Streaming Soliloquy

 WHALESTRAND POINT, DOCKS

"Alriiiight, chaaat!" says Champion of the Sevii League, Iono! She hadn't been content to rest on her laurels... though she had been content to not go for another gym league challenge. The Sevii Islands and their seven gyms and champion had been enough of a dramatic arc to satisfy chat, and they had the bonus of Iono being the first non-native to actually get all seven badges and defeat the champion. 

Plus, she'd felt a personal investment in trying to help them get on the map, after the first couple. Compared to that, what was the Alola League or Sinnoh League but more of what many people had streamed already? So naturally, Iono's busy with her original streaming plan, that of the mysterious and esoteric in and around Glasetera. There were rumors of strange islands off the coast...

"So. What boat do I pick?" Iono says, gesturing to the charter docks.

"Gotta be a yacht. Sail in style!"
"speedboat speedboat speedboat"
"speedboat BUT only if you stand on the prow and blare sad disco music"
"Charter a freighter, it would be funny"
"Don't charter anything. We've already got a good streamer on the way here, we don't need you getting in her way."
"hey wait a second, only I'm allowed to dunk on Iono!"
"Are we being raided?"

Iono looks at her chat in confusion. Sure, some people loved to make fun of her, but it was all in good fun. That seemed more like actual trolling! As a chat mod blocks the invader, Iono looks back and prepares to go for a speedboat.

Only to hear a laugh from behind her.

"Kekekeke..." Iono has heard that laugh before. Too many times. Waaay too many times. She spins around on the spot.

"You."

"Meeee, dear Iono!" laughs the other woman. "The Coral Reef is making a splashdown here in Whalestrand Point! For those on your chat who've had the misfortune to never meet me before, I'm Coral! Streamer star extraordinary!"

"Shouldn't it be 'extraordinaire' there?" Iono says, flatly.

"Ahhh, shut it, big sis." Coral says in return, a mocking look in her eyes. "Nitpicking won't get you anywhere!"

"Says the one who nitpicked all of my streams and gave me two full notebooks of nitpicks, huh?" 

"wait. wait wait was sister in an anime-style onee-san way or-"

"You didn't know?"
"well we DO try to avoid riling Iono up..."
"Yeah, that's Iono's little sister. Rival streamer Coral. Chat has a pact about not bringing her up because Iono gets maaad about Coral. So much for that, huh?"
"Ohhhh this is going to be so interestiiiiiing"

"So how're the shark chompers treating you?" Coral asks, smugly pointing at Iono's teeth. "Didn't you use those to cheat yourself a championship? Dear Iono, unable to actually win the battle with her entire electric team!"

"It was considered totally within the rules!" Iono crosses her arms. "Celio didn't object! And I don't see YOU being a champ, huh? You try the Sevii League?"

"I'll have you know I did. And I realized very quickly that such a ragtag, hodgepodge, irreverent, and downright dysfunctional league was far beneath me."

Iono stares for a second, and then lets a smug look creep onto her face. "...In other words, you couldn't keep up with Lèan, match Ultima, or find Lostelle. So you quit because you weren't used to a gym challenge that isn't what you expected! Hahahahahaha, shoulda known!"

"GHRK!" Coral says, a strangled expression on her face - one that makes it clear that in a related affliction to Iono's shark teeth, her left front canine is strangely large and prominent compared to the rest of her teeth. One might see it as a single fang from afar. 

She sputters a bit, trying to recover from Iono hitting the nail on the head. "O-oh YEAH! Well! I- ...I know I could do better than you if it was a NORMAL gym challenge. So it's all their fault, anyway.

But! You see, you're not cut out for paranormal streams, you've been so focused on gym challenges. That's why I'm the one who deserves to get the boat!" 

"Hey, I came to Glasetera FOR paranormal streams! That's how I got Rotom!"

"And then you ditched them. It was an open audience! Abandoned by the Iono Zone, they all joined the Coral Reef!" 

"Well, now I'm gonna win them back!"

"Not if I..." And with that, Coral suddenly jukes to the side and runs for the speedboat. "GET THERE FIRST!" 

"HEY NO WAIT!" Iono says, running after Coral. Unfortunately, the younger sister has the speed advantage, and by flying pell-mell to the speedboat, Coral is able to leap into it. It rocks a bit, as Coral starts the engine, laughing as she hands plenty of cash to the startled sailor in it and sailing off to leave Iono in the dust. Iono kicks the ground a couple times, before realizing there's another option, and running up to a yacht.

"Hey! Listen! I got a lot of cash and my face is on the internet! Follow that boat!"

