[IC] Pokemon: Luminous Dawn- Chapter 1- A Bright Future!

[Jory]

Accumula Town- "Rest and Relaxation!"- Brendan

As Brendan left the town entrance in a huff traveling North and looking for an information kiosk, he would have seen the bright red roof of a Pokemon Center sitting on one of the hills adjacent to the valley containing the Town Square. It seemed to be a relatively short walk away, simply a few blocks of a pleasant town nestled in the hills across the water from Castelia City followed by a hike up a one-lane road that traversed back and forth across the hill. Instead of sidewalks, this road had two staircases lining either side with long, evenly spaced gray stone steps. The road was lined with houses, the homes housing only a small portion of the couple of thousand people living in the town.

Accumula Town- "Rest and Relaxation!"- Jason, Alecks, Mio, & Jack

The smaller group traveled to the Town Square, where they expected to find the rally. However, by the time they got there it was too late. The stage was being dismantled, and there was no sign of the woman portrayed in Bianca's message. Fortunately, they hadn't missed Bianca and the group of younger Trainers. Upon seeing them, Bianca strode over to them with a serious expression on her face. She did not look like the bubbly Researcher they knew. This was a person who had a lot on her mind. Her forehead was wrinkled in thought and the hair near her face was out of place from her fidgeting with it. Hugh's expression mirrored his chaperone's, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the remains of the stage.

"Hey, guys," she said, a little of the usual sparkle returning to her eyes. "Did you run into any trouble on the way here?" she asked, sounding more tired than anything else. Bianca looked over the group, noting the two absences. "And what happened to Katie and Brendan?"

[K_H]

Acumula Town - "Rest and Relaxation!" - Jack

Jack was the first to speak up, and answered Bianca's question.

"Other than a tough battle with a highly-trained Watchog and the group of Patrat it was in charge of, as well as assisting a Truck Driver in protecting a food shipment on its way to the lab, there wasn't much that happened to us. As for Katie, she hurt her ankle and is at Professor Juniper's last we knew. Brendan decided to go it alone and headed off to the Pokecenter."

Edited April 23, 2016 by K_H

[Chim]

Accumula Town – Rest and Relaxation – Brendan

The young trainer casually made his way towards the Pokécenter. He released Titan and walked side by side at the rock type’s pace. Brendan enjoyed to be on his own every now and then just to clear his head. And Arceus knows he needed some alone time after that Watchog battle.

Every few steps he glanced for a few seconds at Titan. So far all battles had proven to be challenging because their opponents had more speed and agility. Just hurling rocks at them wasn’t going to help forever. Brendan bit his lip but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t come up with a solution to help out his partner.

Titan didn’t notice his trainer’s doubts. He curiously absorbed all the sounds he heard and turned around every so often he heard something interesting. But he too had his doubts. His energy wasn’t and stamina still wasn’t back completely. The more he hopped around, the more it tired him out. That Watchog sure had done a number on him. If it wasn’t for the eviolite he would’ve been knocked out. And Titan was aware of it but he didn’t want to make Brendan worry. The only thing he could do was keep going.

The last couple of meters before they reached their destination, Brendan picked up Titan and carried him into the Pokécenter. He patiently waited until his turn came to heal up his partner.

[Jory]

Pokemon Center- "Rest and Relaxation!"

Just before Brendan entered the Pokemon Center, he had to cross the street. As he did so, a black van sped by just in front of him, nearly hitting the new Trainer as he made his way into the red-roofed building. Before Brendan could react, however, it disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

The line moved quickly as the Nurse in charge and her Audino took Poke Balls, loaded them into the healing machine, and returned them to their owners in a quick and practiced manner that comes with years of practice. Soon enough, it was Brendan's turn. The Nurse cleared her throat. Up close, she looked much more tired than she had from a distance. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center. Would you like your Pokemon restored to full health?" she asked, sliding a Poke Ball tray across the counter toward the Amateur. "I'll also need to see your Trainer ID."

[Shadow Sketches]

Acumula Town - "Rest and Relaxation!" - Alecks

Alecks looked around Town Square curiously, he wasn't sure whether he should be relieved that the rally was over or disappointed they missed it. Either way, it didn't look like there was anything else interesting happening now that the rally has left. He saw how disturbed Bianca was about the whole thing and it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. From the small time he's known Bianca she seemed to be jolly and carefree, watching her be all serious felt odd. "The fight was tough but we managed to handle it, how about you guys? Are ya'll all right? Maybe we should head to the Pokemon Center to rest up a bit." Hopefully resting their legs for will help lighten everyone's mood. "Who knows, maybe we can end up finding some ice cream or something along the way?"

