Week 16.

[azumods]

WEEK 16 The world continues to stagnate. It's an undeniable truth, one that's more or less a constant in your lives; you can see it in the people and the Pokémon both, even after you arrive in Oreburgh City. The same blank stares and behind-the-eyes deadness that Cyrus' new world brought with it are everywhere, difficult to ignore and impossible to escape. However little the people are interested in you, however, they are still present, and with Darkrai and Cresselia having agreed to help you, that has to count for something; with both dream deities and the Lake Guardians, perhaps hope hasn't faded - perhaps spirit can still be restored to the world, as long as there's a world left to restore it to. That isn't to say, however, that the city itself holds nothing for you; there's a fair amount to see here, and a few things to explore if you're so inclined to do so; the mines in particular are open to the south, and extends far beneath the region. Take care not get lost, should you venture in. CURRENT LOCATION: OREBURGH CITY POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES SURROUNDING ROUTES: MOUNTAINS/ELEVATED AREAS / CAVES MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY [OOC: Welcome to week sixteen of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget that a write-up is due this weekend!]

Comments

MONDAY

[azumods]

[gekkaju]

[For once, Atsushi is glad to be away from the water. He's certain seeing it would dredge up some recent memories that he's still trying very hard to not dwell on.

Having since resolved not to let the state of things bother him too much, instead finding optimism in Darkrai and Cresselia's support, Atsushi plans on spending the day exploring Oreburgh once they arrive. But before that, he'd gotten his Pokemon healed up and had headed just past the Pokemon Center for some morning training when something happens...

Chazuke and Natto have been pitted against one another while Mizushi sits with Atsushi nibbling on an oran berry. Atsushi calls out commands to them both, watching as they bounce off of each other. As usual, Chazuke can't do a whole lot other than defend himself and struggle...and after a while this gets on Natto's nerves. So much so that she bites down on the little Wimpod and outright refuses to let go, forcing Atsushi to get up and rush over.]

Natto, you can't- bite like that, let him go!

[Atsushi starts to reach in to pry them apart when out of nowhere a flash of light from the Stunky's mouth startles them both, Atsushi staggering back and Natto dropping Chazuke from her mouth, skittering back towards Mizushi. Atsushi turns his attention to where Chazuke fell, watching as the light warps around and envelops him as his figure begins to change, and he gets bigger...and bigger........

And bigger.

Atsushi falls back onto his rear, staring up at Chazuke now as the light tapers off to reveal a hulking behemoth of a Pokemon that towers over Atsushi, staring down at him with slanted eyes and multiple arms. Atsushi scoots back, his mouth working with no sound escaping as the Pokemon stamps towards him, now distinctly bipedal as it walks.

He opens his mouth and starts to scream when its massive claws sweep down towards him-

-but that is pretty quickly cut off as Chazuke scoops Atsushi right up off the ground, cradling him in his Big Meaty Claws(tm) so he can give him the hug he's always wanted to, chittering happily with his big head pressed against Atsushi's and messing his hair all up.]

I- ...w...wh-

[He wanted to be bridal carried by a 6 foot tall bug today, sure]

[takestheblame]

[Kiryu and Shoga were some distance away, not paying much attention, at least until Shoga noticed the shining light of an evolution. Curious, he hurried to see what was going on, so obviously his trainer followed right behind him.

...ah. It was your turn now to deal with an evolved Pokemon, eh, Atsushi?]

...he's much larger than I thought he'd be.

[And...more threatening-looking, too. That'd be scary to encounter in the wild. But yeah, Chazuke is much larger than Shoga! Even taller than Kiryu! It's amazing]

[enjoymyatelier]

[...oh, wow, that was not quite what he expected from that little thing, uh-]

...

Well, I guess it is a bit like Magikarp, then.

[eudaimonikos]

Holy shit!

[Here's Michael, making absolutely no move to help you with this!]

Congrats on the big bug, man, he could really rip a head off!

[semistableman]

[All of Bucky's Pokemon have stayed cute and small since he hasn't been training them, so he's had to live vicariously. It's been just fine, honestly. At least only a few evolutions have really surprised him.

But the tiny little bug evolving into a very big bug is one of those things that really does take him by surprise.]

He's... gotten really big.

[radiantflame]

[She's just

staring

in awe of the size of this lad etc etc]

Good grief, he's massive.

[anythingforyou]

[...You know, Camilla was attracted by that ever familiar light while she was training her partners, so she and Eda wind up coming right up to see what on earth is going on and--

Hoooooly shit? Camilla's actually struck speechless at what she sees, but Eda comes hopping on up to Atsushi and Chazuke, just kind of. Jumping up and down and making a lot of excited noises, which is pretty much Wormadam-ese for "So cool, so cool, so cool!!"]

