zelretch

You guys know how it works. The crit post for Rin at route_29 lives here. I can also be contacted via LJ PM or HighinQusitor on AIM if you'd rather have a more private conversation.

Anonymous is on, IP logging is off, comment screening is on.

[If you are in the Goldenrod Inn this morning, you may find there is a PokeGear floating conspicuously down the hallway, as though zeroing in on a certain target. There is a conspiracy going on here, clearly -- a certain Mismagius is piloting it invisibly, while a certain Porygon2 is manning the camera. It twists and turns around corners, opening doors quietly with ghost-hands until it finds a bathroom.

If you follow it, you'll find there's someone in the shower, and though all the... important bits are obscured by frosted glass and steam, she's resting a Feebas-shaped thing on her chest and looking down at it. At first, she doesn't even notice, but the blinking red light out of the corner of her eye and the fact that there is a presence there causes her to freeze instantly.

And then you can practically hear the simmering tsundere rage.]

--Ohhhhhhh, youuuuuu...

[Her expression twists gradually, and the camera thankfully starts to turn away in a getaway attempt when Rin reaches out of the shower and grabs a towel. The Feebas is stuffed helplessly between the towel and her chest as she marches in pursuit of her Pokemon.]

What do you think you're doing, Rubin?! And don't think I don't see you there with her, Kunststoff--

You know what?

[That line appears in text on the PokeGear screen in the middle of the frame. Rin bristles, catching up to the flying gear and looming above it.]

...What.

Evolve her, she will be very pretty!|

[She just... stares, before taking Wunderschuppe the Feebas out of the towel and chucking the poor fish at the camera haphazardly.]

Don't tell me what to do!! Especially not after you pull that--

[Worth noting that the door to her room is open, the video is still recording, and she appears to be arguing with no one in particular, except a floating PokeGear. Have fun dealing with a crazy tsundere.]

Saber isn't answering her gear.

[That one initial statement is full of all the frustration and RAGE Rin can muster. She heaves a bit while slamming almost angrily down onto a seat in the Pokemon Center in Goldenrod, clearly having tried calling more times than necessary to confirm that something's not right here. Luckily, four of her six Pokemon on hand have at least one super-effective move against Bug/Ghost types, and she's been using Rubin as her second pair of eyes after going through the network and putting two and two together.

It's goddamn Blood Fort Andromeda all over again.

She tries to collect herself, visibly.]

Emiya-kun. We're taking Saber with us before going to Ecruteak when it's safer to leave, soul or not. This is beyond ridiculous, and I'm getting pissed off now.

[Pause, and then a more reluctant statement.]

...Lancer, don't think I'm letting you and Connla get off that easy, either. I don't care if his soul is where it belongs right now or not.

For those of you who are still at a loss about this, let me put it this way. Don't sneak up on them from behind or try to test your luck like you've all been doing. Especially you, Shirou. Use your Pokemon as your eyes if you need to; they'll pick up on the presence of a ghost a lot sooner than you will, so don't risk it.

[All of a sudden, Rubin makes a screeching-cackle sound, and a Shedinja phases through the wall of the Pokemon Center. Rin just eyes the thing nastily without a word, sitting up straighter as it floats slowly closer, daring it to do anything...

--And conveniently, the feed clicks off before anything awesome happens. Doesn't it always seem to happen that way, after all?]

[It is gym battle time, because ha ha, Rin's mun Rin completely forgot to do it when she had the chance. Quick last-minute battle is go!

Whitney is on her last Pokemon, and it seems Rin has saved her supposed trump card for last -- after her Noctowl finally goes down, she sends out Rubin, her Mismagius. All according to plan so far, right? The first thing Whitney does is order Miltank to open with Stomp. Rin doesn't instruct a dodge, thinking it's a misstep on Whitney's part, just orders a Psybeam to start out with.

--Then Rubin and Rin both are equally surprised when the Stomp actually makes contact -- and HURTS, for that matter. The Miltank follows up with Body Slam while Rubin is flinching, and Rin is absolutely dumbfounded.]

What-- why is it hitting?!

[Needless to say, no one told Rin about Scrappy.

In the end, she'll win the battle, though probably at the cost of Rubin, despite a few well-placed Pain Splits and a Grudge to top it off with. But regardless, she learned about that unfortunate ability the hard way. Feel free to inform her of her oversight, or conversely, laugh at her for her oversight.]

[later, screened to Saber]

[Some time after the gym battle, Rin sends out a message from the Goldenrod Pokemon Center.]

Saber, Emiya-kun and I are headed to Violet soon. You're still there, aren't you?

...Well, hopefully you are. I have a few things I need to ask you. There's something that's been bothering me for a while that I still haven't really gotten a clear answer about.

[Rin does not seem to be aware the video is recording currently, since she is turned mostly away from it. It's filming from a place on the ground in the middle of the street in Goldenrod, occasionally moving and flickering as though something is watching from within it as opposed to manning it. Schaffell the Ampharos is out Power Gemming the bugs, and Pụ̈nktlichkeit the Noctowl is assisting with Air Slash.

There's an especially persistent group of Yanma trying to get past Schaffell and Pụ̈nktlichkeit, and since those are fast little suckers, Pụ̈nktlichkeit can't keep a horde of them at bay for too long. One slips past him...

...Only to get a Super Repel straight to the face before it can do anything to Rin.]

Hmph. Might as well be bug spray, anyway.

[It lands on the ground, disoriented from the chemicals, and she takes the opportunity to chuck a Poke Ball at it. If worse comes to worse, she'll figure out something to do with it later, she thinks.

