Blaguarro Town Blaguarro Outskirts

[Sinderella]

Odette took her time catching her breath. She didn't bother yelling at Ridley for calling out to it, because then she'd look even more crazy than she already did. Besides, as much as they fucking hurt, those pins majorly grazed her from the range at which they were shot at, and she'd been halfway down. There was no way any of it was getting up to the top.

She pushed herself up to a sitting position, roving her hands over the cut she received on her cheek. Touching it only got her a jolting burn, and she could feel the blood seeping out of the shallow wound. Further inspection of everywhere else she'd been hit proved the same thing. However, nothing looked deep enough for alarm. But gods did they hurt. What the hell were steel types even good for if not for stonewalling everything launched at them?

Pulling her sleeves off her arms, she used one as a makeshift bandage and tied it tightly around the cuts on her shoulder, then bunched the other one up and used it as a cloth for the one on her face. At best she could get the stains out with a little scrubbing and at worst she'd need to buy new ones. Hardly a pressing issue in the face of the shitty bug likely hissing expletives in their direction.

She took a moment to examine the pin she'd grabbed--while she was no bug trainer herself, she'd seen Guzma practice the move with his younger team member enough to recognize what it had come from: Pin Missile. The resulting barbs certainly didn't give off the same shadowy residue the one she was holding was, but the realization only served to piss her off even more. Fuck the steel typing; as a dual fairy type a stupid bug pin shouldn't have done jack shit to her. Yet her skin burned like a motherfucker under the lasting effects of her new cuts.

But, she'd have plenty of time to stare at the pin she'd collected in a bit. After listening to the way the skorupi responded to Ridley, she crawled her way toward the top of the ladder and poked her head around the perch barrier to watch it again. The wild hiss and weirdly hard hitting attacks aside, from her new vantage point, the skorupi looked more...pitiful than anything. The way it writhed and jerked around at the very edge of the light almost made Odette feel bad for it. But the searing ache in her face reminded her why she wouldn't hesitate to behead it if she had the means to. Bastard ass shitbug.

But...this was good. As long as it sat there throwing a toddler-tantrum over not being able to maim them, that meant it couldn't, well...maim them. Something about that inability was clearly causing it to go bonkers.

"I think..." she said in a soft yet heavy breath, "we just watch it for now. And hope none of his old buddies from the bar show up. See what happens as we get closer to sunrise."

There, she held up the pin again, holding it up to get a better look at it. "If you're still there, Cloudy, can you get anything from this thing I'm holding?"

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Still on her perch on the ledge, Kimiko flinched as the skorupi hissed up at Ridley's voice. "Does that answer your question?" Kimiko said deadpan.

"I think..." she said in a soft yet heavy breath, "we just watch it for now. And hope none of his old buddies from the bar show up. See what happens as we get closer to sunrise."

Buddies from the bar...? Was that some kind of joke referring to other shadow pokemon showing up?

For the moment, the skorupi remained the only threat, so for now, its buddies were not an immediate problem. Thankfully, panic aside, Odette didn't look too bad. Few bloody scrapes... which was actually pretty alarming, when Kimiko stopped to think about it. Must be something about the skorupi's shadow aura...

Kimiko briefly eyed the barb that Odette was holding up, then back down at the bug, and the mild realization started to sink in. If it couldn't reach them...

"Shouldn't we try to drive it away?" she said quietly, a conscious effort put towards keeping her voice calm and level. "It can't reach us up here, but I bet I can hit it. Probably won't hurt it a lot, but we don't really need to, do we? Or maybe I can get closer and put it to sleep..." Gods, was she actually contemplating taking this thing on by herself? Somewhere in the back of her mind, a nagging voice that wasn't The Voice, told her she was just as crazy as the cleffa.

Anticipating the rightly deserved judgmental looks she expected to get, she elaborated. "I mean, what do we do if we leave it alone and it decides to wander into the town? Aren't we supposed to prevent that? Or warn someone?" She paused, as another thought occurred to her. "Are you hoping it'll just convulse in place there all night so we can try to track where it disappears to when the sun rises?"

What was to stop it from just digging into the sand to get away from the sunlight? And it was a pretty big 'what if' to assume the skorupi would just noisily writhe there for the next several hours. But Kimiko didn't voice these thoughts, instead opting to hear what Odette was planning.

 

[Sinderella]

Now that Odette was feeling like she was in a better state of mind, the look she gave Kimiko was a perplexed one. It even had a dash of anger within it.

“Bro, are you—“ she started to say, but she cut herself off to listen to Kimiko speak more. By the sinvy was done talking, Odette looked like she was biting back a few choice words. After a few seconds of low-brow glaring and a couple of timed blinks, she exhaled deeply.

