Closed Dreams of the Past

[Mad MOAI]

All right, so this human wasn't going to attack. It was unlikely that he would be a threat now, and Caith relaxed. Good - he didn't have to fight against something like a human. Not for a very long time, at least. He'd probably go outside and see if he could find a Pokemon that was willing to spar just a little. He needed to punch something, but first of all not a human, and second not something that was on the brink of death. If Pokemon were really considered such bad things these days, maybe he should help this human male ... but then again, he was pretty beat up already, and freaking him out wouldn't really help all that much. It would be enough not to attack though.

In that case, time to leave, Caith told himself. He started walking away from the chamber, but he stopped when he noticed the human trying to... do something. It was hard to understand those creatures, but they usually did things with a purpose. After a bit more thought though, Caith confirmed that the things they did were usually pointless. But this isn't, some voice in the back of his mind countered (he guessed it was his own little conscience). So Caith stopped moving and waited - hopefully something important would happen. He had no clue what the human male was saying, but he was addressing the Pokemon. That, at least, was believable.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

"The Kanto region has several places of high activity for pokemon. The most ideal place would be their Safari Zone, since that contains several species of pokemon that couldn't be found anywhere else. However, that place is far too deep into the region to be considered ideal for a recruiting grounds - it will definitely have been destroyed by that time. The ground in front of Mt Silver is also filled with pokemon, but I doubt that we should try anything here, not with that human nearby - it would be easier for us to be on the move, to be quite honest."

This was absolutely vital. It was clear that since this Frosslass had come up alone, there was nobody with her that supported Zrantox's cause. They were all on the human's side - typical, really of those fools. Zrantox's numbers were only two, and that wouldn't be enough to deal with humans - not by a longshot. A place that had a good amount of pokemon and was close would be the most ideal of a place, really. But not too close, for if that human tracked them down, Zrantox might not be able to kill him. Whatever he did in that cavern was likely something he could do again, and the only advantage that Zrantox had at this point was that he knew what could happen. And that was hardly an advantage at all.

"Do you have any suggestions, Titress," he brought up, "because I would prefer to be on the move before that human comes back up and likely has all those other imprisoned ones on his side. It would not be ideal to face all of those fools, far from it in fact."

 

[BlackTitress]

Titress put her hand in front of her mouth in a thinking pose. There were many obvious places that one could go, but many things could change in a century... She let out a sigh as things came to her mind.

"Well... There are several places that could still house many hiding places... I could suggest Ilex Forest, since that would be an obvious place. I know that the residents are rather weak, but I strength in numbers works often..." To be perfectly frank, Titress was at a loss of ideas. It was impossible to tell how things change over a hundred years... But then, another idea occurred to her. What if a place was abandoned before the century gap...

"What about the Power Plant? Humans barely touched it before our sleep, so odds are its there now, being inhabited by many Pokemon willing to join our cause.

 

[Stormecho]

((Dear Homework of Various Kinds, as well as Final Projects of Doom,

You all suck. Please go die in a fire. In fact, once you are marked, that fate is assured. Sincerely, me.))

The Skarmory fanned her wings, the feathers slowly spreading out and gleaming brightly. Good, they were close to being capable of flight - once they left the mountain, she would be able to regain full mobility. The Senasel was the one she responded to first, though she did not feel any sort of derision. "Because such an action was foolhardy and would end in death," she replied, tilting her head. "You are significantly weaker than us, as a wild Pokemon. Also, you are unprotected. He could, in his death throes, bring down the cavern and crush most of us here. You would die too, and the sole one who seems to have accurate knowledge of what has happened since we were put to sleep would be dead as well. It would be useless to allow you to kill him."

After a thoughtful pause, she added, "If you do so again I will not hesitate to stop you in a more decisive manner."

Now, for the human - she heard him out, watching as he placed the gun on the ground. Moving forward, she tapped the weapon with one long steel talon, and then raked it back towards her to get a closer look. It was also now out of his reach if he decided to attack.

