#underground boss clay

[darkpunkrocker]

📏

(( @underground-boss-clay at 5'8"))

Huh.

Didn't know you were so shor- I MEAN that I was... slightly taller.

[piers-official]

Yup, that's me! My big bro was the Gym leader before me, hehe~

It's nice to meet you, Ms. Celia! Can I ask what sorta pokemon ya like? I like dark and fightin'!

Oh, hi there! I came by to check on Mr. Clay's blog and there's a new person here!

I'm Marnie, a friend of Sigmund! May I ask who this is?

🖤M🖤 ((-@piers-official))

Hm?

Oh hello there! You are the new Gym Leader in Spikemuth, yes?

My name is Celia. I'm Sigmund and Lacey's mother. It is such a pleasure to meet you Marnie!

[ballonleastadiumofficial]

Bede? Ya all right?

((@underground-boss-clay ))

Clay.

Why wouldn't I be. I feel positively chipper, in fact. How wonderful to finally get to have a civil conversation with that whelp. I'm so glad he made himself known to me so I could lose my cool and utterly pour my heart out. And allow the entire world league to see. This.

How. Wonderful.

[shiftgear-engineer]

21. What are your plans for this weekend?

--Sig ((@underground-boss-clay ))

Oh uh, nothing really.

My weekends are usually pretty boring if I'm not doing busy work or coming up with new designs.

[medicalmystery7]

☭ ((@underground-boss-clay ))

Battle intro: "A battle? Oh-hohoho, vhat fun! Let us see how your teachings turn out, shall ve?"

Victory: "AHahahahaHA! Vunderbar!"

Defeat: "Ha, now I see. 'Underground Boss', like a difficult battle. Yes..."

Assist: "Allow ME to offer ze consultation zis time!"

Taunt: "Electric, Fire, Normal, Bug... Here, I vill give you a type, FLYING! Just TRY touching Archimedes! Ahahahaha!" "Ack- hasn't anyvone told you a person needs regular time in ze sunlight to be healthy? I'll be prescribing you ten micrograms of vitamin DEfeat, to be taken... right now!"

Reacting to Taunt: "Nnnngh, let's get back to ze hitting and ze bloodshed, yes?" Tie: "Aiii... SURELY you vould not leave it at zat?" Perfect Victory: "Now ZAT vas doctor assisted-! ...Hm. I'm not sure how I planned to finish zat vone."

[watered-cress]

it’s halloween season.

time to get spooky

Ahhh~✨ The Halloween season is nigh. You know what that means~

[darkpunkrocker]

🌸

(( @underground-boss-clay ))

Hey there Clay! Let's see...

I admire your workmanship. You're a very hardworker and always do what's best for ya workers which is also admirable.

You're a great dad. 'Nuff said. Comin' from someone who had shitty parents, I can tell ya obviously care about your kids and actually love 'em.

From what I hear, you're a great trainer too! I mean, obviously, your a gym leader after all, but I hear your tougher than the shit ya mine! Would love a chance ta battle ya sometime, hehe.

[officialheartbreakercharles]

Hey~ happy birthday big guy!! ✨ 🎂

... Right yeah, what she said. Happy birthday Charles.

((Mildred and Clay from @underground-boss-clay ))

Hey there, Clay & Mildred…

Many thanks…your birthday greetings…are appreciated.

Hope things are good…at the company…and gym.

💔

[ballonleastadiumofficial]

Miss Opal ma'am, this is Gym Leader Clay of Driftveil City 'n Unova.

I ain't fully caught up on what happened with Bede an' some a' these nameless fellers, just know that people were kickin' Electrodes ready to explode.

An' frankly, I'm pretty sure that were they on the receivin' ends a' what he went through, they'd probably be doin' much worse 'n Bede is. I know the boy is doin' his hardest ta work past it and that ain't an easy task, especially alone. But, good ta hear he's acceptin' help, even jus' a little at a time. Jus' wish I could be a bit more helpful myself.

((@underground-boss-clay))

Oh, dear... what a thoughtful message. It warms my heart to see so many people stepping up to support that boy. Now, I knew he'd surely find his way to the right people eventually, but I must admit that even I worried about his fitting in. He's prideful - that's part of why I chose him to be my successor - which has its... ups and downs. But I also chose him because he's strong and clever. In time, he'll realize he's strong enough to bear this, but his cleverness will show him that he doesn't have to do it alone. Work smarter, not harder, as they say~

It will be a journey. But I knew what I was signing up for.

Bede has made another friend in Unova, has he? How interesting. Perhaps this little web page could be good for him after all... it seems it's helping expose him to many different perspectives, anyway.

I'm sure the boy appreciates you more than he lets on. It does seem to be a theme with him. If you would like to be of immediate help, however, perhaps you could offer a tad bit of guidance on what exactly one might do with ten Woopers...? I'm sure he'd be grateful to have one less thing on his plate once he comes out of this.

[the-drayster]

I think instead I'm just going to die. Thanks bye. Tell my Ma I loved her.

