Fandom Pokemon Mystery Crossing [IC]

[Sul_Silver]

Apartment Building
07:30

It was just another morning for Jenna. She began by getting the fees of the residents, cleaned the entrance, made sure water was still running and was going back to the entrance, hoping to get a visitor... maybe someone cute. Right around this time, a Phantump entered, looking super psyched up! She had never seen the ghost around these parts, maybe one of the newcomers everyone was talking about. He was cute, that's for sure, but he seemed very childish carrying the large plushie around. Not really her type.

Jenna went over to the Phantump, maybe he just wanted to visit one of the residents, maybe he wanted to get his own apartment in the building... or maybe he came to visit her? "Oh hi, hi! Welcome to Moonlight Apartments... uhmm... how can I help you?"

Yamperzzz​

 

[Pestilence]

"Understood Sir" Caligo said ending the salute.

He took a look at the pokemon. They all seemed strong, fraxure a dragon type, mienfoo a fighting type and the pinsir a bug type like him. But why were they tense what was it that made them lose confidence. He decide to try to see how they handle themselves in a battle.

"Fraxure and Mienfoo you two fight each other, pinsir fight against me. Remember this is a mock battle so don't use excessive force" Caligo said.

He hoped that experiencing the way they battle would grant him insight into how their training should go moving forward. He readied his stance calming his mind.

"Begin" he said as the four of them engaged in battle.

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

Mass the Linoone

Star Shard Town Star Mart - 6:48 AM​

For a moment, Mass met the Umbreon's gaze head-on-- even if it was a little unnerving. It wasn't exactly the easiest task to look a Dark-type in the eye and keep one's composure, especially when he knew this Umbreon could most likely fling him across the town square with her mind alone. Nevertheless, she seemed to accept the deal; as long as she wasn't the one paying.

Not that Mass minded whether he was paid or not. This was an unofficial job. If he was paid, that was going right to the shop; he wasn't one for pocketing funds. That was Fuse. If he wasn't, that was fine and dandy as well.

The tension was broken by the timely arrival of one of the Kecleon brothers, Odie, in order to start the tour. It caught Mass's attention for a moment, and he couldn't help the involuntary nod of greeting he flashed the shopkeeper-- though his attention shifted back to the Umbreon, who offered to gather the clay needed for repair. With her instructions in mind, Mass raised a claw and let it brush against the side of his head in a mock salute.

"Aye, will do-- Hm?"

An unexpected occurrence; the Vulpix came trotting out, seeming almost clumsy and unused to her four paws. Nevertheless, after what seemed like a great deal of effort, she'd run up to the Umbreon and offered to help out with repairing her house. The sight, admittedly, brought a smile to Mass's face. Knowing how to take responsibility was always a good skill to have.

"Isn't that nice?" He chuckled. "More help is always appreciated. Though..." There was one thing.

He shuffled a few steps forward to approach the two a little more and get away from the noise of the dispersing crowd, who had started on their tour. Addressing the Vulpix, his ears flicked and curiosity laced his voice.

"Do you know how to work with clay?"

Interacted: Anne Boolean SCSaya06

 

[SCSaya06]

Aiya
Star Shard Town
6:50 AM - 6:55 AM

Suffice to say, she did not expect the Vulpix to walk over to her, offering to help with gathering clay. Possible compensation? Maybe. Aiya was not someone who turns down help if someone offers to. There were a few concerns with this however.

"You're new aren't you? Do you know where the riverbank is?" Aiya's brows furrowed, gazing intently at the smaller ice Vulpix. They only need a small amount of clay to fix the piping but she did have some serious doubt about this girl's carrying capacity. She might just end up pulling more weight along. Fortunately, their little discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the big Linoone in town.

Mass asked if Vulpix had worked with quick-drying clay before. A valid point. If the clay does not bind well, the whole thing could build up pressure and explode, causing even more damage. As expected of the handy repair Pokemon. He understands his stuff.

"Mass...I assume you're willing to accompany us on this quest as well?" Aiya's gaze shifted to the Linoone. It'll be handy to have him help carry more clay back to the house.

Interacted: CrowOuttaHell , Anne Boolean
Quest taken: Gather Mulch for Starly Farms

 

[Anne Boolean]

Erucca Carmine
Star Shard Town, 6:50 - 6:55 AM

It seemed at least one of them was happy to hear about her coming along, although the question he posed after made her question just how helpful she could be. "Um... no," Erucca responded. The image of humans spinning clay pots and vases popped into her head, but she had no idea if she had done taken part in that at any point. Either way, the experience of patching up a house would be quite different from making a pot.

"Yes, I am new," she answered the Umbreon, "... and no, I don't know where the riverbank is..." Embarrassment began to form in her face as she lowered her gaze from the other's. "I-if you show me though, I can help you carry the clay!" She returned her eyes to meet the Dark-type's. Erucca then turned to Mass. "And I may not have worked with clay before, but I'll do exactly as you instruct!"

CrowOuttaHell SCSaya06

 

[Yamperzzz]

Upon entering the building, Reed saw a Goodra, who went over to talk to him. He was very familiar with Goodras since they were relatively common back home. Reed didn't think much of her. He was more excited about getting a new apartment than anything else. He joyfully hovered about the room as he studied his surroundings.

"I wanna get my own apartment! Uuh... What do I need to do?" He stopped wandering around to face Jenna. He had one of his hands on his face as he tilted his head to show uncertainty. "I just got here, and I want a place to stay. Do I get to choose which one I get?" He returned to his excitable self at the last question.

