Week 12.

[azumods]

WEEK 12 For the time being, it would seem that you're back on the routes again. Route 202 is thankfully a simple one - it's straightforward as compared to the winding paths of Eterna Forest, with a clearly marked path surrounded by trees. The usual patches of tall grass are present here, though they can be avoided if you really want to stay clear of them; it's a fair easier walk than most of the routes you've traversed so far, and mercifully it's also a far shorter one. It seems August is being kind to you in that way; there's decidedly less walking required of you, which is likely not all that unwelcome after the frozen hellscape that constituted most of July. As before, the changes to the world are still present, particularly in your own Pokémon, are still occurring but seem to be slowing down a bit as the month continues on; a worrying trend, perhaps, but they haven't stopped altogether. That said, however, there's a change to the route that you may see from time to time - patches of those bright flowers in varying colors will show up along the routes themselves here and there. Perhaps a sign of gratitude from a friend you've helped out... By Tuesday morning you'll find yourself in Sandgem Town. It's very small, similar to Floaroma Town in size, and the town itself smells vividly of the saltwater of the ocean; the main points of interest seem to be the research lab and the beach to the south of town proper, though there are a few locals present as well. Your stay here shouldn't be long; you're actually very close to Lake Verity, and it won't take you long to reach it given how relatively simple and straightforward the routes here are. Thursday morning will see you on Route 201 - it's just as easy a walk as the previous route, if not easier, and if all goes well you should be able to find the lakefront by Friday evening... CURRENT LOCATION: SANDGEM TOWN POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES / NEAR WATER SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY [OOC: Welcome to week ten 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.]

Comments

[heritrix]

Thanks. I—

[This is about the point where a floating lawnmower is going to slowly... hover its way in between them, staring pointedly. Ahem. Ahem? This is nice and all, but we were discussing a name before?]

[hyruglyphics]

... Oh, my apologies.

[ to be honest, Zelda is slow to name them too. Usually waiting until a personality shows. Hence the Porygon here still being unnamed. She bows her head a little bit, and Miphanus ... well, it sort of beeps a greeting at the Mower ]

[hyruglyphics]

[ And that is why all is food. ]

[niceoppai]

[How does Saber not get sick? Sunflower makes a face and curiously looks around. Where else is there something that tastes good and isn't just a symptom of Saber's case of pica?]

[heritrix]

[It will beep back in greeting! It likes Zelda's pokemon a lot, more so than his teammates. She keeps his kind of people.]

Don't apologize. It's being rude.

[What—! The Rotom whirls on Rin, as if scandalized by the accusation.]

You were! Zelda and I were having a conversation. That doesn't give you the right to literally shove your face in and clamor for attention.

[The lawnmower turns over its engine as if stuttering. But we were having a conversation first???]

[hyruglyphics]

You and they were talking first though, I can understand their frustration.

[ Zelda responds, trying to be even handed as she walks over to ... well, it's hard to know what to pat on the Rotom so instead she just sort of brushes a hand on the handle of the lawnmower. For their part, Porygon takes a more active interest in them, sort of leaning it and then the head pops off it to lean in closer. ]

[hyruglyphics]

[ What is this sick you speak of.

... Is that like when you have spicy food that stuff is less good.

... But yeah, let's find some better tasting stuff, someone else must've eaten the pie. ]

[niceoppai]

[Spicy is okay with him, he just doesn't like sweet stuff. But right now he's just hungry for anything. -- REAL FOOD. Not grass or people. Maybe there's a store, but stuff there costs money and their trainers have all that stuff.]

[heritrix]

[See, see? These two understand! Mock crying, the Rotom floats between Zelda and Porygon, brushing its handle and good gently up against them as if seeking support. Is it too late to change trainers?]

Now you really are being dramatic.

[Honey you haven't seen dramatic yet. Give it a second give it a second, think of the saddest thing you've ever—YUP, HERE WE GO, HERE COME THE WATER WORKS.]

[hyruglyphics]

[ U-uh??? Uh??? Zelda is shocked in this moment and ... uh. Maybe she should crouch down to brush at the head... of ... the Rotom?? ]

It's alright, we're... names, right?

[ As for the Porygon though, it ... well, to start with, it Traces the ability of the Rotom, but given that's just levitate, it just sort of floats higher than it already was. So instead it just sort of tries to copy the crying. How do that? But as it trie to do that, it's not so much real waterworks on it so much as pixilized tears form on its face and then drip down... not off the face, but around the body, as if the porygon head was a screen ]

[hyruglyphics]

[ . . . Wait, hold on.

Hold on.

