>>6067467
>...my alarm clock just went off. I've got to be up and downstairs by now. The customers are waiting for me, I can't waste any more time dreaming of that exploding spaceship. Where's my Walkman?
The world ending would be preferable than waging

>>6067467
Salutations, /qst/, and welcome to the Poké-pocalypse! The world won't exactly be ending, per-se, not as far as I'm aware... but it'll most certainly be changed forever, probably for the worse. Whatever will happen in this new reality, you'll play a big part in shaping the outcome.

Updates will be as frequent as I can make them, but I've got a busy irl schedule so expect maybe 1-2 posts a day as standard. At worst, 2 per week.

Pokémon presentation will go off of anime logic and I'll keep things somewhat light in terms of mechanics. There aren't going to be any levels or stats, more emphasis on figuring things out in the moment and writing.

All that said: have fun! I'll be around for a few hours today and write significantly more after this first choice.

>...it's so hot. Too hot. That's what I get for sleepin' outdoors in the middle of July. I should get up before i'm accosted by some wannabe sheriff or mean cowboy.

does he have a death wish

>>6067467
>>6067470
Interesting concept, QM. I'm looking forward to this quest. Before I vote, could I ask where in the world we are?

>>6067478
The United States. Which specific state varies based on the answers. The first is as far west as possible, the last is as far east as possible, and they're all southern.

>>6067467
>>6067478
>>6067482
>Southern California
>Dallas or Austin
>Florida
How grim. That being said, California gives the most opportunities to bug out if SHTF and FEMA goes ballistic, so
>...it's so hot. Too hot. That's what I get for sleepin' outdoors in the middle of July. I should get up before i'm accosted by some wannabe sheriff or mean cowboy.

>>6067467
>...it's so hot. Too hot. That's what I get for sleepin' outdoors in the middle of July. I should get up before i'm accosted by some wannabe sheriff or mean cowboy.
Location aside, I would never choose to be a dirty urb*nite

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>>6067476
>>6067483
>>6067524
You readjust yourself. You're missing something. A hat, maybe? You're... not sure...

"Sir? Have you got any business to attend to here?"

Crap.
You tilt your head up, towards the voice, briefly wincing as the sun is eclipsed by the large brim of a man's hat.

"I'm just makin' sure. We don't want no loiterers 'round these parts. I'm not sure how you cityfolk did it back in New York-" -your brow furrowed at the rude implication- "-but we don't take kindly to strangers lingering 'round bars."

"I don't want trouble, sir." You got to your feet and brushed sand off your legs. It took some mighty willpower to fight off the headache that followed. Good thing you already had plenty to spare. "I just... didn't have anyplace else to sleep last night."

The sheriff raised a brow. "I thought you said you had a room booked down at Bessie's place. Somethin' about having a reservation, I remember?" The stocky man's eyes narrowed as he went on. You distracted yourself with how much shorter he seemed now that you were both standing across from each other.
"We've got enough cheats in this town as-is, boy, so you best not be tryin' to bolster their numb'rs."

"I can assure you that I'll be doing no such thing, sheriff. In fact," you made an exaggerated stride towards his left, only to be caught and brought to your interrogator's eye level.

"You ain't goin' nowhere 'til you promise to do no harm."

It was hard to suppress the snigger that prospect prompted. The sheriff growled and continued. "No matter how funny you might find that, boy, I think it's actually quite the light sentence given the circumstances. Now, say it."

You put some distance between the two of you and cleared your throat. Your expression soured as you began to speak. "I, Walter Buchanan, stranger to Shenanigan's Gulch, promise to do no harm to..."

The remainder of the sentence was drowned out by a massive BOOM.

A man went flying out of the window to your left. Another object followed on the right-- was that a table?-- and the entire bar was soon alight.

"What in tarnation- ?!"

The sheriff said something else, but you couldn't hear it. He was too busy running to the fire department and you were too busy getting the hell away from the flaming wooden column you'd once called a place to sleep.

A teenage boy burst through the door with a little girl holding onto his back. Meeting his eyes struck you with a panic you'd not yet been consumed by. "There- it- I-"

>>6067550

By the time you'd gotten far-enough away from the building not to feel its heat, it was too late to do anything else. The sheriff had returned, and his first order of business was to cuff you from behind. His voice cut through your fear with a tone so sharp that the thought of it made you bleed. "You've got a lot of explainin' t' do, boy."

>Resist arrest. (Roll a d100. DC 70, best of 3.)
>Go along with the sheriff without any complaints.
>Other (Write-in).

>Go along with the sheriff without any complaints.

I don't trust the dice.

>>6067551
>Resist arrest. (Roll a d100. DC 70, best of 3.)

I don't trust the law

>>6067551
>Go along with the sheriff without any complaints.
I LOVE THE LAW

>>6067551
>>Resist arrest. (Roll a d100. DC 70, best of 3.)

I HATE THE LAW

>>6067552
>>6067562
>>6067632
>>6067635
Kek. Protag-kun is truly torn...

>>6067639
He is deeply conflicted about society and shit

>>6067551
>Go along with the sheriff without any complaints.

>>6067551
>Resist arrest. (Roll a d100. DC 70, best of 3.)
I LOVE HATING THE LAW!

>>6067551
>>Resist arrest. (Roll a d100. DC 70, best of 3.)

>>6067551
>Resist arrest. (Roll a d100. DC 70, best of 3.)
Fuck it we ball

>>6067562
>>6067635
>>6067675
>>6067738
>>6067739
5 for resisting arrest…

>>6067552
>>6067632
>>6067674
…vs 3 for playing along.

We’re resisting arrest! Please roll a d100. The highest roll of the first 3 attempts will be used against the DC. I’ll return in an hour or two to write a post about the results.

File: uh oh.jpg (117 KB, 1080x760)

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We're not off to a good start here.

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>6067821

>>6067837
lmao, breath status?

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>6067821

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>6067831
That's not how it works

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>6067821

Oh fuck..

>>6067840

Sorry, I'm quite new here.

>>6067837
>Apocalypse quest
>First roll is a critfail
Fitting, I guess

>>6067858
Well we will die to the police not the apocalypse

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>>6067831
>>6067837
>>6067839
Dear lord.

I'll write up the reply in a jiffy. I did not expect a crit fail followed by a 2/100.

>>6067855
All good, chief. Below the name section and above where you type the body of your post is a line that says 'Options'

You wanna put: dice+1d100 (or whatever amount of dice is required.

If you have anymore questions the QtG Thread on the board is a good place to ask. You can also test out rolling there.

I did not trust the dice. I am vindicated in my belief, but rolls this abysmal? Jesus Christ.

>>6067866
I looked it up right after seeing the first comment, I think I should be filled in now.

>>6067863
Your job is to make it entertaining, not to make us look good

>>6067855
It's okay.
We are a mostly nice community, I swear.

>>6067831
>>6067837
>>6067838
The feel of metal against your wrists, the sheriff behind your back, the heat pulsing forth from the burning shack you were now forced to stare at--

Every breath grew heavier. Your train of thought had been treading water before and now it was drowning. The heat, the panic, all someplace so unfamiliar-- it was getting to you.

You hadn't come this far West for nothing. You'd dared to spend a single night at the bar, drinking for just a moment, trying to get along, trying to please these people, make yourself less of a stranger--

Another one of your stupid ideas came to mind. Without the forethought to think it through, you acted before you'd grasped its entirety. A sharp pain met your lip as you felt yourself kicking like a horse, throwing yourself back. Bitterness infected you, seeping into every thought, forcing your lip near its breaking point, forcing you to action, and as you thrust yourself in the direction opposite the flaming bar... a loud thud rung through your entire being.

Your desperate attempt to nail the sheriff someplace vulnerable had devolved, plunging you into the same darkness he'd help you escape.

<><><><><>

>>6067920
Only God knew how long you had been knocked out for. It'd felt like days. Days of nothing but dark, throbbing pain, resonating throughout your entire being.

When you finally found the strength to wake again, the first thing you noticed were the huge iron bars now blocking your vision.

Crawling back a few paces netted you an odd sight. You were most certainly in a prison cell, but it was the most ramshackle kind of "prison" you'd ever seen.

Peeking through the bars, you saw only a path to some other room to your left and another cell across from you-- empty. There seemed to be some kind of closet to your right... and nothing more.

Within the room was nothing but a sink, a pot, and a thin cloth upon which you noticed an unsettling stain of sorts. Even with your above-average knowledge of Earth's creatures and their function, you couldn't place its origin. You resolved to sleep on the floor, among the dirt and rocks that comprised it, if ever you needed to rest.

It took hours for you to see another soul. In that time, the most you could do was try to keep yourself awake (it wasn't the easiest feat to pull off while injured in 100-degree heat) and fix your bandages. The sad excuse for gauze covering your bleeding head barely cradled the wound. Every time you touched it you felt yourself spin.

Eventually, the pain became so brutal that you could've sworn you'd started seeing visions.

Your slip into surreality began early, nearer to dawn than noon, when you'd blinked and seen some kind of mist past through the bars of your cell. Reaching out to touch it brought no sensation-- not the light chilliness of the mist back home, not anything warmer. It took you several minutes to realize it'd gone.

As the day passed, things grew more and more dire. The mist was followed by sudden jolts of fear apropos of nothing. You once saw the bars keeping you here disappear and, becoming overwhelmed with relief, fell forward, through them... only to be brought back to reality as your forehead was caught between the cold metal rods that still confined you.

The madness reached its peak when you heard an unfamiliar woman shout from your left nearer to sunset. "DEMONS!! DEMONS, ALL OF YOU!!"

A loud ruckus followed and you soon saw the stumpy sheriff from before retreating into your hallway, pistol in hand, seemingly attempting to beat something back through the only means he knew. A loud series of bangs proceeded to deafen you for just a moment. Then came a crushing silence.

Whatever he was fighting seemed not to mind at all-- indicated by its immediate barrelling towards the sheriff. The small creature seemed impervious to the sheriff's bullets-- you struggled to see any dent left by the weapon as its form became clearer...

It was unlike anything you'd ever seen.

>>6067921
Almost like a rhinoceros, yet obviously metallic. It hadn't a horn to speak of, nor any visible form of self-defense, yet you'd just seen it tackle a grown man to the ground and shake off a bullet like it was nothing. You couldn't make out many familiar features. No visible mouth, no claws, no real tail or even ears. Neither mammalian, nor avian, nor reptilian...

The creature seemed to be weighing the sheriff down to the point where he was struggling. He attempted to roughhouse the creature, punching its sides and moving with such force that any animal you'd seen around here would certainly be off of the man by now, but it all came out futile. It was only when the sheriff began to turn blue that the smooth rhinoceros relented, stumbling off of your captor... and heading towards you.

Another jolt of fear shot through you as the creature approached, only stopping to delight at the arrival of three more creatures, all nearly-identical to himself, and you found yourself frozen as it ran towards your cell-- slamming into your bars with a loud CLANG.

You convinced yourself it wasn't real, that you were going mad-- and you'd have been right, had the creature done anything other than immediately begin eating your cell, chowing down on iron as if it was oatmeal, making a hole large enough for his compatriots to pour into your cell and presumably have you for lunch.

Lucky, then, that they were preoccupied with the bars.

The sheriff sputtered something. It took effort to make out what he was saying-- effort that you were instead putting towards finding some kind of notebook or weapon. Your cell had nothing to help you, the creatures were approaching quickly, and the sweltering heat combined with your aforementioned injury left your state less than able to make the easy escape these monsters had afforded you.

By the time you'd risen to your feet and began bolting through the hole it was too late. One of the creatures had spotted you and tackled you from the back, seemingly taking pleasure in the act, throwing you to the ground and forcing blood from your nose.

You considered yourself lucky that the naked rhinoceros soon jumped off of you, running out of the sheriff's office, seemingly delighted by its destructive rampage. You hadn't the time to ponder why-- you needed to force yourself, up, onto your knees, ignoring the bleeding, out of your jail, now.

>>6067924
The scene you found yourself in next was one of utmost chaos.

The bar had disintegrated into ashes by now. You wondered how not one resident had managed to quell the flames only a moment, as the reasoning soon became clear.

An enormous snake, seemingly made entirely of rock, shook the earth beneath you. The massive monster emerged from the earth just in front of the heaping pile of ash, emitting a low grumble, unearthing an even larger body upon which it seemed to maintain a precarious balance.

Accompanying it was an entire menagerie of strange and unseen creatures. Rocks seemingly rolling themselves into buildings, enormous harpies with feathers of steel, and bipedal anteaters were but a few of the sights you saw immediately upon exiting the sheriff's office.

Had you been in a better state, your heart would've been aflutter. The ten-thousand dollars you had been promised for your excursion would have been ironclad, practically laid at your feet by now, more than guaranteed by such incredible wildlife pervading the West. You could almost see your big-city boss in front of you, chomping his cigar and congratulating you on crushing their competition so thoroughly...

It was rather unfortunate, then, that you were in such dire straits.

You dragged yourself across the street to the clinic. It seemed to be one of two buildings not besieged by some kind of unnatural apparition, with many residents of the town already gathering there, and there was nothing you needed more than medical treatment.

Gunshots reverberated in the background, mixing in with the screams of the innocent, and the trek to the nurse's seemed a long road through Hell itself. When you finally reached the welcoming room and seated yourself it left you more relieved than you'd felt in ages. After a few minutes of rest you decided to take it upon yourself to survey the situation.

You sat alone. The people of the town numbered few, mostly huddled amongst themselves, and a few were giving you bewildered or begrudging looks.

A mother and her children were huddled in a corner across from you. A man with a bleeding leg sat to your left.

The earth shook lightly once more. One of the children hung tighter to her mother's dress.

The clinic was silent save for scant whispers among the townsfolk.

It took a little girl tapping on your shoulder to pull you out of an oncoming trance.

"Mister? Why's your head all white like that? Don't you have hair?"

You noticed most of the clinic turning to stare at you.

>Ignore the girl.
>Tease her and play along.
>Explain your head injury and the gauze on it.
>Other (Write-in).

>>6067920
>>6067921
>>6067924
>>6067925
>Tease her and play along.
"Well, in the East we periodically shed our hair for aerodynamic purposes. This makes us run from our foes faster. Don't you think something like that would be needed at this dire moment?

>>6067925
>Tease her and play along.

>>6067927
>>6067935
After a brief glance at the rest of the clinic, you decided to make some levity of the situation.

"I did, once, but the stress of this prompted my body to shed it. It's an Eastern practice; over in New York, we lose our hair to become more aerodynamic when escaping danger." You flashed a pained smile at the small child.

She blinked back.

