"Yayh, maeh' hiiem eahlier tuh-die. dawnt knaow hiiem puhs'nally, theenk haes a totul quack if oym totohly honest, buh' a good bloke overohl Oy sie." Steph seemed to shrug off meeting a celebrity like that on her first day, after all she had come here to see him and whatnot so of course she had? She would then soon pull out her Rotom Phone, struggling to turn it on for a hot moment or two, before bringing up her Pokedex, still on the latest entry of the Metagross.


"Heah t' tyke on the laygue chohlenge and whahtnawt ya knaow? Gawt Dusk heah frawm hiiem as waell, loike Oy side good bloke." Scratching Dusk under the chin, she would listen to Jean as he spoke.


Steph was disappointed, but not surprised, when he said he didnt happen to have a spare Beldum on hand. But she brushed it off rather quickly, she hadn't expected him to after all. And his answers also confirmed to her that he wasn't from the region either; though she made sure to note down the information as where to find them.

Cold and snowy areas, which it seemed to be up north? If she didn't already have plans to head south, then she would almost certainly head north almost immediately. Something for later down the line perhaps.

Caves in inhospitable lands? Why did that info make Steph grin in a way that may concern anyone watching? Just me? Ok. Regardless, she would have to ask around to see if she could find a place that fit that kind of description at some point. Would give her more of a reason to jump headfirst into it, not that she really need to as lets be honest she would've anyway.

The only answer that seemed to draw a reaction out of her much more than a slightly disappointed look was the answer on her question about Cipher, an irritated click of her tongue before a loud, drawn out sigh. She didn't have high hopes on it, but she was hoping for...something at least. But fair enough, she didnt expect information like that to be found easily or even willingly given out. Especially so considering he didnt seem to be from around here, maybe she would be better off trying with the gym leaders then? She seemed to think heavily for a moment, snapping back to reality when she heard him speaking of an older man by the harbour.

She thinks she heard something about this before? Though the missing Snubbul was news to her, she noted them both down mentally anyway.

"Ye thighnks mite, sohry if Oy uh...saymed a leettle annooyd just naow. lawng storay, biieh' puhs'nal. thighnks faw taellin me whaht ya knaow, ill kayp ih' in moind whaen Oy gao huntin faw a beldum hopaefully soon enough. heahd somethin abeow' a feeshuhmahn, sao ceht'nly gawnna chyse thaht up. oh, roigh'." She seemed a little sheepish at first when she spoke, seemingly self aware of her visible annoyance just a moment ago. She wore her emotions out in the open for all to see, she knew this and didn't want him to feel bad about now being able to help out a bit more. She had plenty of time to find more information, plenty of other places to check. She was impatient, she just had to wait a lil longer. Though now she brought up her phone and began to fiddle through it, glancing up at him as she did.


"Wahnna exchuynge cawntahcts aw somethin? Mybee if we end up in the syme plyce aguyn we cahn mayt up aysier thaht why ya knaow? Wouldnt moind a remahtch whaen oym strawngah, mybee geeve a propah chohlenge at some point hahahha!" Regardless of his answer, she was ready to leave herself.


Had an older fisherman to talk to after all, plus she also wanted to do a few more things before leaving the city. She'd keep an eye out for that Snubbul also, wouldn't do to leave the poor little guy out by his lonesome nor let that poor girl stress out.

walking back to Freya now, you couldn't wipe the grin off her first no matter hard you tried, as she gave the girl a V with her fingers.

"Say thaht? Nawt bahd faw a fuhst toimah huh?" In perhaps the most shocking development, or maybe least shocking, yet came the announcement that that was Stephs first time in a trainer 'battle'. Did she count it as a battle? No, she still looked forward to her first 'true' fight. But as a glimpse as to what she could look forward to? It was a nice appetizer. She wasn't going to talk about how nerve wracking that was at all, nope. "Sayn plaenty of bahttles, naevah dun one befoah. spaecially nawt one loike thaht. anywhys, Oy heahd abeow' an old mite thahts around the hahboah thaht knaows wheah t' feesh up some raeh pokemawn. yah up t' tohk t' hiiem weeth me aw nahh? oolsao pparently a snubbul is meessin, moigh' wahnna kayp an eoy eow' faw thaht."


Steph wasn't fussed either way, there was no obligation for Freya to come with or do anything really. But she thought she might as well ask, and you know if the loud young lady from before wanted to talk or come with or whatever also, Steph wouldn't be against talking to her or letting her tag along. She didn't have any interest at the moment in seeking her out, but if she was still hanging around after she spoke to the old man Steph might hit her up. For now, regardless of Freya's answer, Steph would go to find the old man. He probably wouldn't be too far off, seeing as they were already at the Harbour, but at the same time Steph would keep an eye out for other Pokemon she hadn't seen yet. Or if there was a Machop hanging around the Harbour that was wild, would save her time heading back in if she was lucky enough to find and catch one of em away from the construction sites.

[Go find the old fisherman, keeping an eye out for any other Pokemon than whats known and/or a Machop to catch.]

The trade of blows seemed to be more even than what Amelia had been expecting between Phantump and Mimikyu but she was not going to complain about that, since it meant they were on possibly even ground. Then again, Astonish was a weak move, so maybe that wasn't the case. Regardless, with help from Carmelia's Helping Hands, Phantump's own Astonish was empowered and landed before the Mimikyu's, damaging it and even causing it to flinch. That was some good luck and she could only hope that their luck would continue.

The Mimikyu seemed to not like how events were playing out, now working together, with the bigger one picking up it's smaller brethren and tossing them, turning them into a Wood Hammer Missile. There wasn't much she could really do other than possibly help knock that particular Mimikyu out. Maybe if they focus fired on it, she and Valerian might be able to take it out.
"Phantump, intercept it with Sucker Punch!" She commanded. Phantump let out an aggressive cry before rapidly getting in front of the Mimikyu, throwing another darkness enhanced punch at it.

After all of this searching, all of this time, and the effort to get here, it would culminate in a proper battle! Well, as proper as one got in the den of fiery Pokemon bullying a punk fan who had been kidnapped for entertainment. But the gauntlet had been thrown down, the challenge laid bare, and all that it would take was the response of the two wild Pokemon there to begin the-

With another big inhalation of air, they swelled up and then shouted,"Igglybuff!" again though this time was different. They could see the sound waves ripple through the air as they both used Echoed Voice at the same time, but uh, this looked different. It sort of looked like the sound was... on fire? The distortions in the air were crackling with flame as they headed straight towards Tors and Sir Lopsalot.

...The air was on fire. Sure it made sense given Pokemon were doing this, and the heat of a proper fire Pokemon was usually no joke, but still....why was the air just outright on fire? Perhaps it was some kind of capability to ignite the air? Something strange with their voices? Hmm. But now wasn't the time to simply ponder the matter on Clarissa's part, now was the time for action!

"Dodge it and deliver a Power-Up Punch counterattack!"

In response to her call, Sir Lopsalot would try to leap up to get over the attack, twisting himself as he reached up to the cave cieling with his leap and trying to use it as a springboard for his feet. The intent was to launch himself downward once more at his nearest opponent in a fast straight-line type attack, his tiny right fist glowing with the awesome power of a Power-Up Punch right into its face! That was the intent on his part at least, given his interpretation of his trainer's orders that is.

As for his trainer....Clarissa had hoped that she could help some Pokemon down here, and some small part of her was yet still a little disappointed despite everything thus far. Her heart had been going out to the potential that some poor Pokemon was alone and scared down here to comfort, or a potential teammate who had lost what they saw as their home to go elsewhere where they didn't feel as if they quite belonged. At the same time, however, she'd found a few Pokemon to catch, found a peculiar cave system, come down here with a new friend of sorts, had made a Steelix happy after a terrifying potential disaster situation, and was able to help someone now in the form of a human who was kidnapped by Pokemon. It was certainly a hard shift from the original expectations, but she had admittedly tried to mentally get herself pumped for the potential oddities of a Pokemon journey as well all things considered. She hadn't any idea what they'd run into or find out there, and already in the city they started in....well, all of THIS was happening!

Had she been told by anyone but herself about the events to come on this day alone, she'd have raised an eyebrow just the prior day and questioned it at least a little bit. Even so, at the end of the day her goal to hopefully save someone who was scared down here was still oddly enough rather intact in a mildly amusing fashion. A rescue was a rescue, and fear was fear, both for people or Pokemon alike as it were.

Meanwhile, Scrapper in front of her right leg and Pyrite in her arms watched on with her from the sidelines as she gave out orders to Sir Lopsalot. Naturally the former seemed more expressive about it all than the latter, inherently, though the latter semeed to look on with a sort of calm intensity on the part of the Roggenrola in her arms. Hopefully the battle would be straightforward enough that they didn't need to get involved, but with Evig already being THIS chaotic the psychic had no idea with any full amount of certainty.

However....if possible, she was curious about catching one of these Igglybuff all the same.

