Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) By the time Cassandra and Jasper finally came trudging-- or, more like dragging themselves-- through the door, Allison had let go of Anhew's arm to see if the girl could manage on her own, although Ev was still beside her. Joltik was stretched out over a pillow on the top bunk where his squeaky snores sounded like a muffled rubber Poke-toy. Allison had gotten to her feet and gave Cass a quick exam (and briefly Jasper, though she spent considerably less time on him with the thought that both she and he would prefer minimal contact with each other). Cass waved her off, gave Anhew and Ev quick affectionate greetings, and then made for the showers for the second time that day. It was nearly an hour before she came back, but at least there was no more dirt smeared across her face or twigs in her hair, and the giant bruise on her face looked slightly less swollen. She found everyone in their respective beds when she returned. Allison was curled up on a bottom bunk, and without thinking, Cass climbed onto the mattress and promptly fell asleep with her back against Allison's tucked knees. Cassandra didn't remember falling asleep. Suddenly everything was dark, and she was acutely aware of the fact that she was suspended in nothingness. Without warning, a voice split the yawning silence and a flicker of motion startled her. A seam in the darkness unraveled and tore, and a woman that Cass didn't recognize sauntered through the opening with a grace that almost felt...predatory. Cass was certain that had she'd been in her corporeal body, she'd have taken a step back or tensed at the woman's approach. "Nice to meet you, Players," said the woman. Cass thought she was beautiful, but also incredibly intimidating. She wondered what this woman had to do with the Game, and if they'd see her again. Cass listened as the mysterious figure discussed the adjustments to the Rules. Instead of start, they'd finish remembering once the research was destroyed? Despite the frustration that came along with the amnesia, Cassandra felt suddenly apprehensive about getting her memories back. The feeling only grew when the dark woman crumbled the glowing puzzle piece in her hand and bid them farewell. Cass was plunged into darkness again. Her chest grew tighter with each passing second until she couldn't breathe. A rush of sound caught her off guard, until she realized it wasn't sound, but thoughts hammering inside of her head like a million voices bouncing off the inner walls of her skull. This is my fault! she heard, along with, I can't believe I did that to her, She's going to hate me forever, I deserve this, Why did I do that... Her fist was closed around a handful of grass, and she could make out dark shapes of tree trunks. She was alone. Terribly, painfully, alone. It stretched around her and pulled her heart in all directions until she was drowning in the anguish that filled her with ice. A sob shuddered up through her, but no tears fell. Her eyes burned from the lack of them-- or perhaps she'd already used them all. The hollowness reached deep in her soul like a black pit. She curled into herself on the forest floor and wrapped her arms around her body. Cassandra wrenched herself from the dream with a sharp gasp and bolted upright. Her skin was clammy and pale, and her rapid breaths rattled in her lungs as if she'd been startled awake from an intense pursuit. She stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room, the wailing voice still echoing in her mind. When the woman appeared in Allison's dream, she didn't react. She watched the strange woman speak and move, and wondered if this was actually a human before her invading her dreams, or if somehow a Pokémon had concocted this image. At any rate, this lady was very attractive, and Allison found herself hoping to see her again in more dreams to come. The puzzle piece in the woman's hand made Allison prickle with excitement. Finally, some damn memories! The change to the Rules was welcome enough, considering how annoyed Allison had become with the amnesia. As the vision of the dark-skinned woman in the white dress faded away, Allison was surprised to find the face of a different woman taking her place. This woman felt familiar, and the name Eloise was suddenly on her tongue. Dark red hair framed Eloise's smirking face, and her bright green eyes stared down at Allison where she sat on the desk. Something was in Eloise's hand, but Allison was too enraptured with Eloise's mischievous expression to focus on what it was. All she knew was that she was warm-- so warm, the back of her neck and knees were damp with sweat, and her shirt clung to her skin-- and that she was so ready. She was fixated on the woman's mouth. Eloise's hand was on Allison's hand, then her knee, then-- Panting breaths jerked Allison awake, and for a moment she couldn't tell if they were coming from herself or someone else. Her face flushed hot. Then she felt someone in the bed beside her trembling, and turned over to see Cass's face faintly illuminated by the light seeping in from underneath the door. It took Allison a moment to gather herself, but finally she cleared her throat softly and whispered, "Cassandra? Something wrong?" Cass didn't seem to hear her at first. Slowly, she glanced over at Allison and stared at her for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm fine," she said, but her voice was hoarse and the tightness to it was new. Allison frowned. Before she could press further, Cassandra abruptly turned on her side and whispered, "Goodnight" with firm finality. Allison lay awake for awhile longer, running through the details of her gifted memory as if replaying a movie in her head. She'd been sitting on the papers she'd just placed on Eloise's desk, and in them research about something she'd been excited to show the redhead. Something about...Aerodactyls? Whatever it was, Eloise was obviously...pleased. Allison's cheeks grew warm again. It was a long time before she could fall asleep. When the first daylight broke through the blinds of their small room, Allison rose from the bed to prepare for their journey. She'd found with some surprise that Cassandra wasn't still asleep, and in fact wasn't anywhere in the room. She glanced around, half expecting to find her companion curled protectively around Anhew or Evelyn, but Cassandra was nowhere to be found. Allison wondered if last night's nightmare had anything to do with it. After she'd showered quickly and gathered the few things they had (namely, her clothing and the still-sleeping Joltik with the squeaky snores), Allison slipped out of the room to allow the others a few more precious moments of sleep. If her dream was any indication, there was something about fossil Pokémon that Allison knew, only the rest of it was locked away with the other memories still held hostage by the Game lords. Perhaps asking Laren some more questions about his fossils would trigger more information. With a small sigh, Allison rapped her knuckles lightly against Laren's door. Hopefully he was awake at this hour, though she was prepared to face any irritation on his part for bothering him so early. On the other side of town, Cassandra leaned against a large rock and gazed out at the forest she and Jasper had sparred in the night before. Her body still ached somewhat, but felt more stiff than sore. Movement would remedy that, she hoped. She munched quietly on the pre-packaged muffin she'd found in the Cafeteria that morning. Had she the motivation for it, Cassandra would have made some muffins herself for everyone to take with them-- but alas, she hadn't been blessed with much sleep after the first memory was granted, and had little energy to bake homemade goods for them all. She silently peeled the plastic from the remaining piece of muffin and rolled it up into a ball. There was a trash bin a little ways off, and she ate the last piece as she made her way for it. Just as she dropped the plastic into the can, something shone among the garbage and Cassandra paused. At first she thought it might have been a piece of hard plastic, but peering closer, she recognized the slick, spherical object. Cass reached in and pulled it out. She'd been expecting a regular Pokeball, just turned upside down, but upon retrieval she realized the entire ball was white with a red mid-band. Cass buffed it with the hem of her flannel, and then zipped up the Premier ball into her backpack. Maybe today wasn't all bad. Edited June 15, 2016 by Shiny Hazard Sign Share this post Link to post
Posted June 15, 2016 Laren finished setting down the last plate of food in his kitchen's floor, plate that got swarmed immediately by his Fossil Pokémon like all the others. Okay, that should take care of all his little ones' breakfast. Now to head outside to feed those that didn't like being inside the house, and see if he could catch up with Chompers' trainer. He was in the middle of hoisting up a large bag of food (emptied of its fabric-made contents a long while ago, re-filled to three quarters of its capacity with the food Laren had made) when there was a knock at the door. "Coming!" he called, shifting the bag in his arms so it didn't block his view. It was too heavy to carry with only one arm, so he was going to need a bit of help. "Noida, could you open the door?" His Cradily waddled towards the door, using one of her tentacles to twist the knob. Mm, was that one of the women he met yesterday? He thought so, though maybe he was remembering wrong. "Good morning!" He greeted with a friendly smile as he stepped outside. "If you're here for a challenge, I'll have to ask you to wait an hour or two." Share this post Link to post
Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) "It's to store stuff," Zoey replied, not waiting for a reply from the nervous shifter as she walked off. What to do now until tomorrow? She decided to go back to the digging site to find some items, in which she found some more items which she put in her bag. Afterwards, a yawn escaped her lips and it made her realize how tired she was. She stretched before she walked back to the Pokémon Center before selling the heavy ball, the light rock, the two clays, and the icy rock, getting 500 for the items. She put her bag down as she stretched out on one of the couches. A while later, she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or awake but it was black. She peered through the darkness trying catch a glimpse of something. And that something was a woman stepping out of a rift. "Nice to meet you, Players," the woman said, making Zoey's hair stand on end. Zoey narrowed her eyes, something about the woman put her nerves on end. The woman explained on how the rules were changing and that they'd get a piece of their memories. Zoey felt like she plunged into darkness as the woman destroyed the puzzle piece floating in her hand. Zoey could feel an emotion run through her. She was playing with a small grey and black creature she recognized as a Poochyena. They seemed to be having fun together. Picking the small Poochyena up, Zoey walked back to her house in Phenac City. "Mom, look what I found!" Zoey said. "What is it?" Zoey's mom asked as she walked over to see what Zoey had before dropping the plate she was holding. She was very pretty with long brown hair that was in curls. The clothes she wore were top of the line designer clothes. A white jacket covered over her long