Grandpa's texting me. What wild ride are we going on today?

[shiftgear-engineer]

Pelipper Mail: a Poké Ball with a Tinkatink in it. There's also a note: "This might come in a bit early so sorry bout that. I know ya talked about wanting one but if she's too much with the little guys you can send her back and I'll take care of her until I come back. Happy Valentine's Day. --Sigmund"

Oh...oh dragons...I don't know what to say...

I mean that in a good way, of course. I just...I've never...arc, I really don't have words, do I?

Well...I have some...thank you. Really. I think this is one of the nicest things someone has done for me...ever. I'll do my best to take care of her.

Oh and uh not to sound needy or anything but...can't wait to see you again.

[icys-junkyard]

Unova Battle Subway maps

My personal preferred map of the railways (one with blue markers, one with color coded markers)

An alternate map, taking the in-game subway map slightly more literally. (Bonus map with a few non-canon markers I added purely to help myself make sense of the seemingly pointless shapes of some of the routes)

Bonus extra map of the routes taken by Ingo, Emmet, or both of them, for those who want a more specific visual of those routes on their own. (Of course Emmet's line goes through the Pokémon World Tournament lmao)

Misc notes/thoughts under the cut

I'm not a train person, take all these musings with a grain of salt lol

Canon map note: I imagine this map only shows the large, intercity railways. Cities like Nimbasa, Castelia, etc likely have smaller, more complex subway lines all over the city like we tend to see IRL.

Canon map note 2: In an IRL setting, these rail lines are likely far less straight and angular than on these maps and could probably make a lot more sense if drawn with a freer hand and consideration for the landscape, but I tried sticking somewhat close to how it's presented in the game.

International (wi-fi) line: In the game it's the wi-fi line. In a non-game context I imagine this line is one that actually leaves Unova and goes to a neighboring region.

Subwayness: While not all of these lines are 100% underground like they might be in the cities, I like to think quite a few of them are partially or primarily in tunnels. Many lines go across water without a major bridge* on the map, or straight through harsh environments like mountains or deserts, some of which may be more convenient long term to go under rather than through. With the technology of the Pokémon universe, I imagine large stretches of underground train tunnels are entirely possible. (*Maybe there's smaller unshown bridges for the trains, but at least the line that goes right through Castelia's port to an island I'd like to believe could be underground under water)

Battle Subway: The Battle Subway itself likely only runs on these intercity lines.Assuming IRL distances rather than in game walking distances, depending on the length of the line, a lap or two could be a full days work for the bosses. Non-battle trains likely use these same tracks.

Anville Town: The branching path on the Anville line is strange, as it doesn't seem to point toward any known location. It could be pointing toward some unlabelled town or landmark, though I've seen some people posit that it stops at the Celestial or Dragonspiral towers (though they seem too far away for me to agree). My personal headcanon is that rather than the large branch shown on the original map, it's actually two branches going to Anville Town; a large alternate rail to help with rotating/moving trains going in and out of the rail yard there.

Pokémon World Tournament: Located in or very near Driftveil City, it was added in BW2 by Driftveil gym leader Clay. Considering Driftveil is a city, it could have multiple subway stations, one of which just happens to be close to the PWT. Alternatively, it could be a bit of a distance away and thus have it's own station.

PokéStar Studios: Located in or very near Virbank City. As the major intercity lines don't quite hit Virbank itself, I imagine Virbank only has one intercity station near the studio if it's within Virbank itself. That, or it has no intercity stations and one must travel the distance between Virbank and the studio to travel further.

Unity Tower: Literally this train goes through a port and right into the ocean to reach an island. This island is only accessible by boat. I'm convinced this train goes under the seafloor. That or it has a super cool Marine Tube situation where it's a subway tunnel, but the tunnel is transparent and the ocean and water pokémon can be seen out the train windows.

[thezombieprostitute]

The Arrangement - Chapter 3

Summary: Jake's done a lot of things to keep his sister, and then his niece, safe from his parent's influence and manipulation. If he wants to keep them safe, he has to marry you.

Warnings: Bad parents, Implied physical abuse. Let me know if I missed any!

Chapter 2 -- Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

You spend the car ride in silence. If your brother taught you anything about angry men it's that you don't speak to them without permission. You wince at the memories of his wrath which you saw matched in the eyes of Jake, your husband, throughout the wedding. So you keep yourself quiet and small, dreading your wedding night together.

Jake kept himself silent. He could feel your disappointment with him as your husband. You were likely plotting how to control him, make him miserable. He'd let you have the control if that's what you wanted. He can play the role as you need, or as your families need. But it was the private stuff that had him wanting to break. Would you let him play his video games? Would you constantly make fun of him, like so many others, for being himself? How much of himself will he have to sacrifice for the safety and security of his real family?

He pulls into the underground parking garage for the penthouse and parks. Not wanting to get lectured so soon, Jake is immediately out and going to open your door. He doesn't know that you only didn't open it because you weren't given permission. You step out and keep your eyes down so as not to anger him. As much as he's not looking forward to a life with a woman who drains his soul, it still hurts that you're so disappointed in him you can't even look at him.

