[Jaykobell]

[Move to Roraldi Forest once the event is over, please! c:]

"So if we follow the map," the Smeargle said, a map in paws, "we should reach our destination," she continued, tapping the destination on the map. "Apparently there's a shiny somewhere in there!"

The shiny Smeargle next to her nodded confidently. "Awesome," she agreed, grinning as she looked over the map herself. "Think we'll manage to find it?" she asked, looking up to the other dog-like Pokemon.

"Of course!" the normal Smeargle said confidently as she folded the map, putting it back into her shoulder bag. "Especially with both you and I on the hunt!"

From just a little ways behind them, a loud humph noise echoed. The two Smeargles turned around.

A third Smeargle was tagging along, the color being a slight variation to the usual breed found in the wild. "Forgetting someone?" he groaned, arms crossed and eyes narrowed a little.

"Aw, Mali," the normal Smeargle said, "I didn't mean it like that. You're part of the team!" she assured the angry Smeargle. "It's just so rare that you come on hunts with us."

The shiny Smeargle nodded in agreement. "Mhm," she mumbled for an answer. "It'll be fun, though! All together!"

Maliphone rolled his eyes. True, he didn't usually tag along — but recently, he had heard worrisome rumors of something dangerous. Those two had very specific moves under their belts, for specific purposes. They would need someone to watch over them, and Maliphone had taken that title on. If they truly needed to fight for any reason, it was best for him to be here.

For the purposes of moving on, he didn't pursue the subject any further. "Can we go?" he asked.

Right away, the group started moving onward. They walked for a while, following the map — or at least, they thought they were following it. After a while, it felt like they were lost more than anything.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" the shiny Smeargle asked as she peeped at the map.

"Y... Yes!" the regular Smeargle said, trying to hide the fact she was biting her lip as she stared at the map. "See?" she added, pointing somewhere on the map. Admittedly, it looked rather lacking on details, which made it difficult to confirm where they were actually going.

The shiny Smeargle puffed her cheeks. "Perse," she said, "are we lost?"

It became clear Persephone was biting her lip. "Yeah," she admitted. "Yeah, I think so."

The shiny tilted her head. "Well, how are we gonna find our way now, then?" If the most experienced explorer they had had gotten lost, how were they supposed to get back on track?

From the back, Maliphone rolled his eyes. "We could ask someone," he suggested, and knowing exactly where the two would go, he pointed ahead. "There's a building ahead," he explained, a mysterious building — which looked like an observatory — sitting just a little ways away from them.

Persephone gasped. "Good thinking!" she complimented, and she folded the map again. "Let's go knock and ask!"

The shiny Smeargle blinked. "Oh, well, I hope someone's there," she said as she followed suit, with Maliphone tagging along behind them.

Once at the front door, it took little time for Persephone to go and knock at the door. "Hello!" she yelled, hoping to get someone's attention. "Is anybody there? We're kinda lost and we need a bit of help!"

[zapdragon555]

For a long time, there was no answer. Seconds passed without any sort of response to the knocking. And then, nearly a full two minutes. Copernicus had sat at the small table inside of the observatory, perched on a pillow with his tail curled around his ankles and a book in his fingers, when the knock had come. In truth, he'd known someone was approaching the observatory long before they'd decided to knock. He was hoping they'd leave on their own, for he truly had no time to deal with anyone today.

In the end, politeness got the better of him, and a little bit of guilt. Sygyzy would loudly judge him if she found out that he'd turned away visitors, and Asphodel would probably feel guilty on Copernicus' behalf.

So be it, then. The Mewtwo set the book down, some old text with certain pages barely legible now, and padded over to the door. He opened it, and towered over his visitors--staring down at them with stern blue eyes and a polite, thin smile. "Hello," he said, trying out the word. His voice was a bit rough, like he hadn't used it much that day. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Best to cut to the chase quickly, so he could get back to researching. After all... something strange had been happening, that day, and Copernicus would be hard pressed to be in the dark about it.

[Jaykobell]

After the knock, the silence felt out of place: like an eerie pressure sitting on their shoulders.

