The city is tall. Buildings loom over you from all sides, despite the wide avenues giving plenty of breathing room. The streets are mainly used by pedestrians, with only a few lanes dedicated to the occasional trucks and bus in the center. The lack of heavy traffic leaves the air relatively free of smog, a blessing in such a large metropolis.

You find on your Pokédex a general map of the area, with a list of points of interest, shops, and hotels you can use. As the sun nears the horizon, you debate where to go first.

Happy to have his pokemon healed up once again, Seymour addressed the group with a much brighter attitude than his more typically neutral demeanor. "So, now that we are officially in Cadien and no longer have some rogue weirdo trying to attack us, what should we do first?" He gestured an arm around at the impressive metropolis surrounding them. "Should we stay in a group? Pair up? Or should we all do our own thing and meet back up at dawn to continue our journey?"

The sheer height of Rivierstel was somewhat soothing to Portia.  Some folk found skyscrapers imposing or claustrophobic, but she was well-accustomed to the shade and winding paths amid such towering structures.  Lumiose City was an absolute maze of a metropolis in and of itself, so she felt rather at home on dense city streets.

"Probably shouldn't split up... at least, so far as nobody should be alone.  We still don't know what's up with that creep or if there's going to be any other surprise attacks by other people, so best we don't make an easy target of ourselves." Portia noted in the discussion of what to do next.  She was keen to explore the city while she could, but it was a bit more difficult than usual given the circumstances they were all under.

"I say we find somewhere to stay for the night and maybe do some supply shopping before it gets too late.  Better to get it handled now so we can have an early start tomorrow morning." That said, she turned her attention upward amid the lofty skyscrapers with an eager grin.  "But that aside, I'm going up there~.  I wanna get up as high as I can and get a good view of the landscape before the sun goes down."

Are any of the especially tall buildings open to the public so that Portia could get up onto the roof - or at least a very good viewing platform - without having to cause any problems?  Because she is willing to cause problems to get what she wants here.  ;3
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Wed 13 Nov 2019.

After a short time in the pokeball for getting healed up at the pokecenter, Skipper was out again and winding between Jake's legs as the group looked up at the buildings. Jake seemed much more comfortable in the city than in the countryside, but nevertheless looked impressed by the size of the city,
"Wow, I had no idea the city would be so big! I expected all the places to be as small as where we arrived. That's great I never get lost in a city, lots of places to explore!"

Still, he paid attention to his companions,
"Yeah, we best stick together. I've never been here before. We should probably get a change of clothing though so we look like we fit in better. We don't want to be pegged as tourists when we are buying stuff. Also maybe haircuts."

Jake looked around at the various people on the street, trying to get a feel for what the common styles were in the city. He'd grown up in a city that had not insignificant amount of tourists and he had been a part of a couple scams to make a quick buck from unwitting foreigners. He was confident that he could tell if he was being ripped off, but at the same time, he'd rather bypass the issue completely by blending in. Plus, the fat stack of cash in his bag was practically crying to be spent on upgrading his wardrobe.

The tall buildings, named the Gateway Towers, does have a viewing platform at the top. It also has a small shopping center at it's base. Most of it's content is for tourist, but you also find regular clothes and Pokémon supplies, including one boasting TMs from around the world.

The local fashion is pretty close to what you're used to, though with a bit more focus on brand name clothing. You could probably pass off reasonably well as locals... until people ask you questions, of course.

OOC: Give me the list of what each of you wish to purchase, in order. Also tell me how low you're willing to lower your money to make your purchase. Most TMs are available... unless I happen to roll a Random Event when you try to buy one.

Eve had thanked Barry profusely for the use of his Pokemon as a riding aid, and was feeling much better by the time their Pokemon were healed. She followed the other three into the city, slowly looking up at the skyscrapers. It reminded her of when she was young; not good memories at all, truth be told, and she made a slightly sour face.

"I'm with Portia about not splitting up," she said a bit quietly as she looked down from the steel monument. "At least until we get into a hotel room." She glanced back up at the skyscraper as Portia declared she wanted to go up into it, and her sour expression returned. "Be my guest, take pictures while you're up there," she encouraged, "but not for me, thanks. I don't like heights very much..." By her tone, it was clearly an understatement!

The shopping center rather surprised her. Focused for tourists? But wasn't Cadien super anti foreigner? It must be brand new construction, she supposed. "I feel like doing a little shopping. Does someone want to come with me, and someone go with Portia? That way, no one is alone. I can wait to do my shopping if no one wants to come, though."

If someone wants to go shopping with Eve, she will go to the shopping centres to look for a new sweater and to replenish used healing supplies. She will browse the TM shop but doesn't want to buy anything just yet. She will also search for breeder shops to see if any breeders have delivered Pokemon or Eggs for sale or trade. She will then find as affordable a hotel as possible, book two double rooms, and send the address and room number to Portia.

Jake glanced to Eve as she indicated she wanted to shop. Getting a higher view of the city didn't interest him much, neither did looking at the map on his pokedex. In fact, he seemed to rarely use the thing outside of identifying pokemon. He also didn't seem to register that a touristy area in Cadien would be unusual. Jakey didn't seem outright dumb, just someone who had particular things he was familiar with -- and despite being adventurous enough to travel to a practically hostile nation, he was content to stay unfamiliar with many things. He chimed in cheerfully though,
"I'm definitely good for shopping. I need to get some new clothes too, so that is perfect."

Jake would spend most of his money on new clothes, including a backpack so he didn't need to carry around a bag in his hand all the time. He didn't seem to mind following Eve's lead as she shopped at various stores full of useful things and seemed genuinely curious how pokemon trainers are supposed to shop. At times he did seem to linger in aisles and look at some items that didn't seem particularly relevant to him though -- maybe window-shopping was one of his hobbies back where he came from .

With Eve and Jake lacking any desire to go to the highest of the heights, Portia instead caught Seymour as she latched to him arm-in-arm, all smiles.  "Well, looks like it's just me and you then~." she had a grin like a mischievous Sableye as she urged her companion-by-default toward the elevators.

Eve was quick to offer her advice when they were clothes shopping. It proved to be something of a hobby, not that that was surprising. While Jakey might not know why she was famous, anyone could see she had an intense sense of fashion in every meaning of the word. She had of course let him pick out an outfit for himself, to which she had answered when asked for her opinion with a bite to her lip, and a quiet, "Faulkner... Oh, hunny, no..."

And with that, she had quickly moved to find him a much more fashionable outfit, including slacks, nice shoes, a blue fitted vest over a button shirt with a tie. The fact that this outfit was completely inappropriate for travel and much more expensive than he likely wanted to spend didn't really register with her as she admired her handy work in his outfit!

In the end, of course, she could only offer what suggestions she could to what he could afford. And in the meantime, they talked...

Although she was proud of her work, she realized quite suddenly how low Jakey's funds were compared to what she was used... especially when she realized how proud he was of his monetary reserve, even though he would struggle with expenses she wouldn't even notice.

Still, with Evelyn's help and revised objectives, Jakey manages to form a quite decent outfit, including reliable walking shoes and matching trainer backpack. The perfect clothes for an aspiring trainer.

As they finish their shopping, Evelyn notices a nearby hotel is marked as having a discount for trainers in the Pokéleague.

---

Portia quickly pulls Seymour into the express elevator to the roof. The glass sides gives you a great view of the castle from higher, and of the land beyond it. Listening to the other people on the ride tells you where the tourism industry comes from: the rest of Cadien.

The top-floor viewing platform includes various information panels talking about other regions, as well as some of the Pokémon that were 'brought back' from each. Combined with the presence of coin operated binoculars all pointing to the Southwest, it seems this 'gateway' is more for the natives to look out, than for foreign visitors.

Seymour, on the other hand, spots a more interesting sign (for him, at least):
An arrow points to a wide staircase leading to the roof.

Seymour chuckled lightly as he allowed Portia to swoop him along with her. "Up top we go!" Seymour had to admit that he was at least passingly interested in checking out the view. Mostly so that he could get a better sense of the surrounding landscape. It would help him better anticipate what they might expect to encounter the next day, pokemon-wise or otherwise.

He was certainly intrigued by the sign promoting the duels, but knew his grass types would be weak against the fliers that were likely being used. Still... he would likely be tempted to join in regardless, if Portia didn't mind. He knew she didn't seem all that interested in battling.

Then, when they were finished sightseeing, Seymour wanted to see if he could scrounge up any new healing supplies to replace some of the ones he had used earlier in the day.

---

Edit: added more to my post.

Seymour will take some time to see what his intuition tells him when observing the surroundings from up on the tower. Is there anything noteworthy to observe?

He will likely join in a battle if Portia doesn't mind, and the battles don't seem too out of his league.

Seymour will also try to increase his Healing Items if he can. I am willing to use up to 15 favor points if it will result in a better outcome (assuming favor points can be used for this kind of roll). I am also willing to drop my Pokedollars one step.

And, as always, Seymour will keep an eye out for any wild pokemon that might be captureable. Even within the city limits.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:21, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

Although the view of the city is beautiful, it's hard to spot anything specific. Especially when everyone looks like Joltiks. Going on the roof gives you a slightly better look of the parts you have yet to see, including a suburb and major port across the river to the East and North. You're clearly in the heart of the city, with the rest of the island covered in smaller buildings. There are a few parks though, maybe you could find some Pokémon there?

While they look around, the pair also get a look at an ongoing fight. A Snover taking on a Dugtrio. Though the Dugtrio seemed stronger, the Snover's grass moves turned the fight in his favor. Both Pokémon are healed after the match, and the winner receive a small amount of money from the organizer.

It also gives you a look of how organized this mini area is: any trainer who wishes to compete presents his trainer card (or Pokédex, for trainer competing in the League like you), and the organizer tries to match the contender against someone with comparable experience.

A small sign bears a disclaimer, stating that by participating you allow the company owning the building to upload your match to Twitch, and wave any rights to the video's income. It would seem that this is where the prize money comes from.

OOC: Favor can be used for almost any roll, including the shopping ones. Although your shopping will take place after the fight, if you do fight, you can increase your healing by one right away, at the cost of dropping your cash by one. It would cost 21 favors to get the increase without the cost.

So, do you try your hand at a quick match?

Not many people enjoyed heights, but Portia always found it thrilling.  To be able to look out over the landscape, to feel the wind rushing by carrying the scents and sounds from all over... there was something about it that lured her to lofty spots more often than not.  Though that wasn't to say she was there only for leisure's sake.  The young woman hurried to the railing with an eager smile and shuffled out of her bag a set of high-powered electronic binoculars that looked leaps and bounds more powerful than the mounted viewing stations set around the area.  With a twist, however, the binoculars split into a pair of individual scopes instead and she quickly handed one up to her Abra.  The duo looked a bit silly - each with a handheld telescope in hand, looking about eagerly in all directions near and far - but Portia's smile couldn't be denied.

Her eye was drawn a bit when she heard the noise of nearby battle and caught Seymour paying more attention to it than the view.  Portia could only sigh and shake her head.  "You League Trainers really just have fighting on the brain all the time, huh?" she chuckled.  They'd just gotten out of a battle and he was already hankering to get into another one... she saw it all the time as she traveled.  The whole concept never really made much sense to her, but it took all sorts to care for Pokemon.  She was quite surprised, however, when Houdini patted the top of her head to get her attention and grumbled his low, sleepy sort of chitter at her.  "Wait, seriously?  Since when do you--?" Portia seemed to have no trouble understanding her Abra and could only relent with a slump of her shoulders as he continued to chitter at her.

"Alright... hey, Seymour?  How about we have a quick match ourselves?  I can't promise I'll be much of a challenge, but Houdini's got an itch to scratch."

Roof: Portia and Houdini take some time to scope out the region as far as her Binoculars will allow, for the sake of establishing Teleportation points in the future.  She'll also cross that with the listed information about Pokemon taken from other regions to try and learn what Pokemon live where in the area.

Battle: Portia and Houdini will participate in a battle as well - preferably against Seymour, if he's willing and it's allowed in the match-up.  Otherwise she'll try her luck against whatever pairing is set against her.

Shopping: When they do head down to do some shopping, Portia will want to buy some TMs - specifically looking for Rest, Thief, Psyshock, Psychic, Toxic, Grass Knot, Dazzling Gleam, and Calm Mind.  She will spend up to the maximum 25 Favor and drop her Pokedollars stat by one rank as necessary.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:33, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

Jake clearly enjoyed dressing up and despite the impractical nature of the outfit Eve set him up with, he seemed to like it. Of course, he ended up going with the cheaper outfit that was more worthy for the road. He wasn't made of money after all. He didn't seem inclined to reveal much about his background though. He did say his parents were probably pretty normal people compared to Eve's family. He also mentioned he tried not to worry about them too much. He definitely did like to talk about Saffron City and all the hi-jinks he and his friends got up to. He did leave off certain more legally grey bits though. He also enjoyed talking about the famous trainers from the Kanto region, but seemed to have limited knowledge other than their name, their most famous pokemon partners, and their company sponsors.

