*propane nightmares synth in the BG because I don't want to think of a title*

[infiltrationtools]

Who: Akira and YOU
Where: Places around Mango City
When: After October 16, but before the event
What: Various prompts, mostly involving bodyswaps or the return of Raoul! Literally this is just a post-regain pre-Halloween toplevel, that I put on a new entry because the Part 2 log is all spooky and the Part 1 log is fucking huge.

I. EARTH WITHOUT ART…

[On display now, says the poster. Regionally renowned artist Ken Sugimori’s latest exhibit, CHALLENGER!! Celebrating the trials and tribulations of Cassava’s Gym Challenge! Prominently featured on the advertising plastered all over the Mango City Art Museum is Sugimori’s lovingly rendered painting of Gym Leader Mari, standing alone on a mountain peak with her arms spread wide, Skarmory feathers falling all around her.]

[Akira frowns at the poster, and shakes his head. ‘There’s no point,’ he thinks.]

[’Think for a moment,’ someone else thinks. ’How many of the relics in this building were stolen from the desert, I wonder?’]

[‘You’re just bored.’]

[’And so are you.’]

[‘I’d rather just go beat Mari myself.’]

[’Which you haven’t done yet. I would have thought you’d have taken her down by now!’]

[Akira scoffs out loud, well aware of why he hasn’t tried to face Mari yet.]

It’s not happening.

[To any normal observer, he’s having an unusually strong negative reaction to this poster. To anyone with an ability to read minds or see souls, something much stranger is happening — he’s having an internal conversation with another entity, a peculiar and not-quite-human thing named Raoul.]

II. …IS JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[There is literally no reason for anyone to be at the graveyard this late at night. In a world where ghosts are not only a real thing but also a common phenomenon, basic sense tells you to maybe stay away from anywhere the veil between life and death is weakest.]

[Unless you’re looking for Pokémon. Which Akira is. This time though, he’s not alone! A strange… man? is sitting cross-legged on top of a mausoleum, kicking his spiked stiletto heel uncomfortably widely. This man looks like he’s ten feet tall, because he is, and looks like he has mechanical wings and no face, because he does. He’s also smoking a cigar, in a graveyard, like an asshole.]

’I should like to see what these Pokémon of yours can do. The ones you have right now, they’re… how do I put this? They’re young.’

[Akira pops his head up out of the grass.]

There are more Pokémon here than just mine, obviously. You haven’t met Gyarados.

[They go on like this for a while, Akira abruptly shutting up whenever he hears a noise. Maybe that noise is a Pokémon, maybe it's not.]

III. BAD BODY DOUBLE/WILDCARD

[One of Akira’s bonuses this month is to swap bodies with another person for a week! If you’d like that person to be your character for shenanigans, or you want to do something specific with Akira and/or Raoul and/or the Pokémon, let me know on Plurk at skysplitter or via Discord!]

Comments

[infiltrationtools]

[The giant winged figure is idly ruffling his mechanical wings, almost like they're a living extension of his body. He hears muffled words somewhere in the distance; idly, Raoul turns his head toward the direction of the noise, looking for a source.]

[From a distance, all that can be seen under the hat is glowing red eyes and the burning, smoky tip of a cigar.]

[Akira for his part is moving further and further away from Raoul, crawling through the grass wearing some ratty traveling clothes (it's fine if they get dirty). Still, the grass is not quite tall enough to completely conceal his body, so in some spots there may be a moving form visible. Kinda looks like a Pokémon?]

[scension]

[The thing in the grass may as well be a Pokemon, and Sagi can't see anything else around, so his next careful and cautious method of investigation is to just... walk closer to that building, in plain sight...

Once he does, he finds that it's staring right at him with ominous glowing eyes. How could this have happened?]

Those eyes are something else...

[When he actually addresses the figure instead of talking to himself some more, he has to tilt his head back a little to meet them.]

Um. Hello.

