Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Dec 9, 2023 12:10:38 GMT 9
Genesis--or Shiloh, really--had been thinking long and hard about what song to request here.
On the one hand, there were any number of popular songs out there about the end of the world, life after things go wrong, that sort of thing. Picking one of those would be an easy choice.
But Genesis never did like going in for the easy way out.
Plus, Shiloh was thinking of things pragmatically. UNOVR was a major video game, and any song that got featured in the game was therefore going to get lots of listens and a steep rise in popularity. Why waste that on songs and musicians that were already well-known, when they could use that chance to expose some unknown talent to the world in a big way?
And Genesis did have their fair share of obscure indie musicians they liked to listen to... though the first really obscure one that came to mind, a lot of his songs were more focused on ~love~ than something befitting Ostellia vibes, and even the one song that kind of fit didn't quite have the right Pokemon world vibes, they figured. But that was fine. That guy'd been dead for a few decades anyway; better to pick someone that could enjoy the instant fame that being featured in UNOVR would grant them. Similarly, while they were a big fan of one band that'd broken up a couple years back and were tempted to suggest a song that really fit the last raid better anyway or just a troll choice that'd be hilarious to hear in-game but also kind of DOES have the right vibes, Shiloh figured it'd make more sense to pick an artist that was still touring and actively soliciting listeners.
Which brought them to that folk artist they'd seen in concert a few weeks back, and two songs of hers that seemed especially fitting. Shiloh deliberated between the two for some time, but ended up deciding that the more upbeat one wasn't quite the right fit. Maybe it was something the former residents of Ostellia would play as the area fell to powers unknown, but it didn't really fit the players or the gameplay as they were now, the ruins and the mystery that remained.
No, better to pick that indie artist's song which had that same bittersweet flavor, seeking mystery and the unknown even while knowing the toll that such exploration might well take in the end.
...though. It occurred to Genesis, partway through planning their suggestion, that there was always the off-chance that this particular indie artist might not want her song featured in UNOVR, instant fame or no. She did have something of an anti-capitalist streak to her music, after all. Maybe working with a huge company wasn't really of interest to her.
Was it against the rules to suggest a back-up song--one of those popular songs Shiloh had dismissed early on, for lack of a better idea--in case the initial suggestion got caught up in some sort of copyright snarl?
Well, Genesis was going to find out, one way or another.
I want to suggest the song Harbor, by Carsie Blanton. Not exactly the most well-known song, but the whole seeking out mystery even after getting hurt by it before vibe seems very fitting to Ostellia and to the UNOVR plotline as a whole thus far. Plus, it seems like a lot of the suggestions are more upbeat stuff, so it makes sense to balance that out with a song that's a little more somber and bittersweet, right? But uh, I know licensing this stuff must be a legal mess and all, and I have no idea what Carsie Blanton thinks about... any of this, so in case that gets caught up in problems with the licensing agreement or whatever, go for... It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by REM. I mean, the title about gives it away. The world ended, in the backstory at least, and the area was altered forever... and then here we are, going about our own business just the same. {GENESIS' BACK-UP REQUEST}
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jul 6, 2023 13:02:53 GMT 9
Genesis remembered this section of the Tower of Worms from the first time they'd helped to summit it. Back then, they had tried to use the bits and pieces of French they remembered from school to help ingratiate them with their Pidgey opponents. Now, they weren't going to bother putting in that kind of effort. It hadn't paid off the first time around either, and they had just felt awkward realizing how rusty their French skills really were after a few years of disuse.
At least they didn't have to think too hard about what Pokemon or move to use for this prompt. HP-draining move? Well, they had the original...
"Amity?"
The Zubat still wasn't flying quite right after that experiment with Bunya. Apparently it had taken away the Pokemon's Flying-type... though she could still fly through the air, just not as effortlessly as the Zubat had flown before. Fascinating. And this prompt was a perfect excuse to test the transformed Zubat's capabilities...
"Use Absorb."