He did display minor interest in the teenagers talking about a terrorist attack and speculated to Eve,
"Do you think that was the castle that we just came from? Maybe the guy with the fake face was a terrorist!"

He also registered interest in the hotel with a discount for people participating in the pokemon league. Rather than delighted, he was a bit skeptical that a real discount was being offered.

Seymour was about to give Portia a witty reply to her League Trainer comment, but instead ended up being a bit taken aback at her suggestion that the two of them battle. "Oh, um, yeah. I guess that would be fine." Suddenly Seymour realized how dazed he must be sounding and he shook his head clear. "I mean yes. Yes, I would definitely like to battle you, Portia. So long as we get the ok."

Seymour went to go ask the event coordinator if it would be alright if they battled. He made sure to mention that it would be two non-Cadiens who would be battling. He figured that might get the coordinators a few extra views on their broadcast and might entice them to increase the reward they might dish out to the winner.

The organizers are indeed interested, and quickly arrange for the two of you to face-off next. The announcement that two foreign trainer are facing off draws a lot of attention... from the other trainers. It seems the tourist aren't that interested.

Portia steps up in the trainer's square, an unfamiliar position for her, while Houdini takes his place near the center of the arena. Seymour does the same on the other side, before commanding his Pokémon to the field...

OOC: Time for the two of you to give me your orders, and what Pokémon Seymour is using.

Most of the Pokémon mentioned are somewhat common, at least in other regions. Two are noteworthy though. First is a Dratini brought back by the king himself during the Kanto war. The other are Swannas that apparently saved a camp from a surprise attack, and inspired the tradition of having wild Pokémon nesting on the border of military camps.

I'll go over Portia's shopping after the fight.

As she squared up on her side of the field, Portia looked around worriedly to the various onlookers and then over to Seymour.  Battling Trainers to the last.  She'd always run from danger and problems in the past; it was what she and Houdini were best at.  That her companion suddenly seemed to want to spar himself... she wasn't sure what to make of it and the whole situation, along with the echo of the Stranger's surprise attack, left her feeling rather adrift.

"You're sure about this?" Portia asked her Abra one last time as he shuffled across her shoulders to one side.  Houdini's chirr and nod was all she got in reply, but it was all she needed as well.  She trusted her partner, even when something seemed like a bad idea on its face.  With a sigh she reached up to gather her Pokemon in the crook of her arm and, with a quick spin in place, lobbed Houdini out into the field.  Despite being tossed without a pokeball in play the Abra arched smoothly through the air and, rather than land, slowed to a graceful stop mid-flight to simply hover a few feet above the ground via innate telekinesis.

"Alright Houdini, do your thing."

Houdini will remain on the defensive using Teleport to evade and confuse his opponent.  He'll try and create openings by Teleporting into blind spots and using Tackle from unexpected angles, or Teleport his opponent into the line of fire of their own ranged attacks, if that's possible.

Seymour was glad that Portia and himself were being allowed to battle, but he was a bit nervous as well. He was not used to having so many eyes on him at once. He felt like they would be scrutinizing his every move.

Seymour took a deep breath and tried to push those thoughts from his mind. He need to focus on the battle. He would already be a step behind if he let himself get distracted.

With one pokeball in each hand, Seymour swiftly contemplated which of his partners to send out against Portia. Neither lotad nor shroomish had a clear type advantage against an abra. His lotad was probably slightly stronger, more familiar with Seymour himself, and did have a ghost-type attack... On the other hand, shroomish might have the tricks he would need to pull ahead if the match stretched out longer. And the little mushroom could use some more combat experience too.

Seymour threw out his pokeball. "Let's go Glumpy! Let's give it our best!"

---

Seymour will have the shroomish try using leech seed up to twice, then use stun spore once (if the abra hasn't already been affected by another status effect). Then he will have Glumpy switch to tackle if he is still unwounded, or absorb if he is wounded. Glumpy will continue switching between using tackle when unwounded and absorb when wounded.

The battle was one of agility rather than brute strength. Houdini's Teleportation made it hard for the mushroom to hit him, but also hindered him own attack. But as Glumpy maintained his various attacks, the psychic Pokémon had more and more trouble avoiding them.

First he was hit by the Leech Seeds, then caught by the Stun Spore. As he was reeling from those, Glumpy manage to land a solid Tackle. Houdini tried to turn things around, letting Glumpy hit him, only to teleport both of them in front of a wall. Alas, the plant's body was too bouncy for the attack to have a noticeable effect.

Realizing he's on the loosing end of this engagement, Houdini teleports near Portia, a bit disappointed by his performance.

OOC: Oh boy, that was a long one. With no one else to distract Glumpy, Houdini had no real way to launch a surprise attack through teleportation, since the plant was always focused on him. In the end, the only real opportunity to turn things around was a pair of unimpressive tackles, but the attack wasn't strong enough to make a difference. Rather than prolong the most likely result, Houdini decided to throw in the towel.

The building's employees congratulate Houdini on a brave effort, and quickly tends to his injuries. Meanwhile, Seymour gets a nice little pile of cash and a round of applause.

OOC: Long battle log incoming!
Does Houdini goes first? Odds: 7/35/88 Result: 28 -- Yes
Houdini prepares to Teleport.
Does Glumpy's Leech Seed connects? Odds: 13/65/94 Result: 68 -- No

Turn 2: Does Glumpy goes first? Odds: 13/65/94 Result: 34 -- Yes
Does Glumpy's Leech Seed connects? Odds: 17/85/98 Result: 50 -- Yes
Does Houdini's Tackle connects? Odds: 3/15/84 Result: 18 -- No

Turn 3: Does Houdini goes first? Odds: 7/35/88 Result: 46 -- No
Does Glumpy's Tackle connects? Odds: 17/85/98 Result: 92 -- No
Does Houdini's Tackle connects? Odds: 3/15/84 Result: 21 -- No

Turn 4: Does Glumpy go first? Odds: 13/65/94 Result: 1 -- EXCEPTIONAL YES
Does Glumpy's Stun Spore connects? Odds: 13/65/94 Result: 35 -- Yes

Turn 5: Does Houdini go first? Odds: 3/15/84 Result: 67 -- No
Does Glumpy's Tackle connects? Odds: 10/50/91 Result: 59 -- No
Houdini keeps Teleporting

Turn 6: Does Glumpy go first? Odds: 17/85/98 Result: 49 -- Yes
Does Glumpy's tackle connects? Odds: 10/50/91 Result: 38 -- Yes
Does Glumpy cause a wound? Odds: 15/75/96 Result: 51 -- Yes
Houdini keeps Teleporting

Turn 7: Does Houdini go first? Odds: 17/85/98 Result: 26 -- Yes
Does Houdini's Tackle connects? Odds: 1/5/82 Result: 7 -- No

Does Glumpy's Tackle connects? Odds: 19/95/100 Result: 23 -- Yes
Does it cause a wound? Odds: 17/85/98 Result: 100 -- EXCEPTIONAL NO

Turn 8: Does Glumpy go first? Odds: 13/65/94 Result: 16 -- Yes

Does Glumpy's Tackle connects? Odds: 19/95/100 Result: 68 -- Yes
Does it cause a wound? Odds: 17/85/98 Result: 99 -- EXCEPTIONAL NO

Does Houdini manage to Teleport Glumpy into a wall? Odds: 19/95/100 Result: 27 -- Yes
Does it cause a wound? Odds: 10/50/91 Result: 59 -- No

Does Houdini call it quit? Odds: 16/80/97 Result: 47 -- Yes

OOC: Houdini doesn't level up, but Glumpy gets to improve a stat of his choice.

With the battle over, Portia and Seymour returns to the mall to look for some healing items and TM. While Seymour has no trouble finding what he seeks, Portia has a bit more trouble. She quickly found that the main shop is pretty over priced. She was about to give up, when she spotted a small stall near the exit with more affordable disks, though less choice.

Portia gets the Rest and Psychock TMs for almost peanuts... but as she's about to pay, a small blue flame run right at the stall, causing some of the items to fall. "Hey! Watch it!" The Rest TM falls and break, causing the merchant to panic. As Portia picks up the TM, she notices two things: first, the TM's disc has a DVD-R mark in the center, indicating it's a fake. Second, the blue flame is the tail of a small, injured Pokémon...



OOC: After carefully checking the Psychock TM, it seems to be genuine. The Rest TM is unsafe, to put it gently. That TM cost you a total of 20 favors, but no money.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:59, Fri 15 Nov 2019.

"Do you know, you might actually be right!" Eve said with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hiding his face, attacking people he knew to be outsiders to stir up controversy... But, why? What would a terrorist want with us? Like he said, we're just kids. More or less." She considered the potential consequences, but tried not to think on it too much. They had enough trouble ahead of them. She also thought about Portia and her reaction to it all. But that was for another time.

She was also struck by the deal offered by the hotel. She didn't really find it that suspicious. A hotel in a touristy town wanting to attract tourists made perfect sense to her! "Come on, let's go check it out. If the place isn't totally scummy, we could save a good amount of money sleeping here." She smiled. "The worst that can happen is we turn it down, right?" With that, she lead them to the hotel and into the reception area to find the front desk and inquire.

The reason for the discount is pretty evident when you reach the hotel. Next to the entrance, a sign bearing the Cadien army flag states that the hotel is sponsored by the League. The hotel even boast a Pokémon Center in it's lobby, and offers an arena for trainer's pick-up match.

And checking the price at the counter confirms Evelyn can easily afford rooms for the four of them.

Seymour was proud of his shroomish's performance, and also quite impressed by Houdini's technique as well. It was a strategy he had never encountered before. If it wasn't for Glumpy's tough and flexible exterior, things may have ended quite differently. He certainly was not expecting Glumpy's stun spore to mysteriously paralyze herself like that!

After pocketing his winnings and spending them on some new healing supplies, Seymour was so busy reorganizing his pack that he almost didn't notice what was going on with Portia at the TM stall. But when he looked up, he saw a pokemon he did not recognize. "What in the world is that?" he asked, mostly to himself. But the trainer was already pulling out his pokedex to find an answer.

---

Seymour is checking his pokedex for information on the roasted rabbit.

Glumpy will improve her HP stat. I am guessing the winnings weren't enought to raise Seymour's Pokedollar stat?

Edit: Glumpy is a she, not a he.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Sat 16 Nov 2019.

There were some curiosities about how Portia battled Seymour was bound to notice - he had more experience in such things, but his unlikely opponent was quite unorthodox compared to the standard breed of Trainer.  Not only was the Abra difficult to track in his flickering assault, but Portia herself didn't call out any commands; she remained silent the entire time.  It almost seemed as though she was just letting Houdini do as he pleased without trying to control or advise him, but a careful watch on the Trainer herself revealed a hint.  Wherever she looked and focused her gaze on in the battlefield, Houdini soon Teleported to.  Abra were natural mind-readers... it seemed the two were intent to use that to their advantage when it came to keeping Houdini's movements a surprise until the last second.

Still, things ended up just about how Portia imagined they would.  Houdini may have gotten an urge to test himself in battle, but willingness of spirit didn't equal strength of body.  As he teleported back to her side Portia crouched down and offered her companion a fond ruffle atop his head.  "Got it out of your system now?  Where's all this coming from all a sudden?" she asked, though all she got was a mutter as Houdini flickered and reappeared sat atop her shoulders in his usual perch.  All she could do was shrug haplessly and rejoin Seymour to get their friends treated by the on-site med team.  "Thanks for that, Seymour.  I don't know what's gotten into him, but I appreciate it all the same."

---

On their way back down to rejoin the others, Portia stopped short when Houdini patted at her head a few times to get her attention, only to scowl a bit when he directed her gaze to a nearby TM vendor.  "You and me are gonna double-down on our telepathy lessons so you can actually tell me what's gotten your tail in a knot all a sudden." the teen's tone was scolding but it didn't stop her from indulging her partner as she stepped over to check out the wares.  The exorbitant prices soon pushed her to less reputable vendors, however, and she kept a critical eye on the value versus the price.  Flea markets and back alleys were always good for getting deals, but knock-offs were a risk one needed to be aware of.

Such was the case as Portia discovered a fake TM in the supply when a surprise dash of blue fire darted between herself and the merchant.  She scowled darkly as she waggled the phony TM in his face and tossed it down onto the display of other discs with a noisy clatter.  "Seriously?!  You outta be ashamed of yourself pulling stunts like this." While Portia made a bit of a fuss, it was mostly a cover - just the distraction needed for her to snatch the genuine Psyshock TM into her bag and rejoin Seymour while the shady vendor was busy cleaning up the other items scattered about.

