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Open Brave New World

As Isei floated over the space where a bridge used to be, he was doing a little math in his head. Specifically, how long it would take him to go from Here to Solaceon to the land near Veilstone to the land near Hearthome - the typical route for his day. He knew the time it would take like the back of his own hand, but the Beheeyem always found it somewhat comforting to remind himself of his timeframe, just so he could plan out how long to spend in each area, and how many teleports he would be using today.

In this case, he felt the need to spend a lot more time in Solaceon than he did before. There was something about the place on his last visit that merely... unsettled him. He felt that it required further probing. To that end, he flashed the three dots on his hands in rapid succession, each lighting up and going out faster than the one before it.

"Teleport," he whispered as all the lights flashed simultaneously. There was a glare that split the fog for the briefest of moments, and then the Beheeyem was gone. Had anyone been in Solaceon, they would have been surprised to see that same Beheeyem appear in the middle of the abandoned town. He appeared, eyes closed, for he was yet again scanning the place with his mind, searching for something.

Anything.
----
Lost Tower was not too far from Hearthome, so Angon, at top speed, reached the graveyard in not too much time. Already planning his movements, the Chandelure's musings were interrupted by a bout of cackling the moment he entered the structure.

"Yo, Angon!" The voice belonged to a Banette, which phased through the ceiling, "How goes your service to that lugheaded dragon?"

Angon chuckled slightly. "Just fine, Belfie. Who else is here and not experimenting back at the fort?" The Banette paused for a moment, cackled, and said: "Right now, the main ones are just me, Ungur, Ascator, Witaka, and... Cirul."

Angon's flames expanded slightly. "I need you to deliver all of them a message: Tell them to begin thoroughly searching the entire eastern sector - everything from the swamp to the south to that dismal village up further north. Furthermore, I don't want them causing any damage unless they're attacked first - they must be on their absolute best behavior when searching the land."

Belfie cackled again. "I'd say asking that of any of us - especially Ascator - might be asking a little much of us, Angon. Why, oh why do you want us to not do what we do best on today's assignme-" his question was cut off as a jet of purple flame shot right over his head. Angon's eyes were filled with even more of a deathly glare than usual.

"Let me spell it out for you: Cathar's platoon - which I last assigned to search the eastern sector of this region - has located the residence of the Phantasm," Belfie's eyes widened at that last word, but the Chandelure paid it no heed. "I need you and the others to fan out and find its exact lair while I accompany Jiongu on a mission of significantly less importance. As I cannot be in two places at once, I'm going to trust you and the other ghosts to successfully find the place. You just need to find it; upon my return, I will take care of the rest of the mission. Do you understand?" Belfie nodded, somewhat meekly.

"Good, then I'll make one more thing clear:" Angon's tone shifted to one that made the Banette repress a shudder, "If any of you screw this up; if even one of you ruins what is likely the only chance we'll get at finding the Phantasm, I will kill all five of you, in the slowest and most painful ways I can think of for ghosts Again, do you understand?" Belfie nodded again, and the meekness was even more prominent."

"Excellent," Angon said, the deadly tone leaving his voice, "Spread the word to the others. Actually, strike that - tell Ascator that he needs to see me. Once he and I have left the tower, you can tell the others of the mission." Belfie frowned. "Are you sure you want to be alone with Ascator when you're telling him about a mission where he can't cause wanton destruction?"

Angon's tendrils flicked up in a shrug. "I think Ascator is more inclined to listen to me than he would to you about a mission where he can't cause wanton destruction." Belfie cackled. "Touche," he laughed, and then floated upwards through the ceiling.

The flames on Angon's tendrils flickered slowly and calmly - it was the closest the Chandelure could come to express the fact that he was satisfied. The pieces were being set down rather nicely; all he had to do was convince the more rowdy of his ghosts to do what he needed, and then he could continue on with the rest of his plans.
 
Opal hadn't seen the Beheeyem teleport in, as she was too busy searching each and every house, her impatience and hunger growing with each one. THere wasn't a single human, Pokemon or anything to eat. It wasn't until she left the day care centre that she noticed the strange life form above.

