Stella Lumite

”Oof, wrong immediately, huh?” Stella frowned softly to herself as she began reading. It was an immediately sad book. She gently ran her fingers over the egg as she read, subconsciously measuring it.

”Ooh, long break.” The girl hung for a moment on the name of the other woman mentioned. Ellanore’s sickly friend. December, ”you're going after her on new years..”

Another page. She gasped and held the egg a little closer, covering her mouth with the hand she'd been turning the book with. Was that.. blood? What had she done to herself? ”And then, two years later..”

Hesitantly, she turned to the last page, only to find herself confused, ”’32..? But, who wrote this page..?” and why?

Before she could ruminate, Mr. Osman appeared. Stella was so startled, she couldn't help her ”oh, sorry,” as she closed the diary.

She'd read enough. That wasn't Mr. Osman. She put both arms lightly around the egg, petting it gently as she studied the figure in the door. “You're not Mr. Osman. Are you. I'd say you were Marie, but that would make you very old. In this place for a long time. I suppose it's possible you're so long-lived, but,” Stella paused and looked around the room, “to have stayed here for so long.. why?”

"What.." Stella dreaded to even ask the question. She wanted nothing to do with whatever had driven Ellanore mad and made her friend so cold and distant. But.. it could hurt someone else, too, "what's in the woods?"

Jason read over the menu at raised an eyebrow at the Junkyard Burger. Of course, he was always up for a challenge and...he'd be lying if he said that it didn't also look good. One thing he'd learned about local joints like this was the food was almost always fantastic. Of course, the possibility of loosing meant he'd like pay handsomely. And then there was the rumors about the Dunsparce and the wooden Voltorb, though he'd chase those after he met up with everyone once they had a path forwards figured out. "Before I decide, how much is the pot on the Junkyard Burger?"

"Ten thousand." Jason's eyes widened in surprise and he actually started to seriously consider it. He hadn't actually caught many Pokemon yet and if he was honest, the extra cash would come in handy. Besides, he was sure he could handle the challenge, since he hadn't really eaten since he left Helga's.

@Joshua Tamashii@Remram

"Oi, thaht ine't whaht Oy side." I mean, it wasn't far off what she said but Steph still felt the need to correct Freya. Even if she was the only one of the two here who could understand what she was saying. Stab and kill were two very different prospects after all. Regardless, Steph just shrugged it off and gestured to Helga with the hand that had originally been out for a handshake, but with that seemingly ignored during the older womans confusion Steph was just moving on.

"See? Ine't nao nayd t' jump t' cawnclusions, thiies heah lady is just mykin some food. Sohry beow' thaht, Freya heah is a biieh' of a Torchic." With a shake of her head, Steph just sighed at what she seemed to be saying was rudeness on Freya's part and apologized for her friend. Though at Helga's question, Steph stepped back and craned her neck, nodding.

"Yayh, she's weeth us. She's the one who wahnted t' come heah and ooll, Oy ine't one t' stawp someone whaen thy wahnna do somethin buh' Oy gawt hah bahck. Somethin maesses weeth hah, Oy'll bryke thaeh knees in two! hahahaha!" With a beaming grin, she would slap Freya on the back also. "And daon't wohry Freya, Oy'll do the syme faw yah too ok? So lawng as Oy'm around, ine't nao one gawnna hahm moy friends!"

Well, she was confident at least. No doubt the opposite of Freya right now, but who knows, maybe this reassured the girl? Or maybe not. She wasn't really trying all that hard to soothe Freya, but if she could calm her down a bit then that would be swell as honestly being this scared would only make bad things happen.

"Roightio, say ya luytah!" Having turned around again to wave bye to Amelia as she shouted out, Steph turned back to say something to Helga before suddenly turning back round again as a realization hit her perhaps a few seconds later than it really should've.

Wait a fucking gosh darn minute!

"OI GEH' BAHCK HEAH! IH' INEH' SYFE YAH IDIOT!" And like that, Steph was off to the races, leading poor Freya alone with Helga as sure Freya had seen Steph run before, but man...could she run fast.

Sadly, Steph's realization and shout did indeed come a little too late, as Amelia was already in the treeline and making her way in deeper, caught up in her little game with the Pumpkaboos.