"What in the world is that?" Seymor asked.

"Dunno... I've never seen a Pokemon like that before.  Maybe Cadien really does have its own native breeds?" Portia remarked as she knelt down near the spooked critter.  A quick shuffle through her bag produced a juicy Oran berry for her to gently offer out to the little lapin.  "C'mere hon', it's okay.  You look a little roughed up... we won't hurt you."

Portia plies her "Pokemon Friend" strength and will use a Healing Item rank, if necessary, to help the unknown Pokemon.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:21, Sat 16 Nov 2019.

OOC: I forgot to mention. Yes, Seymour's cash increases to Below Average.

Having been found out, the merchant quickly gathers his wears and runs off while Portia and Seymour examine the small rabbit.



It does seem pretty hurt, and quite scared. It only settles down once Portia manages to patch up the most painful. What you wonder, is why it's so scared.

The answers comes quickly, as you hear shouts in the distance. "A white bunny? Blue flames on it's butt?" "That way! Hurry, before it escapes!" You can't see who's shouting yet, but they could round the corner at any moment...

"I might be right? Wow! Yeah, that makes a lot of sense with covering the face. Maybe he wants to make an example of people he doesn't like, both in Cadien and out. It's probably not a big deal though. It seems like there are a lot of soldiers around." Jakey clearly didn't think it was a big deal. Despite being attacked it still seemed like someone else's problem to him.

Jake followed Eve into the hotel, curious to check it out because the deal DID seem pretty good. His skepticism let up significantly when he saw that there was a pokemon center and match-pickup spot. It would be a high effort con for not a huge payoff. He nodded to Eve and gave his vote of confidence,
"Yea, seems legit as anything."

He looked around the lobby for a place to sit for a moment. When he was out and about shopping he felt comfortable, but now he was probably going to be waiting in the lobby with someone he barely knew and had little in common with. He considered making an excuse to go out again and leave Eve behind, but they had agreed to stick together. It did not take him long to think of something to talk about though,
"Hey, uh, can you show me how you use your pokedex? I don't really know much how to use it other than the big map and the pokemon info. It was pretty cool that Portia could take video on it."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:32, Sun 17 Nov 2019.

Seymoure's eyes shifted nervously as his brain tried to work out what course of action to take in this situation. Based on the pokedex entry, he wasn't sure if the little rabbit was the victim or the guilty party in relation to the people looking for it. But in the end he determined that it didn't really matter. Portia was trying to help it, so the least he could do was try and give her enough time to finish that up. He decided to go investigate why the people were after it in the first place.

Seymour walked around the corner where he heard people coming. He made sure they wouldn't be able to see the rabbit from where he was at, then held up his pokedex with the picture of the Laconney still visible. "Is this the pokemon you are looking for? He asked the group. What did it do? It looked injured."

With any luck, he would stall the group just long enough for Portia to do whatever it was that she needed to do. Heal it, hide it, restrain it, convince it to join her team? He wasn't sure of her goals, but would be sure to find out eventually.

The shout of approaching voices made Portia flinch a little and draw some quick conclusions.  While Seymour was perhaps more generous with his appraisal of the situation, she erred on the side of the Pokemon's favor by kneejerk response.  She quickly looked about and spotted a nearby rooftop - not too high, but high enough to offer some cover and get out of line of sight of the street.

"Houdini." she urged her Abra with a quick nudge and look up at the intended target.  Her companion nodded and reached down to take the Laconney's paw in his own, offered a reassuring chitter, and promptly vanished with the other in tow to leave Portia behind. 

Assuming the Laconney is willing, Houdini will Teleport himself and it onto a nearby rooftop out of sight and hide.  Portia will remain where she is on the street to keep an eye on things.

As Seymour turns around the corner, he hears a soft chime coming from Portia.  Before he has time to worry about it, he find two man with scruffy beard, long hair, and tie-dye shirts.

"Ah... yeah man, that little thing got hurt. We're trying to get it into a Pokémon center, but it ran off. Where d'you see it?"

Seymour has a sick feeling in his stomach talking to these guys, and not just from their stench. They try to be friendly, but he noticed a small sneer when they saw his Pokédex. Also, one of them glances around, like he was counting how many people were seeing this discussion...

Portia jerked in surprise when she heard that chime, momentarily confused before she realized it had come from her own bag.  She quickly fished out her PokeDex and checked the message on the screen, then quickly typed back a reply before she stowed it away into once more.  Portia hurried around the corner to join Seymour in his unusual confrontation with the two strangers and did her best to look put-out... an easy task, as she already didn't like the look of the two men who had come in pursuit.

"Did you see where that little Pokemon went?  I tried to grab it, but it ran off down an alley and--" she stopped short beside Seymour and eyed the two strangers up-and-down briefly.  "Uh... who're your friends?"

Portia's comment causes both men to focus on her. "Yeah, it's a quick one. What alley did it go in?" Their focus shifts from the alleys to the people moving about, their focus always shifting.

"Down that way, past the shopping center." she said with a gesture off in the general direction necessary to send the men off on a wild goose chase.

With barely a 'thank you', the two run off in the direction Portia gave. Once they're out of sight, Houdini returns to her side, still holding the small bunny. It still looks frightened.

Houdini tugs at Portia's arm. He points at the Laconney, then points in the direction of the castle.

Seymour got the sense that the men were not exactly trustworthy, but didn't want to outright lie to them. Especially since their pokedexes recorded everything. So he was glad that Portia showed up and directed them on a wild goose chase. He merely stepped aside and gestured in the same direction as Portia and watched them rush off.

Just as Seymour was noticing Houdini was missing, the abra reappeared holding the fugitive pokemon. "Oh, so that's where you ended up," he commented to the Laconney. Then to Portia, he added, "Have you considered offering a pokeball to lay low in?" The Laconney would certainly be much less likely to be spotted if it was inside a pokeball. And it seemed like it might already be making quick friends of Portia's abra already anyway.

---

Seymour is hinting to Portia that she might want to consider asking it to join her party, if she wants to. If she doesn't want to, Seymour might make the offer himself, but he is definitely giving Portia "fist dibs."

While Seymour was reluctant to lie to the men, Portia had no such qualms and did so with ease.  She watched as they hurried away out of sight and, after a few moments to ensure they were well and good gone, held out her arms in a cradling gesture just in time for Houdini and the Laconney to spontaneously pop into existence within her waiting embrace.  "I love it when a plan comes together.  Well done, and thanks for sticking your neck out like that." Portia gave Seymour a grateful smile and a playful bump of her hip to his side for jumping to thier defense.

She gave a curious look to Houdini when he indicated the distant castle and nodded, though Seymour's remark about using a Pokeball drew a bit of a rueful smirk out of her.  "You say that like it's so easy to do.  My first reaction to meeting a new Pokemon has never been to try and capture them.  Bringing a Pokemon into your care is a huge responsibility." It went unmentioned that she also had extremely few supplies in that regard and couldn't use them carelessly, but she wasn't about to fess to that so quickly.  "In any case, the Professor just shot me a text - apparently there's some latecomer at the lab who missed our train and needs a pick-up, so we may have a new traveling companion joining our little troupe.  I was thinking of taking this little one to the lab for safe keeping."

On that, Portia hoisted her Abra back up to his usual spot astride her shoulders and held the frightened Laconney affectionately cradled to her chest, warm and supported.  "What do you say, little one?  Do you want to be taken to the castle, to the Professor's lab outside of this city..." she cast a look Seymour's way and conceded a shrug.  "...or do you want to come with us?  Fair warning though - I'm traveling with a bunch of Trainers, so they're gonna want to get into battles and win gym badges.  But if that's your thing, they're your best choice."

Portia isn't looking to add the Laconney to her team, but is giving it the choice of where it wants to ultimately go to.  If it wants to join the party, she'll readily let Seymour take it.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:28, Tue 19 Nov 2019.

You're not sure if the Pokémon understood you or not. All it does, is make soft whines while looking toward the castle.

---

Meanwhile, at the hotel...

Jakey has just started to look through his Pokédex's functions, when an employee of the hotel walks up to him and Evelyn. "Excuse me, miss Nomura-Wataru? Someone left a message for you." The woman hand Evelyn a small white envelope.

Portia frowned a bit as the little rabbit seemed to struggle to understand what she said.  Pokemon had a very wide range when it came to their capacity to understand Humans - there were the hyper-intelligent sort like her Abra who matched and readily exceeded mankind's mental abilities on one end of the scale, but then there was the far end where some Pokemon behaved as little more than dumb, instinct-driven brutes.  It was hard to tell where the Laconney fell on that spectrum, but it did seem to give a clear enough indication as it's gaze remained fast on the imposing castle in the distance.

"Looks like it wants to go to the Castle... maybe it already has a Trainer there?  C'mon, let's hurry.  Keep an eye out for those guys." Portia unzipped her jacket a ways to tuck the Laconney inside, kept mostly out of sight with just its cute little head poking up into view.  Perhaps they'd get lucky and be able to find that Lieutenant Barry person again.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:36, Tue 19 Nov 2019.

Seymour probably would have been offended by Portia's accusation about catching pokemon if it weren't so true. His mind did go to capturing awfully quickly. Especially when presented with a pokemon he had never seen or heard of before. Plus, fire and ice type? How awesome was that!?

But Seymour didn't press the issue any further after Portia conversed with the pokemon herself. It seemed the castle was their new destination. "Let's just try not to stir up any inter-regional drama if we can help it," Seymour commented as he followed along. He kept an eye out for the rabbit's pursuers, as requested.

At the castle...

As Seymour and Portia get closer to the castle, they notice there seems to be more people around then earlier. Not at the exit where they passed, but a good distance off to the side. And although you try to avoid the crowd, the Laconney struggles to head that way.

You get a better look of what is drawing the people's attention. A police barricade has been placed near the castle, and a group of agents in protective coveralls are working around a small group of bushes near the wall.

Portia had decided to follow the Laconney's lead by that point since it seemed as though it had somewhere it wanted to go, but she did feel a fair bit of hesitation at the sight of a crowd and police on site.  She stopped short a ways from the thick of it all, reluctant to get much closer since the officials had on protective gear.

"What do you think happened?" she muttered as she leaned in closer to Seymour.

If Eve at all considered that what she had said was taken as offensive, she showed no sigh at all, only nodding in agreeance. "It sounds farfetched in normal circumstances, but there really aren't many other reasons. In a military state like this one, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest that there would be up cropping of people super resentful to the government."

She happily paid for the rooms herself and went to sit in the lobby. She honestly expected Jake to leave her alone. With her lack of ability to travel for long and the city open to explore, she didn't want to hold anyone back. Really, she was used to beinf left behind. It didnt really bother her anymore. When he stayed and asked for her help, she brightened visibly. "Of course I would!" she said eagerly. "And you had asked about how to be a good trainer, too, right? I can answer some questions, too! I'm no expert but I think I can help you if you're brand new to training." She moved to sit right next to him and began pointing out the features of the Pokedex. She proved to be an exceedingly patient teacher, happy to answer any questions he had.

The interruption surprised her, and she looked up at the receptionist as she handed her the envelope. "Thank you," she said courteously as she took the envelope. She smiled at Jake as the deliverer walked away. "Just one sec. It might be from my family," she said apologetically before she opened the envelope to read the message.

JirachiWish... Evelyn had seen the name before, in video games advertisement. To see it in a letter addressed to her was unexpected, to say the least...

"Thanks a bunch! I will try to think of some questions once we are done with figuring this thing out."
Jake was happy to have a teacher to demonstrate the different functions of the pokedex and someone of similar age to chat with about something. It was always hardest to talk to someone when there wasn't a topic at hand. There was no feature he seemed most interested in, but he was enthusiastic about such an advanced device in general.

After Eve got her letter, he pulled out his own pokedex and held it close to him in a guarded fashion. He looked at the city map for a bit before tabbing over to see if he had any messages. He wasn't sure if he would see anything. He didn't add any of the other trainer's numbers due to his prior lack of skill, but it was possible the professor had already pre-added them.

"I'm not sure," Seymour admitted to Portia. "But I'll see if I can figure it out."

The trainer took a step forward toward the gathered crowd, then paused and looked back again. "It may take a few minutes. Did you want to collect the new trainer while I go poke around? I assume the Professor was intending for you to teleport, correct?" What a useful skill teleportation would be, Seymour mused.

Regardless of Portia's decision, however, Seymour approached the scene to see if he could glean what was going on. Both by listening to the rumors of the crowd, observing what he could from behind the barricades, and maybe even asking a question or two if the opportunity presented itself.

