You'll Never See It Coming [Event!]

Evelyn Kimura was not a good person. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, really, considering she was in a mafia. Not that she could really afford to beat herself up over it, that's just the way the cards fall in Grima. But she wasn't under any delusions, either, that she could be in any regard referred to as 'good'. So Evelyn wasn't gonna dress it up as anything prettier than it actually was: She was here to loot shit. All these bravely stupid adventurers were gonna get wrecked by Regigigas, and she was going to take their stuff.

There wasn't any honor in it, but hey, anything to get out of Grima. The talk of a holy war, well. That was way above Evelyn's payroll. Whatever happened would happen, and she wasn't in any position to alter it. She wasn't even going to end up on top, either. The best she could do was strike while the iron was hot, try to claw her way to a slightly better position then she'd been in before.

"Kill or be killed, and all that." Evelyn muttered, standing on her hind legs to look up at the gathering dark clouds. Well, there wasn't any dressing it up. Time to get to work.

Evelyn's Energy: 1
(21 - 20 from entry = 1)

"Pointy trees..." Rui murmured, attempting to scramble over the breadth of a giant upturned tree trunk. These trees were just like the ones in the vision, so this had to be the same place. All green and grassy. It had looked so pretty, but Rui couldn't help but worry the longer he was here. Was Evelyn here? Was she okay? How far away from home was he now...?

The branch Rui placed his weight on snapped and sent him tumbling down the other side of the trunk.

Visiting a highly unfamiliar place all on his lonesome hadn't been on Rui's agenda for that day, until he had been sorting through his bag that morning. He wasn't sure which object he had touched but Rui had frozen as an unexpected scene engulfed his senses, playing only for his eyes. That had been Eve! And she was, or had been - Or would be? - in trouble! Was Eve okay? Oh these visions were always so confusing.

He remembered the vision he'd had of mom, that time before she had become so sick. The one where she'd first collapsed in their tiny kitchen. Perhaps if Rui had realised what it had meant, had taken it more seriously, he could have helped back then before it had gotten so bad.

Rui elected not to ignore this one. He visited Evelyn's home, intending to at least try to warn her, only to find her missing. Not there. Not at the cafe either. Was Evelyn already in that unfamiliar place? Was there nothing he could do to help?

He'd plucked up the courage to ask someone by the edge of town if they'd seen her. An awkward, stilted conversation, but they had spotted Eve heading north. (Rui hadn't known which way north was but they'd pointed it out.)

Now here, having followed their directions miles from home, Rui sat up on the other side of a giant tree trunk. He glanced up at the sky from his place on he grass. Any semblance of blue was hidden by the pervading darkness of the clouds. He glanced around, but everywhere just looked the same. Beautiful, green and vastly unfamiliar. Rui's ears lowered. He wished he hadn't come here alone. He didn't know how to get home from here. It had been silly to follow vague directions without any plan. This place seemed to go on for miles, and so much of it looked the same. There was no way he would be able to figure out where the vision had happened. There was no way he'd be able to help Eve.

What was he supposed to do...?

Rui slid glumly to the ground, laying down where the short fall had dropped him. "I'm sorry Eve," he whispered, burying his face into his leafy mane as if it would block out the unfortunate reality of things.


Rui's Energy: 29
Freeeeee entryyyyyy c:

Evelyn figured it wouldn't be very hard to find Regigigas. All she had to do was follow the trail of destruction he left behind. He wasn't exactly the paragon of subtly. She'd find a path in the trees crushed into splinters, and the footprints deeper than she was tall. And in the wake of the titan's rampage, she'd find the brave, stupid pokemon who had tried to stop him. It was a pretty good plan, she thought. As she crested a hill, she paused, seeing a flash of movement. A quiet thump was her sign of life. Another target, maybe? She was hardly one to be picky when opportunity rolled around.

