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Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 01-31-2015
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Footsteps clattered throughout the desolate corridor, dimly lit by fading torches. With a gentle shove from a scarlet-garbed palm, the rustic door creaked open, revealing a shallow stairway. Scaling the steps, the shaded figure halted before a metallic gateway. Standing in silence, a soft hum whirred, giving life to the blockade as several sheets of translucent red light scanned the immediate vicinity. The passage fell mute for several seconds until a series of clanks and clacks broke the calm, cogs shifting and churning until one final click, the door unlocked.
The steeled door lurched open with a mild rumble, dragging against the limestone floor and revealing a luminous interior within the. Placing their torch upon a wall mount, the cloaked seeker stepped into a freshly opened pathway, the clamorous gate shutting behind them. Innumerable display screens and gadgets beeped and buzzed as an impish technician scuttled about, tapping buttons and shifting levers. Noting a brooding presence behind it, the extraterrestrial looking tyke abruptly turned to face the visitor whom removed the hood of their cowl to reveal themselves.
"Ah! Sir Delphox!" the critter exclaimed affright, jolted by the sudden intrusion. "I was not expecting your acquaintance today, nope nope," he greeted with a shuddering tone, nervously rubbing the back of his cone-shaped head.
"I need not provide prior notice when coming to check the progress of my own endeavors, Beheeyem. Speaking of such, I expect news on our developments," the mage belittled, glaring down at the lab rat. Shifting his attention to the right, a myriad of cages lined the wall, confining a plethora of beasts amidst laser bars. "How are the tests coming along? What new findings have you made on advanced evolution?" Delphox seeked, placing himself in front of the main computer. "Based on evidence and strenuous examination, I've surmised that only certain subjects showed promise. It is my esteemed opinion that it requires a certain type of DNA, troublesome troublesome," the bulb-headed pokemon explained, tapping his fingers together. "Hmm, hindering but interesting nonetheless. What's the status on our obedience operation?"
"Ah, yes yes yes! Results!" The hyperactive scientist began, typing away to spring up a series of virtual windows. "Approximations, calculations, key to favorable outcome, good good. Rate of success rising since last failures. Off topic, but what's with the getup sire?" Beheeyem inquired, prattling on whilst never diverting his focus from the display.
"I must remain disguised. You can imagine the suspicion if it were discovered that I, the Archduke of the kingdom were frequenting the research and development facility in secret," the devious fox apprised, strolling over to the centermost restraint capsule, which contained a bulky bruiser of a creature imprisoned within. "Activate Subject B13, then release the bars," Delphox commanded with conviction.
"Deactivate the bars? But sir we don't know yet what cou–" he was cut short by a menacing gaze. "Just do it!" The archduke reamed, provoking a frightful twitch from the dwarf genius whom complied without further defiance. With a forceful tug, he initiated the sequence, prompting the collar around the brute's neck to flicker alight, cackling with electricity. "Gwaaaar!" the beast shrieked as sparks enveloped the vassal, several seconds of wincing passed before succumbing to docility. The rays of light surrounding its cage faded away, allowing Delphox to reach forth and set his palm upon the prisoner's shoulder.
"Machoke, raise your head and step forward," the bipedal fox decreed, the fighting pokemon following suit without resistance. Looking over at his subordinate, the archduke nodded in affirmation. "Now kneel before me." Again, the domesticated brawler complied. "Who do you follow?" Delphox inquired, staring down dominantly. "I follow you, lord Delph–guh...Del–guhhh...GRRR!" Machoke stammered as he shook free from control, clenching a fist and rushing the duke.
Bzzzzzt!
"Arrrghh!" The ruffian cried out as he was electrocuted, the chain at the back of his collar reeling in and pulling him back into the cage. Delphox snarled with discontent, turning away from the capsule. "Apologies sir, it seems more testing needs to be done to reach conclusive refinement, work work work," Beheeyem discouraged, pressing away at his panel.
"Get it done, or I'll find someone else who can," Delphox threatened, tossing the hood of his cloak over his head and making for the exit. "Yes of course of course. I shan't disappoint you sire. Double my work hours, I shall. Success is imminent."
"This island will see changes very soon, and beyond the seas. I must have, no, I will have my army..."
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 02-05-2015
"LUUUFFYYY!" resounding voices called out in unison, echoing through the woodwork the way a male blue jay would court his mate. Falling on deaf ears, their nakama Straw Hat failed to respond. His crew searched tooth and nail, all but literally overturning every leaf and every stone. Wasted efforts, as all that remained in the captain's wake was the shallow fissure carved into the terrain by his tumbling body.
"Damn that rubber brain! Always going off on his own!" Buggy cursed, popping a squat on a rotting stump. "No doubt causing unnecessary trouble that we'll all be dragged into," he scoffed, plucking his boot off and flipping it, allowing sea water to stream out. "By the way pinky, why didn't you just aid us from the start?! That flashy wave of yours completely wiped away those bumbling apes, and would have swept us up too had it not been for the barriers," red nose insisted, reapplying his soggy footwear.
"It would appear you possess the wrong impression of me, mister clown. I do not relish in attacking my own kind. It pains me dearly, resorting to harming any Pokemon," Slowking equipped a gloomy expression, shutting his eyes and loosing a sigh. "However, at the opposing side of the same coin, I can't stand idle and allow new patrons of the island to be marred. It would draw too much attention to this haven, and peace would surely deteriorate," the royal advisor clarified, displaying his torn resolve.
"S-sorry, it's our fault you had to act against your brethren, Bubble Man solaced, patting the narcoleptic pokemon on the back. "Not to change subjects here, but either I'm delusional or I recall our cute and fuzzy little kitten here suddenly matured into something...not so cute and fuzzy," the aquabot surmised, nestling Kilala in his arm as he tickled the underside of her chin, inviting an entranced purr from the dainty feline. "Ah, you're right! That anklebiter morphed into some flashy beast and faced off with the even flashier monkey king!" the star clown confirmed, directing a finger at the seemingly innocuous kitty." Matter of fact, she contended better than any of us, he thought, groveling about his humiliating defeat.
"Indeed. What you saw was so. I assumed her to be of my species undergoing evolution, however we cannot revert back as she had done. Within her dwells a menacing presence unlike our own, demonic in nature, she...she's a...awwwn" the shell-crowned psionic dozed off, a snot bubble inflating from his nostril.
Dong!
"Wake up damn it!" Red Nose barked as he bonked him over the head, reviving the pink maven from a short-lived slumber. Planting his gloved hands on both shoulders, he shook Slowking rigorously, "We gotta' find Straw Hat before he starts trouble! I need you to take us to the biggest food source around here, or the nearest place that attracts fighters! The bastard has a sixth sense for those kinds of pl-"
Brrrrrrt.
"Ah?" The eccentric pirate quipped as the forest drew silent, a distinct fart noise pierced their clamorous chattering; there was no mistaking it, he knew pressurized gas forcefully purging from a bunghole when he heard it. All party members sniffed the air, a waft of putrid smell lingering about. Simultaneously, the group plugged their beaks, all secretly accusing the other of such a horrid atrocity, until Kilala hopped from Bubble Man's grasp onto the mossy terrain, growling at a quivering bush.
Drawing the attention of Buggy and the others, they each shot a glance. Pouncing out from cover, a violet skunk hissed before spinning to aim its buttox. "Oh poo! A Skuntank! Run for it!" Slowking announced, half charging away by the time the words left his maw. "Gyaaah!" Buggy squealed as he flitted behind, soliciting a wide-eyed Bubble Man to follow suit, but not before scooping up a tenacious Kilala; the group high tailed it the hell out of dodge. Panicked wailing scoured the forest as it was filled with sporadic clouds of butt gas.
— — — — — — —
Trailing through the edging skirt of the forest, Luffy parted a final sheaf of verdant thickets, revealing what lies beyond. Bright-eyes and bushy-tailed, so to speak, the jubilant pirate loosed an awe-inspired sigh of relief. "Are you positive you don't wish to turn back and join your crewmates?" Flabébé ascertained, perched cozily upon the captain's shoulder. "You said my friends are just fine, and even though you had seen so yourself, I believe in them. They are stronger than they look," Straw Hat insisted with unabated confidence, mesmerized by the colossal arena towering before him.
Rahhh. Rahhh.
Pandemonium seeped out from the gargantuan château of craggy stone and ore. Rousing cheers and wrenching moans bellowed from within, invigorating the pirate captain and lighting a flame in him that nothing could extinguish. Well, almost nothing; Luffy's rowdy gusto was snuffed out by a deafening growl, originating from his belly. It seemed his appetite for adventure was exceeded only by his appetite for delicious grub. "Oh my," the pale fairy gasped at the impressively audible gurgle, "You sound like a hungry Snorlax," She giggled preciously, covering her mouth with a teensy palm.
"Boy, I'm famished! Let's head to that place, beebee! I'll bet they have lots and lots of meat! . . . and fun!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 02-14-2015
Boof! Boof!
Skree! Pop!
The crackle of incendiaries and fireworks crisply lit the umbral stadium as the sweltering sun began to set, creeping beneath the horizon and beckoning a dismal cast of dusk upon the island. The racket of eager cheers and thunderous applause gave life to the ancient arena, shaking its very foundation to the core. Like skittles, the colorful myriad crowd was littered in sequence around a sandy pit stationed at the epicenter.
"ALLLRIIIGHT!! Ladies and gentlemen! And let's not leave out the genderless!" A slender, scarlet and cream-tufted bipedal announced, clasping a microphone with its talons. A v-shaped crest adorned its forehead, accenting the shallow beak curving down from its snout. Twin extensions of feathery locks flowed down to its lower back. "Welcome to the Pokerena, where many gather from afar to either prove their meddle by participating, or spectate jovially in the stands! Are you as fired up as I am?!" The fervid fowl declared, igniting itself aflame to express unhindered passion and provoking a tumultuous roar from the audience.
"I, Blaziken, gladly herald you today into this wondrous event! Joining me as commentators, everyone set your eyes upon the panel to the right! First and foremost we have the sparky, the spunky, the electrifying Pikachu!" He introduced, gesturing an extended claw toward the mousey little tyke, grinning with glee. "Seated next to him, the illustrious, the gorgeous, the infinitely elegant Roserade!" Blaziken continued, forwarding attention to the petal-palmed pokemon, whom nodded modestly in repartee to such flattery. "And finally, as a special guest today we have the bulky, the brawny, the herculean Machamp! Our current reigning champion of the Pokerena!" The blaze pokemon concluded as the quad-armed brute stood up to salute the riotous patrons.
"Pika Pi! I'm shocking with anticipation to meet today's contestants-kachu!" The yellow rodent encouraged with zeal.
"Bonjour! Beholding the flawless technique and grace of our competitor's savoir-faire will truly prove a spectacle," The flower pokemon presaged, fluttering a pair of rosey eyes beneath her masquerade style veneer.
"Feh. S'pose we'll find out if any o' these knuckleheads has what it takes to challenge the champ! Grahaha!" The musclebound titleholder goaded, flexing his uppermost arms whilst clutching his golden belt with the bottom two.
"There you have it folks! Now without further ado, let's bring out our first contestants before we begin the official preliminaries!" The hot blooded announcer advanced, making his way to the center of the gritty pit. "On the red side we have Gurdurr! On the blue side, Bisharp!"
The colosseum quivered as mammoth, craggy stone doors lifted. At Blaziken's decree, two creatures of opposing ends proudly capered out into the light. Gurdurr sported enormous arms and wielded a steel construction beam, effortlessly twirling it about as though it were a paper weight. Bisharp exhibited an artillery of sharp blades adorning every section of its armored physique. Skidding into a readied stance, both fighters offered a primed nod, soliciting Blaziken to raise a clawed hand and signal the match to start with a vertical swipe.
"BEGIN!!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Michael - 02-16-2015
Meanwhile, back at Costa del Sol, Michael had just finished his long trek to the palm tree portal.
“You there, state your business here in Costa del Sol.” Michael started, the immediate confrontation catching him by surprise. He’d only just stepped through the portal, and had been holding onto the hope that nobody would stop him… It looked like that wasn't going to be the case. Michael turned to the speaker, a man clad in white, sci-fi looking armor.
“Uh…” Michael stuttered. “No real business. Just wandering.” He said, giving the sci-fi man the straight truth. He hoped that wouldn't end up being a bad decision… He might have just stumbled upon a restricted area, and just telling the guard that he didn't have any real reason to be here probably wouldn't prove to be the best idea…
“’Just wandering,’ eh? You must be new here.” Oh no… the way things were turning out it seems like he might’ve been right in his first assumption… He silently prayed this wasn't the case, dreading whatever consequence might befall him for his mistake.
“Well welcome to Costa del Sol then.” Oh. Never mind then, false alarm. Michael released a breathe he didn't know he was holding in, visibly relaxing more. If the guard noticed, he didn't comment on it. He must see that sort of thing a lot from newcomers.
“What we've got here in this verse is a sort of tropical vacation stop/military outpost. Just mind your manners and you won’t run into any trouble here.” A tropical vacation stop/military outpost…? That was… odd. Michael couldn't really imagine those two things going together well. If it was here though, he guessed it must work somehow.
“It’s also where all the weirdos tend to gather. They take a ship to a far off island where people won’t gawk at them twenty four seven. If I were you, I’d avoid that place at all costs. Those Pokémon give me the creeps...”
