Cerulean City

The city of young love. Will you seek a close friend for a romantic night, or perhaps enjoy the water? Perhaps you'll challenge the gym, assuming the gym leader isn't off persuing a man of her own. Either way, this place makes for an excellent visit if you're going to come to Kanto.

Ah...the sun, the surf, a cool drink in hand, young lovers running around. Truly a balm to a tortured soul such as Titania's. After all she had been through, surely there were none more deserving of a vacation. She had tried Anistar wanting to learn more about this mysterious next level of power, but apparently there was a crisis going on. Same story with Castelia.

"Ugh, Arceus, just...let me get away from it all for one freaking day," she muttered as she leaned back in a beach chair, sipping on a drink and enjoying the sight of the setting sun behind Mt. Moon. Her gray T-shirt and tight blue jeans stretched over her ample curves, not willing to break out the swimsuit just yet. "The only thing that would make this better would be a man to share this with. Gabriel, wish you were here, because with my luck some kid is gonna come and hit on me any minute now."

As if on cue a young man's voice chimed in to add his thoughts. "Well hey--How're you supposed to find someone if you close yourself off like that?~" DIN-02 asked rather smoothly. He was dressed oddly appropriately for the beach, wearing only a pair of swim trunks that hid his lack of indecency. His chest was a bit of a sight. Seams marked his major joints and his chest both completely lacked hair and nipples. At the very least his entire chest was covered in synthetic skin, giving it an at least somewhat human appearance. DIN-02 carried a surfboard upon his shoulder, smirking cockily with clear disregard for an risk he took.

"Oh, fuck all kinds of Psyduck," the woman spat as she rose to look the kid in the eyes. It was another one of those fucking robots. "Well, kid, I met your sister on top of Mt. Silver, and I can definitely see the family resemblance. And maybe I didn't wanna find someone. Maybe I already have someone, and they're not here right now. Or do you just want to battle?"

She reached into her picnic basket and pulled out a sketch pad. "Wait, that wasn't it." Embarrassed, she returned it and produced a Pokeball. "Ah, that's better. Now let's go so I don't have to listen to your stupid pickup lines."

DIN-02 peered knowingly at Titania, staring for a long moment. "...That's not the impression I got, Lady~" he replied, rolling his shoulders casually and turning his back on the other. "Y'know, I can't cross the street without getting challenged anymore. I'm starting to see what my brother's been on about all this time." he explained, producing a single pokeball.

DIN-02 began putting some distance between the two of them. Suddenly the android shot a look over his shoulder, glowing golden eyes narrowed. "It's getting old.". he snapped. A golden plasma halo manifested above his head and he turned back upon the other. Tossing the ball he'd plucked earlier, Gold revealed a skarmory to the field! It hunkered down and emitted a shrill cry, bearing it's blade-like wings at the other. "Skarmory, paint our battlefield with spikes!" DIN-02 demanded. His skarmory seemed to summon large very large metallic spikes, scattering them all across the sand betwixt the two opponents.

"Sounds like a personal problem," she shot back, knowing that she had gone through worse persecution. "Go, Tesla!" Titania stanced up and tossed out her Magnezone. Hm...since the mute girl used all Kanto Pokemon, then it made sense to work off an assumption, however dangerous, that this boy would use all Johto native Pokemon. Therefore, he was probably packing the feared SkarmBliss defensive core, but that was no excuse for neglecting to do a proper job of scouting.

"Tesla! Roast that bird with Thunderbolt!" A powerful electrical stroke crossed the small distance between the combatants, most likely getting the quick knockout. If Blissey came out next, that would be evidence in support of the hypothesis, but Titania had paid a hefty price for listening to her gut before.

DIN-02's gaze turned downwards and his gaze intensified with wrath. Oh Titania, you silly silly woman. The electricity shot through Skarmory's body in an instant, causing the bird to go up in smoke. It did not however bring the mighty steel pokemon down. Not yet. "Whirlwind" DIN-02 remarked coldly. A blast of wind and sand would temporarily blind Titania. When next she could see without sand pelting her, her metagross would have replaced Tesla... having just introduced his foot to one of the many large spikes littering the area. Neat trick!

"Roost" DIN-02 was quick to order. Skarmory's body began to glow with a white aura, his wounds beginning to vanish. It would become clear he wasn't afraid of anything this pokemon could muster.

"Hey, fuck you, kid. Deep Blue! Pin it to the ground with Meteor Mash!" Titania screeched, and the Metagross shot forward, one of its four limbs glowing with destructive energy. This was how it hunted in the wild, after all--pinning prey beneath its heavy body so it could use the mouth on the underside of its central mass. Or so the prevailing theory went. Titania was quite well known for being reckless, but she wasn't stupid. Having a Skarmory herself, she knew well the incredible defensive talents of this specimen...and a couple of ways to beat it.

