[Archive] Mon of the Dead

"Hello.

My name is [Transmission garbled]. People call me the Pokemon Professor.

This world is [static] by creatures we call P[static].

Some pla[crackling noises] as a hobby.

Myself?

I-"

[Transmission interrupted]

...

.....

...

"Do not adjust your frequency. We control the radio waves. This is a public service announcement.

If your doors and windows are unsecured, lock them. You may be in very grave danger, even now.

We are members of an illegal pokemon organization. And through a grave mistake, we may have destroyed the world.

Recently, studies have arisen on the rare pokemon disease: Pokerus. In all known forms, it was either harmless, or minimally harmful. Indeed, in nearly all cases, contraction of the virus was determined to be nothing but beneficial to the infected pokemon, speeding growth, boosting its immune system, and increasing its health in every way save the fact that it was infected.

Over the past few years, experimentation arose, hoping to increase communicability of the 'miracle disease', extending the length of contagious time, and hoping to alter the virus in a way that left it compatible with infecting humans. Many avenues of research were utilized, both scientific and paranormal.

And, in the end, they succeeded.

But all information on the success was silenced. The projects were shut down, and the facilities in every region, in which experiments were conducted, were slated for destruction.

We did not consider the ramifications of this, when we acted.

We, agents of this organization spread throughout every region, stole the only remaining samples of the virus, and deliberately infected the majority of our organization, hungrily reaching out for the effects of Pokerus in the human and pokemon body.

We did not realize what we were doing.

We did not stop to consider that human communicability, extended periods of contagion, were not the only facets of the virus that were mutated.

One by one, we fell ill, and died.

And then, when we thought matters could not grow worse?

The dead stood back up, to hungrily pursue the living, the virus itself puppeting the dead bodies to spread, to consume, and to infect.

Our hidden facilities are already over-run. Hardly any of us remain. I may be the last member of this organization.

And I have been bitten. Already, I can feel the initial effects of the virus inside of me.

Many of the dead have left our facilities, stumbling out to seek new, living prey. I can only wish that these facilities came with a self-destruct procedure. Though, in the end, it would change little.

This is all that remains to me. A warning, and an apology, for our short-sighted foolhardiness.

People of the world. I apologize to you now, in the only way I can. Good luck, and beware the dead."

[Gunshot]

---

...

Please select your name, gender, and hometown.

Name and gender are largely cosmetic.

Your home town is where the game begins. In addition to other factors, larger towns have higher populations, which have ramifications in both good and bad ways.

Town location also plays a large factor in multiple aspects.

Lets begin.

A brand new Pokemon adventure is about to unfold.

Are you ready?

---

[ ] Name: ???
[ ] Gender: ???
[ ] Location: ???

 

History:

Your birth parents, after only a couple of years of caring for you and stumbling in conversation when asked about their son and/or daughter, put you up for adoption.

Understandably, the majority of prospective parents were a little put off by some of your details. In the end, you were adopted by a very understanding and open-minded elderly couple, living in the big city. Saffron, to be precise. In an effort to divorce you from your past unpleasantness, they changed your name legally.

To Blast Hardcheese.

You have been forced to confront the fact that your adoptive parents are more than a little senile. After several years, you managed to convince them to change your name again, to Blue. You aren't sure it's much better, being a color, but there's only so far you can push. You might be able to change it again, once they pass on of their advanced age. If they ever do die, anyway.

Some of your older acquaintances still remember you as Blast Hardcheese, and have trouble taking you seriously. Not that it hugely matters by this point.

Like pretty much every ten year old, when you hit that age, you tried out pokemon training. Also like most, you weren't fortunate enough to have a convenient nearby professor that needed a ready source of child labor for experiments and research. In brief, your tenth birthday present was a pokeball, and you got to trust to luck what you found.

Luckily, while the local Gyms aren't in the habit of giving away Pokemon for free, Saffron has vast expanses of fields in every direction from it.

[ ] Where did you go to try and find a Pokemon?
[ ] How did you spend the years after that?
-[ ] Training your pokemon, a little ineffectually.
-[ ] You got a job. (Where?)
-[ ] You socialized through the city.
-[ ] You basically just loafed around the house.

 

[INFORMATIONING]

>while the local Gyms aren't in the habit of giving away Pokemon for free

The Fighting type Gym sometimes does a giveaway, but you have to win battles. Psychic Gym don't.

This is basically 'pick from the routes surrounding Saffron' in game terms. We'll see what you get. Assume this first one works like a Master Ball, because I'm not going to be a huge dick and have the ball maybe not work for the MC.

And now you know one of the reasons why 'which town' was an important question. There are more.

>[Adorable ten-year-old hoodlum?]

Psychic trainers in this town are almost exclusively Gym Members.

So... you could try, but it's high risk minimal reward right from the start, since if you try to pull this I'm not giving you a guaranteed auto-catch of whatever you end up having found, and it carries the strong possibility of getting you into Sabrina's bad books. That's just for trying, because it is not guaranteed that you will succeed even in getting to the point where you can try a pokemon hijack.

This may or may not be the Sabrina that minimizes people who annoy her and keeps them in glass jars and doll houses. So you might want to keep that in mind, too.

