Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Union of Stars [IC/Not Accepting]

[LordCowCow 840]

"H-heh how would I even know?"

"Ya know what, I'll give you that...honestly we all might know stuff we don't know we know, you know?" Clobber thought about that a moment and shook his head. Or rather shook most of his body along with his head. It's not like the games where you just drop down a menu and can see what you're working with. Imagine if they all had some crazy super move that none of them knew how to use.

Clobber heard Noibat muttering but decided to pretend he didn't hear anything. She was right through, what an absolute drag to get sent to another world only for that world to be ending.

"Y-Yeah, if you don't mind...I'd like one!"

"Oh f...rick, where'd you hop out of jeezus." Clobber was startled by the Froakie's response. Not in the least because he hadn't actually remembered there was a Froakie with them. Had he even done anything up to this point? Clobber was struggling to remember. Whatever the case Clobber had offered and they had taken the offer so he figured he should actually do what he said.

"Aight then, one cracked coconut coming right up..." Clobber said, part of him pleased he was able to do something as he split another coconut with ease.

---

Eventually they were all gathered around Jirachi, "Like friggin kindergartners listen to the teacher do story time." They proceeded to tell them about their grand plan to fix everything. Or not. It didn't sound like Jirachi knew all that much more about the how than any of them. They did bust out some shiny badges that apparently could teleport them which sounded very video-gamey. "Of course it did, this was a video game, dumbass." He muttered to himself.

"So, I would like you all to take part in an experiment with me. Please, everybody, take a badge and stand still. I will soon teleport us all to the center of the island."

"Hold on just like that, we're just gonna, what....go right into it and hope for the best? You crazy or something?" He looked around at the others, in part hoping they agreed with his outburst but also hoping they just ignored it.

The badges were weird. They seemed more like magnets than badges. Flesh magnets. Which was a really gross thought. "More things to stick to me, great." He said as he reluctantly plopped it onto the nearest equivalent he could guess being his chest.

And now he got to wait around until he got zapped right into danger. "Guess whenever you wanna do this then."

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Hector neatly piled all of the fruit he had collected at the base of a large rock nearby. It was close to where Jirachi had taken to handing out cups crafted from banana leaves, so it would be an easy task for someone to get a cup of water and then grab a fruit to eat. He was proud of the haul they had returned with (well, truth be told, he had done most of the hauling, but Z. had been a great help in finding things during the foraging). And the trip itself had done a lot to help his frayed nerves.

He had been losing faith in their ability to work together as a team. And his opinion of the Zorua had been slipping, too, convinced by their actions that they only cared about how things turned out for themself. 

Hector decided, as he chomped down on six pieces of fruit simultaneously and was struck by the most intense sugar-induced dopamine rush of his life, that he had judged them too quickly. It was a terrible situation they were all in. And unprecedented. People would need time to adjust, and he could not judge them all by his pace. Not everyone acclimated to stressful environments and new situations well, but struggling with a transitional phase did not inherently make them bad people. It just meant that he needed to be more sympathetic to the rest of his forumers-turned-Pokémon.

Hector made sure to keep that in mind as he trundled over to listen to what Jirachi had to say. And… It was a lot. Shiny golden badges that may or may not be the key to combating the zombie mist, and apparently held the ability to teleport them or other Pokémon to the safety of wherever the pre-assigned “Home” point was.

Hector found himself refusing to believe any of it at first. Then he realized that he had seen and heard the entire speech through six sets of eyes and ears—his vision a strange kaleidoscope that he had only started to adjust to managing—and decided that it was not that unbelievable. 

Hector waddled forward and grabbed his badge, awkwardly pinning it to the chest of the Brass like some kind of medal. The entire thing reminded him of playing Sheriff as a kid. “Seems crazy, but a genius wouldn’t lead us into danger, right?” he said with six sets of smiles, before raising his hands to form a battle-ready Shield Wall formation. “Ready.”

Edited September 14, 2023 by Cheshire Toon

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Oh f...rick, where'd you hop out of jeezus. Aight then, one cracked coconut coming right up..."

Marv chuckled with a slight croak...that would take some getting used to, seeing as he apparently surprised Clobber by just being there. "Sorry, I'll make sure not to sneak up on you like that again...would rather not take a left hook from you." he said in a joking manner. However, he did know the sneaking up on people...er...Pokémon part wouldn't be easy to not do...especially with what Froakies evolved into. Wait...would they even be able to evolve? That was a question he'd ponder later...

For now, however, he took his coconut and returned...

---

"I know you've got other questions. Like, how are you going to save the world? What can you do to do to stop the Endless Mist? Well, you weren't the only ones asking these questions. Even I, a genius, wondered the same. When I granted the wish to save the world, there was another wish—my last wish—that if I couldn't save this world myself, that I could have help. I'm sure that's what summoned you all."

Marv just sat there, enjoying the coconut he had received along with the cup he received. It was a pretty ornate cup, in a...leafy...nature...kind of way. Regardless, he remained attentive to this conversation that Jirachi began...when his eyes immediately were glued to something that the Wish Granter presented.

"And it also brought me these! These are called badges."

Standard issue badges from the Mystery Dungeon series, though, it looked different than the other versions he was aware of, but he figured that made sense...this wasn't 100% like the other versions. But he continued to listen.

"Back then, the world had many different kinds. Rescue Team Badges, Explorer Badges, Adventure Squad Badges, Expedition Society Badges… But now they're all gone...mostly. There is a special energy in these badges. They were first created by the Pokémon Rescue Organization to combat the natural disasters and rise in mystery dungeons throughout the world. If you set a 'Home Point' for them, then they will bring the bearer and anybody else nearby back to that location. You can also use them on other Pokémon and choose to stay where you are, badge in hand. However, they don't always work, and in those cases you must use an Escape Orb. Pretty mysterious, huh? ♪"

"So the Rescue Teams, Explorers, Adventurers and Expedition takers aren't here much...makes sense..." Marv muttered, lulling that over in his mind. But at least the Rescue Organization made these, so that they could get out of danger. "And using them on other Pokémon...yeah that tracks, cause generally those would help in making some enemy Pokémon our allies...i-if I'm remembering correctly..."

"But I believe these badges have more to them than that. There must be some other reason they were sent to me along with you all. I believe they can combat the Endless Mist. So, I would like you all to take part in an experiment with me. Please, everybody, take a badge and stand still. I will soon teleport us all to the center of the island."

Marv shrugged, noticing the badges being summoned up by Jirachi. "I mean, we may as well..." he said, swiping at least one and attempting to pin it...wait... "Hmmm...maybe it needs to be sewn on? Or maybe...?" he looked at the badge, putting it near and on his chest for a moment...just to feel it sort of adhere to his skin. It made him squirm slightly, feeling the fact it just stuck to him... "...okay not going to lie...even though I'm a Froakie...this doesn't feel all that good..." He shook his head, before clearing his throat. "A-A-Anyway! I-I'm good to go when you guys are..."

[radio414 906]

Once Z. and Hector got back, it was time to distribute. This was trickier than Z. expected, though. Not everyone wanted or in fact deserved some fruit. The former category was taken up by everyone surrounding Clobber the Clobbopus and his newfound coconut-cracking abilities and the latter category, well… Jirachi was busy producing fruit of his own, so he didn’t need any fruit either. Whatever. There were still a few people/Pokémon milling about, so Z. stopped pretending to be Hector and picked one of them. Chester seemed especially aimless, having just walked up to the stream and then just back again, so Z. zeroed in on him.

