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!
It did not take Lulu very long to discover that his conversations with Laurent were going to be very one-sided. When the Abra did open up his mind though, the man didn't have many ideas on what the Abra was talking about.
<Not very cosmopolitan, are you?> the Pokémon asked. <No need to be so clandestine. I can see everything on your -->
"Everything on my mind, got it," the man said. This was the fifth sentence of the day that he'd filled in for the Abra. He didn't particularly mind that the Pokémon never shut up when it started going, but he decided that he'd like a bit of peace and quiet in his head. It was nearly as bad as being around Helda, but at least the Abra didn't steal his belongings. He gave the creature a pat on the shoulder. "I suppose we'll have to press on then, won't we, Laurent?"
<Arceus-speed.>
"... right."
Of course, the fastest way out of Proserpina City was through Grimer's Court, the outskirts of the city. Thus far, Lulu had only come into contact with people, which wasn't a problem per say, but it was always hard to tell if one could trust another human. Pokémon were a different story. He'd been granted more acts of random kindness from the Pokémon that passed through Di Manes than the trainers who did (granted, most of the time, it was the people who needed help through the caverns).
13 MIME JR, FILTER tickle, barrier, confusion, copycat, double slap, meditate, wake up slap
She lurked, in an alleyway, back pressed against the wall, hat bouncing frantically as her paws clutched at the brick wall like a buoy in the vast ocean. Occasionally, she would peek out, away from the shadows of the slums, at the empty, dirty, grimy streets that were full of equally dirty humans. She told herself that it was just the place she'd chosen to make her home, and if she just moved, things would get better. But she never did.
She thought he was handsome - not the human, oh no, he wasn't anything special, but the abra beside him looked stunning, and with that bright, yellow tone he took on, it almost seemed to make the slums glow (at least, in her mind). She wanted to approach him, maybe strike up a conversation, but she would muster up her nerves from where she hid, and right when she was about to reveal herself he would turn and talk to that human of his, and Mime Jr. would shrink back, listening to her own heart beat.
thump, thump, thump.
It wasn't bad, listening to their conversations, but it was hard work keeping up and not being seen, at the same time. Thankfully, Mime Jr. knew her way around the slums, every corner and shadow tucked away in the recesses of its memory, so she was doing a good job of concealing herself from their sights. And it was such an absurd thought - that she was doing this over some stranger pokemon - that she couldn't help but laugh, muffling it against her hand as the cry rose in pitch, then fell, like all Mime Jr's cries did, echoing around what was an otherwise quiet surrounding, and she froze there, holding her breath.
<Lucas, do not swear.> Despite the Abra's admonishing statement, the psychic-type Pokémon had already set to detecting what had made the noise. It had sounded like a cry; perhaps a Pokémon was in pain. If that was the case, then he and Lulu had an obligation to give the Pokémon a helping hand. <I do believe that someone requires our aid,> Laurent noted, hovering a bit above the ground. The Pokémon crossed his legs, meditating, as his mind scanned the slums.
<This way, Lulu.>
"Lucas,"
<Lulu, please hurry.>
It didn't take very long for the Abra to search out for the Pokémon who had made all the noise. It led the pair to a Mime Jr., one that did not appear to be injured at all. So Lulu frowned, crouching to the little Pokémon's height. "You don't look very hurt," the man commented, "though I didn't think that the noises you must have made sounded like you were in pain. Laurent thought otherwise." He gestured in the Abra's direction. "You must live here, right? You're not lost or anything?"
13 MIME JR, FILTER tickle, barrier, confusion, copycat, double slap, meditate, wake up slap
No, no no it wasn't supposed to be like this, her plan quickly falling apart at the seams and her legs freezing at the prospect of being caught (because Mime Jr. had never been the bravest of her kind). She was supposed to be following them, not the other way around. And she tried to tell herself that if she didn't run, she'd get caught, but she couldn't move, and the voice wasn't enough to sway her senses. Her heart trembled - she could feel it shake.
Thump, thump, thump.
