Treasure Town ~ Main Square

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian was baffled. He was given weirdoes as companions. At least he recognized the depressed Necrozma. And was he trying to gather moonlight at this time of day?

"Are you trying to be a grass type? I think you ought to be one to... y'know," Cynthian asked Necrozma, half wondering why he was starting conversation.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste trotted up to Dave, inspecting him curiously.

“Are you okay? You just took quite the fall, and now you’re acting... odd. You hit your head or something?”

 

[Tanuki]

At this point, the crystal was obviously a threat. “That crystal was obviously a threat!” Zane shouted back. Then, he saw the little pooch cowering down, paws on his face.

Was he gonna act like a jerk this entire thing? Why? This couldn’t be over soon enough.

He gingerly stepped over and ruffled his claws through the pup’s fur. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe.” He made sure his voice was low and soothing as he could make it (sand on a papercut). “My name’s Zane. What’s yours?”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

A town square full of strangers. Not local strangers, but visitors as Brisa was — ugh, this place was going to be so crowded. Priority one after defeating the magikarp, find a home that was a little more out of the way. Actually, it would likely be critically important to get some reconnaissance done, and to acquaint herself with her allies and the local amenities, and secure some supplies... perhaps solitude would have to wait.

She glanced about, orienting herself, scanning for threats. The magikarp was not yet in sight, at least. There would be time to prepare.

Then she saw the zangoose hurl the poochyena at the... prismoid entity. Her comrades in arms! Oh, she was going to have to work so very hard.

There was a lot of conversation. She tried to raise the suggestion of going about collecting abandoned combat items, performing some scouting, sparring and coordination training... but couldn't bring herself to shout over the hubbub. Not sure if anyone had heard her, she lashed her tail irritably and scented for useful resources. Mostly she got the smell of fearful townsfolk and excitable newcomers.

What had she got herself into?

 

[Persephone]

Her allies were throwing other allies at The Voice now? And The Voice seemed more annoyed than anything. Strange.

Wait? Acting like a dog? It changes instincts?

Not only did she have the body of a dragon, but the mind of one too.

“OH HELL YES!”

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave jerked away at being touched. "Hey, fuck off. Here's a thought: you throw your own damn self at the threat, or a fucking rock, instead of picking up the nearest bystander. Jesus."

At the Absol's concern he shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine, just trying to deal with turning into a fucking dog and being immediately assaulted by random assholes."

 

[Tanuki]

Scared pup to pissed mutt in less than a second. Beyond dickish, too, yelling at him for no reason. “Can’t throw myself very far, now, can I, Pup?” All things considered, this was going ruff, but smoother than expected.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Being turned into a dog? Celeste tried to parse that sentence, but he wasn’t really familiar with the word “dog.” How had the Poochyena been turned into one? Was “dog” another word for “improvised projectile” or something?

Or... was his new body different from his old one. That could justify his saying he was “turned into” something.

He looked around. He didn’t see any of the fleshy bipedal things who’d been at the other place... had this Poochyena been one of those before?

Hmm... that was a reasonable theory. Now he just had to see if he was correct.

“What do you mean turned into a dog? I’m not familiar with the term.”

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio appeared in Treasure Town in a flash. As expected, she wasn't in her old body anymore, but instead, was back as a Riolu. Changing forms wasn't going to stop her from being full of piss and vinegar. In fact, she felt young again, and not the 20-something kind of young where everybody hated their life. The 'you have so much ahead of you' kind of young. She flexed her left arm: all back to normal! She didn't have to feel that pain, that lingering dread of having something so unnatural grafted onto her.

But never mind that. Now she was with everyone else, it was time to mingle, particularly with the new Deino on the block. "Hey, Cuicatl! You're the only human I've seen so far that likes being turned into a mon."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave ignored the Zangoose, whom he had more or less written off as too dumb to live by now. "A dog. As in, a dog Pokémon. Canines. Share a common ancestor. Bitey, go woof, et cetera."

 

[Persephone]

She turned towards the new voice. It was almost familiar. But where—a flood of memories hit her all at once.

“Hi! Are you the lucario I had babysit Pixie a while back! And I’m a dragon now! That’s much better than being human!”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Considering the premise behind our gathering here, I think we could stand to be more focused," was what Cynthian wanted to say, but the words were stuck in his throat. Getting people in line was never something he was cut out for. Maybe they'd stop being so noisy if he waited long enough.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Yeah, Pixie was a hoot, alright. And well, I dunno about your history with dragons, but going by your reaction, it's like you found Arceus on a piece of toast this morning."

 

[Persephone]

“That’s one way to talk about Pixie. She’s not here now, which sucks. But I think I heard another vulpix? Not here yet. But that’s fun! She can screm at the magikarp. Vulpix are very good at screms.”

 

[Fusion]

"Wait, what's going on? I was too busy rooting for that big fluffy dude to throw that yapping pup," Litwick snickered. "Do all of you already know each other? That'll probably help us not bumble around like idiots."

"Actually, it might be too late for that..."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot looked around the group, recognizing some from the last truth or dare session, while others were complete strangers to him. He eventually noticed Necrozma, who seemed to be doing... something.

"Necrozma...?" the Cranidos asked as he hesitantly approached him. "Are you doing alright?"

 

[Tanuki]

Zane realized the pooch had shrugged him off and decided to respect his boundaries. “Yeah, woof woof. C’mon, boy, speak!” he half-grumbled.

Meanwhile, there were so many new faces to avoid getting acquainted to. Temporary mission, temporary bonds. The more things change, the more they stay the same. “Citrus Smoke send you all here, too?” He really needed to get better at his mean-spirited epithets if he wanted to make friends. “I’m Zane.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"He's harnessing the burning power and energy of the evening sun," Cynthian replied to Cabot with a huh.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa prowled up alongside the stifled roselia and sat on her haunches. She realised that she wasn't that much larger than Cynthian now. They would all be on even ground with each other save for boldness of character and quickness of mind. They would surely need plenty of that.

"I never know what to say either," she told him, quietly. "How are you... takin' all of this, so far?"

There sure was a lotta conversation.

 

[Fusion]

"So Necrozma's a plant? That's the weirdest plant I've ever seen. A lot more angsty and jagged than the ones back home."