Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) Chatzy || Wiki || OOC NOTE: We are currently not open, but accepting Pokemon reserves for our next acceptance period. See here for details. The Millennium Comet is a subject of much discussion among astronomers and conspiracy theorists. Simply put, it’s a comet referenced in dozens of ancient texts from countries all over the world, said to be visible from Earth for exactly seven days every thousand years, accurate to the hour. Most believe it was some sort of one-time celestial phenomenon, exaggerated by humanity’s collective imaginations. There’s no way a comet could be so perfectly synchronized with Earth’s orbit, after all. But a very small minority insists (after checking that all the exits are soundproofed and no one is listening) that this is all part of a master plan to take over the universe, created by those strange creatures known to most as Pokemon. Humans know next to nothing about them, but everyone’s heard stories of the miraculous things they can do. Who’s to say something like this is out of their ability? The public writes these theories off as silly and illogical products of paranoia, and for once, the public is right. There’s something exciting going on behind the scenes, of course - there always is - but it’s other human beings these conspiracy theorists should be watching out for. Besides, it’s not as if closed doors will stop them from hearing everything. Whether they kept up with current events or not, everyone on the planet learned a very important fact three weeks ago: the Millennium Comet was real, and it came back. Scientific and hobbyist communities alike were in an uproar as long-established theories were proven correct and incorrect in the span of a single week. People started taking the week off of school and work (it was a perfectly fine excuse to celebrate, after all), until even the governments gave up trying to reestablish productivity and declared it a worldwide holiday. Then time went on, as it always does, and people went with it. They felt blessed to have been given such a rare opportunity, but they went back to their jobs all the same and, after spending a few hours remembering what they were doing before this whole comet fiasco, moved on in the exact same way they would have had the comet never come at all. You might have cared about this. You might have not. It’s not my place as the narrator to assume either way. But the fact is, less than two weeks after it ended, your life suddenly took a turn for the cliché when a Pokemon hopped in through your window and asked you to become a magical warrior to help it save a legendary Pokemon named Jirachi from the clutches of evil. Wish Upon A Star A Magical Girl Adventure In this alternate universe, all humans know about Pokemon is that they are a type of mysterious creature capable of performing as-of-yet unexplained acts. They hold a deep distrust of humans and even the weakest ones can break out of practically any human-made restraint, so studying them is near-impossible. Technologies like healing machines and potions have not been invented and may never be. Animals exist and fill roles Pokemon normally would, and most humans go through their lives giving only occasional thought to these beings with which they share a world. But it wouldn’t be very interesting if we focused on these people, would it? Certain Pokemon have discovered that, for some unknown reason, humans are a better conductor of the Pokemon’s natural magic than themselves. This exact level varies from person to person but is invariably higher than that of Pokemon, and the ones with the highest magical potential can hear the Pokemon’s unique form of telepathic communication. If a Pokemon is desperate enough, it may overlook its natural distaste for humans and approach one of these individuals to propose a deal: the two form a Contract, and the human fulfills the Pokemon’s terms in exchange for the ability to transform into a form that can use amplified versions of the Pokemon’s abilities. A physical embodiment of the Contract is created in the form of a capsule ball that can store the Pokemon: a Pokeball. When transformation occurs, the Pokemon is sealed inside and “lends” its powers and physical form to the human. The Contract will be annulled if this Pokeball is broken, so Contracts are only sustained if both parties are happy about their deal. This is a workable system, but the unfortunate truth is that the majority of Contracts are selfish in nature. Doing what the Pokemon asks of them once in a while is, in many people’s eyes, not much of a price to pay in return for fantastical powers they can use to commit all sorts of crime. You, specifically, were recruited for a different purpose. As your new magical companion explained to you, Jirachi is a small yellow Pokemon who awakens for a single week every thousand years (coinciding with the return of the Comet). As one of the Legendary Pokemon, he possesses a unique power to grant any wish presented to him while he is awake. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, it didn’t come with a matching sense of responsibility. He has made a game out of his power: if someone manages to catch him while following all the arbitrary and illogical rules he has set up, he will grant any wish they present him, whether it be for a single piece of candy or the end of the world. Diancie (or rather, Princess Diancie, Ruler of the Diamond Domain, Queen of the Carbink, etc etc etc), another Legendary Pokemon, took it upon herself and a small entourage of followers to entertain him when he wakes up and prevent him from contacting any humans. This worked well for many millennia until, two weeks ago, a rogue magical girl barged in, knocked out her entire team, and stole Jirachi. This magical girl, known only as Luxray, was actually a notorious figure in the magical underworld. She’d shown ridiculous affinity with Pokemon magic and outplays nearly everyone she’s ever come into contact with through sheer power, and had been bribing and gathering followers for years. No one knew who she was, where she was, or even what her goals were, as she’d never been caught putting her plans into action - until now. Fortunately, not all is lost. In her raid, Luxray had broken several rules of Jirachi's game, so he wouldn’t have granted her wishes. As he hadn’t managed to escape and return to his cave for another thousand years of hibernation, he has likely begun his sleep early, encasing himself in an impenetrable shell of crystal mirroring that of his Comet. But with Luxray’s significant influence and resources, she may be able to find a way to bypass that with time. So, this is your Contract: help Diancie gather information and, if it comes to it, defeat Luxray’s forces to rescue Jirachi. In return, you gain your Pokemon companion’s powers, for you to use for whatever purposes you so wish. Maybe you’ve always wanted magical powers. Maybe you genuinely want to help Diancie defeat evil and save the world. No matter the reason, two things are certain: you start work tomorrow, and your life is about to get a lot more interesting. ------------ Setting You are a high school student in the small town of Hillside Heights (population ~30,000), notable only for its incredibly inaccurate name - the elevation varies by maybe three metres at most and the nearest hill-like structure is a half-hour’s drive away. It's neighboured by several cities that are significantly larger and more important than itself. The school(and yes, it is called Hillside Heights High)'s town pride campaign assures you that there were hills here back when the town was named, but that's almost as hard to imagine as anything interesting ever happening here. The existence of HH is, frankly, a bit of an embarrassment to most of its residents; there's a small but constant trickle of tourists passing through on their way to somewhere more important, wanting a cheap deal on a hotel, and the town tries everything to get these people to stay. Considering their limited funds, it's almost painful to watch. The entire city was planned with a sleek, minimalist theme in mind, full of right angles and identical rows of everything from flower boxes to apartment buildings, but it falls just short of interesting and goes into bland territory instead. Still, it's a nice enough town. The weather is mild, if a little chilly during the winters, and though it's undeniably boring, some people find enjoyment in that kind of tranquil peace. Important locations include (feel free to describe more): Hillside Heights High - the one and only high school in the area, “Triple H” as most people call it is a drab two-story building with identical classrooms only distinguishable from each other by the number on the door and the teachers’ liberal application of motivational posters to the walls. Window seats are highly prized and occasionally used as a currency between students. The empty lots - a series of building lots near the centre of town surrounded by fencing and KEEP OUT signs, supposedly reserved for an outlet mall that will attract many more visitors to the town once it’s built. The problem is, it’s been “coming soon” for as long as anyone can remember. It’s a popular hangout spot for less rule-abiding teenagers, to the silent disapproval of most responsible adults. Library - although the town library is well stocked, it’s more of a prowling ground for Mrs. Fitzgerald, the resident grumpy librarian, than a storage for books. There’s a cafe on the first floor for people who want to bury their faces in books or do research for school projects without being glared at for making the tiniest sound. Hillside Park - one of the town’s many attempts to present itself as a quirky tourist town, the park is a patch of greenery gently squished into an acre of land. There is an elaborate fountain set in a stone-paved square at the centre. Pleasant Cliff Hotel - perhaps the only place in town with a less accurate name than the town itself, the hotel is yet another tall rectangular building in HH's entirely uninteresting skyline. It actually sees quite a bit of business due to being much cheaper than its competitors in nearby cities. ------------ Rules 1. Follow the Dragon Cave rules. 2. Posts should be at least one good paragraph. Writer's block is understandable but please at least make an attempt to power through it. 3. Don't be a jerk. Roleplaying is about having fun and godmodding, bunnying, etc. will make it less fun for everyone else. 4. As GM, I get to decide when someone is breaking these rules. However I'm not a perfect unbiased celestial being, so feel free to contest my judgements and discuss things with me! Honestly you can come to me for pretty much anything: character crit, advice, designs, more information on the setting, fun facts about octopuses, whatever. I'll try my best to be polite. ------------ Character submission Some things to consider when making your character: I let better-written character sheets get away with more stuff because by writing a good sheet you've shown me that you can handle writing a special character without turning it into a bid for attention. Please don't be discouraged if I don't approve your sheet right away, though!! I will do that to the majority of people and will dispense advice on how to improve your character if you ask! As a corollary to the last point, my standards are very high. I will nitpick your character concept, I will nitpick your character sheet, and I will probably nitpick your character's actions even after they're accepted. If you're bad at dealing with unending blunt criticism, then for the sake of your feelings if not mine, please don't join this roleplay. No one in this universe knows anything about Pokemon or their types. Your character can use common sense, but if they somehow correctly predict that bug is not very effective against fairy or guess Malamar's typing I'm going to be very suspicious. The aesthetic of this roleplay is "magical girl" and you guys are meant to be playing the main characters. There's no in-universe restriction as to who can contract so exceptions may be accepted if they are well written, but female/feminine-presenting people of school age and on Diancie's side will have a significantly better chance of getting in. Some more specific information on the Contract process: There are some rules governing the magical process of Contracting, but like regular paper contracts, they're all about agreement. The human and Pokemon could act completely separately and only meet at a certain time, or the human could keep the Pokemon in its contract Pokeball at all times, or anything in between. If your characters agree on it, they can do it. Pokeballs work basically like they do in the anime. They can shrink to be stored and the Pokemon inside is vaguely aware of what is going on outside but cannot directly communicate until it is let out or forces itself out. They are immune to all damage except from the two people who made the contract, who can easily break it. A Contracted pair shares only one set of powers, and as such only one of the two can use them at a time. The Pokemon can access its own powers as long as it is out of the Pokeball. The human, however, has to transform to access them. A human can only transform when they hold their Contract Pokeball, with their partner inside. The transformation essentially transfers the Pokemon's powers along with some of its physical form to the human: their clothes are replaced by a flashy costume resembling that of their Pokemon and their eyes and hair may change, but they will never become "part Pokemon" or grow any additional body parts. While partially fused, the two parties can communicate with each other telepathically to strategize or just chat. Without further ado, here is the character sheet: [B]Name (Pokemon)[/B] @ [I]Pokeball type[/I] Gender | Age | Affiliation (Team Diancie, Team Luxray, or neutral) [B]Ability:[/B] - move 1 - move 2 - move 3 - move 4 [B]By day:[/B] (Describe your character's appearance during everyday life. Picture references are okay if accompanied by text and specifically drawn to be a picture of your character.) [B]By night:[/B] (Describe your character's magical outfit, including anything that changes during the transformation, like hair colour. Same deal as above for picture references.) [B]Bio:[/B] (Describe who your character is. Be sure to include history and personality.) [B]Magical Companion:[/B] (Describe your character's Pokemon friend, including history and personality.) Edited August 1, 2015 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) Updates Gosh I never update this post I'm sorry 2014/11/03 - there's now a Chatzy for this RP! The password is Diancie. Feel free to come in to discuss character creation and plot. 2014/11/16 - I'm having some personal mental health issues. Hopefully it won't get in the way of this RP because I'd really like to do it with all of you, but there may be delays. Also: We've passed the two-week mark and this is apparently fairly close to approval!! Yaaaaaay 2014/12/24 - The RP officially started. 2015/01/17 - Registration deadline has been reached: WUAS is now closed. Edited March 9, 2015 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) Characters Reserved Pokemon | Taken Pokemon (players): Klefki, Lucario, Glaceon, Whimsicott, Volcarona, Golurk | Blaziken, Beedrill, Kingler, Mightyena, Zebstrika, Nidoqueen, Pidgeotto, Houndoom, Roserade Reserved Pokemon (NPCs): Luxray, Sylveon, Mismagius, Froslass, Togetic, Huntail, Gorebyss, Leavanny, Altaria, Swellow Team Diancie Ayesthine Marian Russell (Kingler) @ Lure Ball Female | 16 | Team Diancie Ability: Shell Armor - Brick Break - Rock Slide - Crabhammer - Surf By day: ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) Marian’s clothes suit her mood. Warm, comfortable things like sweaters and sweatshirts are her favorite, and the bigger and baggier they are the better. She rarely wears anything “flashy”, though once in a while she may be caught in a colorful shirt. Her shaggy honey-brown hair has been bleached blond by the sun, and her skin is pale and dotted with freckles. Dark brown eyes, seemingly locked in an expression of permanent boredom, stare out from under her black lashes. At 5’2”, she is fairly short and petite. By night: ᕦ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕤ Marian’s transformation grants her lightweight shell-like armor in place of the typical magical girl costume, reflecting the terms of her contract. The thick chitinous material grows over her body, forming a dull grey breastplate, rust-colored greaves, clawed gauntlets, and spiked boots. Blue scalemail protects most of her exposed flesh, save a few patches on her arms and legs. A small blue banner hangs from her waist in the front, and a grey cape covers the back. Parallel to Kingler’s six-pronged crown, a spiked collar flares out from behind her neck. Her hair and eyes deepen to a blood-coloured red, and her already light complexion pales further, turning the shocking white of a crab’s flesh. Her weapon (affectionately nicknamed Crabhammer or Crabcannon) serves a dual purpose; she can hit people with it, or open and close the claw to crush the various appendages of her enemies. It also contains a multi-purpose blaster which is the catalyst of her more “magical” abilities. A Lure ball, the symbol of her contract and the housing for Kingler, is embedded in her breastplate. Bio: Her family has never been too fortunate in their worldly possessions, but the combined efforts of both her parents have allowed them to scrape by. She lives on the outskirts of HH, in a dumpy house surrounded by the meagre acreage of their urban garden. Unlike a lot of her friends, her family has no money for vacations or luxury items. Marian feels the sting of poverty acutely, but she never outwardly complains. She is well aware of how much her parents work to support their children, and admires their dedication and their ability to sacrifice their own comfort. Apart from typical familial friction, she gets along well with her parents and siblings. Daddy issues ain’t her deal. In school, Marian is a wonderful student when she can be persuaded to put in the effort. She is intelligent and loves to learn, but things like homework and studying are never very high on her list of priorities. If it isn’t interesting, she feels no need to complete it. She has no love for sports or extracurricular activities, and she often catches herself rolling her eyes at the antics of her fellow students. Despite having very little tolerance for blatant ignorance, Marian makes friends easily. Her laid-back attitude is disarming, and she tries to make a point to be as compassionate and understanding as she can. Unfortunately, her own anxiety about social interactions make normal conversation exceedingly painful. The relationships she forms are rarely deep or lasting. She has never been open about her own feelings, as it’s often too easy for her to default to being a shoulder to cry on. To cope, she masks herself with sarcasm and apathy. She tries to downplay her own issues by passing them off as insignificant, or trying desperately to turn them into a joke. One of the few things she enjoys and isn’t openly apathetic about is reading. She devours books, using them as her escape. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the stories she reads seem to hold so much more substance than the real world. Marian longs, knowing quite painfully why she does, to live in fantasy world. Her jaded view of the world makes her (reluctantly) see goodness as an abstract concept and kindness as a luxury. Experience has shown her that real people are a little bit mean, a little bit vulgar, and a little bit stupid. Unfortunately, real people are also hard to block out. Despite knowing emphatically that it doesn’t or shouldn’t matter, she obsesses about being judged or hated for virtually any aspect of her character. She constantly berates herself for being lazy or stupid or slow, taking the place of typical schoolyard bullies in the role of destroying her self-confidence. In the midst of her cocktail of insecurities she knows she’s far too critical, but knowing that only exacerbates her feelings of inadequacy. Being able to truly disregard what others think of her has always been one of her greatest wishes. -- Marian’s meeting with Kingler and their eventual formation of a contract was a slow process. As wise and gentle as he is, he had a hard time finding a compatible human to create a contract with. Nearly all the humans of suitable power were reluctant to rely on a big ol’ crab. Eventually, he found Marian. After a long conversation they formed both a contract and a close friendship. Kingler understood the gist of her self-doubt, and added as extra incentive to create a contract, he agreed to help her work through it. The terms of their contract are as follows: Marian will assist Diancie in her effort to recapture Jirachi, and in return will gain access to Kingler’s power, the use of his wisdom, and the protective shell his armor and companionship will give her. Magical Companion: (Kingler) Contrary to his crab-like appearance, Kingler is the opposite of crabby. He is almost obnoxiously cheerful, and despite his advanced age he is resilient and buoyant. He tries to project an aura of gravity and sternness, but his bubbly humor shows through the cracks. His age and experience have granted him with wisdom and balance, although he is ignorant and prejudiced when it comes to humans. He doesn’t understand how they are so weak individually, yet so powerful overall. His deep-seated concern for the feelings of his neighbors gives him some respect and compassion for non-Pokemon, but he easily offends and frightens them. It is exactly his frightful and grotesque exterior that held him back from finding a partner for so long. He was worried that he would leave a bad first impression with his potential partner that end in the failure or early termination of their contract. Diancie’s urgent request to pair with humans gave him the reason to seek someone out. Marian’s depressed and demure attitude made her seem, to Kingler, more receptive to the deal that he offered than anyone else he had met. In addition to his power’s compatibility with hers, he found that he had a genuine desire to make her life better. When they first met, this concern for her well-being gave Marian a sense of comfort and trust. She eagerly accepted his offer, but as a part of their contract Marian asked him to shield her from her anxieties and help her through her problems. Kingler, happy with his success, agreed despite his reservations about humans and their fragility. He wonders if something will send Marian so far over the edge that he will be unable to help her, and her dissatisfaction would cause their contract to be dissolved. He takes his duties as her guardian a little more seriously than Marian intended, often giving her well-intentioned but unnecessary advice. In general, their partnership-turned-friendship is lighthearted and amiable. Marian is in awe of his strength, knowledge and iron-clad exterior, but knows that he is really very soft and kind despite his blustering. In turn, Kingler is protective and fatherly towards Marian, but does his best to accept her “human” failings. Doctortear Morgan Bronius Lyel (Beedrill) @ Ultra Ball Female | 16 | Team Diancie Ability: Swarm - Acrobatics - Agility - Poison Jab - X-Scissor By day: Fastidious, clean, stern clothing that is not too tight nor baggy and ranges among fifty to a few hundred dollars are what Morgan will wear. Comfort is not something that Morgan deals with. She must look proper, but not prim. What she wears is honest to her personality. Collared shirts, dress pants, dress shoes, and even ties are Morgan’s preferred attire of choice. As modest as Morgan fancies to dress, she may not blend into the crowd as much as she thinks she would. Being dressed as though she is going into a business meeting doesn’t exactly make her fit in. Morgan takes the benefits of her father’s smooth olive skin and her mother’s long, luxurious blonde hair whose wavy strands meet an end at Morgan’s mid-back. Morgan benefits from a lineage full of tall persons as she stands at around 6'4", a shockingly tall height for her age. Steely caramel eyes fit Morgan’s inverted triangle shaped face. Her high arched cheekbones leave the impression of an aristocrat, but her lack of makeup begs to differ. Though her lips are thin, Morgan’s voice is powerful and commanding, as though it demands all who are in earshot to listen and obey it. Oddly enough, Morgan’s built quite robust and muscular, belying her genteel upbringing. By night: Morgan’s transformation manifests both her and her partner’s personality in medium-weight aluminum knightly armor as opposed to a frilly dress adorned in ribbons. The rigid armor is tinted stil de grain yellow with hints of amber gradients in her plackart; the only parts that are not yellow are the vivid ivory cape that starts at the bottom of Morgan’s back and ends at her knees and the coal colored chainmail underneath the outer layer. Such sharp edged armor provides great protection as a bust cuirass, pointed boots extending from platted leggings, intricate gauntlets with sharp, pointed edges that protrude from above the hands, a single curved pauldron on her left shoulder, and a spiked bowl helmet that has an opening for her long hair. Complex designs as black, fine-edged, opalescent swirls dance about across the armor’s surface. The visor of the helmet is red and see through; from a distance, one may not be able to see Morgan’s eyes but up close they may be able to recognize the glint of brown within the helm. Morgan has only one shoulder pad which is large and profound on her left shoulder whilst her right shoulder is protected by her somberly colored chainmail. The sharp ends on Morgan’s gauntlets can act as a weapon in themselves. They start out round and thick, extruding above Morgan’s wrist. They shoot forward and whittle down to needle-like points twenty centimeters or so away from the tip of her fingers. Though not barbed, the dagger-like protrusions are exceedingly sharp, so much so that rubbing one’s finger against the edge of them is enough to draw blood. A bee-shaped brooch aligned in a metal the same color of onyx with trickles of orange waving through the bee's abdomen adorns the right side of Morgan’s body. The Ultra Ball is placed within the center of said brooch. Bio: Born to a wealthy family, Morgan was given privileges and ordeals that most other children could only dream of experiencing. Her family made sure that she was taken cared of and not exposed to the true horrors of the world, such wishes Morgan silently resents. Despite being raised with her mouth full of silver spoons, Morgan did not become a spoiled brat. On the contrary, her parents were abnormally strict to the point of proclaiming they would not financially support their daughter when she was old enough to be on her own. As such, Morgan became a well-mannered girl who did not speak out of turn, respected adults and figures of authority, obeyed the law heartily, and held a code of honor close to her heart. Since Morgan’s parents did not care for city-folk, among other things, they moved to Hillside Heights to avoid competitors and the media in addition to offering Morgan a "normal" life. Out of both of her parents, Morgan was closest to her father, who would often take her out on camping trips while they were in Hillside, and would never forget to bring his beloved daughter spear-fishing while they were on vacation. Morgan’s father’s love for her did not translate only in vacations. He became immensely overprotected of his own daughter and feared for her safety at every turn. As such, he made sure that she knew how to defend herself. Luckily for him, she was built for athletic activities and proved to be someone most people did not want to combat physically. Despite being muscular and, all in all, threatening in look at, Morgan is kind at heart. Her mindset revolves completely around protecting everyone around her, including those she barely knows. She may seem completely serious and as fun as drying paint, but she is capable of being humorous. Morgan owns around twenty cat—most being kittens—who have all been granted names that are a cross between medieval figures and cat puns. She adores every single one of them. Just how bad said puns are and just how many cats she has can prove to be extraordinarily embarrassing, not that Morgan cares what others think of her cat obsession. Morgan’s warmness should not be miscalculated as she rarely shows that part of herself and flaunts her more strict side. Morgan is very much like a vicarious vigilante who wishes only to do the right thing. She follows the law but is by no means afraid to bend the rules to get something done. She is not someone to judge someone based on their appearance and is more liable to judge based on actions. She tends to think poorly of people who have done wrong and has a hard time forgiving others for their misdoings. To parallel this, Morgan has a hard time forgiving herself for misdoings. She will actively seek out punishment for her actions and will not rest until she feels as though she has paid the price for her sins. Morgan finds difficulty in understanding how people feel. She is blunt, cannot take a hint, and finds that subtlety is lost upon her. Insults bounce right off Morgan like glue to rubber; her nerves are made of iron and she has a hard time understand that other people’s aren’t. Unless someone explains to Morgan why she cannot say or do a certain thing, she will fail to understand why her actions may lead to someone getting their feelings hurt. Magical Companion: "Hot-headed" is a light term to describe Beedrill. He is the stereotypical worker bee with a fiery attitude and an intense desire to protect Princess Diancie at all costs. Those that have the misfortune of knowing him can barely comprehend what he says thanks to his fast-paced speech, heavy accent, and alien dialect that no one seems to use. He is completely ignorant of others' emotions and only concentrates on finishing the task at hand. Though highly callous to others, Beedrill himself remains immensely sensitive himself. He is known to go up like a flame in a blinding rage if provoked and he can rant for hours before finally settling down. He highly respects those who follow authority, but know when to bend the rules for the greater good. It took longer for Beedrill than most to find a suitable partner who agreed with his own personal doctrines thanks to his contentious nature. After seeing how tolerate Morgan was and realizing that her views on the world were similar to his, Beedrill decided to make a contract with her. Their relationship consisted mostly of Beedrill yelling orders at Morgan while she quietly obeyed. Beedrill found comfort in Morgan’s bluntness than equaled his own and Morgan gained access to abilities that could farther her own wishes of protecting those around her. TehUltimateMage Monique "Yanique" Evans (Mightyena) @ Repeat Ball Female | 15 | Team Diancie Ability: Quick Feet - Howl - Crunch - Thunder Fang - Odor Sleuth By day: Standing at 5'4 (162cm), Yanique is on the shorter side of the spectrum. Heavy eyeliner highlights the green of her eyes though otherwise her makeup is light, just enough to cover blemishes on her peachy skin. Her shoulder length hair is dyed from a golden blonde to a midnight black, cut in layers and styled in a way that needs minimal maintenance. Her nails are painted a matte black, yet trimmed relatively short. Yanique dresses to suit her own tastes, not others'. Most of her wardrobe is a combination of black, leather, or lace to create an effect that will turn heads even if they aren't the most comfortable to wear. Her clothing benefits from accents such as buttons, bows, or buckles she herself sews on for some custom flare, and she has steadily been learning more advanced sewing techniques. Her dresses are mostly simple and snugly fit her athletic body, though the complexity of her outfits come with the elaborate pairing of accessories: from vests to scarves to silver necklaces and multiple belts. Ripped or patterned leggings complete the set with one of the many pairs of black boots she owns. When she's on the soccer team, it's a different story. If she's in shorts and a jersey, she has every right to get down and dirty, and her rough and tough personality really shines through. However, she will refuse to change back into her regular clothes until she is able to clean herself up. In a sense it is just an extracurricular she does to burn energy and keep herself fit, distinctly separate from the rest of her life, but she she loves the sport nonetheless. By night: …Not much changes. Yanique gains some killer tattooed markings under her eyes and her irises turn red. Her hair, grown slightly longer, is gathered into a low ponytail and her bangs turn a shade of light grey. Her pokeball is a pendant hanging from a black choker necklace. Her sleeves dissolve away to form a leather vest with a fur trim that merges with the luxurious black fur of her two-tailed cape. It is intoxicatingly soft to the touch. Whatever else she is wearing transforms into a short grey dress tied with a black sash, with biking shorts poking out from underneath; the white frills of the hem and sleeves of the dress give it some volume. Her fingerless gloves and leather boots grow longer, reaching her elbows and knees respectively. Bio: Yanique, as the younger sister, never really listened to her parents. They don't really approve of her expressing herself as she likes doing, but she doesn't want the boring life of a child who does all she is supposed to, like her sister, Millie. She dislikes when other people stick their noses into her business (unless is it she who is telling them about it) and she especially hates when other people tell her what to do. Even in her family she doesn't really feel like she fits in -- so she went the other extreme and made it her mission to stand out and live for herself. Making it clear to her parents that she needed her space, when she is not out on the town with friends she shuts herself in her room to work on designs with the occasional trip to pick out sewing supplies. Yanique might appear at first glance like an unapproachable and intimidating loner because of the way she dresses, but her wide circle of friends all know her as a great (if not snarky) conversationalist. Give her the chance and she'll get excited and talk your ear off, with pauses where she apologizes for her motor mouth. She gives others the chance to express their opinions even if she might not agree with them and makes and effort to be one of the first to greet new people if they aren't scared away by her. Unfortunately, she has a habit of being tardy to everything and is of a delinquent with a loose view on all sorts of rules. She thinks she would be fine as long as her parents don't know where she is or what she's doing, whether it be house parties or magical girl duties -- and as long as Millie doesn't rat her out. Magical Companion: Mightyena has more bite than bark compared to Yanique. Steadfast and loyal to Diancie's cause, Mightyena does things efficiently and by-the-book or else hesitates to do anything at all. He is a quiet pokemon attuned to his duties; he is not good at picking up on other people's needs and feelings unless they state them directly. While he is loyal to those he serves, it is hard to gain Mightyena's trust (before joining Diancie's guard, he had a Liepard lover who predictably swindled him over and over, but that is a story for another day). He trusts Diancie to pick people and pokemon that he can trust as well, but he openly shows his suspicion towards new members and potential defectors. Not bad of a sleuth with an excellent tracking skill, there is not much information that escapes his notice. He is a 'mon of logic who relies on his senses and thinking, first and foremost. Of course, he gets into arguments with Yanique about obeying The Rules, to which Yanique answers that the things magical girls are doing aren't particularly legal, either. Other pokemon ask him what he sees in his human companion, to which he would enigmatically reply that it's what's in the heart that counts. Narvix Sasha "Shay" Benfield (Zebstrika) @ Great Ball Female | 19 | Team Diance Ability: Lightning Rod - Spark - Discharge - Flame Charge - Agility By day: Shay has long, black, hair that falls to her mid-back. The strands are think and faintly wavy. Her skin is a dark chocolate in color, while her eyes are a lighter shade of brown. Her lips are full and her nose is vaguely delicate with a straight bridge. With a narrower face and sharper