---

---

"Incredibly rare doesn't mean it's impossible!" Skylar jovially commented as he unfolded the Old Rod, inspecting it for any rust and age in case it'd mess things up with casting. So far, it seemed like it was in decent shape. Hopefully it'd hold up for the next little bit of time.

Was he actually gonna try to catch a dragon?! Heck yeah!

"Alright, Team! If we're gonna catch this dragon, I'm gonna need some help!" Skylar asked his team as he poked Seabreeze with the rod, him being up first. "Sea, do you think you could find a hotspot for fish?"

"Wingull!" The bird cawed and leapt off Skylar's head, flapping around the lake in pursuit of any hotspots for fish.

"Paradise, mind if I snag a few bananas?" Skylar asked his Tropius, reaching his hand up to her neck for some fruit. Of course, the Tropius obliged. A lot of the party had loved the nutritious fruits on her neck, so why wouldn't the wild Pokemon? Hopefully it helped draw any rares nearby. Skylar pulled a small spoon out of his bag, peeling a banana and cutting it into slices using the spoon before attaching some to his rod and preparing to cast it out.

"JoJo, mind helping me cast a rod?" JoJo nodded softly before looking at the lake, wherever Seabreeze highlighted in his efforts was where he took a picture, sending the mental image to Skylar. Once Skylar had it, he looked towards the area and hurled his rod out towards it.

Celebrity, meanwhile, was sitting down beside Skylar. It was pretty evident she was doubting what would result from this, but Skylar was still a boy with unwaivering optimism.

(If anything interesting concluded, feel free to intervene. The rest is what happened when Skylar didn't reel anything interesting in.)

If Skylar found nothing interesting, he'd turn to face the kind fisherman who gave him the rod and tell him. "Thank you for the Old Rod, mister!" before turning around and heading off, slowly making his way towards the Ranches near/in Highhill. If any Pokemon challenged him on his way, he'd spar a little, but he wouldn't be actively looking for battles.

Amelia sighed in relief as the army of Ghosts came to a stop as the last of the Team Virtue members left the scene. She heard some talking behind her but paid it no mind as her focus was on the mass in front of her. Aegislash was, probably unsurprisingly, the most willing to call a stop to things. Gengar and Cofagrigus were less then happy but still called off their forces. However, upon hearing Aegislash's words, Amelia's expression fell a bit. She knew the Royal Sword pokemon deserved to hear the truth and resolved to tell it that.

However, it seemed she was due for a small series of interruptions. The first was a small group of Yamasks appeared and flew around them for a bit before presenting them with what looked like some gold. Amelia smiled to them and gave her thanks before Aegislash returned with a Golurk, possessing the boy and speaking through him again. When Golurk handed her the orb, she took a couple of seconds to examine it and take in it's appearance before taking off her backpack and carefully putting both objects in it. Just as she finished, someone shouted and she jumped as the man from before suddenly dove and bowed to her, his head on the ground. She watched him for several seconds before sighing.
"As I told you, I was perfectly safe. I was negotiating with the Drifloon so I could catch it. You attacking it and forcing me to protect it probably made that easier though and it's now one of my partners and friends. Now if you don't mind, I need to go back into the tomb." She said to him, her tone calm but rather displeased. She obviously did not remember their encounter fondly. Having addressed him, she turned to Aegislash. "Sir Aegislash, might I have a bit more of your time. I would like to ask you a favor... and also to explain what's happening down in the bottom of the tomb. You... might not like what I have to say about that."

@Joshua Tamashii @Eklispe

‘But... They say Drifloons kidnap children... I didn't want you kidnapped... How would I have checked to ensure...? Hm...’ Jonas muttered, left on the ground pondering.

Assuming he was done with him, Aegislash released control of the nearby boy. The boy staggered a bit, and then was like ‘I-I think I'm just gonna get myself out of he-’

Then Amelia spoke to Aegislash, who focused back on her and promptly re-assumed control of the boy, whose expression went back from mild panic to stone-cold stare.

‘I will hear what you have to say,’ Aegislash said, through the boy.

Amelia's expression remained somber as she watched Aegislash leave. She could tell by the expression that the possessed boy had given her that this was likely not to end well for her. Regardless, she turned to Jonas to say something to him quickly.
"They might do that on occasion but I doubt they always do it. They might simply want to play at times or have someone to talk to. Not all Driffloon want to kidnap children and not all of them want to be friendly to humans. Remember, each pokemon has it's own personality. I doubt your Vanillite is like every other Vanillite. You should try and talk and play with it as often as possible. Your pokemon are not simply tools." She said, her tone gentle. "Also, you might want to follow me but keep your distance. The boy Aegislash is using to talk to me might be a little distressed when he's finally let go again. Your team says they like helping others, so help.."

With that, she would follow Aegislash back into the tomb. If the Yamasks would still follow her for any reason, she would reach out and pet them, as the simple contact would help her relax and feel calmer. Once She reached where Aegislash was waiting for her, she would bow to it before speaking.
"So we reached the chamber were your master was sealed away. By the time we got there Darkrai was already released. We had very little time to prepare before those who were attacking the tomb were on us. My teacher held off not only their leader but also the rival of your master, Cresselia, as best he could. But in the end, the battle only stopped because my teacher and the leader of the enemy army came to an agreement of sorts after Darkrai forced Cresselia to flee. My master is currently trying to, or has succeeded or failed at, trying to capture your master to make Darkrai his own pokemon. In exchange, the assault on your home was called off. Even Darkrai seemed to agree to this, as it got in place to battle my teacher before I left. I didn't want things to end this way, and I'm sorry you might lose the master you obviously hold rather dear. But it was the only way to protect your home and the rest of your friends. But, that's how things have played out." She explained before lowering her head, waiting to hear how angry Aegislash might become.

@PlatinumSkink

---

"EH? Won? First try!?"

"Rrraaaal!"

"Ey, my luck's still holdin' out!" Claire laughed brightly, doing a victory fist pump as she swiped the voucher from the hands of the receptionist before bolting back up the stairs towards the bike shop. After rushing through a crowd, she slammed the voucher down perhaps, a bit too enthusiastically. A perhaps, mildly confused cashier took the voucher. "It was my lucky day, heh! One Mach Bike!" Leaving with her goods in tow, Claire exited the department store. Lets see...where to next...wasn't there an entertainment district? She was pretty sure she saw adds for a gamecorner.

