Chapter 6:
The Capital
As the dust from the battle settles, a small shower of rocks knocked loose from the final attack falls down the mountainside. Still breathing heavily from the excitement of the battle, Zero sighs shows a slight smile. “Well...you may be an outsider, but you sure can fight. I bet someone like you could even take on The Capital.” Axitros nods in agreement. “Agreed. Now since you’ve defeated us, our part of the trade...” He pulls a small gold and silver badge from his pocket. “This is the Beacon Badge. With this, you should be able to prove you have enough of a reputation to challenge Quote, the leader of The Capital.” Handing the badge over, he turns to care for this Pokemon, Zero following close behind.
The rest of the trek through the mountains is uneventful, and before long, you can spot The Capital in the far distance. Settling into a slow jog, you make your way over to the town. After a few minutes, a flicker of movement in the sky catches your eye. Looking upwards, you spot a Talonflame gliding far overhead, circling around you. With a screech, it flies off, headed towards The Capital at high speed. Slightly unnerved, you continue on your way.
After a few more minutes of running, a rudimentary barricade comes into view, with a pair of trainers and their Pokemon guarding it. They eye you warily as you approach, and order you to slow down once you get close enough to hear them. The guard on the right speaks up when you get a bit closer, with his Excadrill glaring menacingly at you. “You don’t seem like a raider. Why have you come here? Our supplies are too limited to take in any more people, and it’s dangerous outside the city here.” You tell him that you’ve come to speak to Quote, but the guard merely scoffs. “We won’t let some nobody in so they can speak to our leader. What makes you so special?” Opening your bag, you show him all the badges you’ve collected so far, and his expression changes almost immediately. “Ahh, so you aren’t just ‘some nobody’!” stepping away from his spot at the barricade, he starts walking further into the city. “Follow me, I’ll lead you to Quote.”
Following the guard, you can see people and pokemon working together all over the place to help clear away debris, or rebuild houses. Seeing a thin trail of black smoke in the sky, you follow it down to see a Quagsire putting out the remnants of a fire, while a Chansey helps care for the family outside. With bitterness in his voice, the guard says “Welcome to our great city.” He spreads his hands, gesturing to all the debris and shambles. “All the damage you see is the result of attacks from the surrounding raiders. We’re stretched paper-thin on supplies, but despite it all, we’re making it.”
Further towards the center of The Capital, things seem in better shape. The streets are packed with people and Pokemon going about their business, buying from market stalls, or hard at work. Passing a small farm field with some sort of plant sprouting through the ground, you spot a Skarmory digging rows into the earth with it’s talons, while an Amoonguss sprinkles spores into the ground behind it. You hear the guard calling from you, and you quicken your pace to catch up to him. The guard is waiting for you at a stone building that is larger than the rest. “We’re here. Quote’s just inside, he’ll be waiting for you.” the guard heads back the way you came, and you turn to open the door.
Stepping inside, you see a grey-haired and wrinkled man, wearing a white suit and sitting at a plain wooden desk covered in papers. You manage to catch a glimpse of a small Sableye peeking at you from behind the desk, before it sneaks it’s head back behind cover. Setting one of the papers down on the desk, the man faces you, and begins to talk. “Hmm...so you’re the trainer I’ve been hearing so much about.” He speaks slowly, as if thinking about each word before saying it. “I’m sure you’ve guessed, but I’m Quote. Pleased to finally meet you.” You tell Quote that you’ve been told that he might be able to help you on your quest, by telling you more about Porygon. Quote’s expression darkens. “Yes, I can do that…but it’d be pointless to tell you about this, if you weren’t powerful enough to do anything about it.”
Using his desk for support, he slowly rises to his feet and retrieves a cane from behind the desk. The Sableye you spotted earlier hops up onto Quote’s shoulder with surprising agility. “Normally I’d like to take things slower than this, but I’m afraid time has been in quite short supply, lately. It’s clear you’ve proven yourself already with those badges of yours, but if you want to succeed where I failed, you’re going to need to prove that you are stronger than I am. And I think you know by now, just how we could determine that.” Gesturing for you to follow, Quote steps out of the building through a backdoor leading to a wide open field of hard packed dirt, surrounded by a wooden fence. Citizens notice something going on, and gather around with curiosity.