-----

There's a combination of Game-logic and Anime/comic-logic.

Basically, there isn't a four-move limit. He has all of them up to level 25, plus Grudge. Instead of PP, he'll get tired and have to rest from doing things. If he gets exhausted in a zombie-heavy area, welp, you should probably find a nice secure room to lock up and hide in the closet for a few hours while he catches a nap.

Edit: In specific, he has Confusion and Magical Leaf, for direct-offense. If you locate TM's that he can use, he can learn those too.

------

It takes a few seconds to build up to a teleport. No problem if you're alone in a room, not really great if you're already in lunge reach.

Similarly, Smoke can't teleport, then immediately teleport somewhere else. He has to take a few seconds to catch his breath and re-orient himself, sort of.

In an absolute sense, not too long. Slightly longer every time, though, Smoke isn't made of psychic durability. Go from point a to b, take a few deep breaths, b to a, deep breaths again, maybe slightly longer, then a back to b. In a 'jesus christ, the windows are breaking and they're crawling through the shattered glass, fuck they're pouring in through every exit'? Feels like fucking forever.

It's not line of sight. You can't just look, through a window or a camera feed or at a picture, and teleport somewhere, you have to have physically been there.

edit: re: undead.

Basically, from what you know, destroy the head/brain and it goes down. Just cut the head off, and it'll drop the body, but the head'll still try to bite if you're stupid enough to get close to its mouth.

Dead pokemon can still use moves almost as per normal. This was brought up with growlith burning down patches of the town fencing. They might be more stupid about move selection, or they might just try to spam BITE over and over, though, being zombies.

--------

Unfortunately, double team isn't that great range-wise. It's designed to make it harder to pick out the right target in normal combat.

For something like that, you want that other thing.... uh, can't recall exactly. Substitute, I think? The one that makes a temporary, weaker clone. That doesn't have unlimited range either, but it would be much better for that sort of thing.

-----

>Question. What Pokemon are we using? Pure games only, or are the manga included?

Eh. Kind of a mesh. You can probably find some interesting tech goodies: pokemon are transferred as data through computer networks and stuff, after all, and you can store your things in your computer instead of a box. Also, teleport tiles.

How much you might find that works, on the other hand... well, we'll find out, won't we?

Edit: presume stuff leans closer to the games, but not entirely, and stuff like PP and things might be fluffed as getting tired instead of 'you have x/y uses of z remaining'.

>High school.

Well, if you decide not to go the usual pokemon trainer route at 10-teen-ish or whenever your local region begins that option, there's definitely higher level education options.

Just, usually, they're private schools that the people hiring you pay to put you through so that you're worth something when you come out the other end, after you realized that you'll never be the Champion and you settle for realistic goals. That or on the job training.

Seriously, you think that kids are going to all sit tight and keep going to school when they could legally go play with pokemon instead? Naaah. well, some might. But then the gov'ment ends up paying for free public schooling on top of the free pokemon centers near everywhere that they have going.

Now, Saffron is a big city, so there might be a private school around somewhere.

As for hardware shops, it's on the List of Things That Need Checking Out that Sabrina has. More building materials and stuff means, after all, more secure barricades and buildings. Maybe build actual watch towers/posts instead of the 'okay, stand on the roof there and keep a look out' thing they have going now. Not quite as immediate a concern as keeping everyone fed, but definitely up there.

----

>I don't suppose there is a large cache of military equipment somewhere in the city?

Consider this.

What military equipment can be produced and distributed more cheaply and easily than pokeballs, and maintained easier than giving something food and water to keep it blasting fire, lightning, freezing things solid, or blasting them with giant lasers?

It's not to say that such things don't exist, but in a general sense...

Well there are some kinds of explosive materials. Fuels, black powder for pyrotechnics sort of thing. Chemical compounds, if there's someone who knows how to mix those up. Pro-tip: not so many do, given the general quality of educations. And I'll go ahead and say now, just because you can google something, doesn't necessarily mean that knowledge is magically put in Blue's brain, here.

If it comes down to it, Surge is notably ex-military. If he's still around, he might have a neat toy or two stashed around somewhere, or where to find more. But at the same time, it's strongly implied that he relied on his pokemon himself.

>On zombies:

You haven't seen any zombies that have rotten to the point where they couldn't move, yet. In theory, they 'should' be reduced to immobility, even if brain rot doesn't kill them. In practice, nobody knows yet, and while you've seen plenty of zombies with appendages or limbs torn or bitten off, you haven't seen one yet where anything more than skin has fallen off on its own, by rotting. It's only been a week since the broadcast, so you'll see.

Humans: there's almost always visible wounds, where they were bitten. Usually the stench of rot hangs around them, but not always spreading very far from their body before diffusing into the air. Skin seems to go bad really quickly, turning funny colors or, as mentioned, rotting off completely in large patches. Someone could mistake a zombie for a living person, but they would have to be very fresh.

For pokemon, it's nearly always the same, but sometimes there doesn't seem to be any obvious wound. Generally, it's hopefully assumed that the bite was minor, and missed beneath fur, or concealed at an angle watchers can't see, and while they usually seem more mobile than shambling humans, they rot just the same. The danger is sometimes that it's a little harder to tell a living pokemon from a dead one.