"Ral." Ralia gave her cheek a hard poke.

"Ahaha, what d'ya mean, that's a terrible idea? We just got super lucky on the first voucher. Gotta ride this luck train all the way to being a millionaire." Ralia sighed, rolling her eyes with a light giggle as Claire mounted the new Mach bike. "Don't tell me this is a terrible idea too." That comment earned a sigh from the Ralts, but she seemed to understand that Claire wasn't about to not do what she was about too. "Alright, hold on tight girl this Ride's gonna be a wild one." Ralia face palmed, before tightly holding onto Claire's neck.

Claire stepped on the peddle...

"Outta the way! Fast, and furious coming through!" Claire zoomed through the streets of the northern district, Ralia holding on for dear life as the redhead peddled her way through the crowds, causing no small amount of chaos - and occasionally ramming into a trashcan or other obstacle. In the end she made it to the game corner lightly scuffed, and Ralia only having to teleport them out of the way of something twice.

"Wahaha, we made good time."

"Raaaal~" She patted Claire's head in a fairly pitying manner.

"...I feel like I just got insulted."

"Raaaal~"

"Well whatever." Claire folded up the bike, storing it in her bag as she walked into the game corner.

---

^{Wet Caverns || Day 3: Mid-morning}
The new fork in the road took Eryn aback, and she has to take a moment of silent consideration this time, glancing between the two paths. Common sense told her to follow the river, but where was the adventure in trying to get out of the caverns so quickly. So okay, it might be smarter to err on the side of caution, but she could always lap back after. She wanted to see something, find something in these caverns, not get through scot-free and come out empty-handed. From the river route also came voices, which hinted at an exit, and Eryn figured she could always lap back and meet up with any trainers there.

“Alright Dei, let’s go this way,” Eryn said, wading towards dry land and setting both Dei and her backpack down when she got there. Then, looking back, she leaned down and spread her hands, making random ‘come hither’ motions underwater until Tula got the message and surfaced in her hands.

“There you are, Tutu. Not hurt, are you?” she asked, looking the Magikarp over, gasping and cooing when she saw the damage done.

“Oh, Tutu, sorry I didn't notice,” she said, retrieving the Magikarp's ball. “There there, my trusty little scout. Take a well-deserved rest.”

Tula wriggled as she was returned, and Eri appeared a moment later, shaking his coat out.

“Right-o, Eri. I was thinking, as a dark-type, can you see in the dark?” Eryn asked, motioning into the dark tunnel.

Eri frowned, peering into the darkness, then moved his head from left to right and back again, slowly.

“No?”

Eri repeated the motion, yipping.

“Alright, kinda, got it, but hey, go ahead and double me again, alright? Makes for better communication anyway,” Eryn said, shrugging. “May as well make it easier on ourselves.”

Eri nodded, closing his eyes. His form melded into the shadows, elongating to Eryn’s height before lightening to reveal Eryn’s mirror image.

“Amazing. Going to take some getting used to, but hey, lookin’ good,” Eryn said, grinning.

Her double grinned back, and Eryn suddenly wondered how long Eri had spent observing her before he was able to accurately replicate her mannerisms. She hadn’t been around the Infested Woods for too long—just a day or so, training, grinding, and exploring, and he’d gotten most all of her body language and usual ticks down, admittedly mostly by copying her one-for-one, but still. Would he learn other things just as quickly? And was he still watching her, taking note of what she was doing on a day-to-day basis?

On one part, Eryn didn’t mind this. Eri was free to watch and mimic if her if he wanted, and it’d be flattering if he did. On the other part, though, Eryn knew factually she wasn’t the best trainer yet—not even close. She still had a way to go, a whole journey’s worth of trials to face before she could call herself anything close to a role model, and for Eri to treat her as some sort of standard would be unfair to him, even if he didn’t realize it.

That said, the matter could be addressed later, or at least when they weren’t in the middle of the Wet Caverns. For now, Eryn would focus on the cave around her and all the possibilities in the darkness around her. The caverns offered a different sort of excitement compared to the Infested Forest, where the humid darkness of the woods obscured her vision. Here, she could see as far as the light could shine, but it was a vast, empty darkness, save for a slew of Zubats overhead that had by now somewhat thinned out, nesting in the overhead crags rather than fluttering wildly.

Eryn paused to consider bringing out Kylie as well before thinking better of it. Her two Pokemon would draw enough attention as it was, and the caverns were narrow enough as it was. Besides, having Kylie as her back-up was pretty sweet.

Eryn grinned, pointing ahead. “Onwards we go!”

Down the dry route they went, and soon enough Eryn found herself facing yet another split in the road, this one forking into three separate paths, two of which were wet. However, from the dry path came sounds, this time of hard objects clashing against each other. The smashing and crashing reminded Eryn of rocks hitting each other, and she grinned.

“This way,” she said, leading the way down the rocky path. “Let’s check out some rock- or ground-types. Get us a glimpse of the real cave Pokemon.”

As the sounds got louder and louder, Eryn peered into the darkness as Dei’s flame lit up the first round object rolling her way: a small boulder. Rolling towards her, it seemed to accelerate, prompting her to sidestep it with a surprised “oop” to allow it to crash into the cave wall behind her. Upon hitting the wall, the rock burst open, revealing… arms?

“Oh, a Geodude!”

Eryn’s identification, however, prompted the Pokemon to turn towards her, its eyes looking her and her double over critically. Then, withdrawing its arms, it threw itself in the direction of the louder smashes, rolling away.

Peering into the darkness, Eryn was able to make out other small, round shapes, and a much bigger rock rolling around in the makeshift rink of stone. Judging by the size, it couldn’t have been a Geodude, and she pulled out her Pokedex to confirm her suspicions: a Graveler.

“Well, guess this is the end of the line for us here, or is it?” she asked, eyes catching on a path in the back. While there was a brawl of sorts going on around the ramp in the room, Eryn was too caught up in the possibilities of what could lay down the path behind the Geodudes. Why had they chosen to gather here instead of somewhere else? Were there, perhaps, rarer Pokemon, or even gemstones in the back?

“Eri, keep up, okay?” Eryn said, flashing a grin that her double mirrored. Then, making sure the Graveler was starting to roll away from the right of the room, Eryn sprinted down the right edge of the room, making for the path in the back.

