Martin gave a smile as the large amount of items were on the table before him. It was a lot more than he expected, but now he should be ready for whatever may come next. He put 3300 Pokedollars on the counter, feeling the sting of spending large. Behind him was Dawkin, also buying some supplies. He stepped to the side of the counter, partly to put everything in his bag. After being satisfied that his bag was close to full and Dawkin was done buying things, he turned to talk to Dawkin.

"Hey there, Dawkin. So, have you found anything interesting in Route 2? Personally, I took it easy in Route 1 and caught myself a new Pokemon. Now, I kind of need to get more cash, as that was a large portion of what I got. Where are my manners, want me to buy you something? I kind of owe you for a few close calls back in the woods, and I don't plan on leaving it unpaid. It might be useful to compare notes and see if there's something cool out there to catch that one of us missed. Might even be fun to team up, seeing as we already end up running into each other a lot." Martin was full of energy, and ready to set out on whatever stood in his way. He had Nincada, and a Bulbasaur to add as well.

He took out his Pokeball and tossed it out, calling out Nincada again. With a toss of Martin's hat, Nincada had a beanie again. The bug looked around for a short while, then went back to idly staring at everything. "You ready to go, Nincada?" Nincada looked at Martin and replied with a short nod. Now Martin had his traveling buddy back, and things were great. He was considering which Route would be a better one to take, as he felt left behind avoiding Route 2. That shiny still needed payback, and Route 1 had it's own mysteries. So many places to go, and so little time. Martin slung his bag on his shoulder, he wasn't going to be stopped this time.

@Joshua Tamashii - Night

The Phantump stared at her and at her hand, and Amelia could probably recognize that it had a considerable lack of interactions with humankind, having been sealed up in the depths of the Wilted Woods where trainers barely visited, and even when they did, this Phantump lived in an off-ways area that even fewer would ever visit as one had to move in a direction other than the overpowering presence in the middle. So, it was unfamiliar with the gestures, even if it perhaps could recognize the meaning. But… the ghost-eyes under the white floating trunk frowned upon her words.

‘Phan-!’ That hadn’t been the purpose of the song. The Phantump suddenly instead darted at Amelia for not quite clear reasons, and then halted inches in front of her face. ‘-tump!’ It cried out, stretching its tiny arms as wide as it could, making a noise in her face. Then, after that, it’d let the arms fall down as it simply then watched Amelia’s reaction assuming it hadn’t been acted against by any of Amelia’s allies due to the seeming potential of a violent intention in the movement.

__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

Delphox actually let out a bit of a smile as Claire protected her actions, though Laurinda showed no sign of having taken this into account as the two left back into the woods.

The Skarmory indeed struggled to ensure Claire wasn’t trying any stupid midair acrobatics, did not mean it didn’t necessarily mind teaching her a little lesson. Midst attempted acrobatics, it suddenly nosedived, making Claire have to trust in that the bird was keeping control as it then pulled up right before it would have crashed into the waves of the sea, making her feel the full G-forces of that before the Skarmory waved its wings to catch up to the others. Eugene’s eyebrows had raised a little as she came back from that.

But, regardless, she could get off and celebrate being alive and in the resort of Redcoast City. The beach was indeed close.

‘Ooough, Ellias didn’t actually fly all that high, I was unprepared…’ Yvonne complained a bit as she came off, recovering. But, as she had said she would, she also collected Eugene’s number, so she could call him back if she needed him, although perhaps she’d be a bit more wary about the prize next time.

‘No problem.’ Eugene said to Claire upon her thanks, nodding to her. He also grabbed a back of snacks and fed his Skarmories with them as thanks for their efforts, and offered the two girls if they wanted to try feeding them as a means of thanking the birds for their efforts in carrying them here.

‘Route 11 is just east, though you may want an umbrella. Fashion outlets are around the Contest Hall.’ He told somewhat informatively as he looked to Claire. And then… that point, yeah. ‘Ah, yes. The Sacred Grounds, or so they’re called. It’s a former festival-zone, an island of flowers and Pokémon. It used to be a part of the Redcoast experience, with people going over there to see the beautiful sights and partake in festivals, but due to recent overhunting of the rare Pokémon on the island it’s now a Pokémon reserve where humans aren’t allowed to visit, enforced by Team Virtue.’ He scratched the back of his hair a little as he looked at Claire.

