To the Stranger: "What is it exactly that you and your comrades do? Are you fighters? Intellectuals? Spies?"

>>7623189
"Intellectuals... think of us as researchers."

>>7623229
"Then you would have access to useful information, I assume. What can you tell us about Team Magma and Mauville City?"

>>7623256
The figure snorts. "Charmingly power-mad. Ever since that Skarem took over, they care less about expanding the land and more about simply burning it. I have no idea how they actually run Mauville City without it breaking down completely."

>>7623298

"Power mad? Do they demand tributes and such form the citizens? If so, In what form? Rare Pokémon?"

>>7623298
Charmeleon grits her teeth at the mention of Team Magma burning land - imagining countless innocent wile Pokemon being killed or burned out of their homes while Humans lay waste to everything.

"...Tell me what you know about this 'Skarem'."

>>7623325
"Not that I know of; they just want the citizens of Mauville to work themselves to death building more fortifications."

>>7623337
"Only the Citizens? How about the Pokémon... If my bretheren are being forced to work under such harsh conditions i cannot stand idle. I thank you for this new information."

>>7623330
"I know little about him, except that he leads Team Magma, was presumably behind the murder of its former leader Maxie, and he occasionally goes on joyrides throughout Hoenn to burn things."

>>7623375
The tail on the end of Charmeleon's tail burns hotter, as her blood begins to boil.

"...We shall DEAL with this human soon. But for now, I thank you for your information. Is there a way that we could contact you - in the event we have more information for you or require your assistance again?"

still there CS?

>>7623400
The figure turns to Sarina. "You can register me on your Poketch... what's your name?"
"Sarina, and what's yours?"
"Just call me... Pawn."

I had no idea /tg/ was so big on furry roleplaying. Can I start playing my eevee girl? She hates the humans too, for experimenting on her and torturing her for her beliefs

>>7623418
>Pawn

Ooooh, a group based on chess pieces? I likey...

"Thank you Pawn. We'll be sure to contact you again. I hope our cooperation can develop into an alliance with you and your group."

>>7623454
The figure nods. "A pleasure." It begins to walk past you, but then stops, turning back and letting you see a smile under the hood. "You'll likely fit in very well. Skarem's means of joyriding is the one thing he seems to care about other than himself; a black Charizard that few who live inland would not know stories of."

>>7623478
Charmeleon nods to Pawn as he passes by, then returns her gaze to Sarina. "Well, that was interesting. We may have perhaps found a new ally in our quest, and information on a new enemy - Skarem. Shall we go to Mauville now?"

>>7623510
She sighs. "I don't know... I do owe you my life, but I'm afraid we both be throwing our lives away if we went there."

>>7623536
"We must have courage now, Sarina. Our friends have been turned against us, and the Monster has captured our comrade and is resting - for now. We must do what we can to regain Team Aqua's trust and gather our allies - before the Monster has the strength to strike at us again.

We are the Fellowship: we fight together, we protect each other. I will do all in my power to protect you - I only ask that you watch my back in return."

>>7623536
>>7623594

"Besides, Don´t you wanna rescue Porygon2? I know he is waiting for you, I just know it."

>>7623594
She sighs again, then nods. "All right. I'll help you do this."

>>7623623
"Then let's be off. First, let's go to your home and gather supplies. After we do, we can go to Mauville and set up a new base while we wait for your other Teammates to arrive. Agreed?"

>>7623644
Small OOC note: That'd take about two full days.

>>7623657
(Fine with me. More chances to train and level up along the way!)

>>7623683
All right. You mention this to Sarina, and she frowns a bit. "What supplies do you want that I could only get at home?"

>>7623732
"Anything that might be of use. Would you rather we go to Mauville and set up a new base with nothing but what's packed away in your boat?"

>>7623764
"I keep most everything that I use for adventuring with me... if you want more items, I can buy those at the Poke Mart here."

>>7623732
(All caught up.)

"Well, if you have any hidden contact information or secret stashes of stealth gear, now would be the time to use them."

>>7623805
This. We'll be sneaking into a heavily-fortified Team Magma-occupied city. Time to prepare for stealth missions.

