A Lovely Stroll

Ilia was in this lovely little forest to relax, take time to enjoy herself. When she got to town, all she did was work on her shop. Ilia had to have some fun or she'd get stressed out. Plus she wanted to go looking for berries and things to claim for her own. She did have the space for it after all. So with an empty pouch, her natural one, Ilia was taking it easy and enjoying the sights. Maybe she'd make a new friend? Anything would be quite enjoyable to do on such a nice day.

"Skii skiii skiii!"

Cookie sang quietly to herself, bouncing between the trees of the forest. It was far too beautiful outside to not wander away from the guild, and as she trotted in and out of warm sunbeams, she began to adore her new-found country home. Sure, it wasn't as pristine-clean as her favorite windowsill back home, but between the buzzing of bug-types, the delicious ripe berries and satisfying crunch of leaves underneath gave Pecha Forest its own unique charm.

"Keeeuuuun," called a nearby Sunkern as it nibbled away at a berry. Cookie pranced over to the Pecha bush and nibbled off a berry herself, chirping along with the Sunkern. The young skitty hopped away, and continued down her path.

"Skii skiiiiiii ski... skiii?"

Cookie stopped dead in her path. Something smelled... different. She sniffed the ground, pawing gently at the pressed grass beneath her feet. Nothing large lived in this forest--what could it be? She began to follow the path down into a sunny clearning, where she spotted a Kangaskhan calmly picking into a bush.

"Hellooo?" Without an ounce of fear of the larger pokemon, Cookie trotted into the clearing. "I'm Cookie, whatcha doin'?"

Ilia looked to the small feline pokemon and smiled, bending down towards her to speak. "Good day little one. I'm Ilia, owner of the new storage shop in Grassveil. I was just enjoying a nice walk through the forest and enjoying the scenery. I needed time to rest and recharge from work you see. Looks like the lovely day called out to you too." Ilia chuckled to Cookie and stood up straight again.

"Ohhhh, cooool." Cookie responded, tilting her head to the side. A pidgey chirped in the background, and the skitty's ears perked up just for a moment.

"Yeah, I've never been through a forest this pretty before. Have you been here long?" she said, purring lightly.

Ilia shook her head. "Not long at all. I only just got here to be honest... Ah wait." Ilia rubbed the back of her head. "I believe we just rushed past your introduction. Terribly sorry. May I ask what to call you? I can't very well keep calling you little one after all. What is your name?"

"Oh okay. I'm Cookie!" Cookie chirped. She dashed in a tight angle around Ilia, pouncing into a bush ahead, and poking her head right back out, shaking the leaves a bit in a dense rustle.

"If you wanna pick berries, I'll help! I can get the low ones, no problem! That's where they get the ripest."

Ilia chuckled and nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Since you are doing half the work, we'll split what we get fifty fifty. That is very fair, yes?" Grinning, Ilia pointed to her front pouch. "We can use my pouch here to carry what we find. But really, we should concentrate on fun more than work. Shall we Cookie?"

Cookie let out a pleased "Skiii!" before diving back into the bush, her tail flying up as she flipped around to dive deeper into the thistles and branches. Unfortunately, this bush wasn't a Pecha bush... but there were bound to be others around! The fragrant flowers of the plant wafted in the northern wind.

"Hey, Ilia! I don't think there's anything here. I think it's all north. But..."

She paused. Something didn't smell right. Sure, the berries were there. But she smelled a lot of Pokemon, too. Wild ones.

"...uh yeah! Let's go! Follow me!" Her resolve barely affected, Cookie raised her tail high for Ilia to follow, and she scampered north, pausing briefly to pick up a single berry hanging from an eaten bush and fling it towards the kangaskhan.

Ilia ate the berry midair and chuckled, continueing on her way after the Skitty. Her strides were slow, but longer than Cookie's so they kept pace. As Ilia enjoyed the scenery, she was keeping a slightly viligant eye out for items. Up on the path to the left was something. Ilia pointed to it and called to Cookie. "Look at that, something to pick up. Lets go see it." Ilia led Cookie over to reach and grab to item, looking closer at what the item was.

This dice is not existing.

Ignoring any and all personal space boundaries, Cookie leaped up Ilia's back and used her as a stepping stool to jump onto an overhead branch. She looked down and spied an apple in Ilia's hand.

"Apple!" she exclaimed excitedly. The kitten hopped up to a slightly higher branch and sniffed the air, trying to figure out where an apple tree could be hidden. The delicate scent seemed to be coming from a darker grove just a little out of the way.

"I dunno much about wild apples but I think I can smell the tree! It's in some lower light areas, though..." Cookie shouted downward.

"Also, can you catch me? I don't like heights."

Ilia sighed and put the apple in her pouch, reaching up to get ahold of Cookie. "If you don't like heights, stay out of trees. Its common sense Cookie." Ilia gently put the skitty on the ground where she would be more comfortable. "There, now why don't we follow your nose? I'll keep track of the way out so we don't get lost." Ilia grinned and stood back up. "Lead the way, I'm right behind you dear."

"I like climbing, though..." Cookie mumbled, skipping along. She followed a mostly-beaten path, taking care to avoid any constricted routes that her larger friend would get caught on.

After a short bit of a trek, the skitty perked up her tail. Something wasn't quite right here--the smells were too wild. She dove into a bush and poked her head out--there, in a small sunny clearing, was a stripped apple tree!

A bit more disturbing, however, was the small group of wild pokemon waiting around it, wary and willing to protect their tree...

This dice is not existing.

Ilia saw quickly how this could go bad and stepped in the middle of Cookie and the small pokemon. One Pidove seemed a bit aggressive, but the Kangaskhan stayed calm and collected. "Hello little ones, my name is Ilia and this is Cookie. We don't want any trouble. We were merely foraging as we take a pleasant walk. May we please continue?" Th Pidove, obviously the leader, kept up his tough act and went in the air. diving at the smaller and seemingly easier to beat Skitty. After all, Ilia was the biggest one there by a lot.

Cookie grinned and arched back, wiggling her rear in anticipation of a bold leap. Her teeth chattered a bit as the Pidove lunged close.

And suddenly the skitty feigned a jump. As Cookie executed a flawless Fake Out, the tough birdie crashed into the ground, sustaining a rough hit. It shook off a bit of the dirt and a bruise, and righted itself, darting forward in an odd bobbing motion.

"Iliaaaaa! That only works once! Hitithitithititgogogo!" Cookie shouted, taking cover behind the Kangaskhan.

Ilia sighed and stood ready as the Pidove lept after her, recovered from its flinch via Fake Out. Ready, Ilia let loose a flurry of Comet Punch, a move that Kangaskhan everywhere were known for. Ilia was able to hit the Pidove four times before it was knocked away. "Cookie, be more careful. Think before you act. You could have dodged instead of attacked. You were quick enough."