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!
he wasn't old enough to be in here. he wasn't old enough to be gambling legally, either. but a very nice old lady had given him a coin case and told him to give his luck a go at the casino, and isaac thought that it was a very nice gesture on her part.
whether his luck would hold out was a different matter. so far he'd been pretty successful at the penny slots. even though the roulette and poker tables were very tempting, he wasn't sure if he was ready for such high-stakes gambling. isaac had stared at them though, and wondered if he ought to test his luck -- two or three people had walked away, fattened up with loads of chips from their winnings.
clavier stared at the ranger, slightly bemused. humans' greed always showed when they had a chance of winning something good.
Mordecai didn't really have a good reason for why he was here, only that he was in Nerio City anyways, so he figured he'd do a bit of sightseeing. It had been awhile since he'd visited Nerio City. He had thought that Vesta Department Store was impressive, but it absolutely paled in comparison to Casino Aurora. The facility certainly lived up to its name, even if all the people who swung by the casino weren't sparkling themselves (he had a feeling that the "kind old lady" at the entrance of the casino was really out to hand coin cases to net more visitors to the casino).
He enjoyed watching other people try their luck more than he enjoyed trying his own. Mordecai was content to gamble vicariously through them. So he watched the people pass by, all while Achilles rested in his arms. The Gible was growing bigger by the day, but he was still light enough for the man to carry about. The Pokémon stared, enchanted, and wide-eyed at all the glitzing money scattered throughout the casino. He squirmed about, flapping his arms. He wanted to play too.
"Achilles, stay put," Mordecai said to the dragon Pokémon, who continued to squirm about anyways.
But then, as a particularly rowdy crowd passed by, he saw a familiar --
isaac stared at the penny slots, and didn't move. this was just like the time with delilah. he had ran away, then. this time, he wouldn't. he turned around to face his brother, and glanced straight into his eyes. "mordecai," he said his brother's name calmly, "i'm in nerio.
A grin spread over the man's face, relieved and proud to see that his brother had made it back this far. "Glad to see you," Mordecai said. "Yes, it's home, isn't it." It wasn't Bacchus Town, but it would have to be close enough for now.
The Gible in his arms chirped, squirmed more, until the man finally loosened his arms for the creature to drop to the floor. He scratched his belly and waddled over to Clavier's side. He grinned toothily and enthusiastically held out a clawed hand for the other Pokémon to shake.
Mordecai had to ask that one question: "... are you gambling?"
The only thing that stopped him from asking more questions was the slight nudge he felt against his back as the egg in his pack began to twitch a bit.
clavier eyed achilles. it was quickly apparent that the older dragon-type had no interest in his fellow species. it still reached out a hand and shook the gible's, but clavier quickly released its grasp to eye the gible. how are you, said the axew quietly.
isaac glanced at his brother. his winnings weren't apparent enough to be noticed, really. his gaze soon turned into a stare as he finally said, "... yeah. aren't you here for that, too? or to live off the high of people winning and to avoid the losers?"
elsewhere, irene yelled in anguish as she lost another hand of chips at the roulette.
The Gible gave Clavier a firm shake anyways, oblivious to the Axew's lack of interest. He was just happy to meet another dragon Pokémon, as usual (well, anyone but a Riolu or a Lucario, it appeared).
"I figured I'd come around and see what there was," Mordecai replied. "Living off of other people's high, I guess." He had very little interest in the poker tables or the roulette tables, but a couple of penny slots couldn't hurt along the way. Still, Mordecai was more interested in hearing from his brother than playing any games.
Unless.
"... hey, Isaac, I've got a challenge for you. First person to win penny slots wins." Who cares if Isaac wasn't exactly of age for the casino? "If you win first, I've got something for you."
isaac turned his head away and back towards the tables when mordecai proposed a challenge. a challenge to win at the slots, huh? he could give this a shot. "not going to live off someone else's high this time?" he asked softly, smiling as he placed his bets for the slots. "i'll give it a shot, so bring it on!"
Mordecai laid down his own bets. "Seventy-nine, not bad, Isaac," he whistled and said to his younger brother. The TM slot began to blink on the casino device. "Guess it's my turn then." He slid his own coin into the machine to place his own bets. Luck be a lady tonight, and hoped that luck was on his side.
"That's not the best I've done," Mordecai said, grinning anyways. Whether he won or lost mattered not to him, as long as he was spending time with Isaac. "I have to say that I'm impressed though. Ninety-six, very good roll."
The machine whirred as it began to print out a redeemable ticket, but instead, Mordecai shifted his pack to his side, carefully lifting a smooth egg from its contents. The egg quivered at the motion while the breeder presented it to the Ranger. "Here, consider this your prize Pokémon. Go ahead. It won't bite."
"it is," isaac said, staring in disbelief at his luck. this had indeed been a sudden turn of events. he turned around to see his brother holding out an egg; the ranger accepted it gingerly and glanced up at mordecai. "prize pokémon?"
the egg wobbled in his hands. he blinked.
"what is it?" he asked, rubbing the egg lightly. "by any chance, is it the fossil you were talking about?"
"It's a secret," Mordecai responded enigmatically. "... a secret that probably won't be very secret for long." The egg responded as Isaac began to rub its shell. It teetered slowly, then quivered, as if the Pokémon inside it was urging the teenager to continue providing warmth.
"... Hatching eggs is hard."
Mordecai had done most of the heavy lifting himself.
isaac watched his brother, then the egg. he nodded. as a ranger, he often travelled light and relied on some ranger posts to refresh or stock up on needed items. he didn't really know how some people travelled with so many items. "well, if it's a secret ... not more than one person should know," he said slyly, and grinned at his brother. "but the both of us would, and i'm sure more people after would, too.
"You wise-guy," Mordecai said with a scowl, though his tone reflected no animosity. It was all in good-humored jest. "Secrets don't stay hidden for very long though, do they?"
The egg quivered violently, and hairline cracks began to form at the top of the blue egg. "I suppose we're about to find out then," the older Delacroix said as the top of the egg caved in.
isaac grinned as he turned back to the egg -- he nearly dropped it in surprise. "oh!" it was starting to crack and the top of its shell had already started to cave in. this was rather interesting to watch. soon, the egg shells disappeared and in his hands was a baby tirtouga.
the ranger blinked.
so this was it?
"what is this pokémon called?"
clavier stood on tiptoe, trying to get a good look at the shelled creature. a tirtouga, it said knowingly.
