Frontier Town Sand Veil Archives

[Chibi Pika]

Jade let out a sigh as she folded up another newspaper. She'd been scanning the headlines for anything involving the name "Escarpa" but it all seemed weirdly sensational despite never bothering to mention why the Escarpa were so scary. As far as Jade could tell, they... pretty much sounded exactly like the Pokemon she was used to back home. Didn't live in towns, had a lot of battling culture... Maybe that just didn't mesh well with Pokemon who did do humanish stuff like live in towns and use money.

Though things like that weren't humanish here. She'd have to remember that.

Jade leaned back in her seat, tapping her paws on the edge of the table. Big research binges weren't exactly her strong suit. Normally she'd just head to the library to use the computers, or read storybooks to Swift. Couldn't really do either of those here, though.

 

[Tetra]

Koa paced through the library, carefully replacing books and reorganizing them, but his thoughts were far off. Mostly focused on how and what he could do to fight in this body. Feathers and scales, he missed Kitto. He needed someone to talk strategy with... Maybe one of the other heroes. But who among them was a fighter?

As he finished reshelving the last book in his stack, he spotted an unusual face in the library. A Meowth, but one that had that distinct unscathed sort of look he'd come to recognize. Yet he couldn't recall seeing one in his first few days...Well, not one from Kanto at least. Had it come later? It looked kind of lost, unsurprisingly. But it also looked much less of a jerk than the last person he'd run into.

Curious, he trotted over. "Hey," he said quietly. On the off chance he'd misjudged, he decided to play it cautious. "You're new in town, right? Name's Koamaru. I uh... I'm new too, but I'm getting to know the books, so if there's something you're looking for maybe I could help?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade turned her head when the blue Electrike spoke. The weird thing about everyone’s speech being just… automatically understood somehow was that it meant missing out on some of the quirks of Pokespeech back home. On the other hand, the Electrike’s voice sounded like a teenage boy’s, so there was that.

“Yeah, I just got in yesterday,” she replied. Koamaru… that did seem vaguely familiar, like she’d read it on the sign-in sheet for the Haus. “I, uh, I got in after everyone else. Just trying to find out more about the wild Pokemon in the area.” Wait, shoot, they weren’t ‘wild’ here, that was a different thing. “Er, the clanners, I mean.”

 

[Tetra]

Good, she was one of them. Koa tipped his head. "Clanners?" Ohhh. Hadn't he stumbled across something like that in his readings? Clan... clan... Oh right, he'd come across some info here and there about a clan of pokemon living out in the wild. Which seemed normal to him. Supposedly the legend about that Wandering Light was tied to them, he was pretty sure.

"Oh you mean the ones who live in packs in the wilderness? Es...carpa, right? I read a little about them. I don't get why everyone's so nervous about them, they seem cool." Probably the most normal thing to him about this world. It was so odd to see pokemon so invested in things he'd only even seen humans take an interest in. To each their own, he supposed.

And now that he thought more about it, wasn't that Brisa one of them? "Do you think that they might... know something about what's going on?" he asked pointedly. Once again he found himself lamenting their discordant group. They needed to find a way to share information...

 

[Chibi Pika]

Okay good, he'd already learned a bit about the situation around here. And he wasn't weirded out by Pokemon living out in the wilderness. Maybe he was from someplace similar to what Jade was used to...? But man, you probably couldn't assume anything as far as entirely different worlds were concerned, and it felt weird to ask.

"Well, I don't know if they'll know anything--if they live out in the wild, they probably don't keep tabs on what's happening in the city. But I met someone who was... related to them I guess?" Jade didn't know Brisa's relation to them, but she'd called them 'her people,' so... "And they might have our back in a fight if any shady types come here looking for us." Jade really, really didn't want to think about that possibility, but it was almost a certainty with her luck.

"The only problem is that from everything I've seen, it sounds like strength is everything to them. And uh..."--she gestured to all of herself--"I'm not exactly a huge threat here. I don't think any of us are." Not with those new bodies from the cloud-voice.

There was also the part where she was totally new to being a Pokemon at all. At least some of the team had battled firsthand before. Jade couldn't even say that much.

