Encounter in the Dark Forest.

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Having explored several of the other areas around Grassveil Town, Brian the Chimchar had asked some people around town about any other location closeby that he hadn't heard about. After hearing one of the pokemon in the town talk about a dangerous dark forest by the name of Shadowhue, Brian's curiousity took hold of him and ended up he eventually ended up in the forest himself.Coming from the bright and bustling Grassveil Town, to the calming and relaxing Small Pond, and the bright berry filled areas of Pecha Forest, the Shadowhue Forest contrasted in a jarring way at first. The tree's seemed to stretch into the sky itself, seeming to be nearly twice as tall, if not taller than the ones he saw in Pecha Forest. Now only were they tall, but the leaves on them were so gargantuan in size that they blocked out most of the light from the area. Brian couldn't even see the sky beyond them, let alone any light from the sun above. Though thanks to the flame on his tail, he did have a decent amount of light which allowed him to see where he was going. The foreboding atmosphere of the forest probably would have scared off some, but not Brian. Fear wasn't something he felt too easily. To him, feeling fear would just be a unnecessary roadblock in his quest of becoming stronger and exploring new places. Besides, Brian was too interested with the area to just leave without seeing everything it had to offer, regardless of how scary it may seem. He wanted to explore and analyze this new area as he had to with all of the previous new areas he had been too and nothing was going to stop him anytime soon.

"So this is Shadowhue huh? A very interesting place indeed. Hehe, hope those people were right about there being strong pokemon too." Brian said, growing a small grin on his face as he walked onward into the forest, eager to see what awaited him inside.

Energy: 10

He sighed, allowing one hand to pinch lightly upon the lacrimal caruncles upon each eye. His eyelids would conceal his blue eyes momentarily before his hand lowered and the veils would once more reveal sensory organs. This was going to be difficult. He had imagined all of the possibilities that might unravel themselves before him should he have successfully swayed this fellow Fire-type to his view, and now they became tighter and tighter to unwrap. Each tug mainly made it tangle more, and ensnared the figurative fingers that attempted to rectify them - desperation would eventually set in and cloud all logical thinking. Ares would do what he could to prevent such a situation, and look towards props to help him explain himself.

"Alright, look here, Brian," he would begin, wandering towards a nearby bush and injecting his stubby arm into it, "what if I told you that the things in this forest - the trees, the bushes, the creatures - all became strong and powerful because they were forced to do so on their own? For example, take this..." He would feel something solid and pull on it, lifting up whatever it was so that it might be exposed.

ares carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

As the pokemon kept making more statements about strength, Brian just became more and more confused. He began to wonder what exactly the pokemon had against the guild. What was the pokemon's definition of strength? What were the pokemon's ideals? So many questions were going through Brian ' s head that made him all the more intrigued in his new companion.

"Wait, what do you..." Brian started to say before seeing the pokemon lift some sort of giant bug from outside of the Bush next to him into the air. This swift action caused Brian to just stop and stare for a second.

"What in the? That's a giant bug! How did you know that was there, and what was that about being on your own mr....um..." Brian said as he was somewhat shocked by the action, not expecting to see the pokemon lift a giant bug like thing into the air at random. Though despite his initial shock, he still maintained his comical nature as he scratched the back of his head again, somewhat embarrassed because he hadn't asked the pokemon what it's name was.

Admittedly, Ares was not anticipating pulling out anything living. If anything, what he had desired to make contact with was a plant-based object so that he might prove his point. As it stood right now, he had just wrenched a particularly angry looking Pinsir's up by its spiked pincers, and the insect's bizarre teeth began to move erratically. A bug like growl warbled within its exoskeleton as the Charmander realized - with horror - his mistake. His eyes grew wide in surprise, and his determined smile slumped into a frown. The Bug-type turned its eyes upon the lizard holding its head aloft and allowed a ferocious, irate roar to be emitted. Well, here was his battle.