red dress that reached down to her red high heels. "What is that filthy mongrel!?" "He's my friend," Zoey sulked. "I call him Poochy. He was alone digging through the garbage." "Zoey," her mother said. "What did I tell you about these...creatures?" Zoey felt anger, disappointment, and sadness run through her. "Pokémon are not friends," Zoey said in a monologue voice. "They are merely tools." "That's right," her mom said giving her a 'I-told-You-So' look. "Love is weakness." With that, Zoey ripped away from her dream. She held her head as she looked over to see others still sleeping. She panted heavily. So her mom was the reason. She clenched her jaw. At least she remembered something. An oasis city with pure water and green trees. Phenac city. She ran a hand through her hair before grabbing Tama's pokeball and her bag before leaving the center. She didn't care what she look like right now. Was love really weakness? Or was that lies fed by her mom? She snapped out of her thoughts as she entered the forest. Without a single word, she released Tama. "Yay!" Tama said running around in excitement. He then stopped at Zoey's feet and looked up. "You alright?" he asked, wagging his tail. "I gained a piece of my memory back," Zoey said, closing her eyes. "Oh?" Tama asked, not really understanding what she meant. "Yeah," Zoey said. "Tama, how would you like to become stronger?" Tama blinked, having to think about it for a moment. "Well, If I can become like my father," Tama said. "Then yes!" "Alright," Zoey said looking up as the bushes rustled. "Get ready for a fight then." Tama turned, eager to battle. Zoey blinked in shock. A small green...glob came out. "Okay Tama," Zoey said. "Use Yawn, followed by Tackle." The glob turned, realizing it was about to be thrown into a battle. It narrowed its eyes as it started rolling into the dirt. The Yawn managed to hit before it powered through. Tama got hit as he was flung into the air before he landed back on his feet. Launching himself toward the sleeping glob, Tama hit the Pokémon with his body. "Tackle once again!" Zoey said, wanting to make sure it was knocked out. Tama nodded before he hit it again, knocking it out. They looked up to see a brown and white bird up in the tree. "Yawn and Ember," Zoey commanded as Tama launched a Yawn attack at the Pidgey before using his Ember attack, both moves the Pidgey dodged skillfully before going in for a Quick Attack. "Tackle," Zoey ordered. Tama lowered his head and charged forward. Zoey carefully observed the move to note it was a Headbutt. Both the attacks collided as both Pokémon were sent back. "Ember!" Zoey said. Tama shook it off as he opened his mouth to release his Ember attack, hitting the Pidgey this time and made it faint. Without any Pokémon around, Zoey and Tama decided to walk until they saw another green glob come out. "Yawn," Zoey said. Tama nodded as he used his Yawn attack. The glob blinked before staring to roll on the ground. "Dodge it," Zoey said as Tama dodged the oncoming Rollout. Did Yawn not affect this Pokemon? "Ember then," Zoey commanded as the glob Pokemon kept its rollout. Tama opened his mouth and let loose his Ember attack. The second go around, Tama got hit by the rollout and landed hard. "Tama!" Zoey said. " Can you get up?" Tama slowly stood, looking worn out. "Y-yeah," Tama said exhausted. "Headbutt!" Zoey said. Tama nodded and lowered his head and attacked the glob Pokemon as it stopped it's rollout. The Pokemon hit the tree and was a knocked out. Zoey looked down at Tama who was now kneeling from exhaustion. It was that moment that she realized something about Tama. Even though he was extremely chatty and annoying, Zoey cared about him. "Why don't we stop for a while and go back to the center?" Zoey suggested returning Tama back to his Pokeball. Turning she started walking back to the direction of the PokeCenter before she heard a voice. "Oh my gosh," a voice rang out. "I haven't seen you on forever!" Zoey blinked, it sounded female so she walked over to the noise to investigate. There were two more glob Pokemon, one green and the other...blue. "Oh, hey," the green one said. "What's up?" "Oh," the blue one said, laughing. "Nothing much, just evading some rookie trainers." "Up to your old trickers huh?" the green glob chuckled. Zoey blinked, where was that one voice. She definitely heard it from over here. She decided to wait to see where this conversation would be going. "Yup," the blue glob said. "Those silly humans don't know how powerful I am!" "Typical you of how to have fun," the green one said. "I-" "You what?" the blue one asked as he noticed the green one's eyes go large. "I'm sorry," Zoey said, smiling at the green glob. "Am I interrupting something?" The blue glob slowly turned around and looked up at Zoey. "By all means," Zoey said. "I don't want to interrupt your story." "Wait," the blue blob said. "You understand us?" "Call it a gift," Zoey said, leaning against a tree. "Besides, what are you guys anyway?" "We're Solosis," the blue glob said. "This is kind of weird," the green Solosis said. "Talking to a human, it's not natural." "I know," the green Solosis said. "Like, isn't it amazing?" Zoey blinked, the green one made his voice sound like a females. "You're crazy, you know that?" Zoey asked. "I know," the blue Solosis said. The blue Solosis paused as he studied Zoey. "Who are you anyway?" "Name's Zoey," Zoey said. "How would you like to to join my team?" "Me?" the blue Solosis asked, skeptically. "I suppose I could. I've had a lot of people trying to catch me, but to actually talk to a human is very interesting." "I say no," the green Solosis said. "Then I'm going," the blue Solosis said. Zoey took out her Dusk Ball and held it out to the blue Solosis and tapped him. "Welcome to the team Globbers." ------------ Chompers, after going back to the digging site, he decided to sleep on the floor if that meant Sine would get a couch, then he didn't mind. He didn't know how much time had pass, but he remembered waking up to pure darkness. He growled, feeling something watching him. Was it friend or foe? Pretty soon a lady came from something he didn't know. He blinked, trying to make sense of it when she explained the rules were changing and he was granted a piece of his memory. He remembered being a Tyrantrum, emotions of sadness and loneliness filled him. It was night, but the place he stayed at, it was lit up. He could see two people near his area, so he got up to listen more closer. "Get this stupid Tyrantrum to eat otherwise we're going to have the Pokemon League up my butt about how we care for these Pokemon," the first human said. It was the human that Chompers truly hated, he could feel it deep inside him. "But sir," the other one said. It was the one who truly cared for him. "He needs to hunt, you can't suppress his thousand year instincts. He doesn't want to be fed, he wants to hunt." "You know we can't spare that expense," the first one said. "Find a way for him to eat or you are fired." "You can't do that!" the second person said with desperation in her voice. "Ah," the fist person said. "Do as I say. You have till noon tomorrow." With that, the first person walked off leaving the nice person alone. "Why?" she asked. "Please, you have to eat." Chompers cocked his head and blinked. He didn't understand, he was in a place that was upside down and backwards. Chompers then woke up from it and curled up. He looked up to see Sine still asleep but that other girl was gone. He suddenly felt trapped inside the building and quickly exited the center. He quickly went straight into the mountains, turning into his transforming into his Tyrantrum form and roared. These emotions that ran through him terrified him. Why was he lonely? He sat and looked up at the sky. He roared again, this time, tears were forming in his eyes. ----------------------------- After learning how to walk properly, Anhew immidately went to one of the beds to fall asleep. A few hours later, Anhew shook her head and seemed to be dreaming. The blackness seemed even more black to her before something else happened. A being appeared and all these things overwhelmed her. What were these things? Could she actually...see? She inhaled sharply as she closed her eyes, trying to block these things out, but the images held in the back of her mind, as she was trying to block it out, the woman was talking. Something about the rules changing slightly. After the explanation, Anhew gained a piece of her memory. It wasn't much, since all her life was born into darkness. She could remember stumbling around in the darkness. "Anhew," a surprising sweet voice said. "You need to feel the earth around you. Be one with the darkness." "Why are we born blind?" Anhew squeaked out. "Because it is who we are," the voice said again as Anhew tripped over a rock. She felt something under her chin as she was slowly lifted up Anhew woke up feeling lonely and sad. Who was that voice? It felt familiar. She tried to listen for Sweet Voice hoping she was around. "Sweet Voice?" Anhew asked softly. Edited June 17, 2016 by Raptor of Dragons Share this post Link to post
Posted June 18, 2016 Allison took a step back as the door swung open. A Pokémon was standing on the otherside of the threshold, holding the door ajar for Laren, who appeared to be struggling with a bag of sorts. After a beat Allison recognized the Pokémon as a Cradily, and slightly nodded at it in acknowledgement. "Good morning," she returned, shifting out of the way as Laren stepped outside. She realized he was holding a bag of Pokémon food when she noticed the slight aroma. She glanced at the Joltik on her shoulder briefly. "No, I'm not here to challenge," she said evenly. The fact that he assumed she'd try to challenge him with a tiny electric spider seemed asinine, but she held back the incredulity from her stare. "Since you are the fossil specialist," she continued, glancing toward the fossil Pokémon milling about the gym leader, "I was hoping you might have some information available on some studies." If only she could recall the name of the research she'd submitted in her dream-memory! No matter how hard she tried sifting through the scene, it was obvious that in the moment all Allison had been concerned with was Eloise and where she was putting her-- Allison cleared her throat lightly to keep the blush from returning to her cheeks. She brushed some of her white hair from her face. "I'm searching specifically for some reports on Aerodactyls. Would you happen to have any recent papers on them?" Perhaps her study was published afterwards, if Eloise's, uh, eagerness was any indication. But she couldn't exactly come forward to Laren with "I think my research was submitted but I can't remember what it was called or what exactly it's about," so instead she added, "I have a particular interest in them and would like to learn more." Share this post Link to post
