Paved Roads Quest Catch-all! | OTA

[dripdrive]

Who: Emporio, You and maybe even some asshole ostrich (Anasui)
What: Paved Roads quest
When: Throughout May
Where: The city streets further towards the forest.
Warnings: Anasui being Anasui.

For a while, Heliolisk has been in charge of expanding the city streets further towards the forest, making transport of goods and services easier and overall expanding Bottlecap Bay. The project had been slow going but progressing well until about two months ago, when Heliolisk noticed that some of the streets have somehow diminished in length. The reason why remains unknown. Perhaps it was a quirk of the forest that the guilds didn't understand - 'Maybe the forest doesn't want to be expanded into?' - but that didn't explain why some of the roads closer to town were also disassembled, making patches in the road. Many other Pokemon also pointed out there are a number of cobblestone towers alongside the path wherever these patches are, obviously sourced from the road itself!

The mystery of why the roads are shortening is largely left to speculation in favour of actually solving the problem. Hence why the quest has appeared on the quest board again, this time from Polteageist: they need reliable Pokemon to help clear the roads of debris, flatten the dirt where it needs to be flattened and place the cobblestone back.

There are many roads to be fixed and you'll likely find Pokemon already there, regardless if you're doing a patch job or going all the way to the forest's edge to re-expand the paths. One of those Pokemon is a large Espathra, who only casts a half-glance at you before going back to what he was doing. He seems to be placing cobblestone in a very particular way...

...and according to the Cubone rounding up as many as possible for the job, that's entirely typical. He can't be sure if it's something he specifically did in their own world, mind you, but he's pretty sure he would have if possible. Emporio notably seems more concerned with just gathering stones to be available for Anasui to place. Perhaps it's a strength thing. Perhaps not? He's absolutely doing his part, but occasionally he'll watch someone else putting their stones down and then glance in Anasui's direction before wincing. As if he knows something.

And maybe he does, because after a good bit of work with their own team, Emporio will jump.

"...Anasui's gone!"

...It's probably fine, right? Best to just focus on your own work.

Although... if you are placing cobblestone down, you may notice Anasui behind you, pulling up the stones you JUST placed and swapping their places. What is up with that???

[[OOC - To account for how many are involved in Anasui and Emporio's team for Paved Roads, and the fact that the Mods saw fit to refer to him in the quest response over all, this is a thread-jack friendly open log! Specify if you want Anasui or Emporio most of all, but otherwise, there's no holds barred here. That said, if you do not want threadjacks, please note this in your tag in. That way it doesn't get too unwieldy for you.]]

Comments

[outbounds]

Hm? Oh. Sort of, probably. The fur there— more ghostly, less anchored. Can sometimes react even if I don't have intent. Do you want to see what Audino look like?

[ Or at least some approximation of one, if they don't have any working in the clinic? ... do they have Audino at the clinic? ]

Because that sounds a lot like an Egg Move, yep. Or whatever is closest when we did not actually hatch here.

[seacub]

If you can? I don't think I've heard about or seen one at least...

[Maybe they've been passing ships. For multiple months.

Yeah.]

Hmn. I...yeah.

If it's meant to be like...a special ability then I guess it could make sense for some, but I don't remember being able to do anything like...that.

[Shame no one here likely knows about the Secret Base establishing feature.]

[outbounds]

[ Not without some maniac in an explorer's outfit inventing it to be used only on verrrry specific spots in the wilderness to create semi-permanent living spaces instead of setting up camp the normal way, anyway. This is probably not happening in PMD. ]

The mystery of your Secret Power ... well. If it is like an Egg Move, it is probably something to do with what makes you you. Even if it is not obvious right now.

But! Audino. Mostly going from memory, so might not be 100%. Still, okay. Let's see.

[ Not here, not him. He hasn't yet done an illusion while this relatively relaxed, but let's see. A nonexistent wind sets his collar and mane to billowing, unnaturally and eerily, briefly shrouding the Zoroark from sight as his form also goes hazy and indistinct. It redistributes itself; a smaller shape, softer edges, kinder eyes, gentle paws, lighter smile. Two-colored ears, dusty red and pale cream, sensitive tendrils curling down from them in soft loops. A faux scalloped 'coat', almost, made by sections of fur that grow longer and in a different color than the rest. The tail ... he doesn't have to do too much there, right? It's white and puffy, not unlike how his own mane tends to be...

Something like that, anyway. What opens its (still gold) eyes and blinks gently back at Emporio isn't a perfect recreation of an Audino, but most of the right things are in the right places, if with some quirks in color and overall appearance (for one, the faux coat is less patterning and more almost actual coat for how much longer the fur comprising it is... not quite Mega Audino in appearance, but approaching it). ]

Like this. Sort of. Verrrrry sensitive feelers. They very often work in clinics and Pokémon Centers, where I come from.

[ Also when he comes from, presumably. ]

[seacub]

Hmnnhnn....

[That's going to feel so weird until someone points out how astoundingly easy it is that he found some kind of clearing or whatever.