A moment later the girl tugged on the shirt of the person she was sitting next to. "Eddie? Eddie, 's that true? Do ya know if New Yoakahs do that?"

You traced her motion and let your eyes rest upon a gangly boy, probably no older than 16, covered in freckles and topped with a curly bush of red hair. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact, instead choosing to answer while staring at the same mother you'd been watching beforehand. "Nellie, I-I dunno. I don't think people do that. A-an' I've never met anyone who does, anyways."

The little girl-- Nellie, you presumed-- crossed her arms and huffed. "Silly Eddie, you're s'pposed t' know everythin'! Why dontcha know that?"
A few patients laughed. Some just smiled. One of them commented on the quip as if it was the girl's trademark.

Whatever the boy answered couldn't be made out amongst more noise from the background. The steady influx of people. The slow cramping of the room. Eventually, there was such a throng of people that you'd have been surprised if the entire town wasn't here.

A sort of smothering comfort enveloped you for a time. The ruckus from outside seemed to melt into ambience. The chattering of the townsfolk consisted mostly of prayers and reassurance. The predictability of it all allowed you a half-hour of relaxation before a voice hushed the clinic into silence. You couldn't see whose it was, but it sounded vaguely like your squat aunt.

"Alright, alright, settle down... everyone!!"

It took the lady shouting for you to realize that she was attempting to talk over a few wailing babies. How had you not heard those before?

"Ah know we're all under stress right now. Thank the Lord up above that we're still amongst the livin'. But ah'm gonna have t' ask yah t' split up into groups here. Children with children, wahves with their husbands, bachelahrs with bachelahrs... an' everyone who ain't sick with everyone who ain't sick. Y'all can stay here-- Lord knows there ain't any place safer at the moment now the fire station's gone-- but ah need t' know who t' treat an' who's just visitin'."

There was some commotion in the front and you felt people brush past and reorganize. The squat lady's voice could be heard talking over it all, calling people by last name into various offices, instructing a small gaggle of girls working for her to go to this or that family's room. It took far too long for you to realize that you weren't going to be seen any time soon.

<><><><><>

>>6068229
It took until sunset for someone to see you.

The waiting room had been empty for some time prior.

The stone walls of the clinic's only comfort was in applying pressure to your wounds, keeping you sane and barely-conscious the entire time. Throughout that taste of Hell you could do little more than wonder if the ten-thousand dollar grant was really worth chasing if this was how the journey was going to start. Finally, you were pulled out of your own head by a sharp bark from the exhausted medical lady.

"Buchanan, Waltah!"

You rose.

Eyesight blurred as blood came rushing back into your legs. Thoughts returned to soup as the medical lady-- nearly two-thirds your height-- gave some bitter explanation of her circumstances, choking on something as she repeatedly thanked God for the clinic's safety and the lack of any death. All the specifics were lost on you, as by the time you reached your room the only thing that pulled you out of your stupor was a vision in the window.

Some kind of face grinned at you from the window. You couldn't make its details out. For a moment, looking at any other person granted them the same eerie smirk... but a single blink was enough to bring you back to earth.

You were going mad, clearly.

"I'm not asleep, am I?" A thought escaped through your mouth.

The lady from before had gone by now. You were instead answered by a taller, younger girl in nurse's dress, with a shake of her head and a soft request that you lie upon her table and let her examine you.

>>6068231
As the young nurse ran her hands along your body-- pressed your stomach lightly, knocked on your knees, felt your head with a touch soft enough that it didn't hurt-- you heard her whisper under her breath. "Absolutely deplorable. You should've been here much earlier..."

"I doubt coming much earlier would've saved me from this madness."

The girl looked wide-eyed at your response. Had she expected you not to hear? Regardless, she gave an audible reply. "Well, it most certainly would have saved you from such great damage to your skull."

Her fingers traced the back of your head and slowly peeled off the aged gauze. You winced as the wound was given room to breathe, air pricking at your scalp. She continued, wrapping your head in fresh bandages. "You'll need to keep these on for a few weeks. Keep your head as still as you can, make sure it is always covered in something plush. You... should be fine, afterwards."

The hesitation didn't persuade you, though it was hard to debate the diagnosis without further knowledge on the subject. You instead thanked the nurse with a nod.

It soon dawned on you that you had nowhere else to go. Nighttime was hardly an hour away and you didn't know the state of the small inn you'd been staying at.

What lay ahead was uncertain. What would you do next?
>Leave the clinic, risking the outdoors, and try to find the inn for a good night's sleep.
>Ask the nurse or her boss to stay at the clinic overnight.
>Get as far away from the town as you can. Try to find a railroad and see if they're still selling tickets.
>Other (write-in).

>>6068229
>>6068231
>>6068233
>Ask the nurse or her boss to stay at the clinic overnight.
We are going batshit insane and probably severely braindamaged. Best to not take too much risk on this one considering previous results of taking that course of action.

>>6068233
>Other (Find a nice abandoned building to sleep in)

>>6068239
If we're a brain damaged freak, let's act like it!

>>6068233
>Get as far away from the town as you can. Try to find a railroad and see if they're still selling tickets.
Adventure!

>>6068239
+1

>>6068233
>Ask the nurse or her boss to stay at the clinic overnight.

>>6068233
>>Ask the nurse or her boss to stay at the clinic overnight.

>>6068239
>>6068298
>>6068308
>>6068469
It took a single glance out of the window for you to make up your mind.

You weren't certain of the inn's state, but you were certain of the danger that lay on your way to figuring out. At any other time you might've braved such a small journey... however, the reappearance of that grin atop a decrepit saloon's sign instead returned you to your table. "There's an entire beastiary of demons out there intent on separating a man's head from his hind and I dunno if I'll be able to reach someplace safe to sleep. Would you mind if I stayed the night?"

The nurse, already busying herself with other matters, returned her attention to give you a once-over. "You'd have to ask Elva."

A pause, then a repetition. "You saw her earlier. She wasn't in the sunniest of moods."

Oh, the short one from before. You thanked the nurse with a nod and took to the hallways, quickly tracking down your nurse's boss.

"What? Stay the naght?" Elva grumbled. Her aged face crumpled further into itself. "Ah don't suppose you've got payment?"

Shoot. Despite knowing you lacked even basic essentials on you after your brief stint in jail, you checked your pockets to make sure. And, as you'd expected, you turned up nothing but lint. "...no, madam, nothing."

Elva frowned. "An' you expect me t' just let you stay here anyways. Of course." She mumbled something under her breath and moved to leave, only to be stopped by the same nurse you'd seen before.

"Madam, he has a serious head injury. It'd be reckless to send him away so early."

"You're kiddin' me, raght? He's way too lucid for that!"

You hesitated to mention what you'd been seeing.

"Kidding in such dire circumstances would be rather dangerous, madam." The nurse remained calm.

Elva looked you up and down, crossed her arms, and seemed loathe to admit: "...ah'll give him one night. He's gotta git by sunrise. Otherwahse ah dunno how ah'm gonna treat the Thompsons."

With that, you and your nurse retreated to your room once more.

>>6068660
Before you could say a word, the nurse spoke. "You'll be alright. I exaggerated just a smidge." She started towards the gauze on her desk.

It took a second for you to process. "When? While talking to your boss or when diagnosing?"

"Just now. For a head injury, you got off lucky. I have seen much worse." The gauze was now in a cabinet. A stethoscope took its place in the nurse's hands.

The relief that followed was immmediately noted. "I'll have you up by dawn, though you really should rest some time longer." The nurse peered out the window. "...the Gulch is more intact than I thought it would be. It seems that even demons need to rest."

She said some more things you didn't quite catch through your oncoming dizziness. "If the demons wake before you do, I'll bring you where you need to be. Where did you say that was, again?"

The request caught you off-guard. "Champing Bit Inn. I'm not sure where it is from here."

"Alright. I'll have you there by morning." The nurse continued to meddle with her tools. "If i'm missing, just call for 'Cora'. I'll hear."

A half-hearted nod was the last thing you could muster before passing out.

<><><><><>

"Come on, come on!! Wake up, right now!"

Your eyes fluttered open. It was most certainly not sunrise. "What on earth are you doing?" You spat out the words more coherently than you managed to get off of your makeshift bed.

The nurse hurried across the glass bits littering the floor. "Hooligans, taking advantage. Up you get."

She hoisted you onto your two feet for just a moment before you batted her away. "Get your hands off of me, I can walk fine!"

The nurse caught you just before you tripped on more glass. "Not fine enough!"

The two of you-- or, really, the nurse dragging you along with her-- fled the clinic under starlight.

<><><><><>

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>>6068662
Champing Bit Inn was only partly intact. The sign had taken enough damage that the nurse had nearly missed it and the door was off its hinges, on the ground, practically acting as the new welcome mat. Otherwise, however, it seemed somewhat untouched.

Entering the building proved to be less easy than it seemed. What few people were awake seemed to be the most paranoid. You spotted an elderly man hiding behind a toppled table, glaring at you with a fierce hatred. A woman in a rocking chair turned the other cheek. The receptionist's expression soured as you approached. "I've reserved room 103 for the month."

"Have you got yer key with you?"

There was an awkward silence. The nurse-- promptly greeted by her name-- stepped forth. "He lost it to the demons. The clinic is under attack and he needs shelter."

The receptionist gave you another look before letting you through. "It should be to yer right, down that hall."

<><><><><>

Cora had gone ahead of you and was now yanking at the doorknob. "It's stuck. Here, you try."

No luck. You spent a few minutes being gentler with it and noted the lock to your companion. A hairpin and some fiddling later, the two of you opened the door.

The only oddity in your room was a lump underneath your bed's blankets. Otherwise, all was clear.

Cora did not follow you in.

>You don't know how long this room will be safe for. Make some efforts to barricade the windows and reinforce the walls with what you have.

>Make sure your possessions are all still accounted for. There's a trunk you brought with you here. It should be in your closet...

>Investigate the lump underneath your blankets.

>Invite Cora in (Write-in what you'll say to her or ask her to do).

>Return to the lobby and try to find a newspaper.

>Other (write-in).

>>6068663
>Invite Cora in (Write-in what you'll say to her or ask her to do).
Its not like she can go back to the clinic and you don't like having a debt unsettled.
>Investigate the lump underneath your blankets.

>>6068699
The same, but ask her if she has a(nother) safe place to stay too.

>>6068699
+1

>>6068663
>>6068699
>>6068704
+1

>>6068699
>>6068704
>>6068757
>>6068787
This surprised you, if only because you'd become used to having her by your side. "There's no need to stay outside." You motioned to the empty chair in one of the room's corners.

Cora hesitated for a moment before following your gesture. "...thank you." She gave the room a glance.

"Have you got anywhere safe to stay? If the clinic is too dangerous..." The bed's mattress gave a quiet squeak. It didn't seem to appreciate your sitting upon it much.

Cora chuckled at the notion. "What, do you think I live at the clinic? Please, only Elva is so dedicated." Her expression was unreadable. "I have a small place to myself on the outskirts, nearer to the creek. Where your railroad came from."

You raised a brow. "You're native?"

Another chuckle followed from the restless nurse. "Hardly, but I've been here long enough. I don't hide my accent-- surely you've noticed."

The lump was getting hard to ignore. You shuffled off of the bed. "English, yes, I just gave you the benefit of the doubt since you were workin' here. I've only ever heard voices like yours back New York City."

You yanked the covers off of your bed to reveal... a small package, with envelope attached. The handwriting on it was familiar.

Mr. Buchanan

To wherever he may be in California

"I'm surprised you've been. Your accent doesn't sound much like any citygoers I know." Cora continued on in the background.

You did your best to ignore her continued pestering. You agreed with her on the amusement that Gulchgoers brought the pair of you by immediately assuming you had come from a city, despite your voice, that it was bizarre how far their disdain seemed to go on that alone... but you weren't really listening to her beyond the superficialities. The letter was more interesting.

>>6068808
July 7th, 1884

Only two days before you'd been jailed.

Son,

I have heard, through a graepvine, that you have been Sent to California as of six eeves ago. Is this the reason for your suden dissapearanse? You have worryed your mother sick with your lack of comyunication.

It should be nown that I understand you are working for Ten Thousand Dollars and may not come back. Please do be certayn you will come back, as dyeing will make me angry enough to kill you.

Atached is a present from your brother and a new chaynge of cloths. He insistid you would be intrested in a new plant he has seen growing in your bery farm. He dubbd it a "berrynut". I do not think it is edible.

Be well and reply.

"Buchanan?"

You ignored Cora for another moment as you unstrung the package. Within was exactly what had been promised: a clean change of clothes, now somewhat dirtied by the package, and a small basket of "berrynuts".

The name was apt. The hard, brown shell covering what you presumed to be a fruity center was like nothing you'd seen before. You initially assumed it to be some misshapen acorn, but its texture was far too smooth up top and the fruit itself was nearly thrice the size. You could feasibly use it as a baseball.

"Buchanan! I've been speaking to you!"

The neglected nurse was already frowning when you turned to look at her. "You shouldn't be bowing your head so much. It won't help the crack." She came over and adjusted your position, gently correcting a slouch you hadn't even noticed. "And I'd appreciate it if you listened to me before you read a letter. We were in the middle of a conversation."

[Choose two.]

>Show her something (specify letter or berrynut in your reply).

>Chastise this girl for talking down to you while reading a letter from your family. Her conversation could wait and she is acting out of line.

>Thank Cora for looking out for you.

>Put the letter and gifts away in your trunk, assuming it's still there.

>Begin barricading the windows and reinforcing walls.

>Other (write-in).

>>6068808
>>6068812
>Thank Cora for looking out for you.
"Sorry for ignoring you. Now, what were you saying?"

>>6068812
>>6068818
+1

>We have brain damage and will now start ignoring basic social norms
Kek

>>6068812
>Show her something (specify letter or berrynut in your reply).
Show her the nuts
>Thank Cora for looking out for you.

>>6068825
Everyone knows the first sign of brain damage is being rude.

>>6068818
>>6068825
>>6068827

Posting more today because I feel like it. The curse is fucking real.

------------------------------------------------------

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you." You rubbed your head a little and straightened your back. "Thank you for tellin' me about the posture, I'll keep it in mind for later..."

You turned to Cora, two nuts in hand, making sure to position them in front of the ever-brightening window. "...I was just looking at these."

She gave the berrynuts a glance, but didn't say anything.

"You need berries to make your medicines, right? Have you ever seen a pair like these?"

Cora briefly inspected the pair. "...no, nothing like them. They're too big to be berries. Though I do believe you may be overestimating my-"

"Thanks." You put the nuts back in their basket and picked them up, shooing your curiosity away for another time as you start towards the closet. The novelty of a few weird nuts could wait until you had everything else in order.

