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!
Deryn had only read the first few words written on the Bloom Mail before she promptly screwed the piece of paper up. She briefly glanced at her Nidorina and wished that it could somehow set fire to the paper in her hands. Dammit, maybe she should’ve picked the Magby; if she had known that her family would be sending annoying letters that needed disposing of, she would have.
She tossed the paper down to her Pokemon and said, “Here’s your lunch.” She didn’t really mean it, but Deryn had sounded as authoritative and as serious as always had, so her Pokemon took her seriously and, after warily eyeing up the paper, bent forward and—
“No!” Deryn kicked the paper out of the way. “Don’t do that. I wasn’t serious.”
The Nidorina shied away as if she had received a scolding, and Deryn rolled her eyes. “Don’t do that either. You’re supposed to act strong.” The words were wasted on the Nidorina, who didn’t make any attempt to ‘act strong’.
Lucas really needed to leave this place. He had been stuck in this city for far too long, and he was getting anxious to leave it. The festival made it hard to get away though. At least he had his trusty partner with him. He and the Solosis hadn't exactly connected yet, but he seemed to be a loyal assistant and a curious soul. It was nice to have a Pokemon who could talk to him through his mind.
But this was still dull. Maybe being social would help him get things flowing. The street seemed decently filled with life. Nothing of interesting... until he heard a rather commanding voice mentioning lunch. He found the source just as it kicked away a ball of paper, which landed just short of his feet. Feeding a Pokemon paper, then denying it the paper lunch just as it tried to eat? What a cruel trainer this person was. But, she was the most interesting thing around at the time. She would have to do.
<'Sir... She seems scary...'> Mr. Binks spoke through his trainer's mind, the timid words echoing inside of Lucas' head and his head alone.
"As are most women, Mr. Binks. They're truly terrifying creatures. Lovely, but terrifying. You'll get used to them." Lucas was certainly an expert. Straightening up a tad, he marched over to Deryn. "You know, paper might not be the best diet for your Nidorina." Not a very funny joke... if it was a joke. It was an attempt however!
No. It had not been a very funny joke. Deryn supposed that it wasn’t all that surprising that the little interaction between her and her Nidorina had given her the odd look from others on the street, and even a commentator. Her eyes narrowed as the stranger spoke to her, and although she was unsure whether he had been joking or not, she decided to pretend that he wasn’t. Just in case.
But Deryn didn’t say anything about her Pokemon’s diet. Instead, all she did was ask, as her eyes flickered up and down the stranger, “Who are you?”
The Nidorina’s eyes flickered over the strangers for a second too before settling on the Pokemon. She noticed the obvious – the Solosis could float – and wondered if that Pokemon was also made to wake up early every morning for the sake of that horrendous activity known as a ‘morning jog’. Deryn had told her that only winners did things like that. Did these two look like winners?
“And, I’ll have you know,” Deryn was adding now, “that I do not feed my Pokemon paper.” Of course not – you couldn’t get protein or carbohydrates or any of the good stuff from paper. “She eats…” Deryn’s voice trailed off as she couldn’t for the life of her remember the name of a certain brand of Pokefood. “…just as well as everyone else’s Pokemon! Better than yours, by the looks of it.”
Lucas stared back at the woman. She seemed to be a very friendly person by how she greeted him. Who wouldn't feel welcome by a sudden demand for you identity instead of a polite greeting. He just couldn't get a break. But he was pinned down in this social war. He would need to fight bravely to win his freedom from this woman. Introducing himself was probably the best way to start things off. "I'm Lucas. May I ask who you are?"
Just when he thought he was getting ahead, she opened up with something else. A defense of her Pokemon's diet followed by an insult on his own Pokemon's? Mr. Binks was a healthy looking Solosis. Just because he wasn't the most robust looking Pokemon around didn't mean the crushed up Pokemon food he absorbed through his gel wasn't of the same quality of other Pokemon food. "Was that a jab at my Pokemon's health? I'm sure he would fair battle than your Nidorina. She's probably weak from malnourishment. You even denied her the paper you were going to feed her." This was how you made friends.
Yeah man, these two. They could totally team up and write the book on how to make friends.
Deryn raised her eyebrows and said, flatly, “No.” She hadn’t expected a real answer from the stranger – this Lucas guy – and didn’t feel like giving him a real one in return. Deryn had been expecting, as silly as she now realised it was, a smartass reply saying he was some sort of Pokemon Food Police, not a name.
She didn’t smile when Lucas took the bait and got defensive about his Pokemon, but she did almost throw her hands up in the air at what he said. “Are you partially deaf or weren’t you listening the first time I said it? I don’t feed my Pokemon paper!” Deryn folded her arms, a little annoyed at herself that she was getting so wound up about the paper thing. But, she reminded herself, it wasn’t her fault if this guy was too stupid to process what she was saying.
The Nidorina looked up at the trainer, and then the Solosis, giving them both apologetic looks. She didn’t know what the big fuss was; she would have liked to make friends even if Deryn was against it. While the Nidorina was doing this, its trainer stared down the Solosis, almost in an analytic way, but said nothing.
