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Trails of Tera Steel (Kiseki-inspired Pokemon Academy Quest)

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Also, bee-tee-dubs. I know I've already said this about other mons, but I will abandon everything else if the chance to catch a Spinda presents itself. I will not/can't even present propaganda like I did about Comfey or present a cool-ass build like Tempera did about Lucario, I just want my beloved S P E E N panda
 
A temmie pokemon... (dog... cat...? Temmie, its a temmie) i guess if Temmie are dogs fidough, or Growlithe could work, if its a cat maibe a meowth, purloin or Sprigatito (we do have already a cat with Renne so im not in any rush to get another, we are not crazy cat lady Mary).
Also spinda would be.... a thing... i guess, if that SOMEHOW happens and it female i vote to add Dorothy to our little group of chaos gremlins (it would be ironic if the mon we call Dorothy is somehow the calmest in our team...... or she can live to her namesake and we will somehow find the final boss dungeon by going on a walk).
 
Dorothy the Spinda, only she's a bartender like in Explorers of Sky instead of a photographer
 
Just caught up with this quest. Very nice balancing of the realities of an ecosystem vs pokemon world being light and fluffy. Looking forward to seeing what other members we gather for our team. Also, given what little we've been shown so far it looks like the QM has bought into the "Raifort is secretly evil" theory. I'm really wondering who the heck Ostia really is. Because given their name is associated with bones, and they've got a Beast Ball? I'd be willing to bet that they're Guzma's kid.
 
TempestK said:
Just caught up with this quest. Very nice balancing of the realities of an ecosystem vs pokemon world being light and fluffy. Looking forward to seeing what other members we gather for our team. Also, given what little we've been shown so far it looks like the QM has bought into the "Raifort is secretly evil" theory. I'm really wondering who the heck Ostia really is. Because given their name is associated with bones, and they've got a Beast Ball? I'd be willing to bet that they're Guzma's kid.
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Raifort's pretty easy to read as a mad scientist in search of employment with an evil team - fortunately or unfortunately, the antagonist team in S/V was a student groupchat that got out of hand and the real antagonist wasn't hiring. If she'd lived in Alola or Unova you know exactly what she'd be doing for a living (i.e. fighting Faba or Colress for grant money to do something insane).

When you add in the Trails crossover (and the manga Team Rocket plot, for that matter), though, there's evil super-organizations coming out of the woodwork, and she's surely glommed on to one of those.

As for Ostia...that's an interesting theory and possibly plausible?

Ostia's faceclaim is a canonical Trails character who got human-trafficked through one evil organization into another, so if that's also their backstory they could be from anywhere. The "role" they are playing is of a different child soldier character who was grown in a vat as an artificial human, however. Arvis is also pretty big on making appearance phenotype match from parent to child, something not always common in anime workse, which is why Jacinto physically resembles Larry, especially in the hair, and why Elise physically resembles Geeta. When comparing Ostia and Guzma, I don't really see the resemblance. Not impossible, but I'd call it less likely.

Now, could Ostia have a Beast Ball because they were an Aether Foundation science project who wound up in another Region working for a different evil organization by happenstance? Certainly. Or Raifort just stole a UB, we definitely know Alolan regional Pokémon have been trafficked so why not an Ultra Beast as well? But Alolan Ostia is definitely a possibility.
 
I, uh... Huh. I don't think I've ever entertained the idea that Guzma could be someone's dad, adopted or biological.
 
StattStatt said:
lol You're not wrong, the thought just never crossed my mind somehow
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He doesn't really present himself as the parent or doting type, so your befuddlement is pretty understandable tbh.

But it's true that if you read between the lines.. he kind of is Team Skull's adoptive Dad/Big Brother isn't he? He took in people that were abandoned, rejected or fell through the cracks just like him, and gave them a home and something like a family. As Sakamander says, this is likely because his own shitty past made him pretty empathetic to their plight, and also because underneath that rough exterior he's a decent man.

God I really liked Gen 7, my favorite by far.
 
For our next Pokemon I honestly want to see what the adoption process of the Breadbasket looks like. Or even if it's not us I just want to get worldbuilding about it in general.
 
I like the idea of getting more pokemon, but probably not right now. The thread probably wouldn't support it either unless it was real shiny.
 
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Field Exercise I: Wednesday
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan: A Woodland Rehearsal
    -[X] Day Two Optional Task: The Lost Woods
    -[X] The Other Half of the Battle

    "You have to understand Ostia, Wooloos are really stupid." You lift up your third Wooloo of the day, this one having gotten stuck face-first halfway into a small crevice, luckily it didn't fall any deeper. It took a bit for you and Ostia to pull them out, you had to send out Drilbur to dig under the Wooloo to help push them up.

    "I guess…but they're so cute and fluffy though…I feel bad…" Ostia has a downcast look on their face because of how you've been corralling and herding the Sheep Pokemon. Pushing and pulling one way or the other, it'd be way easier if you had a crook with you but the herder who gave your class the task had it with him as a crutch for his broken leg.

    While your Group was fighting with Lokix and Spidops' band of wild Pokemon yesterday, a pasture nearby had been attacked by the other member of what the locals are now calling the Triad; Ninjask. The Bug Type had led a decent number of Nincada and a Shedinja of all things to try and steal some of the local Wooloo and Skiddo.

    The herder who gave the task, Pietro, had his Growlithe and Yamper fight them off. But as a result he got injured and both of his Pokemon were badly hurt to the point they had to go to a Pokemon Center. So while his son is at the center making sure his dad's Pokemon are okay, Group 1 has been tasked with retrieving the Wooloo and Skiddo that got loose after the attack.

    "They are very fluffy, yes." You look over to Ostia who's riding atop one of the Wooloo, a small flock of them following behind, being led by Argy and Poly. You feel something pull on your braid and with your free hand, you flick the nose of the Wooloo you're carrying. Little hellion was trying to eat your hair!

