THE IRREPLACABLE CREW

[Kronic]

I want to welcome all of you to a new chapter of a story told long ago. As a forward, I wanted to say a little bit about why this story means a lot to some of my friends and I.

If you look at the last page of the roleplay forums, you’ll see a thread called “Crew Expendable”, started a bit more than seven years ago. Of course, the thread was not started by “Kronic”. In early 2007, Maikeru started the Crew: a roleplay that would go on longer than his participation. To summarize, a lot of the writing was terrible. I can personally say that my writing back then was a mess. Terrible. Cringe worthy.

HOWEVER.

The crew continued, concluding on page fifty six. Of course, it wasn’t long before we started the sequel. It ran about seventy two pages and concluded a bit longer than a year after the first roleplay started, and that was the end. However, some of the folks who participated in that roleplay are people I still talk to everyday. The memory of that RP is still one of our defining memories. And so, after some consideration, some of us have come to a decision. Why not continue that story? Seven years later – or should I say, fifty years later after the events of the original RPs – the story continues.

Before we set too much of a stage, though, it’d be best to explain what the crew was about. Of course, the Crew is a sort of PMD role-play, but the stage of the roleplay is the world of PMU. What does this mean, one might ask? Well what do YOU think it means? I think an important thing to remember is that a good roleplay shouldn’t restrict people’s creativity! From making in-jokes about the players of PMU to a rich story of a pokemon in the world of PMU, the only thing that limits you is your imagination!

Of course, there probably are SOME things that need to be covered.

Like most roleplay, standard implied rules are important. Understanding what GODMODDING is and AVOIDING IT is important. Also avoiding unwanted and bad things such as being a MARYSUE (or GARYSUE) – aka, being an overpowered character that brings the UNFUN to the roleplay.

Another thing to keep in mind is to have some understanding of a fourth wall. Maybe you want to take the world literally and say that you came into this world as an egg. If so, go for it! But please be aware that breaking the fourth wall in the sense of you being a human playing this game might not be the way to go about the story telling. Instead, perhaps like other PMD games, you were once a human who came to this world. Being creative in the way that you handle the situation can lead to great story telling!

With all of that aside, the last thing to be said is this: If you are interested in Joining “THE IRREPLACABLE CREW!” Send me a PM in the forums and tell me a bit about your character! If you just don’t like the PMU forums messaging, you can also get ahold of me on Skype at “KronictOtaku”.

What are you waiting for? The adventure awaits!

---

Another sunny day rose on the quaint settlement known as Grassroot. The sun was reflecting off of the lake in the center of town. Varying ‘mons going about their business… A normal day here in Exbel by all means. As the sun rose in the sky and the various shops around town got set up for the day’s work a loud call is heard from around the housing center.

“GATHER ROUND ADVENTURES! THE MISSIONS ARE HERE!”

Of course there was a reason why the small community of Grassroot was what it was. Besides the fact that the little burg had just about everything an adventurer needed, it also had “The Mission Board.”

The mission board was a place where Explorers across the lands would come to gather their missions. For what purpose did folks become Explorers? Well the answer to that question depends on who you ask. The common folk don’t know the exact numbers of Explorers, Or Adventurers. Heck even if you asked them what they called themselves they probably wouldn’t agree on a name. Regardless of the indecisive nature of the whole thing Explorers made a good living. And any mon that could get their way through a dungeon was probably an explorer at one point or another. Helping other ‘mons and exploring the mystery dungeons. Seeing new sights and discovering new treasures… Romantic as it is exciting.

As the major explorers come and go the town once again falls silent. As all of the Explorers set off of their adventures for the day the town usually quiets down. Well. Almost.

“Leon! You’ve got Grandmother’s Orans don’t you? I didn’t come all this way for nothing!”

A small litleo walked up toward the Kecleon shop. His ears poking out of an old maroon colored bandana. For as loud as he spoke, He didn’t seem to be that old. The young Litleo walked over and casually leaned against the shop. The Kecleon behind the counter rolled his eyes as he went into the back of his shop. He wished the young one would have learned a thing or two from Grandmother. How to be soft spoken, or maybe less rash. Regardless he did what the litleo requested. Quickly returning from the back he set the crate in front of the small ‘mon sighing briefly.

“Kain, you must tell me why Grandmother constantly has you come to town to grab these berries. She mustn’t need all of them every day…”

The young Litleo let a wry smirk cross his face, The shadow of his bandanna falling over his eyes as he looked up at the Kecleon.

“Listen Leon I don’t make the rules! She says it’s important! And I can’t complain. I wouldn’t be able to walk on my hind legs if it wasn’t for all of this lifting! I don’t know why any ‘mon walks around with all four of their feet on the floor. Talk about inconvenient! I mean just the other day I was…”

The Kecleon knew that Kain would continue to ramble until he interrupted him. And he didn’t waste much time to do so.

“Listen young one, I have inventory to do today, make sure to tell Grandmother I send my regards. And keep out of trouble.”

