Sojaveña Wilds Totally Normal Bulletin Board

[AdamArtDraws]

"Only if you wanted to," she said, and she brandished him a smile. "Though I'd be glad to have you along, Nova."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova shifted in place nervously. "I, uh—" He gulped. "I'd have to ask my, y'know, trainers about that. Schedule might not allow it."

The monastery, on the other hand, could be a reasonable place to visit. Maybe the monks would have something that could help him. Either with making these "defensive powers" his own, like Mewtwo suggested. Or figure out how to shift his powers in some way that could make him helpful to the team.

"I'll have to think about it." By which Nova meant talk to Mewtwo. "In the meantime, you're, uh, probably faster than me." His gray eyes blinked. "ᴬⁿᵈ ᴵ ᵏᶦⁿᵈᵃ ᵗᵒᵒᵏ ᵃˡˡ ᵐʸ ᶜᵃˢʰ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡᵉᶠᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᴴᵃᵘˢ ᵗᵒ ˢˡᵉᵉᵖ ᵒᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ. So, you'd probably do a better job spreading the word to the others."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

Felin crinkled her brow, but she didn't let too much amusement to blend into her features. She got back on her feet and cracked her neck, and she heaved a satisfied sigh.

The Sprigatito leaned forward with a practiced bow, her cape draping off to the side. "This offer will stay open," she said as she pointed at his head. "Just like with the popping that helmet off your noggin."

 

[Ambyssin]

"I, uh, think I'll stake my claim on friendship for that," Nova said, rolling his luxury ball with his right foreleg. "I'm just gonna... rest a while, I guess. Take care."

He laid his head down, resting the helmet against his forelegs as best as he could manage.

<><><>​

 

[Weazel]

The first time Archie had left Frontier Town, it had been to come here. The Oshawott had made the trek out to the tent city surrounding the strange magical bulletin board, and taken a simple job along with Corey and Tarahn. Since then, he’d come out this way often, sometimes alone and sometimes with others, and done similar jobs. Eventually, he’d caught the eye of some of the local bounty hunters, and carved out a niche for himself supporting their efforts in outlaw capture. It was steady work, never quite the same day to day, occasionally very exciting, sometimes monotonous, but always satisfying at the end of the day. He’d looked forward to it.

This was the first time he’d been out since the night they’d met The Wolf. His first since back to back encounters with Shadow Pokemon. His injuries were still healing, as the recently changed bandages wrapped around his stomach could attest. Somehow, the walk that he’d used to not think twice about had changed in character. His eyes swept the horizon, focusing on every clump of bush and large jutting rock, wondering who or what might be concealed out of sight. He didn’t feel comfortable, not until he was among the tent city and thus surrounded by the trappings of civilization. He was on light duty today, just looking for some simple job to keep him active. Nothing that would take him too far afield. He didn’t want to be stuck out after nightfall.

The Oshawott wasn’t really expecting much. So, he was quite surprised when, on his way to the bulletin board, he came across a familiar figure! That strange, moody chimera from the ranger fight – what had his name been? Nova? – asleep by himself. Was this where he was staying? It would certainly explain his absence during the Shadow Drapion attack. And he was far from the only Pokemon calling this corner of the desert home. Still, it seemed… Lonely, isolated. A bit of a hike from where most of the rest of them were staying in Frontier Town. Maybe even a little dangerous, even though he knew from fighting alongside him the chimera could hold his own.

Still, the Oshawott figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least check in on him. He hadn’t been doing the greatest mentally or emotionally when Archie had last had a proper chance to converse with him, and the chaos of the group meeting had been far too chaotic – and the Oshawott in far too bad a headspace himself – to do much of anything. So, he crouched down beside Nova, and gave the chimera’s shoulder a light shake.

“Hey, uh… You doing okay?” he asked, softly.

 

[Ambyssin]

Fatigue truly made for nature's best knockout drug. Between the training and Nova still ambling to some railroad work to make sure he was gaining a proper earning, he'd fallen fast asleep quickly.

So, when someone nudged him, he jolted awake. His mask hid any startled expression. That made it easy for Nova to settle himself down once he recognized the oshawott. "Huh?" Nova looked skyward. "Oh."

Nova flopped on his side. The pointed corners of his helmet left his head propped at an awkward angle while he stretched out his legs. His back knees cricked.

"Probably the longest sleep I've had since I got here." Nova rolled off his side. He slid to a sitting position, which still left him towering over Archie. "You need something?"

Admittedly, Nova hadn't paid close attention to everyone and everything at the team meeting, but he could've sword Archie hadn't looked this banged up after the mystery dungeon trek. "You, uh, hurt? I've got berries, I guess..."

 

[Weazel]

“Well, I-” Archie said, before frowning. There wasn’t really anything in particular he’d needed, was there? He was mostly just being nosy, ultimately. Still, he stood up straight again – though even at his full height he still looked pretty diminutive compared to the chimera – and dropped his paws into his coat pockets. “I guess I… Just wanted to check up on you?”

