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!
there's a hum that fills the swamp air. it's not from pokemon, and it's not from anything unnatural - it's coming from tamara, as she hums a little jaunt that she'd picked up from somewhere, playing with the scourge togepi on her lap as she perched on a rock. lemures circle had always been a quiet little place for her, a place to unwind and relax, even with the politics going on beneath smooth words and honey-dipped barbs.
as tamara finally ends the hum with a flourish and tucks theia between her elbows and on her crossed legs as she looked down from her rock pile, she smiles at the spring sky.
physis had just come from the table of smooth words and honey-dipped barbs. the circle had lost calo, and even the opinion on whether or not he should be replaced had been divided. the agent had not been a partipant in the discussion - that would be awfully presumptious. instead, she had acted as an observer, invited by jemesis the storm.
the agent is hesitant to call it a 'productive' meeting, per se. replacing the fury's power vacuum was not only a matter of politics, but also ability. the title of the smartest, most powerful scourge was one that only nature could confer.
her mamoswine partner clears the path of tall grass ahead of her, so physis is the second one to see tamara. she draws her capture styler before noticing the small togepi in her arms. her weapon is retracted.
the politics of lemures circle are not something tamara pays close attention to. she'd known about fury calo, of course - everyone had heard of his fall by now - but she doesn't quite care. power struggles had never been her thing, anyway.
she doesn't even look at the other agent, given the scourge mamoswine with her, a glance when she speaks. "yes. am i that obvious?"
because that would be surprising. all her life, she'd been the one for people to go and ask, who is that? i remember seeing her from somewhere, her name is on my tongue - it would certainly be odd for people to start paying attention to her now.
"that's a friendship evolution pokemon. if it hasn't evolved yet, then either you're new or you've been abusing it." she's never heard of an agent who has outright mistreated their partner. in a world that is so eager to drive them to their graves, their partners were practically all they had. that, and antagonizing a scourge pokemon was never really a good idea.
the mamoswine nods to tamara. <good evening.> nette
"that makes sense." and given a thought, it does. theia is a new pokemon she'd found, wandering among the halls of pax institute in a dazed state; only recently had they become partners. but soon, tamara is confidant, the little togepi will be happy enough with her to evolve into a togetic.
(at least she hadn't used her metronome on her yet. that's a good sign, she supposes.)
tamara nods back with a smile. "good evening to you too! are you two just out for a walk?" the last question is directed at both of them, with a curious lilt to the end of the sentence.
"oh! really?" none of the furies had taken a personal interest in her yet. but that was fine. tamara could cope with being alone. really, especially with theia. she didn't mind.
(not)
"i suppose you're one of the older agents here then?" she asks. "i'm tamara. it's nice to meet you - oh, i'd give you my hand to shake but theia is on me, sorry." true to her word, the togepi glares at the older agent for even giving her partner the thought of dislodging the pokemon from where she sits. the poor thing is spoiled to death. it will be tamara's undoing one day.
"that's a lot of loyalty," she remarks to the mamoswine, and hopes that theia will come to have the same amount for her.
"...we were only there to observe. i doubt that the furies consider us true scourge." she remarks plainly. for all that she's given up in order to leave human civilization, she is not scourge in anything except affiliation. even now, sophia is not sure how to feel about that. physis simply doesn't care.
tamara's comment makes physis feel like going out to grab some anti-aging cream that instant. she is a nerio city girl. "yes. i am...one of the first."
"i don't mind." the sentiment is not wasted, however. just because they were genocidal monsters didn't mean that physis didn't appreciate manners from a new colleague. "among the agents, i am physis."
<yes. one may even say that i became scourge to follow her.>
in many ways, that is true. there were times when she had felt guilty for it, but when she imagines what his carcass would look like strewn across pax lake, her guilt vanishes instantly. nette
the fact that one of the first ones that the scourge had taken in when this all began is standing right in front of her makes tamara want to hang open her mouth and gape. the history that this woman must have seen makes eleanor's heart race, all the questions she could ask the woman, but tamara pushes the feeling away. she only gives a thoughtful hum and a bright smile to physis and the mamoswine.
"physis is a nice name," she remarks, and she turns to the mamoswine. "and that's awful brave of you. theia and i didn't know each other before we became partners, but we're learning, i suppose. what's your name?" she finishes and asks directly, because from what she's found all agents have a name. it'd be nice to get to know them.
theia does not deign to speak, but her haughty gaze on the rest of the mortals around her is enough to express her sentiment. her fellow scourge pokemon, she does not even give a second glance to, merely gazing intently at this "physis" instead.
she doesn't even bat an eye. there is nothing brave about surviving, just like there is nothing cowardly about dying. not when one doesn't see any other option. phillip would never have abandoned her - there was never any fear involved in this equation. there wasn't enough hesitation to call it bravery.
<pleased to meet you, tamara and theia. my name is phillip.> at least one of the scourge present knew a thing or two about manners.
the mamoswine - philip - is much more polite than theia is, even on a good day. tamara silently wishes that she doesn't have such a togepi for a partner, but she has to admit that she had chosen the pokemon, and the fussy little thing with a superiority-complex chose her. they're still working out the kinks in the partnership, but hopefully that'll improve with time.
< nothing, > the egg pokemon sniffs, and looks away from the agent. she will not deign to speak to humans.
(tamara is a different story, but she refrains from saying that out-loud.)
no really what is with every togepi on kohaku running a superiority complex. that's just...weird.
"...that sort of attitude will get the both of you killed." is all that physis has to say to tamara. eos has grown, and they no longer have the luxury of striking it out on their own. "accept allies whenever you can."
she means it as a bit of free advice. whatever yves thinks of her, physis did care somewhat about the survivability of the new agents. some of the wild scourge were perfectly sentient creatures with ego to speak of. more importantly, plenty of them were powerful creatures. nette
i'm sorry. it's just that a cute little baby egg pokemon just seems like it would have a superiority complex to me.
"i plan to," tamara replies. she really does mean it - allies and friends are so very valuable, she's found. but she thinks that it wouldn't be so hard to find them - all scourge are family, in the end, aren't they?
(thrown out by society, left to rot in the rain, there is nowhereelse to go, after all)
a shrug. "perhaps so, perhaps not. regardless, knowledge is knowledge, and hard-earned wisdom is worth listening to. i'm sure that you mean your advice, and not toss it around frivolously."