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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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POSTED ON Sept 9, 2022 2:55:04 GMT

Shalin's skin was tingling, both from Queen Zing's vibration as she prepared to take off north of Lavaridge Town toward the Fiery Path leading to Mount Chimney, as well as who her next expeditionary client was. It was none other than her arcade buddy, Julia Davis . They had smashed arrows many times together, but now she was going to show what she could do in a much more meaningful capacity. "Not yet, Queen Zing!" I know you're excited, but we have to wait for Julia!" As to express her excitement and impatience, the Beedrill dug her feet into the ground, latching on before buzzing her wings at full speed and power for about five seconds. Good thing she had her earplugs in! "Save that energy for the trip!" she called out after the loud buzzing noise ceased, disoriented from being shaken a bit more vigorously than she was used to.

The two weren't taking off without Julia at their side, though; this place they were going, the Mirage Palace buried in a remote corner of the Fiery Path, was the most dangerous expedition she had ever done in Hoenn. She had braved the Braviary's Nest, the Seviper's Remains, the Crystal Trench, and the Epoch Ruins. All of them had dangers that could have taken her life if she didn't have her wits about her.

As she waited for her partner to show up, she took out her four Medallions: the green Gale Medallion, bearing the image of Tornadus; the black Night Medallion, bearing the image of Yveltal; the cyan Glacial Medallion, bearing the image of Articuno; and lastly, the white Chrome Medallion, bearing the image of Regigigas. She was halfway to her goal. She could only speculate what color or likeness Mirage's Palace's maroon-colored Steam Medallion would have, but there was only one way to find out, and that was going in there and retrieving it with Julia's help!

Julia Davis

NAME SPECIES STATUS
♥
Shalin Human ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara Pyroar Good
Prance Wyrdeer Good
Levy Milotic Good
Treble Kommo-o Good
Sandy Flygon Good
Queen Zing Beedrill Good

{WC: 318}
{PC: 1}

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Sept 18, 2022 21:52:20 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia didn't consider herself someone with a bucket list beyond the extremely vague "Explore the world and enjoy life." But when her friend Shalin Nariya had asked for help exploring a place on the Fiery Path known as Mirage Palace, Julia realized there was one concrete item on there: "Get over my fear of caves." After all, it had been a cave-in that had taken her leg from her. Despite her Ranger work taking her to every corner of the region and its environments, she'd still avoided caves for all these years. But she couldn't keep doing that forever, especially if she wanted to keep helping people like the Rangers had helped her. Maybe she was diving into the deep end by agreeing to help, but Julia wasn't one to do things half-heartedly.

[break][break]She wasn't one to do them carelessly these days, though. Unsurprisingly for a location buried in Fiery Path, Mirage Palace was supposed to be home to a lot of Fire-type Pokémon, so she'd selected her team based on that. Well, mostly, at least; Chester was always her first choice unless it was too dangerous to bring him along for some reason. The rest of her team consisted of three Water-types, a Fire-type, and a half-Rock-type. That should be enough to cover whatever the Palace threw at them, right?

[break][break]As she rode into Lavaridge Town on Chester's back, she took a deep breath. She wasn't just doing this for herself; she was doing it for a friend, and that meant that backing out now wasn't an option. She could do this. She'd studied wilderness safety of all kinds for years now, and she'd put it into practice in nearly every other way possible. One little cave wasn't going to beat her.

[break][break]She spotted Shalin waiting north of Lavaridge Town and waved. "Hey, Shaliiiiin?" Her shout of greeting grew confused when she saw the giant Beedrill Shalin was riding on. "Whoa." Chester's left head squawked in the same amazed yet mildly afraid tone.

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

LAZULI ♀ shell armor / sing, life dew, confuse ray, water pulse, ice beam, rain dance

MOMO ♂︎ blaze / fury swipes, play nice, scratch, leer, flame burst, rock tomb

MARINA ♀ swift swim / clamp, iron defense, ice fang, whirlpool, shell smash, dive

INKY ♀ sniper / bubble beam, dragon pulse, twister, smokescreen, laser focus, dragon dance

SHELLIE ♀ sturdy / slash, sand attack, bug bite, fury cutter, smack down, ---

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[newclass=.juliapokes img] margin-top: -10px; padding-bottom: 5px; [/newclass]

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @shalinnariya

POSTED ON Sept 20, 2022 20:17:20 GMT

"Oh, there you are, Julia!" Shalin replied, removing her earplugs and waving back to her dancing partner from their many meetings at Round One. "This is Queen Zing. She looks scary, but she's a real sweetheart." The Beedrill faced Julia, eyes glowing red. Though she had the menace and stature of a mighty queen bearing a lethal sting, she was as docile as a house Pokémon. The four Medallions of Eight reflected brightly in her hands; one of them reflecting in the sun could have blinded Julia if it was held at the wrong angle.

"Now you know that the place we're going is dangerous enough that even Rangers don't have to answer our call for a rescue, right? They can if they can find willing people, but they don't have to. Just wanted to make sure. If you are, then..." She sent out Sandy, her Flygon, whose wings almost immediately disappeared from how rapidly they were beating. Unlike Queen Zing's though, the noise wasn't droning or grating. It was almost a pleasant hum to listen to, if a bit loud. "If you don't have a flying Pokémon of your own, Sandy and Queen Zing can help us get there!"

