It seemed like a strange thing to get hung up on, to be honest. Were the police really so insistent on using their last names? But, well... Mitsuru was hardly going to kick up a fuss about it. So, instead, she simply bowed her head in apology for any perceived impoliteness.

"Oh. Um, sorry, Miss Hyakkaryōran."

Hyakkaryōran. It was Hyakkaryōran, right? She was hardly an expert in pronunciation or anything, but she knew a few Hyakkaryōrans back in Johto, and none of them ever corrected her. And yet, the girl in front of her seemed insistent that she was somehow getting it wrong. Stifling a nervous laugh, she once again bowed her head, and once again apologised.

"Sorry! Sorry, it's Hyakkaryōran, right? I just--"

Nope. Wrong again, apparently.

"Uh... Hyakkaryōran?"

Wrong again again.

"H-Hyakkaryōran?"

Wrong again again again.

"Hee-ya-k-ka-ryou-ran??"

Wrong again again again again.

"...Officer Hee-ya-k-ka-ryou-ran???"

Wrong, wrong, wrong again. This was mortifying. If her face went any redder, then she'd look more like a Magikarp than a human. But as the cycle of "Hyakkaryōran" and "Try Again" repeated once more, she decided for a change in tactics.

"Okay, Officer Ryō!" The mystic stood up and clapped her hands together, all too eager to move on past these embarrassing minutes of her life. "Let's get to work! Where was the last sighting of the missing ship?"

---

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

Oh thank Arceus, a normal person.

"Mitsuki" breathed a tiny sigh of relief when Wendy walked through the doors. After hours of serving a crowd that could generously be described as "Complete Hootfreaks", the sight of average twenty-something woman was nearly enough to make her cry. Sure, she wasn't exactly the target audience for the brand, but... Well, she wasn't going to worry about that right now.

"Okay... Okay! One iced water, coming up, ma'am!"

Not only did she look normal, but she talked normal, too! She wasn't grunting and howling like some kind of deranged man-beast! As the mystic-turned-waitress made her way back to the kitchen, she breathed a much larger sigh of relief. It seemed like everything was finally looking up. Maybe only by a little bit, sure, but even that was still better than the previous nosedive-downwards.

So, after a bit, she returned to the table, a glass of fridge-cold water in hand, and gently placed it down in front of the unlikely patron. She probably wasn't going to get a big tip off of water, though, was she? No, assuming she got a ten percent tip, and knowing the cost of that glass of water, she was currently set to make... Zero Pokedollars. H-hm. Okay, no, that wasn't great. But, hey, there was no reason to get worried right now! After all, Wendy hadn't even ordered starters yet, let alone a main, sides, or dessert! She could still be in the money here!

"There you go! So, um, have you thought about what you'd like to order...?"

---

Wendy Peterson

Another day, another appointment! Or, would it be more accurate to say "another two-to-three days, another appointment"?

Business had not been good for Lady Crane's Mystic Services. Not that it was ever good, to be honest. Now, though... Oooooh boy. The finances were going from "bad" to "dire". As in, DIRE dire. If she wanted to keep the lights on and the doors open, then something would have to change. As for what that was? W-well, Mitsuru wasn't quite sure yet... But until she figured it out, all she could do was keep providing high quality service to her customers!

...Arceus, she really hoped she didn't screw this up...

And so, when Yuina stepped into her candlelit office that sleepy afternoon, Lady Crane was already waiting in the reception, ready to greet this rare customer personally.

"Ah, Miss Higashi!" The mystic smiled, an expression just barely visible from under the brim of her straw her. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. You're here for your 2:30PM appointment, I presume?"

---

Yuina Higashi

x3 TM/TR from 4 Excursions
x1 Powder of Ferrum from 4 Excursions
x1 Premium Gacha - Ghost from 4 Excursions
x1 Gachapon from Passerby Analytics
x3 Gachapon (150PD)

TOTAL - 150PD
Gacha Thread - pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/43087/mitsuru-gambling

"What's your favorite way to travel?"
"I like the bus! It feels cosy."

""What is your go to karaoke song?""
"Roar, by Katy Perry."

Taking:
Miltank
Solrock

"Mhm... Uh-huh... I see, I see..."

As Gracie Mae explained the intricacies of the situation, Lady Crane nodded along. Strange chills and unexplained movements? Yep, that sounded like textbook poltergeist activity, alright. Then again, it could just as easily be strong breeze and faulty insulation, couldn't it? There was no point speculating. At least, not until she could properly examine this supposedly cursed object.

So, she followed along behind the breeder, putting on her most enigmatic expression, making her wisest noises of thought, and trying her very best to conceal how very jealous she was of this very nice house.

And before long? She found herself face-to-face(?) with the sinister egg in question. Slowly, Lady Crane approached the egg, before gently placing her hands upon it and putting her ear up to the shell, as though listening to what was inside.