features defining her high cheekbones and pointed chin, Sasha has the body of an athlete. Specifically, she has the toned legs of a track runner and a firm abdomen. In height, she reaches a fair 5’7”. Her neck is slender, her shoulders are narrow, and her legs are long. By all means, she would not consider herself well endowed but she certainly does not have a flat chest. To society, she would be attractive but does not meet the “big butt” desire. Shay is perfectly fine with this. Sticking to form-fitting clothing, she favors a tank top with a cropped shirt over it, skinny boot-cut jeans, and sneakers or tennis shoes. Colder weather would call for a decent jacket more intended to keep her warm than in style. If she is not wearing this outfit, she can be seen wearing track shorts with her tank top and running shoes. The only constant is a plain-looking wristband on her right wrist. By night: Her long hair becomes a startling white, spiked at seemingly random places as if electrified. From her hairline, three strands of hair spike up and backward, much resembling the "horns" on Zebstrika. Her irises become yellow while her pupils shine like blue stones. On her upper arms, a single band of white mark her dark skin like lightning bolts, similar markings decorating her exposed sides; two on each. Her chest is covered by a cropped, black, tank top that is highlighted with white. On her hips rest baggy pants connected at the waistband with what could be called the bottom half of a coat or cape. More white lightning bolts and markings follow the edges and cross along the fabric. Her boots have short heels, matching the rest of her outfit and pointed, the bottoms of her pant legs tucked into the flared tops. Slim bracers cover her forearms, sporting white rings on the black material. Where they should hug her elbows, the bracers point out instead. Black gloves seal nicely against the edges at her wrists. Finally, a silvery white chain hangs from her hip, ending in a piece of metal designed to mimic the "lightning burst" at the end of Zebstrika's tail. It is there where the Great Ball is embedded. Bio: Sasha wants to be the fastest, to be the best on the track team. She is ambitious and dedicated, often seen training or researching past champions during her free time. The phrases “I can’t do it” and “I give up” are not part of Shay’s vocabulary. People call her stubborn because, when she has a goal in mind, she won’t stand to be deterred. Sasha does have a cool head upon her shoulders and thinks a situation through much more than people might realize. Some just see her as running at any challenge, head-on. She does, but not before she’s done her homework and learned what she can. Growing up, she has always enjoyed sports but, track was her most favored. Being on a team was never an issue as she worked well enough with others but, it didn’t stop her ambitions. Sasha can be loud but she is often able to curb and control the volume of her excitement. Mostly, people have seen her as a relatively quiet child with a startling amount of passion when a favorite topic comes up. Not having biological siblings, Sasha connected most with her cousins and over sports. There were enough to make up a full team for many games and, if there were gaps, neighbor friends often picked up the slack. Sasha has never been a straight A student but she wasn’t unruly enough to be flunking all of her classes. Passing notes in class and gossiping had their temporary limelight in Sasha’s life. Did she ever dream of more? Of course. She still dreams of more, including the Olympics and earning that gold medal. When she met Naomi, her views of the girl were exasperated at first but, the girl ended up growing on her. Shay became fond of Naomi like she were a sister shaped into a best friend. When she wasn’t training for the track team, she was usually getting dragged around by Naomi to go see some new clothing sale or to hear about the latest fashion show results. If it wasn’t fashion for Naomi or track for Sasha, then the two usually ended up finding their way into trouble. Of course, it was mostly due to Naomi’s wild ideas but, on the rare occasion, Sasha would want to do something different. Prank calls, pretending to be creeps who followed someone around, and other typically harmless stunts were most of Shay’s sparse ideas. As the pair got older, Naomi started being more physical in terms of her stunts. Usually, it was leading guys or girls on, playing them for free meals or drinks, and then leaving them short. Sasha wasn’t exactly happy with the ideas but she never denied Naomi the opportunity to have a good time. So long as there wasn’t any threat of being arrested, Shay was comfortable with being Naomi’s “partner in crime.” Magical Companion: Patience is not one of Zebstrika’s strong suits. He likes to get things done and get them done quickly. He’s often hot-headed and prideful, taking on most - if not all - challenges set before him. He knows he’s not perfect, that perfection doesn’t exist, so he shoots for a job at least done in the shortest amount of time possible. If he can do it well, then all the better. He trusts easily, assuming the best of most others, but still shows a faint amount of caution around those he doesn’t know. He’d been shown the harshness of reality the hard way when he was a tiny Blitzle. Some he thought to have been friends ended up being bullies in the long run. Zebstrika crossed paths with Sasha one evening while she was training on the outskirts of town, running laps around a few blocks centered at her home. They connected over their love for running and wanting to be the fastest. Of course, Zebstrika challenged her to a race behind her home and, of course, he won. However, he saw the potential and made her a deal. If she could help him help Diancie, he could make her the fastest human yet. Taylor Astrov (Pidgeotto) @ Poké Ball Female | 16 | Team Diancie Ability: Keen Eye - Gust - Feather Dance - Wing Attack - Hurricane By day: Taylor has shoulder-length brown hair that falls in gentle waves. Shorter strands frame her face, the tips ending at about chin level. Her eyes are maple in color with a darker rim edging the irises. Her face is a bit rounded, barely able to reveal her cheekbones. Her lips are on the thin side with a hint of pink to break the tanned coloring of her skin. At 16, she is only 5’1”; shorter than the average person. With small, nimble, hands, Taylor has a delicate appearance which is only enhanced by the oversized sweater she wears regularly. It is gray in color with sleeves that reach to her fingertips and a bottom hem that stretches to about her mid-thighs and pockets that are sown into the front. Beneath her sweater, she often wears a tank top or v-neck shirt. On her hips rest tattered shorts that barely meet her fingers. However, she wears black tights beneath her shorts, covering any bit of her legs that might have been exposed. On her feet, she wears ankle-high sneakers of a gray and white patterning. By night: Her brown hair becomes varied in length. Most of it is chin length with exception to a small section in the back that stretches down to about mid-thigh. From the center of her hairline sprouts a curving, red, crest of feathers. Her clothes are replaced by a brown, sleeveless, dress. The collar hugs the lower portion of her neck and resembles dark brown feathering which goes down a little past her collarbone. The zig-zagged hem of the dress reaches for her mid-thigh with alternating red and tan cloth continuing further past her knees. These strips are designed much like the tail of a Pidgeotto and leaving the front of her legs partially exposed, left to cover the remaining angle. For footwear, she has dark purple boots that reach high enough to almost meet with the hem of her dress. From her elbows down, she wears detached sleeves that reach well beyond her fingers. The top portion of these sleeves are brown while the bottom are tan, the two colors separated by a zig-zagged line. At each end dangle two threads, each possessing a trio of brown, tan, and red beads. One of these beads is the Poké Ball. Bio: Taylor is very shy and nervous around people. She wants to please others, to make them happy and to not be judged harshly. However, she can be a klutz, often resulting in stumbles, falls, broken items, spilled liquids, and whatever else. Taylor doesn't mean to be clumsy. Though, she is more likely to mess up when she’s trying too hard to get someone's approval. She's afraid of rejection and doesn't like being alone which will drive her to seek company and acceptance from even those who aren't good for her. Her history isn't a bad one but it isn't perfect either. Her dad left when she was tiny, leaving her mother to care for her alone. Thankfully, grandparents and an uncle were willing to help where needed, babysitting when her mom had to work or bringing over a cooked meal to enjoy. She became close to her family growing up, always excited to go out and do something with anyone. Even if it was just a stay-home-and-play-games type of day, she was happy with the interaction. Taylor's grandparents passed away some few years later and her mother went into a depression. Her uncle came around more often, trying to brighten the situation and, alongside medication and therapy, her mom started smiling again. Taylor's real desire to make people happy sprouted at this point, making her cherish each smile the woman did make that much more. However, it drove Taylor to strive greatly for approval. Approval brought smiles and smiles from anyone was always a good thing. Wasn’t it? Her mother’s depression also amplified her shy and nervous nature. Despite the number of times her family would speak of their pride about her, Taylor couldn't grasp the fact in her mind and strove to make sure she would become something her mother could take pride in. She grew quieter and more fidgety, worried about saying or doing the wrong thing around anyone. People began to ignore Taylor for her silence with only her uncle and a few others trying to strike up a conversation when they saw her. A fear of judgment wormed its way into the back of her head, leaving her uncomfortable in crowds. She began to desperately want to be brave, starting to think of stupid stunts like sneaking into places she wasn't allowed in or getting into fights with other students. Taylor’s classmates would come up with ideas of ditching school, roaming the graveyard at night, or pulling a prank on the principal. However, she could never work up the right amount of courage to follow along with any sort of plans her classmates made. She couldn’t do anything like that out of fear her mother would hate her. So, she snatched up a different means to be brave when it was presented to her one day in the form of a Pidgeotto. When she is transformed, she seems to make a complete 180* in terms of her behavior and thinking. She becomes braver and believes herself capable of anything. Though fighting wasn’t part of her initial knowledge when contracted, she is ready to take on any challenger with the mindset that she can be the victor if she fights hard enough. Her clumsiness vanishes and she becomes immune to negative critique. Additionally, Taylor doesn’t focus so much on pleasing others or seeking for their approval, content to be who she is without the requirement of changing for someone else. She’s loud, happy, and confident in her talents; a different Taylor all together. There is a childish thinking, a black and white view, that allows for this change in behavior. Like many kids, she grew up watching a handful of cartoon shows featuring superheroes, likable stars, and all-around confident characters with special talents. Everyone liked the superhero, the good guy with fantastic powers. If she developed powers, then she must be the superhero because children were never the villain. She had the abilities, the stylish costume, and even a sidekick! And, what’s more? Said sidekick would give her advice. Magical Companion: Pidgeotto could be described as grandfatherly. He is often giving advice to those who want or need it, even if they do not explicitly ask for it. Sometimes, this can annoy whoever he is speaking with. However, he always means well. Having been around for some years, Pidgeotto finds a soft spot for young Pokémon and even human children, usually laughing off any wrongdoings done against him with the mindset that they are simple mistakes which can be made by anyone. By nature, he prefers fighting to be of the very last resort. Do not be mistaken though, he is not a pushover when a strict line has been crossed. He has faced many Pokémon larger than him and is able to tell the tales if he desires. Does he win every battle? No but, he does possess plenty of experience from each one. Willing to lend a helping hand, Pidgeotto will not falter in supporting his companions, even if the situation seems hopeless. However, much of his wizened air is just a fluffed ego, brought about by the fact that no one has truly made him see his own faults. In Pidgeotto’s mind, he has gained more than enough experience to train up the next fledgling into some proper character. Since he was a tiny Pidgy, he wanted to be a driving force for some kind of action, to be a deciding factor that would turn the tides. People did always say, if you wanted something, you needed to believe hard enough in having it. So, he believed himself to be one of the wisest around and, if anything bad happened, it was someone else’s fault. He met Taylor on a weekend, some hour after noon, when he was lingering by her home out of sight. Pidgeotto had been muttering to himself, thinking how best to approach the girl Diancie had informed him about, when the two crossed paths. Or, really, she had run into him, causing the pair to tumble. In surprise, he voiced his shock and questioned if she were okay. Of course, she screamed in fright but, after some reassurance, he managed to calm the girl. Somehow, the topic about the girl’s nervousness came up and Pidgeotto felt the need to lend her advice. After that, the decision to make a contract came to light. He would give her the bravery she sought if she helped him in the effort to aid Diancie because a brave hero always served their ruler. PureDark006 Samuel "Sam" Blaisdell (Roserade) @ Friend Ball Male | 16 | Team Diancie Ability: Poison Point -Petal Blizzard -Aromatherapy -Synthesis -Toxic By day: Sam has wavy brown hair that reaches his mouth on the front and shoulder blades on the back when left to its own devices, which is almost never since its owner is styling it all the time - what started as just a way to manage the 'chicken roosted on my hair' variant of bedhead ended as enough knowledge, practice and tools to never have to go to an actual hairdresser again. At 5'5'' he can be considered short, and even though he lacks defined muscles he has a flexible body courtesy of the gymnastics club he was a part of in middle school, even though his stamina has decreased due to lack of practice ever since he entered Hillside Heights High. Big chestnut eyes and a slim build add to his feminine appearance, to the point where others usually don't know if he's a boy or a girl without the help of gender-specific clothes. Far from being bothered by it, Sam sometimes takes advantage of those facts to go out in girl clothes and trick boys into buying stuff for him. Up until now, the only ones able to recognize him no matter what he's wearing have been his brother and Roserade. Sam has a wide range of clothes and accessories that he uses depending on his mood, even those not targeted for his sex, but in general he tends to favor boots and winter clothes with dark colors. He slightly changes his voice’s pitch depending on which gender he wants to be seen as, and though neither is too far off from his normal voice, they’re different enough to prevent most people from realizing they come from the same person without having heard the ‘middle ground’. By night: Have a sketch that's missing the left arm because the sleeve was too difficult to draw again and I can't draw clothes When transformed, Sam’s eyes change to a deep red. His hair becomes white and fluffy, increasing in volume, and will always adopt the same style: on the back, the higher half is tied in a loose ponytail at the height of his neck with a green ribbon, with the lower half loose; on the front, the right bang is framing his face and the rest is held away from his eyes by two hair clips that look like rose petals, one red and one blue, and fall on the left side of his face, a bit higher than the right bang. A dark green masquerade mask covers the area around his eyes, with curvy golden designs around the eye holes. In this form he wears a dark green sleeveless jacket that closes on the middle, with a v neck that ends below the golden chocker on the base of the neck. It ends at the waist on the front and a bit below on the back, the sides continuing on like tails to reach the legs. Under it is a light green strap dress with a short skirt that completely covers the same-color shorts, the straps covered by the jacket but a bit of the collar showing under the v neck. A light green cloth wraps itself around the shoulders, held in place by a fastener in the shape of a white rose that's on the left side. The dark green sleeves are completely separated from the jacket or dress, and start to widen at the elbows, getting wider and gaining light green patterns that look like vines with thorns the closer they are to the hands and the white silk gloves that cover them. Frills spill out from the inside at the ends of the sleeves, red ones on the right and blue ones on the left. A golden sash comes out from the back at the waist, tied in a huge ribbon with the Friend Ball on its center. Golden boots with heels that add two-and-a-half inches to the height also appear, the top cut in the shape of a diamond and shortening the closer they are to the back like the markings on Roserade’s legs, with crisscrossing white laces that reach all the way to the top and are tied in a ribbon. Their highest point reaches above the knees. He also gains the ability to pull roses from seemingly nowhere. Bio: Personality-wise, Sam is outwardly a friendly and cheerful person who likes to see the silver lining in most situations and is easy to get along with, though he has the tendency to flirt with every gender. An average student except in logical oriented