 

[Tetra]

Koa's ears perked up. "So you met someone related to them?" he mused, half out loud. And befriended them. "I wanted to try and find them too but..." he gestured to himself as well. "Yeah, I can't do much until I learn to fight and get stronger."

Something about the way Jade talked about it sparked his curiosity more. "What uh... what happened when you arrived? It sounds like everyone got a pretty scattered." His mind traveled back to the abandoned cabin. Brisa Escarpa, Al had said. This was the first person he'd encountered who knew the name too. The gears of his mind began to turn. "Did the person you met know a Brisa? Me and another one of us ended up at her old cabin I guess, but she hadn't been around for a long time. Apparently she left with another companion a while ago. It sounded like they were someone like us, who arrived unexpectedly? I wanted to find out where she went but..." he gestured to himself again.

He'd been thinking about it, and he wanted to find the 'Escarpa' but he doubted they want anything to do with them, from the sound of it. And chasing after whereever 'Brisa' had gone was probably out of the question for now.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade blinked at him. "You were at her cabin? That was... Brisa's the one I met. The first person I met here, actually. We had to split up--it's kind of a long story, but she told me to head toward Frontier Town, and well... I guess I got lucky that that's where the rest of the team was."

Jade leaned an elbow on the table, her tail flicking from side to side. "I don't think we'll be impressing the Escarpa anytime soon, but maybe once we get stronger..." It was a bizarre thought, getting stronger, herself. Not stronger in leading a team, actually stronger.

She shook her head. "I don't think I even said, but uh, my name's Jade. And, well..." It felt weird to say so, after learning that it was best to keep hush about humans. But they had to be able to trust their teammates, and she had a feeling about Koamaru... "I was a trainer, back home. I don't suppose they have those, where you're from?"

 

[Tetra]

"Wait, you met Brisa?" he asked, surprised. He got the sense that whatever had happened made Jade uneasy, but he wanted to know more. "Did she mention what she was doing? A companion maybe, or what we're supposed to fight?"

He was so caught up in trying to ponder if any of it was connected he almost missed the rest of what she said. He couldn't help but grin a little in excitement. "Sorry, yeah we do, actually!" he caught himself, lowering his voice a bit, just in case. "I'm a trainer too! I'm from Sinnoh- Hm... if they have a Sinnoh where you're from?" he mused. Did anyone human come from similar places, or were they like Nip, who'd never even heard of the region? He had a thousand more questions he wanted to ask about her, but he held himself back.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade's ears fell. "She was looking for someone. Only... she didn't get the chance to say who. If you heard that she left with a companion, then... maybe them? She was alone when we met."

And then he just went and said Sinnoh and her brain immediately seized on that. Sinnoh! Over two dozen souls pulled from as many different worlds and she was talking to someone from the same freaking country. How in the--

"You're from--that's in Tohjo--Kanto, I'm from Kanto," Jade blurted out quickly, stumbling over the words. "Are we from the same... or are some worlds more similar than others?" Her brain was spinning. She immediately wanted to find some way to find out, but how on earth would you even do that? Just trade random news trivia until something was conspicuously different?

Bitterly, she couldn't help wondering if his Kanto had gone and signed the Legendary Management Act like hers had. Not that she even remotely felt like thinking about that right now.

 

[Tetra]

His contemplated her first words. Brisa had been alone. So what of her companion? How was that strangers arrival tied to all this?Maybe they could visit cabin again for clues or something. He couldn't shake the feeling it was important...

Then she mentioned Kanto. His eyes lit up. She was from a world like his! Jade's enthusiasm was contagious. That, and it felt nice to run into someone who didn't want to attack him and was a trainer. "Oh you're from Kanto?! Yeah we have a Kanto too-" He paused, contemplating her words. Was that even possible? Two people brought from the same world?

What was that word she'd used? Tohjo? It wasn't something he was familiar with, to his dismay. But maybe it was just a quirk of dialect, world geography had never been his best subject...

Could they narrow things down? His heart sunk as he settled on the obvious answer. "You aren't uh, having any issues with legendary pokemon mysteriously attacking Sinnoh, right? The beasts from Johto? If you even know that," he added.