    Drilbur, who's carrying her own Wooloo and waddling along next to you, snickers at the sight.

    Even back in the Highlands, raising and herding Wooloo flocks were a big part of your life. So you know what to expect and do, which is why you've been paired with the kid while Elise and Theodora are off looking for the Skiddo.

    You wonder how they're doing.


    Elise nimbly dodges out of the way of the Skiddo's headbutt, sidestepping their attack. Rin's ribbon tightens around her right arm as power briefly floods into her body. She rams her shoulder onto the Skiddo's side and sends the Pokemon tumbling.

    The Skiddo turns to face her, hooves pawing at the ground as it readies for another attack. She readies her stance, sheathing Rin in order to prepare for an Autumn Leaf Cutter.

    An attack from the 4th Form of the Eight Leaves, One Blade School of Swordsmanship. Developed by Shinwan Honedge trainers while observing the movements and battles of Bug and Grass Pokemon like Scyther and Leavanny. A manipulation of Tera Energy to temporarily manifest an attack of utmost precision. A perfect strike.

    Elise exhales and briefly looks around her, circling their makeshift arena is a small herd of Skiddo, one led by her current opponent. According to what Sharon translated to Thea, the Skiddo were kept in line by Pietro's Growlithe. But after yesterday, one of the stronger Skiddo took over in Growlithe's absence.. He's now looking to lead the other Skiddo out to greener pastures.

    So here she is, challenging him to a battle. If she wins they go back with her and Thea to the herder, if the Pokemon wins the both of them go back empty handed and pretend they never even saw any Skiddo. Essentially a challenge for the leadership of the herd.

    If they went with Thea's plan, they'd have just knocked out all of the Skiddo and had Sharon levitate them all back to the pasture. She refused and argued with her friend to let her do this.

    The Skiddo didn't flee just because they were scared but because they lost confidence. Places like Cortondo and her own home of Montnevera rely on that gray area between Trainer and Wild Pokemon for their livelihoods are built on those same Pokemon thinking it's better to coexist alongside humans than to live in the wild.

    The Skiddo have, in their eyes, a good reason to try and leave. Stomping them all down like what Thea wanted would just breed resentment that the locals will have to deal with. Challenging them on their own terms might cause them to grumble, but it's the better alternative.

    It's the duty of a Ranger to balance the needs of humans with the well-being of the environment and of Pokemon. One of the things Grusha drilled into her head in the odd moments he was free and willing to teach her. Thinking about it, she's not all that of a student is she?

    She looks at her opponent, the Skiddo is larger than his peers, almost going up to her chest. Getting hit by an attack from him would hurt. Elise pulls on her bond with her Honedge. Straining her ears to listen to his whispers.

    "....strong , yet something bars 'em from the cusp of greater strength. Difficult, yet thou shall triumph, if thou focus." Her grip on Rin's hilt tightens, she ignores the pain in her chest, her ever constant companion.

    She spares a moment to glance at Thea, while she and her opponent circle one another looking for an opening. She's wearing that same neutral look she has whenever she disapproves of something. Elise pushes down that niggling feeling of familiarity whenever she looks at her.

    Elise shakes her head, Thea just doesn't get it—

    Her opponent charges.

    With one swift motion, she strikes.

    "Autumn Leaf Cutter!"


    The two halves of Group 1 meet back up at the Section 35 pasture alongside your quarries. Numbering a little over two dozen Wooloo and Skiddo, your group managed to bring back most of the missing Pokemon with the remaining missing handful likely having been taken by the Nincada during the attack proper.

    "Well, it's better than I expected for a bunch of kids." Pietro says, sitting on the veranda of his farmhouse. You wrinkle your nose as he smokes a cigarette, you're trying not to judge him too much. That broken foot, now wrapped in a cast, must really hurt.

    But it's really trying.

    "Luckily for you, my brat just came back so he can take over from here. Yer pay's in the envelope." He passes it over to Elise who takes it with a shallow bow. She has a pensive look on her face, like she's contemplating asking something.

    "Well, spit it out girl, you look like you wanna ask somethin'?" It seems you're not the only one who noticed. You and the other members of Group 1 turn to Elise in expectation of what she's going to say.

    "How common have attacks from Wild Pokemon been lately? Because when I—my Pokemon fought the big Skiddo, they seemed close to evolving. If something like this happens again…"

    Pietro had a thoughtful look at Elise's question. He takes a whiff of his cigarette and blows a puff of smoke to his side.

    "They've been a lot more common lately, used to be that my boy Cinders—that's me Growlithe by the by—could handle 'em. But with those Ninjask and all the other Bugs runnin' around, I had to get some help. The Yamper's technically my son's but he's been helping with the herd for a couple of months now. It's still a mess." Pietro has an irritated look on his face, he takes one last whiff of his cigarette before putting it out on an ashtray on the table next to him.

    "Why haven't the garrison—"

    "Cause they've left us to hang!" The herder all but snarls, crushing the new cigarette he had pulled out from a pack of them, interrupting Elise's followup question.

    "That malignant little Count is fucking with our lives and that Aracelli is too busy playing politics to do shit about him." You cover Ostia's ears as Pietro starts swearing and cursing out the local noble in charge. The herder got so agitated that veins started to form on his head. That doesn't seem healthy.

    "Careful, pops, remember your blood pressure. And c'mon Katie's trying her best." Coming out from within the farmhouse was a boy around your age. He had two Pokeballs on his belt. "Knowing dad, he prolly hasn't introduced me yet. I'm his son, Peter."

    Pietro scoffs at his son's chastisement before speaking up.

    "What the Joy's say about Cinders and your Yamper?" Peter hands one of the Pokeballs over to his father who immediately takes it and releases the Pokemon inside. Out comes a Growlithe who the herder quickly dotes upon.

