Of Dark Types and Dragons

Alkere had quite the problem before her.

On one hand, it had been a pretty long trip to Rainfront. It would be a waste of time to head back home without even doing anything. Sure, she had said 'hi' to a couple of the villagers and browsed the nearby shops, but she hadn't done anything of real value. She hadn't found anything new and exciting, or chased down an outlaw, or explored her surroundings. She wanted to do at least one of those things before heading back to Grassveil. On the other hand, well, what was there to do? She could try exploring, but she was pretty sure the Mystery Dungeons here seemed a bit too tough for her.

She spent about five seconds deciding what she'd do before heading towards Pricklemist Hill. She'd never learn anything beating up Caterpies in Pecha Forest for the millionth time anyways, right? It never hurt to challenge herself. Even if it turned out she was way over her head, it wasn't like this would be the first time she'd loose a battle. So what did she really have to loose? Maybe she'd find something neat in the Mystery Dungeon. Or stop some kind of evil plan in the making! ... probably not, but you couldn't know for sure.

That was the story of how Alkere stood at the base of a misty hill, her dark eyes narrowed as she gazed upwards at the mysterious house. Unflinchingly, she took a couple steps forward, digging her heels into the ground to keep herself from falling. The Bagon occasionally glanced around, her curiousity beginning to take hold. Was this hill part of a Mystery Dungeon, or did it only start when she entered that house? Hmm. Well, one way to find out.

Energy: 16 - 10 = 6

Deimos, after his previous forays within Pecha and Shadowhue had found himself back at the first location he had visited in his travels, the location the locals referred to as 'Pricklemist Hill'. Having already scaled for a while, Deimos had found himself finding a small secluded section, at which he had drifted off. The only reason he'd even gone so far as to rest in this region was due to the vast amount of Mist, it's presence naturally concealed him quite well, considering his white coloration.

While Deimos was asleep, he was constantly fidgeting... he was having a nightmare. He could see her getting harmed... a sudden shift in the mountainous terrain, boulders dropping down upon her. Waking up with a start, a cold sweat running down. "What was that... it mimicked exactly what happened in the past. Ramira... is this a sign she's in trouble? It did show her after all... it's got to be" Deimos muttered under his breath as he quickly got up, shaking his head to try and straighten out his thoughts.

Naturally it could have just been a random nightmare but Deimos had an odd feeling of foreboding... He'd already lost his brother that way, if this was a warning he couldn't just wait and let it happen.

Alkere kept trekking up the hill, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to climb. This was a harder task for her than it was for a lot of other Pokemon, since Bagon had very short limbs. She walked up and up and up, just hoping the hill was going to end soon. It had to, right? She wanted to get to the house already! Climbing a hill and doing nothing wasn't any fun. Anyone who thought it was, well, she commended them for their optimism.

The small Dragon Pokemon dragged her feet upwards and tried to pull herself up, but she ended up stepping on a rock since she wasn't paying attention. Surprised, she lost her footing, and in that brief moment gravity took it's opportunity. She tumbled backwards, back down the hill, letting out a surprised cry that echoed through the misty hill. She reached the bottom of the hill and was still for a moment. Then she hauled herself back to her feet, dusting off her scales. That... could've gone better. She silently cursed her mortal enemy, known only as 'gravity', and started to climb up again.

Deimos let out somewhat of a sigh and then resumed his work on scaling the hill. To him this was quite an easy task, As one that was raised within mountainous terrain he had no issue with swiftly identifying suitable footholds and weak segments to avoid. He did hear a cry but he shrugged and ignored it, he couldn't sense anything coming towards him through the earth or air so he figured he was safe.

As Deimos neared the top he slowed down once again in order to blend into the white mist once more. He took this moment to look around, wanting to identify any potential threats before they could become an issue.

Hastily, the Bagon dragged her feet up the hill. She made a quick mental note to look out for stones. No problem, she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Now she just needed to get up this stupid hill. She thought it was a little pathetic, that she was having this much trouble and she wasn't even to the Mystery Dungeon yet. Not many Pokemon manage to get kicked out before even exploring the dungeon. She chuckled slightly to herself. No, it was okay. She knew she wasn't that strong yet, that was why she was trying to learn. Then, with a lot of time and effort, she'd be like the heroes in her storybooks. One day.

