Masochist

[Energy: 16 - 5 (Entrance Cost) = 11]

Yesterday had been an exhausting day for Pilot. For hours, he was in the air, refining his flight skills, practicing everything from aileron rolls to dive bombs. During this prolonged training session, he was abruptly interrupted by a Charmander, with whom he ended up getting in an all-out brawl with. The two had probably beaten each other to within an inch of their lives. The Taillow had aches and pains all over his body, particularly in his wings. For the first time in a while, the bird felt compelled to stay on the ground. Any sane Pokemon would've taken the day off to recuperate.

So why had he come to Pecha Forest, an area known for training? Perhaps he was a masochist, or maybe he just really wanted to get into Grassveil's guild. Probably a little of both. There was something about going into a dungeon while injured that enticed the bird. He knew that it was dangerous, but if he couldn't handle the "Rookie Dungeon", he certainly wouldn't be able to become part of the guild.

Another reason he had come was to find a partner. While he had already found a potential partner, Pilot wasn't convinced that the Charmander was right for him. Sure, the fiery lizard had put up a great fight, but his hot-headed attitude seemed unappealing. Another option would be nice. If this dungeon was known for being a starting point for newcomers, Pilot had no doubts in his mind that he would find someone else who didn't belong to a team yet.

[Energy: 13 - 5 (Entrance) = 8]

Stinger's day was...well, like always. Keeping to himself, staying under the shadows of the trees, observing his surroundings. Some might think him a strange fella or sometimes even a stalker but he wouldn't mind, he knows what he is really doing and the opinions of others never bothered him.

Even now, as he was making his way through Pecha Forest, he was just doing this for his own interest, taking in what the "Rookie Dungeon" was looking like. So far, he wasn't having any problems. But he knew better than to relax. No one could prove him that everything here would stay like that and he knew it as well.

Trying to seem less obvious, as he wasn't one who wanted to draw too much attention to himself, he sneaked through the forest. No matter how observant he was, he was still just a Weedle after all and the wrong enemy would spell trouble, great trouble for him.

Pilot hopped through the forest, giving his aching wings the rest that they desperately needed. It felt odd to walk on the ground rather than fly over it for a change. From the time that he had left his nest, Pilot had always been flying, rarely even making contact with the ground. From the forest floor, everything appeared much larger. He began to feel... Vulnerable. Compared to the trees, he was like an ant... He constantly swiveled his head to make sure there was nothing behind him.

Pilot's fear of the ground had reduced his normally proud and cocky attitude to that of a jittery, slightly delusional bird. Suddenly, he heard rustling. Wasting no time, Pilot bounded towards the "foe", intent on dispatching the threat before it could land an attack.

Continuing his way through Pecha Forest, Stinger took in his surroundings, most of it covered in the shadows of the trees, something he appreciated greatly as he was no fan of open sky and sunlight...maybe it was just because he was a Weedle and used to live in a forest. It didn't matter greatly to him, it was just something he personally liked.

As the sunlight grew stronger between the canopies of the forest, he decided to make a shortcut through some bushes, looking for a place to stay until the sunlight dimmed again. However, as he came out of the bushes, a Taillow came hopping at him, clearly aggressive. Knowing that he was fairly slow, and the fact that he was facing a bird Pokemon...and kinda out of fear of what happened last time Taillows and their evolution attacked him and his family, he immediately jumped back into the brush, shivering a bit in fear.

As Pilot bounded towards the source of the noise, he caught a quick glimpse of the target before it retreated back into the bush. It was a small, brown creature with spikes on its tail and head. He quickly identified it as a Weedle. It didn't look like a threat, so the bird came to a gradual halt, stopping just before the bush. He turned around and hopped away, not wanting to waste his time and energy fighting such a weak feral...

