Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
I think those were graffiti artists and the paint was too fresh to walk through that alley?
Also this chapter was shockingly grounded, the ending notwithstanding.
Also this chapter was shockingly grounded, the ending notwithstanding.
- Location
- Canada
This is not what I was expecting
From what I can understand there's a gang(? Not sure abiut the circle part) Of painters who use that area to paint and it's probably still wet. Walking through the area can mess up people's clothes which would ruin the art, making them have to spend more to fix said art. So there semi threatening semi telling them it would be a bad idea to go there.
- Location
- Somewhere in Space
Pretty sure they just found the local chapter of Team Skull...huh...didnt know they were international.
Down by the Sea.
- Location
- Here
In the end, they didn't report the issue to an Officer Jenny. Technically, the 'gang' had not assaulted or even inconvenienced the pair, and one of the thugs passed them a helpful map for guidance on the way out of the alley. To better learn them.
Still odd though.
After a few more stops and no more 'surprise education moments', they ended up hanging out near one of the yearly attractions. The 'Annual Trick House' contest was a ways off apparently, but the pair got to see the space normally used for it. The building now showed off videos of past challenges and examples of the many various tricks used once upon a time. It acted like an interactive museum, and Anita found it fascinating while Adam scanned the various tools and devices for interesting technology.
Some past prizes were even on display, though not the 'Rare Candy' (If it even really existed in this universe). The one Pokéball shown was fascinating!
The 'Timer Ball' would build up charge during a battle, gathering Aura from both the Trainer, the Target, AND your own Pokémon. It not only made it easier for new Pokémon to understand their future user, but it actively calmed them down during capture by exposing them to familiar energies, both their own and their recent foe.
Not really needed in Abra's ball, as she was more than happy to be Adam's partner already, but an interesting trick to use when on adventures and paired well with the features from the 'Nest ball'. Anita may want the feature added to her personal stock... should probably ask her later.
Anita hummed as they looked at a massive spring. "I mean, does 'King of Tricks' custom make these or just order spare parts?"
Adam's eyes flashed with 'Technomancy'. "Not sure, part registration doesn't seem a big deal in this region and individual manufacturing seems easier with the assistance of Pokémon in general. That said, this metal matches the stuff in the other traps, so it is all from the same source I think."
She watched the video showing how the fake floor panel would launch people. "Seems very well made. I doubt someone could make something this large and precise without a lot of time and dedication. Maybe he is friends with a smith?"
Adam hummed. "Maybe. I wonder how much the guy earns... Especially if he is able to dedicate his life to making trap challenges and still make a living. Or maybe he IS a secret amazing designer and metal worker, and his work through THAT career is what pays him enough to do THIS."
Pidgey was asleep on Anita's head, and Abra was actually awake in her Pokéball, poking at some of the massive working example of traps with her 'Telekinesis' to see if she could set stuff off.
He blinked. "Wait, I think that contraption over there is a fake fake trap." He pointed at a clearly artificial floor panel. "It looks like a pit fall or something with a crappy designed cover, but the surrounding panels are the actual weak points. Even though it is transparent, there is a thick layer of glass-plastic panels. Could hold up a thousand pounds easily."
She looked closely at the edge. "Wouldn't thin layers like this make it less sturdy?"
Adam shrugged. "Depends on the plastic used. Certainly more complicated than a thick slab of glass or whatever, but it should work well enough." He waved at the example corridor. "Passing through would be easy if you had the confidence to leap directly on the trap first, which would show off the weakened panels surround it. Then you could hop over the other side and be on your way."
Anita frowned. "Huh. Easy enough once someone figures it out though. Stands out too much."
He shook his head. "Nah, see the next example? That is a fake fake fake trap. Looks the same on top, but the layers of plastic are deliberately faulty to allow people to fall through safely. Without being careful, telling the difference between the two could be an issue."
Pidgey chirped, and Anita nodded at her friend. "Right, and they could swap out the glass/plastic layer so even going through the maze twice wouldn't help you cheat. They look so similar you would have to check every time."
As they continued through the displays, Adam realized that many of these traps could EASILY be lethal if slightly modified or if they misfired or had mechanical flaws. The amount of safe guards and design work were all the more impressive when examined internally, but all the more confusing about how one guy could pay for this. Or even design it to begin with.
They did spend some money at the gift shop at the exit. Adam found a neat hat that had a small spring panel bouncing on top, and Anita got a few humorous shirts and spent a while trying to convince Pidgey to stop wearing that embarrassing muscle shirt outfit.
Didn't work though.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam blinked. "What the hell? Is that an 'Escape Rope'?"
Anita looked over at his area in the Poké Mart. "Oh yeah, I've used those before."
He leaned forward. Nope, it had no technology in it. "How does it work?"
She blinked. "It is a rope. You tie it to stuff. Or set it up to cross small gaps, or better hold your stuff together, etc."
Adam pointed. "Then why call it an 'Escape Rope' and not just a 'Rope'?" The chances of the thing actually teleporting you to a cave exit seemed beyond silly.
Anita hummed. "The manufacturer is the same people that make 'Repel Potions', and they soak the ropes in the stuff. It isn't strong enough to hold off anything too interested, not like if you had a fresh dose of 'Repel Potion' used, but it DOES keep Pokémon from messing with your line, eating it, cutting it, etc. Use a normal rope and something may decide to snack on the thing at a bad time."
Huh. "So that's why it costs so much? Why would anyone buy another one?"
She shrugged. "If you don't buy new ones every so often, the effects of the soaked in potion get weaker. And for it to last as long as it does, I think they use a concentrated version of 'Max Repel', so the rope option is actually pretty cost effective and can really help someone out in a pinch."
Anita pointed at a bundle. "When going into caves, we tend to buy 'Climbing Packs', which have a couple low cost 'Repel' items, several yards of compressed 'Escape Rope', and a few basic potions like 'Antidote' or whatever. The rope is ignored by monsters, the 'Repel Potion' makes creatures stay away from the Trainer while climbing up or down it, even if that cheap stuff wears off quickly, and the other potions make sure you have the energy to actually USE the 'Escape Rope'."
Adam examined the items. "Looks like 'Repel' corrupts the local ambient Aura fields into something odd."
She shrugged. "No idea how they work, but Pidgey hates them. I try to avoid the need to use them when possible."
They continued to banter back and forth as they slowly collected a massive selection sample of the stuff on sale. Adam's ability to duplicate rare high quality Pokéberries made their funds quite flush (thank you very much) so shopping sprees like this had been a common event over the few days spent wandering the carnival like city. And they were a more healthy option to buy than the candies and snacks being advertised.
Anita sighed at the checkout. "We have to leave soon. Especially if you want to catch your two chosen Pokémon on Route 110 before I have to head back to the Academy and report on my trip."
He blinked. "Huh. Your report is going to be odd."
She shrugged. "To a certain extent, it is expected. John's last adventure ended up involving a submarine, and Susan started a small religion."
Adam winced. Change topic! "Do you think Team Rocket will give you any grief?"
Anita shook her head. "I've stayed in contact with Grunt. The female one I mean. They will fight back if I interfere with any operations I stumble upon, but that is standard procedure and part of their internal expenditure profile when operating in regions, so apparently they have no hard feelings. I will be fine."
She glanced at her Pokédex, the device now more advanced than anything SHE had heard of, and the hidden information within. Because helping out with that crazy Marshadow incident had Team Rocket actually paying her a bounty of all things. So yeah, she wouldn't have fallout from that whole mess.
Adam sighed. "Well, I've had fun for a bit and I have gathered a lot of schematics while here... I suppose we can get going after a night's rest. Because it is close to midnight right now."
She blinked and looked up at the unchanging lighting inside the building. "Wow... this place really messes up my internal clock."
He nodded. "That and the super-charged bread that won't let you sleep and makes eating unnecessary. You seem to be recovering from it now though."
Her eyes were wide. "BREAD!?" She caught herself before dashing around to frantically look. Again.
Adam winced. "Mostly recovered." Seriously, how much 'Electric Aura' was IN those cakes?
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam stared at the awesome raised pathway. "Why can't we use THAT path?"
Anita glanced over. "Ah, the 'Cycling Road'. Bikes are more than a bit expensive, but if you invested in one you can use that to pass by the..." She glanced at the Route. "Less repaired option."
He frowned. "Well, I could whip up some bikes I guess, they aren't that complicated."
She chuckled. "If you didn't examine the ones back in Mauville City then don't bother. Not only do their bikes have authentication modules needed to use that path, but they are pretty advanced. They have to be, to survive the Pokémon attacks that Trainers will inevitably get involved in. And you CAN just walk on that path if you want, it was just designed for cycles first and foremost."
