The Berry Hunt

High atop his newly renovated home, Cracker nosed through his belongings, the few things he'd discovered during past adventures in Pecha forest and beyond. Today wasn't going to be so special, though. His supply of berries was gone and his tummy was already grumbling about it. The Aipom had put off scavenging for more for too long so now he had no choice. By now he'd have to trek further than his comfort zone to find any trees still bearing fruit.

Packing his belongings into a small napsack of his own design, constructed from leaves, grass and twigs, the purple monkey slipped out of his dwelling onto a branch high above the ground. Closing the rough bark door behind him, he adjusted his shoulder straps and broke into a sprint down the length of the tree limb. Before reaching the end, Cracker jumped towards the nearest tree, utilizing his prehensile tail to snag another branch and propel his body deeper into the forest.

After just a few short moments of swinging through the trees, the Aipom picked up the meandering tune of a song from his home village. Cracker wasn't the best singer though, so his humming was off-key and broken by the occasional grunt whenever he landed and jumped between trees.

((Energy: 23))

After a day filled with wreaking havoc and nearly getting caught by the police for who-knows-how-many times, there was nothing Nyx loved more than just kicking back and taking a long nap. No trouble, no punishment, no annoying screams from stall owners and passers-by, only dreams and sunshine. There she was, lying on one of the high branches of the Pecha Forest trees. Her form had been cloaked by the leaves and was naturally blending into the shade, making it difficult enough to spot her that no pokemon would disturb her slumber. A few birds perching nearby did manage to wake her, only to be driven away with a sudden hit via apple core. Other than those pesky avians, the imp slept without any other annoyances. The sun had shown bright and there was little noise.

Even with her precautions and the peace of the forest, Nyx woke much like how one would react to being dumped with a bucket of ice cold water--completely and utterly cranky. Maybe she hadn't gotten enough hours, or maybe it was those idiot birds, but her nap had done nothing to soothe her. Her eyes were still heavy and her body felt like a boulder, or better yet a marionette. She forced herself to sit on the branch, stretching out her limbs and hearing her joints pop with each move. She grumbled as she scratched her belly. A snack was much needed right now. Unfortunately, there hadn't been any jewels to pillage from town and she had exhausted the apples left on her tree.

She quickly climbed down from her tree, dusting herself from leaves and bits of bark once she landed. Scavenging was the last thing the sableye wanted to partake in right now, but it had to be done nonetheless. Besides, apples were the only thing she was craving right now. Pecha berries were literally everywhere, yet they held a bland taste and wouldn't be able to fill her as apples would. Jewels were still better than all of them, though.

Fate didn't seem to pity her state. There were no gems dropping from the sky, apples were still hidden further down the forest, and by the name of Arceus, what was that awful sound? It seemed to be humming, but to her weary ears it was closer to a Purugly's muffled screaming. Whoever it was, they were on the move, and they were far too close to her path for her liking. It made her ears twitch.

Finally, she could take it no longer. She turned her attention to direction of the humming. A purple blur landed in one of the trees, cutting off the melody briefly. She cupped her claws around her mouth and raised her voice. "OI! COULD YOU SHUT UP OVER THERE? YOU'RE RUINING MY DAY!"

Completely oblivious to his own terrible singing, Cracker swung through the trees, carefree and giddy. It'd been a few days since he'd left home to explore, and despite the dull nature of his chore, he was growing more excited. Though boring and tedious was his reason for stepping out into the wild Pecha forest once more, there was always the chance of something amazing happening. He might meet a new Pokemon, or discover a buried treasure; the possibilities were endless.

Of course, there was also the darker side of that particular coin. He might run into a scary Pokemon, or fall into a deep dark hole. There was a chance he could run into that flock of Pidove and Tranquill again, or any number of Pokemon whom had the misfortune of being on the wrong side of the prank-loving monkey.

Cracker rarely thought that far ahead though. And when he did, it only slowed him down for a moment. The Aipom was far too adventurous and careless to put stock in most fears until he was already in the thick of it. For this reason some might've even called him slow; a bit dimwitted. There was very little that could dampen his spirits though.

