Kazuki
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You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 7, 2023 2:47:45 GMT 9
“Now what?” Buizel asks, looking over the clearing. The fire pokemon have stopped sparring, instead watching curiously, probably having seen their trainer leave. The outlier, Magikarp, seems completely unbothered by everything, having the entire pond to himself (after nearly getting mauled to death by the team’s Carvanha; Kazuki had to return it and change its training to another day.)
“We should… take a break!” Sprigatito grins. “We already did some fighting. It’ll be good to take some time to play and relax while Kazuki is away.”
“Hear, hear,” Mudbray yawns, following after him and Buizel as they approach the rest of the team.
Sprigatito explains their trainer’s brief leave. “—And since he’s gone, I was thinking we could do something fun. Is there anything you all want to do?”
The fire pokemon stare at him, before exchanging glances and leaning into each other to whisper (weird!) After a few words, Scorbunny grins and says: “Let’s play volleyball! You all know what that is, right?” At the round of confused looks, Scorbunny takes some time to explain the sport.
“It does sound fun… but we don’t have a ball?” Sprigatito tilts his head.
“Yeah, we do!” Scorbunny’s grin turns wider as he dramatically spins, pointing his paw at the pond. “That buoyant fella will do just fine!”
“We are not using Magikarp as a ball!” Buizel hisses, outraged at the mere suggestion.
Scorbunny pouts, crossing his arms. “Killjoy.”
“What did you call me?”
“Hey, hey, no fighting!” Sprigatito says, stepping forwards to stop the two from clashing. “We’re supposed to be having fun! We can’t just go around hurting our own—”
“Why not?” It’s Torchic this time who interjects. “Everyone should be able to handle some pain. What makes him so special?”
He can feel heat crawling over his face. It’s a familiar frustration that he has to tamp down because- because he’s supposed to be a role model now! “That’s not what I meant. Teammates need to care for each other.”
Torchic glares, stepping forwards and pushing into his space, her beak held high. “Know what I think?” She snickers. “I think you’re just scared. I think you know that if we were pit against each other, we’d be a better team than you guys.”
“What are you talking about?” Sprigatito says, horrified with where this conversation has gone.
“Haven’t you noticed?” Torchic says with a roll of her eyes. “Our trainer’s a Kindler. Those are fire-type specialists. So, it’s only a matter of time before he replaces you with all the fire pokemon he’s collected.”
“He- he wouldn’t! He’s made us too strong already…”
Torchic stares at him, unconvinced. “Then prove it. If you win, I’ll shut up about this. But if we win, we get your spots on the team.”
It hurts. Not even Mudbray and Buizel coming to his defense makes him feel better. His eyes wander past Torchic, to Tepig standing behind her, almost protectively. Tepig meets his eyes, only to look away, muttering, “She’s… not wrong.”
Sprigatito meets Torchic’s eyes again. He thinks he’s not hiding his anger well, based on how pleased she looks. She looks as if she’s already won.
“Fine.”
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 7, 2023 2:42:48 GMT 9
20 MINUTES EARLIER
It’s training day! Sprigatito opens his eyes to see he’s been released in the middle of a pretty meadow: the scent of flowers in the air, plenty of room to walk around, and even a pond with glittering water in the center to play in. He quickly finds he’s not alone; he’s surrounded by his teammates.
“Oi! All of you, listen up,” calls his trainer. “A while back, I was informed about some… glaring issues about this team, so today’s going to be spent ironing it out and getting to know the new members.”
Sprigatito shrinks a little, and then even more as he sees his trainer wave his hand in his direction. Is this it? His karma for running away: getting scolded in front of everyone?
“But let me make this clear. Any time I’m not around, the cat’s the leader.”
Sprigatito feels his heart leap as soon as the words register, unable to help the huge smile that stretches across his face. <Really?!>
“Yes, really.” There’s a few murmurs among the group, but protests wither under his trainer’s glare. “You all answer to him. Got it?”
