Pokemon: Mind and Soul [IC / PG / Not Accepting / Co-Hosted by Skaia]

[Skaia 579]

With Cherry going for yet another pound, the Murkrow had flown at her, beak at the ready. With the two strikes colliding, it was clear that they were in pain, but the Murkrow had the advantage as the second had flown swiftly towards Cherry. As the Buneary was recovering from its attack, it tried to escape from pursuit of the Murkow, only for the bird to keep up and ram into Cherry. With the dark aura that surrounded the Murkrow discharging against the Buneary, Cherry was knocked away and clearly in pain as the two Murkrow flocked towards each other, making clearly mocking "cawing" noises towards them. "Darn cheating hecklers." Jacklyn grit her teeth as she grumbled at their two on one tactics, only to then have another idea pop into her head. 

As Cherry stood up, clearly beaten up and struggling to keep herself in the fight, Jacklyn shouted, "come over Cherry! Jump to me!" The Buneary cocked its head to the side, but seemed to be trusting in her partner, leaping towards Jacklyn. Seeing the Buneary trying to escape, one of the Murkrows charged up a dark aura of energy around it as it went to keep pursuit against Cherry. With a smile on her face, Jacklyn caught Cherry but seemed to only hold on with one hand as she reeled her arm back. "Alright Cherry, use Pound!" Like a baseball, Jacklyn pitched Cherry forward, feet first towards the charging Murkrow. Cherry, realizing this was an all too familiar feeling, stuck her feet out catching the surprised Murkrow off guard and striking it in the chest. The strike seemed to keep the bird going, only to strike into the wall and knock it out. With Cherry landing to the ground, she simply let out a victorious, "buuuu," leaving the other Murkrow confused but still diving after the Buneary to avenge his fallen bird comrade.

[LordCowCow 842]

Naomi gave Oswald a goofy grin as he made his joke and helped her down. "You found me." She said with a short laugh. "S'pose it's time to go mm?" She asked. Though once she found out they were headed back to the dock she grew confused. "Didn we do this 'ready?" She asked, confused.

It took some time to get Naomi into a wet suit of her own, both the clerk and Kanon had to work together for the task, and once it worked she seemed unhappy with how tight it was. "M'body can't breathe." She muttered as she flopped onto the dock. She wasn't paying much attention as the clerk described how to dive, especially given that Naomi had no intention to do so, and simply let herself slip off the dock, floaties attached, and splashed into the water.

As the clerk watched Kanon go ask the workers she clucked her tongue. "You know." She told Oswald. "I can't stay here all day. I've done this before and I can tell there's no danger. Those workers are just such sticklers though. They wouldn't let us go in until they've completely packed up. I don't know about you but I'm not gonna wait around until they finish gossiping or whatever guys like that do when they're done with actual work." She gave Oswald a mock salute. "See you under the waves, comrade!" She declared as she lowered herself into the water. Her Chinchou, having greeted the other's Pokemon happily, dove down alongside her and a soft glow from its lights could be seen from the surface.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"M'body can't breathe."

Oswald looked to Naomi, who plopped into the waters as lazily as she seemed to do everything.  It was comical enough that he had to laugh a bit.  The Clerk had gotten into the water as well.  He looked to where Kanon had gone off to talk with the dock workers, and shrugged.  He jumped right into the water alongside Naomi and Snipe, trying his best not to splash the girl and her floaties.  

 "You know." The clerk told Oswald. "I can't stay here all day. I've done this before and I can tell there's no danger. Those workers are just such sticklers though. They wouldn't let us go in until they've completely packed up. I don't know about you but I'm not gonna wait around until they finish gossiping or whatever guys like that do when they're done with actual work." She gave Oswald a mock salute. "See you under the waves, comrade!"

Since she was under the water now, there was no point in saying that he'd be waiting for Kanon.  He patiently treaded water until she arrived at the dock.

"I couldn't just not ask, but they said it's not okay to go until they... finish up here...Where's the clerk lady?"

Oswald scratched his cheek, as he began to sink into the water.  

"Uhm....she's already gone ahead of us.  So I suggest we follow before we lose her!"  He looked to Naomi and waved.  "Hang tight!  We'll be right back!"  Oswald placed the breather in his mouth, and ushered Kanon to jump in.  He submerged, where Snipe was ready to drag him deeper into the waves.  Ahead, he could see the bright glow of the clerk's Chinchou.  He pointed to the glow, and the Remoraid followed at a quick pace.  It was oddly calming down here...the sound of the water muffling anything around him.  Since being outside the city, he had done a lot of fun stuff.  The thought made him smile.  