The purple monkey had finally reached the conclusion of his tribal song when he came to an abrupt stop on the next branch in his path. For the finale he grew louder, hitting all the wrong notes until his voice cracked. Then he struck a pose like the shaman of his homeland often would and broke down into a fit of giggles. He never was a very good singer--

A sharp, unhappy shout resonated from the forest floor and cut off Cracker's snickers, his grin dropping into a startled frown as he looked around. He hadn't realized anyone was nearby; in fact his entire trek thus far had been devoid of any Pokemon whatsoever, likely because his horrid singing had driven them off. Raising an arm to shield his eyes from the light peeking through the trees, he quickly found the source of displeasure. Two sparkling eye gems scowled up at the Aipom in his tree.

He stared for just a moment before his grin returned. Excitedly, the monkey bounced out of the tree and swung himself lower to the ground, landing on a branch just above the Sableye. His tail automatically wrapped around the limb as he stepped off, allowing him to hang upside down next to the strange new Pokemon.

"Hi!" he greeted her with a friendly wave. "I didn't see you all the way down here. Was my singing bothering you? I was never very good as that song, but I know another. Wanna hear?" Without waiting for a response, the Aipom started to butcher another song.

Sableye were cave-dwellers and their physique had been specifically tailored to assist them in their dark habitat. Most noticeable of these attributes were the diamonds embedded on their eyes, but they also possessed heightened hearing to assist in navigation and detecting predators; Nyx more so since she had been born with larger ears. She didn't spend much time in caves for her antics required civilization and caves were typically void of anything interesting. It was ironic how this useful ability now became the cause of her intense pain as she was exposed to the musical atrocity.

Her claws reached up to rub her ringing ears; that final note could have been used as an actual attack with how loud it had been. "Ugh..." She groaned, glaring at the pokemon who had caused her such distress. The pokemon looked just as silly as its singing voice; a purple and yellow monkey with a weird-looking tail that looked similar to a hand. It swiftly made its way to the tree closest to the sableye and hung itself upside down, grinning at her with enthusiasm. She felt like punching the fool. Luckily for the monkey, she was too short and too tired to do much harm.

"Yeah, hi, real nice of you to drop by," She sneered. "Look, I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now. I just want to find some apples without turning deaf, alright?" Her sudden bluntness wasn't a result of personality, no, but rather her exasperation. What had she done to deserve this?

Alas, the monkey wasn't one for reason. It paid her complaint no heed and offered another song to destroy her ears with. Before she could protest, it began to sing once more. If it was even possible, this song was worse. The notes didn't fit, the melody made no sense, and the volume could put Explouds to shame. The sableye covered her ears and screeched in frustration.

"ARGHH! STOP, THAT'S ENOUGH! MY EARS WILL EXPLODE!" She stomped a foot repeatedly on the ground, much like a child throwing a tantrum. "Look, how about a deal? If you help me find some apples, I'll get out of here and you can sing until Arceus drops from the heavens!" It wasn't one of the brightest of ideas she had, but there wasn't much of an option. She thought if she could get this monkey to help, then it would be distracted and she'd be able to retrieve what she needs as soon as possible.

Dangling from his branch like a big, swollen belue berry, the Aipom screeched on with his broken melody, oblivious at first to the torture he was putting the Sableye's sensitive ears through. Cracker wasn't the best listener, and his empathy was a little skewed at the best of times--which happened to be why pranks came so easily to the purple furball. Right now however, he wasn't even trying to be a nuisance.

As he waved his arms around in mock dance forms, the monkey's noises grew louder, until even his own ears were ringing. The only thing louder was the Sableye's agonized cry cutting him off mid-song. Cracker's wide open mouth, suddenly empty of sound, shrank back down into a little frown of confusion. Was his singing really that bad? The upside down scowl of the Pokemon below him indicated quite clearly that his song was having the complete opposite effect it was intended to.

"I'm sorry," the Aipom promptly apologized, "I didn't mean to--wait, did you say apples?" Loosening his grip on the branch above, Cracker dropped to the ground, flipping around quickly to catch himself on the beefy appendage attached to the tip of his tail. Balancing expertly, the monkey clapped his paws together excitedly. "What a coincidence, you know! I was out looking for food too! This whole place is picked clean though. That time of the year I guess. We'll have to go pretty far to find anything. I bet the outskirts of Pecha are still untouched."

No longer singing, Cracker instead began rambling about everything and anything. From the weather to the colour of tree leaves, to the smells of the forest, the Aipom carried on in his own world of thought, verbalizing every bit of commentary and observation.