The murmurs turn into various states of assent ranging from <Alright.> to <Fine…>
He divides them up. What follows are the usual sparring sessions, though Sprigatito finds the battles a lot more challenging than usual. Three of his new teammates are fire types, and they mean business.
So, he has to show them he means business too!
After Torchic launches a burst of EMBER at him, Sprigatito retaliates with a combination of MAGICAL LEAF and LEAFAGE, knocking her out of the ring they had drawn in the dirt.
“No fair!” Torchic chirps, shaking off the leaves from her plumage.
“Yes, fair! I can do that since I’ve been fighting as a Sweeper.” There hadn’t been any rule stating he couldn’t use Fast Attacks. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn how to do it too!” As a leader, he should impart wisdom and motivation to his teammates!
Torchic doesn’t say anything, moving on to her next opponent, Tepig.
“Cat! Come here!”
Sprigatito hops to his feet, heading over to his trainer, who’s standing by the sidelines with Pansear, Mudbray, and Buizel—the main team! He’s a little upset they hadn’t called him earlier for such an important-looking meeting.
“I’m taking the monkey into the deeper woods to find some ingredients. I won’t be long, but you’re in charge of watching over the team until I get back. Don’t let any wild pokemon mess with the newbies.” He turns to Mudbray. “And if anything happens, you come and get us. Immediately.”
<You can count on us!> Sprigatito chirps, and then, meekly, he says to Pansear: “And um, I hope you can find some really, really nice ingredients…”
Pansear huffs, and before he knows it, there’s a paw ruffling his head! Sprigatito whines, trying to fix his fur as Pansear climbs up to perch on their trainer’s shoulder. The two depart.
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 7, 2023 2:34:56 GMT 9
The sky roars with thunderous applause as a giant serpent rises to full height, its jagged maw opening to unleash a resounding GYASHAAAAAAAAA!
Kazuki’s eyes move down to his pokemon, all of them huddled together in front of him, trying to take shelter from the storm under each other. “What… happened?”
No one speaks. Looks are exchanged; silent agreements—before the lot of them step back, leaving only Sprigatito, who yelps upon realizing he’s been shoved into the limelight.
Kazuki’s gaze narrows. “I’ll ask again. What. Happened.” The ground is shaking.
Sprigatito gulps, his ears pinned back. The urge to run and hide is strong. His trainer is furious, and Pansear on his shoulder looks ready to start chucking his armful of berries at any hint of lying.
Sprigatito steels his nerves. He shakes his fur and puffs up as best as he can under the rain. He’s a leader now. He has to act like one. He has to tell the truth.
He opens his mouth and begins to explain from the top.
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 3, 2023 23:16:21 GMT 9
The geyser, it turns out, is the correct choice. Kazuki hops up to the castle without a single third degree burn, which is a lucky shot on his part and an injustice to others. His quailtet sing their praises.
The rest of the players eventually catch up, a ping from the global chat informing him that someone’s already passed the word on the correct route, so he can deal with the next challenge.
Kazuki’s face scrunches at the options given. He does not bear the fun quail facts. He is also unwilling to beep beep cheep cheep or boing boing for the masses. The first player, Sarah Lee, is nearly cannoned to death after three fun quail facts. The second, who turns out to be Blackthorne—his full user name is Lord Darien Blackthorne, which Kazuki finds deeply amusing—proceeds to belt out a whole quail ballad.
So, the frills aren’t all for show. The man’s a modern bard.
As if struck with a point of inspiration, when Kazuki’s turn comes up, he simply recites:
KAZUKI OFFERED A QUAIL POEM
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
|
Post by Kazuki on May 2, 2023 23:30:32 GMT 9
He’s about to cross the threshold into the Wing Stop when he’s greeted by a familiar face and her own entourage of quails. “Hey, you’re the girl from the Rookery!” He chuckles. “Fancy seeing you here.”
