Cortoza - The Volcanic Island

[Charminions]

.:Charminions:.

After hearing the man’s request for a battle, you immediately accept, hoping to teach that Donphan a lesson. You both retreat backwards to prepare room for the fight; as you do so, many trainers not participating in the other battles taking place wander over, eager to watch. It looks like you have a crowd on your hands! Apollo seems pumped watching everyone line up, then readies himself by letting off a battle cry. “Alright, Apollo. Our first battle in Cortoza, let’s make it a good one,” you call out encouragingly. Zaire signals that he’s ready from across the field, and before you know it, the battle begins!

Following your commands, Apollo dashes off using Agility. He covers the distance to the Donphan quickly, and begins to zoom around the elephant, kicking up Sand that Attacks the Pokémon’s eyes. With lowered accuracy coming into play, Zaire decides to make his first move. “Donphan, get away from the Combusken with a Rollout! Keep it up with a Scary Face. Show him who’s the real boss around here.” Despite the sand clogging his eyes, the ground type manages to clip Apollo’s side as he rolls away, causing a minimal amount of damage. Not wasting any more time, the elephant rights himself and contorts his face into a rictus, scaring Apollo slightly and lowering the fire type’s speed. Shuddering off the attack, Apollo retaliates by sending out little orbs of flame in a Will-O-Wisp, burning the Donphan in places where the orbs meet. Enraged, the burned Pokémon charges forward towards Apollo with a Horn Attack, but misses altogether as the sand within his eyes takes its toll. “No, Donphan. Don’t attack unless I tell you to!” Zaire calls from the sideline, clearly embarrassed by his Pokémon’s negligence. You can’t help but smile inside at the unfortunate event. The battle’s still beginning; anything can happen…

What will you do next?

Not a bad Rollout, Charm thought to himself as he witnessed the Donphan managing to scrape Apollo despite having sand in his eyes. He was rather disappointed that Apollo actually got scared by the Donphan's Scary Face, but he guesses it's to be expected due to the Pokemon's size.

"Go for it," Charm tries to encourage his Pokemon. The Combusken answers the call, releasing several blue flames with his Will-O-Wisp, succesfully leaving burns on the Donphan. "Atta boy!" The Donphan lashes out in anger with a Horn Attack, and embarrassingly misses. “No, Donphan. Don’t attack unless I tell you to!” Zaire calls out. Charm lets out a smile at their mistake and contemplates his next orders.

"Let's start dishing out some real damage. Hidden Power (Grass), aim those orbs at his burn spots for extra pain! Then Swords Dance up to boost your attack. Finally, Bounce up to dodge an attack and pounce right on top of him! If he doesn't attack you at that time, use Fire Punch instead!"

[gmoyes]

.:gmoyes:.

The live feed displaying from your laptop relays the riddle carved above the statue’s head. After pondering it for several seconds, you manage to work out the bare essentials of the puzzle and instruct your Pokémon accordingly. “Theta, I want you to see if you can move that orb with your magnetic powers. If you can, take it over to the closest pool of lava and dip it in. Then without touching it, put it in the hands of the statue. If you can't move it, then Echo try using your Confusion to do it.” You cross your fingers in hopes that your plan works, and can’t help but imagine what would happen if you are mistaken…

---

Inside the chamber, Echo and Theta hear their trainer’s words through the Pokédex. After listening to Alex’s plan, the Pokémon begin to understand his strategy and pray that he’s correct. Advancing toward the pedestal in the center of the room, the Magnemite sends out an electromagnetic wave towards the orb. However, the energy it exerts is suddenly redirected into the walls yet again! Echo, on the other hand, succeeds in moving the ball with its psychic-powered Confusion, earning a yell of excitement from Alex. Moving the orb seems to cause strain on the Bronzor, though, and it nearly drops the ball several times when maneuvering it to rest over the magma pits. The orb sinks ever lower until it is fully submerged in the magma; concentrating once more, Echo uses Confusion again to quickly carry the orb from the pit to the awaiting hands of the statue.

---

On the other end of the line, you sit with bated breath, watching the scene unfold. Suddenly, the statue’s eyes snap open: red pupils ringed with white. Up above, the words etched on the wall change and morph:

“Advance, advance down the passage below
You have passed the first test… although
One lies ahead that will challenge you.
Prove your worth to the Goddess and she will come through.”

A rumbling noise draws your attention. Looking down the screen, you see that the statue has slid aside; 'lo and behold, a tunnel stretches off behind it. You urge Theta and Echo to continue exploring, and they gladly do so, gliding down the tunnel at a fast pace. A few minutes later, the passage opens up into a generally large room. Familiar lines dot the floor in a square shape, and it takes you a second to recognize what this room truly is: a Pokémon battle field. And that’s when you notice the creature at the very end of the room. An Arcanine rears back its head, letting loose a gruff cry. Your mind flashes back to the new puzzle in the previous room. “One lies ahead that will challenge you…”

Will you battle the Arcanine?

Alex frowned as Theta's electromagnetic waves were being drawn towards the walls of the cave. The walls must be made up of a highly magnetic ore which absorbed any nearby electric energy. An odd phenomenom, though it would make his Magnemite's abilities useless. Good thing he planned to have Echo be the main battler incase anything happened. Also with Theta handling the pokedex it would have difficulty battling.

Alex watched as Echo's Confusion stuggled to move the sphere. He grumbled, thinking that the next chance he got he would buy a TM for Psychic. If it was struggling with a small metal ball who knows what problems might occure in the future? At least it would make do for now, Echo had managed to get the orb from the pedistal to a pool of lava. Once it was fully engulfed in the molten rock, Echo pulled it out and placed it in the hands of of the statue. He watched in awe as the words behind the statue changed and the women's eyes opened. It must have been triggered by the combined weight and heat of the orb. The glowing eyes were unnerving, but the important thing was the words. They were much clearer than the previous set.

"'Advance, advance down the passage below, you have passed the first test...'" He closed his eyes and sighed. How many test would there be? At least this one wasn't that bad. "'Although, one lies ahead that will challange you. Prove your worth to the goddess and she will come through.'" The goddess must be Pele, the one the cavern was named after. The statue must have been of her. Though how would a ancient goddess come through for him? Obviously not directly.

After he read the words the statue moved off to the side revealing a tunnel going deeper into the mountain. "Ok guys, let's keep going. We have to keep an eye out for anything dangerous. It will just get harder from here on out."

After traveling down the passage for a while, the cave widened out into a open flat area. At the far end of the cave stood a large dog-like pokemon. The Arcanine raised its head and let out a battle cry. Even from over the speakers of his computer it was still loud enough to cause him to cringe. This must have been what the words were refering to, but those words must have been at least a hundred years old, way longer than any Arcanine could live. So how would the words know that there would be one here? Maybe the orb triggered some sort of lure. Whatever the reason, they had to deal with it. "Theta, stay off to the side and get a good view of the area. Echo, it's time to battle. Let's see if we can end this quick with a Hypnosis. If it isn't asleep, Extrasensory to Ancient Power."

The steel type bobbed a nod to the camera and faced the the fire typed dog pokemon ready to fight.

[poketim2]

[size=1]Sorry for the lateness with these, guys. I'll have more free time in the next few weeks, so expect frequent updates!

.: poketim2:.

The woman’s quick and demanding tone leaves you at a loss for words. Just who is she? “When and more importantly where did she come from?” you ask, turning towards your spider companion. Jitterz, however, quickly denies knowing how the woman appeared out of nowhere, puzzling you even further. As the seconds pass, wonderment gives way to nervous anticipation, for the woman has still not resurfaced. Could she be in trouble, perhaps? Could she be drowning this very second? What should be done? All of these questions race through your mind at lightning speeds, and it takes a bit longer for you to concoct a plan of action. “Jitterz, latch a String Shot on to the tree I was swinging from and—” The Joltik seems to realize the plan before you finish your sentence, complying to the command immediately. Taking Jitterz up in your arms, you back up a few feet and then charge off the hillock, jumping out at the last second to gain momentum from the string tied up to the tree. Light from the fireworks light up the surface of the water as you dive towards it, but darkness greets you as you crash down into the lake’s depths. Despite the clarity of the water, the dark appears to prevail in this situation. Resurfacing for a few seconds to take a deeper breath, you submerge yourself and begin to look for any signs of the woman. Jitterz shivers as you swim deeper, but nevertheless keeps a lookout with his enhanced eyesight.

Another thirty seconds pass; you surface for more air. The severity of the situation drives you under once again, but this time your eyes don’t find endless darkness, but a face one foot away from your own. It’s the woman! As you recoil from shock and surprise, she smiles, then beckons with her fingers. It looks like she wants you to follow her down deeper through the water. Hesitation flits across your face mixed with relief that she’s alive, but eventually you decide to swim down after her. As you swim further, the lake bottom drops away to a massive trench. At the edge of this trench, the woman stops. Happiness radiates from her face—or what looks to be happiness, it’s hard to tell in the dark—as she gestures at a round object stuck in the mud at the edge of the drop-off. Upon closer examination, it looks to be an old Poké Ball, charred and chipped in some places. It looks like she wants you to take it. As you gaze down at the object, you can’t help but realize that you’re almost out of air. This entire episode happened in thirty seconds, and your lungs are already beginning to burn.

What will you do now?

The need for air hit Brier hit Brier like a chainsaw mawing its way through a tree. He pointed up then back down to tell the woman of his intentions and ripped away towards the surface. "Ahhh, AHHHHhhh, Jitterz we're going back down for that Pokeball, I wonder why it's down there? Anyway here we go. Ahhhhh," Brier took one more deep breath before diving back down past the woman to the lodged ball. He grabbed hold of it, placed both feet on the rock below to gain leverage snd proceeded to pull and his partner barely managed to hold on to his shirt to keep from floating away.

[Thrain]

.:poketim2:.

Signaling to the woman your need for air, you swim up and grab a quick breath before diving back down just as fast. The woman still remains in her previous spot, hovering over the Poké Ball. Her hair fans out around her face in the water, and you can’t help but think how beautiful this woman is. She points yet again at the Ball, but seems to be increasing in impatience with each second. You comply with her silent command and pull against the object stuck in the mud, bracing yourself against the edge of the trench for more support. Jitterz begins to float away as you concentrate on this task, but he quickly recovers himself by grabbing onto your shirt. Bubbles start to escape from your mouth as you heave against the Ball with all your might… Pop!

