This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
Just like nearly every other pub in the history of forever, Juturna Tavern had an air of warmth. Tiffany could smell food being cooked and the smell of beer was stronger closer to the bar. She slipped into the pub quietly with Mo behind her, and stood against the wall as she scanned the regulars for someone with red hair. Of all the people to talk to at this Ranger’s Outpost, she had heard that Polly was the one to talk to.
<I want to try that drink,> Mo said, meaning the beer. <It looks nice.>
Tiffany shook her head and didn’t answer since she had spotted the red haired lady. She started to pat down her hair and the paused before looking at her partnered Pokemon. “No funny business, Mo.”
<But red hair is so—>
“No.”
<Fine.>
With that sorted out (hopefully), Tiffany approached the redhead. “Hi! Are you…” Don’t call her Sa’di, don’t call her Sa’di. “Polly?”
The woman manning (womanning?) the tavern glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, that's my name!" the cheerful woman responded as she set a tray down before a couple of guests. A golden Breloom at her side trills a greeting too. Once she has seen that the guests have begun to dig into their food and are completely satisfied, she thrusts her hand out enthusiastically to Tiffany.
"Eos is always welcome here," the woman said. "Trainers, breeders, rangers, researchers, we take all of them in!" She tapped her pen against her palm before fishing her pocket for her notepad. "Anything on the menu interest you two? Today's special on the menu is Clamperl Chowder!"
"Oh, and if you didn't mind, would you care much if I joined you?"
Tiffany waited patiently for the woman to finish serving the customers, surprised by how happy she had sounded. In all honesty, Tiffany had been expecting another Sa’di (something which the bright red hair had helped with). When Polly had finished with the customers, Tiffany shook the hand she had offered to her.
“Thanks…” It took a moment for her brain to adjust to the way Polly talked – she couldn’t remember the last time she had met someone like this – but the adjustment didn’t take long at all. “Oooh, Clamperl Chowder sounds yummy. How much is it?”
Mo coughed behind her, but Tiffany waved him off. She hadn’t had a hot meal in days, and one day on its own was one day too many. “Of course you can join us! Actually, I came here because I heard you were the person to talk to.” And she could now talk to her over a nice cooked meal. Oh, pubs were so going to become her favourite places to eat now.
The Pokémon ranger only returned Tiffany's question with another winning grin. She made her way over to an empty wooden table and patted the top of it. "Here, why don't we settle down at this table?" Polly asked. The Breloom followed after her partner, and the grass-fighting type even took it upon itself to have a seat.
"Clamperl Chowder is on the house," Polly said with a wink. "I caught a glimpse of your styler earlier. Always happy to meet another Eos Ranger recruit, you see." The Ranger's words alone did not fully express how enthusiastic she was to see Tiffany. It was quite safe to state that this woman was the complete opposite of Sa'di, even if they did have the same color hair. With that, she disappeared into the kitchen and popped back out in no time, carrying a tray with two helpings of Clamperl Chowder.
She set the two bowls upon the table with ease. "Well, dig in!" she said, gesturing for Tiffany to sit down. "You're flattering me, you see, though I like to think that I keep good company!"
She followed Polly to a table and sat down with Mo hovering beside her. “O-oh! Are you sure?” No protests would have worked, since before Tiffany could come up with one, the redhead had disappeared, leaving Tiffany sitting with the Breloom. The guilt she felt for not paying was outweighed by Tiffany telling herself that rangers probably got treated to free food here all the time. This was a ranger outpost, after all. Besides, she needed to save as much money as she could until she reached Nerio City.
Polly had returned almost as soon as she left – even more surprises! Tiffany gratefully took the bowl and took a big mouthful, almost burning her mouth by doing so. “This is really good!” she exclaimed. “Thank you Polly.”
The food was too tempting, so she had another mouthful or two before saying, “I bet everyone else thinks you’re great company too.” Especially if she gave them a free lunch. “I’m only a new recruit, though. Like, fresh out of Juno City. So… I was wondering if you could give me some tips about being a ranger.”