Meh, he could fake a bike easily enough. Or brute force a better option. Ah well, he wasn't likely to see many Electric Pokémon on the ocean.
Adam walked towards the 'Main Route' for Route 110, the road near instantly falling apart into very thick grass. Yeah, screw this.
All six bone limbs unfurled and began Gathering rocks, grass, leaves, and muck from their path. Two swapped back to Construction beams, forming the high quality rock foundation, the nice water drains seen on that garden path on Route 117, high quality paving stones designed way back when, and solar powered street lights.
Unlike the well maintained Route 117, clearly all funding on THIS path was spent for the more popular 'Seaside Cycling Road' that extended over the sea. To the point where Adam's choice of traveling was almost being rebuilt from damn SCRATCH as Adam advanced toward near invisible way-points. Seriously, how long had this travel option been neglected? Years at least.
Anita hummed as Pidgey flew ahead, pausing on various branches to flex. "I heard the non-cycle path was a bit rough, but they really let this area go." She looked over at Adam, ignoring how his trap-door hat bounced with flames as he continued to wear his princess outfit. "So what is the plan for this play?"
Adam sighed as their progress slowed significantly, his limbs basically forcing a nice orderly path to exist. "Around half way to the next town, I'm going to set up a big automated hotel, restaurant, and performance center. Stage, lights, the works. We can practice a few times before going live, and hopefully a we meet some interested Plusles and Minuns in the opening audience."
Anita glanced at the tunnel Adam was carving into Nature that at one point had been a Route/Forest. "Are we actually going to have any audience at all? Look at that tall grass, if I wasn't with a living lawn mower then I certainly wouldn't risk it."
He chuckled. "Well, maybe not at first..." He glanced at the near pristine path with well tended vegetation on either side that followed their trail. "But I think curiosity will draw a few people."
Adam absently pulsed his Aura, a near invisible metallic wave sending the thick tall grass rustling as unseen creatures fled. "And the path will END at our theater, which will also have the only high quality rest area and restaurant on this whole path. At least, until we finish and continue on to Slateport City. I'm sure a few people will stay for a free production."
Anita looked torn between interest in seeing what crowd showed up and pure horror at performing the silly script they had been practicing. At least HER parts only had some naughty language here and there, some innuendo.
Poor Adam had a dance number.
Still odd though.
After a few more stops and no more 'surprise education moments', they ended up hanging out near one of the yearly attractions. The 'Annual Trick House' contest was a ways off apparently, but the pair got to see the space normally used for it. The building now showed off videos of past challenges and examples of the many various tricks used once upon a time. It acted like an interactive museum, and Anita found it fascinating while Adam scanned the various tools and devices for interesting technology.
Some past prizes were even on display, though not the 'Rare Candy' (If it even really existed in this universe). The one Pokéball shown was fascinating!
The 'Timer Ball' would build up charge during a battle, gathering Aura from both the Trainer, the Target, AND your own Pokémon. It not only made it easier for new Pokémon to understand their future user, but it actively calmed them down during capture by exposing them to familiar energies, both their own and their recent foe.
Not really needed in Abra's ball, as she was more than happy to be Adam's partner already, but an interesting trick to use when on adventures and paired well with the features from the 'Nest ball'. Anita may want the feature added to her personal stock... should probably ask her later.
Anita hummed as they looked at a massive spring. "I mean, does 'King of Tricks' custom make these or just order spare parts?"
Adam's eyes flashed with 'Technomancy'. "Not sure, part registration doesn't seem a big deal in this region and individual manufacturing seems easier with the assistance of Pokémon in general. That said, this metal matches the stuff in the other traps, so it is all from the same source I think."
She watched the video showing how the fake floor panel would launch people. "Seems very well made. I doubt someone could make something this large and precise without a lot of time and dedication. Maybe he is friends with a smith?"
Adam hummed. "Maybe. I wonder how much the guy earns... Especially if he is able to dedicate his life to making trap challenges and still make a living. Or maybe he IS a secret amazing designer and metal worker, and his work through THAT career is what pays him enough to do THIS."
Pidgey was asleep on Anita's head, and Abra was actually awake in her Pokéball, poking at some of the massive working example of traps with her 'Telekinesis' to see if she could set stuff off.
He blinked. "Wait, I think that contraption over there is a fake fake trap." He pointed at a clearly artificial floor panel. "It looks like a pit fall or something with a crappy designed cover, but the surrounding panels are the actual weak points. Even though it is transparent, there is a thick layer of glass-plastic panels. Could hold up a thousand pounds easily."
She looked closely at the edge. "Wouldn't thin layers like this make it less sturdy?"
Adam shrugged. "Depends on the plastic used. Certainly more complicated than a thick slab of glass or whatever, but it should work well enough." He waved at the example corridor. "Passing through would be easy if you had the confidence to leap directly on the trap first, which would show off the weakened panels surround it. Then you could hop over the other side and be on your way."
Anita frowned. "Huh. Easy enough once someone figures it out though. Stands out too much."
He shook his head. "Nah, see the next example? That is a fake fake fake trap. Looks the same on top, but the layers of plastic are deliberately faulty to allow people to fall through safely. Without being careful, telling the difference between the two could be an issue."
Pidgey chirped, and Anita nodded at her friend. "Right, and they could swap out the glass/plastic layer so even going through the maze twice wouldn't help you cheat. They look so similar you would have to check every time."
As they continued through the displays, Adam realized that many of these traps could EASILY be lethal if slightly modified or if they misfired or had mechanical flaws. The amount of safe guards and design work were all the more impressive when examined internally, but all the more confusing about how one guy could pay for this. Or even design it to begin with.
They did spend some money at the gift shop at the exit. Adam found a neat hat that had a small spring panel bouncing on top, and Anita got a few humorous shirts and spent a while trying to convince Pidgey to stop wearing that embarrassing muscle shirt outfit.
Didn't work though.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam blinked. "What the hell? Is that an 'Escape Rope'?"
Anita looked over at his area in the Poké Mart. "Oh yeah, I've used those before."
He leaned forward. Nope, it had no technology in it. "How does it work?"
She blinked. "It is a rope. You tie it to stuff. Or set it up to cross small gaps, or better hold your stuff together, etc."
Adam pointed. "Then why call it an 'Escape Rope' and not just a 'Rope'?" The chances of the thing actually teleporting you to a cave exit seemed beyond silly.
Anita hummed. "The manufacturer is the same people that make 'Repel Potions', and they soak the ropes in the stuff. It isn't strong enough to hold off anything too interested, not like if you had a fresh dose of 'Repel Potion' used, but it DOES keep Pokémon from messing with your line, eating it, cutting it, etc. Use a normal rope and something may decide to snack on the thing at a bad time."
Huh. "So that's why it costs so much? Why would anyone buy another one?"
She shrugged. "If you don't buy new ones every so often, the effects of the soaked in potion get weaker. And for it to last as long as it does, I think they use a concentrated version of 'Max Repel', so the rope option is actually pretty cost effective and can really help someone out in a pinch."
Anita pointed at a bundle. "When going into caves, we tend to buy 'Climbing Packs', which have a couple low cost 'Repel' items, several yards of compressed 'Escape Rope', and a few basic potions like 'Antidote' or whatever. The rope is ignored by monsters, the 'Repel Potion' makes creatures stay away from the Trainer while climbing up or down it, even if that cheap stuff wears off quickly, and the other potions make sure you have the energy to actually USE the 'Escape Rope'."
Adam examined the items. "Looks like 'Repel' corrupts the local ambient Aura fields into something odd."
She shrugged. "No idea how they work, but Pidgey hates them. I try to avoid the need to use them when possible."
They continued to banter back and forth as they slowly collected a massive selection sample of the stuff on sale. Adam's ability to duplicate rare high quality Pokéberries made their funds quite flush (thank you very much) so shopping sprees like this had been a common event over the few days spent wandering the carnival like city. And they were a more healthy option to buy than the candies and snacks being advertised.
Anita sighed at the checkout. "We have to leave soon. Especially if you want to catch your two chosen Pokémon on Route 110 before I have to head back to the Academy and report on my trip."
He blinked. "Huh. Your report is going to be odd."
She shrugged. "To a certain extent, it is expected. John's last adventure ended up involving a submarine, and Susan started a small religion."
Adam winced. Change topic! "Do you think Team Rocket will give you any grief?"
Anita shook her head. "I've stayed in contact with Grunt. The female one I mean. They will fight back if I interfere with any operations I stumble upon, but that is standard procedure and part of their internal expenditure profile when operating in regions, so apparently they have no hard feelings. I will be fine."
She glanced at her Pokédex, the device now more advanced than anything SHE had heard of, and the hidden information within. Because helping out with that crazy Marshadow incident had Team Rocket actually paying her a bounty of all things. So yeah, she wouldn't have fallout from that whole mess.