But, it's time to watch some shapeshifting. Very soon, he doesn't have to crane his head up so much to talk to Emmet! How refreshing.]

Oh wow!!

...They look like they'd suit the role really well. At the very least, I don't think too many would refuse treatment if that was their doctor...

[Who can say no to that face? WHO CAN SAY NO!

Emporio is going to have strange ideas on what Audino look like.]

[outbounds]

Yup! They are typically kind Pokemon. And they are verrrrry in tune with and aware of their environment. Said to be like radar! And for more precision...

[ He'll raise a paw to 'unfurl' one of the curled feelers somewhat, holding up the end of it in said paw. ]

These can be used something like stethoscopes. Can apparently discern how someone is feeling or when an egg might hatch by listening through them. I do not know exactly how to replicate the underlying structures that would cause them to be so sensitive, so I do not really benefit the same way even if I take this shape. Cosmetic remodel only for me.

But it is fine. Means I won't be extra, extra sensitive to loud noises either.

[seacub]

Oh wow. I can see why they'd keep those curled up then if they're that sensitive...

[He pauses at that though, thinking about other options.] ...Does that mean you probably...could copy features like that completely?

...Like with Water Pokemon?

[outbounds]

I am Emmet. Iiiii! Have no idea! To my knowledge Unovan Zoroark are not generally able to copy the abilities of the things they pretend to be.

[ And who even knows about Hisuian ones, because ghosts can be strange at the best of times. ]

My guess: simple, structural stuff only— partial mimickry maybe? [ They can speak while disguised as human, after all, so presumably it's just a shapeshifted voice box doing the work there? Unless they're going out of their way to cast an aural illusion too... ] Any complex physiology, things like electroreception, electrogenesis, magnetic levitation. Probably off the table.

Why? Did you want to see if I could carry you across the water?

[seacub]

[Emporio nods. It was a point of curiosity for good reason. After all-]

Oh-

Uh, I actually wasn't thinking of that at all, heh... [He rubs his head, feeling a little silly- he's certainly gotten enough piggy back rides that it's a reasonable question after all.]

I was actually wondering if it would let you go under water potentially. But...that would definitely qualify as complex physiology.

[outbounds]

Oh. Yup. No idea how to manage gills. Or a swim bladder. Or an everything that won't get decompression sickness. Or even something like Palafin or Wailord where they breathe air but can hold their breath verrrry long while diving.

It is also ... not really that kind of form changing. You are thinking of Transform. What Ditto do. They completely change their DNA and cellular structure. Me, on the other hand.

[ The Fauxdino takes on a familiar pose, heels together as he raises a paw to point forward at Emporio, the other angled down. ]

I am still me. I will not be any stronger, or weaker, or faster, or slower than I already am just by changing shape or looking different. It is part illusion and part— ghost stuff. Yup. That's basically all.

[seacub]

Ohhhhh...

[Indeed he supposes that was what he was thinking of.]

I guess that makes sense. Even if it's not the same, ghost objects can't do everything the real thing does. Ghost fire doesn't even burn, not really...

[Well, not in his world at least.]

Does it feel too weird if it's like that then?

chandelure fun fact brought to you by my 11 year old quest to touch every flame in amie

[outbounds]

Haha! It does not. I am well aware. Chandelure's fire burns cold. It looks like fire and acts like fire in some ways. But isn't actually the same in all of them. You can put your hand right through it and it won't hurt. And they will enjoy it. Or at least the one I know does.

The way I think of it. Ghosts are really mostly just shadows. Shadows and feelings. Things that are like others, but aren't really. It is like that for the moves and abilities too. At least it feels that way to me.

[ In a way, it applies even to what he is, species wise. Even before getting into this particular trait. Or maybe he only thinks of things this way because it's how things have best worked out for him here, as a species variant that itself is a pale shadow of their former selves? Maybe a different ghost would see it differently? ]

In that sense. If a shadow is just an image of something else. And I can make myself be like something else. Then these two stations connect in a logical manner. Yes?

omg....that's adorable

[seacub]

Huh-

[Oh, hold on-] Oh, I didn't realize that Ghost Pokemon fire was...the same? The 'Ghost fire' from home isn't technically Ghost fire, but it's neat that they're alike...

[Anyway. He nods. Makes sense, makes sense!] Yes!

...I should probably explain what I even mean when I say 'Ghost' though, huh.

some pokemon will chase you away from hurting yourself, some will look at you like you're stupid,

[outbounds]

Maaaaaybe. You should ask Ingo about his flames too. Maybe they are different from Chandelure's. He is more fire than ghost, and Chandelure is the other way around.

[ In this house we maintain that the order of primary and secondary typing means something, ]

But also, sure. What is 'Ghost' to you? Sounds like there is a difference despite the similarities?

kgjfdkjhfdkjgh i loved that feature so much...

[seacub]

Hmmm. I know I talked to Akari a little about it...

[Ahem, anyway.]

