[IC] As Gods Sleep Chapter 1: The Dust Settles. . .

[Flux]

Blaze let out a yawn as he awoke in his crevice. He was living in the side of a steep incline, in the small hole formed where the uneven edges of two rocks met. His hole went back into the hill quite a ways, so it was spacious enough to be a good home. He crawled outside into the sunlight and began to search for food. While life had originally been turbulent in these woods, they had calmed down in the long time he had been here. He stood up on his short legs, barely reaching the bottom of a berry bush, eating what he could before he continued onward. He decided to head towards the seaside; there was a bluff there that ran down to a few feet of beach that he liked to spend time at.

***************

As he reached the bluff, he curled up under a nearby tree and watched the ocean below wash over the beach. He let his thoughts drift to his trainer and happier times, things he hadn't thought of in a long time, and let out an almost inaudible whimper as the memories came back...

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Theo couldn't sleep. His mind was racing too much from the encounter he had earlier with the Sudowoodo. He jumped up from the from his "bed". He headed towards the door, He wanted to get his mind of this, so he wanted to do the thing that always worked best for him. He went out to collect trinkets and relics of the past (especially Clocks). He thought maybe he could find another clock for his big collection, adding it's voice to the chorus in his home. He headed out for the River, his favourite place to look for things.

[DarkLight]

Nivia awoke wearily with an empty stomach. Her last night's search for her noisy invaders have left her feeling tired and none too pleased as she made her way back to her temporary water cave. Luckily, the Dewgong's frustration has vanished by the time she got some sleep. Nivia now stretched her aching tail muscles before she made her way out of the cave. She found herself bathed in a new day's sunlight, warming up her body as she allowed the waters to carry her downstream. The vain Dewgong sighed, remembering a similar situation back in her hometown of Lilycove.

"This would be a perfect situation if I wasn't so hungry," Nivia thought to herself. She blinked her bright blue eyes a few times before she forced herself to swim. Her tail muscles, however, ached with each stroke she gave. "Oh dear," Nivia frowned a little as she slowed down her pace, "I guess I haven't recovered from last night. I am so not cut out for such strenuous work. If only Celestia is here then---"

Her stomach gave a loud growl before she could complete her thought. Nivia quickly looked around her, hoping that nobody around her has heard her hunger pangs. Luckily for the embarrassed diva, no water Pokemon was out this early.

"Well then, I better go find something to eat. If I do remember correctly, I did manage to smell some berries somewhere nearby."

With that, she carefully made her way back up to the surface and poked her head out of the water. After Nivia was convinced that there were no humans nearby, she swam near the river's edge to see if she could find some berry bushes. After swimming downstream for a few minutes, she happened to find a berry bush filled with Rawst berries. Nivia paused and sniffed the air, hoping to find the familiar scent of Ganlon berries. Her coordinator had given her many of these bitter-tasting, dry Pokeblocks as a reward for her hard work, and it has become Nivia's favorite treat. Unfortunately for the princess, poor Nivia couldn't sniff anything else that can delight her senses. So, she turned to the Rawst berry bush just a few feet away from the river and climbed out of the river, soiling her beautiful, white coat.

"Ugh, once I'm done with breakfast, I'm going to need a bath again," Nivia said out loud to herself as she made her way to the bush. She slowly inched herself along using her two front flippers; Nivia didn't want to exert too much pressure on her hind flipper due to her soreness from yesterday night.

After what seemed like an eternity, Nivia was finally in front of the Rawst bush. "Well, at least these berries look good for eating." she observed approvingly. Without another word, she chose a few Rawst berries and lied down in a comfortable position for breakfast.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

It was near morning, Theo had been searching all night, he had only managed to find a small kookoo Clock, it was pretty worn but in decent enough shape, the mechanism still working and going off every hour. However, as Theo was walking up the river he heard a Rustling somewhere nearby. He dived into a bush at the last minute. He looked around to see what it was, being able to see it quite easily. A Dewgong had just stopped at a bush full of berries close by. The little Pancham was really confused, why was there a Dewgong in the forest? They surely didn't normally live in forests, at least from what he remembered. Curiosity got the better of him. (That and he was scared enough his legs failed him.) He watched the Dewgong seeing what it was up to. Just picking berries and eating it seemed to him.

