(Open) A New Face in Town

Grassveil Town was within sight! Opal had travelled a long way to get here, but the journey had been worth it! What the young Growlithe had heard about the place looked to be true. There were lots of Pokemon about, and there was presumably a lot to do here as well. Oh, if only her brothers and sisters were here as well. What a marvellous time they'd all have! Well, there was no point just standing there. Grassveil would never be reached then. Onward, to adventure!

Opal was wagging her tail with excitement as she trotted into the town center. She enthusiastically greeted passing Pokemon and asked several questions about the place. The shops she heard about sounded amazing. There were shops for berries, shops for gummies, even shops for blended drinks. That sounded amazing! Being a desert dweller, Opal had never had a blended drink. It simply wasn't a thing there. She made sure to memorise the location of these drink shops so she could come back when she'd saved up some money.

ooc:// Hi welcome Grassveil Town, where it's my job to harassguide you. :D

Too many. There was too many pokemon around here. His jaws clenched shut as each arm gripped the other. He could not remember where he was exactly, but the word 'Grass' rose to his surface thoughts every time he tried to remember. He had a cloak over him, the markings of the cursed item he worked hard to obtain were obscured save for his snout and tail. The flames of the charmeleon's tail burned more brightly than ever before, yet he felt as if death already claimed him.

Garnet slowly made his way through the village, ignored by friendly townsfolk. Each step was slow as he focused on the path ahead of him. He had to work to focus his attention, otherwise, he would space out. His mind would draw to a blank and he would slowly begin to forget again. He did not understand what was wrong with him, but he knew that there was something not right. Who could he ask though? A face came to mind along with a name, but he could recognize that the face was not connected to the name he remembered. Jaden, what did Jaden look like? Who was this glaceon that kept coming to his mind?

His mind struggled in circles, so much so that he failed to notice that he began to walk in one. He was in the town's center, not too far off from the stand for blended drinks. He went ignored by the townsfolk, as nobody wanted to disturb the strange hooded fire that paced around and around with strange mumbles and bumbles of sheer nonsense. The ragged brown cloth that covered his body from tail to head shifted with each movement; he could have easily looked like some old witch that had gone utterly mad.

Finally, his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar shape. He stopped suddenly; his jargon cut off completely. A growlithe passed by not too far off. His eyes narrowed as he studied the stranger from afar. Memory after memory, he struggled to pick up the pieces of what was brought to mind before they disappeared forever. The growlithe was familiar...but how? He would have said he was certain that he had never seen this growlithe before, but somehow she struck a chord with him that caught his attention.

Immediately, he imagined himself charging toward them and attacking. He would pin them down and demand that they identify themselves else perish. He stepped forward with bared fangs but stopped himself just as quickly as he began. No, he couldn't do that. That wasn't right...but since when did he care about being in the right? His friends weren't here, so why should he play goody-goody two shoes? A soft hiss escaped between his bared teeth as his tensed muscles relaxed. Despite the difficulty of thought, he managed to talk himself out of the violent act within a few moments.

Instead, he followed after the pup at a swift pace. He approached from behind while they were enamored with the sights around them. He had never met this foreigner in his life, but he felt as if he needed to know why his mind 'recognized' them before he would forget once again. A long arm reached out ahead of him as he attempted to tap on the canine's shoulder with a long talon, "Hey..." his low and rustic voice spoke out to them. When was the last time he had any water again?

"Who are you?" he asked without pause.

(( Yay, someone responded! Harassguide away! :D))

A blend of Rawst berries and red Gummis sounded like heaven. Opal could see herself becoming a regular customer of this stall she'd found. The proprietor seemed friendly, too, greeting his customers with a smile. What a wonderful town this was, the young pup thought to herself again. She felt lucky to be here. This was a moment of excited joy, with no idea she was being followed.

The tap on the Growlithe's shoulder was met with a sharp bark as she whirled around to face this potential threat. What she saw was a Charmeleon with rather unusual markings. This was no bother at the moment. Someone had initiated a conversation with her, and that was great!