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 0

"Uhm....she's already gone ahead of us. So I suggest we follow before we lose her!"

She WHAT!?

"Hang tight! We'll be right back!"

"Wait, shouldn't we--" It was no use. Oswald was already in the water, where he wouldn't be able to hear her anymore. This felt like a bad idea. But it was now or never, she supposed. And so, mask and other gear properly adjusted, Kanon jumped into the water, following up on Oswald retreating beneath the surface, herself followed by trusty companion Bubbles. Being beneath the water was an entirely different experience to being within the trees, or on the city streets. There was a distinct quality about it. Almost like what she imagined flying would feel like, but heavier.

As Kanon continued downard, something caught her eye. A little sparkle. She swam over in its direction - not too far off-course - to investigate. And what she found was a little pearl. Neat! Kanon picked it up and jammed it into her diving suit, not having the pockets to put it anywhere else for now. Only a little bit of water got in. Now, where was that guide?

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan's eyes locked onto the Murkrows, the bird returning with a mischievous look on its face. The boy glanced over to the Bellsprout, who had seen better days. He knew going in that he was at a type disadvantage, but he didn't realize how bad it would actually be. "Root, Vine Whip!" He commanded, not wanting to loose momentum in the battle. As the Bellsprout sprung into action, Ivan thought about what he was going to do. If this battle went on much longer, Root was going to faint. Even with its boosted attacks, he knew Root was out gunned this fight.

The Murkrow didn't even dodging the attack, letting out a confident chirp as the vines hit it. As it slid back, the Murkrow saw its opening and, with impressive speed, dashed right back into the fight with another Peck, landing right at the Bellsprout's core. Root was sent flying from the impact, Ivan diving to catch his Pokemon before it hit the ground. "Root!" He shouted, seeing the Bellsprout struggle to stay awake in his arms. This was bad, he'd have to return his Pokemon back before it got hurt any more.

As Ivan reached into his bag to get Root's Pokemon, he heard Root let out a sound of protest. "What, no." Ivan said, pulling up the Pokeball. "Look at you... you can't even stand up!" He said, ready to recall the Pokemon. However, Root let out a shout and a grunt, as it shakily stood up. While the Pokemon was weak, its eyes burned with determination. Root wasn't about to lose to some rift raft chicken. The Bellsprout stood, just barely, but managed to stand up. Without waiting on its Trainer, Root rushed forwards into battle.

"Crap!" Ivan said, turning to the Pokeball in his hand. He suddenly got an idea, reaching towards his bag once again. He did always want a Murkrow.

The Murkrow snickered at the Bellsprout, turning to the trainer. These two entertained it greatly, especially the Bellsprout's fiery spirit. Despite being at a disadvantage, the Bellsprout managed to do a number on the Murkrow, although the difference between their conditions were immense. The stupidity of these two was extremely amusing. As the Bellsprout went in for a Vine Whip, the Murkrow simply jumped out of the way, the plant doubling over itself as it let out its sluggish attack. The bird let out another laugh, and was ready to finish off its opponent, when it felt something hit its head. The Murkrow turned towards the trainer as the ball above it started to open, caught off guard by this move.

Ivan launched the Pokeball out of his hand, hitting the Murkrow right on the head. The Murkrow went into the Pokeball, and it shook on the ground once. Ivan's heart was pounding as he watched the ball wobble a second time. He thought he saw the ball about to break out as it violently swung in one direction, before letting out a sigh of relief as he heard that notorious clicking sound.

"Jeez...." Ivan said, recalling the Bellsprout on the ground back to her Pokeball, before walking up to the Pokeball that was on the ground. This thing had caused him a lot of trouble just now, but he couldn't deny there was something about this bird that Ivan liked. This wasn't how he imagined the battle going, but somehow this was better than he had planned.

He had caught the Murkrow.

[LordCowCow 842]

It was darker than expected under the water. But Chinchou's light managed to spread out enough that they were able to see the almost otherworldly sights that lay beneath the waves.

Fish darted away as the divers approached, scared off by their movement and light, and seaweed floated along past them. Occasional patches of coral could be seen attached to the supports that held the pier they had dove from.

Several Skrelp attempted to approach the group with aggressive intent but Chinchou's Flash and the other two's Pokemon caused them to flee as well.