    "Who's my brave little boy?" Pietro cooed at his Growlithe, petting the hound's face with both his hands. Cinders responded by licking his trainer's face and all but hugging them.

    "Joys said to keep from any strenuous activity for a few days, other than that he should be fine." Peter goes on to pet the Fire-Type Pokemon before he remembers your group's presence.

    "I heard about you from Alice. Thanks for helping out around here." Oh good, it was getting kind of awkward just standing around after Elise asked her question.

    "It was no problem, right, guys?" Elise responds to which you and the rest of Group 1 agree.

    "That's a relief, c'mon, Pops, let's get you inside. You can watch some shows with Cinders while you recover." You group says goodbye to the two as you and your friends head to the next Mandatory Task. A contemplative silence falling over all of you, broken only by Ostia's reaction to your fussing over them and the sounds of your surroundings.


    "So, Theodora, any idea why the local Count is acting like this?" Elise suddenly asks while the four of you are headed to the Badajoz Ruins.

    Unlike with the other locales visited so far, the path to your destination isn't as well maintained. There used to be a small Ranger Station near the outskirts of the ruins but it got abandoned when Ranger presence in the region started to decline.

    "My, why are you only asking me now? We left the home of our prior clients an hour ago." Theodora has a teasing look on her face which causes Elise to look away.

    "I mean, I was just uh—thinking of what to say to you and all…"Elise had an embarrassed look on her face which only got worse as Theodora's smile grew bigger and bigger. The teasing continued as Theodora poked and prodded at Elise's reactions.

    You feel like a third wheel at this point.

    You send a glance to Ostia who looks deep in thought. They've been rather out of it ever since they found out that the next destination were the ruins. They've barely been paying attention to their surroundings, relying on you and Argy to prevent them from getting lost or stumbling onto anything.

    "Are you alright, Ostia? You seem kinda distracted." Your friend turns to you, seemingly snapped out of deep concentration.

    "I'm a-okay, Miss Mary! Just um—thinking about Pokemon is all. I heard there were uh—Psychic Pokemon in the ruins. So I was wondering about them." You think back to the Pokeballs that Ostia had when you first met them and you wonder. Has Ostia ever caught a Pokemon before?

    "Well if you wanna catch a Pokemon just tell me, I can help you! It'll be fun!" Ostia looks down on the ground as they walk before mumbling a thank you. You ruffle their head causing them to giggle.

    They soon however returned to that same pensive look. This time they sent Poly out of their Pokeball, holding the Staryu tight as the Pokemon's gem glowed. Next to Ostia, Argy's eye also began to shine as a silent conversation took place between a trainer and their Pokemon. You probably shouldn't disturb them.

    You make a whistling sound, Roland's signal to come back as he comes back from patrolling on ahead. The little Pokemon wrapping themselves around your neck like a dragon on its hoard.

    "Don't you fall asleep on me, it's not even lunch yet." Roland makes a chirping noise complaining about you being mean. You resist the urge to mention how the little hellion just woke up, since you mostly used your new teammate Drilbur to look for the Wooloos.

    You sigh, with Ostia clearly busy and your lazy ghost of a starter, you surrender yourself to going back to being a third wheel for the other two members of Group 1.

    "Sorry I had to check up on Ostia, what'd I miss?" You ask Theodora and Elise as you jog back up to where the two were. No point being out of the loop in the conversation.

    "Not much, what do you know about how civilian and military responsibilities are divided in Paldea?" That's an odd question, you try to remember scattered lectures from your Civics classes during Sunday School and recently classes in Mesagoza.

    "Um, I think it was, the Nobles with the Imperial Family on top handle civilian affairs while the Paldean League and the Gym Leaders handle military affairs. With some exceptions, of course." You think of the supposedly special relationship the Highlands have with Paldea. Where the Andosins are self-governing under the Great Khural, a council of all the biggest and most powerful clans in the Highlands.

    "Not exactly, while the Gym Leaders do operate as liaisons between the Nobility and the League, many of the noble households still maintain trainers under their employment primarily for the purposes of maintaining law and order in their province. But as a whole it's not an inaccurate statement for most settlements in Paldea. Though at this point there are more exceptions than not." You're starting to think that Theodora loves hearing the sound of her own voice.

    "Could you list some of those exceptions, Elise darling?" She turns towards Elise who starts enumerating examples with her fingers.

    "Well there's Levincia which is a Free City that governs itself and only answers to the Imperial Family. I think Fede is in a similar deal, though I'll have to ask Erika more about it. There's Cabo Poco which I think is run by the navy. And I heard Alfornada might be a Free City as well but I'm not sure." Theodora does a little clap as Elise finishes before speaking.

    "Very nice, though you missed two. Medali is run by an elected mayor. Meanwhile…Porto Marinada is ruled by a Governor-General in command of League forces in the city." A strange look crosses Theodora's as she finishes her explanation.
    "For all that Miss Leaf and others might speak of Paldean despotism, it's a rather complex system. Which brings us back to Cortondo, it was up until a few years ago governed wholly by Count Jose Hipolito de Cortondo. Do you know what changed that?" Theodora asks and you wrack trying to remember recent news reports for an answer.

    "The Cortondo Governing Council thing?" Elise answers for you, to which Theodora claps in response.

    "Correct. Following Katie Aracelli's appointment as Cortondo Gym Leader, she established the Cortondo Governing Council. It was officially an advisory board consisting of the citizens of the settlement, made to aid the Trainer Associations in their responsibilities following the…decrease of Ranger activity in Paldea." Elise looks away as Theodora continues her explanation, a worried look on the latter's face.

    "However it may have started, in the past year the Council has taken on more and more responsibilities in Cortondo, undermining the Count's authority." You can see where this is going.

    "So the Count is letting things get worse, to what, stick it to Katie?" You respond, incredulous at the idea.

