ohmyarceus | Test Drive Meme

ACTION for Route 29

Maurice has been in this world for all of a day and he's already in trouble.

He woke up in a strange house with no memory of how he got there. Not TERRIBLY unusual for him, but also? Also. He's alive now. He's no longer a vampire. He's overjoyed, but everything and everyone he knows is an entire world away and all he has to his name are the clothes on his back and a huge icky spider he hasn't looked at since he figured out how to put it back in its ball.

And now he's being attacked by little blue cats that SHOOT LIGHTNING.

Somehow, Maurice has managed to get the attention of some of the rarest Pokemon on Route 29. There's a small pride of tiny blue lions encircling the tree he's currently hiding in. It's bad enough that he's allergic to cats, but the minute he saw lightning arcing off of one of their tails, up the tree he went. He knows, in his brain of brains, that there's nothing to keep these baby lions from climbing his tree, but he is still holding out hope.

At first, he tries calling for help, but the distant thunder seems to be drowning out his voice. After he hollers himself hoars, Maurice fumbles out the weird phone slash calculator thing he found in his backpack and flips it open. After fatfingering his way through the menus he manages to get a feed going.

NETWORK

[The feed flickers on to a stressed out looking young man with wild hair that is blowing all around in the stormy winds. His eyes have huge circles under them and he's a little pale, but that will solve itself in time. At first he stares into the little lens, unsure of what to say before just blurting out,]

These little blue cats are gonna kick my ass!

[ Dolly is holing up in her boarded up Inn room after deciding to check her PokeGear for anyone else weathering this weirdness...Oh Stellar Sea...WHY!? ]

Sweet Mac Lir! Do you have your Pokemon with you to battle with? Just keep holding onto that tree until your Pokemon chases them off.

[ Curly the Fidough climbs up onto Dolly's lap, giving a bit a 'borf' sound at Maurice before wagging the little dough bun tail of his. ]

[ When Dolly's message comes through, Maurice hits send before he's even thought of what he's going to say.]

I don't have any Pokemon! Is this 911?

[It may as well be true. He can't bare to look at Spinarak.]

[ At this point, Dolly might as well be given everything has gone belly up as of recently. Deep breath in...deep breath out.. ]

Alright, did you get an animal of some kind when you first woke up here? Did it go inside of a ball like this one?

[ Dolly goes to hold up a PokeBall to show as an example to help Maurice out in identifying what he has on hand. ]

[Maurice averts his eyes.]

Uh...well...I've only got th' one and...wouldn't it be an unfair fight?

[He's grasped that these things love beating the shit out of each other, and even if he wasn't afraid of his starter, Maurice thinks it wouldn't work.]

It's alright if you don't want to send it out to battle, though I need to ask, what animal does it look like? Depending on what your Pokemon is, there is a chance that they don't need to make contact at all and could safely stay in the tree with you.

[ Dolly has no idea that poor Maurice was afraid of spiders...why would Arceus be such a cruel creature deity like that? ]

[ Soon, Babylon and Avalon the Alolan Vulpixes climb onto Dolly's lap with Curly to spectate on the show that's unfolding on the screen. ]

[Despite his predicament, Maurice finds himself charmed by the little animals slowly filling his Poke'Gear's screen. Why couldn't he have gotten one of THOSE? He hesitates, only pulled from his circling thoughts when one the Shinx below lets out a curious cry.]

It's--a big bug.

[ Maurice shuts his eyes and weathers his fate.]

That's a good one though, I've heard some of them have something called 'String Shot'. It can be used at a distance to web up opponents from moving, it can be used to help you escape back to town or if you want, you could even catch the little lions there with the balls as well.

[ Dolly herself started with a bug-fairy type too as she goes to calming Maurice and reassuring him. This poor man really had a start to his journey too, pretty similar to what Dolly went through when she arrived. ]

I'll stay on the line with you and help you to my best ability. If you're able to return to town, there is this gym, the Petal Gym, that has housing there to stay in till the bad weather passes along with supplies to help you along the way on your journey.