“Catch,” Z. tossed an apple at Chester’s head, though with a bit of underthrow, the apple landed just short of the Chespin. “Eat up,” they said. “Need all the calories you can get if we’re gonna be saving the world.”

They looked past Chester to the rushing stream. “Were you trying to catch a look at your reflection in there? Water’s kind of fast for that. I tried to be a Froakie earlier and just ended up looking like a Treeko.” They frowned. “Other way around.” Why was it so hard to get that right? Hadn’t Marv always been a Froakie? “Whatever.”

Chester picked up the apple from the ground and looked at it. “I was, and well, it is. Sadly, I am not too accustomed to this body yet, familiar as it may be in a general sense.” The Chespin waved his stubby arms at his side as if to convey this feeling. Then he let out a small, if not begrudging, “Thanks,” gesturing to the apple.

“Sure,” Z. said. “Hey, though, hold still.” Z. did the same thing they did with Hector, pacing around their target, trying to get a good idea of exactly how they looked from every angle, and, when they were ready, did another sick backflip and came down as a copied Chespin. “There’s a better look, I hope,” they said. They imitated Chester’s stubby arm wave and pensive face. “I guess it’s more like this right now, though.”

Like, Hector, Chester was suitably impressed. “That is quite the amazing skill, Z. I suppose it would make sense being a Zorua you’d be able to pull off illusions like that, just as my own head is harder than steel. And it’s a better mirror than the river, I suppose. Though, uh,” his mood shifted back to concerned as he studied the finer details of Z.’s illusion “do I really look like that?”

Z. tried a few more different poses. “Close, anyway. I don’t think it's perfect perfect yet. I can feel certain things just not working right. I can’t do stuff I think that I should, but I already promised myself those were- Oh, you mean the face? Yeah, my guy. You look so fucking lost right now, I’d be surprised if you knew which way was up.”

“Ugh, how mortifying.” The (real) Chespin brought a stub to his face. “I suppose I have had a lot on my mind with all the recent developments. Though!” Chester pointed skyward. “I am very much aware which way is up right now, thank you.”

Z. resisted the urge to roll their eyes, if only because they couldn’t imagine Chester doing anything of the sort, and they were still mimicking him as best they could. They focused on the second of those sentences instead. “Yeah?” they said. “Which one’s more shocking to you, waking up one morning from a night of uneasy dreams and finding yourself transformed into a Pokémon, or being conscripted by a demigod to save a world you know nothing about?” Continuing their mimic, they also brought a stub to their head, jamming it right under their chin. “Or is it a secret third thing?”

They needn’t have bothered with the mimicking. Chester wasn’t paying attention to the physical mockery at all. He earnestly answered the question. “I feel like I have taken to being in a new body surprisingly well actually. Jirachi’s proposition is also exciting, if not a bit daunting, especially with how little we have to go on.” His voice got low, but the next question was still clearly directed at Z. “How exactly does someone help another in a situation they’re both wildly unfamiliar with?”

“Oh god, teamwork questions.” Now it was Z.’s turn to bury their head in their stumps for real this time. “You moderated me enough on the forum, so you know I'm not the person to ask for that stuff, especially when someone else is already a one-person team.” They did another sick backflip, but their memory of what Hector looked like all joined together was already fuzzy, so their impression came out the same. Z. dismissed it quickly. “Fucking… Okay. But you did ask me. I think, then, the best thing someone who's lost can do for another lost person is just be there with them. Nobody wants to be lost alone.”

“Right, I should have kept in mind who I was asking,” Chester joked. “But if that’s all it takes…” He looked past Z. over to Hector. “But you would expect someone to be spearheading the rest, correct? Showing them which way to go?”

Z. couldn’t help but stare. “You’re really hung up on this, huh?” they said. “I mean, you could fight him on it. Six on one doesn't seem like a fair fight but I've got a feeling in my gut that says I’ve taken worse bets. Maybe you haven’t. I dunno. But okay, just between you and me, but when I jumped into the water all the way back at the bottom of that dungeon, I absolutely wanted people to follow me, even if I didn’t say it. That sort of teamwork, if it does need a set leader at all, is a two-way street all the same. Of course, who did end up following me…” Z. left an empty space. They didn’t even want to think the name. “well, that’s what I mean about two-way streets, I guess.

“Oh, but if you tell anyone I said any of that, I’ll peel your little green shell off of your little brown head and drag it through the mud.”

Chester nodded along. “I see…” Then he started to laugh. “You’re more of a team player than I gave you credit for, Z. And if that’s the case, don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I may not be perfect, but I always respect another’s wishes. Now,” and this is where the laughter really got going, “let us be lost together!” And they wandered back off to the rest of the group for real this time.

Z. shook their head. Part of them felt like a suck-up, going right after both moderators and getting back in their good graces. It was just part of the dance, of course. Act out, lie low, accrue social capital, and spend it all. But then again, Chester and Hector weren’t moderators anymore. They were people, and like Z. had just said, they were all lost. Before they could get too lost, they noticed something still on the ground. “Hey!” they called out. “Actually take your fucking apple!” They threw it at Chester’s head again -- harder this time.

---

Z. balanced their new badge on both of their front paws, observing it as it glinted in the sunlight. It was just the right size to fit at the base of their new Zorua neck, but there were other ramifications to consider. Would it work while they had an illusion up, or did they have to illusion up a fake badge too to use the real one? It seemed like such an easy thing to test out, but they didn’t want to get sidetracked. They were playing good right now. That would probably change once they got where they were going, of course, and they’d otherwise have to force themself to listen to everyone’s yammering, but sure they could play nice for now.

They put the badge down for a moment and took a drink of water. Were they supposed to set a home point now? Was this home? They hadn’t been lying about that Hierarchy of Needs snark. As frivolous as that chart was, shelter was still the next step. Was the night sky going to be their blanket? Z. scratched behind their ear and consciously felt the Zorua fur in the way. That would help in that case. Maybe they were supposed to make a bunch of lean-tos. 

Whatever. It didn’t matter. Not right now, anyway. “Alright,” Z. said, finally putting the badge on. “Let’s go get lost.”

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

Es couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction she had gotten from Jirachi, buzzing around the mythical-Pokemon a bit as she played out a pre-recorded laugh setting. “I think it-t-t-t’s more that I’m Rotom because I’m a strange one,” she chuckled, for real this time, before coming to a stop in front of him.  “And thanks, b-b-b-b-buddy! I was afraid I’d have to go searching for food myself, and with my luck, I-I-I’d come back with the only toxic thing on the island!” she added with a jovial tone; once again playing an almost pre-recorded laughing animation, as the Pokemon in front of her produced the berry.

For its part, the Berry itself was simultaneously like nothing she had ever seen, and like an amalgamation of everything she had ever seen. It was both an extremely ‘typical’ looking berry, but also one she had never seen before; certainly, a strange feeling as she saw it. “Thanks!” she chimed out; voice taking on an almost musical quality as she sent off an array of commands to her body, instructing it to grab the berry. In response, her body did just that; wings slowing as they reminded herself that she was propelled not by them, but by the plasma surrounding her entire form, before both wings surged forwards to grab the berry…

And missed.

