VICTORY ROAD IC INBOX

[toothaches]

COOL INBOX STUFF WILL GO HERE

Comments

[Video]

[thelittlegingerthatcould]

Hey, uh...if I died tomorrow or disappeared, I just want you to know that you're the person I'd want Amelia and Tyra to go to.

I hope that's okay.

[Video]

[toothaches]

_{[Maurice is in the middle of eating a sandwich and flips the video on by accident. Most of it has dribbled down onto his shirt collar from surprise.]}

Woah woah what?

[Video]

[thelittlegingerthatcould]

I was just making sure you wouldn't mind if you got them if I just went and poofed!

I was told you should have like...a pokewill or something. And Steven might be evil, so. I figured now or never.

[Video]

[toothaches]

_{[He peels a tomato off his shirt and distractedly puts it into his mouth as he tries to process what his friend is saying.]}

Wait is your Pokemon going to murder you? Wouldn't...wouldn't the little book they gave us have said something about that?

[Video]

[thelittlegingerthatcould]

I would definitely hope so, but man. Steven evolved and I swear the look he gave me could kill if he wasn't already plotting my demise in his pokeball.

He like, flipped upside down and those cute little fins on is head are now his legs and he looks like some Cthulhu horror!

[Video]

[toothaches]

That's...not good. Maybe you should put 'em in the PC or something. Are you okay, dude?

COUPLA DAYS AFTER PROM - Voice!

[rambling_runner]

[ Okay. He's showered. He's slept. He's been eating some great, hearty meals after surviving on...he doesn't know why he didn't go hungry, they were in that damn mansion for like a week apparently. His Pokemon are rested up and feeling way, way better (except Fionn but he's gonna need some TLC). It's time to talk to Maurice. ]

Hey man! I think I'm alive. Have you recovered on your end too?

[voice]

[toothaches]

_{Hello? Wh-- hang on!}

[He flips the Poke'gear the right way around.]

Oh, hey man, yeah...I got to ice my knee and it really helped.

[rambling_runner]

Ah, good. I know some of those arseholes got off with way worse.

So ur. About what you asked me afterwards. You still wanna give it a shot?

[toothaches]

_{[There is a loud WHUD as Maurice rolls off his hotel bed. He's now completely awake.]}

Oh! Uh! Yeah! Totally! Y'mean it?

[rambling_runner]

Yeah, course. I wouldn't take the piss with something like this.

[toothaches]

_{[For a moment there is silence. Maurice has no idea what comes next in a situation like this. He finally starts sputtering again.]}

C-cool! Nice! Uh. Thank you. WAIT! You don't say thank you for--uh, ahaha shit.

13th June [ Video! ]

[rambling_runner]

[ It's ya boy, Ash! He's found a pool and is sitting with his Magikarp, Dish, splashing about. And a much larger, newer Pokemon is timidly swimming around too, constantly checking that Ash and his Pokemon were close by. ]

Hey Maurice! How's shit going with you? Cos...man, something kind happened. See that Lapras behind me?

[ Video! ]

[toothaches]

_{[IT IS! tHE DATE FREND. Maurice's cam flicks on with him standing at the little kitchen nook in his hotel room. The microwave whurrs behind him.]}

Oohoho shit dude! You caught The Lochness Monster! I'm alright, heating up some dinner.

[ Video! ]

[rambling_runner]

Ur...yeah. About that- I didn't catch her. Someone threw a pokeball into my hotel room. It broke open and next thing I knew, she was on top of me. But I think I got an idea why.

I think either someone got her from Team Rocket and had to like, just toss her out before they caught up to them...or someone just got sick of her and threw her away and it was pure random luck she ended up sailing through my window. But the way she looks and acts sometimes, something real bad happened. She's got scars dude; way, way worse than Fionn or Ceannfort. I won't show you since you're about to eat though.

[ Video! ]

[toothaches]

_{[Maurice's big toothy YEAH SEAMONSTERS smiles goes out like a smashed lightbulb as Ash tells his story.]}

What...? What the fuck? That's so awful! Is she gonna be okay?

Re: [ Video! ]

[rambling_runner]

Yeah. Well I mean, I told her to the Pokemon Centre. She's not in pain and there's no open wounds but like...that shell on her back? There's this massive crack in it like...like someone tried to smash it off her.They don't think that will ever heal. And they said something about post-stress? She panics and has a breakdown in small areas. Not like with Fionn and Ceannfort where they'll start thrashing and shooting electricity everywhere, she just cowers.

