System Admin
•
Administrator
Posts: 1,424
Player Name: System
OOC Username: M00K
|
Post by System Admin on Oct 14, 2024 10:13:21 GMT 9
 STORY QUEST: CENTENNIAL CHECKUPS
OSTELLIA STORY QUEST POST-WORLD EVENT"So Hearteater was a Lunala," says System Admin:ProfessorAsh. The (former) Pokemon Professor sits in a freshly-scrubbed laboratory. The equipment is ancient: hinges rusted, steel tarnished, lighting dim and flickering: but all is organized. Sanitized. Meticulously uncluttered, especially compared to the disaster zone of Bunya's Lab back at the Asper Settlement. Notably, she has left several overgrown sections of the lab untouched: perhaps she's studying the biodiversity. There are also are signs of habitation: a cot in the corner, an organized stack of army rations, and a portable coffee machine. Ash lives and breathes in the Abandoned Laboratory. She has nowhere else to go. "Nihilego couldn't give me a clear description at the time, but now I think I understand. Communication with their kind is… fascinating." The silver-haired woman glances up at the jellyfish-like Ultra Beast, who is perched up on top of a shelf with its tentacles dangling, looking almost like a young girl. "You have my thanks. Because of you and the other trainers, Nihilego can finally be free to live as it wishes."She makes no mention of the broken seal on its Pokeball, of the fact it is technically a wild Pokemon now, of the trueness of its freedom in a world where Pokemon are captured whether or not they consent and exposed to dangers they might never have imagined. Ash is the head of PLASMA: an idealistic group which seeks to change this fictional world for the better. Perhaps you'd be interested?The silver-haired woman stands up, approaching an old, blocky computer monitor. Wavy lines appear on the display as she turns it on. "What I'm concerned with now is the Wild Pokemon which have just returned to Ostellia. Do we know how long they were trapped in Hibernaculum in their… colorless state?" She types quickly, pulling up a list of all the known Pokemon restored to the local routes. "For all we know, their 'color' could have been slowly self-regenerating over time. Hearteater might have been feeding on them for generations."She turns to you (or the cutscene camera), taking a deep breath. "Insurmountable as it seems, I'd like to do a checkup on each of these species. Check their vitals, examine them for any side effects of their previous condition. Capture and release: after I've confirmed the Pokemon isn't experiencing anything unusual, I'll release it back into the wild." Ash is upfront about this. "Naturally, you'll be compensated. I've found a new backer for my research recently."This 'new backer' is System Admin:Claw, from whom members of The Creed guild would have received an [tangent= "New Pokemon from a faraway land? Mm, sounds like our business. Bring the little fugitive everything she asks for. Anything else? Why, that's yours to keep, 'less you want to bring something pretty back for the missus."]additional directive.[/tangent] {COMPLETED}ROUTE 7: DROWNED HARBOR
-none
ROUTE 8: FORGOTTEN NEXUS
- Skiddo, Aron, Snivy
ROUTE 9: DUNE DISTRICT
- Varoom
|
|
|
Buzzster Hooperham
•
The Quizmaster
Player Character
Posts: 152
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Buzzster Hooperham
OOC Username: D-Bug
Arena Points: 70
|
Post by Buzzster Hooperham on Oct 15, 2024 23:34:19 GMT 9
"Hey, Professor!" Buzzster said, looking around the downgraded lab space. Petal was perched on his shoulder as usual, and her eyes went wide. The first place she had ever know was the Starter Lab. This was like coming full circle.
"Petal said you were doing checkups on the Pokemon," Buzzster said, indicating his Chikorita with a jerk of his thumb. He pulled out his Golden Pokeball and handed it to the Professor. "I caught this little bastard Varoom while I was looking for my stolen name. He's all yours if you want him. My real one is in the Everworld."
He found a rickety chair and sat down. "So you're the top science dog here, right? Maybe you can answer my question. When we first met you asked me about the afterlife. I answered with my favorite quote." He paused, and cleared his throat. “There's a part of me that thinks perhaps we go on existing in a place even after we've left it.”
"Well I'm still pretty set on that answer, but I'm no science guy. So what do you think? What do you think the afterlife is like, Professor?" |
|
|
Alkaid
•
Player Character
Posts: 524
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Laurence Anderson
OOC Username: Akivili
|
Post by Alkaid on Oct 16, 2024 5:34:52 GMT 9
It didn’t take long for him to find the marker that had ‘Story Quest’ on it—hilariously it wasn’t too far away from the route where he’d found the Skiddo, so it was worth checking out.
(Although, of all places, why in an abandoned laboratory? Wasn’t that a little suspect?)
Either way, he knew that the Skiddo was not going to be staying with him for long, so he had the golden Pokéball that had the Gras-type inside it as he located where the Professor was—wasn’t it weird that there were two, and not one?
The one at the Starter Lab, and this one out here? Either way…
He waited for the redhead that had gone before him to finish speaking before he approached next.
“Just like the one who came before me, you mentioned that you’re looking to study the new Pokémon? Happened to find one not too far away from where the laboratory is. I don’t know what they’re called, just that they’re a Grass-type, so there is that…”
He would come to a stop as he folded his arms.
