Roleplay

@ayle @skiatha

The world shifted in a weird way once they passed a certain threshold, and the desert around them gave way to a beautiful oasis. Sinclair never thought they'd have been grateful for humidity in the air, the temperature blessedly dropping a few degrees.

They had vague recollections of Sanctuaries at Ajax's words, myths and stories they heard as a kid in the orphanage, and then rumors and wishful thinking from ringers. Everyone knew that finding a Sanctuary, if they still existed, would bring all sorts of profit--that'd be a lot of fresh breeding stock for the pokemon lineages, after all. It'd clear them of all their debts, and yet... Well, it didn't matter anyways while Caesar was still in jail, and the thoughts were quickly forgotten as they noticed the tension in the air.

Aoife was snarling softly by Sinclair's side, hackles raised as she watched the various feral pokemon warily. "Easy, Aoife." Sinclair murmured quietly--it was unlikely that Aoife would attack without command, she was better trained than that, but Sinclair still felt uneasy. Even if they had followed the pokemon here, and even if they really did seem smart enough to communicate and hold some sort of... life here, they were still in danger. The relief in finding the Sanctuary was short-lived.

@Ayle @Carnifex

Ajax was shaken out of his daze by the sudden flare of heat at his hip, flinching as if he'd been stung. He hissed and looked down at where Nem's pokeball sat in its holster, glowing red-hot where she was struggling to break free--to get out there and try to slaughter all the pokemon in her sight. It was what she'd been trained to do, after all.

And there were a lot of pokemon. He'd barely noticed them in the sudden shock of it all, or perhaps it was because they appeared so...natural in their environment, wild and free. It would almost be a shame once someone got the word out of the Sanctuary's location, and all these pokemon in here would either be purged or sold on the market.

Ajax reached down and clicked the safety on his pokeball, just in case Nem tried hard enough to spring free and go into a killing spree. He usually left it off in case of emergencies, but she would do little to help in a situation like this. A silence had fallen over the group as the wild pokemon around them turned their eyes on the group. It was so quiet Ajax could hear the light breeze blowing through the trees, the trickling of a stream nearby--

And just then he realized how thirsty he was. No use standing here if they weren't in immediate danger. If Ajax had learned one thing from his hours of training pokemon, was that they understood intentions, to an extent. And right now his intention was to dive himself face-first into the nearest body of water. Pushing to the front of the group, he led them in deliberate steps forward, past the wary stares of the pokemon surrounding them, and followed the sound of the water until they arrived at a small brook bubbling among the trees.

As it came into view, all his inhibitions fell away as he charged down the bank and splashed noisily into the blessedly cool liquid, scaring off a group of shrieking Mudkips in the process. They barely even registered in his mind as he nearly choked himself in his haste to quench his thirst, dunking his head into water and only straightening to gasp for air after taking several long gulps.

@ayle @skiatha

Unlike Ajax, who had darted ahead and was now making a fool of himself, Sinclair remained tense and watchful as they studied the pokemon around them. Every movement from every feral pokemon caught their attention, no matter how big or small the creature was. They only followed after hesitantly as Mila did, with Aoife at their heels. They didn't relax at the sight of the stream--although some part of them felt relief at the sight of it, that at least they wouldn't die of dehydration. Just horrible maiming.

And then Octavian sprung out of his pokeball, and Sinclair took in a sharp intake of breath through their teeth, wincing. He hadn't moved yet, which was promising, they supposed. If he remained relatively calm, Mila might be able to recall him. They turned their focus on her, hissing her name, "Mila! Now might be a great time to do something."

There wasn't any need to panic yet. Even if she couldn't, Aoife could probably incapacitate Octavian in time. She had already proven to be able to take any of his attacks without flinching, and as long as she grabbed his wand, the braixen would be pretty defenseless. No reason to panic yet. No reason. It was fine.

@Ayle @Carnifex

The snarl was quiet, but Ajax heard it clearly through the bubbling sound of the stream. Instinctively, his hand reached over to one of his handguns, head snapping to the source of the sound. Instead of the feral wild pokemon he was expecting though, he made out the shape of Octavian through the water still streaming over his eyes. Just a half-feral Braixen. Just what we needed right now.

The pokemon around them stiffened as well at the sight of him, as if sensing that this one was different from the others. Octavian wasn't making a move just yet, perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer number of pokemon around him. Perhaps he was just realizing that it was suicide to lash out in a place like this. He wasn't in a ring anymore.

Just when Ajax was going to tell Mila to return him, there was a harsh growl, followed by loud shuffling noises from the vegetation above them. The Garchomp that had escorted them earlier came fully into view, all but towering over their group. Not stopping, it leaped down the bank and landed with a heavy splash beside them in the stream, in the process nonchalantly knocking aside the Braixen and sending him muzzle-first into the water.

Ajax had to hastily backtrack from getting rammed by the Garchomp's lashing tail, scrambling out of the stream to watch the scene unfold.