He wasn't sure if he wanted her to say yes or no.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Legendary Pokemon... attacking Sinnoh?" Jade repeated blankly, a chill coming over her.

'Mysteriously.' Yeah, the attacks on Viridian and Indigo sure would have looked mysterious to anyone who didn't know what was really going on. But the three beasts were... well, they were all accounted for, in the Kanto-Johto area. If they'd been heading off to lead counterattacks way north in Sinnoh, it was news to her.

Jade exhaled slowly. "I think that's... different. I haven't heard of the conflict spreading to Sinnoh." Yet. "Where I'm from, the Legendary attacks have all been in Kanto."

 

[Tetra]

Dismay, then confusion rushed through Koa. "Wait you have... legendary attacks in Kanto?" he stammered. 'The conflict?' But... it wasn't like he spent all his time on news sites, but he felt fairly certain he would have remembered hearing about that. So, they weren't from the same world. Except he didn't feel any better. Did every world just have the same problems with legendaries?

"We must be from different worlds, I... I don't think whatever is happening back home is happening in my Kanto too. Just Sinnoh." A low grumble of annoyance slipped out. "Seems like maybe our worlds aren't terribly different though." A pit formed in his stomach as another thought occurred to him. What if that was happening again, here? The stories about the 'saints' of this world sounded a lot like legendaries, but they didn't seem bad.

He studied Jade for a moment. The way she spoke about them didn't seem negative but... he had to know.

"You don't believe... you don't think the legendaries are evil do you? That they're the bad ones?" Only after he said it did he wonder if that even made sense. Perhaps other worlds did have just evil legendaries...

 

[Chibi Pika]

A few months ago Jade would have been able to say no. For sure. The Legendaries were the victims of people trying to steal their power. But that was before learning that the truth was far more complicated. That the attacks 20 years ago might have been preemptive. And that they were willing to cross certain lines to end the threat.


Do you really think things will be so much better with my power at their disposal?! Do you really think that will save lives?!

Of course I don’t! We can’t let that happen, but we can’t let this happen either!​

But then Zapdos's words echoed in her head just as well. And despite all the hurt, all the betrayal, she wanted to believe in those words.

We’re all just… trying to protect the world.... Sometimes it’s not enough, but it’s all we can do.

Jade closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. “I don't think they're evil... just scared. Lashing out because they were hurt, but getting innocent people caught up in it.”

 

[Tetra]

A weight lifted of Koa's chest. At least she didn't resent them. But scared? It was hard to imagine legendary pokemon as scared. They were so powerful. And yet... he shuddered at the thought of Dialga and Palkia, chained. Had they been scared? How odd, to be so powerful, and even still be afraid. "Yeah that... makes sense." Legendaries were good. "I don't know what's going on back home but I don't believe they're bad, or out to get anyone. They want to protect the world. Or atleast, in my world, and yours too I sounds like." Reflexively, he paused. He was used to not talking about the subject too much, but then it wouldn't matter here, would it? No suspicion, or dirty looks. And Jade seemed nice too.

His thoughts turned back to their mission their mission. Brisa, her companion, and whatever she was doing. And those dreams. "Have you had any of those weird dreams? Do you think whatever is happening here has to do with legendaries? Or I think they call them 'saints' here," he mused. The power to summon people and communicate in dreams sure sounded legendary. Or Saint-like.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"'Saints,' huh..." Jade mused. "Yeah, the legends had a lot of names back home too. Guardians, Titans, Gods...." Monsters.

There was a certain starry optimism to the way Koamaru talked about them. Almost like he wanted to believe in them, even if it was hard.

"I hadn't thought about if the cloud-voice was a Legendary. And I can't remember any dreams, but also I haven't had the most consistent sleep since I got here, so... maybe." She put a paw to her chin, thinking. "If it was a Legendary, it sure didn't know a whole about what was going on. I kind of got the feeling that it was still getting used to its powers, you know?"

 

[Tetra]

Koa nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Like it just got them.... It was weird, I had a dream, and it was trying to talk to us I think. It's definitely a pokemon..." Could legendaries be born here like that?

