Queen of the Hill

The day was bright, but the fog obscured it in this strange hill enshrouded in fog. The house that stood on top of this hill was hidden by foliage of the trees that surrounded it, and those trees too, were hidden behind the mist. The grass seemed to be fresh and covered with dew, suggesting that either the mist had left some of its water on the leaves and was settling, or morning and the present was not too far apart.

In this thick mist, a small and stocky rock and dragon type was making her way towards the hill. She was attempting to reach home once more after having followed a strange pawniard to the dark forest called Shadowhue and visiting the strange waterfall by the name of Monochrome Falls. The trip had been cruel to her after a certain flabebe decided to blast her with a strange move called Solar Beam she had not been familiar with.

The strange rock type stopped walking, her big and heavy feet leaving marks in the grass from when her weight crushed the grass beneath her and made it difficult to spring back up. She was utterly lost, she was wondering why she had not demanded that the pawniard take her home. Her mother had always taught her that there has to be times where royals do things themselves, they cannot abuse their subjects for their every will.

The teachings of her mother and father had always conflicted against each other. Her father always spoke of ruling with an iron fist and using fear to gain respect and never fearing anything herself, while her mother spoke of kindness and pity, respecting the subjects and helping them out, gaining respect through trust. Two teachings and only one could be chosen, the tyrunt trusted both of her parents, and both of her parent's methods seemed effective, but she could only choose one. If she were to choose one, she was to reject the other method and possibly anger the other parent.

She sighed as the picked up the blue sapphire amulet that hung from her neck, a family heirloom. It was proof of her royalty, and it was passed down for generations according to her parents. Giving her this seemed like it was the only thing her parents actually agreed on doing, so it must have been important to them. Although it was actually the tyrannitar, her grandfather, that gave it to her and just told her that her parents agreed to give it to her. He had also said that they had agreed to let her go out on this journey. She had trusted her grandfather, why would he have any reason to lie to his grand-daughter after all?

The tyrunt smiled, remembering her home kingdom bringing back fond memories despite bringing back the confusion that resurfaced with it. She let the amulet dangle from her neck once more, and looked back into the fog, she could see only two meters in front of her or so. The exact distance was difficult to determine due to the tyrunt's lack of education in such a department.

Victoria, the tyrunt, moved along in hopes of chancing her way into another friendly pokemon to help her, or scare a feral into helping her. She did not mind this place too much, but she needed to return home to her shelter. She needed to finish it, her home, she also needed to try and collect some pokemon to help her in building her kingdom. One day, this little tyrunt hoped to be queen, to fulfill her destiny her parents had given her!

((Victoria energy: 9))

The sound of his own heavy breathing and frustrated whining echoed in his ears as the Aipom repeatedly struck the tree with the beefy hand-like appendage on the end of his tail. He’d been at this seemingly pointless routine for almost an hour; probably the most time he’d ever spent on any single task in his entire life. But this was necessary, nay important. After everything he’d been through and the Pokemon he’d met since arriving in Pecha Forest, how could he not want to get stronger? Too often he’d fallen flat on his face when he could’ve been useful and it was beginning to gnaw at him.

Ever since his time in Shadowhue forest with that Ralts and Zorua, Cracker had begun noticing major flaws in himself that he didn’t like. He’d always been so happy and upbeat, that he never realized what a danger to his friends he was by being an inexperienced fighter, always choosing to run away first and only ever defend himself or others when absolutely necessary. This record of foul-ups and cowardly behavior was stacking higher and higher every day.

His entire youth was spent as a prankster rather than learning the trades his elders had attempted to bestow upon him. He never got to be a healer or a cook, a warrior or a scout, or anything of the sort. Always the nuisance, it eventually resulted in the council deciding to evict him from his life-long home. And thinking about it now, he really missed his family and his Granny, the only one who’d ever stood up for him, even at the meeting that resulted in his forced departure. Perhaps she saw what no one else bothered to look for; an Aipom who hadn’t realized his potential yet.

