[Game] Lord Windos' PokeRole Adventure: Celadon City Vandel

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Arial feel a little embarassed to be comfortable and cry by a presence of a stranger but he nod his head and make a little smile for the gentle Gligar. "T-thank you. *sob* It was been a tough day." Arial then try his best to clean the tears in his face. No need to worry the others with his personal problems. He is a Rocket, he need to be strong. "Thank you a lot little one." Arial make a little pat in the little one head. He was thinking to return to the room and finally wait for the dinner, but he decided to do another thing. "You want to join with me for tonigh Gligar? Me and my team is going to make a dinner after some mission. They might be surprise to see you, but I sure you, no one will try to capture you, because I will not let happen. Its...a gift for the company. We are going to have a big dinner and you are invited. After that, you can go to any place you want. But I will understand if you dont want to stay."

The semi poisonous glider eyes lite up put out the offer for dinner with your friends, as that meant they could not only get more free grub without having to work their wings off to get it, but they'd get to meet the fascinating people too! Gligar soon started to bounce up and down on your arms with a cheerful closed eyed smile, all but saying yes to your request.

[Dragonstrike]

+ 2 XP for well constructed memory, and introducing an interesting character after hinting at them several times in the story.

This time it only took a couple minutes for the Merchant to get back to you, and their next message was a lot more to the point/concise:

"Roger that, Reiner! Hehahehahehahe, if I knew that axing that bastard would leave with the penthouse suite of the A.V. , I'd might have charged ya a bit more than half a sack of tokens to hunt them down for ya and the little miss, but oh well, that for not doing a full background check of the bastard first before I raided him! As for the ring, can't say much since I only got a small peek at it and didn't get it checked, but based on the color/size of band, I'd say that's about 4-6 grams of 18-20 kart Iron Defense Forged Rose Gold, then the Ruby alone is large and at least 3 Karts and looks mostly natural, factor in the custom design and personalization and retail price......low ball number I got is about $7500 Poke on the ring as a whole, $3100 on the Ruby, $3700 on the gold, and the rest due to design. So, that decide anything for ya?

[Well, glad you liked it, because this memory game isn't over quite yet!]

Back to 4 years ago...

"Well, look who the cat dragged in.  Took ya long enough.  No offense, Sneasel, but you were practically dragging him."

"Are you really going to call me slow when I bolted as soon as Lucy perched?"

"Yes, because every second counts right now.  Do you WANT to get caught sneaking into the most sacred shrine in this city?"

"Then let's get going already instead of criticizing me for something I can't help."

Lucy smirks from her perch on Taylor's shoulder, as she often does whenever Taylor finds something amusing.

...and then Taylor's instantly scrambled down the ladder swiftly and silently, with Reiner and Sneasal following soon after.  (Seadra got to use the underwater entrance)

Dragon's Den Infiltration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go7C4E9KEiU

"Welcome to the Dragon's Den, Reiner.  Bet you've never seen anything quite like it before, have you?"

It's a MASSIVE underground cavern, with a lake covering about 90% of the space.  Seadra surfaces near the ladder.  And in the middle of the underground lake...

...the Dragon Shrine.  The Elders' meeting hall, and the building where they keep Blackthorn's most valuable treasures and pokemon.  Including the shed scales of Johto's dragons.

Seadra had shed one such scale last week.  For most Dragon Tamers, that would indicate their pokemon was ready to finally evolve.  But the Elders...they took the scale from Reiner.  He'd only had it for a day, been waiting for Taylor to show up so he could evolve Seadra...the Elders got there first...

...so it was time to steal that scale back.

"Impressive or not, we're here for a job, Taylor.  Let's focus."

"Hehehe.  Good focus.  Alright, Jeff, you're next up.  We need your help to get past that whirlpool blockading the entrance.  Lucy, watch our backs."

What follows is another Seadra surfacing...except this one's purple in color.  And sparkling.  How he manages to remain almost invisible while underwater is completely beyond Reiner...and his scale had also been snatched by the Elders.  Jeff had shed his scale first (it was purple and sparkling!  It was difficult trying to keep Sneasel from snatching it), and Taylor had loaned it to Reiner so he could examine and admire it for a little bit.  Seadra had shed hers the next day, and the Elders had found both before he could tell Taylor...

