Blood-slick fingers brush not the paper he's expecting, but tattered cloth and cold metal. He pulls out a small figurine wrapped in orange cloth that, upon being unraveled, reveals itself to be some kind of headband.

It appears to be for a Pokemon, not a person, and he hands it off to his Lucario as he finds himself distracted by the figurine.

"Oi!" But Gavin doesn't seem actually offended by Chu-e's joke, chuckling. "Kinda looks like Bill, doesn't it?"

The look he gives Chu-e Choi is pointed. It is Bill, isn't it?

"Eris!" He's surprised to see Eris Halla among them. "We should all stick together."

He recognizes @hades and Kano Iyona as Rocket but doesn't know them beyond their mutual affiliation. Locke Jamison has been a thorn in Rocket's side before but Gavin dismisses him as mostly harmless and outnumbered. He's less pleased about the presence of kyle lopez but he doesn't have to be for long — the Champion is seized by sand in the shape of fingers and thrown bodily from their location.

"Arceus," Gavin curses, with no regard for the holy location. "What the fuck was that?"

Shaking his head, he turns to inspect the alcoves. Tiny vials, full of liquid — save one, which is cracked and spilling gray sand from the fissure in the glass. He shifts his gaze to an undefiled alcove and tries to pick up one of the vials, holding it up to whatever light may be at hand and inspecting its contents.

He nearly drops it when a skittering creature bursts from an alcove like a Zubat out of the Distortion World. His Sylveon pounces on the poor creature and pins it with his paws, planting a draining kiss. It looks less like a Pokemon and more like a failed experiment, limbs and teeth and eyes in all the wrong places.

His Lucario, Niamh, chooses to try on the orange headband. Surely nothing could go wrong... right?

---

+10 for ?
+25 Found last round's codeword, Incarceration
+10 React to appearance/disappearance
+10 Say the Lord's name in vain
Sylveon used Draining Kiss
+10 Inspect the alcoves/vials
+10 Find sand where it shouldn't be
+10 Encounter an unexpected creature

7NYhVzVD +85

There really wasn’t much Hideo could do to help, and he knew it. At least @hades could get some use out of his kit. Even if it couldn't fix all the damage, at least it could minimize some of it.

Hideo was so engrossed in his book, in trying to distract himself from Eris Halla nearly dying, that he missed that the group was splitting apart. Didn't help that Aaron Toral brought up the possibility of them dealing with something completely unknown - and possibly legendary. And he could hear the static from Cardamom Bliss 's phone - not just a "no service" tone, outright static. Hideo considered taking his own phone out to check, but who was he going to call?

He had no idea what Kaida Adachi meant by him helping "Odindottir." He could only assume that was a Pokemon, but he had no idea what it was or even what he'd done - unless one of his Pokemon was acting on their own. "O-oh, you're welcome," he said, his focus once again shifting to his book.

Something that was hard to do when he heard bookshelves collapsing upon Locke Jamison 's disappearance - though his attention was more on the sound for obvious reasons. He felt his Oranguru's hand on his head once more.

luka chêne 's words did calm him, even if just a little bit. Any reassurance at this point would help. And it sounded like a lot of other people had the same idea Hideo did, looking around for whatever was making that noise. He could recognize chryssa glasgow , Melody Miro , and Ruby Walker following along as well. "I'm sure all of us working together'll find this thing real quick," he said, half-attempting to joke, other half trying reassure himself they'd be fine.

John Sullivan seemed less than enthused, though. Stress must be getting to him. Hideo let out a sigh. "Arceus, this is fucked," he muttered to himself, his previous attempt at reassurance not even working on himself.

His Meowstic wasn't able to catch the mysterious meower on his own, but the others were able to help corner it, until it finally got lured by the temptation of cake, to reveal that it was just...a cat. Not a cat-like Pokemon, just a regular cat. "Been a long time since I met a cat," Hideo said, "Unless my Oranguru is mistaken, and that isn't a cat."

Still, they hadn't actually caught it yet. Only lured it. Looks like he'd have to be more careful, as Cardamom suggested. He reached out to the cat with one hand, trying to use words instead of grabbing it. "Hey, it's alright little guy!" Hideo said, "We won't hurt you."

And then a weird...stream of consciousness. Hideo didn't even know what he did, just going on autopilot.

