Open Brave New World

"Senica," she finished abruptly. "No miss needed. Unless someone else has been stupid enough to get themselves injured, I was going to replenish my stores..." But she let herself trail off as the bulky Water-type came forward and started talking about a mission. While she found the trainer's apparent inability to speak for himself irritating, she could ignore that for now. This mission was far more important than any flaws the other trainers had - she could care less about those unless they interfered in keeping everyone alive. Malcolm was next to speak up, asking if it was outside the dome and rehashing his report.

"If anyone's going outside the dome, I'd like to know what the purpose of it is and our destination. If you need several skilled trainers, then it'll clearly be dangerous," she said, ignoring the looks of interest on both her Pokemon. Pronyma was the only one who wouldn't have minded hanging around the city and making antivenom - the other two seemed to always be spoiling for a fight of some sort. Speaking of Pronyma, the sun had succeeded in melting most of the ice, leaving puddles on the ground. The air wasn't exactly humid, but all the Tentacruel really needed was some form of moisture nearby. A flash of red light illuminated her form, and Arkios hissed delightedly.

"About time you came out, Pronyma!"

She waved a tentacle, turning slowly to look at the gathered trainers. "It is nice to get a breath of air..." she murmured. "But so many people at the gates mean something has happened."

"Apparently there's some important mission," Senica said, watching idly as one of the tentacles extended to absorb water from the many puddles left by the ice. "If you're taking a few with you, it would be a waste to not have someone along with some knowledge of healing..." She said it a little reluctantly, not sure if she wanted to be pulled into this - but if they didn't have a medic with them, then several of their stronger trainers would probably wind up dead somewhere, and Veilstone would be weakened dramatically by that. Even if she didn't like it, she would have to go.

Robert nodded at both that poison trainer and that one with the Abomasnow, "The mission would entail circling west, and taking back one of the cities that have overturned by the rebels. That is, Oreburgh." Jack looked at his trainer and was about to continue when Robert cut in: "According to... accounts from some of the survivors... the rebels have been using the mines of that city for... their own means. It seems reasonable that if we take the city... we cripple their reserves. Any help I could get would... be greatly appreciated."

On either side, Supay and Jack exchanged glances, and then Supay merely laughed. Both of them knew that even though the entire thing was an on-the-spot fabrication from their trainer, it was technically true. The rebels supposedly were using the mines of Oreburgh for all they were worth, and taking them back would likely weaken the rebels, at least temporarily. That was a mere... detail in the large scheme of things, of course.

All that mattered was that Robert get enough people to go along with his plan, and nobody discovered that the entire thing was a fabrication to keep everyone from getting killed at the orders of a lunatic (whether or not this lunatic was the leader of the rebellion or Maylene was of course up for discussion).
----
Angon cackled again as he saw the... thing slump down behind the Beheeyem. He didn't expect his psycho-warfare tactics to wear the thing down so quickly, but then again this thing was of a species that he'd never seen before. Perhaps the species had week minds. Still, he didn't see the harm in answering the creature's question.

"Why yes," He and his copies said simultaneously, "My companion and I are both part of the 'rebels' that seek to take the land back from humans and their followers. We hope to purge the region of those that enslave us, and those that have been enslaved and refuse to recant."

"Then... why do you strike against us?" The Beheeyem said, his voice strained from blocking the Weather Balls Ascator was currently shooting at him, "we are not humans, nor do we have any indication of being owned by humans." Angon cackled again, and the flame on his head began flaring.

"It's simple, really. You are in Solaceon, a settlement that has been known to have been abandoned since the First Day of our attacks. Over the months that we ghosts have watched the city, no wild pokemon has entered the settlement - humans and their cadre have, but they were all killed or fled from the place upon our appearance. This former human grounds... is simply put, abandoned. No pokemon dare approach here on their own accord... not unless on a human's orders.

"Of course, by wasting your time asking meaningless questions, you missed a chance to find the real me," he cackled again, "so you get to pay another penalty." At these words, a purple flare detached itself from the flame on its head, and floated towards the creature. Of course, it looked like every Angon had done this, but only one of them would inflict the burning pain of Wil-o-Wisp.