When they got closer to where the workers had brought up the Skrelp they saw that there was a mass of land, which was what kept the city up, which seemed to have markings all over it. As they got closer they would see that the markings appeared to be some sort of carvings. It was difficult to pick out anything in particular but there seemed to be people in a crouched, bowing, position, as well as some large entity that the people were bowing to.

Farther down the group would be able to see something else. It was a carving, similar to the others, but it went deeper. Practically creating a statue carved into the rock itself.

A statue that was almost impossible to make out what it could be. Having been smoothed out by the water over time. But because of previous events Oswald and Kanon would be able to see a resemblance to something else.

The statue they had seen in the marsh.

[Sethera 290]

The Rattata was too busy charging at her to notice the Poamoo headed its way. The grass type shoved it to the side with another Tackle, slamming the rat against the wall of the lighthouse. It almost seems like there should be a rat-shaped indent there. But the lighthouse was made of sturdier stuff than that, though the Rattata looked a little dazed.

Belle stood up straighter, a little relieved now that she wasn't currently under attack. "Okay, we need to keep up the pace. Bind it with your vines, Moo."

The cow nodded, and thin, whiplike rattan vines snaked from his sides to coil around the rat.

"Now, slam it into the ground." By doing this, they would hopefully prevent the Rattata from recovering and going on the offensive again. "I think the Pokédex said there was another move learned too?" Taking out the encyclopedia, Belle aimed it at her Pokémon and glanced at the information displayed. There was also a voice feature, but she had disabled that as it was a little annoying. "It looks like you learned...Rock Smash? So you can smash rocks now?" That was useful. If she ever needed to smash any rocks, she knew what to use. Will this also work on a non-rock? she wondered.

While she was thinking, the Rattata started to wriggle in its binds, still lively even after being slammed into the ground. It twisted around and bit down on the vines encircling it, causing them to loosen their grip as Moo let out a bellow of pain. "Raa!" it cried, but instead of immediately charging like Belle had expected, it stayed in place, and what seemed like a gust of wind kicked up around its feet as a swirling orange energy engulfed it.

"What is that?! Whatever that is, it's not good. Moo, attack!" the bluenette cried, dismayed, but before her Poamoo could even begin to move forward, the Rattata ran at the other Pokémon at top speed, smashing into the cow with what looked to be the force of a small bullet. The grass type was sent flying, lowing in shock and pain, before landing heavily on the ground in front of his trainer.

"This isn't good...that Rattata is not only fast, but whatever that move was, it made it stronger too." Belle stared down the Rattata, sweat starting to run down her face. "We need to end this. I know it might seem like overkill, but...use Rock Smash." There was no response. "Moo?"

The cow let out a pained moo as he slowly staggered to his feet. His sides were heaving as he panted in exertion and exhaustion. Unlike before, he did not stand tall, but wobbled, looking as if one good gust of wind would tip him over.

"Hmm, you're low on health, aren't you," Belle remarked. "That's not good. This battle isn't over yet." She snapped her Pokédex shut as she commanded. "Moo, use Rock Smash! Give it all you have!"

The grass type moo'd and ran forward. This time, he managed to reach the normal type before getting hit, lifting his front hooves into the air before slamming them down on the Rattata with finality. The rat let out a gasp of pain, looking far more affected by this attack than any of the previous ones.

"Okay, that seemed to do it." Taking out an empty Poké Ball, Belle threw it at the Rattata. As its form turned red and was sucked into the ball, Moo's hooves touched empty air before landing on the ground.

Were things really going to be that easy?

Edited June 6, 2019 by Sethera

[Skaia 579]

With Cherry having defeated the first of the two Murkrow, there was still a second flying in the air. The second was, admittedly, stunned at the sight of what had just happened with the fastball Buneary. However, as it seemed to get over this, it dove at the bunny with Jacklyn noticing. "Cherry, brace yourself!" Rolling back up to their feet, Cherry saw the bird diving at her, simply curling up into a defensive posture and taking the hit. Due to their posture, they managed to keep themselves standing, but it was clear that Cherry was on her last legs. Seeing this, Jacklyn put a finger to her chin as she started to slip her backpack off of her shoulder. Yelling out again, "Cherry, get over here!" The Buneary looked reluctant but started to hop over to Jacklyn. 

