Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

[Kareeah_Indaga]

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[Gnomes2169]

Previously on HC

Mark gave her a grin that could only be described as cheeky, and he said, "Well, we could use the Safari zone as our entrance, but we're planning to surf on our pokemon over to Quibir and that would probably take a day or two of travel around the peninsula. We'd also have to sail past a lighthouse and a port town that are both probably under Bandra control, and while we could land there first and try to take them, that gives Bandra warning that there are people sailing around in the area and they'll watch the coastline. So here's what I'm thinking..."

Reaching into his bag, Mark pulled out his prosthetic arm and rolled up his shirt sleeve so he could begin putting it on. "This is a small town that doesn't have its own power plant. If we can knock out its connection to the plant in Piez, it will take them days to re-establish it. If we do so at night, it should give us a few minutes at least where the Bandra people in town just think that it's a blackout. If we're lucky, they might even send a group out to investigate the power lines... but regardless, that will knock out most of the lights in town. So we'll have the cover of darkness when we move into town, and any building with a backup generator will have it turned on, making it easier to find with all that noise. We have a few nocturnal pokemon and dark types on our team that we can use to scout and warn us of wild pokemon or bandra's activities, so we should be able to hit the contest hall before they even know we're there. If we're lucky, we might even be able to search the flute maker's place for her tools."

"Anyway. After we knock out Bandra's ability to make poffins in Quibir, get those tools and teleport out any civilians that were there... then we leave town through the safari zone, so that we can collect volcanic ash for flutes and see what kinda pokemon are in the zone. After which, we can decide if we want to sail away or teleport back home." Still grinning, he attaches the last securing clamp of his arm and clenches his fingers with a mechanical whirr. "What do you think?"

"That makes a lot of sense! Do we know if their connection to Piez is more direct, like with the help of an underwater cable..."

She has her map open and traces a line from the northeast peninsula directly to Seapoint's peninsula.

"...or is it all on land, more like..."

She traces a roundabout route along the coastline.

"...that? Though that would just determine whether we'd approach from north or south... whichever it is, sounds like a solid plan!"

Mark considered Pinklady's question and had to admit, "Huh... I honestly have no idea if the cable goes through the sea or around land. We should probably ask a local about that, but either way there should be a tower or power lines outside of town. Shadowed pokemon and burrowing ground types probably cause trouble to ground cables once in a while, so keeping lines close to or above the surface makes them easier to maintain and repair." It would probably make them harder to sabotage too, come to think of it, but direct sabotage with multiple types working together should still work. "Best person to ask about that would probably be a ranger or power plant worker, since they'd be the ones called to handle those situations... so maybe we can check with Wain! Though he's busy with shadowed pokemon, so let's wait until later in the evening for that and get some food and training done first."

As he mentioned it, Mark realized something. "You know, I actually don't know what pokemon are in your full team. Maybe we should get familiar with each other's 'mon before going on the suicide mission to Bandratown."

[gorman]

"Yes I KNOW you've been here at work... All I'm asking is if you've heard anything about... Uh...does your building have this light flickering problem often?"

[essCee]

Mark considered Pinklady's question and had to admit, "Huh... I honestly have no idea if the cable goes through the sea or around land. We should probably ask a local about that, but either way there should be a tower or power lines outside of town. Shadowed pokemon and burrowing ground types probably cause trouble to ground cables once in a while, so keeping lines close to or above the surface makes them easier to maintain and repair." It would probably make them harder to sabotage too, come to think of it, but direct sabotage with multiple types working together should still work. "Best person to ask about that would probably be a ranger or power plant worker, since they'd be the ones called to handle those situations... so maybe we can check with Wain! Though he's busy with shadowed pokemon, so let's wait until later in the evening for that and get some food and training done first."

As he mentioned it, Mark realized something. "You know, I actually don't know what pokemon are in your full team. Maybe we should get familiar with each other's 'mon before going on the suicide mission to Bandratown."

Pinklady nodded along to his plan.

"Oh, I don't know yours, either! Let's do that! Plus, I've got a couple of new members of my team from last night I should start really familiarizing myself with..."

She looked down at the Great Ball containing her recent acquisition, the Cosmas Tress.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

There’s a flash of lightning through the windows and a moment later thunder rumbles the building. The waitress seems to be getting annoyed. “Not usually, no.”