Suddenly the Poké Ball pops out of its resting place. Up close, you can see that chips and dents race all around the ball. Just what could have happened to it? Another question races through your mind, followed by another. How long has it been down here? Better yet, is there a Pokémon inside? Curiosity arisen, you gesture toward the surface, and begin to swim upwards. Being only about eight feet under, you and Jitterz breathe a sigh of relief a few seconds later as oxygen races into your lungs. The woman surfaces with you, beginning to swim towards the shore. Questions continue to arise within, but you can’t seem to get a clear grip on your thoughts. The entire situation’s just too confusing and strange.

The woman rises out of the water, climbing the embankment that leads onto land. Turning, she notices your look of confusion, pausing to look at the Poké Ball you still clutch in your hand. “Thank you, thank you so much.” She hesitates, then resumes speaking. “You see, I lost the item that you hold now long ago. I have so dearly missed the Pokémon that resides within it… Thank you for helping me, but now I must go…” Her voice trails off into nothingness, but curiosity still plagues you. The woman turns, beginning to walk away. You call out to her, but a wave of weariness suddenly engulfs your body. Your limbs feel sluggish and soft, your eyes slowly begin to close. The last thing you see is the retreating form of the woman, right before she vanishes into thin air! Your drowsy limbs refuse to obey your commands any longer; you collapse to the ground into a deep sleep.

---

“Hey, are you all right?”

Suddenly your eyes snap open to see a young boy looking down over you. Memories begin to swim to the surface of your mind: the lake, the Poké Ball, the woman. You sit up slowly, looking around for any signs her, but to no avail. Looking around, you see the old Poké Ball lying a few feet away. The boy offers you a hand, helping you stand up. You question the boy whether he saw any signs of the mysterious girl, but he shakes his head in denial. As he shakes his head, however, his eyes begin to grow wide.

“The woman… The woman of legend! You saw the ghost!” the boy shouts excitedly. “Tell me, what was she like?”

How will you respond?

.:Charminions:.

Apollo listens intently to your orders, cawing quickly to let you know he understands. Suddenly a strong wind picks up, causing the plain grass to shake. The Donphan finds that the sand in his eyes is now nearly gone from the heavy gale…

Not wanting to waste any more time, Apollo summons the Grass energy inside of his body, and unleashes this Hidden Power in the form of bright-green orbs. The spheres of light rocket towards the Donphan; it bellows loudly as it sees the incoming attack. “Quick, Donphan,” Zaire calls from afar, noticing that his Pokémon’s accuracy has been restored. “Use your own Ancient Power to intercept the Combusken’s attack. Then go in close for an Iron Tail, followed by a Slam.” Rocks and boulders strewn across the plain rise up as the Donphan obeys its trainer’s command, launching them towards the orbs of energy. The impact of the two attacks sends a rumble through the air. Much of the rocks shatter upon impact with the Grass-type move, which leaves the field wide open for the remainder of the Hidden Power to deal its damage. A few orbs make contact with the elephant, opening up the wounds that the Donphan had sustained from the earlier Will-O-Wisp. Biting back the pain, Donphan rushes forward as Apollo begins to Swords Dance. It looks like the Ancient Power had an interesting side effect on the elephant Pokémon’s speed! Just as Apollo finishes his move boosting his attack, the Donphan side-swipes the fire type with its steel-hardened tail, pushing him back a few yards. Taking advantage of the closeness, Apollo jumps up into the air with a Bounce as the Donphan slams into his lower torso, causing the Combusken to get off-balance and fall to the ground. As the dust from all of the attacks clear, you can see that both combatants are panting pretty heavily. The Donphan winces as the burn continues to take its course. It looks like Donphan’s health is a little lower than Apollo’s, although Apollo’s energy use is beginning to drain quickly as well. The battle can turn in anyone’s favor.

What will you do next?

.:Myrrh:.

The man’s saddening story reveals what the village was like in its prime, and you can’t help but wish that you had arrived a few years ago. Galina, the man’s wife, clutches the Magby tightly in her lap as the story reaches its climax, and you can see a glint of tears begin to form across her cheeks. At the end of the tale, surprise is written clearly across you face. How could the village have gotten itself in this sort of predicament? “That was some story,” you acknowledge to the man. “It’s too bad all of this had to happen. But like I said before, I’m willing to help in any way I can. I can leave right away too, I’d just need to know what direction to take and any other information I might need to know. You said the back of the village…” At your pause, the woman arises from her chair and rummages in a nearby cabinet. Turning, she offers you a rolled up piece of parchment weathered with age. She smiles at you as you take it. “Slate and I would be forever grateful if you could help. That’s a map of the village. A red ‘X’ marks the spot of the cave. Most of the noises we hear happen at dusk and early in the night. Judging by the sun, it looks to be an hour or two before dark, so if you set out right away, you should be able to find the cave just in time.” You thank her and Slate, heading towards the entrance of the hut. At the entryway, another question emerges in your mind.

“If I may ask,” you begin, “why don’t you let your granddaughter go check out the cave? Is she too young to be exploring on her own or is this cave much more dangerous than I think it is?” Your question hangs in the air for a few seconds, as if Slate is debating on how to word his answer. “Umm, no,” he finally ansers. “She is actually sixteen years old, it’s just that we’d never send her out to investigate something like this. We don’t know if the cave’s dangerous, but something is definitely amiss up there.” His answer seems genuine, so you thank the elderly couple, leaving the hut to start out on this unusual adventure. As the cloth door falls over your shoulder, you can hear Slate’s voice call forth: “May Pele watch over and guide you on your quest.”

His words send a faint chill through your body as you set off towards the back of the village. Unfurling the rolled-up map, you see a faint red ‘X’ imprinted at the base of Mt. Ceniza, as Galina had said. By looking at the distance from the ‘X’ to the tiny houses etched on the parchment, it looks like the cave’s a mile or two north of your present location. Adjusting your traveling direction accordingly, you set off down a side path that branches away from Slate’s hut. Signs of abandonment are clear in this part of the village, for many of the cottage’s doors stand wide open or aren’t even there at all. Inside you can view grimy, dilapidated objects: chairs, tables, boxes, even some rotten food. A movement out of one of these very huts catches your eye as you walk past it. Suddenly, a Spearow darts out of the doorway, flying straight towards you. It pecks at your hands and face, causing you to drop the map. Cawing delightedly, the dastardly quick bird leaps down, grabs the parchment, and starts to fly away! “Great job, Spearow!” a voice calls a few houses ahead. Looking up, you see a girl running alongside the flying bird. A shock of red hair tops her head. Your map has just been stolen!

How will you respond?

.:Missingo. Master:.

Anger glints in the youth’s eyes as he finishes his tirade. The Mothim immediately responds to its crazy trainer’s demands, hurling forward a Web of Electricty at the Houndour, followed quickly by a Signal Beam. Despite the man’s remarks that the Houndour’s a thief, Peeves utilizes his Psychic powers to stop the first attack, blasting the second with a well-aimed Night Shade. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute,” you shout at the deranged teen. “This Houndour was trapped out on a branch over the side of a cliff; it’s been there for the past couple of minutes at least. What are you attacking it for?”

Opening his mouth to retort, the boy steps forward. “You idiot,” he calls. “Haven’t you heard? The Pokémon living upon this mountain trail are not to be trusted. That little vermin Houndour used the same trick on me a few hours ago. You found it in a position of need, huh? Yep, it all happened to me as well. I was minding my own business, when out of the clear blue I heard a bark split the air. Rushing over, ‘lo and behold, I found a Houndour trapped underneath a rock. I helped the poor Pokémon out, but the next thing I knew, it stole my food and left. I’ve been exploring this mountain trail for the past few hours, searching for the sneaky little thief. And now I’ve finally caught up to it!” he finishes with a maniacal laugh. Looking past you, he points at the little black dog. Only… the Houndour’s gone! Glancing behind, you too realize that the Pokémon’s vanished. A sinking feeling settles in your stomach. What if the teen is right?

A cry of anger escapes the boy’s lips as his eyes find empty air where the Houndour had been standing. “Gah, now look at what you’ve done,” he calls, looking straight at you and Peeves. “It escaped while I was talking. C’mon, you’re going to help me track down that little thief. With two of us going after it, there’s no way it’ll be able to pull that little vanishing act again.” Stalking past you, the youth returns his Mothim to a Poké Ball. “After all,” he continues over his shoulder, “this is your fault.”
A sizzle of rage sings through you at that last comment, but it’s masked by a sense of betrayal. Is the Houndour truly a thief? And if not, why did it run away like it did? Either way, something is definitely amiss.

Will you help the boy continue his search?

.:gmoyes:.

Questions plague your thoughts upon seeing the fire dog roar. How could a cavern thousands of years old contain a Pokémon ready and willing to fight? Dismissing the question for a later time, you focus on the matter at hand. “Theta,” you call through the microphone, “stay off to the side and get a good view of the area. Echo, it’s time to battle. Let’s see if we can end this quick.” The Bronzor listens to your commands, then shoots forth a wave of Hypnosis towards the regal Arcanine. It seems it was expecting something along these lines, for the fire-type manages to barely dodge the Hypnosis by putting on a burst of Extremespeed. The Arcanine zooms and feints this way and that before jumping straight up in the air above Echo. Flames surround the canine as it Wheels back to the earth, hitting the Bronzor head-on. Thanks to its Heatproof ability, the damage from the fire-type attack is weakened, although pain still races through the steel-type’s innards. You yell encouragements through the microphone upon seeing the effectiveness of this particular ability, realizing it was a very smart choice to include Echo on this expedition.

Not stopping there, Echo retaliates with an Extrasensory. A golden beam of psychic energy coalesces around the steel-type before it’s propelled a few yards towards the Arcanine. It tries to dodge this attack like before but fails to do so in time. The psychic attack knocks the Pokémon back a few feet further. Taking advantage of this time of weakness, Echo follows through with an Ancient Power, summoning forth a few rocks and boulders that fly towards the Arcanine. Growling in anger, the fire-type defends itself by using its Iron Tail to smash many of the rocks. It fails to smash all of the rocks in time, for one manages to knock the Pokémon off its feet. The battle has only just begun, and it appears that both sides are even… for now.

