+Pokéma (PG-13)

+Pokéma (SUs closed! OOC can be found here.)
[Concept based on the manga, +Anima]
(Rated PG-13 for chance of violence)

There is a phenomenon that nearly all know about, but few believe. It is said that when a child, before the age of fourteen, is close to death, the power of the last Pokémon they see before the time comes is bestowed upon them with the hope that it will help them survive. This power, a spirit called a Pokéma, creates a mark upon the child's body, from which, at will, the child can change that part of their body into a Pokémon part, and back again. No one knows the true power of these Pokéma, but a child who is blessed in one man's eyes will be cursed in another's. The child may use the Pokéma for as long as they need to, right into adulthood, but once they have found a place where they are cared for, and safe, the Pokéma is needed no more, and it leaves to help another child.

Most +Pokéma live on the mainland of Johto and Kanto. In Kanto, +Pokéma are generally seen as things to be afraid of, as savage, inhuman beings, and may be chased out of town, but other places accept them freely. For some reason, all +Pokéma are viewed as the same entity, so if one +Pokéma does something wrong, it becomes believed that all +Pokéma do the same. +Pokéma must act carefully while in Kanto. If they manage to traverse the tough mountain terrain of Silver, Johto's customs are different. There, all +Pokéma may live and work as they wish - as long as they can identify themselves as the slaves of others. A group of +Pokéma all owned by one person often travel together around the region. They can do as they please under the laws of Johto, but if they do wrong, it is the owner who is punished. Free +Pokéma are often captured to be sold to the slave owners. There are known to be +Pokéma in Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, but these places are far from the mainland, and take many weeks to travel too by ship, and so will not be seen during the RP.

You, a +Pokéma, have heard of a gathering taking place at Lavender Tower, where a well-known Flygon +Pokéma named Janin is looking for accomplices to help him raid a slave shipment in Goldenrod in Johto. You think it might be a good idea; you were recently run from your home town after being discovered as a +Pokéma, and you think it would be better if the laws were changed in Johto, and views changed in Kanto, because then you could have a normal life.

Your journey begins here...

Basic Information


Sign-up:
Name: (Don't make it too over-the-top. Names in +Anima are often a little out of the ordinary but are still names.)
Age: (+Pokéma are created under the age of 14. If you are over 14, you will have had a Pokéma for a while. You can't have a Pokéma if you're over 22, since +Pokéma only began appearing 8 years ago.)
Pokéma: (Which Pokéma do you have?No legendaries, and if you're an evolved Pokémon, try not to make it too over-powered, please. Describe where your marking is, what it looks like and how the Pokéma manifests.)
Personality: (A decent amount; 2-3 paragraphs, please.)
History: (Again, a decent amount; 3-4 paragraphs please. You may use one of those paragraphs to describe how you gained your Pokéma.)
Appearance: (2-3 paragraphs again, please. Describe overall appearance, and detail is your friend. Please also describe clothing - and how you use it to cover your +Pokéma marking if necessary)
RP Sample: (Necessary. I need to see how well you RP. If you are unsatisfactory, you will not be accepted. If your posts do not match the quality of your sample... well, you have been warned. ;) )

Places/reservations:
1. Lett (Kon~) *bulbagarden.net image removed*
2. Ariadne Callurn (Red's Hawt Chibi Pelippers) *bulbagarden.net image removed*
3. Keldia Thompson (Archipelago) *bulbagarden.net image removed*
4. Echidna (Charzeon) *bulbagarden.net image removed*
5. Ashton (Sandeon) *bulbagarden.net image removed*
6. Van Vespertilio (Pokemongarnet) *bulbagarden.net image removed*
After sign-up, SUs will be added to the OP of the OOC thread. Don't post more OOC than necessary in the RP thread. Remember that all RP rules apply to this RP too. And have fun!

Welcome to the world of +Pokéma!


My SU:

Approved! And I wished I had time to play it ;; I really want to.

Maybe I can reserve a spot for... a few days? If I haven't been able to post a good SU by then, well, then we know I won't be able to post often enough for the RP anyways and shouldn't be in it.

I would also like to reserve a spot. Might drop this one RP I'm in so that I'll have more time for this one, but we'll see. If I do say, I'll have the Pokema of an Arbok.