But, for now, that was neither here nor there. Alkere's objective for the moment was to get up this hill. She forced herself to move at a quicker pace than before, and a few minutes later, she finally managed to get up. "Heh... take that, gravity." She murmured, and laughed to herself as she sat down by the wall of the house. She just needed a second to catch her breath before heading into the Mystery Dungeon. She didn't have any items or experience, so the very least she could do was make sure she wasn't out of breath when she entered the dungeon.

From his hidden position amongst the Mist Deimos did notice the Bagon. At first he didn't see how this kind of terrain could exhaust one but he merely shook his head to get back on task. Deimos decided not to try and interact, he wasn't aware of if this was a feral Pokemon or not, if he revealed himself to one that most certainly wouldn't go down well, conflict would be neccessary.

Now, Deimos could have started playing tricks on her if he was that kind of person due to his currently camouflaged position within the Mist. However he wasn't the type to do that, so instead he merely watched and observed. Try as he might that nightmare was still on his mind... It had to mean something.

The little dragon sat down quietly, taking a minute to catch her breath. Climbing up the hill once had been enough of a pain without her falling down halfway up. Not her finest moment, but at least no one had been here to see. She rested for a few seconds, her thoughts wandered to this and that. She thought about what might be inside the house, if there were any neat items inside or Pokemon she had never seen before. It would be kind of cool to see a new Pokemon... even if it was feral, and that meant it probably wanted her gone. Admittedly, she hadn't seen many Pokemon before. She knew a good number of flying types, having spent her early childhood in Aileron Village. Grassveil also had quite a diverse population, but you could far from find every species there.

Now she was really getting off topic. It was time to explore a Mystery Dungeon. She heaved herself to her feet, no longer panting from the climb up. She walked along the side of the house, not wanted to lose it in the unusually thick mist. She kept walking until she reached the front of the house and peered through the rotten door. The darkness was thick, so she fired off a small Ember to give herself a little light. It fizzled out quickly, but she was at least able to tell the first room was clear. She stepped inside the house, her gaze swiveling this way and that. This was exciting! She once more began to wonder what might be in here.

Deimos merely watched what occurred and sighed... was there something specific about this structure he didn't know about? He still was extremely worried about Ramira due to that Nightmare of his, he'd already lost one that he cared deeply for... he didn't want to lose another. Back on topic he figured he might as well follow the Bagon for now.

In silence he got up from his camoflauged position and advanced towards the entrance of the building. Glancing inside, he noticed the Bagon trying to illuminate the area, it seemed quiet for the moment, though the air within felt... strange somehow. "What is this place..." Deimos muttered under his breath.

Alkere paused for a moment, glancing behind her. She could've sworn she heard a noise. "Hello?" She looked back at the entrance, her eyes narrowed. She took a defensive step back, suspecting a feral Pokemon had found it's way to her. Well, it had better been ready to fight! She wasn't going down easily. She formed an Ember in her mouth, readying it to fire. She took another step back, though, and her foot hit something. She stumbled for a moment before tripping and sprawling over awkwardly on her back.

Cursing under her breath, the Bagon heaved herself back up to her feet. She needed to be more aware of her surroundings, she wasn't going to get very far if she tripped over everything like a moron. She cast a disdainful glance at the ground, quickly checking what she had tripped over. Hopefully it was at least a rare item or something neat like that. It could've just as easily been a feral Pokemon's tail, if luck was less on her side.

PhantomSun carried out 6 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

, , , , ,

Despite how dark it was inside, Deimos made use of his Air based sensory capacity to scope out the area. He understood that for now his sight wouldn't be as much use considering the darkness. Using his sensory ability, he could feel the airflow was... congested? No... it was being affected by multiple presences. "You should be careful... There are presences in there with you..." Deimos spoke, not walking out of his current position to reveal himself.

One difference in the air caught his attention especially, he could sense a very familiar gaseous body, one he sensed the very first time he had come to this region, a Gastly. Honestly Deimos didn't envy the Bagon, sight was limited in there after all without proper illumination.

