Monster Art Online (IC)

[machomuu]

Fel - ???

All was black, yet everything that had been before no longer existed. The posters were gone, as was Kion's cooling fan and the aroma of recently baked apple pie. Now, there was no apple pie, there was no ceiling fan, and there was no Kion Fenela; there was only darkness.

The sound eventually returned to the new player's ears, as did his senses of smell, taste, and touch. As for sight, it was oddly absent from his repertoire. This player's name was Fel, and he had just entered Monster Art Online for the first time. He was unsure as to what ailed him. He moved his head, and everything seemed to work fine. He tried to move his hands, as well as his feet...but oddly, they wouldn't respond as he wanted them to. It seemed that they were bound by something. He panicked for a moment, but was staunched when he felt a strange fascination on the back of his head. After a few moments, something fell from his face, a cloth or a bandage, and he was able to see. His vision was blurred, however; he wasn't used to the irregular brightness of the room.

Fel looked to his left and he noticed that there was someone else sitting in a chair, as he was, also in the same situation as he was. To his right, there were two others, also in the same condition. He wasn't sure of exactly what was going on, where he was, or why he started there. He had little time to consider what was going on, as a rather large man clad in a tuxedo of a black and white color scheme took to the front. He looked rather large- or bulky, rather, like someone who could break a boulder with his bare hands. Still, his mustache and greased hair made him seem pleasant and cool, yet still intimidating, like a stereotypical Super Spy from an 60s or 70s movie.

The man snapped his fingers and the brightness of the lights dimmed to a tolerable level. He put his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat, then taking a formal position and returning his hands to his back. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Do not worry and do not panic, you are not in danger and you will not be harmed. You are safe here." The man's abstinence from using contractions made him seem more mechanical and less trustworthy to Fel. "You all have been brought here because in you we see potential."

Before the man could continue, a female in one of the neighboring chairs, around the age of fifteen or so, broke in with a desperate voice filled with anxiety. "I-is this Team Rocket? Are you forcing us to do your dirty work?"

At this, the man laughed a transparent laugh and responded, "Nonsense. Since the disappearance of Giovanni, that foolhardy organization has struggled to stay afloat. No, we take pride in what we do; being compared to those low-life criminals is an insult."

Another of the captives cried out, "Then why are we tied to these chairs? Are we being punished?"

He turned to the young man and said, "Heavens, no. You are all being recruited, but not to an organization like Team Rocket. No, we have good intentions for the region of Johto. However, we cannot inform you as to what those intentions are at the moment, nor will we force you to help us in our goal." The man scanned over the new players in front of him. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Martis. I will be the one giving you your orders. Ta-ta." The man waved as everything went dark again.

It was quite an abrupt exit, and a heck of an opening quest. Well, that's what Fel thought, anyway, but when he came to he already had his Blitzle. Even more strange, he woke up on Route 29. He started asking around and found out that it had already been three days since the game was released and that, normally, a player starts out in New Bark Town. If that wasn't enough, he learned that he was stuck in the game, and that there was no way out. All of this had his brain on overload, as he didn't remember any of it. He decided to learn more about what was going on, and went back to New Bark Town to accept the opening quest from Professor Elm, but upon inquiring about the quest, Elm told Fel that he had already finished the quest. Fel was puzzled, as he didn't know anything about it. He was very, very lost and confused.

A day later, Fel noticed a strange item in his inventory. Well, it wasn't so much that the item itself was strange is its existence was. It was a letter, one with no sender. It was in a rather extravagant envelope, so Fel had a good idea who it was from. He opened the envelope, careful not to rip it, and started reading.

Greetings Dear Recruit,

You may be wondering about all that has happened in the time before you came into our presence, and that is to be expected. Something seems to have put many people in a frenzy; we have been hearing something about people being "locked in this world" and being unable to get out. Aren't we all? (Pardon my breaking of character) Anyway, this letter is here to reassure you. You have lost any recent memory you may have had, but this is normal. Well, as normal as a situation such as this could possibly be.

I'm sure you want to know exactly who we are. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that at present. No, before I can do that you must present your resolve. Show us that you can make the commitment to us. Now, this may be difficult, as you have no knowledge of who we are or what we do? That is to be expected, we have not given you any reason to help us, and more, you have no reason to trust us. Therefore, we shall give you your first assignment. You are to rendezvous with the other recruits in Cherrygrove City by the shore four days from now. That is all.​

Cordially,​

Martis​

A letter that explained everything, and at the same time, presented more questions. This did put an end to Fel's wild goose chase, but it raised a rather large question that he couldn't shake: was the organization Player Controlled, or was this all a quest? It seemed so...calculated, and yet, Martis seemed to know nothing of the many people that recently began to populate Jhoto as being players in a game. Or rather, he decided to jump around it to make it seem that way. He considered being trapped in MAO to be an analogy, joking as he was.

Still, Fel was interested nonetheless. He had no reason not to meet up with the others, and that's exactly what he decided to do. For the next couple of days, Fel decided to train Hama, his Blitzle, and learn more about the events of the first three days in detail. As he learned more and more of the first three days, he started to remember the events taking place from his own perspective, until finally, he was able to completely remember everything from the moment he put on the Nervegear device until now...except for one thing. He did not remember the moment where he was taken to the room and bound to the chair. He didn't remember being attacked, and he didn't remember what happen around the time that he was taken there. However, it wasn't very important.

On the seventh day, he decided to make for Cherrygrove and wait for the others. He didn't exactly know who or what to expect, but he decided to let his interest take control and he would find out when he got there.

 

[moon]

K R I S S U
→ Route 30

Krissu let out a breath she had been holding. The little girl lived. And she got another pokémon, at last.

"Well done," she said and actually smiled a little. Because, why not? Sure, she wouldn't be truthfully happy for a long time, since Malcolm... but there was no need to be rude just because she wanted to be serious and strong. Because in MAO, people actually seemed to want to talk to her, in comparison to the real world where people just shrugged when they saw her and thought 'there goes that nerd'.

"What's your name, by the way? And are you headed to Violet City now?" she then asked. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to have a traveling companion... at least for a while. Stern and Tiasha and most of the others she had gotten to know in the beginning of the game probably wouldn't leave Cherrygrove for a while longer, if ever. But here this frail little girl who seemed to know virtually nothing about how to be strong in MAO chose to go north. She was interesting. If nothing else, she could need Krissu's protection. Yeah, that was as good a reason as any.