Cora cleared her throat. "As I was saying, I believe you may be overestimating how much I know about berries. I don't make medicine anymore-- I just apply it."

Anymore? "Well, I figured these might just be some kind of berry we don't grow back home, and that, since you aren't from this country, you might've known more. I thanked ya thusly." You thought you could hear a low buzzing coming from the doorknob and briefly avoided it, instead glancing at Cora as distraction.

The nurse avoided eye contact. "You're welcome."

For a time, all was quiet.

The wooden floors ceased their creaking, the curtains were still-- time itself seemed to slow down as you took in your modest surroundings for just a moment. The thin mattress hardly bothered you.

"I never got your first name." Cora broke the silence. You glanced in her direction.

Her hair was somehow darker than yours, blacker than any you'd seen in years.

"Oh, it's Walter. Walter Buchanan." You snapped yourself out of your brief trance, only to see Cora opening your closet door for you, saying something... that you weren't hearing.


Moments later her hand went stiff and the door slooowly crept open, the nurse no longer there, the door no longer requiring her, the room shrunken by a sharp gasp. Before you could process what on earth had happened, Cora was already stumbling to your bed and wrapping her hand in gauze, cursing under her breath the entire time.

Returning to the closet, confusion rising, you saw some kind of blue sheep in the shade, sat atop your trunk and leering at Cora, with horns reminiscent of a wasp's stinger and a lengthy tail disappearing into the darkness.

A demon.

>Grab Cora's (healthy) hand and run out of the room.

>Grab a chair and try to shield Cora from any further attacks.

>Other (write-in).

>>6068915
>Grab Cora's (healthy) hand and run out of the room.
We can't tank this, just run and hope the army is called in

>>6068915
>Grab Cora's (healthy) hand and run out of the room.
I know we aren't the best at running right now, but I think our chances fighting this thing are somehow even worse.

>>6068915
>Grab Cora's (healthy) hand and run out of the room.

>>6068915
>Grab Cora's (healthy) hand and run out of the room.
What chocked Cora's hand is likely a Mareep, who may be after the berries. If we can snag the two fruits before we bail, that would be good.

>>6068979
But Mareep can't learn bite!
;)

>>6068979
You still have the berries with you in one of your hands. You were opening the closet to put them away but never got that far.

>>6068921
>>6068926
>>6068957
>>6068979
Seems pretty decisive, but I'll let the choices run overnight because I don't have the time to write a reply right now. I'll write it up in the morning.

>>6068979
>>6068981
>chocked
Shit, I meant shocked.
kek

>>6068986
>You still have the berries with you in one of your hands. You were opening the closet to put them away but never got that far.
Good to know.

>I'll write it up in the morning.
Take the time you need.

>July 7th, 1884
Oh, that explains the accents. This will have massive implications on what our options are and what we need to look out for. The "Wild West" is approaching its end, the Gilded Age is about to be in full swing, dying from diseases that are trivial in the modern era and legally-enforced prejudice are still very much a thing, and we have very rudimentary tools to work with. On the other hand, we also have a lot of opportunities without the bureaucracy of the present day. We can name Pokemon, coin training techniques, start a berry orchard business before Rockefeller or someone similar can bully us out of business, and find various utilities for Pokemon once we figure out how to tame them. Psychic and Electric types, for example, will be revolutionary for communication. Flying and Water types will make transportation much faster. As this period is earlier than the other options, the subsequent world will look close to unrecognizable. It's important to remember that various parts of the world may or may not be in a state of anarchy. There are also many highly intelligent Pokemon, some of them vastly more so than humans, so it isn't out of the picture for a social revolution or even nation of Pokemon to arise at some point.

>>6069010
>start a berry orchard business
Funny you should mention this, as we are in California we are in close proximity to Central Valley. The Sun Maid corporation, one of the largest raisin producers in the world, grows almost all their grapes in this one region, it is perhaps one of the most fertile grounds in all of the continental United States. And our brother just gave us a sack of berries for cultivation. This is no longer APokéAlypse quest, it's PokéPlantation Quest.

>>6068915
>Grab Cora's (healthy) hand and run out of the room.

>>6068921
>>6068926
>>6068957
>>6068979
>>6069201
Without further thought on the matter you immediately moved to grab Cora by her right hand and dashed out the door.

You felt the nurse giving little resistance, stumbling at first but soon matching your pace. By the time that you'd made it to the hotel lobby you could hardly feel that you were dragging her anywhere.

Your heart beat through your chest. Blood flooded your brain. A brief break before the door had you soon interrogated by the receptionist. "What're yew doin' out here? I thought you needed that room."

Through a few light gasps you explained the monster you'd seen in your closet. Within a minute, you were surrounded by laughter-- some subdued, attempting to be polite, some not even bothering with the courtesy. "Bwahaha!! A monster? In thesehalls? From your closet, no less!"

You sharply corrected the description and motioned to Cora's bandaged hand. The latter action brought the room some hush. "A... a monster from your closet, that's still..." The receptionist was rapidly losing confidence.

It was only when the very same blue sheep from before came running down the halls, bleating an unholy cry not unlike the swan song of an exploding street light, that the lobby truly grasped the severity of the situation. Another safe haven, compromised.

<><><><><>

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>>6069348
You and Cora ran until your aching legs could run no more. They felt like splinters beneath your leg, mere accessories to your torso, finally wearing out their welcome and stumbling to a crawl.

Cora was the first to go. It wasn't much wonder as to why the sedentary nurse who spent most of her days at a small clinic was less fit than the renegade farm boy who took it upon himself to walk to the big city for his dreams. She soon took on the role of director, pointing you towards narrower areas that'd hopefully shake the demons while guiding you vaguely towards her house. "I don't know whether it'll be safe, but we're running out of options," she'd thought aloud.

When you finally caved, you considered yourself incredibly lucky to have made it far enough to spot a railroad in the distance. Not far off from that was the small house Cora had mentioned before.

From a distance, it looked rather shoddy. Built out of the same wood as the rest of the town, yet upon a stony shore which seemed to provide it significantly less stability than the stronger houses you'd seen upon Shenanigan Gulch's soil earlier on your trip. The roof especially seemed to be slanted towards the front and almost sliding off of the back. It reminded you of the shack on the river where you'd kept fertilizer back home.

The house was almost twenty feet away. Your feet refused to make the journey. You needed rest more than anything in that moment. Even the riverbank upon which you now sat did not tempt your thirst with its steady stream. You were too tired to stop and quench it.

Cora lay not far from you. Unlike yourself, she was taking full advantage of the river's offerings, sipping from the bank and splashing her hair. You wondered if she was used to this. "Is that your house over there?" Just to make sure.

The nurse glanced back at you and nodded, too tired for words. She returned to letting her bandaged hand soak.

More time passed. You were enjoying the peace but found it hard not to be restless. The sooner you could get to shelter the better, and you were incredibly exposed out here. The Gulch was but a few winding paths south, while the riverbank was wide and lengthy. You could even see strange fish pervading it, larger than any you'd ever seen with sharp fins and enormous jaws. Their lack of aggression was a miracle and you weren't convinced that it would last.

>>6069349
Once the two of you finally regained some energy, you started posthaste towards Cora's abode.

Upon entering, you were assaulted with a thick layer of dust over everything. Her house seemed to be somewhat bigger on the inside-- there were, in fact, multiple rooms within it-- but it was as if she hadn't stepped foot in it for weeks. "I thought you said you lived here."

The nurse blushed. It wasn't the kind of blush you knew from flattery-- rather, a sour reaction to mockery. "I do. And I cleaned it just yesterday..."
She stepped in front of you and traced a finger across the nearest shelf. Her expression shifted. "...this isn't dust. It's dirt."

A glance towards the floor granted you the closest thing you'd get to an answer. A near-perfect hole in the wood from the back of the house-- another in the front. A disfigured lump of wood lay warped between the two.

You took precautions.

Circling the house brought you no clarification other than the sight of a sleeping ant. An enormous sleeping ant, as tall as a fifth of Cora's walls, covered in steel and chittering in its sleep.

It seemed... unrelated enough to the incident. However... you are well aware that ants like to burrow.

>Let sleeping ants lie. You're in no state to attempt anything at the moment and, even if this means that you may be in immediate danger, you need some rest.

>Watch the ant for a little while to make sure it doesn't try any funny business.

>Search for a weapon to beat it back with. You can't risk having any source of danger nearby.

>Other (write-in).

>>6069350
Forgot to mention that searching for a weapon will involve rolling a d10.

>>6069350
>Watch the ant for a little while to make sure it doesn't try any funny business.
We can't just shank a durant, and gunfire would attract other demons. We don't need two people watching it Cora can get her stuff

>>6069348
>>6069349
>>6069350
>Watch the ant for a little while to make sure it doesn't try any funny business.
We should also alert Cora about the giant steel ant daemon in her back yard. Maybe this time she will believe us.

>>6069350
>Watch the ant for a little while to make sure it doesn't try any funny business.

>>6069352
Agreed. Even a bullet would have trouble puncturing its shell.

>>6069360
Supported. However, it's likely that she'll come to the same conclusion as we do.

>>6069151
>This is no longer APokéAlypse quest, it's PokéPlantation Quest.
Probably so. Pic related is an election map of the US in 1884, when Grover Cleveland was on the ballot. It'll be funny if mudslinging posters comparing him to a Snorlax start getting printed. Hawaii is currently a unofficial occupied protectorate with the 1887 constitution not yet ratified, meaning that this whole Pokeapocalypse is likely to change this situation entirely. Alaska itself became a district of the US under a month before the events of this quest, actually, and who knows what will happen there. Events more pertinent to our situation in Southern California are numerous to list, but it's a curious coincidence for a Pokemon quest that The Big Four are active. They will likely have access to private militias and try to attempt to take very unconstitutional advantage of the chaos. We need to reestablish order in the community and figure out how to tame the Pokemon before the Four become a big problem for us. On that note, we should put together a primer of historical events and factors that would be relevant to our situation.

>>6069350
>Durant
I just realized that Durants attack in groups. It's probably a good thing that we don't provoke it, but if it is alone, that's pretty strange. That would imply it is either an outcast or the whole colony was scattered from each other when transported from whatever region they come from.

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>>6069574
Forgot the pic.

>>6069574
>Big Four
More like ELITE Four, amirite?

>>6069350
>Watch the ant for a little while to make sure it doesn't try any funny business.
Wanna be our started, little buddy?

>>6069352
>>6069360
>>6069510
>>6069594
You watched the strange ant for some time.

As it slept, you noticed occasional movement in its legs. Sometimes it'd shake its head a little or give a quiet chitter of some kind. What did demons dream of? You could only guess. Surely nothing pleasant...

It'd been several minutes now and the ant hadn't done anything. You found yourself crouching down, the nutberry basket's handle briefly swishing from one hand into both, about a foot and a half away from the steelclad creature.

That seemed to cause some kind of disturbance-- the ant stirred and blinked and chittered before opening its half-lidded eyes just enough to start looking you over. You felt a sharp tug at your thoughts-- it wasn't a good idea to stay this long-- yet you ignored it and did little more than back away a few paces.

The ant reciprocated with a horrendous noise, akin to a train screeching to a halt, and was soon joined by four more of its kind.

It made no movement towards you.

You never took your eyes off the bastard, feeling around the ground as you rose to your feet, clutching a rock in your free hand as you gripped your basket in the other with force. "Walter?"

Cora soon joined you. "I heard a loud sound, I wanted to make sure you--" Her eyes caught the ant's. You shuffled in front of her as she seized up. She went on in a calm, trembling tone. "I-I don't understand what they would want from someplace like this."

The demons had begun moving forward... slowly. None of them made any moves towards you, yet none looked friendly. Only one in the back hesitated to join the rest of the group that'd begun slowly encircling you.

You moved to run towards the house but found one of the ants in the way. You tried to step over it and found another ant on the other side of the first. The rest of the ants begin closing in, chittering like old ladies at a group meet, looking you and your nurse companion up and down. One of the ants soon prodded at your ankle, pushing you backwards, lightly bumping Cora on the way and dropping a nutberry right in front of one of them.

It took all of two seconds for that nutberry to vanish into an ant's mandibles and for the ant to vanish in the general direction of Gulch's train station down south.

What-- "Foul creatures, get away from my house!!" Cora shouted. "The Lord commands it!!"

Next thing you knew, one of the ants had actually retreated away from your companion... only for an angrier ant to give Cora the same ankle treatment you had received earlier. "Ow! Stop it!!" She stamped her foot, just barely missing one of the monsters.

>>6069634
You had to restrain her from kicking the thing exactly where its mandibles could catch her leg. "Cora, stop it. I know what they want." The nurse gave a little bit of resistance, struggling in your arms for a moment before giving a defeated sniff and crossing her arms. "Alright then, please, do tell me your brilliant solution to ridding my lawn of these awful creatures that you so conveniently know all about."

Instead of saying anything you just shuffled further in front of Cora (bumping her into another ant, which she made sure to point out to you when it happened) and offered one of the ants a nutberry.

A moment of silence fell over the once-chittering colony. One of them approached, looking to the nutberry for just a moment. Cora's initial apathy soon turned to curiosity as the ant paused before you...

...only for the rest of the colony to now surround this one ant and chitter something in unison. Said ant looked to its compatriots and chittered back, and before long the two of you were left alone.

Odd. Why hadn't they taken it?

You watched as the small group of strange demons followed the direction of their former companion. Seeing them head down the riverbank, made tiny by the great mountain the railroad ran along, making their way towards a train... surely this wouldn't be a good thing, especially for any poor passengers that'd have to deal with those beings, but if they hadn't attacked you...

"What... what was that?" Cora's voice had lost a lot of the anger it'd held previous. It'd shrunken, too. You weren't confident she hadn't said anything between the two 'what's.

"I'm not certain." You turned to face her, readjusting your basket and counting all the nutberries to make sure all but one was accounted for. A brief return to your jail cell flashed before your eyes, your bars made decrepit by the work of a demon, your flesh spared.

You refocused on the nurse. A stutter took hold of you for just a moment.

"I-I must admit, with what I know of biology and God's creatures, it's a bit hard t' call those creatures demons. Surely if they were so inherently ill-intentioned we'd have lost our feet by now instead'a just a bit of skin off our ankles, right?"

Cora gasped at the implication. "What makes you say that? These creatures have done nothing but harass us! They burnt my hand, they dug through my floor, they-- well, as you said, we nearly lost our feet to them just moments ago!" She circled you almost as the ants had, pacing back and forth and massaging her bandaged palm.