The Dragon type picked up a small orb. There was a small crack trailing through it’s surface, having been damaged slightly when she stepped on it, but it seemed to be intact. More likely than not, it would still work. She put it in her bag quickly. She didn’t know what it would do, having little knowledge of how to tell one orb from the rest. They were all the same circular shape and light blue color, as far as she could tell. But even if she couldn’t tell what it would do, orbs could be very powerful objects. It definitely wasn’t going to hurt to take it with her. She debated going forward, but a voice rang out from somewhere behind her.

... Huh? Other prescences? So she wasn’t alone here? She figured she’d run into feral Pokemon eventually, but the way the stranger worded that kinda creeped her out. She shot another few Embers along the floor, revealing a Linoone and a Spoink glaring in her direction. Drat. When did they get here? ”Oh, and I don’t suppose you’re going to help me any, mister disembodied voice?” She hissed back. She wanted to say something more, but she was a little too late. The Spoink gave a dark chuckle, and a moment later Alkere stumbled back, dazed from a weak psychic force. The Linoone sent an approving nod to it’s partner, and dashed towards the Bagon with blinding speed. She managed to scurry back in time to dodge it - Linoone were fast, but they struggled to turn - and the normal type slammed into the wall of the house.

Energy: 0

"I suppose I might as well..." Deimos sighed as he walked into the doorway and rushed forth, heading right for the Spoink, he was hoping to entice a defensive reaction which could lead into his sucker punch. Fortunately for him this did end up being the case, soon enough he could feel an odd change in the Air, akin to some form of Psychic attack such as his Future Sight.

He immediately lashed out at high speed with his Sucker punch before the Spoink could even finish the move, making use of Priority STAB to bring down the Pokémon as fast as he could. Next he turned his attention to the Linoone... He'd need to provide some form of increased visual ability to help the Bagon. "Watch your step and cover your eyes... it may get a little bright" Deimos commented as he forced a large blade of earth through the floor, surging upwards and through the roof of the small hut. He immediately retracted the Stone, letting in the light from outside.

The Bagon watched with trepidation as an Absol came into the house. At first she thought this might be another enemy - Dark types wouldn't be out of place in an area like this - but she quickly realized the stranger was on her side. He dispatched the Spoink swiftly, and though curious of what he planned to do, she obeyed when he asked she cover her eyes. A second later, bright light pierced in through the sky. She smirked slightly, now they're talking! The Linoone, unprepared for the blast of light, let out a pained screech. It had, quite possibly, spent it's entire life in this dark, abandoned house. Taking her chance, the Bagon rushed forward, wanting to take it down quickly. She began to glow with a faint purple aura as she approached the enemy.

Her body felt lighter and stronger as she slammed into the feral Pokemon. Almost wildly she bit and clawed at the normal type until it managed to regain it's senses and knock her back. That had to have done at least some damage to it, right? She knew her egg move, Thrash, was pretty powerful. It wasn't knocked out, but it definitely wasn't in top shape anymore, either. "Thanks for the help." She nodded to the Absol, wanting to thank him quickly. She might have forgotten to after she got confused. "Good to know you aren't just a disembodied voice haunting the place." She added after a brief pause, her smirk from before returning.

"If I was haunting this structure I wouldn't have provided any assistance vocally or physically, because I would like to have more guests and company" Deimos spoke in order to respond to the Bagon's comment, acting in somewhat of a logical manner. Deimos now turned his attention to the Linoone, activating his Future Sight move.

An extrmely faint aura became visible around Deimos and the Pokemon, over time this would grow, and eventually lash out at the Feral Pokemon.

"I dunno about that." Alkere added, watching as a faint aura surrounded the Absol and the feral Pokemon. She wasn't sure what exactly it did, but he was probably trying to attack it somehow. A lot of her attacks involved aura. The Linoone tried to ram her again, but thinking quickly, the Bagon spit an Ember at the ground in front of it. Unable to stop quickly enough, it ran right into the flames. The fire fizzled out after a moment, but not before doing a bit of damage to the enemy. She turned back to the Absol, watching the normal type in case it tried to attack her again... which it probably would, knowing feral Pokemon. "Maybe you don't like company, so you're trying to get me through here faster. So I go away sooner."