I'll reserve a spot for myself just in case~! And I reserve Staravia/Staraptor

Ah *Slams Table* I made it in time
Reservation Please!!! For Crobat Please

So many replies already! WOOHOO!

Red's Hawt Chibi Pelippers said:

Approved! And I wished I had time to play it ;; I really want to.

Maybe I can reserve a spot for... a few days? If I haven't been able to post a good SU by then, well, then we know I won't be able to post often enough for the RP anyways and shouldn't be in it.

Click to expand...

Reserved!

Archipelago said:

This sounds like fun! I'd like to reserve a place, and I'll get the Sign-up ready by tomorrow. I have absolutely no idea what I'll have as my character's Pokema, but I'll think up something.

Click to expand...

Reserved!

Charzeon said:

I would also like to reserve a spot. Might drop this one RP I'm in so that I'll have more time for this one, but we'll see. If I do say, I'll have the Pokema of an Arbok.

Click to expand...

Reserved!

Eeveemaster9 said:

I'll reserve a spot for myself just in case~! And I reserve Staravia/Staraptor

Click to expand...

Reserved!

pokemongarnet said:

Ah *Slams Table* I made it in time
Reservation Please!!! For Crobat Please

Click to expand...

and Reserved!

wonderstruck said:

Ooooh, I like the plot of this! :) Mind if I reserve a spot (not sure what Pokema yet)? My SU'll be down in a bit~

EDIT: Oh, er, it looks like I'm too late. :/ Alrighty, then - I'll be first in line for a reservation if that's okay. xD

Click to expand...

Sorry you couldn't make it in time D:
If anyone drops out, I'll come to you first

EDIT: The OOC Thread can be found HERE! Post SUs there or edit the posts already made here so as to keep OOC in the RP thread to a minimum.

Echidna stared out at the passing country side as it raced passed her window. A cherry announcer told her and the few other people in the carrige that they would soon be arriving in Saffron City. Echinda had to admit, she was extremely impressed with how fast the train from Goldenrod could get to this strange city. It did look a lot like her home, but much more run down. It seemed as though people were just letting the building and old machines waste away. The woman didn't know why this was, though she had a feeling she should have.

Sure enough, the train passed into a big city and slowed to a stop as it entered the station. The annoucer then came back on and told everyone to pick up their belongings. It didn't take Echidna long since she had only one shoulder bag, which contained her money, some food and water, along with a portable, kid-like radio that Alice had given her before leaving. As the woman left the train with the few passengers that were on it, she saw that only a couple went onto the train. Not suprising, considering how late it was. But the Vanderlas had suggested she go on the late train to avoid getting into a crowd.

Thinking of the Vanderlas caused Echidna to finger the tag on her golden coller, which had her name, the Vanderlas' name, and their contact information. In Jhoto, this little tag would protect a +Pokema like her from almost anyone who wanted to do her harm. It also allowed her to live a somewhat normal life and do things the so called 'free' +Pokema couldn't do.

But here in Kanto, as her owners so often told her, this was not the case. Here, +Pokema were hunted down and killed like rapid Pokemon, not even given a second to try to explain themselves. Echidna shivered, knowing how much danger she was in. She knew this was stupid. Why in the world would she come here? If any of these people knew what she was, the Arbok +Pokema would be killed right on the spot.

But...she had recently gotten this urdge to find out who she was before becoming a +Pokema. She wanted to know what kind of life she had lived...even if she couldn't remember a second of it. She felt that she just had to know. Still...it took a bit of convincing, but the Vanderlas were confident that she would be able to protect herself.

Taking a deep breath, Echidna walked out of the train station and into the city she was born in...even if she didn't remember that.

Slinking through the shadows of the Saffron undergrowth, Lett was searching for food.

It had been a while since she had consumed her last batch of berries, and now her stomach was pining for sustenance. She had a craving that she couldn't place, and it didn't help that she could smell the foodstuffs of the city wafting into her grove. Gritting her teeth with a snarl, she couldn't help but poke her head through the bushes and take in more of the scent.

