were entering and leaving via into the database, and whilst incomplete, the $100 note section still had over a hundred million entries.

    Doing a quick search Dylan established that the four notes were from three different accounts. Two of them from two individual accounts and the other two from a third. This third account however, Dylan soon realized, was actually withdrawn using a prepaid card from the Kalos Postal Service, as part of a $1500 withdrawl. Whilst a name had to be registered to it, little was done to verify that the person who listed their name as Steven Stone when buying this card, was actually Steven Stone, and sure enough the name associated with the card was a dead end.

    "Hey Peter..." Dylan called out to the person sitting by a computer at the other end of the room. Peter was a League Data Analyst, however, known to few, with Jon only finding out when Cynthia recruited him to help figure out what happened to Steven when he went missing a few years earlier, Peter was an expert of sidestepping digital walls and finding out things he shouldn't. Whilst Dylan knew Peter didn't like to be interrupted, he also knew Peter understood how important the work they were doing was. There was an unspoken agreement, if it's important, to talk to him, but if it isn't let him work.

    "What's going on?" Peter asked from across the room, knowing if Dylan were speaking up, it must be important.

    "The Kalos postal service, is it government operated like in Hoenn, or private like in Sinnoh?" Dylan asked.

    "I think it's government operated..." Peter replied, before doing a quick search, "Yeah it is..."

    Dylan quickly attached the card number of the prepaid card that the bank notes had been withdrawn using.

    "This card has a fake name attached to it, which is a dead end, but I doubt this chick has heaps of them. It would be too difficult to manage..." Dylan explained, "But if I got some details of other transactions it was used for..."

    Whilst Dylan could contact the Kalos Postal Service with the information, it would take too long, as well as Brianna has shown she knows more than she should, so if going off the books could reduce the risk of her finding out, he would rather take it.

    "And if it's government, I should be able to sidestep into the database?" Peter asked, "That's what you're thinking?"

    "What I'm relying on, actually..." Dylan retorted. Peter chuckled, before speaking up.

    "Give me fifteen minutes." Peter explained, "Get me a coffee and it may become ten..."

    Dylan nodded, making his way to the kitchenette nearby, and preparing the coffee machine. Once he had a cup ready for him, Dylan made his way back to Peter, handing him the cup.

    "I emailed you the transaction history." Peter explained, surprising Dylan at how quick he was, "If she has another card, it will be near impossible to find. I already checked for other cards under that name and there were none."

    "You've already done plenty." Dylan explained, "She is cocky, and cocky people slip up eventually. This should be enough to find her..."

    Dylan made his way back to the computer he was working on, opening the emails, and finding the transaction history. One stood out to him though.

    Crown Harbour Hotel.

    Dylan quickly googled it, figuring the hotel probably required a card as security, finding it was on Akala Island.

    "S**t..." he thought to himself as he read through the page, "It's nearly $700 a night to stay here..."

    Whilst his immediate response was to use the leagues authority to get the information from the hotel, he decided against it. This was the sort of place celebrities stayed at, and he wouldn't be surprised if the hotel would notify high profile guests of any inquiries about them. Whilst Peter could attempt to hack their system, it was not his expertise, and a place like this needs security for client confidentiality. He looked back at the transaction history, for anything he could use to find her. After a few minutes, he noticed a recurring transaction from a year earlier. A bottleshop in Kalos, always $84.47, or some multiple of it, multiple times a week.

    His mind raced as he put together the pieces. This consistent sort of transaction implied it was one item being purchased. Dylan figured she had a weakness for alcohol, and based on her hotel choice, money wasn't an issue.

    He opened the website for the chain, and spent the next hour scouring the website for items stocked by the bottleshop listed in the transaction, that cost $84.47. By the end of it, he had a list of five items, a white wine, a red, two types of tequila, and a single malt scotch. Reopening the tab for the hotel, Dylan quickly found the Room Service menu, and cross-referenced the drinks list to the five he found, finding they shared the white wine and the tequila.

    A plan began to hatch in Dylan's head. Whilst Brianna seemed calm and collected, her transaction history implied a slight dependence on a certain type of alcohol, his bet being the white wine, as she would be extremely drunk every night to drink a whole bottle of tequila on her own between the transactions listed in the year earlier. If he could get eyes on the waiter handling drink orders for room service, and keep an eye out for the white wine being ordered, they might be able to get more information about Brianna.

    "Gotcha..." Dylan said to himself, as he began fleshing out his plan...

    Jon Drake and Dylan Squier
    Meeting Room of Eon Squad HQ, Eon Squad Villa
    Affected RPers: Anyone coming to the meeting


    Dylan sat to the side of the room, as Jon stood by the front, and a few of the other Eon Squad Operatives began to filter in. The room itself had been emptied of standard furniture, replaced with chairs to seat anyone coming, with a projector and screen behind him. Eon Squad itself had Jon and ten operatives. Throw in Steven, Cynthia and Triad, that puts this meeting at over fifteen people. Jon had set up twenty five seats, not sure who Steven and Cynthia would invite, trusting they would show discretion about it. The clock was sitting at 5:45, with the meeting due to start at 6.