“You know…” she began. “Scaling the side of a hundred-foot watchtower and subsequently getting shot at by shadowy missile barbs," she held the one she had up for good measure, "really did wonders in clearing up my stupidity sinuses." She inhaled a sharp breath for emphasis. "So, allow me to return the favor, and let's take a hard look at the facts here."

She angled her body to face Kimiko, her expression stern. The stem of her jaws twitched relentlessly. "First of all, that thing is cracked out of its fucking mind. I don't know what on, but it's so obvious it's not right. That said, it shot at me and barely missed. On crack. You're a normal fucking snivy; what the hell makes you think any of your attacks are gonna hit it from up here? Are you gonna try to go halfway back down the ladder to see if you can get a hit off? Shit, are you insinuating going all the way down?" She gestured to the ladder. "Girl, think about it. You're a fucking grass type. I'm steel-fairy. These things," she held the pin up, "should have bounced off my fucking back. If that were you, you'd be fucked. With a capital F-U-C-K-E-D. And don't even get me started if you were down on the ground; it would go hard fucking sicko mode on you, and gods, you'd likely be as good as dead. Maybe not quite dead, but damn near close to it."

There, she sent Kimiko a derisive glare. "Oh, and before I forget, yes. It's a bug type. Skorupi are bug types. Since you want to throw out your ghost type xenophobia, I figured I'd just let you in on that little secret. Bug. Type."

 

[Hap]

"Does that answer your question?" Kimiko said deadpan.

"Literally yes," Ridley said, equally flat. "Now we know something we didn't before. The pair of you shut up for a moment. We can argue later." Sure, okay, Kimiko hated ghost-types; he could deal with that later. Right now he was focused on the skorupi, skittering and writhing just beyond the tower's light. Shit, why did it have to be light the things were afraid of? With his night vision hindered like this Ridley couldn't make out any clear details.

He continued, "If either of you tries to fight this thing I'm perfectly fine with leaving you for dead. There were six of us in the wagon, and the Witching Beast tore all of us to shreds. I'm the only one who's met one of these things before, and I'm saying I don't favour our chances here."

It had killed their driver. That hadn't particularly bothered Ridley at the time. He'd seen dead pokemon before; it didn't mean anything compared with seeing people he knew - people he sort of liked - getting hurt.

But the rattata had been a person too, hadn't he? A shitty person, to be sure, but still a person. He'd died. He'd seen dead pokemon before, but never a dead person. Did Ridley not care about his death because he was used to there being a distinction between pokemon and person, or just because the rattata hadn't been anyone he'd known? He didn't want to think about that.

"I don't think it's a person," he said absently. "I mean, I don't think it was ever a person. So if it is related to Terminal Two -" If, if, if; it was always if with these matters. How could any of them be sure of anything, right now? "- then whatever they wanted people for, it was unrelated to this. That's another new thing we know. New thing number three: the light-aversion. No matter how much it wants to hurt us, it doesn't want to step into the light. That might be useful in future."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"If you're still there, Cloudy, can you get anything from this thing I'm holding?"

Hang on...​

"Shouldn't we try to drive it away? It can't reach us up here, but I bet I can hit it. Probably won't hurt it a lot, but we don't really need to, do we? Or maybe I can get closer and put it to sleep..."

No!! Do NOT attack it!!
​

If you fight that skorupi, it will most certainly retaliate. It craves battle, but it does not currently expect that you can or will fight back. If you give it a reason to think that you can sate its need for battle, it may not cower in the darkness any longer...
​

Please show the UTMOST CAUTION.

I'm steel-fairy. These things," she held the pin up, "should have bounced off my fucking back.

This stinger... It has the same imploded Aura signature as the skorupi itself.

It was part of an attack that used Shadow-type energy.​

Your typing cannot protect you from such an attack.​

 

[Sinderella]

She gestured wildly to Ridley. "The hell makes you think I had any interest in fighting it? I went down to get a better look, not to throw shit at it," she hissed. "Don't need to tell me twice that taking that thing on is the definition of asinine."

She fell quiet as she listened to him speak, and after a while, she shook her head. "You can't be so certain that it's definitely unrelated. This might be a wild 'mon, I don't know about the charmeleon yet, but who's to say they aren't collecting a huge sample size of both wild and civilized 'mon to do this to? There was something I heard about experimentation, and if I'm on the right track, then I could guess that if they're conducting experiments at Terminal Two, they could be resulting in that lunacy," she said as she pointed down to the skorupi. "And if it's that important to the assholes doing it, maybe they want to see how it affects wildings and not. There's not enough evidence to support that this is in fact related to Terminal Two, no, but there's also not enough to write it off as just a thing happening solely with wild 'mon.

