Torrent Beach

[Flyg0n]

Blue's fists didn't relax right away, but he had to admit the other guy had a point. If the scream really had come from the moment of the attack, the knife guy culprit wouldn't have had much time to escape. Still; it didn't hurt to be absolutely certain there was no sign of a hasty retreat or other useful info nearby. "Charizard," he said, "would you mind doing a quick sweep overhead? See if you can spot any obvious trails through the brush or anything, leading away from here. Anything else fishy."

Charizard stopped licking a sticky spot on his nose long enough to give him a concerned growl, but Blue gestured at the fairly large group that was still hovering around. "Safety in numbers, yeah? I'll be fine. I'd come with, but I just wanna check somethin' real quick. Just don't fly off so far that I can't see you from down here, all right? We could use your help, but I don't want you up and disappearing on me, either."

The dragon grumbled a little more, but he nodded and launched himself back into the air for a quick circle above the beach and bordering forest.



'The matter is being dealt with,' right, sure. Like they were already on top of things, and not bringing up the rear after everyone on the island and their grandma had had a chance to gawp. How slow was that arcanine that it couldn't have gotten them here the moment it was obvious someone was in distress?

(His mind wandered home, for just a moment, as he watched the arcanine sniff at the fused sand. Gramps's arcanine could teleport. Not a common skill for them to learn, but definitely possible. But the weavile's notes had been quite clear that a psychic-type, or at least some source of a bucketload of psychic energy, had been in the area, so theoretically an arcanine was out. How reassuring; he didn't need to add "probably kidnappers" to his list of reasons to be annoyed with them.)

"'Scuse me, Officer," he said to the man near the arcanine, displaying a frankly admirable level of restraint by keeping the sarcasm out of his voice. Daisy'd better be real damn proud of him when he got back. "I know you're busy—" he made a show of stepping back, so as not to stand on any important evidence or whatever "—but I could've sworn I heard a couple people yesterday talking about folks 'going home early'. Didn't really pay it much mind at the time; none of my business if people decide to bail on a free luxury vacation." He had given it some very serious consideration himself, after all. "But from what I overheard, people sounded confused about the way that they left the island. No chance those are related to this, is there?"

@Flyg0n

[[Note: not expecting any investigation results from Charizard; simply seems the flavorful thing to do. Just wanted to poke the officer, is all!]]

The officer, whose name badge read 'Victor', looked up as Blue approached, and his Arcanine's ears flicked towards him but the fire-type otherwise continued to check for clues. At Blue's question, an unreadable look flickered through his eyes. He seemed to evaluate Blue carefully.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to discuss anything related to our ongoing investigation." His tone seems almost a tiny bit too loud, unless one is maybe imagining it? "Officer Jenny is my CO. If you have any questions, you'll have to wait until she speaks to each of you individually." The statement is formal. Maybe too formal, its hard to tell. Though it almost seems intentional?

Perhaps later he may be more forthcoming...

 

[Phoenixsong]

"I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to discuss anything related to our ongoing investigation."

Lovely. Right out of the detective shows, even. He wondered whether, also just like the detective shows, that was code for 'yes, it is definitely 100% related'. Well, it had been worth a shot. Officer Jenny probably would be making the rounds through everyone who'd actually responded to the situation before they'd dragged their asses along, so he'd just have to try and get something out of her then.

Charizard returned much sooner than expected, quickly dropping out of the sky to land just on the edge of the investigation. On the one hand, it looked like he'd found something! On the other hand, judging by the angry growling and the rapid series of gestures he was making—pointing at a cluster of trees in the distance, a violent pounding motion with one hand that looked like it meant beating someone over the head with something—he hadn't found anything good.

"Of course, absolutely, great, totally understandable, whatever, sorry one more question," Blue said quickly, his heart racing a little now that he recognized that looming shape trying to stay out of the way under the treeline. He didn't bother hiding his irritation this time. "Mind refreshing my memory on why that guy is still wandering around on this island unattended after he got this close to shanking someone? How relevant to your ongoing investigation is that, huh?"

Charizard finally stopped his very enthusiastic "stabbing" pantomime and put an arm out in front of Blue, glaring at the figure down the beach.

 

[AbraPunk]

On the one hand, it looked like he'd found something! On the other hand, judging by the angry growling and the rapid series of gestures he was making—gesturing off at a cluster of trees in the distance, a violent pounding motion with one hand that looked like it meant beating someone over the head with something—he hadn't found anything good.

Wes would never have even bothered coming here if it weren't for Nico and Merian being concerned about other people. He didn't give a shit! Why should he care if someone died? It would just mean one less piece of shit destroying the earth.