The big clincher is that, unless they're taking in breath to let off a hunting moan, zombies don't breathe at all.

Regarding the virus itself, all transmission to humans has been through bites. However, there's conjecture that simple direct contact with the undead might be enough to effect pokemon, given that the virus is based on Pokerus, which is, in its communicable stages, infectious enough that one pokemon can catch it from another just by passing through the same room. Fortunately, it seems that the zombie virus, while it infects everything indiscriminately, is not that communicable. Nobody wants to test exactly what it takes for a pokemon to catch it, though, and as a standard practice direct contact with any undead or potentially infected body fluids is strongly advised against.

If the virus can only be transmitted to pokemon through bites, as seems the case with humans, then rock and steel type pokemon should be relatively safe, and a great deal of leeway is gained for many other types. Nobody really wants to be the one to risk proving they aren't.

On a different note, as far as electronics go there should be some stuff around here and there. Radios, television sets, some people might have computers, though there's no networking and internet or phone service at this stage. The power plant is still running, though, and electricity is still coming in strong to all cities in this region, at least.

 

History:

One thing you can say about ten year old you, though.

You were pretty damn lazy. And didn't feel like training a pokemon. And somehow got it in your head that since there were people who would raise pokemon for others, you could just, you know, get one from someone else.

By force.

Well, naturally, the old man's Alakazam had a few objections to this, and when you got floated sulkily home, and things were explained properly, you found yourself grounded for several months and the gift Pokeball confiscated, as clearly you weren't as mature and responsible as they had thought.

A couple weeks into it, the old man returned, mentioning casually that he'd bred some pokemon, but he didn't want one because it had the wrong nature, and the wrong ability, and he didn't like the too-average IV's, and a whole lot of other stuff that made absolutely no sense to you.

But while he'd initially planned to just peacefully release it into the wild, he figured he might as well give it a good home instead, and make sure some rambunctious young whippersnapper didn't try jumping off of roofs and onto the innocent heads of elderly passersby.

And so you found yourself with a baby Ralts. And a pretty naughty one at that. Even so, you were excited over it, and you lavished affection on him.

Natch, when you started trying to train him properly, you figured out that all he could really do in combat was to growl and hold a mean grudge.

....

This was years ago, and even with your lack of particular talent, like the sort of trainer who evolves their pokemon to the greatest level in only weeks of intensive effort, perseverance pays off somewhat.

Once you got over the loooong slump and actually managed to win a few fights now and again, anyway. Surprising how many pokemon have Dark type moves, when it comes down to it, and you kept on losing the majority of your allowance to other trainers.

Eventually, though, he evolved to Kirlia.

Still just as naughty, and you think he sometimes purloins things from the corner store. You keep finding empty boxes of cigarretes, anyway, and magazines you don't recall buying.

Your adoptive parents think you smoke. Well, at twenty two, you guess you could if you wanted to, but still...

Some of these magazines are kind of... sketchy, too. Well, some of the articles are incredibly interesting, though. You've tried a couple of the grilling tips, and you really can get the juiciest chicken breasts... well, whatever.

In any case.... was it only a week ago that the broadcast went out on all stations? Time flies... things went bad so fast, since then.

Lots of the town is a wreck. The giant Silph Co. building in the center is a gutted, burned out wreck of what it used to be.

In theory, the fences around the city should prevent anything from passing except through the official gate stations, which are by now barricaded up tight and bolted shut.

But they do little to stop an undead growlith from burning a section it bumps into down, and lurching through.

The only lucky part seems to be that the undead are limited in their sensory perception. They don't track by smell, but by sight and hearing. Stay out of their range of vision, stay quiet, and they just stumble around hoping to find something to bite into.

It helps if you can have yourself teleported past locked doors. That only works enough to get you places that he's seen, though... and it has had its own unpleasant surprise or two already.

But in any case, much of the city is a wreck.

The North-East section of town is mostly unscathed. It contains the Gyms, after all, and with Sabrina and her psychics playing cover for the burlier members of the fighting dojo, most of the quadrant has been defended by a thicker barricade, which is patrolled regularly, and doused in case of wandering undead fire types.

This quadrant is where the refugees who were smart enough to, and could, fled to, when the dead started walking in the streets. Here, you're more or less safe. Barring the occasional undead flying type, or earth type burrowing up from below.

Little actual chance of that, really. From what anyone can guess, they would get lost underground, and finding their way back up somewhere else would be down to luck more than anything else.

But in any case...

There's a fair few hundred refugees here. A solid four hundred people. Not all of them have pokemon, and not all that do are trainers by vocation. Even a few more with as little talent as you would be handy, it's surprising how many people just quit.

.... well, it's not like you ever walked further than Celadon on a clearance-shopping sale, yourself, though.

But even so. Four hundred people. Of those, a quarter are members of the Gyms, around fifty from each. ... Not a pleasant number, considering this was a city of thousands.

Your parents are fine, in their little section of the psychic gym. Sabrina has altered the arrangements of the teleport-pads and rooms to accommodate, as much as she can, the refugees. There are many younger and hardier ones who have to risk sleeping outside in gutted houses, though. Many of them had to have their doors broken down to gain access, and sometimes entire houses had to be torn apart for materials for the barricade.