Provided Julia agreed to flying out to the Mirage Palace rather than trying to ascend the volcanic, vent-filled steps of the Fiery Path, Shalin would stow her medallions and hand her partner a pair of earplugs to protect her hearing. Even from just a few feet away, Queen Zing's droning was deafening. She was certain that if Julia loved the nearly limitless agility of insect flight, she would love the explorer's Flygon, as hers flew much more like a wasp than a dragon.

A thick, pillar-like cloud surrounded the tall peak southwest of Mount Chimney, making it relatively easy to find their destination. It was still just as dangerous as the main mountain, though; both were fed by the same magma chamber. Shalin could really start to feel the heat as she descended, and she was sure Julia could, too. What she witnessed when she got to the bottom of the sweltering yet dry Fiery Path's canyon left her in awe.

A glimmering fortress that looked like it came out of a fantasy novel stood before them, seemingly defying physics by floating hundreds of feet above the mountain range's main magma chamber. Like a desert mirage, the bridge over the "moat", as well as the fortress itself, wavered back and forth like a trick of the light. Shalin's cue that the structure was solid was a sign bearing the Hoenn Rangers' official logo, and it did not waver like the ground it was underneath. It read as follows:

SOFT NO-RESCUE ZONE -- ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
Entry to Mirage Palace is inadvisable except by the most highly skilled adventurers. If you enter, you do so knowing that if something were to happen and you need help, we cannot guarantee Rangers will be sent to rescue you.

With it being so hot, Shalin withdrew her Beedrill and swapped out for a Kommo-o, whose scales rattled just fast enough to make a low-pitched ring as the dragon-type greeted his trainer. "This is Treble. He'll be my main muscle while we're here. Even as a Hakamo-o, he was integral in getting me as far as retrieving four of the Medallions of Eight. And I am sure he will procure me a fifth." She swung aboard Treble and pointed toward the giant doors on the other side of the sign. "Ready?"

Julia Davis

NAME SPECIES STATUS
♥
Shalin Human ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara Pyroar Good
Prance Wyrdeer Good
Levy Milotic Good
Treble Kommo-o Good
Sandy Flygon Good
Queen Zing Beedrill Good

{WC: 589}
{PC: 2}

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Sept 23, 2022 19:54:06 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia could see why Shalin called her Queen Zing, given her size and menacing appearance. Yet Julia could tell she was a gentle monarch, one who would only use her fierce power against her enemies. Or maybe she was letting her imagination get away from her.

[break][break]"Nice to meet you, Queen Zing," she said. Then, she realized something: "Is she gonna be okay in there? We're going down Fiery Path, after all."

[break][break]She blinked and shielded her eyes against the sun reflected off Shalin's medallions. "What are those? They're so shiny!"

[break][break]And then, Shalin reminded Julia of just how dangerous the place they were going to was. Honestly? It was nerve-wracking, going into a place where they might not be rescued. But rather than show that, she grinned and pointed a thumb at her own chest. "You're bringing a Ranger in there with you. We'll be fine."

[break][break]"Unfortunately, I haven't caught a flier yet," she said as she jumped off Chester's back. The Dodrio's left head drooped and let out a sad squawk. "It's okay, buddy! You're still the best runner I know." She reached up to pet the head. The middle one leaned in for some, as well, cueing the right one, who was too far away, to caw his displeasure. Julia laughed and moved over so she could give it some love, as well. With the pets dispensed, Julia returned Chester to his Poké Ball.

[break][break]She took the proffered earplugs and hopped on Sandy's back. She glanced back for a moment at the Flygon's rapidly beating wings, entranced by the sight of their near invisibility. She could feel their hum from where she sat, even with the earplugs on; now she understood their purpose, especially for Queen Zing’s rider. That droning must have buzzed in Shalin's bones.

[break][break]She held on tight as they launched into the air, the buzzing and the weightless feeling of flight tickling Julia's stomach in a way that made her giggle. She must have looked a bit mad laughing like that, but surely Shalin understood the feeling well enough to not judge.

[break][break]It was a sweltering canyon rather than a cave that they landed in, but Julia was still surrounded on nearly all sides by rock. What really caught her attention was the titular Mirage Palace, a glimmering fortress floating above the volcano. The way it hazily wavered back and forth in the light really did make it look like a mirage. But it was real, and the warning sign proved it. Julia stared at it for a solid few seconds. Soft No-Rescue Zone. No guarantee that Rangers would be sent to rescue anyone who went inside. Would Julia have answered any calls for help from a place like this?

[break][break]The Kommo-o's rattling scales turned Julia's attention back to her expedition partner. She hopped off Sandy's back and said, "Nice to meet you, too, Treble!" She thought for a moment about her own team, then decided to send out Momo. "I don't really have any 'main muscle,' but this is Momo! We actually met pretty close by here, and I figure he can handle the heat pretty well. Right, buddy?" Momo was entranced by the giant doors leading into the palace, but he turned to Julia and chittered what sounded like an affirmative at her question.