It didn't exactly look appetising, at all, however at this point Opal wasn't in the mood to care. Right now, any meat would do. She slunk around, pretending to ignore it so she could prepare to strike.
 
Isei at first was annoyed in that he once again couldn't find a single source of life. Nothing. Yet again, it was as if the entire town had just... vanished into thin air after the attack. He couldn't even sense the presence of something that might have died - all he could find was an unending emptine-

Wait, the Beheeym stopped moving as he felt something he hadn't sensed at all since he'd started scanning the town: life. There was something here; something alive. Isei closed his eyes as he focused his psychic sense on the life-form, and was thoroughly disappointed when he sensed that it was not only not a human, but it was something that he couldn't even recognize. All he could sense from it was... hostility. This was conflicting. On one hand, the fact that it was hostile meant that it probably wasn't behind Isei to play a game of "Guess who?"

On the other hand, there was always the distinct possibility that this creature had some kind of idea of this town's fate Unlikely, Isei thought, the yellow dots on his hands pulsing, but I must pursue whatever leads that present themselves to me.

With that, he concentrated, and a small clear wall materialized around him for the briefest of moments, and then disappeared from sight. One that wasn't observant would dismiss it as a trick of the light, but if they were to engage... well, Reflect did wonders for blocking direct attacks. Another pulse, this from the green dot, and another clear wall materialized around him for an instant before disappearing from view.

There, he thought with satisfaction, at the very least, should this creature decide to engage, both of my defenses will prevent it from doing any lethal damage... just in case...
----
Robert, Jack, and Supay listened as the sounds of battle grew quieter and quieter. After a moment, none of the three could hear anything at all. "Well, that was anticlimactic," Supay grumbled, "I wanted the threat to the gate to be a little more significant ... maybe have us engage whatever it was that was fighting out there." Jack looked at him, eyes narrowed and a snarl forming on his face. "What? Am I not allowed to joke about everything you hold near and dear being threatened? Come on, Jackie - give me something to have a little fun with!" The Samurott said nothing to the Cofagrigus, merely turning to Robert and saying: "It seems that whatever threat that might have affected the gate is passed, so now we can go to Maylene, correct?"

Robert nodded. "We should probably tell her of the disturbance near here when we meet her; who knows what that could have been caused by, and if it might happen again..."

"I am sure that the others at the gate can take care of the aftermath," Jack noted as all three began walking away from the gate and towards the gym, "That trainer had a Reuniclus with him; you know how strong those creatures are." Supay raised an ethereal hand. "I don't," he said, barely able to hold back chuckles. "You do not have to know it; Robert knows, and that is all that's important for the task at hand." Supay laughed. "If you say so, Jackie," and floated to keep pace with his trainer and teammate.
 
(I just realized that I can't continue with two of my characters because Coloursfall and Ulqi-chan haven't posted in a while. Kind of awkward.)

Arilan sighed, sitting in this dark alley between a building and the fortress was getting him nowhere, and he had somewhere he'd wanted to go. He shot quickly aross in front of the fortress, avoiding the other Pokemon around him, and went out another gate to the city. He slowed and padded along the dirt road, lost in thought.

He soon neared his destination, the graveyard. He picked a wild-flower from near the edge and paced through the graves. He placed the flower on an unmarked, probably unused grave, and almost broke down there. He snarled, both in anger and in sadness, and thought to himself, Why, why... we did NOTHING to the humans, but then they instigate, capturing and poaching... they killed my parents! He goes from a simple snarl to an enraged growling. I swear, by the whole essence of my being, I will get revenge... on all humanity... He stops for a moment. Of course, I can't work alone, and I don't have a plan... and that's why I'll follow this Jiongu... he seems to know what he wants and how to do it. He places a paw into the soft dirt of the graveyard, at the grave, and leaves a print before padding out toward the road, stopping to sigh and look around.
 
Quickly enough, the new trainer on the scene withdrew his fast-looking fire type Pokemon, and behind Malcolm there was a barely concealed shudder of relief from Yulla. Who, polite though she was, couldn't help but be wary in the presence of a creature with such overwhelming elemental dominance.