You and [Kirlia] get a tent to yourselves. Joy of joys. ... She made it too, yeah. Her Chansey didn't, though, and the Pokemon Center is kind of a wreck, way off in the distance.

You're brooding on the matter.

Stop that.

Okay. Four hundred people, and assorted pokemon, usually rattata or pidgey, or some sort of bug type.

Nobody talks about it, but there's not going to be enough food here to last forever. Even with raids on the shopping marts. There isn't going to be much of any restocking in the near future, after all.

And nobody likes to talk about the fact that there's almost definitely other survivors out in the city, too. The nearest ones have long since abandoned their homes, and they usually make it to the barricade.

Usually.

Trying to walk further isn't impossible, but it's not advisable either.

---

[ ] Name for your Ralts Kirlia? (Male)
[ ] What now?

 

>[X] Smoke ManMuscle.
>[X] Go find someone in charg-ish, ask if there's anything that needs to be done.

You guess there's a saying about glass houses and stones.

But it's fine. Part of your vexation with the name was that it sounded like something you would call a Pokemon.

By that logic, Smoke Manmuscle is a fine name for a Kirlia. Infinitely better than, for example, the immature standby of giggling children, naming their Metapods and Kakuna.

There are other ironic names that can be used to form a pun with Harden, right?

Well, it doesn't matter. Though, for some reason, every birthday without fail Smoke has managed to get ahold of a free ticket for the Name Rater and present it to you. It's become something of an amusing tradition between you two by now.

He's always agreed that Smoke Manmuscle is a fantastic name. And you haven't really thought of anything better, so you've never bothered to change it.

In any case, you had better earn your keep. Well, it's not like you don't pitch in to help destroy the occasional rotting pidgey or spearow that dives in, but there's already enough firepower massed to keep anyone from getting bitten... or, uh, pecked and infected. There's more you can do.

And while, in theory, Joy and the two gym leaders are of equal standing, it's mostly Sabrina who calls the shots.

"Yes, there's plenty of work to do." She agrees. "Many things of importance, nothing of the most immediate urgency. Teams are already working to clean out the main PokeMart of perishables and anything left that's usable. Mostly, all the trainers that are here are only really familiar with that store. They don't stock much in the way of normal foods, but most potions and medication for pokemon are derived from mashed and concentrated berry pulp and preservatives. There are other shops, but smaller, and likely more dangerous to get to and loot. There are other matters... civilian rescue is dangerous, but as long as food stores last, saving people will increase morale."

She frowns.

"... Once food begins to run low, though, tensions will rise. That can't be helped. In addition, if wild pokemon could be found and captured, that could be useful, provided they can defend themselves without closing with the enemy. But there are dead walking outside of the city, too, and it will be harder to avoid them in tall grass or thick underbrush. With no cure or immunization, even one bite is an inevitable death."

She shrugs.

"In the future, it would be ideal to establish contact with the surrounding cities. Celadon, Lavender, Cerulean, and Vermillion. It's probable that Misty, Erika, and Surge have maintained some sort of defense, though there is no way of telling how much. The Power Station is difficult to reach at the best of times, and the workers there seem to still be performing admirably to supply electricity to the region, but networks are down. No telephone, no internet... no real form of distance communication. I could teleport to any of the cities, but I can't justify leaving the refuge without my support. I can't imagine what the Elite Four and Champion are doing... if even one of them has been infected, though, the consequences could be drastic."

.... That's a terrible thought. You can only imagine a rotting Lance, shambling forward as dead Dragonite stomp in step with him, firing Hyper Beams and raging with reckless abandon.

"Yes, very much so." Sabrina agrees with your innermost thoughts like you had displayed photographs of them, nodding. "For the time being, it's important to keep morale high, though. If you want to leave the safety of the refuge, then the safest route would be to first teleport directly to your own home and collect any personal effects you might have left behind in a rush to escape. Is there anything you miss, or that your parents might appreciate having?"

... you can think of a couple things. Nothing that was important enough to grab when you abandoned the house to escape with your lives, but items of sentimental value.

"Yes. Precisely. Suitable targets for a first excursion, and with hopefully minimal risk. And if there's anything you might have..."

Sabrina trails off, staring Smoke dead in the eye.

"What possible use could you have for...?" she says.

Smoke leers. Not the move, but even so.

Sabrina pinks up slightly.

"Y-you... degenerate, perverse-"

Smoke snickers audibly.

"No, I never... they never... you disgusting... bah." Sabrina growls. "Reprobate. In any case... you should already know this, but your... Kirlia..." she almost spits. "Has limitations on what it can teleport in one shot. For now, it still equates to itself, you, and a sack. While it can teleport others, either you or itself will have to be left behind for a brief time. Keep it in mind, if you find a survivor then it would be wiser to first secure the area, then begin transporting people back. Now, go, and take... that with you."

Smoke is still snickering.

---

[ ] ??

 

>[X]High-five Smoke!
>[X]Begin excursions into houses of people we know. Collect items of sentimental value to those still alive, and useful items too.

Somehow, the achievement of sufficiently disgusting a powerful psychic enough to make her ask you both to leave gives you a warm feeling in your kidneys, or something.

