Dawkin pored over the cube for a bit before putting in into his backpack. "Thanks, I think that covers it for now, if I have any questions or updates I'll be sure to communicate them to you." He said pleasantly. "Thank you for your trust as well, I do appreciate it. I'll be on my way now." Dawkin said and made his way out, with Florrie in tow more than likely. As he walked he pondered his next move. More than anything right now he was a bit curious about the Mythic Oasis. The girl with the abra in the Tomb had talked about it, and he'd heard a bit about when he was talking to the miners earlier. He felt like if he left now he'd be hard pressed to come back to look for it later. Plus, there might be some Zygrade cells there! "I think I plan on searching for the Mythic Oasis before I leave town. I heard there was some sort of service offered in town that could help with that. Do you have any suggestions before I start?" Dawkin asked Florrie.

---

@Eklispe

‘Good to hear! Good luck on your journey, then!’ Leila told him happily, as she saw him off. Dunstan was turned towards chemistry instruments and seemed satisfied with his part. Indeed, Florrie followed after Dawkin, and was there for when he asked his question.

‘Oh, yes!’ Florrie told, somewhat excitedly as it was a question she knew the answer to. ‘The area of the Mythic Oasis is always covered by a sandstorm, you may want to purchase some Go-Googles at the store, I think they go for 1,200P... Or if you don't mind not seeing, you can skip that. Anyways! The nearby Bug Garden allows you to rent their Vivillons, who have the ability to skillfully track down water, regardless of environment! We use them to find the Mythic Oasis within the sandstorm! It's like it moves, so it's the only reliable method to find it that we have... Though you could try your luck, I suppose?’ Florrie says.

In case he then heads to the Bug Garden.

The Bug Garden was a building, a fairly large building with plants around it and promising more plants inside.

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”



What's Dawkin's next action in Raremine Town?





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.

@PlatinumSkink

---

"Wah? Dunstan's back in Raremine?" Claire exhaled, frowning as it was revealed Dunstan was not in fact, in the city. Well that just sucked. At least she got a Larvitar out of this, though maybe this stuttery glasses guy could help? "...eerrr, sorry, it's kind of something I wanna discuss with only him." Claire replied, mulling over her options. She couldn't really tell people about meeting Uxie if something shady was going on, but maybe if he could get into contact with professor Dunstan for her and at least let him know she was coming.

"Ralia, where's Raremine at?" Ralia replied by pointing roughly east. She could probably make it there within the day with her trusty new bike, right? Totally. Placing a hand on Connor's shoulder, she gave him a winning smile. "Alright, I'll just scoot my cute butt over there real quick. Let him know a cutie by the name of 'Claire Blackwood' is gonna meet him and she's not taking a no for an answer."

"Rrralll!" Before she could even turn around though, Ralia had teleported on top of Connor's head.

"Girl we're in kinda a hurry here."

Ralia poked Connor's forehead.

"...Fiiiine, fine." Claire sighed, shifting nervously. "...can we talk uh, privately?" Maybe going through his assistant would make things a bit easier to get to talking with Professor Dunstan.

She had been expecting the answer to be a 'no' but the good news was that it wasn't an absolute no. So that would give her some hope that her request might actually come to pass. So, she gave Kalmia a smile before nodding her head
"Thank you for at least trying. I know my request is completely selfish but... I doesn't feel right to leave any of my partners and friends behind." She said. She would glance around at her partners before going around and calmly collecting them while they continued to run from the twins. Unlike the other children, her partners, save Honedge who was still doubtful of her, didn't resist as she gathered them all. The Sword pokemon would acknowledge her wants and hover over to her but would not let her touch it. Amelia didn't pressure him and simply thanked him for the cooperation it did show before returning it to it's pokeball. Once she had all her pokemon were in their pokeballs, Amelia would bid fairwell to Kalmia and the twins before leaving.

Once she was outside the lab, she would walk down the streets, simply wondering the city and eventually ending up in front of the Trainers School. Having never really been able to fully attend school, especially after her parents began getting worse, Amelia decided to pay the building a visit and walked towards the building, wondering if anyone would be around at this hour since she was up late, not that was anything special for her. She was a night owl after all.

"Thanks, I think I'll pick up both of those." Dawkin said, and headed off to do just that. He grabbed a pair of Go-Goggles first and then headed to the Bug Garden. Upon setting foot inside he was surprised by the kaleidoscope before him. Plants and bugs of all sorts of colors and types presented themselves to him. After spending a moment adjusting and wiping the, slightly awestruck, expression off his face, he strode towards the person managing the sales. "Hello, I'm interested in renting a Villion for the purposes of helping me find the Mystic Oasis.

Actions: -1200 for Go-Goggles and talk to Bug Garden Salesperson.

---

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

This battle was proving to be quite formidable easily shaking Erika's earlier confidence that came from defeating Daisy. Half of her team had fainted and things were teetering a bit on the edge with her hopeful plan failing unexpectedly. It was a good idea, right? To have Kay sap Nuzleaf's attack like that? It didn't matter now, anyway. She had to think of what her plan was now and despite the quite intimidated expression on her face, Erika was running through who on her team was next.

Eep could maybe hang in there but Confuse Ray is too valuable to lose before it can be used again. If Erika's next Pokemon fainted, Eep was next for sure. She just needed to get lucky. There was... maybe a way to tip the odds in her side's favor: Accuracy. With who remained, Chic and Sno have ways of maybe rigging those horrid unlucky dice to land on her side more often? It was an idea at least and since Sno could only raise her evasiveness, Chic was up.