...Atsushi, dear, are you...going to be alright?

investigation!

[enjoymyatelier]

[You know, Kayneth should really be investigating the Gym or the mines or something... but they've got time. Probably nothing but time. Unless Cyrus shows up and murders them all, but anyway, there's an attraction in Oreburgh that Kayneth is incredibly invested in visiting the second he realizes it exists, and thus he's going to spend the day at the museum. Sure, he wouldn't normally be interested in a plebian subject like coal mining, but hey, between the library in Canalave and a museum in Oreburgh? He's recharging, okay.

For what it's worth, he is paying pretty close attention to all the exhibits in case they'll tell them anything useful about leads on the mythology of the region or useful in general and ask the employees about the operations, but for the most part he's just chilling. So if you felt like paying admission or taking a free tour on Monday, well, you can chat him up.]

[eudaimonikos]

Hey, you seen if there's fossils in any of these?

[Michael is coming towards the display cases from the placard about how to revive fossils. At least he's not actively holding a lockpick or anything.]

[takestheblame]

[It's museum time, out of curiosity. Kiryu's team better behave. Once he reminds them etiquette is important -- everyone may be spiritless but it'd be rude as heck to possibly break stuff in a museum anyway. No battling! -- they go inside.

Turns out neither Kiryu nor anyone in his team is passionate about the intrincacies of mining.

What does get their attention is the part about fossils. They all stare at the fossils, and Kiryu finds the information about how Pokemon are revived]

...they can revive ancient Pokemon just by using...those? And it's treated like something normal?

How can this world be so advanced?

[Reviving fossils, teleportation, healing machines...science is amazing in the Pokemon world]

[eudaimonikos]

They could just be talking about cloning.

[He says like that's normal? Either way it's not super clear from this primer.]

museum

[enjoymyatelier]

It's highly improbable, but I'm really curious to get a fossil and see how it works.

[HE THINKS ABOUT IT...]

I know there was a film about cloning dinosaurs from DNA preserved in amber, but... hmm. I wonder if it would be different from our world just because Pokemon are so strange.

[hyruglyphics]

[ One would assume that Zelda would spend basically all of her time at the museum once they arrived in Oreburgh. ... And honestly, it's that's a fair assumption, she might do just that at a later point this week. But what catches her attention instead is that very soon after they arrive and she sends out Miphanus the Metang...? Well, it's in that moment that a light envelops the creature, as it examines under a particularly amusing looking stone. They evolve.

And in a flash, the floating creature with two arms thuds to the ground as a new, altogether quite large (over five feet tall not even counting all the horizontal bulk) and heavy (... as in over a thousand pounds and four times as heavy as Bosphoramus somehow) new form. And Zelda is--

Ecstatic, of course! She whips out the Sheikah Slate and sends out every other member of her team (Saber the Lickilicky and Bosphoramus the Onix seems interested, Urbin the Alolan Graveler seems mildly agitated, the Mime Jr is blank, and who even knows what Vah Daroh the Porygon2 is thinking) and begins to take photographs ]

Oh wow, wow! Just look at you! Oh, you so resemble a Guardian now it's uncanny, actually!

TUESDAY

[azumods]

[greydients]

[Oreburgh City is definitely an interesting place, but Rey is admittedly not all that interested in continuing her explorations today; if you happen to be near the entrance to the mine, you'll find her....sitting on the ground, as if she's just been knocked backwards by something.

It's hard to blame her, since her Golett has suddenly grown 9ft tall.]

G...

[Rey had never been able to find Golett - her first Pokemon - in any of the books about the Sinnoh region. It's the only Pokemon in her team she knows nothing about, as the rest of them are all natives. She'd just...assumed that it was from a faraway place, an odd little ghost-robot content as it was; even after two of the other Pokemon in her team evolved, it didn't even occur to her that Golett had the potential, let alone....]

...Go..lett?

[Said 9ft giant ghost-robot doesn't seem quite as shocked as its trainer; instead, it flexes its arms and rotates its upper body around, testing out its new capabilities. If anything, it appears quite happy.

...if a....9ft giant ghost-robot can look happy, anyway.

...

...Rey will recover, she just...needs a moment.]

WEDNESDAY

[azumods]

[fatalstrikes]

[If you head up to Route 207 this morning, you'll come across Yuri and all of his Pokémon. Yuri's apparently already gone through his own training routine since he's sitting in the grass catching his breath, and his Pokémon are mostly being left on their own to train. His first three (Roc, Rukeno, and Dein Nomos) are all fine with this; either they understand the importance of training even against soulless wild Pokémon or they're just used to following Yuri's orders.

