---

Location: Pines End
Mentions: @Pyromania99

"Oh! Umm, Isla, was it? I'm surprised anyone came out this way toward Pine's End. Is your Eevee doing well?"

Isla smiled, looking up sideways at the so-proclaimed Eevee. He was awake, now, blinking with his face half-hidden amid the great fluffy collar as the ears had perked-up to listen to the great wide wonders that was Pines End. The little black nose peeked-out amid the wispy fur, sniffing away, just made her melt for a moment. One hand reached up to pet Dancing, the Eevee moving his head out among the collar and nuzzling into her hand. “Yeah he’s ah…he’s doing good.”

"Oh! Sorry Isla, one minute. So, yes, apologies. When will you reopen? I have a scientific curiosity... Not to mention a personal one at that."

She paused, looking-over the…employee, Isla had thought previously. That seemed to be right enough, anyways, considering that Camila was so eager to get information from her and that the lady, apparently, had enough control over the shrine to say whether or not it was open. That or she was…just an employee. Wasn’t there a schedule somewhere or another that said when such places were or weren’t open? Isla sucked on her tooth at the thought as she pet Dancing some more, Swiper prancing back and forth about her legs in figures-of-eight.

“...Never- You work for Professor Camphor…? Well…look, the temple isn’t open because I say it's not. But if you’re with the professor, then…you know a lot about pokemon right?”

“Alright, you can come in, but don’t touch anything…and try not to uhm, be too excitable…For starters, my name is Yasu. I’m…well, the priestess here I guess, if you want to call it that, though most days I just clean and make sure the shrine is well taken care of…”

She followed Camila and the priestess -ha, that first impression had been right- into the shrine, stooping briefly to scoop up Swiper in her hands to bodily carry the little fox in her cradled arms. He went limp immediately at the motion, staring upwards at the ceiling as though contemplating whether or not the sheer accostment was acceptable. After a few moments, the Nickit whined-out a, “Niiii,” shifting his head left and right to get a better look about. Isla breathed-out a sigh, and tried to keep things respectful for the sake of the shrine. At least, that’s what she thought the priestess, Yasu, had meant by not being too excitable.

The building itself was beautiful, bits and pieces of how it was arranged, the detailing on parts here and there, reminding her of pictures she’d seen about other such locations in Kanto or Johto. Parts of the style weren’t familiar, though, possibly being more Eidda in origin if Isla were to take a guess. It all looked remarkably well taken care of, maintained as much as could be expected from the fact that it looked ancient, yet did have a priestess…a brief thought rose in Isla’s mind. How did such priestesses come into the job? There couldn’t be an order, or something, seeing as how…well, there was no one there and Yasu wasn’t wearing some traditional clothing or another. Isla had an image of priestesses always being in the traditional clothing. Did priestesses wear normal clothing? She wasn’t really sure. She also was certain such a question wasn’t something that bore asking while in the shrine itself.

Isla looked over the carvings about the door, though…they were beautiful, complex. It was clearly something connected to the forest, with depictions of Pokémon as they had existed in the far, far past there. Of course, the shrine would be connected to the forest - where else would it be connected to, built where it was? She suppressed the urge to scoff at the dumb question. Yasu said they were to not be too excitable.

“Right…Hatty?”

“Teeeen?”

Isla turned slowly, considering that she was cradling one fox with another guy lounged about her shoulder. What she saw, though, would make her pause again. She didn’t exactly know the Pokémon, but whatever he or she was didn’t seem entirely comfortable with the presence of two new people. Maybe that’s what she’d meant before, about not being too excitable. Was he or she just nervous about people? Could this Pokémon sense excitability? Was that a thing for it?

She tried to not be excitable, but of course that would just…make Isla nervous about not being excitable. Was being nervous excitable?No, no, no. That was just a cycle of stuff here and there and again. The young girl closed her eyes, breathing deeply as Swiper pawed briefly at her hands. After a few brief breaths, she felt…better, maybe? Better to just not think about it. Amid the whole ordeal Isla had missed the brief exchange between Yasu and her Pokémon. It was fine, though, fine since she was now talking to Camila and Isla.

“So, if you really are interested in the shrine and not just here to gawk like some tourist, then you can visit. As for what I want help with…I’m looking for information on a pokemon that you might know about or have seen. It’s a small pokemon, small body, green in color. Two antennas. I realize that is not the best description but it's all I really have to go on.”

A…small Pokémon, green, with two antennas…Isla stared, thinking for a moment about it. What Pokémon was there that would warrant worship or notability near a shrine connected to a forest, ancient as it was. Surely it had to be one that wasn’t from Eidda…they knew all about their own myths and legends, Pokémon of long-past, and wouldn’t ask some strangers about one. It must be another, from another region…one that could travel the distances. What Pokémon like that were connected to forests…Shaymin, from Sinnoh? That wouldn’t be, though…Shaymin had no antennas. What else was connected to forests…Suicune? Not green, not small, no antennas. It didn’t match any of Sinnoh’s lake guardians, either, small as they were…what else, what else…

Johto and Kanto. Narrow things down to the styles she could see in the building. Kanto didn’t have anything of the sort, maybe…Isla could smack herself at being stupid about it. She’d forgotten about…Cele…what was the name. Celebe? Celebi. Celery was how she remembered it. It fit everything, was connected to…oh heck, which forest was Celebi connected to…Santalune? No, that was Kalos. Ilex, that was it.

“Are you…thinking of Celebi, from Johto?”