Amelia found herself woerin for a while and was happy when she finally picked up on a ghostly presence after a bit of walking. She would follow it and eventually reach where it was it's strongest and closest. She looked around, trying to find it before eventually hearing the Pumpkaboo crying out. It seemed to come from above and indeed it was, as a glance up did indeed reveal the Pumpkaboo... who was stuck in a web... surrounded by Spinarak. She noted a skull on the web as well but it was soon revealed to be a different kind of Spinarak. Amelia could sense this Spinarak, meaning it was a Ghost-Type. If she had to take an educated guess, it was a Bug/Ghost type. She pulled out her two last empty pokeballs. She had one shot at the Pumpkaboo and one shot at the Spinarak. Given she was about to steal it's meal, she was expecting a battle. But if she didn't do this, Pumpkaboo might get hurt or worse.
"Pumpkaboo! Whatever you do, don't resist! Just stay in and you'll be safe!" She shouted at the little pumpkin before giving it a few seconds to or at least register what she said. From there, she would throw one of her empty pokeballs at it, hoping that it would stay inside and hoping the Spinarak wouldn't be too upset.

---

King had been putting up a great fight and for the bird's first actual trainer battle, had done more than Tristan ever imagined. Sadly, that luck came to an end and with it, the murkrow's inexperience proved too lacking.

Seeing his Pokemon lose wasn't what hurt, but seeing King getting slammed down so hard, almost as if the Grovyle had done it on purpose. Unlikely that it did, but for the teen still new to all this, felt his blood boil with a fiercer gaze at the green bipedal dead stain. With restrained anger, Tristan got out King's Pokeball to recall the fainted mon.

" This was meant to be your redemption, but you did great. Rest now." He whispered to the ball, unsure if King could hear them though they were just as comforting to him as they were meant for the bird.

A brief supporting squeeze, he pocketed and grabbed his next then aimed a fierce gaze at the Grovyle." Panic? I'm going to teach that lizard brain manners to bully small pokemon so!" Shouted Tristan in challenging Rebuke as then called out Ace, the orange chicknugget jumping with a frightened chirp at the sight of the imposing opponent looming like a giant.

He knew sending Ace against such a scary opponent was not ideal, but having him be the last pokemon felt too risky. There was also King's last hit; hopefully dealing enough to slow Grovyle for Ace to manage and one thing was clear, a direct fight was bad for the little bird." Alright, Ace! Don't worry about getting close! Focus on using ember burn for attack and use quick attack to escape, doesn't matter if the ember misses, just keep firing and running!" Tristan called out his strategy, sweating like crazy, his orders sounding strange like one doing a desperate measure, but the silver-haired teen looked like he had a plan in mind.

Faye took in the surroundings in as much awe of the gorgeous interior design as she might shelves of books of the library in Kings Cross. She loved seeing fancy old places like this. She was about to raise her camera to snap a picture when she noticed the portrait on the wall. Aria Eberg - or the plaque said - staring down at her made her reconsider taking an unpermitted picture of the interior of her house. And for the life of her, the trainer couldn't take her eyes off the woman's portrait.

Her hands lowered the camera, but she didn't realize the motion. Her eyes just stayed fixed up. Her focus narrowing on the woman's face. She was someone that held secrets; Faye could feel there was secrets hidden within even that portrait that refused to surface. Maybe those secrets would help? Or...no, if she stared long enough maybe they would reveal themselves. They had to reveal themselves.

The hand on her shoulder and finally hearing the receptionist's voice were rewarded with a sharp inhale and soft squeak. "Oh, um, sorry. I - no, yeah I'm alright. I just..." She glanced at the portrait then firmly made a point to turn her body to fully pay attention to the physical person totally not about to push her back into a void of existence. "I got distracted by the portrait, I guess. This place - it's my first time coming in and it's all so beautiful. Oh! Right! Why I came in here. Do you happen to know about the Pokémon that live in the park? Or if this place has a library? Kind of two fold thing. I'm a new trainer and I'm looking to see if there's any rare Pokémon that live in the park, but also I'm trying to find out more about the geography of this particular area. Figured that this might be a good source of books on the subject given how old this place is."

@CitrusArms

With a relenting sigh, the figure out of old man slowly began to twist and turn with a black mist. In its place stood a bipedal with black and grey with a long mane of red hair punctuated by black spikes and held back in ponytail by a jade orb.