The still-unnamed Gible is kind of... occasionally throwing sand at the wild Pokémon like she's pretending she's battling, but she's clearly not into it. The Zubat is even less into it, considering that he's perched on Yuri's shoulder and not moving.]

C'mon, you aren't fooling anyone. If you don't feel like fighting, just hang out with me for awhile.

[The Gible trots back obediently and sits nearby, watching the others. She doesn't seem all that bothered, but she's not asking for a treat either, so maybe this is improvement.

Suddenly a glowing light interrupts them and Yuri gets to his feet. (The Zubat adjusts his position so he doesn't fall, but he doesn't seem to mind the sudden ascent.)]

Hey, Dein Nomos...

[The sword is one of his Pokémon he has no information on, and honestly he thought Dein Nomos didn't evolve since it's been so long since he got him. But the sword is now glowing and Yuri looks extremely excited.]

What are you gonna turn into, huh? A bigger sword? Something more ghost-like?

[How about two swords?

Yuri just sort of stares in silence for a moment, even after the newly-evolved Doublade approaches.]

...Where did you get the second sword from?

[???????????????????????

Later on in the evening you can find Yuri sitting outside the Pokémon Center. All of his Pokémon are still out, and they've all gotten used to Dein Nomos's change. Yuri, on the other hand, is still completely baffled by this and he's still staring at the swords.]

...So should I call you "Dein" and you "Nomos"? Better than trying to give you guys a new name entirely, right?

[Dein Nomos makes a soft clanging sound. He looks a little worried? His trainer has spent the entire day in a state of "what do I do with you" and he's a little afraid that he'll never stop? Please send help.]

[anythingforyou]

[If there's one thing Camilla absolutely hasn't been letting up on, it's training; even in a city like this, she's more than happy to continue to try and make her dear partners stronger to take on what's ahead, and it's what she's been focusing on out towards Route 207. Rather than taking on the soulless wild Pokemon, however, Camilla is taking some advice to train her own teammates against one another.

In the morning, it's Melady and Eda's time to shine; Camilla stands as a bit of a referee to their fight, watching Eda throw constant volleys of attacks to keep Melady as far away as possible. Mirror Shot and Eda's Hidden Power are certainly doing a bit of a number on the creature, but she answers with Hexes and Gusts as Camilla watches Eda put up Protect whenever she can. Hmm...]

Melady, could you try to imitate Eda's move? [The balloon turns to Camilla with some confusion, honestly, just. What does she expect her to do here??? She doesn't know that move.] Eda, demonstrate what you can do, and see if you can't teach her a little bit, hm?

[...It admittedly doesn't go well, because while Eda is able to get up a barrier in swift order, Melady isn't; she winds up using Hex in an attempt to do so, watching the attack break through the weaker barrier and score a bit of a hit on Eda, managing to confuse Camilla further.]

What? But how? You just used it before--

[Camilla's confusion is cast aside quickly as a bright light overtakes the area, causing both parties to cover their eyes--by the time Camilla uncovers them, what stands before her is both familiar, and different. Melady herself seems a little bit confused, but Camilla smiles and walks over to pat the big balloon on the head.]

Well, aren't you darling? I suppose I should have expected that this is what you'd turn into, but you have a charm all your own.

[By the time the afternoon rolls around, it's Arion and Altena's turn; it's clear that what Altena lacks in strength, she more than makes up for in her cunning and quickness, as she pelts Arion with attack after attack after she forces him to sleep. Really, Camilla's about ready to call off the match right there before Arion wakes up and promptly hits her with Dragon Rush, sending her back quite a bit.]

Altena, dear, please be careful!

[The Glameow gives a bit of an irritate yowl as a response, as she seems to charge up an entirely different attack--one that Camilla hasn't seen before, as a white orb seems to appear in her hand and she charges--

...of course, the problem with Assist is that the moves tend to be quite unpredictable. And the result of this move? Is Water Gun. A pretty decently powerful move, but with Altena's momentum and the angle she tries to strike at? It's enough to send her flying through the air, launching her back towards the city with a really loud, displeased screech.

There she go.]

Altena! [OH DEAR GODS PLEASE DON'T LET HER LAND ON SOMEONE. Arion's practically off like an angry little shot, earning even more dismay from Camilla.] Oh, not you too! Arion, don't go off by yourself!

[...TODAY IS GONNA BE A LONG, LONG DAY. One'll definitely either be seeing poor Camilla running back around Oreburgh looking for both of her little shitheads, or maybe Arion running on ahead. Truly unfortunate ones...might have a highly displeased cat landing nearby. Godspeed.]

[discutio]

[Here is the combo breaker in the evolution chain, with nothing of the sort going on just yet. In fact, Ignis seemed to be having a comparatively uneventful day in information gathering, lingering around the museum much as he'd done with the library. What he couldn't pick up himself, he'd probably end up asking one of the others.]

