Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 12, 2023 23:50:18 GMT 9
The recent experience in the Everworld and then the questionably wise expedition into the Mistra Corruption Zone had both been rather overwhelming. Now that a few hours had past since both, she was at least a little calmer, but still, if asked Taylor might admit that she’d like some time to relax! So it was that she found herself back here, in the Pokemon refresh zone, holding Vixey’s Pokeball.
Settling herself onto the ground, she released the Vulpix from her ball and squinted in the flash of white light that lit up the area for a moment. Once she could see again, she found the small fox sitting a foot or so away, head cocked curiously in her direction.
<Who are you?> Came the melodic little voice. <How did I get here?> She sounded puzzled, but not distressed, at least.
“Hi!” Taylor beamed, offering a hand for the vulpine pokemon to sniff, if she pleased. “I’m Taylor. I’m not sure if you remember, but you were in the Everworld and I came and did a trial to get you out.” That was… a weird sentence, but she couldn’t think of any better way to put it. “I thought we might make a good team, along with my other Pokemon. Would you like to meet them?”
Vixey was silent for a moment, blinking and processing the news. She… didn’t remember anything from before the Everworld, and that was more than a little disconcerting and she didn’t know quite how to feel about it. After a beat she nodded hesitantly.
<Yes, please. I would like to meet them.>
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 23:22:14 GMT 9
The fact that they emerged unscathed was honestly a shock, after what they’d witnessed in the corruption zone. Taylor hadn’t taken them straight to the corruption zone; rather she’d spent a while getting Zazu and herself warmed up and calmed down. The bird had been damn near frantic when they awoke back in Asper. After getting warmed up and making sure that the sample was very, very carefully sealed, the pair had hastened away from the corrupted zone border.
Now, a few hours later, the pair returned to what had once been the starter lab. Taylor certainly appeared a little less cocky now, but still she grinned upon greeting Dr Bunya.
“Hey doc,” she called, holding up the vial. “Got somethin’ for ya!”
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 23:06:07 GMT 9
Thankfully, Dr Bunya had had the foresight to make sure the corruption trackers were silent. Taylor couldn’t help but think that making too much noise in this place would be a supremely horrible idea. It was capable of communicating to the player that they were nearing their goal, though. Silently, the blinking dot ahead began to grow, flashing faster and faster as they progressed. Dread pooled in the young woman’s stomach, and she frowned at herself for being foolish. There was no real danger here; this was a game. What was the worst that could happen?
Slowly – so slowly – the environment around them began to change. Where previously the ground had been flat and level, it started now to slope upwards. Following the slight incline, structures started to pull into view, melting in from the mist. They were tall – somewhere in the region of eight feet in height and sprawled wide. They certainly weren’t buildings; their sides gently sloping up from a central base. The pair stopped next to one, squinting at it curiously. They looked almost… organic, though were coated in some sort of black, thick, viscous substance.
<Nests…> Croaked both of Zazu’s heads in weary unison, as the Doduo rested his weight against the trainer’s side. He was really flagging now, and speaking seemed to cost him.
“Really?” Taylor replied, craning her neck to get a view of the top of the structure. She supposed a bird would know a nest when they saw one. “But what would need nests this big…?” Almost as soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them. There were some things that it was best not to speak aloud.
“This substance looks a lot like the samples in Dr Bunya’s lab – do you think this will work?” Taylor was in the process of unstopping one of the vials she’d brought along, when she realised Zazu hadn’t answered. Turning her gaze towards the Doduo, she took in how both of his heads were now pointed towards the very top of the nest. In that moment, the horror glittering in the bird’s eyes and the way his entire form trembled spoke volumes, and Taylor’s stomach dropped like a stone. In what felt like slow motion, she too tipped her head up to the sky, eyes searching for what had the Pokémon so shaken. She needn’t have bothered to search.
The light here was so poor that little could be made out of the hulking form that now loomed over them from within or atop the structure. The eye though… The eye seemed to defy environmental factors, and shone with a malignant, crimson glow. There was time only for a shaking breath and wild clutch at the dark goop, before that awful eye narrowed and the darkness that surrounded it raced towards them.
Darkness. Heavy, cloying, suffocating darkness stole what little light and life the pair had managed to draw in with them. And as consciousness was ripped away, in space of a heartbeat, it was over.