"Such information would be useful. I have no interest in starting a war of any sort, nor inciting hatred against us." She furled her wings again, the feathers ruffling with a rattle of metal. "It would be no use to me. I may have been trained for battle, but not complete slaughter." Not that she thought humans would be so defenceless, even against a fighter of her calibre. Against the Dusknoir, though...

--​

The presence of two Ghost-types was having its effect on the Pokemon nearby. A Golbat that had been watching the conversation of the pair with increasing paranoia decided that it had had its fill of ghost stalking, and departed with a rapid and loud flurry of wings, fleeing the vicinity with all due speed.

Not too far away, there was a series of sharp retorts, almost exactly like the ones heard underground, and the Golbat screeched before plummeting downward. More gunshots, as well as a flickering light that danced around for a moment, and then all went silent. The scuffle had happened to the west, off the sloping path downward - it continued and made a sharp turn around a rocky outcrop, doubtless continuing to the vestiges of society. At the very base of the mountain was a campsite, held in the ruins of what had once been a Pokemon Centre that had fallen into disrepair decades ago. The occupants of the camp were very definitely human, potential diggers and treasure hunters waiting for a permit once the first few teams and the "security" sent with them returned.

 

[Darksong]

Rei growled at the Skarmory, every short fur on her body bristling. "What is it, do you not have the bravery to fight back?!" she snarled, swiping a claw through the air in front of her. "That's all in the past! There are no humans out there in Mount Silver, nobody who would be willing to take care of you!" The final sentence was louder: "You're all on your own!" With a frustrated shout, the Sneasel planted a foot on the ground, and suddenly leaned down. She crouched in a battle stance, but didn't move, except for crossing her arms in front of her toward the ground. She paused for a moment, but it was unclear whether this was for focusing or just dramatic effect.

After a few seconds' pause, the Sneasel exhaled deeply, and scratched her large white claws upside-down along the hard ground, separating her arms slowly. However, the movement grew faster as her claws reached their tips, and finally she swept them off the floor with a scratching noise. Her claws almost seemed to shine and were intimidatingly sharp as she posed, ready for someone to attack. Cautiously, she glanced back and forth between the Skarmory and the human, ear and tail feathers twitching with apprehension.

 

[Metalos]

The link between himself and his silent superiors remaining at a constant, Prospero watched as the female Skarmory, who seemed to have elected herself leader of the pack of Pokemon forsaken by time and memory. As shown when she took it upon herself to discipline the Sneasel who had attempted to strike at him moments ago. Every word of their speech being heard by and recorded by other operatives of his, many miles away, who at the end of this little negotiation would assign him new orders. Assuming they did not attempt to kill him once he had outlived his use to them. Of course, her motivations were obvious. She made it no secret that a temporal update was what she desired from him. Demonstrating impressive tactical understanding for her species, she knew that to stumble out into the unknown now would mean peril for herself and her companions.

To that end, she reached out and took away his primary weapon. Accepting his offer with neither pride nor contempt that he could detect, remaining featureless and impassive as she stated quite coldly her intentions, he smiled up at her with patient hostility. Smirking at her somewhat simplistic view of how she expected her life to follow. War? Hatred? Such things were an inevitability that could not be avoided if these Pokemon were discovered. Quite. He would have to enlighten her himself, and that would take time.

"You act as though you have never encountered humans before. Allow me a brief recap; we hate and fear what we do not understand."

His lips remaining motionless as his voice was beamed out of his mind and into theirs via the translator, his projected voice was calm and suave despite the way he glared at them with his eyes, particularly at the Sneasel who had almost cost him his life, although the creature regardless presented a compelling argument that would only confirm his own reports of the outside situation. Yes. While he recuperated himself and regained mobility following the Froslass' attack, the two ghosts were outside, exposed for all the world to see. He was anxious to get out of this suffocating mountain and track them down.