‘Sorry if you wanted to visit. Amethyst did a number to it. They say it’ll be reopened to public when it’s deemed safe again, for the Pokémon.’ So he explained, and then it was up to Claire what to do with this information.

__________________________

@Pink Madness

Donna managed to make her way past the brawl of Geodudes, leaving the pile of noisy rocks all dealing minute damage to one another behind and she made her way upwards. As she kept walking, the incline turned steeper and steeper. The road ahead became darker and darker. She’d notice the remains of former tunnels on her left and right, which had collapsed for some reason or another. While maybe her sense of direction had may have gotten lost as the rising cavern kept turning left and right, but it’d occur to her that she was marching much higher than the level at which she had entered this cavern. It was common knowledge that Lakewatch Town, the destination on the other side, was at lake-level. The entrance she had entered from was already after a hill upwards. Was it really upwards she wanted to go?

… Huh. There’s something on the floor, here.



The passage was turning really dark, would soon be very difficult and potentially dangerous to travel without some form of artificial light-source to light the way. There were Geodudes on the sides of the rising tunnels that were glancing at her as she moved on, giving her stares while they hid to the sides. There were Zubats in the ceiling, waiting for the right time to swarm their target. It was deadly silent, only Donna’s own footsteps sounding as she walked on…

A thunderous crushing noise echoed from somewhere in front. Even in the darkness, Donna could tell the cavern opened up into a much, much larger area of open space. The sound was almost like rocks crushing one another, but the size of it sounded enormous. It’d quickly fall silent again, moments after it had sounded out.

… Would Donna press on?

Amelia lowered her hand, not offended in the slightest. She wasn't really surprised, since it seemed the pokemon this deep in the woods were probably not used to interacting with humans. Still, she watched the little Phantump as it seemed less then happy before it suddenly floated towards her and shouted in her face. The speed of the action caught her off guard, causing her to fall backwards with a scream of surprise. Litwick and Shuppet prepared to attack the offending pokemon, but stopped when Amelia began laughing, sitting back up again.
"You're really fast. You got me good." She said to Phantump, once she calmed down. She felt her heart, making sure it was okay, which was likely was since she felt no pain. She gave the little guy a big smile as she spoke again. "I bet you love scaring people. Would you like the scare more people like me? If so, I might be able to help with that."

@PlatinumSkink

---

"Eeeh? You can't go there?" Claire seemed somewhat troubled by that statement. Well, she could understand protecting the pokemon and all, but...it seemed a bit much. Hmm...Well, she'd leave it alone for now. For the moment Ralia and her pokemon were woefully unprepared. She should go train for a bit, and then check out the contest halls and gym. "Pfft, that's booring. But eh, whatever. Thanks again Eugene, but I should get, actually, wait." She turned to Yvonne, a small question forming in the back of her mind.

"Hey, Yvonne! I know you said you wanted to participate and contests and stuff, but uhm." Claire took a few seconds to observe the other girl before continuing. "You do have a pokemon, right?" She hadn't seen the other girl with one yet, so she was curious. If anything, she could get a bit of info on what her competition would be.

Well, this was going better than expected. Even though Martin had plenty to buy something, Dawkin didn't want any items. The story of Teams Amethyst and Virtue in particular had his interest. Finally a chance to get back at them, this was something important to him. "You said Team Virtue, right? Any idea what they were there for? Sorry, but I really don't like those guys, kind of bullies to me. I definitely wanted to go back to Route 2 and now there's a good reason for it. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself, would you like to go back there and even the odds with the two of us? I got a new Pokemon to help out, and plenty of reason to go after them. Good thing we both bought an escape rope. Cause if it all goes south, then we still have a way out."

