"I've no doubt about that. I think it'd be interesting to see cars that utilized Revavroom as the engine. So long as its not exploitive and the Revavroom like it, like Rotom with electronics as you mentioned, then the environmental benefits alone would make them much more desirable than a regular car," Colton answered, nodding in agreement.

Even beyond consuming the secretions of Poison-type Pokémon, a Revavroom that fueled itself off of pollution could actually help clean nature up. Perhaps he'd draft up an idea one of these days...

As they walked along, Colton could hear the sound of Burnout's engines growing louder and louder. It didn't sound like he was moving anymore and, as they grew ever closer, Colton could see a tent in growing larger, with his Revavroom's silver body gleaming next to it. Relief flooded his body, reaching down and recalling Lodestone and Bourdon back to their Pokéball.

"Looks like we made it, mostly in one piece, at least. Thanks for helping me get this stuff down here," he said, an appreciative smile on his face.

Hideo Kino
OOC: Cargo 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 160 MP

Colton thought for a moment at idea of the creatures getting out of Ultra Space and into Hoenn. The possibility wasn't entirely out of the question, but he wondered if escaping from Ultra Space was what they should be worried about. It seemed more likely that some ambitious fool would try and capture the creature to use its venom for nefarious purposes...

Which wasn't all that different from Colton's own ideas.

"Yep, but I'm not sure how he would react to being used as such. Burnout's always been one for speed since I found him," Colton said, though it did make him wonder just how powerful Revavroom's engine was. Maybe they were capable of being engines for cars, but the people of Paldea had simply never tried because Cyclizar existed.

Ideas to think on later. Right now, they had a job to finish. "It can't be far now. Hopefully, nothing else pops up to get in our way," he said, recalling Bourdon back to its Pokéball to let it rest. Such a large barrier to hold back the creature must have been quite draining for the Bronzong.

Hideo Kino
OOC: Cargo 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 150 MP

Why did everyone seem to take issue with researchers these days? It seemed like everyone he encountered treated him as little more than dead weight meant to be beat on or carried around like a sack of flour, serving no other purpose than being a nuisance. Colton indignantly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. ”Seems simple enough on the surface, but these things rarely are,” he said, looking towards the ship, his brow furrowed in thought. There were countless things he could theorize about the internals of ship, mostly as to what kind of horrors decided to lurk its halls. Natives, mutant Pokémon, maybe an Ultra Beast called it home.

Endless possibilities. All of them potentially deadly.

”Only so much as we already know about Ultra Space and its native inhabitants. With how space warps here, it might even be out of the realm of possibility that the interior of the ship shifts constantly, meaning any knowledge I did have would be useless,” he answered. He could sense that she disliked him, simply based on her body language and tone of voice. For what reason, he didn’t know, as they had only briefly spoken prior to coming into Ultra Space and hadn’t spoken at all while riding Voyager. Some people were just like that, Colton surmised. It was best not to get too caught up in what one random girl thought of him. Best to keep focus on his work, especially considering what he could potentially be messing with was out of this world, alien tech. One missed wire snip and he could send the whole boat into orbit.

Colton looked back to the ship, watching a dark liquid flowing down its hull, which Tsubaki helpfully identified as blood. Not that it being pointed out was really necessary as the stench of copper and iron hit his nose. ”I can’t say that I have, but I try to take the things that happen in this realm in stride. Makes it easier to handle the incomprehensible, eldritch nature of this place,” he answered, though he chose not to mention that just because he had a coping mechanism for the strange events didn’t mean he was any less terrified. He could just keep it bottle up, at least for the time being.

However, it was Navy’s sudden shift in behavior that changed that. He watched the other man become on high alert, telling them to run and hide within the ship. His legs wrapped as hard as they could around the Arcanine’s waist as it suddenly leapt up and onto the deck of the ship. Colton slid off the beast, looking down at Navy as he readied himself for…something. Just what was going to attack him, he didn’t know, but he was sure whatever it was would have attacked by now. The tension was palpable.

After a moment, Colton looked down at the flowing blood, a thought crossing his mind. Quickly, he set his bag down, pulling a container out of it and holding it against the flow to let the blood fill it up. A disgusting action, no doubt, but he wondered if he could figure out what kind of blood it was creating, whether human or Pokémon. Once he’d put the now closed container back into his bag, he retreated back to the ship’s entrance, pulling out a Pokéball of his own before releasing MM into the dark hallway.

The Iron Moth appeared in a flash of red, the orange glowing liquid on its wings providing a suitable source of light to help them navigate their way through.

Navy Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

Colton wanted to roll his eyes as the Rocket, Kouji, laid out his threats. Despite the situation, he wanted to laugh. Did he know he sounded like an over the top high school bully straight out of a teen comedy? But he didn’t, mostly because he could feel the dried flecks of that Eevee’s blood still on his face. There were no winners in this bout, both of them simply leaving damaged in one way or another.