Or rather, went through the berry, passing through harmlessly. She frowned, for a moment, as she found herself taking a step back; cognition disconnecting from her ‘eyes’ as she scanned through her various settings, and frowned. A cautious approximation of a ‘hand’ floated over a console as she began to check the settings on her wings; adjusting a variable for energy-density to a nearly-solid level, before pushing the command through again. In truth, it had been set to the lowest level so as to avoid bumping into anyone, or slapping them by the rapid movements of her wings; but she’d have to remember that they needed to remain dense, when attempting to pick something up.

The result, as she pushed her mind back to an almost 1-to-1 state with the rest of the body’s senses, was that the wings were heavier, and unable to flap nearly as quickly; but in response, had gained a deeper tinge of teal, no-longer a hazy static of electricity, but now an almost liquid-like state which, while slightly unwieldy at first, she was able to take the berry with after just a moment. “Well! That was a learning exp-p-p-perience!” she announced cheerfully, bobbing slightly towards the Jirachi. “I’m g-g-gonna go check on the others, s-s-s-see how they’re doing!” she chimed out as she began to idly float away; berry clasped between her two wings as she began to slowly shuffle the dense-energy backwards, towards her mouth.

For most things, Es had been doing what she could to try and do as much as she could manually, just in case it came back to bite her later when she didn’t know the proper command structure; however, as she decided to eat the berry, she chose to let the instincts of the body take care of that command, unwilling to risk not-understanding how she was supposed to eat as a ghost. It was a strange affair, lifting the berry towards the LED of her mouth; and yet sure enough, as the berry came into contact with the berry, and she ‘took a bite’, it disappeared from the berry in an almost cartoonish fashion, and a wave of flavors assaulted her senses.

A mostly foreign concept to her was the combination, but more so was trying to understand how the body was interpreting them; but she still found herself enjoying it. Of course, it was foreign to everything she had ever known, but it was still… Tasty. Sour, followed by a spicy kick, it was not unlike one of those sour-candies people loved to torture themselves with. More interestingly, though, was as the berry disappeared, one of the variables she had picked out from before began to tick upwards; a hunger, or fuel-bar, she assumed. Of course, it didn’t fill completely, but it increased by an amount she couldn’t quite parse.

# Interestingly; this appears to be related to food, as I suspected.
# Doesn’t give exact variables, but increases vaguely. 
# May have to get more familiar before I can calculate exactly how ‘hungry’ I am; or perhaps I never will be able to.
# Will still be useful to see what drains it for limitation reasons.

It took her a few moments before she realized she had floated over towards the rest of the others, who… For their part, seemed to be enjoying themselves in their own ways. A small smile crept to her face as she floated idly in a circle; scanning them with curiosity as she kept to herself. Of course, she had said she was going to check on them, but she had never said she would do anything. She had always been much better on the periphery of these sorts of groups, as someone who interjected occasionally and simply spurred others onwards; to push herself to integrate fully into any of them was always a disastrous prospect, wasn’t it? So…

She was content instead simply watching the others as they stayed in their, mostly happy, groups.
---
The time until the mist arrived had ticked down considerably; so Es couldn’t have lied, and said she wasn’t a bit relieved when Jirachi gathered the group together, idly holding her cup between her two-wings as she listened intently. In truth, there were a lot of questions the little-guy was answering as well; each answer gaining a note of its own in her mind, as she began to construct a compendium of her own. Of course, as many questions as were answered, there were those that rose, as well. For example…

# Why did his smile falter when he spoke of old times?
# Will the Badges purify those who have been made mad by the badges?
# How powerful is this guy that he can teleport us without any wishes?

But those were questions that would either be answered on their own time, or were to be answered soon; so as she gulped down the last of her water, and sat the bowl down, she returned the typical-grinning smile to her rotom-face, as she bobbed up and down. “Hm-hm-hm-hm! I wonder how I’ll…” she trailed off, staring at the floating badge for a moment before nodding. “...Ah-ha! I know!” she beamed; a loud chime echoing out as she took a ‘step’ back from her ‘controls’. 

It only made sense that, as this interior-mindscape was shaped and shifted by the outside world, that she could adjust how her body reacted, or looked, vaguely by adjusting the ratios of different things within the mindscape itself; and so, she found herself raising raising the approximations she had of hands in front of her conscious eyes. Reaching to either side of the ‘screen’ through which she could see the real world, she found herself shrinking the view slightly, adjusting how ‘large’ the outside world was to her senses. In the same moment, those outside would have watched as her entire digital face seemed to shrink, as if being resized to be about 20% smaller, leaving more bare lightbulb to be covered by the orange ‘skin’ of her body. 

Seizing back control of her-body, the rotom zipped around the badge, rather than picking it up; before running into the back at an angle, so as to place the badge on the left of her forehead, not unlike where a hairpin would have sat on a human-being. “Ta-daaaaaa,” she called out, once again in a musical fashion. “It’s a hair ac-c-c-c-ccessory now!” she called out, beaming. “G-G-G-Gotta look my best when saving the world, after all!”

[Doggo 218]

Noibat took some time mostly to herself to try and calm down over the fact the world she'd been dropped into was ending and she might know a move that might give her a few more minutes to live but had no idea how to do it. Thinking like that wasn't helping but a bit more food eventually was helpful for calming her nerves somewhat. Maybe she'd been low on blood sugar. Now felt like a weird time to try and remember if she was diabetic but she would have probably talked about it on the forums at some point she concluded. The fact she didn't recall that much seemed to point to no. Still all bets were off on how Pokemon biology worked. Eventually the group was reconvening and Noibat had cycled through enough meaningless mental tangents that she didn't feel like she was going to die prior to the fog getting here.

Jirachi explained a bit more to the group about the world and how he had summoned them there. At least he was pretty sure that's how it had worked. Noibat didn't feel pressed to question the little ball of sunshine on things given his answers thus far. Eventually the little wish-maker gifted to each of them a badge and explained some of the powers they held. The fact they stuck to flesh with apparent magnetism was a concerning thought but Noibat found herself soon playing with it first sticking it to her chest and testing how far away it would clip onto her or not. Not wanting to look too childish though she eventually held it in one hand and thought about where best to place it. Her wings were out, impeding her only real way of getting around seemed like a bad idea. The others all seemed to have different takes on the idea too. Ultimately she stuck it on the bottom of her right ear, like an earring but without the piercing bit. Something about that felt natural once she made sure it was only the outer ring of her ear and not obscuring the ear canal, or were those her speakers another thought for another time.

"Alright" she started in an effort to try and regain some composure from the whole first few hours of existing here. It was time to act like she was competent and dependable that seemed most relevant to the situation. A stray squeak from her ears not unlike a voice crack on the alright didn't aid the effort but she pushed through. "I'm ready to uh... wing this?" There went the confidence. Bad first step. This was going to go poorly.

[Sethera 290]

BGM: Dark Wasteland - (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Explorers of Sky)

"Hold on just like that, we're just gonna, what....go right into it and hope for the best? You crazy or something?"

"Seems crazy, but a genius wouldn't lead us into danger, right? Ready."

"I mean, we may as well... A-A-Anyway! I-I'm good to go when you guys are..."

"Alright. Let's go get lost."

"Ta-daaaaaa! G-G-G-Gotta look my best when saving the world, after all!"