Kain shrugged as he lifted the box filled to the brim with Oran berries. As he walked down the road he was met with similar greetings each one more brief than the last. The townsfolk didn’t want to hold Kain up from getting the berries back to the shrine. As he headed south from Grassroot and reached the crossroads he turned left. Heading east towards Grandmother’s shrine.

[Supersonic789]

The world has changed many times in our lifetimes.
From the beginning of time, in our great creation, to the great catastrophes that has changed our landscapes to allow our great town to thrive in.

Long ago, there were a group of friends who dared to take on trials and enemies much larger than them, time and time again. Many grew close to each other, others grew distant.

Two became tied to each other by fate, always chasing each other, trying to save one another in their own strange ways.
It ended in conflict that ended the way their ragtag team of adventurer’s way of life, along with the lives of many, many Pokémon.

“No one cares grandpa.”

I have witness the many atrocities of this planet.
I have seen war, famine, plague, torture.
I have seen the corruption of this very planet we live on.
And yet I have lived through all of it.
I have stayed strong.

“When is he going to stop talking?”

I have stayed strong for the ones I love, my family.

“Dude, what the fuck are you talking about”

But this is where it ends I am looking into the face of oblivion and it is not welcoming.

“Come on guys, this is no fun. Last one to the square is a DEAD POKEMON.”
“Aren’t we technically all dead Pokémon?”

“Shut up Todd.”

The sound of teasing Pokemon faded from the room as the ghost Pokémon left, some through the doors, others through the seemingly hollow walls; their nature allowing them to pass through seemingly any material. A faint red glow pulsated on the walls, as a Rotom floated there, with a small broom and mop, with a strange bottle in his hand.

“THE CHILDREN, THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I HAVE SEEN IT. HIS RETURN. HE IS COMING, AND THE CHILDREN MUST KN-“

“That is quite enough Rotom! We understand that you are much older than any of us here, but do not spend your time blabbering when you should be working!”

A man with a rather short stature stood in the doorway, peering through his monocle. A Hypno had interrupted this ghost Pokémon’s rant on rapture and destruction, moving into the classroom with authority.

“I suggest you get back to work before you lose your position here, as you are so keen to remember!”
“FINE, BUT DO NOT SAY I DID NOT WARN YOU, WAKE UP MAREEPLE.”

The Hypno left the room with a loud sigh, his gaze looking across the schoolyard as he walked out of the room. The Rotom scoffed as he took a swig of whatever was in his bottle, resuming whatever menial task of labor he had begun before the children had arrived.

He finished his work as a shadowy figure appeared at his doorstep.

“Your children seem to take your tales as nonsense, don’t they?” Rotom turned to face the Pokémon in better light. An Accelgor stood where the Hypno once stood. He stood leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, as many of his kind did, as he continued to speak.

“They seem to say you’re quite knowledge able of the ancient ones, and the power they commanded. Is that true?”

The Rotom stood there, silent. His light blue eyes shifted around the room as the Pokémon floated, speechless.
“I knew they were coming.”

Every hero has to start somewhere. Where did you begin?

[DarkMazer]

Leap left. Leap right. Leap left. Leap right. Backflip, then Thunderbolt, straight ahead.
These are the thoughts that filled the Manectric’s mind as he performed carefully-choreographed exercises.

Not again…
This is the thought that would fill the wooden log’s mind, if it were sentient and capable of thinking. It is not. Instead, it is heavily battered and scorched by repeated lightning strikes.

Haha, this again!
This is the thought that filled the Pidgey’s mind as it watched the scene from atop a tall tree.

The Manectric, absorbed in his exercises, did not notice the Pidgey up above.

The Pidgey waited for the Manectric to begin another backflip, then started to hum a sweet song.

The Manectric faltered, tumbled backwards, and rammed his head into the tree.

Laughing, the Pidgey descended to a low branch of the tree, just a foot or two above the bewildered Manectric.
“I saw you!”, she tweeted in a sing-song tone. “You were training again, weren’t you?”

“Uhh, no…”, began the Manectric. “I was just-”

The Pidgey interrupted, “I have been here for the last five minutes. You look ridiculous right now!” She tweeted in glee, as if to punctuate the Manectric’s awkwardness.

“I… wasn’t… training!”, the Manectric roared in defiance as he wriggled to his feet, even though neither of them believed his words.

“Sure, Xeno, that’s what you say every time. You’re here every day, just admit it.”

“But I was just… napping… vigorously. Just napping vigorously.” Neither of them bought into his excuse.

“Uh-huh, and I’m a scary nightmare creature that steals your dreams. Whatever, have it your way.” She fled, no longer amused by this exchange.

Xeno, still nursing his head, grumbled to himself, “Bloody Pidgeys…”, then picked himself up and carried himself across the plains, back to the place he called “home”.

After a few minutes of walking, Xeno arrived at a tree a short distance away from Grassroot Town. He dragged a clod of dirt away from where it was resting, spat out the dirt that wormed into his mouth, then crawled into the tiny hole, replacing the clod of dirt behind him. After squeezing through a few feet of curved tunnel, the hole widened into a cozy, but comfortable, living space, complete with a bed of hay and dried leaves, a small orb being used as a light, and a notebook and pen.

