pkemeter | Victory Road IC Inbox

[Egon nods in response to Ray's comment, screwing the cap onto the jar and resting it in the sand. He goes to scoop up another sample using another jar seemingly pulled from out of nowhere.]

Maybe if we could scrape some living cell samples from, say, a cheek swab sample, we could see what effects may occur if these cells are introduced to a rogue element such as various effects from Pokémon attacks.

[Delphi stares at Alfred with a blank expression, then lets out a small 'psy' and waves her arm at Axle. He's gonna float away and be lost forever and Ray is going to cry. It is a possibility, and therefore it must be true, she sees--ow, ow.

She clutches at her head, making quiet quacking noises. Egon glances over in concern.]

As for sunscreen, I'm not sure. Check my bag, there might be something in there.

[...If anyone bothers to go dig through Egon's bag, their hand might come away...sort of slimy, for some reason?]

Boys. We're on a beach. Can we not talk about cheek swabs and cellular manipulation for like, a minute and just relax?

[Alfred looks concerned at Delphi's reaction, and manipulates his fin in an attempt to gently embrace her in a weird fish hug. It kind of looks like he's trying to wrap himself around her like a towel. There, there, dear- now, we can swim out to Axle ourselves and help bring him safely back to shore without any trouble.

Sigourney nods at the addition of the club, though it dislodges a bit of the sand at the top from the weight. She levitates it into an upright position and drives it deep into the packed sand, turning it into a spike- or perhaps a flagpole with no flag.

Kildarby returns with a squawk, holding-

Huh.

A pair of binoculars, dangling from a strap clenched in her beak. She sets it down with a dull thunk.

Sigourney obediently begins to work on finding a place to add it to their creation, levitating things around to make room.]

I thought we were relaxing, Pete.

[:C Venkie please.

Ray continues to search and... huh.

His hand sure is covered in slime.]

Spengs, did you store open ectoplasm in your backpack again?

[He says as if he doesn't done that multiple times himself.

Good luck Alfred, Axle puts up no resistance, and is even waving at him, but he's still super slippery and slimy so it's gonna be hard to grab him.

Annie claps even harder at how beautiful their castle is! She wished it was a real castle that she could live in!!

She has zero questions where the binoculars came from, don't worry.]

[Egon glances back towards Ray, arching an eyebrow. He starts making his way back towards his bag.]

What? No, I didn't bring any ectoplasm this time.

["This time", he says. No, it's not ectoplasm--rather, a rather annoyed Pyukumuku staring back up at Ray from inside Egon's bag. Cucumis lets out a high-pitched squeak before lightly punching Ray with her guts, as if saying 'Back off!' Egon frowns down at her.]

While you're in there, do you mind handing me my magnifying glass?

[Cucumis wiggles a little before giving him the (now slimy) magnifying glass. Can a sea cucumber roll its eyes? Egon nods approvingly, turning back around.]

Thank you.

[Delphi seems to calm down upon being wrapped by Alfred, and she lightly pats Alfred's fin. She lets out another quack. In a slightly more gentle, yet wavering tone, she says that she sees nothing but doom waiting for all. Especially those three humans. Doom seems to follow them like Remoraid take to Mantine, and spreads to those around them.

Hm. Comforting.]

[Venkman watches this whole discussion with obvious disgust, particularly when Egon takes his slimy magnifying glass.]

Ughhh. This is just giving me flashbacks to Slimer. Why do you have to keep picking up Pokemon that are gross like this?

[He doesn't even mind Cucumis that much, usually. She's got spirit. But ew.

Alfred nods a little at Delphi's words. It's true- they are very danger prone. But they're also survivors. They've been through quite a lot and have defied the odds many times, yes?

Now, how about you hop on his back and they can swim out to Axle together?

As for the sand castle crew, the binoculars have become the bridge to a moat. Kildarby nods, satisfied with the current state of things, and flies off again. Sigourney tilts her head at Annie, telepathically asking her what additions she would like to see next.