ZULF ? (so that's what happens to the leftover swarm pokemon no one wants...)
Polly nodded enthusiastically, adding, "Go on, have a bite!" She watched, quite pleased with herself, as Tiffany dug into the Clamperl Chowder. "Oh, anytime! We have a lot of rangers swinging by here, but we don't mind at all. In fact, we want them to come by here if they can." Polly knew very well that acting as a Pokémon Ranger was no easy feat. Unlike Pokémon trainers, breeders, or researchers, they did not carry full teams of six, nor did they use Pokéballs to capture new Pokémon. Of course, this did allow for a more intimate relationship between human and Pokémon to be achieved.
The redheaded ranger took her own scoop of the chowder soup, swallowing thoughtfully as Tiffany spoke. "Yes, we get a lot of new recruits swinging by Juturna Village," the more-experienced ranger explained. She raised a finger didactically before continuing. "There's one very big rule that rangers have to follow. They say that you can't trust people, did you know?" Her words were incredibly serious for such a light-hearted tone.
She leaned forward a bit. "But Pokémon? Your Pokémon partner? You can always, always trust them."
Tiffany kept still, listening intently for this one very big rule. She had never heard of it before, and was a little worried that she may have unknowingly broken it. Whatever she guessed it would be, she had not been expecting what Polly had told her.
“Really? I didn’t know that…” Almost immediately after she said that, Tiffany remembered the people who had claimed to be her relatives and sucker her dry of money. Now that she thought about it, that mess would have never happened if she hadn’t believed – trusted – them when they first showed up.
She looked at Mo, whose eyes were fixed on Polly’s hair. Tiffany sighed; she was supposed to trust Mo? With some things she might, but others she certainly wouldn’t. She could only imagine the trouble he’d get up to if left on his own!
Tiffany frowned. “Oh, the signs… they’re harder to collect than I thought.” Even though she wasn’t limited to that one Manaphy sign anymore, she still felt like she was falling behind in some non-existant sign-collecting race. “Do you have any tips on how to get more of those?”
The ranger didn't seem to mind the way that the Rotom was fascinated with her hair. Most people were, anyways, and oftentimes, they asked if the shade of her hair really was natural or not. The woman beamed at the Rotom, and she would have given the Pokémon a rub on the head if she wasn't busy slurping at her own soup. She lifted a napkin and began to daintily pat the corners of her mouth.
"You seem like a friendly person," Polly said encouragingly. "I'm sure that you'd have little trouble with befriending plenty of Pokémon. How many signs have you collected so far?"
She fell silent, thinking about Tiffany's final question. "The way to a Pokémon's heart is sometimes food. Actually, for the most part, it is food." Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Oh, you see, food is the way to my heart too!" She leaned forward, as if to share a secret. "Food is the way to my Heart Sign."
“Um…” Tiffany tried to recall the right number, and almost failed. “Two, I thi—no, three.” She had almost forgotten the old lady in the cave. “I have three so far.”
As she listened to Polly, she took the opportunity to have more of her chowder, and when Polly mentioned that food was the way to a Pokemon’s heart, she glanced guiltily over at Mo. She hadn’t offered him any of her food at all, and he had been eating the same boring food as she had for the past however long. It would have been a bit embarrassing, she felt, to offer her food to Mo now, so she didn’t. She did stop eating though.
And almost dropped her spoon. “Your Heart Sign…? Food is the way to… This isn’t a riddle, is it?” Tiffany had never tried answering a riddle before. But riddle or not, Tiffany tried to find an answer or a hidden meaning anyway, and all she could come up with was that Polly liked to eat; she liked to eat as much as a Pokemon did, apparently.
That didn’t quite sound like a nice thing to say, however.
“Um…” Tiffany tried to recall the right number, and almost failed. “Two, I thi—no, three.” She had almost forgotten the old lady in the cave. “I have three so far.”
As she listened to Polly, she took the opportunity to have more of her chowder, and when Polly mentioned that food was the way to a Pokemon’s heart, she glanced guiltily over at Mo. She hadn’t offered him any of her food at all, and he had been eating the same boring food as she had for the past however long. It would have been a bit embarrassing, she felt, to offer her food to Mo now, so she didn’t. She did stop eating though.