And the possibilities opened by that pain, well... Angon hoped to explore as many as he could before this freak was killed. Yes, that would certainly be something worth looking forward to.

Something about Angon's question had sparked something in Opal, a pure rage unlike anything she had felt before. She darted underground with a dig just before the flames could make any contact, resurfacing under Solaceon's daycare centre, bursting through the floor and roof.

"How dare you accuse me of siding with those humans," She yelled "After all they've done to me, you honestly think I'd want them for anything more than meat?" She would have moved to attack the Drifblim, relentlessly beating it down until it was nothing more than shreds... however her emotion got the better of her and instead she merely began to tear up "I could have been normal, I could have had a home, instead I'm stuck in a place I've never been to, constantly having to put up with starvation and idiots harassing me constantly! And you still think I'd want to help them!?"

Peter looked at the Samurott and his trainer with a look somewhere in the midst of shock and wonder. He then looked away, pondering the possibilities of this mission the man was sent on. He needed help... but three trainers beyond him? It could be 4 if that woman came along... and he realized he'd forgotten her. He turned and looked back toward the generator and gestured for her to come over when he caught sight of her. He then turned to the trainer who was assigned the task.

"Taking back Oreburgh? That's a pretty hefty task for so few of us. Though, if it's worth at least attempting, I'm in. We can't let the rebel Pokemon continue to gain the upper hand, right?" He straightened, looking at each of them with a serious expression. "It's better we try to strike then leave nothing done. My Pokemon and I are eager to help." Another nod from Reiko and a grunt of approval from Dak confirmed it.

Oreburgh City... it wasn't a place he'd ever visited, but trainers from there had challenged the Snowpoint Gym in the past. As far as Malcolm knew, it was a mining town with some revolutionary equipment dealing with Pokemon fossils. Beyond that, he couldn't judge any tactical value about the location. It wasn't very close to Veilstone at all - which was problematic.

"Do either of you have a follow-up plan?" he asked the two who had already pledged themselves into going; the one who seemed to be in charge, and the boy whose team Benuveli had shown an interest in. "Assuming that you manage to reach Oreburgh and succeed in your goal, you will still become isolated there." In other words, cut off from any chance of backup or support from Veilstone. They would be stranded, and then... expected to hold off retaliation from the rebelling Pokemon by themselves?

His face squishing into a frown, Benuveli glanced between his trainer and Peter's Pokemon, his concerns growing by the second at the prospect of a suicidal mission. Malcolm's eyes glared over the rim of his scarf and fixated on Robert with a calculating stare. He'd got one person to agree to go already... that would make two lives lost if the mission ended in failure.

"How are you planning to get there?" ... correction, more than just two lives. Neither Malcolm nor Benuveli knew how many Pokemon each trainer had in total, but it would ultimately be their fight at the end of the day. While the Reuniclus remained skeptical, his trainer was certain that any Pokemon that deigned to serve a human would be spared mercy. The status of the Sinnoh Underground was unknown... that left only two obvious routes.

Pausing to remember Sinnoh's geography, Malcolm's stare intensified. "You could travel west through Solaceon... and then into Hearthome..." oh yes - straight into enemy territory. Although, there were some intriguing ruins on the way there. Not enough to sway him, but... tempting, all the same. "... or there's the way we came, from the north? Through Celestic Town, but then... wouldn't you need to go through Mt Coronet?" Benuveli chimed in, his tone slightly more enthused by the fact that he knew the route already.

Either way was asking for trouble. And at the end of the journey, they were expected to defeat the inhabitants of an entire city?

"I hope this has all been thought through already." Malcolm groaned. "Is this really of the utmost importance?"

The more they talked about it, the less she liked it. Unsurprisingly.

"Either of those routes seem incredibly difficult. I think a greater force would be needed," Pronyma put in, intrigued by the discussion. "But gathering more trainers of skill would draw attention to the group, and make it a target of high priority." She made a thoughtful bubbling noise as she considered it. Senica appreciated her input, really - more than Arkios and Dhiren, Pronyma was the one to look to for advice. It was nice to have another viewpoint, even - or maybe especially - one a little less bound up in lives and suffering. Pronyma was interested in everything, be it the processes Senica subjected her to for antivenom, or strategy or even fortunetelling. The few times before this mess that they had been in danger, she had still been fascinated. "Of course, Veilstone would be weakened and poorly defended if so many were to leave it, so a small group sounds ideal for movement. But traversing either Mount Coronet or Hearthome would be an impossible task for so few."