---

Seymour is using his Intuition and IQ to try and piece together what is (or was) going on at the castle.

At the hotel...

The first thing Evelyn showed to Jakey was how to the rest of the group to his contacts. As she was focused on her letter, he looked through the map for points of interest.

---

At the castle...

Seymour makes his way closer to the barricade, to take a better look at the area. Although there are soldiers on the walls, none of them are close to the crime scene. The police officers seem rather disturbed by what happened, though it's hard to figure out what that was. One thing leads Seymour to suspect a violent crime: some of the crime scene investigator have dark stains on their coveralls. Blood, perhaps?
The other bystander don't seem too well informed either, though one word seems to come up regularly: terrorist. Unfortunately, there seems to be little else they can tell you. The cops probably know more, but it would be hard to get answers from them...

Eve slightly pursed her lip, cocking her head slightly. JirachiWish... How peculiar. She had done promotional material before, for a few reasons, back in Kanto, but this company, while the name was familiar, she was sure she had never worked with before. The fact that they knew where to deliver the message was more than a little off putting, but then again, this was Cadien, and not Kanto. Her movements, like everyone with a Pokedex, were closely monitored by the government, and big corporations often had their fingers in the government's dealings...

"Falkner, please," she said with an air of guilt, "give me just one second. I just have to make a quick phone call." Giving him an apologetic smile, she popped open her Pokedex and (taking the opportunity to show Jakey how to do it) tapped out the number in the letter. She might as well meet with them, she supposed. Brushing her long platinum hair out of the way, she pressed her Pokedex to her ear, waiting for someone to answer.

When they did, she put on a much more prim and professional voice than when she had been speaking to Jakey. She was polite and respectful, but spoke in an air that clearly expected it to be returned. "Hello. This is Evelyn Wataru-Nomura. I just received a letter from a Ms. Regina Valeria Walls, with instruction to call this number if I wished to arrange a meeting."

Jake seemed to take inspiration from looking at the map and squirmed in his seat. As Eve apologized for the call she was about to take, Jake piped in,
"No worries, I am going to run out a bit, its a huge city out there!"

Despite his enthusiastic phrasing, he seemed a bit less transparently excited than he typically did. He also called his mudkip back into its pokeball as he quickly walked out of the hotel. It seemed apparent that on reviewing the pokedex that there was a place that he wanted or needed to go.

That some sort of terrorist attack had taken place so soon after the party had gotten jumped on the road didn't settle well with Portia at all.  While she was suspicious a to what a militarized region like Cadien would label as 'terrorist' actions, it didn't change the fact that things seemed to be in a bad way so close to the border.  "I don't think we're gonna be able to get into the castle at a time like this." she muttered as she shifted in close at Seymour's side to whisper to him.  "Do you want to take the little one back to the hotel and we can try getting into the castle tomorrow?  Or should I just take it to the Professor?"

Last chance if Seymour wants to keep Laconney for himself.

Portia seemed to have similar feelings as Seymour about the whole "terrorist" thing. When they were away from the crowd, he said, "Yeah, it is probably best we keep our distance. As outsiders we would probably automatically be under suspicion. Our pokedex recordings would ensure nothing was actually tied to us, but I would still rather avoid any interrogations if possible. So yeah, let's check back tomorrow."

That said, he turned his attention back to the Laconney once Portia mentioned it. "You're more than welcome to come with me, Laconney. But I would feel a lot safer if you were hiding in a pokeball." He held out an empty ball for it. "Or you can stay with Portia and go to the Professor if you prefer. That is just fine too." His voice was gentle and sincere.

---

Figured I might as well try and convince it to join the team, since Portia offered. ;-)

I'll use up to the full 25 favor points on any roll needed to convince it, and reduce my pokeball stat too, if needed.

Evelyn...

A woman's voice answers the call. "Ah, miss Wataru-Nomura, I was told to expect your call. Madam Walls would like to meet you at Sekheta's Trove for supper. We will send a car to pick you up. Would you like to bring guests with you?"

---

Jakey...

Jakey leaves the hotel, and soon finds himself at a nice open park. Grabbing a bite to eat, he takes a moment to enjoy the sights.

---

At the castle...

It seems Laconney has something else in mind, as he starts struggling to escape Portia. She manages to hold on, but not before drawing the attention of one of the cops. "Hold up kids. Is this your Pokémon?" He moves closer to look at the Laconney, then gives a sad sigh. "Kids... I think you should come with me..."
He notices Seymour and Portia freezing for a moment, and he raises his hands in a calming gesture. "Calm down, you're not in trouble. I'm officer Joshua, and... well, I have bad news about your new companion..." At the man's tone and gesture, the Laconney stops struggling, instead shaking in fear.

OOC: Sorry if it looks like I'm stretching things, but this talk is what will convince Laconney to join. Portia, you can pass the bunny to Seymour if you want, it's clear it doesn't want to leave right now. The cop will have no problem with you teleporting away, if Seymour stays with the Pokémon.

The approach of the officer was plenty to put Portia on edge and the partial explanation offered didn't do anything to ease her concerns.  She glanced past to the odd markings scattered across the blocked-of scene and grimaced as her imagination took a turn for the worse as to what was at hand.

"We found it running around the side-streets by the shopping center - it was hurt and being chased by some weirdos in tie-dye shirts.  We were trying to figure out what to do with it, but it wanted to come here to the castle." she explained hesitantly.  While she rarely held any trust for adults, honesty was the best policy when it came to such situations.  Portia cradled the Laconney closer to her chest and covered its ears down under her palm, both in a soothing gesture to try and calm it while also blocking its hearing as best she could.  "The attack... was its Trainer involved in this?" she asked, uncertain of whether such a person was responsible or perhaps a victim caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I hate to keep Atticus waiting on me, but this doesn't seem like a good spot for Portia to just bail on or to bring Atticus back into.  I figured she'd jump to get him once she and Seymour were ready to return to the hotel.

At the castle...

The officer shakes his head. "I don't think it had a trainer, but it likely involved the man who were chasing it." He guides you near a police car, behind the barricade and where the crowd can't hear you.

"Those weirdos... they were probably part of Team Gaia. They're a group who's opposed to Cadien's military traditions. That usually means protesting any military or governmental buildings, but sometime it extends to interfering with Gym challenges or other League activities."
His tone drops as he continues. "But... some of them are more agressive, going so far as to turn to terrorism." He nods to the crime scene. "In this case, they attacked the wild Pokémon nesting near the castle... this guy's family."

Such a claim left Portia with a stricken look on her face, though it lasted only for a moment before her expression darkened.  It was the same kind of sour look she'd given the Professor when he explained the situation in Cadien back at the lab - a distrustful glower, as if she didn't quite buy the line she'd been fed.

"That doesn't make any sense - why would they attack wild Pokemon?  Why would they chase after this one?" she muttered as she held the Laconney tighter to herself with a tremble in her hands.  If the so-called terrorists were just trying to cause chaos or hurt the military, there were much better ways than to indiscriminately attack Pokemon who had nothing to do with anything.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:17, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

Seymour's jaw dropped as the officer explained the situation. That was why the rabbit wanted to return to the castle? A wave of sadness and worry washed over him. Emotions the laconney was probably experiencing one hundred times worse. It's whole family...

"Terrorist plots don't usually make sense to those of sound mind," Seymour replied to Portia, doing his best to hold it together. "In Hoenn, there was once a criminal organization that attempted to erupt a volcano in order to create new habitats for pokemon. It would have destroyed countless habitats for people and pokemon in the process. So yeah, I wouldn't waste too much time trying to follow the logic of someone who would do something this barbaric." He gave the laconney another sympathetic look.

"Officer, do you think there is any way our laconney friend here could spend a moment in their home? Get a bit of closure?"

"They were targeted for a simple reason. Despite being wild, the Pokémon that nest near barraks are treated as both mascot, and guards. Anyone trying to attack a military base would rile up the nest, ruining most attempt at surprise attack. And soldiers, or their family, would often bound with some of the child of the nest, eventually adopting them as their companions. To Team Gaia, that's corrupting Pokémon with our human military ways."

The officer takes a deep breath. "Team Gaia promotes wild behaviour from their Pokémon. Including... eating the Pokémon they defeat." He takes a moment to let that sink in. "I don't think it should go in there... They took away all it's siblings, and neither it's mother or father survived..."

The Laconney gives a mournful cry.

While the practice of eating Pokemon itself wasn't a bother to Portia in and of itself, she could only concede to it as a matter of survival.  Pokemon as food wasn't an issue - they preyed on one another all the time and there were plenty of ways they would produce by-products or share their bounty with Humans willingly.  But to eat Pokemon needlessly, or worse still because of a misguided effort to make a point... Portia's stomach turned from anger more than anything.

She began to speak but her voice faltered and stopped short, only to be steadied after a quick breath.  "Let's... let's go back to the hotel.  We shouldn't be here." she urged Seymour.

Seymour nodded solemnly to Portia. "Yeah, let's go. Thank you officer. Let us know if there is anything more we can do." He turned to leave.

Then Seymour reached out to scratch the laconney behind the ear in an effort to comfort it, if even just a little bit. The poor bunny. "I am sorry about your family, laconney. You are certainly welcome to stay with us as long as you need."

Eve smiled and waved goodbye to Jakey as he walked out to leave her alone. "Certainly, that would be lovely," she said to the voice on the end of the line. "Guests? Yes, I would like to bring my traveling companions, if they are available at the time. Three of them. I will send them an invitation via Pokedex. What time would you like me ready for pick up?"

At the castle...

"Before you go... may I take a look at your Pokédex recording? It's not much, but it could help us catch them." He shows Seymour how to look at his Pokédex's recording, and let him bring up the meeting with the tie-dye pair.

As the pair returns to the hotel, the Laconney clings to them, seeking what comfort it could.

---

On the phone...

"Perfect. We will send the car four you and your friends at... would six o'clock be fine?" That leaves a good three hours to get ready.

Though Portia held the Laconney close in a constant hug all the way back to the hotel, she hesitated outside its doors.  "Here, you take it, Seymour.  I don't think leaving Laconney with the Professor would do much good at this point... you'd be better to keep it comfortable." she gave the little Pokemon a reassuring squeeze before it was passed over to Seymour's care.  Besides, she had to make a fairly long jump - the fewer passengers Houdini had to manage, the better.

"I'll be back in a little bit with another new friend.  Houdini will need a minute to catch his breath between jumps, so don't wait up on me." the young woman was still disquieted from the whole situation as she stepped back a short ways for clearance.  With a little wave to each of her companions, Portia and Houdini both suddenly vanished away in a flicker, gone without a trace.

>>> Portia and Houdini use Teleport to travel to The Border of Cadien >>>
This message was last edited by the player at 00:10, Sun 24 Nov 2019.

"Yes, that would be just fine. Thank you very much. I look forward to meeting Ms. Wells in person." Once the call ended, Eve used her Pokedex to start and write into a group chat of her three contacts.

<We have dinner reservations. Meet back at the hotel by six ready to be picked up, if you'd like to come.>

She rose to her feet and made her way to the front desk to talk to the receptionist. "Pardon me," she said politely. "Can you tell me a little about the Sekheta's Trove restaurant? And, what level of formal wear is expected?" So many people didn't utilize the hotel staff when they traveled. And this hotel was gaged toward tourists. The staff would, in theory, be well versed in local attractions and restaurants.

Jake relaxes on the bench and watches the people moving around as he ate his hot dog. It was an odd place. Despite missing his friends back home, he was consoled by having new friends -- both pokemon and human. In some ways, he had already achieved his dreams. He was a real pokemon trainer! But he needed to do more than that. He needed to pay the price for achieving his dream. That, and he needed to become a better trainer now that he was one. It was a sudden change in his priorities and he was taking it as best as he could without revealing the stress that he occasionally felt creeping in. He hardly noticed as someone sat beside him. He politely nodded, gave a few polite words of greeting and tried to ignore this stranger as he finished his meal.

At the hotel...

The Laconney welcomes Seymour's hold. After what's it's been through, it doesn't want to be left alone.

Seymour reached the hotel just as he received the message from Evelyn. He notices the girl right after, as she talks to the receptionist. "Sekheta's Trove? It's a restaurant commonly frequented by well-to-do visitors and trainers. It's themed after a legendary Pokémon said to have been brought to Cadien from the Narmes region.
Since part of their clientele are traveling trainers, traveling clothes are perfectly a acceptable dress."

OOC: Narmes is the Pokémon world's equivalent of Egypt.

---

At the park...

The hot dog seemed like a pretty light meal, so Evelyn's message promising a dinner sounds quite attractive. A few rattatas run away as Jakey discards his trash, and he soon returns to the hotel.

Seymour nodded to Portia as he took the pokemon in his arms. "Stay safe," he said as she teleported away.

