[PTU] The End of an Age

[Jacior]

The End of an Age

“And at the end of days, who’s to say that any of this mattered?”

The last seventy five years have been ones of peace. With the abolishment of the major criminal organizations, the establishment of a central world government and massive leaps and bounds in both medicine and technology, both humanity and pokemon kind had never been closer to achieving a true paradise.

But in these past few years, rumors have started surfacing: The resurgence of Team Rocket; Massive Pokemon migrations; Spies. Most of the populace dismisses this as hearsay or ratings bait for sleazy radio networks. But that hasn’t stopped people from starting to lock their doors again or the general sense of unease that’s been growing.

It also hasn't stopped people from continuing their lives. And in particular, we will focus on the lives of two individuals of note in this story. They aren't aware yet, but they have the potential to shape the world in their hands. Fate and Chance have in their plans more than one challenge ahead of them. But for now, they are young. Inexperienced. And for the most part, largely unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Each has their own dreams, goals.

One has a legend to live up to. The other, a legend to make. Will they succeed? Only time will tell.



We join our intrepid heroes shortly before their first meeting. Long time pen-pals, they've decided to meet in Viridian City, once a quaint little town, now a sprawling layout of skyscrapers and people. It's not long before Amber finds the café that she had told Adam about in her last letter and sits down with a cup of tea, awaiting her guest. Adam is as of this moment, stepping off the Nosepass powered shuttle that had become commonplace in many of the regions on the planet. He has a map of the city and can see that the café is only a few minutes walk from the bus station.

[EdroGrimshell]

To say Amber was drinking tea would be a misnomer, in fact she was simply drinking water with lemon and mint, something she'd picked up from a trip to Johto a few years back. Vots was curled next to her in a very simplified feline form for the time, Javok sat in another seat of the table, drinking some coffee, which he had taken a shine two after a man from Unova introduced him to the drink.

Amber looked at all the tall buildings, and sighed, this was such a lovely place, from the pictures she'd seen from when her uncle had travelled through all those years ago, she'd have loved to see it back then... there was likely to have been more to see of wild pokemon, more of the ones she wanted to see. One story her mother told her was of a ghostly butterfree that had the shadow of a human child, that was always such a sad tale.

[Regalus]

Adam stretched with a pleased groan as he stepped off the shuttle, all too pleased to finally be able to stretch his legs once more;. The young man took up a leisurely pace as he walked off the platform and wandered the bustling streets; taking in the sights, and certainly not getting lost in the new city along the way after having had to chase down Alexi after a rogue poochyena had tried to chase the poor mon down a back alley in payment for a slap to the nose for invading it's personal space.

The misadventure aside, the boy and his mon managed to make there way to the cafe slightly ruffled by the experienced; but no worse for wear and only slightly late. Upon spotting his friend and her mon by the cafe a smile blossoms on the auburn haired boy, "Oy! Amber!" he calls out merrily as he made his final approach to the table where she sat, "Great to finally see you in the flesh again; hope I didn't keep you all waiting to long," he started with an apologetic smile as Alexi helped himself to one of the free chairs with a faint thud.

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber stands with a smile and bows to Adam, despite them knowing each other, they'd only met face to face a couple of times, talking over the net was different to talking in person, "likewise, and not too long, just long enough for Vots here to actually fall asleep," sure enough, a little bubble was coming from where his nose would be and he was breathing slowly, "that only takes a few minutes at most."

"How was the trip?" she asks, offering a seat and calling over a waiter to take Adam's order, they would talk a bit before heading off.

[Regalus]

"Hard on my bum, but not that bad; Alexi not withstanding," he answered as he shoot a stare at the now snickering Spookloth who simply shrugged helplessly with a grin, "I swear we couldn't go one stop without him getting someone's attention, had to take the little idiot off before he got me into any more trouble. He really doesn't idle well..." he explained with a short sigh as the waitress came around to interrupt his woes, taking his order for some oran juice before stepping back out.

"Any way! How 'bout you? Any trouble 'long the way?" he inquired in a more upbeat tone.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Just a rather playful rattata that followed me most of the way here, wouldn't be surprised if he was around still," Amber replies, "It doesn't take long to get to Viridian from Pallet, and it's one of the least dangerous parts of Kanto."