"Alright. I'm ready to uh... wing this?"

"Yay! It sounds like everyone's ready. ♪" Jirachi clapped his hands together. "And don't worry. This shouldn't hurt if we all do it right. Just make sure not to move too much. Let's go!" With that, he held his badge up to the air.

And not a moment too soon. For then, everyone would see a wall of white mist roll in from the sea, gliding over the beach, and curling onto the grass. Unlike actual mist, which hangs low over the earth and can at least be seen through, this seemed an endless expanse of white, stretching all the way into the sky, as if it could reach into space itself. Perhaps what was most terrifying was how it came in faster when it reached the island. Where before it crawled along at an inch or two per second, now it ate up a whole Starly of distance in that time.

And then, one by one, each Pokémon was enveloped by a column of light. First Z., then Clobber, then Es, then Marv, then Noibat, then Chester, then Hector, and finally, Jirachi himself. Those who went first would only see the Endless Mist (for what else could it be?) licking at the grass. The unlucky few at the end would see it almost upon them, stretching out long pale tendrils toward their position alone, like a living thing. And when only Jirachi remained, they were so close they almost brushed against his face. The mythical didn't move, staring into the Mist with an unknown expression as the light came for him too.

In that light, each felt a sort of wobble in their stomach like what you get in an elevator, though at that moment it was hard to tell whether they were going up or down or whether they were moving at all. And then it all ended after a few seconds, anyway. The light faded, and they found their surroundings had changed entirely.

Where before they were where they first encountered Jirachi (since he had never really moved from his original spot), now they found themselves in an unknown clearing surrounded by dense forest. In the middle stood a single boulder with a shallow bowl-shaped depression at the top. When Jirachi appeared, he alighted in the middle of the hollow.

"This," he made a sweeping gesture with his arm, "is the very center of this island. It is from here that we will either make our last stand," his voice dipped lower, "or begin our first steps toward saving this world. Please." He stared out at the group, locking eyes with every single one there. "On my count, lift your badges into the air. When you do, please focus on happy thoughts. On hopeful thoughts. What brings you happiness? What brings you hope? These will provide you with the strength you need to stand against the Endless Mist." He smiled then. "And lastly, make a wish! Wish to clear away the Mist! ♪"

When it looked like everybody was ready, Jirachi nodded. "All right. On my count: One, two, three, wish!" He held his badge to the sky once more and closed his eyes in concentration.

---

OOC: Decided to count the collab post as Chester's post, and it is assumed that he is with gathered with the group. Also, more music! ♪ I will try to remember to use more music during posts because I love posts with music in them, but I might forget. Feel free to write out reactions and stuff! Hopefully, I gave everybody enough to work with this round.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Sethera

[LordCowCow 840]

"This shouldn't hurt" followed by "don't move" was not a good sign. Clobber felt himself immediately begin to tense up, the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do in those situations, and his fight or flight response nearly kicked in.

Only stopped by the sight of the mist coming in. He knew that Pokemon could get pretty spooky at times, in fact he always liked seeing creepy ghost art when Halloween came around, but this felt like a step too far.

It did allow him to stop himself from taking off. Thankfully he was one of the first to go and so he didn't have to wait long.

"Urgh, I don't think I could ever get used to that." Nor did he want to have it happen enough times for it to become normal. He had enough time as everyone began popping up to look around and all he saw was....trees. A lot of trees. A forest of trees one could say. At first Jirachi didn't appear and Clobber began to feel on edge. "Hey what do we do if he never..." and then he popped up, cutting Clobber's hesitantly voiced concern short.

"On my count, lift your badges into the air. When you do, please focus on happy thoughts. On hopeful thoughts. What brings you happiness? What brings you hope? These will provide you with the strength you need to stand against the Endless Mist."

Well that sounded....cheesy. Surprisingly so with how dire everything had looked. Happiness and hope, in this economy? Well, guess he had to get to work then. Happy thoughts....happy memories....but wait, all he could remember was the forum.

And that...well. All that came to mind was not what he'd call happy. Even when he felt good about the art he posted it would just take one negative comment to turn the memory sad. Even pushing past that part of his forum life most of the rest was him arguing about topics that he only had enough knowledge to know that the other side was wrong. Not the most hopeful of endeavors.

There was that time he checked out polls, drawn in by the rather cringy but tempting topic of "best girl" only to discover that somehow Giratina had taken the crown. Which at least was somewhat funny if not frustrating but he doubted those kind of thoughts would help much.

He was starting to think that this was pointless, that maybe they shouldn't have brought in a downer like him if they wanted hope and happy feelings, when something came to mind. A memory that had struggled its way through the rest of the mire.

It wasn't anything special. If he overthought it he'd realize it was pretty lame for this to be what he latched onto. But latch onto it he did.

One day, after a rather hectic spree of deleting a bunch of old artwork, he saw a PM pop up. Usually this meant that someone had complained about him again but this time it was something different.

"Hey." it began. "I like your art! I checked your profile and didn't see anything but do you accept commissions?"

This small interaction reminded Clobber of a small bubble of hope, a surprisingly potent feeling of joy coming from out of nowhere. And so when Jirachi counted down he held up his badge, trying his best to keep the feeling in his heart, and WISHED.

[radio414 906]

Z. only realized after the fact, after Jirachi’s pure light had enveloped them before anyone else, that screaming in false pain and terror would have been a really good prank. It would have thrown everything off, and caused one extra flinch of realization, but not more than that before they’d get swept away too and land with only mild discomfort. And it was still discomfort. Just because it didn’t hurt didn’t mean Z. had to like the feeling of being displaced. Alas, again, they only thought of all this when they landed at the center of the island and had to watch everyone else’s reactions to landing without the extra bit of playful fear. They didn’t even say anything snarky to Clobber; his fears were already assuaged by Jirachi bringing up the rear in his spell.

The plan, as outlined, was a bit whimsical. “Make a wish…” “Think happy thoughts…” It all seemed like something straight out of a play. “Clap your hands if you believe.” But as soon as they thought that, a new set of words floated into their head, seemingly only by association:

But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands.
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,

They knew where that was from. That was the final monolog of The Tempest. How did they remember that? But the words kept flowing, and Z. found themselves mumbling along.

“And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardoned be,
Let your indulgence set me free.“

Their fanfic! Yes, that was where they had used it. Their months- and tens-of-thousands-of-words-long project had ended with that exact ending, a final thanks from the main character to anyone who had read that far. Speaking of indulgence, it was definitely a bit of wankery to have done so. As Z. would later write in Zeta Channel, “If you start referencing other stories, you better make sure you can live up to them. If I see fucking Shakespeare, I’m going to start wondering why I’m not reading Shakespeare instead.” When they got called out about this apparent hypocrisy, they responded, “You think my story wasn’t worth it?”

Z. hadn’t responded with the other reason they’d allowed themselves such vanity. In truth, they’d promised themselves exactly that sort of ending to their story from the outset. Even before knowing its quality, even before being able to measure it up against the other submissions to the Creative Writing subforum and find all the rest lacking, it was simply a promise for creative release and satisfaction -- borrowing from the Bard meant they had completed the damn thing in the first place. The laurels that followed never actually mattered. Just finishing it was enough.

Jirachi wanted happy thoughts, right? What could be happier than that?

