Fio was glad that, at the very least, the trio would have enough food and water but...it was clear that Fio had shown her worry from his reaction. Quickly perking herself back up, she'd accept the pouch and nod. "Y-Yeah, sorry...we're awful small compared to a lot of other Pokémon," she said, before scampering off to purchase the necessary food for the journey. The two Kecleons manning the stand seemed like good merchants, definitely not the type to buy someone stuffed in a sack.

Looking over the prices and doing the math, she thought it would be prudent to not go and spend all of Ting's money if she could help it. "Um...excuse me," Fio said, managing to get the two's attention while raising a leaf within view. "Can I buy Four Oran berries?" While asking, Fio would count the coins one by one, quickly checking her mental math while getting the necessary sum.

It was clear to both of the brothers that Fio wasn't very used to buying things, though her difficulties may also have come from being shorter than the counter. Eventually she would pull herself up just enough for her head to show by using her leaf arms. She'd blink a few times at the two Kecleons, looking back to the sign a couple times before down at her piling of coins. "I-Is this enough? Sorry, I'm not so good at money math things!"

The country bumpkin of a grass-type would really, really hope she knew that 6 came before 7 in terms of counting.

---

The pair of Kekleon chuckled in unison as the young Fomantis asked for the berries. "Is this your first time on Cloud Street young lady?" the Kekleon on the left asked. "I've been told it can be very overwhelming for some, but let's see what you have." the Kekleon on the right chimed in, observing the various denominations of currency, separating and counting the money placed before them.

There was a soft clicking sound as Ting's metal feet scuttled across the street to Fio's side. "Whew, sorry about that. Couldn't find much of an opportunity to get across. Too many big feet." The Kekleon on the left looked up from the counter to Ting. "Is this a friend of yours young lady? Little guys like you need to be careful around here, a lot of pokemon can be in a rush this early in the day." The Kekleon quickly finished counting the money and swiping it into a nearby box full of various coins and bills, before pulling out a select few coins from the box.

"Here we are, four Oran berries." The Kekleon on the left put down four bright blue Oran berries in front of Fio. "And here's your change." spoke the Kekleon on the right, setting down a small variety of coins on the counter. The two Kekleon bowed in unison. "Come again soon!" the two spoke out.

Ting turned towards Fio as the transaction was completed. "Well, I think that's about all we can do right now, let's go see if Gale is done with his fortune yet. He should by the exit to town. Hopefully we'll get some money at the end of this, and we can buy more equipment then. You want to lead the way? It shouldn't be that far."

---

"Thank you very much! Have a nice day!"

Fio was pleasantly surprised that the Kecleons proved so...nice! Really, really nice! Fio would carefully scoop up the berries and coins, smiling with her eyes at Ting. "Mhm! Oh, and here's your coins back," she said, using her back two arms to carefully give every last penny back to Ting. Now, they could wrap up those four Oran berries for safekeeping and meet up with Gale. Their first real adventure as adventurers! "I don't mind leading the way! Thissaway!"

Trotting along happily with berries in tow, Fio would skip a bit, just enough to not mess up the berries in her bag and bruise them badly. She'd feel bad if they'd just spent money to buy these berries, only to wind up ruining them before the adventure had even started. Fio had like, a gajillion questions to ask her new friend, but felt it best to keep it to just one.

"Hey, Ting? Why did you want to become an adventurer? You didn't really say back when everyone gave their speeches," she said, a bit happy as she admitted: "Its alright if its not a big important reason too! I just joined because I thought the adventurers that saved me were super duper cool." Shallow as it made her sound, Fio definitely wore her heart on her sleeve. She'd probably never even lied once in her life, with how blunt her questions and answers were. It might even be that she couldn't fathom a complex reason for someone to be an adventurer...just because they were the coolest.

---

Ting's pace slowed a bit as he heard the question from Fio. Why did he become an adventurer? "Well, if I'm being honest, it was mostly for the guild. I guess I just wanted a place to call home. Dunescar... isn't a very nice place, and I couldn't see myself living in Wude. The pokemon there seemed too prideful and everything there was about strength or contests. But when I heard about Songstream Hall, it sounded much better than where I was, so I made my way here. And besides, helping people sounds nice. It's much better than the other alternatives I had."