Adam sighed. "Well, I've had fun for a bit and I have gathered a lot of schematics while here... I suppose we can get going after a night's rest. Because it is close to midnight right now."
She blinked and looked up at the unchanging lighting inside the building. "Wow... this place really messes up my internal clock."
He nodded. "That and the super-charged bread that won't let you sleep and makes eating unnecessary. You seem to be recovering from it now though."
Her eyes were wide. "BREAD!?" She caught herself before dashing around to frantically look. Again.
Adam winced. "Mostly recovered." Seriously, how much 'Electric Aura' was IN those cakes?
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam stared at the awesome raised pathway. "Why can't we use THAT path?"
Anita glanced over. "Ah, the 'Cycling Road'. Bikes are more than a bit expensive, but if you invested in one you can use that to pass by the..." She glanced at the Route. "Less repaired option."
He frowned. "Well, I could whip up some bikes I guess, they aren't that complicated."
She chuckled. "If you didn't examine the ones back in Mauville City then don't bother. Not only do their bikes have authentication modules needed to use that path, but they are pretty advanced. They have to be, to survive the Pokémon attacks that Trainers will inevitably get involved in. And you CAN just walk on that path if you want, it was just designed for cycles first and foremost."
Meh, he could fake a bike easily enough. Or brute force a better option. Ah well, he wasn't likely to see many Electric Pokémon on the ocean.
Adam walked towards the 'Main Route' for Route 110, the road near instantly falling apart into very thick grass. Yeah, screw this.
All six bone limbs unfurled and began Gathering rocks, grass, leaves, and muck from their path. Two swapped back to Construction beams, forming the high quality rock foundation, the nice water drains seen on that garden path on Route 117, high quality paving stones designed way back when, and solar powered street lights.
Unlike the well maintained Route 117, clearly all funding on THIS path was spent for the more popular 'Seaside Cycling Road' that extended over the sea. To the point where Adam's choice of traveling was almost being rebuilt from damn SCRATCH as Adam advanced toward near invisible way-points. Seriously, how long had this travel option been neglected? Years at least.
Anita hummed as Pidgey flew ahead, pausing on various branches to flex. "I heard the non-cycle path was a bit rough, but they really let this area go." She looked over at Adam, ignoring how his trap-door hat bounced with flames as he continued to wear his princess outfit. "So what is the plan for this play?"
Adam sighed as their progress slowed significantly, his limbs basically forcing a nice orderly path to exist. "Around half way to the next town, I'm going to set up a big automated hotel, restaurant, and performance center. Stage, lights, the works. We can practice a few times before going live, and hopefully a we meet some interested Plusles and Minuns in the opening audience."
Anita glanced at the tunnel Adam was carving into Nature that at one point had been a Route/Forest. "Are we actually going to have any audience at all? Look at that tall grass, if I wasn't with a living lawn mower then I certainly wouldn't risk it."
He chuckled. "Well, maybe not at first..." He glanced at the near pristine path with well tended vegetation on either side that followed their trail. "But I think curiosity will draw a few people."
Adam absently pulsed his Aura, a near invisible metallic wave sending the thick tall grass rustling as unseen creatures fled. "And the path will END at our theater, which will also have the only high quality rest area and restaurant on this whole path. At least, until we finish and continue on to Slateport City. I'm sure a few people will stay for a free production."
Anita looked torn between interest in seeing what crowd showed up and pure horror at performing the silly script they had been practicing. At least HER parts only had some naughty language here and there, some innuendo.
Poor Adam had a dance number.
Last edited:
DualEquinox
Verified Smartass
- Location
- Australia
Knowing Simmy it is a pole dance number. And also happens to be his shirtless scene too.
- Location
- Scotland
Humerus is a bone in your arm, I think humorous is the word you were looking for.
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
This chapter... it's a trap!
What if they're shirts with bones on them? Cubone would approve.
- Location
- USA
Careful an annoying dog might steal them.
- Location
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nah knowing all the weird shit that exists in the pokemon world I wouldn't be surprised if those shirts actually were made of some kind of bone weave.
- Location
- North Carolina
This story has gotten so off the walls that I'm not sure if it's a spelling error, a bad pun, or bone shirts.
DualEquinox
Verified Smartass
- Location
- Australia
So I have been thinking about the whole fuelled by Aura thing the pokemon have going here for all their moves and special abilities and what not something just occurred to me - Does that mean Celebi has cracked Aura-Powered Timetravel? Cause that has... implications... if Adam were to ever run into one. (I mean it is literally the only time-travelling non-Pokegod Legendary we know of. By my reckoning, that means it is the only time traveller that uses only aura to do its thing instead of using divinity/kami to cheat.)
Rise of Entertainment!
- Location
- Here
If Adam was being reasonable, a basic stage and some equipment would be enough for his plans. The play was not THAT complicated, and if he really had to... Well, Simmy and Sammy could just direct him to the two most compatible electric Pokémon in the area.
But the point of this was showmanship!
And he KNEW how to impress... Go Big.
Anita, Pidgey, and Abra (Whom had a newly constructed Back-Hive with a more relaxing color scheme) were provided with some benches as Adam began making a massive clearing.
And to get into the proper mood, the princess outfit was retired so he could wear some bright orange construction gear. Manly men wear protective gear during work hours!
Some quick 'Growth', 'Purification', and 'Manipulation' let him shift all the trees away to form a MASSIVE clearing in the forest. To prevent those now smushed together trees from dying due to lack of sunlight and other resources, he forced 'Manipulation' and 'Bind' to fuse the mess into something like an outer wall, the leaves at the top turning darker and closer to black so that the available light would be absorbed more efficiently. The roots were sent FAR deeper, creating a net in the process to hinder soil dwelling creatures from passing though easily.
This had a couple of advantages. First, the new meadow Adam was creating now had a protective border to keep most Pokémon from wandering in accidentally. Secondly, it helped keep the sound waves sure to be caused by the new Theater from polluting the surrounding area. The light issues would still exist though. Just in case, he modified the tree wall to be extra 'spongy' to absorb noise and extra dark to better absorb ambient light pollution... it hopefully would help.
Just to ensure the overall protective nature of the plant life barrier, an internal foam web structure of metal and stone was formed inside the tree fence line itself. Covered in Glyphs, it should encourage stronger wood formation over time and faster recovery should something attack it. Maybe create a bit of 'Don`t bother me' field to the wall too, if a weak one. At least, anyone tearing open the trees would stumble into a rocky issue or two.
Anyway, the point was to make some damn room for his new creation. Now that a massive, football field sized area was formed with lush grass and a tree wall... he could move downward.
The building would look like a Pokéball when seen from the sky. The white, bottom half would be exposed to nature, for outdoor productions when weather permitted. No tickets required to attend this one, and it could draw in crowds from the entrance to the new performance meadow. On the other hand, the red, top half of the stage was to be enclosed, and able to act as a standard movie theater when plays were not scheduled.
Looking like a trainer's belt, the massive wings on either side of the 'Theater Ball' facility would have separate purposes. The right half would hold the performer's facilities. Multiple sound-proofed practice areas, apartment complexes for staff and family, automated restaurant, enhanced computer labs, costume and proper design departments, etc.
The left side was closer to the official entrance of the meadow, and was for the public to use officially. Bottom level of the structure acting like a standardized rest top, even if the facilities were a bit more advanced than one would expect. Multiple automated shops that Adam designed after the stores they had visited on the way here, with enhanced products using the tricks he stole and enhanced, here they would be sold at a premium. Several automated restaurants and plenty of room to relax. It was meant for a bustling group on the move, really.
Second floor had other entertainment options. An area that was designed to act as a 'Contest Hall', another (again, automated) reproduction of the Game Corner, and a very high quality hotel dominated this floor, while the smaller setups would be booths that Trainers could rent and use to sell goods and services.
Top floor? A massive garden and pool area, meant to simulate the nicer areas he had seen on his travels. A few areas were enclosed in clear 'plastic' (It was Transparisteel, but no one needed to know that) so people and Pokémon could enjoy the facilities in bad weather, and a few areas simulated forests from other biomes (Fire Aura enhanced plants, Electric Aura enhanced trees, etc).
At least, that was the plan.
Right NOW, Adam was Gathering more and more soil and rock as he emptied a pit downward. DEEP downward, considering how many Ground type Pokémon existed in this Realm.
As he quickly vanished further and further into the massive pit that would soon become a heavily reinforced and defended power production area and resource creation warehouse, he activated a custom designed Pokédex that was basically combined with tricks from RWBY's Scrolls, and made a call.
"Ms. Grunt? I was wondering what your hiring rates were. I am going to need a few hundred employees to arrive on Route 110 willing to work as customer service."