Of course, Cracker still wasn’t sure if he had discovered it yet, himself. He just knew he no longer wanted to be that purple-furred menace that just got in the way, at least not entirely. The decision to give up on things like pranking or playing games was a hard one, and something he wasn’t sure he could ever truly do. It was part of who he was. What he needed to do was make an effort to better understand the other Pokemon around him, even if he wasn’t the smartest one out there.

What the Aipom really sought, was a chance to prove to himself and others that he could be helpful, that he wasn’t just a child with a perpetual grin on his face. Being happy and cheerful was one thing, but he needed to be tough and confident too, especially in the face of danger. And to start it all off, what better place to train than the hill of Pricklemist. He knew just about nothing about this place other than that it was far less dangerous than Black Mist Mountain while still having the challenge of a misty terrain. And since that limited vision was what had him so terrified the last time, it seemed like the perfect place to start in overcoming his fears.

Since entering this place, his hearing had been his most keen sense in keeping him out of danger. And right now, he was attempting to teach himself a sense of balance so he wouldn’t keep falling on his face after every attack. It wasn’t going very well. The Aipom was already looking quite scruffy and unkempt from all his previous falls. The last fifteen minutes was the longest so far he’d gone without missing his target, but all good things had to come to an end.

The mist had a habit of obscuring the trees he was targeting just a few feet off the beaten path, and as had happened repeatedly for the past hour, his aim was thrown off abruptly when the trunk he was practicing with vanished in front of him. His confidence immediately evaporated as he leapt into the air to swing his tail and his attack missed entirely. The result was yet another dirt facial on the ground. Laying still on the forest floor, the Aipom huffed loudly and abruptly smacked his paws on the earth and lifted his head to curse the skies.

“C’moooon!” he complained. “This is so unfair! Stupid trees, stupid mist!” Jumping back to his feet the Aipom targeted a flower to kick in frustration. “Stupid every—thiiiiing!” His assault missed completely and he flew up and down, landing firmly on his back.

(Cracker's Energy: 11)

The sound of a whining voice in the distance caused the tyrunt to come to a halt in her journey. The tyrunt's head tilted, curiosity forming in her small prehistoric mind. Her body turned and her low head swung to face the sound. The whining tone of voice came up once more, as if beckoning the tyrunt to come and satisfy her curiosity. The tyrunt followed the sound of the voice, and continued in its direction once it had stopped. This was not the brightest of ideas she had ever had, but she did not expect there to be something dangerous and unkind to be in this area so close to the town of Rainfront.

The princess came across the site of a strange long tailed pokemon that seemed to be attempting to eat the grass or was relaxing in it. Victoria blinked, having never seen this creature before. The pokemon was of a violet color, with a pale stomach like the charmander she had met back in Blackspear mountains, and a pale face with pale legs and tail end. Its limbs where short aside from the limb that seemed to be more of a tail. The tail's pale end was beefy and seemed to be strong with three finger like growths coming from it.

"May i ask what you're doing?" she asked the purple creature. The tyrunt blinked as she awaited an answer to be spoken. She was bemused by the strange monkey's actions.

((Writers block hath occurred))

With his body splayed out on the ground, Cracker stared up at the tree-tops overhead looking thoroughly displeased with his own antics. A sizeable furrow had nestled into his brow and his mouth was fixed in a deep frown. Once again he proved unable to stay on his feet. Why was it that his agility and dexterity only truly shined when he was in a tree? Yet on the ground, he might as well have had two left feet. It didn’t make any sense.

The Aipom was perfectly content to lie on his back for the rest of the day, at this point. From his perspective the last hour or so had been a complete waste. He hadn’t gotten faster or stronger; if anything he’d gotten slower and completely exhausted. Cracker closed his eyes with a sigh, ready to fall asleep when his ears twitched abruptly at the sound of someone approaching.