Flashes of movement passed her gaze and made her flinch in fear of capture. Lett was on constant edge, and the close proximity of the humans didn't help her nerves. She shied away from the bustling businessmen; the loud street-vendors; the playing children; the wave of people from the train station. Lett scoffed at them all; she had long since separated herself from the lot of them, and yet still craved the socialism they had, the culture they were free to immerse themselves in.

Hand-waving the scent of takoyaki from the closest stall away, she lunged out suddenly, changing her left arm into Pokéma form as she did in order to jab the curious Pidgey with her claw. It hadn't been expecting her to be so fast, and she was extremely hungry... but as it cooed up at her with those baleful eyes, she could hardly bear it.

Lett may have become +Pokéma, but she had yet to lose her humanity. Ignoring her protesting stomach she let the Pidgey up, where it immediately began to straighten its feathers with its beak, and she let her Pokéma fade away. Maybe she could risk an excursion into the city... after all, it had been a couple of months since she had last tried it. The Pidgey settled down to roost at her knee, and she batted it away.

"Listen, fluffball, unless you're going to cook and serve yourself to me, we don't have business. Get away!" Lett hissed. Her stomach growled again - thinking of cooked meat didn't help.

Sighing, Lett rolled onto her feet and moved deeper into the forest.

Ariadne looked out on the glimmering waters. Wave after wave bounced in and sprayed the cliffs beneath her. Wet. Not nice. She shook her head and walked away from the cliffs, following the wildside north towards Lavender. She had been traveling on the large bridges at first, but then decided that they were too crowded. She couldn't even stick her hands out of her cape, out of fear from being discovered. The marks on her hands were small, but visible. Nobody had any reason to make tattoos like those, and surely, nobody had believed her when she had pulled that lie.

The weather was a bit dim, with silvery yellow clouds covering the sky and the sun barely shining through, giving the sea a blank but muddily dark look. The sea breeze came in from the east and she stared out in the far distance as she walked, wrapping her coat closer around her. The horizon was visible, behind the large bridges that went all the way from where the eastern Fuchsia road met the southern Lavender road. They were built to connect some small islets and make a better place to travel on, than the rather ruggy and rough wildside where Ariadne now had chosen to travel. With one last longing glance, she went in among the trees and left the sea behind her.

The forest was quiet; the sea breeze didn't reach her here. The eastern sea had fascinated her since she first saw it after she had left Celadon, some years ago. The southern horizon were more interesting to many people, since you knew Hoenn, the Sevii Islands and many other well known lands were there somewhere. But the eastern horizon was where the sun rose every morning. Somewhere far away there, but a bit further north, Sinnoh was. Or so Ariadne had learned from the TV.

She guessed the forest was the home for many other +Pokémas. After all, they weren't welcome in the cities. She only managed to get around there because she was pretty skilled after all at hiding her hands. And to pickpocket things with them, or course. She didn't like the forests anymore... they gave her a creeping feeling in her spine. They... reminded her of that day. When she had ran from her brother. She shrugged. No, she wouldn't think about that now. She was going somewhere.

The rallying in Lavender had piqued her interest from the moment she had heard of it. It was some men in a dark alley in Fuchsia that had talked about it. Neither of them had noticed Ariadne, who had been sitting in the shadowy gutter, eating some rather fine food she had been stealing earlier that day. But after a while, they changed the subject. Ariadne hadn't heard as much as she wanted to. She had gotten to her feet, and the men had been angry with her for listening in to their chat. She had only put on a grin, her teeth shining in the faint moonlight, and called forth the Pokéma in her hands. Her big claws had pretty quickly convinced the men that they better tell her more. They weren't +Pokémas themselves, but they had heard some others talking about the gathering in Lavender, rallied by some man called Janin. One of them were bold enough to say that they would tell the police about it. He went home with a nice, bleeding, flesh wound on his forearm that night. And Ariadne left Fuchsia with a smile on her lips. Finally, somebody who wanted to do something about all this.

She sighed as she remembered that night in Fuchsia many days ago. It had taken her some time to travel east and then north from the city. There had been people everywhere, seemingly. Some had realized she was a +Pokéma, and chased her in the wrong direction until she managed to hide in the old Safari Zone. Stupid people. She hated them. All of them.