It's a good sign that Venkman's lessons in teaching her to not be a selfish toddler have been paying off.]

[Ray frowns at Peter.]

Don't be mean to Cucumis, Venkie. She's trying her best and I love her for it.

[Ray wipes the slime off his hands as he starts laying out the towels, which he definitely remembered to bring, at least

Annie ponders the question for a few moments, trying to figure out where to go from here. She then decides to grab some rocks and start randomly sticking them on the castle.]

She is not gross. She is a wonderful example of the diversity of aquatic life that exists in this world.

[Egon sounds almost insulted by Venkman's comment, sitting down in the sand and picking up his magnifying glass to examine the jar of water more closely. He's hunched over like some sort of awful science goblin and probably sitting a little too close to the shoreline. Cucumis doesn't really care--she just lets out another squeak and buries herself a little deeper into Egon's bag. She just wants to hide out in here, thank you very much.

Delphi hesitates a little, but obediently waddles onto Alfred's back. She flops down, her webbed feet wiggling back and forth as she leans back on her Duck Paws. He'll save her if she falls off? He promises?]

[Venkman rolls his eyes, grumbling a little.]

... She's not as bad as some of 'em. At least she's not a Grimer. Ray.

[As soon as Ray lays out a towel, Venkman flops down onto it, arms crossed behind his head. It's fucking chill time.

Sigourney blinks approvingly at the rocks, before adding a bottle of sunscreen on the top of a tower. Kildarby returns once again, a ring clutched in her talons. The ring has a rather large diamond set in it, and engraved on the inside is a heartfelt message that none of these people know how to read. Sigourney presses it into the packed sand unceremoniously.

Alfred offers his reassurances- of course, he would never abandon one of his own school. And he promises to be extra slow and careful with his swimming. With that, he sets off at a subdued pace towards Axle.]

[Ray sticks his tongue out at Venkman, but quickly frowns to see him just... flopping down on the towel.]

C'mon, Pete, don't tell me you don't wanna go swimming! We're at a beach!

[=( he can't be the only one who wants to go swimming.

Take your time, guys! Axle is still veeeery slowly moving away so you don't have to swim fast to get to him.

Annie, however, really likes how shiny that ring is, and goes to grab it. She thinks she sees humans use this! She doesn't know why, but it's nice and shiny!!!]

[Egon briefly glances over at Ray, arching an eyebrow.]

If you do intend on swimming, do you mind capturing any interesting specimens you find floating around in the water?

[...Thanks, Egon. He hunches right back over his samples. That can't be good for his back.

Delphi glances back at the shore, staring at the sand castle building going on. Oh, dear. There's doom that follows those Pokémon, as well, though it may not come as they think it will. She looks back towards Alfred, tapping her fingers nervously together. Does he think about the fact that everything can be destroyed in an instant, if the gods so will it?]

[Venkman lowers his sunglasses again to give Ray a look. Honestly, he was planning to swim at some point, but.]

Nah, I think I'll just lounge around in the sun while you go freeze to death in the ocean.

[Gotta be difficult.

There's a brief flash of anger felt by all the sand castle crew when Annie grabs the ring- that's part of the sand castle! You can't take part of the sand castle! But after a moment, Sig reigns herself back in. She's gotta share. Right. No tantrums. Dad doesn't like the tantrums. Dad especially doesn't like the tantrums where she deletes everyone's memories of her having a tantrum.

She's gonna pout for a little while, though.

As for Alfred, he looks thoughtful. Potential disaster is not something he thinks about all that often, no. He prefers to live life as it is, and deal with whatever disasters arise as they come. Otherwise, you may be stuck paralyzed with fear. And that's not truly living.

Kildarby caws once, and reveals something clutched in her other foot. It's a pearl necklace. She drops it, and flutters off again.]

[Ray pouts at Venkman.]

