Game Week of the Multiverse: Riverside Plaza

[IFBench]

Within the stump-shaped building was an interesting sight.

Hung on most of the walls were various cloths, scarves, looplets, and other apparel. One part of the walls, however, was covered in various sheets of paper, some blank, some with designs for clothes drawn on them. Some of the designs on the papers corresponded to some of the clothes on display. Various drawing instruments were neatly arranged on the wall, of various colors. For a few of the human-turned Pokemon, some of the colors would be brand new to them, colors they couldn't even imagine before.

In the back of the building was small hallway that took a sharp turn around a corner, obscuring what was back there.

In the center of the room was what looked to be a crude costume of a Leavanny. Red scribbles and a black line were in place of the eyes and mouth, and sticks were atop their head for the antennae. The leafy cloaks around the head and abdomen were made out of a variety of mismatched leaves, some green, some the colors of autumn. Two slits for eyes were at the bottom of the costume, and below the costume the very botttom of a shadowy mass could be seen.

"Welcome!" the Leavanny-disguised Mimikyu greeted. "What are you looking for? Scarves? Capes? Looplets? Costumes?"

 

[Fusion]

"Another Mimikyu! Do you have any dresses?" Kora asked, still holding Lance above his head and brimming with excitement.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Lillie entered the store, guided by the direction of the others. Her voice stuck in her throat... or stuck wherever her voice was coming from, anyways. She didn't really have a vocal chords that she was aware of.

"H-Hi. I need... a covering."

 

[Navar]

"Another Mimikyu! Do you have any dresses?" Kora asked, still holding Lance above his head and brimming with excitement.

More internal screaming, Lance pictured Kora wearing a dress again, and his blush returned.

...Holy shit. Why is he so adorable?!

"What are you looking for? Scarves? Capes? Looplets? Costumes?"

Oh. Were they wearing a Leavanny costume? That was neat.

"...Hi! I'm Lance," he waved to them. "I'm looking for a scarf. Something... big enough to cover my chest."

 

[IFBench]

"Another Mimikyu! Do you have any dresses?"

The hat must be another Mimikyu, then. "Of course! Feel free to pick one out on the wall, or design one yourself one the papers! I'll do my best to create what you designed," the Mimikyu said.

"I'm looking for a scarf. Something... big enough to cover my chest."

"How about this?" the Mimikyu said, turning towards one of the scarves on the wall. It was a wide, thick, cream-colored scarf, big enough to cover the Lucario's chest. "I can dye it another color if you'd prefer."

"H-Hi. I need... a covering."

"Feel free to pick one out, or design one yoursel-Oh, you can't see, can you? Let me fix that," the Leavanny-disguised Mimikyu said. Their makeshift arms glowed, and then in a flash, two small eyeholes were cut out of the hat, letting the Mimikyu see.

 

[Navar]

"How about this?" the Mimikyu said, turning towards one of the scarves on the wall. It was a wide, thick, cream-colored scarf, big enough to cover the Lucario's chest. "I can dye it another color if you'd prefer."

Lance looked at the scarf, nodding. "I like it, but... could you make it gray? I feel like that color would suit me more. Of course, if that's okay."

 

[Fusion]

"Of course! Feel free to pick one out on the wall, or design one yourself one the papers! I'll do my best to create what you designed," the Mimikyu said.

Kora let Lance down and dashed on over to the dresses. There were so many! Ones with those thin circle beads, a lotta the silky, see-through ones, plenty of tight dresses, and short dresses, and the loooooooooooooooong dresses too! The ones Kora was most drawn to were the red and pink ones, especially the reds. Wonder why?

He grabbed two different dresses; a long, red, shear dress, and a short, pink, floral-themed one. Kora skipped over to Lance, showing his picks off. "Which one do you think is better?" he asked. "I can't really decide between these..."

 

[Navar]

"Which one do you think is better?" he asked. "I can't really decide between these..."

FuckFuckFuckFuckFuckFuckFuck

Lance flinched, pointing to the red dress and looking down to hide his blush. "T-That... one."

 

[Fusion]

Kora yipped and nodded. "Sweet!" He turned to the Leavanny Mimikyu. "Uh, where are the dressing rooms in this place?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Lillie winced at the sudden movement of the eyeholes being cut, then moved to look through the hat.

There were so many pieces of clothing around the shop. She looked through the disguises, looking to see if there was anything that stood out to her. There were a few she thought looked nice. One that looked like an endothermic Vulpix, a colour she was used to. One that was like a Misdreavus, which was pretty cute, but maybe not her style. There was another that looked like a Fomantis. She wondered what she'd look like in it.

Her eyes lingered on a Petilil... Mother would've liked that one.

The Petilil wasn't her favourite, but she knew it was probably the best choice.

Outfitting is as much a form of communication as language is. It's not what you say that makes someone's first impression of you. It's what your appearance says about you, before you even greet them. It's just the way the world is.

One day, you'll understand that language. Then, you'll be able to manage your own style, but for now, it's too important to get wrong.

