[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON Apr 2, 2024 2:51:53 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
Chimney Canyon. It was the one place relatively close to home that Josh felt comfortable exposing his well-kept secret, yet open enough for Swift to run at impressive speeds. He had once raced at this very place, days after coming to Hoenn and being trapped within the barrier that prevented the region from fleeing in the wake of Meteno. And now, he would be taking on the winding course again.

Only this time, it would be at nearly triple the speed compared to what his Absol was capable of.

Turning around and scanning his surroundings to make sure no one was near him, Josh unpinned the RAINBOW FEATHER from his inert Manectric Sygna Suit, wearing it mostly for the wind protection it would offer him. He had missed a pair of prying eyes as he began to draw the Sign with the quill of his feather. An enormous crash of lightning would follow a rattling roar of thunder, the monochrome shape of the Beast of Thunder materializing next to Hoenn's newest and youngest Champion. Next to Swift were an excited Manectric and a Raging Bolt that looked ready to run.






{PC: 1}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON Apr 19, 2024 20:08:49 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


Of course he had too much time on his hands.

Of course he was going to be running deliveries around the nearby area…

He was about to gun the motorbike and move past the area where he was travelling when he realized…

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

He then pinched the bridge of his nose before attempting to park his motorbike as quietly as possible out of sight, out of mind as he hopped off (and took the keys, of course) to take a peek at what was going…

On.

“Mamma mia,” he would hiss quietly under his breath as he realized just what he’d witnessed.

As they say… the best ‘defense’ is a good ‘offense’ so to speak…

“The fuck are you doing?” he would begin as he stepped out from where he was half-hidden, taking the motorbike helmet off so the younger man could see who it was that was about to either bust him, or chastise him, or tell him off about doing stupid things!

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON Apr 20, 2024 5:48:37 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar

Josh tensed up when a voice reached out to him just as he climbed atop the black thundercloud, holding its outermost tufts like reins. Swift interpreted the sudden motion as a command to turn around, the tiger rearing to face the source of the voice. He deeply exhaled when he realized that the set of prying eyes belonged to none other than AQUA Initiative member .

"Oh, it's just you, Lars," the Champion called back. "I thought you were Rocket for a moment and got scared we'd have a serious problem on our hands. Come on, Swift, let's go say hi!" The Raging Bolt and Manectric matched Swift's relatively low speed, Josh coaxing the ashen Beast to a stop. "You know Saber by now, and you've seen Raikou," he gestured toward the electric paradox. "Now, I'm about to go for a run on Swift here," he gave the electric tiger a gentle pat. "Wanna join me with Amir again?" he asked, though not with his usual chipper demeanor. Something was clearly distracting him...







{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON Apr 26, 2024 18:55:22 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


The moment the younger man mentioned ‘Rocket’, he scowled for a few moments.

“Do I look like a member of Team Rocket to you?” would be his initial clap back while he held onto the helmet in his hands. “Also, seriously?”

Of the three Pokémon that approached, two of them were definitely familiar—he recognized the Manectric on sight; as well as the giraffe-looking…

“Excuse me. You called… what?” he blinked, tilting his head in the giraffe Paradox Pokémon’s direction.

He then pinched the bridge of his nose.

“How… how sure are you that’s even the real Raikou?!” he would exclaim afterward.


close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON Apr 26, 2024 21:06:10 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
Swift looked every bit like a Raikou, other than being monochrome. Josh grabbed the outermost tufts of thundercloud and pulled back on them, the Beast rearing dramatically like a Western hero's horse right before they rode off into the sunset. Raikou's and Swift's cries were indistinguishable, their purrs both sounding like rumbles of thunder.

The pinching of Lars' nose was a sign that he was in one of his moods. "Ever since we went down to Area Zero together and got jumped by the DRK Triad's goons, I've... started to understand your paranoia," he admitted. "That's why I was relieved to see it was just you and not Rocket. Because if Rocket finds out about Swift before we come knocking on Sootopolis, we'll lose a huge tactical edge. You see, Rocket probably thinks Raikou died with ."

Any enthusiasm Josh had within him was sucked away thinking about how killed Kyle, the Top Champion and his mentor. With Swift under his command, he would simply have to carry on the late leader's legacy in his own way. "Not the Raikou. A Raikou," he clarified. "You know how Arcanine have two different forms that are still the same species? It's the same with Raikou and Swift here."







{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 1, 2024 20:04:06 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


His gaze panned from the monochrome-looking… ‘Raikou’ to the one that looked like a giraffe, complete with neck-clouds and all.

“Still… I’m pretty sure this one,” he continued, tilting his head in the giraffe’s direction, “…is not what a Raikou looks like.”

Case in point.

To the monochrome version, he would squint for a few moments.

“Huh. Where’d all their color go?” he would follow up a few moments later, turning his attention to the ashen-colored… well, the ‘other’ version of ‘giraffe’ over there.

