Playing the Hero

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'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}

Lucerne was amazed at two things. First, Jet's brightness. As in, bright, smart, intellectual. He could tell what the seed was, and it was amazing. Second, what she found seemed to be something pretty good! She was proud that her beginner luck was...big. Now considering her first day, she was already very lucky to be able to join the Guild alone.

When Jet gave the seed back, Lucerne put it into her back. She couldn't hold it forever, and she wouldn't want to lose it. And now, she scanned around again. She hoped her big eyes could spy something better, like a Pecha Berry? 'Oh, I better be careful. I don't want to attract some danger,' Lucerne thought. She remembered that there was Pidgey, and then trap. And probably something even worse than Pidgey.

Well, she wondered what she would find.

Guest carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Jet smiled toward Luce as she put the Reviver Seed back into her bag, which he noted as one that came from the Grassveil Guild. He had seen plenty of those when he went to visit the Guild before. For now, though, he didn't worry about it much. After all, what did it matter if she was part of a team already? All that meant was that he wouldn't be able to recruit her for his own team...unless of course, there was some way to convince her to leave her own team to join his. But he certainly had no intention of doing any such thing. She seemed happy where she was. So as pleasant as she was to have around, he knew that it couldn't last forever. But of course, that didn't mean that the two of them couldn't go out on another adventure together in the future once this one was over.

As Jet turned his focus away from Lucerne and back to examining his environment closely, making his way through the trees as he did, he spotted a pair of twigs on the ground. He stopped himself dead in his tracks at that very moment. His body instinctively shut down for the moment as his mind had a sudden flashback to the pitfall from only a few minutes ago. Was this another trap? Was somebody watching them that was targeting him specifically for some reason?

But then he took a closer look at what he saw...and realized that there were no other signs of disturbed ground that usually gave away pitfalls. There were simply two wooden sticks lying on the grass. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised, as it was a forest here after all. He slowly made his way over, still being overly cautious in his steps to make absolutely sure that he was right about there not being a trap...and retrieved the two Sticks. He was familiar with a tactic that exploration teams liked to use which used these like missiles to attack a foe from a distance. Once he learned how to use Water Gun, however, these would become rather useless. If he used them, it would have to be rather soon. But he still decided to keep them. There was no reason not to...yet, at least.

Jet then turned to Lucerne, having realized that he had taken his eyes and mind off of her for too long. He certainly didn't want her to think that he was ignoring her or anything like that.... And hopefully, nothing was going wrong while his back was turned.

{Remaining Energy: 9}

Lucerne skipped around happily with her bags and tails jiggling. She was too happy that she didn't find any Pidgey around. Even though she didn't find them, she knew she shouldn't do it, since falling down after skipping would be unpleasant. But, she was too late. She had fallen down with a loud 'thud' sound. "Ow, I'm so clumsy," Lucerne whined as she tried to get up. Though, falling down wasn't so bad at all. Why? She found a berry! A...green, pink, and.... Technically a colorful berry. It was suspicious, but she wanted to take it. Now, should she take it? Or should she not?

"I say let's take it," Lucerne giggled as she swoop the berry over. She decided to return to the other Buizel and showed him what she found. Well, she was curious at what he found. Probably something as good as what she found earlier? A Reviver Seed? Oh, she couldn't wait to see what he got. She skipped again, and once again, she fell down. The berry escaped her grasp and rolled toward Jet's feet.

"Oww, what's the matter with me?" Lucerne whined again. She struggled getting up again. Well, she wasn't hurt, but her fur were covered with dirt now.

{Remaining Energy: 12}

Jet smiled a little bit as he saw Lucerne giggling and skipping around like she was. He saw that she had attempted to scoop something up into her arms, but for a moment, he couldn't tell what it had been. The only thing he could tell was that it seemed to be smallish, round and with a splash of pink. But his attention was soon dragged back to the female Buizel as she stumbled and fell down to the ground. His eyes widened with surprise. He didn't even bother to look down at the berry that had fallen from her grip and to his feet. Instead, he stepped over it and quickly rushed to the fallen Buizel's side. He got himself down onto one knee beside her when he saw her struggling somewhat.

