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 Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2026 6:49 pm
With everyone coming to terms whether or not they would join Sub in his preemptive attack, and after they had all readied themselves, the Snagems would teleport away via Claydol and soon reappear in front of the Violet City Pokemon. As Sub appeared he'd adjust his backpack and then his Snag Machine as he looked around him, taking in the sights of a city he hadn't set foot in for some time. He used to make regular trips to Violet City when he was younger, running things from the Tin Tower in Ecruteak to the Bell Tower here, the monks of both towers staying in touch with each other but not trusting technology. Looking to the sky he noted the still rising sun. It was still very early in the morning, the perfect time to strike besides the dead of night, which he would have preferred waiting for but time was not on their side, metaphorically nor physically. Watching as Claydol brought in the last Snagem he would thank the Pokemon before sending it off, then turning to his teammates.
"You guys ready?" He asked, taking out his SNAG for a moment to observe the local map, just to refresh himself on how far the ruins where from their location. Not far at all. "We'll walk straight to the ruins and once there I will lead us deeper inside. Stealth isn't the name of the game here, just brute force, I'm certain they'll know we're coming before we show up after a certain point. We stick close the entire while though, okay? Cyrus doesn't believe there to be any traps but we can't be too sure. Be prepared for a fight at any moment. If anyone gets in our way, like Arceus forbid a SWIPE agent or local police just put them to sleep or something. Now let's go."
With that Sub took off, leading the group through the streets of Violet City, leading them west and then exiting to the south onto Route 32. From there they would go west again and pass through a gate between Route 32 and the Ruins of the Alpha, instantly getting the attention of the gate guard.
"Hello- oh...big group huh? Field trip to the ruins or something? Ha ha...wait a minute...you're Team Snagem!" The guard initially responded to their appearance kindly but soon he would recognize their now well known faces, pointing an accusing finger at them. Sub would pay him no mind, expecting a teammate to handle him as he made his way for the gate's exit.
Exiting the gate the group would find themselves in the ruined site of an ancient people and Pokemon, the fabled Ruins of Alph. Here they would find the excavated remains of said civilization, some more dug out than others. The entrance to the place was largely empty of Pokemon, save for the odd Natu perched atop of a crumbling statue. They would encounter another human though, an old man that looked like he was on a morning stroll through the ruins. He would watch Sub go by silently, then the others, before finally uttering one word. "Snagem..." He said, hand trembling as he reached for the Pokegear around his neck.
Sub would eventually come up to a pool of water and use his Hydreigon to carry him over it, landing on the other side. From there he would wrap around one of the many chambers that dotted the complex, climbed over some boulders, and found his way through an opening in the chamber partially covered by foliage. Once inside the dark chamber he'd call out to his teammates. "Anyone got a light?"
(You may catch any wild Pokemon found on Route 32 or in the Ruins of Alph outside. No Unown for now.)
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2026 7:38 pm
Tristen and Freth arrived by means of the Claydol, taking note to all who came this morning to the fight that was about to ensue. The two would look at each other than towards Sub, the both of them trying to get some sort of read of the situation; how the leader of Snagem was feeling about this in general. Nothing came of the sort. All they knew that this was a spearhead operation and the main spearhead was no where here, still trying to recover from the fight with Dialga. It was still going to be a couple of days before he’d get clear be do so again. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late by then. Tristen and Freth followed the leader off from Violet City, on down the path into the Ruins of Alph, seeing the guard. Part of Tristen wondered if this man knew what was transpiring nearby. It was almost pitiable.
Freth, unfortunately, had other concerns than a mere ignorant guard. “I would have preferred it that you didn’t head off on this mission.”
“As long as you’re still in my head, you’re still going to be along for whatever ride I see fit to go on. You get no say. Besides, even so, didn’t you want to make sure that this world stayed safe when you finally was able to call it quits from the squad? Can’t do it with a Dialga under the control of a nihilistic psycho.”
“At this point, I’m ready to write off this reality. With Phyco stating how Crystal could just outright end it if she decided to jump, Darts could if he does a few rides into the distortion world himself, never mind what has been going now with aforementioned nihilist, never mind other factors like Volo and what he’s playing, this reality is probably beyond repair. Held together with a couple of prayers at best. Never mind that even if this reality is somehow saved and I end up back physically-”
“To say to take me over again.” Freth said agitated.
“I’m ready to cut my losses at this point and hoping that the squad realizes your whole deal sooner than later. Because it wouldn’t change the condition of this reality, that it’d take a few visits from Ultra Beasts to put this reality out of commission anyways. Never mind deal with the consequences of having your face effectively while SWIPE is deeming Snagem at large as fugitives. I am not exactly up for fighting, never mind killing, Kessandra.”
“Like you could take her.”
“Really? Yes, I could.” Eris said, matter-of-factly. “Unlike your performance against her as of recent, I actually have experience in psychic power. I actually have finesse with it unlike your performance which could be equated to trying to hit nails with blunt objects other than hammers. Simple, maybe could do the job, but overall, not effective. And worse, she had all the advantages to take Blizzard out for good even long before I got here and she didn’t do it when she had all the opportunities to, with all the advantages to boot. Really, there was almost no excuse as to why she had a hard time against…well, almost anyone here, actually.”
“Whatever. I got better things to worry about than you right now. Just shut up.”