However, there were so many patches of silvery fur where darker fur once grew. It looked weary, much more withered than the example shown in the Pokedex. Stella was right, this Pokemon has been here long, much longer than its natural life span could ever allow it. Marie looked at Stella with tired, old eyes.

With a decrepit, eerily human-like voice the Zoroark said, "Aria wasn't alone in that forest. In the heart of the forest, there was a man, but to call him a 'man' feels disingenuous. There was something... unnatural about him. It was like staring at the abyss and it didn't just stare back. He kept speaking of concepts that I couldn't understand and yet, my master seemed to have gleamed some meaning." The elderly Zoroark slowly walked into the room; her claws made a light clicking noise against the wood floors.

"He broke her and took her away from us, but you already knew that." She stopped when she was just in front of Stella, looking down at her and the egg on her lap.

"'Time is a tree.' Those were her last words and every day they echo in my head. They're a reminder of how I failed to protect her," she explained bitterly. "I couldn't repeat my failure. I've protected her husband until the day he died and her daughter until her descendants abandoned their homestead and their history and dare to turn this once great home into a community center. Now I live here, protecting my home such as it is and that..."

She pointed a clawed finger at the egg that Stella held on to her lap. "Before Aria died, she begged Ms. Osman to protect the egg. As much as he hated Aria for what had happened to his wife, he honored her dying wish." She chuckled dryly "It has been over a hundred years and yet that egg still remains the day it arrived here. It almost feels like a bad joke."

Her old frame settled on to the floor, exhaling deeply. "I am tired, dear child, and very afraid. Tell me, if someone replaces every floorboard, every coat of paint, every cupboard, every nail, is it still my home? Are all the memories and the history still there or wiped away like a clean slate? Do I keep on protecting it?" She looked to Stella with pleading eyes as if this girl she barely knew had the answers. Or maybe she just wanted to be heard after being alone for so long.

---

@Zarkun

When Jason's eyes fell upon the pot, the man with the greasy apron said gruffly, "10,000. If you want in, you gotta put 1200 in. Wouldn't recommend it kid. The missus wanted something to compete with the curry shop next door who had his own challenge first." He shrugged, tapping a notepad with a pen glistening with sweat and meat juices.

The greasy, greasy looking man looked at Jason with an unscrupulous expression before he cleared his throat. He shouted over his shoulders, "Babe, put all other orders on hold! We got another junker on our hands!" There were murmurs from other people in the burger joint, some interested in what was happening and some complaining that their orders were going to take longer because some blue haired dude wanted to kill his gut.

Jason was told to sit down and wait, and it certainly took a while, which was understandable. It was going to be quite the spectacle, but nothing could've prepared Jason. From behind the kitchen out came a tray that held a four-pound burger that was too large to be called a burger patty. It was more like a slab of ground meat piled with the typical toppings of lettuce, tomato, and onion followed by a pile of bacon and four massive eggs held between two massive pillowy buns, all on top of a pile of fries meant to be shared between three people. Oh and a big glass of water.

"Here you go!" The thing that could only be legally called food was placed in front of him by a... a Nurse Joy? Except she looked like fry cook. The Chansey bounded next to her while a crowd began to form around him waiting to see if he could eat all of that food.

Well, there was only one thing left to do.

With the luckiest god damn roll of his life, Jason could feel a surge of energy in himself as he tackled the challenge with somehow the eagerness of a man starving on a deserted island.

Now, how does Jason demolish this burger?

---

@Lunarlord34

And off she went! Steph was having quite a bit of trouble keeping up with the prepubescent girl with a heart condition for it turned out that when heading into trouble, children possessed other worldly speed. That and the head start Amelia had been also a contributing factor. Whatever the case, Steph ran after her though quickly Amelia disappeared into the fog of the forest though that definitely would not have deterred Steph. In fact, she was very likely to keep running and running without paying much attention to her surroundings.

There was a loud CRACK beneath her foot and the ground suddenly gave way. She dropped down a hole and landed on her butt on the earthen floor with large bits of foliage that had acted as camouflage above until she broke it. If she looked up, she would see the one's responsible for her current predicament. It was these brown bipedal creatures with beige masks and singular leaves sprouting from their heads.