---

@PlatinumSkink

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

Stillwood Village had made a nice place to relax in as it turned out. Something that Erika needed after her rather stressful match against her friend Claire who had stomped her, at least that's how Erika's mind had stressed about through a series of mental gymnastics. She spent the rest of the day moping around Stillwood Village, trying to figure out what she could have done better. Was it there a better matchup for this Pokemon against that? What if she utilized this move better.. or maybe...?

It was a process that while normally good, became a problem if you worried too much about it. Claire had seemed to take everything in with a cool head. It wasn't until a few hours after that battle that Erika had realized she was stressing about too much. A real trainer, like her mother, felt comfortable as the commander of their team. Blunders happened at all levels but if a trainer felt comfortable no matter what, they could win any match! At least that's eventually where Erika's mindset ended up. She needed to relax.

So as a bit of a break, she decided it was best to not worry about being a trainer but to relax with her and her Pokemon! She spent time in Stillwood Village hanging around the gardens with her whole team and did various activities that she could, like watching the battles at the gym. It was nice being a spectator for awhile but seeing others progress had only reminded Erika of her ambitions and so it was time to set out again.

Running to the Pokemart, she picked up a few essentials: 5 Potions, 6 Pokeballs, 1 Antidote, and 1 Paralysis heal as a means to be better prepared for her next leg of her journey. Speaking of, it was obvious she needed to consider her team to challenge the Stillwood gym here and a Flying type would be a very helpful member to her team. Mountain Valley was the perfect place, supposedly, where she could find a Flying type and with that she set out from Stillwood Village to the Valley...

@Gardevoiran

Seabreeze found someplace that had a bunch of fish of some kind, then used Paradise’s bananas as bait and sent out his line in the direction indicated to him by Jonathan…

‘Ye might wanta be careful drawing gatherings of fish, they might turn out ta be- oh,’ the fisherman said, before her threw himself to the side. Because, the whole pack of fish suddenly streamed alongside the underside of the line, and-

‘CARVACARVACARVA-!’





- a whole pack of Carvanha jumped out of the water, seeking to consume the hook, line and sinker in its entirety. Very soon one of their sharp teeth cut the line and they swam away with the banana.

‘Ye,, uh, careful, there,’ the fisherman simply said.

Now, then. For attempt two to ten.



















Onwards, then, to the ranches!

Skylar eventually arrived to the ranches. They’re a gathering of barns and houses, surrounded by fields of crops and grass-fields. There were scarecrows of some kind dangling in the fields, while in other fields Pokémon were grazing. Here and there are Mareeps, the occasional Miltank strolling about and a ton of Torchic over at that henhouse with a couple Combusken. Because they’re seriously the only hen Pokémon.

















‘Hey! Young trainer!’



A farmer approached Skylar as he came into the ranching area. There was a light smile on the farmer’s lips.

‘You’re just in time! Do you want to work for me? I need to leave for a while, and I need someone to keep my ranch safe. There’s a bunch of birds that wants to feed on my crops, and my scarecrows just aren’t helping! There’s also a bunch of foxes that like to catch my hens, so watch out for that. There’s also snakes, who can come from unexpected angles, careful. Oh, and there’s wolves… I think they’re wolves… and little lions among them trying to take my sheep, so if you could take that into account, that’d be nice.’

‘Here’s a rough drawing of the situation,’ the farmer said, handing over a piece of paper… that Skylar obviously couldn’t see well what was on himself, but still…



‘Do this for me, and I’ll pay you 7,500P. I’ll deduct a bit for each time you fail. Please, assist me! Save our ranch!’

So the farmer asked.

Would Skylar accept the job?

Otherwise, here’s Highhill Town again.





Connected areas:
Route 1. To the south, is the common route of first journeys. Green and straight.
Route 3. To the north, the route to Rainrock or the Silent Shrine. A wet woodland.
Route 14. To the east, the lake known as the Dragon Lake, potentially for crossing.
Path to Silent Shrine. To the west, the Silent Forest and the path to the shrine within.



__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii @Eklispe

‘I-I’m not seeing Pokémon as tools!’ Jonas objected, looking horrified at the implication. ‘My Vanillite… was released by her trainer in the midst of Redcoast City. I saved her, when nobody else would, as she was melting in the hot streets… I’ve been caring for her and been her friend ever since!’ Jonas attempted, Vanillite floating about looking at him in worry as he did. ‘It’s just that… some Pokémon are classified as dangerous to humans, but…’ It did look like Jonas had something complicated on his mind.

Amelia made things easier, however, by giving him a separate thing to focus on. The boy. Jonas nodded with determination. ‘… I will! When he’s free, I shall look after him!’ So he decided.

Then, after that. Aegislash listened to what Amelia had to say, silently and solemnly. At the end of it, the Pokémon simply made a slight, sagely nod, which involved the whole sword-and-shield Pokémon tilting a bit forward.

‘If so my master has decreed, then I will allow such to come to pass. My second duty will become my primary, and that is to ensure these tombs remain a haven to the Pokémon that inhabit them, as well as preserving the history that are contained within these walls. I have no regrets.’ so the young boy next to the Aegislash said, obviously conveying Aegislash’s words.

In the background, the rest of the Team Virtue forces were heading back, Ivory throwing a frown at Jonas who seemed to have decided to remain, while the ghosts of Old Tombs headed back in to where they belonged. Oscar had started dashing over the hill, towards where in the distance the hole in the ceiling that Cresselia had made and Pangoro had expanded still existed. Clearly, he wanted to see what was going on over there.

So, what would Amelia and Dawkin do now?





Connected areas:
Route 7. The desert is right outside.

---

---

Skylar listened to the Farmer's request of him, offering the kid 7500P in exchange for a little bit of the kid's time to watch over
his livestock. 7500P seemed like a fair bit, since Skylar could feasibly buy 75 Pokeballs with it, but what was catching the kids eye more was something else.

The birds. There were Torchic and Combusken over there! Two new kinds of birdy species for Skylar to ogle at with their blurry outlines against their little pens. Skylar was nearly DYING to go over and hug some of them, and he was incredibly tempted to before he sat and thought about the offer again. Just a little more thought went through his head before he looked up at Seabreeze in his head, and then to the rest of the gang.

