Daryl and Rook approach the nearest stall, a tiny number run by a like-wise diminutive Grass type. Several shallow metal pots bubble and steam over very carefully controlled flames, and the air is sweet and spicy smelling around the tiny shop.
Greetings, travelers! Can I interest you in a bowl of hot, nourishing noodles? Only 7 Poké a bowl, for you, or 12 for the daily Specials,
The Budew's congenial smile drops a combat stage as the Tyrogue whispers to his pal and makes a counteroffer.
Two for 12, and you won't find a better deal today.
The Cacnea takes off, stopping every couple feet to let the Slowpoke catch up.
Outfit always looking for reliable muscle. Good opportunities, good pay. Make a big Pokemon of you, part of growing enterprise, give you self-respect.
Eventually reaching a well-appointed brick building nestled against the hill, Cacnea gives a significant look to a Murkrow perched nonchalantly near the entrance. Returning the glance with a raised eyebrow, and then a shrug, the Murkrow shifts his wing toward the back of the building and the Cacnea shuffles off again, Enki in tow.
Behind the building is a short "alley" between the back wall and the hill, the Cacnea ignores the door, and instead pushes past some water-stained stacked crates to reveal a cave entrance.
The Cacnea nods and pushes inside. Following, Enki finds the interior opens up in a decently-sized cave, dimly lit by some sort of glowing fungus that has been cultivated in spots along the wall. Cacnea is already talking to a Nuzleaf, a pair of Seedot standing nearby and listening intently. While he watches, the Cacnea points to him, and the Nuzleaf peers over, its expression neutral, before turning back to the small Cactusmon. Eventually Cacnea seems to win over the Nuzleaf with sheer persistence, and with a wave it sends one of the Seedot jogging down a corridor before strolling over to Enki.
Cacnea says you're looking for work. You don't look like much, Pinkie, where you hail from?
A smile stretches across his face, his voice upbeat.
Sounds great to me pal! Though I do have a hankering for some spice. Throw ya an extra 10p to upgrade to specials? 20p total? I'll go with some figgy noodles, papaya unsettled my stomach something fierce. What's your fancy, Daryl?
Say bud, I imagine running a shop up here you catch wind of the city happenings. Got any gossip, maybe heard some info on the couple of job postings that way?
And that seems to be that, she walks off and leans against one of the cavern walls. Nearby Cacnea and the remaining Seedot chat quietly in the half-light. After a few minutes, a tall Pokemon comes walking back down the corridor, the Seedot in its wake. When it pushes into the cavern, the chatter stops immediately, and Nuzleaf hastily ceases her lean and stands at extreme attention.
Cacturne... busy.
The Staraptor says in a strange sounding accent.
What you needing? Seedot say... recruit here. Where?
He's a very intimidating looking Pokemon, striking quite an imposing figure.
That means if you try to be a flippant dickass, I can and will make you roll a Daring Check to not stutter like an idiot, Shock.
<Aw yeah, forcin' respect for dangerous characters with dice rolls. I'm the best GM.>
Ahem, so the noodle-seller Budew takes the offered Poké and fetches Daryl and Rook two heaping bowls of the soup (mentioning repeat business was probably a smart idea).
Here you are! Eat it up while its hot.
I hear there's been a lot of excitement up at the Hive, having parties every couple days and a lot of foreigners passing through. Reckon big things are happening behind the scenes. Everyone knows that lass, Kakuna, is going to have a hard time holding on to her throne. A lot of other Bug types have had their eye on snatching some political clout and with King Beedrill gone and an inexperienced Princess, this seems to be the time to maneuver. She's got a lot of support of course, but even so, I wouldn't want to be in her place.
I'm surprised there's still job postings on that board. No one ever bothers to do them. We haven't had an active Defender Team in Yew Town for ages. I guess just not enough happens out here to make it worthwhile. We are a pretty peaceful settlement, after all, most of our neighbors are no trouble at all, our forests are safe to roam, and the Leaf Guard keeps away the only Pokémon who'd be our enemies.
The Nuzleaf quickly makes her way up to the Staraptor, carefully, and gives the short version of the story to the scowling avian Pokémon. Cacnea stays quiet in his corner of the cavern, clearly more unnerved then usual, and the Seedots keep their distance. Eventually, the Staraptor has heard his fill, and ambles over to Enki.
You maybe say you join Gang, yes? You say you warrior, yes?
That'll be up to Cacturne, whenever he's... not busy. We'll get you situated, then give you a shout when we need you, probably. Things are pretty stable in Yew Town so it's not often we need a fighter to back us up. Name's Nuzleaf, by the way, I do security.