Putting a few of his fingers in his mouth, Quote let’s out a shrill whistle that rings through the air. Before long, some of the Pokemon you’ve seen around the town convene towards the field. Turning to face you, Quote fixes you with a hard stare, and lifts a small piece of glinting metal from his suit pocket. “This is the Toxic Badge. If you can’t manage to take this from me, then trying to go any further would be pointless.” Putting the badge back in his pocket, Quote takes a deep breath. “Then, if you’re ready...show me what you can do…”
The rest of the trek through the mountains is uneventful, and before long, you can spot The Capital in the far distance. Settling into a slow jog, you make your way over to the town. After a few minutes, a flicker of movement in the sky catches your eye. Looking upwards, you spot a Talonflame gliding far overhead, circling around you. With a screech, it flies off, headed towards The Capital at high speed. Slightly unnerved, you continue on your way.
After a few more minutes of running, a rudimentary barricade comes into view, with a pair of trainers and their Pokemon guarding it. They eye you warily as you approach, and order you to slow down once you get close enough to hear them. The guard on the right speaks up when you get a bit closer, with his Excadrill glaring menacingly at you. “You don’t seem like a raider. Why have you come here? Our supplies are too limited to take in any more people, and it’s dangerous outside the city here.” You tell him that you’ve come to speak to Quote, but the guard merely scoffs. “We won’t let some nobody in so they can speak to our leader. What makes you so special?” Opening your bag, you show him all the badges you’ve collected so far, and his expression changes almost immediately. “Ahh, so you aren’t just ‘some nobody’!” stepping away from his spot at the barricade, he starts walking further into the city. “Follow me, I’ll lead you to Quote.”
Following the guard, you can see people and pokemon working together all over the place to help clear away debris, or rebuild houses. Seeing a thin trail of black smoke in the sky, you follow it down to see a Quagsire putting out the remnants of a fire, while a Chansey helps care for the family outside. With bitterness in his voice, the guard says “Welcome to our great city.” He spreads his hands, gesturing to all the debris and shambles. “All the damage you see is the result of attacks from the surrounding raiders. We’re stretched paper-thin on supplies, but despite it all, we’re making it.”
Further towards the center of The Capital, things seem in better shape. The streets are packed with people and Pokemon going about their business, buying from market stalls, or hard at work. Passing a small farm field with some sort of plant sprouting through the ground, you spot a Skarmory digging rows into the earth with it’s talons, while an Amoonguss sprinkles spores into the ground behind it. You hear the guard calling from you, and you quicken your pace to catch up to him. The guard is waiting for you at a stone building that is larger than the rest. “We’re here. Quote’s just inside, he’ll be waiting for you.” the guard heads back the way you came, and you turn to open the door.
Stepping inside, you see a grey-haired and wrinkled man, wearing a white suit and sitting at a plain wooden desk covered in papers. You manage to catch a glimpse of a small Sableye peeking at you from behind the desk, before it sneaks it’s head back behind cover. Setting one of the papers down on the desk, the man faces you, and begins to talk. “Hmm...so you’re the trainer I’ve been hearing so much about.” He speaks slowly, as if thinking about each word before saying it. “I’m sure you’ve guessed, but I’m Quote. Pleased to finally meet you.” You tell Quote that you’ve been told that he might be able to help you on your quest, by telling you more about Porygon. Quote’s expression darkens. “Yes, I can do that…but it’d be pointless to tell you about this, if you weren’t powerful enough to do anything about it.”
Using his desk for support, he slowly rises to his feet and retrieves a cane from behind the desk. The Sableye you spotted earlier hops up onto Quote’s shoulder with surprising agility. “Normally I’d like to take things slower than this, but I’m afraid time has been in quite short supply, lately. It’s clear you’ve proven yourself already with those badges of yours, but if you want to succeed where I failed, you’re going to need to prove that you are stronger than I am. And I think you know by now, just how we could determine that.” Gesturing for you to follow, Quote steps out of the building through a backdoor leading to a wide open field of hard packed dirt, surrounded by a wooden fence. Citizens notice something going on, and gather around with curiosity.
Putting a few of his fingers in his mouth, Quote let’s out a shrill whistle that rings through the air. Before long, some of the Pokemon you’ve seen around the town convene towards the field. Turning to face you, Quote fixes you with a hard stare, and lifts a small piece of glinting metal from his suit pocket. “This is the Toxic Badge. If you can’t manage to take this from me, then trying to go any further would be pointless.” Putting the badge back in his pocket, Quote takes a deep breath. “Then, if you’re ready...show me what you can do…”
Meet Quote, The Patient Vet
|
|
|
