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Dorm Hall - 2nd Floor

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Flyg0n

Flygon connoisseur
Pronouns
She/her
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. swampert
  3. ho-oh
  4. crobat
  5. orbeetle
  6. joltik
  7. salandit
  8. tyrantrum
The second floor features a cozier design, only slightly smaller, and has been made with medium sized pokemon. Much like the first floor, there are a variety of themed rooms available.

It seems all efforts have been made to ensure a comfortable experience, and as with every room, there is a small card by a phone in the room, informing trainers to feel free to request any material needs such as toiletries and clothes.​
 
Night 1 - Violet & Hazel

MintyMimix

Otherworldly Dessert
Location
Florida
Pronouns
They/Them
Partners
  1. lurantis
  2. noivern-astrea
Violet kept praising the "flash" and "flair" of their courteous host as the duo made their way to the dorm hall. Hazel had to admit, it was nice seeing Violet so happy... even if was over something that she herself thought wasn't all that special.

Still, the Weavile had been more fascinated by the Pokémon next the man. It was clear that the one with the ring, Orzo, was progenitor of the portals. Hazel wasn't sure why, but something in the back of her head came back to the Kalos region that had been brought up by the bar. Perhaps she could try to connect the two pieces of information on her own time.

But that was a small riddle in a far larger puzzle. No, the real mystery was the Klefki, Clink. It was clearly the right-hand 'mon behind the man, but that detail the... Xavie... Xavius...Xaviun?
Xaviun.
The detail that Xaviun brought up about Clink being the one who invited the 'rare mythical pokémon' had not slipped by her. The premise that a regular Fairy-type would have that much power would be one she would write off as statistically improbable, but she then she considered the other guests: Fallers hand-picked based on "talent" or "interest". It was clear that while Orzo made the portals, Clink was the brains of the operation. They had to have information on all of them, and, more than likely, on these "rare Pokémon" as well.

It was a chilling reminder that she needed stay frosty.
...Hazel was glad that Violet didn't hear that accidental pun.
Especially when they just arrived to an Ice-type room on the second floor.

Upon entering the room, a refreshing draft of wind invited them as the cool, crisp air blew their stresses away. Lodged straight into the wall was an enormous fan that could range from "cool" to "freezing". The full-sized bed had a retractable overhang to simulate the living conditions of a cave den. There was even a second shower that dispensed ice rather than water! Granted, Hazel considered that to be more akin to a projectile weapon with a tub, but even so...

Hazel and Violet had become enraptured by their new environment. They spent the evening exploring every little nook and cranny of their accommodations. Violet was enamored whenever a switch or button of some sort activated the appliances. It was as though it were magic! Really expensive magic, but magic!

Hazel made notes of every model ID she could find. She played with as many settings as possible to find the optimal housing conditions for the two of them. She was surprised at just how much Violet could withstand the cold — was this "Kingdom of Circhester" she had come from really so frigid? Nonetheless, it was convenient situation, and Hazel would gladly enjoy being her element for as long as she could.

Once the two satisfied their curiosities, the two snuggled together in their bed. The overhang above it added to the cool yet cozy nature as an instinctual sense of "home" breezed over Hazel. That evening, for all of its ups and downs, was... really nice. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe this really was just a festival by an eccentric philanthropist who just liked seeing rare sights from across the multiverse.

There was one last thing to check: the video recording.
Hazel carefully looked at her phone, ready to debunk what she thought was a hallucination with Jack...
...It was completely real. There was a tiny humanoid bird in front of her that whole time.

Hazel slammed the phone on the end table before clutching her arms around Violet.
 
Night 1: Wes, Nico, Merian

AbraPunk

Cosmic Guardian
Location
The Circle
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. luxio
Wes and his partners were sprawled out on the floor in the middle of their new room, relishing the all-black walls and decor.

"Still don't have my fucking knife." He muttered to himself.

What a fantastic fucking day this had been. First he'd been sent a letter by a bird pokémon he'd never seen before, then gotten into a fight with a copycat of himself, then had his knife stolen...

He sighed. "This is just going to get worse, isn't it?"

"...Hey, Nico. See if there are any hidden cameras in here or some shit. Knowing the bullshit I've already been through, I wouldn't be surprised if there's like twenty of 'em."

--

Nico, who was lounging next to Wes, lifted his head and swiveled around, using his psychic senses to detect any electronic signals... of which there were none.

"Nothing. Frankly, I'm astonished."
Judging by the usual deadpan in which he spoke, though, he wasn't completely surprised.

--

The tone of Nico's responding chirp made Wes quirk a brow. "Really. Huh. Well, guess that just makes things easier for us, then."

He shifted his goggles up to rest on his head, and pulled his bandana down. "At least I can do this now, since there won't be anybody watching."

Subconsciously, he traced the scars near his mouth with his index finger. The mirror clone of him, or whatever the fuck that was... didn't have these. There were differences between the two, yes, but far too many similarities to just be a coincidence. He needed to find out what the fuck was actually going on here.

Wes frowned as he thought. Bastard probably doesn't give a shit about pokémon at all. Motherfucker was ready to stab my partners. I would've killed him right fucking then and there.

He shook his head. No. Shouldn't be thinking about this kind of shit right now. We have time to just... try to think things over, and not worry about anything.

He glanced over at his two Eeveelutions on either side of him. They were everything to him, the only ones that had kept him sane during his time in Snagem. If anything happened to them... he didn't know if he'd be able to handle that.

And Kane, Inigo, Cephas, Willow... I wonder how they're doing. I should've brought them along, too. But this stupid fucking invitation said only two pokémon allowed. Real bullshit. He sighed again. I left that girl in charge of them for now. If anything happens to any of them, I'll fucking kill her.

Wes exhaled heavily. Stop, damn it. No more murderous shit. Just... calm down. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, and soon enough was being overcome by drowsiness.

Well, guess I need sleep anyways...

"G'night, guys." He mumbled to his Eeveelutions before falling asleep.

--

About an hour later, Merian was still awake, hardly comforted by Wes' rhythmic breathing.

"Hey... you awake?"

Silence for a few seconds, then:

"Yes. Why?" Nico stared across at Merian, head tilted.

"Oh. I was just thinking... maybe this wasn't such a good idea. To come here, to this, I mean."

"...Wes quite literally could not refuse the invitation. He was essentially forced to attend."

"Well, yeah, but that's not really what I meant. I mean, us. Maybe we shouldn't have come."

"...And why do you say that?"

"We can't deal with this kind of stuff. Not right now, anyways. With all of the crazy crap that's already happened... honestly, I'm scared. I don't know what to expect. And... the wisp. Neither of us know what it is, or why it's here, of all places."

"You are correct. With such strange occurrences already, there is no doubt things will only get stranger. However, we must remain stalwart. Wes needs us, and we shall not abandon him. Not now, not ever. We will deal with whatever obstacles may happen upon us, and it will not be easy, I know this much. Nothing ever is. But that's alright. The world has always been our enemy, and this is no different. We fight, as we always have. We
will get through this, and when the time comes, we shall deal with the wisp." Nico's eyes shone with a blazing determination that Merian had never seen. He must have really been serious about this.

"I... okay. You're right. We're gonna make it through this, and we're all gonna be okay. ...Thank you."

"Of course. Now then, we really must get some sleep. Have a good night." And with that, Nico curled up.

Merian followed suit not long after.

We'll be okay. I just gotta believe that.

<> <> <>
 
Night 1 - Kimiko & Olivia (& Lucy)

Seren

Lurking
Staff
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. sableye
The cries of both human and pokemon alike blurred together in the chilly night air as they fled the scene, charging as fast as they could away from the forest. A piercing screech cut right through the rest of the noise, though it did serve to increase the volume of the rest afterwards.

Standing alone in the dark as faceless people and pokemon blew passed her, Kimiko spun around helplessly, trying to locate... she wasn't even sure anymore. Olivia? Alex? What was going on? She tried to stop a few people as they passed, but her hand seemed to go right through them, and she couldn't even hear the sound of her own voice over their screams.

The unnerving screech echoed in the night once again and with a shiver, Kimiko turned around, her eyes wide with shock at what she saw. Not one, but two giant pokemon raining down destruction on the fleeing crowd. One, the terrifying soul feeder. The other, a giant tumbleweed with wings. Her gasp was barely audible in the chaos as her heart threatened to burst from her chest, but both pokemon snapped their heads in her direction the second she made the sound. They started flying in her direction, and she found she was unable to get her legs moving.

As they approached, the two giant pokemon appeared to merge into each other, fusing into some kind of crimson red tumbleweed with wings. There was only one screech this time, a bone-chilling fusion of the previous dreadful sounds. The wings, the entire body, tipped with more spikes and spines than a field of cacturne, getting ever closer, and from each and every spine, a lightning bolt...




"FUCK!" she cried as she practically launched herself off her pillow and into a sitting position.

It took her a several moments to realize she was no longer in the woods after waking up in a cold sweat, her breathing labored. She reached over beside her, and the panic only intensified when her hand only grasped the bedsheets. Her head snapped that direction to find her bed unoccupied save herself... right. Alex didn't come with her.