What’s your next move?

.:Megh:. -- ╠ Repost of your last update ╣

Bubbles sting your eyes as the Poliwag begins to jump away, gaining distance fast. Rubbing the spray from your face quickly, you begin to chase after it, bringing out Kiki the Spinarak to help. Roderick looks on sadly when he realizes that he can’t be of any help, but a quick pep talk cheers him right up. Hoisting the two Pokémon onto your shoulders, you take off at a fast gait across the river to keep up with the Poliwag’s pace. The water Pokémon’s still a great deal ahead of you when you decide to work on a plan of action with Kiki. The spider listens attentively, then readies herself atop your head. When you are just about 15 feet back from the frantic Poliwag, Kiki lets loose a String Shot that wraps itself around the water type, followed by a Poison Sting that damages the Pokémon slightly. You exclaim a “Well done!” to Kiki as you begin pulling the now-trapped Poliwag to shore. It struggles and starts shooting off more Bubbles that sting as they hit you, but you bear the attack in all of your excitement. At last you arrive on the bank, and Roderick hops down in hopes that he can get a turn in the action. He had been watching Kiki’s every move; he now thought he was ready to fight. He hops on over to the trapped Pokémon to your dismay; when he is a few feet away, the Poliwag stops its struggling and whips its tail around in a vicious Doubleslap that knocks Roderick back a couple of yards. Anger sizzles through you at the sight of your injured Spoink. Meanwhile, the Poliwag stares on, the sticky string still coating its upper body. It looks like it wants a fight now.

What will you do?

[Missingno. Master]

.:Missingo. Master:.

Anger glints in the youth’s eyes as he finishes his tirade. The Mothim immediately responds to its crazy trainer’s demands, hurling forward a Web of Electricty at the Houndour, followed quickly by a Signal Beam. Despite the man’s remarks that the Houndour’s a thief, Peeves utilizes his Psychic powers to stop the first attack, blasting the second with a well-aimed Night Shade. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute,” you shout at the deranged teen. “This Houndour was trapped out on a branch over the side of a cliff; it’s been there for the past couple of minutes at least. What are you attacking it for?”

Opening his mouth to retort, the boy steps forward. “You idiot,” he calls. “Haven’t you heard? The Pokémon living upon this mountain trail are not to be trusted. That little vermin Houndour used the same trick on me a few hours ago. You found it in a position of need, huh? Yep, it all happened to me as well. I was minding my own business, when out of the clear blue I heard a bark split the air. Rushing over, ‘lo and behold, I found a Houndour trapped underneath a rock. I helped the poor Pokémon out, but the next thing I knew, it stole my food and left. I’ve been exploring this mountain trail for the past few hours, searching for the sneaky little thief. And now I’ve finally caught up to it!” he finishes with a maniacal laugh. Looking past you, he points at the little black dog. Only… the Houndour’s gone! Glancing behind, you too realize that the Pokémon’s vanished. A sinking feeling settles in your stomach. What if the teen is right?

A cry of anger escapes the boy’s lips as his eyes find empty air where the Houndour had been standing. “Gah, now look at what you’ve done,” he calls, looking straight at you and Peeves. “It escaped while I was talking. C’mon, you’re going to help me track down that little thief. With two of us going after it, there’s no way it’ll be able to pull that little vanishing act again.” Stalking past you, the youth returns his Mothim to a Poké Ball. “After all,” he continues over his shoulder, “this is your fault.”
A sizzle of rage sings through you at that last comment, but it’s masked by a sense of betrayal. Is the Houndour truly a thief? And if not, why did it run away like it did? Either way, something is definitely amiss.

Will you help the boy continue his search?

Keith blinked in surprise as the trainer explained that the Pokemon living on that mountain trail weren't to be trusted.

"Wait, you're sure it's the same Houndour?" Keith asked, a little thrown by this news. Not as thrown as he was when he discovered that the Houndour was gone, though. "What the-" Keith began, though was interrupted as the boy angrily told Keith that he was to accompany him in tracking down the Houndour, and then stated that it was his fault. At the words "this is your fault", Keith felt a surge of anger. How was he supposed to know? Before he could open his mouth to retort, however, a flash of light erupted from his belt, and what appeared to be a floating scrap of purple cloth with eyes emerged. The Shuppet regarded this boy with a contemptuous glare.

"Just one mi-nute," Myrtle said. " Now you list-en to me. Meat Sack here might not be the bright-est Star-yu core in the o-cean, but you will not call him an i-di-ot. That is my job, and e-ven then, on-ly when he de-serves it. And Po-ke Balls are not sound-proof, so I know for a fact he did not de-serve it this time. And for the re-cord, you could have ea-si-ly kept your eyes on the Houn-dour your-self while ex-plai-ning this to him. If a-ny-thing, that makes this your fault."

"I... wow," Keith murmured, not used to his Shuppet sticking up for him like this. "Thanks, Myrtle."

"Don't get used to it," Myrtle replied. before floating down to Keith's belt and returning herself to her Poke Ball.

"OK, now are we look for Houndour or not?" Peeves asked the two trainers.

"Right," nodded Keith. He felt a little betrayed, though... He had helped that Houndour out, and now it had fled on him.

"Things no always what they seem like," Peeves said to Keith, more or less figuring out how he was feeling. "For all we know, that Houndour have good reason to steal food."

Keith shrugged. "Maybe," he admitted. "Regardless, we gotta find the Houndour. Even if it's not a thief, I think it'd be nice to get to the bottom of all this. Now, Peeves, use your Foresight. Scan this mountain for any sign of that Houndour."

"I never use Foresight that way before," Peeves warned him. "I no sure how well it work like that."

"Well, I guess we're about to find out," Keith said.

[Myrrh]

.:Myrrh:.

The man’s saddening story reveals what the village was like in its prime, and you can’t help but wish that you had arrived a few years ago. Galina, the man’s wife, clutches the Magby tightly in her lap as the story reaches its climax, and you can see a glint of tears begin to form across her cheeks. At the end of the tale, surprise is written clearly across you face. How could the village have gotten itself in this sort of predicament? “That was some story,” you acknowledge to the man. “It’s too bad all of this had to happen. But like I said before, I’m willing to help in any way I can. I can leave right away too, I’d just need to know what direction to take and any other information I might need to know. You said the back of the village…” At your pause, the woman arises from her chair and rummages in a nearby cabinet. Turning, she offers you a rolled up piece of parchment weathered with age. She smiles at you as you take it. “Slate and I would be forever grateful if you could help. That’s a map of the village. A red ‘X’ marks the spot of the cave. Most of the noises we hear happen at dusk and early in the night. Judging by the sun, it looks to be an hour or two before dark, so if you set out right away, you should be able to find the cave just in time.” You thank her and Slate, heading towards the entrance of the hut. At the entryway, another question emerges in your mind.

“If I may ask,” you begin, “why don’t you let your granddaughter go check out the cave? Is she too young to be exploring on her own or is this cave much more dangerous than I think it is?” Your question hangs in the air for a few seconds, as if Slate is debating on how to word his answer. “Umm, no,” he finally ansers. “She is actually sixteen years old, it’s just that we’d never send her out to investigate something like this. We don’t know if the cave’s dangerous, but something is definitely amiss up there.” His answer seems genuine, so you thank the elderly couple, leaving the hut to start out on this unusual adventure. As the cloth door falls over your shoulder, you can hear Slate’s voice call forth: “May Pele watch over and guide you on your quest.”

His words send a faint chill through your body as you set off towards the back of the village. Unfurling the rolled-up map, you see a faint red ‘X’ imprinted at the base of Mt. Ceniza, as Galina had said. By looking at the distance from the ‘X’ to the tiny houses etched on the parchment, it looks like the cave’s a mile or two north of your present location. Adjusting your traveling direction accordingly, you set off down a side path that branches away from Slate’s hut. Signs of abandonment are clear in this part of the village, for many of the cottage’s doors stand wide open or aren’t even there at all. Inside you can view grimy, dilapidated objects: chairs, tables, boxes, even some rotten food. A movement out of one of these very huts catches your eye as you walk past it. Suddenly, a Spearow darts out of the doorway, flying straight towards you. It pecks at your hands and face, causing you to drop the map. Cawing delightedly, the dastardly quick bird leaps down, grabs the parchment, and starts to fly away! “Great job, Spearow!” a voice calls a few houses ahead. Looking up, you see a girl running alongside the flying bird. A shock of red hair tops her head. Your map has just been stolen!

How will you respond?

Myrrh slowly made his way out of the village, his mind filled with even more questions despite getting some answers. "Pele, who's Pele?" Myrrh said to himself quietly. "I wonder why they were so cautious about their granddaughter? Sure, she might be the only one they have left besides themselves, but if she were a capable pokemon trainer she might have been able to do something about.....this." He continued to quietly ponder his thoughts to himself as he saw more of the village, It was hard to look at in its current state. "Oh!, Pele is the Goddess these people worship....huh?"

Myrrh suddenly noticed the Spearow come at him from a hut, but he couldn't react in time. His hands and face get pecked and he drops his map as a result. He notices a red-headed girl start to run off with the Spearow with his map. "Aw, dammit! Quick, come on out Scout!" His Houndour materializes before him, she looks rather happy, like it wants to play. But there is no time for that. "C'mon Scout!" Myrrh starts to take off as soon as he has her attention, Scout quickly follows behind. "They took our map, we need to go after them, hurry!" The boy and his dog were now trying to catch up to the girl and her bird.

[gmoyes]

.:gmoyes:.

Questions plague your thoughts upon seeing the fire dog roar. How could a cavern thousands of years old contain a Pokémon ready and willing to fight? Dismissing the question for a later time, you focus on the matter at hand. “Theta,” you call through the microphone, “stay off to the side and get a good view of the area. Echo, it’s time to battle. Let’s see if we can end this quick.” The Bronzor listens to your commands, then shoots forth a wave of Hypnosis towards the regal Arcanine. It seems it was expecting something along these lines, for the fire-type manages to barely dodge the Hypnosis by putting on a burst of Extremespeed. The Arcanine zooms and feints this way and that before jumping straight up in the air above Echo. Flames surround the canine as it Wheels back to the earth, hitting the Bronzor head-on. Thanks to its Heatproof ability, the damage from the fire-type attack is weakened, although pain still races through the steel-type’s innards. You yell encouragements through the microphone upon seeing the effectiveness of this particular ability, realizing it was a very smart choice to include Echo on this expedition.

