Shadows of Orre

[Ysavvryl]

The sign-ups for this RPG are still wide-open, so if you like what you see, join us!

Rules:

1. Follow SPPf rules
2. Respect your fellow players.
3. Use good writing.
4. This will be rated PG-13. It is preferred that you self-censor strong language, although it is allowed. There will be violence, but don’t be graphic simply for shock value. Basically, use good judgement with this rating.
5. Limited bunnying is allowed.

Character List

1. Snagger: Susano (Ysavvryl)
2. Shadow: Gardevoir (Ysavvryl)
3. Snagger: Roderick (greywolf123)
4. Seer: Joshua(Son_of_Shadows)
9. Freelance: Luke (Krug)
11. Snagger: Tony (Fire_Pokemon_Master_271)
12. Freelance: Shaelin (Koridojo Blaziken)
15. Freelance: Hunter (Sandmann XIII)
16. Freelance: Nathan (D-World)

Missing:
6. Freelance: Alex (Proby3)
7. Freelance: Tyson (tumbleweed93)
8. Freelance: Lenny (bobandbill)
5. Seer: Donna (Blivsey)
10. Freelance: Jenna (Harper)
13. Freelance: Rin (withdrawn)
14. Seer: Adele (cdra1617)

-+-

The desert of Orre was dry and dusty, vast and venomous. In some places, towering walls of orange rock twisted and crawled around to create natural byways and pathways. While many things grew, they were prickly and harsh until the rare rain shower came. Then they were full, green, and flowery. But not now. The days were hot and the nights were cold.

For centuries, humans and Pokemon carved out a living there. Thus far, it had been quiet and tough, relying on efficient management of water. There were a few exceptions. The elite residents of Pyrite went down into a deep crevice in order to find cool darkness, some water, and valuable mineral resources. The lucky souls of Agate had the blessing of Celebii, with a lush forest that seemed misplaced in time. However, the strictness of the desert opposed any in-fighting, so the towns of Pyrite, Agate, and Phenac cooperated for survival.

Things were changing at a rapid pace these days. A glittering and golden entertainment industry sprang up from the Under of Pyrite, attracting tourists and money. In the desert’s vast open spaces, enormous Pokemon battle stadiums were built that were unlike any others in the world. Phenac changed from a shrinking natural oasis to a water-rich city of marble and glass, seemingly overnight. It seemed as though the light of prosperity had finally appeared in Orre.

Yet, something wasn’t right. As the power of light strengthens, so does the power of shadow. The Shadows of Orre were beginning to rise.

-+-

To all members of the K. Grid:

For the past several years, Cipher has put out a tremendous effort in order to improve Orre and raise the tourism income. This would be fine, but we have recently begun to question their methods. Of greatest concern are the Shadow Pokemon. Check out this public statement put out by Cipher Admin Ein.

‘While one can witness Pokemon battles anywhere, one may only witness the great power and attitude of the Shadow Pokemon in Orre. It is a style unique to our region and key to revitalizing our prosperity. And you have a chance to take part in this grand dream by winning a Shadow Pokemon of your own!

‘In order to earn one, you must simply enter a Challenge in the Pyrite, Under, Deep, or Realgam Colosseums and win. If one of our scouts is impressed by your performance, he or she will take you to our offices to be awarded with a powerful Shadow Pokemon. Our scouts are watching Mount Battle Trainers as well.

‘The special training that Shadow Pokemon undergo is extensive, giving them new moves and greater power. However, a Shadow’s power may weaken over time. If this happens, simply request a retraining through one of Cipher’s agents and we will resolve the problem. Other complaints are that regular Pokemon become jealous and will not work with a Shadow. This is unfortunate, but with some effort, you can get a Shadow and a normal Pokemon to cooperate.

‘There are rumors that Shadow Pokemon are more likely to injure people, but this is unfounded. All Trainers take a risk of being harmed by the Pokemon they control. Shadow Pokemon are not recommended for Coordinators as their training focuses exclusively on battle.’

While Ein dismisses the risks, they are indeed severe. Injuries requiring hospitalization are almost unheard of with regular Pokemon, whereas such injuries by Shadow Pokemon occur weekly. One case even has a man in a coma because his Shadow Pokemon became overly violent. They may have been trained intensely for battle, but even military Pokemon are not this dangerous.

Also, the behaviors of Shadow Pokemon are of great concern. Some fight as if fearing for their life, while others are openly malicious. They show signs of deep distress, as only found in the worst cases of abuse. Even the shiest or proudest of normal Pokemon have better socializing skills than these Shadows.

We have found out that Shadow Pokemon can be purified and returned to normal. The process is still largely mysterious, hidden by the Cipher agents. With this possibility, we hope to purify some Shadows and bring to light evidence of Cipher’s wrongdoing. But there are many Shadow Pokemon, each requiring personal attention and care in order to be purified. One person alone cannot do this.

Therefore, we are asking the members of this network to acquire Shadow Pokemon and work on purifying them. We will pool our resources and information to discover Cipher’s true intentions, overturning them if necessary. It will be difficult. But if you have sympathy for these damaged Pokemon, please help the Shadows.

From Secc and Nett

-+-

The biggest mansion in Phenac City belonged to the founder and Mayor, Es Cade. The second biggest mansion in Phenac City belonged to Louis Delfino, the owner of the Delfino Casinos in the Under and Realgam Tower. On this morning, both houses, and indeed all of Phenac, were bracing themselves for a possibly devastating event. It had the potential to make a mess of the whole city (which prided itself on cleanliness), make people upset, and create a lot of noise and pandemonium.

Today was the fourteenth birthday of Alexandria Delfino.

It was nine o’clock and already she was in her second outfit of the day: a lacy silk dress in strawberry red, black patent leather shoes with silver buckles, a ruby heart pendant necklace, and a white straw hat with a large red bow. Her lavender colored hair curled neatly onto her shoulders, bouncing like living springs. With loud thuds from her shoes, she stormed into her father’s office. “Daddy, the chef was going to make my cake look like it belonged to a baby shower! I’m too old for that kind of pink!”

Mr. Delfino was sitting behind his desk, looking over some documents. He was a large man, if one were to speak nicely of him, with a pronounced double chin. Wearing a garish green suit and gold accessories (cufflinks, wristwatch, pocketwatch, tie tack, etc.), it seemed that no one had dared to give him proper fashion tips.

With him were two men from Cipher. One looked incredibly creepy, with long white hair and dark red eyes. His fashion sense was on the same level as Mr. Delfino; he was always seen in a deep violet button-up shirt and off-black slacks. On the other hand, the second man was dressed fairly reasonably, in a long white lab coat and black work boots. He had short lavender hair, save for a crooked piece of his bangs that flipped out nearly to his waist.

Mr. Delfino looked up from his papers. “That’s awful, princess. Did you tell him to change it?”

“Of course. I thought you should know in case you wanted to fire him for being thoughtless.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But good timing: I have an early present for you.” He put a deep blue Luxury Ball on the desk.

Alexandria grinned and darted forward to take it. “Great! It’d better be strong and pretty.”