"Hi! I'm Opal! I just got here!" she answered eagerly, "Grassveil Town is amazing! Say, are there any activities you'd recommend? There's so much to do, I'm not sure where to start!"

ooc: Woo! Time to creep Opal out :^]

Energy seemed to overflow in the growlithe and spill into the air around her with how eagerly she responded to a complete stranger. The happy look in her eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked up at him. He pulled his arm back under his coat, but it remained lifted and slightly visible as if he were hesitant about his decision now. She responded to his demand with glee as she answered more than the question he asked.

Grass-veil, yes, that's right. That's where he was. Why could he not remember that? Opal...that name did not feel familiar to him. He somehow deflated even more than he originally seemed, as if the growlithe had unknowingly sucked the strength right out from him. Not only was he disappointed that the name did not ring any bells, but the question she asked in return caused his mind to reach into a bowl of memories with no fish inside. Try as he might, all he would bring up is water that flowed through his talons and refused to stay with him.

Something to do, something to do...he needed to answer this question. The charmeleon met the other fire type with silence and a blank stare. His odd behavior was nowhere near the mannerisms of a normal pokemon, let alone his usual self. His jaws opened to speak, but no words would come out. He felt as if he should know of some things to do around here, but he could not draw upon a single thing. He closed his mouth once he was more certain that he had no idea what to say as the silence continued.

Finally, he would give up, "I...don't know," he admitted. Somehow, his own words imprinted fear upon him as his body shivered. He could feel himself drift and space out again, so he forced himself to explain and continue the conversation, "I don't remember."

His answer to the growlithe was again followed by silence from him as he stared down at the pup intensely. He wondered if he stared at this growlithe long enough he could remember why this canine made him feel that air of familiarity. Again and again, his mind would try, but it was a fruitless task. His mind practically begged the growlithe to continue speaking with him in order to help clear the fog that clouded his thoughts.

'...Where am I?' he wondered again as the name of the location once again slipped away back into the fishless bowl.

(( Hehehe... ))

"Oh..."

What an odd character this was! Opal tilted her head to one side. The Charmeleion didn't remember? Was it a long time since he had been here? He seemed embarrassed. Ashamed? She felt sorry for him. No one could be expected to know everything, except maybe psychic types. This little dog certainly didn't know everything. That didn't seem like fun, anyway. How could you learn and grow if you already knew all there was to know? Surely that would get boring after a while.

Opal sensed there was more to the story. Normal Pokemon didn't stare like that. She also smelt fear. Her nose never lied, and it was telling her this Pokemon was unhappy. She wanted to know why, and to change that if she could.

"Hey, is everything alright? What's the matter? How can I help?"

The flame of his tail flickered with the vitality of a healthy campfire. The growlithe was disappointed that he could not answer their question, but he did not feel any bit of remorse or sorrow for the fire type. She was not the one he tried so hard to please at this moment, that title belonged to himself. The selfish lizard only wanted answers to his own thousands of questions that this fire canine probably couldn't know. He snapped out of his dazed stare when the bright-eyed wanderer began to speak to him. A hand was extended out to him, in a metaphorical sense, in an offer for help.

A mix of emotions crossed him that troubled him. A part of him told him that he should feel infuriated. He should question this growlithe and ask them if they thought he was some sort of defenseless child. Attack Opal, do it. He was a chicken if he didn't, he told himself. Another side of him, fortunately, still maintained his logic and reason despite the sickly fog that clouded his sense of self. He recognized that it made absolutely no sense to assault her and become outraged over her display of concern. Had he always been such a sickeningly violent pokemon?

"I'm...not fine," he admitted as he grabbed onto each side of his cloak with the opposite claw in order to draw it closer to closing him off from the outside world. "But," he started up suddenly after a short pause, "I am not harmed either...I think," he explained. he knew he certainly did not feel any physical pain. His body beneath the cloak held many battle scars, but that's just it. They were scars. The most recent one he obtained would be the savage bite mark on his left arm, but he did not know that. How much should he tell the growltihe? Well, it was not like he had much to tell her. He could hardly recall a thing after all.

"I feel a bit scattered," he explained, "I can't remember." He trailed off for a second as he continued to stare at the fire type in the same strange manner. In a moment, he started up again, "Have I met you? Do I know you?" he asked even though it would have been easy to assume the answer was "No." It was as if he forgot how Opal reacted and introduced herself a few seconds ago.

"You seem familiar," he mumbled more quietly before he waited for her answer.

