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!
iker lets the emolga climb ontop of his lap and just...sits there. iker always knew there was a reason why he liked pokemon a lot better than he liked people. not that he hated people by any means, but emolga >>>>>>>
"magical things? are you talking about messor rock?"
he had intended to make a stop at the landmark, hadn't he? or rather, at all landmarks. that was half the reason he became a ranger in the first place. his parents would never have approved. now, they aren't around to stop him
"what's that? can you eat that?" the emolga's ear twitched in anticipation as it watched iker. unlike humans, pokémon did not name their landmarks. all they did was refer to the areas, and humans adopted that -- but why did humans have to cut apart territories and claim them under different names? that made little sense to the emolga.
it's a little like talking to aiden again. iker supposes that's why he's humoring a wild emolga as he keeps his eyes focused in the direction of the wilds. iker briefly wonders where the researcher is now.
the emolga batted its nose, seemingly distasted with the idea of such a rock. it was also disgusted at the idea that it had thought of eating it. "sounds scary. i don't wanna go there."
it plopped itself firmly atop iker's lap, yawning.
"hm? hmm!" it nodded, perhaps a little less vigorously than it would have liked. "there was a pond and dark, dark pokémon were there. but when they fell in, they were gone. it felt like a evil had lifted from around here."
unless he's misunderstanding, which...iker doesn't think he is. but evil? dark pokemon weren't really 'evil' by any means. maybe he was misunderstanding. then it hits him.
"did they have blackened eyes?"
the only major 'pond' that he could think of was the amberwell. that would explain how the scourge didn't rise again. vertigo
the emolga shuddered, squeaked, and buried its face in iker's chest again. it wriggled its stubby arms a little.
"yes! yeah! they were bad news!"
it flailed around helplessly for a bit, choking on its words. the dark pokémon had been a bad omen for the humble inhabitants of the forest. no rangers had come to help them, and those who had had met a difficult fate.
it had been a very bleak moment for the ceres creatures.
"...yeah." iker pats the emolga a little. "hey, you should run away if you see them again. the city isn't that great, but there's a lot fewer black-eyed pokemon down there." although judging from the pokemon's fears, there wasn't a lot of convincing that iker needed to do.
he can't say that he felt nothing when he had fled bacchus town himself, but he has no regrets. being eaten by the scourge didn't make it very high up on his list.
if dark-types weren't evil and the pokemon weren't simply drowning, then the emolga probably also meant the scourge this time.
"you're talking about the ... hades agents, aren't you?"
the question is partially directed towards sonata as well. a ranger's partner would probably have a better idea of what a hades agent was in human terms.
"...doesn't look like the cities are containing the agents anymore." ceres forest had once been a safe refuge. from what he's heard of the recent invasion, that isn't really the case as of late. "city, forest, lake...doesn't seem to matter much to them."
he looks down at the inkay. he supposes that's why rangers are able to get a reliable stream of pokeassists at all. vertigo
'they go wherever they please, and the scourge follows them! with someone leading them along, it's not all unintelligent actions for them! they're a threat, definitely! and you'll need something to help you along with it! and that's why we've got the heart sign!'
he had some idea of how dire the situation is, but being in juturna village...being with a ranger's partner and a wild witness to the scourge... that's a little different.
"so is this heart sign some kind of ... one size-fits-all kind of specialty against the scourge?" that's what the blissey made it sound like, at least. and if the dude teaching it spends most of his time in ceres forest, it might not be a bad guess to assume that it had something to do with purification. vertigo
'not really! it varies from person to person! isaac's turns him into a fighting monster that could smash your skull in right after! he's used it on rowdy people in the tavern!'