Persuading the Pidgeys!

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Crash the Tyrogue, a member of the guild, found himself in the Pecha Forest once again on a request from Wurmple. Apparently, according to his cry for help, there were simply too many Pidgey in the area! For him, it must have been scary for a bug-type like him with all of those birds around. It was good for him that there were explorers like Crash around to keep the peace. Usually, a fighting-type going into a job like this would seem like a bad idea, what with brawns over brains. However, this Tyrogue was going to try a "diplomatic" approach before he did anything rash. The pokemon walked through the forest at a brisk pace, trying to find the pokemon who were plaguing this forest.

Varda seemed quite happy with the conclusion the two had come to, much rather sharing the berry so his friend could enjoy it too than just taking it back to the Guild with him. He opened his bag and dug around with one of his feet as he searched for the sticks, trying them both out to see which one had the sharper end. Deciding on one of them, the bird pulled the chosen stick out of his bag, holding it with his talons as he looked at Lumina. She gave the honor of opening the berry to him, not thinking that she could do it all that well with her paws. Or her mouth. The Swablu was sure that she could do it, but it might have been uncomfortable. With a happy nod, he was more than willing to do the work.

"I'll do it! I think you should keep it still, though. It's so big and round that it will probably start rolling away if I just hit it," the bird Pokémon chirped with a little giggle, hopping closer as he brandished the stick. For a moment, he still inspected the berry as he tried to come up with the best way to open it with the tool he had with him right now. Splitting it in half would probably be the easiest way...

"I'm going to hit it now. If you could rotate it a bit after I pull the stick out, I could easily cut a line through without having to move it myself," Varda mused, glancing at the fox before he stabbed the berry with the sharp end of the stick. The skin was the only part that had any kind of resistance, though the stick penetrated it with a satisfying crunch. The insides of the berry was very soft and the stick went right through it, causing a trickle of pink juice to pour out of the hole as the Swablu pulled out his weapon and inspected the damage. He was quite sure that this was going to work, preparing to strike the Watmel berry again and again until it was cut into neat halves.

Lumina chucked as Varda suspected it would roll away, firmly placing her forepaws against the Watmel berry. Perhaps he was right, this berry was unusually round. It looked like it would roll if you pushed it. "It should stay still now." She told him, keeping a close eye on the stick he was holding. In case he missed the berry, she wanted to be able to move her paws in time.

But her fears were unfounded, and the stick easily pierced the skin of the berry. She rolled it a little, the motion somewhat awkward with her paws not having much of a grip on the rounded fruit. A small tear was created before the Swablu pulled the stick back out, a thin stream of pink juice now flowing from where he'd struck it. "Good thinking, by the way. I wouldn't have thought to cut it like this." She added as she put her paws back to where they had been before to prevent the berry from rolling away when the bird-like Pokemon struck it again.

Energy: 25

Varda had to stop for a moment once Lumina spoke up, complimenting his way of tackling the problem. His pointy stick was held up rather awkwardly in the air, pulled back and ready to strike... To be was having trouble knowing what to do next, thinking of the fox's words. Honestly, his thinking skills weren't complimented that often – if ever! The bird was a rather simple Pokémon, not doing all that much thinking, but here he was. Had he been featherless, he most likely would have been blushing by now, unable to fight the smile that forced its way on his face as he looked away bashfully.

"Well... You did just give the sticks to me and I played around with them for a while, maybe it made sense because of that," the Swablu chirped as he looked back, giving the other Pokémon a small nod to signal that he was ready and she should be, too. He waited for Lumina to get ready before he started thrusting the stick into the berry, cracking the thick skin one thrust at a time.
"Some birds have sharp beaks for this kind of things. Mine is pretty sharp, but it's not really long enough," he continued with a little chirpy giggle, continuing to make holes into the berry as the fox turned it and kept it still.

Eventually, the two of them had gone around the entire Watmel berry, its skin punctured by holes that oozed a sweet juice. Even the stick was covered in the stuff, though it couldn't be put away just yet. Varda used it to still clear away some bits of the skin that they had missed the first time, barely holding the two halves together. Soon, the berry just popped right open, cut as neatly as a stick could, revealing its pink insides.
"There!" The Swablu cheered happily.



