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 Mar 13, 2023 14:53:45 GMT 9
âWeâre going fishing.â
<Again? Okay! I love fish!>
âWhatever fish we get that is useless goes to him.â
<I didnât know Pansear liked fish! Catching it is really fun, you know, Pansear?>
âAnd then heâll cook it.â
<Ahaha, what.>
Sprigatito stares as Pansear climbs up on the nice rock he had picked out, gesturing for their newest member, a Mudbray, to park herself close. The mule slowly trotted over, letting Pansear rummage through a pack slung over her back to pull out a knife and a whetstone.
Pansear begins to sharpen the knife with great relish.
<What!> Sprigatito jumps to his feet, running over to his trainer. Kazuki is already sitting by the waterside, one leg propped up and the other dangling over the water as he prepares the fishing rod he purchased.
âWhat is it this time?â He raises a brow at the feline chewing his arm. âYou canât fish, cat. If you want to help, just wait until I reel something in.â
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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 Mar 13, 2023 14:07:53 GMT 9
The trainer had brought a bird with him. He chuckles a bit, amused at having sent the little pokemon running and hiding behind its trainer, in a puff of stray tailfeathers. Makes him grateful for his own starter, as klutzy as Sprigatito is.
The stranger smiles, unshaken by the ambush by comparison.
It pleases him. “Good.” Kazuki says, unwinding his arms. At the question, he huffs out of his nose, “Why else would I ask you?” Having never played multiplayer games—games of cooperation in general—Kazuki did not find approaching strangers for quests a common tactic. This player does seem to be the polite kind, however. He’s unlikely to be a headache.
Kazuki pivots, about to lead the way, only to pause thoughtfully, “And I may have broken something. Maybe.”
With that ominous footnote, he walks into the fog, tempering his long strides to stay within visible range of the other trainer, his silhouette a lighthouse of dangling long hair and intricate tattoos.
“The quest basically tells you to talk to a bunch of NPCs,” he explains, the soles of his shoes snapping twigs as he goes. “And they’ll eventually give you enough hints to navigate through the forest and find a gate.”
The fog grows thicker with every second, and by the time they reach the aforementioned gate, their feet are almost entirely obscured by tendrils of white.
“This is the gate.” It’s surprisingly small. The dialogues had made it out to be something akin to a monument, but it’s just a couple of feet taller than Kazuki and made out of wood and stone, a wall that separates the next area from the rest of the timberlands. Hundreds of sharp branches from the trees inside act as barbed wire on top of the gate, preventing it from being scaled.
But the doors have already been thrown open. There’s a statue sitting by it, moss-covered and eroded of all its unique traits, practically just a smooth hill-shaped boulder.
“Already blew it open. The issue’s inside.” Kazuki continues on, kicking away an oval plate of stone. He passes by the doors which sit crooked, their old wood cracked, charred, and creaking in the dull breeze.
The area inside doesn’t look all that different from the Misty Timberland—just condensed. The trees sit closer together and are numerous, closing off paths with their barbed branches. Their old trunks house large hollows that stare vacantly at the trainers as they enter.
There are no signs of pokemon.
Kazuki, unperturbed, continues to lead them until they reach a small wooden sign haphazardly shanked into the earth, a note on shredded cloth pinned to its face. Beyond it lies a sea of thick fog.
“This thing. Poem, riddle—whatever it is,” Kazuki drones, as if about to yawn just staring at it. “Figure it out. The answer’s not on the net; I’ve tried. Maybe it’s generated or something.” He scoffs, stepping aside and watching expectantly.
The sign reads as follows:
The missing words were not crossed out, nor do they sit like a fillable test. The words that do exist are recognizably handwritten and sit beside gaps of unnatural smoothness. The missing words are not missing, but simply aren’t there.
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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 Mar 13, 2023 12:13:01 GMT 9
Sprigatito yelps, the gush of water nailing him in the face and nearly shooting him off his trainer’s shoulder—a fate he dodges only by digging his nails into his perch, the claws prickling into skin.
Kazuki hisses, not from the claws, but from falling into the splash zone. He blinks, water dribbling down from his head. He’s now soaked from top to bottom, though laundering a shirt isn’t really a concern in this case, and he had dunked his pants in water out of his own accord.
“No shit,” he wipes his face, flicking the excess drops in Domino’s direction. This effort is undone when the cat on his shoulder shakes out his fur, pelting him in water again.
<You're rude!> Sprigatito squeaks, his fur still damp and now sticking out like a clump of steel wool.
Ignoring his pokemon’s continued incessant meowing about being sprayed, Kazuki pulls up the UI and actually spends more than 5 seconds skimming the event. “So, you have all agreed to find fish for some sailor looking for a fish wife.” The Pokemon Community is making a stunning debut for him.
But he pulls out the provided fishing line anyways, tosses it overboard with the hope that this activity wouldn’t be as dull as he judged it to be.
There's a [Bigness]OvW2w73C1d100 [Description]1d90 [Blarney]1d100 on the line!