He glared at the scene happening further down the beach. It seemed that a Charizard had noticed him and was trying to get the attention of their trainer.

He shifted his hand so that it rested on his backup 'knife'. Hopefully, the threat of being poisoned and stabbed at the same time would be enough to deter anyone from trying to approach him. He knew firsthand just how potent a Nidoking's venom was, and since his 'knife' was quite literally a Nidoking's fang, crudely grafted to a handle... well, it wasn't difficult to imagine the effect it might have on another person.

--

Nico calmly watched the gathering, tail flicking occasionally. "We would be wise to simply keep our distance, as we are now. Especially considering the... ahem, incident on the boat, we would not wish to garner unnecessary attention."

He glanced over to Merian, who didn't even seem to be paying attention. "Did you even hear anything I just said?"

--

Merian definitely wasn't aware of anything going on around him. No, he had his eyes solely on one other 'mon--

--

Nico whacked Merian with a paw and huffed. "Don't be an idiot. We need to stay alert. That includes you."

 

[Flyg0n]

The subtle expression change at the sight of Enora wasn’t lost on her, but she didn’t let that knowledge show on her face. She shrugged her shoulders. “Never said I was particularly good at this ‘social’ thing,” she admitted in a dejected huff. “Definitely got overexcited. I don’t know anybody else where I’m from who also has a shiny.”

Her eyes did quite literally light up at the Grumpig, and she kneeled down to meet it’s eye level. “Your coat’s absolutely amazing, but I’m sure you get that a lot.” She also made sure to send a friendly nod to the Hatterene. It seemed a little more reserved, so she didn’t attempt much more than that.

Enora gave an eager nod to the Grumpig and cooed in agreement with Odette, allowing her ribbons to flutter for some added friendliness.

“Well, aside from asking what you use on Grumpig’s coat, I’ll just be blunt in saying I’m sniffing around to see what might be up here. I’ve been to a few of these types of events and they’ve ended on less than ideal terms, so call me cautious,” she explained. “I figured if I was going to start talking to a new face, I’d start with somebody on somewhat common ground. Hence my eagerness.” She nodded her head in the direction of Grumpig as she allowed her smile to widen.

She shrugged again as she pushed herself up to stand. “Not asking for a life story or anything weird; more just wondering if you or your partners saw anything strange. But I do apologize. Hopefully I’m not keeping you from anything.”

Blair listened patiently as Odette spoke, nodding a few times. "All I saw is what everyone else did. I only got there a few minutes before the police did." She frowned, then continued carefully. "But if you ask me... Unless a clever wild pokemon dragged her into the ocean, where did she go? I personally think maybe she was carried away by something." A regretful look crossed her face. "Hopefully they find her..."

Hatterene hadn't taken her eyes off Odette the entire time she spoke. She tapped Blair's arm and made a soft noise, eyes still locked onto Odette, almost as if looking through her. Or perhaps into her.

"Right. I'm heading back to my room. Officer Jenny will probably be talking to us soon. Good luck sniffing around. Maybe we can talk more later." She gave a casual wave and started to leave, all while Hatterene eyed Odette with a piercing gaze. For whatever reason, it seemed the Hatterene didn't trust Odette.

 

[Flyg0n]

Hmm. A ping from Neo told him that this boy wasn’t lying. Still, he only said he hadn’t seen anything. Not that he didn’t know anything.

Perhaps…it was time to try a different angle.

He folded his arms again. “All right, how about this. Answer a few more questions for me, and you and I will have a battle later. And we’ll stop pestering you. Interested?”

Noro exhaled slowly. "Or you could just leave me alone, let the police here do their job, and stop pestering me."

"I can get him to leave us alone." Alakazam said coolly. "I do not appreciate you being singled out because I happen to be a psychic-type."

Shaking his head, Noro spoke again. "Fine. Ask me a question that isn't stupid and I'll answer it. That's it. If you want to pester psychic types you can bother that guy with an Espeon who looks like your darker twin."

 

[Sinderella]

"Right. I'm heading back to my room. Officer Jenny will probably be talking to us soon. Good luck sniffing around. Maybe we can talk more later." She gave a casual wave and started to leave, all while Hatterene eyed Odette with a piercing gaze. For whatever reason, it seemed the Hatterene didn't trust Odette.

Odette didn’t let the piercing gaze of Hatterene get to her. Instead, she simply returned the wave. “You bet. Safe travels,” she replied.

She had half a mind to have Enora use some sort of investigative attempt on her, but…judging by the look that that damn ‘mon was giving her, that might not have been the best idea. Instead, she watched them go until they were well out of earshot.