----------------

Mark and Pinklady:

((Yell if you need me. ))

----------------

Mina:

Mina was pleasantly surprised to find the line was very short – a combination of the early hour and the torrential rain. Security wasn’t especially cheerful, but as they were stuck out in the downpour Mina couldn’t really fault them for that. They waved her through after a quick look in her pack and a warning that she’d be detained if she Teleported in without going through the checkpoint – she was very glad she’d taken Ranger Wain’s advice and stashed the Bandra uniform beforehand. A rumbling krakoow! overhead and her sopping wet clothes encouraged her not to dwell too much on her good fortune however, and her first move was to take cover in a nearby building.

((Skybreak City points of interest:

Pokémon Center
Department Store
Silph Co Helnith Headquarters
Gym
Newspaper
Hall of Elders
University of Helnith
-University Library
-University Museum
-University Science Department
Police Station
Ranger Station
Human Hospital))

She texted Ranger Wain to let him know she was in Skybreak – he’d said he’d send another Ranger to meet her, but she had no idea when or where – and his answering text told her to meet them at the first floor of the Department Store at 8 AM, so she had a couple hours to kill.

Her next move was to locate the Replacement Part Order Form in her pack and see where that needed to go. That required her to duck out in the rain again to find out where she was in relation to where the repair shop was, and then hop from piece of cover to piece of cover in what she hoped was the right direction – at this point she couldn’t really get any more wet than she already was, but the rain seemed to sap the heat from her the longer she was out in it.

There were a few things she noticed while traversing the streets, however.

This was the first time she’d seen any actual Officer Jennies just patrolling the streets like they would have been back in Johto. She’d seen Rangers of course, but very few official, normal police outside the Shrine of Light aftermath and no Officer Jennies at all…until now. Even then most of the police were non-Jennies, and all the police had other trainers in tow; Mina would have thought the others were Starlight Squad except she was fairly sure most of that group that was near the city had been locked out. The Pokémon they had out weren’t the usual Growlithe, either: Mina saw Diglett, Trapinch, a number of Ghost types including a ghostly scorpion/spider thing the Pokédex identified as a Wajjet, and a blue Wobbuffet that half-sparked memories she couldn’t quite pin down.

All the Pokémon she saw were on edge. And now that she realized that, Natu had been getting increasingly nervous on her shoulder and there didn’t seem to be many if any wild Pokémon about – even in places she would have expected, like around dumpsters and perched on roofs. It was eerie.

Finally she came to what she thought was the right building. The entrance was in a neglected allyway, and there wasn’t any signage out front, but a lot of the buildings in Helnith were that way and it looked like it was on the right street. The door was open, at any rate, and Mina pushed inside to find a dank hallway, poorly lit, with doors down both sides of the hall.

Her extremely soggy shoes squeaked on the floor with every step and she mentally apologized to whatever janitor was going to have to mop that up while she looked for the sign to the repair shop. Or she’d settle for a lobby where she could ask for directions; the doors she tried were all locked, except for the one at the very end. The room beyond that one was dark, however, and Mina was gradually realizing that she was in the wrong building and she ought to go back outside and look around some more when a blast of Spectral energy came whizzing at her head.

[gorman]

Well this is going nowhere.... Maybe Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center might have heard of something going on. I think to myself before thanking the waitress for her time and leaving.

[Gnomes2169]

Pinklady nodded along to his plan.

"Oh, I don't know yours, either! Let's do that! Plus, I've got a couple of new members of my team from last night I should start really familiarizing myself with..."

She looked down at the Great Ball containing her recent acquisition, the Cosmas Tress.

Given Mark still lacked the funds to go out and buy anything fancy, he would grab some snacks from the pokemon center to serve as lunch for the two of them and he went with Pinklady into one of the back rooms so that he could send out (and feed, of course, since he'd grabbed pokechow for the 'mon. It was lunch for them too!) the members of his team. Gesturing at his gardevoir, who mostly stayed outside of her pokeball at this point, he'd say, "So, this is Tattersail... who you've met before, since we've been teleporting around with her all day. We're psychically connected, and she can read my mind and talk to me in return. Very useful for when I need to talk to pokemon."

Sending out his Umbreon and Frosslass first, since they were smaller members of his team and would be easier to fit around, he said, "These are Sengar and Jessia. The former is a dark type who's... been through a bit, and he's got some weird quirks that make him super tough. Jessia used to belong to a friend, and I managed to save her from Bandra." Sending out his Lairon after that, Mark puts out food for the steel type and pets along his head with his prosthetic hand. "This guy is Marick, and we go a long way back. Had to rescue him from Bandra at the Shrine of Light, but we're finally back together and are going to stay that way if I have anything to say about it."