Rather than wait it out, he opened his eyes and sat up, coming face-to-face with the massive jaws of a Tyrunt posing a haughty-sounding inquiry. The Aipom’s pupils shrunk to little specks as he stared at the creature looming above him. Then, with all the spine of a blade of grass, he let out a high-pitched squeak and attempted to jump backwards. Instead he only succeeded in a backwards somersault that reacquainted his face with the dirt.

Lurching upright in terror, he scrambled backwards until his back was against the tree trunk he’d been practicing on earlier. Cracker had never seen this kind of Pokemon before, but if he had to gauge friend or foe based on looks alone, that sharp maw clearly screamed I’m gonna eat you.

“Oh Arceus! Please don’t eat me!” he cried, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his face with his arms as though expecting to be snapped up in the Tyrunt’s powerful jaws. “I’m sorry if I’m in your territory, I didn’t know!”

The tyrunt blinked in surprise as the pokemon squealed in fear and seemed to try to eat the dirt beneath it for a moment. The aipom suddenly began to plea for its life, apologizing about invading her territory. The tyrunt lowered her head and spoke with a bit of unease, not used to getting this type of reaction from pokemon, "But this isn't my territory?" Pokemon were always either calm or tripping head over heals to please her, this one was just flat out terrified she was going to eat it.

"I live farther off from here, and I'm not hungry...What kind of princess would I be if I ate potential subjects?"" the tyrunt backed away from the aipom in attempt to show that she was of no threat. She did not want to use her father's method here, her father's method was her last resort when demanding a pokemon to respect her. This was more because if she used her father's method first, the other pokemon were less likely to respond to her being kind like her mother.

The bulky pokemon was unsure of what method to use permanently, as said before if she were to choose one she would have to abandon the other, there could not be a way to do both at the same time surely? The tyrunts confusion of the subject only grew, causing her to decide to not think about such things for now. She would surely find out over time, right?

Still holding his arms up defensively, Cracker opened his eyes at the Tyrunt’s confused response. If this wasn’t her territory, then that must mean she wasn’t one of the wild Pokemon that frequented these woods. Considering most encounters in the woods had very little if any verbal exchanges, the likelihood of her being here for the reason he feared dropped significantly. And with this realization, the Aipom was able to lower his guard as well.

Dropping his arms to his sides, the long-tailed Pokemon stood up awkwardly and dusted himself off nervously as the Tyrunt continued speaking. She explained that she lived elsewhere and that she wasn’t hungry, but when she referred to herself as a Princess, the Aipom froze and blinked in surprise. A Princess? Really? Looking at the Tyrunt, he tried to picture the image of royalty, but it was difficult with that big tooth-filled maw of hers. Her visage didn’t strike him as one of high-blood, but the sparkling amulet hanging around her neck was far too pretty and valuable-looking to belong to just anyone. So perhaps she was telling the truth; but why would a Princess be wandering around by herself in these woods? Wouldn’t she have some sort of escort? Like a big burly bunch of brutes decked out in armor or something.

“Wow, are you really a Princess?” he asked, even though he’d already decided in his mind that there was little doubt. “Should you really be out here all by yourself? What if you ran into a bunch of mean Pokemon? You could get hurt!”

The Aipom had a genuine look of concern on his face, but it quickly shifted into a large grin as a bright idea crossed his mind. A Princess surely needed a body-guard. Someone she could rely on, who could defend her and put their own life on the line to keep her safe; a strong, brave individual with no fear of danger. Of course, none of this even remotely described Cracker, but how could he resist the fantasy of being such a hero? The mental image he concocted had him giddy with excitement. He was already bouncing back and forth from one leg to the other, paws covering his mouth.

“Oh-oh, I know! I could be your body-guard! Wouldn’t that be great? Oh, please say yes!”

