Autumn Frost?

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[Important inventory: Rainy Orb, Shocker Orb, Allure Seed]
[Energy: 17 - 11 = 6]

Recently, Valen had learned about an exploration organization called the Windrose Scouts and its base in Fallen Leaf Copse. Along with Saturn, the Cubone who had told him about the organization in the first place, Valen had decided to become a member. Especially as Valen was also a member of the Aileron Guild and the Peak Academy, some might have said that it was too much for one little bird - but Valen himself felt confident that he could manage. In fact, almost right after joining, Valen, along with Saturn, had decided to investigate one of the rumours on a Windrose Library bulletin board.

So, someone says "flowers made of frost" are appearing in these woods, huh. Valen thought. Could that really be true? I mean, from what I've heard and read about, this place is basically autumn all the time, so how could there possibly be frost here? Maybe someone mistook white flowers for frost or something - or they're just making things up?

Now, Valen was outside the Windrose Scouts base, but still inside the woods themselves. He looked around. There were, of course, the trees with their beautiful orange and yellow leaves that were everywhere here - but as far as he could tell, no frost, in fact nothing white whatsoever was present. Then he remembered something.

The rumour said they're at the bases of trees and on branches on the ground - and I haven't really looked down yet! So Valen did that. There was a carpet of fallen leaves, and Valen could see some small plants growing as well - including a few flowers. But again, none of these were frosty or even white.

So now, they had to explore some more. At least everything was in the same dungeon as the scout headquarters itself was located in, so Valen hadn't had to travel very far already after deciding to investigate the rumour - one reason he had chosen this one in the first place to start with. But then Valen thought: What if this really is just made up? Then how are we going to prove that there are, indeed, no such flowers? Do we really have to search the whole of Fallen Leaf Copse? Well, we can certainly at least search one part of this place to begin with...

Valen turned to Saturn. "Saturn," he asked, "have you seen anything here now? You know, any frost or anything that looks at all like it?"

Valen didn't realize what Saturn had seen. All the Pikipek could see was the Cubone's bizarre behavior. What's going on? It's almost like he's going mad... Maybe that is what is happening! Is it happening to me? To all of us here? Valen worried.

When he heard Nathan's question, Valen's first thought was that they should, indeed rest. But then again, they were searching for a portal to get out, so that might delay their escape... but it seemed so far that portals only appeared randomly, so would searching even help? "How long have we been here?" Valen asked. It was somewhat to the Smeargle, but he could already guess that there might be no way of knowing.

"I don't know... I'm not even sure whether time has any meaning here. I've seen things apparently from both the 'past' and the 'future'... but never another portal..." Nathan replied.

Are we all doomed to be stuck here forever? Valen was quite disturbed by now. "Let's rest." The words suddenly came out of him. "We need a break."

This time, he spoke loudly enough that the others could hear him... and well, the Type: Null, Pumpkaboo, Smeargle, and Cutiefly all verbally expressed their agreement. But before anyone could really settle down... another Cutiefly flew towards them. This one had the odd blue coloration of an Echo, and spoke in a weirdly familiar voice. "Hi! Play with me!"

(OOC: I'm going with this Echo Cutiefly being a younger version of the Ribombee who accompanied the Deerling earlier).

[Energy: 0 + 1 (new page) = 1]

Pickup roll:

Shield carried out 1 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

Once Saturn finished the snack, he realized how disturbing that might have looked from everybody else's perspectives. At first, he figured it might be best to just play it off as a normal occurrence; surely there were plenty of pokemon that would leave nothing to waste. But he did overhear Nathan's series of questions concerning his behavior. In response to that, he decided to reinforce the idea that he was just fine. He stood up a bit more, eliminating his slouched posture, and tried his best to put on a more cheery demeanor. He was going to suggest that they all push on to the task's end and find another portal, but Valen's opposite suggestion immediately shut him down in that regard.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. We just need to-" He was cut off by the all-too-familiar sound of a creature he never wanted to meet again. Its request to play was the last thing he wanted to hear, in this situation. "Please, not now....", he mumbled under his breath, visibly shaken from the mere sight of the creature. This one may have been even smaller than the previous one, but Saturn wasn't about to be its punching bag, regardless. He does gather up the courage to speak, even if every fiber of his being is screaming at him to run and hide."Um, we're a bit busy at the moment, perhaps-, he mumbles out, barely audible over the pitter-patter of the rain. The Type:Null takes a completely opposite approach, however, cutting him off completely.

"Why, of course we'll play with you, little one! Does a game of tag sound appealing? Perhaps some hide-and-seek?", he asks, as jolly as can be.

"Yeah! Good idea, mister!", it replies, before lightly tapping the Type:Null on its snout. "Tag! You're it!", it exclaims, before flying off into the forest. He runs after it, happy as can be.