The elevator ride is worse than the car ride. At least in the car you had buildings and people you could look at. Now it's just you and your eyes on the floor. You should be grateful he hasn't tried to touch you, but the fact that he puts as much distance between the two of you as he can speaks volumes. Jake tries making himself small in the hopes that you won't yell at him for taking up your space. The fact that you refuse to acknowledge him tells him a lot. When the doors open, Jake rushes into the entryway of the penthouse, the silence and tension was suffocating him. You hide your wince and try to make yourself smaller so you don't make him angrier at you than he clearly is.

Clay is waiting for the two of you in the entryway. He smiles, "good to know my pinto's got better speed and mobility than that fancy model they got you driving." Jake scoffs as he unlocks the door, using a keypad with the code he wants to change but knows he'll never be allowed to. Clay turns to you, "I know we were introduced earlier, but the whole thing was rather rushed. I'm Clay, Jake's boss, for lack of a better term." He holds out his hand and you shake it, you try to smile so as not to appear to be rude, but the day is weighing heavily on you.

Jake holds the door open for the two of you.

It's your first time seeing the place and you're immediately saddened by how much of it looks like your mother's tastes and preferences. It's overly crowded with useless, gaudy, overpriced things. You want to throw it all out. It's supposed to be a space for you and your husband, but it's just another reminder of how much your family still controls you. Jake groans as he looks around. Pulling out his phone, he quickly finds several "Internet of Things" devices that are easy to hack. Of course his parents would put in the fanciest refrigerators and thermostats without caring about the security risks. Jake doesn't need his refrigerator to connect to his phone, dammit!

Jake's groan makes you freeze. Clay asks, "what's wrong now?"

"I gotta do some serious cleanup for the sake of security," he grumbles. "Gotta make sure no one else actually gets to set the temperature of the thermostat, that I don't get text messages from my fridge, that my damn toaster doesn't get hacked!" He looks at you, "if that's okay with you, of course." His tone is bitter because he hates that he has to ask your permission for something so basic.

You nod, "of course." You keep your voice small, afraid of angering him any further. He really must hate you.

Clay looks at you, "how about you make yourself comfortable, little lady? I know it's your honeymoon and all, but Jake and I need to talk and who knows how long he's gonna be fixin' this internet problem y'all got."

You look to Jake but he's still on his phone so you ask, "is...is that okay with you?"

He gives you a confused look, "of course."

You make an internal note that, whatever Clay says goes. He's Jake's boss so you're best bet is to keep him happy to make Jake happy.

When you're out of sight Clay turns to Jake. "You best be gentle with that one, Jake. I think she's been through her own kind of hell."

"She's the spitting image of her mother, hasn't said a single word, can't even look me in the eye," Jake grouses. "She hates me and I'm likely going to spend the rest of my life never being good enough for her."

"I ain't so sure about that," he muses. "I get the impression she's afraid of you."

Chapter 2 -- Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @ashdoctor; @delicatebarness;

@ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @ronearoundblindly

[thetravelingymleader]

There WAS someone there you just couldn't SEE them!

Hey uhh Paldea?

Why are there so many dead people/wandering spirits that hang out at these tower things?

Just talked to whom I THOUGHT was a lost child, only to turn around cuz Sig said something, and then turn back around to see the kid vanished.

[ballonleastadiumofficial]

Ground types ((@underground-boss-clay , hngh I'm sorry I'm so late to this))

Tch. This was more difficult than I had anticipated. Where poison has high highs and low lows, ground only has... hm. I suppose I ought not to give the whole speech with a ground gym leader tagged.

Favorite pokemon of that type: Baltoy

Watching these pokemon spin about Hammerlocke Hills is surprisingly entertaining. They're also psychic types, of course, which immediately places them a step above in my book.

Second favorite pokemon of that type: Palpitoad

Arc, I can't believe I'm in a position where I have to say I consider Palpitoad one of my favorite pokemon... sigh. They look. Interesting. But I never tire of watching the ripples they make in Lake Miloch or listening to their song in the evenings. As long as they keep their distance, I can appreciate them.

Cutest pokemon of that type: Phanpy

Phanpy can't be found in Galar, and I only remembered to consider it because I found it in a list of ground types online. However, it's certainly the single one most suited to being called "cute" that I've seen.

Dumbest looking pokemon of that type: (would it be too terribly boring of me to say Galarian Stunfisk a second time...? Hmph.)

Sandaconda

I don't understand this pokemon. It looks as if it's attempting to constrict itself.

[shiftgear-engineer]

💭 ((@underground-boss-clay))

{I worry about you sometimes. You have so much pressure on your shoulders and all these people with the complete wrong idea of you, yet you hardly so much as pause for a breather.}

{I would've cracked under the pressure you're under...Arc, anyone would. It's hard to tell what's going on in your head, but I hope you're doing alright.}

{...you should take a few minutes to step away from all this, too. Ironic coming from me, but if anyone's earned a break it's you.}