Current Energy: 16 (15 +1 from a new page)

Lumina had a small smile on her face as she held the berry still, waiting for Varda to strike it with the stick again. "Everyone has their moments. You can give yourself some credit." She advised, noticing the smile on his face and the way he looked away from her. For a moment, the Vulpix wondered if Noel was rubbing off on her, that seemed like something her Riolu friend would say. But that thought was swiftly forgotten as the Swablu once more hit the berry, and it wasn't too long until it had split into two equal halves. Satisfied with their work, the Vulpix took the half closest to her and took a small bite of the pink berry.

Varda would have been lying if he said that the fox's words didn't make him feel at least a bit proud... But according to her, that was alright. He didn't have to feel guilty – and that actually made him feel rather good! The little bird started to hum happily as he worked, splitting the berry for them both to share. He waited for Lumina to grab the half she wanted, placing his juice-covered stick on the ground next to him before he grabbed the remaining half with his foot. The Swablu brought his beak closer and grabbed some of the soft, pink mush into his mouth, enjoying the sweetness and the juiciness of the berry.

"Mhhm!" The bird let out a sound of approval, swallowing the mouthful and not wasting any time digging his face into the Watmel berry half. He ate rather quickly, his beak breaking small chunks off the berry quite easily. The juices did stain the feathers around Varda's beak when he dug too deep and the uneaten sides brushed against his cheeks, but he didn't really seem to mind. Or perhaps he hadn't noticed yet.
"Do you like it?" The Swablu looked up as he asked the other Pokémon, smiling.

The vixen ate her half of the Watmel berry slowly, trying not to get too much of the pink juice on her fur. The fruit tasted sweet with a faint hint of bitterness. It wasn't too bad, and even with her general dislike of sweets, Lumina had tried worse foods before. Despite her efforts to keep her fur clean, some of the juice had stuck to her muzzle, giving the orange fur around her mouth a faint pink tone when she had finished eating. "It's not bad." She agreed, a smile of her own crossing her face when she saw Varda's cheerful expression.

Varda gobbled down his half of the berry rather fast, quickly stripping the flesh with his accurate beak. For such a small Pokémon, eating such a large berry didn't seem to be causing him any trouble. He didn't even slow down before he had gobbled it all up, leaving behind just a bowl of the thick skin that had been protecting the juicy interior. The Swablu couldn't help but smile after he was finished, his stomach full and his face covered in the juices, his tongue licking the edges of his beak clean as it was unable to do much else.

"That's good!" The bird chirped happily when Lumina agreed that the berry wasn't half bad, eating her share without a complaint. Even the bruises of the fight seemed to be forgotten with a full belly, and Varda was quite content at the time. Of course, the two of them were covered in the juices of the Watmel berry, staining their fur and feathers – though of course, the Swablu was the messier one of the two.
"I wonder if there's water nearby... It would be nice to wash this off. It's getting sticky..."

The orange vixen sat up and stretched her legs, swallowing the last of her share of the Watmel berry. "There must be a puddle or the like around here somewhere." She remarked, trying (without much success) to rub off the juice with her paws. All that really accomplished was making her forepaws sticky as well, so that obviously hadn't been her brightest plan. She glanced down at her paws in distaste, but it wasn't quite enough to ruin her good mood.

She thought about this for a few seconds before shrugging. "How about we keep an eye open for some water on the way back? I'm not quite sure where we'd look for water. We could try following the feral Pokemon and hope they lead us to a pond or puddle, but most of the time they just wander the Mystery Dungeon at random, so that would probably just be a waste of time..." She mused, the gears in her head spinning as she tried to think up a plan. "... I think we might as well just start making our way back to Grassveil. Maybe we'll find something on the way, if we're lucky."