At the sound of frozen treats, Apollo's ears perked up and a large smile appeared on his face as he let out an excited yip. Alecks looked to the side at the monkey on his shoulder, an amused look on his face. "Can you even eat ice cream?" The fire type yelped excitedly again, he seemed willing to try it whether he could or not.

Suddenly Alecks felt a slim finger tap on his right shoulder, the one Apollo wasn't on. Both he and Apollo turned their heads around so they could see who was trying to get his attention. Alecks' eyes widened slightly with surprise as he saw her. There was no mistaking the short pixie haircut her messy black hair was in, the right side of her hair being cut shorter than the rest. Some of her hair came down to her face to be parted to her left slightly over her left eye. Mischievous green eyes that rivaled his stared back, her lip turned up in an amused smile. "Hi Alecks, missed me?"

The young man stared dumbfounded for a couple seconds before finally finding his voice and answering his sister as he fully turned around to face her. "Hey Alice, what are you doing here?" He looked her up and down, she was wearing the same thing she had been when he had left her earlier that day. A long cold shoulder top that went down past her hips so it looked as if it was too big for her. The charcoal colored top had a decorative skullified Misdreavus on the front that covered most of the front of her top. Her dark black shorts were slightly hidden by her top, with faded light gray spots decorating it seemingly at random. Her long legs were covered by black stockings that had small horizontal cuts on the front of it that revealed her pale skin underneath, the stockings ending slightly below her shorts so it didn't cover her legs entirely. Her running boots were identical to Alecks', being black with grey laces. Unlike Alecks' though, her face was decorated with silver piercings in her ears and one below the left side of her lips. As well as her having little makeup on except for her black eyeliner.

After a couple moments, Apollo poked his partner's cheek and pointed at Alice's arms. Confused, Alecks' followed Apollo's gaze and his eyes widened once again in surprise. How could he have not noticed before, Alice was holding a pokemon in her arms like one would hold a small baby. He immediately took out his pokedex and scanned the pokemon as it stared at him with wide eyes, reading the information that popped up once the scan was complete. "Woah, where'd you find a Gothita?"

Alice smiled and held the Gothita closer to her. "Her name's Raven, and it's kind of a long story. I'll tell you soon enough." She said as she and Alecks' examined the pokemon, meanwhile Raven was staring at Apollo curiously with her big blue eyes and barely paying attention to anything else around them.

[Jory]

Town Square- "Rest and Relaxation!"

Bianca smiled broadly as she heard the description of the Amateurs' adventure down Route 1. Hearing about their first triumph seemed to have brought some lightness back into her expression. "Pokemon journeys are awesome, right? Don't expect that to be the last time something like that happens! It's a big world out there!" she said happily, glad to impart some advice onto the newbies.

Once Alice had come over to the group, Bianca looked toward the Pokemon Center. "Since you guys just got finished with a big battle, you should make sure you heal and stock up at the Pokemon Center! We're about to head to Striation City, but it was great to see all of you! Tell Brendan I said 'Hi!'" she said cheerily. With that she lead the Nuvema group West toward the entrance to Route 2.

Town Square- "Rest and Relaxation!"- Jason

Jason looked over Alice, shaking his head. He remembered Alecks's twin from school. She was a troublemaker, through and through. Still, no reason not to be nice. He smiled at Alice and Alecks, then gestured toward the Pokemon Center. "Hey, we're all heading to the Pokemon Center to heal. Come with us?" he asked the newcomer, extending an invitation.

That said, the group began walking to the Pokemon Center. It would be a few minutes until they got there; perhaps people wanted to give their thoughts on the events of the day.

Quest added: "Rest and Relaxation!"

-(Optional) Check out the Brighter Future rally

-Head to the Pokemon Center to get healed up

-Meet up at the Pokemon Center

[starkidcosmo]

Accumula Town- Rest and Relaxation - Mio

The sight of Bianca's furrowed brow left Mio even more on edge and disturbed than he had been. Somehow, even the sight of the half-dismantled stage felt foreboding now; like some kind of portent of destruction.

Mio chewed absently on his lip, staring at the remains of the rally. Maybe Brendan was right and that hard-looking woman was simply rich or sponsored, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was something shady about the whole thing. He continued to bite his lip as he lost himself in thought, his reverie only breaking at the sharp taste of iron.

