[Astral Harmony]

Renny's Hitting On More Chicks?

Apparently Lola isn't enough woman for him despite his small body.

"You speak well," Kurika said. "I have heard troubling things, myself. About Rogue Pokemon and...I'm not certain about the other word. Like the Pokebrid but...it's something else."
"Pokesapiens."
Cecilia had just walked up on the group. "Yes, that is the term," Kurika said. "Thank you for helping me. I admit that I am not very smart."
Cecilia smiled. "Don't worry about that, Miss Jungo. There's plenty of places for everyone in this world despite any negligible personal failings. Take Miss Mathers, for example."
Milsha pointed at herself. "Me, ma'am?"

Cecilia nodded. "I couldn't help but notice that sword you're carrying. The Veldyne Viper, correct?"
Milsha proudly displayed the large sword. "Indeed, it is! I saws it on th' televis'on an' I knew I jus' had ta have 'un! So I went an' done sent in all those lett'rs ta that there compunny 'cause tha' commershul done said it was offering it to someone outside the corperashun th' oppertunitah to test th' prototype."
Cecila chuckled at Milsha's folksy charm. "Yes. Actually, you have my efforts to thank for that."
"Yers, ma'am?"
"That prototype was made by my company. We usually don't dabble in weapons technology, but we have this "invention fund" for such out-of-the-way pursuits. Anyways, you may think it silly, but we decided to go outside the company security forces for actual testing of the first model, which is the same sword you're holding like a newfound love."

Then she started poking at her cheek. "To be honest, Miss Mathers, the executives tried everything in their power to deny me the right to send out that weapon to you. In my opinion, you were the best qualified of all the people who requested the honor, but to them you were just some country bumpkin...and a female. With girly parts."
"Gosh," was all Milsha could say.
"I'm glad that you managed to get it in the end, and I find it amazing that we met in the first place. Don't worry about it being faulty. I can almost guarantee that thorough forethought and superb craftsmanship went into the creation of that weapons system."
Milsha smiled. "That's absolutely true. Thank you so very much, Miss Veldyne. I promise that this Veldyne Viper is in the best of hands."

Cecilia, Kurika, and Renny exchanged glances. Kurika decided to voice their opinion. "Umm...Milsha? What has happened to the way you talk?"
Milsha chuckled. "Yes, I'm sorry about that. I used to talk like that one time, then I went to school. I'm a much better speaker now, though I still tend to talk like I used to since people say it makes me more charming and friendly. It does tend to dislocate the jaw some, though."
Cecilia blinked. "It's really quite amazing, Miss Mathers. You could disarm people into believing you're simple-minded and naive, but you're actually really smart."
"Calisto's a lot like that, too. Except in her case, it seems to be the other way around. I didn't speak to her much, but I think she's into really cute things like kittens. I bet any guy could give her a kitten as a present and would have her heart in the palm of his hand."

So Milsha was actually not as folksy as one would think her to be and Calisto was much more warm-hearted than she appeared. Quite amazing girls.

...Wait, back the truck up.

"So whut's this nonsense 'bout Pok'sapeens?" Milsha drifted back into her country drawl. "They's gettin' all tough 'n' whutnot?"
Cecilia looked thoughtful. "A lot of Rogue Pokemon are going through gene therapy and splicing. A lot of them are coming out with frightening abilities. Some of them aren't affected by attack types that they used to be affected by. Others are able to use weapons like us Slayers. It's going to be tough controlling all these rougher changes to life in Honmyr."

Tougher Rogue Pokemon, eh? Renny knew that they weren't going to be as easy as they were to fight in the bank mission, but weakness immunity and weapons use? PATCA was in for some tough times.

-----

Wow...That Was Easy...

Chizuru stopped what she was doing and turned around.

Pierce had just barely finished what he was saying before Chizuru enfolded him with her arms in a big, friendly hug that made his heart melt. "Mister Pierce! I'm so glad to see you again!"

Then Pierce realized it as he was careful not the spill his drink. She wasn't attracted to him. Not yet, anyways. This very friendly "hugs instead of handshakes and whatnot" was simply the result of Chizuru's big, wonderful heart. "How are you doing? Have you been well? I was so terribly worried about all of you when Shizuka told me about what was going on. I mean, Shizuka, Kiyomi, Mika and even Kirie were all with you so I was sure you were all fine but..."

Then Chizuru burried her face into Pierce's chest and cried out of relief. "I was just so terribly worried for you all."

