CF-001: "Coral Forests"

Primary Directive: Discover and catalogue.

The mission of the Windrose Scouts, summarized in three brief words. It had been explained to him in much more thorough detail, but the Porygon had diluted it into that simple phrase. That was the objective of the organization he was now affiliated with. As such, it would be a productive use of his time to further said objective. He had selected a mystery dungeon at random that hadn't been written about in their archives, and he set to work. It wasn't impossible that there was a reason none of the organic members had reached such a place. But that was no reason to hold back Tec. He was durable, not to mention unburdened by hunger, thirst, or a need to rest.

The Porygon hovered above the path. The path was made out of a rough, abrasive plant, bleached white and sprouting from the seafloor. Could this be the first anomaly in this mystery dungeon? He hadn't seen it anywhere else before. He took a long moment to observe it, pausing in his investigation to poke it with his beak.

He confirmed that the plant was, as he suspected, rough, scratchy and unpleasant to touch. More like a rock than a plant. Could it be a rock instead? It wasn't too unlike tree bark, though. A secondary test on a different area of the plant/rock/item confirmed that it had a scratchy texture, as did the third test, cataloguing this first finding down in his memory.

Pathways are made of unpleasant white matter.

This investigation was going very well.

Tec's energy: 9
(19 max, -10 from entering)

To say Viktoria regretting coming here even more than she did the Ruined Chateau was an understatement. At least she could avoid getting injured in that place along with having people to help her out in the end, but here in the Coral Forests? No such luck in the end due to the pathways being rather unpleasant to say the least.

As for why she was there in the first place? Well, she wasn’t quite certain if she took a wrong turn or what trying to get back to Grassveil for supplies in order to stay in Grima further, yet here she was, walking on dead coral to get back (hopefully) home.

If only Viktoria was able to swim long enough to avoid having to walk, but she'd rather not risk the idea of drowning here of all places. So the painful route it is.

Viktoria’s energy: 6
(16 max, -10 from entering)

The white matter brought forth a lot of questions. Was this an anomalous mystery dungeon material, or just a plant he had never seen before? He made an effort, but he couldn't calculate it one way or the other. Too many missing variables. He stayed hovering beside the strange white pathway for thirty minutes, occasionally poking at it with his beak. He can managed to chip off a chunk of it over time, with enough Tackles, to bring a sample back to the Windrose Library. Unfortunately, the interior of the strange object didn't give him any more insight into what it was.

Until, finally, something new caught his attention. Another pokemon. Perhaps they knew something about this? It didn't seem like on that lived here. Pokemon that lived in the dungeons usually didn't have scarves. He hovered patiently in the exact middle of the pathway, waiting for the stranger to approach. (Though the Porygon wasn't aware enough to know that blocking the path, waiting silently and staring, well, it looked a little ominous.)

"Hello." He called when he judged that the new Pokemon seemed close enough to hear him, because 'hello' was how you start a conversation. "Can you identify this plant or rock?" He poked the ground with one of his legs, eagerly awaiting an answer from the new pokemon.

And then he would have to ask what type of Pokemon she was. Perhaps a water type? They tended to be blue. She had no fins, though, and she wasn't swimming, so perhaps not. He couldn't tell what else she might be, though.

A quick scan with Aura told Viktoria that she’d find another Pokemon, but what was the mystery. She couldn’t recognize the aura even remotely. Never had she seen such a faint and colorless one that was also close by at the same time. Was the Pokemon almost dead, clinging onto life? Or was it something else entirely?

Viktoria decided to pick up the pace despite the pain that’d come with it, not wanting to be the reason someone didn’t survive in the end. Death doesn’t wait for anyone after all. Yet what she found was even more unexpected.

A strange….bird like Pokemon? She wasn’t sure what else to describe it as beyond that, even if it’s both not flying and very odd. It was just fine as far as she could tell, yet its aura was still that faint, colorless thin one that she wasn’t used to seeing at all. She should be seeing a color filled aura and yet...