[Regalus]

"Lu-cky," Adam chimed in a sing-song voice, "So what are the plans for today; are we going to try to settle in town for a while, or are we heading out later today?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"I was hoping to look through Viridian Forest, it's full of bug pokemon, and Pikachu sometimes hide in there, it's a good spot to see if I can't find unusual bug pokemon," Amber replies, "I'd like to spend at least a little time there then head out, if at all possible. There's no place for me to work here though, so we'll probably move on shortly."

[Regalus]

"If we're going exploring we shouldn't stray too far from the paths though in case something happens, the wilds can be fairly rowdy that deep so we might need to turn tail quick if things sour," he suggested prudently as his drink arrived.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Except the paths are what more unusual pokemon would avoid unless camouflaged," Amber says, "Our first day there, I'd say just going along the paths and a little into the forested areas would be acceptable, but afterwards I'd like to delve a little deeper into the forests to attempt to locate some of the local legends I've heard of recently, though I'll see about asking locals if there's anything strange in the area before we do so."

While Amber is talking, Vots wakes up and looks at Alexi, then shifts form to look like he's wearing a feline version of the pokemon suit, followed by shifting to have a slight rattata-like appearance while still being obviously feline, then adds feathers around the neck and end of the tail, it looks back at itself, shrugs, and lies back down, content with the current form.

Meanwhile, Javok pulls out a sketch pad and starts drawing Adam, with Alexi drawn over like he was wearing the pokemon. He's using a pencil, not his tail paints to do this. This was a new sketch pad, and he already had three full sketches in it, two other sketch pads full of things he'd already seen sitting on the table.

[Regalus]

"True enough," he admitted reluctantly as his drink arrived, taking a brief sip before continuing, "Sounds like a good plan, though keep in mind our Mon are still pretty young even if some mon don't know their limits," he explains, pausing momentarily to shoot a gaze at Alexi, who seemed oblivious to it as he tried to lean over to eye Javok's sketch, "We should be mindful of their limits while we're out there,"

His curiousity satisfied, the spookloth refocused on Vots; experimentally reaching for the resting Ditto's fur and feathers to see if they really felt like the real thing.

[EdroGrimshell]

"I don't plan to go in unprepared, I'm actually going to do some battles in town, both to earn money and to train Vots and Javok, the only difficulty will come from the fact that their move pools are rather limited at this time," Amber replies, getting a snort from Vots, "oh be quiet, you know its the true. I'm going to do some non-combat training before I go looking for battles, if you'd like to join me. Double battles tend to be more profitable after all."

[Regalus]

"That I can get behind. Worst case we can still pool our funds to bait other trainers to battle with us for a while," he says approvingly as he takes another drink from his glass. "I'd offer training against my mon, but their typing might make it a bit unfair too you," he quips good naturedly.

[EdroGrimshell]

"We can do that after we finish here then, I imagine we could train in one of the local parks and find some other trainers willing to battle in the same area," Amber says, "ghost, steel, rock, and fighting types tend to take me out of the fight rather quickly, although these two have a never give up attitude that can sometimes make up for it against the later three. Ghost's the only one that completely stonewalls me every time. At least until Javok here sketches a move anyway."

Amber simply waits until Adam's set then leads the whole party to a park she passed on the way to the café, to a clearing where she could do the proper training for the pokemon, "I can train three pokemon at a time, and can do two sessions easily. How would you like your pokemon trained?"

I have Ace Trainer, Inspired Training, and Agility Training

Novice Command + Level 5 Pokemon means they'll gain 4 exp regardless. 6 if trained both sessions. IIRC.

[Regalus]

"I say handle Alexi first, then traine'm with Anaia for a bit," he commented as he thumbed the sleeping honedge's pokeball.


Agility Training for Alexi, and Inspired Training for Anaia training

You gonna use Ace Trainer on the sessions?

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber gets to training the pokemon then focusing her efforts more so on Vots and Alexi, she adds in some encouragement for them, as well as motivation to hit all the harder. The effort would be worth it in battle down the line.

Vots: +1 Atk Stage, Inspired, 6 exp
Javok: +1 Atk Stage, Agility, 4 exp
Alexi: +1 Atk Stage, Agility, 6 exp
Anaia: +1 Atk Stage, Inspired, 4 exp

Once the training session was complete, Amber would see if there were any trainers watching, they'd likely be the ones interesting in battling right off the bat.

