Playing the Hero

'Well...here goes nothing' was the Buizel's sole thought as he crept slowly and silently through the trees of the Pecha Forest. Ever since his visit to the Grassveil Guild, he had heard rumors that this was where many rookie and newcomers to the Guild trained themselves to be better prepared for their first real journey or mission. Jet had hoped that, just maybe, he could be more beneficial to his teammates if he could just get a little bit stronger. He was currently not very proud of his strength level, nor his courage. Plus, if he was lucky, he could potentially collect items for later use on his team's missions.

Thankfully for him, this place should be mildly tame compared to the other dungeons in the area, but he still could not help but feel somewhat nervous. After all, this was his very first outing since arriving in Grassveil Town. He had lived in a dungeon once upon time with his family, and that was far from the most pleasant experience in his life. So he supposed that it was only natural for him to be like this...and that was what gave him the comfort he needed to keep going.

Besides, he had survived worse in the past. What could happen here, right?

Jet made his way amongst the trees of the forest, although he was constantly looking over his shoulder for any sign of a Pokémon that might cause him harm. Some might call him paranoid...but he called it being cautious. A paranoid Pokémon was probably less likely to be ambushed than a Pokémon who simply marched ahead with a false sense of security in their confidence. He was different than that. He knew his limits and knew them well. He needed to be cautious, lest he risk falling into a very difficult situation.

Jet had been assured that this place was nothing to worry about...but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen here. But what it was, be it good or bad, he had no idea. And so, he carefully padded onward, constantly on alert for any signs of other Pokémon or items.

{Remaining Energy: 16}

A female Buizel, with a treasure bag and Fuschia bow tied around her neck was wandering around alone. "Such a wonderful day," the Buizel said, inhaling the sweet air. Pecha Forest. She heard it from an explorer when she got out from her room. She also heard Pecha Forest was a good place for a new explorer like her. In fact, most rookies trained there.

Either way, it was a very good place, and she didn't regret going here. The scenery was quite good, and it was peaceful. Perhaps she could bring home some Pecha for Faye or her neighbors. Or, she could probably meet someone that would join his team! Or, both? Two Pidgey in one stone!

Speaking of Pidgey, Lucerne had heard that there some Pidgey around the forest, which mean she had to be careful not to disturb them. Well, maybe she should start by looking for some Pecha. But seeing that she hadn't seen one for quite some time, it would be better to search for someone first!

"This will be fun," Lucerne giggled, "Now where are you Mr. or Ms. someone? Come out and play with me." The Buizel carefully wandered, hoping that she could have some fun with someone.

{Um.. Remaining energy: 14}

Jet was not wandering through the trees long before he heard something. At first, he wasn't sure what it was, but it quickly became clear that the source of the sound was somebody else's voice. This voice was definitely female. At first, Jet thought that it might be best for him to hide and possibly avoid some kind of conflict...but instead, he decided that that was simply being overly cautious. He had come here for training; to become strong like his teammates. There would be no point if he avoided all of the conflict. In fact, it would probably become rather counterproductive. And so, he steeled himself, deciding that it would be best to meet whoever this was face to face.

Trying to sound braver and more confident than he actually was, he cleared his throat and called out. "Hello...?" he asked, looking around. "Is someone there...?" And then he saw her. He had just stepped through some particularly thick shrubbery and found himself in a clearing. And on the opposite side, another Buizel was making her way around. He could tell she was female by the single cream-colored spot on her back. "H-hello...?" he called over to her. "You're not a threat, are you...?" A weird question to ask perhaps, but he felt it was best to just get it out of the way.

Left and right, still no luck. No Pecha or even explorer around. "Patience is virtue Lucerne, or whatever they say," the Buizel encouraged herself, giggling lightly. If only it was raining, then the weather would be perfect!

On second thought, no. Rain would make her unable to meet other explorers, and Lucerne didn't want that. She would prefer meeting new face and became friend, or even more, recruit him or her! But, she needed to find them before she could recruit them, right? Well, it seemed Mother Mew didn't agree with that. Someone had appeared behind her and called her.