"Who gave you this mission anyways? Which of the gymleaders? I don't think they'd be stupid enough to order something that would be suicidal to carry out," Senica said, arms crossed and looking speculatively over the far more talkative team. At least their trainer had said something this time around.

"Why bother with rocks?" Dhiren said, clearly dismissive. "Only humans see any value in them."

"And Larvitar," Arkios chimed in, unfazed by the Nidoking's glower. He squeezed Senica once more in a hug and dropped to the ground to properly greet his teammate, winding his tail around one tentacle carefully, so as to keep from nicking it with his blade. She smiled faintly at that, but focused on the proposed mission. It was risky - she hated risky tasks - and just how many other people and innocent Pokemon were caught outside at this point? It was safer to stay inside. If she affiliated herself with the effort, if she went with these two... if she died, there would be one less healer to care for the wounded. She wasn't prepared to become a martyr just yet - not for something that seemed so unlikely to succeed.

"I'm with my Pokemon. It doesn't seem like it would work - and even if it did, at what cost? What if they regrouped? It'd be a waste."

Robert's cautious smile slowly faded when not one, but two trainers began pointing out obvious flaws in the plan - flaws that certainly would have been much, much more glaring had Robert told them what his actual assignment was. Bad enough that I'm being sent on what is likely a suicide mission, he thought bitterly, worse that the only likely help is slowly but surely deciding that it's not worth any risk.

"Actually, yeah," Supay answered the poison trainer, Maylu- Maylene assigned us this mission, saying that it was important that we not only cripple the rebels by hitting 'em at somewhere that has vital sources, but also to find said resources and take 'em for ourselves." "She also pointed out the necessity of those resources," Jack chimed in, it is her belief - and one that I do agree with to an extent - that Veilstone will lose the war if it comes to attrition, and it seems to have come to just that."

While yet again glad that his pokemon were supporting him, that relief was washed away, replaced by a dawning horror:

What if Maylene is using this mission as a means to cut down on the mouths to feed while keeping her hands clean of the affair?
----
Angon was taken aback when the creature dove beneath the ground, and then burst onto the rooftop of one of the buildings. This lapse in concentration likely would have spelt the end for his Double Team Game, but a well-timed Weather Ball from Ascator distracted the Beheeym long enough for Angon and his doubles to float towards the building.

"It's interesting," he said with a cackle, "you have every right to join us - certainly more right than some of the scrabbling underlings back at Hearthome - yet you choose to stay... well, from what I can tell, you're unaligned. What a waste. You're wasting your time, skulking in the wilds, looking for humans when they're all holed up in that city over there."

He and his duplicates slowly rose up, still circling the creature and cackling.

"You could easily reap more rewards by joining the rebels. I have some... pull with the kingpin himself, and I'm sure he'd be more than willing to point you in the direction of whatever humans we find. I even bet that when we inevitably attack that human hive... he would give you a platoon of your own. It would certainly be better than rabbling about in this abandoned human settlement, waiting for the occasional meal to pass by, wouldn't you agree?"

Whether or not she agreed made no difference to him, of course. If she did, great; that would be one more pawn for him to control. If not, her dying screams would provide the most elegant and wonderful music.

At the very least, it would provide an interesting story for Jiongu and/or the generals when he returned from this "scouting mission."

Opal listened to every word Angon spoke... she didn't exactly think much of the rebellion, no. However, the perks of joining anyway were looking far too attractive to turn down. Not that she had much of a choice anyway...

"Well, why didn't you ask earlier?" She cooed, drying her eyes as she did. "I'll need one of them humans right away though, I haven't eaten in weeks." She gave her ribs a little poke to prove her point.

Peter lost all enthusiasm as the plan got shot down by the other two. He got a little more serious, then looked to Robert and his Pokemon as they tried to turn their thoughts around. He was slightly less sure at this point, but talking down a plan that at least had a chance of extending their survival was dangerous. If they didn't attempt and the resources were held away, they'd run out of everything and there would be no way to fight back.

