Group RP Pokemon: Evolution Quest (IC thread)

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken @122 Generation

As usual, Atelier's coffee brew was such a good thing to start the day. He probably could be a barista or something once they're all done with the Dragon Kings business. Unlike Blacky though, Chief Ampharos adjusted his cup of coffee to suit his tastes (I'll leave how it is specifically up to imagination) before drinking.

Once everyone sat on the table with their own breakfasts, the lunar Eeveelution turned to Chief Ampharos. "Now, sir, what's this about Spikeford and the Society?" he asked him. By "Society" they meant the Expedition Society, but the thought of explaining it being the Kickenham guild slipped Blacky's mind and Chief Ampharos was none the wiser about it.

"I take it you know about Spikeford people rallying for the Dragon Kings, yes?" the Ampharos asked everyone there, to which Blacky nodded and the others may or may not follow suit. "Well, some actually don't, so they formed their own resistance squad in town. They also asked for the Society's help with the resistance," he explained.

"But for some reason they want us to come along, right?" Blacky tried to pick up where Chief Ampharos left off from their three-way convo with Dedenne last night. "Yes. They want Miss Aine's group to come with us but I, for one, only know that group having Miss Aine, Blacky, and the other two..." the Ampharos nodded to the respective people as he mentioned names only for his voice to trail off. This, in turn, was a prompt for a proper introduction to which Blacky gladly obliged, "Atelier and Xuehua. Atelier is the Eevee, Xuehua is the Glaceon."

(Now that we're getting to Chief Ampharos' case, any IC questions and/or what little info your MCs might know about Spikeford are welcome here. )

 

Atelier was glad that everyone had accepted his coffee with stride. Maybe he should take up a job doing this later, although he wondered if that might put some of his tactical ability to waste. Nevertheless, he turned his attention to his apple curry and to Chief Ampharos.

"So... there's already a resistance in place against the local Dragon King? Sounds about right..." Atelier said to himself. "I mean, as much as I'd like to join them, I would like to know who exactly our allies are first. For all we know, our methods may not be compatible. What is Spikeford, anyway? Pardon me, as I'm not from this land. Is there anything we should know about it? What is the 'Society'?"

 

The question snapped Xuehua out of her thoughts. Head back in the game, Xuehua. You're not going down without a fight. She gave Atelier a nod of thanks before chiming in on the discussion. "From what I've heard in my... travels, Spikeford is... headed by one of the eight now-mostly-dead Dragon Kings, and has quite the avid follower base of dark wizards. If the resistance squad is for real, they're most likely in hiding. They won't like the uprising over there."

 

Oh, right. Dunno about Aine, but the other two looked like they didn't even know about Spikeford and the Expedition Society. I mean, Atelier basically said he's a foreigner and the Kickenham duo thought Xuehua was one too. "Hmm, Spikeford is..." Blacky consulted the Ardamore map hanging on the wall nearby. "...a nearby town southeast from here. If I get this right, its resident Dragon King is the Shadow one, so that might explain the dark wizards living there."

"As for the 'Society', it's actually the Expedition Society," Chief Ampharos replied to Atelier's last question. "Also known as the Kickenham guild with this guy as the leader. 'Chief Ampharos', if you will," the lunar warrior added with a paw pointing at the Ampharos for the "this guy" part.

 

Moreover, Atelier pondered in thought as he sipped his coffee. From the sound of what Xuehua and Blacky made of it, Spikeford was hostile territory (and if he imagined it, Xuehua had a strong reaction to mention the place by name).

"Um... Right. If we are headed that way, we should plan out how to get there safely. I doubt that clumsily waltzing in would do the trick," he added that last bit as a slight jab at Chief Ampharos. Why, he could imagine the kind of disaster that Ampharos could wade into unintentionally. Plus, Atelier imagined the resistance was hiding in safe houses, or something like that. Was this town even approachable?

 

@122 Generation @ChocoChicken

"Indeed. My friends from the guild should be heading there as we speak. I think we should plan once we meet them," Chief Ampharos suggested in response to Atelier's friendly (?) jab at him. The mention of "Chief Ampharos' friends from the guild" made Blacky want to say something about his master potentially being there too but decided against it.

@WavePearl

Instead, the Umbreon asked Aine about the group's next destination according to her original plans.

 

"If it is safe to go there, we should head out soon. Hopefully it'll be warmer than here," Atelier said. He was thankful that his curry was enough to warm him up, in addition to his coffee. From the sound of it, Chief Ampharos might come along for the trip. At first he thought the group would head out to Spikeford immediately, but it looked like it would go in a different direction for now.

Plus, it looked like Xuehua wasn't keen on going to Spikeford yet.

 

"Dark, yes, but also Ghost." Xuehua added. "...But you still have a point. I've heard it's not the place you want to wander into unprepared."

 

By then both Blacky and Chief Ampharos had already finished their meals. "Sounds good!" the former piped up at Aine's suggestion albeit only for a second or two before turning to Chief Ampharos. "But... sir, how about your gui-- uh, friends?" he asked out of concern. The Umbreon seriously needed to get his priorities sorted here.

"Don't worry about me. I can tell them to meet us there," the Ampharos assured his old friend's protégé. He then stood up, walked to a corner of the lobby (thankfully with no bumps this time), and contacted Dedenne with his gadget. "Good morning, Dedenne. Can you tell Mawile and the others to meet me at, uh..." he sheepishly turned to Aine mid-call and asked her, "...what's the name again?"

 

"Ah, yes, the Isle of Armor," Chief Ampharos went back to his phone call (?), never mind that Aine's sigh in annoyance went unnoticed. Blacky just shook his head at the whole thing, then downed his coffee and stood up. "Oh well, if you'll excuse me, I have unfinished business here," he said before going back upstairs to write a quick letter to his master and grab his bag. He also checked Chief Ampharos' room in case the electric-type left his stuff behind (he didn't, thankfully) while at it, then went back downstairs and out from the inn.

 

Now Atelier was left confused at what exactly this Ampharos had in mind. Was he actually going to accompany the group? Atelier shook his head and went about finishing his coffee and curry, and then went to pack his bags and books. It would not be long before the group was ready to head out - wherever that may be.

Then he was at the lobby to put on his robes. He might not need the layers he bought earlier, so he might resell them here if there was time.

 

"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!"

Looking up, Blacky could see several Pelipper mailmons spreading posters-- no, newspapers all over the town as soon as he stepped out from the inn. He picked one of the newspapers up to find its headline news talking about, lo and behold, the Ice Dragon King's demise. The Umbreon raised his eyebrows in amusement because Arceus knew how the press even found out about that stuff considering where the Ice lair used to be.

 

...It seemed their plans had changed. Probably for the better. Xuehua liked living. She had everything ready to go, and as she stepped outside after Blacky, she took her novel out. Well, at least it gave her time to see if her guess on who the fictional murderer was was correct.

 

It took awhile for Chief Ampharos to end the call and most of everyone had already gone by then. Atelier and Blacky went upstairs for awhile, then back downstairs (and outside in Blacky's case), while Xuehua went straight outside after Blacky did. And Chief Ampharos? He decided to stick with Aine for now.

Meanwhile, still hadn't noticed Xuehua standing behind him yet, Blacky took the newspaper with him and went to the post office.

 

(I did have Blacky write a letter to his master earlier, so let's say he's sending that mail.)