[Clarissa and Sir Lopsalot accept the the challenge]

[Sir Lopsalot tries to dodge the attack and launch a counterattack (Power-Up Punch) against the nearest opposing Igglybuff]

[Clarissa keeps an eye out for a good moment, depending on how the battle develops, given her emerging interest in catching one of these two wild Igglybuff if possible]

@Remram@Shazamrock

With everything underway, Vivian’s path to Route 4 was secured. Her first steps into the route were one of fresh air, a pleasurable reminder of her home town back in Celestic. Nice, calm, and filled with Pokemon just going about their day. Vivian herself simply marches on, giving a friendly wave to the various Bidoof and Wooper that were vibing within the river.

Yet, at the same time, there was something that called out to Vivian as she made her way up the rocky path. Something imperceptible in the air, yet still a sense that Vivian was familiar with: The unmistakable scent of well-aged ruins.

Vivian’s first sign of the ruins was a simple wall, barely visible over the crest of the walkway she was on. Yet as soon as she saw the aged stone, the young archeologist froze… And then almost immediately broken into a full sprint, her hands already flying towards her bag, filled with various archeological tools, kicking up a cloud of dust as she ran.

This was her calling, her true fervor. An ancient ruin, right on the front steps of a city! And she got to try to decipher them all by herself! If she wasn’t busy making a mad dash to them, she could have fainted from the sheer joy.

---

The plan had worked, maybe even a little too well. Maybe it was a bit weird to be relieved about being attacked by a pair of wild pokemon, but in this situation? It was about what Nils had expected. He had the time to glance over at the punk once more and hope the guy took the hint to put some distance between himself and the Igglybuff while he could. Then, as the puffballs bounded excitedly towards himself and Clarissa, Nils readied himself for battle they clearly wanted.

"Alright, let's do this!" he said. Tors brayed in agreement, and behind him at Nils' side Rau's fur bristled. There might still be something lurking nearby, but for now, they could definitely handle what was right in front of them and take on a couple of hot air heads!

The Igglybuffs kicked things off but setting the air on fire and sending a wave of rippling heat their way. Tors was not as nimble as Sir Lopsalot, so it was unlikely he'd be able to both dodge and retaliate with an attack of his own... and since that was the case, there was only one thing for it. As Tors was in top shape due to an earlier potion, Nils went with a more straight forward command.

"Tors, charge through and use Mud Slap!"

Technically Nils and Tors had only known each other for a few hours, but there commonly seemed to be a special bond between a trainer and their first pokemon. Tors hesitated for barely a second before he put his trust in Nils and kicked off the stone floor, sprinting directly towards the Igglybuff. "Braaa!"

As one of the Echoed Voices washed over Tors, his ability triggered and hardened the thin coating over his skin to increase his defense. With the Buneary moving to divebomb the leftmost Igglybuff, Tors charged at the righthand one, and skidded to a halt right in front of it while throwing a heap of mud at the little pokemon.

@Typical

The three of them had varied levels of surprise when Claris revealed that she too was employed by Kapoc: Elias and Lars with moderate surprise while Hugo looked more annoyed at the fact that she was someone that had been approved of by the professor.

"Wow, small world!" Elias commented with raised brows.

Hugo at her question folded his arms and defensively said, "None of your business."

Ignoring the sulking boy's attitude, Elias said, "Ah, that's what makes this one so special! It's an exhibition match between two gym leaders! It's a rare chance to see what they're all about!" He was absolutely beaming with excitement at the prospect of seeing such an exclusive high-level battle.

"A-apparently they're the Starbor Gym Leader and an electric-type specialist! She's actually around the same age as us and is the youngest gym leader in the entire league! She's known as the Lightning Dancer and is apparently the granddaughter of the owner of the Hyacinth Theatre outside of Nexus. And her opponent is the gym leader from Frostfjord! While she runs a metalwork shop, she is actually the ice-type gym leader and the reigning ice sculpting champion in Evig! Her works metalworks are featured all over the world too!" The two other boys stared at Lars, not expecting quiet boy to speak up or to be such an avid font of knowledge. He blushed and averted his gaze. "Not, uh, not that I would know."

"Uh huh." Elias turned his attention back to Claris and looked at her wondering why in the world she was still standing. "Why not make yourself comfortable and sit down with us? Or are you planning to analyze the battle standing there with a stern look on your face?" He flashed a teasing grin, unphased by her cold demeanor.

"Hey, I think I see them walking out," said Lars. He shifted forward in his seat with great interest.

He was right, there were two people that walked out from opposite sides of the arena. One was a girl about Claris' age with long wild blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail pinned with feathers in her hair. Her gray-blue eyes crackled exuberance and stepped with confidence. From the other side was a woman in her mid-thirties with an aura of self-assuredness and elegance of carved ice though her lips curled in a warm smile.



Astrid soon followed and stood in the middle facing the audience. "I am glad that you all could attend today's special exhibition match. Today, our volunteers will demonstrate the complexities of double battles and battling on difficult terrain. The trainers demonstrating today are from our very own Evig Pokemon League. They are very busy people, so we should grateful that they would volunteer their time."

She motioned one hand towards the very electric blonde girl. "This is Thora Nilson, the gym-leader of Starbor Village."

"Sup! Happy to be here!" Thora chirped happily.

"And this is Sigrid Berg, the gym-leader of Frostfjord." Astrid motioned towards the black-haired woman.

"Hello, I hope our little demonstration will offer you some insight into Pokemon battles." Sigrid said with a warm smile.

"Now before we begin, do any of you have any questions?" Astrid asked the audience.

What does Claris do?

---

@CitrusArms

"Magne..." It said guiltily when told that its electrical meals were causing problems for the residence of the apartment though it looked like it perked up at the mention of being brought to something called a 'power plant.' Power sounded like electricity and electricity sounded like food and food sounded like a really, really good thing. "Magne!" It said happily. It looked like it agreed with her proposition without needing to forcibly subdue it.

What does Regan do now?

---

@GremlinAgain@baraquiel

Frida knelt down to the little Pokemon with a sweet smile as she held a first aid kit. It was a little white box with a red cross on it though the white was now a yellow tinge and the red cross was chipped. It certainly had been used well. Well aren't you all just adorable? Well, including your trainers too, of course. She opened the box with a 'click' and pulled out some potions and paralyze heals. It looked like she was certainly well equipped for just this situation.

"Ah, I know about Yampers. We have our own, but that doesn't stop the wild ones from breaking in." The farmer said with a tired, knowing smile as she looked down at Comet the Yamper. Sometimes they sneak onto the property and accidentally paralyze one of the Tauros and Miltank or try to herd the Mareep and Wooloo." Certainly, these were Pokemon that made life at the farm interesting or at least that was a nice way of putting it.

She smiled at the two fledgling trainers sympathetically knowing that they wanted to help. "Oh, I'm not sure if it's something that you can help us with. There's someone that's been stealing our Pokemon eggs and, well, that's problematic because at some point some of these Pokemon get a bit too old to produce anything or it gets too stressful for them. Not to mention their mamas are very upset..." Frida trailed off as she applied the potions and paralyze heals with a spray and rubbed the excess medicine off with a clean cloth. "At least they haven't made off with any of the Torchic eggs yet. That's my personal project, you see. I reckon this is the only place in all of Evig you can actually get a Torchic."

Worriedly, she looked back at the kids and said, "Ah, but don't worry about it! I'm sure we'll catch the thief soon enough!" She stood back up and looked down at the trio of Pokemon. "Well, they're looking all happy and healthy! Since you're already here if you want to have a little tour, I'm sure we can arrange something, but, uh, don't try and catch the farm Pokemon. "

How do they respond?

Connected Areas:

Grand Glory City
Florasong City
Illusive Woods

---

@Lunarlord34

"Huh, yeah sure." Jean said as he pulled his cell phone out and recited his contact details to her though her Rotom Phone just made him a contact without her exposing her technological illiteracy.



"Well, I'll see you around. Hopefully we can have a real battle next time!" He flashed a grin before they went their separate ways.

As Steph approached her companion, Freya looked at Steph with understandable disbelief. "I still can't believe you won. If that's your first battle, then I could only wonder what you'll be like... Steph!" She called out as a mass of green rushed towards Steph and borderline tackled the bogan, almost toppling her over from the impact. An arm hooked around Steph's shoulder and well, even though she was going to sought out the green haired girl later, it turned out the girl and the universe had very different plans.

The green haired girl was pressing her cheek against Steph's she was so close. "Girl, I could kiss you; you made me so much money! 1 in 100 odds and you beat them!" This avarice made flesh said with a grin, her eyes flashing with Pokedollar signs. However, she was soon tugged off by her spiky red-haired companion who looked completely unfazed by her antics.

"Ignore her, she has no sense of decency despite her pedigree," the boy said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Rude!" The green haired girl said with a huff.

Freya looked at them with a puzzled look on her face. "Uh, wait don't I know you two from somewhere?" She asked as she tried to put remember where she had seen them before.

The green haired girl looked at Freya inquisitively, squinting her eyes at her, and then snapped her fingers. "Oh, you were at Kapoc's lab too! You're the girl with the chompy Pokemon." She turned to Steph and said, "Say, are you one of us too? Working for that grumpy coffee addict?"