Nyx had never been so relieved for silence. If it weren't for the fact it nearly took her hearing, she would have been impressed by how oblivious the Aipom was. Either this monkey was too confident, too stupid, or just had something wrong with his ears. Thankfully he wasn't foolish enough to ignore her cries; if he had continued, there was no doubt the Sableye would have retaliated.

As the singing subsided, Nyx hesitantly withdrew her claws from her ears. She could still detect a faint buzz resounding as background noise. Fairly irritating, but she had dealt with worse. Now all that's left was to see whether this pokemon would actually comply. She waved her hand passively as the Aipom apologized. "You better be sorry, you nearly took my hearing! So are you coming or not?" Truth be told, now that she wasn't being put through deafening torture, she didn't want to accompany anyone. It was scavenging for Arceus' sake, and the last thing she needed was some annoying buffoon chatting her ears off and dragging her down.

She wasn't far off with that assumption. Not long after she asked, the Aipom dropped from his perch, landing on his tail and blabbering on and on. Seems like she wasn't the only one who was looking for a snack. "Great, looks like we're scavenging buddies! Don't hog the apples though, or I'll give you the worst nightmares of your life!" Her voice switched from morning grump to sarcastic cheer effortlessly.

The Aipom then began rambling about, well, everything. Everything that didn't interest her. She turned her attention towards the path leading further down the forest, paying no attention to the Aipom's voice. "Less talky, more findy!" She began her trek, not wanting to stick around and possibly die of boredom from the monkey's lecture. Better get this over with and quick.

Nocive carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

The Aipom was well into a monologue about his most favourite and least favourite berries when the Sableye turned her back on him. He didn't notice at first as he was engrossed in the imaginary fruits he held aloft in his paws. Having not eaten since the night before, the familiar pangs of hunger were returning. Cracker's tummy was feeling quite empty, now. Hungrily he eyed his paws, putting one in his mouth before remembering it was void of delicious fruit.

The purple monkey's attention refocused on the Sableye when she issued her sarcastic order. A grin returned to Cracker's face as he bounced off the ground and back into the trees overhead. He kept to the lowest branches to follow his new companion, but he couldn't contain himself and started talking again.

"So 'scavenging buddies', does that mean we're friends now?" he asked eagerly, looping his tail around a branch so he could ride on it like a swing. "I love having friends. I met this Ralts once, and a Zorua too. They didn't like each other at all. And I think one of them was an outlaw or something? I don't remember." Collapsing his self-made swing, the Aipom catapulted himself to another tree branch where he balanced on his head. "So can you really give Pokemon nightmares or is that just something you say? It's okay if it is, everybody needs a catch phrase, right?"

With a quick roll, the monkey tossed himself to another branch. As he landed the limb bowed and creaked. "Gosh, I'm so hungry. I feel like I could each a whole tree, you know? Or maybe a--" Before he could finish the branch snapped loudly, depositing a startled Cracker into the bushes below where he knocked heads with a Pokemon hidden inside. The Aipom tumbled free of the shrubs, but the bush continued rustling with an angry buzz.

It was oddly silent. The Aipom must have run out of berries to rate, the Sableye thought. She felt her stomach rumble in response, demanding for the aforementioned food, or any food to be honest. The ruby embedded on her chest felt heavy due to the void that was appearing in her innards. She focused on the ground to ignore her hunger, though the rocks strewn about made it difficult not to succumb. She shook her head, reminding herself of how much that was a bad idea. Sure, forest rocks were edible, but they were usually covered in mud and grime and bugs and were just plain awful to eat in comparison to cave rocks. She would probably have to gargle acid if she found out where those rocks had been, or what was stuck on them. Ew.

As she contemplated this, she could hear the branches nearby creak with weight, no doubt because of her 'companion'. Come to think of it, was this monkey even that trustworthy? She could escape authorities—police and rescue teams—with little to no trouble, sure, but it could prove difficult if there was a catch involved. She didn't even know this pokemon's name or if he was involved in any teams. To be fair, it didn't seem like he knew anything about her either, so she was probably in the clear.