---

Given that his plan hinged upon Luna getting enough experience, it seemed reasonable to just start by defeating every Nacli that they could come across and try to get the Snivy enough experience in battle before heading deeper out onto the trail. The first two were dealt in much of the same way as they had Laurel's Sprigatito—in other words, paralyzing them with Glare, then steadily tackling them down between their own attacks to knock them unconscious. The battles were by no means intricate or intense, but in an enclosed space like the cave there was only so much space that Luna could use to maneuver in.

At the very least, though, there were a few stalagmites that could be used as cover if it came down to it.

After dealing with two Nacli, Luna seemed fairly confident in her ability to take on another. But when the third seemed to be unaffected by her Glare and swung back with a Mud Shot, Richard wasted no time in calling out to her.

"Change of plans! Luna, dodge to the side and Leer! If it tries to come in close, tackle back; if it stays at range, keep dodging and using Leer!"

It was only at the last second that Luna seemed to notice Richard's cry, and after somehow shaking off the shock of their tried-and-true strategy not working, the Grass Snake Pokemon attempted to dive out of the way before mounting a counterattack. While the battle continued on, though, Richard reached into his bag and pulled out an empty Pokeball, readying himself to try and capture their opponent once Luna weakened it enough to do so.

@Rune_Alchemist

---

Location: Camphor's Lab Mentions: @Savo @Rune_Alchemist @Vertigo

---

As Jill entered the lab, she saw three people standing in the reception area. Two she recognised as Frieda and Camphor, and the other was a girl about her own age she hadn't seen before. From what she could gather from their conversation, this was another trainer who had signed up for the job, but had somehow arrived later than the others. While they were talking, Jill quickly - and discreetly as she could manage - returned the bucket to where she had found it.

As she was on her way out, however, Frieda did address her. "Oh! Hi again!" Jill said, returning the wave. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun, wasn't it Aster?" She looked over at the Aipom, who was still sulking. "Sorry, she's in one of her moods right now," Jill quickly explained to Frieda... which caused Aster to wack her trainer upside the head with her tail-hand. "Ow! What? You are!" Aster gave a few sharp chirps before returning to her brooding. Jill shook her head and sighed, turning her attention back to Frieda. It seemed the assistant was trying to attend to this new trainer. "Err, hey!" Jill said, addressing the girl. "Hi, I'm Jill, and this is Aster." She motioned once more to the Aipom, who paid neither Chloe nor her Snubbull any heed. "It's nice to meet you. Me and another trainer are heading to the Pokemon Center to get our Pokemon healed up. You might have seen us battling outside. Sorry we didn't stop and say hi before." Jill gave a little laugh before continuing. "If you want to meet up after this and travel with us, you're more than welcome to."

Camila was fairly impressed with the artisanship she witnessed as the entered the temple proper. She managed to not look all over the place like a tourist and kept her looks and musing as professional as possible. She was glad that Yasu allowed them permission inside the place all things considered. "I'll respectfully keep my hands to myself." Camila replied to Yasu's request to keep calm and not touch anything. She didn't quite understand the request about not being excitable until she saw the Pokemon Yasu called out to. "A Hatenna? I can see why you wanted us to not be excitable."

Hatenna as a species senses emotion and strong emotions make them run away or it makes them tired. "I can respect your care for such a cute thing." Camila mention with a gentle smile. "I rather like fairy-type Pokemon so I'm a small bit jealous of you having such a cute friend." Nothing with too much emotion behind it.

Then, Yasu asked a question. "A Pokemon with a small, green body and two antennas?" Camila pondered it for a small bit. She thought through a few of the more typical options but none of them fit realistically. After, she moved on to some of the descriptions of legendary Pokemon and one finally landed in her head. But Isla beat her to the punch, suggesting Celebi. "Yes, exactly my thoughts as well. Of the many Pokemon I know, only Celebi really fits the bill for this one. Well, as for known Pokemon at the least. There's always the possibility for some unknown Pokemon being out there I suppose, but Celebi seems the most likely. May I ask why you ask that question? Is this temple, perhaps, related to Celebi?" She asked in response.

Seasalt caverns
@PKMNB0Y

Dealing with the first two Nacli was…easy enough. Snivvy being faster, could easily get a Glare off to paralyze them. The first one would choose to opt for a defensive strategy - using Harden repeatedly followed by the occasional rock throw or mud shot. This dragged out the battle considerably, considering Luna’s only offensive move at the moment was tackle which wasn’t very effective against a Nacli…

Still, with the combination of already being slower then Luna and getting Paralyzed, Luna would take just minimal damage from it.

Luna grew to Level six!

The second opted for a more aggressive approach, favoring rock throw. If the Nacli wasn’t repeatedly unable to move from Paralysis, Luna might have been in a good bit of trouble here. Instead, all the Nacli could do really was angrily glare and get off a few that would be easily dodged. So aside from taking a stray rock to the body, Luna would come out just fine.

This left her and Richard to deal with the one currently in front of them.

The Mudshot sailed through the air, slamming right into Luna.Despite Richards quick thinking and instructions, there wasn’t enough time for Luna to dodge the already incoming attack. That said…

Luna’s Speed Rose!

Despite the mud and gunk from the attack covering Luna’s body, she seemed just a little faster than she normally was…which made avoiding and dodging the Nacli’s attacks just a bit easier. Luna herself though was starting to not look so great after the last two battles and taking a Mud Shot.

As Luna was recovering and preparing another Leer, Nacli seemed content enough to keep itself at range, a little confused as to why Luna hadn’t been slowed and had opted to instead use Rock Throw, keeping itself at range while Luna would alternate between Leer’s and avoiding the Nacli’s attacks.