Varda nodded to the fox's remark, agreeing that there had to be a source of water somewhere in the forest – hopefully close. Every living being had to drink, as far as he knew – as did the trees and other plants. A forest couldn't grow in a completely arid land, and the Pokémon and plants couldn't thrive and be as healthy as they were without water. All they needed was a little bit to get the sticky juice off of them – and as Lumina soon found herself, just wiping it off didn't work all too well when almost every inch of the two Pokémon was covered in something that would just get covered in the juice, too...

The Swablu picked his stick off the ground and put it in his bag, ready for action. The berry seemed to have reinvigorated him, no longer looking like he was so tired he couldn't move – or perhaps it was just the rest that had such an effect on him. Whatever it was, he was on his feet and ready to leave to look for some source of water.
"That sounds like a good plan," Varda chirped to the other Pokémon. They had to return to town eventually and just wandering around aimlessly in the forest might end up just being a waste of time – and at least he didn't even know where to start looking! If they ended up just walking back to Grassveil Town... Well, they could find water there, so it wouldn't be a bad thing, either.

"We'll head back – and avoid the Pidgey," he continued, quickly reminding both of them that they had to avoid the clearing where they had left the feral Pokémon. They would have to go around the area and make sure they wouldn't be seen in case the birds were awake and ready to chase them again. Of course, he wasn't entirely sure where they had even left the Pidgey...
"So we'll have to go... Hm," Varda pondered, thinking about it hard as he looked around and took a couple of steps in a few different directions, trying to see if he could refresh his memory.

After a few more moments of trying to come up with something, Lumina quit trying to come up with plans to find water. She had a few ideas, but nothing as reliable as she would've liked, and more likely then not the two of them would've just been wasting their time to try and find a pond or puddle. If they found one, that would be great, but the Vulpix hadn't exactly been on a lucky streak lately. She didn't think her fortune would suddenly improve.

She paused, pointing one of her forepaws to what she thought was the left of them. "We came from that direction, so as long as we don't go back that way, we should be able to avoid the Pidgey." She couldn't be sure about other feral Pokemon, but at least those aggressive birds would be out of their way. They had been unusually tough for Pecha Forest standards, as Varda had already pointed out. Had those Pidgey not been native to this place, perhaps?

Varda looked at Lumina as she spoke up, his eyes quickly snapping to her pointing paw before they trailed to look in the direction he was being shown. He nodded to show that he understood, quite thankful that he wasn't doing this kind of a mission on his own. With his sense of direction, he surely would have accidentally walked straight back into the clearing with the feral Pidgey and started it all over again, something he didn't really want to happen! Besides, if they were looking for water, it only made sense if they would take a different path back home. While there were times when the two couldn't really look around to see if there happened to be any water around, the Swablu hadn't seen – or heard – any during the moments when they could rest and look around. That meant it was smarter to look somewhere else.

The little bird started to walk, keeping the direction in his head as he avoided going towards the Pidgey, instead leaving the path as he entered the slightly more overgrown areas around it. They had to make a little detour to go around the clearing, so they would have to leave the path that went in the wrong direction. Varda used his wings to start pushing the taller grass out of his way, being so short that he didn't really have any chances of seeing over them without first pushing them aside.

Bird carried out 3 launched of one Pecha Forest :

, ,

Lumina let Varda lead the way as he began to walk, he seemed to know where he was going. Or at least, he knew which way not to go, which would be good enough to get them out of the forest. As long as they kept walking straight, it had to end eventually. ... then again, that was going by normal forest logic, not Mystery Dungeon logic. These things laughed at Palkia's supposed rule over space. But now she was getting off topic.

The vixen stopped her wandering thoughts so she could focus on what was up ahead. It was another one of those large berries, one that was pink and green with the odd zig-zagging pattern. "Another Watmel berry?" She mused. She was suspicious of this, what were the chances for someone to find a supposedly ultra rare berry twice? Especially so soon between finding the two of them? She walked towards it cautiously, staying light on her feet in case there really was a trap. Knowing her luck, something was going to jump out at her as soon as she or Varda picked it up. Or there would be a trap right in front of the berry, or something else along those lines.

