Arlo Raines

"Are you gonna come back?"

"Are you going to bring us some presents?"

"Mom said you have to bring us presents."

Arlo never knew going on a journey with all three of his friends would spark such chaos in the Raines household. Ever since he informed his mother, his sisters, aged twelve, seven, and five, insisted on asking him questions and telling him what to do and how to do it. Then again, that was quite the same as nearly every day in the Raines household. This time, however, Arlo could stomp out the minor annoyance with every step he took towards his journey. For now, he did what he had been doing for years -- said no words and merely nodded. When their mother pushed them away from her only son to eat breakfast, he relaxed on the couch and stared up at the clock.

8:15. They embarked on 8:45.

Before he could produce another thought, something nudged at his knee, and he looked down to see his Tyrogue staring up at him with his intent, golden glare. Arlo could tell he was eager to get a move on. That was how his Tyrogue had always been -- eager to go, eager to train, eager to see new things. For the past couple of years, he learned a thing or two from the pokemon. Before Tyrogue was given to him, he wasn't eager to try much of anything. Of course, he wasn't as bad as Wyatt was when it came to pokemon, but he was bad enough for Lio to throw a fit.

To soothe the Tyrogue's desperation to leave, he placed a hand on his hard head. "Soon." Arlo murmured as the pokemon tugged him to the kitchen table decorated generously with all kinds of going-away food.

Lionella Salvaggi

It wasn't like Lionella to oversleep. In fact, she woke up at 6 AM every single morning to sneak into her father's room, lure his Toxicroak out(while trying to remain as quiet as possible), and trying out some cool boxing move because Arlo refused for her to practice with his Tyrogue. She was only caught once or twice by her grandfather, and even then, there was no retribution. The old man just rolled his eyes and walked back to his bedroom. But never mind that. It most certainly was not like Lionella to oversleep. It took Skully to scream in her face to wake her up at 8:23.

The little girl sprung out of bed, frantically looking around her room for any clowns or axe murderers in case it was some nightmare. Discovering it was indeed reality, she gasped and pulled on her clothes(and yes, perhaps she had to pause two or three times because she had her shirt inside out and backwards), and then opened the door with her hair a rat's nest.

"Papà! Nonnucio! Why didn't you wake me up?! The-- Skully had t'a--" Before she could finish as the kitchen air engulfed her, she found her grandfather sitting at the table with a hand up as he sipped his coffee and ate the leftover gnocchi from last night. Her bewildered green eyes peered precariously around the kitchen, and she slowly collected herself, walking to sit across from her Nonnucio as he peacefully consumed his breakfast. "Where's.. Papà?"

"He went to work this morning, my dear. Some kind of emergency. Nothing too severe. Ah, but he left you this." The aged man pulled out a small blue box, and he handed it over to Lionella. The girl plucked the top of the box off, and she squealed at what was inside. A necklace was nestled inside, a silver star with a ruby resting between its corners. Her bright, grateful eyes turned up to her grandfather, and he winked at her.

"Go on now, tesoro. Papà and Nonnucio will be right here when you return."

At 8:45, Lionella rushed out of her house with her Duskull floating swiftly behind her, and she stood at the exit gates of the town, excitedly waiting for her treasured friends to arrive.

Wyatt Everard

Wyatt stood in the living room, sullen and glaring at nothing as his parents fluttered around him. His mother fussed with his hair as his father looked at a checklist, marking things off.

"And you've got your water bottle?"

"Yup."

"Potions?"

"Uh-huh."

"Escape rope?"

"I'm gonna be late." Wyatt didn't really care much if he was late – he just wanted to get away from his smothering parents. He was not looking forward to his 'adventure.' At least his friends would be there. Cas rolled in a happy circle around his feet.

His dad, too optimistic to recognize the excuse to escape for what it was, beamed at him from over the paper.

"Can't have that, can we?" Wyatt wanted to roll his eyes at the pride in his dad's voice. Of course he only seemed proud of his son when he did whatever Jimmy did.

"Oh, oh hold on!" His mom flitted away, turning in place to look for something. "We need a picture!" Wyatt couldn't hold in the groan. His dad shot him a reprimanding look and Wyatt snapped his mouth shut. Skewing his mouth in something that was almost a pout, he looked down. A moment later his mom was back, camera in hand.

