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In the corner of the Pokémon Center, he found him. The handsome young man in a red sports jacket, looking like he had just been hit of a wall of trouble and had trouble grasping his situation. Well, it was just about to become clearer.
The red cape swept quickly by the PLAYER known as Intuition, and before the young man knew it, another man was sitting beside him. He was shorter, wearing denim jeans just like him, but his face was hidden under the low hood. All that was visible were a couple of dark hairs sticking out near the figure's chin. The dirtstains on the red mantle told the careful observer that this character had recently been to the caves.
"Hello Lucas," the hooded figure said in a strangely genderneutral voice. "You look like you could need someone to help you rediscover your... Intuition."
The figure made sure that nobody listened in on them, and leaned in closer to Lucas before the PLAYER could find anything decent to respond with.
"I have a deal for you. To help you live. Tell me, Intuition. Do you want to live?"
"So you... Would not only help me find my Castform down there, but also... Help me more? In return for what one thing?" he said glancing at the ladder then back to her.
"of course I'll help you get your Castform back, and if your one of the other chosen ones I'll help you beyond that" Aurora sighed slightly looking down for a minute.
"as for what I want in return...I want a message taken to my family, telling them why I didn't try to beat this" She looked back up. "When they here my reason, they'll be sad...but they will understand eventually. If I did try to beat this and won...life would be pointless in the real world as long as I'm stuck how I am"
First thing he noticed was the red cape, flying off his face, before the hooded man sat down alongside him as if they had been best friends all their lives. The distinctive little hairs on his chin was all he could see of his face, keeping his identity well hidden. He had no clue who he was. But his sudden presence gave him a shudder down his spine, as cliche as that might sound. There was something about him, the mystery with his identity, that kept him weirdly intrigued with his new company. But before he could lay a word, the man spoke first.
"Hello Lucas. You look like you could need someone to help you rediscover your... Intuition."
Alarm bells rang in his head as soon as the first two words. How in the world does he know my real name?! I try keeping that at least well hidden, reasons being obvious.
The guy leaned closer without warning. It was obvious that whatever he was saying he wanted to keep it a secret.
"I have a deal for you. To help you live. Tell me, Intuition. Do you want to live?"
Wait, what? H-he knows? About my... situation? But how? Who even is this guy? Why does he want to help me? And again, how does he know about the thing so quickly? It only disappeared like fifteen minutes ago... unless, of course it disappeared long before that and I just didn't know. Crap, what do I say now?!
Confused, outraged and oddly even more curious, he turned to the man to reply and just... nodded. And he left it at that. He wanted to ask who he was, how he knew his real name, how he knew about the LOGOUT button, how was he exactly going to help him, but all of that had to wait.
Marcello was surprised by her reply. She must truly be just a poor, frightened girl in the real world too.
"When they here my reason, they'll be sad...but they will understand eventually. If I did try to beat this and won...life would be pointless in the real world as long as I'm stuck how I am," she said.
She was bullied in the real world - that was the conclusion Marcello, the righteous teacher and bullyhater, drew instantly after these words. He was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions and resolve, and didn't want to push the subject further until she trusted him better. When he spoke, his voice faltered slightly.
"We will get a message to them. I promise, as soon as we've got Casa back, well find someone who lives close to you in the real world and can contact them. Okay?"
As they climbed down the ladder into the darkness together, Marcello thought about his own parents. Until now, the thought to try and message them about his unfortunate predicament hadn't struck him. He had wanted to escape them and his poor upbringing all his life. And now he might never see them again. Was he supposed to be... sad?
Down on the lower floor of Granite Cave, the darkness lay thick around them like a choking blanket. Marcello let his Combusken, Como, out and made him use Ember. The glowing projectiles formed in the attacks were gathered in Como's hands. By carrying it, he could light up the cave weakly like a mellow torch. But they sure needed Aurora's help if they were to see more than a meter ahead down here.
"Speaking of which..." Marcello said as he waited for Aurora to let her pokémon do its best to light up the surroundings so that they could start searching. "Where do you come from in the real world? If you don't mind me asking."
? : Route 3, Kanto
The hooded figure smiled. But of course, Intuition didn't see that.
"Good. Maybe you are feeling afraid right now. Confused, at least. Don't be. Rest assured the situation is very clear. It is either you," he pointed a short index finger at Lucas, "or them. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the best option for yourself is."
He leaned back again, and silently studied some trainers walking by, from under the darkness of the hood still. Happy PLAYERS, who could log out at any time. PLAYERS to whom MAO was still just a fun game. A dream coming true.
"I will help you find the other chosen PLAYERS. Yeah, I'm sure you've realized there are more than you alone. Right now, you are all spread out across the regions. But I know where. If I find them, you can beat them. And win your freedom."
He turned his head back towards Intuition, holding his head more straight this time. A smooth chin became visible. A thin mouth, looking apprehensive now rather than smiling.
Peria breezed through Route 31, not bothering with any of the wild pokemon and especially not any of the trainers. A lot of trainers appeared to be gathered around the place, which was both good and bad. It meant that she wasn't too far behind most of the players, but it also meant she would probably get a lot more challenges. At least she didn't have to cough up cash that she was trying so hard to preserve to reject a battle request. However, she didn't doubt there might be some rogue players that could wipe her out if she wasn't careful.