Raising the Pokeball to her mouth, Erika whispered a tiny goodluck prayer to not only her but to Chic as well. "Alright Chic, we're a bit in danger here but I know we can pull through so hang in there..." With that she cast the ball out and Chic emerged ready to go.

Sand-Attack. Hopefully there was enough of a buffer between the accuracy loss and the confusion to let Chic get a few rounds off. However, the moment Chic gets hit, Erika would switch trying to take advantage of that type advantage, Chic's ability, and hope for the best with ember, looking for a burn.

@Gardevoiran

‘Sounds like you’ve got the beginning of a plan. Don’t sweat the long-term, it’s really not that important. Don’t feel tied down to some schedule! Just do what you feel you should at every moment, and you’ll do fine!’ Kalmia said to him about the first part.

‘Oh,’ Vivia blinked a little in surprise when Skylar told he was not giving her Celebrity. She quickly waved her hands in front of her with a mildly awkwardly panicked expression. ‘Don’t worry about it! This feels right, too! I mean, it’s not as if I could possibly expect you to give me one of your companions, I’m- I’ll happily accept her if you ever decide you want to give her to me and she’s fine with it, but I’ll never ask you to give her to me, that’d feel wrong. I’m also trying to consider her feelings on the matter here, but, er, yeah. Okay?’ So Vivia said. That’s about it.

‘Heh, sounds complicated. Good to know there are Team Virtue members about trying to combat these Amethyst individuals, albeit perhaps they should be a bit more wary about who they attack. In any case. Good luck, tomorrow! Good night, Skylar, Vivia!’

‘G-good night!’ Vivia quickly called to the professor as she realized she’d been spoken to as well. Then she sighed out after the end of the call. ‘It’s going to be a while before I’m able to convince myself that I can relax around her again, huh…’ she lamented somewhat, but then they could say good night and each get a separate bed to sleep in and that’s fine.

So, the next day…

Skylar indeed woke up before Vivia, and got ready to do battle with his team. He did some training in order to get his weaker Pokémon some levels… and that’s totally fine, so, hunt some bugs and fighting types and eventually…



… Honestly, it’s really hard to train any Pokémon to a higher level than that around here. The Pokémon just aren’t strong enough. So, it was on towards the Pokémon Gym!

After having walked for a while, he found the Gym. It was an older wooden building, but it was bigger than other buildings in Highhill Town and had a pond built around it. Someone had dug out a ditch and the Gym stood on this little island in the middle, a wooden bridge going to the entrance. A sign stood in the front.

Highhill Pokémon Gym - Minor League.
Gym Leader: Lorette.
“The Shrine’s Bug-Maiden”

‘Hello there!’ said a guy out of nowhere, having appeared and wandered up to Skylar. ‘You’re our newest champ-to-be, aren’t you? Going to challenge the gyms of Isson and prove yourself the best there ever was? Well, regardless! If you need it, I’m here to explain the details to you and answer any questions you might have! I’ll also be giving you tips specific to each Gym, so it’s worth speaking to me even if you’re experienced!’



‘Oh, and, you’re in luck! There are long periods of time when the Gym Leader here isn’t home, but today she got in nice and early to prepare! Did she know you were coming? Did she feel destiny approaching? No idea! But here’s my explanation on the Pokémon League!’

Now, Skylar can ignore this guy and go in without listening to him, but here’s what he has to say if he listens.





With that, Skylar was set to go into the first gym.



__________________________

@Typical

_{Statement: The plot I had in mind here isn’t interesting enough and has mildly derailed already, I’m cutting this short.}

Must have been quite the scene for anyone who watched, the happily yelling young girl getting scooped up on top of the huge, newly born Onix among the trees of Route 5’s shoreline at night. Still, the moment ended when suddenly she had to shout to Laurel about the unknown shape in the sky.

Laurel didn’t wait for Cutiecruel and Eryn to get back before starting the engine and making a beeline for Dragon Lake. Eryn unfortunately found herself left behind, but then some loud explosions happened over there. Now, Erebi was brought along to see it, but suffice to say there was a Pokémon Battle that took place and it was way over the level of any of Eryn’s Pokémon.



Eventually, however, the opponent escaped into the air, albeit without being able to collect any of the dragons he intended to collect. The ship came back and collected Eryn and Cutiecruel, with all the people on the ship looking a bit more exhausted now. Lin had fallen asleep, while Zak looked more than a little overwhelmed. Laurel looked satisfied, however.

‘Good call. We owe you both,’ Laurel told Eri and Eryn as he helped the latter onboard again.

That would be everything actually exciting that happened during this boat-trip. Eventually their shift was over and they’d be brought back to the base. Unless she had anything further she wanted to say to those she had travelled with, Zak took his leave with a happy wave, Laurel said she’d be welcomed back whenever she wanted to work again, and Lin’s… still asleep.

‘I’ve been told you did well. As such, in addition to the 6,000 P fee you’d normally get, you get the 2,000P bonus for being useful as well. Well done,’ the sailor at the desk told her. And so…



… It’s now morning. Working here forced her to stay awake all night. Still, now she’s in Lakewatch Town in the morning. What would Eryn do from here?





Connected areas:
Wet Caverns. Water-filled caverns that are located to the east. There’s a small hill to climb to get to the entrance.
Route 5. The main exit of Lakewatch, leading to a grassy incline connecting mountains, forests and plains.
Route 14. The waters of Dragon Lake are also known as Route 14. It connects Lakewatch Town, Highhill Town and Stillwood Village.



