October-November Test Drive!

[indigo_league]

TEST DRIVE MEME

➞ Post with a character you wish to test drive in this game's setting.
➞ Tag other people's starters and thread out shenanigans!
➞ Invite your friends! Try out new characters! Come play with us!
➞ Have fun!


NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR TEST-DRIVE JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT ALL THE LOCATIONS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN:

JOHTO | and | KANTO

ALSO, AS PROMPTS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, and in the spirit of Halloween: August's GHOST TRICK event!

O-Bon festival: The streets are lined with NPC-run stalls for food, games, and the assorted tchotchkes of every summer festival you’ve ever seen in your animes! There’s Goldeen Scoop, heaping cones of Swirlix Candy, Test Your STRENGTH (there are two different machines for people and Pokémon; HM04 not required); basically, if you can think of it, it’s there. There will also be a yukata rental stall if you want to go full hog on the cultural side of things. Ecruteak boasts a small stage where the Kimono Girls give a short performance once every two hours; the festivities in Lavender Town are a little quieter, but they also have Haunter-shaped ice cream treats. When you lick them, they Lick you!

On the last evening of the festival in either location, there will be a large bonfire and traditional bon-odori dance in which everyone is welcome to participate. In Lavender Town only, they also set paper lamps afloat in the water past the cliffs.

Who you gonna call?: Remember “The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak”? Well, some of the local Gastly, Duskull, and Yamask seem to have gotten it into their heads that this kind of tomfoolery is somehow good medicine. If your trainer had someone in their life, someone now dead, that they have unresolved business with, these ghosties may take it upon themselves to play a little dress-up and follow your trainer around in the guise of said dead person until the issue is resolved. It’s their way of saying thank you for all the spiritual appeasement of the festival.

These ghosts won’t speak; Pokémon don’t talk, after all. So yes, your trainer is going to be followed around by some silent echo of their past who will not leave them alone.

Or, of course, write your own!

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Comments

Cremesius 'Krem' Aclassi || DA:I

[smoothkreminal]

[Action - O-bon at Ekruteak]

While he's traded out his armor for the much easier and far more comfortable casual clothes of the locals, he's a little more happy to see the hammer at the 'test your strength' booth, seeing as his dragon head maul didn't make the trip with him into this strange new world. His little Cubone follows after him, wide eyed and curious as he handles the mallet and gives it a good test swing. "A little too light for my taste, but you'll see. Maybe I can hit the bell at the top, Mm?"

His pokemon doesn't seem to be quite so enthusiastic, more like quietly waiting, far more reserved, but it at least raises it's own bone weapon in encouragement.

"That's the spirit, maybe you can give it a good whack when I'm done." He's not so sure the little thing will go along with it, but he figures giving it something fun to do would be a kindness. "Well, here I go!"

And Krem raises the mallet in a good effort, whether or not he can ring the bell they'll both soon find out.


[Video]

[Krem isn't so familiar with the technology, more like he had to sit and talk with someone for quite a while to realize what exactly it did and how. When that was resolved, he sat and fiddled, figuring it useful to at least know the basics, and in doing so he's discovered the pokedex.

What he's learned about his new pokemon companion is more than a little concerning, and he's trying to talk quietly so as not to alarm the little thing as it sits a few feet away on camera, playing with the bone in it's hand.]

Now I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not, but I'm fairly sure my friend there, he's a little depressed. Maybe they all are.

Small animals that suffer from loneliness have been known to die from it, and while i'm not sure how to help it mourn, I'd rather not have it die because of my ignorance about keeping...

[What were they called again?] Pokemon. Or, Cubones specifically. Anyways, a tip'd be appreciated. Perhaps I can repay you some where down the line, though I don't have much now. Just- Thanks if you've got any advice.

[VIDEO AY AY AYYYYYYYY!!!!]

[purramedic]

[A sick Pokemon? His attention is thoroughly piqued. He's never heard of a Cubone, but it can't be that different from the ones he's treated at the Pokemon Center.]

What's wrong with him, exactly? Is he yours, or did you find him like this?

[Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ;D]

[smoothkreminal]

[Not physically, just mentally.] Well, this entry tells me it's depressed and apparently all of them mourn their dead mother?

[That can't be right...do they die from complications? He hadn't heard of a species that wiped itself out by reproducing so consistently. Kind of terrifying to think of actually.] I've heard of rabbits and nugs to get so lonely they'll die, I just didn't want to neglect it is all.

[purramedic]

All of their mothers are dead? [That's... weird. And sad. And weirdly sad.]

Well... I'm sure the best you can do for him is to keep him company. Animals tend to move on from such things, if they have adequate distractions and form new relationships. You could --

[Wait.] Did... you say "nugs?"

[smoothkreminal]

I thought that was strange too, but it's wearing a skull over it's head and that's normal. It's his mothers according to this entry. [Krem again is skeptical, but if that's a female Cubones lot in life? That's an unfortunate animal.] It makes me wonder what pregnancy does to the poor little bastards...

I suppose I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he eats and that's all I can really do. He seems to enjoy training, and I could always use more myself so I'm not complaining.