Normally, it would be a weak attack, but here in the Tower, it was enough to fell a Pidgey in a single hit. Though that had nothing to do with Amity's changed typing, really. They would have to do more research into that...
Prompt #13: [Tower] fMnhd8fg1-501-50
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jul 6, 2023 12:45:18 GMT 9
Genesis wasn't the most social of players, sure, but they still monitored the global chat now and then, though they lurked a lot more than they actually posted.
Missing Stufful, someone said? Not the most exciting quest prompt, perhaps, but promising enough just the same, and a good excuse to explore the area and do some training, if nothing else. Not like Genesis had had any more pressing plans for how to spend their time in-game today. This would certainly do the trick.
Getting to Route 1 didn't take long at all... but then, Genesis had to figure out where to search. Birchwild was practically teeming with hiding places for small Pokemon, and it was hard to know where to start... especially when they were far from the first user to respond to the chat message, so any Stufful in the more obvious locations had probably been found already. But were the remaining ones hiding up in trees, or inside of bushes, or...?
Genesis ended up alternating between glancing up at the tree branches looking for a telltale splotch of pink, squinting at bushes to see if anything was hiding within them, and kicking any leaf piles they passed by until they were well and truly demolished.
Though when one of the leaf piles started shaking right as their foot collided with the outermost leaves, Genesis realized that perhaps that last part of the plan could have been thought out a bit more...
Di3jXBDb1-100
There was only a split second of shaking before Genesis' foot collided with something soft but solid and a pink blur ran out of the leaves and darted into the nearest bush.
"You alright?" Stupid question, really. They just kicked the Stufful. While it was trying to hide, no less. Of course it wasn't alright.
Genesis cradled their head in their hands for a moment, bemoaning their own recklessness, before crouching down next to the bush where the Stufful had retreated to, making sure their voice was softer than before.
"I'm sorry about that. Really. I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean to hurt you."
The Stufful kept shaking, its movement energetic enough that a few leaves fell off of the bush it was hiding in and onto the ground below.
"Your owner's concerned about you, though. She wants to make sure you're safe. I was just trying to find you for her sake. Don't you want to go see her again?"
The Stufful's shaking subsided a bit, but it still stared back at Genesis with wary eyes.
"How about I take you back so she stops worrying about where you've been, hmm?"
The Stufful kept staring at Genesis with those wide, scared eyes... and Genesis thrust their hands into the bush, grabbing the Stufful (man, that fur was soft) and keeping a tight grip on the Pokemon even as it squirmed, unamused and trying to escape their grasp by any means possible.
"Weren't expecting me to make a move that fast, were ya? Now, let's go get you home, little guy..."
Found one! Though it's, uh, not exactly a happy camper at the moment.
1-100
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 28, 2023 11:20:10 GMT 9
Genesis... had too many Steel-types. That was what it boiled down to, really.
There was nothing wrong with Galarian Meowth, per se. Well, its movepool left some things to be desired, but it could have been worse still. (Like that Applin sitting in their inventory with a whopping two moves to its name...) And the thing was kind of cute.
But between his Duraludon and his Orthworm, Genesis figured he was already plenty covered on the Steel-type front. Plus, if he really wanted more, he could always evolve his Nosepass or Pineco for one, too. Really, he needed to be rid of some of them, and the Galarian Meowth was just the one that drew the unlucky straw in that regard.
Genesis didn't much care what they got in return. Maybe it would be something worth keeping around, maybe it would be trade fodder. At any rate, it was worth the gamble, since there was no way they were using that Galarian Meowth any time in the foreseeable future...
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 28, 2023 11:02:34 GMT 9
The more Genesis looked into it, the more this Audino seemed... useless. Cute, sure, but useless, and Genesis was trying to keep his team to Pokemon that might actually have a use for him down the line, especially given how his hoard just kept growing as time went on.
But other users might want an Audino, Genesis knew, whether because of its cuteness or rarity or... whatever, so it felt a little wasteful to treat the thing as trade fodder to Bethany.
Better, then, to use it as trade fodder for trades with other users.