This time, the Murkrow had an idea of what to expect, and started to zip towards the Buneary. However, unlike the last time, Jacklyn ran towards Cherry, causing the Buneary great confusion. As she caught up with her Buneary, Jacklyn as well, sped past her pokemon, slipping her bag fully off her shoulder and grabbing onto her backpack strap. Swinging her arm, the Murkrow was again blindsided as the trainer struck the bird pokemon with her backpack and knocked it away from her pokemon. Jacklyn then shouted, "Cherry! Pound!" 

"Buuuuu!" Going with the flow with her eccentric trainer, Cherry pivoted around and leaped forward towards the injured Murkrow. With a final slam of her feet into the bird, they had knocked them into the wall once again. Falling onto the body of the other Murkrow, both trainer and pokemon let out a triumphant yell, before high fiving one another.

"Way to go Cherry! We Rock!" 

"Bu!"

Nodding to each other, Jacklyn looked over to see that Ivan was staring at a pokeball. Marveling at it, she said, "whoa! Way to go Ivan! We really showed those birds who the better hecklers were right!" Jacklyn then pointed to the ceiling and shouted, "hear that any birds that want to get in our way! Hahaha!" Sighing contentedly to herself, the girl looked to Ivan saying, "so wanna keep going up?" 

[Sethera 290]

Belle stood there, watching the Poké Ball in front of her. It shook, wobbled, and shook some more, the red light in the middle blinking frantically, before releasing the Rattata it had been attempting to contain. And said Pokémon looked furious.

Cursing, the girl threw another ball, but the result was just the same.

Before she could throw another ball, the Rattata charged, not for Moo, but for her. Sucking in a breath, the girl glared at the rat. "Y-y-yeah? You think you're so tough, because you can't be captured?" Her legs shook and she collapsed to the ground right as the Pokémon reached her. Lifting her arms to block the attack, she paused when it...didn't come?

Glancing up, she saw the Rattata glaring down at her with contempt before it turned away, tail brushing past her face.

Relieved, the girl leaned back, but...she couldn't help but feel a little...embarrassed as well. Or was it anger? Anger at being bested, at being shown she wasn't good enough. Hah. As if that were true. She was Belladonna Morgane, also known as Leppapi online. She stood at the top of the rankings, and had even earned money from esports tournaments. And she, Leppapi, had been bested by a mere Rattata?

A hand snapped out, grasping the curled end of that furry tail. A low, intense voice spoke. "Hold it right there."

The Rattata whipped around in indignation, but paused at what it saw. A normally weak-looking, chubby girl with dark circles under her eyes, except said eyes were currently narrowed, glowing a bright blue instead of their normal yellow.

"You think you're better than me?" she hissed between clenched teeth. "I might not be a good trainer, but I'm still leagues above you." She grinned, and it was then that the rat noticed a small, red-and-white ball hovering next to her, outlined in the same blue as her eyes. Before it had time to register anything beyond that, the ball shot straight toward its face like an arrow, and everything went dark.

Belle sighed in relief when the ball finally stopped shaking, the button in the middle turning back to its original metallic gray instead of the blinking red light from before. Picking up the Poké Ball, the bluenette stared down at it for a while. "You know, I probably would've just given up if it weren't for your attitude," she mused. "So...thanks for that?" Pocketing the ball, she turned, relaxing at seeing the group of Rattata had scattered after their ringleader had been captured. "At least I don't have to deal with all of your friends too."

Beside her, Moo let out a weak low.

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 0

Deeper she went. Deeper and deeper into the water, following behind the helpful but very reckless guide. There were fish, and the land beneath the water. Kanon always knew land worked like that, being too heavy to float  and all, but seeing it up close was a different thing entirely. But there was something else here. Something distinctly man-made. Or pokemon-made perhaps? Whatever it was, it was some sort of statue, that seemed to have the same general look as the one Kanon had tried to climb in the marsh just the other day. She'd nearly opened her mouth to comment on it, but a mouthful of saltwater sounded... bad. At best.

So instead, Kanon turned toward Oswald and pointed at the statue, gesturing to follow her as she swam closer to it. Whatever this statue was doing down here of all places, Kanon wanted to get to the bottom of it.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

The water grew darker the further they dived, but Chinchou's light made the area around them easier to see.  Chinchou were common in Johto, so seeing one here was somewhat nostalgic.  These little guys sure were handy in the right scenarios.  Even the Pokemon's flash was able to deter some unwanted attention from wild Pokemon.  It would be best to avoid getting in a fight with so many poisonous Skrelp down in the depths.  