The creature he sent out instead was an unusual one. However, it looked bulky and slow... both very reassuring traits considering what he had in store with Benuveli. Whatever manner of Pokemon it was - it would do fine as long as it was lacking in speed to begin with. The medic, Senica - was somewhat less compliant with his suggestion however. His mouth curving downwards into a frown, he reached up and squeezed the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb, leaning against Yulla.

"Who gave you permission to come along?" he shot back, glaring. "You're medical staff. That makes you less expendable." As the sounds of fighting from somewhere outside the gate reached them, his expression grew more troubled. Hovering behind him, Benuveli the Reuniclus seemed to shudder in sympathy. "Arguing is just wasting time. If you don't trust my suggestions, then you can just let me handle this. I'm perfectly capable without you." Turning his back on her abruptly, Malcolm gave the floating orb of quivering jelly a stiff nod, which was returned with hesitation.

"Trick Room... right? Do we really-" again, Malcolm nodded. The Reuniclus looked downcast, but a moment later, it's eyes started to glow a brilliant cyan shade. The sun's rays became tinted faintly by the same colour, and strange, swirling shapes manifested out of thin air.

Climbing back onto Yulla's shoulders with a little telekinetic assistance, Malcolm held on tightly and smiled at both his Pokemon. Yulla returned it, while Benuveli only barely did so without cringing. Whatever was causing the commotion outside seemed to have stopped for now - but an investigation was certainly in order. Noting that the other trainer had gone back to doing whatever he was doing, he saw no reason to wait any longer.

With a speed one would think impossible for something so large and lacking in aerodynamics, Yulla suddenly broke out into a run, Benuveli cruising along behind her, the whole group vanishing in a blur of motion that took them away from the gate and out into the forest in fewer seconds than would normally be possible. Leaving the medic behind, Malcolm allowed himself a wry smirk as soon as they were out of sight. They were beyond the reaches of the shield now, but he intended to return quickly. With such a mobile defence at his disposal... he could doubtless survive at least a few minutes out here, he told himself encouragingly.

Long enough to find out whatever had been the cause of the previous commotion.
 
As expected, Opal made her move, pouncing at the Beheeyem and swinging her tail in a downwards arc, planning to slice it through. However, to her annoyance her tail hit against a seemingly solid surface with an ear-splitting scrape.
 
"I would trust your suggestions more if you took the time to explain your reasoning," she said, not quite seething yet. He wasn't stupid enough to give her a headache - just apparently closemouthed and rather prickly about it. She could deal with that. "I may be medical staff, but there are a few others on hand with just as much training or more - and if someone is injured, it could be vital that they get care as soon as possible, even if it's shoddy, in the field work."

Not that there was time to say more, and she just crossed her arms and glowered as he set up a Trick Room. It was actually a good idea - he not only had living tanks for Pokemon, but now they would be fast enough to scout for some time.

Now if he had actually told her, she would have agreed and let him go. But no, apparently being close-mouthed was his tactic when conversing with everyone.

"He's no fun," Arkios complained. "He won't even explain himself, or leave anything behind for the rest of us..."

"I'm sure there'll be fights enough, if you want them," she replied, dragging a hand through her hair as the other trainer also deserted the gate. It seemed she'd take up guard duty for a little while then, at least until scarf-boy's replacement finally showed up. Just what kind of schedule did they think they were on anyways? It was hardly the type of situation where a guard of any sort could slack off.

"Waste of time," Dhiren huffed without bothering to elaborate, and she arched an eyebrow at him while Arkios shifted, arranging his coils and tapping his bearer's hide with his bladed tail. Senica leaned against the gate. She didn't often go on guard duty - like Malcolm had said, she was a medic, if a poisonous one, and thus not often required to do anything else - but she knew the right state of mind to slip into, alert but not too tense, waiting for anything to happen. Her team made guarding easier, of course - Arkios' way of catching scents and being sensitive to vibrations and Dhiren's acute hearing ensured they were more than adequate sentries. If anything came close, they would know.
 