Even more recent goings-on had generally been more positive. They were cordial with people who deserved it, after all, which had led to a fair few positive conversations. Even on a selfish level, talking with Hector and Chester had led to their own self-improvement; they were now more confident in their Zoruan ability to mimic other Pokémon. Like they had told Chester, it wasn’t perfect, but it was a marked step up from back in the Mystery Dungeon where half of their attacks had barely worked at all.

There were other, negative parts, of course. Z.’s mind briefly drifted through some of them. There was still an inherent lack of trust some of the other forum members seemed to have with each other, and a grudge that didn’t show signs of going away anytime soon. Z.’s eyes fell on the target of their enmity, but they looked away as that Pokémon nearly returned Z.’s stare. There was still nothing to say about that.

But Z.’s antics on the forum had gotten them unfairly slapped with the label of “cynic” (they’d tried for “realist”, at least, to massage the pessimism inherent in that label, but it never caught on). They could be happy for some parts of the future, as long as they got a chance to see them.

Right, that was the wish Jirachi had asked for. Z. closed their eyes, consolidated every thought they’d had since their arrival at the center of the island into a single phrase, a single image pictured in their head which they held onto with as much mental strength as they could muster, and WISHED.

[Doggo 218]

Being in the back half of the teleportation move Jirachi had performed, Noibat came closer to the Mist than she had ever wanted. It moved in an unnatural way, almost malicious in her anxiety ridden mind, like it wanted to attack her personally. But the light from the small wish-granter whisked her away in time to avoid contact with the force that sought to end the entire pokemon world. Before she had a moment to adjust to the various sensations involved they were already done and arrived at their destination. The center of the island as Jirachi put it. So they had a bit more time before the Mist came for them again but if they did nothing it would just be a repeat of the previous scene. Having seen it first hand now it was something she hoped to avoid and they were granted an opportunity. Albeit one Noibat had to do everything she could to try and not scoff at.

"A wish? Based on happiness and hope..." Noibat thought and moped to herself though unknowingly the sentiment would echo into the other's minds via the telepathy she still didnt know she had if they weren't overly involved in their own thoughts. That was a tall order given what she remembered. All she could remember was the forums. And while that gave her a lot of memories to work with, a lot of that was centered around the 2010 era. Not exactly a happy time in hindsight. A dumb teenaged Noi- well Fleur at this point there was no need to hide her username from her own thoughts. A dumb teenaged Fleur was hyperactive in the clubs section of the forum and in various associated circles as a result. A lot of it was pointless drama cooked up by other dumb teens not thinking twice about the hurtful things they were saying to each other anonymously on the internet.

Fleur wanted to remember happier things. More recent things. She had a weird feeling she was actually pretty happy as of late. But her forum activity had dropped off by a lot, taken away to other sites and apps she couldn't now remember. There were only pieces to work with in the last couple years, a birthday, a hype game release, and a girlfriend she had to be living with. It was a year old status update, her last one she'd made. Something about living with her. The thought terrified Fleur as she continued to search for some scrap of happiness to work with the wish. There was someone in the human world wondering where she had gone, and she couldn't remember their name or face.

This was too much for her. Well all of this was but if she kept dwelling on that sentiment with everything that happened the Mist would already be here. So back to the early 2010s she went, digging through the mire of mixed up memories. She thought of her own club she ran for a while, Shooting Sonic. It was Yu-Gi-Oh! themed as 5Ds was all the rage at the time. But calling any club themed was a bit misleading. Shooting Sonic was constantly off topic and devolving into nonsense, a lot of which Fleur enjoyed or started herself. But several times they and other clubs of the like had been reminded by the ever nosy moderators to get back to their main topics. It was always an invasion of privacy having a non-member just post in the thread like that. But it was a public forum and mods had to do their jobs as best they thought.

It seemed like Shooting Sonic should have been the answer. She had made one of her long time best friends there after all. But the more Fleur thought of it the more she thought about connections long since faded or broken. Many of those members hadn't been around in years, let alone made the switch to the new forum. It was then she thought about some of the other clubs and this pushed her mind back to just a bit before making Shooting Sonic.

The Club Wars. The height of YCM insanity. A Final Fantasy themed club and a Pokemon themed club had declared war on each other and decided to make it into a full blown RP over in the RP section. But because most of these clubs had a great intersection of members, several others got dragged into the mess. Among them was a Naruto themed club and a Club dedicated to roleplaying proper. Everyone was making characters that were in effect just their forum selves but with a suitable set of super powers or what have you to do battle with each other. It was a remarkably light hearted affair showing just how innocent the initial declaration of war had been.

Fleur had been part of at least two of these warring clubs at the time. And while she had never really roleplayed on YCM before she did have some experience as a cringy twelve year old Sonic OC roleplayer in other sites under her belt. (A fact she only remembered for having talked about it when joining the club wars.) There was one user in particular at the time that seemed to be on everyone's radar. One Light_Zero had annoyed several people in several different places and had given himself quite the loaded kit to fight in the war with. Fleur at the time had decided to join the Club Wars purely to get a shot at him and knock him down a peg or two. There was a unique sense of comradery as she expressed her intensions to join and designed a silly character of herself. All her clubmates were hyping each other up and were eager to see her join. And sure enough she eventually got her fight with Zero and got to hit him squarely in the gut.

A smile crept in on Noibat's face. Was that it? Would something as stupid as a group of kids essentially turning themselves into action figures and smashing them at each other in longform writing really work for whatever it was Jirachi thought they could do? She'd hate to be the one dragging the process down if it wasn't up to snuff. Noibat removed the badge from her ear and looked it over in her hands. More than anything she wanted her small speck of stupid happiness to be enough to the join others probably way better memories. With the triumphant joy of beating up a forum menace in an explosively chaotic RP she held up the badge and WISHED.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Doggo

[Skaia 578]

When all was said and done Chester was filled with renewed zeal and an inner strength that allowed him to stride to Jirachi and the others, ready to take on and tackle any problem that may have come their way. Of course he stood resolutely and fearless towards the coming light that encroached upon them, no matter the half assurances that Jirachi had given them and the rather ominous way the light had moved towards them. He knew that he was here to save the world and with everyone else at his side, even if he didn't know all of them fully, he could most certainly do it. Of course this unshakable confidence was briefly shaken by the disorienting sensation of being teleported but the metaphorical fall was only brief before he metaphorically rose through such discomfort in an equally short amount of time. 

With the blinding light having faded and his eyes and sense of balance having adjusted to the new environment, Chester could tell definitely feel the ominous presence of the woods that they were in, made only more ominous by the encroaching mist coming upon them. Jirachi had mentioned that their goal would either be a success of failure here, but Chester had not gotten to where he was today by simply believing he would fail at every turn. No, he was here to save the world, work alongside his comrades and help them all return home safely and no obstacle of madness or violence would stop him. Of course such gusto would get him nowhere if he simply charged forward, only more evident as Jirachi had made their advice known about what to do. Chester looked at the badge he was given, clenching onto it in stubby hand as he directed his mind to happier thoughts. 