She cast a glance around the room; Olivia remained asleep in the bed provided for her, somehow undisturbed by her trainer's sudden outburst.

Kimiko had hoped the water-type room she'd settled for would help to calm her nerves. The bottom floor had appeared to be for larger pokemon and ground-types, so she continued upwards. The first psychic room she came across on the second floor, though, gave her a headache, so she passed on that. No one had said they were required to select a room based on the pokemon they brought with them... right? She didn't recognize the symbol on the second door she passed; poison, maybe? Simply out of curiosity (what would a poison-type theme room even look like?), she opened the door; she saw a glimpse of a floating chair and without missing a step, she spun on her heel, closed the door, and muttered "Nnnnope."

The next door she passed had an engraved lightning bolt symbol on it that she promptly ignored.

She had supposed she could settle for the fire room - it hadn't had any actual fire it, it was just very warm, and she figured she could sleep in her bikini if it got too overwhelming, but then Olivia pointed out the much more peaceful-looking water room a few doors down. She figured the blue hues and peaceful vibe would help to calm her nerves after her embarrassing exit from the dining hall ("Fuck, I did it again!" she'd cried as soon as she was out of earshot of anyone.) but apparently that had been incorrect.

Olivia had been in a sour mood ever since being torn away from her new playmates (and her new favorite food, apparently). She did her best to comfort her trainer, as loyally as ever, but Kimiko could tell her mind was elsewhere. It took a promise of letting her see them all again tomorrow before she'd stopped brooding, although she was still not her usual bubbly self the rest of the night.

And Kimiko would have to find and apologize to both Wes and Odette. What a rude exit she'd made, and with such a lame excuse. She'd literally just made a promise to back Wes up if he needed it, and what did she do? Turned and ran not minutes later. Real reliable, she was. Right when he seemed willing to start easing up, too. And poor Odette probably assumed Kimiko was just confirming her fears. She'd felt like she was really getting along with Odette until... that creature had appeared.

Odette had called her... her pokemon. So, not a twin after all. And Odette had mentioned magic-type pokemon? She'd thought it was a zoroark, perhaps, or maybe a ditto but that was probably a stretch. But then it... transformed, and suddenly she'd felt angry...

Why the fuck does Odile affect me like this?

It had to be that pokemon; she'd definitely seen it somewhere before. Odette had mentioned something about Odile being a pokemon from her world... and hadn't Blue mentioned something about portals? Maybe that was why she couldn't recall... had she been in another world once before?

Well, she'd already resolved to find them to apologize and get details anyway. And god damn it, she vowed that was the last time she was going to give in to her panic. She was on fucking vacation, for gods sake!

A sudden pressure on her leg startled her, but it was only Olivia crawling into her lap to curl up. She dropped something by her trainer's hand before tucking in and purring in content as she always did when she detected Kimiko having an episode.

Thankfully, the rooms provided were relatively large, because she'd forgotten her headphones. She hoped the extra space would help cushion the sound as she started her playlist and turned up the volume.

Of course the first song to come on was Demons in the Scenery. It was almost comical.

Still, it was a good, mellow song for her to sing along with as she scratched Olivia behind the ears.
 
Night 1 : June and Evie

ShiniGojira

Multiversal Extraordinaire
Location
Stranded In The Gaps between Multiverses
Pronouns
He/him/they/her
Partners
  1. froslass
  2. zorua-gojira
  3. salandit-shiny
Evie laid sprawled on the queen-sized bed as the winds of the air conditioners rustled her fur. The walls were dark with little sparks and celestial bodies littering it, there was also a window nearby that granted them a lovely sight of the moon and the island.

A knock on the door alerted her and she heard the door slowly being pushed forward. Was it the fire-resistant blankets she ordered?

She got up and saw a Charmander's head peeking in. "Ah, June. There you are, I was starting to think you got lost." When she only got a blush in response, she raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

"Uh... y'know how I was trying to find some clothes?" She nodded and he continued. "Well, um let's just say Operation Dress Up went a little too well."

"What do you mean?"

"They, uh may have taken the 'dress' part of Operation Dress Up too literal," he squeaked out.

Evie snickered.

"Evieeee!" he cried out, face flushing.

"Heh... and I thought I was the Pokémon here." She shook her head with a smirk on her face. "Why don't you just take it off?"

"I don't wanna destroy it with my claws, someone probably spent a lot of time with this." He lowered his head as his blush intensified. "And it's–um... it feels nice."

She snorted, ignoring his cry as she said, "Come on, I'll help you get it off."

Perking up at that, he made his way inside, a traditional red Chinese dress clad against his scales.

Things went quiet.

He stood there for a moment, slowly growing more self-conscious and timid the longer she stared at him.

"Evie?"

A second passed as a loud squeal echoed against the walls of the room. "You're so adorable~!"

"Evie!"



A paw reached out to the knob, turning off the showerhead as silence washed over her. Evie shook herself dry before grabbing a nearby towel and wrapping her mane.

She stepped into the bedroom, the chilly winds brushing against her fur. She spotted her trainer sitting on the bed, his eyes boring into the window with a thousand-yard stare.

Quietly making her way beside the Charmander, she gazed at the view, a cool calm greeting her. "Hey."

Acknowledging her with a short glance, he replied back, "Hey."

They sat there for a moment, allowing each other to bask in the peace the moon provided.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he murmured, putting a claw against his head. He shook his head. "Hey, um, Eves?"

She turned towards him. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I deserve this?" He sighed. "Sorry if this sounds silly but I've been thinking... and I–I don't think I deserve any of this." He paused, twiddling with his claws. "I haven't– I haven't– I shouldn't even be here. All the gyms I've beaten, all the battles. You guys did everything while I just–I..." He turned away, voice cracking. "I'm just a useless nobody."

She put a paw on his shoulder, she didn't pull back when he flinched. "June." She didn't give him a chance to react. "You know we all love you. You shouldn't let Zetta's words affect you."

"But–"

"But nothing. I don't think any of us would've been happy where we were if we didn't meet you or your brothers. Pixels abd Scales, they hated their royalty. I hated my peaceful life and Litno..." She shook her head and pulled her paw away. "We became a family because of you, we became happier because of you. You've changed all of us... for better or worse... and even if you are a nobody, we wouldn't trade you for the world."

A small grin wormed its way onto his face and he smiled. "You really mean it, huh?" Turning around, he chuckled and shook his head. "You're getting awfully better at these," he remarked.

"I learned from the best... which fortunately, isn't you." She stuck her tongue out.

"What? I'll have you know I'm a great listener!" June shook a fist at her although it held no malice.

It came out of her in short bursts at first but it wasn't long before she was pulled into a gut-busting laugh with June joining in.

The two enjoyed themselves to the luxuries of the room until they grew tired.

And later into the night, he rested his head on a pillow and closed his eyes. "Night, Eves."

"Night, June."
 
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Night 1: Prim and Ferry (and Lauchs and Scout!?)

kyeugh

you gotta feel your lines
Staff
Pronouns
she/her
Partners
  1. farfetchd-galar
  2. gfetchd-kyeugh
  3. onion-san
  4. farfetchd
Prim falls backward into her cushy bed with a loud poff, the duvet fluffing up around her. She basks in its comfort with her eyes shut, groaning in pleasure as she stretches her back. Years sleeping on the ground have put her back through so much for so long that she barely even notices it's hurting anymore, but the relief of resting it on a well-made mattress is unparalleled.

The gate to Princess's paddock creaks. Whoever assigned the rooms here had been kind enough to provide them with one for an enclosed pen to contain the creature. Judging by the immaculate state of its wood board flooring, it seems someone had come to clean up her droppings while they were away. The luxuries of this place continue to put her on edge just as much as they amaze her. Part of her still wants to bolt before things kick off. She feels like she's walking into a trap. But this world is strange and foreign to her; perhaps this is normal in this part of the world. Maybe she should ask that Steven fellow what he thinks. He seemed... worldly. He'd even asked to meet Ferry. That had surprised her. Most people simply wanted him out of the way.

She opens her eyes and finds the lucario sitting in Princess's pen. The goat is in his lap, munching vacantly on a wad of hay, and his eyes are closed as he hugs her with one arm and strokes her leaves with the other. Probably meditating. Prim smiles. She likes seeing him this way, at peace. It isn't common. Seems like this vacation is doing him some good, too.

"How do you think Lauchs is doing," he says abruptly, cracking one eye open at Prim. She looks away from him and to the ceiling, inverting her smile into a frown. Did he sense that she was looking fondly at him? God, that was embarrassing.

"You could throw that duck in a dungeon and he'd find a way to have a good time, damn him," Prim says. "I'm sure Scout is keeping him in line."

Ferry scoffs. "Yeah, right..."



A long time ago, in a region far, far away...

The forest clearing flickers with orange light, the air heavy with the fragrant scent of cooking onions. Four bulbs sit on the red coals at the edge of the campfire, their bottoms charred and their skins glossy brown. Lauchs pokes gently at one with a stick, his blue eyes shimmering in the firelight.

