Destiny Village ~ X-Eye Cauldron

[Namohysip]

Lugia's eyes widened just slightly, her mouth just slightly agape, before she returned to her usual, regal stature. "You remember that, hm? Interesting."

"Uh, yeah... that, uh, I guess that's not something fun to think about," Meringue said.

"I forgive you," Lugia replied, nodding. "After all, you did not know any better, and I doubt you will return to your old ways. It would be... unbecoming of me, then, to hold such a grudge."

 

[Virgil134]

Pleo's eyes lit up and he opened his beak slightly, before giving back a grateful nod. "Thank you," he said. "And I only remember it a little bit, but enough to know that it happened."

Cabot couldn't help but smile at the exchange. With everything that had happened he sure was glad his Shade had taken on Pleo's form out of all Pokémon.

"Well, I'm glad you guys are getting along." the Cranidos said. "Will you join us for dinner, Lugia?"

 

[Namohysip]

Lugia grinned, just slightly. "I don't see why not," she said. "Even if this bar isn't... the first place I would choose to dine, it is where Meringue prefers. A remnant of your mortal habits, I presume?"

"H-hey, I'm not full-on Lugia yet..." Meringue looked off.

Lugia chuckled. "In time, you will adjust. But for now... I will indulge myself." She took a seat next to Pleo and inspected her menu. "Now, tell me, what are these... sliders?"

<><><>​

 

[Cresselia92]

Bars and cafeterias were something that both his real counterparts like, and that was something that Petram inherited from both his "fathers". The ghostly Vulpix took a careful look around the place, his tails wagging in unison with the music in the background.

"Cool place! I already like it!" he chirped while glancing around. However, he was so distracted by his surroundings that he collided against someone, and ended up sprawling on the floor. "Oof!" He shook his head and stared at the other individual: a Hitmontop. "Oops! Sorry about that, didn't mean to crash into you... huh, whoever you are!"

 

[Cresselia92]

"Oh, hi Genki! I'm Petram, my Daddy's spectral son!" replied Petram with a grin, getting back to his feet and wagging his tails. "And sure, I'd love to! I wanted to snack on some whatever or something, and you enjoy stuff better in company!"

The Vulpix took a quick look around and spotted a small table nearby. He motioned toward it. "Oh! Look, over there," he exclaimed, before trotting toward the table. He glanced curiously at the Hitmontop. "Genki... are you with Team Spectrum, by chance?"

 

[Cresselia92]

"Oh, well! Mostly for quick info, y'know? With so many unique 'mons around here, I wanna make sure to know all my allies and friends," replied Petram, sitting on the seat and consulting their menu. "Hmm, what to order, what to order, what to ord-- Ah! Yes! Some chocolate cookies, yes! Daddy doesn't like them, but I love chocolate!"

He gave the order to a nearby barmon, before turning again to Genki. "So! How's your time with your team? Did you befriend anyone yet? Is there something you still dunno about matters with... well, all that heroic business and stuff?"

 

[Cresselia92]

"Chocolate cookies? I absolutely love those! Why would your dad not love chocolate?" Genki frowned, "You can put it on everything and make it much more sweeter! You can even dip berries in them!"

“Thing is, where he comes from chocolate is a powerful poison, so he’s always been wary about it. Sure, his new body is more resistant to that, but some habits are tough to crack, y’see?” Petram shrugged. “But hey! That’s fine. We all have our unique tastes and preferences, no?”

"And as for Team Spectrum, I'm still trying to get familiar with them. All this time, I was in the Water Continent living life as usual, but then I was called down here. But, maybe in the meantime, we could be buddies, if that's okay with you!"

Petram smirked. “As far as I know, we’re already buddies!” He laughed. “Heck! If I had it my way, the entire world would be buddies! Buuut one thing at a time!”

He tapped his paws on the table, before gazing curiously at Genki. “And say, how was life in your world?”

 

[Cresselia92]

“Oh, you’ll meet her again! Dontcha worry about that!” Petram beamed a reassuring smile. “This is just temporary. Consider this like some kind of… vacation. Yeah! A vacation where you have to kick Legendaries’ butts, but a vacation nonetheless.”

He grabbed a cookie and ate it in a single bite. The chocolate dissipated into smoke and vanishes inside the Ultra Stone.

“Hmm! Yummy! But still, huh! You can also get the chance to meet new pals here, yeah? Perhaps I could introduce you to a few buddies, like Daddy or… Soul! They’re cool, but again they turned into a ghostly ice Vulpix. And then… and then there are Daddy’s friends Celeste and Cynthian. They’re so nice, and friendly, and… and stuff!” Petram placed one of his stubby paws on Genki’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll be fine! I’ll make sure you’ll be fine!”

 

[Cresselia92]

“Of course! Thanks to this beauty,” Petram thumped his Ultra Stone, which made a full sound, “I can always tell where to find Daddy! And Daddy is very often around other folks!”

He took other cookies into his paws, but then paused. “…I forgot to get something to drink. Oi, you!” He motioned toward the desk. “Bring some tea, please! Any kind is fine!”

Once he made sure that the order was accepted, he glanced again at Genki. “Anyway! Are you strong? We’re gonna face plenty of baddies, so you need to be tough to help the team.”

 

[Cresselia92]

"Woooh! Nice!" Petram started clapping with enthusiasm. "I dunno how you folks can just spin without getting vertigo, but that's awesome!" He grinned. "Aaand I'd show you what I can do, but I don't wanna make the entire place burst into flames, so..."

And then, the tea arrived -- warm and sweet. "Ah, excellent!" He took a cup of tea and started licking it, while pondering about that spinning attack. "Hmmm... Have you ever considered break-dancing?"