"I don't think anyone's there," the shiny Smeargle said, tilting her head. From the back, Maliphone agreed with a faint, grumpy humph.

"Give them time!" Persephone insisted, staying perfectly still in front of the door, a smile across her face as she waited. "Maybe they're busy with something!"

A pause. "Maybe they don't want to answer?" the shiny said quietly, musing. But the possibility was ignored, Persephone keeping her hands on her hips confidently as she waited for the door to open.

They continued to wait, as a result, but not for a long time. "Either you knock again," Maliphone said from the back, "or we move on." If they stopped like this at every place they went, they would never get anywhere.

"Okay, I'll knock again!" Persephone agreed, and she happily raised a fist to do exactly that.

In a perfect sense of timing, as she approached the door, it opened. It opened, and her fist floated right in front of one of the most powerful Pokemon in existence.

His words were kind, and his face was welcoming, and yet - this Pokemon's presence just left all three Smeargles shocked, staring with wide eyes and their mouths wide open.

The shiny gasped, bringing her paws to her mouth. Meanwhile, Persephone managed to find her voice. "Are you..." she breathed, and then, "are you a Mewtwo?!" she shrieked in a loud, high-pitched voice, her eyes literally shining with awe.

No matter that they were lost, and that he had asked them a question. Was that a Mewtwo?!

[zapdragon555]

Copernicus blinked at the three Smeargle, blank in the face for a few seconds, before he brought his fingers to his forehead to rub at the beginnings of a headache. "Ah... yes," he said slowly, as if it took some thought. In truth, he didn't consider himself much of anything other than 'Copernicus,' and hadn't for years. But... yes, that was what he was, wasn't it? "Yes I am. And you three are Smeargle, I take it?" he had read about them in books, but hadn't met one himself. He didn't know of a single paint-tailed resident in the nearby town. He eyed the third one's odd colored markings, something he'd never seen or heard of before, and curiosity picked at his brain.

Even so, he was busy. Very busy. "As I asked before... can I help you with anything? Or did you simply come to check off a bucket list?" he cracked a wry kind of smile at that, hoping humor would soothe over the situation and make the conversation move on. He needed all the time he could get before those two came home.

[Jaykobell]

Oh, sure, Persephone and her shiny partner had found a handful of rare, elusive shiny Pokemon in their time, but never before had they come across a Pokemon so rare and so powerful as a legendary Mewtwo. And the fact that he knew of them, of their species — it was kind of incredible, to be perfectly honest!

But while the two regular Smeargles were left almost speechless, Maliphone remained in the back, arms crossed, and admittedly feeling a little bit uneasy when the Mewtwo stared at him specifically. Not that he could blame the legendary, admittedly. He didn't look like a regular Smeargle. Not quite.

"Oh!" It was Persephone's gasp that snapped him back to the discussion at hand. "Oh, sorry, sir! Well, you see," she started to explain, as she gesticulated the story, "we're on an adventure to go find shiny Pokemon! It's what we do! And we have a map, but we still got lost! It's pretty unclear!"

"But anyway! Do you know how we can get to this city?" she finally asked, pulling out the map in an almost dramatic flourish, tapping it a few times to indicate where they wanted to go.

[zapdragon555]

Copernicus' eyes did flicker with interest at the mention of a map. He seemed to hesitate for a brief moment, then finally leaned closer to peer at the map upside down, looming over the three Smeagle quite comically. He reached up to adjust the spectacles on his nose, squinting, and opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly the sound (and sense) of two pairs of footsteps approaching the Smeagle from behind broke his concentration. One pair was considerably faster than the other, and it wasn't long before a higher, almost boyish voice of a female Riolu rang out over the silence.

[temp forms]

"Gueeeests!" Syzygy exclaimed, the bag at her hip bouncing precariously, and definitely stressing out the Absol that followed her at as quick a pace as they could manage. "Hello there!" The Riolu darted up to the three newcomers with excitement in her amber eyes, paws balled into fists. "Who are you three? I love your bags!"