The trainers did serve to break the monotony of wandering a route by herself, however, and the route did feel much shorter. Maybe it was much shorter, though. Hopefully that was the case, because she wasn't planning on staying in Violet City for long. Not this visit, at least.
It was pretty, she had to admit. It had this oldish/newish feel that looked really cool. First she went to the Pokemon Center, although she didn't really have to be there long. As she thought, her pokemon were really high-leveled and took almost no damage before they slaughtered everything in sight. Next, she tried to find her next destination. It turned out to be easy to find, at least. Some nice kids from the game showed her the way to the school, also known as the Pokemon School. Offhandedly Peria wondered if it was the only one in the region. She thought it'd be awfully sad for kids to travel all the way here from who knows where, before realizing how stupid she sounded. It was a school for not real kids, for pete's sake. A bit embarrassed, she stepped inside.
Immediately, she was confronted by a cheerily plump, mustachioed man. "Helllllllo there!" he declared, grinning broadly. "Welcome to the Pokemon School! I'm the teacher here. Name's Earl Dervish, but you can call me one or the other. How may I help you?"
"Hi there!" Peria replied, the cheeriness infectious. She carefully summoned her menu screen through the creative, if somewhat inefficient, method of spinning her arms windmill style. She opened her inventory and found the basket of Apricorns somewhat quickly. As she tapped it, it appeared in her arms and the screen disappeared from view. "The Apricorn and Berry man said you had wanted some to show your class for a Pokeball lesson."
Dervish nodded, taking the basket from here which again disappeared as it touched his arms. "I'm impressed he got it here so fast. I only asked him from the favor a few days ago. We're still not doing the lesson for a few more weeks. We're still on status effects right now."
Peria look confused, but saw another opportunity for knowledge. "Status effects?"
Dervish blinked. "You look like a pretty good trainer, how do you not know about status effects. They're part of the bread and butter of battling."
Peria decided not to tell him that she didn't know about strengths and weaknesses, figuring it be easier to learn that from a player character, and instead shrugged. "I just haven't encountered it on my journey yet, I guess."
Dervish looked at her, rocking side to side. "Hmmmm...." he thought somewhat out loud. "Hey, how about you sit in on today's class? It won't go too in depth, because its a review lesson, but it will cover everything you should need to know."
Peria beamed. "That'd be great!"
"Well, then. Class starts in fifteen minutes! Follow me!" Dervish easily began jogging down the hall. Peria followed easily, eager for knowledge. Hopefully she would learn something useful.
Locke caught his breath in the Cerulean City Pokemon Center. He hadn't left Cerulean, or the surrounding areas, for several days; he preferred a different approach- to stay and just chill. He was even planning to see Pewter City just for the heck of it; it probably looked nice, and although Locke had already done his time in Mt. Moon, he had never fully gone through to the other side. This didn't bother him as he walked through the city- various babbling NPCs walking around as he turned his head to watch around. He felt he was actually walking through Kanto, which was the best part- he was.
Actually, no, it wasn't the best part. Locke grinned as he looked around triumphantly. The best part is, he thought as he grabbed a rice ball from his INVENTORY without thinking, I can experience these things I didn't have otherwise. He bit into it. Regardless of whether it was real or not, it still tasted real, it still felt real. He poured a bit of sauce onto it and bit into it again. People had described things as smelling bad, but arguably, this felt like sensory overload. He had the most interest, in fact, in trying what people called "spicy," which would probably make him pass out for a while. That actually didn't sound so bad in theory. In fact, the word "spicy" in itself sounded delicious, but he decided he should get a primer in tastes first.
He now recognized the Cerulean air as "a wee bit salty" as he was told by an international player. This was arguably interesting; he had heard many snacks were salty or sweet or some sort of thing, and just knowing this was salty made him already more excited to experience all six playable regions. He swiped the air quickly to bring up the menu, and looked at the time- near dawn. I should be getting up now. They said I could go to work late, but still... He went to the LOGOUT button. Then his eyes opened wide.
Where's the logout button?!
He swiped all over. He looked in his INVENTORY. his TEAM. His everything. Where is it? He didn't think it was a bug, or else he'd already had been notified. Actually, on that note, there was something in MESSAGES... and to be on the safe side, he went near the CENTER and leaned next to it to read it.
From: Anonymous
"You and a few others have been chosen.
From now on, you cannot log out. From now on, you should not white out. For if you do, you will not wake up again. Neither here nor in real life.
If you want to escape the game, you need to win 8 Gym Badges in total from any regions and then defeat 2 teams of Elite Four from any regions. Gyms are ranked 1-8 in every region and you have to beat at least one Gym from every rank. It is only when you manage this that your LOGOUT button will reappear.
Be aware though, that only one of the chosen players can escape the game in the end. If you are not the first player to achieve the set goals, you will be inside this world forever. Or white out. Of course, should every other chosen player white out before you, you will be the winner regardless of how few Gym Badges you have got or how many Elite Four you have defeated.
Remember, if you have to go out, go out with a bang."
"Damn." His whisper was barely audible, almost unheard by Locke himself. No, he wasn't Locke. He was Tenmas. Tenmas Noire, automobile repairman. That's all he was... He clenched his fist and closed the menu silently. Looking around, the rest of the city seemed jovial. The morning was pleasant, for them. Not for him. He thought about it slowly, digested the information, and then stopped leaning on the wall and started moving slowly. He wondered what his parents were doing at the moment. Probably eating breakfast; his door was slightly open, from what he remembered. He was the only one in the house. He was the youngest; everyone else had moved out and left little 'Ten behind.
