Andy Blackadder

Dear Arceus, was it loud!

Sheru screeched, startled out of her reverie at the loud report, and Moana yelped and nearly dropped the gun in his surprise. The trash can fell with a clatter.

His idiot brain should've at least realized that the sound would be deafening when the kid pointed out that Zigzagoon didn't make gun noises, which was... absolutely true.

"Fuck," he said, and barely heard himself over the ringing in his ears. It took a moment, but his hearing gradually recovered, though it still hurt. The kid was saying something. ...the middle of Ever Grande?

Moana winced. "It's not really the middle, it's some deserted alley," he protested weakly, but Andy was still right. Moana was a fucking idiot.

"Didn't realize they were that fucking loud," he grumbled under his breath, mortified. He whipped out his phone, which was cheap and outdated but could still access the internet, and searched "nearest gun range." And, nope, no luck. It was seven miles away.

"You're right," agreed Moana. He began walking, hoping the kid would follow as he reached the end of the alley and looked both ways at the road. It wasn't long until a cab appeared, and Moana waved it down.

"Listen," he muttered to the kid, if he was there. "If they ask, you're my brother--" wait, they looked nothing alike. "My friend's brother, and we heard a loud scary noise so we're going back to the hotel where our parents are staying." He looked at him. "Can you lie worth anything?"

Moana liked to think he, at least, was a good enough actor to pull this off. But then, he had also thought he had common sense, until three minutes ago.

Fuck.

CHARACTER Moana Reyes [break]
INGREDIENTS: 1 starf berry, 2 incenses [break]
TABLE ROLLED : EVOLUTION table [break]
ROLL: _AOMOM1H

"You ever shot a gun, mate?" asked the kid.

"Not yet," said Moana, and he actually wasn't lying. The gang he'd joined had been pretty big, but not powerful enough to get their hands on illegal weapons without any trouble. There were a few firearms that mostly stayed with people who were higher up, like the head honchos in Po Town and a few of their folks in Malie. They were hard enough to find that they had kept them only in the hands of the higher-ups, and any trusted people who needed them for a job.

And even then, they were mostly for intimidation. Actually shooting someone would be too much trouble with the law and whatnot, but the fear of being shot was often enough. But he'd been curious enough to learn the details from the people who could get their hands on them, even if he hadn't been able to try himself.

Curiosity built up within him, just like it did for Andy. "It's quiet enough here," he said, glancing around and locating a trash can that was empty and abandoned even as far as trash cans went, as if nobody had used it in years. This was a pretty deserted alley, after all.

He raised the gun, and then pushed the button to eject the magazine. He checked for ammunition, as if he didn't already know it'd be full.

"Nice," he said, sliding it back in. He lifted his arms and pointed the barrel at the trash can, and then turned to the kid.

"If someone does show up," he said with a lopsided grin, "they heard a Zigzagoon digging in the trash."

Moana remembered the advice he'd gotten years ago, standing with his feet apart and leaning forward to counteract the recoil.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Andy Blackadder

pogadier

3 letters from here
2 letters from here
1 letter from here
1 letter from here

That's a total of 7 letters for the moment

lm6ZxTEe




Rewards:
3 sparkling dust, 2 incenses, 1 starf berry, 1 silvally memory/applicable move, 3 TM/TRs, 1 design-a-pokemon, 3 level tutors

• player/ooc name: Voltolos
• character tags: Moana Reyes and Ethel Irving and Novak Manchester and @amber
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): Suprasad Bhat (bye my son)
• ic posts for characters:
  Here's Novak's
  Here's Moana's
  Here's Amber's
  Here's Ethel's
  
• any notes/comments: Did you hear about the guy who tried to throw away his boomerang? ...no punch line for you

Moana didn't think that Cova was really going to fucking jump right at the chance to knock out the Vespiquen. He generally preferred to use intimidation tactics and warning blows before going in for a real fight. Moana had a feeling that it was because he liked the sight of his prey turning tail and fleeing as he laughed in his rumbling, deep voice.

However, for some reason, he was jumping straight into the action today, following up the Flamethrower with another, and another. The Vespiquen couldn't keep up, already weakened by Sheru's Metal Sound, and collapsed onto the ground, her wings fluttering weakly.

Moana recalled Cova, surprised, as the beekeepers swarmed him with pleas similarly to the very same Pokemon they kept.

"Yeah, yeah," said Moana, waving them off and pocketing Cova's Pokeball. Sheru wandered back over to him.

Well, even if it had gone slightly different than expected, that was a job well done. Moana went off to check on Sénon Game afterwards; that encounter with the bees couldn't have been good.

The two of them were like a boulder tossed into the middle of running water, parting the stream but going otherwise unnoticed by everyone else.

"Yeah, that's fair, man," said Moana. "This year was a ride, and not the kind you find at a carnival. Good riddance."

And then Doug discussed his grand ambitions... that quickly became less grand, and Moana snorted. "Yeah, man, that's fair enough. Realism is important, and you can work your way up to the good stuff." Here he shrugged. "Well, who am I to talk? I'm as homeless as anyone. But I gotta say, being a squatter is treating me well enough."

