Treath of Shadows: Journey into the Darkness (Adopter RP)

[Alter Ego]

Please note: This is an Adopter RP, meaning that it is only open to those who have at least one adoptive pok?mon (such as the ones in my signature) from Light Azumarill's thread can join. Sign-ups are held at the Adopters' Club so any adopter willing to join who hasn't noticed yet please go over there, I will be accepting participants until otherwise stated. Full profiles for those accepted can also be found there.

Plot:

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Generations ago, a powerful criminal organization known simply as 'The Underground' unleashed a full-scale attempt at pok?mon-powered world domination, evoking a furious resistance from the good trainers. The ensuing battles caused massive damage to the environment; Lush forests were burned to the ground, great cities lost in earthquakes and floods, and lands laid to waste by frost and storms. In the end, the 'good guys' prevailed, although just barely, and the casuaties had been tremendous. Enraged and bittered by the loss of their homes and their loved ones, the ordinary people began looking for a scapegoat and found it in none other than the pok?mon. After all, if it weren't for their immense power none of the events would have occured. The trainers and pok?mon objected to this of course and attempted to put up a resistance, but their numbers and resources had been drastically diminished by the conflict and the mob quickly gained the upper hand, resulting in nothing short of a bloody witch hunt in which no pok?mon or trainer was spared. The rapidly diminishing pok?mon population was pushed to more and more secluded areas of the world and just as it seemed like the end was nigh for the pok?mon a miracle occured: The legendary Jirachi appeared, granting the surviving pok?mon their greatest wish: To live in peace.

On that day, Jirachi created a second world for the pok?mon in which they would be free from human persecution. Sensing that there might be a time when the two peoples would need to unite however, Jirachi left behind a pair of portals to connect these two worlds. In the pok?mon world, the portal was located at the very peak of a great mountain in the center of the world, while an equally deep crater simultaneously appeared in the human world to conceal the portal's twin. Both the crater and the mountain are steep and treacherous places, their natural protections enforced by mysterious guardians. The only way to open the gate between the two worlds is to have a human descended from the last trainers standing on one side of the portal and a pok?mon descended from the tame standing on the other. The purpose of this is to ensure that the worlds cannot interact with each other until both humans and pok?mon have proven that they have the courage, strength, and cooperation skills required for a peacefull coexsistence.

Well, neither party seemed to show any particular inclination for uniting the worlds. The humans, left in their scorched and dying world, began focusing on salvaging what they could, tempering their harsh environment with extreme technology while the pok?mon, in their lush and idyllic new world, began to return to their old, wild ways, although they always made sure to teach their young about the dangerous and volatile nature of humans.

As generations passed, the few surviving pok?mon, namely those with unusually long lifespans, from the exodus began taking charge of the pok?mon world, gaining the title of 'elders' and managing their people with the knowledge gained throughout the ages. The word of the elders became law, but the only law they seemed inclined to enforce was that none would trespass on the mountain that lay in the center of their world and as such, the pok?mon noticed little change in their routines and remained content.

Meanwhile in the human world, a powerfull corporation called Waiwai Corp, passed from generation to generation of the very people who brought about the great calamity that split humans and pok?mon, assumed monopoly position in the market of life-improving technology. Exerting the power and wealth of this position in a world where life was almost completely maintained by artificial means, Waiwai Inc's leadership efficiently ussurped political control from the hastily gathered provisional government, rapidly nearing their original goal of world domination, although this time by more subtle means. But even with their objective practically achieved, they were still not satisfied. Craving for ever more power, they then turned to the now almost ancient lore from the time when people and pok?mon still coexisted in search of something, anything, that could give them a clue about how they could harness the power of those legendary creatures. Their research paid off, culminating in the discovery of an actual pok?mon; a Gardevoir encased in ice in the wall of an old mine shaft. Knowing now that the stories were indeed true, this ruthless corporation has now turned its attention towards finding the portal and opening it, hoping to gain absolute power through the enslavement of pok?mon.

Meanwhile, equally disturbing things are beginning to occur in the pok?mon world as sightings of 'shadow pok?mon', creatures born of negative emotion and bent on annihilating all happiness and contentment they find, grow ever more numerous and the elders refuse to have any of it. Dismissing the sightings as rumors and hearsay rather than admitting that the presence of a splinter in their perfect world.