"He's not that grumpy..." Muttered Freya.

How does Steph respond?

---

@Goggy

Yes, as Vivian's ruin senses tingled, she would first see a singular wall and then as she drew closer and closer she would begin to see more of the ruins, dilapidated clay buildings worn down by time covered in green moss. Some of them barely had any walls or even a ceiling and some were just a singular column either standing or broken with a jagged end pointing up to the sky like spears. There was a stillness to them, a reminder that whatever this was long ago, was now a fragment of a time long forgotten by history and the people of this region. A stillness that came from a lack of life.

Well, that was not entirely true.

As Vivian walked through the ruins, she would see bits of walls with strange markings pop off from the wall and float before a shadowy figure emerged from the slab. They would look at Vivian curiously before meandering to haunt these ruins.

Pokédex Entry #562 – Yamask, the Spirit Pokemon. A clay slab with cursed engravings took possession of a Yamask. The slab is said to be absorbing the Yamask's dark power.

What else resided in these ruins were strange levitation top-like Pokemon with their arms spread out as if to balance them. Their eyes were closed and yet they could somehow tell where they were going.

Pokédex Entry #343 – Baltoy, the Clay Doll Pokemon. It moves while spinning around on its single foot. Some Baltoy have been seen spinning on their heads.

As she continued to explore the ruins though she would enter what she would assume to be the middle and there would find a strange sight. Various walls towering over some of the ruined buildings with strange glyphs and runes she had never seen before even in her own history books though perhaps what was odder were the walls themselves. They were black with an impossible smoothness and sheen, reflecting daylight like the most perfect mirrors.

However, Vivian was not alone. There were others hanging around the ruins, a couple of kids around her age to be more precise. Well, one of them for lack of a better word was a boy dressed up as a cowboy and not unironically either. This young man radiated the aura of the wild west with utmost sincerity and looked like he should have been casted as a leading man in a western. The other was a dark-skinned girl with wild curly hair dressed like she belonged in the early 90s grunge scene with a red flannel and baggy jeans.



"Any idea when he's coming back?" The cowboy asked the girl who responded with a shrug.

She said with a smirk. "No idea. He said that ruins weren't trendy for filming, but personally I think he was scared."

What does Vivian do?

Connected Areas:

Grand Glory City
Starbor Forest

---

@Crusader Lord@Shazamrock

Thus, our trainers retaliate!

Let's start with our Sir Lopsalot! The Buneary made a fantastic leap over the rippling flames, clearing them as expected of the Rabbit Pokemon! However, we cannot forget that our favorite fighting rabbit is on a timer; he was still poisoned and every second that this battle went on was a second closer to him fainting mid-combat! So, he cleared the fire and the flames and through a punch straight at the flammable puff ball!

"Buff!" It grimaced slightly as the Powered Up Punch landed though... it didn't look like it did all that much damage? In fact, one could say that the attack was not very effective. Still, Lopsalot gained a single stage attack boost from his attack though now it was the Igglybuff's turn! It jumped into the air and inhaled a bunch of air, swelling up like a balloon.

"Iggly...BUFF!" It spat out a series of Embers, raining fire down from above at the rabbit who could feel its strength tick away from the poison.

Meanwhile Tors really went through the fire and the flames bravely, eating the attack and suffering moderate damage though as per its ability, its Defense went up a single stage! Not expecting the Mudbray to push through its attack like that, it left the Igglybuff both stunned and wide open as Tors' hooves kicked up a dash of mud into its face!

"Iggly" It cried out while mud caked its eyes, lowering its accuracy. Its stubby little hands tried to rub the mud out of its eyes though one could imagine that having nubs for arms would make the task quite difficult. With great frustration, it inhaled a great deal of air and then exhaled. What was followed was a purple miasma flowing from its mouth that smelled like the flammable gasses that filled its body. It used Poison Gas! It wafted towards Tors and Lopsalot though because the Buneary was already poisoned it was a moot point, but Tors was still relatively healthy! If the attack were to land, Tors would be poisoned.

The gas began to encroach the battlefield.

How do they react?

---

@Xaltwind



And Evelyn finally started to act like a trainer! The Scyther saw the determination in her eyes and in return, glared back at her menacingly though it seemed to take her seriously. She was no longer easy prey in its eyes and treated her more accordingly, watching her and her companion's every action.

The Scyther's eyes widened as it recognized the danger of the sparks of flame that shot out of her Growlithe's mouth, but the attack was too direct. It was quick to jump out of the way and the embers burned the collateral foliage behind where it once stood leaving a small trail of smoke as it burned some bushes slowly. The Scyther's gaze was focused entirely now on the Growlithe as it decided that the fire-type was the greater threat of the two Pokemon fighting it.

"Scyther!" It shouted as it charged towards her Growlithe with an even greater burst of speed than before. Evelyn would have recognized that this was Quick Attack, just like her Sentret's except it was executed with a far more impressive speed than her normal type.

"Growlithe, LEER!"

There wasn't any chance of Growlithe dodging out of the way of thatt speedy bug's attack, so instead, Evelyn had to do waht she could to inflict whatever disadvantage was possible on this opponent. Growlithe barked affirmatively and--!!!

... Made a really dumb face. Going cross-eyed and slapping it's own nose with it's tongue as it faced the charging bug-type. Total stoopid-face meme.

Scyther likely wasn't going to be stopped or deterred by a silly leering face, but... It'd hopefully do something.

"Sentret, Quuick Attack again!"
"Sentret!" With a salute.

Scyther was gonna smack into Growlithe, no doubt about that. But once it did, Sentret would smack into it from the side. .., At least, the young trainer was betting on that being the case.

Just before the Scyther could ram at the Growlithe at high speeds, it saw leer or rather a goofy attempt of intimidation made by the little fire pup. It was so completely unexpected that the green menace dropped its defense though it did little to stop it from colliding with the fire-type. The attack flung her pup back, causing it to skid back on its paws along the rocky dirt path. However, this left Sentret with just enough of an opening to slam herself against the Scyther's side.

The Scyther recoiled in pain, but it grit its teeth to not let out a cry. It was plain though that this time, courtesy of Growlithe, that Sentret did just a bit more damage. Now the bug-type's glare was now focused on the brown fur ball since it was not once, but twice now that it landed a clean hit on it though Evelyn could see that there were cogs turning in its head at the same time. It wasn't reacting out of anger; it was calculating something.

With a great leap into the air, the bladed mantis jumped higher and higher from tree to tree until with a flurry of Fury Cutters it hacked away at the tree less monstrously sized branches above. One by one thick branches began to fall down towards Evelyn and her Pokemon, threatening to smash into them.

Evelyn watched as the big greenmenace took off into the tree-tops, and started causing an arboreal miniature avalanced.

Dangit...!

She sort of regretted not having caught one of those birds back in Grand Glory City now, but a bit too late to cry over spilt miltank milk, so to speak. Instead, she called her two companions over to her side.

"Grwlithe, return. Sentret, Defense Curl into my arms, okay?"
"entret? Sentret!"
Low, wworried whine.

With that, Eve recalled her secpond pokemon with a beam of red light. The fuzzy rodent pokemon did as instructed, and performed another tightening, tautening toughening of it's round bod', before leaping into Evelyn's arms.

"Alright, guide me, boy. SLet me know where we can go or stand safely, 'kay?"

Simple plan was simple. Sentret had good hearing and great eyes. With it held ifnront of her, or well, in her arms, like a miniature radar, she was hoping to be able to pre-emptively avoid the falling branches and be able to evade unnecessary damage. But she couldn't keep track of both Sentret and Growlithe at the same time like this, nor could Sentret keep an eye out for any sneaky sambushed by Scyther on its fellow team mate if it was also trakcing falling tree-bits. So for now, the blonde trainer was only going to rely on her sturdied-up bunny-sphere.

Good thing she spent all that time on fitness and cardio to keep her figure and stay in shape, as it meant she wouldn't et tired or worn out anytime soon. And with Sentret guiding her where and when to move, she was certain that Scyther's plan wouldn't amount to anything more than it just messing up it's own home. Hah!

Bonk!

"Owch...!"
"S-Sentret!?"
"Ow, no, I'm okay, it was just a small branch. Don't worry."

Okay... So maybe it wasn't fool-proof, but at least she could avoid the bigger things that'd definitely leave a mark if they hit you from the height they were falling. Now it was just a matter of bobbing, weaving, stnading still and repeating, until the cranky old mantis decided to show up again and fight like a mantisonce more.

Between her bobbing and weaving of the falling debris, Evelyn would notice the shadowy figure of something moving above her quickly though keeping track of it was a difficult task considering that she had her vision partial obscured by branches raining down from above while deafened by the sound of leaves rustling and bark colliding with the ground at a frantic pace. However, out of sheer luck or maybe she caught the movement from the corner of her eye, but she saw a blur of green rocket down towards her using the cover of falling branches and leaves as cover. It held its scythe like arms maliciously as it was ready to cut her and her Sentret down, glowing with a light green energy that rippled along it like scuttling insects.