You simply stayed where you were, confident that you had all your nutberries with you, following Cora's trail with naught but your sight. "They broke me out of prison. A swarm of creatures ate away at my bars and left me untouched."

Cora stopped.

>>6069635
Her expression shifted violently between contempt, curiosity, and utter confusion. A brief realization struck you-- she didn't even know you'd been there in the first place, did she? "You..."

She backed away. A sharp laugh left her for a moment before she thought to herself. "I never figured you were the criminal type."

"...neither, but I guess I was a bit too close to that burnt-down bar t' be let off without any questioning."

"But you were already in a cell. Had you not been found guilty?"

You shook your head and gave a sharp sigh. "We can't be going off on tangents like this. Cora, whatever these creatures may be, demons or not, hostile or friendly... I think these berries might help calm them somehow." The basket was raised.

The nurse glanced for a moment at the basket. Then at you. Then at the mountain in the distance. The ants couldn't be made out anymore.

"...I don't trust you. But I've seen what they do. The demons and your strange nut-berries."

Silence.

Cora turned away and started towards the front of the house. "We need food. You have protection. Go to Shenanigan's Gulch. See if there are any people willing to trade for produce. I won't leave this place."

You nodded. It brought you no pleasure to leave her alone. She seemed rather fond of the idea, however, and you had already started hankering for something to chew on. Lord knew when last you ate.

>Suggest that you try to eat the nutberries instead. Leave the grocery shopping for later.

>Do what Cora asked you without hesitation. Go to Shenanigan's Gulch for food.

>Pretend to go to Shenanigan's Gulch... before attempting to forage in the woods instead.

>Other (write-in).

>>6069634
>>6069635
>>6069636
>Do what Cora asked you without hesitation. Go to Shenanigan's Gulch for food.
I am a bit suspicious of how Cora still does not trust us, but I guess that the other townsfolk don't like us any better.

>>6069636
>Do what Cora asked you without hesitation. Go to Shenanigan's Gulch for food.
Let's see if we can arm ourselves before we make the journey in case we run into a rather aggressive Pokemon. We should also split one or two of the berries open to hold onto seeds for growing more, although the message >>6068812 implies that their growing season may have passed. We are in a desert, however, so there's a chance we could get away with trying to grow them in the late summer or early fall. They aren't edible for humans all the same; it'll be a tough sell unless we have an opportunity to demonstrate their "pacifying" qualities.

>>6069636
>Do what Cora asked you without hesitation. Go to Shenanigan's Gulch for food.

>>6069653 +1

So I found some interesting historical information that indicates where we are. It turns out that Shenanigan's Gulch was a real place, and is now known as Pollard Flat, located in present-day Riverside County, CA. The name of the town actually changed to Portuguese Flat in 1853 before it changed to Pollard Flat later due to the heritage of its first settlers, although it wouldn't be unlikely for the original name to stick for the locals for a few decades after. From what I gather, it appears mining was the town's main sources of income. Robert Pitt was a notorious tycoon who operated in the area until two years prior to the events of the quest, when he was arrested for the murder of a miner. Allegedly, the town was named after a John Pollard in his honor the same year. There's a lot of detailed information on this page:

https://myrcns.com/2020/06/19/a-history-of-pollard-flat/

>>6069636
>>Do what Cora asked you without hesitation. Go to Shenanigan's Gulch for food.

>>6069653
Supporting this

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>>6069823
Just chiming in to say that this is 90% correct! Shenanigan's Gulch is indeed a real place, and it did indeed have its name changed to Pollard Flat. Yes, the locals are still sticking to Shenanigan's Gulch for now, mainly because I found the name funnier and a lot of the (admittedly fictional) businesses are still named in accordance with the name Shenanigan's Gulch and not Pollard Flat.

No, the town is not in Riverside County. That's actually the near-opposite of its true location in Shasta County, much further north.

The town in this quest is based off of and supposed to be the real Pollard Flat, but i've taken extensive creative liberty with how it's structured and who lives there. Nobody is based off of real residents, for instance; everyone in this quest is a fictional person living in a real town.

Next post should be up in about an hour. I'm writing the outline as we speak.

>>6069823
>>6070048
>No, the town is not in Riverside County. That's actually the near-opposite of its true location in Shasta County, much further north.
Ah, you're right. I misread one of the sources I looked into for the information. My bad. That means the area is actually forested, however, implying that the mining industry must still be very active in the quest to draw so many rock, ground, and steel types. Who knows , QM aside, the range of diversity that lies in the forest.

>Next post should be up in about an hour. I'm writing the outline as we speak.
Cool stuff, QM.

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>>6069641
>>6069653
>>6069666
>>6069837
>>6069933
You lingered only a short while longer. Cora had promised you an entire dollar in coins to shop with and had fulfilled that promise within minutes. The moment the currency struck your hand, you shook Cora's (as best you could while she was hesitating to reciprocate) and started towards the town without more than a glance back to the shack.

On the way to the Gulch a single thought grew louder and louder until you could hardly ignore it. Why had those nutberries calmed the strange ants? You found yourself glancing at your basket-- first occasionally, then repeatedly. By the time the town was within sight you found yourself taking an aside to sit down and attempt to crack one open.

It was an easier affair than you'd expected. As soon as you'd found the sharpest, biggest rock in the area, the shell of your chosen nutberry seemed to crack with only a modicum of effort. All it took was three strikes to an area near the top and you heard a quiet pop.

The small "cap" atop the nut fell to the ground, briefly spinning like a dropped coin, revealing a small and wrinkled piece of... something... inside of the nut.

Your prediction of a "fruity center" could maybe apply if you'd been thinking of a raisin, or especially an apricot. Otherwise, it was bupkus. The tiny crumpled thing in the middle of your brother's present was by no means edible-- to a human, anyways-- and looked more like a chewed-up wad of gum with small, circular seeds stuck in it. It didn't seem to smell like anything at all.

This "fruit" seemed to have fallen from somewhere, being otherwise detached from the interior of the nut, seeming unable to stick to any part of its surface. Upon further examination of the cap, it became evident that the fruit had been growing upon its bottom.

You cracked open another nut in the same manner. This one contained the strange fruit, as well, but this one's color was different. Your original nut had an orange fruit within-- this one seemed to look almost pink in its appearance.

Curiosity began to run rampant within you. Were these multiple varieties of the same nut? Different species deriving from the same tree? Maybe the change in color was due to shift in temperature or some kind of spoilage. Spoilage due to temperature?

It could be solved-- had to be solved-- later. Your stomach roared and drove you back to the Gulch.

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>>6070067
Re-entering town resulted in an assault to your senses.

The chaos that had engulfed the town when last you were there had abated, somewhat, but the people remained in turmoil and you could hardly hear yourself think over all the noise.

Men were already chipping in to help rebuild fallen storefronts and crumpled houses. You could see teams of workers handling lumber, stone, various tools. Women were taking over operation of the stores that were still working. You counted a textile store, a restaurant, and a general goods among those still in operation. Not a single mouth was silent among them-- workers shouted orders to other workers who shouted affirmations back, while their wives complained of their husbands' duties and gossipped about all the children, drawing comparison between how loud they and the men were, giggling amongst themselves as if they were in on some joke you couldn't quite parse, taking the orders of customers too weak or small to help with rebuilding.

Of the demons-- you could see few. Those that remained in the town didn't seem to be doing nearly as much terrorizing as previous. The metallic rhino creatures you'd seen break you out of prison seemed determined to devour any metal they could find and appeared to be the greatest nuisances, traveling in packs and gleefully headbutting any human they found with metal in their arms so as to knock them down and steal their supplies. The large metallic birds would circle people for some time, their shadows creating ominous "stars of death" above those who caught their interest, but you didn't see them doing much other than scaring the living daylights out of people or fighting with the local vultures. (The metallic birds would always win-- in rather brutal fashions.)

Turning south, you pondered that the greater threats would be the occasional visitors from down south, those descending from the great mountain. You thought yourself crazy, at first, upon seeing a dark mist envelop the area after such a thought. No-one else seemed to react to it nor notice the difference in shade. You alone, too, were greeted by the sight of an enormous and frightening skull mere inches from your face, seemingly ethereal and unable to be touched-- the moment you tried, the entire apparition fled and life returned to normal. Small versions of this enormous apparition seemed to dot the path to the peak.

Furthermore, the massive snake you had seen previous could be seen forever in that direction, lingering near the base of the mountain, its destructive size making sure the town hardly went an hour without seeing a tree or bird collapse near it. The remnants of a rock slide buried a small field that you remembered seeing at the edges of town earlier.

All these sights and sounds seemed to distract from the incessant snapping you soon heard from something in front of you. "Mister? Hello? Mister!!"

>>6070068
You blinked. "Sorry, madam, I'm here." An excessively scruffy teenager in overalls frowned at you.

"Mister, you came ov'r here an' said you'd buy somethin' ten minutes ago. You've caused a line-up." The kid was right. Someone was breathing down your neck. "Hurry up."

Before you lay a rather extensive display of produce. Blueberries, raspberries, cherries, lettuce, rice-- you were rather spoiled for choice considering the size of the town. You commented as much to the cashier and soon got to checking out.

The doorbell rang as you left the store, a small bag in hand, various produce filling it to the brim. You snatched a copy of the local paper as you headed back into the great outdoors, eyes immediately fixating on the strange curiosities before you. Surely spending what little currency you had left on some documentation was a good idea.

You left another bell behind you, a fresh notebook in hand, cherry pits in your cheeks, your mind more preoccupied with the quiet kid in the general store corner wearing some kind of red makeup. He'd never spoken a word; just spent his time leering at customers, waiting for some kind of reaction that he never got.

It took nearly bumping into a large crowd to ground you in the moment and another glance at where it was headed to truly bring you back to earth. What looked like half the town was pouring into the local church. You could hear commotion coming from inside and see more and more people heading its way. Checking the paper confirmed your suspicions: it was Sunday, July 14th.

>Follow the crowd into the church. This doesn't sound like a regular sermon and you need to occupy yourself with something distant from Cora. Besides, this seemed interesting.

>Take advantage of the crowd to observe the demons without interference. The town is more than eager to get away from them, and you finally have some way to write down your observations...

>Go straight home.

>Other (write-in).

>>6070068
>The large metallic birds would circle people for some time, their shadows creating ominous "stars of death" above those who caught their interest, but you didn't see them doing much other than scaring the living daylights out of people or fighting with the local vultures. (The metallic birds would always win-- in rather brutal fashions.)
Now that I think about it, much of the "normal" animals might be in danger of becoming extinct. There's no way most of them can compete with what Pokemon can do. The only ones that may survive are domesticated animals, or ones similar enough to certain Pokemon to breed with them. Smaller insects, funnily enough, are small and numerous enough to get by relatively unaffected. Perhaps "regional" forms will begin to appear after some time.

>You alone, too, were greeted by the sight of an enormous and frightening skull mere inches from your face, seemingly ethereal and unable to be touched-- the moment you tried, the entire apparition fled and life returned to normal.
Looks like a Duskull.

>>6070069
>your mind more preoccupied with the quiet kid in the general store corner wearing some kind of red makeup. He'd never spoken a word; just spent his time leering at customers, waiting for some kind of reaction that he never got.
Maybe he's a Zorua. It'd be hilarious if we find a talking Meowth.

>it was Sunday, July 14th.
We must have been knocked out for quite some time.

>>6070069
As tempting as it is to begin observing some of the Pokemon now that most of the townsfolk have gathered in the church, we have too many goodies on us and we could be easily outnumbered. We should either head back to stock our goods and ask Cora if she knows anyone that could help with observing the creatures, or find someone attending the sermon that has a similar idea to do so. There's bound to be a local huntsman or whatnot that's curious about what these new arrivals are.

Here's the Wikipedia page for International Code of Zoological Nomenclature in case it's useful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature

>>6070067
>>6070068
>>6070069

>Go straight home.

I have no doubt we will meet some other demons or daemons on the way home, and I don't want to take a risk with the giant steel birds.

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>>6070086
>>6070137
Seems pretty unanimous and it's been a while since the first post. I'll get to writing soon.

Thanks for the suggestion, though it's worth noting that the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature wasn't instated until 1905. We'll probably be sticking to Strickland's codes, if any.

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>>6070086
>>6070137
You took a moment to weigh your options.

The church was interesting, but you knew it would be incredibly crowded. Your hands were rather full at the moment-- in a best-case scenario, you might only lose a few berries or have some fruits smushed. It would be best to come back later, either when you had less valuables in hand or when the church was emptier.

The town... you turned to face the monsters, counting them as you went.

The metallic rhinos alone numbered in the double-digits, and you'd seen what one of them could do.
Regardless of protection or possible intention, you decided to leave your research for later. When you hadn't been attacked previous, you'd also held nothing of value. It was very possible that you were now a target since you had an entire bag of produce to your name.

With that, you shuffled away from the crowd and headed back to Cora's home.

<><><><><>

The walk back home was, thankfully, uneventful.

You felt yourself at ease for the first time in days as the now-familiar chattering of man and mon alike faded into the background, the sounds of chaos absconding to leave you with naught but some chirping birds and the upcoming river's quiet ripplings to listen to. Your breaths went from sharp, gasping things to some semblance of normalcy not long after.

Upon making it back to Cora's place, you gave a polite knock (with what little room you had to move your arms) and stepped back.

It took the nurse some time to answer, and when she did so she seemed more surprised than glad to see you. "That was rather quick."

[cont.]

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>>6070276
>No new posts
You let yourself in and left the groceries upon Cora's meager dining table, correcting the bag as it began to slump. "I do tend to keep t' my word. I expect you don't begrudge me for taking so little time."

The nurse took your nutberry basket from you and shook her head. "I'm more appreciative of your efforts at the moment." A moment was taken to contemplate, then-- "You must've been the petty type."

The implication prompted a huff. "Cora, I can guarantee you I've never been a criminal to begin with. The only reason I was ever locked up was choosin' the wrong place to pass out." You pulled up a thatched chair and motioned for Cora to return your basket. "Bring that back; I've got something to show you."

Cora did as you asked, but stayed only a brief moment. She quickly got to stocking produce instead, laying it all out atop a dresser and sorting it into different baskets she had atop a different shelf.

After a protracted wait, you finally managed to get her to settle down and showed her what you'd discovered on the way to the Gulch. Cora seemed somewhat unimpressed by the discovery, commenting how she "wish[ed] that it had a proper fruit", but humored your inquiry about naturalists in the area.

"Oh, you're serious. Well... nobody comes to mind, really. You're rather fish-out-of-water here in more ways than just being foreign. Shenanigan's Gulch is a mining and trading outpost, not a proper city." There seemed to be a hint of bitterness in her tone. "It's a shame, but I doubt you'll find help. Better you look elsewhere if you're out for animal trackers."