It really was. Nobody seemed to care about the surprisingly large population of Hoenn that just lived in tents. Moana supposed it came with the territory, when you were a shithole of a region making the international news for something terrible three times a year.

Yeah, Moana had called it.

As Sénon charged in and his Charmeleon spewed more smoke, a Vespiquen appeared seemingly out of nowhere and rammed the fire-breathing lizard hard enough to knock it over and some other things besides. Dear god, it was really big.

But Moana had seen worse. One bug, no matter how big, had nothing on the wiry monster or the gluttonous beasts he'd fought at Mauville.

"Metal sound!"

Sheru was already on it, dashing forward and swinging her scythes. They scraped against each other, creating a horrible din that caused Moana to cover his ears.

The sonic assault was directed more towards the Vespiquen, though, who screeched in fury, turning away from the Charmeleon and Sénon to face the new threat. A couple of Combee came with it, swarming around it in a defensive formation.

If it had just been Sheru and Moana, he would have been more concerned. But he was wearing more than one Pokeball on his belt.

Now, he picked another one up, releasing Cova. The Druddigon roared his challenge.

"Flamethrower!" yelled Moana, and Cova complied. His maw opened and loosed a stream of fire, scorching a few of the poor Combee who weren't quick enough to move away.

Moana was confident that this battle was his. But he wasn't so sure about Sénon, so he turned to see what the older ranger was up to...

Sénon Game

Hypothermia. That was what it was called. Fair enough. Moana tried to remember that one. Who knew when it might be important again?

And then he nearly sighed in sheer relief as the guy finally agreed to cuddle with Mura. God knew it was an awkward request, but... it was hard to be more awkward than they already were, at this point. People were staring, hardly bothering to hide their surprise, at the strange duo, one boy drenched from head to toe and one boy with a Sigilyph and a Pignite at his side in the midst of an open market.

"The name's Moana," he said. "Moana Reyes. And you're Doug, huh? Nice to meet you."

Mura was still enthusiastic about the whole affair, returning Doug's fist bump with a snort. Moana tossed her another Pokeblock, which she readily devoured, and the heat began to pulse off her body once more, as if in time with her breathing.

"Well, happy New Year, Doug," said Moana, because shit. Now that he'd gotten the poor guy in this situation, he had to come up with some kind of small talk, or he'd look like some weirdo.

"You make any resolutions?"

John Sullivan

Ruby Walker

The news? A few times? Huh. That was new. This unassuming girl might be the biggest name Moana had met in Hoenn yet.

(Of course, Moana didn't know that soon, he would share a battlefield with the champion and make the news himself.)

"Well, then," he said, surprise coloring his voice. "Looks like I'm in the presence of a local celebrity. Should I be asking for an autograph?"

They went into the room, and Moana quickly noticed that Ruby seemed to be a terrible person for this mission.

Well, no. That wasn't necessarily true. Just because she was afraid didn't mean that she was unsuited. Fear was a perfectly normal emotion to be feeling. Hell, he was a little spooked himself, behind his skepticism. However, it was painfully obvious that Ruby was absolutely terrified of the mission, with all her rambling and her near-blatant admission that she had brought her Indeedee to compensate for her own fear.

Moana fought to keep a grin off his face. Laughing at the expense of someone he'd barely met was a bit rude. But he did reply, "Of course. It's important not to show fear, especially with ghosts. I've heard some like Misdreavus even need to eat fear to live." He shot a meaningful glance at Ruby. "Wouldn't want to grab their attention, eh?"

...He wouldn't laugh. He wouldn't.

After all, who knew. Maybe this dingy apartment would actually be haunted... even though nothing untoward had happened since the two of them had entered...

The reports, huh? Moana hadn't actually gone and read those. Too many big words in the official League documents for someone who'd never attended a traditional school. He wondered why he had been mentioned in the reports, though; surely there were plenty of other people who were more deserving of notice than him at Mauville. Like, say, Bailey Cooper . The champion. Not to mention all the other...

And then it came to him, and he buried his face in his hands.

"Ugh," he said. "I guess I'm famous for wandering too close to that oversized lizard and barely living to tell the tale, huh?" Not exactly ideal for... well, for anyone. But especially not for someone who had just arrived in Hoenn. He could see it in his future.

"Moana Reyes?" the hiring manager would say, squinting at his laptop screen before understanding gripped him. "Right. You're the one from Mauville. Don't 'cha know not to waltz right up to the damn god of the land during a fight, son? Eh?"

Before he could continue, though, Sénon Game exclaimed in surprise and sent out a Charmeleon to drive away the clashing bees with Smokescreen. Well, that was his cue-- but not to run straight into the crowd of bees. One martyr was enough for this mission, thank you very much.

Instead, he turned to Sheru, who had already snapped back to attention at the sight and sound of a scuffle.

"Not yet," cautioned Moana. "Sénon's got the little ones. Bees usually have a leader, a head honcho, so you should save your strength..."