"You're right about the light, though. The thing isn't going past it. Which means there's no way it's going into town; look how lit up it is from here." She gestured to the skyline. "Besides, it seems to have its bloodlust for us on the brain, so that should hopefully keep it in place." Definitely something to note in the future. With a huff, she began to muse to herself. "A charmeleon with a fire tail that didn't give off light and a skorupi unfathomably afraid to walk into a circle of light. We might have just found the pieces to what these things are weak to."

The Cloud couldn't have popped up at a better time. If she couldn't convince Kimiko that hitting the skorupi was a bad idea, then maybe it could. Still, she began to examine her souvenir again. While it had come at the expense of her skin, it might have been worth it. "And at least we have some tangible proof of them now."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"So, allow me to return the favor, and let's take a hard look at the facts here."

Kimiko felt herself visibly withering under Odette's rant. She could tell it was well-meaning, but that didn't stop the sting.

She had a few replies - 'magical leaf should still reach it' or 'I wasn't gonna go all the way down' or 'yes I know what a bug type is, the charmeleon was fire-type, what of it' - but she voiced none of these things. Each time she started to, they sounded like feeble arguments even in her own head. She couldn't even muster up the energy to respond to the ghost-type defense.

And then Ridley decided to chime in, and Kimiko had to say something, not just stand there looking like a sad, whiny child getting chewed out by their parent. She could feel herself shaking, but she wasn't sure what the cause of that was anymore.

"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt by that thing, okay?" she replied half-heartedly, but her voice picked up a bit as she continued. "You think I don't recognize how hard it had to have hit you to cause even that slight bleeding? You think I don't understand the significance there? I know it's dangerous, but I'm not stupid, I..."

No!! Do NOT attack it!!

She trailed off, only for a moment to try to gather her thoughts, and even the fucking Voice took an opportunity to weigh in. It was one thing to try to defend her point of view from Odette and Ridley, to try and make them understand where she was coming from, but for some reason, hearing even their omnipresent ally tell her off hit different.

Kimiko closed her eyes, let out a very shaky breath, and spoke with a very shaky, quiet voice. "Okay! Okay, then... then what do we do? Just leave it there?"

I don't know about the charmeleon yet, but who's to say they aren't collecting a huge sample size of both wild and civilized 'mon to do this to?

She listened to Odette's theory in silence, then; "I agree... No reason to assume they're not using both wild and civilized 'mon as test subjects, seeing how the two react, comparing the two results. They've been trying to hide the fact that civilized 'mon have been going missing, but it's not like anyone would notice wild 'mon going missing, so of course no one would be reporting that."

With that done, Kimiko turned to stare down at the convulsing bug again. It still hadn't moved, which admittedly, Kimiko found odd. She doubted it would sit there all night, even if nothing else came along on the ground to attract it's attention. But if they couldn't fight it, they really had no other course of action here, did they?

 

[Inkedust]

In the midst of their arguing, Skorupi continued to chitter and writhe. It indeed, seemed dead-set on the three pokémon up the tower and would likely remain that way until daylight would force its retreat. The three could take consolation in the fact that this meant that it wasn't going to be attacking anyone else tonight.

Beyond the skorupi, well into the darkness, there was a distant rumbling.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette began to massage her temple with her free hand. "Right now, we're as good as trapped up here until something with wings comes around. In the meantime, we're in an excellent position to do some good, old-fashioned, quiet field research. Watch it, see what it does, and note it."

Again, her eyes moved back to the bug, and it was a little while before she spoke again. "You know? Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Because the smart thing for us to have done would be to set up a fucking signal with Anite or something. Not that I know what the fuck she would do here either, but—“

However, as she said that, she got an idea.

Hey Cloudy. Can you pass on a message to whoever else is in town with us?

She stopped her thought upon catching ear of the rumbling. She stiffened, eyes wide as they tried to pick up on anything else out in the darkness.

Whatever it was, it sounded far, far bigger than the skorupi.

“Moot. I’m shutting my mouth now,” she murmured. Clawing into the wood boards of the perch floor, she held her breath.

And make it snappy, because I think we have company. Tell them the night watch crew is cornered on the tower by a beast skorupi and something big is probably getting close. We’re not keen on engaging, but….fuck, something is rumbling out there.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

The skorupi simply continued to to squirm in apparent agony. Kimiko wasn't sure what more they'd gleam from observing it at this distance without interacting with it in some way, but she kept quiet. Still, something about watching the bug wiggling around unsettled her. It looked like it was in pain. Observing it for research's sake was one thing, but Kimiko wasn't really in the mood to watch the skorupi suffer, too.