“Oh, and just a tip from me.” another guard suddenly said. He stood off to the side, standing guard at the other end of the portal and wore the same kind of futuristic armor as the first guard. “Keep away from any of the higher ups for a while. They've been having a rough time, what with all the boat theft going on recently.”
“Anyways, enjoy your stay in Costa del Sol.” The first guard then said. Michael nodded to the friendly guards, smiling as he continued on his way. Well that wasn’t so bad a start!
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Michael - 02-20-2015
Michael, in his wanderings, found himself in one of the less populated areas of the island known as Costa del Sol. It wasn't as if the area was restricted or anything, but most people didn't really find any interest in hanging around boxes and barrels full of miscellaneous goods. It was a nice area for Michael to escape his social worries and really focus on what he was going to do next… Wait a minute, what’s that sound?
He turned his attention to a cluster of barrels, a muffled sound coming from within. A young Pokémon, scared and alone, hid there and sobbed quietly, hoping somehow his parents would miraculously find him and take him home. He appeared to be a sort of two legged salamander, a flame flickering at the end of his tail which he hid carefully as not to be seen. It was odd, not wanting to be found by anyone yet yearning for someone to find and help him… Although as a child, these were not thoughts that crossed his mind. He was simply alone and afraid, and only wanted the bad feelings to end.
“Hey, you alright there?” Michael asked, approaching the barrels with deliberate slowness. He didn’t want to startle the poor thing by approaching to fast, so he made himself known gradually, eventually peaking over the tops of the barrels to peek at the sobbing Pokémon.
The little charmander coward, hiding behind his little paws and meekly shouting “G- Go away!”
“It’s okay little guy, I don’t want to hurt you…” Michael explained, a worried expression on his face. The charmander snuck a peek, hoping the human was gone only to find him even closer than before! Not paying attention to whatever expression the man had, he spit out a large ember at Michael’s face, barely missing and singeing his hair. Michael reeled back in surprise, unceremoniously falling onto his rear with a small cry of surprise.
“Jeez…” Michael mumbled, patting his head just to make sure his curly hair hadn't burst into flames. It was hot, but thankfully it wasn't actually alight.
Cautiously Michael approached the charmander again, trying to appear as non-threatening as he could with a low stature and kindly facial expressions.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Michael asked in a friendly tone. The charmander couldn't help but remember his parent’s at the man’s tone, and was almost comforted until he remembered something his father had told him not long before…
‘Don’t trust humans son, they’re unpredictable and dangerous. Who knows how they’ll react next!’ He remembered his mother saying something too, but wasn't able to pinpoint what exactly it was. It didn't matter though, because now he knew that this human had to be dangerous, and wouldn't trust him for a minute!
He spit up another ember, although the human was ready this time. Michael ducked, avoiding a much more accurate shot that would have singed his eyebrows badly (along with the rest of his face). He sighed sadly, sitting down and facing away from the barrels the charmander hid behind. For now, the little lizard seemed too emotional to approach safely. Hopefully after a while, the little guy would calm down enough for them to really talk. In the meantime, Michael would make sure he was safe from anyone who might legitimately mean harm to the little charmander.
The charmander didn't hear the human leave, but at the same time he wasn’t showing himself anymore either… What was he doing out there? He stook a quick a peek at the human from around the barrels, only to find him sitting there staring off into the distance. He dashed back to the safety and cover of his barrels, hoping he wasn't spotted. He was left still wondering, greatly confused by the human’s behavior. He wasn't as scared anymore though… Even if he didn't know this stranger, he wasn't alone anymore.
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 02-25-2015
"GURDURRR!!" the burly hominid yowled, flourishing a hunky I-beam of iron and spinning it like a propeller above his head in a gaudy display of might. Sprinting forth, he effortlessly swung the aberrant weapon of choice with a horizontal sweep. Reactively hopping from the ground, Bisharp narrowly evaded the crimson girder as it paved through the empty air beneath him. Such a predictably brash head-on attack was no sweat to the spry pokemon. Landing nimbly upon loose soil, the armored warrior dashed in to close the distance. Lunging at the hooligan like a torpedo, he straightened all four limbs to pencil his posture.
Klang!
Bisharp's bladed helm clashed against Gurdurr's rectangular rafter as he pressed it firmly against his torso to parry the aggressor. The screech of metal against metal pierced the ravenous jabber of the gawking audience, a splash of sparks lighting the dusk-laden arena. "Ho ho! The match heats up within seconds! Gurdurr protected himself against Bisharp's 'Iron Head' attack with his trusty, well, girder! Can brawn defeat blades? Let's find out shall we?!" imparted Blaziken to rile up the crowd, invoking an orchestra of eager cheers.
The veiny brute struggled to keep his sprightly foe at bay, pushing forward with all the strength he could muster. Bisharp pressed on, the axe-like protrusion of his helmet grinding against smooth iron; with a creak it began to bend and fold ever slightly, submitting to the contender's tenacity. Before his makeshift shield buckled, Gurdurr shifted his weight and pressed the beam upward to break the stalemate, using the bladed pokemon's unrelenting momentum against itself as Bisharp shot up to the air like a loosed arrow.
Capitalizing on sudden disarray, the goliath liberated his iron block with a grunt, hurling it into the skyward foe's midsection. Bisharp winced as the metallic projectile's weight bowed his trajectory, slamming him into the grainy terrain below. "A mighty 'Rock Throw' attack! Using his girder instead of an orthodox stone, he fells the enemy with a colossal blow! Can Bisharp turn the tables after such a gut-wrenching strike?!"
— — — — — — —
"Om nom gom nommy nom" odious munching pattered from the vacant banquet hall, of which a smorgasbord of intricately tailored forage and provisions lye splayed out in a buffet line. Treats and chow littered the table, spanning the alcove's entirety. Frolicking about, Luffy dashed from one end to another, shoveling sugary sweets and savory meats of boundless sorts into his gaping void of a mouth. The rubber glutton had stumbled upon his own personal haven.
"Mmmmm! Dish ish sho good, twy shum!" Straw Hat muffled with remnants of foodstuffs lingering out from his swollen jowls, gesturing a plate to his petal-propped acquaintance. "O-oh, no thanks mister stretch. I only feed off the nectar of flowers, hehe" Flabébé bashfully declined as a droplet of sweat drooped down her pale face, astonished by the rubber pirate's insatiable appetite. Luffy returned a perplexed look before shrugging his shoulders. "More for me! Glom nommy nom."
"You there, halt at once!" a brigade of sentries shuffled in, hastily spreading out into semicircle formation. The centermost guard towered over his subordinates, sporting a husky physique reminiscent of a boar, orange and cocoa fur complete with a pair of ivory tusks arching upward from its lower jaw. Enthralled by the utopia of grub, Luffy paid them no mind, choking down an entire ham. "As chief officer of the Flame Garrison, I command you to spit that out this instance you meddling buffoon! These libations are for the ceremony tom-" the gruff bipedal's demands were cut short as one of his pig-like guardsman stepped forward, equipped with unnerved expression.
"Chief! It's a . . . a human!" The stumpy officer's words silenced the hubbub. Realization brushed over the indomitable leader, "Human?! That's . . . this is unprecedented. No human has braved this haven in ages! What is your name lad? . . . And stop eating already!" A tremorous stomp finally drew Straw Hat's attention away from his gorge. "Ah? Oh, I'm Luffy! This stuff is great! Kahaha! Who're you walrus?" The pirate gleefully mocked in riposte. "W-walrus? Ergh! I am Emboar, chieftain of this Pignite squadron! Hey! Not funny!" The sentinel's blazing collar flared up to emphasize rage as his troops struggled to withhold their snorts of laughter.
"He's just an ignorant lout, sir!" Flabébé intervened, floating betwixt the two scrappers. "This one lost his crew somewhere on the island and was starving, please show mercy," The flower pokemon pleaded, calming Emboar from his ire. "You ally with a human, little one? And his crew? You mean to say there are more of his kind trifling about?" The beastly guard inquired with a harsh tone, intimidating the fairy into seeking safety behind Luffy's shoulder.
"Oy, Bébé is my friend, don't bully her like that." Straw Hat compelled, stepping forward and closing the proximity between them. "I ate the food without permission, it was delicious. I'll do you a favor as repayment, how's that?" He grinned with an amiable countenance, planting a hand upon his hat and tilting it back to reveal his friendly inclination. Emboar stood quietly, mulling over the intruder's offer.
"Hmmmmmm . . . ahah! This must be fateful timing, geheheh. Tomorrow at dawn, this colosseum's annual event will commence. As punishment for this misdeed, you will participate! Let us see how a meager human fares against the mightiest Pokemon of Cinnabar. Luffy, was it? You will rest in our dorms for the night under close watch. Now go, and prepare yourself for the Grand Fighting Festival!"
— — — — — — —
"Guhh . . . Hahh . . . Hah . . . Phew," Buggy hunched over, drawing in as much air his overworked lungs could contain. "Damn that . . . shitty skunk!" he cursed, bearing a visage of burning wrath. A thought bubble inflated above his dome depicting himself punting the Skuntank clear over the horizon. Popping the mental cloud, Kilala peeked out from his bulbous headwear and nuzzled his cheek with sunny disposition. Clamping his lips, Bubble Man fought off a chuckle as Red Nose stared blankly with a peeved expression before veering his attention to a snickering Slowking.
"Not funny! And why didn't ya' use your psycho powers on it, shellhead?!" The star clown proposed, prodding away Kilala's incessant nestling. "Instead you had us scampering around this flashy forest! I've seen enough green for one day!"
"Ahem," the pudgy psionic brought a clenched hand to his chops and cleared his throat, "I presume you mean psychic. I've previously clarified my disdain for harming fellow Pokemon. That Skuntank was merely protecting its territory. Too quickly do you forget that it is you outsiders whom are not native to this land. Suffice to say, your very presence on this restricted land poses a danger to its inhabitants," Slowking resolved, clasping his hands behind his back. Shuffling around his clothing, a light bulb dinged over Buggy's head.
"Crap! I lost one of my frickin' knives during that fiasco! Tossing one at that wretched little . . . Wait, there it is!" He shot a finger at Slowking's wincing conch shell. Sprinting over posthaste, with a forceful tug he plucked his dagger from the sentient crown.
Thunk!
Sprrrt.
"Gyaaaaah!! It's losing blood fast!" Red Nose shrieked as crimson ooze sprayed from the gouge wound. Suddenly, the royal advisor began to teeter. "I'm, aww . . . feeling a bit . . . woo . . . ozy," Slowking murmured before collapsing like a sack of potatoes. "The hell?! Why did he faint if it was his flashy helmet?!" The clown pirate yammered. "Damn! We gotta' find this guy medical attention stat!"
Trekking over to a slight aperture in the brush, Bubble Man flushed over with a wave of relief. "Quick, over here! I bet there's someone in there that can help. It looks like a . . . a colosseum!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Michael - 02-26-2015
Several minutes passed. Michael still sat with his back to the barrels, and Charmander was growing ever more curious. What was he doing over there? Soon enough curiosity won over the young child’s mind, and he snuck a second peak. He was still there and still doing nothing… Was he waiting to ambush him? Would he leap at him the moment he tried to leave? The little charmander didn’t quite know why, but he doubted it… By the look on his face the man didn’t seem like much of a pokénapper. Maybe he should ask…
“…Mister? What’re you doing there?”
Michael jumped at the sudden voice, having just nearly fallen asleep. “Oh, hey there little guy.” Michael said in a friendly tone, pleasantly surprised to see his plan actually worked. He was almost certain it wouldn’t, or would at least take a long time before the little pokémon showed himself. “I wanted to talk to you actually… Could you tell me what’s wrong?”
Charmander nervously pulled back more into the cover of the barrels, only his eyes peeking out from the side. He didn’t want to talk about what was wrong… Everything was wrong. He was in a new and unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers and without his parents to protect him… “I, um…” He started nervously, looking away. “I… I don’t know where my mommy and daddy are… and… and I’m scared…” He sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Hey now, don’t cry….” Michael said, moving to comfort the crying pokémon, but Charmander only pulled farther back behind the barrels, sniffling and whimpering.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Michael attempted to reassure the pokémon, although he didn’t seem convinced. “I only want to help.” He then continued. The crying died down to a small whimper, and Charmander again peaked over from the side of the barrels.
“Y- you mean it?” He said between sobs. Michael nodded.
“Just come with me and I’ll help you find your parents. I promise you that.” Charmander tentatively walked out from the protection of his barrels, and after a moment held out his arms to be held. Michael obliged, picking up the small pokémon and finally standing back up. “Now, let’s get going shall we?” Michael said, and Charmander cracked a small smile.
And so the two of them set out, their journey to find little Charmander’s parents just beginning.
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 03-04-2015
Now go, and prepare yourself for the Grand Fighting Festival! The resonant phrase recited over and over in Luffy's head as he retreated to the comfort of his personal chambers, or rather, was it all that dissimilar from the coziest jail cell he'd ever been tossed in? The mute guards posted outside his door made it appear as such. Let us see how a meager human fares against the mightiest Pokemon of Cinnabar! He recalled Emboar's summons to contest, igniting a liberal tempest of moxie within his flowing veins.