Genesis didn't much care what they got in return, and their trade request made that much evident. All they wanted was for the Audino to get used, and the odds would certainly be better there than here... wherever "there" proved to be, in the end.
Killian
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 15, 2023 11:54:21 GMT 9
Did Burmy count as "cute"?
Genesis wasn't really sure. It was... sort of cute, they supposed. In a buggy sort of way. But Genesis had been accumulating Bug Pokemon, and Pokemon in general, a lot lately, and they really didn't need to hang on to this one, when they couldn't foresee any use for either Burmy itself or its evolved forms.
Even if part of them liked hoarding Pokemon, perhaps from early memories of trying to "catch 'em all" in a game where Box space was much less limited.
Even if Burmy was sort of cute, in its own way.
Audino seemed promising enough, though Genesis didn't have any plans for it just yet either. But it was something different, at any rate.
If Burmy wasn't cute enough, the other Trainer could always just deny the trade request, right?
Yeah. Yeah, that was how it worked. It was worth a shot. The worst that could happen was the other Trainer saying no.
...they were probably overthinking this, but, well, what else was new?
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 14, 2023 10:16:08 GMT 9
It didn't take all that long for Genesis to find a player to do the quest with, thankfully, and the other player even did them the favor of approaching them rather than vice versa. They did not want to be the one begging for a tutorial partner here... and luckily, now they wouldn't have to.
The newcomer seemed very polite and well-spoken, too, even if his Piplup was a little... over-enthusiastic. Genesis understood. It's not like you got to pick and choose your Pokemon's personality in here; it was all down to whatever the AI decided, and you didn't even get a nice little blurb about their nature and preferences like in the main series games, it was all on you to discover for yourself. A nice encouragement of exploration, in theory, but in practice... some Pokemon could just be annoying, and that was nobody's fault but the person who designed the AI for them.
"Oh, sure, not a problem! I think I can handle the package for-"
As if on cue, the package in question slipped right out of Genesis' hands and toppled unceremoniously to the ground.
"-now... uh... you can give it a go, but be warned, it's heavier than it looks."
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 9, 2023 10:41:39 GMT 9
Genesis had bags under his eyes, but he was still sporting an almost-maniacal grin just the same.
He had gone into the Corruption Zone, and he had emerged unharmed. More than that, he had found exactly what he was looking for: a sample of the corruption itself.
Which also happened to be what Dr. Bunya was looking for, but honestly, that was more or less a coincidence. He wasn't here to help an NPC, but to progress the story within the game, and more than that, to learn new things, to shine a light upon the darkness that was this unknown realm.
"So, uh." Genesis coughed. "I've got a corruption sample for you, and... I heard you're using the samples on Pokemon now, and I want in."
Genesis considered his options for a moment. Potoooooooo was the obvious option, the Ponyta having been his companion within that strange new realm, but the Pokemon had been spooked enough by the journey; Genesis wasn't sure if he could take corruption on top of that. Plus, there was the pragmatic view to consider here. The possibilities for what could happen to corrupted Pokemon were limited, and if he wanted to avoid a negative impact on any Pokemon's rarity, well, might as well pick one that was already as common as could be...
"How about my Zubat, Amity?" The Zubat in question was flitting around the lab, apparently unconcerned with Genesis' words. "Use the sample on her."
That grin on Genesis' face grew all the wider as he added, "I'm as excited to see what happens to her as you are, I'm sure."
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 9, 2023 9:00:47 GMT 9
Genesis hadn't heard the creature moving, hadn't heard anything but their own heavy breathing and their Ponyta struggling beside them, but the corrupted creature had gained on them, only inches away from them.
Genesis tried even harder to run, but, well, maybe molasses was the better comparison now, as putting everything they had into getting away only succeeded in moving some small fraction of a fraction of an inch at best, while the creature glided through the air as though it took no effort at all.
