The Uprising: Liberating the Katsu Region

[Swolligator]

As soon as Iago had begun talking to Shelia, a man who Iago had no idea of age approached them.

"Hi" he said lifting his right hand in a sort of wave.

Iago was perceptive, and good with names, yet he had only heard this man's name once or twice and at either times it was hard to hear it. He looked around at Chipper City, the place was half closed down and seemed pretty much abandoned. Shops were boarded up and litter had gathered in clumps.

"Hey, I am Iago; I'm kind of new to this Uprising thing. Your name is…" Iago struggled to think of a name, so he made one up on the spot, "…your name is Paul, right?"

Iago smiled, these people who were trying to liberate their country were far nicer than any he could meet back in town. He was, for once, glad that he had made the decision to come. So far, it was going pretty well. He remembered what the leader-girl had said, about having Pokémon visible so, twisting his arm behind, he reached for the PokéBalls that were attached to his belt and secreted them deep into the bottom of his bag. He knew that here they would be hard to find.

 

[Legend]

Audrey's presentation of a condensed history of the Uprising did clear up a lot of the confusion that had gathered in Isaac's head about the whole mess he got himself caught up in. Most of Audrey's story didn't exactly click with Isaac leaving him with more questions than answers.

Why would a government outlaw Pokemon? In Isaac's journey around the world, he saw Pokemon being actually helpful. Even his growth can be attributed to his Lucario as embarrassing as that may be.

Is the PXS as evil as the image Isaac painted in his head? For some reason Isaac imagined horns and demons when Audrey mentioned them. It didn't help that PXS is the only thing Isaac really remembered from the stories he had heard.

What occurred at Frosty Gorge than made Audrey, from what Isaac assumed is a normally energetic and happy girl, dramatically pause? This bothered Isaac the most. Clearly this was the life changing moment for many of his peers. It is likely what caused Isabel, the fearless leader, change as Audrey mentioned. At this point, Isaac decided he would as Audrey about the details later. At this point, Audrey was the only one Isaac felt comfortable talking to outside of Shelia. Strange, Isaac realized to himself in his deep thought. I have been only talking to girls. Oh man, Eve would kill me if she saw me like this. I told her I gave up my womanizing ways.

As Isaac was entranced in deep thought, his group entered the city limits of Chipper City. Audrey mentioned it was her home and that it was a city of great beauty. Isaac was indeed impressed, but preferred the bustling energy of Slateport and the salty air that came from his birthplace of Pacifidlog. Orders from the leader which demanded everyone to put away anything that would arouse suspicion snapped him out of his daze. Isaac wasn't good at puzzles but figured she probably met anything Pokemon related. Unlatching all of his Pokeballs and tossing them in his bag, Isaac figured he was safe. At least for the time being.

Blending in with the crowd, a field of white engulfed a field. Tents. Lots of em. Isaac wasn't particularly sure of the circumstances surrounding everything. Everything that was happening around him was piling up and beginning to become a little overwhelming. Part of him wanted to talk directly to Isabel, but he couldn't if he wanted to seeing as how she disappeared. Same with Audrey. Looking around, he saw basically everyone talking to someone. Isaac felt out of place. Feeling stressed for the first time in a while, Isaac planted himself on the ground by a tree and reached into his pocket to pull out a small black box with a diamond ring inside, losing himself in the reflection.

 

[Wolf in the Rain]

(OOC: Mah turn I guess x3)

As the once booming metropolis known as Chipper City came into view, Chris couldn't help but let out a sigh. Against the bleak, sullen sky, the city looked more like a place of dread rather than the one he remembered. The last time Chris visited here was for a badge, trying to take one step closer to the league, not trying to restart an Uprising.

Before reaching one of Chipper City's infamous gates, Chris made sure to summon his Gligar and discretely return him to a Pokeball. No need to put everyone else in danger. Slipping the Pokeball into his pocket, he entered the city with the rest of the group. However, the sight was not what he remembered.

What used to be a busy city now seemed bleak and deserted. Buildings were boarded up, forced out of business, the few spared seeming deserted and awaiting the same fate as their neighbors. The few people walked among the empty roads with faces of distress and depression. And as if this feeling was a virus, Chris felt it as well. Chris remembered having a battle against a trainer not too far down the road, loosing, but vowing to return and beat the trainer. Chris could feel it wouldn't happen.

Chris was so caught up, he almost didn't notice Isabel address the worry-wooper standing next to him.

Be sure to keep your more incriminating tattoos covered," she said in a low voice, then quietly addressed the rest of the group. "Make sure to safely put away whatever might arouse suspicion. I think you know what I'm referring to," Isabel said, pointing at her empty belt. "If you get caught in possession of a..."