 

[Cresselia92]

"Ah, makes sense. It would be inconsiderate from nature to give you head-spinning moves without head-spinning protection, I bet!" remarked Petram, nodding to himself. "But yeah, I'd like to learn how to dance. It would be cool! Hey," he started wagging his tails, "maybe we could practice dancing someday? I know I'd love a dance partner or something! It would... only be a matter of finding some good spot, yeah!"

Then, he flicked his ears, as if alerted by something. He looked around and frowned. "Oh? There is some news, apparently! Huh... A-ha! Um... yeah, okay..."

Once he was done with his telepathic feedback, he turned to Genki. "Welp! I sure hope you're ready to kick butts with those spinning kicks, because there may be some troubles on the horizon..."

 

[Cresselia92]

"Okie dokie!" Petram nodded furiously and absorbed the last cookies and tea. "So, from what I've gotten from Daddy's telepathic link, there is something happening in a... desert? I think? I didn't get that last part..." He tilted his head. "Anyway! I hope you have some sunscreen ready for that. And now, we skedaddle!"

Without another word, Petram bolted toward the exit, following the telepathic link that connected him with Icetales. He glanced back to make sure that Genki followed, before beaming a grin. "Well! Time to show you how heroes fight! Are you ready?"

 

[Namohysip]

Something about the bar seemed gloomier than usual. It was the same high-end food, the same good drinks, the same quiet buzz of a less-rowdy crowd, but there was a new aura of bitterness in the air. Unease. Stress. It was probably the news that was spreading across town and the whole world--that Giovanni had attacked Poppin' Arms, and won. The retreat was voluntary, not by force...

Sitting alone at one of the tables in the far corner of the bar was Soda. His illusion was back up again, at least partially, and his fur was back to looking sleek and groomed.

 

[Dragonfree]

Apparently the rescue wasn't happening for a while. Dave needed a drink after all that; he headed straight for the X-Eye Cauldron. Mia asked about going and training in the meantime, and he reminded her that they had reason to think there might be people working for Giovanni in Destiny Village and this was not the time for her to go off on her own, and she asked why they would want her or other regular familiars when they clearly could have taken Cal or any of them earlier, and he didn't have the energy for this and said goddamn it just come with me please. Mia frowned, and he wasn't sure how he was going to convince her if she kept arguing, was starting to think fuck it, maybe he wouldn't be getting a drink, but somehow she agreed.

He ordered a pint of beer at the bar and took a sip as he looked around. Sitting at a corner table, he spotted the God Squad's Zoroark.

He'd never really trusted the guy, and still didn't. But the way he'd acted earlier had caught his interest - the weirdly personal way he'd taken it when Brisa had accused him in particular, less potential guilt than genuine frustration; the shattering of an illusion that showed his fur matted and graying, now back to impeccable. And he'd argued with Maple. He was an irritating prick, but as the God Squad went...

Dave was pretty sure Soda wasn't one of Giovanni's supposed traitors. But even if he might be, probing him was probably a good idea anyway. It was something to concentrate on. At the very least it would be less distracting than having him in the background while they were there.

He walked over to Soda's table, Mia following behind, and climbed onto the chair opposite him, setting his drink down with a clatter. "Hey."

 

[Namohysip]

Soda had been aware of Dave for a while, though it was hard to miss him when there was a glowing-eyed Scyther creature following him around. Dave was one of the easily irritable Pokemon on the team; he never seemed happy with what was going on, and he was probably just as unhappy about being a Pokemon in general. There was something funny about that, being a grump in such a happy-go-lucky world's era of peace.

So, when Dave finally approached him, Soda was ready for any level of interrogation or small talk, or something in between, or both. He kept his expression dour, regardless of whether he wanted company or not. "Hey. Here to forget the day?"

 

[Dragonfree]

"Well, there's plenty to forget." Dave took a chug from his glass. "How about you?"

Mia frowned. "Today was pretty important. You shouldn't forget about it."

 

[Namohysip]

"Tch." Despite everything, Soda smirked at Mia. "She's a practical one, huh? I like that." He took another swig. "Everyone with their emotions and feelings getting in the way of the most favorable outcome. That sound about right, kid?"

He set the glass down and sighed. "...Yeah. Guess I've got some things I'm trying to distract myself from. Old haunts."

 

[Dragonfree]

"I don't care that people have emotions. But they should be able to act rationally anyway. The prefrontal cortex can override impulsive behaviours with reason."

Dave chuckled through his nose. "Yeah? I don't know, sometimes you do some pretty impulsive shit."

"Only if I want to do it."

"Yeah, well, I want to get hammered right now. Handily, if I forget anything important, you were there, so you can remind me. How about that?"

Mia frowned but didn't respond.

"Anyway," Dave said, turning back to Soda and taking another sip of his drink, "what's this about old haunts?"

 

[Namohysip]

Soda looked offended in a way, like Dave was being presumptuous that he would disclose something like that in the first place. He sighed and took another drink. It wasn't like it really mattered. "You could ask that for anybody on God Squad. Aside from the big light dragon himself, nobody on that team has a happy story for why they're world hopping. It's usually because they don't have a home to go back to, or a world where they're welcome. Same case for me."

Soda sighed, looking into his drink before signaling for another. "I lost a partner, too. Just like Shield did. Throw in some exile while you're at it. Brought up some bad memories. That's all."

 

[Dragonfree]

Aside from the big light dragon himself, nobody on that team has a happy story for why they're world hopping.

Dave narrowed his eyes at Soda. "What, Joule? Did he just casually hop on after getting with Maple, then?"

Soda sighed, looking into his drink before signaling for another. "I lost a partner, too. Just like Shield did. Throw in some exile while you're at it. Brought up some bad memories. That's all."

His ears perked up. "Wait, hold up. When you say just like Shield did, you mean what exactly? You were from a world like Telum?"