He looked at Malcolm and Senica, and spoke calmly, with a much more serious tone then his earlier all-excited acceptance of the plan. "If we don't even attempt this, even with the slim chances, we have a chance of losing everything we have left. We'll be shut down from the inside and overrun from the outside if we run out of supplies," he said, shaking his head. "And that's something we can't afford."

"Indeed," Reiko spoke up. "Though I do see your dilemma with a plan that seems to lack a way to succeed, we also can't just give up on it because it's too hard when it could mean life and death for everyone else here." The Lucario opened it's eyes, which were closed until now, and gives a stern look to Malcolm and Senica. "Also, I'd say the best way is through Mount Coronet with the smallest group that can traverse safely is out best choice to take this on."

Peter looked at Reiko and nodded, then looked back at the others with a smile. He hoped for a possible change of mind, but inside he dreaded their choices. It seemed too hard to change their minds. I hope that we can get them to come, and maybe some more... this is going to be a big task... but I know it has to be done.

Glancing over at Senica as she and her Pokemon delivered their own verdict, it was becoming quickly apparent that Oreburgh was apparently useless to either side in terms of strategy. The natural resources there were of no use to Pokemon... and the city was too far away for any chance of a secure convoy route to be established. Listening to what the other two trainers had to say on the matter, there was a low chuckle from behind, and an escaped Shanter stepped nonchalantly out of his shadow.

"So neither of you deny that the mission is a foolish errand?" he said in honeyed tones, "And yet, you advocate it regardless?" Making a tut-tutting sound in the back of his throat, the Weavile lifted a claw and began to comb it through his mane of feathers, grooming himself publicly whilst continuing to voice his disapproval.

"Maylene is... young, isn't she?" Malcolm muttered, his gaze shifting dangerously between Peter and Robert. "This may be her city, respectfully. But it is her style to attack hard with brute force." Nodding in assent, Shanter sighed beside him. "Humans who tame Fighting Pokemon often grow to be combative types themselves... courageous, but not very bright." Having said this, he then glanced over at Peter and the Lucario standing beside him, smiling at them for emphasis.

"... regardless, we shall accompany you." said Malcolm at last, Shanter's smug expression turning into one of overwhelming shock.

Tapping his claws together, the dark type laughed nervously. "I beg your pardon, Malcolm?" Avoiding his own Pokemon's stare, Malcolm simply nodded once, then turned to make eye contact with Senica for a few extra seconds. Behind his shoulder, Benuveli's floating presence loomed. The cautious psychic looking even more troubled than normal at the turn events were starting to take, while Shanter's claw-clicking increased in speed and intensity.

click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click!

(Ben, are you listening in on my thoughts?) Visualising the words inside his head, the scarfed human waited patiently for a response, his blank facial expression hidden from the others. (I won't be angry if you are.)

(Um... yeah, I can hear you...) came the reply, spelled out in bold green lettering.

(Well then, I want you to start listening to them from now on too.) Taking a step forward, Malcolm reached down and placed his hand on his Weavile's shoulder. "Apologies about this, Shanter... but if this really is so important, we should probably just have a little faith." Smiling as if he really meant it, all he got in response was a suspicious stare, his Pokemon clearly unconvinced by his uncharacteristic change of support.

(This isn't really faithful, uh... just thought I should say that...) Benuveli added in anxiously. (But I'll monitor them, though I don't like doing it...)

Nodding his head, pretending that he was doing it to Shanter, Malcolm turned his back on the other two trainers so that now all eyes would be on Senica. With the exception that his eyes had another look about them... which is exactly why they were turned away in the first place.

And of course they had to point that out. Senica grimaced at the mention of the war of attrition. Veilstone was under siege, and the other forces could hunt and forage easily. If it came down to food and water, they would lose - regardless of strength or numbers, they would always have less resources than the rebel Pokemon. It was the only good reason for venturing outside, let alone attacking a fortified city. Not that it made it any less suicidal. That Maylene had ordered it was surprising - she had thought the gymleader had more sense - but it seemed legitimate. The closer cities would have been even worse choices, considering one of them was Hearthome.

The fact that they were going to lose no matter what wasn't one she really liked considering, but it was just as stupid to ignore it.