Somehow, this is enough to get her on board - the cash helps - and the yacht takes off after, as the two streaming sisters start their rivalry once more...

Due to the Dead (Collaboration with Hooded Pitohui)

 Yuuka's Garden

Yuuka's Garden had blossomed in more ways than one, growing into an attraction well-known around Whalestrand. While a bit of a trek out of the city, folks considered it worth it for a couple peaceful hours admiring careful arrangements of colorful flowers and soaking up their sweet fragrances.

Today, amidst the flowers swaying in the breeze, visitors admiring the flowers in silence might just pick up on the soft sounds of paper flapping in the gentle breeze - though not because someone had brought a notebook and allowed the wind to rifle its pages!

No, the source of the sound was no absent-minded journalist, but rather a young woman with… a receipt… affixed to her face. Well, while some tourists may have found it odd, those from Whalestrand hardly bat an eye at Sabriye Nevrin as she walks about the garden, stiff movements betraying her nature as she peers down at a collection of vibrant pink camellias.

"Shit's pretty," she idly comments to her companion and fellow undead, one Justine Lanchester, "but not too exciting. Could use a spark or something." 

It really was impressive how much Yuuka had been able to, in the long run, leverage the incident with the Pink Revenge. It had drawn more eyes to her, rather than less, and had turned it into a minor attraction for those of Whalestrand.

However, it didn’t seem like the woman herself cared much. Oh, she appreciated the company, happy to talk with anyone who asked her questions and wanted to know more about her flowers. You could even get lucky and be invited to tea with her, if she took a liking to you. It was more that she simply remained the same Yuuka as before, the casual, slightly strange lady who simply liked to have a flower garden.

Not that Justine is very concerned about that, as she bends down to get a closer look, tying one of her ever-present bandages up. She didn’t need them the same way she did when she was first resurrected, but they had grown so comfortable for her, she couldn’t imagine going about without them. “I dunno, I think it’s nice. These are all imports, I think? Non-native. It’d be different if it was flowers I saw on the road.”

"Eh, yeah, I guess." Sabriye may not have sounded too convinced, but still she persisted in looking over the plants, turning her gaze towards the winter daphnes nearby. These were interesting, poisonous to people apparently. Direct contact could even irritate the skin. Of course, that didn't concern her at all. Only for the plant's sake does she not reach out and brush her fingers against it. 

She had the pallor of death about her, and movements that couldn't be described as wholly natural, yet her outfit, strikingly casual and modern, suggested nothing at all was amiss. "At least it's something new… and free." Cheap diversions were always welcome. "Still think it's too bad we missed that plant rampage. That'd have owned."

“Yeah, I could have probably tried one of the new serums on it. Can you imagine using the warp one? I’m still not entirely sure if I’ve got this one right, though… at least I can’t warp into objects. Eesh, that’d be messy.

So whatcha thinking after this, concert?” Justine asks, only to notice a man approaching. Unlike the others, he has a face of business, and dressed in a sunhat and with thick gloves and a green, thick uniform, he simply darts a glance at the plants by the two women.

Seemingly satisfied Sabriye didn’t touch the plants, he prepares to move on. 

"Sure, I'd go for one. Might want to change first. Wouldn't kill me a second time to pick someone up tonight. It's been what? Fuck, three weeks?" She's quite clearly distracted as she responds to Justine, looking up from the plants to keep an eye on the man who had started approaching them. He had an odd look to him, something kind of mismatched. He didn't look like the gardening type, but his attire suggested otherwise… 

"Hey, you work here or something?" She pipes up and asks him directly before he gets too far off. "Give out any fun facts about the flowers?"

“Hey, I bet you’d get ‘em with the just-got-dirty look, haha!” Justine says, before noticing the man, also curious about him. As he turns around, she rubs her chin, thinking. Oh, wait, is that it? No, he looks too sharp-faced for it, but he’s not Cleve Sharpe…

“Huh? Yeah. Gardener apprentice.” the man says, looking a little irritated, but less because of the interruption and more in a way suggesting it was his natural state of being. “Been here a few months now. 

Fun facts, fun facts… lesse. Y’know, you can actually eat some of the flowers here. Not those ones, those’re poison. But the bunch she planted down the west face, they’re all themed as ones good for garnishes and salads. 

I don’t recommend picking them and doing it, though. You never wanna make Ms. Kazami mad.” 

