Astoria - The Enchanted Forest

[Charminions]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

Charminions: Judging by the sounds of the song sung by Nidoran and her compatriot, help was on its way. You act quickly, hoping to finish her off before the help arrives. Osage begins things by approaching Nidoran to attack her. Instead of a frontal assault with his claws like a usual slash, he speedily waves his claws around until they become faint and finally strikes her knocking her off her feet. You hear a howl suddenly coming from Nidoran’s partner in song, and the sound is awfully close. With only one opponent, thus far, Pigkey takes this opportunity to show Nidoran exactly what she thought of being confused for most of this battle. She gathers mega force in her fist and closes in to strike. Pigkey punches Nidoran knocking her back even further.

At this point, Nidoran is starting to struggle to get back to her feet. Osage and Pigkey both watch her and begin to prepare their next attacks, all the while forgetting about their guest. Out of some bushes behind you all, a canine Pokémon approaches. The dark furred Bite Pokémon surveys the scene, while Pigkey charges her fist with electricity. The Mightyena now pounces at Pigkey when it realizes its friend is in danger. At the last moment, Pigkey realizes this, and she’s able to get out of the way placing it and Nidoran between Pigkey and her. With her fist still charging, she charges Mightyena, having a second opponent to deal with, attempting to deliver a thundrous punch. Osage fires a beam filled with ice energy, which Nidoran barely dodges. The beam hits Mightyena on its side, at the same time Pigkey’s Thunderpunch hits. This causes an explosion of ice and electric energy which knocks both Mightyena and Pigkey back a few yards. Pigkey’s fist is left glowing a light blue, presumably with residual energy from the attack collision.

Nidoran, meanwhile, dives at Osage weakly scratching and biting him; a good sign that she doesn’t have much left in her to continue the fight. Mightyena gets back on its feet and quickly charges and fires a couple balls of shadowy energy at Pigkey and Osage. Pigkey immediately dodges the attack.

What will you do?

Charm does his best to finish off the Nidoran before another foe arrives. Enacting his orders, Osage leaps in before swerving to the side and slamming into the Nidoran (F) with a Faint Attack. The blow leaves its mark, but at that moment a Howl is heard from a not-so-far distance.

"Oh ****," Charm cursed. "We gotta hurry!" Pigkey follows up on this, charging energy into her fist before delivering a Mega Punch at the weakened Poison Pin Pokemon who falls back from the strike.

The Nidoran staggerishly rises up once again as the duo Pokemon ready themselves for their next orders. Upon the crackling of Pigkey's lightning fist, a rather large Hyena of a dark nature pops into the scene, blocking Pigkey's way. "Well this is unpleasant," Charm remarks. "Now we have this guy to worry about."

Osage and Pigkey move on with their orders anyway, the Sneasel releasing his bolting beam of ice energy, which the beaten Nidoran somehow dodges, but still moving on and dealing a nice blow on the Mightyena right as Pigkey delivers a mighty Thunder Punch to the same dark canine. An explosion of electricity and ice occurs from the blasts as Mightyena and Pigkey both take some damage from it. The Mankey's hand is also glowing a dull blue for some reason, perhaps from the ice energy.

Nidoran uses this chance to feebly Scratch and Bite Osage while the healthier Mightyena gets back up and fires off several Shadow Balls at Pigkey and Osage, but fortunately missing Pigkey.

Charm takes a short moment to examine the situation. "... there's no flipping way we're going to take on a second opponent, Viola's Trunphan is getting sicker by the minute. Pigkey, Fury Swipes at Mightyena's eyes to blind him as much as you can. Osage, I want you to deliver a double Ice Punch at Nidoran before dealing a Crush Claw at the same target. Then Pigkey, a double Thunder Punch at Nidoran to compliment Osage's Ice Punches. We're gonna make a run for it as soon as I try to catch that Nidoran.

[jolteonjak]

Jolteonjak & Son_of_Shadows –

Last round was a total disaster for Joshua as he had lost Steven, his Munna, to the Beedrill onslaught, and all Aegis could do was throw up from the poison. He felt so powerless, only able to watch as one of his best friends was carried over to the other prisoners. So weak! He didn’t want to be that weak anymore… not when his friend’s life was on the line! Suddenly, his entire body glowed with a white light as he was changed from a small Squirtle to the more regal form of a Wartortle! Oh, how evolution can change things! Half of the health and energy he had lost had been regained as a result, and Joshua’s next Pokemon, a Stunfisk named Livewire, was determined to help Aegis get their friend back… although, Livewire would come out right onto the Toxic Spikes and get himself Poisoned first.

Queen Shiny was still Asleep at this time, so this gave Chad’s Heracross a prime opportunity. Using the rest of his Rock energy, he tried another Stone Edge attack in an effort to deal a huge amount of damage on the queen. The attack was slightly off, however, and the sleeping queen was only hit by half of the rocks thrown at her, though they did still deal some good damage. Meanwhile, Joshua had plenty of time to throw Aegis a Pecha Berry, and the Wartortle was able to enjoy the berry immensely as it wiped out the poisons he had in his system.
The Shiny Beedrill was still asleep, but she looked like she would wake up soon, so… why not give her a rude awakening? That’s what the Ground-types were thinking, at least, as they went for a double Scald attack to see if either attack would put the burn on her… unfortunately, neither attack did a lot of damage, nor was she burned, but her health was brought down below half at this point, which was something the two fish could celebrate as the poison ate away at some of their health.

That got her attention, so she woke up, realizing that the Psychic-type was now among those captured; he would make a fine delicacy indeed. Next on the list was that upstart Wartortle… how dare he evolve in rebellion against Her Majesty! She would Endeavor to break his spirit soon enough as she flew in and slashed at Aegis’ shell leaving a nice crack in it as his health was brought down to the same percentage she currently had of her health. Yikes, that was a lot of damage! But Heracross would bring things back under your control as he started to get in with melee combat and Chip Away at Queen Shiny’s health further. While that was happening, Aegis was gathering up the last of his Fire energy into his arms and attacked her with the move, leaving a nice Cross mark on her torso and causing her to shriek in pain, though neither Pokemon received any burns.

However, this alerted the whole Swarm to the queen’s danger, so they were doing their best to finish off the resident swarm’s warriors in order to help defend their queen. Two of the soldier Beedrill nearby were able to see what was happening and started to fire off Poison Sting attacks toward Heracross and Aegis. Aegis was the only one of the two to get hit, and he thankfully avoided another poisoning, though the attack was dangerously close to hitting the crack in his shell. Suddenly, two blurs zoom behind you and attack the two enemy Beedrill… They were the two Beedrill you had met earlier! They needed to defend their own fragile queen while entrusting you to deal with the enemy queen, so they decided to join the fight and make sure you fought the queen uninterrupted.

But Queen Shiny was furious… she had less than a third of her health left, how could some random Pokemon bring her down to this level? Maybe she needed to focus on her Bug attacks more, and that’s what she does as she uses her Twineedle against Heracross. The added power was able to deal some significant damage to Heracross, though neither attack poisoned the stag beetle. Heracross’ fortified defenses couldn’t hide signs of him getting tired, though, so Livewire needed to pick up the slack and used the Power of the surrounding Earth in order to force it to erupt on the Beedrill and deal some more good damage. Just before Wooper attacked, you could see another Poison Sting attack come from behind you… and it didn’t hit your Pokemon… it hit Queen Shiny. You look from behind you and see the sick queen’s stinger pointed at the other queen; even she wanted to get in on the action! While it didn’t do much damage, it turns out it would do just enough as Wooper channeled the power he borrowed from Steven and let loose a Psybeam exactly how Steven did it and hit her square in the chest. Game… set… match… Queen Shiny couldn’t take any more damage, and, to the horror of her hive, fell down to the ground, knocked out from the last attack. Aegis, Livewire, Wooper, and Heracross each gain one level!

This sent the invading hive into an erratic frenzy! Without their queen to guide them, they had lost all coordination, and the elite of the invaders knew this. They order some of the Beedrill to pick up their queen and carry her out as they were forced to retreat… but three of the Beedrill were also each taking Steven, Teddiursa, and Karrablast with them! If you didn’t hurry, they would end up as Weedle chow!

What will Chad and Joshua do?

*****

Battle raged in the forest, as Livewire joined the fray, Aegis evolved, and the quad hammered the sleeping Queen with all their might. It seemed that the tide had turned since Steven's unfortunate defeat, and perhaps the battle between the hives would come to an end with it.

Or the other hive would focus all their efforts on Joshua and Chad, inevitably resulting in their painful deaths. Whichever.

As the Queen awoke however, it became clear that she wasn't going to go down easily, badly cracking Aegis' shell, which was swiftly followed up by more Beedrills taking potshots with Poison Stings. Aegis was seriously going to need the Pokémon Centre after this one, but his performance thus far had been admirable.

Joshua was beginning to become frustrated by the interference of the soldier Beedrill, protecting their Queen. Fortunately, he had little to worry about, as the Beedrill that he had assisted before raced in along with another, to act as perimeter guards. It was as though it was saying "Finish the fight!" And finish it they did. Livewire and Wooper blasted the Shiny Queen with all they had, and even the sick Queen Beedrill managed to take a potshot. The enemy queen had fallen, and her soldiers reacted... badly. The majority of them were panicking, but a few who actually seemed to know what they were doing had the Queen picked up, and began to retreat - along with Steven, Karrablast and the Teddiursa.

"You are NOT getting away! Bishop, I'm sorry, but I need you again!" called Joshua, throwing Bishop's Pokéball in the air. The brown owl Pokémon appeared again in a flash of light. "Bishop, chase after them, and hit them with an Air Slash attack to make them drop their hostages! Chad, anything you can do here?"[/size]

OOC: Determined to help get Steven back? You don't know Livewire very well...

Utter chaos began to break out in the hive as the attack on Queen Shiny brought her health dangerously low. Her falling health alerted some of the other Beedrill to rush by her side and aid in attacking Chad’s and Joshua’s Pokemon. The enemy Beedrill, however, had decided to help Chad and Joshua out by attacking the Queen’s Beedrill leaving them to fight Queen Shiny once again. Attack after attack assaulted the Queen bringing her health lower and lower. She tried to exact revenge, mostly on Aegis though as she even managed to crack his shell. She attacked Heracross, but her attacks couldn’t damage him too much with his beefed up defenses. Even the opposing queen Beedrill, whom Chad thought they would have to fight next, joined in with an attack to Queen Shiny. Ultimately it took everyone involved to finally defeat Queen Shiny.

“She’s down!” Chad exclaimed. “Nice job everyone! Wooper, come here. Have some berries.” He fed Wooper a Pecha Berry (1 of 2) and an Oran Berry (1 of 2). He takes a can of Lemonade (1 of 10) from his backpack and tosses it to Heracross. “Great job buddy! Have a quick drink!”

Wooper finished eating the berries; the Pecha Berry cleansed his body of the poison. All of a sudden, he began to glow a faint blue light. He began to grow in size. Small arms sprouted from his sides. His tail grew bigger and fuller. And finally his antennae disappeared. When the glowing ceased, Wooper had changed. Wooper had evolved!

“Whoa, Wooper, what happened to you?” Chad looked confused.

“Quaaaag, quagsiiiiiiirrrre,” the creature replied.

Chad withdrew his Pokedex to scan it:

Quagsire, the Water Fish Pokemon and the evolved form of Wooper. Quagsire has an easygoing nature. It doesn’t care if it bumps its head on boats and boulders while swimming. It hunts for food by leaving its mouth wide open in water and waiting for its prey to blunder in unaware.

”Congratulations Wooper, I mean Quagsire!” Chad bent over to hug his new Quagsire. Chad looked at the prisoner Teddiursa whom he was about to head over to see, but she along with Steven and Karrablast were taken away along with Queen Shiny by her remaining Beedrill. “Come back!”

Chad looked to Quagsire for help. “Quick Quagsire, try another Psybeam at the Beedrill! Then if you can reach them without harming the captives use Scald!” Chad thought to begin giving chase to those Beedrill, but his mind turned to his missing Numel. “Oh man. Numel is still missing. Heracross, I need you to scout around outside the hive to see if you can find Numel and bring him back.”


Stats
Claiming 1 level for Heracross and 1 level for Wooper/Quagsire

[OkikuMew]

OkikuMew: You arrive at a small grove of Black Apricorn trees. With a laundry list of Apricorns to collect for Andersen, you decide to get right to work on the black ones first. You remember the information about harvesting an Apricorn, but in his haste Andersen forgot to explain how to tell what a mature Apricorn looks like.

Luckily, you have your Pokedex with you, so you begin to scan through its electronic pages. Right there between Apicot Berries and Baltoy is an entry on Apricorns. You skim through the information looking for what you need:



With this knowledge you approach a low-hanging Apricorn on the first tree. On the first try, tapping it with your fingernail produces a hollow metallic sound. Using the information you received from the Pokéball Maker, you cut the Apricorn off the tree and place it in the Apricorn Box.

You walk to the next tree with Black Apricorns and look around for low enough Apricorn to check. When you find one, you approach it to test its maturity. Tapping the Apricorn makes a dense thump, as if you were tapping on the tree itself. You look around some more for an appropriate Apricorn, when you start hearing some chirping.

“Hoot hoooot,” the noise comes from above. You spot a round brown Pokémon with large eyes appearing to stand on one foot. The Hoot Hoot is standing next to an Apricorn and taps it with its beak. It’s faint, but you can make out the familiar metallic sound your first Apricorn made.

After a short climb and a snip, you place your second Apricorn in the box and move on to your next tree. You discover the Hoot Hoot had already arrived at the tree, and it seems to be pointing at another Apricorn. Hoping to go three-for-three, you rush over to the Apricorn, which also happens to be at eye level. You reach out to grab the Apricorn, but as soon as you touch it, it pops and pieces of Apricorn scatter all over the area even on you.

“Hoot hoot hoot hoot!” you hear the Hoot Hoot, and it seems like it’s laughing. Then it flies away still laughing.

