[PKMN FULL] Darker than it Seems... [IC]

[Rain T.]

Valkyrie and Lucas

Lucas hissed, ears tilting back and tail lashing around in annoyance as someone shrieked. Val scowled at the noise. "What was that?"

"The one you bumped into earlier. The kid dressed as an Eevee. His mind is wide open due to his fear. He's recalling a nightmare he had, and he's frightened that he's turning into a Psychic type. He doesn't like people reading his mind."

"Uh-huh. Whatever. Teams were announced, so let go of me and scram."

The Psychic/Electric type stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You know I like you, Val. You're a friend. So even though we're on opposite sides, I'll help you out. That Pokemon you've always wanted? I have one. Trade me a Beedrill for it." He let go then turned and bounced away with a grin.

Lucas

"Hello there!" Lucas directed his path right towards Rex, a brilliant grin on his face. "I betcha you're Rex. Am I right?" He knew he was right, having gleaned such information from Val's mind. "I'm Lucas. I'm in your group! D'you know where the other two are?" The energetic teen knew that himself, but it was probably better to lay low and not draw attention to himself by suddenly knowing everyone's names.

Valkyrie

Muttering under her breath, Val sighed. She only recognized one name that had been listed in her group. Luckily, Shadow was one of the more tolerable ones she'd met. Flicking some dirt off her black and white kimono -- she love this costume, it was her favorite by far and she'd be damned if it got ruined -- and making sure the adhesive whiskers were all still stuck to her cheeks, she turned and walked over to Shadow. "I trust your Noivern made it back to you safely?" she inquired. "It seems we're to be partners for this event. Good. You're tolerable. Do you know either of the other two members of this group or where they might be?"
​

 

[Dusty]

Delysia - Ecruteak CIty - 8 AM

Delysia flailed her arm blindly around in her makeshift camp searching desperately for her C-Gear. When she found it she angrily pushed the snooze button again, then opened her eyes for just one second to check the time. 8 AM. Past time for her to get up. With a groan she pulled her blankets off exposing her body to the chill of the morning which the sun was only now starting to burn off. Grumbling grouchily she folded her blanket and rolled up her sleeping pad, stuffing both into her pack, not particularly caring if she damaged anything in doing so. It was pretty safe to say that she was not a morning person.

Groaning, she stood up and glanced around the small clearing where she had slept, stretching her tired limbs as she did so. She let the sun warm her face for a few minutes, then decided that it was time to move on. After checking one more time that she had gathered all of her things and that the ATV remained sufficiently hidden, she set off in the direction of the town. It probably would have seemed strange to see a costumed girl walking through the woods had there been anybody to see. She smoothed the wrinkles out of it as she walked. It seemed like a strange choice for her, being a poison and fighting hybrid, to choose an electric type costume. It was a Luxray costume, which happened to be one of her favorite pokemon. She had only seen a couple, and she hadn't been able to find any in her travels. They seemed a bit rare outside of the Sinnoh region, and she had yet to find her way there yet.

As she reached the outskirts of the city she saw likewise costumed trainers walking around the city. She smiled knowing that she would be able to blend in quite nicely. After quickly scanning for any police officers, she joined the throng of festival goers, doing her best to go with the flow of the crowd. Her first stop was to go to the pokemart to fill up on supplies. Mostly food for her, but for her pokemon too as well as medicines and potions for them. After walking for a few minutes the store came into view. She swore as she saw a police officer standing at the door, and saw another one inside the store talking to attendant at the counter. It might just be nothing, but....it would probably be better not to risk it. She would have to wait until they left at the very least.

She feigned tiredness as she sat on a bench, checking her C-Gear while keeping one eye on the officers. It was a gamble really. She had hoped that the store she stole the costume from wouldn't notice the theft until she was long gone. But if they had noticed it, they would probably have called the police as well. They were probably too busy to notice a single costume missing in a whole store of them, but maybe not. She knew there were a couple of other stores that she could try to hit in the city, but the officers would probably have alerted them as well. Could she just be reading into this too much? The officers might just be picking up supplies for the day, same as her.

In the end she decided not to risk it. She stood back up and once again started following the crowd. She would have to remain incognito at least until the cops left, and probably for a while afterward. Maybe she could get supplies at the end of the day. Or she could just steal them once it got dark. A pokemart's security system would probably be more advanced than that of a costume store, but she had done it before. In the meantime she would have to find something to do. Just sitting around was suspicious enough, and the best place to hide she had learned was in plain sight. She glanced around, then laughed quietly to herself. There was a festival going on and she was wondering what she was going to do for the next ten hours?

