The Island Mystery

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The cool lake breeze brushed past the purpled-haired monkey as he shouldered his custom-made napsack composed of leaves, twigs and grass. He'd set out half a day ago to make his way to this peculiar island following a curious summons addressed directly to his tree dwelling in Pecha forest. It still wasn't clear who sent it or why, but the letter requested his help and he couldn't help but be drawn to the adventure. Of course, danger and excitement wasn't really his thing, but life in Pecha had grown stagnant and a change of scenery was exactly what he needed. The only problem was... He'd reached the last branch before the edge of the lake.

Cracker stared down at the forest floor where it transitioned from tall grass to a thin bar of sand leading into the water. It had been a while since he'd last set foot on solid ground, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Safety was in the trees for him, and he just couldn't get over the texture of grass and dirt, with all those little twigs and bugs to snap and squish underfoot. Still though, the Aipom had come this far, it wouldn't make sense to give up and turn back now.

Wrapping his tail around the branch he stood on, Cracker closed his eyes tight and dove off backwards, swinging in a short arch before letting go and landing firmly on his feet. Immediately the prickly sensation of the grassy ground shot up his legs, making him dance uncomfortably. "Ooooh, why does it have to be so pointy!" he whined, shifting from one foot to the next as he quickly raced towards the shore. The sand was moderately better underfoot, but the way it squished between his toes made him shudder nonetheless.

With his tail hand, the Aipom reached into his pack and pulled out the little letter he'd gotten, perusing it once more. The neatly written words said: Please, help me. You're my only hope. Fallen Leaf Copse. That was it, no details beyond where to go. It was kind of exciting, actually. Like a mystery.

As he stood on the small beach, Cracker's feet sank into the squishy sand, the occasional wave of water helping to bury them. He could see the pathway leading to the island nearby, but the Aipom was considering an alternative means of transportation. One that would get him off his feet in particular. Shaking the sand off his feet, the monkey began scavenging pieces of driftwood scattered across the shore with the intent of constructing a boat. As he worked, Cracker started humming a terribly out of tune song.

((Energy 12))

Akuroma chuckled as he shook his head, "Depending on how old the shrine is, which appears very old, it may be before fireworks were invented. I would like to think it would open up a passageway to more ruins, perhaps untouched for centuries. The treasure and knowledge locked away would be prime for the taking."

Akuroma kept his eyes out himself, as well as his species signature ability to detect the emotions of other Pokemon. While the Aipom focused on finding leaves, the Gallade would focus on detecting Pokemon. A good combination, for now. When it'd come to fighting, the Gallade knew that he'd probably be dealing with it for the most part. Cracker would most likely be lending support however he could. The Gallade sighed to himself, it would be helpful if the Aipom were stronger, but gaining strength takes time for most Pokemon, and Aipom were no different.

Dracorexion carried out 5 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

, , , ,

The Aipom continued his eager search for leaves, although so far he wasn't finding a darn thing. He moved on to the next pile and ruffled it flat in his endless bid for discovery, but it looked like this area was picked clean, or perhaps was just void of any special leaves. Which was entirely possible for such a big island and such small items, but Cracker wasn't ready to give up so easily. They'd already done well to uncover two blue leaves and a white one. The rest couldn't be far behind, and hopefully they wouldn't be, because this silence was only increasing the chances of another unpleasant encounter.

"Heehee, I figured you'd be all excited about finding out the mystery," Cracker giggled, moving onto the third pile since starting his new leafy excavation. "Finding more ruins would be pretty neat, though. I just hope they aren't too dark or anything." As he carried on with his task, a flash a colour caught his eye nearby. It was in a pile he hadn't searched yet, but the purple stood out amongst the red, yellow, and orange.

Leaping up onto his tail, Cracker sprung forward into the pile, sending leaves scattering everywhere. Amidst the fray though, he held up two little items, a blue leaf and a purple leaf. "Look, Aku! I found two more! Lookie lookie lookie!" As he waved them around excitedly, a Dustox in the trees overhead spied the leaves in his paw and began to descend.

Akuroma looked over, "Good job, Cracker, let's put them in th-look out!" the Gallade said as he saw the Dustox. The Bug type began to flap its wings vigorously, the scales covering them falling towards the Aipom in a silvery dust. As the Dustox continued to flap its wings, the scales appeared to become a fast moving gust of silver wind. Akuroma held his cloak up to his face, shielding it as the wind spread out towards him.