Just then he heard the usual cry from afar, “Gather round adventurers! The missions are here!” Ignoring this summons, Xeno instead opened the notebook with his paw, took the pen in his mouth, and began scribbling something down on the page. After writing a few pages’ worth of text, he placed the pen back down, closed the notebook, and crossed the small room. He began clawing at the bed to make sure it was soft and fluffy, then curled up on top of it to take a nap.

Perhaps a vigorous nap?

[AnkokuFlare]

From Grassroot to the northwest sea lies a dry barren land layered with canyons of various heights. The sun felt harsh given the nature of the location. More towards the center point of the badlands lies an abandoned fortress of what appears to be from an ancient civilization long gone from now. Now being reclaimed by a organization that names itself as “Psyence Institute”.

Within the fortress a large bat with a gaping mouth urgently flaps their wings as if the sky was crashing down behind him. After passing through a number of room entrances she makes a sharp turn into her destination.
Meanwhile the smokey coated vulpine inhabiting the destined room slugged the invading creature rushing in. Upon impact the huffing bat folded its wings and tumbled onto the tiled stone floor and sprawled out helplessly.

“Ugh, Yarza, you didn’t have to whop me with such force! Sheesh, you almost as painful Hook.”, the golbat gasped.

“It’s not everyday I see anyone charging into my room. Thought you were trouble just asking for a good butt kicking.”, She chuckled while she made a gesture of battle by placing her clenched copper claws together. The shadow fox leveled with her batty companion by laying on the floor.“So what’s up, Mawki, you’ve had to have some reason important enough to rush in here like a Jolteon on Salac Juice.”, She teased as she goes for a noogie.

“Ugh, How to spill this out without you losing your revivers…”, Mawki thought outloud while grimacing the upcoming reaction from his childhood pal.

“Did you dare eat all my rage candy bars?!”, Yarza hissed while her grip tighten around the bat.

“Easy there,Seviper, I’m no zangoose.”, Mawki responded while pulling away from zoroark’s tensed up arms. The bat pushed up it wings to get off the ground. “This has nothing to do with your fancy exotic goods.”, The golbat continued while brushing dust off his body. “So I got word that the Knights division of this institute has not only been chasing out bandit towns, but small towns in general! Although, It’s been a recent development so can’t say much on what the motivation behind these recent orders are even about…”, Mawki explained and trailed into a pause as he faced the floor as if he lost eye contact with his friend to in order to recollect his thoughts on the bitter information that lies ahead."The bottom-line is our humble homeland northwest of Grassroot is being scheduled for attack! ", Mawki exclaimed softly onto the fox’s ear.

Yarza stood up and paced to ponder this flood of information suddenly sweeping away her carefree demeanor. She stopped and turned to Mawki. “Why Sedge Village!? It’s so small and remote. Are you sure these are not some crazy rumors started by some bored lot?”, the zoroark challenges as her copper mane puff ups as she grows more agitated with the idea.

The bat expelled a lengthy sigh and drooped his wings. He turned to swing his bag before him. He slid the strap of his bag off his wing. With a light thump the dusty sack made it’s way onto the floor. With a bit of fidgeting with his wings he unstrapped the bag and caused a scroll to tumble towards the scornful vulpine.

Yarza steps forward to pick up the rolled up piece of parchment to unravel it’s confines. The room grew darker as seconds passes. A forceful crinkle arose as the paper was suddenly being strangled by the seer in one hand.

CHRRRCK!

With seething rage of emotions welling up her into her core, Yarza’s unoccupied claw carved a good chunk off the adobe brick wall.

[Kronic]

Once you made your way past the crossroads into the fields around Grassroot there was always the sound of other mons’ scurrying about challenging each other to duels, talking about the latest missions, or training together. The occasional mon’ Would wave to Kain, he would respond in kind with a greeting or a smile, His arms still occupied by the large crate of Orans that he held in front of him. It wasn’t a long way to the shrine, but the walk was a pleasant one, the morning sun still low in the sky as the cool breeze passed travelers by. Although there were a lot of things to be heard it all sort of blended together in a melodious tone. Kain had made this walk every morning for the past Five years. So there were some sounds that were familiar to him. He heard the gentle crackling of lightning from a distance that he knew well, and the sound of laughing and cheering from the south. As he made his way to the temple, it gave him some time to just enjoy the moment.

