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| Tweet Topic Started: 11 Nov 2013, 10:15 AM (483 Views) | ||||||||||
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11 Nov 2013, 10:15 AM Post #1 | |||||||||
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“OK… Here we go again.” Alex muttered to himself as the wailing winds sheered past his face once more. Clicking the button on his journal, the recording started. “Day four. Still walking. Still talking.” And boy was that a friggin’ miracle. Given their relative intolerance with the elements out here, and the fact that they were alone, in a stroke of genius, Alex had decided to try and avoid the particularly dangerous Brackbrine Flats for now. How successful his plan was, however, was debatable. For one, it seemed they had inadvertently walked into them regardless of their intentions. If the temperature was any indication, they may have walked straight into hell itself. From burning in the sun with no discernible shade for miles, to freezing cold during the night, it’s a miracle they’ve lasted this long to begin with. If Alex hadn’t been born in this part of the world, and didn’t know any better, they would’ve probably dehydrated due to lack of water quite some time ago. That is not to say they won’t dehydrate anyways, because secondly? Well, secondly, they were quite simply lost. With a slight contemplative pause, Alex tilted his head to the right, where a certain Shinx was lounging about, draped over his neck and shoulder. “We’re definitely lost, aren’t we?” A miserable “shiiii~” was the answer. Looking down to his map, Alex struggled to get out his Pokédex once more. Clicking frantically on the little map icon just to get it to start up, he must’ve been quite the sight. In the past, he had seen tourists wandering around like they were now. Maps sprawling over both arms, blowing in their faces the moment they accidentally let one go, all the while struggling with their other belongings which, of course, Alex and the gang would try to pickpocket for sport. Yes, he had heartily laughed them in the face once upon a time. And now the irony he currently found himself in would have been delicious to any outsider looking in at him… Alex had quite the different opinion. As the nerves and the frustration built up, he nearly exploded. “I swear if we get back to civilization, I’m gonna buy myself some better equipment. Like a good map…” *error* the Pokédex beeped. Must’ve been the fifth time now. “And a GPS that ACTUALLY WORKS! Crappy piece of… First generation Pokédex, indeed.” He sighed. “Come on, uncle, at least tell me which things are broken when you give me your hand-me-downs…” Alex looked around for a while. It had been some time since they had found their last tiny bit of shelter. But here? Nothing but white sand and dunes as far as the eye could see. There should be a road somewhere around the desert, but they still hadn’t found it. The sun’s glare rippled the air wherever you looked, making pretty much everywhere look the same. Hell, if there was a road anywhere close, they probably wouldn’t even be able to see it, with all the white sand reflecting the sunlight into their eyes, effectively blinding them. Looking down, he sighed as he continued to follow the trail of footsteps in the sand like he had done for the past couple of miles. It was a strategy he had thought of that he hoped would bring them back to civilization, or at the very least to another person. Without any recognizable landmark, without a functional positioning system, and without any other sensible idea of what to do, they just continued on. And what a joy it was. Sun, wind, and the sand that had even found its way into his underwear by this point, and was now gleefully continuing to sand his privates. Out of sheer desperation, like he had done plenty of times the past few hours, so much so he could pretty much guess the answer to his question beforehand, he checked his XTranceiver. The stripes at the top of the screen were empty. No reception. As his legs started to feel heavy and the pins and needles started once more, he tried to distract himself. With a sigh, he switched on the radio recording he had accidentally made while experimenting with his equipment earlier. Must’ve been the so-manieth time he had played it since he lost all radio reception… And he was getting sick of it, to be honest. But still, everything was better than the monotone sound of absolutely bloody nothingness. “Summer is upon us, Fellow Godians. Don’t let the heat get to your head and keep hydrated! E Pluribus Unum, this has been Arianna Saint coming to you from the Godian Gazette Radio.” Looking up, Alex could see the sun high in the sky as the recording started blasting the least fitting, cheery tunes he had ever imagined for this situation. Lifting his hand over his face to shield himself from the sun’s glare, he could see tiny, blurry specks flying in between as he went light-headed again. “Don’t let the heat get to your head, you say?” Walking on, tracking the footprints like before, he started rummaging around in his pack for water. Three bottles he brought. And three bottles were empty. He spoke up to no-one in particular – undoubtedly a coping mechanism he developed over the past few days. “Still out of water…” “And I really should stop talking to myse--” The footsteps stopped. Nothing… The wind blew across the white plains, cracked impressively as though they were sick and tired of the heat as well, or rather, split and dead because of it. And that was where the footsteps stopped. And there was still damn all. A wry, ironic, desperate smile formed on Alex’s face as the realization hit and fear bottled up in his stomach. Yep, this was it. With trembling hands, he took out his journal once more. Slipping, his sweaty fingers took a couple of attempts to find the record button. Click. “If they ever find this recording on my body, please do tell my mom this whole thing may have been a stupid idea after all.” Alex stumbled down as he went to sit, and subsequently lie down. Joking as he may have been, this certainly was no joke. Shit… Lying on his back, he finally saw sharp enough to make out the shapes in the sky from earlier… There were Mandibuzz circling overhead. Ah, so that’s what they were waiting for… With a sigh, he turned his head to his right once more as his consciousness started to fade away. “You know, just so we are clear...” “If you die first, I might just eat you.” “Shiii~” The oldie-but-goodie track that was currently emanating from the cassette player was in stark contrast with the scene at the side of the road. A tiny blue cat-Pokémon, mewing, almost pleadingly so, and was apparently directed specifically at him. John Tucker, or as he was known to his friends in a pun to end all puns, John Trucker, tried to roll by with his truck, but the little thing kept blocking the road. “You blasted little…!” With a jolt of gas, he proceeded with an evasive maneuver that would’ve made the damned air force proud. Swerving one way, and then the other, he rolled off and back on the small sandy road, as battered by the sun and blowing sands as the rest of this place was. Looking back in his side-view mirror, he saw the little Shinx looking mighty perplexed. A sheepish smile crept on John’s face, parting his greying goatee in a strangely pleasant expression of enjoyment as he raised his hands to the non-existent audience he imagined would be applauding wildly at this point. Re-adjusting his cap and sunglasses, he sighed a sigh of relief as he stepped on the gas and continued on, on with the boredom that had already lasted several days now. John sighed as the same song started to play yet again, and switched off the radio. “iiiiiii~” “What in the?” John stuck his head out of the side window and looked back, speculating on what in the name of Arceu-- “SHIIIIII~!!!!” “Holy crap!!!” Slamming the breaks, the truck swerved to a halt, launching off the screeching Shinx that had sunk its claws into the fabric of the truck’s cover. Opening his door, John jumped out while making large, wild, if not somewhat comical gestures and sounds normally reserved for chasing away large predators, in an attempt to try and get the obnoxious little bastard, now seemingly dizzy after having been along for a ride and having been launched off, to just leave him alone. Shaking off the dizziness, it ran up and pummeled him straight in the leg. Unmoved and rather perplexed, John looked on as the animal retreated again. “What in the world are you doing??!” “Shiii~!” The Shinx replied, straining its muscles as it closed its eyes, preparing its next assault. Running straight towards him, it managed to ram him in the shins once more. Well, ram is a big word. The only thing the animal likely did was to give itself a concussion. Now properly confused, John decided to resort to yelling with a rather befuddled tone of voice. “Go away!” He tried kicking it gently, so as to launch it a couple of meters further. It should get the message across. But to no avail. The little blue thing only seemed to get more angry, and with a third run, “SHIIIIIIIIII~!!!” It rammed John as hard as it could. A shooting pain shot up through John’s leg. Now, John may have been in a couple of barfights in his time, admittedly, and so he might just have known what an electric shock from a friggin’ stun gun felt like. And that’s definitely what he felt. “Are you insane?!” John yelled, now properly launching the animal away from him. Slid over the ground a couple of meters away, it simply stood for a few seconds, looking strangely… Hopeful? “Go away!” John yelled as he took steps forward to intimidate it. The Shinx matched his steps backward, and then started skipping around in front of him, as though to provoke him. “BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” In a last frantic maneuver, John simply let out a herculean roar as he ran after it in an attempt to scare it away. As he ran over the little sand dune, he was met with a sight he did not expect. “Oh boy…” There was the Shinx, mewing up to a… a body... of a person. It tried to roll the boy’s face to the side by nuzzling its face against him as though to ask for help. “Well, shit…” |