The travel through the Den itself is rather uneventful, thankfully.

Upon reaching the whirlpool, Jeff gives Taylor a nod, and uses the HM Whirlpool to disperse the swirling water that the Elders created using Yawn from one of their Kingdra.  They'd put that back as they left the Shrine, after they'd evolved their Seadra into Kingdra...

The Dragon Shrine is an imposing building.  While it can be reached without dispersing the Whirlpool, there's no back entrance.  The back porch is purely for ceremonial purposes, as well as holding battles.  And the walls of the building are reinforced with thick dragon scales to prevent intruders from breaking in.

And now Reiner, Taylor, and their pokemon are standing (or floating) in front of the main entrance.

"Alright, this is it...now we just have to find the dragon's treasure hoard..."

"They're in there somewhere, the scales...let's do this."

And they enter the shrine, leaving their seahorses to keep watch outdoors while their smaller, non-aquatic friends come with them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It takes some time to find it, since it's located in the deepest, most heavily guarded and fortified part of the Shrine...but when they do, Sneasel's eyes widen and light up as soon as he picks the lock on the door (using his claws) and opens it.

Of course, he sees the pair of Dragon Scales almost immediately, sitting on a pedestal as they are...but there's all SORTS of valuable and shiny items in that room...and he bolts before Reiner can stop him.

"Sneasel, no!  You're going to wake..."

But Taylor's warning is too late.  What Sneasel didn't spot was the Dragonite hiding among the gold pile, his tail wrapped around the pedestal with the Scales.  But not just any Dragonite...

The head Elder's Extreme Speed Dragonite.

Almost instantly, Sneasel is pinned, the large dragon standing on his arm, almost breaking it with his weight.  One good press, and...

...he stops when he looks to see who the intruders are.  Reiner, he wasn't surprised to see.  That girl though...his eyes narrow when he looks at her and the yellow pokemon perched on her shoulder.

"Reiner...leave the room."

"What?!  What do you mean, leave the room?!  You stupid Dragonite, I'm going to..."

"Reiner, I said leave the room.  I'll handle this.  Trust me."

Reiner looks rather dumbstruck by that whiplash.  Taylor NEVER raised her voice.  Ever.

...he quietly backs off and closes the door...'Dang it, Taylor, I know you're good at what you do, but you're REALLY pushing your luck here if you think you can take a Dragonite alone...'

15 minutes later, Taylor exits the room.

...with both Dragon Scales and Sneasel...

...but Lucy isn't perched on her shoulder.

"Taylor, where's Lucy?"

Taylor shakes her head.  "Don't worry about that, Reiner.  We have the scales, Sneasel is fine...let's get out of here.  I don't want to be here when the head Elder shows up."

And she starts running away from the treasure room as fast as she can, stopping only to turn to Reiner and say, "Well, you coming or not?  We have Seadra to evolve, don't we?"

'Mew' snaps out of the memory again when the phone buzzes with another incoming text.  Dang it...dang it dang it dang it...he didn't want to think about this.  Why was he remembering all this NOW of all times?!  Gah...he needs to distract himself from all this...he didn't want to think about Taylor, Lucy, Jeff...good thing these texts are a convenient method of doing so...

"I wasn't expecting to get as much as I did out of him either.  Let's just leave it at that for now. And yeah, that guesstimate's interested me just enough.  I could definitely get some good use out of that Uber Capsule, and I'd be foolish not to take such a good deal, right?  I'll have Mew meet ya out front with the ring and funds when ya get here.  Need to restock on X items too.  Going to need 2 X Attacks [$500], 2 X Defenses [$550], and 1 X Speed [$175]."

[Lord Windos]

"I wasn't expecting to get as much as I did out of him either.  Let's just leave it at that for now. And yeah, that guesstimate's interested me just enough.  I could definitely get some good use out of that Uber Capsule, and I'd be foolish not to take such a good deal, right?  I'll have Mew meet ya out front with the ring and funds when ya get here.  Need to restock on X items too.  Going to need 2 X Attacks [$500], 2 X Defenses [$550], and 1 X Speed [$175]."

The next text was appeared in almost an instant, as if they anticipated you'd accept their offer! Uncanny....or is it?

