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!
A respectful air hung around the Avernius Shrine. Even Ambrose perked up and paid attention as he and Dan stepped into the crypts. He shot a look at his human, as if curious as to why the two were here.
"To pay our respects," was Dan's response. Many good Pokemon lied here, some simple casualties of the Scourge, others hardworking protectors of the region who fought until the bitter end. As he and Ambrose made their way through the region, Dan knew it would be unforgivable to not stop to honor their sacrifices.
He bowed his head, Ambrose trying to mimic his motions but not being too successful. After all, he WAS a crab.
click. click. click. the sound of a cane on a stone floor fairly echoed off the walls, heralding his arrival. but, unlike the other rangers who had come before, hiernymous wasn't yelling at them about constant vigilance and the importance of awareness; this time, he merely walked up to the side of the ranger and his partner paying respects to the pokemon in this wing of the shrine.
the pokemon they were bowing to had been the partner to a ranger the old man had known; both were gone now, defeated in the first wave of scourge when the rangers were still figuring out exactly what to do against the virus. he himself bowed, offering a short prayer to arceus, before turning to the ranger and his... krabby.
"what's this?" he asked quietly, peering at the crab pokemon. "you chose a krabby for a partner? what, pray tell, was going through your head when you made your decision?" even at the graves of fallen pokemon, hiernymous was anything but optimistic. rather, the somber air in this particular wing only toned down his volume - it did nothing to curb his words.
Ambrose angrily shook a claw at the man. Thankfully, his trainer had a much better answer on hand.
"My father's strongest and most noble Pokemon was a Kingler. When I decided to leave to join the Rangers, he gave me one of her eggs for a companion. Since that day, Ambrose and I have taken on any challenge we face together.
Besides he's proven his worth in combat with Scourge already. He's a strong fighter, sharp as a whip, and always takes an effort to protect his allies. He's powerful, brave, heroic, and I couldn't ask for a better partner."
Ambrose hammed it up in the background as Dan showered him in praise, flexing and occasionally sticking a taunting tongue out at Hieronymous. I guess we can count "mature" off of the list of accolades.
Rebirth sign . . . oh, right! He remembered seeing a memo on his C-Gear about the teacher of the sign dwelling within the catacombs. He was so exhausted from his fight with the Scourge at Ceres that he forgot all about it.
"Ambrose and I recently came away from an encounter with the Scourge. After such a long fight, paying some respects and getting some rest were our first priorities.
That said, were you to teach, we would be more than happy to learn."
hieronmyous nods again. "well then, come on. i don't have all day."
he leads the way out the room, where the hallway connected is bustling with pokemon and humans alike, rushing to treat each and every patient before they fall into critical condition. the old ranger ignores all of that and heads down a different hall way instead - to an old trap door that is becoming well-used these past few days.
at the door, he stops to ask the question that he gives to every ranger before they pass through here - "what is death?"
This got off to a grim start. Although for the Sign of Rebirth, Dan figured it'd just be stupid to expect any less. He looked with worry at the frantic mass of injured and dying, occasionally being spurred along by Ambrose before Hieronymous ended up walking out of sight.
And then, at a trap door so old it looked like the gate to the afterlife itself, he was asked what death was.
"Death? Well, I guess . . ."
Memories. An old, tired Jellicent, mustache luxurious with age, occasionally surfacing to watch the bred pairs care for their eggs. Occasionally lending a helping hand, but usually simply hanging at the water's surface. There day after day after day, then one day gone without a trace. He had been too young to understand, but the thought always lingered.
". . . it's when you become accustomed to something, only for it to be gone and never come back."
It wasn't always people. It certainly wasn't always a big, dramatic spectacle. And it wasn't always on purpose, either. There was really only one constant of death, just one single word:
"i'll take that as an answer." with that thought, hiernymous leads the way down the stone stairs. the air is considerably more cooler here, as the warmer air rises and leaves the cool air trapped by stone, but the difference isn't that much.
the old ranger lights a lantern hanging from the wall with a match from his pocket, revealing in flickering candlelight the bodies of pokemon and human alike around them. this is a morgue.
"never coming back is a romantic way to put it, ranger. death is more like the cease of existence."
"I guess you're right. Not that any description changes the reality of it, though. Either way, in the blink of an eye something's gone for good."
His voice quavered a little a the sight of all of the bodies, but he did his best to keep his composure. The cold, damp air wasn't the only thing giving him chills today.
TMbtYuGi <50 there's a crustle on one of the slabs
"there's not a crustle in the morgue at the moment," the old ranger says, although not unkindly. with the sheer amount of bodies in the room with them, there had been a fair chance of there being one. "pick a pokemon from the ones here."
Oh, really? Hm. He figured the same went for Dwebble, too, so no use trying that one again.
He looked around the morgue, but there were so many slabs and names that they all seemed to blend together. He saw something with a C, and figured he'd try his luck there.
luckily for dan, it seems as if the second time's the charm. hiernymous spots a clauncher off to the side and walks over to it, making sure to look the ranger he's teaching in the eye before drawing the rebirth sign.
the movement is quick, his hand sure, and within moments the clauncher is blinking its eyes blearily. the old ranger drags a blanket over it, sighing. his voice is more quiet, now that he's exerted himself.
"but sometimes, we can make sure death doesn't stick."
Really, Dan should've expected that. It was even called the Rebirth sign. However, he couldn't help but be filled with a sense of wonder as the Clauncher actually opened its eyes.
"That's incredible," he remarked almost breathlessly. He noticed how tired the man was, briefly giving him a look of concern,
Ambrose, meanwhile, sped right over to the slumbering ex-ex-Clauncher. He looked over its blanket-draped form, incredibly curious. Besides, it was good to see another crustacean for once. He was getting sick all of these non-shellfish cramping his style.
