Eyes slowly managing to peel themselves open, Marlene found herself met with a harsh beam of sunlight shining through the trees directly into her face. She shifted, blocking out the sun as she scooted into a darker spot, groaning from the pain from her wound as well as the fact she was terribly tired. She had fallen asleep on Mudbray last night, but it hadn't been good sleep. He was laying a short distance away, seeming to have dropped her in the grass to let her rest as he laid there as a guard. Happily, the Mudbray stood up and trotted over, licking her face. That was one way to wake a girl up.

"D'aw, heya, bud." Marlene cooed, snuggling his head up to her chest as she rubbed her cheek against the top of his head, scratching his sides with both hands. "You okay, Bri? Ah'm sorry about all this, Ah really am.." She questioned her Pokemon, only to get licked again. If anything, her Mudbray was simply overjoyed that his trainer was alright. This warmed Marlene's hear beyond belief.

She squealed as a sudden wetness met her back; Head turning, she saw Dewpider cuddling up to her, as well. "You two saved me, ya did! Ah knew ah could count on you guys!" She cheered, happily. Despite being tired, Marlene was motivated for today; Her Pokemon giving her the energy she needed to stand up. She was limping due to her injury, but aside from that, she was alright for now. She was afraid of getting an infection however, so she noted it'd be ideal to continue ahead and try to find some sort of place to stop.

"C'mon, ya'll. We oughta get movin'." She said, Mudbray offering her some support, while Dewpider walked slow, in a tired manner. He didn't have the stamina that Mudbray did, and then it hit her; Everyone, including herself, was pretty hungry.

Stopping again not too far from her original spot, she plopped onto the ground and opened her bag; Pulling out an assortment of very basic berries for her Pokemon; THey were the kinds that served as simply nutritious food, rather than in-battle effective items. She laid out a meal's worth for them both, before digging into the first day of her rations. The three began to enjoy a simple meal together, as Marlene considered how the others were doing.

"Ah'm sure they're fine." She noted, unsure of how far Mudbray had taken her. Finding her at this point, especially after having retreated back out of the woods while she only went farther, made this task seem on the impossible end for Mable and Hiro. Despite their worries, Marlene was doing fine-- Or, well, at least okay. She was alive, for now.

She enjoyed teasing her Pokemon as they ate, the trio having a bit of fun this morning. Dewpider seemed especially happy to have gotten a meal served to him; Munching away like it was his last, much to Marlene's amusement.

Mable stared up at him and gently shook her head. "I hate to say this Hiro there's no way she's still nearby. We all have maps and I'm sure she wanted a head start. She's probably at the city by now with six pokemon and a gym badge." Mable stood happily kissing her three pokeballs. "You can keep looking for her, but I'm going to the city. When I see her I'll send you a post card"

Mable had faith in Marlene. Marlene wasn't some damsal in distress who needed a Hiro, she was a tough country girl with her own free spirit. Race on with wild horses my friend. I'll see you soon. Mable waited for hiro to follow for a few seconds before heading in the most direct path through the woods. The sun made the once scary leaves sparkle with fresh dew as Mable forged for berries with shinx looking for some her pokemon might like for breakfast.

"Err, Mable, Mokai doesn't have a gym system." Hiro sighed. "Well, whatever, be careful on your way. I'll probably see you there." Without another word, Hiro rushed into the forest again. Gods he was frustrated, he hadn't expected Mable to just leave them, but he didn't have the time or patience to persuade her. Once more sending out Buizel as a scout, Hiro managed to cover good distance before running into anything. When he did run into a pokémon, he could not be bothered to stop, and kept running, quickly leaving the pokémon behind him.

Eventually, Hiro found himself at the berry trees again. He was tired now though, his frustration had gotten him decently far in a relatively short time, but it couldn't keep him going forever. Exhausted, Hiro sat down against the tree he'd made his his outpost the previous day. When he sat down, he finally realized how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since yesterday. He carefully peeked around the tree, relieved to see the Bewear wasn't there. Digging up some rations from his bag, he fed his pokémon and then ate something himself. I should've gone to Imamu first... Regretting his choice of rushing in alone, Hiro decided he'd need a plan if he'd want to achieve anything. After several minutes of contemplating, Hiro decided to try looking at things from a new, higher perspective.

