Fading Aria [KtK RP Thread: Mission 2]

[Shiny Phantump]

Melody tuned out of the body's sense of touch and smell so that she didn't have to feel the wind rushing against her, or smell the saccharine wind. Poor Ichiro, with strong olfaction he wasn't used to. At least he wouldn't have trouble keeping the scent. It was tempting to pull up her headphones and drown out the noise too, but they might have to listen to their companions.

"On your guards, needless to say. Ichiro, think you can fight in a pinch? We can also lean on me, if we have to."

If the worst came to pass, she could always teleport the kids away.

 

[System Error]

Based on the number and spacing of the tracks, they were made by bipeds.

"Two legs," the Demon notes. "Any ideas?"

---

Because of Nori's inability to understand trained Pokemon's words, he doesn't get the information unless someone else notes it aloud. Though he'll notice on his own anyway once heading out.

Frowning a bit at the negativity, Luni sent some telepathic words and emotional reassurances to the boy, knowing her spoken voice wouldn't reach him from this far. "Don't take it too harshly. I'm sure Kricketot isn't holding it against you."

Telepathy is one way, though. "Aa?!" he freaks at first. An unfamiliar voice. He wracks his brain on who it could be, but decides to reply anyway. Or try to. It's not that he thinks, though doesn't answer what it really is. Still a lot of negativity guilt over something specifically depending on how precise the sensing is thankfully likely fading as he leaves.

If this Kricketot took offense to not wanting to try attacking, it was weird. But after what he did, he didn't even want to try. Even a person could badly hurt a small Pokemon. Or worse.

#####

Nori is also heading west! He's mostly quiet during the trip unless spoken to, partly out of trying to keep his mind off things but also from taking in the view, so to speak.

"There were a lot of crystals last time too, but not like this," he solemnly quips. What a mess. "They weren't leaking poison or anything. Some of them could change types, and we broke them by hitting them with something they were weak to in sequence."

The Demon's ears immediately twitch. She stands on her hind legs, raises her front ones, and begins to prepare an attack that...doesn't manifest.

"Right, I forgot to mention. Four moves is the limit here," he says before she can start complaining or trying harder. "I guess you can't Earth Power right now. I don't think we have to worry about breaking these just yet. Not much point." At least the limit wouldn't affect her, since she only used a handful of moves up and often up close anyway.

"Someone's going to pay for this," the Demon growls. How dare they limit her.

They eventually reach the city. Nori slowly looks up at it. It was way worse over here. "I think we found the source," he notes. "Or a big target of whoever or whatever caused this. Get ready for any kind of welcome." Hopefully they could fight here if they had to.

The Demon scrapes a paw. "What's with this place? Do they think they're manh or something?" she dismisses the city. Burrows and caves were enough shelter for everything she knew, and the wilderness was their home. No matter. They'd find out soon enough exactly what they were dealing with.

 

[canisaries]

As the group continued along the northward path, they rapidly left behind the manicured nature that had surrounded them in the garden and found themselves in the true wild. The forest grew ever more dense around them, although soon the group would begin to see something that truly didn't belong here: more purple crystals like the one that had encased the keyhole for Meloetta's realm. At first they were tiny, forming clusters only a couple inches high, but as the group continued down the path, they became larger and larger, until they nearly reached Ichiro's shoulders.

The crystals glowed faintly in the dimness of the forest, with a radiance that shifted and faded as though there was something liquid at their cores. As the crystals grew larger, so too did a wind pick up, blowing into the group's faces from somewhere up ahead. It carried the tang and faint sparkle of Fairy energy, plucking at first teasingly, then insistently and finally violently at the fur, hair, and clothes of the people venturing down the path.

The branches overhead tossed, and the wind howled. The forest had grown unnaturally dark, lit by the purple crystals. It was clear there was a powerful pokémon not far up ahead, the source of the wind. But there was something else, too. Barely audible beneath the gusts of wind are the wailing sounds of a reedy instrument playing on despite the grim atmosphere.

"Windy, huh?" Ichiro called out, his mane and ears flapping in the wind. "Maybe there's a flying type ahead, too..."

