2 ♪ (backdated to the night of the earthquake)

[celebrity_commentator]

Log Deputy: Nerdo (nerdorama, Nerdorama)
Participating Characters: Rise Kujikawa, Asemu Asuno, Kaito, Ichiro Ogami, Sakura Shinguji, John Egbert, Lucas, Jinxie Tenma
Plot Description: Earthquake leads minor celebrity to getting in way over her head, so it's time for a dramatic rescue and a sudden development of minor superpowers.
Warnings/Notes: Surprisingly none considering what this is attempting to emulate...

The first thing Rise noticed was that it was dark when she opened her eyes, followed immediately by a splitting headache as she sat up. A confusing whirlwind of thoughts started up, starting with the fact that the last thing she remembered was taking a walk, not going to bed. In that case, she wondered, why had she been asleep, and what was that under her head if it wasn't a pillow--

"Happi!"

Well, that answered that question. Rise shook her head, then regretted it, but her eyes gradually focused on Toyo, looking only slightly scraped amid what looked like the rubble of a section of street.

"Hey Toyo...," she said a little blearily. "Did I land on you? Sorry..."

Rise took a couple of deep breaths and assessed her situation. She had clearly fallen, and most of the wreckage around her did not look like freshly collapsed street. Had she fallen all the way into the Old City? Toyo being so cushiony was probably the only reason she hadn't cracked her head open. She looked up, but couldn't see the night sky or any tower lights. Whatever hole she'd fallen through was covered up now. One wave of nausea later, she checked her Warp Band. She wasn't getting much of a signal, but she didn't have any other way to ask for help, and there were distressing grinding sounds coming from the ruins around her.

"Hello? Anybody?" she asked into her Warp Band. "I think I fell."

She rubbed her head. "What happened? This looks like underground. Can anyone help?"

She shook the Warp Band a couple times to try and get a better signal, but without much effect. Then she heard the other sounds: Pokémon cries. Pained, angry, panicked, she couldn't tell, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere, and if she was in the Old City...

"I think we need to move...," she said to her Happiny and, gingerly picking her up, did her best to run.

---

[Audio]

--hello?--I fell...happened--underground--help?

((Rise is trapped in a section of the Old City that's mostly cut off from the surface now, along with a good number of panicking Pokémon. This is the log to come rescue her and hopefully the trapped mons as well. We have a large group so no tagging order is necessary and it's not going to be a long dungeon-crawl so I think we can just single-thread this. Thanks!))

Comments

[second_destiny]

[Asemu pulls two white cylinders, each about eight inches long, from his belt and grasps them in his hands. Swordia and Alex disappear, and Bullet starts flapping around above everyone's heads.]

Thanks. Bullet, scout ahead for us a little bit! Look and listen for anything strange!

[He breaks into a jog, following Lucas, Bullet flying ahead of him.]

[celebrity_commentator]

[Asemu's Fletchling finds a number of things strange. Several panicked-looking Pokémon more common to the streets of Union are busily hiding from the stampeding Old City residents, for one thing - Rise's not the only person who wound up down here by accident.]

[More to the point, as they proceed down the path, the rescue party will start to hear the voice they heard on the Warp Band much more clearly, but inside their heads.]

What's going on...why are they all so mad?

[second_destiny]

[Bullet doesn't bother doubling back to alert his trainer. It stands to reason that others would have been caught, too. He continues to fly ahead and scout.

Asemu, on the other hand...]

What the--

[...pauses. Telepathy. The person they're searching for is a psychic. If nothing else, growing up as an Asuno taught him about psychic powers, even if he can't use them.

Which means he can't reply in kind, so to his Warp Band he goes.]

Hey! Can you hear me? Who's mad?

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas, on his part, happens to be a psychic, but also lacks telepathic powers. He'll glance over at Asemu as he attempts to establish communication.]

Oh, um -- we can hear your voice a lot more clearly when you use your powers... Maybe you should respond that way.

[somnambulatory]

Do you have any Psychic type Pokemon with you, Rise? Or maybe Ghost types? I can sense those, and it might help us find you faster.

[Hopefully any of this is making it through to her.]

[celebrity_commentator]

[Xty feet away, Rise's startled by the sudden influx of audible voices and spends a good five seconds flailing and looking around for her rescuers before really listening to what they said]

Powers? What? Hello? Who's talking? Can you hear me? Er...if you can, it's just me and Toyo and a bunch of Grimers and I don't think she can take them...

[second_destiny]

[Asemu picks up at the sound of that. He also calls upon Sielg in case they need to play decoy for the Grimer horde.]

What are they doing? Are they being aggressive? We're coming as fast as we can, so hang in there!

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas reflects that of all the Pokemon in the Old City, Grimer hordes probably manage to encompass at least half the problems that people ran into here. Their habits of swarming en masse had a tendency to frighten people...]

It's us! The people on the Warp Band earlier.

Try to get to higher ground if you can...

[Honestly he didn't have much good advice here.]

[somnambulatory]

Maybe Goo can help calm down the other Grimers when we get there.

[It's worth a shot. She seems a happy enough sort. As happy as sentient piles of toxic sludge seem to get, anyway.]

[celebrity_commentator]

I'll...hey, I think you're headed the right way? It sounds like you're getting closer, I guess--HEY!

[Rise's mental voice more or less cuts off at that point, but there's the sound of Pokémon fighting coming from around the next corner, so it won't be hard to find her.]

[When you do, her distress becomes pretty apparent. She's cornered up on an old peace of machinery in the dark while a small herd of Grimers grasps up the side of it. The lightest spot in the dim chamber is Rise's Happiny, which is valiantly (for a tiny pink blob) trading ineffective slaps with the one Grimer that's managed to get up on the machines with the girl and her Pokémon.]

[Careful examination will reveal several other lost-looking Pokémon around the sides of the room, seemingly afraid of the Grimer swarm, the human trespassers, and whatever it is everything else is running from at the same time and unable to move.]

[second_destiny]

Sielg, Tackle! Now!

[The Koffing throws itself at the Grimer attacking the Happiny at full speed. Meanwhile, Bullet begins to dive-bomb the others.]

Hey, the rest of you sludge piles! Over this way!

[lifeissuffering]

[With no Pokemon terribly effective against the Grimer, Ogami takes matters into his own hands]

HAAAAA!

[A blast of blue psychic energy fires from his drawn twin swords, slamming into two Grimers with a satisfying smack]

[somnambulatory]

Goo! Go help them out!

[Jinxie's new Grimer nods enthusiastically, joining the fray and glomming onto one of the members of the horde.]

You too, Dokuro!

[Her Duskull does likewise, flying over and unleashing a Night Shade attack on one of the other sludge piles.]

[celebrity_commentator]

[All of the "combatants" look surprised at the sudden intervention, especially the one Grimer being tackled by his fourth cousin or something. The horde in general starts to break up in a confused fashion for the moment. Rise recovers first, though.]

You guys could really hear me? I--hey, hang on, Toyo, try copying that!

[Her Happiny nods, and does a surprisingly good imitation of Dokuro's expression as she throws out a copy of the Night Shade attack. Toyo looks extremely proud of the five HP of damage she inflicted on the increasingly annoyed Grimer before stumbling slightly, looking sick.]

Um, it's probably obvious but these guys can poison you...d-does anyone have an antidote for Toyo?

[second_destiny]

Hang on!

[As a ranger, Asemu never goes out unprepared, so he has a few Antidotes to spare. He pulls his backpack off, unzips it, and pulls one out.]

Bullet! Fly this over to her!

[Bullet immediately breaks away from the confusion and grabs the Antidote in its feet, then takes off again, this time toward Rise.]

[lifeissuffering]

[Meanwhile, Ogami is going to charge his blades with psychic energy and attempt to break through to Rise by blasting Grimer out of the way]

"We're on our way!"

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas's glow will intensify slightly as the cyan lights begin to spiral around him.]

Please leave this to us.

[Or, well, to the people who could actually fight competently. But the light arcs forward to connect him briefly with the Happiny, and Lucas pours some of his energy into the Pokemon to heal her.]

[celebrity_commentator]

[Rise hastily grabs the Antidote and fumbles with administering it to Toyo, who looks a lot better after that and Lucas's Lifeup.]

[The milling Grimers scatter - especially at Ogami's assault - but then swirl around back to the way they were. There's something particular in here that's keeping them from running away like they logically should, although a couple of the cowering surface Pokémon make a break for it.]

[One of those surface Pokémon, though - a Ralts, bizarrely enough - is following behind Ogami, more or less ignoring the blobby Poison-types or the fact that there's a fight going on at all.]

[somnambulatory]

Hey, what is that Ralts doing down here...?

[Jinxie blinks at the out of place Psychic type, pointing it out to the others.]

[lifeissuffering]

"Huh!? Where did you come from!?"

[a_gentle_boy]

...Um.

[Lucas also blinks.]

Jinxie, can you ask it if it fell in, too?

[somnambulatory]

Uh-huh. I can try, anyway.

[Jinxie waves to the Ralts, trying to get its attention.]

Um... hello? Are you trapped down here too?

[celebrity_commentator]

[The Ralts turns and acknowledges Jinxie, sending her a psychic impression that amounts to "everyone needs to calm down". Then it turns to Rise and apparently tries to convey the same thing.]

What do you mean, "calm down"? They're attacking me!

[More Ralts staring. Well, as much as a Ralts can stare. Toyo looks askance at it, but it does seem to be helping.]

Here...there's a quicker way to do this, right? Sorry if this bothers you, I've never done this before...

[Rise raises her hand rather unsurely, and sets her Warp Band to Bond with the Ralts that's so desperate to tell her something. Meanwhile, the Grimers are starting to regroup...]

[a_gentle_boy]

Um. Excuse me...

[Lucas walks up to the Grimers and pause for a moment.]

Could everyone look at me for a little bit?

[In the next moment, a brilliant light flashes that will hopefully blind them and distract them for a bit, living underground in the darkness as they had for so long.]

[lifeissuffering]

[At which point Ogami is gonna blast a bunch of 'em with psychic shockwaves]