"Pokemon Training has been an outlawed practice for centuries now. Humans and Pokemon no longer interact with one another, for we have long since asserted our independence. We do not wish to remember the old ways, nor do we seek anything more than coexistence with you and your kind."

Emphasizing his thoughts to them, he painted them a picture of a world divided, with nature separate from development and both species isolated from one another by regulation. If a Pokemon ventured into a human zone, that foolish creature would be repelled, and vice versa for any homo-sapien that dared take a walk into the wild territories. Neither side bothered the other. And if they did, there were harsh consequences. The old ones who looked to the past for guidance on how to waste their lives were finally starting to accept the revelation that times were changing. Encouragement that the past was alive and not at all buried was the last thing they needed to help themselves forget their nostalgia. Change was difficult, and it seemed that 100 years was not sufficient to break humanity of all the bad habits accumulated over time.

If the public became aware of these Pokemon now, there would be a conflicting response. Some would perceive it as a rallying cry to embrace tradition, while others would see them for what they were, an obstacle to be avoided or removed. There would be a clash of beliefs, and from there things would only escalate.

 

[Mad MOAI]

Caith listened closely to the human's speech. And that Skarmory... she definitely appeared to be asserting herself as the leader. The Throh really didn't want to follow her orders, though, since she seemed edgy and wanting to attack anything that moved. Caith wasn't that vicious type who killed everything; he just fought for sport. At least, he did back when he was still a Trainer's Pokémon. To think that he had been asleep for a whole hundred years, and now there was no such thing as a Trainer... what could people do? Why weren't the bonds they had forged with Pokémon important anymore? Caith doubted anyone alive would be able to answer that question, but he faced the injured human and asked anyway.

"Why?" he inquired firmly. "Why don't humans coexist with Pokémon anymore? Is there any reason to dislike us and act like we don't even exist?" At the last question, he held out one three-fingered hand to his side.

Then it occurred to him that the human might not have understood him. The translator could possibly not work both ways, but it was good to get his stress out anyway. If the Throh was angry or upset when he tried to spar ... nothing good would come of that. Not that he'd find a sparring partner anyway, now that fighting was basically pointless in this world.

Frustrated, he trudged over to the nearest stone wall, which was to his right. In preparation, he tightened his belt, and then picked up a moderately large rock. To release just a little bit of his negative energy, he practiced his Circle Throw technique on it and it landed farther down the hallway with an echoing thump. If he wanted to get all of his stress punched into the ground he would have used Earthquake, but it wasn't such a good idea to do that in the middle of an old unused tunnel.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

If he had a tangible chin, Zrantox would have rubbed it in comprehending the Frosslass' idea. "The power plant, you say? It is a symbol of human destructiveness, it can be assumed that it never stopped becoming a haven for pokemon over the century, it is closer to our position than the Safari Zone... and I do believe we would have the option of going through less humans to reach it. A good suggestion, Titress; you continue to amaze me at every tu-"

A sudden audible flapping caught Zrantox's... whatever a Dusknoir used to hear. Whirling to the source of the sound, he saw the Golbat taking off with all due speed. The Dusknoir's eye narrowed at the sight, but he dismissed any notion of following it when he remembered just how fast those bats could be, not to mention that it was going in a direction that was not that of Kanto's Power Plant.

"Now then," the Dusknoir gestured in the general direction of Kanto, "we must get going. The longer we stay here, the better the chance there will be of us being found out by the humans, which again is something that would be less than preferable at this early in the proceedings, not when we are so few in number. Shall we?"

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

Listening in on the ghosts' conversation, or rather, hearing their thoughts, Sinar decided it might've been time to head back. This was a potentially dangerous pair right here, Sinar certainly did not want humans lashing out at Pokemon because of some renegade group. Again, though, it realized that alone it definitely could not stop two ghosts, nevermind two rather powerful ghosts.

