Dawkin followed the conversation a bit uncertainly, the two were a bit... flightly weren't they? Leila raced off and Kristy gave her thanks to him. "Uh, yeah, no problem. You probably saw but, I got a Tyrunt to follow me out of the mess at the truck, I suppose you'll be wanting him back?" Dawkin asked cautiously, not sure what answer to expect, much less what answer he wanted. This entire situation was a bit strange but... He'd stopped the fight and possibly set the two of them on the right track so. That was a win right?

---

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

"The Woodland Wanderer." Erika read the gym sign aloud to herself. That meant that grass types could be expected? Erika should have the advantage then. Communicating with some of the nearby locals didn't warrant anything particularly useful so Erika merely nodded and thanked them for their time. It was at this point Erika was surprised by a very energetic guy who seemed to love Pokemon Gyms. He was very informative about the system work.. even though Erika was fairly aware of that. He also kindly provided an analysis of Archie, the Gym Leader, to which Erika appreciated.

Next came her conversation with Professor Kalmia. She was glad to hear Poli was doing okay and being taken care of! It was nice to know how her team evolved, especially considering that Raichu wouldn't learn any new moves making Erika's caution about buying a Thunderstone back in the caves a good move for now. Inkay's evolution was interesting but she'll cross that bridge when Kay is a little more leveled.

Speaking of, it sounded like Erika needed to get her hands on some berries in order to butter Kay up. Wasn't there mention of a battle for berries place or something in town? Maybe that's what Erika would do next while she waited for Claire, who had an interesting text detailing wrestling a Pangoro. Oh my.

@Eklispe@Joshua Tamashii

After the understanding that he cannot nibble on the Miltanks finally got into the small dinosaur’s head, Tyrunt instead got interested in Amelia. He turned trying to face her and push his big head and nose at her, and did so with pretty impressive strength for his size. If he got that far he’d also playfully attempt nibbling at her, not the same bitey nibbling he was trying on the Miltanks but more playing nibbling while looking happy. Happy little dinosaur trying to nibble at her.

Meanwhile. Kristy looked curiously at Dawkin and then smiled widely at his question of wanting Tyrunt back.

‘Naaah. I mean, we do keep track of ancient Pokémon, but right now I was more interested in keeping them out of her hands. Did you get attached to him? If so, feel free to keep him~’ Otherwise she’ll take him off your hands.

‘I hope this hasn’t made you rethink from coming to Raremine Town! I swear, it’s a happy place! And if you want to come challenge my Gym, I’ll be more than happy to face you! Now I got a haul of ancient Pokémon to see to. So I’ll see you later~!’ Unless Dawkin or Amelia felt they had reason to stop her for anything for her, Kristy jumped back up on her Claydol, giving a final little wave before she and the Pokémon sunk back through the same hole they came from before sealing the hole shut again with what seemed to be Claydol’s psychic powers.

If either wants to keep the Tyrunt, then he’d totally be in on it. Because this is more interesting than all the closed-in space he was at previously.



After that, Dawkin and Amelia were on the eastern part of Route 6, free to move again.





Connected areas:
More Route 6. West is a vast plain that seem to stretch on endlessly, locked between the mountains of Mt. Chill and the cliffs of the southern sea. Eventually leads to Lakewatch Town.
Route 8. In the north lies a comparatively pleasant cliffside walkway with hilly terrain and wondrous view, leading to Freecape Town.
Stalford’s Ferry. North-east, to take a ferry across Route 16 towards Witchpeak City. The only pleasant way across Route 16 is onboard a ferry, but even then…
Raremine Town. A town of miners and researchers that study what the miners find. Also a stop for those who want to travel the desert!



__________________________

@Pirouette

‘Oh, and the Grass-type very often makes use of status-changing moves that make your life difficult. If you wish to take on the Grass-type Leader, you best keep this in mind and perhaps have a plan of action should you find these used against you. Good luck!’ The Gym Guy continued briefly, because there was something relevant to say which he forgot earlier.

Now, then.

Erika headed for the “treehouse”. It was a large building built around a big tree, circular in shape and impressive in height (basically, the bigger building in this image). with a large stair leading up to it. Heading in, she reached a large reception-area where there were multiple doors to wherever you were assigned to battle, a receptionist awaiting behind a desk and trainers about talking about various things with one another. It quickly became clear that the average age of local Pokémon Trainers around here was fairly young, something about battling didn’t entirely appeal to the adults of the village. That said, there were numerous Aroma Ladies and outsiders here. Anyways. To the receptionist.

‘Welcome! This is the Treehouse Arena. At the start of each battle, you select three of your Pokémon to engage the opponent with. You can select any of your Pokémon, even if they’re in your storage. Between each battle you will have your Pokémon healed, and then you can switch what Pokémon you want to fight with for the next battle. You battle at the minimum three opponents regardless of if you win or lose, and after that you continue until you quit or are defeated! At the end, you’ll be given berries, more the more you won! To enter, write what kinds of berries you’d like on a card, and pay 350P to start! You won’t earn any money from the trainers you battle here, but you can look forward to a bunch of berries! Would you like to enter?’

@PlatinumSkink

---

"Huh, that's it? I almost expected some cheesy training montage." Claire chuckled as the pokedex made a rather comical 'ptttff' noise as the TM disk was used up. "Hey Zeal, how-huh...?" Zeal had already climbed off her shoulder, jumping to the ground and making a show of his newly learned move and punching the air in an excited fashion repeatedly with an excitable growl. "Wahaha, someone's a quick learner, eh? Hey come on. I'll introduce ya to Anise." Zeal scurried along behind Claire as she walked over to the other redhead.

"Nice going there," Clire grinned smugly, a hand on her hip with the other thoughtfully holding her chin. "Not as good as I was against that Pangoro buuut you certainly gave the Lucario a good run, heh!" For a few seconds she began to giggle. "Heh, no no, that was fun. I applaud your chutzpah for fighting a steel type." Zeal walked over to Riolu, grinning in a mildly smug manner as he wound up his newly learned move, showing it off to the other fighting type. "Anyways, thanks for y'know, showing me here and all that." Before the Chimchar could finish showing off completely though, Claire scooped him up in her arms. "Buuut I gotta date with someone in Stillwater so I gotta get running before I'm any later. So see ya! I'll call ya later!" Before Anise could so much as get a word in edgewise, the redhead scurried off to gather the rest of her pokemon.