[ Maurice breaks out of his melancholy long enough to give Dolly a skeptical look. How can a big bug be one of the 'good ones'? ]

[Well. He has to accept that this kind lady knows more about Pokemon and this world than he does. Maurice takes a chance and puts his faith in her.]

[ He leans against the tree's trunk and pulls his backpack back into his lap. Then, he fishes out Spinarak's ball. He holds it like he thinks it might be dirty. There's a HUGE SPIDER IN THERE what if it POPS OUT without him telling it to? Hell on Earth.]

Here goes nothin'.

[Maurice throws the ball at the old tree's roots. In a burst of red light, a spider with a body roughly the size of a football appears. Spinarak turns from side to side and lets out a frightened squeak.]

[ The biggest of the Shinx gives her a swat on the head. Spinarak squeaks again and tries to look big and scary by waving the frownie face on her abdomen around. ]

Ohhhh, this aint lookin' good.

[ While Dolly is new herself, she cannot leave this other person hanging like that. Oh dear...the kitty cat head baps are happening with the Shinxes.. ]

It's alright, this is your first Pokemon Battle and I'll guide you through it. You'll have to give your Pokemon instructions, like telling them 'Use String Shot'.

[ Dolly goes to get a separate screen up on her gear to look up spider Pokemon to see what moves Maurice's Spinarak may have to help. It takes a moment before Dolly finds an image that matches up with the Pokemon. ]

Looks like your Spinarak has Poison Sting, String Shot, and Absorb. You will get more moves as you train your Spinarak through battles.

[ Thinking over carefully as the Vulpixlings are still amused by the whole thing as...it's this other Pokemon's first real battle. ]

Poison Sting is a pretty good move if you want to go that route for self defense or catching. I think there is Antidote over at the Petal Gym if you go for it and if you do decide to catch them.

[Maurice glances away from the six-on-one so he can give Dolly's advice attention.]

O-okay. Uh! Spinarak? Spinarak use String Shot!

[Down below, Spinarak jumps to attention when she hears Maurice's command. She angles her face toward the closest Shinx, the one playing the drums on her head. With a hiss, she splatters it in the face with a web. The Shinx cries out in alarm and stumbles backwards, pawing at its face.]

[ The other Shinx hop backward as well, but then they instantly start circling Spinarak and Maurice's tree, tails high and curious.]

Oh hey! Hey, that worked! Spinarak, do that again! Uh, String Shot!

[Every time one of the Shinxes get brave, Spinarak waves her back legs and makes herself look big before spitting in their eyes. One by one, the Shinxes all end up with a face full of web.]

[ That was a good wave of relief as Dolly watched the battle from her PokeGear. Maurice was doing a good job at holding his own with Spinarak and defending himself.]

You're doing great, moment you have the Shinxes there webbed, you're good to call back your Spinarak to their PokeBall. You can decide if you want to catch one or more of the Shinx there or take your chance to get to the safety of town.

[ This was very good, maybe Maurice will bond a bit better with his Spinarak along the way. Maurice certainly was doing a lot better than Dolly had with the vicious Cetoddle attack from the prior month. ]

Do you feel safe trying to climb down the tree?

[ Might as well figure out how safe Maurice felt with climbing down soon once the Shinxes are distracted throughly. ]

[ Maurice pulls his backpack on and stuffs his Poke'Gear in his vest pocket before starting to shimmy down the treebackwards. ]

Hoo! I didn't think that would work! Wow, thank you.

[Maurice scuttles around the Sphinxes as they try to paw the webbing off their faces. If he was supposed to be catching these guys, a lion is certainly more his speed than a big green spider. He glances at Spinarak who is looking up at him with her little black eyes and wiggling her mandibles. Maurice shudders.]

[ He fishes a Poke'ball out of his bag and after a moment's hesitation, hucks it at one of the incapacitated lions. In a flash it disappears into the ball. Maurice lunges for it and snatches it up before it can stop wiggling and then takes off running back toward town. ]

COME ON, SPIDER, WE GOTTA GO!