It was Opal's turn to be confused and stare blankly as she tried to make sense of the other pokemon's words. Obviously something had happened, but what? Her nose was of no help to her here. This stranger's emotions had suddenly gone all over the place. It was an odd sensation, a more complicated one than she had experienced before. That didn't put Opal off, however. Someone needed help, and she had an opportunity to do something. Yes, this was what the growlithe wanted to do. She wanted to help others.

Grassveil's guild flashed through the young canine's mind. She hadn't been there before and didn't know what it looked like, but that was where she wanted to go. They helped others while going on adventures! That sounded perfect! Opal made a note to head for the guild when she'd finished her business with the charmeleon she was talking to. Maybe she could ask about the fiery lizard there.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. You can't remember anything?" Opal queried of her fellow fire type, "Not even where you were before you forgot everything?"

Whatever happened to him must have been pretty harmful if it caused such a serious side effect, she thought. Not wanting to cause any further upset, the pup elected not to say this out loud unless her opinion was asked for. Usually she loved to share what was on her mind, but even this over-enthusiastic youngster knew better in a situation like the one she was currently in.

Opal waited for an answer from the stranger. It seemed he wasn't willing to indulge, however. No matter, she could provide more of her own for now. The charmeleon did come across as less talkative than was normal, though. She wondered if his vocal chords had been damaged, and if that had happened at the same time as losing his memories.

"Um... No, we haven't met. I'd remember markings like that."

Had this unusual pokemon met a growlithe before? He seemed to be insistent on knowing one. Whoever it was, it wasn't her or her siblings. There was something unsettling about the other fire type, but there was also an air of mystery. Could adventure be around the corner?

Hesitation pulled him back from an immediate answer as he tried to search for something he could remember. He shook his head. The fog was much too thick. The darkness obscured any light of a memory and left him with nothing to show for it. He would correct himself, however, "I can recall bits and pieces...but never any full details." Sorrow washed over him, but it was quickly replaced with a cold grip of fear. His face remained perplexed, but the reality of the situation begun to set in.

The growlithe pointed out something he completely forgot he even had. The strange marks and scars that were unnatural for a charmeleon. His muscular build and scars were natural for a powerful charmeleon close to evolution such as himself, but the darker marks seemed a bit too purposeful and artificial to be something he was born with. It also helped that something about them brought the idea that he did not always have these to his mind. He could not remember how he got them, but he remembered that it was important to him.

"So I haven't..." he repeated as he attempted to absorb the fact that he apparently had not met this Growlithe before. Still, the familiarity had that ring around the fire type. He continued to stare at her as he spoke to her, right into her eyes without a single break as he struggled. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the harder he tried, the more it was obscured from him.

He gave a sigh of defeat, but he was far from giving up completely. His immediate thought was to apologize to the fire type, "Well...sorry for bothering you....what was your name?" he asked once more as he forgot the canine's name.

Opal didn't like the way she was being stared at. It felt somewhat threatening, the eyes of the other fire type drilling into her like that. What here this pokemon's intentions? Why was he so strange? Was he reading her mind? No, that would be silly. Mind-reading was something psychic types did. Relief washed over her as the charmeleon apologised. Things were getting a bit more relaxed again.

"That's okay. And my name is Opal," she reminded him, then remembered she didn't know who he was. "What's yours?"

The uncomfortable stare was broken as he was prompted to recall his name. Name? That should be simple enough, he should know this one. He opened his mouth to speak in reaction, but no words came out. A frown fell upon his expression as he realized something important. He could not remember his name either. A sound left his jaws, however, it was an awkward, "Uhhhh..." that lasted for a moment. He wanted to give the growlithe what she wanted, but he quickly realized that he was unable to do that.

'Why should she have it anyways? What business is it to her?' the fog in his mind corrupted his thoughts to cater to his bitterness. The malicious thoughts ignored the code of common decency as they urged him to lash out against the friendly fire type. She was far too nice, goody-two-shoes nice. What kind of innocent fool was she? A dark look overcame him briefly as he nearly gave in to the urge, but once again he managed to walk himself out of that door.

"I...I don't know..." he admitted peacefully. His eyes dropped down to the floor below. He failed to recognize that he made the canine uncomfortable with his stares, but he would not have really cared if he did. He had more important matters at his hand if the loyal pokemon before him didn't like to be stared at, that was their issue, not his.