[Jacior]

Unsurprisingly, training in the middle of the park catches the eye of more than a few trainers and even people just walking their pokemon. But it might surprise them exactly who would challenge them after all. "Come on Evan! Stop being a baby!" A voice rings out above the general din. Turning, you see a young girl, with long and almost maroon colored hair dragging a equally young boy with purple hair towards you. The boy is carrying a pokemon egg, hugging it to his chest with both arms. "But Emma... they look really strong." His voice is barely audible and he doesn't seem to resist her pulling him along.

Looking a little longer, if obvious they're twins. They would even be wearing matching outfits if the girl wasn't in a skirt instead of shorts. She marches up to Amber, holding onto her brother's sleeve. "I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" She says, and pulls her brother forward. "Him too! We only battle together!" She pulls out her pokeball and nudges her brother to do the same. He doesn't really look at Amber, or even up from the ground. He lets go of the egg he was clutching, revealing it was sitting in some kind of harness anyway, and pulls out a pokeball. "Yeah... We battle together." He murmurs to the ground.

"So?! Do you accept our challenge or are you scared?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber looks over at Adam to see what he thought of it, "I wouldn't mind a battle. 2 vs. 2 one pokemon each or 4 vs. 4 two pokemon each?" she asks simply.

[Regalus]

"Well I'm game," Adam accepted, flashing a toothy smile as his mon made their way back to him; all the while eyeing the newcomers curiously, "Name's Adam, and my friend's Amber; these little fellas are Alexi, Anaia, Vots and Javok. Let's all have a fun one alright?"

[Jacior]

The girl hesitates. "Only one pokemon each. We've each only got one." She says, slightly irritated. "But we're gonna fix that!" She nods at the egg her brother's carrying. "He's really good at hatching pokemon. So we're gonna have full teams soon!" The boy looks embarrassed but doesn't speak up, it seemed his sister did most of the talking. "I'm Emma, and he's Evan! And we're gonna crush you!" She seems very enthusiastic about that.

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber hummed lightly, then indicated for Javok to go forward, Vots had gotten the extra training, to Javok would get the battle, plus his paints would actually be better for improvising support attacks than Vots, he may also be able to sketch a useful move.

HP: 42/42
Def: 10
SpDef: 10
Spd: 12

If at or below 14 HP, gain +5 Damage and DR 5. This does not include Temporary HP.

[Regalus]

"Eeeh? Well just have to see about that, now won't we?" he quipped as he montioned for Anaia to take the stage.


Anaia
*Speed: 3
*P-Evasion: 4
*S-Evasion: 2
*Spd-Evasion: 1

[Jacior]

The twins look at each, in that spooky simultaneous way twins do. They grin at each other, despite Evan's shyness he seems to mimic his sister's feelings. They throw up their pokeballs and release an ekans and a koffing. "Iggy!" "Ziggy!" "It's time for a battle, come on out and play!" The serpent belongs to the girl and the floating gas-ball belongs to the boy.


Javok goes first, then the Ekans, then the Koffing. Anaia goes last.

[EdroGrimshell]

Thinking quick, Amber smiles, "why don't you do a little prep up and get some war paint going," she says to the little smeargle, who immediately begins coating his chest, arms, and head with red paint that stands in stark contrast to his teal fur.

The paint has the effect of actually bulking him up slightly, making him look stronger and more powerful.

Focus: [roll0] vs. 8

If successful, improvised Coat for +2 Crit Range and +1 Atk Stage.

[Jacior]

Evan gives Emma a look. "Well that's weird!" He says before Emma points dramatically. "Iggy! Shoot that messy thing with poison sting!" The ekans, rather large for a member of it's species, rears back and spits out poisoned needles at the smeargle. It would have been a solid hit... if Anaia didn't suddenly dash in the way and absorb the attack with no ill effect. "H-Hey! You're not supposed to do that!" Emma calls out. "Emma... They're stopping our strategy!" "I know! We'll just... do something else I guess." Evan follows suit. "Ziggy, hit it with Will-o-wisp." He's not as enthusiastic, but he's got a gleam in his eye to match his sister's. The koffing spits out a line of flame that strikes the sword pokemon head on.


