(Consider yourself present for all events that are occurring. Commenting on events other than your own is completely optional, but feel free to collaborate and interact.)

@Rune_Alchemist

You set out onto the dirt road with your companions, ignoring the trainers and their efforts for the moment. Your mind was set on expanding your team, and only a rare Pokémon would do. The Xatu that were mentioned would be an excellent, exotic addition to your roster. You noted plenty of Rattata and Caterpie being battled, most not standing a chance against a trainer’s Pokémon. Red beams from empty Poké Balls buzzed constantly, and cheers from the younger kids were a constant. You took steps forward, and these sounds became quieter, less noticeable, more so background noise to your goals.

As you advanced farther from your home, you noted there were fewer trainers about. Most that you saw were travelling in groups, and of all age groups, though most were just kids. They came from all over Huji to become trainers, strapped backs filled with necessities and trinkets from all over the region. Traffic into the town had dwindled to the occasional passerby, as the sun began to fade from the apex of the bright blue sky.

Your eyes were sharp, and Sneasel’s were sharper. Deep into your travels on the route, where the road became less established and the trees grew closer together, your eye was caught. Three marks on a tree, parallel to each other. You knew there were other Pokémon that could’ve made this etching, but this might be your best chance at the moment.

Following your Sneasel and gut instinct, you discovered a disorganized but readable trail through the tree trunks. A scratch here, a mark there, you were being led in a certain direction where woods grew thicker and flowers bloomed incessantly. The dirt road had been forgotten here. Surely, this was wild. In viridian orchard you stumbled forward into a line of trees. And past them, an open glade. Tufts of dandelion and orchid bloomed from random spots. Open sky revealed cotton clouds and beams of the afternoon sun, gleaming as heaven onto the enlightened area.

And yet there were no Xatu. You were sure you’d followed the trail correctly, so what was the explanation? From the opposite side of the field, a younger trainer sprinted into action. He was chasing a Wurmple, the rambunctious specimen just evading his hands. There was a Poké Ball attached to the boy’s belt, but he didn’t seem keen on using it anytime soon. Between the trees on the opposite side of the glade, you could see the dirt path of Route 1 laying triumphantly. You'd gone in a giant circle. The words of Ficus’ assistant replayed in your head:

“Here’s the catch: Xatu have too strong of foresight to be caught by another trainer. They can predict where a trainer will be standing hours before. So they have to come to you. But with all of these people on the route, there’s no way they’ll be drawn out.”

And a question kept pestering you. Was the trail a hint, or a red herring? Was it some other species of Pokémon? And what kind of Pokémon leaves a trail anyway?

@Lasrever

You set out onto the dirt road with your companions, ignoring the trainers and their efforts for the moment. Your mind was set on expanding your team, or at least gaining some minor battle experience by battling a wild Pokémon. And from the looks of it, there were plenty to go around. You noted plenty of Rattata and Caterpie being battled, most not standing a chance against a trainer’s Pokémon. Red beams from empty Poké Balls buzzed constantly, and cheers from the younger kids were a constant. You took steps forward, and these sounds became quieter, less noticeable, more so background noise to your goals.

As you advanced farther from your home, you noted there were fewer trainers about. Most that you saw were travelling in groups, and of all age groups, though most were just kids. They came from all over Huji to become trainers, strapped backs filled with necessities and trinkets from all over the region. Traffic into the town had dwindled to the occasional passerby, as the sun began to fade from the apex of the bright blue sky.

Upon a curve in the dirt road, mixed with stone, tall grass lined the edges of your path. Even the most novice of trainers were aware that tall grass carried an abundance of Pokémon. You found that this was your best chance to catch a Pokémon on the route, where trainers weren’t too common and plantlife thrived. Before you could enter the tall grass, though, you noticed a rustling at the edge of the blades. A small bird hopped from the maze of grass, looking directly downward at the dirt road.

“Pidg. Pidgey!”

The Pidgey was a bit smaller than normal Pidgey, but it made up for it in attitude. It began to stomp its talons and flap its wings to create a miniature dust storm in front of it. Small insects and critters began to creep from the ground, skittering from their holes and dashing for the sides of the road. The Pidgey was quick to hop after them, capturing the delicious morsels in its beak. Currently, the Pidgey’s back was to you, and wasn’t made aware of your approach.

Derrik Sculler

Location: Argentglade

Pokemon Team:
None

Inventory:
-1 potion
-500 pokedollars

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The wooden planks creaked like a field of scurrying mice caused by the heavy footsteps thundering all along the deck; orders barked by the captain cracked through the peaceful quiet. Everywhere, the crewmen bustled about frantically to prepare for docking with the destination straight ahead.

Excitement was practically spilling over the railings, overflowing and to no surprise with them having been out on the sea for nearly three weeks. Being deprived of land for so long had left the travelers anxious, the unfortunate few seasick. Only minutes away before arriving as the crew scrambled to prepare for docking while cabin boys charged down along the rooms to alert the passengers to head out to the deck to be ready to depart.

A certain sailor rushed down along the upper left railings with a bundle of rope when a protrusion nearly tripped the man causing him to stumble forward. Barely catching his balance; a grumble as he turned, expecting an anchor or pile of rope left out and instead found a passenger crouched against the railings asleep. Astounded that anyone could be sleeping with all this racket booming around like enraged hornet and out in this freezing cold made it worse. A harsh thump of booted foot kicking the sleeping stranger's leg startled him awake though, what reaction he let out was hidden by the hat covering his face.

"Are ya loony daft?! What ya doin sleeping out here with it freezing to high hell?!"The sailor barked out in confusion and apprehension, his breath misting heavily from nearly shouting.

A drawling yawn was his reply as Derrik slowly sat up, lifting the hat, revealing his half bandaged face with only the left eye visible. His skin a slight tan that used to be darker, but leaving his heavily sunny homeland already affected him. If one were to look closely, they would see faded scars and scratches running all along his arms and even his face or at least the half that's visible. One could say there wasn't a part of his flesh that didn't have some kind of injury that let others know this man has been in quite a many roughhousing with some unknown beasts. The iris of his single eye; bright green that exhumed strength and yet, mixed with a warming kindness and a small gentle smile that just gave off a soothing effect for even the gruff sailor's anger ebbed away somewhat.

Pulling his hat up to give a quick scratch at his head of black hair as he let another yawn slip past his lips.'Ah sorry bout that mate. Hearin that we'd be arriving soon an..'A single snowflake drifted onto his nose and the realization of the cold finally hit him and noticed the thin trail of mist as he spoke. His eye went wide with glee and burst off the floor in a near frenzy; making his way to the front of the boat, where he saw Argentglade in all its wintry glory.

The sailor forgotten for Derrik was mystified at the sight of the snow gently drifting everywhere and reached out a hand to catch a flake where he got to see it melt instantly against his warm palm.'Crikey!'He turned his head to the right, seeming as if he was looking at something.'We haven't even docked and already experienced something new. Now where I'm from, its hot like a sauna all year long so we don't get snow. Course I've read books on snow and always wanted to see it for myself.'Turning his head forward to take in the snowy winterland then lifted his right arm and let out a gasp.'Ah look! goosebumps all along me arms showing my body's reactin to the cold...whooooo.'Excitement was pumping furiously in his veins, even bouncing on his feet against the railings.

As the man rambled on, the sailor stood dumbfounded after seeing this passenger talking to himself, but it was that peculiar thick accent of his which made it a bit difficult to fully understand what he said."Hmph...foreigners."A brief shake of the head then the sailor went off to finish his task.

Ten minutes passed till the ship finally docked; passengers streamed off the boat in droves though Derrik would be one of the last to get off with him busy enjoying the view of the snow draped village. So engrossed in the admiration that the freezing chill didn't bother him and it took the loud hum of a ship horn to snap him out of the daze.'Right, time to be on our way.'Turning back to go grab his backpack; large and completely packed full with clothes, camping gear and other various items a traveler couldn't go without and hoisted it up onto his back with a heavy grunt.