The Salandit crested a small hill, her steps light and quiet, purple eyes narrowed to slits. Yeah, something was breathing, alright. She craned her neck, trying to tell if the stranger had a bag for her to nab. This wouldn't be her first target of the day; far from it, her bag was already heavy with spoils of her little quest.

And then she froze, statue still, recognition clicking into place all at once. Tan and white, complete with a shade of green that matched the newly budding leaves. Evelyn stepped forward from her sheltered spot in the bushes, looking at the Skiddo with a puzzled frown. This wasn't right. "Rui?" She called out, utterly dumbfounded. His head was buried in his mane, his posture slumped and defeated...

... he wasn't okay. Evelyn scampered forward, rushing up to her friend. Was he hurt? She didn't see any scratches him, so any injuries were internal. She wished she knew enough about injuries to tell whether that was a good thing or not. "Hey, Rui, chin up, I'm here, you're fine." She managed, flashing a reassuring smile at her friend.

"The hell are you doing this far from home?" He didn't usually wander outside of his comfort zone. Definitely not this far out, anyways. He wasn't thinking of picking a fight with Regigigas, had he? No... no, that didn't sound like the Rui she knew. So why? Something was sitting poorly with her, knocking Evelyn completely off her balance. She didn't like this. "You okay, Rui? What happened to you, what- what are you doing here?"

Rui's ears twitched at the sound of his name. He looked up, blinking moisture from his eyes. "E-Eve...?" The very familiar Salandit scampered over to him, flashing him her signature smile and Rui found his vision blurring once again as tears of relief threatened to overwhelm him instead.

"You're o-okay!" Rui got to his feet, a wobbly smile on his face even as he tried to quell his sniffles. Evelyn looked absolutely fine, completely safe and well. He would have hugged her if he could! He wasn't too late!

"I-I'm fine! I just fell a little bit- I.. I was looking for you..." He shifted on his feet. "I thought you were in trouble... I saw it happen. So.. i tried to find you. But you weren't at home..." Rui trailed off. He was all too aware how silly it sounded when he thought about it. He'd wandered off into the middle of nowhere, following the directions of someone he didn't know, because of a vision he had that may or may not happen. But he was here now! He could warn Eve just in case.

"Uhm... you might get hurt... if we stay here. I just- I didn't want to not say anything. In case it came true..."

Oh, phew. Evelyn sunk in relief as Rui assured her he wasn't hurt. He seemed a bit... disoriented, she'd say that much, she couldn't really understand what her friend was going on about. Had he really come all this way looking for her? She was a little taken aback, eyes widening as she tried to make sense of Rui's mutterings. A bad dream during one of his naps, she settled on, that was probably where this came from. "Right here, buddy, safe and sound." Eve answered, giving the Skiddo a friendly scruff of his mane.

Yeah, sure, it sounded a little silly and confusing, but it had clearly shaken him. She wasn't going to chew him out for that. Besides, Rui was great, but he wasn't the most... motivated. If he'd come all this way, he must've been just as shaken as she thought he was. The only problem was that he was trying to bring her back home. An opportunity like this didn't come around very often. Maybe she was standing a bit too close to the fire, chasing after a legendary pokemon, but... it would get her out of Grima. The payoff was worth the risk.

She didn't especially want to head home, but she didn't want to drag Rui around, either. He was right, this place wasn't especially safe. It stung, though. Every orb and berry was another day shaved off of her prison sentence in Grima, and being forced to stop... she'd be lying if she pretended she wasn't reluctant.

Good thing Evelyn was a good liar.

"You really came all this way for me, huh? Can't argue with that. Let's get you home." They were pretty deep in the dungeon, but she wasn't going to get any more thievery done with Rui on her tail. Her only real choice was to start the long trek back. "And then you can sleep it off. Wasn't there a weird saying about counting Mareeps? Maybe Rika can help out. She'd prolly do it five poke."

Five poke that neither of them really had between them. But hopefully Rui had some better dreams, when she got him back home.

