Private/Closed Exploration of the Froena Region

[MelodyMay]

Seeing the Skorupi pin Rose, Asriel commanded Jitter to use horn attack again. The pinkish pokemon rammed his horn roughly into the scorpion like pokemon. He was quick to pin the Gligar, though, to make sure it didn't fly away again.

Finna chuckled at Asher. "It's true that this land isn't so bad once you get used to it. Once you know how the pokemon operate, it's actually fairly easy to get by," she assured.

She sighed and thought back to her life before Froena. "I suppose I could go back to Unova. My parents loved their home in Castelia City so I doubt they've moved. But I've been gone for so long... they'll have already grieved and moved on," she realized. Asher seemed to have a knack for uncovering the subjects she never considered or had long forgotten about. Even though this region had been home to so many horrors, she still thought of it as home. As for family...well, it's surprising how quickly those memories can fade away.

 

[EnderTheFox]

Spade sat down on the ground with Tailgate sitting next to her. Watching the battle as it unfolded, her thumbs twiddled with other as she sighed "Gotta miss home sometimes don't you Tailgate?" she questioned only to have her partner looked at her and let out a small "Sneasel?" in question. Getting up on her feet Spade grabbed the other three pokéballs on her belt, tossing them into the air as white lights spewed out of them. She smiled lightly as all her pokémon looked at her as she walked off as the scrambled to follow.

After a little ways of a walk she stopped at small pond she found earlier where she caught her partner Vanish. Squatting down she placed a pile of oran berries on the ground letting her partners eat and heal. Standing up she sighed as she looked out into the small pond seeing the emptiness it held. Shaking her head Spade looked back before speaking "Alright lets train, we haven't done that in some time, you guys ready?" the response she received confirmed that they where ready before she nodded. She thought for a moment before nodding "Alright, how about we train like a double battle, Cascade and Tailgate verses Quill and Vanish, sound good?" she asked the pokémon all made little sounds of agreement before splitting into the two groups.

"Cascade start us off with a water gun at Vanish, Tailgate Ice Shard at Quill go!" she called, the two obeyed sending the attacks flying at the chosen opponent. "Quill quick attack to dodge and pick up Vanish to get him out of the way!" Quill nodded flapping her wings before a bright light surrounded her before she sped off picking up Vanish just before the water gun landed.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher nodded silently, his amber eyes then set upon a bobbing figure in the water- anything to keep from having to look back at the girl which for some reason he really wanted to do. "Although I think you're wrong." he plainly said, "It's possible that you're parents have accepted your disappearance, but they haven't forgotten about you. Once feel ardor for anything, it's impossible to forget it-" he trailed off before shrugging. He felt almost bad for saying those words, he didn't know what it was like so he wasn't quite sure what made him so sure- however he hated to see Finna think such things, damaging thoughts that she shouldn't have to experience. "Do you like traveling?" he then spontaneously asked. These questions were odd for the male, he typically didn't concern himself with the needs or likes of others, yet Finna was so different; it felt like he needed too know more about her.

 

[MelodyMay]

Finna gave him a small smile, grateful to talk about something other than whether or not she had a family to go back to. "I like the idea of traveling," she conceded. "When I was little, I would dream all day and night about setting off on a pokemon journey. Getting gym badges...participating in the pokemon league... Guess it just wasn't meant to be," she muttered with a shrug.

Trying to lighten the mood, she added, "I think that kind of traveling is wonderful. When you cvan go anywhere, experience everything...having to constantly keep an eye out for your would be killers takes away from that just a bit." She turned around at a small squeal and saw her golden brown Stufful slowly following behind them. It wasn't a pokemon she was very familiar with- she thought it was supposed to be pink but it looks like she was wrong- and all she really knew was the name.

"This is my newest pokemon; the first one I caught myself," she added with a proud smile.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher listened to Finna's words with careful consideration. Her squeal took him off guard and caused him to take a step-backwards, yet it was only a small- rather harmless looking pokemon. Moferno, who was by his side grinned before walking over to the new pokemon and examined it's round body. Asher stared at the odd creature before gasping- "I get it!" he exclaimed after recalling what he had read about on the ship to the island, "It's a shiny." he claimed. "That's amazing." Asher grinned as he looked down at the pokemon with a friendly-sort of smile, "They're really rare, I heard it takes talent to catch one." he said with a smile as he looked up so his amber gaze met Finna's.