When she was sure they were gone, she turned back toward the beach and crossed her arms. “Thinks she was carried away by something, huh?” she murmured.

“Well, what are you going to do with that? Do you think she was just talking just to talk?” Enora asked.

Odette shook her head. “Not sure. I’m more concerned with the Hatterene. It clearly has a problem with me,” she said.

Yeah, Hatterene were known to read the emotions of targets up to 30 miles away, but Odette knew she had no ill intent. She wanted to ask her some questions about what happened, yeah, but she’d been blunt about that after realizing her initial approach was shitty. She wasn’t even lying about the ‘not knowing anybody with a shiny’ part; she really didn’t. Those fuckers from the trade didn’t count, because they didn’t count as fucking human beings.

Maybe it knew that she knew that psychic type residue had been found in the area? Of course, it could probably sense that too. But…then why get defensive over that?

Or perhaps it was just protective of it’s trainer. Of course it’s going to look at the girl who ran up on them a little strangely. Especially after a wake up call like THAT.

Or, even worse, it smelled Odile on her. Wrath was a strong emotion, and being that she harbored the living entity of it, it figured that the ‘mon with a keen sense of emotion would be wary of that.

A lot of things to consider. A lot of things to revisit when the emotions of the morning died down.

She really wished Noel were here, honestly.

 

[Flyg0n]

"Mind refreshing my memory on why that guy is still wandering around on this island unattended after he got this close to shanking someone? How relevant to your ongoing investigation is that, huh?"

This time, his reply felt less formal, and he spoke in a slightly lower voice. "Him? We're keeping an eye on him," Victor replied simply. He didn't sound unconcerned. No, he sounded... like he knew Wes wasn't a threat. Or at least he was't worried about him being one. His gaze shifted to Jenny and Bao.

Bao was staring off in the direction of the marsh and Jenny appeared to be murmuring something to him.

He looked back on Blue. "I know you're concerned, and you should be. But even though there's only two of us, we're still keeping an eye on things. For now, just wait until we do the individual interviews."

 

[HelloYellow17]

Noro exhaled slowly. "Or you could just leave me alone, let the police here do their job, and stop pestering me."

"I can get him to leave us alone." Alakazam said coolly. "I do not appreciate you being singled out because I happen to be a psychic-type."

Shaking his head, Noro spoke again. "Fine. Ask me a question that isn't stupid and I'll answer it. That's it. If you want to pester psychic types you can bother that guy with an Espeon who looks like your darker twin."

Well, it was better than nothing. Might as well give it a shot.

“Do you know anything about what happened here, on this beach, with that missing trainer and her Pokémon? And don’t give me a half-assed answer. I want a yes or no.”

 

[Sinderella]

As she stood there wondering what the hell she was going to do for the rest of the day, she felt a weight land on her head. She stiffened, but she saw one of those stupid branch wings hang down in her peripheral vision.

"Welcome back, scumbag," she hissed. "I hope you had fun on your little excursion."


"̴D̴o̶n̴'̶t̷ ̷t̸a̶l̴k̴ ̸t̴o̵ ̶m̸e̶,̸ ̶I̶'̵m̴ ̷a̸n̵g̶r̴y̵.̷"̷ Her tone was flat, dull, and carried none of her usual annoying inflection. It was even muffled a little, because she'd buried her face in Odette's hair.


Odile said she was angry, but she certainly didn't sound angry. "What's up with you?"


"̸H̵n̸n̸n̸g̷g̷g̶g̶g̵g̵g̶h̷h̶h̴h̷h̸h̶h̶h̷h̸h̶h̶,̵"̸


"Are you giving birth? What the fuck--"


"̸H̶N̵N̶N̴G̵G̷G̷G̸G̷G̵G̴H̴H̴H̴H̷H̵ ̶O̸D̸E̷T̵T̸E̶.̴ ̷I̸ ̷F̷U̷C̴K̴E̵D̷ ̸A̴R̴O̴U̸N̴D̷ ̵A̸N̷D̷ ̷F̵O̸U̴N̷D̴ ̸O̴U̴T̷,̵"̵ she wailed, flipping onto her back, but still managing to stay on top of Odette's head. "̵I̵ ̵b̷o̵t̶h̷e̴r̴e̸d̶ ̸C̷l̶o̶v̸i̷s̶ ̶2̴.̴0̶ ̶a̷n̵d̶ ̴h̵e̷ ̴y̷e̷l̴l̴e̷d̸ ̷a̶t̸ ̶m̸e̵ ̷a̶n̶d̴ ̸i̴t̶ ̶w̷a̶s̵ ̶r̷e̶a̷l̵l̶y̸ ̷f̸u̴n̴n̴y̵ ̵b̶u̶t̶ ̸h̵e̴ ̸s̵a̶i̴d̶ ̵t̴h̶i̶n̴g̴s̶ ̸t̵h̶a̵t̸ ̵a̵r̵e̷ ̴m̷a̶k̶i̵n̷g̴ ̴m̴e̷ ̸w̴a̴n̶t̷ ̵t̶o̵ ̷o̶n̴l̸y̶ ̷e̴a̵t̵ ̴i̷c̵e̵ ̶c̵r̷e̵a̴m̸ ̴f̷o̷r̸ ̸t̵h̸e̵ ̷n̷e̸x̶t̵ ̸t̷w̸o̷ ̴t̵h̶o̴u̴s̷a̷n̷d̴ ̷y̶e̵a̶r̵s̶.̵"̷