Evelyn's Energy: 11
(1 + 10 from Berry Soup = 11)

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Rui nodded. Eve was safe and sound and he was very very glad. He only hoped that it would stay that way. He wasn't sure how far he had come in this place. They would still be here a while before they got back to the poisonous flatlands surrounding Grima Outpost, so there was plenty of time for things to go pear shaped. But perhaps being able to warn Evelyn would be able to change things - if it really was the future he'd seen that is.

"H-how far actually is this from home...?" Rui asked curiously. He'd wandered for what felt like hours. It was probably quite a considerable distance, "I've... never been here before." Now that he had found Eve, Rui felt as if he could truly take in the view around them. There was lots of lush plantlife, although there were huge patches of ground that looked as if something had been carved out from them. As his eyes wandered over them, his mind strayed back to the scene he had seen that morning. Was this...?

"A nap sounds nice," Rui agreed, turning his wary gaze away from the damage to the scenery. His feet kinda hurt from all the walking and part of him wanted to sit down for a bit longer, but Rui was sure he would feel safer once they had left these unfamiliar lands.

"I can only count one Mareep though! Rika is good at lots of things but I don't think she can make more of herself." Rui paused, thoughtful for a moment. "Actually... does it count if she made more Mareep out of building materials..? I think she could do that. Maybe. Especially if there'd be five poke on the line..." The building materials would be costly though. Maybe she could make mini Mareeps out of parts that couldn't be used! One. Two. Three. Rui could picture them in his mind. It was almost enough to fall asleep right then and there - although perhaps that wasn't anything to do with the Mini Mareeps. Rui had always found it easy to fall asleep at a moments notice.

Solilo carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

How far was this from home? Evelyn had been hoping that it was far enough away not to draw any undue attention, but that was clearly out the window. "Not far enough," She wanted to answer, but instead she shrugged her shoulders. "A few hours walk. We'll be back before sunset." She settled on instead. It was pretty impressive that Rui had managed to find her. She hadn't exactly told anyone where she was going.

Her smile turned a tad wistful as she caught Rui looking around at their surroundings. "It was a nice place before Regigigas came along. Wish I could've seen it." She wished that Rui could've seen this place sooner, but it was... gone, now. Maybe that was a bit dramatic. Everspring Vale was still here, but it definitely wasn't in one piece. Rui could see the plantlife, but all the Salandit could see was the damage, the earth gouged from the titan's rampage. Everyone had been helpless to stop it.

She didn't want to think too hard about that. "Counting to one is still counting." She protested, feigning a lot more passion for this little argument than she actually had. "Rika's real bright, she'd figure it out." Evelyn added, managing a light chuckle. "But I still think it'd be just fine with just her."

Evelyn: rest in peace my energy (0)

A few hours... that wasn't so bad. Hopefully he wouldn't worry anyone by coming back so late. He should have left a note or... something. Sorry mom... Sorry Rika... he apologised mentally. It had been important at the time!

"I think it's still nice..." Rui replied quietly. Maybe it would be even better to see this place before parts of it had been destroyed, and sure it was a little spooky, knowing that something bad could happen. But it was still so green. "The air here isn't like in Grima. It's... fresher?" Rui mused. He wasn't sure how to describe it, but it didn't stick in his throat as much as the air in Grima or Venen. He hadn't realised just how different it was until he didn't feel it anymore.

Perhaps with time things here could recover, and then Evelyn would be able to see it back how it should have been...

"Hmm... I guess you're right," Rui couldn't really argue with that... counting to one really was still counting. And Eve was right. One Mareep was enough for Rui. Just knowing that Rika was nearby, and being able to curl up near his family and feel safe and warm. That was a good way to fall asleep. "...but mini Mareeps would be really cute!"

As they stepped over a patch of scarred land, Rui's pace slowly came to a halt. Beneath his hooves was just upturned dirt and soil, but just a little further, the green of grass and plants burst from the ground once more. Perhaps... he could help fix it?