You search the tree once more, and you finally find your third Black Apricorn. With your quota for them filled, you wonder what is next. Max’s nose seems to have picked up scents in different directions; to your left and in front of you.

Without knowing the area, you have a choice of where to go. Which way will you go?


OOC: If you prefer your character to be using a blade or scissors of some kind, feel free to use that in place of my mentioning of fingernails. I didn’t want to assume anything.

It's my habit of writing in first person but I got reprimanded for it once... I better not take a chance and switch to "good old" third person.


Thankfully the Pokédex did have information related to when Apricorns are ripped. Okiku took a small step back though when the electronic encyclopedia mentioned the exploding over-matured Apricorns.

"...I'll go grab my pocket knife for this, thank you very much," she nervously said to herself and indirectly to her companion.

After she took her pocket knife out of her backpack, she started checking on the black apricorns that were around her. Lucky for her, the one on her first try was perfectly ripped. She took it just like the man she's helping taught her to and dropped it in the box just for the special berries. Second one she tested was totally not matured enough. She went finding another apricorn to test its ripeness, when she heard something hooting above her head. She looked up and spotted a Hoothoot, playfully pecking an Apricorn and making a faint but distinct metallic noise.

"Oh, hey there!" Okiku spoke to the flying Pokémon. "Thanks for finding one! If you don't mind that I take it, that is..."

She started climbing up the tree a bit, picked up the Apricorn, and put it in the Apricorn box. She climbed down, and quickly saw that the Hoothoot flew towards another tree, landing on a branch near another Apricorn. Assuming it was safe to take it as the helpful little owl guided her to the previous one, she took it in one hand... only for it to burst and splatter all over the place, including all over Okiku's clothes, face and hair. The Hoothoot burst into some kind of laughter at her mistake, while Max couldn't help but snicker at her new fashion statement. The trainer put her hands on her hips, but smiled.

"...Well aren't you a hoot," she teasingly shook her head at the bird before it flew away, still laughing its feathers off.

After rubbing and flicking off the exploded Apricorn leftovers (which randomly made her wondering if it's possible to eat it, being some kind of fruit or berry and all), she looked at the tree again, spotted another Apricorn and tested it with her knife. Luckily it was perfect to pick up, so she plucked it and dropped it in the box.

"And that one makes three! Sweet, we got all the black ones he needed!" she exclaimed joyfully to her Poochyena. "So time to look for the other colours. Let's see..." She takes out the now-squashed list from her pocket. "Blue, red and yellows, that's the other ones left needed. ...Got any ideas Max?"

The dog sniffed the air, then barked twice while facing in a different direction for each to indicate the spots he may have smelled Apricorns: one time on Okiku's left, and another right towards her.

"Hmm..." she pondered aloud, "which side does it smell the strongest?"

The Poochyena simply gave his trainer an undecided look.

"I'll take that as an 'I dunno'. Meh, let's go to the left," she pointed out the direction, "besides, left is my favourite side!"

Max immediately dashed to the direction of Okiku's strongest hand, which she promptly followed right behind him.

[allishinca]

Allishinca: The riddle required some careful thought from you and Pluto. You sat down to think, pondering various answers ranging from Rapidash to Buneary. Pluto, who had figured it out already, mimed the answer to you. With some careful charades, Pluto convinced you of what he thought the answer was. As you rose to your feet, you spoke the answer clearly, "I believe the answer to your riddle is a male Nidoran, Mr. Guardian, sir."

"Prepare to suffer the most horrible," you suddenly hear a voice announcing, "wait, male Nidoran?" You hear a snap, and Beeheyem appears in front of you. "Wonderful job!" the Guardian speaks telepathically. "You passed the first test!" With the announcement you hear the wall in front of you begin to rumble. A door opens, going further into the temple. "Go on," Beheeyem speaks, "I'll be waiting for you." The Cerebral Pokemon bows and disappears. "Unless," Beheeyem reappears, and you hear the door behind you rumbling open as well, "you don't want to continue? This will be your last chance to turn away. Well it technically it won't be, but I don't want to create new riddles for you to pass through rooms you have already passed through. The choice is yours."

You look down the corridor, and you see torches light the way automatically. The corridor itself doesn't look threatening at all. Like the entrance, you can see its condition has been kept up. As Beheeyem said, the choice is yours. Which way will you go?

Alli and Pluto leaned forward while awaiting a response.

"Prepare to suffer the most horrible," a sudden voice announces. Alli's face turned pale as her eyes grew large. She fell down forward onto her knees while holding herself tightly. Her greedy Sableye companion, for a brief moment, felt a twinge of guilt at having involved his trainer in such a dangerous endeavor. He turned with the intent of running to his trainer for one last embrace when-

"Wait, male Nidoran?" With an abrupt snap, Beheeyem appeared in front of the duo. "Wonderful job!" Alli was on the verge of spitting tears when she comprehended the guardian's words. Pluto's jaw dropped, as he stood dumbfounded for a moment before regaining himself. "You passed the first test!" continued the guardian. The room shook lightly as a stone door lifted, displaying a dark hallway. "Go on," Beheeyem speaks, "I'll be waiting for you." The guardian then bowed politely before disappearing with a snap.

Pluto disregarded any sudden bought of emotion that he may have experienced in the last few seconds, and replaced it with an overly cocky response at his riddle answer being correct. Alli got back to her feet, and glanced down the dark corridor. "Unless," Beheeyem reappeared, followed by a second light rumbling. Alli turned to find the entrance way opening up as well. "You don't want to continue? This will be your last chance to turn away. Well it technically it won't be, but I don't want to create new riddles for you to pass through rooms you have already passed through. The choice is yours."

Alli looked down the hallway and found torches springing up in a beautiful parallel unison. Like the room they found themselves in, the new hallway was in good shape, untouched by time. Pluto was eager to continue their little adventure, and dashed towards the new entrance.
"Wait a minute, Pluto." Pluto turned and looked back, as Alli swung her backpack off her. She was having a hard time setting aside the recent fright as Pluto had done. Rummaging through her bag, Alli pulled out her Cryptids notebook, and began to write a small update. For while they had yet to encounter any real aliens, such rumors could have originated from the guardian Beheeyem. She furthermore questioned what could lie at the end of the temple challenge. What exactly was this paradise?

Pluto eagerly hoped that treasure would be found, but in truth found himself doubting the guardian's word. Was his spaciness simple the result of years of social isolation? Or what is something else? Questioning whether or not he and Alli were being lead on by a mad man, Pluto glanced at his trainer for reassurance. Alli closed her notebook, and placed it back into her backpack before arising.

"Well, he said there was only five challenges. With one riddle down, that means only four to go." Pluto nodded in agreement, and took a small step towards the hallway. "And I think he did say we could back out later if we wanted to." Pluto took a few more steps towards to hall, and turned back while waiting for his trainer expectantly. Alli turned a longing glance towards the exit, before stepping forward and joining her Sableye for a strut down the new hallway.

Profile

[Myrrh]

~Waterfall Valley~

Myrrh: Volts wastes no time, as he immediately launches an attack at Surskit, quickly knocking the Pond Skater off its feet. Despite its increased speed, Surskit wasn't able to prepare for the attack. Surskit gets back on its feet and spits out a few bubbles at Volts. The bubbles wobble over slowly, and Volts is able to dodge all but one. The lone bubble merely pops on one of Volts' tail spikes.

The lack of damage done to Volts slightly upsets Surskit. It jumps in the air and fires a beam of bubbles at Volts. The force of the Bubblebeam propels Surkit backwards a few feet. Volts takes a chance, covering himself in a dark aura pursuing Surskit. Volts' tail, being up in the air, gets continuously pelted by the bubbles, but he tackles Surskit before it lands on the ground. Both Pokemon stare each other down breathing heavily.

It soon appears as though Surskit is no longer staring at Volts, or you for that matter. Volts' ears, pick up a noise from behind you, a twig snapping, and turns to see. You turn too, and see a young man, maybe around your age slowly approaching. "Oops! Sorry about that," the man said nervously. "I was at my campsite, and I heard some noise nearby. Thought I'd investigate." Meanwhile, Surskit takes advantage of Volts' distraction to launch another beam of bubbles at the EleSquirrel. "Oh dear. Your Pachirisu is under attack," the man points towards the scuffle.

The bubbles, though still in the shape of a beam, fly slowly; a sure sign that the battle is drawing to an end. What will you do?

Myrrh had a feeling that the battle was not going to end with that last set of attacks, but he was still somewhat disappointed regardless. Volts didn't seem to take too much more damage, but it was obviously tired from all the skirmishes against the Surskit.

The Surskit stopped for a moment, and so did Volts, and Myrrh then realized why. A young man made his way to the three of them. "Oops! Sorry about that," the man said nervously. "I was at my campsite, and I heard some noise nearby. Thought I'd investigate."

"Oh, hello there. As you can see I'm in a battle against this Surskit here and-"

"Oh dear. Your Pachirisu is under attack." interrupts the young man.

"Ah crap, you're right. Volts, try dodging the Bubble Beam and then attack afterwards with Dig. Then try to follow it up with Iron Tail. We don't have much left, but I don't think Surskit does either. Try to end it here!"

Out of Character: If possible, could you write this adventure as if I still only have one pokemon, Volts does not have an Electric attack, and is still normal colored? If you already have something planned, then by all means go with that.

[jolteonjak]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

Celebii151: With the impending threat of attacks from Team Plasma Dr. Astrid recruits you to help defend the Research Center. "That's wonderful of you to help," she responds to you. Suddenly she stops running. She turns around to face the trees once again. "Primeape! I beg of you to protect the Pokémon here if you see any Team Plasma member in here!" She continues running until the both of you are at the door leading into the Center. "We're at the entrance to the Research Center. Once we enter I'll seal this door shut, so no one from Team Plasma can get in to the Pokémon play area." She watches you, Nahkriin, and her Magneton enter, and she follows. The door closes, and she enters a code on the number pad near it to seal it shut. "There. By the way, your Druddigon is very impressive. She'll be a big help. The East Wing is this way. Please follow me," she motions with her arm showing you the way.

"Just so you know what you're fighting for," Astrid begins to speak as you both hasten down the hall towards the East Wing, "this lab does test on Pokémon. Without going into too much detail, we test remedies on Pokémon that are made more naturally. The normal remedies; Antidotes, Burn Heals, and others; are manmade. While they work perfectly fine, we are looking for something more natural, especially in areas like the Unova region where berries normally are not found. We're testing new remedies made from berries that cure the same ailments. Regrettably the only real way to test these remedies is to cause the ailments Poison, Paralyze, Burn, Freeze, and Sleep. Other than that the lab is completely safe. There are dozens of Pokémon doctors on hand on any given day, so that if anything does go wrong help is not far away at all.”

The pair and their Pokémon reach a closed door. “As you’ve probably guessed,” Astrid continues, “Team Plasma doesn’t like that the Pokémon are inflicted with the different conditions. Normally they protest and question the employees of the Research Center. I don’t know why they are attacking. They should know this is causing unnecessary stress on the monkey Pokémon.” She begins to enter her security code to open the door. “This is the entrance to the East Wing. There’s another short hallway, and then there’s the cafeteria. There are a few offices along the way. I just want to investigate them to make sure they’re secure.” The door opens. Astrid and Magneton enter the hallway and begin checking out rooms. You happen to peek through an office window to see an impeccably clean office.

All of a sudden you both hear an explosion coming from not too far from you. “They must be in the cafeteria!” You both race to the door to the cafeteria. “Please be careful, both of you,” she warns you as she opens the door.

You look inside to see utter chaos. Along the back wall you see people in black and grey uniforms with shield emblems on their chest along with their Pokémon. They’re all short bladed red Pokémon with a large blade on their head, which also resembles a helmet. All of their Pawniard are attacking the doctors’ and researchers’ own Pokémon in front of you. As you and Nahkriin and Astrid and Magneton enter the cafeteria the doctors and researchers notice you all, and most of them gasp at Nahkriin. Astrid and Magneton run in and lend a hand, or magnet, “Magneton hold them in place with Thunder Wave!” Tendrils of electricity emit from the magnets of the Magnet Pokémon and grab onto three of the Pawniard holding them in place.

“Machop, Karate Chop that Pawniard!” you hear a researcher say.

“Go Hitmonlee, use Rolling Kick!” another researcher orders.

“Elekid, use Cross Chop on the other one!” a doctor orders.

You watch the three Pokémon attack the paralyzed Pawniard, and one by one easily they fall.

“You with Dr. Astrid?” you hear a man ask you. “I’m Joshua her assistant. Thanks for helping us! And sorry for dragging you into this mess at the same time.” Joshua jumps out of the way of an advancing Pawniard. “Electrode, use Rollout!” A large red and white spherical Pokémon rolls by knocking it over.

Suddenly, four Pawniard rush Joshua and Electrode, overwhelming the Ball Pokémon. One of the Pawniard, however, pays for its assault by becoming paralyzed by Electrode’s Static ability. “If you don’t mind, Electrode and I could use a hand here,” Joshua calls out. Now might be good time to lend a hand, or claw.

What will you do?

-------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Due to an oversight on my part, I just discovered Osage had been holding an Ice Gem. I'm not sure for how long, but it will be used up in this update.

Charminions: The addition of Mightyena to the fold certainly made for an inconvenient situation. After surviving a collision of Thunderpunch and Ice Beam, you decided to incapacitate it in order to keep moving on your mission. The Mightyena fired a barrage of small Shadow Balls at both Osage and Pigkey.

Pigkey dodges the Shadow Balls and, by your orders, leaps at Mightyena and attaches herself to its face swiping furiously at the Bite Pokémon’s eyes. Mightyena shook and flailed about in pain trying to throw Pigkey off. When that never happened, Mightyena was able to sense where one of Pigkey’s legs was, and it did what Mightyena do best and crunched down on her leg with its fangs. Pigkey screams out in pain, and she immediately jumps off Mightyena. Luckily for her, she had gotten many good scratches in, and she succeeded in temporarily blinding the Bite Pokémon.