Kain then arrived at the temple, the large wooden arch greeting him, as well as the gentle ringing from the top of the arch, As Kain Glanced upward he saw Kewanee, A young female Chimecho who greeted all who visited the temple with the gentle sound of her chime, He looked up to her with a smile as she returned one. They had already spoken briefly that morning, and with Kain holding the large crate of Orans She didn’t want to keep him. Kain walked up the steps of the temple. Although the temple was beautiful, it was still quite quaint. The temple’s walls rose around a central garden. This small garden surrounded a large stone in the middle, a spire of rock with strange carvings. The carvings were a great mystery. What made the stone so sacred was the fact that as the moon rose in the sky above the pillar, the etchings would glow a calming and faint tone. Sometimes blue like the ocean or orange like the sunset. As Kain entered the sanctuary of the stone He paid his respects, setting the orans down for a quick bow before picking them up and making his way into the back of the small garden. The doors of the shrine open to greet him. As he entered the shrine he followed the hall to his left, pushing the door open on the end of the hallway with his back as he entered a room filled with shelves upon shelves of wooden jars, bowls and worn tools. This was the Brewing room, a place where the Orans would be made into a medicinal crème. It looked like the elderly Mienshao who was the herbal specialist had gone on a herb run, and wouldn’t be back until later. Kain Gently set the box down to the side of the work table and left the room, closing the door behind him. As he gently slid the door shut he felt it. Before one saw Grandmother Fox you could feel her presence. Turning to his left he saw her, a brilliant Silver coat that had a hint of nightshade. She looked at him, a gentle smile running across her face as she began to speak, her tone as soft as her coat.

“Up bright and early again Young Lion, Already finished with your berry run?”

“Of course! And before you ask I was in the archive room late last night, so I’ve already completed the archiving that you wanted finished by the end of today.”

A quizzical look appeared on the Ninetales’ face. She was curious why he had spent so much time last night Archiving. The Young Lion was known to be surprisingly focused when it came to that sort of work, but to spend hours in the shine’s library so far after the moon had risen in the sky? She continued, curious on the reason.

“Young Lion, There must be a reason for working so late into the night, The Stone must have shown color by the time you finished, whatever were you reading.”

Kain’s youthful smile slowly settled into a strange look, like someone trying to hide anger and confusion. He turned away for a bit, looking towards the stone before continuing.

“I was reading about the Golden age of The Flora Of Flame. It’s the archives that are the most detailed, the tales of The White Flower himself. How he lead the world to peace. But last night I got to the end of archiving that era. And then I started archiving after the reformation sixty years ago…”

Grandmother Fox smiled, she thought she had felt anger coming from him, but it must have been something else. Even with all her wisdom she could not have expected what came next. As he turned back to face her there was anger in his eyes. She was lost in the memories but then the Young Lion continued, breaking her away from the times of old.

“In all your wisdom, can you please tell me why this… chaotic creature that the archives won’t even call out by name, This fifteenth Flame, Was allowed by any right to run what was left of The Flora of Flame into the ground?”

The air grew still between them, Kain’s eyes meeting hers. There was a resolve in his eyes, but she couldn’t believe what he had said. The pleasant memories faded from her mind as she looked at him. Trying to understand what he even could mean. She didn’t even have time to speak up as he continued. His cynical view that no one had ever brought up, Mistakes of the past made more and more apparent with each word. His wisdom was unlike hers, a wisdom that cut into her heart, a wisdom that was cold.

“The Gangs of Tanren, the Ghosts of Winden and the Plague of Archford… Three things that in his time as the Fourteenth Flame, The White flower, Was able to keep in control. The Flora of Flame working tirelessly without profit to keep the citizens of these great regions healthy and away from trouble, And then the reformation happens, The Flora of Flame is broken into The Will of the Flame And the Kindred Spirits. And what happens? Everything goes to the jaws of Giratina, This Fifteenth Flame begins to take the reins of the two branches, bringing massive reform, The Kindred Spirits continue on to do good work for the people, But they no longer can operate in these dangerous zones because the Fifteenth would rather take the Will of the Flame on expeditions to these ancient ruined sites than protect those in danger…”

The Ninetales is shocked by what the Litleo was saying. She started to think back, to the times of her youth, and as the Litleo spoke old wounds began to open, one by one. However as much as it hurt to be reminded, she stayed, hearing the Kain’s thoughts. The more he spoke, the more she realized that he had grown up so fast before she had even realized it.

“The amount of time that this guy spent with some of the smartest of the old Flora of Flame… And for what? He didn’t even understand the importance of archiving. I can pull anything from the years the Fourteenth was in charge, from mission notes to ANY of the Five year goal plans up until sixty years ago. And then we just have these memoirs. Vague, Poetic, perhaps. But it doesn’t really tell me anything, It tells me that this fifteenth was a hero, that aided others in stopping a few calamities, But in the process of his obsession with the ancient past and only stopping when the world absolutely needed him, He let all of the work of The White Flower go to waste! Tanren is back to a war zone, Gangs coming in and out of power at the drop of a scarf. Winden is still plagued with rumors and mysteries, with the missing mon’ count in the hundreds over the last fifty years. And Archford now has a whole condemned region of its forests called the Dark Wood. It’s funny, this fifteenth at least put on a good show, to make it seem like everything was in control. Toppling one gang in Tanren just led to another taking its place. Burning away what he thought was the only taint in Archford just allowed the taint to flourish under the ashes, and then we have my favorite line from the memoirs,

“And that brilliant flame vanished into the rain, Headed north to the heavenly snow.”

“And to top it all off, the last thing he had been ignoring, the mysteries of the ghosts of Winden, THAT’S how he disappears into history! It was only through your wisdom Grandmother Fox that the Kindred spirits exist today, but how did you follow such an ignorant man in your youth?”