The domineering chieftain clearly underestimated his prowess; a justifiable error. Unlike his native realm, here the captain had not yet coveted a reputation for trouble. Here he was not Straw Hat Luffy, the man with a bounty of 400,000,000 Béri. Here he was not the son of Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon. The jubilant pirate was but a migrant trapped in a world he hardly understood. The furrow of his brows relaxed as he reined the tensed clamp of his hearty fist and paced over to a well kempt cot.
"Ahh" he relinquished a lax lament, flopping onto the bunk with his back against the sheets. Gazing into the scarred ceiling above, Straw Hat lost himself in thought. Meanwhile, Flabébé snuggled up against the pillow beside him, her tiny stature hardly encompassing but a miniscule portion of the fluffy headrest. "Don't worry Lulu, I've seen just a sample of what you can do, and you'll be great in the arena," she reassured, peeking a single beady eye open. "I envision you standing atop a pedestal, crowned as the hero of the colosseum," The flower fairy encouraged, managing a tuckered smile.
"You've got it wrong, Bébé," the captain requited, maintaining his observance toward the subtle cracks in the stone. "A hero isn't the guy who proves he can beat anyone. A hero is someone who fights for what he believes in, and inspires others to fight for their beliefs, even if they are fearful of the consequences." Luffy's surprisingly insightful words invoked an aghast expression from the petit pokemon. She surmised, without an inkling of doubt, this youthful man would bring about torrential waves of change in this world.
Reposing himself Indian style with legs crossed, the stretchy pirate nabbed a metallic case from the inner pocket of his cardigan. Propping it open and emptying the contents, he sprawled out a medley of pale paper fragments, each matching in both size and shape. "What are those?" His perky companion requested, propping up with trademark flower in tow.
"These are the Vivre Cards, otherwise known as 'Paper of Life,' of my nakama! All members of my crew possess fragments of each other's primary card. The papers move and point toward the main piece, acting as a compass so we will always know where to find one another. At least that's how Nami explained it to me, but I still don't quite get it! Shishishi, cool huh?" The flaky captain instructed, his cheery disposition subsequently curdling into a visage of despair.
"But . . . ever since I got here, they haven't budged . . . not even a quiver," a dreary tinge afflicted the youth, his expressive melancholy plaguing Flabébé with a presage of grief. Transfixed upon the papery snippets, it was as though Luffy attempted willing them to move.
Give me some sort of sign. Anything! Damn it! Zoro, you better be practicing your swordsmanship until you can cut anything in your way. Nami, I imagine you're mapping out islands and honing your navigation skills. Sanji, I'm watering at the mouth just thinking of the new recipes you can cook for me! I can't wait to taste them. Usopp, probably lying his way out of trouble, but you don't have to run! You're the best sniper I've ever met!
Chopper, I bet you're buried in research, studying away to be the greatest doctor in the world. Robin, I miss your grim sense of humor, I hope you've been able to find more Poneglyphs to decipher. Franky, likely tinkering away at the Thousand Sunny; you better install super cool lasers in it this time! Kahaha. Brook, I'm excited to hear all of the new music you've no doubt been composing.
A pleasant aroma ripped Luffy from his mental stasis as it wafted along just below his inflating nostrils. The enchanting fragrance settled his nerves like a calming embrace. Shifting his peepers, Straw Hat noticed the trail emanating from Flabébé's signature flower. "You like my 'Aromatherapy' move? Hehe, don't fret, you will find them Lulu, I know you will. This world is vast and peculiar; it's possible your magics simply retain no effect in this realm. That means there yet may be a method of finding them, or that they are already here but dwelling within a neighboring verse other than our own!" The floating fairy bolstered with unwavering mettle.
"Focus on the here and now! I've heard from a friend there may be scouts among the crowd during the proceeding festivities, and participants whom catch their eye may even be granted invitation to the Royal Kingdom. You just might find more answers there," she solaced with genuine concern, placing her palm upon the pirate's forearm, a puny iota by comparison.
"Hmmm, by 'heard from a friend' do you mean 'creepily eavesdropped from the shadows?' Kahaha! It's settled then! I'll pummel my way through this festival and reach the Royal Kingdom! YOSH!"
— — — — — — —
"Wow! That wraps it up folks! With a severing 'Night Slash' attack, Bisharp fells the brutish Gurdurr, rendering him unable to continue! This concludes tonight's match!" Blaziken declared to the encircling crowd, holding a microphone to his stubby beak. "Join us tomorrow for the kickoff of an event you won't want to miss! The festival that comes but once a year! I hope to see your familiar faces and hear the clamor of this feisty crowd! Blaziken, out!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Isabelle - 03-04-2015
Quote:Continued from Intermission from Doom.
Lapras was sailing along with Lopunny on her back, just chugging along the ocean. Lopunny was passing the time trying to figure out her dataverse device. She has just figured out how to take photos and post tweets when Lapras came to a sudden stop. She started looking around cautiously.
“Is there something-”
However she was interrupted by a whole group of Pokemon surfacing around them. Many of them looking like various forms of fish and sea life. A ball shaped whale surfaced in front of them, and standing on top of the whale was a blue frog on his hind legs. He was wearing a fluffy scarf of cotton around his neck.
“Evening Lapras.” He said in a calm voice.
“Get lost Frogadier, I’m running an honest business.” Lapras said in protest.
He recoils in surprise.
“You had no problem with us before.”
“That was then, this is now, Frog.”
“Well, not that it matters, we have you surrounded.” He said confidently, “Plus anyways, I’m only here to extend an olive branch to your passenger.”
The small whale swims over to Lapras’ side, getting the stink eye in the process. Lopunny just watched in confusion as the frog kept eye contact with her. The whale came to a sudden stop and the Frogadier bowed politely.
“I have come to understand that another Pokemon prime has arrived in the Omniverse.” He said. “On behalf of my comrades and I, we welcome you to the Vasty Deeps.”
“Oh uh… Thank you?” Lopunny responded.
He straightened himself up and regained eye contact.
“By the way, have you considered joining the Pokemon Liberation Front? It’s only the best Pokemon faction in the Omniverse and you’d be an honored member considering your status.”
Lopunny’s eyes widened at the sound of the name. She remembered Medicham warning her about these people. From what he described, it didn’t sound like something she wanted to be a part of. Frogadier noticed the expression her face and frowned a little.
“Alright, I understand.” He stated. “But please consider my offer further when you’ve had more time to think. Farewell M’lady.”
And with that, all of the pokemon submerge and disappear into the waves. Lapras, with an angered huff continued on her route.
“Don’t trust those people,” Lapras stated aggravated, “They’re nothing but trouble. And if you really are a prime like they say you are, then it’s best to stay away from them if you can.”
She didn’t respond, she just sat there quietly.
‘I’m going to run into them again, aren’t I?’ Lopunny thought to herself.
After what felt like forever, the two landed on an incredibly large landmass.
“Cinnabar Island, last stop!” Lapras said.
Lopunny climbed off her and stepped onto the sandy beach.
“Just call me or any of my associates if you ever want to leave.” She began. “However, the trip out will cost a fee.”
Lopunny looked puzzled.
“Why was the trip here free?” She asked.
“The Empire covers the inbound cost.” Lapras said, “While the PLF isn’t their main concern, they still prefer Pokemon getting to and joining Cinnabar.”
Lapras waved a flipper at her.
“Well, good bye!” She said before sailing off.
Lopunny waved goodbye, snapping a quick picture of Lapras before turning to face the island.
‘Medicham is probably here somewhere,’ she thought, ‘just got to find him…’
It didn’t take her long to notice the signs that read “Grand Fighting Festival!”
‘Maybe I could find him there…’
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Michael - 03-04-2015
Michael and Charmander now find themselves in a much more populated, bustling area of Costa del Sol, full of all sorts of people heading here there and everywhere. Here Michael hoped they would find someone who might know about what happened to separate poor Charmander from his parents. Why he doesn’t just ask Charmander, you may ask. Well, because when he did try that, it went a little something like this…
“So, how’d you get separated from your parents anyways?” Michael had asked Charmander. Charmander just stuttered, whimpered, and began crying again, so that didn’t work. Michael managed to calm the poor little pokémon down with a lot of comforting and assurance that “Everything’s gonna be ok,” and afterwards Michael tried a different approach. He made sure to wait a little while after Charmander’s little episode, just in case the question would cause him to break out into tears again.
“Well, what do your parents look like then?” Michael asked.
After a moment to think, Charmander wracking his little salamander brain for a response, he told Michael “I love my papa very much, and my mama. I used to think Papa was scary though… Now I don’t.” Understandably, Michael was very confused. Did he word his question wrong? What did he say again? Maybe Charmander just misheard him…
“I uh… I meant what do they look like. Their appearance and such.” Michael corrected, despite the fact that it was pretty much just him repeating himself. Charmander replied likewise.
“Papa always used to get berry juice everywhere… It was gross.” Charmander giggled, and Michael was even more confused than ever. He gave up asking Charmander questions, and came to the realization he had only one good option left. An option he dreaded having to face. He was going to have to… talk to people.
And that leads us to where Michael is now, wandering through a random crowd to find someone who might know a thing or two about what happened to Charmander’s parents. Chances are nobody will know anything, but Michael doesn’t have any better ideas. Maybe they’re at that cinnabar place he heard about earlier, where the “wierdos” go as that armored guy so eloquently said. It was tempting to just avoid any human contact at all and just head straight there, but… Maybe if he were alone, but he was trying to get a lost child back to his parents and he didn’t want to have to waste any time. More certain about his current objective, Michael finally approaches a random person and starts to ask them the question.
“Excuse me sir, could I ask you a question real quick?”
Unfortunately, this random person turns out to be Chief Officer Barbas, recently promoted after that Officer Pike got squashed by a couple of measly pirates. He’s a generally unpleasant man, taking great joy in bringing misery into the lives of his subordinates. His punishments are notoriously harsh and brutal, and a horrible punishment can come from the smallest of mistakes.
“Eh? What the fuck do you want, you filthy ingrate?” Barbas bluntly says, making Michael regret the decision to try talking to someone immediately. In fact, it might just be one of the worst ideas he’s ever had.
Suddenly, before anybody has time to act, Barbas bursts into flame.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!” He screams, running around in circles and flailing his arms around as if he wanted to shake the flames off like a bug that had just landed on his arm. Michael in his surprise stumbles backwards, looking down at the charmander he held in his arms.
‘You didn’t…’ Michael thought to himself, although it was very obvious that he did.
Meanwhile, Chief Officer Barbas continues running around in circles like an idiot, eventually finding the sense to jump into a water filled barrel nearby. As he emerges from the water he angrily points towards Michael, shouting at a nearby group of marines who had been happily watching the show until now.
“What are you waiting for!? GET HIM!” The small marine group, not wanting to get on their superiors bad side, immediately stand to attention, weapons at the ready.
“Yes sir!” They cry, then turn and head fearlessly for Michael and Charmander, more afraid of Barbas’ potential wrath than what the two could possibly do to them.
“Oh boy…” Michael mutters as the soldiers start making for him, quickly spinning around and dashing off into an alleyway behind him.
For a good while the marines chase him around Costa del Sol, pushing past hordes of unhappy civilians as the chase goes on. Eventually the two newly made criminals find themselves at the ocean. Without hesitation Michael continues forward and leaps onto a small fishing boat, struggling with the rope that held it to shore for a moment before he sets it free, pushing the boat out to sea with a purposeful kick. When the marines arrive they’re left to the sight of the two criminals far out to sea, the man with the curly hair tauntingly waving goodbye.
“Better luck next time!” Michael shouts, smiling with glee. That is, until he loses the oars. They slip out of their rings, quickly sinking down to the depths of the ocean below, and with the current already pulling them away from land…
“…Woops.” Michael says, taking back what he thought earlier about how approaching the angry stranger was the worst idea he had ever had. <i>This</i> was by far the worst idea he’d ever had.
Whelp. Cinnabar, here they come?
Also, a little while later when far out to sea, Michael and Charmander have a little talk about setting strangers on fire.
“Charmander… Why did you set that man on fire?” Michael asks.
“W…Well.. He was big and scary, and… and I didn’t like him.” Charmander sniffles.
Michael sighs. “Just… never do that again, ok?”
“OK…” Charmander promises.
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Isabelle - 03-07-2015
Lopunny approached the coliseum. She couldn’t help but be in awe of the sheer scale of the thing. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes were just casually walking around, excited for the oncoming festivities. Lopunny started wandering around the grounds, trying to find where to buy the tickets. Though, now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure what she had to buy the tickets with. But before she could dwell on that too much, a strange sight soon caught her attention.
‘Humans?’ She thought to herself.
The one wearing strange green armor was arguing with a large bear Pokemon that Lopunny failed tor recognize. She moved in closer and she began to hear their conversation.
“Please, he’s dying. He needs medical attention.” Said the strange green suited man.
“No passes, no entry. Take him somewhere else!” Said the bear Pokemon.
It was at this point that she noticed the pokemon she recognized as Slowking. He was bleeding a lot from the crown on his head.
“Let us in you flashy bastard!” Yelled another man with blue hair.
“No passes, no entry!” Yelled the bear bouncer.
Lopunny took another look at Slowking’s wound. She didn’t think he could survive the trip to another place even if they knew where they were going. She thought fast and hard on how could they convince the guard to let them through… Then it dawned on her.