Anaia is Burned

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber nods to Adam, "Thanks, to you both, I owe you one later!" she says and then turns to Javok, "I like that move, but we can't afford to sketch it, so Javok, why don't we make it a little harder for that snake to hit us next time, ne?" she says, which prompts Javok to run right in front of said snake and spray black ink at its face.

Improvised Attack
AC: [roll0] vs. 5
Effect: -2 to Target's Accuracy for 1 Turn

[Regalus]

Adam smirks as Anaia deftly parries the spray of needles, only to click his tongue distastefully once Anaia had been wreathed by the Koffing's ghostly frames; now they had a time limit to deal with. "Don't sweat it Amber; just be sure to counter'em quick," the boy replies, his eyes never leaving his opponents.

[Jacior]

Emma seems close to steaming. "Well fine! If that's how you're gonna be, then I'm gonna break out the secret weapon! Iggy, smash her pokemon with rock tomb!" Her brother flinches. "I thought we weren't gonna do that!" "Yeah, well they're not playing fair either!" Rocks form in mid air and come crashing down on Javok, who gets pushed out of the way by Anaia again, absorbing the brunt of the hit. 17 Physical Rock Damage after Defense, -1 Speed Combat Stage "It did it again!" Emma is fuming now. "Evan, hit it down then!" He nods at her yelling. "Ziggy, finish it off with assurance!" The koffing suffuses itself with dark energy and throws itself at Anaia... Only to throw itself into the ground and spinning off into a tree. "Ziggy! Are you ok?!" The koffing lays dazed against the tree, but seems fine.


Anaia has taken 1 Injury

[EdroGrimshell]

"Okay Javok, now its time to deal some damage, attack the ekans," Amber says, before smirking, "remember to keep moving, we don't want them getting in to hit you to easily!"

Use Inspired Training As an Order for +1 Evasion and +2 on Save Rolls

Current Evasion = 4

Struggle
AC: [roll0] 18+ Crits
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]

[Jacior]

Javok manages to trip over himself and plant his face in the dirt. "An opening! Iggy! Wrap it up in your coils!" The ekans lunges and wraps up the smeargle, tighting the coils around it. It hisses and looks menacingly down at the wrapped pokemon. 4 Damage The koffing gets back into the air and rushes Anaia of its own accord, striking the blade with almost entirely ineffectual force. 1 Normal Damage after Defenses


Javok is grappled.

[Regalus]

"Okay Anaia, time to switch gears; show that snake what you got!" he called out urging the swordlike mon to fly zag away from the koffing before crashing into Iggy at full speed.


Evasion
*Physical: 4
*Special: 2
*Speed:1

Tackle
*AC 3:[roll0]
*Damage: [roll1]
*On a hit Iggy is Pushed 2 meters.

[EdroGrimshell]

Javok doesn't even wait for a command, pulling his head back and trying to slam it into the ekans.

AC: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]

[Jacior]

"Ziggy, block that strike!" Evan calls out and the koffing throws itself in the way of the sword that tried to zig-zag its way around it. "Grrr.... Iggy! Let it go and blast that pokemon with rock tomb!" The ekans hisses out as rocks materialize and crunch down on the sword-like pokemon. 7 Physical Rock Damage After Defenses, -1 Speed CS

[Regalus]

The powerful blow strikes Anaia on her side, sending the levitating pokemon into a powerful spin; lacking as it is in terms of friction to safeguard it against the excess force of the blow. Spotting his pokemon in trouble an idea sparks within it's young trainer's mind just before his pokemon regained enough control to reorient itself, "Don't stop, use your sheathe!" he cried out urgently.

So it was that rather than use it's arm to support itself, the blade pokemon extended it's scarf like appendage with it's sheathe held tightly just so that it's latest rotation would send the sheathe careening into the ekan's.


Improb Gyro Ball
*AC2: [roll0]
*Damage: [roll1] P-Steel
*On a hit add the target's speed to damage, I already subtracted ANaia's own SPeed rating from the calculation.

[Jacior]

The ekans hisses as Anaia comes at it, whirling like a top. But the strike is true and hits the snake on the head, knocking it out pretty much instantly after all the abuse it's taken. Unfortunately, Anaia follows suit, succumbing to the burns that the koffing had laid on her at the start of this impromptu battle. "Noooooo! Evan, you better beat her or else!" Emma yells at her twin. He looks shaken up and for a moment it seems like he's going to surrender, but he manages to gather his nerves together. "Ok, I'll try."

