ROCKET BATTLE LOG

[indigo_league]

As the clock nears 10 PM on Saturday, the manor (or the parts of it that people aren’t blocked off from, anyway) is completely abuzz with speculation and gossip. What could Lance possibly be planning to announce? And why haven’t any of the Elite Four even been around? They’re fairly reclusive, but it’s safe to say that everyone is at least a little curious, if not actively suspicious.

But it’s time for the big reveal, so manor staff are bustling around, reminding everybody to be in the ballroom in a few minutes for Lance’s important unveiling of… well, whatever it is he’s unveiling! The staff all seem pretty excited, so it must be big, right?

There’s been plenty of room to dance and move around in the Ballroom until now, but with everybody packed in there at once, the space is a little tighter. Especially with the small stage and podium set up in the middle. As the last (or seemingly last, assuming there aren’t any carefree stragglers who didn’t bother turning up on time) person is ushered in by staff, complete with whispers of "Psst! Hurry up, it’s almost time!", the door to the ballroom is shut and the lights dim slightly, sending a hush over the audience.

After some fumbling from whoever’s in charge of the lights (... wait, is that Captain Garfield and his Rattata up there? He’s a theater tech too?! That guy must REALLY be a jack of all trades!), a spotlight flips on and centers on the podium, where the head staffer (who might be recognized as the one with the terrible hipster mustache who’s been doing a PARTICULARLY egregious amount of schmoozing and sucking-up to trainers over the course of the party) is stepping up to the podium.

He clears his throat.

"Welcome, welcome, ladies and gentlemen! On behalf of the Elite Four, we’re all so happy you could join us! We hope you’ve all been having as good a time as we have, because I’ve got to say, I think this is our best party yet!"

He looks around at the assembled trainers eagerly, as though anticipating unanimous agreement.

When there’s an impatient buzz (and a shout of "Get on with it already!" from someone) instead, he laughs awkwardly.

"Oh, yes, well, we’re all here for one reason, right? To see what Lance has brought you all here for! Well, folks, as you can see, he’s not here with us right now… He’s had a bit of a-- how shall we say… an accident! So sad, I know! But fortunately, he’s graciously allowing us to make his announcement for him. Which is…"

On cue, the spotlight turns stark red. If anyone has the presence of mind to look, Captain Garfield's Rattata is holding a bit of red plastic filter in front of it.

But chances are, everyone’s attention is probably going to stay on the stage, because the guy at the podium literally just RIPPED HIS CLOTHING OFF DRAMATICALLY, revealing… yes… a very, very familiar black-and-red uniform underneath.

It’s followed immediately by more ripping sounds as other staff and even some partygoers scattered throughout the audience follow his lead, and the telltale noises and flashing of Pokemon being released from their balls. And many voices, all yelling at once...

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE! AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!!"

The music shifts.

OOC Notes: The number of characters who must participate in the battle to call it a success is 37! In order to keep track, once you have made your first comment to this post (either a toplevel or a tag to someone else!), please bring it to the CHECK IN THREAD by 10 PM EST tomorrow! YOUR COMMENT MUST BE POSTED TO THIS THREAD IN ORDER FOR IT TO COUNT TOWARDS THE TOTAL.

GUESS WHAT GUYS?

glittertextmaker.info

OOC notes: Here it is, the part where your characters get to explore the Rocket Base and discover its secrets! Maps of each level will be posted in this top post as they are opened up, with blacked out sections being revealed as obstacles are cleared. Obstacle clearing will be based on total comment count to any mod comment with a count listed, whether those comments are contained in a single thread or spread out over multiple different ones. As many people can comment to an obstacle or base level as wish to, for as long as they want, even after it has been cleared. There are a total of two obstacles (including the first one) which are triggered by character actions we will be watching for!

Anyone who wants to thread anything out in the base or mansion during the time characters are trapped (and who doesn't want to use this log for whatever reason) is free to make their own network/action posts with whatever they like! But mods will not be coming around to those with interaction, and they will not count towards clearing obstacles.