It's difficult to high five someone who's not even a full three feet high, but you manage it.

Cuddling works better, and Smoke has always been happy to let you rest his head in your chest.

As for business, though, it's time to get to work.

There's a sort of a sound effect that comes with teleportation. It's not incredibly loud, but it's a sort of 'BYEW-yew-yew-pop' noise.

It's why you teleport to the roof of your old house, in the northwest quadrant of town, rather than the street or inside. The door was left unlocked and ajar, after all. By this point, anything could be inside.

Hrm.

Yes, you can definitely hear something bumping around inside, now that you stop to look. The occasional low, mournful groan rings out through the streets. Looking around...

Three human zombies and an undead growlith, that you can see on the road. There's... a pair of rotting Meowth out back, stumbling around the yard. One has fallen into the pool, and doesn't seem to be able to get out. Better keep out of there, you aren't sure if water can be tainted with the infection. Either way, having rot-juice floating around in the pool isn't a pleasant thought to begin with, no matter how much chlorine gets pumped in with it.

In any case...

You know what there is in this house. Photographs, knicknacks, a couple of backpacks that you could use to carry things. Of course, there's some canned food too, though you don't know if any leftovers in the fridge are still any good. There's some frozen meat in the freezer, too. Aside from that, there's some of your more expensive, specially tailored clothes, made to disguise oddities.

You aren't so sure about the neighboring houses to either side of you. They made it to the refuge too, but you couldn't say what sorts of things might be in their place.

The guy across the street... he has a bigger house, and his door is clearly locked. He didn't make it, you know that for sure. He got caught locking up behind himself, slowly, and got savaged on his front lawn. He's one of the zombies stumbling around the road right now, many bite-sized chunks missing.

What you do know is that he bragged about his stone collection. You know that he has one of the most common evolutionary stones, fire, thunder, leaf, and water, as well as some miscellaneous nuggets and gems. You don't know the full extent of his collection, though he was often forced to admit that there were some really rare stones he'd love to have.

The gold and gems are probably more or less useless at this point, as all you could ever really do with them was show them off or sell them for PokeDollars, but it might be possible for someone to make use of the evolution-inducing radiation of some of those stones. It's not like it's so easy to just stroll over to Celadon and visit the megamart there, any more.

The problem would be getting in. You've never been inside, so teleportation is a no-go, and breaking in would set of the alarms and get the attention of every zombie for blocks around. You don't know if he dropped the key, but you don't see it. Rooting around through the grass would leave you open for the zombies to take notice of you, though, and if he still has it, it would come down to somehow luring him away from all the other zombies, or destroying all of them before any of them can start wailing in the loud way that seems to just scream to all the nearby undead that food is here.

It might be better to leave that house for later, and just focus on more immediate things.

---

[ ] where to begin?

 

[x] Looting starts at home.

You get over to the edge and slowly lower Smoke down to peek through the window.

He looks up and shakes his head. Parents' room is a no-go, then. You heave him back up.

Given that he's close on to fifty pounds, this isn't so simple as lowering him, but it's still feasible.

You try again a little over to the side.

It looks like your room is clear, because after peering in through the window, the sound effect kicks in and you find yourself on your bed.

Alright.

First order of business is clothes. You grab several skirts, jeans, tops, your swimsuit, and a good double handful of your underwear.

You manage to fold that down to fill only half of a pack, and then you stop to think. Smoke takes the opportunity to stick some magazines, a half carton of cigarette boxes, and what looks like a zippo lighter into the other.

Inside, your house isn't very large. There's your parents room and a bathroom on this floor, and the kitchen, sitting room, and entry on the ground floor. There's also the basement, where the laundry machines are, and some boxes of stuff storing things, but if you know your horror fiction standbys, the light down there will have burned out and there's going to be a zombie or two down there.

You don't have too much more room available. Mementos would be downstairs, as would food and utensils. It might be nice to grab some of the toiletries from the bathroom as well, though, but if you try that you're going to have to sneak past your parents room or something.

---

[ ] ??

Helpful doodlegrams to encourage some kind of decision, discussion, some kind of votes being made. General area, and a sort of house blueprint.

[img width=600 height=383]http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6740/doodliagram.png[/img]

[img width=447 height=600]http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/239/housediagram.png[/img]

 

>[X] Sneak downstairs carefully.
>[X] If all goes well, acquire mementos followed by packing the remaining space with food.
>[X] Tell Kirlia to be ready to 'port us both out if things goes badly.
>[X] Be wary of ambushes

You creak your door room open slowly, one pack over your shoulder and the other in your hand.

There's a bump from your parents' room. You remain still for a long moment, then continue on, down the stairs. Smoke walks down the wide railing.

There's lots of little mementos down here, but not so many of them have sentimental value. A lot of them are just here to take up shelf space. Ornamental painted platters, vases, most of these little statues...

There's a porcelain Persian, intricately detailed, that your adoptive mother received from a friend, long ago. That goes into the sack, carefully wrapped in your swimsuit to keep anything from bumping and cracking it.

There's several family photographs. Those come too.

Your adoptive father's folder of ancient coins. Those are apparently worth money to some people, but most of the value comes from the memories of collecting them, than the occasional gold coin.

