The Abandoned Villa

First topic message reminder :

Tropical fluttered his wings nervously as he looked up at the scattered remains of the ruined mansion that dominated the dark skyline. His eyes narrowed in worry as they darted to the black clouds that prevented the sun from shining down on the land. Tropical's normally sunny disposition and positive attitude had faded with the sun. He had worried wrinkles pulling at the corners of his eyes and across his forehead, and his typical carefree grin was replaced with a concerned frown.

The disease that had followed the black clouds across the land was a serious one, affecting the very minds of the pokemon, turning them into even less than feral pokemon, driving them to insanity and violence. Tropical's own mother had recently been affected by the disease, explaining much of the worry on Tropical's countenance. It had driven him to this sunless place that stank of rotting wood, where the air trembled with a dangerous energy.

When his mother had contracted the disease, Tropical had gone into a frenzy, trying to find a way to reverse the madness and cure her sickness. He had traveled to the lower lands and found Xatu giving strange advice: a riddle, almost. He had stuck around for a while, trying to get more out of the mysterious but wise psychic. He'd managed to catch some mumbled ramblings, but that was all she wrote.

Tropical had never really been one much for riddles, preferring to garden and bake over anything else, but Xatu's words seemed to be rather straight-forward. After asking around and examining some maps of the lower lands, he concluded that the 'house of haunts' that Xatu spoke of had to be the Ruined Chateau, given that it was an old mansion overrun by ghost pokemon. He hoped to piece together more clues once he was inside and had the chance to look around.

Sosio: {20 - roll}

Sosio grinned delightfully as the fruit Pokemon embraced her in expression of his gratitude.
"Might not wanna touch me for too long. I have Flame Body," she warned in a giggle. It wasn't too much of a problem since she could control the heat and activity of her flame sac on her throat. One of the fire types worst fears was accidentally setting things on fire, especially trees and friendly Pokemon (and friendly tree Pokemon), which is why she often kept her heat low. Sure, she couldn't jump as easily into flight and was much slower, but it was better than accidentally harming something.

A sudden sound, however, almost made the Fletchinder hiccup an Ember, but thankfully Tropical let go in reaction to the noise. It was impossible to describe, but it sounded much like a cry of a metallic ghost. Or maybe it was just something very big that fell, but Sosio could think what she wanted. As unnerving as it was, she chose to ignore it and move on. They should probably enter the actual mansion, anyway.

aMEWzing carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

Energy: 4 + 1 (new page) = 5 - 0 (Roll/Stamina Band) = 5 + 10 (Oran Berry)= 15

Tropical barely heard Sosio's warning as something came rolling across the floor towards the two pokemon. The flying plantosaur stiffened warily as the item came to a rest a few feet away from them.

Tropical warily extended a vine towards the item, suspicious of a trap as the seemingly innocent bauble glinted in the pale light shining in from the broken roof of the ruins. He poked the thing with the end of his vine, and it moved slightly, but nothing else happened.

Still suspicious, the grass pokemon made a few steps forward to examine the item curiously. It was a blue orb of some sort. Tropical knew that orbs like these were used by exploration teams occasionally -the altaria family who lived across the street from him when he was growing up had made a business selling these orbs to the exploration teams of the Aileron Guild, but Tropical had never had any personal experience with them.

"How the heck did this get down here? What set it off?" he murmured, half to himself and half to Sosio. He glanced around, wondering if the rumours of the so-called 'haunted chateau' were true, or if it was just a ghost pokemon playing tricks on them.

He reached into the bag that hung around his neck and removed an oran berry with one of his vines. The blue berry disappeared quickly down his throat as he prepared himself. He didn't want to get caught off-guard by a ghost pokemon.

He looked back at Sosio. "This is starting to get creepy. What do you say we move on before something actually bad happens?" he suggested.