Asphodel, the more placid (or perhaps just nervous) of the two, walked up at a slower pace. They made a cautious, polite arc around the group to nudge past Copernicus, barely brushing their head against his hip as they passed. Copernicus blinked, turning his head away from Syzygy's commotion to smile at Asphodel and wave, the faintest touch of pink on his cheeks as he turned back to the others. "Right, so--the map--"

"Oh, don't make them stand out here. We can look at the map inside! We brought food," Syzygy said with a grin, ushering the two closest Smeagles forward with two large paws. Copernicus looked unnerved, but stepped aside regardless, too much a stickler for politeness to stop Syzygy from inviting them in.

[Jaykobell]

The three Smeargles waited for an answer — two of them holding their breath like children — when a commotion happened.

Being the one that stayed behind, Maliphone's reaction to new voices was to turn around, his whole body ready to launch into a fight, if necessary. He'd even grabbed his tail by the time he'd noticed the Riolu and Absol making their way towards them. One was small, but had an advantage over the three of them, being a Fighting type; and the other one was a fearsome Pokemon regardless of type advantage.

But the mood shifted when the Riolu proved to be friendly — admittedly, much too friendly. It took Maliphone by surprise, together with the nervous demeanor of the Absol.

As far as Persephone and the shiny Smeargle were concerned, this meant more friends, and this meant more excitement. "Hello!" Persephone greeted with an excited gasp, not even noticing how Maliphone had been ready to start a fight, had it been necessary. "We're—"

Things happened so fast, and before they knew it, the Riolu was beckoning them inside — and for food, no less?

"Oh, thank you so much!" Persephone gasped, clapping her hands happily and excitedly. "That sounds so nice! I'm Persephone!" she introduced herself, and before stepping inside the observatory, she went on to introduce her siblings. "And this is Tisiphone," she added, pointing to the shiny Smeargle, "and this is Maliphone!" she continued, pointing to the grumpy Smeargle of the three.

"We're out here hunting for shiny Pokemon!" she explained, because although she had said this to Copernicus, these new faces hadn't heard about it! "What do you guys do here?" Oh, now they were making new friends! How exciting! Where had the Absol gone? They had to join in too!

[zapdragon555]

Syzygy ushered the three over to a small table surrounded by cushions, and began taking groceries out. A bottle of bluk berry juice, some cheese, and some sliced bread was all she'd brought over, the rest having been left in the small add-on kitchenette through a small door. Asphodel's tail was visible as they disappeared down the small staircase to the kitchenette, Copernicus padding after them to peer down the stairs with a small smile and wave. The guests momentarily forgotten.

Syzygy had not forgotten, however, and she placed her broad paws on the table with an excited thump. "Gosh, I love your names!" she exclaimed, then jammed a paw at her own chest, jostling the old amber tied round her neck. "I'm Syzygy, that grumpy dude there is Copernicus--or Big C, if you don't have time--"

"You absolutely have time, and it's not Big C," Copernicus shot back, glaring at Syzygy from across the way. The Riolu just grinned and looked back at the others.

"--and the Absol there, their name is Asphodel." She dropped her voice lower, a softer look in her eyes. "They're a bit shy around new people, but they're really sweet, I swear! I'm sure they'll be out soon." She raised her volume again, tail wagging, eyes shining. "Shiny Pokemon, huh? You mean like, funny colors? Oh!! My old village, our Village Seer had gold fur! I always wondered if there was a word for that..."

Copernicus had returned for a moment, opening the bottle of juice as Syzygy began to struggle with it, with a small psychic spell. "Mostly, I watched star patterns and recorded meteorological events, when... it was just me here. It's still a lot of that, but... now with company. And... shopping trips," he murmured, almost embarrassed.

"Also, Copernicus collects books. So many books. I can't read," Syzygy admitted, putting her snout in her paws and thumping her tail on the floor. "Dunno why he thinks they're so interesting..."