Sul_Silver

 

[Skipper]

Mari
River Sixth (to Cursed Forest), 7:32 AM - 7:43 AM

Mari’s smile dropped when Elliot turned his back. She followed behind him quietly, eyeing him as she placed careful steps. Elliot seemed like an okay guy. He was friendly enough, based on his conversation with Reed before the tour, but there was just something about him. Something about the way he’d looked at her just then set her on edge, but she couldn’t figure it out. As their small group turned north out of town, Mari ran over what she knew about him.

It was best to figure this out now, or at least rule out what it couldn’t be, then to wait until he revealed his true colors. There was always the chance it turned out to be nothing, that Mari herself could find nothing odd about his behavior, and her concerns could be dismissed. Truthfully, that was the most preferable option. She hated to think uncharitably of any of her new neighbors, but there was always the chance that Elliot did have less than innocent intentions, in which case, if she could figure it out now all the better.

The packed, even dirt of Star Shard eventually gave way to the short, gently rolling plains just beyond the borders. In the distance, she could see the forest. It was the same one she had noted only an hour and a half ago when she first woke up, the great, leafy tops a vivid green, the few gaps revealing rich, brown wood and black shadows. They were too far away for Mari to make out any details, but already she could see why some might think it cursed.

Had Elliot ever looked at her like that before? She didn’t think so, or if he had she hadn’t noticed. But how exactly had he looked at her? All she knew was that the look was unsettling. Something about it threw her off, made her suspicious, made her suspicious of him. It couldn’t be out of nowhere, could it? Perhaps she was being overly cautious. After all, she had much the same thoughts about the kecleons, and they had turned out to be fine folk. It seemed she was prone to extrapolate the worst, even as she wished to believe the best in others, and before directing her thoughts back to Elliot, she wondered how it was she came to be this way.

But this wasn’t about her. There would be plenty of time to deconstruct her own psyche later, when she wasn’t currently about to enter a potentially cursed forest with a pokemon that may not have her best interests at heart. She didn’t expect him to drop everything for her of course, considering they’d only just met and there were other pokemon in the group to cover her that she hadn’t received any negative feelings about, but she also didn’t know if he would extend even minimal assistance to her.

Did she really think he would put her in harm’s way? She wasn’t sure, and that was the trouble. Even if there was something going on with Elliot, it might not extend to a truly dangerous situation, but it also might, and she had no idea if she could trust him if it came to that. A constant roar broke her out of her thoughts, and she saw that their party had made it to the River Sixth. It cut across the plain from east to west, separating the forest from the town with a slash of dark blue. It was impossible to see the bottom, and wide enough she didn’t think she could swim across. Up ahead the forest loomed thick and shadowed, concealing whatever might lie within. It was not any more welcoming now that she could actually see it, and her coat crackled in time with her beating heart.

She’d like to know what Elliot was up to, if he was up to anything, but agonizing over it wasn’t going to stop her from enjoying her first adventure here. First, she had to get across the river though, and hoping something convenient might appear, she looked around. Lo and behold, further down the shore was a bridge, simple but well constructed. Speaking up, she tossed her head and lifted a front leg to point with her hoof, “There’s a bridge down there. We can use it to get across the river.”

Mari didn’t wait for a reply, she was already sprinting down the shoreline, determined to see as much of the haunted house as possible before the day was through.

Sul_Silver SpotBandit WallrusY Zmandd

 

[Sul_Silver]

Apartment Building
07:32AM

Well, that was good news! While this Phantump seemed way to energetic for Jenna, it was always great to have new people in the building! "Oh, that's great! I'm... I'm glad you decided to live here! We have a couple of apartments available... they are the same so there isn't much reason to pick one over the other. Do you... do you want to see them?"

Already expecting a yes, she began going up the stairs. The building had only 3 floors, as he believed that going for a fourth one would lead to bad luck. They arrived on the first floor, where there were about 4 apartments. She opened the door of one of them, which revealed a small and barren, but cozy room. "It... It has a bedroom in the back as well. The neighbors are nice, just a Mienshao family and a Drampa on the sides. There is also another apartment available at the third floor, but it is about the same as this one... So, just so you make up your mind, both apartments are ₽2000, plus a ₽500 fee every couple of days to help with the upkeep of the building. If anything breaks though, I... I can fix it for free. So, when you are ready, I just need you to sign these papers, or use a paw print if you can't write. Oh, and I need the ₽2000 by today."

Yamperzzz​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Snazzy
Star Shard Town, 6:00 AM - River Sixth, 7:43 AM

Unlike most Pokemon in Star Shard Town, Snazzy didn't wake up at the crack of dawn. Instead, when the sunlight seeped in through the window, he curled up to face away from it in his large, cushion-y bed. What did end up waking him up though was the tapping sound of something hitting the house's roof. He opened his eyes before standing up and stretching with a soft meow. After looking out of the window the Alolan Meowth stepped out of his room into the main area of the house. In the spacious room his eyes fell onto an Alolan Persian who was lounging on one of the grand pieces of furniture.

"Mommy!" he called out as he approached her, "It's hailing outside!"

Pristine, who looked like she had been awake for awhile but still well-rested, looked to him and gave a nod. "Yes. Quite strange, since the weather was due to be sunny for awhile. It seems someone must have used a move to summon it."

A frown came onto Snazzy's face. "The loud hail woke me up!" he cried. "That Pokemon ruined my sleep!" The young feline Pokemon stomped his paw on the ground a few times and jumped up and down angrily. "I'm gonna go find them and make them say sorry!"

The Persian just chuckled and stretched out with a soft purr. "Okay sweetheart. Just remember to take a berry with you before you go."

Her response brought a smile to the Meowth's face. "Thanks Mommy!" He rushed into the dining room and picked up a Sitrus Berry from the bowl that sat on the grand table. While making his way to the large house's exit he stopped to pick up his Amulet Coin and Black Glasses in the foyer. "Bye Mommy! I love you!" he called out through the halls. When he heard an echoing, "I love you too!" Snazzy headed out.

