Mapping up the Mountain. Akuroma tricks Cracker into joining him!?

Akuroma walked up to the foot of the mountain before turning to look at Cracker, "C'mon, there's a nice big forest full of berries and nice Pokemon near the top," Akuroma said. To must Pokemon, that lie would've been obvious, but Akuroma knew how gullible Cracker was, and decided the monkey would've been the best Pokemon to watch his back while they climbed the mountain. Well, not exactly, he just knew Cracker wouldn't dare leave Akuroma alone with how dark the mist would make their surroundings.
The Ralts's true goal was to collect several items from the mountain while also mapping out a relatively safe trail to the supposed Black Spiral Staircase.

Gullible and friendly towards Akuroma as the Aipom was, he was still feeling a little uncertain about this whole venture into the Black Spear Mountain Range territory. Unlike the Shadowhue Forest, there were less trees here, and yet somehow the land was just as dark and difficult to see through. Where did all of this dark, mysterious mist come from anyway? It started almost immediately upon starting up the slope towards the mountain, like a wall of darkness.

He couldn’t quite imagine how such a scary-looking place could be home to nice Pokemon. Really the best he could hope for was the promise of lots of berries. It had been so long since he was able to indulge himself in such a manner. At any rate, he didn’t necessarily follow Akuroma this far into the unknown for the promises of gifts and friends. Mostly, he was just too scared to be on his own until he was away from all these spooky places.

So if Akuroma wanted to climb some dark and creepy mountain, Cracker really had no choice in the matter. Aside from fear of separation, he also considered the psychic Pokemon to be his friend. And friends wouldn’t lead friends into dangerous or deadly situations, right?

“I can hardly see a thing,” Cracker complained from his perch atop the branch of a very dark-skinned tree. “Are you sure we’re going the right way? I-I really don’t wanna get lost in here.”

Akuroma nodded at the Aipom, giving a small tap to his horn, "I've traveled here once before. It's a long journey but I know where we're going. Besides, most Pokemon here are a bit loud, so even if we run into one, it'll be easy to fight in the mist," he said before using his Confusion on the mist around him to make a small clearing.

"Sadly we won't be able to use your tree climbing abilities to good use. A lot of Onix live here, and their constant digging has destroyed most of the forest that used to live here," Akuroma said as he began to walk up the slope in front of them, "It'll be easy for a couple days travel from here, but soon we'll run into a more jagged region, and that's where I'll have to use my Confusion the most to make myself a trail up the cliffs, as I'm not a really good climber and using Confusion on myself for too long would, well, confuse me."

Still trying to follow along, Cracker was finding it more and more difficult to reach nearby trees. Akuroma wasn’t kidding when he said the local Pokemon had been destroying the terrain. Many of the trees he was scurrying across to keep up were tilted awkwardly to the side, if not lying flat altogether. On a particular tree-turned-log, the Aipom hurried along its length, ducking and diving between a network of tightly woven branches, all shriveled and dead, before the tree ran out and he had no choice but to continue on on foot.

Jumping to the rocky ground, Cracker hurried along to catch up to the psychic Pokemon, passing into his protective barrier that pushed back the mist. Inside he could see the Ralts clearly and bounced over to his side with a frown.

“This donks,” the Aipom grumbled. “How’s fighting in black soup supposed to be easy? What if we’re attacked by an Onix? Also y’know my offer back in the woods to carry you up still stands. I know you’ve got that pride thing going on, but it would be easier wouldn’t it? Climbing’s easy for me, after all.”

Akuroma glanced over at the Aipom, his eyes glowing blue from the Confusion attack, "Onix are easy to defeat, you just need to stay on their head then jump off when they try to whack you with their tail. Also, it wouldn't be easier, because Pokemon who travel into the mountains after us may be at a disadvantage since they may not be able to climb or have a Pokemon that's willing to carry them," he said, turning back to look ahead of them. After a few more minutes of walking, Akuroma noticed something come into the clearing he made.

"Well that's not a rock," he said as he walked up to the item and picked it up, brushing off the dirt that covered it.

This dice is not existing.

Bouncing along on his tail so as to keep his feet off the cold, gravelly landscape, Cracker gave what the Ralts had to say some serious thought. He’d never considered using an Onix’s own attacks to take itself out. How many times would something like that work before they grew wise to the tactic? Honestly, the Aipom was hesitant to even attempt such a maneuver in the first place. Onix were huge and scary; he probably run away screaming before he’d have the courage to scale one of the beasts.

As Akuroma continued on, the Pokemon’s face lit up with surprise. He didn’t know the Ralts to show much kindness to others, though his only real experience of how he behaved around others was with that Zorua back in Shadowhue Forest. And they didn’t get along at all. Here though, the psychic Pokemon was suggesting he wanted to make a path not just for himself but others who came after them.

“Wow, you’d really do that for Pokemon you never met?” Cracker queried. “I mean, go through all that effort to make a clear path, even with all these other dangerous Pokemon around?”

He didn't get to hear an answer to that, because immediately after his question, the Ralts noticed something up ahead. Bouncing along, the Aipom peered over his shoulder.

“What is it, what didja find?”

This dice is not existing.

Akuroma looked up at the Aipom, handing him a Special Band, "That and a Protein," he said, placing the glass bottle into his bag.
"The special band will reduce your damage from special attacks, much like my Confusion attack or something like a Hyper Beam," he said. He would've responded to the Aipom's question about helping others, but he decided against it. Truthfully the Ralts didn't care how others got up the mountain. The path he was making was more so that he wouldn't need someone like Cracker to offer to carry him over the cliff, the added part of helping others is just a side effect of making such a path, and Akuroma would only say that to get on the good side of Pokemon he believed were useful to him.