[break][break]Unlike Shalin, Julia opted to stay on foot for the time being. She had no idea what would await her inside, and while she was well-practiced with riding on Chester's back, she felt more comfortable having control over her own locomotion. She stared down the doors, gathering her determination. No turning back now.

[break][break]"Let's go."

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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3,466 posts

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part of

TAG WITH @shalinnariya

POSTED ON Sept 26, 2022 1:48:03 GMT

Once the two could speak to one another again, what with the vibration drowning out their voices on the way there, Shalin explained her purpose for gathering the Medallions of Eight. "It's a bit of a long story, but I'll tell you. When I went soaring above the Fortree area once, I found this place called the Braviary's Nest, not too far northwest of the city. A couple dozen miles out. You have to have a flying Pokémon to get there. Even a helicopter would have a hard time." She described the rough terrsin and wonder-like rock formations that prevented aerial vehicles from getting anywhere close to the entrance as she tested the wavering ground to make sure it was solid.

There was not a sound coming from her Kommo-o's foorsteps; it was as though pure force was holding both their weight and that of the sign. Once she was sure it was solid, she coaxed the dragon-type into a trot across the invisible bridge and got close enough to reach for one of the outer doorknobs on the double-doors. As soon as she twisted it enough to click, both doors phased out of existence. "What in the world...?" Shalin gasped, beholding a large entrance hall whose ceiling shimmered with a bright, orange light.

The entrance's red carpet, on top of carved stone floors, was surrounded on both sides by statues of people wearing robes and holding jeweled rods, as well as statues of fire-type Pokémon known for paranormal powers. Ninetales was the most predominant Pokémon figure. The entire chamber wavered back and forth, just like the building did from the outside. The statues of the people and fire-type Pokémon danced with flames; combined with the wavering effects, Shalin had to rub her eyes just to make sure the statues weren't alive. It sure looked like they were, though.

At least it appeared safe in here.

"In the Braviary's Nest, I found something saying that Spectacle Rock in Sootopolis is an entrance to death. While Spectacle Rock isn't marked on any modern map, I was able to find it through a satellite map and some legwork. As I found out, there's a lot more danger there than just Team Rocket. Wanting to see where the trail led, I took Levy, my Milotic, to the seafloor around Sootopolis, and found the entrance. It's an underwater temple surrounded by an air bubble. Think like the the Seafloor Cavern, if you've ever been down there. It's called the Hall of Origin." While she had no way of knowing its relation to the Cave of Origin on the Sootopolis mainland, she had her suspicions.

"Within is forbidden knowledge locked away in the distant past, sealed by eight medallions." She procured the four objects again, showing each one as she described where she got it from. "The Gale Medallion, atop a remote peak I now know as the Braviary's Nest," she showed the green, human hand-sized medallion with the image of Therian Tornadus' face. "The Night Medallion, in the depths of a wetland snake's body, the Seviper's Remains," she showed the black medallion with Yveltal's face emblazoned upon it. "The Glacial Medallion, buried in an arctic prison underneath Shoal Cave," she showed the cyan medallion adorned with Articuno's face. "And lastly, the Chrome Medallion, in an ancient pharaoh's tomb, the Epoch Ruins in the Great Desert," she showed the white medallion bearing Regigigas' image."

"That leaves four. One in a mystic palace erected in defiance of reality, one beyond the jaws of a dragon of stone, one in the shadow of the grandest tombstone, and one in the hottest, fiercest depths of Hoenn's red earth. The forbidden knowledge of the Hall of Origin will be key in ending the war. I just know it." She didn't dare dismount Treble; even the rider herself was getting nervous. "I don't think we should split up at all." She pointed to a single door on the west side lower level, then a small staircase leading to a double door on the north side. "Got a preference?"

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Sept 28, 2022 22:56:44 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"That was above Fortree?" Julia asked about the Braviary's Nest. "Whoa..." No wonder Julia had never heard of it, based on the descriptions Shalin was giving.

[break][break]She and Momo hesitated before the wavering path connecting the palace to the solid ground they stood on. Shalin had the courage to go first, coaxing Treble onto the illusion-like bridge. The Kommo-o's footsteps didn't make a sound as he crossed. Julia took a breath and quite literally put her best foot forward. Her footsteps, too, were silent, but other than that, it was like walking on a glass walkway: It looked scary, but it was nice and solid. Not looking down would probably be her best bet here.

[break][break]"Don't worry, Momo, it's safe," she said with a smile. "Come on."

[break][break]The Simisear poked the shimmering surface a few times before following his trainer across, both at a brisk pace to catch up with Shalin... and, perhaps, to spend as little time as possible on the nearly invisible bridge.

[break][break]A "Whoa" hopped out of Julia's mouth when the entrance doors disappeared. The inside, at least, looked more solid thanks to its red carpet and stone floors. Statues encircled the room, staring down at them from within flickering flames. Their robes and rods reminded Julia of wizards or witches, and the presence of Pokémon carvings like Ninetales and a bipedal fox wielding a branch like a wand reinforced that image. The way they wavered in the fire made them look like they'd spring to life at any moment.

[break][break]Shalin's story of the medallions continued. It all sounded like something out of a fairy tale or a video game, but Shalin had apparently been to this place and obtained half of the medallions needed to unseal it. But Julia could feel drops of anxiety fizzing in her heart. "Don't they usually lock away forbidden knowledge like that because it's dangerous?" she asked. "How's it gonna stop the war?"