Posted June 19, 2016 After helping Cassandra walk back to the center and being quickly examined by Allison, Jasper wandered off on his own. Garrett, who had apparently been assisting Anhew learn how to walk, ran up to Jasper and began to chastise him for running off and getting himself injured. Jasper waved his companion's concerns away as he tried to locate a bed who could flop onto. Garrett insisted that he cleaned himself up before hitting the hay and while Jasper didn't particularly fancy the idea of prolonging the sleep his aching body was yearning for, he eventually complied. The showers turned out to be far more complex and daunting than Jasper originally anticipated. He was entirely unfamiliar with the controls for the shower head and while he was familiar with the concept of bathing, he wasn't entirely sure what to do with the bar of soap of the various bottles with labels that he couldn't read. Tasting the liquids that came out of the bottles and licking the soap only resulted in a horrid bitter taste that made his tongue curl. It was a frustrating experience, with the slipperiness of the bar of soap being particularly aggravating, Jasper eventually gave up and headed out of the showers and towards the bed Garrett had fallen asleep next to. He threw himself onto the bed and, after fighting with the covers for several minutes, sighed in defeat and laid on his back as he closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. "Nice to meet you, Players." Seeing a woman dressed in stark white clothing was not what Jasper expected to see. His mind was completely blank as the woman spoke, smiling like a hunter that just spotted its prey. She congratulated the shifters upon getting so much progress made before proclaiming that they would get a piece of their memories back. Jasper lifted an eyebrow at the comment. Just a piece of their memory? Why bother with giving the shifters any memory back if it they weren't going to remember everything? Wouldn't just complicate things? Jasper opened his mouth to voice his complaints, but no sound came out. He gritted his teeth together and glared silently at the grinning woman. The puzzle piece that materialized in the woman's hand dispersed into dust. “That was all I wanted to say. So… see you around, Players.” Jasper opened his mouth to shout at the women, ordering her to stay, but, one again, nothing came out and the vision faded to black. Fire erupted all around Jasper. He was an Azumarill again, standing in an offensive position as flames danced around him. Before him was a Watchog and a Mamoswine, both staring at the flames leaping around them, walking backwards as they tried to ignore the flames. Next to Jasper was an Infernape, presumably the cause of the fire. The name Ridley briefly crossed Jasper's mind as he glanced over at his partner. The Infernape smiled at him and gave him a knowing look. Jasper returned the grin in kind and turned his gaze over to his opponents. He could not place a name upon the Watchog and the Mamoswine like he could with the Infernape. Doesn't matter, I'm not here to make friends "Jasper, use Aqua Jet. Ridley, follow with a Close Combat!" Jasper, who would normally turn around and glare at whoever ordered him to do something, complied with a smile. The voice who commanded him to move was someone who had earned his respect, someone he cared for dearly. He trusted her with his life. Dashing forward with Ridley a foot in front of him, Jasper ran towards his opponents. The Watchog leaped backward, turning her gaze to Jasper as he prepared a Hyper Fang. Jasper, who had been sprinting towards her, suddenly swerve to the right and climbed on top of his friend, leaping off of his head as he fly towards the Mamoswine. His opponent, who had been focused on Ridley's advance, was caught off guard as Jasper rammed into him, water engulfing his body. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he slammed into the Mamoswine who cried out in pain as he fell onto his side, right into the flames Ridley had stirred up. There was a yell from a voice didn't recognize, Jasper's trainer suddenly shouted, an eerie crack sounded in the air, and Ridley turned away from his fight. "Jasper, no!" Jasper work up in a cold sweat. His breathing was ragged and, as he sat up, he could feel the sheets were damp with his sweat. By Arceus, what on earth just happened? He remembered having a vision with a lady proclaiming she was going to give the shifters a piece of their memories back. Was that what that dream was? A memory? Well it didn't make any bloody sense to him! Angrily rubbing his messy hair, Jasper threw his legs on the side of the bed and grumbled to himself quietly. That memory didn't tell him anything about his past. In fact, all it did was quick Jasper more unanswered questions. He felt a sort of... kinship with the Infernape, Ridley he thought his name was. In the heat of the battle, Jasper could feel the warmth in his chest when he looked at the Infernape as well as the spark of joy that flooded his mind when the woman behind him gave him a command. He trusted those two. He cared about them. Why couldn't he remember anything about them? Jasper's thoughts were interrupted by Anhew quietly calling out for Garrett. Oh great, she was in the room the entire time? Jasper hadn't really paid attention to who else was in the room when he first marched him aside from Garrett. He just threw himself onto the bed and tried to get some sleep. "Yes, darling?" Garrett, who was now fully awake, cooed as she trotted over to where Anhew was. "Is there something you need?" "I certainly hope you aren't going to spend the rest of your life coddling her like that," Jasper said as he lazily glanced over at Garrett. "I certainly hope you aren't planning on running off to get into another fight," she snapped back. "I'll never get stronger if I just sit around fattening myself on poffins," Jasper snapped back. Garrett opened her mouth to retort but, after seeing Jasper flop back onto the bed, rubbing his temples, she decided not to. She turned back to Anhew and nosed her hand in an attempt to reassure to young shifter. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 19, 2016 "Studies, huh?" Laren repeated as he walked a few steps away from the door and put the bag down. As the woman narrowed down the subject of her interest, his Armaldo stepped out of the house, carrying a massive Pokémon dish which she set down next to her trainer. "Oh, thanks Karis," he said as he pat the fossil's head. She wagged her tail twice before going back inside. "Let's see, the ones I remember right off the top of my head are one done in Kanto about the comparison between the modern diet of Aerodactyls and what's suspected to have been their prehistory diet along with possible impacts on development and behavior, and one done in Johto about the possible reasons for the lack of Aerodactyl fossils compared to other prehistoric Pokémon and why the main method of obtaining genetic material is from amber, aside from a small report from Unova about their possible habitats and region of origin," he mused as he emptied half the bag inside the dish. While it was an easier task when Anoma was having her own breakfast inside the house, his head felt too light without the small Anorith perched there. "Ah, but how recent is 'recent'? And do you like Aerodactyls? Would you happen to have one?" He asked with a glint in his eyes, thrilled at the possible chance of meeting a Fossil that didn't originate from Lamorak. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 19, 2016 Allison listened hard to each subject as Laren spoke, but none of them spurred much of an Aha! in her head. Instead, she found with surprise that each study he mentioned suddenly flooded her with knowledge she wasn't aware she had. Before she realized it, Allison gave a small, dismissive wave of her hand and remarked, "The Kanto study is old. The serrated teeth of the Aerodactyl and their prehensile talons are pure evidence to carnivorous diets. The tensile strength of their jaws would be absolutely pointless for vegetation, even for a creature thought to be potentially omnivorous. Of course they can eat fruit, but the fact remains that revived Aerodactyls that consume more than thirty percent of fruit or other vegetation in their daily diet are prone to liver disease and bloat." Then, without skipping a beat, she shook her head and continued, "And hasn't the Unova study been thrown out already? Testing of the amber specimens found with the fossil inclusions has concluded them to be neotropical resins, such as those with a zanzibaric acid base, and not pine like previously thought. Besides, I'm certain some of the specimens were found in deep aquatic environments, so obviously Aerodactyls thrived in tropics long ago." From her shoulder, Joltik asked in a hushed voice, "What did all of that even mean?" Allison blinked. She hadn't expected that all to come out so suddenly and so...easily. She'd fired off her response almost as if she'd debated the subject before. There was a brief silence before the stunned expression on her face melted back into the stoic, guarded stare again. She cleared her throat a second time. "Recent like the last ten years. Perhaps five," she answered quickly, internally cursing her memory for not supplying her with more information. Keeping Laren from getting suspicious was important, and she was going to be getting dangerously close to that point if she didn't improvise something believable. "My, ah, father used to raise them, and I was interested in his work as a child. I lost touch with the community for a while and figured it was time to dive back in." Joltik moved slightly on her shoulder, and she was reminded that not even the little bug was her Pokémon; he was technically still wild since she hadn't come across a Pokeball yet. "No, unfortunately I do not." Share this post Link to post
Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Lambert did not sleep very well that night. What began as a good night in a soft bed was rudely interrupted by an explosive roar that triggered all his flight instincts. He instantly woke, jolting upwards to face the menace but without realizing they were in the pokemon center. His head smashed violently onto the underside of the top bunk and he fell back into his pillow with a curse that he hoped none of the children would repeat. He eyed the three-headed dragon with a stern glare, before turning around and trying to sleep face-down. Z seemed to be alright as they miraculously landed on Rhapsody, who in turn did not look too satisfied with his own prank. Lambert turned his head just enough to see the dragon exit the room in the corner of his vision. He'd deal with that tomorrow. When he closed his eyes, it was like he was transported to elsewhere. Like in an actual dream but a hundred times more vivid, it did not occur to him to open his eyes and return to the real world; and when he finally did, it was still dark outside. His head still throbbed, but he slipped on his boots and tiptoed outside, quietly shutting the door behind him. All he took with him was Q's pokeball, leaving his jacket and bag behind where the rest of the group was quietly snoring. Not that he'd needed anything at the moment. He just needed a bit of fresh air to gather his thoughts. At first he tried to hang onto that memory as if it were a dream that might be immediately forgotten, but he soon found out that, while a little hazy, it was there to stay. It was the only true recollection of a past life he had sometime, somewhere. It felt unreal. The smell of brine, the salt on his lips... The light, lanky hand he raised to the sky in a motion to reach the stars was his, but... not. He couldn't tell if they were the same stars as the ones above his head at the moment. He couldn't remember. Lambert closed his eyes so he could focus on what he could recall. He sank into the city bench in an attempt to relax. Part of