At the mention of being hurt, he glanced down at his belly momentarily, before looking back up at Nova. “Oh, this? No, uh…”

Had Betel put out an APB on the Wolf encounter? Or the Shadow Drapion attack? He wondered how much Nova had been kept abreast of happenings back in Frontier Town. Just how long had the chimera been out here? How much was Archie at liberty to say? He figured Wes at least wouldn’t appreciate him bandying about with the info on The Wolf being an alternate reality version of the Rockruff.

“I’m healing okay,” he said, ultimately. And then he imagined the damage some of the others had taken, especially Steven and Wes, “Really I… Think I got lucky, there.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"Lucky?" Nova tilted his head. "Implying, what? That you were ambushed?" Las Picaras weren't truly malicious, but Nova hadn't the foggiest idea if there were actually crooks running around the frontier. And he wasn't referring to the politicians, either. "Bandits," he squinted, "or something else?"

 

[Weazel]

Oh, wow. So it seemed like Nova was completely in the dark. Well, bandits wasn’t the worst guess, and not even entirely wrong – Seth was a wanted fugitive with a sizable bounty on his head after all. Ambush wasn’t far from the truth, either.

“Where to even begin,” he sighed. “A Shadow Pokemon broke into the Haus a couple nights ago. It ripped Steven up pretty bad. A bunch of us – me, Koa, Wes, Kimiko, Astrid, Ridley, that Poochyena and Mawile too – all got pretty roughed up fighting it off. We managed to overpower it and now it’s locked up in jail next to the ex-mayor.”

He folded his arms, glancing down at his bandaged stomach again, “But this was from later…”

The Oshawott paused to look around, suddenly fearful of listening ears. Even when he spoke again, he’d dropped his voice to barely above a whisper, “You’ve seen the posters around for that wanted Lycanroc, right? The Wolf? Wes and I ran into him and barely escaped with our lives. He’s a Shadow Pokemon too, but, he’s different from the others ones. Still cognizant.”

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova's expression was unreadable, as usual. He'd left the Haus right before a shadow pokémon crashed the damn place. And then a much more significant one must have been skulking by town not long after.

"I see." He stayed perfectly still. "Then I made the right decision leaving." For better or for worse.

Hell, Nova probably couldn't keep camping out here if those things were running around in the town. He'd need to start going on the move for sure.

 

[Weazel]

“Uh…”

Okay, that wasn’t exactly what Archie was expecting the chimera to respond with. Then again, he couldn’t exactly read the Pokemon’s expression, and even changes in his tone of voice likely had a tendency to get smoothed out by the helmet he was seemingly forced to wear. Still, it came across as pretty cold! And to decide that being way out here away from everyone else was the right thing, on top of that?

“Don’t you think you’re a little… Isolated?” The Oshawott asked. If something happened to Nova way out here, there was little chance enough of them would be able to muster in time to make a difference. Wes and Archie had been only a small ways beyond the town boundary and they’d been completely alone the entire encounter with Seth. Even in the heart of town, in the inn most of them were staying at, not even ten of them had made it in time to protect Steven from almost certain demise. Danger could come fast, and from unexpected corners.

“We only have each other to rely on,” he added.

 

[Ambyssin]

"It's the safest thing... for you guys," Nova insisted. He glanced at his bag and grabbed the luxury ball from it. Started to roll it around. "Hopefully it's temporary. But I need to stay away. Until I can break this mask."

Staying away wasn't exactly the best decision given Mewtwo's advice, but if he had to "bond" with anyone at this point, he'd take the two offworlders exuding powerful auras.

"It probably didn't register for most of the humans," he continued. "That we all seem to have sparks of power that don't 'fit' with our species." Nova rolled the ball a little faster. "Maybe it's a good thing for you. Reminds you of something you relied on at home." He looked down. "Well, it's not good for me. The power I have... was forced onto me by someone else. What little I can do here... is all reminiscent of what was forced on me.

"And, yeah, it seems innocent enough on the surface. But if those sparks can grow— if the shadows are able to get a hold of me..." Nova shook his head. "I'm a liability right now. I'm keeping my distance for your safety, not mine. Maybe that'll change once I can break this thing. But I need time for that."

 

[Weazel]

He eyed the ball the chimera was rolling around. Something about it made his fur raise a little the second Nova had pulled it out of his bag. It was familiar in an almost mundane sort of way, but it also seemed… More than a little dangerous, somehow? The Oshawott shook his head, and focused his eyes back on the chimera’s masked face. Tried to think over the words he was saying and not the Dangerous Thing in his talons.

“I don’t follow,” Archie said, shaking his head again. “If you’re worried about the Shadow Pokemon corrupting you, you’re much worse off by yourself. If we stay together, we can protect each other.”

He wondered if it would be an obvious tell about his own human nature if he brought up not noticing this spark Nova was mentioning in himself. Still, whatever it was eating at the chimera, it must run pretty deep that even the Pokemon’s own powers were triggering for him. And Nova just wanted to self isolate and let his own inner demons eat away at him because he believed that would somehow make the rest of them more safe?