Oh. Well...maybe ghosts are real back home? I've never seen one. But in the absence of a real ghost, 'Ghost' is what I used to refer to the room and objects I was able to access with my Stand. They were 'memories'. Things locked in time. You could do...basically anything to it, but it would always return to that state of being.

And in the same way, they couldn't affect 'present time' either. So...a ghost knife wouldn't cut, for example. That's what I was talking about when I mentioned ghost fire- I had a ghost lighter that could create a spark, but since it was still just a memory, it didn't really burn. It just did a great job of playing the part.

[outbounds]

Akari's starter was a Cyndaquil, right? Perspective is probably different from the Pokemon end instead of the trainer.

[ But anyway, that's Emporio's concept of ghost, is it. Fauxdino Emmet tilts his head in thought briefly, but folds his paws behind his back again as he nods in understanding. ]

Hmm. I see. It is static so cannot really effect change. A decommissioned line; cannot leave the station. Similar then but not quite the same. Chandelure's flames can and will burn the spirit if he wants. He has probably snacked on quite a significant amount of ours over the years actually.

[seacub]

I think?

[And now she is a cyndaquil....]

But yeah, exactly that. It's completely separate from the actual idea of a spirit, [he observes, while nodding at the matter of Chandelure.] So it makes sense that everything else about it is different.

Uh...

[...It's honestly easy for him to forget that they were busy preparing a road for Anasui to pave.] Is...that okay, if your spirits were being eaten..?

[outbounds]

Haha. [ Here's more paving stones, Emporio, some of them possibly oddly large and out of place in the Audino's delicate paws. ] In truth, children are often warned away from Litwick. They are said to lead lost travelers astray and take them away, draining their life all the while. Many, many ghosts will feed on something similar.

[ As Emmet himself will discover at a later point, he as a Zoroark can feed off of fear! So, you know. ]

But Chandelure is Ingo's beloved partner. He wouldn't do that to us. Little bits here and there, when allowed— it is replenished. Sustainable.

[seacub]

Huhhhh...

[Spooky, he doesn't say.]

...So...the spirit is a renewable resource, is what you're saying.

[outbounds]

Sure. Emotions, the spirit, life energy, all these things that ghosts can and do consume. Do you mean to say people can't get better after their feelings are hurt? Or if they are tired and not at 100% one day. That will be their operational baseline for the rest of their life?

[ It's a very simplified way of putting it, but his point remains. ]

[seacub]

Huh.

I guess...

[He thinks of...the discs. Their importance back home.]

I guess I'm too used to the soul being something you can tear out completely.

[And well! What a way to put that!!]

[outbounds]

[ Emmet... just shrugs a little. ]

You can. Oversimplification, but there is a good reason many children are warned against ghosts. Like I said. Many are predators. Sailors will avoid Jellicent territory because of the stories for example. How every ship that travels through them is inevitably lost.

But in most cases it is more like, hm, blood? Incredibly vital. Do not want to be losing it, as a general rule. Lose too much, threshold of no return, sure. But it doesn't always have to be all or nothing.

[ Like blood, it can and does replenish if allowed. ]

[seacub]

Huh.

...I guess that makes it...a little better?

[He should maybe explain. ...Yeah, he'll explain.]

It technically wasn't the soul, but. There was someone in my old world who could basically just...tear that out. Thinking of souls more like blood feels a bit better than...that.

[He likes the idea of being able to get something like that back. Especially for people like Flowey, honestly.]

[outbounds]

[ Something goes a little bit lopsided in the tilt of the Zorodino's smile. ]

A ghost-type could theoretically do that, yes. Maybe not literally torn out but a drain or feeding fast enough that it is effectively about the same. But the way you say it. It sounds all or nothing? Like flipping a switch. On or off, soul or no soul. No in between. Too easy.

That is verrrry concerning. I am Emmet. I can see why you would be worried.

[ Well, many people in general are worried by ghosts. Usually it is informed by just not understanding or being afraid of them, though. Which makes sense; Ghost can be a very strange type, and like many more dangerous Pokemon they verrrrry much have to be respected for what they are capable of. Still, this case is a little different. ]

[seacub]

All or nothing, uhuh...and just one person, but at least he's gone for good now.

[He says that...

And pauses. And chills.

Because after all-] ...I hope, anyway.

[He looks over at where Anasui is still pecking away at the stones.

Anasui was dead once too, after all.]

....It's weirdly nice that it's something a lot of ghosts can theoretically do, though. ...Feels like that means most would learn to be more responsible about it.

[outbounds]

[ Emmet follows that glance, and. Hm. Right. Nevermind the chance of someone being brought here from a point in time when they were alive, considering timeline mismatches, since Hisui, for one, isn't exactly...

Well. Anyway. ]

If they have enough reason to. Pokemon are our partners where I come from but they still have to be respected. Especially the wild ones. Safety checks have to be conducted.

But yes, most do not typically go so far. Not under normal circumstances. Many of them prefer specific feelings and emotions, even.