a few days ago, someone had been battling in rusturf tunnel when a wall had collapsed, revealing a brand new tunnel no one knew even existed until that exact moment. a few hours later, investigation had revealed it was an archaeological goldmine, some ancient person's stash of treasures and other goods. a day later, researchers began to flock to the area, tearing up the tunnels in the hopes of finding something even bigger, even better.

about two hours ago, nikola heard of the site. about twenty minutes ago, they arrived in an air taxi, eager to assist in the digging. most of the original discovery had been sorted and appraised by now, but there were still things here and there that suggested the pocket might run deeper than expected. they'd brought pokemon along that they hoped would help.

before they can get to work, though... their clumsy feet manage to catch on someone else already working on digging, and they fall forward into the other person.

"--whoops!"

[ @seren ]

the children yearn for the mines
AKA MISSION: DIGGING YOURSELF INTO A HOLE, START!

claiming for NIKOLA SAMSA and @seren !

CURRENT
the night shift with fenelle miller
ultra plant: fn with fenelle miller

INCOMPLETE/ARCHIVED

SPOILER: Click to show

just keep digging
new blood
walking encylopedia
walking the dog
carapace

FINISHED

SPOILER: Click to show

just deserts
what was missing
blood, mud, and iron
shadow self
frozen in time
binary
cruising at extreme speed
black market bust
metamorphosis
kicking rocks
three of swords
the call of the void
whispers of the witching hour with multiple

CHARACTER UPDATES:
-

BLOOD MUD & IRON SIGN-UP

ON THE HUNT!

CHARACTER: NIKOLA SAMSA[break]
PKMN TEAM (3 MAX): bronzong, umbreon, serperior[break]
WHAT IS THE IC REASON FOR YOUR CHARACTER'S PARTICIPATION?: SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

nikola isn't sure how to get the jolteon to move at first. then they remember a movie they watched a couple months ago about a girl and her mudsdale, and it hits them that all they need to do is squeeze with their knees. and then they're off, leaping and bounding over the sand. nikola holds tight to josh's jolteon, leaning down to guard their eyes from the wind. they laugh, thankful they have fabric covering their mouth. they seem content to let the jolteon just do whatever it wants, figuring it'll just follow the rest of josh's pack.

at the breakneck speed they're running at, nikola spies a green blur, barely able to make out what pokemon it is. another larvitar? are they common in these parts, perhaps? they're making a mental checklist of all the pokemon they've seen so far. sure, they could probably just find a list online, but... the rifts popping up here and there may have changed the very structure of the desert's ecosystem. a good scientist knows to never stop collecting relevant data.

nearby, something else is tunneling around in the sand.

[ Josh Devlin ]

passing over larvitar and nincada.

EMILIA THORNE
ROCKET RESEARCHER. FEMALE. AGE 31.
for NIKOLA SAMSA

the woman who ruined nikola's life and then dropped them off in hoenn to dispose of them, professor thorne is wily, cunning, and selfish. while she's quite skilled as a scientist, she's even more skilled at swindling people, presenting them with charm and passion and sweeping them off their feet so it isn't months later until they realize they've been scammed. her reasonings for this are undecided; whether she has a tragic backstory or not is up to you. the one thing that is known about her is that she will stop at nothing to unlock humanity's "hidden potential", even if the reasoning for that is unknown. she's been invited to continue her research under rocket's mantle by nikola, who plans to get their revenge once they decide they can no longer use her. she has something of a toxic dependence dynamic with nikola, each obsessed with the other despite plans to betray them.
SUGGESTED FACE CLAIM: carmen, lobotomy corporation

OTHER: any relations to the yukimuras (familial or otherwise in cahoots), ex-friends of REESE RHODES or those associated with the sinnoh contest scene , characters who went to high school with JULIAN BRIERLEY , characters associated with interpol for MAISIE MAUDLIN

oh? is this another interview? they've never heard of an interview after getting hired, but they haven't heard of a lot of things. "about myself...? oh, right, the place i'm from... what's it called again?" they scratch their cheek. anybody else would be embarrassed at forgetting something so important, but it doesn't seem to faze them much. maybe they're just messing with him? "well, anyway... i'm a bit of a scientist myself! though i haven't had many chances to prove myself. i hope i can be of use in any way, though."

as long as they're not carrying fragile equipment, handling beakers, or having to remember things. most days they wake up and forget to brush their hair and wash their face, and in some cases don't even remember to put their glasses on (despite how bad their vision is without them). "i used to be an assistant to a great researcher! she'll be on her way here sometime soon." they speak of this eagerly, like a dog awaiting its master. "and then, ahh... i haven't thought that far ahead yet. we need to continue our research, you see."