And then there's a text message to accompany the video, from an especially mischievous Porygon.]

Mama Mistress is cool.|

[The Yanma don't relent so easily, though, so Rin sprays a large mist of Repel in front of her to hopefully give them the idea to back off. She takes a few steps back and scoops up the gear, taking a quick glance at the screen and giving it a distateful look.]

...Kunststoff, I'll deal with you later.

[Problem is, she's guarding her front side a lot more than the area at her back, even though she seems to be planning to make a run for it in a few moments...]

[The beginning of this feed focuses on yet another fish.

It's a Feebas for a change, and it appears to be trying to right itself onto its stomach with its stubby fins in the middle of the Goldenrod Pokemon Center. Repeatedly, after losing its balance and falling over.]

...I still can't believe everyone else got something really cool, and I got a Magikarp two-point-oh.

[An unamused sigh. Suddenly, the fish seems to magically drift upright -- and then starts floating around in the air, jounced about like a leaf caught by a coquettish breeze, flapping its fins cheerfully. She swings and twirls, waltzing with some unseen partner.]

At least someone is getting along well with her.

[Rubin, finally a Mismagius now, utters a laugh that is more of a creepy cackle, and materializes, holding the Feebas with a pair of invisible hands. The ghost hands put Wunderschuppe the Feebas back on the ground, much to her dismay, and Rubin disappears again. Suddenly, Rin turns the camera, and various strands of her hair are going in every direction.]

--Get your tentacles out of my hair, Rubin.

["Tentacle" is a word for space aliens in bad science fiction flicks and really bizarre hentai. Instantly, Rin regrets it, because Rubin releases her hair from her power with an air of almost offense, and soon all goes quiet. Rin springs up out of her seat and starts shouting to thin air.]

Hey! That doesn't mean "go bother everyone else", you know!

[A pause as her expression withers slowly, and she eases back into the seat.]

...Fine, do what you want then. Not like I care who you pester.

((OOC: Meaning, if you are in the Goldenrod Pokemon Center, expect a ghost with an invisibility cloak to do various deeds of mischief to you, up to and including watching you from the shadows and giving you the creeps, pulling your hair, screeching in your ear, causing personal belongings and/or Poke Balls to go dancing around in the air, and generally causing trouble. Or you can catch her just as Rubin vanishes and give her weird looks for talking to seemingly-unoccupied space.))

[Rin looks really, really out of place in the middle of a blocky, selectively-colored digital environment that is supposed to be Violet City at night. She hasn't left yet due to the ominous weather.]

So if anyone had any doubts that this was some kind of video game, I really hope for your sake you're not still in denial about it after this.

[She grimaces, looking back disappointedly at Rubin, who is equally as blocky and not doing anything, not even making a sound, just hovering there. Taking her pixel-Poke Ball in her hand -- HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK, real people touching pixels -- she recalls the Misdreavus.]

As though the music wasn't bad enough on a regular basis...

So then, any ideas about what caused this place to... go back in time, if you want to put it that way?

[There is a thing that appears to be a big, skeletony Aerodactyl lurking in the background, occasionally distorting the region of space it comes into contact with. Rin, however, is not stupid. It flickers as she whirls around and looks it up and down, then reaches for the Poke Ball she just put away.]

...This is ridiculous. Which one of you messed up the programming?! That's the only way this could've happened is if something went wrong in the game!

--That's not how you use Confusion! You're supposed to be confusing the enemy, not yourself!!

[That would be the frustrated cry of one Tohsaka Rin as she attempts to train her Psyduck, being recorded by an unseen cameraman (or camera Pokemon -- probably Rubin, since Rin doesn't seem to notice the camera is even on at all). She's been training quite a bit, at least once a day whenever possible. Especially Entenküken, considering she's about 99% certain he'll be more competent if and when he evolves. She's also made a surprising amount of progress with him, but there's still work to be done.

Said duckling falls flat on his duck-ass, though, and whines when he's hit with a Vine Whip from a wild Bellsprout. They appear to be just outside Violet at the moment. Rin's eye ticks a bit with a sour expression, and then she sighs and quickly digs in the bag hanging off her shoulder for a Potion. As she administers it hastily, she mumbles something in Entenküken's... well, hearing range, in a very "it can't be helped" tone. It's also picked up by the PokeGear, unbeknownst to her.]

...You're just lucky you're helpless enough that I'm willing to use this on you...

[Entenküken lifts himself off the ground vigorously, feeling renewed both by the Potion and his trainer's unusual show of affection... then falls back on his ass again when another Vine Whip strikes as he fumbles with his powers.]

Come on, duck! You know, even I could use my magic if I had a constant headache! You just need to-- to extend yourself beyond your limits! Even Emiya-kun is capable of that, so you must be too, somehow!!

[Then as another vine approaches, without warning, this time it's the Bellsprout on the ground from a bout with psychokinesis, and with Entenküken at what looks like about half health. Rin, who had flinched under the assumption that it was going to render her helpless duck pitifully unusable for the moment, opens her eyes and sees something... not yellow, but blue?]

Ah... ha... Looks like you extended yourself, all right.

[But she barely has time to register that she now has a Golduck instead of a Psyduck, as there is some violent rustling in the bushes. Apparently the Bellsprout in this area are indeed extremely vengeful, for about twenty of them emerge and start snaking their way over to Rin. She tenses, takes a step back, and then looks at Entenküken dubiously, if a little guiltily.]

...Listen, we'll talk about this later. If we don't even the odds now, we're both toast.

[It's time for another episode of When Bellsprout Hordes Attack! Action if you're out at the north end of Route 32.]