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Alexander "Alex" Brooks | ||||||||||
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11 Nov 2013, 10:23 AM Post #2 | |||||||||
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“Well, son, welcome to Oreback.” The thick western accent of the truck driver wisped a smell of cigarettes into Alex’s direction. It had taken John only a few more hours to drive to Oreback. Turns out they hadn’t even been that far off when Alex had fainted. “Guess this is where you get off then?” Feeling nauseous, Alex couldn’t wait, to be honest. He was grateful, that’s for sure, and he’d rather spend the day in here with the air-conditioning than to go back outside, plus the bobble head Pikachu on the front of the dashboard had been a welcome funny sight, distracting him of the gnawing feeling in every part of his shivering body, but the smell of a lived-in vehicle is not for everyone, especially not when you have spent close to three days rationed, and consequently starving for food and water, with an added bonus of alternatively burning and freezing your ass off. “Getting here was the plan, yeah.” “Good.” John smiled, his goatee as gleeful as it had been the entire trip. That man had been rambling non-stop, probably glad he had someone else to talk with as they travelled the final couple of miles through the boring wastes. Luckily, Alex had been able to remain polite and somewhat responsive despite his raging migraine. ”Now, you might want to get checked up on that dehydration issue of yours. The Pokémon center is just around that corner. Sorry I couldn’t be more of a use to you.” “I will, and it’s fine, thanks, sir… Giving us a lift has been help enough, really.” “And remember. You need anything? You call John Trucker!” “Will do, sir! Thanks again.” “And you better be careful next time, son…” Alex barely managed to chuckle as he looked down with concern to the panting Shinx in his arms. “Oh, I learnt my lesson, that’s for sure.” He looked back up with a genuine thankfulness and simply not knowing what to say to a man that may have very well saved his life, he asked “You sure you don’t want to stay around for a bit to go for a drink or find some diner later or something?” Feeling mildly pathetic for not being able to offer more, Alex felt relieved when the man merely smiled that infectious smile of his. He must’ve known his intentions. And it was enough. “No can do.” He eventually said. “Got stuff to deliver.” He pointed his thumb at the back of the truck. “Well how do I thank you, then?” The response was almost nonchalantly casual. “Oh you can do that some other time. Now go get yourself checked up!” The engine roared theatrically as John Tucker took off before Alex could utter any kind of objection. A subtle wave from the arm hanging outside, and away he was. “Ah…” He looked at the truck riding off into the distance. “Forgot to get his phone number.” “Here you go, dearie…” Alex was handed a big cup of soup, of all things. The volunteer that was currently helping him, a seemingly elderly lady, if the wrinkles and short, greying hair was anything to go by, actually seemed glad to see him. The Pokémon center was relatively abandoned at this point, and didn’t seem to be frequented much, given the few staff members. And yet, despite all that, the inside of the Pokémon center was quite cozy, to be honest. Much better than the one in Parchdry Port. Alex had tried to get a side job there once, secretly of course, but was pretty much shown the door straight away as they didn’t need him and he was, as was stated quite bluntly, ‘in the way’. Where the atmosphere there was bland, almost overly sterile, hectic and stressful due to the fact that it doubled as a shelter for abused Pokémon, of which there were a lot. But here, in the Oreback center, however, there was a sense of peace and tranquility, something he hadn’t expected when first arriving in this seemingly utilitarian town. Yes, with its soft pillows and roomy interior, Alex felt he had breathing space. It even had wall-paintings, no doubt made by the children of the nearby primary school. It was a different feel of Oreback Town, something that laid beneath the surface, but that it seemed to have aplenty. One might say a stark or deceptive contrast with its outside appearance, though Alex thought it gave the town a more lived in, small town, community-driven feel. In any case, it was a welcome departure from his earlier home. Alex took a sip from his soup expecting the worst. He had been in the hospital a couple of times, often enough to know the quality of the food. But this? “Well I’ll be damned, that’s actually pretty good.” “Well what did you expect? Crap in a cup?” “I didn’t even think you’d give me hot soup to begin with, to be honest…” “Oh dearie, you’re not exactly the first near-dehydrated person we got here.” She laughed. “We’ve kind of had to figure out how to handle that.” “That stuff got salts, fluids, everything you’d need, you know... And because it’s hot, it forces you to take it slow rather than just gulping it down. Plus, it has my special meatballs for extra energy.” She made sure to accent the statement about energy by bulging her frankly non-existent biceps. “Figured you could use it.” Alex merely chuckled and said “Thanks…” It was all he could pretty much do at this point. He was still somewhat shaky and wobbly on his feet. “That’ll be three dians, then.” Alex nearly choked before realizing it was a joke. The woman chuckled. She was quite the cheery person. A better volunteer Alex couldn’t have wished for to welcome him out of a stressful situation. The wrinkles of her face creased as her face settled in a soft, genuine smile. “You were lucky to have your Shinx with you, though. That little gal of yours is one hell of a fighter, taking on a full grown human when she must’ve been barely able to remain conscious herself. She was pretty far gone when you brought her here and they had to give her an IV, but even when they tried to administer the catheter, she resisted. Sparks flying all over the place, it was quite the sight.” “I bet it was.” The smile on Alex’s face must’ve been massive as he envisioned her unleashing havoc on the unsuspecting nurses here. “She’s doing better now, though. Sleeping like a Snorlax, that one.” “And probably snoring like a bloody chainsaw.” “You can say that again... As soon as we heard that, we immediately knew she was doing better than we anticipated.” Alex sighed a sigh of relief. “Aww, man… I was so worried when we got here, with you guys all going hectic.” “Yes, and let’s be very clear here: she wasn’t doing very well…” She paused to let it sink in. “You really should be more careful…” “I know…” Alex dropped his gaze as the sudden pang of guilt struck him. “It was a stupid move. Kinda makes me think if I’m even cut out for this training stuff to begin with. First trip outside Parchdry, and I’m already this close to losing her.” Suddenly, the woman laughed a hearty laugh as her voice turned away from her previously scolding tone to one filled with the genuine cheerful emotion she had earlier. “Oh don’t be silly, with all your ‘not cut out for this stuff’… When she resisted earlier? That’s because she wanted to sprint back to you, you know?” Alex chuckled. He didn’t reply. There was no reply he could give her. All he could do at the moment was sheepishly smile. There was a warmth that he hadn’t felt in quite some time. And yet at the same time, he had goose bumps... It was a strange feeling, but… It felt good… Everything was going to be okay. “Also, she is doing better, so don’t worry too much about it. At the very least, don’t beat yourself up over it. Let it be a lesson.” “Thanks…” It was all he could say. “I still suggest waiting at least one or two days before going off again, though. We’re going to keep her under surveillance for a bit as she is still pretty weak.” “Of course… Thanks mam.” “In the meantime, you should take a shower. You look like crap.” The woman casually informed him. “As soon as I finish this soup.” “Good.” After a slight pause, she clasped her hands, stood up, and the cheery eyes behind her half-moon reading glasses lit up as she seemed to go back into business-mode. “Now then, while you were out yourself, I took the liberty of going through your stuff… I’ve already put your clothes in the laundry. Those underpants… You should be ashamed.” “IT WAS SAND!!!” Edited by Thebes, 17 Nov 2013, 03:49 AM.