[Jaykobell]

It took little effort to get the Smeargles inside, except maybe for Maliphone, whose grumpy attitude shone brightly then, compared to the excited personalities of his two partners. The three sat at the table, Persephone and Tisiphone looking positively excited for the food, while Maliphone looked rather uncomfortable.

For the most part, the Smeargles listened to Syzygy and Copernicus before really speaking up. The whole introduction was just so interesting to begin with, too! "Oh, that's amazing!" Persephone said with a clap of her paws. "Yes, yes, Riolu and Lucario are yellow when they're shiny!" she confirmed with a strong nod. "Tisi is a shiny Smeargle!" she pointed out, giving Tisiphone a strong pat on the back.

"Mhm!" the shiny Smeargle confirmed. "Shiny Pokemon can look really different from the regular colors! Or sometimes they look barely any different," she explained, carrying a positive personality, but one that was more toned down than Persephone's.

"Oh, I would love to look at the stars, though!" Persephone said with an excited and high-pitched voice. "They look so pretty from down here as it is!" She gasped. "Oh, and you said books? Books are great!" she added with another clap of her paws. "You should learn how to read! You can learn so many things from books!" If only to include Copernicus in the conversation as well, she turned to him then. "What kind of books do you have, mister Copernicus?"

[zapdragon555]

Syzygy watched with that same pout as Copernicus floated the bottle over some glasses and poured some for each of their guests, and one for Syzygy as well, last. She attempted to grab the bottle out of the air, but Copernicus floated it out of her way and into his hands, placing it safely on a shelf for the time being. She stuck out her tongue at him, then looked back at the Smeagles as they kept speaking--her eyes went wide with recognition, clapping her paws together once excitedly. "So she was a shiny Lucario, after all... how cool! They're hard to find, right?"

Copernicus had heard of these types--but he hadn't seen any himself, as far back as he could remember. Chalked it up to staying in one place for so long. At the question about stars and books, he did seem to perk up slightly, peering over oval-shaped glasses at Persephone with a small tilt to his mouth. Almost a smile. Probably as much of a smile as they were going to get out of him. "Ah, I collect whatever I can!" he said, turning to face them a bit better, tail curling gently along the floorboards to rest there. One elbow leaned on the shelf from before, he waved a hand in the air as he spoke. "I have an acquaintance in town--Cofagrigus. He often gets books as imports from other towns and cities, and I buy them off of him. Sometimes books about the stars or nature, others about philosophy... humans are quite obsessed with the stuff. I find it interesting, certainly..."

"I like the one about the creation of the universe!" Syzygy piped, her tail wagging as she took a long swig of Bluk berry juice and made a satisfied noise as she set the cup back down. "Copernicus read it to me back when I couldn't sleep for awhile."

"Well--yes, I... suppose I did do that," Copernicus said, almost bashful, rubbing at his nose as he glanced down the stairs. Asphodel was taking their time...

Syzygy grinned and chuckled, looking back at the others. "You know that one, right? The one about Arceus, and all of the other Legendary Pokemon?"

[Jaykobell]

Seeing the little Riolu being so excited at having a word to describe something was adorable to see. "Oh, yes, very rare!" Persephone confirmed with a strong, confident nod. "Sometimes Pokemon have slight quirks, like, say, Mali!"

At the mention of her companion, said companion tensed up a little. While subtle, Maliphone's colors were similar to Persephone's, and yet, they were clearly different. "Shiny Pokemon are their own special thing, though! Humans really like them, too."

They took a break from the conversation to take a sip of their drink, one so generously offered by this small family of sorts. Persephone and Tisiphone almost downed their glasses in one fell swoop, while Maliphone sat at the opposite end of the spectrum once again, preferring not to touch the juice. If anything, he had more of an interest in the books Corpenicus had, after hearing the sort of collection he sported in his shelves. The curiosity almost spurred him on to speak, finally, but he decided against it.

As usual, Persephone picked the conversation back up again for the group of three. "Oh, what?" she gasped at Syzygy's question. "I haven't heard of it! That sounds amazing! I'd love to hear it!" Any story involving Arceus ought to be grand, after all. "Do you remember the whole thing?"

[Event posts end here]