She accidentally ripped a small branch off a tree. The Pokéma in one of her hands had activated without her noticing. Was she really becoming that numb? Slightly surprised, she halted and looked up at the tree. It swayed noiselessly. It hadn't done her any harm. It reminded her... of a tree that grew outside her window in the house outside of Celadon... She wrinkled her eyebrows. "Sorry," she said, and dropped the ripped branch at the roots of the tree, before continuing to walk through the green world, without looking back.


((OOC: Whoa, melancholic post, anyone? It felt good to write again, though.))

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Being a Pokéma is not something that you can choose to be, unless of course you're willing to risk a near-death experience. Nor is it something anyone would want to be. Once found out, it ends as a spiral of pain and distress and one would try desperately to escape the swarms of civilians trying to chase you from their towns. Of course, not everyone would treat a Pokéma that way, although chances are, that would happen to you at least once over the course of being some kind of human/Pokémon mid-point. Well, truthfully they were more human than Pokemon, save a single point on their body, but they could never be the same afterwards. Even Keldia Thompson, who had managed to spend years undercover with no-one knowing of her "affliction", was not immune to the possibility.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]The blonde-haired woman currently sat within the murky depths of Rock tunnel. In her opinion, it was one of the least-imaginatively names places in Kanto, but Keldia could not deny the beauty of it from the inside. It was darn-near impossible to see more than five-feet away from you though, and Kel had brought no torch. He didn't have time. She had left Viridian with little more than the clothes on her back and the vines which often replaced her hair. Currently though, her hair was the strawberry-blonde that it usually was, and the only thing that would give away her being a Pokéma was the thin "pattern" on the back of her neck, and even that was covered by her long hair. The thing which worried he the most though was not the pattern, but of her appearance in general. She had run from the police not a week ago, and she was kept awake at night by the sheer terror that they would find her. Keldia was not usually a frightful person, but this was her life that she was planning to keep. She needed to stay in less populated areas like caves and forests, and only making the occasional jump into town for a few meagre supplies before vanishing again, not to be seen of for as long as she could stay away, and even then Keldia would probably move onto another town as not to give away her identity or location. Still, she doubted the police would still be after her even if the chance remained. They were probably dealing with the other Pokéma who were wrecking havoc. Probably not intentionally, just unable to keep their new abilities under control, just as Keldia had been to begin with.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]But that didn't matter now. The past and everything about it was nothing now. It meant nothing, and now she had a new place to go. Lavender Town. While Keldia had not been there herself, she had known of it for more than one reason. There was a meeting being planned there. She had heard it from... someone. Keldia had no idea where she had picked it up now that she thought about it. They could have been other Pokéma heading there too, or they could be police who had heard of it and were heading there to stop it. Keldia hoped desperately it would be the first one, since she didn't like the idea of dealing with more of them. She had already knocked one unconscious and didn't intend on that going any further.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Despite the lack of light in Rock Tunnel it wasn't impossible to see around yourself. Keldia had occasionally followed other people who had been travelling (even though they were painfully few) with a light-source, once or twice asking if she could go with them for the trip before vanishing into the darkness. It was her vague attempts at being secretive, and to make sure that if anyone did notice she was a Pokéma (despite how unlikely that was), slipping away would come like second nature to her. Practice makes perfect after all, and by the amount of wrong turns Keldia had taken – mostly from following someone who was going back the way she had come – she was rather good at this if she did say so herself. The only problem with such a dark abyss is that it's painfully hard to see where you're going. That is unless you happen to be a Zubat Pokéma of course, and considering just how savage those things can be in a bad mood, Keldia wouldn't be surprised if she heard that the majority of Pokéma were in fact turned partially into a Zubat, or at least one of their evolutionary relatives. Damn things – Keldia had had to fend a good few of them off anyway with her abilities, mainly consisting of batting them away with her hair.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Tangela are known to be able to control the vines which covered their bodies like arms, and that wad exactly what Keldia could do. She was a bit clumsy with them, but they worked, and in the end her reach with her hair was slightly longer than that of her arms anyway. Still, people still might be able to see her in this cave even if it was almost pitch-black, so she refused not to in case she was attacked by more Zubat, which was an inevitability if she thought about it.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]As if on cue, there was a brief screeching as a figure darted over-head. It sounded like a Zubat, although it might have been a Golbat, Keldia wasn't sure. But still, it didn't bother her at all, so she left the Poison/Flying type be. She was still human, and Keldia knew she would never be as powerful as the Tangrowth which fused itself with her. She still wondered why she was a Tangela Pokéma and not a Tangrowth when it was the later which bonded with her. It was probably her age at the time, as Keldia was only... nine? She thought that was right. Nine when she had become a Pokéma. Even she was amazed it had remained a secret for so long. It was eight years ago, wasn't it? Even Keldia herself didn't know, only that she had had this ability for as long as she could remember. Before that her life had been somewhat unremarkable, but becoming a Pokéma had changed all that. For a while it was useless, and then her abilities simply became a way to avoid having to get up to do things more often, and now that had caused her to become a fugitive. Perfect...[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Adding insult to injury, it was only seconds before Keldia had walked her way into one of the many stalagmites which lined the base of the cave. She nearly tripped, but managed to use the rock-formation as support. Brushing herself off, she was about to continued forward, hoping to find some direction to Lavender Town.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]She pivoted on the spot, making a full spin before facing the same way she was to begin with. Keldia was simply checking for any source of light which could act as a beacon for the exit. Very few people dare to venture in these caves since Pokemon training was banned, although a few did, and Keldia just hoped she might be able to pinpoint the location of another who could help her out of this dark and creepy – albeit beautifully designed – series of caves and tunnels. Besides, it would be nice to have someone to talk to for a change. There was little to do when you're out travelling on your own, and this might give Keldia the chance to learn a little more about what's happening in the "civilised" world. That was pushing it. A large portion of Kanto had fallen into disrepair, all because of the fact that Pokemon battling had been banned. It was a ridiculous law, at least in Keldia's opinion, and was probably what caused the sheer drop in technology over the past decade or so. Why the government didn't give up with the law and revert back to the previous days was beyond Keldia, which was an unusual feeling for her. Confusion was not an emotion that she often felt, and she didn't like this sense of ignorance on the situation. Things would be so much easier if the region was back how it was before training was banned.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Keldia wouldn't be a Pokéma for starters...[/FONT]

