Café Rouge | Kalos Adventures | IC

[Mana1]

Café Rouge
A Kalos Adventure || IC Thread || Rated T


[CSS-DIV="width: 625px; text-align: left;"]Holocast, incoming![/div]
[CSS-DIV="background-color: #F2F2F2; background-opacity: 0.5; padding: 20px; border: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; color: #000000; text-align: left; width: 650px"]Beep, beep.

Your holocaster has just rang. It's 9am, Kalos time - you might still be in bed, you might already be out on the road. Professor Sycamore's face springs up, you recognise him - even if you haven't met him before he's a celebrity of the Kalos Region.

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city."

The transmission cuts out very suddenly, as if edited down to a shorter message. You check your holocaster records but the clip is already gone. Something about the message intrigues you.[/div]
[CSS-DIV="width: 625px; text-align: left;"]A private meeting.[/div]
[CSS-DIV="background-color: #F2F2F2; background-opacity: 0.5; padding: 20px; border: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; color: #000000; text-align: left; width: 650px"]"Professor, they're here," the young assistant called from the doorway. Augustine had been waiting by the window, watching as the trainers gathered one by one. Many had ignored his holocast, but luckily many had responded - although that didn't mean they would help.

"Thank you, Amy," his velvet voice was smooth and haunting - he turned to his associate, a soothing smile across his lips, "I'm on my way."

The trainers were ushered around the long table, the head-seat left waiting for the professor. All pokémon were put away - the room was crowded enough; the laboratory was not typically used to host meetings. A large screen flashed on behind the empty chair, the professors assistant dimmed the light as he strode in to view.

"Welcome, welcome," Augustine dipped his head to the arrivals, taking a mental note of the ones that made it. The screen flicked again, changing from white to a photo of a red-haired man.

"I am sure you are all aware of Team Flare. Their reputation as an elite club, wealthy beyond belief, is clear as day in Lumiose City - and further out of the capital. However, I have reason to believe that not everything is as it seems. Lysandre, their chairman and leader, is always above board and above the law, but lately..."

The slideshow flickered to more Team Flare members, wearing their signature orange attire and extravagant eyewear.

"...Something is not right. Team Flare members are spending more time outside of the capital, they're disappearing off the radar. My contacts in other towns have noticed this, small clusters of suspicious characters arriving under the cover of night."

"That brings me to why I have summoned you here," the professor swigged a glass of water, clearing his throat, as trainers you travel the region - you see more than I see, a Gym Leader sees, or anyone else. You have a select arsenal of skills at your disposal, and only you can help uncover what is going on here."

"I need willing volunteers. You're not slaves, or military, or gang-members. If we work together, though, we might just pull this investigation together."

The professor paused, catching the eye of his assistant at the back. Her waving hand seemed to indicate he had gone on long enough - reluctantly, he finished his speech.

"It's up to you - stay, or go."

- - - - -​

-You may roleplay the day of the message in as much detail as you would like.
-You must roleplay this event (it doesn't have to be in your first post).
-You can discuss your 'stay or go' dilemma with other characters.
-You must respond to the professor directly, you control him during this interaction - be careful not to step on anyone's post - if you have questions to ask the professor PM me for an IC answer.[/div]

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Team Alpha:
1. Clara Gosselin - Manska
2. Savio Baudin - gimmepie
3. Damien Weller - jegretis
4. Orion Flectcher - DeLaMuerte
5. Charlie Kane - WooliestSteam1
6.
Team Beta:
1. Clark Fennell - Shad0wChas3r
2. Emerson Radcliffe - Daisuki Mitsuharu
3.
4.
5.
6.

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[Captain Oshawott]

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Clark Fennel: Lumiose City

Clark and his parents huffed as they entered their not-so-shanty Lumiouse home. Duchess purred as she wandered inside of her Trainer's house. Thomas turned to his son, reaching onto the kitchen table.

"Honestly son, I dunno how you've gone the last four years without your Holocaster!" he chuckled, thrusting the machine into his son's chest.

Clark rubbed the back of his head, grinning nervously.

"Well, I was going on my third Pokemon badge and I was eager to get a move on." Clark sighed. "Thanks for holding onto it for me."