Having climbed into the tree Hiro could see quite a ways over the treetops. That should help him navigate at least, and he had enough rations for several days as well. "Maaaaaaaaarleeeeeeeeeennnnnneee!" Hiro called out from above the trees. His voice carried for quite a distance, as signaled by several bird pokémon flying up from there roosts all around him. Even if it wasn't a great plan, it was the only pllan he had, and he'd stick with it, climbing another tree and shouting again in hope of a response after roughly every half hour of walking.

---

Mable was now on her own again, as Hiro had once more run off and left her behind. Two roads opened up before her, she could either go through the forest or follow the road, which seemed to wind around the forest.

---

Marlene's pokémon seemed tired after their night of standing guard. They'd need to rest soon, even Mudbray, though he was it out for his trainer was getting tired. Pokémon needed sleep too, after all. Dewpider seemed fine however, albeit a little reluctant to walk on its own. It seems he slacked off while Mudbray kept guard. Wild pokémon were starting to wake up too, a sign of trouble to come...?

"Some of the dumbest rules I've ever heard..."

Keanza Mori was marching through the woods, wonder map gripped in one of his hands. He'd been thrown for a loop since getting here; Being told he couldn't heal his Pokemon, being told he had to travel, without the ability to heal his Pokemon, to some 'Capital' so he could become an 'official' trainer. He had a Pokemon in a Pokeball; That sounded like a trainer to him. At the very least that old man had been pretty useful; This map was clear on where he was going, and he had no intentions of stopping today.

He had noticed other people his age get off the boat; After that pathetic display called a tournament. That punk rich boy barely won with Type-Advantage; And that hick was stupid enough to think she could beat Grass with Ground. Not to mention that other girl; She lost to a water type. With an ELECTRIC TYPE. Those three were beyond bad; So bad, he puked into the water because of it! That wasn't seasickness at all; It was their fault.

"No matter," Mori thought, figuring he was ahead of them anyways. They went wandering off to the beach, while he ventured into the Forest, heading towards the Capital. He wished he could've seen the look on their faces when they couldn't heal their Pokemon after going and battling; Tch! Not checking just proved more that they were idiots. He was glad he hadn't had to mess with any of them.

Having taken the route through the forest due to wanting to move along faster, he knew it was more dangerous. But truly, he didn't really care. It was just an excuse to get tougher if trouble presented itself.

Much like the Pancham that rushed out from the woods, crying out as it attempted to strike Mori. He grunted in pain as it punched him in the leg, stumbling back a bit before pulling out Mankey's Pokeball and sending it out in a hurry. "Fury Swipes, don't show it any mercy!" He commanded, and his Pokemon sprung into action as the white glow faded and it's form became clear.

Mankey continuously clawed at Pancham, but the agile panda Pokemon continuously dodged, a smug look on it's face as it did so. After nearly backing off of the path, the Pancham leered, causing Mankey to freeze it place momentarily, long enough for Pancham to punch him in the face, sending him tumbling over.

"Low-Kick!" Mori commanded once more, irritated at Mankey.

Snapping out of it's momentary fear, Mankey went for a leg-sweep; Taking the Pancham down. Mankey quickly regained it's footing, but both Mankey and Mori were taken by surprise as the Pokemon began to mist away; Revealing an odd form, similarly to a fox. The Pokemon grinned, seeming to have taken the form of the Pancham to mess with Mori.

Mori's eyes widened, but only slightly as to not express a lot of enthusiasm. That could be useful." He deduced, before deciding that he'd catch it. "While it's down, continuously use your Fury Swipes, Mankey!"

Crying out, the Mankey lunged forward; Pinning the (apparent to the GM) Zorua down, and clawing at it multiple times. Cries escaped from the Pokemon as it was assaulted, attempting to struggle out of it and fight back, but to no avail as it was mercilessly pummeled into submission. Mankey continued to attack, seeming intent of making it faint.

