Air Continent ~ Pokemon Square

[windskull]

"I mean," said Dave, "why do we want to wait for Maple? Or the 'God Squad'? For my parts, it's nice to not have those creeps watching our every move. Can't we just set out on our own and try to figure out where they've gone? How about that Giratina, did it get them? I read somewhere that it's supposed to rule some kind of underworld?" He paused. "Or, you know, if it does that here. In my world it doesn't actually exist."

"It's just a suggestion," Nip countered. "The last thing we want to do is wander off and get further lost. There's already two of us missing, after all." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he closed his mouth when he caught sight of the approaching trio.

Oh, so they already recognized them? Well, they were a pretty big, assorted group of pokemon, after all. "Cabot is correct." He paused, glancing skyward as if expecting to see the shimmering bubble above him still. "Just as we were freeing Lugia from the corruption, the air bubble in Silver Trench burst apart."

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmm..." Marowak glanced at Absol, who nodded. "Still nothing?"

Absol shook his head. "I do not sense any disaster from them for now."

"You also didn't sense any disaster with Nugget's cooking last night, either," Marowak pointed out.

Blaziken bristled a little. "It w-wasn't that bad!"

"I think you almost killed Tender," Bone pointed out, frowning, and at this, Absol hid a wince.

"Well, anyway," Blaziken said, stepping forward with a confident smile. "My name is Nugget, and we're part of Team Drumstick! Though you might have also heard about us from the first modern Omen, the meteor and Rayquaza."

"I am Bone," Marowak introduced with a nod. Her gaze was stern but there was still some kindness in them, and her voice, while rough in sound, was gentle in tone.

"Tender," Absol greeted with a nod. "I woke up from a fitful nap this morning and I knew something disastrous would happen... But did you somehow avert it?"

 

[SparklingEspeon]

"Team... Drumstick?" Tricky asked incredulously. Was everymon on this planet named after food... ? They weren't back where she lived.

Though you might have also heard about us from the first modern Omen, the meteor and Rayquaza."

"Wait!" she exclaimed in realization. "You... you guys are the team! The team! The first one! " In just a moment she was all in their personal space. "I'msoexcited I've always wanted to meet you guys you have to tell me everything! And sign my..." Tricky realized she hadn't gotten to bring her prized collection of exploration books written by her world's Team Drumstick. "...oh, never mind. I don't have them with me."

 

[Phoenixsong]

"...maybe?" Skara frowned as she addressed Tender, still dizzy after the sudden change of location. (She really ought to be used to this by now. What sort of knight couldn't handle a little teleportation?) "Our fighters drove off the entity that was tormenting Lugia, and I think she was almost back to her senses, but... I'm not sure. Everything happened so fast when the air pocket collapsed. I guess she's probably okay down there, if underwater is where she's supposed to live." Another frown, a quick glance around the group to make sure that Maple, the litten and the shinx hadn't suddenly reappeared. "But some of our group don't seem to have made it back with us. You... you don't think they're caught in some sort of disaster, do you?"

 

[windskull]

Nip paused, trying to think back to what had happened just as the bubble had started to collapse. "There was a... One of the Great Three. Giratina, the Neutral. I think Maple — the leader of the, uh, God Squad, you might know her — called them in for help when the bubble started to collapse. They brought us here but two of our group, a litten and a shinx, got separated while trying to hold back Lugia in the chaos. Both of them, as well as Maple, are missing from our group. Our leader is quite certain they're not dead but... we don't have a clue where they are, and they aren't responding with their badges."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Tender," Absol greeted with a nod. "I woke up from a fitful nap this morning and I knew something disastrous would happen... But did you somehow avert it?"

“Oh, of course the other Absol here get to have a disaster sense.”

Celeste laughed. “Anyways, my name is Cel- is Nazo. It’s nice to meet you... I’ve never really met another tamed Absol before, only feral ones.”

 

[Namohysip]

Tender tilted his head. "Your disaster sense is failing you?"

"Guess you two have something in common," Bone quipped, her face neutral despite the smirk in her voice.

Nugget raised his knee in response to Tricky's sudden approach, worried that she was going to starry nipping at his shins if he wasn't careful. "Er, I'd offer to give you guys a place to stay, but there are so many of you that I don't think we'd come close..."

Suddenly, it sounded like there was a waterfall in the distance.

Down the street, flooding the roads, was a portal that gushed with high-pressure water. It only lasted a few seconds, but several nearby houses took at least a few inches of water outside, though thankfully they did not seem to get within the buildings. Lugia emerged--scales silver and gleaming--along with Meringue nearby, who somehow seemed a little bigger. It was his stance--standing just slightly taller, more confident.

And finally, out came maple, drenched in sea water with her fur-cap covering her eyes.

"Sorry for being late," Maple said, pushing her cap up. It sank back down.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste smiled. “Hey, you’re all okay! Do you have Brisa and Starr with you?”

 

[Dragonfree]

Oh. Not that it was a surprise, exactly, but Dave'd at least hoped Maple would have fucked off for more than five minutes.

No sign of Brisa or the Litten. "Hey, don't know if you noticed but you lost a couple people."

 

[NebulaDreams]

“Wait, where the fuck are those two?!” Curio snapped. Never mind the fact she just went through another fight, never mind all that weirdness with Darkwhite and stuff. Brisa and Starr were nowhere to be seen. “Hey, painterly dog god, what happened to Brisa and Starr? Please tell me you found them! Somewhere, anywhere!”

 

[Namohysip]

Maple tilted her head. "What? They aren't with you?"

She looked around again. "I just finished speaking with Giratina. She said she had gotten a few of you and returned you here..."