The moment the other mentioned word of Sootopolis, he sighed.

“Now you understand,” he would quietly mutter. At last, some of his words had gotten through to the younger man’s thick skull.

“Now you know why I was so apprehensive about you getting deeply involved in the supernatural. Are you sure you want all of this?”

He would then gesture at both the long-necked… paradox Pokémon and the monochrome version that the other was riding on. He could swear that a Raikou was normally lightning-cloud colored, not…

Not this.

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 2, 2024 7:03:07 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
"Looks like," Josh emphasized. "There are some regional forms that look quite different from their base species. Exeggutor from Kanto and Alola look almost equally like Raikou and Swift do." Granted, it was perhaps the only drastic departure in terms of shape, but the example still stood.

When asked about the color, he breathed one of his trademark deep sighs the Ranger knew were of disappointment. "It's how I got him from the Great One. The only attack he knows how to use is Spark. Not even Quick Attack. That's what I was looking forward to doing. Riding him mid-Quick Attack. And he can't even do that. He also... doesn't act like other Pokémon do. He seems to be wholly obedient for the time, which is a plus. But he's missing the... how do I even describe it... the Pokémon element. Kind of like the human element we have."

As he would discover from studies with , , and others, the so-called Pokémon element was a reflection of Josh's personality. The good, the bad, and the ugly. His growth would depend entirely on Josh's growth. "I would ask Kyle more... but he's not around to answer those questions."

When the topic changed to the supernatural and Sootopolis, Josh sighed a second time. "Here's the thing, Captain. I'm a Champion now. While I'm not on the same level as AQUA, I carry a similar weight to them, legendary Pokémon or no. Whether I want it or not, there's no going back. But to answer your question..." He leaned forward on the ashen Beast, letting go of the reins and running his hands through the white tufts behind his mask: where a real Raikou's facial fur would have been.

"This is how much I love Raikou." The Beast mirrored the affection with a purr that rattled and tickled his rider, causing Josh to smile and even laugh.






{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 8, 2024 20:58:09 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


The moment the other mentioned dog boy, he had to backtrack for a few moments to make sure he heard that right.

“Wait, wait, hold up. What did you mean by that? Kyle not being around to answer questions?”

Something… there was something definitely amiss here.

There was also something else gnawing at him… something that wouldn’t stop bothering him until he got an answer.

“Even if I tried to dissuade you from getting too involved… that’s already happened,” he would gesture in the monochrome Raikou’s direction.

“But see, the thing is… do you regret it? Getting tangled up in shit like this?”


close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 8, 2024 23:58:43 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
Josh was taken aback by the news, Swift's eyes opening wide almost in sync with his rider's. Were the red of his eyes red instead of grey, they would have been narrower than what looked healthy. "I don't know how you haven't heard. It's been all over the news." He began to sniff, not wanting to accept it himself. But he had to. It was reality. His mentor and the Great One were gone. "Especially since you're a part of AQUA. You get these sort of updates way before we even do as Gym Leaders." Another sniff. "...Lars, Kyle's been killed. Possibly murdered."

He perked up when Lars shifted away from the discussion on the late Top Champion and toward the monochrome steed Josh confidently sat upon. Swift walked a slow circle around the Composed without so much as a verbal or tactile command from Josh. "Not one bit, Lars," he answered. "Because... that's how much I love Raikou."






{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 17, 2024 20:37:55 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


“Look. In my defense,” he would begin as he held up a hand and fished out his vanilla-flavored vape and flipped the switch on, “…I don’t pay too much attention to the news as of late. Been trying to. Get that problem fixed but. Well, you can tell it’s not going too well at all.”

To be honest he’d already paid one visit—maybe it was time for another one. Or several. He would definitely need to hit up as well at some point, but…

He then took a deep pull from it, holding the vanilla-flavored vapor in as long as he could manage.

“Now that you’re neck deep in this, there’s nothing else I can do to stop you,” he would huff in resignation, releasing a vanilla-scented cloud of smoke skyward.

“…you do know that you may be pulled into AQUA because of them?” he would add a few moments later, tilting his head in the monochrome Raikou’s direction.


close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 19, 2024 0:22:55 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
Josh pulled back on Swift's thundercloud as Lars lit up his vape, causing the Beast to walk back a few steps. "Sorry - nicotine allergy," he apologized.

To brush Kyle's death off was cold. Cold as his Patron could be. "Did you even listen to me? It's Kyle we're talking about. There was no one who held the League up more than he did. Without him, we are vulnerable. Really vulnerable." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Matias was a pillar of the League, too. He was arguably the most militarized person in their employ; the League would never have been able to repel Rocket at Littleroot without him.

