#*most gray pokemon*- its blue!

[teshamerkel]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 50]

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Tobias and Nia take the ferry north to the guild, but the river might not be as peaceful as they would hope.

-

When Tobias wakes at sunrise, he has to take a few minutes to settle his thoughts. For once, they’re racing almost as soon as he’s conscious, still tangled up in all of the information Nia dumped on him after her impromptu talk with Giratina yesterday.

As if that situation wasn’t terrifying enough on its own.

No, she also had to come back from her little chat with news of the world ending. And somehow, Nia and Tobias are the ones put in charge of stopping it.

No pressure or anything.

Tobias knows they can’t just ignore it, though. If Giratina is telling the truth—and Tobias is still a bit iffy on that, but can’t find much reason for why he would lie about such a thing, either—then it needs to be fixed. It’s not something he’s willing to take a chance on.

At least they have a plan. Tobias isn’t looking forward to groveling to Will for the assistance Nia is convinced he can give, but he’ll feel better once he loops August and Alistair and some of the other guild ‘mon in on this. See what they know. Someone has to have an idea of where Xerneas’ resting place could be.

But before worrying about all of that, they need to actually make it back to the Lexym Guild. Even taking the ferry, it’ll probably be a couple of days until they reach home. They can think over how to bring all of this to light once they’re back.

Tobias sits up with a groan and goes about his usual process of rolling Nia out of bed. She whines in protest, but he manages to hurry them both out of the inn and into the heart of Shivergleam just as the first rays of dawn start to peek orange-bright through the foggy gray morning.

Shivergleam is strange to see in the light of day. Most Pokemon are either already asleep or heading to bed, and as they pass a grocery store Tobias sees a yawning gourgeist flip their OPEN sign to CLOSED. The ominous, twisted wooden structures around them suddenly look harmless. Almost like a town of whimsical treehouses, some distant cousin to his own home in the Lexym Tree.

Tobias leads Nia across creaky bridges (which are scarier in the day, when he can see just how far down the drop is to fog-capped swamp water) towards where he’s pretty sure the Aqua Jet had docked the night before. It’s not like it’s too big of a town, and Cordelia’s white and orange ferry stands out against the much more modest wooden canoes that the locals own.

The two of them hurry down the steps to the ferry, catching Beck just as he pulls himself out of the swamp. Water runs in rivulets through his thick orange fur and splatters onto the wood as he looks up.

“There you are! Perfect timing. Our other passenger just boarded so we’re ready to go.”

“Who’s the other passenger?” Nia asks.

Beck scratches at his chin. “A sableye. Some kind of researcher? He’s heading to the caves north of the Lexym Guild, near the foot of the mountains.”

Nia perks up at the word researcher. “I wonder if he’d tell us what he researches!”

“Not sure. He was a bit mumbly—real quiet guy.”

Tobias can handle quiet. They don’t need any shenanigans on their trip back north, especially considering they have to be on the water again. Not exactly any fire type’s favorite place to be.

“And they’re back!” A voice crows from up near the captain’s cabin. A blue and yellow maw leans out to peer down at them, teeth bared in an obnoxious grin. “Couldn’t stay away from the beautiful riverfront, could you, Charmander?”

Tobias curls his lip at her in return. While Nia waves and says hi, Tobias boards the ferry and moves to the back deck out of the croconaw’s line of sight.

It’s there he spots their new co-passenger: a spindly, dark purple ghost type with large, unnerving gemstone eyes. As in they literally look like cut gemstones. Creepy. The Pokemon is curled around a backpack and tucked up against the cabin of the ferry, half-hidden in shadows.

Tobias’ gut instinct after last night with Edme (and the general distance of the Shivergleam residents as a whole) is to be wary of their fellow passenger. Not that it would be likely for Edme to send someone after them for information about Giratina or revenge or something, but…

“Tobias, did you—“

Nia stops as she catches up, blinking as she notices the other passenger. It takes her a beat longer than usual, but she does step closer to give the ghost type a nervous smile.

“Hello! You must be the researcher Beck mentioned, right? I’m Nia and this is Tobias. I thought we should introduce ourselves since we’ll be traveling together for a few days!”

The sableye curls in a bit more at the greeting, but does quietly say, “H-Hello. Carnelian. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too!”

Carnelian gives a jerky nod. Not rude, but clearly anxious and maybe not used to socializing.

They take a few steps away to give him some space. As the crew finishes preparations, Nia looks to Tobias, probably waiting for him to head back down to the boiler room with Ignatius.

Tough luck. After last night he’s not letting his danger-prone partner out of sight quite yet. He waves her off, gesturing for her to sit wherever she’s planning to sit so he can figure out where he’s settling for the morning.

Nia frowns, catching on. “You can really go inside if you’d like.”

Tobias rolls his eyes and takes the initiative, plopping down against the ferry’s middle, as far as he can from Carnelian. “I’ll go in if I want to.”

Nia doesn’t look convinced, but she doesn’t argue as the ferry starts up. Tobias hears Beck and Nori leap overboard with a quiet splash. Ignatius must’ve already descended into the boiler room to get the steam engine running. Which only leaves—

Caspian comes plap plap plap-ing around the corner. The little quaxly is clearly full of energy despite the early hour. He waves happily to Nia and Tobias before scampering from one side of the deck to the other to make sure that everything is in place and properly tied down. Tobias still isn’t sure if the kid is actually responsible for that part of the routine, or if the crew just gave him a “job” to help him feel useful.

Regardless, as Nia and Tobias watch, Cas runs to and fro before deeming the ship worthy. He leans through the railing to wave down at the river, and Tobias hears a quiet splash as Beck swims around to the front of the ferry to give Cordelia the all-clear. Within a minute, they’re moving slowly across the swamp, through the narrow channel leading back to the Lilycap River.

In the light of day, the swampy environment just looks…peaceful. Inviting, even, if you don’t mind water.

Carnelian doesn’t seem too keen to chat, so Nia sighs and lays back across the deck. “…I should probably practice my aura.”

Tobias raises a brow. It’s not unusual for Nia to practice her aura abilities, but it is unusual for her to jump to that option immediately, especially this early in the morning. She must be thinking about what Giratina said. Tobias has the itch to train too, knowing what they’re up against.

“Aura?”

Cas has moved to their side. The quaxly tilts his head at Nia.

Nia sits up. “Oh. Um, it’s sort of like….a specific set of moves I can use as a riolu. Everyone has aura, but I can use it for attacks and sensing things and reading someone's energy.”

Cas’ brow furrows. “‘Reading?’ Like a book? How do you do that for energy?”

“Well…aura is sort of like each pers—each Pokemon’s, um. Life energy, I guess? And everyone’s is unique! Like a fingerprint. I can look at them and know more about someone’s character and personality.”

“Could you read mine?!” Cas asks, confusion dropping in exchange for sheer excitement.

Nia looks torn between amusement and discomfort. “I-I mean. I could? But it’s sort of…personal. I see a lot about who you are. Some Pokemon find it kind of…invasive.”

“I don’t mind!” Cas insists, plopping down and scooting closer with all the reckless excitement of the child he is. “Please? It sounds neat! And I’m not big enough to help out with anything else right now so I have time.”

After another moment of hesitation, Nia huffs a laugh. She relaxes and holds out a paw. “All right. Could I have your wing for a minute?”

Cas complies, and Nia closes her eyes. Bright blue energy outlines her body, and the appendages at either side of her head lift as she concentrates her aura.

Tobias watches this process with vague curiosity. While he’s been adamant from the start that Nia not read his aura, the process doesn’t seem quite as awful to him as it once did. Not if Nia’s the one looking at his soul, at least. He would still rather she not, a little uncomfortable with what she might find, but the thought doesn’t send anxiety rushing through him, either.

Plus, she already glimpsed it down in the mines. Red. He’s red, apparently. Whatever that means.

“You’re sort of a bright pinkish-purple,” Nia says. “Almost fuchsia.”

Cas, who had been nervously staring at Nia, perks up. “That sounds pretty!”

Nia smiles, eyes still closed. “It is pretty. It’s like…the reflected colors in a bubble. Fun and light. Or…coral? Supportive. Tougher than it looks.”

Caspian looks like he’s feeling self-conscious but isn’t sure if he should be. “So is fuchsia…good?”

Nia releases the quaxly’s wing and smiles. “Well, I sure like it!”

Caspian looks down, feathers fluffing with pleased embarrassment.

“A lot of water metaphors this time,” Tobias notes, amused.

Nia shrugs with a smile. "Just felt right."

“Is that because I'm a water type?" Cas asks. "Do all types have the same color aura?”

“No, as far as I can tell your type doesn’t actually matter,” Nia says. “I’m sort of a turquoise blue, but I’m a fighting type. And I know another water type who’s green.”

“Oh.” Cas looks up thoughtfully. “I wonder what color Delia is.”

Tobias snorts. He can’t imagine Cordelia feeling comfortable letting Nia look at her soul. She seems like the fiercely private type—not that he has any room to talk.

Nia shrugs. “Could be anything, really.”

Cas mulls that over, leaning to the side and trying to peer around the tall cabin of the ferry as if he could actually see Cordelia at the wheel, let alone into her soul.

“Your aura control is really solid now,” Tobias comments.

Nia's tail wags a bit. “Thank you! I still feel like I have a long way to go, but I’m getting better. I’ve been practicing a lot!”

Tobias knows, considering he’s been around for most of her practicing.

“You going to show Val the new aura radar trick you figured out in the mines?"

“Yeah! I just hope I can recreate it when I talk to her.”

Cas tunes back into the conversation, chirping, “So what all can you do with aura?”

Nia gives Tobias a wink before forming a short staff of aura and giving it a twirl.

Cas gasps. “That’s so cool!”

“You have any cool tricks?” Tobias asks the little water type.

“I can’t do anything like that, but Auntie has been working with me on a lot of other moves and stuff. Here, watch this!”

The quaxly hops to his feet and spurts a weak water gun attack out over the railing to splatter harmlessly into the river channel.

Nia claps, and Tobias makes a suitably impressed face.

“I don’t have much else, though. I’ve mostly been working on, uh, status moves,” Cas says, sitting down. “Auntie’s a primarina, so she’s really good with that sort of thing. And she says that I shouldn’t be in the middle of serious fights at my age anyways.”

“Status moves, huh,” Nia echoes, idly twisting her aura baton through her fingers.

Tobias knows that look. She must be thinking about which ones she could use herself. He nudges her. “You ever gonna try learning work up? It’s a normal type move.”

Nia’s eyes widen. “I forgot about that one! What does that do again? Raises attack, right?”

“And special attack.”

Nia’s brow furrows. “Great. So now all I have to do is just…learn it.”

“Is it a TM?” Cas asks.

Nia blinks, first at the water type and then at Tobias.

Tobias barely bites back a rude remark. “No, it’s not a trained move for you. Should be learned naturally.”

Cas turns a confused look onto Nia.

“I…have trouble learning new moves,” Nia explains, sheepish. “Learning moves naturally. It doesn’t come to me as easy as it should.”

“That’s all right!” Cas says, surprisingly genuine. “I struggle sometimes with the moves Auntie and Delia teach me, but eventually I figure ‘em out! Usually I just gotta figure out how to form ‘em.”

Nia tilts her head. “How to form them?”

“Yeah!” Cas nods. “Like how a water gun is all about focusing my power in my belly, where my water sac is, but for disarming voice I try to push my energy into my lungs and throat.”

“Oh! Right.” Nia watches Cas with a quiet intensity as the klinklang turn inside her head. “How…how would you try using a move like work up? Where your whole body gets stronger? I was thinking that I would just need to spread my aura—my energy throughout my body, but that doesn’t seem to work.”

Cas glances at Tobias, as if unsure of why Nia is looking to a twelve year old of all ‘mon for guidance. But then he speaks up, “Well…does it feel like you’re giving your muscles any kind of boost when you do that?”

Nia closes her eyes for a moment, as if testing it out, and frowns. “…No. it feels like it’s just leaving my body without doing anything.”

“Oh, I used to do something like that!” Cas says, clearly thrilled to be able to help. “It's probably ‘cause you’re just pushing your energy out, away from your body. Auntie said you just waste it when you do that.”

Nia groans, head landing in her paws. “Great.”

“She told me that instead of pushing your energy away from you, you have to, um…how’d she put it? You have to use your energy like a river.”

“A river?” Tobias asks, doubtful.

Cas nods. “Yeah! Like, channel your energy through your body in one big loop instead of outward, starting at your shoulders then down to your feet and back up. She said that keeping it moving is what makes the power.”

Nia’s eyes widen as she straightens up. “Like a water wheel. If the energy is the water, then keeping it in a constant river loop keeps it contained in your body—“

“Instead of just pushing it away from yourself and wasting it,” Tobias realizes.

Nia grins. “Of course! Oh, that makes so much sense. Thank you, Cas! I’ll try that.”

Cas fluffs again, happy but shy. Once Tobias asks him about his aunt who taught him that, he starts chattering again, clearly super proud of the primarina.

As he does, Tobias glances at their sableye travel-buddy, who is still hunched over in the shade of the boat’s middle. Then Tobias lets himself fall back to the warming deck and closes his eyes, pillowing his head with his arms to listen.

While he might not be fond of boat travel, there isn’t much else to do over the next couple days aside from plan and do what little training they can. Might as well chat with Cas and relax while they can.

—————————————————————————————————

Over the next day and a half, Tobias’ fear of leaving Nia alone dies down, allowing him to retreat to the warm isolation of the boiler room when the river starts to become too much. He still doesn’t stay with Ignatius as much as he did on their first trip, though.

He feels the need to keep an eye on Nia, worried about where her head is at. It’s just like the period after her illness, when she would space out and drown in her own thoughts. Sometimes Tobias catches a sheen of tears in her eyes too, like she’s just barely holding it together. Tobias doesn’t know if it’s the fear and pressure of the mission dropped onto their shoulders, or if she’s worried about being able to return to the human world.

Either way, he can tell that she’s…off.

Tobias doesn’t know how to ask her if she wants to talk about it. He feels hot embarrassment burn at his face and close his throat any time he considers it. Instead, he opts to just stay close.

Not that Tobias is much better, between his own fear regarding their world-saving mission and…well.

He’s thinking about Team Zenith again.

It starts with the crobat—Asra or Vesper or whatever his name was at the end. Tobias still hates him, still feels loathing sit cold and heavy like a ball of steel in his chest. He hates the crobat more now that he knows the coward got to live a happy life with his family after what he did to Tobias’ own.

Even if his mate was right and the crobat regretted what he was a part of. Even if Tobias recalls in scattered memories that the crobat didn’t do much more than corral them, he still didn’t stop Dismas or Sulien either. Instead, he let them kill Tobias’ family then ran away.

At least he’s dead now. Tobias should probably feel bad for the quiet satisfaction that thought brings, but he doesn’t.

Instead, Tobias thinks about Dismas and Sulien. The pangoro and arcanine presumably still out there, living their own lives. Do they regret it? Have they had their own families too? Tobias doesn’t remember much about the pangoro aside from flashes of black and white fur, snarling and grappling with his mother, before the arcanine pinned Tobias down and took up the entirety of his vision.

Tobias can only think of what happened to him in pieces before forcing himself to focus again on the world around him, digging his claws into the wood of the boat and looking out over the river. His heart pounds and a chill rises over his skin. He feels his head go light.