[break][break]Regardless, there were two paths set before them. "Yeah, we should stick together. Let's try that way," Julia said, pointing to the western door. "If we're gonna explore this place, we might as well start from the bottom, right?"

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

3,466 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shalinnariya

POSTED ON Oct 2, 2022 8:46:42 GMT

Julia's reaction to the Mirage Palace's hall was not unexpected. Shalin's was similar; the inside of this place felt like it had come straight out of a fairy tale. Julia's concerns about Shalin unsealing for Halls of Origin were completely warranted. Anything taboo was taboo for a reason. But what choice did she have? That hunk of space rock was coming, and fast. "It's about the meteor," Treble's rider sighed. "We really have nothing to lose. I want to do everything I can to...you know, live? I can always deal with the consequences of whatever Pandora's Bos gets opened afterward. But if we don't at least try..." She wasn't quite sure what would await her at the end of this long journey, but self-preservation was quite the motivator.

The green-haired rider followed Julia's suggestion and headed to the western door. She dismounted her Pokémon and reached for the handle, letting out a shriek only a split second after touching it. She could not let go of that knob fast enough. "Yeow!!" she screamed, her hand thumping from contacting the searing hot metal. "Prance, can you give me a hand please?" She reached across her body to retrieve the Wyrdeer's Poké Ball with her off hand. Before any more thoughts crossed her mind, Shalin asked Julia, "My Wyrdeer can communicate directly with minds. Are you okay with her entering your mind?"

Regardless of the Ranger's response, Shalin would ask her Wyrdeer to use her psychic powers to open the door. Prance squinted as she mentally turned the knob. The door swung open loudly from the force behind a rush of scalding hot air. She hopped back on Treble and took a peek inside, Prance trying to stop her. "Shalin--"

The first sound she heard was of bubbling magma. Several Chandelure hung above the room, their flames a bright orange to match the color of the glowing goop beneath them in the center of the room. She could have sworn she saw a staircase there, leading down into the magma. It only took her four seconds before she opened her mouth to take a breath. When she did, she sharply reined her Kommo-o out of the room, the rider gasping!

What an oven that room was! She and her mount could not get out of there fast enough. It hurt for her just to breathe after that. "As I was trying to tell you," Prance chided her trainer, "there was unbearable heat beyond the door." If Julia granted her authorization, Prance communicated that to her as well, in her usual noble voice.

It took quite a bit of rest, but Shalin found herself able to breathe again without too much pain. Perhaps she hadn't charred the inside of her lungs after all? It still hurt, but she felt she could at least move on. Her Kommo-o carefully treading forward, she led the way through the main hall's north exit instead.

Once she had stepped through the north door, three Braixen appeared in flashes of purple light. They pointed their wooden wands at Shalin, trying to strike her with WILL-O-WISPs! She ducked behind Treble to get as much cover as she could, letting the ghastly attacks sail over her head. There was a door frame to the north and west, but there was no door in either. "Julia, can I get a hand over here?!" she called out in a rasping voice.

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Oct 7, 2022 19:16:51 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"It's okay! The League has a plan already, and it's totally going to work!" Julia's voice bordered on manic as she spoke. The plan had to work. Thinking about what would happen if it didn't wasn't an option. Though maybe that was why Shalin was willing to do this. It never hurt to have a backup plan, after all.

[break][break]"What happened?" Julia asked when Shalin screamed. She approached the door and gently touched it with the back of her hand. "Ow, jeez, that's hot!" she exclaimed, shaking her hand out.

[break][break]She looked at the Pokémon that Shalin released. It looked like a larger, fluffier white Stantler, and it apparently had telepathy. "Sure! Is that one of the Pokémon from those distortions?" Julia had never seen a Wyrdeer herself, but a few pictures of them had been floating around.

[break][break]Julia stepped to the side of the door as Prance telekinetically opened it. "Wait!" Julia called at the same time as Prance's telepathic warning. Too late—Shalin was already peeking inside. Even from where she stood, Julia could feel the waves of intense heat emanating from the room. Even Momo looked a bit uncomfortable. Without concern for her own safety, Julia peered around the doorframe to look inside.

[break][break]Holy heck, that was a room full of magma.

[break][break]"Get out of there!" Julia called. Luckily, Shalin did just that, gasping for breath. Julia pulled her head away from the door and followed Shalin to safety. She heard Prance's telepathic chiding and the regal tone behind it. Pokémon-to-human communication wasn't one-to-one, even with telepathy, but the message about the unbearable heat was pretty clear.

[break][break]"You okay?" Julia asked. She glanced back at the open door. "Who the heck puts a lava room in a castle? Maybe we should close that door for now so it doesn't get too hot down here. Oh, and if you feel a hot doorknob again, be really careful opening the door." That was something she'd learned during fire safety training. She never could have imagined it applying to a room flooded with magma.

[break][break]Once Shalin had recovered, the party made their way up the staircase to the north door. There were flashes of purple light, and three Braixen appeared! Shalin didn't need to ask for a hand twice; in fact, she didn't even need to ask once.