"Alright guys we're leaving, breaks over! Lets get movin! I wanna see some hustle - gah!" And she crashed right into Del and a horde of small fighting types. The fighting types dispersed quickly as the redhead stumbed to the ground, with Ralia jumping off the beedrill and landing rather acrobatically on her head. "...you did that on purpose."

"Rrrraaal?~" Ralia glanced down at her trainer who was conversely, looking up at her from her position on the ground.

"Don't sass me. I was too watching where I was going. Totally." The small psychic type just smiled before waving bye to Anise as Claire stood up, dusting her clothes off a bit. As soon as she returned the rest of her pokemon, she made a beeline for the exit of Mt. Strength, Ralia still resting on her shoulder and Zeal on the other.

"Alright! Lets get to Stillwood! But first...Zeal, our training montage!"

"Chim!"

Zeal couldn't help but to get fired up a bit either.

---

Head to Stillwood while training Zeal to at least level 12. Mostly wild pokemon, but a trainer battle or two as well.

Dawkin shrugged sheepishly, "I uh, guess I'll keep ahold of him if you don't mind then." Dawkin said and waved his farewell as Kristy gave her sales pitch and returned underground. What an interesting person. He turned back to Amelia now that the coast was clear. "Well it seems that's taken care of, one way or another. It seems we can keep the little fossil here, are you interested in him. If not then..." Dawkin let his sentence trail off. Given Amelia wasn't interesting in keeping the Tyrunt Dawkin would take out one of his own Pokeballs and show it to the small dinosaur, running one hand over it's nose as the it seemed eager for attention before catching it.

"Guess we should keep moving on towards Raremine Town then right?" Dawkin asked and looked around to make sure there wasn't any immediate danger and which path would be best to carry on towards their destination. Tyrunt was Rock/Dragon, that meant his team was now composed mostly of Rock and Ground Pokemon. He should make sure the rest of his pokemon could deal with the counters to those well. Pichu would fare well against water types but grass types were a problem for him. He needed to get a fire pokemon as soon as possible. Perhaps after he was done escorting Amelia he would see about getting one a Ponyta.

Action: Hurry Along

Used 1 Pokeball!
Gained 2000P

---

Amelia watched the conversation as it went on while making sure that Tyrunt did nothing to upset the Miltanks surrounding her and itself. To say she wasn't entirely happy when Dawkin brought up that Tyrunt was nearby didn't really please her and made her worried that Kristy might try to attack them in order to get Tyrunt back. However, her ability to be worried about that was short lived when she noticed the ancient pokemon approaching her, mouth slightly open as if preparing to bite her. She barely had time to react when it did and she was prepared for it to hurt, which made her rather surprised when it didn't. She realized the little dinosaur was simply playing and she smiled as she let it nibble her, a small laughing escaping from her as it continued to do so.

She didn't hear the rest of the conversation between Dawkin and Kristy as she was busy keeping Tyrunt occupied and only noticed it had ended when Dawkin approached her and informed her that they would be able to keep Tyrunt before asking if she was interested. Amelia looked at the nibbling pokemon with a frown on her face before shaking her head.
"As much as I don't want to, I'll have to decline. I don't think this little guy will be a good match with the rest of my team. If you want him though, I think that would be good. You're a good person after all." She said while petting Tyrunt. When it took a second to stop nibbling her, she gently raised it's head so she could look at it. "You're going to be traveling with Dawkin now. Be a good boy for him and stay out of trouble. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again in the future and I hope you'll be big and strong by then."

Her good-byes said, she got up and would follow Dawkin along the route after he took Tyrunt, eager to be off this route and into Raremine.

@Rune_Alchemist

Anise looked up as Claire came over, and listened to her words.

‘Hah. I seem to remember you struggling a lot,’ Anise smirked at Claire’s first thing, then nodded with a bit of a pleased if restrained smile with a bit of pride as Claire said her positive piece. Then there was the part that Claire had to run, and Anise nodded.

‘Alright. I’ll see you later, then. You know where to find me, if I don’t go on my own journey. I might take a trip to Worldedge City to look in their libraries for whatever that legend might refer to…’ Anise mused abscently. She waved at Claire as she departed, and kept seated. She was still tired.

Riolu looked on in interest as Zeal was beginning to show off the move, but was left staring in confusion when the Chimchar was lifted away before the show was over. And then everyone got a view of Claire was brought to the ground by the army gathered by her own Pokémon, but that aside.

Time to train Zeal. Unfortunately, Zeal was very much still the runt when it came to battling the Fighting-types of Mt. Strength. That said, there were Geodudes around, vulnerable to Zeal’s new move.





So, with that, proceeding to Power-Up Punching Geodudes! The Rock-Pokémon will attempt to Tackle back, but after the first Geodude, the rest would be somewhat easier, thanks to Power-Up Punch…



After punching enough rocks, and getting tackled a number of time in return, Zeal learned a new move. Oh, and there’s something over there, dropped between a couple rocks…



… It looks healthy? The drink is intended to heal Pokémon, someone appears to have dropped it here.

Anyways! Out of Mt. Strength, and back to Route 4!





Because on Route 4, Claire could find Grass-Pokémon, who are all vulnerable to Zeal’s new move! So, the training continues, now burning numerous Hoppips, Shroomish and Oddishes if Claire wants to disturb their sleep. These were considerably easier battles, on account of that Ember’s a ranged move and Grass-types weren’t nearly as effective against Zeal as the solid rocks were. Here he could train easily.



And then, lots of moves done, challenging a couple trainers!

Now, there’s a bunch of Aroma Ladies on Route 4… but there was this Hiker sticking out like a sore thumb just standing about looking at nothing in particular.


‘I was going to hike Mt. Strength, but there’s a bunch of pretty ladies on Route 4… Oh, right. You want to battle. Let’s go!’



Okay, that guy out of the way, go fight a regular Aroma Lady. Here’s one, dancing in a slight field of forest flowers looking all happy breathing the spores from her Shroomish…


‘It’s so hard for us villagers to leave Stillwood Village, the air’s so lifeless and stagnant out here! But, bringing a Pokémon that releases the same spores as home lets us travel~! They fight for us, too! Want to try them?’



__________________________

@Eklispe@Joshua Tamashii

The two of them took off again, leaving the herd of Miltanks which looked after them curiously before heading towards Raremine Town. The truck from earlier had taken off, with the Bronzong sitting blocking the now open exit with Psychic powers, those ancient Pokémon they had managed to reign in still locked in with Leila on her Rapidash galloping to catch up. Anyways. The two headed on, when the air got noticeably hotter at they approached the town at the edge of the desert…

Martin wasn't sure why he had thought it was a good idea down here, being surrounded by Team Virtue. Nowhere to go but back up at this point.