Funny enough, the end of the world is somehow a less terrifying thing to focus on. Tobias and Nia haven’t talked about it much since learning of it, seeing as they already have their vague plan and nothing to do until they get back to the Lexym Guild anyways. Tobias doesn’t think talking about it in circles would help.

So they both stay quiet.

Beck catches on quickly to their distracted thoughts and somber mood. The floatzel doesn’t ask, but Tobias notices how he checks in with them when he can, recruiting Cas to buoy the atmosphere. Beck talks to them about the river and the crew’s travels, clearly working hard at making Nia smile. Normally, Tobias would find something like that annoying, but Beck isn’t overbearing about it.

Tobias does find their sableye co-passenger—well. Not annoying, per se, but off-putting. He keeps entirely to himself, occasionally digging through his backpack to write in a little notebook, and Tobias can’t help how suspicious he is of what the little ‘mon writes so fervently.

The last time they trusted a ghost Nia got yanked into the distortion world against her will. Tobias doesn’t think anyone could blame him for a little caution. Well, anyone but Nia apparently. The third time she catches Tobias glancing warily at Carnelian, she pulls him aside to ask him what’s up.

“Weren’t you the one who said ghost types get unfairly discriminated against all the time?” She whispers.

“I’m not doing that!” Tobias hisses.

Nia gives him an unconvinced look.

“He’s just…weird.”

Nia huffs a laugh. “Just because he’s quiet doesn’t mean he’s weird. Maybe he’s anxious because he’s not used to being away from Shivergleam.”

Tobias sighs, rubbing at his face. Is he being suspicious for no good reason? Would he be less suspicious if the passenger was just as weird but not a ghost type?

…Probably, some small, ashamed part of him admits.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. “Just…on edge.”

“I get it.”

From that point on, Tobias does his best to just ignore the sableye lurking around the ship. Even when they stop to eat in the evening and the sableye mysteriously vanishes.

“Probably finding his own food,” Ignatius explains once he notices Tobias looking around.

“Ah, right. Sableye eat rocks or something, right?” Cordelia says through a mouthful of the stew they’d cooked up.

“Rocks?” Cas echoes, eyes wide.

“Gems,” Nori corrects quietly. “Crystals and minerals.”

“Eh, same difference,” Cordelia dismisses.

The second day of travel dawns as calm as the first. The river is still flooded, rushing by at unsettling speeds, frothy and impossible to see through, but Nori and Beck manage to navigate the rough waters with ease, and Cordelia’s hands are steady at the wheel.

Even the weather is decent. Slightly cloudy and overcast, but no longer pounding rain like it was on the way into Shivergleam. It’s even warm enough for the deck to heat under Tobias’ scales and lull him into a nap while Nia practices her aura.

It’s not until early afternoon that something goes amiss.

Their first sign of danger is Carnelian, scuttling to his feet and looking around. The little Pokemon is fidgety, but something about the abrupt gesture speaks of panic.

Tobias and Nia snap into ready positions themselves a moment after, looking around. Cas, who had been perched on a crate nearby and watching the river, looks nervously between the three of them.

“Carnelian?” Nia asks, quiet. “Did you notice something?”

Carnelian opens his mouth, only for an unfamiliar shout from the front of the boat to snag their attention. It’s more feminine than Beck’s deep voice, and it takes Tobias a moment to realize that it’s Nori. The golduck who has been nearly silent the entire time they’ve known her.

That can’t be good.

Nori is calling something up to Cordelia, who Tobias can vaguely hear cursing in the captain’s quarters. The boat swings suddenly to the side, as if trying to slow to a sudden stop. Nia and Tobias stumble and grab onto the railing, and Caspian falls into Tobias’ side. Carnelian yelps and goes sliding across the deck.

A second later, Tobias feels what Carnelian and Nori must’ve noticed first. A tingling against his skin, in his limbs. Something uncomfortable and off, hard to pin down but familiar enough by now.

A mystery dungeon.

Nia, probably still unable to sense it due to her fighting type nature, frowns at his paling face. “What?”

“Mystery dungeon,” he grits, trying to determine how close it is. If he can feel it in the air, it must be dangerously close.

Cordelia finally manages to ease the boat against the muddy bank of the riverside. It shudders to a stop, and everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Cordelia leaves the cabin and rushes around the corner, eyes honing in on Caspian and relaxing once she catches sight of him. Then she glances around. “Everyone all right back here?”

They all nod. A moment later, Beck and Nori leap out of the river with a splash and thud on deck.

“Everyone okay?” Beck echoes. “Where’s Natius?”

Right on cue, the door to the inner cabin swings open and Ignatius stomps out on-deck. “By Moltres’ flames, what is going on out here?”

The crew relaxes seeing their last missing member in good shape.

“Got a bit too close to a mystery dungeon,” Cordelia sighs, rubbing a clawed hand down her snout. “Nori caught it in time.”

Tobias is glad she did. Even now the tingling is strong, still blaring alarms in the back of his mind that danger is nearby. Tobias looks at Nori. The golduck is staring out into the forest, ruby eyes narrowed.

“U-Um,” Carnelian pipes up, voice high and nervous. Everyone turns to him, surprised to hear the sableye speak.

He shrinks, but glances at Nori, claws twiddling anxiously. “M-Miss Nori, I could be incorrect, but do you still..?”

Nori’s beak flattens out into a grim expression. She nods. “Something’s wrong.”

Tobias exchanges an uneasy glance with Nia.

There’s a tense moment of silence, save for the loud rush of the river. Tobias’ heart pounds as he swears the tingling feeling gets stronger, somehow. His head feels fuzzy, which is strange. He didn’t hit it or anything.

Tobias sees the moment Nori figures it out. “The dungeon is still forming. Right on top of us.”

Oh. Oh no.

Cordelia, who had crouched to pick up Cas, stares at her crewmate.

“W-Wait—it’s still forming?” Nia asks, glancing out at the forest. “Here? Right now? But if that happens—“

“We’ll turn feral,” Ignatius sighs, sounding almost resigned. He puffs out a cloud of smoke. “No telling what’ll happen after that.”

Tobias feels his blood chill, goosebumps rising on his skin. Now that he knows what’s happening, he can consciously recognize how slow and clumsy his thoughts suddenly feel. Like his mind is trying to wade through thick, sticky sap. If the mystery dungeon forms on top of them, they’ll turn feral until it clears again, which could be weeks. And in the meantime they’ll be mindless beasts. If one of them gets hurt, then—

Cas whimpers, burying his head in Cordelia’s stomach. Everyone else looks quietly terrified, eyes down and hands balled into fists.

“C-Can’t we do something?” Nia presses. “Can we outrun it?”

Beck shakes his head. “‘Fraid not. I’ve heard musings, but…”

“Musings?” Tobias asks.

“Unsubstantiated musings,” Nori says.

“I don’t care if they’re substantiated or not!” Tobias snarls. “If you’ve got an idea then say it!”

“Safeguard,” Beck says. “Heard a rumor ‘bout it. But unless one of you has safeguard in your arsenal, we ain’t got no way to protect ourselves even if it would work.”

There's a heavy moment of silence. Then—

Nia’s head whips up. “Protect. Would protect work?”

The crew blinks slowly at Nia, as if trying to process her words. Tobias hears Carnelian let out a animalistic whine of fear.

Nori is the first one to shake out of it enough to speak. “I don’t—“

“Do it!” Tobias growls.

Nia throws out her paws, and her aura snaps into being around them, surrounding the group in a thin dome of blue energy. Immediately, Tobias feels his sluggish thoughts clear, like the first breath of fresh air after a stuffy nose. He realizes he’d been hunched over in a crouch, and straightens up.

Everyone else snaps out of the creeping effect of the dungeon too, standing taller as their eyes clear. Cordelia almost seems to be ashamed about succumbing to the effect, and focuses on murmuring reassurances to Cas. Beck lifts his chin to look up at the protect bubble in awe. Nori is rubbing her forehead, wincing, while Carnelian whimpers and cowers closer to Nia.

Ignatius simply says, “Huh. I’ll be.”

Tobias relates. He kind of can’t believe that worked. It’s…unheard of, to get firsthand experience from Seekers or researchers who were caught in a forming mystery dungeon and able to ward it off. He didn’t know it was possible for a move to save them from such a thing.

“It worked,” Tobias breathes, relieved.

“Why did it work?” Cordelia asks, frowning and looking to Nori. “And why haven’t I heard about these rumors?”

Nori, still rubbing tenderly at the red gem on her forehead, shrugs. “Beck and I heard a rumor earlier this year. About someone using safeguard and escaping from a forming mystery dungeon unscathed. We didn’t think it was true.”

Safeguard…so that means—

“You saying Pokemon going feral is nothin’ more than a status condition?” Cordelia asks, squinting.

Nori shakes her head. “It has to be more than that. But it might work in a…similar way. A form of confusion. If so, it makes some amount of sense that it could be stopped by a strong safeguard.”

“Or a strong protect, apparently,” Beck says. “We’re real lucky you were here, Nia.”

Nia smiles, but Tobias can see the beginning of strain in her expression, in the way she doesn’t respond. She used her protect in the mines at Fort Asra, but Tobias doesn’t think she’s ever made a shield this large. It’s going to drain her quickly, even if she has been practicing with her aura.

“However it worked, we've bought ourselves a few more minutes of sanity,” Tobias says. “But now what? We’re still stuck in the middle of it and Nia can’t keep this up forever.”

Nia’s mouth twists unhappily, but she doesn’t argue.

“Could we move the boat?” Cas suggests quietly.

Cordelia shakes her head. “‘Fraid not. We would need the whole crew at their stations for that, and we’d be too far apart to protect everyone.”

“C-Could we send a distress signal?” Carnelian pipes up, voice shaking. He glances at Tobias and Nia. “To the guild.”

Oh. Right. Tobias feels a little angry that he didn’t think of that himself. He hurriedly reaches into their satchel to grab one of their badges. Then he frowns.

“No go. Too far out.”

Carnelian shrinks back into himself.

“Okay,” Tobias says, running a hand back and over his head. Think, Tobias. They aren’t technically on a mission right now, but they are Seekers. It’s their duty to protect the crew and make sure they’re safe. And Nia is busy as is, so he has to take the lead.

“Moves,” he says. “Or items. Does anyone have anything that might help? Something to stop confusion or get us out of here. Safeguard, protect, uh…fly, teleport. An escape orb?”

“Aren’t you the Seeker?” Ignatius huffs. “You should have the items.”

Tobias shoots the torkoal a nasty look. “Any helpful suggestions?”

Each Pokemon grows quiet, then shakes their head. All except Cordelia, who is looking down at the top of Cas' feathery blue head with a furrow to her brow.

Tobias stares at her, expectant.

She glares back at him, but relents. “We…might have something.”

Then she detaches the teary quaxly from her front, kneeling down to meet his eyes.

“Hey, bro?”

Cas sniffs. “Yeah?”

“Do you remember that move Auntie’s been working on with you? The one with the pink misty stuff?”

Caspian’s brow furrows. He tilts his head. “Misty train?”

Cordelia chuckles, but it’s strained. “Misty terrain, yeah. Can you do me a favor? D’you think you could try to use that?”

Tobias frowns. Misty terrain? The move sounds vaguely familiar, but…

The aura shield around them flickers. Weakens and thins and grows more transparent for just a moment as Nia growls. Tobias, concerned, steps closer and presses his arm against hers.

“A big burst of it, yeah,” Cordelia says, encouraging. “Enough to fill this whole bubble!”

Caspian glances around at everyone’s eyes on him. “W-Would it help?”

“Honestly, bite? Not sure. But it might. And we gotta try something.”

Cas falls silent, looking down at his feet.

Tobias glances at Nori. “Misty terrain?”

The golduck hums, gaze flicking between Cordelia and Cas. “Similar to safeguard. If he can use it, then we might be safe while the dungeon finishes forming.”

Tobias tries not to cling to that hope. He doesn’t want to put that kind of pressure onto a kid. But as he watches, Cordelia braces her hands on Cas’ small shoulders and gives him a squeeze before stepping back.

“All right, Cas. Give it a go. Just like Auntie showed ya.”

Everyone stills as Cas close his eyes. After a moment, he bobs his head—one, two, three, four. His little webbed foot taps along to an unseen beat. Nia, at Tobias’ side, is breathing hard as she continues to hold the protect.

Then Cas starts a little dance, surprisingly rhythmic. His feet tap and arc across the wood, his wings twisting and turning. Before Tobias can question what the heck he’s doing, he spins.

A cloud of pink energy bursts out from him in a wave. Tobias throws up his arms, and when he lowers them the air in their little bubble is…sparkly, the wood beneath their feet tinted with a shifting pink fog.

“Did it work?” Nia asks, voice tight.

Caspian, panting, looks between Nori and Cordelia.

Nori says, “No way to tell.”

Tobias grows colder. “So we have to just…”

“Try it,” Beck sighs. “Well? Do we want to rip the bandage off quick?”

“Awful casual about it,” Tobias growls.

Beck shrugs, though Tobias catches the concerned look he gives Nia.

Tobias sighs.

“Nia,” He says. “Drop the protect.”

She cracks open an eye, unsure.

“You can’t keep this up forever. Either it worked or it didn’t.”

Nia is clearly uncomfortable with that sentiment, but Tobias can see the way her arms tremble. How her ears fight to pin back with the strain.

“Nia,” he says, sharper.

She lets go with a gasp. The blue around them vanishes, leaving the open air of the river and the forest on either side. As Nia pants, Tobias holds his own breath.

The pink mist plays across the ground around them in a circle. It doesn’t dissipate, hovering around their feet like a protective presence.

Tobias glances at the others and can see the same nervous caution on their faces. But as the seconds pass, Tobias counting each beat until one minute passes, then two…he doesn’t feel that same fuzzy confusion return to slow his thoughts like tar.

“Did it work?” Ignatius asks, hushed. “Or did the dungeon already finish forming?”

Nori shakes her head, pointing out into the trees.

Tobias follows her gesture, feeling his skin crawl. The forest looks…restless. Trees roll in waves as the landscape shifts. Like the earth below them is a great waking beast. Even the boat tilts and groans, as if it too is being pulled into the distortion of the mystery dungeon.

Loud, sharp cries echo from the forest: Pokemon who weren’t as lucky as them. Pokemon caught up in the dungeon's haze. Within their circle of pink mist, however, their minds seem untouched.

Everyone releases a collective breath.

Cordelia whoops, scooping Cas up and spinning him in a tight hug. She’s yelling about how she knew he could do it and that he kicks tail. The quaxly giggles, a little teary-eyed.

Tobias finally relaxes, sinking down to the deck next to Nia. She laughs, tired and relieved as she bumps her head into Tobias’ shoulder.

“G’job, little ember,” Ignatius says to Cas. Then he turns to Nori. “How long will this hold?”

“Long enough, hopefully,” Nori says. “Eventually the dungeon will settle. All we can do is sit and wait for it to finish.”

Since Nori is keeping a watchful eye on their environment, Tobias allows himself to take a moment to breathe. He can’t make himself relax entirely, but he can’t do much at the moment either. He looks around at their companions.

Ignatius and Cordelia are murmuring to each other quietly. Cas looks exhausted by his big burst of energy, and leans heavily against Cordelia so she can scritch at his feathers. Carnelian is curled into a nervous ball around his bag, plucking at the backpack's cloth with his claws. He has scooted closer to Nia, as if soothed by her presence. Beck seems to be lost in thought, until Tobias notices how the floatzel glances at the edge of their protective circle. Ah. Keeping an eye on the misty terrain, then. Good.

Nia, finally having caught her breath, turns to sit against Tobias. He leans back as well so they’re spine to spine and tries to reign in his nerves. They need to stay calm and hope that the dungeon finishes forming before Cas’ attack wears off. Then…he supposes they’ll need to fight their way out of the dungeon.

He and Nia need to be ready to lead them when that time comes. They’re young, but they likely still have the most experience with navigating through situations like this.

“Huh,” Nia says, almost too quiet to hear.

“What?”

“Oh. I was just thinking that it makes sense. What Nori said, about the dungeon causing something similar to confusion.”

“Why’s that?” Tobias asks, tilting his chin back to look at the side of her head.

“Well…” her voice lowers. “If what Giratina said is true, then the borders of the rift are made up of aura. Of…life energy. And moves also come from our own life energy, our own aura. So I guess it just makes sense to me that damage in the border could…confuse the world in the same way Pokemon get confused by like, a confuse ray or something.”

Tobias snorts, remembering what Nia told him after her last breakthrough with aura. “Avery is going to lose their mind when you tell them that.”

Nia laughs. “I know.”

The group starts up a quiet conversation while they wait for the dungeon to finish forming, everyone likely trying to avoid thinking too hard about whether or not Cas’ misty terrain will hold. Tobias eyes the changing surroundings as they talk.

The forest almost seems alive, closing in tighter and tighter to form the mystery dungeons' trademark “rooms” and “hallways.” The trees shift and twist, weaving together with loud cracks that make Carnelian, Cas and Nia flinch. Weedy grasses and muddy banks rise higher into sharp inclines, boxing them slowly into a long corridor. It’s unnerving to watch happen, as if some invisible giant is ignoring the laws of reality and molding the world around them, stretching trees out like putty and raising the earth like sandcastles.

Slowly, the movements settle. The open air of the wide river has been contained to something much smaller, partially blocking out the overcast sky. An uneasy quiet descends on the forest, and Tobias isn’t sure why it feels this unnatural until he hears Cas murmur something about the river.

That’s it. The loud roar of the river is just…gone.

“I believe it’s finished,” Nori finally says.

Everyone stands tall to try peering over the lip of the boat and into the corridor they’re now trapped in. The “walls” of the hallway are unnaturally steep banks of mud, smooth river stones, and long grasses, with tree roots twisted throughout here and there. Tobias thinks he can see rivulets of water trickling down them, and hears the gentle burble of running water that can’t compare to the roar of the river.

The rivulets bleed into the “floor” of the hallway, which is covered in a sheen of water, as if it has become its own modest stream. Tobias feels his heart drop at the sight and squints, trying to look past the bright reflection of the sky to see if the water is deep or just surface-level. He has no idea how they’re going to fight their way out if the dungeon is covered in deep water. Just walking through a floor of the stuff would burn Tobias’ feet raw.

Nori is the first one to move. She exchanges a look with Beck, then calmly walks out of the protective circle. Tobias' heart jumps. Cordelia makes a sound of alarm and darts after the golduck, but Beck steps in her path.

“Beck, if you don’t move that waterlogged orange pelt—“

“Someone has to test it, and Nori is the most sensitive of us to psychic fields. She knows what she’s doing.”

Cordelia’s eyes flick past him to Nori. She grits her teeth and watches the golduck take a few more steps to the railing of the boat before turning to look at them, crossing her arms to wait.

“Give her a few minutes,” Ignatius says. “If she feels fine after that, we should be safe to move.”

After a moment, Cordelia returns to Cas' side. But she keeps her eyes trained on the golduck to watch for any signs of her being affected.

Luckily, Nori calmly stays in place, looking out over the corridor. After a few minutes, she pushes off and walks back into the protective circle of the misty terrain.

“I believe it’s safe.”

“Clearly,” Cordelia snorts. Then her voice hardens. “Don’t do that again. Captain’s orders.”

Nori nods, as if she didn’t just deliberately make a decision knowing Cordelia would object.

Cordelia grunts. Then she turns to look around at the rest of her crew and their passengers. “Well, Cas and the riolu saved our tails, but we still gotta get out of here. We ready to fight?”

“We’re not going to fight unless we have to,” Tobias counters, crossing his arms. The crew members look at him, surprised.

“And what makes you think you’re calling the shots here, kid?”

“Because Nia and I are Seekers, remember? Unless you’re secretly dungeon divers yourselves, we’re the most familiar with navigating places like this.”

“You suggesting you two lead us through this mess?” Ignatius asks, incredulous.

Tobias nods.

“Can you fight?” Cordelia challenges.

Tobias rolls his eyes. “Of course we can fight. But we should avoid ferals when possible because we have a giant group and an unknowably deep dungeon—we have to conserve our energy where we can.”

“He has a point,” Nori says.

Beck's tails twist worriedly, like a propellor. “This is unfamiliar territory you two aren’t used to. You sure you're up to this?”

Tobias snorts. “Every dungeon is unfamiliar territory. You wouldn’t be any more used to it than we are.”

Beck frowns, conceding the point but not looking happy about it.

“I would like to keep an eye on Cas,” Cordelia admits. Then, more of an order than a question, “What’s your team rank?”

“U-Um. D, right?” Nia says, glancing at Tobias.

Tobias winces, then hurries to add, “We’ve only been Seekers for a couple of months.”

“Awful proud for such shiny new recruits,” Ignatius mutters.

Tobias opens his mouth to snap something at the torkoal, only for Nia to stop him with a gentle paw on his arm.

“I know we’re young,” Nia says. “And we haven't been doing this long. But we’ve already been through…a lot. We’re stronger than we look.”

“And we’re the Seekers,” Tobias stresses. “Even if you can battle, this is different than a spar between two sane Pokemon. Let us lead.”

“We can clear a path for you,” Nia adds. “If it turns out that we can’t handle it, you guys can step in.”

The air is still heavy with uncertainty.

Tobias is irked that this is suddenly an issue at all when they face dangerous missions every day, but he knows Nia’s calmer approach is more likely to prove their point about them being mature enough to handle this, so he keeps his mouth shut.

The crew exchange looks with one another. Nori seems to surprisingly be on their side. She stares her crew mates down, apparently firm in her decision. After a moment, Ignatius grumbles something about young startups, but backs down. Cordelia, after a long and wordless exchange of expressions with Nori, nods once.

Beck is the only adult crew member who hasn’t agreed.

“What? What’s the problem?”

The floatzel sighs. “…Nothing. Just getting old and letting my instincts as a dad win out over my instincts as a crewmate.”

Oh. He’s…worried about them? He shouldn’t be. They just got the fate of the world dumped on their shoulders. They can handle a little mystery dungeon.

“We can handle it, Beck,” Nia says, echoing his thoughts. Her voice is firm but not unkind. She gives him a smile. “I know you’re worried, but this is kind of our job.”

Glancing around and realizing that no one else shares his concerns, Beck caves. “All right. Just…let me know if you two need help, all right? These old bones can still fight if need be.”

“Deal!”

The group cautiously moves out of the protective effect of Cas’ circle and to the edge of the boat. Beck insists on going down first, “Just to check how deep it is,” before slipping overboard. Tobias frowns when Beck goes entirely underwater, confirming that the path is too deep to walk through. The floatzel surfaces, glancing around to make sure nothing is about to attack before waving up at them.

Cordelia smirks at Tobias. “You sure you still want to lead, flame?”

Tobias, on completely stupid impulse, glares at her before hopping over the edge of the boat. Beck barks a startled sound but manages to catch him on his chest.

Tobias pushes roughly at the paws on his arms. “Let me go! I’m fine.”

“You can’t be implying you’re going to swim through this.”

“I said we’ll lead and I meant it!”

Beck tightens his hold. Tobias could break free, but he doesn’t want to hurt the stupid old ‘mon.

“Just…let me give you a lift through the water,” Beck says, meeting Tobias’ eyes. “In return, I won’t fret about you two leading us.”

“Or you could just let me go and not fret anyways.”

Beck’s gives him a look that feels too fatherly to be comfortable. As if to say he has the patience to wait out Tobias’ stupidity.

Tobias growls. “…Fine.”

Beck releases him, and Tobias sits up on the floatzel’s stomach. The water type is long and flat, admittedly perfect for ferrying passengers.

Nori slips over the boat next, into the gentle current with a quiet splash. Then Cordelia and Cas. After that, Cordelia yells up at the boat until Ignatius stops hollering about dying on solid ground where sane fire types belong. Then the torkoal tumbles over the edge in his shell for Nori to catch and hike carefully onto her back.

Finally, Carnelian peers over the edge, shaking visibly even from here. Nia is clearly trying to soothe the sableye, but whatever she says must work, because he eventually hauls himself over the side of the boat with jerky movements. Nia climbs out after him, watching the sableye’s feet and murmuring reassurances.

Tobias rolls his eyes. “Nia, watch your own paws!”

It’s a clumsy effort, but the two of them manage to slide down the boat in fits and starts. Beck drifts closer and Tobias holds onto the boat so the floatzel can roll over onto his belly. Then all three of them climb atop his wet back—Tobias in front, with Nia and Carnelian behind.

“Everyone good?” Cordelia calls. She’s treading water easily, Cas perched on her back.

Irritation gnaws at Tobias as the croconaw takes charge, but he nods.

“Keep an eye out for ferals,” Cordelia adds. She swims forward to take the lead, but hesitates and glances at the quaxly over her shoulder, clearly not wanting him to be in the first line of defense.

Tobias takes their chance. He gives the thick orange fur below him two pats, before anyone else can try to take point. Beck hesitates, but eventually obeys, moving forward to lead the group down the corridor with a near-silent lap of water.

Aside from the gentle rush of the stream, the air is silent. It feels even more tense now that they’re in the dungeon proper.

Tobias leans back to murmur to Nia, “I’ll keep an eye on the water since I have sharper eyes. You take above.”

Nia nods.

Their group drifts down the corridor and around the corner. Halfway down the next hallway, the terrain slopes up to grassy, muddy land before dipping back into the water again. Looks like they’ll be traversing a dungeon of streams and islands.

Lovely.

When they reach land, Nia and Tobias slip off Beck's back to stand on their own feet. The ground underfoot is damp and sticky with mud between smooth river stones and long patches of lush grass. Tobias tries not to let his distaste with the damp environment show as he takes lead, Nia right behind him.

So far no ferals, but Tobias can see Nia’s ears twisting and turning to catch distant sounds out of the corner of his eye.

“What kind of Pokemon do you think we’ll run into here?” Nia whispers.

Beck answers from right behind them. “It’ll be the Pokemon who live near the river, right? So water types for sure. Otherwise, likely grass and bug. Normal. Some dark types.”

Tobias flicks his tail. Most of those types shouldn’t be an issue, but the water types could be a pain for him. He’ll have to watch out for them.

Once they reach the stream on the other side, the group wordlessly moves back into their previous formation. Tobias grudgingly climbs atop Beck’s back in front of Nia as they wait for Carnelian to scramble on behind them. The floatzel slips into the water, and Tobias hears Cordelia and Nori follow behind.

They don’t run into their first feral until they reach the next patch of land, luckily in the same room as the stairs. The staircase sits eerily in the corner of the room, cutting off into nothingness six or seven steps up. They’re made of wood like Cordelia’s boat, with chipping paint to match.

The feral standing in their way is a thwackey nearly twice their size. It screeches with blank white eyes when it sees them, then launches at their group with sharp fangs bared.

Tobias and Nia rush forward to intercept. Nia is faster, and ducks low to kick out a leg and topple the grass type into the dirt. Tobias takes the opportunity to engulf it in a cloud of embers. The thwackey screeches and skitters back on four legs.

Nia hesitates on her follow-up attack, probably caught up in her own head again. Not that Tobias can blame her this time—it’s hard to think that this thwackey was probably a regular Pokemon living their life just an hour ago, and now—

Not thinking about it.

The thwackey wipes embers out of its eyes and goes at Nia with fists swinging. Nia creates a staff of aura and blocks the attack with a grunt. Tobias takes the opening while it’s turned away to breathe a plume of fire onto his hands. Then he darts forward to slash at the thwackey’s back with heated claws. 1-2-3-4—

The thwackey cries out, stumbling. Before Nia and Tobias can attack again, the feral spins and crashes off through the foliage, down one of the dungeon's hallways.

Tobias huffs out a breath, snuffing his fire down to smoke. He glances at Nia to make sure she isn’t injured, then back at the rest of their crew.

Beck is blinking at them, halfway into a battle stance and clearly surprised. Cas' eyes are starry, and even Cordelia looks a bit impressed with them.

“Not bad,” the Croconaw says. “Guess you two are a bit tougher than you look.”

Tobias rolls his eyes despite the warmth spreading in his chest. “Yeah, yeah. Everyone just hold hands already so we can go to the next floor.”

Cordelia looks sour once he repeats the command and she realizes he’s serious. Only the explanation that they might lose each other warping to the next floor makes her acquiesce.

Tobias climbs the stairs first, Nia right behind him. When Tobias reaches the top creaky step, his stomach turns with vertigo and their surroundings shift. In a blink, they’ve warped to a location that is eerily similar but distinctly different in its layout.

Unfortunately, they also warp to a room that is almost entirely covered in water. Tobias lets out an embarrassing yelp as he falls under with a splash. The gentle current feels freezing against his hot skin, and the immediate wave of prickling pain knocks the breath from his lungs.

A strong arm scoops him up and out of the water before he can thrash for more than a second. In a whirl of movement, Tobias finds himself still drenched but out of the water. He cracks his eyes open, panting hard and shuddering through shocks of pain. His clenched hands hold onto thick, creamy fur.

“Tobias!” Nia coughs, seated atop Beck’s stomach as well and dripping audibly. “Are you all right?”

Tobias wipes his mouth with a shaky hand. Ugh. “Fantastic.”

Nia’s paw lands lightly on his shoulder, but even that touch feels overly sensitive and raw. He jerks away with a hiss and she whispers a string of apologies.

Tobias takes a moment to catch his breath and calm his pounding heart. As the water falls off his body, the painful burn on his skin starts to die down to a more manageable ache. Finally, he looks around.

Beck, lying on his back, is watching Tobias with concern. Nia, sitting next to him on the floatzel’s belly, wears a similar expression. Carnelian is shivering as far away as he can get on their makeshift raft, tipping his backpack to clear it of water.

Nori seems to have caught Ignatius before the torkoal could get similarly dunked. Cas is floating anxiously next to Cordelia in the water. Most everyone’s eyes are on Tobias, so he flushes and forces himself to sit up straight so he can look around.

They’re in a room filled with stream water, the surface finally calming down after their sudden entrance. Two hallways branch off on either side.

“Everyone all right?” Tobias rasps.

Cordelia arches a brow. “You’re asking us?”

Tobias takes that as affirmation and scowls down one hallway, then the other. There really isn’t any rhyme or reason to how he and Nia usually pick directions in dungeons, so he points Beck in the direction of the one he sees grasses poking out of farther down.

“We can wait here a moment for you to catch your breath,” Beck starts.

Tobias shakes his head. “We shouldn’t. It’s best to keep moving in a dungeon or we might get ambushed. I’m fine. Go.”

Beck’s gaze flicks to Nia. The riolu looks like she wants to agree with Beck, but Tobias gives her a hard look so she doesn’t argue.

Finally, Beck swims down the pointed direction. Cordelia and Nori follow quietly behind. When they reach land, Tobias gratefully stumbles onto the marshy ground. His limbs are still a bit shaky and his skin feels tight and uncomfortable, but he’s fine all in all.

A rustle ahead is their only warning before a new, bipedal green Pokemon shambles out of the grass, something oddly rhythmic to its steps. The lilypad atop its head and its bright pink beak tip Tobias off.

“Lombre,” he hisses, he and Nia moving into defensive stances. “Water and grass type.”

The lombre chitters aggressively when it sees them with its milky eyes. It lunges. Nia meets it head-on with a burst of aura, then dances out of range.

The lombre turns on Tobias and sucks in a breath, clearly about to spit out a water type move. Tobias braces to dodge.

They're interrupted by the sound of crashing water, and then a bright blue streak slams into the lombre and sends it rolling into the tall grass. Tobias blinks, stunned, as blue water splatters to the ground and Beck cuts off his aqua jet attack to land on four paws.

Beck glances at Tobias and opens his mouth to say something, but he's cut off by a bright green ball of energy as it shoots from the safety of the grass and hits him hard. The floatzel stumbles back into the wall of the dungeon, then slides down to the ground.

“Beck!” Nia calls, distraught.

Nori is already moving to Beck’s side, so Tobias decides she can handle that. He focuses back on the fight with the lombre, only to hear a startled squeak from behind him, near the back of their group.

He looks just in time to see a blue Pokemon—a tirtouga?—spitting attacks at Cordelia and Cas. Cas hides behind Cordelia as she turns on the tirtouga with a snarl.

“I got ‘em!” Nia shouts, using quick attack to flash past Tobias. She leaps out over the water, staff arcing high over her head, and Tobias has a good feeling she’s going to hit her mark.

Tobias turns back to his own fight as a water gun shoots from the grass, narrowly missing him. He growls. If his opponent is hiding, he should just burn the feral's cover to the ground. But lombre are half water type and the grass is probably too wet to catch, so—

Dragon rage it is.

Tobias sucks in a lungful of air and releases it in a stream of purple fire. The flames catch on the damp grass much easier than regular fire would, quickly scaring the lombre out.

Tobias takes his shot amidst the feral’s panic and shoots off another dragon rage. The lombre shrieks under the fresh onslaught. Tobias rushes forward and spins, slamming the feral into the dungeon wall with his tail.

Tobias pants in the ensuing quiet, watching the lombre for a moment to be sure it’s down. Then he looks behind him.

Nia is paddling through the stream back towards land, waterlogged but no worse for wear. Cordelia pulls her out. The little quaxly in her arms is clearly spooked but seems unharmed.

Nia hurries immediately to Beck’s side, kneeling across from Nori. “Is he all right?”

The floatzel groans at the sound of her voice, eyes fluttering open. His gaze is bleary and unfocused.

“Beck?” Nia prompts.

The floatzel closes his eyes, scrunching up his snout. “‘M fine, Hazel. Stop worrying. Where’re the kids?”

Nia stills. She stares at Beck with a stunned expression. “H-Hazel?”

“His mate,”  Nori says, watching the way Beck is blinking back to reality. “I suppose you do sound a bit like her.”

“His mate,” Nia murmurs, frowning. Tobias can tell that this info means something to her. The name Hazel is actually tickling something in the back of his mind, too, though he can't quite pin it down.

Cas escapes Cordelia’s protective hold and scampers to Beck’s side. “Are you okay, Beck?”

Something about the quaxly’s voice seems to clear Beck's mind. The floatzel shakes his head and slowly props himself up on his arms. He gives Cas a shaky smile. "I’m fine, dewdrop.”

“I’ll decide if you’re fine,” Nori says, pushing Beck back down with a webbed hand against his chest. “Follow my finger.”

Beck sighs but patiently follows her instructions as she checks for a concussion. Once she deems him safe to move, Beck climbs to his feet with a groan, using the shifting wall of mud and grasses to stand.

Good. He’s up. That means Tobias can chew him out.

“Beck.”

“Yeah?”

“What was that?!” Tobias snaps. “I told you to stay back and let us handle the fighting!”

Beck winces. “I…was worried about you facing a water type. Especially right after falling in.”

Tobias jerks an angry thumb over his shoulder.

Beck follows the gesture. Smoke is rising from the ashes of the large patch of grass Tobias just burned, purple embers still sparkling. The lombre is knocked out cold to the side.

“Riolu one-hit KO’d a tirtouga, too,” Cordelia laughs, glancing over her own shoulder to the water.

Beck blinks, then barks a laugh. “Well. Suppose I look a bit foolish right now.”

“…What.”

“You two said you could handle yourselves, and it looks like you were right. Sorry for doubting you.”

Nia beams. “That's all right! I know we’re not, uh...all that intimidating.”

"Speak for yourself," Tobias grumbles, rubbing at his face. Unsatisfied anger burns in his belly as all the wind leaves his sails. It doesn’t feel right to go on a tirade if the floatzel just…immediately apologizes. “Whatever. Just…don’t do it again.”

“Not planning to. That knock to the noggin hurt.”

“We should rethink how we travel,” Nori says, her quiet voice heavy enough to cut through their conversation. “If we continue this way, we have to worry about the back half of the group getting ambushed.”

“Yeah,” Nia agrees, frowning.

Tobias and Nia haven’t really taken many escort missions through dungeons—and especially not with a group this large—so they didn’t think about it beforehand, but…

“You’re right. We need a better formation,” Tobias says, crossing his arms. “Who here has experience fighting? Actual fighting, not just friendly spars.”

Nia, ridiculously, raises her paw. Tobias gives her a dry look until she lowers it again.

Cordelia snorts. “I can fight if I have to, but my first priority is keeping an eye on Cas and my crew.”

Tobias nods. “That works. Cas will stay in the middle of the group, so stick with him.”

Cas pouts but doesn’t argue.

“Nori and I are in decent shape, but we aren’t used to fighting often,” Beck says. “As you just saw.”

Ignatius puffs a wisp of smoke. “Hate to say it, but I’m probably as weak as Cas at my age.”

Tobias nods, looking between everyone and calculating. With Nia’s abysmal sense of direction, Tobias needs to be in the front of the group to direct them. But they do need someone to watch their backs, too, and Tobias trusts no one else but Nia for that. The most vulnerable members should be sandwiched in the middle when possible.

“In that case, I’ll take point. Nia, you take back. Cas, Cordelia, Ignatius and, uh…Carnelian. You all need to be in the middle. Beck and Nori, you flank me and Nia.”

“And when we’re in the water?” Beck asks.

Tobias hesitates.

“Well, we can’t do the same formation in the water,” Nia says, half to herself. She jumps when she realizes all eyes have turned to her. “C-Could we swap?  Have Ignatius rides with Tobias and Beck up front and Carnelian and I go to the back with Nori? That way we don’t have to rearrange much when we get to land.”

To Tobias’ surprise, no one questions the idea, seeming to agree with both of their judgment calls.

After checking that Beck is good to go, they form up. Nia takes the rear, giving Tobias a thumbs-up. Nori moves in front of her with a quiet comment that makes her smile. Carnelian shuffles nervously in front of them, clutching his backpack close. Then it’s Cordelia, the croconaw keeping little Cas right in front of her, then Ignatius. Finally, Beck stands right behind Tobias, the floatzel acting as a taller lookout. He gives him a nod, all his previous uncertainty with Tobias’ abilities seemingly gone.

Huh. Tobias feels kind of proud about how well that went. He’s still uneasy about how large of a group they’re leading through, but they’ll just have to try their best and hope they make it out with minimal injuries.

“All right,” Tobias says, trying to sound more confident than he feels. “Let’s go.”

[circlique]

Color Theory in ATLA: Part 1

Let’s talk colors! ATLA is a colorful show! It’s pretty obvious at first glance that each element and thus each nation has a color association. But how else does ATLA use color narratively? Today I’m gonna be doing a little analysis at two levels: surface and narrative. This post will cover the visual, surface level.

By the way, this is actually a propaganda post for @multicolor-fandom-tournament, where you should totally go vote for ATLA in the final. As much as I love Pokemon, I wanna see someone else win a poll for once. Give ATLA some love. Anyway, let’s get started.

For individual characters, there is some pretty obvious color coding/representation going on that is notable. For instance, Ty Lee wears pink and is girly with a bubbly personality. Mai wears dark red and black and tends to be gloomy and serious. Zuko wears red and is often prone to passionate, angry outbursts. Aang wears yellow and tends to be cheery and positive. Sokka, for all his cool collectedness, wears blue. Toph is represented by green and is first introduced as a vision in a swamp, where there are themes of connectedness, growth, and new beginnings. These are all fairly obvious and surface level, so I’m not going to go into them too much.

Beyond individual characters, each nation gets its own color. This is fairly straightforward. Fire is red, air is orange/yellow, water is blue, earth is green. People from each nation wear their nation’s color for the most part, leaving us with recognizable character designs that easily allow us to discern any particular character’s origin.

There are a few other interesting cases where specific colors are reserved for specific things, such as purple, which is only worn by royalty, Princess Yue, and gold, which is used in small accents in the Fire Nation, but larger usages seem to be reserved for the royalty there as well.

However, throughout ATLA and some of the extended material such as the comics and Legend of Korra, the colors a person wears has been further used to show their multiculturalism, and sometimes detachment from culture altogether. In ATLA, there is a travailing music troupe that wears a variety of colors, presumably due to their travels necessitating the need to replace worn out garments with whatever colors are available. In the comics, there is a plot line about conflict arising in the former Fire Nation colonies, where people have been raised in a mix of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom culture. Some of the people there wear both red and green.

Later on in Legend of Korra, we see that while Republic City is multicultural, many of the people there don’t identify super strongly with any one nation. After all, many of the people there have never lived anywhere but Republic City. As a result, a lot of the Republic City characters such as Mako and Bolin wear more muted colors such as gray. Although their outfits still have accents in their respective bending colors, their outfits reflect their heritage to a place that does not strongly emphasize any one nation’s colors over the others. Notably, Amon and his chiblockers wear gray too, because their entire deal is equality among benders and nonbenders.

Another thing that is heavily color coded in ATLA is eye color. Each nation has a corresponding eye color too. For fire it’s gold/amber, air is gray, water is blue, and earth is green and brown. Eye color is so heavily color coded that it even picks up some narrative importance. When Azula takes over Ba Sing Se, she, Ty Lee, and Mai disguise themselves as Kyoshi Warriors. Katara runs up to then to warn them of the coup, but realizes something is wrong when Azula’s pretty Fire Nation amber eyes flash in the light.

Eye color is used like this in a few other places too. In the Kyoshi novels, there is a character who goes undercover who must disguise his eye color to avoid being discovered. In the Yangchen novel, there is a character from and island in the Mo Ce Sea (which is roughly in the middle of the map) who describes how her home became so cut off from any one nation that she didn’t feel allegiance to any of them. Her eyes are specifically described as hazel/brown, which can be found in all four nations.

Eye color is so heavily nation-coded that it has spawned plenty of fan theories and arguments. Suki, for instance, has green eyes in some art and blue in others. Fans argue about what her eye color actually is, with some suggesting blue-eyes Suki may have Water Tribe heritage due to Kyoshi Island’s proximity to the Southern Water Tribe, and others suggesting it was just an animation error and that they were actually supposed to be green. Another example is Ty Lee, who is a nonbender but has gray eyes, causing many people to speculate she has Air Nomad ancestry. Notably, Zaheer ALSO has gray eyes and later gains the ability to airbend, so the popular theory is that he and Ty Lee may be the descendants of airbenders who survived the initial attack and hid amongst the four nations.

Indeed, different eye color is used to show people with mixed heritage, a notable example being Asami, who has green eyes but is descended from Fire Nationals who settled in the colonies in the Earth Kingdom.

And there you have it! Those are the surface-level uses of color in ATLA. Next time we'll talk more about color theory and narrative usage of color symbolism.

[the-nimbasa-trio]

*Echo smiled at the effort of the twins to make her feel better, and nodded at the news about their eyes.*

"Born with it, or ghost exposure?" *She asked, leaning against Titan as he moved through the station.* "I know some traits can be added through exposure."

*She reached up to pull at one of the white strands of hair framing her face nervously, but made no other comment.*

*When Titan finally exited the station, Echo gasped at Nimbasa, blue eyes widening in awe.*

"Oh it's *gorgeous*." *She said about the city, pushing herself upwards to see as much as she could.* "Everything shines!"

"We don't know. Born with it, maybe?" Emmet answered.

"It's freaky to most people," Ingo added with a subtle shrug.

When the group exited the station, the sight of Nimbasa City was visible in all of its glory. It was a bright metropolis with bustling activity, especially in the amusement park and the famous Ferris wheel. It was a popular date site, and tourists from all over often visited the city. Not only was the amusement park very popular, so was Elesa's gym and the Battle Subway.

Just as Echo commented, the city was constantly shining ever-so brightly. The Ferris wheel and the amusement park as a whole had fairy lights that fought off the darkness of shadows threatening to snuff them out. There were some spotlights emanating from Elesa's gym nearby, almost acting like a beacon. The twins were quick to point down at the gym so Titan would fly there and land.

Once the large Golurk landed, the twins scrambled off of his back. They hurriedly gestured for Echo to follow, though it'd probably be best to put Titan back in his pokeball due to the crowd.

When the twins and their new companion entered the Nimbasa City gym, it was almost blinding with the lights that radiated from the runway. The crowd was going wild when Elesa stepped into view- the three of them were just in time to witness the start of Elesa's show.

As always, he was gorgeous. His outfit consisted of gorgeous shades of blacks and grays highlighted with blues and golds. He had a belt that had lightly dangling golden stars that resembled a Luxray's tail, and he spun a Quick Ball on his finger. He flipped his head back, causing his black hair highlighted with blue to follow suit.

Elesa was about to battle a challenger who wasn't as flashy as him, but had uniquely dyed purple hair. Longer strands of hair covered his left eye, and he had fluffy bangs with soft sideburns. He was holding a homemade pokeball in his hand, made from apricorns, and it had some kind of mark- presumably to tell which pokeball had which pokemon.

(Close up of Elesa under the cut!)

[adobe-outdesign]

Could you review Volbeat and Illumise?

These guys are pretty cute, though admittedly I tend to forget they exist. It's probably because I also tend to forget that these guys are from Gen 3—I think it's because they have busier, more Gen 4-esq designs.

Anyway, these two's gimmick is that they're based off of lightning bugs and are sexually dimorphic (which is true of some IRL fireflies, though it depends of the species). I always found it weird that they're classified as two different Pokemon despite being able to interbreed and produce the same species via Ditto. Shouldn't they be a single Pokemon with two different forms, like how Meowstic works? It's not like the designs are so wildly different between the two that they're not recognizable as the same species.

Regardless, between the two, Volbeat is my fav. I'm not super into the more anthro fairy-like look of these guys compared to more bug-like 'mons, but Volbeat is by far the cuter option. I like how it's always perpetually concerned about something, and how it's got the fun curly antennae and the chubbier body. It also tends to have some fun poses compared to Illumise, who's more stiff.

I also like the colors, which match that of IRL fireflies—the yellow accents their tail lights, while the red compliments it and pops well against the black base. I do find it weird that the wings are gray—I much prefer the white wings shown in the original above sprite, as otherwise it ends up a bit off-balance—but otherwise it's a solid palette. The stripes work well as a visual motif, and I like how the neck collar kind of resembles the red on a lightning bug. It's very much an acquired taste kind of design, but personally I do enjoy it.

Illumise, however, I'm not as big on. I don't know, there's just something less fun and cute about it—maybe it's the eye shape, maybe it's the thinner body, maybe it's the nose, but whatever it is it just doesn't work quite as well. It still works as a female version of Volbeat however; it has a slight flapper look to it, but it's subtle enough that it still feels like a natural instance of dimorphism, and the two are distinct enough while looking like they belong together.

As for the design on its own, it follows the same idea as Volbeat but changes things like the accent color, underbelly markings, and face. Most of the things that worked on Volbeat work here, though don't like the antennae as much—the way they're perfectly pointed and connect to the head feels very artificial. The markings also feel a bit weird because of how square they are—if the neck collar went to the edges of the arm rings and the blue went all the way down the body it would feel more natural.

And the colors make sense, though I do question the purple a bit as it's a little low-contrast. It might've made sense to keep the desaturated slate blue of Volbeat and make the accent a much brighter, more saturated purple to maintain the contrast. At least the black helps offset the lower-contrast colors, and the overall palette still resembles a lightning bug enough to be identifiable.

I do think that one thing that could be neat with this line is to give Illumise a regional that actually hunts Volbeat. Some species of female fireflies mimic the patterns of males to lure them in and eat them, so it would be kind of neat to have an "evil" version of Illumise that does the same. It would add some extra flavor to these two and would also help justify them being two separate 'mons.

Anyway, these are some decent bugs if you're up for the more humanized look. Volbeat is the better of the two, but they work well as a pair and are at least interesting abstract takes on their base animal.

[yanderes-galore]

(Pst, maybe when you are free, don't overwork yourself)

Small request (hyped with pokemon): Lysandre or Professor Sycamore, Prompt 1 (from your pinned post, the ones you did) with a darling that happens to be the Champion's (Diantha) child? Or you can get creative or something since the prompt speaks for itself I guess--

I'll see what I got, sure! Did the character that made the most sense. First attempt at writing Lysandre, been awhile since I played X and Y so I hope the character is correct. Shorter than I wantex but I think it still works despite it ^^

Yandere! Lysandre Prompt 1

"I'd burn this world and everything in it for you."

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Kidnapping, Delusional behavior, Forced relationship, Mentions of mass extinction I guess?, Isolation.

Lysandre sees the beauty of everything within this world. Everything from the grass to the sky. Even the pokemon to an extent. He doesn't want any of it to change.

He thought the world itself was the most beautiful thing in his eyes. Then he met you. A beauty within your own right. A treasure he was completely smitten with.

A being truly at home in Kalos.

Like all the beauty in this world, he wishes to preserve you. The thought of you changing... the world tainting you... makes his gut stir. Lysandre doesn't like change....

You won't change in his new world if he keeps you with him... right where he feels you belong.

"Your beauty is unlike any other...."

The Team Flare boss is in a trance when looking at you. His fingers graze against you softly while he hums. You shine the brightest in his arms, like a delicate flame...

Even if you're trapped in a cage as only his to look at.

You shy away from his touch as if it burns you. Such a reaction makes him frown, pulling away. Even with your scared expression and the orange lights beaming at you in your cell, you look beautiful.

Nothing can taint you when you're all his.

"My darling flame, there's no need to be scared. I only wish to nurture your beauty. You'll fit right in with my vision."

You press yourself again the bars, watching him pace. All you could see was orange and gray... the only colors of the room he kept you in, underground... waiting to see the light of day again.

"What is your vision...?" You ask absentmindedly, seeing him stop and turn towards you. The grin on his face shows he was just waiting for you to ask it.

"To keep the world perfect and beautiful. A world never meant to change. Even if it requires purging the wildlife..."

He stops in front of you, blue eyes glossing over your fear.

"I'd burn this world and everything in it for you."

You back off at the intensity of his words. Lysandre goes back to sitting by your cell and sighs.

"Humanity and pokemon alike taint this world and its beauty. Only those I feel are fit will live through my plan. You... you and I will be the first."

His eyes never leave your scared ones. You sit and listen to his rant in fear. Lysandre, as genius as he was, is a madman.

"I took you away from everyone because they'd taint you like this world. Only I can keep you perfect. I want the best for you until my plan is complete."

"... I want to leave...."

"Not yet."

"Can I not even leave the cell?"

"Soon you will, my beloved flame... but it's not safe yet. You'll run..."

His face turns sour, looking away.

"You'll leave me and my vision in the dust and get yourself killed."

"You don't know that..."

"I can sense that."

You then sit in silence, the Team Flare boss looking at you longingly. He reaches a gloved hand theough the bars... only for you to reject him. Your bond would take time...

He has all the time in the world, once his plan works...

You two will be beautiful together, he just knows it.

"Soon you will experience the true beauty of this world... just be patient with me and my plan."

[sparkykitsune]

Paldea League explanation time

Might as well go into an explanation ramble about my picks for the Paldean league here! I did on AO3 but gonna mostly crosspost this here cause I feel like it.

Katy - grizzly bear This is a pretty obvious one. Considering she has a bug tera Teddiursa/Ursaring (because bears are often depicted as honey lovers in media), it makes sense why I'd make her a bear. Katy's also like a sweet momma bear in terms of her personality (not unlike another trainer here in Paldea, who is also a momma bear in terms of her personality, but more formidable, in this AU).

Brassius - serval I was just gonna make him an ocelot (because jungle cat) when he was first revealed in the trailer, but I kinda eventually wanted to make him part serval too, because servals have cute ears that I wanted to draw. Then I didn't really think he looked like a ocelot anymore, so I just made him a regular serval (yes, I'm aware servals are from the savannah, not the jungle/rainforest). He also jumped down from a windmill on his feet, hence the saying a cat always lands on its feet.

Iono - ragamuffin calico cat Iono just screams "cat girl" energy to me. Originally drew her as a pale orange and white cat, but I hated the design I did. So I went with a dilute calico to match her two toned hair, with one side of her fur being gray and the other half being pale orange. I also realized I unintentionally made a pun on cation.

Kofu - walrus Was gonna make him a hybrid between a walrus and a sea otter but last second, I just made him a walrus because the ears looked weird. I kinda went a bit half baked on the thought process of this, but I think he'd be a jolly old walrus, even if walruses are pretty territorial in real life. Also, first time I've drawn a walrus.

Larry - gray wolf Furry analysis thing. Wolves are like one of the most (if not the most) common species for a fursona. Larry may be a basic salaryman, but we all love him for that. Gave Larry some rather basic markings (gray fur, light gray markings on the snout, limbs, stomach and ear insides, and a black tipped tail; I know adult wolves don't have blue eyes but it's not uncommon to see wolf fursonas with blue eyes) for an average wolf to go with his theme. Larry's also almost always hungry, so I could say he's hungry like a wolf. Another point I initially forgot to add is that Larry's really popular among Pokemon fans, reminds me of how the furry fandom just goes bonkers whenever the media releases a new wolf character (*looks over at Legoshi, Mr. Wolf, and Death*).

Ryme - red fox So, this is a slight headcanon-ish thing that I've "dropped"/"forgotten about". Fox Ryme still works, cause she has a Houndstone, the fox and the Houndstone. I just think she'd be a fox, it just comes naturally to me (the urge to add a fox every time).

Tulip - leopard Okay so this is a questionable one. When I first saw Tulip's design, she instantly reminded me of Clawroline from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and I can't really shake that off, which is the reason why she looks like Clawroline in my AU. Also, the area around Alfornada is kinda like a savannah, and Tulip does have an Espartha on her team, which is technically an ostrich, another savannah animal.

Grusha - siberian husky Again, a pretty obvious one. All the ice type specialists (that I know of) in this Pokemon AU are all animals that originate from/inhabit places from, yet it took me this long to make an ice type specialist a husky in my AU. Also, those icy blue eyes of his are too hard to pass for a husky.

Rika - egyptian mau/sand cat mix This was a neat design to do. This design was pulled out randomly because I do have this headcanon that she's Falkner's older cousin (Falkner in this AU is an egyptian mau cat). She's also part sand cat to tie in with her being a ground type specialist. She mostly just looks your average spotted tabby though.

Poppy - raccoon When I saw her, I was instantly like "OMG, she's so adorable, she's my favourite character in this game" (no matter what everyone else says). Raccoons are my second favourite animal, but I didn't really think Poppy's design would translate well into a fox, so I went with a raccoon instantly because of her silver clothing and black hair gave off raccoon fur vibes. Raccoons allegedly like shiny objects, and Poppy has a giant key around her neck, so a perfect match. I could really just go on about this design choice, but I'd rather not make it too long or too deep. I didn't initially notice this at first but I found out that Poppy's giant key is actually a purse that she stores candy in, raccoons for sure have a sweet tooth as well.

Hassel - st bernard/golden retriever mix His hair colour reminds of a golden retriever but his face kinda reminds me of a st bernard. I'd definitely imagine a happy Hassel to be a blubbering and slobbering dog (st bernards drool a lot) in my AU, and I'd say both breeds would match him nicely.

Geeta - bobtail tortoiseshell cat I was gonna make her a bombay (black) cat initially, but I chose a tortoiseshell last minute, I'm not sure why, probably just to try and match her design more, I don't know to be honest. I eventually thought of the bobtail since I like the idea of Iono, Rika and Geeta being the three cats of the Paldea league (cause Brassius and Tulip aren't domestic cats), and them having a different vibe to them, with Iono being fluffy with a bushy tail, Rika being sleeker with a sleek tail, and Geeta kinda being inbetween with a cute little bobtail.

[ultraericthered]

COMING SOON - ANIME UPDATE V3

“V3″ in this case stands for “Version 3″. I did the V1 series of posts from late 2019 to the end of 2021, then did the V2 posts in 2022 and 2023. Time for another shake-up, once more before the last time.

Vinland Saga S2 will continue with its second half, and once I'm done with it, and once I'm done with it, the newly revived Kimi ni Todoke will be taking its place, itself to be followed by Vision of Escaflowne once I'm done with it.

Hunter x Hunter will continue to the end this year, and once I'm finally done with it, Fullmetal Alchemist will be taking its place.

SHUFFLE! will be a new anime I start up, and along with it will soon come the 13 episode AIR. Jun Maeda's prototype for CLANNAD, Kanon, would be the most likely to take its place afterwards.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works draws to a close, soon to be replaced by The Case Files Of Lord El Meloi II.

Konosuba will be taking over from Re:ZERO (talk about whiplash!), and once its done, its place will be taken by Black Cat.

Symphogear XV will finish off the Symphogear series, and once that's done, K-On!! will be taking its place.

Eureka Seven will continue through the year, and once I'm done with it, I'll finally look back to the Gundam franchise with Gundam Wing.

Gintama will be returning as well. with me finally getting closer towards the really good parts.

EXTRAs that I intend to also give watches to from now to perpetuity: A Certain Scientific Railgun, kame Ga Kill, Akiba Maid Wars, Attack On Titan, Azumanga Daioh, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Baccano, Berserk, Black Butler, Bloom Into You, Blue Exorcist, BNA: Brand New Animal, Bungo Stray Dogs, Candy Candy, Captain Earth, Chainsaw Man, Code Geass R2, Cutey Honey, D-Gray Man, Date A Live, Demon Slayer, Digimon anime, Dragon Ball anime, Durarara, Full Metal Panic, Gabriel Drop Out, Great Pretender, Gundam & Macross anime, Gurren Lagann, Haruhi Suzumiya, Horimiya, Inuyasha, Kill La Kill, Little Busters, Little Witch Academia, Love Live! Nijiyon, Love Live! Superstar!!, Made In Abyss, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Marmalade Boy, Megaman NT Warrior, Monster, Moriarty The Patriot, My Hero Academia, My Next Life As A Villaness, Nadia: The Secret Of Blue Water, Nichijou, Non Non Biyori, Odd Taxi, One Punch Man, Ouran High School Host Club, Persona The Animation, Pokemon anime, Pretty Cure, Princess Jellyfish, Puella Magi anime, Ranma 1/2, Rewrite, RWBY, Rurouni Kenshin, Sakugan, Shadows House, Shaman King, Shikimori's Not Just A Cutie, Slime Taoshite 300-Nen, Soul Eater, Steins;Gate, SSSS Gridman & Dynazenon, Tales of the Abyss The Animation, Tenchi Muyo, Tiger & Bunny, Trigun, The Demon Girl Next Door, The Girl Who Leapt Through Space, The Pet Girl Of Sakurasou, The Rising Of The Shield Hero, The World Ends With You Animation, Yuna Yuki Is A Hero, and likely plenty of others that might come my way, rewatches included.

Yeah.

[sakew-region]

#95: Strava- This small Pokémon lives a few miles above the ground and hundreds are often seen circling tall mountains at or above the tree line. Its gill-like frills take in air, allowing Strava to fill its body with it and fly higher. It floats with the breeze, unable to control its own movements effectively. As Strava soars through the sky, it opens its mouth wide and filter feeds for small organic airborne particles. (Name from “stratus”, a type of cloud, and “larva”)

#96: Altolotl- Altolotl uses its long tail and webbed hands to propel itself through the air, not dissimilar to how many water-type Pokemon swim. Its sky-blue skin has no scales, fur, or feathers, instead being covered in a thick layer of slime. The color of this skin helps it camouflage, and Altolotl from different parts of Sakew have slightly different skin tones, matching the sky around them; Altolotl from smoggy cities even have gray skin. Though it is completely blind, Altolotl’s gill-like structures serve to detect changes in the surrounding air currents and to take in air. Altolotl live upwards of five miles above the earth’s surface. (Name from “altostratus”, a type of cloud, and “axolotl”)

#97: Cirrulm- Sometimes called the “serpent of the sky”, Cirrulm is a swift and huge Pokemon. Even when it passes by at blistering speeds, onlookers hear less than a faint whistle and feel nothing more than a soft, warm breeze. Colonies of Cirrulm live high up in the atmosphere and tend to be most concentrated near the line where the atmosphere gives way to space. This Pokemon can live thousands of years by maintaining a very low metabolism, but when it dies its tail breaks off and forms a new Cirrulm with all the qualities and memories of the old one. Legend has it that an ancient king of Sakew had such a strong bond with his Cirrulm that he, too, lived thousands of years. (Name from “cirrus”, a type of cloud, and “olm”)

[mushroom-for-art]

Lmao here's some more in which @oogaboogaspookyman 's little bastard son briefly experiences consequences for his actions and then is immediately like oh nvm this could be interesting.

Breaking point

Splashing. Struggling. She'd been swimming for who knows how long really, the blue expanse of the ocean seemed never ending and it was cold all around her. Her head slipped under the water and with more and more difficulty she surfaced to gasp and splutter. It wasn't right. She hadn't seen or heard a single Wingull or had a single fish Pokemon brush past or offer help. She slipped under swallowing water, gasping coughing when her head surfaced, her arms weakening heavy like lead and her legs she could barely kick them to keep going, but she had to, there must be an end to all this some buoy or piece of land she could stumble upon and grasp onto. Maybe a Wailord would finally see her and offer her a ride, surely something would save her. The water washed over her face once more as she sank, she weakly kicked, managing to get her snout above the water, snorting an exhale before slipping under once more before she could gather a breath. She sank deeper into the water the coldness numbing her body and holding her like a mock blanket, water pooled into her lungs heavily as she attempted to breathe choking without air trying to gasp but unable the pressure in her chest crushing and uncomfortable as her vision faded into blackness as she drowned in the unfeeling ocean.

Her body dropped heavily onto the gray floor still soaking wet she coughed with difficulty water splattering out her nose and mouth uncomfortably as she desperately tried to breathe. The dark tail of the other Mewtwo swayed in thought as he watched her struggling too weak to move, he put his foot under her shoulder and somewhere between a shove and a kick flipped her onto her side into somewhat of a recovery position before she choked. He heard her coughing, he sneered at the sound as water was forced from her lungs. He floated away casually leaving her to shiver and splutter on the floor placing down a timer next to some others with an amused sound.

"Do you know how long you were swimming for?"

He asked knowing she'd be too busy recovering to answer him really.

"Roughly 45 hours."

He answered himself. Looking over the timers.

"Its fascinating actually, when you believed help would finally find you or you'd find salvation you were able to swim much longer, when you didn't believe help would come and you let that hopelessness devour you well you barely managed to swim 30 hours, just a bit longer than the average human."

He seemed fascinated by the results as he talked about the average, statistics and what it all meant, though she was barely listening. She felt his foot pressing down on her head and skull as his voice came back into focus as he pushed down to the point she was whimpering in discomfort.

"You're a hope driven creature. I can't wait to see what happens when you succumb to despair."

He slowly removed his weight after smirking down at her, he floated away again. He'd been doing that a lot lately, leaving her to recover or leaving her all alone in general in the bleak stretching gray space with only the corpse of her brother as company.

After what felt like hours she pulled herself up enough to drag herself over to where her brother was splayed on the floor, he smelt putrid. His guts were spilled out along the gray floor, they'd darkened to black adding a twisted contrast of color to the place they were in. She moved to pull herself to kneel, her hands shook as she carefully lifted his upper frame, something cracked, ripped and squelched as she carefully put his head on her lap, his eye had fully rotten away now and the other was hanging out only connected by a few nerves, most of the flesh on his face had scarred or been ripped away revealing muscles and bones, a lot of his body was starting to rot to black. Though she suspected it was partly the fault of the demon and his blackened eyes. She held her baby brother one hand delicately resting on his forehead, careful not to rip away more of his fragile damaged skin, the other loosely wrapped around him resting over his chest. She barely recognised him really, the color had faded from him, she couldn't remember what he actually used to look like anymore. The past few cycles had mostly been without him and she feared what that meant. She hung her head as all she could do was hold her brother while she could, her upper body beginning to rock back and forth trying not to let the anguish get to her, she wouldn't let that demon see her cry anymore.

The white two watched them from a distance, she was cradling what was left of her brother again and rocking. Something that had started to annoy him. It was pitiful really and in a way that made him angry. Truthfully he'd been finding it difficult to reanimate the body into decent condition to put it into the loop, while at the beginning of the loop he is always technically alive the damage to his body by the end of each loop had become too vast, while he tormented May he had tried to undo some of the damages. When he'd sent him into the loop previously his wounds would be coated in a black sickly substance that pulled his injuries closed like stitches and engulfed him to undo wounds. Unfortunately now when he attempted to do so his efforts would quickly fall apart reverting the body back to its corpse state and it simply blackened his organs and blood further. It seems he'd broken that toy far too much. He should have considered the consequences of destroying him within each loop every time but well it had been too much fun playing rough with him he hadn't really thought, besides he didn't think they'd have been so entertaining for so long.

He glanced over at May, he hadn't actually killed her in any of the loops and despite the copious injuries and no doubt mental traumas she was fairing well, in that she wasn't rotting on the floor. Some of her wounds had even slowly healed, would they be there in the real world he wondered or only in this other space. He looks at the dead one again, perhaps he should release him back to before this all started and he created the loop and other space, Matt was it? Well whatever he was called he'd be back to a point of no injury and could simply be grabbed again from that point bring a 'new' so to speak unbroken toy into the loop to start again. He did create this whole space as a consequence free experiment after all, he could easily do it again and again.

Perhaps this time he could end May's life and torment the living Matt with his failure to save his sister who has fought for years to save him. Hm. Tempting. Though he got the impression he'd quickly grow bored with Matt, he was young with little to no real world experience, he was a blank canvas and not in a good way. He'd probably break and give up far too easily. He scoffed quietly to himself, well at least one of them remained entertaining. He floated over lazily to the others, he could hear May doing her annoying whimpering and whining, it was a strange throaty sound like trying not to cry. He stood behind her as she rocked either unaware of him or choosing to ignore him, he tsk'd to himself reaching a hand to pull the corpse from her.

"Let me look at it."

He felt the pain shoot up his arm before he even heard the growl, May's teeth were sinking into his flesh as she snarled, her eyes frenzied before she clamped her mouth further around his arm her head thrown upwards before tearing downwards ripping away a decent chunk of his pale flesh as his arm was freed and he flew backwards to examine the damage. The white flesh and slick black fluid of his blood hung from her mouth as she continued to snarl in his direction, he twisted his arm to look it over as his flesh around the area stretched and regrew closing his wound as he coldly glared at her, the most unusual part was her refusal to spit out the mouthful she had which he assumed should have been her first response after lashing out. He sneered at her and growled in return showing his fangs in threat as he watched in some surprise as she swallowed, his blood still dripping down her chin.

"Vile creature. Look at you. What you're becoming."

He mocked coldly, noticing her eyes didn't shift to shame remaining wild and glaring.

"Recollect your senses girl. I wasn't threatening your meal."

He smirked, expecting horror at what he was implying. She looked away from him and he felt victory wash over him turning his back to her to plan what to do in retaliation for her thoughtless actions. He heard her mumbling presumably apologies to her brother, maybe he could torment her with his puppeteered corpse. A snarl. He looked over his shoulder in time to dodge the glowing sharpened claw of her hand that just missed his face.

He flew back, turning to look at her, her form seemed disheveled as she stood hunched over her shoulders tense, head hanging low both her usually blunt feeble weak hands covered in bright sharp aura. Her head lifted slowly to look at him over the rim of her glasses, her pupils were shrunken and almost erratic giving her a manic kind of demeanor before she lunged for him again, surprisingly quick on her feet she swung to slash him with her claws. Normally he would've stood and taken the hit, despite the aura slash was a normal move and his ghost typing and abilities meant normal wouldn't hit him, but he leant away dodging her wild attempts to attack him. She'd lashed out at him during a cycle that's for sure and expected. But never here. It was fascinating to observe really, her expression reminding him of the violence committed by her possessed form. As well, she clearly must have known Slash wouldn't touch him from her past experiences in the cycles gone, she knows she'll receive a major beat down from him and no doubt punishment. So why use it?

He grunted as her forehead rammed forward into his lower chest and it sent him backwards until he could regain composure. That hit him. And it hurt. He could see blackness on her remaining horn, the injured one long since finally broken off. He glanced at himself, she'd managed to cut him with her horn during that attack, either headbutt or takedown. By the way she stood looking feral still and swaying on the spot idly watching him he assumed takedown. There's no way she should've been able to touch him. He observed her, as she watched him, he watched as she moved, pacing still hunched and wild acting more animal like than intelligent. Maybe he'd finally broken her too. He noticed after a few moments she was tricking him into moving, she was now pacing in front of her brother where before she paced in front of the stretching gray. She was guarding him.

He looked past her at the body, he closed a hand behind his back, darkness creeped and wrapped over the body covering him in blackness before dispersing leaving nothing behind. She didn't notice simply going for him again for daring to look at her brother, he sent flows of darkness like lightning to strike her down, it hit her dead on and she slid backwards on her feet across the floor with a scream of pain, her hand touched the floor in regaining balance before bolting for him again with surprising speed. He just missed her fist which slammed into the floor where she had intended to catch his face and slam him into it, before her tail caught his side in a swing. The weight and force of it pushed him backwards as he grabbed hold of her tail and sent another shock of darkness through her body accompanied by purple ghostly clawed hands that ripped scratched into her flesh and burrowed into her wiggling under her skin before burning out as she stumbled in the agony.

He grabbed her second neck as she stumbled, yanking her head backwards painfully as she cried out screaming, her wild demeanor and violence seeming to falter. He grinned, rattling her and shoving her to look at the empty spot on the floor.

"Now, look what you made me do."

He felt her still before she tried to look around frantically and he squeezed forcing her to be still.

"He's gone now. Because you couldn't behave."

He mocked. In reality Matt was simply gone from the other space existing once more before this all began to be grabbed again in better condition. He shoved her forward away from him as she tripped and fell to the floor, he watched her desperately pat around hoping her brother was there just invisible but nothing remained. With nothing to protect he suspected her powers would switch off again leaving her defenseless, and he intended to make her regret what she just did. Even if it had been extremely insightful and entertaining, a real look into the violence she was capable of outside of possession. Did it perhaps mean the behavior of the shadow version was simply using the aggression May suppressed and was an extension and outlet? And now with it gone she had to bear it herself? He'd figure it out eventually and maybe eventually bring her brother back into the loop for good behavior.

He observed her desperation in great joy watching her trembling, shaking, scrambling to find any trace or evidence her brother was secretly fine. She turned and glared at him once more, much to his surprise, it seemed she hadn't learnt her lesson. That's when he noticed sparks and crackling from her chest, as an extended hand shot out to grab him only stopped as darkness wrapped around her body coiling around her throat to choke and restraining her arms, her fingers brushed his snout as she attempted to grab him the darkness pulling her backwards as she pulled forward, her mega form resisting his powers in a tug of war.

"Where is my brother?! If you've killed him! If he's dead!" She struggled her sentences short with both extreme anger and from struggling against the dark tendrils pulling her backwards. He was almost impressed as she managed to pull herself forwards pulling against the overwhelming pulling ropes of darkness. But he knew she couldn't win as more wrapped around her pulling her tail, her chest, her waist tangling her legs and wrapping around her head to pull her backwards painfully so.

"You'll what?"

He mocked simply watching her slowly but surely be pulled backwards and downwards through the gray floor into a new cycle. But she met his gaze as she still fought.

"If he's gone." Her expression fell unusually dark. "Then you have nothing to stop me anymore." She looked directly at him as her body was pulled down, only her shoulder and head visible. "Do you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She met his eye even as he stepped on her and shoved her through the gray flooring into a new cycle of torment. Something in her eyes telling him that things had indeed changed, the mania and threat of violence he was met with as if she was challenging him, becoming worse than him. He simply grinned.

This could be very, very, interesting

[lexxlikes]

Prepare for Trouble!

In Team Rocket's underground main base, the time of day lost all meaning. The artificial light and the constant comings and goings of various people made the time of day only an illusion and of pleasant insignificance. The windowless base stretched far below Celadon City's arcade and housed not only conference rooms and dormitories, but also a canteen, swimming pool and gym. That's exactly where Blake was headed. The twenty-year-old was brand new to the organization and currently had to deal with simple errands and master the operation of the coffee machine. So now he was making his way down the gray, branching hallways, and though he'd already spent a little time here, he kept threatening to get lost. Only small, abstract icons on the walls indicated where something was, and the image of the gym didn't appear until Blake had already given up hope. A glance at his watch revealed that it was approaching midnight, and even if time didn't matter here, he wondered who wanted to get physical now. Or had to.

When he stepped through the door, he was greeted by the typical smell of a gym. The smell of sweat was predominant and they tried to cover it up with disinfectant. Small spray bottles were distributed all over the studio and both mixed to form an unpleasant olfactory combination. The ventilation was running at full speed, but with the frequent use by so many people, even it eventually reached its limits. Acoustically, all that could be heard was the metallic clacking of weights coming from the room's sole user. On the weight bench was a tall man in a tank top and shorts, his face hidden from view. Behind the bench as a spotter stood a Machamp whose entire attention was on his trainer, who was currently pressing 165lbs away from his chest in smooth movements and slowly lowering the barbell again only to perform the movement again. Two of the Pokemon's total of four muscular arms took over the weight at the end of the movement and placed it back into its designated, secure holder as the man stood up. The wet glistening skin and heavy breathing indicated that the person had probably been training here at the studio for a long time. He was about mid-twenties, heavily trained and probably the most unusual thing was his blue hair. Normally Team Rocket agents tried to fly below the radar and not stand out - blue hair was the exact opposite. The initial screening confirmed the suspicion that the man named Lexx was a member of Cliff's team.

After there was an incident with a minor, which probably by accident caused chaos and a lot of damage, the internal structures were rearranged. There was still Giovanni. The one and only. The leader and founder of Team Rockets. But the competences were broadened. Sierra, one of the boss's closest confidants, had a focus on espionage and information gathering. No matter what a Silph Corp. was developing or who was the favorite in the Arena Challenge in Galar, Sierra knew about it. She coordinated the individual actions together with Giovanni. Arlo was responsible for technical development and had introduced the Crypto program some time ago. His focus was on internal digital security and cyber warfare. The last of the three leaders was Cliff. Muscular and intimidating, he was, like everyone on his team, confrontational. Trained thugs, he had his head through the wall. Often not with their own. All members of his departments were battle-hardened and responsible for the rough jobs. Thefts, assaults, or clearing precincts when another team felt they had to go overboard. It was all a job for the muscle-bound.

"What?" the blue-haired man asked the courier, who stood calmly in front of him. Blake handed him a piece of paper and Lexx let his blue eyes dart over the written lines. "Time to go," he declared, addressing his Pokemon, and only then did the newcomer notice. The Machamp was not shrouded in a purple mist, and its eyes were not dull or glowing red. Apparently, the powerhouse Pokemon was with him entirely of its own free will. „Thanks“, Lexx was replying as he rose from the bench, grabbed his towel and headed towards the showers. Blake's gaze still followed this man briefly, and in his mind he asked himself so many questions. No crypto smoke. A thank you. Who was this Lexx?

A short time later, Lexx, dressed in a similar suit to Cliff, entered the small office and his supervisor looked up. Team Rocket had become more bureaucratic over time, so he got his briefing on a Rotom pad. Sierra's agents had been able to learn that a private research vessel was arriving in Vermilion City harbor from Armor Islands the next evening, carrying dyna-mushrooms as cargo. These are to be brought to Pallet Town to Professor Oak for examination. The question of whether dynamaxation is genetically inherited and can be used in breeding was too theoretical and frankly too complicated for Lexx to continue reading this paragraph. He briefly studied the key data and then nodded. A short conversation with the supervisor clarified the last questions and so Lexx had time until the next evening at 9p.m.

Preparations were made quickly, as all members of Team Rocket had to be ready to go immediately. His Team Rocket outfit was in an inconspicuous sports bag, as was his equipment and his three Pokeballs. A larger suitcase he also carried should be able to hold enough Dyna Mushrooms. Dressed in a short sports jacket, he then left the catacombs and entered the Celadon City arcade. As on the lower floors, time was of no consequence. It was unclear whether people were sitting here "again" or "still" trying their luck. Of course, all the machines were rigged. Somehow Team Rocket had to finance itself. Nevertheless, you could hear the one-armed bandits rattling from time to time as a few coins were put back into circulation. When Lexx finally stepped outside the door, it was well past midnight. Much of the city was already asleep and only near the arcade was there still activity. Determined, he walked toward a black van in the parking lot. The drive to Vermilion City shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. He could drive past Saffron City, avoid the downtown traffic, and should be on site by early morning. That would be enough time to check out the location and get ready. After that, he could sleep a little more and should be sufficiently prepared.

With a coffee in hand, the blue-haired man strolled along the Vermilion City pier. The fishing boats from the morning had already been unloaded and Remoraids, Tentacool and Qwilfish were being shifted and further cooled at the dock. There was a bustle of activity and everyone was going about their day's work, so the stranger didn't stand out much. At some point, Lexx carelessly tossed the coffee aside, because with all the smell of fish, it was hard to drink it. The harbor itself was huge, and in addition to the merchant ships from Johto, Unova and Galar, there were also all sorts of private sailing ships. According to the information from Sierra's team, the ship with the Dyna Mushrooms was supposed to arrive at one of the southern piers, and after a few questions to locals, Lexx found said pier. It was quick and easy to get to, easy to see, and there were a few smaller covered areas nearby. These were intended for trading parties in bad weather and could be used by merchants and fishermen alike. From the roofs there was certainly a good view over the area and LightDive could take his observation post there unseen. There were three escape routes for a quick getaway. One led more or less directly into the city, the right one led back to the other piers and way No. 3 led into the forest. Of course, there were a few barriers to overcome. The chances were good and after another hour of observation, the blue-haired man found himself in his small hotel room. It was functional, without much luxury, but a comfortable bed. After making all the necessary preparations, he went to sleep for a few more hours. His advantage over overtired captains.

It was dawn when Lexx got out of his van in his black full-body armor suit and the significant "R" on his chest. He had parked the car in the woods, hoping to escape relatively unnoticed. The other options had too many, potential witnesses and the route through the city held too many unknowns. The blue-haired man once again checked the hold of his equipment. The two belt pouches on the back contained things like a knife, a small breathing apparatus, and a flashlight. His three Pokeballs were secured to his right thigh, and with a simple flick of his wrist, he removed the classic red and white ball and spoke softly to no one in particular, "Your turn, LightDive." A bright light from inside the mirrored ball manifested into a Magneton in no time, and the shrill, metallic sound of the Pokemon announced its joy at being free. The six magnets spun slowly and synchronously on their own axis, and while the three eyes gazed at Lexx, the Steel-Electric Pokemon floated toward its trainer. The Rocket bully, in turn, looked at his Pokemon and then gave clear instructions, "You take up position above the streetlight. Fire a warning shot directly on my signal. After that, fire at your own discretion. Once we have the goods, you secure us and then follow as quickly as possible. Got it?", again that shrill sound followed and LightDive did as he was ordered. The blue eyes briefly followed the trajectory of the steel Pokemon before it disappeared into the darkness of the night. Other bullies were working with Arlo's Crypto program. A mind-altering device that instantly made wild Pokemon docile, regardless of their level. Lexx was against it from the beginning, since the disadvantage of this tool was that a large part of the prisoners only knew the attack Frustration. Natural and understandable, but completely useless in combat. Steelix, Machamp and Magneton accompanied Lexx for a very long time and he was one of the few, successful bullies of Team Rocket. Not least because of his team. Next, he released BulkBrawl from his ball. The Machamp nicknamed BB was just 5'6", but was in no way inferior to his trainer in terms of muscle mass. Its four biceps were covered in thick veins and its broad shoulders made the Pokemon look just as menacing as Lexx. An implied grin accompanied the fist-bump the two exchanged. "As always. Big. Evil. Menacing." A double-biceps pose and a "Macho!" followed, after which the four-armed man took up position behind his trainer. Then there was a wait.

It was late evening, around 10 p.m., when the ship arrived from Galar. It was not a large transport cruiser, it seemed almost like a fishing boat paired with a research vessel. Disembarking after all the ropes were fastened were three people in white coats and the apparent captain. All appeared overtired and were packed with bags, and while the two port employees were still discussing berthing rights, fees and other formalities with the captain, the white coats headed toward the exit that led into the city. The day-bright flash of light that twitched through the night and hit the ground just ahead of the three people immediately made everyone stop moving. "We'll take it from here..." declared Lexx in a threatening, bassy voice as he stepped out of the shadows and was joined by a muscular Machamp who immediately cracked the bones of four fists. "The suitcase with the mushrooms, please, gentlemen," the bully declared curtly, sticking out his hand, "Then we can get this all over with quickly and start the end of the day. A good suggestion, isn't it?" From the reaction of the three people, Lexx could tell a few things. First, that they were scared but not ready for immediate cooperation and second, who owned the mushrooms. The man was estimated to be in his mid-thirties, had a half bald head, was slightly stocky and, according to the blue-haired, pressed his bag conspicuously close to him. "No way!" someone actually dared to say, and the next moment the two dockworkers were on the scene. Brave - Lexx had to admit that to them. A Pelipper and a Poliwrath appeared next to each of the two sailors. Secretly, the bully had hoped for a fight - because he loved it. BulkBrawl intuitively knew what to do and immediately ran at the Poliwrath. The melee attack might be at a disadvantage against an opposing fighting Pokemon, but the muscles and four arms elegantly compensated for that disadvantage. BB's punches were so fast that it seemed as if his arms completely blurred with the darkness around him. The Poliwrath still tried valiantly to fight back, but eventually the storm of fists was too much and after landing a hit, the defense completely collapsed. Lexx's blue eyes fixed on Poliwrath for a moment too long for him to notice the approaching Pelipper in time. After the initial power-boosting Agility, the wings began to glow and the attack Air Slash was imminent. Lexx still tried to dodge it with a jump, but at that moment the water bird Pokemon crashed into a crackling obstacle and fell to the ground unconscious. Magneton's Flame Burst not only defensively caught the impact, but also instantly knocked out the opponent with the electricity it built up. The Steel Pokemon barely noticed the collision itself, and when Lexx was back on his feet, both of his Pokemon positioned themselves next to him. Neither seemed to be really strained by this fight.

"I hate to repeat myself. But I am now taking over the mushrooms. Give them to me and you could move unmolested." Indeed, this brief show of force did not seem to have been enough, for the three explorers still looked frightened, but at the same time defiant. The two sailors attended to their Pokemon, and the captain remained standing quietly with his hands hidden in the pockets of his jacket. Too calm for Lexx's taste.

There was a moment of absolute silence and no one seemed to move. For the bully, this all took too long and he had to leave. He walked threateningly towards the group of three for this reason. "Give it to me," he commanded again, and with his accompaniment of BulkBrawl, it seemed that this threat was finally having an effect. The faces turned pale and the bearer of the goods began to tremble slightly. He started to extend his hand with the bag towards Lexx when the captain's voice rang out. "You don't do that, Eugene!" he thundered authoritatively. "The port police have already been notified and you're outnumbered, Rocket scum. What do you want with the mushrooms anyway?" the old man asked, clearly trying to stall for time.

"Get them," he commanded off his Machamp as he looked at the boatman. „Dynamic Punch," he ordered without really looking, and only the appearance of three bodies signaled to him that BB had taken care of the three people. Lexx had no idea - nor did he care much - if the attack had killed the individuals. He hadn't risen this far within Team Rocket if he had a conscience. The captain's wide eyes, however, allowed conclusions to be drawn.

"I'm not a simple bully who takes kids' pocket money by the wayside, old man," Lexx finished this argument for himself and turned around to the victims. All three were lying on the ground and the wet shiny surface did not allow any conclusions whether it was blood or water. He walked up to the researcher named Eugene and picked up his bag. After a quick look at the contents and confirming that it was the mushrooms, he turned back to the captain.

"Get out of here," he ordered and waited to see how he would react. Of course, he could identify him as a potential witness, but Lexx didn't care. He lived for and with Team Rocket. It wasn't like he could have been arrested while shopping. Speaking of arrests…

Even as the bully's blue eyes glared at the old man, he heard sirens in the distance. The harbor police were there sooner than he thought. The old man had to have a rotom phone. Annoying little beasts. Since escape was too dangerous at this point, he had to somehow take out the lawmen. Then he could make his escape in peace. Maybe it was all very risky, and Lexx was playing the poker too high - but the adrenaline of the fight was still coursing through his blood and probably diminishing objectivity. And who on Cliff's team shied away from a good fight? The boatman took to his heels and disappeared, as did LightDive, retreating back into the shelter of the shadows. BulkBrawl stopped at Lexx and he took his last Pokeball out of its holder.

A short time later, three vehicles turned the corner with squealing tires and the light of the headlights dazzled unpleasantly in the eyes of the bully. Protectively, he put his hand in front of his eyes and he heard rather than saw the police officers get out. "Hands over your head and don't move. Your Pokemon is to return to its ball," came the officers' routine orders.

"Yes... yes... please... it... all... a misunderstanding...", Lexx tried to stammer as intimidated as possible as he raised his arms above his head and with an unnoticeable movement dropped the Pokeball into BB's hand. The Pokemon reacted instantly, catching the ball, whirling around and throwing it far behind its opponents. "Please!!! Don't shoot. He doesn't like... his ball..." It seemed to work and the announcer from a moment ago said, "All right. Two police officers will now come to you and handcuff you. Behave calmly and no tricks." The scraping and squeaking sound of metal on metal in the distance was probably background noise not to be noticed by the policemen at a port with containers, but to Lexx it was the clear sign that his escape plan was in place. As the two cops approached him, guns pointed at him and secured to the car by two other officers, he took a deep breath and tried to harness the adrenaline in his blood. To Lexx, it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion, and while the law enforcement officers were still aiming at him, he shouted loudly, "Protect!" Instantly, in the darkness, Magneton's three eyes glowed and before the bully, hexagons manifested themselves, growing larger, their edges meeting and joining to form an impenetrable shield. At least for a short time - from the beginning of his call, to the annihilation of the police - this should protect him from bullets. As might be expected, the officers fired immediately, but the shield held. "Iron Tail!" roared Lexx again as he took cover behind the shield.

The roar that then filled the port area even made the ground shake slightly. All at once the officers seemed frightened and when they heard the renewed sound of moving metal and in the darkness a black silhouette rising to almost 30 feet high, it was too late. Seconds later, the back of Lexx's Steelix began to glow and the metal-coated skin glowed. The bulky head with the red eyes fixed the policemen calmly until the huge body whirled around its own axis with force and the glowing tail hit the car. The force of the impact coupled with the metallic energy of the attack dealt such a blow to the emergency vehicles that they flew with incomprehensible ease to the wall of the nearest port building. The two officers standing next to the vehicles lay lifeless on the ground, next to the piles of scrap metal from the former cars.

"Get us out of here!", Lexx immediately ordered and Chrome, his Steelix, obeyed. With sinuous movement and an ease one would not have expected from the 30-feet-long and nearly half-ton steel boa, he came at the bully. The two remaining officers could only jump out of the way, looking for help. Without slowing down, the Pokemon continued to move toward the blue-haired man. With a skillful movement, he clung to one of the elongated outgrowths on one side - and BulkBrawl on the other. Barely feeling the weight of the two muscle-bound, Chrome moved on unchanged.

"Flash Cannon as our glorious finale, LightDive!", Lexx gave his last order for the evening. While the other three made a run for it, the Magneton followed briefly, but then paused and the six magnets began to spin on their own axis, accelerating. Through the buildup of momentum and electrical energy, a glaring white sphere formed. The magnets stopped spinning and all at once the concentrated light energy was released in a destructive beam. This hit the boat irreparably and one the leaked tanks of the former police vehicles ignited. Enough distraction for Lexx, Chrome, Bulkbrawl and LightDive.

The fortified wire fence that separated the harbor from the adjacent forest was not really a serious opponent for Steelix. With an unsightly sound, it simply snapped as the broad head made its way through it with all its might. The Pokemon then came to a stop near the car and immediately curled up a bit to regain its balance. Machamp and Lexx now let off and landed back on their feet. LightDive joined the group, hovering for a short time.

"Well done!", Lexx praised his Pokemon and grinned over both cheeks. A successful evening. He got everyone back into their Pokeballs - there was a brand new one for Steelix - and then went into the van. He stowed the mushrooms in the designated box and, after another moment, started the engine. The adrenaline slowly subsided, but the euphoria remained. He had accomplished the mission, clearly demonstrated Team Rocket's point of view, and had a few good fights. A thoroughly satisfying night.

[dxncingwithastrxnger]

BRO I HAD THIS WEIRD DREAM ABOUT POKEMON

I think my brain read that one post about the person dreaming up a wonderful new dog ghost pokemon and was like, "Eh, I can do that"

So from what I can remember, it's a steel type, but it can also turn invisible. I think we called it "Alpha" or something like that. I kept trying to catch it but it was extremely difficult to do so. It was tall, kinda looked like a dog/dinosaur type thing, and it was floating as well. Maybe it was steel/psychic, I don't know, lmao

It had metal plating all over except this one space in the back that was this full rectangle right in the middle of its back going short end to short end from the right of its back to the left of its back. Most of it was shiny and gray, the rectangle spot was like cerulean blue and the eyes of the pokemon were navy blue. That's all I can really remember of it, tbh. Enjoy tumblr world, lmao

[maryellencarter]

so on friday a friend gave me pokemon scarlet and i've been playing it between customers... i'm having fun but it's pretty confusing trying to figure out what pokemon are worth keeping/leveling.

there's a blue graph and a yellow graph and neither one tells me what they're measuring, and as this is my first pokemon game other than pokemon go (which did not have these graphs, or if it did i missed them when i was playing), i have no fucking idea what's going on. i've been going by the sort of yellow-gray graph that has a little bright yellow hexagon in the middle, because that's the only one that shows me differences big enough to see, but then I leveled up a Magikarp to Gyarados and its yellow-gray hexagon totally changed shape and size, so now I have no fucking idea which graph tells me "this pokemon has the best potential" or whatever like the three-star ones in Pokemon Go.

...I don't want to hit the endgame and find out that all my pokeymans are fucking useless because I didn't know what to look at (which is what happened in Pokemon Go because I did most of my leveling before any of the good appraisal tools were introduced, and also I could never attend Community Days due to my work schedule, and didn't have any local friends to raid with).

[snrld]

FIRST MEETINGS MEME

a   meme   for   first   meetings   and   introduction   threads,   aka   a   “what   you   will   notice   about   my   muse   first”   cheat   sheet.   repost,   don’t   reblog.   bold   what   applies.   fill   in   details.

GENERAL   APPEARANCE

Gender:  Masculine. Feminine. Non-Binary.  Notes:  While identifying as male, he's open to a more androgynous expression every now & then.

Complexion:  This man is very pale, with a splash of faint freckles on his face, shoulders, etc.

Height: 6'2"

Body Type:  Endomorph.   Mesomorph.   Ectomorph.   Other   /   More   Details:

Body Build:  Small. Medium. Large. Athletic. Slender. Muscular. Soft. Curvy.  Voluptuous. Other   /   More   Details:

Body Hair:  None.   Shaves/Waxes.   Trims/Grooms.   Untamed.  

Color:  Black    

Head Hair:  None. Buzzed. Short. Medium. Long. Very Long.  

Color: Naturally black, typically segments dyed white. But will occasionally switch up the color & dye style.

Style: Reaches his hips when it’s all the way down. However, is usually tied in three ponytails with a bit left out to hang in his face, covering his left eye. But will also tie it into a single ponytail, braid it in one long braid, or just leave it down. Thick, shaggy & unkempt, lots of stray hairs/curls sticking out. Yet soft to the touch & fluffy. Curls out at the ends.

Eyes: Icy blue. Dark, thick eyebrows & long lashes. Almost always uses makeup to conceal the dark circles below his eyes due to sleep-deprivation.

Scars:  The most prominent & oldest being a series of lines starting at his chest & extending to his stomach (given by his dad’s Heracross). Others being just here & there scars from street fights when he was a teen, ranging in size.

FASHION

Fashion Style:   Vintage. Traditional. Casual. Artsy. Vibrant. Geeky/Nerdy. Tomboy. Sporty. Trendy. Preppy. Girly. Bohemian. Elegant. Formal. Grunge. Punk. Rocker. Gothic.  

Color Palette: Black, white, silver, hot pink, dark purple, dark gray, rose gold, neon blue.

Piercings:  Black nosering, with pierced ears usually having earrings or studs there.

Tattoos:  A line of various music notes going down his lower arms, two large x’s on the sides of his shoulders, a medium-sized Dark Type symbol above his right hip, & an Obstruct symbol going across his upper back.

EXPRESSION

General Facial Expression: A frown or otherwise neutral expression. Even though he knows that doesn’t make him all that approachable, but it’s just what his face defaults to.

General Movements: Fidgeting with his choker’s pendant or any other jewellery he has on, tapping his foot on the ground/floor, twirling his hair between his fingers.

NOTABLE   FOR   RP

Presence: Despite trying not to draw much attention to himself, he somehow does regardless, what with his hair and choice of outfit. Not to mention his height causing him to cast shadows over whomever he’s standing around some of the time. He knows he intimidating he can look, and most of the time, he plays into it, using it to ward off any reporters or those wanting to cause trouble. Most often, though, it’s others suspecting him of causing aforementioned trouble. Due to his often dour (misread as shifty) expression and reputation for training an undesired Type and being the leader of a chaotic team. As well as his openly voicing his opposite to the majority opinions regarding the Pokemon League & its leadership. Darkening a doorway, or wherever spot he’s standing, tends to be common way for him to be viewed by those outside Spikemuth. Or at least he views it that way.

Appearance: Tall with a slender body that’s typically slouched over a bit, knees bent. Arms have some visible defined muscle with thin hands & long fingers typically adorned with silver and/or rose gold rings. Legs have decent strength to them as well.

Scent: Leather, accompanied by an odd coming from him of all people yet pleasant floral/fruity scent from the body washes & shampoos he uses.

Voice Description:  Deep, raspy, rough. Easily described as baritone when it comes to singing.

Accent:  yes / no.  More information: Thick Galarian (British/Cockney) accent.

[adobe-outdesign]

Your thoughts on Tauros (both Kantonian and Paldean)?

From the beginning, Tauros has primarily just been one of those Pokemon that Exist. There's nothing objectively wrong with it, but there's not a whole lot to make it stand out; it's mostly just a bull. Being a non-evolving normal type doesn't help with this, as it's not really gimmick-y enough to stand out as a single-stager. The closest thing to a concept it has is the three tails, which it whips itself with while running:

Even then, though, the three tails aren't really emphasized visually in a way that makes them particularly stand out. It also has metallic-looking horns and three dots down its forehead, which I guess are meant to parallel the three tails. (Side note: missed opportunity to not give us a normal/steel-type Tauros.)

All that said, there's nothing really wrong with Tauros, other than the mane looking weirdly flat and the tails and hooves being a blueish-grey instead of just using the grey from the horns. It just doesn't stand out a whole lot.

The artists working on the new Paldean 'mons must have agreed, because SV gives us not one, but three (3) new regional forms for it. I'm not sure what the rational was beyond maybe wanting to give it a form for each tail, but either way, Tauros definitely needed the love.

That said, Combat Breed Tauros here is pointless and I really don't know why it exists. As a regional, it's just a black Tauros; the mane has been improved and the head and horn shape are ever-so-slightly different, but those changes are barely noticeable. And in the context of the other two forms, it's redundant; the combat form is literally just a watered-down version of its other two much better forms. What's the point of having a form that's the same as the other forms, but less?

I will say, though, that I do at least appreciate that there's not really any bullfighting references in this or the other two designs, beyond them just being fighting-type black bulls. Considering bullfighting is more than slightly controversial in Spain and is general animal abuse (that kills a fair amount of people as well), trying to base anything directly on it would be tasteless. This may be boring, but at least it's a harmless boring.

Aqua Breed Tauros is significantly better than both original and Combat Breed Tauros. It still sports the black coloration (which, as a side note, does look a lot nicer than original Tauros' plain browns and grays), but it actually plays around with the design in a meaningful way.

The most obvious change is the blue water drop-shaped markings in its mane, which indicate its fighting/water typing. These add a little pop of color, and frankly, I wouldn't have minded more of it in the design; the horns, head dots, or hooves all easily could have been blue as well.

It also changes Tauros body type a bit, more closely resembling a water buffalo than a bull. According to the 'dex, this is a result of high body fat that allows it to float on water. The mane also sports a different shape, as do the horns (which can light up blue along with the head dots).

Finally, the tails are different. For some reason it's not shown in the official art, but they tend to hold them twisted up, like rudders:

While I personally prefer Blaze Bleed Tauros for reasons I'll get into in a second, the Aqua Breed is a very nice regional that looks substantially different from the original design, and adds more of a theme to it as well.

Blaze Breed Tauros is similar to Aqua Breed Tauros, though with a less distinct body shape and horns. Arguably this makes it a little blander than the Aqua Breed, but what it lacks in body shape it makes up for in concept.

Blaze Breed Tauros is, unsurprisingly, part fire-type; so in order to represent that, they just took Tauros' three tails and twisted them together to form a dynamite fuse. Boom. Simple, effective, and fun. The Aqua Breed's tails weren't bad, but they felt a bit more forced and didn't read as immediately.

In addition, the mane on this breed goes upward, and contains fiery streaks. The horns go outward instead of upward, and just like the Aqua Breed, they light up along with the head dots:

I feel like the light-up idea makes more sense with the Blaze Breed, as it's akin to hot metal flaring up and becoming red with head. The Aqua Breed just kind of lights up Because. Though just like the Aqua Breed, I find myself wanting more color in the design by default. The tails in particular would've been great if they had red tips for this breed, as if the dynamite had been lit already.

Basically, in short: original Tauros is fine, but bland and fairly forgettable; likewise, the Combat Breed is just a recolor and didn't need to exist. The Aqua and Blaze Breeds, however, are both very good regionals; both change up Tauros' original design while adding something thematically to spice up the concepts. Whichever breed you personally prefer, both are significant improvements over the original.

[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

What’s a TV show you’ve gotten into recently? OH MY FUCKING GOD! THE UMBRELLA  ACADEMY! I can’t even put into words how obsessed I am with it and I need season 4 like NOW!

Do you have a hard time remembering your dreams? most of the time yeah, I will for the first few minutes of waking up from them but if I try to remember details after that it’s all a blur

Have you ever or are you on any type of anti-depressant? both been on and am currently. most of the ones in the past ended up making things worse, one of which damn near ended in suicide so...yeah Have you ever seen the movie Jennifer’s body? I know of it but no and never wanted to What was the last thing you painted? I don’t paint, wish I knew how to

What’s your favorite 90s song? .....seriously? we’ll be here all day lol Donuts or muffins? meh not a big fan of either What’s something you’ve been thinking about? more like what am I not thinking about constantly...? Do you or anyone you know have asthma? I don’t, and as far as I know no one I know does given I’ve never seen anyone with an inhaler but who knows What time is it currently? 7:55am Do you ever stay up late to see the moon at its peak? not for that but I have seen it several times at that time What does your phone case look like? gray and glittery 

Are you doing alright today? meh  What’s your favorite fizzy drink? any soda really Have you ever written a song? plenty of em yeah, just been in a writer’s block really bad for the last few years but I’ll get back to it eventually I’m sure...god knows I’ve got plenty of material right now :/ When did you last pump gas? ....before I totaled my car so mid March... Do you own a gun? no but my fiance owns a few so they’re in the house Do you like milk in your coffee or tea? I don’t drink tea so yeah coffee for sure although I’ll drink it black no problem too Do you have a lazy eye? no Is your room normally messy or tidy? messy Do you enjoy windy days? if it’s a cool breeze to cool me down yeah Do you experience second hand embarrassment? sometimes What makes you feel confident? not a damn thing What’s your self care routine? I don’t have one What would you define as “heartbreak weather”? thunder/lightning (especially since I have a phobia of thunder) and rain together Do you have a flower bed or flowers planted around your place of residence? no What was the last thing you said out loud? I’m singing to music so lyrics lol What’s the last thing you remembered that you had recently forgotten? my appointment this Sunday for my second Covid vaccination What color is your shirt? black Do you have any regrets from this past week? yep, usually do  What scents do you currently smell? smoke from my cig What’s your favorite favorite chip/crisps? oh lord I’m a chip freak lol so pretty much most of them What’s your favorite snacks? look above I’ll snack on pretty much anything and got too many faves to list Have you ever experienced vertigo? all the time, pretty much anytime I’m on my feet for more than a few minutes and nowhere to be able to sit for awhile in between What apps do you use the most on your phone? Facebook, Pokemon Go, Candy Crush, Doordash, Youtube Who is someone you find to be pretty? my stepsister What’s the heaviest weight you’ve ever lifted? probably a box during one of many many moves but not sure of the exact weight it was What color is the current object you’re sitting on? it’s a gray/blue plaid couch Do you enjoy coloring books still? hell yeah I’d kill for one right now actually

[catgirltoofies]

the time has come for me to create a dragon. usual OC nonsense warnings apply. this is also a pretty long one.

true dragon form

so this is obviously extremely different from the norm, and dragons themselves are extremely varied. most of my dragon-knowledge comes from d&d, but I'm going to pull generally from all kinds of fantasy dragons, so don't expect me to stick rigidly to the d&d ruleset, or even loosely. I'm going to have three sort of sub-facets, just so i can adapt everything a little better. taking from Pokemon, I'm going to call these forms. so let's get started.

EDIT: this post is being updated with a link to the default Candy

the primary form of dragon facet candy, and the default I'll refer to as "dragon facet". this is your very traditional European dragon with four legs and a pair of wings.

as dragons go, true dragon Candy is relatively small - but still significantly larger than humanoids. her torso is about a dozen feet in length, with an eight-foot neck and a twenty foot whiplike tail. she's generally slender and lithe, with greater concern for movement than muscle. (she remains substantially stronger than most humanoids, but as dragons go she's below-average in terms of physical strength) she has a 30-foot wingspan, with each wing reaching 14 to 15 feet when fully extended. these wings are pretty substantial in coverage, giving her huge lift, allowing her to lazily fly high in the sky. uniquely, she has a sort of in-built roller that allows her to tighten and sweep the wings, generating less lift, but massively improving midair control, allowing her to quickly switch between lazy gliding and intense high-speed and high-maneuverability flight. her body has slight indents behind her legs, allowing her to fold them in and increase aerodynamics.

her coat of scales is a deep royal purple, fading to dark blue-gray on her belly and wings. "accessories", such as horns, claws, and so on, are all dark gray with bright yellow tips. her teeth do not have yellow tips. her head is adorned with two curling horns, spiraling from the sides of her head around ¾ of a turn before ending in points. her teeth are kept at a full inch long and wicked sharp, excepting two fangs at the front, which grow like saber teeth to a length of three inches. her claws, five to a hand, are kept sharpened at all times. her tail is entirely smooth along its length, and if somehow cut off, will grow back fully within a week, depending on how much was removed. her eyes are pure yellow. each wing has two claws, which can be used as extremely inefficient manipulators, but are better than nothing if her other hands are full.

she has control over lightning and wind. similar to her other facets, this lightning is not accompanied by thunder, allowing her to be extremely stealthy with her lightning attacks. her control over wind allows her to fly even lazier, or if her wings are damaged beyond flight, she can bring herself out of a crash landing. she prefers to magically manifest lightning, but in a pinch, is fully capable of exhaling lightning bolts. unfortunately, because this is a separate type of magic, she can't silence the thunder, so she uses her breath weapon only as a last resort. sometimes this means she's bullied for not having a breath attack (something most dragons are very proud of having)

as dragons tend to be, true dragon Candy is lazy, prideful, and aloof. she generally sees little reason to converse with the lesser species (particularly humans), so she generally keeps to herself. of course, if others seek her out, she'll indulge them for as long as they're interesting, but the moment she gets bored she's liable to simply fly off without a word. she isn't violent, but if she's insulted by someone (she sees as) less powerful than her, she will fight back with no mercy. insulting her also isn't easy; it generally takes many repeated presses of very specific buttons to set her off, and usually she'll simply fly off before it gets to that point.

wyvern form

this form is generally more feral than true dragon form, and has a different body shape. she has two legs and two wings and is smaller. she has a six foot torso, three foot neck, and ten foot tail. her wingspan is fourteen feet, making each wing 6-7 feet each. she lacks the sophisticated roller in her wings, instead they're always swept back into "combat mode". she remains rather slender, but is relatively more muscular than true dragon form.

her coloration remain unchanged, but her teeth are all fully yellow and she has no saber teeth. in addition, she now has venom, with each tooth and claw secreting a thin yellow fluid. the venom is relatively weak, enough just to weaken and slow victims, but it's also extremely conductive to electricity, making victims much more likely to get hit by her lightning abilities. being more feral, she no longer fears thunder as much, and makes extensive use of her lightning breath, often spreading splats of venom as she exhales, creating a wide shotgun blast of lightning accompanied by a concussive blast of thunder. she's still frightened by this, so every time she uses this attack, she reflexively leaps back and takes flight. in addition, she now has three claws to a wing, and each is much more dexterous.

she's much more feral, but still capable of reasoning. she never speaks to lesser species, even if they seek her out, instead simply flying off or attacking. she can be bribed to listen with offerings of food - particularly with large quantities of sweets - but she will rarely respond with words.

humanoid form

this is more for settings that require a more dragon-born type of design, where she's fully humanoid but has draconic traits.

she stands at her default height. her horns are reduced in relative size, with less curling. her wingspan (when she's allowed wings) is eight feet, and her wings resemble those of her wyvern form, with no rollers and always set into "combat mode". her claws and teeth are now retractable, and fully yellow. her eyes are fully yellow, but with thin bluish purple reptilian slit-shaped pupils.

she maintains skill with lightning and wind magic, and maintains the thunderous breath, resulting in a preference to using her magic instead. she can also choose to secrete her wyvern form's venom, though only through her teeth.

she maintains the deep-purple-blue scales, and takes great pride in their beauty.

as personality goes, she's notably more haughty than her default, but not nearly so prideful or lazy as her true dragon form. she also sees no issue speaking to creatures she would otherwise consider lesser.