But, even in these dark times there is hope. A group of young pok?mon, most of them complete strangers to each other, have understood that there is somethingly deeply wrong in their world, and are determined to fix it. And if that means breaking against the anicent laws and climbing the forbidden mountain then so be it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The RPers currently accepted and their characters are:

Charon-chan:

Pandora, a.k.a Pandi, Pan-Pan and Panda
Species: Cleffa
Gender: Female
Appearance: Pink with green ears, beetle-black eyes and rosy cheeks. She's a little on the chubby side, and has a silk scarf tied around her tail.
Attacks:
Pound
Sing
Encore
Wish

Boudicca (after the celtic warrior - pronounced Boo-di-kar)
Species: Absol
Gender: Female
Appearance: Tall, slender and elegant. A perfect beast.
Attacks: Currently unkown, please send them to me ASAP

Caesar
Species: Cyndaquil
Gender: Male
Appearance: Small, and he's almost always sneering.
Attacks:
Tackle
Leer
Crush Claw
Ember

Alter Ego

Kindle
Species: Torchic
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Return
Rock Slide
Ember
Swords Dance

Kuro
Species: Meowth
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Attacks:
Scratch
Iron Tail
Double Team
Assist

Light Azumarill:

Needles
Species: Cacnea
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Attacks:
Poison Sting
Leer
Absorb
Grasswhistle

Miyako
Species: Tailow
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Peck
Focus Energy
Sky Attack
Refresh

Random Plushie:

Snail
Species: Omanyte
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Water Pulse
Withdraw
Spikes
Aurora Beam

Twilight (Sometimes called Twi)
Species: Girafarig
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Tackle
Calm Mind
Future Sight
Wish

Minako:

Na-na
Species: Skitty
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Attacks:
Sing
Tackle
Helping Hand
Uproar

Puurii (A.k.a. Puu)
Species: Mareep
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Tackle
Growl
Body Slam
Shockwave

degran:

Tsunami
Species: Totodile
Gender: Male
Appearance: (Picture to come)
Attacks:
Scratch
Trash
Dragon Claw
Hydro Pump

Mitzykitty

Cupcake
Species: Poliwag
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Bubble
Haze
Water Sport
Mind Reader

Cinnamon
Species: Butterfree
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Attacks:
Confusion
Aerial Ace
Giga Drain
Rain Dance

And there you have it. Anyone who has been accepted is free to make a starting post. I'll make one myself once I've taken a short break and reccupated from the effort of putting all this up.

EDIT: Aww...to heck with recupation! I'm posting now!

IC:

It was daybreak, the sun slowly rising from the horizion and its piercing rays slowly bringing forth the colours of the world that the pok?mon had come to call home. At this moment, their entire world seemed to be one of perfect peace and harmony, the only sound audible being the faint rustle of wind through the trees of a nearby forest and the montonous drone of a waterfall as it crashed into the lake below, filling the air around it with a thin mist of droplets. At this moment, it seemed like the words of the elders were indeed true; that this was truly a pure world, free of prejudice and violence, an innocent world.

But this was not the case however, not at least if you asked for the opinion of Kindle, the young Torchic stubbornly climbing down the mountain side, pressing on despite the fact that she looked deathly tired, or that of Kuro, the equally fatigued looking Meowth that scampered behind her, although he was usually inclined to agree with the formerly mentioned so there was generally no point in asking.

"Sis..." Kuro wheezed, nearly tumbling down into the river below as a stone gave away under his feet, "Can't we take a break? We've been up all night!"

"Break?" Kindle echoed irritably, increasing her pace slightly instead "There are still shadow pok?mon at large, ready to strike at any moment, and you want to take a break?"

"But sis!" the Mewoth insisted, struggling to keep up "I'm so hungry and tired, and my feet hurt so much! We won't be able to fight shadow pok?mon like this!"

The torchic growled indignantly. She knew that her companion had a point, they would be easy pickings if one of the creatures she hunted would come upon them, but she would never admit that.


"Fine then." she said grouchily, "We'll take a rest by that river over there." she gestured towards the body of water that ran just below the cliff "But only a short one!" she added as Kuro's eyes widened "And no swimming! There might be shadow pok?mon hiding in the water!"

"Thanks, sis." Kuro said, already used to Kindle's way of speaking "You're the best."

"I'm glad you remember that."