"Mankey, that's enough!" Mori called, but it wasn't stopping. Slash, after slash, it continued to attack. It got to the point that Mori had no choice but to return Mankey, before running up to the Zorua, observing it's injuries as it laid there, whimpering from the countless scratches on it's body, some of them bleeding.

A momentary ping of shame washed over the young man.

"I'm sorry." He spoke, guilty in his mind. "I'm heading somewhere we can get you fixed up. Don't struggle with me." His voice wasn't exactly sweet, but he was being honest. Regardless of wanting to catch it, it needed help now; He wouldn't be using it until the Capital with it in this condition.

He pulled out a spare Pokeball, tapping it against the injured Zorua before letting the Pokeball drop to the ground. It was hurt, but possibly determined enough to escape. It was weak to the point leaving it was a bad idea if he wanted it to survive...

Mable smiled warmly taking the direct path through. It would all work out somehow. Mable might find Marlene or maybe Hiro would be her hero. Mable gathered berries with her shinx feeding her pokemon. Mable smiled after the breakfast traveling with Fletchling with her. The small bird had seen most of the area and helped Mable avoid a few pokemon lairs still keeping an eye out for a trace of Marlene. The morning air was still clean and crisp when Fletchling realized something was chasing them. Mable turned curious at the scuttling legs barely able to see the 2 Spinirak closing in on her.

Mable ran for it only getting a few more feet as the spinirak gained on her as Mable ran straight into there webs. Mable looked to fletchling gesturing to her belt "If you can, hit a pokeball we need help." Mable looked up to see two more spinirak hurrying down from above as Fletchling managed to release Shinx and Carvanar. Mable smiled "Carvanha bite through these webs. Fletchling and shinx use tackle on the two in front of us" Fletchling flew forward doing its best to dodge the poison stings as the Spinirak fired. Shinx and Carvanar quickly became poisoned.

Shinx and Fletchling hit the two infront sending them back. Shinx managing to faint hers. Mable smiled at them "Good work Shinx, Now Tackle Fletchling's spinirak and Carvanar use swift on the Spiniraks on the web." Mable watched the sea of stars fire out of Carvanar's mouth as the Spinirak attacked him again. The poison was spreading quickly and Mable returned Carvanar the minute the battle ended. Shinx tackled the last spinirak in much the same state. Mable returned her kissing the ball and glancing proudly at Fletchling. "Good girl now if we could only find some Pecha berries we'd be ready to make camp for lunch."

It took nearly an hour for Mable and Fletchling to find the bush. Mable smiled warmly having trailed to the wast to find the berries. Mable was happy to find the way forward was an enormous field full of flowers. The smell was absolute paradise, but Mable was careful to heal her poor sweet pokemon's poison before considering crossing. It was after all the best place to encounter bees. Maybe I should wait for hiro here, It looked like the forest might have this field in the middle. I think after lunch we'll circle the field to see if we can find a trace of Marlene. It might take an entire extra day though. ah well I have a 13 days rations and Marlene is worth the trouble. Mable sighed for now just enjoying the sights of the field of flowers between the forests.

Mori's Poké ball hit its mark without issues because its target was barely able to move. The Zorua turned out to be rather stubborn as it would not let itself be captured so easily. Zorua broke free!

---

Hiro's voice was hoarse and raspy from the repeated yelling by the time afternoon came to pass. Luckily, his shouting had served to scare most pokémon away, though there was one incident where he barely escaped from an angry fearow. If the bird hadn't been so large, it might've maneuvered between the trees more easily and Hiro might really have been in trouble, luckily this wasn't the case. As Hiro sat down against a tree to eat lunch with his team, he realized this wasn't working. Not only did he have close to no response with every call, but his throat was killing him. Perhaps this was a bad plan? Hiro thought to himself, his confidence starting to shake. What if Mable was right? Maybe Marlene had indeed made her way to the capital already and I'm just wasting time? Hiro sighed, continuing to ponder what to do as he silently ate his lunch.