They snickered mischievously at Steph because there was no way the average person was going to be able to climb out of the hole that they dug. However, they truly did not understand what exactly they brought upon themselves. Would Steph like to prove them wrong?

---

@Joshua Tamashii

With only a prayer Amelia threw two Pokeballs to hopefully catch the two ghost types and high tail it out of there. However, with a cast of a die the universe seemed to have very different plans for the little medium. The Spinaraks were not entirely unaware that Amelia was present. When Amelia threw those Pokeballs, they were shot out of the air by glowing purple needles shot out by the Spinarkas, except for the ghost-type one.

However, their focus was no longer on the Pumpkaboo, but on her with their big soulless looking eyes. There was no getting out of a battle.

How does Amelia want to play this out?

For in game information, there are four Spinaraks, including the Evigian one.

---

@samreaper

Ramos arched a curious brow at Tristan's remark. "Bullying? This is a battle. If you think your Pokemon can't handle it, then you shouldn't send them in."

His eyes fell back down to the fire chicken that just fired small bits of flame towards his Grovyle while maintaining its distance. The gardener furrowed his brow and with a stern voice said, "Detect and then close the distance with a Leaf Blade!" Once again the Grovyle's eyes glowed with a dim light blue and dashed in the direction of the embers before Ace could shoot in that direction as if it could predict it before it even happened.

Green glowing scythes of energy grew from its wrists as it ran towards the Torchic though before it could swing down to bring heavy damage to him, Ace would use Quick Attack as burst of speed to maintain distance. There was something that Tristan maybe didn't notice before. There was a thin light bit of white energy surrounding Ace, his speed was increased incrementally. Speed Boost was activated.

"Grovyle! Use your own Quick Attack!" With a burst of its own speed, the Grovyle dashed towards the Torchic. The Grovyle was still faster, perhaps it couldn't be out sped but did Tristan need to?

What does Tristan do?

---

@Sanguine Rose

The receptionist looked at her with mild concern, but she shook it off. "Well, you've come to the right place then. We do have a lab on the upper floors where scientists research the garden and its Pokemon. You could probably make some inquiries and who knows, maybe they'll feel like helping you. We also do have Aria's personal library, which is open to the public, but if you wish to read her letters and journals you will need permission. We have a nice young man helping us until the end of the preparation for the upcoming festivities." One would think she would have taken a breath between any of those sentences, but no, she said it in all one breath.

"Funny kid though. He seems so ill ease. Wonder why?" The receptionist mused to herself though she realized that she was accidentally gossiping with a guest. "Oh, uh, never mind that last bit. We have maps on the reception counter. I'd recommend it since this place is pretty large. If you have any questions I will be back at my desk." True to her word, she went back to her desk waiting patiently for anyone that would ever need assistance.

Faye would feel uneasy herself. It was not like she was being watched and certainly wasn't haunted. It was strange, but it was as if something was bubbling to the surface. What it was, was uncertain.

Well, what does she do?

---

Ramos words wrung true, of course, and Tristan wouldn't normally dismiss him, but he was in a heated-up state going through his first proper battle. One that proved far more intense than a trainer that only started just the other day but guess the divine forces of Arceus decided it cruely funny to toss a huge ass bipedal lizard at some tiny birds and a flower. Hard not to see that rather hard finisher as bullying too after the fact.

Still, he appreciated the words for they did help calm some sense back into him, affording him to catch notice of the white flash from Ace. Not only had it been a succeess but it had also reminded him of his Torchic's ability, speed boost.

Even with it, the grovyle was still faster, but only for so long. Considering that Ace was mostly fine with type advantage, yet, that detect was an issue for Ember. Trying to do it in r-

Suddenly an idea came to mind, a risky one though at this point, Tristan started to realize risk was the only way to win with the advantage he had right now. It came down to if Ace could pull an indirect hit.

Gritting his teeth, hands clenched as he prepared to order his torchic to do something he knew the bird hated." Quick, Ace! I know it's scary, but just charge at the grovyle! Don't think about anything else and keep going...at the last moment shift into a flame charge and ram as hard as you can!" Called out the teen, the last bit given shortly before Ace would clash to try with a surprised ambush.

