02 use an ILLUMINA POKEMON to help light your way, or to distract/attract threats.

Ultra Megalopolis. It's a weird name, isn't it? Very arrogant. It'd be like if Sootopolis was called Super Goodopolis. Though, you suppose that since they're called Megalopolans, that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Or, were they originally called something else, and they renamed themselves when they built the city?

You don't know, and frankly, you don't really care. You didn't come here to interrogate the arrogance of aliens. You're here to scout out the city, find points of interest, that sort of thing. It's not your first choice of job, but at the very least, this place seems safer than the Ultra Plant. Less chance of getting shocked by faulty wiring, or zapped by a lightning bolt, or attacked by a gigantic being made of pure electricity. Sure, it's a little dark, but comparatively, that's easy street.

No, the hard part is navigating this mess. All the dark towering spires and pitch black roads don't exactly give you much to go off. But, c'mon. In a city this big? They've got to have a map somewhere.

But you don't find it. At least, not before you're caught. Caught by what? You don't know, but as you turn the corner, you're suddenly illuminated by a shining spotlight, so bright that it's practically blinding. After spending the last few minutes in near-darkness, looking at it makes you feel like your eyeballs are melting. That is to say--

"--FUCK!"

---

Andrea Vaneau

"Aaah... My eyes...!"

You rub your eyes as your vision adjusts to the newfound light, and your sight slowly but surely returns to you. Once it has, you blink a few times, before your gaze settles on the strange woman and her Slowking. You want to be mad at her for unintentionally flashbanging you, but considering you had just been wandering around in the dark, you can't blame her. Besides, her whole getup is real distracting. Why is she dressed in silly pajamas in the middle of this alien world?

Wait... Is she... Is she an alien? No, no, surely not. Don't be stupid. She's probably just some stupid trainer who fell through a wormhole and decided to explore. There's no way anyone would willingly come to Ultra Space dressed like that.

"Yeah, uh, kind of." You mumble, your tone of voice somewhere between puzzled, irritated, and inquiring. Well, if she's just a civillian, you might as well try to pump her for information before you continue on your way. "I'm just looking for some kind of map? If you've seen anything like that?"

She probably hasn't, but hey, it can't hurt to ask, right?

---

Andrea Vaneau

04 discover permanently defunct and dull Z-CRYSTALS scattered about the city.

...You're not quite sure how you got shanghai'd into this, but before you know it, you've found yourself walking behind the strange girl. How did this happen? One minute you're scouting things out on behalf of Team Rocket, and now here you are, stuck babysitting a civillian in this post-industrial nightmare realm. Joy.

Well, it could be worse. At the very least, nothing is trying to kill you right now. If you pretend that you're not surrounded by gigantic spires and overcast by a sunless sky, it's almost a little relaxing. Maybe the Megalopolans didn't have it so bad after all?

CRUNCH! Hm? As Andrea steps on one of the pointy crystals, you step on another. The difference is, you're wearing shoes, so while it stabs into her foot, it shatters against yours. Curious, you crouch down, proceeding to scoop up a handful of the shards. Huh, they're look like Z-Crystals, but they're nowhere near as shiny or colourful. You don't feel any kind of aura radiating off them, either, so you doubt they actually work. Still, you cram the handful in your pocket. Who knows? Maybe they'll be useful somewhere along the line. Worse comes to worst, you can always just hand them off to the science department. Lord knows they'll find a use for them.

But you've got to get back there first. Looking up, you peer into the distance, and just barely manage to make out a tower that's wider than the rest. Bingo. That one's going to be important somehow. It's got to be a factory, or a laboratory, or a government building, or something like that.

"There."

Shaking the crumbled pieces of crystal off from the bottom of your shoe, you walk ahead towards said building, glancing behind you to check whether the weird pajama girl is following or not.

---

Andrea Vaneau

08 explore an abandoned or dangerous building that represents a societal institution (e.g. a destroyed school, a dilapidated church, a powered down 'police station').

🗺️ utilize a PARADOX POKEMON in an advantageous way.

"...Is that a vending machine?"

Yes, yes it is. Sitting there in the hallway is what can best be described as the Megalopolan equivelant of a vending machine. It's in rough shape right now, and the only reason it's even working right now is because the Electric Terrain is powering it, but it still seems to work. Hm. Thinking about it, all this traipsing around the Ultra Megalopolis is making you a little thirsty. You could really go for a nice cold Bepis right now...

So, you make a beeline for the machine, ignoring both Andrea, and just about everything else the university has to offer. However, you're quickly stalled in your efforts by the alien interface of the machine. There's no Bepis on display, all the keys in the numberpad are written in Megalopolan, and you can't seem to find the coin slot no matter how hard you look.

"...Hm. But what if...?"

You idly kick the machine, trying to see if you can get anything to fall out. The vending machine does not react.

Tch.

---

Andrea Vaneau

07 discover barely working vending machines that dispense odd tasting energy drinks in exchange for defunct Z-CRYSTALS.

It uses these empty Z-Move crystals? You pull one of them out of your pocket, and raise it up to eye-level. So, are these like Megalopolan currency? Were they just walking around with wallets packed full of these things? Idly, you push one into the vending machine's slot, stroking your chin as it slowly dispenses another dubious soda. Why Z-Move crystals, though? They already had a purpose, namely for using Z-Moves. Why double up? It'd be like if Slateport used empty beer cans as currency. It just didn't make any sense to you.

KERCHUNK! A second can drops down, and you grab it, crack it open, and take a sip. It tastes like red onion, drain cleaner, and hotdog water. Still, not the worst energy drink you've ever had in your life.

"Alright, yeah, lets call it quits." Your declare, looking at Andrea with detached disinterest. You got some decent scouting done for the day, but you're not going to get any real work done with her hanging around. So, it's time to call today a wash and try again tomorrow. Hopefully next time, you won't run into any mentalist cosplayers. "Let's get out of here. Take me to whatever wormhole you--"

Honk.

Honk? Immediately, your head snaps towards the source of the comical noise, which is, of course, a strange malformed clown standing in the doorway. Why wouldn't it be a hideous clown monster? The Ultra Plant was full of sentient wires and bricks, of course Lesser Megalopolis had a weird clown! You cross your arms as you look towards what you presume to be an Ultra Beast, clearly unimpressed. Then, after a moment's pause, the clown's bulbous head began to make a high-pitched hissing sound, like that of a lit fuse that was quickly reaching its end.

...Uh oh.

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Andrea Vaneau
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