Victoria was surprised to see the aipom practically throw itself in front of her now that she had stated her social status. She grinned though, finally happy to see SOMEBODY that respected her heritage and believed her.

"I came from afar to start my own kingdom, I do not have any subjects yet sadly and thus no knights to protect me, but if you'd like to assist me in returning home I would gladly accept your kind offer!" the female heir pokemon spoke, liking this small monkey like pokemon already.

The tyrunt looked about, "I don't suppose you know your way around this place? I am trying to get back home, but I'm a bit lost..." The tyrunt had assumed the aipom was innocent in his attempt due to his behavior and her lack of enemies in this area. The only reason one would want to rob her, that she knew of, was because of her shiny blue amulet which she would rather eat and have the foes take it from her dead stomach.

Victoria was still a bit uneasy from the strange mist, but somehow the day seemed to be a bit relaxed and friendly to the little tyrunt heir and her newly found companion with three arms, two on the sides and one on the tail. She hoped that this trip would not be as irritable as it was with the pawniard and the bad pokemon who did not respect her status in the area that others had labeled as Feral pokemon.

Kat carried out 1 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

((NO REGRETS))

“Yes! Ha-ha! You won’t regret it, I promise!” Cracker cheered, bouncing into the air excitedly. “Just lemme get my stuff!”

Without hesitating, the Aipom raced over to the base of another tree where he’d deposited his meager belongings. Ever since his time with the Ralts at Black Mist Mountain, he’d started using the Gold Ribbon he acquired there as a makeshift bindle, which held inside the two seeds and one Geo-Pebble he found during the trek into that region’s black mist. With the shiny ribbon folded it half around his belongings, he’d tie it around his neck like a reversed handkerchief. After that, his only other belonging was a Special Band, which he re-equipped around his forehead like a bandana.

This was the extent of his ensemble. It took him only a few seconds to get ready, and by the time he returned, she was inquiring if he knew his way around this particular area. That was such a simple answer, that he thoughtlessly blurted out the answer without taking into consideration that it might almost certainly make him look like a bumbling fool who had no right to consider himself eligible for the status of a Knight.

“Not a clue!” he proclaimed, puffing out his chest like it was something to be proud of. “But don’t worry, the world looks much different from way up in a tree. I can find the way easy enough, so fear not! Where exactly is it you live, anyway? That’d certainly help—” The Aipom stopped himself for a moment, feeling a little awkward.

“I’m sorry, should I be saying ‘your highness’? I uhm… I don’t really know how this whole royalty thing works. See, where I come from, we had a Council of Elders so… Y’know, I don’t wanna be rude or anything! Also, there’s something purple stuck between your toes there.”

Lumin carried out 1 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

(YOLO!)

The tyrunt blinked and moved her large foot to spot a strange purple gummi. She blinked before reaching down and sniffing it, the smell reminding her of the gourmets in her old kingdom. The chef would usually throw in a special something in her dish for her, he never said what it was saying it was a special secret of his, but this strange object smelled like a stronger version of the slight touch of scent that was usually in her dishes. There was still something different about the smell though, giving the hint that this gummi was not the secret ingredient, but close to it.

She listened as the aipom announced that he had no clue where they were either and how they should not worry, "I live in Black Spear, its a series of mountains that have obsidian tips that stab the sky, also it's a bit too misty to really see from a tree...isn't it?" the tyrunt asked referring to the slight fog that surrounded the pair.

"You can call me your highness or princess, which does not matter so long as-" the tyrunt had suddenly been cut off by a strange bird dive bombing before her, attempting to grab Crackers seemingly but missed by its own poor aiming. As quickly as the strange bird appeared it vanished into the fog. Victoria blinked as she watched the strange bird fly back into the sky and disappear, she looked around, trying to find the bird as it hid itself.

She did not think to look behind her, as a rather large pillar of flame with a black shadow in the center of it began to charge towards the tyrunt.