Chris stopped listening, instead taking off his jacket and throwing it to Shelia. "Here, use this to 'bundle up'" He then crossed his arms, bracing himself against ever growing wind.

Chris followed the group through the city, past the curious eyes of a few native residents.

Eventually, the Uprising reached the eastern part of the city. Chris never visited it on his trip to the city, but he had to guess it never looked like this. Hundreds of white tents, as far as the eye could see, were lined along the outskirts of the city.

"Refugees?" An old woman asked, approaching Isabel and identifying her as the leader of the group.

Isabel nodded. "Most of us are from the Wellspring Foothills, though we picked up a few others on the way down here."

The woman's expression softened slightly, perhaps feeling sorrow for the group.

"Well… Our sleeping arrangements are getting a little cramped. There's an empty tent you may use, however, if you don't mind both genders sharing it."

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Isabel said with a tired smile.

"I'll lead you there."

Isabel turned around and walked back to the group, pausing in front of Chris.

"We're a group of refugees from the Wellspring Foothills with a person or two from Oran Valley. She's bringing us to a tent for the night. There's something I have to do, so if I'm not back before morning, bring the group to the fountain in the center of the city. Make sure nobody does anything stupid," Isabel whispered in his ear.

"So I'm stuck here babysitting…" Chris muttered under his breath, letting out a tired sigh as Isabel walked away. "Just be careful."

Chris continued following the woman along with the rest of the group, winding through rows of tents and past hundreds of sullen faces, until finally they saw an uninhabited one. Chris looked at the woman, then at the tent, and back again. The tent would never be able to fit all of them, and Chris gave the woman a look of disapproval. To this the woman gave him a sharp glare and walked away, leaving the Uprising alone- that is if you don't count the thousands of people around them.

With a sigh, Chris turned and addressed the remaining members, some engaging in their own conversations, others sitting down and relaxing. "Alright, Isabel is out on some... business, so I'm your babysitter tonight. Our tent space is a little... small. So guys, you'll be sleeping outside tonight." Chris grinned slightly. You're on your own for dinner tonight, but before you go, make sure you unpack your stuff. I wouldn't leave anything here you don't want to get stolen." The grin on his face suddenly grew wider. "Just be back by curfew or you're grounded." Chris's grin immediately faded. "Aaaahh... That was bad even for me..." He regained his composure, switching back to his regular demeanor. "Anyways, don't let anything *cough* out, don't cause any trouble, and don't do anything stupid; 'cause I'm not going bail you out if you do." Chris put one hand in his pocket and began to walk back to the city waving with the other as he left. "Adios. And I'll say it again, don't do anything stupid."

 

[Zeph.]

Greg and Beo approached the outer walls of Chipper City, as they did so, Greg caught sight of the rest of the Uprising.

"Come on," he said to Beo, "We'll slide in behind them." He was just in time to hear Isabel's orders,

"Make sure to safely put away whatever might arouse suspicion. I think you know what I'm referring to," Isabel said, pointing at her empty belt. "If you get caught in possession of a you-know-what, you will have to face the consequences yourself."

No worries, Greg thought. His guns were safely stored in his guitar case.

As Greg joined the back of the group, giving a nod to a few others who turned to inspect him, he was immidiately absorbed by the abismal sight of the city. It was almost eerie - this wasn't the Chipper City he knew. It reminded him of those black and white war scenes of a desroyed city. It was lifeless - the only places still intact being the food stores and whatnot.

He almost bumped into the person in front as the group stopped. There they stood before a large settlement of white tents, before a woman approached them,

"Refugees?"

Isabel was the one to reply, "Most of us are from the Wellspring Foothills, though we picked up a few others on the way down here."

Greg thought to himself as the two spoke more. Technically, he was a refugee from Frosty Gorge, so he didn't really need an excuse there.

The group was moving once more, eventually resting infront of an empty tent. Chris, briefly put in charge of them, spoke out,

"Alright, Isabel is out on some... business, so I'm your babysitter tonight. Our tent space is a little... small. So guys, you'll be sleeping outside tonight."

Greg tutted under his breath "You son of a-"

"You're on your own for dinner tonight, but before you go, make sure you unpack your stuff. I wouldn't leave anything here you don't want to get stolen. Just be back by curfew or you're grounded." Chris's sudden grin as big as his head immediately faded. "Aaaahh... That was bad even for me..."

"Nice..." Greg sarcastically replied.