"If you are, we can travel together if you'd like," she therefore said, not looking straight at the girl when she said it, and losing the smile somewhat. She was still used to not being popular in the real world, so she believed that there was a chance that the girl would reject her. "I need someone to spar with if I'm going to get stronger. NPCs are good for making money off, but they can't stop after using only a few pokémon; with a human sparring partner, you can choose to only use one each of your pokémon and not risk whiting out. And maybe you'd need to get stronger too, so."
​

 

[Retro Bug]

Fara O'Shay
Cherrygove City​

Her eyes blinked, it took her awhile to remember that she wasn't actually in the real world. She loved the real world, not the person she was but just the reality of it. One day this would all end whether if that was through an overall win or she died. A band around her wrist was moved to her hair to keep in tied up and away from her face. The day would go smoothly, there were rumors of the Mayor having a special event. She wasn't sure if it was up her alley but anything that got her further in this game was a good enough reason to get out of bed. A purple creature was curled up next to her, Bandino, a virtual Pokemon. Fara was ecstatic that she had a partner through this perilous journey but she needed others to do her bidding because she couldn't allow herself to whiteout.

"Bandino, time to go," Fara nudged the blob next to her as she rose out of the rented bed. She was going to miss this PokeCenter but she couldn't dwell here.

She snatched up all of her items, which she kept in close proximity to the bed just incase there was a thief. In this game the only person a player should trust is their own self. Though, most were looking for companionship and wanted to form a bond and Fara had fully taken advantage of that. In fact, her latest victim rented a room next to hers. She left her room with Bandino in her arms with them strategically placed carefully around him to avoid his poison barbs. Her feet slowed down as she scurried passed the room of a redheaded boy who was faced down into his pillow. A breath escaped her mouth as she made her way down the PokeCenter stairs and then out the front door.

Fara swung her head around searching for anyone that could point her in the direction of the Mayor. Another player crossed her path and she trailed behind her for a bit just enough to gain the knowledge that she was an actual player and not a NPC. The girl had luscious hair that flowed down her back, perched on her shoulder was a Pidgey that seemed to be fast asleep. She quicken her pace to a point where Fara had to go into a trot in order to keep up with her.

"Excuse me, miss?" Fara croaked out, she hoped she sounded as innocent as possible. She learned to play dumb within her first few interactions with others.

"Y-yes?" The girl called back over her shoulder she didn't dare to turn to face Fara.

"I need help, can you take me to the mayor's house?" Fara yelled out, the girl stopped and lifted a finger to point to a house close to the water. "Why are you running?"

"There are rumors that The Slayer is in Cherrygove, I-I just need to go! You should too, he's dangerous!"

"HE? The Slayer is a girl! I mean, I've heard The Slayer is a girl!" Fara said with obvious frustration.

"Whatever!" With that the girl sprinted out of Fara's line of sight.

Fara cursed under her breath for this outspoken correction. It seemed the unfortunate side effect of her rumors were that it was easily changed to a male player. Perhaps that was a good thing, no one would suspect her of being The Slayer, which made it easier to manipulate and use others in the game. Her heels kicked up dust as she strolled toward the house that supposedly contained the Mayor. She rapidly knocked on the door and no answer came, Fara didn't like the sound of that. A shrill voice cried out something but Fara barely made out the words to she assumed it was either "Just a minute!" or "Come in!". A few seconds passed before Fara placed her hands on the door in order to open it when it swung open on its own.

"Ahh, a Trainer how I love when they visit," the shrill voice came back to Fara's ear. The Mayor was a frail woman in light, pink clothing. She wore a small hat that sat upon her gray hair, her smile seemed a little too inviting. "Are you heading toward Route 30?"

"I'm heading whatever you want me to," Fara smiled she needed to hurry this along there were already players who were at Faulkner's Gym and she needed to get there.

"Well, an earlier player refused my request but perhaps you might give me a chance? I need an item for an old friend, Mr Pokemon, and, well, I cannot go myself. Could you?" The lady's face fell as she mentioned how an earlier Trainer had refused her offer.

"Of course!" Fara beamed and waved to the old lady before she walked towards Route 30.

She hoped to avoid every player and be back to Cherrygove City before sun down. Bandino squirmed she was surprised that he hadn't made a noise during the entire adventure throughout that had just happened. He was quiet when he wasn't fighting and when he was he truly came alive. Fara patted his head to let him know she would let him battle soon. Route 30 was said to have two paths but which one did she need to take to get to Mr Pokemon's house? There wasn't anyone around that could give her advice but Fara was confident that she could easily pick the road with the information she had gathered before entering Cherrygrove City.​

 

[Fuyu]

A Friend...

Ange, having cleaned off her Solosis, went to pick up her Pokeball and new partner. She looked quizzically up at Krissu, trying to register the place she needed to go to. Violet City... that was the next area right? What strange names these cities and towns were given. She returned Sia and with some thought, clipped both balls to her bag. They were both probably kind of tired...

Oh that's right. She should probably answer those questions... probably. She held out a small hand for Krissu to shake. "Thank you." Ange gave a smile of her own, quite without thinking. "My name is Ange now... and I am heading toward Violet." She looked away at Krissu's side glance. "To survive in this world you have to get stronger... I see..." She giggled, not amused exactly. "I'm quite surprised... I'm not gone then."

I probably should work harder to not be gone then. If I'm gone, what will happen to Benjy? A bubble of childish anger rose in her chest and her smile faded. Does he want me to find him? He had left this game at her house after all... and look what had come of it. She could white out... and then what? Nothing. Maybe she was still guilty of something. She quelled the odd sense of anger and nodded at Krissu. "I'd be happy to join you... unless I'd weigh you down."

 

[Skymin]

<<BiRDiE>> // Cherrygrove City
Birdie had been in and out of the Pokémon Centre a few times now, only because they were the only place in Cherrygrove which actually gave you a bed which was free. He had never actually been in there to heal his Pokémon. When Birdie stepped up to the counter to ask if he could get Todo healed (even though Todo was perfectly healthy, you could never be too careful), he couldn't help but chuckle. This was a real life (not exactly real life, but it sure felt like it) Pokémon Centre and the nurse was spitting image (well, as far as spitting could get to 2D sprites) of one of her in-game counterparts. He hadn't really noticed this before and it was... well, amusing.

After his little fumbling with his thoughts, he returned Todo to his PokéBall with a press of a button and handed it over. The process took only a few moments, much like the actual game, and Todo was handed back to him in top shape.

"We hope to see you again!"

"Thank-you."

So, what would he do now? He could go train, maybe, or do some more quests. With his new found confidence, Birdie kinda wanted to see Mr. Pokémon. In the original games, Mr. Pokémon took an egg from you and then very conveniently, Professor Oak showed up to give you a PokéDex. Though this game was very different, Birdie could imagine that if the man gave you a quest, it would be way better than fetching berries. Speaking of which...

Birdie quickly opened his menu to check his new stats on being a 'Berry Brewer' (he would probably call it an Alchemist from now on since Berry Brewer sounded quite embarrassing). Every current stat about it was on predictably on zero but there was another option to open up recipes. The one who had given him the quest said that he'd given him a recipe which wasn't a lie, as there was one recipe there for a... 'Potion'. Well, that would be handy.