[9 energy]

The sudden warning caught Cracker by surprise, but he didn't realize the meaning of it until he was swept up in a storm of silvery glitter. His first instinct was to cling tightly to the leaves in his paw but try as he might he couldn't defend them, let alone himself. The Dustox was clearly much stronger and far more determined to have the little leaves. The Aipom tried to keep himself low as the wind buffeted against him, but eventually it swooped beneath his body and threw him into the air.

"Aku, help!" Cracker cried, holding his paws to his chest to protect the leaves. Much longer in this wind and they would be going for a trip, which was apparently the Dustox's plan. "I can't... hold 'em!" The swirling vortex was quick to toss the Aipom against a tree, pinning him there as the full force of the wind, combined with the stinging bits of silver, quickly wore down the little monkey. He hadn't been at full health to begin with, and this bug was a much stronger opponent, so it didn't take long at all for his arms to give way.

((Energy: 8 + 1(new page) = 9))

Lumin carried out 5 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

, , , ,

Akuroma swung his arms back, charging into the vortex of silvery wind as his arms began to glow a bright green. The wind was strong, but the Gallade used it to his advantage, beginning to run with it in order to gain speed. It was then that a strange beam began to follow the Gallade, the Dustox firing the beam from between its antennae. Akuroma jumped up, letting the wind carry him to the Bug type until they crashed into each other, their psychic attacks colliding as well. An explosion sounded and a gust created by said explosion blew the dust away, ending the Dustox's previous attack.

With the wind and silver scales dispersed, Cracker promptly dropped to the ground like a squishy rock. He sat up with a dazed expression on his face, matching the Dustox who'd just encountered an all too hard projectile in the form of Akuroma. The stunned Pokemon shook off it's dizziness quicker than the Aipom, though. If anything the bug was only more enraged now. It had lost track of the leaves in the attack and, actually... so had Cracker.

Looking down at his paws, he noticed them disturbingly empty. Immediately panicking, the Aipom jumped to his feet and looked left then right, searching frantically for the leaves. He'd had them shortly before the wind stopped, but if they'd gotten caught up in the draft, they could be anywhere by now. Cracker set to work trying to find them, but the Dustox didn't like that one bit. It released another Psybeam in the monkey's direction, forcing him to either leap out of the way or be struck.

Unfortunately, happenstance chose the latter. Cracker was struck directly by the beam, the resulting explosion throwing him back against the tree he'd been previously pinned to. KO'd by the hit, he fell limply to the ground, unmoving. Meanwhile, the Dustox directed its continuous beam towards the Gallade, intent on making quick work out of the both of them.

((Energy: 0))

Akuroma charged forward, deflecting the Psybeam with his Psycho cut before slashing down on the Dustox. The bug type fell to the ground, it's attack sputtering out as it lost consciousness. Akuroma then turned to find the Aipom knocked out, and not only that but the leaves missing. The Gallade growled, picking the Aipom up and carrying him by the scruff of his neck has he began to search for the missing leaves. They couldn't be too far of from here, could they?

Hanging limply from Akuroma's balled up fist, the Aipom roused slowly from his impromptu slumber. The hit from the Psybeam had rattled his brains such that he had no idea where he was at first. He felt like he was floating through a forest, his feet not touching the ground. Feeling like he was flying, he raised his arms slightly, smiling dimly as he gradually regained awareness of his surroundings.

All at once he snapped back to reality and blinked dizzily, lifting a paw to his head. "Man... what hit me?" he groaned. The little Aipom felt like he'd been hit by a log of immeasurable size. "My head's all spinny... why am I float--" He promptly looked up the see the Gallade walking beside him, as his hung from the Pokemon's grip. "Oh... Hi, Aku. What happened?"

"Dustox, psybeam, you losing the leaves, and then passing out," the Gallade listed as he continued to walk. As he looked around, the horns on Akuroma's chest twitching as he searched for any emotions of nearby Pokemon. Anything that might point them in the right direction. It was then that the Gallade began to sense someone with a great amount of glee. Perhaps our thief is thinking he's gotten away with stealing out leaves? the Gallade thought to himself. Fishing a number of sitrus berries out of his pack, the Gallade moved his hand full of berries to the small Aipom. "Take two, it'll heal you right back up. When you're ready, we'll attack the Pokemon I'm sensing behind that thicket," Akuroma whispered.