Yes, the Petilil was probably the best option. They were pure, and they helped in healing. There was a reason Mother had a Lilligant.

She could only imagine what messages the other outfits might send. Vulpix were clingy and noisome. Misdreavus were troublemakers that fed on the suffering of others. Like that Lycanrock. Fomantis were temperamental and unpleasant when they didn't get what they wanted. She didn't want people to see her like that.

Yet... she couldn't bring herself to commit to the Petilil. Instead, she just stared at the selection, knowing what her ultimate choice would be... but still caught up in thinking about what one of the others could've been like...

 

[Navar]

Kora yipped and nodded. "Sweet!" He turned to the Leavanny Mimikyu. "Uh, where are the dressing rooms in this place?"

Lance went back to looking at the scarves. Maybe he should get something to cover that bite mark on his leg... or maybe not. that would be way too much. Like the goggles his brother used. For now, a scarf was more than enough.

"Hm. This almost makes me want to buy a costume. Ah, it's been what... six years since the last time I did that? Hm. Time flies fast..."

 

[Fusion]

"Hm. This almost makes me want to buy a costume. Ah, it's been what... six years since the last time I did that? Hm. Time flies fast..."

"What kinda costumes did you used to buy?" Kora asked, popping up next to Lance. He had picked up a few more dresses to try out, and a hoodie. Still no pants. "I've only ever worn like... ones that made me look like a wolf. Like Lee."

"Humans called them werewolves," Lee answered, for some reason next to Kora. He had some clothes in his arms, but they were too jumbled together for anyone to tell what they were. A fair number of them were pink, however. "And you didn't wear the wolf one, you got it mixed up for the cat one."

"Did I?" Kora hummed. "But, it had a short tail."

"Correct."

"And you have a short tail. Are you a cat, then?"

"And there goes my one willing interaction with you for the day, never talk to me again," Lee turned on his heel and left.

 

[Navar]

"What kinda costumes did you used to buy?" Kora asked, popping up next to Lance. He had picked up a few more dresses to try out, and a hoodie. Still no pants. "I've only ever worn like... ones that made me look like a wolf. Like Lee."

Lance tilted his head. "...I have no idea what a cat or a dog is."

He shrugged. "Uh, I bought a... Cofagrigus costume with someone I knew. He was wearing a Zacian one, it even came with a toy sword! It... was pretty cute. We went out and it was Halloween, so we got a lot of candy."

 

[Fusion]

Kora was quick to forget that ordinary animals were not always a thing in other worlds, no matter how many times he was reminded of it. "Cofagrigus sounds pretty cool to dress up as, but like... isn't it just a box? And I don't know a lot about Zacian but I remember it was very strong, so I wouldn't mind see you as one!" he beamed. "Since you're strong too an' all that. And it'd be cool."

 

[Navar]

"Cofagrigus sounds pretty cool to dress up as, but like... isn't it just a box?"

"It might have been just a Yamask's... mask. Look it's been years!"

"And I don't know a lot about Zacian but I remember it was very strong, so I wouldn't mind see you as one!" he beamed. "Since you're strong too an' all that. And it'd be cool."

"...Really? Uh, I can try."

 

[Fusion]

"Awesome!" Kora yipped. "You think they have any here? It'd be a bummer if they didn't." He snapped his claw, almost dropping his dresses. "We could make one, right? I think that Mimikyu said we could draw one up and she'd help us out! Where is she, also?"

 

[Fusion]

Staying on good behavior was a lot harder than Lee thought, he had to move away to stop himself from decking Kora in his idiot head earlier. He gritted his teeth, shuffling all the things he had a bit, and groaned. Getting in good standing with the others meant talking to them, which meant he couldn't hide off on his own for the rest of this forced vacation.

The only person in the store that he felt didn't entirely dislike him was the Mimikyu kid, Lillie or something. It wasn't too hard to find her, she was the only hat with holes in this place, so Lee... hesitantly walked up to her, stopping a few feet away. She was staring at that Petilil outfit, he thought. Did she not want it or something?

"Hey, uh... Lillie?" he greeted, trying his best to not startle her. He even crouched down as an attempt to be courteous. "Are you having trouble picking out an outfit, disguise, thing?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"N-Nothing!"

Wait, no, that didn't even make sense as an answer to his question! "Or rather, it's nothing to worry about. I'm just... weighing my options. Thinking about what it would be best to pick."

 

[Fusion]

Do not laugh at her slip up. It was hilarious, but it wasn't funny.

"Well what do you have in mind, then? Or have you just been sitting here for... I don't even know how long it's been," Lee grumbled to himself. That was probably rude. Because it was. "I get the feeling you wouldn't want my opinion, but I wouldn't mind offering some insight."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Lillie froze. He was going to form an option on of her based on this... if he hadn't already done that.

"It's between this one and... uhh... the Misdreavus." He'd respect the Misdreavus one, right? For all the same reasons nobody else would. Misdreavus were problem-makers, so he'd be bound to like it.