((Fletchling Moves - Flame Charge, you weren't on when I wanted to discuss moveset so i'm going to leave it open for additions as we go))

After the Tyrunt moved her foot to reveal the Purple Gummi, Cracker tilted his head, amused by how she hadn’t noticed until now that’d she stepped on something of value. The Princess sniffed at it like it was familiar to her, but seemed to disregard it in favor of answering the Aipom. What she responded with however, made the Pokemon’s eyes widen in surprise. She lives in Black Spear? Really? How could such a sensitive soul live in such an awful place? At least he assumed she was delicate, being a Princess and all.

She also happened to mention the mist, which made the Aipom wince inwardly. He’d forgotten about that one particular limiting factor. Being thick as soup, it would be impossible to see ahead, but if they were going to that terrible range of spiky mountains, finding his way wouldn’t be nearly so hard. His trip to Black Mist Mountain with the Ralts had brought them through this region, so he had at least some idea how to get there from here.

“I know the place,” he said awkwardly, not really enjoying the recollection of that torn up landscape void of trees.

As the Princess continued talking, Cracker’s ears twitched, picking up the sound of wings approaching. Squeaking in surprise, the Aipom narrowly avoided the Fletchling that swooped down between the two, attempting to assault him specifically. It occurred to him right at that moment that perhaps the tree he’d been pounding on for the last hour might’ve been the bird’s home. Whatever the case, it vanished as quickly as it had come, back into the mist.

Cracker hardly expected it to appear and leave just like that, so following the Tyrunt’s example he tried to search the foggy terrain for the Fletchling as well. And unfortunately he spotted it directly behind the Princess. At least he was pretty sure it was the Pokemon; right now it looked more like a raging fireball—

“Aaa-ah-aah! Y-your highness? Princess!? Look out!” he shrieked, leaping beside the dragon-type.

Without giving her much chance to respond Cracker jumped into the air and, using both feet and his tail, launched her sideways while springing away himself just as the Fletchling’s Flame Charge roared between them. The Aipom flopped onto his back and rolled awkwardly onto his feet, grabbing his singed tail and searching the misty skies frantically for the Pokemon who had a clear advantage against the two of them.

I know I’m supposed to defend the Princess with my life, but I didn’t think I’d have to do it so soon! he whined inwardly, looking over to the Tyrunt. “Are you okay, Princess? I think it’s coming back, we need to get outta here!”

The tyrunt was able to jump out of the way in time, her own tail being singed as the raging horizontal column of fire separated her from the aipom. The fire quickly went out as the bird disappeared in the fog. The grass emitted a light as some of the blades still remained ablaze. The tyrunt swallowed, having not seen a bird this strong before. She looked to the aipom and nodded before avoiding a good peck in the head as the bird dive bombed her as it had with Crackers earlier. It seemed that the Fletchling's view was obscured by the mist as much as their own, and seemed to be trying to use their voices to find them.

The tyrunt made her way quickly back to the aipom, her guard. Victoria watched the skies and whispered, "Lead the way, because I have no idea where anything is and you've probably been here slightly longer than me.."

She seemed to have been about to say more but the frustrated twitter of the fletchling in the skies and a blazing red light appear in the skies as it prepared another flaming charge across the ground in attempt to hit one of the two foes at random.
((brain dead))

Despite being grateful to see the Tyrunt was okay, they weren’t in the clear yet, as evidenced by a second attempted assault on his Princess. Cracker was suddenly feeling very defensive over what he saw as a delicate flower being disrespected by a hungry Beedrill. Maybe he was taking this new role as a body-guard too seriously. Either way, he offered himself for the position, and that meant he had a job to do. He needed to protect her from harm.

Still watching the skies warily, he extended his tail-arm to the Lady, wrapping it around her shoulders both to lead her and keep her from getting separated again. He started to move back to the path before his sense of direction was completely lost to the mist crowding in around them. As they moved though, the Fletchling, following the sound of the Tyrunt’s voice, dived toward them once more with another Flame Charge.