Ting's pace picked back up as they progressed, following Fio, his metal feet making tapping sounds as they hit the road. "It took me a long time to get here, but I'm glad I made it. I don't think I would have survived if I had stayed up north. This place is much nicer."

Ting's eyes looked up, spotting the gate out of town. Hopefully Gale would be waiting for them there. "Hey, look! It's the gate, we're almost there. If Gale is there, hopefully we can start moving out. And maybe he'll tell us about his fortune. I hope is was a good one like yours. Maybe I should get mine told sometime." Ting continued looking up towards the gate as they grew closer before finally arriving.

---

"That's a smart reason!" Fio said, having to admit that having a nice place to sleep where you didn't get bullied by other Pokemon was pretty sweet. "I used to live in the Vale of Twilight...which as you can imagine, is really rough for a grass type that needs sunlight to live," she said while rubbing the bulb on her head. Her own feet made light *pat* sounds "Totally agree that this place is nicer than where I lived. If I ever go back to the Vale, I'll tell all my friends about it!"

While Fio was easy enough to deal with as she was, one had to imagine the absolute horror of another dozen of her, given how Fomantis live in huge clusters. But, upon seeing the gate, Fio's eyes looked up at it. "So tall...do you think they have to make it so big in case really big Pokémon show up?" she asked, trotting along with Ting to the gate. "I bet your fortune would be really good, Ting! And even if its bad...well, you can always ignore it!"

...Maybe...just maybe, Fio was the kind of person that only believed in fortunes if she liked the results. "But, either way, I have no doubt that tis all good luck from here on out. Gaaaaaale~!" she said, then called out the name of their third team member, hoping he was already at the gate waiting for them.

Gale's ears twitched and perked up when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. It snapped him out of his thoughts as he'd been mulling over his fortune, peeking his head from around the other side of the gate. Ting and Fio seemed to be strutting along, having finished their shopping. Gale gave them a wave and moved towards the duo to meet them halfway.

"How did the shopping go, you two?" he'd ask them, confirming their spoils. Four oran berries for the three of them should be sufficient for the road ahead, given Fio didn't seem to eat at all. Gale wondered if they could get the juice out of one of them, though; that way Fio could enjoy one too. He'd make sure to keep a note of that in the back of his mind.

One of Gale's ears twitched as he remembered something. "Oh... you two would want to know about the fortune, right?" he'd ask, then assumed his usual pondering stance. "If I remember... she said we'd face some kind of roadblock. Something without a straightforward answer. We have to focus on the... right thing?" he rattled off. Was that actually what the fortune was? Gale had been so preoccupied by the idea of an obstacle that he'd already forgotten Pandora's advice, but... they should be fine, right?

"Either way, I think we should get going. I think I passed by the orchards on my way to Mandalay, but my memory is a bit fuzzy. Do either of you know the right direction? I think I can take you two there if I'm put on the right track."

---

Ting trotted over towards Gale, as the three of them reconvened. "The shopping went well enough, we got four oran berries, which should probably last us." As the three continued their exchange of information, Gale brought up his fortune from Pandora. Something about a roadblock, and not having a straight answer. That sounded... ominous.

"Hmm... well, maybe it's not something physical like an actual roadblock, but maybe some sort of ethical problem? Maybe this thief is stealing out of desperation or something? Or maybe..." Ting looked down at the ground as he explored his thoughts. There were way too many possibilities to list, and the information they got was pretty vague, all things considered. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out when we get there, if we spend all our time wondering over this, we'll never make it there with any daylight left."

Gale continued speaking saying that he might have passed by the Orchards on the way to Mandalay, and that he might be able to lead them there, only, he couldn't quite remember the path there. "Well, if I remember rightly, Kick said it was somewhere to the south, so in that case, we would need to go..." Ting looked up towards the sun in the sky. The sun rises from the east and sets in the west. Since it was still morning, the sun would be in the east part of the sky. It was currently rising over the gate, which meant south would be... "That way." Ting turned his head to the left trail leaving town.