“It’s certainly strong,” the scientist said. “She’s a special case, so take good care of her.”

“Awesome! Go, my Pokemon!” She pressed the release button and activated a cloud of white sparkles. “And she has a pretty seal!”

The Gardevoir that appeared looked over the humans worriedly. Her green hair, which should have been in a neat low bang, was clumped and matted together. The long white petals of her skirt looked oily and grimy. Nervous, she brought her left hand to her mouth and bit down on the edge of her palm.

For a second, Alexandria looked pleased. Then she frowned. “You’re all dirty. You need a bath before I can show you off at my party.”

Gardevoir threw her hand down and squealed sharply. ‘**** off, twirp!’ she replied telepathically. ‘****, I’m not taking no **** bath for any **** person!’

“Someone needs to soap down your brain too,” the girl retorted, then returned her to the ball. “Sheesh, who trained this one? I’ll make sure she gets cleaned.” Then she ran out of the room.

“That Shadow Pokemon isn’t very well-behaved, Ein,” Mr. Delfino said.

Ein shrugged. “It happens. But she is a fierce fighter. Your daughter had best have good authority if she’s going to have it out at a public party.”

“Yes, well... pardon me for a moment.” The casino owner left the office.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ein thought quietly for a second. “Nascour, are you sure this is a good idea, leaving that Gardevoir with the Delfinos? She saw some things that she wasn’t supposed to. Normally I wouldn’t think a thing of it, but she’s a smart one.”

The white haired man gestured towards the door. “Now that you’ve had the... pleasure of meeting young Miss Delfino, you should see why I suggested them. I doubt any Shadow raised by that rotten girl is going to open its heart.”

He smirked. “True. So her secret is safe. Then what about Pyrite’s Mother? I hear that she senses things.”

“I’ve got that arranged. We shouldn’t have to worry about her.”

 

[tumbleweed93]

The Under was no place for a young boy to be. But there were, unfortunately, a few. The Under was a place for thugs, thieves, outcasts and the unwanted. But Tyson fell into none of these categories. He was here for a reason.

He was leaning over the neon balcony of the rented room. The Under was Tyson's base of operations. He could often see Cipher Grunts walking around the place. Offering shadow pokemon to who-ever they came across that seemed strong enough to handle them, the amount of cipher agents had increased in the last week by a lot. Tyson went back in and layed on his bed, he would be leaving soon. Action had to be taken if Cipher were to be stopped. And there was also Riolu...

Riolu was Tyson's shadow pokemon. It was, in a word, schizophrenic. It leapt between moods faster than a speeding bullet. Riolu was asleep at the moment but Tyson knew that wouldn't last long. He sighed as he picked up his backpack, already full with everything he would need, and left. He sent out his Electabuzz just in case. The Under was no place for a young boy to be and the streets were filled with muggers and other villains.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

Having closed the front door behind him, Joshua Colquhoun promptly sneezed. A single speck of dust had infiltrated his sinus cavities. He dug into his jeans pocket for a handkerchief, and went on his way, his partner Houndour on a leash at his side. Their destination, Fateen's Fortune Palace. Joshua swung his cane lazily in front of him along the ground. He had no need to do so, as his inner abilities allowed him to build a mental picture of his surroundings, but, he enjoyed giving the illusion. However, as he approached his master's workplace, Houndour stopped, and turned towards the edge of Pyrite, barking at something. Joshua turned too, to "see" a green-haired trainer with a Furret was battling some poor kid and his Hoothoot.

The green-haired trainer was Cail, a Rogue who called himself "Pyrite's Gatekeeper", though really,he was just an arrogant guy who stood at the edge of town, challenging randomers... and winning. Almost all the time. Recently, he had seen fit to enter one of Pyrite's Colosseum Battles. He had coasted through with his Kirlia/Machoke duo, and earned himself the Furret that was currently beating the proverbial living daylights out of its opponent. Rather ironic, considering that said opponent was an owl. However, Joshua noticed something very strange about this Furret. It was giving off a strange black aura, that made Joshua and Houndour very uncomfortable, and it was fighting like a demon possessed. As it tackled with incredible force again, and again, Joshua shuddered with fear, and the poor kid began to cry, as his Hoothoot was, simply put, annihilated. The kid handed over 400 Pokedollars, recalled his owl, and ran off for the Colosseum, which had a handy-dandy healing machine. Pyrite had no Pokemon Centre to speak of. Joshua decided to approach Cail.

"Well, whaddya know, it's the blind fortuneteller." Joshua had built up a reputation in Pyrite as the "blind fortuneteller". He just wished they'd come up with a more inventive nickname.

"Cail, don't you think you were a little... rough on that poor kid?"

"How do you know? It's not like you saw anything..." Damn. Should've thought of that one. Still, when in doubt, lie like a dog.

"I didn't. But I could hear the beating a mile off. Not to mention the kid crying."

"Don't blame me, blame my awesome Furret!"

"In my experience, the words 'Furret' and 'awesome' are never used in the same sentence." Joshua chuckled.

"Heh, you've never used a Shadow Pokemon before, have you?"

"Shadow Pokemon...?"

"Dude, enter a Colosseum Battle and win. Then you'll see." Joshua bit his lip as he left Cail. What exactly was a Shadow Pokemon, and why did Cail's Furret have that black aura? Questions swirled through his head throughout the day's fortunetellings.

 

[tumbleweed93]

'Give me ya money kiddo!'

Tyson sighed. 'Out of the way mate, I don't wanna start anything.' he replied smiling.

'Go Carvanha!' The thug yelled. The fish pokemon materialized, and it was a shadow pokemon. Tyson had been able to notice the small differences between normal and shadow pokemon, the shadows were usually unkempt and aggressive.

'Electabuzz, thunderpunch' Tyson commanded. The hit knocked the carvanha out instantly, it was obviously still weak and un-trained. Tyson left the thug to fumble around with the fish. He got in the elevator and headed up, returning electabuzz to it's pokeball.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyson breathed in the clean air. He headed straight towards Fateen's, she was a good friend and someone would need to know where he was going, just in case. And ,just maybe, Fateen might know how to help Riolu.

 

[greywolf123]

OOC: Heh, bit too wordy, but oh well.

Phenac City, what a wonderful place to be, especially for the hot tired traveler of the desert. It was truly an oasis, water just about everywhere you could be. It was in channels running down the main road, which held a surprising clarity for running where everyone could access them. There were also the fountains, by far the most occupied spot in the city. These fountains sprayed water up into the air, which fell down onto the next tier, and the next, before repeating this endlessly. The process created a good amount of mist, which helped to keep the place much cooler than the scorching hot sun would have it. Things looked well in Phenac City, but Roderick was sure something was going on.

Sitting on the lip of one of those aforementioned fountains, he frowned to himself, sticking out of place amongst the happy people surrounding him. Of course, no one knew who he was, and really cared, which was a good thing for the outlaw at the moment. He needed time to think of his next move, not having to hide in some unknown nook while the police looked for him. He was having a problem at the moment, which was that he had no clue what to do next. Phenac city was a great place, but something was wrong. But what? He couldn't just barge into the mayor's office and say that there were evil Pokemon, but they may or may not be here, and they may or may not be a threat to the town. No, that was just stupid to even think of.