Was there really such a rush to get out? Maybe he could grind terribly and stay in the Pokemon Center at nights, and just wait it out until someone found out how to reopen the button? Surely it was all over the news at this point or would be soon... nevertheless, there was nothing he could do. If he crashed into another "chosen player," he was done for, unless he proposed a truce or didn't let on he was "chosen" as well. But what would that bring? He would be used as a grinding block just to facilitate another player's needs, and then he would simply die if he lost. He swiped open his TEAM page. The first thing he had to do, in that case, would be to get his starter back. If he could, he could then proceed to find a way to train. And what if they're lying? What if this was a troll? This could very easily be any kind of ridiculous person thinking Locke- no, Tenmas- was quite gullible. They were probably bluffing. But what if they're double-bluffing, and they're telling the truth?
No, no, no. These are all horrible thoughts... He sighed. What am I going to do anyways? He thought back to the many drawings and lists of technology. I did speculate. I have drawings and speculations of the inner workings of the NerveGear. Maybe... maybe I could... He furrowed his brow. There are others who need to get out before I do. I'm not the most important out of the chosen, pretty sure of that. Just an automobile repairman. There are others to need it more. But then, there are players who aren't chosen. If I could find someone I could trust to... He shook his head. Nah, forget it. Now, my top priority is to try and get ahead of the pack first before I'm left behind. Once I'm farther, I can think of what to do then. And if I do bump into another chosen player, and if they want to battle... I better be ready to wipe the floor. The only good news is that I haven't whited out yet, so...
He sighed. I'll just go now. He stopped leaning on the wall and walked into a Pokemon Center, going up to the nurse there. She smiled at him. "Oh, hello. Would you like me to heal your Pokemon? I think I healed them already just a while ago, but..."
He shook his head. "Nah, I was wondering if you had any paper, as well as maybe a pen or pencil and something to sit on."
The nurse went to the back storage closets, nodding. She returned promptly. "Here you go! We would rather keep the benches open for people who need their Pokemon healed, but! There's a cafe near here."
Locke nodded happily. "Thank you!" He walked away, still troubled but feeling that his troubles were a little alleviated as well. Going to a cafe nearby, he began to write a list quickly. There are eight ranks. I need to beat one gym of each rank. Therefore... The scribbles began. Cerulean is a Water-type Rank II. It's better if I beat them in order, I think... therefore, since I've already beaten a Rank I Bug-type gym, I should go for III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII next. Yeah, yeah... and both of my Pokemon are strong against the Pokemon I'll find in the Cerulean City Gym. So, this means that before I leave Cerulean- or the rest of Kanto I should sweep this rank out of the way. Then, I can go for a Rank III gym.
Rank III gyms include Fighting, Normal, Bug, and Electric. I'm not particularly good on against any of those types... but my Pikachu does have Lightningrod... He shook his head. "I'll think about it when I get there," he said out loud. First things first, I should train for my next badge. He got up, putting on the roller skates in his INVENTORY and zipping past everyone else, doing a three-sixty on the way. Some players looked on quizzically, but this didn't matter to Locke until he arrived near the edge of Route 5. Upon entrance, he stayed serious and let out his Pikachu. It seemed empty, and he frowned as the wind blew and brought along a strange scent he could not put his finger on. The Pikachu, on it's nimble legs, ran over to what seemed to be rustling grass, and Locke walked over, to see a Pidgey pop out. He jumped back.
[h1][/h1]The Hiker quest giver thanked Pepperton profusely when he returned the necklace, though he paid no attention to his words, taking the money from him as soon as it was offered. He left the quest giver, quickly powered through another quest he passed (something to do with defeating people. It was as simple as the Clefable quest, and his Pokémon all earned a level or two each in the process) and headed for the exit.
The light outside Mt. Moon was a lot brighter than the inside, but the light did not blind him. Instead, he did what he usually did in a new area; mosey around, fight the trainers, check every nook and cranny for hidden items and quickly suss out what wild Pokémon were in the grass. After he was sure he had found everything, he pressed on, moving on to Cerulean City.
The city was different from what he expected from playing the video game. Slightly different. Everything he remembered was here, plus the addition of an extremely conspicuous airport. With access to the airport, he could travel to Unova or Johto or any other region. He didn't want to though. He would find everything in Kanto first, beat the league before anyone else, and then move on. And speaking of he Pokémon League, Cerulean City held within its city the next gym leader to defeat. Misty, the water user if Pepperton recalled correctly. Charmeleon would be no use in these parts, so perhaps a new addition to his team may help in the long run. Nothing came to his mind instantly, so his team would have to do for now. Perhaps a quick trip to a different country might be helpful for his team... but would that take too much time? Would he become too distracted? Ugh! Decisions!
Instead, Pepperton headed north to the ever infamous Nugget Bridge.
Parker continued on to battle all the sages in all three floors of the Sprout Tower. All of them were really easy for herself, and for her Pokemon. Mina and KC the Quilava rotated their battling positions as they went up the floors. They were slow in leveling up, because the Bellsprouts they battled were at their single-digit levels that their EXP. point earnings were very low. Parker may have trained them a little too much for her upcoming battle against Falkner.
