Ask to Join Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Vast Riches - [Roleplay]

[Red Gallade]

Discussion: https://pokecharms.com/threads/pokemon-mystery-dungeon-vast-riches-discussion.21862/

The sun rose across the horizon to give light to a brand new day, the gentle breeze made the few clouds drift slowly across the bright blue sky just as it caused the blades grass beneath to dance elegantly within the fields and the bright red roses to bloom around Ruby village. Within the village, Pokemon began to emerge from their homes, some opened up markets with various items while several simply strolled around town to their next destination.

Inside the popular inn of the Loopy Lopunny, Adam, a Gallade calmly awoke to the sunlight that shone through the little gap in the curtains and on to his eyes, he slowly got out of his bed and did a few minutes of stretches, afterwards he walked to the door and collected what looked like a brown cloak that hung on the rack next to it which he put on immediately. Adam stepped outside of his room and walked down the stairs to see a few Pokemon who woke up earlier than him and ate their breakfast if not order it, he sat at a table for four people and rested his arms on the table.

As he drummed his fingers on the oak wooden surface, he was approached by a Leavanny in an apron. "Good morning, sir. Are you ready to order?" She asked in a friendly tone of voice. "Just some berry juice will do for now, dear. I'm waiting for a few other people, so I'll order food when they arrive." The Gallade replied with a smile. "Of course." The Leavanny replied with a nod before she leaved for the kitchen while Adam started to whistle a little tune.

 

[Cmeriwether]

A Serperior by the name of Haylee Rose was slithering around the Ruby Village, and wandered into the Loopy Lopuny, a local inn. She took a seat at a table meant for two, waiting for another Pokemon.

------

Ezra had been hired to deal with a surprisingly organized Bandit situation in the north. He was fighting several Pokemon, mostly other Dark types, some fighting and Ice types. Two other mercenaries were around, one a Walrein and the other an Unfezant.

"Alright, can you take the fighting types?" Ezra asked the Unfezant.

"Understood." The Unfezant responded.

Ezra had taken several of the dark types with Superpower. At last, after a long fight, all bandits from this specific branch were chased off. Ezra then got the bounty, took his section and told them something.

"My girlfriend is waiting for me at the Loopy Lopunny, I have to get going." Ezra told them.

"We understand." The Unfezant and Walrein responded.

Ezra left the North of town for the Loopy Lopunny, it took a while, stumbling until he fell over, unconscious on the Doorstep. It was a very long fight and he was very lucky he had Haylee Rose in his life, not many mercenaries can say this.

 

[Merciless Medic]

An Inteleon can be seen relaxing in the inn at the bar, drinking a little Pinap Juice while talking up a Gardevoir, which he assumed was a female. The voice was light enough and it had the visage of a fine female beauty.

Of course, when he tried out his Attract, it failed. The little heart just smacked into the Gardevoir's face pitifully before dissipating. His face went pale and his eyes widened in surprise. The Gardevoir giggled and patted him on the shoulder, saying "better luck next time, little Litten" before he walked out of the inn. The Inteleon was quite frustrated. How did he mistake a male for a female? It was so embarrassing. He looked around to see if anyone noticed and drank his juice unconspicuously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Swine the Piloswine, her name embroidered onto her bandanna around her leg by the local Leavanny, was taking a break from work. She walked about until she saw a collapsed Absol right in front of the inn. She walked up to him and asked in a very stereotypical worried mother-like voice, "You okay, darling? Looked like you had quite the fight. You need a berry to help with your weary body?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amethyst the Salazzle was seen spying down from a high point, watching three Pokemon flush out a bandit camp, these Pokemon being an Unfezant, a Walrein, and an Absol. She was glad she worked alone. She couldn't handle working with a group. Had to share everything they caught and there was always someone above them. They couldn't be just the boss of themselves, somebody else has to, as well. Sighing, she looked down to see that the Absol left. She quickly took her leave to see where this Pokemon was heading, keeping a good distance away from them.

When she arrived at the outskirts of town, she dove into a bush and hid. She couldn't be seen. She was aware of the bounty on her head and this town likely had her face plastered somewhere.

 

[Cmeriwether]

Ezra woke up to a Piloswine in front of him.

"I will need a berry, and is this the Loopy Lopunny?" Ezra asked, "I'm supposed to meet my girlfriend, Haylee Rose, a Serperior, in the Loopy Lopunny."

Ezra tried to sit up, but fighting twenty on three was taking its toll on him. He noticed he made quite a commotion.

