ohmyarceus | March - April Test Drive

A. Network; Video

[It’s been a few days since Olivia arrived in Johto, completely dazed and confused at being kidnapped from her basic Midwestern life. Traveling with an electric ghost, being told to battle other people in dogfights with sentient creatures…None of this is anything she’s mentally prepared for, thus the reason for posting on the network. Though communication with strangers isn’t exactly her cup of tea either.

The recording starts in a hotel room, her Pokegear resting against the complimentary desk, giving a perfect view of her space. Not a single item is out of place, the contents of her pack are sorted carefully on the desk, along with any new travel purchases. Don’t mind the buzzing Rotom swapping between the background and foreground, turning on the lamp, flipping the channels on the television set like the prankster they are.

Whether she’s getting ready to go out or has just come in from a long day doesn’t change her general demeanor for the camera, dressed in a well-kept suit and tie. Her voice is clear, words enunciated carefully as if she’s had experience speaking before a crowd before.]

Hello, members of the network. My name is Olivia Moore and it’s a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for the abruptness of this message, but I’m rather new to this place and was hoping to get a few questions answered.

[She rests one hand over the notebook carefully, still giving the audience her undivided attention.]

From my understanding, most people either become a Pokemon trainer or a Pokemon breeder, however my previous work history doesn’t exactly fall under either of those categories. And when I ask the residents of the city about scientific work, they don’t exactly have any good answers.

[It probably doesn’t help that she bombards them with death-related questions. Oops.]

Are there any undisclosed, paid research jobs in this place? Or is the means of income for a trainer simply beating up Pokemon in battle. It seems barbaric…

[Rotom buzzes loudly in the background. Hey! He likes battling, thank you very much. Olivia just sighs in response.]

Additionally, where’s a good place to find more ghost companions like Baal? He’s eager to have a few new friends.

B. Violet City

[Violet City isn’t the scariest place at night, though if you ask any of the local trainers, they’ll speak ill-will about visiting Sprout Tower once the sun has set. Rumors about an increased amount of ghost Pokemon haunting the upper levels, ready to steal the souls of unsuspecting people. It’s enough to keep away any promising trainers from the location, but Olivia is an odd case, absolutely fascinated by the stories of spooky creatures, and having a ghost Pokemon of her own sort of takes the edge off as well.

The mortician, pack carefully strapped to her back, gazes fervently at the well-worn tower doors. Having company is honestly more terrifying than any wild Pokemon…]

I don’t understand why anyone would be scared of a few ghosts. If anything, they seem highly intelligent for ethereal beings.

[If her creepy calm demeanor doesn’t dissuade, then at least Olivia is courteous enough to give whoever is nearby an exit strategy in advance.]

Do you want to come along? I’m hoping to catch a few of the rarer species this evening. Fair warning though, we’ll probably be out all night.

C. Wildcard

[Feel free to drop a starter here if you like :)]

[Radley feels badly that he didn't see this right away, and he quickly sets about replying as soon as he does see it.]

Hi there! I hope by now you've found at least some of the answers you're hoping for, but in case you haven't, I'll try to answer what I can.

I'm not sure what kinds of research jobs are available. Maybe you could talk to the professor in New Bark Town, the place where you probably arrived?

I signed up as a breeder because I don't care about all this battling either. I'm also thinking of using Pokemon for emotional therapy.

I think there's Ghosts at Sprout Tower in Violet City. I've also seen some in the tall grass late at night all over the place, but that's always a gamble. If you wanna go to Kanto, I believe there's still a lot of them in Lavender Town.

[He remembers Lavender Town from the Red, Blue, and Yellow games back home, but he's heard it's changed a bit since then.]

[It's been a long day of traveling and she's not even sure if the message was sent out to the network properly. So when Radley's reply comes through, she diverts her attention away from the Ghost Pokemon quickly to address him.]

Any sort of information, small or big, is of value to me.

[Her hand is hovering over a nearby pen, ready to take down notes.]

Emotional support...Does that mean you have a background in sociology or psychology, sir? I tried to explain my prior history in the science field to the professor, but he simply told me to go train my new partner.

[There's a small scribble on the paper next, notating the location of ghost types, her eyes glancing up and down occasionally.]

Do you know if the Pokedex can help identify the location of certain species? I saw an interesting floating teapot Pokemon near one of the shops, but it disappeared before I could approach.

Oh, I'm afraid not. I've just seen first-hand how effective these cuties can be at brightening depressive moods.