Don't make me drag you into the ocean; I'll do it!

[Despite Sigourney toning down the tantrum quickly, Annie feels really guilty for making her upset. :C She doesn't have a ton of friends, and the idea of making one of her friends upset makes her really unhappy.

She pauses as Kildarby drops the necklace, and gently picks it up, handing both it and the ring at Sigourney as an apology.]

Will you two quiet down? I've just spotted something moving in the-- [A pause.] --nevermind. It was a piece of sand.

[Egon continues to be utterly unhelpful.

Delphi looks almost aghast at this. But being able to predict, to see the possibilities laid out in front of you, is important! Something truly disastrous may come and it may be unavoidable if you don't prepare!

...It's unfortunate she wasn't named after Cassandra.]

[In lieu of an answer, Venkman just pushes his sunglasses up to cover his eyes again, and settles back onto the towel.

Sigourney looks from the ring to the necklace to Annie. Something like guilt bubbles up in her, and she takes a moment to try to conceptualize it. It's... ok. You can take one, and they'll put the other on the castle!

Compromise!

A bird lands on the castle again, dislodging some of the sand. It's not Kildarby, this time- it's Venkman's Wingull, MJ. She has a half eaten pizza slice clenched in her beak. She thumps it on the ground, rolls it up a little, picks it up again, throws her head back, and swallows it whole.

It kind of looks horrifying.

Alfred nods- it's important to prepare for possibilities, yes, but you have to remember that they're just possibilities. The future isn't always set in stone.]

[...

You know what?

Ray's just going to pick you up right now. This is what happens.

Annie immediately cheers up at Sigourney letting her keep one, giving Sig a tight hug before letting go, giving her the ring. She seemed to really like that ring anyway-

Uh.

Annie then just... blinks at MJ.

She's both amazed and terrified at this.]

[Egon can't be bothered to look up at what's going on. If Venkman calls out for help, his protests will fall upon deaf ears.

Delphi nods slowly, still somewhat nervous. Thanks, Alfred. Even if it doesn't really help her, she appreciates it. She rubs her forehead, gazing down at the water and keeping a tight grip on the Mantine's antennae.

Meanwhile, Cucumis is getting a little pissed at the ruckus happening outside of her Bag Cave. She pokes her head out, spines bristling slightly as she glances over at the sand castle babies. She lets out a firm squeak--quiet down over there, you crazy kids!]

Hey!

[Venkman cries out in alarm as he gets lifted up in the air. Absolutely none of his Pokemon bother to look over or help.

Sigourney pops the ring back into place on the castle, blinking sheepishly after the hug. She doesn't seem too concerned by MJ's eating- she's seen it before.

MJ tilts her head at Annie once she notices the Cubone watching her. Her eyes pin as she flares her wings and squawks. Hey. This is her food. Not yours. Steal your own, kiddo.

Neither she nor Sigourney appear phased by Cucumis.

Alfred reaches Axle's side at last. Greetings, dear boy! Would you mind floating back towards the shore? It would mean a great deal to this little one here.]

[Ray wordlessly drags Venkman to the shore and dumps him into the ocean. Get fucked, Venkie.

Annie looks nervous when MJ squawks at her. She didn't want to steal it, honest!

She then turns to Cucumis and waves at her. Hi auntie Cucumis!

And hi Alfred and Delphi! Axel nods and slowly turns around to face the other way.

... Yeah he might need help.]

[The splash at least makes Egon look up, surprised. He notes Venkman in the water and quietly takes his samples and inches a little further up the sand before wordlessly returning to his observations.

Delphi peers at Axle, waving a hand for him to grab on. This way! Hold her hand so he can climb on!

Cucumis grumbles a little, using her gut hand to drag herself out of the bag and onto the sand. She wiggles her spines in a greeting before starting to make her way towards the sand castle. She's going to give those kids a stern lecture on being considerate towards others.

...

If she gets there before sundown, that is.]

