Veiled in Shadows

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My Precious Scarf! Mission Info:

The trees started to grow larger and more frequent the further into the forest the pair of Pokémon went. With that, the canopy above became fuller with less holes, letting in less and less light. In the Pecha Forest, the sunlight was filtered through some leaves, but not enough to really darken up the place. But Shadowhue Forest? It was an entirely different beast altogether. As barely any light managed to get through the thick foliage, the ground was shrouded in shadows with some of the darker spots looking like there was nothing but complete blackness. Who knew what could be lurking in there... But the forest was deathly silent with just some very soft footsteps treading on the patchy grass, barely even audible except to the pair that was causing them.

Varda hopped along, finding it very easy to keep going forward when the ground seemed like it had some kind of road. He didn't have the best sense of direction, oh no, and while the paths and roads in this forest were clearly less traveled, some still existed as Pokémon had walked here before. Occasionally the bird would take a look at the smaller mouse-like Pokémon by his side, smiling happily as if there were no worries in that little head of his. Indeed, the Swablu wasn't afraid of the dark at all. That might have been one reason why he had agreed to help the smaller Pokémon out, as he had been to the forest before and didn't find it very scary at all! He was certain he could help...
"It's a bit dark in here, but I'm sure we will find the scarf if we keep our eyes open!"


Current Energy: 32 (42 -10 from entering. Sky Powder in use, every other Pokémon encounter costs 1 less energy)

The beetle did not give any reprieve to the little pichu as it kept pushing him into the tree with its horn. The tree eventually cracked slightly before it had been attacked by a fluffy bird. Hissing it jumped away and started focusing its attention on the bird. Its horn started to glow as it prepared to charge after the bird once more.

Just before it started moving. A powerful gust of wind struck the pokemon, pushing it far back to the side. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!"

Just as that shout was heard. A Venomoth slammed into the heracross. Giving it no time to recover from the beam of energy that had struck it. The bug type was relentless in its attack as it continued to attack the blue beetle. After its initial tackle, it immediately followed up by slicing the air in front of it with its wings. Causing the air to ripple into a shock-wave that could cut many different things. ^{Air Cutter}. Finally endings its combat with a powerful yellow beam of immense energy. As the beam faded... The pokemon was completely knocked out and on the ground. The scarf on the ground next to it...

Joey was still sitting against the tree after being pinned there. He had trouble staying awake. He had a smile cross his face as he saw what had happened. Knowing that there is one less hostile pokemon in the wild made him happy.

Varda bounced off the beetle as he made contact with his beak, the two Pokémon both taking a jump back to gain some space between them. The bird didn't back down, some spikes that had been shot at him still sticking out of his flesh as he stared at the bug with unrelenting, little beady eyes. Not that he exactly knew what to do as his grand plan had been limited to the charge he had done a moment ago to free the Pichu, but the Swablu still tried to prepare for what was happening next. Spreading his wings, he was ready to fly when the beetle would charge at him...

But it never did. A sudden gust ended up hitting the blue bug Pokémon and throwing it further away, the air that escaped to the sides strong enough to even push Varda away a little! Fighting to stay back in place, the bird dug his claws into the ground and tucked his wings against his body so they wouldn't catch the extra wind and throw him aside! As he opened his eyes after regaining his balance, he noticed that the moth was there, attacking the beetle relentlessly. An ally he had not expected – and certainly a Pokémon he would not want to anger himself!

The Swablu chirped happily as the thief was knocked out, but his joy was short-lived as he remember Joey. Growing worried, he quickly ran to the tree where the small Pokémon was still sitting, barely conscious.
"Aah, oh no... Joey, are you there?" The bird cooed as he got closer, uncertain what to even do. He quickly looked around as if to search for a sign of some sort, any kind of help... And well, luckily he wasn't alone in this case, though he was unsure what the feral Pokémon would do in this case.
"Oh, um, um... What should we do...?"

Joey slowly watched the others approach him. He was glad to help get the item for their client. The trouble that has happened so far is finally over. As Varda had got close to him he asked if Joey was there. "y-yeah..." he said softly. "I... I am tired..." he slowly added, still in a soft tone.

"He need rest... Bring home... We bring home... Where home?" the pinsir asked as the moth came up from behind him. "Tha-thankyou... I like gift... You friend. I gift." The flying bug type said as it put a TM down in front of Joey. It was the TM False Swipe... However Joey was not able to identify it yet... He was too out of it to be able to.