Saber wraps the tongue into it's mouth again and with its maw closed it sort of wiggles around in there for a while until finally it opens it's mouth wide to "burb" - and as it burbs, it spews out about 500 Poke-yen. And half a plate? And a pinecone. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[Ah. Alright. Well, Michael definitely hasn't seen this specific Drifloon before - it's really easy to tell when it's a weird yellow mutant - but he's dealt with the species in general. They're ghosts!]

Hey, man. Having fun?

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael grumbles.]

Maybe I'll ask Camilla to help. She seems like she would have an idea of what to do, don't you think? Oh - I heard you two fought!

[niceoppai]

[Stare... and flail. How does she live like this, that is gross, how do you even digest that?]

[bloodspent]

[Hey, Ventus. And yeah, it's kinda cute, honestly. Its face, good lord.]

It could be worse. He just kinda reminds me of someone, that's all.

[...Jake, that is a ball of vines, whatever comparison you're thinking of probably isn't flattering.]

[bloodspent]

[Hey, Camilla.]

I'll go back in later tonight; for now it's pretty okay. Besides, he seems to be having fun. Or, well, as much fun as possible.

[He gestures toward a...shifting mass of sand that's kind of trooping around nearby. Look closely enough and you can see a pair of eyes and a snout poking out, watching what's going on.]

Naočale likes it when we've got a lot of sand around, I guess. He just kind of does that.

[bloodspent]

[...Good lord. Hi, Zelda.]

Yeah. Kandža wouldn't leave him alone, so I figured I might as well look after him, I guess. At least for now.

[...]

It really is kind of a noxious shade of green, though.

[takestheblame]

[This is a quaint town, and a good place to take some lifechanging decisions. Kiryu takes his team to the beach, where he sits down and calls Shoga, taking out a small gray stone]

It seems this will allow you to evolve. I dunno how it'll be like, but I'm not going to force anything on you. It's up to you to decide if you want to evolve or not.

[It's good he has enough of a personality now to decide by himself. It takes a couple minutes before he grabs the stone with his mouth. The effects take a moment to trigger, soon he's enveloped by a bright light.

When it's done, Shoga has changed. He's now larger, much more than you'd think a rodent is. He also looks much less like a rodent, standing on two legs and looking like a spiny mass of muscles. More aggressive-looking, yeah. Kiryu stands up and approaches, appraising Shoga for a moment before petting his forehead, beside the horn]

You look good. Well done.

[Thanking the praise, he nuzzles Kiryu's hand. Kiryu almost can't believe this is the same Pokemon a few weeks ago hatched from an egg. These creature sure grow fast!

Daigo, though, doesn't seem too happy about Shoga evolving too. He and the Snorunt are the only ones who are still yet to evolve. He takes some of the evolutionary items and moves to a side, putting a Fire stone and a Leaf stone underneath his bowtie. Nothing happens.

Later that day, at sunset, they all encounter the last member of the team: a bright red Skorupi. In a coordinated attack, Ni burst out of the water in front of the Skorupi, startling it and forcing it to scuttle back, where it stumbled upon the Snorunt. Eager to fight, she challenged the Skorupi to a fight.

The end result is obvious: when Kiryu returns to the Pokemon Center, there's a very large red scorpion clinging to his head, watching everyone from this vantage point. Hello, everyone!]

[discutio]

She does seem rather well put together, and considering she has siblings I'd not be surprised if she knew how to handle such a thing.

[did someone say fight]

We did--it was quite the enlightening experience. I think it safe to assume we both enjoyed ourselves.

[takestheblame]

[Uh-oh, that sounded confrontational. Bito doesn't like confrontations. He lands on the ground, fretting a bit despite having complete advantage over Arion in a fight]

Y-Yes! There's nothing wrong with them!

Magikarp Contest

[takestheblame]

[At some point, during the contest, maybe the blue head of a serpent emerges over the surface of the water. It's a Gyarados! A trained one, but it's a Gyarados nonetheless. Ni is a rather naive Pokemon, harmless and nice, but you'd never guess from the eternal 'I'm about to break your bones' face this species usually has.

Yoooooooo Rin and Rin's friends]

great magikarp catching contest of 20xx

[enjoymyatelier]

[...you know, Kayneth heard some commotion over by the beach, and he heads over to check it out...]

Well, this doesn't seem like a terrible way to pass an afternoon. Mind if I watch?

[hyruglyphics]

[ Well obviously she didn't digest those. ]

[hyruglyphics]

It truly is quite bright, yes.

[ Hmmm hmmm! ]

... Do you know much about the species, actually? I found some of the information I read in those notes truly fascinating.

[ She crouches down to be more level with the Tangela apparently just... eager... to nerd out... ]

[niceoppai]

[Saber, you are really gross. Fiiine, then, let's just go look for more change on the ground.]