 

[kyuukestu]

Qin sighed before his demeanor returned to being rather calm and composed, he stared at the trio of Pokemon on the field before ordering,

"Rose, Baton Pass!"

Rose let out a few soft hisses before she was surrounded by a fuzzy glow, within moments she'd returned to Qin's side and Twilla had taken her place.

"Twilla, Stun Spore! Then Leech Seed!"

From point blank range the cotton-ball of a Pokemon released her spores, and Jitter, being right on top of her was the most likely to get a face full. Without delay, Twilla released another series of airborne particles from her body, this time a set of parasitic seeds. Similarly, their target became the Pokemon closest, which happened to be Asriel's Jitter.

 

[MelodyMay]

"Talent? I thought I was doing horribly," she muttered, halfway hoping she wasn't heard. She had to recollect all of her pokeballs to try throwing them again because her aim was so terrible... Still, she had a rare version of a pokemon which made her quite proud. "Why didn't you try to tell me you were special?" she asked the little one as she scooped him up. The happy little pokemon squealed in her grasp as she cradled him. "Now what to name you?"

Back at the battle, Jitter recoiled at the spores in his face but couldn't help breathing some in. He stumbled to the ground as he tried to escape the spores. As he felt the seeds take root, he fell over, his joints seizing up from the minute tremors running through them as he tried to fight through the effects.

 

[StormingCobra]

Kaleb smirked. Now it would be even easier to win. A paralyzed and seeded Nidorino, and a Cottonee, which Poison attacks were 4x effective on.

"Cross Poison!" Skorupi launched the attack at Twilla, hitting her dead-on, causing a lot of damage. 'This is going to be a breeze,' Kaleb thought.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher tipped his head at the question Finna asked her pokemon. He never even noticed that the Zebstrika had a nickname. Did this girl name all of the pokemon, he wasn't quite sure what to think of the idea. As Monfenro hopped back to him he pursed his lips in thought before petting the fire-type's head. It seemed like a lot of stress, having to come up with and memorize each of your pokemon's names. "I guess there are different kind sof talents when it comes to pokemon-" he mused with a shrug, "battling, breeding, catching- I think that you've got a special bond though, and that's the best kind of talent. You're really special, you know?" he nodded before thinking about what he had said and instantly wanting to take it back. He looked down at Monferno who's large blue eyes blinked at his trainer's words, causing Asher to blush slightly. Quickly changing the subject he cast his gaze back upon the land, "They're probably finishing the battle now, I think we should head back." he muttered.

 

[kyuukestu]

Even as Twilla shrunk back from Skorupi's Cross Poison, Qin stared at Kaleb with a strange expression as the latter sent his Pokemon into the spores. Qin had initially thought that Kaleb would have Skorupi retreat to avoid the slowly dispersing spores but never had he imagined that he would do the complete opposite and paralyze his Pokemon just to get a hit in.

Well, needless to say, it was an opportunity that Qin wouldn't let slip by.

"Twilla Leech Seed on Skorupi, then litter the field with Cotton Spores!"

Because Rose had passed on her speed boosts with Baton Pass Twilla remained extremely agile, even while injured. As she launched her seeds towards Skorupi she also let the cotton puffs on her body fall onto the field, creating sticky obstacles that hindered her opponents speed.

 

[StormingCobra]

"Skorupi, Toxic Spikes!" Skorupi launched the attack, and the spikes took out some of the sticky spores, but most remained.

"Pin Missile!" Kaleb called out. Skorupi launched Pin Missile at Twilla, and they hit her one by one. It dealt damage over time, and Skorupi launched another Cross Poison to double up on the damage.

"Now how do I get rid of that Leech Seed?" he asked himself. 'Wait, Leech Seed can be taken out by Rapid Spin, a move that Bounsweet can learn!' he thought to himself. 'So, how to take out Jitter?'

"Pin Missile on Jitter!" Skorupi launched Pin Missile, hitting Jitter, and he successfully repeated the same maneuver twice.