"Anyways, don't let anything *cough* out, don't cause any trouble, and don't do anything stupid; 'cause I'm not going bail you out if you do." Chris put one hand in his pocket and began to walk back to the city waving with the other as he left. "Adios. And I'll say it again, don't do anything stupid."

"Be back later guys," Greg said to no-one in particular, "I'm starving. Yo, Chris!"

He jogged a few paces until he caught up with the 'babysitter', "Wow, grounded? There's guys in their twenties back there." Greg laughed a little, "Not to mention the fact that we're now apparently sleeping outside..."

[OOC: Yay it's picked up :D]

 

[RavenStar]

ooc: Woo! This is getting really fun!
Sheila's finally back in action. I'll make sure to reply faster now! *crosses heart*
bic:

Back when Audrey had given her summary of the history of the Uprising, Sheila had listened intently...but somewhere along the way, a shadow seemed to fall over her face. She scratched her shoulder uncomfortably, and glanced off into space to avoid eye contact.

The mention of the PXS...it still got to her. Just something about the idea of her own flesh and blood being so involved in such a cruel movement made her skin crawl.

Sheila remained somewhat silent for the rest of the conversation about the history of the Uprising. She had picked up the sadness that Audrey held when she talked, but didn't return sympathy other than with an understanding look.

After that, she followed along on the way to chipper city. At first, Sheila poked behind the group, until she hopped on one foot, grabbed a heel and ripped it off, then repeated the same to walk barefoot behind the group. Actually, Sheila was usually pretty fast in those heels...she wore them all the time, after all-- but when need be they were a good excuse to fall back and take a breather.

She sighed as she stuffed her heels into her backpack by means of awkward behind-the-shoulder reaching. Her arms were pretty darn flexible, come to mention it.

'Cmon, Sheila. You're a big girl. Time to drop all those Mommy and Daddy issues already.' She thought to herself, hooking one of her arms to pull it across her chest in order to stretch her shoulder. She closed her powder-covered eyes, inhaled through her nose, and then brought back her usual demeanor.

Her eyes seemed to glint.

No more being sad. It was time to look toward the future with bright eyes. They were going to fix this mess, weren't they? Who cares what her family had been like...or if she might see them again. This world was a lot bigger than she was.

"Be sure to keep your more incriminating tattoos covered," Sheila's cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment at the statement. Yeah, maybe covering herself in Pokemon tattoos, and then joining an undercover organization where being discreet was key had been a bad idea. This was probably the only time that Sheila had, or would ever, regret her obnoxiously stand-out-ish appearance.

Luckily, she was hit in the chest with Chris' coat a few seconds later. She grinned and nodded to him in gratitude. "Thanks, cap'n." She replied, unfolding it and then wiggling her arms into it. She looked at the sleeves once the coat was on, and whistled her approval. Not bad.
She then grabbed her heels out of her bag and put them back on-- she didn't want anyone seeing her tattoos on her feet, either-- but was remarkably quick about it, like a quick-changing ballerina between performances. Last, Sheila tucked all but her Pokeball with Cubone into her backpack. Cubone, however, remained in her pocket.

Sheila looked around the city.
It was a good thing that she got back her usual grit earlier, because seeing how unlike its name Chipper City had become was hard. She could remember when the streets had had Pokemon, people, and laughter. Now it just looked like some sort of mess, like zombies had come in and eaten the brains of the majority of the populace.

She scratched her head awkwardly. This was not a time to think about random things like zombies, either.

__

Once all was said and done with arrangements for the night, Sheila stood outside the tent, debating on going inside. She felt like walking around, and getting to know other members of the group...not sleeping, just yet. She also wanted to put her backpack down inside, but what Chris said about having it stolen made her a little paranoid.

Ironically, one of the major issues on her mind at the moment was what she would do about sleeping. Did she need to keep her tattoos covered then, too? She ground her teeth slightly, mulling it over. Since the guys were sleeping outside, she could probably get away with her usual sleeping clothes...which was basically a tube top and short shorts. But if the arrest-those-pokemon-lovers police barged in it the middle of the night, a giant rayquaza looking up at them from on top of her boobs probably wouldn't be the best thing in the world.
Buh.

Sheila tapped her foot slightly, thinking. She had brought a jacket with her, so she would give Chris back his in the morning. As for her feet, she had socks only for if the weather got cold...but she hated wearing socks. Or just warm clothing in general. Oh well, she was in a secret anti-governmental organization now. Socks wasn't the worst thing that would do down.

Sheila looked up and around, for someone to talk to. She wasn't sure if since guys were sleeping outside, girls were supposed to stay inside, or...what...?