Varda kept hopping along, his body pushing the two Pokémon a small path to walk on through the taller grass. The grass luckily didn't put up much of a fight, it didn't resist at all as it gently let them pass, bending aside. It was quite polite compared to bushes, the bird felt. Eventually, the grass even started to become shorter and it seemed to be thinning as well, making it so the Swablu was soon able to peer right over it without first pushing it out of his way. It seemed like there was another clearing in the middle of the forest with trees growing around it, creating a large gap in the leafy ceiling from which the sun shone down brightly. The little clearing just positively bathed in sunlight, with small flowers dotting the shorter grass.

And... There it was. Another one of the berries that seemed to be awfully rare in the Pecha Forest. After all, the last one Varda had seen was the second berry he saw someone find in the forest! But now, there was a third one. Lumina had noticed it as well, seeming about as puzzled as the bird. The Swablu tilted his head as he stopped, looking at the large berry.
"I wonder... Maybe they grow around this area?" The bird chirped, saying his thoughts out loud. It would make sense why they otherwise seemed so rare in Pecha Forest. If they only grew around one area that not many wandered in, how could anyone find them?

The bird Pokémon started to walk again, waddling closer to the berry to inspect it. It wasn't just lying on the ground, it was actually still attached to the plant that carried it. It was still growing, perhaps. Varda of course felt rather curious, wanting to see the plant up close... Though suddenly, something was thrown at him, something that was rather soft and just bounced off of his forehead, but it was enough to cause the Swablu to snap backwards, his eyes shooting up. A purple, monkey-like creature was in the tree and standing on a branch, its tail curled around the trunk of the tree. It let out a strange chattering noise as it stared at the two Pokémon.


Current Energy: 10 (16 -1 from the item roll, -5 from the enemy encounters)

"That would make sense..." The vixen murmured when Varda wondered if they grew around this area. If they had found their way to a place where the berries naturally grew, that would explain why they found two of them so close together. Still, she didn't let her guard down, just in case her initial guess that it was a trap turned out to be right. This still seemed a little bit suspicious to her...

... and her suspicions turned out to be right when an Aipom popped out from the tree branches, a wide grin on it's face. Did this berry belong to it, or had it just been waiting here to ambush explorers? She suspected the latter, since the berry was still attached to the plant, but no real matter. Lumina couldn't react quickly enough to stop it from tossing something at Varda, but at least it drew the Swablu's attention to the purple monkey. She wasn't awfully fond of these things, having no good memories of the first Aipom she'd run into here in Pecha Forest.

She considered her options, trying to find a way to hit it. She couldn't use Quick Attack or Flare Blitz while it was up on that tree, so she took a step back and started to form a Confuse Ray. But the small orb went astray, seemingly loosing it's path as it went right past the Aipom before disappearing a few seconds later. The feral Pokemon didn't seem bothered by this, only continuing to make that strange chattering sound as if nothing had even happened.

Varda looked at Lumina, uncertain what to make of the situation. The fox's approach apparently was to attack – or at least do something that she could from far away. The monkey-like Pokémon was up in the tree after all, meaning that a Pokémon mostly stuck on the ground couldn't really reach it. Still, Lumina had shot another one of those strange, shadowy orbs that she had used earlier against the Pidgey multiple times, sending it over the the Pokémon in the tree. The little orb floated closer in an erratic pattern, but it never hits its mark. It disappeared soon after, vanishing into thin air as the feral Pokémon turned to look at the two, still making noise.

The Swablu was rather confused. He quickly glanced down to see the seed next to him, the same that had been thrown at him. It had startled him a bit, but honestly, it didn't really hurt. Carefully, the bird picked it up with his foot, looking at it. He wasn't entirely sure what kind of a seed it was, but that didn't really matter. He liked seeds. Taking advantage of the situation, Varda quickly put it into his bag before he started to walk backwards, retreating to Lumina's side – away from both the monkey and the Watmel berry on the ground.

"I don't know what it's trying to do," he chirped quietly, admitting his own ignorance to the fox once he got close enough, his eyes still on the monkey. It was still standing on a branch, not moving as it stared the two down... But it had stopped making noise.
"Do you think... They can talk? Not our language, but..."


(Got that 1 Reviver Seed I haven't had the time to pick up until now, woo)