"Alright, use Toxic Spikes again to get rid of the rest of the spores, then hit Jitter with some more Pin Missiles!" Skorupi obeyed, and got rid of the spores, and was able to hit Jitter a few more times with Pin Missile.

 

[MelodyMay]

Jitter was getting more than annoyed at the pin missile attacks. It was a bug type attack so it wasn't like he was taking too much damage. Although, even small damage racks up. Just as he was managing to stand, he was absorbed by a red beam of light. Asriel was confidently holding the poison type's pokeball.

Jitter was most likely his win condition for this match but he could barely move thanks to all of those spores. That coupled with the leech seed damage and Jitter just wasn't putting out enough damage for it to be worth having him continue to get hit. "Take a rest, buddy," Asriel said lovingly to the pokeball that was slowly wriggling. Jitter was not pleased by this turn of events!

Turning to his last pokemon, Asriel told her with a smile, "Your turn, Penny." The little pokemon let out a cry of delight and ran to the battlefield, leaping high as she entered. However, she started having a violent coughing fit as she became afflicted by the toxic spikes.

Finna nodded to Asher, walking close to him as they began the walk back. The sun had almost finished it's descent and the moon could be seen inching over the trees. She let out a content breath; this was the most peaceful she had felt in a while. As she was looking around, she saw Spade training.

"I thought you were an advocate of not going off alone," she joked towards the girl. "We're headed back if you want to come with us," she invited.

 

[FrostCrispz]

Halt slowly turned back around, sighing at the thought of paperwork. He waved for Lucario to get up. The pokemon climbed up, and stood next to Halt. "So, who's this Angel person? And where is he?"

 

[Le Marsouin]

Joel attempted to ignore the wounds on his legs and the left side of his chest after managing to barely flee from combat. He gave a few pants that were concealed from the nearby battle, since the trainers' commands and calls masked his intense breaths and soft movements. He emitted a few incomprehensible cries towards the direction of where the brawling took place after realizing that the skies were about to turn into a gloomy darkness of likely untold dangers. He inched his way over towards the nearby trees while the yellowish scale on his head flickered some of the reflected moonlight towards the trainers' direction.

Even though he would not normally signal for assistance, he was already becoming desperate after enduring the fight against a red, crocodile Pokémon over three times his size. He winced from the stinging pain that was like a burning sword stabbing his soul, as he attempted to keep his cool for as long as he could. He snuck his way over towards another tree standing tall near the sight of the battle between the trainers and their Pokémon. He carefully watched the Pokémon recently called out to battle; wondering how it was already ill the moment it ran into the field of combat.

Was it already poisoned by a peculiar move he didn't know of earlier? Or was it perhaps some magical and voodoo related things beyond his knowledge? Either way, Joel's tail quivered the moment when he heard the Pokémon having a fit of violent coughing almost as if its life was in jeopardy. He continued to anxiously watch the battle progress on while resisting the urge to fire off a mediocre dragon breath towards the field of battle.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher sighed heavily as they began the walk back- when the pair stopped to speak with Spade, Monferno's ear suddenly twitched before he jumped up and raced another direction. "Hey! Wai-" Asher hot out a hand after his pokemon before narrowing his golden gaze, he then shook his head and raced after the pokemon. Asher skidded to a stop as his gaze landed upon two Sandalits already in battle with Monferno, "Careful pal." Asher steadied his breathing before commanding- "Flame-wheel!" which sent Monferno into a blazing cycle which hit both the thieving pokemon who threw their prize into the air before running. Before the ovular object could hit the floor, Monferno jumped and caught it mid-air cradling it with a lopsided grin. Upon further inspection Asher decided it was an egg, striped with a bush-like ring at the bottom. Asher mused before shrugging, "You want it?" he asked causing Monferno to nod. "Just until we find a mother-" Asher groaned as he rubbed the egg before backing away and allowing his pokemon to carry it.
Asher silently fell back into place beside Finna and cocked a brow wondering if Spade had yet decided to join them.

 

[kyuukestu]

Twilla was hit repeatedly by the Pin Missiles, however, the gradual amounts of health drained from both Jitter and Skorupi quickly worked to ease her discomfort. Noticing that Kaleb had sent his Skorupi after Twilla once again with another Cross Poison, Qin reacted by giving simple orders.

