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Sojaveña Wilds Totally Normal Bulletin Board

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Nova waited for the assorted adventurers to claim their missions and head on their way before he started off. Once he was confident no one was looking, he pulled out the note and followed the directions. West he went. Eventually his eyes fell on rocks looking like a triangle. Close enough to the drawing for Nova, so he proceeded toward it.
 
Mhynt crossed her arms, thinking about what this could mean. Mew... here? After that recent expedition to the shrine, it seemed like a lot of Legends had died or simply were not around anymore. Was Mew among them? Was this a new appearance? How significant was this?

Mew wanted to stay a secret... So far, perhaps that was worth honoring.

If Nova focused his senses against the darkening twilight, he'd see that in the center of this triangular landmark, there was a light distortion. Not enough to be a Dungeon, not at all... but a telltale sign of invisibility. Faulty invisibility -- perhaps intentionally so, to be spotted?
 
And spot it Nova did. Though he didn't want to rat out Mhynt's slip of the tongue. At the very least, she'd been nice to him. She deserved the courtesy.

Nova tried to crouch so as not to look too big and imposing. "Um, hello? You're the, uh, Boardmaster, I take it?"
 
The little distortion bobbed up and down. It seemed to have been a nod or some equivalent.

"He can be trusted," Mhynt said. "He's with us. The same team of... visitors."

The invisible creature flew closer, only a foot away from Nova. Was Mew inspecting him? It flew over his shoulder, under his chest, and back to the front again...

"Perhaps you should explain yourself," Mhynt guessed.
 
Explain? Nova remained still. The outline was close enough he didn't dare move.

"I was... brought here by someone. Like Mhynt," he said. "This is... what I look like back home. The person who brought us here claims pokémon that look just like me already exist here. And they all have this mask."

His shoulders sagged. "But I'm not supposed to have this mask. It hurts. Back home... it's a tool for forcing me to do things I don't want to do. I can't fight back home. I just stand there and take hits... and opponents lose their wills to keep fighting me. And it feels... like I can't fight here, either. But battling's important to the pokémon here. I can't stand around doing nothing.

"I can't stay in pain like this. I've got to break this thing, before I lose my mind."
 
The distortion drifted a little closer. Slowly but surely, until Nova was positive Mew was only a few inches from his face. Then, he backed away.

The distortion fell.

And floating before Nova... plain as day and just the same as he remembered, was the enigmatic Mew.

He tilted his head at Nova, analyzing him. His ears flicked. For some reason, Nova had the distinct sense that he could trust this Mew -- and there was no psychic trickery in the air, either. It was something about the Mew's presence; he could feel some sort of 'good intention' in Mew's heart.

Was this something innate to this mythical creature?

Mhynt's guard, too, lowered slightly. "Seeing you again," Mhynt said, "is very... strange. I feel as though we already know each other. But... I'm very familiar with Psychics. I didn't sense any foul play. Nova?" She glanced at him.

Mew seemed deep in thought, floating around Nova's mask to look at its details.
 
Nova watched Mew go around. He gently leaned his head over like he was going for a nudge. "It's been... a very long time since I've seen one." For reasons he didn't dare elaborate in front of Mew. "It's nice to meet you."
 
Mew tilted his head the other way and seemed to nod in greeting. Perhaps he appreciated Nova's gesture in some ways.

"I'm not sure how much you overheard," said Mhynt, "but Nova was wondering if you, of all Pokemon, can help him with his mask. Taking it off, or at least relieving the headache and other matters that he is dealing with. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and seems to be suppressing his power, and is tied to many bad memories."

Mew's wide eyes were attentive but Mhynt was admittedly unsure how much of what she was saying was getting through. When Mhynt finished, he turned his head back to Nova as if to confirm what Mhynt said, or if he had anything more to add.
 
"Yeah, that's right." Nova nodded slowly. Although, with how silent he was and the way he was behaving...

The null quickly traced a little nidoran in the dirt. "Though I can't help but ask: do you know any nidoran?" He pointed at the drawing.
 
Mew looked at the little traced sketch and then looked back at Nova, nodding. It seemed that he did recognize the appearance... or he could have known any number of Nidoran, being Mew. It was hard to tell if they were thinking the same thing.
 
Ask a stupid question… get no answer. It would probably be easier to ask Nidoran instead. “Never mind. Point is, you know how to find a bunch of things. Surely you can point me to something that will break this?”
 