As the group moved deeper, they came upon some strange sunken structures.  Kanon motioned him over to some in particular.  They seemed to be man made, and built with purpose, depicting scenes of humans worshiping something like a deity.  It was strange, but it wasn't uncommon for people to worship ancient Pokemon.  However, this statue looked way too familiar...that same Malimar from before, here at the bottom of the bay.  

Was this what the Skrelp were swarming around?

 

[reparoni 161]

 

---

As Ivan put the Pokeball away, he quickly thought about what he wanted to name the Pokemon. The first thing that came to mind was Don, and he thought that name was fitting enough. "Welcome to the team, Don." He said to no on in particular, before turning to Jacklyn. She had just finished her battle with the Murkrow as well, and seemed eager to keep on going. "Well, we didn't come here just to stop midway, right?" He said with a shrug, making his way upwards. He wasn't sure what he was going to see up there, but having caught his third member, he felt like the journey here was already worth it.

Edited June 12, 2019 by REP

[LordCowCow 842]

The clerk noticed the two gathering around a particular spot which prompted her to go check it out as well.

As they watched the carving seemed to move. The lower half, which was where the tentacles were located, started to sway back and forth in a hypnotizing manner. The longer they looked at it the more drawn to it they were.

The clerk found herself reaching out for the carving and, before she realized what was happening, put her hand on the statue.

There was a sickly green pulse that came from the carving and each of them, for a moment, saw an image of a tentacle covered face in their minds.

And then they saw Chinchou's Flash attack.

Behind them they would see half a dozen Skrelp coming in towards them with aggressive expressions on their faces.

The clerk blinked a few times before gesturing to the other two, pointing at their Pokemon, then at the Skrelp.

Spoiler

I know I gave you a lot to react to in a small post but I'm sure y'all can respond accordingly

As for the Skrelp coming in....

Level 4, Smokescreen, Tackle, Water Gun, Faint Attack
2 have Poison Point, 3 have Poison Touch

And yes I know you can't give verbal commands to your Pokemon which is part of this "challenge"

---

Ivan and Jacklyn didn't get harassed by any more wild Pokemon on the way up to the next level, nor the next after that. They emerged at what seemed to be the top of the stairs in a small, empty, room. There were more windows up there than any of the other floors but other than that the room was empty.

Including the light that was supposed to be at the top. Jacklyn, not satisfied, went searching the room and found a rope dangling near the middle of the room on the ceiling.

Pulling on it made a narrow staircase tumble down, leading up through the ceiling.

Entering it they would find another, smaller, room. In the middle of which a large cylindrical light sat.

As they stepped into the room they would end up stepping on candy wrappers and bags of chips.

And tucked away near the edge there was a bedroll. Sitting on top of it, holding a comic book in hand, was a thin and small young man.

"W-who are you?" He asked shakily. "What are you doing here? G-get outta my home."

-------

It was silent down where Belle was. The Rattata were hiding now and no other Pokemon seemed to be around.

Yet Belle could sense something was wrong. She felt as though she was being watched. And then she could hear something. Someone laughing. A soft and menacing "Haun haun haun"

And then she felt her backpack move. And heard the zipper slowly unzip.

Were she to look she would see.

A pair of floating, purple, hands reaching into her backpack.

Spoiler

As always the pace is up to you. However much info you want from me I'm willing to give.

 

[Skaia 579]

Thrilled by Ivan's zeal, the girl gave him a thumbs up saying, "well spoken my fellow companion! Onward!" With that, the duo began their ascent up the lighthouse more, until finding themselves in yet another room. Exploring around, Jacklyn's keen adventure sense had picked up a rope that would lead them upward, looking to Ivan yet again with a glint in her eyes that said they had definitely found something. As they climbed up, Jacklyn looked around what was certainly a messy looking place. With nothing but what seemed to be trash on the ground, Jacklyn wondered what could've been going on - "ah!" Her train of thought was broken as she suddenly heard someone in the room speak up. 

Looking to the fellow on the bed, about as surprised as he was to see them, Jacklyn said, "your home? What do you mean your home? This is an abandoned lighthouse which means it's prime place for adventuring, not living!" Looking away briefly the girl put a finger to her chin as she said, "I think that's called squatting." Looking then to her companion, she pointed to the boy saying, "Ivan do something about this miscreant!"