As Genesis tried not to hyperventilate, tried to remind themself that this was just a game and what mattered was the knowledge they had gained and not what happened to them afterwards, they saw that their whole left arm, the one that had touched the creature before, had gone an eerie, lifeless gray, like the color had been entirely leeched out of it... and as they watched, the gray took over more and more of their character's form, moving from their shoulder down to their chest, even when what was showing was clothing rather than bare skin.
And though Genesis was positive that they hadn't meant to do it, hadn't decided on the action themself, they saw that lifeless gray arm reaching out to the corrupted creature, poised under what might have been its neck, in an oddly gentle and delicate pose...
Genesis was frozen in place as their hand brushed against the creature, softly, almost sweetly, though the action sent electric shocks through their entire body.
The corrupted creature shot them something that might, if one were feeling generous, be called a smile, albeit a smile with very large, very pointy teeth.
Then, out of nowhere, Potoooooooo darted forth and collided with the two of them, and Genesis was pushed to the ground, and all they could see was the pitch black body of the corrupted Pokemon...
And soon enough, the darkness enveloped them all.
(Potoooooooo: 0/400 HP) EDA|vs781-201-20
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Genesis
•
Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 9, 2023 8:49:22 GMT 9
Genesis turned back, towards where Potoooooooo stood obediently behind him, and ran.
Or tried to, anyway.
The first few footsteps went smoothly enough, but then... it felt like the air got heavier, somehow, like it went from being literally just thin air to something much more dense. Water, maybe. Or molasses.
No, water was the more apt comparison, Genesis decided. They were still able to maneuver through the air even after it turned so wrong, just... slowly, carefully, with the air pushing against them every step of the way, fighting their every movement.
Potoooooooo had no better luck, Genesis saw at a glance, the Ponyta appearing to walk almost in slow motion, though the terror in the Pokemon's eyes spoke to wanting a faster kind of flight, wanting to gallop away from his opponents.
Genesis hesitated to breathe for a long, suspenseful moment before giving in and taking a deep breath, not sure what the action would do when the air refused to cooperate with them anymore.
They were able to breathe in the air, thankfully, and they could practically feel the oxygen rushing into their body... but they also felt a pit settling into their stomach, a heavy weight that now resisted not just his passing through but his very presence.
And that was before they looked back at the corrupted creature behind them...
(Potoooooooo: 50/400 HP)
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 9, 2023 8:43:18 GMT 9
Genesis saw the corrupted worm... Pokemon... thing... turn towards the bottle in which they had captured a small portion of the corrupted being's essence, and even as Genesis scrambled to put the bottle away somewhere safe, the corrupted Pokemon let out a very un-worm-like roar, one that made the very earth under their feet shake.
Genesis felt something impact their body and jumped a little before angling their head to see that it was just Potoooooooo, who had headbutted him, evidently intimidated by the corrupted creature.
Part of Genesis wanted to stay, to learn more. Out of the corner of their eye they thought they saw a tall, gleaming tower in the distance, and they longed to learn more about it.
Then the worm thing inched closer, and Genesis decided that after all, discretion was the better part of valor.
They had their sample. They had their first-hand experience with corruption in the flesh, as it were. And there was nothing stopping them from coming back here another time if they wanted to learn more. They could investigate that tower, if it was a tower, and whatever else the Corruption Zone held for them, at another time. Hopefully a time when a pitch-black corruption creature wasn't standing over them so menacingly.
(Potoooooooo: 100/400 HP)
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 9, 2023 8:22:18 GMT 9
Genesis... kept forgetting that they still had a Snom egg in their inventory.
The event it had come from was a long time passed by now, and they struggled just to remember which event it had been a prize from, given how eager they had been to jump into events on this game without thinking twice. One of the winter-themed events, that much they were pretty sure of, but...
Maybe their procrastination on getting that egg hatched came from their ambivalence towards the species as a whole. The Internet seemed fascinated by Snom, and it was cute enough, sure, but it also only learned two whole moves by level up, and the rest of its movepool wasn't much better for that matter. Frosmoth fixed that problem, admittedly, but it was also just another forgettable fully-evolved Bug-type, and Genesis wasn't all that eager to spend their hard-earned Bytes just to get a mediocre Bug-type an actual movepool.