Hiro made up his mind when his eyes met Petilil's. He couldn't go on like this. If he could make his way through the forest, then so could Marlene. She was strong after all, perhaps stronger than he was, too. Maybe it was arrogant of him to think he could help in the first place? Either way, I can't keep putting my Pokémon through this. Hiro decided and got up. He'd get out of the forest, make his way to the capital, register himself and heal his Pokémon. He'd just have to go back if Marlene still wouldn't be there.

With new vigor in his step, Hiro continued traveling north, to the capital. He kept up a good pace, despite his sore throat and shaken confidence. Soon enough, Hiro found himself outside of the forest, essentially having taken a shortcut by not walking around. In the distance he could already see another forest, which he decided to walk around after consulting his map.

As Hiro continued to traverse the grasslands to the capital, he noticed odd boulders to his right. Some of them were mainly just large and oddly shaped, others seemed to crackle with electricity. Hiro did not have a lot of time to wonder why this was, as the answer quickly revealed itself; a geodude...sort of? There was plenty of material for comparison as soon another one leapt up, followed by 3 normal geodudes. He'd run into a horde of geodudes!

Considering the typings, Hiro knew it was time to rely on his first partner; Petilil. Leading off with Absorb, the first (regular) Geodude was knocked out already, though the brunt of 3 Tackles was a lot for Petilil to take. The final (alolan) Geodude used Defense Curl, not dealing any damage. A well placed Absorb on the second (alolan) geodude dealt some good damage and recovered some of petilil's health, though this was quickly removed again by another two Tackles. One remaining geodude used Mud Sport, the other Defense Curl. With another Absorb, the (alolan) geodude went down, leaving 3. The regular Geodudes used Mud Sport and Tackle, as the last (alolan) Geodude Charged up electricity. Spamming Absorb as if it could solve all their problems, Petilil knocked out the third (regular) Geodude. The Geodudes tackled Petilil and she was on the brink of fainting.

Returning Petilil to her Luxury ball, Hiro switched to Buizel, which was greeted with a splash of dirt as the (regular) Geodude used Mud Sport again and the other (alolan) one once more Charged. Looking to settle things quickly so Buizel wouldn't have to suffer an electric attack, Hiro instructed Buizel to use Sonic Boom, but the Geodude hung on with sturdy! The (regular) Geodude used Defense Curl as the final (alolan) Geodude Tackled Buizel. With another Sonic Boom Buizel defeated the (alolan) Geodude, leaving only one (regular) Geodude remaining. The Geodude tackled Buizel again and called for help, but the battle ended there as it was knocked out by another Sonic Boom without any help arriving.

With the Geodudes defeated, but his Pokémon badly hurt, Hiro increased his pace. He'd really need to get to the capital fast.

---

Level Progress:
Petilil -> Lv7
Buizel -> Lv7
Carvanha -> Lv6
Fletchling -> Lv6

Special Notes:
@Raddum's old post with Marlene will still be in effect.
In short; She was attacked by an Ursaring, but saved by a stranger who lives in the woods.
Currently heading to said person's home.

"Stubborn...!" Mori gritted his teeth as the Zorua scrambled off, injured. Quickly Mori began to pursue it, not planning on letting the Pokemon escape. It was too injured to survive out here alone, and with the stamina it showed despite being so hurt... He wasn't going to give up on it that easily. He quickly stepped past the trees in his path, shuffling through bushes as he remained in hot pursuit; At least until the Zorua cried out, causing Mori to skid to a halt.

The Zorua was laying on the ground, twitching. It had seemingly tripped, though, as he approached he realized this wasn't the case. From around them, a bunch of hungry wild Pokemon were appearing; Bugs, mostly. It wasn't until Mori was close that he realized there was webbing around the Zorua's legs; It had been tripped and now it couldn't push itself back up. Giving the amount of bugs in the trees, he had two options. Fight it out, or run.

A mixture of both, a plan C, was devised.

"Mankey! Mimikyu!" Mori called, Pokemon being released. As the two appeared, Mankey was swinging it's fists and Mimikyu was studying the situation. Seeing the bugs, Mankey cried out, ready to rumble. Which was good, giving that they'd have to fight their way through. Mori dove down and snatched up the Zorua, some of the webbing sticking to him as he did so, though it wasn't strong enough for him to get stuck down there. with a command to follow, he began to run away, his Pokemon in tow.