subjects like math, where he's good enough that he can even help his older brother Vic with homework after checking his textbooks for an hour or two. And while he does care about his friends and family and would go to great lengths for them (you know he likes you when he starts messing with and making fun of you), he holds little regard for the feelings of those he doesn't like and thinks nothing of using them for his own gain. Calmer than his brother, Sam prefers activities like reading and listening to music, or watching shows with his best friends Isaac and Laura. He comes from a middle-class family with two parents who worked full hours even when he was young, though they earned enough to always be able to leave him and Vic with a babysitter until they were old enough to guarantee they wouldn't set anything on fire or get kidnapped. While he only sees them late at night and on some weekends, Sam loves them and is especially grateful that they didn't make a huge deal out of him being pansexual and also liking girl things. He met Roserade two days after Vic introduced him to Houndoom, when Sam entered his own room and saw it looked like someone had dumped two bins full of rose petals on every surface while he was absent, and a weird talking bouquet-thing perched on the window informed him he had been 'chosen' for a contract with a Pokemon. After confirming that no, it wasn't a joke, and yes, though she didn't know Houndoom directly they were supposedly allies and after the same goal, he accepted to be able to support Vic if he got into trouble. Besides, who wouldn't take the opportunity to kick some behinds while looking pretty, and the chance to meet a mythical creature with the power to grant any wish? Magical Companion: Roserade is the kind of Pokemon that prefers to avoid conflict (and others) whenever possible, relying on her poison to convince foes to not mess with her. She loves being flashy, though she can be selfish at times without even realizing it and hates criticism. Like most Pokemon, she distrusts humans, and wouldn't have gotten involved in the whole Jirachi mess if it weren't for her sense of loyalty towards Diancie, which prevented her from having peace of mind if she didn't try to help. After some thought, she decided to head to Hillside Park and observe potential partners from there. If she found a suitable one, then fine. If not, she had at least tried. Out of all the humans she saw, Sam was the one who caught her attention the most. Someone who looked beautiful and delicate, but with a manipulative streak that resembled her own. And a few days later when she recognized him in actual boy clothes, she decided she wouldn’t be bored if the young one was to be her companion. Roserade likes to stay in the Friend Ball and let Sam handle things, as she considers that less of a hassle than to have to be careful of who sees her. The only exception is when they're in a place without anyone she has to hide from. Victor "Vic" Blaisdell (Houndoom) @ Safari Ball Male | 18 | Team Diancie Ability: Flash Fire -Thunder Fang -Fire Fang -Crunch -Flame Charge By day: Vic has the same shade of brown hair as his brother, though his is on the spiky side and short enough to only require the occasional wash to be maintained. His eyes are a very dark brown that almost looks like black when there’s little light. He’s slightly tanned, and his work and all the fights he keeps getting into have given him nice muscles that complement his 6’2’’ height to make the perfect picture of a healthy teen. He favors practical clothes with short sleeves that don’t get in the way, and is seldom seen without his claw necklace, held around his neck by a black string that goes through a hole in the base. He also has a full motorcycle gear, all of which is black with some white designs, including the helmet. By night: A thin stripe of black cloth ties itself around the forehead with the knot on the back, one of the ends torn right after the knot while the other continues down to the mid-back and ends in an arrow. He wears an orange t shirt with a white border, the neck being round and showing the collarbone and part of the chest. Over it is a black leather jacket with three white ribs sewn on the back, extending until the sides and a little at the front. The jacket doesn’t close, and looks like it had the sleeves torn off at the shoulders by a particularly angry something. It has at least five visible pockets on the front, three of which are decorative, each with silver buttons and/or zippers that close them. The collar is replaced by horns that go around the neck, with the edges at the jacket's openings, and over each shoulder is a thin stripe of metal with two rows of small spikes that go from the horns to the shoulders. The claw in his necklace is replaced with the Safari Ball, and above it, a silver chain appears around his neck with a white skull resembling Houndoom's on the middle. An orange bandana is tied around the left arm at the middle point between the shoulder and elbow, with a black spiked collar on top of it. Black leather gloves with cut tips and twin bone bracelets on each border cover both hands. Black cargo pants that are torn on the ends and knees complement the look, held by three thick black leather belts with silver buckles that cross each other in a disorderly fashion. The belt that hangs the lower on the left side has three thin silver chains there, each hanging lower than the one before it. A white bandage wraps itself right above the right knee, over the pants. He gains leather boots that look like the ones in his motorcycle gear, with metal on the tips and what looks like two bone bracelets on the borders, like the ones on the gloves. Two small decorative belts are below the bracelets on the boots, and at the heel are small metal studs that cover the back part and a bit of the sides. His weapons are the two white brass knuckles embed on the black gloves. Bio: Vic is an honest and direct guy that tends to be easy to read and is secretly a softie. He's easily confused and doesn't have a lot of patience, which clearly reflects in his studies, where he usually passes with the lowest required grade. He considers it kind of a miracle that he hasn't been held back a year yet, actually. He likes cars and motorcycles, and back when he turned 16 he begged his parents for permission to get a part time job at the local auto repair shop, where he's been working at after school and on weekends ever since (except the days he volunteers at the animal shelter, but don't tell anyone that). Two months ago he finally had enough saved for his goal: his own motorcycle and enough classes from one of his friends to get a license. He treats it like the most valuable thing in the entire world and forbids everyone from even touching it without him being in the same room. His best friends are Brian, Drew and Alex, all older than Vic and with their own bikes. People who don't know them well assume they're in a gang, a thought the group finds hilarious and tries to encourage. They usually hang out at the empty lots, and while they're fond of doing stuff typical of teenagers trying to prove how macho they are, they have yet to break the law and have no interest in doing so as long as cool-looking stunts are still legal. The four of them also have the tendency to get into fistfights with each other at the drop of a hat, though they're never badly hurt and always follow their own set of unsaid rules. The day he made the contract with Houndoom, he took the Pokemon home to show him where he lived. Which was fine and dandy until his younger brother Sam decided to enter the house unannounced. Vic panicked and shoved Houndoom into a cupboard below the kitchen sink, and Houndoom proceeded to show how much he appreciated being handled like that by blasting through the cupboard door and starting to growl curses and threatening to burn down everything. Luckily for everyone involved, Sam promised to not tell anyone or overreact if Vic explained in depth later (and to think of an excuse as to why was the cupboard broken now). After the scare, Houndoom unilaterally decided he'd move on his own and use the house as a sort of base since both siblings knew about him, and Vic accepted after making him promise to at least hide from his parents. Magical Companion: Houndoom is the kind of Pokémon that attacks first and never asks questions, and likes to pick fights just for the sake of having something to bite into. In fact, the only reason he’s helping Diancie is because it opens the possibility of a fight with Luxray while giving him enough freedom to not feel like he’s following orders all the time. And even if it’s not him the one who does the actual fighting, borrowed power is still Houndoom’s power, even if it’s being wielded by a random human. He met Vic one evening, when the latter though Houndoom was attacking a stray dog and immediately went to punch him in the snout. After a small fight (that was basically Houndoom amusedly avoiding the human’s attacks) and some clarification, Houndoom explained the situation and laid down the rules of his contract, which Vic accepted. Part of it being that he was staying out of that accursed ball for as much time as possible and that Vic was to follow his commands. Edited April 5, 2015 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) Neutral Narvix Naomi Trent (Nidoqueen) @ Dusk Ball Female | 18 | Neutral Ability: Poison Point - Poison Sting - Double Kick - Earth Power - Superpower By day: Standing at 5’6”, Naomi has light brown, dirty blonde, hair in a bob cut. Bangs cover her forehead and softly brush her eyebrows. Her eyes are caught between a shade of blue and green, enough of a contrast to her pale skin to usually catch someone’s attention first. Her skin appears flawless and is, kept clear using creams and lotion. She will usually cover her lips with gloss or lipstick, add mascara and eyeshadow to create more attraction for attention. Her face is a bit round and she would like a longer neck but, it does have a slender look that is enough for Naomi’s taste. She has worked to keep her body delicate looking, insisting on eating certain foods to keep from gaining too much weight. She enjoys showing off her body, wearing tight clothing to highlight all of her curves. Shirts have dangerously low collars to show as much cleavage as she can get away with. Shorts tend to be as small as having two inches of an in-seam, threatening to expose her rear. Generally, she will wear heels with such attire but, if the occasion requires it, she has been known to wear boots or sneakers. By night: Naomi's hair turns blue with the transformation, her eyes darkening to a black. About half of her clothing becomes cream or tan in color with a cropped, long-sleeved coat that is dark blue in color. The coat has a lifted collar and pointed shoulders. Beneath the coat is a cream colored dress with thin straps and an M shaped collar. The skirt of the dress stops at just above mid-thigh level and is pleated. There’s not much in way of design aside from the patchwork of yellow running down the torso resembling armor. Black, heeled, boots cover her feet and up to the bases of her knees. The Dusk Ball finds a place in the side of her right boot, nestled against her calf. Lastly her hands become covered by plain, black, gloves. Bio: Naomi grew up in an average home with an average type of education. However, relations with her mother have been strained since just before middle school. Instead of always feeling like a disappointment to the woman, Naomi has taken on a sometimes unruly behavior. She enjoys causing a bit of mayhem whenever she feels there’s just too much seriousness taking place, leaving her with an air of carelessness. She knows she has an attractive body and likes to display it. Of course, this gives her the stigma as some kind of bimbo but she doesn’t care. She knows she has a brain and can easily use it. Naomi just isn’t afraid to use her body instead. Naomi was born as Nathan. Nathan’s parents were excited for a baby boy but, when he wanted to wear sparkly dresses and insisted on being called Natty, his parents deemed it time to take away “feminine” influences and only provide him with “masculine” options. This made Nathan upset and, for a few years, he became a rather quiet child until he expressed to his parents that something was different about him. Nathan’s mother seemed to be the only one reserved about the news of her son feeling more like a girl than a boy. His father was accepting though and made a point to address Nathan as Naomi as she requested. Through middle school, Naomi still had the body of a young boy but she dressed and acted in a manner that showed she was as much a girl as she was. This led to some criticism from parents and teachers but children around her were more understanding of her mindset. Of course, there were the few exceptions who followed their parents’ footsteps in making snide or pitying remarks. Naomi refused to let the ridicule dampen her. Instead, combined with her mother’s inability to accept her identity, Naomi has made it a point to bluster up her self-image. If she believed herself to be attractive in what she wore, then everyone around her would see her as attractive too, regardless of their initial thoughts. Come high school, she was able to begin a transitioning process with her father’s consent and signature. Therapy sessions were suggested and regularly attended during the process as Naomi underwent hormone replacement, voice training, and - recently - surgery. The paperwork was a hassle but, despite her mother’s lack of assistance she and her father were able to get it all done. There was, however, one strict condition: Naomi had to be clean of drugs and alcohol until she turned 21. Fair enough terms. She met Sasha in elementary school, bonding on the playground when Naomi was more willing to get her hands dirty. Getting older, the pair still remained as close friends, even going so far as to appear really close and earn “lesbian lovers” as a title. It didn’t matter as their relationship was purely platonic. Sasha had no interest in intimate relations and Naomi preferred a different type of personality. Naomi can often be rash in her actions, preferring to take her approach over anyone else’s, and Sasha’s level headed thinking only serves to delay her. Magical Companion: Many mistake Nidoqueen as being rather… lazy. She’s not, however, and simply prefers to be relaxed. She dislikes tension of any kind and wishes more to just enjoy the moment. Despite her brutish appearance, she’s rather gentle-hearted and slow to anger, making her an idle creature to try and sooth angered individuals. However, she does find herself annoyed by Naomi’s unruly behavior and disregard for planning ahead. She also does not approve of the flaunting. Especially the flaunting. But, the two are contracted and she does suffer with the child well enough. Nidoqueen needed someone who could put her strength to use and Naomi was quite the willing subject when they met in Naomi’s backyard. Still, she doesn’t believe that war should be a child’s concern. Fighting was not a simple game as people could end up seriously hurt. Naomi seemed uncaring, however, and pushed to go through with the contract so, Nidoqueen couldn’t refuse. Generally, Nidoqueen has a hard time growing comfortable with ideas or beings that vastly contrast with her way of thinking, especially if something requires a completely, out-of-your-mind, characteristic. Such as Naomi. The girl does provide quite a challenge for the female Poison-type, making her face new, and often uncomfortable, situations. In a way, Nidoqueen can’t help but appreciate the girl for making her think or act outside of her comfort zone but, she’ll still insist on more careful approaches. Team Luxray TehUltimateMage Nash Kester (Blaziken) @ Regular Pokeball Male | 15 | Team Luxray Ability: Blaze - Blaze Kick - Flare Blitz - Sky Uppercut - Feather Dance By day: Nash thinks he's the coolest guy in the 'hood, with his red down vest and his low-hanging jeans over a too large t-shirt that drapes over his gangly frame. His shirts -- mostly band shirts, half of which he doesn't even listen to -- are usually white or tan and contrast against his dark skin. His black, frizzy hair sits on the top of his head in an almost-afro, fluffy like a scoop of whipped cream. He tries to tame it every morning without much success. By night: Nash's hair turns a shade of dirty blond and grows a couple feet to match the headdress of his contracted pokemon, and Blaziken's red faceplate translates to a mask-like headpiece sitting on his forehead like a crown, the empty eyes glowing a blazing yellow. The pokeball, shrunk down to the size of a ping-pong ball is set like a gem right in the middle of his forehead, above the mask's beak. The rest of his magical attire follows the color scheme of the fire pokemon pretty closely. The shirt under Nash's vest dissolves into nothingness, exposing his abdominal muscles. The cut-off sleeves grow bunches of bright red feathers. The dark skin of his arms is exposed as well, showing off the muscles he gained from the transformation, though his forearms are wrapped in grey bandages matching the color of his fingerless gloves and steel-toed boots. His pants are red with gold-trimmed thigh guards and yellow flame-like shin guards strapped onto his legs. Bio: Nash is a rash guy, though not as street smart as he would like you to think. Born in an upper-middle class family, he considers himself an average student who puts in more effort trying to fit in with the rest of the guys in school instead of devoting himself to his studies. Projecting the image of an aloof class clown, Nash is all about public image and how others react to him -- at least, what his classmates think of him: some upper years just roll their eyes or laugh behind his back because they can see he tries too hard. Nash holds a guilty pleasure in watching 'japanese cartoons'. He would never willingly reveal this to anyone; if someone confronts him about their suspicions, he looks away and changes the subject because he doesn't want to appear as a totally uncool weaboo. It would be disastrous reveal on the level of a mid-season plot twist. This is where his 'alter ego' Blaziken Man comes in. Like a superhero identity, no one can tell who he is when he is transformed (that's what he assumes, at least. He totally