Questions? Ask them HERE!

NOTE FOR ITEM RNG: In order for the mods to give out your item, your character must be actively looking through the loot piles in whatever tag you'd like us to respond to with your item! Items can also be given out in the middle of an existing thread between characters, whenever they get around to searching the piles! The header does not have to be in your toplevel.

Links List

Level One



OBSTACLE - KEY CARD (CLEARED)

OBSTACLE - CONVEYOR BELT HELL (CLEARED)

Level Two



Level Three



ELITE 4 JAIL

OBSTACLE - FREE THE LEGENDARY

Comments

Item RNG, please

[schachmeister]

[Armin had carefully descended the stairs to the basement level, slightly hampered in his ways by an incineroar intent on sticking close to his back. Quite frankly, Magellan looks this close to crawling down the back of Armin's shirt.

Upon entering the room, Armin had first moved to study the wall. It didn't look too sturdy, and he wondered if it could simply be taken down by a sufficiently powerful pokemon. He can hear the soft whirring of machinery on the other side though and see the card key slot. He'd rather not damage what might be on the other side if he can help it, so perhaps it is best to attempt the proper way through. Poke-rampage can still be an acceptable back-up plan.

Armin gives the small side-room a short glance through, before deciding to first start with the detritus left in the room with the wall. And for once, he's doing nothing with the books except quickly flicking through the pages to check if there might be a keycard inside before carefully setting them aside on a pile. His movements, as he sorts through the junk, are a little jerky, not entirely calm. That might have something to do with the fact that he looks like he got punched in the face. One of his eyes is nearly shut, the skin already rapidly purpling and swelling. It looks painful. It is painful, and Armin winces when his incineroar tries to fussily scrape his tongue over the wounded side of his face.]

I know you mean well, but please don't.

[The very observant might note that though there are six spots for pokeballs on Armin's belt, only five are present.]

[indigo_league]

[Poor Armin...but what better way to feel better than finding a snack! Or, well...an oversized plastic tub of beef jerky that is half empty.]

[greatrage]

[Eren's lost all his fine clothes, now only wearing the undershirt, his slacks, and shoes. His pokémon have all been returned to their balls, save for Hildegard who sticks close to him with her feathers ruffled and clearly on edge.

He spots his best friend from behind and jogs to catch up]

Armin! Armin you're--

[he was about to say "OK", but then he sees that his bff has a big honkin' shiner on one eye]

Gods, Armin, what happened to your face?! Who did this to you?

[further ruining his outfit, Eren tears a piece of his shirt off and wraps it into a little ball, then holds it in front of Hildegard]

Hilde, can you use Icy Wind on this?

[the skarmory agrees and freezes the ball-o-shirt solid. Eren offers the impromptu ice pack to Armin for his eye]

[schachmeister]

[If Eren keeps going like this, he's going to be naked by the end of the night.

Armin accepts the impromptu ice pack, hissing softly when he brings it up to his eye. After the first sting, the cold that starts to radiate out against his eye and cheek starts to numb the throb.

It does nothing to numb his anger though.]

Nevermind that. They took one of my pokemon! Just help me get through this. I want to see if there is anything in here that'll get us through this door.

[The guy who took Ambrose already fled into the night with the other grunts, too long gone by now to chase. Armin knows he won't find his poor sandygast down deeper in that basement, but if they barred this place from entrance, he might find something there that helps him figure out who did this.

He glances at the tub of beef jerky he dug out of the pile, pushing it aside with a soft noise of frustration. This is one problem meat won't solve. Unless maybe he asks Hilde to freeze the tub as well and he tries to hammer through that lock. Another potential plan!]

MODS! RNG ME PLZ!!!

[greatrage]

[that's fine, clothes are for squares. NEKKID AND FREE!!

Or, you know, not.