Cracker could hear the air sizzling around the Pokemon as it swooped down towards them. Surely this time it would meet its mark if he didn’t do something. He could feel that familiar fear bubbling up inside him. This is about where he would’ve normally bailed to save himself. Instead though, he struggled to squash the fear in favor of doing something good for once. No longer was he going to just fold to his quivering heart. He had to be strong for once.

Turning around to face the blazing enemy, the Aipom positioned himself in front of the Princess and waited for the Fletchling to come closer. It wasn’t until it was only a few feet away that Cracker abruptly swung his tail into the ground and threw up a thick spray of sand with Sand Attack, blinding his foe at the last moment and causing it to lose control and swerve wildly to the side.

Fearing for the Tyrunt, he pushed both her and himself out of the way, as the bird tore past them, veering sharply into the mist before a loud crash of branches and foliage signified that the Pokemon had made a crude landing in the trees. With his heart already racing, Cracker didn’t want to stick around to see if the Fletchling was okay. He promptly wrapped his tail around the Princess again and carried on quickly.

“This way, your Highness,” he said quietly, wearing a friendly grin to hide his adrenaline.

The tyrunt found herself being pushed aside as the aipom kicked up sand and caused the bird to become blinded mid-flight. The fletchling unleashed some furious and panicked twittering sounds as the flame began to go out, but its speed maintained itself due to the boosts the move gave it. The fletchling's fire touched the ground slightly as it went out and the fletchling crashed into the trees, shaking the foliage to signal its crash.

Victoria looked back towards the fletchling, the flames seemed to look like some sort of a runway for flying pokemon, but it only led to a crashed fletchling. The tyrunt quickly found herself being wrapped by the aipom's long tail and brought along with it to get away from the dangerous area, as just simply crashing into a tree probably would not have brought that Fletchling down.

The tyrunt turned to follow the aipom, grateful for his quick thinking and nearly putting his life on the line for her. She quite liked this aipom, he treated her like a princess was supposed to be treated! All she had been getting from others lately is anger and treating her like she was nothing.

"Thanks by the way!" she remembered to say, also remembering her mother's teachings about being polite to those who rescue you, else they might change their mind and throw you right back into where they saved you from.

“T’was nothing, M’lady,” Cracker replied, grinning and giggling to himself. He felt silly but invigorated by pretending like he was a noble Knight. It helped him forget that he nearly took a Flame Charge to the face for someone he’d only just met. “If we keep on this path, we should be in Black Spear in no time at all, I think anyway. And I promise I’ll getcha there safely, or my name isn’t Cracker! Which uh… reminds me. Do you um… have a name? I mean, I’ll still call you Princess and stuff, but it’s only polite to know each other’s names, right? And my name’s Cracker!”

Releasing the Tyrunt momentarily, he used his tail to assist in a formal if goofy-looking bow before the Princess. He couldn’t hold his mirth for long though, and ended up giggling again. The excited Aipom was having a heck of a time right now; perhaps it was all that adrenaline from their narrow escape. Clearly he was far more animated than usual right now.

"I am Victoria, but only royals call each other by their real names," the tyrunt spoke, nodding her head as the aipom bowed. She saw no disrespect in his foolish grin, thinking it was only his excitement of meeting a pokemon of royal status such as her. The tyrunt looked off into the fog, as if trying to pierce through it and see everything, but she lacked such on an ability, and saw no farther than she had hoped to see.

"So, I suppose we're both lost in this place now..." she spoke, turning back to the purple long tailed monkey. The stocky thick legged tyrunt had no idea what she was to do now, she was not taught how to navigate in such situations. She was told to just sit still and wait for someone to rescue her if she were to ever get lost, well at least this is what the subjects told her. Her mother and father never really had any trouble of losing the tyrunt when she was younger due to their over protective parental state of mind.