”Uh...that’s coral. Dead coral to be precise. Though what are you doing in the middle of the passageway anyway?” Viktoria borderline blurted out, still very, very confused as to what this Pokemon was doing. She was also trying to mask the fact that standing on the coral really hurt at the moment, the last thing she needed was them to ask about that. Were they a resident of the dungeon? No, that doesn’t make sense, they’d know what dead coral is if they lived here.

Then what was the answer to what this Pokemon is anyway?

So it was coral. That was what this dungeon was named after. He was satisfied to have discovered it! ... then again, if the dungeon was named Coral Forest, and this strange pokemon knew what it was, he could piece together that it was well-known knowledge. That didn't exactly count as a new discovery. He would have to keep exploring. The Porygon was silent for a few seconds as he processed this information. Dead coral. Dead coral meant it was a plant, because rocks could not die. This strange possibly-water-type had solved two mysteries for him already. This investigation really was going well.

He listened in rapt attention before his programming caught up with him. Right - you said thank you after someone helped you. "Thank you. Thank you." He said in his monotone, because it was a logical conclusion to draw that if she had helped him twice, he should say thank you twice. Now for her question.

"I am Tec. I am trying to make new discoveries." He explained, hovering in place. "I was investigating the unpleasant white matter." Hmm... was he supposed to do something to thank her? Wasn't that customary, when someone had helped you a lot, and words didn't seem like enough?

He fished through his bag and put down the piece of dead coral he had chipped off at the stranger's feet. "A gift." He explained, looking at her expectantly and expecting her to pick it up. The Porygon wasn't done yet, though. He still had many, many questions, and this pokemon seemed very knowledgeable. He may need to discover more gifts.

"Why is the coral dead?" He asked, waiting expectantly for an answer.

Dead coral as a gift? Uh, this “Tec” individual is very odd to say the least. She merely picked it up, not quite sure how she was going to use it.

”Well, things just die naturally, y’know? All life does ultimately. Coral will get “stressed” and die from a temperature change or some other circumstance if that stress doesn’t go away in time for it to possibly recover. As a result, this coral that would normally be pink or some other color is now white, its color erased. ….Oh right, I should also tell you my name. It’s Viktoria.” The Riolu calmly spoke, having recalled it from a book she read once, wincing slightly as she knew she’d be stuck having to rest here.

”Though…making discoveries? What for exactly?”

Viktoria’s Energy: 0
(6 current minus 6 used for rolls here.)

StarDay carried out 6 launched of one Coral Forest :

, , , , ,

His gift was accepted, so Tec worked under the assumption that they were even now. He listened, fascinated by what the strange pokemon was saying. She was very knowledgeable! He was jotting down notes in his memory, still, looking at the canine pokemon. "Environmental changes murdered the coral." He confirmed. That made sense. If the environment was too harsh, then pokemon could die. There was no reason the same couldn't be true for plants.

He hoped this pokemon wouldn't die. She was very intelligent. The Porygon idled in something akin to thought, cycling through the same motion as he processed the question. She had answered so many of his questions, so logic held that he should do the same. "I am affiliated with the Windrose Scouts, and that is their mission. You should seek the library for more information. It, and Russell, are located in Fallen Leaf Copse, inside a very large tree."

He didn't linger on the 'why' or 'what for'. It wasn't something he could understand, nor did he need to. Something else had crossed the Porygon's mind. Could pokemon die if they became too stressed? He hoped not. He did not want this one to die, so he had to make sure she wasn't stressed. "Do you need any help?" He piped in. "I am good at helping."

Tec's energy: 10
(Eating 1 purple gummi for +1 energy)

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Coral Forest :

, , , , , , , , ,

”A library, eh? Good to know, I've been hoping to find some better books lately… Honestly walking on this coral sucks, but that’s just something I gotta deal with seemingly.” Viktoria quietly spoke, deciding to use Aura yet again.

She was hoping it would only have Tec’s aura yet another soon came into view. A small dark blue aura, and not a pleasant one to see as it came closer to them in the form of seemingly floating seaweed. A Skrelp. Knowing she wouldn’t have enough time to warn the odd bird of the incoming attack, she decided to do the only thing she could.