Finally, Parker reached the final floor, where the main Elder of the Sprout Tower was located. He was standing there, waiting for her to approach to him and to battle. Parker (with all her Pokemon inside her Pokeballs) moved on close to talk to the Elder. He smiled immediately upon her arrival.
"Good of you to come," he spoke, "As Sprout Tower is a place of training, I am the final test. Let's see how well you've become as you reached this far."
Then, a popup window appeared in front of Parker, indicating a challenge from the Elder.
Elder Li
wants to battle! [Accept][Deny] Pay Loss
Parker chose accept.
"Well, wise choice, young one." the Elder said, "Allow me to show you my first Pokemon."
Parker stepped back to prepare for battle. She decided to take out one of her Pokeballs that contained her Eevee, Sparkle. "Go, Sparkle!"
The Pokeball then relased a woosh of energy that released the Eevee, landing on the rocky floor. "Eeeee!"
"Go, Bellsprout." The Elder called out, throwing his Pokeball which released his Bellsprout.
"Oh..." Parker was surprised as she looked at Bellsprout's current level: 10. "This Bellsprout is a little stronger than the ones I faced down below..."
The Elder was waiting for Parker to make a move, as she had the advantage. Parker wanted to go for a competitive side, and decided to use Eevee's newly learned fairy-type move.
"Baby-Doll Eyes, Sparkle!" She shouted.
The move did nothing but lower the attack stat of the Elder's Bellsprout. All she did was to stare at it.
"Vine Whip." The Elder commanded.
Bellsprout's vines stretched to whip Sparkle out of the battlefield, but did little damage, lowering a few health points off. Lowering its attack status also became a factor. It was Parker's turn to make another move in the battle. An attack move like bite would finish it off.
"Bite it off, Sparkle!" She shouted.
Sparker opened its mouth up wide and bit the tip of Bellsprout's right vine. The HP of the Pokemon drained down to 13%. Only a little left.
"Another Vine Whip, Bellsprout. Hang in there." The Elder said. Still, not much damage was done to it, however, it managed to maintain its strength as if it still had higher HP.
This battle was a little tough, but it became an open door for Sparkle and Parker. It was Parker's turn to select a move for Sparkle, selecting Bite one more time. "One more Bite, Sparkle!"
The Eevee went for another bite at the same spot, but...what is this? The Bellsprout stepped out of Sparkle's way and dodged the attack! Sparkle landed on the ground and gasped.
"What??" Parker reacted, "It's okay, Sparkle!"
"Vine Whip." The Elder said.
Once the Bellsprout threw in another whip at Sparkle, all of the sudden Sparkle's HP went straight to zero
Bellsprout used Vine Whip
A critical hit on Sparkle!
Sparkle flashed, as her HP was down to zero and was returned immediately to her Pokeball inside Parker's pocket. "No, " Parker said, "How could that be? My Eevee is 7 levels over your Bellsprout!"
Sparkle fainted!
Choose your next Pokemon.
Parker sighed. Mina and KC, were left, but both of them are halfway down to the red zone of their HP. The Elder has two other Pokemon, probably Bellsprouts altogether. Parker twitched a bit as to she never realized that using KC would be a good resort for her with his Ember attack. Parker tapped on KC, and grabbed a Pokeball from her pocket. The battle was just barely beginning.
"Good. Maybe you are feeling afraid right now. Confused, at least. Don't be. Rest assured the situation is very clear. It is either you... or them. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the best option for yourself is."
He definitely was slightly afraid. But fear itself kept him from showing any signs of fright.
"I will help you find the other chosen PLAYERS. Yeah, I'm sure you've realized there are more than you alone. Right now, you are all spread out across the regions. But I know where. If I find them, you can beat them. And win your freedom."
His eyes widened as the man continued to talk. Even he wasn't sure whether it was from shock or just mere surprise. But more than anything suspicion was the feeling that stood over any. Who was this guy? Why was he willing to help him? Why was his identity so discreet? How could he even locate the other chosen PLAYERS? What exactly was his methods?
"Who are you, and what's in it for you? You can't be doing this just for the sake of it."
"We will get a message to them. I promise, as soon as we've got Casa back, well find someone who lives close to you in the real world and can contact them. Okay?" Aurora smiled at his words as she reached the bottom of the ladder. "Speaking of which...Where do you come from in the real world? If you don't mind me asking."
"I'm from London" she said looking at Fae and Queenie "Queenie Fire Spin" she said watching as her pokemon let loose a spiral of flames from her mouth that lit up the floor. "just keep doing that when the light goes out Queenie" she finished.
"Since I'm trusting you with a message you deserve to know my reason" She sighed. "imagine being stuck in a chair, for years and suddenly you find a place were you are no longer stuck in that chair. You wouldn't want to leave it would you?" she asked thinking for a moment.
"by the way, you know my name but I don't know yours"
When a man popped up from behind her, Nebula knew she already hated Granite Cave.
"Oh my god, GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Just like any normal girl, she shot her knee at the mans... um... prized possessions, and proceeded to run away screaming. However, as the cave started getting darker and darker, Nebula slowly began to realize something, she kneed the man's family jewels, the man that was supposed to give her HM Flash.
Thanks stupid brain.
At first, Nebula wasn't freaking out about it. No, she honestly thought she could make it through the cave in the dark because she had done it in the games. However, once she could only see what was in front of her face she really started to regret ever kicking the guy in the first place.