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Alexander "Alex" Brooks | ||||||||||
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11 Nov 2013, 10:35 AM Post #3 | |||||||||
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“Oh don’t be so dramatic, Alex, you were only out there for a couple of days.” “Only a couple of days? Are you kidding me? The Brackbrine Flats is the most dangerous area in the region. You know how people say the white sand is actually ash and bone-dust from the people that the sun cooked and burned alive there throughout the ages?” “Oh! I know! This is when you’re going to tell me you almost died, right?” Alex let out a dramatic sigh, and made sure the girl on the other end of the phone would hear it loud and clearly. “Alice, if it wasn’t for Shami, I seriously might just have. I mean, you haven’t got a clue as to how hot that place was, seriously. I can’t even lick my own damn lips to moisten them because they’re so parched. Hell, you wanna know the color of my skin right now?” “I’m gonna guess…--” “Red!” Alex interrupted her. “I’m like a friggin’ beet here! You should’ve seen the people looking at me as we rode into Oreback!” Alex looked down. Stripped naked with only the pink towel he got after having a hotly anticipated shower, the damage seemed even worse. The hotly anticipated shower had soon became a hotly dreaded shower as he danced around said shower out of pure agony, the water pelting against his burnt, bare and over-sensitive skin as though it was a damned hail storm, and even the lingering sand was determined to scratch some more into his skin before finally washing away. And now his skin was peeling, making him look slightly like a peeled grapefruit, more than anything else. To distract himself from the throbbing feeling pretty much all-over, he had put the rest of his utterly sweat-drenched and sandy clothes in the washer while uttering curses under his breath. And now, he had done the only thing that seemed like the logical thing to do as he waited for his clothes to finish spinning about: answer her 5 missed calls on his phone. He silently wished he hadn’t. Because the girl’s only reply was not concern. Oh no… It was a laugh. And not just any laugh, no, that wouldn’t be nearly exuberant enough. It was a laugh that brightened up the room. It was a laugh that exuded not just amusement, but pure happiness. It would’ve been a greatly pleasant laugh if only it wasn’t directed at his misfortune. “Aww, poor guy…” Alex closed his eyes in resignation as he lifted his hand. “Hey… See this?” “What?” “I’m currently extending a hearty middle finger to you right about now.” “To me?” “Damn straight…” “Well that’s not very nice, is it?” “You started it!” “Well…” Her voice trailed off. To be fair, she seemed… strangely relieved, and her voice took a more soft-spoken tone of voice. “Anyway, if you’re planning on extending more middle fingers my way and getting strange skin colors and whatnot, you really ought to get yourself a holocaster, ‘cause I wanna see that stuff.” “A what now?” “A holocaster… I just got mine, it’s great! It’s got 3D video chat and everything.” “I’ll consider it… Gonna buy myself the latest gen of the Pokédex later anyway, and get a better map while I’m at it.” “Buy a better map? Didn’t you tell me to do the same thing?” Alex disliked this specific life’s irony in particular. “Shut up…” The girl on the other end of the call laughed. “So… What’ve you been up to during your little adventure-gone-wrong?” “What, apart from not dyi--” “Yeah, yeah… Surviving, staying alive, I know, you’re my hero…” Alex sighed at the comment dripping with sarcasm. This girl… “Well… Remember our battle? You know? The one you lost.” “Oh, you’re going to pay for that.” The threatening whisper didn’t faze Alex nearly as much as the girl probably hoped it would. “You can try. I should warn you, though: I’ve been training Shami to do that thing she did last time with the sparks.” “Can’t imagine that having gone smoothly…” “It may have taken some… Provocation to get her worked up enough to do it again. I tried to do it playfully, but that little devil may have taken it a bit too seriously. Ran after me like some sort of madman… Hurt like all hell when she tackled me with all that electricity running through that blunt little head of hers.” “I like her.” “I swear, I still have some burn scars in the shape of her face on my… Well, let’s just say there’s really only one place she could tackle me while I was running away…” “Clever girl… I would’ve done the same thing…” “Funny… Anyhow, she seems to understand the command now, so that’s nice. I can’t exactly recommend this way of training, though. Not if you value your… You know… Assets…” “Cute pun.” “Thanks. What’ve you been up to?” “Nothing much… Just training really. I saw a Rattata the other day, but it got away, so that’s a bit of a shame. And now, well, I’m really just figuring out where to go next.” “Same here…” “I’m thinking of taking a cruise. You in?” “So you can beat me with your Splotch in the home field advantage? I’m not crazy. Also, a cruise? In Parchdry Port? Have you seen the sewer water they’ve got going on down there? Trust me, you don’t want that cruise.” “Well that’s just great. Nice to spoil all my plans…” “My pleasure.” “Humph…” Alex laughed. “Anyway, I gotta go. I’m at the Pokémon center for a check-up, so I’m going to hang up now, kay? Catch ya later!” “Catch ya later!” Before he even could get the phone away from his ear, the shrill voice of the girl filled his ear yet again. “Oh, and next time, don’t wait so long to call back!” There was only one possible comeback. “Why, worried?” The other end of the line was quiet. Finally, there was a click and the call ended. Alex smiled. Checkmate. Finding the Pokémart was less of a chore than Alex had thought. It was smack in the middle of the main road, though it might as well have been hidden as it was attached directly to the local supermarket. Apparently this town was less of a frequent stop for trainers, if the out-of-the-way placement of the Pokémon center and Pokémart was any indication. And Alex didn’t blame the trainers for not coming here more. Sure, according to the new and frankly glorious map he had just bought, the town had the pleasant Meadowplain trail to the north, but it was smack in the middle of the Goliath Caverns, the Brackbrine Flats, and Parchdry Port too. With probable death on one side, an equal probable death on the other, and an ever expanding, ever modernizing covert crime hub on yet another, it’s not strange this town was in a constant fear of crisis, and it’s definitely no wonder the people looked upon him with an almost uncharacteristic curiosity and kindness when he first arrive here: how many other visitors had they had in the past few days? Or weeks? Or maybe even months? Yes, the town definitely had its charms. Strangely enough, that is. The town itself didn’t have any particular style or frilliness, that’s for sure, but at least it wasn’t blandly grey and wannabe-futuristic with its neon signs like Parchdry Port was. No, it had more of a functional, or maybe just a lived-in feel in line with its history. With a community historically intimately connected to, and even to this day dependent on their hard work in the mines, it’s not strange to see it had a similar down to earth attitude to life and architecture in general. And now, in the orange light of dawn, the town was even more picturesque. Raising up his brand new holocaster, he made a picture, and with a few clicks more, the device started to send it off to the familiar name appearing on the screen. *Photo successfully sent to: Uncle Andrew* There… He’d appreciate it. Alex had only a few seconds to gather his thoughts. There was a rather standard digital ringing sound and the holocaster began flashing again. *Incoming call: Uncle Andrew* Hmm… Gonna have to change the ringtone to something more catchier. With a small smile, he pressed the screen of the holocaster to pick up the incoming call. The screen lit up with an icon undoubtedly signifying the fact that his uncle didn’t actually have a holocaster, and the machine immediately reverted to an audio-only call. “Hey man, my buddy! How are you doing?” “Hey uncle, I’m doing… Fine, I guess. How’s mom?” “Still pissed. You might want to give it a couple more days… Or weeks.” “Heh… Glad to hear she’s still the same person as always, at least.” “You mean glad to hear you’re not the one having to deal with her?” “Maybe a little bit…” “Yeah… She’s pretty livid, man. She’s refused to speak to you, ‘running off like that’. I figured I’d keep my mouth shut about my own involvement for the time being. I’ll show her the picture you sent me, though, that should hopefully calm her down, to know you’re safe at... Oreback, I’m guessing?” “Oreback indeed. Took some time to get there, but there I am.” “How was the trip?” “We may have almost died.” His uncle suddenly got quiet at the other end of the line. “You may not want to mention that to your mother.” Alex smiled. Typical. “Still, what happened, man? I thought you got this?” “We got lost…” “No shit you got lost, you were gone for four days!” “Well you don’t have to shout at me over it. It wasn’t much fun on my side either! Walked right into the Brackbrine Flats. Probably wandered in circles for the better part of three days… Great times, truly…” “Well, why did you walk into the Brackbrine Flats for? They’re evil, man!” “Well, if someone had given me their hand-me-downs that actually worked, I would’ve GPS’ed myself out of there in no-time.” Andrew sighed, and seemed to exhale his fear-based anger along with it as his usual, calmer tone of voice returned. “Well shit, so how did you