"Sure thing son," Renee, his mother, smiled. "Oh yes, Clark, we received a letter from Professor Sycamore earlier today. All he really said was-"

Suddenly, and without much warning, Clark's Holo-caster rang, as he pressed the button to activate it. Before him, a very strong jawed gentleman with purple hair appeared before him, a sincere look of business on his face.

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city." before Clark could utter a reply, however, the man was gone.

"Well that was certainly interesting." Thomas shrugged.

Clark, however, was intrigued. Scrolling through his past Holo-Caster messages, he was frustrated to find that there was no evidence that the Professor had contacted him. Duchess strode back into the room, her curiosity satisfied. Rubbing up against Clark's leg, she mewed happily.

"What is it you plan to do?" Renee asked, gingerly placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Well it's clearly of grave importance." Clark clenched his fists. "We all saw that look he held on his face. I'm going to the Southern end of town, see what it is he needs."

"Good on you son," Thomas nodded with a grin. "But please, be safe."

"-And don't forget to comb your hair. Professor Sycamore is a icon in the Kalos Region. You don't want to look like a mess." Clark sighed at his mother's comment, retreating into the guest bedroom, his parent's having moved into a much more luxurious home.

Releasing his team onto the hardwood floor before him, Clark sat on the edge of the bed. Cellophane glanced around, familiar with his location, but still vigilant. Clint and Flint, however, were curious as to where their Trainer had brought them. It didn't look like a Pokemon Center. Clint, the curious creature he was, decided to roam about, while Flint crossed his arms, occasionally sneaking a peek around the room.

Sparks shrugged off any cramping side effects he felt and stretched, clambering up the bed and onto Clark's shoulder.

"Well guys, this is my room. Doesn't look like the room of a Trainer, trust me I know. But it's home either way." Clark bit his bottom lip for a second as he considered how he should tell his team. "Professor Sycamore, he's a big Pokemon Professor, is calling us for help in one way or another. I don't know what to expect, but with the tone in his voice, I can only assume danger is involved."

At the sound of this, Flint's head turned to face Clark, a smug, toothy grin adorning his face. Balling his tiny lizard hands into fists, Flint thrust his arms to his side, a small puff of fire burst from his mouth. A fire of determination in his eyes. Clint nodded, tipping his hat before walking back over towards his Trainer. Duchess, Cellophane, and even Sparks replied in kind with some sort of battle pose, showing their Trainer they were ready for anything that came their way.

"Alright then. He's expecting us at 6:30 this evening. That's about nine and a half hours from now. In that time, you guys can visit with my Parents and get acquainted with them. We'll all have something quick to eat, and then we're gonna head on down to the Southern end of the city." [/div]​

 

[gimmepie]

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Savio Baudin: Lumiose City

Savio walked causally along one of the many bustling streets of Lumios City his black suit jacket slung over his shoulder. It had been a good day for him really. He had originally planned to get into a few battles himself and test his newer strategies but found that he had far more opportunities to observe the strategies of other Lumiose trainers. He'd learned some interesting strategies, and was feeling almost ready to head out onto the road again to complete the Kalos League now that he had been back in Lumiose for a few weeks to do some more preparations.

Not walking anywhere in particular, but still lost in thought over his observations of the day, Savio soon found himself absent-mindedly winding through a series of alleyways near the Northern end of the city. It was there that he was shaken from his thoughts by a loud and clear beeping noise, the ringing of his holocaster (something that didn't really happen that frequently since Savio didn't really do the causal socialisation thing much). Answering the holocaster Savio was soon met with the holographic figure of a man with eccentric hair and manly jaw line. If it weren't for the lab coat, and the fact that Professor Sycamore was something of a scientific legend in Kalos, one may not have thought he was a scientist at all. In hurried tones the man spoke to Savio

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city."

Savio pondered the message for a while, but when checking his Holocaster for further information could not find any record that the call had ever taken place.
That's somewhat strange. I guess I'll head over there checking his watch Savio thought to himself Hmm, I have a while until I have to be there and even if I am on the other side of the city it won't take me over nine hours to get there. I'll head home to clean up and explain the situation to Shade and the others first. I wonder what this is all about...

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OOC: Does it make it easier to read with extra spacing between the main paragraphs and dialogue? Also, sorry for the short post my next one should be a fair bit longer.

 

[disciplish]

[CSS-DIV="background-color: #F2F2F2; background-opacity: 0.5; padding: 20px; border: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; color: #000000; text-align: left; width: 650px"]Orion Fletcher: Camphrier Town

Beep, beep.