As he floated further and further away to God knows where, Colton felt something stir in his chest as Kouji announced that they were enemies now. It was an unfamiliar feeling, a kind of heat that pushed away the weariness in his body.

”Colton Boothroyd. And I’ll be waiting.”

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 330 MP

Colton was hanging on for dear life on the back of the Arcanine as they ran through the winding caves. How Shalin dealt with this on all of her strange mounts, he’d never understand, but it was certainly faster than walking. Especially helpful as they were headed to one location in particular: the mysterious shipwreck that lay rotting and abandoned in the middle of a dark sea.

Truthfully, that was the only reason he would even consider coming back to the Ultra Deep Sea. Was it foolish that his curiousity and desire to learn outweighed his survival instinct screaming at him to avoid this place like the plague? Perhaps, but the potential threads for research that he could find down there…it was okay to be foolish, just a few times.

Colton lifted himself up off of the Arcanine’s back as the Pokémon came to a stop inside the large cavern. He looked around the area, gazing across the water towards the wreckage. The cries of Ultra Beasts and other creatures formed a haunting chorus that echoed off the walls and ceiling of the cavern, layering them over the top of each other into an almost deafening din. And, under it all, like a macabre beat of a drum keeping the crooning monsters in time, was the unmistakable sound of a heartbeat.

Not much of a lullaby, was it?

”What exactly are we looking for in there? If we have an idea, that might help narrow our search area towards places we should visit as opposed to going room by room hoping something is there,” Colton asked as he adjusted his glasses. He supposed it didn’t matter much as to what they grabbed, as the League would probably be alright with whatever they could get their hands on. Everything in this space was bursting at the seams with interesting things to learn or take back with him to the real world.

Colton performed a little salute at Navy’s instructions. ”You’ve got it, Boss. Just call on me if we ever need some technical expertise.”

Navy Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

Twoey crashed with the Weavile, the pair rolling and tumbling as she roughly punched, kicking, and slapped with glee. She was wary of the claws, now sharper than any knife or blade as they sliced her skin, but if she simply knocked the Weavile out before it took her out, then there’d be no problem, no matter how scratched up the Mawile became.

It was only when the Weavile forcibly broke away and returned to its trainer’s side that she let up. Blood leaked down Twoey’s body, her breathing deep and tired before she visibly SWALLOWED. The glow around her body faded as the cuts and bruises disappeared and her health was restored before she joined her own trainer.

Colton got back to his feet, breathing deeply as Ferrus floated up next to him. He stared at the Rocket until the ground began to crack and break apart between them, a physical separation growing between them that seemed to call the end to their battle.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 320

Does this guy just not know when to give up? Colton would have thought that both himself and his Pokémon getting tossed around like rag dolls would make him back off, especially in the face of a creature like Iron Moth.

”Larve-? It’s clearly a Volcarona! And what makes you think I know what this thing is beyond what it looks like!” he shouted back, weirdly annoyed by the clear misidentification of what the Iron Moth was meant to look like. Beyond that, what did the masked man hope to gain from Colton? He’d only accidentally stumbled into it and his Pokéball just so happened to work!

As for said Iron Moth, the neon liquid running through its body parts faltered for just a moment use the Gligar hit it. However, as it recovered, its eyes flashed red, heat beginning to build up on its wings before they began to twirl and swing through the air, flames forming into a FIERY DANCE before they all swung towards the Gligar. As it did, the liquid in its body grew in intensity as its power grew.

mint frost
OOC: Caves 2/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 90 MP

Hiding who he was wasn’t really on Colton’s mind at the moment, more concerned with what exactly this dream mist stuff had crafted. ”I was running some errands for the League before I went off on my own,” he answered, already turning his attention to the empty hallways extending into the distance rather than the man speaking to him. ”Got my teeth kicked in a couple times, so now I’m just trying to get out.”

Colton let out an amused chuckle as the guy, Landon, as he called himself, pointed out that they should leave. ”Way ahead of you, but I’m not sure what the way out of her even is…” he said, pausing for a moment as he looked in all four directions presented to him. All equally clean, white, and completely empty.

Colton looked around at the strange cry before waving at Landon to follow him. ”Come on. Might as well just pick a direction and go.”

Colton began to walk down one of the hallways, the infinite white stretching out in front of him. He couldn’t gauge how long he’d been walking simply because something in front of him changed, but he still continued on.