denies any relationship between Nash Kester and Blaziken Man. He will sweep the accusation under the carpet at the first opportunity). Nash becomes louder, even more hot blooded, and cheesier than a plain pizza without dough. Through his contract, he lives out his fantasies of being the one and only main protagonist of this saturday morning shonen anime which involve the usual apprehending of robbers and creation of arch-rivalries and Eternal Friendships™ with other magical girls. He is elaborately cinematic with his appearances, going sometimes as far as to rig his own theme music -- courtesy of his outdated boombox he carries over his shoulder -- and explosive fire effects (which are, unfortunately, largely under-appreciated by the magi he encounters). His meeting with Blaziken was quite the cliché: getting lost on a camping trip, he came upon a chance meeting with a magnificent beast right out of a fantasy show. Apparently it was impressed with the collection of quotes Nash had memorized from his various shows, and they struck a deal. Magical Companion: Blaziken, like the stereotypical fire type, is impatient and quick-tempered. His father was a useless Farfetch'd and Blaziken still hasn't lived down his reputation of being a lazy, useless burden to poke-society. Because of his influence, the fire type made it his goal statement to become the polar opposite of what his father had been: instead of being inert, he strived to constantly train and evolve to regain some respect in the pokemon world. Afraid of looking weak, he overcompensates and emphasizes his strength at every opportunity, going as far as to challenge foes clearly out of his league. He doesn't deny that he formed the contract purely out of the selfish wish to get stronger. The hardest part was finding a human who seemed strong enough in spirit and had the same fire in his heart to gain acceptance in the world -- while there were many humans who claimed to be like that, Blaziken stumbled across this child who, dared to challenge him on home turf. While he was physically inferior (compared to the fighting pokemon), he had passion burning behind his eyes. And so, they made a deal. Edited March 31, 2015 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) NPCs Information will be added about NPCs as it is revealed. Look for square brackets at the end of an official post: [NPC information has been updated.] Pidove (Uncontracted) Male | ?? | Team Diancie Pidove is Diancie's rescue initiative's official messenger. He's a small and unusually fluffy creature with a grumpy attitude toward much of everything, but he takes his job very seriously. Perhaps even a little too seriously. Togetic @ Premier Ball Female | 15 | Team Luxray? - Safeguard - Metronome - Baton Pass Togetic is an oddly jittery girl who regrets practically every decision she ever makes - but keeps going through with them anyway. Right now, it seems her decisions have led her to spy on our heroes. By night: Togetic has a rather plump build with worried dark brown eyes and unruly neck length brownish-reddish-black hair that her transformation completely fails to change in any way. She wears a white knee-length dress with a wide collar, puffy sleeves, and a puffier skirt. Across her waist is a series of red and blue triangle patterns, matching the ones on her magical partner. A tiara with several white spikes sits on her forehead, her Premier Ball set into the back (near the back of her head). Her shoes are white Mary Janes with matching knee socks, adorned with little wing patterns at the top. Alexis Kay (Leavanny) @ Nest Ball Female | 25 | ??? A high-strung lady, who seems to have gotten herself into something of dubious morality. Try not to get on her bad side. By day: Alexis is tall and lanky with ridiculously long limbs, and would give people the impression of a particularly awkward stick insect if she were less graceful. She’s pale, with neck-length straight brown hair and slanted green eyes. Her wardrobe consists mostly of obscure band shirts. By night: When transformed, her eyes turn to a vivid red colour. Her clothes are replaced with a green waistcoat with tails that flare out into the shape of a leaf over a cream blouse, green layered shorts, and yellow boots. Two crossing belts around her waist hold a matching pair of scimitars. A green and yellow bandana wraps around her head. The Nest Ball is set into a brooch at the base of her neck. Amber Riggs - school treasurer and gigantic gossip. Black shoulder-length hair with tips dyed blonde, dark brown eyes, Korean, a bit on the short side. 17. Is incredibly annoying and knows it, using this fact to achieve her many many ends. She is somehow unaware that people know how much of a gossip she is. Jay Carver - Neck-length slightly gravity-defying brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, average height and kinda lanky. 16. Spends his free time flirting with every living human being he sees. Is he actually dating someone? What's the deal with this guy, anyway? Honestly, no one knows. Pearl Flinders - insufferable genius. Black afro puffs, dark brown eyes beneath square-framed glasses, dark skin with a couple freckles here and there, average height. 17. Not quite the person in the school with the most academic awards, but she's definitely up there somewhere, and she'll tell anyone who's willing to listen all about it. Katherine Daniels ("Kat") - Messy shoulder-length brown hair, brownish-greenish eyes, tanned olive skin, tall and fairly muscular. 15. The captain of HH's soccer team, and quite possibly the only reason it's not absolutely horrible. Edited July 12, 2015 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted December 24, 2014 (edited) Saturday | 4:54 PM | Clear skies When the residents of Hillside Heights woke up this morning, they were greeted by one of the most beautiful spring days on record. It was neither too hot nor too cold; the sky was a vast expanse of blue only interrupted by the occasional puffy cloud; even the few birds that lived within city bounds were chirping out little tunes from their nests. It was now well into the afternoon, but the lovely weather seemed determined to hold out as long as it possibly could. On this absolutely perfect afternoon, in the southernmost abandoned lot, perched atop a pile of cement pipes, was a pigeon. Or, at least, that was what anyone would have assumed, had they bothered to duck under the opening in the corrugated steel fence and walk in. A drab and rather fat gray bird, with black patterns on its wings and big yellow eyes - what else could it be? But if that hypothetical person also looked closely, they would have noticed that it was hopping back and forth along the pipe and clucking quietly, almost as if it were pacing and muttering under its breath. And that pattern on its chest - it was too perfect of a heart-shape, wasn’t it? No one did any of that, though, in the half hour the pigeon had been there, and he was both relieved and a little bit irritated. Pidove stopped hopping. He looked up. “Where are they, anyway?” The newly created magical warriors’ partners should have informed them of their very important first meeting, right here, in exactly six minutes - and yet not a single one of them had the courtesy to show up just a bit early? “Unbelievable.” Maybe they’d somehow managed to get lost. Or were otherwise occupied. Or didn’t have any intention of coming to the meeting in the first place! He clucked and ruffled his feathers at that last thought. No, that couldn’t be possible. Could it? Princess Diancie had been very careful to pick humans that would honour their contracts. But they were unpredictable creatures after all… “Fifteen more minutes,” he decided. That was a very generous margin, he thought. “If no one shows up in fifteen minutes, I’m going to leave. The Princess can get someone else to deal with her unruly kids.” He returned to his pacing. [Hello, friends! Yes, as of today, Wish Upon A Star has officially begun! From now on, square brackets at the bottom of an official post will announce updates to plot, NPC information, and anything else that will cause a change in the reserved posts at the beginning of the thread. Thank you and hope we all have a great time doing this silly thing!] Edited December 24, 2014 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted December 24, 2014 It was a remarkably beautiful day - in fact, probably the most beautiful day in Hillside Heights that Kerry had ever seen. The girl was rushing through the town's cobblestone streets, frantically looking at her wristwatch on what seemed to be ten-second intervals; she'd stayed up too late the night before - far, far too late - and had only woken up at 4:30, so she was worrying she would end up being late for that magical meeting of magical girls. Yes; she was a magical girl now! The thought filled her with excitement and joy, and she had to stop to twirl in happiness in the middle of the street. Thankfully it was empty; she had picked out a very deserted route, since she didn't really want anyone seeing her on her way to the empty lots; it was kind of a place for 'bad' people, the way she'd always seen it. "Oh, shoot, right, the meeting!" The blue-haired girl suddenly remembered, and continued her run. After all, she could already see the lot area just ahead, even though it was almost time for the meeting; wouldn't want to be late just by a few minutes! Finally arriving at the abandoned lots zone, having climbed the fence (only to almost fall off when she was going down, and to notice it could be easily ducked under), Kerry stopped for some breath; she'd been running for a while now, and was just a little tired. After her little break, she started walking around the place, looking for any signs of this mystical Pokémon meeting. "H-hello?" Even after she spoke, the place was eerily silent; she couldn't hear a thing. She was about to turn around and check the other side of the empty lot area when she noticed what seemed to be a pidgeon atop a bunch of cement pipes in the sourthen lot. She didn't see anyone else... and Pokémon could look like pidgeons too, right? She walked up to the cement pipes, and looked up at the bird. "Hello? Mr. Bird!" That might've been too rude of a greeting, but Kerry completely missed it; it was natural to her. It was a bird, so why not call it Mr. Bird? She checked her watch once again, and sighed in relief; barely made it. Share this post Link to post
Posted December 24, 2014 (edited) "Business started to pick up again, I'm afraid it's going to be a while before I come back," "Yes, sir," "I called your mother yesterday and she told me she's not going to get off work anytime soon. You're going to be home alone for a bit I'm afraid." "I understand," "Keep those felines out of the house while I'm gone. They can stay on the patio, but no further than that. Am I understood?" "Yes, sir," "Alright then. Goodbye, Morgan," "Goodbye, father," Click. Refraining from exhaling a heavy sigh, Morgan shut off the phone in her hand and stuffed it into her breast pocket. It was no surprise that both of her parents weren't going to be home. Recently, it seemed as though work was all they did--although Morgan rarely saw her mother anyhow-- and it was beginning to seem as though she'd be alone at the house with the animals for the next few months. They were always busy with one thing or another and had to stay out of town or go a hotel so they'd be able to get to work on time in the morning. Morgan didn't mind her parents' absence. She could handle herself and was perfectly fine with them being gone for a few days or weeks. She had important matters to attend herself, though her parents would probably never understand what sort of matters she attended to. After all, telling them she had made a pact with a giant talking bee in order serve under some sort of princess probably would not end well. Glancing up at the sky, Morgan blinked in uncertainty before shaking her head and continuing down the abandoned lots. Today was particularly beautiful. It wasn't too hot nor too cool, the sky was a soft blue obscured only by the occasional puff of white, and, despite it being almost five in the afternoon, the air was still crisp and the sky was as bright as it had been in the morning. Such an alluring atmosphere made even the empty lots, which could normally be considered a series of dingy blocks filled with discarded trashed and unruly teenagers, seem inviting. Just thinking about where she was made Morgan's lips curl into a snarl. Had she not been summoned to this meeting, Morgan would of never even dreamed of setting root into the forsaken lots. Ducking under the fence, (dress pants proved to be hard to crouch down in), and ignoring the, "KEEP OUT" signs that acted as the lots wardens made Morgan's stomach buckle. She was breaking the law. It didn't matter that just about every teenager in Hillside went into the lots or that the authorities didn't do anything about it, she was still breaking the law. It was against her scruples to so blatantly ignore the rules, but, despite her desires, Morgan knew she had to attend this meeting, even if it meant breaking a minor law. After wandering around for ten minutes or so, Morgan began to feel as though she were lost. She had seen no one else in the lots and she was beginning to think that she was in the wrong place. The silence was ominous and so thick that it seemed palpable. Flipping out her phone, Morgan searched through the notes section within it and read the directions once more. She looked up, peering around her with a quizzically look before glancing down at her phone. According to what she wrote, she was in the right place. If that was so, where was everyone? Returning the phone back into her breast pocket, Morgan marched forward with head turning to and fro. Just as she was about to try and search a different lot, Morgan caught sight of another person. It was a girl, around Morgan's age it seemed, with blue hair, glasses, and a bright blue bow. A little ways from her was a bird, a pigeon it seemed, with a perfectly shaped heart on its chest. It was pacing back and forth as though it was patiently, or impatiently if you read the situation as such, waiting for someone. This looked like the right place. "Pardon me," Morgan began as she stopped and turned her eyes upon the bird and the girl. "Is this the right place for the meeting? I appeared to have, ah, gotten sidetracked." Morgan was tempted to check her phone to see what time it was, but she knew better than to flip it out while she was in the middle of a conversation. It would be rude to do so and she was raised better than that. Edited March 9, 2015 by Doctortear Share this post Link to post
Posted December 25, 2014 (edited) Pidove didn't notice the girls' presence until a distinctly human-shaped shadow fell over him. He squawked rather louder than necessary and half-fell, half-launched himself into the air. "Wh - waitwaitwait!" He screeched at nobody in particular, flapping his wings furiously - and pulled out of his spiraling dive no more than a centimetre from the ground. He sighed in relief, fluttered up to the fence (he didn't see anyone suspicious, but wasn't the whole point of being a spy to appear unsuspicious? He made a mental note to ask about that later), then settled back down on his previous perch. He stared up at the human - correction, humans; there were two of them. He ruffled his feathers. "Well! That's certainly more like it. Yes, this is the correct place for the meeting, of course! What, were your partners' instructions not clear enough?" He shifted from foot to foot, seemingly annoyed at the very implication. "Well, no matter. At least you two have had the courtesy to show up early - unlike the rest of your little company, I may add." He shook his wings out, placed one in front of himself, and bowed. "I'm Pidove. I have been appointed Diancie's official messenger for the purposes of this rescue mission." He couldn't help but puff up his chest in pride at that. "I'm sure I won't need to - actually, will I have to explain everything to you?" His wings drooped. "Oh dear. On second thought, that does seem to be a very real possibility." He cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose I am here to answer your questions after all, so ask away. But if it's about the Contract itself, well, that is absolutely not my job and I would appreciate it if you asked the expert I hope is currently somewhere on your person about it." [NPC information has been updated.] Edited December 25, 2014 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted December 25, 2014 Saturday was always Lilly's favorite day of the week. No school, meaning she could sleep in as long as she wanted, and she had enough tome to fix a big breakfast for herself and big sis. Today, it was Belgian waffles with whipped butter, maple syrup, chocolate chips, and jellied cherries on top. After a good long while, everything was finally ready, except for... Zoie was face down in her bed, fast asleep. However, not even the haze of dreams could distract her from the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. Yawning, Zoie rolled herself out of bed and unceremoniously landed on the bedroom floor with a soft thud. That was enough to wake her up the rest of the way. Groggily, Zoie got to her feet, and made her way to the kitchen. Zoie grabbed Lilly from behind in a warm hug. "Good morning Lilly," She said to her little sister. "Morning big sis," Lilly giggled, "breakfast is all ready." "And it smells wonderful, Lilly" Just then, the clock in the hall chimed, drawing Lilly's attention. "Oh my!," Lilly gasped, "Is it really that late?!" With that, she dashed over to the table, grabbed a waffle, dipped it in the butter, scooped some cherries onto it, folded it in half, and dashed out the door, all with a "SorrysisIpromisedsomefriendsI'dmeetthemtodayatfiveoclockloveyougottagoBYE!" Zoie sat stunned for a full minute before shaking herself out of it. "Well, I guess it's good that Lilly's making friends," she sighed, then looked over to the dirty dishes left over from Lilly's cooking, "And it looks like I'll have to clean up by myself." ================================================= A little while later, Lilly had made it to the lots, half-eaten waffle taco and all. Ducking under the fence, she approached the two other girls who had arrived before her. "Hah, Hello!" she panted, "looks like I made it in time, *hah* yes?" Share this post Link to post
