Pokemon Gijinka: The Fallen God [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Also when do I go back to normal?"

 

"Shouldn't be too long. Also, it was quite nice, perhaps I should do it again later. You really are quite strong, aren't you?"

 

Teasing Scarlet a bit, Tianzi then went to help Taiga move around the area. The apes were of course the primary concern here, but she noticed the presence of the water source there. Tianzi felt that it would be best for them to restock their water source while the opportunity presented itself. He went towards the water source and started to fill the canteens on the group's backpack. Once that was done, he touched the water for a moment as he considered something, and the next moment he slipped inside of the pool as carefully as possible. Tianzi felt like he needed a good soak after days of not having it, and the blood stain on her clothing was starting to feel really terrible too. And well, he was sure he's small enough to not cause too much noise while he's doing that to avoid waking up the apes.

 

With an inviting look, he turned his gaze towards the rest of the group, looking like he was inviting them to rest and have a soak there for a moment.

 

---

[Hakima]

---

Sebastian raised his hands, palm forward, in a gesture of apology. "I did not mean to intrude, of course, you are my guest and it would be no good to insult. I will however offer any assistance if you desire it. Wishes should always be granted, after all." There was a brief, wistful, look to his expression before it changed and he clapped his hands together. "But enough of that, shall we go inside and have ourselves some food? Unless you have somewhere else to be, of course."

 

Brooke shifted slightly, but she didn’t make any move to step forward. There was a new scent, one that she didn’t recognize but seemed familiar all the same. Dragon-type… Skuldafn. The smell of the holier-than-thou, racist city clung to whoever was approaching like a second skin, and Brooke had dealt with enough natives to recognize it. Just the thought of the place was cause enough to get her to flex her shoulders and roll her nick, shaking out the stiffness, as if warming up for a fight.

 

“C’mere, Dora,” Brooke said softly, corralling the little Wooper to stand beside her. If she tried to move away, Brooke would keep a firm hold on her. Skuldafn natives usually meant nothing good, and their attitude wasn’t something the Emboar wanted Dora exposed to.

 

"I trust you are done with your business for the day? I was worried that you had left without saying goodbye; I wouldn't want a guest to feel the need to sneak away after all. But welcome back, Kah." Sebastian welcomed the newcomer as she rounded the corner, holding a bag full of groceries.

 

"Thanks." Holding up the brown bag hanging from her hand, the Hydreigon stated "I went to get some ingredients. Figured I could try making something."

 

Nodding her head toward the others who were gathered at Sebastian's place, Kah asked "Who are your new guests?"

 

Brooke gave the newcomer a subtle once-over, sizing her up. Something about the Hydreigon… Brooke wasn’t sure what it was, but she instinctively didn’t trust her, and her instincts were how she made it as a merchant and a street rat. “My name’s Brooke,” she said, slipping into her merchant’s face with ease, “and this is Dora, my little girl. I’m a merchant from Deku, or, well, was, before it was destroyed. It’s nice to meet you.” Brooke stepped forward and extended a hand for Kah to shake; if she did, the Hydreigon would notice her hands were surprisingly calloused for a merchant, and her grip surprisingly firm for one so short.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Team Mac, Day 20, The Road to Weynon

 

As Ari charged through the Bubbles, with his Headbutt, the attack would pop against him. Due to the attacks meeting each other it didn't do as much as it normally would but he would be damaged by the Water attack nonetheless. He hit the Lombre with his head and the Gijinka grunted and fell over, holding his stomach with one hand. Angrily it spit out more Bubbles directly at the Litleo.

 

Kazo would take significantly less damage from the bubbles. However he would feel himself slowed by them. The Dragonbreath hit the attacker and they shuddered a bit as they braced themselves to keep from being tripped up. He looked up at Kazo and suddenly surged forward with a ghostly aura, ramming into Kazo for slight damage and causing the Gabite to flinch, allowing for the Lombre to begin using Fury Swipes.

 

Mac, meanwhile, cocked her fist back, which was crackling with electricity, and headed for the Scoliopede. She seemed confident, especially as the others had clearly left the strongest for her, but she stopped in her tracks as the Scolipede let loose a horrid Screech.

 

The opponent then attacked, her tail extending and glowing purple as she swung around and struck Mac with it. The attack, combined with the Screech, did quite a lot of damage to the young girl.

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Day 28, Mioter

 

It seemed that everyone, besides Fawkes who was talking to Fi, was paying attention to the newcomer. Dora, too, wanted to go greet the new friend. Before she could run up to the woman and introduce herself and ask her who she was and if she wanted to be her friend...Brooke stopped her. She kept a hold of the wriggling child even as she went to introduce herself to Kah.

 

Sebastian chuckled as he saw Brooke go up to the Hydreigon. She was a bold one, that was for sure. "As she says, that's Brooke and Dora. The other little one is Fawkes, and this lovely one here is Easter." He looked at the Sylveon with curiosity. Kah's home was notorious for disliking Easter's kind, he couldn't help but wonder how this would go. "They have another, Denku, but I believe he is off looking for his brother or something of that sort."

 

Dora looked up at Kah. "Brooke is a smart cookie. Brooke doesn't want me to get close to you. Are you a bad person?" She asked bluntly but with total innocence.

 

If they were to go into the house they would find it spotless, everything in its place, and the dining area would prove to have a large, low, table that they would have to sit on mats on the floor around to eat. A servant would bring them whatever food they required, and they would be allowed to make their own food.

----
"Ah, sorry sir, I didn't mean to give you the impression she was in trouble," He said. "My girl, the little Zoura from eariler, lost something precious to her, a gold coin she got from her Grandma. I've been retracing our steps in order to find it... and I thought it would be a good idea to ask her," He motioned to the Skitty, "If she saw anything. She was about to write out her name, so at least my girls knew the name of the child they played with."

 

"Those children are not yours." The Torkoal said bluntly. He was staring into Denku's eyes and the Pupitar would see a combination of pain and wisdom in those eyes. "I do not appreciate being lied to. Whatever you seek here is not here. Mai, come along, with me now."

The Skitty looked between Torkoal, then Denku, and seemed to be bothered by something. She looked up at the Pupitar and grabbed his hand. He suddenly would feel confusion, concern, concern for...him.

---

Team Alola, Day 7, Northshore

 

Getting to her feet, Allie was breathing heavily. Her body wasn't holding up well. However, neither were her opponents. She could still win this, she just had to wager it all on this attack.

 

The stones were falling still, though at a lesser rate, upon the group. She clenched her hands into fists and bit her lip in frustration. Glaring at the group she raised a foot and slammed it down. A powerful quake, seemingly stronger than the previous, raced towards them all. Including Moltres, who was currently grounded and unable to raise to the sky.

---

Team Karaoke, Day 20, Adarid Library

 

"M-maybe there's something else around here! I mean, the fire didn't seem to have gotten in here..."

Fiona shook her head. There wouldn't be anything else. She didn't HAVE anything else..this was all she owned in the world now...

"This whole time, I was afraid of getting in between you and...But you've been... this whole time...I'm... sorry."

 

The last words seemed to get Fiona's attention and she looked at the young man. What were these people doing here? Why did they follow? She went out of the way, went somewhere they didn't want to go, and they had no reason for wanting to follow. She sniffed and covered her face with a hand. "It's okay." She said finally. "I just needed...something. I don't know." She got back up and looked around. "It's smaller than I thought. Everything seemed so much bigger before..." She looked over at the other two. "Grab what you want, I don't care, it's not mine. It's not...anyone's, anymore." She looked at Lok. "I'm just...tired."

 

Gwen watched the exchange and, when given permission, her eyes wandered to the shelves. Perhaps there would be something in here that could lead them to...wherever they were intending to go. She felt so aimless, it was rather uncomfortable. Looking through the notes she realized they were organized quite clearly. She grabbed one of them, a small stack of papers, with a name that had caught her eye. Something about these particular papers made her feel...odd.