 

[Minako]

[ooc]: Yay, tis finally made~ ^__^ I'm sooo excited. XD I apologize if my post isn't quite what you wanted, but I'm lost at the start, anyway. +shot+]
~----~

The two had promised, apon thier departure, that neither rain, nor hail, nor any kind of weather would put them back in thier journey. But it seemed as though the ties binding them to that promise were shaking. Both Puurii and Na-Na had forced themselves through many a day of pure walking, hoping that the next step would bring them a little farther into safety than logic guarunteed. But it seemed as though only one of them continued to burden -- literally -- the weight of the journey on thier shoulders...

"Ugh... Na-Na! You're too heavy!"

The little Skitty's ears twitched with annoyance. "Are you saying I'm fat?!" He squeaked.

"No..." Puu shook her head. "No, I'm saying you're to darn heavy on my shoulders."

Na-Na grunted and hoped off the Mareep, much to Puurii's delight. By this time, they had managed over a steep cliff and made it to a gentle stream below. It seemed as though there was something going on above, though, but the two were too tired out to take notice, dipping thier faces in the cool water and trying thier best to wash away the dirt from thier cheeks.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Tis' alright. It's not like I have anything set into stone this early in the RP. ^^

IC:

"Whew..." Kuro wiped some sweat from his brow with his right front paw as the duo finally reached the foot of the mountain, dashing towards the river with surprising energy, only to be stopped by a sudden exclamation.

"Hold!" Kindle said sternly, causing the Meowth to halt his advance, although he kept throwing longing glances at the river as he voiced his protest. "What now, sis?" he asked, in a complaining voice "You said we could take a break!"

"Strangers." the Torchic replied curtly, nodding her head towards two pok?mon standing by the river bed, a Mareep and a Skitty, both of them busy drinking and washing themselves.

"They don't look dangerous to me." Kuro said in a tired voice, Kindle was always so cautious, perhaps more so than even the Mewoth would have liked. But still, she was the brains of the outfit, and it was only because of her knowledge and skill in combat that Kuro was still alive so he supposed that there had to be something to it.

"That's just the thing..." Kindle replied, eyeing the strangers critically and noting that they both seemed tired as well "Everything isn't what it seems. Let's proceed with caution. You drink first and I'll keep watch."

Kuro nodded and the duo walked over to the river as well, the Meowth shoving his head into the clear water and beginning to drink it in loud gulps while Kindle maintained her discipline, even though she was obviously rearing to get a drink herself, and kept watching the Mareep and the Skitty suspiciously. She hadn't fought her way through life for this long only to fall for an innocent appearance.

 

[Minako]

Na-Na, now brought to his senses by the refreshing liquid, raised his head to see a pair of Pok?mon down a ways from them, enjoying the river. One of the two, a Torchic, seemed to be wary of his and Puu's presence.

"Puu..." Na-Na whispered, nudging his friend with a damp paw. "Puu! Look!"

The Mareep lifted her head to see what the fuss was about. Taking notice of the two, her beady blue eyes got big as she shook with sudden fear. "Who are they?!" She hissed, trying to hide behind Na-Na, with not much success.

Na-Na, however, seemed to be intrested in the Torchic's companion. It was a Meowth, but something about his fur seemed unusual. Tossing all wariness aside, Na-Na bounded off in the direction of the two Pok?mon, leaving Puu no choice but to follow behind. "Foolish..." She muttered under her breath, as they approched the strangers.

 

[Alter Ego]

Kindle watched in silence as the Skitty approached, seeming to have taken a most peculiar interest in Kuro. The Torchic wasn't about to just let this stranger rush over like that and promptly took a sideward step, blocking the normal pok?mon's path and fixing him with a stern glance.

"Can you be helped?" she asked coldly, sizing up the Skitty in case things would turn out for the worst. Despite her tired condition, she was fairly confident that she could take him, but the cat pok?mon's companion was coming towards them as well, although the Mareep approached with a far slower gait, obviously not agreeing with her companion's choice of action.

Kuro quickly finished drinking as he noticed the other pok?mon approach, contentedly licking the last of the droplets from his lips before turning towards the newcomers, waving shyly at the Skitty from behind Kindle's back but feeling to bashfull to speak up.

 

[Minako]

Na-Na halted quickly, causing the unsuspecting Puurii to almost crash into his back. "Oh, excuse my friend's hastiness..." Puu began sheepishly.