Reaching the end of the plank, where he would soon take his first step into the Huji region and eager to form countless new memories and bonds. Taking a deep breath of the crisp, chilly air and let out a slow exhale then extended his left leg forward, setting it down; the instance it all begins as the soft snow crunched beneath his foot. A strange tingle ran up his spine from hearing the gentle crunch as if whispering into his ear and slowly his head turned to scan the village.

Even with it freezing and everything covered in glaring whiteness, he saw such life in the villagers. He worried the people might be cold and distant like the surrounding atmosphere, but quickly found he was wrong after seeing the faces of the people who gave off an inviting vibe. Just standing there and already he felt welcomed.

A welcoming sight of kind, warmly visitors and diamond sparkling snow for as far as the the eye can see off to the horizon. This breathtaking scenery was one he needed to record and started fumbling in his pack and pockets to procure a notebook and pen, using it to jot down his very first experience with both Argentglade and snow.'Right and now..where to?'Mumbling as he scoured through the notes before finding the one on professor Evergreen.'Ah there we are. Boy are we excited!'Clamping the book shut with a sigh, slipping the book back in his pack then gripped the straps and started forward only to have his first incident with ice.

Next thing the aussie knew he was falling forward, having lost his footing from a slip of the ice and weighed down by his heavy backpack had slammed face first hard to the ground.

At the moment he lie there sprawled on the wet, icy ground as if unconscious when a twitch of his hands let those looking that he was awake. A weak groan muffled out before his arms slid along the ground; planted down to lift the upper part of his body up, revealing streams of blood flooding from his snow blanketed face, pushing until he sat upright. Opening his left eye and looked down at the red stained ice and burst out into laughter.'A right good punch it was. Good one on ya there ice.'Patting the icy floor, making sure not to underestimate ice again and grabbed his hat which had fallen off from the fall and propped himself up back onto his feet.'I'm all good, no need for worries!'Calling out to let the villagers know there was no problem, course that accent along with a bloody nose making his voice nasally made it all but impossible to understand him. He placed his fingers against his nose causing him to wince, but luckily he found it simply dislocated and quickly pressed down to push it back in place with a crack.'WOOOHOOHOHOOHO!!'Screaming out as waves of pain shot through him, white sparkles flashing in his eye, whether it was the snow or the pain, was impossible to tell.

With his sore nose taken care of and a rag from the pack stoppering the blood; venturing off after placing the hat back on his head. He wanted nothing more than to explore and meet the people for introductions and hear their stories, but finding the professor came first. Not knowing his way around, the tanned male went about asking directions to Evergreen's and was treated with respectful hospitality and went on his way after thanking them.

Thinking he might have a difficult time finding the place, that is until he saw the crowd of fur coated individuals, who he guessed were the researchers the villagers mentioned in his passing.

Curious of what was going on and made his way to the back when one such researcher had turned to him, asking if he could help with the door.'Sure, can't see the harm in that.'He didn't really get the situation, but clearly it was important to get the door open and carefully wedged his way through the crowd.'Sorry bout that...scuse me there mate.'Several more apologies and thanks and he was through; met with a heavy metal door which just by looking could tell, brute strength ain't budging it.

Still, didn't mean he couldn't try something and leaned back to let his pack drop to the ground with a heavy thump.'Don't mind watching my bag do ya? Yah thanks.'A nod and grin at the nearest researcher; not waiting for a reply as he stepped towards the door and placed a hand against the cold, hard surface and gave a weak shove to test its sturdiness. It showed no sign of budging as expected and knew they could all shove against it all day and it wouldn't move an inch, plus he had no idea if this door was even meant to move inward or up like one of them mechanical doors he read about.'Hm..let us get a good proper look shall we?'Speaking again as if talking to someone as he tapped at various spots of the door in search of any possible weakness, even ran his hands along the sides, inspecting just about every inch.

@Morose@hatakekuro@PlatinumSkink

The congregate mass of Pokémon and plant life was ever growing, raging through the battlefield. The Frankenstein ball was nearly eight feet in diameter now. It only increased in speed as it picked up dew, web, grass, flowers, the wind, and unfortunate Pokémon caught in the way. Purrloin swiped and clawed as she may, but the movement of the ball was too disorienting. She couldn’t even tell herself from the mass anymore, and likely hurt herself in the process.

Scratch is confused?

The monstrous rollout made its way toward the other Pokémon, now capable of swallowing entire trainers into its nature’s gullet. Jane, as if on a whim, opened her eyes wide. She silently jumped to her feet and recalled Oddish, who had leapt to his feet much the same. The Jr. Trainer scattered for her well being so as to avoid being eaten. Her black, polished shoes picked up dirt and grass stains as she hustled across the ridge of a steep hill beside her. One the ball was headed towards.

Given Mara’s quick command, Espurr was able to evade the Indiana Jones ripoff, but Yanma was less fortunate. Throwing its entire might at the ball, the ball accepted its offering and absorbed it into the continuum. Word of the great ball of Dewmeadow might spread as a folktale, told around campfires for years to come. They’d say it was twenty feet tall and ate ten Pokémon before it was stopped. Some might believe it. Some would wave it off as exaggeration for effect. Most though, most were there that day. They’d silently nod in rhythm with crackling fire and quiet cricket.

With Purrloin, Yanma, and Mareep in tow, the ball took to the hill and gained even more speed. Gravity took over as the ball moved so fast, all of its contents became indistinguishable in a blob of green and brown color. The Lass hoofed behind it, not nearly as quick as the monster. Though, she too risked becoming the same if she were to trip in this mess of String Shot, plants, and dirt.

“Waaaade! This is all your fault!”

Wade hadn’t heard, as he was checking the many pockets on his shorts for whatever reason.

An unstoppable force is only challenged by an immovable object. A large oak had stood valiant in the village for as long as you could remember. Its massive trunk and wild branches were so thick, some believed it were the combination of many trees that forged together by some sort of miracle of nature. And it stood at the bottom of battle’s hill, and it alone could stop the ball before it wreaked havoc on the town. A sound akin to an explosion of grass resonated through the meadow. Grass, dirt, and Pokémon alike were scattered about the painted wood of the oak. The Pokémon were all in strange and contorted positions, with swirling pupils, indicating they had fainted. Whether it was the ride down or the final impact, you couldn’t tell.



Despite the double knockout, Kira had managed to dodge the unorthodox attack, and all Pokémon on the other team had fainted. Therefore, the victory went to Dogwood’s trio!

~ROWAN, MARA, AND SUZUKI ARE VICTORIOUS!~

@hatakekuro

~YOU EARNED 200 P!~

~LULU GREW TO LEVEL 7!~

~LULU LEARNED QUICK ATTACK!~

@PlatinumSkink

~YOU EARNED 200 P!~

~PURRLOIN GREW TO LEVEL 7!~

~PURRLOIN LEARNED ASSIST!~

@Morose

~YOU EARNED 200 P!~

~KIRA GREW TO LEVEL 7!~

@Whimsley @samreaper



Garret sauntered down the cobblestone way, joyfully bundled against the cold in scarf, coat and sweater. The snow floated against his face in an attempt to bother him, but could not worry an Argentglade local. For a moment it flurried harder, as if it especially desired Garret's acknowledgement. Garret smiled, and pushed on down the way, the snowy plains rolling before him.

He had attended Evergreen's Givings--that's what he called it, unofficially--before and witnessed the happy connections between new trainers and their pokémon. Well, mostly happy. Last year there had been a particularly disagreeable Growlithe not keen on going with his new trainer, which Professor Evergreen said was, "Passing unusual!" because of the loyal reputation held by Growlithe-kind. Professor Evergreen offered to give the girl a different pokémon, but the young, perfumed girl in a purple dress proved as stubborn as the Growlithe and flatly refused to give it back.