Chester could only remember his time on the forums. He had no memory of what his life was outside of that, what his world was like. He didn't know who he associated with, what he did for a living was or even what his current goals were. He knew that he was going to school and working feverishly towards a degree of some kind, but he didn't ever really mention what major, why he wanted it or even how close he was to attaining it. But he didn't need what he couldn't remember to give him satisfaction. In fact, he was already satisfied, perhaps already living his best life on the forum. Sure his job as a moderator was stress inducing; bots continually appearing to spam the thread with who knew what, the populace constantly going at each other's throats for one reason or another, making sure rules were followed and requests were listened to and even having to pester other moderators about things that were currently non-functional with the site. He didn't mind any hate or jeering he got from the crowd because at the end of the day he was doing his job and he liked his job. But that was abstract and while it evoked a feeling of pride in him it was hardly the all encompassing joy that was probably needed for such a wish. So he only needed to go back further. 

He had always loved this community, from the very first day he joined in it. As cheesy as it may have been it was the truth. He loved the vast wealth of knowledge that everyone had collaborated together and making, he enjoyed the in depths discussions about games and pastimes that he actually loved. Sure there was times where it was stressful, there were times where he didn't get along with others and an innumerable times he was heckled for being an "ass kisser" or "mini mod," but those didn't bother him too much. After all he was the one following the rules and he was the one typically being civil. But, if that's how they wanted to view him than so be it. He always felt that he was working towards the communities best interest, and if people were mad at him for working with the mods and already "doing a mod's job," then there was only one thing to do about that.

Chester was starting to realize that he perhaps was more of a competitive person then he first gave himself credit for. After all, he wanted to be a mod for altruistic means but he certainly couldn't deny the catharsis that came with proving the naysayers either wrong or right, depending on how you looked at it, and gaining his mod ship. He felt ecstatic that day the position was crowned onto him, though. And beyond the feeling of competitive triumph there was an overwhelming sense of pride and bliss as he had been the one chosen by the mods to become the next mod and he was similarly accepted by the people. Sure there was jokes and jeers about it, but the idea that it was an "obvious choice" made the validation granted from even the negative comments all the better. And so, pouring that joy and sense of accomplishment into his badge, into the vision of a clearer, brighter forest and WISHED.  

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

In truth, being told that it ‘shouldn’t hurt’ wasn’t the most comforting thing Es could have heard when the most damage she had sustained thus-far had been at the hands of the Jirachi’s rolling-over-in-sleep; but she still did her best to stay put. Of course, that took a good few moments of adjusting plasma-output and dialing the optimal drift down to a null-status, something which made her body feel… Antsy, and as if the slightest provocation would prompt her to jump from the core she inhabited, but if her staying-put was that necessary, it would have to do.

Of course, as the light enveloped the others, the lack of any obvious screams of pain was a bit more comforting; and the endless torrent of light which soon followed didn’t hurt either. In a lot of ways, it was… The polar-opposite of traveling through a solid-wall, she realized. Whereas in the wall, she had been hyper-aware of her core’s every movement, of her intangible self’s every inch traveled, and all her senses were overcome with sheer nothing this was… The opposite. It was bright, and she couldn’t tell where she was going; just that she was. It was disorienting in all the opposite ways, sure--

But at least it was familiar enough that, as she was spat out on the other side, she had little trouble righting herself. Plasma sputtered momentarily as her wings flared back into motion, the telltale circular drift returned to her movement; a simple drift which kept afloat as she idly watched the others appear one by one. Their own entrances were hit or miss, as could be expected, but she was admittedly relieved when Jirachi followed the rest of the group with little trouble. On some level, after all, she had been afraid they had been sent here to die.

That, luckily, was not the case; for even if wishing seemed a rather… Novel solution, something deep within her told her that, should any Pokémon be an authority on wishing, it was the ‘genius’ in front of them.

Of course, that whole, ‘remember happy memories’ notion was… A bit more difficult a request to complete. Even as she bent a wing unnaturally backwards, pushing it into the badge ever-so-slightly before increasing the density of the plasma, so as to ‘grab’ it and pull it off… She still hesitated for a moment, lucky the count hadn’t begun; after all. What should she think about? What could she think about? That was a difficult question to answer, she realized, as she drifted idly out of consciousness, and into the back of her mind.

Even as, there was no analogue within the digital-landscape that would aid her in this, it seemed… A bit more comfortable to her, as she tried to think. The others had spoken much of the forum-- Likely because that was all that they could remember. It was the same for her as well; but whereas the others had interacted, and talked, and spoken… Well, she had done very little of any of those things. It was her fault, really, but she had mostly just… Read, the forum, as a means to let time pass her by while she… Waited. For what, she wasn’t sure, but it was always while she was waiting.

But that meant there were no strong emotional connections to the memory. Similarly, she could remember messaging some people with advice from some of the hobby-sub-forums, but… Well, that hadn’t been out of happiness, so much as it was something she knew, and knew she could at least help with. It was more an obligation than out of happiness, really. Which left the only place to look for happy-memories, happy-thoughts…

This existence.

Of course, in this confusing, terrifying experience, there had been few truly ‘happy’ moments, but… Well, the choice of what to think about was an easy one. Even if for a brief, scant few moments, she had found someone she could consider a friend; a prospect she felt was… Likely rare, in her past, even if she couldn’t remember too well. Someone she felt like she could bounce off of in conversations, with whom she could joke around with for the most part... And even if that ended suddenly, and explosively, as all good things are want to do--

It was still a happy memory, and a good locus for her to focus her mind on as she raised the badge high; as the count began, and she was once again manipulating her wing-directly, as she held the badge to the sky, and made a single, bold, wish.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Yay! It sounds like everyone's ready. ♪ And don't worry. This shouldn't hurt if we all do it right. Just make sure not to move too much. Let's go!"

"...that doesn't sound good..." Marv muttered to himself, swallowing hard a bit.

"This is the very center of this island. It is from here that we will either make our last stand, or begin our first steps toward saving this world. Please. On my count, lift your badges into the air. When you do, please focus on happy thoughts. On hopeful thoughts. What brings you happiness? What brings you hope? These will provide you with the strength you need to stand against the Endless Mist. And lastly, make a wish! Wish to clear away the Mist! ♪ All right. On my count: One, two, three, wish!"

A happy thought? A bunch of hopeful thoughts? Something that brings happiness and hope? Marv had to ponder this for a few moments. What actually made the Froakie...no...what made the former young man happy? Thing was, he couldn't remember much of anything...nothing except for his time on Yanma's and Nincada's Custom Monsters...those forums, his time has Order Shadow. It was a time in his life that...he recalled giving him the most peace and tranquility in life...least as far as he could remember. But the first few years of him being on the YCM forum was a rocky one...not until he found his stride in...

...the Role-playing section... Marv thought, taking a deep introspective look at what really made him happy. His mind recalled his time in the RP Section on YCM starting out...and it was cringey at best.  His first few delves into RP were...very...not worth writing home about. It wasn't until the moments that YCM began to adopt an Advanced RP format...which meant it was 100+ words per post. Now that, that was something that actually assisted him with really breaking into his stride.

