Persuading the Pidgeys!

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Crash the Tyrogue, a member of the guild, found himself in the Pecha Forest once again on a request from Wurmple. Apparently, according to his cry for help, there were simply too many Pidgey in the area! For him, it must have been scary for a bug-type like him with all of those birds around. It was good for him that there were explorers like Crash around to keep the peace. Usually, a fighting-type going into a job like this would seem like a bad idea, what with brawns over brains. However, this Tyrogue was going to try a "diplomatic" approach before he did anything rash. The pokemon walked through the forest at a brisk pace, trying to find the pokemon who were plaguing this forest.

The Vulpix looked back at Varda, noting how tired he seemed. She felt a bit disappointed in herself that she hadn't noticed this during the chase or during the battle, but at least he could have some time to rest now. "I'll deal with the last Pidgey, alright? You just rest for a while, and put those three back to sleep if they wake up." She decided, hoping that wouldn't be too much work for the Swablu. He definitely looked like he could use a minute to rest.

She noticed the Fire Spin beginning to die down, and readied a Flare Blitz for when the feral Pokemon escaped from the flames. She stuck by the edge of the clearing, giving herself as much room to run and gain momentum as she could. It this went well, this might be the last blow she needed against the Pidgey. And not a moment too soon, either, she was about ready to finish this mission.

Varda just nodded quietly as the other Pokémon suggested that she will deal with the final bird. The Swablu should just rest and put the rest of the feral birds to sleep if they happened to wake up. He never was one to argue against commands – and now he certainly knew he needed the rest! Plopping down on the ground, the bird Pokémon let his feet rest, not having to support his weight any longer. He was rather dirty and his feathers all over the place, but now he didn't even have the energy left to groom himself. Varda just sat there quietly on his feathery behind, his wings limp.

The only Pidgey left that was still awake was trapped in the vortex of flames, but the moment the fire started to die down, it had the opportunity to escape. It flew up, having only a short amount of time to actually observe its surroundings before it noticed movement coming towards it. The Vulpix was running towards it, and the oddly aggressive and territorial bird was having none of that. Making a graceful loop in the air, it started to charge towards Lumina itself, flying low – and being quite fast about it. The two Pokémon ended up hitting each other head on, sending the lighter bird flying backwards as its momentum was suddenly cut short, its feathers badly singed.


Current Energy: 17 (16 +1 from the new page)

Lumina observed the Pidgey for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she approached it. It seemed to have fallen unconscious, just like she had suspected it would. She wondered what had motivated these birds to act so aggressively - perhaps they had been trying to help the one she and Varda had taken? Or more likely, the fire type suspected, this aggressive behaviour was exactly why the Wurmple had wanted them out.

The vixen walked back towards Varda, her head held high despite the stinging from her shoulder and a few other places where the Pidgey had scratched her. "Should we get going before they wake up, or would you like a little bit longer to rest?" She asked. She was fine with either option, as the Swablu would be keeping the three Pidgey asleep, so she decided to leave it to his choice. "Oh... and be sure to grab that ribbon of yours before we go." She reminded him, sitting down as she looked over the scratches she'd received.

Energy: 24

Varda looked up as he heard the approaching footsteps on the soft grass, only the faintest of rustle giving her presence away. The beady eyes were rather tired, but still cheerful as usual, happy to see Lumina. She seemed to be doing a bit better than him, actually standing and walking normally, not looking like she would fall over any second. She was a bit scratched up however, so perhaps she was in pain as well... He didn't get to ask about it, as the fox wasted no time asking if the Swablu was ready to go or if he needed to rest some more.

"Oh, we shouldn't stay here for too long," he chirped quietly as he forced himself on his feet, remembering that the feral Pokémon were just sleeping and could wake up! It wasn't worth the risk, he was sure he could walk a bit more.
"We could rest somewhere else. We should rest somewhere else," Varda let out a little chirpy giggle as he tried to ignore his own body telling him to stay put, waddling slowly. He was already ready to leave, but Lumina reminded him of the ribbon and his eyes lit up.