get out?” “Fainted, and basically left Shami to do all the work… She saved me by attracting the attention of some truck driver’s that happened to come by.” “Shit, man… So how are you guys now?” “I’m doing fine considering what we went through. Got a rather bad case of sunburn… Still a bit wobbly, but back on my feet. She’s still in the Pokémon Center, though… Dehydrated as all hell. Seems like she turned down water and food a couple of times for my sake.” “Man... And how are you holding up about it, you know, psychologically? Can’t be easy…” The lump in his throat came back. “You don’t say… I feel sick to my friggin’ core, man… The lady at the Pokémon Center told me she just wanted to be at my side throughout the treatment. And yet all I can think of is what a shitty trainer I’m being…” Sadness and anger and frustration combined and bottled up. Shit, man… And there was a pause. Not very long, but long enough. Alex knew. He wasn’t stupid. His uncle was thinking too much. And that meant only one thing: he was making up something. An excuse, probably. Finally, his voice came back on the holocaster. “Well, if she wants to be with you, how bad can you be, right?” And Alex exploded. “Oh come on, Uncle. Not you too… You’re just saying that so I feel better. I mean, let’s be serious here. I have no experience. I don’t know what I’m doing apart from winging it. And in four days, I almost got us both killed. How about that? Care to spin that positively?” The line went silent. For a couple of seconds, one could've heard a pin drop. Finally, Andrew sighed. “I got nothing.” “Well, neither have I, and it’s gnawing at me. So give me a break.” The line went silent once more. This time it was even more awkward. Painful. Finally, there came one last line. “I got someone you might want to meet.” |
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Alexander "Alex" Brooks | ||||||||||
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19 Nov 2013, 08:58 AM Post #4 | |||||||||
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Encounter link and Pokémon Declaration The area was less arid here than in the Flats, considering the town’s equal proximity to the Flats as the Meadowplains, and as the evening hours dawned upon the town and the temperature started to go down, Alex made damn sure to thank Arceus at least thrice each minute for this fact, just in the event that he caught it and decided to wisp some actual good luck Alex’s way. Yes, it was much less arid, actually. It was still hot, and dry to boot, but it wasn’t inhospitable. At least this town got the occasional rain that drizzled down from the mountainsides. Hell, the mountainside of the town even had some vegetation to speak of. And skirting it was the large, recently proclaimed national monument that held these desert forests. Come to think of it, these were quite likely what alerted the early settlers to the groundwater here, and probably what made them choose this particular spot to put down their town. But Alex hadn’t thought there would be this much… stuff. On closer inspection, there were lots of different kinds of flora and fauna. From leafless desert trees, to cacti, grasses and even the occasional brightly colored flower amongst the brown dirt, this area was quite the sight. Alex had been to Central Godai once on a school trip holiday, and was marveled by the amount of plants and animals in the parks and roadsides there, being a stark contrast to the smog-filled Parchdry Port, but this was something else. Something actually growing in this hostile environment. It had a strange air of… Hope, for the lack of a better word. A symbol, testament to the resiliency of life here. Just as it seemed to be a testament to the resiliency of the town’s people, who looked upon the park with pride. Yes, Alex could see why someone would want to live out the rest of their life here, after having had a strenuous job in the mines, now taking care of all this, and fighting for the national monument’s protection. Feeling a drop of sweat pearl down his face, Alex tipped his straw hat downwards. It was unfashionable, sure, but it blocked the annoying rays blasting into his eyes. He had had quite enough of the sun for now, thank you very much. He blew air through his nose in a frustrated sigh. “Why did we decide to go here again?” He asked. Hearing no answer, he looked to his right shoulder. Oh, right… “Shiiiii~!” As the creaky door slid open, Alex was met the almost uncharacteristically gleeful mews of the Shinx that filled the room. Smiling brightly upon hearing the gleeful sounds of her little patient, the nurse working silently behind her laptop in the corner of the room nodded from behind her reading glasses and beckoned for Alex to come in. “Hey girl!” Alex whispered. He wasn’t quite sure why – it seemed appropriate in this environment. “Shiii~” Shami replied as it nuzzled up to him. “I know, I know. I missed you too.” The nurse smiled knowingly and turned around to her laptop again, plugging in her earplugs as she continued listening to music. It was a considerate gesture, giving them some privacy. Alex took the small, furry paws in his hand as she closed her eyes. Rolling them around between his fingers, Alex noticed the bones within them and how her skin so easily rolled around them. There was no muscle tension to speak of at all. Looking upon her closed eyes, strangely non-strained and relaxed even after going what they went through, she didn’t act much livelier either. It was as though she could fall asleep any second. “Hey, listen, “ Alex began, his voice softspoken and comforting. “I’m going to have to leave for a bit, OK?” The Shinx didn’t respond. She likely didn’t even understand what he was saying anyway. Still, it had to be said. “I’m going to find someone. So you just stay here for a while, alright?” Her eyes opened with a hopeful look. Her uncharacteristically large, dilated pupils seemed pleading. “Shiiii~?” Alex sighed. Those damned eyes… “You can just go back to sleep. I know you’re tired, alright? No worries.” As Alex pulled back his hand from his little friend, he felt a paw smack his hand. Turning back, he saw a face filled with disappointment. “Oh don’t be ridiculous, Shami, these people are going to take care of you fine.” “Shi--” “No complaints!” Alex immediately interrupted, theatrically raising his finger as though scolding a small child. “I saw the food they gave you. You couldn’t wish for more luxury stuff…” He nuzzled close to her face as he spoke quietly, something she immediately obliged by rolling on her side playfully. “And you’ve gotten yourself a sweet, pretty nurse to boot too, right?” She looked quite puzzled. Alex nudged his face towards the nurse, still sitting in the corner. Still smiling, for some reason… Shami looked at him as though he was mad, which Alex simply responded to with an innocent shrug. Finally, he stood up, smiling. She had no idea what he was saying, was she? Stepping back to the door, his eyes cast down, he took one final glimpse at the struggling feline. Shit… Standing still, he turned his head over his right shoulder. “I’ll be fine… You know me.” His head trailed back from his shoulder and cast its gaze downward. It had been a lie… Probably… Alex didn’t really know himself. Looking down, he felt the dry grass rustle beneath his feet. There was actually green here. Had she ever seen something like this? Alex tried to push the thoughts from his mind. He shouldn’t be so hard on himself. His uncle was probably right. Yes… She’d probably be better off by herself for now. She could still only barely stand up, and boy did she try when Alex left. He heard her back legs scratching over the floor, sprawling out as she tried to push herself forward to no avail. He didn’t look back. The sounds alone clenched his stomach, and he quickly moved on. This had to be done. Better get it over with quickly. To be honest, Alex didn’t even know why he accepted his uncle’s proposal. Likely his curiosity got the better of him again. Further on in the distance was a small house. More of an oversized cabin really, but it was very cozy looking. It reminded Alex of his own home, yet completely in the style of Oreback Town, and quite likely was very old by the looks of it. But it wasn’t decrepit. It wasn’t like the cheesy horror film houses or your standard haunted houses at the carnival. No, it looked fantastic. If the man himself was as pristine as his house, Alex could definitely see why the people of the town held him in such high regard. “His name is Edgar Poe Lee. I only met him once myself, but he is quite the character.” Alex looked at the picture of the man he had been sent over his holocaster. It must’ve been an old photo. Grainy, faded into nearly black and white, there was barely any color to be found in the picture. On it was a man in miner’s gear. There were vague signs of old age that seemed to separate him from the others around him. It seemed to have been a group picture, but his face was really the only one visible, being zoomed in on his specifically. “He’s been an overseer and a chief miner as long as I can remember, and he’s been damn good at it. Hell, people called him a messiah during one of the strikes, with all the negotiations that he’s gone into… Should say enough.” The other end of the holocaster call seemed to hesitate for a moment. Like he didn’t know exactly what to say or how to explain what was going to follow. Alex kept equally silent. “You might want to go and talk to him… There’s… Some stuff going on… That you may like to know about… I’m sure he has more he can tell” Stuff going on… What in the hell are you on about, uncle? In the distance, strange howls could be heard. As Alex came closer to