[ Maurice takes his 'Gear back out of his pocket so he can look down at Dolly. ]

What'd you say this place was called? Sorry.

[ Dolly smiles softly that she managed to help Maurice out and that he was safe enough to escape the tree. ]

Hey it's no trouble at all, I'm just glad you're good to escape back to town safely.

[ He's asking all the right questions too, which makes it very easy for Dolly to assist Maurice back to safety once the video resumes and she can see Maurice once again. ]

It's called the Petal Gym, it's close to where you first enter Route 29 and it looks like a very modest, two story cabin. There's a sign on there that should read 'New Bark Petal Gym', if it has it, then you're at the right place.

[ She takes a minor break to allow Maurice to digest this information and to get his bearings for running back towards town with his Spinarak and new Shinx. ]

Fun thing you should know, you can give them names as well. Like my Pokemon right in front of me, Babylon, Avalon, and Curly, for example.

Petal Gym. Got it! Is, uh, hey sorry. I didn't even ask your name. I'm Maurice.

[ Maurice looks down at the ball in his other hand. It's stopped shaking, but it's warm. Now he has a giant spider and a CAT to look after? Man. He's gonna need a job and fast. He's allergic to cats...]

Thanks agaiiiii!

[Maurice catches sight of Spinarak scurrying after him out of the corner of his eye and the movement sets off his lizard brain.]

It's wonderful to meet you there Maurice, people back where I came from call me Dolly.

[ Dolly smiles warmly on the screen, glad that Maurice was being given a better chance at his arrival. Likewise, Dolly too was kicked out during a pretty bad storm, though Dolly was fortunate that the baker there let her stay till the storm passed. ]

[ The sudden movement did catch Dolly's attention before realizing something. ]

Hey, it's alright, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath in through the mouth before breathing out through the nose. I think that's your Spinarak trying to catch up a bit.

Dolly...thanks, Dolly.

[Maurice can feel the first drops of rain as he slows from a run to a jog. He pauses on the trail long enough to give Spinarak a cautious look before pulling out her ball and recalling her into it. There! No more scary spider following him! Now he can breathe. He follows Dolly's advice and breathes slowly. It's so...nice to be breathing again. He can feel his heart racing in his chest. He's alive. Alive!]

I hope they don't mind it in these ball things. But I've had enough for one day; I can't deal with a dog sized spider following me. Uhm. So people from other worlds show up here a lot?

They don't, most of them prefer being in their PokeBall most of the time. Three of my own Pokemon though are fussy about the PokeBall and won't go in, so they're normally traveling outside of them.

[ Dolly goes to listen about the Spinarak and oh dear, he's on the same arachnophobia boat as she is. It was good though that he's doing the breathing exercises. ]

You're the first newcomer I've met since I arrived here back in October. There's others too that were from other worlds beforehand, some having returned to their home before coming back to this place.

October...what month is it now?

[The short green grass and tiny leaves on all the trees tell him it's PROBABLY not still November.]

[ He's really on the same boat to an eerie similarity as Dolly processes this information. ]

It's March here or at least at the tail end of it going towards April. It's the same with me too, I ended up going from spring to suddenly autumn on my end.

OH, uh...huh.

[The lost time is a strange sensation. He pushes his hair out of his face from where the thickening rain dampened it.]

When I woke up, there was this woman. I don't think she's okay. She thought she was my mom.

I encountered her too, odd woman, threw me out during a major storm as well. I think that's a nickname she likes to hand out to newcomers though from what I understood when talking to others that have been here longer.

[ The weirdest nickname a human could ever hold, 'Mom'. Still, the mutual feeling towards lost time was truly a strange one, it's hard to get over it. Oh well, Dolly goes for the next best thing: ]

If you like, do you want me to help you out with using the dex feature on your PokeGear? That way you can look at the other Pokemon that are out there.