That's too bad the professor was no help. You'd think he might welcome some help. Maybe he just wants you to get more familiar with this place and the Pokemon first.

I think the Pokedex gives a few general ideas of where to look for some of them, but it's not definitive at all.

Hmm...It seems like unofficial businesses are the way to go here, with or without the appropriate credentials.

[She clicks the pen twice in thought.]

But the Pokedex can be filled with additional information after scanning a Pokemon, correct? Or does the creature need to be captured beforehand? I'd like to research their physiology further, especially if I'm forced to partake in battles.

Yeah, that's how it seemed to me too.

From my understanding, each Pokedex is blank to start with and you have to fill it up by at least seeing Pokemon, if not catching them, and seeing them triggers the info about them to boot up. I'm glad I don't have to catch them first, as so far I only have one kind.

[His three Eevees pop up at the bottom of the screen and chirp greetings.]

That's reassuring to hear, as catching them all seems unfair to the creature. I'd prefer to study types of Pokemon that others deem scary. Poison, dark, ghost. It's hard to explain why, but that's my goal for the following weeks.

[She's about to jot something down but sees the Eevee trio pop up, diverting her attention with ease.]

Those are Eevee, right? I remember reading about them once.

That's how I feel too. I like to ask them if they wanna come with me. And hey, that's cool. That sounds like an interesting goal.

[He doesn't think he'd be brave enough to do it himself, but it sounds nice to try to gain a better understanding of those Types. Maybe they're not as bad as some people think. One of the Types Eevee can turn into is Dark, and he can't imagine that anything Eevee could become would be bad.

He smiles and pets them.]

Yeah. This is Evie, Evan, and their son Kiryu.

[Bucciarati contemplates the invitation for a moment, then nods.]

I have to admit, I'm rather curious to see what they're like for myself. [Maybe it's a morbid curiosity, considering the state he'd spent a few days in before he was brought here, but it's a curiosity all the same.]

At the very least, I don't have anywhere else to be tomorrow.

[He gets an approving nod from her as well, as she's not the type to smile even in these instances.]

Glad to hear you're on board. Assuming all goes well, I'll return the favor to you in the morning with some breakfast.

[And without missing a beat, she extends one hand to him politely.]

Before we get started, I should formally introduce myself. Olivia Moore. Thank you for your assistance, sir.

Mm, I appreciate it.

[He takes her hand, giving it a firm shake.]

Bruno Bucciarati, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And I'm more than happy to help. Shall we be off, then?

Of course. We shouldn't waste the precious time we have.

[It's a blessing that the first person she met on the street happens to be equally polite and helpful. Once greetings have resolved, she's ready to take the initiative, opening the door to the tower which creaks at her weight. A light cloud of dust and dirt billows at her feet.]

It's bigger than I expected. [Thankfully, there's some visibility, but many different shadows creep along the walls and corners. Perfect hiding places for ghosts, if she were one.] Do you see where the stairs are?

[He makes a noise of acknowledgement at the first statement, peering into the darkness.]

Ah, I believe I see them over there, a bit ahead and to our left.

[And he'll helpfully point out where he means.]

Good eye. This place is rather dark, so it's hard to make out any structures.

[Before the light from the doorway fades, she pulls a makeshift map out of her pocket and unrolls it. The map looks like it was drawn by a group of children, illustrating different purple and blobby shapes hovering around the stairs and narrow corners of the tower.

When it comes to unusual creatures, sometimes children see things other adults are oblivious to.]

We might be onto something in that area since these ghosts like to stay hidden.

[The melancholy atmosphere of nighttime in Violet suited Astrid just fine. She had been studying the doors herself, and while company was a bit of a surprise it wasn't unwelcome.

The teen had a rather otherworldly air about her, even disconnected from her home and the Void. She had an ashen pallor, and light swirled behind her eyes. She was holding herself very deliberately, as well, as though she were wearing her body rather than truly inhabiting it.]

I'm not certain they're truly ghosts. It may simply be shorthand for energy beings that are hard to classify.

[She nodded at the invitation, and pulled one of the balls from her belt.]

Lead the way. I don't have many ghosts of my own, and I'm fascinated to learn more about them.

[Olivia isn't the most attune person when it comes to unusual humans, but even she can tell that something is different about Astrid. She doesn't know what exactly, however, it won't dissuade her from getting to know the teen. It seems like this world is easier to navigate with companions, instead of being alone.]