She could see it in its eyes, its intention to hurt. The anger that it held in its eyes at its home being invaded by another human and it was ready to make sure by its own sharp, non-existent hands that it was going to keep it safe.

"Sentret!"
"H-huh? Ah!"

Though it wasn't so much Evelyn who noticed to rocketing ghreenmenace that was sneakily using the falling debris to mask its approach, as it was her fuzzy radar. Evelyn skid to a halt, avoiding some more branches and leaves, turned her head and locked eyes on the trajectory that the bug-type was zooming towards her from.

"Sen-sen! Tret!"
"You sure? It'll hurt...!"
"Sentret!"
"Well.. Alright... Use Defense Curl!"

Again, her Sentret balled up in her arms, tigthening and compacting itself, densing up its muscles and bulk to become even more sturdy than it already was. The little brown rabbit-rodent glaread with defiance at the charging Scyther, it's face seeming to say: I won't let you hurt a single hair on her, buddy!' ... As much as a Sentret's face could express that.

The idea wasn't just to let Sentret eat a face-full-of-furious-blade-arms though. The bunny-ball was a distraction - again. Once Scyther got close, he'd leap outta Evelyn's arms and take the hit like an absolute boss. Meanwhile, Even would let out Joltik again, no doubt eager for some payback.

If all went according to plan, the green mantis would - not too badly - cut Sentret and - hopefully - leave himself open to an Electroweb from the side, or behind, dependin where Evelyn managed to land Joltik's pokeball. After that, it would be time for another Quick Attack from Sentret.

I really hope this works...!

And for those wondering how the glamorous-but-not-so-tactically-minded blonde managed to come up with this elaborate scheme. Well,she and Sentret had time to hammer things out as thwy were running around the ground, avoiding falling foliage.

The Scyther was focused squarely only on the chopping away at its prey, perhaps a bit too focused. It was completely tunnel visioned as its bladed arm slashed into the Sentret, sending it flying back with the only caveat that the Sentret's defenses made sure that whatever damage its suffered was not nearly as bad as could've been. All the while, it was completely unaware of a vengeful electric tick on the side lines. An electric spider web launched towards the Mantis Pokemon and from its peripheral vision it saw the yellow crackling glow of energy approaching quickly.

Sycthe! It cried out though it was too late, it was enveloped in electricity and convulsed it coursed through its body. Its speed was lowered by a single stage from that attack. Once the electricity faded, the Scyther still stood though it was now covered in singed marks all over its body. The Scyther was panting from the exhaustion, but it was able to clock the Sentret coming straight towards it with a Quick Attack. It raised its arms up to take the brunt of the attack and then swiped its claws to push the little fur ball back though it stumbled backwards just a bit.

It glared at Evelyn and her Pokemon even though it was obviously tired from taking that super-effective hit and shouted defiantly, Sycther! However, it seemed like its roar was not just for intimidation; a Spinarak, not the helpful skull one, scuttled down from one of the trees and used String Shot, shooting webs straight towards Sentret and Joltik in an attempt to restrict their movement.

"Tret-tret?!"
Alarmed chittering.
"Huh...? W-wait, what? Calling on friends!? That's cheating!" The blonde trainer explained, completely ignoring the reality of herself and her pokemon having been teaming up against this lone murder-mantis since the start of the conflict.

Joltik had fortunately been facing the very same way that the newly arrived reinforcment spider had shown up, and so, thanks to his tiny frame and speed, the little electric bug managed to avoid the string of sticky silky slowness. Sentret, on the other hand, had just been pushed back by Scyther and thus had his back towards the new arrival, only reacting when he heard the sound of the spinerak launching its string shot. But by then it was too late, and the gooey gunk managed to land, hitting the furball on his back and tail and the backside of his teeny tiny legs and arms.

"Gah, no! That's so gross! Growlithe, come on out and ember!"

In either a moment of panic and knee-jerk reaction, or because she was just really, really, really wanting this whole mess to be over, Growlithe's pokeball was thrown and the little fire-pup reappeared onto the battlefield with a loud 'ruff'. It then turned its head to the battered, and now also slightly slowed, mantis and opened its fang-filled mouth, letting loose another wave of glowing hot shards of searing flame.

"Joltik, double team, then another electroweb, please! Sentret, Quick Attack the spiderak!" Yes, she called it a spiderak. No, she was completely unaware that that wasn't its name.

Joltik let out a quick noise, and then multiplied in true ninja-styled shadow-clone jitsu, becoming many, many joltiks! Like, a dozen of himself. The small army of zap-ticks then let loose another big web of sparking, yrllow arcs of high-voltage webbing that went flying towards the Scyther.

With embers flying in from one side, and the shocking web from the other. hopefully one of them would land om the weakend and slowed bug-type. Oh, and Sentret had turned around and was now flinging itself at the newly arrived spinerak for some much-validated vengeance on behalf of being shot in the back with what was essentially the equivalent of wild pokemon glue.

If one were to quantify how much damage the Scyther had taken, it would have actually been disheartening to know because for all of the damage that Evelyn had to work to rack up on the oversized bug thanks to the combined efforts of Joltik and Sentret one thing was perfectly clear: she had only brought it around the halfway point. This thing had plenty of gas in the tank so why even in the face of two super effective moves was it standing still? The question would be answered by the strange sight of its claws glowing white with a light blue outline, growing brighter and brighter with each passing second.

It lifted both of its arms high into the air over its head and cried out, "Scyther!" The Mantis Pokemon viciously swung its glowing blades in an X motion and used Razor Wind, releasing a volley of blades of wind at the crackling webs of electricity and the sparks of flame, cutting cleanly right through them by sheer overwhelming might alone and headed straight towards Growlithe and one of the many Joltik clones that could have been the real one without any loss of speed.

Meanwhile, Quick Attack even though the Sentret was all gooed up by the Spinarak's or as Evelyn called it, Spiderak's web, allowed the brown round ferret thing to speed towards the spider faster than it could react. So, the Sentret slammed against the bug-type and knocked it back against a tree. It quickly got back on its feet and scuttled up higher on the tree before it turned back and rained Poison Sting ordinance from above.

"No way..."

The color slightly drained form Evelyn's face once she saw the Scytheer, as sha she thought her team had finally managed to bring this violent menace to the breaking point. instead, it sliced through both attacks, from d different angles and directions, and was now zipping forward again - as if it wasn't even tired or beaten up at all.

She turned her head momentarily, just momentarily, towards Sentret, and saw it slam into the newly arrived Spinerak, before the spider retreated up a tree and began an overhead assault on her rabbit-thing. This... This was not going to work.

Evelyn, being who se was, was a proude woman. Some would call her stubborn - soemtimes to a faul - but even she had the ability to be rational sometimes. And right now, the writing was on the wall: She waas neither an experienced enough trainer, nor did the current partners have the moves and/or the strength to keep this fight up. Perhaps if it had just been the Scyther, they could've managed to chip away at it bit by bit until it eventually fell, but the addition of another opponent, the state her pokemon were all in, it was just too much for this rookie trainer and her baby-mons to handle.

Gritting her teeth and tightening her knuckles, Eve pulled up Sentret's pokeball, and managed to recall the fuzzy rodent-rabbit just in time to avoid being peppered by teeeny, tiny poisoned needles. She then turned towards Joltik and Grwolithe.

"Joltik, more double team!! Growlithe, come back!" Her voice wasn't the usual clear and confident tone that she typically had. Instead, it was cracked and full of either frustration or concern. Regardless, a quick red-beam zap later, and Growlithe was gone from the field of battle, replaced instead by even more joltiks.

"Now, let's go! Follow me, Joltiks!"

With that, Evelyn ordered her own bug-type into what was commonly known as a tactical retreat. The small army of electric ticks chittered in a chorus, before all beginning to skitter away from the approaching Scyther and towards their trainer as fast as their tiny legs could carry them. Evelyn herself, took a quick breath, turned on her heel, pulled out her rotom phone, and began the ancient-old practice of running the heck away from the killer-monster.

She had initially come here to check on and make sure that whatever made those cuts in the trees would be safe and kept away from the thick-glassesed hoarde of fan-boying bug-enthusiasts, but... Well, this thing clearly didn't need her help. Or anyone else's for that matter. The only way this terminator-like death-machine would be in trouble was if something like a fully evovles bird-pokemon or something showed up. Not taking into account that her own actions of fighting the Scyther may have weakenedd it for the next person who came around, Eve was now more focused on just getting back to where she was before. Using the bookmrak she had left in her phone, the blonde would periodically lift it up to check the map to make sure that she kept running in the right direction.

Good thing she wasn't nearly half as tired as her own pokemon must've been. True, she'd been dodging branches and falling treet-bits for a while, but that had only lasted a very brief period of time. The young teen still had plenty of steam elft in her legs and lungs to keep pushing forward. Joltik, by the way, wasn't a slouch either, ana managed to catch up to his trainer before long. Or, well, the little legion of joltiks did. No doubt, spme of them hadn't been so lucky and mst assuredly gotten sliced to ribbons by that murderous mantis - but hey, onthe bright side, at least they weren't real and couldn't feel no pain, right?