Shove him out of the way and take the attack head on.

The attack? A simple Tackle. Nothing too big, or so she thought. What she hadn’t realized was that Skrelp had the ability Poison Touch, which as she got slammed right into the water took effect immediately.

At least Tec was safe, right? Even as she’s hoping to Arceus that the bird might be able to help her escape the water, trying to fight off the water type that seemingly had no intent on backing down, she knew he'd ultimately be safe staying out of this.

Energy: 1 (Viktoria is now poisoned, meaning next page, it will be zero.)
(5 from Venusian's Apple- 4 for rolls.)

StarDay carried out 4 launched of one Coral Forest :

, , ,

The Porygon was unsure why Viktoria lashed out at him, shoving him aside too quickly for him to react. He was about to question why she had done such a thing, but the question quickly became redundant. Something had attacked her... no, something had seemed to try and attack him, before she had blocked it. Now she was gone below the waves. Unsure of what exactly had happened, the Porygon perched on his platform of dead coral, gears whirring as he waited for Viktoria to surface. Hmm. It was taking her a long time. ... longer than seemed right. Was this normal?

Another similar looking pokemon sprung from the water, clashing into the Porygon and bounding off of his shell. He didn't respond, though he was vaguely aware that he was being damaged. He needed to wait for Viktoria. Where was she? How long could organic pokemon hold their breath? How close were they to that threshold?

This didn't seem normal, he finally settled on, but he didn't know what to do. The pokemon attacking him seemed to have grown annoyed by him ignoring it, changing from throwing itself at his pointy body to exhaling a frozen gust of wind in his direction. The Porygon still didn't move, trying to see her below the waves. "Viktoria? Please respond." Tec called into the ocean. But there wasn't an answer. Of course there wouldn't be. He should have known that. She wouldn't be able to hear him below the water.

He didn't want this pokemon to die. There was no reason for that to happen. It must be stressful under the water. It happened in a flash, his form flickering in response to the Skrelp's Icy Wind attack, using Conversion2 three times in succession until he finally hit the type he was hoping for. His body flickered between settling on grass (no), fire (no), water (yes)-

- and Tec plunged into the ocean, paddling his way towards the shape of the strange pokemon. One of the two shrimp-like Pokemon was still attacking her. Normally, he would have preferred to observe it first before reacting, but some situations demanded haste. He rammed into it unceremoniously, tossing the poison type out of the way, before swimming up to Viktoria.

"Please hold on." He tried to say through the water, though he wasn't sure how intelligible it was.

That blow the Skrelp did in the first place had done more than she expected, and the poison wasn’t helping much either. If she fell unconscious, it was the end for her and she knew it as she struggled to stay conscious at all. Normally she’d be able to breathe slightly better, but well, the panic from being poisoned sorta messed with that completely.

Viktoria could see that same strange Pokemon coming closer to her as he rammed into the Skrelp that attacked her, and said something, though she wasn’t quite sure what. Still she decided her best bet was to try and hang onto him for dear life when he came close enough, any pride she had in the first place be damned.

”Thank you Tec.” Was the one thing in her mind trying to keep her from panicking further about her current situation, knowing she wouldn't be able to properly say it just yet. Sure, the coral hurt earlier, but at least she didn’t risk drowning that way. Yet here she is clinging onto a strange bird for dear life.

There. She has holding on. The Porygon paddled away, flapping through the water as quickly as he could, breaching the surface with the canine in tow. She likely wasn't a water type after all, he decided, if she was having this much trouble in the water. A third member of the hunting party had appeared to try and stop them - the same species as the first two - but Tec unceremoniously rammed it, knocking it aside with a Tackle. He paddled back to the platform of dead coral, pausing with Viktoria to deposit her there where she was safer.

He positioned himself in front of her, hovering and waiting for the trio of unpleasant pokemon to either attack or flee. After a moment of chattering among themselves, the three disappeared back under water, though Tec did not let his guard down until they were out of sight.