The Oshawott recalled the bits and pieces of the chimera’s backstory Nova had shared back at the Sunstone, after they’d toppled the mayor and had their first great victory. That he’d been made to commit great atrocities. That did make the desire to stay away more understandable, at least. Archie could sympathize… But the last person the Oshawott had openly expressed sympathy towards got pissed off and tore a few holes in his gut with a well placed kick. And while Nova certainly wasn’t as highly strung as Seth was, perhaps the chimera might appreciate a more practical response.

“How would you break that mask to begin with?” he asked, carefully, “Is it something other people could help you with?”

Surely if it was something Nova could do on his own, he’d’ve done it by now. It was clearly causing him nothing but strife.

 

[Ambyssin]

“The power of friendship,” Nova flatly stated. “Hence the luxury ball. Given by the owners of the board. Who I’m training with. In friendship power.”

Yep, it still sounded silly out loud.

 

[Weazel]

Several times Archie opened his mouth. Took a deep breath. Tried to produce a word, only to fail, close his mouth again, and take another few moments to think on it some more. So that was a lot to unpack. In some corner of his brain where most of his human memories were still locked off from him, a helpful little nugget awoke to remind him that yes, the bond between a human and their Pokemon partners could be very powerful, and that certain Pokemon – like Eevee – could even evolve into whole new forms if the power of that bond was strong enough. So, the power of friendship being able to break the chimera’s mask wasn’t, on its face, as ridiculous an assertion as it might otherwise sound. That being said…

“Wait, don’t you think you’re going about this kinda wrong?” he asked. It almost sounded like the chimera was trying to artificially force some kind of friendship bond, like it was a system that could somehow be gamed, and not the result of some kind of natural affection between close confidants. Well, if he was desperate to lose the mask, the Oshawott could understand why Nova might be willing to try anything, even something that sounded so… Dubious. “Sorry, that didn’t, um… What I mean is, if you need friends, why not try befriending some of us?”

He paused for a second to give the chimera his best winning smile. Only for it to immediately falter again when he realized that the Oshawott had gotten so caught up in that first bit of Nova’s explanation that the rest of it hadn’t fully sunk in yet. “Wait, the owners of the bulletin board put you in a Pokeball!? You met them and they became your Trainers!?”

A Luxury Ball. An actual, swear to Arceus Pokeball in the world of Forlas! That set the alarm bells ringing. Why did those exist, how did they exist? If he hadn’t been so damn caught up in his own head at the group meeting, he’d’ve objected very strongly to everything about that!

 

[Ambyssin]

"Not just me," Nova said, continuing to roll the ball around. "Mhynt got caught to see 'em, too. And so did Leaf, Koa, Gladion, and Jade. This would've been... before the shadow 'mon forced its way into the Haus." He paused, looking upward. "Huh. Enough people for my Earth's standard league team. Funny coincidence."

After a pause, he said, "Oh, but they didn't return for the training. Felin did, though not sure she kept the ball. So, at least of us have poké balls. Four of whom are humans, I believe?" Nova glanced at the luxury ball. "These are simple apricorn ones. Self-releasing. And we each carry ours."

 

[Weazel]

Archie eyed the ball, clearly skeptical. The mention that Leaf and especially that Koa had gone along with this as well made his expression shift even more sour, but he held his tongue, not wanting to say the wrong thing here. Still, he couldn’t exactly say nothing at all, here!

“Well… Be careful, okay?” he eventually said, “I’d be pretty wary of anyone going around with Pokeballs in a world like this.”

He was sure there must be a better way to help the chimera out of his present predicament without involving such a device as the Pokeball. And even if the current model could be freely escaped from, how long would it be until a more advanced, less easily undone model made its appearance? The invention of the Pokeball felt like one of those world changing moments to Archie, like splitting the atom. Now that the line had been crossed, there was no putting that Hoopa back into its metaphorical Prison Bottle.

“You sure I can’t convince you to come back to Frontier Town?”

 

[Ambyssin]

"If anything, the rest of you should start to be on the move yourselves," Nova said, still rolling the ball around. It had collected a fair bit of dirt, just like Nova's pelt. "If one shadow 'mon found you, what's stopping others from making a beeline to the Haus? Or the one in jail going right back for you if it breaks out."

He scratched at his right side with his hind leg. "For that matter, is the one in jail still shadowed? Or did you find a way to dispel them?"

 

[Weazel]

“Well that’s why it’s important we all stick together,” Archie countered, folding his arms and leaning back on his heels. “The last thing any of us wants to do is get caught alone by one of those things.”

Honestly, thinking back to their attempts at the jailhouse was making the Oshawott cringe. What a mess.

“No,” he conceded, “It’s still corrupted. We tried interrogating the ex-mayor for information, I’m sure you can imagine how well that went. Most of the time it acts like a normal – well, feral – Pokemon. It’s not hostile on sight, but we’re just not sure how to get through to it.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I see." Nova stopped rolling the ball. Feral and shadow would be a tough nut to crack for sure. "And what about the Wolf? You called him cognizant. Was he berserk from the get-go, but spoke full sentences?"