He blinked, only now realizing that he'd been ignoring everyone in favor of staring off into the distance. Embarrassed, he turned his attention back to the group, a hand at his bleeding lip, only to spot the coolest girl he'd ever set eyes on. Everything about her was the height of fashion; her clothes, her piercings, her hair, her pokemon-- Mio was immediately smitten.

As the group begun moving, Mio noted the similarities between Alecks and the new girl. Twins? Although, somehow, she seemed more mature than her brother.

"Uh, hi!" Mio chirped, although the cheery effect he'd been going for was somewhat ruined by his bleeding lip. "Sorry... but do you mind if I scan your Gothita?" It wasn't entirely an excuse to talk to her; Mio was genuinely interested in the Pokemon. "Oh, uh, I'm Mio by the way."

Meena, who'd been napping inside her Trainer's BAG next to Loam's pokeball, perked up at the sound of a Pokemon's name. She poked her head out and stared intently at the psychic type, squaring it up.

Edited April 24, 2016 by genderlesshawke

[Shadow Sketches]

Acumula Town - "Rest and Relaxation!" - Alecks and Alice

Alice accepted Jason's invitation and walked alongside her brother as the group made their way to the Pokemon Center. "Raven could use some rest, we got into quite a battle before I managed to find you, Alecks." Alice informed her brother, stroking her pokemon's head sweetly.

"Really? I guess you both won and got some experience from the battle then, considering it doesn't look like Raven's fainted." Alecks said as he looked over at the physic type.

Alice nodded with a proud smile, "Yeah we did, it was amazing having my first battle and everything. Raven really made me proud!" A couple moments later, Mio's voice could be heard directed at Alice and the twins looked over to him. "Oh, yeah you can scan her if you want." Amused smiles appeared on the siblings faces as they both noticed Mio's bleeding lip, they had no idea how or when he had gotten it but it looked comedic to the two of them.

They were decent enough to try and hide their grins as Alecks spoke up. "Uh Mio, your lip's bleeding. You may want to ask the nurses at the Pokemon Center for a tissue or something."

Meanwhile, Raven was paying little attention on what was going around her. Her big eyes fixated on Apollo, the blue irises seeming to stare into his soul. The fire type stared right back, his eyes refusing to budge. From anyone else's perspective, it could have looked like the two were having a staring contest.

[Jory]

Accumula Town- "Rest and Relaxation!"- Jason

By this point, the group was nearly halfway up the hill to the Pokemon Center. Just a few more minutes and they'd be there, hopefully joining Brendan after he was finished healing his Pokemon. Jason looked to Rascal, who was busy watching the evolving confrontation between Apollo and Raven. His Trainer shook his head, then looked back to Alice, Mio, and Alecks. "We had a pretty rough battle ourselves back on Route 1. This group of Patrat had stolen food from a truck driver, so we had to get it back. But when we got to their den, there was this super strong Patrat with blue eyes! He was quick, like whoosh!" Jason said, making sound effects as he recounted the battle. "But Alecks and I managed to bring him down by working together. We had a few technical difficulties, but we did it!

Then after that there was this huge Watchog that came out! He was even faster and stronger! He hit Brendan's Roggenrola so hard, like WHAM!" he continued excitedly. "We could have taken him down, but his friends stopped him. All of us did a combined attack that brought him down!"

[Chim]

Accumula Town – Rest and Relaxation – Brendan

“Yes please,” Brendan said politely. He recalled Titan in his Pokéball and placed him in the tray before handing over his Trainer ID. “It’s just my Roggenrola,” he smiled, glad with his decision to heal up Titan first before going to some kind of rally. He also had to buy a few extra potions, but maybe it was a better idea to meet up with the others first.

[Jory]

Pokemon Center- "Rest and Relaxation!"- Brendan

The Nurse nodded and took Brendan's PokeDex as well as the tray containing his Roggenrola's Poke Ball. She put the PokeDex face down on a glass panel on the counter. A red beam scanned it before a *ding* sounded. "Welcome, Brendan," a computerized voice said. On the counter were two monitors; one facing inward for the Nurse to use and one for the client to see. Once the voice welcomed him, his face appeared on the screen.

"Well, Brendan, it says here this is your first visit to a Pokemon Center! Welcome! I guess you just got your Roggenrola today, huh?" she asked as she typed something into the computer. She then handed his PokeDex back with a smile. "I'll bet you're really excited. After all, you just started your journey!" she said as the turned around, the Ball tray in hand. She then walked over to the Healing Machine and placed the specially designed tray into the proper slot on top. After sliding the glass cover back into place, she pressed a few buttons. A light started flashing inside, then a soft red glow began emanating from the glass panel.