You too? Aint noone done anything to, like, check on her or something?

[He has a concern.]

I'd--appreciate that an awful lot. Thanks, Miss Dolly. I don't even have a cell phone back home, this thing's like something out of Star Trek.

I'm honestly not sure, given how long others have been here, I would assume someone had to have checked on her. She even brought cookies once for Emporio, the person who owns the Petal Gym.

[ This really was a concern...the mystery deepens. However, that can be contemplated another time. For the time being, it was a good time to do a crash course on using the PokeGear. ]

It's no trouble at all, it took me a some time too to figure out how it worked. However, you're not far off with comparing it to something out of Star Trek, this one has a lot of features like the map, the Pokédex, radio station, and a lot more. The Pokédex icon looks like a book if you'd like to click on that one?

[Maurice follows her directions as well as he can, hunching over the device to keep the rain off of it. New Bark creeps ever closer and with that, the Petal Gym.]

Oh yeah, I see it right here. So it tells me about these creatures?

[He gets his answer when he selects it and a big blank list pops up. He scrolls through it until a single entry zips by. Maurice scrolls back up to find one entry: Spinarak. Ah. Well, he doesn't feel like reading about giant spiders right this minute.]

[ It was pretty impressive how fast Maurice picked up on instructions as he got up the Pokédex feature. That one was pretty neat as Dolly goes to give further instructions. ]

You're doing incredibly well, you got to it a lot faster than I did when I first arrived. What's your favorite animal or item? I can help you out on looking up Pokemon that are close to either one.

[ The Petal Gym draws near and is open for Maurice to enter inside to gain shelter from the storm. It really is as Dolly described it, like a nice log cabin of sorts. ]

I - Arrival
Location: Route 29
[ Joshua hadn't had experienced a thing like that in a long time, being nurtured by a woman who had supposedly declared herself as his mother, he would've thought it was some sick joke if he was any more conscious during the time--but at least he was able to suck it up and move right along.

And so he finds himself right within a small, quaint forest-y area.
It almost reminds him of a certain time when he ... uh.

he was looking around the place for any sort of answer, right up until he had felt something graze his leg, he doesn't think much of it at first. Before it occurs again & twice at that! ]

Hey, What're you-- ... Huh?

[ a curious sound comes from him, as he is met with the beady little eyes of an Espurr who looked to have been clutching onto his pant leg. as well as staring up at Joshua blankly. ]

[ It doesn't look like its going to be letting go of him any time soon. ]

II - Network / Post Arrival
[ Upon grabbing ahold of this special little device, and a small place to take a short rest. after some fumbling around he manages to set up a small video... thing! or so he assumes.

A male appears in frame, with a small Espurr lounging upon his head, staring into the device. ]

Oh! There it is.

Hello there, Everyone!
... who happens to see this.

[ He waves, The Espurr on his head waves as well. ]

[A man with long silver hair and what looks like two or three decorative feathers on top of his head is standing nearby with folded arms, looking at a Charmander. Hearing the voices, he glances over.]

It seems we've been summoned into quite the performance. This creature made its debut from inside this object.

[He holds up a Pokeball, revealing his long, painted nails.]

Is that how you acquired your new friend?

[He's no stranger to being plopped in other worlds, so that part, at least, doesn't faze him. But these unfamiliar animals ... not to mention the upstart woman playing the part of a mother he never had ... those are plot elements he's still trying to figure out.]

[ He perks up at the sound of someone's voice, whipping his head right around to be met with the rather ... elegant man before him. Joshua looks at him like a deer in headlights. ]

[ While the peculiar Espurr was beginning to climb onto him while he wasn't looking. ]

Uh ... I guess you could say that. Hah ...!

[ He relaxes, his mannerisms becoming less stiff as he'll then grab the Espurr by the scruff. It doesn't look to resist it at all. ]

Especially for something that had latched onto me.
I guess it happened to you, too? Y'know ... That?