Looking around she saw a sign saying "Tournament Sign-ups". She shrugged, knowing that she didn't have anything better to do and joined the line. A half hour later she was standing in a congregation of a hundred or so other trainers listening to the town's gym leader Morty ramble on about the history of the town. She thought she had signed up for a competition, not a history lesson. She had heard most of it before anyway, although she scratched most of it up to simple legend, stories handed down from parent to child, details blurred by the passage of time. Nevertheless, she patiently listened along with all of the other trainers. At least, she thought, he mentioned pokemon, trainers, and hybrids, not discriminating the minority. Finally his speech was done and he listed off the various groups. Hearing that her group was A1, heading to the Burnt Tower, she looked around at the various signs posted around the area that were to be used to find the rest of your group. She walked over to the one marked A1 in big black letters and waited, noticing that she was the first one there.

 

[Groc]

Rex Dart

Rex puts Brian down once the opening ceremony starts, sticking close to him. It's an interesting story, and he can't help but draw parallels to his and his friends' stories. Average, ordinary folks whose lives were thrown into turmoil, and granted extraordinary powers, they became legendary despite no longer fitting in. It's certainly something to think about later.

Finally, Morty reveals the teams and where they're going. Rex offers Brian a fist bump before he goes to his area. "Good luck, kid. Tell the others that, too."

And it looks like he'll be teaming up with Deacon and Lydia, along with someone new. He looks forward to Deacon's idle chatter, Lydia's stoic silence, and a chance to make a new friend. He turns to head for his group, when a boy approaches him.

"Hello there! I betcha you're Rex. Am I right? I'm Lucas. I'm in your group! D'you know where the other two are?" The boy grins at him, looking around. He seems like a nice kid, a bit excitable, but everyone was here to gave fun, right?

Rex returns the kid's smile, tapping the end if his nose. "That's me! Good guess. What gave me away? That I'm huge like a dinosaur?" He laughs, heading for the sign marked D1. "Stick close, and you'll meet them in no time. I'm not exactly hard to find." People instinctively move out of his way, allowing him to easily move through the crowd to wait for his other friends.

Melody Hendricks

Melody gets excited when Morty starts the ceremony, but slowly drifts back to the ground as he drones on. "Ja~ack..." she groans, leaning against him. "I'm bored!" Someone shushes her, and she just pouts some more.

When he finally finishes his story (not a bad story, but he's a lousy storyteller. He needs to make it more exciting!), he announces the teams. Melody is excited to be paired with Jack, and hugs him. "We're gonna go to the Dance Theater! I bet they have a stage, and cool shows, and the music will be so awesome! You think they'd let me sing on stage? I could REALLY give 'em a show!"

 

[Strange]

Brian Sage

Pokemon

Spoiler:

After Rex had calmed him down, he listened intently to Morty's speech. This was the first time he had heard the story of those five legionaries and he was thoroughly engaged in the story. He noticed that some people were uninterested though, and in an instant his mind was flooded with other people's thoughts. He cringed as he entered their minds, unable to control his newly discovered power. Although, he noticed that the only minds he entered were minds of people who were not very intelligent. He tried his best to block out the thoughts and in a moment he succeeded. He listened to the end of the speech and noted the names of the people in his group.

Delysia, Arryn, and Tulip

Rex plopped him down on the ground and gave him a fist-bump before turning around to find his own group. I guess I should find my own group, Brian thought.

At least he knew two of them. He tried to find them but he couldn't see over anyone's head, his small height wasn't helping him as he jumped up to see where they were.

"Uggghh this is impossible!" He muttered as he kept searching. There were so many people he couldn't tell where anyone he knew was. The huge crowd of people kept shoving him around, he didn't even know where HE was anymore. Brian wandered around while being pushed from all sides, eventually ramming into a wall and falling down. Brian was terrified, he hated being in crowded areas. He tried to get back up, but people kept shoving past him and knocking him down again. Eventually he gave up and curled into the fetal position and cried, rocking back and forth on the floor.

Ever since the incident with Shadow, Brian hadn't felt like himself. He was constantly scared and skittish, to the point where he no longer fought back. He no longer felt the fire within him that he had grown used to from his transformation into a Hybrid. He felt scared and alone, although his pokemon were there at his side. He wrapped his arms around one, too many tears in his eyes to tell which, and hugged them tight. He wished he could just teleport away from this crowd.

"Wait!" he said, "I can!"