"These are just about done," he declares, and he rolls one toward him and rubs his wings together with anticipation. "Watch this, Scout. I promise, this will amaze you."

The gogoat is curled up as far away from the fire as he can be while still benefiting from its warmth. He snorts but otherwise ignores Lauchs.

"Very well, Scout. Your loss. Hiyah!" He chops the onion martial arts-style with a wing. A puff of steam emerges from the top as the onion splits into so many petals, looking more like a lotus than a vegetable. Lauchs gingerly plucks one of its petals and tosses it into his beak, closing his eyes to fully savor the flavor. "Delicious." He cracks the remaining three bulbs open in the same way, crying "hiyah!" each time, then claps his wings. "Dinner is served."

The gogoat lifts its head, finally, and surveys Lauchs's work. He stands up and shakes the dirt off his pelt, and Lauchs is briefly delighted that he has captured the goat's attention—they can bond at last, Prim will be so pleased!—but the goat trots even further from the fire and lays back down, facing away from Lauchs. The light of the flames dance off his pelt, and from this distance the goat looks more like a bush than an animal.

Lauchs scowls deeply and picks up a basket, then throws the rest of his onion into his mouth at once, juices dripping onto his beard as he approaches Scout. "Fine then. If you're not going to enjoy this lovely meal with me, at least make yourself useful." He tosses the basket onto the ground next to Scout. "The fire is getting low. Go find some firewood for me. You big lout." Scout lifts his head and gives Lauchs a flat look, his ear flicking and his tail swishing. "Well?"

The goat stares at him a moment longer, then gets up and resignedly slips the basket's rope handle around his neck so the basket dangles just below his chest. He snorts as if to emphasize his irritation, then turns around towards the forest, making sure to kick up dirt and leaves from the forest floor onto Lauchs as he trots away.

Lauchs growls and fluffs up his beard to twice its regular size, sending the detritus flying off it. He marches back to the fire with a frown and forcefully resumes his position on his log-seat to warm his feathers. "What a stiff creature," he grumbles. "Just like his mother. Ah well, more for me." He swipes up a second onion and chomps about half of it off in a single bite. He makes quick work of the rest of it, pouting the whole time, then reaches for the third, but stops himself.

Eating all the onions would be admitting defeat. No, the goat will come around. Lauchs will make sure of it. No one can resist a good fetch'd-style onion forever.

Freshly determined, he enjoys the fire's warmth for a few seconds, but his gaze falls longingly back on the onion before long. Well... perhaps he should hedge his bets a bit. Surely Scout will be fine with one onion, right? Yes, that seems reasonable. He polishes off the third onion before he can talk himself out of it, then nudges the fourth one a little closer to the flames to keep it warm.

Yes, he'll come around.

- - -​

Scout picks up a branch with his mouth and presses down on it a little to test its strength and ensure it isn't rotted, then drops it into the basket. It's about half-full now. He doesn't really want to be doing this, but it's better than lying around and enduring the duck man's ceaseless harassment. He trots a little deeper into the woods and finds a plump mushroom growing at the base of a tree. After ensuring its edibility with a good sniff or two, he plucks it from the ground and feasts. Mmm. Much better than onion.

The temperature of the air drops suddenly. Not naturally. Scout swings his head up, ears lifted, the leaves on his pelt laying flat against each other to preserve warmth. He sniffs the air, checking for a predator, but doesn't sense anything out of the ordinary. Trepidly he proceeds, leaves crunching under his hooves. He finds another good stick, and after a good while he slowly lowers his head to pick it up.

Something crashes into his flank, and he barely stops himself from toppling over. His pelt-leaves stand on edge, and he fires a barrage of them in all directions, but none of them seem to hit anything. His instinct is to run back to the fire—but no. He won't return fearfully to the duck man's side, defeated by this simple task. Instead he bolts in a random direction, the sticks in his basket jolting with each step.

The air is becoming like ice.

The thing appears in front of him, a big shadowy wall, its red eyes and spectral grin glowing in the dark. Forest spirit. Scout averts course to avoid it, navigating deftly past trees and leaping over rotting logs. It appears in front of him again and again, and each time Scout darts out of its way, until—

He finds himself face-to-face with a wide ravine. Too far to jump, to deep to plunge into without probably breaking an ankle. He turns around, breaths ragged, and the forest spirit is closing in on him. Scout backs up as far as he can, but one of his legs swipes empty air, and he sucks in a breath and drags himself away from the precipice, his pelt rising up.

The forest spirit cackles. Scout fires another barrage of leaves at it. They form ripples in the spirit's silhouette, but it doesn't appear harmed or even fazed by them. Useless.

Still it pushes in closer to him.

Only one thing left to try. He charges at the spirit and rams it with his horns. His head phases through the shadowy wall. It feels like he's covered in freezing syrup. He lets out a breath and it puffs out in front of him, visible in the frigid air, then streams past his face. Not a second later he's flung back out of the wall by an invisible force and skids across the ground to the precipice of the ravine. His sticks skitter everywhere.

Scout's eyes dart between the chasm and the spirit as he pulls himself up. Chasm, spirit. Which fate is worse? His breaths come faster and faster.

He begins to yell. Noctowl and murkrow alight from their roosts as the air rings with his screams.

It doesn't seem to matter. The spirit's terrible laughter drowns out his cries.

Scout's legs twitch, wishing to bolt, and he has to consciously resist the urge. It would be death. But won't he die anyway?

Of course this should happen as soon as Prim leaves. Why did she abandon him? Why did she leave him all alone with this stupid duck man? Scout thought he would grow old with his master. They would always be together, and she would make tea from his leaves, and he would be happy just as he had been for these last few years forever. Now he was going to be pushed into a ravine and feasted upon by a forest spirit. And the last face he will have seen is that foolish, foolish—

The spirit's smile recedes into a frown, and its whole mass contorts around something that rips through it. Something... green?

The spirit squirms and then consolidates its mass into a familiar egg shape, its face knotted up in anger. Behind it stands the duck man, his vegetable-sword extended, a glimmer in his eyes.

"Have at ye, gengar!" he cries, and he swipes with his sword again. It should phase through it or be repelled, like Scout's horns and leaves, but it actually collides with the spirit as though it's a regular object. The spirit recoils, and Scout shudders as spikes of frost form on his leaves.

The duck man and the spirit trade blows for a while until the spirit abruptly seizes the sword and casts it aside. Without missing a beat, the duck man raises his wings like fists and bats at the spirit. His wings unfold as he smacks the spirit about, and they're longer than Scout would have guessed.

Before long the spirit bellows with frustration and lunges for the duck man's face. In a single fluid motion he steps out of the way and palms the back of the creature's head in a way that shouldn't be possible as it flies forward where he had been standing just a moment earlier. Redirecting the spirit's momentum, he smashes its face into a tree. Splinters fly from the collision point as the spirit shrieks, and then it dissipates. Silence. Then the air becomes warm again.

Scout is shaking, still mere inches from the edge of the canyon. The duck man's chest heaves with his breaths. Then he looks to Scout and flashes a smile.

"Find any good sticks?"

Scout blinks, then looks down at the sticks that have been scattered across the ground. The duck man spares not a moment getting on his knees and gathering them up, then placing them in Scout's basket. He pats him on the head. "Nice work, old goat. Now let's get back and throw these in the fire. We shouldn't leave it unattended too long."

Scout pulls himself to his feet and follows the duck man back to the fire, still shaking. The duck man gets to work restoring the dwindling embers into a roaring flame, then sits back on his log and plucks the last onion off the ground. "Looks like you went for quite the jog," he says, glancing at the goat's quaking knees. "Feeling hungry? I saved this for you."

Scout approaches cautiously and takes a small bite of the onion from the duck man's hand, then quickly eats the rest. It... is tastier than the mushroom.

"That's a good lad," the duck man says, stroking Scout's pelt. It feels nice. The goat cautiously lowers himself to the ground, feeling weak, and lets the warmth of the flame wash over him and melt the frost from his leaves. His eyelids begin to droop and the exhaustion hits him all at once. He absently places his head in the duck man's lap, enjoying the pats.

"I know, I know, old boy," the duck man says. "It's rough out here without your friends, eh? I miss them too."

He drifts into sleep.



"Hopefully they aren't making too much of a mess for us to clean up when we return," Prim remarks. She grins, then adds, "Who knows? Maybe they're chumming it up by a nice fire right now."

Ferry laughs. "Maybe they did put something in the food earlier. It's addled your brain."

"Yeah." Prim looks back up at the ceiling and puts her arms behind her head. "Probably."
 
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[N1] May and Spirit Discuss the Festival of Friendship

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
May settled into the bed with a sigh. Whatever else you could say about all this, it was a pretty soft, comfy bed.

Spirit lay next to her with her head resting on her paws, and she idly stroked her fur. She hadn't had Spirit out like this in a while. In a way she'd missed it, and in another way she was on edge.

They'd gone for a Fire-type room. Warm, reddish décor, crackling fireplace, thick rugs and blankets explained to be fireproof in a notice on the wall. Some weird appliance in the shower that had May wondering if it was some kind of flamethrower, and how nuts that was. Not that Spirit really needed any of that; she was perfectly happy in a regular environment, had fur and internal fire enough to keep her plenty warm. But the Ninetales had smiled a little as they'd explored the room.