He recalls the first day he went to Andy Blackadder's house for dance lessons. His initial awe at the other boy's house, the little bits of banter the two have on the way outside. The music Andy's Gengar played on the boombox as Hideo and Andy danced together. A sea of hands catching him as he falls. The small bit of emotional catharsis as he finally talks to someone about his fears, his pain. Topped off with the delicious taste of a chocolate tart. A memory he held dear - for it was when he truly realized the only way to get what he wanted was to run away.

Words flowed from his mouth without him realizing it. "I didn't just leave for myself." He doesn't even acknowledge his own words. "I know my family's always been weighed down by me. My parents gave me all their attention, and I know my siblings are mad at me for it. I wanted to show them they don't have to worry for me, but nothing seemed to work. So I ran away for real." A secret that wasn't just his own.

"But I guess that's why I'm doing all this - running away from home, going around getting badges, trying to prove I'm fine on my own. I just want them to stop worrying about me. I want them to respect me." A lie he believes is the truth - for there's one person whose respect he doesn't admit to seeking most of all.

His Oranguru and Krookodile just stared at him, neither sure what just happened. The former could definitely tell there was something odd at play here. While the Krookodile kept an eye on Hideo himself, his Oranguru utilized her Future Sight to try and locate the cause - and see if it had anything else in store.

His Meowstic decided to take a crack at hatching Kaida's egg, using his recently-acquired skills as a Healer to try and rub the egg into hatching. Maybe a more comforting touch was what they needed here.

lxGlciQs +95

+25 Incarceration

+10 Try to hatch egg (trying to Healer Kaida Adachi 's egg)

+10 Say the Lord's name in vain

+10 React to Disappearance

+10 Feed a Memory (that he holds dear)

+10 Feed A Secret (that isn't only his own)

+10 Feed a Lie (which he believes is a truth)

+10 Matching ability/move (Healer+Future Sight)

+0 ? (tfw too late to do the prompt :sadge:)

@ooh food for thought

Kaida followed her Houndoom doggedly, halting in shock as she noticed one person assisting, Locke Jamison, vanish. "Arceus...Kjoll." The curse left her lips instinctively, waving a hand to signal her Onix. Even if the rock snake was too large to get too close, he used Protect to try and defend the humans, Pokemon, and cat. If something was making the people and Pokemon disappear, then perhaps the Sturdy Onix could stop it.

"Ha...if you want to hunt some, you have to hatch soon, Odindottir." Kaida whispered to her egg as she approached the cat, pointing behind her to tell the intimidating Houndoom to stay back a little. Perhaps the Shinx wouldn't be able to take it anymore, and break free. She was always a feisty feline.

She herself stays slightly behind Hideo Kino, hoping the boy would be less frightening to the feline than herself, "It's ok, we're all safe here." A lie for certain, and one that she doesn't think is believable. The cat's eyes gleam, and more meaty sustenance is demanded from the woman.

And she provides.

Death. The burning of jaws, followed by an impossible awakening. "I-I need to find why I'm still here, because I need the reason...I'm not very special. Yet I'm living a second life. I need to know why that happened." The irony of her words weren't lost on the woman. Resurrection, a secret she revealed in a church. Perhaps the cat would find the words and memory satisfying.

Kaida cringed back as she completed her remembrance, almost glaring at the cat as if the delving had been a violation, "What are you?" She hissed, wondering if next, the cat would talk back. She had given up a secret, and while she didn't value her own privacy, she thought it was fair to expect an answer back. Even the touch of the mysterious cat, to get an innocent(?) creature out, she would accept.

OywqwwzV (+70 WHITE)

TLDR: Kaida catches up and notices that the cat have been cornered. She notices Locke Jamison disappear, and gets worried, telling the cat that it is safe (a lie), and unwittingly gives a memory and a secret at the same time (her memory of death). She is still holding an egg, and starts telling Odindottir to hatch if she wants to participate. Kjoll uses Protect, hoping to prevent any more disappearances or danger if any attacks are the reason for them.

Feed the cat a memory (+10 White)
Feed the cat a lie (+10 White)
Feed the cat a secret (+10 White)
Try to hatch one of the eggs (+10)
Say the Lord's name in vain (+10)
React to someone appearing or disappearing (+10)
Use a move AND an ability of the same color (+10)


(Shiny!)
(Shiny!)