Going for gold, winding up with a participation ribbon.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

Who: Gaige, you, maybe some police, definitely some Rotom
Where: Out and about Goldenrod City
When: August 10, 11, 12
What: Gaige wanders around getting into trouble, business as usual.
Warnings: She has a potty mouth, and really with the borderlands cast you should always expect some violence.

As much as she knew there were SOME PEOPLE in this city that Gaige wanted to avoid at all costs? She had to admit she liked Goldenrod.

It was big, it was modern, the people seemed happy here. And she didn't have to cannibalize other peoples appliances for spare parts to make robots or tools. She could just...buy them. Like a normal human being.

That did not mean she wasn't still on the lookout for a unattended to toaster or blender that might serve her purposes.

Riding on the back of a freshly evolved Metang, Gaige felt like pretty hot shit as she returned to Goldenrod for the first time since she'd caught her Rotom. Unfortunately in an effort to attract the biggest and strongest of Rotoms, Gaige had caused a...modest explosion in town and promptly fled the city limits before she could be arrested. While she wasn't exactly high on the most wanted list since no one got hurt, she intended on avoiding the police as best she could.

Still just because this wasn't Pandora didn't mean there wasn't some fun to have around town right?

Comments

August 10th Around Goldenrod shops Part A (OTA)

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

It was a chilly and wet day prompting Gaige to bundle up in a jacket while still leaving her punk rock skirt on display. Her stockings should be enough to keep her warm in this weather right?

"Good thing I waterproofed this cheap knock off arm." She muttered watching some of the raindrops splatter on her metal wrist while holding a cute umbrella in the other hand.

Since it was pouring out and that didn't feel like the right kind of weather to claim her first gym badge, Gaige had intentions on doing a little shopping. She had been doing pretty well in battles lately and felt like she deserved a treat! And with the weather how it was she decided to let out her Shellos and Weepinbell to really enjoy the wetness.

Maybe someone with a bit more experience around town might like to show her around?

[toxicodendron_isley]

Ivy was just getting off her shift at the Centre.

She smiled at the rain and settled herself under the canopy of a nearby cafe, bringing out her current selection of Pokemon to enjoy the weather alongside her.

Aman is very pleased with everything being moist, settling himself down on the edge of a puddle, not caring as Brooklyn ran straight through it, coating him in rainwater.

The little Eevee looked up at Ivy with large eyes, thrashing her tail, fur sodden, before giving a call and bounding around some more. Thoroughly enjoying herself despite being soaked to the bone.

Heder thought himself above it all, until Crino sprayed him in the face and waggled his tendrils tauntingly. Heder was having none of that!

Snaggy is not so sure to begin with, but Brookyln's enthusiasm was infectious and soon she was darting around with the Eevee and Snivy, avoiding the playful blasts from Crino.

Ivy has a satisfied look on her face as she watches from the sidelines, Tyler the Ivysaur at her side.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

"Whoa! Check out this party!"

Gaige comes splashing over, her heavy boots making the puddles she stomps into burst and sending water on the pokemon playfully.

"You guys are all so cute! Where'd you find so many plant types?!"

Billy the weepingbell and Victoria the Shellos joint the party, Victoria chasing after the Eevee and Snivy while Billy starts to dance in a puddle, bouncing and spinning around.

[toxicodendron_isley]

Ivy smirks at Gaige's arrival. "I have a keen interest. And I spend a couple of months camping in a forest."

Snaggy makes a shy noise and stops playing to dash behind Ivy. But Brooklyn is all for new playmates, darting between Gaige's legs as they all start chasing each other.

Ivy, meanwhile, has stepped back out into the rain to crouch and get a better look at Billy. "Why hello there, handsome."

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

Victoria lets out a happy squeal and races along splashing Gaige's boots as she lets Brooklyn give chase. Meanwhile the Weepingbell blushes and makes his large round mouth smile happily at the compliment.

"Bell bell!"

"Yeah, Billy's just freshly evolved. He used to be a whippy little dancer but look at him now! I could probably wear him as a hat."

[toxicodendron_isley]

"Ah, I see." Ivy reaches out and strokes the Weepinbell's large head.