"It'll just be a few moments," the Nurse said. After waiting patiently for a minute, she turned around and took the Ball tray off the Healing Machine. She slid the tray back across the counter, the Ball just where Brendan had placed it earlier.

"Good luck on your journey! Your Pokemon are fighting fit! We hope to see you again!" she said cheerily, offering the new Trainer a smile.

Brendan's party has been restored to full health!

[Shadow Sketches]

Acumula Town - "Rest and Relaxation!" - Alecks and Alice

Alice listened to Jason's recollection with interest, only speaking up once he finished. "Sounds like you had quite an exciting day so far. How are you and your Chimchar getting along?" She asked curiously, her gaze turning towards the fire type on her brother's shoulder.

Alecks followed her gaze as he answered, "His name's Apollo and I think we're along fine, we still have a long way to go but at least we're growing stronger together. Right, buddy?" He asked his partner, only now realizing the fire type had all his attention on Raven and vice versa. "What's up with them?"

Mildly surprised, Alice looked down towards Raven to find her staring at Apollo with her big blue eyes. "Gothita's are known to stare at other Pokemon and people, they are known as the Fixation Pokemon after all. She probably just finds Apollo interesting for some reason and is focusing her attention on him." The two siblings continued to inspect their two Pokemon's strange interaction with each other as they walked along to the Pokemon Center.

[starkidcosmo]

Accumula Town - Rest and Relaxation - Mio

Mio gleefully pulled out his Pokedex even before Alice finished her sentence. He didn't even glance up as her brother addressed him; in fact, he'd pretty much forgotten all about his infatuation with his new companion.

"Hm? Oh right, uh... This happens a lot, actually, so I'm used to it. It'll stop in a minute or two." He mumbled, flipping through Gothita's entry.

Jason's spirited recollection of their fight with the Patrat Gang pulled Mio out of his stupor. You left out the part where we robbed them of the only food they had and possibly forced them out of the area, he thought, brow furrowing. But he wasn't one to pick fights. Instead, he latched onto the next topic of conversation that presented itself: Raven and Apollo.

Mio jogged forwards a few steps and turned around to walk backwards, staring at the two Pokemon with about as much intent as the fire and psychic types themselves.

"Fixation Pokemon... what's she fixating on, I wonder? The Pokedex says it's 'something only they can see,' but I wonder about that. Although, isn't Apollo's reaction more interesting? Gothita are known to stare, but I haven't heard anything like that about Chimchar."

Meena glared from her nest inside Mio's BAG, annoyed at being ignored. She clambered up to Mio's shoulder and leaned forwards, stretching out a paw to wave at the other two pokemon.

[Shadow Sketches]

Acumula Town - "Rest and Relaxation!" - Alecks and Alice

Alecks thought about Mio's question as he looked at Apollo's and Raven's interaction. "Maybe Apollo finds Raven just as interesting, so he's also giving her all his attention." He mutters, not sure whether this could count as the two Pokemon getting along.

After a while of this, Apollo catches movement from his peripheral vision and finally tears his gaze away from Raven to look at what it was. He managed to see Meena waving her paw at them and gave a small wave back of acknowledgement. Raven seemingly also finally broken from her intense fixation on the fire type to look around as they continued to make their way to the Pokemon Center.

It wasn't long before they reached the Pokemon Center and the twins quickly made their way inside and got in line as they waited for their turn to heal up their partners.

[Jory]

Quest updated: "Rest and Relaxation!"

-(Optional) Check out the Brighter Future rally

-Head to the Pokemon Center to get healed up

-(Optional) Stock up at the Mart

-Meet up at the Pokemon Center

Pokemon Center- "Rest and Relaxation!"- Jason

Jason sighed in relief as the group entered the Pokemon Center. Rascal hopped excitedly off Jason's shoulder and scurried down the straps of his backpack, pushing in the button on his Poke Ball. In a quick flash of light, the Minccino was returned to his Poke Ball for the first time since before Jason's journey had started. He got in line behind Alecks and Alice, thinking back to what Brendan and Mio had said about the Pokemon back in the forest. They seemed to be way more concerned about those Pokemon's well-being than any person's, he thought to himself. Maybe I should ask them about it sometime. He made a note to talk to them about it later.