>>7623805
>>7623824
She chuckles a bit. "I'm a little low on stealth gear, ladies, except for some smoke bombs. I could call the Pawn back, and see if he has anything we could use."

>>7623873
"Smoke bombs you say? Well, I'd say that Smokescreen can do just as good a job. I suppose we should be off then."

>>7623873
"I doubt he can help us any more than he already has. Those smoke bombs will definitely be of help in case we get spotted or chased, so we should retrieve them. Anything else, as you said, we can get later when we arrive at Mauville."

>>7623903
"The bombs are already in the boat. We should probably stock up on food while we're here, though; we could be undercover in Mauville for quite some time."

>>7623954
"Very well. We'll accompany you to the market. There's no telling who or what may be in the city looking for us, so keep your eyes open. Lead on."

>>7623954
"Excellent. Food is good. And maybe some more of those Potions that you've mentioned before, in case someone gets hurt."

Also, OP, how grimdark are you going with pokemon food? Do Seviper's eat Rattata, and Miltank make for good hamburgers, or are you going to stick closer to the anime?

>>7624000
>>7624006
You do indeed go to the Poke Mart to buy food and more potions. What things that might be unusual are you looking out for?
As for food quality, that's closer to the anime. Seviper may eat Ratatta in the wild, but humans, in general, find the idea of eating Pokemon creepy in modern times.

>>7624050
We get Sarina to ask the clerk if he's heard any news/rumors lately. As she does, we check the stock of the shop.

>>7624050
Okay.

"Are there anymore of those candies that we foound in the lab? Do they sell them around here?" (Describe the rare candies and there effects.)

>>7624073
The clerk doesn't really know anything that the people in the Pokemon Center didn't. As for the merchandise, most of it is human product that you don't recognize, but you can make out several Potions and Revives.
>>7624075
Sarina shakes her head. "No, those are extremely rare."

>>7624050
Which is odd, because the games outright state the pokemon are eaten even beyond the slightly more grimdark 1st gen.

>>7624134
We wait for Sarina to finish her purchases, keeping an eye out for our surroundings.

>>7624159
This is sort of an unholy union of anime and game elements. It's mostly based on the games, but I'm including things like all Pokemon being sapient because I think it makes a better story.

>>7624163
She finishes them, and you head outside. You see things like people walking around and some glimpses of Water Pokemon swimming around underwater.

>>7624206
We follow Sarina back to the boat, offering to help carry supplies for her to lighten her load.

>>7624206
Onwards, to Mawville City!

>>7624220
>>7624233
She thanks you for the help, and then the bunch of you pile into the boat and set off. However, as you do, you notice the sun going down.

>>7624291
As Sarina starts the boat, we release Seviper and Sableye from their pokeballs and explain everything that happened.

>>7624291
Oh, it's like sunrise only backwords! Let's watch before we have dinner.

>>7624318
>>7624321
You release them both, and then Sarina pauses the boat so that everyone can eat. While eating she ponders about which entrance to assail Mauville from.

>>7624420
"Well, do you know how many entrances there are and anything about them? It might be best to just get there and set up camp, then do some reconisence."

>>7624420
"How many entrances to Mauville are there? What do each of them entail?"

>>7624508
>>7624525
"The easiest one to reach is the southern one, just north of Slateport, but that zone is heavily patrolled by both Magma and Aqua. The western entrance, near Verdanturf Town, is similar. The northern entrance leads deeper into Magma territory, and the eastern entrance... it's rather close to Lilycove. None of them seem very appealing; Aqua's tried to box the city in, and succeeded pretty well."

>>7624595
"Then let's camp somewhere near the city and see what they have for ourselves before deciding which to go from; things might have changed by the time we get there. We also need to wait for your contacts, and they might have some more info or ideas."

>>7624595
"Let's plan on taking the Eastern entrance then. When we manage to pull off whatever it is we're going to do, it'll be better for us to be closer to Lilycove so we can escape any chaos that follows after us."

>>7624617
>>7624657
"Very well. The entrance is close to the sea, so we can escape in the boat if we have to."

>>7624722
"Very well, it's settled then."

We turn our attention to Seviper and Sableye. "Do you understand what we're about to attempt, comrades?"