He concentrated on a spot he remembered, an area next to the door to the gym, and in a flash he was gone. His pokemon however were still sitting in the gym. He almost screamed when he realised that they had not come with him. He rushed into the gym, enough adrenaline from the scare to push aside everyone in his way. He grabbed his pokemon, his arms filled with His sylveon, cubchoo, and fennekin. He whispered to them softly while walking, his pidgeotto walking in front of him, pushing people out of Brian's way.
​

Spoiler:

 

[Stingray]

Lydia​

Lydia looked at her group and was thankful she wasn't with a bunch of strangers. Looking around she quickly spotted Rex (which was rather easy), and walked over next to him. She then stood quietly as she played with the fake ears on her head to try in make them stand up straight. Lydia didn't talk to the unknown member of the group as she was nervous due to the large crowd around her. Spending most of her life alone, Lydia was not accustomed to crowds and being surrounded by so many strangers made her feel uneasy. Aciri stood close by Lydia as the Hybrid maneuvered herself away from the crowd, and was clearly just as uncomfortable as Lydia. Lydia ended up standing between Rex and the wall in a way that Rex acted like a barrier between her and the mass of people who had gathered for the event. Her face did not show her nervous nature as her eyes looked around the crowd to find familiar faces among it.

Facing the new member of the team Lydia gave him a smile and a slight bow, and telepathically said to him, "Hello I am Lydia, nice to meet you. Sorry I am unable to speak normally so I hope this form of communication does not bother you." Looking around Lydia opened links to Rex and tried to find Deacon before saying, "Do you know what all the events will be today? This one does not seem too interesting to me. I just do not see the appeal of answering random questions, and honestly my unique perspective on life will seem strange to most. That and I do not want to telepathically tell everyone my answer. I am afraid it will scare others, or I will draw too much attention to myself."

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Shadow:

Really... why does Phoena have to be on my team? I know you had something to do with this Morty. Shadow thought as he looked at Morty, who was smiling back at him.

Shadow was glad he had someone on his team he knew, and if Val was the same one that had went after Gray then he knew two. It was then, Val had walked up to him. And he knew then that she was the same one he knew.

"I trust your Noivern made it back to you safely?" she asked. "It seems we're to be partners for this event. Good. You're tolerable. Do you know either of the other two members of this group or where they might be?"

Shadow turned his attention to Val, "Yep Noivern is fine, he and the other pokemon are probably all messing around in the city at the moment." Shadow said.

Shadow looked at Phoena who was heading toward him and Val and the others who may still be around them, "And yes, I know one of them. Phoena. She was an old friend. As for the one named Orion, I have no idea who he may be." Shadow answered.

He looked at Phoena who had her head down, trying not to make eye contact with him. He was furious at her for what she had done. He had taught her better than that, but he was also the one who taught her of deception, but he had never told her to not give someone a chance to fight if they were not evil.

"Hello there, I am Phoena, nice to meet you! Also, nice Persain outfit. And nice Ho-oH outfit Shadow." Phoena told him and Val.

Shadow sighed, he would have to get over his anger toward her for now, "The Phione outfit looks nice on you as well. Nice choice considering the names are very similar." Shadow said as he looked around for the others.

He knew they would have to head through some forest in order to get to the Bell Tower and he was pretty sure that they would have to climb as the top of the tower is safe guarded by a barrier that prevented the ability yo fly up top it.

 

[VillageofDragons]

Deacon Masterson

Deacon was going to explain to Shadow what had happened to himself as well as others, but before he could it was too late. The event was about to start and the one named Morty was starting it by talking about the history of the two towers. Deacon listened intently. He knew some of this history might be a part of the questions they would be asked later for the event. It was never okay to disregard important information, even if it is boring, and Deacon smirked in his mind that some people weren't even listening. After Morty was done, the teams were listed and Deacon was grateful. Both Lydia and Rex were great friends of his. He didn't know who this Lucas guy was, but he seemed friendly enough.

Deacon walked up to the sign that read D1 on it where the other three already were, talking to each other. "So, it looks like we're in the same group, Rex and Lydia. That's good. You're both good friends of mine." Deacon said to them. Then he turned to the new guy who looked like he was dressed in an Espeon Gijinka costume. "Hello there. I presume you are the one names Lucas? Nice to meet you. My name is Deacon." Deacon said to the boy. Deacon extended his hand and shook Lucas's hand, being soft enough with his shake so that his steel-clad fists wouldn't crush the poor boy's hands, but also enough to have the firm handshake that a person should have. "Well, looks like we got the easy place considering we're already at the gym. Let's go." Deacon said to his three group members and friends. Without further ado, Deacon walked ahead into the main part of the gym through a door that was covered in nightshade. Deacon had visited this place before when getting a gym badge in the past, but visiting it again for an event made it all the more spookier and fun.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Frost

Jack listened to Morty's speech about the history of the two towers. He noted everything the gym leader had said, seeing as it might come in handy later on. If Jack could help Team Rocket catch a Pokemon like Ho-Oh or Lugia sometime in the future they would be unstoppable. He grinned in his mind, not paying much attention to the rest of it. Melody was leaning against Jack which made him turn ten shades of red. It only proved more when she hugged him. Jack face-planted into the ground after she hugged him, and then got up. Melody gets excited when Morty starts the ceremony, but slowly drifts back to the ground as he drones on. "Ja~ack..." she groans, leaning against him. "I'm bored!" Someone shushes her, and she just pouts some more. When he finally finishes his story (not a bad story, but he's a lousy storyteller. He needs to make it more exciting!), he announces the teams. Melody is excited to be paired with Jack, and hugs him. "We're gonna go to the Dance Theater! I bet they have a stage, and cool shows, and the music will be so awesome! You think they'd let me sing on stage? I could REALLY give 'em a show!"

