+++ Will You Continue Through: Riley ? +++
YES? NO?
Riley the Riolu
Age: 13
LV: 7
Moves: Feint, Quick Attack
Type: Fighting
Ability: Steadfast
Nature: Bold (Defense Up, Attack Down)
+++Certain Items are Throw-able. Try using them in a pinch, combat or otherwise.+++
Riley approaches, knees bent. While just a few steps away from the corner, a near-silent sound slips from the Riolu's mouth.
"H-hello?"
The sound of static fills the room once again, harshly filling Riley's ears. His body went rigid, causing a little hop backwards from his crouched position. A shrill voice echoes out from of the speaker and over the static.
"Hello? If anyone can hear me, please respond. I really need some help please... uh, pretty please?"
A small pain in his chest urges him to raise his voice, if only a little bit.
"Hello, who are you?"
The strange sound of static drones on and, after what feels far too long (though really just a few seconds), the voice returns.
"I guess... no one can hear me."
The pain in his chest grows stronger. The sound of static vanishes and Riley's gaze lowers.
"I... I can hear you."
His head snaps upwards at the returning sound of static. A voice, no longer shrill but a bit deeper and full of force, breaks through the static.
"Hello, is someone there?"
"Yah... I am... here? Wherever here is."
"Hello?"
"I ran in here without looking and-"
"I could of sworn I heard someone speak."
The static vanishes and a feeling of frustration quickly washes over any guilt that could be felt. Caution gets tossed to the wind.
"Can you hear me or can you not hear me? Tell me now, because this is annoying me."
The static returns for a moment.
"Oh, uh... sorry. Hey, just hold on a minute."
The static cuts off, before returning soon after.
"Did you hear anything?"
Off.
"Uh, no."
On.
"So it is just like a Walkie-talkie! Oops, no wonder I couldn't hear anything you've said. Sorry about that."
Off.
"..."
"What's a wall-key tall-key?" (1)
'Can they only hear me when there is none of that strange sound?'
On.
"No, Walkie-Talkie, and it's... uh... not important. Could you please call for help, I'm kind of lost here."
Off. Riley's right ear twitched, the constant switching of the sound of static beginning to wear on his ears.
"Calling? I doubt shouting for anyone else will do us any good. Also, I can't really reach anyone considering I'm stuck down here."
On.
"You're stuck? Where? Maybe I can help."
Off. Riley's eyes narrow in on the black box.
'Help? How in this world can this Pokemon give me help? Are they built into the walls or something?'
"Opening the door would help plenty, I can handle myself past that."
On.
"That doesn't really answer wear... hold on. Let me try something."
Off.
'Hold on? What am I suppose to grab onto?'
Regardless, the Riolu drops down on the cold flooring and fidgets to the right as to get off a crack between tiles he had sat on. His thoughts drift away as his gaze rests upwards.
'How did things end up like this? Wait, no. I already know.'
Riley quietly watches as his breath condenses into to a cloud as it escapes his mouth. A small feeling of guilt returning to his chest. His legs begin to ache, out of exhaustion. A small pain grasps the back of his leg, not too painful but strong enough to make sitting mildly dis-comforting. Regardless, he remains sitting, staring solemnly at the empty space before him. His attention, though, is soon grabbed by a loud ding of a bell and the sound of gears grinding against each other. Turning to the source of the sound, the young Riolu finds himself facing the entrance to the room he's in. A large shutter door that previously blocked his path slowly begins to rise up from the ground and a spinning red light emits from a glass sphere right besides the door. Riley wordlessly watches as the shutters fully raise to reveal a hallway just beyond them. Riley finds himself on his feet. Before taking a step forward, however, he stops himself and turns back to the black box.
'Did... Did that Pokemon do this?'
As if on cue, the static returns.
"Hey, did something happen on your end?"
Off.
'My... end? What? Am I missing something here?'
"The door opened. Did you cause that?"
On.
"Really, it opened? Yes! That was more of a swing in the dark than anything."
Off.
'What... is this Pokemon saying?'
"What did you do?"
On.
"I pushed a button like the one I'm using right now, except it has a big square with a symbol in it. It looks like it was the right button after all."
Off.
"..."
The young Riolu could feel a sweat drop slipping down his forehead, which is impressive since his species is physically incapable of sweating.(2)
"Alright, I don't understand anything about what you just said."
On.
"W-well, there's this button that changes this one TV and... Nevermind, it's not important. If you can escape, please try and find me first. I'm in this strange room after a long hallway. If you find some broken doors, that I have nothing to do with, than you're near me."
Off.
A small pain founds it's way into Riley's chest. He glances towards the now open path, than turns back to the strange black box.
"A-alright, I'll try my best."
'Find her? What does she mean? Isn't she right in front of me?'
A moment passes, and than another. No response. The feeling of pain slowly grows, only to be forced down. He turns away, and walks out of the room he has spent an unknown amount of hours in.