the cabin, there, leaning against a tree, was a motorcycle. It was a strange model. Big handlebars, red, black and chromed – well, the non-scratched areas at least – and with a sidecar, it was almost cartoonish. To top it off, it must’ve been secondhand, or very old, as it looked somewhat… cheap for the modern day. But then again, it looked like it had been beaten up and repaired plenty of times either way. Hell, whether it was even still functional was doubtful: it had the keys still in the ignition. Shrugging at the seemingly clashing mental image of this Edgar gentleman riding in the sidecar, Alex passed the bike with a smirk and headed to the door of the cabin. Right-oh. Time for some talking, then… Alex lifted his hands at the cabin door. No! Wait… “Now, Pops, now that that mutt’s outside, let’s talk…” Alex stopped and froze. The person in the cabin didn’t sound nearly as much as he’d expected Edgar to sound. His hand still up in the air, hovering as still as it could, as though mirroring his mental concentration, he listened as carefully as he could. “Do I know you?” Another voice came from inside. It was heavy and somewhat shrill. It sounded frighteningly like an elderly who had been smoking his whole life. That’s Edgar? What’s happening in there? “D’ya hear that, Joey? Pops ‘ere don’t know who we are…” A slightly high-pitched voice echoed through the room. “Well, Clamps… Let’s ‘acquaint’ ourselves with this… fine gentleman here.” “Wait, I’ve heard of you two. You were on the news a while back, poaching Pokémon at the Arideo Gorge!” “Damn right!” “Then you must also know we’re here to do business.” There was a great thud, and in a flash, Alex was thrown sideways. Alex could almost feel his ribcage contract as the strange force slammed into him and forced all the contents of his lungs out of his mouth. His neck cramped as his body was launched faster than his head, and whipping his hair in front of his eyes. Rolling onto his back, he gasped for air as quietly as he could, in an almost instinctive reflex not to be discovered. When he opened his eyes, now tearing up, he froze with fear. There was a paw on his chest, weighing him down. And right in front of his face was the head of a large canine beast. Staring into the bloodshot eyes, and a bloodied mane that blocked out the sun, the tension and anger the animal must’ve felt was tangible. It raised its large, impressive moustache that made him look even bigger than it already was, and bared the teeth that stuck out underneath them. The silent and menacing growls were far scarier than any manically barking Pokémon had ever scared Alex before. Yes, this was an exquisitely trained guard dog Pokémon. Fast, effective, and above all: silent. He had Alex before he knew it. And now all Alex could do, was hope for the Pokémon’s good will. Slowly bringing his hands, up towards his face in an attempt to gesture a non-confrontational attitude and to show he was unarmed, the canine growls grew louder and more menacing. Closing his eyes, Alex turned down his face and tucked his chin down to one of his shoulders. Please don’t friggin’ bite me in the throat. Please don’t. Please don’t. Please, please please… He felt the animal’s head sniffing at his hand. Fear grew inside him. Shit… How could I be that stupid. No. Good boy. Don’t bite me in my wrists either! And then the animal stood up and lifted its paw off of Alex’s chest. Wait… What? The canine looked up at him with a mixture of confusion, hope, and a sort of plea, as its eyes grew soft and the aggression disappeared. Did it smell his intention not to be violent? Did it smell Shami? Suddenly, it turned around. Almost swiveled on its spot, and jumped towards the door where it snorted loudly and gestured with its paw, clawing at the door. “Shut up!” Alex heard being yelled from within the cabin. They must’ve locked the guard dog outside on purpose. It wanted the door open. But there were two people inside. It could never face them… alone…! “Listen, old man… I know you have a history with the Goliath Mines. And you’re going to tell me what we want to know.” Thud! “Oww! Damn it!” Looking around, Clamps stroked his bald head. Something had definitely hit him just now. “Joey?” “Not now, Clamps…” Clamps sighed. That guy never took him seriously. Not really. Not when he got into his little bad guy routine. With his muscles… And his… Bigness... And his… Humph! Looking down over the floor, he saw a lone Pokéball rolling away. Was someone really throwing Pokéballs at hi--? Thud! “Oh, come on!” Clamps turned around to his partner. “Joey!? There is someo--” “Not now, Clamps!” Joey grew more annoyed. Clamps looked at the old man… Edgar something something. He had seen the Pokéball as well, by the looks of it – his eyes shooting back towards Joey after having caught something in the corner of his eye. And he was showing no signs of fear either. His face was wrinkled, but even through all the folds, Clamps could see no tension. He knew Joey saw this as well. And Clamps knew Joey. He fancied himself so clever. Yes, this could take a while. If Joey wouldn’t do anything, he would have to fix this himself. Clamps sighed and elbowed the large crab standing on the plundered table next to him. “Come on, Snips… Let’s go check this out…” They heard the door open with a creak. Slowly, Clamps seemed to pause as he opened the door, probably wondering where the Herdier had come. As Alex returned from the windom, he turned to the large guard dog sitting next to him, gesturing him to be quiet. “Stay!” With a gesture that hopefully meant ‘stay’ to the dog, Alex quickly, as quietly as he could, snuck around to the other side of the cabin. If this could just go as planned, that’d be great… Walking around to the other side, Alex could hear the ruckus going on inside the cabin. The man apparently called Joey breathed a sigh of relief. “Finally that brute’s gone.” “That leaves one more…” The older man replied. Alex couldn’t help but flash a smirk out of nervousness. That Edgar was fearless. What in the world must he have done previously to withstand criminals? Wait… Criminals! Crap! Alex thought as he arrived at the other side… This was a stupid plan. They probably had some kind of weapon. And what did he have? Jack shit. He didn’t even have Shami with him. A twig cracked nearby. Clamps was making his way towards the Herdier – Rascal, as the name on his collar suggested – still hopefully standing at the other side of the cabin, no doubt. Crap! Shit! Alex’s raging nerves didn’t seem to have any plan to calm down. He and his plans! Well… Now’s as good a time as any… Alex peeked his head out to the front of the cabin, and threw another Pokéball straight towards the bald man’s head. “Oh for...!” Alex could hear the footsteps of the man coming near him. Alright, this was it. With a lump of fear in his stomach, he started his sprint back towards the other side of the cabin. “Snips! Get over here! We got someone!” Ohh crap! Alex had seen the tattoos, the slight pot belly, the wifebeater, the leather sleeveless vest. Everything that would send any sane person running for the hills. And now he was being followed by him… And something called ‘Snips’, which didn’t exactly forebode anything good. Running as fast as he could, trying to outrun the guy chasing him, who luckily seemed to be in somewhat of a bad shape given his slow, panting run, he dragged the canine with him. “Go, boy!” as they ran towards the now-unlocked door. Alex swung the door wide open, and the dog almost leapt in. The other man there was dressed in much the same way. His smug little beard and the slick gelled-back hair betrayed him. Yes, Alex had met these kinds of people before. He might’ve been a fine businessman, and had an ego that would deserve his intelligence, if he hadn’t chosen to go down this bad route. That made the crunching sound of the Herdier wrapping its teeth around his wrist even more satisfying. “Aaargh! You damned mutt! ” The man – Joey, Alex seemed to remember – cried, his voice shaking as he looked upon his bloodied arm. During the chaos that ensued, Alex quickly made his way towards the elderly man, seemingly as calm as ever, casually picking up his walking cane from his side. “And here I was wondering when you’d pop in here...” “No time for bantering! Let’s go, Mister Lee!” “Please, call me Edgar.” “Great! Alex, a pleasure.” Pulling on the man’s sweater and jacket, Alex, as quickly as he made his way inside, dragged the old man outside. Upon nearing the door, and hearing the nearing footsteps outside, the man whistled sharply through his teeth and yelled a command to his Herdier. “Rascal! Takedown!” The dog instantly detached itself from the near-crying man on the floor, bloodied and fearful, and begun its charge towards the door. Just as the voice of Clamps entered the doorway… Looking Alex straight in the eye, his hand reached back towards his back. “There you are, you little piece of--” Bang! The Herdier impacted with an impressive clash. Straight into the diaphragm, the bald man wheezed and coughed as he fell down, gobs of spit hurtling out of his mouth as he was yanked out of the way of the dog’s master. The various chains down his pants clattering, Clamp’s hands immediately reached back to his front, clutching for his stomach, his sickly-looking pale Krabby nudging at him to stand back up, as the two made their way past him. “Come on! Let’s go! For the bike!” Edgar seemed dumbfounded. “You even know how to drive that?” “Are you kidding? I’m going in the sidecar!” “STOP!” A wheezing voice behind them shouted. Like that was going to stop them from— “STOP OR I SWEAR, I’LL SHOOT OFF YOUR FUCKING HEAD!!” Shit… Edited by Thebes, 21 Nov 2013, 02:53 AM.