The rest of the day was spent planning out tomorrow and making sure the house was as good a safe haven as you were gonna get. Windows were barricaded (at Cora's insistence), meals were made and split between the icebox and the table, a few more nutberries were hollowed out and your pointy rock was made into a makeshift dagger.

<><><><><>

Next morning was a brief one. Cora insisted she stay at home the entire time-- you couldn't convince her to leave no matter what you did and struggled for arguments that would persuade her to come with you. Eventually, you just left the house without her.

In your hand you kept your nutberry basket. Within it was only a couple of nutberries. The rest of the basket was filled with your dagger, a few snacks, a (very, very crumpled) edition of yesterday's news, and your new notebook.

Now all you needed was your old pencil and pen and you'd be golden.

[cont.]

>>6070278
You entered town with some confidence in your stride. It was a bit hard not to feel somewhat full of yourself when you'd found a way to defend yourself from such strange and dangerous beings, after all, and even harder when you weren't thinking straight.

Finding the hotel was rather easy at this point. You'd passed by it repeatedly while heading back and forth, each time thanking the Lord that it was still intact, thinking ahead to when you'd finally reclaim your trunk of stuff. It brought you some solace to know that, even if that demonic sheep remained, you'd be relatively unscathed on your way there.

Entering the lobby was easier than assumed. It seemed like the entire place had been abandoned after the incident. Or maybe the receptionist just hadn't come in to work yet. You weren't sure. But the halls were rather empty. It was only when you reached your door that you'd gotten confirmation of human activity after your previous escape. The room next to yours had a locked door and someone snoring inside of it. You paid the snoring stranger no mind, instead choosing to open your creaky door...

...the room was clear.
You moved to your closet.

Any static that'd gathered there before had gone by now. The sheep wasn't here. You breathed a sigh of relief and dragged your trunk out from the closet and quickly got to looting it.

Within was... everything you'd packed! Multiple changes of clothes, plenty of books on different branches of biology, five dollars and some spare change, a pencil, further writings...

You paused. There was movement somewhere. Glacing around the room...

...gave you no answers. There was nothing.

You returned to rummaging in your trunk.

Once you'd confirmed-- properly, this time-- that all you owned lay within, you shut the trunk and picked it back up, carrying the basket on your arm and starting towards the exit.

<><><><><>

>>6070279
The sun stung your eyes as you left the hotel. No matter, you thought, you'd get used to it soon.

Minutes passed without your vision clearing.

You took a few steps out of the shade. Time continued to crawl by.

You saw no better.

The sun wasn't usually this bright. What on earth was happening?

You could hear commotion towards the south. Some kind of threat was certainly afoot. A threat that could be connected to this sudden brightness, perhaps...?

A person was running away from the scene. Then another. More and more people followed in the first's footprints.

Your trunk could be seen stashed in a bush near the hotel just as you dashed off to take a look.

<><><><><>

The scene that followed could only be described as revolutionary.

[cont.]

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>>6070280
Gathered around the remnants of the old field was every person in town not yet working. Children, their grandparents, and what few folks had been injured poorly enough to be exempt from building work or shop care.

Atop the rocks burying the old field was one of the bipedal anteaters you vaguely remembered from your first true encounter.

From its mouth spewed a continuous stream of fire.

Pure, heaven-scorned, fire.

Further flames left its wrists, flowed through its veins, spewed forth from a great chimney behind its back. Its entire torso seared with heat, the flames radiating from its bulging veins creating an atmosphere so scorching and brutal that you could compare it only to your idea of the sun...

Stars of death provided the only shade to be had around the scene. One lay above the demonic flamethrower, cast dangerously below the flame, now moving--

A great screech split the sky.

The crowd fled.

One of the enormous metal birds came crashing down next to the flaming devil. Another followed.

You stood rooted to the spot.

Children began to shout for their parents. The geriatrics of the town rushed to their families-- you heard them protesting nearly as loudly as the children. The sound of chopping wood and shouting orders began to dwindle.

One of the birds climbed to its feet and grasped the anteater's neck.

The fire was cut short. You heard a muffled scream from the demon. One of the alloyed birds that'd remained aflight now dove, drilling its beak into the anteater's skull, joined by its companions in the brutal endeavour not long after.

You turned to run, tripping over yourself but briefly, heading in the general direction that you knew you'd come from, desperate and trying not to panic and awed and unsure.

You needed your trunk, where you were. You were-- Cora, she would be safe-- this was no time for notes.

You found your trunk. You FOUND YOUR--

>>6070282
It was being eaten.

You tripped once more. That caught the attention of the little rhinos. They'd taken a liking to its clasps.

You forced yourself onto your knees and readjusted your basket.

A glance to the town.

More chaos. Men had begun shooting at the birds and the birds had begun to react accordingly. Some children tried to join in, tossing rocks at their assailants, only for their mothers to force them into housing or away from harm.

Your vision was blocked by a familiar black-and-yellow tail hovering above your head.

You bent to the right. It was hard to make things out. You saw something fly into the sky and heard something else scream after it. Was it human?

You reached for your makeshift dagger. You knew it wouldn't do much, but you needed the rhinos away from your trunk. You pointed it at them, tried to pry them off...

A light tackle brought you to the ground-- a shift at the last minute had thankfully saved your head, and you soon got back on your feet and kicked the trunk in a vain attempt to loose its assailants.

Instead, you just attracted more curious demons.

You were surrounded.

Instinct moved your hand to your basket. A nutberry slipped into your hand.

Which was the weak link?

>The metallic rhino that just tackled you, now showing its back as it munched on your trunk's tiny clasps. Surely if you tempted this demon, its companions would step down just like the ants had.

>The electric sheep who doesn't even know you're here. If you tempted it away, you could find something to use against the rhinos and get your trunk back.

Another bird screech distracted your train of thought. You had to think fast or, you were convinced, you could attract the attention of the more hostile demons down south.

>>6070276
>>6070278
>>6070279
>>6070280
>>6070282
>>6070284
Jesus... six posts. Good going, I suppose.

In either case;
>The metallic rhino that just tackled you, now showing its back as it munched on your trunk's tiny clasps. Surely if you tempted this demon, its companions would step down just like the ants had.
This little guy merely tackled you when you threatened it with a knife. Can't do too much harm, can it? Plus, it at least isn't static like the sheep demon.

>>6070284
>The metallic rhino that just tackled you, now showing its back as it munched on your trunk's tiny clasps. Surely if you tempted this demon, its companions would step down just like the ants had.

>>6070284
>The metallic rhino that just tackled you, now showing its back as it munched on your trunk's tiny clasps. Surely if you tempted this demon, its companions would step down just like the ants had.
As much as I like fluffy Mons like Mareep, I can't pass up on Rhyhorn. It's just too cool.

>>6070307
Given they're small and metallic rather than rocky, I think these may be Arons.

>>6070284
>The electric sheep who doesn't even know you're here. If you tempted it away, you could find something to use against the rhinos and get your trunk back.
A Mareep is a cute started option, though.

Holy shit, QM. Good stuff. Make sure to take care of yourself.

>>6070284
>The metallic rhino that just tackled you, now showing its back as it munched on your trunk's tiny clasps. Surely if you tempted this demon, its companions would step down just like the ants had.
I'm guessing this is a Lairon, as Rhyhorn is a rock type and the former eats iron. This option is also the least aggressive of the two.

>>6070284
I'll vote for the Mareep on the grounds that it's cheaper to feed.

Letting this vote run for a few more hours because I’m busy. Next update should be out in the next 4.

>>6070284
>The electric sheep who doesn't even know you're here. If you tempted it away, you could find something to use against the rhinos and get your trunk back.

I don’t want to have to feed this thing iron.
Not to mention, electric is good against steel. And there are a lot of steel types around.

>>6070555
Actually, Electric resists steel, but isn't effective against steel

>>6070284
>The metallic rhino that just tackled you, now showing its back as it munched on your trunk's tiny clasps. Surely if you tempted this demon, its companions would step down just like the ants had.

>>6070292
>>6070302
>>6070307
>>6070329
Four for Aron,

>>6070326
>>6070371
>>6070555
Three for Mareep

It's (narrowly) settled! I'll get to writing.

And thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you're enjoying my silly little idea.

>>6070329
>>6070371
>>6070555
You know what? I'll take a gamble and change my vote to the sheep.
>The electric sheep who doesn't even know you're here. If you tempted it away, you could find something to use against the rhinos and get your trunk back.

>>6070562
>>6070574
Nevermind, you two tied it lol. I'll go find a tiebreaker and revise according to that, hold on a moment.

>>6070583
>>6070307
I'll swap over my work vote from not-Rhyhorn to the sheep.

>>6070590
Alright, that works. Sheep it is, then, 5-3. (Re-)writing!

The metallic demons had already seen you. You'd seen what they did to the sheriff when he interfered with their snacking on your prison bars. You didn't want to end up like him.

So, instead, you slowly turned around and began approaching the sheep.

It was only when one of the birds, with a loud SWOOSH, flew over you that the blue demon noticed your approach.

To your surprise, it didn't immediately shock you like one of its kind had Cora. It seemed more surprised than anything. The strange creature backed up for just a moment-- a moment that you took to offer it your nutberry.

The second that followed hung suspended for what felt like ages.

Your wrist in front of you briefly flashed, a burn appearing upon your palm despite feeling no pain, the world around you flashing for another moment--

--only for a blink to bring you back to the sight of a docile blue sheep trying and failing to grasp the smooth fruit-like nut, laid upon an untouched hand, that you'd offered it.

The sight was almost comical. A brief moment of placidity in such a heated scenario. But you had no time to waste on pleasantries.

As the berry kept slipping from the sheep's sloppy jaws, you began moving further and further away... until you finally had space-enough to flee the scene.

<><><><><>

>>6070623
Panic remained your main companion as you threw yourself back into the heart of the turmoil. The sun had thankfully dimmed by now, but the reason as to why was rather unpleasant.

A glance to your right brought laid your eyes upon an unmoving beast. The once-fearsome flamethrower now lay defeated, stiff-- conquered upon foreign soil.

Stars of death littered the ground. You withheld gasps as you witnessed attack after attack on healthy fighters or anyone near them. You felt a tug to help them, but the desire was soon snuffed out by a near-death experience as one of the flying ferocities barely grazed your skull and ripped away a lot of your gauze.

Sweat laced your brow, dipped into your sclera, dampened your clothes. All you could focus on was how it could've been blood.

You scanned the abandoned shelves scattered amongst storefront after storefront for anything that could be of use. There was no more time to dawdle on spectating. You knew the demons attacking your trunk enjoyed metal, so you didn't bother with any of the groceries.

Winston & Co.'s was empty. Hard-for-Wear Hardware seemed to only be stocking wood and bricks. Simpson and Dudley's General... there!

<><><><><>

You made your way back to the trunk, gripping your basket in one hand and an entire dinner's worth of empty cans in the other. The atmosphere forced you into tunnel vision-- you could see what was ahead, you could hear what was around, but you needed your trunk and nothing could distract you from that.

Once you'd finally returned to the scene you wasted no time in tossing cans towards the troop of trunk-terrorizers. Their tiny brains seemed to appreciate the gesture, with many of the monsters soon moving to munching on the cans instead of the trunk. The longer you did this, the more the sheep from before-- which you assumed would have left by now-- seemed to try and help. Once only one or two of the demons remained upon the trunk, your caprine companion took it upon itself to try and shoo the others away with light tackles or loud bleats. It was quite the bizarre sight.

Eventually, your trunk was as safe as it was going to get. You congratulated the sheep underneath your breath. The small metal creatures had completely vanished, as had your supply of cans, and you were free to inspect the half-opened trunk's contents.

>>6070625
Your expression soured. They'd gotten to its insides. Gone was your pocketwatch, gone was a fair amount of your cutlery. Your revolver remaining intact was a nice surprise, but most other metal things were either desecrated or destroyed.

A bleat came from your left. Was the sheep replying to you? ...no, it couldn't be. You returned to the trunk.

There was no way it could close. It would need plenty of repair work that you did not have the time for.

You as you forced the trunk between your arms, tightly shut, with your basket dangling from a loose hand, and turned back to whence you'd came.

The sheep followed.

>Head straight home. The town has saved itself before and it can do it again. It's not like you can help much when you're carrying so much stuff, anyways.

>Take a detour to try and tempt some of the steel birds with your berries. That might get them to calm down and could help save some townsfolk from further attack.

>Other (write-in).

>>6070623
>>6070625
>>6070626
>Take a detour to try and tempt some of the steel birds with your berries. That might get them to calm down and could help save some townsfolk from further attack.

We might as well. Our sheep might even assist us!

>>6070626
>Take a detour to try and tempt some of the steel birds with your berries. That might get them to calm down and could help save some townsfolk from further attack.

>>6070626
>Take a detour to try and tempt some of the steel birds with your berries. That might get them to calm down and could help save some townsfolk from further attack.

>>6070626
>Head straight home. The town has saved itself before and it can do it again. It's not like you can help much when you're carrying so much stuff, anyways.
Their current crisis isn't nearly as severe, it looks like the Skarmorys(?) are mostly leaving the town be.

>>6070637
+1

>>6070626
>Take a detour to try and tempt some of the steel birds with your berries. That might get them to calm down and could help save some townsfolk from further attack.

Steel and flying… easy pickings for our wooly friend!

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>>6070637
>>6070660
>>6070664
>>6070672
>>6070699
Another swoosh stopped you dead in your tracks.

A now-familiar figure flew overhead, sharply turning in the sky and returning to your rearview.

A bandage fell down to cover your left eye.

A near-miss.

You focused skyward to see an ironclad enemy staring you straight in the face.

It was hard to make out exactly what it was doing; your trunk obscured its claws, and it flew directly in front of the sun. As rays of light danced upon its gleaming feathers and christened the demon with its own infernal halo, it became impossible to see the specifics of its face or torso.

All you could see was the silhouette, the pointed horn aimed at you, and that which shone around it--

SHHHH-CRICK

You were pushed backwards. Your heels dug into the dirt and your teeth into your lip. The blasted bird was upon you.

Its claws dug deep into your trunk, tearing into the leather casing, talons mere inches from your heart and evil eyes but an inch from your nose. The bladed helmet it wore was made apparent solely by how close it had gotten to cutting your jaw from your skull.

Bereft of better options, you thrust your trunk forward, trying to throw off your armored attacker to the best of your ability, jostling the case back and forth and cursing underneath your breath.