1d100·1d100·1d100
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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 Mar 13, 2023 9:28:13 GMT 9
Not far from Verai were another pair of footsteps. Strangely light, despite the intentions of its owner being far from discreet.
There isn’t any particular reasons for the silence; and by reasons, it was solely rational ones. He had found him, and he was curious. And he wanted to freak out that cat.
It’s only when he sees the man and his little posse of felines approach a strange figure on the ground that he emerges.
“So, you finally killed someone?” He hums, though his eyes are set on the prone form, the edges creased and his mouth upturned as if this was the funniest thing to have ever happened. He’s alert enough to dodge whatever’s thrown at him, but his hands are tucked into his pockets and he’s going for the object of interest first.
He can see the new cat healing it. He tries poking it with the side of his foot anyways.
<Hi Purrai! Hi Purrai’s team!> From over his shoulder bounced a familiar green dustball, his face having been pinched red until that very moment. <Did you see? We were sneaking! I learned how to be super quiet! By holding my breath.>
A new face clung to Kazuki’s shoulder. The Pansear blinks at Verai, at his cats, at the body. Its brows rise with curiosity before it hops down, ignoring his trainer and checking the strange, unmoving human himself.
p1qGNZD81d12 1d12
1d12·1d12
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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 Mar 10, 2023 16:07:23 GMT 9
“Yep.”
The trade shop owner’s a strange one. He raises a brow at her, reminded of the eccentric fashion that dots the main cities, and her mannerisms echo a character archetype that he simply does not care for.
He’s not here to judge, though. “Take this—thing.” The Blipbug he received from his foray in the Tree of Worms hadn’t done anything. Hadn’t seen the light of day since, but he’s not keeping it. His team already has a shitload of work to do to be any use, and he’s not chancing a bug that looks this weak.
He looks over the little coffins and the pokemon offered, and there’s only the Mudbray that's available for his offer. “I’ll take the horse.” That one could be useful. A pack mule, if it can’t fight.
KAZUKI IS TRADING BLIPBUG FOR MUDBRAY
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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 Mar 10, 2023 15:16:26 GMT 9
The next time they visit the massive shrine, Pansear is with them. Battered and beaten, yes—but he marches upright, and that’s a better sign than draped over his arm like a wet towel.
Kazuki pauses, squinting as he stares at his two tiny pokemon walking ahead of him. “At least the bullshit is over.” He doesn’t sense anything off now. He’s tossing a ball in his hands, maybe more carelessly than he should. They had caught it. The strange menace seemed to be fucking with his game, but he didn't know what to do with it.
<That was AWESOME!> Sprigatito chirped, hopping excitedly beside Pansear. <The way you ran around like PSHOO! And then you were spewing out so much fire like FWOO! And then at the end, we really thought you passed out again, master was going to jump in—>
Pansear doesn’t respond, but he nods his head. He appears content listening to his teammate’s babbling. In his mitten-like hands is his tail, a little bent from the fight, but that’ll be fixed.
When they’re at the foot of the shrine, Pansear looks around with wide eyes. He hadn’t seen this place the first time. The massive floating rock is huge, even compared to the steel spires. He pats Sprigatito on the head so they can slow down a bit and take it in.
“Not really what I’d call a shrine,” Kazuki admits, looking at it now, without his mind jumbled and without the adrenaline. He had let his pokemon take care of the fight, and it was—less than passable.
He touches the shrine in preparation to continue training.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 14:29:55 GMT 9
Pansear is conscious. Pansear is in pain.
He lies on the ground on his back, his head throbbing, the parts of him aching where he had collided with unforgiving dirt, but he is miraculously awake. He listens, keeping even his breathing low. He can hear a felineâs loud cries mixing with his trainerâs voice.
He can hear buzzing.
He can feel the fur on his face stand as Magnemite slowly descends above him, light already shining behind his eyelids.
He gathers up the fire in the pit of his belly and sends it flying upward in a fountain of embers. Again, the Magnemite erupts into earâpiercing metal screeching, and it’s only by a split second that Pansear manages to roll out of the way before his opponent crashes into the ground he had lain in, gritting his teeth as one of the magnets pins his tail.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 14:23:53 GMT 9
Pansear climbs on a mound of stone jutting out of the battlegroundâs border. Now elevated, he launches another ball of fire, the angle allowing him to aim for the Magnemiteâs eye.
Only to hit air.
Pansear blinks, peeking over the edge to find his opponent gone. His ball of fire crashes and dissipates on the ground below. He hears a buzzing in his ears.
When he turns around, heâs hit with a blinding Burst of Electricity.
Kazuki curses, seeing his pokemon get thrown off the mound. Sprigatito by his side is already on his feet, loud as he tries to convince his trainer to swap him in.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 14:12:47 GMT 9
Their visit to the shrine is briefâ Kazuki being on a warpath. When they return to the Steppes, they find the Magnemite still floating at the same spot, staring at them.
It almost looks smug to Kazuki, despite having very little expression.
Pansear takes the stage again. He shakes his fur, still feeling phantom spikes of electricity, but is far from ready to back down. He doesnât launch immediately, watching his opponent until the Magnemite begins charging another attack, before getting to his feet and running full-tilt—out of the battlefield.