[It's an odd word to pick up on, but more specific. Krem nods.] Little pink rodents. Though, they do come in larger sizes. Some big enough to ride. The little ones are kind of cute actually...if you squint.

[purramedic]

[Fuck. Shit. Fuck, shit, fuck.

No need to panic. This is fine. This guy doesn't look like a Templar or some Brother of the Chantry looking to bring down an iron fist upon some heretic or, more importantly, his companions. He can play it cool! Totally! He's good at that.]

Ah.

[He clears his throat. Very discreetly.]

As I said, that sounds like your best course of action. Though I might also suggest catching another Pokemon to keep him company while you're occupied. There are plenty of wild ones outside of town, some of them so friendly they walk right up to you and hop into your bedroll.

[smoothkreminal]

[If you listen hard enough you can hear his Tevinter Soporati accent, though that would definitely be not as easy to spot or identify as someone from Minrathous. In any case, he is no Templar.

Anders can rest easy, even if introduced he might be suspicious of who he is. His own Hawke seemed to be rather enamoured with an Anders of his own though. Who knows.]

Hopefully there aren't many thieves among them. I'm not sure I've enough coin to get by easily if they hop in my bedroll and steal my pillow while their at it.

[purramedic]

I haven't heard of thieving Pokemon... I doubt they're quite as interested in worldly things as people are. At any rate, the ones that amicable are few and far between. I've only met one, really.

[As if by telepathy (Anders doesn't know the half of it) the Espurr in question knows it's being talked about and scampers over to shove its face in front of the PokeGear. Its trainer is already feeling a little comforted with the creature in his lap.]

Speak of demons and they shall appear.

[smoothkreminal]

Some animals are more into trinkets than others. Things to make nests. I wouldn't put it past though, though I doubt they would do it out of spite anyways. They are animals, even if they are intelligent.

[Krem smiles at the Espurr in the screen, finding it's face cute even if it's large eyes were a little unsettling.] Out of rifts and tears. There's no shortage, really.

[He laughs, knowing that the chief had given him a few dirty looks for all the demons they had faced since joining the Inquisition.] What's his name?

[purramedic]

That's true enough, I suppose.

[Anders beams, looking very proud of his little ball of eyes and fluff.]

Esquire Floppington. [His gaze shifts back and forth for a moment, as if searching for eavesdroppers, then he leans in a bit and lowers his voice.] I suspect he's taken to secret dalliances with the Princess.

[smoothkreminal]

That's a fancy title. I just named mine after my maul. His head kind of looks like rock on the end of it anyways. [He laughs. Not too creative, but it works. It seems to like it anyways.] Smash isn't quite so refined. Shorter is easier to remember on the battle field. Flop would probably be his field name.

[Krem smiles at the cute little pokemon though, nodding to him.] Is he courting her then? My, that's far above his station. What a lad.

[purramedic]

It is, as a matter of fact.

[The Pokemon and its trainer tilt their heads at almost the same time. Somebody put them on one of those lists of people who look like their pets.] So where is this little one? With you, I assume. Perhaps he'd like to make a friend, if a bit of a naughty one.

Video

[laughingstawke]

[Hawke had been idling in the small room in the Violet City inn, listening to the various broadcasts with only a small amount of interest. It was sound to fill her ears, sound to drown out the damn music-box chimes that she'd heard since arriving in this blighted place.]

[The concern of the person on the other end of the line was at least mildly interesting-- moreso than anything else being broadcast of late. And she was a hero, right? Best to keep up appearances and swoop in to the rescue.]

You would be quite surprised at how resilient these beasts are. Mine, a dog thing, he ran into at least three trees on our first night. Still hopping along, right as rain.

My guess? Whatever's going on with your... thing. It's all okay.

Video

[smoothkreminal]

Hmm...I suppose I shouldn't be so concerned then. Though it is rather small...Kind of morbid thing to do, wear it's mothers skull on it's head.

I mean, if it were the skull of it's enemies I'd dismiss that, but you'd think it'd be healthier for it to just let it go? [He's not sure. Still, Smash seemed to be well enough when they went around, though he had heard the little thing crying from time to time.] I suppose it's rather impressive then, that they all function so well with depression. Good on it.

Video

[laughingstawke]

I've seen my own mother's head on worse things...

[Hawke scowled furiously, less distressed by the surge of memories, and more bitter. Leave it to these supposedly innocent creatures to make her feel things.]

[Though... she supposed it was a little unfair for her of all people to pass judgment on the creature. Here she was, clinging to grudges from a world a way. Better to wear a skull than all that.]

I'd imagine that if a database has defined an entire race of creatures as being depressed, then they find a way to live with it. They're like cats. They're blighted assholes, but they manage to survive, right?

Video

[smoothkreminal]

[Krem is going to stare down at his device, not sure what to say to that. He's seen some things working with the chargers, but...they don't tangle with mages all that often. Well, until recently. He supposes templars corrupted with red lyrium was rather horrifying, but until it was a friend, it wouldn't be comparable.]