”I didn’t ask, but why are you here? This place is an active war zone, pretty much, so no one normal should just be stumbling in,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the other man.

paxton concordas
OOC: Interdream (1/2)
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 90 MP

”Hey, if ever I get the chance to crack it, you’ll be the first to get a supply of it since you’ve felt it once before,” he joked, trying to lighten up the situation now that they have started putting distance between themselves and the jellyfish creature. He could see that Bourdon was beginning to struggle a bit maintaining the barrier and he pat his Pokémon on the top of its bell body.

”Keep it up, buddy. We’re almost home free,” he said soothingly before looking off in the direction Burnout had zoomed off to.

Colton shook his head. ”No, but that gives me an idea for something I’d like to play around with,” he said with a laugh. ”He’s a Paldean Pokémon known as a Revavroom. It looks like a V8 engine with a face and toxins instead of fuel powering it. He’s one of my most reliable partners, no doubt about it.”

Hideo Kino
OOC: Cargo 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 140 MP

Colton could tell there was some hesitation as she yielded to his decision to ignore the coral horn. It wasn’t that he wasn’t worried about it, far from it considering he was actually terrified that mutations had begun to sprout off of his body. But, if he could just keep his focus, he could delay the inevitable panic attack after he finished his work. And hopefully still be alive to actually get it checked out.

”Admittedly, I’m something of a homebody,” he said, checking the electrical flow for a moment before going back to work. ”I spend a lot of time in my personal lab just working on stuff. Trying to be useful while staying out of the way. This is really my first time out in the field and I can’t tell you how much I want to be back in my safe little hobbit hole.”

PENELOPE LIVY
OOC: Comms 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 130 MP

Twoey chewed on her bamboo shoot for a moment as the Sneasel was overtaken by a bright light, her shape being obscured as she changed before the Mawile’s eyes. As the Weavile rose up to face her again, Twoey grinned, the white glow around her growing brighter as she STOCKPILED further. She seemed entirely unbothered by her opponent’s evolution. Rather, she relished in the challenge, rolling her shoulders briefly before using her horn to pivot into a powerful leap right at the Weavile. She wasn’t done ROUGHOUSING with it.

Her trainer was in a very different situation, weakly lifting up his right arm to block the incoming hits from his face. Colton didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t get the Rocket off of him and the anger in his face made him fear that he would be taking his revenge in blood for the death of his Eevee. His life was in genuine danger, his fight or flight sense screaming at him to run, to get away. But that wasn’t an option. He couldn’t run, leaving him with only one option.

Fight back.

With use restored to his left arm, he fumbled at his waist for a moment before his fingers wrapped around a Pokéball and pressed the release. Ferrus appeared in a flash of white, taking a moment to orient itself before it noticed Colton being attacked on the ground and threw its heavy metal body right at the Rocket’s back. At the same time, Colton swung his hand upwards, aiming to smash the Pokéball across the man’s face to try and knock him off.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 310

While Colton may have been able to avoid the uppercut, now that he was up in the air, his movement was severely limited. With no good way to move about of its path, he was unable to avoid the follow up kick as it landed squarely under his arm.

It was like lightning through his body. Colton's vision went dark as he began to black out, only for the searing pain to bring him back to consciousness. His teeth grinded together, having nearly bitten off his own tongue as his jaw clenched and a pained scream escaped his throat. He could feel bone grinding on bone, his shoulder making an audible pop as it slotted back into place.

He was sent tumbling end over end, tears streaming down his face as he held his fixed shoulder. But, despite the pain, there was a silver lining as he righted himself in the air. His shoulder was still tender to the touch, but he could finally move his fingers and arm around. Still, he was regretting not taking ana fell up on her offer to reset his shoulder. It probably wouldn't have hurt nearly as much as this.

As for Twoey, she kept herself defensive for a moment as Sneasel and the shadow Pokémon attacked her, biding her time. It was only when an opening appeared that her giant jaw lashed out, snapping Sneasel up in its grasp before the Mawile repeated the same move, jumping high into the air before plummeting back down towards the ground, throwing the other Pokemon in a SEISMIC TOSS right into the dirt.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 300

Colton studied her face as she spoke, almost trying to look for any lies in what she said. But, he couldn't really deny the validity to her statements. Just because one was a "good" guy, that didn't exactly make them good people. A means to an end, as she had said.

"I won't let myself be manipulated. All I want to do is help people, to try and do something instead of sit by and watch this all play out," he said, resolve filling his face. "I'll do my best, even against things that come from the inside."

Colton didn't really know why he'd promised something like this to a Rocket, but her kindness had seemed genuine. She could have easily steamrolled him and left him to lick his wounds alone, but instead, they talked, coming to some kind of understanding, all born from a little Rotom.

"Maybe I can help you with what problems you've got? I'm not asking you to join the League, but you could get away from Rocket," he said. "You don't deserve to go down with them should things end up that way..."

ana fell
OOC: Battle
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 200 MP