-------

Haylee perked up when a commotion was heard outside the door. She slithered out the door and found Ezra, laying on the Doorstep.

"What happened?" Haylee Rose asked, tears hanging in her eyes.

"Fang (Walrein), and Quail (Unfezant), along with myself, flushed out a random bandit camp in the north of Town, not a major one, went twenty on three and barely won, I made it to the doorstep." Ezra explained to Haylee Rose.

"He needs help" Haylee Rose told the Piloswine in front of the steps.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Smiling underneath her thick, stringy hair, Swine nodded towards Haylee in return. "Oh, don't worry, hun. I'll help him," she then turned to Ezra. "You need to be more careful, dear. I'm assuming those bandits were the kinds that you and the other two could handle, but you still need to be more careful. Here," she said before using her tusks to gingerly pick up Ezra. The tusks already had a large, sturdy piece of leaf with twine wrapped around them. She usually always had her tusks in "stretcher mode" as she made her rounds around town. Just in case.

"I can take you to the nurse's office, so someone there can help you recover. Please, come by after your missions, so you can recover properly," Swine then looked over to Haylee. "Please, make sure he comes by when he comes back. I don't want him to burn himself out."

 

[Rex]

When Dustin first awoke that morning, the moon was still high in the sky. There was nothing unusual about this, it was simply how things had always been done. A childhood habit, hard to break. The Buizel had never really been good at waking up with the sun. He stood up and stretched, there was honestly no way he'd be able to get back to sleep now. He knew he'd get tired later, and that sucked, but that was honestly a problem for Future Dustin. Present Dustin had energy to burn.

He exited the building through a window, stopping only long enough to grab his hat and belt and put them on their proper spots on his head and around his waist, respectively. He landed on his toes and one of his forepaw's fingers - the other paw was occupied holding his hat to his head. Perfectly quiet, he hadn't lost his edge. Not that he needed to be secretive, it was just another old habit. When he made his way out to the path, the village wasn't completely empty - there were a few other nocturnal Pokemon about - but it was much less lively than he was used to.

Admittedly, he didn't really have any plan. So he walked, pacing laps around the edge of town, not unlike what he used to do when he was restless back home. The moon shed some brightness on the landscape, there was only the occasional cloud in the sky. He paced away the hours, occasionally taking a seat beside the road and resting. It was good exercise, but boring. He missed home again. As the night wore on, a breeze picked up, blowing all sorts of scents his direction. He had his father's nose, it was both a blessing and a curse.

Eventually, the sky started getting lighter, and the stars began snuffing out for the night. He returned to the inn, re-entering through the same window he'd left from. He climbed back into bed, not bothering to take off his gear. He'd only intended to rest, but the next time he'd opened his eyes sunlight was pouring through the window. Guess he'd gotten some more sleep after all. Hopefully he wasn't late. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry long. Once he'd made his way to the common room the place turned out to still be pretty abandoned.

The Gallade was awake, the Buizel could pick him out pretty easy. Sitting alone at a table set for four, obviously for them. He didn't see either of the others around. That was good at least, this team had taken a chance on him and he didn't want to blow it over something as inane as sleeping in. He approached the table nonchalantly, taking the seat across from his team leader, leaning back and propping his hindpaws up on table. He gave the Gallade, Adam, a wave. No reason to be impolite.

 

[Red Gallade]

Adam stopped whistling when he heard the sound of footsteps approach him, he blinked and briefly assumed it was the Leavanny whom returned with his juice--a little too quickly--before he turned his head to see a familiar Buizel join him at the table and waved at him. "Ah, Dustin. Good morning, did you have a good enough sleep?" The Gallade asked in a friendly tone of voice before his eyes briefly shifted to see any new individuals only to see the Leavanny he talked to earlier return with his ordered drink. "Here you go sir, enjoy." She said with a smile. "Thank you kindly, my dear." He said as he took the juice with one hand and handed two gold pieces to her with the other, the Leavanny nodded and turned her attention to the newly arrived Buizel. "Can I get you anything while I'm here?" She asked.

 

[Cmeriwether]

"Uhh, Swine, I have a meeting, he's clear." Haylee Rose responded to Swine.

"Hi, I'm a mercenary, my last job was to flush out a problematic bandit camp in the north of town." Ezra explained, "I'm not wanted or anything, unless we're in bandit territory."