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan and Jacklyn made their way up the lighthouse with no interruptions or hassles. Eventually, they found themselves what seemed to be the top of the staircase. A large empty room, covered in darkness due to the lack of windows. Ivan rubbed the back of his head as he watched Jacklyn look around the place. There had to be a way upwards - after all, they were in a lighthouse. And indeed there was, as Jacklyn found a rope that lead upwards. "Nice work." Ivan commented, letting Jaclyn go up the rope first. Once she was at the top, Ivan climbed up as well with relative ease.

When he got up there, he saw Jacklyn was talking to a thin, young man. He seemed to be startled that anyone had came up here, claiming that it was his home? Ivan took another look around, noting the chips and wrappers lying around the place. "What the..." Ivan said, grimacing at the mess around him, before turning back to Jacklyn. "That's a bit harsh, but..." He turned to the boy. "What made you think setting up shop at a lighthouse was a good idea? How did you even get all this stuff anyways?" He said, picking up one of the candy wrappers, before crumpling it into his fist. "And why don't you get some actual food instead of this crap!?" He said with a tone of disappointment, glancing back at the man, waiting for his response.

[LordCowCow 842]

 

Dennis cowered back a bit as the two ferocious strangers closed in on him. Instinctively his hand went to his Pokeball but he stopped himself. Remembering that his Pokemon was elsewhere at the moment.

So he was defenseless against this massive thug, who Dennis was sure had to be at seven feet tall, and that executioner of a girl. With a gulp he stood up and backed away. What was he supposed to do now? They outnumbered him, outmuscled him, and he had no idea where his partner was right now.

"I...I just eat whatever I can get." Dennis said in response. He realized he had to play along with these two. Whatever they asked he had to answer. It was the only way he'd get out of here alive. "I don't get to choose what comes my way." His eyes shifted over towards the windows.

No. Too high up. But if he had to...

"U-uh...you're not here to fix the light right? I...I keep it going to make sure no one comes here. So there shouldn't be any reason for you to be here." His eyes widened. "Are you here to rob the place?" His eyes flicked to the pair's bags. It didn't look like burglar equipment but... "There's...there's nothing here. Just go away!" He said, raising his voice slightly, then wincing as he realized what he had done.

They were going to throw him off the edge for that weren't they?

[Sethera 290]

Belle was ready to be done with this. She had caught a Pokémon, so it was time to, well, leave right? Except she couldn't really leave quite yet, since she was still waiting for her traveling companions to be done. How annoying. The girl let out a sigh, but paused when she heard a menacing voice, "Haun haun haun." Soon after, she felt her backpack move without her say-so, heard the slight buzzing sound of her zipper unzipping. Looking back, she saw a pair of floating hands reaching into her backpack.

"Aaagh!" she screamed, despite herself, and lurched forward, falling flat on her face. "Oww," she moaned, rubbing her nose as she got up. No blood, at least. Getting up, she shook her head before turning at hearing laughter from behind.

"Haunhaunhaunhaun."

Turning around, she thought she caught a glimpse of something, but a second later all she could see was that same pair of hands, grabbing...oh no it didn't. It had her Gummy Bewears!

Her fear replaced by wrath, Belle lunged forward. "Gimme!" Unfortunately, her hands closed on empty air. Hissing in rage, the bluenette heard yet more "Haunhaun" laughter before the pair of hands, clutching her bags of Gummy Bewears, fled up the stairs.

Without thinking, the girl followed it, her unwillingness to let her snacks slip away overpowering any hesitation at climbing the stairs. She paused briefly before beginning her climb, but, shaking her head, she set her face and began to climb, determination giving her the strength to keep going. Determination to get her snacks back!

Edited June 20, 2019 by Sethera

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 0

The statue was certainly something. The tentacles at the bottom even more so. The more she looked at them, the more fascinating they seemed. She just couldn't find it in her to look away anymore. Kanon wasn't sure what was so impressive about them, but they certainly had her attention. Then that clerk lady went to touch it, and suddenly everything seemed a lot less appealing. Kanon's head was filled with the image of some tentacle face monster thing. What was it? She'd never seen something  like that before, but luckily, the vision didn't last long before the clerk's Chinchou snapped everyone out of it.

Right now, there were other problems to see to. Like all those Skrelp. They didn't look happy. Was the statue important to them for some reason? Whatever it was, it was looking like they'd have to fight... but Kanon couldn't issue orders to Bubbles underwater. She wasn't a mermaid, and the thought of being one didn't sound all that great either. Bubbles looked at her, as if anticipating its orders. Kanon pointed to one of the Skrelps off on the side, clenched her hands into fists, and ran one into the other.