As soon as he stepped out of the house he noticed the skies were once again clear. Yep, this was definitely a Pokemon's doing. With the frown returning to his face he made his way down the residential street to the town center. It seemed there had been a gathering of some kind moments before, but now everyone was dispersing. Though the crowd of Pokemon Snazzy noticed one he could identify as an Ice-type: a Sneasel. Truthfully, the only reason he knew it was an Ice-type was because he believed one of his mother's colleagues was also one, and they told him they were an Ice-type. Snazzy wasn't the most knowledgeable about Pokemons' types, so he decided to follow his only sure lead.

As he approached the group he overheard that they planned on exploring the Haunted House not too far from town, and then watched as they started off in the direction of the haunted woods. His frown deepened; now they were making him take time out of his busy day to follow them out of town? He'd make sure this was also accounted for in this Sneasel's punishment.

Maybe it was because Snazzy wasn't the most athletic, or maybe this group of Pokemon was particularly fast, but it took him until they were at the banks of the River Sixth. As the yellow sheep-looking Pokemon trotted off towards the bridge spanning across the flowing water the Alolan Meowth called out, "Stop!" He quickly closed the distance between them and stood in front of the Sneasel panting softly. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Snazzy continued. "Your stupid Hail attack ruined my sleep!" He pointed a claw at the Ice-type, although compared to the Sneasel's own claws it looked like nothing more than a thorn pointed at the trunk of a tree. "Since I'm awake now, you're gonna have to play with me! Wherever you guys are going, I'm going too! And if it's boring, we're gonna leave and do something fun!" He stood with his arms crossed, nose in the air, and foot tapping.

Sul_Silver Skipper WallrusY Zmandd

 

[WallrusY]

Azure the Mudkip
Location - Star Shard Town

Azure, with a small smile, walked behind the ice-type pokemon once he called for the group to follow. It was a pretty large group, meaning they would share the reward, but Azure wasn't particularly needy - he could live without a couple of extra gifts. Azure checked upon his Mystic Water again, making sure it was still hung around his neck, and he made sure his Quick Claw was on him, as well, both of which were. Azure took a few confused glances at Mari, the Mareep who seemed suspicious of Elliot, sneaking cautious glances at him periodically - to Azure, they were both new and the Mudkip had no prejudice against either of them, but he wondered if Mari and Elliot had some history, or if Mari simply had some negative intuition about the Sneasel.

Azure wasn't too worried about it, though. Distrusting someone you just met leads to hostility and fear, a sentiment that Azure did not often hold. Perhaps Mari is just cautious around everyone, or Elliot was truly someone to be suspicious of, or Mari was just crazy, but either way, Azure didn't see any reason to hold ill will to either of them. Azure turned away from Mari and decided to not think about it further, though his carefree mind would've likely drifted off the topic without any help anyway.

The group arrived at a river, but not too far downstream a river appeared, the wooden structure paving a way to the woods and the lone house at the outskirts of it. Azure walked over to the structure, amused at the Mareep who pointed to the path and proceeded to bolt straight over to the bridge without a second thought. Azure smile grew as he quickened the pace, though much slower than how fast Mari had been. Azure neared the path, Mari ahead of him and Elliot and the others behind him, but before he could step on the bridge a small, Alolan variant of Meowth ran past him to situate himself in front of the Sneasel, claiming that Elliot had summoned the brief but apparently very noisy hailstorm. He demanded that the group allow the very angry and relatively small Meowth to allow him on their adventure.

Azure walked over back to where the Sneasel stood and attempted to converse with the Meowth, though judging from the rapid flare of events, he wasn't sure if that would be possible. "Uh, sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. Elliot didn't do cause the storm, and even if he did I'm sure he didn't mean it. But, we might be able to allow you to join us, maybe...?" Azure looked back up to Elliot, as he was the pseudo-leader of the expedition, so Azure felt that he should be the one to accept or deny the Meowth. Azure would probably have simply let the pokemon join them, but that was just how Azure was. Azure did wonder if the Meowth would take Azure's answer as legitimate - as far as Azure knew, it was true, but he was definitely doubtful that the Alolan Meowth would accept that answer.

 

[Sul_Silver]

Elliot the Sneasel
Cursed Forest Bridge, 07:45AM

Mari seemed like she was acting a bit odd... Elliot noticed she was acting a lot more carefully due to his Keen Eye ability. It was probably just her being more on the edge due to having to go towards the cursed forest. Well, whatever it was, he was sure she would let him know later. The group had to travel quite a bit before finally reaching the bridge. To the other side, he could spot multiple places where Pokemon could use a sneak attack... the forest had tall, large trees with canopies so thick barely any light went through. Yet, there was clearly light coming from the forest. Perhaps they were openings, mushrooms, or maybe even Pokemon.

Mari was the first to lead the group to the bridge. "Suddenly not so careful, huh?" He thought. It didn't take them long to be quickly stopped by a small figure... Gerald? No this one has dark fur, and most definitely didn't act like an adult. Now that he stopped to think about it, how old was Gerald anyways? He accused Elliot of bringing down the Hail, which woke him up. Elliot got quite annoyed at the accusation, specially after the trouble that it caused him and specially Erucca, although she had kinda brought it on herself.

While he first thought of just ignoring the kid, the Meowth went on to say that because he was awoken by a hail that wasn't even Elliot's fault, he had to come too. "Excuuuse me???" he thought. "I already have to share the reward 5 ways, but now I also have to share it with this kid?? Who in the distorted world does this kid think he is?" Elliot was feeling pretty mad now. Maybe if he smacked the kid just a little bit, the kid would just give up. He was readying a Quick Attack, when Azure intervened.