[break][break]"Momo, defend!" Julia called. The Simisear leaped forward and stood between Shalin and the Braixen, hooting and jumping up and down on all fours. The Braixen's Will-O-Wisps fizzled in his fur. "Now use Rock Tomb!" Momo raised his arms up into the air. Silver sparkles formed above his palms and began to expand into several large lumps. They solidified, creating several rocks outlined in silver energy. Momo made a throwing motion with his hands, and the rocks flew forward, falling around the Braixen.

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

3,466 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shalinnariya

POSTED ON Oct 10, 2022 1:02:17 GMT

"Good save, Julia," Shalin breathed a sigh of relief as Momo's ROCK TOMB ensnared the Braixen. Two of them were crushed by the stones, but the third was able to warp out of the way in time. Right in front of Shalin and her Kommo-o, at that. With only a split second to react, she set the dragon's reins down and covered her ears. With Treble's Close Combat not being helpful against the Braixen, he had to take more drastic measures.

Her mount's CLANGING SCALES overloaded the fox's hearing, even Shalin with her ears covered flinching at just how loud the rattling scales all over his body were. While her hearing was strained but intact, the rider's sense of touch was greatly impaired after the powerful Dragon-type attack. Every single one of her Pokémon's scales was vibrating fast enough to hum, which would have made quite the eerie sound if that of the scales bouncing into one another didn't drown it out. At the attack's peak intensity, the feeling she experienced was alien at best, and even somewhat painful at worst.

The last Braixen could no longer keep its pounding head up, and it collapsed on the floor, the three of them vanishing. All four of Shalin's limbs felt like jelly, trying to remain as still as possible. Her sense of touch in all four limbs had been replaced with a tingling, almost shock-like feeling after being rumbled around with the kind of power the Kommo-o displayed. The closest parallel she could come up with in her head was the freakishly odd concept of sitting on one of her Flygon's wings and having her use SUPERSONIC or something similar.

Shalin's blurred vision made it difficult to notice anything other than white lights glowing on the north and west walls, door-sized spaces appearing where the door frames once were. Moments later, a column of flames shot up from the room's center for a few seconds, leaving behind a small, metallic chest. With his trainer still swaying in the saddle from extreme dizziness, Treble kicked the lid open, revealing within a small key ring modeled after a Klefki's key ring. On the ring was a single, chrome-colored SMALL KEY. With Shalin still dizzy, the Kommo-o handed the key ring to Julia.

You obtained a SMALL KEY! Use it to open any one lock in this dungeon.

It took a number of minutes for Shalin to be able to see and feel again, though her limbs still felt like circulation to them had been cut off. "Whooooooooaaaaa..." her voice droned, still a bit dizzy, though she was cognizant enough to direct her Kommo-o around. Even the self-proclaimed "wildest rider in Hoenn" had her limits, and a Clanging Scales run on a Kommo-o's back broke those limits... for now.

Once she was able to keep her head steady, Shalin advanced north, finding an enormous dining hall in eerily good condition. Furthermore, she could have sworn she heard human-sounding murmurs coming from the table, though there was not a trace of anyone at the table. "You hear that?!" she asked Julia. Even the normally confident Treble took a step back.

Even the curtains, decorated with a Kantonian Ninetales motif, were in pristine condition. The decor here, unlike every room they had been in so far, looked like it was being actively maintained. Of course, the entire room still visually wavered back and forth like a blazing, clear afternoon in the Great Desert. This chamber, though, had a much more visually intense effect than the others. "Bye-bye!" Shalin sharply reined her Kommo-o in the opposite direction and retreated.

Regardless of whether Julia wanted to get a closer look, Shalin guided her Pokémon through the west opening, through a hall that was a bit cramped for the mounted explorer. At the far end was a spiral staircase leading upward. As the dragon-type walked down the hallway, the two felt the temperature dropping. A lot. "What in the world? First it was searing hot, and now it feels like a fall day," Shalin asked herself as she waited for Julia to catch up before proceeding further. This place was getting more eerie by the minute.

Julia Davis

Keys: 1

NAME SPECIES STATUS
♥
Shalin Human ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara Pyroar Good
Prance Wyrdeer Good
Levy Milotic Good
Treble Kommo-o Good
Sandy Flygon Good
Queen Zing Beedrill Good

{WC: 699}
{PC: 5}

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 18:06:08 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Thank Momo for that," Julia said. "Great job, buddy." The two high-fived, but their celebration was short-lived when one of the Braixen teleported out of the right... right in front of Shalin and Treble. The Scaly Pokémon and his rider acted fast to drive it off with Clanging Scales. Julia and Momo both flinched and covered their ears at the sound.

[break][break]The Braixen all vanished when the third collapsed. Shalin sat stock-still on Treble's saddle, dazed from being right at the epicenter of the Pokémon's attack. Julia beckoned Momo to follow her and stepped toward her companion, only to stop with a shocked "Whoa!" at the column of flames that shot up in the center of the room. Momo, too, squeaked out in surprise. The inferno left behind a small, metallic chest, which Treble kicked open to reveal a chrome key on a Klefki-styled key ring.

[break][break]"This place is so weird," Julia said, awestruck, as she took the ring. Honestly? It was really cool exploring this palace that seemed to exist outside of the boundaries of reality. But it had quickly become clear that it was also dangerous.

