not . AFRAID

[SPLITTY]

JOSHUA FRAZ *
how long must we wait in this moment of violence?

in character

The sun was just rising over the horizon as Joshua opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to focus his eyesight. The blurred lines of the ceiling fan above his head began to clear until finally he could count each second as it passed by, still on even though the weather outside would expect otherwise.

He rolled over in the bed, sighing. He'd spent the last ten days since arriving in Solastella mainly looking around. He'd already found the Pokémon Laboratory, but he hadn't entered. He was more interested in finding out the history than anything else. As he finally slipped out of the bed, he shivered as his exposed chest met with the cold surroundings. Shooting another glance towards the ceiling fan, he stood on his toes and turned it off, before wrapping his arms around himself, looking around for a warm shirt to wear.

As he dressed, he thought quietly of his plans. Yes, he would go to the laboratory and choose his Pokémon today. But what Pokémon? There were so many options, and he had no idea where to begin. He sighed, stepping out of his room and walking towards the reception area of the Pokémon Center, looking around and finally walking up to the nurse. She looked at him and smiled.

"Olleh. Llewpeel suo ydid?" the nurse asked, already knowing that Joshua was one of the new trainers to the region that knew the home language already.

Joshua smiled politely. "Sknaht. Esahcru profe effocy nasie rehtf ignir ed now sa wi?"

The nurse nodded. "Eerfrof ereh eeffoc emos evahe w. Yapotdee non."

After getting his coffee, Joshua walked back to his room, sipping the hot liquid slowly before plopping back onto the bed, clasping the coffee between both his heads as he sat cross-legged, bowing his head and thinking quietly for a moment.

There were many powerful Pokémon he could choose from; anything that wasn't endangered or rare here was up for grabs. This left him with hundreds of options to choose from. He immediately crossed the base starters of the other regions from his head; if he wanted to train them, he could go to those regions.

After sitting there for a while, he deliberated between two Pokémon. Both of them were part Dark type, and both of them were from Unova. As he finished up his coffee, he began to contemplate between his two choices as he packed his belongings and began to head towards the laboratory.

It was only a short walk, and as he stepped inside he suddenly knew which one he was going to pick. Nothing, he thought, would make him happier than training up a Scraggy into a Scrafty. Now knowing exactly what he wanted, he took a deep breath and smiled.

"Hello?"

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[Crim]

Tap. Tap. Tap.

That was all the male had basically been doing that day, leaning back in a chair in the Lab and endlessly tapping an obnoxious sort of melody against one of the ever-so-cold tables. For the entire day, he had stared at nothing (stared? /ha/, that was a hilarious way of putting things in his current condition, if you wanted the man to tear your heart out). Raising a hand up to the bandaged area where he had once had eyes, the purple-haired, eternal youth let out a sigh. He'd thought he'd been insane before. Hell, he'd even been /proud/ of that insanity. But now, he felt as if he were truly going to go mad, simply sitting around, unable to see, even if his new, ghostly companion was of some sort of 'help' to him now.

Plague hated what his life had become.

But he was not going to dwell on it, not now. Paragraphs upon paragraphs would not have been enough to articulate how bitter he felt, how angry he felt at the canine Morph who had inflicted the single slash which had changed him from a malicious and frightening being to a confused, and surprisingly vulnerable creature. Really, it had been his own stupidity that had robbed him of the single sight organ he'd had left, but he was focusing all his blame on that damned Graham. And, one day, he'd hopefully have found a way to make the man pay for his actions.

That day would come at no time soon, of course. He'd come to Solastella to get away from everyone he'd known for a while, taking up a job at the Lab to simply get by and make some money. It'd taken some persuasion to convince the staff to hire a blinded man, but Plague hadn't let them know just how messed up in the head he happened to be. The three Pok?mon which had become as close to friends as one could ever hope to be with Plague had helped persuade them to hire him, of course. Wrath, Chaos, and Gremlin were all perfectly capable of helping organize the Pok?mon and get the required items.

As if thinking about him had been a cute, Gremlin materialized in front of Plague, the shiny Gengar's gaze boring into Plague's sightless face. Plague felt the chill enter the room and dipped his head, muttering dryly, "Hello, my undead friend. What is it this time?"

The Gengar replied in a cold, smooth voice, obviously fighting to hold back a contemptuous sort of laughter as he replied, +Well, Master Plague, a trainer's finally come to the Lab while you're here. Frightfully boring appearance, sadly. Not even a Morph, but... we could still have some fun with him.+

Plague considered for a few moments the option of reverting to some of his more primal pastimes, namely breaking peoples' bones and causing almost endless suffering. However, he wasn't willing to leave the island of Solastella just yet, and doing that seemed like a way to get himself kicked out of the region within his first week. He's let this trainer get by without being too much of a horrible cretin. After all, he had more than enough time for that whenever he bored of the place.

He whistled lowly, and from the shadows of the lab a Gardevoir arose. Closing her eyes, she glimmered for a few moments with a strange, foreign sort of power. When she opened her eyes, they were focused on the door, and she was projecting the visions her sight offered into Plague's brain. It wasn't nearly as good as actual sight, but it was the best Plague had now. As Joshua entered the Lab, Plague looked over to the door, not needing his own eyes to do so. It must have been quite unnerving, the way he seemed to still look at Joshua.

"Hello there, my friend. Tell me, what exactly is someone like you doing in a place like this?" there was thinly veiled bitterness in his voice, directed at this newcomer simply because there was no one else to expel his rage upon around here. A Sableye appeared in mid-air beside him, cackling slightly and resting himself on Plague's shoulder, leering at Joshua with his gemstone eyes. Gremlin remained on the ground, his own piercing stare aimed at Joshua as well.