>>To create a POTION, the following items are needed:

>>ORAN BERRY
>>WATER
>>(empty) BOTTLE​

​

It seemed the better you got at alchemy, the better your potions became. That didn't sound unusual. Unfortunately, Birdie didn't have any water nor a bottle, but they didn't sound too hard to get. It was too bad that Birdie had not a great deal of money at the moment, otherwise a Potion on hand would be very useful.

One more thing he needed to do before moving on was to get a new Pokémon but that seemed like something he could do in the next route while heading to Mr. Pokémon's.

"Let's go, Todo," Birdie said, though it was hardly necessary as the Zubat seemed happy to follow his every command. To get to Mr. Pokémon's house, Vinny had said there were stronger Pokémon there. So, that meant... Birdie had to either get stronger to find a partner. Getting stronger was something that... he couldn't do alone. So, feeling a little out of character and nervous again, Birdie strode towards the next route, his eyes locked on the first person he saw in front of him.

"Excuse me," Birdie said as politely as he could. The person he had randomly picked had, from the back, long, curly black hair and a leather jacket. Presumably, a girl from the way she was standing and the length of her hair. "Excuse me, are you going to Mr. Pokémon's house?"​

 

[Retro Bug]

Fara O'Shay
Cherrygove City​

Fara looked over her shoulders and saw a Trainer approaching her, which meant she had to think fast. If she was going to work her magic she needed to know if he was a player or a NPC. There was a menu that could be brought up but she didn't really want to because she preferred to take it on herself. On Route 30 there were said to a lot of wild Pokemon that attacked without warning but that was just a rumor. The usefulness of the player/NPC would be determined later on but for now she just needed him as a shield.

"Excuse me, are you going to Mr. Pokémon's house?" The Trainer was far cuter than what she noticed from her earlier glance. He was scrawny, not much of a physical threat and despite his glasses she had the feeling he wasn't much of a intelligent threat either. She quickly came upon the conclusion that he needed a haircut but she doubted it was possible to get one at this point in the game.

"Yeah, but I think I'm lost?" Slowly she tucked her hands into her pockets. "Want to walk together?"

Her Nidoran grew restless in her arms, which meant his poisonous barbs swung every which way almost pricking Fara in the arm. As soon as the hold she had on him loosen he leapt from her arms onto the ground and growled at the Pokemon that fluttered around the other player's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, he's usually not like this! Anyway, we should get going if you know the way?" She voiced another question but this time it came off more confident rather than the innocent tone she used earlier. It was an annoying process to get into this weak, timid persona and sometimes she slipped up or forgot to act in the "right" way. Perhaps if the avatar had blonde hair it might've been easier for her to remember.
​

 

[Skymin]

<<BiRDiE>> // Cherrygrove City
"Yeah, but I think I'm lost? Want to walk together?" The girl asked, tucking her hands into her pockets. Now that he could see her face, she was quite... well, beautiful was how he would put it. She seemed around the same age as real-life Sophie but far more attractive, with her dark skin, dark eyes and dark hair. The only thing that confused Birdie was that although her appearance, her clothes (high heels? In a game where you had to do a lot of walking?) and her atmosphere screamed strong, independent and confident, her attitude seemed the opposite. Maybe the person behind the avatar was actually a young girl or something. It didn't matter too much, Birdie would have helped her out regardless.

"Sure," Birdie smiled, nodding politely. Her Nidoran seemed to disagree though, jumping from her arms to growl at Todo. Todo didn't do much but stare (stare? Could he stare? He had no eyes...) back down at the Nidoran. Did he have an aggressive personality? Birdie made a nervous face and stepped back from the Nidoran, afraid it might pounce or attack despite Todo's calm demeanour. He wasn't sure about the PvP rules in this game. Did they have to initiate a battle or did it just... happen? "Uuh... heh?"

"I'm sorry, he's usually not like this! Anyway, we should get going if you know the way?"

"Yeah, I think so," Birdie kept his eyes on the Nidoran, looking back up to the girl, trying his best to keep his smile positive. When he was satisfied the Nidoran was not going to bite his face off, he stepped around it and slowly led the girl into Route 30. She seemed all too happy to follow him. "My name is Birdie, by the way."

It felt pretty weird leading the way for Birdie, being someone who always took orders and never gave them. Actually, something that had never occurred to Sophie was that now that she was a boy, did Birdie have to show the courtesies that Sophie received (or at least wished to receive)? Birdie kept forgetting that, yes, he was not the same gender as Sophie was in the real world, since it didn't really feel all that different. Apart from a slight shift in weight from the torso and something a little different on his lower half, Birdie felt completely normal.

The grass seemed not as far away as last time, though that might have been because Vinny spent his time trying to find those silly Berries. It felt just as scary but Birdie held onto his nerve. Like last time, he had someone with him! He took his first step a little more confidently but it didn't take six or so steps to find a Pokémon, it only took three.

"Gah!" this one was different from last time but at least he didn't fall over it. Instead of an angry Caterpie, a rather placid Hoothoot pecked at Birdie's feet. He took a step back and let Todo off his shoulder. He would try a strategy, like last time. "Okay Todo, use Supersonic!"

Todo let out a squeal at the Hoothoot, those eerie sound waves zipping through the air at the Hoothoot. It wasn't exactly like last time though; the owl lazily dodged it and sent its own waves at Todo. Wait, Hoothoot couldn't learn Supersonic... could it? Oh, wait!!

"Aah! Quick Todo, dodge it, dodge it!" Todo obeyed, darting away from the waves. Yeah, falling asleep right now would be bad. Since Todo was Birdie's only Pokémon, that would probably mean instant death. And instant death made Birdie want to run away very quickly right now. "Bite!!"

Todo attached its mouth onto the Hoothoot, making it cry very loudly in pain. It retaliated with a shake and launched itself at Todo, knocking him back. That must have been a Tackle! Dammit, how much health did Todo have? Birdie quickly brought up his menu to check his Pokémon stats and it seemed... that Todo was down about a third and Hoothoot just a little bit more than that. This was no time to mess around then. Birdie wanted to run away so bad but one, his legs were glued to the grass he stood on and two, if he ran away, maybe the Hoothoot would just follow them.

"Bite again, please!"

The Zubat mimicked his last move and the Hoothoot's health fell to the early red zone. This was when you threw the PokéBall, right? Birdie quickly selected it from his menu as the Hoothoot attacked again, Todo's health just hitting orange. Then, hardly thinking of aim or anything, Birdie pegged the ball at the owl, hitting it square in the chest. With a small hoot, it dissolved into a red light and was sucked into the ball.

Once... twice... three times... caught!