    "I won't put it in such a way, but yes, that is what is likely happening. The Count has confined the garrison to their barracks under the excuse that issues in regards to poaching and Pokemon attacks beyond the settlement are under the Gyms and Trainer Association's jurisdiction." Theodora answers with a frown on her face, distaste clear on her as well.

    "...It's not technically wrong, but something tells me there's more to this. Even if the Trainer Associations aren't as experienced as the Rangers, they should be able to handle something like this even just through sheer numbers alone." Elise mumbles.

    She has a point, Trainer Associations recruit from all across the Trainer population in a settlement. Even not counting the ones who have more than Six Badges or already have another job, that's still more than enough to address the poaching issue.

    Theodora looks at the two of you and smiles.

    "While this has been a rather interesting conversation, I believe we've reached our destination." Looking around you see where the old dirt and stone paths that once led to Badajoz ends and where the old Imperial marble of the ruins begins.

    What does a destroyed settlement look like? Human construction that isn't maintained rarely lasts long out in the Wild. Facing attrition whether through the natural elements or destruction from conflicts between Wild Pokemon. By that consideration, Badajoz is in remarkably decent shape.

    Many of the outlying homes and buildings are no longer standing aside from walls or the odd raised floor mostly overtaken by nature. But larger structures closer to where the "center" of the settlement should be are mostly intact and from hazy silhouettes of Pokemon flying in and out of them, inhabited. Not even including the various Pokemon going about their day.

    You hear Ostia running up next to you, conversation with their Pokemon done. The small kid looking around in wonder at the ruins, eyes darting to follow the shadows and silhouettes of Pokemon that consider the place home.

    "Alright, Group 1, according to the person who gave the task to Miss Ronah, there's been strange noises and activity coming from the ruins reported by trainers passing or flying by the area. They don't think it's a new Pokemon that's moved in but they have no clue what it could be. We'll split up into twos as usual to cover more ground. It's still a protected heritage site and Pokemon habitat so we're discouraged from breaking anything." Its moments like these where you're reminded of just how much Elise would be better at being Class President.

    With Elise's briefing done, your Group split up to handle different parts of the ruins. Elise and Theodora will head closer to the center of the settlement where they'll be going with Missy's implicit support. Meanwhile, you and Ostia will cover the outskirts closer to the cave systems of the Badajoz Heights and the edge of the forests nearby.

    You pull out your ARCUS as you look around the area, catching glimpses of Bronzor and Yamask occasionally floating by. Both Pokemon are common sights in old ruins like these. With the former typically being seen doing maintenance and repairs to the old abandoned buildings they come across. The latter's presence is one you're more curious about.

    Yamask are Pokemon typically associated with grief and loss. Old Andosin legends mention how people used to mistake them for the souls of the recently departed due to how nearby Yamask would often congregate around graves and funerals. Some stories even mention them following the families of the deceased back home. It's a reasonable misconception to make as you look at the mask the Pokemon is carrying. The Yamask you're inspecting has been drawn to you and Ostia by the berries you packed for the trip.

    As the Yamask eats the offered berries, joy clear in its face (and jealousy clear in Roland's) you take the opportunity to ask the Pokemon questions about its home. It's Renne's turn to feel lazy as the little Espurr was too sleepy to help translate for you. So it falls to Argy to communicate with the Wild Pokemon of the ruins.

    To mixed results.

    "Argy says that the Yamask haven't noticed anything unusual, the Woobats don't really hunt them so they don't care." A similar response is given by most of the Yamask you ask from then on. Local Yamask aren't that observant of their environment, seemingly content to let months pass by them without a change in their routines. Some Yamasks are even shocked when you bring the local Woobats. It's still a better response than the utter nothing that the Bronzors provide.

    The Bronze Pokemon ignore your group's attempts to communicate with them, some even going as far as trying to attack the two of you once you get near, but considering how they mostly focused on Argy, you have an inkling as to why.

    You have to hold back Roland from picking fights with the local Pokemon once you've gotten out of the way, the little guy is a lot more confrontational lately. With no leads so far the two of you decide to take a break, it's around two hours until noon but you did pack some snacks for your group with you.

    "Here you go, Ostia, eat up." You hand them a sandwich you made, taking into account how Ostia is uncomfortable eating Pokemon parts. Thankfully Pirotin Inn had a supply of non-Pokemon food products in storage.

    "Thank you, Miss Mary. Can I um—send Poly up to look above? Maybe they'll see something we missed." Ostia fidgets with their hands nervously, you give the most reassuring smile you can.

    "It's okay. We can talk to more Pokemon while Poly is up there, if you want." A bright smile lights up Ostia's face as they send up their Staryu to float in the sky. You two finish up your snack and continue interviewing the various Yamask of the ruins.

    You've even encountered a couple of the Ruin Yamask, a variation of the Ghost Type that carry stone or clay slabs rather than an ornate mask. They're a lot meaner and much more rude compared to their mask counterparts. Though you're not sure whether that's because Argy is agitating them or what.

    You know a lot less about them than you do regular Yamask. You know that internationally, they're known as Galarian Yamask for a reason you're not quite sure of. Like most Ghost-type they can be found all over the world and Ruin Yamask are pretty common in Paldea as well. It's one of the many arguments between the various scientific communities of the Atlantei regions. One of the ones you're more familiar with are the ones about the Imperial Rapidash. Or as it is more commonly known outside of Paldea, the Galarian Rapidash.

    You take a look at your ARCUS and surprisingly you have a signal. You know that the Paldean government has recently been trying to spread internet and communications access throughout the routes, but it's still shocking to be in the middle of an ancient millenia old ruin and be online. You send a quick message to Elise in the Group 1 chat asking how it's going on their end.

    You also send a quick message to Erika sending her a picture of Ostia playing with a Yamask. Maybe she'll like that.

    "Miss Mary! Poly found something!" Wait, already? You turn to Ostia who's already running off in Poly's direction. The Staryu is floating above a mostly intact home that's only missing its roof. You follow after them while typing a message to Elise saying that Poly might've found something.