Haylee Rose nuzzled Ezra for a second, and then had to go. She saw her table that she was supposed to join, there was a Buizel and A Gallade sitting. Haylee Rose slithered into a chair's spot, having the chair moved.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Swine nodded at what Haylee said, but didn't want to ask what she meant by "he's clear". She kept her confusion to herself and raised an eyebrow at Ezra. She just chuckled. "That's not what I meant, dear. I was meaning come by when you are hurt after any mission. It would make my job easier. I don't care if you are a part of a team or if you are a mercenary. Everyone is welcome, just as long as they aren't bandits or criminals."

With that, she began walking towards the nurse's office with Ezra on her stretcher (if this is okay). She then asked, "What did your girlfriend mean by 'he's clear'? It sounded like she didn't have time to take you in today, but I was mostly meaning when I'm not around to take you."

 

[Cmeriwether]

"I don't have a bounty on my head, unlike most Mercenaries, and my missions are ones that most don't take, and are naturally dangerous." Ezra responded, "She had some sort of meeting after we had our talk, which was ruined by this."

Ezra was taken to the nurse's office, as he sat waiting.

 

[Rex]

The Buizel shrugged ambivalently, "Good enough I suppose."

It wasn't exactly true, but he figured the Gallade didn't need to know about his walk. He was soon distracted anyway by appearance of the hostess, a Leavanny, anyway. Apparently Adam had gotten started on breakfast already. The Leavanny turned to ask Dustin what he wanted, though he was momentarily distracted from answering by the appearance of one of his other teammates, the Serperior Haylee. Or did she prefer to be called by her full name, Haylee Rose? He'd never actually established that.

Now wasn't the time to get distracted though! He turned back to the Leavanny to answer her: "I'll take a berry salad, let's have Chesto, Aspear, Sitrus." He paused to think, before adding, "Mix in Wacan, Nomel, and Belue for flavor, too. Chop them up good and let them soak in a bowl of berry juice, and then bring that bowl out to me." He had to describe the dish exactly, otherwise they wouldn't make it right! He did dig a fair few gold coins out of his pouch to make it worth it for the Leavanny.

 

[Red Gallade]

The Leavanny got out a note and wrote down everything the Buizel asked for. "Coming right up, sir." She said before she left for the kitchen.

Adam showed a smile that looked like he tried to hold back light laughter as Dustin explained his order. "Always a man of acquired taste, aren't you?" The Gallade jokingly asked before he took a sip of his juice and lightly waved as a familiar Serperior joined the table. "Hey there Haylee, I hope you're doing well." He said with a friendly smile before he looked at the vacant chair. "That just leaves one more, but far be it for me to disturb their sleep."

"So, any of you have any idea on where we should go in our search for treasure?" He asked with a tone mixed with humor and confidence.

 

[Merciless Medic]

The nurse's office was quite large, seeing as their nurse was quite large, as well. Plus, they needed to have enough room for those Pokemon that were at least 10 to 12 feet tall. It was spacious and had a nice homely vibe. Plants decorated the edges and corners of the rooms, and everything smelled like incense. There was an office connected to the waiting room, and two corridors spanning one edge of the building. Rooms litter these corridors. There were a few Pokemon in the waiting room, as well, but they were seen to immediately by Audino, Chansey, and Blissey.

Swine went back to an office room and found the resident Chansey nurse and the Blissey doctor. These two were different from the others. The Chansey was a head nurse, and she had on a little nurse hat with a red circle and a red plus within the circle. She also had on a badge stating her title. The Blissey doctor had on a white coat, unbuttoned, and had on a little head mirror attached to a band on her head. "We got another one. This guy is just tired and a little wounded. He just needs a quick heal and he'll be back to do whatever he needs to do," Swine explained.

The two Pokemon nodded and went over to Ezra. "Hello. We'll just heal you up and you will be on your way," they said as the Chansey gave Ezra an egg to eat. Soft-Boiled was what it was going to be. The egg also smelled like it had a Sitrus and Oran Berry bath, lending to a more potent effect.

 

[aurivee_]

A bandanna-donning Riolu entered the Loopy Lopunny, her dark eyes glimmering. She took a moment to look around, before spotting her team members and walking over.
"Sorry I'm late," she said apologetically. She took the vacant seat, sitting down.

 

[Red Gallade]

Adam turned his head to the new arrival that was a familiar Riolu. "No worries, Tiara. It's still early, so no one'll blame you. We're still getting breakfast." He said with a warm smile, the Leavanny returned to the table yet again with Dustin's food and noticed the Riolu at the table. "Another arrival huh? Something tells me I'm gonna be jumping back and forth from this table." The Leavanny said jokingly. "Unless my friends are gonna order, you might only have to jump one more time, dear." Adam jokingly replied. "Anyways, I've decided my order; Pancakes with a side of Oran berries if you please." He requested as he put down five gold pieces.