[After a while, he'd be found nearer to the mines--not going particularly far in since he had second thoughts of investigating alone now, but it hopefully wouldn't hurt to just cover his bases so far as checking out the city's layout. Hemera didn't seem to mind all that much; she walked a bit further ahead than usual, occasionally pawing at some loose rocks or venturing a few steps down one of the branching passages.]

[Evening found him at the Pokemon Center as usual, a cake neatly sliced on a counter not too far off.]

[divinedescendant]

[They're back to being surrounded by mountains and cliff edges and so Duma is back to being even more of a fucking menace than usual. All week, Emmeryn's team's daily walks have turned into attempts to keep Duma from scaling up the city mountainsides—for being a heavy inconvenience orb, he's horrifically good at climbing. It's good that Emmeryn's precious, darling dragon cocoon has a talent he's passionate about! Pick a different one.

For some goddamn reason, Emmeryn keeps trying, so this morning is no different—this morning is worse because she has to turn her back for like thirty fucking seconds when Audhulma teleports off across town unannounced and when Emmeryn marches back with her, resigned to her fate, in her arms (Togepi has been left in Latona's for safekeeping), Duma is like five feet up on a ledge near the path to Route 207 and working on scaling higher.]

Duma, we cannot keep doing this.

[While Emmeryn reaches for a Pokéball, because she doesn't trust him to find his way down safely and she can't just pick him up?? he's so heavy????, Latona looks between the two, considering, and then reaches out with both hands to shove Duma off the ledge and into the fucking dirt.]

Latona!

[Duma lands on his back where he cannot pick himself up and, despite being uninjured, has a lot of whining to do about this.

It's going to be a long rest of the week.

In the afternoon, Emmeryn gets to join the evolution party when Audhulma, seized by a sudden sense of rebellion or maybe just the need to show off, teleports this way and that, out of Emmeryn's reach but never her line of sight—here by the Pokémon Center, there by the Pokémart instead, in the middle of the city street, perched on the gym sign, gone and reappearing at Emmeryn's feet looking a little different.]

...Are you quite finished? [But Emmeryn, who has been waiting for Audhulma to either stop or stay still enough for Emmeryn to call her back to her Pokéball, smiles as she says it. Apparently cured of the zoomies, Audhulma looks up at Emmeryn, makes a soft trilling noise, and makes a vain effort to smooth down her...skirt? can you call it a skirt when it's just, like, her flesh???? A few moments of this and Audhulma awkwardly folds her hands in front of her and follows with dainty steps behind her, a little unsteady as adjusts to her new form.

In the evening, everyone settles the fuck down long enough that Emmeryn gets to take a look through the museum—although really this just means putting everyone in their Pokéball except for Togepi, who doesn't have enough of a personality to cause problems, settled in her arms. Of course, she takes a particular interest in the fossil revival exhibit.]

How curious... Even our stories of gods at home never mention power like this.

[eudaimonikos]

[There seems to be an argument brewing in the Pokemon Center this morning. Michael is seated at one of the tables, with Jane Doe floating above a seat across from him. It started out as a normal, quiet conversation, but it quickly starts to get out of hand when Jane lets out a loud cry and releases a short burst of ominous purple energy.]

Haaaaaaunt!

Oh, be reasonable, Jane, it's not like it'd be forever! I mean, honestly, is this even a pet-owner relationship? I don't consider you mine!

HAAAaaaaaaAAAAAUNT!

Jane - [Michael rises, but is not fast enough or intangible enough to stop Jane Doe from shooting out of the nearest wall and somewhere into town. He lets out an incredulous noise, throwing up his hands before letting them drop against his sides.] What the here, man?

[For the rest of the day, Jane Doe can be found floating around town. Michael, for his part, is sulking in the mines, alternating between training his Heracross and Milotic and just tossing his stress ball against the cavern walls.]

THURSDAY

[azumods]

FRIDAY

[azumods]

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

[The mine is proving to be an interesting place to train. The rocky outcroppings make for some nice courses for Monta and Vee to practice agility training, and the two of them tossing rocks at his other Pokemon also make for good dodge training for his other Pokemon...when they're not trying to maul each other with them, anyway.

Even Portus is getting into the spirit despite only being able to teleport, usually teleporting out of place and bringing in other Pokemon to fight. Unfortunately, with them being...less than engaging, it usually ends with Sena feeling bad and asking Portus to bring them back. The Abra keeps doing it, though, when it's not teleporting rocks in for Hilarious Consequences, so Sena's become resigned to this whole mess. He doesn't even flinch at the telltale CRACKs that occur every time, just turning towards the sound.]

Portus, please, just-

[He screams. What is that why is it here and why is it holding up Many Rocks Psychically.]