The OMINOUS WIND that blew over Mt. Pyre didn’t dissuade Johanna from approaching the place of endless sleep. Clad for a casual hike in clothes of black with purple spray-paint motifs. Her long blue hair blew gently in the air. As she walked through the rocky pathway.

By her side, a happy Shiinotic danced along with the casual steps of its trainer. Eyes looking around searching for new interesting sights to see. Unfortunately, all it saw was a rather boring-looking individual up ahead.

Johanna nodded in acknowledgment, though she had already noticed the person. But at this distance, she could yet determine the identity of the person. Oh well, probably someone here mourning the death of a beloved Pokémon.



OOC: N/A
LOCATION: MT. PYRE.

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Luckily (or unluckily) for Johanna, the person she just so happens to run into near the summit of Mt Pyre is no random stranger, and since he’s also not the kind of person to believe in luck, the moment he sees her, he considers it to be a somewhat fateful encounter. What other explanation could there be, right?
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He knows she’s a member of Team Rocket, as he knows of most of the organisation. After all, it’s part of his job as underboss. But, more importantly, he remembers her from their recent visit to The Cloud and from the trip a group of them had taken to the barrier when it had first appeared.
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”Oh. Joy. Fancy seeing you here.” She’s greeted with a smile that comes with all too natural ease, and by his side, the Unown-X looks up at the woman with curiosity.


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For a brief moment, she wondered if she should take another path. Maybe let this grieving man be to his own devices.

Unfortunately, it seemed he recognized her. If only she could claim to do the same. Alas, she had had woefully little interaction with the higher-ups of the organization, and so most of their faces had barely been etched into her memory, save for that one guy with the Shadow Lugia… Wait what was his name again? It didn’t matter.

“Oh, hey! Didn’t expect to see you here either.” While she tried to appear as if she recognized him, and was somewhat at ease with it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nervousness was boiling just under the façade as her eyes tried to work in tandem with her memory to discern any details which might identify him.

“So, what brings you to these parts?” She asked, hoping that what information Mr. Del Mar here decided to divulge would help her uncover his identity.

Meanwhile, Shiinotic being a bit absent-minded sometimes wandered off as it saw a Golett not too far away busy working, building. The mushroom Pokémon began to converse with the little builder, asking what it was building. But the Golett merely replied with something undecisive.

But the Shiinotic didn’t mind, it kept pressing the matter, asking for more and more information until it was at last revealed that the Golett was merely building and crafting things for the sake of honing its skills. With that information, Shiinotic offered it the possibility of new and exciting ventures alongside Johanna its trainer.

The Golett seemed thoughtful. Would it accept?




OOC: Trying to catch Golett
LOCATION: MT. PYRE.

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Far too casual, that’s the first giveaway. A lot of people try to act casual and “friendly” with their bosses, but in an organisation like Team Rocket that can be a grave mistake. Mars values people who respect the chain of command. That’s the second giveaway: how nervous she is. Is she worried she’ll get in trouble or…?
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She probably doesn’t know who he is.
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Someone else would probably be offended in his place, but Mars… Mars just smirks. If anything, he sees it as an opportunity.
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”Hiking, mostly.” He responds to her question, then nodding down towards the Unown-X by his side on the leaf-covered ground. It actually waves at Johanna in greeting. ”And looking for more of these guys.”
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That’s the important part, obviously.
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”How about you?”
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He ignores the pokémon nearby, focusing on Johanna.

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Oh no, he is smirking. Did I offend him? Am I being too casual… WHO ARE YOU? Her inner thoughts were in turmoil as Mars continued the excruciating psychological torture. Luckily for her, she was adept enough at keeping her façade up that it might look like naught but common nervousness.

He responded. The normalcy of his response put her somewhat at ease. Perhaps she was outside of the danger zone. Then he turned her attention to the little Unown-X on the leafy ground, her twin-tailed hair gently swayed in the process. The Unown-X waved at her. She waved back at it, even beamed it a smile. It was kind of cute, in a nerdy way.

“Oh, I am just seeing the sights and getting to know the area. Nothing interesting really.” Johanna replied, though now that she thought about it, perhaps she had subconsciously decided to come here due to the developments that happened during the Sootopolis Meeting. Oh well, no need to voice that thought.

Meanwhile, A Drakloak slithered along the ground distressed searching for something or someone. If one looked closely it was without the small companion that so often followed it. Alas, it did not or could not find what it was searching for. But it found something else, something blue like itself. Perhaps it was a weirdly long very thin pair of Dreepy?

It slithered on the ground over to the pair. They smelled suspiciously much like humans, never mind the pair of legs they hovered behind nor the man who stood in front of it. The Drakloak was surprised he hadn’t noticed it. But it supposed it was just THAT good at stealth.

Anyhow, the Drakloak placed the pair of Dreepy upon his head for a brief moment. Only for them to swing away. It looked up and saw that the human had noticed it and turned around. Well, it had to act fast. It had to save the Dreepy’s from this human before they got caught. It lunged at the two suspiciously hair-like Dreepy, caught them in its arms, and hugged them tightly, only for it to be caught in the human’s arms and lifted up.

But the Drakloak didn’t waver, its hug was tight but its eyes were in shock at the audacity of this human. How dared she simply pick him up? And yet, it could not let go for it sensed the twin Dreepy would get crushed if it did.

“And I suppose I am also catching some Pokémon…” Johanna returned her attention to Mars, now holding a shocked Drakloak in her arms, a Drakloak which for some reason hugged her twin-tailed hair tightly.




OOC: Trying to catch Drakloak
LOCATION: MT. PYRE.