At her hesitance, he flaps his hand. “It’ll be fine. We grab the takeout, and if the guy tries anything, we kill him. Easy.” He continues as they walk into the restaurant, “Say, how’s your bird? The blue one. My rabbit’s always asking about him. I think he got attached.”
They place their orders and wait. So far, it’s pretty casual—at least until he hears a loud clatter in the kitchen. When he turns his head to the source of the noise, he finds his nose 2 inches away from the end of a katana’s blade. Well, shit.
He pokes it. “Wait, this isn’t even—”
Wiley shishkabobs him in the chest, executing the fastest series of master class slice n’ dicing that would put Fruit Ninjas to shame. After the flurry settles, Wiley ends up with a baggie of thug nuggets. Kazuki is too dead to know this, but said baggie is then passed to an eager orc hand sticking in through the takeout window.
He returns to spawn point.
Looking down, he notices he’s missing a quail, although the singing squad of happy robins are completely oblivious, with no hint of their missing friend save for a slight downgrade in their harmonizing.
“They didn’t even cook it!” Kazuki growls, and as they resume making a mad dash away from the army a second time, he pulls up the global chat and starts typing his Yelp review.
One of the players—Blackthorne, which is a name that feels vaguely familiar—informs the rest of them which path to take. Despite making little effort to balance himself, he does manage to cross the Chasm of Infinite Doom with relative ease, with his quails safely and comfortably singing a tune of motivation perched over his shoulders.
And now to figure out the rest. He sees two players already heading off in the direction of disco-fueled damnation, leaving two untrodden paths. The babies look suspicious. The vast expanse of flatland even more so.
He kicks a rock, and watches as it’s shot 50 feet in the air by a geyser so hot that it reduces the stone to laminated paper.
“Well then.” Boiled chicken did sound good right about now. “Guess we’re running.”
Realizing the tempo that’s about to take place, the barbershop quartet proceed with the mood music: William Tell Overture.
KAZUKI OPTS FOR THE GEYSER MINEFIELD
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 2, 2023 12:45:34 GMT 9
“Who the fuck are you?”
The new player in question turns out to be some kind of thug. He turns a nasty glower at the kid, though neither this nor the man’s appearance seems to deter the punk, who simply grins with smug pride, jabbing a thumb into his chest and declaring: “I’m your rival! And I’m here to rock your world.”
Kazuki raises a brow, watching as the kid proceeds to do air riffs. “I don't have time to fight a brat.” Plus, he already had a rival, who he'd been in the middle of tracking down like a bloodhound.
Your Rival clicks his tongue, still holding his nonexistent guitar. “So, you are a chicken. Dude... Are you going to tell me the tattoos are fake too?” He shakes his head, severely disappointed. Posers are everywhere.
Fuck it, Kazuki thinks, taking out a pokeball and willing himself not to slug the child with it. He looks over to the white-haired man who’d been rolling his eyes, confused and a little irritated the guy hadn’t left yet. “You just gonna stand there and look pretty?” He snorts.
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 2, 2023 11:45:34 GMT 9
They find a Mareep grazing innocently in a field of little daisies.
“Not that one,” Kazuki says, moving to take a route around the distracted sheep. “Not unless you want lamb chops.”
Tepig stands corrected. He hasn’t met any of his teammates yet, but he dreads the experience. He hasn't been with the man for more than a day and he already feels unmoored, emotionally-speaking. He can only imagine what the others, who have had more prolonged exposure, are like.
“Come on, step to it. I said you could cook it at will, but that thing is still big enough to eat you.”
Tepig trots a little faster.
spawn reset!
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
|
Post by Kazuki on May 2, 2023 11:35:54 GMT 9
“You’re a quiet one, huh?” Kazuki asks, raising a brow at the Tepig he’s finally setting down on the ground. Tepig shakes himself, but doesn’t say anything beyond snorting out of his nose. “I’ve got a monkey who doesn’t talk that’s chattier than you.”