Though, just in case...

Even reached her free hand down into her bag and began rummaging around. After a bit of panicked searching, she found what she was looking for, and grabbed it tight. The secret weapon, just in case that green goliath decided to chase after her and joltik.

Evelyn's legs carried her through the dense woods and would come to realize that the Scyther was not chasing her. It just watched her with cold eyes until it was no longer insight. However, it knew her face now and it would remember her, ready to fight her again should she ever feel ready to battle it again for whatever reason she felt whether be out of desire to catch the bug or out of a sense of pride. She would eventually find herself in the moderate safety of Starbor Forest.

What does she do now?

Connected Areas:

Route 4
Corrupted Marsh
Starbor Village

@Remram @Joshua Tamashii

Valerian nearly dropped his composure when the Mimikyu hurled its friend through the air like some ghastly fastball special.

“Are you serious?!” he cried, his voice going up half an octave. “They’re combining attacks now? This is barbarism!”

Aurelia Rose buzzed nervously in midair, already battered, the second Mimikyu came flying straight at her with its wooden club raised for another Wood Hammer.

Valerian’s hand went instinctively to his chest. Inside, his thoughts were shrieking: If that lands, she’s finished! Reduced to rubble in an alley of all places. “Camellia! Intercept with Absorb. Aurelia Rose, hold your ground! Meet their savagery with brilliance. Moonblast, full force!”

His fingers curled tightly around a waiting Poké Ball. If everything worked out, then one of these ghastly dolls would become his.

---

---

Although her flight from the Green Death wasn't as dramatic as she had thought, what with the scyther not chasing after her and her pokemon, Eve still didn't pause to stop or bother looking over her shoulder as she escaped the deeper parts of the Starbur Forest. Instead, she and the little legion of double-Joltics kept pushing on, back through the woods whence they'd came, until they were back out in the slightly less dense and dark parts of the woodlands once more.

Only then did the blonde girl skid to a stop, lean forward, hands on her knees, and started allowing herself to once more catch her breath. She took several long and deep inhales of air, trying to calm both her nerves and her racing heart. That had truly been an awful experience. Not just for herself, but for all of her poor pokemon too. A fact that wasn't lost on the fledgeling trainer. Once back to a somewhat more composed state, she looked over at joltic agian, who had skittered up next to her and was, with his many eyes, looking at her with concern.

[color=gdol]"G-good work, joltic. Now, take a rest. I'll take care of everything, okay?"[/color] She said, voice a bit quiet and muted, more somber than usual.

he electric spider chittered somewhat, before his trainer used his red and white orb of safekeeping to recall the little pocket monster. Once that was done, Evelyn looked around the area she was in, heen retrieved her phone. Activating the Map Ap, the blond scanned her options.

"Going back to Grand Glory would take so muhc time... I guess I'll just press on to Starbur Village for now an-- Wait..."

It was at this point in time, when no immeidate danger or threat was trying to decapitate her, taht Eve finally came to the very important realization of something crucial.

She was filthy.

Her hair, tussled by the constant air-dashes of the bug type and the falling tree debris, her clothes, stained with grass, dirt, soil, clay and mud, and her immaculate skin too was peppered with specks of undesirable elements of the forest. The girl's blue eyes widened in abject horror as she examined her appearance as well as she could without a full body mirror. But it was enough to get her brain to realize the truth.

... Unacceptable...!

Yes, it was. For the Future Star of Evig to look like she'd taken a nose-dive into a rain-coated ditched and then crawled through it on her belly... That didn't exactly inspire the visage of someone who was an elegant, proud and shining beacon to everyone around her, now did it? Grttting her teeth, tigthening her hands into balled fists and letting out a seething breath of condensed air through her teeth, Evelyn was a hair's edge from blowing her top. Thankfully though, she didn't.

Instead, the girl began to march, like she was on a mission from some higher power, using the rotom phone to navigate and follow the not-so-greatly-kept patch of Starbur Forest. Her goal? Starbuur Village and it's pokemon center, of course. She ignored all other bug-catching trainers or visitors to the woods, and she didn't spare the wild forest pokemon a second glance. This was a matter of utmost urgency and complete and total emergency!

Evelyn is headed to Starbur Village, to locate and make use of the Pokemon Center there.

That walk from League HQ to the fountain felt like it took ages! So Faye got some pictures. And luckily partially was listening to the gossip on the street Regan gathered while they made their way to the fountain. Not that she was trying to ignore her companions, but she certainly was distracted. She lived in Evig her whole life and ever since she saw Grand Glory in its infancy, she'd been interested to come back and sightsee. As it were, it was best to split off from her travel partners for a bit so she didn't bore them with trivial spots she wanted to go check out that had nothing to do with the start of their journeys to be trainers.

So when she realized a Snubbull was photobombing her pictures, she let the camera rest down for a moment and offered parting words with Regan and David as they left. For the best. She had more sightseeing to do in town and there was this small pink pokemon that didn't want David's attention to help it along. So once it was just Sage, her, and their uninvited photo guest, turned her attention to the small pink pokemon.

Sage trotted over to her side, warily watching the Snubbull. It hadn't attacked, but he was still a bit defensive of a pokemon that wandered over to occupy his trainer's attention. Protective, not jealous. Who said anything about jealous?

Alone with the wayward pokemon and Sage, Faye lifted her camera again. "Hey there. You wanted to be in some of my pictures, but how about I take a few of just you, huh? A couple pictures, then we should go find your trainer. Okay? Strike a pose!" She lifted her camera and snapped a picture of just the Snubbull once it indicated it was ready.

The wayward trainer finished the impromptu photo shoot with the mystery pokemon, and moved closer to it. She crouched down on one knee, angling her camera so the pokemon could see, to show it the pictures she took. Sage followed along, and stood beside her but positioned to ensure the Snubbull couldn't stand directly next to Faye. "You want to see the pictures? When we find your trainer, I can send them the pictures. Like this one, I think this is your best one," Faye said as she slowly flipped through the pictures.

---

Alright, a direct hit! Two, technically, as Tors' battle partner Sir Lopsalot had managed to land a punch too! Even while focusing on his own pokemon and its opponent, Nils tried to keep the entire battlefield in mind. In case he had to move, or have Tors cover the weakened Buneary, or something totally unexpected happened that they'd have to adapt. If he wanted to become a great trainer, he'd have to get the hang of tactics, starting right now.

Which meant dealing with the next round of the Igglybuffs attacks. Both Tors and Nils braced themselves when the one they were facing swelled up, though when it didn't immediately explode or let loose a torrent of fire they couldn't even relax. The mudbray was still close enough to the Igglybuff that he had a chance to get out of the way of the gas before it spread out too far, a slim chance maybe but one they'd have to take.

"Go, Tors, get out of the way!" Nils called, throwing his right arm out to signal his pokemon to move around more that way. Tors ran in a semi-circle around the Igglybuff, attempting to avoid the worst, thickest areas of the gas cloud.

Next time they'd have to be more prepared, maybe visit a pokemart first, but hopefully there wouldn't be many more next times in relation to getting lost down in the weird glowy sewer-tunnels.

Whether Tors managed to get clear of the poison or not, it put him in perfect position for an attack of his own. Noting how all the players in the area were arranged, Nils' eyes sparked with an idea.

"Another mud-slap Tors! Connect this time! Uh, mud kick!" he ordered. Mudbray got the idea, nodding once with a snort. "Straight on!"

With his hooves coated in mud once more, Tors charged and slid around at the last moment to kick the Igglybuff instead of just throwing the mud. Nils didn't expect it to much more damage than a regular mud-slap, but since these things were basically gas filled balloons they should be easy to send flying! And if the combatants on the other side of the battlefield didn't move around too much, maybe this kick could send this Igglybuff flying right into it's twin as planned.

The man and girl's enjoyable quiet was swiftly dashed as a dust cloud rounded the corner, possessing enough speed that even the Baltoy spinning when it passed them.

"excusemecomingthrOUGHIGOTTAGETTOTHESE-"

A blur of black rushes past the duo, the voice of a young girl passing by moments prior before the figure finally comes to a stop next to a particularly large wall of black. In an instant Vivian's pack was on the ground, a variety of tools scattered across the dirt as the archeologist practically snapped across the wall, copying down various glyphs into her notebook and muttering incoherently to herself, a few key phrases like "older than Sinnoh", "Unknown glyphs", and "impossible sheen". The only pause she ever took was when she seemed to seriously consider the pros and cons of attempting to taste the wall, before she snapped back to her fervor in copying down everything, completely forgetting about the two individuals nearby.

Audrey happily nodded, very politely as the lady knelt down and pulled out a first aid kit, it was definitely used and she hoped she could trust Frida, well, of course she could. "Thank you so much!" Audrey softly smiled, just politeness, and graititude. The trainer nodded as Frida continued speaking, never knew yampers were such a problem.. she thought, the girl chuckling softly trying to be kind.

"Oh, I'm not sure if it's something that you can help us with. There's someone that's been stealing our Pokemon eggs and, well, that's problematic because at some point some of these Pokemon get a bit too old to produce anything or it gets too stressful for them. Not to mention their mamas are very upset..."

