[Hunting for Answers] Dialup and Crew

Nera.

Strange little phenomena that had begun infesting the region in the past two years, an unknown outbreak that begged to be understood- and yet, they'd come no closer to that since the first encounter. Still, the call to watch and observe, take notes, and turn them in was still ongoing, to any and all trainers. It was, at least, a fairly reliable way to earn cash, with low effort an- well, moderate risk. Whatever wild pokemon were about, other trainers, rogue elements- like Dialup herself, honestly- and the risk of accidentally contracting a Nera of some sort.

Honestly, worth it, if for no other reason than the credits, and getting out to stretch her legs. Well, as she cast her gaze back over her shoulder at her small horde of gible hybrids. Nibbles, the oddible, was dug into the garden despite the chill of the air and the snow making her leaves tremble. Tera was waddling about, rubbing her cheeks, patting her mouth with pawfuls of snow. Bit, though, was simply staring up at the sky, unblinking, sat on his twin tails with his paws kicked up. Bash was inside the house, napping- he probably wouldn't want to come out, but a family outing was a family outing. That left...

Giga, and Wattson. The humanoid pokemon was holding his broad hands up, pushing one forward. The little creature flipped up its green 'antenna' out of its face, and slammed its entire body against his palm. She could have sworn that the old soldier was smiling, even if he didn't have an actual mouth.

All six of her pokemon, beloved as they were, all modified by Nera. At least, with Wattson, she knew he'd been born a 'pedigree' charcadet. She hummed thoughtfully as she started up a note-log. She remembered the circumstances in which he had become fused- out on patrol, looking for people in need when the fog had first rolled in. Hadn't been long after Nera had first started popping up, actually.

The Nothing, the danger zone, had flared up so abruptly, seeped in around the edges of the region and locked them off. Certainly an interesting time to be alive, even if it was entirely not conducive to her relaxation and recovery back then. Dialup had taken herself back into the fire, for the sake of her people- the few men and women she'd served alongside, and their pokemon, that she'd bothered to bond to.

Dusting off the bench behind her, Dialup settled down to type out a rough debriefing, outlining what she'd been doing, the approximate date- Bit waddled his way over to her, and tucked his body against her boot, peering up at her. Bash had come out, and was running around after Tera, who was grunting in irritation as her 'tassels' bounced on the snow. Tera tripped over Nibble's exposed leaves, and Dialup frowned, barked a quick order of care. Back to the writing.

Dialup paused, hummed. This was old news, truly. Would it really be enough to detail that out? Nah, she decided with a frown, and rose, scooped up Bit. She lifted him by his little fins, peered into his wide, blue-black eyes. Unblinking, nearly unthinking. Sliding her gaze from one to the next, she studied the five of them. Recent acquires- adoptions?. Sort of- from the outskirts.

Where had they all come from? They'd always seemed close, and were around the same age. Dialup had hazarded a guess, when she'd found them, that they might be siblings.

So that meant, probably, that they'd been born as pure gibles, and, shortly after, encountered Nera that changed them. The offended Nibble's spots, in particular, were curious. Setting down Bit, Dialup rose again, and then stepped into her home. A quick reach inside for a more substantial coat, a bug-out bag for the day. The pokeballs for each gible, and Wattson, in one pouch on her thigh, and she sat down, whistled the horde in. Little harnesses pulled out, affixed to each gible, with leashes on a holder that would mostly keep them from tripping over themselves. It was daylight out still. Plenty of time to roam.

And she'd need it, to get from her cozy little nook up high in an apartment building, all the way down to the rest of Reignsrest so far below. The commute was hell, but the view, the view was breathtaking.

Not for long, though. With her horde of gibles in tow, and Wattson, off they went. Out, to where she'd originally found them, in the chilly zone to the south. Nearer to Groveheart than Wintervale. She liked this place- the pristine snow, giving way to trees. A good, wild place. Dialup watched Nibble as she tried to burrow backwards into the warm ground. Wattson scooped her up, took the leash. Bash was belly-sliding, adorably, right alongside Bit, while Giga and Tera walked alongside one another. Soon, they lead her back to the approximate place she'd found them. They started to wander the lengths of their leashes as Dialup frowned some.

They were here. Now what? How would Dialup go about finding the elusive Nera? Well. They had time. Plenty of it, and the gible gang seemed content to play before her.

It did not, to her surprise, prove terribly difficult or time consuming for a Nera to present itself. A docile-looking whisp of energy, with faint color along the edges of it, floated through the woods lazily. It didn't look like any particular pokemon, but it did wander closer to the gibles- almost inquisitive, if she had to personify it. Dialup started recording it, watching as it moved from one to the next, and, in turn, they stared back. Wattson seemed annoyed, lightly swatting at it to keep it away from Nibbles. Bash tried to headbutt it, while Bit just. Stared. Giga whined, and Tera looked annoyed, shoving him onto his side.

When it approached Dialup, though, she eyed it with suspicion, a furrowed brow and frown on her face. It got much more enthusiastic about her presence than the others, and flew at her. She rolled to the side, and to her feet- an action that got plenty of attention. She let the recording continue, watching as the Nera flipped, and tried to get closer again. She picked up her pack- not a jar, but she didn't have one at the moment, so. This would do. She opened it up, and tried to capture it inside. It dodged, and then- well, off it flew, seemingly irritated.

Well. That was enough of that- with a frown, Dialup turned, and scooped up as many of the gible gang members as she could carry, and Wattson took the hint. Time to go home, submit the video and her thoughts on the interaction that'd just happened, the location of the sighting.