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Anita watched Adam's six strange bone limbs whip into a frenzy as he just... forced space into the dense forest.
Seriously, every step on this path had been more and more impressive. At THIS point, the trees had gotten so thick that the Route he had created looked like a tunnel in a mountain, completely covered on all sides with wood from various trees moved out the way and forced aside.
The street lights had been modified into hanging lamps in that section, reinforced wires apparently reaching up through the thick wood covering to reach sunlight for power. Not that she could tell, the only way to find out how they worked had been to ask Adam directly. And most of his answer went over her head ANYWAY.
At the time, she had been impressed. Now? That was nothing.
Adam just pushed at something, and the too dense forest just exploded backwards.
And it WAS too dense. REAL, normal forests... well, the lack of light would cause the smaller vines and bushes to die and become mulch. The thicker the thicket, the more space available to Trainers at the roots level basically.
Not here, not on this Route. The amount of Grass energy was staggering, pushing the local Ground, Rock, and Water energy to near nothingness. The plant life was thick, vicious, and domineering.
Then Adam got annoyed, and BOOM, the forest ran away like terrified Torchics. Or like chickens in general, she guessed.
As Anita carefully cleaned little Abra's chin from her most recent snack, resting on a very comfortable bench (One of many Adam made for this side of the clearing), the man himself had caused beautiful grass fields to spread like a blanket... then he sort of fell into a massive hole. A huge, sharp edge void in the ground.
The soil didn't look right either. On every edge of the ever growing hole, the loose dirt and expected roots looked more like heavily compressed stone, forced into a repeating structural pattern.
She took more pictures. Her report was going to be awesome this year!
Her attention was drawn however to the sky pretty quickly.
Why the hell was there a series of hot air balloons in the sky?
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The female Grunt (Agent 21142, ready for duty!) felt something inside relax a bit when she saw the young girl Anita gaping up at their rides. She had been a bit worried that the little one would have run into problems being so close to such a Target as Adam. Probably unwarranted concerns, but the heart didn't usually work on logic.
Powerful people did not always make good companions or guardians, after all.
And he WAS powerful. Even as the ships were carefully landing, she could see the clearly artificial clearing and the stupidly massive hole with something red glowing in the deep depths. Likely her future employer, no doubt.
She lept from the descending balloon and swept the girl into a hug. "Anita! I'm so glad to see you again!"
The girl squawked but eventually returned the hug. "Good to see you too, Ms. Grunt."
She smirked. "Actually I got promoted!" Mostly because she had been assigned to work with Target Adam, or Target Outsider as the internals had labeled him. "You can technically call me Alice now, and I am officially an 'Underling'! One more promotion, and I will become an actual Team Rocket Trainer!"
The girl clapped. "Congratulations!" She looked over to the many unloading people and their baggage. "And your friends?"
She glanced at the teams and made some hand signals, the masses giving a rapid solute and then getting to work. "These Grunts are some of the more talented customer service people, our Bosses are more than interested in investing in Adam's new project. Especially if it shows such high standards and quality as the other facilities he constructed on the way down here."
Anita sighed. "Did anyone tell you what his plan is right now? Why we are really doing this?"
She blinked. "Isn't he making an entertainment facility?"
The girl sighed towards the ever deepening hole. "Well, yeah. Sorta. Although it is becoming more an entertainment town at this rate." She shook her head. "Adam wants to catch a Plusle and Minun for two of his wives. Since they like to cheer, being cheering Pokémon, he decided the best way to do this is to put on a show for someone to clap for."
The Rocket Underling blinked... and turned toward the massive, black hole in the center of an artistically and artificially created park surrounded by what seemed to be a black-leaved demon tree wall. "Huh."
Then her brain hiccuped. "Wait, wives!?"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam finished the bottom layer of metallic foam and began creating his Conversion Generators when his 'Technomancy' detected the arrival of all SORTS of electronics above. "Oh, Team Rocket acts quickly."
Good, he needed people to ensure this place was run right when he left, and didn't want to leave droids or drones behind. Ignoring of course the customized 'Repair Drones' he may or may not have installed in all his facilities. They didn't count. At least, they didn't have a full AI installed.
Layer after layer of reinforced shielding and flooring was added as he slowly built the foundations upwards. Oh, there WOULD be access tunnels and tubes to reach the equipment down there... and maybe a drone or dozen to repair any issues, even if they would never exit this basement... but at the surface, it would all be sealed up. Only the redirection of power, supplies, and cooling would be allowed into the foundation stations.
No reason to expose this Realm to his more interesting technology so easily. It wouldn't bother him if someone broke in down here, but there was no point in making it an easy process to accidentally stumble upon either.
Simmy and Sammy had been making suggestions as he progressed, and there was a layer of metal Glyphs forming a rune circle under the entire clearing now. It generated a Purification field to promote healthiness, better health, and prevent disease and poison. Because Poison Pokémon exist.
Not much was invested in defenses, aside from a feeling of disease and paranoia to anyone with malicious intentions... the staff and security personnel and Pokémon would have to step in there and fill in the gaps. It should be more than enough, considering how unobjectionable the building should be.
Speaking of staff, he finally reached surface level again! The final flooring of metal was rapidly covered by a carefully grown wood surface using 'Manipulation' and 'Growth'. The walls themselves would also be part of this single Tree, even as metal and wiring was embedded within. Should prevent flooding too, as the roots would suck that stuff up. Oh! "Grunt!"
The female Team Rocket Member was distracted... oh, right, his extra limbs. "Ignore those. I am so glad you all showed up so quickly! Who do I talk to leadership wise, I want to go over these schematics before I finish construction."
She recovered well enough. "Good day Adam! I got promoted to Underling, and I am in charge of... whatever it is you are doing here. So I can go by Alice now instead of Grunt."
He blinked. "Oh. Well, congratulations! Got any team leads under you then? Because I have some schematics I would like to run by your people."
Even as she began calling over several workers, Adam made a wooden table with a scale model of the area on top. "The public stuff is obvious enough, but I added labels for you to easily tell what is what. I'm sort of stealing the cooler things I ran into along the way here, like the second level that has some features from Mauville City and a couple of buildings from Verdanturf Town."
He gestured. "I want to add a police station and a Pokémon Center on the first floor, but I don't know the procedures to do so officially."
A few quick conversations with her people and she turned back to him. "Right, move these around a bit. They will be too popular, and create massive crowds that will cause traffic issues if they are that close together. Add some more elevators here and here, and emergency staircases as well."
Her people were... really good at this. "The Hotel should be closer to the entrances to the theater and the pool/park elevators. Move the main entrance leading to the second floor over here, closer to the middle. That way anyone heading to the main entertainment sections will have to pass by the Hotel itself, that should increase staying customers. And you need a gift shop, as something this complicated is already more than some circuses or theme parks I've seen. Take advantage of that. I suggest over here, near the main entrance."
One of the Grunts stepped forward. "I can get schematics of what needs to be available locally for any City trying to set up a new Pokécenter or Police Office. if you have it all set up and contact the officials, they will send someone over near instantly. They are supported by all the local Governments, so the paperwork is easy."
Adam watched as the model changed in real time according to their suggestions. "I CAN make areas underground, and I added some access areas under the theaters for actors and stuff as well as moving props around, but I want to keep people above ground as much as possible, especially non-employees. I could increase this side to four floors if needed, but I would have to expand the employee side to match the aesthetics."
The structure twisted and shifted as the group made suggestions, Anita popped in and gave her point of view as a kid who thought various things would be cool, Pidgey made a good suggestion about having areas for people flying in (As riding Pokémon through the air was VERY common), and so on and so forth.
In the background, plant based lighting fruits began forming on the now black colored bark covering the tree wall, the grass coating the ground was mutating into a thick moss that curled into itself rather than threatening to grow up into tall grass, and the wooden Theater continued to build up mass for the future growth plans.
Abra's eyes slid open ever so slightly.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The world was energy, the dreams were many.
Floating, twisting, growing. Hopes and dreams and greed.
Her fishbowl Trainer had many limbs, and they danced in the world, in the air.
The ground was on fire, and within the flames a star was born. Energy fueled the Aura of life, an unending source that rapidly flowed into the foundation of a new endeavor.
A message from her fishbowl. Two Angels, demon and saint, plans within plans.
But the message was valid. Her partner needed assistance.
Her small, cat like orange head pulsed slightly, her eyes glowed purple.
Who said 'Telepathy' was restricted to passing messages?
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The Trainer nearly fell off his bike. "THE HELL!?"
Seriously, what WAS that!? It had been... like, out the corner of his eye. Something shifting that shouldn't have been there.
Looking over to ensure it wasn't some sort of ambush... he blinked.
Had that path always been there?