It seemed to take a moment for the Poliwag to get what Kanon was trying to convey. But once Bubbles figured it out, the creature turned, darting through the water toward the target Skrelp, ready to tackle it.

[Skaia 579]

Jacklyn stood there, nodding as Ivan chastised the boy about both being up here and his poor eating habits. The girl hadn't actually noticed the mess of wrappers around the room, she instead just seemed to be in a natural agreement of the tone Ivan was using against him. She stopped, though, as the boy tried to explain himself, an unamused crossing her face as he started to explain himself. Putting a hand on her hip the girl said, "well, we're not light repairmen, so no we're not here to fix the light." The girl's eyes then brightened up as she seemed to ignore what he first said, instead getting lost in her own thoughts. "But wait. Is it broken? Does there need to be a light repairman?"

Her eyes darting over to Ivan as if she had just stumbled onto a gold mine saying, "well, don't worry! Because we're adventurers! And it's the job of an adventurer to explore and help everyone they come across." Crossing her arms, the girl seemed to huff a bit as she said, "so we won't be leaving until we're done adventuring this lighthouse. And let me get one thing straight with you," giving a cross look to the boy, wagging her finger at him she said, "Adventurers don't rob. They loot. There's a difference." 

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Each of the three continued to look at the statue, but something about it was way too alluring.  Looking towards the bottom of the statue, the Tentacles of the Malamar seemed to twist and turn, the rhythm extremely relaxing.  It was enough to put Oswald in a trance.  As the clerk lady reached out to touch the statue, a faint green light permeated the water around them, and Oswald saw Tentacles wrapped around a face in his head.  The thought was so strange, but he was too enticed by the statue to much care.  However, their guide's Chinchou let out a blinding light from it's antennae, forcing Oswald out of his bewilderment for the statue. 

He turned around in an instant, shaking his head.  He looked to the others, who seemed to be snapped out of their daze as well.  Oswald then looked to Snipe, who had looked at the trainer with worried, unblinking eyes.  Oswald pet the fish's side, but noticed that a large pod of Skrelp was now headed their way.  A battle underwater would be extremely difficult, but hopefully Snipe would pick up on his cues.  He pointed at the pod of Skrelp, and then to his mouth.  He made an expanding motion, but the fish continued to stare at him.  Oswald grabbed a hold of his Pokemon, and aimed it in the direction of the Skrelp, and gave him a little squeeze around the sides.

A jet of water expelled itself from Snipe's mouth, headed towards the pod of Pokemon.

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan shook his head. "I'm sure you can get your hands on something less... this." He said, although the boy shifted the subject. He seemed extremely on edge for whatever reason, as he talked about the light. Ivan wasn't even aware that the light was busted. "No, we're not here to fix the light. We're just exploring the place." He said, eyes on the kid. Jacklyn sounded like she wanted to help with the light, as that's what adventurers did. Ivan simply rolled his eyes. "Kid, we're not here to rob you." He said, stepping up slowly to him. "If we were, you'd know. Trust me." He said, placing his hand on his chest, before gesturing to Jacklyn. "We were just curious about this place... and apparently are going to help with the lights now." He said, crossing his arms. "So relax, will ya?"

[LordCowCow 842]

The Skrelp didn't seem to think that the trainer's Pokemon would come at them so suddenly. In fact they seemed to not at first even notice said Pokemon. So focused were they on the statue and the trainers that the fact other Pokemon were in the water totally passed them by.

However when the Skrelp on the far left side was struck with the Tackle the others began to swarm Bubbles. Dark energy surrounded them and they seemed to back away for a moment before suddenly surging towards Bubbles. Three Skrelp coming at him with Faint Attack. While another

One of the charging Skrelp got knocked off course by Snipe's jet of water. It didn't seem to damage them much but the pressure, and lack of solid ground, caused the Pokemon to be knocked to the side.

A light appeared suddenly and they would see an Electro Ball coming off the end of the clerk's Chinchou. It made its way towards the Skrelp hit by Snipe and the seahorse spasmed as the electricity struck.

Spoiler

One Skrelp done with, one injured, two using Faint Attack on Bubbles and one using a Smokescreen around the area.

Reminder that you can do more than a single action if you desire these wild Pokemon aren't necessary to only be controlled by me as long as you don't go overboard with it.

---

"Adventurers don't rob. They loot. There's a difference." 