[This is awkward now.]

[infiltrationtools]

'Good evening!'

[The strange creature speaks with a surprisingly chipper quality.]

'I am so glad to hear what you think of my eyes. They are terrifically useful for nighttime walks, are they not?'

[Raoul knows full well that was probably meant to be an insult.]

[scension]

Oh wow, they work that way?

[It wasn't a deliberate insult, as that would require any amount of forethought behind most of the things that Sagi thinks aloud, but it's extra awkward to realise that the apparition heard him.]

...I'm sorry if this is rude, but are you a Pokemon?

[He would understand if it was rude. He still gets this question a little too often. This does not prevent him from asking, because again, forethought.]

[infiltrationtools]

'I am Raoul de Limezy.'

[This answers exactly zero of Sagi's two questions, but Raoul is still smiling. It is unclear whether or not he can do anything without smiling.]

[scension]

I guess he's not a Pokemon.

[That's directed at himself again, though he's no quieter for it. He could be proven wrong at some point, but so far he hasn't picked up the impression that Pokemon get to have last names. It did sound like this guy has a last name, if a weird and old-timey one. Plus, the apparition is, you know, talking.]

Then... are you a ghost? A spirit?

[When he looks back up at Raoul, there's still no trace of guile on his face, but there might be a faintly worried quirk at the side of his mouth mixed in with the earnest curiosity.]

[infiltrationtools]

'I've been called a phantom, yes. Maybe it's best to stay on that.'

[He doesn't really want to go into the exact nature of a Persona with a boy who seems so... well, dull. Raoul leans forward, propping his head on one hand.]

'And who are you, young man?'

[scension]

[His mom thinks he's cool. :(

Sagi himself remains oblivious to Raoul's low opinion of him; he mostly looks relieved. A phantom is not the same as a guardian spirit, so it's probably safe to cross the familiar kind of spirit bullshit off the long list of potential bullshit at work here after all.]

Sagi. Just Sagi. I was looking for my friend in the tower, but I didn't hear his voice or his heart in there, so chances are he's not here.

[At this point in time, he has no particular reason not to be honest. It means absolutely nothing to a stranger.]

Sorry if I bothered you.

[It's only polite.]

[infiltrationtools]

'It is a pleasure, Sagi. Just Sagi.'

[Hehee hoho such a funny joke.]

'Your friend's heart, you say? Tell me more. I have been here for some time, so perhaps if they have come and gone, I could tell you.'

[scension]

[Continuing to be very dull, Sagi doesn't react like he heard the joke at all, although he did. His buttons are elsewhere.]

Oh - no, thank you, but it's okay. He usually lives inside me, so if he found his way here, I would've heard him.

[infiltrationtools]

'Hmm. I see.'

[More and more interesting. Somewhere in the back of Raoul's head, Akira is listening, almost like he's on a voice call as he skulks through the darkness hunting for Pokémon. Raoul can sense Akira's interest, as well, so of course he must gather more information.]

'It is such a strange experience, to have another live inside you -- but not altogether unpleasant.'

[scension]

[Huh.] You have someone like that too?

[Well... why not? Sagi wouldn't have entertained the idea before, but when everything is weird and nothing makes sense, a giant ghost man might as well have a ghost of his own. Big man, big heart, lots of space. ...Okay, it probably doesn't work exactly like that, whatever it is.]

[infiltrationtools]

'That's right.'

[Raoul looks meaningfully over at a particular patch of grass. Almost as if on cue, Akira's head pops up; there's leaves and sticks all caught in his hair, and he's frowning very seriously, like he's working hard on something.]

[scension]

[Sagi nearly jumps.]

Akira?!

[But they're both - there?? How does that work? Reluctant to get stuck on how weird that is, yet having no reason to doubt the word of a giant stiletto-heeled ghost he found sitting in a graveyard, Sagi falls back on what he knows, which is trying to be polite.]