Isei did not so much as flinch when his barrier was struck from behind with what sounded like some kind of sharp object - an object that was now dragging itself down his protective shield. The Beheeyem frowned. He had initially thought that if his assailant had hit the barrier, they would break off the attack to plan a thorough way past his defense. This attacker had not yet disengaged, instead hoping to break Isei's barrier through pure force alone. Deciding not to give it that opportunity, the Beheeyem floated forward, away from the attacker, and then whirled around to face whoever it was that tried to sneak up on him. He was taken aback at the sight of that... creature that he now faced, finding it nothing like he'd ever encountered during his time on the world. And he had been on the world for a long time.

I suppose, he thought after a pause, that I should at least figure out the desires of this creature before I depart from this place. Still keeping the Reflect and Light Screen up, he calmly said: "If you are affiliated with the human resistance, I should inform you that I have not thrown my lot in with the savages currently taking residence west of here. If you are with the savages in question, I must ask what motivated you to attack one that did not throw their lot in with humans?"
----
The gym wasn't too far from the gate that Robert had stopped by - it would take a few minutes' travel on foot )or on floating ghostly powers) to get to the gym, where Maylene would be waiting for them. It was one of the things that Robert liked about Veilstone: it was secluded, it was secure, and compared to the sprawling metropolises that Unova boasted, or the low-run villages that were most of Hoenn, Sinnoh was simple enough to be easily navigable, but not so simple that it quickly became dull to Robert after a short time. Offhand, he had to wonder if he would've spent a lot of time in the region even if the rebellion had sprung up.

"What I can't figure out is why Maylene is so dead-set on going north," Supay wondered, "Wouldn't everything around there be turned into a frozen hellhole, what with all of the ice-types running about?"

Oh right. That other problem.

"It was either that, or we try and find survivors in Sunyshore," Jack said matter-of-factly, "I pointed out that we had firsthand experience of what was left of that particular city." Supay let off one of his usual laughs, "Oh yeah, you've got that right. But tell me, just how desperate was ol'Volkner to learn if anyone had made it through the loss of his city? How many times did you have to step in before he finally admitted that city was out?" He laughed again.

Jack glared at Supay, and was about to say something before he realized that would just be egging the ghost on. "According to Maylene, the possibility of the North holding survivors is not the only reason she is considering sending trainers up there. She told me that she wanted you to hear the rest of the assignment yourself."

"She's probably using it as an excuse to lecture me about not going to the committee meetings," Robert muttered, "still, if it actually is important in some way, then I guess it'll be interesting seeing what 'other reasons' she might have of moving north."

Yes, it certainly would be interesting. In fact, if Robert knew what he was about to get himself into, he would find that 'interesting' would be quite the understatement.
 
Opal couldn't help but laugh, her tail still impatiently waving around. She began to pace around her quarry. "I'm not 'throwing my lot in' with either of them." She replied in a mocking tone "I'm just looking for something to eat and, since there aren't any humans or any other pokemon, you'll have to do." Again she began to use double-team, hoping to throw off the Beheeyem's guard.
 
Arilan was about to head back to Hearthome, but then he had a second thought, though he was unsure how good it was. He turned on the road and padded back through the outside graveyard up to the Lost Tower, looking at the building. He pondered to himself about if the ghosts here were still around, and whether they were "friendlies."

After a couple moments, Arilan sighed, and took a couple steps back, taking in the building again. The place filled him with dread, to some extent, like the intents of the inhabitants were deceitful or at least malicious scheming. He decided to watch the tower a bit longer from where he was, seeing if any action became noticeable from the ghosts.
 
(HEY LOOK TCOD IS LETTING ME POST FINALLY)

L'Arc seemed a bit overwhelmed by Kupo's flitting about and talking, but he listened quietly to her, following her movements with his eyes when he could, stepping into the hallway a bit more.

"That's right, sadly, Miss Kupo," the old Togekiss said, voice level.

He then turned his gaze on the Dusknoir, yellow eyes baleful and tired, but not letting on in the way he held himself of spoke.