But then he stopped. Wait a second, Pilot thought to himself. Weedle aren't supposed to be here... That's not a feral! The bird had been born in Shadowhue Forest, only a short walk away from Pecha Forest. Weedle never seemed to leave the boundaries of his home forest, so the one he had just encountered couldn't be feral...

With his new realization, Pilot turned back to the bush. "Hey, uh... Sorry if I scared you?"

As Stinger heard the Taillow speak, he tried to focus again, taking several deep breaths to calm down. He hated his fear of these bird Pokémon, usually calm and collected, one of them just reduced him to a quivering mass of fear. As soon as managed to get a hold of himself, he decided to face the bird.

Making his way out of the brush, he did not directly turn towards the Taillow but rather turned his side to him, mumbling to himself. "This won't last long. As soon as I am Beedrill just like my mother was, I'll be able to fight them back. I won't have to hide away like I just did..."

Finally turning his head to the Taillow, he spoke up, still having some sort of mumbling in his voice but clear enough for the bird to understand. "Hm... there is nothing to worry about, I just sometimes tend to jump away from certain Pokémon, not that it matters anymore now...anyway, I suppose here is a reason you're in the Pecha Forest?" He was still careful around the bird. Even though he proved himself to not be feral as well as the face that he apologized, he couldn't tell if the Taillow wasn't just moody and would attack him the next moment.

Pilot curiously watched as the Hairy Bug Pokemon crawled out of the bush and into the opening. The Weedle had muttered something to himself, but Pilot couldn't quite pick up what it had said. Eventually, the bug began to talk to him in a low, raspy voice. He could tell that the Weedle wasn't exactly a talker. He was asked a simple question: why was he in Pecha Forest?

"Yeah, I'm here to train! I'm gonna join the Grassveil guild soon," Pilot chirped, puffing his chest out to appear larger. "Oh, and I'm also pretty hungry, too..." He said with a mischievous grin. Of course, he would never eat a sentient Pokemon, but it would be hilarious if he spooked the Weedle again. The Pokemon still looked very on edge, so he was sure to get an interesting reaction.

"Name's Pilot, by the way! What about you?" Pilot asked, tilting his head.

Stinger simply narrowed his eyes at the bird before turning his head down, mumbling to himself "What's he supposed to be, some kind of joker? Still should be careful around him..." before shaking his head slowly. "Then again, joining a guild would probably help me leveling faster. And if I team up with him, as much as I hate it, I minimize the chance of him attacking me because we'd be in the same team..."

Turning back to him, he "spoke up", still rather quiet with the same low, raspy voice. "Well, maybe it would be wise to team up for now. It would be more effective if we were to work together. Maybe there is a chance we would join the guild as a team. We would become stronger like that..." In his mind these words were like his own venom. After all what happened to him, he would now team up with a member of the species of Pokemon that killed off his family. 'It's just for my own safety' he repeated in his mind as he made the suggestion.

Pilot started to circle around the Weedle, much like a predator would, as if sizing the bug up. The way he cowered away from me before... Would this guy even be an asset? I feel like he'd slow me down more than anything... The Taillow thought to himself. But I also heard that bug Pokemon like him evolve quickly... Having a Beedrill by my side would be awesome! He smiled at the thought of having a fully evolved companion. It was definitely the Weedle's best selling point.

The bird stopped pacing, and then nodded his head. "Alright, we'll go together," Pilot chirped. "But you still need to tell me your name, Weedle." The Pokemon obviously didn't trust him, but he didn't mind. It's not like it was Pilot that had to worry about his companion attacking (and possibly eating) him...

Sceptile carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Stinger followed Pilot's movement with his eyes. Look at him, sizing me up, judging me. Like he has the right to, he's nothing more than a kid. At least he seems to me like it. Well, looking at how our team would work like, I suppose I'll be the rather supportive part. He can do more damage than me...for now. As soon as I am a Beedrill, I'll lead the team forward...until he evolves as well.