"Hehahehahehaheha, knew ya be interested in it Reiner! I'll go retrieve it from me inventory and meet up with Pixie Sticks in about half an hour! Not all good new for you, though. See, I'm clean out of all those X Items, 'cause once your mobster buddies in Team Rocket  and the non affliaterd hooligans realized I had those enhancers on sale, then all just snapped them right up! It'll be at least until Late Night  Saterday until I can restock on them, and not a moment sooner than that! Sorry 'bout that, but business was business, and it was good, hehahehahehahe! Still, if you need something along those lines, I still got all sort of Drugs that can help out with that, if your interested...."

[Dragonstrike]

The next text was appeared in almost an instant, as if they anticipated you'd accept their offer! Uncanny....or is it?

"Hehahehahehaheha, knew ya be interested in it Reiner! I'll go retrieve it from me inventory and meet up with Pixie Sticks in about half an hour! Not all good new for you, though. See, I'm clean out of all those X Items, 'cause once your mobster buddies in Team Rocket  and the non affliaterd hooligans realized I had those enhancers on sale, then all just snapped them right up! It'll be at least until Late Night  Saterday until I can restock on them, and not a moment sooner than that! Sorry 'bout that, but business was business, and it was good, hehahehahehahe! Still, if you need something along those lines, I still got all sort of Drugs that can help out with that, if your interested...."

Drat.  Word must have spread because of the grunts that have been tailing him...

Oh yeah, that reminds me.  I acquired a rather..strange drug recently.  Juliet used it on herself, and there was some leftover.  Seemed to make her incredibly resistant to flinching and pain, and somehow even crazier.  Any ideas what that might be?  I can have Mew bring it to ya as well if you need to get a good look at it.

Bring some of those drugs along and show Mew what you've got.  I'll tell her what to look for.

[Lord Windos]

Drat.  Word must have spread because of the grunts that have been tailing him...

Oh yeah, that reminds me.  I acquired a rather..strange drug recently.  Juliet used it on herself, and there was some leftover.  Seemed to make her incredibly resistant to flinching and pain, and somehow even crazier.  Any ideas what that might be?  I can have Mew bring it to ya as well if you need to get a good look at it.

Bring some of those drugs along and show Mew what you've got.  I'll tell her what to look for.

Another text, another message straight for you: "Drug that makes you drives you Insane- or more insane in the case of the purple haired lunatic- but makes you a juggernaught? Is black in color by chance and delievered by a syringe? If  that is the case, that broad doped herself up on some Psycho, which is a pretty nasty Drug to be on even with tolerance! Gives a MASSIVE boost in Strength, makes them practically unfazable by Flitching, Pain, and its right impossible to get them Bound or Grappled with risking severe bodily damage! Side effect of it, though, are literally killer: they drive the user into a murderous, all confusing rage that blinds them to reasoning and rational, inhibits their ability to do about anything other than try to brutally maul their opponents to death, and making any form of mind tampering that much more punishing."

"Overall, the Drug isn't something most junkies don't like unless they got nothing to lose but their sanity and life. Was originally designed as a soldier performance drug by the Hoen special forces The Imperious Machinema, but was mothballed when field testing result were......too effective, even by their standards. 'Course the scientist that made it was not too pleased decades of work was going to be flushed down the drain, so she sold the formula on the black market and subsequently retreated into a life of privacy and luxury ever after, or at least that is the most common story I've heard of its origins. Got some in stock for about $2500 Poke per 2 Does, if you need one of your Pokémon or someone to become a nigh unstoppable bezerker, for whatever reason."

Custom Item Details Revealed!
Effect of Psycho: + 1 Fight, + 3 STR Boost on user that stacks with Held Items, Abilities, and Stat Boosting moves, Immune to Flitching, Being Binded or Grappled, and Pain is not factored into any Action taken. Downside are that the use enters a Murderous Rampage, which for a Pokémon decreases their Loyalty to >1/2 Max or 0 if they only have 1, prevents them from using anything other than normal attacking moves Lethally unless they pass their Loyalty roll, or automatically only use the Lethal Moves they have on hand. For human, its an Insight Roll that determines whether or not you remain in control of yourself, with failure working the same as in Pokémon, but also makes them suspectible to being easily distracted and infuriated (As Arial learned, to his misfortune). Both are Confused by Taunt and Torment, and actually being Confused makes them Extremely Confused instead. If target dies by their hands and they are unable to get control of themselves before the drug wears off, they start killing random civies/Pokémon except for people they were tightly bonded with. Once drug is out of system, user typically passes out due to stress, taking a hefty 4 HP damage and 1 Lethal Damage and suffering double Pain for the rest of the day. Lasts 1-2 Encounters, depending on tolerance and/or lack there of.