Not stopping there, Echo retaliates with an Extrasensory. A golden beam of psychic energy coalesces around the steel-type before it’s propelled a few yards towards the Arcanine. It tries to dodge this attack like before but fails to do so in time. The psychic attack knocks the Pokémon back a few feet further. Taking advantage of this time of weakness, Echo follows through with an Ancient Power, summoning forth a few rocks and boulders that fly towards the Arcanine. Growling in anger, the fire-type defends itself by using its Iron Tail to smash many of the rocks. It fails to smash all of the rocks in time, for one manages to knock the Pokémon off its feet. The battle has only just begun, and it appears that both sides are even… for now.

What’s your next move?

Alex gave a little grunt as the Hypnosis failed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. The miss left an opening for the fire type to charge in and ram Echo while surrounded by flames. "Come on Echo, you can take it!" he cheered. He was glad for the steel type's resistance to fire, coupled with its natural levitation pretty much gave it no weaknesses. While ones without the Heatproof ability were more attuned with levitation, survivablity, he thought, fit the species more.

Alex continued watching as the golden wave of psychic energy struck the Arcanine, followed by an Ancient Power, though some of the rocks were blocked by the Iron Tail. It wasn't a bad start, but they had to put on a lot of pressure in order to win. "Echo,Confuse Ray. If it gives you a clear shot, use Ancient Power. If not, hit it with Extrasensory. Follow up with a Shadow Ball."

As the Bronzor went to follow his orders, Alex felt tempted to call out some orders to Theta, or even get Phi in there. It would be much easier if everyone ganged up on it, though with his Magnemite's electricity useless and Phi's inexperiance and the fact that he would have to teleport to get in there made the thought pointless. Echo would just have to hang in there and get this done.

[Plight of Leon]

Just like to say hello everyone, my name is Blaze, although Joe is also good, and I am the new ZA at Cortoza Island. Welcome one and all to my updating fun show! So far, I am taking coolz8 and darksearchman, though, I have room for four more. Have fun!

Mt. Senica
Cinder Village
Coolz8

You try to find some Pokemon in the water by throwing rocks into the water. The rocks hit the water, dispelling the ash and showing the water's oddly clar nature. You think about how the murkiness must have only been an ash layer deep, and find bigger and bigger rocks to throw in the water. You clutch a rather large rock that makes you stagger, and go to throw it into the water, when a hand clutches your arm and squeezes it. You squeak from the mystery person's grip, and you turn your head back to see who this person is. He is a man, who easily has a foot or maybe even two over you and has a definite weight advantage. With a stubby beard and rather muscular arms, he reminds you a bit of a lumberjack. Behind him is a Golurk, a Pokemon who lurks(harharhar) over you. You are unsure which to be more afraid of.

"Now listen here kid. You better pay attention and you better pay good too, because there is no refunds. Now, what is God's tarnation makes you think that throwing rocks into the hot spring was a good idea? People come into this hot spring all the time. Imagine if you hit one of them with one of these rocks. You could have hurt someone, hell, even killed them if you were an unlucky kid. What exactly were you planning on?" You tell him that you were just throwing the rocks to try and get some Pokemon. "Oh really? Well, truthfully kid, I dont believe you at all. I think that you need to come with me so we can sort out what you can do for punishment." You were confused and scared about the whole thing, but more scared about what this punishment could be. He draggs you along a trail that leads away from the hotspring.

At the top of the trail is the bathrooms that were put here for people who wanted to use the bathroom and not go in the hot springs. "Now, wait here. No funny business either, or, Cassius here is going to give you a rude knock on the head." The man left, and the Golurk moved over your field of vision, grumbling ominously as it makes sure you know what's what. You nod your head yes, and it stops. The man comes out a second later with a couple of mops and a bucket. "Alright kid, here is what you have to do. You need to wash the bathrooms. You have got everything you need here, and I want to see that bathroom sparkling so much I can't see my reflection. You got that?" You nod your head yes, grimacing over what you had to do. "Alright, you can bring a Pokemon in their with you if you want. And no trying to run away either, alright?"

What will you do?

Mt. Infernus
Scenic Walk
Dark Searchman

Your Seviper Amethyst and your Druddigon Sarkahn seem more than ready to go adventuring, and all three of you start going up the trail. The walk is a long one, but is not short of sights to see and things to gawk at. As you climb a set of stairs that were carved out of the native rock, you notice a flock of Wingull below you, too far to reach, but their flying is beautiful and reassures you that there are Pokemon around here. Sarkahn notices a rock that kind of looks like him, and roars happily. You guys are having a pretty good time here, when you notice something in the bushes near you. It rustles with a loud noise, and Amethyst comes close to it, hissing and wagging its rear end ready to pounce. It launched itself at the bushes...only to come out, screaming and hissing. Pieces of his hide is steaming, and he is hissing violently. Seems his attack did little.

Out comes a little Larvesta, steamed himself about being attacked. He also seems not to fear either the large snake nor the dragon, and makes this known by TAKING DOWN Sarkahn, causing him to flip back and roar in pain. He then goes after Amethyst, launching a furious EMBER his way, causing the snake to his and shrink back from the flames. The little tyke seems more than ready to battle you, though, it seems to have been stalking you the entire time.

What will you do?

[Dark Searchman]

Just like to say hello everyone, my name is Blaze, although Joe is also good, and I am the new ZA at Cortoza Island. Welcome one and all to my updating fun show! So far, I am taking coolz8 and darksearchman, though, I have room for four more. Have fun!

Mt. Infernus
Scenic Walk
Dark Searchman

Your Seviper Amethyst and your Druddigon Sarkahn seem more than ready to go adventuring, and all three of you start going up the trail. The walk is a long one, but is not short of sights to see and things to gawk at. As you climb a set of stairs that were carved out of the native rock, you notice a flock of Wingull below you, too far to reach, but their flying is beautiful and reassures you that there are Pokemon around here. Sarkahn notices a rock that kind of looks like him, and roars happily. You guys are having a pretty good time here, when you notice something in the bushes near you. It rustles with a loud noise, and Amethyst comes close to it, hissing and wagging its rear end ready to pounce. It launched itself at the bushes...only to come out, screaming and hissing. Pieces of his hide is steaming, and he is hissing violently. Seems his attack did little.

Out comes a little Larvesta, steamed himself about being attacked. He also seems not to fear either the large snake nor the dragon, and makes this known by TAKING DOWN Sarkahn, causing him to flip back and roar in pain. He then goes after Amethyst, launching a furious EMBER his way, causing the snake to his and shrink back from the flames. The little tyke seems more than ready to battle you, though, it seems to have been stalking you the entire time.

What will you do?

Hyrem and his reptiles were really enjoying the scenery around here. Plenty of sights of the other mountains, the lush forests below... oh, and the flock of tasty Wingull that was too far out of reach for either the snake or the dragon, much to their chagrin. For Hyrem, it meant there were definitely some Pokemon here to look for, and just seeing the Wingull in flight lifted his spirits. Later on, they saw a jagged looking rock... it looked strangely like Sarkhan. He was elated by this, and he gave out a happy roar before posing beside it. "Hahahaha, what a ham you are, Sarkhan!" Hyrem laughed alongside Amethyst's hissing giggle. He took a picture of it with the camera on his Pokedex; that would be a keeper to show Connor sometime.

Further down the path- a rustle comes from the bushes. That was a dinner bell for Amethyst. She could definitely taste something in there, and she hissed a warning to Sarkhan; this meal was all hers. She slithers in close, her tail waving from side to side in excitement and her neck craning back, ready to strike at the hidden prey. Finally, she lashes out into the bushes to grab some free food...

"SAAAAAAH!" she shrieks as she recoils back, hissing in pain and anger. Her coils also looked singed a little; whatever was in there was apparently too hot to handle and swallow easily.

Then it revealed itself, and at first Hyrem didn't really know what it was. Then it dawned on him. "No way..." he said dumbfounded. "It... can't be!" He takes out his Pokedex to confirm his suspicions:

Larvesta, the Torch Pokemon. Legend tells of eggs being shot down to the earth from the sun and hatching into these Pokemon. They live at the base of volcanoes, whether active or dormant, and they will shoot fire from their horns to ward off predators or intruders. They evolve into Volcarona by enveloping themselves in a flaming cocoon where the internal temperature is said to reach 5000 degrees Celsius.

This was it! A Larvesta! Hyrem figured there were rare Pokemon here on Mt. Infernus, but he never thought he'd encounter something this rare. Capturing a Larvesta was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he wasn't about to let this chance pass him by! "Ohhhh, this Pokemon has got to be mine! Amethyst, I know what you're thinking right now, but no, you are NOT going to eat this one. I plan on capturing this guy, do I make myself clear?" Amethyst looked back towards him with an astonished hiss. Catch this one!? But it tried to burn her! She was NOT going to let that go unpunished!

Larvesta then proved itself to be even more feisty by Taking Sarkhan Down a notch with its reckless ram into him, causing the Druddigon to reel back for a moment and roar in pain. Man, willing to take recoil from its Take Down attack AND make contact with Sarkhan's Rough Skin? {you may want to take that into account if you haven't, Blaze} That's double reckless! And then he had the nerve to shoot some Embers at Amethyst, causing her to shy away from the small flames and hiss vulgar obscenities towards the sun moth larva. Something told Hyrem that this bug was more than ready for this; it was preparing for this to happen, even following the threesome around! It wanted to make its presence known, daring the reptiles to make a move against him. What a bold Pokemon! Hyrem wanted this Larvesta even more now, and right now, his Pokemon looked like they were actually shying away from it.

"Hold on, guys, don't tell me you're actually backing away from a bug!" he calls his Pokemon out.

Both of them stop and look back towards Hyrem with deadly stares. That snapped them out of it for sure!

"Ah eh heh heh, I guess not!" he chuckles nervously before regaining his composure. "Now, are we going to take this lying down, or are we gonna accept this bug's challenge!?"

"DRUUUUUUD!" Sarkhan roars confidently.

"HAAAAAAA!" Amethyst hisses vehemently.

"That's what I thought!" Hyrem shouts out. "Now let's synch up and battle! Both of you start off with a Scary Face and let him know you guys aren't Pokemon to take lightly! Then we'll go on the attack! Amethyst, use Aqua Tail for the type advantage while Sarkhan Cuts it down to size!" Larvesta may have been ready for a fight, but so were Hyrem's two reptiles. And it was two against one, they'd have this battle in the bag... right?

[LucarioArtcunoSuicunLover]

Cortoza
The Volcanic Island

The Island

The constant heat seeping up through Cortoza's volcanic soil has given the island a distinct tropical feel, a vast and winding rainforest taking up a large percentage of the land's mass and surrounding each of Cortoza's mountains. The rainforest is humid and full of life, but also very dangerous. The ground is unstable in certain areas making hiking through the forest dangerous even for the most experienced of guides. Several patches of arid, rocky land dot the island, where no vegetation will grow, and it's there that some of the strongest and most fearsome Pokémon roam.

Ignatius River: Flowing from the base of Mt. Infernus and winding throughout the island before eventually flowing into the sea, the Ignatius River is a popular destination for travellers who wish to picnic by its banks, or take a dip after a long day of hiking. Many wild Pokémon can be found wandering around here, and most are rather friendly as they've become accustomed to seeing humans wandering along the shore.

The sound of trickling water is considered by most to be quite soothing. It was for Lass El too, despite her phobia, something she was highly grateful for. No matter where she went, she was always attracted to aquatic environments. Not that she dared entertain the thought of taking a dip. For starters, she hadn't brought her bathers. And, well, the memories...

Bah, she was thinking about that again. No she was here to have fun! Explore! She was on a volcanic island for whatever deity you so choose's sake! The sky was clear, the breeze was pleasant and it was the kind of day where you could just run with no goal in mind. The variety of life around was so different to that around the small town she'd grown up in, she couldn't wait to see some of it. Toss aside the fear because it's pointless, useless. Besides, she was far from alone and if worst comes to worst

Uh

She looked over at her spearow, who she'd let out to have some R&R. The TinyBird pokemon was hopping around happily, something in the grass seemed to have caught her attention. Peck peck hop peck, she was maybe getting a little chubby. Shame that most exersise routines for flying tpes involved, well, flying.

"Having fun there Sparow?"

"Spea!" She flapped wildly, though not hard enough to get off the ground.

"What do you say to going for a jog?"

Sparow looked at her legs, then at El's as if she was increadulous that the human thought she could keep up.

"Alright, alright, I'll walk. But I won't stop for you, you need the exersise." At that, El took off at a brisk pace heading upstream. Sparow hopped as fast as she could just to keep up. Everything seemed to be wonderful, and both of them felt like it was going to be a great day.

[CyberBlastoise]

Cortoza
The Volcanic Island
Mt. Infernus

The second largest of Cortoza's mountains, Mt. Infernus is now extinct. Many Pokémon have made their homes within the vast network of tunnels and caverns deep within the mountain, and aren't all that accustomed to seeing people. It's become the primary breeding ground for many of the rarer Pokémon who tend to shy away from humans, and due to the protective nature of the parent Pokémon, quite a hazardous area to traverse.

Areas:
The Rock Pool: Deep, deep, deep, within the bowels of Mt. Infernus there is rumoured to be a secluded water-filled chamber where extremely rare and ancient Pokémon dwell. Some even say that Pokémon have mutated over the centuries to create new breeds, never before seen in the land of Fizzy Bubbles. This has never been confirmed or denied, as those who have stumbled across this chamber have never been able to defeat the Pokémon they've encountered, let alone capture them. When told to bring proof of their existence, those who have tried to return to the chamber have never been able to find it again. Who knows? If you're lucky, you may just stumble across it...

Bill could not believe that he was headed back to Cortoza Island after his last encounter, which did not end well at all for him. Although this time he was not going to Mt. Pele, he was headed to Mt. Infernus to look for evidence of a mysterious place. Mt. Infernus was already a place of great dangers and excitement from the rarer Pokemon about, but for him, he was in it for the adventure. Accompanying the trainer was a Pokemon he felt comfortable traveling with in this region, Shelly his Kabutops. The volcano itself was thankfully extinct, which meant that Bill could more easily roam this area without any volcanic eruption making bad situations go worse, and his luck led him to things like that. Good for adrenaline he supposed, but not good for his health. He decided that the first thing he needed to do was find a cave that entered into the mountain and try his luck from there, even if this Rock Pool didn't exist, there was sure to be some secret he could unlock from the mountain's bowels. The anticipation just made him excited.

"Well, here we are," Bill said as they came to the base of Mt. Infernus. He turned to his Kabutops, who was enthralled by the mountain's 'beauty'. It's normally small pupils widened at the very site of this place, she was visibly taken in. Even though he could tell this, Bill still asked, "You ready, Shelly?" The Kabutops just nodded her head as she looked at her trainer. "All right then, let's head onward."

[Plight of Leon]

I hereby welcome LASL and CyberBlastoise into my group. This leaves room for TWO more people. Hop on so you can have some fun!

Mt. Infernus
Scenic Walk
Dark Searchman

You take notice on how reckless that Larvesta really is, and how it is actually scaring your Pokemon off. A Pokemon with that fiesty of a nature is a sure rarity, and coupled with the already rare nature of the Pokemon, you have to have this one. Both your Seviper and you Druddigon look ready for battle at you give them a little bit of introductory pep talk. They start off by glaring hard at the Larvesta, giving it the most intimidating and SCARY FACE they can give. Larvesta looks a little on edge, but his innate confidence and his brazen nature means he doesn't take the full effect of each one. But, his speed is lowered a little bit. Larvesta knows about the specialty of this move, and immediately cloaks himself in FLAMEs. He CHARGEs after Seviper, who looks a little frightened himself about the closing in flaming missile. He is able to dodge some of it, but his own large size gets to better of him, the Larvesta hits him on the end of the tail, doing some nice damage and increasing Larvesta's speed, overcoming the past attack. Amethyst looks at the bug again and hisses at it, maybe like some sort of warning or signal. His sort of singed tail becomes covered in a cloak of water, before the Seviper spins around and smacks Larvesta with the sharp end of the tail "LARRRRRRRVVVVESSSSSTAAAA!!!" it screams as it gets smacked around by Seviper's tail, being pushed over towards Sarkahn, your Druddigon. Druddigon takes the cue, and lowers his hand to the ground, white energy covering it, before he swings it upright, catching the Larvesta mid air for a powerful CUT. Larvest yells again as the pain hits it, and it looks to Sarkhan with revenge in its eyes. Larvesta breathes in before releasing a loud bunch of orange sound waves, with hit Sarkahn's ears and cause him to groan as the buggy energy rattles his ear drums.

At the end of this climatic battle scene, it seems that while both Amethyst and Sarkahn took some damage, they are still felling pretty well. The Larvesta seems to be bruised and beaten, but is nowhere close to breaking or giving up. You got quite a fight on your hands here!

What will you do?

The Island
Ignatius River
LASL

Your fears about drowning in the water and your doubts on Spearow's condition may have been disquieting and distracting at first, but you soon quickly find out that as long as you focus on the scenery, you are going to do just fine. You enjoy looking at all the mountains and trees and people. Many people have come by here to picnic and have a good time. People are also playing in the river, though, it doesn't fill you envy. You understand your fears and have a healthy respect for them. You mindlessly walk around, looking at the scenery, when you crash right into a woman's chest. You blush for a moment before backing away, and see that the woman was dressed in a very formal dress, hardly the clothes for the weather on the island. She had a parasol on her right arm and a Oriental fan on her left, and was also busy looking at the scenery not too notice you, though, she wasn't walking either.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry madame. It seems that I didn't notice that you were there and accidentally bumped into you." You get kind of confused at first, but realize she is only trying to be polite. You kindly explain that it was you who knocked into her and that you were sorry for what you had done. "Oh no madame, or is it mademoiselle? I can't quite remember my French. Truthfully, it is actually a blessing that you came along. See, my adorable little Gulpin, Vacuum, had gone missing on the river, and I am trying to look for him all over. I haven't been able to find him, though Lord knows that with his green color he might just blend in with the foliage perfectly. If you could spare some time for me, could you help me look for my little Vacuum?"

What will you do?

Mt. Infernus
The Rock Pool
CyberBlastoise

You have for some reason come back to Cortoza Island again, despite your last time being hardly what one would consider a success. With you is your faithful Kabutops Shelly, who at the moment in enthralled with the mountain's natural beauty. And who wouldn't be? The mountain is tall and majestic, and covered in lush mountains where plants and animals live in harmony. It is truly a beautiful place, and the fact that you are not going to take it in is kind of sad really. But, you came here for one reason, and that ws to find the fabled Rock Pool, a place where it is said that ancient Pokemon dwell that is nigh impossible to find. You have your suspicions, but, you know in your gut it exists. All you have to do know is to find it. You turn to Shelly and ask her if she might have any idea where the cave might be, being an ancient Pokemon herself and all, but she can't remember even hearing about the place, let alone knowing where it is. After a quick sigh, you start to trek up one of the trails.

The jungle is lush at some parts and would be nigh impossible to travel through for most people, but you have the trusty scythes of your Kabutops to slice through the thickest brush. Shelly clears the path for you while you keep a mental track of where you are going, because if you are ever going to find your way back, you are going to need a good idea where the cave. Suddenly, Shelly stops, and turns around, She nods with her head to look over her, and what you see is startling. There is a massive barren section in the forest, with a sign right in the middle of it. You waste no time going over to reach the sign, which appears to be faded and worn out at a far distance. However, as you get closer to the sign, you see that it becomes newer and newer until it looks like it was just posted yesterday. Puzzled by the strange phenomenon, you look at the sign for clues on what it says.

In a cave far down
Lies a stone unturned
A color like a goose's gown
And a home that is undisturbed

It shows the tragedy of the island
In one simple look
Because something washed over the island
And left the stone in a live nook

Now it has grown big and round
For all those to gather around
In the humble flesh of a shell
It lives and grows each day.

It seems like some sort of riddle, but you aren't sure. You are not even sure how to answer the riddle, and Shelly offers no advice.

What will you do?

[LucarioArtcunoSuicunLover]

I hereby welcome LASL and CyberBlastoise into my group. This leaves room for TWO more people. Hop on so you can have some fun!

The Island
Ignatius River
LASL

Your fears about drowning in the water and your doubts on Spearow's condition may have been disquieting and distracting at first, but you soon quickly find out that as long as you focus on the scenery, you are going to do just fine. You enjoy looking at all the mountains and trees and people. Many people have come by here to picnic and have a good time. People are also playing in the river, though, it doesn't fill you envy. You understand your fears and have a healthy respect for them. You mindlessly walk around, looking at the scenery, when you crash right into a woman's chest. You blush for a moment before backing away, and see that the woman was dressed in a very formal dress, hardly the clothes for the weather on the island. She had a parasol on her right arm and a Oriental fan on her left, and was also busy looking at the scenery not too notice you, though, she wasn't walking either.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry madame. It seems that I didn't notice that you were there and accidentally bumped into you." You get kind of confused at first, but realize she is only trying to be polite. You kindly explain that it was you who knocked into her and that you were sorry for what you had done. "Oh no madame, or is it mademoiselle? I can't quite remember my French. Truthfully, it is actually a blessing that you came along. See, my adorable little Gulpin, Vacuum, had gone missing on the river, and I am trying to look for him all over. I haven't been able to find him, though Lord knows that with his green color he might just blend in with the foliage perfectly. If you could spare some time for me, could you help me look for my little Vacuum?"

What will you do?

"O-on the river? As in, actually in the water?" Lass El couldn't help but clam up slightly. No, no, not gonna fall for that it's too nice a day to scramble up a tree and cry (oh deity that had been so embarasing). She shook her head before really thinking, simply trying to clear her mind. It then clicked that she had probably just accidentally refused the lady she ran into. Oh, what was it she wanted? To find her Gulpin. Green, stomach with not much else. Yes, El knew what they were, she could see what the lady meant by the camoflage. Couldn't understand the adorable part either, but that was coming from a girl who dreams of hugging goldeen and shellos. "Of course I'll help you! It's only fair after I walked into you." Okay now what um um, "Just, I probably won't be able to help if he fell in the water, I, uh, I forgot my bathers." That's it, she couldn't bring herself to admit that she'd come to a place where people liked to swim despite being deathly afraid of doing so herself. "Oh, and Sparow here isn't too great of a flyer, so she won't be able to help from the sky. She still has some keen eyes though, she'll probably be a good deal of help."

Speaking of the bird, she'd managed to flit up to El's shoulder, about as high as she could go without freaking out. "This is Sparow by the way, say hello to the nice lady!" Sparow chirped happily. "I'm technically Lass El, but I'm not much of a lass so just call me El. What's you name?"

[Charminions]

.:Charminions:.

Apollo listens intently to your orders, cawing quickly to let you know he understands. Suddenly a strong wind picks up, causing the plain grass to shake. The Donphan finds that the sand in his eyes is now nearly gone from the heavy gale…

Not wanting to waste any more time, Apollo summons the Grass energy inside of his body, and unleashes this Hidden Power in the form of bright-green orbs. The spheres of light rocket towards the Donphan; it bellows loudly as it sees the incoming attack. “Quick, Donphan,” Zaire calls from afar, noticing that his Pokémon’s accuracy has been restored. “Use your own Ancient Power to intercept the Combusken’s attack. Then go in close for an Iron Tail, followed by a Slam.” Rocks and boulders strewn across the plain rise up as the Donphan obeys its trainer’s command, launching them towards the orbs of energy. The impact of the two attacks sends a rumble through the air. Much of the rocks shatter upon impact with the Grass-type move, which leaves the field wide open for the remainder of the Hidden Power to deal its damage. A few orbs make contact with the elephant, opening up the wounds that the Donphan had sustained from the earlier Will-O-Wisp. Biting back the pain, Donphan rushes forward as Apollo begins to Swords Dance. It looks like the Ancient Power had an interesting side effect on the elephant Pokémon’s speed! Just as Apollo finishes his move boosting his attack, the Donphan side-swipes the fire type with its steel-hardened tail, pushing him back a few yards. Taking advantage of the closeness, Apollo jumps up into the air with a Bounce as the Donphan slams into his lower torso, causing the Combusken to get off-balance and fall to the ground. As the dust from all of the attacks clear, you can see that both combatants are panting pretty heavily. The Donphan winces as the burn continues to take its course. It looks like Donphan’s health is a little lower than Apollo’s, although Apollo’s energy use is beginning to drain quickly as well. The battle can turn in anyone’s favor.

What will you do next?

As the next set of orders are given, Apollo gives a loud caw as he surrounds himself in multiple green orbs of energy. The orbs soar towards the ground elephant as he responds by raising the rocks near him off the ground and fly into the orbs. A majority of the Hidden Power gets shattered by the rock move, but luckily a couple orbs still hit their mark on Trunphan's burns. A grin meets Charm's face, "Not bad."

Apollo then initiates the next order, boosting his attack by with a dance of swordsmanship. Trunphan doesn't like the look of this and begins speeding towards the Young Fowl, a stat boost from his earlier Ancient Power further powering him, as he spins around and smacks Apollo with an Iron Tail. "Oof. Atleast, you resisted that one bro."

The young Combusken shakes off the blow, and starts to bounce upward, until a quick Slam to his lower half knocks him off balance and falling over. Some dust blows over as Apollo stands up once again, looking quite tired at this moment.

"Hang in there, Apollo! Let's try to take it a bit easy while capitalizing on your attack boost ..." Charm contemplates on what he should say, "Alright. Give a Crush Claw onto his opened burns! Then a nice Cross Fire for more scorching pain!" Charm orders out, giving a slightly evil grin. Battling brings out the devil in Charm indeed.

[Plight of Leon]

The Island
Ignatius River
LASL



"Well, hello there little ones. Nice to meet you, Lass El, and nice to meet you Sparow. You have a very interesting name." the woman said as she shook your hand and tapped Sparow on the head, to which he coos to as he enjoys it. He looks a little tired from having to flap up to your shoulder, and you look a little shocked about the prospect of having to possibly somewhat go into the water. After the near drowning you had, you were not ready with a close encounter with the fear kind, and wanted nothing to do with the water. "And, it is only good manners that I give my name also. My name is Miranda. Miranda Hesson. I come from the Sinnoh Region from Eterna City. I am charmed to meet you, El, and I really hope that you find my adorable little Gulpin soon. I am concerned about him, he gets a little eclectic when he gets hungry." You were unsure what Miranda meant by the word, "eclectic", but it did not sound good at all. You call your little Sparow to the ground, and begin the hunt.

You make sure the search the areas farthest away from the river, because you did not want to even have a chance to trip and fall into the river. You look and look around, but you find little that seems helpful. A candy wrapper, a water bottle, an Armor Fossil, a quarter...wait what? Oh wait, that was not an Armor Fossil silly, it just really looked like an Armor Fossil. XD. You slowly look closer and closer to the river, asking people whether they have seen a Gulpin or not. All of them answer in the negative, "No, we have not seen a Gulpin anywhere." It seems to become more and more clear that he is either somewhere in the water or on the other side of the river. As soon as your situation seems hopeless, you notice something rustle in the bushes behind you. You turn around, but you see nothing out of the ordinary. You remember that the Gulpin could probably disguise itself in the brush. You motion with you finger for your Sparow to go into the bush, but he seems a little too scared to. You understand, and slowly approach the bushes. you pull the grass back, and you find a Ralts in the bushes. It has tears in its eyes and immediately grabs your legs. You wonder what has this guy so flustered, and if it may have something to do with the Gulpin.

What will you do?

[LucarioArtcunoSuicunLover]

The Island
Ignatius River
LASL



"Well, hello there little ones. Nice to meet you, Lass El, and nice to meet you Sparow. You have a very interesting name." the woman said as she shook your hand and tapped Sparow on the head, to which he coos to as he enjoys it. He looks a little tired from having to flap up to your shoulder, and you look a little shocked about the prospect of having to possibly somewhat go into the water. After the near drowning you had, you were not ready with a close encounter with the fear kind, and wanted nothing to do with the water. "And, it is only good manners that I give my name also. My name is Miranda. Miranda Hesson. I come from the Sinnoh Region from Eterna City. I am charmed to meet you, El, and I really hope that you find my adorable little Gulpin soon. I am concerned about him, he gets a little eclectic when he gets hungry." You were unsure what Miranda meant by the word, "eclectic", but it did not sound good at all. You call your little Sparow to the ground, and begin the hunt.

You make sure the search the areas farthest away from the river, because you did not want to even have a chance to trip and fall into the river. You look and look around, but you find little that seems helpful. A candy wrapper, a water bottle, an Armor Fossil, a quarter...wait what? Oh wait, that was not an Armor Fossil silly, it just really looked like an Armor Fossil. XD. You slowly look closer and closer to the river, asking people whether they have seen a Gulpin or not. All of them answer in the negative, "No, we have not seen a Gulpin anywhere." It seems to become more and more clear that he is either somewhere in the water or on the other side of the river. As soon as your situation seems hopeless, you notice something rustle in the bushes behind you. You turn around, but you see nothing out of the ordinary. You remember that the Gulpin could probably disguise itself in the brush. You motion with you finger for your Sparow to go into the bush, but he seems a little too scared to. You understand, and slowly approach the bushes. you pull the grass back, and you find a Ralts in the bushes. It has tears in its eyes and immediately grabs your legs. You wonder what has this guy so flustered, and if it may have something to do with the Gulpin.

What will you do?

Shh, Sparow's a girl!

Lass El knelt down to the trembling Ralts, this was certainly one way to forget about the false-alarm fossil (what, fossils are cool!). Poor thing was awfully upset. She didn't know much about them as a pokemon. Psychic type and rather popular, native to Hoenn if she remembered correctly. It didn't matter really, it needed help and, well, wouldn't a psychic type be a good thing to be in the good graces of? But on the other hand, she was already helping someone else, she wasn't superwoma--

Oh deity the Ralts was pulling the look-utterly-adorable trick now. It, he? She? Oh, that's annoying, maybe she could ask the pokemon, a psychic type should be able to-- focus, El! The Ralts was begging now, as if sobbing wasn't pitiful enough. Argh, she couldn't take it anymore. Sorry Miranda, the draw of the tiny helpless pokemon was unbelieveably strong. Turning around, she called out to her own (somewhat) tiny (somewhat) helpless pkemon. "Come on Sparow, it's safe, just a Ralts. Come and say hi." As Sparow tentatively hopped closer, El spoke to the Ralts, putting on her best soothing voice. "It's okay, Sparow and I are going to help you. Shh, shhh, there's no need to cry I promise everything will be alright." She gently stroked the Ralt's head as well as she could with those red things getting in the way. Sparow finaly approached, El making an open palmed gesture towards her. "See, this is Sparow, she's my friend. Now come on, what's bothering you? We can't help if we don't know."