Noticing a few different but small bugs lowering themselves from the trees, he sent Mankey to take action. "Climb into the trees and slash their web strings with your Fury Swipes!" Mori commanded, with his Mankey doing just that; It quickly climbed up a tree, hopping across the branches and cutting the webs of the bugs as it went along; Causing them to fall and smack against the ground. While Mankey did that, Mimikyu slammed it's body into the bugs, knocking them away as she progressed with Mori on the ground; This combined teamwork knocked the bugs in their path out of the way, for the most part; But wouldn't work as something a bit bigger appeared in front of them.

Mori and Mimikyu stopped as a Pinsir came out from behind some trees, it's, well, pincers clacked, as if it was ready to snap them in half. "Shit--" Mori swore, uncertain of what to do. The Pinsir, however, took action; It swung it's claw-created fist at Mimikyu, directly scoring a hit to it's face. The Pinsir grunted confidently, but it's eyes widened in confusion as the Mimikyu seemingly broke, half of it's body falling limp in one direction. It was her Disguise ability!

Mori decided the best course of action was to just try and barrel it down, with the opening they had. "Mimikyu, Astonish!"

Directly in front of the Pinsir, Mimikyu raised back up and let out a startling shout; One that even threw Mori a little off guard, as he wasn't used to it yet. At this, the Pinsir winced, taking a step back as it hadn't expected it. This was a good time to consult Mankey, who was sill up in the trees. "Mankey! Jump down and give it a good kick!"

Leaping from the branches, Mankey let out a war cry as it extended both of it's legs, arms raising into the air. The Pinsir glanced upwards, just in time for both feet to connect with it's face, the Mankey delivering a harsh blow, enough to knock it over, even. The Pinsir momentarily flailed, grabbing it's face due to the pain.

He wanted to catch it, but now wasn't the time. Mori quickly continued to run now that it was distracted by the pain, his two Pokemon beside him; They couldn't fight off the approaching swarm, so they made their way back to the main road and ran a fair distance up; Gasping for air by the end of it. Despite the fact they had gotten through without getting too hurt, they still had been running for awhile.

Wiping some sweat from his brow, Mori sighed, looking at the Zorua he held in one arm. It was breathing, he could tell that much. He decided not to try and waste a Pokeball on it, yet. He'd give it a little time to recover and take in the situation first. They needed to focus on getting to the Capital anyhow; Otherwise this poor Zorua would never get patched up.

He stopped momentarily, deciding to return his Pokemon. "You two did some decent work. Take a rest." He insisted, the two partners of his returning to their Pokeballs. He wasn't done for today; He had a lot of walking to do, and prepared to rush himself to the Capital as quickly as he could with this Zorua. It just needed to hang on; He'd get it some help as soon as he could...

Mable was happy to see in the far distance past her rest site a human or human like pokemon burst on to the field. Mable stood dusting her off "Sorry Car, but I'll need you to rest up it looks like these fields will be a haven for grass types." Mable returned her Carvanha walking eagerly with Shinx and Fletchling through the field filled with flowers. Mable smiled hurrying to see a yellow patch which darted about seeming to move to avoid her. Mable giggled excitedly realizing the pokemon were bellsprout chasing them playfully for a few minutes. The aroma was so fantastic Mable could barely focus on leaving. A small pansage seemed to cute her off suddenly. The pokemon to Mable seemed stronger then the bellsprouts stepping out confidently.

The pansage seemed to be a bit of a hired protector. Mable smiled kneeling highly curious of the symbiotic nature of some pokemon. Pansage lunged forward scratching her gently over her eye. Mable jumped backwards upset as Fletchling soared down using tackle to ram the Pansage into the air. "Sorry Fletchling curiosity got the better of me use quick attack!" In a blinding movement the small Fletchling shot down ramming the pansage back a few feet. The Pansage darted to the side using scratch again slowing down Fletchling as Mable stepped back. The young pansage stuck it's tongue out happily teasing Mable. Mable scowled slightly "Fletchling use tackle again" A few worried Bellsprouts appeared to be doubling back to save Pansage as it fainted. Mable blushed letting the pokemon drag Pansage away not wanting to bother them more.