The guy had interrupted with his welcome speech just as she was asking Coleane where the hell she was from where there was no difference between how humans and Pokémon spoke, and afterward Coleane and Gen had headed back to the buffet for seconds and they'd never wound up continuing the conversation. The whole thing was bothering her, both Coleane and then Jade acting like Team Rocket was in full force somehow. If she was dreaming, at least maybe she'd wake up back in Stormy Town.

And of course, then there was the fact the guy supposedly had what she was pretty sure was a legendary. Hoopa. She didn't know much besides that it was some kind of legendary (of all times when Mark would've been useful), and something about it making portals (that maybe explained the portals that'd brought them here), but any legendary out and about was a problem. And they'd claimed several other mythical Pokémon were here too. Chaletwo had been pretty insistent the only legendaries left were the Waraider herd and Mew, though. So...? He was wrong? Or was Xavian just lying about the legendaries? What was all this supposed to mean?

She stared at the ceiling.

"Spirit?" she said.

"Hmm?" Spirit was speaking human again. Had to be okay in private, in their room.

May hesitated. "What do you think of that Voice of Life thing?"

"Maybe it's a legendary role," Spirit suggested. "Like the Creator or Preserver."

"Maybe." And then the legendary had sent Coleane to Hoenn? Was the Voice of Life Hoopa?

She sighed, arm over her eyes. "What the hell am I supposed to even do here? Run around trying to capture a dozen mythical Pokémon on my own, with just you? Why are they even supposedly here? This is ridiculous. Maybe it's just... a Zoroark or something."

Spirit hrrmed. "Maybe."

That probably made more sense than anything else, didn't it. Except for the portals. She groaned. If it was all fake, then what was she even doing? Why was she here wasting time? Why had she even said yes?

She clenched her fist around Spirit's mane.

She felt the Ninetales turn her head towards her, waited for her to say something, but she didn't.

May took a long breath. "We can... we can try to figure out what's going on here tomorrow."

"Yes," Spirit said, leaning back into her hand. "Good night."

"Night, Spirit."

May scratched her ear absent-mindedly and then turned over onto her side.
 
[N1] Nate and Mightyena Discuss Relaxation

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
Mightyena stared. She'd been staring all the way down the gangplank, into the dining hall, and all through dinner. She'd continued staring while he located a room and unloaded the food he'd swiped from the cafeteria. And she was still staring, right this moment, from the huge pile of pillows in the middle of the floor, while Nate lay on the bed, pretending he didn't notice.

"Look, what do you think I'm gonna do, phase through one of the walls or something?" Nate asked her at last. "I promise I ain't going nowhere. I get it, having you go off by yourself was a big mistake. Sorry I didn't realize everybody else who got invited to this thing was fucking insane. Believe me when I say I'm gonna stick right by you the rest of the time we're here. So you can relax, you know? I ain't going nowhere."

Mightyena stared.

Nate sighed and rubbed his eyes. He still ached from all the "fun" on the boat yesterday, and to make matters worse they were apparently letting that psycho with the knife wander around loose, so who knew how much more he was going to be hurting later over getting involved in that stupid fight. If he was lucky, the guy might not have gotten a good look at him, but his pokémon sure had.

And then all that shit with the gym leaders and the champions... Nate honestly didn't know what to think about them anymore. They'd been hanging around, eating with everybody else at dinner, which was weird whether they were the real deal or not.

He turned his hands over in front of his face, sinking into a frown. What had that one asshole said? "Scarecrow?" Yeah. Pretty stupid to think that there was any chance Blue would recognize him, if it really was Blue. He hardly recognized himself. Losing like fifty pounds would do that to you.

Sure would have been nice if this had turned out to be an actual vacation, huh? At least there was plenty of food. But what he needed now was definitely some freedom from bullshit, some actual sleep, and the very opposite of knife fights, weird apparitions, and goddamn League representatives.

He could do without the part of him that had noticed their host's grinning pokémon, the one that had "brought everybody together." If that's what had made that weird ring, and if it could send people anywhere... Real handy to have. Real, real handy.

Nate sighed again and propped himself up on an elbow. Mightyena had put her chin down on a cushion, but she was still watching him, and her ears perked up when he moved. "I ain't in the mood for no more crazy," he said. "And I know you're tired of it, too. So let's call it a deal, huh? If shit keeps on all crazy like this, we bail. Don't care how good the food is, we find a way to get the fuck out of here. How's that sound?"

Mightyena stared up at him for another long moment, then got to her feet and trotted over to the bed, resting her head next to Nate. He stroked the back of her neck while he said, "Yeah, exactly. We deserve an actual fucking vacation. And if this place ain't gonna deliver, then fuck it, you know? I'm out."

Mightyena's tail gave a slow wag, and she shoved her head forward, demanding more attention. At least now things were quiet enough. If somebody broke down the door and unloaded some crisis or other on them, that was fucking it. But nobody did. Maybe the rest of this trip wouldn't actually suck as much as the fucking boat. And maybe there was a chance, still, a chance... Nate wished he could stop thinking about it. But one of those legendary pokémon floating around out there might be able to help them out more than a little break ever could. There were possibilities. There were possibilities here, that was for sure.
 
[N2] May and Spirit

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
May was staring at the ceiling, again. Another night of not much sleep, probably.

Spirit had told her, of course, frantic as soon as she caught up with her on the road, that Mightyena'd gone on to say she'd been talking about something involving just Mewtwo. Something different. So either... either this was some sick elaborate joke, or the way she'd originally put it was just the world's most contrived coincidence. Better than the idea she'd magically stumbled upon her alternate universe equivalent. Not that that ever actually made any sense; why would that be some kind of stumpy foul-mouthed bald grown-up from an alternate Kanto where Pokémon spoke using some weird energy thing instead of just... Pokémon speech, and where it'd all happened at the Indigo League instead?

Spirit was looking at her. With a soft whine, she shifted and draped her head across her chest, and May stroked her mane down her neck.

"We should... we should talk to them again tomorrow," Spirit said. "They didn't know why you left. And it seemed like he wanted to call after you."

A knot twisted in May's chest. She dug her fingers into Spirit's fur. "Maybe."

Spirit was silent for a few moments. The knot didn't go away, hovering there, waiting for whatever came next. Part of her wanted to just recall her back into her ball.

"That Mightyena was very enthusiastic about talking with her trainer," Spirit muttered eventually, not quite looking at her.

The knot tightened. May pressed her lips together, fingers digging back into her palms.

Spirit shifted, glancing up at her, the Ninetales' gaze concerned. She heaved a sigh before pushing her muzzle under May's arm. "It made me think. I wanted to say that..."

May couldn't breathe anymore, not with Spirit's weight on her chest. She needed to push her off, recall her, just get in the shower or something and put it on the coldest setting until this was all gone under the weight of icy water.

"...That I also... love you."

She stopped, dumbfounded, hand tense against Spirit's neck, heartbeats thudding. What?

Spirit had looked away. Slowly, May untensed her hands and scratched behind her ears, exhaling as the Ninetales closed her eyes. "I... I know, Spirit," she managed to say.

As she shut her eyes to try to sleep, May's arm pulled her closer against her chest.
 
Night 2 - Kimiko & Olivia (& Lucy)

Seren

Lurking
Staff
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. sableye
There really was nothing like a refreshing shower after a day of exploration, and the one in her room was one of the finer ones Kimiko had used in quite a while. She figured it was a perk of her water-themed room. She emerged into the main area to find Olivia splashing around the room's hot tub, hoping all the water on the floor wouldn't seep through to the room below... then again, their host must have considered that when he had the dorms built, or he wouldn't have put a bloody pool on the second floor. ...Right?

Olivia certainly had had a pleasant morning, that was for sure. It wasn't often that she got to indulge in either a favorite food or a swarm of other eeveelutions. She'd seemed rather crestfallen as they left the cafe, and Kimiko assumed it was because her play date had been cut short, but then she ended up getting sick. At least she'd perked back up somewhat afterwards, but Kimiko made a note to keep an eye on how much bacon her espeon had access to from then on. She should probably mention it to the other trainers she'd met, too; she wondered idly how the rest of them had spent their afternoons.

Ayumi and Vera had taken their leave as Kimiko went to talk to Xena, and the blonde had only managed to mutter a short good-bye. Her interest in the previous multiverse game Kimiko had taken part in was curious, almost as though she herself had known something about it? That aside, Kimiko had wanted to get to know her better, but they had plenty of time for that. Also Vera was adorable. She almost reminded her of Radar, before he'd evolved, if only because of her size. She'd been the polar opposite of Radar, personality-wise.

Wes had made it easy for her to convince Olivia to move on by following Ayumi's lead, practically dragging both Neo and Novo with him (and Enora left on her own with Novo gone). Kimiko still hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to Wes, despite being the first person she'd approached two days in a row, now. She was still curious about him, but he hadn't seemed very interested in talking, so maybe she'd be better off checking in with him at a later point in the trip. There was still plenty of time.