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber nods to Adam, "I think we'll keep Anaia in the fight just a little longer," she says to him, "Javok, pick Anaia up and attack the koffing!"

AC: [roll0] Crits on 18+
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The rest of the fight is long, drawn out and brutal. Each pokemon gives it their all, but in the end, Javok, using the unconscious Anaia a weapon, manages to take down the bizarrely resilient Koffing. Emma glares at her brother, who pretends to be preoccupied with the egg strapped around his chest. "Fine! You win I guess." She turns her brother around, who you now can see is wearing a backpack, and pulls a heavy wallet out of the bag. She grudgingly counts out ^200 for each of you and holds it out. "Here. You get this for winning. I know we didn't agree or anything. Just... Take it." She shakes her head and starts leading her brother away but turns before they get too far. "We'll be back to beat you for that money back!" She points dramatically again at you both before whirling on her heel and walking off. Evan turns around and waves before catching up to his sister.

The world is your cloyster. What are you up to now?


Perception Check, DC 10 to notice something
DC 8 to notice something slightly more obvious

[Regalus]

"You're welcome to try!" Adam called out in response as the pair fled the scene before turning his attention to Amber, "Well that was a lot tougher than I thought it'd be; I was half a afraid we'd need a miracle to dent that koffing. Damn thing could give an Onyx a run for its money," he commented with no shortage of relief as Javok walked over to deliver Anaia.

"You two did great ya know, not bad at all for your first time working together too; hopefully your next fight'll go even better," the young trainer praised with a half smile as he gently picked up his fallen pokemon, cautiously placing her within her sheathe once more before returning her to her pokeball.

"So pokemon center, then research?"


Perception: [roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

When the two come up to give the ante, Amber is first surprised by how disheveled they appear, and even more so by how much money they seem to have. Before they leave, "you may want to visit the center, they'll help you out," Amber meant with whatever situation could have made them so disheveled, but it could easily mean healing up their pokemon as well.

Amber pats Javok's head when the battle is over, then nods to Adam, "yea, Javok and Anaia both got pretty banged up back there. If not for that koffing missing half the time, we'd have most definitely lost that match. Would have been over much faster if Anaia hadn't blocked those attacks early on. I still owe you one for that."

[Regalus]

"Pshaw!" Adam replies with a dismissive wave of his wand, "We're friends and partners; it's what we do. Ya don't owe me anythin'," he quiped with a wry grin even as he wondered what had the kids been through to let themselves get disheveled that badly, yet still have that much cash on them. Several answers sprung up almost immediately, but he quietly hoped he was mistaken.

[Jacior]

The Pokecenter isn't particularly busy, despite the size of the place and the two pokemon are treated quickly. You do happen to notice the twins, but by the time your pokemon come out from the back, they're long gone. There are a number of places you could go to research on unusual rumors. The library has news and magazine records spanning back more than a hundred years. The museum would likely have similar records, of more historical accuracy most likely. Alternately, you could just go hunting for rumors. There are still places in the world where people go to drink and spread rumors.


Pick one of the following. Research will generally take the rest of the day, depending on how well you roll.

Library: Roll General Edu or Occult Edu. Then roll Focus
Museum: Roll General Edu and Focus
Bar: Roll Charm, Intimidate or Guile and Athletics or Survival

[EdroGrimshell]

"Hm, I think it may be a good idea to try the museum and the bar, the museum would give accurate records, while the bar would give areas that would have the sort of pokemon we're looking for, as long as they're not exaggerating much," Amber says looking over to Adam, "I don't think we'd be able to do both unless we were to split up or take a few days. We do have time though, so the slower approach will probably give us better results, we can go to the museum today and the bar tomorrow, what do you think?"

Will wait to post skill checks for a reply from Reg, will post OOC as soon as I do.