Looking at the rest of the space around them, Mark hesitates with his pokeball in hand and says, "I think I should let them eat before sending out anyone else, so that we don't, you know, get squished by a dinosaur-fish or rock snake. But the other members of my team are a Lapras named Fisher, who I was planning to ride over to Quibir and who should be able to fit at least two more of us on him as well, and a new Onix that I'm planning to evolve with the help of a member of the Starlight Squad tomorrow, so I should have a Steelix by the time we make our move."

Rubbing at his chin for a second, he'd ask, "Do you have any water types or pokemon that know water moves? My lapras has Water Absorb, so we've been able to use that in battles to pretty effectively keep him healthy even after being targeted by a few attacks. He's kinda been a priority target for Bandra, since he can neutralize their mass Smokescreen strategy with Mist and use Sing to really even out the battlefield."

((Also, I just noticed that Snakestone Cavern has an Onix head on it. I love it. xD))

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

You are immediately soaked to the skin, but make it to the Pokémon Center. The nurse on duty is behind the counter doing paperwork and a pair of trainers, boy and girl, are sitting on the lobby couch. The boy is just as soaked as you are and wrapped in a blanket, grinning sheepishly, while the girl is frowning and pouring tea from a big pot on the table beside them. They take one look at you and the boy wordlessly puts down the cup he was going to drink out of and motions for you to take it.

((+1 Tea))

----------------

Mark and Pinklady:
((I’m glad you enjoyed that little detail! And yes I do need to put some monetary opportunities in everyone’s direction.))

[essCee]

Rubbing at his chin for a second, he'd ask, "Do you have any water types or pokemon that know water moves? My lapras has Water Absorb, so we've been able to use that in battles to pretty effectively keep him healthy even after being targeted by a few attacks. He's kinda been a priority target for Bandra, since he can neutralize their mass Smokescreen strategy with Mist and use Sing to really even out the battlefield."

"Hello Tattersail, Sengar, Jessia!" And, once he sends him out too, "And hello, Marick!" Pinklady waves to Mark's Pokemon.

She then lets herself practically melt onto the floor, the exhaustion from her earlier exercise catching up to her. It also gives her a closer-to-eye-level view of a couple of Mark's 'mons.

"Water types... yeah! Matt and I actually did something pretty similar in the Subway, with our Poliwhirl! Croaky, come out!"

She tosses Croaky's ball in the air, letting her out. Pinklady gestures her towards the food.

"She can give some rain cover, too, if that helps! Let's see, also on first shift for eating... you're up, Leapsy, Bigbug!"

Next out are her flying pair, a Skiploom and a Dustox. Leapsy makes the most of the room's height and begins floating around near the ceiling. Pinklady laughs.

"Would you believe I met all of 'em back home just in Pinwheel Forest? Bigbug wasn't so big when I first met her, though!" She pats her on the back. "These two, anyways, aren't so big on directly beating anyone up, but I figure Leapsy's powders should be pretty useful, yeah?"

[gorman]

"Oh thank you for the Tea, you two haven't by chance, come across a Fieberdra rampaging around due to being shadowed have you? Or at least heard anything about it?"

I'll repeat the question to Nurse Joy as well in case she didn't hear me speaking to the other two trainers.

[Gnomes2169]

"Hello Tattersail, Sengar, Jessia!" And, once he sends him out too, "And hello, Marick!" Pinklady waves to Mark's Pokemon.

She then lets herself practically melt onto the floor, the exhaustion from her earlier exercise catching up to her. It also gives her a closer-to-eye-level view of a couple of Mark's 'mons.

"Water types... yeah! Matt and I actually did something pretty similar in the Subway, with our Poliwhirl! Croaky, come out!"

She tosses Croaky's ball in the air, letting her out. Pinklady gestures her towards the food.

"She can give some rain cover, too, if that helps! Let's see, also on first shift for eating... you're up, Leapsy, Bigbug!"

Next out are her flying pair, a Skiploom and a Dustox. Leapsy makes the most of the room's height and begins floating around near the ceiling. Pinklady laughs.

"Would you believe I met all of 'em back home just in Pinwheel Forest? Bigbug wasn't so big when I first met her, though!" She pats her on the back. "These two, anyways, aren't so big on directly beating anyone up, but I figure Leapsy's powders should be pretty useful, yeah?"