That makes the fire type pause. <They don’t talk? Why?>
And this, in turn, makes Kazuki stop, because he had never thought about it. “… Don't know,” he says with a shrug. “Maybe he’s mute. Maybe he just doesn’t want to. Not like it matters. He usually just does what he wants anyways, and if there’s anything too complicated to explain with body language, he just draws it.”
<And you just… are okay with it?> Tepig’s face scrunches with genuine confusion, as this picture goes against everything he’s learned about his trainer so far, but it doesn't seem like the man is lying.
“Why not? As long as he can deal with the team and fight.” Kazuki looks around, thinking out loud to himself. “You'll need to meet them soon too.”
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 2, 2023 8:15:48 GMT 9
They encounter a Blitzle. It rushes towards them, lightning curling over its razor-sharp mane with the intent to char them to a crisp.
Kazuki side-steps, and because he’s still carrying Tepig like a bag of flour, they do avoid the first hit.
<Trainer, when are we going to train.> Tepig wiggles his legs but is unable to escape his trainer’s hold. He thinks, briefly, of biting the man’s arm.
“Not metal, not worth it,” Kazuki says easily. “You’ve figured out how to use your fire a bit more, but it’s still not hot enough to just melt through everything easily. We stick with the cogs.”
Tepig grumbles as they continue down the path, his glare set on the Blitzle.
SPAWN RESET!
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 2, 2023 7:25:34 GMT 9
Do NOT go to Wiley's Wing Stop that shit is a scam the wings are nonexistent the ambience is ass the customer service is garbage and they don't even use real katanas to skin you alive
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on May 1, 2023 1:39:57 GMT 9
After a Windows Update worth of loading, Kazuki opens his eyes to see an entirely new kingdom. It’s gorgeous. It’s ridiculous that he’s only just found it now—is it not part of Asper?
But a handful of other people appear around him, the area being quickly filled with a symphony of peepeepeepeep. It’s a victory roar rivaled only by the sound of war quickly stampeding the idyllic landscape, heading their way.
On any other situation, he’d be relishing this, but in this situation he’s a half-naked vandalism project flanked by five cheesepuffs.
They turn tail and quail.
Further down the opposite road, there’s already a fork leading to three locations. There’s a valley consisting of every circle of Hell you can name mixed in a bowl, and a tightrope challenge across the world’s largest, bottomless vent. And then there’s takeout.
His eyes slowly squint, glancing over his shoulder to the oncoming army and the paths. “… Eh.” They’re kind of fucked either way. He’s not bailing, but since the lifespan of this team is in the single digits, there’s no harm in spending some quaility time with them.
“Who wants food?” He asks, looking down.
The barbershop quintuplet sing in unison, and perfect harmony. <MEeeeEEEeeeee~>
They head off to Wiley’s Wing Stop in a single file line.
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on Apr 30, 2023 20:04:42 GMT 9
UNOVR | PLAYER JOURNALWELCOME,[tangent=HOST] KAZUKI[/tangent] Please select one of the following options to navigate to the page:
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
|
Post by Kazuki on Apr 30, 2023 19:42:19 GMT 9
Morpheus approaches as Scorbunny is trying to execute their brilliant and foolproof plan, and it only appears to upset the bunny further. “Why are ya… Why are ya being so MEAN?” He sniffs as he’s scolded, or at least that’s what it looks like to him. All he wants to do is carry out the operation. A little bit of arson, and now this stranger is telling him he’ll make his boss unhappy?
Even though said boss is literally a few feet away, clearly pissed after hearing what 'the plan' actually is from Mumble and Taylor. “That’s not going to work,” he hisses to Morpheus. “Aaand now he’s doing it again.”
And by ‘it’, he means the thing Scorbunny does when he’s angry that isn’t a flaming tantrum. The bunny puffs up his cheeks, trying to look intimidating, only to end up resembling a tomato as he holds his breath.
