Test Drive Meme - March & April

[indigo_league]

➞ 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 | KANTO | SEVII ISLANDS

Feel free to make various prompts in multiple locations!

✭ ✭ ✭


OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
NAVIGATION | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

Comments

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, I can't picture that happening to him.

I duel, but I wouldn't call myself a Duelist. I could be if I wanted to, I suppose. I'm more in the business of ... hiring Duelists, you could say. Or I was, at least.

[duelingexpert]

Me neither, but I had to check in on him.

Hiring them to do what exactly?

[crystalmaster]

Of course.

Duel, naturally. It's ... complicated. Another man and I were fighting for control of a mining town. He set up a system of each putting up a Duelist every night, and the loser would go to work for the boss of the winner in the mines. We paid them well, and Duelists came from all over the place to fight for us. It wouldn't have been a bad set-up, only my rival is a cruel man and he let his guards torture his miners. I could never prove it, but as time went on, it was obvious it was true. I tried to overthrow him, but the best we were able to do was hold him off from taking over completely.

[duelingexpert]

Yikes, so if you lost the duel it meant you'd be doing manual labor the next day? For how long? That's backbreaking work, and you really found enough competitors to go for it?

Man, that just burns me up the way some guys think they can treat their employees however they want. None of the miners would ever come forward?

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, exactly. You'd be surprised how many people were willing to risk it just to get rich dueling for us. The set up was to work in the mines indefinitely.

Malcolm and his men were real pieces of work. The miners are coming forward now, but back then, they couldn't. Whenever any of them tried to escape Malcolm's mine, they were caught again.

[duelingexpert]

INDEFINITELY?! That's nuts! No wonder it was a great system for the owners, but no one should be trapped in any occupation with no opportunity to leave.

[This new information was definitely having Tristan rethink a few things about this guy. Sure, he'd been forthcoming with useful information, but he was part of a rather unjust system of hiring new recruits....]

That's how these things usually seem to start. Least they're finally starting to speak up about it, and finally able to.

[crystalmaster]

[Although Radley is admitting to everything despite being aware it could turn Tristan against him.]

You're right, they shouldn't. We were trying to overthrow Malcolm so the system would stop. We were caught in an endless cycle. The town is free now, thankfully.

[duelingexpert]

[That is also something he was taking into consideration. It certainly helps that there wasn't any discernable hesitation in denouncing the practice.]

I guess that makes sense. Without something to go on you were stuck fighting fire with fire.

The future has it's own problems, huh?

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, unfortunately.

The hardest part is probably dealing with the terrible memories of how things were. Those who came through the worst of it aren't likely to recover easily.

[duelingexpert]

Yeah, things like that don't just fade away even when the problem's solved.

So being here... must almost be like a vacation for you.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley ponders this. Is it? He was brought here before he really had a chance to recover himself, and he's still haunted by the torture he went through as well as by his agonized thoughts on if he really did all he could. The Pokemon have certainly been comforting, though, and he did have that very enlightening conversation with Carly that helped him understand why Kalin may have acted the way he did....]

I'm not sure I'd say that. The problems are still waiting for me when I go back. Plus I'm still upset I can't take my Pokemon home with me. But to be here with them is nice.

[duelingexpert]

[That response is telling enough to realize that he's misread the situation.]

Sorry. Guess it's not really an out of sight, out of mind kind of deal.

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, not really.

So how about you? Were things good back home when you left?

[duelingexpert]

Hey, I know it's rough but just remember that there's only so much one person can do. As long as you tried to do the right thing that's what counts.

Now that.. is a little more complicated to answer. I guess you could say things were going alright but there was definitely something huge that was about to go down. I'm just not sure what it's all going to entail so I can't really be too worried about it. It's just .. a feeling. You know?

[crystalmaster]

[Radley smiles a bit sadly. He had tried, but it's hard to think it was good enough.]

Thanks.

I see. Well, hopefully it will be something pleasant.

[duelingexpert]

[He's sure that his words do little to help, but he couldn't just say nothing after all that was revealed to him.]

No problem, man.

Hopefully- but I'm not expecting it with our track record.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley appreciates it.]

I know that feeling. Sometimes life just wants to beat you down in every way possible.

oops I just saw that message, but it worked out on it's own. Sorry!

[duelingexpert]

I don't plan on letting it though.

That's okay!

[crystalmaster]

Good for you. I hope that works out for you.