"So you admit you're here to take stuff." Dennis declared, nervously edging towards a small pile of comic books and junk food near a bedroll. 

"We were just curious about this place... and apparently are going to help with the lights now."

"I'm not a kid." The boy whined. "I'll have you know I'm 15. Just because I'm not huge like you doesn't make me a kid." His eyes flicked between the two and his brows furrowed. "And the light's not broke, I just said that, so there's nothing here for you. Leave me alone!"

As he said that a pair of hands floated up from the stairs, making a haunting "teeeer" noise as it did. The hands moved past Ivan and Jacklyn and next to the Dennis. Who breathed a sigh of relief as the ghostly hands dropped something near his feet. It appeared to be a partially eaten bag of Gummy Bewears. Then the hands faded from view.

Dennis looked a bit more confident as he pointed at the two. "See that? This place is haunted you know. You better get on out of here quick."

[Skaia 579]

Jacklyn huffed a bit as the boy reaffirmed that there was no need for the light to be fixed, simply muttering, "buzzkill." As Jacklyn, having been thoroughly disinterested with the room now, was ready to start going she was stopped as a pair of floating hands passed by her. The girl looked both surprised and shocked as they did so, dropping something off at Dennis's feet. There was some form of common sense in Jacklyn that seemed to be picking up on something about this whole thing, though that quickly went out the window as Dennis had mentioned that the building was haunted. "H-haunted?" Jacklyn muttered, the same kind of shocked expression on her face as her hands started to tremble. 

"Haunted?" She repeated, as she began to walk towards Dennis. "Did- did you say this place was really haunted?" As she finally made her way over to the boy, she looked up at him, eyes practically beaming with joy as she pumped her fist into the air. "Wahoooooooooo, yeah!" Turning back to her adventuring companion she exclaimed, "hear that Ivan! There's still hope for this building yet!" Turning back to Dennis, she pointed at him saying, "if this building is haunted, then it's up to an adventurer to clear out any malignant or wayward spirits that are still here." Shaking her fist, now clearly in excitement she simply said again, "woohoo." Her eyes then went back to the bag of Gummy Bewears on the floor, before the girl turned to Ivan saying, "do you think Belle likes ghosts?" 

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 0

The battle against the Skrelp was going well enough. The combined efforts of Bubbles, Snipe, and Chinchou, were paying off. Bubbles, however, was taking a bit of a beating. Three of the Skrelp had swarmed him, and while he seemed to be quite a bit stronger than them, there were still three of them. Maybe letting someone else wrap up would be for the best. Kanon recalled Bubbles to his Poke Ball. Being a squid, surely Ursula could breathe underwater. And so, Kanon retrieved her Poke Ball holding the Inkay, and opened it up.

Only to immediately realize, she had no idea what Ursula was actually capable of. Uh-oh. As the Inkay floated about waiting for its command, Kanon pointed at the remaining Inkay, and gestured vaguely, as if to tell her to just do whatever she thought would work. Trusting your judgment on yourself here. Please don't let me down. As Ursula looked over the others and swam into the fray, her body lit up with a reflective sheen.

[Sethera 290]

Belle gasped for breath like a beached Wailord as she climbed up the stairs. The ghostly hands had made much better time than her. Her earlier run had slowed down to a walk, and then to a crawl, practically hobbling on all fours by now. By the time she actually made it all the way to the top, she was sweating buckets, and her heart felt as if it would pound out of her chest. "Can't...go...any more..." she panted, coughing slightly as the irritants in the air scraped against her trachea, made worse by her ragged breaths. "This is...too much," she devolved into a coughing fit as soon as she reached the staircase from the trapdoor. Stopping to catch her breath, bent over, hands on knees, she listened to what sounded like a conversation coming from above. Well, actually, it sounded more like Jacklyn making a racket.

"Hear that Ivan! There's still hope for this building yet If this building is haunted, then it's up to an adventurer to clear out any malignant or wayward spirits that are still here. Woohoo."

A pause.

"Do you think Belle likes ghosts?"

"No, I don't!" the bluenette shouted, temporarily energized as her temper flared again. Storming up the stairs, she fixed her gaze on the pair of hands still floating in place. "You!" she pointed a finger at it. "Give me back my--" she glanced down, before diving to grab her candy. "My Gummy Bewears!"

Distracted as she was, the girl didn't even seem to notice anybody else around her. It was just her, the ghostly hands, and the Gummy Bewears.