"Payden is the mate of my human, Vienna. They have been separated and I am looking for them. If you have seen a female human around, with brown hair..."

---

Vienna fiddled her hands a bit, staying quiet, before she spoke, managing a little smile, starting to feel better. See, people were okay here. A bit scared, maybe, and on edge, and strange, but okay. And she was a trainer, after all, and she was used to talking to strange people.

"I was just wondering if you knew anything I can do to help around here... I'm new here, so I'm a bit... ah, lost."

Luce, meanwhile, hopped about on Vienna's shoulders, waving at the Emboar, also recognizing his kind from her homeland.
 
Glum looked up, putting a hand to the base of his neck, thinking. "Hm... I see.... I have not seen a female human matching that description, I'm sorry.... Though I heard most of the humans are holding in the city called Veilstone... Starly flocks often gossip outside...." The Dusknoir put his hand to the side and nodded. "That is all I know...."

He floated past the Togekiss and down to the hall where Payden was resting, checking on the resting trainer and his Pokemon. He hoped that they hadn't awakened him, and if they had, that he wasn't worried. He then turned and went back, looking at the Togekiss. "If you wish to see Payden... just take care that he's trying to rest..." He gestured down the hall as he spoke.

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

Peter looked to the side, then looked back at Vienna. He shrugged slightly, and kind of nervously gestured a bit. He tried to think of what to say about it, he only knew about the generator at this point.

"Well, I'm heading to work on one of the generators, but that's kind of brute work..." He gestures at Mac. "Because there are some parts that came loose. But you could take a look around, they might be hiring guards or other things." He sighs, and shrugs again. "Don't know what else to say." He adjusts his jacket a bit and smiles a bit at Vienna in a friendly, apologetic way.

Mac gives a nod, and then waves back at the Emolga, more because it was so enthusiastic then because he recognized it. Having grown up in Sinnoh, even if from Unova originally, the Emboar didn't recognize another from his region. The Emolga seemed friendly enough, though, so Mac acknowledged with politely.
 
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Narcissa thought for a moment when L'Arc asked if the ghosts had seen a female human by any chance, one with brown hair. But soon her thoughts were disrupted by a more urgent and intriguing matter. "Two humans?" she asked, almost in disbelief as she gave the Togekiss a wide-eyed stare. "Two of them? ... My, my... That's..." The Mismagius silenced herself there, remembering what his question was, and bowed her head. "Forgive me, I... I am just curious about those humans... and to know there is more than one you have befriended..." She rose her gaze back to L'Arc, and shook her head. "I haven't seen this other human you speak of, either," she admitted, her voice low with guilt for not being helpful.

Narcissa looked up at Glum as he mentioned the Starly outside the Chateau might have some conversations concerning the whereabouts of this female, and that city, Veilstone. The safe house for the humans, wasn't it? Certainly would be a nice place to return to... It would bring back old memories, after all. She looked back at the Togekiss again. "I know the way to Veilstone," she said quickly, floating a bit closer to him. "If you need any help finding it, I'm here to be your guide. I've been yearning to go back home, after all..." She reasoned against mentioning the fact she wanted to see more humans, however.
 
On Mt. Coronet, one could see a small trail of smoke floating up from a peak on the mountain. It seemed fitting with all of the fires burning all around the land of Sinnoh. The fire that caused this trail, however, wasn't one of death and pain. It was a warm, inviting, and consoling fire, which stood burning inside a cave. The cave, which had at once been cold and empty, contained a pokemon, a vagrant survivor of the many casualties down below.

And that pokemon had had enough waiting around.

Atticus stood up from the stone he'd been sitting on. He had had enough waiting, enough watching, enough running in fear. Ever since he'd gotten to sinnoh, all he'd been doing was running... even when his fellow pokemon needed him most.

<Mom.... Dad..... I'm sorry for how much of a coward I've become. Ever since you were taken, I swore to be stronger... But now... I'm...>

Atticus said a quick prayer to Arceus to keep his parents safe, wherever they were.