[ He's looking for reassurance. It doesn't seem like this is a unique scenario, after all. ]

[The man looks amused by that reaction. Yes, he knows he’s a lot to take in.

He also seems amused by the Espurr. Well, at least an unfamiliar cat still behaves like a cat. Perhaps the creature that has latched onto him will also exhibit familiar behavior.]

Yes. Did you also awaken in a strange home, in a bed far too small, with a woman acting out the part of your mother?

[What a bizarre and quite frankly insulting opening scene.]

All my attempts to get her to explain herself were ignored and she sent me out the door with this ...

[“Charmander!” said Charmander.]

Charmander, it seems. That’s the only line he knows.

Oh thank God.

[ a sigh of relief had came right out of him. ]

You wouldn't also happen to think that she's gone mad or something, right?

[ yet another question, this time its rhetorical. before his eyes trail down to the pint-sized flaming lizard that looked to have been circling the man for a while now. ]

Especially if you've got a little guy of your own!

Well, my first thought was that she was playing a part, but insanity is certainly not out of the question.

[He looks down at the Charmander.]

Although I must question either way where she would acquire animals to give to people who end up in her home. And how we end up there. I highly doubt she is capable of removing us from our previous locations and putting us here. It would take highly advanced magic, science, or both. Someone else must be involved in this production.

[And he's just come from being repeatedly pulled from his homeworld by the gods of another, which certainly makes him think a few things.]

Hah, 'being transported to another world'...

It sounds like something I've been dreaming of for the longest time.
Though ... Thinking about it now, I really wanna go back home.

[ Re-adjusting his grasp on the Espurr, he now held it much like a small child. ]

If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought this was some sort of simulation and do something really reckless.
Though, the thought of a higher power...

You'd think they'll transport us somewhere more eventful than this.

[ Murmuring, with Joshua beginning to pet the small creature.]

Yes, that does seem more logical. I've been sent to another world before, for the purpose of repeatedly assisting the gods of said world with their petty squabbles. But this.... It's difficult to imagine a deity that brings people to a world to play with the local wildlife. Perhaps an exceptionally bored one wanting to write a unique performance? Or one desiring to see how everyone reacts to the experiment of being ripped away from their lives and set down here in a completely new environment?

Maybe it isn't even a god, if the magic and technology here are advanced enough.

[He wonders whom might know.]

Well, Maybe Logic was thrown out the window by the time they had decided to get on with this stuff. It's ... uh, nice to know that you got experience with this. I guess. Maybe this is the work of a higher power that wants to be pretty domestic for some reason!
Not that I have anything to say about it, should some sort of intervention strike me down all of a sudden...

[ a light bulb must've gone off in that head of his. ]

Yes, well, I don't know if my past experiences will help any with understanding what's happened this time. I suppose at least it means I'm less likely to break character on stage.

[He is quite calm about everything, really. But then, he normally is, unless pushed to his absolute breaking point.

"Charmander!" the Pokemon cheerfully offers.]

A pity the animals can't tell us more of what this is all about.

I don't think they even have a clue on what could possibly be going on right now either.

[ A dejected sigh, before grasping the Espurr once again, and soon presenting it to the man. It stares blankly, with not a single peep coming from the feline character. ]

I mean, just look at this face! I don't think It'll be helping much at all!

... I wonder if it thinks much at all.

[A natural thing to wonder, but sooner or later he'll probably learn the truth about Espurrs....]

Were you given any directions on where to go from here?

Ah ... well ...

[ his eyes shift down towards a bag on the ground, a simple backpack left leaning against Joshua's ankle. Presumably passed onto him while that strange lady had busied herself with shooing Joshua right out of the house as a wake-up call.

He finally sets the Espurr down after putting it through so much activity. as he'll soon get down to rummage through the Bag's contents.

With it looking to have carried some weight. ]

I think ... These Belong to me? Uh --

[ A few miscellaneous items were in the bag, a set of clothing ... some basic necessities, a crushed bag of trail mix and --!