"Ok sweetheart, smile!" Wyatt did no such thing. His Spheal beamed, a joyous little ball at his feet. With a sigh, his mom snapped the picture anyway. "One day I'm going to show all these pictures at your wedding and you're gonna regret not making a nice face." He just rolled his eyes, already turning towards the door.

"Hang on, hang on," his dad called after him, catching him by the shoulder. His parents enveloped him in a hug before he'd even finished turning around. "We love you."

"Stay safe," his mom whispered. Wyatt hesitated a moment before finally bringing his arms up to hug them back.

"I know. I will." His parents pulled away, both looking at him with light in their eyes. The corner of his mouth quirked up and he gave a small smile back. "Love you, too. I'll call."

And with that he was out the door, Cas rolling after him. Wyatt pulled out his earphones, putting them in and putting his music on shuffle. The melodies drowned out the early morning sounds of Faduli waking up.

He really was not looking forward to this. But if he was being honest… the nervousness slowly growing in his chest was starting to taste awfully close to anticipation. His friends. New places. Plenty of opportunities to die, of course. He hoped he didn't run into his brother.

His path to the edge of town took him past Arlo's house. At least he was responsible. He probably wouldn't let any of them die. The girls though… they were another story. Wyatt looked down at his watch. It wasn't quite time to meet yet – Arlo might still be home. Taking a chance, Wyatt turned into their driveway and walked up to the door. He rang the doorbell once before calling out.

"Hey Arlo! You home?" His voice was probably louder than necessary, with the music drowning out the noise in his ears. Cas was largely ignored as she rolled back and forth over his feet.

Haven Dao

Haven was awake, packed, and out the door by 5:07 that morning, Vice perched on her shoulder with his roots twining in the cloth of her jacket. Dawn would be breaking in a few minutes. She wanted to watch as sunlight stained the Faduli sky one last time. And… her family was going to give her hell for this, but technically speaking she hadn't actually told them she was leaving town with her friends. Whoops.

Silent as the night, she'd crept down the stairs and left a note on the kitchen counter. A goodbye, I love you, promise to call, alongside a little doodle of her smiling face.

Her mom was going to pitch a fit.

She walked out the door into the pre-morning air, with her Bellsprout and a bag filled with more art supplies than travel gear. Haven wove her way through the still sleeping town, walking past darkened buildings and the yellow glow of street lamps. Eventually she left them all behind, arriving at the east end of town. A great green hill swelled up, only to give a sharp drop, a rocky cliff leading to the ocean below. Haven walked up to it and sat down, her feet dangling above the waves. Ocean mist washed over her and she breathed it in. Dawn began to stretch its grey fingers from beyond the horizon and up across the sky. Color bled into the darkness and dawn broke across Faduli.

Haven and Vice sat there long after the sun hung bright and full in the sky. At 8:16 a vibration from her bag startled her back to reality. Already knowing what it was, she pulled out her phone to see her mother's face on the call screen.

"Yikes," she said, turning her phone off. Haven would call her back later. After she'd left town. Vice gave her a look. "What?" she countered back at him. "You know how she gets." The little Bellsprout just kept staring at her. Rolling her eyes, Haven pushed herself to her feet. Turning, she walked away from the ocean and back down into town until she emerged at the other edge of town.

Lionella was already there, waiting.

"Hey Lio," she greeted as she reached the smaller girl. Haven smiled a bit as she saw her friend practically bouncing with anticipation. Someone was ready to go. "Boys not here yet?" Haven glanced over her shoulder to see if she could spot them. She looked back at Lionella out of the corner of her eye, her smile turning sly. "Wanna ditch 'em?" Her voice and humor made it hard to tell when she was being serious or not, but those who knew her knew Haven was almost always joking. Almost always.

Arlo Raines

"Girls, come tell your brother goodbye! You won't be seeing him for quite awhile!" His mother called to her three daughters, who bounded out of the kitchen to rush towards Arlo at the door. He hadn't put Tyrogue in his pokeball yet. He imagined the minute they left, his little fighting pokemon would want to see and play with the others. It was nice how all of their pokemon usually got along. He did pity Castella, however, for being generally ignored by her owner. Playing with the other pokemon was probably the only attention she got. His sisters crawled all over him, with the youngest wrapped around his back, the second youngest around his leg, and the oldest around his waist. His mother, giddy as ever, chuckled and kissed her son's cheek. "Good luck out there, baby. Maybe you'll see your father along the way. He'll sure give your friends something to help them on their journey, sweet as he is."