Varda cooed softly as the Pichu mentioned he was tired. No wonder, after all that... Their day had been a very rough one in this forest, even he was tired despite being, well, the slightly more experienced explorer who had been in more difficult places! It made sense that they should rest soon. Joey wasn't able to walk, though... But the Pokémon they had met in the forest were willing to help. The bird couldn't help but smile, so happy.

"Ah, thank you!" He chirped cheerfully, but stopped moving so much when he realized he still  had some spikes stuck to him. He quickly pulled them out with his beak and let them fall on the ground. The moth had something to give to Joey and that reminded him that there was the scarf he had to pick up! Waddling over to the unconscious beetle, he gently took the pink scarf that was waiting on the grass. And around him, he saw some items the two of them could make use of, so he quickly grabbed a few that had fallen from the tree when the beetle had rammed into it. He was sure the Pichu would like some of them!

"Hm... How about I carry that while Joey's resting?" The Swablu pointed at the TM that had been given to the Pichu, as he still had room and could easily take that one for now without bothering Joey. The brown beetle would probably carry Joey, which was a great help. That just meant they had to get back to town now.
"I'll show you the way!" Varda chirped happily as he took a couple of steps forward and looked around,
"Oh... Hm. Do you know where Grassveil Town is...?"


((If you want to end it with your next post, we could. We could also probably go for another page if you wanted to just chat for a while or something, heh. Assume that they split the items at the Guild and you get what you rolled. You could also have the Leaf Stone and Cheri berries if you want?))

The flying bug type looked towards Varda for a moment then back at the pichu. "Friend?.." it said before it nodded and handed the item to Varda. The brown pokemon slowly picked up Joey and carried him towards Varda. "thanks..." he said quietly as he held on to the pokemon lightly. Varda then stated that he would show the way... However it seemed from the two pokemon's perspective that the bird might not know where to go. Especially when it asked if they knew where this one location was.

The two pokemon looked at Varda with a confused look. The two seemed to shake their heads no. Joey shifted slightly as he pointed towards the direction they had come from. It should lead into the general direction of town. Or at least back into pecha forest...

((We can attempt the final page. I would like to submit the mission though, possibly start looking for next mission for Varda and Joey if possible))

"Yes, we're friends!" Varda chirped happily as the moth asked him about it, not exactly sure who his friend was, but well... In this situation, he was willing to consider everyone as his friends! With a nod, he took the TM and put it in his bag for safekeeping, ready to give it to Joey when they got back to town and everything was safe again. The beetle did indeed pick up the smaller mouse Pokémon, but unfortunately for the Swablu, it seemed like they had no idea where Grassveil Town was. That was bad, and the bird tried to think really hard as he looked around, trying to remember where they had come from... But everything looked the same!

Joey ended up shifting just slightly as he pointed a direction, probably having noticed that the other three Pokémon had no idea where to go. Varda brightened up visibly as he nodded, understanding.
"Alright! So... We'll go that way!" He announced as he started to waddle in the direction he was pointed towards.


((Final page go! I'm not sure if we can submit missions when the thread itself isn't finished, but if we can then go ahead! I unfortunately don't have slots and I need to have that Dream Tower thread I signed up for played at some point, so we might not be able to play right away until I get more slots freed...))

The two wild pokemon followed the bird as he sated that they will go the direction Joey had pointed out. Joey's eyes starting to get heavy once more. The little pichu let out a tiny little yawn. Despite being crushed between the tree earlier. He didn't seem to phased by it. He just seemed completely beat.

"What is town." the pinsir decided to ask. Seeming as though the two wild pokemon had no clue what a town was. Which might seem a little odd. However, they were wild after all.

Varda kept waddling in the right direction, hopping over the twisting roots the trees had grown over the dark forest ground. He honestly wasn't the best Pokémon to lead with his nonexistent sense of direction, but as long as he walked where he was pointed, it would be fine, right? The other Pokémon they had met in the forest followed with the Pichu in tow, their merry little group snaking their way through the forest. The beetle carrying Joey ended up asking about a town, causing the bird to look over his shoulder.

"Oh, well... It is like, a place. There are many Pokémon and many buildings of all sorts! Homes, um, shops... That kind of things!" The Swablu explained cheerfully, though his explanation probably was more confusing than it should have been to wild Pokémon. But then again, it wasn't like he really thought of things like that...