Seriously, what the actual hell? After her many, many, many, many, many years of existence, she'd bore witness to outburst after outburst. Host after host. Offensive comment after offensive comment. None of it ever meant a goddamn thing to her, and they were so much worse. So. Much. Worse. People killed each other, blood was spilled, she'd witness absolute carnage and chaos, and it never meant a fucking thing. It was all just a comedy show to her.

So why was it that when this stupid priss boy mouthed off at her she felt like a black hole? She didn't even understand half of what he said, but what did manage to register made her feel...bad.

"̴S̵i̷m̴p̴l̶y̷ ̶p̶u̸t̵,̶ ̸I̵'̸m̷ ̶d̸y̷i̷n̵g̸.̴ ̶I̶'̴m̸ ̶d̸y̷i̶n̵g̷.̸ ̷P̵l̸e̶a̸s̷e̷ ̵b̸u̵r̷y̷ ̶m̸e̶.̵ ̶I̷n̷ ̴t̷h̴e̴ ̶g̵r̷o̵u̷n̷d̵.̷ ̸W̶i̴t̸h̵ ̵s̶o̷m̷e̶ ̷r̸u̷m̸ ̴r̷a̴i̷s̵i̷n̷ ̶i̵c̵e̷ ̶c̷r̵e̴a̷m̸ ̶b̸e̴c̸a̸u̸s̶e̶ ̷n̸o̵b̸o̶d̶y̴ ̸e̸a̷t̴s̵ ̵r̷u̸m̵ ̸r̶a̵i̶s̷i̸n̵ ̴i̶c̸e̵ ̸c̴r̴e̶a̷m̵.̶"̸


Odile's bout of intense self pity was interrupted by Odette.

Laughing. Hysterically.

She had to grab hold of a nearby palm tree to keep herself from falling over, as her whole body shook with the intensity of her giggles.


"̷I̵T̸'̴S̷ ̸N̴O̴T̴ ̶F̵U̷N̷N̶Y̶ ̶Y̶O̵U̸ ̷F̷U̴C̶K̸I̶N̷G̷ ̴B̴O̸Z̷O̷.̷ I̵ ̶A̵M̷ ̶H̶A̶V̷I̶N̴G̷ ̴A̷ ̸C̷R̵I̷S̶I̸S̴.̶"̴


"It's," Odette managed through her laughs, "it's absolutely fucking hysterical." She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself down, but it wasn't enough to stop the laughs entirely.

"Who on Earth is Clovis 2.0? I want to send him flowers or something." Another round of laughs clawed their way out of her, and she kicked up some sand in amusement.

"Congrats, idiot. That's called guilt."


"̶S̶E̶N̸D̶ ̷H̷I̶M̷ ̸A̵ ̴P̵U̴N̵C̵H̵ ̸I̶N̶ ̵T̸H̸E̵ ̷T̴E̴E̷T̶H̵ ̸A̵N̸D̵ ̶A̶ ̷U̸S̴E̶D̶ ̸C̸O̸N̵D̸O̷M̶ ̶I̷N̴S̸T̴E̸A̷D̴ ̷B̸E̶C̸A̸U̷S̷E̶ ̵I̴ ̷D̷O̷N̷'̷T̷ ̸L̷I̶K̷E̵ ̸I̸T̴.̶"̷ she whined, kicking her small feet in complete toddler fashion.


"Yeah. It fucking sucks. You'll live."


"̸H̴n̵n̸n̴g̵g̷g̵g̴g̴h̸h̸h̴h̴h̸.̶.̷.̶"̷ She rolled over and dug her face back into Odette's hair again. At least it smelled good and would keep her mind off of her impeding doom. "̵D̷o̴n̸'̶t̶ ̶t̶a̶l̷k̸ ̶t̴o̴ ̸m̶e̷,̸ ̴I̴'̶m̷ ̵f̷u̶c̶k̵i̷n̵g̵ ̷p̷i̶s̷s̴e̶d̷.̶"̵


"That's okay," Odette chuckled. "You'll live."