Mew nodded slowly, though at that, he seemed a little more hesitant. He glanced at Mhynt, though she didn't seem to totally understand what the glance was for. Then, he nodded at Nova.

He flew behind one of the rocks and returned with a small bag. One of the supply bags?

But then, he rummaged through it in midair, and then curled his tail inside to grasp something. Gently, he pulled out... a curious little object.

It seemed to be a sphere with a button in the middle, made out of some kind of hollow fruit and lined with a stone. On one side of a black line that went around its circumference was red; the other side was a wooden beige.
 
“A poké ball?” Nova sniffed it. “I had one. Back home. I broke it once. Are you asking to use it on me?” He pointed at the device, then himself.
 
Mew nodded, looking relieved that Nova knew most of this already.

"Nova, are you sure?" Mhynt immediately interjected. "This... This seems a bit drastic. I'm not completely familiar with this technology, but I've... heard of it. We don't know how they operate in this world."

But Mew only held it as an offer. It didn't seem to be by force, and they still could not sense any malevolence from him. It was an offer to help ease Nova's problem, somehow...

Would he take it?
 
"You're right. We don't." Nova eyed it. It looked more... rustic than what he was used to. "The thing is... the old ball I had was truly inescapable. 'Master Ball,' it was called. Only way out was breaking it from the outside. This one's... not that."

He stepped back, shaking the helmet. "You said you feel like a prisoner. And even here you're not sure you've escaped." A sigh. "But you're not spending every minute surrounded by a reproduction of what's trapped you back home. I am." He stopped himself from clawing at the mask again. "I was so useless in that fight. I'm a liability the way I am now.

"I don't... have anything to lose by trying this. Really." Nova stepped toward Mew and the ball. "Nothing is waiting for me back home. No friends. No family. Only a sealed fate. If this goes badly for me, it just proves that my fate can't be changed. Even here. That the voice screwed up summoning me. "
 
Mhynt squeezed the air with one fist, conflicted, but she took her breath and nodded. "...Then whatever happens, I will guard you from the outside," she said. "Mew. I trust that this will not harm him."

Mew nodded. Mhynt couldn't find it in her to distrust the intent. But she had to wonder... where did mew get this from?

Mew, meanwhile, curled his tail a little tighter and pulled it back. He waited for Nova to be ready--Nova had a feeling that this ball would not be able to hold him at all if he struggled against it.
 
Nova did his best to relax. Recalled what it used to be like. Like sleeping suspended in midair. It would be fine. More spacious that his Haus room, if he was honest.

He took deep breaths. His eyes slowly shut. Mew might've gotten the sense his muscles were loosening, as Nova's stance slouched.
 
Something clanged Nova's helmet and bounced off of him. It opened... and Nova found himself falling, then floating. A strange sensation to anyone not used to it--certainly, they would jostle just from being startled all at once.

Nova heard, or 'heard,' Mhynt gasp in surprise. He could hear and sense what was going on around him distantly, even see in a blurry sense. Things with aura were easier to see than typical objects.

But most important was the fact that it was gone. That pain. That heaviness. That strange, claustrophobic feeling had evaporated entirely.

"Is he alive? How did that happen?" Nova heard Mhynt said as if three rooms away.

Mew, of course, said nothing. Nova could see Mew reaching over to pick him up, tilting his head. Inquiring if Nova was okay.

Nova had a sense that, if he wished, he could dislodge himself and 'summon' into the world all on his own. He wasn't trapped at all. In fact, this tiny sphere felt more like his own personal room that he could freely enter and exit on a whim.
 
In some ways, it was like setting adrift into space. Or floating through a tank. Weightlessness meant no mask. No mask meant no pain. But a small part of his mind felt like there was an unlocked door in front of him.

At Mhynt’s word, he reached for a doorknob that wasn’t there with a limb he wasn’t sure he had.

He faceplanted into the dirt seconds later. “‘M ohgay,” he said, face squished against the front of the mask. Nova tried to make some gesture with his hind foot to keep tell Mew he was fine.
 
Mew floated forward with alarm, but then floated back and nodded. He picked up the ball and offered it to Nova, but then brought a finger to his mouth in a shushing gesture.

"...Right. I suppose it's reasonable to keep this a secret," Mhynt said, though it was up to Nova if he honored it. "What now, then?" she asked.

Mew gestured to the bag, then at the ball.

"You... want to take Nova with you? For... more treatment of the mask." Mhynt frowned at that, shaking her head. "That may be too much too soon, if you want my opinion. Nova?"
 
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