Hardly a sane idea, but simply running could only serve to tire Ace out. Better to try and get some damage and hopefully, the speed boost needed, assuming the orange chick survives.

Amelia was a bit shocked when her pokeballs were knocked away by the other Spinarak, who did not seem to be happy at the idea of her interrupting their meal. And by the physics of this world, that meant that them somehow ended up landing nearby, allowing the young girl to easily pick them up. That being said, she was now facing down several Spinarak, four in total if she counted the Evigian one. She took a deep breath as she went through her option in her head. Battle was the only way out now, but she would need to carefully consider how to go about this. Phantump and Mimikyu had types that were weak to poison so she would need to keep that in mind. On top of that, she had no means of curing poison on her. But, in a battle of even numbers, the best thing to do would be to make the numbers favor her.
"Alright everyone. We're going to focus all our attacks on a single target. Pantump, Yamask, both of you use Astonish. Golett, use Mud Slap. Mimikyu, use Copycat!" The young girl said.

Her pokemon cried in response before springing into action. Phantump and Yamask floated up to one Spinarak, being careful to avoid any webs, and both shouted at it loudly. Meanwhile, Golett picked up some of the forest dirt, which mysteriously became muddy, before throwing it at the same Spinarak as it's allies. Mimikyu glowed a slowly before firing off whatever move had been used last, hopefully something with some range, like Poison Sting or Mud Slap.

When he made the order, he did his best to ignore the grumbles about having to wait even longer for their food and simply followed instructions to sit at a table and wait while the cook and his wife got to work. While time ticked away, Jason messed around on his phone, watching videos, including, but not limited to, funny cat videos and food videos to both help his appetite and and give him ideas of how to power through the meal in the time he'd need to feel like he did it right. By the time it finally came out, a combination of the videos and the smells coming from the kitchen had made him unusually ravenous, though he had to double take at the actual size of the burger. And enough people have tried this to get the pot to 10k? Holy shit...

The cook's wife and her Chansey set the food in front of him and smiled. "Good luck with it." The two went back behind the counter and left Jason to contemplate. After a couple of minutes, he simply shrugged. "Fortune favors the bold, they say." Taking a steadying breath, he started in on the fries, finishing them the quickest and taking a gulp of water. From there, he had to do the burger and, admitting practicality, he picked up a knife and fork and set to it. In its entirety, Jason took about 45 minutes to eat the entire meal, setting upon it as though he hadn't eaten in days. Bite after bite, he worked on the monstrous patty, working like a machine. The entire diner watched on in equal parts impression and concern, a few of the students wondering if this was his first meal in a while out loud. By the end, he simply sat as he swallowed the last bite, sighing in content and looking at the owner. "So about that ten thousand..."

Stella Lumite

The image on the screen of the Pokedex was clearly that of a Zoroark in its prime. Or, perhaps, within its normal lifespan. When she looked up from the image, it was almost shocking how different the Pokemon looked. She questioned for a second if the Pokemon was a shiny version, but quickly swatted the idea. No, this Pokemon looked.. weakened by time. That was the impression she got.

Nothing about this was comforting. Just the opposite, it set her on edge, it made her dread. She listened intently all the same, knowing, feeling the importance of this moment and this meeting. She didn’t dare interrupt, but took notes, mentally. Stella looked down at the egg as Zoroark pointed to and spoke of it.

The home was being refurbished for a community center, the family had abandoned the property, everyone the Legendary Pokemon before her had loved had long gone, and so tragically. “This egg is that old..?” She looked from the egg to Spoops, who bobbled and shook his face as though shrugging. She wasn’t sure how that impression came across with only a “head” to work with, but it did.

Zoroark suddenly asked her for.. advice!? She thought deeply for a moment, once the questions had been posed to her. It wasn’t an easy thing to answer, but the creature before her needed rest, respite. She swallowed her nerves, “I can't tell you what you should do, but it sounds to me like you’ve been trying very hard, for,” she paused and shook her head, “longer than I may ever know.”

“It could be worse. They could want to tear the whole thing down and build something else.” She took a deep breath and sighed, thinking over the questions that had been asked of her, “the memories? The history?” She thought, and thought a little more, before offering, “memories live in our minds. As long as there is someone or something to remember them, they’re still there. As long as someone is taught it, the history will be remembered.”