"Well going to the dance theater should be fun, but don't we need to find out where or who the rest of our group members are first? I don't know who this Orchid or Alek person is, but if we go stand by the sign for our group they should turn up eventually." Jack said to Melody. Jack walked over to the sign that read C1 while helping Melody follow him by holding her hand. Jack then leaned against the wall to the side of the sign and waited. Now that he thought about it, the one named Alek DID seem to be familiar. Jack was thinking maybe he had even heard of him before. Where was it from, though? Jack pondered it for awhile and then gave up. If he was important then he would make himself known. However, he had no idea who this Orchid person was. Jack guessed he would find out. Jack shook himself from his own thoughts as he waited with Melody while holding her hand at the C1 sign.

 

[Rain T.]

Lucas

The teen grinned at Rex's reply. "People must assume that often, because you hit the nail on the head!" he laughed. His gaze shifted to the two that approached. A female dressed as a Ninetails and the Salamance man with the metal limbs. His eyes widened slightly as the former spoke telepathically. "You must be a Psychic hybrid then!" he replied in the same manner. "That's pretty neat. I'm a Psychic hybrid too! Well, with a side of Electric." He switched from telepathic to speaking aloud then. "Well, since you're the only girl in this group, you must be Lydia. Which leaves you-" He paused as the Salamance man took his hand in a shake. "Yep, you're Deacon. I figured. And you got my name as well. So, with those metal limbs you got, are you a hybrid too? Steel, maybe?" He grinned and turned to Rex. "Hey, are you a hybrid too? With that height and bulk, I bet you're a Fighting type. Or a part Fighting type. Woah, did I get lucky enough to be in a group of three other hybrids?" He bounced on his heels with a grin. "That's so cool! I'm a hybrid! Psychic and Electric!" His Espeon-like tail swished in excitement, ears flicking happily. As Deacon moved away, he followed. This should be easy as ever. Every year, it just took a little mind-reading and he got the answer right from the judge.

Valkyrie

"That's good. You've got a good partner in that Noivern." Val raised a brow slightly, noting the past tense as Shadow spoke of Phoena. As a Phione girl approached, the Normal/Ghost hybrid glanced at her. "...thank you, Phoena. I'm Valkyrie." She crossed her arms, tapping her foot with a frown. Where was this Orion guy?
​

 

[shatteredxfrost]

Arryn; Ice & Dark

---

9.00am

Arryn arrives at the gym with her Absol and Sneasel trailing behind, just in time for Morty to introduce the festivals first event of the day.

"Group A1 - Delysia, Arryn, Tulip and Brian."

At least she knew two people on the team or she might have walked away and busied herself with the other attractions the festival had to offer. The sight from the Dance Theatre's highest floor was particularly tempting, but she would save that treat for night.

She piles out of the gym behind a herd of Stantler cosplayers. It's difficult to see over the antlers made of different materials so Arryn tip toes out, craning her neck high to search for Tulip or Brian. A sign marked 'Tournament Sign-Up's' stood out, high above the cosplayers' head gear and she makes a beeline for it, side-stepping out of the human traffic.

From the corner of her eye, she spots Shadow with his group and waves. She stops at the sign in sheet and scribbles her name down, eyes flicking around the area for her team. I haven't seen Tulip since yesterday, did she even make it to Ecruteak City safely? The thought plagues her as Arryn leads her Pokemon to the 'A1' sign where she sees a girl, dressed in Luxray cosplay waiting beneath.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Shadow and Phoena:

Shadow nodded, "Yes Noivern is a good pokemon. I found an egg that had been abandoned in the Kalos Region while I was there once. I took care of it and Noivern popped out of it. It was just a big fluff ball then." Shadow said.

"Should we wait? Our destination is furthest away and there is no sign of the one named Orion." Phoena asked.

Shadow thought about it for a moment trying to think of what to do. Everyone else seemed to be getting in their groups. On the corner of his eye, Shadow caught Arryn smiling and waving at him and he waved back. Slightly disappointed she wasn't dressed up, but no matter.