Silver carried out 3 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

, ,

Sosio: {20 - 1 (Item) + 1 (page) = 20}

As the object rolled up to the flying-type duo, Sosio squawked silently, unsure of what to think of it, and then continued to stare at it suspiciously. It seems to be no threat... she thought in a narrative voice. The Fletchinder had plenty of those blue balls in her storage. They all looked the same, but her ghost type friend once tried to explain that they were all different, and had different effects. How they worked, she had no idea, but there seemed to be plenty in every dungeon.

At Tropical's question, the bird merely shrugged. She hadn't even an idea as to what they do, much less how they got here. But just as his did, another approached Sosio and halted by her feet. Without much thought, almost involuntarily, she put it in her bag and pretty much forgot about it. She placed it right beside her Sitrus Berry, which the bird would most likely have to use later. It seemed Tropical already needed a berry, as he had used an Oran Berry while she stored her new orb. She looked up to him as he made a suggestion, and nodded.
"Sounds like a plan."

Lance came out of his hiding spot, making sure the two Pokémon that just came along didn't see him. Ever since the strange illness has started making Pokémon go out of their mind, he didn't dare come close to anyone, for fear of getting infected himself. He left the guild to find the cure.(It also didn't seem like a good idea to stay in a place where the illness could easily spread around) According to a strange bird, he was supposed to go to the "House of Haunts." He easily identified the "House of Haunts" to be the old Chateau, one of the only house-like thing that could have ghosts in it.


He got closer to the Chateau, looking around to make sure the two Pokémon were gone. He didn't see where they went, but they are gone now. He quietly walked along the wall of the Chateau so anyone just inside the Chateau couldn't see him. he was right next to the entrance now. He slowly peered inside...and then pulled his head back quickly. The same two Pokémon that he saw earlier were inside! The Riolu was pretty sure one of them saw him. He couldn't make it back in his hiding spot in time, they could just peer outside and see where he was running to. He was doomed. DOOMED! He closed his eyes, shivering with fear, hoping that maybe he won't get the illness, or that the Pokémon didn't see him.

Energy: [21-16: 5]

Tropical gripped the orb with his vine and gently lifted it into his bag, figuring that he'd learn what it did later. For now, though, it was time to move on. But just as he turned to start walking further into the ruins, a flash of blue and black caught his attention in his peripheral vision, and he turned to the doorway just in time to spot the retreating back of a pokemon of some sort.

His forehead creased in perplection, and he crossed to the doorway, peering out of the ruins to see a trembling riolu with its eyes squeezed shut, seemingly terrified of something.

Tropical felt his expression morph into something gentler and sympathetic. "Hey... it's alright, we're not going to hurt you," he said softly, not wanting to scare the poor pokemon.

Sosio: {20 - (roll)}

As the bird and the bananasaur conversed, Sosio heard a soft gasp from behind them. It seemed a little distant and higher-pitched than Tropical's voice, but she decided to shrug it off, assuming it was just her imagination or the Tropius. However, it seemed the Fletchinder's newest friend had seen whatever it was, and approached the doorway in which they entered just before. Whatever it was, Tropical seemed to have found it sitting outside and began to speak to it. It was hard to tell whether this was a wild Pokemon he was making first contact with, or just a really shy civilian.

Curious, Sosio had to see for herself. She peered around Tropical's neck with a curiously concerned expression, gazing kindly to the Pokemon that hid around the corner. Her eyes sparked instantly with recognition.
"You! Uh, what was your name? Lance? Is that you? What are you doing here?!" She asked with eyes sparkling in excitement, her voice chipper as usual. The last time she saw that Riolu was during the moon where they were hunting for candy. That was a really long time ago, and Sosio had evolved since then, but the Riolu hadn't changed a bit. At least from what she could tell by her memory. The bird only hoped that he remembered her.

aMEWzing carried out 2 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

,

As Lance waited for his doom, he heard a calm voice. Opening one eye, he saw the Tropicus looking at him, non-threatenly. Sighing in relief since the giant dinosaur-like pokemon wasn't diseased, he opened his mouth, about to introduse himself, but then he saw a bird peering around the Tropicus, and when she spoke, Lance reconised her right away.