The rest of the group got in line after Jason. The line moved quickly as the Nurse and her Audino worked methodically and efficiently to make sure the Amateur Trainers were able to get back to their journeys as soon as possible. The Healing Machine flashed red over and over as each Trainer's party was healed until the line reached Jack. The Nurse smiled at the Amateur Trainer, reaching over the counter and tousling his hair. "Look at you, Jack. Nurse Helmenson must be so proud," she said sweetly. "I'll make sure to tell your mother you said hello. Her shift isn't on until later tonight, unfortunately. Good luck, Jack!" With that extra bit of fortune bid to him, she took his Pokemon to the Machine and healed them.

Everyone's Pokemon were fully healed!

Jason turned to the rest of the Pokemon Center, scanning the crowd for the missing member of their team. He broke out into a grin as he saw Brendan waiting idly nearby. "Hey, buddy!" he shouted, running over to his companion. He pressed the button on Rascal's Ball, releasing the Minccino. He quickly ran up to his usual place on Jason's shoulder, his wounds from the Revenge attack he took earlier having been fully healed. "Anything interesting happen on the way here? You should have seen that rally."

Behind the Pokemon Center- ???

A tall black transport van pulled up behind the Pokemon Center, the lights shutting off as the engine cut out. An eerie silence filled the shady, fenced-in parking lot behind the orange-roofed building. It was a quiet, sunny day in this little hamlet. The rear doors of the van swung open, the heavy pieces of metal squeaking on their hinges as they were thrown from their normal resting place. From the back of the van poured a half-dozen figures clad in black. Each of them wore a black ski mask with a black turtleneck, a black tactical vest, black combat pants, and black combat boots. They wore black gloves and each had a large utility belt cinched around his or her waist. One carried a large, full duffel bag. Each member of the group carried one empty one as well. Once they all exited the vehicle, they moved to the back wall of the Pokemon Center. Once there was more space between them and they could be more easily seen, it was apparent that there were at least two women among the small group.

One man, the one with the full duffel, and a woman approached the wall. They unzipped the bag and began uncoiling a wire that seemed to be covered in some kind of paste. They stuck it to the wall in a roughly door-shaped fashion and attached a fuse to it, running the fuse back to the truck. The group hid behind various nearby obstacles, waiting for their signal to begin their mission...

[starkidcosmo]

Accumula Town Pokecenter - Rest and Relaxation - Mio

After Loam and Meena were healed, Mio released the former from her Pokeball and headed over to the counter for the mart. Meena returned to her comfortable nest in the BAG, even as Mio pawed through it for his wallet. As he pulled it out, his father words from the night before echoed through his mind.

Remember Mio, the Pokemon you already have is your priority. I'm giving you this money so that you can have as many healing items as you think you need, not so that you can blow it all on luxuries.

Mio nodded to himself and stepped up to mart's counter, mentally counting his money and rehearsing what he'd say to the counter attendant.

"Erm, excuse me..." he began, pulling out his bills. "Could I get... four potions, four antidotes, two awakenings, two burn heals, and... two paralyze heals, please?" That would cover most the status effects he could think of... though he'd just have to pray that his pokemon didn't get frozen.

BAG Update:

- Potion (x5)

- Antidote (x4)

- Awakening (x2)

- Burn Heal (x2)

- Paralyze Heal (x2)

- Pokeball (x5)

- XTransceiver

- Rollerblades

Edited April 28, 2016 by genderlesshawke

[Shadow Sketches]

Acumula Town - "Rest and Relaxation!" - Alecks and Alice

Once the twins got their Pokemon healed up, the two trainers released them from their pokeball. The newly reinvigorated Apollo took his spot on Aleck's left shoulder, fidgeting excitedly while taking sheepish glances over at Raven every once in a while. The psychic type meanwhile was in her trainer's arms once again, she almost could be mistaken for a doll.

"Alecks, did you buy anything from the Mart?" Alice asked curiously a little while after they healed up their pokemon.

"Yeah, I only got an antidote and two potions to add to the already three potions I have. Not sure how much I need but five potions seemed like an all right number, what about you?" Alecks replied as he eyed the messenger bag Alice had, it looked similar to his though it was black with a purple outline.

"Nah, I think I'll stay with just three potions for now. Don't think I need to buy any extras just yet." Said the young trainer as she dug around her messenger bag. "By the way, are you going to buy something to have Apollo wear so he can stand out from the other Chimchars? Like a scarf or something?"