[myahoo]

Cortoza
The Volcanic Island

Floating serenely in the middle of the ocean, Cortoza is a secluded land mass which was once a beautiful and highly populated tropical island. Two hundred years ago a powerful oceanic earthquake resulted in a chain reaction of death and destruction as Cortoza's active volcanic mountains erupted in a series of cataclysmic explosions that churned out a spectacular display of ash, rock, and molten lava, and finally ending with Mt Fumi's stupendous paroxysmal eruption. All of Cortoza's vegetation was destroyed, while humans and Pokémon not fast enough to flee perished in the resulting destruction as the western end of the island collapsed beneath the sea, generating a series of devastating pyroclastic flows and immense tsunamis that ravaged adjacent coastlines. The events of that day marked the last 24 hours on earth for over 50,000 people and 300,000 Pokémon, as the wave of destruction flowed across hundreds of coastal villages and towns. For the next hundred years nobody dared approach the island due to the constant seismic activity and mini eruptions, but for the past several decades all has been quiet. Pokémon have returned, and with very few people drawn to the volcanic island, wildlife has been given the chance to thrive. Although wary, people are also beginning to venture to Cortoza again, some of the more opportunistic seeing this land as their chance to strike it rich due to its fast-booming tourism industry. Most are curious though, as the island has shown amazing regenerative qualities, and many are eager to explore and to witness the miraculous regrowth for themselves. The tropical jungle is flourishing once more, Pokémon have returned, and as far as everyone is aware most of Cortoza's volcanoes have been laying dormant for almost one hundred years.

The Island

The constant heat seeping up through Cortoza's volcanic soil has given the island a distinct tropical feel, a vast and winding rainforest taking up a large percentage of the land's mass and surrounding each of Cortoza's mountains. The rainforest is humid and full of life, but also very dangerous. The ground is unstable in certain areas making hiking through the forest dangerous even for the most experienced of guides. Several patches of arid, rocky land dot the island, where no vegetation will grow, and it's there that some of the strongest and most fearsome Pokémon roam.

Areas:
Shale Beach: Shale Beach stretches around the outskirts of the island itself. Its sand is gritty and black, not at all the postcard picture you want to be sending home.

Melissa shaded her eyes from the sun as she watched her Cydnaquil scamper happily along the beach. While she had wanted to head over to the Open Plain supposedly only a short hike up Mt. Fumi’s slope, Wildfire had immediately protested. He had loudly complained that she’d gotten to choose every single place they’d been to so far and that he wanted a chance to pick their destination. Especially after she’d made him go to a reservoir, of all things.

The teen glanced around with a sigh. She had to admit he could have chosen worse places and at least the gritty, black sand was something interesting to see. She half-wondered whether the sand was made up of pieces of broken obsidian as she began following the little indentations her starter had left in the sand, quickly catching up to the Fire Pokemon who had stopped and waited to see whether Melissa would follow.

“Cyn-da-quil. Quil, quil, cyn-da-quil,” he said, tapping her right leg and looking expectantly up at her. She looked down at him and then to the Pokeballs sitting at her waist.

“You want me to bring out one of the others?” she returned, wanting to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood. He nodded. The teen shrugged and complied, pulling out another Pokeball and releasing a Misdreavus to float above the Cyndaquil. The young Ghost Pokemon let out a giggle, twirling in midair before she really took a look around their location.

“Where are we?” she asked curiously, turning to look at the black sand underneath her.

“Cynda-quil.”

“Shale Beach?” she repeated. “Why?”

“Because Wildfire chose the place.”

“Oh.” The young ghost blinked blankly.

Melissa continued, seeing Imp still looked blank. “Wildfire got to choose because I chose our destination the last few times and he wanted his turn.”

“Ooooh.” Imp nodded comprehendingly. She then turned to Wildfire. “Let’s go explore, Wildfire!” The Misdreavus then floated off with the Cyndaquil following along sedately and Melissa bringing up the rear.

EDIT: If/When Food Guy posts, I'd rather he get picked up first, if you don't mind.

[Coolz8]

Just like to say hello everyone, my name is Blaze, although Joe is also good, and I am the new ZA at Cortoza Island. Welcome one and all to my updating fun show! So far, I am taking coolz8 and darksearchman, though, I have room for four more. Have fun!

Mt. Senica
Cinder Village
Coolz8

You try to find some Pokemon in the water by throwing rocks into the water. The rocks hit the water, dispelling the ash and showing the water's oddly clar nature. You think about how the murkiness must have only been an ash layer deep, and find bigger and bigger rocks to throw in the water. You clutch a rather large rock that makes you stagger, and go to throw it into the water, when a hand clutches your arm and squeezes it. You squeak from the mystery person's grip, and you turn your head back to see who this person is. He is a man, who easily has a foot or maybe even two over you and has a definite weight advantage. With a stubby beard and rather muscular arms, he reminds you a bit of a lumberjack. Behind him is a Golurk, a Pokemon who lurks(harharhar) over you. You are unsure which to be more afraid of.

"Now listen here kid. You better pay attention and you better pay good too, because there is no refunds. Now, what is God's tarnation makes you think that throwing rocks into the hot spring was a good idea? People come into this hot spring all the time. Imagine if you hit one of them with one of these rocks. You could have hurt someone, hell, even killed them if you were an unlucky kid. What exactly were you planning on?" You tell him that you were just throwing the rocks to try and get some Pokemon. "Oh really? Well, truthfully kid, I dont believe you at all. I think that you need to come with me so we can sort out what you can do for punishment." You were confused and scared about the whole thing, but more scared about what this punishment could be. He draggs you along a trail that leads away from the hotspring.

At the top of the trail is the bathrooms that were put here for people who wanted to use the bathroom and not go in the hot springs. "Now, wait here. No funny business either, or, Cassius here is going to give you a rude knock on the head." The man left, and the Golurk moved over your field of vision, grumbling ominously as it makes sure you know what's what. You nod your head yes, and it stops. The man comes out a second later with a couple of mops and a bucket. "Alright kid, here is what you have to do. You need to wash the bathrooms. You have got everything you need here, and I want to see that bathroom sparkling so much I can't see my reflection. You got that?" You nod your head yes, grimacing over what you had to do. "Alright, you can bring a Pokemon in their with you if you want. And no trying to run away either, alright?"

What will you do?

Frinth simply smirks at the authoritative officer, and got to work around his assigned duty. Before he started, he picked out a single red and white metallic ball from his pack and clicked it. A bright flash of red burst out, revealing its own contents.

Trick.

He had been trained rigorously for various environments, occasions, and situations. A simple clean-up would neither pose as an obstacle nor hinder them from continuing forth. "Trick. Please help me clean this up as fast as you can. Please wear this, just in case..." He brought out two transparent garments, an once he placed one onto Trick, it unfolded and proceeded to completely envelop his body, yet allowing needed movement.

Frinth Placed on his own, and they initiated their assigned task.

Trick started sweeping, and he had no significant reaction to something simple. On the contrary, he found it a nuisance that he had to complete such a task while consuming valuable time needed to fill Frinth's squad or possibly to find items of value or of interest.

[Son_of_Shadows]

Cortoza
The Volcanic Island

Floating serenely in the middle of the ocean, Cortoza is a secluded land mass which was once a beautiful and highly populated tropical island. Two hundred years ago a powerful oceanic earthquake resulted in a chain reaction of death and destruction as Cortoza's active volcanic mountains erupted in a series of cataclysmic explosions that churned out a spectacular display of ash, rock, and molten lava, and finally ending with Mt Fumi's stupendous paroxysmal eruption. All of Cortoza's vegetation was destroyed, while humans and Pokémon not fast enough to flee perished in the resulting destruction as the western end of the island collapsed beneath the sea, generating a series of devastating pyroclastic flows and immense tsunamis that ravaged adjacent coastlines. The events of that day marked the last 24 hours on earth for over 50,000 people and 300,000 Pokémon, as the wave of destruction flowed across hundreds of coastal villages and towns. For the next hundred years nobody dared approach the island due to the constant seismic activity and mini eruptions, but for the past several decades all has been quiet. Pokémon have returned, and with very few people drawn to the volcanic island, wildlife has been given the chance to thrive. Although wary, people are also beginning to venture to Cortoza again, some of the more opportunistic seeing this land as their chance to strike it rich due to its fast-booming tourism industry. Most are curious though, as the island has shown amazing regenerative qualities, and many are eager to explore and to witness the miraculous regrowth for themselves. The tropical jungle is flourishing once more, Pokémon have returned, and as far as everyone is aware most of Cortoza's volcanoes have been laying dormant for almost one hundred years.

The Island

The constant heat seeping up through Cortoza's volcanic soil has given the island a distinct tropical feel, a vast and winding rainforest taking up a large percentage of the land's mass and surrounding each of Cortoza's mountains. The rainforest is humid and full of life, but also very dangerous. The ground is unstable in certain areas making hiking through the forest dangerous even for the most experienced of guides. Several patches of arid, rocky land dot the island, where no vegetation will grow, and it's there that some of the strongest and most fearsome Pokémon roam.

Areas:

Garland Basin: A large basin near Mt. Ceniza where many varieties of herbs grow. A large number of natural hot springs are found here, making it a popular tourist attraction. The effects of the herbs in the warm spring water can have various effects, some very soothing.

A somewhat weary Joshua had come to the tropical island of Cortoza for some much needed rest and relaxation. His recent adventures had been trying to say the least... Seemed like just about everything was trying to murder him in some grisly fashion. Maybe he was being stalked by GLaDOS. His back was now aching from it all, so the plan was simple - take a dip in the hot springs... If this hot volcanic air didn't suffocate him first. "God!" he cried, "Why is it so damn hot!"