    "...this idea is super convoluted, Argy, but I trust you." You hear Ostia mutter something while coming to a stop in front of the broken down home. There Ostia stares at something inside, Argy next to them as Poly floats over to be pet by a waiting Ostia.

    "What'd they find?" You ask approaching the entrance as Ostia just stands there staring at what was inside. In the middle of what would've been the home's living room was a strange bulky device.

    It was broken, that was clear by the charred metal and missing panels on its side. It was nearly as tall as Ostia and rather massive to boot. The device had a number of pipes and valves connecting its torso to its rounded head. It had three legs holding it up from the ground, though one of them was broken causing the object to slant to the side.

    "It looks like a mailbox." Ostia suddenly says next to you, face scrunched up in thought.

    "It's more of a weird stove, but not one." You answer, thinking that the charred parts of the machine might give a hint as to its purpose.
    Whatever it is, it does not belong here.

    You take a few quick pictures and send them to the other members of Group 1 while you look around the house in case anything else stands out.

    Aside from broken tiles and stone from the now missing roof, nothing seems out of place of what you'd expect in an ancient ruin. It is incredibly dusty though which is why you told Ostia to stay outside.

    You feel your ARCUS vibrate as you get a message. It seems whatever it is that you and Ostia found has gotten Theodora riled up. She all but orders you to stay where you are and make sure the thing doesn't go away.

    It doesn't take that long for the other members of Group 1 to show up, while Elise looks fine at having seemingly run their way here, Theodora is panting and sweating, hands on her knees and breathing heavily.

    "Are you sure you're gonna be okay, Thea, I could carry if you—" Elise offers before getting interrupted by Theodora putting a finger up to the former's mouth. Her face was red with exertion.

    "I'll…ha ha…be…fine. Let's just…see to…our quarry first." Theodora sends Sharon out of their Pokeball, the Braixen heading inside the home. Ostia offers Theodora a water bottle, which the latter takes with gusto, downing half of it in a single swig.

    "Right. Thank you, dear. And my, what an interesting device the two of you have found." Theodora saunters over to where the machine was and crouches down to inspect it.

    "What is that, a vacuum cleaner?" Elise asks, confused as you are to the object's purpose.

    "Not quite, tell me darling Elise, have you heard of what a Gigaremo Machine is?" Recognition lights up on Elise's face as she stares at the device with a mix of incredulity and horror. Ostia meanwhile looks away, seemingly interested in something else.

    "That's a Gigaremo!?" Elise's hand immediately goes to draw Rin before being stopped by Theodora.

    "There's no need for that, it's already broken, quite thoroughly as well." Theodora turns back with a twirl of her skirt to inspect the machine before continuing. "It seems we've found the source of the local disturbances and the source of our missing Chacadets."

    "Wait, what do you mean Charcadets?" You ask curiosity piqued. "And what is a Gigaremo anyways?"

    "Gigaremos were something that the Rangers in Almia encountered a while back when Dim Sun was still in operation." Elise looked like she was trying to glare a hole in the side of the machine. "They used them to mind-control Wild and even sometimes Trainer Pokemon. After they fell, a lot of them ended up in the black market where weaker copycats were made. Miss Leaf called those ones Miniremos and they're what I'm more familiar with."

    You grimace and feel disgust at the wretched little hunk of junk.

    "Oh, that reminds me. Missy, could you be a dear and tell our instructor what we found? I believe she finds it most interesting." Mismagius pokes her head out of Elise's shadow to nod at Theodora before disappearing back down.

    "Excellent, according to Sharon, Missy will use one of her shades to alert Miss Leaf. Now as for your other question Mariana, dear, Elise and I had interrogated the local Woobat colony to ask them of any disturbances in the area. And according to them, one day the entire local Charcadet population just vanished overnight." Your eyes widen, rumors of poaching in the province combined with a mind control device is a recipe for disaster.

    "With those questions answered, we should bring this back with us to the local Association Headquarters. Mariana, Ostia, could the two of you please send out your Psychics? I do not believe Sharon alone can carry it, since they are not a full Psychic just yet." Theodora asks to which you comply, sending out Renne.

    The Espurr looks at you with a flat expression, grumpy at having been woken up.

    "H~ey, sorry I woke you up. But I need your help bringing something with us. It's called a Gigaremo…" You explain to Renne what the purpose of the machine is and how your group plans to bring it back to Miss Leaf to be investigated and confiscated before people do worse things using it.

    As you finish your explanation, Renne has a strange expression on her face. A distant far away look seemingly in contemplation of something. You give them some time to process what you just said by looking around you. Elise and Theodora were in conversation while Ostia and Argy were helping Sharon look for all the broken parts of the Gigaremo.

    '...very well, I shall do it.' You thank Renne, picking them back to rest in your arms as the now trio of Psychic Pokemon lift the Gigaremo. With your objective done, Group 1 heads out of the ruins and back to Cortondo.


    As Elise was heading out of the ruins, at the front of the group to make sure no one was ahead, Rin felt a presence.

    'Thou are being observed. To thy left.'

    She turns her head to the direction Rin spoke off and there she sees it.

    On top of one of the taller buildings nearby, there stood a lone Charcadet. The Pokemon was watching her group intently. Even in the morning sun, their burning eyes had an intensity to them noticeable to her even from this distance.

    She blinks once and the Pokemon is gone, like they were never there in the first place.


    "I was mighty surprised when Missy told me what you kids stumbled onto." Miss Leaf had apparently rushed to your Group after Missy told her what happened. She only has Ditzy with her, who's currently transformed into a Drifblim.

    "Are Field Exercises supposed to be this…exciting?" You turn your head to Elise giving her a questioning look at the word she used. Leaf responds by shrugging.