Bits of moments and memories of these began to be brought up to his mind. There were countless RPs he ended up dipping his toes into, many died after a few months...hell, a few weeks if anything! But a few actually ended properly...and two of them were brought up immediately. On NCM, there was an RP known as "Twilight of the Gods", which he joined in with four others...and it ended with only two people. He was excited that it finally ended and things were wrapped up nicely enough, despite that he felt fatigued with that RP...he found joy and ideas coming from different things he remembered. The second...was from YCM...an RP he did that was known as "Generations", which was an Assassin's Creed based one. He had that working and it took forever to finish, due to some things...he was fuzzy on the specific details...but he knew there was a reason. At the very end though, he knew this was the only RP of his that he finished. Funnily enough...this did bring a smile to his face. There was also the moment he was labeled as the "Typecast Shonen Protagonist", just because of his character creation...they all were shonen specific and he always made em, cause he used himself as a basis for most. It brought another smile to his face.

It wasn't just that, but quite a few other memories came to his mind, namely the people and friends he met through the RP Section. Marv remembered their usernames almost immediately: DukeMiltank, Civ, Manetric, Setora, the list went on... Hell, there was a moment that Civ and another friend of his made Order Shadow a living meme after his one RP failed and he was planning to revitalize it and remake it. For the longest time...the question was always the same: "WHERE'S GRIMM NIGHT'S, SHADOW??". This little memory caused him to smile from ear to ear and even start to snicker a bit as he thought long and hard on it. He remembered Civ and the others in the RP section really being there for him...namely Civ and another specific one...they were like his inner circle, he remembered that vividly now.. It brought a smile to his face...

With these memories in mind...he W I S H E D.

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Hector watched everyone else vanish in a beam of light until only he and Jirachi remained. The Mist was what felt like only inches away from them then. Long, wispy coils stretched out from the bulk of it, and for a split second Hector thought they were forming into something more solid as they got closer. Frayed tendrils became fingers first, then hands, reaching out for the two of them languidly.

He blinked and they were just tendrils again. All six of Hector shifted uncomfortably, and without any of his companions around, he was honest with himself. He was scared. He envied the ones to be teleported initially. Hearing about the Mist had been unnerving—Hector had been unsure how they were supposed to help even then—but experiencing it so closely was another thing entirely. How are we supposed to fight against… this? Hector felt an inclination in the back of his mind to form up into a shield wall, but his instinct was cowed by how awestruck he was by what he saw in front of him. The Legends had failed to prevent this. Card games and video games had taught him those legends were supposed to be god-like; forces of nature unto themselves. Yet all of them had failed. All of them except…

Hector looked at Jirachi. A tiny blip of a figure against the endless wall of Mist. The final bastion of the once mighty legendaries that had created the world. Hector had thought of him as inspiring so far, occasionally childish, but in that moment he saw him in a new light. The Wish Pokémon seemed lonely. Small. Tired. 

Hector saw a shining light appear in the corner of his vision. His stomach churned in anticipation of being teleported away. He spared Jirachi one final glance. I can’t imagine how he feels right now. It was rough waking up as a Pokémon, but that probably has nothing on waking up to learn that while you were asleep the world ended and all your friends and family are dead or turned insane by some freaky Mist. The light became blinding. Hector vanished a split second later, still staring sadly at Jirachi.

Don’t worry, you aren’t alone now. We’ll help. I promise.

-----------

Hector stumbled when his feet found solid ground. They were in some kind of clearing now. He didn’t have to wonder where for long, because Jirachi appeared only a moment after he did. Then he explained what they needed to do to prevent the Mist.

Hector was surprised by how easy the request was. His memory of life past his teenage years had been missing since he woke up as a Falinks, but he knew that he had no need of those memories to conjure up a happy moment. NCM had been his escape from a miserable home life. The friends he had made discussing the Pokémon TCG had been his substitute for any real connection with his mother and father. The in-jokes, the late night troll posting, the club shenanigans and all of the theory-crafting in group private messages for local tournaments.

He picked one that stuck out to him. The day he told the group PM that he had qualified to go to the 2014 Pokémon TCG World Tournament. It was hosted in Washington, not far from his home state, so he would even be able to afford the trip. They had stayed up until the sun had come up working on his deck for the tournament. Discussing tech choices and the meta. There had been talks of some of them showing up to support him and hang out in person.

It was one of his favorite memories.

He met Jirachi's eyes, scooped the badge off of his chest, and wished with all his might. 
 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Cheshire Toon

[Sethera 290]

BGM: In the Morning Sun - (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Explorers of Sky)

To an outside observer, it appeared as though the Pokémon were engaging in a cheer or pep rally. But their faces did not display passion, but grim determination and fear. And then, at the last, smiles. Jirachi himself looked wistful, tears falling from his closed eyes.

And then, everybody felt. Clobber's hopeful joy, Z.'s satisfaction and anticipation, Noibat's innocent excitement, Chester's proud fulfillment, Es's cheerful camaraderie, Marv's nostalgic affection, and Hector's optimistic gaiety. Mixed in among them was a warm sense of belonging. Though nobody knew which emotions came from whom or what brought them about, they experienced them all the same. The feelings washed over everybody in a dizzying wave that seemed to only amplify their own happiness. And soon, despite their current situation, the world did not seem as dark or as overwhelming as before. Each one of them felt as if they were a star illuminating the night sky. Nothing in the world could put out their light.

It seemed only right that they began to actually glow, though the light traveled across their bodies and ended at the badges, which then emitted a blinding effulgence that seemed even more so under the cover of night. At that moment, they could feel a pale cloud surrounding them, growing ever closer. And each knew intuitively that if they were to let it touch them, they too might become washed with its color, as the rest of the world had.

But as soon as the light reached it, the haze pushed back before dissipating as mist beneath the morning sun. And then the light expanded, resembling an inflating balloon, enveloping a larger and larger area. Until everybody's foreheads beaded with sweat and the euphoria ebbed away. "Stop," Jirachi's voice awoke them as if from a spell. Their bodies and badges no longer gave off light, but the air seemed purer and the night sky brighter somehow. And then they realized why that was.

Without knowing it, perhaps distracted by the task before them, night had come and gone. The black of the sky diluted to a pale blue shot through with streaks of orange. At that moment, everybody there was both exhausted and buoyant. Because they all knew they had succeeded. A mysterious energy protected the entire island from the Mist. Even now, they could still feel it like a static crackle on the skin, but only if they concentrated through the badge.

A period of silence ensued. There seemed no need to speak, because they had all shared in the same emotions and success. Finally, however, Jirachi broke the lull. "Thank you, everybody." He sniffled, dabbing at his eyes with his arm-sleeves. "I predicted, of course, that we would succeed, being a genius," he chuckled wryly. "But even genius plans fall through, and… well, I guess it doesn't matter, since we succeeded. ♪"

BGM: Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon OST - Partner's Theme

The mythical beamed radiantly at the group. "I think I've decided what I want to do now. Everyone, I have a request! ♪" He paused, "I understand that I've already asked a lot, but…" The Pokémon ascended into the air. "As you know, we could only restore the island. While that is an amazing accomplishment, it doesn't change the fact that the Endless Mist still covers the rest of the world." His expression turned determined. "I don't think it's any coincidence that, of all things, the wish gave us badges. These badges were initially used by Rescue Teams, then by the Exploration Guild, then Adventure Squads, and then by the Expedition Society." His voice softened at the last two words before it rose again in conviction. "So I think it's only right that we team up as well."

Jirachi hovered in the air. "Though the teams, guild, squads, and society are gone, I want to revive the sentiment of cooperation and hope that started them all. I want to make this world a wonderful place for Pokémon to live in again." Stars seemed to shine in his eyes. "And after what we all experienced, I firmly believe that you can grant this dearest wish of mine. So everybody…" He extended an arm toward the group. "Please unite with me to restore this world and establish the Restoration Union!"