Garret found himself suddenly fearing a similar scenario for himself. He allowed himself to fear for a moment, and then forced the feeling to pass, focusing now instead on the sturdy smell of hot potato soup wafting from the cottages along the cobblestones. Garret almost stepped up to the door of Mrs. Willfire's cottage. She would tell him, "Garret, I've just been to see your dear mother!" with a swing of her curled hair, left and right to show him his mother's work. He would thank her for her kind words, she would invite him in for a bowl of her Potatofire Soup, and they both would gossip together about his mother's other clients while Mrs. Willfire carefully dipped iron bowls of soup into the furnace-y back of her Torkoal.

"Thank you, Torkoal dearest. You're a wonder."

"TorK!" he would forcefully reply. Torkoal and Garret both loved Mrs. Willfire.

But Garret had already experienced that, on many another day, and today was not such a day. He reached down to tighten the straps on his gray winter boots, steeled himself against the allure of the soup, and hurried past the cottage lest Mrs. Willfire should come out and beckon him over. He surely would not be able to resist. At the quicker pace the contents in his backpack made some noise shifting about. Garret resolved to repack it better, later.

He picked up pace as he neared the lab and started to hear the ambient cries of a crowd. The furcoats were gathered around Evergreen's doorway, making a racket about getting it open. Garret rolled his eyes. What to make of the furcoats? They always seemed too busy, in his opinion. Rushing about here and there, hardly appreciating the beauty of the land they came to study. Garret befriended one furcoat who didn't seem to be in so much haste as the others, and sure enough he admitted to feeling a bit out of place among the other researchers.

Nearing the group, he saw that much of the crowd had backed up as a boy in a strange hat inspected the doorway. He was running his hands along the closed doors and muttering to himself. Garret hadn't seen a hat quite like that before and moved closer, intrigued. A few members of the crowd turned around--no doubt tipped off by the sound of his footsteps and the smell of his cologne--and waved their greetings.

Promptly they began to pepper him with questions; Garret responded as quickly as possible, "No, no I haven't seen Professor Evergreen. I don't have the key. I don't have a crowbar. Has anyone gone to look for her?" He realized that some of them were readying themselves to beat down the door.

"If you put even a single dent into Evergreen's beauteous, shining door I will personally see you don't get a pokémon!!" he threatened suddenly, knowing he likely didn't have such authority with Professor Evergreen. But it was a nice door and it deserved a chance to live. "She'll probably be here soon, just calm down. Calm down," he said to himself as much as the group. Garret pulled off his beanie and stuffed it into his pack.

Professor Evergreen was probably just gathering pokémon for the day. Garret hoped she was okay. "Instead of tearing down her property, perhaps we should organize a search for her, no? Let's divide up the places she could be, split up, check them, and meet back here," Garret proposed.

Havoc lost sight of Rook briefly when the steam erupted. He narrowed his gaze and kept composure, willing to see what else unfolded, however his expression quickly turned from scrutiny to shock as Rook was blasted back with a welp. Havoc darted to Rook, sliding into a stoop.

"Rook!" he called earnestly to his first pokemon before bringing out his pokedex one more time.

"FIRE TYPE - EXPRESSED WEAKNESSES: WATER, GROUND, ROCK." Havoc marvelled. <Elemental cycles - Maybe this pokemon battling thing wasn't so farfetched after all,> he thought in a blink. He looked down at Rook, wheezing on his side.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I- It's alright. You've done well, you don't need-" began Havoc. Rook struggled to his feet and breath an ember at the mist. Havoc became quiet, understanding that Rook still had the fight in him. Havoc dipped a hand into his backpack and rummaged for his potion before feeding it to Rook. "Okay. He has the advantage but it looks like we drew the short straw. We don't have to beat him, but we do need to keep him busy. His poliwag likes water and his first move was to spray water everywhere. We have to out last him no matter what. We can use the steam..." Havoc squeezed his nose twice and pointed into the mist in Broseidon's general direction. Rook began to sniff for the sent of the poliwag. "Keep up the embers, but 'be on the move'," explained Havoc, getting to his feet and making a bounding jump backwards to show Rook what he meant. He then gestured at Rook to come towards him. Rook imitated Havoc, jumping sideways towards Havoc while firing a warning shot, so he was moving parallel to the fired shot. Havoc smiled and patted his rejuvenated Houndour.
"Nice. Remember - minimum pitter patter in the water. Let him guess in the mist, wind him up." surmised Havoc before pointing back into the mist. Rook barked before charging back in. He stopped once he was back in the fray. He sniffed a couple of times into the air, trying to get a scent of the poliwag. He turned to face the poliwag and did a strafing jump, firing an ember mid-jump like he just practiced.

---

Location: S.S.Expedition

Current Team:

Rook the Houndour¦Status: N/A¦Level: 5

Inventory: Pokedollars (500), Palm Pokedex, Palm Ball (1)

Well, this guy has now mocked my Poochyena, she thought, hopefully this can't get any worse.

She looked over at the Houndour and Poliwag match up. It wasn't going the best for the Houndour. Fire and water, that could end badly, she thought. She looked to the otherside at Budew and Magikarp. Magikarp was causing a bunch of water to go everywhere by splashing around.

So that's why the area is soaking wet, plus with Poliwag spraying water everywhere, Budew has the upper hand in that fight. Well at least one of us is having good luck. Now if only I could hit this Machop.

The sailor was trying to scare her. The fact that his own little roar was in sync with her own Poochyena didn't help either. It startled her Pokémon. Now the guy was about to attack the Pokémon, she had to do something! This guy's Machop could take out her Poochyena in one hit if it didn't move out of the way. This could all be over in seconds. There were different directions it could move, up, left, right, forward, and backwards. This was getting a little stressful for her.

Alright, think, what way should he move. Straight up would do more damage than good, and forward is out of the question. What direction would help me the most?

It came to her, she needed to get Poochyena around her opponent quickly, besides jumping over it. Going backwards wouldn't help her complete that goal, so that left only two directions that it could jump to, left or right. There was still the problem of the Machop changing direction so it would still hit, but there was nothing else she could do.

Well, might as well go in the right direction. I can't believe I just made a bad joke, she thought. Her younger brother and his friends used to do that. Guess I've been hanging around them to much.

"Poochyena, jump to the right and try to dodge his attack!" she called out to her Pokémon.



Location: Gleampier
Team

LEVEL: 5 ABILITY: QUICK FEET
MOVES: TACKLE, HOWL

Bag:
Palm Pokédex
Potion x1
Palm Ball x1
500 P (Pokédollars)

Mara Scelus

Kira hopped onto Mara’s shoulder just in time, and the wind rustled her purple-black hair backwards as the mob of pokemon rolled by. She couldn’t tell where the yanma stopped and the mareep began—they all merged together, held with the unnatural string shot. Gasping, she watched as they were headed straight for the oak! Uneasily, she glanced at Kira. She felt like there was something she was supposed to do—after all, Yasha had saved Kira, shouldn’t she at least attempt to save Lulu?

Alas, it was too late. The large ball collided, and the pokemon ball fell apart. A mess of string shot and pokemon were littered on the ground, neither of them daring to move.

“Did I… win?” Mara whispered, completely stunned.

”Espurr! Espurr! Espuuurrr!” Kira shouted, bouncing up and down in joy. He attempted to growl a bit, trying to look dangerous and scary. The only person he might have shocked would have been Professor Dogwood. Mara giggled a bit at his attempt at being manly and tough, but she was more dazzled when she received 200P for winning!

It was more money than she had ever gotten at one time! The 500P that she brought with her on the trip had accumulated after careful saving—and here, 200P, just like that! Money wasn’t the most valuable thing to her, but she couldn’t help but feel elated, looking at the financial freedom. She wouldn’t be one of the trainers sleeping in the bushes after all!

”Kira, good job!” Mara praised, smiling widely. Her attention, then, went back to the fainted pokemon. She supposed that she ought to do something to help—it was only proper, right?

”Do you think we should rest your pokemon for the night? Give them a potion, perhaps? I’m sure either would suffice….” She suggested, looking at both Yasha and Rowan in turn.

She hadn’t the faintest idea what to do with a fainted pokemon—hopefully one of them knew what to do.

---

Location: Dewmeadow, Outside Dogwood’s Lab
Current Team:

• Kira the Espurr
  
  Status: N/A
  Level: 7

Inventory: Potion (1), Pokedollars (700), Dogwood Pokedex, Dogwood Ball (1)

@samreaper

Even past his facemask, Derrik could tell the furcoat was flabbergasted at the notion that he should just watch a random gentleman’s bag. Bursts of cool mist erupted from the furcoat’s mouth. Despite the warm nature of the Argentglade folk, the furcoats were often curt and did not offer help unless it benefitted them. It was an unfortunate circumstance of doing anything in the name of science. To be famous was often to be ruthless. They were here to investigate the unorthodox climate of the town. So far, this particular researcher’s team had yielded higher precipitation levels in February at specific coordinates to the North-North-West of town! Why, he was a high ranking researcher on the matter! Why should he have to watch the bag? The heavy sack collided with the ground. Some snow covered the researcher’s boots from the impact. Fuming, he went to tap Derrik on the shoulder, but the foreigner was well on his way. In retaliation, the scientist scattered some snow onto Derrik’s pack with a sliding shift of his boot.

You approached the steel door with the intent to find some weaknesses. A tap here, a knock there, each produced an echo like the other. From what you could tell in your knowledge of metallurgy and door crafting, this door was solid. Too solid, perhaps. You figured an explosion might not even budge the think. The lab, in itself, was a formidable bunker. It had a minimum amount of windows, and you figured they were thick and made of some reinforced material. The white concrete surrounding the steel door blended in with the wintry mix, and was likely as strong as the door, if not stronger. It was sealed tight, you were sure of it.

“Alright, enough tapping! More bashing!” A furcoat yelled.

@Turbine

“Are you sure about that crowbar?” One of the residents said. He was in surprisingly skimpy clothing for the climate, just a white wife beater and blue-green shorts that almost looked like boxers. With his frazzled grey hair, it almost looked like he had just chosen to roll from his bed to the lab this morning.

“Why, if I just had some sort of tool, I’d get it open in no time!”

You ignored the strange man’s affirmations of his strength for the moment. Instead, you chose to approach the situation at the front of the crowd. The burliest of the researchers were stretching their arms and winding their shoulders. They were gearing up to take on the mightiest obstacle of all: a door. After some deliberation, it was the most logical consensus, after all. Nobody could argue with numbers.

Your exclamation to the gathering of people held a mix of reactions. Nearly all of the young trainers-to-be gasped in reaction to not getting a Pokémon. Without question, the backed away from the door and began acting their best behavior. Some even crowded the researchers preparing to knock down the door, pulling on their arctic gear and pleading them to stop. The older trainers not from around here raised their eyebrows, wondering who this skinny guy was fuming the place up with cologne and ordering them around. Those from Argentglade respected Garret’s imposing request; finally, someone might knock some sense into the furcoats. Well, or try to.

Most of the furcoats just laughed, chuckled, and chortled.

“Ha-ah ha! Move out of the way little boy!”

“Ohhh nooo! Not my precious Pokémon!”

“And how do you know about Evergreen’s location? Do you have proof of her exact GPS coordinates?”

They waved him off, not believing his story. Evergreen had to be in the building, it was the annual day of research training, of course! And, to your possible surprise, the row of windows at the top of the laboratory actually illuminated. The crowd cheered in anticipation. Most of the furcoats grumbled of inefficiency and cold winds. Others grabbed the bridges of their noses and told them to stop complaining. The worst furcoats were the loudest, and most vocal.

@Turbine@samreaper

A series of shifts and clicks could be heard from inside. Metal bars and bolts unwound in a metallic puzzle for detach the seemingly infinite locks from their holding place. Finally, and after a red aura beamed around the doorframe, the steel door swung inward to reveal the laboratory.

A luke-warm breeze unruffled your hair as you stood in front of the doorway. Somehow, a constant temperature of wind invited you into the building. Before you was a lady, and incredibly young at that. You wouldn’t be surprised if the two of you were the same age. She had sky blue hair that cascaded as water onto her shoulders. She wore a black vest overtop a standard white dress shirt. Around her neck was a ribbon red ascot, tied with an intricate knot. Her curious eyes were just a shade darker than her hair, like an icicle crashing onto a frozen lake. She sat in a futuristic-looking wheel chair, with handles, switches, and bars littering the exterior. The chair adjusted itself to face directly towards you.



Professor Evergreen frowned with her teeth showing, as if she were taking in a deep breath of air. Her eyebrows slanted upward and her oval pupils dilated.

“Sorry! Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry…”

You swore she said it fifty times before she chose to stop, heaving in a deep revival of breath.

“I was caught up in my research, the night just flew by, I was just on the verge, I almost…”

She was distraught for words. A furcoat with his hood down chose to speak up neck, thick brown mustache dancing as he spoke.

“You insignificant, incompetent girl! How could you have not noticed we were out here? We’re freezing!”

Evergreen’s face turned instantly from worry to scorn. Her eyebrows screeched downward in rival speed of a diving Pidgeot. And just as quickly, they soared to their normal position. The furcoat had struck a chord, but it appeared Evergreen had the last laugh. She recognized the particular researcher by the color of his tan coat and blue facemask. Her elbow planted into the arm of her wheelchair and her cheek rested softly onto a closed fist.

“How could you have not noticed your doctoral thesis is statistically insignificant?” she retorted. You swore lightning could have struck her eye from the glint it produced.

“M-…wha-“ the furcoat fell backward, and two compatriots caught him before he slammed into the snow. They fanned him with thick, woolen gloves. They assured him they’d run the numbers right and muttered that they would triple-check the data. Somehow, you felt you just witnessed the death of an academic career.

Satisfied, her smirked turned into a smile as her icicle eyes approached your own.

“Again, I am deeply sorry. I promise I am a capable employer. Would you please come in?”

Rowan Branchers

_____

Dewmeadow, Outside Dogwood's Lab

Rowan stood, stunned and pretty much dazed from not knowing what he should do in the situation at hand. Studying had prepared him for any status-effect and any type match-up, yet it had completely and utterly failed to prepare him for this. Purrloin and the rest of them were rolling on, their wills meaning nothing before the rolling ball of String Shot... How did that Caterpie even contain that much web!?

“Rowan, let me know if you… need anything…” Mara stated awkwardly, continuing to watch the frenzy. “I’m sure purrloin will be fine….”

'Ah... Yeah... Thanks...' Rowan replied, equally awkwardly. He couldn't really imagine anything Kira could help with right now, though. Getting out of the way was the right choice, as Lulu demonstrated moments later. Rowan started lightly jogging after the ball, keeping up with it before it exploded into the old oak. For a moment, Rowan was afraid the oak would have been torn down by the ball, THAT would have upset quite a few residents of Dewmeadow. But, as it was, it caused the ball to explode, and...

'Purrloin!' Rowan shouted out and ran, picking up his fainted Pokemon. Purrloin lay down in his arms, her eyes spinning and limbs helplessly and powerlessly clawing at the air above it as Rowan lifted it

'Pu-uuu-uurrrrr... looooiin...' Purrloin made an odd weakened noise where it lay, causing Rowan to breathe out in relief. She's still alive, thank Arceus.