Because the smart thing for us to have done would be to set up a fucking signal with Anite or something.

Well, that explained why Kimiko hadn't been able to remember their signal earlier. It hadn't just been heat of the moment, they'd never been given one. But if neither of the others had been told either... "What the fuck is the point of a watchtower if they notice a problem but can't tell anyone?" she muttered under her breath.

It had probably been an honest oversight - the previous guards could fly, after all. They wouldn't need a signal if they could just leave. She hoped that oversight wasn't about to cost them. The skorupi didn't seem to be able to climb the tower or anything...

Beyond the skorupi, well into the darkness, there was a distant rumbling.

The sound caused Kimiko, already on edge, to jump. "Please be thunder," she whispered to herself, knowing it wasn't thunder.

Odette seemed to already be scanning the horizon - she'd heard it, too. She'd also spotted the skorupi before either Ridley or herself, so Kimiko left her to look for the source of the rumbling, instead keeping her focus on the skorupi and it's reaction, if it had any.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Hey Cloudy. Can you pass on a message to whoever else is in town with us?

And make it snappy, because I think we have company. Tell them the night watch crew is cornered on the tower by a beast skorupi and something big is probably getting close. We’re not keen on engaging, but….fuck, something is rumbling out there.

Alright...! I will see if I can reach out to any of them!

Do not provoke the Shadow pokémon!...​

 

[Inkedust]

The rumbling slowly faded away before the night fell silent save for the skorupi's persistent hisses and chitters. Whatever it was seemed to have just been passing through.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette breathed a sigh of relief as she listened to the rumbling fade off into the night. It never got close, and nothing reared. Thank the gods.

However, that didn't ease her tenseness. Whatever that was was still out there. And they didn't know what it was for sure.

But, at least it was leaving them alone for now.

Cloudy, she thought. I don't know who you alerted, but let them know that the rumbling faded. Skorupi is still here, but it's not getting close due to the light on the tower. For now, we seem to be okay...

She rolled the shoulder that had been cut, cringing through the searing pain. She had half a mind to ask it to tell someone to bring her an oran berry or something but decided she didn't want to tell anybody it'd attacked her until she absolutely had to, and this was not the time. She could wait it out. The cuts didn't hurt that badly.

She mindlessly patted against her cheek and flinched at the sting it sent through her nerves.

Okay, so maybe she was just telling herself that.

 

[Inkedust]

At the sound of something else rapidly approaching from the town, skorupi snarled and burrowed itself into the ground, jumping away from the light. Looking towards the source, a dodrio was running right towards the tower a bright lantern hanging from their centre-neck. Then, in one, two then three bounds, they had scaled the watchtower, eyeing the group of three. "You lot still in one piece?" the left head asked.

"You lot should head back, you won't get attacked on the way if you don't loiter. The beast that was watching you has run off now, the light from this lantern scared it off. I'll take it from here," added the right. The centre head was watching the outskirts vigilantly.

"Oh and be sure to meet up with your rockruff friend on the way. He was chasing his tail over his worry for you lot."

<><><>​

 

[Inkedust]

Moltres had flown west, towards the watchtower she had wrecked several days ago. There was no large and bombastic entrance, just a landing in a nearby, rocky clearing where she folded her wings to stare at the railway. She was waiting, it was clear that she wanted an audience for this, fight or no fight. She would not have to wait for long, with both Mhynt and Dave on her tail and their summons across the Wayfarer communications, she would have the pleasure of spreading chaos towards multiple Wayfarers, not just the two she had just contended with.

"Tell me," she said, eyeing the gathering Wayfarers like a child watching an anthill. "Why I should leave these people alone. Why I should leave that railway intact." She paced around the clearing, not moving to attack yet - genuinely interested in hearing what the other Wayfarers had to say. "Is it because you care and wish to stand up for the weak, or only because you want to protect those in power?"

Moltres is mischievous. She seems more interested in using trickery and underhanded tactics to wear down her foes over an all out offence...

 

[Namohysip]

"It's because you're a blight," Mhynt said flatly, drawing her Leaf Blade again to shine it in Moltres' general direction. She glanced at the others. There had been some resistance to killing this one... but she wondered what others would propose once they saw her up close. Maybe they would see something she didn't. But so far? This was a feral begging to be put down. A blight on society. And when ferals get too bold and start entering civil areas... they are dealt with for the sake of both societies.

"We were sent here to solve some of the world's ongoing, high-level problems. You are disrupting that. And for no reason, no less. As a Saint, you are... a representative of a world's dying pantheon. A blemish on what should be the legacy of protectors. It's as I said before: You pretty up your feral actions with words any teenager would come up with after one course in Philosophy.