Huh, that lady intimidated a guy like this? Something about her demeanor did quietly suggest you didn't want to get on her bad side… Even so, it seemed kind of strange. The humble gardener, a force to be reckoned with, apparently. "Yeaaah, think I'll take that advice. I don't want a beef with her, and I'm not the fruit and veggies type. Thanks." With that, she turns her back to him. He'd done his job - technically more than his job, seeing as how they weren't promised any little facts - and he didn't seem troublesome, so why not let him go on his way?

As the man leaves, Justine snaps her fingers. “Ohhhh! I remember. That guy was Yuji Endo!

So there was this whole thing I was kind of on the periphery of, I mostly remember it because Wolfgang got caught up in it. Something about Calamities and changing history… point is, this one guy was trying to prevent them with some hired goons, and he was one of them. He caused the whole Pink Revenge incident to happen.

Then he and the other two goons tried to stomp on everyone with a giant robot, and they got blown up? Or something. …I guess the garden master is the forgiving type, huh?”

"No shit? He was part of that?" She casts him one last glance, half-considering calling him back over to ask him about the whole shebang. "Giant robots too, huh? More flew under my radar than I thought. Then he's in some kind of work release or something, I guess, huh? Wonder if she vouched for him or if they asked her to take him…" Well, it didn't really matter, did it? Either way, she made the call to take him in after all that. She was something else, alright. "It's good to be back in the city. I'm sure I can poke my head up from writing long enough to actually see some of this excitement."

“Hell yeah! You were missing out last year. Like, come on, you even missed a concert fight! I’d never have expected you to miss a concert fight.”

Justine taps her finger against her chin for a bit.

“Then again, nothing stops us from making another concert fight.”

"Pft, yeah, I'm real sure we could get in a fracas up against fucking circus witches and whatever that… fish… Buddy… thing was," she retorts, giving Justine a light-but-literal ribbing, bumping her elbow into her chest. "Bet we could have taken the jokesters that actually dropped in down, though. You've got enough of those injections from your boss. Get me a workout mag or something, we could've tossed 'em around a bit."

“I’m surprised you’ve never tried them yourself outside of the test runs, actually. Not comfortable? Or just like the talismans better?” 

She doesn't exactly properly shrug her shoulders, but they do rise, just a bit. "Bit of both. The talismans work, y'know? The injections are whatever, but, look, your boss is cool with me swinging by and all, and I'm down with him, but if he wants data from me, I'll need to see some cash. Besides, something about them always makes me want eat after I use 'em, and see the whole not getting paid deal for why I don't feel like grabbing a snack. Would need to find somebody who'd let me feed off 'em, and that's a whole deal."

“Thaaat’s fair enough. Well, maybe if-”

Before Justine can continue, there’s a beep. She pulls out her phone and looks at it, passing it over to Sabriye. “Oh shit, check it out! Won the VIP standby roulette. That makes two of us!”

"Oh fuck, what are we waiting for? Let's blow this place and go."

It doesn't take much convincing, the two girls doing a quick pat-down to make sure they've left nothing lying around before they head on out, making tracks back towards Whalestrand.

Dinnertime

 A CAVE NEAR AGAMA

"Grab it, grab it!" comes the yell from an armored man as the lashing tail of a wyvern comes down towards him. The smaller cousin to a dragon might only be around ten feet from head to tail, but that's more than enough for most people to have a very hard time against it. Not that it's going to stop this particular fellow.

Laios Touden, the Cooking Knight, backs off as the wyvern takes notice of him again, only for it to suddenly get slammed right into the wall. The cave shakes a bit as the wyvern reels, looking at the one who did that.

Social Spark (Cowritten with Seychelles)

 Just because he wasn’t currently working as a gym leader didn’t mean that Raihan would allow himself to slack off. He had taken up jogging as a means of keeping up his cardio. Today it was warm enough that Hummer had decided to join him.Usually Whalestrand’s cold kept the Flygon inside his Pokeball.

For as much as Raihan hated Whalestand’s climate he admired her views. He had chosen to take the long way around the harbor to get a few shots of the morning sun peeking through the clouds. Landscape shots tended to do really well on Smeargle. 

His Rotom phone whirled to life, lifting itself out of Raihans pocket and hovering around snapping photos.

“Eager aren’t we?” Raihan said. He beckoned his phone closer, and unlocked the screen to check his camera roll. Rotom had mostly taken photos of himself and Hummer. It wasn’t what Raihan had in mind but hey, they both looked good

As he scrolled through his photos he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the background of one of his shots. Was that-

“OMG Chat, that is Raihan.”

Okay, that was definitely Iono. The streamer had her own Rotom phone out and was in the process of filming something. Raihan smiled and waved at her camera.