'… You did well, Purrloin. Good job.' Rowan told his Pokémon, daring to smile a bit. Though, there was the matter of being distracted like that, but Rowan was going to forgive his weakened Pokémon for it, he'd just inform her about it later. Yeah. That'd do.

”Do you think we should rest your pokemon for the night? Give them a potion, perhaps? I’m sure either would suffice….” She suggested, looking at both Yasha and Rowan in turn.

'Y-yeah, we should probably take our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to be healed. Or, maybe even Dogwood has a place for that. In any case.' Rowan would then turn to the kids they had just battled, and smiled happily.

'That was a good battle! Thank you very much!' He'd tell them, before bowing a little before them. It felt important to him to show respect towards them, too. 'And of course, you two did well, too!' He said, to Mara and Kira as well as to Yasha and Lulu. 'This was a great first battle! Really taught a lesson of that anything can happen! Haha!' Rowan laughed happily, absent-mindedly stroking the furr of his fainted Purrloin, who was fainted in his arms...

________


Key Items: Dogwood Pokédex
Items: 1 Potion, 1 Dogwood Ball
682 P

Kaz didn't put up much resistance when he was faced with the injection. He would have swatted at Bruce if he had the energy, though. The poor little feline was close to fainting, and could barely manage to shift his paws on the table. Fortunately, the antidote took full effect in just a few minutes, and Kaz was back to his old self. The little Meowth hopped off the table and padded towards Tesh as quickly as he could, no longer keeping several paced behind him. Instead, he stood at his trainer's side. Tesh looked down and smiled, but Kaz refused to exchange the expression. He looked away, aloof, as if he were embarrassed by his earlier actions.

Tesh was about to follow after Abigail and Lynn, more out of coincidence than anything, when he was almost assailed by a stream of snot. Eugh, he'd hoped that they wouldn't cross paths with that well of mucus again. He quickly paced past him, looking away. Kaz didn't bother looking up, knowing that if he stalled for even a moment, there was a chance that his fur would become matted with snot.

Tesh quickly caught up to Lynn and Abigail, although he almost wished he hadn't. Part of him was eager to stick around these two dunder-heads, though. Something told him that living the solo path was unwise. Sure, he was smart, but his knowledge and intelligence couldn't make up for the fact that his pokemon was untrained, or the fact that he only had one. Kaz padded ahead of Tesh and looked up at him briefly, fully aware of the uncertainty in his trainer's eyes. As soon as his trainer returned to glance, Kaz looked away again. What a stubborn little Meowth! Tesh snapped his neck towards Abigail when she asked about their intentions. Lynn responded first, trailing away on a likely fruitless hunt for Xatu. Feh, good luck with that.

"The common pokemon around here don't really interest me at all. I'm going to use this opportunity to train Kaz," Tesh responded, keeping his eyes peeled for any spirited wild pokemon. The stronger one always offered a more challenging experience. Kaz was raring to go as well. What kind of pokemon were there around here, besides pidgey and Rattata?

---

The route was pretty busy. There were loads of Caterpies and Rattatas, but Abigail wasn't really interested in going after them. Besides, there were so many young trainers around, and she didn't want to mess up someone else's battle by accident. She skipped around, eagerly searching for a Pokemon to battle. Most of the ones she could see just didn't catch her attention at all, and what was the point in going for a partner that she didn't want to join with?

"Oh, tall grass! That's where you're supposed to find all the Pokemon, right?" she muttered as they came to the curve in the path. It was way quieter over here. Most of the younger trainers must've got caught up in battling right outside Redorchard, huh? Most of the people that had gone this far looked a bit older than most of the people here. Abigail was probably about the same age as a lot of them, even if she looked a bit younger than most of them.

Abigail was about to head into the tall grass when she noticed the Pidgey. She stopped and watched it for a second, a smile spreading across her face as she saw the Pokemon at work. Sure, it seemed a little small, but it was totally determined and strong! Kinda like Abigail was, too! Yeah, this was the right one, for sure!

She turned and looked at her companions, who seemed to be getting ready to do the stuff they'd decided on. "Hey, me and Waffles are gonna take some time, okay? You guys can go ahead. Don't miss me too much!" she laughed cheerfully, then looked at her Deerling with a smile. "You ready, Waffles?" in response, her Pokemon nodded, raising his head proudly into the air.

Sure, maybe she could launch a sneak attack, but that didn't feel right to Abigail. After all, she needed to see if the Pidgey was as tough as it seemed. Besides, it didn't seem like a Pokemon who would listen if she just caught it by being all sneaky. If someone came and caught her in a ball without even warning her first, Abigail knew that she'd be really really mad about it!

Instead of sneaking up on the Pidgey, Abigail called out a challenge. "Hey, Pidgey! I bet you can't take down Waffles and me easy!" as she called out, she pointed towards the bird Pokemon, and Waffles stood facing it, ready to battle. She raised her Pokedex, looking at the Pidgey.

"Pidgey's a flying type, right?" she thought back to their earlier battle, when Waffles had been hit by that Peck attack. She wasn't gonna let something silly like that happen again. Popping a boiled sweet into her mouth, she put on her most serious face. If she wasn't, well, Abigail, it might have been intimidating. But she was, and it wasn't. "Okay, get on the dirt path and use Camouflage, Waffles!"

If she was right, this'd turn his type to ground. That way, if Pidgey had flying attacks, they wouldn't be super-effective any more. No way was she letting herself need help for this one! This time, her and Waffles were gonna win all on their own, and get this Pidgey to be part of the team!

---

Pokedollars: 700

@turbine @whimsley

Derrik sculler

Pokemon team:
-N/A

Inventory:
-1 potion
-500 pokedollars

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He searched every nook and cranny and found nary a trace of weakness or hidden switches. The inspection further proved it impossible to open the door without a key and decided it best to leave it there, or at least he would if not for the crowd of researchers behind him getting antsy and showing signs of a wild mob.

Turning with the intent to try and calm them down; instead came to face a well groomed male who gave off the overwhelming scent of cologne. So much that it almost made him sneeze with a tickle in his rag stuffed nose, which, thankfully dulled the encroaching aroma threatening to choke him. This guy seemed to be a guy who cared too much about his appearance, but that warning to the crowd about depriving them of pokemon certainly took guts.'Got to like the cut of his gib right?'

Unfortunately that threat didn't last long; already the researchers were getting riled up again, looking about ready to charge the door like an enraged beast.' Now enough of that! Ain't no need to get rough, but if need be then this one will settle it.' Having to just about shout at the top of his lungs due to his voice being nasally and a crack of knuckles causing the trained muscles of his arms to flex.

Violence, the last thing he wanted to resort to, but a wild mob rampaging left unchecked was far worse. The metallic click and whoosh of air brushing against his back had thankfully put an quick end to that thought.

The loud ramblings of the impatient crowd went silent as Derrik turned to find a young lady in a highly advanced wheelchair. Surprise at the sight; her endless string of sorry was rather cute and seeing she seemed distraught, thought to comfort her. Only to be cut off by a particular researcher who outright insulted her while dancing like a buffoon. Of all the things he had been taught; an especially important one being to never disrespect woman and couldn't let it go and planned to retort and again beaten to the punch and by Miss Evergreen at that.

Getting a first hand view of her banter, where everyone got to see the blowhard get knocked off his feet. He couldn't help but burst out into laughter.'Really gave that dipstick a what for she did. Good on ya handlin that bounce, lass.' Shaking his head with a wide grin as he walked over to his bag to find snow had been kicked onto it, but it bothered him none and after dusting off the snow had hoisted it up onto his back.

Derrik started to turn back to the lab, though it still didn't fit right in his gut and turned, instead to the fur coated prick and pointed a finger at him.' Know I ain't got no beef with ya...but disrespect a lady like that in front of me again and..well I'd have ta give ya a hard pop square on the mug o yours, no offense mind. Ya have a good day.'It was odd telling someone a warning in such a kind manner and followed by a brief wave then he headed off towards the open doorway.