"I... I did it! We did it, Todo!!" Birdie grabbed his partner and hugged him as best as he could. A pop-up menu broke up their victory embrace, showing the stats and level and gender of the Hoothoot.

>>Would you like to give a nickname to your Hoothoot?​

"Yes!" Birdie tapped in the first thing that came to his head.

K I M I​

"Wow..." Birdie stared at his new Pokémon for a minute before he realised he was meant to be helping someone. "Oh, sorry. Would it... could I ask we go back to heal our Pokémon please... um, sorry, what was your name, miss?"​

 

[moon]

K R I S S U
→ Route 30

"I'd be happy to join you... unless I'd weigh you down."

"Not at all," Krissu automatically said. But in reality, she guessed that she would move a lot faster on her own. Still, she would feel guilty to leave Ange all alone on this route. She'd be dead within a day, probably. "Let's go before it gets dark, then."

It was still early in the afternoon as Krissu and Ange walked north on Route 30. The landscape was pretty fascinating; clearly on par with anything she had ever seen before in a video game. To the east, large mountains were towering far away and around them were a rocky landscape with an abundance of forest. Krissu guessed it would only be a matter of time before they met more wild pokémon.

Suddenly, they came to what seemed to be a fork in the road. One way led strictly north still, with a decently walkable road and a few NPC trainers peeking out on the road ahead, probably wanting some battles if you locked eyes with them. The other path led into the forest, being on the wilder side. At least no trainers could be spotted there. But maybe they were just hiding. Why would the game fool the players like this? If you took the wrong turn, maybe you'd have to go all the way back again... sigh.

"Where do you think we should go?" Krissu asked Ange. Tentacool was since long back inside its pokéball and Litwick was out again, wobbling on just ahead of the pink haired trainer. "That path seems a lot more trustworthy." She pointed to the left and north. "But that path might... I don't know, but sometimes paths that look more difficult can be the easier ones. Because that's how some games like to do it. You said you hadn't played much games though?"
​

 

[Fuyu]

The Road Less Traveled...

Ange looked between the two paths, smiling at her Caterpie. The Pokemon was sitting rather placidly on her shoulder now, watching Krissu with its beady eyes. She smiled a little faintly, looking between the two paths with a resemblance of curiosity. Her Pokemon made an odd, curious sort of squeak and she giggled, poking what was probably her nose. "What do you think?" she asked the creature. As her partner tilted its head back and forth, Ange pondered the matter. Her Pokemon were rather tired... probably. So...

"Perhaps the rougher path..." she decided after a moment. The more difficult the journey, the more profitable reward. "The road less traveled by makes all the difference after all." She asked about the games again, making Ange hum in thought. As far as she knew, she had never played any game before. "Ah... no... no I have not." Was playing games like these normal for a child? She wondered if her parents had denied her of something... It would not surprise her if they did. Mother was... had been... rather strict on Angel... and had believed she could not do things others were capable of. A vexing event... now that she was here.

What would she be considering in her mind at this moment?

"Rather..." The girl added softly. "It is more that I have never played a game like this of any sort. It was impossible for me." As she said this, she chuckled, thinking of Benjy. Benjy, who thought nothing was impossible, who had given her this. "My friend... was the one who played." Was he up ahead... He probably was long gone really.

 

[Claire*]

Solomon

"Mr. Pokemon, I presume?" Solomon looked the man up and down, the answer already self evident in all reality. The cottage that housed the NPC had only been a short walk from where he had captured his new companion. His new feisty Hoothoot rested in its pokeball, still securely latched to the lining of his coat. It took him just a few seconds to come up with a name for the deviant. Moriarty, a reference to one of Solomon's most beloved fictional characters. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous nemesis to the revered hero, Sherlock Holmes. For reasons Solomon couldn't explain, the wise look of the owl and its malicious intent lent itself to the name.

"Why, yes! I am Mr. Pokemon. You're the escort the Mayor sent, right?" The lifelike character shifted its weight and seemed almost as if it was uncomfortable. Solomon just really wanted to get this quest over with and move on towards Violet city. He rubbed his temples and ran a quick hand through his hair.

"Yes, I'm here to pick up the delivery. So if we could stop procrastinating, I'd like to get back underway."

"Oh, of course." Mr. Pokemon disappeared for a second and came back with the item in question. "Please make sure this gets back to the Mayor toot-sweet." Handing the item to Solomon, he grabbed it swiftly and it disappeared into his inventory.

[You have received a Mystery Egg!]​

Umbra was busy exploring the little abode, her curious nature causing her to stick her nose where it most certainly didn't belong. She had climbed her way on top of a bookcase and perched in such a way so that she could look longingly at herself in a mirror. Vain little creature.

"Ok, Umbra, time to head back." The sneasel sighed a little before climbing back down and waiting patiently for Solomon to open the door. Patience was hard for her, but she could use it every once and a while. "Actually, you know what," Solomon stopped himself mid-sentence and pulled out Umbra's pokeball. "Return." Her little body disappeared into the now familiar beam of light, the world inside the pokeball awaited her. If there -was- a world inside a pokeball. Solomon guessed it was just the system's way of hiding them from view, only to materialize when he recalled her. Stepping outside, he pulled out another identical ball, his new found bird rest inside it. "Moriarty, come."

With a squawk, the Hoothoot burst forth from the ball, the first time it had been out since capture. Circling above for but a second, it landed a few feet from its new owner. Moriarty cocked his head as he searched Solomon apprasingly. What was he looking for? Solomon didn't have the foggiest idea. Walking past the Hoothoot, he beckoned for him to follow as he made his way back through the route. "I've already had this discussion with Umbra," he called out towards the Pokemon. "I'm Solomon, your new master. My word is law and expect that law to be upheld." He knew that the system really prevented any disobedience from his captured Pokemon, but it still felt good to say.

Moriarty gave only a small hoot of acknowledgment, his bulbous eyes watching his owner as he walked. There was something malicious behind those innocent looking eyes, but Solomon had a hard time pegging it. Did each of these Pokemon have randomly generated personalities or were they crafted? He would have killed for a chance to see some of the code that went into making this masterpiece. It was a given that Pokemon received natures in the old games, but they felt so fleshed out here. Just like they were living breathing creatures. A quick check in the menu had revealed little Moriarty to have a "Naughty" nature. Quite fitting to what he had seen him display so far.

"Now, it shouldn't be too far before we get to the Mayor, what do you say we do some training for you?" Swooping up to him and landing on his shoulder, Moriarty let out an excited screech at the prospect and began to look for his first target. Maybe the Hoothoot wouldn't be as worthless as previously judged.​

 

[moon]

K R I S S U
→ Route 30

"Impossible?" Krissu wondered how that could be so. She glanced carefully at the other girl. Maybe she had been very ill in real life or something. Too weak to hold a gaming control in her hands. Poor thing! Krissu couldn't imagine how boring her life would have been without games. She felt an immense thankfullness towards Monster Art Online all of a sudden, for giving kids like these a chance of experiencing the wonders of gaming... but then she remembered that they were really prisoners here. Malcolm's face floated across her mental lenses for a brief moment. It was not a wonder; it was hell.