"You!" Him? Martin knew he didn't look like someone who was a part of this, already reaching for the up button, going back up was a better choice than being rushed.

"… are late! You’re also new, so let me tell you right now! I’m Team Virtue Elite Anton, and I’m no big softie like Jonas above ground! Down here is MY command, so you’ll follow MY orders, got it!?"

Martin froze, did he just get mistaken as a member? It wasn't just that, as Anton kept shouting about these carriages were heading to 'West Base'. That was all the way back where he started, possibly further. Considering the last time he saw someone moving these, it was five people too glad for any excuse to stop. He was getting chewed out for not wearing a uniform, how many people were rushed here? Actually, that made two ways out of here. He goes back up under the excuse of 'forgetting' his uniform and backing out of here, or chancing an Escape Rope along the way. Even if he did go back up, it wasn't likely that the people up there would be this bad at noticing.

Martin was not the type to like Team Virtue and anything they were up to, but he knew a bit of these caves. All it would take is a few moments to slip away and be back at the city again. It was a shame he had to lie, but it's not like they ever told the whole truth.

"Sorry for being so late, I was told there would be more people to push. Which way is West Base? I can't tell which way is which down here." Martin was trying to give a bad laugh, like someone who was about to get yelled at. Better to get the attention over with so no one had a reason to keep an eye on him. He had full plans on using an Escape Rope long before meeting that lady again. Lady Ivory and her caravan of goods. Seeing as he was supposed to push one of them, it wouldn't hurt to try seeing what was the big deal about all of this.

Action: Cooperate with Anton, for now. Try to see what is in one of the crates if possible.

@Pikmin Eye

‘What, you seriously-’ Anton appeared to restrain a crude comment as his eyes twitched at Martin, before he swung the polearm and pointed to Martin’s right. ‘Elevator is north, straight ahead of you is south, west is to your right. Don’t forget it! Now grab a cart and let’s get moving!’

That was apparently as much attention as Anton wished to spend on Martin, because he headed on and chased after other slackers, poking numerous of them with the polearm if they were being lazy. The absence of injuries pointed to the polearm not being a real polearm, but it didn’t look less intimidating for this.

So, Martin was able to approach a cart. Because of the conversation with Anton it seemed everyone accepted him without a second thought as they were all making ready to get a move on. Now, the carts were made of several layers of grey stacked on top of each other, so looking in the lower ones was troublesome. However, Martin could lift the top layer of one to find…

Carbos.

Line upon line and bottle after bottle of the stat-increasing vitamins. If he looked in other carts, he could find Iron, Zinc and the whole gathering of such, though he couldn’t do that too often without rousing attention. Point is, these carts are filled with vitamins for increasing the performance of Pokémon. And vitamins like these… they’re not cheap, in fact, they’re really expensive, and there’s a LOT of them here.

Seems like there was at least a bit of time before you were ordered to push them all to West Base. Would Martin do anything?

@PlatinumSkink

---

Claire made a beeline for route four, stopping only to let Zeal fight a few geodude's and other rock types along the way. With power-up punch, he had a pretty easy time of it. Zeal of course, took a few blows to start with. He was a little on the low level side compared to a lot of the other pokemon around here, but after powering himself up with the new move he had a much easier time of it. Several geodude's later, and he had gained a few levels. He even learned Ember! A good thing too, heading out onto route 4 would be much easier then. She even managed to find a Soda Pop someone dropped somewhere. Hah! Usually if you found a shiny item in video games, they were gearing you up for a boss battle, but her luck couldn't be that bad, nope.

After heading out onto Route four, Zeal made short work of some grass types for training. Without disturbing the oddishes that were sleeping, Claire found several shroomish and other grass types in the area to train against. Far easier than the geodudes, with their rock-type moves not doing much for Zeal's health. He even learned Taunt - a good move to use in certain situations.

"Annnd cut the training montage!~" Standing just a little off the path, Clare stretched, Zeal following the motion as they took a quick break from training. "Whew, you're doing great boy." Claire said, picking up Zeal and giving him a pat on the head. "We're about halfway to Stillwood, I think! Making good progress so I think we can take a break." She pulled the recently found Soda Pop out of her bag, giving it to Zeal. As she did so, she found another item stuffed in her bag that she completely forgot she had. A focus band! "Oh hey, I forgot I Had this." Claire mused as Zeal gave her a curious look as she pulled the band out of her bag. She looked at it for a few seconds before nodding, and tying the band securely around Zeal's forehead.

"Ahaha, looks good on ya! You'd win any Cool contest just by being there, heh." She giggled. "Anyways, break time's over! Resume training montage!"

Running into the hiker was a bit of bad luck, so it was a good thing she had that soda pop on her. Well, might as well see how well Zeal does against this Geodude, then.

---

Hiker battle:

Running into the hiker was a bit of bad luck, so it was a good thing she had that soda pop on her. Well, might as well see how well Zeal does against this Geodude, then.

She didn't want that thing getting off many attacks on Zeal, so an all-out attack on it before it could raise it's defense or seriously injure Zeal would be best. Use power up punch on Geodude until it's KO'ed. If that fails and it looks like Zeal is about to be KO'ed, switch to Ralia. Proceed to use Double Team and confusion to KO the Geodude.

For Machop, if Zeal is still in the fight continue to use Power-Up Punch, hopefully maxing its attack before KO'ing the fighting type. As power-up-punch is his strongest move, continue to use it. If Zeal was KO'ed or switched out when fighting the Geodude, keep Ralia on the field and use confusion until Machop is defeated.

Upon switching to Onix, same strategy applies if Zeal is still up. Assuming Power-up-Punch has raised his attack to max by now, it should make quick work of the rock-type pokemon. If Ralia is up, use double team again for a little extra insurance, Growl to lower attack if he uses Curse, then use Confusion until KO'ed

Assuming none of her pokemon have been KO'ed, use Super Potions to heal Zeal and Ralia after the battle. If one of her pokemon has been KO'ed for any reason, immediately head to Stillwood to get them healed.

---

Moving onto the Aroma Lady:

Zeal against Shroomish. As grass types are known to make use of lots of status-inflicting moves, Zeal starts with Taunt. Proceed to use Ember until Shroomish is KO'ed, using Taunt again if it wears off. If for some reason Zeal is KO'ed or becomes low on HP, switch to Ralts. Double team and then use Confusion until Shroomish is KO'ed

Assuming all goes well and Zeal is still in play once Shroomish is KO'ed, following previous strategy, use Taunt only once, then followed by repeated ember usage until KO'ed. If Ralia finished off Shroomish, switch out Ralia for Beedrill at the start of the turn. Use a combination of Poison sting to deal damage, and String shot to prevent it from running until Cerubi is defeated.

