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!
Taryn watched the Eevee, giggling at its purr. It was such a cute creature. Then again, so were the Pokemon on her team so far, at least in her mind.
She turned to Thalia when the other girl answered. “Oh, nice, and I agree. I’m trying to build a team that has every type resistance between them. I thought about picking a specialty, but there’s far too many types I like. I’d feel like I was missing out no matter what I chose.”
"Yeah, I've been fighting the Elite 4 lately and it's just--I thought they'd be a lot harder. I don't understand how they all got to the top 5 trainers in the region by only using pokemon of one type. Did everyone else in Kohaku just really suck or what? It's 2014 and there are people who only fight with one type of Pokemon. Unbelievable. Actually I have a friend who does that but it's different 'cause he's my friend. I try not to make fun of him to his face at least."
Her face brightened and she leaned over to rummage through her bag. A moment later she appeared with a neon green t-shirt. The words I BEAT HABIBA THE ELITE 4 were emblazoned across the front.
"I did get this pretty neat shirt though! I'm thinking about wearing it everywhere to annoy Habiba. She deserves to be pissed off."
Taryn nodded when Thalia explained about fighting the Elite 4 and how they all specialized in a type. So Thalia was that far in her journey already? To her, the Elite 4 seemed so far away…maybe once she got a badge or two that goal would seem closer. In the meantime, she was, at least, having fun, and she thought she was getting to know her Pokemon rather well as they gradually became stronger. Wasn’t that one of the marks of a good trainer? Eventually, she’d get that far.
When Thalia mentioned a friend who also specialized in one type but said it was different because it was her friend, Taryn laughed. She supposed it was natural to judge friends differently. She’d always been more lenient toward friends and her brothers than toward others, not that she was an especially strict person to begin with. Then Thalia showed off her shirt and Taryn laughed harder. That had been completely unexpected.
“If it was given to you, it is your right to wear it,” she responded. “Habiba will have to accept that.”
"Her little brother gave it to me after I won," Thalia said. "I hope she doesn't make him live up there if he doesn't want to. He didn't seem to like her very much when I spoke to him. Not that I saw him for very long. He darted in and then out."
Thalia fell silent for a heartbeat and then shook her head.
"Doesn't matter. It's been good for me, fighting the Elite 4. I spent most of the past year except for very recently just fighting scourge and it takes a toll, let me tell you."
She blinked when Thalia explained it had been given to her by Habiba’s brother. Yeah…that was the type of thing a little sibling would do. She then explained that he didn’t seem to like his sister and hoped that he wouldn’t be made to live up there. Taryn shook her head. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She didn’t know what else to say on that matter, though. She and her brothers had done similar things to each other and they did occasionally complain about each other, but they were all close. It was just part of growing up in the same family. At the same time, though, she knew not all siblings were so close.
Taryn nodded at what Thalia said next. “I think I can understand. I haven’t fought the scourge yet, but I intend to. I know it has to be a nightmare, though.”
"A nightmare," Thalia repeated. "Yes. It is nightmarish at first, and bloody and messy and ugly. The worst part is getting used to it though. It comes to be what you expect. I didn't even realize that was what happened to me until I took a break."
Taryn nodded as Thalia talked, confirming it was nightmarish at first, but that she would get used to it. Thalia presented it as a bad thing, and Taryn could see her point, but it was an odd comfort. If she got used to fighting, then she’d be able to keep it up. She could worry about getting un-used to it when everything was over.
“My whole family’s scared of it,” she said when Thalia finished speaking. “I just want to make the world safe for them again.”
Thalia smiled and replied to her, and Taryn smiled back. “Thanks.” They hadn’t chosen the happiest of conversation topics, but the company was still pleasant. “They live in Juno.”
Taryn nodded. "That's what I'm counting on. I know it won't be safe forever if the scourge aren't stopped, but I'm hoping they will be before Juno's put in any danger."
"And things are different now," Thalia said. "It isn't like when Decima and Bacchus were overrun. We know what's going on. I'm sure even if the scourge do reach Juno, there will be evacuation plans in place. They'd be able to get out."
The eevee pounced off the table to curl up on Thalia's shoulder.
"Yeah, I've been fighting the Elite 4 lately and it's just--I thought they'd be a lot harder. I don't understand how they all got to the top 5 trainers in the region by only using pokemon of one type. Did everyone else in Kohaku just really suck or what? It's 2014 and there are people who only fight with one type of Pokemon. Unbelievable. Actually I have a friend who does that but it's different 'cause he's my friend. I try not to make fun of him to his face at least."
