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 rolled his eyes, "Spending your life in the trees is unnatural, it forces you to stay in one place for your life, since forests spread very slowly," the Gallade commented. It wasn't long before the pair reached the shore of the island. The island up close was a fair amount larger than Akuroma had expected. He groaned audibly, who knows how deep the Pokemon who sent the letters was in here. The Gallade was hoping to be able to study the island completely, but depending on how much time they wasted looking and helping this Pokemon, he might not even be able to study the dirt, let alone the perpetual Autumn the forest was in.

Dracorexion carried out 5 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

, , , ,

The Aipom scoffed loudly at Akuroma's audacity to say living in trees was unnatural. The entire village where he was raised had been in the trees while the ground had only ever been used for growing crops. Almost everyone he knew stayed in the trees. It was safer; an Aipom's natural environment. To call it anything but was blasphemy. And forests were huge, covering most of the Pokemon world. Cracker was happy to reside in a tree, even if it meant some places were off limits, like Grassveil; a town he had yet to visit.

"It's not unnatural. All Aipom live in trees. And forests are big, y'know," he said. "There's trees everywhere. And wherever there aren't trees, it's usually for a bad reason." Cracker couldn't help but recall that trek up Black Spire. "Besides, in the trees nobody can catch me. On the ground I'm a tasty snack for some big, scary Pokemon. So I go with my strengths. Besides I... go one the ground sometimes. I just don't like it. It's all prickly and crunchy. Ick!"

Cracker's attention was promptly drawn away from the conversation by a distant cry for help. Hoisting himself higher, the monkey searched the trees of the island as Akuroma made landfall. His first thought was that perhaps it was the Pokemon they were searching for, the one that sent both of them the letter. Squinting to see further, he spotted something dangling from a tree branch deeper into the forest. He only caught a glimpse, but it looked like a Deerling hanging upside down with its legs bound.

"Hey, Aku, you see that?" he asked, tapping the Gallade's horn. "We should go help!"

Lumin carried out 5 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

, , , ,

Akuroma laughed at the Aipom's remark, "You've obviously never been near the ocean or where I lived as a child. There are very few trees in either place, yet both were fine places to live, well, not the ocean, as only water Pokemon can live there without building some sort of makeshift land." As the Aipom pointed out into the forest, Akuroma followed his gaze, seeing the Deerling, along with another near the bottom of the tree looking up towards its companion. "Yes, but I doubt that's what we're here for, let's find the person who sent us the letters instead of sticking our noses in everybody's problems," the Gallade said as he turned and began to walk along the shore.

[29 energy]

Cracker watched the pair of Deerling as Akuroma passed on the idea of assisting them. He frowned quietly as the dangling Pokemon struggled to free itself and the other paced back and forth on the ground helplessly. He couldn't help but feel like the Gallade was being callous to their plight. Especially since helping the Deerling down from the tree wouldn't have required any effort on Akuroma's part.

"But what if it was them?" he asked, looking down at the Gallade. "I mean they sure look like they're in trouble to me. I kinda doubt that one's hanging upside down for fun, y'know?" Sliding down onto Akuroma's shoulder, Cracker leaned into his field of vision. "Besides, how are we gonna find who sent those letters if we don't ask everybody? C'mon, use your big noodle!" The Aipom gave the Pokemon's head a pat.

((Energy: 8))

Akuroma narrowed his eyes at the Aipom, "For one, it takes days for letters to travel from Pokemon to Pokemon, there's no way that Deerling could have survived that long in that tree. At least not without assistance which could have just as easily gotten it down. Also, whoever sent the letters knew who we are, and will recognize us if we travel around the island. But, if you insist," the Gallade said, turning towards the Deerling. He swung his arm backwards, a green glow beginning to surround it before he swung it forward, sending a wave of psychic energy at the branch the deerling was stuck in. The branch was cleanly sliced off the tree, Akuroma then teleported, leaving the Aipom there in the air as he reappeared under the branch's path, catching it with the deerling hanging just inches from the forest floor.

"Happy, Cracker?" the Gallade asked, setting the branch on its side before pulling the Deerling free.