Shit...I mean. I'd wanted a Lapras; spoke a guy who was breeding them a while back even. And honestly, part of me was all 'fuck yeah' when I found out someone had just, fucking tossed one right literally into my lap. But. Now I feel kinda guilty? I'm worried about her and I wanna do everything to make sure she never ends up in that position again. But, there's still some little part of me that's glad I got a Lapras which, is pretty fucking terrible.

[ Video! ]

[toothaches]

If you ask me, she's lucky she ended up being tossed at someone who's gonna give a shit about her, y'know? But I get what you mean...if I ended up with a Charizard the same way, I'd probably feel kinda like that.

_{[The microwave beeps behind Maurice and startles him. He turns, juggling the 'gear and his sad macaroni dinner until he can get over to the complimentary desk.]}

Does she got a name yet?

Text!

[rambling_runner]

Omg dude

There's swimming, surfing Pikachus out there in Kanto. I was working and someone mentioned it, so I asked when I brought them their bill. I looked it up and there's pictures of em! I gotta go out there and see em!

9th Oct Evening

[rambling_runner]

Hey man. Haven't actually caught up with ya in a while; how you doing?

[ Between his travelling, Ash just. He'd spoken to Maurice a couple of times but nothing really like a conversation. ]

[toothaches]

Oh hey dude! Doing great now that it's starting to cool off outside! I've been here a whole year and I still sunburn like crazy. What's up?

[rambling_runner]

Not much. I'm actually travelling to the Safari Zone! You ever heard of it? It's like a nature park. Tons of rare Pokemon you can see and try to catch, but without fighting. But it means getting across like, half the region. So I'm on the road with a friend right now.

Also on a strict 'don't catch any Pokemon' rule on the way there, which kinda sucks but we've both got kind of enough Pokemon, considering where we're heading and all! Anything been happening on your side?

[toothaches]

Oh yeah I saw a commercial for it! It makes me wonder if folks outside the Safari Zone try to catch Pokemon without battling them. I can throw snacks at wild Pokemon right here in Goldenrod, haha!

You're a stronger man than I, dude. I don't think I could go on a no-catching challenge. What if you see something really really cool!

[rambling_runner]

Then Ignis and Noctis will drag me off from it! They're the guys I'm travelling with. Noctis is just as bad as I am so we're on each other's case like, all the time about it!

And if we both run off to catch something, then Ignis goes all dad-mode on us and drags us off. The only exception I got right now is for a Vulpix. I tried to get one at Goldenrod at that arcade place but ur...well, things got mixed up and also our Pokemon might have blown something up, so we can't go back there.

trick or tree ;)

[foolishwren]

<sub>[A heavy, pounding bassline and low lights. Many bodies, packed in tight. Chatter on all sides.]

[It's some frat house party, the sort constantly at risk of attracting cops, but nobody seems to care. Maurice has a red cup in his hands, and every so often as he moves through the tight, messy rooms, people wave to him from the crowd. The ones who are waving all look too young to be there, but they seem to care even less than everybody else. They beckon and laugh, and sometimes he goes in their direction and sometimes he doesn't, but when he does, they seem to melt back into the crowd and out of view before he can even see what it is they were trying to get his attention for.]

[Oh well. There's an entire party, right?]

[Drifting absent-mindedly, he finds himself in the kitchen. It's just as packed as everywhere else, with hungry stoners hovering around mostly-empty bowls of chips and guac like starving vultures, and broad men in vague generic sports jerseys pawing through the fridge in search of more beer.]

[One is facing the counter, opening a box of wine, and Maurice drifts forward, empty cup in hand.]

[The jock turns.]

[Underneath the floppy skater haircut is a long skin-colored tube, extending outwards like the bell of some kind of terrible meat trumpet. Seams line it where eyes and other features should be, as though it were somehow organic and factory-assembled at the same time.]

[At the very end of the snout, there are teeth.]

[Perfect, white human teeth.]

[It lets out a piercing squeal that cuts through throbbing music like a knife.]

[And yet, he doesn't back away, even though the fear that takes hold is electric, surging. Instead he holds out the cup to be filled, and the thing-jock leans down obligingly. Dark red wine pours from its snout, flowing out between the teeth and into the cup.]

[There are suddenly more bodies squeezed into the kitchen than before. Now they all have the tube faces with the teeth at the end. They squeal too.]

[Hands that weren't there a minute ago clasp Maurice's shoulders and pound his back, or pump the air. The body language is universal: chug, chug, chug, chug!]

[He drinks the wine, and it tastes like a mouthful of pennies.]</sub>