"So much for taking a break.....", Saturn mumbles under his breath.

[Energy: 0 + 5(Echo Apple) +1 (New Page) = 6]

Upon seeing the Type: Null run off, following the Cutiefly, Valen was worried. He was about to go chase them as well, but then he heard the Pumpkaboo speak. "Null probably knows what he's doing... I think we should wait here and not get into danger."

That made sense to Valen. In fact, that Cutiefly's voice... now that he thought about it, that sounded a lot like the Ribombee who had attacked so much earlier. But that had been, well, a Ribombee... could this be something from the past? Well, if it was the same Pokémon somehow, it was probably for the better that she was away from the group. Valen could just hope that the Type: Null would be safe.

The Pikipek looked through some of the leaves on the ground briefly. There didn't seem to be anything all that unusual about them, nor any items - or portals - hidden inside the cover. As far as he could tell, none even seemed translucent, despite the odd trees that Valen could still see scattered around. Those trees...

Valen wondered how it would feel to peck one. He flew up to a translucent tree and started drilling. It might have looked odd to others, but the physical sensations were surprisingly normal to him. By now, he wasn't really thinking about whether the noise could attract hostile Pokémon; he just wanted to do something he found gratifying in this bizarre world.

Saturn looks to the Pumpkaboo. "Yeah, I suppose we don't necessarily have to join in...." He promptly takes a seat beneath a nearby tree. He sighs, realizing once again how exhausted he really was. The Smeargle sits down next to him, in a cross-legged position. "Hey." His expression is one of genuine concern. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Saturn hardly notices him, too preoccupied with reading over the note his Echo self had given him. Once he addreses him, however, he breaks out of his anxiety-laden stupor. "Hm? I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch-HEY!" The Smeargle takes a peek at the note. "Oh. So this is why you're so stressed?' Saturn gets real fidgety once he realizes the Smeargle had at least skimmed over the note. "It's...... nothing you need to worry about. I'm just...... worried for some loved ones, is all. I'll be fine." His worried demeanor suggested otherwise, however.

The Smeargle pats him on the shoulder. "I'm sure they'll be all right."

The rhythmic tapping of Valen's woodpecking broke the silence.

"Are you trying to make a little shelter for yourself, Valen?"

Valen noticed Saturn's question, and stopped pecking to answer. "Not really... I just... I just really felt it would be good to do it. Although if we're here long enough, maybe we need a shelter," he explained.

It was then, though, that the group could see the Type: Null running back - without the Cutiefly that he had been chasing. "Apologies for leaving suddenly, but I had a strong feeling that if I didn't amuse the Cutiefly and get it away from all of you, something bad would happen. I know we had the numerical advantage, but still..." he explained.

The Pumpkaboo asked, "...We all stayed here, but what would have happened if we had gone somewhere else?"

The Type: Null replied, "I should still have been able to find you soon. It's not to be rude, I hope you understand, but I know my way around my home much better than any of you do."

Valen could understand that, but he had a different question to ask now, "We've been going around for some time, and I think you said portals appear randomly? If we have no idea whatsoever where they will appear, is moving really helpful? I think I'm fine with going if we need to, but..."

The Type: Null replied again, "I understand your point, but I think portals often last long enough that looking in different places for them might be useful. It's also another one of the gut feelings I get that it's the best way, once everyone else is ready to move on as well."

There was another chorus of agreement that they were ready to move on from most of the group. Nice that we aren't arguing much, Valen thought. That just wasn't the kind of thing he liked dealing with. It was just... Saturn who would have to voice an opinion now, it seemed.

Saturn died a little bit inside when everyone agreed to keep moving forward, but he wasn't going to voice his displeasure, for fear of coming off as ungrateful or inconsiderate. "All right..... I just hope we find a way out soon.", he says, wearily rising to his feet. He arm he normally holds his bone club with was getting rather sore, so he swapped it to his off-hand.

".....sorry if that sounded a bit mean. Your world is nice and all, and if I didn't have so many bonds tying me to the normal world, I wouldn't be so eager to leave.", he says as they all continue forward.

The Type:Null chuckles a bit. "It's all right. No harm done. If I found myself stranded in your world, I would be eager to find a way out, too."

The group travels for a good while, as the sun begins to set. Shafts of evening light pierce through the trees, casting the forest in a more sinister hue. The occasional strong breeze rustles the dead leaves occasionally, but aside from that, and the sound of the group walking, the forest is rather silent.

Or, at least, it seems that way, until they start hearing the occasional rustling in the distance whose timing does not line up with the breeze. The Type:Null lifts its head, alerted by the sound.

"Careful, everyone. I suspect we're being followed.", he says, in a low voice, clearly trying not to risk alerting whatever might be out there.