Rui closed his eyes, attempting to focus. He still wasn't very good at this... His leafy mane began to glow a soft green colour, before Rui leaned down to tap his nose to the ground. The green energy spread out from his point of contact, grassy fronds sprouting up in a small radius to cover part of what had previously been empty soil. He smiled, turning excitedly to Eve, "It can still grow back!"

Rui's Energy: 0
Buff encounters stole his energy no wonder he's always exhausted

The air felt the same as ever to Evelyn... but it would, wouldn't it? Pokemon like her, they were built for places like Grima in a way that Rui never was. She never thought about the air, really. Why would she ever need to, right? She didn't think she'd ever feel a little guilty that she took the air for granted. She hesitated, lost in her thoughts for a moment too long to reply to Rui's little comment about mini Mareeps. They would be pretty cute, she'd give him that.

She tilted her head as she realized Rui was up to something. She could see the gears in his mind turning, but she wasn't sure what he was up to until his mane began to glow, touching his muzzle to the ground. It happened as if she was watching it in fast-forward, blades of grass poking up from the uneven lumps of soil, leaving a tiny hill were Rui was perched at the peak.

He was a grass type, Evelyn knew that. But it was easy not to think about it. Rui didn't fight very often at all - hell, had she ever seen him fight? - and the toxic mists of Grima would quickly kill off any plantlife he summoned. Evelyn only registered what he was capable of when the grass bloomed under her feet, bending and springing towards the sun.

Ah. So that's what he was up to. Some part of her couldn't help but feel amused by how ironic this was. Evelyn wielded fire and poison, there was nothing to be done with those other than destroy. And of course Rui, the kindest person she'd known, was the polar opposite. It was fitting, wasn't it? "So it can, huh?" She murmured, taking a few steps back. She didn't want to stand on Rui's grass. It just didn't feel right.

It was just a drop in the ocean, of course, compared to Regigigas' destruction. But looking at Rui's excited smile, she couldn't find the heart to say that even if she wanted to. "Maybe this place can be patched up someday." She said instead, a quiet confession that just maybe the Skiddo was right.

She hoped he was. That'd be nice.

Evelyn felt it before she saw it, vibrations deep in the soil shaking her from her musings. She suddenly tensed, digging her nails into her palm. She didn't want to alarm Rui, but Evelyn knew what that meant. The titan was getting closer. Not 'close', by any stretch, but if they could feel the earth shaking, they were closer than Evelyn was comfortable with.

"Hey, Rui, stay calm, alright?" She urged him, hoping the nod she shot his way was at least a little reassuring. "I'm gonna get up somewhere high and see if I can spot which way the big oaf is, we don't wanna run into him. Sound good?" Maybe she could climb up a tree, would that work?

... did he even know about the titan? Gods help her, this would be awkward if he didn't.

Rui hopped down from his small mound of grass to stand next to Evelyn. It really wasn't much, only a small part of the area, but it was better than nothing at all. It would take time, as all things did, but things could return to the way they were! It wasn't like Grima, where most plants couldn't seem to thrive no matter what Rui tried. He was happy to hear that Eve seemed to agree.

The vibrations had been small to begin with. Small enough for Rui not to notice in the joy of this small grassy victory. But as the ground began to visibly shake underfoot, Rui paled. The giant. He whipped around, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Was it behind the trees, where they couldn't see?

Eve urged him to stay calm, but Rui was anything but. The shaking. The giant lumbering form of the titan, its strength able to rip trees from the land and carve vast holes in the landscape. He remembered them well from the vision he'd had that morning. "I- wait. Don't go-" he panicked, his tiny voice trembling as Evelyn eyed up the tree. If Eve went away, everything he had seen and tried to prevent by coming here might come true!

Maybe... maybe they could just run away!