    "Let's see if we can deal some damage..." Jon said quietly to Dylan, who nodded in agreement.
    Last edited by [Desolate Divine]; 05-26-2021 at 10:00 AM.

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  8. #56
    "I was stupid... So stupid"
    Shruikan's Avatar
    Join Date
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    Luneth Tarot
    Tide Song Hotel
    Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga, @Desolate Divine, @anyone else in the hotel


    Luneth was dismayed to find that the Diamond Ladies didn’t seem to know how to cure Avery. What had at fist looked like a simple spell turned out to be deceiving, and it seemed they’d need to use the stronger Nox Purge spell to cure it.

    Luneth had heard of the Nox Purge in one of her tomes, but had never bothered to learn it, due to needing multiple witches together to power it, which she now regretted. Now it would take time to catch her up on it. She made a vow to learn all the healing spells she could once this was over. But either way, the Ladies were too weak to try it right now, so unfortunately reverting Avery would have to wait.

    Jarena suggested finding somewhere to eat, and the others seemed to agree. However, Luneth was still wary of going back out so soon.

    “Vul, vulpiix?” (“Are you sure it’s safe to go out there? The witches could still be around…”) Luneth began, before a girl who Luneth didn’t know spoke up.

    "Lead the way. I'll watch our backs until our appointment this evening."

    Luneth hadn’t noticed her before, but the girl had Victini on her shoulder. Assumedly this was how she knew the Diamond Ladies. Was she Victini’s new trainer? He must have needed one after Cassandra “died” after all. And if Victini had agreed to it, she must be strong.

    As she was distracted, the Diamond Ladies, (no wait, Triad, she mentally corrected herself,) left the building. Luneth still wasn’t convinced it was safe enough yet, but she decided that she would rather be with them than alone here. Just as she was about to go out after them, the girl with Victini crouched down and spoke to her.

    "If you don't mind, you should probably come to this meeting tonight too. Jon might be a little peeved that I invited you without clearing it by him, but if Triad trust you, and you can help them with Shadowcraft, it's worth you being there as well..."

    Luneth’s first thought was Jon. If this was the same Jon she thought it was, getting him peeved was not on her top 10 list of things to do. But on the other hand, she was curious as to what this meeting entailed. It was probably something important, if it warranted dragging Triad away from their medical work.

    She nodded to the girl. “Vulpix” (“Alright, I’ll be there.”) She probably couldn’t understand the words, but the nod should get the meaning across.

    As they walked after Triad through the near deserted streets, Luneth studied the new girl. “Vul, vulpix.” (“Hey, Victini?”) she said after a while, trying to get the legendary’s attention without making too much noise. She tilted her head towards the girl. “Vul vulpix, pix vuul? Vul?” (“Can she understand pokemon speak, or did she just figure me out from overhearing stuff? Oh, and what’s her name?”) she added almost as an afterthought.



    Glimmer
    Heahea City > Eon Squad Villa
    Affected RP'ers: @Desolate Divine, anyone else at the meeting.


    After several attempts, Glimmer finally managed to find a taxi willing to take her to Heahea.
    The guy driving was kinda crazy, but he didn’t mind driving into a potential magic war zone so beggars can’t be choosers. She made sure to give him a generous tip as he dropped her off at the city outskirts.

    She was cautious at first, expecting to see witches wandering every street, but thankfully it seemed the commotion from earlier had died down. Now it was mainly ghosts again. Those she could handle.

    After quickly checking in with Flan again to confirm their location, she rushed over as quickly as she could without drawing undue attention to herself, collecting the pokeballs and clothes left behind. She tore a blank page out of Luneth’s notebook, and wrote one word on it, Gracidea, before pinning it down underneath a dustbin. Not a perfect plan, but the best she could do with what she had. Luneth would know what it meant, assuming it was still there when she returned.

    She hoped that Luneth simply hadn’t had the opportunity to return yet, and that nothing too bad had happened too her. Without the comm she had no way of finding her. She tried to force down the knot in her stomach. Maybe someone at the meeting would know what had happen to her?

    Speaking of the meeting, it was almost time. After slinging Luneth’s bag over her shoulder, she rushed back to the meeting point. She had expected an apartment or abandoned warehouse or something, but when she arrived at the specified location, it turned out to be a rather large villa. Huh, amazing what you can do with league funding, she thought. She wondered how much renting this place cost? Or maybe one of the champions owned it themselves? Hopefully not, that would make it too obvious to work as a hideout.

    Glimmer quickly glanced at her watch. 5.50. Despite the detour she’d made it in time. As she approached she had to resist the urge to look over her shoulder. She had taken as many precautions as she could on the way here, and she was pretty certain no-one had tracked her, but now was not the time to let up. If she was being watched and she made a point of checking, it would clue them in that something was going off here. So instead, she walked calmly up and entered the building as casually as she could, like she was going to a fancy Spiritwater party. Well, she was dressed for the part at least.