"Twilla, Cotton Spore, then dodge."

The incoming Skorupi was giving a face full of Cotton for its troubles, and while Twilla wasn't able to dodge entirely she avoided taking a direct hit.

Surveying the field once more, Qin took note of Penny the Bounsweet, who had taken Jitter's place in the battle, effectively halving Twilla's regeneration. He clicked his tongue in slight annoyance, though he also took console in the fact that it had likely been Poisoned by the Toxic Spikes littered around the field. He briefly considered going into a battle of attrition but dismissed the thought summarily. This was going to be a rather tricky battle.

 

[StormingCobra]

"Poison Fang on the cotton!" Skorupi obeyed, and he swallowed the cotton, and right in front of him was Twilla. "Poison Fang again!" Skorupi leapt at Twilla, but missed. He tried once more, and was able to hit, and Twilla was caught in the grip.

"Pin Missile into the air," Kaleb told the scorpion Pokémon. He shot the Pin Missile in the air, and as it came down, Skorupi tossed Twilla right into the flurry of sharp needles.

"Cross Poison!" He shot the super effective attack directly at Twilla.

 

[MelodyMay]

Asriel's thinking was on a similar line as Qin's. It was a tricky battle but not impossible. He somehow had to weaken two pokemon he had a type disadvantage against with his newest team member so that his paralyzed Nidorino could clean house. "Sounds doable," he muttered, partially trying to convince himself.

"Teeter Dance!" he commanded. The happy little pokemon jumped and bounced her way over to her two competitors as she began twirling and spinning.

~~~~~​

Finna looked up at Asher's return and gave him a small smile of greeting. "She's very focused," she whispered to him as she observed Spade's training session. Then she noticed the egg. "An egg? Lucky you! Any idea what it is?"

~~~~~
​

"Angel is one of the strongest members of the Order. Second only to the King himself," William explained as a Hypno wandered into the open doorway. The psychic type lumbered forward, pendulum lowered as it stared at Halt intensely. "Behave," William warned the pokemon sternly as the Hypno's trainer, a beautiful young woman with ice blue eyes, porcelain skin, and long raven hair silently slid beside William. She wrapped her arms around him with a broad smile as her wide eyes seemed incapable of focusing on anything directly.

"William, I saw a chance; the sky will shatter in the lake!" She said joyfully to which William simply pecked her lips and assured her that he was sure it would.

 

[EnderTheFox]

Spade turned her head as she noticed Finna and Asher "Oh, sorry, yea I don't like going off to far but I haven't train in awhile and since everyone else was battling" she chuckled slightly before looking back at her pokémon "Alright, everyone return", four streams of red light flooded the clearing as her pokémon disappeared into their pokéballs. Walking over to Finna and Asher she yawned "It's getting late, shouldn't their battle be over by now?".

 

[MelodyMay]

"You would think but they were battling like a badge or something was on the line," Finna told her while rolling her eyes. A light breeze rustled the branches of the trees, filling the air with the sound of creaking wood and falling leaves.

The mountains had an almost holy look to them as the last rays of the sun shone brilliantly behind them. The moon, wo th it's night and brilliant, was quickly ascending to take it's place. Hoothoots and Kricketots could be heard moving about and the occasional Illumise and Volbeat lit up the night sky as the flew about. Admits it all, the predators of the night such as Houndoom and Mightyena started stirring, preparing for their nightly hunts. Their chilling howls could be heard as they called to the rest of their pack.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher looked down at the egg before shrugging, "I guess Monferno caught a couple of bandit-sandalits trying to steal it. Not sure where it came from though-" he trailed off as Monferno, who had grown quite bored of the motionless oval, handed the egg to him. Asher heaved a sigh but nodded as he picked up the egg, it was freezing. Covering the egg with all of his arm, Asher blinked at Spade. He frankly had lost track of time, "You're right, they're probably back at the camp by now." he muttered.

 

[kyuukestu]

As Twilla got thrown into the air and pelted by Pin Missiles, Skorupi closed in with a Cross Poison. Seeing the approaching danger, which was the same as last time, Twilla did the same tactic as last time. A blanket of Cotton Spores followed up by a Fairy Wind, rather than attempting to dodge. Using the force from the attack she blew her lightweight body completely out of harm's way.