 

[Skymin]

As Ashi wandered through the crowd with Alastor, not exactly sure where they were going, they saw two familiar faces through the crowd. Ashi smiled and pulled on Alastor's arm, guiding him through the city, to the outer skirts. There, was Isabel and Audrey, plus a few other Uprising members further back that she didn't really know or care about.

"Isabel! Audrey!" Ashi ran towards the two, smiling a little and hugging them. She hadn't seen either of them since they were risking their lives, so seeing them again but not covered in dirt, grime and blood was good. "I haven't seen you in so long. Did I make it in time? Oh, this is Alastor."

"Hello Isabel, Audrey. Ashleigh has told me a lot about you guys," Alastor said politely and nodded his head, his hands behind his back, "and I would be happy to play for the home team."

---

Josh and Sar walked away from the stand, ice creams in hand. Vanilla, caramel and choc chip had always been Josh's favourite. As he licked his cone quickly to avoid it dripping down his hands, he caught another familiar face in the crowd. This one though, was one that Josh had been looking for and glad to see.

"Look, Isabel's over there. I guess that's where we need to go!" Josh ran over to Isabel, but slowed as he saw who was talking to her. Unfortunately, this time, she had seen him. Josh bit his bottom lip as he awkwardly stood a few meters away from them, Ashi's eyes widening as she realised who he was.

"Joshua?! What are you... Josh!" Ashi blinked a few times. Josh smiled nervously.

"Hi Ashi. Um, hi Isabel and uh, you other people," Josh gritted his teeth. He secretly hoped Sar had followed him over because he really did not want to have a conversation with his sister alone.

 

[Sweet Dreams]

"Look, Isabel's over there. I guess that's where we need to go!"

Sar blinked, rocky road ice cream halfway to her mouth as Josh ran right to them, and cursed silently. That meant that the Uprising was there, which meant that she had to join up if she wanted to keep her job. For a moment she considered going back to Johto and lying to the higher-ups about finding the Uprising, but discarded it. Josh was here now, which made things infinitely more complicated. If she went back now, she wouldn't be able to use his freezer to store ice cream in.

She slowly walked to the group, arriving in time to catch the end of his awkward greeting. After another contemplative lick of her ice cream, Sar reached in her bag and extracted her badge and identification card from it and turned to Isabel.

"Constable Ryan," she said, introducing herself and sounding as if she were reading a speech. "Officially on vacation, unofficial representative of the Johto Police Force who've heard of your plight and who want to show you their support. This endeavor is legally questionable, so in the circumstances of capture or interrogation, I will be treated as a rogue and no support will be provided." She said this all in one breath.

A large part of her was fervently hoping that she would not be recognised. It wasn't as though she even looked at all like how she did when she first tried - and failed - to join. Except for her height. Everybody seemed to be taller than her, even the woman that Isabel had been walking with, although thankfully not by much. She only ever talked to the girl once, anyway, for about a minute, so if she did remember her, Sar would be very impressed.

Plus, Sar had fixed her problem with authority anyway... for the most part. Now, she viewed them as neutral until they either earned her respect or lost it, rather than immediately disregarding them. Actually, she already had a smudge of respect for this leader of the Uprising. Compared to the girl of three years ago, she now had a much more commandeering presence, which was reassuring.

Of course, she still remembered the way that all the Uprising members just assumed she was one of them because she was a teenager, had Pokemon, and was on their side of the wall, even after their supposed leader rejected her. They were obviously less than tight-knit, and half the time they couldn't recognise their own members. It would be so easy to infiltrate as a spy or traitor. If the Uprising really intended to go up against PXS, they really had to work on this problem. After all, PXS used Pokemon too.

Sar took a bite out of her ice cream nonchalantly as she waited for the woman to decide her fate.

 

[Mira]

(OOC: I know, I know -.-')

Just be careful.

The two friends made their way back through the city, Isabel silently trudging along as Audrey bounced lightly alongside her. Isabel's hands were shoved deeply into her sweatshirt's pockets as she maneuvered through the streets, easily knowing the way to the place she wished to go without needing to lift her gaze off of the asphalt.

Just what the hell was that supposed to mean, anyway?! Did Chris really think that she would go out of her way to not be careful or something? Did he honestly care…? No. No, not possible. He wasn't stupid enough.

No… He was. He always cared too much about the few people he called his friends. Maybe enough to put them before the cause of the Uprising…

She couldn't let that happen.

"Isabel! Audrey!"

Arms were flung around Isabel, catching her off-guard as she was pressed against Audrey and their assailant. They were released after a moment and Isabel quickly stepped back, eyes widening when she recognized that it was Ashleigh.