Stella looked at the Zoroark, smiling sadly, “you look very tired. You’ve been trying so hard for so long, all on your own. When is your duty complete? Rest. I will care for the egg. If I do not hatch it, I will find someone else. As for your home..” She looked around and sighed, whinging and eventually turning back to Zoroark, “is it really your home, anymore..? It seems more like you’ve imprisoned yourself here. With your bad memories. Your sadness.”

The young scholar leaned back on the couch, dragging the egg back against her with her arms wrapped around it still. She took a ponderous breath, “you said she was saying, 'time is a.. tree'? Like, what, branches? Like.. each choice you make is.. a fork? A new branch? A tree like that? I guess she didn't tell you, huh..” She groaned, throwing her head back and whining, “I really don’t wanna go in those woods, now..”

@samreaper

Well, fortune favored the bold and Ace was certainly not a bold bird. However, as to the rules of the game the Torchic could not disobey its trainer as the fire bird was still within the level cap, so the poor thing rushed towards the green murder lizard that was already dashing towards it screaming in what some would mistake as a war cry. It was a split second and in that second it would've seemed that Ace would've been too late; the Grovyle was already looming over it about to tackle the bird into the ground when Ace erupt in flames and collided with its opponent. Ace flew into the air from the force of the attack, tumbling along the ground to Tristan's feet. It suffered from a hard hit, but what of the Grovyle?

Looking up, Tristan would see that the Grovyle had fallen on its knee shaking. It glared at Tristan as it tried to force itself up back to its feet, but repeatedly kept falling to its knee. For the first time in Tristan's life, he had seen something with an absolute will to not give up until the bitter end. This was a creature with determination and drive that he himself never had before in his life and yet even with all of that its own body failed it.

"That's enough Grovyle. You have fought well." Ramos said with a kind smile. The Grovyle reluctantly nodded before it finally collapsed onto the ground.

Louis raised a handkerchief towards Tristan and Ace, shouting "Grovyle is no longer able to battle! Ace wins! The winner of this battle is Tristan!"



There was a polite hand of applause from the staff that were watching the match on their break. Some even gave Tristan some shouts of encouragement, telling him that he did a good job. Louis glanced around with a scowl and shouted, "Get back to work all of you! We do not have time to waste!"

Ramos approached Tristan with a with smile. For Tristan this was contradictory to his world view. There was nothing to be happy about losing and yet, there was the contradiction standing face to face with him. "Do you feel better now, Tristan?" It was an odd question, but Tristan began to realize that it really was never about the Gracedia Flower. This was about an older, much more experienced trainer and worldly person helping an insecure, inexperienced trainer caught in his own anxiety with their new role.

---

@Joshua Tamashii

And thus began the medium's first ever battle!

Well, there were no rules that Pokemon that can float naturally couldn't try to float too high, so the two ghosts simply did. However, they were maneuvering the air while trying to avoid poison stings hurtling at them and luckily, they just whizzed past them. Once in range, they shouted at the targeted Spinarak which someone caused damage to them. The one that they focused on flinched and was completely unable to stop the incoming globs of mud flying towards hitting it for admittingly mediocre damage though its vision was completely obscured the by the mud caked around its eyes.

The three other Spinarak, including the ghost-type one, shot sticky strings of webbing at Yamask, the Mimikyu, and the Golett to try and restrain them.

How does Amelia react?

---

@Zarkun

And the crowd watched in both amazement and horror at the sight of the burger just slowly being chunked away by this skinny man with blue hair, but by God he did it. At the end of it all, there was nothing left. There was no burger, no fries, not a crumb left to act as evidence that there was even a burger to begin with except for how extended his stomach was. Jason had never felt so full before in his life. Even though he ate it with ease, he still ate four pounds of meat and that is not considering every other aspect of the meal.

When asked about the money, the cook's wife look at him starstruck before she came back to her senses. "Uh, yeah it's yours, kid." She walked over and grabbed the jar from behind the counter before she gingerly handed it to him.



Jason felt his sleeve being tugged. He turned to look at the Chansey that was holding a pink egg towards him. "Chansey chansey chan chan chasey!" Apparently it was so moved by Jason eating that burger with such ease and saw his indomitable spirit as a trainer. She wanted to give him her egg since he seemed like a strong trainer. Weird logic, but hey, he rolled the 20 so he got the secret prize.