The drake dropped the pincer like a hot potato as soon as it let loose a terrifying bellow, jumping back a bit as he attempted to collect himself. Dust flew forth from where he landed, his hand dragging upon the loose soil as he slowed himself to a stop. The bug had begun to click its elongated tusks together as it eyed up its competition, allowing its displeasure to warble audibly within its hollow chest. As it charged forward like an enraged Tauros, one instinctual response kicked in: exhaling smoke. Ares's mouth and lungs began to produce copious amounts of smoldering smoke, prompting him to release the SmokeScreen attack across the battlefield. The Pinsir would charge into the area and become engulfed in the blinding attack. All the Charmander had to do now was wait for the creature to reveal itself through noise.

(Energy: 28 - 10 + 1 - 3 = 15)

When he saw the large bug pokemon that the pokemon picked up became enraged, Brian jumped back in surprise as the bug pokemon leapt up out of his companions grasp. He was already in slight shock at the fact that the pokemon had found the giant bug and picked it up completely out of nowhere, but seeing the bug become enraged and begin to attack his companion out of the blue just made the situation even more intense. However, seeing what looked like a strong pokemon, Brian also got excited at finding a potential opponent.

"Hehe, I'm not completely sure what's happening, but this is getting me pumped up!" Brian said as he rushed foreward into the fray, unable to contain his excitement. As he rushed towards the two, he saw his companion use Smokescreen on the bug pokemon as he attempted to blind the bug. While the pokemon seemed to be waiting for a chance to strike, Brian knew that with his keen eyes, he could see through the smoke and be able to attack the bug. So, Brian did just that. He dashed into the smoke as blistering speed as his right hand began to become surrounded by an intense flame as he got closer to the bug. When he saw the bug pokemon wandering through the smoke, Brian leaped towards it and thrusted his flaming hand towards it as he hit the bug pokemon with a Fire Punch.

It was funny how silent the giant Pinsir could be when it wanted to. When one might consider a behemoth, they might imagine a creature that could cause even the earth to tremble with fear with every step it took; however, they did not consider that a hulking carapace of an insect was designed to be particularly silent. Bugs were renown for their lower-than-prefered status upon the food chain, and thus it was to their best advantage that they learn the art of camoflauge and stealth - unless they had designed mechanisms that might actively make them predators of their feathered and furred foes. This Pinsir, whose mandible was lined with shreding teeth and whose pincers were held aloft above its cranium, could be defined as both, and thus was relatively noiseless.

It would, however, howl in pain as a smoldering punch connected with its brown exoskeleton. There had apparently been little time to react, little time to move: it had not been given a chance to. It turned upon the Chimchcar, wasting no time in attempting to use Revenge upon the boy; an orange aura would encompass its body as it rushed towards the ape with its enlarged horns.

The sound of that howl was enough for Ares to react and, after the Pinsir's attack hit or miss, he would pellet the brute's back with an Ember attack. The individual fireballs would splinter against the brown carapace, singing the hardened tissue. A super-effective attack from an equally leveled foe was enough to down the giant insect, and it would promptly scuttle off into the undergrowth with a bug equivalent of yelping. The smoke would dissipate, and the Charmander would be left to let the victory feed his ego.

As he saw the enraged Pokemon begin to glow with an orange aura and charge toward him, Brian jumped back, knowing that the Revenge attack that the Pokemon was using would inflict twice as much damage to him due to his previously used Fire Punch making contact.  That was until his new companion who let loose the Smokescreen move earlier landed a powerful Ember attack on the bug pokemon , making it land to the ground and fall unconscious. After seeing the Ember easily defeat the huge bug Pokemon, Brian confirmed the thoughts in his mind that his new componion was a very powerful Pokemon. However, the fact that the bug Pokemon was defeated who easily disappointed Brian. He hoped for a much longer, more fun battle than that.

"What, it's already over? Man, that's dissapointing."  Brian said as he made a pouty face, still disappointed by the bug Pokemon fainting already.