Na-Na ignored Kindle, glancing over her at the little Meowth.

"Hi there!" Na-Na gladly bounced right over Kindle, even startling his own companion by doing this. Forgetting the fact that they were total strangers, Na-Na joyously began examining Kuro's pinkish tail.

"Your tail is so pretty! And so are the marks on your paws! How did they turn this color?" He gawked, grinning from ear to ear. Puurii would have slapped her head with her palm if she had one. She knew Na-Na's untameable curiousity was going to start trouble somehow.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Oh bravo! It's up! Now for the hard part: actually posting! ^-^

BTW: Anyone who has adopted a pokemon but has not yet recieved it from me (and there are those who have) and they wish to join this, just PM me and I'll give you the stats but with no picture. You don't need a picture of it to join, so don't worry about that.

Anyway, onward:


Miyako & Needles
-------------------

Ah the desert. It filled everything with sand. The air, your eyes, the ground around you, your mouth, every crack and crevice of your body was full of tiny grains that would grind and roll against you. The wind was not so hot now, and it had been dying down since they had reached the edge of the forest. Soon there would be water, fresh water, and soon there would be cover to hide in, plants to chew on, bugs to crunch under your beak. Yes things were looking up for the two creatures; one was a small bird, and the other a cactus-like plant.

As they stepped into their first official yard of forest, the cactus behind the bird spoke up in his startlingly scratchy voice.

"Hey Miyako, look at that!" he said, pointing straight at an odd plant with circular shaped leaves that decorated it, "That's called Emerja! It's very rare!" His light orange skin darkened a bit under the cover of the forest, though the yellow flower atop his head reamined the same bright yellow. His hollow, beady black eyes flittering around excitedly at all of the plants.

Miyako studied the plant for a moment and then continued to walk again, and spoke in her deep, feminie voice, "What does it do?" She had a walk that was more like a strut, and her midnight blue feathers were dappled with lighter shades of blue as sun rays filtered through the treetops. A bee buzzed around her head, staring at the red spot on top as if it might be some sort of flower.

"H-huh?" stuttered the cactus, looking confused, "Oh, well, I don't believe it does anything. It just lives." The tiny needles on his body were gone in places, and here or there his orange green skin darkened in a bruise. It looked as if he had been recovering from a recent beating.

"Then what, may I ask, is the big deal about it?" Miyako asked, still strutting across the forest floor.

"Don't appreciate plants, do you Miyako?" he replied, his many tiny mouths contracting into smiles.

Miyako stopped for a moment and turned around to face him, "No, that's not it. I just don't care for things that don't have a purpose. They're not--."

"I know, I know, not 'worth your time'," the cactus quoted her, nodding, "Well okay, I guess I'm still the only one who appreicates everything that is living."

Miyako turned back around and began strutting again. Needles, the cactus creature, had been right, she didn't think silly things worth her time. Rare plants that served her no use were most definitely on that list. Most people found this part of her personality annoying and selfish, but Needles had simply found it funny. He was good-natured, and Miyako did like that about him.

Needles thought quietly to himself. He needed Miyako. She may have appeared selfish and pompous, but he knew that her heart was good. Why else would she have helped him? He had to repay her somehow, and the best way he knew was to pay her back with the very service she gave him. He was going to save her sometime. She hadn't needed it yet though. However, Needles was in no hurry; he enjoyed having company, and compared to his violent family and clan, Miyako was the kindest person in the world. Not to mention, he needed help getting used to being out on his own. There was no way he could ever go back, nor would he want to.

That's when Needles looked up and noticed that Miyako had paused in her strutting. "Where are we going anyway?" he asked, walking up to stand next to her.

But Miyako didn't answer. Before her stood a great shrine. It stood about six feet tall, and towered above the two small creatures. Block-like and rocky and shaped like a table with a hole to hold offerings. It was old, probably as old as the world, and had writting on it that was as worn and ancient as the shrine itself.

An offering to Jirachi, it said on it.

"Wow, let's put something in there to offer Jirachi," said Needles, looking excited again, "Maybe Jirachi can help all of us with those... you know." He was referring to the awful 'shadow pokemon' that had been increasingly appearing everywhere. Both of their clans had encounters with them, and Miyako had even battled one once.

"You can," replied Miyako, her eyes narrowed onto the stone shrine, "I don't ask help of anyone." She had defeated that one shadow pokemon with no problem.