"We expect better of a Saint. Where I come from, gods who interact with mortals do so as a form of service. Those who seek chaos or selfish worship are dealt with." Mhynt pointed her blade directly at Moltres, despite the distance.

"So, to answer your question, little bird... Out of duty, I'm here to clip your wings."

 

[Butterfree]

"Where the fuck are you getting 'protect those in power'?" Dave growled. "Did you miss the bit where we beat up the mayor of Frontier Town?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade's heart was pounding, her paws clutching her bag as she rushed to catch up with the others.

A Legendary, here, and she was rushing to meet them, in an encounter that would no doubt lead to a battle. It felt familiar and insane at the same time. She didn't have the slightest clue what she was supposed to do, but she had to know what the legends were like here and why they were causing problems.

Maybe... maybe she could help.

(Just like she'd 'helped' back home, when the legends were causing problems there?)

 

[Sinderella]

Odette had merely heard whispers of the shit that Moltres had been up to. She’d been far too caught up in her own head (and her own reservations, let’s be real) to face another Wrathful legendary, but now it seemed there was no choice. After hearing the conversation Mhynt and Dave had had with her, she decided she wasn’t going to ignore this altercation. Especially considering of all the Wayfarers, she’d reluctantly offer herself up as being the closest, in, well, ideology to Moltres. Anger—no, Wrath—was a powerful thing. And if there was somebody who knew that for certain it was her.

But, fighting Wrath with Wrath…it didn’t feel like the most peaceful matchup. But, Moltres wanted a fight. So, she was going to assist her fellow Wayfarers in bringing one over.

And besides, being an absolute cunt had worked for leveling with Odile. So perhaps she had that going for her, provided it didn’t royally backfire in this case. Only one way to find out.
“Neither,” she said cooly. “Secret answer C, because you’re going to get your feathery ass handed to you if you don’t cut the shit, and that’s a guarantee.”

Jawile, who’d been unchained at some point rustled to life. ̷“̸A̷c̴t̸u̴a̵l̶l̸y̵,̸ ̶e̷v̸e̴n̸ ̷i̶f̴ ̸y̵o̵u̴ ̶f̸l̸e̷w̶ ̴o̵f̵f̷ ̴r̴i̷g̵h̴t̴ ̴f̴u̷c̴k̶i̵n̶g̸ ̸n̷o̵w̶,̷ ̷I̶’̴d̷ ̷s̸t̸i̵l̴l̶ ̴c̵h̴a̸s̵e̷ ̴y̵o̵u̴ ̸d̸o̶w̵n̴ ̷w̶i̷t̵h̵ ̵t̵h̴e̶ ̵i̵n̵t̷e̴n̴t̶ ̸t̷o̶ ̵l̶o̵d̵g̴e̸ ̶a̷n̷ ̶i̴r̸o̸n̸ ̷t̵h̴o̴r̴n̵ ̴i̶n̸ ̷y̸o̴u̴r̴ ̸c̴l̷o̵a̸c̴a̶.̴”̴ ̴

Odette sighed, but didn’t make any moves to silence the jaws. “I hate things that waste my time—they piss me off. And like to deal with them accordingly. Surely, you of all ‘mon should understand.”

 

[Cresselia92]

As soon as Silver heard Mhynt’s through Betel’s network, he hurriedly gathered anything he thought could be useful and rushed toward the railroad, his feet as light as feathers.

So, a freaking Moltres reached the stupid conclusion that things were going way too smoothly for everyone and decided it was a good idea to… what, pull an Escarpa tactic by blowing up trains and stations and crap just because they felt like doing it? What a certified arsehole!

Granted, if that Moltres was anything like the Moltres in Kanto and had the power to awaken a dormant volcano and raze an entire island… Gods, literally! That wasn’t gonna be a walk in the park, no doubt about that.

As he got closer to the gathering, he heard his teammates rebuking Moltres's inquiries, and Silver couldn't help but glance at the legendary...

Cold sweat ran down his fur instantly. Those black feathers, and the violent flames, and the morbid sneer and curiosity reflected in her beak and voice! Arlo…? Why does she behave and talk like—

Initial shock made way to deafening spite. Feeling his body burning and his claws tingling with fresh, nervine venom, Silver discarded any sense of self-preservation to verbally tear into the dark bird.

“Power… Ha! How funny you mention that! If there’s anyone who doesn’t deserve to decide what they or others should do with the strong or the weak, it’s someone who believes they can do whatever they want with their power just because they can!” He glared at the bird. “And I’m looking at such a daft right now…”