"That's right, thank you," the Swablu cooed happily, remembering that he had used his own ribbon to tie one of the Pidgey up and he should retrieve it. It was a very nice ribbon – and a gift. He couldn't just go losing it. Varda walked over to one of the sleeping birds, grabbing one of the ends of the ribbon with his beak as he started to slowly pull it off, opening the knot carefully. He was a bit anxious, afraid that the Pidgey would wake up in the middle of it... But it seemed to be going very well, even if a bit slow. Finally the blue bird managed to pull the ribbon free, not wasting any time as he started to back away with the ribbon still in his mouth.

The Vulpix gave a quick nod. "Then let's make tracks before they wake up." She decided, waiting patiently as Varda retrieved his ribbon. None of her scratches seemed too deep, and there was definitely nothing life-threatening, so she decided she could shrug it off for now. It wouldn't be worth wasting an Oran Berry over. And Varda seemed more exhausted than in pain, from what Lumina had seen, so he would probably recover just fine with some rest.

She walked back out of the clearing, purposefully not taking the same path they'd arrived through in an attempt to make them a bit harder to track in case the Pidgey woke up. She occasionally glanced back at Varda, making sure he was alright and still following. After a few minutes of walking, she slowed to a stop, sitting down in the shade of one of the many trees. "This should be a good place to rest." She murmured, doubting that the feral Pokemon would find them.

Varda started to waddle after Lumina, the ribbon still in his mouth almost like he was afraid to stop for a moment to do something else with it, in case that was what would wake the feral Pokémon up. He tried to be very quiet, his steps as soft as he could make them – though his aching muscles didn't allow him to place his feet down as carefully as he wanted. He was a very light Pokémon and didn't make much noise, but each of his steps still seemed like they were deafening in his own ears, every little rustle causing him to grimace as he prepared for the worst.

But the Pidgey didn't seem to wake up. At least they were attacking. The Swablu kept following Lumina, not really caring where they were going as long as it was far away from the sleeping birds. He was very exhausted, his steps sluggish – but despite that, he did his best as he tried to keep up, forcing himself forward. It seemed like they had walked for ages before the fox stopped and sat down, deciding that they were far enough already. Varda waddled over to Lumina, sitting down under one of the trees just like her.

He let out a long sigh, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of being able to sit down. Finally, the bird Pokémon could truly relax, not having to worry about one of the Pidgey attacking him or waking up. It seemed like they truly were finished with the mission, finally.
"That was pretty tough," the Swablu opened his eyes as he looked at the fox, smiling. Despite how tired he was, he still seemed oddly content and happy.
"I didn't know Pidgey would put up such a fight..."

The orange vixen went from sitting to laying down on her stomach, resting her head lightly on her forepaws. She let out a hollow chuckle in response to Varda not thinking that the Pidgey would be so tough or aggressive, her eyes lightly closed. For a moment she didn't reply, and just let the sunlight soak into her fur. She always loved sunny days, and she suspected it had something to do with her being a fire type.

"... I didn't think so, either. If I had to take a guess, that's exactly why the client wanted them out." She replied, lifting her head as she spoke. She noticed her ribbon growing loose and adjusted it so that it was tight enough not to fall off. If she had to take a guess, all the walking was responsible for it starting to grow loose, and that fight with the Pidgey definitely hadn't helped matters.

"Oh... Varda, you were wondering about this, weren't you?" Lumina remembered, giving a final glance down at the deep sky blue ribbon. She hadn't been able to answer his question earlier since she'd been carrying that Pidgey, but that obviously wouldn't be a problem anymore. "It's called a Heal Ribbon. From what I can tell, it speeds up the natural healing process. I figured it would be the perfect tool for exploring." She explained. "If I'm being honest, though, I haven't had much of a chance to use it yet. So I'm not completely sure if there's any sort of side effect."

Varda looked at the relaxing, blinking quietly before letting his gaze wander, settling for the trees on the other side of the path opposite of the two. The tree they were resting under was a rather nice shade from the sun, letting them enjoy the warmth of the beautiful day but protected from any scorching rays that managed to make their way into the forest. Following Lumina's example, the Swablu just took it easy as well, lazily keeping his eyes open as he just sat there next to the other Pokémon. He didn't close his eyes or lie down like she had done, but he was relaxing nevertheless.