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Alexander "Alex" Brooks | ||||||||||
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19 Nov 2013, 08:59 AM Post #5 | |||||||||
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Shit… Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit! “Clamps! Damn it!” The big, muscled one said, nearly limping outside from the pain. It seemed he had called forth a pair of Pokémon himself. A Butterfree, which instantly flew to the roof of the house to keep guard, and a Chansey that eagerly treated his master’s wounds, smearing her unfertilized eggs, renowned with whatever magical sterilizing and healing powers it contained, over the wounds, the egg’s membrane quickly hardening into a makeshift bandage. Edgar gestured to his obedient dog to stay, now growling and backing off into an almost preparatory guard position, or perhaps preparing for a charge attack towards this new threat. “Clamps, we’ve talked about this!” “Like hell we’ve talked about this!” Clamps was mad, gesturing wildly with a six-shot revolver in his hand. “We tried it your fucking way! And look where it got us. Now we’re going to try mine.” Oh no… Alex tensed up as the guy’s hand shot forward in a threatening gesture. This was bad. In all his years of being in a gang, Alex had been slashed at with a knife, sure, and he still had some marks to show. But a gun? How would you even…? “I’ve been against types like these before.” Edgar whispered as the two continued their bickering. “He’s still disoriented from the blow, and he doesn’t seem to be that skilled or smart. All we need is a distraction. After that, a moving target is a harder target. A running target even more so. You can get away.” “Edgar?” Alex whispered back under his breath. “You go for the damned bike!” “Put up your hands!” Shit… Alex reached up. His hands traced his belt, where he had stashed his Pokéballs earlier onto the magnetic hoops – so damned useful – he had bought earlier. Two left. Slowly, he brought up his hands. “Put up your damned hands, boy!” Clamps yelled with obvious impatience. Thank Arceus for sleight of hand! “Click!” The ball in Alex’s hand inflated with its signature pneumatic sound. And with a “THROW!”, Alex threw the ball right at the bald man waving his gun. Shit… This was a stupid plan, wasn’t it? The man’s eyes grew large, as though in utter surprise about the fact that there was someone willing to stand up to him when he’s waving around his gun. Instinctively, he threw up his hands to deflect the ball, and miraculously the plan worked out. Alex felt a pang of nerves shoot up in his stomach as the pistol went off. Somehow, he found the last bits of strength in his legs and ran. “Get to the bike, Edgar!” “Shit!” Joey said with an almost calm air of resignation to the situation. His hands had been healed. There was no more need for hysteria. “Leela! Go get him! Use your stun spore!” “No!” Clamps shouted as the Butterfree shot after the boy already with an enormous speed. “I’ll get that bastard myself! Snips, get your ass over here!” Shoving his gun back into his pants, he set off after the boy in an almost leisurely jog. He would get him one way or another. “Rascal, go boy!” Edgar hadn’t missed a beat, and immediately pointed his Herdier after him. As he ran off into the dusty forests of cacti and ironwood trees, he started howling as he was taught – draw attention away from the target. And like that, he was gone. “Well…” Joey commented. “And now we’re alone again… So, where were we?” He started walking towards Edgar. His Chansey soon followed, with a scornful look on its face, its feathers low and threatening. “Oh right…” He continued. “You were going to steal our bike…” The Chansey stepped forward threateningly. “Oh…” Edgar smiled. “I have no plan on going anywhere…” A silence fell. That wasn’t what Joey expected. In the distance the barks and howls of the Herdier could be heard. With a sly smile, Edgar simply took out a Pokéball. “Go Lila!” Please let the trees block his view, please, please, please… Alex pleaded to whatever invisible creature would have heard his pleas, as he darted through the trees with a speed at which he hadn’t run at for a long, long time. Zigzagging, he heard another shot in the distance – likely a warning shot as he didn’t see anyone in sight. Suddenly, in front of him, there appeared a gigantic butterfly, larger than Alex’s head, and time seemed to slow down. As adrenalin coursed through his body, Alex could make out a purple exoskeleton, with wings flapping so fast their patterns were indistinguishable and almost translucent, and a large, fanged, rolled up proboscis with the same blue colors as its strangely humanlike claws. It was a Pokémon of equal parts elegant beauty, and alien threat, and it was close. As it skillfully hovered in front of him, zigzagging like some sort of miniature helicopter, Alex could see the individual facets of its seemingly red compound eyes refracting light in different ways, like an oil spill in sunlight, strangely mesmerizing, yet at the same time threatening in its implication. In this case, the implication was that Alex was done for. With a buzzing noise so strong Alex could feel his stomach vibrate in unison, it flapped it wings so hard some kind of strange powder came off. And within a fraction of a second, it flew forwards and latched itself on to Alex’s face. With an enormous yell of fear and pain, Alex threw himself backwards in shock. Alex felt the strange pollen-like powder fall into his eyes, his nose, his mouth. As he tried to roll over and cough, the creature on top of him accelerated his beating, and pushed his face straight back into the ground. He could feel the powder as it started stinging, irritating his eyes, sticking to the back of his eyelids. As it got sucked into his windpipe, where it instantly started inflaming, and Alex got a coughing fit more violently than he ever had. By now, his eyes were watering to such an extent he didn’t even see the creature getting ripped off of his face by the Herdier that flashed by as it took down the Butterfree with such speed and force that cracks appeared on its hardened carapace. With a strange pneumatic whistling, almost a yelping sound, of which Alex wasn’t sure was an actual cry or the damage the Butterfree had gotten, the Butterfree tried to escape, and, flapping its wings, released more of its powder onto the Herdier. With a cry, Rascal instantly jumped off and started shaking his head in confusion. Now finally free, the Butterfree quickly hovered upwards again, now wobbly in the air as it recovered itself for a second attack run on the now-fleeing boy. His eyes now fully bloodshot, they stung so hard Alex was effectively blind. He could only hope he ran into the right direction. Swinging his arms in wide archs, he tried to feel in front of him as he wiped at his eyes with his sleeves to wipe away the dry, sticky powder. But there was something wrong – things seemed to go slower than usual. Too slow-- With a large tackle, the Butterfree rammed Alex back to the ground, the fine dusty sand launching itself into the air as he crashed into it. He had never even seen her coming, and now he was lying face down on the ground as the insanely smart insect grabbed at his collar. “No! Rascal!” It was really the only thing to try. The wheezing and coughing didn’t make things any easier. He tried swapping away the creature, but he only seemed to make it more angry, and Alex could already feel its scratches and scrapes on his neck as its pseudo-hands clawed at him. Nearby, Alex could hear the dog snorting and panting and sneezing violently as it tried to get rid of the powder himself. He had to try it. “RASCAL!” With a final yell, the dog whipped up his face into the air, his ears upright. “Rascal!” What was the command again? “Takedown!” Alex felt a breeze of air wisped past his head, his hairs and clothes tugging at his body as the Herdier impacted the Butterfree a second time. But this time, the buzzing stopped. Wiping at the sand and other particles in his eyes, coughing as hard as he could, and spitting down onto the ground to get the nasty taste of pure overly-sweetness out of his mouth, hopefully the last of the Butterfree’s powder would be gone. But as he tried to stand up, he could feel it was already too late… Whatever the powder was, it was doing its job… In an almost drunken stupor, Alex managed stand up, clamping fast to the Herdier’s blue-black coat on his back. Feeling the tension in Rascal, he looked at the Herdier, only to hear the stomach-clenching sounds of clacking in front of him. Looking up, there was Snips, its scissor-like claws snipping in maniacal glee, and not much further on, something worse… “Ah… There you are, you little git!” “From one… gentleman to another…” The leather-clad man began. “I figure we can talk this out…” Edgar mentally rolled his eyes. He could almost feel his Rosalia doing the same. They were on the same wavelengths, and had negotiated with people much like the person before them. She’d provide some ‘aromatherapy’ to subtly prime their opponents in their mindsets and choices – and she’d get a nice treat when the two of them got home, of course. But this? This was going to be even easier. They didn’t need to be careful here. “You see, we’ve been hearing rumors about strange… happenings going on at the Goliath Mines. And we’d like to know if it’s worth the trip to us…” Edgar laughed, his smoky, almost raspy voice lost in the wind. Looking down to his leg and cane, his face took on a more serious expression. “You’d never escape that place with your lives.” Joey furrowed his brow. His Chansey seemed to almost burn a hole into the old man with its own stares. “You’ll find we are very hardy.” Joey finally said. “Yes,” Edgar noted. They were indeed. They were troublesome at the very least, but capable. If they hadn’t gone down this path, he may have even chosen them to deal with the situation in Goliath. But no, not anymore. “Yes… But you have a lack as well.” “Heh…” Joey laughed to himself, his gaze cast down as he smiled a smirk of arrogance. “We’ll see…” Joey replied with a scowl almost as dark as