---

OOC: Finally, the long-awaited title drop (sort of)! And more music! The plot is finally starting to move forward, and things are happening! What will you do? What will you say? Is this a "but thou must" scenario? Find out next time, on Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Union of Stars! The host does not guarantee the fulfillment of this promise. Side effects of taking the host at their word may include annoyance, disappointment, and outrage. No Pokémon were harmed in the creation of this post. The words above do not necessarily represent the opinion of the host.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Sethera

[LordCowCow 840]

"Thank god I didn't have to say any of that out loud" was Clobber's main takeaway from the experience. In hindsight it was really embarrassing what moment he thought of for that. If anyone heard it they would probably think it was something incredibly stupid.

Which might be true but it didn't mean he wouldn't snap back at them for saying it.

So, yeah, three cheers for whatever made it that they only had to think about those things.

Still, he was surprised when he realized how well all this had worked. The scary mist was gone and everything just felt sorta...better. That being said there was a bit of unnerving feeling at the time to have passed by without them realizing it. Suppose that was another thing to be thankful for; that nothing had come out and attacked them.

No one seemed to want to say anything, and Clobber himself wasn't about to break the silence, so for a third time in a short period he felt thankful. This time when Jirachi decided to speak.

He probably shouldn't have been surprised by what Jirachi said. Of course they were supposed to form a team. Of course there was more of this to take care of. Which of course meant that of course they would have to end up fighting off some more Pokemon on the way he was sure. Which was crazy, right? Like he knew enough to know you don't mess with wild animals even if you knew how to fight.

But, then again, what would Clobber do if he refused? Especially if the others agreed to help. He wasn't afraid of being alone of course, he totally could handle being by himself, but it would be a lot harder to try and stay here on his own. He didn't know anything about this place and, even if this island was safe, it's not like he could just live out his life here.

There wasn't even anything to pass the time. It would drive him nuts.

"As if we have a choice." He muttered. "Fine, why not. But don't expect me to be happy about it okay? I'm just doing it cause I ain't got nothing better to do anyway."

[radio414 906]

Z. frowned. “Didn’t I already answer that question?” they said. “Pretty sure I said something like that already.” Their memory returned to them, and they inadvertently shifted to a version of themself from a few hours ago. “Yeah, I was like, ‘I’ll help because, like, whatever,’ and then I think I said something about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I didn’t realize that was a one-time thing.” They realized what they were doing and dismissed the illusion. “What, do you need a blanket statement of intent? Here:”

They stepped forward into the circle of Pokémon. “Unless I say otherwise, assume I’ll help out with this end-of-the-world stuff, okay? Don’t gotta ask, just do your part and I’ll do mine.”

There was frustration there, built out of a lack of sleep, of the redundancy only now clarified, and of being forced to be emotionally vulnerable (with Pokémon they did not want to be emotionally vulnerable with). Z. took a step back, but they didn’t apologize. “Okay,” they said instead. “Hey, speaking of needs, I guess we had food figured out, though we do need to dig that oven at some point, Hector -- remind me later on that. But did the magic make-everything-on-the-island-be-better wish also give us, you know, beds? Even one bed, singular?”

“Oh yeah! That’s one thing it didn’t give us! But don’t worry, it’s nice and warm outside, and there’s plenty of soft grass to lie down on. ♪”

“Yeah, okay. Nice and warm for now,” Z. said. “You’re not going to catch me sleeping outside in the wind and rain if I can help it. I’m going…” They turned around and picked a random direction. “I’m going this way to pick up some sticks or rocks or something. Maybe dig a hole in the ground and just lie in that. If you want to help out feel free but I’m not stopping to let you catch up.”

They sure were doing that a lot, running off from the rest of the group with barely an invitation to follow. It had been justified every time, of course. In this case, it was to deal with the emotional labor of experiencing seven Pokémon’s feelings at once. That amount of optimism would throw anyone off-kilter, right? It certainly had thrown Clobber the Clobbopus for a loop, although, now that Z. thought about it, he was always like that, wasn’t he?

But, like, Z. wasn’t a complete cynic. They could be optimistic about some things. They’d been on that oven and shelter plan before they’d even dealt with the apocalypse mist, which implied some sort of thinking for a brighter future, even if it was still a future with no memories in a Pokémon body that, until recently, refused to even work properly. That wasn’t to mention their promise to themself and others of self-improvement. These things would happen.

Z. trusted Jirachi, bothersome as he was, to work towards saving his world. Even if he was less of a genius than he claimed, Z. didn’t think he was about to do something malicious. At least, if he was, he would have done so already. See, that was optimistic too.

That still didn’t shake the feeling Z. was dealing with, though. The problem was that they didn’t even know how to define it. The closest thing was, what, the knowledge that these were their people- Pokémon? If that were true, it wasn’t something they had ever felt before. Maybe it was their shitty memory, but it wouldn’t have been on the forum, in any case. There was always shit to deal with there. Summer’s warning points would expire and he would flare up. New DMs treating them and their review blag like a service they could get on demand. The whole “they” thing. Z. had made a niche for themself on Yanma’s (and later Nincada’s) Custom Monsters, but it was never them as they were, was it?

If that were the case, the feeling was a promise that they could be authentically themself with everyone. There were still some problems (one problem in particular), but it was a reason to keep going. Z. found a couple of fallen branches under a tree and started dragging them behind, looking for a place to start building.

Edited November 4, 2023 by radio414

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

The wave of emotions-- That was surprising. As mixed together as they were, it was impossible to tell the difference between them; whether they were foreign or from her own soul, Es could hardly tell. Even still, she could hardly tell where they ended and where she began, and yet… She felt them. All of them, at once; in one big, messy ball of emotion. It was difficult to parse even as she tried to read the code filling her mindscape, the core filling so fully with it that for a moment, a brief moment, she couldn’t even tell where she ended and began--

And then, everything began to glow.

Inside and out, it only took one cursory, conscious glance through her eyes to reveal that the others felt it too; that the others were glowing as well, and that… The mist was receding from their light. Even inside the digital landscape of her mind, a smile spread across whatever face she had; mimicking that which stood ever-present on her body. They were doing it. They were winning. Her heart soared (no matter the fact that she was pretty sure, being a ghost, she didn’t have one anymore), and she actually found herself having to avoid cheering.

Of course, in the aftermath, there was still other things to discuss; which as the emotions faded, and her mental-landscape grew less… Crowded, Es found herself listening to with rapt attention. Of course, the others responded first; they pretty much always did, as Es found the disconnect from her mind and body to be an ever-present nuisance; but they brought up good points as ever. Of course, she couldn’t comment on one of them; but given they were Pokémon now, was there any reason for them not to sleep outside? They were… Beasts after all.

Still, there was still a conversation to reply to.

“Of c-c-c-course we’ll do it, Silly!” Es laughed, zipping around Jirachi with considerable speed; a surprising amount, even; as if being as still as she had been had been a drain on her. “We’ve b-b-b-been through enough already, haven’t we? We’ll always be Happy to Help!” she cheered, LED eyes shifting towards upward arrows as she cheered. “After all, if we’re helping a g-g-genius, there’s no way we can lose!”