Azure mentioned that it wasn't Elliot's fault for the hail, but that maybe, just maybe, Elliot would allow him to join them. This kinda reminded Elliot of his little escapades back home with his sister and her friends. He would always annoy them to let him go with them, and he would sometimes receive a smacking so he wouldn't follow them. He always did it anyways, and ended up having a lot of fun. In a way, the Meowth reminded him of himself a few years ago, which both amused and annoyed Elliot.

"sigh... fine, you can come. But if you do anything remotely stupid, you are getting a smacking and being sent back to town, understand? Also, no one is baby sitting you, so you better... you better take care of yourself OK?" During that last sentence, Elliot realized he began to sound like his sister, which both amused and disgusted him. He loved his sister, but acting just like her? Ewwww...

"Ok everyone, let's keep going! The forest awaits us!"
​

Elliot, 07:50AM
[ WallrusY , Skipper , Anne Boolean , Zmandd , SpotBandit ]​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Snazzy
River Sixth, 7:45 - 7:50 AM

Snazzy's frown only deepened when the Mudkip spoke. "Why're you being such a meanie, Azure?! That's no way to great a friend! And a good friend wouldn't be so heistant about inviting a friend along! You should be begging me to join!"

When he heard Elliot's response though, a grin came across his face. "Yaaayyy!" he cheered, jumping up and down for a moment before suddenly stopping and clearing his throat. "I mean... good choice." With the smile still lingering, he flipped a pair of the whiskers on the side of his face with his paw. "You're sure to have tons more fun now that I'm coming along!"

Of course, he had noticed that three of the four Pokemon in the group were new faces, so he went ahead and introduced himself. "My name is Snazzy. It's an adjective, but it's also my name because it totally describes me! My mommy's name is Pristine, and it's the same story for her. We're the richest family in town and live in the biggest house, so you have to be nice to us! And since I'm coming along with you guys now, I'm gonna be the leader!" He then hurried over to the bridge where the Mareep was in order to be at the head of the group.

Sul_Silver Skipper WallrusY Zmandd

 

[Yamperzzz]

Reed excitedly followed Jenna as she already began her way towards a potential apartment. When she opened the door to an apartment, Reed floated inside to check it out. It was small, but it was just the right size for a small Phantump like Reed. There wasn't much inside either, but that just meant more room for Reed to put his art supplies! Reed audibly gasped upon learning that he would live next to a Drampa and a Mienshao family if he chose to stay here. He had only heard of Mienshaos before and he had never heard of a Drampa before. He was excited to meet them.

"This is perfect! I'll take it. I have ₽2,000 right here!" He began to shuffle through his ghost pockets to gather his money. With his other free hand, he grabbed a pencil from his art supplies to write his name on the papers. He was going to be broke after this, but he was planning to head up to Starly Farms later to get his first job.

Sul_Silver​

 

[Zmandd]

Lucas Ward
Location: River Sixth
Time: 7:51 AM​

Lucas, who had remained quiet for most of the initial contact with the Alola Meowth (who's name was Snazzy), remembered the orb that was in his hand since the beginning of this transformation.

When Lucas first woke up at the beach and realized who, or rather what, he'd become, he began to panic. As he was panicking, he tripped over an orb on the beach. The orb was flawless in shape, with a golden tint to it. The swirls inside the orb were grey and brick orange, similar to which of the steel and fighting type. He picked the orb up and dusted the sand off of it. He attempted to look for a place to put it in but decided to keep it in his hand after realizing he, in fact, did not have pockets to conceal the item in.

In the present, Lucas held out the orb in his hand. Waking up from his flashback, he looked over at the Alola Meowth. Snazzy seemed... flamboyant. It brought Lucas back to the good old days of beating up rich kids with his Charizard and taking their money. Usually, Lucas didn't take pride in taking money won from battle, but when the rich kids would boast about how much better of a trainer they were because they were rich enough to buy a bunch of ultra balls Lucas just had to put them in their place. There was a part of him that wanted to do the same to him, but he doesn't have any experience in this new body. He doesn't even know what moves this Riolu has yet, or how does one "execute" a move like that. Alas, Lucas refrained from attempting to attack him.

Instead, Lucas glanced over at the Sneasel, orb in his hand. While his recent actions could be accounted for as "shifty," he figured he could at least provide some answers as to what this thing was. "So what are these things, anyway?"

// WallrusY Skipper Anne Boolean Sul_Silver SpotBandit

 

[Sul_Silver]

Apartment Building
07:35AM

"Oh, that was quick... hmm... alright! The apartment is all yours, just remember to pay the fees, I hate when I have to kick people out because of that. Hmm, tell me if anything needs any fixing, OK?" Jenna was quite impressed by how quickly the Phantump made up his mind. Usually it can take days for someone to choose where to live, and the little guy chose his place in less than 10 minutes! That was impressive in a way. She went back downstairs to the reception, where she would usually stay by herself.

Yamperzzz​

 

[Sul_Silver]

Elliot the Sneasel
Entrance of the Cursed Forest, 07:52AM

The Meowth present himself as Snazzy, and acted just like a little kid. Except he had the biggest ego Elliot had ever seen. Back home, not everyone were the nicest Pokemon ever but at least they were humble, modest and sometimes even honest. Meanwhile Snazzy was already trying to take the position of leader of the group. All he wanted to do is play and have fun, and while Elliot also wanted to have a bit of fun, he couldn't forget the goal of the group; to deliver the feathers and get the reward, and perhaps meet the witch that lives in the haunted house...

He was thinking of giving Snazzy a special "quest" that would be "very important" to the group. Either that or just give him the smacking he was asking for so he quiets down. He was considering his options very carefully, after all he didn't want to hurt the kid too badly. Snazzy didn't look too strong, so anything that Elliot did to it would hurt a lot more.