There was a flapping sound. There was someone around that Sinar hadn't been focusing on, a Golbat, and it sped off somewhere. The Dusknoir heard it as well, so no doubt the Froslass heard it. He suggested leaving the scene, and, quietly, Sinar did, retreating back into the mountain as the sun began retreating downward.

As Sinar floated back to the site of the chambers, it could sense emanations similar to those a psychic's telepathy. They weren't coming from a Pokemon, however, they seemed to come from... the human. The one who had a weapon.

Sinar then heard the sound of a rock hitting a wall in the direction of the tunnel. It didn't sound like it hit anything, instead bouncing down the tunnel, but it could still be a fight.

Floating into the tunnel, though, there was no fighting going on. Instead, it seemed the Pokemon still inside and the human were talking.

Indeed, Sinar told both the Throh and the human, Why don't humans coexist with Pokemon anymore? I do not know why. Why don't you explain?

 

[Exo-Raikou]

((I demand that this thread get some life!))

It hadn't immediately teleported back to him. By his calculations, the fool would still be sleeping while he waited for him to return. He calculated he had another three minutes before that fool woke up and got impatient while waiting for him to return. It was a three minutes that he planned to use to the fullest extent.

It was a stroke of pure luck that neither the Dusknoir nor the Frosslass hadn't noticed him teleporting away. He had gone to a higher point on the mountain, where he could see much further out in the distance. He could see the vast landscape beneath this mountain. He could also see the Golbat, flapping around like a maniac, and could see the human base camp. That human camp... that would be something he would have to keep a close eye on. Rushing in to wipe their memories would get him nowhere, of course - he wasn't fast enough for such a task. Depending on what that Golbat saw, though...

The plan was simple. When that Golbat made land - and it would, he knew that much - he would be able to find out just what it could have seen. If it saw anything that would disadvantage the Dusknoir... that Dusknoir was too vital of a component to fall here and now. As for the others in that cave, he thought, almost smiling, once that fool wakes up, I plan to "deal with them" personally. That fool will make dealing with them easier. And the humans, well... I don't need to worry about them yet.

 

[Mad MOAI]

Something echoed through Caith's mind. It was that voice from before. And now it was asking him the same question he had just inquired. Well, if he knew the answer, would he be asking the question? Caith was not being sarcastic. He wanted to go somewhere and relieve his stress, but he couldn't leave until something happened to the human that would answer his question. There sure were a lot of rocks around here, though. If he moved right he could avoid breaking his fists on them rather than them breaking on his fists. But he'd work with throwing for now, since it was his specialty.

After standing in front of another large rock for a few seconds, he suddenly lunged forward with his strong arms and launched this rock in the same direction down the hallway that he had the previous boulder, although away from the Solrock. It didn't go quite as far but still thudded as it once again made contact with the floor. That was Vital Throw; Caith believed he still needed more practice on it.

"I don't know," he finally said, turning to the sun-shaped Pokemon. "It doesn't make sense for it just to fade out though. Back when I was still a Trainer's Pokemon training was so popular."

 

[Mai]

((I'm not exactly sure whether Diamond should be able to hear Prospero's telepathy, but I guess because she couldn't hear Sinar she can't.))

Once again a fight started, the froslass creating an ominous wind and injuring the human quite severely. Almost immediately afterward the ice ghost fled, and Diamond was left to see what happened. At this rate she would never find the dusknoir again and exact her revenge, but that was fine enough. Perhaps the human would provide some information? On what she was not sure, but he seemed more aware of the group now, more perceptive of what they were saying. She could get some information, then, if he ever decided to talk.

... She was starting to get enraged by all the telepathy. Why couldn't the human speak words? All these psychic communications were more infuriating than the dusknoir; in her anger she clenched her fists and dug in her nails. He was probably saying something important, too... if he was even smart enough to have any knowledge at all. After all, if he was considerate he'd figure out that dark types were in the room. Why were sableye so obscure?