Near volcano. Jo expect cold? That was the unbelievably relaxed (though still not 100% eloquent) telepathy of Steven the Munna, arguably Joshua's most adorable partner to date. The pink tapir floated alongside him, curious to find out what exactly a "hot spring" was. Joshua wasn't exactly a fan of being called "Jo", but it would do for now. Steven was still only a young Munna, and he hadn't been fed much in the way of Gummis to boost his IQ. So his telepathy was a little broken, but he could at least get his points across. So there was that.

"Ah Steven, I know you're right... But I'm still going to complain about it." The duo had now arrived in the Garland Basin, and Joshua immediately took to scanning the area for the nearest hot spring...

[Plight of Leon]

(Attention all updators! There are a few quidelines I would like to put up:

Grammar: Make sure that your posts are all grammtically correct and spelled correcty. I am not a Grammar Nazi, but if you are a blantant offender, I will try to notify you and may drop you. Don't worry, you guys are good.

Replies: Try to make your posts somewhat large. The more you reply, the more I have to work with. This is mostly to coolz8 at the moment, you need to try harder. I don't mind if you reiterate what I post(infact, I encourage it), but no two or three line replies. Or else, you might get minimal updates from me. Or get dropped. :/

Self-Updating: A little bit of creative license is encouraged, feel free to slightly tweak dialogue, or to add your own thoughts on events while they are happening. If, however, I feel that you have changed something so that it is not the original meaning, you will be notified. This is a definite way to get dropped.

Reply Time: I update often, so, it should be a signal to reply often. However, if you are not replying, it is a strain on me to have to try and remember my plans for you. If you don't reply for over a month without notifiying me, you will get dropped. If you are leaving or have something that is keeping you from replying, PLEASE TELL ME!!!

And the most important guideline of all, HAVE FUN! )

Also, with Food Guy, I have seven updatees/


The Island
Ignatius River
LASL

The little Ralts could sense your emotions, and knew that you and your Sparow meant no harm. He puts an arm up to your head(or at least as high as he can get it) and closes his eyes. You wonder what the little Ralts is doing, before you feel a little thing come into your head. There really is no way to describe it, it is like a little thing just magically transported itself into your thoughts. You panic a little bit, causing your thought world to rattle and shake, but you here a voice that sounds like a child who has been crying for a while, "D-Don't worwy. I am not heer to hurwt you. My name is Turt, and I need your helwp. My famiwy and me were out in the forwest, picking berries, when a big grween thing came at us, trwying to eat all the berries. My mama got hurwt bad, and she needs some help. Plwease, plwease will you help my mama!?" Just then, the Ralts pulled itself out of your thoughts, though, it was still clutched to your legs.

You look down on the Ralts and think about what it had just said. You realize that the "big green thing" it had mentioned must have been a hungry Vacuum, attacking the family for the berries. But, you realize there must be something wrong with this picture, as Gulpin are Poison type Pokemon while Ralts and Gardevior are Psychic types, so, they should hae easily been able to fight off a Gulpin if it tried to attakck them. You try to think of what other Pokemon it could be, but, you draw up a blank. It HAD to be Vacuum. The Ralts looks a you with large, endearing eyes. It obviously trusts you a large deal. You feel Turt come back into your thoughts, and he says to you telepathically, "Please, please help my mommy!"

What will you do?

The Island
Shale Beach
myahoo

You look as both your Cyndaquil and Misdreavus go ahead to go exploring, and get a happy look on your face. Despite the not-scenic look of the beach, you are actually quie content here. The waves lap luxuriously onto he black sand, the sun is shining brightly, and the wind is little more than a light breeze, and you feel good. You walk along the beach when you step onto something hard and big. You look down onto the sand and see an oddly shaped white thing sticking out of the sand a little ways. You call both your Cyndaquil and Misdreavus over to see what it is. When you ask wha they think it could be, both Cyndaquil and Misdreavus seem to think it is just a seashell of some sort, and lose interest in it. But, however, you haven't. You take your hands and begin to dig into the sand, which is oddly heavy. You get a couple of cuts and nicks from the slightly large and sharper pieces of obsidian sand, and dig until you can see more and more of the item. It doesn't look like a shell at all, but more of a sort of bone. You again call over Wildfire and Imp, and Imp looks a little bit annoyed being called over again, but, thankfully, loses it when she sees the thing. She is clearly impressed with your find, and both Wildfire and Imp help with the dig as much as they can, until the item is clearly visible. It is some kind of staff carved from bone, with a few strands of hair still left on it and some writing on the side of it. You can't read the writing at all, it appears to be some kind of ancient writing that is lost today.

Just when you pull the artifact from the sand, a hand comes onto your shoulder. You jump a little bit and look back, and see a African man standing behind you in a khaki shirt and shorts, sort of like an archeologist would be wearing. "Wow, you got quite the find there. That is an ancient Lufenian staff right there. The Lufenians were a sky people who had amazing technology. They were rumored to have a city above the volcanoes, but one day, it crashed into the sea, never to be seen again. Every now and again we see artifacts like this staff or some pottery. Never any of their technology, so we think that is just a legend." You see that the guy is some sort of archeologist, and look at him with a questioning glance. He laughs, and says, "It seems you still have some questions about the Lufenians. Well, we have not been able to decipher their language, it is completely foreign to any tongue known to man today. There is talk of there being a stone which may have a translation, but no one knows where it could be. This is the first time a Lufenian artifact was found on this beach, so, there could be something here. My name is Cid. Cid Maple."

The man turns to walk away, so, if this was the time for any questions, I'd better act on that!!

What will you do?

Mt. Senica
Cinder Village
Coolz8

(Hey, you can't just find a Pokemon and capture it, you gotta work for your Pokemon! :P)

You and your Pokemon Trick go and start to clean the bathroom, which you find is actually a lot harder than it originally seemed. The floor was covered in soap scum and whatever else scum had come in here, and it never seemed to go away, it seemed to be permanently stuck onto the floor. The sinks were covered in scum as well, but they came clean a little bit easier than on the floor. The worst part about the cleaning, however, was the toilets. They stunk to high heavens, hell, above high heavens, and were covered in crap. It seems that people didn't like to flush here, or they got a bad case of Moctezuma's revenge. You and Trick get bust working, and afer what seems like hours go by, you finally get the bathroom cleaned up. You can see the original color in the tiles, which is a baby bird blue, instead of the white you had seen earlier. The sinks sparkled and gleamed like chrome, and even the toilets were a pearly white. You and Trick looked on your work, and were proud, even though this was a nuisance to do this, at least you had gotten it done quickly, and good to.

The man came in right after you finished, probably to see if you were slacking off or what not. His Golurk stayed outside, it was too tall to fit inside the bathroom. He looked around the bathroom, inside the stalls, under the sinks, in the toilets, and looked at you. He gave you a smile, and said, "Well, you look like a good kid after all. Or, someone who has been cleaning bathrooms all their lives." He laughs at this, and you cannot help but give a giggle too. "It seems I took you wrong. Hell, it happens. I guess that you guys are free to go. Wow, this is probably the cleanest I have ever seen the bathroom. She is good enough to get a date now." Again he laughed, and saw that you were walking out the door. He remembered that you said you were looking for Pokemon, and remembered something he had seen. "Hey, wait a minute kid. What is your name?" You tell him that your name is Frinth. "Frinth, what the hell kind of name is that? Oh well, my name is August. August Brown. I am what you would call the local law enforcement here at Cinder Village. I try to keep hoodlums and no-gooders out of here. People come here because they want to relax...and occasionaly want to find Pokemon too. Nobody gets by me and Cassius here, you bet it." He takes a deep breath in, and looks out window. "Trust me kid, there is no Pokemon in that spring you were looking at. It was man-made for people. But, I can tell you a place where you can find special Pokemon that like the hot water. If, of course, you are interested..."

What will you do?

The Island
Garland Basin
Son_of_Shadows

Steven, your absolutely adorable Munna, and you go looking for a hot spring nearby, so that you can relax and think about what you are going to do next. The area just seems to be full of various plants, but soon, you notice that the plant variety is beginning to change and that the plants were beginning to get bigger and bigger. You also began to notice that it was getting slighlty warmer, and it kinda smelled like water was nearby. You know how a hot spring is nereby, but you first have to try and get past the vegetation first. Steven and you push past some of the trees, but their leaves were often bigger than you were and pushing past them was a chore and a half. And you had a chore a day limit. Soon, you here the sounds of bubbling water and can see steam. You are almost there! You begin to run, your Munna bearly able to stay behind you. "Jo. Slow please." You heard Steven, and slow down a little bit, and can sense that he is very thankful for that. Soon, you see one of the largest trees you ave ever seen, and sneak around its base. That is when you see that hot-spring. It was not very large, but you could tell it was pretty hot...just the way you like it. "Jo. Hot spring. Look warm." It did indeed look warm.

You strip down into a pair of bathing shorts, and get inside the water. You dip down, and the water was very warm, but it also was very relaxing. You immerge yourself fully in the waer, with only your head visible, and begin to relax. You can feel the ache in your back loosening up, and it felt good not to be in pain anymore. Steven tentatively touched the water, and then got it himself, cooing as the also felt the waters soothing effects. "Well, hi there." You nearly scream as you here the voice. You look in front of you with fear-striken eyes as you see a man, in his near seventies, in the hot spring with you. You are SURE you did not see him in here before, infact, you were nearly convinced you were the only one to find this hot spring. "Oh, I see I startled you. I must have been under the water when you came in. I love this hot spring, it is so soothing on my back. By the way you were relaxing, I would say the same for you. You have some back ache son." You were surprised to he was able to see so much in you, but, he was old. Old people tend to see these things. "If you got a back ache, I know an herb that will set you right real good." He picks an herb from the grass, and puts it in the water. You are somewhat concerned about it, but soon, you are completely enveloped in an euphoric sensation. You feel like you had just had, well, there really was no good way to describe it. It was like being on a pleasure trip. Your Munna also coos, as it appears to effect him too. You begin to relax even more...until you pass out.

When you awaken, you find that you can barely open your eyes. Or, is it because it is really dark where you are. You try to move around, but find that you can't. You are not in the hot spring, that is for sure.

What will you do?