-----

Rayleen's Open To Private Chat

"I'm ready to talk at any time, Mister Sona. It doesn't seem like anyone needs me, so let me know when you want to talk."

Rayleen wasn't really drinking at the party. An introduction was all she had given, after all. Someone may have wanted to discuss something with her, like Matthias did.

-----

Calisto Debriefs Impact

"Truth be told, we're getting phased out, man." Calisto said. Her wine-laden breath wasn't intolerable, but Impact did feel himself stepping back, something Calisto didn't notice.

"Actually, I left them...oh, about two months back. We've actually had to fight Ruin Pokemon around that time. That's right, you're not the only ones facing them, though that Rayleen chick would like to think PATCA has 'em on a leash. Anyways, Snipers are having some tough times. Not only do you have the Ruin Pokemon that you don't really know the killspots of, but nowadays Evoliths are getting pretty damn popular, and they definitely don't have weak points, not even types weaknesses."

Type weaknesses? What exactly did that mean?

"Y'see...actually, hold on. Let's go talk to Moon."

Impact, curious to find out what Calisto was going on about, followed her over to see Moon. Shannon and Mirror were still nearby, but Calisto didn't regard them. "Hey, handsome. Could you create an Evolith?"
"Right here in the party?" Moon asked. "Well, I guess if you really want to see one. Hold on, let me go get some materials."
Moon started to leave. "By myself," he said quite firmly as Shannon and Mirror began to follow him.

It took several minutes, but Moon returned and then rapidly got to work. He had a Water Stone, used for making various Pokemon evolve. Additionally, he had a large amount of some kind of mineral. It was a little transparent with a deep brown color, kind of like beer, and where the mineral was thicker, it blackened until Impact couldn't see through anymore.
"You know Evolution Stones, right?" Calisto asked rheutorically. "Well, that other stuff is called Evolite. Kind of like Evolution Stones, except it lacks the power of an Evolution Stone. It's just a useless rock, but it can be given power if you magnify the energy of an Evolution Stone. Basically, by using the Evolution Stone like a battery, you can create a formidible fighter on the spot."
"Okay, finished." Moon said. He stepped aside as the Evolith came to life.

It resembled a curvaceous mermaid, with orbs of pulsing blue light at various points of the body, particularly the joints and torso. The Evolite mineral also shined, but only a little. "This is a Water Evolith," Moon said. "They can use Water type attacks like Hydro Pump, Rain Dance and Water Sport with all the benefits of a Water type Pokemon. But there's no type weaknesses like Grass and Electric, and they're even immune to all status effects. Evoliths may be very limited in the moves they can use, but they make up for it with strong defenses."

"How do you kill one?" Wilhelmina asked. "In all my years of service to my lady, I've never actually seen one."
"Really?" Mirror asked her maid. "I'm an Engineer, I can create one myself."
"You see that the Evolith has a head," Calisto said. "However, unlike living creatures, shooting it in the head is no more effective than shooting it in the arm or the ass. That large sphere where the stomach should be is where the stone is powering the rest of the body, but it can take multiple shots to penetrate that hard shell. In other words, there's no one-hit kill on these things. It's frustrating for a Sniper. We always like to see a target drop dead for every bullet. A target that doesn't die on the first shot is as disappointing as a target that you miss completely."

"Anyways, these things are becoming damn popular. The Prideguard, criminal syndicates, even civilians with the right amount of moolah have Evoliths. They're starting to phase Pokemon out."
"They'd never truely phase Pokemon out here, though." Wilhelmina noted. "Pokemon are very powerful here. I don't use them myself but I've seen them in combat. Evoliths still have a way to go before they overpower Pokemon."
"They're getting there, though." Calisto countered. "I hear scientists at least throughout Honmyr are working on some kind of multiple stone core. If they can accomplish that, just imagine how utterly powerful and destructive Evoliths can become."

Huh. Suddenly, the sexy mermaid Evolith didn't seem so majestic and harmless.

"So, that's your little fetish, isn't it?" Shannon asked Moon.
"I'm sorry?"
"Got a little thing for fantasy creatures?"
"You mean the mermaid?" Moon asked, then smirked. "Maybe I might. Tell you what, Shannon. Wrap your legs up in a plush fish tail costume and put on a seashell bra and we'll see if I pounce on you or not."

Shannon could no longer continue this conversation out of Moon's flirting having embarrassed her. But from several viewpoints, it seemed like Shannon was seriously considering Moon's offer.