[break][break]Julia and Momo stood on either side of Treble, ready to catch Shalin in case she fell. "You good?" Julia asked when Shalin could speak again.

[break][break]Before following Shalin north, Julia checked the area around where the fire pillar had appeared to see if she could figure out how it worked. Regardless of the result, she stepped through the newly appeared doorway with Shalin. She wanted to see if she could figure out how that worked, too, but the goosebumps that suddenly crawled across her skin snapped her attention to the dining hall beyond.

[break][break]It was a really nice-looking dining hall, which was strange when the rest of the palace didn't look nearly as well-maintained. Stranger still were the murmurs she could hear in the seemingly empty room. "Yeah," Julia whispered back. Momo peered out from behind her legs, then retreated back, shuddering.

[break][break]Shalin got the heck out of Dodge before Julia could say anything. Julia gave the room one last glance before following. "Okay, so something's definitely up with that room," she said. She reached down to soothingly pet the back of Momo's head, being mindful of his searing head tuft. "Maybe it's Ghost-types?"

[break][break]Julia couldn't quite see past the mounted Shalin, but she definitely felt the chill that enveloped them as they went farther in. It was different from the empty cold she'd felt in the dining hall. Shalin said it best: It felt like a fall day. Julia had come dressed for volcanic exploration, so she hadn't exactly brought a jacket along.

[break][break]"Good thing I've got Momo," Julia said. "Mind helping us warm up, buddy?"

[break][break]Momo chittered happily and took a moment to focus. The tufts of fur on his head and tail began to waver and glow softly, creating a warm aura around him. Julia reached down to hold the Simisear's hand and sighed in relief. "That's better. And he's got two hands if you need some warmth, Shalin!"

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @shalinnariya

POSTED ON Oct 15, 2022 6:51:01 GMT

"I'm good now," Shalin answered, catching her breath at last. Her upper legs stopped stinging, too. "It wasn't even the noise. When Treble was trying to defend me, it felt like I was sitting on a giant jackhammer turned all the way up to max." As if to drive the point home, the dragon-type raised one of his fists away from both of them and started vibrating it like he was about to use Close Combat. Even that was enough for some of the scales beneath his rider to briefly hum. "Whew!" Shalin exhaled as the rattling coursed through her. "Even that's a little dizzying." And that was just one fist doing that. There was far less power behind this than Treble's display of Clanging Scales from before, but those scales still rattled at about the same rate as an insect's wings buzzed.

"Thanks, Julia," Shalin replied, dismounting and withdrawing her Kommo-o and taking Momo's hand, spending the next several minutes warming up. Shalin, thankfully, had a fire-type of her own. Despite heading to a volcano, she never left without Kiara, her Pyroar. She let the geared-up lioness out of her Poké Ball, her saddle designed to keep Shalin as stable as possible atop the Pokémon's flexing back. "Remember Kiara, Julia? She's all grown up now!" The mention of that name may have taken the Ranger back to all those months ago, when the two briefly met at Daycare. The queen Pyroar raised a paw in greeting, her burning mane billowing in the hallway and keeping the two explorers warm.

Once she was ready to move on, Shalin stood next to her Pyroar, holding the fire-type's reins as they walked toward a spiral staircase. After all, Kiara wasn't going to be able to carry Shalin upstairs easily! Stairs were challenging enough for the big cat to navigate on her own, let alone with even a lithe girl aboard! As she came closer, she noticed a gleaming light coming from the staircase, obscuring its top half. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, she released Prance, her Wyrdeer, in front of her. "Prance, can you scout ahead and let us know what's up there?" The Wyrdeer nodded and ascended the staircase. The moment her antlers contacted the plane of light obscuring the top half of the stairs, she vanished in a flash of white light, much like a teleporting Pokémon would.

The Wyrdeer returned a couple minutes later, her hooves covered in frost that melted rather quickly in the fire-types' presence. "At the top of the staircase is a teleportation field, linked to a room that looks a lot like this one, except everything is ice. It is exceptionally cold up there. Plan accordingly," the psychic-type spoke directly to Julia's and Shalin's minds.

Shalin's heart sank. How was that even possible? They were in the middle of a volcanic crater! Minutes ago, she had just left a chamber where it felt like her blood was going to boil from within, and now, upstairs was a freezing cold room? She turned to her Pyroar. "I'm sorry to have to ask you of this, but can you take me up the stairs?" The Pyroar at first snarled, then purred in disapproving understanding. She reluctantly sat down to let her trainer aboard, then carefully climbed the stairs. They, too, disappeared as soon as they contacted the plane of light.

When the two emerged, Shalin looked behind her and saw the top of the spiral staircase, a large amount of heat radiating from the white light that seemingly devoured the stairs and split them in two. The two halves of the staircase were indeed linked, as her Wyrdeer had said. Though their entire surroundings weren't wavering back and forth like on the bottom floor, that was the only relief. The walls, ceilings, and sections of the floor were primarily constructed out of semitransparent NEVER MELT ICE. It came with a new danger.

It was FREEZING &#$#ing COLD.