Grandmother Fox didn’t have anything to say. She had known that there were many problems that couldn’t be fixed in her youth, but when the young Litleo put it together… She realized as she looked into his eyes, that there was a wisdom that only came with hindsight. She looked deeply into his eyes as she spoke.

“I’m sorry Kain, We did all that we could.”

The young Litleo’s anger drained away in that moment. Hearing her say it like that, there was such heavy emotion in her voice. Kain almost grimaced as he heard her say it. He reached up and adjusted his bandanna. He let out a sigh, not even realizing that for the first time in his life, she had called him by name and not “Young Lion”. He looked up to her and spoke with more sincerity in his voice now.

“You’re right, I got too worked up, I think I’m going to be outside of the temple today, I need some time to think…”

Grandmother Fox wordlessly nodded as Kain turned to leave, there was a weird feeling in his stomach now, and He needed to get his mind off of it. Mistakes of the past didn’t mean anything right?

Besides.

That was a long time ago.

[Wolfy]

“Feels like forever since I’ve been here. Not sure what I was expecting but… I don’t really feel anything toward this place. Not anymore.”

The zoroark opened her eyes and looked over at the ursaring who had spoken. The bear pokemon almost looked out of place there, his body a living memorial to all the scars and pain he had endured all those years ago. There had been a lot of time to heal, sure, but he would never get back his left eye, his right ear, or the fearsome claws that had been ripped from him mercilessly, one by one by the pokemon in that horrible organization they were all a part of. He gave off the look of someone who was older than he actually was.

“Been a while since I’ve been here, too,” the zoroark hummed softly. A blue and pink flesh-looking scarf moved up and down from around her neck as if it were breathing. “Still wish I hadn’t been so cowardly to stay in hiding for so long. Perhaps I could have saved her a lot of suffering… and you as well. But I know better than anyone that the past is unfortunately written in stone. The ghosts live on as a constant reminder of the things we know we cannot hope to change.”

The tattered ursaring sighed deeply and slumped down against a tree. The nostalgic energy surrounding the town hit him like a surge of bad memories – memories he was constantly pushing to the back of his mind. Memories, he wished, would disappear.

“Yeah. It sucks,” he grumbled simply, crossing his large, hulking arms over his lap. What followed was a short silence between them, an occurrence that was not at all uncommon. Even after all this time, his relations with Alayna were always a bit awkward. Despite the fact that they had both attempted to play a role in protecting Wolfy in their own highly differing and complicated ways, they rarely ever saw eye to eye when it came to a lot of things. This, at least, was something he felt they could always agree on.

After a while, the zoroark spoke up again, changing the subject to something that had been on her mind since the two of them had met up a while back. “How has she been doing lately?”

The ursaring’s solitary eye widened a bit, then relaxed again, purposefully avoiding contact with Alayna’s. “Been a few years,” he admitted. “But she seems to be doing well. She’s… strong. Probably a lot stronger than she was since you’ve last seen her.”

The zoroark cracked a smile that was barely noticeable under her black fur. “She was always strong. Just not in the way anyone expected of her.”

“Yeah,” Grizzly replied, fiddling with his clawless paws, “But, I mean, you can definitely see her father in her now, with the way she fights, and…” he suddenly interrupted himself, realizing that could easily come off the wrong way, “Not in a bad way! I don’t mean…”

“I know…” Alayna trailed. Her smallest hint of a smile was still there, now entangled with a feeling of bittersweetness at the thought of her old partner from those days of old. Even though they had been fighting on the wrong side of history then, she had still been a close friend and ally to him up until the day he died. It was she, in the end, who the arcanine had entrusted his last dying wish. He had died trying to protect the last little bit of good in his life, and he trusted her to carry that on. He had been noble in death, at least, and that was something to be thankful for. “I’m sure Arceus spared him. He was just a good pokemon who had been wrapped up in the wrongs of this world, just like the rest of us. If circumstances had been different…”

“Yeah.” Grizzly cut her off again without even thinking. He still preferred not to talk about the subject. There was still bad blood between the two of them after the arcanine had perished. It couldn’t be the fact that I tried to kill her just to keep Overworld from getting their grubby paws on her…, he thought sourly, but with a hint of humour. Some protector I was. Even Alayna did that job better than me… I’m just an idiot.

A voice broke from the center of town, loud enough to catch the attention of pretty much all passersby. Both Alayna and Grizzly turned up their heads, and the scarf around Alayna’s neck seemed to unwrap at the hubbub as well.

“GATHER ROUND ADVENTURES! THE MISSIONS ARE HERE!”

The scarf revealed itself to be the pokemon chimecho; for a long time, he had served at Alayna’s side as the voices to her illusions, but nowadays he spent a lot of time napping around the zoroark’s neck and helping to watch over the little one. He gave out a huge yawn, blinking in a disoriented state as he got used to the sunshine around them.

“Oh… ? Hm? What’s going on, Mad’m?”

The zoroark popped the chimecho on the head. “Go back to sleep, Capo,” she teased. “Any more moving around and you’re going to…”

Too late. The fur on her chest ruffled and a green head poked itself out. “Ooohhh!” a small dragon-type gasped. “Momma, there’s explorers here! Can I go check 'em out?”

Grizzly stayed silent, barely looking at the trio but still secretly observing the kid’s antics. Alayna grinned in encouragement and helped push the already leaping dragon out of her fluffy layer of fur. “Yeah, go ahead. Knock 'em dead, kid.”

“Haha! YES!” the little axew cheered, a mischievous smile donning her face. “I’m going to show everyone there how strong I am. Bet I could beat all of 'em! They won’t be a match for my dragon rage. They won’t even see it coming!” She stood up on her hind legs, paws on her hips. The kid wasn’t lacking in confidence, that was for sure. It was a huge contrast from the timid growlithe that Alayna had been so used to. The orphaned dragon had a lot of guts, and she liked that, but sometimes the little bugger could get in a lot of trouble without meaning to.

“Awwwww… are we doing this already?” the chimecho mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes with his tail.

“Indeed,” the zoroark responded, bemused. “You know what to do. Just follow her around and make sure she doesn’t get into too much mischief, especially with the other kids.”

The chimecho sighed dramatically, but still seemed more pleased than annoyed to be entrusted with the task. “Yes’m, you’ve got my word,” he promised, wrapping his tail around one of the fox’s claws before floating hurriedly after the careless dragon-type, who was already running ahead toward the voice that had beckoned her awake. “Hey, kid! Wait up for your old Uncle Capo! My old body can’t float the way it used to!”

Once the two of them were out of earshot, Grizzly looked back at Alayna, then looked away again. “You know, that kid’s pretty annoying, but… sometimes I’m glad you decided to take her under your wing. Especially when nobody else would. We can’t change what happened in the past, but at least after all that happened… you can give one kid a normal life, at least.”

The zoroark bowed her head somewhat sadly, closing her eyes to the dark images that still haunted the recesses of her mind. “Yes…” she agreed somberly. “It’s the least I can do. For you, for myself, for everyone in Overworld… and especially for Wolfy.”

[AnkokuFlare]

The blue bat quaked his gob nervously as that sinister air crept around the area of the room. He can’t imagine how a hyper-sensitive psychic type will feel around this veil of the pitch-black.“I know she don this before plenty of time, but this “ploy” of hers usually to find a way to twist the his comfortable state of thought into a more anxious one.” Mawki sighs with his mind.

Mawki delved deeper in his heart. Soon feeling of appreciation was felt as he looked back before he met this passionate Zoroark companion. When he was a young pup he was prone to run away from all his fears and troubles. He was even afraid of weighing down others with his meek disposition, so he’d often be alone in solitude. His favorite hangout was underneath the trunk of his favorite willow tree he’s named, The Observer, because the view was so clear from on-top of the tree. And under The Observer is where he’s found his first friend, Yarza. She was a mischievous little zorua pup back then. She was infamous thinking up ways to scare the bajeebers out of the neighboring children. It was obvious Yarza came to scare the him, the anxious zubat. While he was doodling on the ground that impish fox pounce on his back. For a moment there he was screaming in fright alone. Then the zorua on-top of him turned him around and turned into his likeness. The Zorua also was screaming in fright as he was. His younger bat self was confused at first, but then if clicked how his reactions appeared so over the top. It was being reflected onto him by this trick. They both started laughing after this strange act passed. Mawki grew to grab hold of what his fears are trying to tell him after that moment of a budding friendship.

The zoroark was slightly hunch down after that mighty blow to the wall. The smokey vixen took in some more lengthier breaths as she slowly rose her spine to a leveled default position. She turned to her batty old pal and stepped towards him, and gave a smirk and leaned over to say,
“You’ve certainly have learned the ropes, haven’t ya!”.

She chuckled amused at the thoughts of Mawki’s fearful reactions of the past.
“To think you were screaming your lungs out when I hopped on your cute little batty butt.” She continued on.
“You are brave, Mawki, I respect you for that. I grew to recognize how my nature and typing may overwhelm most folk. I guess we were alone for different reasons.” She acknowledged as she starts to pace back and forth.
“Being around you taught me to get better in constraining my intensities of the shadows. Given my typing isn’t something I cannot fully control or avoid, but I can improve on my estimates.” She explained with a wink.

After her thoughtful words were woven onto their friendship she approached the shelves. She reached over for a bottle of sparkling oran juice.While carefully adjusting her long locks of ebony and copper ringed hair which seemed to to droop down past her torso, she successfully prepared two cups. One for her. One for her pal.

“Cheers!” Yarza called out lifting the drink.

“Cheers!” Mawki echos as he raised his own drink with his wing.

With synchronicity, they drink their fill of the sweet relaxing liquid.

“I’m going to miss the calm.With the storms rising as fast as it is… I may of taken tranquility for granted” doubts of the future flooded the fox again. She glanced at her friend cherishing the moment of the present with a cheerful giggle of the latest gossip. She looked away while shaking her head.
“No, this is a time to be happy; a time to be alive.”.
“Make every moment count…”.
"…Including the mistakes. ".

From the shelves Yarza plucked out what appears to be a shattered reflective plate.
She stares at the distorted pieces of her physical appearance for a moment. The rings and marking of her face and hair begin to gleam slightly with the plate. After giving some time of self-acceptance she tossed the strange relic within her pack.

[Rhaenn]

Native bird Pokémon chirruped curiously overhead as a single sunflower amidst a field of grass swayed in the breeze, it’s large head and petals just barely peering out from under the brush.

Chapeau - as a Cubone - had never been one for long walks.
Granted, this one had turned out to be longer than expected.

Without warning, the grass rustled and the sunflower disappeared into the verdant abyss … only to reappear a few yards ahead; golden petals facing the sun once more.

The journey had taken a few days, but the road to the nearest settlement was without a doubt somewhere beyond this large expanse of grass stalks and weeds. Chapeau’s pack jingled as he resumed moving, its contents rattling together in a cacophony of noise.

Once again, the flower dipped below the large green blades, remaining absent until it finally remerged once more at the edge of the field, its large stalk casting a shadow on the cobblestone path ahead. Tawny fingers gripped the stem firmly before the small bipedal figure followed the flower out onto the path. Tiny claws clicked excitedly against the cobbled street, the free arm of the brown creature dusting off his pack and cream belly before looking left and right for any trail-markers.

With a huff of satisfaction at reaching the path, Chapeau slung the stalk across his shoulder and reached up to adjust his lopsided helmet.

His helmet. Of course.
This week it was a pumpkin.

Two leaves were haphazardly wedged into the orange skin to resemble ears; a toothy grin and holes for eyes had been (painstakingly) clawed out.

Compared to the previous helmet, it was a modern day masterpiece.
After all, last week’s paper bag had nearly disintegrated in the rain.

Chapeau hobbled out in the direction of a nearby trail-marker, and after nodding confidently - once again, having to fix his helmet as a result - he walked in the direction of the Grassroot settlement, helmet bobbing up and down curiously as he moved.

Chapeau’s claws clicked delicately against the cobblestone path, weaving left and right as the opportunity arose to pick up a lost feather here, or a scrap of fabric there. These things would - without a doubt - come in handy when this helmet reached it’s … expiration date. Hopefully the settlement had a marketplace, or better yet, a blacksmith. If he was lucky, the merchants in town might be in the possession of a Shelmet hood, or perhaps a blacksmith would be able to create something of similar function. The one time Chapeau had the pleasure of coming across the uninhabited blade of a past Honedge, the sword had gotten painfully dull all too quickly. With no one to repair it, it was nothing more than a useless scrap of metal.

Chapeau cast a worried glance up at the sunflower, before stooping down to scoop up another stray feather into his bag, resuming his journey only once it was safely tucked away.

His worries and hopes would have to wait.

[hr][/hr]
When he finally arrived at the Grassroot settlement, Chapeau curiously bumbled along the streets, weaving between trees and fencing while gaining confused looks from the residents and visitors of the town. As he stormed through the streets in search of the local marketplace a loud voice caught his attention, causing him to skid to a halt and backpedal curiously.

“GATHER 'ROUND ADVENTURERS! THE MISSIONS ARE HERE!”

Intrigued, he waddled towards the source of the announcement; his sunflower poking out amongst the taller Pokémon that had gathered nearby. Without a second thought, he made his way to the front of the group to see what all the fuss was about (or rather, everyone moved out of the way of the mysterious feathered walking pumpkin). Fumbling to adjust his helmet single-handedly, Chapeau looked up at large board everyone had clustered around with large and curious eyes.

The air bristled with excitement, and very slowly, his sunflower began to sway in the breeze.

Chapeau had never been one for long walks.
… But this one - he knew - had turned out alright.

[DarkMazer]

((This is a collaborative post by Kronic and DarkMazer. Navy text is Kronic, black text is DarkMazer. More to come!))

As Kain left the temple and passed under the familiar arch the Chimecho Kewanee called out to him. He looked up to her with a smile and a wave. Trying to hide his emotions from her and what had just happened. If he made it apparent he was upset when he returned for the nightly banquette he would not be able to get a word in edge wise. When the sun set in the sky all of the members of the Kindred spirits returned to share in a meal, and they all though of themselves as mothers to Kain. And if one mother can ask one hundred questions then you can imagine how the table would be like when the other Seven returned from their duties. Of course Kewanne being his age wouldn’t be asking questions, but she would mention how he seemed to feel that morning to one of them. That was for certain. Kewanee was a gatekeeper, in more ways than one. And today, Kain wanted to keep some gates closed.

As Kain walked out from the shade of the temple he looked up, it was closer to noon now, and the sun hanging in the sky, where most would dread the rise in temperature Kain loved it, and it brought some comfort to him after what had just happened. There was no time to let this eat away at him! There was a day left to enjoy, and so much to do! He decided to catch up with a friend, He had heard him earlier in the day but he was too busy carrying Orans to stop for a chat, He headed in the direction that the lighting had come from before. Most would think that in the middle of the day it would be hard to catch a Mon’ at his house, But Kain almost bet on it.