With his chest puffed out and his arms once more poised upon his hips in a superhero-esque position, Ares could not have felt more smug. Not only had his attack successfully downed the fell beast, but it had also successfully demonstrated his capabilities. He was tempted to boast over this victory as an example of all the potential someone outside the guild was capable of attaining, but bit his tongue; he was not in the mood right now to make this fellow Fire-type protest. It wasn't easy, admittedly, but it would spare him several instances of randomly pulling out creatures from the brush - which, on second thought, might have been desirable.

Brian complained of the confrontation being dull, and the Charmander could not help but understand his sentiment. The Pinsir, which had appeared to be a domineering force, had buckled over too quickly for the confrontation to be enjoyable. Though the sense of victory still flourished within his heart, it soon appeared to be just a hollow one. "Well," he would say, attempting to be as coy as possible, "maybe you might feel inclined to join me as I attempt to find strong opponents? Maybe that'll prove to you that the guild isn't the only way to get strong - take myself, for example." There it was: the gloating comment that had slipped out!

Still dissapointed by the quick defeat of the large pokemon, Brian kept pouting for a while, wishing that the confrontation could have gone on longer. He hadn't felt that excited for a fight in a long time and had hoped that the bug pokemon could have provided an interesting challenge. But unfortunately, it went down after only two attacks hit it. Sure the moves were super effective against a bug type like it, but still. Brian had seen his parents take tons of super effective attacks and keep fighting afterwards. He knew that the bug pokemon was no where near as strong as his parents but I should have been able to take more than just two hits. Brian tried to stop thinking about this and when he heard his companions proposal to search for stronger opponents, his eyes perked up as he walked over to his new companion.

"Well, that sound cool. Probably not gonna change my opinion anyway but still, sounds fun mister...?" Brian said a he kept walking towards his companion, wondering what awaited him as they continued on. As he walked, he could not only see his companion but in the corner of his eye, Brian could see something in a nearby bush as well.

pokepikoo carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

"Ares," he would curtly reply, allowing his feet to carry him towards the orange ape, "it's a pleasure, Brian. I'll see about showing you the truth." The Charmander would close the distance between himself and Brian prior to extending his right hand towards him. It was open, as if it were reaching for a free item, and would linger there until it had been shaken. Upon contact, he would allow his clawed fingers to close about the human like hand that had been inserted towards it, squeezing tightly as he conveyed his self esteem and confidence. Ares always believed in the ability to tell a lot about a person from the way they shook hands, and thus it would be quite critical to reciprocate accordingly.

Something quivered in the wind, and promptly his head would point in the direction of a dancing fabric. It had been caught in the gnarled branches of a prickly bush, and flickered sadly about as the breeze attempted to rip it off. The Charmander would point this out to his comrade, saying, "Look at that! Is that a scarf? Why don't you go get it and see what it is?"

"Well, nice to meet you Ares." Brian said, returning Ares's handshake with his own firm one, glad to finally know his new companion. He wasn't completely sure what Ares fully meant when he said that he would show him the truth but Brian just assumed that he would find out eventually. Right now, what he mainly cared about was getting to explore this area and hopefully find a strong opponent to fight. Then Ares pointed out the object that Brian had seen in the corner of his eye just a minute before and motioned for him to get it. So Brian did just that as he walked towards the item and saw that it was a scarf of some kind.

"Oh wow, I've seen this before. This is a defense scarf. I've seen my mother with one of these before in a picture. These increase defense as their name suggests. Never thought that I'd find one here but I'll take it." Brian said as he then took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck, excited that he found such a cool item.

Energy: 9
-1 for item

A Defense Scarf? That sounded kind of interesting! Ares would quietly watch as Brian retrieved the unique fabric from the bush and explain its identity. It made sense: an item that could boost a creature's defense certainly sounded beneficial and quite valuable. A small spark of envy flickered momentarily into existence as he eyed up the fabric and how excellently it suited the Chimchar; why couldn't he have found it? It was a small, minute feeling that was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving him with the sensation one might describe as "happy for you".