But one look around and Rui knew there was no guarantee that would work. Eve was right, they didn't want to run into him. And they didn't know what direction the titan was coming from. He couldn't offer to go instead - he couldn't climb trees to get high enough to see past them. Without that knowledge, they could fumble towards the danger instead of away. Rui sunk into his leafy mane. He felt so small and useless. "S-sorry. I-" I don't want you to get hurt. I wish I could do something more. Rui wished to say any one of these, but they caught in his throat. He had never been very good at speaking his mind. "Please be careful," he said meekly, acquiescing to the idea.


2x House Orb Rolls! >:D

Solilo carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Solilo carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Her friend was shaking. Evelyn reached out a hand to try and reassure him, forcing the sincerest of insincere smiles. Rui being frightened wasn't exactly something new. The Skiddo was on the jumpy side - and Eve would think it'd serve him well in Grima, to be fair. But maybe all the times that Rui was frightened seemed... different, now. This wasn't fear. It wasn't just fear, rather, but what else was underneath? Concern? Panic? Guilt?

Evelyn shook her head to clear her mind. No point in overthinking this. She couldn't exactly blame him for being nervous when there was a titan marching their way. It didn't take long until Rui had taken back his objection. Unable to think of any better plans, she suspected. "Will be, promise. I'll be right back." She said the words as earnestly as she could, wrapping her arms around the Skiddo's leafy mane and giving him a quick hug. He needed the reassurance.

She shot her friend a wink, and the Salandit was gone, her sharp claws digging into the bark of the tree. Was it just her, or was the vibration in the ground getting stronger? Better hurry. If she noticed it, Rui probably had, too. She scampered up the tree, clawing her way up until she was perched high above the ground. Had she ever been this high up, actually...?

The view was nice. Would've been nicer before Regigigas started wrecking shop, but maybe this place would be back in one piece someday. From her vantage point in the air, she could see a swath of trees that had been decimated, a gigantic white shape lumbering through the dark skies. Even from her distance, the shape was massive. Only one thing that could be.

But then... what were those? The twin streaks of light splitting the sky, one deep blue and one vivid red. Pulse of light broke through the sky, but they weren't so much as swaying Regigigas from it's path. "He's down there!" She called out to Rui, hoping her friend could tell what direction she was actually talking about. "There's a real steep incline between use and him, so he'll probably change direction. We'll be good."

Evelyn paused, squinting for just a moment too long. Red and blue... must be pretty bold to fight Regigigas. Pity she wouldn't be able to steal their stuff after they got knocked out of the sky. The two streaks flew around the titan, deftly weaving out of the way of a swat and retorting with blasts of light of their own. What kind of pokemon even were those?

Some of their shots went wide, with how quickly they had to react to avoid Regigigas' swipes. Evelyn didn't even have time to react when a flash of red light had zoomed her way, hitting near the bottom of the tree. She only fully realized what happened when there was a terrible crack, far too close for comfort. Below her- she was sliding, why was the tree moving, oh gods, oh fuck. Evelyn scurried back down the tree, but it was too late-

The tree had slid down the incline towards Regigigas, taking the Salandit with it. Evelyn managed another startled yelp, clinging to the broken log for dear life, squinting her eyes shut.

Oh.

Well. She knew that people like her didn't get to grow old. She wished that Rui hadn't seen this, though. He'd blame himself, the poor fool. She was alive, much to her surprise, when the dust cleared - for the moment, at least. She didn't feel like she was dying. But... damn, that cliff looked a lot steeper from the bottom than it did from the top.

This wasn't good, was it?


last surprise starts blaring as Ven smashes 3 hous orbs

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Rui leaned into the hug, nuzzling his head against Eve to reciprocate the gesture. But all too soon Evelyn was speeding up the tree trunk. Rui watched from below as she climbed, not wanting to take his eyes off her. The earth rumbled beneath his hooves, the quaking growing stronger as the giant drew closer.