"I have one myself. He goes by Pence. I'd be more than happy to introduce you some time."

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

Gaige on the other hand let out a gasp of shock.

"Textfriend! You're that lady that complimented Billy when I posted that video of him! I remember you mentioned Pence!"

It's always worth a little squeal when you meet a friend from the internet. And even MORE worth it when that friend turned out to be shockingly hot.

Billy seemed to appreciate the head stroking and was making a funny sort of wheezing sigh noise which might have just been happiness.

August 10th Part B Game Corner (OTA but Rockets invited especially)

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

When Gaige had found out there was a pokemon that was entirely Digital? She HAD to have it.

Finding out that she would have to win it? That was a little more of a challenge. After all she was a smart girl and could calculate what the odds of her winning at slots or cards enough to get a pokemon would be.

Not great.

Still she had to give it a shot so you can find her at a slot machine plugging away coins with her human hand while her robot hand pulls the lever.

"Aw crankshaft."

Sounds like she's not having much luck.

Glancing around surreptitiously to see who's watching, she plunks another coin into the machine and then...pulls a Pikipek out of her pocket and starts to undo a panel on the side of the machine closest to the wall using the pokemon as a screwdriver.

Someone should probably stop her before management finds out she's trying to cheat....unless you work for the establishment and feel like going above and beyond for your employers?

fake rocket coming up

[pipers_son]

Well. While it's not exactly above and beyond...

Robbie the Ninetales isn't much for this "infiltrating Team Rocket" business. Not only is it frustrating enough to be on high alert all the time, especially when a Pokemon has to compensate from being deaf, but it's somehow simultaneously both high alert and boring. So while Joker- no, "Betty Bengal", an alias that at least a few Pokemon had dead eyed him about- is here talking with whatever Rocket is at the counter, Robbie is left to watch goings on in the Game Corner.

At least without hearing, that means a lot more focus is put with what he sees... And when Robbie sees some shenanigans going on in one of the corners of the, uh, Game Corner, well.

At least it's something.

The good news is that, being deaf, it's not like Robbie knows how to be quiet. The bump of his many tails and clack of his claws can be heard before he rounds the corner of her particular aisle.

A fake rocket's still better then a real Team Flare. OHHHHH!

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

And thankfully for Robbie, Gaige is so focused on her work she barely notices any additional noise since the casino isn't exactly quiet.

She's not alone however. As Robbie gets closer and closer, a decoration in Gaige's hair suddenly comes to life leaping off her head to land on his nose.

That decoration is in fact Joltik and it smiles waving it's tiny limbs in greeting, not realizing just how terrifying to most people a spider on their face might be.

OOOOOOOOOOOH!

[pipers_son]

For all his good vision, things suddenly leaping out would startle any Pokemon, and Robbie is no exception. As the Joltik lands on his nose, he stops and jerks back, eyes going cross as he stares at it with all nine tales flopping about. Experimentally, he shakes his head.

The fuck is this

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

The Joltik doesn't seem particularly bothered by the fact that it has clearly startled it's new "friend." And just clings onto poor Robbie's muzzle trying not to get thrown off yet, attempting to scurry towards the top of his head.

Gaige glances up noticing all the movement out of the corner of her eye and stares, perplexed.

"Uh...you found a friend huh Gidget?"

YES! New friend!!!

[pipers_son]

What is happening. That is the conundrum currently perplexing Robbie as he back up like that will help stop the scurrying even a little, which it clearly won't. When Gidget is finally settled in the fluff on the top of Robbie's head, the Ninetales pauses as it tries to figure out where to go from here.

After a second, it decides there's only one solution: go to the source.

Congrats, Gaige. There's a large fox trying to get closer to you and shove itself against your body. Were you doing something? Not anymore?

August 11th, pokemon center

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

"Todays the day! Bring it on!"

With confidence that is only matched by how bright and sunny it is out today (Down right hot actually) Gaige is marching through the city on her way to the Gym.

"My first badge today. Gotta make a big show of it too! That's how we prove we're badasses around here right?" She was talking to the Joltik in her hair which simply blinked and clung to her goggles happily buzzing at the fresh air and sunlight that it was enjoying from it's perch.