__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

‘A-a sensitive issue, i-is it?’ Connor asked. ‘R-Raremine Town is s-south of here, b-beyond Route 10, past F-Fr-Freecape Town, down Route 8 a-and the-then east w-when you’ve reached Route 6… I-it’s about h-half the d-d-diameter of Isson’s map, b-but it can be reached d-decently quickly and s-safely on a bike if you stick to the r-road…’ the scientist continued to explain, then Ralia teleported on top of his head when Claire was sounding like she was heading off.

‘O-oh?’ Connor didn’t look particularly bothered by either Claire’s hand on his shoulder or Ralia on his head. After Ralia had managed to convince Claire to stick around, he nodded to her request to talk privately. ‘V-very well. Th-this way, then,’ Connor gestured, and he led her some way through the laboratory to a bunch of offices, one of which he led her into. A typical office, it had a desk with a computer, plenty of shelves filled with scientific nonsense, a couch to the left and a chair for guests to sit in.

Connor sat down on the other side of the desk and gestured for Claire to sit down. From one of the shelves a flying Pokémon came scrambling out along with the sound of keys clanging about on its chain, as it flew to rub itself at Connor’s cheek. Connor lifted a hand to pat the little key ring fairy, before the Pokémon turned to stare at Claire and Ralia. Ralia especially if Ralia was still on top of Connor.

‘Klefki?’ the Pokémon asked curiously.



‘N-now, then, wh-what did you wish t-t-to talk about?’ Connor asked Claire.

What’ll Claire and/or Ralia do and say?

__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

‘I understand. I’ll see what I can do,’ Kalmia told her, and then it was appeared that the time of the conversation was over already. Kalmia and the twins waved them off, the twins so happily saying they’d love to play with her ghosts again, and then Amelia was off. Eventually, she ended up in front of the Trainer’s School… and decided to wander in, despite it apparently being late! Because who closes their gates at night!?



__________________________

@Eklispe

‘Do you want me to come with you? The desert IS my supposed area to search, and the Mythic Oasis should be my area…’ Florrie asked Dawkin, before he was allowed to wander off. He purchased the Go-Goggles from the store, totally fine, he now had a couple of goggles that ensured he’d never be bothered in the midst of a sandstorm. Then, off to the Bug Garden, where the clerk is like…

‘Why, sure. 750P per day. Have a pick,’ he said, and let Dawkin pick one. ‘The Vivillon will simply fly along with you and obey your commands, but it will not fight for you. It’s your responsibility to bring back the Vivillon in the same state as you got it in. The Vivillon will fly home on its own when time is up, and will inform us if you treated it badly. With that out of the way, which one would you like?’

There’s a bunch of them.

After that, he’s still in Raremine…





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.



… But I could imagine that he’d want to head out to Route 7, too.



Current Condition; Relatively Clear - It’s still decently calm, but who knows about later today? The usual sandstorm blows over the path to the Mystic Oasis, though.



Connected areas:
Raremine Town. A town of miners and research, on the tip between the plains and the desert.
Desert Mines. What Raremine Town stands here for! These mountains are filled with dough!
Old Tombs. Across the desert, an old and chilling place awaits those who wants to visit…
Mystic Oasis. Somewhere within that sandstorm, that is.



So, what will Dawkin do?

__________________________

@Pirouette

Chic came out, and proceeded to Sand Attack at Nuzleaf. Nuzleaf prepared to counter-attack…

… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand Nuzleaf proceeds to hit himself with his increased strength as he repeatedly hits himself in Confusion, and Chic helps the process by throwing the occasional Ember. Chic easily disposed of Nuzleaf by herself. Nuzleaf fainted.





‘Nicely done, young trainer. Come, Master Archie awaits,’ Ramsey said, bowing briefly before (after Erika got to heal) guiding Erika up the stairs…

However, before that…

Chic has a choice to make. There’s an energy coursing through her, that she could use to make it happen here and now… or she could wait for a more optimum dramatic moment. Because, doing it in action will fully heal her.



Eventually, she headed after Ramsey, heading up the stairs, where Ramsey opened a hatch which they went through…

She arrived at a great platform, gazing out over a sea of trees.

---

---

It was time. He had his team at their strongest, he was ready to go give this gym a shot. He raised his fist in the air, smiling at his posse of Pokemon. Seabreeze. Celebrity. Paradise. Jonathan. Mac. Smiley. If this was the beginning of a team that'd help Skylar make it into the books as one of the strongest trainers in all of Isson, he'd be more than happy to stand with this little squadron of birds and fairies. He was excited for the fight.

He stepped into the Gym, listened to the Gym Guide speak (both so he could feel happy and in case Skylar needed any pointers on the Gym) before he took a deep breath, turned to see his team again, and stepped into the room with his head held high. Win or lose, he was in it to have fun. If he lost, he could learn from it and grow stronger as a result. If he won, good! That's a badge in the bag and a victory under his belt. He was ready to rock and roll!

‘Accelgor! You’re up first!’

Starting with a stronger bug type, eh? Well, if she was going to go all out, then starting with a powerhouse was definitely a smart idea. Still, she had her monologue, but Skylar hadn't even introduced himself yet. So... he guessed now was as good as a time as any.

"I think we met at the Silent Shrine, but I'm Skylar in case you forgot! I didn't want to come into this gym without being at the top of my game, so I've made sure to help my team be as prepared as possible for this battle. We're coming in this fight not expecting to win or lose, but to come and bear witness to an opportunity for us to grow as trainer and team, even if I'm relatively new! Get ready, Lorette, because we're gonna give it our all!"