However, the peace was about to be disturbed. Theo had forgotten he was holding a Kookoo Clock in his paws. All of a sudden a little Taillow shot out the front and starting making loud kookoo noises, much louder than the small clicks of the pendulum swinging. Theo wanted to run, but now he was extremely scared to move. He didn't know if the Dewgong had heard him or not, and he didn't know if it would be able to find him, he tried staying as still as possible, though he didn't realize he was shaking the bush he was standing in.

[Ojama Yellow]

"Hm... So these are the woods they were talking about?" Sark muttered to himself. Earlier that day, he overheard some Pokémon talking about woods where tree-like Pokémon attacked intruders. Constantly searching for new and more powerful enemies to take on, Sark decided to enter the woods and see if those Pokémon would be a challenge to him.

******************************************

"I've wandered around in this forest for hours now, and I still didn't find those Pokémon. Maybe it was nothing but a rumour..." he looked at the small bag he was carrying, containing only two Oran Berries and a Cheri Berry, 'but now that I'm here, I may as well stock up on my food supply." After picking some Chesto Berries, he had the feeling he was being watched. Or was it just his imagination? The forest gave him a creepy feeling, almost as if the trees were staring at him... "I guess I won't sleep much tonight...again."

Edited March 9, 2014 by Bibarel

[Arkhi]

Gale at last made it out of the forest with Togepi. Looking up at the sky, it was orange and getting darker by the minute.
"Well, we're out. We'll see about getting to my place for the night. Should only take five minutes." Gale said, somewhat shakily. Ever since he felt the chill in the forest, it never left him. The whole damned forest was alive, but when human eyes fell upon it, it acted dead. He looked down. Togepi's eyes had been fluttering for a while, but now he thought she was asleep. Gale was about to tickle her to wake her up, but he himself felt sleep deprived and he couldn't get any rest with Togepi.
It must have been around nine o'clock. He shuffled back to the overturned Poke Mart. Just then, he stopped in his tracks, inches from the door of the Mart.
There were noises coming from inside. "Oi! Whoever's in there had better leave NOW! I have a weapon on me!" While he carried a small multi-use knife, he depended more on Togepi to take on the threat.
"Come out!" Gale shouted.

[Chevaleresse]

Amy woke up with a start. I was. . . I fell asleep? I can't let that happen anymore. The human that had been carrying her had begun shouting at something. A threat? She shook herself, trying to wake up and get ready for whatever might be nearby. As she looked about, she realized that they were at the Pokemart she had been headed toward originally. Amarantha might be weak, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve (or would that be in her shell?) if it came to battling, though she sincerely hoped that the boy had another Pokemon that was a tougher battler than she. She turned about to look at him, and waggled her arms about, trying to get him to set her down.

[Arkhi]

Togepi seemed to sense the urgency of the situation. She managed to wriggle around in his grip and gave Gale a concerned look, arms raised. "Uh.. I'm unsure what you're hinting at," Gale whispered, "But I might have to scout the Mart."
He set her down on the ground, watching the door to the mart. It was open, not as he left it when he departed earlier. He grabbed the knife from his back pocket, drawing the short blade. "I really do not want this," he worded silently to himself.

[Chevaleresse]

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Suddenly, the earth shudders. A mountain in the distance flickers, replaced for instants by a dark, ominous tear in reality that seems to absorb light. The local Pokemon quiet for a second, fearing what may come. The residents of the Peridot Ward do the same, some leaving their charges unattended, whether they be children or Pokemon. However, the rift vanishes, and the local time and space seem to stabilize once again. After a moment, the terrified locals return to what they had been doing previously, if a bit subdued. Unnoticed by most, a smaller, more real shadow flits across the landscape. . .

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[DarkLight]

"Ahh~ That is much better," Nivia sighed contently as she finished the last of her berries. "It's too bad that they aren't Pokeblocks, but it will do until I find something else. Now, time to get ba---"

All of a sudden, a Taillow nearby began making kookoo noises. It was giggling as it hopped along the bank, making even more kookoo sounds as it passed by Nivia. The Dewgong stared at the little bird in amusement. "Someone is easily amused..." Nivia thought. With a shrug, Nivia began heading back to the river for a bath when she saw a shivering bush out of the corner of her eye. Nivia immediately froze in her spot to see if that bush would do anything else. However, it seemed more scared than she was. Nivia was puzzled; there were no eyes to indicate it was a Pokemon. Was something hiding there?