After reading Evelyn's message and entering the hotel, he waved at her and approached his fellow trainer. He petted the laconney in his arms soothingly as he waited for Eve to finish her call. When she was done he said, "So dinner, huh? Sounds like it might be just the distraction we need right about now." He then proceed to catch Evelyn up on all of his and Portia's findings of the day. Jakey too, once he joined.

Jake stretched out on the bench after having it all to himself, letting the hot dog get processed by his digestive system. After a couple minutes of lounging, he checked his pokedex and saw he had some time left before the nice-sounding dinner. He wasn't quite ready to go back yet, so he let his Mudkip out of the pokeball and went on a brisk jog with it around the park a couple times before making their way back to the hotel. It took more than a day of walking and a pokemon battle to tire Jake out!

On making it back to the hotel, Jake waved to Eve and Seymour. He was a bit surprised to see Seymour without Portia -- it seemed those two split up at some point too. He listened inattentively to Seymour's recounting, but definitely noticed the new pokemon in Seymour's arms. Jake too expressed interest in dinner,
"I just had a quick snack when I went for a run, but I am totally down for dinner!"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Sun 24 Nov 2019.

"Thank you very much," she said to the receptionist, before turning her attention to Seymour, eventually directing him to follow her to the lobby so she could sit down again.

"Oh my," she said as he regaled how active and interesting their day had been. "I'm sorry I missed all that! But I probably would have just held you up, so no problem there... And your new Pokemon is just a darling... I'm quite jealous." She smiled, obviously joking.

"Yes it sounds like dinner is just what we all need." She waved a greeting to Jakey as he appeared, then looked back to Seymour. "I'm not sure what to expect from it, really. I was invited to come by someone at the JirachiWish Studios company. They make video games, as best I can remember. Either way, they said I could bring guests, and I think it will be fun for us to all hang out together over supper at such a nice restaurant." She didn't look all that concerned about being asked to supper by a stanger from a company. For her, it actually happened more often than one would think. "Oh, but did you say Portia went to get another trainer who was late? Oh dear. I hope I can squeeze in a fifth person for supper..."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:35, Sun 24 Nov 2019.

Jake looked concerned and glanced between Eve and Seymour. Another trainer was coming but there was only 4 people planned to go? He wasn't entirely sure how fancy stuff worked, so he half-interpreted Eve's comment as being fairly doubtful of the chance of getting a fifth seat at the restaurant. He did kinda want to check out a fancy restaurant, but he would feel out of place. He decided to volunteer himself to be left out if it came to it,
"It's all good if you can't. I don't know how to eat at a place like that. It would be cool to go, but I can just grab some tasty street food too! We should probably all go together though so we are all in the same neighborhood and can hang out after dinner if we can't all eat there."

Jake didn't seem to recognize the company name or light up at the notion if it being a video game company. Either he was good at guarding his reactions or he wasn't into gaming at all. This was in concordance with his lack of knowledge of how the pokedex worked. He kept chattering a bit though,
"Did any of you see any cool locations to go to after dinner? I guess we could just come back here and rest, but the city is pretty big with lots of places to explore. I only went to one park... it wasn't too interesting but I am sure there are more fun places to go."

Jake then looked to his pokedex to see if there was any locations that were both affordable and fun-looking.

Setting aside the Gateway Buildings and the park, Jakey finds a few tourist attractions around the place. The World Museum (boasting reproductions of artworks from around the world), various theater and cinema (offering both Cadien and international works), the 8th boulevard (a street with a large collection of stores and shopping centers), and the Rivierstel Library (the second greatest library in Cadien). Most have an entrance fee, but nothing overly expensive.

There's also a list of attractions focused more on trainers, mostly small arenas for quick battles, with the occasional special rules like Reverse battle. There's also a hall for Pokémon Contest, as well as some tournament stadium.

Jakey also finds a mention of Sekheta's Trove. It says the restaurant is inspired by a legendary Pokémon of the Narmes region, and is a common place for visiting trainer to party. It also says that the end of the League season is the busiest time of the year, with reservation required at least a month ahead of time (except for the League's Champion, who always has a table reserved). Since it's currently the beginning of the season, they should have some spare places.

Eve visibly flushed as Jakey seemed to actively try to back out of going to supper with her. "I-I... No! Definitely not!" she said at once. "I want you to come with us! You're part of our group! Don't worry about it, they will accommodate. I'll see to it myself if I have to, but I don't want you to not come."

She looked back down at the letter still in her hands. "I admit, I didn't look... I usually don't have anyone to go anywhere with, so I don't bother looking. It'd be fun to go out and do something together as a group through," she admitted. "We could see a show. Or maybe swim in the hotel pool? Or the beach?"

"I wouldn't mind checking out the beach," Seymour offered. He had actually been just about to offer to stay behind too, if needed, in order to care for the laconney. But he would definitely hate to miss out on the dinning opportunity if he didn't have to, and the excursion would likely be a welcome distraction for the distraught pokemon too. Same with the beach.

"I bet my lotad would enjoy splashing in the waves for a while."

---

I am ready to skip ahead at any point. Probably after Portia returns would make most sense though.

A look through the touristic pamphlet points to a few beaches on the northern side of the island, in one of the fancier neighborhood. Some are private, but one is noted as a 'must see' for trainer, as water Pokémon regularly swim close to shore, allowing aspiring trainers to catch them.

You spend sometime preparing for the evening... including calling a fold-up bed for your new traveling companion. As 6 o'clock rolls up, so does a small limousine to pick you up.

<<< Portia, Houdini, and Atticus Teleport in from the border of Cadien <<<

"Two...~" Portia counted aloud even as her and Atticus suddenly popped into existence outside the hotel she was set to stay at.  She gave a playful laugh and let go of his hand, letting Atticus sort himself out after his first time teleporting.  "C'mon, I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang.  We're all traveling together for the time being, so you should come along with us.  Safety in numbers and such."

It didn't take long for Portia to reunite with her new traveling companions with Atticus in tow - quick introductions were easily accomplished and the young lady herself was quite pleased to hear that they'd gotten some surprise dinner plans arranged.  At a fancy restaurant, no less!  She wasn't quite sure how to dress though - she hadn't really packed for formal attire and settled for swapping out her windbreaker for a nicer peacoat at the very least.  As a Kalosian it simply wouldn't do to be unfashionable on an evening out.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:04, Sun 01 Dec 2019.

Seymour got dressed for the evening by switching out his traveling shirt for a similar, albeit cleaner, button-up shirt from his pack. He still wore his vest with his pokeballs attached to it, but traded his jeans for a pair of khakis and hiking boots for some sneakers. When he was ready, he met the others by the limo. He still had the laconney in his arms and really hoped it would not be an issue to bring it into the restaurant. But he would worry about that when the time came.

On the way he hoped to learn a little more about their new arrival. He had scarcely had a chance to talk with Atticus since he had arrived.

One minute they were chatting near the Professor and the next, they were gone. Atticus lost track of himself in the sudden distortion, and indeed felt dizzy when they reappeared among the group of Portia's companions. He felt like he had been midthought or in the middle of a sentence but quickly lost track of it after their short displacement.

Atticus learned that they were going to a restaurant so he changed too. He wore black jeans and a black button-up shirt with long sleeves. It had a small stitched Beldum on the right pocket, a nice addition thanks to his mother's handiwork. He never bothered with his hair since it was always a mess and too much to deal with. His single Pokeball stayed on display on his belt, holding the Pokemon he had raised since it was an Egg. He didn't address the others right away, keeping to himself until someone said something to him. Groups like this were the bane of his existence and it took him a while to get used to new people.

The limousine trip is fairly short, with little traffic despite the hour.

The restaurant is peculiar, shaped like a pyramid made out of glass. Interior walls help preserve the privacy of the patrons, though they leave visible a line of people waiting for a seat. Above the main entrance is a statue of a cat-headed Pokémon.


As the limo drops you off, a waitress (dressed in the style of ancient Narmes) welcomes you and guides you to your table. The inside continues the Narmes style, with hieroglyphs and foreign Pokémons on every walls. At the table, you see a short woman with a cloud of chestnut hair waiting for you. She turns her sky-blue eyes toward you as you approach. "Ah! Miss Evelyn! Glad to see you. And those must be your companions. I'm Regina, pleasure to meet all of you. Please, have a seat!"

A waiter quickly brings an extra set of cutlery for Atticus, as well as distributes menus to everyone. "Don't be shy, JirachiWish will pick up the tab." Regina says with a wink.

The restaurant itself seemed to intrigue Portia quite a bit, though given how adamant she'd been about exploring unknown areas, it was little surprise she'd be interested in decor focused on another region.  The cat-headed statue especially seemed to catch her eye as she pulled out her smartphone - her actual phone, not the Cadien PokeDex - to snap a few photos for posterity.  A Legendary Pokemon perhaps, she wondered?

Once they were seated, Portia shifted Houdini off her shoulders and onto her lap instead while she perused the offered menu.  "If that's the case, I'm not gonna apologize for the bill ahead of time." she snickered over the idea of a free dinner.  She might have looked a waif, but both she and her Pokemon could really pack away food - teleportation took up huge amounts of energy and calories, which left Portia herself perpetually underweight since she didn't have the option of sleeping 75% each day away like her Abra did.  The waiter didn't even get a chance to leave the table before Portia beckoned him over and pointed at the menu's appetizer line.  "I'll have this, this, and two orders of this to start with, please."

"So what's all this even about, Evelyn?  I kinda figured we'd be roughing it in Cadien - what's a studio like JirachiWish got going on here?" she wasn't certain exactly what sort of career Evelyn had outside of being a Trainer, but it seemed her work followed her even to distant regions.

Jake was dressed up the best he could, and thanks to Eve's assistance with shopping, he didn't look too shabby. He had also taken the extra step of combing his hair. He carried his Mudkip along with, not wanting to return it into its pokeball and not wanting it to run free around the limo or restaurant. From leaving the hotel to the restaurant, he looked more than a bit nervous. It was his first time going to a fancy restaurant and first time in a limo. It was all a bit much. He waved friendly enough to the new trainer, but Jake himself wasn't up for much chatter.

At the restaurant, he looked to the menu with dazed eyes, there were so many foods that he did not recognize the name of. He also didn't have a firm concept of the amount of money he had with him, so he was greatly relieved to hear someone else was paying. Seeing Portia's enthusiasm for food, he figured he would follow her example with food.
"Oh, Nice to meet you. I'm called Faulkner. I'll just also have what Portia is having, unless you know something really tasty besides that."

He didn't have much to add to the conversation, so he just half-listened as he admired the food and furnishings.

"I recommand the gollash. It's phyllo dough stuffed with minced meat or cheese." Regina ask the server for a plate of them, before turning to Portia. "Honestly, we don't have much going on. This country could very well be an exceptional untapped market. Of course, selling our products requires that people hear about them. And who better than the niece of Lance Wataru to name drop our games?"

Laconney seems calmer now, looking around curiously at everything that's happening. It seems it never been that far from it's nest.

The remark about a name drop certainly got a reaction out of Portia - she was mid-sip at a glass of water and nearly sputtered on her drink.  "W-wait, Lance?  Like, The Dragon of Kanto, Lance?" she coughed into her fist.

As soon as Atticus entered the restaurant, his eyes darted towards the imposing Pokemon that was standing at the entrance. He sat down and ordered what everyone else did and then some, including the gollash that the nice lady had mentioned. When she included the tidbit about one of the greatest Dragon trainers ever, Lance, his eyes widened and then glanced over at Evelyn. He didn't say anything, though, not the type to put anyone on the spot. Although he wondered if she shared an affinity for Dragons, too. "Um, what's the Pokemon statue at the door?" he asked quietly when the conversation died down.

Seymour was impressed with the restaurant's style as they moved to their table and fully intended to look up some of the pokemon depicted on his pokedex when he had the time. But first he ordered the food that was suggested, as well as a glass of moo moo mikl and some greens for the laconney. He kept petting it calmly as it looked around curiously.

But Seymour was just as surprised as the others when Lance was mentioned. He could definitely see now why Eve had drawn so much attention. "That explains a lot..." he commented quietly.

Regina turns her gaze to a carving of the Pokémon Atticus mentioned. "Sekheka? That is an old tale..." She gets a distance look. "I believe it was back during the conflict between Cadien and Kalos, and the various allies both had. Narmes had sided with Kalos, but was quickly overrun by Cadien's forces.

But in defeat, Narmes became an even greater threat. The troops stationed in the region fell prey to various illnesses, water points in the desert would often be tainted, and local assassins would regularly attack Cadien officers. The troops started speaking of curses.