"Well then, perhaps you can offer something as thanks for the world we live in," Needles said brightly. Miyako gave him an exasperated look.

"Oh fine," she said grudgingly, "I'll set some nuts there."

Needles jumped a bit, "Me too, me too!"

Together, they placed a small offering of nuts and a few berries and said thanks. Miyako was glad to be rid of the shrine though, such things always made her feel as if she were unimportant, and she hated feeling that way. Shuffling through the trees and bushes, the two of them went onward through the forest, Miyako leading, and Needles behind, surveying the various plants and rocks. A river could be heard nearby.

OOC: Whew! Anyone who's not dead from having to read all that please raise your hand!

Oh, and just to let you know, I'm gonna have to leave in an hour and half or so to study with some friends for my Japanese midterm. ^-^;; Though, I'm sure you guys in Europe are going to get sleepy pretty soon anyway.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Oh! Me! Me! I read it and am still alive! *Waves hand excitedly*

IC:

"That is-" Kindle began, but the Skitty didn't even allow her a chance to finish of a simple sentence before he leapt right over her and began harassing Kuro with questions. To her displeasure the Meowth didn't seem bothered by this, if anything he seemed impressed by the Skitty's display of agility and was more than happy to oblige with answers. The Torchic groaned, those two were far too much alike for her liking. She turned to the Mareep who seemed to be the sensible one in the duo.

"Is your friend always this nosy?" she inquired in an irritable voice, casting annoyed glances at the Skitty now and then.

"Really?" Kuro asked, taking a look at his own tail with newfound appreciation and grinning broadly "Thanks! I don't know why it's this colour though. Can't remember a thing before that time when Kindle found me by-"

The torchic shot him a warning glare, this was in her opinion definitely not something to be discussed among strangers.

"...a river, kind of like this one." Kuro concluded, settling for telling a half-lie. The river had been kind of like that, but of course, the real issue was where the place that river was located by. "I'm Kuro by the way." he continued in an effort to change the subject "And that grouchy one over there is Kindle." he pointed at the Torchic who was looking practically murderous at the moment and grinned cheerfully at her "She acts all tough but she's really a big softie deep down. What's your name?" he tilted his head and eyed the Skitty curiously.

 

[Minako]

[ooc]: Wow, impressive post, Melissa! O_O Don't worry, I didn't die... XD I have to go soon, too. <_<]
~----~

Over the chatter of her friend's almost hyperactive questionarre, Puurii leaned in to answer Kindle's question. "No... He's not really nosey, just horribly curious..."

Na-Na stared at the oddly colored Meowth, only half-hearing what he said. His ears perked up when he heard his inquery. "Oh! I'm Na-Na, pleased to meet you!" Na-Na grasped his paw, shaking gently and nodding with a smirk. "We were just on our way past the river and thought we'd stop for a rest."

Puu was glad he didn't mention anything about the mountian. Sighing, she smiled at the Torchic, hoping that they could patch up thier differences. "My name's Puurii. Nice to meet you, and I'm sorry for the intrusion. Go on, Na-Na. Tell her you're sorry," she scowled, motherly instincts kicking in for her almost-like-an-offspring friend's behavoir.

Na-Na looked over at Kindle, realizing that he'd been quite rude. "I'm sorry! I was just... Well, can you forgive me?" He said shyly, his rosey cheeks now matching the rest of his fur.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Well good for you. ^-^ Oh good Minako. I felt like I was bailing. XD

Miyako & Needles
------------------

"So where are we headed Miyako?" Needles asked the blue swallow in front of him, he skipped a bit in his step. It felt so much better to be in the cool forest and away from that awful sand.

Miyako sighed, "There shouldn't even be a 'we'. Why is it you insist upon following me wherever I go?"

Needles tilted his head, and smiled with all his mouths again, "Because I am in your debt! Silly, I've got to repay your kindness somehow." He began skipping again.

Fluffing her feathers a bit, Miyako sighed. She knew that helping that cactus was a bad idea. She never got involved with those kinds of things, and the one time she gives in and does; this happens! "I'm going to find a place to get away from these shadow creatures. They're troublesome, and I've heard that there are some stronger than the most powerful Elder."

Needles gasped in awe. His clan had never talked much about the shadow pokemon. They just took care of them when needed.

"But shouldn't we try and stop them? I mean, maybe if we band together with others, we can defeat them all!" Needles replied, looking suddenly serious. Miyako sniggered.