Pleasure to meet ya, welcome to the Family. Ey! you two go get this Pokemon his stuff, don't keep 'im waiting.
The two Seedots scatter back down the hallway while Nuzleaf rolls her eyes. Eventually they return, bearing a pair of smoked glass eyewear and a small sack.
500 Poké, enough to keep you comfortable, I reckon. We'll talk about contract pay later, you can consider this a signing bonus. Now these...
She continues, hefting the shades.
...are our token, sometimes called an "accoutrement" or "badge". You wear these glasses it means you're on Gang business, and anybody messing with you is messing with us. We don't wear 'em much in Yew Town, unless we really need to show the flag, as it were. We try and keep things on the down-low here, understand?
BlackGlasses +2: Wearing these very cool shades marks you as a member of the Family, for good or ill. When using Dark-type Tactics, you may spend up to the bonus in Voltage to increase your Attack Roll by a like amount as an immediate action. Also, adding an extra point of Damage while using a Dark-type Tactic only costs 1 Voltage instead of 2.
Faction discovered: The Gang, aka The Family, The Outfit, etc.
Shock: +1 for moving the plot along in a satisfactory manner.
He graciously accepts the meal, tearing into the spiced goodness. In between slurps he attempts to keep up the conversation.
Seems like exciting times in Yew Town then! Whole lotta bugs rubbin elbows and all. Any of the grass types able to hold favor in the political spectrum?
Can't blame em for not keeping up a defender team though, none of those postings even seemed geared towards that sorta work. Things aren't as safe as they seem on the outskirts though, I'd be careful wandering out. What do you say we look into one of those jobs, Daryl? We can check out the others later, not like they're going anywhere if and whenever we get settled.
I see. Well we'll have to find out, won't we? Reading is fundamental. I can provide lessons if needed, I am a professional tutor.
Lopunny leads the pair to... well a very small section of the room/cavern. It seems like Pokemon as a whole are a bit lacking in the concrete medical study disciplines.
You should be able to find what little we have on the subject of amnesia here. My condolences on your conditions, I hope you find what you are looking for here. If you have need of aught else...
He inclines his head back towards his desk at the forefront of the room, waiting to see if any other questions or requests are forthcoming.
The Captain of the Leaf Guard, , is a Grass type of course, runs the Treasury (though he's a bit of both types, really), is the Master of ceremonies, he does a fantastic job, and runs the gardens (which doesn't seem like much, but in Yew Town we take that sort of thing very seriously). Most of these are royal appointments, of course, but it's not like there's any hard feelings. Bug types have always done very well in leading Yew Town to prosperity, so it's hard to begrudge them their position.
"...per se, however, are insufficient to produce such amnesia since Pokemon subjected to test followed by induced seizures initiated from the frontal cortex or from stimulation of the mesencephalic reticular formation had the same reaction as did control animals and thus presumably remembered the testing..."
Too late, Nevada realizes this book does not appear to be written in PokéScrawl.
Nevada closes the book slowly and edges it back onto the shelf. She proceeds to try and find a book written by someone with a firm grasp of intelligible language.
: Fascinating! The idea of using an induced complex partial seizure as a means to concentrate the sympathetic nervous system and induce a multiphase memory loss, it's quite clever.
:...
: I'm sorry, Frost Iceman, I didn't catch that, what did you say?
: The Pineco takes a look at another of the books, this one written in PokeScrawl.
: "Hmm... are good for heada-... headak... heada-chy- oh, headaches! are good for headaches!"
: He appears to be at least somewhat literate in Pokemon writing, although additional looks at the first book only make him squint and groan softly, as if willing the words to try and make sense. Eventually he grows so focused on the unintelligible words that he forgets to balance and rolls over on his side.
Posts
Steam
Steam
Then he snaps it shut.
Steam
Steam
Naturally, Kaboom will be forced into the role of her champion.
Steam
Steam
"Enki."
Steam
I would be very okay with this outcome.
Faction discovered: The Gang, aka The Family, The Outfit, etc.
Shock: +1
Generator:
Steam
Well. This probably shouldn't be surprising.
"...right, this looks great! Thanks a lot, we should be fine from here."
She carefully edges the first helpful-looking book out of its shelf and flips it open.
"..."
Nevada closes the book slowly and edges it back onto the shelf. She proceeds to try and find a book written by someone with a firm grasp of intelligible language.
"Probably something intelligent. But about you- did you just understand that? Because everything in that sentence went way over my head."
"C'mon! You literally just said something about, uh, inducing partial seizures to... something with nerves, and induce a multilayered memory loss?"
"This...isn't ringing any bells, is it."
"I don't suppose you can understand any of this stuff, then?"