He smiled before turning to the farmer. "I'd be glad to do it for 6000P, as long as you'd be willing to let a Torchic over there come along with me on my journey. S-sorry to change the offer, I just love birds..."

If the farmer was willing to let one of the "ton" of Torchic he had join up with Skylar's party, then Skylar'd be more than happy to start his attempts at defending the farm. It'd definitely be tough, but he'd be willing to give it his best efforts along with his team!

If the farmer wasn't willing, Skylar'd certainly still do it, but he'd probably try to catch one of the Torchic after.

@Rune_Alchemist

So, in that battle way in the past by now, Ralia successfully defeated Sno in that final battle with Erika.




Back to the present!



Mach Bike most assuredly was not designed to be used within a city and Claire caused quite the bit of havoc by using it. Somehow, she found a route most assuredly not meant for bikes trucking down to the Entertainment District, after which she had to manouver the crowded roads leading from building to building in these dark skyscrapers until she finally arrived at the shiniest building in the underground.

Welcome, to Worldedge City Game Corner!



The halls spread out vastly in all directions. Rows upon rows of slot machines filled the shining golden halls, a stylish gold, black and red theme hanging over the entire place, it felt like the lap of luxury itself. The place was filled to the brim with chattering consumers that were playing the various available games. Of course, we not being restricted by some form of anti-gambling age-restriction laws, there were tables for common poker and blackjack, not to mention a roulette, as well as various minigames of Card Flip, Voltorb Flip, Dodrio Racing that people bet on…

The dealers are all high-level Psychic-types. Alakazam, Mr. Mime, Gardevoir, Gothitelle… Also, there were Jynx dancers and Lopunny servers providing drinks to those playing. Just… because.























Aaaaaaaaaaaand it took a mere few steps into the Game Corner before someone showed up in front of Claire with an offer in their hand.

‘Hello! Welcome to Worldedge City Game Corner! This is your first time at our establishment, correct? Then, here’s our special deal for newcomers! For 1000P, get a shiny new Coin Case and 250 Coins! Normally, 1000P only nets you 50 Coins, so it’s a bargain!’

… So she says.

‘Remember, Coins cannot be translated back into P, they’re entirely for spending in our price-corner! Which, by the way, feel free to browse on your right~!

I hope you’ll have a great time at our Game Corner!’ So she said, before going off to talk to the next new customer coming in.





There’s a woman playing various games over there, drawing the chatter of all the people around her. Curiousy, Claire has seen this woman before, albeit not in the flesh.



What will Claire do here?



Or, if she’d like to head off somewhere else.



Connected areas:
Route 10. South of Worldedge. A farmland employing multiple psychic Pokémon from Mt. Edge to help with the crops.
Route 13. West of Worldedge. A slightly disturbed route, which attracts electric Pokémon due to the proximity of the power plant.
Mt. Edge. The mystical mountain at the heart of Worldedge’s unnatural existence. Few people actually cross its fabled tunnels, most just teleport past.
Route 18. East of Worldedge. A calm stretch of land going from Worldedge to Witchpeak, part of the Allmass Cycling Circuit.





Currently in the Entertainment District.



__________________________

@Typical

Eryn dodged her way into the mountainous rocky cavern, avoiding Geodudes and Gravelers on the way. She successfully managed to get past the brawl, and fortunately discovered that the Zubats behind her was pretty hesitant to continue on this path. The “why” of matters not immediately important, Eryn proceeded to go down the path the Graveler had rolled. She’d quickly discover that the natural light of Wet Caverns originated from its water, and as such, down here it quickly became very, very dark. Fortunately, Dei’s presence made that less of an issue, and she could continue regardless, assuming she was prepared to occasionally cast herself out of the way as that was not the only Graveler that was going to come rolling down. There was the sound of an explosion somewhere in the distance of the caves…

Finally, she arrived to what could best be described as some tunnels. They were not exactly straight or even, more curving a bit as they wanted, only sometimes passing by one another. A chain of tunnels that could allow Eryn to climb a bit however she wanted. Honestly, they seemed more like something a Pokémon of some kind had created, rather than a naturally occurring cavern. That, and… a tiny Pokémon stuck its head out. The little bump in the ground stared up at her curiously, and then called to her happily.

‘Diglett!’



… And that’s when the tunnel suddenly started shaking. Something… was approaching. Something large was burrowing its way through the tunnels, getting closer, turning a corner, and-

And it’s absolutely huge rocky face just turned a corner and gazed down at the really tiny in comparison Eryn that had just walked into its territory. A giant rock snake gazed at her where she was in its way.





‘Diglett!’ Diglett happily called to the giant Onix. Onix did not react.

… Now, what would Eryn do?





Connected areas:
Route 2. Behind you.
Lakewatch Town. You don’t know the way, yet!



__________________________

@Pirouette

Erika inspected the garden. There’s a bunch of seeds for sale which trainers could then plant in their own ground to indefinitely grow their own berries, assuming they wanted to spend the time and energy doing that. She also went and watched a couple battles at the gym. She wasn’t allowed to watch the Gym Leader fight, you need the badge to get to peep on that kind of battle, but she was able to see a few normal challengers going up against the Gym Trainers. And, indeed, Daisy was there, as she had said she was, standing as the second out of three Gym Trainers. No Vivillon, though.

Erika then went and purchased some things at the store.

5 Potions, 300 * 5, 1500
6 Pokéballs, 200 * 6, 1200
1 Antidote, 100
1 Paralyze Heal. 200

1500 + 1200 + 100 + 200 = 1500 + 1500 = 3000. Erika spent 3000P. Nice and even.

8675 - 3000 = 5675. Erika has 5675P left.

After that, Erika turned and headed north-west from the village.

She arrived to…

Erza was on a winning streak. Poochyena, Vulpix, Mareep and Budew - four new additions to his team. It also meant that he needed to rearrange his team entirely - which was kind of bad as he'd probably need to leave some members in order to take others. Well... if he could manage just switching them here and there, he could train up all his pokémon and he'd have many more options than the usual six.