This was starting to make Elliot's head hurt with him trying to figure out which option was the best. At the time, the Riolu came to him and asked him about a bizarre "orb" that he had found... Elliot jumped off his feet with the shock of seeing it. It was no ordinary orb, it was a Mega Stone! He didn't need to use his Keen Eye to see the signature helix-shaped symbol that every Mega Stone has. As Elliot got up again, he forgot everything about the Snazzy situation. Two Mega Stones in a single day? What was going on??? And Lucas seemed to have no idea of what it was, or how precious it was. "Hmm, It's Lucas, right? How did you get that Stone? They are called Mega Stones and are extremely rare! Where did you find it? You gotta tell me!"

Before any answers could be given though, the group reached the end of the end of the bridge. Not far from it, a small sign said "Danger! Do NOT ENTER the Cursed Forest unless prepared. NEVER attempt to adventure alone." At the bottom, there was the signature of the Blue Waters Rescue Team. Looking ahead, the forest was right in front of them. It seemed a lot more menacing than from afar, with the trees looking far taller, with bigger leaves and more twisted trunks, probably one of the many reasons it's called "cursed".

"Hmm, Lucas, can you tell me later about the Stone? I really need to find one." Elliot then ran in front of the group, and (after giving Snazzy a menacing look) said; "OK guys, were here. After this, I don't think there's going back. Let's go!" And with that said, he put on his Choice Band as a bandana, fastened his Forage Bag around his shoulder, and began taking the first few steps inside the forest.
​

Elliot, 7:55AM
[ WallrusY , Skipper , Anne Boolean , Zmandd , SpotBandit ] ​

 

[SpotBandit]

Chirin the Zorua
- Star Shard Town -

Chirin followed silently behind the group, she fell progressively more and more silent. She couldn't tell wether or not she was exited for this small venture, despite it being something she'd usually deem fun to do. The group spoke and chatted to each other as they ventured further and further away from the town and closer to their destination; the supposedly haunted house. Oddly enough, Chirin wasn't particularly keen on the very moment to fight off ghosts, despite her type advantage, and found the growing urge to simply turn back and head back there another day to maybe train up-- if the ghosts in there were aggressive, of course. Otherwise she'd be attacking unarmed Pokémon because she felt like it.

Before terribly long, the group made it to the border of the cursed forest. She squinted at it, internally debating wether or not she really wanted to go inside or return to the town to do something far more calming for a while. After all, the stress of getting to this town in the first place wore her down a considerable bit, now that she thought about it. She hadn't even realised, in her sombre daze, that a new Pokémon had joined them; an Alolan meowth. At the very moment, she didn't really bat an eye. Elliot, unfazed, entered the forest and prompted the others behind him to follow. Given she was now put on the spot to venture off now or return back, she decided to speakup.

"Ah, I realised that I'm not really in the mood for going to the mansion or whats-it-called." Spoke up Chirin, who gestured with her paw. One would've mistaken her for scared if she wasn't so nonchalant and calm in her tone of voice, which radiated only the feeling of boredom rather than fear; something that dark types often lacked when confronted with ghosts, due to the type advantage. She turned her back to the group whilst keeping her head focused on their direction.

"I'm just gonna head back, sorry. Do tell me what ends up happening though!" She again gestured with her paw, but instead waves goodbye with it. Before terribly long she started to pad off in her own direction casually, to leave the group to their own shenanigans.​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Snazzy
River Sixth, 7:45 - 7:50 AM

As Snazzy started across the bridge he overheard two of the others in the group chatting behind him. He turned around, planning to chastise them for dawdling and not following his orders, but then noticed the topic of the conversation. As Elliot went on to point out, it was indeed a Mega Stone that the Riolu held. The Alolan Meowth hurried over to the two.

"Yeah, that's a Lucarionite," he commented. "I think my mommy showed me one at some point. She might have a few of her own in her gem collection. You should come visit her afterwards! She might even wanna buy it from you! It's not like you can use it anyway."

When they came to the end of the bridge and approached the sign, Snazzy took a moment to look at it before looking up at the woods. "Oh! Are we seeing who's the bravest? It's gonna be me! I'm not scared of anything!" He took a proud posture for a moment before looking at the sign once again. "Oh this was written by Olivia... she and her Rescue Team friends are such meanies! They won't take me along on their adventures and tell me I'm too young!" He put his hands on his hips and turned to face the others. "C'mon! There'll be something super cool in this forest if Olivia doesn't want people to go in there! She just likes to keep other people from having fun!" He started to walk into the trees but then found Elliot rushing past him. Upon receiving the dirty look from the other Dark-type, he retaliated with a sneer of his own. He followed along with the group, all the while trying to walk alongside the Sneasel or try to inch him front of him.

His eyes scanned the forest from left to right. It was definitely a spooky sight, seemingly coming right out of one of the scary stories that his mother would read to him. This was the Meowth's first time leaving town, although his naivety kept him from having any real worry. At most he found himself excited for some Ghost-type Pokemon to jump out and try to scare them.

Sul_Silver Skipper WallrusY Zmandd

 

[Skipper]

Mari
Cursed Forest, 7:43 AM - 7:57 AM

Mari reached the bridge before she realized she should probably wait for the others. Adventuring alone would certainly be less fun, and it was supposed to be Elliot’s mission anyway. As she turned back to face the rest of the group, a sign right by the bridge caught her eye, but before she could read it, a strange little pokemon ran across the field from the direction of town, cutting off Elliot and the rest of the group. Mari was close enough she could hear what was going on, but not close enough to feasibly interact with, and it quickly became apparent running ahead had been an incredible stoke of luck decision.