Skylar grabbed hold of his sunglasses, smiling from ear to ear, as he tore them off his face, revealing to Lorette and any audience members the cloudy gray of his eyes.



Skylar turned back to his team, snapping his hands towards his own first team member. "You ready for your first real battle, Mac?"

"Tor~chic!" Mac smiled as he waddled forward, leaping as high as he could into the air before landing on the battleground with a puff of dust where he landed. Despite his small little frame, his eyes were emblazoned with a burning passion. He was ready to go!

"Mac! Prepare to Ember, but watch out for Accelgor's speed! When he tries to hit you, let loose the Ember!" Skylar shot his hand out as he called his commands to Mac, his smile only widening as this battle got started!

@Gardevoiran

‘Tihi. Well met, Skylar. Alright, show me your all, and I’ll show you what I got!’ Lorette said, looking decently excited. So, just as Lorette might have expected, a fire-type came out to see her. Lorette smiled at little Mac.

‘Aw, cute little chicken. Good, you got the typing down, but are you sure you want to wait for me to attack?’ Lorette asked, before making her command. ‘Accelgor, Double Team!’

With that command, suitable for the ninja-like appearance, Accelgor vanished in a quick flash. In her place were now five different Accelgors, lined up side-by-side, and they were all preparing to dash in at Mac.

‘Quick Attack!’ Lorette’s next command rang, and the five Accelgors would blast forward at Mac at phenomenal speed, but only one of them was the real one…

However, notably, that was two commands. Quick Attack will be the first move of the second round, but Mac has a first-turn move that he can potentially make. He has time for that.

What will Skylar and Mac do?

---

---

"Now, Mac!" As the Double Teams started to show, Mac had let loose his Ember, trying to score a hit on... whatever Accelgor he was looking at. He wasn't sure which one would be right, and since Skylar couldn't really see either, it was all up to the Torchic to figure out which Accelgor was the one he needed to hit. He'd at least know in a moment with whatever Accelgor was going to hit him.

On that note, the plan was still going. Immediately after the first Ember was shot off, Mac went right back to cooking up another Ember in his mouth, waiting for the Quick Attack to hit off before he'd let it loose on whatever clone wasn't as it seemed. Hopefully he'd be able to tell, anyway. Surely the clones were just illusions and not actually able to hurt the Torchic!

@Gardevoiran

Mac shot off his Ember at the Accelgors… and it went straight through one of the false ninjas! That apparently was not one of the correct choices. The multiple ninja copies used Quick Attack, flying forth at Mac, rocking the wooden platform that’s somewhat floating on the shallow water of the gym a bit…!

Mac tried to Ember again, but being the stylish ninja she was, Accelgor avoided the fireball and knocked into Mac from the side, her real self blended in among her copies as Mac took the first hit. It honestly didn’t do that much damage, but he was no closer to hitting the real opponent.

‘That’s an interesting strategy, but I think Accelgor is fully capable of outmaneuvering your Mac by knowing where the Ember is going to go,’ Lorette told. ‘I’d suggest you switch. And in order to further encourage such a decision…’ the Gym Leader smiled at Skylar. ‘Accelgor, Water Shuriken.’

With that command, the five lined-up copies of Accelgor lifted their right hands, and watery spinning shurikens took shape, ready to throw. Only one of them were real, but despite not being water-type these shurikens would certainly do a lot of damage if thrown at Mac. The line of ninjas would wait a few moments before their volley.

What would Skylar and Mac do?

---

---

"Yeah, I'm not gonna let him get hit by that. Mac, return!" Skylar held out a Pokeball and brought Mac back up to him and the rest of the party, looking at the rest of his cast to see who'd be best suited to fighting now that the Accelgor was throwing Skylar a curveball he needed to be prepared for... hm...

"Paradise!" He pounded his hand with excitement at the realization, pointing out onto the battlefield as his Tropius leapt up over him and flew down onto the dirt of the Gym, staring down the Accelgor. "Tropius!" Skylar, meanwhile, let Mac back out of his Pokeball up top, who was confused (and arguably a bit disheartened) but still excited to learn from the fight so he could counter Double Team strats down the road.

"Paradise, Sweet Scent so we can actually find the right Accelgor." Skylar called out his command, knowing that if Paradise was to have any shot at beating Accelgor, this would be the best way for it to go down.

@Gardevoiran

Skylar switched Mac out and sent in Paradise, who took some immediate Water Shurikens that had been meant for Mac, and they did barely any damage. Paradise started her next turn by shooting out a Sweet Scent, which scattered among the cloned ninjas… and one of them wavered, clearly distinguished from the other as that sweet scent dazed Accelgor’s mind.

‘Tihi. Sweet Scent would do it. Now, should I be mean? Why, yes I should. Accelgor, Acid Spray,’ Lorette commanded, and the ninja Pokémon immediately got back in the game, alert eyes going, albeit which one is the real one is no longer a question. On the same round as Sweet Scent, Accelgor shot forward to right in front of Paradise, and at this range, there really was no dodging.

Accelgor’s hands slapped together and a spray of acid blasted into the body of Paradise, and it hurt! Super Effective, and in addition, her Special Defense harshly fell! Now, avoiding would be impossible, but the move from there would be up to Skylar and Paradise. Due to Accelgor’s lack of poison typing and Paradise’s respectable Special Defense, it didn’t hurt as much as it could have… but her Special Defense had been halved, the next Acid Spray would hurt twice as much if she was hit with another.

