Zorayda Moonlin
Freelancer: Lugia
Somewhere in Viridian Forest
ARPer’s: None

“Ah, another bug... let’s just run from this silly little Caterpie,” Zor sighed. They’d been running around all day, looking for a particular Pokemon that was always rumored to have been found in these thick forests, where Bug Catchers used to roam freely. This was one placed ENDoG hadn’t really touched yet, probably because the Pokemon here were somewhat mild and weak. Living near a city had given them things to scavenge and keep themselves well-fed, though lately they’d had to start sneaking around a bit more and working harder for their food. Which was probably why this Caterpie was crawling up to her and waggling its feelers in anticipation. At her side, Dusk, her Umbreon, growled deep in his throat as a warning. The Bug paid no heed, however, taking sudden interest in Zor’s bag. The blonde sighed again in guilt. This guy was probably hungry... She fished around in her bag, coming up with a Pecha berry and holding in front of the bug’s face. The caterpillar immediately snatched it from her with its strange little mouth, gobbling it up in a few bites. While it was busy, Zor crept away, Dusk grumbling along behind. But when she turned around, there was suddenly a swarm of Caterpie, Weedle, Metapod and Kakuna, very much interested in the food she had and now having seen that she was willingly giving it away.

“Oh, dear...” her Umbreon snarled and lowered his center of gravity, ready to fight them all, but Zor shook her head slightly at him. “No need to hurt anyone, Dusky. I just need to scare them away and maybe they’ll leave us alone...” she unclipped a Poke ball from her belt and clicked the button, releasing her only licensed Pokemon. A slender, four-legged figure emerged, standing twice as tall as Dusk... with nine times as many tales. The larger, pale fox barked playfully and cocked her head at her mistress, wondering what she was summoned for. A yawn revealed pearly canines, indicating that she’d been napping. The short woman gestured towards the Bug-type Pokemon, which had been slightly intimidated at the sight of Viola appearing, but knew nothing about the foreign fox and began to converge in curiosity. With a puppy-like grin, the Ninetales whipped up a circular mini-cyclone wreathed in flame, surrounding all the bugs and making them shriek in terror. The Fire Spin tightened in on them and they scrambled for their dear lives on top of each other, eyeing the flames with fear. Then, as suddenly as it came, the vortex disappeared. Giving Viola one last look of terror they scattered and gave the Trainer no more problems.

“Ahh, much better. Thanks, Vi! See, Dusky? We didn’t need to hurt them. Just scare them off a little and they leave us alone.” The sleek, dark fox blinked indifferently, moving his annoyed gaze to the path in front of him and stubbornly ignoring his Trainer. She laughed but said nothing more. With both Pokemon out, she kept on searching--but apparently she didn’t have to search very long. Viola wuffed in alarm, looking straight up into a nearby tree. Two black, beady eyes watched them carefully, jagged tail twitching with curiosity and not a small amount of wariness.

“Ahh, a Pikachu! Excellent, Vi!” She looked up at the yellow mouse, whose eyes narrowed and tail twitched once more. He didn’t run, but he didn’t come any closer, either. Zor noted that the tail was straight at the tip, indicating that this Pikachu was the male variant of this species. She smiled up at the little Pokemon before ducking her head to search through her bag and fishing out more berries. She picked out one of each and held them out to the Electric-type. His ears perked up in interest, suddenly much less hostile. He hopped down from the branches and came within six feet of Zor, eyeing the two larger Pokemon. “Get back, guys, you make him nervous,” Zor told them. They complied, Viola lying down at Zor’s side with that foxy grin on her face, Dusk sitting on his haunches and looking bored. The Pikachu inched forward a bit at a time, watching Zorayda carefully the whole time, before snatching the Cheri berry and gobbling it down. A satisfied ‘pikaaaaaa’ came from his mouth, making Zor giggle. She reached a hand out to the little Pokemon.

“Hi there, little one! Would you like to come with me?” she asked him. The Pikachu tilted its head as if thinking about it.

<She’s really nice, you won’t regret it, and you’ll become very strong,> Viola told the Pikachu in the Pokemon language. <She feeds us every day. Plus, we work for a noble cause. You’ve probably heard of the evil humans capturing all the Revered Ones, haven’t you?> The Pikachu stopped in his tracks, stunned. Of course he had heard the rumors. Humans that were forcing Pokemon to become mere pets, weakened and frail. Humans that had no mercy, forcing Pokemon to kill their brethren and induct them into the ranks of their own enslaved.