<Enough. Today is when I set down. I'm tired of taking shelter wherever I see fit. I'm tired of living in this dank old cave. I'm tired of wasting my life when I could be out there, helping my fellow pokemon. And the more chances I have to find the trainer who took Mom and Dad... the more chances I have to kill him.>

With that, Atticus surveyed his dark surroundings. The fire was warm, at least. The only thing he had worth taking was the small, half-circular, half-crescent shaped shield that he'd taken from the Old Chateau so many years ago. Its Lunatone design calmed him for some reason, bringing back memories of the night sky from Hoenn. Strapping the shield on his left arm in its usual place, Atticus stepped outside of his cave, the one he would never return to again. The chilly wind blasted him like an attack from Articuno herself. Staring down the mountain, Atticus began to hike downwards, heading towards Celestic Town, a place he'd never been but had heard of being a safe haven.

<From there,> he thought to himself, <I can hopeflly find a way to one of the rebellion's centers. After that, I can finally start helping. My stay in that cave was disgraceful.>

Atticus picked up his pace, scaling down cliff faces in large bounds. Every time he nearly fell, he Teleported himself upright.

<For their sake, I hope no pokemon gets in my way.>
 
Isei frowned. At this point, he supposed that he should have seen at least one other pokemon that wasn't affiliated with either the pokemon or the humans, but until this point he had been the only known one that was neutral. Mind you, the reasons that he was neutral were far less... savage than this creature's reasons, but as far as Isei was concerned that was something of a minor detail.

Now then, how do I best deal with this creature, Isei wondered, I could Teleport, but I would prefer to investigate more of this town than I have before I move on, and if this creature's here in this abandoned settlement, then I'm willing to bet...

Wait, that doesn't make sense. Why would something that is out for food go on the hunt in a place like this? Something doesn't... well, I suppose there's no harm in asking.

"Tell me, creature," Isei said calmly, the yellow and red dots on his hands alternating flashes, "if you are merely seeking nourishment as you say you are, then why are you searching here? This human settlement has been known by nearly everyone to have been completely empty since when that creature began his rebellion. Surely even you could be able to find out knowledge as common as that."

Judging from what this creature resembled, Isei felt that if it engaged him again, his psychic abilities would be more than capable of handily defeating this... thing. Maybe then, it would leave him be, and he could continue his investigations.
----
Ascator was a Drifblim, a yellow and blue ghost that resembled a large balloon. Since the days that the rebellion began, Angon had been sending Ascator to act as the air striker for his ghosts - nowadays, the idea of "death from above" was associated with Ascator by many of the rebellion. Angon found out not long into the rebellion that Ascator couldn't take part in the Chandelure's experiments, as the Drifblim was severely lacking in... tact.

This was why Angon was seriously pondering what Ascator's death screams would sound like as the Drifblim floated down through the ceiling and towards the Chandelure; in the very likely event that Ascator fouled up his plans, Angong would be sure to kill the Drifblim first, and certainly in the most painful way.

"So Belfie was telling me to come see you immediately, and that it was important," the Drifblim grunted, "just what is it that you need that is going to take time out of my important day?"

"Your important day of doing nothing?" Angon shot back, "surely what I have in mind is important enough that you can spare hours that would be otherwise spent floating on top of this tower, staring into space."

There was a pause. Then Ascator growled: "Fine. What, O wise leader, do you need of me today?"

"Your purpose today is twofold," the flames on Angon's tendrils puffed slightly, "first, I require a method of transportation to get a... better view of the current eastern sector. You, of course, are going to provide the transportation in question. The second part of your assignment - the one that is far more vital to the war effort - will be outlined during the scouting."

"Another scouting assignment?" Ascator's "tails" flicked in surprise, "you've become far more active about those lately, now haven't you? What, does what's-his-name believe that you're no use to him?"

Angon shrugged. "What that Dragonite believes and what is actually true are two very different things. With that in mind, Jiongu has no idea of this particular scouting, and as long as things go according to plan, he won't need to."

Ascator chuckled, a hollow, eerie sound. "Ah, interesting. Doing a little under-the-table dealing, are we?" The flames on Angon's tendrils flared up a bit. "What I'm doing is hardly relevant to the likes of you, except for the part that I'll tell you once we're in flight. Now then, what are you waiting for?"