Arlo gave her a nod, and he looked down at his three sisters, leaning down to kiss each and every one of them on the cheek, promising to bring them back something. They all wanted him to stay, but Arlo didn't want to keep his friends waiting more than they should have. His spine straightened up when he heard a familiar voice outside of his door.

"Is that Wyatt? And Cas? Can we play with them?!" One of his sisters squeaked, and Arlo's mother shook her head.

"Girls, girls, go to the table and finish your breakfast now. We've stalled long enough. Go on now." She peeled them off of her oldest son and winked at him, pushing him out the door. "If you need anything, we're only a call away, Arlo. I love you. Be good."

The gentle giant gave a nod and a smile, and with that, the door softly closed. He looked ahead of himself, finding Wyatt standing there with Cas rolling all over his feet. He smiled in slow amusement, walking down the steps of his porch and taking his friend's side as Tyrogue insisted on playing with Cas.

"G'morning. I'm to assume the girls beat us, huh?"

There was no doubt that Lio was at the exit gates of their town since 7 AM probably, and Haven was probably there on time to ditch Faduli and all the people in it. Arlo could be happy in any small, stuffy town, but not Haven Dao. He always knew she wanted to see bigger things and do bigger things. Doubtlessly, Haven was a free spirit. In fact, she was one of the first ones on board for the idea of going on a pokemon adventure. Wyatt was the last.

They walked closer to the exit gates, and a little blonde girl with a Duskull was excitedly talking to a dark-haired and hooded girl with a Bellsprout around one of her legs. That was their girls. No questions asked.

Lionella Salvaggi

"Morning, Haven!" Lio had just finished playing a game of "keep-away" from her Duskull(and the "keep-away" object was just a rock from the ground), and when she heard that familiar voice, her head turned to see that mischievous grin on her dear friend's face. For those who didn't know Haven, they would probably think she was so aloof and evil. Surprisingly, that wasn't the impression Lio got when she first met her years ago. She always thought the girl was cool, so yeah, little Lio followed her around like a puppy months after meeting her. She fondly re-called all the instances where Arlo or Wyatt had to remove her from Haven's personal space.

Lionella turned to look up at the sky as her friend spoke to her once more. Green eyes darted to meet Haven's, and an endearing smile curved in the small girl's lips. Partly, she knew Haven was kidding. They'd never really ditch them. But maybe they would sort of ditch them, just to get a disapproving look from Arlo and some form of chastisement from Wyatt. Irritating them both was always fun. She knew Skully enjoyed it(that, and sneaking up behind Wyatt to scare him). Lionella giggled.

"Perhaps we cou--" She was promptly cut off as the boys drew closer to the exit gates, and Lio groaned, crossing her arms. "Damn. Maybe next time." She winked at Haven.

"Next time what?" The intimidating Arlo asked the small girl, looking down at the two of them with a suspicious glance.

"Nothing, nothing!" Lio gave a bright smile with her teeth, waving at the two of them. "Good morning! Are you all ready to go?! 'Cus I am!"

Wyatt Everard

Wyatt waited until Arlo had closed the door, giving a little half wave. Cas trilled in excitement at seeing friends, and rolled more frantically back and forth over Wyatt's feet before stopping right atop of them, looking up at her trainer expectantly. He glanced down and gave a nod. The Spheal squeaked again, rolling in a happy circle around him. Then Cas took off, rolling straight at Arlo's Tyrogue. The corner of Wyatt's mouth quirked just a bit, hinting at some expression that wasn't his usual scowl as the two started to play. Then he looked back up at Arlo.

"Probably," he answered, still too loud. "Knowing those two, they're already halfway to the next town." Lio was an incorrigible adventurer and Haven only served as a bad influence. Wyatt knew that they likely wouldn't be going on this adventure at all without those two. And he supposed… a small part of him was thankful for that, if only for the chance to escape his parents – even if it meant following after his brother's shadow. But Arlo was the responsible one. The rational one. The sane one. As far as Wyatt was concerned, it was their job to make sure they stayed alive.

Wyatt followed after Arlo, half-running to keep up with the taller boy's long strides. Before long they came upon the girls at the edge of town, sharing a conspiratorial smile with each other.