"We will wait a little longer, but if he hasn't showed up, we will go ahead and head that way. Who knows, Orion might find us somehow. I am sure Morty would say so who I was. And since I was asked to be the figure head of the event, he should be able to find me easily in this." Shadow reported, spreading his arms out, showing of his Ho-oH like wings. He felt like a girl in this outfit, but kinda liked it... slightly.... only slightly.. This was a guy's outfit though, at least they had gotten him a shorter wig that looked more like Ho-oH crown.

"Shadow... we need to talk after this." Phoena said.

Shadow only nodded, not making eye contact with her. He looked out one of the gym windows, seeing the Bell Tower, not far away.

_______________________________________________________________________

Morty:

Morty walked to the back of the gym and waited for the groups to show up to answer his question. But they had to be carful to make it through the darkness. The room was now pitch black and only what looked like blueish purple candles floated around the room, above his head was a bigger than normal Chandelure, a ghost/fire type pokemon that Morty owned.

"Much like my gym challenges, you must find the path in the darkness! Do not fear, if you fall, my ghost type pokemon will stop you from falling. Trust yourself and trust your friends." Morty said to the challengers who were coming in.

Constantly he watched as groups failed, not trusting in friendship. One group got close, but with overconfidence, it caused the group to fall and start again.

__________________________________________________________________________

???

My name is Misinggo. A agent of Cyrus. I hide among you. I hide as you. No one shall find me unless I want to be found. My mission, a secrete. But slowly you will start to notice. For now I hide. And in time, act. My name is Misinggo and you will not find me unless I want to be found.

 

[Strange]

Orion Terrus

Pokemon

Spoiler:

Orion was bored out of his mind during Morty's speech. So bored he fell asleep and collapsed on the floor. He woke up thrown against a wall and was sore from however he had gotten pushed there. He stood up, stretching while he looked around. Everyone was already gathering into groups and running around. He swore under his breath.

"Why must all the important stuff come AFTER the boring stuff?"
He grumbled as he walked over to a scrawny kid in an eevee costume.

"Hey kid! What group am I in? Name's Orion by the way."

The boy froze, then he seemed to be thinking.

"WELL? I don't have all day!"

The boy seemed annoyed with the comment, however he did finally answer.

"You're in group B1, they're over there" He pointed to three people who looked agitated, he was more than a little late.

Orion started to walk casually in their direction, the boy yelled out "YOU"RE WELCOME!" in an annoyed tone. Orion ignored the boy and walked over to the group and said,

"I'm here! We can start now." He winked at the group and leaned up against the wall, grinning. He hoped by using attract they would at least be a little nicer about him being late than they would have been.

​

 

[Stingray]

Lydia​

"I have not met another psychic hybrid before," said Lydia to the new Hybrid right as the lights began to fade out. Looking around Lydia heard Morty explain the challenge before using her abilities to form a small orb that lit up her immediate area. As Lydia summoned the orb, Aciri summoned a pair of Will-o-wisps that danced around the multi tailed fox. Suddenly a plan formed in Lydia's head, turning to the others Lydia spoke with her mind, "Lucas can you use your psychic abilities to feel out in front of you? If so I will light the way the best I can while you feel out the best path. Rex If you could walk behind me and Lucas to catch us if we make a false step to prevent us from falling. Personally, I would prefer not to be grabbed by a ghost. Deacon I'm guessing the wings are not for decoration, which means you shouldn't have to worry about falling. You could scout ahead or look for any tricks ahead of us or shortcuts it should be able to speed us up."

Looking at the others, the ninetails dressed hybrid smiled and said, "Well that is my plan at least. Does anyone else have any ideas? Or see problems with my plan?"

Harvey Scott​

Harvey frowned as he watched the videos given to him by the police after his little visit to pick up his latest prize. The video showed the Hybrid known as Deacon dealing with most of the police force single handedly. Harvey had assumed the Hybrids would be on equal terms of power as Pokemon, but that was just proven untrue. The worse part was that this Deacon clearly had flying abilities indicating he was likely a flying type, but his Team Rocket profile showed only Dragon and Dark. Additionally drone footage from the house the police raided early showed this hybrid did not have the wings shown now. This meant Harvey's intelligence was wrong, and there was a possibility that these Hybrids were evolving or at least changing. The group was growing in size and the hybrids supporting each other made his job harder.

He needed to gather more intelligence and find more weaknesses to exploit. He was already sending the hybrid named Jason he had captured to an associate for research, but he needed more intelligence than medical tests could give him. Shaking his head he opened up a communications line with another member of his organization. He needed a spy within the group to gather intelligence on them. Thankfully the overly trusting and accepting nature of this group should make it easy to insert a spy, but he personally lacked the personnel who could conduct this type of mission. Instead he would have to negotiate for a Hunter-Killer, thankfully there was a team already operating in the region so he would not have to wait if he got permission to use one. His line of thought was interrupted by a masked female voice answering his call.