"Yeah, sleep and stun powder are always going to be useful, though there are a lot of fire and rock types in Bandra's group. If you have moves on your Dustox and Skiploom to increase their endurance or evasion, I would definitely recommend using them whenever we're in a fight if you get the time." Which reminded Mark that he needed to go to the move tutor to let Tattersail re-learn Calm Mind. "And rain dance will cut down on how much danger the Wispaferen can pose. Fisher can do that too, and with the number of water types on our team we should probably make sure that's always up while we're fighting Bandra, given how many moves it will make stronger."

On the subject of his team, though... "I got Tattersail and Marick while I was in Hoenn. I grew up in Jotoh, but I used to travel a bit back when my military buddies... basically adopted me. Jessia was one of Zelgius' pokemon, again, managed to rescue her from Bandra, while Sengar, Fisher and the Onyx I found here in Helnith." Holding up a finger he notes, "So, eevee are actually not native to Helnith, which means that Sengar was another trainer's originally. Similarly, the onyx was another trainer's, before they abandoned it after a poor performance in Trainer Hill... against me, I'm pretty sure." Weird. Half of his current team had belonged to another trainer; he hadn't thought about that before.

[essCee]

"Yeah, sleep and stun powder are always going to be useful, though there are a lot of fire and rock types in Bandra's group. If you have moves on your Dustox and Skiploom to increase their endurance or evasion, I would definitely recommend using them whenever we're in a fight if you get the time." Which reminded Mark that he needed to go to the move tutor to let Tattersail re-learn Calm Mind. "And rain dance will cut down on how much danger the Wispaferen can pose. Fisher can do that too, and with the number of water types on our team we should probably make sure that's always up while we're fighting Bandra, given how many moves it will make stronger."

On the subject of his team, though... "I got Tattersail and Marick while I was in Hoenn. I grew up in Jotoh, but I used to travel a bit back when my military buddies... basically adopted me. Jessia was one of Zelgius' pokemon, again, managed to rescue her from Bandra, while Sengar, Fisher and the Onyx I found here in Helnith." Holding up a finger he notes, "So, eevee are actually not native to Helnith, which means that Sengar was another trainer's originally. Similarly, the onyx was another trainer's, before they abandoned it after a poor performance in Trainer Hill... against me, I'm pretty sure." Weird. Half of his current team had belonged to another trainer; he hadn't thought about that before.

"Oh, they're both good at hanging tough, especially Bigbug! I bet rain coverage will be a big help to keep my bugs from being burnt, too. I don't think I've seen Wispaferen, what are those like?"

Pinklady sits up to eat part of her lunch. "Wait, how was it you got Sengar, again? Was he abandoned too? Oh, and now should be a good time to introduce one of my two newest members... let's see you, Tress!" She sends out her Cosmas.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

"Oh thank you for the Tea, you two haven't by chance, come across a Fieberdra rampaging around due to being shadowed have you? Or at least heard anything about it?"

The girl of the pair frowns. “Yah we heard about it, it’s supposed to be to the north near town. We haven’t seen it, no thanks to this idiot deciding it was a great idea to go looking for it in the middle of a storm.”

The boy pipes up. “But Layla it’s a Dragon Pokémon. A powerful one! If I could catch it I’d be unstoppable!”

“It’s probably strong enough it wouldn’t pay you any attention at all and would just nap through whatever battle you sent it out to fight.”

The boy visibly sulks, but doesn’t argue with this assertion.

----------------

Mark and Pinklady:

The Pokémon chow down with gusto, except for Sengar, who is only barely touching his food. His ear twitches when Mark says ‘Eevee’.

Tress meanwhile looks around with interest, having obviously never met most of the Pokémon here before…and possibly never been inside a human habitation before, either.

[gorman]

Wow, a lead already! With a new pep in my step I thank the two again for their information, pop open the pokedex, switch to the phone app and dial Ranger Wain.

"Hey, yeah I discovered some information from a couple of trainers in the pokemon center. They said that shadowed pokemon we're looking for was spotted north of town. My flier is out of commission but if you'd be able to use your device to catch some for some aerial surveillance perhaps we can locate it faster. Where's your location, I can try to come out and meet you some where.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

“All right, meet me on the north end of the Combee hive fields in a few minutes. I should have more info for you by then.”