As Shalin lowered her body toward Kiara to absorb more of her heat, she took in the most psychedelic image the Mirage Palace had yet to offer, her eyes gazing through the semitransparent floor. With the night sky above her, Shalin could see all of Mount Chimney from where she was at. They had to be thousands of feet in the air, her ability to see most of Chimney Crater's exposed magma chamber giving her a scale of how far off Hoenn's surface they were. Was this all an illusion, too?

Julia Davis

Keys: 1

NAME SPECIES STATUS
♥
Shalin Human ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara Pyroar Good
Prance Wyrdeer Good
Levy Milotic Good
Treble Kommo-o Good
Sandy Flygon Good
Queen Zing Beedrill Good

{WC: 755}
{PC: 6}

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Oct 18, 2022 17:07:02 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Shalin's description of sitting on a jackhammer already had Julia's bones ready to turn to jelly, and seeing Treble's scales vibrate like the buzzing of an insect's wings showed the intensity of that feeling. It reminded Julia of Sandy's wings fluttering behind her and Queen Zing's droning, which she'd been able to feel even without riding the Beedrill. "You have some crazy rides, Shalin," Julia said with a grin.

[break][break]Momo chittered out his version of a "You're welcome" as Shalin took his warm hand. Once Shalin was warmed up, she sent out her saddled-up Pyroar and introduced her as the grown-up Kiara. "Oh, that's awesome!" Julia exclaimed. "If only I'd brought Sparkie along. She's a Raichu now!"

[break][break]At the end of the hallway warmed by the two Fire-types was a spiral staircase climbing upward, a light obscuring its top half. Shalin sent out Prance to investigate. "Whoa," Julia said when the Wyrdeer was warped away. She returned a few minutes later, hooves covered in quickly melting frost, and used her telepathy to explain the teleporter leading to the icy room above.

[break][break]"What? How?" Julia asked, unwittingly echoing Shalin's thoughts. She squinted at the staircase, as if trying to glean the answer from it. "Maybe it's teleporting us somewhere else?" She was really glad she'd thought to bring Momo along. Her current team was geared more toward taking on Fire-types since, you know, volcano and all. At least Fire and Ice shared a common weakness in Rock, something Shellie could use to her advantage.

[break][break]Understandably, Kiara was reluctant to carry Shalin up the stairs to this mysterious room of ice. Julia gave the Pyroar an encouraging smile. "You've got this, Kiara." They, too, vanished when they touched the light.

[break][break]"We've got this, too, Momo. Ready to turn up the heat?"

[break][break]Momo squeaked and nodded excitedly, ramping himself up so the flame within him burned even hotter. Embers twinkled on his head and tail like stars, and the hand that Julia held his with began to sweat. She didn't let go, though, knowing she'd need every scrap of warmth she could get. "Okay. Let's go."

[break][break]Together, they climbed up the stairs. The light enveloped them, and when it faded, yep, wow, that was cold! Julia moved to hold Momo's hand with both of her own. The room looked more stable than the mirage-like setting below; instead, its walls and ceilings were constructed of a semitransparent material that Julia realized was Never-Melt Ice. No wonder it was so cold! When she looked down, she could see the core of Mount Chimney far below them. It was a good thing this ice couldn't melt, even if she wished it wasn't freezing!

[break][break]"Okay, we're gonna wanna be quick through here," she said. "We don't wanna wear out our Fire-types, after all." She wanted to pat Momo on the head, but with most of his flaming heat escaping from there, that'd be a bad idea. Instead, she patted the back of his hand as she looked to the east. "Looks like there's something this way. Let's go!" This time, Julia took the lead through the doorway, maybe not being quite as cautious as she could have in her haste to keep warm.

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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3,466 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shalinnariya

POSTED ON Oct 20, 2022 6:50:44 GMT

Shalin's smile grew to a grin as Julia tickled her ego regarding her choice of Pokémon mounts. "But have you ever had more fun riding a Pokémon than with me?" she teased. Julia wasn't wrong, either. Most of her Pokémon were far too intense for an ordinary person to be atop. It did wear her out faster than a more "sensible" Pokémon would, but what was the fun in that?

"Then I'll have something to look forward to after we find that Medallion!" her smile continued, eager to see the Raichu that Sparkie had become. "Kiara's been such a valuable Pokémon. Next time we get room to run, I'll have to show you!" The lioness let out a prideful purr that Julia may have been able to feel if she was close by. Shalin certainly could from being atop the fire-type.

"The sooner we can get to the bottom floor again, the better," Shalin agreed, clutching Kiara tightly. Without her, she would start shivering. Seconds after Shalin joined Julia in the next room, two slabs of ice slammed down where the room's open door frames were, trapping them in the wide open, frozen room. Four Mr. Rime seemingly phased into existence out of nowhere, passing through the middle of the north and south walls. Through liberal use of ALLY SWITCH, the four scattered, reappearing seconds later and firing synchronized PSYBEAMs at the explorers and their fire-type Pokémon. "Pick a corner, Julia!" she cried, Kiara leaping out of the way of crisscrossing psychic attacks headed her way. "And cover your ears!"

Shalin put her earplugs back in. She needed it to deal with the four psychic-types in an efficient manner. Her method would be brute force, and quite risky, but if everything went according to plan, those Pokémon wouldn't know what hit them. She tossed Sandy's Poké Ball into the center of the room, then placed her hands over Kiara's ears to shield her from the sonic abuse the best she could. "Sandy, use your BOOMBURST!"