The new pokemon looked like a meowth, though the coloration was off. Maybe it was another type variation like Erucca? That was the only explanation that came to mind, but one she accepted easily. If she found out later the meowth was not actually a meowth, well, then she’d know.

The meowth was beyond bratty. Normally that wouldn’t be enough to bother her. Mari got that there were different personality types out there, and she could appreciate a kid just looking to have a little fun. It would have been fine if he’d just demanded to come along. She agreed with Azure that at this point it was Elliot’s decision whether the kid, Snazzy, got to come along or not, and Elliot looked annoyed enough Mari knew he wouldn’t agree if he really didn’t want the kid to come. What really ticked her off was demanding that the entire group go do something else with him if he got bored.

Now, Mari was all about trying new things, her entire existence from now on was going to be new things, considering she’d somehow turned into a mareep, but just because she wanted to get to everything eventually didn’t mean she was going to drop whatever fun adventure she was on currently to indulge a kid she didn’t know. It assumed a lot of things about her, particularly whether she had a spine or not, and Mari was a very proud vertebrate, thank you very much. Snazzy could get bored and wander back home with anyone else that wanted to go, and maybe if Mari got bored, she’d head back home as well, but there was no way she was leaving just because someone told her to, especially if the adventure took an exciting turn.

Although, from the way he very unsuccessfully tried to threaten Elliot, Snazzy was shaping up to be the type to talk a big game but turn tail whenever any real trouble showed up. The only thing worse would be if he actually thought he could handle a dangerous situation only to wind up needing saving. The point of going in a big group like this was for safety, but that only worked out if everyone was at least somewhat competent. Snazzy looked like he might end up being dead weight, which would not only put him in danger, but also whatever angle he was supposed to be covering.

Snazzy went on to officially introduce himself, as well as point out that his family was the richest in town, and yeah, that would explain his behavior. Mari had to wonder how old this kid was though and why his mother let him wander around like this. What if he got into a bad situation and no one was around to save him? What if he ended up with a group of pokemon and no one wanted to save him? She couldn’t exactly imagine that happening with this group. There were a lot of different pokemon here with a lot of different personalities, but no one seemed like the type to just let a child die. Well, maybe Elliot could find it in his heart from the way he was glaring at the poor kid, but overall if anything happened to Snazzy it wouldn’t be from a lack of caring.

When he ran ahead, declaring himself the leader along the way, that was when Mari started having second thoughts about bringing the kid along. Wanting to join the group was fine, as long as they kept an eye on him he’d probably be fine. Wanting to turn back if things got too tough was fine too. Nothing he said or did was going to make Mari turn back unless she also wanted to do that, and there was nothing wrong with realizing that you’ve gotten in over your head. If he was going to try to give them orders about where to go and what to do while they were on their adventure though, that could be a problem. They had a destination in mind, the whole group already knew what they wanted to do, and while some meandering never hurt anybody, she wasn’t going to let this kid derail the entire adventure.

Besides, if he was struggling with the group the entire time, that only made any potential encounters they had more dangerous. Trying to not only protect yourself, but also having to look out for a kid who thought he knew better than you? Yeah, that was a recipe for disaster, and Mari was having none of it. Still, it was Elliot’s adventure, and in the end, the decision to keep the kid was his. She’d talk to him about it, out of Snazzy’s earshot, of course.

As the rest of the group got closer, Lucas, who’d been silent to this point, held up a marble that looked shockingly similar to her own. The only real difference was the coloration, and his possession of it leant credence to the idea that she and Lucas, and maybe Erucca as well, were in the same situation. She really needed to talk to him later.

Elliot looked surprised to see Lucas’s marble. He said it was something called a mega stone and then proceeded to become extremely excited about it. Mari came to a sudden realization and felt a lot of tension she hadn’t known she’d been building leave her body. Of course! Elliot must have seen her own marble, mega stone, whatever, when they’d first met in town, and if he was this eager to get one of his own, he must have noticed when she’d shown up for the adventure that she hadn’t had hers on her. Then she felt really bad. Her suspicions about Elliot really had been unfounded, and she’d spent her time thinking all sorts of horrible things about what he might want when he’d only been curious about her marble. She resolved to make it up to him by being especially useful on the adventure.

They got to bridge shortly after that, and since everyone was there, Mari took a moment to read the sign posted. Huh, well that wasn’t ominous at all. Mari didn’t know Olivia well enough, at all really, to say whether a sign like this was overcautious or a legitimate warning. Still, Mari wasn’t deterred, determined to at least try her hand at getting through the forest. Elliot was just as enthused as she was, and without the lingering negativity on her part, she thought they could get to be good friends, or at the very least good partners.

Smiling widely, her coat sparked, and she was taking her first steps into the gloom after Elliot. She saw Snazzy rush to catch up with him though and all tact flew out the window. Okay, this kind of behavior couldn’t stand. It was only going to get someone hurt, most likely Snazzy, and annoying as the kid was, she didn’t want to purposefully put him in a bad situation. It didn’t look like he was going to leave Elliot’s side for anything other than pulling ahead, and that was just asking for trouble. Looks like she’d have to just tough out whatever kind of tantrum the kid was liable to throw.

Picking up the pace to a slow canter, she quickly caught up with Elliot and then slowed to a fast trot to keep up with him. The shade of the forest was already starting to swallow any outside light and the thick canopy blocked almost all of the natural sunlight, but the electricity sparking from her wool provided just enough glow for her to see by. That might be a problem later, but she put it out of mind for the moment.

“Elliot,” she said, “I just wanted to start out by saying that I’m really sorry if I was acting kind of shady earlier. I just tend to assume the worst about others and I saw you looking at me funny and my head just sort of went places. I figured out you were probably just curious about my mega stone, so I wanted to apologize for making assumptions about you.” Wow, that was a real load off her chest and also not what she meant to talk about.