((By the Combee hives: ))

The Ranger waves you over; on closer inspection his uniform seems to be reasonably water resistant. The pair of Combee he has hovering nearby, in contrast, look wetter and unhappy to be out in the storm.

“One of my little friends here found a scorched patch nearby. This way,” And he guides you to a bit of the surrounding grassland that has multiple spiderwebbed patterns of scorched ground burned into it despite the heavy rain.

“Styler says it’s Pokémon-made, not a natural lightning strike. I guess we should be glad the storm came in when it did; this could have been a bad grass fire otherwise. Not that it will matter, if we can’t find it before everything dries up again.” He starts searching the area, the Combee trailing along miserably. “Keep your eyes open; Fieberdra are usually more than eight feet ((~2.5 meters)) long and there isn’t a lot of cover out here. Unless it jumped into the electrical system we should be able to see it.” The Ranger is facing the wrong direction to notice, but you can dimly see that the lights in the restaurant back in town are still flickering sporadically.

[gorman]

"Before I went to the Pokemon Center and obtained that information about the Fieberdra, I was in the restaurant and the lights were flickering, they seem to be more sporadic after I left.... You don't suppose that...giant thing...might have gotten hungry and smelt the food? I'm not sure why else the electricity would be acting so strangely. It's not the storm causing it."

[Gnomes2169]

"Oh, they're both good at hanging tough, especially Bigbug! I bet rain coverage will be a big help to keep my bugs from being burnt, too. I don't think I've seen Wispaferen, what are those like?"

Pinklady sits up to eat part of her lunch. "Wait, how was it you got Sengar, again? Was he abandoned too? Oh, and now should be a good time to introduce one of my two newest members... let's see you, Tress!" She sends out her Cosmas.

Mark and Pinklady:

The Pokémon chow down with gusto, except for Sengar, who is only barely touching his food. His ear twitches when Mark says ‘Eevee’.

Tress meanwhile looks around with interest, having obviously never met most of the Pokémon here before…and possibly never been inside a human habitation before, either.

Noting the lack of appetite from his dark type, Mark scratched at the back of his head and he said, "Well, we were at the edge of town and then Sengar... kinda took offense to being sprayed to prove he was there. Tattersail couldn't detect him, so she didn't believe my water types when they were telling her she was there and took their own initiative to prove they weren't crazy. Things keep getting more and more hectic as time goes on..." Addressing the dark type directly, he says, "Sorry about the last few days again, bud. I promise that we have a few days of rest right now."

When Tress was sent out, Mark said, "Huh. I think that all of us actually have a cosmas at this point. Though only you and Mina have yours on your active teams."

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

Ranger Wain looks alarmed. “Yes, let’s hurry back, if it’s something else it won’t hurt anything to check on it.”

((Restaurant: ))

The lights are still flickering when the two of you return to the restaurant. By now a couple of the lights have blown and you can hear complaining back in the kitchen, which is also suffering from stuttering illumination. The Ranger pulls out his Styler, starts scanning the walls and lights and…ping.

“Yep. That’s it all right,” he drawls. “We have ourselves a problem. We need to get it out of the electrical system for your Time Flute to work on it. I was hoping we could do this out in the wilderness, away from people, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to be possible. You got any ideas?”

----------------

Mark and Pinklady:

Sengar endures the pets. If he’s cheered by the thought of down time he isn’t showing it. He does go back to his food, though.

[gorman]

"Well first we should probably evacuate the citizens or at least inform them of what's going on so if they want to get out of harms way they can. As for ideas, well, I can bring out an electric type, flip the breakers to the place, and try and jolt a response out of our uninvited guest.... I'm not even going to ask how something so large can get into the electrical system..."

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

Ranger Wain visibly relaxes. “Good idea. I’ll warn the kitchen; the chef here takes her cooking a little too seriously and she’s more likely to listen to me. You get the dining room, and make sure anyone staying upstairs is warned, too.”

((Skipping ahead a little bit…))

Fortunately the storm has ensured the place isn’t very busy, and while the people who are present aren’t terribly happy to be sent out into the rain, they change their minds quickly upon learning that there’s about to be a massively powerful Shadow Pokémon in the immediate vicinity. They skitter off to the Pokémon Center and the Herb Shop, while in the background you can hear the cook arguing with the Ranger.