Mable looked to a frightened Budew hiding behind a rock and an oddish guarding it. Mable sighed wanting to catch another ten pokemon, but better to wait. She'd clearly caused enough fear and anger here that the evolved forms might be coming soon. It was better to make herself scarce before then. Mable waved to the trainer fighting a group of rocks nearby before hurrying towards the place there paths would meet near the northern forest. "Great work Fletchling."

Done fighting the Geodudes, Hiro moved on again, not having seen Mable approach in the distance. He was annoyed now, his pokémon were injured, it was already starting to get dark and the capital wasn't even in sight yet. With groups of wild pokémon like the Geodudes' roaming around, he didn't exactly feel like sleeping out in the open either. Hiro skipped his evening meal to be able to keep moving, and kept his Pokémon in their balls to not further exhaust them.

Worse yet; it started raining. And not just any drizzle, a full tropical rain with large, heavy drops of water emerged from the clouds. The weather had been growing slowly cloudier, but a downpour like this would have seemed unlikely. Not only water came from the clouds, though. Several minutes after the initial drops of rain, a roaring bolt of thunder crashed from the sky, approximately striking to the northwest, clear and loud, despite looking far, far away.

When the sudden change of weather occured, Hiro cursed openly. with nowhere else to turn to, he rushed to the forest. He managed to get there relatively dryly, but was still peeved to find himself partially soaked. The trees provided some shelter from the rain, but not as much as Hiro'd like; there were still a good few drops landing on him. This was quite definitely not his day. As if to emphasize this, Hiro found a Weedle crawling up his leg. He managed to notice it in time and threw it off with a sharp kick off his leg. A quick check revealed he hadn't been stung yet, that was a relief, at least. After the checkup, the Weedle still sat there, not moving an inch. Worried he might have seriously hurt the little creature, Hiro waved his hand at it. Much to Hiro's relief, the Weedle recoiled and backed off a little, but otherwise kept staring. Unsure of what to do, Hiro grabbed a Poké ball and threw it at the Weedle. It broke free after the ball shook twice. When it did, it lunged at Hiro, seemingly frustrated. He managed to send out Bonsly, just in time to intercept the Poison Sting. Weedle managed to use another Poison Sting before Hiro could throw another poké ball. This time, the Weedle was caught!

A Weedle might not have been the most impressive addition to a team, but it was a little bright spot on an otherwise bad day.

---

The Zorua Mori's Mankey had wounded closed its eyes, starting to breath heavily. A close check would reveal it to just have fallen asleep. The rain wasn't helping either as it caused the temperature to drop, and with it; Zorua's body temperature.

---

Special Notes:
It is now RAINING. Fire-type moves are weakened, Water-type moves are strengthened. Roads will progressively turn muddy and traveling is unpleasant.

Level Progress:
Fletchling -> Lv7
Mankey -> Lv7

Mori gritted his teeth as the incoming storm began to make traveling harsh. While those back in the trees further behind him could seek shelter, the angry young man was running low on apparent options. He held the Zorua close to his chest, hunching over a bit in order to prevent the rain from hitting the poor Pokemon. Up ahead, Mori saw a sign. This felt reassuring; He must've been getting closer with one of those around. His feet slopped in the dirt that quickly began turning into mud, as he tried to read the sign quickly. It seemed like the map was correct; Or more so, his navigation was. There was somewhere up ahead... But he had a ways to go; And the storm wasn't going to stop for him.

He scoffed, annoyed. Just great. Where the hell was he supposed to find shelter around here? He figured the trees were big enough to maybe block off some of the water. But compared to the thick forest he wasn't getting much in the way of shelter around here; Oh well. He'd take what he could get. He stuffed himself under a couple of trees that were more closely together than the others around; Shivering whenever the cold rain managed to get through and hit him. Removing his scarf as he left the Zorua in his lap to rest, he quickly began to wrap it; Trying to ensure it'd stay warm. His Pokemon were in their Pokeballs; They were fine. But the little pain in the ass he was carrying around? Not so much.