[Spiritmon]

The semi poisonous glider eyes lite up put out the offer for dinner with your friends, as that meant they could not only get more free grub without having to work their wings off to get it, but they'd get to meet the fascinating people too! Gligar soon started to bounce up and down on your arms with a cheerful closed eyed smile, all but saying yes to your request.

"Hey hey, arent you a little much too energitic heh. Now, lets go. We have some dinner to do. And ask the Mr Mime a extra food for ya." Then Arial and his little friend return to the room. Arial then return from the spot he and Kyubi was having the conversation and he could see Kyubi still with Gaspar. "Heya Kyubi, I back, done with the thinking. And look!" Arial the points to his shiny Gligar who was for now in the top of his head. "We have a visitor. This little guy came with me to have a dinner together, and he kinda nice so no thinking about capture it! He is our visitor." Then Arial decides to talk with the Mr Mime (if he is in the same room with the others) and ask for couple quantity of Citrus Berry to his little Gligar friend.

Action: Reaction of general people about the Shiny Gligar?

[Lord Windos]

"Hey hey, arent you a little much too energitic heh. Now, lets go. We have some dinner to do. And ask the Mr Mime a extra food for ya." Then Arial and his little friend return to the room. Arial then return from the spot he and Kyubi was having the conversation and he could see Kyubi still with Gaspar. "Heya Kyubi, I back, done with the thinking. And look!" Arial the points to his shiny Gligar who was for now in the top of his head. "We have a visitor. This little guy came with me to have a dinner together, and he kinda nice so no thinking about capture it! He is our visitor." Then Arial decides to talk with the Mr Mime (if he is in the same room with the others) and ask for couple quantity of Citrus Berry to his little Gligar friend.

Action: Reaction of general people about the Shiny Gligar?

Upon announcing you and your fast friend's arrival, the two of you quickly became the center of attention as everyone's gazes square for themselves on the both of you.

Emily briefly looked very annoyed in being interrupted while reviewing her artwork, and even more so when it was you who did it (She does not appreciate your sympathy to Riza in the slightest, FYI), but that was soon replaced by a gasp of wonder as she took in the sparking sight of Gligar.

Angelica looked plained surprised at your good fortune, Crobat appeared envious of the Shiny status his distant cousin species possessed, while 'Looker' had an expression of disbelief on his face, before he looked away and refocused on his notes, now muttering about 'How much luck does this loon have?'

'Reiner' just blinked their eyes a few time at Gligar, before promptly deciding to go back to ignoring you, as they honestly don't want to deal with the chance of you causing shit to get (*&%^) while relaxing! Kyubi shared a similar expression as Angecia's, but this one was colored with fascination as she has meet yet another Shiny Pokémon like her. Yang/Luxelong (Who is laying faithfully at the foot of the chair Mina is seated at) doesn't really give a damn, and Riza/Mina are too unconscious to give a reaction other than vacant obliviousness.

The scorpiobat at first was slightly put off by all the attention they were receiving, but with you right under them acting as a metaphorical and literal support, they soon eased up and had a smile on their face as they waved at everyone in the room.

Mr. Mime is not here at the moment, but you assume he's going to bring plenty of Sitrus Berries for all the Pokémon/'Reiner' to nom on.

[Spiritmon]

"You quite famous heh. I think thats the privilege about be a Shiny." Smile Arial but he assured again the Gligar safety. "But do not need to be worry about someone to try capture you. Everyone here are friends. Well, everyone except the bug-lady there." Then Arial points in the direction of Riza. "You should be careful from that woman. She is a truly Bug Vampire lady. She unconscious for now, but she can wake up and cause a huge commotion. So come close to her okay?" Say Arial to his visitor. Arial then decided to rest and wait for the dinner.