But the highlight of her day - by a long shot - was mending the rift with Odette. Odile still gave her the creeps, as well as an anger spike, but it wasn't as severe as it had been the day before - or maybe Kimiko had just been more aware of it and dealt with it better herself. She kind of hoped that was the case, in fact; some proof of progress really would be nice. Regardless, she'd been convinced to give the blood-type some leeway; she hoped that would be enough to ward off any further nightmares. And, after all that, it turned out she and Odette had quite a bit in common. Anger issues with varying degrees of control, an interest in music and singing despite the difference in genres, a chaotic partner pokemon... (Odile was on an entirely different level than Fantomé though). Hell, they both were captured by a bloody cult! ...That one probably wasn't high on the list of conversation topics for their next meeting, though. She found herself surprisingly anxious at that thought; Not just the idea of another hangout, but that Odette had seemed genuinely interested in it.

Kimiko would have to find a decent song to showcase her voice if she was going to sing for her.

It seemed, after a somewhat shaky start to this trip, things had taken a turn for the better. This was actually starting to maybe look like a proper vacation!

For herself, the rest of the day passed rather uneventfully after Kimiko had left the cafe. She'd questioned Xena about the invited legends, and he proceeded to tell her that they genuinely just wanted to meet 'special trainers', whatever that meant (this, after correcting her that they were 'mythical', not 'legendary'... semantics, as far as Kimiko was concerned, but maybe the difference was significant somehow?). Olivia had informed her that he felt to be telling the truth, or at least, he thought it was. Kimiko remained skeptical.

She'd spent the rest of her day looking around at maps of the island, checking out a few of the path markers so she knew how to get to the ones she wanted to explore, and simply observing the other trainers. There seemed to be some buzz about one of the trainers and his scizor going home (or going missing; there seemed to be some confusion on that front), but it meant nothing to her. Why was everyone making a fuss over one trainer deciding he'd seen enough crazy bullshit and bailing out? After the boat fiasco and then Odile, Kimiko had considered it, herself. Now, she was glad she'd stayed.

Despite lacking sleep the night before, waking up early that morning, and walking around quite a bit most of the afternoon, Kimiko found herself feeling rather awake now. Which turned out to be to her benefit when someone in one of the rooms on the third floor above started rapping, loudly. Did someone have a karaoke bar in their room??

Well, they weren't loud enough that she couldn't drown them out, at least. Besides, she needed to pick a song for her eventual solo performance, and there was no reason she couldn't listen to something while she looked. She shuffled her playlist before starting to scroll through her library, and was greeted by Killer Queen. Not a good choice for her solo performance, but for some reason that she couldn't put her finger on, it felt somehow fitting for today's mood.
 
[N2] Nate and Mightyena Discuss Communication

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
Mightyena was stretched out across the hotel room's big bed, belly-up, one leg kicking now and again as he worked a brush through her fur. There was no real need for it--use a healer regularly and it would keep your mon clean and reasonably presentable--but the gigantic bathroom had entire shelves filled with pokémon shampoos and trimmers and things Nate couldn't even guess the pupose of. Nate decided to experiment. There were something like a dozen brushes there, in all different shapes and sizes, and hell if he knew which one you were supposed to use for what. He'd picked a medium-sized one that looked relatively nonthreatening, and a few minutes later Mightyena was all sprawled out dramatically like being brushed was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Nate did a few more strokes down the base of her mane, where the black fur shifted to gray, then dug his fingers into the thick ruff around her neck. It was certainly shinier than it had been before. "I think that's it, Pooch. What do we say?"

Mightyena panted, tongue lolling, and wriggled around on her back, pawing at the arm that held the brush. "Oh, all right," Nate said with a smile, and started going back over the fur on her shoulder a second time.

Nate wondered what Mightyena might have said to that, if she knew he could understand her. Maybe made a joke or something? She seemed like she would be the jokey type, but it's not like he actually knew, since he'd never be able to hear any of her jokes, if she ever told them.

The second damn time he'd had a chance to talk to her properly, and he'd gone and fucked it up. Of course he hadn't exactly expected the girl to just up and run off in the middle of a perfectly normal conversation, but that was just the effect he had on people, wasn't it?

He'd spent most of the afternoon chewing it over, and ultimately all he could come up with was that she'd figured out who he was. There he'd been, going on about Indigo like a fucking idiot, and she must have put two and two together. Of course, that brought into question the whole "multiple universes" thing, since he couldn't imagine there'd be another one of him in "her world," where people apparently learned to speak pokémon in school and Hoenn was crawling with skarmory. He couldn't imagine a "him" even existing in a place like that.

Mightyena rolled over on her side, and Nate absently ran the brush down the curve of her chest. Honestly, the least believable thing in all that shit was schools supposedly teaching something actually useful. Imagine that.

But she had seemed like she understood what Mightyena was saying, hadn't she? Hard to imagine it being a trick with how deep she went with it. And then the whole running-off thing, that didn't fit, either. So what the hell had her deal been?

Mightyena let out a soft whuff, and Nate realized he'd stopped brushing, lost in thought. "Sorry, sorry," he said, and started in again with the thinner fur up by her back. But now that he'd started thinking, it was hard to stop. "Sorry," he said again after a moment. "About that thing with the ninetales trainer earlier today. No clue how I fucked that one up, but I sure as hell did."

Mightyena let out a small, reproachful growl. She probably had the feeling that there wouldn't be much more brushing in store tonight. "I thought maybe I could ask her if she'd be able to teach me how to talk with you. Like not much, obviously, we ain't got a lot of time, but even something would be good. But so much for that."

Mightyena rolled to get her feet under her, tail thumping against the bedspread. Nate didn't need any special lessons to know what she was thinking here. "No, Pooch. I don't think she's gonna want to see me again. Something got her real fucking spooked." If she had figured out who he actually was, however the hell that worked, he might not be able to just let it go. But he really, really didn't want to be thinking about that right now.

Mightyena made a noise of protest, but Nate shook his head. "It's just how it is. But look. About what you said back then." Mightyena's ears pricked up, and she stopped her complaints. Nate rubbed the back of his neck. "Love you, too. You know that, right?"

Mightyena sprang to her feet, tail wagging. She was taller than he was when she was standing on the bed, and she used it to her best advantage, shoving past his warding arms to slobber all over his face. "All right, all right," Nate laughed, finally managing to hug her around the neck and block the worst of it. "You don't gotta say it, right? I already know. But thanks."

Mightyena rested her head against his chest, letting him works his fingers through her now much sleeker mane and now and again getting a swipe in with her tongue. All things considered, it hadn't been such a terrible day. And after all this, why not? He could totally lift the hairbrush and take it with him on his way home--back to his home world, or whatever the fuck it was.
 
Night 2 - ??

Flyg0n

Flygon connoisseur
Pronouns
She/her
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. swampert
  3. ho-oh
  4. crobat
  5. orbeetle
  6. joltik
  7. salandit
  8. tyrantrum
At some point during the night, a note is slipped under the door...

And lo, behold when Solgaleo carries the sun to its highest place
Then take shelter behind the Dauntless Shield
And take care to keep this secret
Breathe not a word, no not to a soul

What a strange note! Is it nonsense? Or could it be a code of some kind...?
 
Last edited:
Night 3: Kimiko & Olivia (& Lucy!)

Seren

Lurking
Staff
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. sableye
By night three, Kimiko had begun to settle into an evening routine. Return to the dorm, shower, ponder the day's events, listen/sing to music, sleep, repeat. Tonight continued the trend, though with a more somber mood.

She sat on the ground with her back to the bed, knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her arm as she used the other one to fiddle with her 'dex. She missed Alex. He hadn't so much as sent a check-up message since she got here, and only now did it occur to her that his absence was probably due to the multiverse bullshit. Still, she'd overheard a couple other trainers talking about contacts from home, but how? Could it be so simple as... yes, apparently it was. The island seemed to have it's own entire network. How that was able to broadcast back through the bloody multiverse, though-

Her pondering was cut off as her 'dex buzzed intently, notifications pouring in. Seven messages from "The Boy", and one from "Lillia". She eagerly opened the one from Alex first. They started off cute enough, but her heart sank a little the further she read.

-Hey! I know you just left but I miss ya already! 💜 Have a good time, you deserve it!
-Good morning babe. Hope I don't wake ya. I don't like that you don't know where you're going. Let me know when you know, okay?

The third message was simply a picture of Thorn and Radar tag-teaming some poor fool in a double battle, and Kimiko was briefly cheered up seeing Radar having a good time with Alex's team.

-Hey, uh... I haven't seen Lucy Gray since you left. I knew she hated me but uh... I'm a little worried. Any idea how to coax her out?
-Kimiko? I don't want to disturb you, but it's been two days and I haven't heard anything. Can you at least let me know whereabouts you are? Love ya.
-I'm just going to assume you don't have service where you are... but if you see this, please let me know. I still haven't seen Lucy. She's not even eating.
-Hey, I'm really worried. It's not like you to be this silent. Getting kind of close to wanting to report this to someone. I just... plz let me know you're okay.