"L-Lucerne, are...are you alright...?" Jet asked. As he spoke, he lowered one of his paws to her, offering it to her to help her stand back up and onto her feet. Normally, he probably would have found a situation like this, and his behavior to be rather awkward and cause him to start feeling nervous. But he was too caught up in his concern for his fellow Buizel companion to take notice. "D-don't worry, you're just fine compared to a person like me. At least you didn't fall into a hole. Heheh..." It was then that he blushed slightly...but not from his nervousness, but from his own admission to his weakness in a desperate attempt to make her feel better.

Lucerne was blushing lightly when the male offered his paw to help her. Well, she was blushing because she was embarrassed, and she was embarrassed because she had stumbled like an idiot! She was hoping that the male wouldn't say something that would make her more embarrassed. Well, that would only be a very wishful thinking.

The Buizel joked about himself, which was successful in making her blushed madder in...anger and other unknown emotions. She would say, 'What?! I'm not a male like you!' But, she wouldn't say it. She decided not to. "Oh! What is that berry? Do you know what that berry is? 'Cause berry isn't my forte. On second thought, I'm not good at anything brain-y," Lucerne chuckled. She scratched her head nervously. Now, she couldn't help but hope that the Buizel would help her in a good way.

Guest carried out 2 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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Jet watched as Lucerne blushed the way she did...but for some reason, that only made him more uncomfortable. He was actually rather happy that Lucerne decided to change the subject completely. He got the feeling that he might have somehow accidently offended her or something. Even if he was mistaken, he didn't want to bring it up again anyway. At the other Buizel's questions, Jet turned his head slightly to see just what it was that the female was talking about. Now that she mentioned it, she had dropped something from her hands when she had fallen, hadn't she? But what...?

It was then that Jet's eyes fell upon the Watmel Berry that she had dropped onto the ground when she tripped. "S-sure," he said with a smile. "Luckily, I'm a very knowledgeable Pokémon." Finally, he took the time to examine the Berry that was on the ground. His eyes widened slightly at that as he picked it up. "O-oh wow, a Watmel Berry...!" he exclaimed in a somewhat excited tone. He smiled slightly as he took it back over to Lucerne, reaching out his paw to return it to her. "This is a Watmel Berry, Lucerne! It's a Berry that doesn't really do much for a Pokémon when eaten on its own, but it has such a great, sweet flavor. Honestly, this is one of my favorite Berries. So...I hope you get to enjoy it." He smiled warmly at her as he pawed over the larger-than-average berry.

Lucerne's eyes sparkling and twinkling in wonder. The Buizel was so smart and she would love having him as her secretary or assistant! But, he's taken, so that option was completely sealed. Or, she could join his team? That option was also possible, but that wasn't a good option for now.

She looked at the berry at the berry and smiled warmly. She reached out her paw and was about to take it before a Hoothoot suddenly dived from a tree and was attempting to steal the berry away. Fortunately, the Buizel was fast enough to take the berry and stashed it into her bag. But unfortunately, the Hoothoot collided with the Buizel and she stumbled back. "Ah!" Lucerne yelped when she felt something sharp stabbed her back. A Pineco was there all along, but after the commotion, it got very angry and it was about to explode in anger!

Everyone probably didn't know, especially the Hoothoot who was pecking the poor Buizel for 'stealing' its delicious berry. "Ah! Stop it! What did I do to you?!" Lucerne asked, occasionally yelping in pain, "Help! Please someone stop this!"

Jet couldn't help but blush slightly when he realized just how Lucerne was looking at him. She seemed to hold him in higher esteem than he was used to and he wasn't quite sure how to handle that. All he could do was smile at her in return. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth to say something, he might make a fool of himself...or maybe even let slip that he might not be as good as she seems to think he is. He watched her as she reached out to take it back...

...only to be attacked as the Berry was nearly taken right from out of his paws. Jet yelped in surprise as furious Hoothoot talons came dangerously close to his arm. He even visibly recoiled after the Hoothoot was gone, well after the female Buizel was able to store the Berry safely back away into her bag. But unfortunately, the Hoothoot did not stop once his attempt to steal Lucerne's newfound Watmel Berry had been foiled. Instead, he watched for a moment as Lucerne was helplessly attacked by the owl Pokémon, getting constantly pecked at. "H-hey, leave her alone...!" Jet exclaimed nervously. Well...now was the time to put all of his big talk into motion. She clearly needed his help and he would never stand by while she was getting pushed around like this. He just hoped that his meager fighting skills would be enough to handle the situation well enough.