While his trainer was lost in thought, the Quilava at his side was experimenting with his trainers hat. His own was in the pack, and despite his pestering, wouldn't retrieve it right yet. Still, Roderick had lent him his, since he didn't need it, and he was practicing posing. Leaning up against the side of the fountain with his hat on, he tried to look brooding and thoughtful like his trainer. It almost worked, except when the hat fully engulfed his head. It was far too big for the Quilava's head. Growling in frustration, he tried to take it off, before falling down on accident. After retrieving himself, he gave the hat back, glaring venomously at it. It was a demon hat! That was the only way he could have not pulled it off.

Roderick had almost missed the spectacle, when he heard the growling and saw him fall over with his head submerged in hat. Taking his back at the Quilava's offering, he snickered. "Well, I told you earlier it was too big!" Still, as he put it back on, slightly too big for even himself, he decided brooding here wasn't going to cover it. No, time to do some investigating. Standing up, he waved his hand for his Quilava to follow, and headed into the main street, deciding to look for any places with odd amounts of activity. Best way to find anything.

 

[tumbleweed93]

'Fateen?'

'Ah Tyson! How are you?'

Tyson tried to smile at the woman, attempting to hide his true intent. 'I'm fine' He replied.

'No you're not! I can tell you're not!' Fateen snapped. Tyson smiled, he could never pull of a lie to Fateen. He turned serious.

'Fateen, do you think you could check out a pokemon for me?'

'Of course!'

Tyson sent out Riolu. It growled angrily and began biting itself again. Fateen gasped and her assistant leaped up, his houndour barking protectively.

'Fateen! It's one of them!' the boy shouted.

'Yes Joshua! Please calm yourself!' Fateen said soothingly. The boy obeyed. Fateen then turned on Tyson. 'Why do you have one of those...thi-'

'I need to heal him! You have to help him!' Tyson retaliated, 'If no-one else is then I most certainly am!'.

Fateen finally took Riolu's hand and shut her eyes. She responded minutes later.

'I can't see anything. It's heart is shut.'

Tyson thought for a second. 'Fateen, I'm going back to Agate, hopefully I can work out how to get Riolu to open it's heart and be healed. I won't be around here for a while.'

Fateen nodded. 'I wish you luck Tyson!' she called to him as he left. Tyson smiled, then exited the building and headed towards the exit of Pyrite.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

Tyson was a boy Joshua recognised well. He regularly visited Fateen, seeking advice, as well as the odd reading. Joshua had done several for him. Still, this was the first time he'd shown the two his Riolu. Just looking at it made Joshua feel sick. Hearing it growl, and then his own cry of shock, as well as Houndour's barking... After Tyson left, Joshua sank into a chair, rubbing his temples. Fateen took a seat next to him, and put a hand on her apprentice's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know what loud noises do to you, my child." She gave him an aspirin. Joshua seemed to be taking more and more of them in recent times, possibly due to the increase of Shadow Pokemon, or alternatively, he was developing an addiction. Either way.

Joshua was growing more curious about these "Shadow Pokemon". Tyson's Riolu, Cail's Furret... He didn't know what exactly they were, but he knew how he could find out. Obtain one, by taking Cail's advice, and winning a Colosseum Battle. However, there were some foreseeable problems with this plan. Joshua had no battling ability whatsoever, so it was unlikely that he could win a Colosseum match. Secondly, his only Pokemon was Houndour, who had never battled. Most trainers entered with at least two Pokemon in their roster. As such, he was left with only one option. Find a strong trainer, convince him (or her) to enter a Colosseum Battle for him, and give him the Shadow Pokemon upon their victory. This would not be easy... "Fateen, if it's alright, I'll be taking the rest of the day off to recover..." he lied.

"Joshua... I must warn you not to get involved with those Shadow Pokemon." Ah. He'd forgotten Fateen could read him like a book.

"Fateen, I'm sorry. I just have to know what they are." And with that, he walked straight out the door.

---

OOC: ... Am I going crazy, or is Joshua developing physical characteristics similar to House? The cane, the dependence on aspirin (Vicodin)...

 

[Ysavvryl]

((OOC: House is awesome! Also, while I'm trying to take Cipher mostly seriously, sometimes the game gives me the hardest material to work with...))

The Gardevoir had been quite resistant to taking a bath. She cussed and argued, locking her arms around the door. Eventually, Alexandria had to get one of the servant’s Pokemon to hypnotize Gardevoir so she would hold still. But now she was mostly clean with a nice blue ribbon around her head. From the stairway wall, she sat and watched the water worriedly. The channels spilled in twin waterfalls on either side of the stairs, coming from the source somewhere within the Phenac Stadium.

In the area behind the Pre-Gym and in front of the Stadium, Alexandria held ‘captive’ a number of the town children. They were underneath a large green tent, which kept the sun from being too bright. “This is my afternoon party, which you’re all very lucky to attend,” she told them with a wag of her finger. “My grand party is in the evening, with a three layer cake, ice sculptures, a punch fountain, a famous singer, and lots of ice cream. But if you don’t have an invitation, you can’t even peek in the window. You’ll miss all the fun.”

“I wouldn’t mind missing it,” a boy whispered to the girl next to him, making her giggle.

Alexandria put her hands on her hips and glowered at them. Then she made a stately smile. “But I thought you commoners shouldn’t miss out on all the fun, so I put together this afternoon tea party. If you mind your manners and be good, I might have an invitation or two to my grand party this evening. But that’s only if you’re good.”

A few of them were torn on hearing this. The evening party did seem like fun, with the huge cake, ice cream, and whoever that singer was. But was it worth kissing up to the town’s biggest snob in order to go?

“Gardevoir, get over here,” Alexandria commanded with a snap. “You’ll get a sunburn.”

‘But what if that tent breaks?’ she asked in short-range telepathy. All the kids in the tent could hear her projected thoughts in their minds. ‘If the poles snap and skewer you... or if it catches on fire, we could be trapped.’

“It ain’t gonna break or catch on fire.”

Gardevoir put her hand to her lips. ‘And what if some criminal comes around to mug us? You’re in a bad position, hardly secure. Or if giant sand worms appear... there are giant sand worms around, right?’

“No, you dope. Get over here.”

‘**** you,’ she replied, causing a few of the kids to laugh.

“Clean up that telepathy of yours!” Alexandria retorted.

-+-

As Tyson prepared to leave town and Joshua walked back down the streets, a blaring song came from the north side of Pyrite. It was a high energy music that one either thought that it was festive and catchy, or that it was irritating and much too happy. In Pyrite, that kind of music could only mean one thing: Miror B was out and about.

He was a great dancer, albeit a master of a style that had been outdated for decades. He was tall and slim, maybe not half-bad to look at. Except that he wore obnoxiously bright gold suits that had more rhinestones than King Tut had jewels. But the thing about him that people never could forget was his hair, always in an enormous poofy afro that was split from top to bottom into a red half and a white half.

Miror B was a sight to behold.