And truthfully, she wasn't going to miss this opportunity to bask in this rare instance of silence.

 

[Flyg0n]

Well, it was better than nothing. Might as well give it a shot.

“Do you know anything about what happened here, on this beach, with that missing trainer and her Pokémon? And don’t give me a half-assed answer. I want a yes or no.”

Alakazam's mind bristled. "We do not have to answer their questions."

"I don't want to be harrassed," he grumbled privately.

Noro resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and groan. "No. But I wouldn't trust anyone else on this island either. Judging by the intensity of the fire, the girls Drampa is no pushover either. Maybe someone wanted to take out the competition," he said impatiently. "Now go bother someone else. Plenty of pokemon can teleport, maybe go for a swim and ask a Cloyster."

Noro is telling the truth! He doesn't seem to know what happened to Reena!

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Alakazam's mind bristled. "We do not have to answer their questions."

"I don't want to be harrassed," he grumbled privately.

Noro resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and groan. "No. But I wouldn't trust anyone else on this island either. Judging by the intensity of the fire, the girls Drampa is no pushover either. Maybe someone wanted to take out the competition," he said impatiently. "Now go bother someone else. Plenty of pokemon can teleport, maybe go for a swim and ask a Cloyster."

Gladion decided they were going a little harder on the guy than necessary. He didn’t want a fight breaking out. And really, he just felt bad for the guy. Reluctantly, he approached. Hazel followed behind, as subtly as a chimera taller than he was could.

“Hey, you guys, breathe.”

He wished Plumeria were here instead of him. She would handle this so much more easily. All he could do was imitate how he guessed she might approach it.

“You got dealt a crap hand, sorry about that. A crime where a psychic teleported someone away without touching the ground was a shit thing to have happen on an island with you and Alakazam. And I’d be just as defensive of my partner if something like this happened to her. I think we all would, or else we wouldn’t belong here. But at the same time, if something like this happened- or still happens- to you and your partner, it’d only be right for us to do our due diligence there, too. So let’s get it over with as quickly and painlessly as possible, right? The cops’ll probably ask you this later if you actually trust them, but before they start shaking you down for a plea bargain, you have anyone or anything the confirm you two were somewhere else? Were you two even together? Would make this a hell of a lot easier.”

 

[Seren]

Noro resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and groan. "No. But I wouldn't trust anyone else on this island either. Judging by the intensity of the fire, the girls Drampa is no pushover either. Maybe someone wanted to take out the competition," he said impatiently. "Now go bother someone else. Plenty of pokemon can teleport, maybe go for a swim and ask a Cloyster."

Kimiko sighed. Either this kid was really damn stubborn, or he didn't actually know anything. How did he know the fire was from Reena's drampa? That was just an assumption at this point, too, wasn't it?

She cast a glance at Wes before addressing Noro. "Alright. Fine. Thanks for your time."

“Hey, you guys, breathe.”

A voice behind them caused Kimiko to turn. A blonde boy was approaching them, followed by a pokemon she'd never seen before. It looked like something out of Frankenstein's laboratory, a bunch of various pieces of other pokemon cobbled together. She momentarily lamented not grabbing her pokedex as she'd taken off out of her room, but she had been scrambling just to get dressed at the time. Perhaps there would be time to ask about it later. Now really wasn't the time.

Kimiko listened to the boy addressing Noro. He made some good points, but she hadn't felt they were being too hard on him - in fact, she was impressed by the restraint Wes showed in not just jumping the kid. Still, though, she'd felt they'd gotten everything they were going to out of the boy and his alakazam at this point. She nodded to the newcomer in appreciation of his support.

Then she turned to Wes with a smile, although it was somewhat forced, what with their efforts yielding little result. "I'm gonna head to the Dauntless Shield," she said, hoping the namedrop meant something to him, her fist tightening around the crumpled note in her palm. She beckoned Olivia over and turned to leave.

 

[Phoenixsong]

"I know you're concerned, and you should be. But even though there's only two of us, we're still keeping an eye on things. For now, just wait until we do the individual interviews."

That was a distressingly inadequate reply. 'No, it's totally okay, we're watching him?' Seriously? On what grounds was it "okay"? What were they gonna do if something happened on the other side of the island, fucking slowdance their way over there eventually?

"Good to know," Blue said, sighing. "Very reassuring. I'll just... do that, then." Not mouthing off at this guy was a Herculean effort, but he had to keep reminding himself that he didn't want to get his own ass detained. It would be fine. It would be totally fine. Officer Jenny just needed to have two really good explanations lined up for this ever-ascending mountain of bullshit, that was all.