"[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]I think it's this way."[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]The woman froze at these words. They had appeared from no-where as if they were some kind of mist, and just like the bizarre weather it faded away just as quickly. Had she imagined it? No. It felt supernatural, but it was real. Keldia slowly turned around once more, although she only moved half-way before halting completely. Keldia's eyes had begun to adjust to the dark, and she could see the form ahead of her. A man held up a map – probably of the local area – and was trying his best to read it in such low-light. He had a torch shining at this map, but it did little work as he couldn't hold the map still and drench it in light at the same time. He was followed by no-one, so Keldia assumed that he was simply talking to himself, which seemed feasible. Soon however, he vanished into the deeper parts of the cave, the light he held still being visible while the rest of his body had sunk into the tunnels darkness.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]Taking her chance, Keldia followed the tiny torch-light in the distance, hoping that "it" was Lavender town. She did this for a few minutes, occasionally falling behind a stone structure if he ever turned around. Keldia must have heavier foot-steps than she had first thought. Still, she wasn't spotted, and it was only a few minutes before the area had brightened up. No need for torches now, as there was sun-light to etch the path.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]The cavern had opened up further along the corridor, and the man quickly hurried out, desperate to find Lavender town. Keldia was desperate too, but she did well at hiding it.[/FONT]

[FONT=Century Gothic, sans-serif]The woman sighed. "Lavender, here I come..."[/FONT]

Echidna continued to walk through Saffron city, looking around at the few sites there were. Whenever a person came, the Arbok Pokema was quick to jump to a shadow of one kind or another. The woman knew that this wasn't really nesscary, since there was no way a person would think she's a Pokema just from a glance. Her marks on the thighs were covered and the black marks on under her lip were small, even at a close range.

Still, Echidna did her best to take in everything she could in this city, hoping that maybe they would bring back some kind of memory. But she stopped after a little bit, realizing that there was a slim chance that she had actually lived anywhere near here. So, Echidna stopped looking around for a glimpse of her past and instead tried to find a place to rest. The Vanderlas gave her a good amount of money for whatever she needed. Thinking of her owners caused Echidna to finger her tag and think about her last good-byes before heading back...