The fox's speech caused Varda to turn to face her again, clearly realizing something as his eyes lit up. Yes, it certainly would make sense! If the Pidgey were this aggressive, it was no wonder if the client wanted to get rid of them somehow. He was unsure if the way they were handling it was the best way or if all their work would be undone soon... But maybe the client really did have a good reason to ask for the Guild to do what they had asked.
"That would make sense. I don't think I would want neighbors like these," the bird Pokémon cooed,
"I hope they will stay here instead of wandering closer to the town again..."

The Swablu tilted his head when Lumina suddenly asked if he was wondering about something, not immediately knowing what she was talking about. Eventually his eyes followed the fox's gaze, noticing the blue ribbon on her leg. Yes, that was right, he remembered. Lumina had changed her previous ribbon to this one and he had wondered about it! Varda looked back up, listening to his partner's explanation.
"Oh, I see. That sounds like a smart thing to have," he chirped and nodded, agreeing that a healing ribbon would be the perfect thing to help you as you explored,
"Do you... Think it's working? Do you feel anything?" The Swablu asked, not going as far as to wonder about potential side effects – first he wanted to know if the ribbon even worked in the first place!

Bird carried out 2 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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"I think it's working... I do feel a little different, but it's hard to describe exactly how." She mused, trying to find the right words to pinpoint how she felt. "If I had to put it into words... I feel a bit more awake." Hopefully that would describe things well enough, Lumina wasn't quite sure how else she could say it. Normally, she liked to think, she was pretty good with words, but this was something she found hard to explain.

She noticed a stick lying beside her, one that was unusually sharp. Maybe it would come in handy during a battle. "Hey, Varda, would you like this?" She asked, motioning towards it as she purposefully changed the subject. She'd rather not linger on a topic that she didn't know too much about in the first place.

PhantomSun carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Varda cooed in awe as he listened to Lumina's explanation. She believed that the ribbon was indeed working, but describing how she knew was difficult, not knowing what it was that she was feeling exactly. It sounded so mysterious, so amazing... The little bird couldn't help but stare at the fox, his eyes sparkling. Clearly, at least someone was very intrigued.
"Maybe I should get one of those too to try it out one day," the Swablu chirped happily, just wanting to experience what Lumina was feeling as well. He wouldn't mind feeling more awake himself, too!

The bird Pokémon tilted his head as the fox went ahead and offered something to him, motioning towards something on the ground next to her. Varda slowly rolled to his feet, waddling over the item, curious. It seemed like she had found a rather sturdy, pointy stick... And he wasted no time grabbing it with his beak, testing it out. It felt thick and strong, like a good stick. The Swablu seemed like most of his tiredness had been forgotten thanks to this new amazing discovery. If there was something Varda seemed to like, it seemed to be nice sticks.

Varda carried it back to his previous spot under the tree, grabbing it from his mouth with one of his feet as he balanced on the remaining one, waving the stick around.
"I think it's a good stick!" He cheered as the stick apparently passed his stick inspection, clapping it against the tree as he tested it some more.


Current Energy: 15 (17 -2 from the item rolls. Got 1 Stick)

Lumina chuckled softly as she saw Varda's awed expression. Perhaps she had made this little ribbon sound a bit more mystical than it actually was. Though feeling was subtle, it was definitely there, the Vulpix was sure of it. Besides... she saw no reason to try and convince him otherwise, a Heal Ribbon was certainly somewhat rare and special, if not as much as that intrigued look on his face would suggest.

Varda was distracted by the stick surprisingly quickly. He seemed to think it was a good stick, and the Fox Pokémon supposed it would make sense for him to know. Wouldn't bird Pokémon have to know a few things about sticks in order to build their nests? "There's another one here, if you're interested." She added, nudging another, slightly thinner stick in her partner's direction.

Meanwhile, a flash of colour had caught her eye. A pink, round object with a strange pattern and zig-zagging stripes. If Lumina had to take a guess, it looked like a berry... but not one she had ever seen before. Maybe it was rare? "Hmm... Varda, do you know what this is?" She asked, gently picking up the round and colourful berry to show him.