"We'll take the rough road, then," she said and started walking. But very soon, she suddenly stepped on something strange. She looked down and saw a very angry, yellow worm stare up at her.

"I just stepped on a Weedle!" she said, backing up towards Ange. But she wasn't really afraid. Even though they were poisonous, she had an Antidote in her bag. And Litwick was fire type. It would be easy to...

The grass behind them was rustling. Krissu turned around to see a dozen more Weedle peek up from the tall grass. All looking angered.

"A... A swarm? Why here? Why now?" She took Ange's hand. "We'd better make a run for it, I only have one Antidote and we don't want to get poisoned ourselves, do we?" The rough path forward only had one Weedle. They should run north. Litwick blew out a flame behind them to slow the swarm of Weedle. "Ready?" Krissu asked the other girl.

((OOC: you can bunny Krissu now for a bit, if you like :) Just don't make her say stuff.))
​

 

[Fuyu]

Swarm...

Ange smiled at her companion's surprise. "Yes," she agreed softly. "At least that was what I was told." She wasn't horribly concerned by this notion as Krissu seemed to be. It was her life, as it were. "I could not precisely-" Kii let out a crooning sort of noise as Krissu abruptly ran back beside her. Ange looked to see a lot of angry yellow worms. Weedle, Krissu had called them. Well, she thought, rather huffily. They would be cute if they weren't quite so angry. Kii let out another irritable noise as he was jostled by Krissu grabbing his new trainer's arm.

"Ready," she had asked.

The redhead looked at her companion and nodded slowly, letting herself be lead along by this new friend. Kii screeched again as he was jostled before righting himself to face the Weedle swarm. He fired a String Shot, aiming the sticky thread towards the eye of the nearby Weedle.

"I wonder how profitable... this will be after all," Ange murmured as they ran, her eyes being drawn toward the gleaming horns atop their heads. "My... that will be nasty won't it?" She frowned at the lone Pokemon. "Maybe if we split up... and go around it, it won't know... who first?" It was a technique she knew people used... she knew it worked very well in some cases... like in the alleys.

"Hey come on, help us out!"

"Aw leave him, he's a stiff anyway. Just get the other guy and go."

"Benjy-"

"No way, I'm have fun. Go home you wuss."

She shook her head to clear it, listening behind her for the sound of many pods.

 

[moon]

K R I S S U
→ Route 30

"Split up?" Krissu didn't like the sound of that. Sure, she had decided to go on her own in MAO now, but she would not risk Ange getting a dangerous sting just because she didn't know how to fight the worms off properly. She glanced back at the girl who was just behind her. How could some worms run that fast? Maybe 'run' was the wrong word...

You should not look back when you run through a rough forest road. Krissu's feet suddenly didn't find ground anymore; she had run straight at a slope! Now she tumbled down a few meters and managed to think that she hoped Ange and Litwick had time to stop before they fell too - before she bumped into something that was neither a rock nor a tree. Rather a couple of legs.

"Ouch..." the pink haired girl groaned as she got up and put her hands on some bruises she had gotten. So MAO would even let your body trip and get bruised? Such a real world. Krissu looked up and was surprised to see that it was another trainer rather than a pokémon. A rather tall player with blonde hair and simple enough clothing. This would either mean that she had to battle him now, if it was an NPC. But there was always the chance that it was a player... Krissu had not her HUD turned on at the moment so she couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out and stood up, hastily brushing some leaves and dirt from her white coat.
​

 

[Claire*]

Solomon

Complications. Life has a funny way of throwing complications your way. It wouldn't have been much longer until he and his companions had reached Cherrygrove, the voyage almost wholly uneventful. Yet, life would never let such a thing be simply uneventful. Solomon and Moriarty had just polished off a battle against quite the spunky Caterpie. Moriarty proved victorious in the end of course, but Solomon would be lying if he didn't give the little worm credit. It put up quite the fight. Maybe it had been an unusually high level for the area? It wasn't uncommon for such an occurrence to happen. What followed, that -was- uncommon.

The event blindsided him quite honestly. He was just going his merry way, goal in sight. Suddenly, something rolled into his legs and just about took him down with it. Moriarty gave a startled shriek and took to the skies, circling overhead and looking down in curiosity. It turned out, it wasn't just something, but someone. A girl, no, young woman? By his best estimation, a beautiful one at that. If one were to go by such a narrow descriptive adjective. Perhaps her most distinguishing feature being long, pink hair. He cocked his head to the side as he sized her up, unsure quite what to make of her.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out and stood up, hastily brushing some leaves and dirt from her white coat.

Solomon couldn't help but notice that she missed a few. He stared at the debris that littered her coat. His compulsion to wipe it clean built up where he struggled to fight it. He reached out and plucked a leaf from her shoulder, not out of kindness, but out of sheer compulsion. "Being sorry doesn't change it from having happened," He responded to her flatly. His voice betrayed neither aggravation nor forgiveness in tone. It was as if he was talking to somebody about the weather.

Moriarty circled again and landed on the girls hair rather abruptly, his big eyes looking back at Solomon with a confused look. Running into other players wasn't exactly Solomon's idea of fun. He let out an exasperated sigh and recalled the Hoothoot to his ball. No use complicating things just because the bird took a liking to the girls hair.

"I'll be on my way now."​

 

[Retro Bug]

Fara O'Shay
Route 30​

Fara closely watched the other Trainer incase he had any hesitation. It was clear to her now that he wasn't a NPC, which only helped her future schemes. She knew she had to divulge into a more detailed plan otherwise this would be a waste of a trip. The rumors that circulated was that Faulkner had a Pidgeotto and was quite a tough opponent so if she were ever going to beat him she was going to need Geodude. Apparently, if you were brave enough to risk a trip in the cave there were plenty of Geodudes to be caught. Fara couldn't help but openly grimace as she wasn't fond of that particular Pokemon but she'd use it and then release it.

"Yeah, I think so," Fara watched his movements and noticed his eyes were glued to Bandino. She couldn't let his actions jeopardy the mission at hand but she unfortunately she couldn't predict Bandino's actions. "My name is Birdie, by the way."

"Birdie, eh? That's a unusual name," Birdie lead the way and she followed him into Route 30. She wasn't going to take the chance of a wild Pokemon that wanted to white her out.