"Sosio? I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?" Lance remembers her well. She was the one who laughed and tackled a pokemon repeatedly when he was searching for candy. He would never forget that.

Taking an oran berry out of his bag, he ate it, feeling more energized. He had to be prepared to defend himself and his friends.

LanceTheDragon carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

Tropical smiled, relieved to find that his two companions knew each other, and that the riolu was no longer cowering away from him. Tropical wasn't one much for fights -in fact, he liked to think himself as a pacifist, and to think that a pokemon was terrified of him... It rather hurt his heart to imagine that he could scare anyone, even without meaning to.

"Well, it seems as if you two have already met," he stated the obvious cheerfully. "Young... Lance, was it? My name is Tropical, it's a pleasure to meet you," he dipped his head in respect and held out a vine in case the bipedal pokemon wanted to shake "hands".

Sosio: {20 - 12 (Pokemon) + 10 (trap) = 18}

Sosio grinned with delight at Lance's question.
"Just great! Check it out! I even evolved! How are things going for you?" she continued excitedly, responding passionately. It was always fantastic to make new friends, and especially fantastic to meet them again. While everyone is an instant buddy to Sosio, coming back to her was a sure sign that they were buddies to stay. She had a good feeling that Lance would be one of those buddies.

The chipper bird turned her head, now grinning at Tropical as he spoke, almost like an involuntary action to look to whoever was speaking, but naturally keeping her last facial expression. She was almost bouncing with excitement and sparkling eyes as the bananasaur introduced himself and made friendly contact. Nothing could be better than friends meeting friends.
"Now that we got that outta the way, let's go inside and begin, shall we?" she suggested in attempt to sound formal, but her ecstatic, cracking voice made her sound as silly as ever.

Roll reminder: Drifblim, Trap

Lance hesitated when Tropical held out his vine, not knowing what to do, but then realized it was to shake hands. The Riolu did so, smiling slightly. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Tropical."

"I've been doing ok for someone in the middle of what feels like the apocalypse." He said to Sosio. He then pulled out a yellow ribbon out of his bag. "I'm planning on evolving, but unlike most, I need two items. I know this is one of them, but I can't remember what the other one is..." He told her, feeling the fabric of the ribbon.

Just then, something tapped his foot. Jumping slightly out of fear, he looked down. Seeing an orb, he picked it up and put it away. "I'm ready to go in." He said, wishing to start moving. He had the feeling that they were being watched...

[Energy: 5+10-0=15] [Wearing Stamina Hat, all rolls -2 energy]

Tropical smiled at his two companions, and headed back into the ruined mansion after the excitable Sosio. At least he'd have good company on his search for answers. He looked in between the two pokemon as they walked through the ruins, curious as to how the two of them had met.

"So, you guys have met before, right? How did that happen?" he asked curiously, wondering how a bird pokemon had met up with a riolu of all pokemon. He was used to the very small diversity of types in Aileron that it hadn't occurred to him that in the lower lands, pokemon of all different types and species met and lived together all the time.


(O_O Sorry this took so long! I didn't notice that Riolu had posted ;-;)

Sosio: {18}

"I don't know much about evolution," she stated simply, seldom disappointed in her lack of ability. "All I know is that it's super awesome! Taking on a whole new form and junk... It's the coolest. Good luck with your search!" Of course she would wish the best for a friend. Sosio scarcely knew anything about Pokemon or other species, and pretty much the only thing she was ever taught were 'jungle smarts' and the basics of life and battle. She knew virtually nothing about other species, and much less about leveling, move learning, and evolution.

Glad the team was finally getting a start, Sosio trotted in through the door in front of the others, seemingly fearless and taking on a strange sort of juvenile leadership. Tropical's inquiry was logical, but still very easy to answer, so the bird jumped onto the answer immediately.
"Haha. It's a long story... Actually, wait no, it's a short one. I went into the woods looking for candy. He went into woods looking for candy. We met and decided to look for candy together. The end!"