Arkios hissed, sounding envious as the Weavile clicked his claws. Pronyma and Dhiren seemed interested and apathetic, respectively - the Nidoking had turned away and was staring outside, ears twitching, while Pronyma moved a little closer, disentangling herself from Arkios. "Faith is a tenuous support for such an action," she remarked, drawing in on herself to ensure she didn't bump into anyone by accident. Arkios and Dhiren might have been immune, but humans and other Pokemon would have found her touch, even an accidental one, rather painful. "However, if you were to attempt this without a medic..." Another bubbling noise, this one quieter. It sounded a little like someone drowning.

Senica didn't need to be led into this, especially when even Malcolm was making a clear decision. "If you don't have us with you, you'll probably die on the way," she finished. "Veilstone's not so badly off that it'll perish with one less healer. It'll be harder, yes, but I'm not the only one, so nothing to worry about there. I stocked up the Mart, at least." She shrugged, tried to seem nonchalant about it. Doing crazy things wasn't generally her place, but she really had no choice. She wasn't about to let them walk out and die sooner. At least having her long would make it likely they'd get to Oreburgh.

"Finally we're doing something!" Arkios announced, sounding rather smug about an attempt to kill themselves off nobly, and there was a grunt from Dhiren.

"This is stupid."

Arkios ignored it, Pronyma undulated in what was her version of a shrug, and Senica sighed. "I'll gather my supplies, then. When would you like us to leave, and is there anyone else you want to bring along?"

Jiongu and a Slowking walked side by side on top of one of the many walls of the giant fortress. This Slowking was the same one from the meeting earlier in the day; a general for the rebels, he had taken it upon himself to give a few more... reports about the current standings of the rebels and their efforts in the war. Getting unnecessary reports from the generals was something that Jiongu was used to, especially with the Slowking, who often received updates from other Psychics scattered across the land. He tended to pretend to listen to these reports, if only to satisfy these drones of his.

"Our forces on that Northern subcontinent are encountering more resistance than they expected," the Slowking was saying, "it seems that a few of the humans on that landmass prior to the First Day have holed up somewhere on that island... some kind of chokepoint, and are preventing our forces from advancing further inland. These humans appear to have a pokemon with them that is capable of teleportation, as every time our legion moves, so do they. It's been slowing down most of our progress in the area with recruitment, and we're worried that if we teleport back to the mainland, this force will follow us back."

That last bit caught the Dragonite's attention. "Why don't they do that? It would lead these humans right back to us, and we could kill them ourselves - well, not you, but the other generals - Cathar or Riondra, maybe. Along with myself, of course." The Slowking shook his head, "Sir, you sent some of the best pokemon in our army up there. If they are having difficulties with these humans, then bringing them straight to your capital would give them a chance to cause... very significant damages. Even if you or one of the other generals could kill them, lives of your subjects would almost certainly be lost."

The Dragonite spat at that remark, as if the lives of petty footsoldiers meant anything to him. If even some of his best soldiers couldn't kill some worthless humans that weren't squirming behind a shield, what good were they?

Clearly realizing where this was going, the Slowking decided a change in subject would be fitting. "The search for Cathar's ace continues without success, sir. Cathar and his platoon moved south after the meeting this morning, presumably to continue the search. Our forces west of Coronet, meanwhile, are having little trou-"

"Why do you suppose Cathar is putting so much faith in this 'ace' of his? Does anyone besides that Bisharp know what it actually is?" This was a question that clearly caught the Slowking off guard. After a pause, he said: "I believe Cathar and Angon are actually aware of what this creature is, but Cathar is the only one that knew it had a home in this region. From what he's told me, he encountered another member of this creature's species prior to-"

"Irrelevant," Jiongu cut off again, "I don't have as much faith in Cathar's faith in this 'ace' - something he says could win the war if we found it - as you do, and certainly not as much as he does."

"Angon has-"

"Do not talk about what Angon has and hasn't done," he snarled, "that childish ghost and his beliefs in this 'ace' mean less to me than Veleek's wild opinions. Now, is there anything else that you need to report?" The Slowking shook his head, though whether or not it was actually because he had nothing to say or he was just not wanting to risk angering his leader was anyone's guess.