>>6070764
To your great dismay, the demon held on throughout all of this. It only gripped onto your trunk further, deeper, leering at you with such fierce intensity that you felt your very core shaken. Eventually, it tore into the trunk casing so deeply that only the wooden cover remained upon your beaten travel box.

That great grip soon turned against the bird, causing it to lose balance and stumble away from you, struggling to keep aflight as it found itself unexpectedly off-ground. You took the opportunity to run a few paces back and reorganize, shuffling your basket to the forefront and barely shaking out a nutberry from within.

The bird began to regain its balance. It remained fixated on you, and you on it.

A brief hum of static passed you as you returned to your feet and outstretched a hand, nutberry resting upon it, expression forcibly made calm by the situation.

"I've seen what these do to your kind!! I know you have no quarrel with my trunk case, nor am I certain you have any qualms with me. If are to prove me wrong, I reckon it would be a better idea to lay your eyes upon this morsel of magic first!"

You found yourself smiling as you spoke, fear turning to arrogance as the bird before you grounded itself and folded its mighty wings. You had made the right call. It was listening.

The creature approached slowly, at first. It never lost that leering expression that'd unsettled you so greatly before. You found your hand beginning to shake the closer it got, but forced it still. You'd dreamed of moments like this, back at home. You just never pictured you'd be experiencing them here, close to home, rather than someplace wild and exotic like Tasmania or Kenya.

Your confidence only began to crack when you noticed the bird beginning to speed up.

Its approach had quickly gone from a cautious stride to an assured attack. The sharp beak pointed straight at you became enveloped in wind, the front of the beast now resembling an enormous bullet, and, just as the creature got close enough for you to make out the scratches and marks upon its in-built armor, you heard an enormous CRACK of thunder.

The creature crumpled where it was, enormous beak opening into an ear-bleeding screech, collapsing before you to reveal... the sight of a little blue sheep behind it.

>>6070765
It took a simultaneous gasp from everyone for you to notice the crowds of people lining the town streets.

Murmurs filled the silence. People worrying for what would come next-- some hoping you followed the bird, others dreading the thought. You could barely make out a word. All you could hear was your own heartbeat.

The townsfolk of the Gulch weren't the only one to notice, however. You soon saw a Star of Death upon the little sheep that could, for but a moment, as your first foe struggled to get back on its feet. How it could even do so was a miracle to you-- you could smell its burnt feathers, see the crackle of electricity keeping its limbs stiff, hear with great effort how its armor struggled against itself. No matter.

You swung the nutberry basket away once more, putting all of your force into cracking the devil's jaw with a sure smack of your trunk to the side of it, and once you'd downed your great threat, you earned yourself audience to the very same sheep from before summoning lightning to its aid.

One by one, the birds fell. Some could withstand zap after zap, tackle after tackle, but they all fell eventually. You made haste in helping, now embracing your trunk's use as a weapon, teaming up with the tiny terror to take out as many of the flock as you could.

<><><><><>

You never got used to the thunder. The sound of its clap. What it meant. How you'd first heard it.

Even now, hours removed from the occurrences on Central Road, you found your heart pounding as if you were about to fall off of a cliff. Even while the talk of the town, while questioned by the sheriff and cleared of guilt, while enjoying an entire round of drinks being dedicated to you at Nannie's Nano-Bites, you found it hard to calm yourself. You'd used up all that stability while fighting for your life.

You glanced to your left. To your sheepy companion, now laying next to you, deep in slumber. This... this small sheep, the same reason Cora now wore the same bandages you required, was the main reason you weren't back at the clinic, attempting to heal from unspeakable scars to both your body and mind. It hadn't left your side throughout that entire time.

All it took was one offering of this strange nut and the creature seemed as loyal to you as a dog you'd kept for years.

>>6070767
How? How did it work? Why hadn't it worked on any of the birds? The birds, no less, which had taken down another strange beast-- one of fire and flame the likes of which you'd never seen, the kind you'd only hear in stories of great hardship, of houses burning down, of volcanoes erupting. And this sheep, this small creature, this little blue beast, had somehow summoned lightning to itself, stricken down a bird nearly thrice its size, had no difficulty in decimating the rest.

A throb of pain in your forehead reminded you of your bandages, of your circumstance, of the fact that you were in no position to be gripping your gauze so firmly. You relented, taking a moment to observe the crowd and distract yourself, 'til you heard a voice.

>It was familiar. Female. Definitely panicked.

>You heard it, but it wasn't directed at you-- rather, the whole of the crowded restaurant. Someone yelling for everyone to settle down.

>High-pitched, urging someone else along with it. Sounded like a little girl. You'd heard it before, but where?

>It didn't sound human.

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>>6070764
>>6070765
>>6070767
>>6070768

>It was familiar. Female. Definitely panicked.

Cora's here for us!

Our sheep is good civilization.

>>6070768
>You heard it, but it wasn't directed at you-- rather, the whole of the crowded restaurant. Someone yelling for everyone to settle down.
Bandits? Gentlemen thieves? Weary travelers or National Guard? Lets find out

>>6070768
>It didn't sound human.

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>>6070768
>You heard it, but it wasn't directed at you-- rather, the whole of the crowded restaurant. Someone yelling for everyone to settle down.

>>6070768
>It didn't sound human
Cautiously picking the mystery box.

>>6070797
Did you make that image yourself? If so, that's awesome :)

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>>6070797
God bless. We'll become the first Pokemon Ranger yet.

>>6070768
>>6070770
>It was familiar. Female. Definitely panicked.
If it's Cora, let's make sure she doesn't electrocute herself trying to kick the Mareep.

>>6070768
>>6070857
>three are tied
Shit. I'll change to this.
>You heard it, but it wasn't directed at you-- rather, the whole of the crowded restaurant. Someone yelling for everyone to settle down.

>>6070834
That'd be neat.

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>>6070819
Partly? Opening up tegaki lets you import a picture, in this case a reaction image of a dog I had, and draw over it.
(The lack of eye glare was bothering me)

>>6070879
I got as much, I was just wondering if you sketched the Mareep over it yourself.

>All it took was one offering of this strange nut and the creature seemed as loyal to you as a dog you'd kept for years.
My best guess is that it's because the nutberries Apricorns are used to make Pokeballs. Getting a Pokemon to eat one when it's compliant enough is effectively the same as catching it. Then again, they can also be blended into smoothies.

>>6070767
>Nannie's Nano-Bites
What is that a pun on in the late 1800s?

>>6070768
>It didn't sound human.

>>6070626
>>Take a detour to try and tempt some of the steel birds with your berries. That might get them to calm down and could help save some townsfolk from further attack.

>>6070770
I'll change my vote to
>You heard it, but it wasn't directed at you-- rather, the whole of the crowded restaurant. Someone yelling for everyone to settle down.
to break the tie.

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>>6070771
>>6070797
>>6070863
>>6071104
Closing the vote on this option ahead of time to keep things certain because this vote has been tied like three times now and I want to write today lol.

>>6070797
>>6070879
These are adorable anon, I'm saving them right away.

>>6070908
>What is that a pun on in the late 1800s?
Nothing. I chose it because it might be funny to the audience (who knows what a nanobyte is in the modern day) but would also make sense with how old stores were named. It's a restaurant that's not as big as the other one in town, so it's dubbed "nano".

>>6070768
>You heard it, but it wasn't directed at you-- rather, the whole of the crowded restaurant. Someone yelling for everyone to settle down.

Good sheep! Do we know what the little guy eats yet? He/she deserves something special for saving our hide.

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>>6070771
>>6070797
>>6070863
>>6071104
>>6071111
It was a familiar voice. One you'd heard not even half a day ago.

The sheriff spoke up once more. "Quiet down, all of you!!"

You heard distant murmurs dissipating. Whispers of uncertainty and curiosity. Vague throwing-abouts of whether you'd been sent here by someone who knew this would happen or whether it was all complete coincidence. The last voice to go was a lady not far too far from you asserting that you were part of a circus show, coming to town and pulling off an elaborate marketing campaign to make itself known.

Once silence gripped the small eatery the sheriff spoke again. He climbed atop a table and made himself visible. "You've all been gathered here t'day t' eat, sure, but I haven't been hearin' much talk of why y'all are around t' eat in the first place."

He scanned the area, eventually looking in your direction and settling upon it for most of the following speech.

"Just a few hours ago, our little town was struck by threats we'd never seen b'fore. For days now we've been assaulted by all manner of demons 'n dangerous folk, tearin' down our buildings an' attacking our people. T'day was the worst attack on our little Gulch yet. We've lost many a man in so short a timespan," he took off his Stetson and held it to his chest, "an' we've yet t' even lay them that've passed t' rest. But, while them folks were still bleedin', one man took it upon himself t' make sure the rest of us got out alive. A man who didn't even know of us 'til a week an' a half ago, and one whom we've not gotten t' know very well since."

All eyes were on you. The sheriff was pointing directly at your table.

You glanced both ways, then back at your sleepy, sheepy companion. Rising from your chair seemed to wake it, and the loyal stranger quickly got to trailing you as you headed towards the sheriff. Upon arriving at his table, the sheriff motioned for the crowd to clear away and gave you and your sheep enough space to be noticeable amongst the crowd.

"Walter Buchanan, sir, can you spare us a few words?"

>Focus on your sheep. "I couldn't have done it without some help from those you call foes."

>Soak in the glory. "I am honored to have served my new home."

>Be humble. "I did what I had to in the moment. Nothing more."

>Some other direction. (Write-in)

>>6071160
>Focus on your sheep. "I couldn't have done it without some help from those you call foes."
Also show and explain how our nuts are the key to taming these monsters, the information is too important to keep to ourselves

>>6071160
>Some other direction. (Write-in)
>"Thank you for the words. I did what was needed in the moment and am mighty humbled to have been of service and be standing here right now," you began, then gestured one hand toward your dormant companion. "Help from this little stranger also made it possible, and I suppose it's only fair to share the gratitude I received with him. He hardly knew any one of us, yet stuck around until those metal birds couldn't harm us anymore. I hope some of those other critters share inclinations similar to his." You then joked, "for their own sake with those like him around."
It says a little bit of what we need to say at the moment without stepping on any toes.

>>6071160
>>6071176
+1
Nice write-in.

>>6071160
>>Some other direction. (Write-in)
>Focus on the future.
"In truth, If you were to ask me the truth of what the appearance of these creatures meant, what kind of calamity brought them to this little corner of the state- of the world, I would not have any better answer than you. And the events of the past day, well, they raise even more questions for me. But that small miracle we all saw gives me hope, and an idea of how we might weather even the worst of these demons... creatures... whatever you want to call them. And I'm certain that one way or another, Shenanigan's Gulch will stay standing for a long time coming."

>>6071176
+1
I like it. Let’s try to sell the idea of cooperating with the “demons”.

Realistically, I think the Skarmory were the only Pokémon to actually attack people. A small mining town like this could easily sustain herds of the Arron/Rhyhorn/whatever they are with ore dug out of the mountains.

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>>6071160
>Focus on your sheep. "I couldn't have done it without some help from those you call foes."

We could not have done it without our little yellow ray of sunshine.

>>6071160
>Focus on your sheep. "I couldn't have done it without some help from those you call foes."
Love me sheep, simple as.

>>6071176
>>6071188
>>6071210
>>6071310
>>6071326
>>6071174
since this is a speech instead of a binary choice, I'll try to combine the tie into something cohesive. The (excellent) write-in is already somewhat sheep-friendly, so it shouldn't be too hard.

I'll post a little bit later. Something came up so my schedule won't be as free as it was until Saturday. After that, though, things should be back to normal.

>>6071176
+1. Also, despite what >>6071174 said, I'm perosnally VERY against blurting out the secret of the nutberries here. We'll get mobbed or robbed. I don't trust these rubes.

>>6071404
Oh, sorry, should have tagged OP too.

>>6071176

>>6071404
+1 to that.
We’re in a position to start selling some snake oil. Except we actually have something to offer these people, anti-demon services.

Let’s play this up and milk it for what it’s worth.

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>>6071417
Are we really going to be this morally dubious?

>>6071453
Maybe, maybe not. But we shouldn't tell a panicked mob that already suspects us of (essentially) witchcraft that we happen to have magic berries that can keep them safe from demons. They'll hate, fear, or envy us. We won't get to keep them, and they'll sue them up before we can plant them and make this resource renewable.

>>6071404
>>6071405
These are me, btw.

>>6071160
Hey, just caught up with the thread. I do have a little something to toss into the other write-ins.
>”Before I met my strange friend, I had been in the care of Elva and Cora. Both helping to care for my injuries and providing shelter at various points, and the latter for dragging me out of the clinic and accompanying me when things went further sideways. I’d much appreciate it if you’d spread some more goodwill their way.”
Can’t forget to call out some of the people who helped us get here to begin with. It’s the right thing to do and it earns more goodwill to call out locals to share in the spotlight since it shows we’re not taking the people here for granted either when they help us.

>>6071160
>>Some other direction. (Write-in)
>>"Thank you for the words. I did what was needed in the moment and am mighty humbled to have been of service and be standing here right now," you began, then gestured one hand toward your dormant companion. "Help from this little stranger also made it possible, and I suppose it's only fair to share the gratitude I received with him. He hardly knew any one of us, yet stuck around until those metal birds couldn't harm us anymore. I hope some of those other critters share inclinations similar to his." You then joked, "for their own sake with those like him around."
I like the write in. Also, I am inclined to nickname our Mareep Mary if they're a girl, and Franklin if they're a boy.

>>6071174
>>6071176
>>6071188
>>6071210
>>6071310
>>6071326
>>6071404
>>6071514
It was an odd feeling, talking in front of this many people. You’d never really done it before. But, despite your unfamiliarity with the situation, you took to it like a duck to water.

“I really oughta start by thanking you for the opportunity, sheriff. I didn’t expect t’ be sharing any speeches today.” Not after all that, for sure. You glanced at the sheep for another moment— it looked up at you and back out at the crowd. You followed its line of sight.

“I’m mightily humbled to have been of service and standing before you all today, though I’d be remiss to take all the credit for that myself.” You scanned the crowd for a moment before going on.

“If it wasn’t for the works of Elva and her clinic staff, nurse Cora especially,” mild reaction from the crowd, “I woulda been a dead man or raving lunatic right about now.”

Your eyes returned to that of your blue companion’s. “An’ if it wasn’t for the little stranger standing right beside me, we’d still be at the mercy of those vicious birds.”

The sheep followed your words up with an appreciative bleat, laced with static, shushing the crowd and attracting some interested looks from those closest to it.

>>6071525
That gave you pause. Had the sheep just responded to you? Or was that just funny timing?
The crowd gave you pause, leaning in to inspect the sheep or offer empty palms, to which the sheep did naught but offer a curious stare back.
Once the crowd had retreated, you continued.