The Flygon's wings whirred, then buzzed, then grew into the tone of a progressively rising alto, completely disappearing from sight. She looked like she was in pain from how much power she was putting behind her wingbeats, the sound reaching that of a deafening screech akin to nails on chalkboard amplified through a rock concert's loudspeaker. As the pitch grew even higher, a sonic explosion rocked the entire room as Sandy's wingtips exceeded the speed of sound. Even though her earplugs, Shalin flinched at how loud the noise was. The four Mr. Rime collapsed from severe headaches. Even Kiara's rider was a bit dizzy despite her ear protection.

With the foes down for the count, the ice slabs receded, along with a panel in the northeast corner of the room. Behind the panel was a complete map of the Mirage Palace, Shalin quick to pull out her phone and snap a photo of it. With how delayed the screen's pixels were in changing, she was afraid it was cold enough to break her device's screen. She turned it off and stowed it as soon as she had her photograph.

You got the DUNGEON MAP! The dark rooms are the ones you haven't been to yet.

In the next room to the east, the NEVER MELT ICE on the far east side was thin enough to see into the upper floor's east wing. Unfortunately for Shalin, there was no obvious way there from where they were at, and the map only revealed room layouts, not doors. The most prominent feature she could see through the semitransparent ice was a giant ice block several times her own size. It had to be at least ten feet square. "Look at that! That's huge!" Shalin pointed.

Julia Davis

Keys: 1

NAME SPECIES STATUS
♥
Shalin Human ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara Pyroar Fair
Prance Wyrdeer Good
Levy Milotic Good
Treble Kommo-o Good
Sandy Flygon Good
Queen Zing Beedrill Good

{WC: 634}
{PC: 7}

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Oct 25, 2022 22:15:34 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia thought for a moment. "Mm, it's a different kind of fun. When I'm on Chester, it's a lot smoother, almost like I'm flying along the ground." Or at least it was now that Julia had more practice and technique on her side. "Yours are more like being on a rollercoaster or something."

[break][break]"I wonder if Sparkie would wanna ride Kiara again," Julia wondered aloud. "Hehe, maybe not as fast as you would, though. She's still pretty shy."

[break][break]Once the girls were in the next room, slabs of ice came crashing down to block the doorways. The sound made Julia suck in a ragged gasp, the air feeling hollow in her lungs. Heart pounding, she spun around and stumbled away from the slab that could very well have crushed her... or Shalin. When she turned to check on her companion (who, thankfully, had been spared such pain), she caught sight of the Mr. Rime that had warped into the room. With a yell, Momo pulled Julia down with him so the Psybeams flew over them. Julia grunted and winced as she landed awkwardly, her arms taking the brunt of the impact, but it was better than getting blasted.

[break][break]"Thanks, Momo," she said, voice slightly strained. Momo didn't even have time to give her a worried look before Shalin was shouting at them to get in a corner and cover their ears. "Okay!" Still holding Momo's hand, she pulled herself up with a sore arm and ran to the room's northwest corner. She crouched down next to Momo and covered her ears, then watched as Sandy emerged and flapped her wings so fast that they seemed to vanish. Even with her ears covered, Julia could still hear the screeching, feel it dispersing her anxiety and replacing it with the determination to push through. Next to her, Momo squeezed his eyes shut and cringed; it seemed his larger, more sensitive ears were picking up enough sound to cause him some damage.

[break][break]When the sound faded to a lingering ringing in Julia's head, the Mr. Rime had collapsed. Julia let out a relieved sigh and uncovered her ears. She could still feel her blood rushing through her veins, but that panicked hollowness in her bones had been filled in. "You okay, Momo?" she asked. The Simisear chittered tiredly, but nodded. Julia scratched him below the chin and stood up, taking his hand again. His flames were getting a bit weaker with his fatigue, so he wouldn't be quite as effective as a space heater, but he was still warm to the touch. Julia focused on that touch for a little while. She was okay. Shalin was okay. From now on, Julia would keep a better eye out for any other traps like that. It was one thing to be trapped in a room, but... She took a deep breath, the freezing air stinging her lungs, grounding her in reality. No, she wouldn't think about that. She had to focus on what was ahead. Everything would be okay.

[break][break]A panel in the northeast part of the room slid open to reveal what looked like a map of the palace. There weren't any identifying features like doors or stairs, but she could still see how many rooms there were. "Wow, this place is huge," she said. "We've maybe seen, like, a quarter of it."

[break][break]In the next room, the wall's thinness meant they could see to the upper floor's east wing, but there was no obvious way of getting there. "Whoa, that is huge," Julia said about the ice block. "Wonder what it's for..."

[break][break]She looked around for a little longer. "Looks like there's another room over that way," she said, pointing to the west. "Maybe something over there will give us a clue." This whole place was starting to feel more and more like a puzzle.

[attr="class","juliatag"]Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","juliapokes"] CHESTER ♂︎ early bird / pluck, tri attack, agility, lunge, drill peck, swords dance

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played by

raikourider

She/Her

March 18

Ecruteak City

Straight

Expeditionary

Rustboro Captain

5'4" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

3,466 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shalinnariya