Prince and the Frog

Ah, civilization! Cyrus had found a new appreciation for it after being stranded in the wilderness for as long as he had. In the time he had left home and finally reached his destination he had been mugged, left for dead, chased by predatory birds, chased by a giant mountain snake, talked his way out of being gutted by absol, and broken several ribs. If he'd ever had a doubt of how much he loved the city, it was safe to say he had reconsidered this quite thoroughly. Let adventurers have their journeys. Let them find their riches and then be crushed by whatever Arceus-forsaken thing it belonged to. The Snivy had learned his lesson - fame and glory would have to be won some other, less painful way. Great Kings, his ribs still ached. At least they were healing.

It was mid afternoon. The sun crawled across the cerulean sky, its warm embrace a welcome contrast to the harsh cold of moonlight in the adventure before. He still had nightmares about that. How could one recover from having so many near death experiences in one day? How was that even possible?He was angry despite himself; a pang of self loathing burrowed itself deep in his gut, ignoring his stubborn claims that he didn't care if he was strong or not. So what if he was not as helpful as he could have been? He was alive. That was all that mattered... right...? A tiny whisper told him that it wasn't. That, in some way, he'd enjoyed it. That he needed to feel something different for just a little while.

The grass-type's mind continued to wonder as he gazed across the town square from his perch on the ledge of a wall, under the shade of a well-manicured tree. He watched the perfectly happy pokemon bustle around with their perfect little lives, exchanging polite hellos and goodbyes. They lived in their tiny world, never looking past the bridge of their noses. The prickling rage he felt swelled, clenching his fists. He had been... scared. Of the thought of difference. He'd thought it would be okay to live like them. He wanted it to be okay, because he was afraid. Finally, the grass snake could take no more. He growled to himself, pushing to his feet and pressing past the crowd, his pride the only thing keeping him from slouching with an undignified huff.

Maybe if he just... got away for a while.

Avery scratched his head in confusion, although if anyone saw him they would simply think that the Croagunk eased an itch because of his neutral expression. How in the name of Arceus, Mew and every other Legendary that slipped his mind did he get here? The 'here' was the branch of a tree, and Avery had little to no recollection on how he got in the tree. The only things he knew was that the sun was up, the town was lively and he had slight case of amnesia. Fan-freaking-tastic. Oh well, he could see some positive sides to his current situation. At least he still had his trusty pipe... oh and he wasn't injured that too. At the thought of his pipe, Avery decided to leisurely blow in the wooden structure, creating lazily floating bubbles. He then propped his back against the trunk and relaxed his body. He might as well be comfortable while the thought on his next course of action.

'Maybe I could ask someone for information... No, whomever I'd ask would simply think I'm crazy. After all, how can someone not know how they got in Grassveil Town. Even better, how could someone have been laying in a tree without any idea how he got there? Perhaps I could walk through town and hope someone recalls me and fill me in, or that I would remember someone. Yes, that sounds like a better plan.' The Croagunk nodded to himself at his plan. While it had little chance of success, he had too little information to think of something else. Choosing to find out what happened to him as soon as possible, Avery jumps off of the branch and landed on the ground in a forward roll in order to absorb the impact his legs may have felt when he had contact with the ground. Straightening himself, Avery took a look to the left, one to the right and then one to the branch where he jumped from. Shrugging, Avery picked a random direction to walk in.

Not even five minutes in his walk and Avery wanted to curse at himself. He knew the town was lively from the sounds he picked up while he sat in the tree, but not this packed! He couldn't even blow his bubbles because he could easily poke someone's eyes out with the pipe. As he walked, more like shoved, through the crowd, he never noticed the green, snake like creature he was going to bump into, unless it did notice him and evaded him.