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Getting to know the area.
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If only for a second, amber eyes narrow at the mention of that, all too aware of the decision that had been made at Team Rocket’s most recent meeting. Does Johanna Joy plan on taking part in the primal point attack or is it merely a coincidence. He could ask her, but who knows who or what may be listening.
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Instead, he opts for the more cryptic answer, because of course he does:
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”It’s always good to be familiar with Mt. Pyre.” There’s an approving nod, since admittedly, Mars visits this mountain way more often than most people. The Unown are to be blamed for that, though. The Unown like it here.
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Apparently, so do Drakloak, but that’s also something he had known.
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”It may think your braids are Dreepy.” He suggests, and at that, there’s a smile, because it’s kind of a hilarious situation. It reminds him of his own Dragapult.


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She gave him a nod in response. Familiarity with Mt. Pyre would certainly be useful if not now then at least in the future.

Anyhow, the conversation moved onto the Drakloak she now held in her arms. It seemed frozen, shocked. She wondered if it had decided that she didn’t mean any harm, or perhaps it was wondering where its life took a U-turn.

“Oh, you think so?” Johanna asked, looking down at the Dragon/Ghost, it was clutching her hair. “I think you are right.” She knew she should nudge it with a Pokéball, but she didn’t want to startle it, so for now it would stay in her arms.

“Hmm, I wonder what I should name this little fella? Do you have any suggestions?” Perhaps Mars wasn’t the right person to ask for a name, perhaps it was yet another example of being too casual. Whatever it was, it certainly would keep the awkward silence at bay.

Meanwhile, the OMINOUS WIND of Mt. Pyre carried a Drifblim upon it. Half asleep given the time of day, it had lowered its altitude as it felt destiny calling it toward this particular area. Perhaps there was a person or two here that might be interesting?

Alas before it could bob into either Johanna or Mars, it felt the spongy head of a Shiinotic caressing one of its arms. It looked down waking slightly from its half-asleep state.

The Golett and Shiinotic had been busy having a conversation about building and art in general when the Drifblim came in unannounced. Still, as two enjoyers of the finer thing in life, they dragged the Drifblim into the conversation since it made the mistake of showing even the slightest bit of interest in what they were talking about.

Perhaps the Drifblim would be caught in this conversation forever? (Shiinotic certainly tried to push the Join the Joy #JohannaForBestTrainer2022 Agenda)





OOC: Trying to catch Drakloak
LOCATION: MT. PYRE.

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She is being too casual, and with every passing moment, it becomes more and more clear to Mars that she has no idea who she’s speaking to. She hasn’t done anything that he’d consider particularly disrespectful, though. Not even her question on pokémon names, since Mars actually enjoys discussing those.
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”Hmm. My Dragapult is named Xanthos, but…” As he speaks, he reaches for one of the minimised Luxury Balls at his belt, from it releasing the aforementioned Dragapult. The dragon is of an unusual dark blue colouration, and all of its body, a pattern shines in neon yellow. ”That’s because he’s yellow.”
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Mars smirks, scratching under the dragon’s chin. This results in Xanthos wagging the tip of his phantasmagoric tail rapidly, as if he were an excited dog. The pattern on the Dragapult’s body glows, pulsating, and apparently, it seems to attract the attention of an Inkay that appears from among the bushes, responding with its own pulsating light.
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Xanthos’ attention shifts to it, giving a sibilant greeting to which the small squid responds by twirling in the air.
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The Unown watches and so does Mars.
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Inkay are one of his favourite species. Another one will always be welcome.


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Oh, he has a Dragapult. Johanna thought. Though she wasn’t quite sure about the name. It sounded a bit too fantastical.

Both Drakloak and Johanna watched as Martin summoned the Pokémon he talked about. While seeing the actual coloration surprised her, it wasn’t by too much since he had pre-warned her.

Of the pair, the Drakloak looked the most surprised. Not by the color but because it knew well the power of an evolved version of itself. So how did this wild Pokémon simply bend to the will of this human? Even worse its tail wagged at the mere touch under its chin. It looked from Martin and to Johanna, then back and forth a few times all while clutching her hair.

“Oh, are you jealous?” She joked, beaming a smile as she allowed one arm to let go of the Drakloak. The Pokémon was about to try and make a run for it when it felt her hands scratching his chin. Though it fought bravely by the end its tail wagged as much as the yellow Dragapult.

The Drakloak eased itself with a sigh. Yep, this was its life now. “But Xanthos? That’s a pretty nice name. But don’t worry I won’t steal it. I usually prefer to just give my Pokémon more average names.” She pondered. “You know, like Isaac, Martin, or Adrian.”

The Drakloak didn’t seem to respond to any of them. Perhaps it didn’t like them. Johanna tried to gauge its reaction, but it was hard to do. “Ethan?” She looked at the Drakloak. It pondered the name for a moment but then nodded. The name was acceptable.

Meanwhile, the group of now three Pokémon was drawing the attention of other wild Pokémon. This time a Doublade hovered over to the group, curious about what they were debating.

They were all conversing about art. But it realized quickly that their fickle ideas of art were limited to just stationary depictions made of stone, clay or even paint. Triggered by their lack of knowledge it realized it had to correct them before they perpetuated the falseness that art was only found in objects. NO! Art was motion, art was doing, ART WAS LIVING, FIGHTING, AND SURVIVING.

And though this merry band of ghastly ghosts didn’t quite see the Doublade’s vision, they certainly offered it the opportunity to show their trainer the truth of its words.




OOC: Trying to catch Doublade
LOCATION: MT. PYRE.