That's when Cadien's king decided to investigate. As it turned out, it was a curse. From Sekheka, the Pokémon goddess of poison and illness. With the help of her devoted followers, the same sect of assassins attacking the invaders, she was fighting for Narmes in the shadows.

But the king had his own aid. Prizetzal, the prism Pokémon. It's light cut through the protective darkness of the goddess, and the king was able to capture her. According to the legend, the royal family still hides Sekheka somewhere in Cadien. Assuming she ever existed, of course.

She shrugs as she sips her tea. "It seems a bit strange to have a restaurant dedicated to such a Pokémon, but there's sometime little to separate poison from medicine. Honey is a good example of that."

Seymour listened to the story intently, storing it away in his memory banks. He was also thinking that a pokemon of poison and illness was a strange choice for a restaurant mascot, but Regina's explanation was satisfactory. Besides, Seymour had to admit, the legendary pokemon certainly had a striking presence. "That is a really cool story," he commented.

After the tale from the past was finished, Seymour started directing the conversation back toward the present. "So, sorry if I missed it but... What was the purpose of this dinner again?" He looked between Regina and Eve. "Just a welcoming dinner simply because Evelyn is famous?" Seymour felt a bit silly for needing to ask, but he honestly didn't know. He felt a little lost. Unsure of what he should expect of this social situation.

"Sekheka..." Atticus repeated quietly when the women began to explain its origins and the reason it was used in the restaurant. He wasn't that familiar with the region's history and only knew a little about the war but he listened on curiously. Stories like those were eagerly accepted by him though and he too wondered why the place recognized the goddess of illness and poison and not the Prism Pokemon she mentioned. When Seymour spoke up and then added his question, he remained quiet so they could get an answer. It was obvious there was a reason to this fancy dinner but it wasn't in his place to inquire. He was simply on a Pokemon Trainer's journey and somehow, his new group ended up here. He didn't know anyone too well yet but apparently it had something to do with Evelyn, seeing as she was related to a famous person.

"Oh, it's quite simple, really. Although Cadien keeps it's border closed, they understand the need for outside trade. Rivierstel is the only place foreign merchant can come to advertise their goods, and only with very limited visas. This makes things difficult, especially for someone in the video game industry. The officials who maintains their internet censorship rarely visits."

As the discussion continues, your meal carries on. The more adventurous of your group tries meal with exotic names like mahshi or shawarma. Those seeking more trusted name go for the macaroni béchamel or the waitress' recommendation, koshari.

"You, on the other hand, have virtually free reign to cross the region. That gives you the chance to name drop our company should anyone ask about foreign entertainment. Plus, I can offer you samples of our games for people to try out. After all, the population of Cadien want to be more open. Getting them hooked on our games will encourage them to pressure their government further."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:35, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

Jake didn't seem to know much about history, so he didn't take the story she told to be anything out of the ordinary. The bit he was most surprised by was that honey was referenced as a type of poison. He didn't bring this up for fear of sounding ignorant though. He seemed to agonize over the decision of food more than one might expect, but ended up being adventurous and getting the mahshi. Upon getting the food, he was confused and seemed unsure how to properly eat it though. He was used to finger food and it looked it could be... but looks could be deceiving.

He nodded to the woman as he tried to understand the confusing issue of closed borders and international trade, but there was a glimmer of recognition as she discussed the games,
"Oh, you mean like a corporate sponsorship? I don't know about games, but it would be cool to rep a hat or a patch."

He didn't seem to think there was a distinction between what the woman was suggesting and a sponsorship. He also wasn't class-conscious enough to note how a privileged person like Eve was getting this meal for free when he had to pay for his hot dog earlier that day. Perhaps ignorance is bliss.

It kind of sounded to Seymour like Regina wanted them to be walking billboards. Or like the person at the grocery store who hands out free samples. And Seymour wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. Especially if they were expected to do it for free.

The young trainer took a bite of his delicious shawarma, then asked, "So... you want us to name-drop your company? Do a bit of marketing on the inside? Would this be for free, or..." He let his sentence drift off, indicating he was looking for more details about what exactly would be expected of them. "I mean, I expect that I am going to be extremely busy trying to compete in this region's pokemon league. There isn't going to be a lot of time for me to be testing games to recommend to people."

She looks a bit flustered at Seymour's comment. "Well, it is rather... difficult to provide you with much after you leave Rivierstel. We have will only have limited ways to contact you, or send supplies. I can arrange some funds before you leave, though.

As for playing the games, that is hardly necessary. Just let people's curiosity do the work, and let them copy the programs on their PCs. That will be quite enough." She gives you all a friendly smile.

Once Atticus was finished with his meal, he did not drift his attention too far away from the ongoing conversation. The lady spoke of games and bringing them to the rest of the region and surely, this was a good thing, right? Especially if they're getting paid for their efforts like she mentioned. "So, all we have to do is transfer these games from us to them?" he asked curiously, trying to make the situation as simple as possible without anyone getting worked up. "And get paid for that? All of us or...?" He was going to be competing in the league too and surely be busy with training and catching, but there was something weird about this whole thing that he knew together as a group they could figure out.

"Of course, anyone of you who wishes to assist would be suitably rewarded. You don't need to give an answer right away, obviously. You can contact me before you leave the city so I can hand you your funds. Oh..." She pulls out a small pocket computer. "If you wish, I can give you a copy of some of our games right now. I have some that will work on either your phones, or your Pokédex. What would you prefer?"

Jake seemed to be more engaged and flustered as the conversation went on, going from disinterested in the talk to almost... suspicious? Perhaps he was feeling out of place or he sensed something amiss. He was not clever enough to speak what was on his mind subtly, so he avoided doing so at all, rather trying to bend to something that he felt more comfortable with,
"Ah, I don't know. I still wouldn't mind wearing a hat, but I think a game would just be distracting. I got a lot of other stuff to do. I am sure the games are cool though. I'll sleep on it though."

Throughout the conversation Portia had fallen quiet, both out of a desire to enjoy the meal at hand and out of a clear disinterest in the sort of business pitch their hostess laid out.  She'd outright rolled her eyes at the idea of shilling or promoting a product around Cadien but didn't make any immediate snide remark like she had with the other adults they'd encountered thus far.  Instead she busied herself idly spoonfeeding Houdini in between her own bites of food, having shifted her critter to sit in her lap and feed him while he continued to nod in and out of consciousness as usual.

When the suggestion of taking some sample software for themselves came about, the young woman finally saw fit to speak up.  "Pass.  Years back there was a corporate maneuver in Kalos looking to put Lysandre Labs Holo-caster devices - free of charge - into every citizen's hands.  Turned out to be part of a terrorist ploy since the tech was used to spy and track people." Portia chimed in with a flat deadpan tone.  "I don't mean to say this game of yours is anything nefarious, of course, but I'm reluctant to trust freebie tech.  Besides, we're only here in Cadien on invitation and anything we do outside of a League participation is gonna be under a lot of scrutiny.  I seriously doubt the authorities would like the idea of us spreading software all around the place.  No way they'd like us uploading anything to their state-issued PokeDexes either."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:42, Fri 13 Dec 2019.

Seymour wasn't quite as paranoid as Portia seemed to be, but her words did give him reason to extend an extra bit of caution. "I think I will take Faulkner's approach here," he said, gesturing toward Jakey, "And I'll sleep on it. But I figure since our pokedexes record everything and the govenment knows about this deal, then if the games can successfully be downloaded to my pokedex without the government blocking it, it is probably fine. And if they end up deleting the games from my device, I guess I will be fine with that too."

He fed a carrot to the laconney on his lap as he continued. "So I guess in the morning before we leave, we can try to upload the games to my pokedex. I will update my 'dex at the pokemon center immediately before and after to see if anything gets censored or blocked. If not, I'll take that to mean I am ok to distribute your games for a bit of extra spending cash. Which is something I could certainly use. Especially if I end up finding some new pokemon to catch at the beach this evening."

"Which reminds me. Does anyone else want to go hang out at the beach after this?" He scratched the laconney behind the ears. He figured it might like to spend some time in the sand too.

Once the others in his small group spoke up, Atticus didn't feel a need to speak again - especially after Portia spoke. He cleared his throat before nibbling at his dessert. It didn't really spark any of his taste-buds; it was too fruity for his liking. But then a small smile came to his face after seeing Portia feeding Houdini. He excused himself before kneeling down beside the table and letting his Pokemon out of its ball too. "Hey Bubby... got something for you," he said while patting the female's head lovingly. He brought down his dessert for her and muttered a few more things before getting back up and slipping into his seat. "I'm with the others on this one, Miss. I'll sleep on it as well but I will consider your offer for some more funds, if this is all okay."He looked over at Seymour and gave the boy a huge grin at his question with an enthusiastic nod. "I'm down - it'll feel just like home for me..."

While Atticus regretted trying the Sahlab, Bubby seemed to love the rawst berries that served as garnish. Others split their choices between a type of rice pudding, and a type of cheese-filled shredded pastry topped with syrup.

"Well, I'll be sure to await your call." Regina avoids discussing business during the rest of your meal. Once you are done, she offers to have the limo drop you off at the beach instead of the hotel, if you wish.

Atticus was delighted that Bubby enjoyed her dessert, as she had been in her ball for a while and he wanted to reward her for being patient. It was time for her to help him out though, once they got to the beach. He would keep her out of her ball until they got there to save time. "Thank you for the meal, Miss. I'm ready to go to the beach when the others are."

Jake seemed eager to get out of the conversation after Portia called out the woman. He was not totally sure that Portia was right, but there was something off with the offer. However, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with taking the limo to the beach,
"Yeah! Let's go! I've got my swim trunks under these clothes. I'm ready to go swimming... and maybe catch a new pokemon."

After a short trip, you reach the beach. It's a far cry from the sandy beach of Hoenn or Alola. Instead, it's a rocky swat of land, stretching between the grassy slopes and the ocean's water. Off to the side, a small wooden dock, missing half it's planks, stretches a bit over the dark waters. Across the river, the Rivierstel docks light the opposing shore, still active even in the evening. Despite the sun having set a while back, the full moon's glow forces through the thin cloud cover, giving you enough light to walk without risk.

The beach is calm, with no other humans in sight. A few shapes moves across the water in the distance, though it's hard to tell what they are from where you stand. Closer at hand, there seems to be a few large seashells, perhaps sleeping Shellder? While you take in the scene, you also hear some movement in the grass, as a pair of birds walk out toward the water.

OOC: You can take a detour to the hotel to grab swimsuits if you wish. It's a bit cold out, but the water is still rather warm at night.

Once the group arrived to the beach, Atticus was a little disappointed that it wasn't quite like the beaches he knew from back home in Hoenn. But that wasn't going to stop him from jumping in the water. Swimming was second nature to him and he was eager to show off in front of his new friends. But first, he was determined to catch another Pokemon - one would not be enough to compete in this region's tough league.

"Ready, Bubby?" he asked his Bulbasaur enthusiastically with a grin before walking carefully towards the large seashells near them. He made sure not to step on any of them in case they were indeed Shellder but did look closely to study them. He had experience with all sorts of Water Pokemon growing up and knew a Shellder would be a powerful addition to his team. He would make his way towards the river using this path, trying to make out the shapes in the water from where he was.

OOC: Atticus would like to try and identify the Pokemon swimming in the distance, unless he triggers something with the seashells.

At the beach, Seymour released his lotad and shroomish from their pokeballs onto the pebbly ground. He lowered the Laconney from his arms as well and let it hop along the ground to stretch its legs. "Go ahead and explore a bit, you guys. But try not to stray too far. And keep an eye out for any friends who might want to join our group!"

As his lotad sprinted off toward the waves, Seymour pulled out his pokedex to scan the area for new and interesting pokemon. He was especially interested in those birds they had spotted. "This is an... interesting, beach," Seymour commented to the others. "Not exactly what I was expecting, but I guess that just makes it that much more exciting, right?"

Like Atticus, Seymour was used to the nice beaches found throughout Hoenn. Especially those around Lilycove City. But unlike Atticus, Seymour was not eager to actually enter the water and swim. The most he planned to do was roll up his pant legs and walk among the waves.

---

Seymour is scanning the area with his pokedex, searching out any and all signs of resident pokemon. He is also just generally relaxing and hanging out with his pokemon buddies as they explore the nearby areas.

Jake was happy to get out of the restaurant and onto the beach. He was a bit nervous though. As a life-long native to Saffron city, learning to swim was never high on his to-do list. Still, he he got in trouble, Skipper might be able to pull him to safety. But in general, he didn't want to get too far into the water. His mudkip on the other hand didn't mind going straight to the beach and playing in the wet soil.

Jake glanced to his companions and heard their reaction to the beach,
"Yeah, it doesn't look like the pictures I saw. Still, it looks like there are pokemon around. Maybe I can pick up a friend for Skipper now. I think I have the hang of being his friend now, so I can find him a partner maybe."