What would Skylar and Paradise do?

While she hadn't been expecting there to be that many people in the school, especially students who she suspected were always more then eager to go home, Amelia was surprised that the building was still open to the general public at this hour. Since this was really the first time she had been in a school, this was something she was rather eager to do and the lack of people made it that much easier. Entering a classroom at random, she would walk around the desks, running her hand along their surfaces as she observed the room. It was simpler and less grandiose then she had imagined but she was fine with this.

After getting her fill of being in the classroom, she would begin wondering the building at random, letting Litwick out and rest on her head, the little candle-like pokemon lighting the flame on it's head using minute amount of life force from the people and pokemon around it, except for Amelia's of course.

@PlatinumSkink

---

The redhead followed Connor further into the building. She had a few reasons for trying to get more information about the trio of legendaries. More information was always good, even if she was most definitely winging it most of the time. There was also something Uxie said that concerned her - that someone was hunting for them. If she could pinpoint who that was, she could just go and kick their butts before anything happened.

Once in the room, Claire made sure the door was closed and no one looked like they were trying to eavesdrop. Ah, this was kind of fun? She was like some sorta spy outta some spy movie, heh.

"Right, uh, so." Claire fished around in her bag for her pokedex. First, she was gonna show it to this researcher. She wanted to see his reaction to it before deciding how she wanted to go about this. Well, she wanted Ralia to get a read for his general feelings. "I heard the professor is doing research into legendary pokemon...and wellll, uh, here, just look." She opened the pokedex to Uxie's entry and handed it to Connor.

Ralia waved at Klefki, trying to play with its keys.

---

^{Lakewatch Town || Day 4: Early Morning || @PlatinumSkink}
Eryn left the ranger compound both riding a high from a night well spent and feeling like she could fall asleep on the spot. While she was giddy from just doubling her savings, thus making back whatever she’d spent earlier, she’d also just completely wrecked her sleep schedule—something she hadn’t done since a few, rather unpleasant nights during her third year of high school. But, again, it was worth it, and all she could do now was damage control.

“Righto, to the Pokemon Center,” she said, smothering a yawn. Rubbing her temples, she looked down at Kylie, who flashed her a tired smile. Beside her, Eri mirrored Eryn’s grin, showing her how tired she looked.

“I said, to the Pokemon Center!” Eryn repeated, fixing her grin and scooping up Kylie before setting off down the street. “We’ve got a few more things to do before we call it a night—morning. Whatever.”

The lobby of the Pokemon Center was, unsurprisingly, pretty empty at this early hour, so healing went pretty quickly. After thanking the nurse, Eryn headed outside again, searching out a rather secluded part at the edge of town before calling out Peri.

“Per-per, hello, sorry about putting you away so quickly earlier,” she said, hugging the rock-type, who was cold and rough to the touch. She should have seen that coming. “I can’t let you out inside the Pokemon Center, but get ready for some work when I wake up! We’re gonna get you on your feet—foot—whatever. It’s too, well, early in the day for this, so sorry and I’ll see you later, alright?”

Peri’s rumbling felt stronger than it sounded, vibrating the rocks she was composed of, and Eryn looked up at her with a lazy smile as she reached for her Pokeball.

“Night-night, Peri. Sleep tight!”

Then, returning to the Pokemon Center, Eryn was finally able to get ready for bed, releasing all her Pokemon but Peri. And, after she told them all to get a restful sleep in preparation for a good day, she crashed into the bed, falling asleep with the Pokedex in her hands opened to Phoebe’s newest message.

---

^{Route 5 || Day 4: Afternoon}
“I present to you, Peri, our very big team baby!”

Eryn beamed at her team as she called out the Onix, looking between their faces expectantly. As usual, Dei gave his ‘I’m not impressed but I’ll acknowledge you’ snort, and Tula flopped up and down, her eyes as flat as ever. Eri, on the other hand, looked somewhat impressed, warily eyeing the Onix who towered high above his low vantage point.

To her credit, Kylie seemed rather excited, but her level of excitement was beginning to concern Eryn. It had occurred to her that Kylie had a rather flat range of emotion; she was always happy, and though that happiness saw shades of difference when she grew tired or annoyed, it never varied enough for Eryn to term it anything but happiness. While Eryn wouldn’t go so far as to assume the emotion was fake, she wasn’t about to assume that Kylie was only capable of happiness either, so the options were up in the air. Either Eryn was just not very observant and kept catching Kylie when she was happy, or the happy mood Kylie was always in was intentional.

However, Eryn wasn’t about to go and confront Kylie about it. Her mood was the easiest to deal with in the team, even if it was also the hardest to read. Besides, though looking for the Mawile’s underlying motivations in her smiles always proved a challenge, Eryn was getting better at it. Right now, for example, Kylie’s smile said she meant no harm as she walked towards Peri, reaching a hand out towards the Onix’s side. When her hand touched Peri, her smile widened slightly, and with a happy “maw” she hugged the Onix, the clank of rock and steel sounding as she made contact.

“See, this is what I’m talking about. This,” Eryn said, indicating the hugging pair, one of whom was looking down with a rather curious expression that bordered on confusion, “this is the sort of excited you three should be.”

Once again, Dei snorted, Tula flopped, and Eri stared, a frown gracing the Jolteon form that Eryn was having him practice. In all honesty, a confused Jolteon was pretty much the cutest thing Eryn had seen in a while, but unfortunately his lack of excitement was not.