Kain approached what appeared to be an irregularity in the ground; if you weren’t paying a lot of attention you wouldn’t notice it, But Kain knew what he was looking for. He approached the raised land and looked down at it. There wasn’t really a way to knock, so Kain did the next best thing, he took a deep breath and Roared out.

“Hey! It’s almost Noon Xeno! Nap time is over!”

“GAH!” Xeno started awake as the young lion Roared right outside his abode. “You don’t have to roar so loudly, you know…” Xeno stretched quickly, restoring life to his body, then hustled through the tunnel to the “front door”, pushing it aside and then shutting it behind him, quickly but carefully. “I take it you’re done with your delivery?” Xeno rubbed his eyes with his left paw as he spoke, still a little sleepy.

“Of course! I wouldn’t call myself a delivery ‘mon if it too me until noon to make a walk that short! And I take it your done with training? I heard you this morning on my walk. Figured I’d wait until after my delivery… So! Any plans for today?”

“I wasn’t training! I don’t train. I was just, uh, stretching my back. Yeah, need to stretch the ol’ back to keep it from cramping up. ANYWAY. Uhh…”

Xeno paused for a moment, now that he had his frantic excuses out of the way, to think of what he actually wanted to do.

“I guess it’d be amusing to see what’s on sale at the shop today. Not that their stock ever changes much…” Xeno trailed off as he mused to himself.

Kain paused for a moment after Xeno gave his excuse, He knew he was training. He had beaten him to evolution, so he knew he had to have something driving him. Regardless Kain shrugged. As much as he was taller than him now, with Kain on his back legs, they still could look eye to eye. As he heard him mention going into town he nodded, although hoping that the shop would have anything but the usual was probably hoping for too much.

“Well I didn’t ask Leon what they had for sale today, and I’m not doing much else really, I’d be happy to come with you, at the very least it’s a nice walk.

With that, Xeno nodded wordlessly and made for town. The Litleo traveling beside him, they looked odd together, the larger on his four paws and the smaller bipedal. Still, Xeno enjoyed Kain’s company, even though Xeno would be reluctant to admit it even to himself, and it seemed Kain tolerated Xeno’s company, despite Xeno’s quirks. They had known each other for a while, but Xeno still couldn’t figure out what Kain saw in him. Perhaps it was his dedication to his training, or his wild imagination, or perhaps even his offbeat sense of humor. Regardless, the two continued onward to Grassroot… and to adventure.

[Kronic]

At that point in the day there was a certain peace in Grassroot. The hustle and bustle of the Explorers heading off on the various job postings settled Grassroot to the quaint small town that Kain loved. This calm was really only known to those who took the time to rest, a calm that some of the explorers would never hear. As Kain let his view drift and he thought to himself. His stress from earlier seemed to run away from him. He let out a much needed sigh, smoke drifting out of his mouth. It wasn’t good to hold all of that heat in anyways. The two of them continued to walk towards Leon’s shop. Kain couldn’t guess what Xeno was looking for here, but he let him take the lead on this one, waving his paw once again to Leon as he waited for Xeno to finish shopping.

Kain let his eyes wander as he looked around. Everything seemed normal at least at first, and it was. Until it happened, a shadow flashed past. He almost swore his eyes were playing tricks on him until he heard Mrs. Kangaskhan call out. Kain didn’t waste any time as he pulled himself up and jogged around the corner. Mrs. Kangaskhan was calling out and shaking her hand in the direction of sour root, As Kain looked ahead he saw the shadow in the distance, It was hard to make out but it looked like it was holding something sharp. Kain didn’t waste any time asking questions, He called back as he dropped to all fours, dashing after shadowed Mon’

“Don’t worry Mrs. Kangaskhan! I’ll get whoever it is! Xeno! We’ll catch up later!”

Mrs. Kangaskhan looked flabbergasted, She could take just about anyone on in a one on one fight, but she wasn’t that fast, She called out to Kain as he ran after the mysterious thief.

“He stole something from the back storage! I don’t quite know what it is but it looks sharp! Be careful Kain!”

[AnkokuFlare]

The zoroark hung the strap of her inventory on to her left shoulder. She peered at the pieces of rubble for moment. The a smirk formed on her snout.
“This may come in handy sometime”, Yarza mumbled as she place the broken wall fragment in in the leather pouch.

Yarza turned to Mawki and placed a paw on her friends wing.
“I have some plans a brewing, but I’d want to include Hook in”, The zoroark hinted to her batty pal.
“And you are not going to tell your nasty ploys little ol me?.”, Mawki answered playfully.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I.”, Yarza rubbed her claws together with her teal eyes gleaming menacingly.

Mawki sighed with relief as he noticed Yarza lighten up to her usual antics.
“Let me get my bag latched on and we are good to go.” Mawki responded while acting upon getting his things ready. With some fumbling with his wings he get’s his bag equiped.

They both made eye contact and nodded and took a stroll out to the the bunker hall.