If Zeal is still in play at this point, use Taunt again to prevent usage of status-type moves. Try dodge the poison stings to prevent poison. If he is poisoned, immediately swap for Ledyba. Otherwise, use Ember until Roselia is KO'ed. If Beedrill is on the field, swap for Ledyba immediately and have him use Safeguard followed by Reflect. Once defense are set up, use Supersonic to attempt confusion once followed by Comet punching until defeated. If Ledyba is low on HP or KO'ed, switch to Combee. After some arguing on Claire and the bugs part, possibly allowing the Roselia to get in a free hit, she will repeatedly use gust until Roselia is blasted into the next route over.

Once the Aroma lady is defeated, immediately head to Stillwood to get her pokemon healed. Use Antidote on any pokemon that was poisoned.

With Tyrunt safely in a Pokeball the pair made their way into Raremine town without any further trouble. Dawkin enjoyed the sunlight that seemed to be natural part of the town, people and pokemon working and playing all around. Having made it a fair way into town Dawkin stopped and turned to Amelia. "Well that was a more eventful trip than I had anticipated but we made it through all right. I think I'll have a look around town and decide where to go from here. If you need to contact me feel free to contact me via Pokedex, is there anything else you need before we part ways?" Dawkin asked politely. Though the trip had been eventful, he hadn't minded it and was happy he was there to make sure Amelia got through it ok. Given she didn't want anything, Dawkin's first trip would be to the Pokemon Center to make sure Tyrunt was in tip-top shape, as he wasn't sure what condition the little dinosaur had been in before meeting them. Then he planned to head the Pokemon Gym, he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to challenge it, he hoped to see if there were any other competitors there before making a decesions. He knew his team wasn't strong or well rounded enough to consider seriously battling in Gyms, but if the chance was there it could be a nice chance for himself and his Pokemon to grow.

Action: Pokemon Center -> Restore Pokemon -> Pokemon Gym

---

The first thing that hit Amelia when they finally got close enough to town to feel it was the heat. She was immediately thankful she had dressed light because the closer to town they got, the hotter it became. Cloud cover also became increasingly scarce as they approached town and given how intense the sun was here, she immediately moved over to any shade she could find to avoid getting a sunburn later one.

Once they where in town, Dawkin turned to her before announcing his intentions to part ways unless she needed something. Amelia was silent for several seconds before looking up at him and smiling.
"No, I think I'll be fine. Thank you for escorting me here Dawkin. You did a wonderful job. Take care of Tyrunt." She said before waving as he left. Once he was out of sight, she frowned and lowered her hand before looking troubled. It was her first time traveling with someone and she had rather enjoyed it. But she had known it was going to end up with them going their separate ways eventually. And now that it had, she couldn't help but feel like she wanted it to continue.

Shaking her head, she stared in the direction Dawkin had taken for a few more seconds before heading her own way. She could already sense some Ghost-types nearby, but it was still bright out and she didn't know what possible Ghosts they were. So it was best to try and wait until the sun went down. And, as she was rather hungry, she decided it was best to grab something to eat first. So after a bit of wondering, she eventually found a food joint that caught her interest and entered, looking around to see what kind of place it was.

---

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

Erika was quite surprised to find that the Treetop battle was quite a big deal with one of the largest buildings in town being used to house the event. She just kind of expected it to be an outdoor field but in hindsight, this scale totally made sense. Anyway, Erika got introduced to the rules by a nice lady but when it came to berries, she had no idea there were so many different types! So when it came to filling out her card, she just selected random, hoping they'd give her good berries she guessed.

Anyway onto the battling and Erika immediately knew which three of her team she wanted to use. Sno, Chic, and Gibs. They were the strongest she had and they covered a wide enough range but Erika was kind of expecting a lot of grass types since it seemed like trainers from the area, for the most part.

With the first battle, Erika couldn't help but gush at the little trainer, even if he had a scary threat (probably not true) of winning five hundreds. "Awww... I'm sure you've really trained hard to be that good."

The first Pokemon out had at least initially confirmed Erika's theory. Grass-type. So Erika decided to use Chic and by extension use Ember to play it her advantage. Erika anticipated she should win but did her best to keep offering encouraging words to her opponent. Next came Seedot and while Chic would work here, Erika withdrew and gave Gibs a chance. Sand attack was used twice before Dragon Rage was used to try and finish the opponent off. Finally, Metapod was a good time to use Sno, Erika thought. Double Team was used once before Erika realized that Metapod might just harden a lot so she switched to Powder Snow which was a special based attack. Erika made sure to offer her compliments to the little trainer after the battle and encourage him!

For the next battle, Erika gushed again finding another young trainer but privately she worried that all she'll be doing is facing off against preschoolers! "Oh nice work! I haven't been to the Valley yet but let's see what you caught."

A Spearow, huh. Again typing advantage was useful and Sno had her Ice moves. Powder Snow was used since Erika believed that Spearow was more physical and less special defensive. Faced with a Shroomish second, Erika decided to switch to (surprise!) Chic and use Ember right from the get go. Seeing as how her opponent was trying to get some lasting effects, Erika planned on using Ember to quickly finish off the fight before it got out of hand. Deerling gave Erika a chance to use Gibs who would mirror his strategy as last time. Sand-Attack twice to lower the accuracy before Dragon Rage, which should be unaffected by stat changes.

Yet another child was Erika's next opponent but with him all dressed up in a Pikachu outfit, Erika couldn't help smile. "Aww.. A big fan of picture or maybe you are a Pikachu... I can't tell the difference."

Pikachu was, perhaps, the easiest to counter as Gibs completely nullified electric attacks with his Ground typing. So he was in the battle, ideally for all three Pikachus. Dragon Rage was used throughout all the whole battle.

Erika had to appreciate her next opponent as it was finally a good time to gauge herself before the gym. "Yep! I plan on taking on Archie after this." Erika replied before finding herself quite stricken with the Lady's sudden tough words. "Oh, I don't think Stillwood Trainers are weak!"