“Alright you three, get over here,” she said, walking over and picking up Tula before herding the other two towards Peri. “Say hello to your new teammate, and no more smoke from you, Dei, or I’ll pick you up too.”

After a forced hug and another few minutes of empty staring as Eryn gave Peri a quick run-down of her teammates, covering Eri’s illusions while she was at it, they were back to walking along Route 5. The goal for the day was to get Peri up to par with her teammates, and though that might be a tall order for a single day, Eryn figured her teammates weren’t too far out of her league just yet. Further down the line, catching new Pokemon might mean a more substantial power difference, but right now she figured it would be alright.

“Okay, two-vee-ones aren’t illegal when it comes to wilds right?” she asked, glancing around for the Caterpies her Pokedex told her were around here. “Dei, you’re going to help Peri take on bug-types, and Kylie will help with flying-types. Sound good?”

Other than an agreeable “maw” from Kylie, the team was silent, some opting to nod or snort instead. Eryn wasn’t about to name names or point fingers, but she didn’t exactly need to. The sounds and actions from below assigned themselves.

A strange sound—something of a mixture between a grind and a rumble—prompted Eryn to look up, her brows furrowing. What was that? Wait. No.

Her mouth dropped open a little. “Did you just…”

Peri repeated the sound, leaving no room for doubt.

“Damn it, Dei! Look what you’re teaching your teammates!”

Despite Eryn’s glare, though, Dei looked pretty pleased with himself, his chest puffed forwards as he continued on down the road.

---

"Of course I don't mind, it is always safer to travel together after all." Dawkin said, not overly concerned about exploring with company. True, it could be considered more impressive to do it on his own, but he didn't think that was a significant factor at the moment. Having asked her question and then gone to the garden and successfully acquired a pair of googles, Dawkin was prompted to choose a Villion. "Hmm, how about that one?" Dawkin asked, pointing at the Sandstorm colored Villion. That color scheme seemed the most suiting. Given that was able to rent his choice successfully the only natural course of action would be to leave town in the right general direction and to tell the Villion his destination and follow it.

---

---

---

Skylar winced at Celebrity taking that hit. Yeesh, that wasn't gonna be pretty next round, but Skylar held fast. He didn't have many ideas for what could be done with a strategy, but he knew that Paradise was beefy. Maybe she could take another attack? Regardless, he pointed out his hand and called for Paradise's next move. "Paradise, Gust!"

The Tropius nodded, flaring her wings out and letting out a series of massive blasts of air. Of course, it was only a Gust, but the sheer size of the blasts would be enough to hopefully cause some serious damage onto the Accelgor. Heck, if Paradise withstood another Acid Spray, then maybe a second Gust would be enough to drop the Accelgor. It's what Skylar was going to go with, in any case. That being said, Skylar was planning ahead in case Paradise wouldn't be able to withstand the next hit, and he patted the Wingull nestled in his hair.

"Get ready, Sea. Paradise might need you to hop in and clean up a bit." Skylar said to his starter, still watching the battle unfold before him, even if it was incredibly blurry.

@Joshua Tamashii

Nothing disturbed her as Amelia inspected the environment for a simple school life. There were desks on rows, a whiteboard for the teacher in the front with pens for them to write things. Books for the students to study was lying here and there on the sides, different projects by the students were hanging on walls, all of it feeling a bit lonely and dark currently as it was really late. After having finished her inspection.

She walked around school, the decently dark corridors without much activity, most activity at this hour is in the park or perhaps in the library, not the average halls. Amelia kept walking until…

Well. There’s ghosts in the school, she could feel. A floor above her, as well as on this floor…

It suddenly got cold. A chill went through the hall. Her Pokémon sensed it, too. The air itself got significantly colder. Now, this is the time a normal person might have gotten scared, like a draft going through the hall, and in the darkness beyond there was like something was watching… except, yeah, it's trying to affect Amelia, so. However…

The door of the classroom next to her slammed open! A brightly icy-coloured tuft of long hair flew out as a girl jumped out and stood on guard in front of Amelia, like attempting to protect her from the darkness! With her jumped moderately short blue dinosaur on all fours that looked and felt considerably cold, sending a chill even from there. Both stood in front of Amelia, facing the darkness.

‘Amaura! Aurora Beam!’ she called, pointing into the distance.

‘Amaaaaauuuuu!’ the blue dinosaur called as it shot a beam of aurora-coloured chill into the wall on the other side of the corridor… and froze it. They had decidedly missed.

‘… Missed again! Curses! You’re mine one of these days!’ the girl waved her fist in annoyance, before spinning around to Amelia…



‘Ah, well, hi! I’m Daisy, the Siren, Champion of the Trainers’ School, as well as future Ice-type Elite Four! That is, if I can’t make Champion!’ so Daisy called, giving a determined smile and a dramatic pose. ‘It’s been dangerous around here at night lately, but as long as you hold onto this, you should be able to keep away from potential dangers!’ Daisy told her, and handed over a piece of paper to Amelia…





‘I’m after the first one myself! The chilling hunter must be some loose Ice-Pokémon, and ice is what I’m all about!’ so Daisy confidently told. ‘Alright! Now where did it go!?’ she asked, as she spun and walked a couple of steps away from Amelia, Amaura following… and the chill left with them. For now? For now.

Rrrrrrrrregardless. What would Amelia do now?





__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

Claire took a moment, and then showed the Pokédex entry for Uxie.