"Oh, that was me, for at least one of them," Owen said, raising his hand. "I, er... I remember getting wrapped up in some... black tendril things with red claws..."

"Mm. Yes, that was Giratina. She must have saved you before I could get to you myself. I apologize for not telling you all on the outset, but there was a risk that Darkwhite would have tried to corrupt Giratina if knowledge of her presence was made known."

"But..." Owen frowned. "But Maple! We don't know where Starr and Brisa went!"

Maple tensed, her eyes sweeping across the team again. Indeed, they were not there. And Giratina hadn't accounted for them, either. "And your commander?"

"Diyem doesn't know, either."

"Then they aren't dead."

"They shouldn't be..."

Maple nodded. "Then that settles it. They're lost somewhere else. Searching endlessly won't do us any good when you're all still vulnerable when spread out, so instead I will coordinate with searching myself. I shall ask Giratina to retrace her steps, too. You may do your searching if you wish, but be sure to do so in large groups." Maple nodded. "They could be here, or perhaps they warped to Treasure Town and got lost there. I will also seek help from Arceus. I'm sure he would not be pleased with the whereabouts of interlopers being unknown in his domain, so he will likely try to search, too.

"...Until then, you are dismissed. I shall set up a portal here so you may traverse between here and Treasure Town as needed. Since your aura signatures are... odd, it is very easy to make sure it rejects others who try to utilize it."

 

[NebulaDreams]

Maple tilted her head. "What? They aren't with you?"

“Oh, that’s great, fan-fucking-tastic! I’m fine, no, really, I’m fine!” She wasn’t fine. Oh, god, what if they died? She liked Starr. Brisa especially. But the last time she talked to her was when Brisa went to drown her sorrows. What if they never saw each other again to make amends? She didn’t know if she could take this shit happening again. “Damn it.”

"Then they aren't dead."

"They shouldn't be..."

Maple nodded. "Then that settles it. They're lost somewhere else. Searching endlessly won't do us any good when you're all still vulnerable when spread out, so instead I will coordinate with searching myself. I shall ask Giratina to retrace her steps, too. You may do your searching if you wish, but be sure to do so in large groups."

She let out a huge sigh of relief. Not completely, since there was still the possibility that something awful did happen, or would happen if they didn’t find the two fast enough. She couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. “Oi! Anyone wanna help look for those two?”

 

[windskull]

Nip took a step forward. "I'm a decent tracker. If we can find a lead, any sort of lead at all, then I'm more than willing to help with the search."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen raised his hand. "My Perceive isn't what it used to be, but I still have a little of it. Maybe I can try to find something with you."

"Just don't search aimlessly," Maple said. "I will have Soda and Truffle scout around town and ask questions."

"We'll help, too," Nugget offered, his ankles sparking with flame. "Nobody's getting lost on my watch! If they're somewhere in town or around the Air Continent, we'll find out for sure."

"Bone, would we be able to make a portal near your home?" Maple offered. "It isn't in the middle of town, and we imagine you would like to be nearby if something happened."

"I wouldn't mind," Bone said with a firm nod. "It's been a while since I got to help out in something of this scale. Back when Dark Matter attacked, I was among the first to be turned to stone... Not exactly helpful."

"Dark Matter must have been trying to target all the humans..." Nugget shook his head. "Well--not important anymore, right?"

 

[NebulaDreams]

Nip took a step forward. "I'm a decent tracker. If we can find a lead, any sort of lead at all, then I'm more than willing to help with the search."

“Thanks, Nip,” she said with a smile. “You seem reliable.”

Owen raised his hand. "My Perceive isn't what it used to be, but I still have a little of it. Maybe I can try to find something with you."

And Owen? This was even better! She couldn’t get enough of that cute Charmander. Though she didn’t show that. “Where shall we start?”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"There's a silver lining in all of this," Cynthian said with a sigh while glancing around aimlessly.

"They may be lost in who knows where, but hopefully they're both together. At the very least they can keep each other company, right?" Cynthian asked no one in particular. He never fully understood the bad blood between Starr and Brisa, nor did he know how deep it went, but anything is better than being alone. At least that's what he thought.

 

[Namohysip]

"I think we should probably start with the Silver Trench," Owen said. "That's where we last saw them, right?"

"Impossible," Maple said. "The Silver Trench has been flooded. The air bubble is finally gone, and therefore if they were still there, they would have drowned. Or torn asunder by the currents. Since Diyem has not confirmed their arrival in the world you came from, we can confirm they are not dead, and therefore no longer at the Silver Trench."

Owen hummed, looking around. "Then I guess we can check around here. Maybe they got mis-teleported around town? Or maybe they got sent to Treasure Town instead."

"I will personally be speaking with Giratina to see if she might have lost them in transit as well."

"Where would they have gone if that happened?" Owen asked.

"...Something to worry about if it happens," Maple replied ominously. "But I suppose the Reverse Realm is not too bad, if not disorienting..."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave sighed. “Fine, yeah, I’m coming.” At least Maple wouldn’t be there. He trotted over to join Owen, Curio and Nip.

 

[Adamhuarts]

And Owen? This was even better! She couldn’t get enough of that cute Charmander. Though she didn’t show that. “Where shall we start?”

"I'll come with you too, Curio!" Cynthian offered as he walked over to her.

"I'm not exactly sure how I'd help, but I'm worried about those two and the more eyes looking for them, the better."

 

[Namohysip]

...And before you all go, said Diyem, I want to meet all of you later today at the dojo. Alone, without God Squad or anyone else. I need to explain... everything I can to you.