(“I have dishes in the oven! They will be ruined!” “Ma’am, yes you are going to lose what you’re cooking now, but you can’t tell me the power surges are good for whatever you’re making? Those aren’t going to stop until we get the Pokémon out.” “…Fine.”)

At last she sulks away with her staff out the door. The Ranger takes a moment to check that everything in the kitchen is in fact off before approaching you again.

“That should be everyone. Any last minute preparations you need to make? Remember, we’re not out to beat it, we just need to hold it here long enough for you to use your Time Flute.”

[gorman]

"I honestly have no idea what kind of moves they might have... As it's in the electrical system I'd assume it's part electric? I have no idea if I want any pokemon out to defend myself with after that incident in the ruins where I ruined everything.... Ah, hmm, let's get that dish out of the oven and maybe if the thing is hungry it'll be focused more on eating the food instead of fighting us. And I better pull this out too." I say as I pull out the time flute. Oh god I hope there's enough charges in this thing to get the job done.

OoC ~ Kareeah wouldn't put me in danger like that without there being enough charges on a time flute right?! *extremely worried*

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

“They’re actually Normal/Dragon but they do learn Electric moves naturally. As for Pokémon, would you rather try taking on such a powerful Pokemon without Pokémon of your own? Because I have to say that sounds like a bad idea.”

The Ranger looks over the Time Flute briefly. “It looks intact enough to work; I think you’ll only be in trouble if the Fieberdra takes off back into the electrical system before you can finish using it.” ((You have 4 charges on the thing and it’s only one charge per Pokémon you’re purifying, you just have to make sure it stays in range.)) “I’ll get the food out of the kitchen, you should get set up with whatever you need in the mean time. Once it’s out, we’re going to need to move fast.”

[gorman]

Aw man... Well... Nothing can be done about it I guess.... Alright Poliwhirl, Gastly, and Flaaffy come out.

"Hey there guys, I've got bad news gang, I'm putting you all in an extremely dangerous situation here and I'm not thrilled about it but it's for the good of the community here. We're about to bring a very dangerous pokemon out of the electrical system. The pokemon is shadowed and a dragon type. If Gastly and Poliwhirl can keep it distracted long enough for me to use this flute to clear it of it's condition, we should be good. Flaaffy, I know I'm a horrible trainer and I put you in really bad situations a lot... I'm sorry... I hope that you'll be able to help coax it from the electrical lines and keep it from going back in once we do have it out. Are you guys up for the task ahead of us?"

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Pinklady:

((You two need a poke?))

----------------

Matt:

Your Pokémon pick up on your mood and nod nervously. They take their places. The Ranger instructs the Combee to assist and places the food in a relatively open, visible spot (moving a couple of tables and chairs in the process), but finally there isn’t anything left to do except try to get the Pokémon out of the electrical wiring. The Ranger steps out to flip the breakers (promising to be back soon) and wishes you good luck while the lights continue to flicker ominously.

A minute passes. Then two.

All the lights go dead at once. Flaaffy zaps a nearby light as instructed and the bulb dies forever with a distinctive pop. The room is briefly lit by a lightning strike outside, which startles both Combee under a nearby table. This is sufficient distraction that the sparks coming from the broken bulb are very easy to miss. The Combee have just started to buzz out of their hiding spot when a second strike occurs indoors and the beast appears.

It is indeed at least eight feet long, with a long graceful neck and bursts of metal pieces coming from each shoulder that vaguely resemble wings. Its body curves into three tails edged with something like hair, but shinier, and the horns on its head are mostly straight but with a blunt hook on each end. It’s also obviously Shadowed: the picture in the Pokédex is primarily white and gold, so there is no mistaking the mottled purple-black all over its body as anything else.

((Two rounds before the Ranger gets back.))

Fieberdra: 218/218 (Shadowed: 72%)

Poli: 100/100
Gastly: 67/67
Flaaffy: 85/85

Combee A: 38/38
Combee B: 38/38

[gorman]

"Gastly try to coax it into using normal attacks against you, Lick the thing, if you feel like it's going to use some dragon breath attack or something dangerous, go invisible and get out of there as soon as you can. Poliwhirl, Flaaffy, stick close to me please.... Poliwhirl if you see any sort of flames start appearing use Bubblebeam to put them out immediately. Flaaffy use Cotton Spore, maybe that'll help distract the thing. Hey you....giant...dragon thing... Listen up, we have some food for you if you behave yourself and listen to this awesome flute!" I say and start playing the flute when it looks in my direction.