"I haven't seen you in so long. Did I make it in time? Oh, this is Alastor," Ashleigh said rather quickly, gesturing to the man near her in turn.

"Hello Isabel, Audrey. Ashleigh has told me a lot about you guys, and I would be happy to play for the home team," he said, inclining his head to them politely.

Isabel looked him over critically for a moment. He appeared to be competent enough, at least to the extent that he would most likely not be in the way. There was an attachment between the two, however… Lovers? Regardless, it made things more risky than they needed to be.

"It's nice to meet you," Isabel said, quickly smiling and nodding back at him.

"Joshua?! What are you… Josh!" Ashleigh exclaimed.

Isabel turned to find another familiar face. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Dammit. Why didn't I notice them before? Was I really that out of it?

"Hi Ashi," Josh said with an awkward smile. "Um, hi Isabel, and uh, you other people."

An impatient sigh escaped Isabel's lips. Great… More emotional attachments to deal with…

As if merely for the sake of causing Isabel further irritation with her lack of observation, another person stepped up to her whose face did appear to be familiar, though there was no name she could attach to it for some reason.

"Constable Ryan," the girl said in an authoritative tone, taking out a badge and I.D. "Officially on vacation, unofficial representative of the Johto Police Force who've heard of your plight and who want to show you their support. This endeavor is legally questionable, so the circumstances of capture or interrogation, I will be treated as a rogue and no support will be provided."

Isabel glanced over the predominantly familiar group in front of her, weighing her options of how to deal with them most quickly.

"All of you are more than a little late," Isabel said, "so I suppose I must give you a few instructions. First of all, if any of your actions draw negative attention, you will be immediately disassociated from the group and left to find your own way out of trouble. No exceptions. Secondly, our sleeping arrangements are a little bit… cramped at the moment. You will be responsible for finding your own place to stay tonight, and you are to meet at the fountain in the middle of the city at dawn."

Isabel turned to face the girl, continuing to shuffle through her memories to track down the source of her recognition, "Does that sound acceptable to you… Constable Ryan?"

 

[§acred†Beo!]

"Come on," he said to Beo, "We'll slide in behind them." Greg whispered as the two of them quickly got behind the group as if they had been there the whole time.

From what Beo saw of the city it didn't seem to be well much of a city. There were buildings boarded up, business's closed down it seemed as though this is what Katsu was coming to.

"This place looks terrible" Beo whispered under his breathe as the group finally approached an area of the city full of white tents.

"Refugees?" he heard an old women speak but could not actually see her.

"Most of us are from the Wellspring Foothills, though we picked up a few others on the way down here." Isabel answered back.

A disgruntled look came across Beo's face as he realized all these people living here were all on the move, no permanent home. It reminded him of himself. He began to get lost in his thoughts and not even paying attention to what anyone was saying. However he snapped out of his thoughts in time to hear Chris say:

"So guys, you'll be sleeping outside tonight."

"You're on your own for dinner tonight, but before you go, make sure you unpack your stuff. I wouldn't leave anything here you don't want to get stolen. Just be back by curfew or you're grounded." Chris's sudden grin as big as his head immediately faded. "Aaaahh... That was bad even for me..."

"Nice..." Beo heard Greg say sarcastically.

"Anyways, don't let anything *cough* out, don't cause any trouble, and don't do anything stupid; 'cause I'm not going bail you out if you do." Chris put one hand in his pocket and began to walk back to the city waving with the other as he left. "Adios. And I'll say it again, don't do anything stupid."

"Be back later guys," Greg shouted as he ran off in the direction of Chris.

"Well this sucks" Beo said aloud as he began to walk around the camp wondering what to do now. It had been awhile since he let his pokemon out, but unfortunately he knew he couldn't do that. Not now anyways.

"I guess my best option would be to get some food then, and maybe find a peaceful place to think for awhile" And with that thought Beo took off towards the main part of the city.

 

[Legend]

Isaac returned his attention to real life. He closed the box and showed back down his pocket. He didn't know the exact time, but he assumed it was getting pretty late considering his stomach roared with hunger. It was an uncomfortable feeling and it was quite embarrassing, but at least Isaac was alone for the most part. Picking himself off the ground and dusting his clothes off, Isaac left the campground to head to the city. Isaac was bored and hungry, and the fact that he neglected to pack any amount of food was coming back to bite him in the ass. As he walked through the grounds, Isaac saw that it was fairly crowded with little space for anyone. I might as well sleep outside tonight. Not enough room and I rather not intrude on anyone. I am a rookie after all and I haven't gained a lick of respect, Isaac thought to himself with a large sigh following the dismal train of conscious thought.