She looked around briefly to see if she could spot any suspicious movements, but the forest was unnaturally still. There wasn’t even a breeze. “I also don’t think it’s a good idea to take Snazzy with us. I’d feel better about it if he just wanted to tag along, but if he keeps trying to take charge and won’t listen to any of us he’s just going to get himself hurt.”

Falling behind a step to look over at Snazzy, she added, “No offense kid, but I just don’t think you’d be any good in a combat situation. I don’t know Olivia that well, but I do think she was right about you being too young to go on missions.” Harsh, but she couldn’t think of a gentler way to tell the kid he was basically a liability.

Sul_Silver WallrusY Anne Boolean Zmandd

 

[WallrusY]

Azure the Mudkip
Location - Star Shard Town

Azure paused, staring a little dumbfounded at Snazzy as the little Meowth declared that Azure should be begging for him to tag along. The Mudkip didn't even know a whole lot about the Meowth - not really, anyway, and definitely not enough to be considered "friends," a title that Azure normally would hand out without a care, but with Snazzy he was a little more cautious. He was always a little self-centered and arrogant, and although Azure wasn't going to be rude to the little kid, those were traits that Azure definitely didn't want to associate himself with. Still, Azure replied with a small, "Uh... Sure..."

Once Elliot accepted Snazzy into the group, though, the Meowth was overcome in childlike excitement that was quickly replaced with his usual bossy self, establishing himself (and his mother) as the richest and greatest pokemon in Star Shard Town and establishing himself as the leader, to which Azure was very skeptical that the Meowth had any justification to assume such a position. But still, he didn't complain - he was pretty sure that they wouldn't get into too much conflict either way - or at least, they would've run into the same amount of trouble whether or not Snazzy was the leader.

Behind him, Chirin voiced her boredom of the adventure and waved her goodbyes as she left the group. Azure waved back to the Zorua, a little worried whether or not Chirin would be good on her own, but Azure decided that she would be fine by herself. "See you later! I'll try to fill you in on what happens!"

Azure turned his attention back to the group, particularly Lucas, the late Riolu that held out a particularly eye-catching orb to Elliot. The Sneasel examined it and came to the same conclusion that Azure had - it was a mega stone. Specifically, a Lucarionite, based on the color, which was a lucky coincidence for the Riolu to be holding, since it seemed from his question that he had simply stumbled upon it without a clue of what it did. Elliot filled Lucas in on some of the details, Snazzy chiming in to suggest to the Riolu to sell it to his mom. Azure felt that that wouldn't be the right thing to do at all in that situation, but Azure figured that the Riolu's natural instincts would tell him, "Don't make deals with this bratty kid's mom!"

Up ahead, a sign read, "Danger! Do NOT ENTER the Cursed Forest unless prepared. NEVER attempt to adventure alone." Azure had entered the Cursed Forest a few times, but only ever up to about a couple meters, and always Azure would leave as quickly as he came - not many people lived anywhere near the woods, so it's not like the Mudkip would've made many friends traveling through there. He figured that whatever was so scary about the forest, Olivia had a good reason for leaving people out of it - she was a good pokemon. A sentiment that Snazzy apparently didn't share at all, thinking that she and her rescue team only ruined his fun. "I'm pretty sure Olivia has her reasons for not wanting others in these woods - I doubt that she would've spent the effort to stop people from entering a place if that place wasn't dangerous. I've heard some spooky things about this place..."

Azure wondered if he should've mentioned that he thought that Olivia was entirely justified in not wanting such young pokemon in dangerous adventures, but Mari told the Meowth for him. A little too bluntly for his tastes, but the Mudkip did agree to himself that Snazzy wouldn't learn to grow up without a little bit of harshness - either that or he becomes more and more insufferable, but Azure figured it was worth a shot.

Sul_Silver Anne Boolean Skipper SpotBandit Zmandd

 

[Zmandd]

Lucas Ward
Location: The Cursed Forest​

Even though Lucas had only asked Elliot about the orb, everybody felt the need to make a comment about it. While everyone oohed and ahhed over it, Snazzy felt the need to try to convince him to sell the orb. While money seemed to be important in this world, Lucas felt drawn to the orb in a sentimental sense. Whoever, or whatever, dropped this orb off with him probably wouldn't appreciate him selling the orb for a quick buck. Besides, everyone else seemed to have the same sentiment. "Thanks, but I'll hold on to this for now." He tucked the orb into his scarf (it was the safest spot to put it in, as it wouldn't fall off and again, no pockets).

Lucas was disheartened to hear that Chirin no longer had an interest in the adventure. He thought about coming with her, as there was definitely more to learn about with the mysterious pokemon. Lucas also thought about it as an excuse to get away from Snazzy, who would probably serve even more of a nuisance. Then there was the fact that a cursed forest means ghost types and Lucas knew enough about Riolus to know that he was at a disadvantage and would probably get targeted first. However, Lucas relented. As Elliot said, it was probably too late to turn back now. Besides, we had a capable dark type and bait another dark type in the form of Snazzy.

Lucas read the sign that was posted in the front of the woods. He didn't exactly know who "Olivia" was, or what her credibility is, but he noticed the reactions of the others and decided, at the very least, they should at least heed the warning of the forest. It is probably dangerous, especially for a Riolu whose Roleplayer decided he wanted to play this on "hard mode" that was inexperienced with his own body and moves. If there's one thing Lucas learned from his experience as a trainer, it's that the harder the adventure seems, the greater the reward. With that in his mind, a newly focused Lucas kept pace with the rest of the group, allowing a little bit of distance between him and the two dark types practically racing each other for first place.