On a hit, the unfortunate spiker would be unable to get back up from its roosting position. Heck, maybe Deep Blue could even get an attack boost from the move! But this was only phase one of the plan. Phase two consisted of taking advantage of Skarmory's unfortunate position to set off an earthquake that it couldn't just fly away from.

"Come on, girl, get it together. It's like Shirona said, you don't need to treat every battle like the end of the world," she murmured to herself. It did nothing, as her body started shaking uncontrollably. She remembered all too well the stakes involved when she was forced to stand her ground, as well as the unfortunate consequences of failing to grasp victory. The struggle was real, and it forced her to fight two battles at once--a clear advantage for Gold.

One of DIN-02's eyes twitch erratically and he gets this broken smile on his face, as if he were struggling not to laugh at the other in spite of the situation.

"...Skarmory, use spikes to free yourself!" he remarked.

Skarmory suddenly shifted all of it's weight up against Metagross, some of his steel feathers shattering free of his body as he violently spun free from underneath Metagross, littering the ground with more cruel spiky traps. The steel bird pokemon was in the air almost immediately, mocking Titania with his unyielding resilience.

Well, that was one way to do it. As Skarmory stared down almost mockingly at Metagross, Titania grumbled some vile curses under her breath as the darkness in her soul started churning, seeing an opportunity to come to the surface.

"Deep Blue, return! Get him, Ulysses!" Sure, he'd take spike damage on the way in, but there was nothing Gold could do back, and she had a couple of potent stabs, even the capability to inflict a painful burn. The Empoleon squawked a battle cry, dancing around awkwardly for a couple of seconds before finding a spike-free footing and leaving it quite cheesed off at this blow to its pride. Magnezone would just get blown away again. With decent water power and the ability to scare off foes with a loud roar, the game was level again, though Gold still had a slight lead.

DIN-02 seemed to be ready to meet Titania's choice the moment she made it. Rather than Skarmoy, it would be a feraligatr that greeted Ulysses opposite on the field. The monster's toothy mouth seemed to loll open enthusiastically as it greeted Ulysses with a hearty hello.

Suddenly an entirely new match-up was being fought and one would not be surprised to learn there was a reason for DIN-02's choice. "Feraligator? Dragon Dance." he remarked. The psuedo dragon began to perform a mysterious rythmic dance, an aura surrounding his body.

DIN-02 leans forward, seeming to study Ulysses for a moment speculatively. "Hey y'know, you might get along with the gym leader slinging around pokemon like that~" he remarked carelessly, apparently teasing the other with his lack of concern for the situation.

"Nah bro, she's too young for me." A glint in her eyes betrayed that for the first time in a long time, she was actually having fun. As the powerful fighting dance raised the amphibious Gator to fuck-no levels of power, Titania knew exactly what she needed to do.

"Ulysses! Roar him outta there!"

A powerful squawk shook the area, damn near blowing out Feraligatr's ears and forcing him back to Gold. Even if Titania wasn't getting anywhere at the moment, this was the part of the fight where both combatants were circling, feeling each other out and looking for an opening. More importantly, Titania was no longer being the one getting pushed around.

DIN-02 seemed to narrow his eyes skeptically at Titania's response. It was none other than Blissey that arrived to the battlefield, shaking a finger almost scolding at Ulysses. "Seismic Toss" DIN-02 remarked dismissively. The egg shaped blob seemed to waddle forward, giggling with glee as it opened it's arms wide as if to give Ulysses a hug. Rather than a hug however Ulysses would be grappled with those tiny arms, which prove to possess far more strength than they appeared. With a heave and a flip, Blissey would lift Ulysses over her head and slam him down against the ground, head first, with massive force.

She looked so proud of herself.

"How old do you think you are?" DIN-02 asked, skeptical of Titania's age. "Got somethin' against the younger ladies?~" he went on, apparently distracted from his determination by the amusing notion of Titania being jealous.

"Nah. Just not looking for anyone right now." A giant POOF of sand flew up from the beach where Ulysses was thrown down. He did not look happy even as he drew a bit of energy from the apple core in one of his talons.

"Ulysses! We're not gonna let this man insult my honor or yours! Use Toxic!" A nasty, putrid belch of poison gases flew forth, enveloping the pink blob's side of the field. Who was gonna take it? Well, the smart money, as far as she could tell, would have it on either staying in and Seismic Tossing again to go for the kill, or switching to Skarmory to neutralize the poison only to take a Scald later. Perhaps despite herself, Titania was slowly learning how the steel-type was best used after all these years. It wasn't for not caring about the opponent's attacks while she went full throttle offense. It was for sitting back and chipping away, little by little, in a much more cerebral and long-term approach, taking advantage of their natural defenses to outlast an enemy's stamina and will.