The only thing Isaac had not banked on was getting…lost. Chipper City was an unknown territory obviously which would mean a rather unintelligent man like Isaac would find little difficulty in losing his sense of direction. It didn't help that Isaac had poor map reading skills so the old map he had purchased earlier proved to be useless. Slamming the map down on the ground in frustration (with stomping too), Isaac crossed his arms and walked down the streets with his head down and his confidence broken: "How did I get lost in five seconds? This sucks." His stomach roared again, louder than before. He became slightly sickly and his walking speed suffered. A natural fast walker, Isaac's speed resembled a grandmother more than anything. It didn't help that most of the city seemed closed down, or at least the more appealing places were. Morale took a huge hit and any shreds of hope died along with Isaac's stomach.

However, a small glimmer of hope presented itself. It was a figure in sight. It was a man, a few years younger than Isaac was. Despite being a few inches shorter, one could argue it was in better shape. He had long hair covering his face. All in all, he was familiar. "Wait a minute….I think he is from the Uprising. Maybe he can save me." Isaac attempted to sprint over to his comrade, cutting off any advance he was making but forcing himself in front of him.

"Hey…" Isaac panted lightly. "You…you…from the Uprising right? I think Chris called you…..Beo and Greg. Gotta be one of them right?" Isaac laughed. Standing up straight, Isaac offered a hand: "Name's Isaac. I'm kinda new to whole thing." His stomach then growled. Forcing a chuckle, Isaac then abruptly asked: "Wanna grab some food? I'm starving."

 

[The warden]

"Hey, I am Iago; I'm kind of new to this Uprising thing. Your name is…" Iago stopped for a moment to think "…your name is Paul, right?" He continued, smiling.


" Yeah that's right," Paul replied, as he took in Iago's appearance, "Paul Stevenson, I'm one of the Uprising members from three years ago." He mentioned being in the Uprising already to make sure that he wouldn't be assumed to be a new member because of his age.


"So Iago, where you from?" Paul said, thinking that it could be worth while knowing a little about who everyone was. He looked round, everyone seemed to had left, and Paul was feeling hungry. "You want to go get something to eat, I'm starving."

(OOC a very short post but i find conversations hard to do, hopefully next one will be longer)

 

[Swolligator]

" Yeah that's right," Paul replied, Iago felt relieved that he had got it right, "Paul Stevenson, I'm one of the Uprising members from three years ago." This guy seemed a little young to Iago, but he knew more than to judge a book by its covers.


"So Iago, where you from?" Paul said, looking round, everyone seemed to had left, "You want to go get something to eat, I'm starving." Iago laughed.

"Sure, it would be great to get something to eat." he replied, "where would you recommend?" he asked waving his hand around at all the stores, many of which had closed down.

 

[Skymin]

Josh couldn't help staring at his sister. She was wearing colour. Colour? Ashi? Last time he had seen her, she was sporting only the colours grey, white and black. Her clothes were rather... more flamboyant and casual rather than the vest, tight shirt and jeans. Her hair was a little lighter and skin a little darker like she had been in the sun rather than avoiding it for 3 years. It was so... confusing. What was going on?

"That suits us fine," Alastor nodded again. "I'm pretty sure I saw a place around the corner."

"Oh, yeah. The place with the blue roof. Yeah, I saw that as well," Ashi pointed a finger in the general direction of the hotel. She turned to Josh and Sar. "If you want, you guys can stay with us. We can rent a four bedroom thing and I don't mind paying."

Josh continued to stare at his sister. Offering to pay? To stay at an actual hotel? Any other time, she would have much preferred to sleep outside on the grass. This was all so weird. Ashi smiled a little, waving her hand in front of Josh's face.

"Josh, wake up. This is Alastor. Alastor, this is Joshua. And his friend, uh, I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name, Constable Ryan."

"Pleasure," Alastor put his hand out to shake Josh's hand. "Ashi has told be a whole lot about you. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Constable."

"Yeah hi," Josh said, still dazed, but slowly shook Alastor's hand. "Um, wait, what are we doing?

 

[RavenStar]

ooc: Gotta get Sheila into some kind of conversation. o_o;
bic:

It was at some point that she had found herself wandering these empty streets. She was surrounded by boarded up windows...broken down homes. Tents, sounds of conversation in the distance.
It was sad here, Sheila thought. She could remember playing with her Cubone here years ago, running up and down the street, and getting yelled at by some locals for bumping into them.
It was almost tempting to let out Marowak, for old time's sake...
Almost.
She clapped her hand on her pocket almost apologetically, for luckily, Sheila knew better.