If he wanted to win though, or catch it, he was going to have to go on the offensive, though…



Wailords Rest
@Crusader Lord
Urban Exploration

Heading out of the cafe and towards the rest of Industrial District proper, Clarissa would be met with more dock workers, factory workers and similar types. Finding the old Toy Factory wasn’t too difficult. Beryl would give her pretty clear direction. Follow the street down the dock until you see the giant sign that reads ‘Stellar Toy Co.’ Amidst the various buildings, warehouses and manufacturing plants that littered the Industrial district, it stood out with its large multi-colored lettering, and the once vibrant colors of the company's logo, a four pointed star were now faded and washed out from years of neglect.

Atop the large factory, just behind the sign seemed to be a large chimney. At the very top, it was hard to make out, but she could see a large number of bird pokemon circling about and roosting on it - and inside of it, it seemed like.

Navigating through the somewhat narrow alley between two warehouses and through a hole in an old fence, would bring Clarissa to her goal. The unlocked doors to the toy factory itself. There didn’t seem to be any way to get up from the outside currently…which meant, the only way up…would be inside.

Pushing past the rust covered doors that creaked with age, Clarissa would find herself standing in a small foyer. A subtle chill in the air persisted. The cries of some murkrow could be heard both above and further within, but something was telling her there were certainly more than just murkrow and the usual urban pokemon here.

Now then, what would Clarissa do?



Pokemon Center
@Savo

“Eh? Oh that?” Remi nonchalantly shrugged. “Nothing super important. My parents are some big wig fashion people here in the city and they can get a little…forceful. Seriously they spoil me too much sometimes, its annoying. They just didn’t want me to be held back by other people so they wanted me to start early. I told them I’d only do it if Nevvy here agreed. She did.”

“...only because if I didn’t,” Nevvy yawned, lifting her head up. “You’d get into trouble…”

“Pfft, I can get myself out of trouble though you know?~”

“Stellar Toy Co…”

“Ahahaha,” Remi started nervously laughing. “Accident! I had it totally under control!”

“Mhmhm…” Navy’s head plopped back down onto her slakoth with a dull whump.

“A-anyways! Unimportant…!” He glanced to Yuu. “Anyways, we’re likely gonna head to Route 25 and head to Wailport. Going to check out the pokemon school there and maybe catch a cruise or a ship up the coast to Snowport or Seawatch. Next time you see us, better be ready to get your butt kicked!”



Temple
@Pyromania99@Thayr

“Hmph.” Yasu let out a grunt. “Well, you’re nothing if not informed. Yes. Celebi, though not from Johto. Well, maybe its the same one, but I doubt it.” The woman would fold her arms as the Hatterene behind her seemed to grimace with a minor bit of annoyance as it looked in Isla’s direction, no doubt a little put off by her. “You are correct. This temple was dedicated to it ages ago. Supposedly, it protects this forest…” Her voice trailed off for a few seconds, eyes looking over the intricate carvings. “And this town. This town is probably one of the most rural places in Eidda. A lotta the folks here don't care much for the hustle and bustle of city life but..." She shook her head, grumbling something before fixing her gaze back on the other two." Which brings me to my question. If you’re that smart and work for the Professor, then you must have some idea on how to go about finding this mythical pokemon.”

Yasu’s statement was followed by silence, a steely gaze narrowed at the two of them. She didn’t seem like she was going to elaborate or explain. Hatty gave a little huff and started walking away, not particularly liking the vibes, maybe.



Camphor's lab

---

@Vertigo@XxFellsingxX

Frieda, was at a loss. As Chloe started talking faster than the assistant could think, she only started stumbling and eeking out some muttered words and half-hearted apologies. Hearing that some pokemon had attacked her though, caused Frieda to frown. Her stutters of apology were replaced by confusion instead as she’d furrow her brow.

“Attacked…the only pokemon she has at the moment is a Grimmsnarl and-ah!?” Her words, cut off just as the Snubbull decided to go say hi to Aster. Frieda followed after Chloe, but before either Chloe or Frieda could get close to Snuggles and before the Snubbull could get to Aster -

“Imp!” Running out from behind a nearby chair where he had apparently been eating some stolen food, Pix bolted between the two, jumping in front of Snuggles. “Dimp.” It clapped its hands together quickly, a loud clap of white energy reverberating towards the canine pokemon as Snubbul was hit head on with a Fakeout and causing it to flinch.

“Impy.” Pix, thus turned towards Aster and gave the monkey a thumbs up.

“Ah pix there you are you little rat!” Frieda huffed, quickly grabbing the Impdimp. “Jeez…uhm, I am really sorry about that Miss…” Frieda turned her attention back to Chloe as Pix wiggled out of Frieda’s grip and retook his normal position sitting on her shoulders. “I’m unsure what erm, pokemon attacked you. The only ones right now are in the Habitat and they’re all baby pokemon we’re studying and rearing. Camphor’s only pokemon is a Grimmsnarl and this little guy…” She shook her head. “And if I could uhm, have your attention over at the desk again…”

Walking back to the receptionist desk, Frieda pulled a few objects out from behind it.

“Your pokedex.” Frieda said, handing Chloe a sleek looking device. “Unlike standard rotom dexes, ours is a little…different. The professor wanted to keep a close eye on the progress of the pokedexes herself, so, well…she added a few things. It comes with the standard usual features, and has the contact info for the other trainers and hires on there already if you want to use them. Also Camphors direct line, though I erm, would suggest you don’t call her unless its important. And here, a little welcome gift.”

”Chloe was handed Five Pokeballs and two potions!”