"I thought about it but I'm not sure what I want to get him, I don't think we want scarf. Maybe like a hat or gloves or something?" Alecks muttered as he looked Apollo over, the fire type seemingly unaware of being inspected as he looked over at Raven and gave a small wave to try and catch her attention. The psychic type mimicking his actions and giving a small wave of her own with childish amusement.

[Jory]

Pokemon Center- "Rest and Relaxation!"

Seeing that Brendan was busy tightening the straps on his backpack, Jason meandered over to the Mart counter. He remembered all the countless books on Pokemon Training he'd read and all the shows he'd watched on TV and the Internet, and one thing was clear: statuses could cripple a team just as easily as a strong attack. Trainers, especially traveling ones like Jason, needed to have a variety of healing items- or the more expensive Full Heal that was only available to Trainers of a higher rank- handy in order to make sure their Pokemon were able to fight at full strength.

"May I help you?" the Mart clerk asked, looking up from a doodle of what appeared to be an Aerodactyl.

That's a cool sketch, Jason thought to himself. Aerodactyl is a super-rare Pokemon. After being revived from fossils for the first time twenty years ago, they're just being re-introduced to the wild. Sometimes they compete with other Pokemon for space, like Charizards or even Dragon-types! He shook himself out of his fanboy-induced thousand-yard stare, chuckling lightly. "I'll have two Paralyze Heals, two Antidotes, Two Burn Heals, and Two Potions please," Jason said, handing over all the money he'd budgeted for items. Even though he'd probably bought more than was necessary, it was better to have and not need than to need and not have. He thanked the clerk, then put them in his BAG and walked back over to Brendan, still awaiting the other Trainer's response.

BAG:

-Potion (x3)

-Repel (x1)

-Poke Ball (x5)

-Antidote (x2)

-Burn Heal (x2)

-Paralyze Heal (x2)

[Chim]

Accumula Town – Rest and Relaxation – Brendan

“Wait a sec,” Brendan replied to Jason. After buying his healing items, the rookie trainer had been struggling with closing his bag. Just when he finally managed to put his new items away, the fight continued. This time he had to adjust the straps.

When Jason came back, Brendan gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that. My packing skills are as good as non-existent. I bought four Potions, two Burn Heals, two Antidotes and a Paralyze Heal.” He summed up. “I literally had to use my foot to get everything away right before you came over… Anyway nothing much happened. I almost got run over by a van but that’s about it. What did I miss at the Rally?”

BAG Update:

XTransceiver

Flashlight

Potion (x5)

Burn Heal (x2)

Antidote (x2)

Paralyze Heal (x1)

Pokéball (x5)

Eviolite (held by Titan)

Razor Fang

[starkidcosmo]

Accumula Pokecenter - Rest and Relaxation - Mio

Mio chimed in to Brendan and Jason's conversation, having caught the last sentence.

"Only the dismantling..." He sighed. "If I'd have known it'd be over by the time we got there I would've come here with you. But what's this about almost getting hit? You're okay, right? I mean, you seem ok but--" Mio cut himself off with a forced cough. Babbling wasn't exactly his best habit.

Edited April 28, 2016 by genderlesshawke

[Jory]

Quest complete: "Rest and Relaxation!"

Accumula Town- Pokemon Center

The lights cut out just as suddenly as Mio stopped talking, not even flickering once before sending the entire interior of the Pokemon Center into darkness save for the light coming in through the windows and glass door at the front. The people inside began murmuring restlessly and moving toward the door, not entirely sure how to react to the sudden power outage. Jason looked toward Brendan and Mio, confusion spreading quickly through his expression. "I wonder what this is about," he muttered, dissatisfied with the sudden interruption. Rascal looked equally annoyed. However, his face changed quickly as his ears began twitching. He tugged lightly on his Trainer's hair, trying to get Jason's attention. However, the young Trainer was busy conversing with his friends.

The Nurse stood up on the counter, a warm smile still spread across her face. Her Audino rushed to the back of the Pokemon Center and out of sight, clearly having more important things to do. "If everybody would please just remain calm and walk slowly toward the exit, we'll be out of here safely in no-" was all that she managed to get out before an explosion rocked the Pokemon Center, the deafening boom interrupting her speech.

As people recovered from the shockwave they began to panic, yelling and looking around for any possible exit. A harsh, blaring alarm began to sound as a red light flashed inside the building. An automated voice replaced the nurse's, addressing the customers: "Please leave immediately. Please leave immediately. Please leave immediately," it repeated in its tinny monotone. Rather than an organized march toward the exit, this was a riotous exodus from the site of the explosion that threatened to break the doors off their hinges as people bottlenecked and pushed against each other in the entryway.