"I need access to a single hunter-killer for an infiltrator role, team 4 is already in the region and I just need one member." said Harvey in a calm voice.

"That team is on an acquisition mission already, and they lack a trained infiltrator," replied the woman in a cold almost hostile tone.

"I know but I can make due with just A3411. The group I need to infiltrate is not well secured, but they are dangerous," replied Harvey.

"I cannot spare the team's leader for your little side…" replied the woman before she was interrupted.

"Hunter Killer's team 4 is under your command Harvey. Silva, Harvey will assist and coordinate the team's efforts against the Plasma Team defector as the team's leader infiltrates the hybrid group. I feel your target's appearance in this region might be connected to these hybrids," said a new voice that entered the call unannounced. Harvey suddenly sat up straight as the Master interrupted their call.

"Yes sir, may I ask why?" replied the woman's now respectful voice.

"These hybrids are high priority. They are an unplanned factor that could hurt our efforts. They are proof that Team Rocket lacks any potential as a member of the Order. Harvey, integration or takeover of the criminal organization are no longer options. They pursue power without thought of how to control it. Harvey your new secondary objective is to discover if the hybrids would be willing to join us, or if we can them them. If not discover effective methods to eliminate them. I will not have our plans ruined by an idiot like Giovanni, who cannot control his own pets," replied the Master. Harvey nodded and confirmed his new secondary missions before their leader left their call.

"They are yours to command. I will send you the files on their current target, I'm sure tracking a man who uses a flying Frigate should be easy. I have access to a Witch squadron able to strike the target if you need to ground him," replied Silva in a disgruntled tone.

"I doubt I will require air support," replied Harvey as he built a false profile for his infiltrator. Ironically the man he had selected was already in the same city as his targets, thanks to the team's original target dropping off Deacon there.

 

[Rain T.]

Valkyrie

Val didn't reply to Shadow little story about finding and hatching Noivern. She just waited silently. As the man she presumed to be Orion approached, she growled under her breath. "You're late." Not the best first impression from her, but hey, Val didn't care if it was rude. She could easily tell what he was hoping to accomplish with the wink and the grin, and she snorted. This guy looked like some kind of ogre or orc. And he expected something like Attract to work? The fact that he used such a move, however, told her that he was a hybrid. The question was, was this one of the ones that, like Lucas, had more Pokemon DNA than human, causing them to have physical features of a Pokemon, or was he wearing some kind of costume? "That Attract won't work on me," she snarled. She was already pretty sure that she wouldn't get along well with this one. Then again, she didn't get along well with many people. "Well, now that the whole group is finally here, why don't we hurry up and get to where we're supposed to be."

Lucas

"Same here. I didn't know there were any other Psychic hybrids." Lucas flashed Lydia a grin. "Sense what's in front of me? Sure thing! I'll get us to that Gym Leader in no time!" His eyes took on a soft blue glow, similar to when a Pokemon uses Psychic. "I've got other senses I can use as well. Smell, and hearing. I dunno if they'll be any use, but I can try!" He took a small step forward, then flicked an ear, listening to the sound his footstep made. Then he tapped his foot to the side, and again listened. He repeated this on the other side. "We should be good for a few steps. I'll lead the way I guess. It will be slow going, even with Deacon scouting ahead from the air. But slow and steady wins the race, y'know!"
​

 

[VillageofDragons]

Deacon Masterson

Deacon walked a couple steps into the gym and then stopped. He walked back to the beginning and listened to Lydia's plan. "Well, I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. I am now a Dragon, Flying, and Steel type hybrid. I'll go ahead and scout through the air like you suggested, Lydia. Your plan is brilliant." Deacon said to Lydia, Lucas, and Rex. Deacon slowly walked behind the group. Flapping his wings a couple times, Deacon hovered above the air. After that, he glided through the gym, counting the correct places to step as he goes, trying to memorize it.

After flying not that far, he triggered a trap. By flying through the air he made a motion censor go off and from the side of each wall a Haunter appeared. The Haunter appeared on each side and each one used Hypnosis straight at Deacon. Deacon slowly flew lower as his eyes began to falter. After flying low enough he fell asleep in mid-air and fell down, a bunch of ghostly arms catching him. When Deacon woke up he found himself at the beginning of the maze right behind the group. Deacon walked up to where the group was in the maze. "Guys, about twelve steps ahead of us is a motion censor. Whoever tries to walk or fly past it is instantly put to sleep by two cackling Haunters. Do any of you know how to deal with Hypnosis?? I feel like that's something we'll have to deal with later in the maze when we get to it." Deacon said to the group.

 

[Stingray]

Lydia​

Lydia stopped and thought for a moment before telepathically saying, "Perhaps its Morty's attempt to level the playing field since we powers and the normal humans do not. In theory, I believe you need to see the hypnosis in order to fall under its spell. Thus you close your eyes, they cannot hypnosis you with the ability."