“As for how this is going to work, you’ll get paid once for each pokemon you scan and each pokemon you capture. So for example, if you find a pidgey you’ll get 500p for registering it in the pokedex. You’ll get another 500p if you successfully capture it. The Pokdex also acts as identification and licensing for trainers. If you ever decide you want to visit some other labs around the region, such as the Mexatus Institute or the Mireth labs, since you’re affiliated with us the pokedex acts as a basic clearance to allow you to be in most labs.”

“Impydimpy!”

“Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Richard couldn't help but wince as Luna took the Mud Shot head-on, and though she seemed to come out of it better than he had expected, the issue of the Nacli not wanting to engage them remained. By this point, though, it seemed reasonable to assume that the Rock-type Pokemon had been sufficiently weakened enough to try and go for something more impactful.

Well, that and the fact that Luna didn't have any ranged options meant that it wasn't exactly viable to stay at a distance as she was now.

"Luna, you okay?" Richard called out, to which the Snivy responded with a quick cry of affirmation and a nod as it shook the remaining mud off of itself. "Then let's try and close this one out! Close the distance as best you can and tackle it down; once it's on it's last legs, you just let me handle the rest."

With that command, the grass snake Pokemon shot off. The second that the Nacli looked like it was about to go down (assuming it would, of course), Richard would lob the Pokeball in his hand at it in hopes that he'd have someone new to add to his team.

What came after, though... Well, he could worry about that after the battle.

@Rune_Alchemist

---

Location: Pines End
Mentions: @Pyromania99

“Hmph. Well, you’re nothing if not informed. Yes. Celebi, though not from Johto. Well, maybe it's the same one, but I doubt it.”

“You are correct. This temple was dedicated to it ages ago. Supposedly, it protects this forest…And this town. This town is probably one of the most rural places in Eidda. A lotta the folks here don't care much for the hustle and bustle of city life but..."

"Which brings me to my question. If you’re that smart and work for the Professor, then you must have some idea on how to go about finding this mythical pokemon.”

“Finding a mythical Pokémon is…” Isla bit her lip for a moment. The very proposition of it was so strangely outlandish that she wasn’t entirely sure if any of it could really be based on fact. Actual accounts of mythical Pokémon of any sort were so few and far between that she wasn’t sure there could be any facts to be found. The majority of accounts were…from shrines…

The young girl took a deep breath with it all. They didn’t have any account of how to find the mythical Celebi to whom the temple was, supposedly, built towards or the account to find Celebi did not actually work properly and well, that Pokémon was just…not there. One or the other, and she wasn’t sure which was worse. Surely you couldn’t just un-dedicate a temple to a mythical Pokémon…could you? Those sorts of actions would have summoned Celebi, or given some sort of warning. They were so close to where the Pokémon should be strongest, their protected forest, and yet…then again, forests had been destroyed before, for timber or mining or some other reason. She’d seen the whys and hows and pictures before. Celebi hadn’t protected those. What was going on?

“You want to find Celebi. I…honestly couldn’t say a…mechanical way or method or-or system to just…find Celebi. The only methods I’ve heard of are from temples. Do you…or did yours not…?”

She didn’t want to say the words out loud. Saying that someone who should know something and didn’t, or that something they believed in didn’t work, in such a setting just somehow seemed…wrong. Stars! Isla felt as nervous as could be with the sudden pressure to know something about finding or discovering the actual…location of a mythical Pokémon. She took another deep breath about it all. What could it be, what could it be…She could feel Swiper almost trying to dig himself further against her, nuzzle up into her belly. The distraction helped. She breathed deep again. Ideas sprang forth, straws to grasp at. Where could Celebi be hurt, where could Celebi spring forth from, where could Celebi affect the most…those three, maybe.

“Is there something…that could maybe be damaging the forest? Or some sort of…source, maybe? The densest part?”

---

---

Location: Camphor's Lab Mentions: @Rune_Alchemist @Vertigo

---

Aster had been so caught up in her sulking, she hadn't noticed the Snubbull approaching until Pix intervened. The sharp sound of the Fake Out caused her to stand to attention, bringing her tail up and out of the Snubbull's reach as the Aipom gave the dog Pokemon a look. Realising she had only been second away from her tail getting bitten, she gave Pix a grateful half-smirk and nod before blowing a raspberry at Snuggles and started chattering at her in a way that one could only guess contained some profanity.

Jill glanced over to her Pokemon's side. "What's gotten into you now?" she asked, giving the Aipom a little scratch on the head. Apparently, she hadn't noticed what had just happened at all.

Navigating through the somewhat narrow alley between two warehouses and through a hole in an old fence, would bring Clarissa to her goal. The unlocked doors to the toy factory itself. There didn’t seem to be any way to get up from the outside currently…which meant, the only way up…would be inside.

Pushing past the rust covered doors that creaked with age, Clarissa would find herself standing in a small foyer. A subtle chill in the air persisted. The cries of some murkrow could be heard both above and further within, but something was telling her there were certainly more than just murkrow and the usual urban pokemon here.

The rust-caked doors creaking open was a sure sign the factory itself was in more than a visible state of disrepair. Perhaps literally, even, at that, as when she attempted to extend the range of her powers for a moment to try to get an idea of things a number of dizzying sensations hit the psychic trainer outrighht. All upon her entering into the little abandoned foyer. For a moment, the psychic would suddenly seem to go pale in the face before leaning on the nearest wall with her left arm as she tried to stay standing in the heat of the moment.

"Bun! Bun."