As if the game had incorporated her thoughts into actions the grass infront of Birdie rustled to life. An angry Hoothoot sprung to life and lunged at Birdie's feet, which caused him to cry out in pain. Quick to action Fara plucked Bandino off the ground and held him firmly in her grasp otherwise he would've joined in the battle. He bucked restlessly in her arms clearly wanted to battle of own Hoothoot but Fara didn't want to risk it just yet. Her eyes turned back to the battle at hand, Birdie was clearly fast on his feet and commanded Todo with some ease. The Zubat bit into the Hoothoot as it avoided a very strategical Hypnosis this battle was surely keeping Birdie on his toes and Fara too. She had yet capture another Pokemon but that would change when they reached Route 31. Distracted by her own thoughts Fara missed the entire capture scene and looked up to Birdie who was asking a question.

"Oh, sorry. Would it... could I ask we go back to heal our Pokémon please... um, sorry, what was your name, miss?"

"My name is Fara, Fara O'Shay!" Her voice came out a little more cheery than Amell meant it to but he wasn't use to a girl's voice, his normal voice didn't do that. Fara patted Birdie on the shoulder before she reversed herself toward Cherrygove City, toward the PokeCenter. "Lead the way, Boss!"​

 

[Miss Doronjo]

Luxanna's Log #1 & a ½

The world that Lux imagined was in was white. Then it was red. Then it was white again because someone spilled white paint on it. Then the person in change of coloring the world became so mad that he created a big bang, making billions and trillions and even gazillions types of colors. And thus, came the world that Lux was in today. The MAO universe. It all started when Lux was busy, trying to eat a rock-hard Magikarp, when that funny little lock down happened. That wasn't to say that everyone panicked. Some people even died. As for Lux, she was still alive and kicking, without a serious care in the world. She just wanted to play the game.

Lux first started in New Bark town, where she encountered good ol' Professor Elm. He of course, was real troubled with the people dying, and the lockdown and all, but he hasn't found a good solution yet. Lux met him about a week ago, around the time she first met with her new best friend - a Growlithe she received when she first signed up. Lux thought that the good Professor had an answer to everything, including a lifelong problem she constantly had.

"Professor, this is serious. Should I eat 10 apple pies, or 12?" she asked. "I mean, what if I eat 10, and I'm still hungry? But what if I eat 12, and I'm just too full? What on earth do I do?"

"Why not just eat 11?" the professor replied that day. "It's the number between 10 and 12, so it should be the right amount?"

"But... I dunno," Luxanna said concerned. "11 is such a bland number, you know? It's like, the number ten and the number twelve are very easy to say, but eleven? That's like, a three syllable word!"

Her question was never truly answered that day. But she'll find the answer in time. Soon she sought her proud self upon Route 29, where... it was pretty bland looking road, but Lux sure enjoyed it! The dirt on the ground seemed to be tampered with when she last visited here; and there are more fresh footprints here now! So something, or someone must of been here! The sun was just as bright as she remembered from yesterday too; and the atmosphere was just as peaceful as before. Lux smiled as she waved 'hello!' to the sun, and a quick 'hello!' to the green grass, the dirt on the road, and the sturdy tree trunks. One week after she first started playing and she still couldn't believe it - she was inside a pokemon video game with her very own pokemon! Very cool indeed!

Soon, she stumbled upon a tree where she heard leaves rustling. Soon, her curious nature encountered a flustered Pidgey, as it cutely flapped it's wings as it roosted upon a nearby tree branch, right in front of Luxanna. Luxanna could easily tell what kind of pokemon it was.

"A Natu!" she smiled. "Oh wait, wait, no it's not - it's a Pidgey! Yeah! Everyone knows what a Pidgey is; it's like, on the first page of pokemon 101! And hey, it's wild! Ohhhhh maaaaaan I get to capture a pokemon! Finally!!" She then took out a familiar pokeball of hers, and threw it in the air. The pokeball opened, and the energy released materialize into her faithful partner - her Growlithe. Growlithe made a joyful bark upon being released outside. "Alright Growlithe! See that Pidgey up there? We're going to battle it, okay?" Growlithe barked in agreement as it prepared itself for combat. The Pidgey sensed the danger immediately, and flew out from the branch in a flight-battle stance.

"Maaan this is so awesome! I'm about to call out an attack!" Luxanna smiled. "Okay! Growlithe, use your - wait for iiiiiiiit - Use your Ember!" Growlithe obeyed immediately as it blew chunks of small ember flames towards the tiny bird. The energetic Pidgey reacted, as it dodged to the left out of the harmful Ember's way. "This AWESOME! A wild pokemon just invaded my pokemon's attack!" Then, the Pidgey dived towards the Growlithe, tackling it on the nose, sending it back as the Pidgey made an ascent back on the sky. "This is AMAZING!! A WILD POKEMON JUST ATTACKED MY POKEMON!" Growlithe was not as thrilled, as it shook of the damage, being able to move again.

"Growlithe, switch to a Leer Attack!" Luxanna then ordered, as her Growlithe then growled as he stared deep enough that Luxanna thought it was staring towards Pidgey's chicken-magnetic soul... Pidgey flinched from the intimidation. "Now, while it's flustered - Bite Attack!" Growlithe then jumped, and swiftly bit upon the wild Pidgey's wing, bringing Pidgey right towards the ground, dealing much expected damage from Lux's Growlithe.

Soon Pidgey rose back on it's feet, as it tried to prepare another tackle attack. "Quick - Ember to finish!" Luxanna ordered, as her Growlithe once again blew his trademark bits of flame, scorching the Pidgey, making it slump on the ground. "Ahhhhh this is it!! I should catch it now! Okay, first take out a pokeball... then um... should I make like, a baseball throw or just a regular throw... REGULAR THROW IT IS! Okay!" She brought out her empty pokeball, and threw it towards the Pidgey. The pokeball opened, and the energy inside sucked in the weak Pidgey, closing the Pokeball and sealing it inside as it dropped down on the ground.

The pokeball shook once. Then twice. Then a third time.

"Come on...!" hoped Luxanna.

To be continued.





















...Right now.

The pokeball stopped moving. As Luxanna and her Growlithe moved in on it closer, they jumped, overreacted, to the 'ping!' sound it chimed, signalling a successful capture. Luxanna and her Grwolithe exhanged glaces, then smiled while nodded as Luxanna moved in closer to pick up her prize: a new Pidgey. "I should say something dramatically now, right?" Lux wondered. Then, she rose the pokeball in the air. "I just caaaaaaaught... a Pidgey!" she hollered, followed up with a triumphant howl from her Growlithe.

"Thanks Growlithe, take a break!" Lux said with a smile, as she took out Growlithe's pokeball, and returned her Growlithe safely inside. This was quite fun for her; she successfully captured a Pidgey! Now it was time for more things, as she set off for her next destination.



​

 

[Fuyu]

Who is this?...