Audrey was very much suprised, That's, like, so cruel! The poor Pokémon! she thought, with a determination to help, especially with how much she owed Frida, "Oh Arceus! That sounds like a bigggg problem." she exclaimed, "We owe you a ton." Audrey spoke. Even so, if the thief hasn't stole torchic eggs, who said they will never?

"Ah, but don't worry about it! I'm sure we'll catch the thief soon enough! . . . "Well, they're looking all happy and healthy! Since you're already here if you want to have a little tour, I'm sure we can arrange something, but, uh, don't try and catch the farm Pokemon."

Even if Audrey was told not to worry, she was definitely concerned. Comet happily span as it felt full, "Yamp! Yaamp!" the little loaf happily arfed as Audrey looked at the healed Pokémon, Rift just looking around seemingly in curiousity. "Oh, thank you!" Audrey happily stated, "Well I'd LOVE a tour!" she added, looking at Archie to see if he'd agreed, and of course hoping he wanted to help out too.

It-...Sir Lopsalot's move wasn't very effective? Hmm. What was it that resisted fighting moves again? Poison, Psychic, Bug, Ghost maybe....and Fairy! She'd studied the typing charts rather well even as far back as Orre for that matter. Plus when it came to Iglybuff it was what she'd heard was the type of the Igglybuff evolution line in the past, if she was recalling correctly, from a sailor back in Orre right before moving when she'd asked him about his own. Igglybuff didn't seem to be any of the former types anyways save for, if she remembered right, Fairy typing!

But there was another problem, and that was because these two also rather clearly weren't your average or standard Iglybuff eitherfor that matter! They didn't look like the Kantonian ones that seemed so ubiquitous elsewhere if her memory served. Likewise they obviously were using Fire-type moves as well. So what did this mean? Well, she had a suspicion based upon it all. These two were, more than likely, clearly Fire/Fairy types! Yes, that theory seemed to make sense, though given their use of a poison move that Poison typing could be just as likely in hindsight. Hmm. Well, in any c ase if she caught one then the Pokedex could prove or blow apart her theory in any case! So onwards with the battle they went!

But how to handle the ineffectivness of Sir Lopsalot's signature attack? As long as he kept going in battle, the poison afflicting him would only get worse and worse. Then if he couldn't build up enough of a punch in time to down his opponent, then it would spell disaster for him! They knew how the battle against Tors has gone when the former couldn't end the battle against the latter soon enough, and while he couldn't be poisoned again or burnt due to his condition it was still an uphill fight in enough of the sense....so...hmmm...

As she thought on the matter in the heat of the moment, seconds passing almost like minutes as Clarissa's thoughts whizzed about, Pyrite and Scrapper continued to watch on from the sidelines as Sir Lopsalot landed back on the ground from his initial attack. The bunny Pokemon grit his little teeth, the numbing and stinging feeling of the poison in his body cutting away at him despite having dodged his opponent's initial attack at the very least.

To Sir Lopsalot it was...ssemginly a grating situation to be in on his part as he grit his little teeth. Especially now that he was struggling even now with lesser than optimal HP and this affliction, as well as a less effective first attack, after all he'd been putting in to start off this journey right for he and his partner! He seemed to somewhat still feel the sting of that first real battle and the loss it had been, and yet now he was fighting alongside the same Pokemon he'd battle earlier to seemingly save a human boy. It was chaotic, it was odd, and it was-...it was...it was a struggle that reminded him of his old home somewhat. Reminded him of the past as well. He also didn't...he...he didn't want to lose! Not again! But the opponent had just barely unleashed a wicked Ember attack to rain down upon him, and-

It was at this point in time that small voice spoke up amidst it all, suddnely and without warning, cutting through the trainer and Pokemon's thoughts alike as the origin of the voice stepped out in front of his new trainer after a brief moment of hesitation. He'd been watching alongside his new trainer, and the Roggengola held in her arms, but seeing how things were going thus far...yes. He had an idea of his own!

"BISH, Trub Trub Trub!"

...Eh? One of his little garbage-baggy arms even waved at Sir Lopsalot out of the corner of the latter's eyes. It was enough to get Clarissa to look to the side and own at him, and enough to get Sir Lopsalot to take a moment's pause before a small smirk popped onto his face back at Scrapper for his part. For Clarissa's part, however, it didn't take much of a psychic glance on the bare surface to get the idea her two Pokemon were having. Pyrite also seemed to concur with his own little...nod? It looked like he was nodding, but the fact he did lack a more distinctive face did make it hard. Even so, the psychic, for her part, felt it was a good idea as well and rolled with the first words to escape her mouth as she gave her next battle orders.

"Sir Lopsalot! Attack your opponet with Pound through the Ember, and then bounce back here to swap out with Scrapper!"

They all seemed in agreement on the matter to enough of an extent at least. Yes, Sir Lopsalot would take damage in the process of this, but it also meant he would also get a moment of respite from his poisoning after switching out and hopefully not fainting in the process. Scrapper, then, would hit the field to take up the fight as well! He was a sturdy little guy, for what it seemed on first glance, but with that Black Sludge he would get a little healing once he got going (hopefully) in battle. Meawhile Pyrite was seemingly food for these two wild Igglybuff, unless he wanted to try out a turn or two of battle for his part, but as Sir Lopsalot hadf done a fair bit of fighting more than the other two already before this point in time it seemed good to play their cards right as best as they could. And the bunny would hopefully deal a decent more neutral (and STAB) attack that would open the way for Scrapper!

Meanwhile, Clarissa would use her left arm to hold the heavy little Roggenrola, all while reaching back to grab a spare Pokeball in her right hand. She was going to keep a trained eye on her own battle....and once this Igglybuff was within a good capture range she was going to strike and try to capture it! She just had to keep looking out at the battle and waiting for the right moment in time, and with Scrapper having been healed up prior with her last Potion she felt this gambit might give her just the chance (whether Sir Lopsalot's parting attack managed it or it took Scrapper a turn or two to get there, etc, depending on how it went down).

[Sir Lopsalot uses Pound against the enemy Igglybuff, charging through the falling Ember(s) to attack!]

[Clarissa will then switch out Pokemon, swapping in the full-health Scrapper to take over for Sir Lopsalot!]

[Clarissa is also still keeping an eye out for a good chance to try to capture the opponent Igglybuff she is fighting!]

@Remram@Shazamrock

Archie watched as the kind woman went to work on healing their Pokémon. He sat on the floor to get a better look, his hands trying to mimick her movements. While he was looking at the process in amazement, Archie also felt elated that his Bravos was starting to look and feel better. Its paralysis was gradually getting cured until he could see its movements weren't jarred and its body was jerking randomly, plus he could see the color starting to return on its body.

Once Bravos felt better, it stretched its body out and let out a sigh of relief, knowing it could move much easier now. "Ooh thank you thank you too! You're the best!" Archie said to Frida as he picked up his Pokémon and hugged it while spinning around.

"Yay! I'm so glad you're feeling better, buddy!"

"CheeEeeEeeEee..." The Chespin said as yellow stars comically appeared around its head in confusion once Archie stopped spinning due to happiness.

When Audrey agreed to the tour and gave him a look, Archie nodded enthusiastically. "Yes please, ma'am! We wanna know more about your farm. Plus, we might even catch the thief in action while touring! We'll put an end to their reign of terror! Isn't that right, buddy?"

"CheeEeeEees..." Bravos raised its paw up, its head still spinning around in confusion.

Sometimes the Chespin would reflect back the choices that it made in the past that lead it to this moment.

Acquiring the phone number, Steph was pretty happy before being openly assaulted in the street, nearly being taken off her feet by the near tackle. Good thing she had very good core strength, otherwise she probably would've been, and taken Freya out in the same instance in a near meaning to a total team wipeout.

"Oi, wahtch wheah ya goi-oh." Thinking at first it was just someone not watching where they were going, ironically something she was prone to doing but we don't talk about that, but realizing it was the universe not letting her go to the fisherman yet, Steph just grinned at the green haired gal.


"Oa hundred t' one? Praetty goods thaen eh?" She didn't really give herself that good of odds, nor was she much of a gambling...in that sense, but she was happy enough for the girl. "Though Oy could do weetheow' the keess yayh? yah oolraydy assaulted me, nao nayd t' add t' the chahges! huyhahha!"


Laughing as the girl was pried off of her, Steph realised Dusk was no longer on her shoulder, finding her partner had been absolutely floored during the 'tackle'. Seemed it normal type moves could hit ghosts, huh? At any rate, as the red-haired boy spoke, Steph bent down to pick up her partner, and after taking a moment to check he was ok, eyed the two of them off. Wait...was everyone here someone who worked with Kapoc?!

"shaell be roigh' mite, nao hahm nao foul yayh? shaes a leettle friendly, buh' bettah thahn nawt bein friendly ya knaow? oolsao nahh yayh, maeh' the quack eahlier, he wahsnt too grumpy, buh' ceht'nly a cawffay addeect. good bloke, weah buysicohly baest friends naow. " Crossing her arms over her chest, the girl nodded feverishly to her own delusional statements. "thahts who gyve me dusk heah aftah ooll. sao thaht mayns yohl ahh heah t' tyke on the gym chohlenge? oolsao chawmpy pokemawn? loike a truypeench?"