Sir Lopsalot would leap off, the hair on the back of his little neck standing on end, as he stuck close to his trainer and tried to look over the little foyer. Rather, it was perhaps more as if he was looking for anything 'bad' in particular, and keeping an eye out for his trainer in the meantime. Hadn't seen her much like this for a while, and it was a little worrying to the Buneary as he kept his ears and eyes open for any potential trouble.

For her part, Clarissa would restrict her powers more and try to slow her breathing down. Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Focus on the tasks in front of her. Repeat. Yet as she would turn and let her back lean against the wall instead, she knew one thing for certain. This wasn't simply an abandoned factory. It was literally haunted. The palpable sense of lingering....emotions. Of things long gone. Of things still here. It had been her mistake to enter the place too brazenly with her powers reaching out to check out the immediate surroundings, that had been her mistake, but at least now she knew one thing for certain-

"Bun."

She needed backup. Not because she couldn't control herself in here, but more so because the potential presence of ghost-type Pokemon was not going to her advantage in all of this. If she wanted to get to the roof, she needed help, and frankly trying to fight ghost types with a normal type without anti-ghost moves was a fool's errand. Not unless they wanted to try to run for it, and that was its own kind of dangerous anyway. At this point she wished Ripley would show up to assist, perhaps, as certainly his Pokemon didn't seem like a normal type to her eyes. Made her wish she'd scanned the little thing before leaving, almost, but that was already well behind her now for the most part.

Using her legs to proper her up, and her back still resting upon the left wall, Clarissa would whip out her Pokedex and quickly try to whip up a 'group text' of sorts with her hands as her eyes focused down on the screen. She had no idea if anyone else was still around from the starting group, or if everyone had 'jumped ship' to go elsewhere as it were, but it was worth a shot to get some assistance in a hurry maybe. Either way, she wanted to get that blasted Murkrow and needed to be in time for the contest....but more than that, who knew what else they could run into along the way? Something else to catch with the assistance of others not using a normal type Pokemon? Greater dangers lurking deep inside? Etc?

'Haunted Factory - Help Needed'

This is Clarissa, from the group of people who were brought to Professor Camphor's Lab earlier.

Is there anyone else still around in Byjerfal who could come assist me at the Stellar Toy Company building? I'm trying to go catch a Murkrow on the roof of the building, or another Pokemon as well that might be found here at this rate, but all I have at my disposal is a Normal type Pokemon. As such I wish to see if anyone would be able to come assist, and if so please text me a response with your contact information and to tell me you're coming to assist.

Instructions on how to get here in the Industrial District will be located at the bottom of this group text as well. I'm in the front foyer of the building as well.

Please forgive me and ignore this message if you're not interested, and I wish to give my apologies for interrupting you all like this out of the blue. I've not acquired any specific contact information as of yet, and so this route of contact was my only course of action for the time being. Once I get some contact information, I can avoid using this sort of method in the future at least.

Letting out a small sigh, the psychic would hit 'send' on the message and let her head rest backwards against the wall as well. Hopefully someone would come to assist, at least, though if not she would have to debate the alternatives: Leave, or make a desperate run for the roof. Neither sounded appetizing after the work of trying to locate the Murkrow's nesting location, at least, but there was still enough time in the day if she got some help to catch a Pokemon or two and make it to the Contest proper in good timing. But....this was certainly not what she thought would occur on her first day as a proper trainer and heading out to assist the Professor.

Still, in the meantime she'd keep her Pokedex out for a response. Or, well, if anything she could scan with it popped out of the woodwork. Literally.

@Savo@XxFellsingxX@Vertigo

Camila couldn't help but show a small bit of surprise on her face when Yasu asked if she would be able to search and find Celebi. Was it a possibility? Well, Celebi was more than just words of rumor but she had no idea where to even start on that. Heck, she didn't even know if Camphor would have any information on that. "Finding Celebi is a rather tall ask, Yasu." Camila stated before listening to Isla's statements. She seemed rather tense for some reason. This caused Camila to raise an eyebrow a small bit and pat the girl on the back. If her train of thought was anything to do with what she was saying, well, she needed to relax a bit.

"Isla, take a breath. I can take a guess what you're thinking but just take it easy for the Hatterene." She said, wanting Isla to not worry so much, and concerned how the Hatterene might react. She then turned back to Yasu, "First thing first, Yasu, Celebi is known as the Guardian of the Forest so if we were to find it we would probably need to scour the forest the town here borders. If it's there. I don't have a magical tool that points me to where Celebi likes to hang out all day." Camila mentioned to the shrine maiden with a slight frown for the briefest of seconds. "I have little to no information on Celebi even being in the forest so the best I can help you with at the moment is educated guesses. If you want more help, I'd probably need a bit of a nudge in the right direction from you." Camila said, looking a bit more serious than her countenance usually showed.

Camila wasn't sure how much Yasu would be willing to share, so it was hard to say what the girl would even mention next. Even then, it wasn't sure how much Camila would be able to help with such a variable such as Celebi. It had plenty of legends and rumors that it was hard to sort the fact from fiction in the best of times. Even if Yasu gave her some really good information, there was no guarentee that Camila could even do much to help so she had to just wait to tell.

Seasalt caverns
@PKMNB0Y

Try as it might, the Nacli’s defense had been lowered heavily. The Leer’s effects had soon compounded. Doubly so, it was growing increasingly frustrated by its many whiffed attacks. The rock throws mostly missing, bouncing off the cavern walls and careening off towards the floor and a few even down the chasm the waterfall disappeared into. Which meant, it was also growing more and more careless.

When Luna darted forward, another Rock Throw was lobbed towards the grass snake - but it left it right open as Luna would slam her body into the rock type. Even with the type disadvantage from a normal hitting a rock type Nacli’s defense didn’t stand a chance. With a somewhat pitiful and annoyed cry, the Nacli slid across the ground, spinning from the impact just as Richard’s pokeball would clink against its head.

…

Success! Nacli was successfully Captured!

And with that, the Nacli was caught. A successful capture. Luna was a bit hurt, but at least the battle was over with for now and he was up one more pokemon. Getting out would be fairly easy, as long as he followed the route back up and didn’t antagonize any more zubats. So it was probably fine.

However, just as Richard would start making his next move…

“Well, that was certainly an…experience.” A slightly, whiny sounding voice would catch his attention from where the waterfall was careening over the edge of the chasm. A quick glance under it, would reveal two people walking up the narrow path. One was…one was dressed in what was clearly foreign, slightly perhaps out of date clothing. Covered in red and golds, with various bangles dangling from her wrists and ankles. She was notably barefoot, and seemingly unbothered by it and there was anodd stone hanging around her neck. “Haa, that Garganacl was scary. I almost got sent to the afterlife.” It was said with a mildly amused, flippant attitude.

Her companion was a pale young woman with long, unkempt red hair, the fringe covering her eyes so it was a wonder she could see where she was going. She was dressed in a simple and fairly conservative teal dress. She simply smiled in response to her friend's comment... or at least, half-smiled. One got the impression she wasn't used to smiling.

“Hm…you're not very talkative are you?” The somewhat flamboyantly dressed woman would say. “That’s fine. We can talk without saying anything.” Silence befell the two as they reached the crest of the path that would bring them to Richards level. It seemed like the barefoot woman was indeed, trying to telepathically communicate with Mattie, judging from her somewhat unblinking gaze.

“Hm…you know Mattie. You’re hard to read…ah.” The pair then noticed Richard. Wordlessly, she’d walk over to Richard…and proceed to place either hand on the sides of his cheeks, pinching and lightly pulling on them before he had a chance to react. “Hm…you have a good feeling to you, boy.” She then released Richard, offering him a friendly, if somewhat unsettling smile. “Want to make some money? Thats something people like, right?”

Mattie kept her distance while the other woman approached Richard, offering instead a small, somewhat timid wave in the boy's direction. "Don't mind her," she said, her voice low but soft. "She's harmless. Mostly. I think."

“Indeed, I’m mostly harmless.” The perhaps, somewhat overly friendly woman responded, still wearing her mildly unsettling smile. “Oh, right, silly me. I need to introduce myself. Marzana. Fortune teller and kind of a big deal around here, hm? That’s my name. At least, that’s what people call me, yes? This is Mattie. Anyways, would you be willing to help?"



Lab - >Stellar Toy Factory
@Vertigo@XxFellsingxX
Who ya gonna call?

“Weird Misdreavus?” Frieda frowned. “Camphor doesn’t particularly like ghost pokemon…so she doesn’t keep them around…Uhm…Maybe there’s a baby pokemon I haven’t been informed of…I’ll look into it and ask the professor about it.” Visible confusion aside, Frieda would start to explain more about the job Chloe had been given, but before she could get another word out Chloe grabbed Jill and bolted from the lab.

“A-ah! Uhm…g-good luck!” Frieda would call out as they left. Clarissa and the group chat would soon get a text in response from Remi, Nevine, and Laurel.



Finding their way to the Toy Factory wasn’t hard. The only snag was that when they finally got there…the doors, seemingly had been locked. How did they get inside? There was a window that they could potentially get in through that was open just enough to squeeze in on the ground floor if they wanted too, though they could probably also just break the door. It didn't look all that strong and it seemed pretty rusty and old.

Stellar Toy Factory
@Crusader Lord



Thankfully at least, It didn’t seem like there was anything immediately going to bother her in this little foyer area. At least immediately. Clarissa had enough time to send out the group text, catch her breath and collect herself.

Well…for a few moments anyways. It wouldn’t be long before Clarissa would feel a chill up her spine. The air noticeably cooled. The foyer itself seemed to be a square room. The old lights overhead hummed with electricity still, thankfully giving off light despite years of disuse in the factory. A desk where there was likely once a check-in or some sort of security personnel letting people in once worked. And just behind the desk, was a TV.

It would switch on, static playing on its screen.

“Gaaastly…?” Floating just through the wall near where her had was, a ghostly noise and a little black ball of floating gas was now watching this static screen, looking from her, to it. It didn’t immediately seem hostile…more curious than anything, perhaps, though it was floating between the door and herself, making any escape route having to go through it…





Temple
@Pyromania99@Thayr

“I am well aware of what Celebi is and what Celebi does.” Yasu rather taciturnly replied, turning her unimpressed gaze towards Isla. “And what, you want to damage the forest or cause something to happen? Did I hear you right? Yeah, no thanks, I’m not looking for extreme options.” She glanced to the side, pursing her lips before shaking her head. “The only thing I can possibly say is aside from the shrine here,” She’d motion to the sealed and closed square little box house against the far wall. “There is another shrine deeper in the forest. It's not hard to get to, but its off any known trails.”

Hatty had waddled over to a table where some berries had been placed. After climbing on top of it, the pokemon started eating quietly on a Wiki Berry.

“Could start there if you wanted to, I guess. Might be some books or other material here too…theres a room over there that has some records, I think. Otherwise, leave. Hatty and I don't really care much for guests.”