"At least, I think. I came in from the west side, so I never passed by the orchards. Hopefully the trail leads directly there." Ting looked towards the others for their opinions and concerns. Hopefully this trip wouldn't be too much of a hassle, and the mysterious roadblock Gale spoke of would be easy enough to take care of.

---

Folding her leaves before her as she heard Gale's fortune, she hummed. A roadblock, huh? Focusing on the right thing...

"Maybe that just means that if a road is blocked we have to go right?" she said with such earnest seriousness that one might think it was a joke at first. ...Regardless, it wasn't the time for jokes or overthinking fortunes, they had a farm to help out! Fio would turn towards the left trail as Ting directed, taking her first real step to adventure with her new teammates by her side.

Fio was pretty sure that Ting was right, since they soon passed by a rock with moss growing on the north face. Grass types just knew some stuff, y'know? "Mhm, this is the right way! Moss grows north when its nice and wet, like around here. So, we just got to keep on going!" While that may have been the smartest thing Fio had ever said, it was at least a helpful exploring tip. When in doubt, sun and moss.

"Kick said that it would take us an entire day's travel to get to Azure Orchards, right? I've never been camping...this is so exciting! We can make a campfire, sleep under the stars, and...other...camp-y things!" Fio said, stamping her feet in anticipation. "If we have everything we need, let's get going!

"That direction, huh? Hm..." Gale pondered. He wasn't doubting their words, but instead trying to recall the sights and vistas he'd passed by. "Alright, let's go then," he'd reaffirm, walking ahead of the other two while beckoning them to follow him.

Only a little bit after they'd left, Gale already got stuck in his own thoughts. He'd pay attention to the road, still, but inside of his heads were thoughts of something Fio mentioned: Camping. It shouldn't take them that long to get there, but Gale does remember his own nights camping on the road. Staring up at the night sky, huddling close to the fire he'd made to keep warm. The stars looked beautiful, but by himself like he was, those nights felt oppressive and lonely, too. It reminded him he still needed to find...

...

"Ting?" Gale addressed his new companion, turning his head back to look back at the two following him. "Have you always travelled alone before? I kind of hated it," he'd admit, scratching the his ribbon's ear subconsciously. "So I hope the three of us will get along from here on out. The road's a lot nicer with friends."

The least Gale could do was try to talk to his teammates. Well... as long as he didn't lose sight of the road, anyway. Luckily, it did seem like his memory wasn't failing him. The surroundings looked at least vaguely familiar, and it hadn't been that long since he'd passed by, so he could afford to walk with a bit more confidence. "Either case... I think I can get us there before the sun goes down. Unless Fio's right about our roadblock, anyway."

---

Ting listened as Fio spoke about the whole moss thing. Was that real? Or was Fio just being Fio? Maybe it was just a grass-type thing? And there was of course the whole camping thing. To Ting, it was kind a chore to him. He'd done it so many times it felt weird when he spent the night at Songstream. He didn't have to hide himself or his things, or make a fire, or anything like that.

But either way, it was time to go. He followed after Gale and Fio towards their destination off to the south. Gale looked a little distracted from what he could see as they walked. Maybe he was lost in thought. Probably trying to wrack his brain to remember the path. Either that or his breakfast wasn't sitting well with him.

Ting thought to himself as they began to walk towards their destination. He hadn't seen any farms in Dunescar. Then again, he didn't remember much of his time in Dunescar, as he had tried to repress most of those memories. Wude had a few farms from the short time he was there, but the terrain wasn't very good for that sort of thing. But here in Narvac, everything seemed so much more... alive. Was it always like this?

Ting's train of thought would be interrupted as he head his name from Gale. "Yes?" He looked up towards Gale as he led the party forward. Had he always traveled alone? "Well, I did for probably a good half or so of my journey. I tried to hitch rides where I could, but I stopped after a while. There were too many times where they'd take my things and abandon me while I was asleep. At first I wondered why people were so mean, but once I made it to Wude, I found out why." Ting looked over to his side, at the orange fabric wrapped around his abdomen. It was starting to get a little dirty. He should probably try to clean it at some point, though that's easier said than done when your appendages are all stumpy. "But that was then, and this is now. I hope we can be friends too."