He glanced at the sign. "Route 110 Urban Renewal Project: Come see the new 'Theater Ball'! Free entrance tickets on opening... night?"
Looking at his friends catching up (He WAS the fastest, take that Dave!) he waved them over. "Guys, did any of you hear about this 'Renewal Project' thing?"
As the curious Trainers followed the very lovely trail into the woods, they failed to notice the sign fading away.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Anita walked into the new Pokécenter, even as the surrounding facilities were being formed by thick, metal-like wooden growth. It looked... disturbingly like the Pokécenter back in Rustboro City honestly. Even if it had a bit more storage available and the supplied medicine was going to be higher quality than the stuff normally available to such a place, overall it felt like she had stepped back in time to their last visit.
And about Adam's various machines, NO. She WASN'T sure how Adam could just make a vending machine auto-refill its own supply automatically. Alice's suggestion of 'Don`t Ask' had turned into something like a mantra for the poor girl, even as she continued to take random photos documenting the process.
She blinked when the door, finished and functioning only twenty minutes ago, automatically slid open AGAIN with a cheerful ding. "Oh! This is quite lovely."
Turning, Anita blinked. "Hello?"
Nurse Joy and five Chansey's entered with a smile. "Yes, we were told this was the new Pokécenter that applied for service?"
Well damn that was quick. And at least she wouldn't have to wait a long time down here. She shook hands with the nurse while smiling. "Yes, I'm Anita. Adam is the one who made this place, and he wanted to make sure you had everything you needed to make this new center work out. Any changes or questions you can give to me and I will make sure they are addressed."
Did she get extra credit for this? She felt like she deserved extra credit.
Nurse Joy was already bustling behind the counter, having moved WAY faster than Anita had expected. "We received Mr. Burn's paperwork earlier today, and he said something about a basic stock of medication being already available... Oh. Oh my!"
Her hands shook as she moved supplies during her examination of the shelves. "Max Ethers, Max Elixirs, Vitamins, Revives and Max Revives, and the standard potions for various status effects... and so many available!"
Her pink, egg like Pokémon chirped. "Chanse! Chansey sey sey Chansey."
The nurse blinked. "Evolutionary stones!? And not just a full set, but with duplicates! These are QUITE hard to find in such large quantities and with this level of purity."
Anita winced. Yeah, Adam had been disappointed in those. Apparently they were just really condensed, physical forms of 'Aura', or Pokémon types. Apparently he had run into something similar in the past, and had expected more. He had grumbled about it for hours afterwards.
The professional wandered back to the front counter and fussed with the tools. "The equipment provided like the 'Automated Recovery Tool Station' seem to be even BETTER than the standard supplies provided to our facilities. This is beyond all expectations!"
Her face slowly fell. "But I am not sure we can afford to station here with the amount of Government subsidy provided for facilities this size."
Nurse Joy waved some notes she had somehow had time to make. "Just the medication alone Mr. Burns provided is beyond high quality and very expensive. The compensation process would be unsustainable... Even if he offered to sell them at cost, the stipend wouldn't cover it."
She looked with longing at the over-stocked shelving. "If we somehow got donations to help find the budget... no. No, things like those stones or the improved diagnostic machines... even some Regions may not have enough to pay for this. I have no clue how Mr. Burns gathered it all in the first place, it must have been a lifetime of effort."
Anita coughed. "Actually, this uh." No, don't mention that he just magicked it all up in a few minutes. "Adam... I mean, Mr. Burns is not concerned about money."
Several Chansey's joined the Nurse in confusion.
Anita waved at the counter. "Adam is... very wealthy." Cause he can just make whatever he wants after seeing it once. Talk about cheating. "He doesn't expect you to pay for anything here, this was all just provided to ensure you would have not issues getting started up. A 'Welcome' gift of sorts, I guess."
She moved the stunned nurse towards the back facility, opening a specific door. "See this room? Adam made these Vending machines to offer resupplies of everything currently in the Center. And it costs about 10% less than market value, or 2% lower than manufacturing cost value according to what he could find out about the market."
Yeah, no clue how these things work. Anita waved at them. "Use the stipend or whatever that is on these to resupply the Center, and don't worry about what Adam gave already." Because he was busy building above them right now, and shouldn't be distracted. No one wants to be buried under a building because the one magical worker is distracted by technicalities.
Nurse Joy walked with wonder, seeing how many products were listed on the many devices. "What... what an astounding selection. How much of this supply is currently available?"
No idea. "Adam says it won't be an issue." Cause it is magic anyway, or something. "Everything should be in stock for... a very long time."
The nurse chuckled. "Now I feel terrible asking Officer Jenny to help me carry all those supplies into the building." She watched the Chansey crowd begin moving crates into the back. "Especially since Mr. Burns has provided almost a decade's worth of high quality materials. Forget resupply, we can probably build up an emergency reserve of cash by saving the stipend month to month."
Anita blinked. "Wait, Officer Jenny is here?"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Being part of nature, connected to the unreal and to the Fairy energy of the unseen, allows one to be sensitive to change.
This is both good and bad, as his partner and child had to follow closely as he searched for somewhere they could securely raise their young.
His kind often worked closely with Humans, due to their nature and ease of communication even if talking was off the table. That said, this same understanding meant finding a GOOD human was at times difficult.
And his standards had rose sky high when his little one arrived. Family first, family forever.
In the dense woods, he suddenly felt a possible future. His Psychic nature felt... colors. Bright lights. Songs and dances. The world. A Stage.
His family needed safety... and he could feel it out there. Far closer than expected.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Alice sweat dropped. "No, Officer."
Officer Jenny's Growlithe grumbled as she crossed her arms. "Because I am seeing a LOT of 'Team Rocket' logo's in the area."
She coughed. "Look, I may or may not be employed by certain well known organizations, but I swear we are not the ones leading this construction project."
The police woman tapped her foot. "I assumed so when this 'Mr. Burns' fellow built a police station overnight using more funding than most capital cities. I could arrest a thousand people and secure them down there..." She glared at the Underling. "And I WILL if I need to."
Jenny sighed and relaxed slightly. "Look, your various 'freely organized group fans' and so such WILL follow the laws while in this territory, is that understood?"
The Underling quickly nodded. "No problem! Adam... I mean, 'Mr. Burns' has no plans on making this into some sort of scam or whatever. I can show you the development plans, give a tour... it is on the up and up, 100%!"
With a sigh, the officer tapped her thigh, Growlithe returning to her side and on duty. "Very well. Where is Mr. Burns anyway?"
The Underling waved upwards. "Building the second and third floors for the next few hours. They have a play they want to do this afternoon or tomorrow, and he wants the electrical system up for a few practice performances before his big number. I'm just trying to make sure the customers wandering in are staying out of the construction zones."
The officer stumbled. "Wait, what!?"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The shadowy bosses had met more in the last week or so than they had for months.
One Boss tapped the desk. "Estimates?"
A Grunt gathered his notes. "As there are no external supply chains detected and the internal Vending Machine supply devices are all selling at below cost, the shops and restaurants are massive profit sources."
Another nodded. "This is compounded as only sales people are being hired. No chefs are needed, no supply warehouse support groups, just those needed to clean, restock, and sell. The wages offered by this 'Theater Ball' are almost double the working average as well, and the work hours are reasonable. Also, the percentage of profit offered to those of us sponsoring various facilities is overly generous."
One of the older members was still grumbling. "I still say we should steal one of those vending machines. SOMEHOW they are being supplied with VERY rare materials, if we can force one to deliver for free it would be pure profit!"
The higher boss sighed. "No. Aside from the fact that this entire endeavor is pure profit ANYWAY, as we had no need to invest in construction, local land clearing, and so forth... Target Outsider is clearly testing us with this."
He smacked the table, making a few people jump. "I do NOT want to be responsible for pissing off a man who can restructure a city by accident. Especially not when he is insisting on giving us profit, gainful employment for our people, and good public relations."
An analyst chipped in. "Not just that, but he isn't likely to stay long. The Underling Alice reports that the entire project is a side effect of his real goal."
Several people blinked. "Which is?"
The man sighed. "He wishes to catch two Pokémon."
The grumbling one sat forward. "Legendaries? Maybe some rare variant?"
He shook his head. "No, a common Plusle and Minun."
The silence grew. One woman spoke up. "Don't we have like... a few hundred of those in reserve for new members who are compatible?"
The Boss shook his head. "If anyone asks, NO."
The glare went around and nods were given.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam grinned, standing tall on the 'Pokéball Dome' of his new Theater.
From here you could easily see the exposed open air performance area, the waterproof curtains and seating ensuring no damage should they continue being exposed to the elements. The floor had special patterns to prevent slippage if the ground was wet from weather, and could be heated to prevent snow or ice from being an issue... as well as helping keep the crowds warm on colder days.