Eren's face goes beet red]

What?! How... urgh....! How dare those rat bastards!! It's not like Pokémon are just stuff or clothes or money!! They're... they're important! Special! [HE'S SO MAD. He'd probably be steaming if he still had his Titan powers. Instead he just steams figuratively and does a lovely impression of a beet] Hildegard, don't go far. I don't want you getting snatched. Those thugs might still be around here.

[He'd rather she be in her ball, but... she refused. She had to protect her baby, and she couldn't do that in her ball. So she stays on the lookout with her piercing eyes.

Eren nods, going to work on the pile, looking for anything even remotely useful]

[indigo_league]

[Well, there's mostly all kinds of rare items and books and--]

[A tasteful miniature painting of a Mr Mime. It’s staring right into Eren's soul.]

[schachmeister]

I suppose I was lucky Magellan was there.

[Armin shifts a little so he can regard the incineroar with his good eye, reaching up to stroke the ruff near his head.]

He scared him off before he could grab more than one of my pokeballs.

[Somebody is going to get so many treats when they get back to the Islands.

Armin turns his good eye to what Eren unearths from the pile, and for a moment he doesn't think about Team Rocket or his missing pokemon. That's-- That's just wrong.]

That's horrendous.

[greatrage]

[Eren has to actually... stop his digging to look at this stupid thing. It is that bad. Not in that it was poorly painted or anything -- the technique is wonderful. But those eyes.

Those eyes.]

... I... feel like it can see me. It's a painting but... it... urgk. It's like... judging me...

[and he can't look away! Without warning, Hildegard grabs it in her beaks and snaps the canvas in half. Then she drops it on the ground and stands on it, scratching at it like a chicken might scratch at dirt. All while just staring with that wall-eyed bird look of hers.

Bye, ugly painting]

[schachmeister]

[Normally Armin doesn't approve of senseless destruction, but you know what, he's making an exception this time. Because that painting? That painting had been freaky.]

I'm glad we saw the last of that.

[Or did they.]

[dreamsofahero]

I'd suggest listening to what your trainer says.

*hopefully Armin won't mind Sion butting in, but he can see that painful though it might be, that black eye is probably not Armin's biggest concern*

I can have Valiant try Heal Pulse, if you'd like.

[schachmeister]

[Magellan bares his fangs for a moment, tail lashing behind him. He's not a bad six feet wrestling tiger though. He's just a little on edge right now after everything that had gone done. He mostly settles to a grumbling noise when Armin touches his arm.]

Do you think that might help?

[Though, what does he have to lose here?]

[dreamsofahero]

It wouldn't hurt, at least.

*he nods to the gallade, who complies without needing further instruction--in fact, Armin may well have seen the same gallade teleporting about the mayhem earlier without Sion accompanying him, which perhaps says a good deal about his training. but while he's doing that...*

It looks like the wall can't easily be cut through, and using more powerful attacks seems risky, so we'll have to search for an alternative.

[schachmeister]

[Armin can feel the pulse pass over his sore and aching skin, but it doesn't seem to have a lot of effect. Perhaps humans and pokemon are just too different. Still, even if it didn't work--]

Thank you.

[Then his attention is on Sion, glancing at the door lock for a moment.]

I wonder if there is a way to bypass that lock. I'm not really familiar with locks like this though.

[dreamsofahero]

With time and tools, undoubtedly. But we're rather lacking in both at the moment.

And unfortunately, the wall seems constructed well enough that it would be ill-advised to use any attacks strong enough to destroy it.

[bertall]

<sub>[He's thankful that Marcel has taken the lead down here - between his nose and his sheer size alone, it keeps Bertolt safe and more or less hidden from any stragglers he may or may not bump into.

It's also Marcel that leads him to Armin (and Magellan), and it doesn't take a genius to notice there's something... off about the way Armin carries himself.]</sub>

--Armin?

_{[--Ah, his eye... Just what in the hell happened?]}

What happened?

[schachmeister]

[Armin bites down on the start of a reply that might be a bit too tart. He's just-- He isn't upset with Bertolt. He's upset with the asshole that punched him in the face, but not with Bertolt.]