"Just remain calm, and when I give the go-ahead, be ready to strike. Hopefully it'll go away, whatever it is.", he says.

Saturn grips his bone club tighter, looking out of the corner of his eye for anything suspicious. The others ready themselves in similar fashions.

Just then, two yellow, piercing eyes can be seen in the darkness, briefly, before a large, quadruped form leaps from behind the bushes and looms over the group, particularly the Type:Null.

It's a Sawsbuck; a particularly famished-looking one with withered antlers and a sinister gleam in its eye that likely means its either a very bad pokemon with malicious intentions, or a feral. Probably both.

The Type:Null rears its hind legs and launches itself at the Sawsbuck, accelerating to breakneck speed. His metal harness gives an unnatural heft to his strike, nearly forcing the Sawsbuck off its feet.

Oh no! Oh no, what do I do? None of my moves are good against a grass type.... Wait! That Hidden Power move I learned is Fire type! I can use that! Saturn conjures up a ball of green flame and hurls it at the Sawsbuck, hitting it in the side. It yelps in pain, but does not falter.

The others surround it, readying moves of their own.

Little do they know, a Stufful awaits in the trees above them, waiting for the right time to strike......

Valen had been flying along with the others, feeling... numb and barely thinking about anything. The Type: Null's words shook him out of it to some degree. The Pikipek got ready... and then he saw the Sawsbuck appear. One we met before? Valen wondered, No, that looks much more aggressive...

With the Type: Null and Saturn attacking, Valen joined in, flying over to the Sawsbuck and pecking it. The other Pokémon in the group launched their attacks as well. Nathan the Smeargle used Ember, sending a small flame at the deer Pokémon. Roxo the Cutiefly used Stun Spore, but the Grass-type was completely unfazed by the spreading powder. The Pumpkaboo, who had still not revealed his name for some reason, spat a Bullet Seed at the Sawsbuck.

The Sawsbuck shook at the combination of attacks, but quickly struck back, stabbing at the Type: Null with oddly glowing horns. The Type: Null was hit but seemed relatively unfazed in turn; however, the Sawsbuck seemed to be draining energy with the Horn Leech. And that was when the Stufful decided to attack.

Dropping from the trees, the bear Pokemon flailed its arms and legs, potentially being able to hit everyone in the area with the Brutal Swing. The Sawsbuck was struck and fell to the ground, giving an angry look at the Stufful. The Type: Null was hit too, but still managed to stand despite the strong blow. The Pumpkaboo was not so lucky, with the super-effective attack throwing him to the ground, unconscious. Fortunately, it missed Nathan, and Roxo and Valen were only grazed. It did still hurt the Pikipek quite a bit, though, and he was too surprised to strike back at the moment.

The poor, exhausted Cubone was woefully ill-prepared for the ensuing chaos, especially with a hostile Stufful dropping down from the treetops! Its Brutal Swing struck him straight on the top of his bone helmet, which absorbed a fair amount of the blow. Unfortunately, it left his helmet resting at an awkward angle on his face, making it all but impossible to tell what was going on. He heard screaming and the sounds of various attacks going off, but had no idea which side was winning. So, he backed off as fast as he could, and took a moment to readjust his bone helmet, praying he didn't get hit with a stray attack in the process. This was the first time he had ever participated in combat this messy and chaotic, and found it a bit difficult to tell friend from foe, especially with such little light remaining. However, he was at least able to recognize the Sawsbuck and Stufful as hostile, and decided it would probably be better to take out the smaller, presumably weaker, pokemon first. So, not knowing the creature is Fighting type, he sent an Ancient Power at it, conjuring up some rocks and firing them off with prehistoric might. They slammed into its soft fur, but the creature did not seem deterred, not one bit.

Luckily, the mysterious power of the attack left him feeling rather rejuvenated, in a strange way, like he was being fueled by some unfathomably old power residing in every rock, boulder and pebble. It made him feel lighter, swifter, stronger.

But more importantly, it gave him the will to continue. He used his Hidden Power to conjure up another ball of green flame, letting it hover in the air as he took aim at the Sawsbuck, reeling his Bone Club back, waiting for the perfect opportunity to hit the creature without an ally potentially getting in the way.

After what feels like an eternity of waiting for the right opportunity, he lines up the shot. And as he does so, he thinks back to his last memory of his parents, and how much they must miss him. I won't let anyone stand between me and my parents!, he thinks, as he swings the Bone Club, launching the ball of fire right into the back of the Sawsbuck's head.

This throws the creature off balance for a split second, just long enough for the Type:Null to deliver a devastating Tri-Attack, finishing the feral off.

And judging from the slew of attacks being thrown at the Stufful, it likely isn't far behind.