Nidoran makes another attempt at scratching Osage, but Osage is just too quick for her. He runs in with both claws charged with ice energy. The clear Ice Gem he wears glows and breaks up, and the energy contained inside flows into one of his fists. He throws his first punch, which appeared to be much more powerful than usual thanks to the power of the gem. Nidoran takes the first punch and finally the second, although the second is not at as powerful as the first. Nevertheless, she’s thrown off her feet. As much as she tries to get up, she just cannot. Nidoran lay on the ground, fainted from her injuries. Osage gains one level!

Seeing the Poison Pin Pokémon on the ground, Pigkey turns her already thundery charged fist on Mightyena. It never saw the attack coming, and it took the full force of the punch. The stored electricity also paralyzes the canine; it won’t be going anywhere for a little while.

With both foes taken care of for the time being, Pigkey picks up the scent of the berries. When she gets your attention once more, she points in the direction you should be heading.

What will you do?

--------------------------------------------------------


OkikuMew: With the Black Apricorns secured in the box, you move on to find your next group of Apricorn trees. Max leads the way, with your suggestion, to the left. You pass by more Black Apricorn trees, and you can see that some birds have taken nest within some of the trees. You see some Tranquill, who watch as you pass by. In another tree nearby you see a Staravia making a nest with some grass and twigs it found.

Eventually the Black Apricorns give way to Pink Apricorns, and you keep walking along the path. The number of Black Apricorn trees seems to outnumber the Pink ones, since you only see a few rows of them. All kinds of bird Pokémon fly around; some to see who has invaded their territory, some looking for food. Out of the corner of your eye you notice a Pidgeotto flying by, seemingly following you.

By the time you discover the Yellow Apricorn trees, the Pidgeotto that was circling you previously returned to its nest. For some reason, there are even fewer trees with Yellow Apricorns; in fact, you only count four nearby. You immediately start on the nearest tree to you. There are a few choices in this tree, all of which involve some climbing. Luckily the tree looks as though it can be easily climbed. There are two that are on different sides of the tree, but they are hanging near some large sturdy branches. The last one, for this tree, is much higher.

What will you do?

Special Instructions – It’s that time again. Once again, this is just a better way to help me decide how to proceed. Also, with these questions, there are definitely more than one possible answer. Please answer with either English or Japanese names where applicable.

1. If it were possible to use one now, which Pokémon would be an easy catch, using a Moon Ball?

2. Name two trainers from the anime who, given their rosters, would have benefited most from a Moon Ball.

3. If the effects of the Moon Ball were ever expanded to include Pokémon who have any kind of relevance to the moon, name two Pokémon who would likely be included.
------------------------------------------------------

The Mystic Jungle

~Forgotten Ruins~

Allishinca: Knowing you weren’t going to face your doom at the hands of Beheeyem, you thought for a moment if you really wanted to continue with the challenge. Pluto was certainly looking forward to it. You wondered, though, just how mentally stable this Cerebral guardian was. To be safe you took some notes in your notebook about the encounter.

Telepathically you hear, “I can assure you, my dear, that although I am admittedly lonely, I am quite sane. Oh, and yes I am a telepath.” Its message startled you a bit, but nevertheless, you and Pluto continue on in the temple for the next challenge.

You both enter the hallway and start walking down it. With the hall already fully lit your mind is a little more at ease. Immediately walking in, you feel a wave of warmth; and as you continue walking the air gets even warmer. In the distance you can start to make out the next room. It’s giving off an orange glow, and it makes you wonder if the walls are still white or if they’re orange. You hear the door behind you rumble to a close, and because of that, it gets a little warmer now. As you make your way closer to the next room, the orange glow begins to flicker a little. When you finally enter the room, you can see that the walls look like they’re on fire. The heat isn’t as intense as you would expect, but it is warm in the room. There is no smoke filling the room either. In the far corner, Pluto alerts you to a skeleton lying on the ground.

“Splendid!” Beheeyem yells out with a snap it also appears. “I’m so glad you could join me here. Let’s get the lights,” Beheeyem looks around. “Oops I must have left them on from the last challenge.” All of a sudden you hear the door behind you slowly close shut. “Don’t worry, you won’t suffocate,” there’s a pause in its voice. “At least I don’t think you will.” Beheeyem looks around the room and spots the skeleton. “Don’t mind him.” Beheeyem waves its hand at the skeleton, and it disappears. “So, what brings you here?” It tilts its head sideways at you waiting for an answer, but before you could answer. “That’s right you’re in the middle of a challenge.” Beheeyem thinks for a moment. “Try this one.

I like it extremely cold,
and I signal heavy snow.
I live on snow and ice.
Living together we're nice.
If I live with you, your home will grow.

“Once again, just yell it out. I’m out of here; it’s way too warm!” Beheeyem disappears with that familiar snap.

What will you do?

----------------------------------------------------------

~Waterfall Valley~

Myrrh: Introductions with the new bystander would have to wait as the battle with the relentless Pond Skater nears its end. The BubbleBeam attack, now floating through the air, was easily dodged by Volts as he begins to dig underground. Whether this was a more clever way to dodge or just an attack, Surskit does get out of the way in time; as Volts pops out of the ground expecting to knock what little health remains out of the bug.

“Oh, you were so close!” the bystander remarks disappointed. “Are you going to try catching it?”

Surskit jumps in the air spinning, once again firing glowing stars towards Volts. “My, what an interesting use of Swift,” he says.

The stars pelt the ground around Volts, causing very little damage. The EleSquirrel Pokémon begins charging towards Surskit with his tail charging, glowing silver. Surskit, standing there shaking on its four legs, prepares for the hit by blowing a single bubble. With his tail fully charged, Volts leaps and swings it like an iron crowbar at Surskit popping the bubble and also knocking Surskit back slamming into a tree.

“Wow that was sure strong!” says the bystander. “It looks like that was it for Surskit.” You and Volts both look over at Surskit who is lying on the ground knocked out. Volts, the Pachirisu gains a level!

“By the way, my name is Aubrey,” he extends his hand to shake yours. “I came out here to get some contest training done and perhaps to catch a new Pokémon for my team. You are?”

The Surskit stirs and tries to stand up, but in the end it can’t.

What will you do?


OOC: If I were more consistent with my updates this would have happened before Halloween, so it’s not an issue. But please do try to think of a way to introduce him recolored. Let me know if you need help, and I’ll see what I can do with the story. An idea just popped in my mind about how it could happen.

[Myrrh]

~Waterfall Valley~

Myrrh: Introductions with the new bystander would have to wait as the battle with the relentless Pond Skater nears its end. The BubbleBeam attack, now floating through the air, was easily dodged by Volts as he begins to dig underground. Whether this was a more clever way to dodge or just an attack, Surskit does get out of the way in time; as Volts pops out of the ground expecting to knock what little health remains out of the bug.

“Oh, you were so close!” the bystander remarks disappointed. “Are you going to try catching it?”

Surskit jumps in the air spinning, once again firing glowing stars towards Volts. “My, what an interesting use of Swift,” he says.

The stars pelt the ground around Volts, causing very little damage. The EleSquirrel Pokémon begins charging towards Surskit with his tail charging, glowing silver. Surskit, standing there shaking on its four legs, prepares for the hit by blowing a single bubble. With his tail fully charged, Volts leaps and swings it like an iron crowbar at Surskit popping the bubble and also knocking Surskit back slamming into a tree.

“Wow that was sure strong!” says the bystander. “It looks like that was it for Surskit.” You and Volts both look over at Surskit who is lying on the ground knocked out. Volts, the Pachirisu gains a level!

“By the way, my name is Aubrey,” he extends his hand to shake yours. “I came out here to get some contest training done and perhaps to catch a new Pokémon for my team. You are?”

The Surskit stirs and tries to stand up, but in the end it can’t.

What will you do?


OOC: If I were more consistent with my updates this would have happened before Halloween, so it’s not an issue. But please do try to think of a way to introduce him recolored. Let me know if you need help, and I’ll see what I can do with the story. An idea just popped in my mind about how it could happen.

It seemed that now Myrrh had a spectator watching the battle between Volts and Surskit along with him. At least it wasn't a crowd of people or anything. Volts had just missed with its Dig attack when the spectator offered a bit of commentary.

“Oh, you were so close!” Myrrh simply said "Damn..." under his breath. The spectator added, “Are you going to try catching it?”

Without really turning to him to speak, Myrrh told him "Um, yeah, I guess I will. This Surskit seems really resilient and should be a good addition to my team. Plus, I haven't captured a wild pokemon before, so why not now?"

The two continued to watch the battle, though not much was left. Surskit's attacks didn't seem to pack anymore punch and it was unable to defend at all, which allowed Volts to smack it hard with its Iron Tail and send it flying to a tree.

“Wow that was sure strong! It looks like that was it for Surskit.” Exclaimed the spectator.

"YES! I think you're right, I think it's finally over." Myrrh finally directed his full attention to the spectator, seeing as the Surskit is unlikely to be going anywhere.

"My name is Aubrey,” he introduces himself and offers his hand to shake Myrrh's. “I came out here to get some contest training done and perhaps to catch a new Pokémon for my team. You are?”

Myrrh took his hand and then said, "Hello, my name is Myrrh. Sorry I wasn't paying that much attention to you earlier, this Surskit has been causing the both of us all kinds of grief. That over there is my Pachirisu, Volts. You don't have to move or anything if you want," He turned and said to his partner "you must be rather tired. So you're a contest coordinator, or whatever they are called? That's cool. Oh, I should go ahead and catch that Surskit huh? I wasn't too keen on capturing it, but the little bugger kinda grew on me during the battles..."

Myrrh took out a Pokeball (3rd out of 3 bought from the set, 3rd out of 13 total in inventory) tossed it at the Surskit, and hoped for the best.

EDIT: OOC; Don't know how to claim levels......claiming Volts' level up >.>

[myahoo]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

Myahoo: You watched as Wildfire entered the fray. Being a fraction of Boldore's size, he wasn't doing too bad. He was able to land a couple hits and disorient the Ore Pokemon. The introductions between you and Chloe were brief, and she immediately began attending to your leg. Chloe momentarily left the battle in your hands as she began to wrap your leg with a make-shift splint. She ordered Wings to protect the frightened Pidove.

Boldore took the opportunity to knock out three birds with two stones, and blasted two rocks towards the trio of birds. Wings was prepared, though, and broke through the first rock with its Steel Wing attack. At the same it cried out, which seemed to cause the Pidove to wake up, and they were able to fly out of the way just in time. They flew up next to Wings. Wings spoke once more, and the Pidove both nodded.

Meanwhile, you had given your own orders to Wildfire to distract the strange colored Rock type. You secretly gave him instructions to lure Boldore into the lake. "That's a good idea, Melissa," Chloe remarked while she wrapped your leg. "That should weaken Boldore immensely." Wildfire understood your orders and ran off into battle. He ran up to Boldore and got between it and the birds. Immediately he began to blow smoke at it, setting up a screen to further reduce its accuracy. Looking proud of himself, Wildfire admired the cloud of smoke surrounding Boldore not moving. All of a sudden, from that very cloud of smoke a bright flash of light fired out from Boldore. The light cannon hit Wildfire knocking him off his feet, causing some damage, albeit not as much as others due to his typing.

With the first part of your plan in place, Wildfire began to work on the second part. He started focusing on the smoke screen trying to pick Boldore out in the haze. When he spotted enough of the Ore Pokemon to make a clear shot, his eyes glowed using extra senses to blast Boldore. The force of the psychic energy pushed Boldore back only a few feet due to its mass. This enraged Boldore, and it summoned numerous stones that orbitted along the edge of it. Boldore sprayed the stones in an arch at all of you. Wildfire was able to dodge the rocks that soared at him. Wings, seeing that you and Chloe weren't going to be moving very quickly, flew in front of you both and created a protective barrier between you and the rocks causing no damage to anyone behind the Staravia. The two Pidove, who didn't follow Wings, were in the path of a couple of the stones. All of a sudden a flash of white light entered the cavern speeding towards the Pidove. The third Pidove had returned to the cave. By summoning the power of the sky it attacked the stones destroying each one before they could strike either of the remaining Tiny Pigeons.

In a last effort to push Boldore towards the lake, Wildfire jumped in the air flipping his body while in the air arms stretched out. At the same time, his body glowed a pale green color summoning the power of nature to attack Boldore. This power summoned some nearby loose rocks to slide through the air sideways each pelting Boldore's armored body for damage, also pushing it further back to the lake edge.

At long last, Chloe finished attending to your leg. "I did the best I could," she started to explain. "Try standing on it; hopefully it won't hurt too much. I suggest you seek medical attention immediately." Chloe stood up and quickly surveyed the battlefield. "Look it's almost in the lake. If we combine our efforts, we may get it in there together." Wings and the three Pidove flew by and landed near the two ladies. "Ok Wings give it another Hidden Power (Water)."

What will you do?

Melissa smiled briefly at Chloe's remark, wincing a little as the other trainer continued to wrap up her leg. "Well, Wildfire's a lot smaller than that Boldore and you're at a type disadvantage and it's just sitting there, so I figured why not use it," the brunette replied, watching Wildfire's Smokescreen go up with a some satisfaction. At least, until Wildfire was blasted down by a Cannon's Flash. She winced in sympathy.

Wildfire then used Extrasensory, but that only enraged the Boldore, causing it to pull up Stones along the Edge of its personal bubble and then toss them towards her and Chloe. Melissa couldn't help her startled yelp, which caused Wildfire a moment's distraction as he glanced over to see what was going on. Thankfully, Chloe's Wings Protected them and Wildfire was able to refocus on the Boldore. Melissa, on the other hand, noticed when the third Pidove they'd found returned in a brilliant Attack from the Sky to protect its friends.

