nikocate7 //

"Authorities instruct that should a member of the public see a Megalopolan, contact their local officer or ranger branch immediately and do not approach." How are people supposed to do that when the so-called Megalopolans can apparently change their appearance...? Surely there's some better way of handling this?

nikola had been doing some reading about flammula's new form. it had taken some work, but they'd eventually found that his form was that of a hisuian typhlosion. they had no idea their little cyndaquil had come through time and space to reach them!

doing some more reading, they discovered that hisuian typhlosion were said to consume the souls of the deceased and purify them, allowing them to pass onto the afterlife. interested in doing some more research, nikola figured that the best place to fact check this information would be mt. pyre. so they brought flammula along with them to the largest pokemon graveyard in hoenn.

he doesn't seem all that interested, to be honest... maybe there aren't any wayward souls left to purify here?

nikola wanders around a bit more, regardless. and at some point they realize they've, uh... wandered into somewhere completely different. the atmosphere has changed from mt. pyre, and there's some sort of shrine here. other people have left offerings, so nikola decides they might as well do it too. out of their bag comes a few pokemon treats, which they leave at the altar.

flammula helps guide them back. i guess that means i'm a lost soul, huh?

TIME: 11:11 PM

HARVESTING

be sure to visit the pretty petal flower shop near rustboro!

1X tamato berry
1X grepa berry
1X rabuta berry

TOTAL

do come again!

00 PD

nikola feels rather underdressed, being the only one who doesn't have a sygna suit. they accept the datathief from josh, handling it gingerly before pocketing it. since their encounter with the swamp megalopolans, they've been a little more proactive in trying to help out with tasks like this around the region. one might call them foolish for it, and they'd probably be right. but sometimes it takes a fool to get things done. if nobody rushes in, then it might mean nobody will go at all.

for now, they're not rushing, though. they nod to josh and andrea. they tried to bring pokemon more useful for a stealth mission, and so as andrea speaks they're already fingering flammula's pokeball. "i'll use shadow sneak to ascertain where the scientists are," they say quietly. that way they can follow the iron juggernaut without fear of running into someone who will sound the alarm.

they release their typhlosion, who immediately melts away into the shadows. the lab itself isn't particularly large, so it's not long before he's returned from his scouting. for such a large pokemon, flammula still manages to move silently. is it because he's a ghost type now? the typhlosion blinks at the three of them, and then nods and points in the direction the voices are coming from. he shakes his head and crosses his front paws in the shape of an X, indicating that that route is blocked. the other path he gives a nod, indicating that he found nobody there.

"alright," nikola whispers. "looks like the coast is clear... let's go." they'll follow the iron juggernaut where it leads them, the voices dropping off in the distance.

[ Josh Devlin Andrea Vaneau ]

new mauville itself has an oppressive atmosphere, even outside their current location. the entire place is dreary, and the workers there barely acknowledged the group of three as they made their rounds. there'd been reports of something more going on in that area, but as to exactly where, nobody was sure. the whistleblower hadn't been much help; all they could say was that there had been lots of electric type pokemon brought in recently, but none of them had left.

finally, after much searching, they sniffed out the culprit. there was a lab on one of the lower levels, cut off from most of the power plant. nikola used their reuniclus's psychic to override the security and force the door open just enough so that they could enter, then withdrew the pokemon in the name of stealth. gathering information was nikola's priority, because if something strange was going down here, then they'd need to know who the culprit was. hiding in plain sight like this meant there was more to it than just a rogue actor; whoever was behind it likely had influence and, more importantly, funding.

(nikola frowns at that thought, a passing memory rising unbidden in their mind before it's whisked away too quickly for them to reach it.)

the place they've arrived at is only a small portion of the underground, and yet it's stacked with cages. many of them are empty. from within, nikola can hear the buzz of electricity, as well as what seems to be at least two humans discussing something. they look at josh and andrea and put a finger to their lips, indicating that they'd like them to remain silent... though whether they follow that recommendation is, of course, up to them.

[ Josh Devlin Andrea Vaneau ]

it doesn't take a rocket scientist... MISSION START!
outfit ref
BGM!

taking with Josh Devlin and Andrea Vaneau !

nikola and their bronzong manage to fight back a number of megalopolans before boarding the ship. they're one of the last ones in, wanting to leave behind as many of the invaders in the rift as possible... so almost as soon as they board, the ship is off. nikola stumbles and falls against one of the walls. today's been a really weird day, and they're weary and just want to go home. they don't know how they're going to get home, but they can't think very hard right now so they decide to just sit on the floor. oh well.

and after a while, the ship crashes. nikola collapses to the floor again, just barely saving themself from a nasty faceplant. once they collect themself, they leave the ship with the others, stumbling out into the open. it looks like someone called for help, too, as sirens surround them. nikola is left alone with their thoughts afterwards, not volunteering any information. suddenly they're paranoid about who's an alien and who's not... maybe it'd be better to figure some things out before they go blabbing to just anyone.