DIN-02 turned his head, feigning disinterest. Meanwhile something interesting began to happen on the battlefield. Blissey was having a strong reaction to the toxic gas, shuddering in protest. She proceeded, perhaps surprisingly, to take a deep breath. The happiness pokemon gained an expression of concentration, shaking her body back and fourth to the tune of dozens of small bells jingling back and fourth. The sound washed over the arena, reacting with the combatant's bodies. It was a soothing sensation, as if a weight were being lifted off her shoulders. On closer inspection however Titania had something to be worried about. Blissey had shrugged off Ulysses' toxic smog immediately, without so much as a hint of ailment remaining.

DIN-02 smirked.

"Y'know I spend a lot of time talking to girls, and I don't mean my sisters either. If I learned anything from that it's that I'm awesome at talking to girls." he remarked ever so smugly. "And Momma, you are stone-faced lyin'." DIN-02 dismissed with a shake of his head.

Momma? Wha...Titania screamed as the memories came flooding back to her, going full blown PTSD. The kidnapping, the imprisonment, the injections, the BREEDING...and the two sons. Falling to her knees, her head in her hands and full-on bawling, clearly incapable of continuing the battle. Not like she had much of a chance of breaking through Gold's defenses anyway.

Ulysses had a few choice words as well. "How dare you. Here we were having a good, clean fight, and you have to go and deliver a low blow like that," it said, surprisingly in the human tongue, albeit nasal and with a squawk to punctuate. "Whether you knew beforehand or not, I think you owe her an apology."

DIN-02's gaze shot to Ulysses, his glowing eyes narrowing in disbelief. Crying girl? Yeah whatever. Was that a talking penguin? ...Was he malfunctioning??

"...How do you enunciate?" the robot asked in a skeptical tone, attempting to process Ulysses' physiology. His suffering circuit was nagging him however and soon the crying girl diverted his attention. Decidedly ignoring the pokemon anomaly for a moment, DIN-02 approached Titania and dropped to one knee, resting one arm upon his other knee casually. He hesitated however, seeming to consider his words for a moment.

"...Everyone needs someone sometimes. The real question is what you need from them." DIN-02 explained in a matter-o-fact tone. "Guilt isn't really a thing I can feel so an apology from me wouldn't mean much, but maybe if you think about what I have to say you'll realize it's just as good." DIN-02 admitted lamely, lolling his head to one side, gazing down upon the pathetic woman. His smile didn't often vanish, but at about this moment it was mysteriously on vacation.

"Humans are flawed, but you don't have to be. I can tell by watching you; right now you're being more honest with yourself than you've been for a while. You've gotta be honest all the time if you want your heart to be in tip top shape! How can you expect your pokemon to have their heart in the battle if you can't?" DIN-02 lectured.

"...Matter 'a fact, I know what'll help." DIN-02 seemed to muse aloud, standing back up and digging in his pocket for something. He produced a tiny microchip from his pocket, about the size of a tip of one's finger. "This here is a map to a place that hasn't seen the light of day in centuries. Get a friend or a couple of friends and live a little. It's dangerous, but I think a little danger is exactly what a girl like you needs. As a bonus, I'm pretty sure you could get someone to pay you to investigate the area. I was going to have some fun with it, but ah--You look like you need this more than I do." DIN-02 relented, shrugging helplessly at the situation and offering the microchip to the other.

Titania sighed, shoulders still heaving with sobs as Gold tried to offer what little comfort a robot could. And yet...some words of encouragement were in there. She didn't have to be flawed. She could get over this and be stronger than ever. If anyone could exorcise this demon, it was her. She returned Ulysses. He already knew the story. This was for Gold's audio input only.

"Gold...I...I don't know what to say. You handing me a map and asking me to investigate a dark and dangerous place? That's, uh, kind of how I got these painful memories that you dug up. A long time ago, on a faraway place called Terra, there was a Zoroark called Ahriman. He...forced himself upon me. Committed an unforgivable sin. And when that wasn't enough, he kidnapped me and my friend Akilea to his dungeon to do it all over again. He changed me on a fundamental level. Made me bear his offspring...and that's why what you said set me off."

The weeping started calming down, as if talking about this was somehow alleviating the pain. Getting it off her chest, as it were. Again, being honest with herself~ "I'll do it, but I'll need more information before I make a few calls. Heck, I could use your help, if you're free."

DIN-02's gaze seemed to lose focus, becoming a thousand yard stare as he attempted to process what Titania was telling him. Interpreting the nuances of human communication was a difficult thing for a robot to accomplish, and so he was left with the question of whether he was actually hearing Titania clearly. After a long moment his focus returned and his gaze returned to the other.