Following behind him were three of his lackeys. One of them seemed to have the exclusive job of carrying around the gold boom box so that his preferred music was wherever he happened to be. As the group came up on Joshua, Miror B called out, “Hey there! You just came from Madam Fateen, correct? Is she in today?”

“Of course,” Joshua replied.

“Excellent! Thank you; you never know with these old people. Good day to you.” He then walked into the fortune telling house, ducking into the doorway. “Fateen, darling, how are you? We need to talk.”

“What about?” Fateen asked suspiciously.

“Community issues. We’re looking to build a strong and prosperous community, aren’t we?”

After the last of the group entered, the door shut tight.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

As Joshua stalked the streets, he considered asking Tyson to enter for him, but no. He'd gone off to Agate, and the boy hadn't left Pyrite since he arrived. His train of thought was interrupted by a man stuck in the seventies, and several of his lackeys, looking for Fateen. Miror B. He was equivalent to the local Mafia don. Miror B. controlled Pyrite, and Joshua suspected therefore, that he had some involvement in the Colosseum. Which would mean he was probably involved with Shadow Pokemon. Joshua actually had to shout over the pounding of the boom box one of his lackeys (Folly? Trudly? Joshua could never tell the difference.) was carrying. It was worsening his headache. Perhaps he should just go home and lie down...

And then he had it, in a single glorious instant. He knew how he could obtain a Shadow Pokemon, And all he had to do was lie in bed. Genius.

---KA-TIMESKIP!!!---

Joshua lay in bed, giving the performance of his life. Curled up in the foetal position under the covers, he whimpered pathetically in fear. Shortly afterwards, his uncle entered the room. "Joshua, are you alright? You missed dinner." Alright. Time to shine. He held the Menthol that had been palmed in his hand up to his face in secret, causing his eyes to water. Tears slowly poured out from under the cloth over his eyes.

"Oh, uncle! I'm seeing so many strange Pokemon about town! And they're all so -" he paused to sob, "- strong and vicious! I'm so scared!" he howled, and buried his face in a pillow.

"Hmm..."

"I- I like having my independence, but those Pokemon are so horribly strong..."

"Heh-heh-heh... I have an idea, neph. Tomorrow, I should have a nice surprise for you." Neph was basically just short for nephew. Joshua's uncle left the room, leaving the blind Seer to himself. He promptly sprang up.

"... That was too easy."

 

[tumbleweed93]

Tyson breathed in the fresh Agate air, it was good to be back. His mother ran up to him and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek. Her pink curly hair bouncing happily.

'Welcome back honey!' she said warmly. Tyson smiled. His mother took him inside wher his grandma was watching something on the T.V. She leapt up from her chair and beamed at him. 'Welcome back Tyson, how was Pyrite?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyson had enjoyed dinner with his family but now it was time for investigating. He, Jynx and Cacturne where searching intently in and around the celebii shrine when Tyson heard foot steps behind him.

'Ah! Tyson! There you are!'

Tyson span around. Egun stood there smiling. 'I see that you are interested by the celebii shrine. It is amazing isn't it?'. Tyson nodded, then spoke up.

'Egun? Can this shrine heal shadow pokemon?' Tyson asked curiously.

Egun seemed to frown then spoke. 'Yes, but notuntil they have opened their hearts.' Tyson nodded along.

'And how would I get them to do that?' He asked.

'There are many ways', Egun announced, 'Travelling with them, using them in battle, calling them when they go into hyper mode, massaging them with the oils you can buy here and more. I have been researching using a shadow happiny I received. It is perfectly normal now'

'How am I gonna purify all the shadow pokemon though? Other trainers won't believe me if I tell them what's going on.'

Egun answered this question gravely. 'You're going to have to steal'

 

[Blivsey]

(OOC: First post, the view kind of follows Alan here, sorry about that.)


Relic Forest. A thick woods with plenty of undergrowth and only one real, clear trail. A few of Orre's very sparse Pokémon population lived around here, but they generally remained unseen to passersby, making the forest seem eerily deserted and devoid of life. In fact, the only real reason that humans came through Relic Forest anymore was to visit the shrine in the center of the forest containing the Relic Stone. Here it was said that Celebi would appear to heal Pokémon brought to the shrine of any harmful abnormality.

This was precisely why two travelers were heading through right now.

They were a pair in their late teens, a brother and a sister. The young man was large and obviously an outdoorsman, with dark brown hair and sunglasses perched on top of his head, and wearing hiking shorts and boots and a blue dress shirt patterned with a palm tree design over the left side of the chest, wearing a single-strap backpack. The sister was rather small and appeared very frail, needing the brother's assistance to climb over some obstacles in the path. She had long black hair and glasses, wearing a white sundress, tan capri pants and trainers' shoes, carrying a messenger bag. They were both evidently tired, having spent most of the morning getting to the spot that they were at.

Alan, the brother of the two, held his sister Donna's hand to assist her in climbing down from a felled tree. She dropped to the ground and swooned a bit, but quickly recovered her balance and leaned over, resting with her hands on her knees.

"Are you all right?" Alan asked, concerned. Donna smiled faintly and nodded her head, standing up straight once again. Alan sighed, hoping that she was telling the truth rather than putting on a strong act for him. Regardless of the amazing abilities that she had displayed on occasion, Donna had always been very weak, overpowered by something as simple as a strong odor at times. She probably wasn't fit enough to go on a proper trip like this, but she had insisted on coming to see if the Nidorina could be healed at the Relic Stone.

That Nidorina... Donna had caught her by accident months ago. She had been consistently very aggressive and antisocial, and a challenge to train and tame down to a level where she could be potentially be healed. Worst of all, though, Donna claimed that she could see Nidorana clouded in a dark "aura" of sorts. Alan had never seen this, himself. Maybe this was something that Donna's powers let her see....

Alan snapped himself back to reality and looked up the trail. "Let's keep going," he told Donna. "The Relic Stone can't be far now." Donna nodded, excited, and continued along the path side-by-side with Alan.

 

[Ysavvryl]

-Afternoon, Phenac

“Gardevoir, come to the party,” Alexandria insisted.

‘I don’t want to be at your stupid party,’ she retorted.

Fifteen minutes into the tea party, Alexandria was still arguing with her Pokemon about getting out of the sun. Gardevoir showed no inclination to leave her seat on the stairway wall, despite it being the hottest part of the day. The other kids were taking advantage of the situation, ignoring everything about the party save for the cookies, cakes, and milk.

One of them was getting uncomfortable with the argument though. “You shouldn’t bug your Pokemon like that,” he said. “If she’s going to be stubborn, just recall her.”

The birthday girl just stomped her foot. “She’s my Pokemon; she’s going to do what I tell her. And I’m going to make sure she remembers that from now on.”

‘Leave me alone.’

“No, you’re coming over here...”

‘No!’ There was a quick red glow around her hand, then she threw a fireball at the group. It hit the table, catching the cloth on fire. Screaming, the kids jumped back, knocking over the table and chairs. One ran into a tent pole hard enough to knock it out of place. It crashed down, soon catching on fire as well.