“Is it just me or there’s two of you Professors? One at the Starter area, so color me curious, you’re the one who travels? Never thought there’d be more than one Professor doing business at the same time, so there is that…”
He wondered if he would be able to get an answer to that.
(After all, this was a new world for him to explore. This definitely didn’t exist on the European servers, if his memory served him right. Plus, he wondered if they could tell that they really weren’t from the North American server in the first place…)
giving Skiddo to the Professor!!
for science! |
|
|
System Admin
•
Administrator
Posts: 1,424
Player Name: System
OOC Username: M00K
|
Post by System Admin on Oct 16, 2024 10:41:28 GMT 9
Ash does a double-take when her first visitor in her new laboratory is Buzzster Hooperham. "It's been a long time," she says guardedly by way of greeting, perhaps noting the name change. She wishes she could check her old Starter Lab records for 'Buzzster Hooperham,' but sadly, those documents are back at the lab in Asper with Dr. Bunya, if they are even still in one piece.
Though she cannot understand Petal, she addresses Buzzster's starter as well. "Hello again, Chikorita. I'm happy you're still looking well."
"The afterlife - yes, that was a standard interview question I used to ask." The silver-haired woman examines Varoom, checking its fluid levels and tire pressure. "The prospective trainer's answer helps to show whether they've come to the lab 'in the moment' or whether it's part of their larger plan. Some have never thought about it. Some already take the answer for granted."
Varoom is healthy, and Ash lets out her breath quietly in relief. "Personally, I can say with certainty there is life after death, at least for some people. I've met many ghosts and phantoms in the field over the years, though their circumstances tend to be unpleasant. I imagine most 'normal' spirits tend to wander, or simply depart. Perhaps there is no 'afterlife' so much as an infinity of other worlds to discover, and an eternity of time to do so."
In another server, in another timeline, a version of System Admin:ProfessorAsh had likely met Alkaid before. Perhaps she had even given him his starter, unless she'd been away at the time and her young assistant System Admin:Bunyaa had taken care of it.
For this Ash, he is a fresh face. "I'll take a look at it," she says, then recognizing the mountain goat-like Pokemon, "Ah, a Skiddo! A common mount in Kalos. It must have an ideal niche here, scaling the overgrown buildings."
Ash has never been in the business of dishonesty. "You must be more familiar with my replacement, Dr. Bunya. She was my lab assistant, previously, though calling her 'professor' is perhaps a stretch." She checks over the Skiddo, checking the plant matter on its back for ants and its hooves for signs of excess growth. "I wouldn't say I travel. I'm not here strictly legally, you understand. The Commission ordered I return home almost a year ago. I suppose I spent too much of their money in fruitless pursuits." Her mouth twists wryly.
She straightens up. "This Skiddo seems in good health. Please let me know if you find any others."
Alkaid receives 25 BYTES for SKIDDO |
|
|
Josh Devlin
•
Beginning Trainer
The Creed
Posts: 1,136
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Josh Devlin on Oct 16, 2024 16:21:05 GMT 9
Returning to Sector Jarzick of the Abandoned Lab, Josh was floored to see how clean it was. The moratorium on riding within its halls was a nice bonus, too, Rime keeping him cool in the wake of the lab's heat-generating equipment. "Great to finally meet you, Professor Ash," Josh introduced himself, Thunder sounding a greeting squawk of his own as he sniffed around in search of a breakfast pastry to peck at.
The PLASMA logo was unsettling to Josh. Though he enjoyed his Pokémon's personalities, he was certain that not all of them would be willing to ferry him around UNOVR if he broke the seals on his Poké Balls. He expected that a Pokémon as snippy as Mirage would leave him immediately, were he to join Plasma. As such, were the Professor to try to convince the racer to join Plasma, he would politely decline.
Josh nodded, having confirmed a lot of the information the Professor had by virtue of being on both the scouting team and on the raiding team. "You're absolutely right; Hearteater was feeding on the Pokémon for generations. While we can't prove anything now, what with Hearteater being sealed in a coffin for what I expect to be the remainder of time," not UNOVR's service life; that was no way to speak to Plasma's leader, as Alicia Westfield had once warned him, "Ostellia should slowly return to how it looked before Hearteater came."
Josh whistled for Thunder, who quickly returned to Josh's side in a flash of thunderous steps and kicks. "Is this your first time seeing a Pokémon like this, Professor?" he asked with regards to the Galarian Zapdos. "When I went to the Thunderfall Shrine to hatch two Pokémon eggs, one of them hatched into this Pokémon," he said as he clicked open Storm's Poké Ball as well. A UI warning forced Josh to recall his steed, Rime, back into her Poké Ball due to limited space. "Storm here hatched as expected. But Thunder looks completely different. Do you have any idea why?"
Once they had chatted back and forth about the origins of the Galarian bird for a while, Josh exhaled; he needed to get down to business. If high-ranking members of the Creed noticed him lollygagging, he wouldn't hear the end of it. "In any case, I ended up catching Ayla, this female Aron. I feel you'll get more out of studying her than I will." He handed the Professor Ayla's Poké Ball in silence.