"Oh you really are naive, arent' you? You think that different clans would want to band together? They would be too different, and some too proud to even consider that!" she told him, chuckling darkly as she though of her own clan banding together with something like a group of Feebas. Miyako began to walk on again, towards the sound of a running river.

Needles looked a bit taken aback as he watched Miyako walk on, "I'm not naive," he said calmly, "I'm just hopefull."

When they reached the river, it was clean and welcoming. Miyako had been dying to bathe a bit to relieve her feathers of the grinding sand in them. However, the water was far too fast here, she would be swept away by the time she got her foot in.

"We need to move more downstream, to where the water slows a bit before we drink," she said aloud, just as Needles was bending lower to drink. He abruptly stood up, looking terrified that he almost dipped into the fast-paced river.

"I'm all for that!" he said in a high-pitched voice, still glancing fearfully at the water.

Together they began to make their way down the river, trying to find a smoother spot to drink.

 

[Alter Ego]

"It amounts to the same though, doesn't it?" Kindle replied with a sigh. It seemed obvious that this Mareep was, much like her, the victim of a hyperactive charge, and although the Torchic wasn't about to trust her solely based on that, it was a start. And it also seemed like this Mareep was making an effort to settle the situation.

"Kindle." the Torchic replied in a slightly softer voice "Nice to meet you too Puurii, although the circumstances could certainly be better." she sighed in a tired way but then shrugged it off, this was still the business of her and Kuro and no-one else. She turned towards the Skitty as he presented his apologies, and noticing that he did seem ashamed of his actions and that Kuro was giving her a pleading look she sighed in what she hoped sound like an irratable fashion. "I suppose I can forgive you." she replied grumpily "But don't play your luck from now on."

"That means she likes you." Kuro whispered quietly, "She'd have had your head for that if she didn't like you at least a little."

"Kuro." Kindle said sternly "What are you whispering over there?"

"Oh, nothing." the Meowth replied innocently "Nothing. Just silly talk."

"Well..." the Torchic said, throwing him a suspicious look "Alright then."

 

[Minako]

[ooc]: Ack! I was beaten XD Wait, nevermind, you took it out. Sorry, Ego. XD]
~---~
Puu seemed to be relieved at the sight of Kindle's anger cooling down a bit. She now shook off the shyness that had been itching at her, sitting down to rest near the edge of the river.

After sighing in his own relief, Na-Na bowed slightly before the Torchic, hoping his courtesy would save his life if he stepped out of line again. It seemed that Kindle and Puu had much in common, though he still did not know much about these two.

"I hate to delay you two if you've anywhere to be," Puu said, glancing down as a pebble sunk into the depths of the river. "Though it is nice to see a friendly face around here. You never know what evil you might find when you're out in places like this."

Ears twitching at Puu's musings, Na-Na flicked his tail about anxiously. "Puu, you know better than to think like that..." Desperately trying to think of a way to cover up Puurii's little slip about her belief in evil, Na-Na hoped Kindle and Kuro weren't one of the many still blinded by the Elder's denial.

 

[Alter Ego]

Kindle smiled inwardly at Na-Na's bow, spotting the obvious attempt to get onto her better side and acknowledging it, but only with the faintest flikcer of a smile, before turning back to adress Puurii.

"Too true." the Torchic replied, her suspicions finally giving in to thirst as she bent down and took a sizeable gulp of fresh water from the stream before continuing. "We have plenty of places to be, yes. But it seems like my companion needs to rest so I suppose I could oblige you for a while."

"My companion." Kuro repeated quietly, grinning at Na-na while Kindle wasn't looking "She's just as fatigued as I am but she always has to be tough like that. Never admitting that she's weak."

"And yes." Kindle added, unaware of Kuro's editorial comments "Where there's light there's always shadow, no?" despite the mention of 'evil', the Torchic wasn't sure wether these strangers believed in shadow pok?mon and didn't feel like confronting them directly with it in case they would report her to the local elder. This, in her opinion, was the best way to go about shifting the subject in that direction, perhaps if they did know she would be able to get some information out of them.

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Well, wanted to post again, but I've gotta go. >_< Study group's bugging me about leaving. And I really didn't want to have to explain to them the intricacies of Pokemon Adoption RPs.... So, I'll be back in a few hours! If anyone'll still be there. ^-^

 

[Minako]

Na-Na giggled quietly at Kuro's comments. He knew that Kuro must be very close to Kindle for him to talk of her like this.