Opal, her name was Opal. That sounded familiar to him now. Perplexed, he could not recognize that he was already told her name just a few moments ago. Instead, he assumed that it had the same connection to the strange recognition he already felt when he just looked at the creature. The lizard was not sure where to proceed from here. He knew he probably should have left her alone, but his curiosity burned brighter than the flame on his tail.

"Are you absolutely sure we've never met? At all? Never ever?" he asked again, though not because he forgot once more. He could still recall that answer, but if not for his question it likely would have dropped from his mind all over again. There seemed to be a tiny bit of hope in his voice-a hope that died more and more as he asked again and again.

So much for things being more relaxed. Opal had been giving this stranger she was conversing with the benefit of the doubt, but it became apparent that he wasn't so nice after all. The growlithe was hoping there was a nice pokemon underneath that confusion, but that look on his face was unmistakable. Nice pokemon did not look at others like that. A warning bark sounded from the pup as she stood up into a defensive posture. She was on guard now, keeping a good eye on the charmeleon. With such unpredictable behaviour, it paid to be careful.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure."

Her tone now was no longer so naively kind. The young fire type had been put on edge, her fiery instincts kicking into gear. She would remain polite for now, but if a fight broke out, she would show that she was no pushover. This stranger may be older and possess greater strength, but he was no growlithe. Growlithe had some impressive abilities of their own, and they took full advantage of them.

Shock struck his spine. The pup gave a defensive bark at him before she stood in a more defensive posture. He straightened his back at the sound and sight as his train of thought was completely derailed to stare at the growlithe in absolute confusion. Her tone shifted to a more firm stance as she responded that she was absolutely sure that she had never met him before. However, that question was no longer in his mind. His new focus was now on why this growlithe seemed to glare at him defensively.

He blinked, completely oblivious to the hungered looks he gave Opal just a few moments ago. It was not a ruse, to his defense, as the memory loss continued to afflict him and block him from the simplest of things. What frightened him the most about it, however, was how inconsistent it was. Opal's name seemed to finally stick with him as well as the memory that he asked for her name twice. Something was wrong with him, so very wrong. Head trauma, he wondered? When did he get hurt enough for this kind of reaction from his body?

The charmeleon sat in his silence and confusion for a moment longer before his raspy voice spoke up once more, "Do...I scare you?" he asked. Then after a slight hesitation, he decided to ask a different question, "Did I do something to you?" He did not know why, but that particular question brought a pit to his stomach. A sick feeling of dread that made it toss and turn with disgust.

So it looked like there wouldn't be a fight. That was fine. That was quite good, in fact, A scuffle in the square would be a terrible first impression from a newcomer, and Opal wanted to avoid that. She wanted to be seen as a friend, not a troublemaker. There were already eyes looking in their direction. Hopefully there were no ill thoughts in those eyes. It wouldn't be as bad as this lizard's looks, but it would still make her sad.

Speaking of that lizard, he was being utterly unpredictable. Relatively civil one moment, borderline barbaric the next. The young growlithe thought it wise to stay on guard. She was indeed starting to become scared of the other fire type, but felt reluctant to admit it. What kind of pokemon would she be if she let fear get to her?

"Um... A little, maybe."

There. That would suffice for an answer. She technically wasn't lying. The stranger didn't need to know just how unsettling she found him. She worried about what he might do if he found out, anyway. Would he bully her further or simply apologise? Who could tell with this most unusual individual? Oh, if only her siblings were around! They could take on any problem together!

"Did you... do anything? You didn't, but I thought you were going to attack me."

The question came as a surprise to Opal, and confirmed to her that there was definitely something wrong with the charmeleon. It was as if there was some kind of fog seeping into his mind and corrupting his thoughts. Was he truly sorry for the way he'd been acting? He at least seemed aware of not being normal. Even if he was truly warped beyond help, the pup wanted to find out what had caused these... issues. Such knowledge could prove invaluable to not just Grassveil's community, but the world at large.

A pit in one's stomach is often a way to describe a sense of nervousness. When he became nervous, it was almost as if an empty hole formed inside him that he could not fill. The sickly feeling it brought forth was not an enjoyable sensation as the canine confirmed that he had indeed scared her. The emotions he felt conflicted with one another. Guilt was one of the emotions. Not because he felt bad that he caused the fire type to become frightened, but because of the lack of care he seemed to feel towards it. He was...shameful about not feeling guilty? No, that did not make much sense...