 

[Rex]

The Gallade didn't quite understand his tastes, and that was honestly fine. Pokemon that weren't on the move as constantly from a very young age as the Buizel was probably wouldn't follow. Chesto berries fought drowsiness, Aspears kept you warm - or could be traded out for Rawst berries in warmer seasons, to keep you cool - and Sitrus berries gave you energy, while the other berries gave it a kick and overpowered the admittedly odd blend of flavors. You would eat the berries for breakfast, then pour the juice into a waterskin to take with you to drink over the course of the day. It was a method inspired by Shuckles.

He didn't get a chance to explain all this verbally, however, as the Gallade had already moved on to talking about where they'd be looking for treasure today. That was fine too, the Buizel sat up straight in his chair and started popping berry chunks into his mouth while their fourth member arrived and Adam got the rest of them started on ordering breakfast. Dustin certainly liked having his little secrets, so he wasn't in any hurry to explain his reasoning. As for where they would be doing their stated job today, that the Buizel could speak up on.

"Any rumors worth following up on?"

 

[Zixal]

The outskirts of Ruby Village were generally quiet. That is, until a rhythmic thumping seemed to approach it from beyond its borders.

In a couple of seconds, a line of pint-sized Pokemon marched into the village in an orderly line, perfectly in sync with each other. Each step was taken at the same time, at the same pace. The Pokemon were each small and round, but also boasting golden armor and shields, as well as red spires on their head that looked sharp as spears. The marching Pokemon continued for a while, clanking their way right through town until the one in front suddenly barked a loud command.

"HALT!"

The entire line of Pokemon ceased at once, without so much as bumping into each other.
"LEFT, FACE!"
The team then immediately turned on their stubby heels, making a perfect 90 degree turn to their left.
"SINGLE FILE!"
They immediately lined up behind the leader again, without wasting a second.
"FORWARD, MARCH."

The leader began again, and the five soldiers behind them followed in perfect time again.

The line of soldiers marched right up to the Loopy Lopunny, opening the door and striding in with all the confidence of a Sawk who just broke a boulder in half. They stopped as one again.
"TWO RANKS, HUT!"
And they split immediately into two horizontal lines of three, one in front of the other, with the Brass in the center of the first line. They marched their way over to one of the tables and progressively sat down at it, the Brass sitting down last.
"At ease."
And the soldiers finally seemed to relax, no longer in sync with each other, and all expressing different emotions and characteristics. Only the Brass remained about the same as before.

"Service?" The Brass called.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Aura, a Lucario, walked into the Loopy Lopunny, and quickly observed the area.
“Hm, not a bad place, I’ve definitely been to worse places.”
Aura silently laughed to himself, remembering those situations.
He walked over to the bar and ordered some Pecha Juice.
Aura sipped quietly, not attempting to make small talk it’s anyone around him, and considered where to go for treasure next.

 

[Red Gallade]

Adam nodded. "Right, well-" He said before the sudden arrival of a familiar Leavanny appear with the pancakes and sliced Oran berries he ordered. "Enjoy." She said with a smile. "Thank you my dear. Here." The Gallade said as he handed the Leavanny a pair of gold pieces as a tip. The Leavanny smiled gleefully before she left to take other Pokemon's orders. "Anyways, friend of mine told me there this-" He said before the sound of loud military commands interrupted him again, while others would be annoyed at the constant interruption, Adam however couldn't help but snicker at the amusing display of militaristic behavior from a group of six, small and adorable little men.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Aura looked at the small men.
“Hm. Wonder how many years of boot camp that took.”
Aura shrugged to himself, and looked amused by the display.
“Heh, the military can be strange.”
Aura said to himself, then continued to sip his Pecha juice.

 

[Zixal]

The team of tiny soldiers were chatting between themselves, each one acting differently. One was loud and boisterous, one was timid and nervous, one was seemingly uninterested, one was paying attention to everyone else in the inn except the others in the team, and one was sitting next to the Brass, like they were waiting for another order. The Brass, meanwhile, glanced over at the other patrons quietly, then over at the Leavanny.

"Six proteins, if you have any available, ma'am." They requested, with significant confidence in their voice.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mib was busily staring into his own drink until he heard something very familiar. Looking over at the door, he noticed six little shielded up Pokemon walking inside. They looked pretty cute, but he knew how potent they were. In fact, they looked familiar. Weren't they mercenaries before?