// WallrusY Skipper Sul_Silver Anne Boolean

 

[Sul_Silver]

Battlegrounds
7:50AM

Nicholas had stayed relatively quiet while Caligo trained with the more tense Pokemon. While the fight was meant to just calm the Pokemon down and give them a boost of confidence, I didn't take long for it to become a full blown competition between them. What's more, Caligo's fight in particular was taking an exceedingly long time to end, with neither side wanting to lose.

"That's it, ENOUGH!" Said Nicholas. "Thank you, Caligo, you were surely enjoying yourself there, huh? And I have to say, you've done a great job at helping these Pokemon. If you want to, I could teach a new move. Or, I could secure a spot for you in today's tournament that will happen around 02:30PM. So, which do you prefer?"

Pestilence​

 

[Sul_Silver]

Elliot the Sneasel
Cursed Forest, 08:00AM

After Elliot began heading into the forest, he quickly slowed down to a walk. The last thing he wanted to happen is him getting lost, so it's better if he kept close to the group. As he slowed down, Mari caught up to him, and apologized for acting weird, saying that she made bad assumptions about him and that she thought he was "just curious" about the Mega stones... Well, she wasn't wrong, but Elliot was more than just curious about them."Oh, hm, It's OK! I mean, dark types don't have the best reputation anyways." she continued by saying that having Snazzy on the group was not a good idea. "Yeah, I don't think he should even be here to begin with, but don't bother with him. If he hurts himself, that's his fault. And if he tries anything funny, oh I will... I will... I will do something he's not going to like! Yeah..."

Elliot noticed that Chirin was also no longer following him... well that's not great. Especially because of little Snazzy doing whatever he wants instead of helping the group in any way.

On the moist floor of the forest, there were multiple mushrooms growing along the ground. Elliot thought that maybe he could get a few and sell them later to the restaurant, so he grabbed a couple of Small Mushrooms and put them in his forage bag. While putting the mushrooms inside it, he almost dropped his Grass Gem, which he grabbed before it hit the ground and put back in the bag.

There was only a single path for now, leading deeper and deeper in the forest. "Everyone, stick together! We don't want to get lost in the middle of... that." As he said that, he pointed towards a darker place in the forest, where a pair of eyes could clearly be seen, before disappearing into the shadows.
​

Elliot, 08:03AM
[ WallrusY , Skipper , Anne Boolean , Zmandd ] ​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Snazzy
Cursed Forest, 8:00 AM

Snazzy didn't mind the chatter between Elliot and Mari until she brought him up. He would have been fine with it if she was singing him praises, but instead she was questioning whether he should be along with them! And she was telling these concerns to the Sneasel, as if he was still the leader. When she addressed him and agreed with Olivia the Alolan Meowth frowned.

"You can't just decide to not have me along! I'm the leader!" he said. "And besides, you don't look all that tough either! What makes you think you're better than me?! I'm a Dark-type! D-A-R-K-super-effective-against-Ghost-type! And what are you?! Maybe we should just kick you out instead! And I'm the leader so I can do that! You say you don't know Olivia well, but maybe you should go meet her! You're just a big meanie and bully like her! I'm sure you'll get along great!"

When he heard Azure's concern Snazzy's anger turned more so to hubris. "Nah, don't worry about it. She just likes to keep everyone but her and her friends from having fun! And those spooky things are just to keep kids away and where their parents can watch them! Only Baby Pokemon believe in them." The irony seemed to go right over his head. With a proud smile he just flipped his whiskers once again and said, "don't worry though Azure, if anything bad happens your fearless leader will be here to protect you! And if you get scared you can hold my paw."

His attention turned to Elliot when the other sided with him. A grin came onto the feline Pokemon's face and he cheered "Yaaayyy!" while wrapping his arms around the Sneasel. His excitement was only shown for a minute before he stepped away and once again took a proud stance. "Thank you. You made a good choice for yourself and everyone else." He then turned to look at the other three. "Because he has such a good head on his shoulders I've decided to make- Elliot, was it?- my second in command! If I don't say anything you need to listen to him! I'll even ignore the threat you just made."

As they continued ahead Snazzy now seemed to be okay with Elliot taking more of a lead, but still tried to at least walk alongside him. He watched as the Sneasel stopped to pick up some Tiny Mushrooms. "Oh, you like mushrooms too? My mommy cooks them up in a really nice-" He stopped when he noticed the Grass Gem fall out. "Hey, that's a Grass Gem!" he said. "My mommy also has those in her collection! They're not that valuable, so I don't think she'll buy it from you, but she says it can be useful in battle. Do you know any Grass-type moves?"

As the path narrowed down and Elliot mentioned something being up ahead Snazzy chuckled. "Some Ghost-types are probably thinking they can scare us. They can't scare me though!" He once again turned to Azure. "And don't worry, I won't let them bother you either!"

Sul_Silver Skipper WallrusY Zmandd

 

[Yamperzzz]

Reed stared at Jenna as she left and went back downstairs. He continued to float about the room, exploring every nook and cranny. In his mind, Reed was jumping in glee, but he was so overcome with happiness that his body took a few minutes to respond. He didn't expect that he'd get his own apartment so quickly, so he was still registering what was happening.

Finally, after several minutes, Reed danced around the air and squealed, ignoring his other neighbors. He decided to drop off his toy doll before leaving the room and locking it. He always had brought his sketchbook everywhere with him in case he had been suddenly struck with inspiration. He almost forgot to lock his door on the way out, and as he did, Reed figured that he'd say "hi" to his new neighbors before he left for Starly Farms.

Unsure of which neighbor specifically lived on either side of him, Reed decided that he'd go to the apartment on his right coming out of his apartment. He came up to the door and obnoxiously knocked on it. He wasn't sure which neighbor's apartment he floated up to, but he was eager to meet both of them.

Sul_Silver​