"On your guards, needless to say. Ichiro, think you can fight in a pinch? We can also lean on me, if we have to."

Ichiro felt a little indignant at the suggestion that some human woman who dressed like a moody teenager would be a better fighter than him until he remembered her talking about her psychic powers. Not to mention the whole thing with him being in a completely different body that he'd lived in his whole life up to this point.

"Well, let me check if I can figure out my moves," he said. He focused and felt... some kind of ability resting inside of him, like a limb he was yet to move. A few of them, in fact. Faint impressions of what it would like to perform them brushed against his mind - releasing noxious smoke from his mouth, some kind of fire-breathing attack, a bite enhanced with dark type energy and some manner of mind-altering technique that would agitate the opponent into behaving impatiently. The first one was probably Smog, the second could have been a number of things based on its power, a bite was a Bite (or maybe Crunch? Was he powerful enough for that?) and the last one he wasn't familiar with, but figured wouldn't make him explode if he tried it in a pinch.

He gave the three first moves a quick try after moving a bit further away from the rest, and he felt like he had a good enough handle on each of them. The fiery attack was no Flamethrower, but it was no Ember, either. It would do.

"Yep, seems like I can use them just fine," he said. "But, uh, help is appreciated."

Well, well, well. ███ ████ asking for help? said a thought.

I'm Ichiro now, thought Ichiro. And it isn't the first time.

 

[MegaAbsolOfDespair]

The branches overhead tossed, and the wind howled. The forest had grown unnaturally dark, lit by the purple crystals. It was clear there was a powerful pokémon not far up ahead, the source of the wind. But there was something else, too. Barely audible beneath the gusts of wind are the wailing sounds of a reedy instrument playing on despite the grim atmosphere.

Volo stopped for a moment to listen. "I think I hear something. It sounds like a quiet music." He wasn't sure what the source of the music was, but either way, he whispered to his Togepi: 'We may need to fight whatever awaits ahead of us. Stay alert'

 

[Hanafuda]

As the crystals grew larger, so too did a wind pick up, blowing into the group's faces from somewhere up ahead. It carried the tang and faint sparkle of Fairy energy, plucking at first teasingly, then insistently and finally violently at the fur, hair, and clothes of the people venturing down the path.

Joey shivered after the wind blew. "Hfff. I feel sparkly for some reason." He shook himself. Ugh, he couldn't have that girly stuff on him when he was building his brand as Jo-Jo.

"Yep, seems like I can use them just fine," he said. "But, uh, help is appreciated."

"I can help ya practice. Not sure if this is the right time, though. Checking for this Meloetta, y'know?"

"I think I hear something. It sounds like a quiet music."

He made a sharp turn to look at Volo with wide eyes. "Oh, dang," he said in a hushed tone. "We go there?" Following the music may have lead them closer to Meloetta, maybe. But what if they also got lost along the way? "Whatchu y'all say? We go?"

 

[Negrek]

Luni beamed. "That's the spirit! My trainer and I would be glad to have you!"
Then, deciding to nip the other source of negativity in the bud, she asked Kricketot, "Is that true?" She took him up on his offer, sending a weakened Confusion at him and waited to see what he meant.

Regardless of the reaction though, Luni added. "Well, it's alright if you can't fight. You can still help us by telling us all you know about Meloetta and about where we're going! The kind of Pokémon we'll be encountering, what sorts of surprises will be in wait. Information is key after all."

Hmmm? The kricketot didn't seem to be entirely sure what to make of Luni's question. You're all pretty weird, he said after a moment.

Luni's further questions left him batting at his antenna bashfully. There's not much I can tell you. I've never left the garden before. I'd heard about the ocean, but I've never seen it before! It's so big!

Rachel crouched down, picking up the tablet to inspect it. It was unreadable but was there anything else she could pick up from the ancient relic? Any marks that indicated whether it was damaged by age, moves, or physical attacks?

There weren't any obvious indications of what might have damaged the tablet. However, it was clearly very old--it wasn't unusual that it would be in such a state unless it had been unusually well cared-for.