She walked down the street, hands wiggling into her pockets, and leaned back somewhat, letting out a tuneless whistle as she walked. Sheila could remember the city somewhat...not terribly well, but enough that she didn't feel very bewildered. It probably wasn't smart for her to be off on her own, but, at the moment she was so caught up kicking a rock down the road that it didn't matter.

She wasn't sure why she was still up, or where she was going. Sheila was just caught in thought...old memories, and wonderings about the future. Wondering how well she would fit into this group... if her tattoos might get them in trouble, if she'd have close friends, and if she could make a difference. Sheila was glad that she didn't much mind being by herself, for otherwise she would have been lonely given that most of the Uprising members seemed to know one another. So far, the only person she had talked to extensively was Issa--

Well, speak of the devil.

She looked up at the sound of a voice down an alley from where she was, catching the rock she kicked with her foot and snapping it down to the ground. Sheila saw Issac a ways away, with some other familiar faces that she didn't quite know just yet.

"Yo!" Sheila called, dashing over to them suddenly (and noisily. Stupid heels.)

 

[Sweet Dreams]

She took another lick of her ice cream before replying to the leader of the Uprising. "Yes ma'am," she said. Isabel seemed to have a good memory, since she seemed to somewhat recognise her - a person that she'd briefly spoken to once, three years ago, in the midst of battle and tension. She almost couldn't help being impressed.

She glanced at Josh from the corner of her eyes. He seemed dumbfounded, staring at his sister as though she was some kind of Pokemon that he'd never seen before.

Sar made a non-commital noise in her throat when Ashi spoke to her, noting that she seemed very different to her self during the Frosty Gorge incident. "Call me Constable," she told her, shrugging. Everybody she knew called her that, except Josh. She would probably feel strange otherwise.

"And it's a pleasure to meet you, Constable," said Alastor, and Sar's lips formed into an ironic smile before she could get her expression under control again. Only officers used the phrase 'pleasure to meet you' because it was known among the lower ranks that that kind of speech was for those who wanted to say 'I would like to kiss your butt'. Pleasure to meet you? How the heck would you know if it was a pleasure to meet somebody until they addressed you? Would it always be a pleasure to have met them, or would they turn out to be some petty criminal or murderer or swindler?

Sar forced herself to stop. She was overthinking again, a habit that had been increasingly hard to shake after becoming a cop.

"I already have a room booked there," she said aloud. The department had made the reservation for her, just to give her another reason to say no. 'If you don't go, the money for that'll come out of your own pockets' indeed. "Don't know how many beds, though."

 

[§acred†Beo!]

"This is disgusting" Beo whispered to himself looking around at the boarded up buildings and run down streets that once used to be Chipper City. He had left the refugee camp on the other side of town a few hours ago to collect his thoughts and maybe some food. However he found himself more indulged in the current affairs of this place now then ever, as for food he had no such like yet.

"Maybe i'll just head back to..." but before he could finish he was cut off by a man who appeared to be a few years older then him self.

"Hey…" Isaac panted lightly. "You…you…from the Uprising right? I think Chris called you…..Beo and Greg. Gotta be one of them right?" Isaac laughed. Standing up straight, Isaac offered a hand: "Name's Isaac. I'm kinda new to whole thing." His stomach then growled. Forcing a chuckle, Isaac then abruptly asked: "Wanna grab some food? I'm starving."

Issac was a few inches taller then Beo, and some what of an athletic build. What made Beo feel a little easier about Issac was the expression on his face, he didn't seem to be lying about who he was.

"I uh..." he sputtered kind of caught of guard for a second. He didn't know this guy, three years ago before he met the uprising he probably would have just brushed him away but that was the old Beo. "Sure Issac, and the names Beo by the way" He laughed sarcastically before shaking the hand Issac offered a few moments ago. "Did you have any suggestions for what exactly you wanted to eat?"

 

[Wolf in the Rain]

"Let's see..." Chris mumbled, walking through the mostly deserted streets of Chipper City. A few people passed him and Greg, who had decided to tag along on this hopeless quest for food, but not near as many as the last time Chris had visited the city.

"Alright. We got the abandoned Hoennese Place, the rundown Kanto-style grill, that starved Ratatta that just ran past us…" Chris pointed to each thing as he listed them, sighing at the end. "There's really not much to eat around here... "

Groaning alongside his stomach, Chris pulled a map of the city. "Alright... Um." He twisted the map left and right, turned it upside-down and downside-up. "I think we're here… no… maybe here. Or…"

Eventually, Chris just shoved the map back into his pocket, cursing under his breath. "Dammit…" Turning to Greg, he crossed his arms, a barrier against the cold brought on by the setting sun. Right now, he really wished he didn't give his jacket away.