Through all the confusion, Rascal was oddly quiet. Jason was thankful for that until his friend turned to him with an urgent, "Minccino! Mincc!" and leapt from his shoulder, zigzagging underfoot through the crowd as he made his way back to the counter. Jason watched in horror as his partner scrambled over it and through the door into the back of the Pokemon Center. He then turned to Mio and Brendan, panic in his eyes. "He's running right toward the explosion!" he shouted over the alarm, his eyes darting between the other two Trainers as he made his decision. "I'm going after him!"

With that, Jason began pushing his way through the crowd toward the counter. Pushing against the tide of people surging for the door, it would not have been difficult for the other Trainers to catch up with their friend before he made it over the countertop and into the back of the Pokemon Center.

Quest added: "Mysterious Explosion! Pokemon Center Panic!"

-Follow Jason

[starkidcosmo]

Accumula Pokecenter - Mysterious Explosion! Pokemon Center Panic! - Mio

The sudden plunge into darkness was nothing Mio wasn't used to. He'd lived in Ecruteak, after all; the place had been crawling with ghost stories, and perhaps more importantly, multitudes of opportunities for his sister to try and scare the living daylights out of him. Even after they'd moved, she was always pulling pranks like this.

More worrying was the way Meena reacted. Almost as soon as the lights went out, she clawed her way up to her trainer's shoulder and hissed, glaring at the back of the Pokecenter.

"Meena, wha--"

An explosion rocked the center, answering Mio's question before he could even finish asking it. To make matters worse, Rascal darted off in the direction of the explosion, followed quickly by Jason.

Mio didn't feel like he had a choice. He sprinted through the crowd to Jason's side at the front counter and used his momentum to vault over it.

"C'mon!" He called back, holding a hand out to whoever needed it. "Let's get to Rascal before anything worse happens!"

Edited April 28, 2016 by genderlesshawke

[Shadow Sketches]

Accumula Pokecenter - Mysterious Explosion! Pokemon Center Panic! - Alecks and Alice

The sudden blackout surprised the two siblings, the two looking around in confusion at what was happening. Apollo's flame on his backside casting a bit of light around the duo. It wasn't long after that the explosion completely caught them unaware, the loud blast scaring poor Raven and causing the psychic type to look around with worry in her large, blue eyes.

Alice was the first to see Jason running towards the explosion, looking in almost disbelief. She bumped her brother with her shoulder, indicating in Jason's direction once she caught his attention. "What the hell is your friend doing? Who runs toward an explosion!?"

Alecks wasn't sure how to answer his sister, but there was no doubt in his mind that he needed to follow. Whatever Jason was doing, he wasn't going to do it alone. "I'm following him, we need to find out what's going on!" He cried out as he began running in Jason's direction, not sure if Alice was going to follow or even if he wanted her to follow.

"Damn it Alecks, you better not be turning suicidal or I swear I'll kill you myself..." Muttered Alice but followed her brother anyway, holding tighter to the worried Raven.

[K_H]

WARNING! Quest "Rest and Relaxation!" is incomplete!

Missing/Incomplete Components:

- (Optional) Resupply at the Mart

- Meet up with the others

Quest Taken: "Mysterious Explosion! Pokemon Center Panic!"

Working current situation into Story in least-impacting method...

Acumula Town Pokecenter - Jack

Jack was at the Mart Counter, and was just about to reach down to his pocket in order to pull out his wallet so that he could purchase some healing items when the blackout occurred, eliciting an exclamation from him.

"Arceusdammit! I was just about to purchase some stuff in order to resupply, and now this happens!"

And then the explosion happened, the shockwave throwing him onto his back when it hit him, causing him to see stars when he hit the floor.

*BOOM*

After that had occurred, he got up, and then turned to see if the others were alright just in time to see Mio dash in the opposite direction of the way everyone in the crowd was headed, while Jason was nowhere to be seen. Jack then ran away from the mart counter, over to the front counter, and then used Mio's assistance to get over to the other side of the counter before turning around to help anyone else get over if they needed assistance.

Edited April 29, 2016 by K_H

[Jory]

Accumula Town- Pokemon Center

Music from earlier:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34g2KnDaW0I&feature=youtu.be

Main Reception Area- Jason

Brendan followed Jason and Mio toward the counter, meeting up with them shortly after the twins and Jack arrived on the scene. Despite all the confusion, the entire group had made it safely to the counter. Jason nodded emphatically at Jack’s suggestion, gesturing for the whole group to move over the counters to safely.