Onto the battle, Lombre seemed to indeed be quite the challenge. No typing advantage this time, in fact, Erika felt like she was at a disadvantage. Thankfully Gibs's dual typing meant that he wouldn't have an awful time in this battle so that was Erika's plan. Sand-Attack was used three times initially to try and make extra sure Lombre couldn't hit before Erika would try to Dragon Rage Lombre down. Vivillion offered Erika a choice but she decided to run with Sno, who Erika mistakenly thought (though to her advantage anyway) had a double advantage for Ice being effective against bug and flying types. Icy Shard was Erika's only choice as she believed it would make quick work in the battle. Whimsicott looked pretty intimidating but Erika hoped Chic was up to the challenge. Once it was revealed that Stun Spore was their plan, Erika resorted to Ember only to try and knock out her opponent quickly!

@Rune_Alchemist

Through all that training, and onto fighting the hiker!

Zeal VS Geodude. Zeal started it all out with a Power-Up Punch, which hit Geodude and sent the rock flying a bit while powering up. Geodude curled up with Defense Curl. increasing defense and setting them back on equal grounds. Zeal hit again, doing further damage and sending the rock tumbling, but then Geodude got into a roll and came right back at Zeal. Zeal struck back with one more Power-Up Punch, but got hit by a powered-up Rollout in turn. Zeal was already on his last legs with that blow. Geodude, though, tumbled out of that impact fainted, only having survived two super-effective blows due to stone-hard defense. It didn’t look like he could take any more damage, and it could be assumed that he wouldn’t be able to handle one more fight…

Then he proceeded to 1HKO one-punch Machop with a single fast and powerful punch, sending the Superpower Pokémon spinning through the air before crashing into the ground, knocked clean out.



Onix came out. It was now a question of if Zeal had powered up enough to take Onix out in one hit. The chimp was obviously faster, dashing up to the the giant rock-snake and delivering his massively powerful punch, sending the huge Pokémon careering into the mountainside. … Nope, that one’s not coming back up.



‘Oh, wow. I was distracted. What was I doing again?’ So the hiker asked before heading back towards Rainrock City to get his Pokémon healed.

Zeal was healed, and onto the next battle.

Zeal VS Shroomish. Taunt completely shut out the mushroom Pokémon’s attempt to paralyze, and instead tried to Absorb on Zeal. Didn’t work very well, though. Two Embers later Shroomish fainted with Zeal only suffering minor damage.



Here, Claire’s opponent realized that Cherubi wouldn’t stand a chance against Zeal and as such switched up her order and sent out Roselia first. Taunt did nothing against Poison Sting, which was already an attacking move, and the Thorn Pokémon turned out surprisingly fast as well as accurate with the shot and hit Zeal with Poison Sting, which poisoned him. As such, Claire switched up to Ritz.

Ritz was almost immediately Poison Stinged, but Safeguard defended him from Poison. With flight he avoided the second Poison Sting, letting him setup Reflect. With Mega Drain now doing barely any damage, the Aroma Lady resolved to shoot Poison Stings at the Ledyba, which are shots since they apparently don’t make contact. Ritz sent out Supersonic, which successfully confused Roselia, making the plant spin a bit as it tried to continue damaging with Poison Sting. Roselia happened to sting herself once and then ram herself into a nearby tree on accident from Confusion before shaking it off, and with two lost rounds spent hurting herself Roselia could not out-damage Ritz’s repeated Comet Punches. Roselia fainted.



Against Cherubi, Claire _{(with Rune_Alchemist supplying action taken)} used an Antidote on Zeal to get rid of the poison, which let Cherubi set up Sunny Day and boost its speed… which meant little as Zeal could still keep up. Zeal did get Leech Seeded, but in the end that meant fairly little. Cherubi was burned and Embered.





‘… Th-though, that means that whenever our Pokémon faints, we have to run home…!’ So the Aroma Lady noted with panic in her voice for the suddenly fresh air she had to breathe before she turned and ran with her Pokémon back towards Stillwood Village.

So, with all that done, Claire too could head east, wandering in as the trees grew thicker, the sky above was covered by the crowns of trees, and ultimately…



__________________________

@Eklispe

So, Dawkin went through the lively town and made his way to the Pokémon Center.



Dawkin exited the Pokémon Center and then went walking through Raremine Town. It’s a bright and warm day, with plenty of kids playing around with their Drilburs or otherwise. Strong men on breaks sitting at random cafés were laughing together, and the air was pretty fresh from the trees around despite the considerable heat. In any case, asking a bit and looking at signs, he could follow the way to the Pokémon Gym. Except…

… Okay, there’s a huge gate here, an arc held upon two pillars forming a place to walk through, and it says “Pokémon Gym” in large shiny letters. Except, the gate leads straight out into the vast, sandy desert.

On the side stands a little sign, as proper for a Pokémon Gym, despite the clear lack of actual building.

Raremine Pokémon Gym - Minor League
Leader: Kristy
“The Desert Princess!”

Beside the sign a young man in glasses was leaning at a wall, before he saw Dawkin, upon which he smiled and stepped forward to greet him.

‘Hello. I suppose you’re wondering where the Gym is.’



‘I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you, perhaps, our newest champ-to-be? Oh, it’s exciting to meet you! Let me begin by telling you what you’re up against.’



‘Now, let me give you an analysis. Kristy is a user of the Ground-type. Her powerful Pokémon make short work of any Electric, Fire, Rock or Steel Pokémon you bring along! … They’re weak to Water as well as Grass, and their ground-based moves are unable to touch Flying-type Pokémon, but it’s dangerous to assume she hasn’t prepared some kind of counter to such! Kristy likes to engage in battle in the desert in the midst a sandstorm, so you’ll have to beat her in her element, where all her Pokémon are powered up, if you want to get that badge~!
… Prepare accordingly, is what I intended to say! As you might tell, she’s pretty tricky. Be ready for a tough fight!’

‘Tihi.’ At some point, Kristy had stepped out from behind the Gym gate and wandered to stand behind the Gym Guy, chiming in with an imitation of his voice in-between his lines. Now she stepped aside, smiling rather mischievously at Dawkin.



‘Hiya~! I’m so happy to see you’ve come to visit my Gym! Where’s my Gym, you ask? Well, all of Isson’s deserts are my Gym~!’ Kristy smiled widely lifting her hands on her sides to gesture around her, showing the desert behind her.

‘So, you’ve come to challenge me? Of course you have. I accept your challenge!’ Kristy was apparently going ahead with this, looking supremely excited. ‘The challenge to prove you’re worthy is simple. I’ll be running in the desert on my Pokémon, and my team will be doing all in their power to keep you off me. You’ll have to catch me to have your gym battle~’ Kristy grinned some more, grabbing two Pokéballs and looking at Dawkin.

‘You feeling ready~?’

