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!
THE DOCKS ALWAYS offered a sense of tranquility, even for the albino researcher. Beside him, his Chingling bobbed in the air, the small orb in it's mouth creating a soft ringing sound as she kept pace with Jered. He had yet to battle with her, so her experience level was probably low. Jered reached up and touched his Chingling's tassels gently, and she responded by opening her mouth and apparently making noise too high pitched for Jered to hear. He turned away, staring at the sea, bobbing at a different interval than Chingling.
Riiiiiing.. riiing... Jered turned to his Pokemon, whom looked increasingly tired. "Do you need to rest, Chingling?" In response, the psychic-type Pokemon bobbed with increased speed. Blowing air out his nose, Jered gestured toward the edge of the dock, where he plopped down, allowing his long legs to hang off the edge. "Be careful - I don't want to have to jump in after you if you get too close to the water." Chingling waved her arms happily, swinging down toward the water beneath the dock. Unamused, Jered sighed, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose.
the plants still flourished in proserpina, it seemed. taking a stroll through the bustling city was quite unlike taking one in the middle of nerio, where crime was rife and the people tense. here, relaxation was in the air -- the scourge couldn't possibly come, could it? the scourge was so far away, and they were separated from it by a forest, by a cave, by an entire city.
but today, the scourge walked in proserpina; it was smiling, wearing a crisp suit.
fishing was starting to become a secondary pastime for iskander, next to reading. he figured that instead of staying in all the while and yellow like paper stored too long in darkness, he could move about in daylight and catch up on a book while fishing. it was like killing two pidgey with a rock tomb.
he dropped the old rod into the water, and waited; he couldn't help but eavesdrop on the researcher and pokémon duo.
"i've got a fishing rod here. i could fish you up if you fell in," he said aloud, to the chingling, "and then you wouldn't have to jump in." this time, he spoke to jered.
JERED TURNED TO his right in surprise - he hadn't even noticed the man sitting a few feet from him, his legs dangling over the water very similarly to Jered's. Embarrassed by his lack of awareness, Jered turned away and tilted his head, trying to see his Pokemon. "Did you hear that Chingling? He'd have to fish you out with his fishing rod. That doesn't sound very fun, so be careful." Jered sighed again, but lifted himself up and turned to face the stranger, forcing a gentle smile. "Hey, thanks. I didn't even see you there. If Chingling does fall in, it'll serve her right. I've warned her enough of the water. She's not a water-type Pokemon - swimming can't be her strong suit." Jered reached up with his right hand and ran his thin fingers through his white hair, watching the sunlight glimmer against the gentle waves.
"I appreciate it, though." Jered said quietly, not turning back to the man near him. His red eyes watched the water for a moment longer before he glanced at the shady male. "I'm Jered," a silence hung after his last words, almost awkward in its length. "Have you caught anything interesting?"
"always a good thing to help each other out," iskander responded good-naturedly, by now having flipped open the book he'd brought along and started skimming its introduction. it was a book on darwin's theory of evolution, and he figured it'd be good for some light reading while he waited for some catch. all he'd ever caught was magikarp though, regrettably. maybe he ought to invest in a better rod. "humankind survived because of altruistic tendencies, according to someone, but i ... don't really know for sure."
he flipped to page one, and read the first three words before replying. "eltanin," iskander said, looking up from his book to grin at jered, "but most people call me delta. it's a nickname i'm completely okay with." next three words, read. iskander shrugged, glancing up from his book, then at the calm seawater.
"uh, if you mean today, no, i haven't caught anything. the most interesting thing i've caught was a magikarp though, about this big?" he gestured with his hands, but after he had dog-eared the book and placed it somewhere safe. "the least interesting thing was a magikarp.
"i've never caught anything but those. it's a little depressing. am i really that bad at fishing?"
SOMETHING ABOUT the other man rubbed Jered in an extremely wrong way, but he couldn't put his finger on it. I'm probably just trying to be antisocial, subconsciously. It wouldn't be the first time... Peering at his Chingling, Jered set his hands upon the dock, allowing his fingers to curl around the rugged edge of the cut wood. A soft ringing sound was emitted from his Pokemon as she dipped dangerously close to the water, her mouth open in amusement. I won't be surprised if she falls in... Jered thought with a sour expression.
"Nice to meet you, then, Delta." Jered said, turning to his new companion. He watched as the other man dog-eared his book and set it down, away from the edge of the dock. "Wow," Jered murmured as Delta gestured with his hands how big his Magikarp had been before. Jered had never caught anything before, so anything was more impressive than that. Offering a smile, Jered shook his head. "No, I'm sure it's not you. It could be your rod - or even the waters. I just got an old rod from some Brett-guy... I haven't tried it out but I should sometime. Even a Magikarp would be interesting to see." Considering there was a lack of a Dex entry for that Pokemon, with would be quite interesting.
... well, it seemed that the brett person was a fisherman, and yes, iskander had gotten his old rod off the guy as well. he glanced at his old rod. where did the fisherman get that many old rods, anyway? maybe he'd used so many super rods they became good rods, and his good rods had been worn into old rods. seriously, just for catching magikarp? that was a little overboard, iskander thought.
"why not try it out?" iskander asked, before looking around in one of the crates he'd brought along for some bait to offer to jered. "here, have some bait." he extended the bag to jered, smiling at him.
JERED BLINKED, confused. He reached out and grasped the bag of bait from Delta. What was he supposed to do with this? Furrowing his brow, Jered let his mouth hang open a bit before he glanced at his chingling, still enjoying herself. "W-what am I supposed to do with this?" He asked, perplexed. He honestly didn't feel like fishing, if that was what Delta was suggesting. He would rather the man catch out, and land it, then the researcher could flip out his Pokedex. Not quite the other way around.
"oh, not fishing then," said iskander, holding out his hand to take the bag from jered gently. not everyone shared the passion or drive to fish the best magikarp ever. the fishermen bunch sure did, and iskander found it hard to tap into their way of life that revolved around magikarp and nothing more. he did understand the exhilaration -- never mind, never mind; jered wasn't going to fish, so it no longer matter.
SUDDENLY, Delta seemed to get offended. Jered twisted his face into a frown before reaching out a hand in a reassuring gesture. "No, no. It's not that - I'd just rather watch you fish, y'know? Not really my thing, even though I think it's fine and all." Sputtering, Jered realized that he really sounded like an idiot. He grimaced, thinking over what he had said. That bad, huh? Arrgh.
Chingling gave off a high pitched ringing sound before swooping right over Jered's hair, grazing it. "Come here, you little pest!" He called, joking around - it was terribly painful, trying to ease the mood. Pokemon always seemed to make it easier. Chhiiingg! It was going to be a long day.
iskander nodded, understanding jered. no, he wasn't offended or anything -- he'd even smiled, which most people used to show their agreement and perhaps, willingness to go along with the other person. it was normal to smile, wasn't it? it was normal to smile and say, 'it's alright', wasn't it? iskander wondered why jered was sputtering.
"ah, i see," iskander said without skipping a beat, as if nothing had happened between the two of them other than passing of bags. he turned back to the fishing rod; nope, nothing. maybe he should read some more? that'd be a good idea, but not a very good move in the company of someone.
"pokémon are really interesting creatures," he remarked as the chingling zipped around, chiming.