That was when it hit him. They were Flanks. He smiled and walked over to their table. He figured they wouldn't recognize him, but him almost being the best sniper Pokemon there was (only being beaten by a Porygon-Z and a Kingdra) might help them remember him. Plus, he knew there was only one of him and one of them.

"Hey, Maz, Nod, Cod, Pod, Zod, and..... Jod? Yea, Jod. I haven't seen you guys since you guys were mercenaries. I'm Mib, by the way. Almost the best sniper here in these lands. Only beaten by some draconic seahorse and a crazy mechanical Pokemon that won't shut up about the possibility of aliens existing. I don't remember if we had ever worked together because someone hired us both, but it is nice to see you guys still alive and marching. What are you guys up to, nowadays?"

He stood by the table, choosing to stand instead of sit. He made sure that Maz, the leader, can see him well. He took a sip from his Pinap Juice while awaiting a response.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Aura saw the Inteleon, Mib, he believed, or was it Bim?
He wasn’t quite sure, he wasn’t paying very much attention.
He saw the Inteleon walk up to the small men, and raised an eyebrow.
“Wonder what he’s doing, talking to Flanks like that.”
Aura looked slightly intrigued and watched the conversation play out.

 

[Zixal]

In response to the Inteleon, the Brass looked up and squinted. It took him a moment, but eventually, Maz blinked in recognition of the mercenary, nodding and saluting him with one of his shields.

"Well, if it isn't ol' Fingerguns. Good to see you're still alive. We as Flanks have been training more, recently. We actually joined the Treasure Hunter's Guild. Call it an itch for adventure. Hunting down criminals wasn't as adventurous as exploring deep caverns and discovering hidden treasures. We still do it, though. Hunt criminals, that is. If they run into us, we bring them in. Been getting better and better with each expedition, each fight. What about you?"

The other members of Flanks greeted Mib in various forms of hello. Cod saluted, like Maz. Nod only, well, nodded. Pod grunted gruffly. Zod meekly wove one of his shields in a wave. Zod didn't seem to notice him whatsoever.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mib nodded and smiled before it faded when he was asked in kind. To be fair, he didn't know what else he was doing differently. Everything seemed to be blurred together as days went by. Hell, he couldn't remember what he did yesterday. Nobody had really hired him and he has just been catching criminals when he can. Of course, that didn't aid in making anything feel different. He just felt like he was adrift in the sea of life. Which he hated.

He found an empty chair from a table and pulled it over, so he could sit down amongst Flanks before talking. "Yeah, well. I don't really know. Nobody has been hiring me as of late and I just feel stuck. Almost like you are being thrown around by the throes of life and you are just there for the ride. I still do mercenary work, but it just feels like a drag... and, of course the women game is terrible. I uh...." he didn't want to say it, but he felt like he should get it off of his conscious. So he said the next bit quietly. "I had mistaken a male Gardevoir for a female a little bit ago.... Why do they have to look so feminine?" He had a little haunted look in his eye from that mistake, which quickly disappeared.

"Anyway, I heard rumors of there being a bandit near here. Actually, several rumors of bunches of bandits, but there was this one in particular. Care to hear?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Amethyst had taken to a bush and was relaxing underneath it, hidden from view. She looked out and could see the town and the Loopy Lopunny Inn. She would go there, but she was certain her face was plastered all over the place. Regardless, she waited for someone to leave and she would follow them. She didn't mind about being caught. She can always just escape again.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Unbelieveable. Every single post you made, Captain Pokémon, breaks our RP forum rules.

Our RP forum rules clearly demand that posts are written in third person, past tense, story format. And what tense do you opt to write your post in? Future.

Future tense ("would") is not only a violation of that rule but an absolutely nonsensical tense to write in. If you don't know what past tense is, then you should at least take cues from everyone else in this thread. The future is not in the past, Aoshima be damned.

Please edit your posts accordingly and don't do that ever again - and do brush up on the rules to see if there isn't anything else you've forgotten. Failure to do so in a timely manner will result in action taken against you.

 

[Zixal]

While Mib and Maz spoke, Pod knocked heads with Nod beside him, who responded by giving him a bit of a death glare. Zod glanced over at Jod, who was still just sitting there in the chair and relaxing, having nothing to do with the others. Cod glanced over at them and cleared his throat, trying to get their attention and stop their bickering, but ultimately failed as none of them noticed him. Cod rolled his eyes and went back to waiting for their proteins.