Just as Jet was about to lunge forward, however, he saw something behind Lucerne. Was that...a Pineco? His mind suddenly went back to his studies, trying to see if he couldn't place the Pokémon with what it was known for. When he remembered just what that was, his eyes widened with fear. Could this Pokémon be about to explode with Self-Destruct!? It was possible, which meant that Lucerne was in danger...! Then, without hesitation, he lunged forward and attempted to slam his shoulder into the attacking Hoothoot. If he was successful, he could potentially knock the Hoothoot out of the Pineco's Self-Destructing range...but his main goal was to help Lucerne. So instead, he tried to jump at her. He jumped and wrapped his arms around her and attempted to drag her down onto the ground. If he could just do that and cover her body with his own just maybe he could protect her enough before the explosion went off!

Or so was his plan, at least.

Lucerne closed her eyes tightly to endure the pain. She wasn't enjoying the pain. At all. Of course, no one would normally enjoy pain, and Lucerne was one of those who didn't enjoy pain. If she wasn't closing her eyes, they would definitely produced tears as a sign that she was in pain. Hopefully, the pain was soon gone as the Hoothoot was pushed away by the brave male Buizel. She slowly opened her eyes and found that the brave Buizel was rather...strong? Was he really that strong? He was shy and all and...

...Suddenly, the Buizel jumped onto her, which made her blushed madly. She didn't know what the Buizel was doing. Was he trying to protect her? But, from that position, it seemed very...embarrassing. Well, she was on cloud nine, but suddenly the clouds were blown away and she fell down freely. Literally. The Hoothoot was still angry and it was about to attack Jet. Its sharp beak was glittering and it was ready to peck Jet furiously. But, the angry Pineco exploded before the Hoothoot pecked Jet.

Hopefully, the explosion wasn't too big, and the explosion wasn't quite strong, so Jet and Lucerne should be alright. But the Hoothoot wasn't so lucky. The explosion was enough to send it away, flying. "No!" Lucerne gasped. Her eyes were as wide as plates, and her body was trembling violently. She held her head and covered her ears when the explosion happened. Her head suddenly throbbed madly and she felt it could split open anytime soon.

{Energy: 8} (Forgot to put it)

As Jet and Lucerne fell to the ground together, Jet tried to cover her as much as he could. He did not notice the Hoothoot coming at him at all, even after the explosion sent him away. However, when the explosion finally went off, Jet flinched. He felt a sharp stab of pain as the Self-Destruct attack struck. Thankfully, however, he didn't take the most of the blast due to his position on the ground, but since he had only had the time to jump on Lucerne and not to move away, they were still very close to the Pineco when it exploded. For a moment, Jet lost himself, unsure of where he was or what he was doing.

When the explosion finally died down, however, he began to return to his senses. He quickly realized that he was shaking and he was somewhat hurt from the explosion--indicated by the mild scorch mark on his back, but he was otherwise alright. He looked down at the Buizel beneath him, not particularly caring about his own condition. His expression was a pained one, indicating that he had certainly felt the intensity of that blast. His ears were ringing and he couldn't even hear his own voice as he tried to ask Lucerne if she was okay. Despite his desire to help Lucerne above worrying about his own well-being, he continued shaking. He had never been through something like that before...and hopefully his desperate attempt to save the female Buizel worked as well as it possibly could have.

He also didn't bother to look over his shoulder for any sign of the Hoothoot. Sure, the Self-Destruct may have launched him away, but it was possible that he would fly back to them. After all, if he wasn't too hurt, then that owl Pokémon probably wasn't too much worse off ether. But if he did decide to return, he would need to stand again and keep fighting. But did he have what it took to do that...?

[OOC:I have adopted lucerne and will continue this thread, this has been agreed to by Digizel.]
[Energy: 8/19]

Jet looked at her with concern, he didn't even seem to be concerned with his own pain. That look, so filled with determination, It seemed as though any nervousness the male had had was gone, because he was concerned about her?

Lucerne was then acutely aware that Jet had saved her. He had protected her, like... a Knight in shining armor. Her cheeks could not get red enough. She looked away, too embarrassed to make eye contact, and waited for the pain to dull. Once the ringing in her ears stopped she spoke.