Orion yawns quietly as his eyes open halfway, simply to see the time. "Nine? Dang, it's too early. Or maybe I just need more sleep..." He chuckles and quickly turns his head towards the Holo Caster, and recognizes Sycamore right of the bat. Even in his half-asleep daze, he grins. "Old man hasn't changed a bit, from what I can tell." Regardless of whether he's younger than many of the other professors or not, Orion doesn't mind seeing Sycamore on his Holo Caster as he sits up on his bed, swigging a small glass of water.

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city."

"P-tfff!"

The water ended up on the ground next to him, and he quickly squatted next to his bed and cleaned it with a rag. "The famous professor wants me?" Quickly realizing everything that had happened the previous night, he grinned sleepily. "Yeah, he does want me. I don't know why, but..." And without finishing his sentence, he simply fell onto his bed and slept some more. Staying up until dawn wasn't the best idea for a person who had an appointment of sorts at six.

He woke up again later, now feeling more refreshed. Realizing it was about two, as that was when he set an alarm, he quickly ate a small improvised sandwich, hopped on his bike, and began the ride to Lumiose. Halfway there, he stopped and checked the the Holo Caster, to make sure he had the correct time.

"I-It's not there?" He said, dazed. "How? This makes absolutely no sense- I didn't delete the message. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have for something like this... but I'm pretty sure I did see it. And I'm pretty sure this is happening." He ignores this fact, although it still bothers him at the back of his head. Deciding to take the rest of the ride on skates and grinding his way through the skate park, he happens to not be aware...

Not be aware that he won't be returning home as frequently as he thought he would.
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[WooliestSteam]

[CSS-DIV="background-color: #F2F2F2; background-opacity: 0.5; padding: 20px; border: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; color: #000000; text-align: left; width: 650px"]Charlie Kane: Outside Lumiose City

Charlie lay stationary in the bed before letting a small grunt out as he turned around onto his side. The warmth and comfort of the duvets reminded him of being back home in his bedroom in Luminous City. He smiled as he adjusted his head on the pillows and snuggled down between the sheets.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Uggh ..." Charlie groaned as he reached out and turned off the alarm clock. He sat upright in the bed as he rubbed his eyes and groaned. "Knew I shouldn't have set it for nine, it's so early". Before Charlie could moan and complain any more his Holocaster sprung to life with a transmission of Professor Sycamore, "I know this guy, never met him personally though".

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city."

The transmission was cut short and ended abruptly. Charlie sat on the edge of his bed staring at the Holocaster which now lay dormant on his bedside table. "Wow! What was all that about? I mean I know who professor sycamore is but I've never met him personally. He sounded like he needed my help though, but why me? I only have three badges, it's not like I'm the most powerful trainer in Kalos. Well whatever the reason, he asked me to be in the Lumiose Laboratory by 6.30pm, so I gotta get moving".

Jumping up off the bed Charlie put on his usual jeans, t-shirt and sneakers. He grabbed his bag and headed out the door, making sure his Pokeballs were attached to his jeans were he left them. They were secured on tight so it was time to make hast towards Lumiose City. Heading down the stairs he threw a friendly smile and wave towards the much older gentleman standing in the kitchen.

"Thanks for letting me stay the night Mr. Steel, if there's anything I can do to pay you back you let me know" Charlie blurted before heading out the door in a rush. As he made his way onto the path towards Lumiose City, he checked his bag and double checked his Pokeballs to make sure he had everything with him. Everything was good, so now began the journey back to his hometown to meet Professor Sycamore and his parents …
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[Zavytar]

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Victoria Powers
Ouvert Way (Route 3)​

It was 9 am, and Victoria Powers was sitting on the grass, staring into the water, all by herself. She had sent her Pokémon back inside their Pokéballs after they all had breakfast earlier that day, and she was thinking about many things: among them were her upcoming Gym battle against the Santalune City Gym Leader and the mysterious group of people dressed in orange. She suddenly snapped out of it when she heard something beeping inside her bag. She opened it and took out the beeping device: Victoria's Holo Caster. Huh? Who could that possibly be? she asked herself.

The caller's holographic image then appeared. Vicky was surprised to see who it was, renowned Pokémon Professor, Sycamore! She had never met him personally, but after having lived in Kalos for all that time she was very aware of who he was. Everyone in Kalos was.