Alexandria had gotten out of the way before the tent fell on top of her. Furious now, she stormed up to Gardevoir. “Bad Pokemon! You have to obey me now!”

‘**** it, I don’t care about you!’ She attacked her with Shadow Rush several times in a row. ‘You’re a stupid worthless Trainer! And ugly to boot. I won’t listen to you!’

Gardevoir shoved her into the back wall of the Pre-Gym, knocking Alexandria unconscious.


-Evening, Pyrite

The news played on the large TV. “We have a report that a firebomb went off in the middle of Phenac City this afternoon. Sources tell us that eco-terrorists targeted the Delfino family, in particular the daughter, to make a public statement about their existence.”

“Eco-terrorists?” The older resident shook his head. “Are they trying to keep this place a desert? They won’t find much sympathy here.”

Thunder rumbled overhead.

“Heat thunder again,” he said.

His wife went over to the window. When she’d last been out, the sky had been clear as the sun started to set. Now, with it halfway over the horizon, said sun spilled brilliant red rays over a heavy buildup of clouds. Electricity flashed in the clouds. Then the deluge started.

“Flash flood possibly,” she corrected.

As most people raced to get indoors, two men and two Pokemon stood on the rooftop of an office building. Miror B owned the building; Ein was there to observe the plan in action. The former was under an overhang while the latter had a large umbrella made of clear plastic. “In this area, regular Pokemon can only make Rain Dance work within a twenty-foot radius, and that’s if they’re Water-type,” Ein stated, holding his hand out to the rain. “Yet, these two can cover the entire city.”

“Magnificent,” Miror B replied. “I just wish they wouldn’t growl like that constantly.”

The two Pokemon in question could not be mistaken for any other. Standing six and a half feet tall to their shoulders, Raikou and Suicune were impressive, intimidating if one wasn’t expecting them. Beyond that, something wasn’t quite right with them either. They both had dark looks to their eyes, pacing like hungry predators. And they both had full-bodied low growls, that they tended to do at the exact same time.

“That’s why you must keep the crystal on you at all times,” Ein said. “Otherwise, they would be too difficult to control. Are you ready?”

“Of course.” He brought out a business card and held it out to Raikou. The Pokemon reacted as if he were going to bite off the hand with the card, but restrained himself. “This belongs to Madam Fateen. Raikou, we need her out of the picture.”

“Rrrrrrrrrr.”

Ein added, “Suicune, you cover for him. Don’t get caught.”

“Rrrrrrrrr.” They glared at each other, then took off across the rooftops of Pyrite.


-posted on K. Grid, evening

‘I was at that tea party. They said that eco-terrorists firebombed us. That’s not true: Alexandria was antagonizing her new Gardevoir. The Pokemon snapped and attacked her. She’s in the hospital, in pretty bad shape. I didn’t hear what happened to the Gardevoir

‘I think she’s a Shadow Pokemon.’

 

[bobandbill]

Hum de dum, continuation of sample (for the sake if it, that's in a spoiler here:

Spoiler: A spoiler of sample-ness

"Aha! Victory is mine once again, as expected," Lenny Shanks exclaimed happily, beaming happily at his Pokemon. His Prinplup stood proudly, before he disdainfully regarded his fallen adversaries, while his Rotom happily whizzed around the air, buzzing with adrenaline and happiness. Before them lay two small Pokemon - a Whismur and a Togepi, who were death to the world, having fallen unconscious. Frowning, their owner pulled out two Pokeballs and returned them, before he looked at the tall frame of Lenny, and his smart-looking suit, which stood out like a Magikarp out of water in the far-from-distinguished surroundings of this part of Orre. Not that Orre had much to boast of in terms of civilised, fancy-pants places.

A strong, dry wind blew around the two battlers, and a third person - a referee - but this was what the conditions at Mt Battle were normally like. The group stood upon a large, levitating platform, held up only by a giant propeller underneath it, and a large number of machinery clunking and clattering away within the floating stage - an unknowledgeable observer might otherwise deem that magic had a lot to do with keeping it (and the 9 other connecting platforms) up in the air, high above the silvery and sharp, jagged rocks that made up Mt Battle itself. The number 'twenty-nine' was engraved on the middle of the tiled floor they stood on.

"All right, you won. But you defeated my precious Togepi...you will pay!" he shouted over-dramatically at Lenny, waving his fists while he glared at Lenny. Prinplup stared at the man, and then giggled slightly to himself.

"Oh, what did you say?" Lenny asked. The man began repeating what he said, before he stared at the mirror held in Lenny's right hand, and Lenny staring into it, while his other hand ran through his jet-black hair, and sighed.

"Oh, never mind..." he said, walking off onto the set of platforms leading to the base of Mt Battle. Prinplup glared at his every step, while Rotom payed no attention to him, instead deciding to sit herself upon Lenny's head.

"Alright then, you have successfully beaten... what was his name? It says here... 'Rose the Body-Builder'? That can't be right..." the referee muttered, glancing at the papers while Lenny tried to swat his Rotom out of his hair. Prinplup frowned disapprovingly at the Rotom - he would never do such an undignified thing such as jump on someone's head like that.

"I just washed this, and the wind is bad enough for it..." Lenny said crossly to Rotom.

"Eh, who cares about his name," the referee continued. "You beat him, so you are hence promoted to rank twenty-nine! Here's your badge..." he said, handing Lenny a small, bright-pink badge with the words 'I'm number 29!' branded across it. "And with that, I'm off. I assume tomorrow you will want to challenge the Area Leader...?"

"Quite," Lenny confirmed shortly.

"All right. I'll inform the Area Leader of this, and will see you tomorrow, on number...err, what is it..." he trailed off, again staring dumbly at his papers.

"Thirty," Lenny said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you sure? Ok then; I'm off," he replied, and with that, he left, leaving Lenny alone with his Pokemon on platform number twenty-nine.

"Well, we're one win away from the next stage," Lenny said, smiling at his Pokemon. "And I know someone's going to be fed well tonight because of this victory!"

Rotom gave a small cheer of delight, while Prinplup grinned - food was one of the few things that they both agreed upon.

"Yes," Lenny said to himself, again inspecting himself in the mirror, while he poked a small freckle that sat on one of his checks, frowning at it. "I'll be needing my energy tomorrow, so I think I will eat a hearty meal!" With that, he returned his two Pokemon before they could react to this selfish announcement with cries of protest, and began the journey back home.

This place seriously needs an elevator or something, Lenny thought to himself.

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

As the sun gradually descended towards the horizon, and the air grew colder, Lenny finally found himself at the bottom of Mt Battle, legs already aching. It would only be longer tomorrow - not by much, but gradually each new bit counted.

"At least... I'm keeping... myself fit," he panted to himself in-between mouthfuls of air, walking inside the reception building and leaning on a wall for support. "A quick...break... and I'll continue the rest of the way..." Meanwhile, a man clad in a purple uniform, seated in one of the infinite seats sprawled across the room stood up and slowly moved towards Lenny.