Ting looked off into the distance. Still no farms. He guessed it would still be a while. "I hope we get there with some daylight left, too. Might give us some time to look around. Or maybe we could keep watch under the cover of night for the thief? Then again..." Ting stomped his little legs on the road, his metal armor making a metallic tink as if for emphasis. "...I'm not exactly very stealthy. Either way, let's hope that supposed roadblock is at least on the way back, that way we're less pressed for time."

---

Fio was a bit sad to hear that Ting really had traveled mostly alone. Sounded lonely...Fio remembered how miserable she was being alone and moved around. Even if her life was in a lot of danger back home when they left to sunbathe, she appreciated having others at her side for help. "That sounds horrible...but...a-at least life's better now, right? And, Gale's right! Travelings a lot more fun with people to do it with!" Fio half-asked, half-exclaimed feeling like her life was a lot better now that she was a prospective guildie.

"Yeah, I hope we get there before its dark...I bet the farmers would be really worried if their help didn't come within a day, with it being pretty close and all," Fio said, wishing they'd had the money to buy a map or something so that they could see exactly how far it was. Kick even seemed to have to adjust his measurements to account for the stumpiness of the trio's limbs before so...how far was it to other places?

After a bit of silence, Fio would pipe up with a question. "Why would someone steal from farms? If they're hungry...can't they do things for money to get the food?" the grass-type asked, still a bit slow on society-based things. Famine, lack of job opportunities, or just downright "because they wanna" didn't cross her mind in the slightest.

"Why would someone steal from farms? If they're hungry...can't they do things for money to get the food?"

Fio's question was innocent, naïve even. And yet, Gale still couldn't help but be distracted thinking about it. "...Maybe they could," Gale answered her back. He wasn't all that worldly himself, but he'd taken in some of the country's sights and sounds. "I think sometimes that's what this is for some pokémon. 'Just another way to get money for food...' maybe."

Gale wasn't actually too sure of his own answer. Unlike Ting, he wasn't really robbed or taken advantage of on his journey. He probably had Hurricane and his endless lectures on not trusting strangers to thank for that. He doesn't really know what drives a person to steal. As for Ting... Ting probably didn't want to linger on it, either. Gale retreated back into his own thoughts again, trying and failing to find another topic to shift to. This really wasn't his strong suit.

"...Well. It won't be dark when we get there, at least. The road looks familiar," Gale chimed in, figuring to just go back to the topic of discussion from before. He still wasn't actually sure the road really did look familiar, but at the very least they weren't going the wrong way. "Let's hurry a little," he said back to the other two, hastening his pace so the party would speed up.

Eventually, the day would reach the gloom of sundown. The sky was painted a beautiful orange, heralding the day's incoming end. It was fortunate, then, that the orchards were in sight at the same time. Even from afar the trio could see the linings of trees, a host of all kinds of fruits and berries. Drawing closer, though, it became clear that there wasn't actually much blue present in its landscape. It seemed more red and pink. The grass types working the fields were tending to all manner of apples and Pecha berries, but very little in the way of Oran berries. Most of them seemed to engrossed to be paying much mind to the party as they rolled up, even if Gale kept his eye out for anybody to talk to. As his gaze shifted around, he spotted the Pokémon closest the trio; a Sceptile, straw hat on his head, tinkering with the wheel of a wagon. He also took note of a broken bit of fencing, a slight ways away from the shed the party was approaching. It sure did look like some kind of trouble had been stirred up here.

Gale looked back at his part, doing his signature 'thinking' pose before opening his mouth. "We got here a little late... I think I'll ask that Pokémon over there for some information. Do you think you two could ask around on the field? Given the hour, they might almost be done," Gale asked his party. It was a sound course of action, to him. If work was about to be wrapped up, then these Pokémon could probably afford a few moments to answer some questions. "I'll ask to see if we can get a place to stay in return for our help, too."

