Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[Ambyssin]

"Not sure. Probably sunbathing. Meditating." He approached the place in question, then realized it was built on the smaller size and found himself crouching down and folding his arms onto his back while he levitated a slip of paper with his request onto the counter. "I already got dragged into the Colosseum by Pepper and Thyme's kids. I'm not keen on repeating the experience."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Yeah? What was so bad about it? Surf 'n' Turf not great opponents, the crowds, or...?

She sniffed about for some decent pickings for herself while she waited for Bahamut to be served. Not that the food they generally had in Cibus wasn't excellent, but she could do with something more familiar. Real meat was one of the few things she missed about home. That, and the wide open spaces...

 

[Ambyssin]

"I'm given to understand that a lot of you come from worlds where battling is part of the culture," Bahamut said, waiting until he was handed his order — larger than a few teammates, given his size — before levitating onto his back. "That you all enjoy battling. Some even relish the opportunity to fight." He bobbed his head and gave the info for Maple's tab before turning around.

"Such is not the case on Etherium. Pokémon battle to survive. They train against nature, not one another." He shook his head. "At least, that's how it once was. Nowadays, the only pokémon strong enough to hold their own in battle serve in the army or the government. And even then, they pale in comparison to the strength from days past."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Sounds like a world in decline. Battling is what pokémon do," replied Brisa, without hesitation. "And if everyone who can fight is servin' in the military and the like, what's to stop to stop the state havin' a monopoly on the use of force? Ordinary folks oughta be able to defend themselves."

She bristled a little. She didn't care for Bahamut's tone as he talked about how you enjoy battling.

"There's a lot wrong with my world, but a healthy battlin' culture ain't one," she finished.

 

[Ambyssin]

"It's just very... foreign to me. If two pokémon fought on Etherium in the past, they did so knowing only one would survive." Bahamut walked away from the food stand. "There's a reason I've avoided this sparring thing. Tuned what power Diyem gave me toward defense and healing. I've fought with a killer instinct for so long, I don't trust myself to turn it off. So, better I focus on keeping the rest of you fighting fit."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shrugged, and took a moment to make her own order, taking a few different popular cuts to keep at the dorms, before catching up with Bahamut.

"Tankin' hits and supportin' the team's a vital role," she told him. "We need you in that role, and you should be doin' somethin' you're comfortable with. All the same, you should be able to land a good hit of your own if it's ever necessary. If you ever want to get used to sparrin' without it bein' high stakes, you can always ask me to go a couple rounds with ya."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut shook his head. "Again, it's better that doesn't happen. My attacking style was considered quite ruthless back home." He looked in the direction that the guild was in. "The only thing I can think of for good attacking is to find a way to use this radiance or shadow energy to replicate Body Press. Attack using my defenses.

"Regardless, the team itself has a serious flaw: nearly all of our attackers use physical attacks. We need more ranged attackers or we're going to be in trouble. I can feel it in my..." His voice trailed off. Bahamut looked at his legs. "I'm not actually sure if I have bones in this body, but you get the idea."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

A ruthless attacking style would come in handy, as far as Brisa was concerned, but she wasn't about to argue the point.

"Well, I know a few ranged moves I can hone, but it's not what this body is naturally proficient at. Ah, maybe if I have some good fortune, I'll develop a Radiant move that has range on it. Claws crossed for both of us on that front, I guess."

She smirked mildly. "If I can evolve all the way up to bein' a luxray while I'm here, I'll check out your interior and find out if you have bones. Unless you break some first, you never know."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut stumbled. "Are you propositioning me? I'm a married 'mon, you know."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's face screwed up in an unprecedented, painful degree of confusion.

"I don't know where your mind is at, but my tastes don't include fellas. Or mon of your temperament, no offence." She shook her head free of a disturbing mental image. "Luxray can see certain things, including bone and metal, through other materials. X-ray vision. That's all I meant."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut again tripped. That sounded like witchcraft to him, but it must've been a quirk of her world. "And just how do you know such a power made it into that body? I think it's reasonable to believe most of us lost abilities we're used to having back home."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa cocked her head, and tried to process Bahamut's assumption that a luxray wouldn't have the penetrating vision they were named for. You may as well question if a charmander's tail flame was a trait that would carry over to this world.