He cast another glance over at the big guy in the distance. Just... standing there, all distant-like. There was a tiny part of Blue that wanted to go over there and make it real damn clear that someone here was onto him, that someone would actually be watching his ass. In his head it sounded super badass. It would also get him super murdered, of course, so maybe shelve that one for a minute. Didn't really matter if security had confiscated the guy's weapon. Blue had snuck into gory post-apocalyptic movies before; he knew full well how creative anyone dressed like that could get when they were in the mood for a light slaughter.

Fine. Whatever. No use hanging around anywhere near the guy. Probably better to start heading toward that "secret meeting" behind the security office that literally everyone on their damn ship knew about. (Could anyone on this island do literally anything right? Criminy.)

Charizard was still glaring. Judging by the way his tail was blazing and his wings were tensed, he looked like he had half a mind to go over there and settle the dude's hash himself. Thankfully he was sensible enough to turn away when his trainer nudged him. Blue was pretty confident Charizard could take some Fury Route wannabe with or without a knife, but there was no way he was going to let him actually try. "C'mon, let's get outta here and go see whatever the stupid note is about." Then, assuming that didn't pile even more crap on top of Bullshit Mountain, they needed to head back to the room and make sure Gyarados knew what was up. And maybe quadruple-check how well the locks on the dormitory doors held up. No reason, just for fun.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Noro resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and groan. "No. But I wouldn't trust anyone else on this island either. Judging by the intensity of the fire, the girls Drampa is no pushover either. Maybe someone wanted to take out the competition," he said impatiently. "Now go bother someone else. Plenty of pokemon can teleport, maybe go for a swim and ask a Cloyster."

Novo growled at the not-so-veiled insult, but Wes decided he would let it slide, despite his throbbing temple begging him to do otherwise. Was he ever this obnoxious when he was that age? Gods have mercy—

“Hey, you guys, breathe.”

He gave a small start and frowned at the unexpected interruption. Who the hell was this kid? Had he been eavesdropping on their conversation? And—gods above, what sort of Pokémon was that?

“You got dealt a crap hand, sorry about that. A crime where a psychic teleported someone away without touching the ground was a shit thing to have happen on an island with you and Alakazam. And I’d be just as defensive of my partner if something like this happened to her. I think we all would, or else we wouldn’t belong here. But at the same time, if something like this happened- or still happens- to you and your partner, it’d only be right for us to do our due diligence there, too. So let’s get it over with as quickly and painlessly as possible, right? The cops’ll probably ask you this later if you actually trust them, but before they start shaking you down for a plea bargain, you have anyone or anything the confirm you two were somewhere else? Were you two even together? Would make this a hell of a lot easier.”

Wes very nearly pointed out that he could have been a whole lot rougher on the little shit, but decided at the last second that perhaps that wasn’t the most diplomatic reply. Fine. Whatever. He never was very good about approaching people, anyway. That had always been Rui’s thing.

“Well, thanks to Neo here, I can at least trust the kid is telling the truth.” Would have been a whole lot simpler if he hadn’t been so damn cagey about it…

He decided not to say that, either.

Wes side-eyed this new boy. Dressed in all black and shredded clothing, he almost looked like he could be Wes’ doppelgänger’s protégé—gods, he really didn’t want to be reminded of that guy again, he still hadn’t unpacked the whole multiverse theory that gave him a headache yesterday—but all that aside, he seemed…reasonable. Pretty mature, too. Maybe the other kid would have been more forthcoming with someone closer to his age…then again. Probably not.

He turned back to his former suspect. “All right, fine, you’re off the hook now. But a word of advice, kid—don’t be so quick to mouth off to everyone you meet. You never know when you’ll provoke someone stronger than you. Curb the smartass a little.”

Rather than wait for a reply, he turned away and signaled his Pokémon to follow him. He acknowledged the other boy—whoever he was—with a curt nod. Damn, he couldn’t help but be so curious about that Pokémon with him…he had so many questions, but now wasn’t the time.

He then thanked Kimiko with a grateful look. Perhaps she wasn’t so bad, after all. He did notice he had to call Neo more than once, though; the Espeon was busy making the weirdest chirping noises at Olivia. Wes had never heard him talk like that before…

He’d have to ask him later. He had other things to worry about. Like that weird note from this morning…one that apparently Kimiko had received, too…

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

 

[Flyg0n]

Violet bellowed out her own laugh as Windi responded in tow. "Sorry to say, but sometimes my head is just up in the clouds," she said, giggling. A grin spread across Violet's face as though she were the Weavile between the two.