The mention of AQUA surprised Josh some. "Even if I wanted to be pulled into AQUA, I couldn't. Far as I know, I'm no Avatar." Then he thought about it. Now that he had been exonerated for the Eris incident, he was eligible to be a higher-up again. "Are you saying the League is considering me for Interim Elite Four in Matias' absence?"







{PC: 6}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 21, 2024 1:48:38 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


He had an inkling the younger man knew what legendary was a patron of—however due to extenuating circumstances, may have forgotten about it.

“Josh. Listen to yourself. Since you have—you have them with you,” he would tilt his head in the monochrome Raikou’s direction, “…you do know and are aware of which legendary Pokémon Kyle is the human champion of, right?”

Ho-oh. Stripped down to the bare essentials of it all, wasn’t Ho-oh regarded as a phoenix?

“And what do phoenixes represent, I ask?” he followed up after taking another deep drag from the vape in his hands and huffing a little; making the curlicues of smoke look like winter frost.

Hoping the other would pick up on what he wanted to impart, he sighed.

“I didn’t necessarily mean ‘get pulled into the interim Elite Four’; they already got that covered. It’s more like… you know how they want to keep eyes on pretty much every person that has a significant Legendary Pokémon accompanying them; whether they’re an Avatar or not?”


close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 21, 2024 7:58:57 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
Josh had not forgotten about Kyle's patron. "I am well aware that the Great One blessed him; Swift here is a part of that blessing passed on to me. You don't check your email? I sent all League personnel an email about it the day after it happened." He didn't answer the Captain's questions, expecting that they were rhetorical, knowing him. Perhaps they weren't and he would have one of his hissy fits.

Josh had already had that talk at 's and 's Gym Leader Summit in Mossdeep. It led to him "betraying" one of his best friends. "Why do you think I notified the League as soon as I could?" he asked. "Not just to report, 'hey everyone, Raikou is my friend now,' but because I need their help, too. Just like you should be talking to other Avatars about getting your Patron under control. I don't have a control problem, thankfully."

He wouldn't get into that problem quite yet, though.

"But I know what you're getting at. The Great One resurrected Raikou, Entei, and Suicune when they died in the Burned Tower, according to the Johtonian legend. He brought Nala and Rani back from the dead. I'm more than familiar with their powers. That's why I don't think Kyle is truly dead. I want to find out what truly happened to him."

The young man moved forward on Swift's thundercloud, making room behind him when he noticed Saber and Raikou getting antsy. "Feel up to a run on Swift with me?" he offered, though he didn't expect Lars to accept.






{PC: 7}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
close tab

played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 30, 2024 19:38:21 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


There was actually a stray thought that rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind; he would idly wonder just how much trouble he would get into if he let that comment slide more than anything else.

Either way, though…

“If you want to test your speed against Amir, well, I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

He would then pull out the Dusk Ball that his own Silvally called home, and pop it to full size before sending out the… was this considered to be a pseudo-legendary Pokémon? Or did Silvally have another classification altogether on the lines of… however Pokémon were classified?

He was aware (if belatedly) that there were more and more Type: Nulls appearing here and there; but it would be absolutely nothing compared to the… insanity he’d endured to ‘create’ Amir from… from that blasted, accursed data that had most likely been disposed of, long ago.

“Well?”


close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster
He/Him
25
December 12
Goldenrod, Johto
Straight
Mauville Gym Leader
Champion
Single; Not Looking
6'1" height
6'1" height
"With great speed comes great responsibility."
awards
7,152 posts
Josh Devlin DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @joshdevlin
Josh Devlin
[S][C/Lars] The Signer and the Composed
POSTED ON May 31, 2024 2:10:35 GMT
Josh Devlin Avatar
Disappointing, but not unexpected. It took a certain kind of crazy to want to go as fast as Mauville's Gym Leader did. Not to say Amir wasn't fast; Lars had proven that at their illicit, off-the-books Gym match long ago. This would be more competitive than he initially thought.

"What, afraid to ride the tiger?" Josh teased Lars as he would line up near the Silvally. "Sadly, Aleph is still a long ways from evolving. He won't do anything but battle, and even then, he's ornery. Anyway, let's do it."

This was the same part of Chimney Canyon that he had a bit of nostalgia before. "Did I tell you that this exact place is where I did my first Pokémon race anywhere in Hoenn?" he asked. "Was a dangerous street racer called the Drift King. Had this mean, mistreated Liepard. I beat him and convinced him to repent. He turned into a professional racer. Left Hoenn to tear up the international circuit. All before I became a Ranger, too."







{PC: 8}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Swift         Raikou         Good
Raikou        Raging Bolt    Good
Saber         Manectric      Good
img
The Shula Region
Hogwarts AU
RPG Unlimited
MR
The Enroi Region
N:FB
Vyrehaven
Celestial Guardians, AU Sailor Moon RP
EO GENESIS
Code and Crown: An advanced literate warriors cats RP, set in medieval times
Swords Clashing