"Take your pick, Greg. I'm not having too much luck."

(OOC: Yay... a really awesome *cough* *cough* (not really) *Cough* post ^^'')

 

[Zeph.]

"In which case, let's just go to the nearest place."

Greg assesed his options. There were two places with food in sight. He calculated roughly how many steps it would take to get to each. The grill was the winner,

"That one, I could really use something warm." Greg said to Chris as he walked over to the outdoor eatery. It was small, like a group barbeque, but there were tables, pots and pans of all sizes, and two men running the joint. There was a small queue of what Greg guessed were mainly travellers. From the looks of it, the popular choice was a polystyrine cup filled with soup straight from the pot. They also did grilled sandwiches.

He adressed Chris again, "Yep, good enough for me."

After waiting for a few minutes, it was his turn,

"Cup of soup, and a toasted sandwich."

With a pour from a ladel and a few tosses of cheesy-toast, Greg's food was ready. Coughing up the dough, he stood to the side and bit into his sandwich,

"Oh god..." he sighed in delight, finally having some food in him, "I feel better already."

[OOC: Eating post ftw, I guess... >.>]

 

[Legend]

It is always pleasing to meet someone nice. It seemed lady luck shined on Isaac. Despite Isaac's rather brash and open nature, the Uprising member did respond after a little stuttering: "Sure Isaac, and the names Beo by the way" He laughed sarcastically before shaking the hand Isaac offered a few moments ago. "Did you have any suggestions for what exactly you wanted to eat?" Isaac was really hoping that the was the question Beo would avoid asking. Asking him to make decisions was a poor decision to say the least, usually because Isaac wings it as much as possible. It was hard to wing it when you don't know what you are doing in the first place in an unknown land, an unknown city with little grasp on the situation.

Isaac brought his hand to his chin and pounded his foot to the ground as he began to think. "Well…all I know is I am in the mood for some fish. I love fish. I was hoping you knew a good place, since I am guessing you've been around here before," Isaac said scratching his head with a stupid grin on his face. Though, suddenly Isaac stopped. Something caught his attention and didn't let go. It was a familiar sound and it was approaching both Isaac and Beo. Fast. A voice accompanied the faint echo.

"Yo!" it called. It sounded all too familiar. It was a person, that was a given since well…Pokemon can't talk. The name was on the tip of his tongue. Pondering and working his brain all too hard, Isaac struggled but then a light bulb went off.

"I know that voice," Isaac turned around. "What'd ya know…that's our Sheila for you." Returning his attention back to Beo, Isaac cleared his throat. "How about we let her decide for us? Maybe she has ideas," he suggested pointing to the woman sprinting over to them in her noisy, clunky heels.

 

[TrueMastermind]

"Don't you see how much good this will do for Katsu? We have to do this!" It was no use. Jason Rhinestone refused to take Barry Haller's, his erratic neighbor, offer even into consideration.

"I don't have to do anything. Since Katsu has done no good for me, I will do no good for it. Simple as that." He stared off the cliff the two were standing upon, taking a long look at the lucious green land that laid at the bottom of the cliff and stretched for miles. The two lived up in the Mountains, where noone could get to them without using energy that could used doing something else. It reminded of Jason of home, back in Blackthorne of Johto, as both were such peaceful, beautiful places compared to the war-torn region of North Katsu.

"The government even has decided to make little effort towards wrestling the region back from those rampaging lunatics, so why should I bother to travel all the way to the North and potenially endanger my Pokemon while trying to fix a conflict that, in my mind, is a lost cause?" His expression is blank, his voice is gravely and hard, while his eyes remain in a stone cold stare at the fantastic view set out in front of him.

"But it's not a lost cause, don't you see! The Uprising is attracting new and willing members every day! Don't you think if they had someone like you, with your expierence, that could do some real good!" Barry, not wanting to go without a companion, is desperate. But Jason shows nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"What's in it for me?" To most, this kind of behavior is selfish and egotistical. To Jason, this was just natural, it was all just common sense to him.

"Forget it. I'll go on my own. But you remember this, people and Pokemon are going to get hurt because of these PSX characters. What would you do, if the same Pokemon you care for every single day, were just killed? Killed and gone from your life forever! This isn't a competition Jason, there's no prize money or trophy. However, when we drive those punks out of the North, we're gonna have the satisfication of knowing that we did some real good." With that last sentence, Barry walked away with his head down, heading back to his home to get ready for his long journey.

Jason, on the other hand, actually looked back for once at his long time neighbor and friend. Now, he had something to think about.