Before Kazuki can tell him to cut it out, a panicked Hibiscus calls out for help, and Caspian is quick to answer his pokemon’s distress. The bulbasaur grows, doubling in size, colors vibrant as if having ingested a miracle growth solution. The speed of it launches Scorbunny off the ground, his arms wiggling in the air in a panic, before he crashes belly-first on Hibiscus’ bulb.
And he burps, releasing a ball of fire straight onto the grass.
Kazuki blinks as the fire quickly gains traction over the dry wildflowers. “This might be a good time for—” Mumble spits out a bucket’s worth of water over Hibiscus’ head, missing the blaze entirely. “… that.” Taylor is facepalming, and he’d join her in a heartbeat were there not more pressing concerns.
“Damn it!” He runs over, slamming his foot down on the flames. The Kindler class allows him to resist some of the heat, but he still curses as the fire licks the fabric of his shoes, and starts crawling up the cuffs of his pants. “Don’t just stand there!” He barks at the trainers. “Put it out!”
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
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Post by Kazuki on Apr 30, 2023 18:43:18 GMT 9
When they leave the gate, Kazuki is amazed they survive with eyebrows intact. “This has to be illegal.” It’s putrid. It smells like where dreams come to die, and he can’t believe technology has been developed to inject this sensation into his brain. Geneva Conventions have been violated and they’re not even deep in yet.
And because he didn’t read the manual, he doesn’t know about the sliders. He enters the quest with only his hands and a prayer.
“Seriously?” His voice is muffled by his palm, eyes pinched with disgust as Sarah tells him about the monster rat rumors, which had to be bull. Mudsdale were huge. “Patrat bulking on radioactive cheese. Great. If we end up fighting a Hulk with mouse ears, I’m shaking the old man for every doubloon he’s got.”
There’s a figure in the sewage, one he doesn’t even notice until Sarah drives it away with her Duraludon. The loud stomping and splashing echo down the tunnel. The look he shares with her is grim. “Toilet water Sharpedo, or the Patrat’s grown gills.”
They keep moving. It’s surprisingly peaceful, though the fork they arrive at offers no lesser evils.
“Faster we find the rodents and finish this, the better.” Plus, the abyss pipe basically screams ‘get ambushed by Nessie’. “Pick the parm.”
He takes a step, splashing more tainted water.
“HEEEEEEELP!” comes a rasping voice from deep within the cheesy tunnel.
Kazuki violently pivots, because he had not signed up for a rescue mission, or in the worst-case scenario, Patrat with subterfuge. “Nope. Shadow hole it is.”
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Kazuki
•
You Can't Take Me
The Creed
Posts: 883
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Himura Atsushi
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 113
|
Post by Kazuki on Apr 29, 2023 22:29:38 GMT 9
The moment the pop-up slapped open the word ‘Danger’ it was all over, quite frankly.
Kazuki opens his eyes, finds his hand free of the neat little feather and immediately deafened by the sound of the announcement and the adrenaline-inducing soundtrack. “Quail?!” He squawks, before the grid comes crashing into his sight.
The selection is… well, sparse. He skims as the harsh drums rattle his ears, not really understanding how any of these tiny birds could entail adventure, danger, or boon. Burden, maybe. Fainting bird hearts.
“Fuck it,” he closes his eyes—eenie-meenie-miney-mo—and when he opens them, sees his finger slapped down on the left, at the center row. FLETCHLING lights up and vanishes.
He hears a myriad of cheeps behind him. In the shadow of the towering man, five tiny lil’ red birds are tripping over each other, trying to find the highest vantage point—which in this case would be his ankles. He moves a foot and narrowly quashes one.
”Oh, you are all so—cooked.” Kazuki grimaces.
The Fletchling squad cheep in unison, like a barbershop quintuplet, or a funeral choir.
Kazuki has selected FLETCHLING
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