[ Amor Rose ]

taking bronzong / togekiss / eelektross / lapras / sirfetch'd / serperior !

when josh asks if they brought potions or berries, nikola pauses. "...i knew i forgot something!" they announce cheerfully. other people might be put off by this realization, but nikola seems determined to barrel forward regardless. they return flammula to his pokeball to let him rest, and turn to the jolteon. this one is smaller than the arcanine, so it should be a bit easier to mount and dismount, right? they gave the jolteon a pat on the head, carefully avoiding its spikes.

then they climb on top, settling in comfortably. "thank you," they tell the jolteon, smiling. "and thank you for assisting in my little adventure!" they call over to josh. they zip up their coat all the way, using the collar to cover their mouth so sand doesn't get in it. "i've heard tales about fossils being found in this area-- i didn't expect to see an actual fossil pokemon, though!" much less to catch one... they really should give more serious thought to this 'pokemon trainer' thing. though flammula was tired after the battle, he did seem to enjoy it.

over the sandstorm, they hear the cries of a cacnea and a phanpy, easily identifying them both from their mental database of pokemon cries. for now, they'll move on. onwards and upwards! nikola seems ready to ride.

[ Josh Devlin ]

passing over cacnea and phanpy.

nikola rips off a smart salute. are they really as foolish as they seem, or are they just a wiseass? "yes, ma'am!"

they pick flammula up off the ground and start to walk. around them, they can hear the grinding of various gears and what sounds like the ticking of a clock. nikola's eyes remain big as they walk, fascinated by everything around them. who built it? where did it come from? and where did everyone go? is it really possible for there to be a world full of mechanism-based lifeforms with no need for water or food? nikola supposes they should just count their blessings that there's air here.

they continue to move until they reach what seems to be a dead end. it's another massive gear, similar to the one nikola fell off earlier. they look at it thoughtfully. "...if we time it right, we could probably hop on and let it carry us up," they tell camellia. "we just have to be careful. i'll be the test subject and go first!"

when the gear is in the right position, they climb onto it, wobbling a bit at first. it goes up, up... and when it's time, nikola and flammula scramble off. they give camellia a wave from above to signify that it's safe.

[ Camellia Lemaitre ]

REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

3X gachapon ticket

3X premium gachapon ticket (psychic, fairy, elec)

(from the capture pack i claimed for the fifth anniversary)

TOTAL

do come again!

00 PD

gacha thread here

"my only pokemon is this cyndaquil," nikola explains. flammula seems to have backed off for the moment, not interested in escalating a small quarrel into an actual conflict. "so if you wouldn't mind me borrowing one of yours... i've never ridden a pokemon before! this is exciting!" they ruffle craggro's fur again, delighted by the fat arcanine. once josh releases another jolteon, they look at it with interest... and then more movement in the desert catches their eye.

first, it's just a swinub passing by. nikola tilts their head, studying it curiously. it's a ground type, but an ice type too... they'd think the heat would be a bit much for it, but maybe it burrows to stay cool during the day?

that's not what most catches their attention, though. toddling across the sands is something nikola's never seen with their own two eyes before: a kabuto, a supposedly extinct pokemon from a very long time ago. eyes sparkling, they pull a pokeball out of their coat pocket. "this is exactly the sort of thing i came here for!" they declare. the only problem is its typing... compared to flammula, it has the advantage of being both a water and a rock type. flammula only has one move that will work.

set on at least trying their first-ever capture, they nod to flammula. "try a defense curl," they tell him. the cyndaquil curls himself up to strengthen his defenses. "okaay, now how about... hit it with a rollout, and keep your momentum going!" if flammula is careful, he can use the movement to dodge the kabuto's attacks.

the cyndaquil charges forward with his first rollout. the move isn't very effective at this point, and only serves to get the kabuto's attention. annoyed, it flings some rocks with rock throw at him, but nikola's prediction was right on the mark, and flammula manages to dodge it by continuing his rollout. he hits it again, and does some more damage. at this point, the kabuto has realized rock throw isn't going to work, and it counters with a super effective aqua jet. nikola winces in sympathy, but flammula doesn't stop. or it's more like he can't stop, now that he's gotten started, because he rams into the kabuto one more time, dealing even more built-up damage.

that should be enough, nikola thinks. they fling their pokeball at the weakened kabuto and wait for the ball to settle, while flammula uncurls and collapses on the ground, tired.

[ Josh Devlin ]

CATCHING KABUTO!