'You're not a threat.' Lucerne couldn't help but giggle lightly. She wondered who was the one call her. Perhaps some nervous male? Well, the voice was a male's. 'Here goes nothing,' Lucerne said. She slowly turned around and smiled at whoever it was. 'Oh! Someone like me! A buizel!' Lucerne couldn't help but smile wider.

"Hello there," Lucerne greeted, "I'm not a threat. I'm just an explorer. A new one at that." Lucerne carefully marched forward. "I'm Lucerne. It's nice to meet you, fellow explorer." Now, she wondered how the Buizel would respond.

Jet was rather quick to believe the Buizel before him. Although perhaps it was more along the lines of he simply wanted to believe her. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too much of a problem even if his truth was misplaced. While he certainly could not deny the fact that she could potentially be trying to take advantage of him, he somehow rather doubted it. She seemed innocent enough, so why should she be doubted so quickly? Plus, for some reason, that smile of hers was rather reassuring.

"Th-that's good to hear," Jet replied, allowing some of his tension to ease and allow his shoulders to relax a little bit more. "N-nice to meet you, Lucerne. My name's Jet, and as you've already surmised, I'm an explorer myself." He decided to, conveniently enough, leave out that he was rather new at this whole exploring thing as well. Whether for her sake or his own, however, even he wasn't sure.

He watched her approach and smiled slightly back at her. He stepped toward her on his hind feet and held out his paw to shake with hers. "It's nice to meet somebody friendly out here for a change," he added.

Lucerne nodded understandingly. From the way the Buizel talked, he seemed very nervous for some reasons. Perhaps it was just her, and she hoped the Buizel wasn't nervous because of her. Oh, of course she was a beautiful Buizel, but she wouldn't accept the Buizel in front of her so easily. Her savior told her not to quickly give her heart to someone she just knew.

Anyway, with the Buizel held out his paw, Lucerne took it with her paw and shook it. She smiled warmly and felt somewhat funny. If only Jet was a female, it would feel like shaking paw with your reflection. Or not? Lucerne believed she would be more beautiful than the female version of Jet. Though, seeing how nervous he was, Jet would probably be cuter.

"So, what are you doing around here, Jet? Looking for some Pecha Berries?" Lucerne asked as she pulled her paw back, "Or... Are you training? I heard rookies come here to train themselves." Now, what was his goal? Perhaps she could help? Or perhaps she could give him some information or advice? Either way, she waited for the Buizel to respond. Beside, whatever he would say, it would be fun.

Jet felt Lucerne comfortably take his paw and shake it. He couldn't help but allow another small smile to cross his lips. For some reason, he was definitely starting to feel comfortable with this other Buizel. Perhaps it was the familiarity with how she looked, or maybe it was her own calm demeanor. Or perhaps it was simply her appearance; for some reason, he thought she looked somewhat...better than the Buizel he had known back in the marshlands. Maybe that was why he was more comfortable with her, despite his natural timidity.

Hopefully, however, she had no plans for evolution. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle that.

"Me?" Jet replied, looking off to the side, toward the trees nearby. He thought about his purpose here. He knew the main reason why he was here, of course. But how should he word it... "Well, I'm here mostly for training purposes," he answered after a moment of quiet. "I want to become as strong as I can be for my friends, so here I am." He then chuckled slightly, albeit somewhat nervously. "I'm also looking for any items that may be laying around too," he added. "Anything that could help whatever outings we decide to do as a team."

As he spoke, he took a few steps away from Lucerne, looking around, trying to scout out any possible locations for anything that could be somewhat useful. But...he wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for. But perhaps he would know it when he saw it.

Digizel carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Interesting. The timid Buizel wanted to be a strong Buizel. Very understandable, especially when his friend was taken into consideration. It sure would be nice to grow strong to protect someone. Or, it would the other way around for Lucerne. She would love to have someone strong to protect her. 'Oh well, dreaming being a princess is always nice. But reality wasn't as nice as that,' the female Buizel thought.

Now, his other reason was to find some items, right? "Mind if I tag along? I'll take half of the Pecha Berries we will find. You may take any other item you want," Lucerne offered. Well, it would be beneficial for the male, as long as found something other than Pecha Berries, that is.