 

"Hey, Nine, why don't you check those." She waved at the TMs. "Maybe there's something useful." While he looked in the direction she indicated she slipped the papers into her bag. She...wasn't sure why. It just felt like the correct thing to do.

---

Team Showdown, Day 27, Icecrown

 

Isole gave Tianzi the most "what is wrong with you?" look possible as the Xatu went into the water. Taiga seemed to be having trouble moving, so Isole looked at Scarlet. She seemed to be the designated Taiga carriage so it seemed logical that she should be the one to help Taiga move.

 

The apes near the water stirred a bit as Tianzi went into the water but they had been careful enough to avoid waking them. Isole realized that, due to both sides of the water having apes nearby, her best bet to get to the other side would be to simply levitate over the water. The others couldn't do this, obviously, so they would have to figure out another way to get across silently.

 

They didn't have much time left it seemed before the apes awoke, especially as the sun was rising high enough to begin to cast its light across the area.

 

As long as they did this, though, they'd be able to get around to the other side, towards what would seem to be a path into the mountains once more, safely. However if they weren't careful they would wake one of the apes. And once one woke it wouldn't be long before they all woke.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

Randy glanced at Moltres, who was currently grounded right now after that assault. She seemed like she was running on fumes right now. He began to grit his teeth, before turning to see Allie getting to her feet again. Though now, now she looked a lot worse for ware. Unfortunately for them...she wasn't quitting yet.

 

While the stones kept falling, the Incineroar watched as the Tyranitar slammed her foot down on the ground. His eyes began to widen when he saw what was occurring now: an Earthquake, and it was racing towards them at an alarming rate.

 

sheet...sheet! Randy said, before quickly turning to Keanu. "Get Marie and get the hell out of the path of that Earthquake!" he said sternly to the Pikachu, before glancing over at Moltres. "I'll get her." Without much else to say, Randy ran away from where he stood, noticing Keanu taking off in a hurry. He on the other hand, reached where Moltres was and started to try and grab her...unfortunately...

 

"No! Get your hands off me and fight her! We aren't running!" Moltres shouted, struggling to move away from Randy.

 

Randy only let out a small growl. "With all due respect, Moltres, you are in no condition to do anything right now." he said, grabbing her and starting to pick her up. "Now, shut up and quit struggling. Otherwise, Allie's Earthquake is going to hit you!"

 

All the while, Moltres continued to struggle in the Incineroar's arms, but he ignored her. Holding her with a firm grip, Randy started running away from the Earthquake to get himself and Moltres to safety, along with Marie and Keanu who were no doubt, running away still.

[Yui]

---

Location: (Day 28)

Poké: 290

Inventory: Poke Puff Bag (empty), Berry Case (empty)

“My name’s Brooke, and this is Dora, my little girl. I’m a merchant from Deku, or, well, was, before it was destroyed. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

"A pleasure." Destroyed? I'll have to ask about that at some point. Not every day an entire city gets destroyed.

 

"As she says, that's Brooke and Dora. The other little one is Fawkes, and this lovely one here is Easter."

 

Kah looked over each of the people as Sebastian introduced them. She got nothing more than a small, hesitant wave out of the Zorua, and then her attention went to the Sylveon. Fairy-types. Great. Sure, Kah had been working on that whole "expand your horizons" thing since her brief adventures with Mac & co, but she couldn't find it in her to unironically enjoy the presence of a fairy-type. Last time she dealt with a fairy-type was with Ankou. Kah took a brief moment to shake off the memory of that sudden kiss that nearly killed her.

 

"They have another, Denku, but I believe he is off looking for his brother or something of that sort."

 

"Seems everyone's looking for someone these days." Wouldn't be the first time I met someone looking for their brother. Hopefully, things work out for both of them.

 

And then Kah was hit with even more words and questions. For having just met everyone, she sure was popular right now. It made her wonder if any of these people had actually met a dragon-type before.

 

"Brooke is a smart cookie. Brooke doesn't want me to get close to you. Are you a bad person?"

 

I've been wondering the same thing lately. "Of course not," she answered. "Sebastian is a very nice man and a great judge of character. If someone was up to some bad stuff, do you really think he'd let them stay in town, much less in his own house? I'm just a Chaser who's come a long way from home is all."

[👀 REP 👀]

Adarid Team Karaoke

 
"It's okay." After what felt like a while she finally responded, her face covered by her hand. "I just needed...something. I don't know." Lok nodded as she stood up from the bed. He stood up next to her. "It's smaller than I thought. Everything seemed so much bigger before..." She looked over at the other two. "Grab what you want, I don't care, it's not mine. It's not...anyone's, anymore." She looked at Lok. "I'm just...tired."

 

Lok nodded his head, getting up. This had been a rather... strange day, to say the least. He wasn't quite sure where he stood with the girl, nor was he fully sure how she stood with him. He could sympathize with her statement though - they had been through a lot today. "We should rest." He said quietly, before turning back to the others. As he turned around, he saw Gwen putting a sheet of paper in her bag. He didn't think much of it, however; Fiona had just told them to take whatever they wanted. He turned to the wall of papers, then turning to the TMs. None of it really mattered to him, at least not at the moment. He wanted to rest moreso than anything. He let out a yawn as the others did whatever they did.

 

---

 

Icecrown Team Showdown

 

"Shouldn't be too long. Also, it was quite nice, perhaps I should do it again later. You really are quite strong, aren't you?" Scarlet glared at the Xatu. However, as he finished speaking she could slowly feel her strength coming back to her. Her pincers went from weighing her down to the near weightless weapons they were before. He turned back to Tianzi, who was now sitting inside a pool of water. Feeling her strength back to her, she turned back to Taiga. As the shark had hissed earlier, she would need help moving around. 

 

Scarlet walked up to Taiga and picked her up, before turning to their destination. They still had to find a way to tread past the apes, and quickly too. Some of the apes seemed like they would wake up soon, and if one of the woke up...

 

She turned to Tianzi, gesturing them to get out of the water. Isole could easily levitate over the water, which was unfortunately not an option for the others. Scarlet could probably get through this easily, even with Taiga in her arms. She would have to leave Tianzi on their own, however, to think of a way to cross, as she would probably not have enough time to make it across and then back to pick them up. She took a deep breath, hoping that the Xatu had a way to cross as she started her movements.

 

She jumped high and far with a dash, before landing on the outskirts of the pool. Using her wings, she slowed down her descent enough to silence it. It was a bit exhausting to do this with Taiga in her arms, but not impossible. If none of the apes were awoken by her technique, she would continue to quietly leap forward. Her teeth were clenched tightly as she did so. 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Team Showdown - Icecrown

 

It seemed as if everyone and their mother had a decent way of traversing the pool of water as silently as possible.  However, in her condition, Taiga would surely make a splash in the pool that would definitely wake up all of those sleeping apes in the grass.  Her bum leg was really starting to irritate her, and her anger had almost gotten the better of her.  She really wanted to yell and pound the ground, but that was obviously not an option at the moment.  She chewed on her lip, but was suddenly whisked off her butt by Scarlet once again.  Taiga clasped her hands over her mouth, to make sure no weird sounds erupted from her.  With her strange new position, she looked up at the Gijinka carrying her.  She glared at Scarlet, as if saying, "At least give a girl a warning" with her eyes.  

 

Taiga scrunched herself up, as Scarlet leaped across the pool, descending slowly with the calm sound of her wings.  It had been the first time she had seen Scarlet even use her wings in an attempt to fly, or hover...or whatever she was trying to do.  So, those little things were actually good for something after all?  And here Taiga thought that they were just a display.  

[Sethera]

 

Ari winced and fell back from the Bubble attack, though he had been protected by another one from Kazo, at least. He wasn't very strong, and these hurt! Quite a lot, actually... Shaking his head, the Litleo lowered his head for another Headbutt. This was about all he could do at the moment. Just keep hitting over and over again.

 

--

 

 

"W-Well... how many? What should I do with them?"

 

Fi was about to answer when Kah's arrival distracted her. Then, while they were talking, she responded. "What you do with them is up to you," her words were solemn, "I do not tell people where to go, I just show them the way. There are paths that lead to safety, others to victory, and even more to danger."

 

At her side, Easter had stiffened as soon as he saw the newcomer. A Hydreigon! They were the pinnacle of dark and dragon types, the combination of the two, the ultimate prey! He shook slightly, overcome with emotion and desire. Desire for destruction. His senses zeroed in on her with a dizzying intensity. She looks strong. Good. I don't like weak victims, after all.

 

“My name’s Brooke, and this is Dora, my little girl. I’m a merchant from Deku, or, well, was, before it was destroyed. It’s nice to meet you.” Brooke's words were the only thing that kept him from leaping at her there and then. They reminded him that this...was a social situation. He briefly considered attacking anyway, but he didn't know the strength of the Gallade nearby, Brooke would most certainly try to stop him, and the children...might get hurt. Damn it!

 

The others continued to converse while the Sylveon tried not to let his natural inclination to attack take over. He managed to recover by the time Kah had responded to Dora.

 

"Of course not," she answered. Of course not what? "Sebastian is a very nice man and a great judge of character. If someone was up to some bad stuff, do you really think he'd let them stay in town, much less in his own house? I'm just a Chaser who's come a long way from home is all."

 

"Nice to meet you," Easter responded, only just remembering the "innocent housewife" persona he had going on. "As Sebastian said, I'm called Easter. You said you're a Chaser?" he blinked innocently. "That's pretty dangerous. How's that been going for you?" his face held a mixture of fear and awe, before he seemed to "recover himself." "Oh my, excuse me, barraging you with all these questions," he blushed. "I was just ever so curious. But really, what do you think Brooke? Do you want to go inside?"

 

--

 

 

Keanu briefly despaired at the fact that yet another Earthquake was heading toward them. Randy, on the other hand, was quicker on the draw. "Get Marie and get the hell out of the path of that Earthquake!"

 

"What about you?" the electric type asked, but quieted when he saw the suicidal tiger racing for Moltres. More like a face than a heel, he thought with a touch of asperity, before scooping up Marie and speeding it out of there, leaving yet another Substitute to face the wrath of "Allie's" Earthquake.

 

He didn't have the breath to reassure Marie at the moment, not that he had the serenity or mental fortitude to do any such thing at the moment. All that mattered to him was to get out of the immediate attack, and then maybe go from there.

[Alaina]

 

Marie merely stood still as the godsayler smashed the ground with her fist. Even without being hit by it, she could feel the frightening power behind the attack from just looking, and had no idea what to do. As such, she merely stared wide-eyed and worried, until she was scooped away into the arms of Keanu. While she suddenly felt the rush of the air around her from the pikachu's speed, the girl started to look around to see if Randy and Moltres were safe as well, growing even more worried for the two as they left immediate area. 

 

 

As the talk between Fiona and Lok seemed to come to an end, Nine was more than happy to take the drapion up on her offer to check the collection of TMs and papers out. As both Nine and Gwendoline had made their way over to the set, the houndoom's attentions was then turned to the TMs as Gwendoline recommended he check it out saying, "sure thing." Walking over to the stack, he noticed that there were a quite few within them, and while most of them weren't exactly usable by him, he noticed one in particular. Pulling out the TM for Dark Pulse, the boy spun the disk around, please with the attack he had found. Walking back to Gwendoline he said, "hey, maybe you should check those out over there, could be something neat for you." As the mismagius had been checking the papers out while he had looked towards the TMs, merely asking, "so, find anything interesting?" With a quick look to the papers at the top of the stack, he noticed they said something about five legendaries. Four of which they had already met; Victini, Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit. The last one, however, was one they had yet to; Hoopa. 

 

Nine was certain that these papers had a good amount of info or insight to give that he either didn't think of wouldn't have been privy to otherwise. As such, were his female ghost companion fine with it, he would merely stow the papers away for later reference, and afterwards, focus on finding a place to rest for the night. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Tianzi ignored Isole's glare of displeasure at her and continued to wash himself. How dirty he was at the time made him relive the bad times that had passed, and he'd rather not have those memories occupy his mind right now. Scarlet later looked like she asked Tianzi to get out, and Tianzi answered her by nodding and giving a hand signal that he'd finish his business soon. And so, he watched as the other three went over the watering hole, and while he was sure that the three had went through the obstacle, Tianzi pulled down his clothing and started to wash his scar-covered skin. He was a bit rushing at it as doing it for too long would attract curiosity from the other three and he'd rather not be seen like this, and once he was done, he grabbed the supply bag and casted his second Teleport of the day, bringing him next to the others, though his clothes were still in a quite disheveled state due to him being in a hurry.

 

"Alright, I guess we can continue now? Sooner or later these apes would naturally wake up anyway."

 

---

[Hakima]

---

Brooke had lived with Dora for too long to be surprised by the little girl’s bluntness. She watched Kah very closely for her reaction, to see how she answered the question. "Of course not," the dragon-type answered. "Sebastian is a very nice man and a great judge of character. If someone was up to some bad stuff, do you really think he'd let them stay in town, much less in his own house? I'm just a Chaser who's come a long way from home is all."

 

"Nice to meet you," Easter responded. "As Sebastian said, I'm called Easter. You said you're a Chaser?" he blinked innocently. "That's pretty dangerous. How's that been going for you?" his face held a mixture of fear and awe, before he seemed to "recover himself." "Oh my, excuse me, barraging you with all these questions," he blushed. "I was just ever so curious. But really, what do you think Brooke? Do you want to go inside?"

 

Something about that didn’t sound right to Brooke. “You know, funny enough, nice people don’t tend to be a very good judge of character. They attract the wrong kind of people, who exploit that kindness.” She smiled, and patted Dora on the head. “But I’m sure you’re an alright person. If it sounds good to you all, why don’t we all head inside and get something to eat? I’m sure we’re all hungry.”

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Team Alola, Day 7, Northshore

 

Marie and Keanu managed to get out of the range of the Earthquake, and found themselves standing next to the two guards by the pathway to the mansion. They looked at them and seemed uncomfortable. "Hey, sorry about this, we're supposed to protect the city...not some Legend. As long as she doesn't do anything to the city we're not gonna get into it. But, hey, she looks pretty done for, so good on ya!"

 

Randy, being injured and carrying a heavier load, was just barely hit at the end of the quake. He fell forward, and Moltres fell from his arms and bounced off the ground. Rubbing her backside, Moltres glared at Randy. "Moron." She muttered. "We need to finish this, not run." She said. The Legend tried to stand but her legs weren't cooperating with her.

 

At the least the stone rain had stopped. But Allie had not. She was having trouble moving forward, having been caught up in paralysis, but she was still going. Once more she began to form a Stone Edge, her eyes blazing with desire for victory.

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Day 28, Mioter

 

"Ooooh where's your home? My home is broken, is your home broken? Big Electric man made my home blow up!" As the group began to mention food, Dora realized one important thing... "I'm hungry!" She shouted, seemingly alarmed by this face. Despite that she had done a lot today and hadn't eaten much.

 

Sebastian chuckled. "Never fear, there's much food to be had, and it's quite safe here. I wouldn't let any threats into my home, you can be assured of that." He winked at Brooke. "Anyone who dared to cause harm in my city would be cut down quick, I'm no slouch you know!"

 

Inside the house there were paintings, sculptures, and pottery galore. It seemed almost crowded with the stuff, but everything looked well made and thoughtfully presented. The table where Sebastian led them was low to the ground, with purple cushions around it to sit on. As Sebastian sat at the head of the table he rang a bell and a servant came out to see what everyone wanted to eat.

 

"Fishicle!" Dora proclaimed, confusing the girl. Who looked around for some sort of explanation.

---

Team Karaoke, Day 20, Adarid Library

 

"so, find anything interesting?"

Gwen jumped a bit at the question. "Ah, Ho-no, not much, hahaha..." She responded awkwardly, taking much more interest in the TMs than she would normally. She wasn't really interested in them. She was fine with her abilities as they were and...it felt wrong to try and use these to become stronger. Become more capable of doing battle.

 

"I don't really like these things." She said, not really thinking about what she was saying. "People spend money that could be used for food, or housing, on things just to become stronger. To fight more. To gain more money. To get stronger." She sighed. "Why is everything so twisted?" She muttered.

 

Looking over at Nine she blushed. "N-not that there's anything wrong with using them, just, um...so shall we sleep?" She changed the topic quickly.

---

The next day was awkward, as the group all woke up in a relatively small room together. Fiona at some point in the night had rolled on top of Lok, regardless of if he had slept on the floor or not, and she was spending her morning trying very hard to pretend that it didn't happen.

 

Gwen watched with amusement tinged with sadness. "We have to go out there don't we?" She said. "We have to leave, and go elsewhere, where we'll probably have to fight some more..."

---

Team Showdown, Day 27, Icecrown

 

The group had managed to get to the other side safely. However if they were to look back they would notice some of the apes waking and starting to get up, seemingly still in the post-wake daze. The noises from Tianzi's bathing having nearly done them in. Isole seemed to notice this and, in response to the Xatu's statement, couldn't resist saying "They almost woke early just because you had to take your stupid bath." Fed up, Isole went ahead of the group.

 

They wouldn't get far before they would notice one last slope. It seemed to be so steep that they would practically have to climb it for an hour to reach the top. However they could tell that, at the top, would be the highest point in the mountain. Where all the stories told would be riches.

 

The group was weary and the night was falling once more. They'd have one more night to rest before tackling the last hurdle.

 

And Tianzi, having gotten out of water and into such a high part of the mountain, would find that their body was starting to be covered in ice and their body temperature was dropping.

---

Team Mac, Day 20, Road to Weynon

 

Mac let out a battle cry as she got back to her feet and launched herself at the Scolipede again. She cocked her fist back and, as the bandit lunged forward to bite her again, launched it forward. The electrical blast she had been storing up fired right into their face, causing them to reel back and fall on their rear.
Mac pumped her fist in the air and cheered, before going for the bandit once again. However before she reached them they launched from their mouth a flurry of purple darts. The Poison Sting struck the girl and halted her in her tracks. And, worse, she felt the poison take hold and begin to wear her down.

 

The Lombre attacking Kazo had managed to get a few swipes off uncontested and, in their excitement, took in a breath and prepared to, point blank, launch a stream of Bubbles at the Dragon, leaving themselves open.

 

Meanwhile Ari had taken a lot of damage. The Lombre, seeing the boy's determination, seemed to falter a bit. Saying something about "Crazy kid!" He tried to back-peddle away, only to run into a tree and get caught between it and Ari's Headbutt. With a wheeze the assailant slide to the ground, unconscious.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

He thought he made it...he was sure he did. But unfortunately, Randy felt the last bit of the Earthquake hit him and proceeded to fall forward, only to Moltres to fall from his arms and bounce along the ground. With a slight growl, Randy did his best to get up, but all he succeeded in doing was turning over onto his side.

 

"Moron. We need to finish this, not run."

 

"W-Well...excuse me...for trying to help someone...w-who was going to get hit from a p-pretty power Earthquake..." Randy quickly snapped with a slight snarl. A thank you would've worked, but apparently she assumed he didn't need one. Nevertheless, he knew this was the right thing to do, regardless of hearing a thank you from this Legendary.

 

Randy glanced from Moltres and looked towards where Allie stood. It was obvious she was caught up in the paralysis, due to her slow moving...but she was persisting and pushing forward nonetheless. And with a Stone Edge in her hand and the eyes that blazed with the desire for victory, it was obvious she was going to try and achieve it by any means.

 

The Incineroar began to grit his teeth, as he slowly pushed himself to get up. He was pretty injured throughout this fight and wasn't sure how much longer he had until he just fell over in a K.O. But right now, Randy clenched his fists and let out a loud roaring yell. Right now...right now he could feel his body burning up. He had felt this quite a few times. Whenever he got this beat up, it would always kick in...it was Blaze.

 

-BGM-

 

"Grrrrrraaaaaaahhhh!!" Randy roared out, before giving Allie a fierce look. "I'm...not...DONE!!! I'm putting everything on this..." he said, feeling the burning sensation rising even further. His eyes began to flash with a blaze for the same victory. He slowly lowered his hands and did a few signs, before watching as a fire began to ignite between his hands and in front of his belt. "TAKE....THIS!!!"

 

"BLAZING...FIRE BLAST!!!!"

 

Randy unleashed the Fire Blast, watching it being even larger than it was the last few times he used it. The Blaze, the Blaze was making it stronger, but it wasn't just that. The sunlight that Moltres had shine upon the battlefield...it was also causing his Fire Blast to become stronger. The Incineroar only smiled lightly, watching his Fire Blast make its way in a quick fashion towards the Tyranitar.

 

"Now...BURN!!!!" he shouted with a roar, before collapsing down on one knee.

[Yui]

---

Location: (Day 28)

Poké: 290

Inventory: Poke Puff Bag (empty), Berry Case (empty)

 

Location: Mioter (Team Neo Not Dark, Day 28)

Poké: 800

Inventory: Dusk Stone, Moo Moo Milk x3

"What you do with them is up to you, I do not tell people where to go, I just show them the way. There are paths that lead to safety, others to victory, and even more to danger."

 

"Even more to danger? Oh boy..." Fawkes did have to admit though, the "others to victory" bit was awfully enticing. It would have been nice for Fi to at least point her away from danger, but while she was no expert on psychic powers or fortune-telling, she had a hunch there was some sort of unspoken rule that you don't try to alter the future or something. She understood why Fi wouldn't tell her what to do in that case, but it still put her off a bit.

 

Meanwhile, Kah was getting more familiar with Easter due to... her? barrage of questions. "Nice to meet you. As Sebastian said, I'm called Easter. You said you're a Chaser? That's pretty dangerous. How's that been going for you? Oh my, excuse me, barraging you with all these questions. I was just ever so curious. But really, what do you think Brooke? Do you want to go inside?"

 

“You know, funny enough, nice people don’t tend to be a very good judge of character. They attract the wrong kind of people, who exploit that kindness. But I’m sure you’re an alright person. If it sounds good to you all, why don’t we all head inside and get something to eat? I’m sure we’re all hungry.”

 

"I know I'm hungry," Kah agreed. "I was actually going to try baking something for once. I was out getting ingredients for just that." With that, Kah followed as Brooke, Easter, and the whelps accompanying them all went inside, only for the Wooper to blurt out something about a fishicle. She didn't get it.

 

"I've got myself covered this time," Kah stated, when met with the servant. She held up the bag in her hands as proof, full of all the ingredients one would need to make a roseli berry pie. Just like mother used to make.

 

"I'd like something sweet," Fawkes said, after a bit of hesitation.

---

[Alaina]

 

As Marie and Keanu had managed to escape the radius of the earthquake, it had appeared as though the others were not so lucky. Seeing Randy and Moltres fall to the ground, the girl's worried face only sunk further as she started to panic a bit. She gave a look of disbelief as the guards seemed to not really care about the fight, saying, "this is not good!" Looking back, she saw Moltres slowly stand back up as the bully seemed ready to strike with one more rock club attack. The girl was starting to have her anxiety build up more and more as her breathing starting to hasten, mind going back to the pained and frightful faces of Alolans leaving as their homes were destroyed by beasts of unknown origin. Seeing Randy still stand up and fight, the girl was still worried for his safety and started muttering, "no, no, no." Leaving Keanu's grip, the girl started to rush forward, towards the action shouting, "no!" With that, the girl let out more of a frightful yet defiant shout that seemed to almost have some sort of melody behind it, as blue aura surrounded it, punctuated by the sea blue gem in her pocket radiating with energy. Four orbs of water, small yet deceptively dense, appeared near the girl. While they initially just floated there, as the girl directed her voice towards the godslayer, the orbs would rocket towards them, exploding on impact. While the attack was not nearly as strong as any that she had taken thus far, it still packed more punch then one would expect from a little girl like Marie. 

 

 

Nine wasn't really sure what about his question was funny, but didn't really pay much mind to it beyond that. As the woman started to speak her mind about her thoughts on the TMs and fighting, to which Nine's expression could only grow a bit more somber towards. As she quickly tried to assure that she was fine with him using them for himself, the man simply said, "sleep sounds like an excellent idea." While the man might've normally added something more to that, his thoughts were simply lost in what Gwendoline had said. The world truly was twisted. And the only way to stop the fighting driven world was to get stronger and fight more. Nine understood the irony in his conversation with Jabari, and was a bit off-put by how much of a hypocrite he might've been. Though, the thought that he was his father's son made the man chuckle a bit. With the day's events done, though, Nine had gone to sleep.

 

When next they woke, Nine woke up a tad uncomfortable due to how small the room had been. As he became a bit more alert, the man saw that Fiona had somehow rolled atop Lok in the night. A smirk forming on his face at the sight, was then brought down as Gwendoline seemed to be somber about their departure from here. "Most likely," Nine answered the ghost. With a confident smile on his face he then said, "but fear not m'lady. My wits and words are as potent weapons as my fists and flames." 

 

The group left the room, Nine storing the papers and notes from Fiona's room for later reading, and began to walk through the city. Being early enough, as it appeared, the guards hadn't been patrolling the streets and their journey was unimpeded. Somewhere along the road, the group had stumbled across a strange lamp on the ground. Picking up the lamp, Nine examined the curiously alluring lamp before showing it to the group saying, "well this is neat." As Gwendoline then recognized the lamp, explaining it to be a lamp that belonged to some vendor that the group had encountered in their last visit here. "Oh," Nine said, the somber meaning behind this lamp setting in a bit. However, the man then said, "so do you want to leave it here?" Were the general consensus yes, he'd leave it, were it not he'd take it with him. Were there no opinion on the matter, he'd still take it. Regardless, as the group finally made it to the gate, it appeared to be slightly opened, more than likely forced that way as it also appeared damaged. The sight made Nine let out a small chuckle, finding it humorous that he and the godslayer were still going the same path. All the same, he turned to the rest saying, "well, shall we say farewell to here once more?" Nine then began to walk forward, exiting through the gate. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Well this is an issue."

 

Tianzi cursed inside as his childish desire to play in the water and cleanse himself came out at the wrongest time, an oversight that was perhaps caused by fatigue. He managed to hide it for a while as he fixed his clothing and followed the group for a while, but he could start feeling her body was starting to freeze over after a while. Thankfully at the time that happened, night already fell once more and the group were finding a shelter again.

 

Along the way Tianzi had picked anything that could potentially be burned, as scarce as those were. What he ended up with was just a small pile of half frozen things though, and the team didn't carry much to be burned. So in the end, he opened up his pack and threw up one of his notebooks and a set of clothing change into the pile. It was nightime, so his solarbeam's output would be low enough for it to produce enough heat to burn the pile for at least a while. But, after a while of trying, it didn't work well, perhaps because he was being half frozen.

 

In the end, he crawled towards Scarlet and looked at her closely with the cutest appearance he could manage.

 

"Uh...can I suck on you again so I can start a small fire? We need to prepare for dinner too, after all, right?"

 

Though, thinking about it, Tianzi was never good at acting cute, but eh, whatever. Perhaps the others would be tired enough for it to work.

 

---

[👀 REP 👀]

Adarid Team Karaoke

 
Lok woke up the next day, actively avoiding talking to Fiona. At some point during the night, the girl had rolled off of her bed and landed right on top of him. Luckily, it seemed like she was also trying to avoid mentioning it at all. He tried his best to act as if nothing happened, although his demeanor would get more nervous whenever he was close to Fiona.

 

They didn't take long to leave the room, heading towards the streets. They had left early enough that no one bothered them as they traveled. However, they stopped when a certain lamp appeared in front of them. Lok almost instantly recognized what it was, feeling the creeping aura of the artifact. Gwen confirmed the fact that it was, indeed, the Hypno's lamp that they didn't buy. He glared at the object. "so do you want to leave it here?"

"Please." He almost instantly responded, before turning to the others. "I don't know why, but I feel... uneasy, around it." He wasn't quite sure how to put the feeling of the strange feeling he had around the lamp, but hopefully they would understand. Whether they took it or not, they continued onward. 

 

They continued marching onward without another interruption, reaching the gate that seemed to be forced open by something. "well, shall we say farewell to here once more?" Nine then began to walk forward, exiting through the gate. Lok nodded, following closely. If there was anything he wanted to do, it was getting out of Adarid as soon as possible.

 

---

 

Icecrown Team Showdown

 

Scarlet could feel Taiga's glare as she continued to jump across the land quietly. Luckily, they had made it across without too much trouble. She turned back to see if Tianzi had found a way to get across, only to see him alongside her as if he had always been there. Behind him were the apes, seemingly starting to wake up. Isole was clearly not happy with this, acting in a way Scarlet had never seen her act. She was worried about the girl, but it wasn't the time for that. Without saying a word, she helped Taiga off of her arms and marched onwards.

 

Their trip had been uneventful, but was eventually stopped by another steep slope. They would have to climb up another slope again. However, night time had came about - they would have to rest first before doing anything. She took a deep sigh, finding a nice place on the ground to rest. As she was getting ready to rest up, however, Tianzi came crawling up with a forced cutesy look on his face. "Uh...can I suck on you again so I can start a small fire? We need to prepare for dinner too, after all, right?" She glared at him, and was tempted to tell him no. However, she noted that his clothing seemed to be coating with a thin layer of ice. Not to mention it was pretty damn cold. 

 

"This isn't going to be a reoccurring thing I hope." She said coldly, although she extended her leg out towards him to grab, as she had already laid down on the ground. She braced herself for that terrible feeling that she felt the last time she had gotten sucked.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Team Showdown - Icecrown

 

Taiga and Scarlet landed safely on the other side of the pool without much of a problem.  Taiga heard some slight splashing, and nestled her head on Scarlet's shoulder to get a good look of what was making all the noise.  Her teeth started to grind once she saw Tianzi washing themself in the water without so much as a care in the world.  Looking past him, Scarlet could see that some of the apes were starting to stir.  Taiga couldn't help but become frustrated at the sight.  Luckily, they all managed to get out of the situation without taking aggro.  They traveled a bit farther, only to be met with another obstacle.  

 

Another.

 

Steep.

 

Slope.  

 

Taiga slapped her face.  The sight was so comical, that she couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter.  Whether she was becoming delirious, or just tired of the whole situation, was up to anyone's interpretation.  She was eventually let down by Scarlet, indicating that they were going to be camping, again.  

 

"You think a slope can stop Taiga the Terrible?!  I'll show that thing what's boss!"  Taiga hobbled over to the slope, and bit into the ice.  "I'll chust chomp my fway up fere!"  She let go, and tried to thrust herself upwards, but merely slid down the slope.  "This mountain is surely gonna be the death of me.  Scarlet...tell stories of me and the treasure if I succumb to my madness, okay?"  She flitted a hand over her forehead dramatically, only to see that leech draining Scarlet of her energy again.  In an instant, Taiga had gotten close to Tianzi, a glint of malice hidden in her smug face.  

 

"What do ya think you're doin?"  She said, eerily.  "We should let ya freeze to death, after that idiotic stunt you pulled earlier.  As a matter of fact, you'd probably be worth more to us as a preserved snack than a fire starter."  Taiga limped around, looking for appropriate kindling for a fire.  "Anyone can make a fire...we don't need some dumb half-dead frozen fortune teller to do that for us."  

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Anyone can make a fire...we don't need some dumb half-dead frozen fortune teller to do that for us." 

 

"I'm not a fortu-

 

Well, perhaps I could indeed say that I really am a fortune teller, and I would also be able to predict you going down a nearby chasm in a few hours if this keeps up. However, I am not one for pointless conflicts, so I'll start the fire now."

 

Only showing a bit of a crack in emotion as he objected on being called a fortune teller, Tianzi went on to use Power Swap on Scarlet while he calmly watched Taiga's malice in the meantime. The feeling of strength flowing inside of her made him feel warmer, but it wasn't really enough yet, so he turned towards the pile he had made earlier, and used Solarbeam on it. A thin ray of light, caused by the lack of sunlight, came out from his palm into the pile, heating it up until the fuel were lit. Of course, Tianzi wasted no time before he got himself into a decently comfortable position to heat himself while also preparing the group's dinner once he didn't feel like he's half freezing.

 

"As a matter of fact, I would be a lot skinnier than an impoverished chicken. Unless you like eating skin and bones, I advise you against eating me."

 

---

[Sethera]

 

Ari panted in exhaustion, feeling his body ache all over from the myriad Bubble attacks he had been inflicted with. He just stood there for a second, attempting to get his energy back, but also feeling like, maybe, the battle was over for him. He had defeated one of the Lombre and that was good enough.

 

Until he saw Kazo getting attacked.

 

Crying out in anger, the Litleo charged at the second Lombre for one last Headbutt. He'd probably be taken down soon, but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing either. "Hold on, Kazo!"

 

--

 

 

“You know, funny enough, nice people don’t tend to be a very good judge of character. They attract the wrong kind of people, who exploit that kindness.” She smiled, and patted Dora on the head. “But I’m sure you’re an alright person. If it sounds good to you all, why don’t we all head inside and get something to eat? I’m sure we’re all hungry.”

 

Super paranoid, this one, Easter thought for a second before he paused. Then again, Sebastian seems to think a Hydreigon is fine company. Anybody who consorted with dark types or dragons was suspect in his book. Unless said dark type was a cute fox kit. And of course, there was Noishe, and Whisper, but Easter had never said he wasn't suspicious.

 

"I'm hungry!" Dora shouted, alarmed.

 

"I know I'm hungry," Kah agreed. "I was actually going to try baking something for once. I was out getting ingredients for just that."

 

Baking? Like sweets? Or Poké Puffs? Easter moved a little closer to the dragon type. She might have just become his new favorite Hydreigon, suspicious or not.

 

Sebastian chuckled. "Never fear, there's much food to be had, and it's quite safe here. I wouldn't let any threats into my home, you can be assured of that." He winked at Brooke, causing Easter to roll his eyes internally. "Anyone who dared to cause harm in my city would be cut down quick, I'm no slouch you know!"

 

Inside the house there were paintings, sculptures, and pottery galore. It seemed almost crowded with the stuff, but everything looked well made and thoughtfully presented. The table where Sebastian led them was low to the ground, with purple cushions around it to sit on. As Sebastian sat at the head of the table he rang a bell and a servant came out to see what everyone wanted to eat.

 

"Fishicle!" Dora proclaimed, confusing the girl, who looked around for some sort of explanation.

 

"I've got myself covered this time," Kah stated, holding up a bag in her hands as proof.

 

"Oooh, what's that?" the fairy type asked, eyes shining with curiosity.

 

"I'd like something sweet," Fawkes said, after a bit of hesitation, causing the Sylveon to grin at her.

 

"A fishicle is probably a fish frozen like a popsicle," Easter explained to the poor girl, before giving his own order. "Do you have Poké Puffs? Or anything else sweet, like uhh," he paused to think, "I wouldn't turn away some sweet Poffins, or marrons glacés, or honey roasted yams, or crème brûlée, or--" and thus he began rattling off a list of sweets a mile long, before finishing with, "and some good old-fashioned Pecha Berry cobbler wouldn't go amiss either."

 

--

 

 

Marie and Keanu managed to get out of the range of the Earthquake, and found themselves standing next to the two guards by the pathway to the mansion. They looked at them and seemed uncomfortable. "Hey, sorry about this, we're supposed to protect the city...not some Legend. As long as she doesn't do anything to the city we're not gonna get into it. But, hey, she looks pretty done for, so good on ya!"

 

Honestly, Keanu couldn't really blame them. That's what he would have done too, not get involved, but he had no choice as his companion just decided to pull a hero act.

 

"This is not good!" Marie didn't seem to agree, "no, no, no."

 

"BLAZING...FIRE BLAST!!!!"

 

The Pikachu's attention was quickly distracted by the aforementioned hero, who had just shot off a gigantic figure of flame toward the rock type, which looked even bigger than his previous one, somehow, though the tiger had to be on the edge of exhaustion.

 

Marie jumped out of Keanu's grip at that, running towards the action shouting, "no!" With that, the girl let out more of a frightful yet defiant shout that seemed to almost have some sort of melody behind it. Four orbs of water, small yet deceptively dense, appeared near the girl. While they initially just floated there, as the girl directed her voice towards the godslayer, the orbs would rocket towards them, exploding on impact.

Keanu whistled, impressed. "Damn, didn't know she had it in her." He then realized what had just happened and shouted himself, running after the Popplio, shooting off an Electro Ball to hopefully distract the enemy gijinka from the sea lion. He knew it probably wouldn't do much, not nearly as much as Surf would do, but then again, he couldn't use that move here, with two fire type allies nearby.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Team Alola, Day 7, Northshore

 

Allie crossed her Stone Edge over her body as the Fire Blast came towards her. She had expected to be able to block it easily however the strength of the attack, strengthened as it was by the fading sun and Randy's Ability, broke through the weapon and crashed into her body. As the flames faded she was hit by Marie's oddly powerful attack.

 

Growling she looked at the girl. Clearly it was a mistake to leave her be. The shattered remains of the Stone Edge floated upwards and she prepared to launch them at the girl...when she was hit by a ball of electricity. The attack did extra damage due to her paralyzed state, and Allie almost fell to the ground.

 

Breathing heavily, Allie glared at the group. "I'll be ready next time. If you get in my way again I'll make sure to kill you first." She said between breaths. She then fired the broken Stone Edge, several shards each, at all of the group and used that to turn and flee, drinking something from a bottle to recover enough to escape.

 

"Dammit, can't let her get away." Moltres stood up, clearly intending to go after the girl. Though she clearly was in no state to do so.

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Day 28, Mioter

 

Kah would be led towards the kitchen, though not before Dora yelled after her "Can I have pie too!?"

 

With both Fawkes and Easter requesting sweets they got exactly what they asked for. And more. Several trays loaded with Poffins, roasted yams, sugared beets, creme brulee, Hoenn delight, Figy Berry Pudding, and more were brought out for them.

Dora was given what looked to be literally a whole fish that was flash frozen and she almost screamed in delight as she grasped it and put half of it in her mouth, sucking happily on the frozen treat.

"Mmm...fishy." She said happily.

 

Sebastian would laugh at all the sweets and look down at his meal, which appeared to be sushi. "They certainly have a sweet tooth." Sebastian said to Brooke. "What about you? Are you fine with the sugar rush meal or are you wanting something else?"

 

Dora meanwhile was rocking back and forth,

and letting out a few yawns here and there. Part way through the eating she would fall face-first on the table, eyes heavy as she began to slip into nap time.

---

Team Karaoke, Day 20, Outside of Adarid City

 

Gwen felt bad for Lok, and how the lamp seemed to make him feel, but...Gwen wanted to keep it. "There's something about it...it might be important. It was certainly important enough to be worth a lot to the...well in any case Nine could you please hold onto it for now?"

----

Five days into their journey, and the group would come across a wagon which seemed to be stuck in the mud. There was a family of three, husband, wife, and baby, aboard and they offered to give them a ride that would cut their travel time in half if they helped them out of the mud.

 

Regardless of if they did that, though, they'd need to make a decision. Where to go. Fiona brought up the fact, to Lok, that if he wished to do a Form Change soon they could travel to the north, to Trailsau, otherwise they could continue on. Though even then when they reached the crossroad they'd have the choice of going directly to Northshore or visiting Alpha first.

 

Gwen didn't have any opinions on the first part but she did say that she didn't think it wise to get to caught up in going to Alpha if they had already gotten that far. She laughed about it, "I know my parents would try to get you all to stay. Especially Nine....Forget I said that."

---

Team Showdown, Day 27, Icecrown

 

As Tianzi got the fire going Isole kept her distance from it. She seemed uncomfortable with the heat and appeared to prefer staying on the edge of the range of its light. When Taiga and Tianzi got into their little argument, the girl rolled her eyes. "If you're going to fight do it somewhere else, if I get woken up by it somebody's getting shocked." She called out before curling up to sleep. It has been an exhausting few days. Before she fell asleep, though, a question came to mind. One that she asked Scarlet privately. "You seem...strong, practical, why...do you stay with this group?"

-------

The next day they would be faced once more with the slope. Though, Isole noted, it wasn't as difficult to traverse as it had seemed at night. There were handholds all over. However it would be a long, tiring, climb. Nearly two hours straight of it, with chilling winds, and slippery holds.

 

However as the group reached the top they were greeted with quite the sight.

 

 

They were on a large, mostly flat, plane. A semi-circle wall of ice and stone jutted a dozen feet tall around the edge across from them. And in the wall were gems, some small as a fingertip, others as large as a fist. They seemed firmly embedded in the stone. Several other of these gems lay across the floor. Poking up through the ground like stalagmites. In front of the wall was a girl with a large rock in place of legs. She was sitting, or more accurately leaning, on what seemed to be an improves ice chair and was watching them approach with great curiosity. "It has been years since I last saw visitors and now you are the third group to appear to me in several weeks time. Truly the world is shifting...Welcome to my mountain. I am Diancie, and I am very happy to see new faces. What could you be here for, though, I wonder?"

---

Team Mac, Day 20, Road to Weynon

 

Kazo had gotten hit by yet another stream of Bubbles. However before the Lombre could attack again the little lion had charged in and, catching the Lombre off-guard, landed a critical hit against the Gijinka's side and knocked him to the ground, barely concious. However he was still able to fight and so he looked towards Kazo, attacking him with an Absorb and trying to regain his health.

 

Meanwhile the Scolipede lunged towards Mac, preparing to Bug Bite her once more. However Mac quickly surged forward and rammed into their body before they could do this. Though the large Bug Gijinka didn't seem to be very affected by this and Mac was breathing heavily, the poison weakening her by the second.

 

The Scolipede grinned. "Can't handle fighting on your own, can you?" They mocked before lunging once more.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Team Showdown - Icecrown

 

"If you're going to fight do it somewhere else, if I get woken up by it somebody's getting shocked." 

 

Taiga looked towards Isole, and then to Tianzi, and back to Isole.  Shivers went down her spine after thinking about taking a thunderbolt to the face, so she opted to quit the arguing.  

 

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say Ice queen."  After the fire was started, she was able to get a good night's sleep for once.  Maybe the bird brain wasn't truly so useless...maybe it was the cold getting to her and making her all agitated.  With her mind more rested, she drifted off to dreamland.  The next morning, she woke up with sleepy eyes.  She was able to stretch and yawn all she wanted, it was a good feeling.  The best part was that she was finally able to stand up on her own without wobbling, although her leg was still a bit sore.  At least it wasn't all out of whack anymore.  She looked to the slope, with the sun shimmering on the glinting ice.  It seemed to have a bunch of footholds, so they could climb it without issue.  

 

"Welp..final stretch!  Let's get a move on my Terrible Teammates!  Taiga the Terrible's Treacherous Team shall have their reward!  FUFUFUFUFU!"  With that, she got a head start on the climb, making sure not to slip on the first couple of feet up in the air.  It was hard to keep balance with the holds so slippery, and the biting wind almost pushing her off.  However, in no time flat, they reached the top of Icecrown.  Huffing and puffing as she managed to get a hand onto the flat surface, she managed to pull herself over the last threshold.  What she saw, with her chin firmly planted on the flat surface, was not what she had expected.  The first thing she saw were a bunch of gems planted in the walls.  Without so much as a thought, taiga ran up to them and started placing them in her pack.  "WE HIT THE MONEY!"  She roared, turning to her team, but noticing another Gijinka planted in the middle of the room.  

 

"It has been years since I last saw visitors and now you are the third group to appear to me in several weeks time. Truly the world is shifting...Welcome to my mountain. I am Diancie, and I am very happy to see new faces. What could you be here for, though, I wonder?"

 

Some crystals she had been holding had somehow found their places back in the walls from whence they were plucked.  Taiga almost apologized, but then realized how much they had went through to come here.  And a Treasure Hunter wasn't supposed to apologize after hunting down the treasure anyways!

 

"Uhm...Well...I'm Taiga!  And I'm a Treasure Hunter!  When I see treasure, I take it!  And I heard this place had a ton of it!  So...I hope you don't mind if I take some of these...I mean!  I'M TAKING SOME OF THESE!"  Taiga started twiddling her thumbs.  "I hope that's okay...it took a lot of effort to get up here anyways."  

[Alaina]

 

As the group continued to travel along the road, Nine examined the lamp that he had kept on hand. While it was a sort of split vote to keep it, it ultimately interested the houndoom, and he had decided to keep it on hand, though did his best to keep it out of Lok's view when he could. The lamp was a strange thing, and he wasn't entirely sure why it had such a strange feeling to it. For the most part, it seemed to just be a regular lamp, gray and purple in color with yellow stripes across it. While the top looked like it could be detached, try as he might, Nine wasn't able to get it to budge. Giving up on the strange object for now, he merely kept it on hand and instead looked through the notes that he had pilfered from the Godslayer base. 

 

While he could look at the ones that he had already met, he was more interested in what they had to say on the one's that he hadn't. Of those, from the top few that he had seen, only Hoopa remained. And so, looking through the notes he was able to tell that the legend didn't really have a place that it  stayed in. Instead, it seemed to travel a lot and was apparently a mischievous trickster, erring on the very untrustworthy side, apparently causing a good deal of mayhem while active. Though, the notes concluded with saying that it was rumored to have been sealed away by a group of gijinka years ago. With that, the chaser didn't really think he was any closer to figuring out where the legend was then when he started, but it was good knowledge to have all the same. 

 

The next he was curious with was Reshiram, the legend of truth. Nine figured that if there was a legend to get answers from, it was probably them, and being a fire type, he was particularly interested in this dragon given tales of its flames. Looking through the notes, it seemed to be rumored to be unable to tell a lie, and uncaring towards emotion based arguments. Seeing that it was said to, alongside Zekrom, have disappeared in Skuldafn many years ago, the houndoom was only given more of a reason to go there then he was before. He then decided to check one more set of notes on the road, those belonging to Ho-oh. Within them, there was but a single word. 

 

Mountains. "Helpful."