Posted December 25, 2014 Marian shrugged her jacket on, holding her shoes in one hand and her phone in the other. She slipped down the dark, cramped hallway that led to the stairs, her feet instinctively following a path worn into the old boards. Wincing as the floor groaned under her weight, she hopped down the narrow staircase to the first floor of her family's tiny home. Her stockinged feet slipped and slid on the cold polished floor as she sprinted through the empty rooms. She silently thanked her sisters for choosing today to hang out at the library. Explaining exactly what she was doing and where she was going would be difficult, to say the least. It's not like she could tell them the truth. For one, she wasn't allowed to, and even if she was, they wouldn't believe her. She was having a hard time believing it herself. Reaching the back hall, she threw open the back door and slipped outside. She closed her eyes against the glare of the sun and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She blinked her eyes open again, grimacing. This is stupid. I'm going to get there and find out that it was a dream or a hallucination or something. There's no way this can be happening. For the hundredth time that day, she reached into her pocket for a small, seagreen pokeball. She turned it around, tracing circles around the button that would enlarge the ball, readying it for release. She pressed it, her hand folding open as the ball expanded. Sighing, she pressed it again and stuck it back in her pocket. That, at least, was real. Marian flipped open her phone, peering at the cracked screen. , it's 3:38. Even if I run I'm going to be late. She put her phone in her pocket and adjusted her jacket, flipping up her hood to shade her eyes from the sun. Staring skeptically at the impossibly blue sky, she slipped on her shoes and tied the laces. At least it's a nice day for a walk, I guess. Shrugging inwardly, Marian vaulted over the railing of her porch. Running as quickly as she dared, she raced through the garden that swallowed up most of her backyard, dodging overgrown vegetable patches and gnarled fruit trees. She hopped the picket fence separating her family's property from the highway, slowing down as her shoes touched the cracked asphalt. The distance from her house to town wasn't all that much, as the crow flies, but the only roads that passed by twisted through the town's suburbs. Cutting through the woods wasn't an option, so her only choice was to follow the road. After yesterday, Marian didn't know if the forest and its cool, clear creeks would ever be the same again. Marian trudged down the dusty road, letting the rhythmic motion of her walking hypnotize her. The pokeball and its contents weighed heavily on her mind. She had made a contract, after all. Even though what she was getting was incalculably valuable, she felt uneasy about the part she had to play. She would have help - Kingler, her partner, had made that clear- but this whole situation seemed so surreal. It was unsettling. Experiencing, in person, that Pokemon were just as real and powerful as everyone made them out to be was overwhelming enough. This contract, and whatever came out of it, was on a whole new level. Marian wasn't naive enough to expect this to be easy, and she was prepared to hold up her end of the deal, but it was just way, way too much to take in at once. She hoped this meeting would clear things up. Kingler was wise and stalwart and everything, but he wasn't very good at explaining things. The memory of his eyes bugging out in a sincere but fruitless attempt to describe the terms of their agreement left her smiling. "Hey, kid! Get heck out of the road!" A deafening honk sounded right behind her, shocking Marian out of her pleasant reverie. Her smile vanished, and her face turned a flushed and angry red. She hopped from the road to the sidewalk, moving out of the path of the car. It sped off in a cloud of exhaust, the driver pausing to glare at her through his open window. She retreated into the folds of her hood, trying to hide her burning cheeks. At the next intersection, Marian paused to pull out her phone to check the time. 4:45, right. Only a little further. She sped up to a jog, dodging pedestrians and dashing wildly across the street. Her hood blew off her head, but she didn't bother to fix it. She really didn't want to miss this meeting. She had way too many questions. Panting, Marian reached a complex of abandoned lots where she was told she had to go. A lot of the kids she knew from school thought hanging out here was a great idea, but Marian lived far enough away that she didn't have a chance to. Also, it was a little bit sketchy and maybe illegal, so she tried to stay away. She slipped through a gap under one of the fence panels, scraping the back of her head against the rusted iron in her hurry. Straightening up, she rubbed the back of her head, her face flushed pink from exertion and embarrassment. A few girls were already there, talking to a plump pidgeon-shaped Pokemon. One of them looked like they had arrived shortly before she did, giving her hope that she wasn't horribly late after all. She shuffled forward, trying her best to look like she belonged. -- ((hgsjgsjklagf sorry for the bad))) Share this post Link to post
Posted December 27, 2014 Just a little bit after her arrival, a bunch of other girls started showing up, too. Kerry smiled, excited; new acquaintances, but more importantly, more magical girls! Flashing a peace sign with her brightest smile, Kerry was absolutely delighted. "Hey! Nice to meet you all! I'm Kerry Swanson, but please just call me 'Airy'!" Maybe they could all be friends? Oh god she hoped so, a magical girl squad would just be way too much fun. Kerry was basically jumping in glee. She eyed the other girls with interest. The one who'd arrived just after her, with the blonde hair, looked far too formal and serious; maybe Kerry should step it up, too? She bolted her attention back to the bird when he mentioned 'questions'. "Hmm... Mr. Pidove?" She put her hand up. "What are we supposed to do now? Go out to the streets at night to fight crime? Prepare for some sort of mega-huge last boss finale battle?" She struck a sort of heroine pose, dramatically. There goes the attempt at 'stepping it up'. "But really, what should we do? Where should we go?" She tilted her head to one side, more serious now. Was it a last-second cover for the previous blunder? When Pidove mentioned the 'experts', she instinctively touched the Poké Ball on her bag; it'd become a serious reflex now, since she was so used to losing everyting. After all, losing a Pokémon would probably be a really bad idea. "Oh, that's right." The girl suddenly remembered something, and dove her hand into her bag. From it, she retrieved a bag with plenty of cookies. "Would anyone like some? I baked them myself." She smiled happily, looking at all of the peope surrounding her - and Pidove as well, of course. After all, wasn't food the best way to make a good first impression? Share this post Link to post
Posted December 28, 2014 “Whoa, whoa!” Pidove flapped his wings wildly. “One question at a time, if you’d please! Anyway, I - “ he realized the girl who had introduced herself as Kerry had turned to address her fellow magical girls instead of waiting for a response, and coughed in surprise. “What - hey!” Worse, it was then that two more girls decided to make their appearance. If he didn’t do something, they were all bound to start chattering away at each other. Mumbling something under his breath about basic etiquette, he took off and swooped down in the middle of the merry gathering. “If I can have your attention, please!” After taking another look around and making sure no one was talking over him, he circled back to his perch. “We’re officially starting the meeting now! Now, I don’t think everyone is present just yet… but the ones who aren’t are late, and they’re going to have to deal with the consequences. On to the main event. So, as for your questions…” Pidove blinked at Kerry for a few seconds, head tilted to one side as he tried to recall what exactly the girl had asked for. “Ah, yes. What you’re supposed to do now. Well, the plan is still in its beginning stages. As such, we don’t have enough information on Luxray or her forces to mount an attack - or even decide whether an attack would be the best course of action. Thus, your current number one priority is to lay low and not reveal your status to anyone! Or… that’s what the Princess wants you to do, at least.” He shifted his wings in what was presumably a bird version of a shrug. “If I were calling the shots, I’d say take any opportunity you can to gather information on Luxray. What with her influence, I’m sure she’d find out about any attempt to stop her sooner or later. N-not that I’m suggesting you transform in full view of a ton of human beings!” He flapped his wings hard enough to flutter a few centimetres off the ground. “I’ll leave it up to your personal discretion. In any case! Your second priority is to attend these meetings whenever possible. They’ll take place once every few days unless a pressing concern emerges, in which case you will all be informed ahead of time. “Hmm, intel, meetings… Yes, I think that’s it for my introduction, unless you still have questions. As for right now, it might be wise to exchange some contact information and - you do have your partners on you right now, don’t you? Let them out, for Arceus’s sake. It can’t be comfortable being stuck in there for that long.” [???] Share this post Link to post
Posted December 28, 2014 Lilly's Eyes lit up when she saw the Cookies. After finishing off the last few bites of her, at this point, rather tattered waffle, she approached Airy to ask for a cookie, but backed off when the Pidove began to speak. And then came the part where he asked for everyone to let their partners out. Lilly froze up, her face caught in an awkward smile. I forgot to bring the pokéball with me Lilly collapsed, bawling her eyes out. "Oh no! I completely forgot!" she cried, "Ivy is going to be so mad at me! Day one and I already mess up this bad. First I oversleep, and now I left the pokéball at home. And I didn't even. Get to enjoy the breakfast I worked so hard on!" As for where Lilly's partner currently was... ================================================ "Come on, stop making me drag your half around." "It was your idea to get involved with Diancie in the first place, so you should do all the work." "That would only work if we weren't stuck to the same body, numbskull." "Well at least it was my idea to sleep outside last night so we wouldn't have to be late." "And then you overslept anyway, we missed waking Lilly, and now we have to find the meeting place while we are both BLIND." "Whatever, Just follow the smell of the food she was carrying." "I can't smell it, so why don't you help walk!" "FINE!" This back and forth argument came from the two heads of a single Pokémon who somehow avoided drawing attention despite the rather loud growling and snarling noises their argument made. As it turned out, very few humans were dumb curious enough to inspect such a frightful sound, and dismissed it as two very large dogs. Still, the Zweilous duo made an effort to stay hidden as much as they could while blind. This continued on a ways until... *chink* "OW! Watch where you're going Ivy!" the right head complained. "Rethink what you just said Christy," replied the left. "Oh, right." They had just walked right into a chain link fence. Judging from the sound of it, the fence extended a long way to either side. "Now what do we do?" Ivy sighed, "Lilly got past here somehow." "Ivy! Christy!" It was Lilly. She had instantly snapped out of her brief spell of woe and was now running back to the fence. She crawled back under the gap and leapt at the Zweilous with a flying hug. "Oh, I'm so sorry I forgot all about you, please don't be mad at me!" "It's all right Lilly," Christy consoled," It's not your fault, it's Ivy's" "Hey!" "Now, how about getting us around this fence?" Christy bent her head down to pull at a satchel that was hanging from her neck. From it she took something, and handed it to Lilly. It was a pure white sphere, with a red ring around the middle, and a single red button in the center. Lilly nodded in understanding, taking the Premier Ball in hand, She faced her partner, (Partners. Ivy was part of the team too, even if she was a meanie) and lifted the ball up. A red beam of light shined, and the Zweilous disappeared within it. Lilly scrambled back under the fence, and tossed the pokéball into the air. This time, it opened up, flashing with a brilliant white light that poured out to reform into the Zweilous. Ivy shook her head. "Ugh, I'll never get used to that," she groaned. "You'd better, were going to be doing that a lot from now on." Lilly meanwhile, was busy drying her face off and trying (unsuccessfully) to put on a happy face once more. Everything's fine now. That fiasco is behind us like it never happened. Christy said it wasn't my fault so I didn't mess up and I'm not in trouble. Share this post Link to post
Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) How peculiar the situation had become. One moment, Morgan was trudging around the accursed abandoned lots, internally scolding herself for so breaking the law on a whim, and now she was surrounded by other girls who had apparently also Contracted pokemon and made a pact; it seemed the group had been split between those who were calm and poised and those who full bursting with energy. The confusion caused by the meeting was particularly surprising. From what Morgan had gathered from Beedrill's ranting, this was suppose to be a task of the utmost important. Surely the situation should be more civilized and managed better than it currently was. Alas, it did not seem as such and Morgan could not help but feel as though that the meeting could of been more professional, especially on some of the other "magical girls'" parts. After all, this was an important task. How the situation got so chaotic was hard to believe. There was just two of them at first, the blue hair girl and Morgan. Pidove, the name the avian granted itself, seem startled at their presence. He quickly regained his composure, offered the two girls praise, and began to explain the reasoning for the meeting. Not too soon after Pidove asked if anyone had a question, two more girls appeared. One of them was panting and had a great grin upon her face. When she asked if she had arrived at time, Morgan spoke up. "Unless the time to arrive has been shortened, I would presume so," Morgan said, her voice stoic and unwavering. Her hands clasped one another behind her back and she straightened her back even more than it had been so before. Soon after the enthusiastic girl arrived, another girl, one with brown hair and baggy clothing, strolled into the premise silently. She seemed as though she was uncomfortable, but, attempting to fit in nevertheless. Just after the last girl arrived, the girl who had arrived at the meeting before began to practically jump up and down with glee. She introduced herself as Kerry Swanson but asked them to call her, "Airy". Her dramatic pose and delighted words were lost upon Morgan who wondered what she had eaten for breakfast. Morgan gave Airy her attention while she bombarded Pidove with an excessive amount of questions, but could not help but feel a twinge of discontent when Airy suddenly pulled out a bag of homemade cookies. "I don't think it would be appropriate to-" Morgan began before Pidove suddenly called for their attention. Morgan closed her mouth immediately and gave Pidove her full attention. He began a clear explanation of the situation. Beedrill had already drilled—Morgan had chuckled when Beedrill had started his rant with "I'm going to drill you through what I know"—the basics of the situation into Morgan's head. He had been very precise on what was going on and what was required of both her and the other girls. Pidove's continuation of the explanation only furthered Morgan's concern. Though he was carefully with his wording, Pidove had virtually claimed that no plan beyond forming Contracts had been made. Disillusioned by the thought, Morgan refrained from letting out a sigh. Beedrill spoke so fondly of the princess, his words were so passionate and wistful. His beliefs in Diancie were firm and unmoving. Surely he would no believe in a cause that he had any doubt within? Almost as soon as Pidove instructed the girls to release their partners from their capsules, one girl, the third one to arrive, suddenly crumbled to the ground began wailing. She had apparently forgotten to bring her pokeball to the meeting, a mistake that was hard for Morgan to process. She began rambling about oversleeping when she leaped onto her feet and ran away from the group. She returned with a white and red ball in her hand from which a red light streamed out of, revealing a black and blue two-headed pokemon. It was rather... odd looking and it took some effort to keep from staring at. Following suit, Morgan pulled out a black ball with yellow stripes draped upon it out of her pocket and pressed the button within the middle of it. The ball opened and out streamed a bright light that formed into a flying shape. Once the light retreated, a large bee with what seemed to be two long, conical stingers on his forelegs appeared in the air. He shook his head, a disgusted noise emitting from his mouth as his wings flapped swiftly as though he was in fear of falling from the air. "I won't be gettin' used to that anytime soon, lass," Beedrill said in a fast pace that was nearly incomprehensible. "Oh? Are we at the meetin' already? You could of told me, lass! I might of prepared myself more, you know," "My apologizes for not informing you sooner," Morgan replied calmly with a glance over at her energetic partner. "I shall make note of it for the future." Edited April 6, 2015 by Doctortear Share this post Link to post
Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Marian went blank as she watched one of the arrivals, a tall girl with navy hair, introduce herself with excessive energy. The girl offered up a plate of cookies she had made after firing off a round of questions, moving on without waiting for an answer. Marian almost grabbed for one, but she didn't want to interrupt the meeting any further. Pidove called for attention, obviously frustrated by the wild tangents. Marian couldn't help but agree. Their contracts and their mission for Diancie weren't a joke. Even though she was thrilled to have this opportunity, and as much as she understood that excitement was probably normal, she was incapable of shaking the feeling that this was incredibly serious. The contracted humans were being burdened with a huge responsibility, both to uphold their end of the agreement and to contain their newfound power. The bird talked briefly about their situation, essentially saying that he had nothing planned. Marian frowned, disappointed. She was expecting answers, or at least an assignment, or something to do. This sounded more like a meet-and-greet, not a meeting to discuss taking down a dangerous criminal. Kingler had made this seem like an emergency, but judging by Pidove's attitude and the demeanor of the other girls, it wasn't. If this situation wasn't as urgent as she had thought, why were they contacted now? Why did Diancie press this upon them suddenly enough that she couldn't prepare something a little more... formal? The contracted humans would have lives to plan around, things to arrange. They couldn't spend all their time looking for Luxray if they did know where to start. Even though they were kids, they had responsibilities. Obviously Pokemon weren't going to be completely aware of how life as a human worked, but if Diancie was going to hire humans, why wouldn't she think about how they would react and what help they would need? Did she have that much faith in the power their contract would give them? Marian, lost in thought, barely registered Pidove's allusion to releasing their partners. One of the girls, worried about forgetting her pokeball, burst into furious tears. She babbled something about breakfast and oversleeping, then jumped up and dashed wildly out of the lot. The girl returned with a white pokeball, her tears now dry, and released her partner. Eyeing the girl and her two-headed Pokemon with aversion, Marian did likewise, tossing her Lure ball into the air. Kingler had walked her though the steps of releasing him, and she knew what was coming, but the flash of light that coalesced into her partner made her recoil in surprise. The large Pokemon landed lightly on the ground, his ancient features cracking into a beatific smile. "Marian, my dear! I see you found Pidove! Has he answered your questions? You are satisfied, no?" Grinning like a jack-o-lantern, Kingler scuttled over to his partner. His booming voice echoing around the lot in his excitement. Marian shook her head, grimaced, and put a finger over her lips. The crab Pokemon composed himself instantly, disconcerted. Out of the corner of her eye, Marian saw a girl with pale blonde hair and aggressively fastidious clothing release a large, angry bee Pokemon. She seemed marginally calmer than the rest of the arrivals, even in the face of her partner's rapid and unintelligible speech. Marian thought she recognized her from school, but she knew nothing about the girl. She didn't know anyone here personally, to her relief. Clearing her throat, the girl turned to face Pidove. Now was the time for questions, and no one else had voiced what was on her mind, so it was up to her to take the plunge. She sucked in a breath and thrust her shaking hands into her pockets. With quiet reassurance from Kingler, she cleared her throat again and spoke as loudly as she could. "Uhh, e- excuse me, but if you don't have plans for us, why bother contacting us now? I mean," Marian hesitated, unsure of herself. "Why couldn't this whole thing wait till you knew a little more, or why couldn't you speak to us personally when our contracts were formed? I- I get that our contracts are enough of a draw in and of themselves, or whatever, but... " She blushed again, ducking her head. "I apologize if I sound like I'm backing out, and I'm definitely not, but you aren't giving us a lot to go off of. I don't want to be skeptical, but you are.. sort of... I mean, you're Pokemon, and we don't know a lot about you. I- as much as I want to, I don't know if I can trust you." She nodded at Kingler. "I guess I trust him, and I'll follow his lead, but... I was expecting something more. You're probably in a rush, and I'm sure you didn't expect Jirachi to be kidnapped, but if Diancie is as powerful as I've been led to believe, why couldn't she, uh.." Marian puffed her cheeks out, embarrassed by her shaking voice and her stupid questions. "Why couldn't she give us a little more info, I guess," she finished lamely, flapping her arms against her side. Kingler, seeing her distress, gripped one of her hands gently in one of his giant claws. (idek) Edited December 29, 2014 by Ayesthine Share this post Link to post
Posted December 30, 2014 No one took her cookies. Kerry was a little saddened, a little disappointed, but she understood. They were here for a meeting, not to eat. She put the bag back in her purse - not before gulping down a cookie herself of course. She paid close attention to Pidove; so they were supposed to just lay low for a while? That was disappointing. No magical girlness? No fighting villains from another world, or fighting crime and ending with rhythmic rhymes about love and friendship? ...Okay, so maybe Kerry had been watching too much TV. But still, she couldn't help but feel a little let down that they weren't going to do some superheroine things. Oh, well... she'd just have to wait. At Pidove's remark about their partners, Kerry shuffled in her bag for a bit, searching for the Poké Ball. Huh, weird, she'd just felt it a moment befo-- oh yeah, there it was. The girl let her partner out, the icy-blue Glaceon who gladly perched in her shoulders. "I see the meeting has begun." The Pokémon licked her blue paw, speaking with a particularly elegant voice, although she seemed just the slightest bit dizzy. Must've been the nausea from being stuck in a Poké Ball; especially one being carried around by the ever-so-jumpy Kerry Swanson. Kerry grinned at Glaceon, petting her fluffy head, while listening to the questions of the girl with the big crab Pokémon. Huh. She had a good point. Kerry turned her gaze to Pidove, eagerly expecting an answer. Share this post Link to post
Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Pidove blinked up at Marian. "You - I - well, that is to say..." He closed his beak, opened it, then closed it again. When he finally spoke, his voice was much shriller and louder than it had been before. "I - I don't - I mean, I didn't come up with this plan, now did I? I even told you, I'd personally like it more if you were to gather data. While still remaining anonymous, of course." He coughed into a wing, eyes flicking from person to person, before seeming to regain his composure again. He pecked a few loose feathers into place, cleared his throat, then continued. "Actually, here's the way the Princess explained it to me. I'm no strategist myself, of course, but from what I understood - Contracted humans are simply more useful than Pokemon agents, when it comes to operations within a human settlement. Smaller chance of them being found and all. And at this stage, we have to make sure our secrecy holds out as long as possible. Teams of Pokemon running about willy-nilly near Luxray's base would make her pretty suspicious, yeah? Not to mention there's a good chance some unrelated human is going to spot them. What we're doing is - when we find something that might be suspicious, we'll send you in right away. And that's going to happen, plenty soon! The Princess just figured she would give you a bit of time to meet up and do your own thing for a while." He nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "Yes, I do believe that is about the gist of it. And you - " he turned to stare at Marian - "should really know better than to question your elders when you don't even know the whole story! Ahem. Moving on, then. Does anyone else have any qu-" Pidove was cut off by a crashing thump from behind him, followed by a whispered but still very distinct swear word. He clucked loudly and nearly fell off his perch again. "Wh-wh-who was that?!" He squawked as he turned - only to be met by the solid steel fence behind him. He blinked at the fence, then up. He hadn't noticed before, but the good weather had faded somewhere between now and the start of the meeting. The puffy white clouds had spread to cover more than half of the sky, and the occasional cheerful conversation heard muffled from outside was replaced by silence. Most people had to be on their way home by now. So what was that? "I'm going to take a look. You - you said something about wanting to do something, right? So you'd better be right behind me." ----- The girl on the other side of the fence was sitting, her back to the lot, trying very hard not to hyperventilate into her pristine white dress. Was this it? She'd botched the mission, hadn't she. She raised a hand to wipe her brow, but only managed to bump into the big clunky tiara she'd forgotten she was wearing. And after all that work she'd done! It wasn't fair. Life really wasn't fair. Well, at least she'd heard something; that ought to gain her some points. Yeah, if she could manage to get out of there without any of them noticing - and who was to say they would come after her, anyway? She shuffled slowly to her feet. "Y-yeah, people think weird sounds are just their imagination all the time - " "Hey! Who're you, and what are you doing here?" She jerked her head up and nearly screamed when she saw a... pigeon-thing flying toward her at full tilt. Then, remembering her objective, she sucked in a deep breath - and started running in the opposite direction. "Well, what are you waiting for, then? After her!" [NPC information has been updated! I'll have a picture ref up sooner or later.] [The magical companions should be less than pleased with this development! There's a good chance they might be seen, after all. But what better opportunity than this, right...?] Edited December 30, 2014 by Fractional Pi Day Share this post Link to post
Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Lilly snapped to attention at Pidove's command. This is my chance! she thought to herself, I'll prove I'm worth something now. All the other girls gathered seemed so calm or cool that Lilly felt like the odd one out among them. If she could avoid messing up here, she would most certainly look cool herself. "Christy," She called to he partner, "Ready?" "Right, just like I told you," The right head replied. Lilly lifted her Premier ball in her right hand and the Zweilous once more disappeared in a red flash. Lilly Lifted her right hand into the air, The Premier Ball began to float above her palm and glow with blue and black light. Two Ribbons of energy pealed off of the ball and spiraled around her outstretched arm, leaving behind a long black sleeve. A blue covering, resembling one of Zweilous' heads, extended over her hand and latched on to the ball. Lilly then spread her arms wide. The ribbons continued their path, weaving through each other and fashioning a wide blue dress with purple lace accents, before tying themselves into a large bow on her back. Next, a black bonnet materialized on Lily's head, partially covering her eyes. Finally a black parasol appeared in front of Lilly. She grabbed it with her left hand, set it over her shoulder, and struck a pose. All this happened in three seconds. Did you really have to strike a pose? Ivy groaned, Get going! Lilly gave a brief nod to the others, before running to the fence, and leaping right over it. Landing on the other side, she glanced around to see where this mysterious girl that Pidove had been talking to was. Spotting her, Lilly saw that she was dressed in what looked like another magical girl outfit. "Hey, Wait up!" Lilly called out, as she began to run after the girl, "It's all right if you're late!" Lilly, I don't think that's why she's running Christy stated. "Huh? Did she forget something at home then?" She means that Girl isn't one of ours! Ivy sighed, She was spying on us! "Oh." Edited December 30, 2014 by sailing101 Share this post Link to post
Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Pidove appeared to be at a lost when it came to the crab-girl's question. He stuttered with his suddenly high-shrilled voice and looked at each of the girls as though expecting them to interject. To see someone who supposedly knew what was going on act so distressed when asked a rather important question was disheartening to say at the very least. Excuses fluttered out of Pidove's mouth and Morgan could not help but feel disappointed as the small avian slowly regained his composure. She expected the situation to be more organized. It was too chaotic for her fancy and she silently wondered what the other girls thought of the situation. Surely they were as taken aback as Morgan was, no? When Pidove finally settled his ruffled feathers he somewhat evaded the question and only answered it partially, something that caused Morgan to raise her eyebrows quizzically. Was Pidove intentionally dodging parts of the question or was he simply too flustered to realize that he had neglected to fully answer the entire inquiry? Either way, it seemed he would have to give a satisfied answer at a later date. A loud, clashing thump sounded behind the group, drawing both Pidove's, Morgan's, and most certainly other people's attention to the fence. Stiffening at Pidove's sudden squawk of surprise, and his order to stay back while he checked to see what made the sound, Morgan gazed warily towards the area Pidove was staring anxiously. Not too long after Pidove hopped over to the source of the sound, a figure sprang out from the area in question and began to sprint away. Pidove quickly issued the command to follow the strange girl and one magical girl in particular took his order right on. Within mere seconds, she had taken the white and red ball she used to bring her companion over the fence to conduct a dramatic outfit change. Ribbons twirled around her body, a bonnet found itself upon her head and, in a very Mary Poppins like fashion, a parasol appeared before her and soon found itself in her hands. The girl gave the others a brief nod before jumping the fence and chasing after the stranger. "The hell does that lil'raggamuffin think she's doin'?" Beedrill suddenly hissed with his accent so heavy and his speech so fast-paced that it sounded as though he was speaking gibberish. "You ain't gonna let her go on and expose us all before the sun sets, are ya Morgan?" Beedrill's companion glanced up at him as a hint of confusion glazed upon her features. The large insect shook his head and shoot forward until he was merely inches from Morgan's face. "Bless her heart, she jumped into the fray without thinking," Beedrill barked, his wings beating fiercely. "She's goin' to chase that intruder and before she knows it, WHAM!" Beedrill made a swift slicing movement with his stinger. "She'll run into a group of humans and then what? They'll know something's up! Don't give me that look, you know I'm right! Forget this little prat's," Beedrill motioned towards Pidove, "babblin' and go on and stop that little girl before she gets her head in the wrong place!" Arguing with Beedrill did not seem to be on option and, although his speech was crude and rather hard to understand, Morgan did see some truth in his words. With a quick nod, Morgan flipped out her Ultra ball and clicked the center of it. The ball flipped open and a blinding red light enveloped Beedrill before returning to the ball as it shut itself. Without warning, she turned around and shot towards the fence where the other girl had left. Morgan leaped forward and grasped the edge of the fence. She kicked herself upward with her feet and, grappling the top brim of the fence with one hand, she flung herself over and landed onto the ground. A mew of complaint emitted from the girl's bosom and a fluffy ball of brown fur found its way to the opening of her shirt. The kitten's bright yellow eyes opened wide with wonder as he yawned, exposing his small pink mouth and causing his fluffy pointed ears to pull backwards before springing back in an upwards position. "Shh, Sir Purrcival," Morgan hissed softly as he pushed the kitten back into his hiding place. Ignoring the kitten's cry of protest, and the fact that the feline's little face was still sticking out of her shirt, Morgan's eyes darted around the area before landing upon the magical girl. "Halt!" Morgan called as she raced over to the ribbon strapped girl. "Don't you think transforming in an area where other people could be is a bit dangerous? What if someone spots you? The point of making the Contracts was to keep out of sight, no? Running after a lone girl in ribbons is going to draw someone's attention!" It occurred to Morgan that stopping the girl from chasing the stranger might just allow said stranger to flee from the scene, but wasn't staying hidden more important? Sure, following Pidove's orders were as well, but there would be no orders to follow if the magical girls were discovered a day after they made their Contracts! (Here, take a post. Not the best, but we need to get posts pumping out.) Edited April 6, 2015 by Doctortear Share this post Link to post