When they came up to her, one after the other, she almost jumped. Instead, she tensed up, hugging the wall behind her tighter as pupils flickered from the man to the glowing stranger, shaking her head at both statements. "I'm...okay." Mime Jr. got out at last, using her paws to hide the blushes that the stranger pokemon had actually been concerned for her, of all things, then attempted to change the subject a bit. "Y-You are new here? Both of you."
The man gave the small Pokémon a quick nod. "Sorry, just making sure," he said to the Mime Jr. "You look a little... shaky. Nah, never mind. You're looking at me like I'm a hungry Houndoom or something." He moved a little to the left, taking a seat against the wall by the psychic Pokémon's side.
The Abra was mostly curious about the Pokémon's timid nature. He rubbed the tip of his chin as he examined the Mime Jr. silently. Lulu wondered what had caused the Pokémon to become so pensive, mostly because Laurent was an unusually chatty Abra.
"Yeah, we're new," Lulu replied for the two of them.
<I am not new. I am from the realm of Juno,> Laurent butted in.
Lulu cleared his throat before continuing. "Fine, Laurent's originally from Juno, but I came from Di Manes. Do you know Di manes?"
The Mime Jr. was making him nervous with her stuttering. Still, the Pokémon ranger didn't mind keeping the psychic Pokémon some company. He didn't have much else to do, and it was a nice day to be out and about anyways. It was better than being cooped up indoors (though Lulu didn't have much problems with dark, dank, and quiet interiors). He drummed his fingertips upon a knee, waiting for an answer from the Pokémon. Like Pokémon partner, like human partner -- neither of the Ranger pair seemed to notice how embarrassed the Pokémon was feeling.
13 MIME JR, FILTER tickle, barrier, confusion, copycat, double slap, meditate, wake up slap
The thumping was settling down now, to a faint murmur, and Mime Jr. found that, as long as she wasn't looking at the other pokemon, her surroundings didn't swim and the world didn't look like she was peeking through a filter. Still...she wasn't sure how to reassure this human that it wasn't anything about him, but her own feelings. "No. I was just a little...surprised." Quietly, after deciding that it was the right cross between ambiguity and sincerity to stop any further questions (hopefully).
When he sat next to her, Mime Jr. resisted the urge to tense up again, leaning forward on one toe and shying her gaze away from the Abra's (and she could feel herself blushing again, rubbing at her face with a pink paw). Surprisingly, the knowledge that they were both new and not residents somehow made it better, and she found herself pondering, hoping - they weren't like the others, the human, not like the humans she knew. "Y-Yes, I know of it." Di manes prickled at her tongue with a sort of breeze-like curiosity. Her mother spoke of it once or twice, but Mime. Jr's memories were solely of Proserpina, so they must've moved.
"I've heard many things about it and...it seems interesting." She swallowed. "What's it like?"
"Well, I guess it's pretty dark," Lucas deadpanned. "I mean, it's in a cave. Yeah. There are a lot of people buried there -- they're dead already, so don't give me that expression." This, Lucas was referring to the denizens of Di Manes Caverns. Primarily, the caves were a sepulcher even before they were considered tunnels or a passageway. It was significantly less creepy when one was practically raised in the graveyards and played hide-and-seek behind tombstones.
He wasn't sure if he missed it necessarily. Proserpina was a nice change, he figured. A brighter change, definitely. He could probably use with some Vitamin C. There was actually a legitimate reason why his complexion was so incredibly pasty. Lucas looked as if he hadn't seen the light of day too often, which was mainly true. Maybe that was the reason why Grandmother Helda had punted him out of the caverns.
It was kind of nice outside Di Manes too though.
<It's a dark, dank, and dreary place,> Laurent scoffed.
"It's not dreary," Lucas insisted to the Abra, though he did not deny that it was dark and dank. He turned back to the Mime Jr. "Although, I think you'd like it here a bit more than there. I guess it does get kind of quiet and lonely if you have nowhere else around," he said with a slight shrug. "But I had other Pokémon there, so it was fine."
Why was he sharing his life story with a Mime Jr. again.
It did not take Lulu very long to discover that his conversations with Laurent were going to be very one-sided. When the Abra did open up his mind though, the man didn't have many ideas on what the Abra was talking about.