 
But life was funny. At times you roll a twenty and then you roll a one. As soon as Jason walked out of the restaurant, he felt the food was going to violently leave his body and had to search for the nearest trashcan to unload himself.



So, now what?

Connected Areas
Starbor Forest. A forest filled with ungodly huge trees and many secrets.
Lake Charity. A massive body of water. Used to travel between Starbor Village, Valstille City, and Florasong Town.
Blue Lichen Cave. South of Starbor Village.

---

@CitrusArms

The Zoroark dryly laughed. "And yet you feel compelled, just as my master was before and just as Aria. Perhaps that forest is cursed." It stood back up, its figure looming over Stella though she tried to crouch as if to make sure to not tower over Stella threateningly. She smiled at her. It was worn and fanged, but friendly, nonetheless. "Forgive me, I suppose asking advice from you, a child, was unfair. It wasn't the answer I wanted, but perhaps it was the one I needed to hear."

She turned her gaze to a portrait of the family, her gaze tired with feelings that were too complex for an outsider like Stella to surmise, except she could tell there was a bittersweetness to it. A longing, perhaps someone looking for understanding. "They all would've hated it, what I've been doing. A forced penance for what I could not prevent, isolating myself in a home that no one walks in anymore, but this is my home, and they were my family. Someone has to remember them or else it's not like they existed at all."

Her gaze focused upon the strange egg upon Stella's lap. "The egg is yours. I know that I cannot defend it, not really. I know that this is no place to nurture it but know this young miss. That egg is final wish of Aria Eberg. She desperately wished to keep it hidden. To what end I do not know except that I know that trouble will follow you."



Then a smile curled at the corners of her mouth. "Though perhaps this is exactly the day I've been waiting for. I have one more task for you, if you can indulge a selfish old Pokemon for a moment." The Zoroark stepped towards her, its claws clacked against the wood flooring. "If you are drawn to the Illusive Woods, then please uncover its mysteries so I can at least understand why things happened the way they did."

Her claw fingers rummaged around her fur until she pulled out a small red jewel in the shape of star. "Regardless of whether you accept or not, this does not affect your reward for what you did for me. I am of my word."



What does Stella do?

Well...I'm fed and I've got some money now. Should probably check on the group I'm supposed to meet up with. Pulling out his dex, Jason shot a text off to Steph to see how they're doing before wandering the streets for a bit, just enjoying the scenery and seeing what Pokemon might be floating around this time of day.

---

By this point Tristan's nerves had been pushed to its limits, his body tense and rigid with fists clenched balled tight, the knuckles white while his palm burned red threatening bleeding. The teen's focus squarely on the small orange bird; a small twang of guilt stung at seeing the scared chick forced to charge at such a terrifying beasts, to this torchic especially, cruelly so.

The order had been given and with it, Tristan attempted to keep track of the next chain of events as best he could though as expected, couldn't keep track of such a small object bounding towards a human-sized tree gecko (might as well be a tree wall). As such, the actual finishing attack was missed, the sudden flash of fire unfazed him unlike the others watching, his concentration and stressed-out mind merely had him flinch from its momentary heat. He did so, thinking if Ace had to do this, then he shouldn't look away.

Ace falling to his feet after the clash hurt to see, but he could not pull his eyes away from the Grovyle. Expecting to hear Ace's loss or something, he could not hear as the world around him turned muffled when his gaze became affixed to his opponent. A mix of fear and admiration at the Grovyle's struggling refusal to back down, even with each attempt only served to tire and hurt itself.

This left Tristan frozen in place, unsure of how to approach this. Even before it was announced, he knew. They won...right? That question rang in his head, uncertain happiness, a bitter aftertaste.

"That's enough Grovyle. You have fought well."

Ramos's words pulled him from the momentary frozen lapse. He finally let loose a huge breath, hardly noticing having been holding it. With it came a quick chill of goosebumps as the events of what transpired finally hit him.

Hearing Louis announce with that bitter scowl brought a small smile to his lips as he took in the cheers and praise. And normally he might have bragged boisterously following getting his first official trainer batter. * Then why doesn't it feel like I did?* His teeth grit in frustration as he gazed at the spot the Grovyle had been; victory when the opponent never actually fell. This reminded him all too well of the disappointing sensation felt from his last battle at the farm albeit in a slightly different sense this time.