… And if you’re not ready, you’re perfectly allowed to go prepare, now that you know what you’ll be facing,’ Gym Guy chimed in, getting a bit of a stare from Kristy before her smile was directed at Dawkin again.

Dawkin’s free to just return to town if he feels like it.



Connected areas:
Route 6. The Vast Plains open up to the north of Raremine. The shorter paths lead to Route 8 and 16, while west far enough leads to Lakewatch Town.
Route 7. The single rocky desert of Isson, it connects to the Desert Mines, the Old Tombs and to the Mythic Oasis.



__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

Amelia waited for the night at a food-joint where she could eat her fill, on her own. While nothing in particular happened, here’s numerous conversations that took place around her if she found any of it even the slightest interesting.

‘Kristy’s our princess~! She always gives the miners a breath of fresh air when she shows up, giving enthusiastic encouragement and digging a lion’s share of her own! She’s very well liked in town~!’
‘Once upon a time, a meteor struck down in the desert, and the lovely Mythic Oasis sprung up where it hit… Or so they say. Mythic Oasis seems to move around, and I don’t know if a crash-site can really move. With a Vivillon you can be sure to find it, though.’
‘Huh. I think I saw Sylvia in town. Wonder what’s she doing here? We’re a long way from Goldshore Town…’
‘Crossing the desert is taxing and potentially dangerous, and all that awaits are some old tombs. I’m sure archaeologists or spirit mediums think it’s paradise, but the common folk aren’t going to find much of value.’
‘Miners dig things up in the Desert Mines, and the researchers in the Research Lab study what they find. That’s how it’s always been in Raremine Town, a cooperation between the brawly and the brainy. Lately, though, things have been disappearing here and there in Raremine Town, and both sides are suspicious the other might be responsible. I wonder, though.’
‘Professor Dunstan is spending more and more time in the Raremine Town lab, rather than in his home in Worldedge City. Wonder if he’s found something interesting nearby? It’s an interesting thought, considering he’s a well-known researcher of legendary Pokémon…’

Amelia ate and then moved on towards the Bug Garden. This late, the streets of Raremine Town was a lot more empty, yet laughter could be heard from different places where people could gather to eat. The place Amelia had just been at was probably such a place, as such she had to look at the time on her own rather than at the amount of people in the joint for when it was time to go out to explore in the night.

The Bug Garden was a building, a fairly large building with plants around it and promising more plants inside. While it was dark out, seems the building was still open.

There were signs.

“Bug Garden

Feel free to visit and enjoy
Vivillons for the purpose of finding the Mythic Oasis can be hired for 750P per day
They are not for fighting
The Pokémon in the garden are wild, but we appreciate avoiding holding battles in the garden

Thank you for your consideration”



__________________________

@Pirouette

In Chic VS Oddish, Chic had the obvious advantage and took very little damage from Absorb while Oddish took massive damage in return, Oddish fainted soon enough. Gibs VS Seedot started out with Harden against Sand Attack, then Eric tried to go for Bide. Gibs proceeded to blast Seedot down in one go with a Dragon Rage. And, in Sno VS Metapod, Metapod tried to Harden but went right past it, and proceeded to Freeze its target. The battle was over there. However, none of Eric’s Pokémon had been experienced enough to grant any levels in turn.



‘Ooooogh… Five hundwed losses in five hundwed battles…’ Though, despite his spirit being drained from losing, Erika’s encouragement quickly brightened his expression again, lifting his tiny arms into the air. ‘I’m gonna do five hundwed more!’

Next battle. The Spearow Penny had caught against Sno. Sno was unable to dodge the fast bird, but Powder Snow turned out very effective. Sno was pecked twice causing considerable damage before finally hitting Spearow with a stream of snow, causing the chilled bird to crash into the ground as its wings could no longer flap, fainting.



Chic VS Shroomish. Chic got off an Ember that did lasting damage on the Grass-type, but was then caught by Stun Spore. She was then paralyzed for a turn while Shroomish hit her with a Leech Seed, but right after Chic got off another Ember which hit and Shroomish rolled away with a cry of burning, fainting after.



Gibs VS Deerling. Started out with Sand Attack against Growl, the deer spitting at the sand and shaking its head while Gibs’ attack was lowered. Then, seemingly unaffected by the sand Deerling still hit its Tackles, but Dragon Rage simply did way more damage and Deerling fainted.





‘Hm. Guess I can’t expect Pokémon I just caught to be effective without training, haha!’ Penny laughed, going off the stage without seeming the slightest disappointed.

Gibs VS three Pikachus. … Dragon Rage promptly finished off each in turn, their stat-modifying moves useless before the dragon-move. Gibs took some Quick Attack damage, however.





‘Piiiiiiiiiii…! Pikachu!’ Carlo seemed a bit perturbed about Gibs, pointing at him and sounding mildly panicked. Anyways, he ran off after, still trying to be a Pikachu.

Then, it was Daisy.

Gibs VS Lombre. Lombre went all out, dashing forward to attack with Fury Swipes, which Gibs responded with by throwing sand in its face. This turned out to be a great success, as Lombre missed its first move just barely, and Gibs was able to avoid to throw Sand-Attack in its face twice more. That said, then Lombre found where Gibs was and started a furious swiping at Gibs, causing considerable damage given Lombre’s higher level. However, as it was blinded, Lombre was completely unable to dodge a point-blank range Dragon Rage blast. Lombre staggered back at the damage, and desperately swiped forward to hit again, but missed. Another Dragon Rage did the trick, Lombre falling fainted to the floor, but Gibs was now heavily damaged. Had Lombre hit with one more flurry, Gibs would have been in danger of fainting.



Sno VS Vivillon. Icy Shard went first, being a really fast priority move, hitting Vivillon for considerable damage as the cold shard hit the fluttering Pokémon. However, Sno was then immediately put to sleep by Sleep Powder as the damaged Vivillon sped over, scattering the sleeping dust. Vivillon got the command to start Struggle Bugging little green tracking bug-missiles towards Sno, which surely would do a lot of damage.

Does Erika wish to change her strategy? If Sno wakes up, another Icy Shard might do the trick. If she doesn’t…

@PlatinumSkink@Pirouette

---

Finishing up her battles, Claire congratulated her pokemon and only took a break long enough for them to catch her breath before dashing straight to Stillwood. The sky above was soon blocked from view by trees as she jogged down the path, and soon she had arrived in Stillwood - and was just as awestruck as she had been back in Rainrock.