I, uh, guess I was interrupting something after all. Sorry.

[infiltrationtools]

[ !! ]

[Akira whips his head around, instinctively ducking lower in the grass — but wait, it's just Sagi.]

Oh. Hey.

[He stands up properly. Raoul seems amused.]

No, just looking for Pokémon.

[scension]

[He tilts his head. The possibility of his otherwise fruitless poking around the tower turning out to be useful to someone else makes a decent temporary distraction from less immediate trains of thought.] Any in particular?

[infiltrationtools]

Mostly anyone who can help us beat Mari.

[Since Raoul is right there, it makes more sense to talk in first person plural, even though Raoul's main contribution to battles is just giving out buffs.]

[scension]

You're trying the gym challenge? Both of you?

[That's the only real interpretation unless he really got the wrong impression of Akira before, he supposes. Though, not realising Akira was two people would qualify as a wrong impression...]

So you'd be looking for... fire, water, and ground element Pokemon, right? Out of the ones I heard about, the only ones I've seen around here in the past few days were those little candles.

[Unless Akira already knew about those. Listen, he's trying.]

[infiltrationtools]

Well. Raoul helps and he's right there.

[Akira shrugs. The questions of personhood and Personas are really something else, huh?]

Oh, the Litwicks. I didn't know they were around here.

[Akira knows vaguely that a Steelix is involved in that battle, but he doesn't think ahead enough to remember that Ground beats Fire.]

[scension]

Yeah, those. I wouldn't call them common, but I saw them in the tower once or twice.

[That's all he's got as far as trying to be helpful goes. He barely scraped through that gym battle, after all.]

She's pretty tough, not going to lie... and kind of hard to talk to... But you sound like you know your stuff already. I'm sure you'll be fine. I'll be rooting for you!

[infiltrationtools]

You already fought her?

[Akira tilts his head. Raoul is now looking at Sagi expectantly. What can you tell them about her?]

[scension]

Uh, yeah. Last week. It seemed like a good idea to try.

[He looks faintly sheepish. He can see that he's getting stared at in stereo all of a sudden, but why? It's awkward.]

[infiltrationtools]

...

[So that's how it's going to be. Raoul speaks up this time.]

"Her strategies, son. We're asking for information about her."

[scension]

[Oh.]

You could've just said that...

[Way to make him feel slow on the uptake and not just be slow on the uptake. He lets it slide, though.]

Right. Her deployment is six of the same kind of Pokemon, one at a time - unless she changes it up, but it seems common for gym leaders to have a signature team. They're called Steelix. Their types are Steel and Ground, and they shrug off most close-range attacks. Magic works better, even if you'd think the element match-up was off. Fire, water and earth magic still work best. Don't try to outrange them, either. Their reach is really long.

[His tone of voice is flatter, and very slightly faster, when he starts rattling that off. It doesn't seem pointed. He isn't even looking directly at Raoul or Akira, he's staring vaguely off to his side while he tries to remember anything else.]

She doesn't seem to heal them that often, nor swap them out. So, you can treat them as successive rounds of the same fight, if you don't get worn down too much... Though that might be a big if. They hit hard. The later ones hit harder. If we hadn't healed more than she did, and healed after the room full of birds and electric machines, we wouldn't have made it. It was a slog as is.

[He shrugs. That's about it. When he looks back over at Akira, it's with another open, earnestly encouraging smile.]

But you guys shouldn't have trouble when you're already this prepared.

[infiltrationtools]

[This is all very good information. Raoul and Akira are listening attentively, mentally taking notes -- literally taking notes, in Akira's case, he has his phone out and is click-clacking away. Raoul is mostly just watching Sagi, specifically the changes in his body language and voice.]

'Well, I admit I did not expect that level of depth, but we deeply appreciate it.'

Heal after the birds and the machines... mhm. Got it.

[Akira clicks his phone off, and finally looks up.]

Thanks a lot, Sagi.