Maz, meanwhile, chuckled in response to Mib's lack of progress in romance, then blinked and rose an eyebrow at him in interest at the mention of bandits nearby. Nearby Ruby Village? Not on Flanks' watch. This was a safe town from bandits, and they'd keep it that way.

"Is that so? Tell me all about it, I'm all ears. If any bandit thinks its a good idea to strut their way into THIS town, they're mistaken."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mib just chuckled at that. He noticed the other Pokemon of the Flanks were starting to bicker. He just gave them a look a father would give to unruly children - a mixture of amusement and concern - before returning to the conversation at hand.

"Well, if you want to hear the juicy tips on some bandits, then the rest of your folk should probably stop horsing around, so I can explain," he paused until they all settled down, eyeing every one of them before continuing. "There has been a rumor going on that in the mountains, a resurgence of activity has arisen. No one knows why, but it is nothing good. I suspect bandits. Only bandits can turn a place like that into headquarters. And then we got this beauty," he pulled out a paper that had a picture of a Salazzle on it. The reward to turn her in was 10,000+ PokeCoins and a short little description of her with the words WANTED on the top of the page.

"This Salazzle is Amethyst. She is a very slithery bandit. I had managed to catch her once - don't ask how I did it, but as soon as she was given to the authorities, she escaped. I'm pretty sure it's her ability to corrode anything and everything. She is pretty intelligent, knowing where to go and where not to go. She doesn't like to work with other bandits, so she's pretty lonesome in that regard. My issue is when someone catches her, she escapes once she is taken to jail. Bars and walls won't keep her in. Her price keeps going up with each escape attempt she has done. Let me tell you, it was 500 PokeCoins a year ago. I'm assuming it goes up every 500 PokeCoins with each escape. That should tell you how many times she's been through the ringer. The poor girl doesn't know when to stop and nothing can keep her detained for long. She is very experienced at escaping," he explained. "If anything, she won't be anywhere near this town. She'd find a place to be where bandits crawl about, find someone she likes, and tag them until they reach town. Then, when it gets dark, she uses her dark skin to run around town and she does her bandit thing. She's no bandit, she's a criminal. And a very experienced one at that."

He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, having finished his Pinap Juice after his explanation. He then continued. "What are your thoughts about her? I personally think she doesn't deserve the beauty she has. That beauty could be used on someone else a bit more attainable by the heart."

 

[ToshiThenAgain]

Liz finally approached the town she had been looking for, Ruby Village. After days of traveling, she had grown tired and wore a look of sadness on her face. She walked into town and looked around for someplace to rest for a moment. She walked around town a bit more and walked into the main square. She smiled slightly at the sight of the fountain. "Oh wow, I haven't seen a fountain of all things in a long time. Maybe I'll stick around here for a while, it's not too bad of a place..." She pulled out a coin and flipped it into the fountain and looked calm, still showing a balmy smile. She put down her bag full of her belongings and sighed as she sat down next to it. She slowly started to grow a frown back onto her face as she looked up at the sky.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Meanwhile, Amethyst was lounging around in the same bush until she saw a Buizel walking towards the fountain. She spied on this Buizel and saw the satchel she had. Despite the few stuff she may have, she had to make her mark on this town.

She slithered onto her belly and watched this Buizel with cautious and greedy eyes. She can tell this Pokemon wasn't male, so her mist won't do shit. Although, she can always lure someone with her overpowering scent. She climbed up a tree, hid herself with her leaves and started to excrete a bit of her pheromonal aphrodisiac. This should get someone to her. It began to mist up slightly at the ground. The scent could be detected from the treeline, but no one can see it unless they walked in.

 

[ToshiThenAgain]

Liz started to look tired as she got up from the fountain. "I'm hungry. I might have some berries left from the trip, but I'm stripped of food last time I checked..." Almost as soon as she said that, a whiff of something good, something sweet. "Mmmm, maybe there is some good food nearby I could get." She picked up her stuff and walked in the direction of the food. A tree seemed to be the source of the smell as Liz walked up to it. She could barely see due to her being so tired. "What is this smell?"

 

[Rex]

It was starting to get pretty busy, all things considered. Adam had attempted to talk about something, but he'd been twice interupted and now trailed off completely. The others had been entirely silent since they'd joined the Gallade and Buizel at the table, too. Their little island of silence in the otherwise lively common room was starting to get oppressive. It was beginning to look like it was up to him to speak up, much as he didn't relish the opportunity. He did actually have an idea, of sorts, so long as no one pushed him to reveal where he'd heard it from.