    There were already about a dozen operatives there, but she didn’t instantly recognise anyone, though that wasn’t much of a surprise, as she’d mainly been working a solo investigation so far. Even so, she felt a little uncomfortable being alone among all these strangers, and began to feel a bit self conscious that she was still wearing her Spiritwater costume. She briefly tried to lean against the wall before finding her costume’s wings got in the way, and settled for standing awkwardly next to the doorway, willing the meeting to start soon.

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  10. #57
    P i k a c h u Chakramaster's Avatar
    Administrator

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    Jimmy Kendo
    Tide Song Hotel, Akala
    Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga @Noblejanobii @Shruikan @Desolate Divine


    Cassandra replied to Jimmy. “It’s a mess, Avery’s just one victim among many…” Cassandra sighed. “What you’re looking at is a half-transformation. Right now, Avery is only halfway transformed into a Keldeo, likely the result of a witch that was interrupted in the middle of casting and not able to fully complete the spell. But yeah, look around, there’s dozens of other cases we need to fix. It’s going to take us weeks unless we find another solution.”

    "I thought I recognized them. Avery huh? More are here from the past than I thought." Jimmy said as he had taken some time to look around now that he had a chance. Everything had gone from one disaster to another. Leaving many trapped here. Unsure of what to do next or what may turn into their fate. Like their very own world ending scenario being played out right in front of their eyes. "Hopefully this is something easily dispelled..." Jimmy said looking to Avery.

    Looking around more Jimmy noticed an Alolan Vulpix make a slight glance to him. "An Alolan Vulpix." Jimmy mutters to himself. "I wonder if it belongs to someone, but...somehow it looks familiar?" Jimmy didn't recognize it, but it just looked so familiar to him.

    Replying to Jimmy again on his statements about Jirachi. Cassandra responds to Jimmy, “thanks, this is already a major help,” Cassandra replied. “But like you said, while it would be awesome if Jirachi could reconstruct the urgent care center, we need some way to protect it and defend it from it getting destroyed like that again. I mean, knowing Jirachi, I think the sky’s the limit, but we need to get creative about how we handle it, because the witches we’re dealing with are diabolically clever as well. We need… ideas.”

    While Jimmy seemed to phase off into thought as he talked with Jirachi a moment. A moment later Jarena helps to cheer Jimmy up. “Dude, we need all the help we can get!” Jarena exclaimed cheerfully with optimism. “Like Cass said, we need to get creative. Wild. Unpredictable. Just let your imagination get freakin’ nuts and make it something these witches won’t ever see coming! Nothing is crazy or naďve, we can find a way to do it!”

    “Oh boy, here we go…” Violet muttered, rolling her eyes.

    “Vi-ti!” (“Oh come on, it’ll be fun!”) Victini told her with a quirky smile, brushing off her irritation. “Victini-nini!” (“You know you enjoyed it last time! Don’t deny it! I know I saw smile on that Furret face of yours!”)

    “And here I am in this ridiculous Vivillon costume…” Violet shrugged. “I swear, the things I go through…”

    "Speaking of....did I tell you those costumes are pretty nice! Very creative and imaginative." Jimmy chuckled. "Jirachi actually created one for me. Told me it was the best costume anyone had seen. Why do I get a bad feeling about that?" Jimmy kinda scratched his head after that one.

    “It’s true, we need everyone and anything they can think of,” Cassandra replied. “We can cure a few people, especially the ones that have been left completely stricken and helpless, but the rest of us… we may need to fight back… cursed or not cursed, however we can. Expect anything and refuse to be afraid of it. They want us cowering in the corner.”

    “Victi!” (“We need to find one of those witches and make them talk!”) Victini exclaimed. “Vic-ti-ni-ni!” (“We got to know where they’re hiding! It may seem harsh, but… I think we should go with cruel and unusual punishment. Like a hex pińata! Dump boogers on their head, cover them with glitter glue and rainbow feathers, or… I know! Turn them into an ice cream sundae snowman with all kinds of fun and crazy toppings! Hey, chocolate, anyone!?”

    “Did… anyone see Abbee leave just now?” Cassandra asked, looking around the lobby to see if she was around.

    Jimmy wasn't sure of anyone new he hadn't met just yet.

    "Sorry, I don't know who you're talking about. I know I'll probably get an introduction sooner or later. In fact, give me a few moments. I gotta make a few updates.

    Jimmy took a moment to step away. Making a few messages by text to Steven. Encrypting his message using a code and feature setup by his team and Rotom for a one way connection to Steven and back to Jimmy only.