    "Kinda, I'm not the one who chose the task you're handed. I think it's split between Ronah and Leila." At your group's confusion at the second name, Leaf explained who she was.

    "Leila Watterson, the Director for the local Deux Association branch. She's a former Ranger, so she's halfway decent at her job." Wait, Watterson? Isn't that…

    "Any relation to the Watterson in our Optional Task?" Elise asks Leaf, causing a massive grin to appear on her face.

    "Yeah, he's her husband, do be dears and find her husband for her, will you? He's kind of a loser."

    With the debriefing with Leaf over, she and Ditzy take the Gigaremo from your group, saying that she'll be the one to take it to the local Trainer's Association. With it still not being lunch yet, your group takes a quick break before heading to Badajoz Forest for the day's final task.

    After a short break, your group decided to tackle the optional task while it's still bright out, heading to the Association station noted down in the request. There your group got briefed on who your target is and how you're supposed to track him.

    Messa Watterson was a Trainer Associate for over four years. He previously worked as a League Trainer before retiring. He has three Pokemon, a Kirlia, a Houndoom and a Sableye. He goes drinking every week with his coworkers. This Monday night, he had accidentally left both his Sableye and Houndoom in the men's washroom of a bar near the edge of Cortondo. It is believed that he might've stumbled drunkenly all the way to Badajoz Forest.

    Your task is to take his Houndoom and Sableye with you to track him down and drag him in front of his wife to be reprimanded and demoted.

    So now here you are checking your supplies and fussing over Ostia making sure they're wearing protective gear. Meanwhile Elise and Theodora are communicating with Messa's Pokemon in order to help them track their Trainer.

    You take a look at the Houndoom and Sableye, the former looks well-fed and groomed, with deep healthy looking black fur and pristinely maintained horns and fangs. The Sableeye meanwhile floats in and out of the shadows with ease, the gems consisting of the Pokemon's eyes are extremely shiny and polished.

    Whoever Mr Watterson is, he takes good care of his Pokemon. Him just forgetting their Pokeballs, doesn't fit with how obviously cared for the Houndoom and Sableye are. And from how Elise and Theodora are staring at the two, you suspect they've noticed as well.

    "Is everything in order?" Theodora turns to ask you, conversation with the two Pokemon finished. You and Ostia give a thumbs up. "Excellent, Sharon has helped us in communicating with Mr. Watterson's Pokemon. As long as we follow them, finding him shouldn't be too difficult."

    The rest of Group 1 nods and prepares to head out. You and Elise share a brief look at one another, as the two of you once more head into the Badajoz Forest.


    It is officially the second day of his investigation/mini-sabbatical and he's starting to think he should "get lost in the woods" more often.

    Messa Watterson is woken up that morning by Basil, his Kirlia, the one Pokemon he managed to sneak over to the forest before his little act earlier that week. They do their morning stretches and clean up the little makeshift bed that his gracious Sawsbuck hosts arranged for him last night.

    He takes in his surroundings, he's not alone in the little corner of the woods. A small group of Shroomish there, the occasional Shroodle and even a handful of Sunkern. Most Pokemon spend the night hiding, usually from the Woobats up in the ruins. But recently…

    Well, that's the reason he's here after all.

    "I once more thank the generosity of my hosts." He says while doing a formal bow. While there weren't any Sawsbuck right in front of him at that moment, this part of the woods is their territory, anything he does or says, they'll know. It's simply good etiquette. Trees and bushes twisting out of the way, revealing a path of the grove is his answer.

    "C'mon, Basil, the only ones left to interrogate are the Ursarings and the local Amoongus colony." His Kirlia follows after him loyally, as he pats his trench coat in search of his notebook.

    'You dropped it, sire.' Basil levitates his pen and notebook to him, proving that once more, he'd actually be lost without him.

    "Thank you, thank you." He flips through his notebook, finding everything in order. Including his sketch of…

    "By the way Basil, did our little 'friend' show up again last night?" At around a little before 4 PM Tuesday, Basil detected a human-Pokemon duo making their way through the forest a decent distance away from him. With the circuit underway, something like that wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. However…

    He looks at the sketch he made in his notebook of what he saw while the memory was still fresh the day before, but even now he still has no idea what he's looking at. It was a bizarre mishmash of parts, a blue fin for a tail, a thick black coat of fur for its torso and lower body, green scaly front legs and finally a head covered in gray feathers underneath a bizarre mask for a head. Most curious of all about the Pokemon, was that it was strong. Went toe to toe with some of the strongest Pokemon in the forest with barely any hint of exertion.

    But that wasn't the worst part, the most worrying thing was that neither he nor Basil can remember what the trainer looked like. Him being forgetful isn't anything new; he'd forget to put on his clothes in the morning if not for his wife or Basil. But Basil, like most Fairies Type Pokemon, doesn't forget things easily. It's helped a couple of times in this line of work.

    At around 5 PM, their little 'friend' had been wandering at the edge of the local Ursaring territories. Around thirty minutes later, they managed to piss off the Ursarings enough that a battle ensued. He and Basil managed to make it to them just in time to see its conclusion. It wasn't even close.

    Whatever that Pokemon was, it easily trounced half a dozen Ursaring. Afterwards, their 'friend' went deep into Ursaring territory before leaving a little over twenty minutes later. Kirlia confirmed that the duo left the forest at around six thirty PM and haven't come back since.

    Never let it be said that he lets a good opportunity go to waste. He makes his way to a tree marked by a deep gash on its side. The furthest extent of the Ursaring's territory. About a fifth of the forest, stretching all the way from the ruins and the breadbasket and into the parts Rika told him was classified.

    'The Ursaring greets us and once more thanks for our help against the intruder.' Basil translates the growls and snarls of the Ursarings, he can see a couple of little Teddieursas peeking out from behind their legs. A show of good faith and trust. From the sounds of his surroundings, or rather the lack of such, them and the Ursaring are the only Pokemon around, everyone else has vacated the immediate area.