As soon as she said the word "end", the Fletchinder had stepped right into the center of the room. Rookie mistake. A cage dropped down from above, seemingly from nowhere, and caught her by surprise. She was surrounded by thick, silver, impenetrable bars, preventing any escape whatsoever. Chills swept through the fire type as the next event unfolded. Up from the ground, a Drifblim ascended, flashing an icy stare into the young bird. A faint whisper only she could here hovered around her ears: "The only escape is victory, my sweet prey..." She wanted to cry out for help, but she was too mortified to even move.

OOC:

"Well, I know that some Pokemon evolve differently for others. That's about all I know." Lance said. When Tropical asked how Lance how he and Sosio met, the Riolu was about to tell the gentle giant, but Sosio beat him to that. But right as she finished her sentence, a cage fell around her. Then a Drifblim rose out of the ground, looking at her. Lance knew that it didn't mean any good, and so he got ready to fight it. He started walking up to it, ready to get into a fight.

OOC:

Tropical let out a cry of dismay when Sosio was suddenly trapped within a cage, a Drifblim floating towards her, grinning evilly. This wasn't good. This soooo wasn't good! Tropical dithered for a moment, unsure of what to do or say to make the Drifblim stop.

Lance had stepped forward in Tropical's hesitation, though, a fighting pose struck. This action jolted Tropical out of his daze. His vines snapped forward automatically, gripping the riolu firmly but not too tightly, and moved him out of the way.

"Wait! Let's all just calm down here for a moment," Tropical announced loudly, a stern tone seeping into his voice.

Whether it was his words, tone, or simply the surprise of seeing two other pokemon, the Drifblim did stop, glaring down at Tropical suspiciously.

"Listen, we -we don't need to fight!" Tropical insisted, withdrawing his vines and stepping towards the Drifblim with no threatening gestures. He hated that other pokemon always seemed to think that fighting was the answer to everything!

Sosio: {18}

Thankfully due to the Tropius' diversion, the Drifblim's attention was adverted from Sosio to Tropical, looking to him in surprise as the grass type spoke out against it. Sosio sensed a bit of tension between the ghost and the Fletchinder's friend as its expression shifted from surprise to a dangerous look. It randomly came across to Sosio that the three of them were flying types, but her mind was often one to wander.

The Drifblim's reaction was so suggestive, it was suspicious and unsettling. Especially due to the brief silence, which felt like ages, it seemed to have something in mind.
"Why would I listen to you, peanut? HOW ELSE WOULD I EARN THE CHOCOLATE?" It seemed completely delirious, as well as intent on doing this battle, so Sosio would just have to give it what it wants...

"Well if it's a fight you want, it's a beating you'll get..." she growled through a clenched beak, breaking into flight and pounding a palm with a fist of talons. She unleashed an ember from her heated gizzard, charging her flame sac to allow for higher speeds as she circled the ghost type in the small cage, effectively evading any attacks it might attempt to throw at her. Despite Sosio's efforts, the Drifblim was able to use Ominous Wind, sweeping the whole room with eerie air that made Sosio flinch, then blown by a Gust it aimed at her. Fortunately, the flying type attack wasn't too grave, due to the bars being right behind her, and the lack of space causing lack of momentum. The bird sprung of the edges of the bars and powered into the ghost for a Peck. She didn't know how long she could last in here with all its special attacks, but if she didn't finish it off now, she would be doomed.

Taking a few hits really badly, and it taking some more really well, Sosio wished deeply she could Flail about and it would have effect. Fed up, she tried a new approach, she flew towards it to mock a Peck, stopping the extension of her beak suddenly and instead using Tackle to pass right through it, coming up from above it to peck it down and shoot it with Embers. Exhausted, she watched the ghost finally retreat through the ground, Sosio collapsing exhaustively. But to her surprise, the cage rose, and the spot underneath her lit up, healing her lost energy. She didn't really know what to make out of it, and just stared at the other two with her.