"Excuse me, but are you Lenny Shanks? I believe this is you in the paper..." he began, holding a newspaper clipping with Lenny's picture plastered onto it. Immediately, Lenny regained his breathe, and coolly shook the man's hand, as if he had just rested, as opposed to having walked down a mountain.

"Yes, that's me. And who might you be, good sir?" Lenny said, smiling, while patting his hair again. He observed the man - strangely, he wore a helmet complete with a visor which obscured his views from view - all he could see on his face was his nose, mouth and lower jaw.

"Oh, me? I just work for... a successful Pokemon business company, you might say. I'll cut to the chase - you've garnered interest from us - it says here that you have progressed this far up through the ranks of Mt Battle, in only a matter of mere months?"

"Yes," Lenny confirmed, nodding earnestly. "In fact, tomorrow I am to take on the Area Leader."

"Splendid!" the stranger smiled oddly for a second, before he continued. "I will be waiting here tomorrow then - if you beat the Area Leader... then we will have a special Shadow Pokemon to give to you! Think of it as a... reward. Perhaps, even, we will offer you a position in our company."

Lenny blinked, and stared blankly. "...Shadow Pokemon? What's that - and what's this company?" - but the stranger was already leaving.

Lenny frowned and continued staring, scratching his head. Never had he had a meeting with someone who came off as oddly as that man had, and the suddenly information thrown at him left him with a mouth gaping at the door as it closed behind him. A receptionist across the room noticed Lenny's face, scowled, and quickly turned away, but this time, the normally self-conscience Lenny didn't notice.

Then, Lenny smiled.

The strange man had mentioned that they had been a successful business company - and a Pokemon for free as well - what luck! And a 'Shadow' one to boot, whatever that was... hopefully if I get this job I won't have to wear that uniform he had though - it was rather bland, I have to say. It would be nice to know some more... but oh well.

Suddenly re-energised, Lenny walk out of the building as well and begun the second part of his journey back home, whistling 'We're In The Money' all the way.

 

[tumbleweed93]

'WHAT!? EGUN ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?'

'Tyson keep your voice down! Someone will hear you!'

Tyson was astonished. Egun asking him to steal. 'But Egun It's...I...How...Why?'

'You really think that you can just convince strangers who think shadow pokemon are amazing to purify them?'

Egun had a point there, trainers loved their shadow pokemon, they couldn't see the truth. Idiots.

'Just focus on Riolu for now Tyson, think about the rest of the shadow pokemon later. It'll be a big undertaking, and I don't know how you copuld get away with the thefts...'

Tyson nodded. He then headed for the pokemart to buy some massage scents. Maybe they would help Riolu like Egun had said.

 

[greywolf123]

Roderick was unforunately stuck out in the rain. He'd been attempting to see what all the commotion was about, and had learned that some sort of party was planned, but of course he wasn't invited. Normally that wouldn't have deterred him, but it seemed pointless. Some party for some bratty girl was definately not high on his list of things he needed to do. Reaching the oh so fun dead end once more, he decided that maybe this time, he'd try something more fun. Maybe a battle at the Phenac stadium if he could. His Quilava did always like a good battle.

As Roderick walked towards the stadium now, intent on figuring out his best thing to do, an event caught his eye. Kids, under a green tent, seemed to be enjoying some sort of food. A precursor to the other party? He wouldn't have cared at all, except for the obvious rebelling of the Gardevior. It irked him to see some trainer forcing her will on a pokemon, for no reason other than she wanted to, but he couldn't just go in and snatch the pokemon away could he? No, not right now. Too many witnesses, and he had lost his underworld connections, so he couldn't count on evading the law much anymore. Turning around, he started up the steps, before what appeared to be some sort of fireball flamed out of the tent. Whipping around, he saw that the tent had fallen and that it was on fire to boot. Now he had to do something.

Running back to the scene, Roderick arrived just in time to see the end of the fight. His Quilava, looking at the pokemon, growled, disliking what it was doing, but not at all ready to pick a fight with it. It had caught the tent on fire, and nearly knocked out that girl, stupid as she was. So, growl was all he did, as the pokemon seemed to flee, to who knows where. The Quilava knew that eventually they were going to have to chase this thing, but not now for certain. It wouldn't end well for them all.

Roderick however, was more concerned at the moment, with the people who were around the tent pole, asking, and receiving the reply that everyone was okay, save Alexandria. What had happened, he didn't know, but no one deserved to be this badly beaten. Walking over, he looked at her, checking if she was stable, and safe to move, and finding the answer as yes and no, he said "Does anyone here know the number to the hospital?" At that, people started to arrive, bystanders, and medics, who soon had the situation under control. Of course, by then, Roderick had left. That many faces would soon figure out who he was.

 

[Krug]

Shadow Pokemon, the word filled Luke with joy as he took the lift back to the main city of Pyrite, the under was his home, but Pyrite had the stores and Marts. Plus, idiot Roughneck trainers he could test the power of this amazing Shadow Scizor on. It had already single handedly destroyed the team of someone older than him, and while a bit disobedient, was a worthy member of Luke's Party.

Luke's Floatzel, Rift, was being healed by Luke, Rift was about the only Pokemon he trusted outside of a Pokeball, Scizor is too violent, Panzer is a paranoid mess, and Blitz is too curious and has almost been lost on a few cases. Rift though, while adventurous, knew his place.

Luke held the Pokeball of the amazing steel bug. "Isn't he amazing Rift?" the Trainer asked as they got to the streets of Pyrite. "Scizor has all the Power of Panzer, and is less problematic!" Rift, who had just finished forming an Ice Guitar, seemed dismayed with talk of the team's new addition.
Luke tried to be reassuring "Look, I know he bruised you up, but, it sounds to me that this 'Purification' thing will just weaken this powerful engine of destruction."

The Floatzel shrugged, as the two got to the Center of Pyrite, the place where all the "Tough" trainers hung out. Of course, most of them wouldn't last a minute in Under Colosseum. However, this is just what Luke wanted, easy fights to flaunt Scizor's potential. The Trainer called back Floatzel, sending the weasel into a beam of light before re-entering the PokeBall.

"Attention Pyrite Low Lifes! I'm sure I've come here and beaten each of you at least once. However, this is your chance to get back at me, I will take any challenge you throw at me, Luke Wilson, with only, ONE, count 'em ONE PokeBall! If you lose you pay me...in money. If you win, you get one free Punch to my Stomach! Any takers?" Luke knew what he was doing is dangerous, but he had a plan for the small chance that he did lose a fight.

With that rant, a few of the older Thugs who had been here since day one knew this was a trick, and hung back, however, the dumb and the new began to step forward...

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

As Luke was taking on all-comers, Joshua was, once again, making his way to Fateen's Fortune Palace the next morning. The ground beneath his feet was quite muddy, due to a freak rainstorm last night. Weather forecasters had predicted clear skies for that night. Typical. Joshua's aunt was of the opinion that weather forecasters were a waste of money; they're rarely correct. He did not disagree. Houndour, on a leash, trotted along faithfully at his side, as per usual. They had no idea what they were about to find.