"well!" they put their hands on their hips and survey the area. "it's been real fun, but i think i'd better get going." much to think about.

nikola sets off towards fortree, where they can call an air taxi to take them home.

bro wtf was all that. anyway *leaves*

oh, come on...

upon checking the berries they planted with luna, their umbreon, they immediately noticed the ground had been trampled by giant pawprints. they're only left a few moments to ponder over the culprit when an arcanine appears, zipping across the land with extreme speed. it's headed straight for the berries this time; nikola has luna stop it in its tracks with a snarl, but they're not expecting the canine to have such a temper. it throws a tantrum that could be catastrophic, flinging fire everywhere, getting perilously close to nikola's berries. out of desperation they have luna use confuse ray, which stops the raging fury in its tracks as the arcanine proceeds to stumble and fall, hurting itself in its confusion.

luna sends out a dark pulse while it's down, and then nikola bops it with a pokeball. despite its lack of respect for other people's property, they think it's really very cute. maybe they'll name it fluffy.

when nikola read online that parts of slateport are bring overrun by mabostiff and their kin, nikola hurried over on their togekiss. they have something of an interest in uncommon phenomena, wanting to experience them and then log them in their personal encyclopedia (the one that exists only in their head). more importantly, they want to make sure that mafiosos like team rocket don't go wild with poaching the poor creatures. they'd likely only use them for more nefarious purposes.

nikola sets themself up to watch the interactions between the dog pokemon. they write a few notes here and there, but it seems the canines have already been disturbed and are on their guard for any other intruders. the only thing to do, then, is to wait for one of them to break off from the group so nikola can catch it.

once this happens, the battle is easy, thanks to their togekiss's advantageous typing. they throw a pokeball, hoping the pokemon's been weakened enough to capture it.

cn_V9iCS

REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X honey (00 PD)

TOTAL

do come again!

00 PD

(garden link here)

the power situation still isn't resolved, but at least there aren't any ghost types lurking around anymore. once nikola gets a distance away from the gym, they'll release the one polteageist they caught; however tempting it might be to keep it, they don't need such a troublemaker around. there's no way their landlord would be able to deal with a potential haunting, and if it started to affect the other residents then nikola wouldn't want to be evicted.

"guess i can't call you 'little flame' anymore," they say to flammula. the typhlosion's flames dance, wisp-like in the darkness. a ghost type, maybe? is that why he reacted like that? for now, they return him to his ball. they'll have to do plenty of research later. "glad everybody's okay! we ran into a little trouble, but nothing that couldn't be handled."

they'll spend another few minutes chatting with josh about much simpler things, until it's gotten late enough that they know it's time to go. they bid him goodbye and fly off on their togekiss, wondering rather happily about flammula's new form.

[ Josh Devlin ]
going to submit now!

when the toxic chain dissipates, it's as if nikola is coming out of a trance. they waver, unsteady on their feet as they try to recall what just happened. those feelings of inferiority and spite are so unfamiliar to them... where did they come from? they try to conclude that it was just a trick, but something deeper inside them says those feelings felt more like home than anything else they've experienced here in hoenn.

reality distorts around them. two options weigh heavily before them; if they take the ship, they'll be free. but the megalopolans will remain here. on the other hand, if they stay, they can deal with the alien invaders, but they'll be risking their own lives until the distortion fades.

as if to combat those selfish feelings from earlier, nikola roots themself in the ground, digging their feet in. they release their bronzong from its ball. the steel type hangs in the air, awaiting its orders. "iron defense!" nikola calls. as their pokemon shores up its defenses, they wait to intercept any megalopolans who are trying to reach the ship. since they're biding time, rather than trying to defeat them, nikola decides to settle in for the long haul. "use confuse ray on anyone who tries to get past!"

they follow josh's lead, their quilava at their heels, still wound up and agitated. at first, things seem to be going well... but then the ice over one polteageist shatters, freeing the pokemon within. immediately the room animates around them, shards of glass flying, threatening both the trainers and their pokemon. nikola shields themself with their arms, feeling a few smaller pieces slice their sleeves.

and then they hear the roar of flames, and they risk glancing up to see flammula using flamethrower, cornering the polteageist and preventing it from moving. it cries out in pain as the quilava advances on it. nikola doesn't think they've ever seen him so worked up before, the flames out of his mouth the strongest they've ever encountered. fumbling with their belt, nikola throws an empty pokeball at the final polteageist, sealing it away.

they breathe a sigh of relief and open their mouth. but before they can say anything else, flammula is awash in a white light. his form changes, growing larger and elongating, shifting to stand on two legs instead of four. the flames on his back turn purple and red, bulbs appearing around his neck. and then he's done, standing before them as not just any typhlosion, but as a type nikola has never seen before.

flammula looks at josh and nikola. nikola is staring, wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

[ Josh Devlin ]