The forest itself was practically the city. The houses were built inside of the great trees, their canopies blocking out a good portion of the light and making a rather pleasant, green glow bathe the city. Oh, and the smell so...foresty! It was strong enough to make even Claire pause for a moment - just for a moment - to take a deep breath of that relaxing air, but it didn't last long. Soon she was jogging through the city, only briefly glancing at the wild pokemon and people walking through the streets. The only thing that seemed a little off to her though, was the people - they seemed almost...too relaxed.

Well, whatever, it was probably nothing.

Claire walked out of the pokemon center, Ralia perched in her usual spot on her shoulder. First thing first, was to text Erika!

"Hey hey, Erika! Finally made it to Stillwood! Just outside the Pokemon Center! Wanna meetup or have ya decided to leave my cute butt in your dust?" Ralia was giving friendly waves to most of the other pokemon and people, using her psychic abilities to mess with a few of them by levitating an object a few feet off the ground, making someone drop something, or other such small mischievous acts.

Dawkin listened to the explanation carefully, the exact dynamics of gym battles had never been made particularly clear to him so this firsthand experience was valuable. The explanation was helpful in enabling Dawkin to plan out what exactly he should do in the future. For right now... Ah, it seemed Kristy had been waiting for him. Although Dawkin was tempted to accept the challenge purely for the difficulty it offered and the accompanying prestige: not to mention Kristy was making it sound as though he had shown up for the sole purpose of battling her. But he was simply not prepared, his team could not face that composition, Whooper was his only Pokemon with a favorable matchup, Pichu was nigh useless, and his other Pokemon would not fare much better. "I'm honored that you think me worthy of the challenge of catching and battling you, but I fear I am not up to the task, I am sorry." Dawkin said respectfully. "Thank your for your advice." He said the Gym Guy and stepped back and began to move out of the Gym. He wanted to find out information about the surrounding area, primarily the dessert and what Pokemon could be found in it. Given his team's composition so far it would be foolish to seek out more ground Pokemon. It was more likely that he would backtrack to catch a Ponyta, or move to Stalford's Ferry to attempt to catch some water Pokemon.

Action: Visit Desert Miner’s Hangout and gather info.

---

Amelia ate her meal in peqace, listening to the various conversations going on around her. The one that brought up the tombs in the desert brought a smile to her face, especially the bit about it being a possible paradise for spirit mediums like herself. She took her time with her meal, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant. When she finished, she paid for her meal before heading towards where she had sensed the ghost-types earlier. As she moved to her destination, a part of her wondered how someplace that had been so hot earlier was now so cold at night. Upon arrival, she took a moment to study the sign that adorned the entrance. This brought a frown to her face but she continued on regardless.

The gardens were indoors, so this brought Amelia out of the cold and into a place that was just the right temperature, causing her to sigh in relief. She moved through the gardens, spotting a few caretakers but otherwise, the place lived up to it's name. There were only bug-types here and the sight of two in particular heightened her suspicious of what Ghost-Type she had sensed. Continuing on, she eventually found what she was looking for and wasn't surprised to see a Shedinja. She smiled at the Ghost/Bug but didn't reach out for it. She didn't know much about this one outside of the fact that it was well out of her league. Even if she befriended it, there was no garentee that Shedinja would follow an inexperienced trainer such as herself.

Seeing as to how she was going to give up on this endeavor, Amelia moved through the garden until she found a bench to sit in, a decent distance from any of the garden's local pokemon. Taking a seat, she brought out her pokeballs and let out her partners, who all let out cries of happiness to be out of the little spherical prisons.
"Alright everyone, I'm going to let you all enjoy yourselves. But no bothering the local pokemon or picking any fights yet. Don't wonder too far, especially you Phantump. I don't want anyone talking any of you away." She said, getting cries of acknowledgement from her friends before they began wondering, not going too far and several of them observing the local pokemon from a distance out of curiosity more then anything. Shuppet kept close to Amelia though, who held the shy little ghost-puppet close, watching the others as best she could.

---

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

It may have been the relative ease of the earlier battles but this one was proving to be quite the task. Lombre had put up quite the fight but eventually Gibs had triumphed but the next battle wasn't boding too well. Sno had done some initial damage but had unfortunately fallen asleep. There wasn't an easy way out of this, she wanted to save Chic for the final opponent but switching out here would put her at even more of a disadvantage due to the early damage. However, there wasn't any getting around it, right now. Now Erika wasn't aware that the Chesto berry cured sleeping but it likely wouldn't matter because the usage of one would still give Vivillion a chance to attack and judging from Sno's condition, she won't last another hit.

So Erika would gamble and hope Sno can wake up and manage to get off Icy Shard to hopefully knock that Vivillion done. If that should fail, Chic was next and she'd use Ember (and should it succeed, Erika would withdraw Sno for now). If (potentially when) Ember backfires, scratch would be used to try and faint Vivillion. If Chic faints, Gibs would be up and attempt to use Dragon Rage. Following that, Erika's last and hopefully best attempt at knocking out Whimscott would be to have Chic (if still around) and Gibs to use Sand-Attack until Whimscott's accuracy is the lowest it can go. Then attempt Ember/Dragon Rage to finish off her opponent. Sno would be the last resort (assuming she survived and woke up), using Double Team until evasiveness was at its max and then Icy Shard.

When the battle is all said and done, Erika would text Claire the following: 'Oh no, I haven't left you! I just got done at the Treetop Battles and will be over there in minute!'

@Rune_Alchemist

Ralia’s little pranks quickly proved that these villagers were seemingly completely impossible to annoy. They gave little laughters as they looked for whatever had pranked them, Oddishes and Shroomishes just curiously looking around and then relaxing like “oh, well, this is fine too” after levitating off the ground. Hopefully, however, she didn’t prank a Gloom, because then it’d release a stink that’d smell for, what was it again? Right, a mile. That’s probably the more than the whole of Stillwood Village.

That said, otherwise the village continued as usual while Claire called Erika.

__________________________

@Eklispe

‘… Aw.’ Kristy looked disappointed. Still, she quickly reestablished her smile and looked happy again. ‘Alright! I’ll be here whenever you feel ready, probably~’ Kristy giggled and then waved him off. Gym Guy nodded back to Dawkin at the thanks, and then Dawkin was on his way again.

Then, through Raremine Town and onto the Miner’s Hangout. It’s basically a bar, because they’re serving drinks, laughing and drinking together in here, but they’re also offering all the necessary tools and equipment for proper mining and giving advice to new people. Dawkin was more than welcome among them, quite a few more than eager to answer his questions. Then it turned out he was just asking about what he could expect around them. Well, they could answer that, too!