the memory was just sounds of soft waves and a gentle rocking he felt underneath him. He was on his back, and he felt his fingertips brush against something else. A hand. The hand grabbed back, its fingers entwining with his. He felt himself laugh, but it wasn't like anything he'd heard from himself the past few days. His past self opened his eyes, reaching a hand out to point at the stars and the sliver of a waning moon. "You've really decided to travel alone?" came the voice beside him. The words were not exact, but he had a sense of their general meaning. "It's... It's really sad to see you go. It's like you just joined the crew yesterday, and when we hit Slateport tomorrow..." "Do you believe in fate?" he had said. "There's something else I have to do. I can't do that by staying here." Frustratingly, the memory ended there, abruptly severed from segments before and after. ~ Sometime during his recollection Lambert must have fallen asleep, for when he woke up on the bench the sun had already risen but was still far from reaching its peak. His head still ached when he ran his fingers through his hair. The memory was still there. None of this changed the plans he formed the previous evening: in the morning he would take Qrow out to the forest for training to prepare for that Fighting gym and to gauge his evolution's capabilities. It would take his mind a little off of things. ~~~~~ Sine stretched her arms out, reaching out with her shoulders, forearms and fingers, then bent backwards to stretch her back with a big yawn. She pat the couch, then her face, then realized when she opened her eyes that she could see the center clearly. The sun was already out and shining through the windows. Chompers was gone and in his place was a pile of blankets on the floor. She would have moved him to somewhere more comfortable, but he was too heavy to carry, and at the time she was too tired to care. According to the clock, she had only slept three hours. Maybe it was an artificially-induced drowsiness at the time, because that dream last night was not normal in the slightest. The memory she received, as promised by that woman, was one of a city of falling leaves and ancient architecture, with the tall silhouette of a pagoda against a rising sun and red sky. She was running, flanked by two pokemon -- a Pidgeotto and a Sandslash -- and began to slow down when she neared the northwest side of town. The building she approached was charred beyond recognition, and she remembered chuckling at the sign in front of it for its warning to stay away from the wreck. The floorboards creaked under her feet and she knew she was looking for something. There were wild pokemon that were quickly dispatched with a Slash and a Wing Attack, but there were bigger shadows that she thought she saw, but wasn't sure if they were real or imagined. Many people came here to try and catch a glimpse of legendary pokemon, and despite the early hour, it was unlikely that she would see anything. The guardians of the tower were said to have fled long ago. It was more for the sense of nostalgia that flooded her chest. Sine crawled to the PC again. Burnt tower destroyed ancient landmark, she tried as keywords for the search, as to confirm her suspicions. She went through the images, picking out those that matched her memories. If she had a home here, she would have had a printer, some pins, and a wall to put the clues up. Johto. That's right, that was the name of a region. According to the map in the pokemon center, this was Lamorak. Not at all close. The towers in her vision seemed to be in Ecruteak City, in Johto, home of many myths. A better lead than the churches of Arceus, at least. But, for some reason Sine couldn't force herself to continue searching. A feeling of unease settled over her. She minimized the browser and backed away, figuring that she should probably find Chompers before he caused any trouble, and perhaps get a map from Laren as suggested by Lambert the evening before (and speaking of that guy, he was terrible at finding things in the dig site. Unfortunately, no one found any more plates.) She had sold his Revive and Smooth Rock as well as the rest of her belongings minus the plates, balls and the Thunderstone (it evolved Pikachu and Eevee, and a few others) and bought three more pokeballs to prepare for the journey ahead. There was really not enough pocket space, frustratingly. She paused at the doorway. Those would have to be left behind, until she got a proper bag. She had already written down the inscriptions on a piece of paper. The march back to the counter was painful, and she didn't look at the clerk at all when she murmured her intention to sell, and all she felt was an empty sense of betrayal for pawning off her artifacts for a thousand pokedollars. Mechanically, she turned and exit the building. Laren was pretty excited about Chompers the last time, so she didn't know how he would react if she suddenly showed up without him, especially since she claimed he didn't like his ball. The gym leader seemed pretty occupied at the moment, but he was more of an expert on Tyrantrum behavior than she was... Consulting him would be more productive than searching herself. She effortlessly jumped the fence that seemed to be constructed to keep humans out rather than to keep Laren's fossils in. (Nevermind that the unlocked gate was right there.) Sine chimed a "Good morning!" and gave a small wave after waiting for the lady -- whom she saw last night at the center -- to finish rattling off her research. Aerodactyls. Sine knew about Aerodactyls, though definitely not to the same extent as the other two. Edited June 19, 2016 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Chompers looked at the sky as he sat down, tail curling up to his body and sighed. The feeling of loneliness go away as the memory kept playing in his head. "Hey, you okay?" a female voice suddenly asked. Chompers looked down to see this tiny bird-like Pokemon looking up at him. It was an Archen. She had something in her claws as if it was for him. "That for me?" he asked, his stomach rumbling. "Yes," the Archen replied. "I know most reawakened Tyrantrums don't like berries." "Reawakened?" Chompers asked. "I know two Pokemon who are absolutely terrified of the other word so I just say reawakened instead," the Archen replied. Chompers blinked before lowering himself. "I can eat you know?" he stated. "Yeah, but if you wanted to eat me, you would have already down so," the Archen said coolly. "You're not the first one to say that." "I should warn you," Chompers said. "Warn me about what?" Chompers smiled a bit before transforming back into his human form. He looked at the Archen who seemed startled for a moment. "That's interesting," she said, flicking her tail in thought as Chompers took the berry from her. "What is this?" he asked, sniffing it. "It's a citrus berry," the Archen replied. Chompers bit into it and was suddenly repulsed. "Bleck!" Chompers said, spitting it out. "Yeah, kind of figured," the Archen said. It was then a thought struck Chompers. "Shouldn't you be at the dig site?" he asked. "Pffft," the Archen said. "That place only gets exciting when a trainer shows up to catch us. Besides, I just saw the biggest Tyrantrum I've not seem before run past. Granted you can turn into a human kind of is really cool or really terrifying, can't tell right now, but I had to check it out. Besides, I prefer the taste of berries to what they feed us in there sometimes." Chompers sat and smiled at this Archen. She was someone he can relate to. "You wouldn't want to come with me, would you?" Chompers asked. "Come with you?" Archen asked, hiding whatever emotion she was feeling. "If you'll let me have fresh berries then it's a deal." "Deal," Chompers said, taking out his Pokeball from his pocket. He tapped the Archen with it as she stood there. A second later, he released her. "So," the Archen said. "You going to give me a name?" "Feathers," Chompers replied. "I'll name you Feathers." "Can I have a request?" Feathers asked. "Can I perch on your shoulder, I've always wanted to do that." Chompers bent down, picked Feathers up before acing her on his shoulder. With that, Chompers turned and went back into town, no longer feeling lonely. (Since the wifi is down at work, I'm going to have do his here. Pokemon: -Archen (Feathers), Female, Defeatist, Lax (+Defense, -Sp. Defense), Dragon Breath, Acrobatics, Agility, Crunch) ------------------------------ Anhew felt relieved when Sweet Voice answered her. "I-I had a dream," Anhew replied softly as Jasper argued with Sweet Voice. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think I...saw." Anhew paused. "And then I think I remembered something. I heard a voice, it sounded familiar." She then fiddled with her scarf. "It sounded patient and wise. And I miss that voice, in a way, it gave me comfort...like you, Cass, and Ev." She paused as her stomach rumbled. She wondered if the center had some apples she could munch on. Getting up from the bed, Anhew stood, wobbled a bit before moving somewhere. She wasn't sure where the apples were and pretty soon, she hit the wall. "Ow," she said, rubbing her head. Edited June 20, 2016 by Raptor of Dragons Share this post Link to post
Posted June 20, 2016 "Ah, but the real comparison starts when one looks at the components of the meat, taking into account the different ratios of water, protein, fat and the likes," Laren said with a wave of his hand, putting the bag with the rest of the food down. "I completely agree with you about the amber, though. Dating techniques have long been advanced enough to pinpoint the origin to the region we today call Kanto, too, and-" He was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings, as three Aerodactyls landed nearby; two by the dish of food and one directly in front of Laren, staring at him. "Oh, good morning, Rhyn! We were just talking about your species!" Rhyn continued staring for a few seconds, receiving a pat on the head from his trainer, before deciding he had successfully distracted Laren enough to prevent an hours-long lecture. With a small satisfied huff, the Aerodactyl went towards the other two to join them in eating breakfast. Laren noticed then there was someone else with the woman now. He had been so busy thinking about the studies he hadn't registered her arrival. "Ah, good morning! Is Chompers out getting breakfast?" The Tyrantrum from yesterday didn't seem like the type to prefer the easy method of getting nourishment, so seeing he wasn't with the trainer made Laren assume he was getting his own food. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something, give me a minute." First things first. He whistled thrice, making one of the Aerodactyls look up and approach him. The Pokémon looked to be the oldest of the trio by far, and as Laren made a head movement towards Allison, the Aerodactyl focused his attention on her. "This Aerodactyl here is pretty special," Laren started explaining with a friendly smile. "He was revived not from an Old Amber, but from a preserved body." Pokémon revived from fossils or other genetic material weren't exactly 'revived'; their DNA was used to create a clone, hence why most Fossils like the Kabutos back at the labs started with no memories. However, there was another way to revive a fossil: if a preserved body was found, the Pokémon could actually be brought back to life, along with all their memories. The woman seemed to know enough to be able to tell the difference, so Laren didn't mention what he thought was common knowledge. "The body wasn't complete, though. There was some damage in the brain area, which seems to have affected this one's memories. He gets slivers, but has difficulty remembering most of his life. I've tried to help, but he seems restless having to stay only in Vertia, and since I took the Gym Leader job I can't leave town for extended periods of time without permission from the League. I'm concerned about how he'd fare in the wild, too, so eventually we agreed it'd be better if he went with a trainer." "So, what I'm saying is, if the two of you agree and like each other, would you take him with you?" Share this post Link to post