There's a wooden flute, from back when he tried to teach you to whittle, and they were waffling over exactly how to raise you. It produces all of two flat notes. There's also an arrowhead that used to be on a necklace, until the leather thong broke, and a couple of small silver hairclips that you never use any more.

Things with memories to them.

You slip around the corner from the entry, into the kitchen, and focus instead on piling frozen meat into the sacks.

You clean out the freezer, and then both of you go still, listening as a long creak sounds from the front door.

You can't hear any footfalls. But the whole floor is covered with thick, muffling carpeting in there. Unless something gets bumped into, you won't hear anything.

... Was it the wind, opening the door further, or was it something coming through?

In hindsight, you should have slipped up to the front door and locked it. Might be good to do that now. Unless it's too late to do that, now. You can't tell without going to look, and there are no doors to shut on this level except the front door.

There's still some space you can stuff some cans from the cupboards into, but if something stumbled in, it could well come around the corner at any time...

---

[ ] ??

 

[X] Defaulting to minimal risk and well reasoned course of action.

Slowly, you slide a drawer open. There's cutlery in here. Not the kitchen knives, but forks, spoons, the like. You carefully lift one spoon, and toss it gently at the wall.

It tinkles audibly as it bounces off, and skitters across the floor.

For a moment, there is no response and you nearly breathe a sigh of relief. Then there's a loud bump, a creak, and a loud crash of something falling in the entryway. You can imagine the scattered and shattered china and little glass statues.

"Get us out of here.", you hiss at Smoke, as the bumps increase, something lurching along and against the wall.

Before Smoke finishes, and gets you both back to safety, a bony hand curls around the corner, and a head pokes past, long and stringy hair matted with blood. Much of its skin is clearly rotten, or has just sloughed off in its entirety.

There's just a heartbeat of eye-contact with it, and then you're back in the refuge, breathing heavily.

Smoke tugs you and points toward the Dojo.

Yeah, that's right. While the psychic gym has been repurposed to hold refugees, the Dojo has been largely used for food and equipment storage. Not everything you're carrying is going into the stores, but every little bit helps.

The Dojo Master waves at you as you enter, but is busy with other matters. There isn't much conversation as you hand over the gathered meat, to go into the freezers here.

You don't get a great look at what is in storage, but it looks like you have enough food to last for a while, and there's some other things. You see at least a few pokeballs, and some potions and remedies.

Then a commotion rises from outside, and people rush out. You're a bit behind the pack, but...

Charizard.

A dead Charizard has landed in the middle of the refuge, flame spewing from its mouth as it roars, eyes blazing even in death.

This has the potential to turn out horribly, and one of its snapping lunges is a near miss, but the gym members are almost immediately flowing into action. The red, rotting dragon is hammered, both with psychic blasts and with bits of rubble, heaved by the fighters.

It just ignores everything. You can hear its bones shattering, and see its body rupturing, but none of it matters to the beast at all, as it continues lurching for the nearest source of warm flesh.

Then Sabrina's eyes glow, in concert with her Alakazam, and it is lifted up into the air as she raises her hands. It struggles, snapping and blazing fire, catching nearby houses alight, but it can't escape. It's slowly compressed, as she steadily brings her hands together. Crushed. Squeezed, to death, like it had been placed in some gigantic trash compressor. There's a series of meaty crunches as it deforms, until it doesn't even resemble a living thing any more, but instead a slick red ball of meat.

"Toss it over the barricade, into the wilderness." Sabrina instructs. "Don't touch it."

... It looks like the crisis is over. Shaken and rattled as the refugees might be.

---

[ ] ??

 

>[X]Report location of the evo stone stash, along with the complications in reaching it. They might have suggestions, or they might have specialists for this sort of thing.
>[X] Give parents the crap you found.
[X] Sabrina speech interrupt.

"Hrm..." the Dojo Master rumbles. "The stones could almost certainly be useful to someone, if they were secured. The trouble is doing so. If the alarm goes off, then it will get the attention of the zombies. If they have a reasonable means of access, they will flood into the building. If they do not... even one fire type can burn an opening. That is, if the fire does not spread enough to burn down the building in its entirety."

You nod, uncomfortably.

"There are two options. First, a loud burglary, and rapid extraction. This provides, however, limited time to locate the prize before the building must be abandoned. It is likely... probable, even, that there will only be one chance offered. Second, somehow disable or bypass the security system. There are several ways to do this, I would expect. Short out the power to the building or shut it off entirely, have a ghost-type go through the walls and shut down the system manually, or just find the key."

He pats you on the head, and Smoke huffs a little.

"It's a shame that times being what they are, the young have been forced to deeply consider and perform disreputable actions for the sake of the greater good." he says, with a note of melancholy in his voice. "For the moment, though, the stones are of no great urgency. I do not believe any of Sabrina's cohort could use the ones you confirm to be present, and I know that none of my Dojo members could. Perhaps one of the refugees, or if a wild pokemon were caught... but, as I said, not an immediate matter. For now, my focus is on provisions, and working with Joy to ensure that the refugees are fed and healthy. All the evolutions in the world are no good, if you starve to death."

You suppose the man has a point. You make your excuses and leave, heading to meet with your parents. Your adoptive mother slowly strokes the Persian figure, as your father gives a gruff, sober nod.