The PLF really went out of their way to seek her out, and the other Pokemon made extra emphasis on the fact that she was a prime. Maybe Pokemon primes were special for some reason. She stepped in front of the strangely armored man, who gives a look of surprise to have a 4 foot bunny suddenly appear out of nowhere, and approaches the guard.
“I’m a prime.” She said, mustering the most authoritative posture and voice she could. “Let use through.”
The bear pokemon gave off a heavy laugh.
“Don’t try to lie to me.” He said with a mixture of grimace and amusement. “There’s only a few Pokemon primes in the Omniverse. And none of them was a Lopunny. So get lost!”
Her mind racing, but being careful not to lose her authorities composure, she remembered back to what medicham said. He remembered that only primes can summon, so maybe if she summoned something, he would believe her. Or maybe just bringing out the omnilirium will be enough…
She focused her mind and pictured a bear plushie in her head. Slowly, the ball of omnilirium floated out of her chest. The bear guard along with several others close by stare in shock as the bunny proved her claim. She broke focus and the ball disappeared back into her chest. She firmly looked the bear directly into its eyes.
“Let us through!” She said in a firm voice.
The bear immediately stepped aside.
“Medics! Treat the Slowking!” Yelled the bear.
A bunch of pink pokemon that Lopunny recognized as Chancies and Audino rush in with a stretcher, putting the Slowking on and running off down the hall. The group follows in. Just as they are out of earshot, the bear pokemon whispers to himself:
“I guess we’ll be getting a few new combatants.”
As the group walks down towards the infirmary, the man in strange armor moves to walk beside Lopunny.
“Thank you for what you did,” said the man in strange armor. “You saved our new friend’s life.”
“You’re welcome… I-I only did what anyone would have done.” She responded nervously.
“I’m Bubble Man.” He said.
“Lopunny.”
Suddenly, the blue haired man recoiled in shock.
“Wait a flashy minute! Is that a five foot bunny rabbit?”
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 03-13-2015
"Oy! I gotta' use the can!" Luffy blurted behind the shabby wooden door. Identical Pignite guards shot each other an irritable glance before one at the right loosed a submissive sigh. With a clank, he unhinged the lock, lazily peeling the aperture open. Donning an aura of malice, the boar sneered down upon Straw Hat, whom was holding his crotch and tightening his cheeks. "Nature calls, bacon strip!" he mocked, prancing up and down from one leg to the next.
A vein pulsed from the sentry's forehead as he withheld a growing desire to trounce the filthy human and serve him up as next morning's breakfast. "Ornk, I'm not a bacon strip! Now hurry back, we've got our eyes on you young man," the fire pokemon berated with a snort, stepping away and allowing his imprisoned 'guest' to pass. "Down the corridor and to the left, you'll find the pisser." Foregoing room for pause, Luffy hastened down the archaic hall, Flabébé floating urgently behind. "Ack! Bébé you can't come in here!"
— — — — — — —
"U-Um, my name is Lopunny. Nice to meet you Mr. Clown," the docile rodent bashfully introduced, hugging fluffcuffs against her delicate chin. "Hm? It has a name?" the star clown inquired, tilting his peepers toward Bubble Man and directing an impersonal finger to the bipedal bunny. "That's rude Buggy, she just saved our hides," the aquabot rebuked, shaking his head in chagrin, leaving Lopunny to stand awkwardly mute.
Pip! Pip! Pip!
A plump, ovoid creature scampered toward the group. Creamy, wing-like frills accentuated its shoulders and waist whilst a stainless white overcoat draped over its bulbous physique. "The Royal advisor has awoken! A blood transfusion and resuscitating Heal Pulse from yours truly seems to have done the trick. You may come visit him now." With gleeful fervor, the crew tailed Doctor Blissey to the medical bay. Awaiting them lined a squad of pink-skinned physicians with triumphant spirits, outfitted similarly to their superior.
Slowking lye amidst the gathered caretakers, hoisting himself up into a seated position as his newfound companions rushed in with purpose. A swathe of bandages laced his shelled crown, whose sentient eyes were replaced by proverbial '@' marks, reflecting its benumbed condition. Illuminated with fluorescent beams and vanilla walls, the medical suite's bleak decor was far removed from rest of the chateau. Abruptly, Kilala jostled out of Buggy's cap and onto the patient's lap, expressing a blithe smile. The jaunty little feline proceeded to plop down and curl into a furry ball. "Oh-ho-ho, happy to see you too girl," the psionic pokemon greeted, patting the tyke along the length her back.
"Al-flashy-right! Phew, had me worried for a minute there pinky!" Buggy jested as a dramatically oversized droplet of sweat scaled down his face. I hope the bastard doesn't recall much, like my knife mishap being the reason he's in this whole mess! He pondered, cackling tentatively to avoid suspicion. A lamentable accident, that much was certain, but one best to keep swept under the rug.
Flouncing through the vestibule, Emboar stumbled in, nigh toppling over the collective nurses in his wake. "Apologies, sir Slowking! Had we any idea you were in such a state, we would have granted you entrance without question! I will reprimand Ursaring at once! He's a new recruit, and if I'm being honest a bit of a dunce," the humanoid boar pleaded, provoking the room to fall silent. Scanning the expanse, Emboar's cherry eyes narrowed upon the star clown, crimping his bushed brow.
"What is the meaning of this?! Where did these humans come from?! Who allowed them in here?! Did you filth do this to the Royal Advisor?! Are you the mates of that wretched intruder with the Straw Hat?!" The prejudiced pig bombarded with a slew of demanding questions. His tirade of accusations was hushed by a simple erect of Slowking's palm, effectively tranquilizing the chieftain's tantrum. "That will be more than enough, Chief Emboar. These humans are the reason I still walk among the living," the coral psion persuaded, quelling the portly swine pokemon whom vented with a guttural snort.
Ahh, so he doesn't remember after all! That's a relief, Buggy thought to himself, poised in reprieve, when it suddenly occurred to him. "Wait! Did you mention a Straw Hat? Guys! Luffy must be here!" Red Nose celebrated, equipping a bountifully poignant grin. "He's being held in our dorms as we speak. For trespassing into the colosseum and for eating nearly half the libations for our regal guests tomorrow, I've placed him under guard. He'll be forced to participate in tomorrow's games as punishment."
Without a word, Bubble Man palmed his face in stupor. "Yep, that sounds like our Luffy. You were right on the nose Buggy, no pun intended," the aquatic robot japed, adjusting his transparent goggles. "Pun? Why would it be a pun?! You making fun of my nose bastard bot?!" The star clown snapped in retort, inciting a shrill chuckle from Lopunny. Realizing she snickered aloud, the hazelnut bunny impulsively muzzled her mouth with both paws. Curling a smile beneath his metallic veil, Bubble Man approached the finicky rabbit. "It's you that Slowking truly has to thank. Revealing yourself for the sake of complete strangers is quite commendable."
"Oyyy! Buggyyy! Flippers!" A familiar voice hollered behind, as fate would have it, stealing their attention away. Low and behold, it was Luffy! As if uttering his very name summoned the rubber pirate himself, he charged forth, a stampede of guardsmen hot on his tail. Screeching to a halt, Straw Hat planted a palm to the star clown's shoulder. "You guys made it! Kahaha! This place has great grub! . . . Ah? Porky is here too? And conchy is hurt! What happened?!"
"Argh, the other human! Who released him from his chambers?!" Emboar beseeched as his subordinates barged in seconds thereafter. "Oh! Chief! You're here? S-sorry sir, he had to use the lavatory but then he ran off on his own! H-he stunk up the entirety of the dorm quarters too!" The Pignite officer stammered as his fellow guard mates piled into the room in unison.
"It was epic Buggy! Seriously, it was about thiiiis huge!" Straw Hat described, gesturing his hands broadly apart. "Who asked you to describe your crap, idiot?!!" Buggy scolded in retort, thwacking the rubber pirate over the head. "Oh my word," Lopunny slipped timidly, amused to some degree by the antics of these fresh acquaintances. Her mild slip of tongue caught the flame chief's attention. Perking a brow, he examined the tanned pokemon up and down. Noting his sudden interest, the fluffy-eared rabbit bravely stepped forth.
"Mister piggy, u-um, what exactly is this place? You seem to have some pull here right? You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a pokemon named -" Lopunny was cut off as the ornate proprietor brashly chimed in. "You put your kind to shame, rodent! Aiding these damned vermin and advocating their incursion within these walls! I ought to lock you up too!!"
Fweee!
A high pitched whistle stifled the clamor. "Enough, you hooligans! This is a tranquil place, and Slowking needs rest. All of you, out! Take your bickering elsewhere. Go on, out our!" Blissey commanded, boldly shooing the congregates toward the exit. A gentle soul by nature, however the stout practitioner was not to be meddled with.
"Yeees ma'aaam," Emboar relented, sullenly bowing his head in defeat. Accordingly, the heavyweight trained his red-hot eyes on the band of human scum. "Flame Garrison, escort these troublesome heathens back to the quest lodging and do not remove them from your sight. I highly suggest they rescind their compulsion for tribulation and get a solid night's rest. After all, tomorrow is a big day . . . for all of them! Grahaha!"
"WHAAA-?!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Michael - 03-13-2015
Sea, sea, sea, and more sea… Everywhere he looks there lays only the rolling blue waves of the sea. Up above the sun glares down, baking him to a crisp… Above all else, dear lord Michael feels thirsty. His throat’s parched, his mouth is dry, and though there’s water everywhere not a drop can be drunk. Fish do things in there you know. Also salt water isn’t something you should drink.
Michael blinks at the sun glaring overhead, and then looks to his empty hand. He wishes with all his heart he could just… summon a cold drink. Some lemonade, or even just some ice cold water… Yeah, that sounds good… Ice cold water…
The more he thinks about it, and the more he concentrates and yearns with all his heart for a cold drink, the more some sort of rainbow light glimmers in his hand. Could it be? Was he really going to do it…? He kept going, visualizing a glass of cold water in his hands, droplets coating it’s outer surface and one of those fancy little umbrella’s sticking out of it… Soon enough, there it was. Michael can’t believe his eyes. Sitting there in his hand is exactly what he had imagined and hoped for. Michael chugs it immediately.
After finishing his glass, Michael quickly refills it (don’t worry, not with ocean water) and allows Charmander to have some life-giving water as well, which the little fire salamander gulps down greedily. Michael can’t help but feel that whatever he did to make that water isn’t just something he could do for infinity, so he decides to wait until an emergency situation to summon up any water again.
After that, things slow down again. Nothing very eventful happens for another hour or so, although it’s fairly difficult to gauge time with only the sun, and they simply continue riding their little boat to who knows where the sea will take them.
Then Michael spots an Island. He shoots up, confirming that yes that is an actual island he’s seeing on the horizon.
“Laaaaaaaaaand!” Michael shouts out joyfully, rousing a snoozing Charmander with his merry making. He yawns cutely, blinking up towards Michael who was now standing, pointing, and shouting out with glee towards something in the distance. Still squinty eyed and tired after his nap, Charmander turns to look where Michael is pointing. Huh. There was land. Charmander feels happy and all that, but he’s tired, and sleep matters above all else when that’s the case. He curls up and closes his eyes just as Michael finishes rocking the boat in his excitement, scooping his hands through the water in an attempt to move them in the direction they want to go. Thankfully, the two of them are already heading where they need to go. Land is in sight, and they hadn’t starved or thirsted to death on the almost day long journey there. Everything seems to be going their way! Then again, they don’t know about the gyrados that surround this particular island.
Said gyrados quickly make themselves known, erupting from the water directly underneath their small boat and launching them into the air.
Michael screams in terror as he flies through the air, Charmander somehow still asleep as he soars nearby. Regaining his composure somewhat, Michael stops screaming and grabs the unconscious Charmander just in time for a gyrados tail to rise out of the water and slap him out of the air. He hurtles towards the shore of the island, skidding across the sand and coming to a sudden halt as his head collides with an unfortunately robust tree. Michael joins Charmander in his unconsciousness as they lie there on the grass, the small fire type pokémon resting peacefully on Michael’s chest without a scratch on him.
The gyrados then return to their homes beneath the waves, intruders thoroughly punished, and the two intruders are left to their unconsciousness on Cinnabar’s sandy shore.
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Isabelle - 03-19-2015
Lopunny sat amongst the group in what must have been the coziest jail cell to ever exist. The thought of the oncoming competition scared her half to death, so she was trying desperately to block it from her mind. The red nosed clown man was screaming words at straw hat that she did not quite understand.
“You flashy idiot! Look at the mess you got us into this time!” Yelled the clown.
Straw hat only laughed in response.
“Well worth it if we got back together! Yosh!” He yelled jovially.
The clown sulked off into the corner where he continues to mutter angered exclamations to himself. Straw hat turned his attention to lopunny, who was listening intently to everything said up to this point.
“So what’s with the bunny rabbit?” Inquired the man.
“That’s a Lopunny,” Responded Flabebe before she could answer. “She’s a Pokemon. There are several of them on this island.”
“There are?” The rabbit responded, a bit in wonderment. It had been forever since she last saw a member of her kind.
“Lopunny, Huh?” Straw Hat responded. “I’m Luffy. I’m going to be king of the pirates!”