(Part of Genesis was irked that evolution even had a cost in this game to begin with. It was just part of the process in most of the Pokemon games, and in here the benefit was usually just an aesthetic one, not anything with a benefit that really made it worthwhile... though Snom was one of those rare few where it actually mattered, of course.)
But they'd freed up a bit of bag space now, and they were sick of having that icon in their inventory, and... and it had been a long day of finals out in the real world, and relaxing in a virtual, illicit hot tub and just waiting around for an egg to hatch sounded nice. Shiloh's crappy New York City apartment didn't exactly come with a Jacuzzi built in, so this would be the best next thing.
Now all they had to do was wait... and try not to think about finals... and how they were pretty sure they blew that one question... and how this was the last thing between them and the bar exam, dammit, they couldn't afford to screw up now-
No. None of that. It was egg time now, and that was all that mattered.
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 9, 2023 1:34:27 GMT 9
Genesis probably could have gotten more for his Espeon, if he cared to. But he didn't. It was all trade fodder anyway, after all. They'd been eyeing that Wimpod that Bethany had up for grabs for a while now, and now that their box was filling up, it might be time to move. But some players actually wanted an Espeon, rather than having them to spare, and, well, why not trade one piece of fodder for another if it might help somebody else enjoy the game?
Besides, Genesis had been meaning to get into collecting Magikarp, with all the funky patterns they had in this game...
So sure, Magikarp for Espeon. Was it a balanced trade? Probably not. Did Genesis care? Not in the slightest. At least it hadn't taken long, and at least the other player would get something nice out of the deal... and Genesis wouldn't feel a pang of guilt when trading their Pokemon to Bethany down the road, either.
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 6, 2023 11:03:47 GMT 9
All it took was reaching out one hand, and...
Oh. That was... that was a weird sensation. And not a pleasant one, either.
And... was it a trick of the light, or was their hand changing colors, the peach tones turning to a lifeless gray?
The three shapes started converging into one, and Genesis acted fast, taking a bottle they had kept with them for just such an occasion and waving it through the corrupted shape. (Using their right hand, the one that hadn't reached out to touch the shape in the first place. Though in hindsight, they probably shouldn't have used their dominant hand for that in the first place...) It didn't look like it should do anything, really, but sure enough, the bottle got some sort of... black, moving goop stuck to its bottom.
It took Genesis longer than it should have to put the stopper on the bottle, though, and when they looked up... well. They really should have been watching the shape(s) more closely.
It was definitely all one shape now, the three having fully merged into one. The combination seemed to have ironed out some of the spikes that had been protruding so violently from the shapes before, turning it into a long, round... worm thing? That left black ooze, ichor perhaps, on the ground as it wiggled here and there?
Oh, and it was towered over Genesis now, though the shapes that made it up had been only about their own size.
It still didn't have any clear features, just a solid mass of utter darkness, but somehow, Genesis could swear he felt its eyes on him just the same.
Genesis gulped and looked back at Potoooooooo, who was shaking even more violently than before. Maybe the Ponyta had a reason to be scared after all...
(Potoooooooo: 150/400 HP)
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Genesis
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Weekend Warrior
Player Character
Posts: 158
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiloh Hayes
OOC Username: Haberdasher
Arena Points: 20
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Post by Genesis on Jun 6, 2023 10:55:10 GMT 9
Genesis... was not a fan of the whole tutorial business, truth be told.
First off, it just wasn't necessary. It didn't take that long to figure out the game's basic controls, and they certainly had it under control by now. And the whole having to do them with another player bit? Yawn. Way to make something simple into a complicated process that involved socializing. No thank you.
...but if they were going to get that first Trainer Star, tackling those tutorials was going to have to be on their to-do list...
At least this tutorial should be straightforward enough. Deliver a package. This package was strangely heavy, sure, but nothing Genesis couldn't handle. Get from Point A to Point B, simple as that. What could possibly go wrong?
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