>>7624745
Both do. Sableye seems perfectly happy to engage in this side operation. Seviper seems skeptical, wanting to focus more on direct vengeance against Z, but will work with you nonetheless.

>>7624816
"Do either of you have any skills or experience with sneaking around?"

>>7624855
Seviper has adequate predator experiences, and Sableye is fairly naturally sneaky.

>>7624874
"Excellent. We'll be relying on you both to guide us through to safety. If all goes according to plan, we'll be able to come one step closer to meeting the Monster again - and get a chance to fight some grunts along the way."

>>7624933
Both of them are down with this idea, and Sarina starts the boat again, heading for Lilycove. Before she reaches the city itself, however, she turns and enters a sort of secondary harbor, containing a tall mountain sticking out of the sea.

>>7624972
"Keep your eyes open, everyone. Stay alert for suspicious strangers and Team Magma grunts. Our first priority is to establish a new base of operations - someplace safe and well-hidden."

>>7624816
"Don't worry Seviper. We'll face Z again soon enough. But if we go in half cocked then we'll probably fail, or worse, end up controlled by it. I understand how you feel. Just knowing that that... thing is out there is bad enough."

>>7625054
"Oh, it's [i]you[/i] again. What is it now? Come to taunt us again?"

>>7625080
As you say that, you can hear faint laughter in the back of your mind... and then Z's voice.
*Well, well. Planning a raid on these Magma characters, I see.*

>>7625091
I linked the wrong post. I meant >>7624994

>>7625091
"Don't you have some wounds to be licking? Or perhaps you'd like us to give you another thrashing?"

>>7625080
Redirected to >>7625091

>>7625109
*Not really, my wounds are long gone. I do, however, have a new ally to be dissecting and reprogramming.*

>>7625139
"Ah. This new ally wouldn't happen to be Sarina's friend, Porygon2, would it?"

>>7625139
"MONSTER!"

>>7625202
Z laughs again. *Of course. One cannot change the course of history without destroying lives. And I will do so, for I am perfection. But now is not the time for hostilities; I come to you with an offer of help.*
I'm not trying to snub you, Sam, but /co/mrade's lines do tend to be more dramatic.

>>7625249
No problem.

>>7625249
"As if you would offer us any help! You tried to KILL us all but a few hours ago! And now you hold one of our comrades hostage?! You will PAY for this, Monster!"

>>7625316
*That was then, little Pokemon. Now, I have two things to tell you. One is that I have taken the data on Porygon2 and used it to gain access to all of Sarina's computerized items registered to her trainer ID. I fear she will no longer be of any use to you if you wish to hide from me.*

>>7625365
Charmeleon grinds her fangs in rage as her tail erupts into a crimson blaze.

"...and the SECOND thing you wish to tell us?"

>>7625392
*If you allow me, I can help you gain access to the city. I can shut down their computerized defenses, allow you passage through the gates, even shut down the power plant. Your good name with Team Aqua could be restored far more quickly.*

>>7625434
"...and what would all this do for you? Why help us in this endeavor, since you were the CAUSE of our good name being tarnished in the first place?"

>>7625489
*Oh, I wouldn't do this for free. My request is simple enough, however. Kill Sarina, now.*

>>7625502
I'm gonna vote we DON'T do that.

>>7625502
"You are more mad than I first though, Monster! Though I still distrust humanity, Sarina has proven to be a loyal friend and ally. You will NEVER tempt me to betray that friendship - for it is a bond far stronger than any of your lies and manipulations. We REFUSE your help, we DEFY your threats, and we stand TOGETHER against you! Now be GONE from us - we tire of your games, and have much more important business to attend to."

>>7625564
Z chuckles. "I didn't think you would accept my offer. That's why I took the liberty of using her Poketch to send a quick message to Team Magma, warning them of potential intruders in the city tonight, coming to shut down the power plant. I even dropped in your appearance, Charmeleon... I think I managed to capture the interest of Skarem himself with that.*

>>7625606
"CURSE you, Monster! You think this will stop us?! You have only made this game more interesting!"