As the were speaking, Lucerne saw the Buizel took a step away from her. She hadn't realized the danger in form of a trap that would soon befall either one of them. She knew exactly how dangerous it would be to fall into a trap.

Jet looked back at Lucerne as she started to speak up again. He couldn't help but blush slightly at her offer to join him in his training and gathering. He hadn't expected somebody like her to ever purposely want to hang around with somebody like himself. "O-oh, uh..." Jet murmured for a moment, as though giving it some thought. "Sure, I, erm...I guess that sounds like a good-" As he spoke, he had continued walking...and soon, he felt part of the ground beneath his feet give way. "...Huh?" he uttered lowly as he looked down toward the ground. No sooner had he done that, he heard a snap, what he thought was regular grass gave way and he was soon plummeting. "WARGH!" he cried out in a sudden burst of fear and shock. Thankfully, however, he only fell a short distance before he hit solid ground.

"Urgh...." Jet murmured as he slowly climbed back to his feet. He rubbed his back, which was what had collided with the solid earth below, and he looked skyward. Apparently, some trickster had left a pitfall trap of some kind in the middle of that clearing. And now he stood at the bottom of the hole, filled with the debris left over from the trap: twigs that had served as the bedding upon which grass was placed to conceal the hole. He was surprised that he fell for such a measly trap...he was usually sharper than this. And this was the first thing that happened to him in his very first outing.

Definitely not a good start to his adventuring days. And it probably was not a good first impression to make with Lucerne, either.

{Remaining Energy: 11}

Lucerene was happy to hear a 'sure' coming from the Buizel. But, her happiness soon turned into a shock as the Buizel fell into a pit. He was fortunate that the pit wasn't very deep. 'That must have hurt,' the Buizel thought. If she didn't try it, she wouldn't know whether it hurt or not. But, she would prefer not knowing. Either way, she needed to help the Buizel up, but the Buizel had climbed up before she could help him. 'Well, he's a tough cookie,' Lucerne thought, smiling excitedly. If it were her, she probably wouldn't be able to climb up on her own. Probably.

"Are you alright, Jet?" Lucerne asked. Now her companion mustn't get hurt before all the exploration started. Though, who would make a trap at a place like that? Surely, every unlucky Pokemon would fall easily to that trap. 'Then that make Jet the unlucky Pokemon,' she thought.

Jet had started climbing as soon as he could. He needed to get out of this quickly so that he and Lucerne could start exploring together. He brought one paw up to grab hold of the side of the pit where he could find a handhold and slowly managed to pull himself up. It was somewhat slow-going due to his lacking upper body strength, but it was already difficult enough to climb a wall that was not meant to be easily escaped. He struggled and failed twice before he finally managed to pull himself up and out of the hole in the ground. When he finally made it out he pulled himself onto the lip of the hole, grabbing at the grass and pulling himself further out. He lay there on his stomach for a moment, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

Upon hearing Lucerne's words, however, Jet was quick to jump back to his feet and start dusting himself off. He tried to give her a reassuring smile and a nod. "Yeah, don't worry about me, Lucerne," he replied. "I'll be fine. I-it'll take a lot more than that to take me out of commission."

Jet's attempts to sound bold and strong did not stop there, however. He immediately set to looking around once again, despite his current level of fatigue starting to grow in him. He waved over to Lucerne, beckoning her to follow him as he started walking. He wasn't sure why, but he just wanted to really look like a strong, reliable and capable Pokémon to this female Buizel, no matter how tired he might get. "N-now let's go, huh? We won't find your Pecha Berries by just standing around here, will we?"

And with that the search was on again, almost immediately after his unfortunate pitfall. Hopefully, he wouldn't fall for another one.

Digizel carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Lucerne couldn't help but smile at the Buizel. A tough cookie was a tough cookie indeed. She would gladly bite him to test out how tough he was. Well, Jet would probably mind being bitten by her, especially when he was all nervous. But then again, she wouldn't bite someone she just knew. No, that might ruin her beautiful image.

When the Buizel courageously 'led' her, she couldn't help but smile wider. Oh, now he sounded strong, but at the same time, cute. "Aye aye! Led the way, captain!" Lucerne joked, giggling lightly. Now this Buizel was a good Buizel to follow. He seemed capable. Well, as long his nervousness and clumsiness weren't taken into consideration, he would be a good team leader. Perhaps a better team leader than her. She started scanning the vicinity, hoping to find something good. She didn't want to lose to the Buizel, especially when she was, more or less, a team leader.

She wondered what she would find though, since whatever she found would be the first thing she found in an dungeon. Not counting the Buizel, since Jet wasn't a thing.

Guest carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Jet's blush returned quickly enough as Lucerne joked with him and started giggling a little bit. He let out a chuckle of his own. "You got it...!" he replied, suddenly feeling a bit more courageous in his endeavors. He was really getting into this role he had created for himself. Thankfully, however, it didn't take him too much longer before he uncovered his very first find.

As he was making his way forward, making sure to keep his eye wide open this time so as to avoid falling for any more traps like he already had. Thanks to this, however, he managed to discover a blue object laying hidden amongst some tall grass laying nearby. Had he not been paying attention in a similar manner like in the situation with the pitfall, he would have missed this and, with this luck, tripped over it. He approached the small orb that was simply sitting on the ground, kneeling down to get a better look at it.

"I think this is..." Jet murmured, picking it up and turning it over in his paws. It seemed safe enough. And there didn't seem to be any signs of it being linked to another trap. "...A Petrify Orb?" The Orb was small in his paws, but he smiled nonetheless. This would definitely be a useful device in a tough situation. For now he decided to pocket it. He knew that these things just happened to be here with no explanation in a dungeon like this and it likely didn't actually belong to anyone. At least, he hoped not.

"Find anything yet?" Jet asked as he stepped over toward the other Buizel.

{Remaining Energy: 10}

Lucerne was trying to be careful, even though carefulness wasn't something listed in her dictionary. If she was careful enough, she might not lose her memories. 'Now now. I might get another headache. And I don't want to have a headache in front of Jet,' Lucerne thought. Seeing that Jet had 'found' the first trap, the chance her 'finding' a trap would be slim. At least, that what the female Buizel wanted to believe.

She decided to focus on whatever in front of her. She might find something good, or something bad. 'Come what may,' she thought. Her eyes spied something glittering, and she was excited that her first item was laying around, waiting to be picked by Lucerne. She took it and examined it. A seed. Would that be useful?

"Jet, I found this," Lucerne said, grinning happily as she showed the seed she found. "Do you know what this seed is? 'Cause I don't." Lucerne stuck out her tongue and scratched her head with her free paw. She hoped the Buizel wouldn't think she was dumb.

{Remaining Energy: 13}

Jet had resumed rummaging around the brush when he heard Lucerne speak up. He turned to look at her and see just what it was she was referring to. He stepped over to her and looked down at the seed in her paw. He examined it for a moment, thinking back on all of that time he had spent at the Grassveil library looking this kind of thing up. He racked his brains as he thought about all of the different types of seeds he had learned about and tried to pick up on just what this particular one could be. Finally, he figured it out.

"Oh wow, that's a great find...!" Jet said somewhat enthusiastically. "That's a Reviver Seed if I'm not mistaken. It revives a Pokémon when they've fallen unconscious. I'm sure that we'll find a great use for this!" He smiled over at Lucerne. "I managed to find a Petrify Orb, but honestly, I think this one might be the better find. I'm honestly kind of jealous." His tail swished back and forth in a rather excited manner. He had never actually explored a dungeon before, despite having lived in one for a good portion of his early days. This feeling of finding things you never expect really got his blood pumping. Who knows what they could find next?

"Let's hold onto this for now, huh?" Jet suggested. "I'm sure it'll probably come in handy at some point." He handed the Seed back over to Lucerne, thinking that it was probably best if she decided what to do with it, since she was the one who found it. He knew that she said that she wouldn't mind him having anything that wasn't a Pecha Berry, but still...fair was fair in his mind. He didn't want to be taking advantage of her or anything.

And with that, he resumed his search for more items he could use for his teammates.

Digizel carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :