MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Mar 1, 2023 1:53:32 GMT

Eris Halla likes this

Levi sat at one of the tables in the main foyer of the Rocket HQ, deciding to read up on things that were accessible to him. The Hoenn Region was completely new to him. In fact, he had hardly spoken to anyone upon his arrival here. He had been transferred, being originally stationed in the Kanto region. What's more, was that there was supposed to be someone that was supposed to help him with all of this stuff, but whoever they were was extremely late. Levi had hoped that they'd be here before he arrived, but he was the first to show, which slightly irritated him ... Okay, it irritated him a lot.

As Levi continued to skim through the books, he couldn't help but feel that the knowledge written on their pages was lackluster at best. "I'd rather spend my time in the battle training rooms ... this is boring," The young boy groaned mentally, tossing the book on the table, then lightly headdesked his forehead against the solid flat surface. It was then that Levi started to think about Eris. It had been years since they saw one another, but he had never forgotten about meeting her back in that playroom where they first met. Levi had changed a lot, to say the least. He hardly ever said anything unless he deemed it necessary or was being spoken to. He didn't much care for idle chit-chat. He had grown up, probably a hell of a lot faster than most kids his age. He wondered if Eris was here somewhere in the region. He highly doubted it since his luck was horrible. Regardless, he couldn't help but think about her. She was his only friend, and he didn't even know if they'd see each other again.

a few minutes later, while Levi was deep in thought, Footsteps could be heard approaching Levi. He didn't sit himself up straight, thinking that it was just someone passing by, rather than his expected 'mentor'. Was it even right to call them that? Levi didn't know but that is, or rather 'was' their role, or whatever you wanted to call it.

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Isaac Merlo

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The Liberator

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April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

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Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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POSTED ON Mar 1, 2023 4:54:39 GMT

Eris Halla likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac wasn't sure what Rocket command was thinking. As useful as he was, Isaac wasn't exactly a model Rocket. He was merciful, downright soft-hearted at times. He tended to question authority, though he tended to do so less aggressively and more thoughtfully. And, while his mission success percentage was sterling, he didn't take those steps beyond that allowed other Rockets to climb the blood-soaked ladder.[break][break]

To think, this was for a recruit from Kanto. Kanto! Caleb Harcourt had told Isaac, in detail, about the fresh hell that Kanto had become. Recruits from there didn't need training from Hoenn. They especially didn't need training from someone like Isaac. Was this command forcing Isaac to turn up his own brutality by comparison? An attempt at humiliating him for not holding the line hard enough?[break][break]

Or was it the fact that this "new recruit" was a child?[break][break]

Isaac was quick to mask the surprise on his face, but for a fleeting second it was plain as day. He wasn't stupid. He knew that there were children in Rocket. He and Asher Baran had already stricken up a mentor-mentee relationship, though far less formal than the arrangement command had suggested today. And that wasn't even getting into his close bond with Eris Halla.[break][break]

But those were different. He'd met Asher before he joined Rocket, and their meeting here was but a happy(?) coincidence. Asher also seemed content to limit himself to thievery, a decision Isaac wished that he had made before proving his mettle in a fight. Eris, on the other hand, was . . . complicated. Very, very complicated. Isaac wanted her safe and free from the Rocket ecosystem, but he refused to force the issue as so many others had. Her developments were her own, and he could only defend her with his life.[break][break]

Neither of them were fresh recruits sent from freaking Kanto.[break][break]

He smiled softly as he slid into place at the seat opposite from Levi, as if he hadn't been shocked to see a kid showing up. Or as if he hadn't been late. Stupid daylight savings time. "Hey. Whatcha reading?" he asked, figuring he'd start off by expressing interest in the guy's current going-ons. Kids that age tended to have a fierce independent streak, and resented having who they were brushed aside to babble on about a bunch of nonsense.[break][break]

If only Isaac had realized that had already happened, damn near permanently.

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / LEVIATHAN SPADE

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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Levi

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January 9th

Vermillion City, Kanto

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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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POSTED ON Mar 1, 2023 20:13:47 GMT

Levi thought that the person he heard would leave, however, Levi quickly looked up, seeing an older gentleman. Levi hated adults, as the expression on his face clearly showed. Levi sat up straight when the older man asked what he was reading. A part of Levi was confused, somewhat taken aback by his choice of words. Most adults that talked to him would be straight-up jerkish toward him. But this guy ... he just asked him a simple question. It made Levi wonder if he had some ulterior motive for asking, rather than being genuine. Kindness wasn't something that Levi hadn't been used to. Not for a long while. Whenever Levi had these rare occasions he'd become deflective, and sometimes even irritated.