As Freth argued with her inner resident, Tristen and Freth followed how they could over the body of water, Tristen carried by Dragonite, Freth merely hovering over with her telekinetic prowess. They would follow Sub into one of the cavern like chambers. It started to get overly dark for anyone’s liking and Tristen overheard Sub speak up, needing a light. “I got it, Sub.” Tristen said. His yellow mane then lit up, his Flash doing work to light up the way before him and anyone else for that matter. “Where do we go now?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2026 7:52 pm
Brian and Amber had both stepped forward when Sub asked for volunteers, the pair noticing that Rachel stayed where she was. Her reason for staying behind was that she needed to train, and both Brian and Amber accepted that without complaint. So now the pair teleported in with Sub, following along as the Dark One led them through Violet City and toward Route 32 and the Ruins of Alph. Getting the attention of the gate guard wasn't a good sign, and Amber snorted derisively as the guard pointed accusingly at them. "Figure that out yourself, did you?" she asked, in her usual snarky tone, as she passed the man.
Neither she nor Brian paid the old man any attention; they would be gone long before he could get any authorities to come here. Following Sub, the pool of water presented no issue for the pair, Brian utilizing Chase's Psychic and Amber utilizing her own ghostly abilities to float across. When asked if any of them had a light, Brian pulled a flashlight from a pocket of his cargo pants and was about to turn it on when Tristen beat him to it, lighting up his mane with Flash. "I didn't know ye knew Flash, Tristen," he told the Manectric hybrid, placing the flashlight back in his pocket.
Amber said nothing, and when Brian looked for her, he noticed she was conspicuously absent. "Amber, ye do realize that there's no one here but us at the moment, right?" he said, to seemingly thin air. The Froslass hybrid rematerialized next to him, smirking a bit. "True, but there's no harm in practicing," she said.
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2026 11:12 pm
Monique took her first full breath of the air of eastern Johto and looked around at Violet, a quaint place all the same resplendent in the light, a warren of little traditional-style buildings between the trees. It could have come from the not-too-recent past... Though the modern Pokémon Center served as a reminder of what year it was.
There wasn't time to sight-see, alas. The Snagem caravan made its way to the outskirts and to the gate for visitors to the Ruins of Alph. A large signboard promised visitors "Explore the Wonder". The gate on the inside was charming and visitor center-like, replete with plush Unown propped up on shelves and wall files full of brochures. The lone guard, though, was a little less than friendly.
"Ha ha...wait a minute...you're Team Snagem!" The turn in his voice made Monique whip around, mane swaying from the sudden pivot.
"Yeah?" she replied. This was very clearly a threat needing exterminating. Sub had said "just put them to sleep or something". Within moments, Monique was joined by her Malamar. "Wait a minute, sir, you need a little more sleep." She gave the Overturning Pokémon an encouraging slap and pointed in the direction of the guard. The light spots on its belly suddenly began flashing in sequence. The guard tried to bolt back behind his desk and reached for a desk phone, but his initial burst of energy was countered by the Hypnosis taking hold. Suddenly, he slumped over, his head resting under the desk.
Not wanting to waste time, Monique recalled Malamar and ran off toward the other Snagems. She wondered for a moment what sort of dreams the guard was having, but that was a question for another time. She ran through the gate and into the ruins, where everyone else had already crossed the pond. For her, that was going to require a different Pokémon. She called on her Primarina, Aniani, to get her across.
"Ri ri naaaa!" Unfortunately, the prima donna decided it was her time to sing while ferrying Monique. "So much for stealth," she muttered. It didn't take *long* to get across, but it was a little bit embarrassing. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Aniani," Monique started, "I know you wanna show off, but this ain't the moment."
Once on the other side, Monique joined the group that was already starting to pry into the passageway Sub had found. I hope that aria isn't echoing off the walls down there...
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2026 5:18 am
Despite the protests from a certain Mew and trying to fight to come along, Sol and Amaranth would be the two to show up with Claydol's teleportation. Appearing in front of Violet City's Pokemon Center left both of them apprehensive given everything going on as it was, let alone the trial ending up the way it did. Surely, they weren't getting out of that one in the long run...
"About as ready as I can be," Sol remarked.
"I'm... ready too," Amaranth answered a second later.
They'd both follow Sub and the rest towards the gate leading into Route 32, hearing the guard as he pointed at them. This came as no surprise to either of them, though Amaranth would look away in response and try to hide her face. Not that it'd matter much, there was no avoiding anything like this anymore, but it still struck a chord she didn't want to deal with.
Sol, on the other hand, would glance towards the guard as a pressuring presence loomed around him as the declaration of Team Snagem's presence was made. "...and?" He asked, letting his question and the pressure linger for a bit before quickly diverting his gaze when Monique sent out her Malamar. The hypnosis was bound to be a better, more active deterrent than fear. The old man that'd be seen moments later wouldn't be given the same 'honor' as he decided to just keep going, simply getting a little bit of air to glide over the pond and keep up with Sub.
Amaranth, being more wary, would stop short of the pond and get a ball out. "Hey, Spritz," she remarked, letting her Pelipper out into the water. "Think you can help me across? I don't think having Gale fly me across will be a good idea with anyone around." It'd be awkward, but she'd be able to get across thanks to Spritz's floating on the surface, recalling her afterward and quickly moving to get into the chamber she saw others going inside. She wouldn't have to worry about getting Flaaffy out thanks to Tristen letting his mane light the way. "Good question..." She commented afterward, the chamber being entirely unfamiliar to her.
Sol wouldn't say anything, instead simply looking towards Sub since he'd know where to go from here.
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