[Dragonstrike]

Another text, another message straight for you: "Drug that makes you drives you Insane- or more insane in the case of the purple haired lunatic- but makes you a juggernaught? Is black in color by chance and delievered by a syringe? If  that is the case, that broad doped herself up on some Psycho, which is a pretty nasty Drug to be on even with tolerance! Gives a MASSIVE boost in Strength, makes them practically unfazable by Flitching, Pain, and its right impossible to get them Bound or Grappled with risking severe bodily damage! Side effect of it, though, are literally killer: they drive the user into a murderous, all confusing rage that blinds them to reasoning and rational, inhibits their ability to do about anything other than try to brutally maul their opponents to death, and making any form of mind tampering that much more punishing."

"Overall, the Drug isn't something most junkies don't like unless they got nothing to lose but their sanity and life. Was originally designed as a soldier performance drug by the Hoen special forces The Imperious Machinema, but was mothballed when field testing result were......too effective, even by their standards. 'Course the scientist that made it was not too pleased decades of work was going to be flushed down the drain, so she sold the formula on the black market and subsequently retreated into a life of privacy and luxury ever after, or at least that is the most common story I've heard of its origins. Got some in stock for about $2500 Poke per 2 Does, if you need one of your Pokémon or someone to become a nigh unstoppable bezerker, for whatever reason."

Thanks for the info.  Glad I'm not the type to experiment with new toys right away.  I'll go tell Mew what's up and have her meet ya at the entrance to the A.V. in 30 minutes.

Well, that went okay...*sigh*...he wondered if Weavile was thinking about what he'd said...cat was probably brooding about it, to be honest...he wished he could go talk to him, but that seemed like a bad idea...particularly considering what happened last time...

4 years ago, one last time...

They got away...

...but how?  And where was Lucy?

...this didn't make any sense to Reiner...and Taylor refused to speak about the topic...she was really, really focused on just getting out of there as fast as she could, checking every so often to make sure Reiner wasn't falling behind...Sneasel was clutching his arm in pain...

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The evolution of both seahorses seemed to go okay.  Jeff seemed more than pleased.  Sea...Kingdra...Reiner didn't know what she thought, actually...she just looked really, really angry...one look at Sneasel, and she'd almost lost it after Reiner told her what happened...and that only seemed to increase when she noticed Lucy was missing...

...he had a bad feeling about this...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One week later...

The Elders were exiling him...he'd gotten the news this morning.  They'd allowed Sneasel to stay with him while he was under house arrest, since the cat very well couldn't steal anything with his arm in a cast...the kitty had been miserable for the entire week...he wouldn't even talk to Reiner.  He just brooded.  Kingdra was under heavy guard in the Dragon Shrine after she nearly wrecked Blackthorn and crippled Katsuo Arendse...

...and Taylor had vanished without a trace, as she was wont to...

He'd been expecting the Elders to mention something about him having an accomplice in this theft...they didn't.  They just questioned him about what he did with the scale of the shiny Seadra...no mentions of Lucy, either...he was getting all the credit/blame for this heist...sneaking past the guards, removing the whirlpool and replacing it, avoiding detection until reaching the treasure room...

...and they were exiling him for it...

'Damn it, Taylor...I could really use your help right about now...'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was time.  Time for him to leave...his parents...he couldn't tell what they were thinking...the Elders...all stern looks of disapproval...Clair...she didn't even show up to see him off...

Well, off to Mahogany Town through the Ice Path he goes, then...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several hours later...

It's as Reiner passes the small pond in the Ice Path that Sneasel notices something unusual...

Sparkles.

Purple sparkles.

"So...they got ya, didn't they?"

Reiner nearly jumps when he hears Taylor's voice coming from behind him...he turns around...and there she is, still cloaked...still no Lucy...and Taylor sounds a bit...sad...

"I heard what happened.  I'm sorry to hear about your father, Reiner.  He didn't deserve to suffer like that."

"Where were you?!  I've been waiting for you to show up for the past week!"

"...things got complicated, Reiner.  I wanted to get you out of there, I really did...but I don't think you'd have wanted to leave Kingdra behind...and I had stuff I needed to do in the meantime as well...I'm sorry..."

"..."

"...I know what you're thinking...I can't come with you, though.  You probably figured it out already, but...I had to trade Lucy for our relative freedom and the Scales.  I...need to find her."

"Why...why would you do that?  That makes no sense!"