Meanwhile, the actual Weavile just sighed and shook her head, but her own smile remained — the same kind of smile that one has when a pet or younger sibling does something silly that you can't help but adore.

Hazel finished taking her notes on what Windi had to say and nodded. [No problem! Thank you for your time. Stay safe out there.] She wrote out and showed the trainer, before addressing the Fearow, "And may you be spared the wrath of your trainer's puns. I know I won't be," she let out a light chuckle as she finished her Poké-speak.

She turned her head to Seb, "Got anything else, mate? Be careful, I'm sure a conversation between flying-type trainers might fly off the handle."

"Stop," Windi begged, looking like she could barely breathe from holding back laughter. "You're quacking me up." She gave the most triumphant smirk before snorting with laughter again.

"Please take me with you," Fearow begged, looking uneasily at his still grinning trainer. He buried his head in his wing. "Thanks anyway... we'll try to stay safe."

<><><>
​

Wallace marched to the beach, gripping the stick in his hand to keep himself from snapping from emotions. He was paradoxically on the brink of everything and nothing at the same time.

In his head, he practiced what he would say to everyone: Officer Jenny, Amara, Hypno, heck, even Reena if he found her by some sort of miracle. He wasn't going to screw this up. He had studied rhetoric for years; he wasn't going to let something as small as emotions or feeling physically ill get in the way of finding out what was going on.

He approached Officer Jenny and, with a deep breath and smile faker than a salesman's, he said, "Officer Jenny, do you happen to know where Amara is? I have a question I must ask her."

@Flyg0n

Officer Jenny turned away from her conversation with Bao. She looked Wallace over then nodded. "She's busy helping Mr. Montorzi but I'm sure she'd be willing to speak to you later," she added meaningfully. She smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry though. Neither me nor my partner will rest until we find Reena."

<><><>
​

Gladion decided they were going a little harder on the guy than necessary. He didn’t want a fight breaking out. And really, he just felt bad for the guy. Reluctantly, he approached. Hazel followed behind, as subtly as a chimera taller than he was could.

“Hey, you guys, breathe.”

He wished Plumeria were here instead of him. She would handle this so much more easily. All he could do was imitate how he guessed she might approach it.

“You got dealt a crap hand, sorry about that. A crime where a psychic teleported someone away without touching the ground was a shit thing to have happen on an island with you and Alakazam. And I’d be just as defensive of my partner if something like this happened to her. I think we all would, or else we wouldn’t belong here. But at the same time, if something like this happened- or still happens- to you and your partner, it’d only be right for us to do our due diligence there, too. So let’s get it over with as quickly and painlessly as possible, right? The cops’ll probably ask you this later if you actually trust them, but before they start shaking you down for a plea bargain, you have anyone or anything the confirm you two were somewhere else? Were you two even together? Would make this a hell of a lot easier.”

Kimiko sighed. Either this kid was really damn stubborn, or he didn't actually know anything. How did he know the fire was from Reena's drampa? That was just an assumption at this point, too, wasn't it?

She cast a glance at Wes before addressing Noro. "Alright. Fine. Thanks for your time."

“Well, thanks to Neo here, I can at least trust the kid is telling the truth.” Would have been a whole lot simpler if he hadn’t been so damn cagey about it…

He turned back to his former suspect. “All right, fine, you’re off the hook now. But a word of advice, kid—don’t be so quick to mouth off to everyone you meet. You never know when you’ll provoke someone stronger than you. Curb the smartass a little.”

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

Noro glanced at the new boy and his pokemon for a moment before replying. "I doubt most of us have a solid alibi. For what it's worth I was on my way to the training arena."

"They should be the ones to give an alibi."

Without another word, Noro turned and wordlessly walked away.

Alakazam lingered a few moments longer, eyeing the trainers with undisguised displeasure. The only one he didn't glare at was Gladion. At least the dark-clothed boy had a small degree of sense. His gaze settled back on Wes and Kimiko for a long moment before he followed his trainer away from the beach.

<><><>​

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

When he left his shadow on the waves, Malachai recalled why he preferred to hunt at night. One spooked one's prey by alerting them to the presence of a large creature above the surface. But his master was diurnal, and as such, so must he be.

Base creatures of flesh alone could not escape the predations of a fae being, nonetheless.

Malachai collapsed his wings, dove into the ocean, and released a blast of sonic force from his ears, followed by subtler sonar. The stunned shoal of tuna appeared in his mind as a silvery mass, more impulse than vision, and he lunged for them with the abrupt speed of a true dragon. Exquisitely performed; in his jaws, he held a prize well-deserved.