That did it. Growling, the Drifblim extended one of its tails. "Fine. If it'll get you to leave me in peace for the rest of the day, let's get moving."

This time, it was Angon's turn to chuckle. Wrapping one of his tendrils around the Drifblim's tail, he said nothing, merely flicked another tendril to indicate that Ascator was, as they say, all-clear for takeoff. The Drifblim shot upwards, turning intangible as it did so, Angon following suit. The moment both ghosts phased through the wall and out into the wilds of Sinnoh, they both reverted to the tangible states.
 
Arilan looked up and down the tower again, and seeing nothing, was about to turn around and pad back toward the city when he saw the Chandelure and Drifblim fly out through a wall. So they are here. Hm. He thought, and then turned and headed back toward the city. He didn't need to get involved with them. He wasn't a fan of the ghosts anyway.

As he entered the city, he looked around, then bounded over some pillars and walls into an alley, taking a shortcut away from the crowds. He stopped by the fortress again, however, and decided to look at the building a bit more thoroughly, peeking up at the door and watching those going in and out from out of sight.
 
Opal stopped dead in her tracks after hearing about the town. She stopped pacing and instead sat quietly.

"Just my luck," she growled, "the only easy-looking hunting spot for miles and it turns out to be abandoned." With a frustrated growl she slumped to the floor "And for your information, I'm not exactly from around here."
 
Xhan yawned and stretched. Spencer began to pull out his Pokeball again, and the Lucario immediately dashed behind a tree. "I don't like that thing." He said simply.

"You're going in." Spencer told him. "It's better, trust me."

"And yet everything would be easier if I wasn't." Xhan argued, still behind his tree.

"Shut up and get in." Spencer ordered one more time. With a groan, Xhan slumped forward and showed himself. Spencer returned him, and pocketed the ball. With a nod and lazy salute to Raicha, he started off again. It was a short journey from here.

He could just see Bryce standing in the city's central square, flirting with girls and showing off. Spencer shook his head a little. No way was that happening. He stopped at the wall, admiring the handiwork of the psychics. Bryce used to have an Alakazam. Named Persephone. He shook his head to try and clear his head of that nonsense. He looked up at the nearest guard, a girl with a Nidoking and a Seviper (Not his favorite combination at this point).

"So do I just walk in, or is there some search you have to do? I don't care if this is the only safe haven, if there are any strip searches anywhere, I am out." Of course, if there were girls strip-searching people at the gate, Bryce would most definitely be going in and out all day. So there must not have been anything quite that extreme. Probably just a "turn out your pockets" kind of thing.
 
The creature's last statement piqued Isei's curiosity. That would go a long way to explain as much as her unusual appearance, he mused, but I wonder... no, that's irrelevant. At this point, perhaps it would be more likely to glean a little more about what this creature does and doesn't know.

"There are little to no settlements at all in this region that are populated with humans. The only one is the Veilstone city, but that one is so heavily fortified even the rebellion hasn't attacked it yet. Similarly, the settlement west of us is the centerpoint of this rebellion, and it is equally if not more fortified than the human stronghold. At this point, both of the sides are engaged in a war of attrition. I doubt it will last. Neither humans nor pokemon have the kind of patience needed to finish such a war... but I'm ranting. Tell me, what brought you to Sinnoh in the first place?"

He did not drop the barrier yet - he still believed that this creature would engage the moment his guard slipped. This was just as well, really - had Isei known what was going to happen in the next five minutes, he probably would have not only kept the barriers up, but would try to layer on a few more, possibilities be damned.
----
Robert, Jack, and Supay entered the gym - now the committee room - to see Maylene doing a series to complex looking combat stances with her Lucario, all with an intense look of concentration on her face. The moment she saw the three, she dropped out of the stance and walked over to the trainer. "Nice of you to show up this time and not send one of your lackeys." Both Jack and Supay pretended not to hear that remark, while Robert's expression faltered a bit. "You said this was something you needed to see me personally for. It's not something I like doing, but Jack told me that it was important. So here I am."