Puu's head turned to Kindle, watching her take a drink and continue speaking. Her use of the phrase 'light and shadow' shook her a bit. 'Does she know?' Both Puu and Na-Na wondered at once.

"Agreed," said Puurii, straightening her posture and gasing off into the water. "I never will understand how people are so ignorant when it comes to the truth. To be honest," she said, leaning in closer so as not to let any passer-by catch wind of her comment, "That's the reason why we're on this journey."

Na-Na realized by now that they had run into a pair with the same knowledge as they. Though it was subtle, Kindle's wariness of strangers was a hint that they might have seen a shadow Pok?mon before... Or atleast knew of them.

"Excuse me..." He pipped up, looking eagerly into the Torchic's eyes. "Would you mind if we tagged along with you? Wherever you might be going? I mean, uh... It's probably on the way where we're going, judging by how we ran into each other. You know, company never threatened safety..."

 

[Charon]

{I'm late! Oh no! Curse my friends and their 'we want to go out with you'-ness!}

The moutains were wrapped in a serene silence; for miles, there was simply grey rockface, and drifting cloud, and infinite skyline. There sky was empty of birds, for none dared fly this close to that, the seam, the flaw in this perfect, innocent world. The mountains were simply an immense stretch of granite, unbroken - except for a white streak, leaping from crag-to-crag, from pinicles and across chasms.
It was an absol.
A look of fierce determination was on her face, as her white ruff was whipped by the wind. For a moment, she seemed almost mythical, streaking across the stone like a white ghost-
"Booooooooodi!" a shrill shriek sliced through the silence, and like that, the image was shattered.
The absol stopped, sniffing darkly. "Yes?" she called, her voice low and writhing with annoyance.
"Booooooodi! Caesar's pickin' on meee!" the voice continued, and after a lot of rustling and shifting of gravel, a Cleffa emerged a few miles down, followed by a frowning cyndaquil. He began to shout at the Cleffa, but what he said was inaudiable above the howling winds. The absol rolled her eyes, and leapt towards them, landing with a flash by the pair of them.
"I TOLD you not to follow me." she said darkly, putting all emphasis on the 'told'. For a moment, the two pokemon remained silent - before both breaking out into torrents of bickering, blaming each other, and so on.
Their voices carried through the valleys; they were unaware of the other pokemon, only a few metres away, hidden by various jutting rocks.

 

[Alter Ego]

Kindle listened intently to the Mareep's words, noticing the same kind of subtle references as she herself was fond of using, obviously these two shared her beliefs. "I know what you mean." she replied after a pause "Ignorance is something that comes naturally to civilizations it seems. Where does that leave people like me or Kuro, I wonder? The ones that chase the phantoms that others won't see? Where does it leave shadowhunters?"

The last part of her sentence was a dead giveaway, it would surely leave no doubt of Kindle's and Kuro's knowledge of the shadow pok?mon, nor their reasons for travelling, but she could still claim that she was misinterpreted if she wished to.

The Torchic grew thoughtfull at Na-na's suggestion, the Skitty's eagerness giving the whole scene a startling resemblance to the time when she and Kuro had first met. This time it was far riskier of course, what if these two were agents of the elders attempting to lull them into a false sense of security to strike at a suitable moment when they were pinned down with evidence? In Kindle's experience, company actually did treathen safety, far more often than solitude did, in fact. But still, even though Kindle hated to admit it, it was going to take more than just the efforts of her and Kuro to put a stop to this menace, and these two were the best bet available.

"Alright." the Torchic replied after a long pause "But do not expect it to be an easy journey. We'll be heading towards-" she stopped in mid-sentence as the loud bickering of two pok?mon became audible from somewhere nearby. "Kuro..." Kindle said quietly, recieving a nod from the Meowth. They had done this so many times that the command itself was unnecessary.

The cat pok?mon leapt soundlessly towards the source of the noise, keeping himself well covered by the rocks as he peered towards the strangers; a rather small looking Cyndaquil and a somewhat chubby Cleffa, caught in argument, watched over by a majestic looking Absol who didn't seem like she wanted to be there at all. Kuro was about to go back and report that there was no problem but Kindle's words echoed in his head. Everything isn't how it seems... he repeated for himself, sneaking a bit closer to get a better intake on the situation.