At the sound of a Rock Slide, though, she turned back to see Wildfire's Naturepower pushing the Boldore slowly towards the lake's edge. Simultaneously, Chloe finished wrapping Melissa's leg, saying, "I did the best I could. Try standing on it; hopefully it won't hurt too much. I suggest you seek medical attention immediately." Melissa bit back the first response that came to mind and thanked Chloe for the help before turning back to survey the field too. She absently nodded at Chloe's suggestion to combine their attacks, sorting through Wildfire's attacks to find one that would allow him to push the Boldore back without falling into the lake himself. Finally settling on a course of action, she said, "Alright, Wildfire. Let's Dig underneath it to try to destabilize the ground it's standing on. Then, once you pop out to hit it, use it as a springboard and Quick Attack back here, so you won't fall into the water." Her Cyndaquil shuddered at the mention of falling into the water and nodded vehemently. He did not want to be anywhere near that lake when his opponent entered it.

[jolteonjak]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

Myahoo: The blue watery orbs of energy produced by Wings all pelt Boldore for some decent damage. Naturally, the Ore Pokémon would back up slowly while taking that damage, but it sensed it was getting dangerously close to the lake. It stopped backtracking just before falling in the lake.

After receiving his instructions, Wildfire ran out closer to Boldore, and began scratching and tearing at the ground, trying to dig his way to the alternate-colored Pokémon. Boldore, seeing how close its attackers were getting, started blasting rocks at Wings and Wildfire. Wildfire easily dodged, as he was almost fully underground by the time the attack found its way to him. Wings was able to dodge most of the rocks too, but one of them did strike him in the chest successfully knocking the Staravia back a couple yards.

Wings flew over by you and Chloe awaiting his next instructions from the intrepid trainer. “Wings, watch the ground for Wildfire to emerge. When he does,” she reached into her bag and removed a small red berry and tossed in the air near Wings, “use Natural Gift with this Chople Berry at the same time as Wildfire. Hopefully that will push Boldore far enough and into the pond. Wings caught the berry and nodded at Chloe.

The three Pidove, hearing Chloe’s and your plan, looked at each other, spoke briefly amongst each other, and they took flight as well also watching for Wildfire. Boldore, meanwhile, fired one rock at Wings, hoping it would smack the Starling Pokémon down to the ground. Wildfire emerged from his tunnel to attack Boldore, spinning in the air to strike feet first. Seeing this Wings munched on the Chople Berry quickly and started charging at Boldore, now beginning to glow an orangey color beaming with Fighting energy. Seeing this, the Pidove began flapping their wings rapidly sending strong gusts at the Ore Pokémon. When Wings and Wildfire both assault Boldore, one of the Pidove switch attacks from Gust to Air Cutter sending sharp wind blades at Boldore.

At the moment of impact with Boldore, Wildfire quickly leapt out of the way as if to begin an attack on another foe; but instead he returned to your side and hid by your feet. The force of all these attacks, knocked Boldore back just enough that it lost its footing, and finally, it fell into the lake.

“Finally,” Chloe exclaimed, “it’s over!” She watched Wings and the Pidove flying around the cavern in celebration. She turned to you, “Thank you for your help, Melissa. I’m sure the Pidove appreciate it too. If you’d like I can heal Wildfire’s injuries too. I’ll be tending to Wings,” she sat down on the rock next to you and took out her first aid kit. Wings flew over to the both of you and landed near Chloe. “What drew you to the cave anyway if you don’t mind me asking?”

Suddenly you started to hear a muffled rhythmic rumbling coming from the lake. Chloe sprang from her seat to see what was happening. The surface of the lake began to get choppy. By the fourth rumble, you could see what the cause was. Boldore was trying hard to get out of the lake. “It must be using Rock Blast to propel itself out! I can’t believe it’s still active,” Chloe said disappointed. With one last blast, Boldore burst out of the lake. It turned to face you and Chloe swaying back and forth. The gems began to glow gathering power. Before it could do anything, however, Boldore’s legs gave out; and it fell to the ground exhausted, passed out.

Seeing this opportunity, Chloe takes a black and white Pokeball with blue spots out of her backpack. She throws the Heavy Ball at Boldore to capture it. When the ball hit Boldore, it opened and absorbed the Ore Pokémon into its white light. The ball closed up and dropped to the ground shaking. Finally the capture mechanism dinged signaling to Chloe that the capture was successful. “Wow! I caught it,” she exclaimed.

The three Pidove, meanwhile, landed on the ground near you. Two of them were speaking to each other, and it sounded like they were having an argument. The third one looked at the other two, worried. Whatever the two of them were arguing about must have been upsetting to one of them because that Pidove became louder as the argument continued.

“What are they fighting about, I wonder?” Chloe asked while she was spraying a potion on Wings. “It’s starting to distract me.” She sprayed Wings a couple extra times on the chest where he took the Rock Blast attack, and then she was done. “Here, I can treat Wildfire for you then help you out of the cave if you’d like.”

What will you do?

------------------------------------------------------

The Mystic Jungle

~Waterfall Valley~

Myrrh: With the battle finally over, all that remained was the decision to capture the Surskit. After a quick chat with Aubrey about this decision, you choose to make the capture. You toss the Pokeball at Surskit, like most trainers would do, and the ball clicks open at contact with the Pond Skater. A light engulfs Surskit, who is then absorbed into the Pokeball. The ball shakes once.

“Hello, my name is Myrrh,” you turn to say to him. “Sorry I wasn’t paying that much attention to you earlier. This Surskit has been causing the both of us all kinds of grief.” The Pokeball shakes a second time.

“No worries mate. I’ve heard stories of the cave-dwelling Pokémon around here being a little mischievous and helpful at the same time. I was talking to another traveler who told me a Yanma brought her some fruit and berries after it caused a loose rock on a cliff to fall off and nearly crush her,” Aubrey explains. He looks over at the Pokeball you threw at Surskit.

“I think you got it,” Aubrey says in anticipation. The ball shakes one final time, and then you hear a ding. The Level 6 Female Surskit remains inside her Pokeball waiting for her new trainer to pick her up.

“Congratulations on your first capture!” he says to you. “I have a Surskit and Masquerain myself. They are wonderful in contests. Yes, I am a coordinator. Do you have any interest in contests?” He looks at Volts, “Your Pachirisu, I mean Volts, looks tired. If you’d like you can come rest at my camp for a little while. It’s just this way.”

You’ve been given a choice. Will you accompany Aubrey to his camp, or will you go your own way?

What will you do?


OOC – Congratulations on your capture! Once you reply to this update, you will have unlocked the Egg House for your use. Be sure to link to your reply when you go collect your first egg.

[Myrrh]

The Mystic Jungle

~Waterfall Valley~

Myrrh: With the battle finally over, all that remained was the decision to capture the Surskit. After a quick chat with Aubrey about this decision, you choose to make the capture. You toss the Pokeball at Surskit, like most trainers would do, and the ball clicks open at contact with the Pond Skater. A light engulfs Surskit, who is then absorbed into the Pokeball. The ball shakes once.

“Hello, my name is Myrrh,” you turn to say to him. “Sorry I wasn’t paying that much attention to you earlier. This Surskit has been causing the both of us all kinds of grief.” The Pokeball shakes a second time.

“No worries mate. I’ve heard stories of the cave-dwelling Pokémon around here being a little mischievous and helpful at the same time. I was talking to another traveler who told me a Yanma brought her some fruit and berries after it caused a loose rock on a cliff to fall off and nearly crush her,” Aubrey explains. He looks over at the Pokeball you threw at Surskit.

“I think you got it,” Aubrey says in anticipation. The ball shakes one final time, and then you hear a ding. The Level 6 Female Surskit remains inside her Pokeball waiting for her new trainer to pick her up.

“Congratulations on your first capture!” he says to you. “I have a Surskit and Masquerain myself. They are wonderful in contests. Yes, I am a coordinator. Do you have any interest in contests?” He looks at Volts, “Your Pachirisu, I mean Volts, looks tired. If you’d like you can come rest at my camp for a little while. It’s just this way.”

You’ve been given a choice. Will you accompany Aubrey to his camp, or will you go your own way?

What will you do?


OOC – Congratulations on your capture! Once you reply to this update, you will have unlocked the Egg House for your use. Be sure to link to your reply when you go collect your first egg.

Myrrh seemed to still be a bit uninterested in the Surskit, seeing as he wasn't fully paying attention to the pokeball, but he figured he might as well converse with Aubrey while the Surskit struggles with the Pokeball.

"Huh, really? How nice of that Yanma. Now that you mention it, at one point the Surskit seemed to be leading us to something, but it could have just been to ambush us or something." Aubrey had just told Myrrh about someone he had met here earlier, who had been injured and then helped by the very same pokemon. Myrrh then noticed Aubrey look towards the pokeball.

"I think you got it." He was right, the pokeball shook one last time before it finally settled and dinged. Surskit was now Myrrh's. "Congratulations on your first capture!" Added Aubrey.

"Yes, this is so cool! A real capture in a place like this, I'm feeling a lot better about this Surskit now! And thank you."

"I have a Surskit and Masquerain myself. They are wonderful in contests. Yes, I am a coordinator. Do you have any interest in contests?”

"Hm, well I never really thought about participating in any, but I am interested in the whole thing in general. Maybe sometime I can watch a few." Myrrh noticed Aubrey now looking at Volts.

“Your Pachirisu, I mean Volts, looks tired. If you’d like you can come rest at my camp for a little while. It’s just this way.”

"Ah yes, Volts. Myrrh started walking over to his tired friend and picked him up. "You did great, you can take it easy for now." Volts smiled and relaxed in Myrrh's arms, it was rather tired out. He went to pick up the pokeball next. "You also battled hard. I hope you can grow stringer with us." He added Surskit's pokeball to his belt, right next to Volts'.

Finally he turned back to Aubrey. "Hm, I guess seeing as the only two pokemon I have with me are pretty tired it would be a good idea to rest for a while. If you really don't mind, lead the way please."

[myahoo]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

Myahoo: The blue watery orbs of energy produced by Wings all pelt Boldore for some decent damage. Naturally, the Ore Pokémon would back up slowly while taking that damage, but it sensed it was getting dangerously close to the lake. It stopped backtracking just before falling in the lake.

After receiving his instructions, Wildfire ran out closer to Boldore, and began scratching and tearing at the ground, trying to dig his way to the alternate-colored Pokémon. Boldore, seeing how close its attackers were getting, started blasting rocks at Wings and Wildfire. Wildfire easily dodged, as he was almost fully underground by the time the attack found its way to him. Wings was able to dodge most of the rocks too, but one of them did strike him in the chest successfully knocking the Staravia back a couple yards.

Wings flew over by you and Chloe awaiting his next instructions from the intrepid trainer. “Wings, watch the ground for Wildfire to emerge. When he does,” she reached into her bag and removed a small red berry and tossed in the air near Wings, “use Natural Gift with this Chople Berry at the same time as Wildfire. Hopefully that will push Boldore far enough and into the pond. Wings caught the berry and nodded at Chloe.

The three Pidove, hearing Chloe’s and your plan, looked at each other, spoke briefly amongst each other, and they took flight as well also watching for Wildfire. Boldore, meanwhile, fired one rock at Wings, hoping it would smack the Starling Pokémon down to the ground. Wildfire emerged from his tunnel to attack Boldore, spinning in the air to strike feet first. Seeing this Wings munched on the Chople Berry quickly and started charging at Boldore, now beginning to glow an orangey color beaming with Fighting energy. Seeing this, the Pidove began flapping their wings rapidly sending strong gusts at the Ore Pokémon. When Wings and Wildfire both assault Boldore, one of the Pidove switch attacks from Gust to Air Cutter sending sharp wind blades at Boldore.

At the moment of impact with Boldore, Wildfire quickly leapt out of the way as if to begin an attack on another foe; but instead he returned to your side and hid by your feet. The force of all these attacks, knocked Boldore back just enough that it lost its footing, and finally, it fell into the lake.

“Finally,” Chloe exclaimed, “it’s over!” She watched Wings and the Pidove flying around the cavern in celebration. She turned to you, “Thank you for your help, Melissa. I’m sure the Pidove appreciate it too. If you’d like I can heal Wildfire’s injuries too. I’ll be tending to Wings,” she sat down on the rock next to you and took out her first aid kit. Wings flew over to the both of you and landed near Chloe. “What drew you to the cave anyway if you don’t mind me asking?”

Suddenly you started to hear a muffled rhythmic rumbling coming from the lake. Chloe sprang from her seat to see what was happening. The surface of the lake began to get choppy. By the fourth rumble, you could see what the cause was. Boldore was trying hard to get out of the lake. “It must be using Rock Blast to propel itself out! I can’t believe it’s still active,” Chloe said disappointed. With one last blast, Boldore burst out of the lake. It turned to face you and Chloe swaying back and forth. The gems began to glow gathering power. Before it could do anything, however, Boldore’s legs gave out; and it fell to the ground exhausted, passed out.

Seeing this opportunity, Chloe takes a black and white Pokeball with blue spots out of her backpack. She throws the Heavy Ball at Boldore to capture it. When the ball hit Boldore, it opened and absorbed the Ore Pokémon into its white light. The ball closed up and dropped to the ground shaking. Finally the capture mechanism dinged signaling to Chloe that the capture was successful. “Wow! I caught it,” she exclaimed.

The three Pidove, meanwhile, landed on the ground near you. Two of them were speaking to each other, and it sounded like they were having an argument. The third one looked at the other two, worried. Whatever the two of them were arguing about must have been upsetting to one of them because that Pidove became louder as the argument continued.

“What are they fighting about, I wonder?” Chloe asked while she was spraying a potion on Wings. “It’s starting to distract me.” She sprayed Wings a couple extra times on the chest where he took the Rock Blast attack, and then she was done. “Here, I can treat Wildfire for you then help you out of the cave if you’d like.”

What will you do?

Melissa winced briefly in sympathy as Chloe's Staravia was hit in the chest by the Rock Blast, but she was more anxious about Wildfire pulling off her plan. It would be disastrous if he ended up in the water, after all. However, it seemed like all the other Pokemon were preparing to lend Wildfire a hand, as Chloe ordered Wings to wait for Wildfire to emerge and the Pidove took flight to watch for him too.