"I'm from London," Aurora said before she made her pokémon light up the cave.
"I see, that's pretty awesome. I am from Sweden myself," Marcello said and begun moving forward, instinctively holding out a protective arm in front of the girl as they walked across the sporadically lightened stone floor. Where had Casa gone off to? How was it even possible to lose your pokémon in this game? Shouldn't she come back if he just clicked on the pokéball or something?
After they had moved for a few minutes through the moist darkness, only let by flashes of fire and sparkles, Aurora spoke up again.
"Since I'm trusting you with a message you deserve to know my reason."
Marcello stopped and looked back at her face, lit up momentarily by the Flabebe's move. "Your reason?" She was really a trusting person. Not that he would mind. He wanted to be someone you could trust. A bully fighter.
She sighed. "Imagine being stuck in a chair, for years and suddenly you find a place were you are no longer stuck in that chair. You wouldn't want to leave it would you?"
Marcello felt like he was slapped in the face all of a sudden. "Oh," he said dumbly. "You are.. Oh." She wasn't a bully victim. She had an even worse situation. She had lost the use of her legs! The bits fell into place and Marcello felt rather awful for her helping him. But also somehow relieved. She was maybe living a better life here. Not that he could imagine leaving everything in reality behind and stay here. Yet... "I understand," he simply said and turned back towards the winding cavern.
She continued: "by the way, you know my name but I don't know yours"
"It's... Marcello," he said and smiled friendly. "At least in here. And that's what matters now, isn't it?"
That's when the rumbling started.
? : Granite Cave, Hoenn
On a cliff near the small mountain that contained the famous cave, a man in a dark purple cape stood. He felt the ground shudder before any noise was heard. Steadying himself, he heard the first cracks and boulders. Then, the immense roar when the roof somewhere in the middle of Granite Cave collapsed and came tumbling down into the caverns beneath. The noise must have been heard all the way to Dewford; even the NPCs should be worried very soon. They were very well programmed, after all.
There were many trainers inside Granite Cave. Right now. Some of them might not make it out before they were buried. For most of them, it wouldn't matter. It would hurt; the NerveGear made pain an existing thing, even if the levels were hugely cranked down and not as realistic. But for some, chosen PLAYERS, this would really mean life or death. The hooded figure took a deep breath, waited for the earthquake to subside, and climbed back down to the beach.
Peria listened intently, focusing as well as she could in a cramped desk meant for someone five years younger. She knew that this information would possibly be involved a life/death situation, but that didn't stop it from being incredibly boring. Normally in school in the real world she would start arts and crafts time and do some random doodling or snowflakes or something, but this seemed too important. Besides, she didn't have any scissors. Or paper, actually. She couldn't take any of the paper from the other students, for some reason. Some game limitations, probably.
Paralyzing cuts a Pokemon's speed, while Burning cuts a Pokemon's attack, the focused part of her mind, which was about a tenth of her brainpower recited, while the other part wandered. She trusted she would know it later, judging by all those tests where she had panicked because she hadn't studied at all before taking it and found she remembered it from the lessons somehow. Peria wondered why this wasn't interesting to her. She had found the conversation about Berries and Apricorns with the old man interesting, but that was more informal, like an actual conversation. Confusion and Attraction aren't true status effects, and can thus stack with the normal status effects. Maybe it was the school environment. Peria shifted in the plastic-y chair. Maybe it was the really uncomfortable and insanely tiny chairs and desks.
Peria shook her head, trying to focus more. This actually mattered directly; she should at least give it the benefit of the doubt.
--------------
Another indistinguishable amount of time later, Peria left the school after the lecture finished and she had said goodbye to the teacher who had thanked her once again for bringing the Apricorns. She felt she had a decent grasp on status effects. Probably, anyways. Hopefully her memory wouldn't fail her now. The question was, what would she do next?
She need to return to the old man and tell him she had delivered the Apricorns, but she was in a new city! Maybe she should explore a little bit. Then again, she didn't really want to encounter a rogue player or something, which she had been told about back when she started her journey. For the time, Peria just stood in front of the school, mulling over her options.
A serious Pokemon battle was the last thing Fox had wanted. He was more than familiar with the way Pokemon battles worked, but the fact that he could die if he lost had him a little on edge. Fox raised his hand pressing "yes" on the little virtual window in front of him and as soon as he does a new window appears, indicating how many Pokemon each player has left. Fox wastes no time in beginning to formulate a plan in his head.
That message… I have to find out the meaning behind it, surely it's a joke but then again log out button is indeed gone so I shouldn't take it too lightly. First I need to get this kid off my back. He only has 3 Pokemon, while I have 4. Though 2 of which are of no use to me. On the bright side, Cooper is angry. Which is good because he won't think of a strategy, he will just attack head on. If I am going to win this then I need to keep it that way.
"A Pokemon Battle, really? Havent I embarrassed you enough?" Fox called out to Cooper as he reached for a Pokeball at his waist.
During a wild Pokemon battle, the first Pokemon on your team list was automatically sent out. However when battling another player, you had the option to choose your Pokemon with the challenged player choosing before the challenger.
"Oh you just think you are real funny don't you! Hurry up and choose a Pokemon!" Cooper retaliated as he grabbed a Pokeball of his own.