"Been reading on stuff about Hoenn, since it's my first time ever being here," Levi said, trying his best to avoid making eye contact with Isaac. "Which by the way, you're late ..." Levi spat out at Isaac, showing his distaste for his mentor being late. A few seconds later, Levi attempted to read some more, but then he plopped the book down in front of him and said, "Most if not all of these books only talk about the region's past. There's nothing about the present," Levi said, letting out a sigh.

That was when Levi finally made eye contact with Isaac.

"What do you know about what has happened fairly recently? Since these books aren't helping, and since you're my mentor, you probably know a thing or two," Levi said. He wasn't sure how long Isaac has been here, but if he was tasked with helping Levi then surely he'd probably know quite a few things, right?

Notes:
Isaac Merlo

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Mar 1, 2023 21:06:19 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]There were suspicion and distrust in the kid's eyes. Normal when taking to a Rocket. Normal when talking to a kid. When talking to a Rocket kid, though, it seemed a liitle odd. Wouldn't they prefer unquestioning deference? Fanatical loyalty?[break][break]

Ah, who was Isaac kidding? If he did what he was told, Rocket'd be fine with any amount of loathing. They cared that their tools worked as intended, not that they were happy doing it. This was the home of Shadows, after all.[break][break]

Before the bitter thought could settle, the kid snapped him out of it. His tardiness had not gone unnoticed. However, it didn't go uncontested, either. An easy grin spread across Isaac's face as he reclined back in his chair. "Was I late?" he asked, confidence and mischief in his tone. "Or was I just giving you your first test? No better time to sleuth someone out when they think they're not being watched." On the wall, an orange light flashed from a nearby camera. Good ol' Ex Machina was already helping sell the illusion.[break][break]

"Gotta say? I'm impressed. I know grown men that'd start slacking way sooner."[break][break]

With his ~~excuse~~ lesson about who we are in the shadows delivered, it was time to . . . immediately get down to business, apparently. Not even so much as a hey, huh? Tough crowd. Still, Isaac could oblige. "Not a big surprise people keep looking to the past," Isaac admitted. "It was a better time for a lot of people. Last few years made it hard to want to keep looking forward."[break][break]

" 'Sides, history's happening too fast for the books to keep up." Someone could rewrite We Didn't Start The Fire to be half a decade's worth of events from this single region, and get maybe halfway through before needing to loop the song. "Alien invasions, parallel universes, dimension travelers, the wrath of God, and, well. Us."[break][break]

He sighed, looking up at a ceiling that three months ago wasn't even guaranteed. "To give you an idea, the reason you didn't transfer months ago? That's because we've been trapped under a dome for the better part of a year, all because Arceus itself wanted the region crushed under a massive meteor. And we didn't even stop for a moment to process that, because it knocked open a bunch of wormholes to Ultra Space and we're not letting them go un-scouted."[break][break]

"That's not to say it's all hopeless here. The night life's great, the region's a beaut, and when we're not getting hit by freak snowstorms courtesy of an ice dragon the climate's perfect." He took a look back at the intense look on his new mentee's face. "Not that you seem like you care much about that. But trust me. Learning how to live with your new assignment's just as important as any mission. Can't be at 100% if you don't take care of yourself, right?"

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / LEVIATHAN SPADE

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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Levi

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January 9th

Vermillion City, Kanto

Irrelevant

PIA

Grunt

0 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @levi

POSTED ON Mar 3, 2023 2:24:52 GMT

Levi raised an eyebrow, not sure at first what Isaac meant by his short question. That was when a flash came from the wall, making Levi blink slightly. That was when Levi noticed the camera. Levi mentally groaned, feeling as if a fast one was pulled on him. "Yeah, well I'm not like most kids my age, either." Levi said, leaning back in his seat. The collar of his shirt stretched out slightly, revealing part of the number tattooed on the right side of his neck. That was what he had been called ever since he completed his initiation into Rocket. 81194. No one had the desire to know his actual name, and eventually, even Levi himself got used to being called that. Whether Isaac noticed it or not, Levi didn't really care.