After another few moments of tense waiting, Wildfire bursts out of the ground, striking the Boldore feet-first even as the birds unleash their attacks. On impact, the Cyndaquil immediately turns and leaps away, returning to Melissa's side and watching intently as the Boldore is bombarded by the impacts of the birds' attacks. It finally loses its footing and falls into the lake with a splash, allowing relief to sweep through the duo. Wildfire immediately leaps into Melissa's lap and his trainer gathers him into a hug, grinning broadly, as Chloe exclaims that it's over and the birds fly around the cavern in celebration.

The other trainer then continues, "Thank you for your help, Melissa. I'm sure the Pidove appreciate it too. If you'd like, I can heal Wildfire's injuries too. I'll be tending to Wings." She takes a seat nearby and pulls out her first-aid kit, Wings flying over to land near his trainer. "What drew you to the cave anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You're welcome," Melissa replies, shifting a little where she sat. Now that the battle was over, she was really starting to feel how uncomfortable the rock was to sit on with her leg stretched out like it was. With a grimace, she continues, "I was searching for somewhere to ride out the storm after I'd hurt my leg and Wildfire pointed this cave out to me. Then, the Pidove got blown into the cave and Wildfire had gotten worried about them, so we decided to go find them," she related as she watched Chloe care for her Staravia.

Melissa was just about to mention already knowing about Chloe's battle with the Boldore when a rumbling came from the lake, causing Chloe to spring to her feet. Melissa had to resist the urge to copy her, not quite ready to test whether the other trainer's medical skills would hold up, though Wildfire has no such restrictions. He clambers up to the top of Melissa's head and peers over at the lake, describing what he sees. Even without her starter's help, Melissa could see that it was the Boldore struggling to leave the lake.

"It must be using Rock Blast to propel itself out! I can't believe it's still active," Chloe says, disappointed. It finally bursts out of the water and sways with fatigue, Wildfire leaping off Melissa's head to put himself between the wild Pokemon and his trainer and preparing for battle. However, the Boldore ends up collapsing before it can release its attack. Chloe tosses a Heavy Ball at the Pokemon, capturing it with a "Wow! I caught it."

Meanwhile, the three Pidove had landed near Melissa and two of them were engaged in a conversation, though it quickly escalated into an argument. The third one was looking worriedly between the other two, as the argument got louder.

"What are they fighting about, I wonder?" Chloe asked once she'd turned back to treating Wings. "It's starting to distract me." Melissa had to wonder whether the other trainer realized that her Staravia could probably shut the two Pidove up rather quickly had he wanted to. Or, maybe, relay the contents of the conversation to her. "Here, I can treat Wildfire for you then help you out of the cave if you'd like."

"That would be nice," Melissa replied, nudging Wildfire forward on her lap where he'd returned once the Boldore was safely caught. The Cyndaquil eyed the other trainer cautiously, before approaching to be treated. Melissa then slowly levered herself to her feet, still making sure to keep her weight away from her injured leg, and leaned against the wall. The Pidove's sniping was starting to grate on her ears.

"Hey, you two," she said, her voice only the slightest bit sharp. "Could you please put your argument on hold until we get out of this cavern? Your echoes are starting to hurt my ears."

[allishinca]

Allishinca: Knowing you weren’t going to face your doom at the hands of Beheeyem, you thought for a moment if you really wanted to continue with the challenge. Pluto was certainly looking forward to it. You wondered, though, just how mentally stable this Cerebral guardian was. To be safe you took some notes in your notebook about the encounter.

Telepathically you hear, "I can assure you, my dear, that although I am admittedly lonely, I am quite sane. Oh, and yes I am a telepath." Its message startled you a bit, but nevertheless, you and Pluto continue on in the temple for the next challenge.

You both enter the hallway and start walking down it. With the hall already fully lit your mind is a little more at ease. Immediately walking in, you feel a wave of warmth; and as you continue walking the air gets even warmer. In the distance you can start to make out the next room. It's giving off an orange glow, and it makes you wonder if the walls are still white or if they're orange. You hear the door behind you rumble to a close, and because of that, it gets a little warmer now. As you make your way closer to the next room, the orange glow begins to flicker a little. When you finally enter the room, you can see that the walls look like they're on fire. The heat isn't as intense as you would expect, but it is warm in the room. There is no smoke filling the room either. In the far corner, Pluto alerts you to a skeleton lying on the ground.

"Splendid!" Beheeyem yells out with a snap it also appears. "I'm so glad you could join me here. Let's get the lights," Beheeyem looks around. "Oops I must have left them on from the last challenge." All of a sudden you hear the door behind you slowly close shut. "Don't worry, you won't suffocate," there's a pause in its voice. "At least I don't think you will." Beheeyem looks around the room and spots the skeleton. "Don't mind him." Beheeyem waves its hand at the skeleton, and it disappears. "So, what brings you here?" It tilts its head sideways at you waiting for an answer, but before you could answer. "That's right you're in the middle of a challenge." Beheeyem thinks for a moment. "Try this one."

I like it extremely cold,
and I signal heavy snow.
I live on snow and ice.
Living together we're nice.
If I live with you, your home will grow.

"Once again, just yell it out. I'm out of here; it's way too warm!" Beheeyem disappears with that familiar snap.

What will you do?

Alli finished packing her notebook as Pluto entertained a thought of doubt. He was beginning to question the sanity of Beheeyem, while Alli simply followed her Pokemon's lead, blissfully unaware. In between their ears rang out the sentence; "I can assure you, my dear, that although I am admittedly lonely, I am quite sane. Oh, and yes I am a telepath." Alli looked around inquisitively, unaware of the context of the above statement. Pluto stomped his furry paws in agitation, and crossed his long arms. Alli watched her Pokemon amusingly, but did not piece together the conversation that had just transpired.

Alli and Pluto stepped into the corridor with the parallel lit candles. Pluto scurried ahead, with Alli taking up the rear. The light flickering from the candles put Alli at ease, as she picked up her pace and caught up to her partner. There was an intense wave of heat in the hallway. The sudden change of temperature caught Pluto off guard, as he stopped to wipe his brow. The temperature escalated as the duo advanced. A glowing orange square signified the next room, leaving Alli and Pluto questioned the content of the new area.

"It looks like the new room is bright orange!" Pluto did not believe this, as a nervous bought of instinct informed him that the glowing orange was instead something much more hazardous. A gentle shaking notified the group that the entrance behind them was being sealed with a large megalith. With the exit sealed, the warmth of the passageway increased. Up ahead, the orange square began to move, as though an intricate light show was being displayed. This peaked their interest, as Alli and Pluto jogged into the new room. Instead of the plain white walls of the last room, the sides of this one appeared to be alive. They were covered in flames that danced upward, despite not giving off any smoke. Alli and Pluto found the heat in their new surroundings oddly bearable. As the temperature did not alarm her, Alli instead took an interest in the flaming walls. She found beauty in their glimmering movement, but quickly realized how damaging they could be to her precious Cryptids notebook. Taking it out of her backpack, she hugged it closely. Pluto was more deeply affected by the intimidating area, as he had a much strong concept of the danger they found themselves in. He tried hard to shake the nagging instinct to run away from the flames, as he took a quick glance back down the sealed hallway before shaking the thought from his head definitely. Proceeding inward, Alli kept her eyes focused on the flames until she turned away to find her vision blurred with spots. She rubbed at her face while Pluto lead, surveying the new room during his advancement. He balked when identifying a skeleton in the far corner, causing a momentarily blinded Alli to trip over him.

Before they could pick themselves up off of the ground, they heard the cry out of; "Splendid," as Beheeyem reappeared with a snap. "I'm so glad you could join me here. Let's get the lights" Alli opened her eyes and herself stomach down on the floor. Pluto was crushed under her midsection, and fidgeted desperately to get out. With her vision restore, she quickly observed the skeleton lying in the corner as the color ran from her face. "Oops," the Guardian continued, "I must have left them on from the last challenge." Alli attempted to spring herself upwards off of Pluto at the same moment that the room shook from the slab door sliding close. Alli stumbled from the vibrations and fell back onto her bottom, while Pluto shook himself off, happy to be free. "Don't worry, you won't suffocate," there's a pause in its voice. "At least I don't think you will." Alli turned to Beheeyem with fear struck eyes and pointed towards the corner of the room. Beheeyem turned and spotted the skeleton. "Don't mind him." With a wave of his hand, the skeleton vanished. With the source of her fear removed, Alli caught her breathe. The heat in the room had escalated with the shutting of the only exit. Alli began to feel small beads of sweat of appearing on her forehead while Pluto panted with his tongue dangling out. "So, what brings you here?" Beheeyem inspected the duo inquisitively before continuing, "That's right, you're in the middle of a challenge." Alli and Pluto arose and faced the Guardian. "Try this one."

I like it extremely cold,
and I signal heavy snow.
I live on snow and ice.
Living together we're nice.
If I live with you, your home will grow.

"Once again, just yell it out. I'm out of here; it's way too warm!" With a familiar snap, Beheeyem was gone. Alli went over and sat down by Pluto, as she recited the riddle. Swinging her backpack off, Alli attempted to hold on tightly to her Cryptids notebook with one hand while fishing her Pokedex out with her other. She was going over all the Ice Pokemon she could think of when Pluto interjected with a sudden epiphany.

"Wait, wait Pluto! I think I got this one!" Alli set her Pokedex down. "Snover's ability, Snow Warning, brings on heavy snow fall, and it's a tree, so if you bring it home... it grows!" Alli looked on expectantly while awaiting a response from her Pokemon. Pluto only stared at her with a blank expression before letting his face fall forward into his hands. "What?" Pluto sighed, and stuck out a paw with three furry fingers. "Three? Do you mean the third line of the riddle?" Pluto nodded. "Snover live in snowy mountains, so they do live on top of snow and ice!" Pluto shook his head and, wrapping himself up in his long arms, pretended to shiver. "How can you be cold, it's so warm in here!" Alli flung her arms up in exasperation as Pluto's head dropped back as he grumbled loudly. Realizing that the heat was getting to them, Pluto dived forward into Alli's backpack and pulled out a handkerchief. Wrapping himself in it, he continued his shaking act, and grimaced in such a way that displayed his teeth. "Oooh! You mean-" Alli changed her sitting position, bringing her legs forward and crossing them. She then picked up her Pokedex, and searched through it until she found the right one. Pluto disregarded his handkerchief, and hopped up on Alli's knee.

Snorunt appeared on screen, as Alli and Pluto exchanged glances. Pluto nodded confidently, as Alli gave him an unconvinced expression. Pluto stuck out one furry finger. "The first line of the riddle?" Alli thought for a minute before reviewing the Pokedex. "It says here that Snorunt live in regions with heavy snowfall. Oh, and it can apparently withstand temperatures up to minus one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit!" Pluto gave a sol nod, and stuck out two fingers. Alli returned to the screen, and continued; "It says here that if you see a Snorunt at midnight, snowfall will arrive by morning." Pluto gave a third nod, and stuck out a matching amount of fingers. "Well lots of Ice Pokemon live on top of snow since lots of them live in arctic climates!" Pluto gave her an unimpressed look, and pointed at the Pokedex. "It says... Snorunt survives by eating only snow and ice. Oh! So it literately lives on a diet of snow and ice!" Pluto confirmed that this was correct, and stuck out three fingers from one paw, and an extra from his other. "Yeah! It says that Snorunt tend to live in groups of five, and that they survive together in harmony!" Pluto hopped excitedly, and signified five with his two paws. Alli had to read through her Pokedex for a while before unearthing the last bit of text: "Old folklore claims that a house visited by Snorunt is sure to prosper for many generations to come. I get it!" Pluto threw his arms up excitedly as Alli mimicked this motion. "But I still think the answer is Snover." Pluto dashed towards the handkerchief, and again covering himself in it, gave Alli an insubordinate stair. "Okay, okay. We'll go with your answer." Alli flinched as she accidentally brushed up against the metal buckles of her overalls while trying to stand. They had grown hot within the smoldering confined space. "Still, wouldn't it be nice to have Snover's Snow Warning sprinkling us with snow right now?" Pluto agreed, and the two smiled at each other. Their anxiety over the enclosed, heated space washed away with the potential riddle answer. Removing themselves from their group huddle, Alli replaced her items into her backpack as they two of them stood up.

"Mr. Guardian, we think the answer for your riddle this time is... Snorunt!"

Profile

[kaisap112]

The Divine Woodland

Magus Falls

Kaisap112 –

Slip and slides are fun… except when you’re about to DIE. That was the situation facing you: you were slipping and sliding, and then you saw the ride ended with a likely impalement if you didn’t do something. So… you did something! Well, Minori did something, at least; he gathered some Water energy and formed it into a ball between his flippers, then flung it towards the wall OF DEUM. To your surprise, not only do the spikes crumble under the intense Pulse of energy, but the entire wall falls apart! The attack also served to create a wave in your direction, slowing the two of you down until you come to a stop right where the wall used to be. Whew!

Now that you had a moment to catch your breath from the thrill ride you were able to look at the design of the ruins. The wall to your left had pictograms depicting some ancient culture’s lifestyle habits: farming, hunting, that sort of thing. Another wall piques your interest, though; it had an odd shape that was most prominent in the center of it. It looked like some sort of crescent with something sticking out in the middle… pretty weird. Suddenly, you spot a faint glimmer in the water near you, and you slowly walk in the knee-deep water so you could check it out. What was it? You carefully reach down into the water, making sure your clothes don’t get too wet as you do so, and you can’t believe your luck as you pick up an old coin. It had the same symbol as the one on the wall, so they were sure to be related. At the very least, you’d be able to get a nice chunk of change out of this Relic Copper (can be turned in for 1000 coins at the Coin Exchange)! Your Seel then claps in excitement for your find, which accidentally splashes water all over you. You laugh as you tell him to stop, his energy is pretty contagious!