The Magnemite, glowing with sparks, begins floating after him.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 14:03:48 GMT 9
âAre you fucking kidding me!â Kazuki and his team hobbled up to the shrine. Pansear, unconscious and fur charred, is carried in one of his trainerâs arms. Sprigatito walks in front, having taken defense duty as they made their way to the healing spot, looking back with a worried glance at his injured team.
Losing is one thing, but the fact it didnât stop even after the battle is justâ
âAlright.â Kazuki exhales. Get healed. Kill the Magnemite with fire and get this sorted out. âHow do I work this thing?â
Sprigatito paws at the shrine, frantically nodding his head. Despite their current situation with Pansear being out cold and his trainer acting a bit strange (though he was coming to terms with this as the norm), he felt good about leading. About protecting them and being listened to.
A tattooed hand reaches out to touch the massive shrine.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 13:48:39 GMT 9
The fireball grazes one of the Magnemiteâs magnets. Its hiss is sharp, the screech of metal.
When its next burst of electricity comes, Pansear is able to dodge, though heâs short by a second. The sparks hit his foot and he stumbles a little before finding his footing again.
âKeep moving,â Kazuki calls. âDonât lose momentum!â
Kazuki presses his fingers to his temple, the sound of this little monster unbearable. But he sees his Pansear oblige without issue, the monkey beginning to run across the battlefield, aiming his next attack. He wonders if heâs the only one who can feel the strangeness of this. He looks to Sprigatito tottering up to his side and remembers that he canât ask.
Another volley of flames and lightning.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 13:40:31 GMT 9
The fire lands, the buzzing growing loud enough to the point Kazuki has to cover his ears as the Magnemite weathers the flames. When the embers die out, its chassis is smeared with ash, yet otherwise unharmed.
Its body begins to glow. Harshly.
âAh, fuck.â
He moves, but does not dodge in time.
The Spark attack is less of a spark as it is a miniature lightning strike. When Kazuki comes to, heâs crouched on the ground. Pansear is not on his shoulder. Sprigatito is lying on the grass, legs sticking up, and feeling lightly fried.
Pansear faces off with the Magnemite. His fur is singed, but the tuft on his head is still burning brightly, regarding his opponent with a mix of determination and fascination. He breathes in and launches another Incinerate, trying to stay ready on his feet for the next attack.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 13:22:32 GMT 9
The strange buzzing sound in the back of his head grows louder.
Out from behind a pile of shattered rocks comes a strange creature. Lightning flashes bounce off its little round body as it floats into view. Its single round eye swivels to land on him, and the large magnets stuck to its sides grind in slow circles. Itâs quiet and unblinking as it observes him.
âKill it with fire,â he orders immediately.
Pansear doesnât understand his alarm, but having only one fire move, he manages the order. The tuft of hair on his head lights up like a lantern before he uses Incinerate, spitting a ball of fire at the wild Magnemite. Sprigatito gasps in awe, reminded of his friend Littenâs fire.
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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 Mar 9, 2023 12:56:05 GMT 9
Kazuki stops, not even five steps from the entrance of the Steppes.
âWhat,â he saysâ âthe fuck.â
But nothing is amiss. The Steppes are the same. He blinks several times, rubs his eyes against the inked blossom on the back of his hand, black dots in his vision. Yet, thereâs still something wrong.
âMrow?â He tenses and looks down at Sprigatito pawing his ankle. The catâs appearance is the same too, looking at him with big eyes, yet again, something feels off.
A warm paw pokes his cheek and he hisses, pulling it off, Pansear by his shoulder growing impatient. âRelax! I only stopped for a second.â Videogame bullshit, he tells himself. Maybe the servers are acting up or somethingâs off with his equipment. Heâll deal with it after this.
âKeep an eye out for those spiky rabbits,â he instructs, pouring his attention into his surroundings, his steps a little faster now.
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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 Mar 8, 2023 23:07:44 GMT 9
Heâs back. Nothing had changed with the Steppes since the last time he visited; its skies growled with fangs of lightning and its land lay barren, tracing plumes of dust and debris, as welcoming as an active minefield.
Kazuki breathes it in as if he hadnât spent his first visit bleeding out of a hole in his shoulder. âTime to go rabbit hunting.â
The monkey hanging off his shoulder doesnât say anything, hasnât said a damn thing since it hatched, but itâs clearly eager and alert, dark eyes looking out to the horizon, fur glowing faintly with heat.
Sprigatito stood by his trainerâs side, pawing at the ground, occasionally glancing up. It wasnât that he wasnât grateful to have more teammates but itâsânew. He needs to get used to it.
His trainer walks forward and he follows, wondering what was even special about the Pansear. After the awkwardness of their first meetingâ(<Hi there! Oh itâs so nice to meet you, Iâve never had teamâeh? No, um. Thatâs my berry. Mine. What are youâ¦>)âand the speed at which his new teammate had charred his beloved snack to smithereens, he wasnât sure what to expect.
ENTERING THE TALL GRASS!
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