Zazu the Doduo: 0/150 19QKrqEQ1-20 1-20
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 23:03:05 GMT 9
They’d been moving through the unnatural landscape for only a few moments when an almighty bellow split the air. The very ground seemed to tremble in its wake, and the pair froze, eyes wide and ears straining to pick up any clues as to what on Earth had made that noise. In the minutes that followed though, the damp, sticky silence of the zone reasserted itself. The absence of a follow-up somehow managed to make the cry seem all the more ominous.
Gulping, Taylor glanced down at the tracker, letting out a long, discontented sigh as it confirmed precisely what she’d hoped it would not. A tired, questioning chirp had her attention turning to the Doduo again and she nodded, regretfully. “Yeah,” she breathed. “That came from the direction we’re heading…” Wonderful.
The longer they travelled, the more the pair found their attention pulled to the periphery of their vision. There never seemed to be anything to be seen there, but both could swear there was… something. Something lurking in the mist at the edges of sight, just beyond what could be seen and understood without turning one’s head, but gone without a trace in the split second it would take to twist towards it.
Zazu was at an advantage here; the whole two heads are better than one, schtick. Glancing down at the interface once more, Taylor jumped now as the dual type cringed into her, flinching away from the mist as though one of his four eyes had finally managed to make out just what it was that followed them.
<Don’t look,> Grated out one of his two heads, both sets of eyes trained dead ahead now.
Taylor frowned. “Wha-“
<Don’t. Look.> The tone would have been harsh, were it not for the tremors that had overtaken the Pokemon’s frame. Still, they brooked no argument or discussion, and after a moment Taylor nodded, resting a gentle hand on the Doduo’s shoulder and facing ahead as advised.
Zazu the Doduo: 50/150
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 23:01:01 GMT 9
“You up for a little exploring, Zazu?” She asked, grinning down at dual type. A series of nods confirmed the affirmative, both heads for once in contented enough agreement! “Sweet! Let’s go!” As they stepped into the zone, Taylor pulled up the recently added corruption tracker on her interface, watching the display flicker wildly as they moved into the zone.
Crossing the boundary seemed to leach all the colour and warmth from the world. Shivering slightly, the young woman pulled her jacket tighter about herself and looked around. Darkness reigned here, near enough everything black or charcoal in colour, almost seeming to reject the idea of texture entirely. As they took their first few steps, the pair would feel an icy finger of unease drag down their spines.
This place was wrong.
If the very lack of colour and warmth hadn’t given it away, the odd, heavy mist that ensured they could see only a few feet ahead certainly would have.
“I wonder if it’s always this hard to see here,” Taylor whispered, starting a little at how dead the words sounded. Something about the air here smothered them, making them fall flat and heavy. A low whine from Zazu had her glancing in his direction, wincing as she took in how he already appeared a little more unsteady on his feet than before.
“We should move,” she added, running a gently supportive hand over his back. “The sooner we track down that sample, the sooner we can get out of here and get you warmed up.” A quiet chirp of agreement was the avian’s only reply, as though the very strain of the area had sapped his ability to speak.
Zazu the Doduo: 100/150
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 22:58:49 GMT 9
Should Taylor have been cautious over the slightly maniacal manner of Dr. Bunya and her request to strike forth into the very clearly hazardous corruption zone? Absolutely. Unfortunately for all logic and common sense, she’d been rather too charmed by chaotic NPC and the picture she had painted. As research scientist herself, Taylor sometimes wished she could conduct herself in as impulsive a manner as the doctor, but sadly the real world consisted of far too many rules and ethics panels for that! So hell, if she got to explore that side of things here, with no real-world consequences and no risk of doing anyone actual lasting harm, she was going to jump at the chance.
Standing now at the edge of the corruption zone, she grins down at the Doduo at her side. The fact that she’d chosen not to bring in Mumble or the newly revived Vixey was telling. She had a feeling the soft-hearted Mumble would be too frightened of the area, while she hadn’t yet had the chance to build much of a relationship with the Vulpix. Zazu was a bit of a tougher cookie, and they’d at least begun to bond.
Zazu the Doduo: 150/150
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 21:02:33 GMT 9
Zazu had been limping slightly recently, and it had been worrying Taylor. That in itself was odd – she was fully aware that the Pokémon here – or anywhere, really – weren’t ‘real’, but that didn’t seem to do much for keeping her from forming emotional attachments to them. As a rational, logically minded person, she really hadn’t expected this. Perhaps what it came down to was that she was horribly lonely in her real life. Lucas really had done a number on her social life over the years, and had been very effective in making sure he kept her isolated.