Startled by Akuroma's sudden attack and disappearance, the Aipom awkwardly caught himself on his tail, watching from afar as the Gallade reappeared to catch the fallen branch and free the Deerling. Cracker was grinning broadly and clapping as he hopped toward the small group. "That was amazing, Aku!" he called out before slowing down in confusion.

The Deerling on the ground had jumped away, surprised by Akuroma's presence, but it quickly turned into fear. After the other had been released, it jump to its feet and bucked a few times then stumbled awkwardly as it recovered its senses. Upon laying eyes on the Gallade, it shared the same reaction as its friend, backing away with wide eyes. The two Deerling seemed to cower under the shadow of the taller psychic Pokemon.

"It's him!" one of them gasped in a hushed tone before both of them darted into the underbrush, like they were fleeing from a monster. As they disappeared into the woods, Cracker came up behind Akuroma, casually bouncing back up onto the Gallade's head before leaning out to the side. "That was weird. Why were they so afraid of you? You'd think you were an outlaw or something. Ungrateful sods!" The Aipom called after them, shaking a small fist at the trees.

"Well, I guess you were right," he conceded. "But hey, at least you helped somebody in need. I bet that felt good, right? Heehee!" The Aipom playfully patted Akuroma on the shoulder with his with tail's beefy appendage.

Akuroma frowned at the Deerling's reactions, "Yeah, or something," he responded to the Aipom's confusion over the Deerling's reaction. He then looked down to notice several items on the forest floor, "Eh, not a total waste of time," he said as he picked up a few of the items, placing them in his bag. He then began to walk deeper into the forest, becoming visibly more cautious of his surroundings, as if he expected an ambush. The Gallade went so far as to prepare a Thunder Punch, small sparks flying off his fist every few seconds.

Before Akuroma carted him away further into the woods, Cracker reached down to scoop up the remaining items with his tail, assuming the Gallade had left them for him. How thoughtful. The seeds and berry he stuffed into his backpack, but the Aipom examined the disc more closely in the manner only a Pokemon of his intelligence level would. He licked it, nibbled on it and rubbed it against his face. He'd obviously never seen a TM before. He recognized the type of attack printed on the disc though.

"Echoed... Voice," he mumbled. "Huh. Just thinking about it makes my head ring. Hey, Aku, have you ever seen one of these before? I think--hey, what's with the fist of fury, there?" Leaning forward to stare down at Akuroma, he eyed the sparks crackling around the balled up hand. "You expecting a fight? I don't think those Deerling were much of a threat. They seemed scared of you more than anything. Which is fair, I guess. You are pretty intimidating. I think it's the cloak. Makes you look menacing."

"Deerling herd with Sawsbuck, and powerful or not, a herd of Sawsbuck will be difficult to defeat," Akuroma commented before looking at the TM Cracker was holding. "That's called a TM, if your species is able to use the move it teaches, you'll learn it. It's how I learned Protect." After that he was silent for the most part, keeping his Thunder Punch ready as they traveled deeper into the forest.

"So, any idea who or why this Pokemon sent us these letters? We're not exactly a common combination, and I don't believe many Pokemon knew we knew each other. That is unless a certain Aipom likes to tell everyone he meets about his friends."

Cracker hadn't thought about the possibility of a herd of Sawsbuck getting in their way, but then, Akuroma had a lot more book smarts than the little Aipom. It made sense though. If they really were terrified of the Gallade, they might run to their herd for protection. A herd that would have no qualms stomping on a couple Pokemon who scared their children.

Hanging onto Akuroma's head by one arm, the purple monkey stared at the TM in his paw as its purpose was described. The psychic Pokemon really did seem to know everything. It made Cracker kind of jealous, but also very fond of him. Having these things explained to him reminded him of his younger days when his Elders were the ones filling his brain with information. It wasn't much fun then, but he rather enjoyed it now.