While Jake was mentally prepared to take on another pokemon, he didn't make a sudden break and yank out a pokeball. He stayed calm and with the group, though paid more attention to the couple of birds nearby than to the shells or the distant shapes in the water. He remembered to pull out his pokedex and give them a scan too.

Thanks to Laconney's glowing tail, Seymour doesn't even need his Pokédex to recognize a pair of Farfetch'd with their signature leeks.

For his part, Atticus notices a few bubbles, confirming that he's in front of a Shellder.

It's rather hard to seem most of the swimming Pokémons, but you do notice a Magikarp getting grabbed by a Tentacool.

OOC: if you wish to challenge any of those Pokémon, just pick your target and strategy. Note that the Shellders are currently asleep, so you'll have a bit of an advantage, both if you fight it or if you try to catch it right away.

Though it was nice to get such a big meal for once, Portia left the dinner feeling displeased with the turn of events.  It was her experience that adults always had ulterior motives; as if they couldn't do anything purely at face value without there being some catch or underlying, dishonest thrust to it.  Such inner grumblings kept her outwardly quiet on the ride to the beach and, rather than pick up a change of clothes, she contented herself to sit on the shore and simply watch the boys romp about as they pleased.

After a while of just sitting with Houdini cradled in her lap Portia sighed and withdrew the TM she'd swiped earlier.  She couldn't help but glower at it as if the device had somehow insulted her personally, to which her Abra seemed to catch onto and cant his head aside with a soft trill.  "You really sure about this, Houdini?  I don't know how I feel about you getting into fights..." she muttered.  To his credit the Abra offered her a reassuring nuzzle but, all the same, suddenly lit into a dull red glow as he returned to his Pokeball of his own accord.  That settled that, Portia figured with a defeated slump of her shoulders.  She withdrew the ball from where it was always protectively nestled inside her coat's breast pocket and set it into the locking divot at the center of the TM device.  It would take a little bit, but in the meantime all she could do was quietly watch as the disc inside spun up and began filtering digitized knowledge directly into the Pokeball's resident.

Portia's not going to hunt for any Pokemon and will take the opportunity to use her TM to teach Houdini "Psyshock".

Atticus gasped excitedly when he realized he was indeed in front of a sleeping Shellder. He had many fond memories playing with that Pokemon growing up so it was only fitting that he caught one to join him on his adventure. He unclipped an empty Pokemon from his belt and took a step back. He signaled to Bubby to stay alert in case it decided to attack. With baited breath, he threw his ball and waited to see the results.

OOC: Atticus will attempt to catch the Shellder in front of him with a Pokeball, keeping Bubby on standby in case it attacks. If the attempt fails, he will tell Bubby to attack with Vine Whip.

Jake decided to approach Seymour with an idea as Atticus seemed more interested in the river and Portia seemed more interested in her Abra. There were two Farfech'ds and only one Jake. He recognized the pokemon as both him and them were native to the kanto region. He liked their style, how they held their leeks, it was all very cool, mysterious, and earthly at the same time. That, and they were a bird pokemon that could learn fly.

Despite talking to Seymour primarily, he talked loud enough that the others could probably hear... he wasn't being secretive, just talking to the one he thought could listen best,
"Hey, there are two Fetchers there. I don't know if you want one, but I sure do! I am a bit afraid that Skipper will get beat up if I fight them alone though. They definitely would not want to be separated. If you want a Fetcher too, we might be able to convince them to come with us together, or maybe you can help me battle them and catch them."

Even when sleeping, the Shellder takes a couple of Pokéballs to catch. Still, Atticus is now the proud trainer of a bivalve Pokémon.

OOC: Atticus' Pokéball rating drops to Below Average, and his Shellder is in his PM.

With a proud grin, he patted Bubby on the head after a successful capture in the unfamiliar region. "Good job, Bubby, I think I'll name him Shelby," he added happily as he recollected himself from the encounter. The boy took another glance around to see where the rest of the group had gone off to. The other two boys seemed to be invested in capturing the bird Pokemon that populated the river's edge. He saw Portia in the distance with what looked to be a TM machine. When he took another glance at the water, he stripped down to his swim trunks and waded in. That's when he noticed the struggling Magikarp and he immediately felt bad. He knew it was the circle of life and all, but he couldn't help but want to save the poor helpless fish. "Up for a rescue mission, Bubs?" he asked the Bulbasaur quietly as they both approached the scene. He figured it would be a good opportunity to train Bubby too, if the Tentacool wasn't a huge challenge.

OOC: Is it possible to try and save the Magikarp?

"I'll follow your lead and do what I can to help," Seymour assured Jakey as he called his lotad back over. "Although both my lotad and shroomish will be at a type disadvantage if a battle breaks out. Still, I am up for that challenge if necessary. Unless..."

Seymour turned to the laconney he had been hanging out with recently. "Laconney, you don't happen to want to help out too, do you?"

---

Seymour will follow Jakey's lead and help him attempt to capture one or both farfetch'ds. If a fight breaks out, he will use lotad (unless the laconney agrees to help instead).

Evelyn takes a seat on the sidelines, Athena at her side. She's more interested in the night's air, and her Pokédex.

Bubby needs a bit of help to get in range, but then has no issues picking the Magikarp out of the jellyfish's grasp. Angry, the Tentacool turns it's attention to Bubby. The two engage in a tentacle slap fight, with the occasional Poison Sting thrown into the mix. But overall, Buddy is just stronger, and the Tentacool decides to fish somewhere else.

Laconney looks from Seymour to the birds, unsure what to do. But when they notice Jake, one give him a nasty glare, unsettling the teenager. When Laconney sees that, it breaths out a cold wind that quickly turns into a light mist.

OOC: Houdini's new move has been added to his sheet.

The Tentacool flees, but someone can take a shot at catching it before it gets away.

The two Farfetch'd are ready to fight, and are facing off against Skipper and Laconney. The fight starts with Mist in effect (your team is protected from hostile stats change). I'll PM Laconney stats' to Seymour, so give me your strategies.

Jake looked a bit shocked that the bird had given him such a mean look. He didn't even start trying to catch it yet! Despite the glare Jake called his Skipper over and looked for a piece of driftwood momentarily to carry a stick like the far'fetched does its leek. In terms of battle strategy, Jake didn't have a solid plan. He didn't know laconney's type or moves. He signaled mudkip to shoot water from afar as he checked with Seymour,
"Skipper, shoot water, water gun! Hey, Seymour, I haven't seen your pokemon before, can it do something with my skipper as a team?"

He figured just to keep Skipper at a distance spraying water as he had time to coordinate with Seymour.

"Yes! Good job, Bubby, you're so strong!" Atticus shouted when they freed the Magikarp successfully. Years of being exposed to the ocean and the critters that lived inside of it had paid off. He stepped out of the water and gathered his dry clothes, walking over to where Portia was sitting. He let the air dry him off while Bubby pranced around him freely. He sat down next to the girl quietly, turning his attention to the other two boys while they battled the angry-looking birds. "So, think they'll catch them?" the boy asked her curiously, opening up more to the little group now that they had gotten to know each other better.

"We'll find out," Seymour replied to Jakey. "Laconney and I have never been in a battle before, but he's a fire and ice type."

Then to the Laconney, he said experimentally, "Try and freeze the wet farfetch'd with an ice beam!" Freezing the mudkip's water would have certainly been a good combo attack, but when the rabbit gave him a confused look, he modified his instructions. "Or, I guess, blast fire at the drier one?" This time some of its blue flames lanced out in an ember attack. "Nice job!"

---

Seymour will have the laconney target the farfetch'd with ember until they get too wet for the flames to be effective. Then he will have him switch to tackles.

Seymour will let Jake catch both if he wants. If Jake only decides to catch one, Seymour will throw a ball at the other when there is a good opportunity to do so.

Portia looked up from her TM device as Atticus took a seat beside her and offered a gentle shrug.  "Hard to say.  Farfetch'd are actually pretty strong, especially since two in the same flock would have better teamwork than two Trainers who've never paired up before." she observed.  For one who didn't seem to be big on combat herself, at least she didn't appear to be ignorant of the practices.  All the same, she just shook her head and offered her newest companion a lopsided smile.  "Nice of you to help that Magikarp out.  Who knows - maybe someday, in your darkest hour, a grateful Gyarados will come to your rescue~."

A bit of a tease, but stranger things had happened in the old stories!  "Sorry to have to drop you right into the midst of things like this.  Probably not how you planned to have your journey start, huh?  What brings you all the way out to Cadien anyway?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:14, Wed 18 Dec 2019.

Things are not going well for Laconney. Despite his glowing tail leaving an eerie glow in the mist that makes it hard to narrow down his location, the Farfetch'd seems to have no issues finding the rabbit, unleashing a variety of attacks at him. Between the pecking, the rapid leek strikes, and the sand thrown in his eyes, Laconney seems in a bad position.

The Mudkip fares better, though. After his opponent kept glaring at him while dodging his attack, Skipper managed to nail the bird right on his forehead, knocking it out. He then turns his attention to Laconney's foe, hoping to provide some help.

OOC: MASSIVE EDIT. Jakey pointed out that the program I use has a pretty big bug, where rolling the exact number for a Yes gives a result of Ex No. I rerolled the check that was mistaken, and the result was a KO.

Now, although that means it can't be caught right now, you could try to wake it up, and hope he'll be willing to join you.

Otherwise, the current situation is:
one knocked out Farfetch'd
one uninjured Farfetch'd
Laconney has two wounds (and sand in his eyes)
Skipper is unharmed.

Feel free to change your strategy, or attempt something unusual.

And if you think I made another mistake, tell me! There's plenty of moving parts where something could go wrong on my end.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:58, Fri 20 Dec 2019.

"Laconney, you did great. But why don't you take a break. Lotad, it's time to tag in. Use Bubble!"

It seemed these birds were quite formidable! Seymour was quite impressed with Jakey's mukip's skills this far. He felt bad that laconney had gotten so roughed up though, but such was the nature of pokemon battles. And besides, it was laconney who had volunteered to join the skirmish in the first place. Seymour would be sure to offer the rabbit the option to rest in a pokeball once the battle was over, and would certainly bring everyone to the pokemon center before bedtime.

---

Seymour is switching in lotad and using bubble. He is letting Jakey make the calls for catching the farfetch'd(s)

Jake beamed as the Mudkip sniped the opposing bird in the face,
"Yeah! Right in the kisser! Now help out Seymour! Tackle it to distract!"

Ebullient at the success, Jake readied a pokeball as his mudkip changed targets. If this one got knocked out, he could try to wake them up and negotiate, but he didn't want to leave Seymour locked in a battle with a type disadvantage without backup.

________________________

Mudkip will use tackle and Jake will use a pokeball opportunistically if a tackle hits.

With one opponent down, Skipper charges at the bird. He manages to hit it... only to trip over it, and stumble into the newly appeared Lotad. Unimpressed, the Farfetch'd slaps Skipper with his Leek, shouting what you presume are insults.

It seems only Skipper's pride was hurt in the assault, and after a 'kip!' addressed to Lotad, he returns on the offensive. The Mudkip jumps aside before hitting the Farfetch'd, giving Lotad a clear line of fire for his bubble stream. As the bird attempts to recover from that blow, Skipper blindsides it, and sends it tumbling.

Seeing an opening, Jake throws his Pokéball. The Farfetch'd notices the ball coming, and lifts a wing to soften the hit. It vanishes into the ball, and after a few shakes... the ball locks.

OOC: And Jake has caught a Farfetch'd! I'll PM the stats shortly.

Jake struck a victory pose and approached his mudkip to give it a big hug for a stunning victory over both Farfech'ds. He also approached Seymour to give him a high five.
"Great work man! I got the one I wanted. We can try to wake the other up if you want to catch it. Maybe we can show it that I caught one, so it can come with us if it wants to keep on being buddies. I feel a bit bad beating up a pokemon and just leaving it out and around for other people to pick on it. So maybe we should wake it up anyway."

For the time being, however, he kept the new Farfech'd in the pokeball. Jake had a theory that pokemon didn't feel pain when in the pokeball, so he didn't want to bring the injured pokemon out of the ball without good reason until they returned to the hotel pokestop. Overall, he seemed satisfied with the work they did on the beach.

"We can definitely try and see if it wants to come along with us," Seymour replied to Jakey. "And I will definitely get it healed up at a Pokemon center too, if it will let me. But first..."

Seymour turned to lotad and laconney. "You two did great! Thank you both for your help. I'll be sure to get the two of you all healed up at the Pokemon center tonight too. Laconney, if you want to rest in a pokeball for a while, you are more than welcome to." Seymour offered a pokeball to the rabbit pokemon once again, but didn't want it to feel pressured to join his party if it didn't want to.