When Isaac started to go on about the past, a part of Levi tensed up slightly. Why? he ... he honestly didn't know. Probably just some weird reflex or something. What helped him shake the feeling away was that Isaac continued to speak while looking up at the ceiling. What he was saying actually piqued the boy's curiosity. "Well, that explains why the region was cut off from the rest of the world. But Arceus ... Isn't that just some stupid myth?" Levi questioned. Levi never really believed in stuff like that. In fact, the only thing he knew of Arceus was simply just that - fairytale bullcrap. And then there were also other dimensions? Levi was obviously skeptical, however, he didn't question it any further because Isaac didn't seem to be yanking his chain with the subject.

Levi sat there quietly, Letting Isaac finish, and once Levi did, he started to speak clearly. "You're right. I personally don't care. However, I understand now why they're having me learn all this stuff." Levi said, adjusting himself in his set once more. Despite him not personally caring about it, he was still going to do what he was told, whether or not he believed in this stuff. If that was what he was being prepared for, then it was clear to him that he was to prepare for such a thing. He followed orders to a T, and something like this wouldn't stop him from doing so. "And since these 'wormholes' are under our constant watch, then I suppose you wouldn't mind taking me one day," Levi said nonchalantly. Sure, he didn't believe that this stuff was real, but he did understand that seeing was believing and with that in mind, Levi figured that Isaac wouldn't mind taking him to see it himself one day.

Notes:
Isaac Merlo

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Mar 3, 2023 18:02:42 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]If there was one thing every 14 year old had in common, it was that they thought they weren't like any other 14 year old. But in Levi's case, that was less figurative and more oh so painfully literal. There was something tattooed on his neck. Text. Letters maybe? No, the patterns poking out from the collar didn't spell any words that made sense.[break][break]

Dear Arceus. The kid was given a serial number.[break][break]

Speaking of Arceus, the kid seemed to think he was a myth. Some story parents told their kids to make them behave, perhaps, or a thing talked about in crusty old churches over in Sinnoh. "Well, good news is he's real. Bad news is he hates us." A weary smile spread across Isaac's face, as if he was processing the gravity of that truth for the first time. "Hell of a way to find out god exists, huh?"[break][break]

Levi cared as little about the region's wellbeing as he did his own. He claimed to understand why he had to know, but did he truly? Or did he understand the fact that he had to understand, and understand that if he nodded along and mumbled the right words he could slip under the radar?[break][break]

He certainly knew where his priorities lied, at least. The second Isaac mentioned the wormholes, the kid immediately asked to visit one. "Sheesh, someone's already got their eye on the prize," he said. "You really think I'm the kind of guy to just take a new, untested recruit - a kid - and take him on some kinda joyride between dimensions?"[break][break]

Isaac let the question hang between them, his quizzical expression betraying nothing for the longest time. Then, the smallest smirk spread across his face. "Well, it's your lucky day. I am. But you're gonna have to prove you can handle it first. Just 'cause I'm not counting you out doesn't mean I'm giving you a free pass." A catch. There was always a catch, wasn't it? But at least it wasn't the out-and-out dismissal one may have expected.[break][break]

"Sell me on it. Tell me what you're here for. And I don't want you just repeating what you've been told, either. It's gotta come from you."

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / LEVIATHAN SPADE

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Balance

Levi

he/him

January 9th

Vermillion City, Kanto

Irrelevant

PIA

Grunt

0 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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11 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @levi

POSTED ON Mar 12, 2023 3:02:23 GMT

"Not surprising," Levi once again said in a nonchalant tone in regard to Isaac's statement about the god of all pokemon hating them, as in more than likely the entire human race. When Isaac asked the kid a follow-up question, Levi sort of just shrugged. In a way, I guess. But if I were Arceus, I'd probably feel the same way," Levi said, speaking the truth while the same tone in his voice didn't waver. After all, humans didn't necessarily live up to god's example, nor its expectations; that also went for Levi himself ...

Levi had wanted to see the so-called 'wormholes' for himself, curiosity seemingly piquing the boy's interest. However, Isaac's comment afterward made Levi fold his arms, once again leaning back in his chair while sulking somewhat at Isaac's statement. He wasn't some doting little schoolboy that needed an official babysitter. He could handle himself just fine. However, When Isaac continued to speak, Levi softened up his stance as he continued to lean back in his seat.

"Is this guy for real?" Levi thought to himself, looking Isaac up and down, practically analyzing him. Levi quietly shifted in his seat once again before he spoke. "What I'm hear for doesn't matter," Levi's voice was calm yet stern, while still carrying the same look on his face. "The only thing that matters is how I can be of service to those above me. Everything else is irrelevant."

Notes:
Isaac Merlo

close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo