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!
she collapsed right back down to the ground, exhausted. just a shell of who she was minutes before. she looked at dan with sympathy, her stare softening.
"i'm sorry, but it's true." she says plainly, not bothering to look at him. she can't, honestly, because he's...dan. looking at him just makes her angry and feel bad at the same time. she will not do this again.
"why do you think the scourge exist? it's a punishment. it's to show humanity who's boss. and it's fucking terrible." Crash
looking for a swablu/altaria, if you have one PM me!
For a few seconds silence. And then Dan spoke once more.
"I've had that feeling before. It was only a few months after my parents and I moved to Kohaku that the Scourge ended up hitting. They're only dragged into this mess because of my stupid, stupid suggestion. Everyone tells me Sol City is safe, and that they'll be fine, but it sure as hell isn't easy to believe. And there's no question that if anything happens, it's all thanks to me.
You're right. I've been throwing myself into this like it's my only life. Because if I slip up and let anything bad happen to them . . ."
He shook the thought, a bit of warmth returning to his eyes. And yet he moved a little closer to Ambrose, a connection to a life he left behind and in danger. "You're right, the Scourge is terrible. And yet, remember Ceres? How you beat down that Spiritomb and Nosepass? We've seen them be killed, contained, and chased off. I've been checking on Ceres for the past few days, and it seems the Amberwell situation has only been improving. This may be one hard war, but it's not one that'll take us without a fight.
He offered a hand as if to help her up, smiling slightly.
rhea listens. she listens very carefully but doesn't ever make eye contact-- she never even looks at him. the words are the exact ones she had spoken about before. this optimism was...wonderful, in truth, but she knew far too much to let his faith continue. she's just trying to spare him from the large punch in the nuts that the world will give him.
"you don't understand..." she trails off. "i can't do that again. it was a fluke. beginner's luck."
"i'm not gonna...keep going. this is it, dan." rhea looks back at the burn. "i joined eos for one reason." and she sighs, preparing herself to tell him one of the things she is most ashamed of. "i needed a boost. i needed the money from pawning off dead scourge, i needed a pokemon to help me scrape by. and now that i'm here-- back in nerio..."
"i don't know where i'm going. i don't know what i'm doing. i don't know who i am."
Dan listened carefully to what she had to say, a pained look returning to his eyes. To see Rhea so confused stung badly, and he wished nothing more than to know just what to say to help her. Her reasons for joining EOS only worried him more. If her only alternative was throwing herself into such a perilous fight, how bad were the circumstances for her back at home?
He wasn't born yesterday. He knew he couldn't just say a few magic words and make everything all better. But that didn't change that he wanted to be there for her.
"We all have our reasons for joining," he eventually said. "And its not like anyone just wakes up and says 'I want to be a big damn hero.' It's not why you join that matters, but what you do with your position.
I really wish you'd think about staying. You're a natural at this, and with how dominant you were in that fight I can tell it was no beginner's luck. Besides, I can't say it'd be the same travelling without bumping into you here and there." He smiled a little sadly, already feeling the sting of a friendship possibly being left behind.
He paused, trying to think of what to say next. Those were questions he was never even fully sure of himself, let alone for a completely different person. Despite this, he dug deep within himself and tried to think of at least something to say.
"Well . . . you're brave. You're talented. You're . . . you're pretty much the first friend I've met on this journey.
You're Rhea. And I know wherever you choose to go next, you'll find success."
she can't stand to hear these words--such lies. she's none of this, she has none of this skill. rhea would like to believe him but she can't, not when she can't even take him seriously. his optimism, his faith for a better future...it was all so foolish to her; she didn't understand.
friends. the word is foreign to her. and yet, through her booze-y delusional fog she understands what it means now. dan has taught her what it means, but now that she knows she...has to go. before she gets invested and loses him too. rhea stands, and turns to him, her face blank. stoic. brave. emotionless.
"thank you." she says plainly, readying her styler. "but we're not friends." rhea begins to draw a psychic sign slowly, eyes closed. "just promise me one thing before i say goodbye--"
"don't get too caught up in this. please. it's deadly. it's dangerous, dan, and you need to be careful.." she sighs. "things will never turn out the way you plan them."
and she's gone in a flash of purple light; she's teleported far away. a horse run free. Crash
looking for a swablu/altaria, if you have one PM me!
Dan listened in stunned silence. The "not friends" especially hit him right where it hurt. By the time he stumbled through his confusion, however, she had already drawn the Psychic sign. He reached out, desperately hoping for one last chance to say goodbye. "Rhea, wai-!"
And then she was gone. He looked down, lowering his arm uselessly. For a while all was silent, simply standing there as if still trying to process what happened. His ever-present grin had fallen, and as he finally began to speak his voice sounded strangely tired.
". . . I can't. This is the path I've chosen. I've gone too far, put my family in too much danger to just give up here and leave them undefended.
But . . .
For you, I'll try to keep safe."
He sighed, turning to walk away. Ambrose scuttled after him, looking quite worried about his now silent trainer.