Her train of thought was cut off when the Aipom began speaking again, this time asking whether they were friends. Nyx couldn't help but smirk. Someone had to be really thick in order to miss that amount of sarcasm. "Sure, as long as you don't gobble up my apples!" She chuckled, her gem eyes now focusing on the Aipom as he swung about. Although he did prove to be obnoxious and a terrible singer, the Sableye had to admit, this monkey was actually pretty funny. She’d never seen a species this weird looking before, not since she saw a Wobuffet.

The Aipom knew an outlaw. Nyx didn’t really bother with the ‘competition’, but his affiliation with criminals did pique her interest. “Kehehe, so you hang out with outlaws, huh? I never would’ve guessed. You look too much like a goody-two-shoes.” Her grin seemed to widen as she watched him balance his head. “Careful now, you might get hurt!” She grinned, tapping the side of her head. “And no, sadly I can’t. However!” She brought her claws to the sides of her eyes. “They say that Sableye eyes can suck out your soul or something when you see ‘em in the dark. Way cooler than nightmares, if you ask me!”

SNAP! The Sableye watched as the monkey plummeted to the bushes below. “HAHAHA! Oh man, what’d I tell you? Totally hurt yourself. Hey, are you still in one piece over there?” She approached the bushes, stopping a short distance away when the Aipom suddenly came out. The shrubs were still moving. “Whoa, looks like we got ourselves a live one!” She raised her claws, slowly pacing herself back. The leaves continued to shake violently, and out came…

A ball of tangled worms.

Oh wait, no, it was a Tangela. The sentient clump stood firmly on the path, its eyes regarding them with disdain. It buzzed and shook in anger.

“False alarm! It’s just a creepy-looking plant. Kehehe! Gross, it’s all covered in—HRK!” The Sableye was cut off as she was constricted by the Tangela. A vine had shot out, holding a firm grip on the smaller imp’s midsection. The wind was briefly squeezed out of her. Nyx hissed, raising her claws and slashing down at the bind. The hold didn’t waver.

“OI! A little help would be nice right now!” Her words seemed to choke at the end. Stupid vines! She struggled in the hold, attempting to squeeze through.

Wobbling to his feet, the dazed Aipom rubbed his head where it had smacked into the Tangela. He couldn't believe the misfortune of picking the one dead branch out of a whole tree of live ones. It wasn't the sort of mistake he was prone to make. Luckily his fall had been broken though, or the bump would've been bigger, but what exactly had he landed on? The Aipom continued nursing the spot on his head, only really aware of the fact he was on the ground now as he could feel the prickly forest floor beneath his feet.

Cracker was still regaining his senses when the Sableye called for help. Shaking his head sharply to clear out the fuzziness, Cracker spun around on his heel and locked eyes with the angry ball of tentacles. Almost immediately every bit of courage evaporated, leaving behind a very nervous monkey. Holding up his paws, the Aipom took a step back, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. The enraged Tangela wasn't about to let him go, though.

A second tentacle emerged from the Pokemon and lunged toward the purple monkey. With a squeak of surprise, Cracker attempted to jump away, but he was caught mid-flight and hoisted up next to the Sableye, struggling and squirming in his binds.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you in the head! It was an accident!" the Aipom cried, using his tail-hand to try and retch himself free. "Y-you're gonna let us go now, right?" In response, the Tangela squeezed him tighter. "Nngh! What do we do?" This time he directed his question at the Sableye. "I-I'm not really good at the whole--Oompph!"

Nyx continued to squirm and struggle in the bind. This Tangela was the least unique of its kind, yet still formidable against them with its 3 foot height and the thick, disgustingly sleek tendrils of indeterminate length. They were typically of no danger and instead focused on deterring predators, but with current circumstances it was unlikely this Tangela would decide to lay off and skitter away. Even worse, these damned things hid their true forms underneath their seemingly endless vines, leaving only the eyes vulnerable to attack. If the Aipom had managed to land a hit--heck, even just kicking sand or throwing a rock--straight to those visible pupils, then maybe it would've released its hold and made this battle a lot easier.

That was not the case. The Aipom had been far too dazed from the earlier incident and only managed to comprehend the situation at the last second, or at least that had been the excuse at first. Then she saw the monkey turn pacifist and attempt to escape the feud, only to be snagged by another vine. The two of them were now being held in the air at the mercy of an overgrown sentient noodle pile. The monkey tried to negotiate with it, only to get squeezed.