"Well, I might as well find out since I have nothing better to do. But, of course," Nivia began making her way back to the river, "I will observe from my natural habitat just in case."

As soon as she made her way into the river, she swam silently up towards the shivering bush to find her observer. Nivia was surprised to find a small, white and black Teddiursa-like Pokemon all bunched up and afraid to move. It seemed so scared that it didn't even notice Nivia watching from the river. Seeing as the Pokemon didn't pose a threat (at least not yet), Nivia decided to be polite and strike up a conversation. Who knows? Maybe she will be able to find out where she is.

"Now now, no need to be afraid, little one. I'm only dangerous to those who oppose me. And, to be honest, you don't seem to be that type of Pokemon. Tell me, who are you? And what are you doing here?"

[Ojama Yellow]

'Those plants are very, very good at hiding.' As he kept searching, he suddenly felt...that something was slightly off. If you could call an earthquake 'slight'. After he climbed in a high tree, he only saw a glimpse of what happened. On a mountain far away from the place he was at that moment, there was a gap in time and space. As he watched for three seconds, the gap disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

'I wonder what that was... I heard some Pokémon talking about something called the Cataclysm, but in the Land of Frost, I never heard anything about it... Maybe the Cataclysm and this strange event are connected someho-' He abruptly stopped his monologue, as he saw a tree-like creature that was picking some Berries. 'Gotcha.'

Edited March 12, 2014 by Bibarel

[Nova]

Bushes with berries still on them were a rare sight in the forest, as there were so many pokémon dependent on them. After some searching, Jessica had found a bush of berries. They were pink and small in size. Jessica knew nearly nothing of berries, always just having been served dinner when she lived with her parents. Not knowing if the berries were edible, she sat down near a bush and put the Slakoth down next to her, which had almost fallen asleep while holding on her back.

A loud noise of a bird sounded from a bush, but it sounded like it was too far away to be of a concern. She picked a few berries from the bush and held them out to the Slakoth, seeing if he would eat them. If he would, the berries were probably safe.

[Ojama Yellow]

Sark lied on his back, not able to stand up. "That thing...it was a Trevenant. A Grass/Ghost type. I could have known my attacks wouldn't have the slightest effect on him." He tried to get up, but fell back on the ground. "Gah. I didn't expect Wood Hammer to pack that much of a punch." Then he realised the bag he always carried was gone. It lied a meter away from him. He crawled to it, thinking one of his Oran Berries could help him to heal. As he reached it, he peeked inside. It was empty. The Trevenant took all his Berries. All Sark could think of was to crawl to a near Berry bush to get more. However, there weren't any in the area. He promised himself he would be alright. He could not be taken out this easily. Then everything went black.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I...I....I'm Th...Theo." the little pancham managed to say still a little frightened by the Dewgong. "I wa...was on my way ba..back to my home." he said, covering his face a little with the kookoo clock. " I was out collecting relics last night" he said this time with a little more confidence in his voice. "You won't hurt me will you? I don't know much about Dewgongs, you are the first one I have seen in this forest."

[Jory]

Perseus yawned and looked warily at the berries. They looked to be small, pink, and sweet. Then he looked up at Jessica and slowly reached over to her hand, removing a berry from it and, as though time itself were slowed down, took roughly thirty seconds to bring the berry to his mouth and take a large bite. The sweet Pecha juice dribbled down Perseus's chin and he smiled warmly at the girl.

[Arkhi]

An unexplainable even occurred as Gale was about to check inside the Mart. An earthquake shook, toppling a nearby building and reducing it to rubble. He had never seen a building fall before, but it wasn't uncommon with the already decayed city of Reborn and the new physics issues rarely helped. However, the building was far enough away to do no harm to him nor Togepi. Behind the newly toppled building, a large tear-like thing enveloped a faraway mountain, which was faintly visible in the distance. It seemed to be some sort of warped mirror. It reflected nearby surroundings, but it couldn't have been a mirror, as it seemed to darken the nearby surroundings. And it couldn't have been a black hole. Could it have?

[Nova]

Slakoth seemed to have taken its time eating the berry, but now Jessica knew the berries were safe to eat. After wiping some berry juice from Slakoth's chin, Jessica grabbed the berries from the bush, putting some to Slakoth, eating most herself, and also putting a few in her tight pockets. The process of eating was disturbed by a loud growling noise in a bush only a few steps away. And something was approaching...