"...I don't feel guilt, but I know what regret and suffering feel like." DIN-02 remarked solemnly, allowing himself to relent on his mannerisms. "You don't have to go, but it might be good for you. What's the point of living if you don't push life's boundaries?" DIN-02 asked, shrugging his shoulders helplessly at the situation. "The map leads to a trench in the ocean. Maybe you've heard of it: The Abyssal Zone Gaol. A lot of cargo ships have gone missing over the area, so normally ships just avoid it. People've come back though. There are all sorts of stories, from whirlpools to evil pokemon whose eyes illuminate the water." DIN-02 explained.

"Somehow I don't think they'll be interested in you that way, but there's no reason to go in unprepared either." he went on to offer.

"I can only hope so," Titania fired back with that dry wit of hers. She pretended to dial a few numbers on her PokeLog...truth be told, there was something about this kid that reminded her of someone else. And as long as she managed to get this boy talking, might as well pump him for all he was worth. Might even slip a hint for how to beat him.

"Hey, uh...I think I battled a friend of yours a long time ago. Didn't talk much, but she was really strong. For someone that loves to battle, she sure makes it hard for people to challenge her, being on top of a freaking mountain. You know anyone like that? And how does she even conduct a battle without talking, let alone that well?"

DIN-02 seemed to immediately recognize whom Titania was referring to. "Oh yeah? Wears a mini skirt, in the middle of a blizzard? Sounds a lot like my sister." he remarked light-heartedly. "Her pokemon are... special. All of ours are." the robot began explaining, his blissey beginning to sing and dance around the two joyously. "They're trained just for us and hers are... They're handicap accessible! She's actually kind of a nerd~ I feel bad for her, honestly." DIN-02 went on to remark, shrugging helplessly at the situation. Apparently robot siblings treated each other just like real siblings. Go figure!

"Special mons, huh? No shit. Life Orb Metagross couldn't take out her damn Lapras even with grass knot..." Titania pouted and plopped down on her butt. "I just think you're asking too much of me. Good thing you're letting me phone a few friends."

"Hey. You said we were going underwater, right? Well, Ulysses here doesn't know how to take me underwater. But I know a girl that can go wherever the fuck she wants if there's shit to explore," Titania added. "Dunno if she has a water-type, I've only ever seen a Garchomp. There's another girl with a freaking huge Dragonite, though...I think they live underwater. That's good, right?"

Finally, a legit call to Valorie Ryder, whom she met during that trip up the mountain. "So...you apparently know that girl. A sister to you. Any other siblings I should know about?"

DIN-02 blinked. What an odd way to talk about her pokemon. He seemed to consider her response. "There's no real rules to this mission. Between you n' me, I just don't like seein' a lady down in the dumps." DIN-02 admitted, raising his arms in a helpless shrug.

"Me n' the fam' don't really need to worry about breathing or water pressure, so I hadn't really thought about that. I bet a sciency type could help you out there." the android mused aloud. "Dragonite though--That's a pretty legendary pokemon. Not a lot of people have a pokemon like that." he went on, seeming to narrow his eyes at an unseen enemy in recognition.

"It's called the guardian of the sea, so I bet it'd feel right at home. As for the fam', I'm not supposed to discuss some of us. I have a bunch of siblings though. One of them was murdered." DIN-02 continued, his tone souring slightly as he recalled DIN-04's death. "Speaking of which, do me a favor and don't send any cops after me. I might have to hurt them."

"Okay. So I've decided. The ex-champion of Sinnoh is coming because there's supposedly some ruins down there. You're coming because you can take the pressure. And Valorie's coming because she has a big-ass Dragonite. Ask your sister about it sometime, it's really something. Plus, three ladies coming along with a playboy like you, I figure is always a draw. Where do you want to meet?"

Titania figured she was starting to get somewhere. A rare feeling of progress and growth. Now if only that could turn into a win sometime.

DIN-02 smirked, stroking his chin thoughtfuly. "I'unno. She's pretty hard to talk to." he remarked humorously. "...Nah, I'm just kidding. She communicates digitally just fine. It's just the analogue that doesn't work." he explained, shifting to take a more comfortable stance for travel. "So you're inviting me along, huh? Well--I guess I couldn't refuse a request like that." he went on, raising his arms helplessly into the air and shrugging. He hesitated for a moment. "...Actually, I'm kind of surprised you want me tagging along! I'll roll with it, though." he relented after a moment.

"...So, when do you want to head out? I'm itching to see what kind of secrets the depths of our world has to offer. Seems to me like Vermilion City has the nearest port to work with, though you girls might get some better tech for helpin' you get down their comfortably if we make the trip to Lumiose." DIN-002 remarked enthusiastically.