    "Hey Steven,

    It's Jimmy. I've made it to the Tide Song Hotel here in Akala. I'm sure you heard already about the attacks on the Urgent Care so I won't be taking your time on that. I'm met up with a few others and here to help at the hotel as needed. I've still got our star looking out for others in our disclosed location. I've still got his package to hand out to others. I've got a plan to help out using these that'll help in rebuilding a base of operations for Triad and helping keep others a little more protected. If there's a way I can hand these out to others here to make sure they each have access to the building and that extra form of protection. If there's any way else I can help while I'm here let me know.

    Thanks.

    -Jimmy


    Jimmy sent the message as another message came through. From someone he hasn't seen in a long time.

    "Been a long time, brother. Good to see you still being the good guy as always huh? Don't worry about me I'm nearby. I won't do anything like that time you last saw me. Using mom's Celebi to trap you in that time loop. Don't worry though. I don't have it with me. It is mom's Pokemon after all. That's all in the past! I've got my own mythical Pokemon now. Maybe I'll introduce you. Doesn't look like you have one yet huh? Poor Jimmy. Well I've got my eyes on you. See you for now."

    "Geez why now. Suddenly she's gone for years and now she shows up out of nowhere? Great. Perfect timing in fact."

    Pikachu looked up in curiosity. "Pika-pi?" (Who was that)?

    "My sister. Someone I wasn't hoping to see again for some time. Not until she made it up to me. I hope she's not up to no good again. Or we might be in some more trouble." Jimmy said looking to Pikachu as his phone buzzed once more.

    "Ugh again?" He said as he checked. It was a response back from Steven.

    "Ah good then. Glad to hear there's no new major incidents on your side. I don't think we can accept more on our plate than we already have. It's been one thing to another here. Sorry we've been wearing you out here too. As you've seen though things are more than most of of can handle.

    On that note, there is a meeting planned. I'll be sending you the details in the same encrypted message that'll tell you where to go.
    So look out for that location text after this message. While you are there you can hand out these items you mentioned in a prior discussion. I'll look forward to a proper explanation as to what you plan to have them do soon. If they'll give everyone who has one even a little more protection again these curses and hexes or anything I'm clearing that here and now. Same goes for how you plan to have the Urgent Care issue resolved without it being targeted right away again.

    Oh and Jimmy? Just to let you know Jon will be having his own discussions here in this meeting. Just as a reminder he is not and will not be a commander to you under any circumstances. Nor is anyone else. You still have your own engagements here. We still asked you to come in on this mission as a special request only. So don't let anyone discourage you and no one can change that fact. You are not obligated to follow anyone's orders unless it comes from myself or Cynthia. Much like he has his own team he commands. We understand your position as well. We just need all the help we can get right now. You and Jirachi are just a big asset. So thank you again for helping here and coming when you did. I hope you understand we appreciate all of your help.

    Will be in touch soon."

    -Steven


    "Well that was a bit more than expected." Jimmy says looking to Pikachu. "We're gonna stick around Pikachu. We have something to attend soon." Jimmy says looking to Pikachu. "You get that too Jirachi?" Jimmy talks to Jirachi through the communication link Jirachi keeps with him.

    "Yup! Loud and clear Jimmy! At least now you can give my gift to everyone!" Jirachi sounds cheerfully through to Jimmy ringing in his head.

    "Ah yeah and we're gonna need your help soon. Can I count on you, Jirachi?" Jimmy asks. "It will take you showing up here for a brief moment, but I want you to go back to being hidden right after. I don't want our enemies knowing we have a Pokemon like you on our side. It could be detrimental. So for now save your energy. We will need a little more than usual in a short while. I don't want it exhausting you though. Think you can handle it?" Jimmy asks him.

    "Awww, fiiiiiine. I'll visit soon as you tell me. Then go right back to staying here where I am. Don't worry. I've got enough energy to still last for days! You remember what we mapped out over the last 4 years what'll drain me right?" Jirachi asks.

    Jimmy nods, "Yup. Alright. Will keep in touch. Keep up alert until then okay Jirachi?"

    "Got it! All eyes focused ooooon target!" Jirachi says as he cuts the telepathic communication for now as Steven's message and location came in. Leading him to where they needed to go for this meeting as they made sure their gear was all still with them. They set out to make it to the location in time.
    Last edited by Chakramaster; 05-16-2021 at 10:59 PM.

    The time is upon us...


    . Pika Pair with the yellow bundle of fluff Chibi Altaria..


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  12. #58
    Cheers and good times! Neo Emolga's Avatar
    Senior Administrator

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
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    AGATHA
    Manager Office, Thrifty Megamart, Akala
    Affected RPers: N/A


    “There,” Agatha spoke, sprinkling on more ashes into the vortex. “That should be enough for it to grow well into the night.”

    Meanwhile, Willow simply watched as the vortex seemed to consume the reagent and speed up for just a moment before going back to its usual pace, seeming to endlessly churn the shadows floating in midair.

    As she watched, she could hear voices, whispering and chattering in a spidery-like language. She couldn’t tell if they were even speaking in English or if this was some other cryptic language altogether, but trying to make sense of it all was like trying to navigate a labyrinth while completely blind. But many of the words sounded like hisses and unsettling echoes.