They had been running at a pretty good speed about a few seconds until Krissu suddenly tripped and fell. Of course, since she had her hand firmly held, Ange was pulled down with her. It was a very uncoordinated maneuver that was likely going to hurt. Oddly enough, that did not happen. Instead Sia's Pokeball opened and the Solosis glowed pink, lifting her into the air. Kii almost fell though. Ange caught the Caterpie and glanced puzzledly at Sia. The Pokemon hovered in the air, looking almost as though it were smiling.

"Okay Ange?" She froze, looking at her Psychic type as it set her down. Was that... Was that Sia? Just now... The voice persisted, childlike and worried. "Okay?" Ange nodded then. Certainly, she was all right. Sia let out that odd squealing noise he made when he was pleased and abruptly opened Kii's Pokeball, sucking in the little Caterpie all over again. Ange giggled before looking over at Krissu. She seemed okay, if a little bit dirty.

The elder was looking at someone, a rather cold male. Or to Ange at least, he seemed rather cold. Did this person know how to smile? She would feel very bad for him if he did not. Everyone ought to learn how to smile at some point in there lives. Then again... he didn't seem to be able to be angry either. Maybe emotions just weren't his thing. That would be too bad then, since... after all, she wasn't really all that good at them either.

"Is your head okay?" she asked Krissu, realizing that it really must have hurt to have hit the ground like that.

 

[machomuu]

Fel - Cherrygrove City

The journey to Cherrygrove was uneventful, to say the least. Fel chose the straight and narrow path, as he'd already trained Hama and had no real reason not to progress to the city. He was wasting time, as if he were scared of what awaited him at in Cherrygrove. Granted, his curiosity was piqued, but he still wasn't aware of what this organization was capable of and was a somewhat nervous as to what would happen if he did go to his destination; after all, they did somehow cause him to lose his memory of the first three days in the game, albeit temporarily. That wasn't something normal people should have been able to do...not to his knowledge, at least.

When he arrived at the city, he quickly ran to the shore. However, there was one simple oversight: the shore was pretty big. Specifically, it made up the entire right and lower border of the city. "Crap" was the single word that resounded in Fel's mind. His feelings of nervousness and anxiety were replaced with annoyance as he walked along the shore. He didn't see any especially formal looking men there, not ones that stuck out at least.

What did stick out, however, was a rather attractive looking female clad in a bikini looking out at the see, sitting on the shore with her feet in the water. She caught Fel's attention not because of beauty, but rather because of how out of place she was. It wasn't exactly hot outside, and no one was swimming in the water. She was alone, enjoying the view of the sea in a town of moderately warm temperature. She looked behind her, and Fel immediately looked in another direction. He kept his sight away from her for a few moments, hoping that she didn't see him looking at her and would return her gaze to the sea. When he looked back at her, she was still staring at him, which made him start to sweat.

"Wait...I know you." The girl said, scanning over Fel. "Yeah, you were with me and two others in that room four days ago." Fel tried his hardest to remember her, scanning over her as well, but he didn't remember her, and his face made that known. "It's no surprise that you don't remember me, I look a bit different." She coughed into hand and cleared her throat, promptly saying, "Then why are we tied to these chairs? Are we being punished?" Fel didn't know exactly why she said that, but it sounded familiar for some reason. It wouldn't have been uncommon for lines like those to be in books or movies, but what she said sounded like something he'd heard relatively recently. It didn't take long for a light bulb to go off in Fel's head and figure out who she was.

"Oh, you were the girl sitting on my right, weren't you?" If so, she did indeed look different. Her hair had been changed to a surreal blue color, and her outfit changed from a dress to a bikini, revealing a slender figure.

"Yeah, I'm surprised that you remember," she responded. Fel was a little shocked at this, because she had even less reason to remember who he was as he didn't do anything significant in the short time that he was there. He surmised that it was the cap he was wearing, it probably acted as the distinguishing feature of his person. "Name's Mercedes, nice to meetcha'," she said with a smile.

"I'm Fel, likewise." He looked around and said, "Has anyone else dropped by yet, or are we the only ones?"

"So far you and I are the only ones here," Mercedes responded. "Though, I'd surmise that the others will come. They definitely will." Fel turned to Mercedes with a question mark on his face. "There's a reason they picked us for this, and it's not because we're special. The reason they picked the four of us is because our we each have an inclination to fall victim to our curiosity." Fel was a little shocked at how the girl's personality did a complete 180, but he wasn't quick to interrupt her. "This game has a dynamic system, the experience will not be 100% or even 70% the same for one person as it would be for the other, and in those first 3 days of this game that shone through." She stopped and looked at the ground below her. She seemed as if she was going to continue, but minutes passed and she never did.

"...How do you know this?" Fel asked the rather informed coed.

"I don't. This is all mere theory...or maybe it's conjecture. Either way, I feel that this is the case because what they asked of us is almost impossible; the average person would simply forget what happened in the room either out of fear or disinterest...and the organization definitely knew that. The mere fact that you are here and I'm here proves it. We may be normal people, but we must have warped judgment to come to the destination set by our kidnappers without even being given any sort of incentive, and the letters they gave us even said something similar to this. They know that the four of us cannot control our curiosity once it's been piqued. In a sense, the only time we had a choice of coming here was when we decided if we were going to open the letter or not."

Fel didn't refute what she was saying, because all of it was true- at least, in his case it was. He was astounded at her deduction, though. It was something he'd never have considered, nor would he have. He could see that she was done with the subject, so he decided to change the subject. "You realize it's not that hot out here, right? Why are you in a bikini?"

"That's actually related to all this, as silly as it may sound. I was the first one here, and the letter didn't pinpoint a specific location, so I decided that I would make this the location we would wait. After all, who wouldn't notice a girl in a bikini in this city? You sure did." Fel blushed; he had no real way of denying that, either. Mercedes looked back to the sea and said, "Anyway, nothin' left to do but wait for the others. Sit down, the water's fine."

Fel didn't really have any reason not to sit; after all, there was no telling when the others would show up. He took off his shoes and set down next to Mercedes, placing his feet in the cool water and looking to the horizon.

 

[Miss Doronjo]

Luxanna's Log #2 & a ½

Along with her successful captured pokemon, Luxanna continued her travels through Route 29. The road was quite long, but soon, the town was soon going to be in Luxanna's sights. Soon, there was an important matter to be dealt with first.

"I have won the battle!" shouted Luxanna with great success. She was speaking with a young lad who was in blue shorts, had a yellow t-shirt, and had a blue base-ball cap. More so, the young man seemed to be puzzled. "Aw man, that was awesome!"

"But... we haven't even battled yet?" the lad said in a puzzled look. "I mean, I just said 'hello', and then challenged you, and then you immediately said, 'I have won the battle!' for some reason."