>>7625626
Z seems to sigh at that. *Fool. You were the one to bring me into your life in the first place. I have no interest in you, or Sarina, or Team Galactic, or this silly little conflict over Hoenn.*

>>7625666
"Then we have nothing more to discuss. Until the next time we meet, Monster. I hope you've prepared your final goodbyes to this world..."

>>7625606
Too bad for him, we weren't even going to attack tonight! We were going to be staking the place out for awhile. His betrayal is all for naught!

>>7625666
Then why do you continue to interfere with us and them?

>>7625706
*You helped Sarina escape. I need no human loose cannon running around to inform on me.*

>>7625727
"Look, you just said you have no interest in her. Then you say that you do, by virtue of wanting her dead. You're contradicting yourself all over the place. You either care about these things or you don't. Make up your mind."

>>7625727
"Then what say we inform the entire world of your existence? Perhaps if all of humanity were to learn of your deeds, things would be much easier for both of us. I can see it now - when they capture you, and imprison you, and do experiments on you..."

Charmeleon smiles cruelly in her mind as she says this.

"...just like Mother used to, eh? Oh yes, that sounds like it'd be fun."

>>7625778
*I have no personal interest in Sarina, but by rescuing her, you turned her into a target.*

>>7625792
"Oh that's a load of bull and you know it! It's okay to show emotion you know. No need to be so serious. To be... all broken up and delerious. Let's face it, you want her dead. That's taking interest in her, whether you admit it or not."

>>7625790
Z chuckles. *They will never know. Aqua is mine, and Magma is soon to follow. As for Galactic... I have something special in mind for them.*

>>7625835
"Their machines may be under your control, but their minds and their hearts are still theirs. When we reveal the TRUTH to them - then we shall SEE who is the Hunter and who is the Hunted!"

>>7625859
*They are their machines. These humans have made themselves wholly reliable on them, and in doing so, did the same to their Pokemon.*

>>7625835
And what of Rocket? I would think from what you did to the facility you are not above retribution. In additon, it is unlikely those who knew of your creation were limited to that base, indeed all of your information, including any potential weaknesses are in their grasp. Of course, even you are 'prefect' they have shown they can create you, who's to say they can't make some method of creating you, or worse, make a replacement. I doubt you are the first monster they've made, and you definetly won't be the last.
In addition, what has became of my brethren who have yet to hatch? I am unsure if eggs need to breath, and if they do, all the magnemite at least should be intact.

>>7625912
...'method of controlling you' instead of creating

>>7625890
Charmeleon looks around amongst her friends. Their presence gives her strength and courage, as she mentally stands her ground against the Monster.

"Then I guess we'll just have to see if we can free the Humans as well..."

>>7625923
damn, also 'perfect' instead of 'prefect'...

>>7625890
Whoops. "Reliant."
>>7625912
Z pauses for a few seconds here. *Finally, you see it. I will not be duplicated. Team Rocket will be annihilated. Every single one of them will die by my hand.*

>>7625976
Well then, of what concern is a single human and an admittadly pathetic rabble of pokemon to you when you can be surpassed? And why wouldn't you want to get the word out? Thus far, you have proven to be uncontrollable, devious, and cruel, as well as nearly unstoppable. The more the reputation of you spreads, the more people fear your name, the less likely any will be willing to have anything to do with Porygon alltogether.

>>7625976
see>>7625934

>>7625976
Also, it is not being duplicated you should fear, but surpassed. Indeed I fear it too, as should the whole world.

>>7626059
*I wish you the best of luck with that, when even the blackout failed to remove this tendency among the humans.*

>>7626087
We shut out the Monster from our minds, as if to end the conversation. After which, we look to Sarina, Seviper and Sableye with a serious look on our face. "Something's come up..."

>>7626115
Sarina turns towards you. "What is it?"

>>7626155
...I'd advise telling any comrades you have to cut short any contracts they have with Team Rocket, as well as perhaps waiting a few days.
In addition, is there any kind of paint of dye available for me to hide my rather... distinctive appearance?

>>7626155
We tell them everything: about how the Monster has used Porygon2 to access her electronic gadgets, how it has warned Team Magma of our plans, and how its schemes now include Team Galactic. Everything.