    “Who are these voices we’re hearing?” Willow asked Agatha as she prepared to leave and close up everything for the night.

    “The dead, of course,” Agatha smiled back. “Simply, they’re whispering, trying to speak beyond the veil of life and death, but there is too much interference, and the nether is not strong enough. Not yet, however. As time marches on, you will hear their secrets. Some will try to bargain with you. Or warn you of things to come.”

    Willow found it somewhat fascinating, but at times, haunting as well. She wondered if the dead had anything in particular that they wanted to tell her. Or if she had something they wanted as well.

    Once the two of them had left the room, Agatha commanded several of her ghost Pokémon to watch over the room as she replaced the hexes on the door, as if securing and tucking in a child to sleep well into the night.

    Willow had decided to leave for now to prepare dinner for herself, while another witch, a young male named Aaron, had approached Agatha with a status report.

    “So far no signs of the rogue witches.” Aaron told her. “We’ve been watching Heahea from a distance, but none of the afflicted civilians have been tended to. Those that were still capable of moving took shelter, but the thoroughly afflicted that had become immobile still stand where they were hit.”

    “Good,” Agatha replied, smirking.

    “Good?” Aaron asked, looking puzzled. “We’re trying to catch them in the act of trying to reverse the affliction. Our ambushes are getting tired of waiting.”

    “Good as in they’re likely overwhelmed,” Agatha snarled back at Aaron. “That means there are very few of these rogues and our attack so far has left far too much for them to handle and now they’re forced to choose who gets healed and who sits with their afflictions. They’re under far more pressure than you are just because you can’t handle being bored for some time.”

    Aaron grunted in frustration at her reaction, but he decided not to press it any further. To him, she had a point, but he wanted to find them and catch them in the act so he could interrogate them and find out who they were and why they had gone rogue against Agatha’s direct orders.

    Still, he could take pleasure in the fact that it was clear they were fighting a losing battle. The only thing Agatha needed was time and once she had it, she and the other witches would become unstoppable. No human, Pokémon, or machine would be capable of bringing them down, and they would be free to reforge and recreate everything as they saw fit.

    “We can handle it, Agatha,” Aaron replied. “But I would enjoy the pleasure of dealing with one of them personally…”



    Triad (The Diamond Ladies)
    Tide Song Hotel, Akala > En Route to Meeting Room of Eon Squad HQ, Eon Squad Villa
    Affected RPers: @Desolate Divine @Shruikan @Chakramaster @Noblejanobii


    After looking at the time, Cassandra knew they needed to be on their way to attend Jon’s meeting. With so little time and with no time to wait for cooking service, Jarena has simply bought three pre-made sandwich wraps and three bottles of water from a kiosk that was still open. They wouldn’t have time to eat it here, but they could possibly have it later during the meeting or after they got back to their room.

    After leaving the hotel, Cassandra felt bad about having to leave Avery as a centaur all night, but at least it was a bearable affliction for the most part. Once the three of them had stepped out into the empty streets, it wasn’t long until they had gotten swift reminders of the more thoroughly afflicted. Still, as the night was getting darker, they still tried to keep under cover despite their colorful and eye-catching butterfly Pokémon costumes that Violet was regretting for subtlety’s sake.

    Some of the victims they passed on their way to the villa, like the stone statues and Pokémon transformations, were ones that Cassandra knew she could heal in time once it was safe. But there were some that seemed far beyond recovery. One female trainer and her Lopunny were broken into shards and pieces like they were nothing but ceramic smashed on the concrete, while another trainer was almost fully melted into a pool of purple, still-bubbling ooze. Had it not been for the trainer’s half-melted face, she wouldn’t have been able to tell it was once a human.

    “Even at our worst… we never did stuff like this…” Jarena muttered solemnly as she saw the sights of the ‘killed’ victims on their way to the Eon Villa. “This isn’t magic. This is murder.”

    “Going easy on them would be a damn mistake,” Violet told Jarena and Cassandra. “Not one we can ever afford when it comes to spells. When you deal with murderous scum like this, you hold nothing back and let them know what this kind of hell feels like.”

    “No…” Cassandra disagreed with Violet. “None of us should stoop to their level. We made a pledge to use Shadowcraft for healing, to prove there’s good to it. Maybe… with Jirachi’s help, we can save some of these other cases of extremities, but that’s going to be a longshot and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re beyond what we can do together. But when it comes to Agatha and her posse, keep them alive and breathing in one way or another. Neutralize them however you’d like to make sure they’re no longer a threat and can’t cast anymore spells, but I refuse to be like them with how they destroyed these people and Pokémon.”

    Jarena nodded with that, but Violet had her doubts.

    “They’re already a step above our league…” Violet reminded her. “You saw yourself what happened to Jarena. They nail Luneth and all three of us at once with something like that and this island is doomed. You sure you want to go easy on them for virtue’s sake when they’re doing this?”