Grumbling to himself after having wrapped the Zorua up, he kept it close, staring at the heavy storm with annoyance. His mouth was practically a straight line; He was close... But this stupid storm was a stupid delay he'd have to cope with. Figuring it was to get dark soon anyways, it seemed like it might be a good idea to crack out the rations and eat a meal. Though he waited to see if the storm would be passing over them within too long before he made plans to settle in; As if he could continue before it got too dark, that'd be ideal. The weather worked in mysterious ways, however...

Mable stared out over the fields as rain started. The torrent was thrilling, but frightening returning her poor fletchling instead of forcing it to battle the storm. Mable saw the water bothering a few of the smaller bug pokemon. Mable had caused these poor pokemon enough trouble it was time to lend a hand. She ran quickly offering to carry a few pokemon into the shade of the forest. Mable's ankles were coated in mud as she spotted the few pokemon in need.

A small baby caterpie was having trouble in the mud trying to follow its older siblings. Mable smiled hurrying over to scoop up the small caterpie gently setting it on harder ground as it crawled away. The pokemon were also helping there friends using vines to move the younger pokemon into the shade of the trees. Mable could feel her jacket get muddy as she pulled a few more pokemon out of the mud. Mable kept a close eye on her belt to make sure her pokemon were okay. It took an hour or so until Mable was satisfied she'd helped as many as needed. She shut her eyes happy and muddy taking in a breath of relief. Mable smiled gently heading deeper into the forest a pair of floating red eyes watching her in the dark.

The remainder of light seemed to be sucked from the sky as everything seemed to turn black between the strikes of lightning, making it hard to see for more than 3 feet ahead. The wild pokémon mostly managed to make it to shelter just fine, save for a few water-types that simply didn't bother to look for shelter. The storm raged on, occasionally illuminating the scenery with strikes of lightning.

---

After catching Weedle, Hiro returned to waiting for the rain to disappear, but he knew that rain often lasted for hours, sometimes even days. Hoping the latter wasn't the case, he leaned against the tree. Bonsly was returned to its poké ball as it seemed to dislike the large drops of water falling through the foliage. Hiro waited for 10 long, cold, minutes before losing his patience. He knew it would last hours, but he couldn't stand it regardless. Contemplating on whether to stay or keep moving, he took another 5 minutes. I'm just catching a cold sitting here...But the forest might be dangerous or simply too much for my pokémon right now. Eventually, Hiro decided to keep moving under the cover of the forest, but to move as swiftly as possible.

Hiro managed to make some progress despite the dark, until he came across a lotad. The Lotad seemed less than friendly as it attacked Hiro as soon as it saw him. Hiro had no way of blocking the sudden attack, and got hit in the gut by the jumping Lotad's Astonish. Sending out his Weedle, Hiro had it lead off with it's 'signature move'; Poison Sting. The lotad used astonish again, this time with Weedle as his targets. This lasted 2 more rounds before weedle managed to defeat the Lotad. Thank god I had type advantage... Hiro sighed in relief. Clearly, Weedle was one of the stronger pokémon around.

With the danger of wild pokémon in the dark, Hiro decided there was no more he could do today. He climbed in a tree and made himself comfortable on a branch--for as far as that was possible. With a little support of Weedle's String Shot, Hiro managed to fasten himself to the tree well enough to not fall out while he slept. Well, so he thought at least. Remembering his Oran berries, Hiro fed two to his Buizel and told it to stay guard.

---

The Zorua seemed to grow less tense as it was wrapped in Mori's scarf. The rain was still pouring as hard as it was before however, so if he wanted to move some more today, he'd probably have to brave the rain. The Zorua seemed to be doing a little better than before, too, though it was still clearly in need of medical attention.

Just at the edge of Mori's vision, a white silhouette shot by, what could it have been?

---

Level Progress:
Weedle -> Lv7