"Do you feel better now, Tristan?"

So engrossed in his thoughts he failed to notice the older gentleman make his way over to him, having him jump a bit in surprise." W-wh-what? I-I mean, ahem. Pardon?" Blinking a few times to help get his mind settled back in place." Ah, y-yes. Of course, I feel great. For I..er.. we have won!" Stammering and struggling at first, the silver-haired teen was able to recover, in thanks to needing to stay on guard around a bunch of rich preppies all the time back at home.

To cover up his awkward little victory cheer, he moved to check on Ace, doubting such an impact was at all pleasant. Might as well have been chucking a nugget at a rhino." Got to thank Ace for giving it his all...thank you." Gently petting the orange chick before recalling him to his ball, mentally promising to reward them properly. Even if he did not feel like he won, his pokemon did after giving their all....he was simply shown a tiny glimpse of the gap ahead of him.

The realization with it came a fear of the possible threats; if this was just a friendly opponent then what if it was a force that wanted him dead? Like the Forbidden Forest? A haunting chill ran up his spine as the image of the forest opening formed clearly in his head, feeling like he was back there. For a brief moment he thought to abandon such folly, he was not built for forest trekking!

The mystery of lady Aria, however came back full force with a strong curiosity, somehow feeling it being driven even more after Ramos pokemon's determined demonstration.

With a screw-it hop and spin on his feet, regaining his composure crossing his arms." And with this, I do believe I am owed a flower?" A satisfied grin, a hint of smug; allowing himself to revel a bit in this victory even if a little. And now, with his mind calmed down, he recalled Faye and how she sought the forest first and now the knowledge he could rub it in her face brought actual joy to his smile.

The counter attacks came in as all her Pokémon got past this round without getting hit and possibly dealing what she hoped was a good amount of damage to the target of the four way assault. So, she had to focus to minimize the effects of the String Shots coming at her now, as they would cause her trouble down the line if she wasn't careful, she was sure.
"Yamask, use protect and try to intercept the other two. Mimikyu, use Scratch the slice those webs up. Phantump, use Astonish on a different Spinarak. Gollet, follow Phantump's lead and launch another Mud Slap!" She commanded!

Yamask let out a cry as a transparent barrier of energy formed around it as it flew to try and intercept more than one of the String Shots. While that happened, Mimikyu brought out both of it's shadowy, tendril like claws and used them to begin rapidly swiping at any String Shots that came at it and Golett, trying to cut them down before nany landed. Meanwhile, Phantump and Golett turned their attention on a new Spinarak, focusing an Astonish and Mud Slap on the spider.

Stella Lumite

The egg was hers? Stella took another look at the egg she cradled, knowing now that she would be caring for it. She accepted the star piece graciously, though certainly the egg was more important. She stowed the valuable but mysterious trinket away and held the egg carefully in both hands, to examine it closely. “Keep it hidden, huh?” Introducing the egg to the woods would be the opposite of hiding it, right? That would be taking into the Arcanine’s den. So.. hatch it first. Then decide about the forest.

“I’ll keep away from the forest, for now. To honor Miss Eberg’s wish. Perhaps the Pokemon inside will be important to solving the mystery of the forest? It seems like she knew something, but just.. couldn’t form the words to express it.” Stella shook her head, “I’ve got no idea. But, I’ll take her guidance. Keep the egg hidden. She..” Stella grimaced and groaned softly, suddenly weary, “didn’t say from what, huh?”

”I think I’ll take the egg from here as soon as possible, then.” Keep it hidden. Was something coming? ”Hey, since I visited her grave, and then came back here.. is it still safe? I don’t think you should stay here, either. If trouble will follow me, like you say, it would follow me here, first, right? So, we should all leave. Heh, maybe I’ll luck out and run into a gym leader again, if it ever catches up to me. That would be nice and lucky.” Maybe she should do more training. Was the danger something Kaebe could bite?

”Shall we?” Stella carefully tucked the egg into a pocket on her person as she stood. Keep it nice and warm and nurture that darling. She would motion to leave, feeling a pressure to put distance between the egg and the woods.