The Psychic hybrid stood still for a minute in silence before modifying the plan, "Ok perhaps both I and Lucas use our abilities to feel out the path, and we guide you Deacon who moves in front with light steps. Think of it as walking and flying at the same time. If we guide you wrong, then you…" Lydia suddenly stopped, looked toward Morty and shook her head. The platform around him was pretty well lit and that is all she needed.

"OK new plan, can you all protect me for a few seconds if the ghosts try to attack me?" asked Lydia as she stepped behind Rex to cut off Morty's view of her. She then began to summon several orbs as she prepared enough power to teleport the entire group next to Morty. The ghost trainer's Chandelure had created enough light around him so Lydia could land each member of the group right next to him. She was sure however if Morty figured out her little trick he would try to stop her. She did not announce her idea of using teleport for this reason. The less time Morty had to figure out her plan, the less time he had to react. Knowing how trainers normally had to order their Pokemon, Lydia would likely have the teleport done before he could even finish his order for the Pokemon to move to stop her. If he did then the ghosts would have to get through Rex, Deacon, and Jacob before getting to her.

 

[VillageofDragons]

Deacon Masterson

Deacon listened to Lydia and caught onto her plan without her having to mention it. While Lydia was making the orbs of light appear Deacon stood in front of her along with Rex and Lucas and flapped his wings outward and around the group so any vision of them from Morty or his ghosts was obscure. Deacon did it with subtlety as well and slowly so Morty nor his ghosts would catch on. As Lydia was about to transfer them right next to Morty, Deacon made sure to keep Morty and his ghosts occupied by shifting his eyes around the room at them. Deacon also tried stepping on one tile, then taking his foot off, and repeating the process from the three tiles in front of him, making it look like he was taking awhile to decide where to step. All of this Deacon hoped to confuse Morty and his ghosts as to what their next choice of action would be. Deacon kept the group hidden as well as trying to decide while waiting for Lydia to be done readying them for teleportation.

 

[Groc]

Rex Dart

Rex just nods and takes his place at the back. He has no problems with being the defensive line, metaphorically or otherwise. Deacon attempts to fly ahead, but apparently Morty considers that cheating, and sends in Haunters to negate his advantage.

"Looks like we do this one the human way." But apparently Lydia has another idea. She hides herself behind Rex (which seems to work well, considering he's practically a moving wall), while conjuring more teleportation orbs. Rex doubts this will work, considering Morty has eyes everywhere, but lets her try. No harm in that, right?

Meanwhile, he has a plan of his own. His teammates seem willing to use their powers to help with this task, so he may as well do the same, right? "I think I can shed some light on this maze." He gently pulls Lucas back, makes sure no one is in front of him, then takes a deep breath and exhales a stream of fire breath to light up the path.

He grimaces once he's done, feeling like he has heartburn. "Did you guys see where to step?"

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Morty:

Interesting, this group is definitely worthy of being a team. Morty thought as he watched the group of what he figured were all hybrids.

He knew there would be hybrids here, which is why he set up additional obstacles to event the playing field, however, he had never said anything was against the rules. He had just said that they had to work together and make it to him. He was interested in the big guy. Not only had he just helped his group, but also a quick glance for the other groups as well.

Morty's goal was not to completely prevent them from getting to him, but to study the. To see if they were worthy or not.

"Interesting. Interesting indeed. Let me see how you plan to get over here. Very nice team work. Very nice indeed. You keep that up and you will make it." Morty said to himself.

He knew of a few ways to bypass all of this. But he wondered if they could teleport or not. Morty took his eyes off the group with the most team work to watch the other groups. None in which showed as much team work as the current group.

__________________________________________________________________________

Shadow:

Shadow rolled his eyes at the beast boy who had just came up. He was not 100% sure what pokemon he was suppose to be right away. He turned away as the beast boy used attract.

"Seriously. Did you just seriously try to use attract on a guy." Shadow snarled.

He looked at Phoena who looked like she was ready to explode. She had never like guys trying to impress her.

"I suggest you not try that again." Phoena said, trying to remain calm, "You may end up watching the ground rush toward you when we get to the top of the tower." Pheona warned.

Shadow smiled, "Come on. Let's go."

"We have to go through a building in the north and the head through a small forest to get to the Bell Tower."

Shadow wondered what the challenge would be. Shadow knew that the Bell Tower would probably be the hardest of the four challenges. Possibly the must intense as well.

He lead the group outside where stalls of candies and other things were being sold. He saw a stall with caramel apples. He rushed to it and quickly bought one. Following close behind was Phoena. Both hybrids enjoyed eating and trying other foods.

"It is nice to still be able to enjoy these together, even though what you did was wrong." Shadow said.