Team Rocket took one of my pokemon. I need-- can you help me look through this? I want to see if there is anything that can help us get through that door.

[bertall]

Who was it?

_{[Bertolt reaches up to curl his fingers around Marcel's collar, his brows furrowing. He couldn't bear to lose Marcel, let alone have him stolen...]}

[schachmeister]

I never saw his face. He was wearing a mask and disguise.

[He had been taller than Armin, but then, everybody was taller than Armin.]

He was using a Houndoom and a Nidoking, but those are too common to track him down by.

[bertall]

_{[His stomach churns in a mixture of anger and worry. Houndoom... Freja was one, and now he'll have to keep her under wraps until all of this blows over, lest someone suspect he was with Team Rocket.]}

Who did he take?

_{[Nudging Marcel forward by the collar, Bertolt steps closer to Armin and gently takes hold of his chin so he can get a better look at his eye. It's bad, but it could always be worse. He's seen worse.]}

...Take a seat for a few minutes, alright? You don't want to push yourself after taking a hit like this.

an RNG item from the mods, please!

[notvaljean]

[Blitz, being Blitz, had barreled right through the door as soon as it had opened, with Jean tagging along behind. The Electrode has Self-Destructed and then been Revived many times, so he's in rare form, crashing into things and shooting electricity everywhere and generally being a bigger piece of shit than usual.]

Blitz, for shit's sake, calm the hell down! You're going to...

[Oh thank the gods, there's Magellan. Blitz simmers down a little when he sees his Incineroar pal, although he rolls right up to him and starts complaining immediately, not even noticing when he knocks something over. Jean catches it out of reflex, used to cleaning up after Blitz's destructive rages, before he sees Armin.]

Hey, I'm glad to see... what the hell happened to your face?

[indigo_league]

[In Jean's hand, miraculously unharmed, is a mug that reads “World’s Okayest Trainer”. There's also a little crown on it.]

[schachmeister]

[With Blitz showing up, Magellan himself calms down from his fussing over Armin, even peeling away from his back to half curl up around the Electrode. He's got his own complaining here to do too, uncle Blitz! Someone dared to punch his trainer.]

It's not important. Can you help me search through this? I'm trying to see if there is some way of getting through that door.

[notvaljean]

[Jean glances at the mug in his hands, and tucks it under his arm without giving it much more thought. With Magellan and Blitz grousing to each other about their evenings--he got picked up by the big bat thing! which was okay when he was Self-Destructing over people's heads, but then she'd pick him up again when he was unconscious and it was creepy!--Jean crouches down beside Armin and makes a grab for his chin.]

The hell it's not! How'd you get a black eye?

[Let him look and fuss over you, dammit!]

[schachmeister]

Yes, I wonder.

[It's snapped as Armin tries to wrench his chin out of Jean's grip. His eyes drop to his lap almost immediately. He's angry, he's achy, the throbbing around his eye radiating into a low-level headache, and most of all he's upset at his own inabilities. He had figured his weak body wouldn't be such a detriment in this world where battles were fought with pokemon. But that depended on everybody playing by the rules, and it had been stupid to overlook the fact that a criminal organisation obviously was not going to stick to that.

And worse yet, he's taking all of this out on Jean.

Armin breathes out on a soft sound, trying to wrest control back of his emotions.]

I'm sorry. It isn't fair to take it out on you. I was... I was punched. Some guy knocked me down and took one of my pokemon.

[notvaljean]

[Jean lets Armin pull his chin out of his hand, but that's mostly so he can untuck his shirt and start to rip a strip of fabric free from it.]

The fuck!

[Okay, that's just uncalled for. Jean finishes destroying his shirt--someone isn't getting his rental deposit back--and wads it up into a ball. He still has a Potion left from Blitz's battles, and he sprays it on the wadded up shirt before offering it to Armin. It might not heal him, but maybe it'll feel cool and soothing on his face?]

Who the hell takes people's Pokemon?! Which one did they get?