What wasn't a straight win, however, was this wild Eevee. Vee and the wild Eevee had been exchanging tackles and Vee seemed to have the upper hand, but even when weakened, the wild Eevee didn't give in - crashing out of the pokéball and apparently ready to fight once again. Erza exhaled a soft sigh; he knew Eevees weren't quite the easy pokémon to catch, as they were somewhat rare due to their popularity and the fact that they can evolve into a plethora of different pokémon. Without the desire to pursue this fight for longer and end up hurting both his and the wild pokémon, he called out:

"Vee, enough, come back!" With Vee's pokéball in his hand, the pokémon was absorbed by a red flash into the round object. Erza whispered to the pokéball; "You did great, but we're not prepared well enough for this, right now..." With that, Erza looked over at the wild Eevee and - unless the wild pokémon switched its focus on him or something, he'd walk out with a; "Alright, next time you better be prepared to embark on a journey with me Eevee, cause I won't leave without catching you, kay?"

...

Now, the way back is probably long and Erza has a weakened team and no potions. He'll try to hurry along and avoid any danger - but if something does show up in the way, he'll rely on Princess as she's currently the only healthy member in the crew. Once he manages to travel all the way back to Redcoast City, the boy will heal up at the pokémon center - he'll also try to get any valuable information regarding the pokémon gym in here, such as how tough the leader is, what kind of pokémon he uses and etcetera. Then, Erza will proceed to the pokémart and resupply. He'll buy 10 pokéballs and 5 potions.

Amelia was relieved when it turned out that the Aegislash was not actually mad at, but actually rather accepting of what was going on. This gave her more confidence to continue speaking and finally get to the reason she had originally come to the tombs before this whole, wild misadventure had occurred. To say she was happy things were resolving happily would be an understatement.
"Lord Aegislash, if I might be selfish one more time. The reason I originally came here was in the hopes of finding some Ghost-types to capture and take with me on my journey. Since you are one of the rulers of this tomb, I would like to ask your permission to take a Yamask, a Golett, and a Yamask with me. I will not ask for anyone powerful, as I don't want to damage the forces that defend your home. I'm also not that experienced a trainer myself and rather weak. So some weaker, newer residents to your home will be fine. However, if I might be greedy, if there are any that are... of a different coloration, I would be eager to meet them. If you wish for them to not leave the tomb, I will not argue. But if they can and I can take them with me, I would be greatly honored." She said. "Also, one of the people who attacked your home is waiting for you to release the boy from your control, so that he might be able to return to his home. Once the boy is allowed to leave, he will leave as well."

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

Erika took a deep breath as she cleared the almost stifling perfumed air of Stillwood Village and entered the more rugged and chilled Mountain Valley. An uphill trek most of the way was rewarded with an open and beautiful view that had the previous snowy denizen smiling from ear to ear. Hiking like this was something that Erika loved as a child while living in Cooldome so if you subtracted the snow and colder temperatures, Mountain Valley was a breeze!

Speaking of breezes, the wind seemed to whip in between the two mountains never quite leaving this valley in peace and yet, it seemed to be paradise to all the bird Pokemon she was seeing gliding freely. "Hmm maybe someday soon..." Erika muttered to herself, imagining flying through the clouds. She balled up her fist and gave it a tight squeeze in determination before turning to consider her team's Pokeballs all lined neatly on her belt. She drew one and gave it a toss. The ball hit the gravel of the pathway summoning her Gible!

"Alright Gibs, we have work to do!" She said, bending down to give her companion a pet along his dorsal fin. "Gib! Gib!" The little dragon cheered. With that, Erika would find a safe way off the trail and into the wild grasslands. She was particularly interested in finding a flier type and would keep her eyes peeled to the sky to spot any unusual birds or fliers. Meanwhile, Gibs was tasked with keeping his eyes out on the ground to spot any nests. However, Erika was making progress North towards Mt. Strength where she might try to investigate some of the rock faces to find any nests.

@PlatinumSkink

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"Woah." She had never been in a game corner before, but her dad made occasional trips to them. She could understand why he liked 'em. The place was absolutely...shiny, and there was so much to do! Claire was briefly stunned by it all, but the woman that approached her quickly shook her out of her amazement. After quickly listening to how things worked, Claire took her up on that offer. A shiny new coin case and some brand new coins to spend at the slots!

"Alright! Time to make bank...err, kinda." Kinda sucked these couldn't be turned back into money, but hey, prizes were prizes. Claire walked over to the prize counter, quickly looking over what she could win.

...

A scyther.

"Welp, I know what I'm going for girl." Claire grinned. "Alright! I'm pumped more than ever now lets hit those slot machines!"

"Rrraaal!~"

Risk it for the biscuit, as they say. Claire spent the first half of her stay in the Game Corner playing the slots, praying to her lucky stars she could get anywhere near her goal of that scyther. Five thousand coins was a lot, but to start with she'd start small. For now, she'd aim for a thousand. If she got anywhere near one hundred coins left, she'd cut her losses for a bit.

Win or lose though, she'd then head to the roulette tables. If she only had 100 coins left, just one play at max bet. If she started to win, she'd play a few more games, still trying to hit that goal of 1,000. If she started winning from her 100 coins, she'd stop once her winnings brought her up to 500. She would stop any time her coins dipped below 100. If she already had 1,000, once she'd get back to 900 she'd stop. If she reached her next goal of 1,500, she'd move on to a card game.

She'd then give the various card games a go. Now Claire liked to think she had a good poker face. Now it wasn't untrue, but always acting like you had blackjack in blackjack, didn't always go so well. Regardless, She'd play the max bet of fifty. If coming from Roulette with no wins and just 70 coins, just one play. If she's coming from Roulette with 500 coins, she would stop once she got to 1000 coins, and any time her winnings dipped below 200 she'd stop. If coming from Roulette with 900 coins, skip the cards. If coming from roulette with 1,500, play with max bet until either getting 2000 coins or stopping once her winnings get under 1,000.

Regardless, once she's done, she'd finally notice Valarie.

"Eh? Valarie? Seriously? Why's she here?" Well, she wasn't gonna say no to a challenge. Regardless of the funds of her Coin Case, she'd challenge the Queen. Ralia poked her cheek.

"You also said riding that bike was a terrible idea, but here we are."

"...Ralts..." Ralia simply placed a hand to her face before patting Claire on the head as she walked up to Valarie.

@Gardevoiran

The farmer frowned a bit at Skylar’s suggestion, though he considered it.