Martin was filled with energy, he had no idea what Team Virtue had to fight back with, but that wasn't important. Where Team Virtue was, he felt obligated to stop them. He hoped he wasn't scaring Dawkin off, but even if he had to go alone, then it was going to happen. "Oh right, any idea what Pokemon they use or what they are up to? I don't mean to ask this many questions, but it helps to know what is waiting ahead. Are you ready for another trip, Nincada?" Nincada gave another dull stare at his trainer, and a simple nod. He lost interest in the shelves and was bored of standing still.

"No, I'm stocked up for almost any situation right now. Now, it's about time to get back out there, and teach a lesson to Route 2 along the way. Let's get going Nincada." Martin was on his way out as well, with Nincada following along. A ducklet and Growlith should be water and fire. He could handle the water, but his entire team was going down in a fight against fire. "Hey, do you happen to have anything thats good against fire? Also, you probably will have to show me where they are at." He was still out the door, heading off to Route 2. Nincada took a slower pace, following behind Dawkin.

Action: Exit the town and go to Route 2, looking for Team Virtue.

@Joshua Tamashii - Night

The Phantump watched her as she fell, curiously watching the result of his attack. It simply watched with a neutral wide-eyed expression of a regular Phantump. Then… Amelia started laughing. This slowly caused the Phantump’s own expression to twist, and a smile appeared on the stump-ghost, and the Pokémon laughed lightly alongside Amelia’s laughter, it’s eyes looking a little happy. It got to share its happiness a bit.

‘Phan?’ The Phantump blinked a bit in surprise when Amelia offered it more opportunities to scare. It was something the Pokémon hadn’t even considered before. It was a bit hesitant, looking to its own followers (who looked more confused than anything else), then to Shuppet and Litwick, finally back to Amelia, staring wide-eyed for a bit. She’s going to have to expand a little bit on what she’s suggesting.

__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

‘Sorry, that’s how things are.’ Eugene shrugged with an apologetic smile about how things were around the island, and then nodded when he was told to wait. He raised his eyebrows a bit, but otherwise obeyed the command to stay, petting one of his Skarmories as he did.

‘What?’ Yvonne was in the process of making sure her hair was alright and still stylish even after all the wind that had gone through it on the way here, but she quickly turned her eyes towards Claire when her question came. But, with the question done, Yvonne smirks.

‘Why, of course I have a Pokémon!’ She proudly announces, taking Pokéballs out of a pocket somewhere and pointing towards Claire. Three Pokéballs. ‘Three of them! With these, I will conquer all the _{lesser three} Contest Halls of the lands, and shoot myself for stardom!’ Yvonne smirked proudly, looking at Claire. ‘But, of course, I won’t show my trump cards ahead of time to my-’ Yvonne accidentally dropped one of her Pokéballs, and her eyes went a little wide at this realization. No, wait. She hadn’t dropped it as much as the Pokéball had suddenly shot out of her grip without her permission and hit the ground. A flash lit up as the Pokémon escaped.

‘SNUBULL!’ … And a pink dog-like Pokémon on two legs jumped onto a startled Yvonne’s leg to violently cuddle it. It had red ribbons on its ears, for cuteness? Well, for a certain kind of person it was probably adorable. Probably.





‘J-jeff! Not now!’ And Yvonne was suddenly very busy trying to get the extremely affectionate dog off her leg. In panic, she looked to explain herself to Claire.

‘Th-this is, uh, Jeffrey! He’s, um, defending me on my quest, and is cute while doing it, supposedly…!’ She tried to explain, suddenly embarrassed, unable to get the happy dog off her leg. _{‘I hate you, mom…!’}

__________________________

@Eklispe@Pikmin Eye

So, the two of them started moving on towards the Wet Caverns. Their travels took them, for the first time for Martin but back for Dawkin, to Route 2.



They headed for the Wet Caverns, where Dawkin had seen the members of the different teams. However, it is time for a little reminder of what happens when one tries to just cross a route without any other kinds of precautions.

‘I spy, with my little eye…!’ Announced a male voice on the side, obviously in their direction.

‘Two trainers, ripe for the pickings!’ A female voice filled in, quite obviously just as excitedly.



In front of them were two spherical balls with limbs. In front of the male was a floating grey rock, glaring angrily at Martin and Dawkin.