“Noriko!?” That was Gary’s voice! You mount Minori again as his swimming in knee-deep water is slightly faster than you trudging through it, then head into the right corridor where you heard Gary’s voice, and it’s not long before you find him and his Blastoise trapped inside a stone cage. “Good, you’re okay! I was worried with the way you were screaming,” he says to you- Wait, what’s wrong with this picture? Oh yeah, Blastoise should be able to hose his way through pretty much any wall! Why not this one? “You’ve gotta help us,” he continued. “We’re trapped here; Blastoise’s attacks just bounce off of the wall from the inside! There’s a switch in that path to your left that’ll open this up and the way forward. Here, take this,” he says as he holds out his hand through one of the holes for you to grab the ring in it. (It looks a lot better than how it’s drawn, believe me! ^_^’) You notice the ring has the same symbol you’ve seen a couple of times now, and you notice the holes start to close as Gary answers your curiosity: “That symbol’s the one for the Lunar Magi, and this is their temple, so you’ll probably come across some puzzles that deal with the moon. Good luck!” And with that, the holes close completely.

What will Noriko do?

OOC: My deepest apologies for being so late with this reply, there was some IRL university stuff completely stumping my creativity. ;_;

Luckily for Noriko and Minori, the latter quickly formed a Water Pulse and swung it at the approaching wall of pure death. The spikes appeared to be no match against the strong attack, crumbling upon contact – along with the rest of the wall! Noriko had no time to process any of this, only noticing that they had stopped right where the wall was only a moment ago. She let out a small laugh and hugged her Seel partner. It would be a while before she’d get on a slide again! Minori was shaking slightly with very similar thoughts.

After a couple of deep breaths, Noriko had a look at their surroundings. The cave seemed old and somewhat fragile, with what looked like cave paintings covering the walls. The pictures told tales of hunters and farmers, war and peace, deities and common folk. Noriko got off Minori’s back – the water was only knee-deep and the Seel could use a bit of rest. She started inspecting the walls more closely, noticing one that stood out from the rest: it had a crescent-shaped indentation in the middle of it, with something sticking out at the viewer. Noriko started approaching the wall but got distracted by a glimmer from the water nearby. Slowly bending and reaching out to it, she picked up the small object. It was an old coin with a crescent on it that matched the wall’s indentation. Surely this was no coincidence? Minori had swum closer and started clapping happily at the sight of treasure, throwing some water on Noriko in the process. She laughed and hurried to put the Relic Copper in her pocket so as not to lose it. Maybe they’d find some more interesting stuff if they ventured further!

As soon as she had that thought, she heard someone calling her name. “Noriko!?” Gary! Apparently he was alive and had somehow avoided the spiky wall earlier. Noriko mounted Minori again, the Pokémon being capable of swimming much faster than her trying to walk or run through the water. Following the sound, the duo found themselves in front of a cage made of stone – with Gary and Blastoise stuck inside it. “Good, you’re okay! I was worried with the way you were screaming.” Noriko tried to hold a straight face at the Gym Leader’s words, utterly failing at it. This surely wouldn’t impress Gary, or even a regular Trainer. Suddenly she noticed something very odd about the situation presented to her: if Minori could crush a wall of stone, why couldn’t Blastoise do it? Right before she got her mouth open, Gary continued. “You’ve gotta help us. We’re trapped here; Blastoise’s attacks just bounce off of the wall from the inside! There’s a switch in that path to your left that’ll open this up and the way forward. Here, take this!”

Noriko reached out to Gary through the bars of the cage, grabbing the object Gary was handing her: a ring with a crescent insignia on it. Already quite familiar with the image, Noriko opened her mouth to ask what it was – to see the holes between the bars closing! Gary rushed to give some kind of information: “That symbol’s the one for the Lunar Magi, and this is their temple, so you’ll probably come across some puzzles that deal with the moon. Good luck!” With that the holes closed, leaving Gary and his Pokémon imprisoned inside. Noriko squeezed her fingers around the ring. “Minori, we have to get them out of there. Let’s go left; Gary said there’s a switch to open this thing…” Minori nodded with a serious look in his eyes before the two of them started swimming to the appointed direction – but Noriko feared the quest wouldn’t be as easy as just walking up to a switch and flipping it… “Puzzles, huh? Let’s hope the Magi weren’t completely sadistic folks.” She laughed hollowly as Minori picked up the speed.

[OkikuMew]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~
OkikuMew: With the Black Apricorns secured in the box, you move on to find your next group of Apricorn trees. Max leads the way, with your suggestion, to the left. You pass by more Black Apricorn trees, and you can see that some birds have taken nest within some of the trees. You see some Tranquill, who watch as you pass by. In another tree nearby you see a Staravia making a nest with some grass and twigs it found.

Eventually the Black Apricorns give way to Pink Apricorns, and you keep walking along the path. The number of Black Apricorn trees seems to outnumber the Pink ones, since you only see a few rows of them. All kinds of bird Pokémon fly around; some to see who has invaded their territory, some looking for food. Out of the corner of your eye you notice a Pidgeotto flying by, seemingly following you.

By the time you discover the Yellow Apricorn trees, the Pidgeotto that was circling you previously returned to its nest. For some reason, there are even fewer trees with Yellow Apricorns; in fact, you only count four nearby. You immediately start on the nearest tree to you. There are a few choices in this tree, all of which involve some climbing. Luckily the tree looks as though it can be easily climbed. There are two that are on different sides of the tree, but they are hanging near some large sturdy branches. The last one, for this tree, is much higher.

What will you do?

Special Instructions – It’s that time again. Once again, this is just a better way to help me decide how to proceed. Also, with these questions, there are definitely more than one possible answer. Please answer with either English or Japanese names where applicable.

1. If it were possible to use one now, which Pokémon would be an easy catch, using a Moon Ball?

2. Name two trainers from the anime who, given their rosters, would have benefited most from a Moon Ball.

3. If the effects of the Moon Ball were ever expanded to include Pokémon who have any kind of relevance to the moon, name two Pokémon who would likely be included.

As Okiku and Max takes the left path to the trainer's suggestion, they walked pass by quite a few flying-typed Pokémon, including a Staravia that made Okiku thought of her own pre-evolved Staravia, Rawk the Starly. The apricorn trees gradually went from black to pink, to the young woman's worry as it wasn't in her list of what Andersen needed. As they moved deeper in the area, she noticed how the inhabitants were watching her carefully... especially one stubborn-looking Pidgeotto following them around, but thankfully gave up and returned to its nest. Okiku then noticed yellow apricorn trees.

"Sweet, finally a color we need! And we need..." she looked at the list to refresh her memory, "...three of them." She looked more in detail the trees around and took note that there was only four of them around. "...Hopefully there's enough riped 'corns in them..."

She stared at the nearest one, noticing that all the apricorns on it are on tall branches, but at least for two of them the branches themselves looks study and well-placed enough to climb the tree easily. The third one, however, was pretty high up...

"Huh, well that's gonna be something, me who's not very athletic..." Okiku sighed. "But we gotta do what we gotta do! Plus..." she turned her head towards her pokéballs attached to her backpack, "I can always ask for a lending hand; Or wing or... floating curtain thing."

She grabbed two of those pokéballs and threw them in the air.

"Come on out Omenya and Spi!"

In a flash of light, a Shuppet and a Natu pops out of their round "mobile houses". The ghost swirled around his trainer wihle licking his lips, while the bird simply sat down and yawned.

"Gah, Omen, not the time to eat and make me think bad thoughts!" she shooed him away by waving her hand, while Max tried his best to bark him out of it himself.

Omenya complied to both, but quite dissapointed to not getting his favourite snack, his trainer's sad emotions that's lingering in her mind.

"Hey Spi," after Okiku sighed for the close call, "This is the first time you're gonna help us out, right? So I guess I should welcome ya aboard!"

Omenya spin around in place while Max happily barked to greet the Natu, only to get a short and neutral "Nat" out of the psychic type.

"So guys... I know both of you are not great flyers, or at least you Omen only floats around while you Spi can't really tow around something with a lot of weight... I thought you could help me out climbing that Apricorn tree," she pointed at it. "Or at least keep an eye out for me in case that I slip or something. If I do, you guys could team up and push me back on the tree so I don't fall, alright?"

The Shuppet nodded, but the Natu only gazed at the sky.

"Did... you get all that Spi?"

The bird only chirped twice in a careless way, not feeling to be bothered much.

"Okay..." the trainer placed her hands on her hips, wondering if he's really going to help her, or more importantly, if he even listened to her. "Alright then," she started to stretch her arms, "time to climb!"

After warming her body up, she grabbed the lowest branch and slowly started to escalate the tree, in the hopes getting ripped yellow apricorns... without breaking her own neck.



Woo, more quizzes!

1. Pokémon that can evolve with a Moon Stone, which includes Nidoran♂, Nidoran♀, Clefairy, Jigglypuff and Skitty. But strangely enough, Munna can also evolve with a Moon Stone but is not affected by catch rate of the Moon Ball because the pokéball isn't available in its gen...

2. May as she have a Skitty, and Whitney as she have a Clefairy (and could make her normal-typed team bigger with Jigglypuff and Skitty).

3. Lunatone and Cresselia, as both have a moon-shaped body or body part and have a moon-related name.

[Charminions]

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

OOC: Due to an oversight on my part, I just discovered Osage had been holding an Ice Gem. I'm not sure for how long, but it will be used up in this update.

Charminions: The addition of Mightyena to the fold certainly made for an inconvenient situation. After surviving a collision of Thunderpunch and Ice Beam, you decided to incapacitate it in order to keep moving on your mission. The Mightyena fired a barrage of small Shadow Balls at both Osage and Pigkey.

Pigkey dodges the Shadow Balls and, by your orders, leaps at Mightyena and attaches herself to its face swiping furiously at the Bite Pokémon’s eyes. Mightyena shook and flailed about in pain trying to throw Pigkey off. When that never happened, Mightyena was able to sense where one of Pigkey’s legs was, and it did what Mightyena do best and crunched down on her leg with its fangs. Pigkey screams out in pain, and she immediately jumps off Mightyena. Luckily for her, she had gotten many good scratches in, and she succeeded in temporarily blinding the Bite Pokémon.

Nidoran makes another attempt at scratching Osage, but Osage is just too quick for her. He runs in with both claws charged with ice energy. The clear Ice Gem he wears glows and breaks up, and the energy contained inside flows into one of his fists. He throws his first punch, which appeared to be much more powerful than usual thanks to the power of the gem. Nidoran takes the first punch and finally the second, although the second is not at as powerful as the first. Nevertheless, she’s thrown off her feet. As much as she tries to get up, she just cannot. Nidoran lay on the ground, fainted from her injuries. Osage gains one level!

Seeing the Poison Pin Pokémon on the ground, Pigkey turns her already thundery charged fist on Mightyena. It never saw the attack coming, and it took the full force of the punch. The stored electricity also paralyzes the canine; it won’t be going anywhere for a little while.

With both foes taken care of for the time being, Pigkey picks up the scent of the berries. When she gets your attention once more, she points in the direction you should be heading.

What will you do?

The battle continues as several more Shadow Balls fly out of the Mightyena's mouth. Pigkey luckily dodges the onslaught and jumps onto the Mightyena's face, scratching at the dog's eyes several times with her Fury Swipes. The hyena barks out in pain as he flails around to shake Pigkey off. Failing to do so, the dark-type Crunches down on Pigkey's leg, forcing her to let go. "Atleast the big guy is blinded for now," Charm sighs in relief.

The female Nidoran then tries to Scratch Osage again, failing to do so once more. "Nice one, Osage. Now go in for the blow." The Sneasel ignores his trainer's cheers, but does as he's told when both his claws start glowing bright blue. An Ice Gem that he's had fuels one of them as he goes in for a one-two Ice Punch. The Nidoran simply cannot stand up after that deadly combo, leaving a huge grin on Charm's usually stolid face.

On the other side, Pigkey's crackling fist of lightning is left without a Nidoran to punch. "Use that Thunder Punch on Mightyena instead, Pigkey," Charm commands. Pigkey does just that, swinging the fist right into the blinded Mightyena, who squeals in pain as the electricity also paralyzes him.

Charm looks at both of the wild foes, satisfied with the outcome. He then looks at the Pokeball [4/5] he's been holding before chucking it at the knocked out Nidoran. A flash of red light beams out of the ball, attaching to the Nidoran before absorbing her in. The ball shakes back and forth while Charm turns his attention to Pigkey, who seems alerted by the scent of berries. "Alright Pigkey, let's get that berry and return back to Viola."

[Emp]

The Final Battle

Arc Angel: The war had reached a climatic finale, chaos was erupting below and Syrian had revealed his final gambit. The Griseous Orb was suspended over the great valley like a flashing beacon, it’s blinking so erratic it merged into a whitish blur. Your eyes home in on it greedily, relapsing into obsession with the fate of the world at stake. The mesa starts to rumble, striking silence on the splinter group of Shadow Pokémon who hadn’t succumb to Iris’s wrath. The tremor breaks before another aftershock. An Earthquake? Or something huge approaching? With the Renegade Pokémon only seconds away you cast your raw inhibition aside and whip up a plan of action. Valentine receives your mental signal loud and clear, somewhat at odds with your motives but unquestionably loyal. Blades still dripping with amphibian blood, he switches into an en garde position and winces in concentration. Your eyes travel from Valentine’s, which were glazed in Psychic energy, down the plateau toward the relic – as though an invisible lasso had been slung between the two. But nothing happens... The ghostly orb was immune to the warrior’s telekinetic prowess. If you wanted to separate Syrian and the Orb you’d have to do it the hard way.