‘Well. Mostly the desert is filled with sand, ground-Pokémon and the sandstorms started by said Pokémon. Still, there are the odd grass-type cactus-Pokémon, and there’s also the odd Darumaka around.’
‘Desert Mines contain roughly the same things as the desert, only more powerful and with rock-Pokémon thrown into the mix. But, you can dig up valuable stuff, like fossils or nuggets? Haha!’
‘Route 16… Over the water. It’s perhaps the most dangerous Route in Isson. It’s not safe to attempt crossing surfing on a Pokémon, the inhabitants will pull you under. Stalford’s Ferry offers a platform to stand on, but even then you must be ready to protect the boat. Not a route to cross without a decent electric-type, hah.’
‘Going north to the cliffs of Route 8 and then up to the Mountain Valley are excellent places to obtain yourself a Flying-type Pokémon. There’s a good reason why the flying Freecape Ferrymen originates from Freecape Town, just in-between!’
‘Crossing the desert, the old tombs are waiting… but there really isn’t much there for anyone who isn’t an archeologist or desiring a Ghost-type. The Mystic Oasis, said to have sprung out when a meteor hit the desert, is a much more friendly tourist-destination… but you might need to hire a Vivillon from the Bug Garden to find it!’
‘Psht. You know they’re intentionally being vague on what Pokémon can be found, right? It’s like an unsaid rule not to tell too much to young trainers so they can discover things for themselves~! That is, unless you’re seeking a specific Pokémon you can name, then we’re all happy to point the way!’

He got some tips and such. Dawkin could be a bit more specific about what kind of information he wanted, or he could move on.



Connected areas:
Route 6. The Vast Plains open up to the north of Raremine. The shorter paths lead to Route 8 and 16, while west far enough leads to Lakewatch Town.
Route 7. The single rocky desert of Isson, it connects to the Desert Mines, the Old Tombs and to the Mythic Oasis.



__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

Amelia settled on a bench in the garden, and released her Pokémon from their balls so they could enjoy the surroundings. From there, there was a rather colourful view as the Vivillons in their many different patterns fluttered about, bringing plenty of life to this place for the ghosts and Amelia to watch. Occasional buzzing from Ninjasks flashing past, but they weren’t minding her. The ghosts could wander, perhaps bring about some curious Scatterbugs and Spewpas that were young enough to find them to be new. It was late and there was a pleasant air within the Bug Garden, perfect for relaxing a bit. They’d be taking their time, and for quite a bit of time, there was calm in the world.

… So. Something wandered into their range.

To Amelia’s ghosts, who just happened to be out right now, it was as if a terrifying monster with a powerful aura appeared. A dreadfully evil energy which lashed out as if trying to ensnare them, as if it wanted to absorb them. A presence like one which could bring an end to their ghostly existence, it was a terror walking to their senses. … That is, unless they were of evil minds. Then the powerful presence walking was seductive, promising untold might should they come try make it theirs, an almost flirtatious tone to the unnatural energy.

To Amelia… she had sensed this once before. A presence that terrified nearby ghosts, but also, she could now feel, had a multitude of Ghost-Pokémon on their body. At least one, a powerful one, was outside their Pokéball. This was the same presence she had once encountered in Witchpeak Cemetery…

… So, it was just passing by, walking through Raremine Town, definitely not caring about the Bug Garden. From the direction, it had just come from the desert in the middle of the night and was going back inland. It showed no intentions to stop and consider Amelia, if she just held tight it would pass and she’d be free to move again. If Amelia didn’t have this sense and these Pokémon, she wouldn’t even have noticed. Then again, perhaps she had reason to intercept it? All up to her.



Connected areas:
Route 6. The Vast Plains open up to the north of Raremine. The shorter paths lead to Route 8 and 16, while west far enough leads to Lakewatch Town.
Route 7. The single rocky desert of Isson, it connects to the Desert Mines, the Old Tombs and to the Mythic Oasis.



__________________________

@Pirouette

Unfortunately, Sno did not wake up, and being hit by numerous Struggle Bug missiles meant being asleep took one step further to becoming fainted.

Chic came out, but unfortunately once again her opponent successfully predicted Ember to be the next move and Vivillon flew over, scattering Powder. Chic attempted the Ember, but the powder covered over her detonated upon contact with the flames, damaging her while Vivillon flew unharmed above. Then it turned into a Gust VS Scratch battle, and unfortunately Vivillon out-damaged Chic on that front and Chic eventually fainted. Then, finally, Gibs came out… and Vivillon was much faster than Gibs, sending Struggle Bug shots from a distance, and the already considerably damaged dragon couldn’t take them coming from all sides and as such was struck and fainted.

Erika unfortunately lost this one.

‘Oh, my. Did I get too serious?’ Daisy asked, tilting her head on the other side of the arena. ‘I will give you one note of comfort, though. I can’t use Vivillon in Gym Battles because it’s not a Grass-type. I have to use a weaker Pokémon instead. Tihi.’

No rewards for losing. Her Pokémon were healed by the staff, and then she was sent back to the reception, where she was thanked for participating, and “we hope you come back to try again!”. Moments later Erika was outside, and responding to Claire.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pirouette The two of them can meet up now. Otherwise!



Connected areas:
Route 4. Forest route at the base of Mt. Strength leading west to Rainrock City.
Route 5. A grassy incline connecting mountains, forests, plains, Stillwood and Lakewatch.
Route 14. The waters of Dragon Lake are also known as Route 14. It connects Lakewatch Town, Highhill Town and Stillwood Village.
Mountain Valley. A passage between Mt. Strength and Mt. Chill, a shortcut to Worldedge City.

Anton was using all of his strength putting up with Martin and his dumb questions. The plan was working, as no one even considered him sticking out. Martin even found a few seconds to peek under one of the top crates to see what they were hauling. Carbos. Hauling one or two was one thing, but an entire crate of this stuff? That could mean one of two outcomes. They were using this to make a lot of money, or getting ready for a large fight. Seeing as this was Team Virtue, it was most likely the former.

So the carts were going to West Base, which gave some information. He also knew these things were so heavy. At the least, he knew now what scheme they were pulling. It was time for him to get out of this place, and back to training. The other directions here were blocked off and too many people watching. If he could slip away without them realizing he wasn't a member. then it was possible he trick Anton again later. Martin had his Escape Rope more than ready to use. Knowing how these caves work, there would be a split soon, and that was all he needed.

Action: Push the cart of totally legal goods until they hit a split in the roads, and sneak the other path away from his group. Then use an Escape Rope and get out of here.