In front of the girl stood a blue ball with a circular pattern on its stomach, staring like wondering what on Earth it was doing here at Dawkin and Martin.





Well. It is quite obvious what’s going on.

Camper Larry and Picnicker Carol would like to fight!

_{This fight can be ignored or quick-fought if desired.}

Amelia noticed the Phantump's confusion at what she was offering and thought over her words a bit before speaking again.
"There are other humans outside of this forest. Lots and lots of them. And you could try to scare them all, but some of them will be harder to scare then others. And, if you and I get in a lot of battles, you could become a big, powerful Trevenant." Amelia said, trying to see what would interest this Phantump the most. "Plus, think of all the places you could see and the friends you could make. Would you like to see places outside of these woods and maybe learn new ways to scare people?"

@Joshua Tamashii - Night

The Phantump stared at Amelia in amazement as she described what kind of an adventure could be waiting outside the woods. It turned and looked in a specific direction, towards one of the Trevenants standing guard around the glade, which turned in turn to stare back at the Phantump curiously. Some kind of realization went through the Phantump by this exchange _{(”they’re not opposed to it!?”)} and it then turned back to stare at Amelia with open mouth and amazement for a few more seconds. Then it made its choice.

Amelia waited patiently and when the Phantump jumped at her with a happy cry, she caught it with a laugh and gave it a hug after getting Litwick into her arms, so that all three of her partners would get fair and equal treatment. Once she was done with the hug, she took out a pokeball and had it capture Phantump. Once it clicked in confirmation, she couldn't help but let out an excited squeal.
"I caught one! I really caught one! Maybe... no I should think that way." She said, the first part in an overly joyous tone but the second part in her usual, more somber one. Looking down at the pokeball, she smiled. "I won't go purposefully seeking out another shiny like you. I need to treat all pokemon fairly. Shiny or not shouldn't make a difference."

Releasing her new partner, she let the little girl float over her left shoulder before moving back to Laurinda.
"I'm done, so you can take me back now. Thank you for the help." She said before turning to all the Ghost-type's gathered around. "Thank you for the hospitality. I'll take good care of your friend, I promise."

"PHAN!" PHantump said, waving bye to it's friends and possible family.

"Litwick, Li." Litwick added.

"Shu." Shuppet said quietly.

As they left the glade, Amelia would only stop to looked at some of the Pumpkaboo, contemplating on catching one of them really quickly as well. But she didn't want to bother Laurinda much longer, so she was hesitant to try.

Lucian Vazquez

Lucian observed the two people in front of him with an amused expression,he stood out in the open and had made no attempt hide. "Well that's hardly a way to treat a lady" he said to the man with a hint of sarcasm in his voice . "Not really my problem, whatever made you leave this young ladies partner behind however,may be my problem" Lucian gestured the cave the duo had just escaped from "So if there is a problem,perhaps you could tell me,hm? Or were you just defeated by a trainer so you fled the caverns with your tails between your legs? If that's the case I'll be on my way" Truth be told, Lucian was mildly concerned there was some powerful beast lurking in the caverns; but there was no sense letting these two know that.

@Joshua Tamashii - Night

The woods watched the little scene that was taking place before them, and soon enough it was apparently time to part. The Trevenants and the Phantumps waved after them, some more hesitantly than others while some were doing it wholeheartedly, but nonetheless the shiny Phantump and Amelia were wished well on their journey. Laurinda stood watching with a neutral expression, before then nodding as Amelia turned back to her.

‘Alright. Next time you come in here will be by your own power. Let’s head back, then.’ Laurinda said, turning to walk. And so, they’d possibly move on. First, it was…



The trees were as dead as ever, and the presence in the midst of the woods tugged on Amelia’s mind. Yet, she could move. And, looking, she could indeed see the small swarms of Pumpkaboos, going about their businesses in groups of greatly varying sizes, but they all moved as if with some purpose in the night.



And Trevenants all around, and Gourgeists floating about in the woods. Because of the purported malicious nature of the Gourgeists, Laurinda ensured their trail avoided them at all costs. But, it was still possible for Amelia to stop if she wanted to.