"Good. Send word to the Psychics on the island that they are to return home within the next seventy-two hours, preferably sooner. I, I have other matters to attend to." With that, the Dragonite took flight from the top of the wall, leaving the surprised Slowking behind.
----
Isei was worried, to be sure, when the Chandelure floated towards the rooftop and began tempting what might soon be his former ally with the idea of joining the rebels, and becoming much more well-fed in the process. That worry turned to horror when the creature actually accepted the Chandelure's offer.

Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Isei thought, blocking another Weather Ball with his hand, refuse to help a human, and I'm haunted by guilt for weeks. Try to help this... this creature, and it takes an offer from one of the monsters of Hearthome. Now might be time to cut my losses and- a sudden blast of wind interrupted his thoughts; while he had busied himself monologuing, the Drifblim had changed strategies again, this time hoping to wear him down with Ominous Wind.

"Good, good," he heard the Chandelure laugh, "now why don't you be a dear and prove your allegiance to our forces by killing that Beheeyem?" The ghost then turned to his floating companion, yelling "And you! Do something to break down his defenses faster; you're going to exhaust everything in your power trying to wear him down as it is!" A disgruntled acknowledgement was all he heard from the Drifblim before the entire city was suddenly filled with a thick purple smoke - Isei could feel the enhancements of his Calm Mind rapidly fading as the smoke washed over him.

As the Haze cleared, he realized that the move had a rather unexpected side effect: namely, that all of the Chandelure's illusory copies were gone too, leaving the original - who was, as it happened, right in front of his former ally - clear.
----
Quite honestly, Robert was surprised.

He hadn't expected that the arguments that his team put forward to win back the help of these two trainers. He'd expected this to be about as big of a trainwreck as it would have been had he told them the actual task Maylene had given him when the trainers pointed out the same flaws as the original plan.

And yet here he was, having successfully won the support of both of these trainers with the same argument Maylene had won him over with: attrition and the consequences therein. Maybe that's all this really has to come down to, he thought, swipe whatever resources we can find from Oreburgh and then get the hell out of there.

Of course, the pokemon of these trainers weren't as ready to agree. That Weavile was the most standout example of this dissent; his arrogant behavior certainly was doing nothing to earn brownie points among Robert's team. Both of the pokemon knew better than to react in an outright hostile manner, so Supay merely looked at the offending Weavile and cackled, while Jack did nothing; he didn't want to get involved with Supay's little mind games. That would be encouraging him; Arceus knows the last thing Supay needed was encouragement.

"Take all the time you need; we'll leave whenever the three of you and your teams are ready to leave," Robert said, "and there's nobody that I can remember that I'd want, so hopefully the four of us will be enough."

This could work, he thought, that cautious hope returning, if these three are as skilled as they look, we might all just make it out of this alive...

Opal mulled things over for a bit, before standing up on her hindlegs with a stubborn snort. "I don't really see why, he's not even on any side and clearly not a threat. And how do I know you weren't lying about your end of the deal?" sure it was a pathetic stall for time, but she really didn't want to actually harm the Beheeyem, she had nothing to gain from it really.

"So why don't you prove you'll actually hold up your part of the bargain and bring me some food? Food first, then services."

Arilan ducked into the shadows as silhouette passed overhead, and he looked up to see a black and red... Dragonite, it seemed. So that's Jiongu, huh? The Umbreon thought, smirking. Sure meets up in appearance to the way people talk about him around here.

He padded out and into the street of Hearthome, then stood in front of the fortress for a moment, looking up at it. It was a fairly intimidating place, but Arilan wasn't too unnerved. In the end, he gave the building a curt, nod and turned to walk away arrogantly, heading out of the city and back up the hill to his cave. He'd deal with other things later.

-----------------------------------

Peter nodded and headed for the other side of the city at a jog, his Pokémon following. He had to pick up a couple things from his home, mainly his bag, but also some extra supplies. It was good he'd stocked up, the other places in Veilstone were running out.

He got to the place he was staying, quickly ran up to his room and grabbed his things, packing everything he needed into his extra pockets and bag. He then slung the bag over his shoulder and met his Pokémon again outside. He double checked his things, then locked the place and set to walk back. He might as well take his time getting back.