    “I know what you’re saying, but first, let’s see what Jon has to say tonight,” Cassandra replied, understanding Violet’s points as well. “It’s a delicate situation, but I’ve already done enough in my past life to have regrets and I don’t want to add more to it…”

    Violet remained silent for now. While she didn’t entirely agree and felt it was suicide to take this war too mildly, she did want to be able to live with herself afterword. After passing by the splintered remains of a young boy Pokémon trainer and the remnants of his Growlithe, she felt sympathy and then anger, but she understood that she couldn’t allow that rage to turn her into an abomination as well.

    With the Eon Squad Villa just up ahead, they decided to make a dash for it as the meeting was only a few minutes from starting.




    Triad (The Diamond Ladies)
    Meeting Room of Eon Squad HQ, Eon Squad Villa
    Affected RPers: @Desolate Divine @Shruikan


    By the time Cassandra, Jarena, and Violet had arrived, Cassandra had seen it was already 5:59 with only seconds to spare. While seats were provided, Cassandra figured there was no way they were sitting down with these giant butterfly wings on. And at the moment, they were the only outfits they had. All of Jarena’s other clothes were buried in the rubble of the urgent care.

    Cassandra had noticed the rest of Jon’s Eon Squad were there, and considering the situation, while Cassandra trusted Steven, Cynthia, and some of the League’s members, she felt if anyone was going to make a difference in this situation, Jon’s Eon Squad would be it.

    The room had been slightly turned upside down with furniture being moved out of the way and with a projector screen put up. Meanwhile, the only one that Cassandra had recognized besides Jon’s crew was Luneth. She had arrived sooner than they did, which Cassandra figured was due to the fact they had taken a few minutes to grab dinner. When they were going to eat it, they didn’t know. An even bigger question that Cassandra thought about was where they would be spending the night. The on-call room had been their place to stay, but with it destroyed, she knew she’d have to look into booking a room somewhere.

    Meanwhile, Cassandra had seen that most people weren’t wearing costumes anymore, which made her feel a bit silly and out of place, but she decided not to feel ashamed about it. Her only concern was her possibly being recognized due to the fact she stood out now, but she took a bit of comfort in knowing if Jon trusted them enough to be here, she could trust them enough to respectfully keep the truth hidden if they suddenly put the pieces together that these three lades dressed as butterfly Pokémon were in fact the controversial Diamond Ladies that everyone thought were dead.

    After sighing, she decided to push the thoughts of it out of her mind and simply wait for Jon to start the meeting.

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  14. #59
    I came in like a wrecking ball... [Desolate Divine]'s Avatar
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    Jon Drake, Dylan Squier and Abbee Strauss
    Eon Squad HQ Meeting Room
    Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga @Shruikan @Anyone who arrives late.


    As they made their way to the meeting, stopping to get lunch, Abbee heard the Vulpix she had spoken to earlier try and get Victini's attention. She then asked if Abbee could understand Pokespeak, and what her name was.

    "You can call me Abbee." She said to the Vulpix with a grin, answering both questions.

    They arrived on 5:59, with Jon, Dylan, Steven, Cynthia, the rest of Eon Squad and a few faces she didn't recognize that she presumed the Champions invited, all ready to go. She quickly made her way over to Jon.

    "Cutting it a little fine aren't we?" He asked her, half joking.

    "A minute early is still early." Abbee retorted, "Between us the Vulpix is actually a witch as well that Triad know and trust to help them. I figured we could use all the help we can get, and if Triad can bring themselves to trust them, they must be pretty safe."

    Jon shifted uneasily, however understood her reasoning. She was probably right.

    "We'll get the meeting started soon. Do you mind taking notes? In case anyone shows up late?" Jon asked. Abbee nodded, grabbing a large notepad and a pen from the table nearby, before making her way to only remaining empty seats at the back of the room, ready to take notes.

    "Its 6pm now, so we will get started." Jon said to the crowd of people in the room, "We are meeting because too much has happened in the last twelve hours, and we need to make a point of communicating what we have come across in that time, and from there, plan our next steps."

    "Before we go any further, there is one thing I want to make abundantly clear. Eon Squad has a policy that intel does not leave the group through myself, even to other operatives. The League have let information slip before that has caused issues, and I want to see that avoided, especially with people already dying today…" Jon explained, "I proposed the same thing to Steven and Cynthia with regards to this meeting, and given the fact that the enemy knew where to strike, they have agreed. The only people with authority to share this meetings information with anybody outside of this room will be Steven and Cynthia. I will be under their authority with that as well."

    There were murmurs from some of the people invited to the meeting by Steven and Cynthia as Jon said this.

    "If this level of confidentiality is too much for anybody here, leave now." Jon continued, "But realistically this just means you can't share any of this information with anyone outside of the room. It is not to be stored on any sort of shared server, and not to be told to your coworkers who aren't here over a beer. Are we clear?"

    When there was a general agreement from the crowd and nobody walked out, Jon was content.