@skiatha @ayle

"Jesus!" Sinclair cried out in alarm as the garchomp barrelled past. They were already on edge, so they managed to duck away without much issue, but the whole thing had been startling. Aoife's growling intensified as she heard Sinclair's nervous exclamation, pressed against Sinclair's leg, and they had to murmur a quiet, soothing command as even more pokemon emerged.

There was the big charizard--terrifying--and then behind it there was... oh god, that was an espeon. That thing would've been worth millions, they practically didn't exist anymore, how could there be one here? Their gut instinct told them they were wildly in over their head at this point, and the espeon seemed to confirm that. It was like they had stepped into an entirely different world.

At least it seemed Octavian, now soaking wet and looking pretty put out, wasn't going to be an immediate danger anymore. They weren't about to go drinking from the water while there was a garchomp in it, but they relaxed the slightest bit. "Guys," They began, forcing the confidence into their voice and sounding as nonchalant as ever, "What the hell is happening."

@ayle @carnifex

The Espeon appeared...ethereal, its footsteps making barely a sound as it came into view from behind the Charizard. Ajax stared. The other Pokémon quieted around them, even Octavian, who appeared strangely frozen in a sudden stupor. A loud humming filled the air—or was it just in Ajax’s own head? He could barely hear Sinclair say something to his side, the words getting sucked and pulled beneath the ebb and flow of the sound.

As it grew louder, it occurred to Ajax that the Espeon standing before them was the one responsible. And then the ground abruptly lurched beneath his feet, and all he could see was pitch black darkness.

The Espeon looked into the minds of each one of the strangers, even the pokemon with them. The immediate memories came first: their journey through the desert, with desperation and thirst and hunger growing with each step. Then it was followed by their time in a big city filled with lights and machines and humans, so many of them coming and going and fighting their pokemon; but they were not there to see these things. They had their missions, each one similar yet subtly different.

The Espeon’s tail twitched. Why are you here? They looked deeper. To Ajax, Mila, Sinclair, and the pokemon, it was as if they were looking at a reflection of themselves, acting out on their goals.

For Ajax, he saw himself meeting the Underground, fighting alongside them and saving the city, and becoming a hero. Rebuilding the city into something better, free from the corruption that the government had been spreading for so long. And finally, he felt his father come to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder as he said the words that he had been yearning for since childhood,

“I’m proud of you, my son.”

For Nem, it was pure, carnal freedom. The space to run, to fight and kill. The Espeon flinched at that.

@skiatha @ayle

Once, during a raid against a particular breeder who had made their unsavory activities simply too loud for the police to ignore, they had encountered a psychic type. It wasn't too uncommon for criminals to keep psychic types, radiating auras of calming to soothe their ill-gotten pokemon and maybe slow down any law enforcement who was coming their way.

They could remember the creeping sensation of the psychic type crawling into their brain, exuding an aura of calm to try and subdue them, make them tired. They remembered having to steel their will, focus on their job, ignore the presence of something in their head. It had been, at the time, unnerving, but they had handled it well enough.

This was nothing like that.

The psychic pokemon ran rampant in their brain, their conscious overwhelming Sinclair's own as they dug through memories, identity, goals, anything it could find. It felt like their legs had been cut out underneath them, the sudden plummeting into pitch black crashing over them like someone had thrown a hood over their head.

They could see Grace, and she was smiling with her husband and their children, and her home was well-lit and warm and safe. No one was going to hurt her, she didn't have any of Sinclair's debtors waiting to pounce, she was okay. It made Sinclair's heart ache, in a way, seeing their sister happy and safe and finally feeling like they had... paid back, some sort of debt to her. For getting them out. For everything she had ever done for them.

And then Sinclair was in the rings, and Aoife was standing triumphant and proud, and the crowd was calling their name, and Sinclair wasn't tired, or afraid, just exultant. And they were happy too, felt like they didn't need to be scared anymore, not of Caesar or anyone else. They didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck, making it under their own name, no longer scraping by. Didn't have to keep relying on Grace. Felt like they finally, finally had some control over their life, the freedom to do as they pleased, were finally happy. Maybe when the battles weren't exciting anymore, they'd become a pokemon breeder, or they'd travel, or--the possibilities were all so endless now...

And Aoife, for her part, had simple dreams. Growlithes were bred to be loyal to their trainers, and so all she wanted was her master's happiness. Every smile, every praising word Sinclair gave, was at the forefront of Aoife's thoughts, eager to please and full of love for their master. She liked the battles, liked proving herself and making her master happy, and she knew Sinclair wouldn't ever hurt her--memories of Sinclair soothing the pain, quietly whispering apologies and praise, and she wanted to make her master so proud...

Sinclair wobbled as the psychic energies ebbed away, eyes closed as they tried to make sure their thoughts were their own now. The mental training drills to defend from psychic types had been useless, and their head hurt and their teeth chattered from the force of it, trying to collect themselves. Aoife had pressed herself against Sinclair's leg, watching the espeon warily, and Sinclair met the espeon's gaze as well, trying desperately to look far less rattled than they were.