Having said his piece to his partners, Gale split off from the group to approach the distinctive Sceptile he took note of. The little tippy tapping of Gale's feet on the wooden planks seemed to reach their ears, given that the Pokémon shot a look in Gale's direction. Having been spotted, Gale blinked a couple times and... awkwardly waved. He froze up a little, figuring out a little too late he didn't really know what to say or do in this situation. Then he remembered something and reached for his travelling bag, ruffling around in it and taking out the wooden emblem he got from Kick. He waddled a bit closer and held it up over his head with both paws to let the Sceptile take a look at it.

"...I'm here to help."

...Maybe Gale... shouldn't have suggested he be the one to talk to the head honcho after all.

---

The Sceptile's face lit up as the small Minun hoisted up his wooden badge. "So yer the little feller ol' Kick done sent over? Well, the name's Sage, and as ye mighta guessed, we been havin' ourselves a little thieverin' problem. Folks've been tellin' us 'bout gettin' incomplete orders. We've been tryin' ta keep an eye out fer any suspicious-like characters, but me and the boys ain't found much. I'll tell ye what I know, though."

The Sceptile would go on to explain the timeline of events, occasionally tipping his hat at passing farmers. "At first we just thought some might've fallen off the cart, but as it kept happenin', we thought something was up. It even got to the point where we noticed damade to our fencin' and our cart here got banged up as well durin' the night." Sage pointed to the brokem bit if fence, and the damaged wheel, respectively "I came up with a couple ideas m'self. The first is that they're comin' out under the cover of the dark t' take what they can. The second one is uh..." The sceptile got down onto one knee to get to Gale's level, before lowering his voice. "Well, truth be told, I think my son, Herb, might have something to do with it." Sage looked over to a lone Grovyle lazing about in the branches of an apple tree, eating one of the many dull red apples. He seemed to be eyeing some of the farmers. "He's at that age y'see. He cares more about chasing after girls than he does much else. I'm thinkin' he might be tryin' to impress someone, and usin' our stock to do so. It'd be much appreciated if ye can keep an eye on 'im. I don't want to believe it's him, but... well, what has to be done, has to be done. Fer now though, feel free to have a look around, and let me know if ye need anythin'."

Ting watched as Gale hopped on over to the Sceptile in the distance. Looks like it was just him and Fio now. He turned to Fio. "Well, uh..." His head turned as he scanned the surrounding area, looking for a place to start. "Say, Fio, why don't you check over by that bit of broken fence? Or at least around that area? Maybe you can find a clue there. I'll check out the storage sheds, and maybe talk to some of the farmers. Let's regroup here after a while and compare our findings. " He gave Fio a polite nod, and scurried off towards the nearby storage shed.

It was quite a big structure, or at least, it was to him. The doors were already open, so he headed into the building. It was much warmer in here than outside for some reason. Maybe all the boxes provided good insulation? Taking a look around, there wasn't much of interest. Empty boxes, spare tools, watering cans, things of that nature. This one was a bust. Time for the next one.

While the next shed was a small distance away, Ting's mind began to wander as he made his way towards the next shed. He was really doing this. He was really part of an adventurer's guild. He was making a difference, no matter how small. His heart began to race as the reality of the situation finally began to grasp him. He was finally doing something with his life. He wasn't running away anymore. He was in a place where people didn't hate him. He--

Ting's train of thought was violently disrupted as he walked headfirst into the next storage shed. He should probably start paying more attention to his surroundings. This shed was much like the first, nothing interesting, just more tools, and the occasional sack of topsoil or fertilizer. The third and final shed unfortunately has nothing of interest either. As he tried talking to the farmers, most seemed either confused about what was actually going on, or said they didn't know anything. Though as he was talking to a young Lilligant, he noticed a Grovyle sitting in a tree giving him an angry glare. What was that all about?

---

Gale's words made Fio a bit sad. ...Were times that sad, that people stole for money? Then again, she supposed that she'd felt that firsthand already. Someone had tried to steal and sell her, after all. Still, thankfully, it seemed that they'd be able to proceed quickly along the road since it was familiar to Gale.