---

Location: Camphor's Lab > Abandoned Stellar Toy Co. Factory Mentions: @Vertigo

---

Jill had only just glanced at the text from Clarissa when Chloe grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the exit. "Huh? Oh, well I should probably tell my friend that-" She stopped when another ping came from her device and she looked down to see Yuu himself had responded, telling her he was going to meet at the factory. "Oh okay never mind, he'll be there too." As Chloe was pulling her along, she considered for a moment sending a text back... only to realise she had no idea how to do so. "You, err... wouldn't happen to know how to respond? I was never allowed any sort of communication device when I was back in Celestic," she asked Chloe, looking slightly embarrassed as she did so.

She spent the rest of the journey to the Toy Factory struggling how to figure out how to work her pokedex while Chloe continued to drag her along. Once they had gotten to their destination, Jill was the first to try the door. "Well, it's locked," she said. "And from what I recall, trying to get in would be considered 'breaking and entering', and that's a bad thing. We should-" She didn't get to finish before she noticed that Aster was no longer on her shoulder. "Oh no..." She quickly started scanning the environment, only to see her Aipom squeezing through the open window of the factory. Jill gave a very loud sigh. "Gran and Gramps are not going to be happy about this."

Once Luna's attacks landed and the Nacli was left reeling, Richard made sure to try and capitalize on the situation with a timely throw of a Pokeball. As the device soared through the air, Luna quickly took a step to the side to allow for it to lightly tap the Rock-type's head and suck it inside. A few shakes later, though, and it seemed clear that the Nacli had stopped trying to resist any further.

One more member of the team, then. Simple as that.

"Good job, Luna," Richard said as he moved forward to retrieve the newly-captured Nacli, making sure to pat the Snivy on the head for her accomplishments before brushing some of the dust and mud off her body. "We'll get you cleaned up once we're out of this place."

With a new teammate firmly in hand, though, Richard had a few new things to consider—namely, how to exit the cave and what nickname to give the Nacli. But before either could be addressed, the arrival of two completely new people had arrived from further into the cave. Though the young man would have been content simply letting them pass by (or tailing behind them if they intended to leave), it seemed that they weren't keen on doing the same for him.

The odd (and thoroughly out of place) girl dressed like an exotic dancer seemed to quickly take an interest in him, and it went without saying that being suddenly accosted like he had been wasn't exactly something anyone (least of all him) had expected. The following offer to make some cash did absolutely no favors here, of course, and Richard was left at least mildly concerned about what was afoot here.

With that said, though, the woman—Marzana—seemed rather intent in dragging him along for whatever it was she had planned.

...At the very least, it probably wouldn't hurt to hear her out, right? The option to say no was always on the table if it seemed too dangerous.

"Could I at least ask what you want me to do to begin with? I'm not just going to blindly agree to a random stranger asking for help out of the blue like that, you know," he said, taking a step back from the two women as he spoke. "And what do you mean by 'good feeling', exactly?"

It was a valid concern to him, at least.

@Rune_Alchemist

---

Location: Pines End
Mentions: @Pyromania99

“I am well aware of what Celebi is and what Celebi does. And what, you want to damage the forest or cause something to happen? Did I hear you right? Yeah, no thanks, I’m not looking for extreme options.”

Isla's heart dropped just a ways at hearing how the priestess took what she said and twisted it about into something clearly a bit more severe than what she had intended. Clearly Yasu was the sort of half-glass-empty lady as she took the question to mean Isla wanted to cause damage or an issue in the forest. She hadn't meant that at all; Celebi, the forest protector, protected forests. The Pokémon might be busy elsewhere, or hurt because the forest was hurt, or was say…resting and cocooned in the deepest part of the forest after performing such an action. Despite that, though, the young girl took a deep breath. Clearly Yasu wanted to say more than just that.

“The only thing I can possibly say is aside from the shrine here…There is another shrine deeper in the forest. It's not hard to get to, but it's off any known trails.”

“Could start there if you wanted to, I guess. Might be some books or other material here too…there's a room over there that has some records, I think. Otherwise, leave. Hatty and I don't really care much for guests.”

Clearly she really wasn't the happiest sort of person. Isla shivered a tiny bit at the internal question of whether or not priestesses were all like her or if some were a bit more normal. Surely there wasn't just a priestess factory that turned people into just bitterness. Surely. She scratched Swiper just along the scruff of the neck in an almost absentminded way, a calming way.

“The shrine. That sounds like the best bet. Where exactly is it?”

---

Camila was unsure of what exactly Yasu would tell them. She could stand and listen to the girl tell more, but she could just leave that to Isla and make a call or two. She had someone in mind at the very least. "Pardon me, Yasu. Do you mind if I look at those records and make a call? I'll see if my friend at the lab could assist me any bit." Without a word, she took the chance to go look at those books and records the girl mentioned. Perhaps there was a written accord of the Pokemon they were looking for.

She pulled out her phone and looked through her contacts for Freida. Perhaps her lab mate would be able to give her some information, and Freida was probably one of the best people for it. Well, hopefully. Once she found her number, Camila hit "call". The phone rang and she waited for Freida to answer. When she did, Camila gave a smile. "Hello there, dearest Freida. How have you been? Well, I hope." Taking a breath and giving Freida some small chance to speak before continuing. "Would you perhaps know much on the Legendary Pokemon Celebi and it's potential habitation in the Forest on Route 1?" She asked, a bit of hope in her voice as she asked. "Sorry, I figured either you or the professor might know if anyone but I'd much rather contact you."

Seasalt caverns
@PKMNB0Y

“Hmm…what indeed. Nothing too troubling, just a little catching and finding. A little thief stole something from me. A family heirloom of sorts, and I’d like someone like you to help find it.”