"... Ooh, that old biddy. She passed on, why it has to have been a little before we adopted you, even." she says, a little sadly. "I suppose it's only a kindness that she isn't here to see the troubles coming on the world."

She shakes her head.

"But, dear, you didn't have to go and get these things." she says, even as her fingers don't for an instant budge from the statuette. "Risking your life, for just... we worry about you, dear. Be careful, if you have to go out there. Your life is worth more to us than, than a thousand little knicknacks and bookends."

... It doesn't look like there's much more to be said, but in any case, there's another, less panic-driven commotion outside. You help your parents to their feet before going out to see what the fuss is.

".... and so, I am reducing the number of gym members making forays into the city, to increase the defense of the refuge at all times. Today was an error that should not have happened... in the future, no assault from the air should even manage to reach the ground."

She waves a hand.

"However, we cannot survive indefinitely on our current food stocks, and reducing measures to gather more means that the current stores will empty faster. So, unfortunately, I must ask for volunteers from those who are willing to assist."

"Go out there? What, are you crazy?" a man calls back from the crowd. "Not all of us can just Teleport away from danger, you know. And my Farfetch'd isn't a fighter. If we got cornered by zombies out there, we would be sitting ducks!"

"What kind of man-" the Dojo Master begins, only for Sabrina's raised hand to interrupt him.

"... I understand that not all are suited for the risks involved." she states, cooly. "In any case, there will be no gatherers sent out without an avenue of escape. Not all of my gym members will be taken off this duty, and if a volunteer has no means to escape on your own, you will be partnered with someone capable of extracting you to safety. And it is not required for volunteers to even leave the refuge. If you are judged capable enough of defense, then you might free up a gym member to re-join foraging parties. If you are not, then you might still volunteer to occupy a watch post, to keep an eye on gathering masses of undead, and make a warning system for incoming flyers. You will not, in any case, be required to volunteer yourself for any duties you are unwilling or unable to perform."

There's still some murmuring through the crowd, but it settles down and disperses as Sabrina turns, hair swishing as she walks back into the Gym, passing you wordlessly.

---

[ ] ??

 

[X] Volunteering for further looting.

Sabrina nods when you catch up with her, deliberately looking anywhere but at Smoke.

"As you are capable of assisted teleportation, with that, you should be able to make expeditions without the assistance of a Gym Member. Do not over reach yourself, however. Almost anything that could be gathered would be of some use, even if minor. Death of a volunteer, however, will affect morale poorly, and leave others unwilling to risk themselves."

She turns to you, eyes serious.

"Take no unneccesary risks." She instructs.

You guess you can get behind that. It's not like risking undeath would be something you'd happily gamble about to begin with.

"Understood? Good. For the time being, food is always welcome in the stores. The main Pokemart still has some stock that hasn't been cleaned out quite yet, I believe. Or there are other options. Perhaps some of the other refugees could direct you to things they wouldn't dare try to collect themselves?"

She turns to look at a wall clock, then back.

"But mind the sun. Human eyes don't see too well in the dark, after sunset, the dead are more dangerous, if only from being harder to see and avoid." she warns.

.... Yeah. Everyone is supposed to be inside the refuge, preferably in their houses even if they're keeping a watch, since it would be almost impossible to see a diving noctowl or zubat before it was right up in your face.

Not that there are that many Noctowl in this region. But zubat are almost everywhere.

---

[ ] ??

 

>[X] Develop a Teleport Target List/Examine maps of the city and get work done to determine SAFE routes to the places for looting!
>[X] Get some food with parents and friends
>[X] Make a friend/Try to buddy up with another forager
>[X] Early to Bed and Early to Rise....

Yeah... it's already mid-afternoon. It won't be too long before the sun starts to set. You might be able to get some work done out there, but likely not.

The maps of Saffron aren't all particularly detailed. You're working off of one from a visitor's phamplet. It has everything, just not everything is labeled, and with many of the buildings wrecked....

Flight and teleportation is the key. Flying types can ignore everything on the ground, as long as they don't draw attention to themselves, and only worry about other flyers. Teleporters can go anywhere they've been, without crossing the distance between the two points. If there is something unexpected at the end point, though....

Roofs should be safe from everything except flying types, but you haven't been on many roofs throughout town.

The PokeMart should be secured, if they teleport to it regularly. So that would be a safe point, one way or another.

You put the matter aside, reluctantly, when your adopted father pats your shoulder. Dinner is ready.

Today's meal is steamed vegetables over rice, with a thin sauce. Everyone gets one serving, in a small bowl, which is returned to a stack at the end of the tables when finished. The Fighting Dojo members aren't exactly the most skilled cooks, but nobody can really grudge them that, or that they start cleaning up immediately after everyone has been given a portion. Just preparing enough food for hundreds of people, all at once, is already a monstrous task.

Your neighbors have gone distant, it seems. Every little family group clustering up with themselves, withdrawing from the rest in quiet conversation. Well... you would occasionally talk with them, but you can't say you were ever what you would call close friends, any more than you were with the other trainers you would meet, and lose money to.