[SPLITTY]

JOSHUA FRAZ *
how long must we wait in this moment of violence?

in character

As Joshua entered the lab, he looked around for a moment until he caught sight of a... well, if he was honest, faintly terrifying looking man. It looked like he was missing both of his eyes, and as the Pok?mon he had swarmed around him he could tell the guy was fishy. He looked away nervously as Plague spoke. The man seemed to be trying to talk to him... nicely... but the tone of his voice suggested otherwise.

Flashing one last nervous glance between Plague and his Pok?mon, Joshua finally spoke. "Uhm," he said, trying to find his voice again. "I'm here for my starter Pok?mon. I was interested in getting a Scraggy."

He hoped that the man's Pok?mon would be able to help; he found it hard to believe that, given his state, that he was able to get up and find the Pok?mon he desired on his own. After all... surely he was blind. But then why is he here? Joshua thought, troubled over his thoughts as the silence continued. It didn't make sense to him; the man seemed to be completely and utterly terrifying from the way he spoke to the way he looked. Why was he hired here, of all places?

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Crim]

Plague noticed, through Chaos's eyes, of course, the other looking away from him, and that brought a rather leering grin to his face, distorting his features and making the purple-haired man look all the more intimidating. At least he's straight to the point. Pretty, too. Pity I can't exactly mess with him. The Haunter Morph listened to his request with little interest, merely nodding at the mention of a Scraggy. A Dark/Fighting type in need of a belt to hold up the pitiful skin it called 'pants'. Plague had never been fond of most types, preferring to focus his interests on the Ghosts and the more... interesting Dark and Psychic-types of the world.

"Well, you heard the boy, didn't you? Go and round up three of the Scraggy, as well as the essentials." he ordered the two ghosts brusquely, though both seemed to accept the rudeness with little issue. After all, Plague could be rather frightening if crossed, even in his current state. Gremlin departed from sight almost instantly, leaving his grin in the air for a few seconds before it faded after him, much like the smile of a certain Cheshire Cat. Wrath, on the other hand, cackled slightly under his breath before floating off, doing a few flips for the sole purpose of showing-off to their visitor.

For a few minutes, all was quiet in the Lab, and Plague merely observed the other through his borrowed sight, seeming rather bored with the entire ordeal already. The monotony of his daily routine had been broken, but not nearly enough to actually interest him for more than a few minutes.

Wrath was the first to reappear, the Sableye holding two electronic devices, one a phone, the other a thin card with a completely black screen, as if the battery had died long ago. The Sableye twisted around in mid-air so he hovered only a few feet from Joshua, upside-down, holding out the phone towards him but keeping the card clenched tightly in his other hand.

As if reciting a boring speech, Plague stated idly, "That's obviously a phone, and it has a few features, such as a built-in Pokedex and, surprise surprise, a phone feature. When Gremlin arrives with the three Pokeballs, you can use that phone to check out their basic stats and all that incredibly interesting stuff. That card is going to be your ID... smile for the Sableye now."

Sure enough, the Sableye was holding the card up like a camera, and after a moment's hesitation, he snapped a picture. The screen instantly burst into vibrant, full-color life, with Joshua's picture taking up a large portion of the screen, while blank information boxes were waiting to be filled in.

"Now, that will have Ƨ100 on it, unless you'd prefer Parsennes. It serves as a money-holder of sorts as well, so, be sure not to be an idiot and lose it. And now we simply must wait for Grem-- ah, here he comes now."

Sure enough, the chill had arrived in the room again, and the Gengar appeared, levitating three Pokeballs with his Psychic energy until they were hovering a few feet in front of Joshua's face. The boy could now use his phone to look at their various stats, before making his selection. Plague wasn't going to be much help, obviously, but he was willing to wait for the decision. That's what he did most of the time anyways, after all.

[atrb=border,0,true] ♀ Scraggy, Lv 5 #1 Scroll for more details This Scraggy is one of the most paranoid creatures on the face of the planet. She always has to shoot glances back over her shoulder, and if she's expecting someone to be stalking her every moment of the day. She often speaks of conspiracies, and believes almost nothing that people tell her. She's also very cynical, and believes the worst of both every person and every Pok?mon she sees. Despite all of this, this Scraggy is actually incredibly smart, and quite adept in battle as well. It's simply the fact that she has so many psychological issues that's holding her back from being an all-around great Pok?mon in general. Name: - Ability: Shed Skin Moves: Leer, Low Kick, Sand-Attack

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♂
Scraggy, Lv 5
#2

Scroll for more details

The Scraggy is about as entertaining as watching a Miltank chew on grass. No matter what the occasion, be it a birthday, a wedding, or the death of his best friend, this Scraggy will have the same response: "Whatever." His facial expression almost never changes, and he'll just stare blankly at you if you try to crack a joke or yell at him or... anything, really. He's an excellent battler, possibly /because/ he shows so little emotion, but he's certainly not one to take if you happen to get easily bored.

Name:
-

Ability:
Shed Skin

Moves:
Leer, Low Kick, Sand-Attack

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♀
Scraggy, Level 5
#3

Scroll for more details

This Scraggy isn't afraid to try anything. She's the ultimate daredevil, often declaring loudly that she's going to do something that, in all likelihood, may get her injured or killed. She has numerous dings and even a few scars as a result, though she seems to be proud of these mementos more than anything else. This Scraggy, though loud and rather idiotic, is a very loyal companion, and more than willing to battle, because that's a pretty daring feat in itself. She may not be the most sympathetic creature around, but she's friendly enough, and she'll probably be a team player in the long run, even if she may be tempted to hog some of the glory for herself.

Name:
-

Ability:
Moxie

Moves:
Leer, Low Kick, Sand-Attack

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