"hmmm. Much like clans? I know no about shops... But homes and many pokemon sound like clan..." The pinsir said as it stopped briefly. "Tell... This a clan? I don't go... I help you go there.. I no go in if clan." the pinsir added as he continued to walk. Joey stirred slightly as he stated that he won't go. "It is safe... I promise." he said softly as he looked around for a moment. It seemed they had been going the right way so far from what he could tell. They would reach the edge of shadowhue sometime soon hopefully. Then they just need to get through pecha back to town.

Varda continued to walk and glanced over his shoulder at the brown beetle that asked if a town was like a clan. He couldn't help but tilt his head a bit, never really having thought of it that way... But perhaps that was because he really couldn't see how it was all that similar! A clan was more like a big family, a town... Not so much.
"Yes, it's safe!" The Swablu chirped when Joey ended up speaking, agreeing with the little mouse's words. The town definitely was safer than these woods, that was for sure!
"It's more like... We all might live in the same area, but we still keep to ourselves usually. Not everyone knows everyone, unlike where I used to live..."

Joey wondered if the two pokemon had a good enough answer to understand that the town was safe to go to. He understood that they were thinking it was another name for a clan. Usually some pokemon clans don't take kindly to visitors. Which is why he said that it was going to be safe.

The pokemon did indeed seem to accept the answer. The trees slowly going by as they walked through the forest. Joey was still struggling to stay awake. However, it wasn't exactly visible as he still look as if he was resting.

He didn't quite want to go to sleep as they were returning home. He had a feeling that they might need help getting back. As odd as that may sound. The first hint he got that they might need help was when Varda didn't know where they were.

Varda smiled and nodded as their strange little group of Pokémon grew silent. At least he thought it was a good sign, there were no questions or objections. It only made sense that such a reaction meant they no longer existed and the Pokémon they were with had accepted their explanation?
"Though... You don't have to come in all the way if it doesn't feel right. There can be many Pokémon around and while I don't think they would want to do anything to us or you, well... If it feels scary, then you don't have to!" The Swablu chirped, wanting to let their new friends know that it wasn't like they needed help all the way up to the Guild. As long as they got as close as possible, he was sure he could handle the rest...

The bird had no idea where they were really going, as it all looked the same to him. The trees looked the same, the little paths looked the same – and the lack of sunlight didn't really help! But then again, if he looked closely... It was looking as if the trees were growing sparser, as if there was slightly more light that managed to shine through the thick canopy above.

The pinsir nodded in response to the birds comment about not having to go into the town. "I no go." the moth responded. "No like big group... No feel safe." it added as it lowered closer to the ground. The pinsir seemed to feel similarly to the moth pokemon. However, he remained silent about it.

Joey shifted slightly to look around. He then pointed to their right as they got a little further into the lighter areas of the forest. -yawn- "We turn here." Joey stated as the pinsir stopped for a moment.

"Hmm, well, you don't have to... But there's really no reason to worry about it! As long as you don't cause trouble, no one will do anything to you," Varda chirped happily as the moth-like Pokémon seemed rather against the idea of going to the town. There surely was a reason why feral Pokémon didn't come to the town, but... Well, the bird didn't really see a reason to be afraid or something, at least! Grassveil Town always felt to safe to him...

The Swablu continued to walk, though Joey's voice made him turn as he continued to instruct them on the path they should take. That certainly made things easier! Though now that he was thinking about the Pichu, he remembered one of the rocks he had picked up in a hurry before they started to leave to Grassveil Town again. Digging into his bag, he pulled out the second Leaf Stone.
"Oh, Joey! I found another one of these and... Well, it's not as nice as your treasure, but maybe you would want it? It could be like, another treasure..."

Joey looked towards the bird pokemon sleepily. He smiled as he heard the offer. "Th-thanks. That means a lot." he said in a sleepy tone. They had continued traveling along the path. Eventually passing into pecha forest. "We are almost home." he said with a smile. "Ummm. can I be put down... I like to try and walk." Joey asked slowly. The pinsir looked up to him for a moment. The pokemon nodded and slowly put the pichu on the ground. "How you feel?" the moth asked as it flew right next to Joey.

"Alright... I think I can walk now. Thank-you." Joey said in thanks. The two pokemon nodded.

"Lets get home... We have to give the scarf back to the client." Joey said as he yawned once more. "Then we can rest properly..." he stated as he looked up to the now open sky. The sky seeming to be darker and full of clouds.

As the wind blew by for a moment Joey got a brief sensation of energy in the air. He turned towards the direction of the wind and saw large towering clouds in the distance. "Huh? I think a storm is coming. This will be great!" he said as he got excited.

((You may claim the poke. Feel free to either submit to lock thread or make a final post ^_^))