There's only so much room to sit, though, and you end up sharing space with a haunted looking woman and her daughter. Conversation doesn't go into too many details, but it seems like the father was bitten and turned, before everyone had really cottoned on to the true scope of events, and an elder brother had drawn a crowd of milling dead away, with the help of his Pikachu, so that they could make it the last stretch of the way to the refuge.

They haven't seen him since. The little girl clutches a small blue pokemon you're unfamiliar with, apparently his last gift to her. It growls softly whenever anyone comes close, and doesn't seem to like Smoke.

You mill around through the refugees once you are done eating.

... it doesn't look like anyone has taken your initiative and gone to volunteer, yet.

By now, though, the sun has already begun to set. It's time to secure yourself in the little house you've been occupying. There's still not so many refugees here that you need to double up, build more buildings, or risk expanding the barricade to cover more of the city.

There were doors inside here, once. Now, all but the ones heading out have been torn free, to add to the barricade. Paneling and thin wall material has been torn down and nailed over the windows. If something was really of a mind to smash through, it wouldn't stop them, but as long as nothing can be seen through them, nothing should get the idea to try.

It's effective at blocking out light, if nothing else. In the day, it's dim. At night, when the light goes out, it's perfectly black inside, lit only by the faint numbers on the alarm clock. Set to buzz, and not to loudly blare noise or radio, just in case.

You put away your clothes, piling them in the clean corner. Most of the furnishings are gone, too... added to the walls. They left washing machines, though, in a nod to hygiene, alongside bathroom equipment. Nobody was quite that desperate for materials, when a spare house or two could just be smashed up and used in its entirety. You're grateful for that much.

You shower, quickly, with a plain bar of soap before you get to bed, cradling Smoke to you in the pitch blackness.

Dawn comes early.

Smoke is already awake, and pried himself free. You can't really see well yet, but there's a lingering aroma of tobacco in the air.

---

[ ] ??

 

>[X] Clean up, make sure that Smoke-kun is well rested and that you have some poke-food to give him.
>[X] Go back to Gym for breakfast.
>[X] Check if anyone else is going on a mission.

A cold shower. It's the best way to shock yourself fully awake and drive off the last grip of slumber.

Specialized lumps of High Quality Pokemon Chow ran out almost immediately. The pokemon can get by on normal food just as well as humans, though. It's just fortunate that nobody owns something like a Munchlax or Snorlax. Even one of those.... no, you definitely wouldn't be able to support the massive food intake. In just a couple of days, the entire food stockpiles would be eaten through.

Breakfast today is scrambled eggs and sausage. Pretty greasy, and the eggs are slightly off, but it's food. Smoke watches you eat before digging in himself. You guess he's not enthused about the meal. You guess you can't really blame him. You'll deal, though.

There's a slight fuss inside the psychic Gym. It's that little girl from yesterday, in an argument with Sabrina.

"Out of the question." Sabrina says, as you come into audible range. "Shinx and their line naturally learn only one offensive technique not requiring direct contact with the enemy, the very last technique. Any possible situation requiring self defense leaves you at a disadvantage, and the possibility of infection through direct contact cannot be discounted."

She shakes her head.

"In addition, any supplies you gather would be minimal, and would in any case require the assistance of others. In short... while your willingness is admirable, in a practical sense, you would be nothing but a handicap for any foragers to bring you along."

The girl stamps her foot.

"You don't understand... I have to find him, whether he's still alive or not!" She shoots back. "After I let him, I can't stay here and just... I'm going, even if I have to climb over the barricade alone!"

"You will almost certainly die, if you do." Sabrina appraises, coldly.

She doesn't back down, though.

---

[ ] ??

 

>[X] Find out more about the little girl.
>[X] Give a look to Sabrina, one that tells her you'll deal with this
>[X] Talk to the little girl and ask her if she thinks that her getting herself killed or other people killed is going to make her brother happy.
>[X] Offer to find the girl's brother.

Sabrina looks at you, then turns away with a soft 'tch' noise as you approach.

".... We met last night, didn't we." the girl says as you stop by her.

Yeah. You did.

She sits still and quiet as you talk, not meeting your gaze.

Alive or dead, you don't think her brother would be happy to hear about her throwing her life away. And what about her mother?

"... I can't do nothing!" She argues, angrily. "I let him go, I just stood there and didn't say anything, and-"

she chokes off.

.... Yeah. You get it.

There's nothing to say that she has to risk her life to find him, though. One way or another, you can deal with that. After all, if there's trouble, Smoke can just teleport you out.

She doesn't look convinced. But then she shakes her head.

"He was... Silph Co. employee, a member of the Research and Development department." she says, slowly. "He rushed over that night, still in his uniform and lab coat. The building hadn't gone down yet. He should still be in that, with a name pin. Benji. If not... six foot two, with straight, shoulder length black hair, and square glasses." she says, describing him in as much detail as she can manage. "We came from the southeast quadrant. When he lured them off... we stayed still, inside of a house, until they passed, going west. I don't know for sure where he would go, but if there's anything left in the Silph building, it's most likely where he would have holed up. If not there, then back at our house..."

... it takes a minute for you to recall, but you know the streets she gives. You don't know if you went down past the exact address before, though. It's towards the very southern edge of the town.

---

[ ] ??