"Yeah, I am hilarious aren't I? I'll show you what it is like to battle an expert trainer! Let's go Tank!" with that said, Fox throws the Pokeball on to floor and a Metapod appeared on the grass.
"Braixen lets do this!" Cooper throws his own Pokeball and the fox Pokemon materializes on the field ready for battle.
A small HP bar for each of the Pokemon appears in front of both the players. The levels of each Pokemon are also revealed next to the HP bar, showing Braixen at 18 and Tank at 4.
"A level 4 Metapod? Some expert trainer you are!"
"Watch it! This isn't an ordinary Metapod, Tank is formed by a glitch in the system. He is resistant to any fire attacks, so I wouldn't bother! Tank use Harden!" Tank says her name as she glows for a moment. The light fades and she appears shinier than before.
"Ha ha! I am not stupid!"
"You sure about that?"
"Ahh! Braixen take him down with ember." The standing Fox pulls out the stick from her tail and flicks it in the direction of the sitting cocoon, flinging a small fire ball at Tank in the process. The ember hits and Tank's HP is quickly reduced to 0 causing him to shatter into small pieces of data that are transferred back to the Pokeball in Fox's hand.
"Bravo, I'm impressed… Not!" Fox says sarcastically while putting away Tank's Pokeball and pulling Swift's Pokeball off from the utility belt around his waist. "Swift, I choose you." The Pokeball is flung into the battlefield and a Quilava appears. "Swift use smokescreen" Fox calls out and a thick dark cloud of smoke is then exhaled from Swift's mouth thus blocking the opponent's view. Cooper commands his Braixen to use ember but it misses its mark. Fox then calls out for Swift to use quick attack, Swift then races out from behind the smoke and crashes into Braixen before returning behind the barrier of smoke. Cooper orders Braixen to use psybeam however it misses as well causing Cooper's frustration to build.
"What wrong Cooper, can't see me? Maybe because I'm on a whole other level than you!" Fox boasts attempting to infuriate Cooper even more then tells Swift use quick attack again. Once more Swift jumps out from behind the smoke curtain and hits Braixen, whose HP drops to about 1/3 of its maximum. Irritated, Cooper yells out to his pokemon repeatedly to use psybeam. However since it is an official battle he is only allow to attack once per turn. Braixen aims the psybeam at the middle of the cloud of smoke and hit's Swift almost perfectly. Swift appears to be dizzy as the small lava Pokemon begins leaning from one side to the other, obviously being confused by the foe's attack. Fox orders Swift to use quick attack one last time and despite the confusion, Swift quickly speeds up and jumps into Braixen. The fox Pokemon shatters into many tiny pieces as if it were glass then the digital data is beamed back to the Pokeball in Cooper's hand.
Cooper sends out a Pidgey next and it is revealed to be at level 16. "This is far from over Fox!"
"It's cute that you think you have a chance against me! Swift use Flamewheel!"Swift surrounds itself with a flame then charges at Pidgey, however Swift misses his step, tripping and hurting itself in the confusion.
"Actually it looks to me like your luck is running out! Pidgey gust!" Pidgey jumps in the air and flaps its wings creating a gust that both gets rid of the smokescreen and hurts Swift. Swift smashes into data bits having been defeated.
Hmm, well this is unfortunate. What can I possibly do now... Pidgey is strong against bug pokemon like Venipede, and Joey is pretty much useless. Okay stay calm, that Venipede may have a Rock attack like Roll Out which would be super effective on Pidgey.
"How would you like to be beaten by your own Pokemon, Cooper?" Fox retrieves Venipede's Pokeball and calls her out to battle. Fox checks Venipede's attacks then smiles to himself as he notices the bug Pokemon does indeed have Roll out and begins to formulate a plan.
Perfect, Venipede has roll out! I don't want to take any chances though. Venipede may be able to handle one gust but two may be too much. I can't take the risk of using roll out and it not taking him out. I only have one Pokemon left and it's not a very good one… If I use Screech to lower his defense and then Roll out should take that bird out in one hit!
Fox puts his plan into action and calls out for Venipede to use Screech. Venipede vibrates the feelers on its head causing a loud screeching sound. Cooper then commands Pidgey to use gust, and as Fox has expected, Venipede survived the attack. Fox then ordered Venipede to use roll out and the insect curls up into a ball, and begins rolling around in its place on the ground before hurling itself at the small bird. Pidgey's HP bar slowly begins to decrease, with the color changing from green to yellow and then red in the process. However, Pidgey survives with barely any HP left and uses gust causing Venipede to dematerialize back to the Pokeball.
Fox's expression changes entirely after seeing Venipede faint. His calm, collected look fades aways and the fact that he was actually worried about the battle becomes more apparent as he curses under his breath.
Wait? No! That wasn't suppose to… Venipede was my only hope to actually win this! How can I... No, I can't die! But I am done for! I can't run or anything. How am I suppose to win with just a weak Rattata left? He has one more pokemon other than Pidgey
Cooper notices Fox almost chocking on his own breath. "What's wrong Fox, cat got your tongue?"
"Listen Cooper, How about I make you another deal?"
"I am not making any deal with you again; you're a liar and can't be trusted!"
"Oh come on man! I was just joking around! You'll like this one! I promise I'll give you Venipede back if you forfeit this Pokemon battle!"
"You really think I am stupid, don't you! Everyone knows you can't forfeit and run from a Pokemon battle!"
Ugh! He is right, you can't run in the middle of a battle… this is it, who would have know this would be my… wait a minute! No… His last Pokemon is just a Magikarp! Okay so all I have to do is beat Pidgey who is already beat up, but how… Pidgey is faster allowing him to attack first, but If I use quick attack then I'll hit first! But who is to say that Pidgey won't use quick attack too?
"You are right! I was just playing you for a fool, but you turned out to be waay smarter than I thought! Let's go Joey!" the small mouse Pokemon materializes in front of Fox.
"That's your big finale? A level 6 Rattata? You are weaker than I thought!"
"The only thing that is weak here is your Pidgey! I bet the poor thing couldn't even beat my Joey with a Tackle!"
"We'll see about that! Pidgey use Tackle!" Cooper shouts triumphantly, believing that he has already won the battle, but before Pidgey could move Fox quickly yells out "Joey use Quick attack". Just as Fox had predicted, since quick attack is a priority move, it allowed Rattata to bypass the fact that Pidgey was faster to get in an attack. The attack lowers the small bird's HP to below 0.
"Wa-what!? You tricked me again! That's it! Let's go Venipede!" Cooper throws the Pokeball on to the field and a Magikarp emerges. "What, Magikarp! No! I totally forgot!"
Fox starts laughing and shakes his head. "I warned you! But you wouldn't listen and wanted to be all tough! Oh well, Later loser!" Rattata uses Quick attack and causes Magikarp to burst into pieces.
Cooper's avatar glows brightly then disappears into thin air; he whited out.
That was a close one... Until I find out what's really going on here, I have to be more careful. If I can really die in here then I can't afford to get into any trouble.
Fox swipes his hand in the air to see if the Log out button has returned to his menu, but to no avail. He takes a deep breath before turning around and running off to the Pokemon Center.
"Who are you, and what's in it for you? You can't be doing this just for the sake of it."
The other figure swayed ever so slightly back and forth, as if he was deciding his next words carefully. Then he sighed.
"I could just walk away and approach another one of the chosen PLAYERS I've been observing, you know," he said, but looked around to make sure that nobody was looking at them right now, and then pulled back his hood. The character behind it was unmistakable. Intuition should recognize him; anyone should recognize him. The black hair, the stern stare and the reddish eyes. It was Red.
"But I'm not sure they would be up for the hunt I'm proposing. I'm in a very peculiar situation. I'm a GAME MASTER of MAO. It gives me many powers I can use to help players and keep things running smoothly. But I'm also..." He cleared his throat. "I'm a chosen PLAYER myself. I seem to have lost most of my GM powers, except for a few things such as seeing the location of any PLAYER. And being a GM already disallows me to initiate challenges with PLAYERS, lest I be marked as a ROGUE. And I don't want to ROGUE, even though my superior team would be capable of beating all of you at once, likely. Anyone can attack a ROGUE without becoming a ROGUE themselves."
He pulled up his hood to cover his red eyes and his face again. "But I have been contacted by someone who seems to have something to do with this whole logout blackout. He says they want a good show. If I can help one of you to put up a really good show against the other players, they will let me out. And in the process, you might end up as the winner and get logged out as well. You certainly stand a better chance together with me than on your own. If you have the conscience to challenge the others."
Red sighed again. "I'm hiding my avatar's identity because it wouldn't be easy to move around a region with this appearance unnoticed. So, what do you say, Intuition?"
...! : Violet City, Johto
"Keep doing your job. Like hell."
The man in the gray hood uploaded his announcement to the bulletin board in Violet City's pokémon center. He had already uploaded an identical notice to the board in the pokémon center of route 32 when he passed it on his way here. In the evening, many daytime PLAYERS of MAO flocked to the pokémon centers to leave their character in a safe place when they logged out. Many would see this.
After the notice had finished uploading and was displayed up front in the middle of the bulletin board on the wall, the character nodded determinedly, turned around and exited the building.
PLAYERS taking a closer look at the board would read the following:
ACTION AGAINST ROGUE ATTACKS
The ROGUE activity in Johto has escalated over the past weeks. Nighttime has become dangerous. On top of that, there seems to be an unknown issue with some PLAYERS not respawning where they should after having whited out. The ROGUE problem makes this issue more difficult to track down. We have to take action.
If you are capable and in need of extra experience and money, message CHAMPION LANCE as soon as you can. We will rendezvous tonight at a location you will be notified of in my reply. We must send a message to these bad egg PLAYERS so that we can help the PLAYERS with the respawn issue before they get hit next.
But if it's a good show they want, and if this is my ticket out of here, then what the hell. I'll give them the damn best show they've ever witnessed in their lives. And with Red on my side... I might just be able to make it back in time to the real world.
I guess the original plan is scrapped. If I need to stage a performance, then that means confronting the other chosen PLAYERS. It might be heartless, but they can't be needing this as much as me. Anyway, I won't white them out.
At least try not to.
Intuition raised his right hand towards the unmasked Game Master, and with the open palm muttered.
"Let's not waste any more time, Red. We have an audience to impress."
Red let a smile show for the PLAYER beside him. He was relieved that the guy had accepted. Now he could finally stop observing and start taking action. About time. He stood up.
"Let's begin hunting down the ones here in Kanto, then. Make your way through Mt Moon to Cerulean City, where there are other chosen PLAYERS around. I will make use of my ability to move faster around the region and try to figure out which one of them it's best to begin with. Meet me in Cerulean's pokémon center, I'll know when you get there."