It's hard to define what any of the creatures of this place are. The fact that they work alongside humans is the part that mystifies me the most.

[Not one to keep the party waiting, she opens the door and walks inside along with Astrid. The dark and damp floorboard creak with each step.]

Perhaps we'll see some other Pokemon as well. One of the trainers said something about a grass plant called Bellsprout roaming these halls.

[Once they were inside, she clicked the ball in her hand and released a cute little mushroom creature. Its caps gently glowed, and it hopped happily up and down.]

I figure the low light will let us see without scaring off the ghosts.

Astrid, by the way.

I can't speak to research jobs, but there are plenty of other jobs available. Most commonly are working as temporary staff at the shops or Pokémon centers, but depending on the town, you can often find work at other places, as well.

As for ghost types, there are quite a few that can be found around Ecruteak City, as well as a gym that specializes in them.

Oh, that's...

[Apologies, Sion, she gets a bit distracted by Rotom flying up close to the Pokegear, peering at whomever his trainer is talking to.]

That information is very helpful, thank you. Do you know if the jobs have any prerequisites or odd stipulations?

[She happens to have a paper map of Johto on the desk, scanning over it briefly.]

Ecruteak...That's quite a ways off from Violet City. I'll be sure to travel there as soon as I'm able to. I'd like to keep studying ghost Pokemon for as long as I can, perhaps even a few other misunderstood types as well.

*it's fine, he's had plenty of experience dealing with rambunctious Pokemon, himself!*

For the more basic ones no, not particularly. If you're looking for something more specialized they might insist on certain skills, but you can get by easily enough just by working at the marts or the Pokemon center in each town you pass through.

And in that case, I'd say you'd definitely want to pay the Ecruteak Gym a visit and see if you can speak to the trainers and leader there, yourself.

*he's not the biggest fan of ghost types, himself, but he's not about to let that get in the way of someone else's interests*

They'll train average people to become nurses? That sounds promising. Perhaps working there will give me a chance to see how medical treatments occur in this world. It would be nice to get back into the sciences, if only for a little while.

I don't think I'm ready to challenge any of these gyms quite yet, so checking out the area for interesting ghost Pokemon will probably be the first task at hand. Speaking of the gyms, do the poison and dark types have one too?

[Yup, she's one of those weird adults who wants to dive into the creepy and morbid types.]

Well, they'll certainly train you in how to handle the front desk, at the very least. How much beyond that probably depends on interest and aptitude.

You can still visit the gyms without challenging the leader, you know. Although even so, you may want to take care, as often there are other trainers there who are... eager to show off what they know of the gym's specialty.

The Fuschia Gym specializes in poison types, yes, but there is no gym dedicated to either dark or fairy types.

*someone needs to tell her about shedinja*

Skills aren't my issue, but something tells me the nurses will want proof that a random trainer can perform medical assignments. Sadly, my college degree and cell phone weren't included in the pack I received.

[She can't even begin to hide the expression of disdain towards some of the Pokemon world's career paths. Rotom gets the gist of it and hovers close, chirping happily, but her attention is squarely on the call.]

It's because of the trainer title, right? There were a ton of bug-catching kids on the road to Violet City and not a single one let me pass without a fight.

If no place for dark or fairy Pokemon exists, then perhaps a skilled trainer will change that someday.

[Someone would need to talk her out of peering into the void of a Shedinja's shell (for science) then!]

Well, if you end up staying in one place for a while, you may be ale to work up to it, perhaps.

*he primarily stuck to things like the front desk and filing/paperwork duties, because he's good at those. Not that he's worked at a center in years now, mind*

Mostly, yes. Though they'll also gladly challenge breeders; it seems that if they see you have Pokemon of your own, they consider you fair game.

*kids, right? ~~and those adults who never grew up~~*

That's certainly a possibility, yes. So far none of the Aurora League gyms established have chosen to specialize in a type, but that could change if someone is so interested in the future.

I'll keep it in mind, as anything close to my own job back home is better than nothing.

[To her, the idea of studying Pokemon anatomy and biology is worth the dredge of paperwork for a few months.]

Huh, seems like everything is driven by the economy of Pokemon battles. It still doesn't take away that feeling of being a bully after beating a kid up for money though.

[Even if her jolly little Rotom enjoyed doing that.]

The Aurora League? That's not a term I'm familiar with. How does it relate to the gym system?

March - April Test Drive

Olivia Moore | Original Character | OTA

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