‘Oooooooooh!’ Connor sounded out excitedly. ‘You actually encountered Uxie and managed to get its data!?’ Where did his stutter go? ‘Nobody seems to actually encounter Uxie, because anyone who does leaves with their memories erased! Oh, wait, actually, could it be that you have no memory of encountering this being, yet you found its data in your Pokédex!? Phenomenal, if so! Glorious! Ah, you don’t need to worry about side-effects, if that’s what you’re here for! It’s a very caring Legendary Pokémon, it doesn’t harm people! In fact, it’s helped us form society as it is! How I’d love to learn its secrets…’ Connor quickly shook his head, though. Ralia’s feeling excitement, wonder, and a little bit of sorrow.

‘Unfortunately, that’s forbidden, no disturbing the lake-trio. They hold the sacred duty to protect our land from an even greater disaster. … O-oh!’ Connor suddenly stuttered again, as he realized what he’d just said.

‘Y-you d-don’t n-need t-t-to worry about a-any d-disaster, though! W-we’re perfectly safe, th-they’re protecting us? H-hahaha!’ he laughed, trying to ease any form of worry. Hopefully. Maybe. ‘St-still, um. Th-that Pokédex… Y-you’re one of K-Kalmia’s trainer, a-are you n-not? I-it’s an ho-honour to meet you! S-so, about th-this entry… wh-what can I he-help you w-with?’ he asked, his stuttering gotten worse. Ralia’s feeling a bunch of worry suddenly, but still amazement at the Pokédex entry.

‘Klefki~’ Klefki meanwhile sounded happy, more than happy to play and wave keys at Ralia.

__________________________

@Typical

After sleeping for the, morning, and making introductions it was off to Route 5 to train!



So, training against Hoothoots was a no-go, because there’s no Hoothoots out during the day. Caterpie? Knock yourselves out, the little bugs stood no chance against multiple of Eryn’s Pokémon. They were easy experience, even against Level 1 Peri. Being an Onix gave some advantages against their kinds.



Oddish and Deerling were harder to level against, but there were Pikachu and Emolga in the forest-parts. So, train against those, too, they gotta give better experience than those poor Caterpie. Something Eryn quickly noticed was that when sending out two Pokémon, she almost exclusively met Pokémon in pairs, for some reason. Which, was fine, honestly, because there bugs and electric Pokémon could hardly do damage against Peri, level difference notwithstanding. A couple tackles later, and…



… a proper Rock-type move learned!

That’s when Peri accidentally knocked over a tiny tree. The tiny tree promptly stood up and ran, crying.





… That aside! Eryn could train a while longer with the same strategies… eventually getting some form of a result!



Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand with that she’s basically used her afternoon training, it’s approaching evening. Training takes time. And this has cut all the times she probably needed to go back to the Pokémon Center to get Peri back in shape again. Now, in a few more minutes the Hoothoots are going to be coming out. Regardless! What will Eryn be doing next?

Also, huh. There’s something lying here. Did a bird drop this? How a bird could possibly drop this aside...





Connected areas:
Lakewatch Town. On the south-west of the route, Lakewatch Town lies adjacent to the lake on the road to the Wet Caverns.
Stillwood Village. In the north lies the forest which hides the village, Mt. Strength lying behind it..
Route 6. Vast plains start in the south-east, this route leads towards Raremine Town.
Frozen Cavern. After an incline up to the ridge of Mt. Chill, a cavern of ice could guide the way to Route 9 and Cooldome City.
Endless Forest. To the south, a dark forest looms. There are no indications as to why you’d ever want to go there.



__________________________

@Eklispe

‘Oh,’ Florrie looked a bit surprised at the accepted offer. ‘Then let’s see what the sandstorm holds! I’ll just, um, go buy my own Go-Goggles, ha,’ she did a little awkward laugh as she headed of to purchase some. Dawkin went and hired a Sandstorm coloured Vivillon…

He got a smile from the clerk at that one. ‘It’s a fitting choice, isn’t it?’ the clerk said, walking over to the Vivillon and holding up and arm. The Vivillon immediately got what was going on and jumped onto the clerk’s arm, and then the clerk went back to Dawkin and took the payment and then handed over the arm with the Vivillon. ‘We’re counting on you to take care of him, alright?’



Vivillon happily jumped onto Dawkin, and now he had a scale Pokémon for the day.

Dawkin and Florrie departed into Route 7…

And then, it was out on Route 7. You can skip the following hider if you’ve already read it in the last post.



Current Condition; Relatively Clear - It’s still decently calm, but who knows about later today? The usual sandstorm blows over the path to the Mystic Oasis, though.



They were headed out with the intention to go into the sandstorm, did they not? As such, they turned an immediate right, suited on their Go-Goggles and let Vivillon fly free. Not his first rodeo, Vivillon flew against the sandstorm yet with determination in a single direction, which Dawkin and Florrie followed after.

‘I… should perhaps warn,’ Florrie says. ‘There’s quite a few that tries to get to the Mythic Oasis without paying the decently cheap price for hiring a Vivillon. Some by sheer willpower braving the sandstorm and searching, others by trying to use other Pokémon to counter the effects of the sandstorm, but some by-’

‘HEY, YOU!’

‘B-by taking the Vivillon of those who paid the fee…!’ Florrie said, a tad too late and realizing that she was too late. In fact, it is a sort of entry fee that each trainer that desires to enter the Mythic Oasis needs to battle a string of trainers…!