...
Unbeknownst to him, a young girl in a far off room of the facility is currently dancing on a desk with a large smile on her face.
+++Having an empty Belly will have different effects depending on the Character. However, they are rarely positive.+++
A blue-furred paw rests itself upon the rusted and cracked edges of the gateway. With a few quick glances left and right, Riley soon finds himself in the center of a hallway. His paw drags over the tiled flooring, grey dust coating the blue fur. His eyes narrow as he rubs his fingers together.
'It wasn't like this before, what happened? Does it have something to do with... that strange explosion from earlier?'
The only light that files into the hallway is from the sunlight that slips in from the cracks of the wall. Riley's eyes wander around the hallway. His paw raises to shield his eyes from one of the many rays of light he walks past. The sound of grinding gears and scratching metal screaming behind him, brings the Riolu spinning right back around. With a slam, the door he had just marched through crashes down onto the ground, leaving cracks stretching out from underneath the door like spider webs. In a panic, he finds himself back at the door, with his paws slamming against it.
"No, NO!"
A weaker bang echoes down the hallway.
"I... I left her behind."
"..."
'Like I always do.'
A familiar sound of static causes Riley's ears to twitch.
"Hey, I can see you! At least, I think I can see you. It's kinda blurry."
The excited voice echoes from down the hallway and, after a moment, the sound of static turns off as well. Wide eyes stare down the hallway and, with little hesitation, the young Riolu sprints down the hallway. With his heart racing and feet pounding against the ground, he almost misses the sound of static coming back on.
"Uh, ya, I can see someone. Hey! Can you here me?"
Off.
"Yes. I can hear you. Where are you?"
The next few moments of silence before the static returned felt far too long for the Riolu.
"Heh, look up."
Before the static could even turn off, Riley finds himself staring upwards at an object fixed onto the ceiling.
'Another black box? Except this one is connected to the ceiling and seems to have an eye of some kind.'
"Are you... up there?"
On.
"Yup, a camera and a speaker, What luck! Though, the TV is really static-y so I can't see you that well."
Off.
'Camera? speak-er? Tee-Vee? What are you talking about?'
Yet, despite the feeling of frustration, a small smile creeps onto the young Riolu's face.
'... I didn't leave her behind.'
"So, can you move like that or...?"
On.
"Move? ...Wait, let me check something."
Off.
'Can she slip into the ceiling to move around? Or maybe run along the ceiling like a Diglett?'
On.
"Yup, I think there's another camera up ahead. Just head down that hallway."
Off.
'...'
The Riolu stares down the hallway, a look of confusion drawn upon his face.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
His only response is silence as he stares up, expectantly at the black box.
"Uh, hello?"
The static returns.
"What are you waiting for? Get a move on!'
Off.
The power behind the voice catches Riley of guard. Shocked upright and with a slight stutter in his step, he heads down the path. His steps eventually stop trembling, but the uncertain expression didn't vanish. His eyes keep wandering up and down the hallway, hoping to find another black box similar to the two he has seen before. he can't help but notice the red lines running along the ceiling, walls, and floor alongside the splotches of purplish paint, almost as if a child had been done by a child. He stops.
'Wait, Did the hallway just change color?'
A glance back confirms his suspicions, the hallway abruptly changes design part way. What use to be tiled flooring and back-and-white walls become plain white in all four directions, covered in lines and splotches of paint that go in miscellaneous directions. He stares for a while longer, but no sense could be found to the strange situation. He turns away, and continues to walk down the hallway.
"It definitely was not like that before, just what is going on?"
+++Certain Items are Consumable. Most Consumables replenish Belly, so be sure to keep some on hand!+++
A few moments later, Riley finds himself at a turn. However, the hallway isn't his focus, rather, his neck strains as he looks up to a familiar object built into the ceiling above. With a look caught between uncertain and curious, he waits for the familiar sound of static. When it does arrive, a tiny bit of relief replaces the uncertainty.
"Hello~ Glad to see you can walk down a hallway."
As annoyance quickly gets tacked over the relief, the static vanishes. The sigh that slips from his mouth takes with it the many angry thoughts on the Riolu's mind, and leaves only the essential.
"So you can hop from these things all around this building, but have you found a way out of this place?"
On.
"Working on it, these screens are so blurry that it's hard to see anything."
'I still cannot understand half of what you are saying.'
"But I think I saw further down this hallway, problem is that there's a room up ahead. It looks like it may be the only way forward."
Off.
"What is wrong with that? I can just go through the room, right? Is it blocked off?"
On.
"No, it seems open... It's just, I think I saw something moving inside it. Like a... Wild Pokemon..."
Off.
"What's wrong with that?"
'I am a wild Pokemon after all.'
On.
"Oh! Erm... just be careful okay. I don't want you to get hurt."
Off.
"I will... be okay. If there really are Pokemon there, I will just ask them if I can pass."