“He hardly knew anything about us folks, yet he defended us like we were his family and didn’t quit ‘til all those birds were burnt to a crisp.” The crowd’s tone began to shift from intrigue to appreciation. Some people began to smile— others quietly agreed. One older man gave a loud hoot.

All you did was chuckle, in response, and continue on. “I hope, for both our sakes, that some other critters of his ilk share similar inclinations towards us humans.”

The sheep by your side walked in front of you, pushing you slightly, looking up to the sheriff and attempting to wedge itself between you two. “Maybe, someday, if we find more creatures with a mindset like this special fella’s, we won’t need t’ suffer through attacks like today’s any longer— the kind that’ve given us no rest since these creatures first appeared. We won’t have to fear what we know can be defended against, after all.”

The crowd was quiet…

>>6071526
…before erupting into interested chatter and brief expressions of impression.

The conversations people continued bordered on total cacophony.

“How’d he do it? He is unfazed, but my husband-“
“I’d like myself a sheep like that!”
“Surely in league with…”
“How blessed we are to be gifted…“
“Both a hero and an orator, of that caliber?”
“The sheriff’s..!”
“Hush now…”

You returned to your seat, joined by the sheep you had yet to name. The sheriff spoke next… though you already saw a few interested parties eyeing you.

“Thank you, Walt’r, for your speech.”
The sheriff donned his Stetson once more. “It means all the more comin’ from someone so new t’ us.”
He pulled out a bottle of beer and raised it. “To the future of Shenanigan’s Gulch, everybody!”
Those in the crowd who could mirror the gesture did so with haste. You found yourself bereft of a glass with which to mimic it, but smiled along regardless.

A unanimous clink reverberated around the eatery. You swore you could see the sheriff chugging his entire bottle through the sea of glasses, but by the time you could get a clearer look he’d already gotten off the table and sauntered towards the back of the restaurant.

In theory, you had just been left to your own devices again.
In practice, you could see multiple people approaching you from a multitude of angles.

>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.

>Wave over a specific person in hopes that the remaining flow of people is either stopped or stemmed.

>Other (write-in).

>>6071527
>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.
And when we get a lull, we should go check on Cora.

>>6071525
>>6071526
>>6071527
>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.

Form an orderly queue, please. One by one, everybody!

>>6071527
>>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.

We are injured and exhausted.

>>6071527
>>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.

>>6071527
>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.
Should be easy enough to direct them to figure it out themselves instead of needing us to do it. Something like waving them all over and saying
>”Now that the speech is over, I would like to remind folks that not long ago I was rightly chided by a kid for holding up the line at the grocery store when I’d fogged out for several minutes. I’d ask y’all to be courteous to me and each other by working out what questions you all share to ask first and then who will speak first for their own.”

No harm in leaning on our injury to remain sympathetic, and it’s less likely they’ll take offense if we struggle to manage the conversation effectively.

>>6071527
>Stay where you are. Maybe pet the sheep a little bit. If they all come at once, you’ll have control of the conversation and get to hear from them one by one.

>>6071780
I think that might be overselling the bit.

>>6071531
>>6071534
>>6071568
>>6071682
>>6071780
>>6071828
all of this is pretty unanimous. I’ll write up my reply tomorrow. Will try to take the write-ins that work best with the situation into account :)

>>6071995
Thanks for the heads up, QM. The compliment about the write-in is very much appreciated.

>>6071995
Alright, we shall be waiting for more of this good stuff.

>>6071828
Oh, I saw saying it with a smile and a laugh. Show that we’re self-deprecating in good humor but gently remind them that really, we’re seemingly fine until we’re not. Besides, I do want to play down expectations at least a little longer where possible. The higher they are, the quicker we’ll be under the microscope if we fail to meet them.

Doesn’t seem like a stretch to joke around about something serious either given everything that’s been going on. It’s a defense mechanism for some people like myself when confronting things directly feels more likely to make you to vent instead of staying productive about things.

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>>6071531
>>6071534
>>6071568
>>6071682
>>6071780
>>6071828
You kept your guard up as a small swarm of people approached you.

Most of them were older women, you noticed, with one of them even being the questionable character you'd heard accusing you of promoting a circus earlier. Whether she was repeating such an accusation to your face escaped you as everyone began to talk at once.

It took you surrendering your posture and clearing your throat to get everyone to quiet down. "Ladies and gentleman, please, I can't hear any of you through this mess. I haven't an inkling of how y'all're going to hear what I have to say this way."

You slowly began to return your hands to your knees. Once the cacophony had quieted somewhat, a teenage girl led the charge by unleashing a horde of gossipy questions upon you at her first opportunity.

Was it true that you'd been branded a criminal but hours before? Did you know that the birds were going to attack in advance? Were you some kind of animal wizard? How come you'd never been to church yet took to the company of these demons so easily?

You answered all of these with obvious sarcasm or nothing at all. Despite your young age, you had the distinct feeling that you were far too old for this shit. It took an intervention from your bovine bodyguard to ward off the girl, with her attempt at testing whether your gauze was real or tissue paper earning the ire of the sheep and granting the girl a new bruise to nurse off.

Unfortunately for you, many of the other questions were of a similar tone. In fact, one of the older ladies had actually gotten offended that the teenager had "stolen" some of her ideas and stormed off earlier on. It took an audible protest for you to ward off a bunch of the stupider stuff... leaving you with nobody but an aspiring journalist to talk to.

His face was visibly nervous, littered with uncertainty and scant drops of sweat. The poor kid kept looking at you, then your companion, then at your trunk, then at you again. It took a few minutes of stuttering for the guy to start saying anything of substance.

"S-sir, a-ah'm here r-representin' t-the W-Weekly Shasta C-Courier..." ...he shuffled his notes, seemingly having started reading from the wrong page... "...w-was sent here b-bah mah boss, a-ah jus' arrived t-this evenin'. A-ah was... a-ah was wonderin' if y-you could answer a f-few queschuns?" He finally made eye contact.

>>6072498
You spent a half-hour humoring him. The nervous teen's questioning was a breath of fresh air compared to all the baggage the town gossips seemed to carry. All he asked about were easy facts.

Where were you from? Union Village; "a little ways off from Oswego." You didn't clarify further, and the reporter didn't have the confidence to ask for elaboration.
How long had you been here? "About two weeks, give or take a few days." He seemed surprised.
Did you have family in the area? "No, sir, none that i'm aware of."

This kind of easy questioning continued on for some time. The boy only piqued your interest after another seemingly-mundane question. "A-are you aware of t-these events b-bein' replicated a-anywhere else?"

You asked for clarification. "O-oh, a-ah mean attacks l-like t't-day's anywhere else, s-sorry sir. T-there've been r-reports... a-ah've heard in S-Sacramento, L-Los Angeles, e-ev'rywhere... w-weirdo c-creatures t-that don' l-look much like y-you..." ...he glared at the sheep.

Was this happening all across California? "I've only got experience with Shenanigan's Gulch, sorry... unless you can elaborate?"

The reporter swallowed his nerves. His eyes soon drifted to your sheep's and never left them. "...t-the papers a-are sayin' w-we've seen d-demons like y-y-your f-f... f-friend ov'r here.... t-there're a b-bunch in t-the state..."

He took a few steps away from you. "W-we're n-not a big p-paper, a-ah don' know a-about t-the rest o' t-the world..." ...his voice quieted somewhat... "...b-but ah've g-got a feelin' C-California a-ain't alone, a-an' ah jus' wanted t-t' know if m-mah pet theory..."

The boy's voice petered out into something you couldn't hear before a long pause left you both silent. Eventually, the boy-- still looking only at your sheep-- rushed himself into wishing you goodbye and vanished into the ever-thinning crowd.

>Follow the boy and ask him to continue elaborating. He's caught your interest even through all his nervous stammering.

>Get your trunk and head home. It's getting rather late.

>Other (write-in).

>>6072498
>>6072499
>Get your trunk and head home. It's getting rather late.
Cora must be getting a bit worried, and I don't think we are going to get much more interesting exposition here.

>>6072499
>>Get your trunk and head home. It's getting rather late.

>>6072499
>Get your trunk and head home. It's getting rather late.
Sorry I am late, had to save the day and get dragged into things, also hope you don't mind our new friend who tried to electrocute you earlier

>>6072499
>Follow the boy and see if he’ll walk with you to Cora’s place. You could use some information, and you have an idea to run by him.
I’d like more information on how well the town is going to hold up if trade is stopped by these creatures. This is a mining town, so I assume it’s not self-sustaining on the food front. He can also give us a quick rundown of who is important in the town. We’re likely to interact with them more once things get settled.

Also, he doesn’t seem comfortable interviewing people, but he can probably take notes well enough and package them in a digestible format later. We could use someone like that to start noting these creatures. What they eat, what they avoid, what can provoke them, things of that nature. We could use eyes on new planife in the area as well because we need more apricots it may not have stopped at new creatures. I’d be willing to bet that readers would be mighty interested in a newspaper that could tell people all this too.

Run the idea by him, see if he’d be willing to stick around and document our encounters with these creatures in the future. Like it or not, we’re likely to be dealing with them more than most until other “friendly” ones can be found or tamed.

>>6072499
Doubleposting bleh, but I didn’t think of these earlier.

I can also write in
>Track down the sheriff and see if he’ll meet with you at Cora’s early tomorrow morning. You expect you’ll be working more closely with him in the near future.

We’re probably not in the best condition to speak with him now given we’ve been drinking and the sheriff has to keep a tough front while so many people are around. I do want to set a flag event before we get swept up by something else though.

>See if you can pick up a rough pillow or blanket for sleeping outdoors from any stores. Cora will have a problem with your new companion, and you should be prepared.

I’m not accepting a choice between Cora and our fuzzy friend if she’s too afraid of it coming into the house. Her home was attacked before and she’s too far away to get help if it happens again, but our Mareep saved our life too and many others in the town. We may be sleeping on the porch tonight.

If she hears Thunder, she should hide and not come out until we call her out. If we’re still not used to it after all this exposure, she’ll be absolutely terrified to see it in action.

>>6072499
>Get your trunk and head home. It's getting rather late.
We can always track down the kid at a later point if we need to talk to him.

>>6072559
+1, very sensible. Good forethought!

>>6072499

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>>6072559
seeing as these write-ins are excellent but a plethora of people have already voted for the two choices I gave in the initial post, I'll just incorporate these into the next post as part of Walt's plan of action. Thanks for suggesting them.

>>6072685
Always happy to contribute with write-ins! Pretty sure my success rate isn’t better than anyone else, but I make it up through volume.

>>6072505
>>6072524
>>6072527
>>6072534
>>6072559
>>6072599
>>6072652
Well, that was that.

This tiring day was finally coming to a close.

A sigh of relief escaped you as you got to your feet and stretched for a moment, then moved to grab your trunk once more. The process was a little awkward, but you just barely managed to keep it shut and away from the nutberry basket with some effort.

It was time to go home.

<><><><><>

Leaving Nannie's Nano-Bites behind you proved a smidge harder than you'd initially anticipated. You were pretty sure the entire town had been in that place, because trying to leave amongst the steady stream of people flowing out of the restaurant sure made you feel like it had been. Despite the difficulties, though, you managed to make it out onto Central Road just fine.

An odd quiet settled over the damaged town once you gazed upon it. Especially in comparison to how you'd last seen it, the place almost looked at peace for once.

In... out... your heart had finally slowed enough that you could breathe easily again... even as someone nearby began to retch and vomit. Clearly, the sheriff hadn't been alone in his ambitious drinking ventures.

...a few moments of thought were spared for the lawman as an idea came to you. It'd have to wait until tomorrow morning, you figured, but it'd do.

The sheep was distracting you, anyways. It'd followed you out of the restaurant, of course, and was now bleating in the direction of the defeated anteater from before. The creature hadn't moved from where it last was. You wondered if the sheep was expressing that it knew something was wrong with it.

And now you had to consider Cora, as well. You were a guest in her house, after all, and she didn't have the most pleasant history with this creature. Hm.

<><><><><>

>>6072790
A prayer occupied your thoughts as you headed down the trail to Cora's house with a rough pillow underneath your chin, blocking what parts of your vision the trunk already hadn't. You felt the pillow worth it-- especially just for the knowledge that the general store was open so late-- but you weren't comforted by the knowledge that you were now rather vulnerable to being blindsided. The only solace you had was the fact that you could still see at all.

Even now, the sheep refused to leave your side. You felt it brushing against your leg, prompting your hairs to stand on end, occasionally giving the odd look up at you or making a quiet "mehh" at nothing in particular. With each noise your curiosity grew. The crackle of electricity that pervaded its battle cries seemingly came and went as the sheep pleased. Perhaps it was some sort of warning?

Upon reaching the river, you were surprised to see Cora resting on the opposite bank. She was equally surprised to see you... and your wooly friend.

The nurse approached you with caution, never letting her eyes leave the sheep, tiptoeing over the river with a fair amount of grace before stopping as far as she could from the sheep.

She spotted you... then her gaze fell upon the sheep. "...I'd advise that you back away a few paces, Walter. We have an unexpected guest with us."

You replied with a gentle chuckle. "I wouldn't call it unexpected. This creature's been followin' me like a dog since I fed it a nutberry back in town."

Cora's eyes widened. "Now, why would you do that?"

<><><><><>

You delivered a lengthy explanation as the pair of you got to bringing your heavy load inside and Cora got to lighting the place up for the night. The routine was occasionally interrupted by a gasp from Cora or a bleat from the sheep, but otherwise went smoothly. However, it was only as the pair of you sat down to have dinner that Cora seemed to finally grasp things.

"The entire town... at one restaurant... and it didn't move an inch?"

"Well, it moved plenty. But only t' follow or protect me."

The nurse looked to the sheep again, which was now sitting at your side and ogling your meal as if it was its own, with caution. "...I still don't want it here. I... I believe I can trust you, but this sheep-like demon has yet to earn the same position."

You raised a brow. "I thought you considered me untrustworthy."

>>6072793
Cora's shoulders eased a little. The nurse almost looked embarrassed to continue. "Well, yes. I figured after you'd left that I would honour my promise not to trust anyone branded a criminal, and that included you... but once I finally had some time to myself I found it a little foolish. You've saved me from danger with little obligation, carried me to my home when we were under attack, even listened to me and brought me groceries while I was pitching a fit about your criminal record. I'm lucky you haven't barricaded me in here and left me to rot with how I've been behaving towards you."