Flashback:

"Now remember to be careful, Echinda," John Vanderla, the husband, told Echidna as she stood just outside of their gate. "I know I've told you many time before, and I'm sure you're sick of it, but things are much more strict in Kanto. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Neither does Alice!" A small beautiful girl named Alice, the Vanderla's daughter, said as she hugged Echidna's tail. "Alice doesn't want anything to happen to her older sister! She feels sad that Sis won't be able to show her beautiful tail in the other reigon."

Echinda nodded at John's advice, which she had heard many times over, and smiled downed at Alice. She gently wrapped her up in her thick purple tail, causinjg the young girl to giggle. The +Pokema looked to Mary, John's husband, to see what she would say. The woman just looked Echidna straight in the one, the only one who ever did, and said, "You better come back, we paid good money for you and Alice would be very upset."

Echidna nodded and mentally sighed. She knew since the first day she was bought that the woman never really liked her. Mary was still upset that her husband went against her wishes and bought a slow snake Pokema, who didn't even know her own name, rather then a smart dog Pokema. She still thinks that a dog Pokema would be a better protector for their Alice, not to mention it would look better for the neighbours. Mary never understood quite why John choose Echidna. As a matter of fact, neither did Echidna.

But still, the Arbok Pokema just wanted to do her best to show these people they did not waste their money in buying her. Yet...here she was going on an, albit short, expitdition to a hostile reigion with very little explaination other then, "She felt she had to go there." As stupid as it sounded...Echinda just couldn't get rid of this feeling she had.

"I'll be back soon. Good-bye," Echidna said, giving Alice a quick squeeze before un wrapping herself from the small girl and slithering away. She heard some replies from John and Alice, but nothing from Mary. Not surprising, seeing as how the woman thought of her. Still, Echidna continued to slither until she reached the train, where she went into the bathroom to change back and put on her skirt, then board the train.

End of Flashback.

By this time, Echidna had entered a sleezy, downtown hotel and paid for a room. To say the least...it wasn't really the best looking of rooms. But the last thing Echidna wanted was attention, which she might bring if she went into one of the more expensive hotels. Besides, the bed was comfortable enough and she just wanted to get some sleep. In the morning, she would once again look around to see if she could learn anything about the past she forgot about while traveling the wilds.

It was getting late by the time Lett decided to make a move. The incessant cooing of that annoying Pidgey had pushed her to the edge many times, but only her remarkable self-restraint had stopped her from skinning and eating the darn thing. Her stomach had stopped growling up at her, merely from defeat, rather than having been filled. There was only one thing for it; she'd have to sneak into the city and steal what she could from those who had condemned her so long ago. Sighing with resignation, Lett hitched her skirt up over her ankles and wove her way through the bushes, listening closely for any signs of life - both human and Pokémon - until the bright lights of the city cut into her dialated gaze.

"Pidgey! Pidgey!"

"Shut up, you stupid bird," Lett hissed, batting one hand at the Tiny Bird. If it gave away her position, she'd be in more trouble than ever. When it continued to chirp, she batted it again, only this time with her Blaziken claw. Pidgey shut up immediately. Seizing the moment of silence, Lett darted forwards, running briskly from her hiding place to one of the many dark alleyways that made up Saffron City. She blended into the shadows easily, for she was well-practiced at doing so, and was quick to hone in on a nearby dumpster, which was full of thrown-out packages from the local supermarket. Most of them were only one day out of the sell-by date, as Lett had learned from previous splurges, and she was quick at finding things that would fill her for a while. As she was reaching in for a box of Pecha Pies, she froze; was that a voice?

Very slowly, she stood upright, pies in hand, and turned to leave, all the while listening closely for any follow-up noises. There - there is was again. It was coming from somewhere in between the alley and Lett's grove - so she was trapped. Cursing under her breath, she turned back to take the long way round - which would involve going out into the open, but in this situation, she'd risk it - when something stopped her in her tracks.

Did that voice just say... '+Pokéma'? Lett tiptoed closer, her ears straining to pick everything up.

"So, I says, whatcha think they be doin'? They throwin' a party? An' he says, nah, but dey be gatherin' in dere numbers all over dat Lavender Town. So I says, why they doin' that? An' he says, I dunno, but hundreds of dem +Pokéma, dey be coming from all over da region fer some reason."