Calmly Qin signaled for Twilla to return, and then walked off to the side with his trio of Pokemon, choosing to withdraw rather than continue battling. although Rose was still able to battle since she'd switched out with Baton Pass rather than fainting, it wouldn't do to leave her poisoned for too long, and with all the Poison-types on the field Qin wasn't quite enthused to take any more risks. Although it was possible to get Antidotes from Professor Elm, by the time Pidgeot could make the trip, his Pokemon would already be severely weakened, and it went without saying that this wasn't the time nor the place to be risking such injury. Who knew when the Auralians would choose to make a move?

 

[StormingCobra]

"Alright, that takes care of Leech Seed, but now Skorupi is confused," Kaleb said to himself. "Cross Poison on Penny, and follow up with Pin Missile!"

Skorupi shot Cross Poison at Penny, hitting her directly, and he launched the Pin Missile soon after, and Penny was trapped in the barrage of pins. He went for a Poison Fang, but the confusion was to much and he missed at hit himself twice.

"Poison Fang!" Skorupi broke free of confusion for a few seconds and ran over to Penny and bit down hard, and immobilized her, just as the confusion came back, but he kept his grip.

 

[MelodyMay]

Seeing Qin recall his pokemon without sending out another, Asriel took note of his surroundings. The night air, chilled with the coming winter, had grown dark. The sun had almost completely set and their only real source of light was the rapidly rising moon. "I didn't realize we had been going so long," he laughed as he withdrew Penny, who had just been hit by a poison gang.

"Looks like Finna wandered off; do you guys think she found Asher and Spade?" he asked as he debated over who's pokeball to put in the PPH first.

~~~~~
​

"Actually," Finna told him, "I think we should stay here in the forest. We shouldn't use the same camp too often; it'll be too easy to find us. And besides, male Salandits are notorious egg thieves. The females can subdue prey with their pheromones but since the males lack that luxury, they use their powerful poison and speed to steal eggs. Their own way of hunting safely despite having the defences of a wet paper bag," she explained.

She walked back towards the path Monferno had taken to find the fire type thieves. "In fact... if we track them, we could probably all end up with an egg," she reasoned. "The tricky part will be not pissing off any mothers."

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher cocked a brow at Finna's suggestion, he tousled the fur atop Monferno's head before smirking slightly. "Sounds like fun." he muttered before blinking up at the skies. It was odd, how the very same words that he used on the playground as a kid would be repeated in the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers. "Maybe by collecting eggs we can also get a sense of what pokemon breed this season around here..." he muttered attempting to come up with another reason that would benefit the research part of their journey. Shrugging, Asher sent out Shellder in replacement for Monfenro who was visibly tired. The water type would serve better in case they ran into the thieving pokemon again, "Keep your guard up." he reminded the newest companion of his team and the small pokemon nodded eagerly in response.

 

[StormingCobra]

As Asriel withdrew Penny, Kaleb realized he won and congratulated Skorupi on his performance, as Skorupi flashed white for a few seconds, but stopped after about three flashes.

"You're evolving soon, buddy," he told his Skorupi before answering Asriel. "Yeah, probably Asher, I saw him on the sideline earlier," he said as he healed his Pokémon. "I see she caught a Stufful. And not just any Stufful, it was a shiny." He wondered when his Turtwig would evolve, he only showed signs of evolutions once, and besides Pancham, Skorupi, Pidgeotto, and the Poliwhirl he caught while training Ninjask, he was the only one who still hasn't evolved once.

Spoiler: The Mons i caught

Pancham
Pidgeotto
Pikachu
Lairon
Charmeleon
Turtwig
Ninjask
Skorupi
Shelgon
Boldore (shiny)
Poliwhirl

 

[MelodyMay]

"Cool; maybe that's why it took her so long," Asriel chuckled as he remembered how he had returned nearly an hour before Finna. But still, an hour on one pokemon? "But don't you think she's a bit...suspicious?" Asriel asked the other two men.

He could help the feeling of dread that crawled along his skin anytime he thought of her. Something wasn't right about her but he just didn't know what. He'd find out, though.