The sun was slowly setting, and with it, Fio seemed to droop just a little bit. She was still peppy and upbeat, just significantly less talkative. She didn't really know what anything around here was like, but it sure seemed like they were growing a lot of berries that other Pokémon might like. Gale seemed to have conversation under control, with him talking to a nice looking Sceptile and telling him they were there to help.

Ting had the great idea that they should go ahead and split up to hunt for clues, with Fio eagerly nodding at the suggestion. "Okie-Dokie!" she would chirp before trotting off to find the broken fence section. Once she spotted it, Fio would skip right over to it before unceremoniously tripping, foot caught on an indent in the dirt. Face-planting and immediately getting back to her feet, Fio would grumble and wipe some dirt and grass from her face before looking where she had stepped. It...looked like a big footprint! A big, muddy, three-toed footprint that was heading away from the farm. Fio had only gotten a quick look at the Sceptile that Gale talked to, but this didn't seem like his footprint. The toes were a bit too wide.

Satisfied with her clue gotten, Fio would carefully avoid any further potholes, ready to reconvene with her teammates.

"Vandalism..." Gale muttered to himself as he listened to Sage's explanation of events. The thieves were not only making off with the cargo, but actively damaging and destroying the infrastructure too. They're going under the cover of night, Sage posited, so would a stakeout be the right call? He's suspecting his son, but can that be right? Gale didn't have enough to go off of, but at least the account gave plenty of insight. After doing his pondering pose for a bit, the minun looked up with some determination. "...Okay. We'll look into it, Mr. Sage." he said to the aged farmhand. Gale was gonna try his best to live up the guild's expectations on the first job, so he got to work straight away with investigating the scene of the crime.

Exiting the shed, the first thing Gale did was investigate that broken fencing Sage had mentioned. There wasn't much to the fence itself; it sure did look damaged. The only strange and icky part was that Gale couldn't take two steps without his paw landing in some mud, several puddles of it being scattered all over the immediate surroundings of the fencing. If it had been raining it would be one thing, but it seemed to be concentrated in just the one spot. Not that Gale could really... figure much out from that.

Gale continued on to question some farmhands, but none of them really gave much more insight than what Sage had offered. Vexing to be sure, but not entirely unexpected. If anyone knew the source of the thefts then the guild wouldn't have needed to be called to begin with. The Sceptile said he was suspicious of his son, but Gale had a hard time believing that. Sage seemed like a nice father, from first impressions. Even at his worst, Gale never thought to steal something from his own dad. The minun nodded to himself and decided to waddle on over, finding Ting staring up at his target. "Oh, Ting," Gale would address him, "did you already talk to Herb?"

Gale would regale what Sage told him about the suspecting theft, but seeing as Ting hadn't yet questioned him, the minun promised to do it himself. "It's probably better if I talk alone... two of us might scare him off," he'd argue. Approaching Herb's tree, Gale would yell: "Excuse me!" up at it. Herb didn't respond, or even look in the Minun's direction. Gale would try again, but to little avail. Crossing his arms in frustration, Gale looked at the bark of the tree, then his paws, and then his muddy paws. He wasn't much of a climber, but when needs must...

After an uncomfortable ten minutes of trying and failing to climb up the tree, shaking its branches all the while as he did, Gale heard a "Cut it out already!" from a now-annoyed Grovyle up above. Herb was glaring at Gale pretty fiercely, but the Minun at least caught his attention.

"Ha... ha... sorry, I just... ha... had a question!" he'd shout up, sliding back down the bark he'd made some progress up and landing his butt in the grass. "Do you... know anything... about the thefts?" Gale would ask.

"What...? No, and just leave me alone." the Grovyle would snap back, leaning back into his spot and having his gaze wander off again. Gale looked and tracked his line of sight, finding a Liligant on the other end of the line of sight. It seemed that Sage was at least right on one thing; Herb didn't seem to care about anything other than eyeing up some girls. Since it was fruitless to try and talk to the grass type like this, Gale got up and dusted off some grass before making his way back to the other two.

When reconvening, Gale was the first to share his findings. "So... the owner thinks it might be his son," he quickly reestablished for Fio's sake. "I couldn't get much out of him, though. He ignored me and kept looking at a lady out in the field..." he'd explain. The Minun also made sure to mention that the area around the fencing was really muddy, if only because he needed an excuse as to why the little legs he stood on were covered in ground-goop. "What about you two...? I don't have much to go on, so all I can really think is to maybe stake out during the night and see if anything happens."

---

Ting flinched as he heard Gale's voice suddenly manifest. Herb? Who was that? The Sceptile? "Uh, no, I haven't yet. Have you found anything out?" Ting would listen intently as Gale recounted his conversation with the Sceptile. Especially the part about his son being somewhat suspicious. "Now that you mention it, I could see him glaring at me from here when I was talking to that Lilligant. I think you're right, it'd probably be best if you talked to him solo. I'll keep looking around. Thanks, Gale." He nodded as the Minun took off towards the Grovyle in the tree.

What else was there? He had talked to most of the farmers around him, and there weren't any clues in the storage sheds either. Though Gale said that Sage thinks the thief is coming under the cover of night. It would make sense. Harder to see, less eyes around. Maybe the thief in question was nocturnal? Or at least had some way of seeing in low light. For now though, he should probably reconvene with the others. With all of their ideas together, they might be able to formulate a plan.

Ting made his way back towards the rendezvous point near where they first arrived, where the other two should be waiting. Ting explained that his search of the storage sheds and surrounding areas came up empty. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, which at the very least got rid of the possibility of something like embezzlement. Or at least, he had hoped. He did notice that the other two seemed to have had a couple of muddy encounters. Sure the fields were a little muddy, but not by that much. He looked over at the broken fencing at the mention of it. There sure was a lot of mud over there. Was there some sort of accident with watering cans over there?

"I do find it kind of odd that not a single farmer has had any idea about any of this. That leads me to a few ideas. Either whoever we're dealing with is reqlly good at what they do, or maybe..." Ting looked off towards the farmer in the fields, who seemed to be finishing up for the day, putting away tools, and making and carrying whatever was harvested off towards the farmhouse. "...Well, as slim as a chance as it is, maybe the whole farm is in on it? If everyone is stealing something, it'd be a lot harder to track down just one Pokémon. Not only that, but they could all cover each other's tracks pretty well. But I'm really hoping that's not the case."

Ting looked out towards the Grovyle in the tree once more. He had come down and was talking with the Lilligant he had talked to earlier. He certainly seemed much more interested in her than she did in him. "Well, a stakeout certainly doesn't seem like a bad idea. Kick never said anything about actually catching the thief, but I would feel bad coming back empty-handed. I'm up for it, but if our culprit does end up making an appearance, we probably shouldn't try and go after them unless we think we can take them down. Though if I had to guess they'd be more likely to run away than try to fight. Any other ideas?" He looked expectantly at the other two. Though, admittedly, he was slightly worried about Fio. Her leaves already seemed to be drooping somewhat. Hopefully she could hold out for a while longer in the dark.

---

"I don't get it though...why would the farmers be involved in stealing the food?" Fio asked, tilting her head and perching her...well, she didn't have a "chin", but if she had one a leaf would be poised upon it. "And the son of the owner especially shouldn't need to...maybe...there's some kind of sickness that's making everyone really really hungry?"

As if responding to Ting's worries, Fio was indeed getting a bit "droopy", slouching a bit and having the leaves of her head seeming to curl in a bit, as if recognizing there was no sun, so there was no point to staying awake. But...then she had an idea! "Ooh! I have an idea! I can sleep and be helpful!" the fomantis said, before walking out to a little patch of grass that wasn't being used for farming. "Ingrain!" she said, before digging her feet in and suddenly poofing into the ground, only her head above the dirt as she let out a tiny "humph!" of satisfaction. "Now, I look like a really big Magost Berry!"

...In spite of the..."comedy" of the action, it might actually be a half-decent idea. Fio could literally blend in with the unripe berries and crops, being able to restore some of her energy with Ingrain while keeping an eye out.