Giving away Ayla the Aron to Prof. Ash! (Catch is pending in mod reqs) {Party}Thunder the Galarian Zapdos (Juvenile) (Levels: 3/3/3)
Storm the Zapdos (Juvenile) (Levels: 3/4/5)
Rime the Alolan Ninetales (Levels: 3/4/5)
Keleth the Galarian Rapidash (Levels: 3/3/3)
Mirage the Ninjask (Levels: 3/4/5)
Ayla the Aron (Levels: -/-/-)
|
|
|
Morpheus
•
Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 148
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 20
|
Post by Morpheus on Oct 16, 2024 17:07:07 GMT 9
Morpheus sighed as he entered the lab with Ourus and Pica with him, still covered in bruises from the last encounter. He was surprised to see the Pokemon Professor NPC who gave him his Snivy was still here in the game. Not to mention she offered a small Story Quest for the players after the raid. Still, it's worth the hell catching the stubborn Snivy for him to get this chance.
"Um... Hello, Professor. I don't know if you remember me and my Snivy, but I'm glad you're after...what happened." He frowned at the thought of the Thunderfall's aftermath. "I'm sorry about what happened. I'm just glad Zapdos and the wild Pokemon here are okay."
<<Uh, Morph...>> Ourus nudged her vine to his back. <<Did you forget why we're here?>>
"Oh, yeah!" He took out his Poke Ball and showed it to Professor Ash. "I just got this guy during our exploration here. I was hoping to keep this Snivy. But..." Morpheus took a glance at his Grass-type partner, who was still glaring at the ball. "I don't want mine to make some enemies. I hope you can take care of it for a while."
His Snivy huffed. <<She better...>>
He groaned, seeing he needed to change the subject before he and his party left. "By the way, we saw a strange shrine nearby. It looked like it was one of the shrines that went missing in Asper. Do you know about it?" He recalled something was moving in his bag when we went there, so he needed some answers before he could get back to heal his team.
Then when she asked him to join her cause as part of the new Team Plasma, Morpheus's eyes widened, recognizing that name anywhere. "Uh... Sounds tempting, but I'm afraid my interest lies elsewhere. Sorry..." He tried his best to politely turn down the request. But something about her connections with one of the games' villain team rubbed him the wrong way. He hoped this was only his paranoia talking.
Giving away a newly-caught (but rude and annoying) Snivy to Prof. Ash. |
|
|
System Admin
•
Administrator
Posts: 1,424
Player Name: System
OOC Username: M00K
|
Post by System Admin on Oct 16, 2024 17:46:28 GMT 9
"Josh Devlin," Ash says, giving you an approving nod of recognition. She does not seem surprised by your age: perhaps she has seen many apparent children pass through the doors of the Starter Lab. "Our local specialist. It's good to meet you in person. Thank you for your work on the reconnaissance team— I'm sure your experience was invaluable."
She regards the young Galarian Zapdos with raised eyebrows, briefly misunderstanding it to be a Pokemon from Ostellia you've brought here for her to do a checkup on. "Ah! I understand now. This is your Pokemon. Reconstituted from DNA using Dr. Bunya's revivification machine, I'm guessing?" Ash shakes her head, not in disapproval, but in sheer disbelief at how far technology has come.
"It looks closer to the description consistent with Galarian mythology. I'm not sure trainers have ever reported it before, but when I had my field camp in the Surge Steppes, I occasionally observed changes to wild Pokemon in the shrine's vicinity." Ash remembers a time a wild Ponyta had wandered too close to the Giant Shrine, then abruptly transformed into its psychic-type equivalent.
"We know the shrines were once items the Legendary Bird trio considered valuable. Perhaps they used to use them to instill the Form Change in themselves, when such a thing was necessary. You would have to ask Zapdos himself for a clear answer." She raises her brows at the sight of the second juvenile. "...The one on the Steppes, that is."
Josh Devlin receives 25 bytes for ARON Morpheus's greeting makes Ash's eyes soften. "Thank you, Morpheus. I do remember you, of course. You fought hard at the Thunderfall Event. Thank you for placing your trust in me, even at the end."
She seems amused at the starter Snivy's reaction to the wild one, taking the Pokeball and releasing the other grass snake on the examination table. "I'll make sure it's at full health before I release it back into the wild. Unless, of course, it wants to stay."
The Snivy says some rude and annoying things which Ash cannot understand, but she seems to infer the gist. "It seems not."
When Morpheus brings up the nearby shrine, Ash's brows raise. "Yes, you're exactly right. It is the shrine which went missing from Asper. I was surprised to find it here as well— it feels like I've come full circle." She seems rueful. "Trainers have renamed it the 'Thunderfall' Shrine, by Zapdos's request, I suppose."
Ash finds your reaction to the name 'Plasma' curious. Back when she first revealed her plans to revive the ancient organization, some of her trusted trainers had reacted with similar familiarity. "It need not be tempting," she says gently. "It need only be the right thing to do."
Morpheus receives 25 BYTES for SNIVY |
|
|