    “In that case, lets begin.” Jon explained, “My main reason for calling the meeting was to get the accounts of different people, hear their thoughts, hypothesis’ and conclusions, and see if we can put these pieces together into a bigger picture, and come up with a counterattack from there. And I mean exactly what I say when I say counterattack. But we will get to that later…”

    “The last few days, I have had Eon Squad tasked with attempting to find curses left by our targets before they were triggered. In the meantime I have worked with Triad in order to dispel the stronger curses that remained even after being tripped.” Jon explained, before pressing the button on the clicker in his right hand, “This morning, Dylan Squier and Abbee Strauss located this, and got a slight glimpse of the person who left it.”

    On the screen appeared an image of the clipboard that had been cursed, with the glyph containing the curse visible.

    “Dylan contacted myself, and I travelled alongside Naomi Hart to the site, where she identified the glyph, which turned out to be something new that hadn’t been apparent until now.” Jon explained, “This glyph is a hybrid curse. The first of the curses is a standard Pokemon transformation spell like what was used on the S.S. Wishmaker, and that we are now equipped to handle. The second however would turn the target into a walking security camera for whoever left it…”

    There were murmurs, as Jon continued.

    “Next to the glyph was a name, which we at first thought was a red herring, however Dylan Squier had a feeling there was more, and decided to follow it up. I will let him share his findings…”

    Dylan went pale, as Jon stood aside, and he realized everyone was waiting for him. However after a few seconds, when he realized there was more important things than messing up a public speaking gig, he seemed to be okay.

    “Brianna Levine was left on the petition next to the glyph, and with Jon’s permission, I started to investigate her, starting with a list of reagents Triad had forwarded me for the curse to be used. The easiest to trace was stardust, as it is high value with little personal use, so nine times out of ten ends up in a pawn-shop.” Dylan explained, “There aren’t many in Heahea city, and after a little digging I found the one that claimed to have sold Stardust to someone who fit the description that morning. They paid cash, so I paid out the clerk and got the bills used to pay for it from him. After that I left, and I was approached by the target outside the store. Brianna Levine.”

    Jon clicked the clicker, showing security camera footage of Brianna speaking to Dylan, however her face was blurred.

    “We believe she is using some form of shadowcraft to prevent her likeness being recorded.” Dylan explained, “When she approached me, she told me she only wanted to talk, and placed a hex on the ground that forced both of us standing within it to speak the truth. She didn’t ask me any questions outside of my name, however seemed to speak a lot herself, so we believe it was to try and earn some trust from us…”

    “Firstly, she told us that she wasn’t affiliated with the group of witches who we have been clashing with, though doesn’t want to be affiliated with the league, and that she left that glyph with the intention of us finding it, to make us aware that our targets have been doing the same thing.” Dylan said, intentionally leaving out the fact that Brianna knew who Triad really were, as not everyone here did, “The biggest concern however was that she knew about the attack on the Hospital before it happened. She warned me with almost no time to spare, so I left her to provide backup at the hospital.”

    “Rayquaza has been migrating towards Alola over the last couple of years, and shortly after Dylan arrived, Rayquaza attacked the Giratina Agatha was using to attack the hospital, at a guess, as some form of territory dispute.” Jon interjected, “However one of the witches used some sort of spell to immobilize Rayquaza, whilst the witches fled.”

    “That’s when Brianna showed up again.” Dylan continued, “She then reiterated that she has the ability to help us, if she feels like it, and restored Rayquaza back to normal, before Jon captured it himself to get it treated, and possibly even use it in the battle against Agatha.”

    “Do you really think you can have Rayquaza trained and suitable to battle Giratina again under your orders by the time that situation arises?” Asked one of Steven’s invitees.

    “I can guarantee you that there isn’t a single person on this planet who can handle Rayquaza better than myself.” Jon explained, “If you want to contest that, wait until we aren’t dealing with this s**t…”

    “Brianna basically came to reiterate that she isn’t siding with either us or Agatha, and has her own reasons for being against Agatha, so will help when it aligns with her own goals, and to prove that in a way, gave us two peices of information to pass on to Triad.” Dylan explained, “The first was in the form of two page references to a spell tome in posession of Triad, though I am unaware of what the pages are referencing. The second was another peice of information to pass on to Triad.”

    Facing the three witches, Dylan continued.

    “I noticed she restored Rayquaza without using any sort of incantation.” Dylan explained, “When I asked her how, she told me to tell you that incantations at their core is just vibrating air, and in the same way a recording or similar sound wave doesn’t trigger a spell, the incantation is not necessary. It is the thought that matters and the incantation exists purely as a means of directing focus and making sure the spell works as intended. She told me to let you know. Maybe it will allow you to do your work more discreetly, or respond quicker than you would normally?”

    “I confronted her about waiting until the last possible second to tell us about the attack, and that the reason so many people died was because she waited.” Jon explained, “And if she is willing to let those people die, her reasons for helping us are almost certainly for her own benefit, not the greater good, which she didn’t deny.”