None of it matched up exactly with anything he read though. And he still hadn't had a chance to follow up on what little he had learned. "I've uh, been doing a bit of research to see if I could figure out what it is, or maybe what's happening here, but," he sighed and shrugged. It was all confusing. Different world, different pokemon, different names. Nothing made sense, and he felt no closer to understanding why they were here.

"I barely know where to start. Apparently the Escarpas have a legendary patron, and there were stories about an ancient hero and stuff but..." he huffed in frustration. "This is a different world. Maybe some of the myths here aren't real." It was a hard thought, but he'd already run into so much strangeness he couldn't deny the possibility that a myth here could just be pure myth.

 

[Chibi Pika]

That got Jade's attention. "The Escarpa have a patron? That never got mentioned in the newspapers." Not the newspapers seemed to care much about painting an accurate picture of them... "Or, wait, was that the... 'Wandering Light' or whatever? I think I saw that get mentioned, but had no idea what it was supposed to be."

But then, as far as the other legends were concerned... Jade rubbed the back of her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of myths are made up, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which ones are real, should it? I mean, if it's a legend that people have seen a bunch, then..."

Except... this wasn't the kind of place where everyone had a camera. Or the internet. Or convenient long-distance transportation. Legend-spotting as a hobby just plain didn't make sense here.

"I... might've just realized the problem with that," Jade admitted, putting a paw to her face. "Okay, different plan, were there any that had like, definitely confirmed sightings recently?" For whatever measure things could be definitely confirmed here.

 

[Tetra]

So she'd heard of it too. "The Wandering Light," Koa said in agreement. He liked that title, for some reason. It felt comforting, in an odd way. "They say it used to be one of the Escarpa but became... something else I guess? I've never heard of a regular pokemon becoming a legendary but that could be something here." Now that was a notion. Becoming a legendary. As if someone like you could become one.

The problem at hand still remained. Could legendaries actually be imporant? He tapped his paw reflexively against the table as he thought. "I haven't read anything about definite sightings. But there's shrines of some legendaries. Er. Saints." He stared vacantly as he recalled the ones he'd read about. "I haven't checked them out yet, but there's one called 'Wishing-Star' here. Maybe a Jirachi," he mused.

"And the Sunsward. That one is hard to pin down.... They had some kind of ancient hero, and obviously myths about the sun, it seems. I think the sun blessed them, or saved them." His mind wandered to Solgaleo for that one, but it was hard to know how much his worlds legends carried over. There were others he'd read, scattered concepts, hadn't there. "A shrine outside town a way for someone called 'Storm Bringer'? Could be some kind of Zapdos or Raikou or..."

He trailed off, realizing he'd probably started to ramble. "Sorry, maybe none of this is even relevant," he mumbled awkwardly.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"The Wandering Light became a legend..." Jade murmured. It was a surreal idea. Definitely not the case for any of the legends she knew back home. "Maybe the Escarpa could point us their way. Er, if we manage to get on their good side, that is."

Jirachi.... Jade didn't know much about Jirachi back home, other than like, summer festivals in the south having something to do with it. It wasn't a name she'd ever heard come up in legend-spotting, though, so... probably not real? If only she could've asked Mew...

Jade leaned back in her seat again, tapping the edge of her arm with the opposite paw. "An ancient hero doesn't sound like someone we'd have any hope of meeting today. Zapdos or Raikou could be a good lead, though. And they're not that far away?" She paused, noticing that Koamaru looked somewhat sheepish by now, although she wasn't sure why.

 

[Tetra]

It was an odd feeling to remember that these legends were probably less contentious than back home. "Could be worth investigating," he mused. "At the very least, if there's some kind of local legendary saint, maybe they know what we're supposed to save the world from..." The idea of meeting a local legendary was hard to let go of. "But... probably not somewhere I can go alone," he mused. "Not like this at least." Barely able to throw a punch or fight, he thought bitterly.

"I think it's at least a half day away, but if we had a few of us we can probably handle it." Who? Definitely not Wes. He wasn't even sure who would okay someone like him being called here. Aige seemed cool, and maybe Jade would be willing. "Since we can't visit the Escarpa, it might be our best bet."