She snapped a quick picture of Olivia, curled up napping in her bed across the room. The espeon had not been happy with her reckless aggression that afternoon, but Kimiko was able to pacify her with a promise to at least tell someone where she was going, should she decide to wander off on her own again. They also agreed that some kind of protection was a good idea, so Olivia was keeping a subconscious eye over their room even as she slept. Benefits of being a psychic, she thought.

Kimiko vaguely wondered how the other trainers were protecting themselves tonight. Surely Wes would be fine with both Neo and Novo. She wasn't sure about Enora's battle prowess, but with Odile, Odette should be fine. But what about someone like Ayumi, who had no one but her little bulbasaur for protection? What could they do if someone came for them in the night?

Well... there wasn't much Kimiko could do for anyone else, regardless. Better to just not dwell on it. She captioned the photo "Resting after a long day" and sent it off. Alex didn't need to know what they were doing. Still, she did owe him something, so she typed out a quick summary, too.


"Hey! 💗 I'm so sorry, I didn't know how to access the wifi here! We're fine. Not rly sure where we are atm, some island resort somewhere. Kinda warm. Hoenn maybe, The boat had a pool, met a couple pairs of twins, Olivia made some other 'vee friends, I maybe met my spiritual twin, did some exploring... even went into a forest on my own! I mean it's not full of ghosts so idk if I counts but it does to me. Idk about Lucy, sorry... you know she just goes off on her own sometimes. Don't know her well enough to know what's going through her head. She'll turn up. Wish you were here. Love ya!

That would do for now. She waited a few minutes, this time with her messages showing they'd been delivered, but no reply seemed to be coming yet. Meanwhile, the message from Lillia was a picture of one of her charizard looking none too pleased, wearing a sign around her neck that said "I set an entire camp of tents on fire". She sent back a 🤣 in reply, although she wasn't in much of a laughing mood.

Her music player greeted her with Away From Me upon activation, though she didn't feel much like singing tonight. Her emotions were running high again after seeing those messages, after having calmed down from earlier in the day... she'd let her anger get the best of her again, and this time she took it out on another person. Sure, it had been for a good reason, but still... Maybe Odette would have some ideas. After dealing with the physical embodient of wrath for all her life, surely she'd have some idea how to control herself. She'd ask about it if they ever got around to that karaoke night.

"Why the fuck am I such an emotional roller-coaster?" she groaned, resting her forehead on her arms.

She hadn't sat there long before something struck her foot. She looked over to see Olivia sitting there, observing her quietly, her pokeball at her feet. When she looked up, Olivia curiously leaned in and licked her cheek... wait, was she crying? Why the fuck was she crying? When did that happen?

"I'm fine," she said. Olivia fixed her with a flat glare, then nudged the pokeball again.

With a roll of her eyes, Kimiko picked up the ball and threw it away as hard as she could. Just before smashing a dormant lamp, the ball was caught in a snare of psychic energy, and Olivia dragged it back to them with a trill.

"Es! Espiiii!" she said, setting the ball down in her human's lap, her tail twitching playfully.

Kimiko shook her head, but managed a smile. She threw it in the opposite direction this time, and Olivia darted around her before catching it again. They continued their game of fetch with a few laughs as Olivia kept making more incredibly silly maneuvers, leaping around the room as she caught the ball, until eventually, she slipped on a puddle and fell into the pool. The thrown pokeball continued through the air until it shattered a vase on a bookshelf on the far wall, narrowly missing the TV to the right.

"...I think that's enough fetch for one night."
 
Night 3: Violet & Hazel

MintyMimix

Otherworldly Dessert
Location
Florida
Pronouns
They/Them
Partners
  1. lurantis
  2. noivern-astrea
Well, the day was kind of a bust.

The two had been so caught up in the frenzy of the incident, feelings running wild and sightseeing in general that they didn't particularly get much done in the way of investigation. Though the conversation about contests was a fascinating one for Violet, Toby seemed to be just as much of a bystander as they were. And as for Hazel...

Violet eyed the Weavile cocooned in the soft goodness while furiously typing on her phone. Her furrowed brows accompanied the light taps and clicks as her legs had kicked around underneath the blankets. It was readily apparent that she had a lot to process that day — mentally and emotionally. Much as Violet wanted to talk to her about what she was thinking, she knew that interrupting the Weavile when she got into this mood would only frustrate her. That was no fun for anyone.

And so, Violet placed her elbow on the icicle-themed desk and propped her chin on her arm as she contemplated on where to go next. The Xavi-guy was the obvious next choice, yet her instincts crossed him out as a possible suspect. It would be far too obvious of a trap — not to mention expensive for what little gain there would be.

Hmph, 'tis the crux of the issue, is it not? Motive. As far as she was aware, the kidnapped were neither champions or celebrity figures, so ransom money or political influence couldn't have been the objectives. They also did not possess any rare or extraordinarily strong Pokémon based on what she could gleam, so auctioning and slavery were out the question. She shook off the headache that had started to boil its way up. What did that leave then? Was there some secret to this island, or maybe there's some new fancy gadget that was being tested? She puckered her lips and frowned. Her unfamiliarity with this time meant that it was possible for the motive to be something that is alien to her, but normal to the rest of the world.

She'd have to question everyone she could... augh, there were too many suspects and not enough time! Who knows when the criminal would strike again? She supposed if she and Hazel were to split up, they could cover much more ground, but...

No. Anything but that. The only thing they had in this world was each other, and she was going to abandon that. Especially not when there was a kidnapper on the loose.

She was not going to lose the person most important to her again.

Hazel took a moment to look up and saw Violet staring directly at her. They both gave each soft, yet anxious smiles in understanding. The Weavile pat the side next to her, inviting her trainer over. Violet was more than happy to oblige.

"By the by, my escort services do not come cheap..." Violet said, smirking at she slipped into the sheets. "You will have to pay the travel fee!" She snickered, before extending her hand out and scratching the back of Hazel's ear.

The Weavile let out a mixture between a giggle and a mock yelp of despair, placing a claw on her forehead. "Nooooooo, anything but that...!" At the end of her little performance, she let out an involuntary, yet satisfied purr. After a few seconds of very, very nice scritches, she rolled onto her belly as Violet's hand carefully massaged the back of her head. Her phone lay to the side of her pillow as her eyes remained glazed and half-open in delight.

Don't worry, Hazel; I'll keep you safe. I won't make the same mistake twice. Violet thought to herself, now having moved onto the rest of the Weavile's back. Her eyes glanced at the Rotom Phone as she continued her rubs. It had been pulled up to a page on the courting traditions of Milotic. Violet stifled a giggle as her lips puckered, smiling. Looks like Hazel had a much different kind of mystery she was looking into. As she let out an exhale to calm herself, Violet stared at the screen, thinking to herself, I do hope that Victoria is not an offworlder as well... Hazel deserves to be happy. Especially after that day.

The explosion. The yells of terror. The heartbeat ringing in her eyes as she grabbed the frozen then-Sneasel and booked it. The blazing "G" emblem that within the orange ash as the screeching of rubber and metal echoed in the forest. The day Hazel's "father" had been forcibly taken away.

Violet glared at the large fan that kept their room as at a crisp, cool temperature for the Ice-type. Within each blade, she could see her reflection morph into one of herself from a different day — one nearly a full year prior. A panicked look etched upon her features as the skies turned black and crimson, as the Azure in her life faded away.

The trainer took a long, harsh blink as her reflection settled back to the present. Hazel had begun to snore as the Weavile drifted into dreamland. Violet's expression blended grim seriousness with hopeful determination; both she and Hazel had lost what they treasured... and she was going to be damned before she allowed any sickening man or monster try that again here.

She kept a watchful eye around the room throughout the late hours, until finally her body could not take it anymore and she collapsed onto the bed.

Whether by chance or by unconscious choice, she had fallen asleep with her arm wrapped fully around her Pokémon.
 
Night 3: May and Spirit

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Spirit had no plans to sleep. She'd sat herself at the foot of the bed, looking around, ears perked, insisting May didn't have to worry about anything and she'd deal with any danger. May wasn't sure how to feel about any of that.

Xavian's evening announcement had said they couldn't return to their worlds until Hoopa recovered, but they could be taken to the mainland. The mainland somewhere in a different universe. No kidnappers, maybe, but what would that help?

They'd spent the rest of the day after the noon meeting sniffing around different places with no results. Spirit had eagerly found reasons to use her powers, walk through walls and report back; on some strange level it was almost nostalgic. But they'd found nothing of note after the Irene interrogation. Probably no wonder, with the number of people they had looking everywhere. Even the disappeared trainers' rooms had already been opened before they got there (Spirit had clearly been silently disappointed).

"Spirit?" she said after a while.

"Yes?" Spirit turned immediately, ears pointed forward to listen.

"You sure you don't want to get some sleep?"

"The kidnapper may be able to get into people's rooms," Spirit said, not for the first time.

"I guess." And if they did, what would they do if Spirit trapped them, tried to fight?

May sat up against the headboard, drawing up her knees. She probably wasn't getting much sleep either. Why even try?