Down where..? Rui couldn’t quite see where Evelyn was indicating. We’ll be good, she’d added. So.. he wasn’t heading towards them? That was a relief. Perhaps they’d be okay. Eve could come back down and they could go home, and not have to worry-

Something shot out of the sky, colliding with the tree. Rui threw himself to the ground, a shower of bark and leaves raining over him. A sickening crack echoed through the trees, and Rui looked up, just in time to see the tree bow and collapse before his eyes.

His heart dropped. “Eve!” Rui could do nothing but watch in horror as the vast tree sunk to the ground, Evelyn still somewhere within its branches. He followed the length of the trunk, skidding to a halt at the edge of the incline. There was no time to process that this is what Eve had meant moments ago as he laid eyes on the titan at the bottom. The titan swiped at the falling tree with one vast white arm, shattering it into pieces. The scattered chunks of wood and leaf fell to the bottom of the incline, inconsequential to a titan so large.

Rui stood, frozen. Eve.. Eve was okay right? He’d caught a glimpse of the bright orange stripe adorning Evelyn’s back on the way down, but now-

He sucked in a stuttered breath, staring down at the debris. He’d thought he could help! After the vision… he hadn’t ignored it! So why... why had things still gone wrong? Rui’s gaze skimmed across the bottom of the slope, looking for something… anything that could be Evelyn among the broken branches. Tears prickled at his eyes, and his vision grew blurry with tears. If he’d tried harder.. insisted that they go without checking- without climbing-

He took a tiny step forward, front hooves edging over the incline. Perhaps if he just went down there… maybe Eve was okay! Maybe they’d be able to run away and go home just like they originally planned.

Dust and pebbles tumbled down the slope, cascading towards the titan at the bottom. Just beyond that, the giant white beast of a pokemon swung its arms around once again, swatting at the air but colliding with the side of the valley. The ground trembled beneath his feet and Rui promptly skittered backwards in fear. He shrank back from the edge of the incline, collapsing in the leaf litter.

“E-Eve-” he whimpered, curling in on himself. His heart hammered in his chest. The giant- he couldn’t-

But Evelyn…

She was sore as hell, that was her first thought, a dull groan escaping her. She tried her best to blink the dark spots out of her vision. She just wanted to stay still until everything stopped aching, but... that wasn't an option. She needed to move. "R-Rui?" She stammered, looking up at the sky. She called again, louder this time. Getting a closer look at the slope, there was no way she'd be able to climb that. It was way too steep, almost a straight drop down at points. Maybe if she had a few hours, she could work out a path up.

Evelyn didn't have a few hours. She had about five seconds before a thunderous BOOM nearly burst her eardrums. Regigigas. He was right there, a gigantic fist colliding with the slope and sending rocks tumbling down Evelyn's direction. She scurried out of the way, gritting her teeth as every part of her body ached in protest. "Rui! I'm fine! Get out!" Evelyn called - no, screamed - as loudly as she could, hoping he would be able to hear her all the way up there.

But there was no time to wait for a response, or even wait to see whether Rui was able to hear her. So she'd lied, a little bit. She was less than fine, but she was pretty sure nothing was broken, yet. That wouldn't stay true for long if the big guy stepped on her. Her only choice was to run. She sent a silent apology in Rui's direction, and she turned tail, scampering off into the overgrown forest.

A flash of movement caught the giant's eye, and it spun to face it, affording an absentminded swat towards the two annoying lights. They weaved out of the way with as much grace and agility as ever, but with something new to draw it's attention, it afforded a heavy stomp in the direction of the new annoyance. Deep, rumbling noises that almost sounded like beeps escaped the titan.

It threw a fist down towards the ground, brimming with elemental energy. As the massive Ice Punch collided with the soil, trees froze mid-crack as they were overtaken by ice, a large, frozen crater sinking into the ground.

And on the outskirts of that ice blue, a little black shape was lying prone, contrasting colors easily giving away it's location. A deep shadow overcame the Salandit, a foot coming down to finally crush the annoyance-

- and in a flash of red, a lightning-fast ray of light dipped underfoot, and Evelyn was gone.