his Pokémon’s. With irritation clearly in his voice, he repeated his admonition to himself. “We’ll see…” Yes, that Edgar would know what they were capable of. Turning to his Chansey, who may as well have been waiting eagerly in anticipation herself of the coming fight, he issued a command, nodding his head towards the flowered Rosalia opposite them. “Pound her into submission, Donna…” Edgar sighed as he saw the pure sense of hate and malice coming from the creature. What they must’ve done to her for her to become this way, twisted, broken beyond the nature of her species. Turning to his Rosalia, he spoke with pity. “Just stun her, Lila…” Shaking her leaves, she released a powder into the wind. Edgar could smell the strangely pleasant, sweet aroma coming off of her leaves, and he knew the Chansey coming right at her would so too. Only for her, it would hold a nasty surprise. The Chansey started its strangely uncharacteristic boxing against Edgar’s Rosalia. It looked almost paradoxical, such a sweetly little creature renowned for their caring natures, now doing her best to just do as much damage as she could. It was to no avail, of course. Lila was a plant-Pokémon, and very agile at that, bobbing and weaving, flexing and twining around her strikes. It’s not a coincidence several classical martial arts were inspired by the flexibility and the sturdiness of the plant stems of Pokémon, back in the day. And Edgar was proud to see his Lila honor that. Yet the Chansey pounded on. Fanatically. With no regard to herself. Only one thing mattered: pound that Rosalia into submission. You could see it in her eyes. Yet the only thing it managed to do was prick itself on Lila’s stem. And still it continued. Left right, left right. Beads of sweat pearling on her skin as the poison started seeping through her system. She got slower and slower. But still she continued. Left right, left right. For Lila, it was a good thing she got slower. One thing the Chansey failed to notice was how the Rosalia had wrapped itself around her during her last barrage, and tied her up within her roots. Arms? Stuck. Legs? Stuck. And she was being leeched. She could feel the seeds being implanted within her, the roots draining her. She started to get lightheaded, but it wasn’t the same as before. No, she wasn’t feeling sleepy this time. She was getting weak. Her very energy was being drained away. But the Rosalia was foolish. She didn’t have what it takes. She was going easy on her, trying to only drain just enough. She wasn’t going all the way. And that would be her downfall. “Donna!” The concerned voice of her trainer seemed to blow just enough life into the Chansey that she managed to get a clear head. And within a fraction of a second, the egg in her pouch started to simmer and shrink, liquefying as it got absorbed back into her body. As her pouch deflated, she managed to get just enough wiggle room to slip out. Yes, this was going to be it. She seemed to get a clearer head by the second. This was good. She felt her wounds close and she smiled with delicious glee. They must’ve known it was useless fighting her. They must’ve known she would just recover just the same. They must’ve known they were going down. One way or another. “Well then… Lookie look what we have here…” Cold. The sweat that dripped down his head into Alex’s eyes was cold. He didn’t expect it to be this way. They were still well into the dry and hot region of the West. But somehow… He felt cold? Shivering, Alex tried to detach himself from the Herdier, still being supportive, growling at their to-be attackers. He shook his head in an attempt to shake off the feeling of drunkenness and slowness, but felt only dizziness as a result. “You know you’re being a downright dick here, right?” “Stay away!” Alex yelled back. No time to be a smartass. That wouldn’t go well. “I don’t think you’re in a position to demand things from me, boy…” the bald man almost spit out as he walked towards him. Snips snapped its pincers loudly, intimidatingly, its obvious target being the canine in front of him. Clamps sighed. “All we wanted was some questions answered. And you just had to start all this… Shit.” “Like you would’ve stopped there. Don’t play the good guy with me, I know your kind.” The anger readily apparent in his eyes, there was only one thing he could do. “Snips?!” Snips stepped forward, determined like his master to make this conversation… Interesting. He didn’t come very far. Before even getting near Alex, the Herdier snapped at the Krabby in front of him. With a charge, it rammed at snips. Seemingly taken aback for a second, flinching and retreating its claws, if it could have closed its eyes, it probably would have. But Snips was mad – like master, like Pokémon – and it quickly snipped back at the Herdier, who hastily retreated. Undoubtedly out of malice, Snips splurted out a gob of mud, spraying it into the eyes of the Herdier, blinding it as the thick gunk seeped down, making his paws sticky and slippery. And with a charge, the Krabby latched itself onto the Herdier pawing at its own face. Its claws snipping into its skin in a strong grip, Alex could see how the Herdier got his bloody wounds from before. Instantly, the canine began to cry out. This had to end. “Rascal!” Alex yelled. Even throughout all the pain, the Herdier seemed to recognize his voice. “Here, boy!” Alex was amazed at how quickly he responded. He had no idea what he had done to gain his loyalty. But he had. He knew it. The hound howled and barked louder than it ever had as he wrestled himself out of the vice grip, tearing off pieces of his fur as he released. “Oh no, you don’t!” Clamps exclaimed, his hand shooting back towards his back pocket. “Takedown, boy!” And for a moment, time seemed to slow down. Alex didn’t see what went on. His head was too heavy now. But he could hear the stomach-clenching sounds of Snip’s armor cracking and the clacking sounds of it running away in a panicked frenzy. “Snips!” The hand of the man shot out from behind his back. Glistening metal in his hand. Its hammer cocked. His target? The canine, now limping, back to Alex, of all people. Oh no, you’re not going to shoot him, you piece of! Alex grabbed for his belt. One left. Taking the last Pokéball of his belt, he saw the familiar phone number reflect off of its outside. And he threw. Hoping. Desperate. He saw the ball arch through the air. He saw the cold metal in the man’s hand, taking aim. He saw the glint in his eyes. This had to work. And as though guided by a divine hand. Three metres. One metre. There was a dull thud. Once again. One final time. Now Alex was out. Now, he had nothing. Alex saw the intimidating glare of the man shift to him. And all Alex could do was stare, and hope for the best. Heh… ‘Hope…’ Clamps froze when the ball hit him. As he turned his head, Alex could feel the sheer madness of the man in front of him. This was anger. And all tension in his body was lost. Now Alex could barely even move anymore. The fear wouldn’t let him. Why did I throw it? Unable to look away, he looked the man straight in the eye. Me and my damned plans… “RASCAL! JUST GO!” Alex watched the Herdier hesitantly run off to safety in his peripheral vision. He could’ve yelled for help. But he didn’t. Why not? Why, with the last strength that he had in his body, did he yell for the Herdier to run away? Away from the madman now in front of… him… Crap… Lila released more stun spores, but it was to no avail. The Chansey was pumped. It charged through the powder cloud as though it was a mere breeze. “We’re wearing her out, Donna! Once more!” Pound. Left, right. Repeat. Things were going badly, Edgar knew. He could see the Chansey wearing out his Rosalia. And before long, he could very well be next. Pound. Left, right. Repeat. A howl could be heard in the background. Edgar looked up. He knew this sound… Rascal? Pound. Left, right. Repeat. What a timing. Now all he had to do was… Edgar smiled. Distract her… Pound. Left, right. Repeat. Yes… This would definitely work. If it didn’t stun her, she would at least be blinded. “Lila! Release more stun spores!” The Rosalia turned to listen to the command of her master, and nodded gleeful at the plan she devised herself as the cries of Rascal could be heard in the distance. And in a fraction of a second, Lila had wrapped itself around Donna, and a giant cloud of spores was blown in the face of the Chansey. Turning herself towards the Rosalia, she merely smiled. Didn’t they realize it was futile? Whatever they did, she would simply heal itself. Joey laughed as the Rosalia leapt back, obviously intimidated by the menacing looks of his Donna. Donna racked back her arm, ready to end this encounter. And then the Chansey was launched… Joey’s smile was instantly wiped off his face as the Herdier sailed through the air, taking the Chansey with him in a tackle that knocked her out instantly. Her eyes rolled up into her skull, and she fell like a beanbag. Joey could see the smile of Edgar as it happened. That man… The triumph was short-lived. Without a second thought, or without even trying to recover itself, the Herdier instantly turned around, and started howling, barking, beckoning, back into the direction he had just come from. Edgar nodded. He knew enough. Looking up at the man named Joey, he issued a final command. “Lila, use poison sting! I want him stunned.” “I… have had… enough… of you…!” The sensation of the fists impacting his skull seemed… duller than usual. Which was nice, granted, but Alex knew this was as much a prelude to bad things. He had been in this situation before. Hell, he had done this to someone himself once. Damn, I was a dick… Alex didn’t even try to lift his arms anymore. The poison had gotten to him. It probably wouldn’t be long now till he’d just black out completely. At least he’d get a good night’s sleep for once… The night sky was mottled with tiny specks of cloud, but the stars were out tonight. Strange thing to be thinking about. Suddenly, a whizzing sound filled the air, followed by a small thud. A confused look appeared on Clamp’s face. Contorted in a weird combination of fear and pain, he reached back, stumbling as his knees started to buckle, and his feet shuffled looking for solid ground. Leaning to the nearby tree, Clamps seemed almost drunk, his head seemingly so heavy he could barely keep it upright, and even then it swayed back and forth, almost comically as a string of drool dripped down. His breath became slow and shallow, and as the gun fell down his pants from behind him, he finally managed to pull out some sort of thorn from his side. And then he fell down, simple as that. No theatrical flurry. No final comment or even a sigh. Clamps simply buckled, and his face planted the ground with a dull thud, unconscious. And it was silent. Alex exhaled in relief as a lone tear streaked down his face. He had been holding his breath this entire time. His stomach cramping of the nerves had hurt more than his throbbing face. But it was done now. “You’ve done great, kid…” The silhouette was closer than Alex thought… Then again, sounds get mighty dull as one slips into unconsciousness. Battle Summary |