Taylor walks up to Reiner until she's right next to him.  Uncomfortably close, you might say.  And what she says next sounds a tad bit happier.

"It makes sense to me.  I wasn't going to let them bully you, ya know."

And then the hood falls back, and she kisses him.

It's a solid minute before she draws back from the very surprised Reiner, but it feels like an eternity.

...it's been awhile since he's seen Taylor without her cloak's hood up.  The blonde hair, those blue eyes...they're...pretty.  And he was finding himself wishing she didn't hide them so often...he knows she probably has reasons why she does, but he has no idea what those reasons might be...

Taylor just looks at Reiner with a coy smile on her face.  And then it quickly turns back into a sad frown.

"I need to go now.  But I'm not leaving you.  Here, take this.  It's dangerous to go alone, you know."

Taylor hands Reiner a decently sized package of some kind...feels heavier on one end than it does the other...

"I hope you never have to use it, but don't hesitate to do so if you have to...please, stay safe.  Once I've found Lucy, I'll come find you again.  I promise.  And you take care of him, Sneasel.  Maybe you'll match me in skill one day if you do."

And then the hood goes back up, and she's gone...vanished into the pond with Jeff...

'Damn it, Taylor...I was going to ask if I could come with you, not the other way around...well, at least she seems to have better control over Jeff than I do of King...huh?'

Reiner turns around again.  Sneasel's snickering.  Oh, Kingdra was going to LOVE hearing about THIS!

"Hey, quit it!  This isn't funny, you know!  And I know what you're thinking, but please don't tell Kingdra.  You know she'll blast us both if you do, right?"

Sneasel dismissively waves the paw on his uninjured arm.  Nah, it'd be fine...

"...please?  No?  Alright, fine.  When we get to Mahogany, I'll let ya nab whatever catnip you can get your hands on and use it as you see fit from now on, alright?  Just PLEASE don't tell Kingdra about that."

As much catnip as he can get his hands on?  Ooh, this was tempting...Reiner NEVER lets him have catnip!  And he didn't set a time limit on this deal, either...

One more headshake later, and Reiner's dispelled the memories again.  No.  No no no no no no no.  It's been FOUR years since he last saw Taylor.  If she was gone that long, it was probably for good.  That was enough reminiscing about her for now.  He didn't want to think about someone who wasn't going to reappear.

[Uh oh.  He's locked me out of drawing these memories out.  Guess story time is over...]

Well, business with The Merchant arranged, guess it's time to head back to the main room and report back to Mew on how it went.

One teleportation later, and the first thing 'Mew' sees is everyone staring at Arial...or rather, the blue bat on his shoulder.

Okay then...while everyone's distracted though, 'she' puts the phone back where 'Reiner' left it.  

And once they're done gawking, it's back to talking with 'Reiner'.

'Good news.  Lilith did have the note on hand.  She's going to deliver it here so we have physical proof it was actually Archie who wrote it.  She also brought up a rather interesting item that I'd actually like to purchase.  Whole conversation is on the phone if you want to read it.  I'll go and fetch the items when she gets here in half an hour, on the premise that 'you' asked 'me' to pickup the items 'you' were shopping for to save a little trouble.  Or just so we don't have to walk past those Lucario more than necessary or something.  So...yeah.  Probably gonna have to save the rest of the stuff on tonight's to-do list until after dinner.'

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Thanks for the info.  Glad I'm not the type to experiment with new toys right away.  I'll go tell Mew what's up and have her meet ya at the entrance to the A.V. in 30 minutes.

Well, that went okay...*sigh*...he wondered if Weavile was thinking about what he'd said...cat was probably brooding about it, to be honest...he wished he could go talk to him, but that seemed like a bad idea...particularly considering what happened last time...

(...)

One more headshake later, and Reiner's dispelled the memories again.  No.  No no no no no no no.  It's been FOUR years since he last saw Taylor.  If she was gone that long, it was probably for good.  That was enough reminiscing about her for now.  He didn't want to think about someone who wasn't going to reappear.

[Uh oh.  He's locked me out of drawing these memories out.  Guess story time is over...]
["Such a shame, they were starting to get juicy! Oh well, I suppose I'll have to settle for the trouble he normally find himself smack dab in the middle of, hehehehe....."]
Well, business with The Merchant arranged, guess it's time to head back to the main room and report back to Mew on how it went.