Stopping just before the professor to give a tap of his hat.' Miss Evergreen, lovely day it is.' A nod of his head then walked in; curious of what sights awaited him in this laboratory.

The foreigner that had been inspecting the door began shouting nasally, overpowering the sound of the crowd even through a rag in his nose. He claimed no need to get rough but began to flex his muscles threateningly. The boy wanted a fight, clearly. He already had a bloody nose and a rag, probably from a prior fight this morning. It was so early in the day it must have been a fight over breakfast. Best not to get on the wrong side of this one. No, best not to get on any side of him--Garret wouldn't be likely to see him again after they got their pokémon anyway.

The tensity hung in the air, empowered by competing emotions in the crowd of fear, thrill, anger, hope. Whatever happened next was going to be painful or embarrassing for one or more people. Thankfully, the door chose that precarious moment to open. Garret let out a sigh in relief, the cold smoke of his breath streaming momentarily in the air before him.

Garret marveled as the door machinery clicked and swiveled. He wondered for a moment if Professor Evergreen cleaned the door herself, or if someone else did. Or was it somehow stainless? Did it require maintenance? It was in prime condition even against the elements of Argentglade, which included snow storms and research riots alike.

The contraption opened fully to reveal Professor Evergreen, her chair as spotless as her door. She apologized profusely about fifty times before a rude furcoat insulted her. It made Garret angry to see her the target--she was better than all of them, pokédexes down. Garret was surprised when she fired back at the furcoat with a wicked accuracy. Did all researchers care so much about the statistical significance of their data, and Evergreen observed that, or had she zeroed in on a more personal vulnerability? Whichever it was, the researcher seemed to have fainted. No longer able to battle.

"Delcatty's claws, you've got bite," Garret smiled. He rushed forward to give her a quick but knowing hug, careful to avoid hitting the controls on her chair. A week had gone by since he saw her last. Did she know his own insecurities so well? For now it did not matter. He backed up to avoid crowding her and to give her room to address the group. She was stunning. Dressed to perfection. She had talent, ice, and fashion; all she needed was a bit more poise to pull it all together.

Embarrassed at his thoughts, Garret refocused. The rag-nosed foreigner was politely threatening the offending furcoat. "...have ta give ya a hard pop square on the mug o yours," The boy seemed to still be looking for a fight, but the furcoat already appeared to be defeated. At least the boy was on Evergreen's side; Evergreen deserved more friends than enemies. She was enabling young trainers to follow their dreams and to see the world. The boy tipped his hat and walked in. Garret followed.

Garret had accompanied his sister here when she received her own pokémon and set out as a trainer over a year ago. Anethyst and her Meditite could be anywhere now; she wasn't much for sending messages or updates on her progress. He would make sure to message Mama Beleau to make up for that.

"How exciting! What breakthrough are you on the verge of?" Garret half-whispered to Evergreen as the rest of the group crowded inside. He looked around, appreciating the lab.

@Xan the G

“Come on Broseidon! One more Water Gun and that Houndour’s crushed!”

Each of you could hear the pitter patter of a curious Poliwag, attempting to use its other senses to locate the weakened Houndour. Water sloshed to and fro within the mist, an echo difficult to locate. The Poliwag stopped moving. Or, the sound of its footsteps quit making noise. There was a deep pause as the cloud took in a heavy breath.

Rook was the first to strike, sending Embers into the unknown mist and strafing directly after, just as instructed. With each conjuration off flame, smog was added into the mix of steam. The thick, white cloud became one more akin to a storm. Grey, furling edges turned into each other as the battle raged from within.

Just following the leap of Rook, a powerful stream of water surged toward the Pokémon, but would always miss. It appeared Poliwag was aiming for the position the Houndour was previously in, but was unable to detect that he was moving in a strafing pattern. This cycle continued, the fireballs going into the thickening cloud and given little response. All that could be heard was the frustrated cries of Poliwag, and all that could be hoped was that the Embers were making contact.

“Poliwag! Poliwag! Poliwag!”

Gushes of water continued to follow the roars of the tadpole Pokémon. After some time of this, Rook was caught off-guard by a particular torrent nearly broadsiding him. Was it luck, or was the Poliwag catching onto your movements? A cry from Chuck broke your wandering thoughts.

“That’s it Broseidon! Just keep them coming at random! We’ll hit him eventually!”

@BlueSky44

The brown-haired sailor continued to point and taunt as he flexed his excellent muscles. The shine in his eye and smirk in his grin hinted that he believed the match was already over. He flicked his bangs to the side with the swipe of a hand. He stood tall, chest puffed out, hands upon his hips. Buck stood at an angle relative to you, as if he were posing for an art studio. The Machop did the same, the two imitating each other in their flaunting.

“Alright Brohammed Ali, you know how this goes. Show Poochyena just how much we lift!”

A droplet of water fell from the flick of his sleeved wrist. As it collided with the wet floor and created a fractal system of rings, the flare shot off in Machop’s head. It charged slowly, gaining its footing. Then faster, at pace, a jog into a sprint. It could be equated to the sight of a small steam train revving its engines and hollering to sky above railroad. A mighty trunk of a leg came swinging downward in the position that Poochyena was in.

And it was met with air.

Thanks to Poochyena’s jump, the Machop’s Low Kick was incapable of meeting it. Now the Machop’s back was to Poochyena, and the Pokémon was wide open to attack. How quick would the beefy Machop be able to counter, though?

@Eklispe

And so Budew continued to grow in size, increasing his offensive stats significantly over the course of the move. Perhaps it was overkill on the splashing Magikarp, but it was wise not to underestimate one’s opponent. And the effects of Growth would persist through the battle, so perhaps it would come in handy if Budew was to battle the other Pokémon. You weren’t sure if the water had any effect on its growth, but it surely wasn’t halting the increasing size of the Pokémon.

Puck scratched the scruff of his curly, red beard. His eyes squinted, appearing deep in thought. He watched the battle intently. Was he waiting for something to happen, or an idea to pop into his head? He waited nonetheless, watching Budew grow in size. His movements unvaried save for the occasional eyebrow raise.

Finally, during Budew’s second stage of growth, the sailor issued a command.

“Brometheus. Start circling the Budew!”

Heeding to its master’s command, the scaled death machine began swerving as a top on its side. Using the accumulated water to reduce friction, it began to circle the growing Budew as a shark to prey. The Magikarp itself became a circular blend of gold and red, incomprehensible in its parts. The living top came closer and closer to Budew as if it were rolling down a slight, suspenseful slope.

“Bro, this speed’s unmatched!”

From the corner of your eye, you noted a torrent of water approaching Budew’s location. It must’ve come from the cloud of steam surrounding Havoc’s battle. The Magikarp seemed to cover every direction on the ground where the Budew could run. Was Budew quick enough to dodge the scales of wrath, or was his trainer quick enough to think of a different solution?

That bro was right. Vuduin spent a moment chewing on his lip as he pondered the situation. The Magikarp was fast, far too fast for him to trust Budew's ability to hit it. It was because of the water everywhere. Hmm. The water! It had gotten here because of that Poliwag, but without the water the Magikarp would be a sitting duck right? Plus wouldn't getting rid of the water help out Houndour as well? "Budew! I want you to use Absorb on the stream of water, then use it on all the water around Magikarp!" A perfect solution! Assuming of course Budew could absorb that much water. But if he could it would solve everything. Even if it didn't work, what he did absorb would probably still heal Budew and give Vuduin enough time to think of another strategy. After all, heroes always came up with clever solution to problems and persevered. This was so much fun!

---

Wow, that actually worked.

The Machop was turned around, this was the perfect time to strike. If Poochyena hit, then he wouldn't be laughing so much at her poor little Pokémon. Alright, what do I do now? Machop is turned around and Poochyena is in a good position. Well, Poochyena only knows two different moves, and I already used Howl to raise its attack. That only leaves one thing to do.