Posted June 21, 2016 Garrett blinked in concern as Anhew explained her dream. The Deerling folded her ears backwards as she tried to make sense of Anhew's words. There really wasn't a way for her to explain the dream to Anhew nor did she know how to comfort Anhew in regards to the dream. "It's alright darling," Garrett said, hoping she sounded comforting in some regard. "It was just a dream, there's nothing to worry about." Briefly, Garrett glanced over at Jasper, silently asking for his assistance. "I had a dream last night too," he explained as he sat himself up and folded his arms across his chest. Garrett's sudden frown told Jasper she was not pleased with his so called "help", but she said nothing. "It wasn't anything like yours," he explained. "Had more fighting and such. It didn't make a lot of sense, but it felt real." "Of course you would dream of fighting," Garrett chided as she shook her head at her trainer. "That's all you ever think about. "Weren't you the one silently pleading for help?" Jasper hissed in a low whisper. "I'll think better of it next time," Garrett whispered back, low enough so Anhew hopefully couldn't hear. Jasper gritted his teeth together but kept his mouth shut. If Garrett was going to complain about every little thing he did, then he didn't need to sit around and listen to her whine. Standing up, Jasper marched to the door and swung the door open in a not so soft fashion. Just as he was about to turn the corner and sulk off into the hallway, he heard cry out in pain behind him. "Jasper, hold the door open, will you?" Garrett called as she ran over to Anhew's side. "Oh, so you do need my help?" Jasper barked as he turned around and glared at the Deerling. "She can't walk, Jasper," Garrett said as she guided Anhew's hand to her head. "Can you keep the door open while I try to get her up? Please?" For a few seconds, Jasper stood in the doorway, silently fuming to himself. After staring for a few seconds, Jasper let out a sigh of defeat and leaned against the door to keep it fully open. "Can you feel my head, Anhew?" Garrett questioned as she glanced over at the shifter in worry. "Think you can stand up on your own? You can hold onto me if you need to steady yourself." Share this post Link to post
Posted June 22, 2016 The wind swept up by the Aerodactyl's wings made Allison's neatly groomed ponytail sway and she sidestepped in order to avoid one of the Pokémon's low-hanging claws. Joltik trilled with excitement from her shoulder at their arrival. Allison's retort to Laren's first comment died on her tongue as the girl she vaguely remembered from the previous night appeared. Another shifter-- the one who'd been with the Tyrantrum man. Allison wasn't surprised that Laren seemed far more interested in conversing with her, as Tyrantrums were infinitely more exciting than discussing the finer details of Aerodactyl dietary restrictions. She stood the side, but her gaze swiveled back over to the Aerodactyls that were currently enjoying their food. She watched them until Laren's sharp whistle made her gaze snap back over to him. The Aerodactyl that Laren motioned to stopped a few feet away and grunted. He definitely did look older than the other two; his color was slightly more grizzled and pale, and the tough skin that covered his body was weathered and creased in age. The spade at the end of his tail was chipped, which Allison wondered about, considering cosmetic damages wouldn't have translated through his genetic material and restoration. It must have been recent. He was much larger than the others and stood over six feet, easily. Allison stared up at him without blinking. The Pokémon let out a huff as Laren spoke. "You callin' me brain damaged?" he growled, though there was no malice in his tone. He leaned forward slightly on his wings with a glare. She almost expected Laren to answer, and then remembered that the gym leader was not a shifter and therefore had no idea what the Aerodactyl was saying. A moment later she heard him mutter, "I was alive long before he was ever even a speck in the universe and he thinks I can't live in the wild." He gnashed his large jaws together as he scoffed. Allison's stark white eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. She'd come here for information, not a Pokémon. As the resident fossil connoisseur, Allison had hoped Laren would have come across or had knowledge of the study she'd supposedly submitted in her memory. She most certainly was not expecting to be offered one of his own fossils. Allison folded her arms neatly over her chest and let her gaze fall back on Laren's face. Knowing about Aerodactyls and actually raising one were two very different things. Would she even consider herself a trainer? She pursed her lips lightly. Well, if the dream was any indication, she was going to need all the help she could get. Gratitude was not exactly something she felt skilled with expressing, so it took her a moment to find an appropriate response. "If your Aerodactyl is open to it, I am more than willing to bring him along," Allison answered carefully, glancing back up at the towering Pokémon. He stared down at her with narrowed eyes and snorted. "As long as he cooperates," she added, raising an eyebrow. They locked gazes for a long moment, until finally the Aerodactyl scrunched his nose and grunted. "Guess it can't be worse than being trapped here with these idiots," he said, flicking his tail toward the other two Aerodactyl still munching away. "Does he have a name?" she inquired without looking at Laren. She would have outright asked the Pokémon himself, had the gym leader not been standing there. "None that don't sound like a damn child came up with," the Aerodactyl immediately answered, baring his teeth slightly. Allison noticed a few were missing, but those that remained were still sharp and deadly. "Call me somethin' like 'Chompers' and I'll chomp your fool head off, lady." Allison smiled. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 22, 2016 Laren observed how the Aerodactyl reacted to the woman; besides his usual grumpy nature sparking up a bit (whatever he growled, it seemed to be insulting enough that Rhyn stopped eating and whipped his tail, taking a step towards the older Pokémon until he noticed his trainer was watching and reluctantly went back to eating), the old Fossil seemed to not disapprove of his new trainer. Which was as good as it got concerning this one. "Perfect! He seems to not hate you so we're off to a good start," Laren cheerfully said, clapping once. He took off a pen and a small notebook from two of his pockets, flipping through the latter one until he found an empty page to start writing on it. "Now, the most important thing to remember with this one is to give him as much freedom and space as he needs. I'll write here his ability, moves and some of his preferences, along with my phone number - feel free to call me anytime if you have any kind of question, or just to let me know how he's doing." He ripped the page off, and offered it to the woman, along with the Quick Ball the Fossil had been caught on. "He's had a few; the only one he tends to answer to is Arrow, though." Giving away one of the Pokémon he had helped breed or revive was always hard, even knowing he couldn't possibly take care of every single one; he couldn't help getting attached. "Take care of him, alright? I wish you both the best." He waved as the woman left with Aerodactyl, telling himself the Pokémon was in good hands. The other two Aerodactyls had finished eating, and one took off and flew away, with Rhyn staying and slightly pushing Laren's side with his head. Laren patted him on the top of the snout, and finally turned his attention to Chompers' trainer again. "Sorry for the wait. How's Chompers doing?" As he spoke, a small Omanyte peeked out from the door of his house, looking at Sine with big round eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ((Arrow would know Laren isn't giving him special treatment; he gives his number to every trainer that gets one of his Fossils. Mage, the Omanyte is the one that's gonna go with Sine so feel free to control it)) Share this post Link to post
Posted June 24, 2016 To be honest, Ev was glad that Allison was able to take care of things. She wanted to help, but was perfectly content to support Anhew and watch to make sure she didn’t fall. She spoke little during the time, though did offer words of encouragement and a few minor corrections. Once Anhew was able to walk without support, she gave a soft smile. It was difficult, learning a new method of movement, but the girl had learned quickly enough. With that done, Ev finally noticed how tired she was. Her eyes felt almost ready to close on their own, and her feet were sore from standing all day. After she prepared for bed and lay down, sleep came quickly. The dream was unexpected. Her first response was confusion, as she didn’t know where she was or why it was so dark. The confusion shifted to fear as she realized that she couldn’t move, or feel any sort of pressure from the ground. The woman that walked out of the darkness did nothing to alleviate either emotion, nor did her words. An adjustment to the rules? She felt sick. It seemed almost unfair, like a rug was being pulled out from her. The expectation that the rules would stay had almost been a constant the past few days. If they were being changed now, they couldn’t be trusted. There was no reason to expect any of the others to stay. As the puzzle piece crumbled into nothing, she felt the urge to flinch back. She didn’t even know what she was afraid of. Getting her memories back was supposed to be her goal, even if she hadn’t expected to get any so soon. To her surprise, a wave of calm washed over her. She was sitting on a thick armchair, with a table in front of her. Dark, almost red bookshelves surrounded her, blocking out the rest of the library. Soft, warm light came from a tall window to her right, casting the shadows of her long hair onto a page. The book was thick, and the pages had yellowed slightly. A coffee stain marred one edge. It was peaceful. Cozy, almost. Without warning, she was ripped from the dream. Any sense of calm she had before drained away, leaving her shivering on the bed. At some point during the night, she had thrown her covers off, and the blankets were now half on the floor. Her face was wet, so she reached up to wipe her eyes. For a moment, anger flared through her. She had no idea what the point of that was. She couldn’t even remember a single word from the book, and the memories grew fainter with each passing second. The color of the floor, the ceiling, the shape of the table- there wasn’t a chance of finding out which library it had been. Maybe she had had glasses in the dream. Anger fading to exhaustion, she clutched and the blankets and rolled over. It was some sort of manipulation, probably, but she didn’t even know what the woman could have been trying to achieve. Perhaps she had shown a lack of conviction, and the woman was trying to give her an incentive to work harder. A carrot. That it wasn’t a stick instead was something to be glad about, at least. That, or it really had been just a dream. It was completely possible that her mind had just made it all up. She’d have to tell the others about it, though she wasn’t sure how. If it had been more than a dream, hopefully someone else would mention it first. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 28, 2016 Anhew listened to Sweet Voice and Jasper argue. She sat there, not knowing whether to cry or not. She wished Cass was here instead of Jasper. "Please don't fight," Anhew whispered. From what she knew, Jasper seemed to be pleased when he mentioned his dreamed involved fighting. Should she take an interest just to put him in a good mood? But then Sweet Voice would most likely get mad. Anhew then felt Sweet Voice guide her hand onto her. "I think I got this whole human thing," Anhew squeaked out as a response knowing Jasper was not happy. She shakily got onto her back paws also known as feet and clumsily made her way toward where she last heard Jasper's footsteps. "Have I made it out the door yet?" Anhew asked as she walked. She paused, somewhere, but it was the last place she heard Jasper's footsteps. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 28, 2016 Garrett, hearing Anhew's quiet plea for the two to stop arguing, promptly shut her mouth as a wave of guilt washed over her. Arceus, how had she forgotten Anhew was right beside her? The poor thing probably thought they were arguing because of her. The last thing Garrett wanted was for Anhew to think she was the cause of the two's bickering. "Oh, don't worry hun," Garrett whispering reassuringly as she guided the shifter to the door. "We're not... disagreeing because of you. We just have a hard time getting through to one another, okay? You're not the problem, alright?" Garrett leaned against Anhew gently as they walked towards the door, doing her best to keep the shifter balanced. "There you go!" Garrett chimed cheerfully as Anhew clumsily waddled outside of the door. "Yes, you made it out of the door, darling." Jasper let out a soft sigh of relief as he closed the door behind the poor. Evidently, he did not enjoy holding the door open for a blind girl he barely knew. Just as he was about to turn around and walk away, Garrett stopped him with a curt, "Hey!" Jasper let out a soft groan of annoyance, but complied with Garrett's request and stood in place. Garrett smiled to herself, savoring the tiny victory before turning her attention back to Anhew. "Well, sweetie, where do you want to go now?" Garrett asked in a gentle voice, pushing her head against Anhew's head reassuringly. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2016 Sine shielded her face from the wind whipped up by the trio of Aerodactyl and waited patiently for Laren to finish up, though inwardly she willed him to hurry so she could be on her way sooner. Her attention began on the bricks of Laren's wall, but as his conversation with the woman from last night progressed, her eyes drifted to the flying fossil pokemon. Recognition sparked in her mind, but she thought those things would be smaller... "Breakfast, yes. Chompers likes to wander off," she explained when Laren finally made time for her. He was likely right; the shifter had probably gone out to hunt like he did last time. "I know he's around here, but I'm not too familiar with this area, actually. We went hunting in the berry forests yesterday." She put a hand to her bottom lip, deep in thought. "He might be trying to find somewhere which better resembles his old habitat." "Anyway," she started again, jolting upright. "I had business with you too. I heard that you had extra maps?" While Sine was speaking, the Omanyte had shuffled forwards to take a closer look, but the moment she turned her gaze on the object moving in her peripheral vision, the pokemon froze withdrew into its shell. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2016 "Ah, yes, wandering and roaming are quite common in Tyrantrums," Laren commented with a nod. "The climate in Vertia isn't humid enough for their liking, but they tend to be comfortable in the forest; their preferred habitats were more on the tropical side but the nearby river and decreased vegetation offer pretty good hunting spots and-" The remaining Aerodactyl slightly pushed his trainer on the side to interrupt him, muttering under his breath, "Oh, no, you are not allowed to talk for hours before I get my dessert." "Mm? Still hungry, Rhyn? Fine, give me a minute." Patting the Pokémon on the snout again, he listened to Chompers' trainer with a smile. "Yeah, my Pokémon keep shredding them so I always have extras. I'll fetch you one!" He said, already turning to go into his house before he finished speaking. Before going in, though, he made a pause to kneel and pat the shell a few feet away from his door. "Oh, you're already here? Impatient, aren't we?" He turned to Sine with a chuckle. "This is actually what I wanted to talk to you about. This Omanyte here has been wanting to go on a journey, so I was looking for a good trainer to take care of the little one. I'll let you two meet each other while I go fetch that map!" He went inside the house then, as Rhyn sat down and got comfortable, watching those two. Share this post Link to post
Posted July 2, 2016 Sine laughed nervously. Seems like even his pokemon were a little tired of long rants, though she could sympathize both ways. Nobody would be interested in hearing an hour lecture on creationism from her. With Laren's pat, the pokemon began to emerge from its shell. Sine was mesmerized by its googly gaze, and she knelt down, reaching a hand out. The Omanyte replied by extending a tentacle and shaking her finger. So small! So cute! A gift that was entirely unexpected and a little out of the blue, and perhaps she would have to get Chompers measured after all. "Thanks for that," she said to the Aerodactyl. "I don't doubt that we'd still be here by sundown if he continued." Turning back to the shelled pokemon, "You'll find out that this adventure is going to be more than you ever barganed for, little buddy." The girl glanced around. No humans in the yard other than the other shifter with the Aerodactyl. "Do you have a name? Tell me, I can talk to pokemon." "Laren likes to call me Aster," the Omanyte explained, "But I think it sounds like ass-turd." Sine's mouth went agape for half a second before she shut it. Where did the young pokemon learn such language? Share this post Link to post
Posted July 3, 2016 It wasn't long until Laren emerged from his house again, map in hand and Anoma perched again on top of his head with a content expression. Young Aster seemed comfortable enough, even though the girl had a pretty shocked expression. And why was Rhyn snorting? "Did I miss anything?" he asked curiously. "He said 'ass-turd'," Rhyn commented. "No! Bad word!" Anoma horrifyingly chirped, covering her ears with her claws. Laren, oblivious to the Pokémons' small exchange, handed the map to Sine. "Here you go! You mentioned yesterday you were looking for information on Team Helix, so I copied in pencil possible routes you can take to the building I worked at when I was part of the team. The big group from yesterday asked me a lot of questions about it, were they your acquaintances? Ah, but that doesn't exactly matter does it? Either way, how did things go with Omanyte, will you two be traveling together then?" Both Sine and Aster answered affirmatively, and a glance to Rhyn showed Laren hadn't missed anything that would've changed his mind about the gift. If the girl had seemed suspicious, Rhyn would have told him. "Excellent! Here's his Poké Ball, and some info on him along with my number. Please call me if you have any kind of doubts about raising Omanytes, or if you have any questions about Chompers." He handed Sine a Repeat Ball, along with a paper very much like the one he had given to Allison earlier. Now, time to say good-bye. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ((Timeskip will be posted separately so it can be linked)) Share this post Link to post
Posted July 3, 2016 Four days after the dream --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entrance of the forest east of Taismog Town Taismog Town. Neither small nor big, with the kind of classical buildings that had open spaces between them. Being early afternoon, the number of people and Pokémon on the streets was higher than Vertia or Kusba as they all enjoyed their lunch outdoors to take advantage of the sunny day. Businesses busied themselves serving the hungry locals and travelers, the smell of food and coffee lingering in the streets where they were located. "I'm so hungryyyyyy," Cedric thought, making a point to not let his tongue slither out from his mouth. The less he smelt the food, the better. He just had to endure a few more minutes until his replacement came to take his place, and then he could eat and sleep the rest of the day away. When he was hungry, minutes seemed hours, though. The Seviper sighed, tail unhappily drooping as he relaxed his coil around the sign. The forest had gotten dangerous lately, and the Leader hadn't found a permanent solution yet. So, until then, he and some other Pokémon were stuck guarding the entrance, right next to the wooden sign erected a few days ago. Bored, the snake Pokémon passed the tip of his tail over the carved words, reciting what was written in a monotone. "'Travelers are forbidden from entering the Eastern Forest until further notice. The League shall not be made responsible for consequences trespassers bring upon themselves.' Why don't people learn to respect rules!?" he whined, tail and head both slamming against the ground. "If trainers weren't so, so rude and self-centered, we wouldn't have to stand guard. We could be resting right now instead of standing here doing nothing for the entire morning." As always, no one answered. His partner wasn't exactly the type to make conversation, but he knew the other Pokémon was somewhere, listening. Cedric groaned, body tightening against the sign. Why did some people want to go in there anyway? Going around would take a bit longer but would be safe and not against the rules. Maybe to catch Pokémon? There was some sort of abandoned building where Electric-types liked to chill, but in his opinion, it wasn't worth it. Damn, he was getting sleepy. But no, he had to remain awake and hungry for a while longer. At the very least, he wasn't the one tasked with guarding the Gym. Seeing as how the Leader was at the other job, there had been a sign hanged by the door of the Gym saying 'To challengers: Please ask for the Gym Leader in the establishment The Serpent's Fang.' But just in case, inside was another of the Leader's Pokémon, who should be even more bored than him considering they were indoors. He sighed again, doodling random patterns in the ground with the tip of his tail. Thinking about the Leader's bar always cheered him up. The name made him feel special, even if he hadn't been the only one it was named after. Plus, in his very non-subjective and non-biased opinion, it had the best drinks in the entire town, and that was saying something considering Taismog was known for the quality of their various items on the 'stuff you can drink' category. The bar was pretty nice too, with dark furniture and lights hanging from the ceiling, all stools and chairs covered in soft material to make it comfortable to sit down for long periods of time. The music was always low, giving it a relaxing air where one could go to let go of their stress, and there was even a black grand piano on the corner where anyone could play a tune or two. Cedric absolutely loved coiling over it, dozing off to the sound of music and friendly conversations going all over the place. And if someone ever tried to start anything, drunk or not, there was no better security than the Leader's personal team. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wilderness before arriving to Lifferoad It was quiet. Way too quiet. The path to Lifferoad through the wilderness was usually teeming with life; Flying Pokémon on the sky and singing from tree branches, Bug Pokémon dozing off ready to fall on the heads of travelers if they dared step under their resting place, Normal and Grass Pokémon grazing and calling for members of their group or herd, even Pokémon from other types going on with their lives, protecting their territories from humans. But on the path an hour away from Lifferoad, there was no sound. No footsteps, no calls, no visible life, just the wind blowing through the leaves. The only exception being the Togekiss swerving across the trees. The Pokémon barely made a sound as it flapped its feathered wings, avoiding all obstacles in its path and going at a speed that would make novices scream for their lives. Luckily, its rider was no novice, quickly giving directions by the amount of pressure he put on the Togekiss' shoulders. The trainer was a red-haired man that looked in his late twenties or early thirties, wearing a light purple button-up shirt under a light beige loose cardigan long enough to reach his knees and thin enough to be confused for a scarf at first glance, its open ends flapping in the wind along with the only visible end of his white scarf and the shimmering white stone in front of his chest, held in place by black string going around his neck. Black jeans and dark brown hiking shoes completed his outfit, along with a large brown bag on his right side of the kind most trainers used, the strap resting on his left shoulders. Bangs that should have fallen over his light gray eyes and black-rimmed glasses were held back by a stiff black hairband with the shape of a C pointing down, the rest of the red hair either loose or held up in a half ponytail, the ends reaching the middle of his back. "There," the man thought, giving the signal for Togekiss to increase the speed even more. Less than five seconds later, they finally reached the end of the forest, and shot out of the trees into the plains one needed to cross to reach Lifferoad. The visibility was great, even with them flying low enough to use the trees for cover - now he just needed to make a plan and- Movement caught his eye. He hadn't seen wild Pokémon in this particular area for two days, but there was a small group heading his way. Trainers. He was so surprised by the unexpected travelers he made Togekiss brake until the Flying-type was hovering right over the ground, both of them looking at the newcomers with a surprised expression. He was definitely not looking forward to having to explain the small wounds and cuts that littered both his and his Pokémon's body. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fastfall City, northern area If she had to listen to one more complaint about the road block she was going to- The police officer didn't have time to finish her mental tirade against tourists, her ringing phone cutting her off right before the cursing and inventive ways of murder could begin. "Officer Selena here," she answered with a professional tone that let out none of her frustration. "Yo! How're things going? Any riots yet?" Ah, the Gym Leader. "No problems at all, ma'am." "Good, good! Chances of people accidentally blowing themselves up have been reduced to a minimum, so I'm giving permission to reopen the city. Handle the announcement?" "Leave it to me, ma'am!" "Thanks, I owe ya. Gonna be at the gym - er, not the Gym, the gym, you know, the place where people go to exercise and get buff, not the one where we battle." "Understood, ma'am." "Kay, bye!" The sound of the call being cut off came before she had time to say any variation of 'goodbye', so the officer hanged up too without further comments. Finally. Fastfall was one of the biggest cities in Lamorak, the kind with shops and businesses and skyscrapers and everything everywhere - the fact that they had to close off most of the city, including the area where the Gym was, had drove tourists insane. And if they were told it was because a filming crew had chosen it as one of the locations for a movie? Then they were all 'I want to see', 'Where do I audition' and 'Where can I get autographs'. Wiping her brow and adjusting her hat, Officer Selena made her way towards the nearest police station. A few minutes later, she was sitting in front of a microphone, the speakers throughout the city ready to relay her voice to everyone within earshot. "Citizens and visitors of Fastfall City, this is an official announcement from Fastfall's police department. As of now, the parts of the city that had been closed off for filming are accessible to the general public again. The southern, eastern and western areas are no longer off-limits. We apologize for any inconvenience caused, and please enjoy your stay." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ((In case it's not clear, all groups will be starting on the same day, Day 13. -The group that went through the caves (first route) will start with their arrival to Taismog Town. The entrance to the forest Laren marked, the one at the east, is guarded by Cedric the Seviper. Feel free to head to the Gym or to The Serpent's Fang too. -The group that went around the mountain (second route) will start before arriving to Lifferoad, still inside the wild territory with no routes. You should have arrived a day ago to Lifferoad but there were more wild Pokémon than anticipated, hence the small delay. However, for the past hour or two you've seen absolutely no wild Pokémon in the area, as if something had scared them off. -The group that went to Fastfall (third route) will start at the northern area of the city. Most of Fastfall was closed to the public because of filming, so you hadn't had any chances to contact the Gym Leader. Lodging was free and they said filming would wrap up in less than 3 days, so you decided to wait it off instead of returning to Vertia. Feel free to start either already inside the city or in the area surrounding it; the announcement should be heard either way. New characters can start in any of these three locations)) Share this post Link to post
Posted July 15, 2016 Rhapsody watched unamused as Tusk, aka the Axew he reluctantly had accepted to train, proceeded to trip on a tree root and land on his face. Again. He exchanged a look with Pooch, who stared back in silent defiance. "Kid's hopeless," he said anyway. "He's just started. Give him more time," the Houndour countered. Rhapsody made a noise at the back of his throat. This would be so much easier if the kid was compatible with one of those fancy things Lambert had. TMs, if he remembered right. But the man had said that the disks hadn't reacted so Tusk couldn't learn those moves, and Rhapsody wasn't the one who knew how to operate them, so he had to take the other shifter's word for it. At least Bugface was able to learn Rock Slide from one of the disks, with Rhapsody telling Lambert to replace Dig. Now she finally could attack things that were outside of Crunch range, which she appreciated. Guess he'd have to make another excuse to throw her at things. Tusk stood up again, some dirt on top of his snout. "Again!" he demanded, facing Pooch with a determined look. Before they could resume their little training session, though, a voice rang out from the city. A human female. "Citizens and visitors of Fastfall City, this is an official announcement from Fastfall's police department. As of now, the parts of the city that had been closed off for filming are accessible to the general public again. The southern, eastern and western areas are no longer off-limits. We apologize for any inconvenience caused, and please enjoy your stay." "Does that mean we can finally go talk to the Gym Leader?" Pooch asked, ears perked. "Seems so," Rhapsody shrugged, not mentioning Tusk had begun running towards her until the dragon tackled the Fire-type to the ground. "Got you!" Tusk proudly proclaimed, bumping his tiny fist into his chest. Rhapsody snorted at Pooch's confused and annoyed look, and took out two of the occupied Poké Balls he was carrying. He had to admit, Lambert's bag had proven itself useful, since now he could dump his items for the man to carry and his pockets weren't overflowing anymore. Right now, Rhapsody had all his Poké Balls, both occupied and free, and the Oran Berry, with Bugface holding onto the Smooth Rock. The Pecha Berry, the Heat Rock he had gotten from Z, and the Revive were in the older shifter's bag, while the Shiny Stone, Damp Rock, and Light Clay had been sold for money. Rhapsody still didn't fully understood money beyond 'you trade it for stuff', but Pooch had told him that it might come in handy later, so better to not give it away. "Pooch, Bugface, return." The red lights came out, disappearing both the Houndour and the Trapinch that had been sleeping under a tree. Rhapsody felt slightly uncomfortable having to make them go inside the small balls, even though his three Pokémon had said they didn't mind. He himself would try to bite off the head of whoever tried to get him to stay inside one of those. But it was true that walking around with those three out would overcrowd the area, so he had listened to Pooch when she suggested they take turns outside. He hadn't appreciated the 'someone needs to babysit you' comment. Thankfully, he got back by forcing her to help train the kid. "Come on, let's get moving." That voice from before had been pretty loud, if he had heard it all the way outside the city. He wasn't that far away, making it in under three minutes to the gates they had gone through on their arrival two days ago, but he had still heard the message clearly. Hopefully all the others had too. After clearing the gate, it was a short walk to what the group of five had designed their meeting spot: a towering statue of a Pokémon called Poliwrath that was honestly pretty hard to miss. It was spewing water from a small hole in the front and from the fingers, and Rhapsody spared a small glare in its direction before he started scanning the crowd for Z, Lambert, Zoey or Gaes. With any luck, they'd already be here. Share this post Link to post