Only then did he turn his attention back to Viktoria, landing on the coral in front of her. Was she okay? What happened when a pokemon couldn't get enough air, but then was able to breathe again? Would she be okay from here on, or did she need more medical attention? Tec wished that he knew. Having incomplete knowledge was never desirable.

"Are you still stressed?" He asked instead, looking at the blue Pokemon expectantly.

The Riolu felt herself get plopped onto the rough and painful coral soon enough, and as much as she wanted to complain even slightly on the fact that it hurt, there were more immediate issues at hand. She was desperately trying to get her breathing fully under control, having not been able to properly breathe prior while underwater.

”Heh, guess that Aura skill I got saved you in the end… Was able to figure out the first Skrelp was coming right before it tried to strike at you. At least they're gone now, right? And um, stressed? ...I got poisoned, it seems. Should’ve known this would’ve happened, based on my horrid luck in general.” A pathetic, dry attempt of a laugh from the waterlogged dog as it became coughing instead as a slight tinge of purple started to show itself on her face.

”You’re...you’re okay, right? You didn’t get hurt or anything like that?” An even more pathetic attempt by Viktoria to escape the topic, escape the idea she could end up in such a horrible situation, even if she felt awful at the moment in general.

She's just hoping that he's got a Pecha Berry or something he's willing to share with her.

Aura? So that was how she knew it was there? Tec nodded in agreement that it was a good thing that the Skrelp were gone. "Thank you." He echoed again, after Viktoria made her remark about helping him. She had helped him, hadn't she? He would have been badly damaged if he had been knocked into the water without converting himself to a water type first. "I am fine." He confirmed, idling through the same few motions as he processed all this new information. For better or worse, the bot was too oblivious to tell that Viktoria was trying to move on from the topic.

A realization sparked in the Porygon's mind. Poison! That was what was wrong with her. He knew what fixed poison. He dug through this bag and offered a Pecha berry, looking up at her with a nod. "A gift." He said again. Hmm... was he damaged too? He wasn't sure when he had gotten poisoned, but it seemed like he had. This was a good opportunity. He now had an excuse to eat one.

He retrieved another Pecha berry for himself, glancing at Viktoria again once he was finished eating. It was very sweet, he observed. He looked into his bag, wondering if he could justify a second test as to how it tasted. For science, of course. But organic beings seemed to be in need of Pecha berries quite often, so perhaps he should save them. That was a pity.

But all wasn't well, not yet. She was still stressed. Hadn't walking on the coral been bothering her earlier? Tec parked himself next to her without explanation, casting a sideways glance at her and waiting for her to climb on. "You were also stressed from walking on the coral. I can help. I am good at helping."

(Using one Pecha berry on Tec and one on Vik.)

”Huh? Um. Thank you, Tec.” The berry in question was oddly...flat. Like it was trying to mimic a pancake. Still, it’d be rude to comment on that really to Tec, so she decided to instead cut her doubts out and eat it.

The soothing sweetness of it was nice to say the least as the poison began to disappear. She had forgotten before how much she had missed Pecha Berries while she was in Grima, so it was a...pleasant gift to say the least.

”Well, it’s worth a shot if you can help me get around...” Viktoria sighed as she now lacked the purple tinge from before. ”So, what do I gotta do for that?”

He had even given her one of the weirdly shaped berries, which was, to Tec, the closest he could come to friendship. She seemed to be recovering. He watched until he was satisfied that she was healthy again, returning to his default bobbing through the air. Her question was... odd. He paused for a few long moments, trying to understand it. Was she thinking he would receive some kind of payment in return? Was he supposed to? No, none of that made any sense, before he finally decoded what she must have meant by that. "You need to get on my back." He affirmed. "I will carry you."

Some of the things she said earlier were odd, though, and they didn't sit exactly right with Tec. She had brought up many new concepts that he wished to learn more about. He parked on the ground next to the strange pokemon so she could climb onto him with a minimal amount of walking over the coral. "What is aura? What kind of pokemon are you? What type are you?" He started, listing out the many questions he had gathered. "Is a Skrelp the pokemon that attacked you? Why do you have horrid luck in general?"

That last question was especially interesting to him.