The windows of the building had been broken from the outside, and as Joshua opened the door (Fateen always arrived before him, and left after him, so he needed no key), he "saw" that most of the furniture had been slung around, as though there had been some sort of struggle. He bit his lip. Could someone have broken in after he left, and attacked Fateen? She was nowhere in sight. Houndour barked at something, and tugged on his leash. He followed the creature over to the wall, and it sniffed furiously at something. Joshua put his hand to what Houndour was sniffing at, and whatever it was, it was wet. Joshua sniffed it himself. Blood. "Oh no..." Could Fateen be dead? Or pensioner-napped? Either way, he had to call the police. Right. He couldn't exactly dial a phone, meaning he'd have to go directly to the station. Fortunately, it wasn't too far. He and Houndour "quickly"(for Joshua Colquhoun did NOT run) made their way there, finding Chief Sherles buried in his desk.

"Chief! It's an emergency!" He didn't look up. Perhaps he was waiting for clarification. "Fateen's gone, and the Fortune Palace is all slung about." No reaction. "Chief?" Joshua tapped him, and something fell out of his ear. He was listening to an iPod. "GAH!"

---

That evening, Joshua lay in bed. Houndour was in a dog basket across the room. After snapping Sherles out of his musical trance, the situation had been explained, and the Fortune Palace was been investigated. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said. It was his uncle, hands behind his back.

"I have something for you. I heard about Fateen, and I know you've been worried about the strange Pokemon troubles, so..." He tossed a small, red and silver orb onto the bed beside him. "I won this for you in today's Colosseum Battle. It should protect you."

"Thank you, Uncle. This will be useful." A brief nod, and he left. Joshua's uncle was not an emotional man. Joshua picked up the Pokeball. He wondered what was inside. He clicked the button on the front to enlarge it, and released the horror within.

<"FREEDOM!!!!"> A small green blur began to fly around the room, knocking several books off shelves. <"Good ARCEUS, it's cramped in there! Would it kill ya to lemme out more often?!"> The blur was communicating via telepathy. And very quickly, too. Joshua could see a black aura emanating from it as it raced around, flying in circles.

"So, you're my new Pokemon, huh? Would you mind slowing down so I can actually tell what you are?"

<"Shaddap, blindo!"> Blindo? Hmm. The Amazing Blindo. It could work as a fortuneteller identity... Wait, that was an insult. Houndour barked at it. <"Aw, little doggie's all bark and no bite."> How did it know Houndour was so docile?

"Listen here, you. I'm your trainer now, so either get back in the Pokeball, or behave."

<"Make me!"> it communicated, mockingly. Joshua's Shadow Pokemon finally settled on top of his chest of drawers, revealing a small, green, round ball of a Pokemon. Its wings were absolutely tiny, and its legs were like sticks. Its eyes were narrow, and beady, and its beak pointed menacingly at Joshua. A Natu. Joshua was the "proud" owner of a Shadow Natu.

 

[Krug]

OOC: Sorry about these posts being so close together, just want to keep the RP going steady.
-----------------------------------------------------
Luke was ready to fight any foe who came up to him, the first being a Large Brute of a man apparently named Joel, the Burly man laughed at Luke, who was obviously much stronger than the teenager ever would be.
"So the Puny Luke Wilson thinks he can take on someone like me with only one Pokemon?! Hah!" The Possible Bodybuilder laughed at Luke, who wasn't phazed at all by this, after all, Luke was the one with a secret weapon on his side.
"Yeah, I don't think I can, I know I can Pea brain." Luke bounced back with a smirk, Joel gritted his teeth and angrily spoke his mind,
"I'm going to savor that blow to you gut, Runt. Go! Hitmonlee and Monferno!"
Luke grinned, he couldn't help it, "Go, Scizor." He responded in a Serious tone.

The Red Insect of Steel hovered solemnly in place next to Luke. Darting around, but staying in close to the same area. The Scizor seemed to be waiting for Luke's Command, or more likely, something to happen. It took Joel a few minutes to realize he was being given first strike,
"You just make this easier and easier don't you? Monferno, Hitmonlee, hit that overgrown beetle with a Fire Punch, Hi Jump Kick Combo!" The Two Fighting types instantly obeyed and sprung at their single foe, but this "Easy Battle" was about to take a total U-Turn.
"Scizor, NOW, Shadow Rush!" Luke yelled to his Pokemon, the Gleaming Insect seemed to hesitate for a moment to follow orders but then charged at the Monferno. The Blaze from the Fire Punch still hit, added with the recoil, Scizor probably had his stamina cut in half or worse, yet the Gleaming Shadow Pokemon kept its ground as it unleashed a Brutal on the Monkey. Going way beyond the level that would have fainted it, in fact, Scizor was so wrapped up in the pummeling, that he forgot about the Hitmonlee...

"Scizor! Watch out!" Luke shouted, By pure luck Scizor seemed to have registered the order in time to avoid a knock out from a Rolling Kick. The Hitmonlee turned to see the Merciless Shadow Pokemon hovering above it, "Shadow Rush, Go!" Joel was too awestruck to give an order, in one Gut Wrenching Blow Scizor had fainted his best Fighter, Hitmonlee, Monferno was in even worse shape. Yet, Scizor was in pain too, Recoil had taken its toll and the Shadow Pokemon looked like it was a breaking point, it bucked at the Knees...
"Come on..." Luke muttered under his breath, not anticipating nor wanting a draw.

Scizor stayed up! By luck the Insect had a few bits of Stamina Left. Joel was fuming as Luke laughed a bit, "Told you I'd win. But, hey, there was no way you could have won in the first place!"
He then went to give Scizor a Super Potion before the Shadow Powerhouse collapsed, but before Luke could give the Scizor a second one to get it back to full health, the Teen felt a strong arm grab him, Joel held Luke by the scruff of the neck,
"You *******! I'll tear you limb from li...m...b" The once confident Joel dropped the Cowering Luke as he saw the Scizor Rise behind its Trainer, advancing on Joel himself...

"HELP! POLICE! HELP!" The bodybuilder screamed...

 

[Blivsey]

(OOC: First attempt at Purification within the RP. Lemme know if I get it horribly wrong.)


Donna followed Alan for a long time - almost half an hour. She was getting very tired now, and a bit too warm, even in the cool shade of the forest. She was not good at doing physical things like long, on-foot traveling and climbing over things, and she knew it. But Alan was there to help, and this was to help the Nidorina she had found... she could pull through for that.

At long last, they reached the shrine. Passing a boy only a little younger than Donna on their way in (unkept, but he seemed rather nice...), Donna got a good look at the wide clearing, most of which was covered by a circular platform of stone bricks. An odd column stood in the center made of the same stone. The whole place looked ancient, with the stones chipped and some moss growing on them. And, most of all, Donna felt... much better here. She felt naturally peaceful, and not quite as weak as usual. If any place was going to help Nidorina recover, this would be it.

Alan tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around to see him holding out a Quick Ball with a sticker depicting a Nidorina's head on it. "She's yours," he said, placing the ball in her hand. Donna nodded with a straight face, being as serious as possible. This was now her responsibility. She turned toward the centerpiece of the Relic Stone and tossed the ball, underhanded, into the air. It popped open in mid-flight and ejected a mass of white energy, which formed into a small, blue reptilian creature with dark spots and large, round ears. Donna caught the ball as it fell back to her, and then looked directly at the Pokémon.