On the way back, they’d come back to where Delphox stood watch over all the burned Pokémon from the Deep Infested Woods. They were doing alright. If Amelia hadn’t stopped to move on, then they’d soon be in the next kind of wood.



In the Deep Infested Woods, Dustoxes flew and followed the Volbeats, the dust leaking down onto the floor of the woods and poisoning everything. Once again, Chandelure and Trevenant would cooperate to make a path so that the humans could pass through safely. Then, soon enough, they’d reach…



The tight woods of the True Infested Woods were easy to traverse with Laurinda in front, Chandelure scanning everything and burning numerous Spinarak traps. Assuming that Amelia had no reason to stop here, they’d soon enough be back where Amelia had started the journey into the woods.





And, yes, it was still night-time. If they came this far without any Amelia deviating from the route, Laurinda would finally turn to look at Amelia where she was and with a new partner.

‘This is as far as I’ll take you. I’ve seen some… interesting things tonight. I’ve never seen the ghosts act that friendly with someone before. I consider it a valuable experience. Thank you for showing me that.’ Laurinda made a brief bow to Amelia. As she did, the Chandelure and the Trevenant looked fairly pleased and happily at her. Of course, both the big ghost-Pokémon were also attracting a few stares from the more trainers that were around in the Outer Infested Woods.

‘If that was all, I wish you good luck on your continued journey. Myself, I’m dreadfully tired so I think I’ll go crash in the hut. They offer sleeping services for humans, too.’ Laurinda said, before turning to walk towards the hut, not actually waiting to hear if it maybe wasn’t all.

If Amelia had any more questions or so, she could stop Laurinda before she went too far. If Amelia had decided to not go all the way back but stop somewhere along the line to do something, then she could do that and postpone the rest of this post until she actually heads back. Otherwise… it was time for a new choice. Noted that it is still night.



Connected areas:
Route 2. Not too far off.
Wet Caverns. A little further off.



__________________________

@Pyromaniacwolf

The guy looked at Lucian for a couple of seconds while the girl struggled, but eventually settled for gaining a little smile.

‘… Heh.’ The guy simply made a noise of minute amusement as he pulled his cigarette back to his mouth and leaving the girl to recover from the coughing. It took a number of seconds, but the girl could eventually look from the guy to Lucian, trying to consider what to say.

‘W-we were attacked.’ She said. ‘A, uh, couple of trainers attacked us with no provocation despite our reluctance of fighting with them. They weren’t following the rules of battles, they were just violent. We had to flee, but… my Ducklett distracted them so that we could get away.’ The girl looked at the cave with worried eyes and back at Lucian. The guy behind her briefly raised his eyebrows at her and then continued smoking with a neutral expression.

‘If you follow the wetter routes, you should find where we had to leave him. If you do find him, uuuh…’ She made a noise before reaching into her pocket, producing a wet paper. She grimaced a little, seeing the poor condition of the paper, but yet handed it to Lucian (if he would accept it). On it was a number written under the name “Mia”.

‘Then call me. W-we won’t be going back in there, though. Not with them there.’ She said, looking at the entrance again before back at Lucian. ‘... Beware a girl all in white and a guy in blue jacket.’ She warned him, before stepping back to beside the guy.

‘Allan. Let’s go.’ She said, turning around to dash, not along the road.

‘My, my, Mia. Gave your phone-number to a random guy who was just a little handsome? Didn’t think you were so bold.’ He said while pinching and throwing his cigarette before turning to go after Mia with one last curious look at Lucian. Mia simply shot Allan a glare but then ignored the statement, intent on getting off the road.

Of course, Lucian could try stopping them from leaving with questions if he felt like it, or act just about in any way he wanted. It’s all up to what he wants to do.

Amelia tried. She really did, but she couldn't help but stop when they passed a group of Pumpkaboos. She knew Laurinda was tired and that she was simply being selfish at this point, but she just knew if she didn't do this now, it would bother her for quite a while. Tugging Launinda's sleeve gently to get the older woman's attention, she moved over to the Pumpkaboos and smiled once she had their attention.
"Hello there. How are you all doing tonight?" She asked, wondering how the individual's before her would react to her presence and want to talk to them.

Now, Ren certainly wasn't expecting them to say yes, not after how Jacques and Kalmia responded to her earlier. Through her foolish bullion logic she imagined the two might actually want to be considerate to her expenses.

Needless to say, she was wrong.

Despite this, she couldn't be entirely disheartened. The young woman hadn't found such pleasant conversation in individuals before, so the two provided a pleasant breath of air her way. It was a good opportunity to develop her social skills, and stock up on any foodstuffs she might need for her coming journey, if possible. Of course, she didn't really know too many places, however figured the trio would work that out as they traveled around town. "If you insist. However, I admit my eating habits may be seen as a bit... unrefined. Heh."

One could've sworn that Ren had almost laughed.

---

Pureplain, being the city of absolute normality, had an abundance of places the trio could snack at. Eventually Ren managed to find a place that the three could agree to try out, and they shared pleasantries about miscellaneous topics, such as contests, their dreams, their pasts, and all manner of things. She enjoyed the company, though found certain topics awkward or difficult to talk about, such as her past or, worst of all, boys. As it happened, the two men may have deducted that she was into the princely types, as unrealistic as they were, though would also settle for someone who wasn't a total prick.

However their wallets and time only lasted them so long. With so much to do and an adventure to start, they eventually decided to head their own ways for the time being, with the intention of meeting up together some other time. Having made a dent in her wallet, Ren figured it was a good idea to quickly try to find the gym before going to visit Professor Kalmia, seeing as she knew where to go from the Professor's place. She made sure to try and use whatever she had available to better her odds of finding the gym quickly, so she could check it out before she left to thank Kalmia and subsequently begin her journey.

Also because she reeeeeeeeeally needed money now. If she didn't start winning some battles on one of the routes, she'd starve before making it to the next town!

So, with her goal in sights, Ren began searching for the Pureplain city gym.

@PlatinumSkink

---

Claire watched as Yvonne got out her pokeballs. Oh, so she had some then? She had to admit, she was a little disappointed. It'd be sort of funny if Yvonne hadn't. Granted, she'd be a total bro and help in that department, but eh. Still, it was nice to get a bit of a look at the competition...in the form of a Snubull. Claire watched as the tiny dog pokemon started rather affectionately rubbing against her rivals leg, doing her best to hold back her snickering. Too bad for Yvonne, her best wasn't very good.

"Supposedly?" Claire said, kneeling down to the dog pokemon's level, letting Ralia out of her arms. "Well, he's got energy, I'll give him that, heh." Someone would probably find him adorable anyways. Snubull was not a pokemon Claire would ever use in any capacity. They weren't exactly...'fabulous' or 'cute' in her opinion. If this was her competition though, then this would be easy, wouldn't it? Maybe that was just her usual over confidence and bravado talking but Snubull wasn't doing much to instill confidence.

"Well, it's nice to meet ya jeff!" Claire said, reaching a hand out to pet the top of the pokemon's head.

Martin looked over the group of trainers who challenged them. He pulled out his Pokedex to scan them, and looked over the results. Rock and Water, this shouldn't take too long. "I got a few minutes for a fight. Besides, how could I say no to a double battle? Just like old times, and I can try out my new Pokemon against these two. Worth a bit of practice and training right now. Come on out Bulbasaur." Martin grabbed a Pokeball off of his belt and tossed it in the air. With a flash of red light, a green Pokemon with a bulb on it's back emerged. He immediately turned around to look at Martin, still bitter over the sneak attack capture. Martin looked down to Bulbasaur and gave a simple reply. "I told you that you were getting on my team, no need to be mad about it. Better than being stuck in a ditch, right? Oh yeah, I was gonna give you a nickname, but forgot about it... How about Onion? I'm kidding, Sprout sounds a lot better." Bulbasaur gave a glare, before noticing the enemies in front of him. It almost looked like a smirk on his face realizing he had the advantage.

"Hey Dawkin, I think you'll find I'm not some weak trainer from earlier. I've been training on getting better. Let's show these two what hard work and preparation can accomplish." Sprout was ready, and Martin needed to make sure there was trust before jumping straight into Team Virtue. This could kill two birds with one stone, sweet.