It had all taken... WAY longer than he had expected. Not using Drones had slowed everything down a lot, but it had gotten done eventually. That said, it was a bit too late to have the proper preparation time for a play tonight... Anita would have to be told that everything would be delayed until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe later, should something else crop up.
Suddenly he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
...And he was WAY above ground level.
Turning, he saw... nothing.
His shoulder was tapped again, somehow feeling... down. And near the entrance to the Tree Wall.
The hell?
Stepping off the wall, he fell to the ground as his metallic Aura absorbed the impact and converted it to potential energy for later. Walking past the many busy people trying to get the facility running, he headed to the entrance near the Route trail.
And blinked. "Uh."
The short people waved. The tallest was about four feet tall, or a one and a third meters. The tiniest one was held in the loving arms of its mother.
Adam coughed. "Hello."
Another wave.
He nodded. "How can I help you, Mr. Mime?"
...Uh huh.
Yeah.
Alright.
Damn it, he was terrible at Charades. "Hang on, let me get little Abra back from my friend Anita, I think she can act as interpreter."
He got two thumbs up, the baby Mime Jr. was too busy sucking on his little fist.
But the point of this was showmanship!
And he KNEW how to impress... Go Big.
Anita, Pidgey, and Abra (Whom had a newly constructed Back-Hive with a more relaxing color scheme) were provided with some benches as Adam began making a massive clearing.
And to get into the proper mood, the princess outfit was retired so he could wear some bright orange construction gear. Manly men wear protective gear during work hours!
Some quick 'Growth', 'Purification', and 'Manipulation' let him shift all the trees away to form a MASSIVE clearing in the forest. To prevent those now smushed together trees from dying due to lack of sunlight and other resources, he forced 'Manipulation' and 'Bind' to fuse the mess into something like an outer wall, the leaves at the top turning darker and closer to black so that the available light would be absorbed more efficiently. The roots were sent FAR deeper, creating a net in the process to hinder soil dwelling creatures from passing though easily.
This had a couple of advantages. First, the new meadow Adam was creating now had a protective border to keep most Pokémon from wandering in accidentally. Secondly, it helped keep the sound waves sure to be caused by the new Theater from polluting the surrounding area. The light issues would still exist though. Just in case, he modified the tree wall to be extra 'spongy' to absorb noise and extra dark to better absorb ambient light pollution... it hopefully would help.
Just to ensure the overall protective nature of the plant life barrier, an internal foam web structure of metal and stone was formed inside the tree fence line itself. Covered in Glyphs, it should encourage stronger wood formation over time and faster recovery should something attack it. Maybe create a bit of 'Don`t bother me' field to the wall too, if a weak one. At least, anyone tearing open the trees would stumble into a rocky issue or two.
Anyway, the point was to make some damn room for his new creation. Now that a massive, football field sized area was formed with lush grass and a tree wall... he could move downward.
The building would look like a Pokéball when seen from the sky. The white, bottom half would be exposed to nature, for outdoor productions when weather permitted. No tickets required to attend this one, and it could draw in crowds from the entrance to the new performance meadow. On the other hand, the red, top half of the stage was to be enclosed, and able to act as a standard movie theater when plays were not scheduled.
Looking like a trainer's belt, the massive wings on either side of the 'Theater Ball' facility would have separate purposes. The right half would hold the performer's facilities. Multiple sound-proofed practice areas, apartment complexes for staff and family, automated restaurant, enhanced computer labs, costume and proper design departments, etc.
The left side was closer to the official entrance of the meadow, and was for the public to use officially. Bottom level of the structure acting like a standardized rest top, even if the facilities were a bit more advanced than one would expect. Multiple automated shops that Adam designed after the stores they had visited on the way here, with enhanced products using the tricks he stole and enhanced, here they would be sold at a premium. Several automated restaurants and plenty of room to relax. It was meant for a bustling group on the move, really.
Second floor had other entertainment options. An area that was designed to act as a 'Contest Hall', another (again, automated) reproduction of the Game Corner, and a very high quality hotel dominated this floor, while the smaller setups would be booths that Trainers could rent and use to sell goods and services.
Top floor? A massive garden and pool area, meant to simulate the nicer areas he had seen on his travels. A few areas were enclosed in clear 'plastic' (It was Transparisteel, but no one needed to know that) so people and Pokémon could enjoy the facilities in bad weather, and a few areas simulated forests from other biomes (Fire Aura enhanced plants, Electric Aura enhanced trees, etc).
At least, that was the plan.
Right NOW, Adam was Gathering more and more soil and rock as he emptied a pit downward. DEEP downward, considering how many Ground type Pokémon existed in this Realm.
As he quickly vanished further and further into the massive pit that would soon become a heavily reinforced and defended power production area and resource creation warehouse, he activated a custom designed Pokédex that was basically combined with tricks from RWBY's Scrolls, and made a call.
"Ms. Grunt? I was wondering what your hiring rates were. I am going to need a few hundred employees to arrive on Route 110 willing to work as customer service."
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Anita watched Adam's six strange bone limbs whip into a frenzy as he just... forced space into the dense forest.
Seriously, every step on this path had been more and more impressive. At THIS point, the trees had gotten so thick that the Route he had created looked like a tunnel in a mountain, completely covered on all sides with wood from various trees moved out the way and forced aside.
The street lights had been modified into hanging lamps in that section, reinforced wires apparently reaching up through the thick wood covering to reach sunlight for power. Not that she could tell, the only way to find out how they worked had been to ask Adam directly. And most of his answer went over her head ANYWAY.
At the time, she had been impressed. Now? That was nothing.
Adam just pushed at something, and the too dense forest just exploded backwards.
And it WAS too dense. REAL, normal forests... well, the lack of light would cause the smaller vines and bushes to die and become mulch. The thicker the thicket, the more space available to Trainers at the roots level basically.
Not here, not on this Route. The amount of Grass energy was staggering, pushing the local Ground, Rock, and Water energy to near nothingness. The plant life was thick, vicious, and domineering.
Then Adam got annoyed, and BOOM, the forest ran away like terrified Torchics. Or like chickens in general, she guessed.
As Anita carefully cleaned little Abra's chin from her most recent snack, resting on a very comfortable bench (One of many Adam made for this side of the clearing), the man himself had caused beautiful grass fields to spread like a blanket... then he sort of fell into a massive hole. A huge, sharp edge void in the ground.
The soil didn't look right either. On every edge of the ever growing hole, the loose dirt and expected roots looked more like heavily compressed stone, forced into a repeating structural pattern.
She took more pictures. Her report was going to be awesome this year!
Her attention was drawn however to the sky pretty quickly.
Why the hell was there a series of hot air balloons in the sky?
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The female Grunt (Agent 21142, ready for duty!) felt something inside relax a bit when she saw the young girl Anita gaping up at their rides. She had been a bit worried that the little one would have run into problems being so close to such a Target as Adam. Probably unwarranted concerns, but the heart didn't usually work on logic.
Powerful people did not always make good companions or guardians, after all.
And he WAS powerful. Even as the ships were carefully landing, she could see the clearly artificial clearing and the stupidly massive hole with something red glowing in the deep depths. Likely her future employer, no doubt.
She lept from the descending balloon and swept the girl into a hug. "Anita! I'm so glad to see you again!"
The girl squawked but eventually returned the hug. "Good to see you too, Ms. Grunt."
She smirked. "Actually I got promoted!" Mostly because she had been assigned to work with Target Adam, or Target Outsider as the internals had labeled him. "You can technically call me Alice now, and I am officially an 'Underling'! One more promotion, and I will become an actual Team Rocket Trainer!"
The girl clapped. "Congratulations!" She looked over to the many unloading people and their baggage. "And your friends?"
She glanced at the teams and made some hand signals, the masses giving a rapid solute and then getting to work. "These Grunts are some of the more talented customer service people, our Bosses are more than interested in investing in Adam's new project. Especially if it shows such high standards and quality as the other facilities he constructed on the way down here."
Anita sighed. "Did anyone tell you what his plan is right now? Why we are really doing this?"
She blinked. "Isn't he making an entertainment facility?"
The girl sighed towards the ever deepening hole. "Well, yeah. Sorta. Although it is becoming more an entertainment town at this rate." She shook her head. "Adam wants to catch a Plusle and Minun for two of his wives. Since they like to cheer, being cheering Pokémon, he decided the best way to do this is to put on a show for someone to clap for."
The Rocket Underling blinked... and turned toward the massive, black hole in the center of an artistically and artificially created park surrounded by what seemed to be a black-leaved demon tree wall. "Huh."