Two Trevenant(s?) had appeared after they had smelled the fresh scent of Pecha berries. Their eyes were deep red. Jessica sprang up in fear, dropping all the berries on the ground. She didn't know whether the Trevenants were hostile or just hungry. Her best bet was to pick up Slakoth and run, but maybe Slakoth had a better idea himself...

[Jory]

Perseus looked up lazily at the two Trevenant. He knew from his time in the forest that these particular Pokemon were not fond of humans coming into their habitat, but they had very little ability to do actual harm to people. Perseus dragged himself in front of Jessica, facing down the two ghost trees. He let out a loud Yawn, two large silver rings emanating from his mouth and hitting the Trevenants. They both rubbed their eyes, then promptly fell over. Soft snoring came from both of them, making it clear that they were asleep.

[Nova]

Jessica watched Slakoth as he managed to hold off the Trevenant, albeit in his own way. "Well, that worked. Thank you, little guy" Jessica picked up the berries she had dropped, then the Slakoth, and ran away silently to prevent waking the creatures. She felt happy having met Slakoth, even though the way they met was quite disturbing. Although she and Slakoth were a lot different, they could get along quite well, she believed.

Jessica followed the river she started at further into the forest. She thought that because of the calamities, there were probably other people here too. People that were forced to survive in the forests...

[DarkLight]

Nivia perked up when she heard the words "last night." She wondered if this Pancham (Theo he called himself) was one who caused the disturbance while she was trying to sleep; her irritation threatened to flare up again at that thought.

"Oh, wait now, Nivia. It is always bad to jump to conclusions, as I had learned in battle contests. This should be no different." With that thought, Nivia was calm once more. "It would be best if I question him a little more first."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Theo. My name is Nivia; I am an upcoming star in Pokemon contests, so I will not pick a fight unless you have irritated me. And, luckily for you, you have not. So, you can put your clock down so I can see you properly. Regarding your comment on not seeing a Dewgong before, that is quite reasonable for you to say so. You see, this is because I am not from here. For some strange reason, I was... How should I put it... Teleported here while I was with my coordinator in Lilycove City. I was just training for the Master Rank Beauty Contest when, all of a sudden, there was an earthquake! The next thing I know, there was a... weird, black rift of some sorts and just like that - Poof! - I landed here in some forest. Of course, I did try to find some human to help me get back to Lilycove, but they seem to want to kill me! The nerve, I say," Nivia said, shaking her head in disgust.

"This actually leads me to a few questions. The most important question: Where am I? Secondly, How can I get back to Lilycove City? Third--"

Nivia then felt the water currents churn uneasily while the ground underneath Theo shook with terrible tremors. The Dewgong quickly tore herself out of the water to prevent herself from being swept away. She then looked up towards the sky to find a familiar, black vortex that tore her away from her home. And, just like that, it disappeared. Nivia gasped and turned towards Theo.

"Did you see that? In the sky? That was the reason why I ended up here! What is it? What is going on?!" Nivia screamed at the innocent Pancham.

Edited March 12, 2014 by DarkLight

[Nico Nico Nii~]

While following the small figure and tree a vortex of some kind caught the attention of Yuki as she thought What the hell was that? And after that she has lost sight of the ones she was following. Well then, what am I to do now? After giving it some thought she decided to head into the forest to find more found and possibly another living thing who would trade something for this meat.

Going into the forest she found some berries lying around and decided to take a few with her, but it would seem that those berries were already in the possession of a group of Trevenants that are now looking hostile towards Yuki. They don't seem very friendly she thought and they don't seem to like meat too. Maybe if I can just get past them they'll leave me alone. She then tried getting past a path but a Trevenant blocks her way. They probable want their berries back, but wait can't I just fight them for it. Yuki then tried to use something as a Trevenant prepared to attack, and launched a Shadow Claw only to stop midway because of the Hail storm Yuki summoned. It wasn't particularly big but it was enough to hit the Trevenants as they all scattered around looking for shelter. There that's done she thought as she walked away.

