4.0 Dedicated to its Members and Fans of Pokemon A Pokemon Sandbox RP
Pokémon Dubstep (ft. Lindsey Stirling)
W
elcome Adventurer to EPOCH! A Pokemon Sandbox Rp set in the original region of Nue. Everything you need to know will be in the Guidebook and PokeDex 101!
EPOCH uses the Manga and is built on the Original ideas suggested by our members.
We are more than just a Pokemon RP, we're a friendly community with a goal on being a memorable experience for those that look in.
Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated. If you find yourself content with being an asshole EPOCH and its members will not tolerate you.
RULES
Understand We're All Human. Respect the staffers as well as your fellow members and guests. We all have flaws, tempers and quirks. Be patient with one another, but if issues involving other members come up please don’t just grin and bear it. Contact a staff member, informing them of what's going on so they can address and resolve the situation. The staff won't know what's bothering you unless you tell them.
EPOCH is PG-13. Proboards’ Terms of Service:
Sex; When you get under the clothes, fade to black.
Violence; Do not go into extreme nauseating detail.
Cursing; This is so fucking allowed, but don't go overboard.
Suggestive Content; In avatars, signatures and templates can attract the wrong kind of attention. So be careful.
The light trail of smoke ran up and into the gust of wind.
Atop a small hill just outside of the little frozen vale was a tall figure with a hulking one. The Pokemon in question - a large Aggron, resting peacefully in the small bit of snow that rested on the ground. It had been an uneventful "summer" in Anatase - a little less snow, and not much aside from that. Hercules was rather unhappy to be in this situation in the first place - it was cold and the ride over had been long, even with the light amount of warmth from his trainer when she was upon his back.
The ride was over, however, and now it was time for a small break. Ferris was on her way to meet the Anatase Gym's leader - just a simple discussion - but the nicotine cravings got to her, and she would rather have it so that no one else knew she smoked. At least, no one in the League. It took a few proper flicks to get the lighter to pop on, but the flame came alive. Small and steady, as steady as the hands that lifted them to the cigarette puckered into her lips.
A single puff, and then a waft of smoke. Ferris leaned into her Aggron, standing by Herc's left side, enjoying the silence of the situation.
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Jun 18, 2014 22:57:33 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
That was one enormous Pokémon, alright. Oh. There she was, using one of those big words she had heard her mother say. Unnur giggled ever so slightly. And she was being punny while at it! She wondered if her mother would be proud. She surely would, wouldn't she? The woman did smile brightly when Unnur told her of such occurrences.
Speaking of mama, she was waiting for her to bring back some spices for today's lunch! No time to dilly-dally, now. The ten-year-old just had to ask the lady from the house nextdoors if she had any, and then she'd be skipping back home to help her prepare their meal. Mama was so very clumsy, after all. Of course, nextdoors in Anatase implied taking a ten-kilometre stroll, past a lot of snow and trees and, on occasion, wild creatures, just like this gigantic... whatever it was called, so leaving that to mama was definitely out of the question—Wait, was that smoke she saw coming from behind the steely macho Pokémon?
Not just any smoke, either. Cigarette smoke.
Unnur's locomotor system was already changing gears to quickly steer away from any and all dangerous humans, just like her mother had warned her to, when another of her warnings overrode her initial motivation to do the first. Silently, and oh so stealthily, Unnur approached what she would later find out was a woman with a ponytail.
"You shouldn't smoke," declared the small child, a pout clearly visible in her face, as she crossed her arms over her chest much like she'd seen her mother do when she was angry.
The voice spoke out to her, small and quiet like the fall of snow. No, there was a fading edge to it all - within that footstep of snow was a touch of ice. Ferris stopped her current drag and let the smoke wisp out of her open mouth like dragon fire before she turned to see who had spoken up.
A child.
Ferris found her blank gaze looking down at this pouting kid for a few moments. Pre-teen at best. Local, given the age - Orre tended to keep their kids local until they were older, given the days of Cipher and the general trouble the region had with criminals. Her eyes kept a hard stare on the kid's face, trying to find some sort of humor or joke in the scrunched up expression. She found none - just conviction that one could have when they were young and pure. Ferris plucked the cigarette from her mouth and held it up betwixt two fingers, eyeing it and then looking back to the kid. "I shouldn't? Say, kid, who told you that?"
Smoking was the least of her long list of dangerous addictions in the end. Ferris may have given in to the nicotine, but she knew she was forever done with the rest of the lifekilling equipment she so hardily craved in her younger years. Ferris peeled away from those thoughts and adjusted her stance, standing to her full height with a hand on her hip as she looked at the kid, calmly replacing the cig back in her mouth to let it hang loosely from the side, held there by the edge of her lips.
A step forward towards the little one. "Now what are you doing out here, kid? Its a tad cold for you to be out here right now."
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Jun 22, 2014 14:11:50 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
She shot the older woman a wary look. Was she seriously asking for an answer to such an obvious question? Or did she have some sort of ulterior motive, asking a question like that? Why was she all the way here, anyway? Unnur couldn't recall having seen her in town before. She tilted her head, pensive, as the owner of the steel giant let a new breath of fire out her mouth, and another.
"Why, it was my mama, of course!" came her reply, a soft humph of discontent before the woman's disagreeable ways. Wasn't she going to stop? "Didn't your mama tell you the same?" The child's question wasn't tinged with malice, but her voice, sharp as it was, may have easily told another story. She was indeed a little annoyed with all that smoke, after all.
Unnur blinked as the person before her shifted in her place, never once taking her blue eyes off the woman's very own, and blinked one more time when she took a step towards her. Great, she was even putting the cigarette back in her mouth. "My mama also told me not to divulge private information to strangers," she mused. She let a moment of silence pass by, before speaking up again. "But, if you really must know, this cold is nothing compared to our winter hailstorms."
It seemed like the icy climate raised equally icy children. Gwyneth was a tad vexed as to this child's attitude - it was like the motives of an adult, packaged down and shoved inside the body of a little one. Perhaps she wasn't giving her enough credit. Ferris didn't really recall much of herself at that age, so she had no real basis of comparison. Even within her own city domain, children were seen and not heard.
"My mother told me a lot of things. She told me to settle down, quit training Pokemon, and to find a nice husband." Ferris plucked the cig from her lips and stared at it for a moment, looking just past the light wisps of smokes from the heated end meeting the icy air - that small patch of heat and cold between herself and Unnur. Another second of staring past it and she dropped it, letting her heel press it into the snow with a turn to ensure the flaming embers were all dead. The scent lingered deep in her nostrils, but perhaps the loss of the flaming spear would get this child to lower her shield.
This kid still had a lot to say about her mom. Must be close to her, or maybe her mom is one of those control-freaks that never lets her kid out of sight except for these rare happenstances. It was too soon to tell, and too soon to care. Ferris ghosted the motions for pulling a cigarette to her lips, instead rubbing her chin, and smiled. Well, tried to smile. Ferris' face wasn't exactly built for such an emotion so easily. "You must be tougher than I thought. This is rather cold to me. Herc keeps me warm though." The Aggron shifted weight at the name drop, opening and keeping an eye on the tiny human before going back to hunkering down to rest. "Is there anything I can help you out with, kid?"
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Nov 18, 2014 19:08:04 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
The woman talked about various topics Unnur didn't really understand. Not fully, not partially, not at all. So, when the darkhaired woman spoke of her own mother, Unnur would stay quiet and listen in contemplative silence. Not an inch of her tiny body moved until she saw the offending piece of paper and tobacco fall to the ground, only to be heartlessly smashed by the woman's shoes. That was when little Unnur allowed herself a small nod. The smell still bothered her, to be honest, but at least its toxic fire was out now. Her mama would be proud.
"Help?" The young girl tilted her head in puzzlement. Why would this woman be asking her if she wanted her help? If anything, it would be Unnur helping her out, right? She was the one standing in the cold for no reason and ruining her lungs with that cigarette, after all. She wasn't in need of this woman's help, but Unnur did have many questions to ask. "Why would I need your help? And why would your mama tell you to leave your Pokémon, anyway? That just sounds silly. Your mama doesn't like any fun, does she? I don't know if your mama's such a good mama if she didn't even tell you not to smoke."
Throughout her short and very cheeky speech, Unnur's eyes were fixed on the other human's own orbs. Their evident height difference complicated her struggle, and only made her look smaller than she already was. Once she was done staring, however, the girl's attention would be focused on the Pokémon accompanying her and on it alone. Unnur's ocean-coloured eyes sparkled as she gazed at its luminous, shiny back, and then back at its tall trainer in a haphazard attempt at masking her desire to ride the Aggron.
Ferris decided that part halfway through her tiny tirade. It was making her somewhat uncomfortable; normally, her own pointed gaze was enough to make the other conversation participant shift around and look away. But here was this... what, ten? Yeah, pretty much a ten year old kid, prattling to her about the consequences of having a bad mommy. Ferris was somewhat torn on how to deal with her - whether or not to reprimand her for being so cheeky, or perhaps a light social bump about being rude, or to even drop it entirely and just let the girl's own mother deal with it.
It seemed like it would just be a dropped subject for another day, with Ferris simply going off to leave the girl alone in cold. That couldn't stop the staring or the wandering eyes, and in all likelihood Ferris just assumed the small one would follow her. "We all need help." She was one to talk, of course, but Gwyneth tended to resist help in all forms. Being twice the size of her... talkative companion did help, but only so much.
She followed her gaze to Hercules, watching the Aggron get comfortable. The big lug tended to be pretty resistant to the weather. That was good; this moderate chill would leave him pretty alright. Eyes went back to Unnur. "She did tell me not to smoke. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, though. You'll get there one day. Not everything is all about moms." A silent moment where she desperately wanted that cigarette back. A quick inhale would do her wonders for this kind of speaking. "Some people even grow up to be moms."
"Also, Herc doesn't really mind if you stare at him. He doesn't do much." This was true. Hercules was rather lax in all things in life. Still, what to do about this kid. "I can't hang out in the ice forever. I have places to be."
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Dec 6, 2014 16:18:34 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
Unnur really did not understand, and so she kept staring. Ocean-coloured eyes were wandering, moving as freely and easily as a couple of fish underwater, looking for clues that would help her decipher the enigma that was adulthood. She wasn't having much luck. It was only once the Aggron's trainer said that everybody needed help that things started to make a little more sense for the child. She still could not comprehend everything that encompassed the woman's reply, mind you, but her four words made so much sense in that precise moment that Unnur couldn't help but want to cry many salty tears whose origins were as much of a puzzle as everything else in her short exchange with the tall dark-haired woman.
Why? This was not such an easy question to answer. Unnur did not have one reason neatly organised in her mind, as language usually helped and demanded you do, but rather a mix of memories and the emotions that each of them awakened inside her to thank for her tears. She'd always thought she didn't need help, that she could protect mama from the ugly world and the hallucinations all on her own, but one couldn't force such a young child to be always that optimistic, and sometimes it got tiring. Oh, so tiring. Unnur let her eyelids lower at the thought.
A light frown surreptitiously made its way to the young girl's silently crying face at the mention of the sleepy Aggron she had been indelicately staring at. She'd been caught. Caught with tears running down her face. Unnur's eyes widened, and soon she'd be blinking rapidly. Maybe, if she acted as if nothing was wrong, the woman would ignore those naughty drops. "Okay," she vaguely allowed, her voice a little softer than before. If she had places to be, Unnur wouldn't keep her busy for long. She had places to be, as well, after all. Unnur did not ask where she was going or what for, or even if the tall woman wanted to be a mom, too.
Hercules didn't always understand humans. They were soft and fleshy, and had a lot of odd needs. They ate meat, they walked on two legs all the time, and they used a variety of devices for the weirdest things. He was content to live beside them, particularly his owner. She was okay, and fed him plenty of soil and trees. This midget, however, or perhaps a hatchling... it kept staring at him. So, Hercules stared right back.
The waterworks. Oh, no. Herc's trainer had yet to notice, as she was looking over at the town and destination, but the Aggron had noted it. Shifting in place, the shelled monster kept soft eyes on the little girl as more tears dripped down.
It only took a few crunching steps to get over to her, at which Ferris turned and saw the Aggron bend over and face the girl, leaning an eye down into her face. Huffing a steam of breath out, Herc reached a clawed arm out and scooped up the girl the way he knew how; by manhandling the snow beneath her and then heaving her onto his shoulder. Perhaps it would shock her, perhaps not, but the Aggron was giving off an odd amount of warmth in the snow and had already turned towards the direction of the town, waiting for Ferris' orders.
The gym leader was a tad curious on her Pokemon's behavior, but had nothing more to say outside of raising eyebrows. "It seems like we're giving you a ride, kid." Ferris latched her own hand onto one of the grooves in the armor and hoisted herself up, taking a seat on the other shoulder. "We're going into town. That work for you?"
Hercules just grunted in impatience. Humans. Always wasting time, always in a hurry, all at the same time.
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Dec 10, 2014 16:37:55 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
She was sluggish after sobbing so many silly tears, and her eyelids were rather tired and lenient, making the steamy air leaving the Aggron's nostrils to land directly in her face work as a wake-up alarm after a long and harsh nightmare. Which was actually short and not as harsh a nightmare, but details mattered little right now. What mattered was that—and Unnur had to repress a gasp at this—she was riding atop its shoulder! A few more tears ran down Unnur's lovely, rosy cheeks, one of them even somehow ran up her equally rosy nose, but the young girl was no longer worried about mama or what she'd be finding when she got home.
Eyeing not the older woman's grand ascent onto her mount, but the scenery before them, young Unnur would take the briefest of moments to admire the view from above before nodding in agreement. "Works for me," she whispered.
Silence filled the air from then. Now that she'd gotten the woman to stop smoking, and that the topic of mothers—which she hadn't verbally contributed much to anyway—was dropped, Unnur had nothing much to say. Neither did she, it would seem, or maybe that was just the snow not letting her listen. Eventually, though, the question of where the two visitors were going would spring up. It was none of Unnur's business, she knew, but if she and her Aggron were going to give her a ride, she might as well ask for their final destination.
"What did you come to Anatase for?" Outsiders were sparse and most often well camouflaged, and seeing a person not so used to the cold riding on a steel monster like this was quite the sight. Most importantly, Unnur had to know which the best route for prolonguing her ride would be, according to the route she was given.
Hercules set the pace as slow, long steps. His tail dragged back and worth behind them, clearing the large footprints away by accident as they lugged their way into town. It was still a few hills away, but Herc didn't care. He just liked having a destination in mind, not the time it took to reach it. His nostrils would continue to create little flares of steam, fluttering up and over the riding duo on his back. It was like a very slow, very reliable train.
Ferris rather enjoyed the silence that was there, while it was there. She wasn't one for conversation or the cold, and having both together left her wishing she was without the girl beside her. It was with some luck, then, that this little one shared in her lack of conversational need for the time being. Ferris kept her seat, watching the snowscape around them as it slowly opened up and began to look a little more like civilization.
"I have to meet with the local gym leader on some business," she began, clicking her tongue into the roof of her mouth in a light pause. "I don't suppose you know the best way to reach the gym? I was just going to go to the Pokemon Center and get directions from there." Perhaps this little one could help shorten her time wasted, unaware that the aggron-rider might want to make the time on her mount last.
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Dec 24, 2014 17:46:26 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
Past a hill and up another, past a hill and up another, back down and up and then all over again. It was all starting to get a bit repetitive, in Unnur's honest opinion, but she was nowhere close to complaining. She was liking her ride on this noble, armoured steed, and most of her attention was focused solely on him. When the woman's answer came, however, Unnur couldn't help but redirect her efforts to wondering who exactly she was, and what kind of business she was going to be attending. "Are you going to challenge the gym leader?" she asked. The woman looked like no rookie trainer, but Unnur had never before in her ten years of life heard of anyone coming all the way to Anatase to challenge her hermit town's gym leader. Maybe that was just that. She hadn't heard them.
Now, Unnur may not be the most innocent of frozen country pumpkins out there, but she was certainly no liar. Not yet, anyway. She did not want to lie, even if it costed her a good, fun ride on top of the Aggron that the dark-haired woman had called—and this time she was sure of it—Herc, because lying was bad. A half-truth would have to do, then. Lucky they were still a good ways from reaching the Pokémon Center, and the town altogether, for it was easy to see from there that there was a much easier way up than she was letting be known. It was much easier to see the wooden elevator waiting to facilitate the climb to anyone who desired to take that route, instead of the deadly one.
"You'll have to climb up that mountain," she said, pointing at one tall wall of rock and snow that seemed to circle only one side of the town proper. "The gym is at its peak. They say travelling up supposed to be a challenge in itself, but it's quite easy if you know where to go, how to navigate in the snow, and what to avoid. It'll be faster if you skip stopping by the Pokémon Center and start climbing from over there." Unnur took a big breath before continuing. She had been talking in a rather monotone, matter-of-fact manner until then, but she was about to begin with the most crucial part of her short speech, the part that would determine whether she got to prolongue her ride or not, and she couldn't afford to ruin it. "I know where to go. I could take you."
The idea of challenging another gym leader was amusing. Amusing, and a curious thought process that would kick off at the thought. Ferris had never really considered challenging her coworkers in a serious match before, but it could prove to be a fun endeavor. These people were supposed to be her equals in authority and power, so they should be equals in a Pokemon match. In theory, of course. Ferris tended to one-up people given her strict regiment and her longevity in the job.
It would be then that Ferris would stare into the mountain, wondering about the gym leader of the town. "No, I'm not here to challenge the leader. This is a business meeting." It was true; this was a matter of meeting and setting up schedules and routines. If she was going to be in charge of the Orre area, like her counterparts Erika and Pryce, she was going to have to keep an eye out on all of these people. Given the nature of the region, it was likely they could cause... trouble if left unattended. Ferris' gaze followed upwards, looking to the peak - the supposed destination. The notion of skipping the entry into town was odd, but she didn't actually require any supplies or healing. Hercules was still good to go, although climbing the mountainside might be easier done with another...
Ferris lightly smacked her heel into Herc's shoulder, getting him to lumber to a slow stop. "Are you sure you can take me up the mountain? I'll be there a while, and you'll be stuck up there with me. I highly doubt your family will appreciate you being gone for so long." Another heel tap, and Hercules continued on towards the mountainside, picking up his slow speed once more.
Post by Unnur Liefsdóttir on Dec 31, 2014 21:21:45 GMT -5
where stars are drowning
Unnur didn't get it. What business was there to be had with gym leaders, if not challenging them to battle to the death? Yeah, not much came to mind to the ten year old staring at the Aggron trainer. She did not press this matter, however, instead allowing the woman's train of thought to progress uninterrupted. Until her family was, again, mentioned. "I don't think mama would mind... much... Possibly." Unnur was evidently not too sure about this, but the conviction she lacked when it came to her mother's approval to her staying out until late was more than made up for with her desire to keep this person company—and, most importantly, keep her Aggron company.
"I don't mind waiting," she affirmed, her resolve regained. Unnur's eyes burnt with pure determination. She could not waver at this point. "I could always go back home on my own, if it gets too late." Suggesting alternatives was a good way of appearing certain about one's decisions, right? "With Manny," she clarified. And sound, realistic alternatives were even better, right? But then Unnur was still curious about why they were going up, anyway. Knowing about this would certainly help her come up with more and better excuses. Right? Fixing her skirt as if it had already been decided that she was coming along, she asked, "What kind of business is this, then? What other things do gym leaders do, other than accepting challenges?"
It seemed like she was dealing with quite the mature one. Ferris lightly raised her eyebrows at the idea of this girl getting all the way back down the mountain by herself on this Manny, but there was no reason to question it... alone, that it. But it seemed like she wasn't too sure with herself, and it prompted Ferris to turn her head to give the little girl a look over.
Rather than a look of uncertainty, like a sheepish child caught in a lie, she saw the inner fire of these northerners shining bright. For one this young to be so determined was rather impressive, and brought a small smile to her lips - she turned before she thought she could be caught in such a position, focusing on where her dear Aggron was headed instead as they trundled along, the heavy body of the Pokemon shoving through the ice and snow.
"Manny sounds reliable. Have you known Manny for long?" She assumed this Manny was a Pokemon of sorts, but it would be bad to shove a foot in her mouth at this point. She had seemingly gained this little one's respect or trust, perhaps both, so she'd do well to keep it and keep the local happy. "Hm. There would be little point in a gym leader battling a gym leader, wouldn't you think? We have a lot of business to attend to outside of battles. I have to go and oversee all the other gym leaders, and I do my best to keep the peace at home. Even gym leaders have bosses we have to listen to."