"Not right now. We will talk later. Let us put it aside for the time being and enjoy the festival. Seems like we are stuck together for now anyway so we may as well enjoy it. For now let us just put everything in the past. But if I try to kill that green boy, stop me." Phoena said.

Shadow nodded as both took a bite of their own caramel apple at the same time and almost at the exact same area of the apple. They both waited for Val and Orion to catch up.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sage of Burnt Tower:

The elder looked over the people who had gathered and entered the burnt tower.

"Before you answer the question, you must first find us in he darkness of the Burnt Tower. Be extremely careful as the tower is in ruins. Ghost pokemon are standing by, but any who may become injured. One thing to remember is this, 'higher is not always better.' Stick with your group."

_________________________________________________________________________

The Kimono Girls: Dance Theatre

Zuki looked at the groups who were coming into the Dance Theatre. The Theatre had be decorated with all kinda of pokemon that would remind people of Autumn Festival. Candy Corn and other halloween like candies sat around the tables and counters. She stepped forward.

"We are well known for dancing and sometimes singing. So in order to be allowed to the question, you must sing and dance to three songs that represent the Johto Region. You do not have to sing the full version. The short version will be fine. Each member of your group must participate unless they are not with you. (OCC: If you do not know the songs, let me know.)" Zuki announced.

Naoko stepped forward next, "The three songs that represent the Johto Region, that you must dance and sing to, are 'The Johto Journeys.', 'Johto League Champions: Born to be a Winner', and 'Johto: Master Quest'."

 

[Stingray]

Lydia​

Lydia smiled as her efforts went uninterrupted and she successfully casted the mass teleport. Teleporting all the members next to Morty, Lydia place the members close to the Gym leader in a semi-circle within the sphere of light that showed solid ground. Such a precise teleport of several people was taxing and Lydia would need a little time to gather her strength. This meant it was up to the other members and Aciri to handle any further challenges Morty had. If this was it, perhaps the group would have time to relax before the next challenge.

Lydia hoped for time to relax before the next challenge. She carefully sat down after making sure she would not sit on any of the nine tails integrated into her costume. Looking up while breathing heavily, Lydia looked to see the ghost master's reaction to her teleportation. Aciri walked up and sat next to Lydia, and the pokemon looked like she was content with how things had unfolded so far.

Alpha​

The town looked abandoned as most of the citizens were at various challenges for some celebration. The unnaturally born soldier did not understand the purpose of these celebrations and saw the so called premise that it celebrated a curiosity. Why celebrate a so called friendship that did not exist? Part of the delusions and lies spread by the human leaders perhaps. He could not allow his mind to linger on this question for long as he had his own problems to deal with.

The problem was he needed to learn how to think like one of these Hybrids for this new assignment. It did not make sense why he was chosen, but he would not question the order from his handler. He studied the information files that were sent to him as he sipped on a cup of tea in the middle of an abandoned park. By the end of the day, he would likely have to fit into this new persona. Perhaps such an experience would help with his own secret desire. This thought quickly warmed up the man's thoughts on this mission and would have made him smile if he did not have the self control to prevent the display of emotion.

 

[Rain T.]

Lucas

Lucas was quiet as the plan changed, moving to help shield Lydia from view by dropping back to stand next to Rex. He had essentially the same idea as Deacon, though carried it out in a different way: distract Morty by pretending to be attempting to figure out how to move through the Gym. "So, big guy. Lydia's idea to get us through this place is pretty great, and I think it'll work. But if it doesn't, is there anything you can think of that might?" He moved on from there to list a couple different strategies that ranged from flat-out insane and impossible to clever and well thought out. The young man didn't once stop talking, even when Lydia got the teleportation to work. He just switched what he was saying mid-sentence as the group appeared around Morty to fling an arm up and point a finger at the Gym Leader. "Hah! We made it! So now you, like, ask us a question, right? An we gotta get the answer right?" Even as he spoke he was beginning to experimentally probe Morty's mind, searching for the question and its answer.

Valkyrie

"Bell Tower..." Val mused under her breath. As the group left the Gym to head for their destination, she watched with a snort as Shadow and Phoena were both distracted by a stall selling caramel apples. The one of her Ultra Balls opened, Hydreigon having let itself out in favor of rushing at the stall as well. With a resigned sigh, the hybrid pulled a small fistful of crumpled Pokedollars from her kimono and followed. She ended up buy three of the darn things -- one for each of the Pokemon's heads. As it happily munched, she mounted its back. And once again, they were waiting for Orion to catch up so they could continue on their way... "You greedy brute," she muttered as Hydreigon finished its apples and gave the stall a wistful look. "If I give you too many things like that, you'll get sick. There's more sweet stuff to try later, so save room for that."
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