Regardless of whether the laconney accepted or declined, Seymour next approached the farfetch'd with Jakey to see if it wanted to join as well.

Laconney takes a moment to look in the distance. Turning back to Seymour, he agrees to get in the Pokéball, though Seymour gets the impression that he's joining more in hope of finding something.

Digging through your healing items, you manage to find a Revive to wake up the second Farfetch'd. Realizing it's companion was caught already, it agrees to join Seymour's team.

OOC: Stats are on the way. In the meantime, I'll be away for the week-end, and probably Monday too. Feel free to wrap up your beach trip. Unless you want to start another fight, we'll pick up as you leave Rivierstel.

But before we do, level up time!

Houdini's HP increases to Low

Lotad's HP increases to Average, and his SpD increases to Above Average
Glumpy's SpA increases to Below Average
Laconney's DEF increases to Average, and his SpA increases to Above Average

Skipper's Speed increases to Low, and he learns the move Foresight

Bubby's HP increases to Average, and his DEF increases to Above Average

You can also increase one of your character's attribute by one rank.

Seymour looked down at his two newly filled pokeballs with a wide grin on his face. At the start of this day he had one pokemon companion. Now he had four! His parents would probably be shocked if they knew. It had been just himself and lotad for quite a while.

"I think I am going to have to come up with some names for everyone," he said to his pokeballs and lotad. Glumpy, his shroomish, was his only pokemon with a unique name thus far. But he would probably wait until he was in bed to do much brainstorming.

To the group, he said, "Well, I'm definitely going to consider this beach trip a success! Thanks for helping me catch the Farfetch'd, Faulkner." He sat down in the sand where he stood and looked out over the dark water. It was relaxing. And Seymour's mind needed "relaxing" at the moment. He watched the waves wash upon the shore, and his two grass pokemon frolicking in the sand.

---

Stat changes have been recorded. Seymour will leave the beach when the others are ready, but he isn't in any particular rush.

Jake seemed happy to build comradery with his companions,
"Hey, no problem. We both won a bunch. I'm going to call mine Fetcher, easier to say. So now I have Skipper and Fetcher."

It didn't take him long to swagger back to where Portia and Atticus were seated. While Skipper bounced back to play in the water, Jake flashed a double thumbs-up to the pair of humans,
"So, did you like the view? Anything else to do here? I don't really swim at all and it is a bit dark, so not a good time to practice I think."

With a single motion, Jake folds into a cross-legged sitting position facing the water and his mudkip,
"Not that I'm in a rush. It's been a crazy day so the chance to relax is great!"

With a few more companions at your sides, and some more experience under your belts, you take spend some time relaxing to the sound of the waves before returning to your hotel.

The next morning, your group is ready to head out unto the mainland. The long bridge is reminiscent of Unova's Skyarrow Bridge, with a pedestrian path passing over the highway. To the north, you see the port once more, and can better appreciate just how large it is. To the south, you see Rivierstel's suburb, scattered along the sides of the river.

At the end of the bridge, while the main highway turns toward the port, you are presented with a road sign: road 101 to the North, leading to the port and the capital of Levallac, and road 117 to the South, heading to Bluweil.

With a heavy sigh, Evelyn announces that she will head North. She worries that her presence could lead to more distractions from the various groups wanting to take advantage of her name, and she doesn't want to burden the rest of you with it.

OOC: Unfortunatly, Evelyn has not replied to my PM. So, until further notice, I'll have her head her own way. If she does come back, I'll figure out a way to bring her back in.

For the JirachiWish sponsorship, you can contact them if you wish, though you may want to talk about it to your companions before you do.

Jake waves Eve goodbye after insisting she could come with if she wanted. He made sure he had her number in his phone for the future... just in case. He seemed impressed by the size of the region and eager to get on the road... or off the road.
"Hey guys, since Eve is going her own way, maybe we can go and rough it in the country. Just go straight east, then head south once we see the mountains in front. I bet there are cooler pokemon in the rougher places than on the road. It will be good training!"

He didn't say it, but he was planning on heading south like the others had mentioned being interested in doing. They had wanted to see more of the water, but they had just gone to the beach the day before.

OOC: Jake didn't follow up with JirachiWish

While conversing with Portia, he talked about his home village back in Hoenn and his desire to become a strong Trainer like his dad. He also mentioned that he wanted to become a Breeder at some point too but only after he had collected as many badges as possible. After talking about himself some, he would turn the conversation back to her, trying to find out her own ambitions and desires and the reason for her journey. They chatted while watching the others fight the Farfetch'd intensely and when they finally caught them, Atticus would clap and cheer them on excitedly, showing much more emotion around the group now that he was getting more comfortable around them. It was nice to be in a group of like-minded kids for once, instead of always sulking around with his Pokemon instead.

The next morning, he also waved Evelyn goodbye when she announced that she was going her own way. He then turned his attention to Jake and he mentioned cooler Pokemon and a tough training experience. That sounded like exactly what the group needed since judging by their encounters thus far, they all could use some work in their battling, him included. However, the thought of the sponsorship did come to mind and he decided to bring it up to the others, even if just briefly. "I think that's a great idea, Jake, we could use the training, for sure. But what about that lady's offer? Do you really think we should turn it down? I'm skeptical about it too but we can't go wrong with more money."

Seymour stretched in the early morning sun, feeling well rested after the hotel stay. He patted the four pokeballs on his vest that held his four pokemon companions. Four! He could still hardly believe it.

As their group neared the edge of town, Seymour added his own opinions to the conversation. "I didn't really bring the right gear to "rough it" in the wilderness," he admitted. "But I would still be willing to try. Especially if Portia and Houdini go along. I'm thinking teleportation is awfully convenient for emergency situations, huh?" He looked to Portia as he finished speaking in case she had anything more to add. Either about teleportation or otherwise.

"As for JirachiWish, I still haven't made up my mind about them. Sure, the cash would be welcome, but it feels like it would be an extra weight on my shoulders at the same time. But if you want to hear them out Atticus, I would be willing to go with and hear them with you. Together we could try and ensure it isn't some kind of complex illicit scheme of some sort." Seymour shrugged. He was still mostly neutral on the subject.

---

Seymour will meet up with JirachiWish again if Atticus wants to. If they do, Seymour will use his sharp intuition to try and determine if everything really is on the up and up like they claim, and that there aren't any catches that will cause problems for them in the future. I am willing to spend up to 10 favor points on the roll for a more favorable outcome.

It was nice to just sit and chat for a while, though Portia proved herself less willing to divulge her past than Atticus was.  She wasn't tight-lipped but rather cagey when it came to the finer details; she made no mention of her family or upbringing beyond growing up in the busiest metropolis in Kalos - Lumiose City.  Though she offered little of her past, she was perfectly content to speak of the future; she had no grand ambitions like the others who sought to challenge the league or make a name for themselves as combat Trainers.  The world was a vast and strange place, and Portia had her heart set on seeing as much of it as she could.  She'd already traveled to many regions in years past - Alola, Hoenn, Unova, Kanto, Galar - Cadien was just the most recent locale on her list.  All she cared to do was live her life as she pleased, travel where she wanted, and enjoy whatever challenges she chose to take on a whim.

"I've always fancied becoming a Professor, actually.  Been real close with Pokemon all my life - I understand them a lot better than I do people, most times.  But there's a lot of red tape and politics involved in that... it'd be nice in theory, but I don't know if I'm cut out for the minutia." she mused as she released Houdini from his pokeball to hug in her lap, though he remained firmly asleep as usual.  "Becoming a Breeder might be nice though.  Maybe start a little daycare nursery on the side of a scenic route, grow my own garden to make Pokemon food with... not a bad way to retire."

---

While she was sad to part ways with Evelyn - especially in light of obligations to JirachiWish having just come up the night before - Portia understood all too well when paths needed to part.  She offered to go along with the other girl since she didn't mind a slower pace but accepted a gentle refusal all the same, respecting her decision to strike out on her own.  At least with the studio folk in Cadien Evelyn would be better protected against unexpected threats and dangers...

Once at the edge of town with the boys, Portia shrugged at the prospect of heading immediately into rougher terrain.  "I'd still like to keep an eye on the fields and sea cliffs for a Skiddo or Gogoat, myself.  But if we travel the foothill region we should get the best of both worlds." Seymour's mention of lacking camping supplies and wanting to make use of Houdini's teleportation got a sigh from her as she set her hands on her hips.  "Oi, you're cute and all, but I'm not sharing my sleeping bag - if any of you aren't stocked up to camp, best we buy some gear before we go.  And don't look at me like I'm a Corviknight Taxi.  Teleporting is a lot of work and I'm not gonna make Houdini bust his brain trying to jump a big group like this if you boys decide to act recklessly.  We'll help out where we can, but if you want to go jumping into trouble then you'd better figure how to get yourself out of it too.

As for JirachiWish?  Nuh-uh - nothin' doin'.  That rep lady last night was angling to get us to do some dirty work for her.  Doesn't the deal sound a little too good to be true?  Adults always do stuff like that; they just use everyone to get their way and act like it's no big deal."

Looking over the map, you think it would take two days to reach Bluweil using the road. Going through the forest would take about as much... assuming you don't get lost, of course.

From what you've gathered during the dinner, JirashiWish make few demands, for a small amount of money up front, as well as a possibility for more later.

OOC: enough to bring your Pokédollar rating to Below Average, or to Average if it was already Below Average. You could also negotiate for a payment in gear instead.

Seymour chuckled at the notion that he might try using Portia and Houdini as a taxi service and assured her that he would only pester her in an emergency situation. Like if someone broke a leg or something.

When she moved to the topic of JirachiWish, he was still a bit surprised at how extremely opposed she seemed to be in regards to dealing with the corporation. But then he thought back on the dinner the previous evening and began to notice things that hadn't quite caught his attention before. Key details that were hard to verbalize. But something about the whole exchange seemed a bit... off, now that he thought about it.

"Yeah... the more I think about it, the more I am starting to side with Portia when it comes to JirachiWish. Something about them... It just doesn't sit right. Sorry Atticus, but I think I am going to follow my gut on this one. If you still want to go meet with them, I'll still go with you, but I don't think I will be accepting their offer after all."

"Other than that, I am ready to go. My camping gear might not be top-notch, but I think I should be fine for a couple of nights. Still, if you see a good shop on the way out of town, let me know. I wouldn't be opposed to picking up a couple last minute items."

---

Seymour is ready to go, but he will keep an eye out for a store on the way out of town where he might upgrade his survival gear, (or other supplies).

Hearing the conversation between him and Portia made him friendlier towards the girl, even if she was suspiciously quiet about her own past. He wasn't the type of person to inquire though so he did not pry into her personal life. The boy would encourage her when she mentioned her dreams of being a Professor. She seemed like a personable girl and she clearly cared for Pokemon deeply so he thought it was a good fit for her. They bonded over their desires to open up daycares and making food for growing Pokemon and he realized they had a lot in common. He too had been closer to Pokemon than to people, something that he shared with her during their conversation.

As they were about to depart on their journey, it seemed that he was outnumbered on the matter of contacting JirachiWish again. He was simply looking out for the benefit of the group but if the two of them thought that there was something fishy about the dinner with the representative, then maybe it was best that he didn't reach out about the sponsorship. He knew he could be easily impressed, especially around adults, so he may have allowed his naivety to get the better of him the night before. He contemplated his decision a little more but he didn't want to drag the group into a potential scheme that would led to more problems down the line. Their main focus was Pokemon, after all, not spreading games and he felt like he needed to focus on his training to accomplish his goals at hand.

"Nah, that's okay, Seymour. If you all don't think it's a good idea, I'll take your word for it. I'm sure there will be another way to make money on our journey. I think I'm good on supplies for now too. I wouldn't want to take advantage of Houdini like that, so you won't hear me asking for a teleport. We should get going soon, right?"

Deciding on their path and turning down JirachiWish, the group does a final round of shopping before setting out in the wilderness. While most of you settle for the usual Pokémon Center, Portia managed to spot the merchant that tried to scam her before, this time selling some healing items. In a desperate attempt to be left alone, he offers her a box of fresh Oran berries.

And with that, you head out into Bluweil Forest.

OOC: Seymour and Jakey can improve one of their resources by one if they drop their Pokédollar by one rank. Atticus couldn't find anything he could afford.
Portia's lucky break lets her increase her Healing Items by one rank for free.

Jakey was unsure what was needed for forest survival, but after talking with the group and some people in the stores, he quickly found out what he needed to buy and did so... well, at least what he could afford.

-Pokedollar +Survival

Seymour more or less wandered around the same shop as Jakey and bought similar supplies for their journey.

-Pokedollar +Survival