Posted January 18, 2015 4:35, the digits glowing on her cell phone told her. Plenty of time to finish what she began today, Yanique concluded. It was just a stone's throw away, the meeting place, right? If she walked a little faster than usual, she would arrive on time, give or take a few minutes. All meetings were bound to start a few minutes late, and surely Diancie's messenger would have the decency to wait for a little while. Putting down her phone on her bed, Yanique brought her attention back to the dark fabric of one of her denim jackets where she had already began the embroidering of a silver pattern on the sleeves. One of them was already done and looked amazing in her eye. There was just a little more stitching to go before she could call it complete -- and wear it with pride to the meeting today. There was a meeting scheduled for the afternoon today of such importance that Yanique postponed all her other commitments of the day. And yet, she could not simply sit around waiting for the designated time to arrive. From what her partner told her, it was an important briefing where all the new contractees would meet for the first time. How exciting! Yanique was sure she would make a striking impression among everyone there. What kind of other people would there be? How many? Her partner seemed to know just as much as she did when it came to contract statistics. Speaking of her partner, Yanique snuck a glance up from her stitching, across to her desk where the -- pokeball, was it called? -- sat. It was the sign of their contract, the red and white and yellow and black sphere which contained her new friend (apparently they came in different colors -- not that this pattern was bland! Were stickers an option? She would have to ask). It was as smooth as polished stone on its two halves and just felt magical, seemingly weighing much less than it should. She found it a little cruel to have him kept in a little capsule, but he had said it was a necessary precaution. Mightyena, for that was what he called himself, was not a very discreet presence after all. Not many people would take to well to a wolf-like creature roaming the streets. Before she knew it, she reached the end of her traced embroidery pattern and dusted off the chalk guideline. The repetitive nature of sewing always gave her some nice time to think, which inexplicably made the process faster. Tying off the end of the thread and looking over her handiwork, Yanique took a look at her phone again. 5:03. Dang. Remembering first to place her sewing supplies back into her kit, Yanique then threw her jacket over the tank top she wore and didn't even bother to do her hair. She repeated to herself to grab the pokeball as if it was the only thing that mattered. If she forgot that, she should forget the idea of being a magical girl entirely. Making sure both her phone and her pokeball were in the pockets of her newly-decorated jacket, Yanique raced down the stairs and out of the house, only slowing down to lock the door. If she ran it, she might be able to catch the middle of the talk. The introductions always ran overtime. It would take forever for the announcements to be made over teenage chatter. Maybe people had trouble finding the abandoned lots, though that wasn't as likely as the other options. She herself was no stranger to them; despite the rumors and all the people trying to keep people out of there, it was an area that Yanique frequently set foot in. The sky above had overcast in the afternoon, carrying with it a cool spring breeze. Yanique hoped it wouldn't start raining. In her obsession with the pokeball, she forgot to take an umbrella with her. She would just have to get this done quick! Forcing her breaths through her nose, Yanique quickened her pace. The meeting might have ended by now, but if she was lucky she would still be able to meet some people! Wait, were they supposed to show up transformed or anything? Only way to find out was to-- Yanique felt something slam into her and push her to the ground as she rounded a corner. Whoever bumped into her didn't see her and seemed to be in quite a hurry. "Man, watch where you're..." Yanique began, shaking the stars out of her eyes and rubbing the places where the other girl's tiara poked her face as she struggled back to her feet. Whoever bumped into her was better at custom fashion than she was, or...! So maybe you did have to come transformed. Putting one hand in the pocket which contained her pokeball, she extended the other to the girl she smashed into. "Are you alright?" Share this post Link to post
Posted January 18, 2015 Togetic ran, trying her best to not look back in fear of slowing herself down. A shout sounded from behind her. "Late"? What did - that girl thought she was part of that other team! Or something like that. "What if I turn around?" She said, as quietly as she could while still gasping for breath. "I can probably try to - salvage this situation - " I doubt you'd fool all of them. Why take the risk, huh? You've got what you need, don't you? "Hey, you're the one who got me into this in the first place!" She yelled indignantly, the fact that she would be talking to thin air to any observers temporarily forgotten. "I - guess you're right - we just have to - " Her self-assurances were interrupted by a stranger who had just rounded the corner, and neither of them had the time to do much but widen their eyes before crashing into each other and then soon thereafter the ground. She moaned quietly, clutching her head with one hand. At her partner's urging, though, she peeled her eyes open and stared up at a hand. It was that stranger's! "Oh! S-sorry," she stammered, taking it and pulling herself to her feet. "Uh, I'm - kind of in a hurry, so, uh..." She glanced behind her shoulder. That girl who'd yelled earlier seemed to be held up with one of her teammates. She breathed a sigh of relief - "Stop right there!" - and realized that she'd forgotten about that bird, who was now inches away from her face and had no intention of stopping. With a shriek of surprise, she threw her hands in front of her and a light green bubble appeared around her. The bird bounced off it with an indignant squawk. Her shield was fading fast, though, and she had to think of something else to do - oh no, that stranger was still standing there, wasn't she? "Uh - I can ex - augh, forget it!" She dispelled the shield and raised a hand to the sky. Her finger started glowing, followed by the rest of her body, and a pulse of light seemed to shine from the sun through the clouds... "A healing move? I don't need a healing move right now! What the hell is - " Hey, it's not like I'm choosing the results of this thing! It's random, I'm telling you! Random! "That's - you're useless! God, I..." The bird was diving toward her again and she yelped, somehow managing to dodge it by ducking to one side. Okay. Secrecy was out of the question now. If anyone was still out, they definitely saw that, and a few more inexplicable things wouldn't make the situation any worse. "Sorry about all this," she yelled up at the stranger, braced herself - and resumed running. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The bird continued to prattle on behind her. She tried her best to ignore him. "Come on, give me something that actually helps," she muttered, using Metronome again - and this time she got something significantly better. Skidding to a stop and turning to face the bird, she slashed at it with one hand and then the other. The bird managed to dodge around the first strike, still yelling something or other indignantly, but was hit with the second, sending it flying toward the ground. "Hah," she spat, looked up to check if the girls were still following her before returning to her escape. She'd screwed up so many times already, but maybe she could still pull this off...! [NPC information has been updated. Yes, I'm using a randomizer for Metronome. Have fun.] Share this post Link to post
Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) Lilly slid to a stop as the other girl ran in front of her. However, due to her momentum, she lost her balance and fell over. Dizzy from the impact, she couldn't really hear what the other girl was saying to her. Shaking her head to stop the spinning, Lilly rolled to the side. "Mr. Pidove said we need to stop that girl," Lilly said, "Why are you stopping me?" There was a crashing sound further down the road that drew Lilly's attention. Apparently, the mysterious magical girl had just collided with a third party, before resuming her escape. This is our chance to close the gap. Christy exclaimed, focus your energy on speed to catch up to her. "Right." Lilly dashed once more after the fleeing girl, running faster than she had before. A blue cone of energy began to form around her as she speed up. As Lilly watched, Pidove once more attempted to confront the girl, only for her to lash out at him, knocking the bird out of the air. Need another conformation? came Ivy's voice, Definitely an enemy. Lilly hit her top speed, practically leaping with every step. The cone solidified into a wave of energy, ready to be released on impact. "Hey!" Lilly called out, "That! Was! Really! Not! NICE!" With one final stride, Lilly leapt at the would be spy, ready to tackle her to the ground. But then something else happened. There was a flash of pink light, starting the very instant Lilly's dragon rush made contact with the girl's dress. It flowed over Lilly's attack, canceling it out completely. Lilly froze in midair, then fell to the ground with an unceremonious 'plop' with a dazed grin on her face. "Hehe, sugar plums," Oh dear, I was afraid of this. Fairy? Fairy. Edited January 18, 2015 by sailing101 Share this post Link to post
Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) "Oh! Oh, oh, oh! What if I did a little twirl, like this, at the same time?" A young, excitable, voice carried faintly on the still air, breaking the silence that blanketed the vacant lot of land. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Every great hero has their own recognizable style. Taylor began to spin, trying to pirouette with her arms across her chest. Humming in concentration, she spread out her arms as the bell-shaped sleeves attached to her elbows began to glow white. Halting her spin by setting her feet firm against the ground, she frowned and swept her arms forward. "Feather Dance!" From her glowing sleeves came a brief eruption of glowing feathers. They shot through the air, arching downward to assault a patch of grass before fading from existence. Straightening her stance, the young teen grinned brightly. "Did you see that, Pidgeotto! Did you see how I got that to work?" Yes, yes. Lovely work, my dear. Now, try a Gust on the same bit of grass, Pidgeotto responded. They had been out here for at least an hour now, trying to strengthen the girl and get her acquainted with her newfound powers. Sticking her tongue and gently pinching it between her teeth, Taylor furrowed her brow. "Do I have to? I've already practiced it and Feather Dance a few times now! I think I've got them mastered!" she complained, plopping down on her rump. The red and orange strips of cloth folded under her legs, her purple boots crinkling slightly at the knee. Taylor felt Pidgeotto's disapproving frown and she rubbed the back of her head, brown hair shifting. "What?" The greatest heroes did not become masters of their own level with just a single time of training. Get up on your feet once more. Do one more Gust and then we shall end for today. With a sigh, the young girl climbed back to her feet and sucked in a breath, holding her arms outstretched to the sides. Again, the sleeves began to glow but much more faintly this time. Releasing her breath, she inhaled deeply again and quickly brought her hands together. A small burst of air rushed from her fingers, causing the grass before her to stir. However, the Gust dissipated before it got too far, not yet strong enough to hold over a distance. Taylor frowned in disappointment, arms dropping to her sides. You're tired. Let's call it a day now. We still have that meeting to attend, Pidgeotto remarked, the Poké Ball glowing from the bead it was stored in. The girl nodded slightly and touched the bead with a finger, causing it to spark with light and her appearance to return to its original state. The Poké Ball now rested in her hand, small as a pebble for convenience. She didn't want to go to the meeting but, she didn't want to make Pidgeotto mad either. Stuffing the Poké Ball into her coat pocket, the small girl started hurrying for the supposed meeting location. Her oversized sweater made it somewhat awkward to run it but, she was used to the feeling and made it work. Panting by the time she got to the location, she caught sight of people leaving in a hurry. "H-Hey! W-Wait!" Were those other girls like her? Oh! That would be so amazing actually! They could be a superhero team! They'd need a name though, something catchy like Totally Spies or Powerpuff Girls. Shaking her head, she paused, frowning and fidgeting with her fingers. What if the others didn't want to be a team? Would she have to be alone then? No. She wouldn't be alone. She had Pidgeotto at her side though, he had requested being called her advisor if anything instead of her sidekick. Well, if it made him happy, she'd call him her advisor. Picking up her feet again, she started to follow the others before she could lose sight of them. ~~~~ Things weren't going as she had expected, that was for sure. Sasha had arrived to the abandoned lot at roughly the same time as the other four girls, remaining silent and more towards the back of those gathered. Her arms remained folded across her chest as the Pidove rattled on and even stumbled in response to one of the girls' concerning questions. Zebstrika stood beside her, an extremely bored look taking away the prideful glint in his yellow and blue eyes. He even went so far as to yawn and lay down, thinking about dozing off. However, a stroke of chaos interrupted the meeting, causing the Pidove to make a start. Once he ordered for them to follow whomever was running away, the energetic little girl with the two-headed dog transformed, her attire becoming one with ribbons and a parasol, before running off in a chase. That's when the bee thing and his respective partner chased after as well but with the intent of stopping the two-headed dog girl. Sasha rolled her eyes, glancing at Zebstrika. He was up and on his feet, an excited and determined gaze upon his expression. "Alright! Finally! Some action! Let's go!" Before Shay could protest, Zebstrika galloped after the others, following the edges of the lot until he could find a suitable exit. Quickly, Sasha ran after him, pulling his Great Ball free of her pant pocket. "I don't think so...," she mumbled, clicking the button to enlarge it before pitching it at the horse-like Pokémon. "You'll attract too much attention...." Zebstrika snorted in frustration, feeling the pull of energy as the red beam collected him. "Spoil sport!" Catching the ball before it hit the ground, Shay returned it to her pocket, more at ease with Zebstrika tucked away. They won't catch up like that.... Turning her gaze away from the sight of bee girl delaying dog enthusiast, Sasha started at a brief sprint, directing herself in a different path. There was a shortcut she could make use of to catch the strange girl before she got too far. Darting across the street when it was clear, Shay headed down the opposite block before turning in an attempt to head off the girl. She didn't see her collide with another but she eventually heard the tail ends of desperate words. Slowing her speed, she came to a halt behind the corner of another building, catching sight of her striking at the Pidove a ways down and then fleeing again. In her direction. A sigh escaped her lips as she mentally counted down. 4... 3... 2... Looking a bit bored, Shay glanced around the corner again and stuck out a leg, very well intending to make the girl trip and fall. Edited January 19, 2015 by Narvix Share this post Link to post
Posted January 20, 2015 Marian shifted nervously, her free arm crossed across her stomach. Her worries about the reception her questions would be met with were evidently not unfounded. Pidove stuttered a reply, obviously caught off guard. So, we're supposed to be- what, like, secret agents? What a joke. We're teenagers, not spies. Anyone who thinks we can keep this a secret must be incredibly ill informed. His half-assed explanation over, Pidove rounded on her, scolding her for "questioning her elders". Although she knew her questions were entirely justified, Marian couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for sounding so ungrateful. Biting her lip, the girl fidgeted, trying to make herself as small as she could. This was not a great way to start things off. Everyone probably thought she was way too cynical. She wasn't, it was just that- Marian jumped, startled by a crash and a swear from beyond the iron fence. Pidove squawked and told them to stay put, then went to check out the noise. He shouted something at an unseen intruder, and the people around her leapt into action. The girl with the two-headed Pokemon actually transformed, seemingly ignoring the whole "don't reveal that you've been contacted by Pokemon and given magical powers" spiel they had just endured. For a moment Marian was tempted to transform as well, since she was a lot less likely to get hurt with her armor on, but she really didn't want to piss off Pidove and his superiors any further. Transforming wasn't worth the risk of being noticed. Marian unfroze, blindly following the bee girl's lead. She returned Kingler to her lure ball, stuffed it into her jacket, and scrambled over the fence. The bee girl stopped to yell at the girl who had transformed, voicing Marian's thoughts. The transformed girl yelled back, then raced down the road towards the intruder. There was some sort of fight going on, but from what Marian could see it looked like the intruder was having trouble with her powers. Was she newly contracted just like them? She seemed pretty inept. A handful more people appeared in the alley, doing various things to stop the girl in the white costume. Marian gathered that they were also contracted, in part by their presence at the meeting place and their incredibly visible Pokemon partners. One of them had the good sense to return theirs to its pokeball, stopping the horse-like creature from running off in wild pursuit. Marian hung back, hesitant to do anything. She felt useless, but that was nothing new. What could she do, anyway? Be one more person to make noise and attract attention? No, it was better that she stay here. If she had to, she would just leave and go back home. She didn't want to wimp out, but if their goal was to stay unnoticed, this was not something they should be doing. Kingler would know where to go to reconnect with Pidove, or she could find one of the girls here at school. Approaching them would be awkward, but at least it would be less obvious than this mess. Marian glanced at the bee girl, wondering if she was thinking the same. Of all the people here, the least ridiculou- wait. Marian sighed. The bee girl had a kitten with her. More specifically, in her shirt. Marian wasn't one to judge, but seriously, what? ((takes twenty years to post, doesn't even put effort into it. gg me)) Share this post Link to post
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