    “Instead, she told us that the only reason more people didn’t die is because Agatha did what she wanted, and she warned us at all. That on our own we stand no chance, and we can either question her motives, lose her help and potentially fight a war on two fronts, or we can focus on the big problem at hand with Agatha, accept her help, and cross the potential bridge of conflict with her when we get there.” Jon explained.

    Cynthia looked at Jon with great concern. The last thing they needed was another witch posing a threat to the stability.

    “And what do you think of that?” Cynthia asked.

    “I hate to admit it, but at the time, I partially agreed with her. We had civilians die, and they could have easily killed more. The only reason they didn’t was because they decided to retreat, when they really didn’t need to, and she gave a warning so that Dylan could help fight them back.” Jon explained, “Ultimately, it comes down to what those page references, and whether Triad are able to use those references to help us. We are going to investigate her of course, but we will keep our distance, and focus on dealing with Agatha, since the death toll is only going to increase, and if Brianna is able to keep that a little lower with her occasional input, then I think we should cross that bridge when we get there. Of course that is with Steven and Cynthia to decide…”

    “As much as I hate leaving a potential threat like her unchecked, if it means we can deal with the confirmed threat with less casualties, then I think we focus on Agatha for now, and deal with Brianna when we absolutely have to. We won’t tell her a damn thing, but won’t bite that hand either…” Steven said, “That’s assuming that the page references she gave are actually helpful?”

    “Only Triad can answer that, and I will let them do that when they share what they have found out.” Jon explained, “Dylan Squier and Abbee Strauss are assigned to investigate her, and Dylan already has some solid leads, so I will leave that investigation with them.”

    “Triad?” Jon asked, as he took a seat, “What did the pages say? What do we need to know before we plan our next move? And what do you need from us?”
    Last edited by [Desolate Divine]; 05-26-2021 at 10:02 AM.

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  16. #60
    P i k a c h u Chakramaster's Avatar
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    Jimmy Kendo
    Eon Squad HQ Meeting room
    Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga @Shruikan @Desolate Divine


    Double checking the location. Jimmy confirmed it was the right place. He focuses to connect with Jirachi again. Making sure Jirachi can read him telepathically. "Aliright Jirachi. Add this to our list too. We're gonna need this on our teleport list too. Just in case"

    "Got it! You know the process by now, Jimmy" Jirachi told him through his telepathy.

    Jimmy walked in. Making it just before the meeting had started. "6pm right on the dot. Least I didn't miss anything" he said nodding towards Cynthia and Steven.

    Jimmy made sure to keep quiet and pay attention. More than any of them know he's been focusing on evidence and gathering information. Links he may not be aware of are vital pieces that may prove more worthwhile. Soon enough he'd have to let the others know too.

    They began mentioning about the curse seen earlier. He recognized it. Back at his own base setup. The team and Jirachi still had it and other focus points being processed and analyzed. Jimmy just couldn't help, but to think there was some connection somewhere.

    Jimmy then focused in on the witch that spoke with Dylan. Listening carefully to what they think about the situation with her. Though he knew he'd be explaining it soon enough. He knew Jirachi was helping to focus in on any vital information the could use to make any connections. But ONLY what was necessary for the mission as per requested by Jon. Just as Jimmy had taught Jirachi over the years. The listen and respect others even if they aren't his trainer. Only under circumstances.

    "Don't worry Jimmy. I'm only marking down things absolutely vital like you told me" Jirachi connected with Jimmy telepathically and him alone using their personal radio communication Jimmy had yet to give anyone. Waiting to hand out the gift Jirachi made to give everyone there that Steven approved earlier.

    Focusing back on the meeting. They mentioned Rayquaza. Jimmy couldn't help but to question the validity of what he said when Jon mentioned there wasn't a single person on the planet besides him that could handle Rayquaza better than himself. Jirachi let out a little snicker through the communication with Jimmy.

    "If only you knew Jimmy." Jirachi laughed. "But that's not for now or us to know."

    Jimmy couldn't help but to question it more. Did Jirachi see something and not let him know?

    Jimmy focused back in. His Pikachu sat calmly and quietly on his shoulder. Paying attention to anything imperative to the mission at hand. He couldn't help but to wonder more about this one particular witch. If she was t on any particular side. Then who was she? And why did she only do what "she" wanted? It couldn't help but to just catch Jimmy's eyes and stand out.

    Snapping out of his after Cynthia spoke her part. Jon spoke up again

    “Triad?” Jon asked, as he took a seat, “What did the pages say? What do we need to know before we plan our next move? And what do you need from us?”

    Jimmy looked over to them as he took a moment to pull a bottle of water and snack from his bag. Not having had anything since early that morning he felt he needed it before he had to say anything and give out his gift to anyone that wanted it.
    Last edited by Chakramaster; 05-18-2021 at 12:16 PM.

    The time is upon us...


    . Pika Pair with the yellow bundle of fluff Chibi Altaria..


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