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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 4:41 pm
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Threat Level: Green
Extremely important, of the most vital concern! We're low on snacks! That's right, this war has almost completely diminished our food supplies putting us at a strategic disadvantage to our enemies. Sub wants you to go forth, Hoenn government issued credit card in hand, and stock up on our most valuable snack supply! We require snacks of all kinds from all places. Rage Candy Bars, Lava Cookies, various Poffins, all of it! Gather up a wide variety of snacks and bring them back to HQ. That said, he wants a bargain so find those sales. We aren't made of money, you know. (Note: Have fun with this one, make it funny.)
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 5:00 pm
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 5:28 pm
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"You know you're both wrong, right?" I said with a modicum of pride. "Best deal is Shopping Mall 9."
"Of course you'd pick somewhere in Unova," Keiko chimed in with a wider smile than I usually saw on her. "I mean, in terms of regular shoppers, the winner is the department store in Goldenrod City, easy."
I smirked. "Honey, it's a DEPARTMENT store. And even calling it 'department' is a bit of a faux pas. They're really just large convenience stores." Keiko got a little huffy from that comment, but quickly stowed it. "Not that it matters. There's no way a guy can shop better than a girl anyway."
"Sudden misandry, but okay," I shrugged, still smirking.
"It's not a matter of hatred, just a matter of time-proven fact," Keiko said, her smile slipping.
"What are you buttheads griping about?" Abby complained as she entered the room. "It's just buying stuff. Nothing to care about, much less gripe about."
"Don't worry, Absinthe," Keiko giggled, her smile returning to its original wideness. "You'll realize the true power of a woman when you get older."
"Pass," Abby huffed. "Also, gay. I mean, lowkey gay, but still."
"Care to put the government of Hoenn's money where your mouth is?" I said loudly enough to defog Keiko's confusion over Abby's words. This caught her attention, just as planned. "You're on!" Keiko cheered. GRAY, showing a sudden display of clarivoyance, had Claydol teleport Keiko to Goldenrod City, but not without starting a speech about it. Ignoring him, I tapped Leon on the shoulder. "You partaking in this?" I asked him, letting Brunor out of his ball. I'd have to rely on him for a teleport to Unova since Rala was still infected.
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 5:52 pm
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 7:13 pm
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"Like you said, it's literally just a milk run, so why not make it interesting?" I asked with a smirk. I wasn't trying to get the La-Z-Boy move more than once, though, and teleported to Castelia City via Brunor. The trip from Castelia City to Route 9 meant I was at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of time spent not shopping, but I was confident that the amount of stores in Shopping Mall Nine meant that quantity of goods for sale would be a non-issue.
"You didn't have to come with me, you know," Keiko said, looking back at Abby as the teenager followed her. "I mean, I don't mind, but-"
"I'm not following you," Abby huffed. "I'm... I'm here to see my dad. I haven't heard from him since I left."
"You sound worried," Keiko spoke up, looking worried at Abby in turn. "Is everything okay?"
"I"m not worried, Cake," Abby growled, though she only glared at the Lopunny hybrid for a second. "Sorry. And I dunno, I guess I'm just-"
"Homesick," Eve said, causing Abby to do a double-take. "He said you'd show up when you were."
"Oh... h-hey, Eve," Abby said nervously. "S...sorry about... not saying good-bye last time."
"I'm just glad you're okay," Eve said with a smile before turning to look at Keiko. "Hi, there. Your costume looks really pretty."
While Keiko looked on in confusion, Abby acted out of surprise. "Y-you know she's a hybrid, right!?"
"Hy-wha?" Eve asked in shock.
"Half human, half Pokemon," Keiko responded, looking downcast now that she knew what was going on. "Though the latter is a more recent addition."
"Oh! I-I'm sorry! It's been so long since I've seen a hybrid that I kinda forgot they were a thing."
'Snagem wasn't THAT long ago," a familiar voice huffed from the shadows of a nearby alleyway.
"Sssshh! They'll hear you!" Eve hissed.
"What's going on!?" Abby insisted, glaring for a longer amount of time at Eve, causing the older female to visibly relent.
"Your father got a tip from an old friend that League officials in Johto would be looking into his history now that they didn't have a war to fight in Unova," Eve sighed. "Anyway, wanna come home and visit for a bit? Your friend can come, too, if she likes."
"I've actually got a competition to win, but it was nice to meet you!" Keiko replied, not letting Eve's ignorance toward hybrids lessen her opinion of her.
"It was nice to meet you, too--" Eve started to say before Chaos interrupted her, stepping out of the shadows in the process.
"Hey, Cake. Fairy boy ever pop the question? Or do you need me to beat some sense into him?" Keiko responded by showing him the promise ring I have her. "Good."
"Why do you care? Abby asked, looking a bit weirded out. "Enough to risk getting found and interrogated, no less?"
Chaos shrugged at that. "You'll figure that out when you're older,"
Gettin' real tired of hearing that," Abby grumbled.
"Well, ya got another five years to hear it, at least," Chaos insisted. "Trust me, when you get to that point, you'll wish you had this kinda time."
"Stow the old man speech, ya geezer," Abby huffed. Keiko saw Chaos smirk as the family disappeared into the alleyway.
"I don't think I'll ever understand a relationship like that," she sighed. "But at least they look happy."
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 8:00 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 11:40 am
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As I was making my way to Route Nine, either by hoverboarding or channeling with Yuki to levitate over certain areas as the need arose, I came across a rare opportunity in the form of a distressed truck worker with a broken down truck - a truck with a Casteliacone symbol on the side of it. "Need help?"
"Don't bother," the driver huffed. "I'm already out of time. I'm just waiting for a tow so I can go and get fired."
"That's gotta suck. Still, no reason you can't drive your own way back, right?" I asked, moving to pop the hood.
"How's 'I totaled it' for a reason? I already checked the engine, it's screwed," the driver snapped, eliciting a shrug from me.
"Alright. Where ya getting towed to? I can teleport you there," I offered, drawing an annoyed look from the driver for a second.
"I ought to tell you to mind your own business, but I guess you're just being helpful," the driver grumbled. "The main office is in the outskirts of Castelia, just before you hit Route 4." I flinched when I heard Castelia City, but forced myself to calm down. It was the city limits, so my chances of being spotted were minimal. Before I could ask Brunor's help, however, Claydol appeared and did the heavy lifting for him. "I should remember to thank GRAY later," I muttered under my breath.
"Thanks for the lift," the driver sighed. "Anything I can do for you?"
"I'd like to buy the truck's cargo," I said calmly. I started explain, but was quickly cut off.
"The hell kind of kid needs that much ice cream?!" the driver snapped.
"I"m 26, first of all," I insisted. "Secondly, it's for my employers, not for me," I added, flashing the credit card backed by the Hoenn government.
"Aight, aight. I'll give it a shot. Not like I got anything to lose," the driver huffed. Before the driver could turn to leave, however, I tossed him a small wad of bills. "For your trouble," I explained quickly.
"Huh," the driver quipped, going through the bills. "Thanks. Should last me a bit while I jobhunt."
~*~
Keiko smiled as she made her way through the first floor. She remembered how lost she felt the first time she had to go through Goldenrod City, and how magical the department store felt when she first entered it (by mistake). Feeling that she didn't have time to reminisce, however, she made her way to the elevator and, pushing what she thought was the button for the roof, began riding it. She soon found herself in the basement, however, where a bunch of workers were moving a stack of RageCandyBars. Worrying about being in their way, Keiko moved to the side and listened in on their conversation.
"Jeez, this sucks. How did HQ screw up an order this badly? Or were they getting pranked?" one of the workers huffed. The group sat the stack down on the ground, having been told that the order that had been made for the department store was a false one. "Man, they're gonna be pissed. All this work, and we're gonna have to return the shipment... just a loss of money. Hope they don't have to cut our wages due to it."
It was at this point that Keiko couldn't help herself. She couldn't keep quiet when she knew that the men in front of her might be jobless if she didn't intervene. So, despite the risk of being thrown out, she stepped out of her hiding spot. "Is your employer here?" Keiko asked, shocking most of the workers. "Jeez, lady, don't just pop out of nowhere like that. Besides, customers ain't supposed to be down here."
"Sorry. I'm looking to buy some items in bulk for my employers. You said the order for this delivery was fake, right? Why not sell it to me instead?"
"So you're here representing a company?" The only man not wearing a hard hat spoke up, drawing the attention of the workers. "Boss, you're taking this seriously?"
"Of a sort," Keiko replied, very happy that her fur made it impossible for people to see her blush.
"And how will they be paying? I'm sure you brought some means of purchasing our stock with you, yes?" the boss of the workers insisted, wanting to close the conversation quickly if Keiko wasn't serious.
Keiko nodded, and showed the credit card issued by the government of Hoenn. Seeing this triggered a series of hushed whispers from the workers. "So your organization has friends in high places. Very well, you seem serious enough. Sign here, please," the workers' boss smiled, handing Keiko a clipboard.
~*~
"Alright, I think it's safe to say that we can take you seriously," the truck driver's former employer agreed after seeing the credit card issued by the government of Hoenn that I held. "We can't sell you the truck itself, for obvious reasons, but we're willing to negotiate a price for its cargo.
"That's what I'm here to buy," I nodded, not willing to spend money on a busted vehicle to begin with. The driver's former employer motioned for one of his subordinates to grab a card reader. "So, how will you be delivering the cargo to your company?" As if on command, Claydol appeared atop the busted truck, chirped something in Pokespeak. It didn't disappear right away, thankfully, as I'd rather ensure the payment went through before teleporting away with a truck-sized haul of Casteliacones.
"My employers have that covered, thankfully," I smirked, grateful that GRAY was in a good mood for once, since Rala was still infected and Brunor wasn't quite on Rala's and Claydol's level in terms of Teleport. Fortunately, said subordinate was quick to provide a card reader, and after confirming that the card was legit and that the payment went through, I shook the truck driver's former employer's hand. "Pleasure doing business with you," I nodded with a smirk before nodding to Claydol. Almost immediately, I vanished along with the cargo inside the busted truck, being Teleported back to HQ. Out of the four of us, I was the only one back so far, so I could focus on getting the motherlode of ice cream put away. I could only hope Sub had a freezer big enough to store all of this.
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 6:52 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:22 pm
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"Just putting away my contribution to the mission," I smiled to Ula. At that moment, Keiko teleported in with a stack of RageCandyBars. She looked at me as I was putting a truck's worth of Casteliacones and huffed. "No way! How are you done already?"
"Came across a broken down delivery truck and made a deal," I shrugged. Keiko didn't seem happy at that answer, but she merely sat down, her shoulders sagging. "I"d call that cheating, but I did pretty much the same thing. I'm a bit worried about what Sub will think about it, but it was too easy to ignore."
"There is no bargain better than wholesale," I smirked. "Even with clearance sales, you're still giving some of your money to the store, whereas with what we did, we only paid what any store would pay to get them." With that, I went back to work, though something caught my attention. "I'm surprised Leon isn't back yet. Though that's what he gets for taking his time to leave, I guess."
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