<Yes... What is it you do?> Pikachu asked, his full attention on the Ninetales. It was Dusk who answered, though.

<We do our best to defend those who cannot defend themselves. We seek the Revered Ones to set them free, and to take down ENDoG--the human leaders who wish ill upon Pokemon.> The Umbreon’s sharp red eyes narrowed in hatred at the memories. Pikachu blanched a bit, unnerved by his intense gaze. He suddenly pitied those who opposed the angry fox... Zor knew the Pokemon were communicating and decided to take a backseat until there was brief silence once more.

“Little Pikachu, come with us, and I promise I’ll take good care of you!” she offered. Pikachu thought for one more second, looking from one Pokemon to the other, before nodding in agreement. He rushed up to Zorayda and took a spot on her shoulder. The foreign scent of human would be something to get used to, but he decided that the view from up here was pretty good. The four of them left the forest to get back to the Freelancer’s base, where Zor was going to train the Pikachu and make him a true fighter for the freedom of all Pokemon.

Raikou
Legendary Pokemon
Miles underground, location unknown
ARPer’s: None

Darkness surrounded him. He could hear nothing, feel nothing but the slight vibration of the Earth beneath his paws. The smell of dirt and clay filled his nostrils until he was hyperventilating, terrified and alone. Again he tried fruitlessly to bash the metal box he was trapped in, without even enough space to turn around or lie down comfortably. His paws ached so badly... his fur needed cleaned, and behind him was the smell of his own refuse. How low had he sunk, to be once revered and feared, and now to be lowered to the level of a neglected, starving animal in a cage with his own waste. He gritted his fangs, trying to will his power to the surface, but to no avail; those damned ENDoG agents had taken it all. He couldn’t even so much as summon a spark... He felt like breaking down and giving up, to just let himself die down here. His ribs were already protruding from his mighty frame and he was sure he must have had stress fractures in his legs from all the hours of standing in this position. He needed help... with a weak, pitiful roar he called to no one... <Help me...>

Jace Timber
ENDoG: Lieutenant
Mauville ENDoG Facility
ARPer’s: Charmander009 (Arianne) and Cobalt (Myra)

Jace’s hand trailed lazily along his Pokemon’s spine as he looked over paperwork, tiredness tugging at his eyelids and making them droop occasionally. Panja the Luxray snored peacefully with his head on his paws, making the Lieutenant smile softly. The electric lion was one of his Pokemon that he had to keep in the Poke ball most of the time, due to his somewhat insubordinate nature. Disobedience wasn’t tolerated in ENDoG, and so Jace protected Panja by keeping him out of most battles despite his strength. The noble lion refused to kill any fellow Pokemon or fight any he thought were weaker than he, making him a prime target for abuse and torture by other agents. Right now, there were no battles, so the big cat got some rare time out of his ball and to enjoy Jace’s company. The dark-haired man sighed, turning back to his paperwork. There were many new recruits this week... sifting through, he saw a mark on one of the pages that caught his eye. One of the newbies was a young woman with a Pokemon that was deemed ‘unsuitable’ for ENDoG purposes. He frowned slightly, wondering how well the girl was handling it and knowing exactly how she might have felt. Jace glanced once more at Panja, the frown deepening. Perhaps he would visit his new recruits and keep a special eye on her... Myra, she was called. He wasn’t off-duty, but they all were at the moment.

He had already ‘met’ them, lined up at attention and being shouted at as the Lieutenant and their commanding officer. It was a tactic to make them have healthy respect for their officers and to learn obedience; the military was all about chain-of-command. Perhaps he would go to the barracks and have a ‘surprise inspection’ for neatness. Another thing about the military... everyone had to be neat and orderly, with no sense of individuality. A break did sound nice right about now, and Jace couldnt’ say he didn’t enjoy making the newbies panic a little at first. His chair made a loud scraping noise against the tiled floor as he scooted back and stood up. Panja lifted his head off of his paws, looking curious and slightly offended that Jace had stopped petting his fluffy fur. The Lieutenant ruffled the lion’s mane and grinned.

“Inspections for the new recruits! Want to come intimidate people, Panja?” Jace asked. The Luxray’s ears perked in interest and he got to his paws, tail flicking from side to side. “I thought you might.” With that, jace adjusted his uniform and made his way briskly and stiffly down the hall and towards the barracks. “INSPECTIONS!” he barked in his best CO voice, and heard the panicked scramblings of a troupe of recruits. Jace repressed an amused grin and waited for everyone to step out of their rooms and come to attention by their respective doors.