Then her brain hiccuped. "Wait, wives!?"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam finished the bottom layer of metallic foam and began creating his Conversion Generators when his 'Technomancy' detected the arrival of all SORTS of electronics above. "Oh, Team Rocket acts quickly."
Good, he needed people to ensure this place was run right when he left, and didn't want to leave droids or drones behind. Ignoring of course the customized 'Repair Drones' he may or may not have installed in all his facilities. They didn't count. At least, they didn't have a full AI installed.
Layer after layer of reinforced shielding and flooring was added as he slowly built the foundations upwards. Oh, there WOULD be access tunnels and tubes to reach the equipment down there... and maybe a drone or dozen to repair any issues, even if they would never exit this basement... but at the surface, it would all be sealed up. Only the redirection of power, supplies, and cooling would be allowed into the foundation stations.
No reason to expose this Realm to his more interesting technology so easily. It wouldn't bother him if someone broke in down here, but there was no point in making it an easy process to accidentally stumble upon either.
Simmy and Sammy had been making suggestions as he progressed, and there was a layer of metal Glyphs forming a rune circle under the entire clearing now. It generated a Purification field to promote healthiness, better health, and prevent disease and poison. Because Poison Pokémon exist.
Not much was invested in defenses, aside from a feeling of disease and paranoia to anyone with malicious intentions... the staff and security personnel and Pokémon would have to step in there and fill in the gaps. It should be more than enough, considering how unobjectionable the building should be.
Speaking of staff, he finally reached surface level again! The final flooring of metal was rapidly covered by a carefully grown wood surface using 'Manipulation' and 'Growth'. The walls themselves would also be part of this single Tree, even as metal and wiring was embedded within. Should prevent flooding too, as the roots would suck that stuff up. Oh! "Grunt!"
The female Team Rocket Member was distracted... oh, right, his extra limbs. "Ignore those. I am so glad you all showed up so quickly! Who do I talk to leadership wise, I want to go over these schematics before I finish construction."
She recovered well enough. "Good day Adam! I got promoted to Underling, and I am in charge of... whatever it is you are doing here. So I can go by Alice now instead of Grunt."
He blinked. "Oh. Well, congratulations! Got any team leads under you then? Because I have some schematics I would like to run by your people."
Even as she began calling over several workers, Adam made a wooden table with a scale model of the area on top. "The public stuff is obvious enough, but I added labels for you to easily tell what is what. I'm sort of stealing the cooler things I ran into along the way here, like the second level that has some features from Mauville City and a couple of buildings from Verdanturf Town."
He gestured. "I want to add a police station and a Pokémon Center on the first floor, but I don't know the procedures to do so officially."
A few quick conversations with her people and she turned back to him. "Right, move these around a bit. They will be too popular, and create massive crowds that will cause traffic issues if they are that close together. Add some more elevators here and here, and emergency staircases as well."
Her people were... really good at this. "The Hotel should be closer to the entrances to the theater and the pool/park elevators. Move the main entrance leading to the second floor over here, closer to the middle. That way anyone heading to the main entertainment sections will have to pass by the Hotel itself, that should increase staying customers. And you need a gift shop, as something this complicated is already more than some circuses or theme parks I've seen. Take advantage of that. I suggest over here, near the main entrance."
One of the Grunts stepped forward. "I can get schematics of what needs to be available locally for any City trying to set up a new Pokécenter or Police Office. if you have it all set up and contact the officials, they will send someone over near instantly. They are supported by all the local Governments, so the paperwork is easy."
Adam watched as the model changed in real time according to their suggestions. "I CAN make areas underground, and I added some access areas under the theaters for actors and stuff as well as moving props around, but I want to keep people above ground as much as possible, especially non-employees. I could increase this side to four floors if needed, but I would have to expand the employee side to match the aesthetics."
The structure twisted and shifted as the group made suggestions, Anita popped in and gave her point of view as a kid who thought various things would be cool, Pidgey made a good suggestion about having areas for people flying in (As riding Pokémon through the air was VERY common), and so on and so forth.
In the background, plant based lighting fruits began forming on the now black colored bark covering the tree wall, the grass coating the ground was mutating into a thick moss that curled into itself rather than threatening to grow up into tall grass, and the wooden Theater continued to build up mass for the future growth plans.
Abra's eyes slid open ever so slightly.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The world was energy, the dreams were many.
Floating, twisting, growing. Hopes and dreams and greed.
Her fishbowl Trainer had many limbs, and they danced in the world, in the air.
The ground was on fire, and within the flames a star was born. Energy fueled the Aura of life, an unending source that rapidly flowed into the foundation of a new endeavor.
A message from her fishbowl. Two Angels, demon and saint, plans within plans.
But the message was valid. Her partner needed assistance.
Her small, cat like orange head pulsed slightly, her eyes glowed purple.
Who said 'Telepathy' was restricted to passing messages?
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The Trainer nearly fell off his bike. "THE HELL!?"
Seriously, what WAS that!? It had been... like, out the corner of his eye. Something shifting that shouldn't have been there.
Looking over to ensure it wasn't some sort of ambush... he blinked.
Had that path always been there?
He glanced at the sign. "Route 110 Urban Renewal Project: Come see the new 'Theater Ball'! Free entrance tickets on opening... night?"
Looking at his friends catching up (He WAS the fastest, take that Dave!) he waved them over. "Guys, did any of you hear about this 'Renewal Project' thing?"
As the curious Trainers followed the very lovely trail into the woods, they failed to notice the sign fading away.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Anita walked into the new Pokécenter, even as the surrounding facilities were being formed by thick, metal-like wooden growth. It looked... disturbingly like the Pokécenter back in Rustboro City honestly. Even if it had a bit more storage available and the supplied medicine was going to be higher quality than the stuff normally available to such a place, overall it felt like she had stepped back in time to their last visit.
And about Adam's various machines, NO. She WASN'T sure how Adam could just make a vending machine auto-refill its own supply automatically. Alice's suggestion of 'Don`t Ask' had turned into something like a mantra for the poor girl, even as she continued to take random photos documenting the process.
She blinked when the door, finished and functioning only twenty minutes ago, automatically slid open AGAIN with a cheerful ding. "Oh! This is quite lovely."
Turning, Anita blinked. "Hello?"
Nurse Joy and five Chansey's entered with a smile. "Yes, we were told this was the new Pokécenter that applied for service?"
Well damn that was quick. And at least she wouldn't have to wait a long time down here. She shook hands with the nurse while smiling. "Yes, I'm Anita. Adam is the one who made this place, and he wanted to make sure you had everything you needed to make this new center work out. Any changes or questions you can give to me and I will make sure they are addressed."
Did she get extra credit for this? She felt like she deserved extra credit.
Nurse Joy was already bustling behind the counter, having moved WAY faster than Anita had expected. "We received Mr. Burn's paperwork earlier today, and he said something about a basic stock of medication being already available... Oh. Oh my!"
Her hands shook as she moved supplies during her examination of the shelves. "Max Ethers, Max Elixirs, Vitamins, Revives and Max Revives, and the standard potions for various status effects... and so many available!"
Her pink, egg like Pokémon chirped. "Chanse! Chansey sey sey Chansey."
The nurse blinked. "Evolutionary stones!? And not just a full set, but with duplicates! These are QUITE hard to find in such large quantities and with this level of purity."
Anita winced. Yeah, Adam had been disappointed in those. Apparently they were just really condensed, physical forms of 'Aura', or Pokémon types. Apparently he had run into something similar in the past, and had expected more. He had grumbled about it for hours afterwards.
The professional wandered back to the front counter and fussed with the tools. "The equipment provided like the 'Automated Recovery Tool Station' seem to be even BETTER than the standard supplies provided to our facilities. This is beyond all expectations!"
Her face slowly fell. "But I am not sure we can afford to station here with the amount of Government subsidy provided for facilities this size."
Nurse Joy waved some notes she had somehow had time to make. "Just the medication alone Mr. Burns provided is beyond high quality and very expensive. The compensation process would be unsustainable... Even if he offered to sell them at cost, the stipend wouldn't cover it."
She looked with longing at the over-stocked shelving. "If we somehow got donations to help find the budget... no. No, things like those stones or the improved diagnostic machines... even some Regions may not have enough to pay for this. I have no clue how Mr. Burns gathered it all in the first place, it must have been a lifetime of effort."
Anita coughed. "Actually, this uh." No, don't mention that he just magicked it all up in a few minutes. "Adam... I mean, Mr. Burns is not concerned about money."
Several Chansey's joined the Nurse in confusion.
Anita waved at the counter. "Adam is... very wealthy." Cause he can just make whatever he wants after seeing it once. Talk about cheating. "He doesn't expect you to pay for anything here, this was all just provided to ensure you would have not issues getting started up. A 'Welcome' gift of sorts, I guess."
