[@Ephemeral]

Numerous hard-fought levels later, Erza switched his team to train the next party-members, Princess and Hunter. Both of them served well in conflict with Budew, on account of resistance against Absorb, but Princess would suffer initially against other similarly levelled Pokémon in the wild until she got experience. Fortunately, that's exactly what they were here to get! 

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Hunter grew to Level 9! Hunter learned Leer![/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Princess grew to Level 11! Princess learned Gust![/i][/color][/center]

Hunter took some damage battling wild Pokémon, but otherwise he was fine. Princess had taken noticeably more damage, but Erza healed her right up with potions. And at the end of that, he still had a full health Pidgey now. It was raining pretty well by now, and they were battling the wild Pokémon at the forests next to Route 11, and-

And a sudden Water Gun flew and hit Princess from a range, causing damage and was an obvious sneak attack.

Behind some trees, a Pokémon giggled and hid. It was a Pokémon shaped like a tuft of floating cloud, with big eyes and a wide smile. But most notably, the head of it was wrapped inside a large raindrop of water, but was that truly it’s natural shape?

[center][url=https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/b/b2/351Castform_Rainy_Form_Dream.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/flVHRkX.png[/img][/url]

Though the Pokédexed showed…

[url=https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/f/f3/351Castform.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/TkDYH9C.png[/img][/url][/center]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #351 – Castform, the Weather Pokémon. It has the ability to change its cellular structure to adapt to weather conditions, changing its type to take maximum advantage of the current surroundings. By channeling the weather, it gains the power needed to protect its tiny body.[/i][/color][/center]

[color=d1d3de]‘Castform~!’[/color] Castform told teasingly, apparently thinking the Water Gun was hilarious.

… And there was the rare Pokémon of Route 11.

Erza’s actions?

[hider=Suggestions to actions]1. Find Pokémon. [i]Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search.[/i]
2. Train Pokémon. [i]With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.[/i]
3. Seek trainers. [i]There should be some trainers among those walking back and forth in the area.[/i]
4. Talk. [i]There’s plenty of travellers around. Maybe seek answers to any burning questions you have.[/i]
5. Move along. [i]Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally.[/i]
6. Hurry along. [i]Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.[/i]
7. Specify. [i]If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.[/i]
8. Trigger random event. [i]Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.[/i]
9. Area Specific: Explore Buildings. [i]There’s abandoned buildings. Why not have a look?[/i]
10. Erza Specific: Shiny Blitzle. [i]It should still be out there somewhere![/i][/hider]

[i]Connected areas: [/i]
Redcoast City. [i]Right behind you.[/i]
Rainrock City. [i]Requires crossing Route 11, but it’s a pretty well-travelled and safe road.[/i]
Route 12. [i]Requires crossing Route 11 on the way north, also pretty well-travelled.[/i]
Pokéball Factory. [i]A turn east on the path north should bring you there.[/i]

[hider=Route 11, known Pokémon]Common:
#263 Zigzagoon
#406 Budew
#433 Chingling (Only at Abandoned Shrine)
#519 Pidove

Uncommon:
#522 Blitzle

Rare: 
#351 Castform[/hider]

__________________________

[@Dusksong]

Delphox had already ran off after Laurinda, it was impossible to ask if she was alright with it on account that she didn’t stay to chat after pushing it all onto Chandelure.

[color=8484c2]‘Chandelure...’[/color] Chandelure said, sounding worried. Still, it was apparently what was decided here. Soooooo, heading deeper it was.

Eryn attempted to move deeper, probably avoiding the Dustox as best she could, but almost immediately she found some amount of Dustox passing above her spreading their Poison Powder. It did look grim, until…

[color=8484c2]‘CHANDELURE!’[/color] Chandelure shouted out as he directed multiple of its “limbs” into the air… and a MASSIVE plume of fire erupted, sprouting outwards and clutching together like a venus trap of fire around the offending poison. The flames soared and burned, scattering Dustoxes and lighting up the night in the forest for the briefest of moments. That, was the Fire-type move Inferno, clearing a path for them to move deeper into the forest… and leaving numerous trees on fire as Chandelure hurried along. No problem, though. This forest can totally handle itself.

Chandelure kept throwing the occasional fireballs around at closing offenders as the area they were heading for kept growing darker and darker. They were approaching the deepest reaches of Infested Woods. Soon enough… the trees around them started to look less and less alive.

[hider=This is...][center][h2]Wilted Woods[/h2]

[url=http://i.imgur.com/K0Vr0JW.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/K0Vr0JW.png[/img][/url][/center]

Trees decayed. The distance between each tree grew further, and on the ground only the most stallworth of grass still grew, like parasites latching onto the trees and roots. A mist eternally covers these woods, brightening the distance up in white yet prohibiting further view. The life was gone from the trees, no bugs inhabited these woods naturally. Yet, walking in this area one cannot shake the feeling. You’re being watched. Something is watching you. You won’t escape this place alone. Now, perhaps more than any other time, is a fortunate time to be protected by Pokémon.

Yet further in, a presence can be felt. There’s something inside the Wilted Woods, something that feels like it is taking on the life all around it. You need not be a medium to feel it, the sense is all-encompassing. This has to be the reason why the trees around here are dying, and it feels like should you remain in this wood for too long, the same will happen to you. Now, you can feel EXACTLY in which direction you have to go in order to get to the presence… but do you really want to…?

As they walked deeper into Wilted Woods, Chandelure looked around constantly, the chandelier looking honestly worried about where they were heading in. No Pokémon sighted yet, other than the ominous feeling of something close by. Also…

… That was a song. A song sounded out from around them, a melody sounding cheerful yet hollow all at the same time. Sounds coursed in between the trees, eerie tunes causing hairs to rise and a feeling of coldness spreading through one’s body, as if touched by death. It was as if the song itself wanted to part spirit from body among the living. The source of this was the spirits hanging around here and there within the Wilted Woods, announcing their ill will.

[color=8484c2]‘CHANDEL-!’[/color] Chandelure called, spinning around and sending a Flame Burst straight into the body of a ghost that Eryn hadn’t even noticed was coming close. The ghost spun, burned by the flames as its song ended, but more songs could be heard in the distance. In addition, as Eryn and her Pokémon looked around, it turned out some of the supposedly dead trees had eyes. And they were looking at them.

[center][url=http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/8/88/711Gourgeist.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/VxfVoAh.png[/img][/url][/center]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #711 – Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon. It is a malevolent Pokémon that catches prey with its hair-like arms and sings joyfully as it causes pain to its victims. Under new moons, they take to wandering city streets while singing in eerie voices. Anyone who hears their song is cursed. They come in varying sizes, from 20 lbs to over 80.[/i][/color][/center]
[center][url=http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/4/4b/709Trevenant.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/mHjIsei.png[/img][/url][/center]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #709 – Trevenant, the Elder Tree Pokémon. Using its roots to connect to the trees around it, a Trevenant can manipulate trees at will. They’re known to protect the creatures inside the forests where they dwell, and trap those who’d do harm upon the forest.[/i][/color][/center]

There was quite an amount of Gourgeists floating about in these woods, and some had started circling them on a range where they’d learned Chandelure wouldn’t attack them. Other than that, it was nearly impossible to determine if a tree was a Trevenant or not until you got way too close. That said…

[color=d4bc70]‘Hey!’[/color] A little voice of a male child called, it’s tone strikingly innocent. 
[color=95c4de]‘This way!’[/color] Another, female-sounding child’s voice called, directing towards deeper into the woods.

Now, this would perhaps be the time one would be confused why they’d be hearing the voices of kids out here… hopefully Eryn had the sense to point her Pokédex in the direction.

[center][url=http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/7/72/708Phantump.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/d4QKbKK.png[/img][/url][/center]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #708 – Phantump, the Stump Pokémon. Said to be stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died lost in forests. Found mainly in lonely forests where humans don’t tread, they can lead humans astray with their eerie cries that imitate a human child’s. The leaves on its head are said to have healing properties.[/i][/color][/center]

… Other than that, Eryn might be startled by a sudden noise of something moving about within the woods in a mass. Over there, there was a whole bunch of Pokémon moving as a group, small lights lit within them ensuring they could be seen, heading from who knows where towards who could say…

[center][url=http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/d/df/710Pumpkaboo.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/71xboGl.png[/img][/url][/center]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #710 – Pumpkaboo, the Pumpkin Pokémon. A pumpkin body inhabited by spirits trapped in this world. It is said to carry such wandering spirits to where they belong so they can move on. They turn restless at night. They comes in many varying sizes, from 7 lbs to over 30.[/i][/color][/center]

[color=8484c2]‘Ch-chandelure…’[/color] … Eryn’s protector was sounding scared, looking about at encircling Gourgeists and the different trees that could be Trevenants.

What would Eryn do here?[/hider]