Posted July 26, 2016 Before yesterday, if anyone had suggested to Valda that she waltz into the midst of a gargantuan human city of her own accord, she would have laughed, rolled her eyes, and possibly flicked a curl of flame in their direction for even considering that she'd go anywhere near a congregation of humans by choice. In fact, that's what she did do. It was a wonder that Drifloon still took to following her around. But after finally laying eyes on the city from the safety of the forest's edge, Valda was struck with sudden inspiration. Despite Flooey's protests and cautions against it, the shifter had spent the better part of a day flitting around the city's massive buildings as a Noivern, belting out streams of fire to anything that looked fun to destroy. Which happened to be several large, silver contraptions that she faintly recalled were cars. Much to her delight, a number of them caught flame quickly and exploded, leaving the little ants of humans to scramble around like a madhouse. Endless entertainment, Valda had decided. However, that was before some important-looking woman marched out, a group of Pokémon in tow, looking rather peeved at the Noivern's interference. Valda was more than happy to engage until some odd, bipedal Pokémon she'd never seen before launched a rather unpleasant attack with psychic powers. It left her with a wicked headache and she begrudgingly retreated to the outskirts of the city. She'd reverted back into a human woman mere moments before the gym leader's Pokémon came searching for the offending Noivern. To vent her frustration, Valda dipped back into the tree line and shredded every bit of her human attire as revenge for such little time allocated in her preferred body. By then it was nightfall, and Valda hid herself in the branches of a tree while Flooey hummed some strange tune. She didn't fall asleep until much later, for the images of that oddly colored Noibat still haunted her whenever she closed her eyes. It's already been several nights since Valda had the dream, but ever since the memory of it remained stamped behind her eyelids. The next morning, Flooey advised that they infiltrate the city undercover. It bobbed in the air up and down, its stringy arms floating freely in the breeze. "Maybe someone in the city can help figure out your dream," she suggested, "Like a psychic Pokémon. Wasn't that gym leader's Pokémon a psychic type? If you don't look like a Noivern, maybe it'll help you." Valda was so disgusted by the thought of asking for help from a human-- or even a human's pokemon-- that she took off in a flash of light and flew over the trees. The Drifloon bounced in the torrent of air left in the Noivern's wake. It was a solid hour before Valda returned. When she landed, the Noivern's body lit up and molded into that of the woman, only her clothes had returned at full capacity. She made a noise of annoyance and lifted her arm. The thin fabric attached to her wrist and to the back of her dress fluttered softly from the movement. Her fingers skimmed over the dark curls pinned to her head in a series of professionally wound loops and twists, and then down over the fluffy white scruff around her neck. The worst part were the shoes now securely around her feet that shot needles through her calves when she walked. At least she had enough balance to maneuver in them now. "Well, at least you won't attract attention to yourself for being in the nude," Flooey commented cheerfully. Valda's lip twitched with a sneer, but instead of snapping a response, she snatched the Drifloon's little arms and dragged the Pokémon toward the Fastfall's entrance. They had reached the city's outermost buildings when an announcement blared through the airs, accompanied by a few cheers of the local population. Valda lingered behind the group that formed to move past the officers, and waited until the crowd was thin enough that the impulse to loose a pulse of dragonfire at their center had dwindled to a wistful desire. "Now remember, you can't attack people when you look like a human," the Drifloon reminded her. It bobbed as Valda yanked it along. "Or else your cover is blown and you'll lose your opportunity to get the information you need." "Yeah, I get it," Valda growled under her breath, though she continued to stare down anyone who met her gaze with a savage intensity. A few people stopped to look at her curiously, which only kindled her irritation further. She bared her teeth at a couple, and they recoiled with surprise and uncertainty. "Why are they looking at me like that?" she snarled, coming to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk to whip around and glare at the folk looking her way. The Drifloon swung around in Valda's grip with a small sound of surprise at the force. "I'm not--" it began, just as a small child broke free of her parent's grip to scamper up to the clearly agitated woman. Valda stepped back from the child immediately, repulsion clearly evident on her face. "Are you a princess?" the child asked in its tiny, shrill voice, bright eyes wide and round with wonder. "A what?" "A princess," the child repeated, tilting her head. "You know, with the pretty dresses and balls and stuff." Valda stared at her, uncomprehensive. "Well, you're kind of a weird princess," said the girl, frowning. "Your earrings are weird. But I like your hair." In that moment, the parents of the child rushed up and grabbed her by the hand. Valda continued to stare as they apologized and pulled the girl away. "Aw, she liked you," Flooey said, bouncing. "Or, your hair at least." Valda scoffed and continued on. She touched the large earpieces in her ears as she walked, suddenly aware that no other human had such things in their ears. At least they were useful; she toggled the button on the underside of the blue pieces, behind the black ear cusp, and the world was abruptly muted. Another push and sound flooded her ears like a bubble had been popped. After a few moments of walking (and a little bit of stumbling, for the pavement wasn't entirely smooth or even, and it caught her heels more than once), Valda stopped by a large fountain with the stone figure of a Poliwrath and leaned against the lip of the pool. With a grunt, she kicked off her heels and swung her feet into the water. At the few murmurs of interest from nearby humans, Valda glared over at them and snapped, "What?" Share this post Link to post
Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) With half the city closed off, Lambert had a lot of time to kill. Once he got his group members to promise to not get into too much trouble, including but not limited to getting hurt or arrested, he could spend his time however he wanted now that he was alone once again. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. During the time the Gym had been blocked off, there had been quite a few trainers gathering around one of the plazas for some friendly competition. Lambert's Honchkrow perched on his shoulder told others he was looking for a challenge, but it wouldn't be official he exchanged words with someone. He needed to think of a good pre-battle one-liner to deliver. Now that he had a pokemon, he convinced himself that this was a good way to earn pocket change, provided that he won. It was good experience for Qrow too, now that he had accidentally bought an evolution stone against his will, and it was risky to keep relying on shifters to fight all his battles. Wouldn't want anyone turning human while they faced the Elite Four, if they ever got that far (though it was terribly unlikely, especially since he didn't have any ID). He looked around. Quite a few people were packing flying and psychic types in hopes of using the type advantage against the Fighting Gym. It was likely, however, that many of the fighting types would pack a few dark and rock moves to shut them down. As to fighting moves themselves... Rhapsody would have to sit this one out, perhaps with a sock in each of his three mouths to stop the complaining. "That one's been looking at you for a while..." whispered Qrow. "Sometimes you can't tell if they want to battle you or if they want to take you out." ~ ((will edit in a battle or three later)) ~ Lambert approached the meeting spot. Waiting at the Poliwrath statue was Rhapsody and his Axew, who was easy to pick out from the crowd with his long hair and scowl. It didn't seem like anyone else had arrived, but it was only a matter of time before their little group reassembled. Everyone seemed pretty excited about those places that were closed because of the filming, especially since it set them back a couple days' worth of travel. At this point Lambert just wanted to finish off the Gym at level 1 and be done with it, although he knew that they would need to do a detour to the contest hall. All in all, they had wasted enough time here. The other groups might have already made it to their destination, considering that Fastfall was supposedly the quickest path. He gave Rhapsody a wave and a nod, not sure if the other gentleman had noticed him, and leaned against the fountain with his arms crossed. With Qrow back in his ball to rest, he had to pay more attention to his surroundings himself instead of relying on his pokemon. Big cities made him antsy because they were unfamiliar and there were so many strangers with unknown motives. Many of these strangers, however, had their attention diverted to a scene beside him -- a quite beautiful woman who looked contest-ready but who had an attitude worse than a Gyarados. He wondered if she got into an explosive fight recently. Soon, people began to lose interest as she fumed silently with her feet in the water. Lambert noticed what appeared to be earphones in her ears -- or, hearing aids? How curious. Edited August 30, 2016 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted August 30, 2016 (edited) Dammerung Meeres stepped outside. He blinked at the light as the sun shone in his eyes, and he covered them with a arm. It felt foreign to raise his arm above his face. He shook off his overcoat, stuffing it in his bag with his mouth. Sure, people stared, but it worked better than hands for him. He picked his way through the throng of humanity almost always there, his lone Poké Ball clipped onto his belt (after much chaos). Said ball contained an Eevee. He'd found her and his bag in an abandoned house. The clue something was inside was all the human writing on the ball. He recognized 3 of the symbols - he'd seen them somewhere before. But where? Meeres also had no idea what even the familiar ones meant. What proved it was when the Poké Ball opened by itself. Then an Eevee had appeared. He had asked her name, but she apparently didn't know it. All she remembered was the inside of her enclosure. Dammerung turned away from these thoughts. Yes, she was his Pokémon and somewhat his protector, but he was also her guardian. He had to be. Then he spotted the humans conversing anout somwthing. Best to just skulk around and figure out what's going on. Besides... He remembered the night he awoke. After he had put Eevee's ball back on the table, he had somehow transformed into an Umbreon. It had been so strange... and yet he felt at home. Now he was restless, his spirit yearning for the Umbreon body. He wasn't sure how to trigger it, though. And he was sure it wasn't ordinary. He inched closer, sidling into a better position to watch. The group seemed to be talking amongst themselves now. Pity he was far enough away he couldn't make out what was being said. Well, so far no suspicious actions. What he caught of their conversation was either ordinary or quite... interesting. Edited September 14, 2016 by Dusky_Flareon Share this post Link to post
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