Haven Dao

Haven shared a mischievous smile with Lio as Wyatt and Arlo approached, pokemon in tow. She raised her eyebrows at Arlo, ever the stern, responsible one, and met his look with a cheekily innocent batting of her eyelashes. Teasing him was too fun. She looked back down to Lio as she spoke.

"Been ready for weeks, kid," Haven replied, throwing an arm over Lio's shoulder. Haven knew only a year separated them, but it was hard not to treat her little friend like a younger, idolizing sister. With her youthfulness, size, and the joyful curiosity with which she did everything, she made for an endearing companion – easy to like and hard to not want to care for. "Thought I was gonna go grey before someone finally agreed." She threw a glance at Wyatt. The younger boy blinked at her for a moment before realizing she was talking about him.

"Hey!" he shouted, yanking his headphones out of his ears. The kid was gonna go deaf before he was even done with puberty. Vice wiggled his leaves, his own form of laughter. Haven smirked at Wyatt before turning back up to Arlo.

"So," she said, "We ever decide? North or south?" It was hard not to treat the tall boy like he was in charge. He was the biggest, the oldest, a quiet, stable presence in their odd little group. Haven relied on him more often than she cared for. "We wanna go through the cave or the forest?" While there was only one path from Faduli, it forked a mile out. To the north was Ulu Forest, and then Ulu Town. The south lead to Tarrin Cave which let out just before Boken City.

Arlo Raines

Even before they left Faduli, the mood of their adventure was set out for all of them. Wyatt would be the one they would prod to try all kinds of different things on their journey. He knew in the first place that the girls had no qualms of dragging him down the road to one gym after the other. Sadly, Arlo had a feeling of why Wyatt acted the way he did, so he was more cautious around him than his friends. Little Lio would be rushing around the whole place, chasing Duskull around, playing with all of their pokemon, and insisting on battling every one she laid eyes on. He'd probably have to pull her off people so she wouldn't hog all the victory for herself. That was just how Lio was though. While everyone sat down for a break, she just kept going.

As for Haven, he was sure Faduli was beginning to get to her. They were both the oldest of the group, so there was always an underlying mutual respect for one another. There were times where he would sigh and shake his head at her, but really, he never had to bail her out of major trouble like he had with the other two(and even then, their trouble wasn't major either). He found her artistic spirit refreshing. He found her artwork even more refreshing. Haven Dao had more talent in her finger than in his whole body.

And then, there Arlo was, the brick wall protecting the group from ridicule from the outside world that they would no doubt encounter(granted, they were all a bunch of weirdos). At Haven's question, he pulled out a crinkled up map from his bag, staring intently at the coordinates and names. His violet eyes cascaded across the page, squinting at every route.

"The forest may be less treacherous. None of our pokemon know Flash either, so it would be difficult to navigate through a cave." Besides, from what he heard, most young trainers started out in forests. There were more people there, less dangerous and hostile pokemon, and possibly an even healthier atmosphere. This decision earned a small groan of protest from Lionella.

Lionella Salvaggi

"Oh, come on, Arlo! What's the point of an adventure if you don't take any risks? If all goes wrong, we can just sacrifice Wyatt!" Lio pointed to the blue-eyed boy while her other hand rested on her hip. Half of her was teasing about it, but she truly did want to go to the cave. She'd never sacrifice Wyatt, but any chance to take a dig at the glass-wearing boy, she would take. With a giggle, Lio stuck her tongue out at the boy, and she looked back up at Arlo who sighed.

"We can take the cave another time. We're still very inexperienced as trainers. Injuring ourselves on the first day wouldn't be wise." Arlo tried to explain. Lio could see that this was the most the boy had talked today, and while she was amused, she was also understanding of his reasoning. He was right.

"Fiiiiine. Well, let's get a move on then! I bet there are lotsa trainers in Ulu Forest, even if it's so early in the morning. I bet I win my first battle." Lio confidently declared, taking Wyatt and Haven's arms, surging in the Northern direction towards the forest. As if tired of his trainer's constant enthusiasm, Duskull retired back into his pokeball.

Wyatt Everard

Wyatt let out a squawk of protest when Lionella volunteered him as a sacrifice. It was more obligatory than anything – he knew everyone here wouldn't hesitate to save him from whatever hell he stumbled into. They'd just make sure he got at least a little singed first.

He let Lio grab him by the arm, not fighting as she strung her own through it. He'd grown accustomed to her constant touches and closeness, no longer blushing as he used to. He couldn't help a half-hearted rolling of his eyes, though. Lio loudly and proudly announced that she'd win her first battle.

"Yeah?" Haven said from Lio's other side, a smirking challenge clear in her voice. "I'm tempted to take that bet and be your first opponent." Wyatt shot the older girl a look. Honestly, it was a little early in their 'adventure' for the girls to start in on this already. Couldn't they at least make it out of town? Lio was a fierce trainer, there was no doubt. Wyatt wouldn't be surprised if she beat everyone they came across through sheer endurance alone. But while Haven wasn't a battler per se, she was certainly… a pain to go up against. This was mostly because her tactic was to be as annoying as possible with status ailments and a whole lot of dodging, waiting out her opponents. If those two started a battle now, they'd never leave.

"Please don't."

Wyatt watched as Lio's Duskull retreated into his pokeball, and couldn't help but be a bit envious. With a sigh, Wyatt used his free hand to grab Cas' pokeball and recall her. He didn't know how she'd fare rolling around over a forest terrain. He didn't want her to get too worn out or hurt by any roots or rocks.

Haven caught the movement and shot him a smirk, though there was a softness to it that was rarely seen on her. A bright, genuine excitement at starting this journey together. Wyatt couldn't help the tiny smile he turned back to her, though he did his best to look annoyed by their antics. He looked over his shoulder to see Arlo, calm and steady, following after them. Wyatt turned his head forward, his arm tightening ever so slightly around Lio's.

If asked, he was being forced on this journey against his will.

But if it was just to himself… he could admit he was the slightest bit excited.

Haven Dao

It was a half hour walk from Faduli before they finally reached the edge of Ulu Forest. They'd spent the time easily enough – Lio and Haven messing around, Wyatt trying (failing) to be mature and above it all. Really, it was too easy to mess with that kid, with how hard he tried to be a grownup. And through it all, Arlo was the stable, quiet presence, making sure they went in the right direction. Haven always tried to bring him into whatever joke or silliness the rest of them got into, looking back at him to check his expression. A small trill of pride rang through her whenever she saw a smile on his face. Watching that stoic expression crack always felt like a victory.

Aside from their own company, the walk was largely uneventful. While the forest itself was almost always filled with trainers, they rarely had a reason to keep going south towards Faduli. And so, the four friends walked alone under the early morning sun.

And then they finally came upon the tree line. Haven had run away from home once, when she was younger (well, she supposed she'd actually run away from home twice now). She'd been eleven years old, bratty and impossible to manage. And in the middle of the night she'd packed a backpack and taken off north. Her mom and sisters found her twenty minutes out of town, though, and she had never made it as far as the forest. Seeing it now, she thought even if she had made it this far, there's no way she'd have had the nerve to brave Ulu Forest.

A thick mass of trees formed a towering wall of bark and leaves, spaced far enough apart for her to slip herself through – but only barely. A wider section of space was cut between two twisting white-barked trees, clearly meant to be a path. Haven let out a long whistle as she took it in. Without thinking, her hand strayed to her back pocket to curl around her phone and raise it to take a picture. But Haven blinked to see a dead, black screen. Right. Mom. She'd turned off her phone, lest her mother reach through the screen and throttle her for leaving without anything but a post-it note for explanation. Haven stared at the blank screen for a moment, frozen. Then she blinked away, almost guilty, and slipped it back in her pocket. Vice's lead 'accidentally' smacked the side of her neck and she shot the Bellsprout a look. Haven looked up to see Wyatt looking at her incredulously.

"Is… is your phone off? Her phone was never off. If she wasn't browsing the internet or playing dumb games, she was taking reference pictures of environments for her artwork.

"Forgot to charge it last night," she lied. Wyatt's eyes narrowed a bit at that. Sharp kid. "I'll just charge it in Ulu Town." Her mind scrambled for a change of topic, though outside she remained cool. Haven perked up when she saw two figures standing at the mouth of the forest, dwarfed by the trees.

"Hey," she said, gesturing to them with her chin. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like two boys, maybe around their age. Some sort of bird pokemon looked to be perched on the taller one's shoulder. He scratched his head as he spoke to his companion. "Finally found some people. That bet of your's still on, kid?" Haven glanced down at Lio, the corner of her mouth quirking up.