"Wow, thanks a lot! That was definitely helpful!" Nyx spat, followed closely by a wheeze as the vine wrapping around her tightened at her quip. If this went on, she was confident that she and her foolish companion would both suffocate. Destruction wasn't an option; she wasn't quick enough to destroy the layers before they were replaced.

The thick binding continued to keep her in place. She had to act quick before her arms were wrapped as well. If she couldn't rip her way out, then she would pull herself out! She dug her claws into the smooth vines, pushing them down as much as she could. She sucked in her breath, her cheeks puffing as her stomach receded. The vines were now loose. Before the plant could reclaim its grip, the imp pulled herself out, landing ungracefully on the ground.

Nyx stood, gasping for breath and relishing the fact her ribs were no longer in danger of becoming mashed berries. Not long after she escaped, a vine was sent lashing towards her, sending her toppling back to the dirt. She sat up, shaking her head as she recovered from the sudden hit.

"Oh it is on!" She growled, scrambling to her feet and launching herself towards the Tangela. She made quick progress with evading the various whiplashes sent her way. A glowing blue plate of energy appeared on the Sableye's head, growing stronger as she covered the gap between her and her opponent (Zen Headbutt). She jumped and rammed her glowing skull hard into the area of the Tangela's eyes, eliciting a surprised cry. The plant momentarily lost control of its tendrils, letting go of the Aipom.

The Sableye grinned as she stood and watched her opponent hiss and whine. "HAH! How you like them apples?" Right as she said that, another vine was sent towards her, lashing at her hard enough to send her a small distance away. "OW! Ow ow ow..." The imp mumbled, rubbing her side. She quickly returned to her feet, not having much of an option as the Tangela began going on a blind rampage.

"Oi, mankey-thing, get outta the way!" The Sableye warned, narrowly avoiding another vine. She clawed and snapped the tendrils within her reach. The severed vines dropped to the ground, motionless. She forced her way through once more, aiming to ram another glowing head at the Tangela. The imp didn't want to let this pokemon go without a proper beat-down.

(ooc note; Pardon the wait! Hope this isn't going too fast!)

(No problem. =) It's the holidays, err'body is busy.)

The Aipom was still flailing uselessly in the Tangela's tight grip when the Sableye managed to free herself. In response, the vine holding Cracker lifted higher into the air, either to keep him out of reach or to keep him out of the way while the ball of worms launched a full-scale assault on the escaped Pokemon. Meanwhile, the monkey wobbled aloft in the sky, covering his eyes. He wasn't afraid of heights normally when he was in control of it, but balancing at the end of a thin tentacle was terrifying.

Daring to peek at his surroundings, he was surprised to spy a tree branch only a few inches from him, waving lazy in the wind. Almost instinctively, his tail reached out to seize it, wrapping tightly and coiling around the rough bark while he waved his paws, trying to grasp the elusive branch. He was almost in range when a loud cry rose from below. The tentacle wrapped around him suddenly loosened and then released him entirely. Cracker scrambled onto the branch at this opportunity, clinging to it in relief.

He would've been content to stay put for a while, but the Sableye shouted a warning. The writhing limb that had released him, was quickly and blindly seeking to reclaim its prize. With a cowardly yelp, the Aipom dove off his branch, narrowly avoiding the darting projectile. It continued to follow him, though, chasing his from one tree limb to another. In only a few short moments, the Tangela's vine had him trapped on a rickety branch, but rather than swoop in to grab him, it twitched and squirmed a few inches away like it had hit an invisible barrier.

In reality, the vine had reached the end of its tether. Unable to extend further, and woven between the tree branches like a haphazard game of Cat's Cradle, it had essentially knotted itself up. The Tangela was clearly aware as well; while it continued to fend off the battle-hungry Sableye, it gave up pursuit of Cracker and struggled to free its vine. As the Tangela struggled there was a sharp crack, then creaking and snapping of limbs as it pulled harder to free itself.

Then the first branch broke, and the others followed, snapping off the trees and hurdling towards the Tangela. Cracker attempted to avoid the falling limbs, but the one he stood on was part of the mess and it quickly joined the fray. At the same time the Sableye closed in on her quarry, her forehead already glowing in preparation of another attack.

"Look out!" Cracker cried as the sky came crashing down.