Mind shying away from that line of thought, the young woman cleared her throat and released the Doduo from his Pokéball. The flying-type’s dual heads looked around curiously for a moment, before focusing in on their trainer.
“Hey bud,” Taylor cooed softly, trying to avoid startling the Pokémon. “You’ve been limping today, huh? Think I could take a look at that foot?” The avian Pokémon hadn’t been with her long, so she wasn’t sure quite what reception to expect from him.
<Yes>
<NO>
The two heads spoke simultaneously, before turning in perfect synchronicity to glare at each other. Taylor bit back her laugh and stayed quiet, waiting for the pair to – seemingly telepathically – work through their differences. Finally, the objectionable head huffed a sigh and turned to face away, while the cooperative one returned his attention to the trainer.
<Yes please. Hurts.>
With that said, he lifted his left foot and offered it out for the human’s inspection.
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 19:53:13 GMT 9
| VIXEY
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VULPIX | FEMALE | | | SUPPORT | 150 HP (+50 ARMORER) | HEAL: 3d12 | RARE +10 |
BASIC MOVES 1-10 EMBER, TAIL WHIP, DISABLE, QUICK ATTACK
TIER 1 MOVES 10-20 SPITE, INCINERATE, CONFUSE RAY
TIER 2 MOVES 20-30 WILL-O-WISP, EXTRASENSORY
TIER 3 MOVES 30-50 FLAMETHROWER, IMPRISON, FIRE SPIN, SAFEGUARD, INFERNO
TIER 4 MOVES 50-70 GRUDGE, FIRE BLAST
TIER 5 MOVES 70-100 NONE
OTHER MOVES ENERGY BALL | OTHER INFORMATION: NONE
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 4:06:51 GMT 9
Talk about right place, right time! Taylor had just so happened to be investigating the Rookery when an event pinged on her interface. Tapping the popup and reading through it had her intrigued, which was probably a good thing since her current placement in the world seemed to have automatically entered her into it.
“Well okay then!” She laughed, releasing Mumble from his ball and crouching to speak to him. “Hey Buddy! Wanna play a game?” A wordless squawk of ascent made her grin and gently scritch the top of his head. “Apparently there’s a bunch of musical instruments around here – like a treasure hunt! Wanna see if we can find some?”
Before the Piplup could respond, a flash of white and orange sped past, rippling the wildflowers in its wake and making both Taylor and Mumble jump. “Was that a Scorbunny…?” Taylor wondered distractedly, and unfortunately failed to redirect Mumble’s attention in time.
<Heeeeeey! Wait uppppp!> The considerably slower water-type crowed, taking off after the other starter, promptly forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.
“Damn it…” Taylor sighed, rising to her feet and not yet noticing Kazuki approaching in pursuit of the bunny. “Mumble, get back here!” She was, naturally, soundly ignored.
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 2:52:44 GMT 9
Although this step should have been simple in theory, it actually ended up relatively difficult in practice. Picking just red and orange orbs would have been simple, if Taylor didn’t need to make sure they were solid and mid-brightness. To add a flicker or change in intensity here would undo the previous hard work, and Taylor wasn’t sure what would happen if she messed up at this stage. She’d grown attached to the little fox during this process, and it hurt her heart to think of messing up and losing them at this point…
So she took rather more time and caution in selecting the final orbs than one might expect. Finally though, she found herself once more seated before the phantom. Before her were three orbs; a large green, a large red and a final mid-sized red. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she ushered the three orbs towards the fire-type. Squinting as they burst and momentarily blinded her, the young woman waited with metaphorical fingers crossed to see if her attempt had been successful…
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 2:46:44 GMT 9
As the light faded, Taylor beamed to see the Pokémon looked significantly more substantial, if still very washed-out. Not only that, but they moved now, uncurling from the tight, protective ball into more of a comfortable sprawl. A wide yawn was even given, sharp little fangs glinting in the multi-coloured light of the room, before a tiny puff of smoke was exhaled through greyscale nostrils.
“Aww,” Taylor couldn’t help but breathe, miraculously managing to keep her voice down, rising back to her feet and stepping quietly back. Colour next.
This last step should, in theory, be the simplest to accomplish. Vulpix were naturally a coppery/orange/red, with only a little variation in the cream of their chests. According to light colour theory, her best bet would be combining red and green light to reach yellow, and then shifting the combination more in the direction of red to keep the shade closer to the warmer, orange side of things. That narrowed the options down significantly, so Taylor turned back to the room and started her search.