Once they had, Jason looked back at them. His expression was sincere, his confidence visibly shaken by Rascal’s rapid departure. The red light continued flashing as the alarm blared in the background “Thanks for coming, guys. It means a lot,” he said quickly, the background noises threatening to block out his voice. He then turned away from his friends, leading the group of new Trainers through the door and into the back of the Accumula Town Pokemon Center.

Accumula Town Pokemon Center- Interior

“AU… DIN… OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!” was the first thing the group heard, the bloodcurdling roar coming from their right. A Pokemon that appeared to be made of two gears as well as the more familiar Porygon were sent flying across the room. However, thanks to being able to hover slightly off the ground they were able to recover quickly and floated back into view. When all the Trainers turned to the right to see the source of the roar, they were surprised to see a beaten and bruised Audino cloaked in a rainbow aura with its back to a large rack of Poke Balls. Standing next to it was none other than Rascal, who was just finishing up his Helping Hand dance.

“Gah! You annoying little nurse! You think you’re enough to stop us?” came a derisive sneer. A man stepped into view from the left side clad in all-black tactical gear. His face save for his mouth was covered by a ski mask and he had no distinguishable markings on his clothing. However, he had a slight snaggletooth that set him apart from his cohorts. “Having that little rat as an ally won’t help! We came prepared for the likes of you! Go, Voltorb!” he shouted, throwing a mysterious Poke Ball. At first glance it appeared to resemble a Timer Ball, but the white portions were colored black and the normally red and triangular lumps were silver-blue half spheres.

The Voltorb joined the offensive line, sparks crackling off the freshly rested Electric-type. However, the intruders were not the only ones to receive reinforcements. In a flash of light and a burst of green leaves appeared Gomez, crouched in a fighting position and fully healed. Jason had already run out into the open, his rash action giving away everyone’s position.

“Why don’t you bite off something those big Bidoof chompers can actually chew? Or are you afraid of getting stains on your fifty-off Hot Topic uniforms?” he taunted, trying to buy time for the rest of the group to take action.

Jason has challenged Mysterious Grunts to a Team Battle!

While he spoke he looked at his surroundings, able to see behind the black-clad offender for the first time. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so confident. The other five figures behind him rounded out their opposition to an even half-dozen. Even though they had similar numbers of people, half of the tactically-garbed intruders were busy sweeping the shelves on their side of the room clean of Poke Balls and loading them into their empty duffel bags. Just this one Trainer had at least three Pokemon, and there were two more that were ready to battle.

If it came down to a full 6 on 6 match, they’d be outnumbered for sure. However, Jason remembered that Audino could use Heal Pulse. Maybe that would help even their chances if they could keep the Nurse Pokemon protected.

“You want to play hero, tough guy?” said the grunt with the unfortunate dental problem. “I’ll show you tough!” However, before he could attack Jason took initiative.

Mysterious Grunts have accepted Jason's challenge! Battle, start!

“Gomez, use Quick Attack on that Voltorb! Rascal, Double Slap for a spike!” he shouted. His Pokemon obeyed quickly, catching their opponents off guard. Gomez dashed in and hit the Voltorb into the air with his tail while Rascal jumped in from above, hitting it four times before delivering a decisive final slap that sent the Voltorb flying into the Porygon.

“Guys, backup!” shouted the grunt, unfazed by his Pokemon’s injuries.

The Porygon and Voltorb recovered from the attacks, charging their opponent alongside Klink. “Voltorb, use Spark! Porygon and Klink, Tackle!” he shouted. The Voltorb blazed yellow as it rolled at high speeds toward Rascal, while the other two targeted Gomez. Rascal led the Voltorb around, darting side to side as he attempted to evade the lightning ball. However, it was slowly gaining on him and would catch him if no one helped Rascal out.

“Gomez, dodge off the wall, then Pound!” Jason shouted. The gecko jumped onto the wall, evading the Klink’s Tackle before using his sticky-padded feet to stay there for a moment, then leaping off and using a Pound attack to knock Porygon away. However well he had avoided damage, he couldn’t do much to two opponents at once.

The two other thieves sent out their Pokemon to join the all-out brawl that was developing. Taking the field were another Voltorb, a Magnemite, a second Klink, and a Whismur.

Quest Updated: "Mysterious Explosion! Pokemon Center Panic!"

-Follow Jason

-Defeat the Mysterious Grunts

-(Optional) Protect Audino and the additional Poke Balls