"Right, well, I guess I'll start," the Buizel said, before taking a brief moment to gather his thoughts, "Across the mountains and deep in the desert, there used to be this thriving oasis community. The cornerstone of this community was a place called the Musaeum. Scholarly sorts gathered there to further the collective knowledge of Pokemonkind, and dedicated that work to a set of nine Legendary Pokemon they called the Muses. But the community eventually grew too large, and the oasis was run dry, so the place had to be abandoned, and the scholars scattered across the world."

"This was centuries ago, mind you, but it's said that the knowledge collected there, and lost when it was abandoned, was so advanced that it would make even our modern age seem woefully out of date," he wondered if he should take a moment to explain the mechanics of how such a place came to be abandoned in the first place. Maybe he should have mentioned that earlier? Storytelling wasn't exactly his forte. "It was too far out into the desert for any Pokemon attempting to collect and return anything of value without the oasis to replenish their supplies, and eventually the shifting sands of the desert buried the old trails."

He made a sort of vague gesture, tracing a circle in the air with his paw, "Anyway, word from the sky has it that the aquifer that used to feed that oasis is full again, and the whole place is in bloom. The community that grew up around it, including the musaeum, has been largely preserved by the desert, only partially buried and a bit overgrown near the water's edge. There might not be much of material value there, but I'm sure any remaining knowledge would be valuable to certain scholars."

Dustin actually knew about the place thanks to Flying Type Pokemon associated with his father's gang, who specifically weren't interested in the ruin explicitly because of the lack of immediate wealth to pump out of it. He figured they wouldn't mind if he lead a bunch of Treasure Hunters there instead, so long as he didn't blunder into his father's territory while crossing the mountains. As much as that whole group was his extended family, they couldn't overlook a gaggle of treasure hunters trudging through their turf. It would make them look weak.

The Buizel picked up another berry chunk, and waved it towards the rest of the group, "So I figure we could consider checking it out, if the rest of you don't have any ideas." And with that he popped the berry into his mouth, signalling his contribution to story time was over.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Amethyst smirked as she waited for the Buizel to get in close. That was when she attacked. A wave of poison escaped her as it went straight for Liz. The Sludge Wave was slow though, as Amethyst hadn't warmed herself up for it. Hopefully, Liz didn't actually see her. She was ready to grab Liz, but judging by her stance, she wouldn't be able to grab the Buizel if the Buizel moved so far as an inch.

 

[ToshiThenAgain]

Liz suddenly heard a noise from above her. She looked up to see a wave of sludge coming at her. She reacted quickly and sprung back from the tree using Quick Attack. She luckily dodged the Sludge Wave before it got to her but it seemed to get her a bit. She fell to the ground after losing her stance and dropped her bag to the ground. She looked up in the tree to see a slight figure she could not yet see. "Hey! Who's there?" She tried to get back up but was too tired and a little too injured to do much.

 

[Red Gallade]

Adam nodded at Dustin's explanation behind a potential place of treasure. "That sounds interesting, unless anyone else has any other ideas, do you know which direction this place is in?" The Gallade asked before he took a bite of his food. "I was about to explain that a friend of mine told me of treasure somewhere at the bottom of the Agate Lake that a team of aquatic Pokemon left behind. Or we could see if we can find any more treasure troves somewhere in the Crystal Forest, but hey gotta hear the other teammates ideas as well before we officially take off." He added as he looked between Tiara and Haylee before he blinked and turned his head to the door. "Did anyone hear something?" He asked before he took another bite of his food, unsure if the sound outside was anything serious or not.

 

[Zixal]

Maz and the rest of Flanks were listening to Mib quietly, each with a different thought in their head. After a second, Maz glanced back at Zod, then barked a short command.

"Zod, check our inventory for seeds."

Zod immediately yanked out their bag and began digging through it Maz didn't say what for, but he did look back at Mib while Zod was searching.

"Beauty doesn't mean anything to any of us, Fingerguns. What matters is what you do, and if this Salazzle is a bandit that's causing havoc, then she deserves what's coming to her. If you get wind that she's anywhere in Ruby Town, we would be glad to-"

Maz then immediately turned his head towards the door, Cod doing the same beside him. The rest of Flanks took a moment to do the same, Zod poking his head out of the bag.

"-help. Hm. Maybe we might get to anyway." Maz mumbled, hopping out of his chair and turning around to face the rest.

"ATTEN-HUT!" He shouted, and the rest of Flanks immediately hopped from their chairs and formed a perfect rank in front of Maz.

