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

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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.

Akuroma nodded, "This is what a Joy Ribbon looks like. Supposedly it helps you grow stronger quicker...but I don't feel anything yet. Perhaps it's effect is delayed for some reason," he said as he kept climbing.

For a minute he was silent, but soon they reached a rock wall with a platform that looked similar to the one Akuroma made in their battle with the Spearow, "Ah, here it is," Akuroma said as he used Confusion on Cracker and himself, lifting them both up onto the platform. The sun was already nearly finished setting, jst a few rays still reaching between the surrounding mountains. There were the smoldering remains of a recent campfire and makeshift beds on the platform.

"Hm, seems someone's used this since the last time I came here," Akuroma said, going over to the dead fire and putting some sticks and leaves from one of the makeshift beds into it to make it slowly grow back to life.

"We'll camp here for the night," he said, sitting at the edge of the platform and looking out over the dark mist, "I'll take first watch."

As Akuroma spoke of the ribbon, Cracker looked at it closely. It definitely wasn’t as pretty and alluring as the Gold Ribbon, but it was still quite fancy and apparently made of a very thin fabric. The ribbon certainly didn’t look very special, and the Ralts said it wasn’t having any effect yet. Maybe it was a dud. That’s a thing, right? Dud ribbons?

Thinking about it, Cracker’s own ribbon didn’t seem to serve much purpose yet either.  Of course he didn’t know what all a Special Band did, aside from what Akuroma told him about it. Maybe he’d witness its power the next time he was hit with a fireball or a blizzard. Granted, he’d hate to have to be in such a scenario just to see if the band worked.

The duo carried on in silence for a few more yards before coming across a sizeable chunk of raised stone, almost identical to the one the Ralts had created earlier, only it was taller and hadn’t dropped back down into its own footprint. Before the Aipom could say a word, he and the psychic Pokemon were levitated up onto its surface where an old campsite stood.

Once his feet touched the ground again, Cracker immediately bounced ahead, landing with a padded thump into one of the makeshift beds. He rolled around in the grassy nest, giggling in amusement before settling in.

“It’s no tree, but it’ll do, I guess,” Cracker commented, watching the Ralts as he relit the fire using some of his bedding as kindling.

Offering to take first watch, Akuroma sat at the edge of the platform, staring into the dark mist surrounding them. Cracker was already feeling tired enough to go out like a light, but he was still curious about something.

“So uh… You’ve been out here before, huh?” he asked slowly. “What were yah looking for last time? Or do you normally frequent the scariest places possible?”

Akuroma looked back at the Aipom for a second, "I came here simply to come here. Ever since I went into Grassveil, they'd never dare let me venture far from it, not even into Pecha Forest. It was only a little over a year ago that they allowed me to go into the nearby woods. Then I started gathering information about dungeons and the library gave me a bag to go study dungeons for them," he said.

He looked up at the sky, "Looks like it might rain tonight," he said, using Confusion to make a piece of rock jut out and create an overhang.

Laying on a bunched up pile of twigs and grass, Cracker listened as the Ralts spoke, tilting his head curiously. It suddenly made sense why Akuroma was visiting all these scary dungeons. It wasn’t to fight--although the psychic Pokemon handled that well enough--it was to learn about them and develop a catalogue of information on each one. It did make Cracker wonder why he asked him to come along now, though. The long-tailed Pokemon wasn't exactly the most useful in a fight, and without a tree in sight, he didn't make a very good look-out either.

And if he was still learning about this particular dungeon, how did he know if there were lots of berries here? So far the Aipom hadn’t seen a single living tree since they entered this war-torn landscape.

Of course, Cracker wasn’t complaining about being dragged into all this. His love for adventure was paralleled by his fear of the unknown, and he honestly felt very safe around the Ralts, even if he might not be telling the whole truth about this region. In a way it was a game; one Cracker didn’t know the rules to, of course. But the mystery and intrigue made up for what the Aipom didn’t understand.

Commenting about the weather, Akuroma used his powers to manipulate the ground around them, protecting their heads with a stony overhang just as some distant clouds rumbled with the promise of a downpour. Watching the Ralts, Cracker couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. Akuroma really knew what he was doing, at least to the Aipom; even if his intentions were unclear most of the time.

“So you’re a Pokemon Researcher then, right?” Cracker asked, sitting up in the bed and playing with the bumps in his headband. “How come they wouldn’t letcha leave the town for so long? Seems to me like you can handle yourself out here just fine. Way better than me, that’s for sure.”

This dice is not existing.

Akuroma tilted his head at the sound of "Pokemon Researcher." It had a nice ring to it, but was not completely accurate in his mind. However, before he could respond, the Aipom asked his second question, to which Akuroma grew a bit silent.

"Well, it's probably because of the circumstances of me coming into Grassveil," he said.

"You see..." he paused rather dramatically, "I may have ended up on the back of a cart heading there while reading a book," he said, cracking his scar a bit sheepishly. Though embarrassed by how he got to Grassveil, he didn't mind sharing, nor did he truly care that he ended up there.

When Akuroma explained the circumstances by which he wound up in Grassveil, the Aipom couldn’t help by stifle a giggle; getting carried away while reading a book just seemed like such a careless mistake to make, especially for someone as knowledgeable as the Ralts. It must have been one engrossing book for him not to realize where he was headed.