And almost dropped her spoon. “Your Heart Sign…? Food is the way to… This isn’t a riddle, is it?” Tiffany had never tried answering a riddle before. But riddle or not, Tiffany tried to find an answer or a hidden meaning anyway, and all she could come up with was that Polly liked to eat; she liked to eat as much as a Pokemon did, apparently.
That didn’t quite sound like a nice thing to say, however.
"Here," Polly said, holding her hand out to Tiffany. "Let me take a look-see at your styler, could I?" It was always difficult to explain to new rangers how to use their new Heart Sign though. Very few of them seemed to fully grasp the fact that the Heart Sign. Each Pokémon was different, and each attack was different. That was what Polly liked about the sign she gave out to rangers, anyways.
Well, at least it hadn’t been a riddle! That much Tiffany was grateful for. Still, she was slow to hand her styler over to the other ranger; she really had no idea what Polly wanted it for. And even though she wanted to ask, she also didn’t want the surprise to be ruined, so Tiffany kept quiet and just watched.
Until Mo broke the silence. <Can I have one of those drinks yet?>
“Sssh.” Tiffany whispered back, “Something cool is going to happen and I don’t want to miss it.”
Polly pressed her thumb against the back of the styler. The piece of technology whirred to life, and she hummed to herself as she scanned its print. "Just a little longer and... there we go!" The styler beeped, and an image of a red heart was displayed upon its small touch screen. The other ranger looked quite proud of herself. "Here, you've got the Heart Sign available on your styler now," the woman said. "Pay close attention. It could get complicated, but it's really not."
She leaned closer to Tiffany, as if she were sharing another secret with the fellow ranger. "Think of a Pokémon move; any move! Now, once you've got exactly the move you'd like in your head, imagine it happening. Shh, yes, don't worry, I know what I'm talking about. When you know what move you'd like for your Heart Sign, all you have to do is press your finger against the styler's screen. It's quite easy, really, but you have to be careful that you picture exactly what the Heart Sign will be." Polly held up an index finger like a lecturing teacher. "Otherwise, your Heart Sign may come out a little differently than you wanted it!"
And with a beep it was done. Almost done. All that was left now was something that should have been simple and easy enough to do, but as soon as the word ‘complicated’ was said, that’s how Tiffany imagined the next part.
When she was told to think of any move, Tiffany first thought of her Rotom’s ThunderShock but when she realised that whatever attack she thought of would be the Heart Sign, she quickly got rid of that thought. She didn’t want ThunderShock as her Heart Sign.
She tried to make her decision as carefully and as quickly as she could. She wanted something useful, something that would really help her out in a battle. “Um, this is hard,” she admitted to the other ranger, sheepishly. “But I think…” Tiffany frowned, then nodded. Okay. She knew what move she wanted. Tiffany closed her eyes, and did her best to imagine little spores floating downwards as she pressed the styler’s screen with her finger.
After a moment or two she looked up at Polly. “So, how long do I have to touch it for?”
(I was so close to picking Perish Song, but I chickened out and chose Spore >.<
The styler made more beeping noises, and the entire screen suddenly went white. Polly raised a brow and peered over at the other ranger's equipment. "Hmm, you see," the woman began, "I don't really know how this works!" She laughed a bit, not nearly as concerned as she should have been. "Remember when I said a Heart Sign varies from person to person? Each person's imagination is a little different, but... I think that should do it, yes. I think you can let go of the screen now."
The styler whirred and seemed to respond to Polly's words. It beeped three times, musically, as little white flakes floated across the technology's screen. "Those look like little spores to me, if you wanted to ask," Polly piped up. It was always fun handing out a new sign to rangers.
The woman manning (womanning?) the tavern glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, that's my name!" the cheerful woman responded as she set a tray down before a couple of guests. A golden Breloom at her side trills a greeting too. Once she has seen that the guests have begun to dig into their food and are completely satisfied, she thrusts her hand out enthusiastically to Tiffany.