Spirit let out a soft whine and moved around to the side of the bed, nosing at her hand. May stroked her absent-mindedly.

"I'm not letting them get you," Spirit muttered.

"I know." May felt hollow. And what, instead they'd just get someone else?

She hugged her knees, and Spirit jumped onto the bed with her, lying down against her side, though still tense and on guard.

May scratched her ears and stared toward the wall, waiting for nothing.
 
[N3] Nate and Mightyena Discuss Escape

Negrek

Play the Rain
Staff
Mightyena paced. Past the bed, up to the door. Turn around, back past the bed, up to the far wall. Turn around.

Each pass took a while. It was a big fucking hotel room. Nate tried to ignore her, lying with one arm over his face, thinking.

Stay here on the island, or go to the mainland? The mainland had the benefit of not having whatever fucker wanted to kidnap randos there... Unless, of course, that fucker decided to follow the fleeing trainers to the mainland themself. The mainland also didn't have the abundance of legendary pokémon that had been brought in for the fucking friendship festival. Not that anyone seemed to have uncovered any sign of them, so maybe that was just a fucking lie on top of everything else.

Nate couldn't fucking believe he'd agreed to leave his other pokémon behind for this shit. In the first place, how could he possibly have thought it would be worth it? When he'd only just got them all back together to begin with? And second, if he'd had them all here, he could just fuck off to the mainland and never go home. All this shit would actually be ideal.

He could still hear Mightyena pacing. "Mightyena, come on. At least try to sleep." She made a gruff noise of dismissal. "You can go back in your pokéball if you want. You'll be able to rest in there." She growled.

Nate moved his arm enough to look at her out of one eye. She stared back reproachfully. "We both know I ain't sleeping one way or another. At least one of us should get some rest. And even if you went in the pokéball, I'd be able to call you out in a second if I needed you."

Mightyena didn't even dignify that with a reply. Nate reached out and scratched around the base of one of her ears until she, at last, gave his fingers a quick lick. "What do you think, Pooch? Head to the mainland and wait it out, or stay here and see what we can find?"

Mightyena barked twice, and yeah, that wasn't exactly a fucking surprise. She was all prepared to do the hero thing. Nate halfway wanted to argue back at her about how stupid that was, but he honestly didn't know. He didn't know if the mainland would really be that much safer.

Mostly he just wanted to go home. The hoopa needed to recharge for that, apparently. Were there other hoopas in the world? Other pokémon who could do the same thing?

Maybe the rich guy was just lying anyhow. The little show he'd put on at dinner was some decent theater in that case, but it wouldn't be so hard to fake. Nate really needed to learn more about the hoopa somehow. He'd have to see if he could catch Rich Guy out and about tomorrow, have a little chat.

Mightyena had gone back to pacing. Nate listened to her make a few circuits. Back and forth. Back and forth. The night stretched out ahead, sleepless and uncertain and empty. Empty if he was lucky. Only then.

Nate groaned and sat up. "Fuck this," he said. "Anybody wants to grab one of us, where are they going to expect to find us? In this fucking room, obviously. We might not be able to stop them if they come for us, but at least we don't gotta lie around here like sitting ducks, just hoping they don't show. Come on."

Mightyena's tail went up, and she lifted her chin, too. It wasn't much of a plan--if anything, it was a complete lack of a plan--but at least it would get them out of this stifling room. At least if enemies came upon them, it would be in the comforting dark, with shadows at her back. She waited for Nate to unlock the door, then slipped out after him.
 
Night 3 : Evie helps June achieve his epiphany

ShiniGojira

Multiversal Extraordinaire
Location
Stranded In The Gaps between Multiverses
Pronouns
He/him/they/her
Partners
  1. froslass
  2. zorua-gojira
  3. salandit-shiny
The door locked behind her with a click, Evie sighed, having just returned from Xavian's announcement and allowing the chilly winds to greet her.

June had retired into their dorm early, still distraught over the Tropius bursting into tears. He was always too emotional about these things, too damn helpful to think about any potential consequences and too damn caring but... she couldn't blame him, she knew he had good intentions, she just wished he'd think more about himself and his friends before strangers.

She had tried to lessen the damage he'd caused but as expected, it was too late.

Her ear twitched at the grumbled moan coming from the bed and she turned, noticing the Charmander hiding under a pile of blankets. He was in one of his moods again. She sighed before trotting over and poking him. "Hey, how's it going?"

His response came late and with a groan, he threw the covers off him and covered his face. "I just made a little girl cry."

"She'll be fine," she said. "Coleane's a strong girl, she'll get over it."

But it didn't seemed like he had heard her as he continued on. "Did I say something wrong? Were my words too flowery? I know I can go on long rants sometimes... but... could I have shortened my explanation? Could that have helped better? Or was it not long enough? Maybe I didn't say enough but what else could I have said? Why didn't I just..."

Evie sighed. He was worrying way too much about this.

"... it was like I kicked a puppy. Why didn't I just run after her? Why didn't I–"

Deciding that she had enough, she cut him off. "June. Take deep breaths and just calm down, okay? Deep breaths." She gestured for him to follow her.

"Arm in." Inhale. "Arm out." Exhale. "It's not your fault."

"B-but–"

"Deep breaths. In and out. Relax and chill." Her voice held no place for argument and he reluctantly followed.

A minute passed and Evie released a breath. "How are you feeling now?"

His eyes flickered back to her and to the bed, he answered with a timid grin, "Still feeling like a prick... but a little better now."

"Good." Evie nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No no... I think... I think I can handle it."

She nodded. "If you need me. I'll be in the showers."

"Okay," he said, eyes trailing on her figure. A small smile crept onto his face. "Hey, Eves." She turned to face him. "Thanks."

She only replied with a smile before leaving him alone.

Sighing, June stared into the night sky and at the decorations of their dorm, the sight of stars circling around around him, the eerie feeling of the unknown, the unfamiliar feeling of the energy flowing around his body, all of it giving him a new sense of calm.

Coleane. Xandros. The other trainers. The kidnapper.

People were in danger and he needed to help out in what ways he could. Worrying about what others thought of him didn't matter anymore. The safety of others were top priority and starting tomorrow, he'd try and do what he did best, make a mess out of everything and find a coherent way to make sense of it.

And as soon as Evie got out, he'd discuss with her about everything that's gone down.
 
Night 4: Kimiko & Olivia (& Lucy!)

Seren

Lurking
Staff
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. sableye
It was with mixed emotions that Kimiko returned to her room on night four. She tried to shower, but just ended up standing under the scalding water, her brain attempting to make sense of what happened that afternoon and failing.

On one hand, the day started off well enough, despite the early exhaustion. She'd enjoyed the chat with Coleane, and hoped to meet her again before the trip was over. The surprise visit from Wes and his eevees was a welcome one, even though he hadn't stayed for long. And the jog by the lake had felt fantastic.

On the other hand, it ended with yet more insanity. While she enjoyed seeing Odette again and was glad they were on good terms now - and even felt relatively comfortable around Odile today - it wasn't the happiest of circumstances... Not to mention the small detail of her angry outburst. She never had been good at the whole "comfort" thing, and it showed, but at least Odette had the tact to not point it out. But Kimiko had been mad at her. She still kind of was, really. Her attempted body swap idea was reckless and irresponsible, and her defense wasn't very convincing. Kimiko had been ready to lash out, really let her have it, but when she broke down in tears afterwards, she felt the bite leave her tongue. She still wanted to, but by the time she'd had the chance, it had become a secondary concern. Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't made some reckless choices of her own since arriving here, even though nothing had actually come of them. Odette could have easily called her out for being at the lake alone. Kimiko didn't know if she'd heard about how she'd hunted down Amara on her own, but that was probably best kept under wraps, too.

And of course, the main concern just couldn't be ignored, either.

Not only were people still missing and no one was any closer to figuring out how nor why, now that edgy-looking Wes was attacking people. She'd hoped the boat incident had been an isolated one, some sort of personal vendetta against the guy's duplicate or something, since he'd been quiet since then. But no, now he'd attacked... how many others? She thought she'd seen a glimpse of Neo and Novo back there in the infirmary - they couldn't have belonged to the other Wes, because apparently it was his espeon that had been injured while he was in his own pokemon's body - which would track if the friendlier Wes had been a target... which, realistically, he probably had been if he'd been in that group. But there were quite a few others there, too, when she and Odette arrived.

Maybe she should message him, just to be sure? She'd gotten Odette's number before they'd split up, after making sure her friend's burn was properly treated and didn't require any needles. Kimiko wasn't sure if she'd need to stay overnight for that, and considered offering to remain with her, but she figured Enora and Odile could handle it from there. She knew Coleane wasn't around, since they'd both been in the lounge that morning while the party went on their mythical hunt. And she didn't see Ayumi, which she considered a good sign, but... damnit, she really should have asked Odette who else had been there.

She decided she'd check on Wes in the morning. If he'd actually been injured, chances are he was asleep, and gods knew he must need it.