‘Let me tell you, Torchics are rare Pokémon. On Isson, I’m the primary provider of most of those you’ll find out there’ _{including Chic!} ‘so handing one over for that little is too little. However, I am in need of help, so let’s say it like this. I deduct 6000P, so you get 1500P for the work, but in exchange, you also get a Torchic. Got it?’



Otherwise, suppose it was straight ahead and to defend the ranch! Skylar deployed his forces as described, Seabreeze overhead looking things over, while Celebrity and Paradise watched the crops and the pens. Jonathan and Skylar himself watched for foxes and snakes as best they could. So, the first couple minutes nothing was happening at all, just the sound of the various animals on the ranch occasionally sounding out their names. Then… a bird went down at the crops.



The birds were, in fact, mostly Pidgeys! After Celebrity scared off the first one, more and more came travelling down. Then, it didn’t take long for JoJo to see the first snake trying to sneak through the grass towards the henhouse…



… And promptly Confusion at it, making the snake recoil, hiss, and slither off. Then, Paradise made the first sighting of a “wolf”...





… Who immediately became occupied baring their teeth at the big Tropius in their way and then fled at high speed after a Gust or whatever Paradise would send after them. Turned out that most the Pokémon attacking the farm were unwilling to engage in actual battle. When Skylar localized the first fox…





… It was unwilling to even come close, because Skylar was in the way. So far, simple enough. Whenever Pidgeys descended or Poochyenas tried to approach it was a simple matter to chase them off. Ekans tried to sneak closer through the grass on unexpected angles, but JoJo’s emotional sensor could detect their predatory instincts and localize them before they reached their targets, Confusion serving well to cause them to flee.

However, as the day grew darker, approaching evening, something tried to be clever. Black shapes were watching the movements of the defenders from a range, looking for openings, through which they attempted to sneak down low so they could descend into the crops unseen where Celebrity and Paradise were not looking… good thing Seabreeze was watching with his Keen Eye! Seabreeze could quickly swoop in and cause panic in the black shapes, who cawed up into the air as Seabreeze uncovered their schemes.





Now in the air, Celebrity could chase them away with Disarming Voice. Noticing the Pokémon that had appeared on the other side, Skylar quickly made the way over, depending on JoJo to hold the fort, which he did the best he could. It took a bit of time, but then there finally was one Murkrow which was hit by a Disarming Voice, and then Skylar could throw a Pokéball and hit it. Murkrow was absorbed into the ball, and it fell onto the ground.

The ball ro-



__________________________

@Ephemeral

The Eevee stopped the attack as Vee was called back, and then simply watched him curiously as Erza said that he’d be coming back for her. She sat there in place as Erza headed off, back to Redcoast City. Then to its Pokémon Center.

Note that the Pokémon at the PC will be instantly healed.



And then… he asked about the Pokémon Gym.

‘Oh? Curious about Hector’s Gym? Or perhaps scared for what it looks like on the outside?’ The trainer he asked chuckled a bit. ‘Hector’s a Fighting-type Gym Leader of the Minor League, and would be a good place to start looking for badges. Except, he’s a bit of a brute, and loves using high-level Pokémon he isn’t supposed to. He dreams of becoming a Major League Gym Leader so he can have explosive battles with high-level challengers… Not yet. He’s a bit unpredictable as you’ll rarely have a regular fight against him, instead he’ll make up some sort of challenge for you to overcome on the spot. These challenges range from “so easy you feel like you stole the badge” to “virtually impossible”, it all depends on his whim. But, his challenge is one all trainers must overcome sooner or later, right? Better just go face him and see how it goes!’

‘Oh, and the looks of the building is just because Hector needs to pay for fixing it after every battle. The place is pretty run-down after so many high-powered matches inside a low-quality building. It’s a wonder it still stands… The screams are really just the trainers trying to fight their Fighting-type Pokémon. They lose every time, often with mildly painful results,’ he said, chuckling so more. … Yupp. That’s it. The information Erza might need if he felt like going to challenge the gym in Redcoast City.

Ten Pokéballs for 200P apiece becomes 2000P. That plus five potions for 300P apiece becomes 1500P. Erza paid 3500P. He has 3950P left.

He’s now in Redcoast City. What would he like to do?





Connected areas:
Route 15. Water Route to the west, with the Sacred Grounds island a bit further out.
Route 11. Land Route to the east, where it commonly rains but it’s the passway everywhere else from here.



__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii @Eklispe

Once again, Aegislash listened to her, and then responded through the boy.

‘As is custom, if a trainer can defeat and catch a Pokémon of the tomb, I will let them bring it with them. I believe, however, that you will have no problem convincing them to follow you on their own. Your affinity is apparent to one such as me. I can direct you to a Golett and Honedge that will be yours to persuade, though I am not aware of any Pokémon of unnatural colouration within this tomb. Note, though, that the Yamask of the tomb do not fall under my command. They are the former inhabitants of the civilization that built this tomb, mine to defend, not to rule. As long as they stay, I will defend them. Should they not wish to join you, there is nothing I could do about it. … Not that it appears like that will be a problem.’

So he told, Aegislash looking towards the Yamasks floating over Amelia's head still, not having departed since giving her the Relic Gold. They’re still there.





Then, the matter of Jonas.

‘Hmpf. I was wondering what that boy was still around for. Very well. I’ll ensure my forces do not extract vengeance upon him, and also that this boy will be handed off to him when my need for conversation is at an end,’ the boy said, with Aegislash floating beside him as he spoke.

Somewhere in the background, Darcie’s father was emerging from the tomb, leading those that had been put to sleep for Darkrai to feed on out of their place of capture while a bunch of ghosts watched them as they left. Darcie ran over and promptly stopped in front of her father, talking to one another in the same voice they always use, neither of them showing much of a facial expression despite the supposedly happy reunion.

With that done, as Amelia’s currently in the tombs, it would not be particularly difficult to locate a Golett and a Honedge that would be suitable enough for her to attempt to convince. For the former, there’s a line of Goletts standing in a row and on guard just nearby, like the soldiers of the ancient kingdom. If needed, Aegislash gestured to one with his “elbow”, that could be suitably leveled for Amelia.





Not as common as Goletts but still quite a few, there was Honedge’s floating around above the rest of them, and if needed Aegislash gestured to one of those as well, the Honedge turning to face them with its eyes(?), curious about why it was being looked at.