Spiritomb didn't grow gems. They didn't have the brilliant analytical minds of her species. They picked a fight they couldn't win, and got trapped in a stone. They never deserved to be let out, once the horrid species stole her glory. Idiots...

Speaking of idiots, the sneasel decided to attack the human. He deserved it, but considering how the skarmory protected him it was a bad tactical decision. She didn't plan enough. And if the pokemon had any sense the ice type should've started to prepare a follow-up attack instead of throwing a tantrum. Of course the group was all on its own. She was, too. However, that did not matter because most of the group could take care of themselves. The claw sharpening was smart, however, and with some guidance the felllow dark type might be a smart companion. If she wanted to make a duo like the dusknoir. The child had a type advantage over him, and if Diamond took her under her guidance perhaps forming a team would work.

The sableye was distracted from her plans by yet another irritating feeling at the back of her mind, and this time she could tolerate it no longer. The solrock was back, and with the human's annoying thought-speak she was being left out of two conversations. Scowling, the spiky creature hauled her gems over to the human and stood in front of him. "Speak, human," Diamond snarled. Her diamond eyes showed no emotion, but both her tone and body language clearly indicated she was irritated. "I'm tired of being left out of the telepathy. Just talk, for Arceus' sake! I cannot stand this psychic nonsense."

 

[Zero Moment]

Dave was wandering aimlessly in the caves, killing time until his night shift started in three hours. He caught sight of another worker, a girl, heading towards one of the dig sites, muttering to herself. Dave, deciding that this was the most interesting thing that had happened all day, moved to come up to her and ask what was wrong, when she swung her pick at a wall. A large section of the wall collapsed and, exclaiming, she dove into the opening she created.
Dave fled into a smaller tunnel and then, seeing that the cavern hadn't collapsed, decided to check out the large tunnel that was recently revealed. It was smooth, obviously made by machines. The mining company didn't have access to any working mining equipment of this size, as no large-scale mining has been done in at least three decades in the region.
He was going to explore more of the tunnel when a transmission came in on the private frequency of the diving team on his headset.

"Help! The floor of the tunnel collapsed while we were digging and five men fell into a large cavern filled with water!"

It was his job to respond to the situation and rescue the miners. He quickly marked this location and the origin of the transmission on his digital map so he could come back here after the job.

Dave rushed to the accident, noticing that one miner was already recovered by another diver. Diving in along with three other members, he activated the webbed fingers on his TM Driver and powerfully swam to one of the victims and grabbed her with his left arm, then activated the propulsion units on his right arm and headed back up.
Dave gently put the miner on the ground and checked her breathing. Thankfully, by the time he got there she was conscious enough to keep her breath held so that no water got in her lungs, and now she was breathing normally, and starting to drift off to sleep. He brought her to a medic, who would transport her to one of the doctors of the company to get her into dry clothes and do a more thorough exam to check for anything she may have caught from being submersed in cold water for an extended period of time.

Later, Dave had gone back to his room for a change and clothes and food when he remembered the mysterious tunnel from earlier. Finishing up his meal, he decided to head back into the caverns and explore that tunnel.
Thankful that he had remembered to mark the area, Dave quickly navigated to the tunnel. It was definately machine-made. He entered the passage, and, continuing forward, noticed that there were no glowing crystals to light the way. Soon, it became almost pitch-black, but then it started to get brighter. He had a thought about encountering wild Pokemon, and decided to pull out his handgun just in case.
Unlike back home, on this mountain, it was rare to find a Pokemon that /wasn't/ hostile. He'd used all of his TMs at least four times in the past month, while he might have to use maybe one every five weeks back home. On a second thought, he decided to also put Thunder Wave in his TM Driver and rounded a corner to find a large group of Pokemon and a man in a uniform. Not wanting to be noticed by the group, he took a few steps back so that he was hidden behind the curved wall.

 

[NightGhost]

Crystal started scraping the floor, this was getting to dangerous.

"I think we should leave, all of us." She said and started edging away.

(short because i am not sure what to say)