Olivia seemed restless when Kimiko emerged from the bathroom. The espeon was pacing around the room almost frantically, stopping to sniff or inspect some corner, or wall, or the pool, or whatever else caught her attention, seemingly at random. The red gem on her forehead was glowing, much brighter in the dark of night; she was still keeping a mindful watch on the room, despite her inattentiveness. She'd kept her calm well enough at the lake and the infirmary, but now it seemed she was letting all her nervous energy out.

With sleep no longer being an option, Kimiko tried skimming those history books again. Still nothing jumped out at her. Her mind began to wander again as she stared numbly at the pages, turning them without really seeing the contents. For whatever reason, all her mind kept returning to was those 'what-ifs' of the body swap. What if it had worked? Would they all have a name to be hunting for right now? Would they have found everyone, or just Reena? What if they really were being tortured somehow...?

No, no... she wasn't about to let those thoughts back into her brain. She'd had enough for one day, one trip, one lifetime. She maximized the volume on her music player, not really caring who else could hear it. She needed something decently fast-paced, loud, and distracting. Land of Confusion was close, but not quite fast enough. Kind of hit the nail on the head there, though, she thought to herself.

Randomizing her library wasn't going to work tonight; she didn't have a playlist purely for loud and distracting, she'd have to scroll... Charge was a good one. Might be a decent voice showcase, too...
 
Night 4: May and Spirit Discuss Chosenhood

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Everything was silent except for the clock ticking on the wall. Nothing had happened that day; rather than try to act as a watchdog Spirit just lay beside May on the bed, still awake but with her head laid flat on the mattress.

"Jade said she was chosen for what she did," Spirit murmured suddenly.

May opened her eyes. "Hmm?"

"That Lugia chose her because she had made choices. To protect the legendaries."

"Yeah?"

Spirit made a small noise. "Should I have tried to protect the legendaries before I was chosen? Did I fail?"

May propped herself up on her elbow; Spirit turned her head to look at her, actually confused and worried. She rubbed her eyes. "Spirit. It's a different world. Maybe Jade's Lugia wanted somebody who'd made choices, but Entei and Suicune in our world just went and grabbed some Pokémon who were too young to make choices. What were you supposed to do, protect the legendaries as a tiny newborn Vulpix? That's ridiculous."

"I wasn't fully chosen until he gave me the gems," Spirit said. "Maybe I should have insisted on coming with you in the first place, instead of only doing it after he told me to."

May pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, clearly he decided you were good enough to be chosen anyway."

Spirit was silent for a few seconds, laying her head back down with a sigh. "Maybe none of his potentials did what he wanted. Maybe we all failed the test, and he only picked me because of you."

"I mean, it's not like I even chose this. Chaletwo grabbed Mark out of a crowd and then Mark told me about it. I refused to let Molzapart erase my memory so Chaletwo said I had to help, is that it? Is that my choice? And Entei wasn't even there; what would he know about it? How were you supposed to know before any of that happened that going on a journey with me would protect legendaries somehow?"

Spirit took a deep breath beneath her hand, but didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Look, Spirit, maybe in Jade's world the legendaries care about meaningful choices and picking the best people for the job, but in ours they're just..." A bunch of idiots. Not like Spirit would like that answer. "They just pick people, and then you have to live with that."

Spirit was quiet for another moment. "Perhaps in our world our duty is to live up to the potential that the legendaries see in us."

May took a deep breath. Potential that the legendaries see in us? What a joke. The 'potential' Chaletwo had seen in her was the potential for telling other people after Mark had blabbed the whole thing to her. "I don't know about duty. Just... you just do what you can and that's all Entei can ask for."

Not that Entei could ask for anything at all from her. He was dead. A silent soul hanging on to some shiny rocks. Helpless.

She felt Spirit relax a little under her fingers. "Thank you," Spirit muttered.

May gave her fur a few lingering strokes and then turned away, pulling the comforter up over her head.
 
Day 4: Black And Violet And Red

AbraPunk

Cosmic Guardian
Location
The Circle
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. luxio
CW: slight self-harm/suicidal ideation

(It is highly recommended you read this post first.)

The three-- technically four-- of them arrived at Wes' dorm room.

He glanced down at the Manectric that had been walking alongside them.

"Um... so, are you gonna follow me into my room, or you gonna stay outside...?"

The Manectric gave no indication that he heard Wes until he simply sat down just to the side of his door and looked up at him.

"Oh. Okay." He said awkwardly before he briefly fumbled with the key.

After that excruciating experience, Wes stepped inside the room, his partners following. He made sure to lock the door, just in case.

He went to the middle of the room and sighed deeply.

All of this bullshit happening. Everybody acting like I fucking murdered somebody when I haven't even done shit. I'm missing both of my knives. Nico got shot. Merian's depressed.

Fuck this place. We never should have come here. It was a fucking mistake to accept that invitation. We'd be so much better off back in Orre. We wouldn't have to worry about all of these motherfuckers that think I'm a fucking stain on the earth. I would still have my knives. Nico wouldn't have been shot, and Merian wouldn't be depressed. We could all be helping the Shadow Pokémon, actually doing something
good, something that matters. But no. We're fucking stuck here.

As he mentally rambled, he could feel a white-hot rage building, searing through his organs.

--

Nico looked up, and his ears flattened as he hissed. The wisp was back again, and this time it was swelling at an alarming rate, its black and violet energy swirling faster and faster like the winds of a hurricane.

He knew he couldn't let there be a repeat of the cove, especially since the only ones around were himself and Merian. Nico shuddered at his next thought:

If it does indeed come to that, and Wes kills us... what will he do to himself?

Nico snarled as he pushed away the thought. No. This will not happen again. I swear it. We are your family, Wes. We would gladly give our lives for you, just as you would do the same for us. As you nearly have before.

--

Eventually, Wes' anger reached a point where he just couldn't take it. He had to find a way to let out this rage, this pent-up frsutration--

"FUCK!" Wes violently drove his fist into the nearest wall. He continued doing this, punctuating every strike with a word. "FUCK! THIS! FUCKING! PLACE!"

--

Nico yowled as the wisp quickly sank down into Wes, consuming him in a black and violet blaze.

Thankfully, there was no explosion, and yet the Shadow aura was clear as day.

--

Merian simply stood, watching, transfixed.

Move. Move, damn it! Do something, help Wes, you useless sack of fucking shit!

His legs remained rooted to the floor.

You're failing him again! You're not worthy of being his partner. You don't deserve him! You don't deserve anyone! You'll die alone, and everyone will be better off because of it!

Merian let out a choked, broken sob as he mentally screamed and raged at himself, at his complete inability to be of any use to anyone.

--

Wes soon stopped punching the wall. He was panting and shaking, though he knew he wasn't done yet. Something... compelled him to--

He wrapped his hands around his own neck, thumbs pressed to his windpipe, and squeezed as hard as he could.

--

Nico jumped up, stumbling slightly, and yowled again, a broken, desperate noise.

STOP! WES, PLEASE! THIS ISN'T YOU!

He was hyperventilating now, as his eyes darted around the room, seeing Merian trembling and sobbing, seeing Wes asphyxiating himself...

He knew what had to be done, for the safety of all of them.

Nico steeled his nerves to the best of his ability and took a deep, shaky breath.

...Please, forgive me, Wes.

He launched a powerful Psychic attack at his own trainer. It hit Wes straight on and sent him flying to the wall, where he crumpled, unconscious.

--

Merian just stared.

"...I'm sorry." His voice came out as hardly more than a low, quaking whisper.

He hung his head in shame and sobbed, tears splashing to the floor and on his paws.

He quickly felt a comforting tail wrap around his side, and he glanced to see Nico sitting next to him.

"I failed all of you. I should have done something, here and at the cove. I--"

Nico shook his head slowly. "You have not failed anyone. Just because you perceive yourself as useless does not mean that you are. It is a normal reaction, to freeze when confronted with something unknown, something dangerous. It's okay. There will be many more chances down the road to make up for any mistakes you may have made. Everything will be alright. You are always the one to tell me this, and now I say it to you. You are in need of support, and I am here to give it to you. I will always be here for you. Always."

Merian just looked at his unconscious trainer. It seemed that the Shadow energy had briefly rubbed off on Merian, and already he felt it receding, felt a weight lift off his shoulders. "Wes... he needs our help too. We've been there for him, and he's been there for us. But... now, more than ever, we have to stay strong for him. For each other, too. And for everyone else."

Nico nodded, a slight feline smile making its way to his muzzle. "Indeed."

--

The Shadow aura around Wes dissipated, and the wisp reappeared.

Nico wasted no time in launching another Psychic attack, which struck the wisp and made it implode, sending black and violet plumes of smoke everywhere.

What made both of the Eeveelutions freeze, and their blood run cold, was the surge of red in the implosion, and the demonic, cackling laughter that echoed throughout both of their heads afterwards.

Nico's ears flattened. "This... is not the last we've seen of the wisp. I'm sure of it. One way or another, sooner or later, it'll be back. We must be prepared."

--

Merian closed his eyes briefly. "We'll be ready."

And I'll do something about it. I'll prove that I'm more than what I think I am.

<> <> <>
 
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