There was also Bronzors among the army, but on account of not being ghosts, perhaps were not particularly interesting.





Now, then. What would Amelia do?

Dawkin can do things too. If he wants to.





Connected areas:
Route 7. The desert is right outside.



__________________________

@Pirouette

Searching the skies, Erika mostly saw the common sorts of birds above all. However, occasionally, there was like there was a little cloud accompanying them…





They walked closer to the mountain-side, seeking nests… when something just skipped right over them, and bounced on. There were multiple of them in the more mountainous area. Indeed, because they were constantly bouncing they were pretty easy to detect.





Still, Erika kept looking at the skies to see something out of the ordinary… and she did. Was that a flying musical note?





So, staying at the mountainside, Erika searched some more… and came across a small shape trying to climb a cliff that did not look climbable. The little shape was struggling, yet was still fueled by the determination to climb further, to overcome its limits.





Erika was perhaps about to react to any of the sights she had seen, when suddenly a small shape swooped in at her with high speed and a loud cry!

‘Farfeeeeeetch'd…!’





… And the bird promptly swooped around Erika and hid on the ground behind her! A second or so after it did so, a female voice sounded out from the direction Farfetch’d had come.

‘Oh, c’mon! A wild Pokémon shouldn’t hide from a trainer behind another trainer! Just stay still and let me capture you!’ she called, running closer with a blue monkey-like Pokémon at her side. On account of how tired she looked, it appeared she had pursued this Farfetch’d for quite a while.

Her Pokémon was…





‘… Can you please move aside? I’m trying to catch a Farfetch’d…’ the girl asked Erika. So far, perhaps that sounded pretty natural, trainers catching Pokémon isn’t anything weird. However, then… ‘My client REALLY longs back to the days he could have Farfetch’d burgers whenever he wanted. Then it got all protected and stuff, but he’s old now and this might be his last chance, so if it’s just one, if we grill just this one it won’t be a problem…!’



What would Erika do?

Hector was the gym leader's name; Erza felt like he should've known that at least but alas, he didn't. That was how clueless he was regarding the gym leader of Redcoast Town. Either way, he felt both inspired to take on the challenge and a little intimidated from all the information given to him by another trainer. This Hector was unpredictable and wild. What if he decided to use a truly high level pokémon against Erza? It would be like that Absol battle all over again, except that it could go even worse. Giving a little more thought about it all... Princess was a flying-type, which held the advantage against fighting types. Surely a Gym Leader had prepared his pokémon in order to deal with their weaknesses however, so Erza couldn't rely just on Princess.

The boy thanked the trainer that aided him with such priceless information and went ahead with his journey. After supplying himself with pokéballs and potions, he went back to the pokémon center's PC. It was time to rearrange his team yet again; unfortunately leaving behind some members in order to take new ones in. Hunter, Castform and Extraordinary were sent to the PC, exchanged for Vulpix, Mareep and Budew. Now, Erza wanted to take the gym challenge but- he had a certain priority: Training his team. All members are first stage pokémon, so some evolutions are due if he wants to increase his overall team's strength. Especially Princess who's going to be his go-to pokémon if Hector's pokémon are indeed focused on fighting types.

Time to start, then.

Erza goes to Route 011 once again, and as soon as he sets foot on the route, he releases his entire team. First, he explains to them that they have new company, allowing Vee and Princess to meet Vulpix, Budew, Mareep and Poochyena. After their short introduction, Erza happily informs that they'll be training a lot now in order to tough up enough to take on the gym challenge: Vee especially seems excited about this, jumping a few times around Erza. Poochyena doesn't seem so invested however, apparently a little discomfortable about battling strong pokémon, Erza scratches behind the Poochyena's ear and nods. "Don't worry, I will make sure we're really strong before I take the challenge, alright? We will be like, the toughest team ever!"

After that, Erza calls back his pokémon to their pokéball, except Vee. "Alright, Vee. We'll start the training with you, alright? Let's go!"

Now, Erza marches forward through Route 011. Any trainer that comes across his sight and doesn't look overly tough, will be challenged to battle. Wild pokémon that have any kind of type disavantage against one of Erza's pokémon and is unfortunate enough to come across this rampaging boy will also be challenged. The boy will be focusing his training on three members: Vee, Mareep and Budew. Budew especially, because of it's low level, will be used only when paired against water-type (If a trainer happens to have one) or will lead the battle and then will be switched for a tougher member of Erza's team.

Once the first trio grabs some levels, Erza will switch for Princess, Poochyena and Vulpix. Depending on how many trainers he battled, the boy will go to Route 012 and continue with the intense training regime there.

---

^{Wet Caverns || Day 3: Mid-morning}
That light in the cavern seemed to be coming from its water was pretty odd, but Eryn was a bit preoccupied to think much of it as she dodged Graveler and came rolling down towards her and Eri. Thankfully, both of them managed to skirt out of the way of the rolling rock-types and into the cave in the back. Thankfully, neither the Zubat nor the Geodude and Graveler seemed willing to pursue them into this part of the cavern, but that just served to creep Eryn out. Who or what was preventing them from giving chase?

Inside the cavern, tunnels greeted Eryn. Snaking and curving in all sorts of directions as they faded into the darkness or swung out of sight, they seemed erratic enough to tell her that they weren’t man-made, and she was still walking forwards, eyes scanning the various paths when something popped out of the ground in front of her.

“W-Woah. Oh, Diglett?”

Recovering and loosening her sudden death grip on Dei, who coughed a belch of smoke in response as he shot her annoyed glare, Eryn crouched down in front of the Diglett, who looked up at her with its tiny black eyes.

“Aw, you’re adorable. What’s your name?” she asked, looking it over. “So small—did you really build these tunnels by yourself? If so, you’re a real architect!”

Eri tensing told Eryn something was up, and right on cue the ground, the walls, the whole tunnel started shaking, prompting Eryn to start backing up as she motioned for Eri to do the same.

“Diglett! Get cov—”

A boulder appeared from within the tunnel, snaking out to reveal its true size as its eyes looked down at Eryn, whose jaw hung open as she looked up at the Onix before her. Clearly, this was why neither the Graveler nor the Zubat had pursued her.