“We’re looking for ghosts,” Mattie interjected.

“Pfft.” Marzana couldn’t help but to let out a little laugh. “Ahaha, Mattie you can’t just say that. No one will believe you. Well, no one but me and maybe that little thief. Ooh, if I see her again…” The eccentrically dressed woman would offer Richard a small, slightly unnerving smile. “Haa…no, that sounds like too much work and I’m already shirking things as it is.”

"Perhaps, but it is the truth," Mattie responded. "Well, an oversimplification, maybe, but the truth." She motioned to Marzana. "My friend here has lost some people of the... unalive persuasion and needs help re-gathering them."

“Ahah, well, its not people really. Its more similar to energy? Perhaps it would be easier to show you Hmngh…Mattie, thinking is hard. What do you think-”

beep beep

“Ah? Oh, I get a signal here. Tsk.” Marzana proceeded to click her tongue as she’d fish a phone out of her dress, somewhere. “Oh hello Otto. Oh, you sound unhappy, is there something wrong?”

There were the distinct words of a very annoyed male voice that said ‘late’ and ‘Rossaden’.

“Haaa...you always have so little faith in me. My track record is perfect you know. I'm in a cave now, so I'll be there soon.” Otto, did not sound happy about being obviously hung up on. She’d put the phone back in her dress, somewhere.

Mattie seemed unphased by all this, merely tilted her head to the side while Marzana has speaking. Once the other woman had hung up, Mattie asked, “Is there a problem?”

“Hm? Aw, does little Mattie care about me?” She’d ask, wrapping Mattie in a hug against her chest and giving her a little head pat. “No, no problem. Buuuut it does mean I have to go do my actual job for a while. That said…boyo. If you want to help me out, come to route four sometime. I’ll be waiting there for a bit.” Notably, she never answered Richards question about the ‘good feeling’. “Or don’t, and let misfortune befall all of Eidda. You're choice.”

If Richard had nothing else to ask or to say to them, the pair would leave. Taking him with them too, if he requested. Would give him a little more time to question them, if he did.



Pokemon Center -> Stellar Toy Co.
@Savo





It was while he was scanning and texting, that he’d realize that Remi and Nevine…had left. By the time he had posed his question of leaving together, they had already skedaddled. A little rude, maybe, but Remi did say they were already leaving before he’d have started scanning. He’d ding and get a private text from Remi that read simply -

Remi: Sorry! Wanted to get moving. You talk to much sometimes ya know~? Hahah, not that its a bad thing. Gotta go train and get skill points if I’ma kick your butt next time!

Finding the Toy Factory wasn’t too hard, after that. He'd find himself arriving on scene just as Aster was bolting through the window.



Temple
@Pyromania99@Thayr

“No, go ahead. Just keep it quiet.” Yasu responded in affirmation to Camilla before turning her attention to Isla. “Mhm, Travel back towards Byerlfal on Route 1. About a third of the way there, you’ll see a tree with some talismans hung on it. Go south from that tree and you should soon find a small, overgrown path. That should take you to it. Wild pokemon are a bit more prevalent in that area though, so be careful if you do go.”

“Teeeen?.”

“...Hatty?”

“Teeen!”

“...No.”

“Teeen!”

“Geh-Fine! Fine! No need to shout, ugh.” Hatenna went back to happily munching on her Wiki berry as Yasu in turn winced from the loud shout. “Hatty wants us to go with you if you go to the shrine.” Yasu grumbled, frowning lightly as she’d rub the back of her head.

Camila’s phone call to Frieda would go through without much trouble. After a few moments of ringing, Friedas friendly voice would pick up.

“Oh, hello Camilla. Just the usual…the professor been a little disgruntled more than usual. Chloe Rothschild did show up…late and well, apparently some weird pokemon attacked her while she was in the lab? But anyways, ehm…Celebi? The Mythical pokemon…my knowledge isn’t well versed in Mythicals but lets see…”

Frieda would hum lightly to herself as Camila could hear the soft tapping of computer keys on the other end as she walked into the small record room. It was a small study, desk, filing cabinets, nothing too special. A computer hummed idly on the desk, likely a digital record of things while the filing cabinets possessed physical copies. Going through all the records would take ages, but starting would be better than not.

The most interesting thing at least, showed that many written records had been kept dating back nearly hundreds of years. Notable incidents from the records include that the village often had a festival of some sort every decade - supposedly meant for Celebi. This festival continued up until about a hundred years ago when a child went missing on said festival day. The parents, the family and likely Yasu’s ancestors called off the festival after that.

“Are you wanting to know anything specific? I assume you’re in Pines End and visiting the temple if you’re asking about Celebi. Habitation wise well…I mean, it loves the forest and is seen around there…I’m not sure what else to say. There are very few confirmed sightings of the Pokemon ever since it was first recorded so we know very little.” A pause as Camila would hear a sharp intake of breath. A few more keyboard taps. “Pines end used to celebrate some sort of…festival or something every decade, but the family that has run the temple for generations called it off after their only child went missing on the day of the festival. Also…” Frieda’s voice became a conspiratorial whisper. “I didn’t tell you this, but about ten years ago to the date today the Professor was asked for her opinion on an odd happening in Pines End. I don’t know the details but it involved the family that looks after the temple and apparently primarily, their kid-wah professor!”

The sound of the phone falling a Frieda supposedly dropped it.

“N-nono, just calling Camilla! She’s in pines end, was asking me about Celebi. Yes, yes, I know I’ll get back to work sorry,” She’d pick up the phone again. “Sorry Camilla, need to get back to work. Let me know how your investigation goes!”