"We'll see," she replied, not considering it worthwhile to argue a point about biology with an ageless shapeshifting lion made of light who kept tripping over his own legs. "What abilities have you lost?" she added, out of sheer curiosity.

 

[Ambyssin]

"The biggest is my ability to make wormholes between any two locations I've previously visited," Bahamut replied, tail drooping. "I also cannot channel light into other forms of energy like I used to. My real body was mostly incorporeal, so I could phase through solid objects. I could grow and shrink at will using sunlight or moonlight. I could read minds and memories with little effort." He paused. "I could write a short essay with everything I've lost..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Deep breath. Try not to panic just because of the telepathy. It wasn't so bad.

Fuckin' hate telepathy. Gettin' in my head, interferin' with my goddamn thoughts, fuckin'-" She gasped, realising that she'd stopped breathing at the thought of telepathy. Of mind-reading.

Jesse put out a paw and his eyes burned with a hard light. Brisa froze in his sight and felt her mind being forced open, felt Jesse Stranger inside her head, grasping inexpertly for the memory of his flash of anger, seeking to tear it out, desperate to have never even thought that godawful thing in her presence.

Brisa screamed.

"Little effort," she repeated, dully. "You make it sound like it was a convenience you were entitled to, to break into people's heads and read 'em like a book. What gives you the right?"

The anger boiling in her gut wasn't new. She knew how to keep it down. So she did.

What gives you the goddamn right, Jesse?

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, by the time I settled on Etherium, I had little use for it," Bahamut said. "But in my youth, it was necessary for survival. Too many people on too many planets were hostile toward what they viewed as an alien."

His eyes flickered pink. "Even without that ability, I like to think I'm good at reading others. You seem to have had... unfortunate experiences with psychics." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. But the past cannot be changed. Hopefully the shadows do not try and latch onto those past grievances to try and drag you into the darkness once more. However, if you need help clearing your mind, you can always come find me."

He began to walk off, heading back toward the guild.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

'Good at reading people'. The guy thought she was propositioning him a minute ago, and now he was making ill-informed judgments about her Shadows. Thousands of years of life didn't make a mon much of a sage, apparently.

Brisa let Bahamut leave without her, and summoned her badge to float in front of her face. Maybe it was the cider, maybe it was that she was changing from everything and everyone that was different in her life now, but she was ready to try reaching out to more folks.

She found a cafe to rest at, and began composing a message...

<><><><><>​

 

[Navar]

Shiron woke up on a strange place. The whole conversation with that talking Charizard was... something otherworldly. However, the shock he was about to receive would be even greater: a Mudkip. He was now a Mudkip.

"What the hell?!" He screamed, struggling to keep himself on two feet, when his body eventually fell to all four.

He now had a small, blue body. Quadruped in nature, Shiron had fins on his cheeks and a big antennae on his head. He shook his head, trying to make sense of it all and control his new body.

"So that's what that Charizard meant by species, but seriously, what the actual fuck?!" still confused, he walked slowly to try and get a better hang of himself. "Oh, this is gonna take a while..."

 

[IFBench]

<><><>

Saltriv was walking through the commercial district, trying to cool off after the massive battle that just happened.

That was all a lot! Rayquaza, Kyogre, AND Groudon! There were also those weird orbs they got sucked into...If only I could write about this all in my journal!

 

[Namohysip]

There were several shops down by the commercial district for all kinds of supplies, foods, and knickknacks. Surely there would be something for journals and other paperwork. And, indeed, after some looking around, Saltriv would happen upon a Flygon that was looking for the same thing, standing in a humble store between two large buildings. The Flygon in question seemed to be looking over blank notebooks while holding a well-worn one in her hands.

 

[IFBench]

Soon, Saltriv would notice the notebook shop, and run over, a smile on their face. "I'd like one, please!" they said.