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city." the Professor said before transmission was cut off abruptly.

Strange... she said to herself, The Professor sounded quite serious... Her face began to show concern. And the way the message ended... Something weird's going on... I have a baad feeling about it. She stood up, and continued her journey towards Santalune City, which was right between where she was and her new destination, Lumiose City. Grr... I bet those orange-suited people are behind all this... As walked faster through Ouvert Way, her eyes began to show this fire that grew more and more intense. Then, all of a sudden, she decided to make a run for the City, and dashed across the route to the confusion of all the trainers there. I'll show them!!!

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[Manska]

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Clara Gosselin: Lumiose City


The high-pitched and overly cheerful tone of the Holo-Caster was an old and easily ignored foe to Clara; between her friends and a large extended family it seemed as though there was always someone calling her at inconvenient moments when she made trips back to the capital, and rolling over and going back to sleep was an easy task.

Unfortunately Nix, who lay curled up on her chest, was less accustomed to the sound and a light jolt of electricity was more than enough motivation for Clara to blearily reach over and press buttons until the damned device shut up. When it refused to do so she gave up and let the message play with a sigh, Nix murmuring in protest. The message had the effect that the alarm tone had lacked and by the time it was finished Clara was wide awake and staring at the device curiously. That she hadn't been expecting. Flopping back down onto the bed and raised one hand up to her chest, absently scratching Nix's ears as she stared at the ceiling and thought.

"What do you think Nix, should we go?" She asked, not really expecting an answer from the sleepy rodent beyond the vague squeak that she got. It would be easy enough to go but she didn't really want to; her plan had been to head south as soon as she woke and meet up with Sarah for a while down in Santalune, which was why she was holed up in a hotel room not too far from the lab rather than her parent's house in the very north of the city. It was tempting to just ignore the message and carry on as she had planned but it had sounded important, and interesting. If she was honest with herself the second point was the more convincing; her current task of raising a baby pokemon as difficult to handle as Rosa was challenging yes, but unless you were a masochist it wasn't particularly interesting or exciting. This sounded like it would be.

Realising that she had already mentally talked herself into it Clara sighed and flopped down against the pillow again, closing her eyes. "Cmon Nix, if we're staying here for this crap we might as well get some more sleep." she said, giving her a final scratch before removing her hand to a more comfortable position.

Nix, either thinking ahead or extremely lazy, was already asleep.

==

Several hours later Clara finally emerged from the hotel room, both her and Nix stretching in unison as they stepped out into the sunlight. Sarah had been sent a quick holo-clip and told what was going on, various relatives dodged or otherwise redirected and now she had several hours to kill before she needed to meet the professor. With a grin on her face she reached down to pat the pocket of her jeans, feeling where her pocket bulged with the winnings of several recent battles, and then gazed up and down the street, cafés and shops lining the roadside as far as she could see in either direction.

"It's a pain to actually be here, but I love this city." she said with a grin, looking down at Shae besides her. The Houndoom looked up briefly from grooming her paw to give her human an amused glance. Doing a quick mental game to decide which way to go Clara turned to her right and started walking, Nix perched on her shoulder and Shae keeping time by her side. Four hours to kill and plenty of money in my pocket, somehow I think I'll manage.​

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[Daisuke Mitsuharu]

Emerson Radcliffe, Lumiose City.​

It was a rather amiable day. The sun's golden light cascaded upon the lush earth, and Emerson lazed in its warmth. The coolly crisp breeze, the endearing whistles of the birds, indeed, it was an inspirited morning. Emerson smiled, "Ah. Nothing like a good ole' morning, eh?"

"Lu- Luc- Lucario!" Rukario lilted, noticeably delighted.

"Emerson.. !"

Gazing backwards, Emerson asked, puzzled, "Huh.. ?"

He smiled, overjoyed, "Oh.. ! Kay! Long time, no see, eh?"

Kay lightheartedly laughed, "You bet it has! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you.. what, exactly?"

She glowered, "Why didn't you tell me you'd be back, today? I could have at least prepared something!"

Emerson laughed, gratified, "I appreciate it. But, there's really no need! I'm not that special, am I?" Kay joked, "You got that right." He smiled, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing." She asked, "How have you been?" She glowered, "Don't tell me you've been overexerting yourself again.. "

Emerson smiled, slightly amused, "No. Of course not!"