Cracker couldn’t help but ogle the Special Band as it was handed to him. He’d never really seen anything like it before, and although he wasn’t sure about Akuroma’s description of its use, the fact was it looked cool as heck.

“Wow, thanks!” he squealed, bouncing happily on his tail as he expertly slapped the band around his forehead and tied it into a make-shift bandana. “Is there stuff like this all over this mountain?”

Akuroma nodded, "Yep, there are items like Escape Orbs, which teleport you to the beginning of a dungeon or to the town of your guild if you have a guild badge. Stun seeds and Blinker seeds paralyze or blind you, respectively. Gold Ribbons are for pure show while Joy Ribbons allow you to become stronger quicker. An Insomniscope allows you to be immune to sleep. A Spurn Orb teleports all nearby enemies away from you. There's also TM Focus Blast, which teaches a powerful fighting type attack," he explained, only noting some of the items found in the dungeon. Akuroma stopped suddenly, his horn twitching.
"Get ready Cracker," he said, using his confusion attack to raise the ground under them, giving them a platform above the mist.

This dice is not existing.

As Akuroma went down a short and sweet list of the sort of loot that could be found on the mountain, Cracker’s eyes lit up excitedly. He nodded with each word, totally taken in by the promise of treasure in this region. This was way better than that awful experience in Monochrome Ruins. Not just because they were out in the fresh, if blackened air, but because there were no corners to get backed into by an enemy.

If Cracker hadn’t been excited before, he certainly was now. He was already thinking of the prizes their trip here could earn them. Most notably he was thinking about furthering his fashionable attire with a Gold Ribbon, or maybe a Joy Ribbon; something to go with his new Special Band. The Aipom started bouncing up and down on his tail when the Ralts suddenly warned him to get ready.

With one last bounce, the long-tailed Pokemon landed on his feet and positioned himself behind the psychic-type to cover his back, wobbling in surprise as the ground rose beneath them for an impromptu height advantage.

“What is it, what’s out there?” Cracker asked, sounding very worried. “I-i-it’s not an Onix is it?”

Akuroma shook his head, "Duck!" he said, ducking down as a Spearow zoomed right above their heads.

"It's just a Spearow, it's no match for one of us so it's being pretty bold to go after both," he said before firing a confuse ray at the bird Pokemon. Sadly he missed, the Spearow veering sideways to dodge the attack.

Hearing the call to duck, Cracker didn’t hesitate to oblige as the small avian zoomed by over their heads. He could feel the breeze as the flying Pokemon’s beak just narrowly missed. The Aipom was grateful to hear it was just a small Spearow, but given his luck in the past with creatures of the winged variety, they often came in swarms and got really ticked when you pissed them off.

“I hope it’s just the one,” he replied, watching as the Ralts fired and missed with a Confuse Ray. “Hey… Hey! I got an idea!”

Dodging a second assault by the Spearow with Agility, Cracker searched their raised platform for a small stone, the right shape and size for throwing. This particular attack wasn’t any of his special ones, let alone very powerful, but it had a high accuracy. Fortunately he was quick enough to find a good lobber before the Spearow could circle around for another attack, and as it came back in for another strike, the Aipom poised himself for an attack of his own.

“Watch this!” he called to Akuroma.

With the stone in hand, he tossed it into the air and jumped up after it, spinning in a tight circle until his tail whipped around him quickly. Then, with all the experience of an ill-spent youth, he struck the pebble with the meaty end of his tail, rocketing the projectile with painful force directly between the Spearow’s eyes.

It wasn’t a spectacular assault, but it halted the incoming attack completely and stunned the flying Pokemon momentarily.

“Bulls-eye! Ha-ha!” He cheered, dancing on the spot.

Akuroma blinked at how such a simple rock became a dangerous projectile, but he wasn't very surprised. Against dark types he commonly used the terrain to attack the normally immune Pokemon. However, this Spearow wasn't a dark type, and with it stunned, Akuroma was able to lock on with a Confusion attack and slam it onto the platform. When he released it from the Confusion attack, it didn't move.

"Huh, guess it wasn't all that strong compared to the average Spearow," he said, walking up to the Spearow and searching it's unconscious body, "Hey, Cracker, looks like it was holding something."

This dice is not existing.

Still prancing about after his successful hit on the Spearow, Cracker was caught by surprise when that same Pokemon slammed down onto the platform they were standing on hard enough to return the slab back into the hole it had risen from. The Aipom wobbled as the stone settled before hurrying over to the unconscious bird to see what treasures it possessed.

Ralts was the first to pilfer something from the K.O’d Spearow, and the sight of that shimmering Gold Ribbon made the Aipom gasped loudly.

“Woooooow, it’s so pretty!” he squealed, dancing around the Ralts as he admired the pretty ribbon. “Ooooh, you gotta let me have it, pleeeease?”

Prepared to continue begging, Cracker abruptly noticed something else poking out of the Spearow's plumage. Bouncing back over to the Pokemon he grabbed at it, wary of the unconscious body deciding to move again if they hung around too long.

This dice is not existing.

Akuroma frowned a little at the Gold Ribbon. Other than being nice to look at, it had no real use, and only those with bags of poke would actually buy it. He sighed a bit and put it into his bag, deciding he might find someone to sell it to after this journey.

He looked up when the Aipom suddenly quit his begging, seeing him reaching down and grabbing an X-Eye seed from the Spearow's plumage, "Careful, that seed will make you hallucinate," he said as he stood up and began to walk back up the mountain.