 

[Charon]

The absol's eyes had finally found the other group. She stared at them fiercely... who were they? Why was such a peculiar group of pokemon travelling in these mountains, despite the fact it was highly dangerous? Why weren't they with their own kind?

In never crossed Boudicca's mind, that they could be here for the same reason she was. For the past week or so, Boudicca had felt something peculiar in the air... vibrations, a certain tensing of the particles... something was going wrong, and Boudicca had been itching to find out. Rather unfortunately, her two charges had refused to stay back at her den, and Boudicca had dragged them along.
"Why, oh why, do you two always have to fight?" she scolded them in an irritated voice.
The cleffa began to sing, in her high, nasally voice: "'Cause Caesar's a poo, he gots flushed down da looo..." and immedietly, the fighting started up again.

For a moment, Boudicca simply watched the other pokemon, her eyes narrowing.
"What are you looking at?" Caesar asked in his snarky voice, and soon he and Pandora had both followed their adoptive mother's gaze.
"Strangers!" Pandora exclaimed in mock horror

 

[Minako]

Na-Na's sudden offer had left Puu startled back to her hind-brain's way of thinking. True, companionship was a blessing when the the times were right. But she couldn't help but worry that maybe they had taken a step too soon in the wrong direction. For once, she began questioning whether or not these Pok?mon could be assistants of the Elders. She knew that were they caught carrying out such a plot as this, they would surely be banned from going anywhere near the forbidden lands. No sooner did she wonder this when Kindle accepted his offer. 'I hope Na-Na is trusting his gut with this one. I'm not so sure...'

But before either of them had time to rethink thier plans, Kindle had heard something and notioned for the young Kuro to investigate. Puu was getting suspicious.

"Na-Na," she said. "I don't think this amount of encounters is normal for these parts..."

 

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: *looks around* Hm... where's Plushie at? Hope she shows up soon. Anyway, dergan asked for his Totodile's stats, so I'm expecting that he'll try and sign-up for this soon. I told him to sign up in the club thread too, so hopefully he heeds my words. ^-^

Anyway, since no one else is on, I'll just do a short post to show I'm still alive:


Miyako & Needles
--------------------

The river's rage was quelling a bit as Needles and Miyako moved downstream. Miyako would once in a while jump up into the air and begin to fly lazily through the air, but then come down if she got too far ahead of Needles.

It bothered her, this contradiction of feelings. On one hand, she wanted nothing to do with the jolly, frolicking cacti, and on the other, she knew that if she left him, he would be easy prey for anything. A Rhydon, an Aerodactyl, a shadow pokemon....

Needles simply continued his dancing style of walk and occasionally paused to look at something interesting. He stopped immediately as he noticed a small orange flower poking out of a tuft of grass.

"Oh! Look Miyako!" he called, beckoning her to look. She rolled her eyes but went over anyway.

"What is it now?" she said in a flat voice. What was this? A stupid orange flower? Needles certainly did bother with such odd things.

Needles looked at it excitedly, "It a rare Exrainthia! They're supposed to bring good luck to anyone who sees it, AND they're a sign of beauty and longevit--."

But he was cut off by a swooping, that nearly ran into the two pokemon and felt like a powerful wind had blown in front of them. Miyako looked up and saw a Murkrow flying off. Something was in its claws, though she couldn't see what it was.

"Needles, what was that in its... Needles?" she stared at the orange cactus. He was sobbing. "Needles what the--?"

He tried to speak, his scratchy voice coming in leaps and bounds, "He-- he-- took the-- he killed the-- the flower!!"

Miyako frowned. Then she turned to continue their walk, "Come on Needles, there's no use feeling bad about it. That Murkrow's long gone now. Besides, we should be thankful that it didn't try and attack us; you know that Murkrow have been known to work for the shadow pokemon. I wonder why it wanted that flower though? What use could it possibly have?"

Needles sniffed loudly as he fell in behind Miyako, "I-- I told you, it's lucky. But now we've seen it murdered! I don't know what kind of luck that is...."

"The kind of luck that's non-existant, because luck is only a concept; a means of explaining something extraordinary that happens," Miyako said to him.

Needles shook his head. He thought that it was luck that saved them from the Murkrow. It should have attacked, but it didn't; that was the luckiest thing of all.