Maylene's eyes narrowed. "If I'd known that was going to convince you to go to the meetings, I'd have tried to go sooner, mostly so I don't have to put up with having a Samurott provide the voice of reason day after day." It was Jack's turn to narrow his eyes, but Maylene gave no indication that she saw the glare. "But that's beside the point, Rob. Thing is, why I called you here actually is important. Way more important than maybe finding a few people in a frozen hellhole.

This caught all three of them off guard. "That wasn't what I-"

"What you were told," the ex-gym leader cut in, "was a ruse to placate the other leaders. I've been trying to convince them to do this for a month now, and they're not listening to reason that'll win us the war against the rebels. Which brings me to the reason you're here. You're going to round up a few other trainers you can find - I don't care who, as long as they're capable - and then you're going to circle north, cut through Mt. Coronet, and make your way over to Jubilife. Once there... well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"Y-you want me to... take back Jubilife? That's... that's suicide! The people that went through there-" Robert faltered, and Maylene cut in again: "We can't really trust the accounts of people that half-dead by the time we found them. For all we know, Jubilife is just as abandoned as Solaceon. Plus, it has access to resources that we need, Rob. You and I both know that Veilstone won't be able to last another month with what we have, and we've more or less exhausted what we could find in the nearby cities."

"Right, and that's why we're going to a city that's probably overrun with hostile pokemon and requires going through several hostile areas to get through," Supay hissed to Jack, "That's clearly the most sound decision here." Jack didn't respond to the Cofagrigus, not because he disagreed with the ghost - quite the contrary, as rare as that was - but because he didn't think this was an argument that he or Robert could win.

Meanwhile, the ex-leader realized that she might have come across as a little too harsh, so she softened her tone. "Look, we can't just wade in this city, hoping that the rebels'll leave us alone. We need to fight back somehow, some way... and this is the best that we can hope for. Because the longer we give the rebels time to prepare, the better chances they have of killing us all when they attack. We need to cripple them without outright attacking their fort... and this is the best way to do just that."

Robert opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again when he couldn't find his voice. Then he tried again, failing still. Then, the man had a thoughtful look cross his face. He merely nodded after that. "Alright then, if you think it's best for us, I'll round up what trainers I can."

Maylene actually smiled at this remark. "Good. I knew I could count on you." And with that, she returned to her combat stances with her Lucario, giving a clear indication that the meeting was over. Without any further prompting, Robert left the gym, pokemon in tow.
 
"Oooh, someone's coming," Arkios hissed, leaving his spiky perch and curling up near Senica on the ground. She rested her hand on his head as he tested the air, tongue flicking out and then withdrawing once more. "And it's not our noble scout~"

And this someone proved to be human - letting a Pokemon into the city was incredibly sticky and a headache of interrogation by Psychics, as Senica remembered - which was, though not enough to ensure he passed through, enough to make her relax a little. Besides, she could relax, with her team watching her back. Studying the tall stranger briefly, she shifted as Dhiren stomped a little closer, glaring down at him and managing to convey an implied threat of impalement if anything stupid was done. "Well," she drawled, a little affronted at the idea of strip searches. "Whatever weapons you might have are probably fine unless you pull them on someone else. You tell me your name, what Pokemon you have, where you're from, act suitably intimidated and then I'll let you go through."

"If you're really set on strip searches, I'm sure we can accommodate you~" Arkios assured him, eyes gleaming as he slithered closer and lifted himself up again to get a good look at the human. Senica wasn't going to bother pulling him away from a newcomer, especially since he'd whine and sulk about it, and since the man wasn't either injured or appeared to be traumatized or in shock, she supposed he could take it. "We would hate to do a shoddy job when on duty... It's so wise for you to think of everyone's safety!" And he sniggered, opening his mouth a little to show off his fangs. Behind him, Dhiren rolled his eyes whilst still glaring, which was a considerable feat.

"I'm Senica, by the way. Poison dealer and sort of a medic and currently guarding because everyone else seemed to have wandered off."
 
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