He took a few steps, about to leave, but then hesitated. "And maybe give some thought as to what a 'good show' can mean... Be seeing you."
With that, he left Intuition on the bench, his red mantle fluttering behind him. The game was finally on for real.
[h1][/h1]Pepperton was stopped almost instantly as he stepped foot onto the bridge. A NPC approached him, like it would when initiating a battle, but this time she came with a quest.
"You think you're tough do you?" She paused for a moment, expecting Pepperton to respond, which he didn't. She was an NPC for god's sake, nobody cared what she said. She continued, but the pop-up for the quest had already made itself available so the girl's words no longer mattered.
Nugget Bridge
Trainers from all around Kanto take on the challenge of the infamous Nugget Bridge. Some will succeed, some will fail but everyone takes home a lesson about friendship or morals or whatever!
The five mean trainers of Nugget Bridge eagerly await you. Will you take on this challenge?
As soon as Pepperton accepted the request, the NPC pulled out her own PokéBall and immediately challenged him to a battle. Rather unimpressed and unsurprised, Pepperton pulled out his own PokéBall, Nidorina's no doubt and began the fight.
* * *
"Go on, girl. Finish him off!" Pepperton thrust a hand forth, as if his enthusiasm would help Nidorina destroy the Oddish even more. The Oddish fell, completely exhausted and obviously defeated and Nidorina cheered, Pepperton sighing slowly. He'd have thought some of this would at least be a challenge.
But alas, it wasn't. All five trainers were easy as pie, and with Nidorina (the Pokémon he had solely used the entire time during these five battles) only gaining one level. It was rather sad, but he'd have to make up for it later on. Grinding was getting harder and harder but if he wanted to win, this was what Pepper had to do.
"Congratulations!!" The girl who had first approached and given him the quest shouted out to him, now suddenly in front of Pepperton. The quest didn't seem to be completed yet, so there must be one last task to do then. "But, the game isn't over yet. You've got to battle me again. But this time, it won't be so easy!"
Pepperton frowned, but a prompt quickly changed his expression to something a little more surprised.
! ! ! WARNING ! ! !
This trainer's Pokémon have been auto adjusted to suit your own. Good luck!
"Go, Raticate!" The girl threw one of her four new balls, a large rat bursting from the inside. Pepperton would have to play it safe, especially if these Pokémon were auto-matched with his own. That did mean one of these Pokémon were like level 7 or 8 or whatever Rattata was, but he wasn't sure which.
"Go, Nidorina!" He released his previously used Pokémon, knowing that though she had been used much for the other trainers, she still had all the health she needed to take on a Rattata. A few Double Kicks and some Poison would surely take it out quickly. Hopefully it didn't have any other kind of moves that countered Nidorina.
Pepperton grinned. This was just the kind of challenge he had been looking for. Winning meant levels. Losing meant death. The stakes were high and it was just the right motivation he needed right now.
"Oh," she heard him say "You are.. Oh." he stopped again and Aurora sighed. "I understand," he finally said after a minute and Aurora gave a small smile glad he didn't make a comment.
"It's... Marcello," he said and smiled friendly. "At least in here. And that's what matters now, isn't it?"
"I agree, that's what really matters." she said smiling. "but at some point I will have to tell someone my real name so they can find my family" she said before the ground started to rumble.
As the ground shook Queenie and Fae were startled and after a moment the light was out and they were left in darkness. At the same time Aurora stumbled and fell letting out a groan as she hit the ground. "o-oww"
Locke breathed in and out as another Pokemon fainted. It was nice to know it wasn't one of his, noting the many Pidgey and Bellsprout he had encountered already. He was tired of them, honestly. There was one or two Meowth that he had beaten as well, and at this point, even with the rise in level of his Pokemon- two each- they were quite tired and Locke was about to turn back- until he saw a sight that he thought he wouldn't. He scratched the back of his head. This is... too intriguing to ignore, I suppose. He spotted a lone Abra floating there. He was certain it didn't belong to anyone, but it only knew Teleport. So if he tried to catch it right away, he would probably fail. Then again, it was very rare and he had no other choice but to do so... and if he didn't move fast, it would probably use Teleport before he could even make a decision.
He noted something. In a Rogue Battle, a person could freely attack without the acceptance of the other user, but it would make him a Rogue. In that case, he could flee, but he could also chain attacks without the regular turn system. He was pretty sure this was the case with Wild Battles as well, but... what were the odds of him even scoring a hit? He began to panic. He was trapped in a game, and a Abra, which would eventually be a Kadabra, may have been his only chance to get out.
He bit his thumb. This won't take too long. And I only have one chance... Unless!
"Pikachu, go!" He sent out his Pikachu, and before the Abra realized what was happening, Locke had already called for a Thunder Wave, paralyzing it. "Now, Thundershock!" The command was almost a plea, after noting that the Abra hadn't used it's only move due to paralysis. I'm pushing it here... and abusing my luck. He sighed in relief as once again, the paralysis took effect. The next time it'll use Teleport, for sure. I need to catch it now! He pulled out a PokeBall, as it was weakened enough from what he could tell. Throwing it to the best of his ability, it clonked the Abra's head before opening and taking it in, then closing once again and beginning the all familiar shake.
Locke bit his lip and desperately hoped it was caught.