Throwing open the gym doors with both arms our hero called out "Mechromancer in the house! Bring on the Gym Leader! I'm ready!!!"

__________________________________________________________

She was not ready.

Slumped over a table at the pokecenter Gaige moaned.

"What the hell was up with that Miltank? I mean...god it wiped the floor with us!"

Having had her team completely wiped by Whitney's much higher level pokemon, Gaige now waited for their healing with two of the pokemon that had not been in the fight, Coco the Bunarey and Cupcake the Skitty. Cupcake seemed sympathetic in her own way purring and patting Gaige's hand with the fluff of her tail.

Coco on the other hand felt like she needed to get back out there and start training right away. And to prove her point was shadow boxing on the table, throwing punches and kicks, accidentally booting a salt shaker across the room.

"Pretty sure that's bad luck." Gaige muttered as Cupcake laughed at Coco's embarrassment, scrambling off the table to go pick it up.

Who wants to cheer up the Mechromancer?

[fuelthefire]

Krieg wants to cheer up the Mechromancer!

He starts by plunking a can of lemonade down in front of her and then sitting down in the seat across from her. The mass-produced chair groans a bit under his weight, but holds up...for the moment.

"Next time you'll grind it to paste and then we'll have a barbeque!"

...Yup, nailed it.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

Well she's smiling ruefully. That's a good start.

Taking the can of lemonade thankfully she cracks the tab and takes a sip. Still better then most the chemical sugar goo they have on Pandora.

"Just gotta keep working at it right? I mean that's how it started back on Pandora too. You guys were all these super powerful awesome killer badasses and I couldn't hit the broad side of bonerfart."

Ignoring both the fact that Bullymongs are not called that anymore officially, and that she still is a really lousy shot.

"I just wish I was better at it already."

[fuelthefire]

She still can't hit the broad side of a bonerfart, but Krieg, displaying an unprecedented amount of tact, refrains from pointing that out. It's not really the focus of the conversation, anyway, and when a person of as few words as Krieg talks with someone as verbose as Gaige, it's important to prevent potentially disastrous conversation side-tracks by sticking to the heart of things.

"The Murder Chicken only spat embers before it breathed fire."

Everybody starts somewhere. Heck, even Krieg had had to level up before he'd started breathing fire. Gaige can catch up. She's got Krieg to help her, after all!

"Burn the flesh, short the shields, melt the armor. What monster type is good against cows?"

...Ignoring for the time being that "cow" is not a pokemon type. But Gaige is a smart cookie. Krieg has every faith that she'll figure out a type advantage, train up a monster or two, and then abuse it at the rematch like it's going out of style.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

She can with her tech upgrades! Just...not intentionally usually.

Either way Gaige is, continually impressed by the kind of psycho Krieg's become since arriving here. She always thought he was an awesome party animal, bad ass and even protector, but being emotionally supportive felt like a new trick for him.

Seems like this place was always throwing her for a loop. She loved it.

Thinking about his question thoughtfully and answering more with her stomach then her brain, "A grill, barbecue sauce, possibly chickens with a vendetta."

Then she thought about it some more. If it was like how the elements worked back home...

"The cow is just a normal type like Rous. And Rous always gets his shit kicked in when he goes up against fighting types...so I need to go catch me a strong fighter!"

See Gaige? Problem solving doesn't always have to be about chopping off your own limbs.

[fuelthefire]

Krieg's picked up a lot from Angel (and Athena...and Janey...and the monsters…) over the past year. Slowly but surely he is on the road to being able to act like a normal person - emotional support is just one of the many fine Normal Person services he now offers! He loves watching his friends be badass almost as much as he enjoys fighting and being a badass himself. Of course he wants to help in any way he can!

He laughs at her initial response to his question, and his loud, unhinged guffaw booms through the reception area of the Pokecenter until he modulates it down to an equally unhinged but much quieter giggle. This is why he likes Gaige; she speaks his language. Food is the most important.