Nidorina still had the black energy surrounding her that only Donna could see, but it was visibly thinner now. She bent down low and smiled at her, face-to-face, but the Pokémon turned and stuck her nose up in the air.

"Don't get cutesy with me," she said haughtily. "I don't know you, and I don't really want to. You seem like an idiot and easy pickings to me." Donna backed away at this and went to stand behind Alan, alarmed. Why was Nidorina still being mean?

Alan glared at Nidorina. "Hey, that's no way to behave," he said condescendingly.

"I don't really care," she snapped back.

Alan sighed and muttered, "I sure hope this works." Then, to Nidorina, he said, "Hey, go up to that ruin there, stand right in front of it."

Nidorina made a staggered growl, obviously meant as a laugh. "And why should I do that?" she asked. Alan gave her a "just do it" look and put a hand on a Park Ball at his hip. Annoyed, Nidorina turned, grumbling, and went to sat in front of the stone.

And then it happened.

Nidorina's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking and her mouth agape. A green light began to envelop both her and the monument, casting a hue on the rest of the nearby area. She didn't move for several seconds, her expression stuck somewhere between shock, confusion and utter revelation. Donna watched as the green light slowly drove the black aura away until there was none left, and then all of the energy went away, leaving the stone and Nidorina just as before, but with Nidorina clear of any sign of violence or a bad temper. Alan turned to Donna, as if to ask wordlessly if the black aura she had seen was still there. She shook her head.

"She's healed," she said, looking at him. Then she advanced toward the dazed and confused creature, once again bending down to her level. This time, Nidorina smiled back at her.

<"You're Donna?"> she asked in Pokémon speech, and Donna nodded, smiling fully. Nidorina moved closer to her and, looking her over, said, <"Alan told me a lot about you. You sound very nice. Thank you for helping me."> Donna smiled and nodded, and leaned forward to hug Nidorina. Then, remembering something, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small scarf divided lengthwise into red and yellow halves, an item called a "Focus Band." Donna tied it around Nidorina's neck, tight enough to stay on but loose enough to be comfortable. Nidorina, touched, nuzzled against Donna's side.

Donna petted the top of her head and said, "Katrina." The Nidorina opened her eyes and looked at Donna. <"Is that... my new name?"> she asked. Donna nodded, smiling.

<"Thank you,"> she repeated, still embracing her new trainer.

 

[greywolf123]

OOC: Just checking, this is a fine snag right? Wanted to make sure I didn't fudge it up.

Roderick sighed slightly, wondering what in the world he was to do now. He could tell, just by the tent incident, that things were getting worse. These strange incidents of attacks weren't just random either, he knew quite a few of them were caused by the same pokemon, just traded between trainers. Which was scary, because no one could know if a trade pokemon was one of the crazy ones. His own Clefairy he could probably pass off as just a really happy one, if he needed to. But that wasn't his style. This pokemon most definitely needed help, and not by some stupid trainer who only cared about using Pokemon like tools. Still, there seemed to be little else going on in Phenac, and the lone gardevior he'd watched for had vanished. Just as well, his pokemon couldn't have handled it right now. With little else to do, he decided to visit one city he'd knew he would blend right in, Pyrite city.

Of course, he wasn't counting on Cail the gatekeeper. Or so he said. Walking into town, the man walked up, and challenged him to a battle immediately, saying "Hey. As gatekeeper, its my job to keep riff raff out of here! So either beat me, or beat it!" Roderick snorted, and said "Ah. Apparently you forgot that your the only riff raff around. Still, you want to challenge me? well, bring it on!"

Firestorm, the Quilava, jumped straight out, grinning widely at the thought of a battle. Finally, time to do some serious beating! It'd been a while since he'd last gotten a battle, almost four days, and that was simply too long. Then he heard the click of the pokeball once more, and he went wide eyed. Oh dear, not the Clefairy! Sadly for them all, it was indeed the clefairy. She was swaying slightly right now, in her happy mood, but Firestorm knew better than to even look at her. Still, as the man threw out his Furret and a ralts, Roderick smiled. Well, wouldn't this be interesting!

It immediately got more interesting as the Furret seemed to use some sort of shadow rush at his Clefairy, immediately telling Roderick one thing. It was snagging time. Smiling slightly, he ordered a flame wheel from Firestorm, who complied, flames erupting from his body and him charging the Furret, hitting it hard, while the Ralts used a confusion on his Clefairy. The combination of attacks had a frightful effect on the Clefairy, who was definitely not in happy mode anymore. Standing up, it seemed to glare venomously though bloodshot eyes, and then attacked. A shadow rush was thrown at the nearest pokemon, the Furret, who took another hard hit, but still seemed strong. It then retaliated with its own attack, smashing into the Clefairy with force.

Firestorm watched the Furret attack, and hearing Roderick's order for a flame wheel once more, he charged, flames once more erupting from his body to cover him. Oh yeah, he was in his element! No foe could withstand the fury of his fires, and all were foolish to even try! Once more a direct score was marked on the shadow pokemon, who was more concerned with attacking than dodging,but this time, Firestorm took the confusion attack. It was like having your brain be slapped around, and he looked dazed, but shook out of it. No, he was okay for now.

Roderick saw the last attack connect, and then sprang his move. Grinning manically, much to Cail's bemusement, he activated the machine, which with a rumble emitted a poke ball, and he smiled. "If only you hadn't offended me, I might not do this! Oh who am I kidding, I would have anyway." Roderick smiled, and then threw his pokeball. It landed with a thump, and a claw like light emitted from it, sucking it into the pokeball, which wiggled twice, then thrice, and stopped. Successful snag. The guy looked shocked, as the pokeball returned to him, and Roderick smiled. "Too bad."

The insane clefairy however, was not going to sit by while her trainer threw a pokeball. No way was she going to do that! Throwing herself at the ralts, she attacked, hitting it with a shadow rush, which seemed to wilt it, before it sprang back up. Cail, recovering from the snag, yelled "You thief!" before throwing out his Machop. Machop, hah. Firestorm once more threw out a flame wheel, his most reliable attack, and hit the Ralts this time, knocking it out for the count. The machop attacked the clefairy, who seemed to stumble, but pure manic energy persevered her. She shadow rushed, once more, hitting the Machop, who seemed to reel, but once more got himself together. Out came the Seedot, and Roderick almost laughed. This was over.

A flame wheel, karate chop and shadow rush later, the Machop and Firestorm were the two pokemon left on the field of battle. Roderick and his pokemon smirked, and he threw out, "Finish him! Flame Wheel!" Sure, he'd only used one attack, but when it worked, why bother with the rest for now? Once more it charged, and rammed into the Machop, knocking this one out for good. Walking back to his trainer, tired but victorious, and Cail moaned the loss of his Furret. Ignoring the man, who seemed more sad he'd lost the powerful pokemon than he'd lost a friend, he walked into town. Yes, he was in the right place, but the question was, would he find any answers?