"Poochyena, run up behind it and use Tackle!" she shouted to the Pokémon.

If this works, that would be great. If Machop dodges, Poochyena would be vulnerable to an attack. I have to take that chance, there isn't anything else I can do.

She saw out of the corner of her eye the Poliwag causing some problems for the Houndour. On her other side, Vuduin's Budew was growing, and just kept on growing. It was a little weird that such a small Pokémon could grow that big, but it probably wasn't going to be the weirdest thing she'll see. Especially considering the fact that their is a Magikarp on the floor circling the Budew that is still growing.



Location: Gleampier
Team

LEVEL: 5 ABILITY: QUICK FEET
MOVES: TACKLE, HOWL

Bag:
Palm Pokédex
Potion x1
Palm Ball x1
500 P (Pokédollars)

~Lynn Haywood~

Well, at first she thought the search was going fairly well. Quill was able to find the markings fairly easily, thanks to her sharp eyesight. She was certain by the end of following this little trail, she'd have gotten herself a nice, rare Xatu. Well, she wasn't really looking to catch one really, just scan one with the pokedex thing so she could get herself a nice little sum of money. That was her goal here, after all. Money. Catching one would just be a bonus, if she could. So she continued to walk, following the trail presumably left by Xatu.

She walked for quite a bit, but it was a fruitless endeavor. By the end of it, she had already burned through another cigarette and was wishing for the strongest vodka in all of Huji to drink. She had gone in one, giant, huge, goddamn circle. She kicked a rock into a nearby try, only for it to bounce off and smack her right in the forehead.

"Ugh goddamn it." She rubbed the spot where the rock hit her...she was definitely gonna have a bruise there. More importantly, where were the goddamn Xatu at? She was fairly certain that was them. She folded her arms impatiently against her chest and started thinking about what she could do. Quill was still happily sitting atop her shoulder, humming a happy little tune to herself. Apparently, she quite liked being able to ride on Lynn's shoulders.

"Any ideas Quill?" She asked her partner, only to receive a shrug in reply as the Sneasel went back to using her head as a makeshift drum, drumming to the tune of the beat playing on her headphones. Lynn sighed, turning her head towards the ground. Well...fuck the Xatu. Fine, if they wanted to play hard to get, she'd just have to play harder.

So, she first followed the trail again. This time, just to what seemed like the deepest part of the forest. If the Xatu didn't like noise, then they'd likely stay far away from the trainers as possible, right? And even if she didn't find a Xatu...well, there had to be something out here that was rare. Or at least another pokemon in general she could get her mitts on.

---

Rook got knocked back once again. The hit wasn't as direct as the last watergun thanks to the sporadic, nay random essence of the Poliwag's attack. Rook forced himself to his feet, once again trying to shake and shiver off the water. Just as he was about to dash back into the the mist, Havoc whistled, calling his attention. Havoc took a moment to glance at the Poliwag, firing relentlessly and guessing through the steam. Havoc pointed to the magikarp telling Rook to focus on the fish instead. Rook turned to the Magikarp, approaching it from the other side to Budew.

"Burn up what Budew doesn't absorb!" call Havoc confidently, after seeing that the sparks of Rook's ember were tough enough to turn the majority of the Poliwag's watergun to steam. He figured time was against them to be able to bully the magikarp while the Poliwag was duped in the mist.

---

Location: S.S.Expedition

Current Team:

Rook the Houndour¦Status: N/A¦Level: 5

Inventory: Pokedollars (500), Palm Pokedex, Palm Ball (1)

(Consider yourself present for all events that are occurring. Commenting on events other than your own is completely optional, but feel free to collaborate and interact.)

@Rune_Alchemist

(Normally, it’s one encounter per times entering the route, but I’m still working out the kinks. I can’t just have you wait while I respond to tex and las. So, I’ll give you this additional encounter since it’s the best solution I can come up with at the moment.)

You wandered deeper into the forest, where shadows could very well become transfixed into other things with imagination. Though, the sun shone too powerfully for the effect to be overwhelming. Scattered beams of light still managed to find their way through the canopy and onto the forest floor. There was plenty of light to see, but did you know where you were going? Scattered marks on trees hinted at faint Xatu activity, but there was little pattern to be had. It appeared the trail had gone cold. Wandering, you checked shrubs and taller blades of grass in search of any Pokémon at this point.

Then you spotted it, between two solar spots: a Pancham. The Playful Pokémon was leaning against a tree, staring up into the leaves above it. It was completely unaware of your presence, and hadn’t heard your footsteps despite crunching leaves underfoot. Also, if you knew anything about Pancham, they often carried leaves in their mouth as their trademark. This particular specimen was… chewing on an acorn stem. The acorn was still there, but for whatever reason the panda-like Pokémon had taken to the holster of the nut as its teeth rolled the stem. It stayed there, big, snarling teeth only intimidating to… well, nobody, really.

@tex

Your intent to train set you off in the direction of wild Pokémon. Though that was usually reserved if one wished to capture Pokémon, it wasn’t unheard of to try and battle wild Pokémon for experience. Though, most would learn more from a battle with a trainer, even if they themselves weren’t very good at battling. A wild Pokémon had no trainer to command it, and could only be so intelligent in its combat maneuvers. It relied on pure instinct, rather than the attentive eye of a battler. Despite this, your missive was known and determined.

You hadn’t taken very many steps along the dirt road before a rustling from a nearby shrub caught your attention. Bursting from the green encagement, an average-looking Zigzagoon burst forth from the foliage.

“Zig! Zigzagooooooon!”

It wasn’t eye-catching, but the sucker had spunk. It bounced on its front paws repeatedly, as if it were to pounce at any moments. Zany eyes somehow watched your own and Kaz’s at the same time. Rearing up on its hind legs, the Pokémon scuffled in the dirt and showed you it was prepared for a fight.
--

~ZIGZAGOON WANTS TO BATTLE!~

The Zigzagoon was reared to go, but it appeared that Kaz still had the initiative to strike.

@Lasrever

Your Pokédex lit up after inputting the Scan command. A flash of a faint blue beam of light appeared, capturing the Pidgey as a picture might. Data began streaming across the twilight black screen.

~PIDGEY. THE TINY BIRD POKéMON. IT IS DOCILE AND PREFERS TO AVOID CONFLICT. IF DISTURBED, HOWEVER, IT CAN FEROCIOUSLY STRIKE BACK~

~ACQUIRED 100 P FOR ENTRY: PIDGEY!~

The Pidgey finished swallowing its latest prey before Abigail began yelling her challenge. The Pokémon puffed out its chest in response, strutting side to side and kicking up loose grains of dirt with its sharp talons. Unfurling its wings, Pidgey strut from side to side, head bobbing up and down. When it had reached the edge of the dirt path, it performed a quick 180º spin with a flap of its wings. Then, again, it strut down the path in the same manner. All of the insects had scattered at this point, leaving Pidgey and Deerling to face off between the tall grass.
--

~PIDGEY WANTS TO BATTLE!~

Waffles blended in with the terrain, his green and white hide now a caramel color. Large, black pupils were the only way to separate the Pokémon from the dirt path. Pidgey cocked its head in every which way, looking in the direction where Deerling had “vanished”. Unable to locate the Pokémon, the Pidgey took more interest into the only thing it could see. With a few hops and a gust of its wings, Pidgey soared above Deerling and landed on the shoulder of Abigail. It appeared intrigued by the candy she had just put into her mouth. The tiny bird Pokémon cooed, lightly pecking at Abigail’s cheek in order to attain the sweet, to no avail. This did not stop it from trying, though.