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 2:34:45 GMT 9
This problem would involve a little less calculation and a little more estimation. The super dim lights were out and so were the super bright ones. She was looking for something in the middling range, ideally white in colour so’s to not make the next step more difficult. By the time she ruled out the rejects and gathered together the likely options, Taylor was left with three likely choices. Once again, she shepherded them over to the Vulpix phantom and positioned them near – but not too near – it.
The comparison this time had less of an obvious answer, and the young woman consequently ended up spending longer examining the options. Humming, she finally stood and had a go at pushing her best guess towards the little spirit. Interestingly, when the borders of the orb touched the dim fur, it rebounded this time, rather than bursting.
Taylor blinked owlishly for a moment. “Okay, so I guess not that one!” The reject was banished to the corner of shame, and a second option attempted. This time, it burst on contact and flowed over the tiny, sleeping form. "Gotcha!"
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 2:04:04 GMT 9
Taylor squinted against the glow, the fingers on both of her hands crossed now as she waited for her eyes to adjust. Once they did, she beamed to see the little spirit’s glow had stabilised, no longer winking in and out of view. “Hell yeah,” she grinned. “Physics, bitch!” The correction seemed to have done the tiny fox some good, she noticed, noting now that although the change was subtle, the rise and fall of that tiny back seemed to have sped up to a more normal speed.
Well, an understanding of light and electromagnetic waves in general had served her well so far, so Taylor nodded to herself as she stood. It felt like she was on the right track.
“Intensity next, I think,” she decided quietly, nodding to herself and resisting the urge to reach out and pet the little Vulpix consolingly. She felt a pull to reassure it, but didn’t want to risk disturbing it before it was time. She knew if she was a strange, incorporeal sort of ghost and someone woke her before fixing things, she’d certainly freak out!
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 1:47:55 GMT 9
“Okay,” she breathed, thinking it through. “The flickering first.” Decision made, she crouched down to watch the Vulpix and spent a few minutes monitoring and observing how its form blinked in and out of view. After a short while, she abruptly stood, chewing on her lip as her eyes moved now to scanning the closest orbs. Ignoring colour and intensity for the moment, she searched. Had someone been watching, they might have noticed the fingers of her right hand tapping out a rhythm on her thigh.
“A light that flickers with the same rhythm and frequency, but out of step...” she murmured to herself, pacing and most likely sounding completely insane to any spectator. Finally, she picked out two options, bringing them close to the Vulpix but not yet introducing either to the phantom. Crouching, she peered at the orbs and pokemon, monitoring the flickering for a moment before grinning and discarding the leftmost orb to a far corner of the room.
“Come on, destructive interference…” she breathed, crossing the fingers of her left hand now as her right ushered the pale yellow, pulsing orb towards the Vulpix. Once it came close enough, it seemed to fall victim to some other force, escaping the influence of her palm and floating towards the phantom as though sucked in by some odd form of gravity. As soon as the borders of the sphere touched the tips of the spirit’s fur, it seemed almost to pop, bathing the creature in light.
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 11, 2023 1:01:50 GMT 9
Approaching one of the bright, white, solid orbs, she took a breath and held up a hand. Nothing happened at first, but as her palm inched closer to the sphere, it slowly began to move. At no point did she physically touch it, but it acted as though shepherded, moving faster the closer she came, always moving away from her touch. She experimented, now bringing the same hand around to the other side of the orb, and was gratified to see that it moved in the opposite direction. Good, it was like the interaction between opposite magnetic poles. That, she could work with.
For now, she kept her distance from the slumbering shade; she didn’t think there would be a time limit once she began interacting with the tiny fox, but wasn’t willing to risk it. For now, the creature’s connection to this place seemed stable, if far from ideal. She figured it was best to get all her ducks in a row before risking jeopardising that. At the moment that meant sorting the orbs into some sort of order.
Eventually, after some indeterminable amount of time, she had the room arranged to her liking. White lights were grouped together, and then followed groups for each colour, in a ring that roped around the room and surrounded the player and Pokémon. From there, the spheres with brighter, more intense lights were positioned closer to the walls, while the flickering, pulsing and guttering ones remained nearer to the centre. Taylor took a moment to breathe, eyes scanning the newly organised space.
Next came the tricky part.
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