Her first thought was ‘What is a pirate?’ but she didn’t think it appropriate to ask right now.
“Captain, sir.” Bubble Man spoke with an air of respect. “This pokemon saved Slowking’s life. She revealed herself as a prime towards the guards and they let us in on those grounds.”
“She’s a prime?” Flabebe yelled in shock. “How is that possible?”
Luffy gave the rodent a wide smile.
“Well, you have my thanks bunny girl!” He said.
He gives her a pat on the head. This combined with the appreciation gave her a warm fuzzy nostalgic feeling. A feeling that was quickly broken by the flower pokemon’s objections.
“Hold on, you just can’t claim you’re a prime and not prove it.” She stated.
“Why is that?” Asked Bubble Man
Flabebe glanced him a look.
“Pokemon primes are so much more rare than human primes. There’s only like three or four in the world or something! That’s like claiming you’re the spawn of Arceus!”
She figured Pokemon primes were special, but she didn’t know they were quite that rare. Knowing she had to do something, she focused her mind. She did Medicham’s breath exercises again while she pictured in her minds eye a bowl of Pokepuffs. Slowly, a ball of light appeared in front of her and slowly shaped into the bowl. Flebebe watched in shock and awe as the bowl formed and dropped on to the bed in front of her.
Without missing a beat, she nudged the bowl towards Luffy and gleefully opened her mouth wide expecting him to feed her. He just jumped on the treats and started to devour them feverishly. She would be disappointed if she wasn’t somewhat amused by a human eating Pokepuffs.
The group just went into basic chatter while Lopunny kind of slipped into the background to listen. An hour or so latter, the emboar entered, looking frustrated.
“Lopunny, come with me.” He said with a gruff, irritated voice.
Following him out the door obediently, her mind raced.
‘What could they want with me? What did I do that separates me from the rest?’
She followed him down a few corridors before she built up the courage to ask.
“Excuse me Mr. Pi…” she caught herself. “...Sir. What’s this about? Why was I singled out?”
“Maybe it’s not something you did but someone you know.” Said a familiar voice behind her.
She turned around to see Medicham standing there. A look of pure glee spread across her face as she immediately wrapped her arms around him in a huge bear hug.
“Ow ow that’s enough please.” He said, trying to shove her off.
She pulls back, but she doesn’t break the embrace.
“I’m so sorry if I’m late, I had a lot of things happen-”
“You had no obligation to get to me at a specific time. Nor did I tell you to find me.” He said plainly. “All that mattered to me was that you made a choice and stuck with it, and you did for the most part. And now, it is time to make another choice.”
He stepped back, breaking the embrace.
“I have spoken with the officials here.” He looks up at Emboar who gives him an angered grunt. “You’re free to go.”
“Really?” She exclaimed excitedly.
“I may have a little influence around her. So you don’t have to participate in the fight if you don’t want to.”
She was so happy, she moved in for another hug, but only met with his outstretched palm.
“But I couldn’t get a release for the humans. They were beyond my influence.”
Her face shifted into a frown.
“This is your choice now. Fight with the humans or leave this coliseum a free Pokemon.”
She gave it a bit of thought. She didn’t want to fight in a competition; the thought scared her to death. However, she would be overcome with guilt if she abandoned the humans to fight with one person fewer. She racked her brain over this for a good minute before the words slipped from her mouth.
“I’ll… stay and fight.”
“You sure?” He inquired.
She nods in response.
“Well, that’s your choice, I will watch and cheer for you.”
His support gave her comfort, even as Emboar starts shoving her back to the jail cell.
“Thank you.”
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 03-28-2015
Doom! Doom! Doom!
Raaahhh
Tremorous pounding of symphonic drums, crackling flashes of prismatic fireworks, fluttering petals of lavish confetti, bellowed hurrahs of assembled spectators. An amalgamation of celebrated spirits unifying for a singular marvelous event; one that comes but once a year. Exclusive to the isle of Cinnabar, whereby innumerable Pokemon kindred gather to commemorate the trials and tribulations of their fellow brethren; The Grand Fighting Festival.
"Hit it, Loudred!!" A familiar hot-blooded avian requested, dexterously twirling his precious microphone betwixt taloned digits before garishly pressing it to his shallow beak. At his side squatted a stumpy lavender creature with ears reminiscent of antennae and shaped akin to loudspeakers. An extensive wire cord stemmed from the walking boombox, snaking up to the base of Blaziken's personal bullhorn.
"ALLLRIIIGHT!! Welcome everyone once again! I need not remind you, but today we finally kick off the festival you've all been yearning for! And what better way to start the games than a pyretic contest of gumption beneath this baking sun! I've got a fever folks, but the only remedy is a hearty dose of stimulating scrimmage and impassioned duels of sheer barbarism!" The fire pokemon roused, inciting peppy cheers from the skittled audience. "As promised, returning to commentate this monumental occassion we invite you to give a round of applause to Pikachu, Roserade and Machamp!"
Following suit, the connoisseur triad stood from their podiums and motioned a gratuitous wave upon the crowd. Consumed by hubris, the four-armed brute went so far as to flex his impressive musculature. Ogling female pokemon littering the stands flushed red and clasped their knickers, whistling hysterically. Not to be outdone, the paltry yellow rodent perched his wooden pulpit and illuminated the stadium with a brilliant emission of thunderous bolts, further electrifying the crowd, so to speak, with a raspy "CHUUU!!" Meanwhile, the ever elegant Roserade modestly took to her seat.
— — — — — — —
"Oooh! Looks like it's about to start! Let's hurry over guys!" Luffy instructed, taking the helm of his group and loping forth with Flabébé affixed to his shoulder. Liberating a vexed sigh, Buggy and gang doubled their pace. A duo of Pignite guards stationed at the crew's hind took chase, assuming the pirate was attempting to flee. Skidding to a halt, ole' rubberneck's vacant attention span was taken captive as he caught a whiff of sweet aroma.
Shifting course, Straw Hat tailed the waft of baked goodies until he found himself gazing at the forefront of a Pokepuff stand. The tiny hut excreted scents parallel to the tasty treats summoned by Lopunny the night before. With dough roller in one hand and buttered pan in the other, a tubby, pinkish creature greeted Luffy, flapping its enormous tongue about. "Lickilicky! Thath my mame! Cookin' ith my game! What will you hath kind thir?" The lisped fatso inquired, flipping a curled appendage dangling upon its head. Presenting two fingers, the captain ordered two.
Ding!
"Ack! I have no money though! How about an I.O.U.?" Stretch proposed whilst tugging on his empty pockets, maintaining an orthodox shit-eating-grin. His fairy companion moaned in distress, likewise possessing nothing of value to exchange. "Hm? Oh you mutht be a newcomer. Ith all free! Here, thake a bunth, they're freth out the oven!" The rotund pokemon offered, handing the pirate a paper bag full of warm puffs. "Tell your fwendth about me!"
— — — — — — —
"Seriously? We've lost him already? It's been less than ten minutes! These guardsmen are impressively ineffective," Bubble Man scoffed, hopping along the ground in search of his alleged captain. "Gah! This never gets any less annoying! That flashy rubber band is as slippery as ev-" Buggy was cut short as the source of his vindication abruptly sprung down from a rooftop above.
"Oyy! Punny! I got something! Kishishi," Luffy chuckled, rustling around his bag and plucking two puffin delights. Lopunny's eyes broadened with elation; the rabbit forcibly withholding the urge to pounce. Trotting over to the stretchy human, she allowed her arms to fall limp and adorably gaped her tiny maw, arching forward.
A puzzled expression befell Straw Hat for a moment, yet he shrugged his shoulders and gently plopped both treats into her mouth, to which she ferociously gobbled up in the span of seconds. "Woah! You're like me! Kahaha! I ate all your sweets yesterday, so I wanted to repay you," Luffy encouraged, rubbing her furry dome. Rummaging through the ruffled sack, Bubble Man nudged a Pokepuff against the top of Buggy's hat, drawing out Kilala like fish to a worm. The cream-coated feline nibbled away, blissfully purring before retreating back into the clown's flashy headwear.
Marginally embarrassed by her savagery, the floppy-eared bunny chuckled nervously when a startling belch purged beneath her lips. Impulsively covering her mouth, both cheeks faded a rosy hue; she was affectively mortified, now more than ever. After unanimous cackles, accompanied by subtle snorts from their piggish chauffeurs, the group made way for the colosseum.
Lavished by felicity and wonderment, the mismatched conglomerate absorbed the merry atmosphere. Peering a quarter mile in any direction, one could view myriad shops and festive games. Pokemon of all shapes, colors and sizes trotted about; gorging on cotton candy, sipping assorted refreshments and modeling procured prizes. Though technically forced into such a predicament, this jubilant endeavor felt a far-cry from punishment.
Suffocating prejudice was palpable as members of the crew felt a blanket of malice veil over, specifically the homo sapiens. Wrought with superfluous bigotry, the island natives harbored ill temper toward humankind, a fact made evident by Emboar the night prior. Menacing glares and ornery chatter pierced into them like daggers of scorn, yet Straw Hat jaunted forth absent-minded. Though not a human per-se, Bubble Man treaded cautiously, knowledgeable that his appearance may easily be mistaken for a man. Before they knew it, the cluster of misfits were upon the colosseum gates.
"Halt where you stand, seafarers!" An amicable voice imposed from behind. Adjusting their attention at his behest, the group set eyes upon a genial, shell-crowned companion flagging them down. "Oh! Everybody, it's Slowking!" Bubble Man stated obviously, warmly hailing the pundit pokemon.
"Shellybean! Up and about already huh? You're tougher than you look!" Luffy welcomed with a back-handed compliment, floored to see the advisor on his feet again. Ignoring Straw Hat's insolence, the psion waddled over with a bantam sack slung over his back.
"Gyaha! The bastard hippopotamus returns!" Buggy mocked with elation, disguising his guilt beneath a haughty grin. "Heheh, sure is curious what the hell stabbed you in the first pla–"
Kathwam!
Before his clamped eyes could draw open, a pinkish fist plunged deep into the clown's bulbous red sniffer. Toppling over, the pirate trundled several times before crashing into a stack of oaken crates like a ten-pin strike, each puking out a cluster of fruits and veggies from splintered crevices.
"Argh! What's the flashy idea?!" Buggy yelped, bursting from the wreckage of debris, dripping of sticky juice. Banana peels hung from his cap, which now resembled a gift basket containing a bushel of greens and berries.
"I posit you erroneously surmised I had not recalled the reason for my anguish? Heed where you loose sharp things!" Slowking angrily scolded whilst pelting the clown with foodstuffs. "OKAY, OKAY! Sheesh, fair enough ya' shitty psychopath!" Buggy snarked back, shielding himself with a plank of the broken coffers. Shit so he did remember after all! the battered pirate pondered, tactically bracing his makeshift bulwark against exploding apples and oranges.
"Whew, that felt positively divine," the advisor ceased fire, wheezing and succumbing to harsh fatigue. Ample blood loss certainly did a number on him, evidenced by his involuntary teetering. Hopping over with agility far outclassing other members of the group, Lopunny sprung to action in a flash to catch the anthropomorphic psychic.
"Hahh . . . apologies and salutations. I offer gratitude, Lopunny. Or shall I call you Miss Prime?" He chuckled timidly, presenting his mystery bag to the fluffy rabbit. "I-it was nothing, mister Slowking," she humbly returned, peeking into the sack's shallow confines. Luffy arched forward, awfully curious about the bag as well. Following suit, the crew jogged over. The twin Pignite sentinels raised a palm to their foreheads, frustrated by the overly obvious fact that their control here was little more than a fallacy.
"Following your abysmal loss against the Monkey King, it became apparent to me that while your skills may be extraordinary, you've underestimated this island an immense degree," the advisor lectured, climbing to his feet. "Thus, I've brought something that may undoubtedly aid you in the coming trials you must endure. A very sparse drug that instantly expatriates your abilities. I've managed to accumulate just a few. Accept this 'Rare Candy' and prosper in your subsequent challenges, my friends!" He solaced, placing a small cerulean candy shrouded by swizzled wrapping in the palms of Luffy, Buggy, Bubble Man and Lopunny.
Chomp, Chomp, Chomp.
Without hesitation, Straw Hat snatched the piece and tossed it back, wrapper and all. Red Nose and the aquabot at least had the decency to disrobe the candy before munching it down. The bipedal bunny was hesitant to consume such an exotic gift, but knew deep down she would had little choice in order to keep up. Whether by fear of failing her newfound comrades or pride of preferring to achieve growth of her own volition, she ignored such hindering thoughts and gulped it down.
Babump! Babump!
The chest of all four warriors pulsed a sequence of erratic heartbeats. Flooding with ribbons of energy, the rare candy dissolved, flowing through their veins. Gazing into the crevice of his palm, Luffy slowly clamped a fist. What a rush . . . I can actually feel my power growing. My rubbery skin feels . . . tougher than before.
Buggy stood equally impressed by the irrefutable leap in might. Gyahaha, I'm even flashier than before! I bet rubber brain can feel it right now too, our Devil Fruit powers have evolved.
Bewildered, Bubble Man was possibly the most fascinated of all; he was a mechanical robot after all. How? Why? A biological supplement should employ no effect on me, yet my aptitude and calibrations are soaring beyond set limitations. This feels . . . no, I feel fantastic!
Maintaining close watch on the other three, Lopunny cocked a brow as their eyes broadened one after the other. Deeming it worth the unknown risks, she took a leap of faith and swallowed. Approximately ten seconds thereafter, the tanned pokemon's innards hummed softly. Neurons in her brain glimmered, bolting around like protons of an atom, magnifying her mental prowess. Everything around me seems . . . no words can describe this. My reflexes, my reaction time. How can a simplistic candy award such incredible results?
Placing a hand amidst the center of the huddled group, Luffy displayed a determined countenance. "Everyone in? We're taking this colosseum together. That big oaf Piglet wants us to lose. We're going to disappoint him!" Invigorated by his words, the rest of the gang emulated his gesture with their own. Even Slowking, Flabébé and Kilala offered a palm to the stack. With one big hurrah, team Luffy threw their extremities to the skies, enveloped in bravado.
"YOSH!!!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 04-06-2015
"Twelve thousand on the greenhorn contenders, Bisharp squad! I've got a hot tip!"
"Five grand on the Hitmon clan! They'll pound the competition into the dirt!"
"Three thousand smackaroos on Hariyama's band of hooligans!"
"Twenty big ones on the reigning title-holder, Machamp! Ain't no way he's going down!"
Scrambled parleys jabbered as fortune-hunters frantically slapped billfolds and briefcases over the counter of a shoddy booth. A motley horde of blinged out gamblers and head honchos conducted illicit exchanges. Among the frenzied pokemon, several lax 'agents of the underground' filed betting parchments, bereft regard for the proverbial powwow of hectic bartering amidst the scantily lit room.
"So how many stacks o' coin you plannin' on throwin' down the piss drain this time, eh Pan-chan? Grragagah!" A domineering reptilian patronized with guttural tone, chummily nudging the bearish mammalian to his left. His voice carried a thick Australian accent. Umbral stripes and maroon dermis varnished his scaly veneer. Most prominently, the crocodile pokemon boasted an exaggerated snout housing finely-edged fangs. His opaque eyes were coated beneath a dark membrane angling up to points on either side of his face, reminiscent of haughty sunglasses.
"Shaddap ya' grimy lizard. My fickle days o' bad luck 'er over. You won't be fillin' yer purse with my capital this time, slimy broker. An' I ain't gonna' tell ya once more Krookadile, it's Boss Pangoro," the cantankerous panda bear grimaced, bitterly reminding his associate to address him properly. Pangoro's Boston inflection was analogous of his gangster personage. Organizing paperwork with porcine paws, the mob boss delicately chewed on a leaf shoot. Charcoal fur extended beyond his hind, mimicking a fringed longcoat split near the end.
"Bein' in the know 'round this business is the key to riches, an' nobody's got the gumshoe lackeys I got. My informant confidant lemme' in on a lil' secret this morning', gohgohgoh," the thuggish hominid chuckled intrepidly, invoking an impertinent expression from his dastardly associate.
"Crikey! Awright mate, go 'head n' spill it. Do an' old friend a favor, eh?" Krookadile urged, anxiously swaying his spiny tree trunk of a tail back and forth. Had it been anyone else, the crook would utilize intimidation tactics to yield beyond the quandary, but he and the auspicious panda went way back. However, without so much as a word, Pangoro shot a wink at the Aussie before standing from the table and strolling over to the wager stand.
"One-hundred thousand . . . on the humans!"
Gasp!
— — — — — — —
"For the last time we're not naming the team 'Meat Squad' you idiot!" Buggy exclaimed, scolding the rubber captain with a bonk on the head. "We're the 'Flashy Hats' and that's final!" The eccentric pirate inferred, crossing his arms and grinning vainly. Perplexed sweat droplets cascaded down the forehead of every crewmate in unison.
Nervously pondering, Lopunny scanned the party, noting the ornamental headgear of all members other than herself. Luffy's straw hat, Buggy's pirate cap, Bubble Man's helmet, Slowking's shell crown, even Flabébé adorned a circlet. Disheartened with exclusion, she wished to object, but felt it not her place. Snapping into action, she snatched a Magikarp hat from the nearest stand and plopped it over her head.
". . ."
"Bahahaha!" The awkward silence shattered as laughter broke out among the clique, provoking a joyous giggle from the rabbit pokemon, freeing her from blushed embarrassment. "You're a funny punny!" Luffy praised with pep, ignorant of his own fluky wordplay. In that instance, Kilala hopped from Red Nose's orange headgear and onto the bunny's shoulder, taking her by surprise.
"Oh my! Hey there girl, teehee," she received, embracing the fuzzy kitten. "Always huddled up in round nose's hat, I forgot about you. She doesn't have a hat either fellas," Lopunny pleaded, cutely nuzzling the feline while caressing her dome.
"Ugh, fine fine. We'll come up with the name later," Buggy submitted, palming his forehead. "Wait a second blanket ears, what did you just call me?!"
"Posthaste, comrades! We're going to arrive late if we continue this fruitless banter," Slowking interjected, rallying the gang and scurrying toward the registration desk, where a lovely marshmallow figure awaited them.
"Wiggly-welcome! You must be the contestants Chief Emboar pre-registered this morning-iggly. All I need is the name of your group for referencing purposes during the competition-tuff!" She presented a clipboard listing an exuberant roster of squads, after which Buggy narrowed his eyes at the others with stone-face. Rubbing their collective chins, the nameless unit mulled over their options. Tension began to build as Wigglytuff patiently bided, a migraine brewing within Slowking's capacious mind until he snapped.
"Ergh! Damn hellions! Team Mugiwara! That's your title! Hand me that placard!" The psion irately commanded, brashly jotting down his improvised moniker. Eyeing one another, the gang shrugged with indifference before nodding in agreement. After all, Mugiwara meant straw in japanese, and though Buggy retained reluctance to admit such, Luffy was the irrefutable captain of their alliance, through and through.
Exhaling a sigh of respite, the royal advisor calmly cast the registry pad back into Wigglytuff's palms. Rallying the troop of misfits, he hastened forth toward the center colosseum in the nik of time as the opening ceremony concluded. As a result of their tardiness, Luffy and co. managed to skip the insipid formalities.
"Ah! Without a moment to spare, our alleged 'guests' to the island have made it! Kakaw! How polite of you to finally, ahem, grace us with your presence, homo-sapiens," Blaziken grudgingly introduced with phony hospitality, calling out the unit as they casually strolled into the light. A clamor of frigid boos emanated from the crowd.
Unshaken by their crude heckles, Luffy callously waved and produced a perky grin. Buggy pompously flashed the middle finger and vulgarly tugged on his genitals. Meanwhile, Bubble Man self-consciously hopped along the ground, groveling at the crowd's teasing laughter of his defect. Lopunny and Flabébé were overwrought with dubious aura; they garnered sympathy for their mistreated comrades, peppered by guilt as the two were of the same kind as their oppressors.
"Sure would like to git' a swing at them there humans, but they ain't gon' make it to the top for me to test their mettle," Machamp proposed, glaring at the group.
"Pika-Pi, they don't seem so bad to me. They're traveling with the advisor of the Royal Kingdom after all-kachu," Pikachu challenged in retort. Peeking over at his elegant associate, Roserade merely shut her eyes and remained mute, withholding judgment. She too claimed refuge within the Kingdom as the 'madam' and instructor of the Fleur Danseuse squad. It was because of this fact she felt it difficult to understand why Slowking chose to guide these strange newcomers.
"Ouch, not exactly a warm welcome, but don't fret, humans! It's to be expected, as it's rare to see your species braving this island, yet still you found a way to kaw-nfirm their bias by stirring trouble the very moment you set foot upon this santua-" The avian's microphone was brazenly snatched from his grasp by the pudgy psychic.
"That shall serve as more than enough for my waning tolerance. All of you, heed my words keenly. You do not have to like these innocent humans, but you will respect them. A morsel of foul play from a single individual and I'll shut down this festival and have the lot of you reprimanded for your insolence! I presume I've made myself clear. Now, let us celebrate this joyous occasion and delve into the nitty gritty! What say you?!"
Raaahhh! Raaahhh!
Parting with firm words, he handed back the auditory device and waddled over to his troupe's designated section. Overcoming numbed cessation, Blaziken mused for a moment, discerning his unmerited prejudice was infectious to the crowd. "I apologize, my dear friends and spectators. Slowking is right. I beg you all to treat them as though they were any other contenders. Chief Emboar must believe they are more than capable if he sought this form of punishment. Let's all see what they've got!"
With contagious charisma, the fire pokemon ignited vigor and excitement amongst the audience. "What grand timing too, as I've just received word that the placements have been affirmed. 'Team Mugiwara' is up first, facing off against the 'Hariyama Hammers' squad!" Blaziken feverishly ushered, presenting his talons toward the opposing corridor. Following suit, the combating squad stepped out, flooded with yowling and whistles.
"Entering through the west gate, hail the heavyweight and his martial art practitioners! During our preliminary stages, Hariyama single-handedly defeated the whole opposing team! Let's see if these new adversaries can pose a greater challenge!" The hawkish announcer glorified, burning with anticipation.
Obliging Blaziken's decree, a massive monitor flickered alight, portraying the leader, Hariyama, trouncing the competitors in his previous bout. Utilizing his enormous mitts, the hulking pokemon clobbered one foe with a walloping arm thrust, drove another into the dirt with a suplex, and finished the last with a beefy body press. The match lasted just a hair short of a minute, approximately.
"I'll take this one," Luffy valiantly volunteered without hesitation, cracking his knuckles and pottering forth to size up the goliath. Meeting Straw Hat dead center, the fighting pokemon smirked, lowering his eyes parallel to the young man's. Hariyama stood several feet superior to the seemingly unimpressive pirate. Bearing a visage indicative of sumo-wrestlers, emphasized by v-shaped crests of hair wrapping the sides of his otherwise bald cranium, he flaunted three-digit orange hands, both the size of his torso, yellow skirt extensions over his waste, and baggy cobalt trousers.
"Well, that sure didn't take long. Without deliberation, it appears both sides have decided their opening kaw-ntenders! Aaand . . . BEGIN!"
As the commencement bell rang clear, Hariyama opened with a mondo palm thrust in attempt to squash the insect before him. Obliterating the ground beneath, he lifted his mitt to reveal a small crater with tri-fingered indentations, minus Straw Hat. Flitting behind the stalwart pokemon, Luffy's astonishing alacrity intrigued the crowd, beckoning them to the edge of their seats.
Time to test it out. Not gonna' hold back against this fat oaf. I feel myself slowly returning to full power. Ever since I wound up in this strange world I've been weakened. That monkey jerk treated me like a rag doll! Ergh, no more! I'm going all out!!
"Gear Second!" The pirate muttered, planting his feet in preparation before pumping blood into his right arm. As a result, swelling clumps expanded along the captain's extremity before receding back into his sleeve.
Fssshhhhhh.
Flowing streams of vaporized sweat poured from the combatant's hyper-tensed physique while his skin polished to a shimmery pink hue. Inflating his vessels, blood surged through the youth's veins at a pace which would tear and burst under normal circumstances. Fortunately, the rubber nature of his anatomy prevented such a gruesome end. Metabolism skyrocketing, his body burned through nutrients like gasoline, fueling all aspects of his metaphorical engine. Flushed with adrenaline, he bolted forward at mach speed.
"GOMU GOMU NO . . . " Luffy incanted, slinging both arms several yards behind him akin to a pair of rubber bands. Guarding his torso, the bovine hulk positioned his palms, prepping to stave off the ensuing attack. Coming in hot, Straw Hat snapped both palms forth with breakneck velocity.
". . . JET BAZOOKA!!!"
KAPOW!!
With gut-wrenching impact, the strike bore into Hariyama's abdomen dredging a concave depression, bypassing his defense with ease and forging a sonic boom that rattled the arena. Eyes bulging and spit purging from his maw, the fighting pokemon liberated a groan of anguish. The critical blitz jettisoned the brute over a dozen meters within a squall of momentum. Reeling into the stadium walls, Hariyama was buried under rubble as concrete collapsed around him, carving a sizable hole in the enclosure.
"Gahh . . . haahh . . . hah," wincing and wheezing, the rubber pirate absolved Gear Second, acknowledging how strenuous a toll it took on him. Damn, my body still can't handle the strain for very long . . . I'll have to reserve it for desperate situations only.
"W–WOW!! I can't believe what I'm seeing! The ostracized newkaw-mer just annihilated one of this festival's most promising brawlers with a single blow! Even with trained eyes I could barely see the attack! . . . Victory goes to the leader of Team Mugiwara, Monkey D. Luffy!!" Blaziken announced as the audience lifted their jaws from the floor. Prior hisses and jeers had morphed into hoots and hollers; the 'vile degenerate human' was suddenly immersed in praise.
"Well, though short lived that was certainly intense! Once the clean-up crew mends the damaged stadium and Hariyama is carted off to the med-bay, we shall continue on to the next match. Until then, take a small recess, but return in haste as you won't want to miss what's in store next . . . Lopunny versus Scrafty!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Isabelle - 04-12-2015
Lopunny winced upon hearing her name called. She didn’t expect it would be her turn so soon. Her mind raced as she rushed to pull out her phone, pulling up the Pokedex app and typing in the words “Scrafty.”
What looked like a little child crossed with a dragon appeared on the screen. It had a dark-red Mohawk and yellow pants that seemed way too big for it. It kind of reminded her of the delinquent kids she would often see in animes her master used to watch. She clicked for more info.
“Scrafty, the hoodlum pokemon and the evolved form of Scraggy.” The mechanical voice began, jolting into life. “Scrafty can use its powerful kicks to smash through concrete blocks. To protect itself, Scrafty can fold its loose skin around its waist.”
Her heart sank into her stomach. It sounded incredibly dangerous. She thought about her previous battles. In all of them, she had the element of surprise. Would that save her here? She didn’t know. And even if it saved her here, how would she keep surprising them in the battles to come?
She started to wiggle around in her seat, her eyes focused off somewhere in space, as her breathing was irregular. That is, until a hand laid itself upon her head. She looked up to see Strawhat sitting beside her. He smiled at her with the most confident of grins, mile wide from ear to ear. Somehow, either through sentiment or through magic, she found a smile spread across her own face, as if it had been infectious. In such a short span of time, her nervousness has been cut in half. However, the ovaloid pink puffball catching Lopunny’s attention quickly interrupted the beautiful moment.
“Wiggly-on in three minutes, bun-bun.”
“Kakaw! It’s time for round two!” Yelled out the enigmatic firebird.
The crowd hoot and cheer still pumped from the previous round. Lopunny stood just inside the gate, listening to her cue to head in. She could feel her teeth chatter a bit, just from the weight of all this. From the other side of the stadium, she saw Scrafty strut in as if he owned the place
“Coming, quite chauvinistically from the west gate is Scrafty, the resident black sheep of the Hariyama Hammers.”
The crowd started to boo as Scrafty swiveled around in his strut to soak all the hate in. Suddenly the rabbit was getting flashbacks to the days when her master would watch wrestling. She had the horrifying thought of having to pin this guy down in the mat and wear spandex. A shiver overtook her body.
“That brat doesn’t know the first thing about true strength.” Interjected Machamp. “He’s such a cheating ass, I don’t know why we even let him compete.”
“Ratings my friend. Ratings.” Responded said Blaziken before turning his attention back to the contestant. “He was a former student of our own resident Master Medicham, before they split off over differences in opinion.”
Lopunny broke from her horrific fantasies of her as the heavy weight champion of the world to jolt her neck in shock. He was a student of Medicham?
“In fact, Medicham is in the audience somewhere.”
Sure enough, a somewhat belligerent Medicham stood up amongst the crowd of pokemon and mechanically waved to the surrounding crowd who roared with applause. Before taking his seat again, she could have sworn he glanced over to her. However, she was jolted back into reality as the “Go” light lit up to tell her to get moving. Her legs take control of their own as if she knew her mind didn’t want to follow the given directions.
“And entering from the east gate is Lopunny, the only Pokemon combatant of team Mugiwara.” Yelled out Blaziken.
She was surprised to hear so many cheers, but she figured it was because of team she was representing. Or maybe it was because she was going up against someone they hated… or maybe they just loved an underdog… Whatever the reason, the sudden support relieved a great deal of her stress.
“Pikapi-She’s quite cute! I wonder if she’s graceful too!-pipipikachu!”
Roserade, who was still mute out of protest couldn’t help but give Lopunny a second glance. She rubs her chin as if she was sizing her up. Suddenly, Blaziken gestured for the audience to silence.
“As an interesting turn of events, she is the current student of Master Medicham.”
The crowd roars in shock in excitement as they devolve into fevered mutters. Scrafty, who was confidently stand in his corner of the ring suddenly jolted to look in surprise at the announcer box.
“I know Medicham, he looks scrawny, but he is tough inside.” Spoke up Machamp, causing Blaziken to double take at his candidness. “If she’s taken any of his lessons to heart, she should be stronger than any of her thin frame could muster.”
“Pipipiki-Medicham has some weird choices for students. Remember that Mudkip? Whatever happened to him? He kicked butt a few years ago-kachu!”
The murmurs from the crowd only got louder and louder. Scrafty looked over towards her as she climbed into the ring, his eyes boiling with discontent, as if she was stealing his thunder. But Blaziken wasn’t done.
“And that’s not all. She’s a prime!”
The crowd went silent, so silent you could probably hear a pin drop. Scrafty again looked up towards commentator’s box, wondering if they were mental.
“A-A prime?” Stuttered Machamp.
“Pika-Woah! When was the last time we had a new one of those?-chu”
“No recorded cases since before the Scramble. I mean there was rumors of a Ditto, but nothing confirmed.” Clarified Blaziken.
Slowly, the stunned silence turned into further murmurs from the crowd. Scrafty suddenly turns to glare at Lopunny, eyes now burning with pure hatred. She was now nervous again.
“Anyways, let’s get this round started!” Blaziken said, the two contestants get into focused poses, with the bunny looking a little shaken. “Ready, and go!”
He suddenly charged towards her. Without thinking, she dashed forward herself. To everyone in the audience, she just suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind him. Before he could even realize what happened, she gave him a kick to the back of the head, slamming him face first into the ground. Much of the crowd winces as if all of them could feel the pain.
He jumps up onto his feet, preparing another attack, which is suddenly shot down by a kick to the stomach, then a sudden punch to the back that sends him flying forward. It wasn’t enough to knock him out of the ring, but it close.
He gets back up and gives her a glare. He just stands there, staring from across the ring. Eventually, she started to feel uncomfortable, uncertain what his plan was.
That is, until she felt a kick to the back of the head.
What she thought was Scrafty wasn’t really there, but a convincing decoy. She was in a daze from the suddenly hit, struggling to keep her balance. She turned around to face her opponent, but she felt something hit her in the eyes. She felt her retinas burn as her vision goes dark. She could hear the crowd in the distanced yelling in horror what they are watching, deafening her. Two of her senses gone, she felt suddenly help less.
Punch to her back, a kick to her left arm, a jab to the gut. The attacks kept coming as the pain surged through out her body.
But as another attack came, it came back to her. It has been a while since she had fought, she had forgotten. As a punch came in for her face, she could feel it, she could feel it coming. With a jolt, she moved her head out of the way, grabbing his wrist, holding him off balance and giving him a quick jab to what she assumed was his ribs. She felt him fall back disappearing into darkness.
She felt another attack coming, this one a jump kick. She easily leapt out of the way as he flew past. She assumed he impacted hard into the ground.
Her eyesight slowly came back to her. She saw the blurred visage of her opponent slowly getting up. Taking this opportunity. She stepped towards him. As he climbs back on his feet and wobbly face his opponent, she reeled back her fist, fire encompassing it. Before he could prepare an attack, she launched a fire punch directly into his chest, sending him once again flying.
As her vision slowly came back, she saw her opponent lying outside of the ring. The roars of the audience continued to deafen her.
“Unbelievable!” Yelled Blaziken over the speakers. “Our victor is Lopunny!”
She climbed out of the ring and looked around the audience, a huge doofy smile spread across her face.
However, it was short lived. She felt something coming her way. Scrafty! Scrafty has a knife!
She swiveled around in place, but before she could act on it, Medicham stood between her and Scrafty. He must have run out from the bleachers as soon as he saw the danger. He was holding the delinquent’s arm in place high in the air, the shiny bladed weapon clearly visible for everyone to see. The crowd gasped and gawked at what just transpired.
Emboar was quick to move in, quickly apprehending Scrafty. He gave here a look as he tied the guy up. There wasn’t any ill content in his eyes, so she counted this as progress.
As the pig dragged off the hoodlum, the crowd goes absolutely wild. Lopunny just soaks it all in once again. She earned this one after all.
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Michael - 04-18-2015
Several hours passed before Michael began regaining consciousness, disoriented and confused. Where was he again...? And why was there a weight constantly pressing down on his chest… Oh. Upon opening his eyes, Michael realized that that weight was Charmander, still peacefully snoozing on his chest. How he’d managed to sleep through all that commotion Michael would never know.
“Come on Charmander, time to wake up…” Michael said, gently jostling the pokémon awake.
“M..huh?” Was the sound Charmander made as he raised his head, eyes barely cracked open as he wondered why he had to wake up. He’d been so comfortable too… Maybe he should just go back to sleep. Yeah, maybe…
Charmander just let his head rest again on Michael’s chest, soon quietly snoozing again. Michael was mostly surprised he’d even managed to wake the pokémon up at all. He was out pretty good back when that little sea monster incident went down. Michael sighed, and assuming he’d just have to be dealing with sleeping Charmander for a while he made to stand up.
It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped it would be. Though Charmander was light, it was a little awkward picking him up and standing at the same time. He eventually managed to do this however, and cradled the sleeping pokémon against his chest as he started planning his next move.
Alright, so they had no idea where they were, and were most likely nowhere near where they needed to be, so the first order of business was to get off this island and back to… No, they couldn’t go back to Costa del Sol. That’d be a bad idea, what with that angry army guy sicking his men on them. Well, when they found a boat they’d most likely have more options to choose from aside from that place. They also needed to find a boat… Where could they find a boat? Looking to the shoreline the wreckage of their meager boat was strewn about the beach and beyond repair. Not that it’d be a good option. The kind of luck that brought them here would most likely never happen again to anyone. They needed to… Hey wait, what’s that?
Looking just into the forest behind them a sign was visible, the words GRAND FIGHTING FESTIVAL printed there in massive lettering, taking up the entirety of the sign. There were several of them in fact, making a sort of path through the foliage. Well that’s convenient.
Holding the still snoozing Charmander Michael began making his way through the forest, hoping that this decision to head to the Grand Fighting Festival wouldn’t end as badly as all of his other decisions thus far.
Eventually they stood at the entrance to the grand Coliseum, vacant of any people aside from the bear bouncer standing guard at the door itself. He quickly spotted Michael and felt a wave of anger wash over him. It was humans that got him stuck out here instead of watching the festival (and a pokémon prime), and if this one wanted in too he would show him no mercy. Then he spotted Charmander, and he prayed that this one wasn’t some sort of important official as well. Or their son, considering their visible age, or even a prime for that matter, Omni forbid.
Michael looked apprehensively at the unfortunately intimidating bouncer, almost turning back from whence he came in favor of trying to talk to him, but steeled himself. It’d be stupid to just go wandering through the forest in hopes that they’d stumble upon civilization. In the end, he had to talk to this bouncer bear. Michael approached the bouncer confidently, hoping none of his reservations were obvious in his movements or demeanor. Throughout his approach the bear pokémon stared daggers at him, not helping his confidence in the slightest.
When he finally got close as he could get himself Michael asked the most obvious question first. “Excuse me, sorry if I’m bothering you-”
“You are, actually.” Ursarang interrupted in a purposefully rude manner.
Wishing he were anywhere but there, Michael somehow managed to continue “Eh… Sorry, but have you seen anyone who may be this little guy’s parents?”
Curious, Ursarang raised an eyebrow, and he looked down to take a closer look at the little pokémon the human carried in his arms.
At just that moment Charmander finally finished sleeping, opening his eyes and looking up at the bouncer who was looking back down right towards him.
When the little pokémon opened his eyes he couldn’t help but calm down a little at the sight of the child, and when charmander in turn saw this he saw someone stern and aggressive, yet docile and caring at the same time. In the ursarang he saw his father, and his face lit up at the sight. It reminded him of home.
Then, finally, as he looked into Charmander’s eyes his heart practically melted. The way the kid looked up at him, so innocent and pure, he couldn’t stay mad even if he wanted to. He looked back up at the human and his gaze hardened again, yet he responded in a way that surprised both Michael and the bouncer.
“I might’ve. …I’ll let you in, but ONLY go to the stands. That’s the one place you’ll find them if they’re here. If you cause ANY trouble, I…” He paused. He didn’t want to get too graphic; he might scare the kid. In a “just between adults” way, he finished “There will be consequences. Understand?”
Michael nodded, and the bouncer stepped aside, letting the still surprised human and little charmander pass into the coliseum. It occurred to him that there was no way he wouldn’t get fired after this. He sighed, and stepped back in front of the door again. He wasn’t sure if it was worth it.
Michael obediently hurried along, none too eager to face the wrath of the bouncer who had for some odd reason he’d never understand let them inside when he didn’t even ask if he could. It was just… confusing. Michael wasn’t going to complain though. At the very least they’d be watching something neat if they didn’t find what they came to look for.
Just before the two entered the seating area for the coliseum the crow went up into an uproar, the sound near deafening even from where they were. Obviously something big had happened that they’d unfortunately missed, and Michael couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. What had happened? Would they ever know? Would they still be able to find out if they hurried up?
At that last thought that’s just what Michael did, and quickly found himself in the glaring light of the sun again, standing at the railings high above the arena itself making sure nobody accidentally fell in.
Earlier there most likely would’ve been an uproar just at Michael’s sudden appearance, but the drama going on in the arena was just too captivating. Not only that, but they felt a little more at ease with random humans now that they were rooting for a whole team of them (plus one pokémon (who also just happened to be a prime)). To the pokémon in the stands, Michael practically didn’t even exist.
Michael knew nothing about these things however, and was just curious to see what was going on in the arena. Unfortunately, he had just missed everything; the ground was void of any people whatsoever. Sighing, he went back to do what he came to do in the first place, and began scanning the crowd behind him for anyone who looked similar to Charmander.
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 04-26-2015
"Yahoooo! Punny, you did it! Woohoohoo!" Straw Hat trumpeted emphatically, beckoning his victorious consort over to append the band of miscreants. With grin-creased countenance, Lopunny obliged, though not before basking in a hotspring of cheers and yawps chorusing from the encircled bowl of gawkers surrounding the open-topped stadium.
"You were great out there! That's two wins in a row for us, kishishi," Luffy cackled with lauding ovation, presenting two erect digits in 'v' formation.
"You ain't half bad floppy. Nice job out there, putting that slime ball in his place!" Buggy commended, popping a Pokepuff toward her as a palpable reward. Like a starved pup to fallen bacon, the tanned Pokemon spontaneously leapt to the air, snatching the treat with her dainty maw and munching away.
"Mgom gom gom, mmm! Th-thank you, red nose. I couldn't let my master down by losing to a dropout like him," Lopunny reposed with conviction, wiping away crumbs from her face.
Twitch.
"Who has a red nose?! Go on, say it again rodent, I dare ya!" The Star Clown boiled, reaching into his overcoat and feeling for his knives. Rummaging through the impressively copious compartments, he came up empty. "Wh-what the hell?! Where are my flashy daggers?!" The flustered pirate interrogated to nobody in particular, wildly flapping his fur-trimmed anorak.
"Fool, the guardsmen confiscated those vile instruments of death when you were imprisoned. The festival forbids that sort of paraphernalia upon entry," The royal harbinger admonished, stepping forth with both "hands" clasped firmly behind his lower aft before solemnly eying the rattled pirate.
"You'll avail your wits and sequestered abilities, nothing more. I'm astonished you would assume otherwise, having witnessed that most recent scuffle. Scrafty's attempt on Lopunny's life is a most convenient example of this protocol's necessity," Slowking tilted a nod to the Pokemon prime, soliciting her to twiddle a pair of thumbs.
"Yes, but had I not intervened, the outcome would have been dire," Medicham chimed in, marching over to the beatnik group and jolting his acclaimed student free from her wayward daze. Bowing her head in lament, Lopunny yielded, "Master! Deepest apologies, you should not have had to step in as you did . . . but thank you for saving me."
"Again with the master formality? My dear, that wretched former student of mine exposed a weakness in you. You must strive to train harder!" The meditation Pokemon scolded, less-than-gently patting his underling on her furry dome. "I've provided numerous lessons on focusing your Foresight. Calm your mind, see without seeing, anticipate and react!" Medicham pointed to his forehead, evidently alluding to a metaphorical 'mind's eye.'
"You're free to dilly dally as you like, but your latent abilities will falter, growing stale and lackluster." He lectured, poking the bunny between her woolly brows. "It's all up to you to improve, but I digress. I am pleased with your performance, and see excellence brewing within you, the likes of which Scrafty never evinced. This festival will assuredly serve to heighten your prowess."
"Ah? Who's the parachute-pants guy?" Luffy rudely interjected, tilting his head in wonderment. Lopunny gasped, mightily restraining a snicker beneath clamped lips. Before she could squeeze a syllable out, Slowking casually strode near the rubber dunce and conked him with a frying pan, jarring his eyes from their sockets and knocking his hat forward. Where he conjured the cooking utensil from remained a mystery, yet it furtively vanished just the same.
"Oy! What was that for helmet head??" The captain fussed, adjusting his signature strawed cap free from his field of vision. The shell-crowned advisor irately cleared his throat before continuing, "Medicham is a highly respected martial arts instructor, even marveling members of royalty. Stifle your insipid absurdities and hallow his graces. Anyway, the proceeding match is about to start, so focus," Slowking instructed, turning to face the stadium center.
"Break time is over-kaw! I hope you've relieved yourselves and stocked up on refreshments. Without further ado, I introduce the next participants! Give a heartened welcome to Sawk and Throh! Masters of Karate and Judo respectively, this dynamic duo made it all the way to the semi-finals last year! Let's see if they've improved enough to make it to the bitter end this time around! Kakaw!" The rambunctious firebird heralded, performing an impassioned twirl and raising his taloned fist to the scorching marble of sweltering brilliance reigning down from beyond the heavens.
"Oh yeahhh!! Exciting news! We have a surprise for you folks! Kaw-mixing things up, the next two matches will be combined into one. That's right, now grip your seats tight, kindle your spirits alight, and prepare for a riveting fight! It's a two-on-two double duel! Contesting for Team Mugiwara, we have the scuba-suited grasshopper, Bubble Man, teaming up with the rudolph-nosed homo-sapien, Buggy the Star Clown!" Blaziken enlivened, somersaulting backwards several times to vacate the terra firma gridiron.
"ALL FOUR CONTESTANTS STEP FORTH!!"
"Huhhh? We're fighting together?" Bubble Man queried, muffling his dissembled reprieve as he nervously hopped to the soot-laden epicenter. Incessant giggling poured from the crowd, educing murmured unmentionables beneath the bionic's metallic visor. Though the 'Rare Candy' he ingested improved his functionality, it did nothing to rectify his defective capacity on land.
Whew, perfect timing. Now that I'll have big nose to back me up, my chances of victory have improved. I can't be the only one to lose, after all.
"Whaaat?! I have to share my flashy glory with goggle-bot?! Guh, fine, just don't get in my way tin man," the pirate griped with resent. Trekking to the aquabot's flank, Buggy folded his arms in defiance, masking a placated smile beneath an miffed scowl.
I can't let them notice I'm about to flashily wet my damn nickers. These pokefreaks are stupid strong and my primary weapons were stolen away. Whatever, at least now I can use bubble boy here as a shield if I have to, gyahahaha!
"Flippers! Red Nose! Pummel those ogres so we can get lunch! Make it quick!" Luffy commanded, his untainted confidence quelling their veiled insecurities. As the red and blue challengers stepped forth, the crowd swooned. Tightening the ebony belts fastened around the waste of their ivory judogis, Sawk and Throh locked eyes, soliciting Buggy and Bubbles to imitate. Motioning a thumbs up to one another, the dissident duo sealed a claim to victory.
"BEGIN!!"
Re: Cinnabon Isle Arc - Monkey D. Luffy - 04-30-2015
BWONG!
A singular echoed ring from the mammoth gong signaled the battle's commence. Squandering little time, the aquabot and star clown hastened forth to reduce the gap. Dredging their feet, Sawk and Throh initiated a fighting stance in preparation. Utilizing the element of surprise, Buggy separated his torso from his legs and charged like a human missile.
Eyes broadened and mouth gaped, the cobalt martial artist slipped into a state of stupor. Though his mind remained encumbered, Sawk's reflexive body reacted in kind, hefting up a solid knee that connected with the darting clown's jawbone, catapulting him skyward with an expressive wince.
"Ouchy! I felt that one from here-kachu!" Pikachu remarked, expressing a grieved inclination. Meanwhile, Bubble Man advanced upon the tomato-skinned opponent, hammering down with his metallic boomstick. Tossing a pair of bulky arms up, Throh effortlessly absorbed the blow. Capitalizing on the opportunity, he grappled the aquabot's exposed arm and swung him 'round and 'round like a nonconsensual dance partner.
"Sawk, fender-bender formation!" The fighting Pokemon gruffly implored, eliciting his partner to lock and load a muscle-flexed leg, "Roger! On three!" The cobalt pugilist obliged. As gravity reversed his ascent, Buggy careened back down toward the arena, and would have forged a shallow grave if not for a reinforced pair of whirling kicks to the abdomen, sending the pirate reeling. In kind, his martial cohort released the dizzied robot master from an embracive clutch.
Wham!
With parallel momentum, Red Nose and Flippers collided akin to accelerated atomic particles. Belching wrenched quails, the duo bounced off one another and toppled into the razed soil below. Pressing on the offensive, Sawk shoveled the star clown from the ground with a rising punt. In the same instance, Throh plucked Bubble Man by his midsection and, pivoting with a forced grunt, tossed the aquabot over his shoulder, once again slamming his metallic physique on top of the star clown.
"Youch! What a combo! Executing a 'Circle Throw' and 'Double Kick' in sync, followed by a 'Storm Throw' these scrappy chums are battering their opponents like rag dolls!" The charismatic avian endorsed, knocking his fists together to exemplify their tandem maneuvers.
"De toute beauté! A vigoureux duet with parfait on-stage chemistry. Se colleter with the right partenaire is key in group matches," Roserade eloquently commended, exhibiting a rare display of splendor.
"Pikaaa, I felt that jolt of impact from my seat! Charging in head on like that wasn't well thought out, but pika points for boldness!" The wee mouse Pokemon explicated, anticipating how Team Muguwara would recover.
Kunk!
The stadium's gabbing fell mute as their expressions drew blank. The indigo partisan flushed with cringing anguish, founting from below. Peering down to the root of agony, Sawk spotted a familiar pointed show planted firmly against his privates.
Collapsing to his knees, the fighting pokemon lurched back to view Buggy's separated lower half dancing around pompously. Whilst the blue ogre was preoccupied concentrating on their united assault, the star clown had ample time to mischievously sneak in and boot him right friggin' center in the twig and berries.
"Gyahahaha! Serves you right, flashy lout!" The splitting pirate japed, levitating over to his other half and plopping back into place. "Betcha' didn't see that comin'!" He spitefully snickered as Sawk lye writhing in pain, clutching his precious jewels.
Regardful of the opposition at hand, Throh approached the aquatic robot, whom remained immobile. Chalking it up to a nigh effortless victory, the brutish pokemon jerked his shoulders up and turned to face the wily homo-sapien frolicking about like a bafoon. His eyes broadened at the sight of his felled companion, compromising his focus.
"Bubble Lead!" A voice proclaimed from the rear; Bubble Man was on his flippers once again, his blaster cocked and Throh in his crosshairs. A translucent sphere volleyed from the arm cannon, and though the judo connoisseur may've been capable of eluding the preemptive strike, he deemed a meager bubble unworthy of evasive action.
For real? He feigned unconsciousness and is using his opportune opening to polish off a child's party trick??
The limpid salvo 'popped' against Throh's muscular backside, yet what followed was not the jolly laughter of children. As the filmy glom burst, a temorous shockwave expelled from the seemingly harmless bubble, ejecting the staggered pokemon forth as though he were a paperweight. Glancing back, Buggy's eyes broadened with fright.
"Gyaaa!" The star clown shrieked as the brooding ogre hurtled his way. Scheming in a hurry, Red Nose disjoined his arms and mobilized them over to a recovering Sawk, snatching him by the shoulders. "Bara Bara . . . uh, Scapegoat!" Summoning his detached extremities, the pirate strategically positioned the cobalt fighter in his path, contriving a bipedal aegis.
Have a taste of your own flashy medicine!
Bam!
The humanoid sluggers rammed together at grand velocity comparable to a pair of big-rigs, ricocheting with cringe-worthy snaps and toppling to the ground belly up. Round nose and scuba bot furnished equivalent manners of flabbergast. A convenient yet random amalgam of events to be certain, but a fate they were not about to contest.
"Well I'll be damned! These human-folk 'er full of surprises. Beatin' that rough-n-tumble tag team ain't no easy task, an' these two did it by usin' their own dang strategy against 'em," Machamp remarked, arching back in his seat and folding all four arms. "Not sure how that goofy one can split apart like that, but color this champ intrigued."
Proffering no evidence of movement, the pokemon tag team was rendered unfit to continue. Following a long-winded ten count, Buggy and Bubble Man were declared victorious, inviting a bluster of adoration from their squad that leaked into a chain reaction.
Several pokemon dotting the crowd slung their hands, or prehensile appendages, into the air. Against unfavorable odds, Team Mugiwara's first trial was an absolute blowout; the cloud of prejudice cast over them appeared to be deteriorating, pierced by the light of acceptance.
— — — — — — —
Amidst the commotion, an oblong creature scampered down a dark corridor. Probing her left and right, Wigglytuff waddled into a creaky doorway, locking it shut behind her. Affirming the coast was clear, the marshmallow pokemon began to radiate a sinister aura, engrossed by dusky ribbons until it swallowed her up. Bathing in murky wreathes, her form wriggled and warped, morphing into a grizzly beast. As the ebony forces subsided, a once cute and cuddly hominid now stood a snarling lupine.
Tramping over to a shabby desk, the mongrel unearthed a communication apparatus settled betwixt a mess of documents. Accessing the device and logging a sequence of numbers, the imposter placed it against his pointed ears and clicked the primary contact button.
Clack.
"Yes, what is it Zoroark?" A voice initiated on the other end, fully knowledgeable of whom he was convening with. "Have you found anything of interest as I requested?"
"Kekeke, I certainly have lord Delphox," Zoroark returned, malicious tone exuding from his fang-riddled visage. "Infiltrating and acting as the registration consultant in disguise, I've managed to get up close and personal with the participants to ascertain possible candidates for our project," the charcoal-furred prowler divulged, running his clawed fingers through the crimson mane flowing down his slender frame.
"Hmf. Your illusive trickery proves useful as always, my second in command. And what of your findings?" The Archduke debriefed, obvious traces of gaiety layering his inflection.
"Kekekeke, more than even you'll know what to do with sire. We've got some good ones, and they won't even see it coming . . ."