"Exactly!" Luxanna said with a smile. "Aren't battles supposed to be, 'whoever says a word that starts with the letter 'c' first is the loser'? And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't challenge begin with a 'c'?"

"Yes, but, I'm talking about pokemon battles!" corrected the youngster. "Look, my name is Joey, and someday, I'm going to be the greatest trainer in the universe! So if you know what's good for you, you'll accept my challenge, and acknowledge that you are just a stepping stone on my staircase to the stars!"

"That's quite the staircase then," replied Luxanna in thought. "Alrighty, I accept your challenge! Oh, but a bit of warning to you - I've came up with a master secret plan, guaranteeing 100% victories!"

"You're bluffing," Joey said with a quick chuckle. "There's no such plan like that!"

"You'd be surprised!" said Luxanna. "You see, first, I'll distract your pokemon, and then, I'll return my pokemon back into it's pokeball and switch it out for another one! Genius, huh? You wouldn't know the difference!"

"Except that you're allowed to do that during battles," replied Joey with a sigh. "Haven't you heard of switching a pokemon during battle, when your current one is tired? And by the way! You're plan wouldn't work as a secret anymore because you just told me it!"

"Oh, but I don't like being to secretive," replied Luxanna. "It's... just too boring keeping something without telling someone that's in a 30 feet proximity."

"Oh whatever," Joey replied as he took out a pokeball. "Not that I'd switch my pokemon anyway. My Rattata here is the best! Better than any other Rattata! It's like, its at the top percentage of Rattata! And that's a very big percentage if I do say so myself!"

"Well, my Growlithe is so awesome, that it's awesome, even if it wasn't awesome!" boasted Luxanna as she then took out Growlithe's pokeball, and held it. "So, we accept the challenge!"

"Then goooooo Rattata!" shouted Joey, upon throwing his pokeball, revealing his prized and proud Rattata. His Rattata swished it's tail and let out a small battle cry, preparing itself for combat. "Want some of this?!"

"Oh yes please!" replied Lux, throwing her pokeball, sending out her own prized pokemon, her loyal Growlithe. Growlithe barked and howled upon getting outside, as it gazed upon it's righteous foe, Joey's Rattata. "We'll start things off! Growlithe - Ember!" As instructed, Growlithe howled as it released it's fearsome chunks of flame towards the battle-ready purple rat.

"Rattata - dodge with Quick Attack!" ordered Joey. Rattata then used blinding speed to dodge the small charred ember swarms, then it ran right towards the Growlithe, hitting it right on the nose, staggering it for a bit. Then the purple rat swiftly swat it with it's tail, after Joey commanded it to perform a Tail Attack move. "And that's the combo way!" Joey announced, followed up with a proud laugh.

"How about this! Growlithe - Leer, followed up with Bite!" Lux ordered as a response. Growlithe shook of his head in order to regain it's stance, as it followed up with a soulful stare upon Rattata's flea-bidden prospect, then it comboed the stare with a swift bite attack on Rattata's ear, causing the purple rat to run around in pain frustrations, trying to shake off the Growlithe from biting.

"Grrr, darn you, that wasn't too bad!" the younger growled. "Rattata, hit that Growlithe against that tree with a Tackle, and--" but the boy was stopped, upon watching the air headed Lux stare into space. "Uh, hello? I'm about to win this battle? You might want to pay attention to this?!"

"Sorry, I'm just thinking," Lux apologized. "Sometimes I get lost in serious thought."

"About what?" Joey asked.

"About how I can think more seriously about things," Lux replied. "It's seriously frustrating, ya know?"

"Anyways..." Joey said after pondering. "Rattata, hit that Growlithe against that tree with a Tackle and shake it off!"

"Ha! Saw that comin'!" said Luxanna. "Growlithe, let go and use Ember!" Of course, as instructed, Rattata ran head first towards the nearby tree, only for Growlithe to let go of the Rattata's ear on the last second, leaving the Rattata to crash to the nearby tree. Bumped, and bruised, Rattata was left in a staggered state as it can only wait as Growlithe released a painful Ember attack towards it, leaving Rattata as burned as Lux's brother was when Lux teased him that she had seen better dance steps on a ladder. "Ah yes, a Rattata well done! It must be a new delicious treat, ya know?"

"I... I lost..." Joey cried in remorse as he fell to his knees in disappointment. "But my Rattata... was top percentage...!"

"Well, I guess so is my Growlithe!" replied Lux. "It's like... at the top - very top percentage, ya know? When it's scorchin' all the enemies... it's quite relaxin'! Sort of like a... spa version of a pokemon battle!"

"Please... just... stop talking," Joey begged. "Here; you get prize money."

"Oh sweet, thanks!" Lux thanked, as she happily accepted her award. "Money, money, money... How I love you so~ money, money, money... I sure don't want to let you go!"

Soon after 5 minutes of signing about her prize money, Lux was on the road again, until she soon saw a city. It was Cherrygrove City, right on her sights. With a cheerful wave to the city, she raced towards the city, almost tripping on a rock, but she's okay!
​

 

[moon]

K R I S S U
→ Route 30

"Being sorry doesn't change it from having happened," the guy said simply as he plucked a leaf away from Krissu's shoulder. The unexpectedly deep reply and the gesture made Krissu's mind halt for a moment, misinterpreting the gesture as being out of kindness. She just looked at the guy without knowing what to say. Somehow, him almost touching her shoulder had felt really strange. MAO was a very realistic game and not even Malcolm had even bothered touching her in any way; that just wasn't part of their friendship. Since Christina in real life never really had even been looked at by boys, this guy now made her feel very confused. Instead of just replying in Krissu's depressed manner as she probably would have if it had been a girl standing before her, she now just blushed.

Suddenly, something sat down on top of her head and Krissu gasped and looked up. It was a Hoothoot! Belonging to this guy, from the looks of it.

"Is your head okay?" Ange's voice suddenly came from behind. The other girl had apparently not tumbled down the hill like Krissu had. The Weedle didn't seem to follow either. Thank Arceus.

"Yeah, um," Krissu said, not really knowing what to say to that either as an owl currently sat on it. "I didn't hurt myself much..."

The guy quickly recalled the Hoothoot to its pokéball though and Krissu let out a breath. Then he turned to leave without further ado. Krissu got a strange urge.

"I'll be on my way now," he said.

"Wait!"

One second flew by. Stupid girl. Why did she call out that? She shouldn't be Christina now. She had abandoned that personality to be a better person here. More suited for the harsh life of MAO. Krissu, with determination and bravery. Hm. She quickly turned on her HUD. Yes, this guy was another player.

"My name is Krissu and this is Ange." She pointed at Ange and her Solosis. "Do you know what lies up ahead?" she then asked, just to say something to not make things even more awkward. "Is it Violet City?"
​