[b]"I'd personally like to strengthen my team a bit more before anything else. Is there any location where I can accomplish that without causing the local wildlife to swarm me like macrophages after a bacterium? ... Er... I guess a less obscure description would be 'up to my neck in them', but..."[/b]

Lief just chuckled. "You don't want to get swarmed. That's fair. You could try your luck against a Trainer or two on the main road, rather than take the path deeper into the woods. Might be a bit of a challenge, but it'll be good for building up your Pokémon. Any other questions? Takers for the sightseeing?"

[b]"Welp, I know which way I wanna go!"[/b] The new guy, Ezra, cut in at this point, taking a couple of steps toward the path away from the open road. Alix was inclined to take the same path, in the interest of being up to her ears in Grass Pokémon. There had to be something here that she could coax out of hiding, even with a Fire-type comfortable in her arms.

Evie checked her pockets, then mumbled something about leaving something back on the road out of Regala, and dashed off in a hurry. Alix raised an eyebrow - how do you forget something so soon? - but said nothing, instead moving to stand with Ezra. With that, the four remaining Trainers seemed split up easily enough: or at least, that was how Ato and Lief saw it. "All right, you guys seem to be set on your paths. Give a yell if you need me for anything... and don't stray too far from the path, you two." This last comment was directed at Alix and Ezra, though the former just smiled and led the way.

The winding path peeled away from the main road almost instantly, leading into thick patches of grass and the occasional clearing. Alix headed straight into the grass, rustling through several patches and coming up empty-handed save for the occasional Caterpie or Sewaddle. And the Bug Pokémon just ran away as soon as she got closer. Alix didn't mind that - much like Dark-types avoided her for her Fighting specialty, Bug-types left her alone because she was also a Flying specialist - but she wanted to find something that she could train up properly.

"Maybe the proper Grass-types are further away from the path?" she mused aloud, getting a chirp from Jen in response as she pondered the thought. "There can't be just the Bugs in here..."

[hr]
Back on the main road, Ato craned his neck to see if he could see anyone further along the road. "Hmm... well, I can see a couple of people around. Don't let me keep you, though, you guys have at 'em." Sure enough, the main road through the forest was playing host to several Trainers. Some were battling each other, others poking around in the short grass where it overran the well-worn trail.