One teleportation later, and the first thing 'Mew' sees is everyone staring at Arial...or rather, the blue bat on his shoulder.

Okay then...while everyone's distracted though, 'she' puts the phone back where 'Reiner' left it.  

And once they're done gawking, it's back to talking with 'Reiner'.

'Good news.  Lilith did have the note on hand.  She's going to deliver it here so we have physical proof it was actually Archie who wrote it.  She also brought up a rather interesting item that I'd actually like to purchase.  Whole conversation is on the phone if you want to read it.  I'll go and fetch the items when she gets here in half an hour, on the premise that 'you' asked 'me' to pickup the items 'you' were shopping for to save a little trouble.  Or just so we don't have to walk past those Lucario more than necessary or something.  So...yeah.  Probably gonna have to save the rest of the stuff on tonight's to-do list until after dinner.'

(Oh, I wouldn't say never , Reiner! I often work in mysterious ways, after all, ohohohoho!)

Lilith promptly respond: "Roger roger, Reiner robber!" , before the entire text log is deleted from you phone! Yikes, the Merchant must have some great tech if they can remotely wipe the records on your Team Rocket Heavily Encypted Phone, or is an top rated hacker in addition to being a damn good businessman! At the very least you know she'll cover both her and your tracks rather well!

When you got back to 'Reiner' and updated them on 'her' chat with the egnimatic salemans, 'he' gave you a rather thankful nod of their head. 'Thank me that Lilith wasn't busy making some odd deal or extorting some poor bastard for all their worth, though I see they managed to sucker you into buying more than you originally wanted. Haaaaa, just like them....at least they didn't ask for a Favor or anything. THOSE are always dicey situations, in more ways than one *Mental Grumbing Ensues* . Smart thinking going over to pick it up yourself, since it save us both time better spend relaxing, buuuuut....... Well, Lilith 's reeeeaaaaally good at spotting inconsisiticies and stuff,  and doesn't like nor trust imposters of any kind, so if you fumble your act right in front of them, you could have a Shotgun rammed through your gut faster than you can say 'Oh Fuck!' So yeah....good luck with that! I also don't mind waiting getting some grabbing and relaxing more before we dive right back into skullduggery, so bring on my Sitrus Berries and Steak already!'

No sooner than they 'said'/thought that, the side door leading to the servent's hallway opened up, revealing Mr. Mime and a large trolly containing several dishes covered in what looked to be Gold Platted domes -How much money DOES the Aurum Vex. have?! - and at several big bowls of Gormet Sitrus Berries! Given 'Reiner's' and the rest of the Pokémon's love of the delicious treat, they'll only be about 2 leftover for later use, but with how good they are, that's all you really need! The psychic butler wheeled the trolly over to the table that lay between everyone, and used their telekinetic powers to levitate all the dishes onto in while also return your phone in your bag. How thoughtful! He paused for a moment, as if to pause for effect or to gain everyone's attention, before they formly bowed to all of you and said: "Dinner is now ready, sirs and madams. Bone appetite."

He then used his powers once more to individually remove the covers from the dishes, starting with  Kyubi's dish (Obviously) and announcing it as: "Braised Wild Unovian Sawsbuck Steaks, Rare to Medium Rare, with Gravy covered Alleluah Rolls:"



and then revealed the rest of the dishes in order of importance, with yours following after Kyubi: "Amaterasu Grade Kobu Beef Steak Medium Rare, Served with Divine Right's Salad " -



Then 'Looker' , Emily, Angelica, and finally Arial : "Fish Finneon Sushi Rolls, served with Wasbi, pickled Ginger, and Tampura Fried Vegetables, " -



Mr. Mime then, reaches under the trolly and bring out an ice bucket that contained a bottle of White Wine (For Looker), Juice (For Emily/Angelica/Whoever else), and a bottle of what looks to be EXTREMELY expensive red wine. Then, with a wave of his hand, 5 wine glasses materialized from thin air, and he poured everyone their respective drinks, with you and Kyubi receiving the red wine.

"I do hope you enjoy your meals, sirs and madams. I will be back with desert once everyone has finished," the butler said, before returning to wence he came, ready to be summoned at your whim. Fine service, you must say!

Well, time to dig in!