"Um... Could you please get off me now" Lucerne squeaked, even talking was embarrassing by this point.

Jet maintained his gaze, watching Lucerne for any sign of harm that she might have come to after the explosion. Thankfully, though, she seemed mostly unharmed. He couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief when he realized that she was perfectly okay. Of course, up until this point, he hadn't even realized what position the two of them were in. All that had been on his mind was bringing the other Buizel down to the ground and covering her to protect her from the Pineco. But when he not only saw the female blush, but also start to speak again...his own blush of embarrassment returned.

"OH!" he suddenly exclaimed, sharply bolting upright again, practically jumping off of his companion. "O-oh I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to, um...th-that is, I-I...er....I-I mean...um.... A-are you, uh...o-okay...?" His face was just as red as hers was....

But at that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his back. "Ngh...!" he grunted, rubbing his back and feeling the slight scorch mark. It wasn't as bad as a standard burn since he at least hadn't been blasted by fire, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt. He could only hope that nothing that attacked them would make hit him back there or make use of that new weakness...but for now, he had no choice.

Well, at least the pain had allowed him a small distraction from his own embarrassment at covering Lucerne.

"U-um...h-here, l-let me help you..." he murmured awkwardly, holding out his paw to her, offering to help her back up again.

[Energy:8/19]

Lucerne was both glad and sad that the male buizel got up. She didn't need a psychic pokemon to tell her she was attracted to him to some degree, but there was a difference between that and love, and she wasn't ready to give up her heart so easily.

She took Jet's paw and got to her feet. both of them were filthy, dirt on their fur and bits of rock and... Pineco shell??? Lucerne decided to check her stuff, there weren't any tears on her ribbon or bag, her bracelet was intact, and everything would be good after a nice wash.

Even so, she dusted herself off and messed with her fur, trying to get it all back in place.

"Didn't anybody ever teach that pinecone how to treat a lady?" She huffed, trying not to think too hard about any of the events that had transpired. "I'm ok Jet. Luckily my outfit is as well, if a bit dirty."

Jet nodded as Lucerne confirmed that she was alright. Well, truthfully she had complained about that Pineco not treating her properly, something which stuck out to him as somewhat odd behavior, considering the Pineco had likely been a feral Pokémon. But at least she dropped it relatively quickly and the conversation could continue. "T-that's good to know," he replied. Although, he did have to wonder for a moment about her use of the word "outfit." He looked the female Buizel's body up and down for a moment, unable to help but notice that there were very few articles of clothing on her. She had a small handful of accessories, sure, but....

Suddenly, it dawned on the Buizel just how awkward he may have been making this by looking at her so intently. His embarrassed blush deepened and he quickly turned away, facing the direction that they were originally traveling in. "I-I wouldn't worry much about those," he said quickly, trying to keep Lucerne from commenting on his stare. "I-I'm sure you can just wash them off. M-maybe I could even help you do that if you-"

But once again, he stopped right there and his face deepened further. Thankfully, his back was to Lucerne so she would be unable to notice his bright red face. "Uh...I-I mean, um...wh-why don't we get going, huh? W-we certainly won't find any, erm...P-Pecha Berries just standing around, right? Haha! L-Let's go!"

Then, without waiting for Lucerne to even reply to him, he took his first step and began walking down the path again. He was honestly somewhat hoping that something would come out at them again and take his mind off of his awkward situation....

[Energy:8/19]

Lucerne was growing tired of the drama and constant awkwardness that was her interaction With jet. However... at the same time she liked it. Her emotions were all over the place. She liked him, sure, but she didn't want to start something so suddenly.

She wasn't a princess... and he wasn't a knight in shining armor. Lucerne just had to keep reminding herself that. Maybe she should clear the air, let Jet know how she was feeling? NO. no no no. She immediately regretted the thought, it would be far too embarrassing.

Stealing herself, she made her way forward.

"Right, pecha berries," She said, trying to keep her voice even "I apreciate the help, right let's go. go find berries, yep."

She moved a bit away as the two made their way forward. She needed air, space to think. She sighed. At least it seemed Jet was just as uncomfortable about the situation as she was. wait, did HE like her? well she was very pretty, but the idea certainly caught her off guard. Nah, it couldn't be like that.

Dediles carried out 2 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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