Here, she had two thoughts: that she had no Pokemon able to take on the Onix, and that she definitely wanted an Onix on her team. Neither thought was helpful, unfortunately, and she shelved them both, hoping to find a peaceful way to resolve things that didn’t boil down to having her Pokemon fight against a literal chain of boulders.

Another cry from the Diglett reminded Eryn of the much smaller Pokemon’s existence, and she glanced between the two, wondering if they knew each other. Although unlikely, the two Pokemon were both known for their digging, and by the way the Diglett was so clearly not scared, Eryn figured it likely. So, given that she was alone in trying to avoid a fight after entering a section of the caves all the other Pokemon knew to clear of, Eryn swallowed, raising a hand and waving.

“Hello Mr.—Ms.?—Onix!” she said, wondering whether she should raise her voice so the rock-type could hear her, then deciding against it in case it came off as rude. “My name is Eryn, and this is my Charmander, Dei, and my friend, Eri.”

She shot Eri a glance, raising her eyebrows to indicate that he should do something too. Thankfully, Eri understood, snapping up a hand to wave just as Eryn had done a second before.

“Right, sorry for trespassing, Mr. Onix. We were trying to get through these caves, and I decided to have us take a detour into this cavern because, well, curiosity.”

She smiled sheepishly up at the Pokemon. “Sorry if I’m interrupting your nap. You wouldn’t happen to know how to get out of these tunnels, would you, Mr. Onix? Or you, Mr. or Ms. Diglett,” she said, looking to the Diglett. “Would either of you happen to know the way out of here?”

---

@PlatinumSkink

---

---

"Deal!" Skylar said, practically bouncing in his shoes. He was obviously ecstatic about getting a Torchic, and as soon as the Farmer handed him the new freshly hatched boy, he was easily overwhelmed with excitement. He brought the kiddo in for a hug before he turned to the rest of the team, holding up the newest addition to the family, much to everyone's excitement.

Skylar has obtained a Torchic!

"Welcome to the team... hm... Mac?" Skylar thought for a little on the name before he nodded silently, looking down at his new pal with a smile. "Yeah, Mac. I think that's a good name."

Skylar hugged Mac close to him as the rest of the party investigated the new friend. Honestly, the only one with a negative reaction to Mac was Celebrity, but even then it was just Celebrity being as sassy as usual. Paradise, notably, was very interested in the new friend. Probably had to do with Paradise basically being the "Mom" of the team, not that anyone minded.

After settling a little bit in with his new friend, Skylar and Co. got to work starting to defend the farm. Everything went about as well as it could, with everyone doing exactly what they had to do to keep the farm nice and maintained for the decent amount of time. Skylar was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a non-stop festival of heavy work throughout it all. There were definitely times where it got tense, but the team pulled through.

Then, a Murkrow heralded the entrance of Team Amethyst Grunt Guy, with his team in tow.

‘Sorry, mates… Client wants a Torchic, and this is, like, the only place to get one. Soooooooo…’

Within what seemed like seconds, the guy's Barboach and Koffing acted by bringing on a Smokescreen and attempting to move in and snag a Torchic. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for a double battle, and Skylar figured that Paradise and JoJo might be the best for this fight, if anyone could do it. Koffing was the only scary part for Skylar, since it was a poison type, but even then JoJo could use Confusion to hit it with a strong attack.

"Seabreeze, double time and watch for Ekans and Poochyena for a moment! Celebrity, take care of the birds only for a little! Paradise and JoJo, we've gotta keep this guy from taking any Torchic!" Skylar called to his team members before he looked towards the Grunt with an annoyed expression, clutching Mac in his arms to make sure that Mac wasn't one of the Torchic that could be stolen. Within seconds, Paradise and JoJo were on the scene, and ready to fight to keep the farmer's Torchic safe.

"Paradise, Razor Leaf to hit the Barboach and Koffing! JoJo, Disarming Voice on the Barboach, too!" Skylar commanded his Pokemon eagerly, rushing over to the Torchic pen to stand between it and the Barboach before it could slide in and snag a Torchic.

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

There was a lot to consider, honestly. She loved how light and almost whimsical a Swablu looked floating around in the sky and she remembered that the evolution of that one was a favorite in the competitive scene. She couldn't quite remember the details or even the name but she remembered the look as it was difficult to forget. Spoink and Chatot were interesting in that they were entirely new for her to see! They were definitely what Erika was kind of thinking about when looking for a Pokemon that was uncommon and Spoink's fairy typing was the first one she had a chance encounter in the wild. Then a Riolu, of course, had a powerful evolution in Lucario. A lot of trainers wanted a Lucario.

She stopped and thought about it for a moment before those thoughts were interrupted. A Farfetch'd flew at her general direction which scared her, flinching as if she was suddenly about to be attacked. However, when she opened her eyes she noticed that the bird Pokemon had taken refuge behind her while another person approached.

"Oh well..." Erika had started to feel a bit sorry for the strangely well dressed trainer as chasing around a Pokemon to catch was natural. Except this other trainer kept talking about something that wasn't quite right.

Erika wasn't really a vegetarian as she did eat some meat and no doubt some of that came from Pokemon before. However glancing down at her Pokedex with the image of a Farfetch'd after hearing what disturbing tale was brought up by her little digital encyclopedia made the point in her mind. Then glancing over to Gibs, who she had convinced to join her after meeting Leslie who defended the Dragon types like Gibs from being captured for rather inhumane means would definitely motivate her to be more like that sort of role model.

"...Umm... I don't think I will." Erika said surprisingly a bit sternly as she took a step put herself more in the way. "I think its clear that Farfetch'd has a problem with that and I do too. So I suggest you leave him.. her?.. Alone anyway, okay?"

Gibs had realized the tone and he strutted over to stand next to Erika with a fiery eye as well. He was ready to tag in, just in case.

Dawkin listened to Amelia finish, for the most part, the remainder of the business she had here. He meanwhile, was deciding what he should do next. First and foremost he wanted to train, he'd been doing entirely too much slinking around of late. Seeing as Amelia was rather busy Dawkin deemed it best for him to simply skidaddle. It was the desert so perhaps Whooper and Cacena could get some training done. Then he would worry about getting his lower level Pokemon so experience as well.

Actions: Move to route 7 and find Pokemon to train against, (Whooper and Cacena probably, although if the chance came up he'd use his lower level pokemon as well)

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