[Regalus]

"Sounds good to me. We've got nuthin' pressin' to deal with so no point rushing things for now; might as well be as thorough as we can," Adam reasoned agreebly, "That said, I'm a bit more at home 'round books and people than exhibits; been ages since the last time I visited a museum,"

[EdroGrimshell]

"We could try the library first then," Amber replies, "like you said we have the time, we still don't want to waste time though, so we'll get the library today, the museum tomorrow, and the bar the day after," she continued, taking the time to start walking, "we should probably get lunch first though, it's easy to lose track of time while researching."

[Regalus]

"Well, you are the expert," Adam says agreeably as the pair head out to grab a bite to eat.

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber avoids fast food places, and goes in search of smaller diners, they usually had much better food for the cost than any other restaurants, it might also end up being a place they could pick up rumors since locals often went to diners to eat for lunch breaks and told stories while they were there, that would be interesting at least, they wouldn't get much context, but it'd give them a place to start while looking in other research mediums.

[Jacior]

While there are hardly a plethora of small diners in such a big place, there are a couple strewn throughout the city. The one you finally manage to settle on is run by a little old lady and a number of humanshape pokemon. Despite some conflicting types, they are all pretty well behaved. It's... quaint, to say the least of the place.

Unfortunately, due to it's size and location it's all but empty at this time of day. Which is unfortunate for our would be knowledge hunters, as small places are, as Amber deduced, far more likely to bring out unusual rumors. Especially among the older, the younger and the drunker. The food is about what you'd expect from a mom and pops kind of place, but the dessert is to die for. Maybe if they'd come in the evening there'd be more people around but as it stands, you just enjoy a quiet lunch.

That is, until near the end of the lunch, Adam overhears a pair of older gentlemen in the corner.

"I'm telling you, I saw it just this morning!" One of the men says conspiratorially to the other. "You're crazy and your eyes have been going for years. You are not expecting me to believe that you saw a giant albino totodile in the sewers." The other blows off his friend's ramblings. "I'm telling you, I saw it in the storm drain. Tried to take my foot off! I slipped on someone's garbage and nearly lost it."

[Regalus]

Adam's hums a bit too himself as he enjoys a cool slice of cheesecake perking his ears slightly upon hearing the older gentlemen's exchange; a moment later the youth was turned around in his seat, eyeing the pair curiously, "Is it true? Where did you see it?" he asked with almost childish curiosity to the man who'd been pleading to his friend.

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber looks over with interest, "hm?"

[Jacior]

The old man who was trying to get his friend to abandon the crazy idea just shakes his head and folds his head into his hands. "Great. Now he's never going to shut up about it." The one telling the story let's out a harumph and turns around to face Adam in his chair. "See, these kids got some common sense. Know when to listen to their elders!" The other old man rolls his eyes. "Or they're just eavesdroppers, you old coot." The story teller pays him no mind and just nods at Adam. "Yes, it's true. Happened near the corner of Happiny and Oak. But I doubt it's there anymore, probably ran off after I thumped it with my cane!"

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber still looks confused, there was apparently no context here, but if Adam was asking, it had to be interesting, so, she smiles at the more skeptical man, "it just so happens that we specialize in the strange and unusual. Cryptids, if you will. You'd be surprised how often stories about them are true."

[Regalus]

Adam mentally sweat dropped at the comment, feeling that 'we specialize' was a bit too strong a phrase considering the two had been at this for barely a few hours; then again, they'd been rather lucky in that regard so far if there mon were anything to go by. "I overheard him talking about a an albino P.o.U.S., and it sounded like the sorta thing we were looking for," he quickly explained to Amber with an apologetic expression.


"But yeah, we're kind of keeping an eye out for these sort of thing; so if there's anything else you might remember about it it'd be real useful," Adam explained to the witness, not quite used to this kind of work yet.

[Jacior]

"What are you expecting me to remember here? It was big, it tried to eat my foot and I chased it off!" The old man says, as the other seems to resist banging his head on the table. "It lives in the sewers too. I can't imagine it'd be too hard to find if you could get down there."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Interesting," Amber glances over to Adam, "what do you think? I wouldn't mind looking for it myself, but we still need to do our research before we move along."

[Regalus]

"Any idea why it might've bit ya? Where you eating something at the time, calling attention to yourself, stepping on a drain, or anything like that?"

[Jacior]

The old man seems to think for a moment. "You know, now that I think about it, I did have one of those kabobs from the vendor on third street." The other man huffs. "You know those things have way too much sodium, your doctor said to stop eating them." More grumbling for the first man. "I am a grown man! If I want a kabob once in a while, then by Arceus I'll have a kabob!"