A minute later, he was crouched on the beach, gulping down his meal with satisfaction. Yes, the ocean might be unpleasantly briny, but saltwater fish were worth the effort. He rumbled with satisfaction despite himself, the bassy waves pinging off of any interesting masses within a fair distance. Including one that was most certainly a large, dense pokémon. Interesting. He'd stay put, for now.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Aggron was awake well before his trainer that morning. He knew because he had peeked back through the patio doors and saw Steven asleep, still slumped against the dorm room door amidst the scattered remains of Aggron's tantrum from the night before.

Well, he couldn't leave the room without disturbing him, so Aggron hunkered down in the garden and waited. He scowled at the flowers that danced in the morning breeze. Who were they to be so carefree? They didn't have to worry about being strong.

Strong enough to prove himself worthy. (Steven never asked him to do that.) Stronger than his brothers and sisters so he could stay with the human he cared about. (Steven never would abandon him.) Strong enough to protect his territory and his family. (Steven needed it. Steven was worth it.)

But Aggron couldn't even do that. He'd let something awful happen to Steven. He wasn't strong enough. He wasn't strong enough.

The keening whine that left his throat was ugly. Shameful. He wasn't some weak little Aron left in a cave, watching his trainer walk off into the darkness without him. He wasn't that any more. He was strong. (He'd shown the furniture that very fact last night.) But-- he glanced back at the patio doors, still no sign of his trainer emerging-- it wasn't enough.

Slowly, Aggron got to his feet and stretched, peering out through the little patio arch at the island beyond.

He was going to make sure he was strong enough.

------

The beach was as good a spot as any to find something to fight. Water was a weakness, and training against one's weaknesses was a way to get stronger.

Except as Aggron trudged down the sand, there was something else at the beach he hadn't expected to find: a dragon. And a big one at that.

He chuckled. 'Where is your crown now, Salazar?' he thought. Drake's Salamence had nothing on this dragon.

Aggron glanced around the empty beach. No humans around, and the dragon was just chowing down on some fish it had snagged from the water. Was it wild? Perfect. Then he would battle it. And he knew exactly how to piss off a dragon enough to goad it into a fight. Just interrupt it's meal.

He formed a not-so-small rock with Rock Slide and hucked it just past the dragon's head.

"Hey!" he called out. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Aggron smirked. Oh yeah, that would piss off any dragon. Time to get stronger.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Malachai felt a mass of rock fly past his skull that would most certainly have sent him reeling, if not actually knocked him out. He turned his glare on the attacking 'mon, wondering if allowing him to approach out of curiosity had been poor judgement on his own part. So, an aggron, was he? Not ideal. Malachai had a poor elemental matchup against a creature such as this; only his flame-breath stood much chance of inflicting harm.

<Surely you aren't nobly defending a non-sapient creature from an obligate carnivore,> he sent, narrowing his eyes. <If you've come to attack a stranger in anger, then challenge me honestly.>

He dropped the tuna to the sand. He'd eaten enough to slake some hunger, and he fought better without gorging himself. If he had to fight, that was.

<Name yourself, aggron. I would know my attacker.>

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

<Surely you aren't nobly defending a non-sapient creature from an obligate carnivore,> he sent, narrowing his eyes. <If you've come to attack a stranger in anger, then challenge me honestly.>

Aggron blinked. Those were... A lot of big words. Not even Metagross used that many big words, and this dragon talked just like Metagross. So, he probably wasn't wild then. But then where was his trainer?

And, what was that about an honest challenge? What did this dragon take him for? It's not like he had cold cocked him.


"Just wanted to get your attention," he said simply. "So we could talk." Yeah. Talk.

He dropped the tuna to the sand. He'd eaten enough to slake some hunger, and he fought better without gorging himself. If he had to fight, that was.

<Name yourself, aggron. I would know my attacker.>

Attacker? An attacker was someone who fought like a coward. Who got the jump on someone and-- just like whoever YOU lost to last night.

Aggron snarled out loud, his anger flaring up all over again. "I'm no attacker, and you already know my name."

He shook his head and glared at the fancy-pants dragon. "If you're gonna be like that, what's yours? Since then we won't be strangers, and then I can battle you and not be accused of playing dirty. Because I don't."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Malachai snorted irritably. An earthen brute, at first glance. But strong, and with a tight grip on his own honour. That, he liked.

<You have my attention, Aggron. I am called Malachai, and I attend this island as guardian to my master, Laura of Circhester. Do you challenge me in the service of a human?>

Malachai turned himself to fully face Aggron, and drew himself up to his fuller height. Some urges to posture lived in the hindbrain. There was no helping it.