[essCee]

Noting the lack of appetite from his dark type, Mark scratched at the back of his head and he said, "Well, we were at the edge of town and then Sengar... kinda took offense to being sprayed to prove he was there. Tattersail couldn't detect him, so she didn't believe my water types when they were telling her she was there and took their own initiative to prove they weren't crazy. Things keep getting more and more hectic as time goes on..." Addressing the dark type directly, he says, "Sorry about the last few days again, bud. I promise that we have a few days of rest right now."

When Tress was sent out, Mark said, "Huh. I think that all of us actually have a cosmas at this point. Though only you and Mina have yours on your active teams."

"Oh! That sure sounds like quite the mishap. With the rest, I'm guessing he isn't on the active team for this mission?"

"That's convenient! Because, honestly... I don't really know anything about her yet!" She looks fondly at her mysterious Cosmas. "Individually nor Cosmas in general. Got any tips about her kind I should know?"

[Gnomes2169]

"Oh! That sure sounds like quite the mishap. With the rest, I'm guessing he isn't on the active team for this mission?"

"That's convenient! Because, honestly... I don't really know anything about her yet!" She looks fondly at her mysterious Cosmas. "Individually nor Cosmas in general. Got any tips about her kind I should know?"

"Er... Well, he's one of the toughest pokemon on my team, so I was actually planning to bring him along. Especially if we're going at twilight or night. Dark types are pretty good at seeing in the dark and all." Mark says before cycling out the pokemon that were done eating and sending out Fisher for his turn at the food bowl, though he would keep Jessia out so that he could begin training her to level 30.

Munching his own snacks he would also say, "If you want to talk to someone about Cosmas, I'd talk to Mina. I've done some stuff with my own, but that was mostly for contest stuff. If you have the local 'dex, you could also look up information on them there."

[essCee]

"Er... Well, he's one of the toughest pokemon on my team, so I was actually planning to bring him along. Especially if we're going at twilight or night. Dark types are pretty good at seeing in the dark and all." Mark says before cycling out the pokemon that were done eating and sending out Fisher for his turn at the food bowl, though he would keep Jessia out so that he could begin training her to level 30.

Munching his own snacks he would also say, "If you want to talk to someone about Cosmas, I'd talk to Mina. I've done some stuff with my own, but that was mostly for contest stuff. If you have the local 'dex, you could also look up information on them there."

"Oh! That makes sense!" Pinklady follows suit and cycles out her own Pokemon as well, except for Tress, so that she can see the rest of the current Pokemon parties. So she sends out Sport the Hitmonchan and Whirlywhirly the Scolipede. Whirlywhirly stands aloof without approaching the food, and Pinklady sighs.

"Oh, of course, the 'dex!" Pinklady pulls up her Pokedex to check out what info it yielded on Cosmas. "Thanks for the pointers! Tress, you're in unusually good company!"

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Matt:

((Remember that the Flute is an item use! You have to sacrifice a Pokémon’s action to use it.))

At the moment the Fieberdra doesn’t seem the least bit interested in the food. Sparks crack along its darkened hide and its jaws crack open, unleashing blue-black flames.

Fieberdra uses Dragon Breath! ((Good guess!))

Fortunately Gastly has been instructed for this exact situation, and dives down through the floor while fading out of sight. He’s out of the Pokédex’s range momentarily, which is probably for the best because the floor where he was floating is vaporized by the Shadow Fieberdra’s attack – you can see into the cellar through a ring of little tongues of flame around the brand new gaping hole. Poli follows up with a spray of bubbles as instructed, extinguishing the flames.

Flaaffy sends a cloud of fluff at it but the angry Dragon type swats a table at her which intercepts the attack and shatters against a wall, leaving a pulpy mix of ruined food, cottony fluff, broken dishes and bent silverware where it hits. Both Combee are desperately pumping Sweet Scent into the air to try and calm the furious monster, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to do any good in the near future as the sparks crawling over its hide start to grow in size and intensity in preparation for some new attack.

And then you begin to play.

The Fieberdra pauses, and for a moment acts like it hears something unfamiliar far away. Then its eyes close and its head sways back and forth to the music until the last of the Shadowing fades. You can feel the ancient Time Flute crumble a little more in your hands ((-1 charge, 3 remaining)) but it’s done its job.