‘I’m in a PINCH! A great PINCH! And it’s a strong eat the weak world out here, I’M GONNA NEED THAT!’

Keep in mind, Dawkin can fight them himself… or make Florrie fight one or two of them!



‘Hey?’ said a roughish guy with a backpack. ‘I’ve been at this for hours, and yeah, be a pal, and just let me have that Vivillon, you get me?’



‘Aaah… I’m a ninja… but I’m stuck in the enemy’s trap…’ a boy dressed in a ninja was saying the sandstorm was the work of his would-be foes. ‘Y-you…! If I just use you, then…!’

And he approaches…!



What will Dawkin do?

__________________________


@Gardevoiran

Paradise spread her huge, leafy wings, and flashed them forward, sending a huge Gust forward at the opposing Accelgor. The ninja-like Pokémon made a dash to avoid, but she was way too close, and was caught by the blow. She was sent flying across the room, rolling and quickly standing up, having taken significant damage. Super Effective! Around half health? … Accelgor flashed back with a lightning quick dash and shot another Acid Spray into Paradise, burning at her leaves and doing even more Super Effective damage! It was a heavy blow…!

… But Paradise still stood! There was a moment there when Accelgor blinked up at the leafy (comparative) giant, hands forward in the position from having shot that second Acid Spray and just, like, remarking, “it didn’t go down, huh”.

‘Tough dino, huh,’ Lorette chuckled a bit on the other side.

Still. Special Defence harshly fell once again. No way Paradise can take another one of those. But… she’s got one more move in her! Or if Skylar takes her back, another move to use somewhere else!

What will Skylar and Paradise, and perhaps Seabreeze, do next?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Paradise slams down with another Gust! Accelgor was sent flying again, making laps across the room and crashing into the drink by where Lorette was sitting, the girl blinking a bit at it. Critical Hit! Accelgor fainted!



Accelgor would not have fainted if that hadn’t been a Critical Hit.

‘You took out Accelgor. Well done,’ Lorette said, smiling. ‘But since you beat one of them, you have to know who’s coming next, right?’ the Gym Leader said, picking up and spinning another Pokéball. ‘Escavalier! Go!’ Lorette threw the ball forward, and with another blast of shining light a suit of armour wielding two lances took shape, and contained inside the armour was a bug.





‘For your second challenge. Beat something hard!’ Lorette challenged. Escavalier is slow, the first move is Skylar’s.

---

^{Route 5 || Day 4: Evening || @PlatinumSkink}
“Yes! Tutu! You did it!” Eryn cried, running out to scoop Tula up and spin the Magikarp around, a grin on her face. “You’re going to grow up to be big and strong and amazing, and absolutely nothing less!”

The ground trembled slightly, marking Peri’s approach, and Eryn glanced up with a grin, patting the rocks making up Peri’s body. What a bunch of big babies, this team.

“You too, Per-per. You’ll also be big, strong, and amazing, but hey you’re more than halfway there already,” Eryn said. “Now, no more learning from Dei, alright? You’re your own individual, and if you’re really going to choose him as your role model, pick up something other than… you-know-what, alright?”

Peri stared down at her, silent, then made the now-familiar, half-grinding, half crunching noise again. Narrowing her eyes, she maintained eye contact with Eryn, as if daring Eryn to say something.

“Fine! Fine, see if I care that I’ve now got two grouches,” Eryn said, throwing one arm in the air. With her other wrapped around Tula, she walked back to her team, muttering under her breath about personality deficiencies and the possibility of Tula being the ideal.

Noticing her other Pokemon crowding together over something, she walked over. “Hey, what’s up? Everything good?”

Kylie turned around with a grin, raising a yellow object into the air. “Maw!”

“Oh, cool, what… is this a beak?” Frowning, Eryn raised the object into the sun, turning and examining it from different angles as she fished out her Pokedex around Tula. Was it bone? Rubber? Some kind of high-grade plastic polymer?

“Well, alright, Pokedex says this is a ‘Sharp Beak’ and ups the power of flying-type moves, which is, well, completely non-applicable to us right now,” Eryn said, sighing. “Into the bag it goes, I guess.”

Rolling her backpack off one shoulder around Tula, she opened it to put the beak in, then frowned, fishing out a large yellow stone, which gleamed with value under the light. “Wait, how—what? Ugh, Electric Gem? You know what,” she said, shoving both yellow objects into her bag, “whatever. We’ll see how much they sell for, at worst. Can’t go wrong with more items.”

Shaking her head, she looked back at her gathered team, which now numbered five strong. Not bad, not bad at all.

“Right, so, let’s see,” she said, scrolling through the Pokedex’s map, “our goals today are to check Peri back in with her parents and catch a water-type so I can phone Wilhelm back about the ruins. Besides that, we’re basically done. Sleep schedule’s ruined, obviously, but maybe we can tire ourselves out so we can head to bed early or something, and—oh, how about checking out that house over there?”

Pointing to the rather misplaced house in the middle of the route, Eryn frowned, checking her Pokedex over. The map said nothing really about a house, so was it a private place?

“Well, no harm in dropping by. Worst case scenario we get a ‘I get this a lot, scat’ or something,” Eryn said, grinning as she tucked her Pokedex away and walked her team towards the house. “Hey Eri, double me again, and if we’re going inside I might have to return you, Peri, alright?”

A rumble from overhead marked Peri’s agreement, and a glance behind her revealed that Eri had already donned her skin.

“Alright, nice, now, anyone home?” Eryn called, peeking her head in through the open door.

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