The charmeleon's eyebrows pinched together in thought as he tried to discern how he even felt about this. It would not take long for him to give up before he listened to the growlithe's response.

He had not done anything, the growlithe said, but why did she think he was going to attack?  If there was one thing he could remember, it was that he wanted to be good. Baffled, the charmeleon's expression slowly shifted to one of shock and almost disbelief. "I wouldn't-" he began, but he corrected himself almost immediately in a lower volume, "I-I shouldn't." Liars were not good people.

...but why though? He questioned himself. Why should he want that? What was the point of it? The charmeleon's look of shock faded into a blank stare as he continued to stare at the growlithe. He picked at his brain for any sort of reason why he should care, but he failed to come up with anything. There had to be some reason, right? Perhaps he just could not remember it? Fear crawled back to him as he began to realize just how hopeless and helpless he truly was at that moment. He could not remember a thing. He could hardly even remember this Growlithe's name again yet he was almost certain that she told him already. That fear then began to feed frustration. He was sick of this. He was unaware of how long he was like this, but he knew he was fed up. He just wanted to remember, why couldn't he remember?

The frustration then began to feed a new emotion he was far too familiar with: anger. Emotions were so much easier to identify when he kept them simple like this. Were these ones something he was well acquainted with? 'Be real freakin great if I could just REMEMBER!' his thoughts sneered.

On the outside of his mind, his body reacted to his turmoil. His body quivered, his teeth gnashed together, and his tail whipped about to and fro. In contrast to the easily interpretable and hostile body language, his voice spoke differently, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm just...confused right now. I don't know what's going on..."


ooc: Speaking of what's going on, I figured I should probably inform you of what's actually going on with him and give you some context. Currently, there's a site event that's been ongoing for a while now that Garnet is taking part in. This event has a strange illness going about that is driving pokemon to act like feral animals and forget their true selves(thus the memory loss). Garnet is currently infected and going through the decomposing process while trying to fight it because I thought it'd be fun to explore things a bit with this plot device.

On top of that, Garnet's also come into contact with a cursed item that brings out the worst sides of his character traits in exchange for speedy af level up. The strange markings on his body are a sign of that.

So in a nutshell, he's lost, miserable, and very prone to attacking things. So if he does attack, be sure that your character doesn't get bit or get too in-contact with his blood/saliva unless you want to corrupt the adorable puppy child that must be protected. Opal doesn't really need to know all of this since she's new to the area but I figured I should give some context to what the actual hell is going on for your personal sake and if you like I could bring in an NPC to explain things at least a little and simultaneously torture Garnet more.

Again, Opal tried to work out what the stranger was thinking. Again, Opal failed. She watched as he went through whatever was in that head of his. If anything was certain, it was that the charmeleon was more confused than she was, and also more dangerous. Alarm bells rang when the lizard almost immediately interrupted his own response and corrected it to something rather ominous. The growlithe interpreted this as "Since I said I shouldn't, that means I'm going to."

The crazed movements that came next certainly didn't help the situation. Opal growled deeply and bowed, ready to spring to one side if this brute came at her. How could he not mean it if he was behaving like he was now? Why did the audio and visual not match up? With no idea of what was going on and no way to be certain of her own safety, this young pup wasn't going to stand idle.

(( I was wondering why Garnet's record mentioned a Genesect despite legendaries not being allowed. That would explain it, the poor fellow. I'm okay with a fight starting up if you feel like Garnet would lose control and lash out, but I can't doom my adorable little fluff to that curse. Her adventuring career hasn't even started!

A bit unfortunate that Opal knows Bite and Growlithe are known for being nippy when agitated...

I've been sharing PMs with Lord E V, who's interested in having one of their characters come to the rescue. An NPC makes sense as well-I doubt the police or any nearby powerhouses are going to ignore a violent confrontation in the town centre in broad daylight.

I'm a fan of having both options. The more, the merrier! I'm also quite amused by the thought of Opal sharing this terrible discovery, only to have everyone be like "Yeah, we know about that already. Let me tell you more..." ))