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Alexander "Alex" Brooks | ||||||||||
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19 Nov 2013, 08:59 AM Post #6 | |||||||||
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The police came soon enough. Someone had called the police when they heard gunshots. It only took a couple of hours for things to be resolved. Eyes were rinsed. Stomachs were pumped. Soup was eaten. Pokéballs were retrieved. Reports were made. Criminals were sent back to jail. And that was the end of Tuesday… Alex had come back to the Pokémon center after midnight. It was a nice surprise to see they were still open. Apparently the old lady had volunteered to stay until Alex was back again. To say she was unhappy was an understatement. A couple of bandages, a bunch of ice, and some serious scolding later – “That’s the second damned time TODAY!” – , Alex was simply sent to bed with a sigh, and a certain blue furball – “Don’t tell anyone…”. Yes… Oreback was an interesting town, indeed… The lights in the Center had been toned down… Like that would help him sleep… Looking down on his lap, he saw the little Shinx was asleep. Deeply asleep… Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. His hands were still trembling. He held up the scratched Pokéball he had been carrying the entire evening now. Why did I take that final risk? He turned around his ‘lucky’ Pokéball. On it a familiar phonenumber in permanent marker. He sighed and started the call. What else could he do? “First you ignore my calls five times straight, and now you’re calling me past midnigh--” As the first shrieks died down, for a few seconds, silence returned to the Pokémon Center. “What in the balls happened to your face?” “Fists happened to my face.” The holocaster projected a dull image in front of Alex. Or maybe it just seemed dull… Alex hadn’t seen sharply ever since the beating, despite getting off lucky without serious brain or skull damage. According to the nurse, the inflammation would go down soon enough. Until then, he had to make due with some black and blue bruises. It wasn’t exactly a surprise the current image in front of him was therefore of a shocked girl. Well, Alice and shocked? Disgusted, more like. “Well, why are you going around getting fists to your face? Are you insane?” “I’m doing fine, Alice, thanks for the concern.” Wearing only a white nightgown – adorned with somewhat expected blue ribbon and lace, of course –, the girl leaned forward off of her bed, her uncharacteristically disorderly hair flowing down as she tried to apparently study Alex’s face on her viewscreen. “You know… When I said I wanted to see your face in strange colors, this is not exactly what I meant…” “Hey…” Alex stuck up his middle finger. “See this?” Alice smiled. “Good to see your brain’s still intact, at least…” “Thanks…” “Well, ‘intact’ is a big word... What I meant was…” Alex smiled… At least his hands were calm now. Edgar visited them the next day. Looking up his own Rascal and Lila at the Pokémon Center, he had brought coffee from some coffeeshop down the road. It was nice, actually, much better than the powdery stuff from back home at Parchdry Port, and apparently with fresh milk from the farms at Meadowplain. Where Shami had been dehydrated earlier, now there was no stopping her: she would have that cream! At one point she and Rascal had been competing for belly rubs… Yes, things actually seemed to have gone back to normal. After a few moments of silence, Edgar spoke up. “You have balls, son…” Alex laughed, looking down on his Pokéballs resting on his belt. “Well, these things are more useful than I thought…” He absentmindedly fingered the last Pokéball on his strip. The question lingered. Why did I run the risk? Edgar saw the question written plainly on his face. He had been an overseer for the longest time. He knew his way around people. He knew what they felt when they did. Just like he knew what the boy’s father felt as he died. Edgar sighed. It had to be him. Just when Alex opened his mouth to say something, he decided to interrupt. “You said your name was Alex?” “Yes…” Yes… It had to be him. “You know what? You seem like somebody that I used to know.” Like he is sitting opposite to me right now. He took out a photograph. An old one at that. Alex felt a strange recollection come onto him. Wait… I know that one… “That’s me, right there…” He pointed to the familiar face. Surrounding him were more miners, in full gear, broadly smiling and pranking each other with visible camaraderie. “And that’s the guy I was talking about.” His finger went to a young man… And Alex felt the blood drain from his face. Like looking in a mirror… “Quite the guy… Rushed into things headfirst. Hero of the damned team… And when you asked him why he did it he’d just shrug.” Edgar’s tone of voice took on a sour note. “Died way too soon…” He sighed, gaze downward. How the boy must’ve felt… “Great guy, you would’ve loved him…” Alex looked at the photo. Unconsciously stroking the edges of the small photograph, probably out of nervousness, or simply not knowing what to do. How long must it have been that he had been staring at it? “Keep the photo…” he finally heard Edgar say. The silence returned for a couple of minutes. Despite the relatively busy Pokémon Center, with all its beeps and telephone calls, it seemed, if only for a few minutes, they were in their own bubble. Finally, Alex put away the photo in his journal recorder’s leather cover. It was a strange feeling finally seeing his father. They looked so alike. But worst of all, he didn’t quite know what to feel. Or think. But there was some sort of knot in his throat either way. Why? Alex cleared his throat. After a few more moments, Edgar broke the silence and seemed to go straight for business. It seemed to be the best option. Alex would have to figure out what to feel himself, and would have to find a place for what he was going to learn later on. For now, there were more pressing matters, and some directly related to him. “You know about the troubles at the Goliath Mines?” Alex swallowed. Talking was hard right about now. “Weren’t they abandoned?” “Yes, but they seem to be the epicenter of something else. Something currently affecting the other mines as well.” Shaking off the strange feeling, Alex replied. Edgar could plainly tell it was uncharacteristically businesslike. He was covering up something he was feeling. Probably for the better, for now. “Is that why those guys were harassing you yesterday?” “Yes… They seem to think certain Pokémon are causing it. Wanted to see if there would be a good catch in for them.” “Are they right?” “I don’t know for sure, but I have my ideas.” “Is it serious?” “Quite… There have already been miner strikes the past couple of months. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were going to be more in the time to come.” “So what can be done about it?” Edgar sighed. He put his hand in his pocket, and took something out. “We get to the cause…” He opened his hand. “And we get rid of it…” In his hand laid a Pokéball, black with green and an orange rim, it was a Dusk Ball if Alex remembered correctly from the Pokémart. It seems he had it specifically bought for this. And Alex instantly felt a knot in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if it was because he knew what was going to happen, or because he knew that was the place his father died, or that he wasn’t up to snuff after everything that had happened. The only thing he knew was that he felt this was not going to be a good idea. He didn’t want to. It felt strange. Wrong. “I’m not sure if I’d be the best person for the job, sir.” Edgar instantly replied. A feeling of concern bottled up in his stomach. He would have to get rid of this belief one way or another. It wasn’t good for him… His dad would never have let him feel this wa-- “Listen… Yesterday I have seen a Chansey twisted beyond belief, made aggressive by his master. But I have also seen someone inspire loyalty in my own Herdier without even trying, and believe me I know how ruddy difficult that mutt can be. He’s not called ‘Rascal’ without reason, you know… “Anyone can learn a Pokémon tricks, or rule by fear. A real trainer is so much more. “And you?” Edgar paused... Should he tell him? Or would it be better if he found out himself? He placed the Dusk Ball in Alex’s hand. “Well… Let's just say you’re interesting…” Alex sat outside. The orange-colored sky shone its dusky glow in his face. He had had some time now to think about the offer. “Interesting, huh?” Nodding to himself, he made up his mind. He put away the Shinx busily going about her business, and the holocaster started its ringing sound. “Hey uncle…” “Hey man… What’s the news?” ”I met up with Edgar… He had a proposal for me.” “And?” Alex smiled. “I’m in...” Edited by Thebes, 21 Nov 2013, 03:01 AM.
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Alexander "Alex" Brooks | ||||||||||
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25 Nov 2013, 01:20 PM Post #7 | |||||||||
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Matthew Hodges Eva Triffet
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