The Weedle looked over to his (now) bird companion. "Name's Stinger...and it seems like we got some company." Tilting his head, he pointed behind Pilot, towards the Pineco. Taking on a defensive stance, he was ready to work with the Taillow together, albeit hesitantly at first.

[Energy: 11 - 2 (Pineco) = 9]

Pilot turned around, and upon seeing the Pineco, charged at it. The bird recklessly leaped into the Bagworm Pokemon, knocking it down on its side, but also damaging himself in the process. As the feral attempted to right itself, Pilot started pecking at its tough, bark-like hide. The Pokemon was surprisingly hardy, only sustaining minor damage from Pilot's physical assault. It was going to take much more than a few Peck attacks to down the Pokemon.

The Taillow looked back at his new companion. "Hey, help me finish the job before this guy gets up!" He shouted, a bit annoyed that the Weedle was hesitant to join the fight. As Pilot waited for Stinger's assistance, he kept chipping away at the Pineco's armor.

Sceptile carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

(OOC: This is for after the battle with the Pineco.)

Stinger took a quick look at the fighting style of his new companion, making mental notes. Jep, he's a flying type alright. Always charging headfirst into their opponents, being incredibly fast. This will be interesting. As he heard his companion yell at him to assist in the battle, he made his way over and fired Poison Sting after Poison Sting, looking to not hit the Taillow who was pecking at the Pineco.

[Energy: 9 - 1 (Pink Gummi) = 8]

The continued pecking of Pilot and the Poison Stings from Stinger seemed to wear the feral Pineco down, but it wasn't quite enough to finish the Pokemon. Just before it could faint, the wild Pokemon's eyes widened, indicating that it was going to explode. Pilot, not being a very perceptive Pokemon, continued to peck at it, unaware of the impending danger. A more observant Pokemon like Stinger probably would've been able to avoid the attack, however...

The Pineco blew up, singeing some of Pilot's feathers, and sending him skidding across the ground. "Oww," The Taillow moaned, getting back up on his feet. He had sustained significant damage from the attack, but it wasn't nearly enough to knock him out. "Well, that hurt."

Rather than checking on his teammate, the bird's attention went to a Pink Gummi. He picked it up with his beak, and put it in his bag for later.

Sceptile carried out 2 launched of one Pecha Forest :

,

Due to the range of Poison Sting, Stinger was far enough to not get hit by the explosion unlike his "comrade". As the bird's attention went over to a Gummi that was on the ground, maybe the Pineco dropped it, he didn't care about it too much, he once again scanned their surroundings. A Pineco using Selfdestruct would draw at least some attention since it is not the most held-back move.

And soon enough he saw a Exeggcute at the other end of the clearing. "Oh deary, seems like that Pineco drew some attention. Hope you can still fight, Pilot."

[Energy: 8 - 8 (Exeggcute) - 1 (Blast Seed) = 0 (energy values can't be negative)]

Pilot dusted himself off with his wings, and eyed the Exeggcute at the other end of the clearing. Rather than learning from his previous mistake, the bird darted over towards the strange egg-like Pokemon, anticipating a quick, relatively clean fight. After all, it's an Exeggcute, what could it possibly do to hurt Pilot? As far as he was concerned, they were as weak as the common Rattata.

Unfortunately, this assumption was dead wrong. As soon as he collided with the Egg Pokemon, a cloud of toxic gas was released, causing the bird Pokemon to gag. He had just been badly poisoned. Rather than giving in to the crippling status condition's effects, he continued to peck at the Egg Pokemon, eventually cracking it and causing it to faint. An easy opponent, but the poisonous gas was beginning to burn his lungs... He had to get out of it!

The avian emerged from the cloud of poisonous dust, coughing and hacking. "That... was a bad idea," Pilot wheezed, looking around for his comrade. He found a Blast Seed on the ground, and pocketed it almost immediately. I'm not going to be very useful like this... The bird thought, starting to feel weakness. Even his Guts boost wouldn't make him effective at combat at this point...