    "I humbly accept your thanks." He's been doing a lot of bowing lately, small price to pay dealing with human egos and Pokemon pride. "On that matter we spoke of yesterday…"

    The Ursaring snorts before stepping aside and gently nudging one of the Teddiursa forward with their paw. The little one looks up at him with wide eyes filled with curiosity and wonder but tiniest hint of fear. Prolly hasn't left the forest their entire life.

    'They say that the child was the one who saw the humans you were looking for.' He takes a seat down onto the dirt, to level with the Teddiursa, Basil right next to him as he pulls out his pen and notebook. Kids, humans or Pokemon, always like it when you take them seriously.

    "Thank you for this, now little one, what did those humans look like and what Pokemon were with them…"

    He falls into a familiar routine, asking questions and squeezing out testimony from witnesses. The little Teddiursa is smart, incredibly so. Has an eye for detail that if he was younger would be great for a trainer. But he's old now so there won't be any recruitment happening today. The other Teddieursas grow bored soon enough, playing around the Ursaring who he assumes is their parent.

    "And you're certain about this one?" He asks, seeking clarification. It's the fourth person that Teddiursa saw. The other three are consistent with the testimonies from yesterday, faces familiar enough that he should have a profile once he gets back. But this fourth is…familiar.

    The Teddiursa nods vigorously and further description deepens that sense of familiarity. When the little Pokemon says that they had a Gliscor with them, it all but confirms it.

    There's a rat in the Trainer Association.

    "I hate it when Rika is right."

    The search has hit a snag and it's not even half an hour in.

    Houndoom is supposed to track Mr. Watterson via his scent and Sableye would search for him through the shadows in the forest. Relatively simple and with both Pokemon being stronger than anyone in your group it should go quick, right?

    Houndoom keeps getting led into dead ends, to the Pokemon's frustration. While Sableye dives into the many, many shadows beneath the trees and bushes of the forest and always, without fail, ends up back where he began, right where your group is.

    All the while your group is stumbling through the forest, growing more and more tired with each passing moment. Finally it seems, Theodora's had enough.

    "I believe we are being led around by a third party." she suddenly exclaims bringing your entire Pokemon and all to a halt. The Houndoom growls in irritation and confusion.

    "What do you mean, Thea?" Elise tiredly asks, not helped by the fact that she's the one that's had to clear the way of branches and foliage with Rin.

    "We've been in this exact spot before, look. That's even the stone I asked you to mark earlier." Theodora calmly points at a pretty large rock, surrounded by moss, bushes and a tree half upturned, roots surrounding it. And right at the center, was a fresh cut onto its surface.

    "But I made that cut a while ago, when we just started going in, are you saying we're back all the way to the beginning?" Theodora nods at Elise's question, causing your entire group to groan in exhaustion.

    "Can we turn back? Maybe Mr. Watterson will be fine?" Ostia asks while pouting, causing Sableye to emerge right next to them hissing, scaring Ostia. You pull your friend back and growl at the Pokemon staring them down.

    "There will be no need for that, I believe I have an idea." Theodora sends out her Braixen. "Sharon here can help us."


    'Sire, there is another Pokemon stalking us.' Magnificent. Great, honestly.

    After he had finished interviewing the Teddiursas, he decided to head to the Amoonguss colony; he was halfway there when Basil detected a Pokemon stalking them from afar.

    He only caught a small glimpse of it when it closed in but he's certain.

    It's a Gliscor.

    His co-worker Bragg's Gliscor, to be precise. Awfully unfortunate to run into one just as he's uncovered their ratfuckery. Just his luck.

    So here he is running for his life, thankfully the Ursaring are doing their best to mess up and confuse anyone going through the forest right now. Somewhat slowing down the Gliscor chasing him.

    Unable to help himself, he takes a peak at his surroundings while running. Trees, rocks and bushes shifting, roiling earth shifting around to his sides and behind him. The movement sends all sorts of Pokemon scattering. He dodges out of the way of an errant Pineco nearly hitting his face, sent flying by the tree they were hanging off of standing up to move, using its roots to drag themselves forward.

    Rika can probably explain how they're doing it, she has an Ursaluna after all, but right now he has bigger problems.

    "What're they doin' right now, are they actually after us?" He asks Basil, who he's carrying on his shoulders right now, to give his Pokemon a vantage point to attack anyone in front or behind him.

    'They're keeping a distance, they do not seem to be hindered by the Ursaring manipulation of the forest.' Messa jumps out of the way of a massive root before continuing his pace. 'I can't tell what sort of Pokemon they are. It's like it's shifting.' Oh, if it's their friend from last night, then he's pretty sure he's fucked.

    He thinks for a moment, only a moment, before coming to a decision.

    "Basil, you prolly know what I'm gonna ask of you." He knew that not having Basil practice Teleport is gonna bite him one day, he didn't think it'd be now. But his Kirlia should be good enough with it to get himself out.

    He feels a force squeezing down on his brain, like a vice grip crushing his forehead.

    'Hopefully that has removed any thoughts of me abandoning you, sire. It is not quite over yet.' Thoroughly chastised, he focuses back on Plan A. If they can just…

    A comforting and a familiar (in a good way) presence fills his shadow. Oregano, his Sableye.

    'Oh, you're here. I suppose that might help. Hopefully Paprika is not far away.' Basil teases Oregano, causing the Sableye to hiss goodnaturedly at his teammate. He allows himself to take a break and relax. He listens as Oregano explains the situation through Basil.

    "Sending a bunch of kids? But why…" Then he realizes it.

    Damn, that's cold of you, Leila.

    Him disappearing after he supposedly got lost would barely get a peep. Whoever responsible would get away easily, but a bunch of kids from fucking Mesagoza? That'll bring the hammer down on all of Cortondo. And sure enough.