[Venkman struggles in Ray's grip, laughing and shouting, all the way until he gets unceremoniously tossed into the water.

He's not going down without a fight. After a few seconds, he resurfaces and grabs Ray around the waist, before yanking him down with him with a yell.

His Pokemon still don't care.

MJ bristles a little at Annie, but she's much more interested in the approaching Cucumis. She hops off the sand castle and runs over to Cucumis, tilting her head at the angry grumbling. Then she just. Picks Cucumis up in her beak and runs off, flaring her wings out as she does so.

Kildarby returns. She has a fucking knife clenched in her beak, because none of Venkman's Pokemon can be normal.

Except for Alfred, who obediently swims a little closer to Axle. Yes, he should be able to support Axle's weight if he climbs on. He can also cling to Alfred's tail and be pulled along, if he prefers.]

[Ray shouts in surprise as he's dragged into the water, and starts playfully wrestling with Venkman after the initial shock and spitting out salt water.]

You jerk! That's cheating!

[Cubone lets out a squeak in surprise as MJ takes the sea cucumber. Should... should they do something about this????

Tail is good, he doesn't want to get out of the water, anyway. He lightly grabs a hold and lets himself get taken away.]

[Egon seems oblivious to the chaos that's happening right in front of his nose. He adjusts his magnifying glass before letting out a surprised noise.]

Ray, Venkman, come quick--I see something in the water! I believe it's some sort of phytoplankton, or maybe a mycoplankton--

[And then he looks up to see what's going on. Egon jumps to his feet, frowning lightly and moving closer to the edge of the water--a dangerous move. In a concerned tone, he asks:]

Is everything alright?

[He apparently doesn't realize that his precious sea cucumber has been stolen away by Venkman's bird. Delphi watches as Axle clings to Alfred's tail--ah! Danger! Delphi shoots up onto her feet, trying to maintain her balance as she looks up at the sky, staring at MJ flying off with Cucumis.

Cucumis squeaks indignantly, wiggling violently in MJ's beak to no avail. Eventually, she cranes her head to face MJ and spews out her guts, trying to punch her right in the wing.]

[A very dangerous move. Venkman looks up from trying to dunk Ray's head under the water to the new, approaching target. Immediately, he lets go of Ray and grins at him.]

Get 'em, Ray!

[MJ doesn't fly far, at least. Before Venkman captured her, she preyed on Pyukumuku- while the urge to actually eat Cucumis is gone, she's an expert in catching the little bastards, and she knows better than to try to fly high when she could get punched down. The hit to her wing proves that. She lands and unceremoniously drops Cucumis, and starts prodding at her with her beak like she's a toy.

Sigourney takes the knife. She tilts her head, thinking to herself about how dad usually doesn't let her around these things. After a moment of thought, she decisively sticks it into the packed sand. Kildarby flies off to find more terrible things.]

[Ray grins, and grabs Egon by the waist to drag him into the water. He's giggling like a maniac as he does so.

Annie watches Sigourney stick the knife into the sand with interest, and grabs a nearby stick to shove into the sandcastle as well. She hears this is called symmetry!]

Wh--

[Before Egon realizes what's happening, he gets pulled down into the water. By some miracle, his glasses manage to stay on even as Egon tries to go back towards the surface, sputtering and coughing. He shakes his head to try and shake off some of the water in vain. His suit completely soaked, Egon stares down at his partners.]

Very funny.

[It's hard to tell if he means it...sarcastically or not, based on his stoic expression? He's not getting out of the water, at least. After another moment or two, he submerges himself a little deeper in the water and just. Sits there.

Cucumis lets out a series of angry squeaks as she's poked and prodded at. The nerve of this creature to treat something like her so poorly! She's a trainer's Pokémon and she deserves respect!

Her face suddenly cringes in on itself, and her eyes completely disappear. A few seconds later, copious amounts of slime begins oozing out of her skin to try and discourage MJ.]

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