As Akuroma rattled off the short list of events, Cracker nodded slowly. "I definitely remember losing the leaves. Thanks to that darn Silver Wind. The rest is a blur," he stated simply, shrugging to himself as he hung from the Gallade's fist. All he remembered of the blast was a bright light, but only a few moments has passed since then. It was an interesting experience though, losing consciousness. Not something he got to witness first hand every day. He didn't like it.

"Oh boy!" he said suddenly when the berries were handed down to him by the Gallade. He accepted them without a second thought, gobbling them up easily with lip-smacking delight. In a flash they were gone as the Aipom, already feeling the energizing effects, was licking the fruits' juices off his paws. "That was deeeelicious! I'm ready for anything!" Squirming out of Akuroma's hold, the monkey caught himself on his tail and sprang forward, swinging fake punches at the air. "Lemme at em! We'll get those leaves back!" Cracker wasn't much for subtlety.

((Energy: 0 + 30 (two Sitrus Berries) = 30))

The Gallade watched in shock and disappointment as the Aipom charged forward. He sighed, quickly eating his own berries before he began to chase after the Aipom. As the pair approached, the Furret hiding within the thicket looked up, wondering what the ruckus was. Finding itself faced with the Gallade and Aipom, the Pokemon made a dash for it, leaving behind a white leaf as it ran.

[54 energy]

As the Aipom brashly rushed into the fray, he swung himself up into the trees overhead, where he could more easily spot Akuroma's prey. Unfortunately, Cracker's tactic of making a lot of noise and drawing the Furret's attention only resulted in the Pokemon immediately fleeing the scene. However in doing so, it dropped a white leaf. The monkey spotted it with his keen eyes, and immediately deduced that the Furret must also possess their leaves that had gotten blown away in the wind. Eyes narrowing, he immediately set himself upon the war path.

Determined to get those leaves back, leaves he assumed the Pokemon to possess, the Aipom snatched a large nut from one of the trees as he followed the escaping suspect. The Furret on the ground was no match for speed with Cracker in the trees. He caught up easily and, with nut in tail, spun and launched the projectile with impressive speed and accuracy, striking the striped creature directly on the head. With his first shot a direct hit, the Aipom made target practice out of the Pokemon as he attempted to flee in different directions, only to be halted by a hail of nuts.

"Resistance is futile!" he cried manically, pelting the poor Furret with nuts as he danced around from branch to branch like a complete lunatic. "Give up the goods! Aku, I got 'im pinned!"

Akuroma rolled his eyes, picking up the white leaf as he began to give chase to the Furret. As he continued to chase the Pokemon, he noticed a barrage of nuts beginning to fall down onto the Furret, slowing it as it attempted to avoid the nuts. Taking his chance, the Gallade jumped up, his fist erupting into electricity as he fell back down to the earth, his foot stomping on the Furret's tail before his fist slammed into the Pokemon's head. Thunder roared out across the forest again as Akuroma's fist found another victim. The Gallade picked up the Furret's unconscious body, searching through its fur for the missing leaves. Sure enough, the Gallade found the pair, slipping them into his bag with the others.

The leaves now retrieved, the Gallade tossed the Furret's body aside, beginning to walk deeper into the forest again. "Come on Cracker, we're burning daylight, and I'd hate to see the forest at night."

"Yeah!" the Aipom cheered from the treetops, bouncing up and down in glee. He was acting a sight more hyperactive than usual, and he could feel it. His head was all abuzz, and he had to keep moving, even if it was hopping up and down on the spot repeatedly. He needed to burn off the excess energy from ingesting those berries.

Cracker swung down low in the trees, vibrating as he moved through the air. "I feel so alive!" he cackled. He bounced himself from the truck of one tree to another and back up into the branches, making noises indicative to his species as he went. "I hope we find more leaves soon! I'm so excited!" Swinging down overhead of the Gallade, he latched onto Akuroma's head spike and trembled. "Heck, I hope we find more Pokemon to fight! I'm ready for another battle! Bring it on forest!" He promptly shook a fist at the trees. "Do you think more of 'em come out at night? I sure hope so!"

Akuroma blinked at the Aipom's hyperactivity. Had he allow him to heal too much? He'd never heard of a Pokemon becoming too energized. Maybe he had just never seen Cracker at tip top shape? "Cracker, calm down we want leaves, not enemies," the Gallade said. He knew that he himself was completely healed now, but that didn't mean a thing if they ran into a large number of enemies. Best that they go about their business quietly and only fight when someone's in their way. Though... with how loud and flashy the Gallade's attacks were, maybe he shouldn't be the one talking.