"Sounds like a valuable find," the Charmander would comment, eyeing up the scarf as it slithered into place about the other's throat, "that might come in use if we find something that wants to fight." With that said and done, it appeared that their journey might be better off in movement than halted. He would look about his surroundings for a suitable path. "What path should we take?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool isn't it? Man, such a lucky find." Brian said, smiling with a bit of cockiness as he finished wrapping the scarf around his neck, liking the cozy feeling that it gave him. He then felt a sudden small burst of energy that left his body as soon as it came, most likely indicating that the Defense Scarf's power had increased his defense. Brian then heard Ares ask him where they would go next and

"Hmm, where to go. So much forest to explore, so much time. Hmm, how about this way?" Brian said as he began walking in the direction that he found his new Defense Scarf, thinking that it would be good luck. Who knows, they two might possibly find even more items along the way. Hopefully though, they would find a strong opponent that could actually put up a fight unlike the bug pokemon before.

"Sure, why not?"

This was all Ares would allow himself to say as he began to follow Brian, his feet carrying him swiftly so that he might walk by the Chimchar's side - if not the tiniest bit ahead. He was not one to so willingly relinquish power or superiority simply due to his upbringing; to do so was considered cowardly or dishonorable in his culture. As such, it was important for him to pursue the illusion of dominance in even the most minute of situations, such as walking side by side. One might notice him walking swiftly or walking a bit ahead, and this was simply because of this part of his logical processing.

As they walked on, there was a slight murmur in the trees as the humid gale trickled gently through their leaves. They whispered, grew quiet as they grew near, and then continued their muted discussion as the adventurers pressed on. This woodland was like a living, breathing animal, and they were but tiny fleas upon its dense pelt of foliage. Ares's footfall would soon become quiet as fallen leaves smothered the noise, their moist textures preventing them from cracking and breaking as they would have preferred.

"So, Brian," the Charmander would say, attempting to break down the silence that seemed solely occupied by rustling leaves, "this guild thing... What's got you so captivated? Surely you know that you can obtain strength, fame, and wealth outside of it?"

"Well, to be honest I don't really care about fame or fortune or anything like that. What I care about is becoming stronger and getting to explore new areas. I love the feeling of exploring a new area, getting a chance to analyze every bit of it. The design, the atmosphere, the surroundings, the inhabitants, heck even how the air feels. Getting to take in all of those things gives me such a fantastic feeling that it's hard to truly explain it. But in order to get to the really cool areas, I have to become stronger and stronger so that I can face anything that those areas might throw at me." Brian said as he started rambling in response to Ares's question.

"As for the guild, it's mostly a family thing. Both my mom and dad are successful and powerful explorers that always told me about the adventure they had on their missions. Both me and my brother kept getting interested in exploring from hearing those stories and eventually started sparing with each other like out parents did in order to get strong enough to do explorations of our own. Eventually, our parents let us leave to go join a village and we both decided to go separate way and join different guilds so that one day when we come back to our village, we can have a real battle like the ones we've always wanted to have." Brian said, continuing to ramble on, getting caught up in his thoughts and memories.

Ares would simply allow his head to nod as Brian explained his reasoning. It appeared that there were many factors that had made him determined to join the guild: family, strength, desire. These were things he could respect, for these items could deeply ingrain specific principles or ideals, but such things were only valuable to him if they brought about the correct lessons. This guild, for instance, had zig-zagging roots that had penetrated the brains and philosophies of many Pokemon. It had needled its way from once necessity into a tradition that needed to be revolted against. Times had changed, and they were not as dark as they had once been or were in other lands: the age of the guild had come to its necessary conclusion.

"Your parents are explorers? That explains a lot." he would comment, allowing a hand to rest gently under his chin as he figured more things out about this newcomer, "You don't think it's weird that they just let you two go your separate ways?"