As he continued to examine the disc, Akuroma spoke up again with an accusatory tone. "Oh--I... Well, I mean--thing is..." the Aipom stammered, feeling a little sheepish. "I-I only tell them the good things. Like how smart you are, or how funny Mirage is, you know. The highlights. It's not like I was telling everybody she's an outlaw. Erm--well... Not everybody anyway. I... might've slipped a couple times. But I'm pretty sure nobody really knows that we know each other."

Cracker suddenly found himself eager to get off the subject. "Anyway! I have no idea who sent those letters. All I know is whoever sent mine didn't realize, hah--I don't have a mailbox! They just kinda threw it in my window, y'know. Just plop! Right there on the floor when I came in." As he spoke, the Aipom lounged against Akuroma's head, rubbing the TM against his face; he still didn't really know how they worked. "You know, I don't think I can learn this TM. I mean, it's either that or I'm doing it wrong. Maybe if I--" A sudden rustling in a bush up ahead cut the Aipom off. Quickly righting himself, the Aipom rose to attention and stuffed the TM into his backpack.

"You're probably not doing it ri-" Akuroma cut himself off as he heard the rustling, quickly readying for an attack, his fist having sparks fly off of it much more readily. Akuroma slowly began to approach the direction the rustling noise came from. "Cracker, get up into the trees and try to see what made that noise," the Gallade said. He didn't want to take any chances, and if Cracker ended up in trouble he'd have a big problem. If the Aipom got to the trees, he'd probably be safer while also being able to aid the Gallade with information.

"On it, buddy," Cracker replied quietly with a mock salute before springing up into the air to snag a branch overhead and hoist himself into the nearest tree. He wouldn't have said it out loud but he was enjoying this whole mysterious mission, so he stuck to his task of being a lookout for whatever was rummaging around in the bushes ahead, like a hawk.

From his vantage point in the tree he couldn't see much more than Akuroma, but he could at least distinguish which bush it was, and that it only seemed to be one Pokemon. Hanging onto a branch in visual range of the Gallade, he made a series of nonsensical hand motions, essentially indicating the bush and the number of potential opponents, the rest was just him imitating the psychic Pokemon lunging into an attack or... something. Even Cracker wasn't really sure what he was miming, but he stopped abruptly when the rustling became more pronounced.

((gj :P))

Akuroma continued to approach the bush, his fist raised up as electricity sparked from it onto the ground. Using his other hand, the Gallade pushed the bush aside, revealing a Furfrou inside. The poodle Pokemon looked up and jumped in happiness, "Oh wonderful! You came! Zank you for coming to help me, Akuroma!" the Furfrou said in its heavily accented speech. Akuroma blinked, the electricity fading from his fist, "Dandy? Why're you out of your shop?"

The Dandy smiled, his tail wagging as, "Hon-hon-hon! I request zat you gather up ze colored leaves wizin zis forest for my zop! Zey will be very useful for my zop!" the Furfrou said. "Anywayz, I zall be going now. I have many customers to attend to back at ze zop. Please find me zose leaves, ta ta!" He said before prancing out of the woods. Akuroma stood there confused, still processing half of what the Furfrou said.

After the Furfrou trotted off through the forest, Cracker suddenly appeared again, hanging upside-down from a tree branch. He looked thoroughly confused by the short interaction between Akuroma and the fluffy, odd-speaking Pokemon. The Gallade clearly knew the Furfrou, but the Aipom was having a little difficulty recalling the face. He did seem kind of familiar, but he didn't understand a word he had spoken.

"Were those even words?" he asked, scratching his head. "Cause I swear, it sounded like a made-up language. You have weird friends, Aku." Present company excluded of course. "So was he the one who sent us those letters?"

Akuroma shrugged, "He's the Pokemon who dyed me silver and gold. He says he comes from some far away land across the ocean. Wherever he's from, they spoke a different language from us, and thus he doesn't speak our language very well." Akuroma then began to walk deeper into the woods, "Either way, I suppose we can collect those leaves for him, I'm sure I won't hear the end of it if I don't."

As he continued walking, the Gallade became more relaxed, believing the herd of Sawsbuck those two deerling must've belonged to decided to stay away more than attack him. At least as far as he could tell.