"SINGLE FILE!" Came his next command, and they followed it immediately, forming a single-file line directly on Maz, who made a perfect about-face towards the door of the Loopy Lopunny.

"FORWARD, MARCH!"

They started forward as one unit, marching in time with each other. Their steps came in rhythmic thumps as they hustled out of the front door of the inn, as Maz glanced around to see what was going on, what caused the ruckus they heard.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mib also heard something and he followed Flanks, confused as to who it could be. Although, he had a feeling it was the lady Salazzle he was talking about. He walked alongside Flanks and he went along inside the treeline before recoiling back. That scent.

"It's her! It's her scent! Be careful not to breathe it in!" He got his finger guns ready and pointed up at the trees. Knowing her, she'd be hiding where she had the advantage. He looked to a Buizel near a puddle of ooze. "Are you okay? Where is she?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh..... Oh no.... The Buizel didn't get hit and now she had gathered together quite the group. She looked down at the Buizel, then looked over at the general direction of the Loopy Lopunny Inn. A Falinks left the inn while an Inteleon followed them and found her scent cloud. She used her tail and little scaly whips on her back to fan the scent towards them.

Mib got another whiff and tried his hardest not to be overcome with infatuation. He crouched down and looked away, covering his nose as he concentrated on staying awake. His mind was fogging up. He looked over at the treeline, pointed his finger at the branches, saw one bit of her, and used Snipe Shot. A powerful jet of water left his finger as it traveled and nailed the Salazzle on her back.

Hissing in slight pain from being buffeted by a sharp jet of water. She looked down at the Buizel, then looked back at the advancing forces, and left through the trees immediately. She ran through the trees with such acrobatic agility that it was almost impossible to track her movements.

Mib knew she was gone. He relaxed and stood back up. "It was her. What was she doing here?"

 

[Zixal]

The line of soldiers had marched their way forward, seemingly undaunted by the aroma. Though the sweet scent was indeed sickeningly sweet, the pheromones had little to no effect on Flanks, who was, by nature, genderless. Instead, the soldiers marched up, speeding towards the brush with their eyes dead locked on the location of the Salazzle, up until she dove from the area and scrambled off through the trees. Though Maz considered following her, he wasn't in the mood to waste energy plowing through the foliage.

"HALT!" He shouted, and the entire line came to a sudden, unanimous stop, without so much as running into each other. Each one glanced around to keep an eye on their surroundings, making sure they wouldn't be crept up on. Maz glanced over at Mib and the Buizel, acknowledging them.

"Are you both unharmed? It looks like she tried to ambush someone but made too much of a scene. Foolish maneuver to make, in the middle of town." He declared with a huff, momentarily glancing around again. Each member of the team looked about ready to spring into action again, even Zod and Jod at the back, the former of which seemed nervous, and the latter completely unenthusiastic. Pod was eagerly tapping his feet, waiting to move again, Nod was calmly scanning the area, and Cod was standing at attention behind Maz, glancing in the opposite direction of wherever Maz looked to make sure they were maximizing their peripheral vision.

 

[ToshiThenAgain]

Liz looked around herself quickly to try to get a grasp of what was going on. She stood up and looked at the group that has come to help her. "I don't know.. I don't think I am.." She looked around herself and only saw a small scrape from when she fell to the ground. "I'm fine. But what just happened here? I just arrived in town today and this is the first thing that has happened to me, is it safe here?" She looked calm now, but she was talking in just a normal questioning way. "Thank you either way for coming, I can't handle myself in dangerous situations, so you helped out greatly." She bowed.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mib walked over to the Buizel and then looked up at the trees where the Salazzle was there. He answered her question, looking at her. "Well, Ruby Town is one of the safer towns you'll ever find yourself in. There are way too many treasure hunters and mercenaries for a bandit to ever get near her without getting caught, especially if they are as infamous as that one," he pointed towards her general direction. "Anyway, glad you aren't hurt. You can stay at the Loopy Lopunny Inn. It's pretty darn safe in there."

He looked over at Maz. "She's long gone. She won't be making that mistake again. Although, it wouldn't be a bad idea to be on the alert for a bit."

Meanwhile, Amethyst was running as fast as her legs could take her. That was so stupid of her. How could she do that to herself? But that Buizel looked so defenseless. She should have known the dangers of such a town, though. Stupid Salazzle.

She made her way to her little hideout, which was underground accessed via a tunnel system. Hopefully, no one knows this place existed.