[Regalus]

"Well, thanks for the tip mister; enjoy your meal," Adam adds politely before sitting back down contently to finish his slice of cheesecake, "Seems like we'll be checking out Happiny an' Oak after this,"

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber nods with a smile, "I wasn't expecting a lead so soon," she smiles a little wider, "and totodile are fairly strong pokemon, not to mention cute when they're not trying to eat you."

[Regalus]

With that parting exchange the pair finish up their meals before heading out to the corner of Happiny and Oak; more than a little eager to find where there first lead would take them.

[Jacior]

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, the supposed totodile is nowhere to be seen. There was no sign of it or any other monstrous beasties in the area. In fact, the corner seems perfectly normal, if... rather barren actually. It's not a bad part of the city, but the amount of people was astoundingly minimal.

Feel free to make checks and what not!

[EdroGrimshell]

"He said it was in the sewer right? We should look for the sewer grate then," Amber starts off.

Perception: [roll0]

[Regalus]

"Probably, though it may be a good idea to ask around to see if anybody knows anything else about what happened," he comments as he eyes the area carefully, "Maybe the people 'round here might know a few clues about what happened or it's habits that they might not know care much for,"


[roll0]

[Jacior]

Though it's fairly obvious once you start looking, Amber is the first to notice the sheer state the sewer grate is in. It's bent out of shape, pulling down into the sewer itself. The sidewalk is actually cracked where it meets the sewer grate. Whatever did this was not a small creature indeed.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Adam, I think we found something big. We may need to prepare for something like this if it's strong enough to do that," Amber says, a bit of worry in her voice, "we may need to leave it for later..."

[Regalus]

"Sweet mother of mew! Are we dealing with a totodile, or a surfing rhyhorn?!" Adam responded in shock, "Yeah, this thing looks pretty fierce; there must be cops and rangers on this already but...wait, why wouldn't that guy's friend believe him if this happened?" he quickly added in beffudlement.

"I think we should ask one of the shopkeepers, or folks who live on the street what went down here,"

[EdroGrimshell]

"It's possible it could have an aura that makes it less noticeable or that it has enough patience to wait until there's fewer people around before it makes a move. There are few people here as it is, I'd imagine that it would have plenty of opportunity to go unnoticed, not to mention it seems people think it's an urban myth, if that's a common assumption then it would be a small step for cops to ignore complaints about it as prank calls. I'm not sure if that is the case, but the lack of activity certainly puts it into the range of the possible."

[Regalus]

"True, they'd probably believe some trainer goofed with one of his pokemon on his way to the gym than anything else," he comments as he tries to check if any of the nearby shops are open, "Still we don't lose anything by asking around, at least that way we can check if it has an aura thing or what have you,"

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber nods, it was a good idea, and with that, the two would start asking around for anything about this occurrence in the area.

Perception: [roll0] to spot anyone or anything suspicious/can possibly help
Charm: [roll1] to get people to actually talk
Intuition: [roll2] to determine if anyone is lying or leaving stuff out.

[Regalus]

Adam joins Amber in the hopes of finding new leads or expand on what they already know.



Perception: [roll0]
Charm: [roll1]
Intuition: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The two spend some time asking around an generally being busy trying to gather information on the goings on of that morning. A surprising number of people brush the two youths off, hurrying onward to whatever happened to be important at the moment. But they come across a few people at least who collaborate the story the old man told earlier... if not exactly knowing what happened. Something broke up the sidewalk this morning trying to get at an old man with a cane and a kabob. But no one seems to have gotten a clear look at what it was and most assume it was a muk going for the old man's food.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Do you think we should look into the sewer system at City Hall?" Amber asks, meaning the layout, "wouldn't want to get lost if we decide to go down there and it'd be easier to find spots where it might set up a home for itself to rest."

[Regalus]

"Good thinking, but do you think they're just gonna give it to us on short notice?" he said with a questioning half-frown, "I mean, it's not like we're part of an official investigation..."

[EdroGrimshell]

Amber nods, "true," she replies simply, "they should still have some open to the public, I've heard of people going into the sewers in search of pokemon, grimers in particular."