‘If you want a job done right...’, Valentine starts – a streak of confidence in his tone as he breaks into a run. The knight’s nimble footsteps were impossible to make sound of under the cult leader’s hysteria. He was powerless to stop you both... or that’s what you thought. As Valentine drew his blades over his head Syrian’s laughter falters. The rest seems to play out in slow motion; Gallade lunges forward, Slashing his swords through the cold mist - but Syrian twists his body, dodging both blades by the skin of his teeth. Time spins back to normal and the two are stood inches apart, Syrian’s breathing noticeably accelerated with Valentine showing no sign of weakness. After a pause which seemed to last for minutes, the demon breaks the silence with a guffaw. His dilated pupils became focused again as the sinister aura that struck fear in your heart begins to rush back to him. Valentine wasn’t so fazed, a glare on his face running a lot deeper than today’s battle - he had a vendetta to settle.

“You really think you can overpower me?” Syrian goaded, “try it you filthy creature...” Valentine had grown stronger and more valiant than you could’ve possibly imagined, traits of his shrewd mother pumping through his veins. But some strain of wildness from his father’s side is enough for him to take the bait. With a clench of fist his eyes flicker a blue aura, channelling all his psychic energy into Confusing the demon and driving him to insanity. But Syrian wasn’t bluffing - a flicker of concentration in his pupils as they engaged in a mental duel. Your heart skips a beat as Gallade’s face crinkles in deep meditation, gritting his teeth as he braced his feet firmly in the ground. The invisible forces at odds with each other gave you nothing to go off, but with each low grunt courtesy of Valentine you felt all the hope he’d filled you with start to ebb away. The Blade Pokémon falls to his knees, beads of sweat dripping down his face as the mental link shatters. Your nursing instincts are begging you to rush to his aide, but he raises a hand in protest. A loud gasp pierces the cold air as he grips his chest and falls on his side, eyes wide in shock.

’Stay back’, he splutters. Rolling onto his front he tries to support himself, but the pain in his heart is too much to bear. With realisation that this was the end, he looks on you with a brave stare, ‘There is always hope. That’s what my father taught me...’ Valentine’s eyes close and his grip on his chest slackens. And as though death wasn’t punishment enough, his transformation begins. Darkness spreads like an infection corrupting his heart down the tip of his blades, washing out all colours. With your muscles locked up in grief you can only bear witness as the warrior awakens a dark knight, his eyes a bloodcurdling red without a trace of familiarity. Valentine rises, bent on one knee as he bows to his new master. And then the realisation sinks in that your greatest ally in the war had become your deadliest enemy. Syrian’s laughter is like a kick in the stomach, and with the orb in his clutches and burning brighter than ever everything else seems trivial. The earth starts to drum like a beating heart, and the realisation that the apocalypse was dawning is swept away by the ghostly basilisk ripping through the charred trees at the peak of the valley like matchsticks!

GYAGOHOOO!

It’s cry commanded power, striking an emotion closer to awe than fear. Its gold accents looked silver under the pale moonlight, its red stripes and wing tips glowing luminous scarlet in contrast to its body. Its light broke down on the vale, showing just how effortlessly the goddess had decimated the Shadow army with the dregs of her power. Whilst Iris had kept her end of the bargain, you failed to stop Syrian whose eyes were smouldering with lust, “Giratina! Ruler of the reverse world, I have summoned you! Bend to my will!” You squint toward the far-off dragon, and swear you could see a glint of loathing in its eye. This makes no difference however, the legendary conscious of the Griseous Orb in his possession which its will was bound to. Moments pass and the renegade Pokémon flickers a blinding white. Blinking away the spots you notice the silhouette’s features become more streamlined, its legs morphing into spikes and its broad wings splitting into wispy streamers. As the glow runs off its body you notice its mouth appears more insect-like, its serpentine body kicking off into the air until it was spiralling around the centre of the valley.

“One more thing before we go my pet”, Syrian interrupted with a casual air, “There’s a few individuals in the Shadows which I need you to Force out”. The legend lowered its head in servitude, diving into the vale until he was immersed in pitch black. You crawl toward the cliff edge, eyes sweeping over the drop that the magnificent beast had just phased into. You quickly spot a pair of red eyes stalking through the shadows, first heading toward the crash site for Shaymin before creeping up to the vantage point where you had last seen Iris. It was over in a flash - before it could sink in who the shadow was homing toward next. The same solid-yet-ethereal feeling of the orb overcomes you as the Giratina bounds you tight in one of its streamers, capturing the entire resistance force in one fell swoop. The renegade Pokémon had phased out of the Shadow Force, and was drifting above the vale once again. Your feet dangle weightlessly as you stare down at the thousand-foot drop. Shaymin was bound in the streamer beside you with the other four each restraining one of Iris’s limbs - despite the fact she was too drained to put up a fight. Screaming for help was futile; all you could do now was embrace your fate. The spiralling motion continued until a portal started to churn below, reaching the width of the vale, which explained the choice of location. Syrian’s wicked cackle was back in earshot as he mounted the dragon’s crown and you quickly have to avert your attention from the painful sight of Valentine clinging to his side. You catch sound of Syrian’s signal and Giratina suddenly drops, veering into the vortex at blinding speed and whisking you into oblivion...

The Distortion World

The uncharacteristic scream of Iris rouses you, and the flashes of the day’s events fill your every bone with renewed fear and despair. “Valentine, guard the dead girl. She can not interfere with my sacrifice”, you strain your ears to listen out for more, the rest of your senses quickly returning. You open your heavy eyes to a world nothing like your own... The skies were painted an ominous lavender, with the land hung eerily in space. Dark tree roots rippled through several of the orangey pathways, which seemed to spiral into different directions. A distant cascade seems to be flowing sideways - the laws of physics didn’t apply here. Focusing back on your mission, you spot four of Giratina’s streamers drifting idly... Syrian must have taken Iris! Shaymin tried to wrestle free before cleverly reverting to her smaller Land Forme. You try grabbing its attention but the hedgehog leaps off the back of the basilisk plummeting into the dark abyss to what looked like its death, but you couldn’t be sure of anything here. Your eyes sweep across where you were docked, a pathway leading to a chain of rocks laid out like skipping stones which led out toward the purple yonder. Minutes roll by as you regress further into depression, your own demons keeping the outside world at bay until-

Boink!

If you were still alive the force of that rock would’ve knocked you dead. You look above for a floating platform it could’ve broken off of, but there was nothing but purple space. A strange yet familiar cry grabs your attention ahead. The relic was suspended an inch from your face, covered in strange markings and glowing with purple energy - it was an old keystone! The stone rears back and Reaper spews free from it with a wicked smile. Reuniting with your friend causes a flame within you to ignite, but before he has a chance to cut you free a handsome voice rattles through your skull to stamp out the cinders. ’You really were a selfish bitch, Stacey. Because of you everyone I loved is dead, and now I’m going to make sure you suffer’. Valentine suddenly Teleports into view, balanced on the tip of the passive dragon’s tail with his red cloak billowing against the shifting gravity. His eyes set on you and Reaper as he poises himself to strike, what will you do?

[Dark Searchman]

I'll try to do another end-of-month update for those who reply quick enough, but I'm not making any promises since I've come down with something. If I don't update by New Year's, then I should be able to update soon after that.

The Divine Woodland

Diamond Lake

Meetan – {Your update is here.}


Magus Falls

Kaisap112 –

With Gary and his Blastoise imprisoned behind some magical stone wall that an awesome Hydro Pump couldn’t break, it was up to you and Minori to solve the puzzles of the Temple of the Lunar Magi and find the switch that would free them. You just hoped the puzzles wouldn’t be total brain teasers and stump you for time and eternity. As Minori swims further through the corridor, you see it’s just a straight shot for now, though there is the occasional window on the right side for you to look through. Each window gives its own view of the highly thrilling water slide you were on earlier. One window even shows you there was a fork in the slide; you must’ve been going so fast you didn’t even notice you went through it. From the way it was angled, you figured you took the right fork. For a moment, you were curious about what might’ve happened if you went left, but then you pictured the slide spiraling into nothingness and drove any remaining curiosity out of your mind.

You continue on, noting the prevalence of the Symbol of the Lunar Magi throughout the corridor until you finally reach a room with three more corrridors, one going straight, one to the left, and one to the right, and that didn’t count the one behind you. Great, were you supposed to just pick a path and hope you got lucky? You sigh and casually look up, trying to think about which path to take- oh wait, there’s a message on the ceiling:

Look ever for truth, walk uprightly, and right the downtrodden who have not looked up yet.

I guess that’s supposed to be a clue? Pretty cryptic one, if you ask me.

What will Noriko do?

Eyrie Peak

Posy Field

Jolteonjak & Son_of_Shadows – {@SoS: Well, Livewire wanted Steven back so he could mess with him more, that’s what fueled his determination! =P
@Jolteonjak: I’m going to rule that your using those items was done in between combats this time, but be careful with using items in the future, or they might count as moves and keep you from using attacks.
Oh, and since neither of you specified which Beedrill you wanted to target with your attacks I just RNG’d the targets. In the future, please specify if you want to target a specific Beedrill unless you’re using an attack that hits multiple targets. Thanks! =)}

The mission to diffuse a Beedrill war was successful as you had taken out the invading queen, but there were prisoners of war, one of them being Steven, Joshua’s Munna, and possibly Chad’s Numel, along with a Karrablast and Teddiursa each of you had met earlier. The Teddiursa, by the way, was wailing up a storm; she didn’t want to end up as “honey” for the hungry Weedle of this hive! You two needed to save this damsel in distress, along with the other Pokemon that were in danger. But first things first! Chad felt the need to heal up his Pokemon, so he tosses Wooper a Pecha Berry and an Oran Berry while he gave Heracross a Lemonade to drink. Heracross loved getting full health again, plus a fourth of his energy back, while Wooper was also relieved to have full health back AND not be sick from the poison (throwing up is not a good experience, kids!). Wait, what?

Heh, wow, those must’ve been some particularly potent berries Chad fed his Wooper because he’s evolving! The axolotl’s frills were disappearing, and he changed from one amphibian to another, one much more suited for land mainly because he grew arms and a stronger tail. A Quagsire! The other Pokemon all look on in awe at this event. Aegis especially was impressed; two evolutions, one after the other? Hardly a commonplace event!

Oh yeah, Numel was missing! Chad sends Heracross off to search for his missing comrade while the rest of the team set off to chase the Beedrill down. Joshua calls on Bishop to help out, though he’d need to watch on his energy. The Hoothoot is able to fly within attacking distance and Slash the Air to create a vacuum wave that hits the Beedrill holding the crying Teddiursa for some damage. Quagsire also gets in on the action by using the rest of his Psychic energy to fire another Psybeam at the Beedrill, and it hits the one holding Karrablast on its back causing it to cry out in pain, though it still maintains its hold on its captive. Quagsire tries again with a Scald attack, making sure not to hit one of the victims in the process, and he hits the Beedrill holding Steven right in the back of its head. The Beedrill are in full retreat mode now so none of them attack, but they started to gain some distance as you continued to give chase to them.

Aegis holds his chest as he tries to keep up with you; that crack in his shell was pretty nasty though nothing a stay at a Pokemon Center couldn’t fix. Livewire also had some trouble; he wasn’t going to be able to keep jumping to stay with the group. By the way, you found yourself back in the field, and just in front of the Beedrill was a brown and blue Numel that looked pretty beat up but still somehow able to stand and face a whole swarm coming at him.

What will Chad and Joshua do?

Dead Forest

Toxic Marsh

Ampharos_Dude – {I'd also like it if you posted in size 1. Thanks! =) }

You could hear grunting and growling coming from the other side of the door as the Squirtleman tried to wrestle a mother Linoone and catch her with his bare hands, but you thought he was pretty crazy for doing that (which was highly likely). You weren’t going to take any chances, so you had Venipede guard the door and Curl up to hopefully fortify his Defense enough so the Linoone wouldn’t be able to break the door down too easily. Meanwhile, you still had a Zigzagoon to deal with, so a Grass-type team-up was necessary! Both Pokemon were ready to attack, but Zigzagoon rushed in and Tackled Cherubi again before anyone could do anything. Not to be deterred Cherubi started spitting out Seeds at the speed of a Bullet, along with Cherry. The two attacks are able to damage Zigzagoon, but only two seeds from each attack were able to hit, though one of them did hit a weak spot causing the baby raccoon to yelp in pain from that attack. You could hear the Linoone again and the Squirtleman reacting to her: “Whoa, she almost bit me!” Then you could hear the door get clawed at again as the Linoone’s Slash attack was louder; she was almost through the door! Zigzagoon gained morale off of his mother’s attempt to reach him and targeted Cherubi again with a Tackle attack since he had been damaged more. This time the raccoon bounds right past you, knocking Cherubi off his feet and dealing some decent damage. Cherry waits for Cherubi to get back up before doing another Bullet Seed attack with him, but only one of Cherubi’s seeds and two of Cherry’s seeds hit, one of them hitting the same weak spot from before … and the Zigzagoon gives out one more yelp before slumping onto the stairs. Cherry and Cherubi each gain one level! “Oh man, she’s throwin’ a fit now!” the Squirtleman struggles to say. “I don’t think I can hold the mama fer long, she’s gonna git through that door in a sec! If you’re gonna catch it, catch it now!” Should be easy enough since the Zigzagoon’s knocked out, right?

What will Shiro do?


Missingno. Master –

You had to see for yourself just who the Bullwinkle family was up against. That red and white afro sure made things clear to you: this family was being heckled by Miror B., formerly of Team Cipher, the evil organization in the Orre region that was infamous for totally corrupting Pokemon. That may or may not be what Miror B. is after here, but in any case you did not want to see the family’s lives ruined at his expense. You change the subject to the gratitude of the family. “Sure, we’d love to let you look at our Pokemon!” Shelley said while serving another helping of gumbo to her daughters. “But after we have lunch, okay kids? We’ve got plenty for seconds!” she says as you see Millie and Rebecca look excited about showing off the poisonous pets they have.