"Say.. you haven't changed a bit! Still uptight as ever, eh?" He remarked jokingly. Kay smiled, "You haven't either, surprisingly enough. Still stupid as ever."

Ambling the rather buoyant boulevards, the twosome had still prattled about rather trivial things. That is, until Emerson's holo- caster had chimed a rather catchy tune.

"Trainer. On behalf of the Kalos League, I request your presence in my Lumiose Laboratory at 6:30pm this evening. I'm sorry I cannot disclose more, everything will become clear later. You will find my laboratory in the southern district of the city."

"Professor.. Sycamore?"

Kay chimed in, "Must be something important." She joked, "Knowing you, you'd probably forget about it."

Emerson laughed, blatantly sarcastic "Haha, no." He paused. "Besides, the Professor sounded oddly serious."

"But in any case, it isn't until later!" He lilted. "Care for a little sparring match?" He asked temptingly. Kay smiled, "Sure! I've been itching for a good fight!"

"Then, shall we?"

 

[disciplish]

[CSS-DIV="background-color: #F2F2F2; background-opacity: 0.5; padding: 20px; border: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; color: #000000; text-align: left; width: 650px"]Orion Fletcher: Enter; Lumiose City

"I think I can do this."

Orion let Vulpe walk besides him for a while, deciding she couldn't do anything wrong. Which she didn't; rather, she seemed more interested in tumbling and smelling her hair and groaning about wanting sleep. Orion simply ignored these groans; he was used to Vulpe's rather strange habits of claiming to want to sleep but not actually going to; it was a trademark he had experienced in himself. Now they were approaching the Route 5 Lumiose City gates, and he kinda wanted to go into Lupe's hair, curl up, and go to sleep in there. He once had, when he was shorter, but now he simply fixed the positioning of his Holo Caster and entered the Gate. Inside, however, was something he wasn't expecting.

He walked into the gate slowly, yawning and scratching his hair. His Holo Caster quickly began beeping. Again? He thought, but the figure materializing in front of him was not Sycamore, or really anyone that he had expected to be from. Rather, it was his pair of fraudulent parents, smiling happily from the other end.

***​

"Remember, only a few more weeks until we leave here!"

"We love ya', honey!" His mother grinned, pushing up her pair of glasses. They were both strong as well as known by the guards, and Orion was certain they were fine. Nevertheless, they seemed a bit flustered; worried, even.

"I know, mother." He groaned irritably, like a small child, even if his mother couldn't tell that he had done so on the other side.

"Oh, and if you get a chance to pass by Shalour City, visit your uncle. He's been lonely lately." Orion's eyes brightened at the prospect of seeing his uncle, but how they knew this kinda information was kinda lost on him.

"Good bye, Orion!"

The transmission cut off there, and Orion wass both happy and disturbed. There was something wrong with his parent's tone of voice, and additionally, Orion was aware that all transmissions from the prison were [and are, for the most part] one way; They come out, but they don't go in. He felt bad for his parents in this sense; he had gone to visit them personally a few times, but lately Lumiose felt farther and farther away after he had stayed home for so long. And the stars had been quite interesting lately. Nevertheless, Orion picked himself up from the bench he had been sitting on, and began to get a move on to the Pokemon Lab. After arriving, realizing he had been early, he went in and found an assistant. She simply said, "Take a seat." There seemed to be about fifteen minutes before the broadcast had told them to arrive, so he returned Vulpe [as requested of him] and sat and waited for the presentation as more and more people began to come in.

***​

Presently and once again, Orion is kind of disturbed, but this time with less happiness and more intrigue. The presentation has ended, and the young Fletcher isn't sure what he could do. He could stop this "Flare" madness, and then maybe he could sit down afterwards and study the stars some more. Or he could go home and sleep and maybe he could study the stars as well. But Orion had realized that currently not only did he have nothing to do, he had no income. And besides, maybe this was an excuse to resume his adventure, to continue what he had lost. And even if it wasn't, it was something new that he could volunteer for. But the final thought that sprang up in his mind resonated the most, and even moreso due to what had happened to his family in the past, and if he could clear the Fletcher name- or at least erase some of the taint around it...

I could be a hero.

Orion quickly spoke up. "I'll do it, Sycamore."

The professor simply nodded, looking around again. "Anyone else?"
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