"Tell me, Miss Mae: Where did you happen to come across this particular egg?"

---

GRACIE MAE BEE

Is it the light at the end of the tunnel, or just more darkness? Through bleary eyes drained of life, can she even tell the difference? Life and death, blood and tears, blessed and damned, the boundaries blur until they look the same.

Who is the silhouette standing in front of her? She made her choice, but the choice doesn't matter. Her options are between the known unknown and the unknown unknown. Like the difference between sticking her hand in murky water or dense mud. The choice is no choice. Just because she made it, that doesn't change anything in the end.

He's got her. They've got her. In the end, it doesn't matter. In the end, anyone but her has got her.

And so, she clings to him. Hanging onto him like driftwood in the roiling ocean of illusion, threatening to drown her whole. Dragged along by the flow of fates she wants to understand, but simply can't. Praying, begging, hoping to survive to the next dawn.

As she has, as she does, and as she always will.

---

nikkari hect
cKHEIu7V

"Yeah! Yeah, it's nice..."

Except for her crippling debt that just seemed to grow and grow by the day, but that was neither here nor there. Oh, and the constant disasters that befell the reason, like that Kyurem incident or the Toxic Chain thing. Other than those tiny little problems? It was good! She liked Hoenn. It was a land rich with history and ripe with mythology. Plus, her local Pokemart had a two for twenty deal on bottles of wine, so it couldn't be that bad!

Must be nice, though. Being a ranger, that is. Good pay, get to explore the region, help people while doing it... Oh well.

She slouched down a little. But at the sight of the giant footprint, she immediately perked up. Could it have belonged to one of the dogs she was searching for. Carefully, she took a few steps into the battlefield, looking for any sign of where they might've gone, any lead the she could follow, any--

--Box that she could trip over.

And she did, stumbling right over the strange chest, knocking it and herself over onto the ground. After laying there confused for a moment, she quickly turned around to look at it, only to find even more confusion.

"...Gimmighoul?"

Indeed. Not just one Gimmighoul, though. The chest was filled to the brim with Gimmighoul, one for each coin inside it. And judging by the irritated expressions on their tiny faces, they were none too pleased by having their home displaced by this gigantic oaf.

"H-Hey! What's with those mean looks? It was an accident! Let's not be hasty! We can talk about- EEP!"

Like a swarm of termites upon wood, the Gimmighoul descended upon Mitsuru, delivering dozens of devastating Astonishes to her. By the time all was said and done and the ghosts returned back to their box, the damage was done. The mystic laid there, badly wounded, comatose, and... Okay, no, she was mildly hurt at worst, and just passed out. Still, the result was the same - She was completely and utterly defeated.

And yet, it still wasn't the worst thing that happened to her that day...

---

Leilani Kalawai'a
oHKcWcET

Salvageable?

Mitsuru blinked. Seriously? Was he actually going to try and repair this thing? She blinked again. Then again. Then, one more time, just for good measure. Like, seriously seriously? Yet no matter how many times she blinked and no matter how hard she questioned, it seemed that the stranger was, in fact, seriously serious.

Nope. No. Nuh-uh. She could tell where this was going! He'd repair that Iron Hands, and then it would wake up and go berserk and probably end up punching her so hard she went flying off ANOTHER cliff. She had to put a stop to this! Preferably, from the safety of behind this rock.

"C'mon, don't be silly!" Mitsuru forced her to laugh, as though the entire thing was just a bad joke. "How would you even fix it in the first place? What, do you think a bunch of spare parts are going to just fall out of the sk--"

Then, as though Arceus themself has thrown it, a wreck of an Iron Moth fell from the sky and hit Mitsuru in the head with a THUNK.

"GUH...!"

And just like that, she hit the ground, unconscious. Today just REALLY wasn't her day, was it?

---

ALEXANDER STONE
vnFVDYYS

Meaning begins to fade away. Petty things like truth and ideals melt like ice beneath the hot sun. What's real? What's not? It's so hard to tell, isn't it? She can't even believe in simple things, like the black or the white. Its all just empty shapes, phantoms dancing shades of gray.

A silhouette stands above her. What is it? Predator? Prey? Something else entirely? Maybe, no, maybe. She can imagine herself being devoured by some beast or murderer or l̷o̷v̴e̷r̷, and she can imagine some third scenario, but the second? No. There is no hunter within her. No rough edges or unwelcome hardness. This is a rose without thorns, as pleasant as can be. Perhaps that's why Arceus makes her suffer so much.

Is this a test?

No. To be tested implies one would be worthy of judging in the first place. And she's anything but.

This can only be taken at face value. Delirious, she considers the unspoken offer in front of her: If she doesn't take it, she will die. Nothing more. If she does... Well, she doesn't know. But it can't be worse than death. It can't be worse than suffering. It can't be worse than what she's gone through before.

Summoning what little strength remains within her, she reaches for the outstretched arm.

---

nikkari hect
6xTOwrNh