The sheep gave an impatient bleat. You found yourself offering it a piece of untouched lettuce in an effort to quiet it. The sheep seemed to appreciate the gesture, but the speed at which it finished your measly morsel clearly signaled its desire for more. "I don't think you need t' worry about me treating you like one of the old barn animals, madam. I'm just repaying the debt I owe you for all of this." You motioned to your bandaged head.

A few moments of quiet eating passed before the nurse spoke up once more. "I appreciate it." She offered up a shy smile with her apology.

You returned the favor.

The sheep was herded outside for the night, much to its dismay. The creature was offered your spare pillow as comfort, but it still seemed rather upset by your choosing to leave it outside. Not even you were comfortable with the idea of it sleeping in the house, however, so it spent its night sleeping beside the shack instead of within it.

Come early morning, you were already outside and washing yourself. You planned on finding the sheriff as soon as possible, but beyond that your day was free. What were you to do with this free time?

[Choose two.]

>Track down that paper boy and see what he has to say. There's no way he could have left town by now.

>Try to get to know Cora a little more. It wouldn't hurt to get to know the person giving you shelter.

>Start trying to document some of the creatures by portioning out times to observe and take notes on them. You'll spend at least some time during both the night and day.

>See what you can do to help the town recover from yesterday's attacks. You probably won't be able to help with construction due to your head injury, but maybe some other clean-up is in order?

>Take a lengthy rest someplace safe to calm your nerves and soothe your healing wounds.

>Explore the woods on the other side of the river to see what's there.

>>6072790
>>6072793
>>6072796

>Start trying to document some of the creatures by portioning out times to observe and take notes on them. You'll spend at least some time during both the night and day.

>Try to get to know Cora a little more. It wouldn't hurt to get to know the person giving you shelter.

Let's go with these two. I honestly don't think that boy could have told us much more, and I think knowing more about the creatures could help soften Cora's demeanor towards your little companion.

>>6072812
+1
for the future we could ask around if anyone knows how to grow those nutberries

>>6072812
Supported. The paper boy might stay in town for a day or two longer at the least due to all the Pokemon running around, and it'll be quicker to get Cora to warm up to our Mareep this way. Speaking of which, beginning documentation will allow us to develop a naming convention for the creatures; no one knows them by their "original" names and this is now semi-historical fiction. Henri Douvillé's contribution to naming codes in 1881 is the most recent to the events of the quest, but the QM mentioned Strickland earlier, so it's likely his call if it comes to that, kek.

>>6072812
+1
It's not been very long so the boy probably doesn't have much information for us yet

>>6072812
+1

>>6072834
I mean they look like oversized colorful acorns effectively, even without OOC meta knowledge of how easy it is to grow these things it wouldn't be much of a stretch to put one in the dirty water it for a bit and see if anything happens.

>>6072834
>>6072882
We should be able to figure out how to cultivate and distribute the nutberries after talking with the sheriff. They grow into small trees, so it'll be a long term project.

>>6072796
>>6072812
Supporting. I would only want to explore after coordinating with him so we can go with a small party, and taking our own notes is one way to show what we’ll need someone to do while we’re traveling or patrolling or whatever. We’ll be the least helpful in the town as well, especially if our friend gets too protective while we’re working.

We can always ask the sheriff for help finding the paper boy if press-ganging him as our writer gets traction.

>>6072796
>Track down that paper boy and see what he has to say. There's no way he could have left town by now.
It would make sense that he'd wait until morning to leave
>Take a lengthy rest someplace safe to calm your nerves and soothe your healing wounds.

>>6072796
>See what you can do to help the town recover from yesterday's attacks. You probably won't be able to help with construction due to your head injury, but maybe some other clean-up is in order?
>Start trying to document some of the creatures by portioning out times to observe and take notes on them. You'll spend at least some time during both the night and day.

>>6072812
>>6072834
>>6072849
>>6072877
>>6072882
>>6072900
yet another pretty unanimous vote! I'll take into account.

I've got the day free today so I'm going to try and reply as much as possible. Will leave votes open for about an hour and then reply.

Writing...

>>6072882
>>6072895
We're a biologist
There are plants who need to be eaten by an animal and be digested to then be able to grow in their poop.
There are plants that need to be burned in bush firest for their hard shells to crust, so the plant will then grow.
There are plants that need to be frozen first and dew to activate the growth process.

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You finished your morning routine with a newfound certainty directing your thoughts. Today there would be no chaos-- no, today would be a day of discussions and research. Something calm for once...

<><><><><>

Your trek to the sheriff's office was thankfully uneventful. Your sheep brought you company, once more refusing to leave your side, as you gave a brief knock upon the shoddy door.

After some commotion, the short man built like a brick whose face you'd come to memorize greeted you with a half-aware expression. Whatever greeting he gave was slightly slurred, and he refused to talk to you before disappearing into a room and returning with a wet face and wide eyes.

"So, Mr Buchanan, you here for sumthin'?" the man barked, his old vigor returning to him, leaning back in a spinning chair and giving you a stern look.

"Just your audience, sir," you pulled up a chair across from him.

The sheriff seemed intrigued. "Go on."

"I was wonderin' about trade, sir, and farming 'round these parts." He raised a brow. "I heard this was a mining town with little interference in the wildlife-- it's part of why I was sent here, sir, to study. I wasn't told as much about the flora, but I've not seen many fields here. Am I right to assume that you mostly import foodstuffs?"

The sheriff spent some time pondering. You could tell it had been a while since he'd answered questions like these. "...well, you wouldn'ta been right some time ago, when we were makin' efforts to curb that. But... with our fields destroyed an' our town less-than-organized, ah wouldn't say we've got much t' eat besahdes the berries in th' woods and whatev'r we can get from the Redding trains."

A frown crept onto your face. Would trains still be running during circumstances as dire as these?
Your train of thought was halted by another reply. "Why ask?"

"Well, sir, I'm not from 'round here. You know that much. I just wanted to know the situation of basic necessities and how it'd affect my research."

The sheriff's brow began to furrow. "You keep talkin' about all this research, boy, and I'm still here in the dark. All ah know about you is that you showed up a week or two ago, you stayed at our hotels and drank at our bars, then saved our town from a bunch o' demons whom you're now insistin' aren't actual threats. I'd like it if you explained what you're doin' here before discussin' this research o' yours."

>>6073371
A brief explanation ensued. Once you were finished, the sheriff seemed to ease up a bit.

"Lookin' t' research our local flora and fauna for a fortune, eh? What luck you've had, then, t' wind up here 'n now." He gave a dry laugh. "Ah suppose ah can't fault you for your timin'. If you knew about this, ah'd've had plenny more questions than ah've got about now."

You nodded. "Definitely. You wouldn't know anyone who could help me with my endeavors, would you?"

The sheriff shrugged. "Best I can do ya for is the local news. Any journalist ah've met seems t' be great with notes. Simpson an' Dudley's has got some bear traps in case you need 'em," you winced at the possibility that you might, "but that's about it."

That was your main pair of questions answered, but you still had the sheriff's attention. What would you do with it?

>Warn him of the metal-eaters that could sabotage train lines and recommend he prepare for interference.

>Ask about fertile land within the state.

>Clarify your stance on the 'demons' and recommend against trying to attack or drive them out without provocation.

>Ask about evacuation plans and whether the town had any if things got dire enough; which city would people move to and how, what it would take for such plans to be put into effect, etc.

>Nothing. Move on and start researching the strange new creatures.

>Write-in.

>>6073371
>>6073372
>Warn him of the metal-eaters that could sabotage train lines and recommend he prepare for interference.
"They might not be actively hostile, but they sure have an appetite for the rails."

>>6073372
>>Warn him of the metal-eaters that could sabotage train lines and recommend he prepare for interference.
And even if the train lines are in tact, if every other town has these problems, they may need the food for themselves, and are looking after their own first.
May be smart to put some rationing into effect until we can be sure that we can still get food from outside town.

>Clarify your stance on the 'demons' and recommend against trying to attack or drive them out without provocation.
They seem to be smarter than regular animals, and they've been brought here by forced beyond our understanding. The sheep thing was just a scared animal, and now it clings to us because we were the first to show it kindness.

>>6073372
>Warn him of the metal-eaters that could sabotage train lines and recommend he prepare for interference.
It would be important to note that they appear to be living off the metal and are likely pests rather than predators.

>Clarify your stance on the 'demons' and recommend against trying to attack or drive them out without provocation.
This might be information the sheriff may or may not be realizing at the moment, but it's good to avoid unnecessary conflict. If our sheep-like friend can be agreeable, perhaps others among the new fauna can be as well.

>>6073377
>>6073385
>>6073410
Pretty unanimous once again. I'll integrate everything. Writing...

>>6073413
Damn, wasn’t in time for my own question.

I wanted to ask him if he expected we’d be needed to accompany any caravans for trade since the roads and rails likely aren’t clear. Even if these creatures aren’t everywhere yet it’s pretty obvious living creatures breed. Their habitats will expand over time.

I’m not opposed to being called on for it. All I’d ask for in return is his influence to get us help in studying these creatures wherever possible. We need info if we’re going to tame the new wilds, and it can’t wait until university folks from the other coast find their way over here to poke and prod things.

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"I'll keep them in mind. Thank you, sheriff."

You sat yourself up a little straighter. "You mentioned, earlier, how I was insisting that these newcomers were not a threat."

An eager nod from the sheriff interrupted your opener. You continued.

"And I stand by that. Unless you attack them first, I don't think there's much reason t' fear these creatures."

The sheriff sat up as straight as you had, immediately moving to correct you. "We didn' do anythin' to those birds, Buchanan."

You kept your posture. "I saw the gunshots, sheriff. You may not have hit them, but you most cert'nly caught their attention."

Your eyes drifted to the sheep pacing around your chair, seemingly looking for some kind of threat. "I didn't provoke this little blue fella, and he did nothin' to me. In fact, he understood my intentions well enough t' seemingly bond t' me, and I've had some trouble shakin' him off since." Another quiet chuckle escaped you. It was funny to think that you were even trying to rid yourself of its company. "These new arrivals are certainly smarter than your average sheep or bird. They understand kindness and know what we mean by 'em."

"I think, if ah can do it an' come out unscathed, there's nothing stopping you and your town from holdin' off on the pistols and provokin' fights until one of them's already made an aggressive move." You kept your tone steady and your voice quiet.

The sheriff seemed to take slight offense to your implications, but he didn't respond until he'd seemingly cooled down a little. "I assure you, boy, that our town has no problems with this sorts'a stuff until our folks are provoked. We're already takin' your advice."

"I'm glad to hear that." You hoped the sheriff was being genuine and that what you'd witnessed earlier was just a fluke. "...though, I figure it'd be irresponsible of me not to let you know of the metal-eaters."

"The met'l eaters?"

"You've already had a close encounter with 'em, if my memory's got things right." You jabbed a finger at the messy hallway that led to the jail cells. Or, what remained of it.

"...right. Those devils."

>>6073437
"They ate my prison bars, back there. It's how I got out. Ever since, I've seen them chase after metal, and only metal. Never have I seen one lay a finger upon a human soul save for your own, and I heard you firin' bullets at them earlier."

The sheriff frowned. He was going to say something but bit his lip shut instead.

"Now, I figure there's some real danger in a town swarmin' with these creatures getting its food supply solely from railroads."

You saw his face turn pale.

"And you saw what my companion did t' those birds."

The sheriff gave a slow nod. He seemed to be paying attention to something else, now, that only he could see. His thoughts, perhaps.

"If it's any consolation, I'd be willing to accompany some trading caravans just in case the train network goes down. To keep them safe. All I can ask for in return is that you help me with my studies as much as possible." A hint of ice crept into your tone. You hadn't intended it to, but the situation was grave. It required such seriosity, did it not?

There was a long bout of silence. Then, the sheriff finally spoke again. "...it'd be a pleasure t' have you protectin' our food supply, Buchanan. Ah'm sure the rest o' the town would say th' same once you explain things."

Your expression grew softer. "I'd hope they would. Thank you for agreein' to this."

The floor complained as you shuffled back and got out of your seat. "If ever you need me, I'll be down at Cora's house on the River. I don't plan on leaving this town for some time, sir, so it shouldn't be hard to find me."

The sheriff nodded and tipped his hat to you.

On your way out the door, you paused for but a moment. "...consider some kind of rationing, sir, if anythin' goes awry."

With that, you left the sheriff to his own devices.

>Begin researching the local wildlife; specifically, the new creatures.

>Pick up one of those bear traps the sheriff mentioned first.

>Write-in.

>>6073335
Well yeah but we got a ton of em don't we? My main point is as far as im aware we got enough of those things to experiment with and something as simple as "does it need anything special to grow or can it just grow with minimal effort?" seems pretty important to figure out. Besides we probably aint the only fellow with seeds like these and id rather us not get beaten out by the first casual joe to make a uneducated logical conclusion.

Anyway
>Begin researching the local wildlife; specifically, the new creatures.
Also sorry for briefly posting between ya post OP.

>>6073437
>>6073440
>Begin researching the local wildlife; specifically, the new creatures.
Let's see the local fauna.

>>6073440
>Begin researching the local wildlife; specifically, the new creatures.

>>6073440
>Begin researching the local wildlife; specifically, the new creatures.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>6073441
No worries man.

>>6073441
>>6073443
>>6073449
>>6073460
Once you'd left the sheriff behind you, it occurred to you that you hadn't thought of where exactly you'd begin your studies. Where did you want to focus your research for the day?

>Just around town is good. You might be interrupted by townsfolk, but there should be plenty of wildlife to study without danger here.

>By the river. You'd be close to Cora and able to study someplace quiet. The only downside was that you hadn't spotted many of the strange new creatures in there at all...

>In the forest. Arboreal areas always had an abundance of wildlife, so it'd be a great place to start looking... assuming you knew how to find your way back.

>Up the mountain. There was no way you'd make it out unscathed, but it might help to know more about the place all the deadliest threats seem to be coming from.

>>6073463
>By the river. You'd be close to Cora and able to study someplace quiet. The only downside was that you hadn't spotted many of the strange new creatures in there at all...
This ties into the "rest and recover" option from a few updates back, I think

>>6073463
>Actually... You have one cooperating specimen right next to you.
Take measurements, weigh it, draw it, see how well it responds to commands

>>6073463
>Just around town is good. You might be interrupted by townsfolk, but there should be plenty of wildlife to study without danger here.

>>6073470
Seconded. Let's start with our little buddy, name him according to the zoology codes of the time, and note qualitative and quantitative information about the creature like >>6073470 suggests. Each one we study could be categorized by family, to genus, to species, to subspecies, to evolution in that order alphabetically. That way, they could be identified both separately from the existing animal species or with them depending on the use case.