“Well, whaddaya know! The other big influencer!” Iono says, putting her hands on her hips. “Didn’t expect to see you here. I mean, I’ve seen you in the Brawl, but I thought you were out of town these days!

So. What kind of wacky social media hijinks mean you’re in the vicinity of a champion?”

“Mostly I was just getting my steps in before I started the day.” Raihan said. “Things have been slow lately, although I don’t expect that to last. What are you up to these days, Little Miss Champion?”

“Celebrating my victory with a Whalestrand tour! I already cleared Pokemon, so now it’s all about trying other things! Like surfing! And competitive eating! Trust me, I’m gonna clear eeeevery challenge they have.”

“Interesting.” Raihan said. An idea was beginning to cook inside his brain. Iono might just be able to help him with his current project. Time to test the waters. “Well if you are taking a tour mind if I show you one of my favorite underrated spots?”

“You know what? ...Sure! Why not. Let’s see what this is about!”

Raihan led Iono through Whalestrands winding streets until they found themselves in front of an unassuming concrete building. The sign in front of the building proclaimed it as Hisuain Lights Pokemon Breeding center. The symbols of the Diamond and Pearl clans were posted on cheap polyester banners on either side of the door, and there was a carved wooden statue of a Hisuan Arcanine next to the entrance.

Raihan glanced to the side. Iono appeared to be confused more than anything else. “So, Iono have you ever seen one of my ‘Baby dragon Hatching’ videos?”

“Huuuuuh. Yeah, I didn’t know there’d be one of these in Whalestrand. You wouldn’t think it. 

Anyhow, nope! Haven’t seen any of those yet. Sorry, there’s just so many opponents to check out, and so little time! You know how it is!”

Raihan chuckled. “Huzzah to that.

Anyways. Hammerlocke has historically been a sanctuary for Galar’s endangered dragon types. I do the baby dragon videos to help raise awareness for their breeding center. I’m looking to do something similar for this place. Shall we head inside?”

Once they entered they were greeted by the shriek of a Hisuian Braveriay, who was perched in the center of the spares lobby.

“Sounds like a plan!” Iono says, looking around. When she sees the bird as they enter, she looks at it, curiously. “Huh. I’m having flashbacks. At least there’s no poachers this time… I hope.” she says to herself with a laugh. “So. I take it you come here often!”

“Actually this is why I came to Whalestrand. This facility specializes in extremely rare Hisuan species, some of which are extremely important to that native people of the Sinnoh region. It's fascinating from both a conservationist and a historical perspective, but it's not doing so well financially. The owner, while a good trainer and breeder, is somewhat of a recluse and really doesn’t advertise this place. I want to spread the word, and get more people to visit and donate.” It was showtime. “Iono, would you be willing to help me promote this place?”

“Hmmmmmm. I mean, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea, but I wanna ask. What’s in it for me? What do I get outta it? You gotta make it worth my time. Champion, and all that!”

“Well if my plan works, you might see an increase in viewership. What would you say about a competition? The internet always loves a feud. We can stage events and whoever raises more money for the center is the winner. If you're looking for stakes, how about we make the loser dress up in a kigurumi of the winner’s choice?”

“...Hmmmmm. A social media feud. A classic. 

You know what? That’s good enough. Feuds always get hype, especially with competitions and humiliation involved! I’ll take you on!”

Raihan grinned. “I’m glad to hear it.”

They shook hands in front of a confused looking Braveriary. Raihan could hear the notification sounds of Iono’s excited chat exploding from her Rotom phone. This was going to be fun

  

Busywork

-THE MOJAVE DESERT-

The shuffling noises that one would hear in the heat of the Mojave are not what you'd expect to hear at the moment. The crunching of straw, as if something was shuffling along, made entirely of dried straw.

One would also not expect to see the creature shuffling and shambling along in the desert. Both because of how unfitting it is for the environment, and because of what exactly it is in the first place.

The Past's Messenger

 WHALESTRAND POINT

Another day, another meeting for Beck Gold. His benefactor had a vision in mind for the Neo Neo Kobbers - knowing they couldn't match the size of the Kobbers, they aimed to form a tight group, one that had a variety of skills and experiences. Beck was the one with his ear to the ground, finding member after member who would help them achieve that goal.

Up North

 GLASETERA

To the north of Whalestrand Point looms a castle. The word is a bit of an exaggeration, as the building is more of a half ruined keep than a true castle, though the gothic silhouette still cuts a dramatic figure for anyone who's ventured north of the city, looming over the terrain. There were many rumors among newcomers to Whalestrand as to the inhabitants of that castle, though the truth was, only two actually dwelled within.

Right now, one of them slams his hands on a table.