He waits for a moment, but no response is given. So, with a single glance back up to the strange object on the ceiling, he heads down the hallway. Deeper within the labyrinth-like building, Miriana, sitting cross-legged on a table, holds an expression caught between worried and confused.
"ask them?"
+++Certain Characters like Riley can only Save right Before a Fight. So prepare wisely before running into Battle.+++
"They were right, the room is right here."
The young Riolu finds himself at an abrupt end to the hallway in the form of a door. Without even opening the door, the faint sounds of scratching echo down the hallway. A deep breath is drawn into Riley's mouth.
"It certainly sounds like a Pokemon, but no way left to go but forward. I can only hope they are not feral."
A small smile finds it's way on his face.
'But the chances of that happening... they are so low that it is not even worth considering.'
With a soft step towards the door, the Riolu reaches up to the door knob (with some unspoken struggles as the knob hangs well above his head), turns it and opens the way forward. However, he stops dead in his tracks as his nose flares.
'The stench! It smells horrible, what could have caused this? Actually, never mind. I might not want to know the answer to that question.'
Riley's paws rise to each other, palm to palm. He flips the top paw, before moving it away. In the other, a pink berry suddenly appears. He brings up to his nose, letting the sweat and sour aroma to filter in. With his nose no longer flaring, he repeats the process backward and the berry vanishes once again. With a deep breath, which turns into a cough half-way when the smell hits him again, the door frame passes by the young Riolu. Within the moment of entering the room, the source of the horrid smell becomes clear; red-soaked purple bodies lie in tatters all around the room.
Though the debris of a collapsed roof can be found to Riley's left, the rest of the room is devoid of such debris. Yet, the bodies of certain Purple Rat Pokemon lie scattered on the floor, without even the slightest hint of movement.
'These deaths are not recent, if the smell is not enough to tell that than the moss growing on them is. It is surprise that no Shroomish have sneaked in here yet, it would be like a feast for them... Actually, they may have to wait a bit longer before it hits that point.' (3)
The sound of scrapping fills the room, and Riley snaps on guard. One of the purple forms is moving around the room, scurrying between, and sometimes over, the other bodies. The sound of squelching gives a spike of nausea to the only other one who can hear it.
"SmeLl, WhAT IsH THat SmElL?"
The Rattata finally stops across the room, looking straight at the Riolu with bloodshot, empty eyes. It's two front teeth are abnormally large with the entire mouth covered in a crusted red.
"It iSh DelICioUS. I HaVe tO HAvE iT."
The raspy voice fills the air and sends an uncontrollable shiver goes down Riley's back.
'Not good. That Pokemon...'
Riley's right foot moves forward, he unconsciously lowers his body, muscles tensing and heart racing. If he could sweat A distorted scream fills the air.
'... is Feral.'
+++Depending on the Mental State of a Pokemon, they will Behave differently.+++
+++Behaviors are Feral, Wild, Independent, Civilized, Obedient, etc...+++
+++Careful! Behaviors can make one Stronger if it complements well with their Personality.+++
Riley Lv. 7
HP: 20/23
ATK: 13
DEF: 12
SP. ATK: 10
SP. DEF: 9
SPD: 14
Moves:
1. Feint (Power: 30, PP 10/10)
With a sleight of hand, break through most methods defenses, physical or mental. Outside of battle it can be used to intimidate those around you.
2. Quick Attack (Power: 40, PP 12/30)
With a burst of speed, out-pace your opponent and attack. Can be used as simply burst of speed with no attack, but to do so would use 2 PP instead of one.
3. Blank
4. Blank
Nature: Bold
Quick to flee.
Opponent(s):
? the Rattata, Mental State: Feral, Lv. 10.
Hint: Not all fights are won by fighting.
Question of the Chapter: A good set-up can lead to an even greater experience for the reader, so what do you think of the set-up so far? How do you think Riley's going to win this fight? Or will he win it in the first place? In the end, only time (and me) will tell.
A/N: I hope you all are doing alright this quarantine, stay safe and stay strong.
(1): Why Riley can't understand some of what Miriana is saying, and how they can talk in the first place will be explained later. (I hope) Essentially, though, Riley can understand basic vocabulary, but anything referred to that he doesn't know about (like cameras or walkie-talkies) will leave him confused.
(2): Riolu and Lucario are based on Jackals (I assume), which do not, in fact, have sweat glands. They are like giant puppos.
(3): As a Riolu is similar to a Jackal, whose diet is omnivorous and includes dead animal carcasses from other animal kills, I believe that most Riolu's, even those on the younger side, will be used to and able to examine dead bodies. Yet still have their stomachs turn at the sight of a massacre.
I was hoping to work more on my story while this quarantine was happening, but I severely underestimated how distracted I can get, and how difficult it can be to write. Well, I worked on it none-the-less. Next chapter = Last introduction chapter, seeyouthenbye.
Bonus scene #1 requirements: All introduction chapters are to be completed!