"Don't they even care that they be rounded up by those police the second they step foot in the open there?"

"Nah, dey doin' this safety in numbahs thing. Heck, I saw some of 'em headin' over just dis mornin'."

"Ah, whatever. Come on, I'll buy you a drink."

"Awesome."

The two burly men who had been discussing the matter moved away, leaving Lett free to escape, but she found her legs couldn't work properly. Her hands were shaking, too, and she grabbed onto her own elbows to stop them. A meeting of +Pokéma? Lett had little experience with others of her kind, having lived in semi-isolation for much of her recent life, and an event like this felt like wouldn't be worth missing. Hauling herself upwards with a suppressed cry, she picked up her many boxes and stumbled back into the grove. Lavender Town was only a short walk to the east of Saffron, and if 'hundreds' of +Pokéma were gathering, she supposed she had to as well.

She tore into a box of Pecha Pies, eating as many as her waistband could take and leaving the crumbs for Pidgey to peck at, and then retreated to her nest of grass and leaves, sinking into an uneasy slumber.

Lett woke with a start. It didn't feel like it had been that long since she had fallen asleep. The Pidgey had curled up in the crook of her arm and she jerked it away with a scoff. Stupid bird. If it thought she would let it follow her to Lavender, it had another thing coming. She was already sick of the sight of it. She ran one hand through her short hair, tugging at the knots and tangles and picking out stray twigs and leaves. She'd look a complete mess beside the other +Pokéma at Lavender... why did she care all of a sudden? Lett never fussed over her appearance before.

Then again, she'd never been that into socialisation before. This event was going to be huge, as far as she knew, and she felt she might be seen as inferior beside the other +Pokéma. Lett was feeling something she hadn't felt properly for a number of years; worry. She was worried that she'd do something wrong, or say something stupid, and end up being humiliated by these sophisticated, fearless +Pokéma, because she was nothing but a wild forest-girl compared to them.

Well, she'd show them. She'd show all of them. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stumbled to her feet and stormed into the streets of Saffron City. It certainly was late now, for the roads were nearly empty, and it was too dark to discern any of her features. It didn't take long to find a few rows of washing, left out to drip-dry overnight. It was a little more difficult to find clothes in her size that looked good together. She ended up with a slightly baggy tea-green blouse and a skirt much like the one she'd cast off previously, but in a darker leaf-green, and without patches. The sleeves of the blouse were just long enough that she could abandon the arm-warmers she had worn nearly constantly since receiving her Pokéma, but it was only upon their discard that she noticed the skin beneath them was a few shades lighter than the rest of her. Was she really that filthy?!

A quick excursion over to a small lake hidden behind the grove took care of the worst of the dirt, but without sufficient soap or shampoo, her skin and hair were both rather stiff after the scrub. It should be fine as long as no one looked too closely, Lett thought. She stepped back into the grove with a sigh. Was she trying too hard? She felt different - cleaner, yes, but as though she were within another's body; nothing seemed to be a part of herself, so much had it changed. No time to ponder. Pidgey had woken up and was chirping for food, and Lett realised she was once more hungry, too. There was another box of Pecha Pies, enough for a very early breakfast, and then she felt she could make a move; with it being so early, no one would take notice of a lone traveller. Perhaps less, she thought, if it seemed she were a regular person, who had managed to befriend a Pokémon herself. Perhaps the Pidgey could be more of a help than a hindrance. Feeding the Tiny Bird with crumbs from her pie crust, she coaxed it up onto her shoulder, where it happily cooed and rubbed its head in her damp hair.

Lett made her move. Stepping out from the forest she had spent most of her life concealed within, she turned eastward and headed in the direction of Lavender Town.

Ariadne stuck her head out from a bush. She probably looked like a bush with a head to any onlookers. But there weren't any. Phew. She got out and brushed a few leaves and sticks off her cape. Her clothes underneath it weren't too shabby; she had washed them in Fuchsia. But her shoes... uh, she didn't think about them. They were comfy, that was enough.