    'Gliscor has ceased the pursuit, they are heading out of the forest,' Basil says with no small amount of relief.

    "What about our other friend?" He asks.

    'Disappeared entirely from my senses' Basil turns to Oregano, who hisses something at them. 'Though it seems that presence has been one that's keeping watch over the students for a while now as per Oregano.' Huh, one of them must be the kid of a bigshot. Everyday Leila reminds him why he took her surname.

    "How far away are these kids anyhow? Might as well introduce myself to them." It's polite manners to thank people who go out of their way to save you.


    After what felt like more than an hour of searching, they finally found Mr. Watterson who looked no worse for wear. Slightly ragged and smelly but looks good for someone who was reportedly missing in the woods for over a day.

    "How'd you kids manage to find me, anyways? The Ursarings here can play mean tricks on any humans that wander too close to their territory, it's why I got lost for so long." Says Mr. Messa as he introduced himself in a rather lax and laidback tone.

    "W-well Sharon here, she's my Braixen, used her Psychic type abilities to track you down." Theodora looks bizarrely nervous for someone who basically singlehanded accomplished the task on her own.

    "Oh, really?" Says Messa with a massive grin on his face. "Well, y'know my wife has a Psychic of her own, maybe you should meet her." He rubs his nose as he happily talks about his wife.

    "I know I'm gonna get yelled at, but I'm just happy to be out of there…"

    You take a look at the time. A little over an hour until your Gym Trainer appointment. It's been a long day and it's nowhere near over yet.

    Pokemon Materials Gained:
    Teddiursa Fur, Wooloo Wool, Yamask Shards, Skiddo Leaves, Deerling Leaves
    Cash and STAT Gains in reserve
    26000 Pokedollars, 400 Poke XP, 600 PROW XP and 200 KNOW XP
    No vote for this update
    Thanks to Nemastrea for proofreading this update
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • ArvisPresley said:
    He looks at the sketch he made in his notebook of what he saw while the memory was still fresh the day before, but even now he still has no idea what he's looking at. It was a bizarre mishmash of parts, a blue fin for a tail, a thick black coat of fur for its torso and lower body, green scaly front legs and finally a head covered in gray feathers underneath a bizarre mask for a head. Most curious of all about the Pokemon, was that it was strong. Went toe to toe with some of the strongest Pokemon in the forest with barely any hint of exertion.
    Click to expand...
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    Type: Null.

    What the hell are you doing here? You are of a limited breed…
     
    Well, lots of shenanigans afoot here. Type-null trainer seems to be related to Raifort as they're following a student (likely Ostia) and have a weird pokemon, but what do the Trainer's Association infiltrators have to do with the Ruin-Treasure hunter? Is Raifort part of some larger conspiracy?
     
    ImperatorV said:
    Well, lots of shenanigans afoot here. Type-null trainer seems to be related to Raifort as they're following a student (likely Ostia) and have a weird pokemon, but what do the Trainer's Association infiltrators have to do with the Ruin-Treasure hunter? Is Raifort part of some larger conspiracy?
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    It's Kiseki, of course she's part of a larger conspiracy, she might even be part of several.

    This update was ominous, but I love Type: Null and especially love Shadow of Almia so the Miniremos being around is a delight. I read rounded top, three legs, shaped like a mailbox, and in a weird position and instantly knew what it was.
     
    Hmm.

    I do hope we learn how this all connects soon, because right now there's a lot of things just happening without us getting a lot of context for any of it.

    I'm sure the lack of ease in understanding what's going on is intentional, so I'm not saying it's inherently bad, but I do hope we get even a slight idea of who we're up against before the end of the Field Study.
     
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    Considering the amount of stalkers we've picked up and a potential assassination and disappearance we just inadvertently foiled I'd say things are going to pick up fast.
     
    ArvisPresley said:
    "They are very fluffy, yes." You look over to Ostia who's riding atop one of the Wooloo, a small flock of them following behind,
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    I want an Image of this, so bad. The Renne Faceclaim riding atop a Wooloo with a small army behind.
    ArvisPresley said:
    "Argy says that the Yamask haven't noticed anything unusual, the Woobats don't really hunt them so they care."
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    Something about this sentence is off, specifically the end. I think it's meant to be either "so they say." or "so they don't care."
    ArvisPresley said:
    You also send a quick message to Erika sending her a picture of Ostia playing with a Yamask. Maybe she'll like that.
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    This was so cute, completely unneeded but I love it regardless.
    ArvisPresley said:
    "Leila Watterson, the Director for the local Deux Association branch. She's a former Ranger, so she's halfway decent at her job." Wait, Watterson? Isn't that…
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    Numbered Associations! Feeding me specifically, thank you Arvis.

    Deux is Two, which would be Zwei. I'm not going to assume they're anything actually alike until I see more, or see if there are other Numbered Associations, but for the record Zwei Association is basically a light police force, which would fit what we know of their jobs so far.
    ArvisPresley said:
    "By the way Basil, did our little 'friend' show up again last night?" At around a little before 4 PM Tuesday, Basil detected a human-Pokemon duo making their way through the forest a decent distance away from him. With the circuit underway, something like that wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. However…

    He looks at the sketch he made in his notebook of what he saw while the memory was still fresh the day before, but even now he still has no idea what he's looking at. It was a bizarre mishmash of parts, a blue fin for a tail, a thick black coat of fur for its torso and lower body, green scaly front legs and finally a head covered in gray feathers underneath a bizarre mask for a head. Most curious of all about the Pokemon, was that it was strong. Went toe to toe with some of the strongest Pokemon in the forest with barely any hint of exertion.
    Click to expand...
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    That solves the question of what's in the Beast Ball.
     
    This update is also confirmation that there are genuine narrative consequences to which Tasks we pick, beyond stuff like which Pokemon are unlocked. If we hadn't picked Lost Woods I don't think Messa would have made it.
     
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