~~~~~
​

Finna chuckled and knelt down in front of the tiny shelled pokemon. Rubbing his shell gently, she gave him a gentle smile. "We're placing our trust well," she declared. "No Salandit is ever going to take a chance against you."

 

[kyuukestu]

Qin shrugged rather nonchalantly,

"Suspicious or not, it's not a good habit to openly doubt your companions. The Auralians are already stronger than us so fighting amongst ourselves will only get us killed faster."

Pausing to look Asriel straight in the eye Qin continued,

"However, her story is indeed a bit off..."

He stopped to ponder, but the flaws in Finna's story eluded him. All the information Finna had said on the Auralians floated around in Qin's mind, along with her description of her own experiences. They seemed to weave together forming faint connections that mixed and matched like a jigsaw puzzle, one, that for the moment, he could not solve.

"Be on guard against her if you must, too much caution never killed anyone."

 

[MelodyMay]

"I guess you're right," Asriel admitted. He was relieved he wasn't alone is his concerns but also frustrated at how the situation kept him from acting on such suspicions.

"I suppose we should catch up to them.." he muttered as he started off the way they had likely gone.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher watched Finna and pursed his lips in distant thought as Shellder smiled widely at the praise. Asher walked past his small water-type to narrowed his eyes before nodding, "Let's hurry then, they went off this way." he recalled before walking down the path, leaving Shellder to hop behind him.

 

[StormingCobra]

Kaleb followed Asriel.

"She was pretty suspicious to me, too. The story made absolutely no sense. And it makes even less sense that she doesn't even try to leave, or catch more Pokémon."

Lairon popped out of his ball again, and Kaleb sighed.

"When will you stop doing that?" he asked the steel type, who ignored him as Kaleb shrugged.

 

[MelodyMay]

"I can buy someone surviving on this island. I can buy someone having issues getting off. She was unsure about catching another pokemon so she probably thought trying to steal a ship or stowing away was her best bet. The part that gets me is how did she escape in the first place? Between the teleporters and the fact they must have grunts, I just don't get it. Hell, the team Darla attacked us with seemed like a trackers dream come true..." Asriel replied to Kaleb.

Storm, who hadn't followed her trainer, stayed close to the young men. Her head was held low, her hooves dragging slightly as she heard their conversation. She was glad they were suspicious; it was a good sign. Though it still saddened her that said suspicions would stop Finna from finding her place here.

~~~~~
​

Finna followed the trail of tracks, making sure to not follow too quickly, lest she scare off the bandits. Said bandits were at the mouth of the river, by the edge of the lake. Sniffing about, looking for a scent trail left by a thirsty mother. Watching from behind a tree a ways back, Finna watched with a triumphant smirk as the larger of the two males darted further into the undergrowth. "He's caught a trail," she announced triumphantly.

 

[StormingCobra]

"Yeah, we barely escaped Darla, and that was only because she was outnumbered. How did she escape on her own?"

Pancham nodded, and Lairon just kept walking, oblivious to the conversation, as he had no idea who Darla was.

"We should probably find her soon. And Asher, too, if he's with her. He seems to be the only one of us who isn't suspicious of her, besides Spade, but she barely even spoke to her," he told Asriel.

 

[9012_dirt]

Asher smiled from behind Finna as he watched the Salandit pair disappear. "Alright now, let's not loose them!" he exclaimed as he began slowly following them. With the egg he had earlier rescued still tucked between his right arm and his chest, he watched his steps carefully and allowed Shellder to take a spot ahead of him and keep an eye out for potential threats.

 

[FrostCrispz]

Halt saw the girl walking up. "Now who might this wonder be?" He said in mock surprise. He had to keep up the look of being tough. "That's not Angel, so where is he?"

 

[MelodyMay]

"As I was going to say," William said as he wrapped his arms around Drusilla, "no real way to know right off hand. I could get a hold of him but I'd prefer not. Anyway," he stated as he walked further in, leaving Drusilla standing in the door.

When William was standing right beside Halt, he turned back to the doorway and casually pointed at Drusilla. She was muttering to herself and when she wasn't doing that, she was staring at Halt with the intense yet glassy stare that's usually seen in the severely mentally unhinged. "That is Drusilla, the love of my life. She is the best example we have of what happens when Angel is allowed to do whatever he wants to someone," he told Halt solemnly. Houndoom had firmly placed himself between Drusilla's Hypno and the other men in the room. That same Hypno was watching Halt, his pendulum arm tense as though he was ready to raise it at any moment.