"What kind are you gonna catch?" Gaige is no doubt familiar by now with his unrestrained fascination with Pokémon - the sheer variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities possessed by the native creatures here is absolutely incredible to him. "You could get a wrestle bird or a spike dog." The Hawlucha and Lucario he inherited from Athena are both part fighting type, which appeals to Krieg. Whether or not either of those species is catchable around Goldenrod, however, he doesn't know.

August 12th, racing through Goldenrod towards the radio tower.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

Another Thunderstorm? OK sure. But Gaige wasn't gonna let that get her down.

"It makes sense if you think about it!" She shouted to her Shellos who seemed to be gliding through the puddles on the ground as if it were a sheet of ice. "A ton of water falling form the sky? Electricity in the air? Of course more water and electric type pokemon would want to be out in this!"

Which was also why she didn't have her electric or steel type pokemon out to help her look for new pokemon. The last thing she needed was to call a bolt of actual lightning down upon her.

However there were still electric type pokemon around...especially ghost/electric hybrids as Gaige was soon to find out.

It happened very quickly. First a twitch, then a spin. Gaige snapped her head down to look at her robot arm as the fingers began curling and uncurling all on their own.

"What the..."

WHAM!

"FUCK!"

The robotic limb had made a fist and promptly sucker punched Gaige in the jaw, stunning her long enough for the wrist to pop off her arm and fall to the ground.

With stars swimming in her eyes and blood leaking from a split lip Gaige glared accusingly down at the metal hand which was now standing on two fingers like legs and dancing through a puddle. It even made a familiar giggling sound and had begun to glow orange with little blue eyes on the front.

"Rotom!"

Hearing it's own name the creature giggled and took off scrambling like a spider on all five digits racing off the sidewalk and into the street where Gaige and Shellos gave chase.

"Get back here! Hey someone grab my hand!"

[bleedingunversed]

Okay now this was hilarious.

Vanitas had been out patrolling the streets for something to do or someone to mess with when he'd spotted Gaige just in time to see her punch herself in her face. His Totodile, Wrecker, and his Croagunk, Brute, both let out loud snickers at the sight as Vanitas just smirked and watched. The scene only got funnier as the hand started dancing around, the familiar glow making it clear what was going on.

He really needed to get his hands on a Rotom.

"Wrecker, Brute, fetch." The Totodile snickered merrily and took off after the spider-arm while Brute sauntered off, mock-cracking his knuckles as a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Wrecker got close first and attacked with Crunch, Brute coming in with a Sucker Punch of his own next.

Sorry if they wreck your arm, Gaige.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

Gaige would be a lot less worried about fixing the arm if the attacks had both hit. The first one missed just barely as the hand grabbed onto Wrecker's nose and pulled itself up onto it's face. The Sucker punch however clocked it square and sent the hand flying through the air almost vanishing in the rain.

"Get back here you bastard!!!" Gaige bellowed racing after the hand which bounced, skidded and resumed scampering in the direction of the radio tower. "Don't just stand there! Help me box it in!"

[bleedingunversed]

The Totodile let out a Donald Duck angry squawk, flailing as he tried to get his nose free. Unfortunately for him, the Sucker Punch caught him too and sent the little blue alligator into a puddle. Brute croaked irritably and followed after the shitty little hand, attempting to follow it despite the bad visibility.

"Alright, alright," Vanitas drawled, heading after Gaige to do his best to assist...but mostly he just wanted to watch this all play out okay.

[2hellwiththe1stlaw]

By the time they caught up to the hand it was scaling the side of the radio tower and Gaige was already trying with great difficulty to follow. The rain made the metal slick and she tumbled back down landing on her rear next to Vanitas.

"I am gonna punch that ghost so hard it's not gonna matter that it's supposed to be immune to physical attacks!" She snarled standing up and shaking her ponytails scattering water.

"You got any really big or REALLY strong pokemon? I think I have an idea."

[bleedingunversed]

Vanitas just stops at the bottom of the radio tower and watches Gaige try and fail to get up the side of it, glancing at her as she lands beside him.

"Let me know how that goes for you," he drawled, smirking lazily before he actually pauses to think about what she asked.

"I do but he's a fire type and won't like the weather much." He shrugs. "I do have a ghost type that might be able to help."

Depends on how she's feeling.