**********

Wow, that lunch was delicious! I’m jealous I wasn’t there, though, gumbo is pretty good, and I’d have had some for sure! Oh … sorry Tess, I’ll move on with the story now, heh heh! Aaaaaanyway, you and the family had now finished lunch and were on your way to … THE VENOM BARN! MWAHAHAHAHA- ahem, sorry again, Tess. That’s … not what they named it, by the way, they don’t even have a nickname for it. Oh, no wait, that was what they nicknamed it! Well, the girls, at least, so I’ve got my notes straight! So yeah, you were face to face with the “Venom Barn” which, appropriately enough, had a sign with a Koffing outside the door, so there was no mistaking it: this was where all those uber-cool Poison-types lived. The “Holy Grail of Sludge”, if you will. Oh yeah, almost forgot, YOU WERE WITH ROXIEEE!!! OTL As you go inside, you see that it looks like any other barn, except … well, there was a horribly bad smell that would keep most people out, but hey, you’re used to these smells, right? “Best not disturb our Nidoqueen right now,” Shelley warns you. “This is ‘bout the time they start feedin’ their darlings, and they don’t take kindly to interruptions.” So you locate where the Nidoqueen stables are … and you take note to stay far away from them … for now.

In the meantime, you have a look at the large pen where all the poisonous snakes lived. There were Ekans, Arbok, and a few Seviper, some of them staring and flicking their tongues at you curiously, others just slithering around making some parts of the room appear to be nothing but writhing masses of snake. Millie even goes in and holds a baby Ekans, under the watchful eye of the mother Arbok, of course, who hisses and uses her hood to shoo the girl away once she had enough. Then you hear a distressed “Hauntaaa…” from behind you. You turn around to see the Gaseous Pokemon with separate hands floating around, appreaing to be very worried and as if she was looking for something. You decide to ask Bo and Shelley about it and Shelley calls out, “’Becca? Were you playin’ with the Gastly earlier and didn’t lock the door again?”

“No, ma, not this time! Honest!” you could hear Rebecca’s voice from the other side of the barn.

“Hey, Uncle Bo!” Roxie brings your attention to a special pen that it was explained to you had an ethereal barrier on the door so the Ghost-types couldn’t just phase out of the pen. “Take a look at this!”

You, Bo, and Shelley come to investigate. “Looks like the lock’s been done worn through,” says Bo as he picks it up. “Great, just what we needed. All right! I’m gonna need everybody’s help to find the Gastly, they’re probably still in this barn, but we’ll need a couple a people ta look outside, just in case! Sally, that’ll be you ‘n me! We’ll have my Crobat helpin’ too ta use Supersonic ‘n see if he can hear ‘em! Rest of you search every inch a this barn ‘til you find ‘em!”

“I can help too,” says Roxie. “Don’t worry, we’ll find them!”

“Thanks, Roxie!” says Shelley. “There are five of ‘em, so look hard!”

“Let’s go Sally!” Bo says urgently. “Right behind you, Pa!” Sally chimes in before the father and daughter head outside. Seems like the Gastly are playing Hide and Seek with everyone, including their mother!

What will Keith do? {If you’re willing to help, play Gastly’s Hidden Haunt and post your score along with your reply.}


The Burial Ground

Marion Ette – {Your update is here.}

[Missingno. Master]

I'll try to do another end-of-month update for those who reply quick enough, but I'm not making any promises since I've come down with something. If I don't update by New Year's, then I should be able to update soon after that.

Dead Forest

Toxic Marsh

Missingno. Master –

You had to see for yourself just who the Bullwinkle family was up against. That red and white afro sure made things clear to you: this family was being heckled by Miror B., formerly of Team Cipher, the evil organization in the Orre region that was infamous for totally corrupting Pokemon. That may or may not be what Miror B. is after here, but in any case you did not want to see the family’s lives ruined at his expense. You change the subject to the gratitude of the family. “Sure, we’d love to let you look at our Pokemon!” Shelley said while serving another helping of gumbo to her daughters. “But after we have lunch, okay kids? We’ve got plenty for seconds!” she says as you see Millie and Rebecca look excited about showing off the poisonous pets they have.

**********

Wow, that lunch was delicious! I’m jealous I wasn’t there, though, gumbo is pretty good, and I’d have had some for sure! Oh … sorry Tess, I’ll move on with the story now, heh heh! Aaaaaanyway, you and the family had now finished lunch and were on your way to … THE VENOM BARN! MWAHAHAHAHA- ahem, sorry again, Tess. That’s … not what they named it, by the way, they don’t even have a nickname for it. Oh, no wait, that was what they nicknamed it! Well, the girls, at least, so I’ve got my notes straight! So yeah, you were face to face with the “Venom Barn” which, appropriately enough, had a sign with a Koffing outside the door, so there was no mistaking it: this was where all those uber-cool Poison-types lived. The “Holy Grail of Sludge”, if you will. Oh yeah, almost forgot, YOU WERE WITH ROXIEEE!!! OTL As you go inside, you see that it looks like any other barn, except … well, there was a horribly bad smell that would keep most people out, but hey, you’re used to these smells, right? “Best not disturb our Nidoqueen right now,” Shelley warns you. “This is ‘bout the time they start feedin’ their darlings, and they don’t take kindly to interruptions.” So you locate where the Nidoqueen stables are … and you take note to stay far away from them … for now.

In the meantime, you have a look at the large pen where all the poisonous snakes lived. There were Ekans, Arbok, and a few Seviper, some of them staring and flicking their tongues at you curiously, others just slithering around making some parts of the room appear to be nothing but writhing masses of snake. Millie even goes in and holds a baby Ekans, under the watchful eye of the mother Arbok, of course, who hisses and uses her hood to shoo the girl away once she had enough. Then you hear a distressed “Hauntaaa…” from behind you. You turn around to see the Gaseous Pokemon with separate hands floating around, appreaing to be very worried and as if she was looking for something. You decide to ask Bo and Shelley about it and Shelley calls out, “’Becca? Were you playin’ with the Gastly earlier and didn’t lock the door again?”

“No, ma, not this time! Honest!” you could hear Rebecca’s voice from the other side of the barn.

“Hey, Uncle Bo!” Roxie brings your attention to a special pen that it was explained to you had an ethereal barrier on the door so the Ghost-types couldn’t just phase out of the pen. “Take a look at this!”

You, Bo, and Shelley come to investigate. “Looks like the lock’s been done worn through,” says Bo as he picks it up. “Great, just what we needed. All right! I’m gonna need everybody’s help to find the Gastly, they’re probably still in this barn, but we’ll need a couple a people ta look outside, just in case! Sally, that’ll be you ‘n me! We’ll have my Crobat helpin’ too ta use Supersonic ‘n see if he can hear ‘em! Rest of you search every inch a this barn ‘til you find ‘em!”

“I can help too,” says Roxie. “Don’t worry, we’ll find them!”

“Thanks, Roxie!” says Shelley. “There are five of ‘em, so look hard!”

“Let’s go Sally!” Bo says urgently. “Right behind you, Pa!” Sally chimes in before the father and daughter head outside. Seems like the Gastly are playing Hide and Seek with everyone, including their mother!

What will Keith do? {If you’re willing to help, play Gastly’s Hidden Haunt and post your score along with your reply.}

After the delicious lunch, Keith happily accompanied the Bullwinkles out to the aptly named Venom Barn. Outside the barn was a sign posted, with a Koffing on it. Keith grinned at this nice touch, then entered the barn along with the rest of them. It smelled awful, but this was nothing new to Keith. Between the Weezing, the Gloom, the Skuntank, and the two different Grimer, he was no stranger to stench, and if anything, the stink made him feel more comfortable. As he spotted the Nidoqueen stables, Shelley warned him to not disturb the Nidoqueen, as they would be feeding their young around this time. Keith nodded his acknowledgement of this warning and instead looked at a large pen which housed numerous Ekans, Arbok, and Seviper, all of which Keith was familiar with. Some of them stared at him, flicking their tongues at him, and Keith vaguely wondered whether they could smell Nagini or Marvolo on him. Millie entered the pen and held a baby Ekans, which reminded Keith vividly of when Nagini was an Ekans, and he held her like that.

"Hauntaaa..." came a distressed voice from behind Keith, who spun around and couldn't help but smile as he noticed a Haunter. "Cool," Keith remarked, but quickly his expression turned to concern as it became clear that the Haunter was worried about something. Keith approached Bo and Shelley and asked them about it, at which point Shelly asked Rebecca if she had been playing with the Gastly and neglected to lock the door. Once Rebecca denied having done so, Roxie called out to Bo, bringing Keith's attention to a special pen. It was explained to Keith at this time that the ethereal barrier on the door prevented the Ghost-types from phasing out of their pen. Bo observed that the lock had worn through, and spoke up, asking everyone present for help in locating the Gastly. He stated that there were five of them in total.

"I'll help, too," Keith said once everyone else had chimed in. Indeed, once he had said this, he wandered around, looking everywhere he could, intent on finding as many of the Gastly as he could.

(Gastly's Hidden Haunt score)

[Meetan]

The Divine Woodland

Diamond Lake

Meetan –

Swellow was really close to breaking free and getting out with a frozen lunch, so you and Swinub needed to make sure Surskit saw another day. So Swinub needed to start exploiting the type advantage he had as an Ice-type, and shot a chilling Beam straight into Swellow’s face, dealing a ton of damage. Meanwhile, Surskit was able to get its legs and half of its body free, but Swellow was feeling the pressure. Why deal with ice on its feet when it was close to losing consciousness? Swellow tries to Fly, but Swinub had other plans for Swellow and let loose a Shard of sharp Ice which shatters against the bird’s torso and causes it to drop to the ground unconscious! Swinub gains one level!

Now that Surskit was guaranteed safety from this predator, you could take the time to thaw it out, and with the Bug-type still able to help itself along, it isn’t long before you can shake all the ice off Surskit, though it finds itself very cold and exhausted. Suddenly, you see a man in his 30s dressed in a ranger’s outfit walk up to you. “Hello there!” he calls out to you. “I noticed the Swellow flying around, so I came to check things out. Great job saving that little one, by the way.” As he comes closer, he sees the little water strider shivering. “Hm, it looks pretty cold, and injured too. The outpost is a little far, though Surskit probably stands a better chance there than out here.” Then Surskit’s forehead starts to feel warmer. “Ah, it’s coming down with a fever! And I happen to be out of medicine; do you have something that could help with a fever?”

What will Alice do?

Alice was relieved that, soon enough, the Surskit was thawed out and safe from the knocked out Swellow. However, it was shivering away, and that wasn't good at all. The Ranger's compliment was an ego boost to be sure, but he had noticed the same problem she had, and now was not the best time to gloat.

"Ah..." The young girl slipped the backpack from her shoulder, unzipping it to look through her inventory, Swinub's keen nose at work. "I have a Castelia Cone. But I'm worried it's a bit too cold for that..." She offered, trailing off worriedly, "And I have two berries that can heal Surskit's health. I have a Torchic, too. Maybe the ice cream will be alright if Torchic helps Surskit warm up afterwards?" She considered hopefully, looking down at the pond dweller, "What do you say? Would you be up for it?"

((FML, can't believe I missed your update. It was posted in bloody November as well! I guess nothing can be done about it! And here're my stats.))

[kaisap112]

Magus Falls

Kaisap112 –

With Gary and his Blastoise imprisoned behind some magical stone wall that an awesome Hydro Pump couldn’t break, it was up to you and Minori to solve the puzzles of the Temple of the Lunar Magi and find the switch that would free them. You just hoped the puzzles wouldn’t be total brain teasers and stump you for time and eternity. As Minori swims further through the corridor, you see it’s just a straight shot for now, though there is the occasional window on the right side for you to look through. Each window gives its own view of the highly thrilling water slide you were on earlier. One window even shows you there was a fork in the slide; you must’ve been going so fast you didn’t even notice you went through it. From the way it was angled, you figured you took the right fork. For a moment, you were curious about what might’ve happened if you went left, but then you pictured the slide spiraling into nothingness and drove any remaining curiosity out of your mind.

You continue on, noting the prevalence of the Symbol of the Lunar Magi throughout the corridor until you finally reach a room with three more corrridors, one going straight, one to the left, and one to the right, and that didn’t count the one behind you. Great, were you supposed to just pick a path and hope you got lucky? You sigh and casually look up, trying to think about which path to take- oh wait, there’s a message on the ceiling:

Look ever for truth, walk uprightly, and right the downtrodden who have not looked up yet.

I guess that’s supposed to be a clue? Pretty cryptic one, if you ask me.

What will Noriko do?

Minori swam along the corridor with Noriko riding him in silence. The corridor was straight, but a bit cold and creepy as much as the mysterious ruins aroused her curiosity. Noriko looked at the walls, noticing a window looking at the Waterslide of Utter Horror the young trainer was more than willing to forget about. There were more windows further down and as the duo swam past them they took note of the waterslide forking – they had been a bit too busy being scared to death and nearly dying to see it themselves. Noriko and Minori had apparently gone down the right path earlier, and Noriko wondered for a brief moment how things would have turned out if they had gone left. It probably wasn’t anything good, most likely more Walls of Doom and other death traps. Or perhaps there would’ve been endless nothingness, with Noriko and Minori sliding into infinity…

Okay, bad train of thought. Minori stopped, almost as if on cue. They had been swimming along the corridor, following all the signs of Magis, but apparently they weren’t going to get to the switch that easily. They had arrived in a room with three ways to proceed: one on the left, right and in front of them straight forward. “Oh for Arceus’ sake… This is just brilliant. Any ideas, Minori?” The Seel shook his head, just as troubled by this predicament. Noriko let her head drop back, with her eyes closed, trying to think of a solution. Maybe ‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe’ could work? She opened her eyes – and saw text up on the ceiling. Oh. Well, that’s awfully convenient. Noriko wasn’t about to complain though, instead busy reading:

Look ever for truth, walk uprightly, and right the downtrodden who have not looked up yet.

“Alright. All the rights are kind of making me lean that way, but…wait. I think I got this.” Minori looked up at his trainer with a quizzical look. “Minori, let’s head straight forward. I have this nagging feeling that we’re not done with forking rooms yet…” Minori started quietly swimming forward, deciding to trust his sometimes confusing trainer to make the right calls.