 

In addition to his reading of notes and examining of light fixtures on the journey, the group had also ran into a family of three that seemed to be in a bit of trouble. Seeing that their carriage was stuck, and them both seeming to need the help and thinking it a bit cruel to just leave them with a baby stranded, Nine was going to help them regardless. The added bonus of them taking them along the way of their travel was certainly a plus. Taking off his jacket and tying it around his waist, the houndoom went to work in helping push the cart out of the mud, and when all was said and done thanked the group for helping them with their transportation. 

 

As their travels continued, the group was eventually presented with a cross-roads as to where to go. There were three paths to go to, given their general vicinity. Alpha, Trailsau and Northshore. Nine had no real desire to go to Alpha at the current moment, as the place always had managed to give him the creeps. To that effect, it continued to surprise him that Gwendoline and Lok were both from there, based on what the normal folk he remembered were like, though he chuckled at her comment about her parents. "Likewise, I'd rather not stop by Trailsau. I want to get to Northshore as quickly as possible and well," the houndoom cracked a smile as he said, "I'm not sure how well you guys would get along with my mother." 

 

 

With each attack pounding into the godslayer, it seemed that they had finally taken enough of beating and were getting ready to leave. With their last attack being a few shards of the rock club being flung at them, Marie was able to move out of the way of some, but still had one shard scrape against her arm. Biting her lip, tears starting to form in her eyes, the girl tried not to cry out from the intense amount of pain that coursing through her. Letting out a supressed yelp of pain, the girl looked to see that the godslayer was starting to run away from the group. While a sense of great relief came over her, the girl started to panic once more as Moltres got up and started to get ready to chase after them. Marie had barely been hit and she was in a lot of pain. Seeing the injured forms of Randy and Moltres, she couldn't imagine the pain they were in, and chasing after the bully would only get them more pain. Running as best she could to the legend, she said, "wait!" With a pleading look in her eyes the young girl said, "p-please don't go! If you do then you're just gonna keep fighting. And if you do then you're gonna get hurt more and - and, that'd be really bad. Please don't fight anymore today." 

[👀 REP 👀]

Adarid Team Karaoke

 
They had decided to keep the lamp, much to Lok's dismay. Nine did his best to keep it out of Lok's sight, but it didn't really help. He could feel the lamp's presence there. Gwen mentioned feeling something about the lamp too, although she seemed to be drawn towards it rather than creeped out by it. He wondered if she felt the same thing he did, or if she felt something completely different. 

 

During their travel, the group crossed paths with a family whose wagon had gotten stuck. They offered a ride to where they were going if they helped them out. Lok nodded as Nine made his way towards the wagon. Lok also went forward to help push it out, although his contributions were minimal as he tried his hardest to push it out alongside the others. Still, they managed to get the wagon unstuck. 

 

As they continued on, now in a wagon, they met a crossroad. Fiona reminded Lok of the concept of form change, mentioning that they could do it at Trailsau. They also had the option to pass through Alpha or go straight to Northshore. He marked Alpha off of his mind as a destination, wanting to come back with something related to Hoopa in his hands. The idea of Trailsau was compelling, although Nine didn't seem to want to go there. That made the decision somewhat straight forward, as far as Lok saw it. "So, Northshore it is then?" He spoke up, pointing towards the direction. "It's the only other option available, after all."

 

---

 

Icecrown Team Showdown

 

She felt her strength being drained yet again as Tianzi made the fire. At least this time she was laying down, so the weight of her hands didn't really affect her all that much. Still, she felt strange as she tried to sleep for the night. As she was trying to fall asleep, she felt something tapping on her head. Turning, she was greeted by Isole, who seemed to have a question. "You seem...strong, practical, why...do you stay with this group?" The girl whispered to Scarlet. It was true that the group that she had found herself in was... unique, to say the least. 

 

"Why? That's a bit difficult to explain..." She whispered back, shifting her body to better talk to the girl. Her arms made his a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't too bad. She smiled at the girl "When you've been travelling alone for a long time, it gets a bit... lonely. It's nice to have company around." She paused for a second. "I can't speak much about Tianzi just yet, but Taiga is good company. She might not look it, but she's a sweetheart deep down underneath that rough exterior. Don't tell her I said that though!" She giggled softly, before turning away from Isole. "I don't know if that's the answer you were looking for... I'm not the best at explaining things... like this." She sighed. "We should rest." 

 

She woke up the next day, feeling her strength back as she did. She turned back to the slope. The climb, as Isole noted, didn't seem all that bad. It was still a long way up, but it was definitely doable. "Welp... final stretch!  Let's get a move on my Terrible Teammates!  Taiga the Terrible's Treacherous Team shall have their reward!  FUFUFUFUFU!" Scarlet shook her head, chuckling as the shark girl dashed forward. 

 

"Terrible names aside, she's got the right idea. Let's not waste much time down here." She nodded to the others, before dashing towards the wall. The handholds were a bit difficult for her to fully use, considering her claws. Still, she could still pierce them with the sharp jaws of her pincers as she pulled herself up, flinging herself upwards on each grab. Fluttering her wings, she was able to leap large distances and slow her decent enough to get a good grip on the ice, leaving it cracked. 

 

As she reached the flat top of the wall, she was greeted by a wall glistening from all of the gems embedded on them, the light from the peak making it look like they were glowing. Taiga wasted no time in looking the gems as Scarlet turned her attention to the gijinka adorned in gems - in fact, her lower body seemed to be gems. "It has been years since I last saw visitors and now you are the third group to appear to me in several weeks time. Truly the world is shifting...Welcome to my mountain. I am Diancie, and I am very happy to see new faces. What could you be here for, though, I wonder?" Diancie spoke from her icy throne as Scarlets eyes lit up. They had been traveling for such a long time, and yet this was the first time they had encountered a legedary. Instinctively, Scarlet bowed as Taiga spoke about looting the place.

 

"I wouldn't of phrased it like that, but she's right." She begun, walking towards Diancie. "See, word around the town down below is that there is a great treasure up here." She turned around to look at the area. "And treasure there is! Although I can't say I was expecting to meet a legend up here..." She turned back to Diancie, realizing she hadn't properly introduced herself. "Where are my manners? My name is Scarlet." She stuck out her pincer, expecting a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Diancie."

 

 

[King K. Azo]

Kazo didn't know why, but he was stunned after the first round of Bubbles he was hit by. It was almost like he was spaced out or something. However, Ari's cry of "Hold on, Kazo!" woke up the dragon. Looking over, he saw Ari had hurt a Lombre pretty badly, and that Mac was struggling with the boss. Could he do something about both at the same time?

As the Lombre used Absorb, Kazo ran at him, ignoring the feeling of his energy draining out of him, opting to get close and grabbing the Lombre by the shoulder. With a grin, he ran off as fast as he could, dragging the smaller Lombre with him, and ramming the minion into the Scolipede's side.  

 

---

 

"Those children are not yours." The Torkoal said bluntly. He was staring into Denku's eyes and the Pupitar would see a combination of pain and wisdom in those eyes. "I do not appreciate being lied to. Whatever you seek here is not here. Mai, come along, with me now." Denku felt a swell of emotions. Anger, for being called a liar. Fear, for being caught in a lie. And pain, for knowing that yes, he was still the odd man out, the one that would end up alone if the group was to part. He wanted to snap at the old man, tell him that yes, he was not the blood father of Dora and Fawkes, but he was one of their guardians, and he would defend them to his death. In a way, he could be their adopted father. Although he knew none of them saw him that way, for sure.

Those feelings went away when Mai grabbed his hand, however. He instead felt... confusion, concern, concern, but it was... because of him? No, moreso... for him? Was she a psychic and projecting her feelings to him. Lowering himself once more, he looked at her, head tilted.

"Is something wrong Mai? Is there something I don't see...?" He wasn't sure why she was so concerned for him, but he would try to work this out.