Well, I suppose that's true. I know of quite a few people who live their lives fine with it, but animals are usually more inclined to physical illness from what I've seen. [He smiles at the cat analogy though, unsure what kind of cats this woman has been hanging around.] Most I know don't mind much else than the rats they get to catch around Skyhold. Damn useful at that. Place had been deserted, even for all the mountains its still got a good amount of vermin in it.

Re: Video

[laughingstawke]

Guess I never dealt much with animals. [That wasn't entirely true. She'd been face to face with a number of them on the farm in Lothering but... she usually left her siblings to deal with that. She much preferred lighting things on fire where no one could see. Besides, most animals seemed unnerved at a children mages.]

[Or maybe it was just her. And the occasional bolt of lightning.]

Can't say I got to know many cats. There were the occasional stray in the barn, but my sister hogged them. Not many cats survived in Kirkwall. Maker, not many animals survived there, really. Turns out, small animals make perfect food for starving refugees.

Re: Video

[smoothkreminal]

Excuse me? [Krem blinks at his screen, suddenly trying to place the woman in front of him. His own Hawke was male, he had barely even gotten to meet him aside from passing, though what he'd heard from Varric had been enough. Marian isn't familiar to him though.] Kirkwall...You're from there?

It's a miracle you're still around, what with all the war and discourse. Though it's migrated far past the free marches now...what with the enclave and the inquisition. I'd heard half the city burned after the explosion...

Re: Video

[laughingstawke]

War? [Hawke's face darkened considerably. While she hadn't expected a positive ending for Kirkwall after what Anders had done, for it to have escalated to an all-out war...? And Kirkwall burned?]

[What of her friends? What of the mages?]

[Her jaw tightened, teeth grinding together. All her previously assuaged rage rose up, hot in her throat. When she spoke, the humor had drained from her voice, leaving a harsh rasp in its wake.]

What are you saying? What happened after the explosion?

Video

[smoothkreminal]

Well there was that bit with the Qunari, though that wasn't all that bad in the grand scheme of things. After the explosion, there was the conclave, but some venatori bastards and Corypheous did short work of that. Blew up the divine, everyone close and tore a giant whole in the veil.

Any sort of peace talks between the mages and templars sort of died after that, what with the whole chain of command for the southern chantry dead in one fell swoop. They were fighting among themselves outside of Redcliffe. [Though, it's strange that this woman hadn't heard.] Even in the free marches all of this had to have come back to you... There's a fucking hole in the sky, hard to miss. What with the tears all over with demons pouring out of them.

Video

[laughingstawke]

[Everything after the Qunari made little sense to her. As the man rambled on about this-and-that and everything she didn't know, her eyes glazed over, her attention wavered. It was only once he mentioned peace talks, or rather, who they were between, that her attention snapped back to him.]

So the war was between the mages and templars then?

[Hawke cast a glare in the direction she could only assume Anders was. A statement was one thing. The blood of the city was bad enough, but she'd managed to at least swallow that rage for the time being.]

[But for all of the order to be at war with all of the mages?]

[Blight take the fool, she thought]

You'll have to forgive my... confusion. The last thing I remember of Kirkwall was the Chantry exploding. Nothing of... Corpse-syphilis or this conclave or... what have you.

Video

[smoothkreminal]

After what happened, it was inevitable. With the state of Fereldan I suppose it was even before the explosion. The Conclave was supposed to fix matters, or at least attempt to. There were peace talks from both sides prepared of course.

Though after the fact when the whole entirety of the congregation was destroyed by old magic, it just got worse with- [He laughs, nodding.] Corpse-syphilis's picking a side and feeding them red lyrium.

Disgusting and horrific to see really...And I've fault all sorts. Poor bastards didn't know what they'd stepped in. Same with the Wardens...I suppose we wait and see if the world forgives them for all this once it's done. If it ever is.

Re: Video

[laughingstawke]

[At least he laughed. At least there was something god-damned normal about this conversation.]

I don't think you are quite understanding. I don't know any of what you're talking about. And now you're saying the Wardens were involved with it.

[Her sigh was heavy, exasperated and entirely out of character. All of the fury had seeped from her bones and left her both mentally and physically tired.]

Maker's breath, man, you make it sound like the entire world fell apart after what happened in Kirkwall. [Way to go stating the obvious.]

Re: [video] figured he'd like to see an eye patch dude

[cardboard_boss]

[Snake nodded to the young man on the screen of his PokeGear. Another newbie confused about the invasion of the animals. The Pokémon.]

Cubone, huh? Just look after him as if he were a member of your family or a close friend. These Pokémon give a lot back in response to that. They battle for us and protect us from harm.

[video] Of course. Eyepatch dudes are best.

[smoothkreminal]

Well I won't doubt that. Smash might be shy but he is rather protective. I just worry about him crying at night. He doesn't seem very old, and losing your parent, that's hard. Especially if that was the only one he knew.

[His little Cubone was rather good with his club, he'd give him that.] Though if affection is what he needs, I won't hesitate to give it to him. I was just concerned is all.