Energy: 23

Varda looked in Lumina's direction when she said that there was another stick, stopping his actions in the middle, his other stick still in the air. Quickly, he put the stick he had played with in his bag and lowered his foot on the ground before he started to waddle towards the fox when she nudged another stick closer to him. The bird inspected it with his eyes before he grabbed it with his beak, taking a couple of steps back to inspect it in peace. It was a bit thinner... But it was rather sharp and it didn't seem to break easily when he tested it by placing some weight on it.

"Yes, it's a nice stick too! Good find," the Swablu cooed happily when he freed his mouth, putting the stick in his bag to join the other one. Perhaps someone else felt that sticks were rather useless and there was no reason to carry them around... But Varda did quite like taking the nice ones he found with him!

Meanwhile, Lumina had seemed to find something else, even turning towards to ask him what it was. The bird Pokémon looked towards her, a bit worried about what it might have been if the fox didn't know, considering how she knew so much compared to him. But once he picked up the rather large berry of pink and green stripes, Varda's expression softened as he recognized it.
"Oh, oh yes," he chirped as he waddled closer, inspecting the berry,
"I've seen only one person find one of these from here before, I think they're really rare in this forest," the Swablu continued, perhaps going a bit too fast as he had failed to mention what the berry Lumina had found actually was, instead talking about something else entirely. He seemed to realize this soon after, stopping.

"Oh, right! It's a Watmel berry. I think it tastes good," he quickly added to actually answer his friend's question, smiling happily.


(Got 1 Stick)

"A Watmel berry, huh... I've heard of them, but never actually seen one. I guess they really are rare." She mused, half to herself. That came out more self-centered than she intended, as if something was suddenly rare if she'd never heard of it, but Lumina did consider herself somewhat knowledgeable. And Varda had just said that these were rare. She didn't think that these berries did anything besides taste good, though... "Hmm... Would you like it, Varda? I'm not sure what I would use this berry for." She added, placing the large berry by her paws.

Varda nodded to the fox's musings, confirming that not only was the thing she had found a Watmel berry, but that it was also quite rare. At least in Pecha Forest. Of course, a certain Pokémon's berry garden did have them growing quite well, so they weren't too rare if one just needed a berry like that for whatever reason. Still, actually finding one in the forest was much more difficult – and perhaps one grown in a forest tasted even better?

The Swablu chirped in a surprised manner as Lumina suddenly offered the berry to him, not really knowing what she would do with one. First she gave him the sticks and now the berry? The fox certainly was a generous person!
"We could eat it," the bird suggested, not entirely sure if he would be fine with accepting the whole berry himself. If she didn't need it for anything and he didn't really need it for anything, either... Eating it sounded like a good plan.

"The skin is pretty thick and doesn't taste good, so we should cut it open first," Varda instructed from experience, knowing how to deal with Watmel berries in case the fox did want to have a taste. For a moment, his eyes looked around as if to look for something to cut the berry open with... But then he had an idea.
"Oh, the sticks were rather pointy! I'm sure we could use one of them to poke enough holes in the berry so we can pull it apart."

The Vulpix nodded, she saw no reason not to eat it. Varda seemed to think that they tasted good and they really didn't have any other use for it. Even if she ended up not liking the berry, it wasn't as if she would hurt herself by trying new foods. "Sounds good to me. I'll try a little." She murmured in response, looking down at the large berry. It was very colourful... she couldn't be sure just by looking at it would it would taste like. And she had to admit, now she was a little curious.

She listened closely as Varda said that they should probably cut off the skin. What could she use to do that, her teeth or claws? That would probably work, but Lumina wasn't sure how sanitary it would be. She considered this for a moment before Varda spoke up again, deciding to use the stick to poke holes so they could pull it apart. "Alright. Could you handle poking some holes in it with the stick? I don't think I could do it, at least not very well, since I don't exactly have hands." Technically speaking, the Swablu didn't either, but he seemed to knew how to use his talons with fingers. The Fox Pokemon was still having some troubling getting around having to use her mouth to grab things.