Steph wondered what the duo got as pokemon then, but didn't ask outloud as she kinda just...expected everyone to confirm what they got. Whether it be verbally or physically showing it. She would also ask the two if they wanted to go check out the fisherman together, but didn't make an effort to leave for it. Yet. Might as well stick around a little and talk with them yeah? They were already here after all, and Steph was also a little too friendly for her own good. In saying that, if they did want to go see the fisherman she wouldn't be against walking and talking, or if they didn't and left in this same post then she would too.

@Joshua Tamashii@Azure Bubbles

Now Sucker Punch is a funny move, it has higher priority so even if this Mimikyu was being rocketed towards Aurelian Rose like a ragged murderous baseball it actually meant nothing in the face of a stumpy-headed ghost who just appeared with a darkness cladded fist and just socked straight towards the ground. However, that was not the end of its troubles; it stood back up trying to get its bearings after receiving a right hook to the face only to see Camellia shoot out more red beams that slammed against it before returning to the grass-type heal off whatever damage it had received from the fight.

However, they still were not done yet! Aurelia Rose shot what could only be described as the moon's lunar energies straight towards the ghost in what could only be described as 'over kill.' At the nick time though the other Mimikyu jumped in between the attack with its shadowy arms crossed to try and block the attack, but it wasn't enough! The sphere exploded in a cloud of sparkles and misty light, hurtling the Mimikyu into the other one. They got up and stood there dazed with swirls in their eyes.

With a waiting Pokeball in hand, Valerian would have seen his chance and threw it! The ball bounced off the head of the one that he tried to catch earlier in the Pokemart and it was absorbed into the device in a beam of red light.

It rolled once...

It rolled twice...

It rolled thrice!



However, the other Mimikyu came to and looked around for its companion, not understanding that it was caught. "Mimu?"

What do they do?

---

@Xaltwind

Well, with a strong need for cleanliness in mind Evelyn decided that it was time continue on with her journey and lick her wounds. There were some Bug Catches and Poke Maniacs that looked like they wanted to ask her what she found though they saw that look in her eyes and decided that it was perhaps best not to poke that Ursaring. However, as she continued, she would begin to hear things, things like the chatter of people and the groaning of something heavy and metallic swinging gently in the air. Eventually, she would arrive in a clearing.

---

@Sanguine Rose

Now we return to see what Faye has been up to! With a very photogenic Snubbull, she performed an impromptu photoshoot! The pink pitbull struck many poses the best it could with its body proportions as if it was mimicking ones found in very fashionable magazines. Some people stopped to watch in amusement as the fairy-type strut its stuff with a very sassy, yet excitable attitude. Eventually, it had to come to a close and looked up at Faye as she made her suggestion.

"Snub?" Its eyes widened in a panic as it looked around to see that its owner was not around. It appears that only now that it was acutely aware that it had wandered off from its trainer. Snubbull! It quickly agreed with a repeated nod of its head.

It would be fair to assume that the Snubbull may not have been too far from its owner considering that it thought it was still under the belief that they were close by. So, it was very likely that the owner was still close by.

So, how does Faye wish to do this?

---

@Goggy

Please do not taste ancient walls.

Completely ignoring the other NPCs, Vivian examined the wall with a fervor that only those with this hyper fixation would have.

They certainly were unlike anything Vivian had seen before. It was not exaggeration to say they were impossibly smooth; they were as smooth as glass and just as reflective of a mirror. She could actually see her own reflection clear as day. Though it was also strange, well, the walls themselves were certainly strange, but it was where they were located that made it so odd. The surrounding builds were weathered, dilapidated, and made of clay, but these walls? These walls do not look like they have ever eroded, and the material itself was so completely different from everything else around here. It wasn't a form of glass, or really, anything rock or mineral she could recognize used by any known past civilization.

If by some mere chance she decided to touch it, it would have felt smooth to the touch and cool to the touch despite it sitting in the sun though that may not be the thing that she would take note off; there was this humming in her head. It was low and scratchy, like radio or TV static when they are unable to get a proper reception. Then it was uncomfortable, like it was somehow amplified the sound with speakers. It felt like her brain received little brain zaps, that feeling when you get off anti-depressant medications completely rather than weaning off them. She couldn't even hear her own thoughts anymore.

Upon removing her hand, the humming was gone.

A concerned hand touched her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you were having a migraine or something?" The girl that she had ignored asked with a look of worry.

"Maybe it's the sun? She looks like she doesn't get much of it. Really should wear a hat." The cowboy said with his arms crossed.

What does Vivian do?

Connected Areas:

Grand Glory City
Starbor Forest

---

@GremlinAgain@baraquiel

Frida looked at them with an amused grin that even after all of her reassurances that things were fine, they still wanted to help under the pretext of a tour. Well, Archie had no such thing as pretexts with his desire to help. "Well, let's get you both some boots then. Believe me, you don't want to step in Tauros paddies in your regular shoes; you'll never get the smell out."

After a brief bit where Frida found some old rubber boots for them in their size, they were led back outside where her husband was unloading a bale of hay from a truck. With a curious arch of his brow, he said, "Honey what's going on with those kids?"

She flashed her husband a smile. "Oh, just going to give them a tour of the place since they've already here."

He looked down at the kids and his wife with a stern frown. "Honey, you have an appointment in Florasong, remember?"

A look of realization came upon her face, and she looked at the kids and then back at her husband. "Could you please give them the tour then? Surely you could take a break from work? I promised them."

Her husband rolled his eyes though at the corners of his mouth there was an affectionate grin. "Who am I to break a promise? I'll take over from here."

Frida sighed with relief and looked back at the two trainers. "Sorry about this, but you're in good hands. I'll be back later!" She rushed off to her husband and stood on the tips of her tows before she pulled him down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing inside the house to most likely to change into cleaner clothes.

Neil looked down at the two newbie trainers. "Well, I guess you're stuck with me then. Here is a good start as any." A big meat slab of his hand clenched and came up to his lips while he cleared his throat. "How about we take a look at the pens first? It'll help explain what we do here." The stoic yet kind farmer led them over to a pen filled with Mareeps and Wooloo going about their business, nibbling away at the grass though they shot the kids a side eye. They looked a little stressed out.

"Half of our trade is that we sell Mareep and Wooloo fleece. They're typically used for things such as clothes and carpets though we have to use a special process for the Mareep fleece. Mareep wool stores electricity so we have to do special process to ground it in order to actually make it workable. Wouldn't pet one unless you want to know it's like to plug a fork into an electrical socket." Niel's hand went to his tool belt and grabbed a sack to which his oversized fingers delicately untied the twine that closed it.

"Hold out your hands." If they did so, he would place small little brown cubes into his hand. They looked like snacks. "Try your hand at feeding them." He suggested with a small smile.

Well, how do Audrey and Archie wish to proceed with their investigation? Do they have questions or any points of interest they wish to visit?

---

@Crusader Lord@Shazamrock

Luckily for Tors, the Mudbray got out of the way of the cloud of noxious gas spewed from the little puff balls mouth and got into position to strike again, which leads to an interesting idea. If a move like Mud Slap was being used as physical type move and used in a manner different than its intended, is it the same move?

Well, here was the answer; Mudbray's momentum carried it forward sliding on mud and then slammed its rear hooves against the balloon and sent it hurtling towards the other Igglybuff because indeed, this thing may as well have been a sentient balloon. "Igglybuuuuuuuuuf!" It cried out as it flew towards its partner like a cue ball.

The other one which was completely focused on Sir Lopsalot who leapt into the sparks of flame and took the hit with the intent to hit it with its strong ears once again, taking heavy enough damage when paired with the ticking poison. However, its companion smacked into in a way that sent the Igglybuff that Lopsalot was fighting down towards it. The punch bunny's ears smashed into it hitting even harder due to the increased momentum the sentient balloon was suffering from and the single stage boost Lopsalot gained from its previous Powerup Punch. It was sent flying into the air with enough force to make it flip a few times.

This gave plenty of time for Sir Lopsalot to be switched in with Scrapper.

Meanwhile, it was clear that whatever Tors did the attack actually did more damage. In fact, for some reason it looked like it gained a single stage boost of its speed. Nills' Pokedex hovered in front of him and said,



Well, whatever decision Nills would make he and Clarissa would have to deal with the next part of the battle. The two puffballs looked tired but determined to keep going on. In terms of health, they are in the low yellow range of the health bar. One nodded as if it understood what to do next. They both swelled up as they inhaled air, but one first released another Poison Gas, a noxious purple cloud once again began drift in the air towards Scrapper and Tors. The other Igglybuff shouted "Puff!" and the air once again was lit ablaze, but it was going towards the gas cloud. The very, very flammable gas cloud.

Flame met gas and then it erupted into a fireball that was hurtling towards Tors and Scrapper.

How Clarissa and Nils react?

---

@Lunarlord34

Freya smiled though for some reason it seemed nervous even if she was trying to hide it. "Oh, um, you could say that." Her response was definitely cagey, but maybe it's best to not push? Or Steph could.

However, the green haired girl certainly wasn't cagey and joyfully proclaimed, "I sure am! Gonna get me a bad ass team and wreck this league! Asta is the name, and this here is Siggy!" She slapped the red headed boy's hard though he did not even flinch. He looked very, very used to her antics.

"Siegfried, and what she has failed to mention is that she is also the eldest daughter and child of the Lindgren noble family of Evig. I am merely her humble servant joining her on her journey." He bowed politely with practiced grace that came from being a servant to noble pedigree.

Asta rolled her eyes at Siggy's usual performance. "Oh, I forgot that you don't have any dreams. Seriously, you could do something for yourself and not follow me. You're not my butler anymore! We're rivals, against the world to defeat the odds and face off in glorious battle to earn the right to challenge the Elite Four!" There was a fire burning in her eyes, literally, as she looked up at him a very heated gaze.

Siegfriend, however, looked at her with his typical blank expression and cooly said without any sense of shame, "But life without seeing your face every day would not be worth it."

However, Asta placed her hands on her hips and started laughing, facing away from him mind you, and said, "Of course! You don't want to forget your reason to get strong! You can't let them out of your sight in case they leave you in the dust!" She said this, but the tips of her ears were tinged pink. Quickly changing topics, Asta said, "Oh, yeah sure we'll join you. Sounds interesting."

And with that, Steph had assembled her party. As they walked along the docks, they would walk along many stalls filled with goods from travelling merchants. Some things that could be useful to trainers and some that were just nice to haves, nicknacks that sort of thing. There were also some bars that sailors visited making a raucous noise of merriment and fun. There was even a Galarian themed pub as well.

Asta mentioned off handedly, "You know, Kapoc really did hire a lot of people to work for him. In our group there were at least thirteen of us. I know that there are three more still in the city, another three went to Route 4 and the rest went to Route 1. A few odd balls to be sure." Pot calling the kettle black.

"Hey, I think that's the guy." Freya mentioned, pointing towards a bald old man with a puffy beard dressed in what could only be described as tactical fishing gear. He had a very stern expression on his face.



Upon approaching him, he would look up from his rod with a scowl and asked, "The heck you youngin's want?"

How does Steph respond?

@Remram @Joshua Tamashii

Both Mimikyu stood dazed from the Moonblast. Valerian’s eyes gleamed. This was it. He drew a Poké Ball from his belt. “You have tormented me, humiliated me, and very nearly flattened my beloved Aurelia Rose…” There was a pause for dramatic effect. “but you have fought with conviction! And that, my spectral scoundrel, is something I can respect!”

He hurled the Poké Ball forward with all the flourish of a royal decree. The device struck the dazed Mimikyu on its crooked head and burst open. The creature vanished inside, the ball dropping to the ground where it wobbled.

It rolled once.
Twice.
Thrice…

Click.

Valerian exhaled slowly, then stepped forward, bending just enough to retrieve the Poké Ball. He brushed it clean against his sleeve before holding it delicately in both hands, a smile formed on his face. “You fought fiercely, little one. There is beauty in your fury, and courage in your sorrow.” He held the ball up.“You are no monster in rags… you are Umbriel, knight of shadows, born of darkness yet destined to serve the light. By my decree, you are now sworn to my Fairy court!”

Behind him, Aurelia Rose buzzed weakly in approval. Camellia twirled her leaves proudly, as though celebrating a coronation.

Valerian pressed the Poké Ball gently to his chest, and grinned. “Welcome home, Umbriel. This is a story for the ages!” He laughed triumphantly. He was so caught up in his excitement, he hadn’t even noticed the other Mimikyu looking sad.

---

---

To say Starbur Village was impressive would be an understatement. It was probably as close to the ideal dream of an enviromentalist and carbon-footprint conscious individual as you could come. Homes and buildings built around, upon or inside the very trees of the forest itself, without trying to impose or push the greenery aside, but rather attempting to live and combine in a symbiotic harmony of co-existence. Truly, a marvel to behold and a splendor of hard work, love and decation that truly proved that, if they so wanted, humans could achieve great wonderous results!

... But of course, our blonde self-proclaimed star of Evig was far too concerned with the dirt on her attire and the messy state of her hair to even give this place that would render most people stunned in awe not a single thought.

Instead, she beedrill-lined for the Pokemon Center. Thankfully, the nurse was observant and considerate enough to realize the poor trainer's situation. With a grateful thanks, as if she'd just won a million pokebucks, Evelyn showered the pokemon health-care professioanl with the sincerest of gratitude, before racing off to get herself washed up.

... And again, Evelyn's own personal self-care and hygeiene-routines took longer to accomplish than the treatment of her entire team of banged up and bruised pokemon. After all, she had to shower, had to run the dirty clothes she'd been wearing through a careful pre-washing program (by hand) as well as comb, brush and style her hair once more. Then there was the re-application of her makeup - although she went a lot more sparing with it this time around - as well as the ordeal of selecting a brand new outfit to wear. After much needless deliberation that took way too long, Eve eventually opted for something remarkably simple and functional, rather than what she'd typically pick.

But, this was most likely because she wasn't willing to risk any of her more stylish or finer garments becoming ruined again, for the duration of her stay here in the wild, untamed, unforgiving wilderness (aka: Starbur).

Once done though, she returned to the counter and collected her team of three, making sure to thank the nurse for her invaluable services. Right as she was about to leave though, the older woman caught her, and let loose this strange new tidbit of information.

Move tutor service?

As she was directed to a fellow over by another counter, Evelyn blinked a few times. She was not familiar with this service... But then again, she was a noobie trainer through and through. So, what was the harm in checking it out? It was right here, after all. She looked at the man, in his green apron and green bandana, for a short qhile. And then she approached his location in the center.

"Hello there. I was told you provided something called 'Move Tutor' services... What are those, exactly?" The young girl asked quizzically, tilting her head slightly to the side as she met the man's gaze.

Bzzzzzzssssoort~!

[color=gold]"W-Wha...!? Growlithe! Don't just pop out your pokeball like that!"
Happy bark.

Phantump came out of the exchange unscathed this time, something Amelia was thankful for. With his focus on the battle though, Valerian probably missed the small child flinching as the Mimikyu took a beating from the attacks Valerian's pokemon launched at it. Seconds later she heard Valerian say something before a pokeball flew out and the Mimikyu vanished inside. Three shakes later and the little cosplay ghost was now locked inside and Valerian was rather happy with the results of the successful capture. Amelia however was focused on the second Mimikyu, a frown on her face as she watched them look around for their friend. Once Valerian was done declaring the Mimikyu's new name, Amelia moved past him and towards the other Mimikyu.
"You should got get your pokemon treated. I'll head to the pokecenter shortly. You should take out yellow acquaintance with you and see if they need help" She said, not looking in the prince's direction as she moved over to the other Mimikyu, leaving him with the Pikachu who was still cowering behind them.She got close to the wild Ghost-type, dangerously close even, well within reach of it's extendable claws. Phantump floated close behind her, ready to defend it's trainer should the Mimikyu turn hostile. Kneeling down to be closer to the Mimikyu's height, she gently reached out a hand. "I'm... I'm sorry about your friend. It'll be lonely if their gone won't it? An Mimikyu hate being lonely. Everyone is always so scared of them and they just want companions. That's why you dress up like Pikachu and why you greatly dislike it. Everyone loves them but hates you. I like you more than Pikachu though. If you want, maybe you can travel with me. That way, you can make more friends and not be so alone. Would you possibly like that?"

Some of the words she said were more for Valerian, incase he stuck around, but all were still directed at the sad little ghost in front of her. She would fish out a pokeball and expand it, holding the device out for Mimikyu. If it decided to travel with her, that was fine. If not, she would not pursue it any further.

@Remram @Joshua Tamashii

Valerian was still celebrating his victory. He straightened his blazer, brushing nonexistent dust from his sleeve, and practicing how he’d retell the story later (“Valerian Hardrada: Prince of Elegance, Slayer of Chaos!” had a nice ring to it).

It wasn’t until Amelia mentioned “that yellow acquaintance” that he froze.

“Yellow—?” He turned, and there it was: the Pikachu. Still clinging to his pants with trembling paws, its eyes were wide, traumatized by everything it had just seen.

Valerian blinked once, then twice. “By Xerneas, you’re still here?!”he gasped, clutching at his chest as though personally offended by his own oversight. “Darling, I completely forgot about you amid the terror and triumph! How ghastly of me!”

Aurelia Rose buzzed wearily, her equivalent of an eye roll, while Camellia shook her leaves in silent disapproval.

Valerian crouched beside it, and extended a hand toward the trembling Pikachu. His voice softened. “You poor, brave creature. You’ve endured peril, chaos, and a prince’s first near-death experience, and yet you stand. That makes you an honorary member of House Hardrada for the day.”

He gave a small, reassuring smile. “Now come along, little one. Let’s go before something else decides to attack my face today.”