She walked out on the road with cliffs on both sides, going north from the bridges. There was a sign saying "Lavender Town" and then... she was there. It seemed like a calm town. A breeze swept through the city, but it wasn't the free sea breeze. This was something more... old. An almost boring breeze. Ariadne shrugged. Since when did she smell and feel the wind this much? She was getting soft. Straightening up, she wrapped her mantle around her upper body and walked around the town.

There weren't too many people walking the streets; there were probably many cities bigger than Lavender. Celadon, for instance. Celadon was a busy metropolis in comparison. Well, it pretty much was in comparison to anything though. Not to mention Saffron. Lavender didn't have any skyscrapes, and for some reason, the people Ariadne did see on her careful walk were either very old or very young.

Some kids rushed by, apparently playing chase, and one of them brushed by her mantle, accidentally grabbing it. It swung up and revealed her arms and hands. "Oops, sorry," the tiny boy said before running away after the others again. He hadn't seen the marks on her hands. But Ariadne's heart had been skipping a beat. She stood still in that spot for a few seconds. That was how easily she could be discovered. If you were found with marks on some strange place on your body, you had to prove they were tattoos, or you would be called a +Pokéma. Normally, since people didn't usually have tattoos these days, you'd be called a +Pokéma and chased or pretty much fought immediately though.

She slowly looked down on her hands. This wasn't fair. She clutched them together. She'd show them.

Now, where was that rally? And when would it start? Ariadne bit her jaws together and decided to keep walking silently through the town, at least until it became awkward or suspicious.


((OOC: tell me if I overstep my bounds, describing Lavender and the tattoo fact like that.)

Ashton opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep in the tree. <The rally is today.> he made a mental note. He made his way down the tree by jumping to the nearest branch before reaching the bottom. His feet landed on the ankle deep grass. He stretched, waking up in the middle of the day made his body a little sore, sleeping in a solid position on bark all night.

"Well better be off to town." He said with a cheery tone to his voice. He started off towards the houses he could see from where he stood. He had only wandered off a little before finding a tree with the perfect hiding branch that was accessible to him. He remembered the smell of the food that was for sale at the market, and then, how he doesn't have any money to buy such a luxury. He opened his pouch and pulled out a piece of bread. He took a bite. It wasn't too stale. Just mildly. Stand-able to say the least. <Not a pie that's for sure.> He thought to himself.

He was out of the woods now, just about done with the bread and a couple of steps from walking into the market. The smells where already getting to him. Day dreaming about the food he wandered around looking for the gathering place. When he felt a hand on his shoulder snapping him out of his spacey mood. "Heh! Finally caught up to ya kid!" Ashton turned around to he a guy in his early twenties, short black hair, clean face, and blue headband to match his short sleeve shirt. "Devan?" Ashton said as the man raised his hatchet, with his other hand still on Ashton's arm.

Ashton sprung into action, he grabbed Devan's wrist and pulled on it while running and let go after it had extended as far as it would. This caused Devan to spin 180 degrees around, once he realized what had happened Ashton was almost out of sight. Ashton ran swiftly through the crowd, going into bigger ones when possible. But Devan was too bulky to manage the crowds and after about three minutes of running, Ashton had lost the pursuer. He stopped and leaned against the wall. "Whew!" he said as he quickly caught his breath. "Don't any of these guys ever give up?" He asked himself.

He looked around to see any groups that might be the gathering, but found nothing. "Well, maybe they haven't gathered yet." He told himself. <But if there are any Pokema around they should spot my hair out easily. I hope I find at least one Pokema that turned out for this thing!> He wished in his head as he continued to walk around aimlessly.

After looking up at the big tower in Lavender for a while and deciding it was a far too gloomy place for her to set foot in, Ariadne walked back to the marketplace in town. It wasn't that lively; the city generally didn't seem too lively. Maybe that was why it would be a good place for a rallying. When would it start anyways? And who would start it? That Janin guy? What would the normal people do? Wouldn't they get angry?

She spotted a guy standing by himself doing nothing, much like she was. His hair had a weird green tint... there was something strange about him. Ariadne's eyes widened. What if he was a +Pokéma? She had never really thought of meeting another +Pokéma. But she couldn't be sure. He might just be an oddly colored guy and then she would take a risk by approaching him. Instead she stood on the other side of the street, staring ponderingly at him with dark eyes.