>>7626204
>>7626186
Sarina's face steadily falls, then she looks down at her Poketch. "That's... very bad. Could it be listening--" She shakes her head. "It's listening right now, isn't it?"

This is a concern for later OP, but how exactly do Magneton form? Does the magnemite for lack of a better word, bud, or does it actually merge with other magnemite. Because if it's the latter, our friend might be in trouble.

>>7626237
"It is highly possible, yes. I suggest we dispose of it as soon as possible."

>>7626237
"Damn him. We'd best be rid of it I suppose, unless it can do something that would merit keeping it with us. *sigh* One step forwards for every two we step back. Most frustrating."

>>7626241
I'm not quite sure yet, actually. I'll need to think about that...

>>7626261
"But... what about our link to the Pawn?"

>>7626237
...Probably, for all it's claims to be 'perfect' it seems its pretty damn paranoid, maybe bored as well.
...I'd like to ask Seviper and Sableye if their boss (who worked with Rocket, I think) had any friends they know to warn, but Z since Z is doing the psychic equivalent of bugging us, that won't go well.
In addition, Sableye is Ghost/Dark right? Doesn't that mean that he's immune to whatever Z does, or does Dark resist only aggressive psychic techniques, while passive ones (like mind reading) are unsuppressed?

>>7626293
We look at Sarina with a sympathetic and thoughtful gaze. "What kind of information do you keep on that device?"

>>7626326
is response to >>7626306

>>7626306
...On second thought, might as well keep it with you, since for whatever reason, he appears to be listening in on my mind, it won't make any difference.

>>7626339
"All of my contact information, for one thing, and a lot else besides... damn it, it's right. We are too dependent on machines."

>>7626417
"Even still, is there some other place that you could keep this information - someplace that the Monster cannot pry his electronic eyes on?"

>>7626417
...though it is a bit ironic for it to be criticizing its means of existence

>>7626435
"Possibly... not in such a way that it couldn't spy on us later, though."

>>7626488
"As long as it isn't involved with machinery, the Monster should be blind to it."

(hint: writing it down on paper)

>>7626502
"Writing it down would be easy. The problem is contacting them again."

Also, ask Sarina to name all the other synthetic pokemon thus known, since Z seems to have a knack for controlling them.
I know the Voltorb series, Castform and... oh god... Mewtwo. Though I have to think that if Mewtwo is even alive, it wouldn't go well for Z to try to control him.

>>7626537
"We can find out a way to contact them later. The first priority is to save what info you have on your device, then dispose of it so that the Monster can't spy on us anymore."

>>7626564
...though it can spy on us as long as we still live it seems. We might want to warn them of this.

>>7626564
She nods, then takes out a piece of paper and starts writing her numbers down.
>>7626555
All I know are those myself, as well as Porygon and maybe Magnemite... hmmm...

>>7626575
(It can communicate with us telepathically, we don't know if it can tell where we are that way. Also, only Charmeleon, Magnemite and Snover have this connection. The others are not connected [hint-hint])

>>7626555
AH-HAHAHAHAHA! Oh god! That wouold be a sight to see! Z trying to control MewTwo, the most powerful pokemon of all time? Oh god, it wouldn't even stand a chance! Oh man, that's rich.

>>7626564
This.

bump

>>7626755
I'm here, just waiting for an action on your part. Although I think in all honesty, I'll go to bed after you post your last action.

>>7626771
I'm fine with ending it right now, Sarina writing down the info in her Poketch. Anyone else?

>>7626618
It would be funny as hell to see Z, thinking he is so damn powerful, showing up at the Cerulean Cave and trying to get Mewtwo to surrender and serve him... And then Watching as Mewtwo completely annihilates Z for ever daring to consider himself Mewtwos better.

>>7626824
I know. Oh god, OP, can that happen, please? Let that be the end of it? IT WOULD BE HILARIOUS!

Also, good night OP, I came in late but it's still been a great session. See you Tuesday.

>>7626798
>>7626853
Well... let's just say that there are more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in Z's philosophy.
And good night, all. I'll indeed see you Tuesday.

>>7626890
That's right! He's thinking small time!