The Dragon type then gives a brief shake (knocking over a few more chairs in the process) and finally seems to be returned to its senses. It – or rather, she, now that the Pokédex can get a better reading – then seems to panic briefly, making desperate little chirping noises as her head swivels around, searching. The Combee buzz around her head in some concern, but she pays no attention to them, you, or the other Pokémon as she begins looking behind chairs and effortlessly flips another table after she sticks her head under it and apparently doesn’t find what she was looking for.

It’s about this time that the Ranger gets back, sees all of this, and swears colorfully.


((Fieberdra: 218/218 (Evasion down 2 levels)

Poli: 100/100
Gastly: 67/67
Flaaffy: 85/85

Combee A: 38/38
Combee B: 38/38

You just faced down a level 65 Pokémon so I think that warrants some XP. +3 levels for Gastly and +1 for Poli and Flaaffy.

Pokémon: Gastly
Type: Ghost/Poison
Ability: Levitate
Gender: Male
Level: 24
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 55 +17
Attack: 29 +17
Def: 26
Sp. Attack: 60
Sp. Def: 29
Speed: 50
Moves: LIMIT SIX – DROP ONE
Hypnosis
Lick
Mean Look
Curse
Nightshade
Confuse Ray
Sucker Punch

Pokémon: Poliwhirl (Poli)
Type: Water
Ability: Damp
Gender: Female
Level: 29
Held Item: Remeyo Weed
Stats--
HP: 85 +17
Attack: 51
Def: 51
Sp. Attack: 42 +21
Sp. Def: 42
Speed: 66 +17
Moves:
Hypnosis
Bubble
Double Slap
Rain Dance
Body Slam
Bubblebeam

Pokémon: Flaaffy
Type: Electric
Ability: Static
Gender: Female
Level: 29
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 88
Attack: 45
Def: 45 +4
Sp. Attack: 60 +4
Sp. Def: 48 +6
Speed: 40 +5
Moves:
Tackle
Growl
Thundershock
Thunder Wave
Cotton Spore
Charge))

----------------

Mark and Pinklady:

Tress waves acknowledgment with one of her tiny front feet before scooting over to Jessia to start up a conversation in Pokéspeak.

((Let me know when you two are done here and I’ll put in the training for Jessia.))

----------------

Matsubara, Flotsam, Less:

((New player intro, I choose you!))

You find yourselves in the tiny little village of Rieva, right on the edge of Bandra territory. It is about 8 AM and pouring rain outside, and every now and then lightning lights up the inside of the tiny town’s Pokémon Center.


((Maroon: Inn/restaurant
White: Pokémon Center
Gray: Herb shop
Gold boxes: Combee Hives))

Spoiler: Flotsam, Less

Show

Being native to the region, you know that storms like this one are unusual; Helnith is usually sunny and dry. They started occurring at regular intervals—sometimes unnaturally regular—some time after the local Legendary Pokémon Salerdia disappeared five years ago.

At first you’re mostly alone in the Pokémon Center except for each other, the nurse, and another pair of trainers who have taken seats on the lobby couch. The nurse is doing paperwork, the boy of the pair is soaked to the skin and wrapped in a blanket, and the girl is dry and pouring what looks to be the latest of several cups of tea. There is a pot of said tea beside them and the two are gossiping about a third trainer, yet unseen, who had apparently come in earlier and then immediately went back out into the storm – the latter has yet to return.

A few minutes of this pass before a blurry figure appears at the door.

“See? I told you no one in their right mind would be out there right now,” the girl of the pair scolds her seatmate, but then another figure appears behind the glass, and another, and soon a small stream of people is flowing into the lobby, some in chef uniforms, some in normal clothes, but all of them soaking wet.

The nurse looks up from her paperwork and starts to put it away, sensing trouble. “What’s going on?”

One of the new people, an older teen in a chef’s outfit, replies. “The Ranger said there was a Shadow Pokémon in the wiring and told us all to get out. Hope you don’t mind us staying here until the rain stops.” Another flash of lightning lights up the room, followed a few seconds later by a loud rumble of thunder.

“No, of course not. Stay as long as you need to, I’ll be in the back if you need me.” She disappears into the back without another word.

[Feathersnow]

The tall, lanky Johtoan in what appears to be lacquered cosplay faux-wood armor stares out the window. "Is it often like this?" He asks.

He has his Ditto out and is playing catch with them.

His ears immediately perk up when mention comes of shadow Pokémon. He droops when he comes to understand a Ranger was dealing with the issue and goes back to playing with the smiling blob.