~~~~~
​

Asriel nodded. "It is safer as a group but I'm not sure she'll hurt us. Why would she? I mean, her scars prove they're her enemies to, right?" He asked as Storm walked ahead, seeking her trainer.

Glinting eyes could be seen from the brush and the trees. The night was just as active as the day. Dotted here and there throughout the landscape, golden light shone as nightflowers opened up, their golden light shining brightly in the moonlight. Storm took it all in with a sigh of content, holding her head high again. She knew this land better than even Finna; it was her home and she loved it dearly. She could only hope that it would one day be saved from the Aurelians... That thought haunted the electric pokemon's dreams; they were filled with Chimechos, Chinglings, and Bronzongs announcing the news throughout the land with their joyous rings.

~~~~~
​

As Finna tailed the two bandits, she saw where they were headed. Under a massive bramble patch was a Stuntank, her massive tail curled around a nest with purple eggs with a white stripe down the middle. The mother herself was feasting on the innards of a Kakuna whose arms were still outstretched from its attempts at self defense. "So many pokemon eating well," she whispered.

 

[kyuukestu]

Qin reached into his bag and brought out a handful of berries, the majority of which were stubby and gourd-shaped decorated with splotches of orange over their sponge-yellow skin. The remaining berries were a pale pink and shaped rather peachy. The Sitrus berries were distributed to his trinity of Pokemon while the Pecha berry was bequeathed to Rose. The less than optimal-forme Pokemon happily commenced their meal, and Qin returned to the conversation,

"Even if our suspicions are correct, what could she possibly do? Be a Spy? I doubt the Auralians even consider us a threat, they wouldn't send someone to spy on us, especially not in an obvious way like this... At the very least she's probably not here to harm us, even if she's not being completely honest about her origins."

Returning his Pokemon to their Pokeballs Qin started walking, not towards where Asher and Finna had gone, but back towards the Lake.

"I'll catch up with you later, for now, I think I'd like to add a few more members to my team and contact the Professors."

Slipping his hands into his pockets Qin headed off.

 

[MelodyMay]

Storm watched Qin as he headed toward the lake. She liked this human; he was very level headed and rational, which she appreciated. She trotted after him and nudged him with her muzzle. Braying softly in an extra effort to get his attention, she paused after. What could she say? Besides the fact that he wouldn't understand, how could anything she had to say be anything less than a betrayal?

Asriel decided to head to the lake, as well. He had been slow to grow his team but the quiet moments would be good for the occasion. "You coming, Kaleb?" he asked the other boy. All of their pokemon had fought hard; it wouldn't do for any threat to catch Kaleb alone just now.

Looking over his team, Asriel tried to deduce his weaknesses. "Sleipnir and Penny don't like ice types. I don't have any psychic counters and they really hurt Jitter. Then again, a direct counter to flying types would be nice; but the same could be said for ghost, dark, and dragon types. So I have three team slots to deal with six gaping weaknesses in my defences. Seems doable," Asriel figured out loud. So for the best defenses, he would need a rock type, a fairy type, and a dark type. But he could also fill in those blanks with TMs from Kukui and thus leave him open to have more fun with his team. Decisions, decisions...

 

[StormingCobra]

Kaleb followed Asriel and Qin, but unlike the two of them, he didn't really have the intention of catching more Pokémon. He had enough to take on the Auralians. He just needed to train his current Pokémon to make them stronger. He decided that he needed to train Turtwig first, and then Skorupi.

"Turtwig, I choose you!" he said as he sent out the grass type. "Time to train again, okay bud?" Turtwig nodded in response. Kaleb found another group of Poliwhirl, and started to train his Turtwig.

 

[kyuukestu]

Although slightly, okay, very startled at the Zebstrika's affectionate gestures, Qin was in no way apprehensive. He caressed Storm gentle, with long sweeping motions from her main to her snout, he enjoyed the fuzzy feeling of static that electric Pokemon seemed to naturally emit. Contact with them always seemed to feel father electrifying, pun intended.

"What's up girl? Why didn't you follow Finna?"