Joshua manages to obtain what looks like a map from the backpack, alongside a miniature handbook. ]

There it is! ... Maybe this'll give us some peace of mind.

[ he says cheerfully, despite the nervous grin, he presents what was supposedly a guide to navigating such a strange land. ]

[He looks at it, nods thoughtfully, and digs into his own bag, finding the identical map and guidebook. He hadn't gone through his bag before, as he had grown distracted by Charmander.]

At least some information has been provided for us.

[That's good to know after the faux "mother" had been so unhelpful.

He opens the book and looks through it.]

It appears the curtain rises on New Bark Town. We'll have to travel some days to reach Cherrygrove, the next town over. Or we could catch a ferry to another area, Kanto. The ferry seems preferable in one way. But if it only comes out in another area like this, it may just be prolonging the inevitable. Perhaps it would be better just to head for Cherrygrove.

[He doesn't like the wilderness and would rather just get such travel time over with. Then, as he's looking over the book, he learns of the spa at Cherrygrove. Oh yes, he wants to go there now.]

[ "we" ? The thought of Joshua having to travel with someone just begun to dawn on him, and he would've expected to have a leisurely chat with this guy before the two had eventually went their separate ways. It makes him blink owlishly.

oh well, if they're going to be doing that then, it's a welcome surprise. ]

A ferry sounds ... pretty expensive, right? I don't think I've ever been to one.

[ He scratches his head, looking over the map as if looking for quite literally anything that'll interest him, and just staring at trees would get old after a while.

he actively looks back and forth between the handbook in one hand, and the map in the other before he finally narrows it down to Ecruteak... as he could only imagine making his way through The Burned Tower. Just from the name alone he could already tell its haunted! ]

[He isn't sure one way or another, but if they decide to go the same direction, they may as well travel together.]

Since it is apparently a route newcomers can take, perhaps they offer a discount.

[Ecruteak immediately delights him as well, but for a different reason. He wants to take in all the culture and arts. He may simply decide to settle there, if they can just make it there.]

I would prefer, however, to go to Cherrygrove and eventually Ecruteak.

( ooc: not exactly sure if TDMs here are canon, but if you wanna make this exchange canon just lmk! )

[ seems like he's not gonna be left alone at all, huh ... ]

A discount? that's if we even have the currency to pay that off as well.

We'd practically be in Cherrygrove already by now ...

[ and he's getting somewhat impatient, as much as he'd really hate to admit such thing. The Espurr practically dozed off within the timeframe that the two were still talking. ]

((OOC: It's pretty much up to the players to decide, I think. I am considering apping him here, so if I do and he's accepted, it can totally be canon!))

Yes, it's possible it could take all of whatever meager offerings we were given.

[He searches some more and finds the money. He isn't sure how much it adds up to in his world's currency, so he frowns at it a bit.

He straightens, looking amused.]

Hardly. But your point is well-taken. If we are in agreement, let us proceed to Cherrygrove.

["Charmander!" exclaims the Charmander, throwing tiny arms up in glee.]

[ Becoming rather energetic, he perks up. after all, there's a set goal in sight now. and it doesn't look like he'll be having anyone holding him back either at the least--or so he hopes so, this'll be a nice change of pace compared to the stuffy conditions back home. ]

Hah, you got it!

[ ... so much to the point that he gladly slings the bag right over his shoulders, with the bag now containing a rather drowsy Espurr. ]

(ooc: alr!! I think it'll be good to wrap it up around here ^^)

((OOC: Sure!))

[He definitely isn't the type to hold people back. He'll probably quite keep to himself, but be a useful and helpful companion if there's any trouble. Which hopefully there won't be.

He looks amused at the idea of carrying the Espurr in the bag, but he doesn't object. They'll probably move faster that way if the cat is that sleepy.

The Charmander cheers as they set off.]

Test Drive Meme - Spring 2026

Maurice Hutch | Original Character

Network!

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Horropedia / Reverse: 1999 / Voice Testing!!

Arrival

Re: Arrival

Re: Arrival

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