@samreaper

Evergreen placed a finger on the side of her lips, crooking the end and leaning into it as Derrik spoke. Her pupils wandered to the upper right corner of her cornea, and she seemed to be muttering under her breath. Her eyelids rose quickly and she cocked her head, a grin growing on her face.

“I’m snowed under, but I can still handle these dills.”

Her pointed finger traversed to her cheekbone as it tapped lightly. Her eyes were coy and tongue in cheek. She gazed into your eye and bandage to gauge a reaction. Had she spoken correctly? Or, perhaps, there was an error or a skip in her accent that only a native might detect.

“Autrio, right? It’s a shame we don’t get more literature from your region, but I’ve read all I can.”

She placed both of her palms face down onto her skirted lap, closing her eyes and smiling widely. She bowed her head down in response to Derrik’s introduction. The wind being blown from the room ruffled her hair in a playful sort of way. Her head rose and she shifted in place and her wheelchair began to turn, as if by non-physical command.

“Well, I suppose. It doesn’t change all very much in Argentglade. But the snow is always beautiful.”

The thick-mustached fellow who had previously insulted Evergreen awoke from his stupor, gathering his senses and flailing about. He adjusted his thick-framed glasses and hoisted his pants. Muttering some incoherent babbling, the round fellow was just about to saunter away when Derrik addressed him. At the mention of violence, the man’s face grew pale as silvery diamonds. He fell backward, the back of his palm on his forehead, but gravity took him too quickly this time. An indentation of snow furcoat was created in the Earth as his assistants attempted to dig him from the snow with their woolen hands.

@Turbine

“My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will break.”

She paused, as if in memory, clasping her hands together in a sphere and resting upon it. She had not a look of pain nor happiness, but of neutral intent. Her momentary glimpse to the floor was soon interrupted, holding out her sleeved arms and expressing her glee in an open smile.

“But, never mind that, Garret it’s so wonderful to see you again! You will have to thank your mother for me for this beautiful outfit. I love it.”

She embraced you all the same, reciprocating your hug. She smelled of a subtle perfume that had not been known to Garret. It was pure, simple, yet intoxicating and alluring. It sent your conscience to happier times, your vision fading to memories. Evergreen had turned in her chair, and motioned you further into the lab with a wave of her hand.

“Well…”

Her neck craned over the back of her chair to check how closely the crowd had approached. Her voice was just as quiet as yours, if not more so.

“There is a pattern in the density, shape, and molecular composition of ice crystals in Argentglade. None of the researchers have noticed it. Studying wind currents, if certain ice crystals were aligned to their source of origin…”

Before she continued, a researcher in fur coat was fast upon the door, quickly treading snow about the interior of the lab. The frozen material quickly turned to liquid and evaporated, thanks to some overhead vents you’d just now noticed.

“Well, that’s a discussion for another time, hm?”

@Turbine @samreaper

You both marveled the interior of Evergreen’s lab. It was decorated as a modern, cozy home, but somehow also functioned as a lab. Wooden, polished tables and beige carpets were placed amongst stark white counters and glassware. Terminals, monitors, and switches covered the cream walls at about stomach level. There was a kitchen and a centrifuge room. There was a den and a microscopy lab. For every modern living element, there was a scientific one. You admired the design and how it all somehow mixed, despite how different the two were. The carpet quickly absorbed any liquids or chemicals that were spilled onto the floor. Any residual liquid quickly evaporated as powerful ceiling vents twisted their teeth and revealed themselves. They inhaled deeply before returning to their slumber, hidden in the off-white ceiling.

Elements and furniture of the interior seemed to be able to move itself if needed. If ever an object was in your way, it was able to shift along a horizontal or even vertical plane in some cases. Other, larger pieces were transfixed to a section of the wall. The wall was capable of flipping about, hiding the obstacle until it was no longer in your path. It appeared that nearly everything was made universally accessible within Evergreen’s lab. A system of drones flew precisely above you in all directions. They were each carrying supplies of varying quantities and qualities. There were few furcoats around, and none seemed to have any remote to control them with.

“They’re automatically piloted by my assistant, ERIC.”

Just after mentioning the name, a nearby black orb on the wall emitted a triangular, bright blue beam in front of you. It loaded a series of dots and lines. First, in the shape of feet, then legs, torso, arms, and finally a head. Before you stood a primitive outline of a man, bald and about six feet tall in stature. Weight unknown.

“IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.”



“He will be taking you into the terminal room. I'd do it myself, but it's a bit crowded at the moment... see you soon!”

Evergreen waved to the both of you once again before turning about in her chair. She appeared to be greeting those who were entering at the door. She took extra care and time to meet the children and those who were younger. You could overhear her asking about their favorite Pokémon and what they wished to accomplish in the future.

“RIGHT THIS WAY, GENTLEMEN.”

The blue hologram was connected to the black sphere on the wall by a thin, wavering beam of light. The sphere shifted on the wall as ERIC began to walk, taking twists and turns through the modern home of a laboratory. You noticed several other trainers around you being led by clones of ERIC. It appeared that the intelligence system was not limited to just one appearance at a time, and was capable of communicating with multiple individuals. In addition, it appeared to be operating many of the automatic functions of the laboratory. ERIC could take orders and respond in real time, without any input or coding system required. You weren’t quite sure how it all worked, or how advanced ERIC really was in terms of conversation and answering questions.

ERIC led you into a room much like the populated counters, stark white but much more barren than the rest of the laboratory. This room was covered, floor and all, with large white tiles and black glass in-between. Being the first there, ERIC led the two of you into a back corner, motioning for each of you to face against one of the white tiles on the wall. Once you were in position, a light blue ring formed around you. It traversed your body once, twice, before fading as pixels in an explosion. The pixels reformed, piece by piece, to create letters on the white tile in front of you.

@Turbine

[REGISTER] Read on the screen, just above a thumb print. There was no turning back from here. Did you accept?

Assuming you accept...

Blue lines traversed the screen. In patterns, sporadically, dashing in their inconsistency. The cogs in the terminal whirred as the lasers performed their show, before they came to form words on the screen.

GARRET BELEAU

AGE: 16
SEX: M
HEIGHT: 6’ 0”
WEIGHT: …RECALIBRATING…

[IS THIS CORRECT?]
Assuming you pressed the button, after making any changes you wished...

CALCULATING...

First, a hex grid of wireframe. Black in the inside, green as the structure, a Poké Ball formed in a pocket below the screen, held by a sort of basic upholder apparatus. A green laser, in the fashion of a 3D printer, began to bring the Pokéball to life. Layer by layer, the second dimension gained another perspective. First green, then a white bottom, a black, middle rim, a white button on the front, and finally the cherry red top. The button glowed a dark pink and hummed a synthetic tune before fading.

YOUR POKÉMON IS... VULPIX

[WILL YOU GIVE VULPIX A NAME?]

The screen asked you.

@samreaper

[REGISTER] Read on the screen, just above a thumb print. There was no turning back from here. Did you accept?

Assuming you accept...

Blue lines traversed the screen. In patterns, sporadically, dashing in their inconsistency. The cogs in the terminal whirred as the lasers performed their show, before they came to form words on the screen.

DERRIK SCULLER

AGE: 17
SEX: M
HEIGHT: 6’ 2”
WEIGHT: …RECALIBRATING…

[IS THIS CORRECT?]

Assuming you pressed the button, after making any changes you wished...

CALCULATING...

First, a hex grid of wireframe. Black in the inside, green as the structure, a Poké Ball formed in a pocket below the screen, held by a sort of basic upholder apparatus. A green laser, in the fashion of a 3D printer, began to bring the Pokéball to life. Layer by layer, the second dimension gained another perspective. First green, then a white bottom, a black, middle rim, a white button on the front, and finally the cherry red top. The button glowed a dark pink and hummed a synthetic tune before fading.

YOUR POKÉMON IS... GASTLY

[WILL YOU GIVE GASTLY A NAME?]

The screen asked you.