Then again, Cracker couldn’t talk much when it came to being careless. It was entirely his poor, reckless behavior that resulted in his village counsel giving him the boot. Remembering that particular event shut him up. Sighing, the Aipom rolled onto his back and stared up at the stony ceiling overhead, the first sounds of rain beginning to pepper the newly arranged stone.

“Well, I suppose that’s not the worst thing that could happen,” he said absently, rolling onto his side to stir a paw around in the bedding. “You could’ve gotten banished from your home, like I did.”

Unlike Akuroma, Cracker wasn’t indifferent about how he wound up out in the world. He still didn’t even fully understand why it happened. The Aipom had spent his youth as something of a jester, causing trouble all over town, and eventually everyone just got fed up. Maybe they didn’t find his pranks funny anymore, or something.

As he quietly stirred his paw through the bedding, a small glimmer caught his eye, drawing his attention in closely as he continued to play at the grass and twigs. Stirring up the makeshift weaving of his bed, Cracker was shocked to uncover a Gold Ribbon just sitting there, tangled up in the bedding, like another Pokemon, perhaps a flying-type, had attempted to incorporate it into the structure to make a nest.

Cracker’s eyes lit up as he yanked the fabric free, holding it up, awestruck at the shiny brilliance of the marred fabric. It was quite dirty with bits of leaves and twigs hanging from it, but there was no question it was the same sort of ribbon Akuroma had found.

The sight of the discovery was such that the Aipom was at a loss for words. The best he could manage was a tiny squeak from the sharp gasp.

Akuroma shot up at the sudden squeak from Cracker and looked back, "Wha- Oh, well lucky you, you found one for yourself," he said, sitting back down and facing back out to the dark mist. As he stared at the dark world around them, the only light behind him coming from the fire, he thought about the last time he came here. It was near here that he and Enzu talked about their pasts and travels.

He thought it strange that the same thing was going on between him and Cracker. For a moment he was silent, listening to the rain.

"Get some rest," he said, not notifying the Aipom that he was sensing a nearing Pokemon.

“It’s so beautiful! Don’t you think it’s beautiful, I think it’s beautiful! Gorgeous, even! Just look at it!” Cracker abruptly cried, hugging the dirty strip of fabric tightly in his arms. “I can’t believe it was just sitting here! Who could ever part with such a wonderful, glorious, shiny piece of treasure, who?! Not me, that’s for sure!”

Clearly Cracker was immediately in love with his new-found treasure, completely forgetting that another, namely Akuroma’s, even existed. This one was his and his alone. It even matched him perfectly in that it wasn’t perfect. Certainly not right now, anyway. Covered in bits of grass, leaves and twigs, it looked like it had taken a heck of a journey to get here.

Some Pokemon living nearby must’ve spotted these beds and attempted to make a nest out of it, using the pretty ribbon. Sure it would’ve made a nice décor if applied right, but its beauty was simply wasted on this crude bed. Fate surely shined upon this dirty little ribbon, looking for someone just like Cracker to whisk it away on a mighty adventure.

As the Aipom’s happy thoughts rambled on, he rolled around in the bed, nuzzling the prickly ribbon. Even as excited as he was to discover the Gold Ribbon, he was still very tired, so Akuroma’s suggestion that he get some rest did not go ignored. Curled up in a tight ball, Cracker snuggled his new prize like a security blanket and began to drift off.

Akuroma waited until he could sense that the Aipom was in a deep enough sleep so that he could slip off. Normally he wouldn't think of going out into the mountain alone, but it was one Pokemon as far as he could tell, and he needed Cracker wide awake, not dozing off, during a battle.

As Akuroma approached where he could sense the Pokemon, he used his Confusion to make the clearing, revealing himself and the pokemon.

This dice is not existing.

Akuroma let the mist go of his Confusion attack as the Spearow prepared to use Razor wind. As the mist quickly covered the clearing he had made he began to use Double Team, the several copies of himself acting as if they were firing Confuse Rays at the Spearow while he simply walked away from where he had been standing to avoid the Razor Wind when it hit.

As he walked his foot tapped into something. He looked down and picked up the item, shrugging and putting it into his bag before he turned his focus back to the Spearow.

This dice is not existing.

Akuroma looked up as he saw the Spearow barreling towards him. As she came in closer he used Confusion, but didn't try to lock on to her. No, Aerial Ace was too fast, instead, he used it on the ground around him and created a circular room around the two Pokemon, limiting the Spearow's movements. However, this did nothing to stop her attack and it was not a fun one to be hit by.

The Ralts was flung back by the attack and ended up hitting one of the walls, which made him momentarily regret putting them up. Akuroma groaned and fell to his knee but quickly, though a bit shaken, stood back up and used Confusion on the flying type, slamming her into the walls and floor of the room he created out of anger.

Akuroma frowned slightly, "Do you really believe something I made with Confusion so quickly would so easily distract me?" he asked the avian, using his Confusion attack to stop the chunks of rock and launch them at her. Though he knew the strength of the Spearow was a bit of a gamble to handle alone, he could bend the environment to aid him. He did so greatly, using Confusion on the broken pillar the Spearow had destroyed earlier as more projectiles after his destroyed room was out of ammo.