She moved the stunned nurse towards the back facility, opening a specific door. "See this room? Adam made these Vending machines to offer resupplies of everything currently in the Center. And it costs about 10% less than market value, or 2% lower than manufacturing cost value according to what he could find out about the market."
Yeah, no clue how these things work. Anita waved at them. "Use the stipend or whatever that is on these to resupply the Center, and don't worry about what Adam gave already." Because he was busy building above them right now, and shouldn't be distracted. No one wants to be buried under a building because the one magical worker is distracted by technicalities.
Nurse Joy walked with wonder, seeing how many products were listed on the many devices. "What... what an astounding selection. How much of this supply is currently available?"
No idea. "Adam says it won't be an issue." Cause it is magic anyway, or something. "Everything should be in stock for... a very long time."
The nurse chuckled. "Now I feel terrible asking Officer Jenny to help me carry all those supplies into the building." She watched the Chansey crowd begin moving crates into the back. "Especially since Mr. Burns has provided almost a decade's worth of high quality materials. Forget resupply, we can probably build up an emergency reserve of cash by saving the stipend month to month."
Anita blinked. "Wait, Officer Jenny is here?"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Being part of nature, connected to the unreal and to the Fairy energy of the unseen, allows one to be sensitive to change.
This is both good and bad, as his partner and child had to follow closely as he searched for somewhere they could securely raise their young.
His kind often worked closely with Humans, due to their nature and ease of communication even if talking was off the table. That said, this same understanding meant finding a GOOD human was at times difficult.
And his standards had rose sky high when his little one arrived. Family first, family forever.
In the dense woods, he suddenly felt a possible future. His Psychic nature felt... colors. Bright lights. Songs and dances. The world. A Stage.
His family needed safety... and he could feel it out there. Far closer than expected.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Alice sweat dropped. "No, Officer."
Officer Jenny's Growlithe grumbled as she crossed her arms. "Because I am seeing a LOT of 'Team Rocket' logo's in the area."
She coughed. "Look, I may or may not be employed by certain well known organizations, but I swear we are not the ones leading this construction project."
The police woman tapped her foot. "I assumed so when this 'Mr. Burns' fellow built a police station overnight using more funding than most capital cities. I could arrest a thousand people and secure them down there..." She glared at the Underling. "And I WILL if I need to."
Jenny sighed and relaxed slightly. "Look, your various 'freely organized group fans' and so such WILL follow the laws while in this territory, is that understood?"
The Underling quickly nodded. "No problem! Adam... I mean, 'Mr. Burns' has no plans on making this into some sort of scam or whatever. I can show you the development plans, give a tour... it is on the up and up, 100%!"
With a sigh, the officer tapped her thigh, Growlithe returning to her side and on duty. "Very well. Where is Mr. Burns anyway?"
The Underling waved upwards. "Building the second and third floors for the next few hours. They have a play they want to do this afternoon or tomorrow, and he wants the electrical system up for a few practice performances before his big number. I'm just trying to make sure the customers wandering in are staying out of the construction zones."
The officer stumbled. "Wait, what!?"
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The shadowy bosses had met more in the last week or so than they had for months.
One Boss tapped the desk. "Estimates?"
A Grunt gathered his notes. "As there are no external supply chains detected and the internal Vending Machine supply devices are all selling at below cost, the shops and restaurants are massive profit sources."
Another nodded. "This is compounded as only sales people are being hired. No chefs are needed, no supply warehouse support groups, just those needed to clean, restock, and sell. The wages offered by this 'Theater Ball' are almost double the working average as well, and the work hours are reasonable. Also, the percentage of profit offered to those of us sponsoring various facilities is overly generous."
One of the older members was still grumbling. "I still say we should steal one of those vending machines. SOMEHOW they are being supplied with VERY rare materials, if we can force one to deliver for free it would be pure profit!"
The higher boss sighed. "No. Aside from the fact that this entire endeavor is pure profit ANYWAY, as we had no need to invest in construction, local land clearing, and so forth... Target Outsider is clearly testing us with this."
He smacked the table, making a few people jump. "I do NOT want to be responsible for pissing off a man who can restructure a city by accident. Especially not when he is insisting on giving us profit, gainful employment for our people, and good public relations."
An analyst chipped in. "Not just that, but he isn't likely to stay long. The Underling Alice reports that the entire project is a side effect of his real goal."
Several people blinked. "Which is?"
The man sighed. "He wishes to catch two Pokémon."
The grumbling one sat forward. "Legendaries? Maybe some rare variant?"
He shook his head. "No, a common Plusle and Minun."
The silence grew. One woman spoke up. "Don't we have like... a few hundred of those in reserve for new members who are compatible?"
The Boss shook his head. "If anyone asks, NO."
The glare went around and nods were given.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam grinned, standing tall on the 'Pokéball Dome' of his new Theater.
From here you could easily see the exposed open air performance area, the waterproof curtains and seating ensuring no damage should they continue being exposed to the elements. The floor had special patterns to prevent slippage if the ground was wet from weather, and could be heated to prevent snow or ice from being an issue... as well as helping keep the crowds warm on colder days.
It had all taken... WAY longer than he had expected. Not using Drones had slowed everything down a lot, but it had gotten done eventually. That said, it was a bit too late to have the proper preparation time for a play tonight... Anita would have to be told that everything would be delayed until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe later, should something else crop up.
Suddenly he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
...And he was WAY above ground level.
Turning, he saw... nothing.
His shoulder was tapped again, somehow feeling... down. And near the entrance to the Tree Wall.
The hell?
Stepping off the wall, he fell to the ground as his metallic Aura absorbed the impact and converted it to potential energy for later. Walking past the many busy people trying to get the facility running, he headed to the entrance near the Route trail.
And blinked. "Uh."
The short people waved. The tallest was about four feet tall, or a one and a third meters. The tiniest one was held in the loving arms of its mother.
Adam coughed. "Hello."
Another wave.
He nodded. "How can I help you, Mr. Mime?"
...Uh huh.
Yeah.
Alright.
Damn it, he was terrible at Charades. "Hang on, let me get little Abra back from my friend Anita, I think she can act as interpreter."
He got two thumbs up, the baby Mime Jr. was too busy sucking on his little fist.
- Location
- Massachusetts
The first five words lol
What did he say?
Aurora Moon
Verfied Insomniac with too much time on her hands
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
currently, this is running though my head:
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
Legendaries will probably show up for the play. And Adam will just ignore them.
And this complies more evidence about refuge in audacity. Mostly, in the sense of 'he is willing to do this to catch two common pokemon, and it reaps us all sorts of benefits? And he thinks he is being stealthy!?!? Nobody correct him, we want to keep the miracles coming!' That, or based on some fairly tales, he provides wonders and blessings as long as respect is shown but pointing out the full scope of the benefits means his nature requires him to stop with the possibility of having what he did previously vanish.
As it is, I love how things are going and cannot wait to see more
As it is, I love how things are going and cannot wait to see more
Lordamnesia
What are we doing again?
And we see the reason that even though Adam is quickly becoming on the level of the Legendary's, or minor eldritch horror, the powers that be aren't worried. He's so benevolent in his power use that it's silly funny how the world benefits from him stopping by.
- Location
- Canada
You know what's amazing? Until it was brought up how ridiculous this all was in story I was all "yep putting on a massive play to attract some Pokemon makes sense" only to go "wait.. " when I realized how over the top and silly it was. This fic just screws with our sense of normalityAnd this complies more evidence about refuge in audacity. Mostly, in the sense of 'he is willing to do this to catch two common pokemon, and it reaps us all sorts of benefits? And he thinks he is being stealthy!?!? Nobody correct him, we want to keep the miracles coming!' That, or based on some fairly tales, he provides wonders and blessings as long as respect is shown but pointing out the full scope of the benefits means his nature requires him to stop with the possibility of having what he did previously vanish.
As it is, I love how things are going and cannot wait to see more
I misread "pool/park elevator" as "pool/shark elevator" and it took me a bit to realize something was wrong there, because it didn't seem the slightest bit out of place.
When you do something absurd often enough and long enough, it becomes normal
Which might be why he gets away with some of the things he does actually. Yeah, he is impressive and does grand sweeping gestures, but the details change enough to make them fresh and jolt the people watching with wonder.
Lordamnesia
What are we doing again?
When you do something absurd often enough and long enough, it becomes normal
Well that and the fact that so far he hasn't run up against any really evil organizations yet (outside the SW universe, and that was mostly just an army). The White Fang under Ghira wasn't horribly evil, and for all that Team Rocket are the most common bad guys in Pokemon, they aren't any more evil then a slightly corrupt government task force. They both took one look at Adam and went 'Um, do whatever you want, please and thank you.' And then made sure he didn't meet with any problems.
- Status