She then reached a near river and decided to take a drink and rest there for a bit. Hmm maybe I should hide my food in case anyone comes by while I'm asleep. She then dug a little hole near her and then she slept on a large flat top rock near the river.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

A black vortex appeared, around a mountain in the distance, when it was gone, the mountain had disappeared.. Theo was probably even more surprised than the Dewgong, being this was the first time he had ever seen such an occurrence. "Lady Nivia, I am afraid I cannot answer your questions...." He said rather pained. He knew she wouldn't want to hear that answer, that she hoped she could find something out from him. However, Theo simply didn't know. He knew that once he was a human, but other than his name he remembered nothing about that. He had no idea how he ended up in these woods.

"I am not sure how to reach where you once lived, this Lilycove, since I don't know where I am either. I have been charting these woods, but all I really know is where things are within them, I am not very certain on the outside world." Theo said. He placed down the clock he was holding. Then he grabbed the Brass Pocketwatch hanging on his neck. He opened it is showed it to the Dewgong First he pointed to a name etched into the metal. "This is the only thing I know for certain, it is my name Theodore."

This is where Theo sparked an idea. "Mayhaps this mountain, holds the key to finding out some of the things we wish to know." He looked down for a second pondering to himself. He was not usually one to stay around others, but he had a feeling that with Nivia around, maybe they could figure something out. He also figured he could trust her, as if she was really hostile to him, she probably would have frozen him solid by now. "I propose, that we travel to where this mountain was together, Lady Nivia. Perhaps, we will discover the answers to your questions, and maybe also find something that will help me remember my past."

Edited March 12, 2014 by Hukuna

[DarkLight]

Nivia felt her heart sank as Theo told her the painful news. Help does not come easy to the spoiled Dewgong these days. Despite that, she did manage to listen to his side of the story and was quite surprised to learn that he didn't know about his own past. Has that rift messed up everyone and everything? After a careful examination of Theo's pocketwatch, Nivia nodded sympathetically, then turned to find the said mountain, only to see a blue sky. Confused, Nivia returned to the now calm river to see if there was something in the distance.

"Dear Theodore, I am afraid that the mountain you have mentioned is... gone, at least from my perspective. Please, come take a look. Perhaps that rift has swallowed it, or I might have missed something."

Then, she pondered on Theo's suggestion. Nivia was certainly taken aback when he addressed her as "Lady Nivia," although she didn't show it. She was quite impressed by his politeness; it has been a while since she found someone this agreeable since she got here. And, from the Pancham's glances, she can tell that he is not too comfortable around others. The fact that he suggested about traveling together gave Nivia a sense of importance and respect for the little Pokemon.

"Considering the circumstances I am in, it might be best to travel together," Nivia thought to herself. "Having a polite and agreeable companion will certainly makes things more lively, which is always a plus. Perhaps, together, we can find out more answers than the ones we seek."

"Regardless of whether there is a mountain or not, however, I am willing to accept your invitation. Two heads are better than one for thinking and we can look out for one another. There is only one problem," Nivia showed him her flowy tail and her front flippers, "Since I have no legs, I am quite restricted to traveling by water. All of the exploring on land will have to be done by you. Of course, I can compensate by transporting you on my back when we travel by river and I can do the exploring in water sources. If you don't mind my limitations," Nivia glanced at the kookoo clock, "We can start by traveling to your home so that you can put your clock in a safe place."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Aye Miss Nivia, though my home is a bit inland if you don't mind, I don't think it will be too far for you." he said " I will need to pack some berries from my store as well, I am sure I have a satchel lying around the place somewhere. Anyway we shall get moving, I don't want to tarry around here any longer, not fond of the idea of one of those Treveant popping up." he said as he started to walk in the direction of his little home.

[Flux]

Blaze woke abrubtly as the ground shook beneath him. Blaze looked around frantically as the ground shuddered. In the distance, there was a flash, distorting a mountain before causing it to disappear. Suddenly memories flashed back to him, triggered by what he had just seen.

...in his trainer's home, a large earthquake... dishes crashing to the floor... bright flashes...

...waiting for his trainer... desperately hoping he would come back...

hunger... leaving his home... cracks in the earth... loss....

He shook his head at the sudden memories of his past. Those days were gone. He didn't know what had happened that day, but the location of that mountain may be able to provide him with some idea. He felt a pang in his heart at the thought of finding his trainer. Yes, he was going to head towards where that mountain had been.

The sun was making its descent through the sky. Blaze realized that he must have been sleeping for a while. Still, he was pushing on, determined to reach that mountain. He needed to know what had happened on that day that he had been trapped inside. The day his trainer disappeared...