Misty Beginnings

Jake had finally made it back to the hilly landscape.  He really wanted to see what hidden mysteries he could find in the area, to test his skills in exploring.  The Tepig wondered if he'll even be able to find just one secret in all of this mist though.  He looked all around near the entrance, but there was nothing to find there.  Maybe he would meet someone who could help the poor fire type in his escapades.

Energy: 25-10=15

A young Burmy crawled towards the forest on his set of six, tiny feet. He carried a bag, fit for carrying multiple items alongside his journal and favourite quill pen, and rather than the normal green, his plant cloak was a stark orange, the leaves being made up of those from autumn-times rather than the greenery you'd be able to spot most of the year round.

Russell wasn't in much of a hurry. It was early morning and he had the entire day to investigate the area in order to add it to his maps of Rainfront and it's surrounding areas. However, as far as he knew, the hill itself was classed as a mystery dungeon and at the same time, Russ was incredibly excited about maybe finding out something about mystery dungeons themselves.

Of course the chances of him discovering anything new on a routine trip to a dungeon were slim at most, but that didn't seem to dampen the Burmy's positive mood.

Venturing a tad bit farther down the foggy path, Jake sniffed around for any disturbances and hidden Pokemon.  Although the hog couldn't find anything with his nose, he certainly found a sizable indent in the dirt with his foot.  He stumbled when he tried walking any further, and as soon as the Tepig tried to get his leg out, a bunch of pebbles and soil shifted and trapped the limb.

Oh no, how am I supposed to find anything now.  If I call for help, the feral creatures around here might attack!  Jake looked around to see if there was anything that could be used as a pulley or a lever of sorts.  Unfortunately, there was nothing of the sort.  Although, he could see a hazy, shadowy figure in the distance through the mist.  He decided to risk wild Pokemon appearing and called out for help.

As the autumn cloaked Burmy travelled through the thick mists that covered the hill, he paused as he heard what sounded like a cry from nearby. Standing to attention at the noise, Russ paused his movement to listen mod carefully. His hearing wasn't the best of his senses, but if he listened closely he could discern the direction that the cries were coming from.

Not wanting to leave someone in a vulnerable position if he could help, the young Burmy continued moving through the mist, his autumn clock standing out against the greens of the grass. Finally, a shadowed figure came into view and Russell hurried towards it.

"Are you alright?" He asked, coming to a halt next to the the Pokemon he'd now identified as a Tepig. Russell paused again to take in the situation, noticing the Tepig's trapped limb. Moving around to Jake's foot, Russ began to dig at the rubble that had trapped it there and scooping it out of the way. He made subtle use of his psychic type hidden power move to shift small amounts of rubble and keep the little pile from collapsing back onto the Tepig's foot.

The flame hog saw the shadowy figure move closer in an almost hurried fashion. As the Pokemon neared, Jake could make out distinguishing features. He saw a leaf-like cloak and one, large antennae or horn shooting out from the head. He couldn't tell what Pokemon it was just yet, but he guessed it may be an insect of sorts.

His suspicions were confirmed when a Burmy with a most peculiarly colored cloak. He hadn't seen any of the Bagworm Pokemon with a camouflage for autumnal areas. The Tepig had grown to liking the Fall ever since he was a small child. The fantastical oranges, soothing yellows, passionate reds, and the brown leaves always gave him a calming sensation. He would love to jump into piles of leaves, both naturally created and man-made. The feeling of the crisp leaves felt like his straw bed, and the warm colors reminded him of the care and love from his family.

During his musings, Jake almost missed the bug's concern for this stranger's well being. There really are some truly well-natured Pokemon out there. The Tepig thought before answering the question with a joyful nod. After finally getting free from the confines of the damned hole, the pig thanked the Burmy. "Thanks for saving me! I was in quite the pickle there." A small breeze blew onto the back of Jake's head, slightly displacing his ears and running a chill down his spine. He just ignored it for now, and introduced himself as an adventurer looking for some hidden areas and maybe collect a few items.

"Ah, you're quite welcome," the autumn cloaked Burmy replied, quite humbled by the Tepig's sincere thanks. Helping out was what any good natured pokemon would do in his situation after all. At least, in an ideal world anyways.

Russell nodded as the Tepig introduced himself as Jake, explaining why he was in the area to begin with. The Burmy politely followed his introduction with one of his own.
"I'm Russell," he replied with a small smile, glad to have met a new face that seemed to be a nice pokemon and not just out to protect their home turf.
"You could say I'm an adventurer myself... though that's not my profession. I'm not part of a guild or anything," he added after a short pause of thought, "In truth I'm first and foremost a cartographer. I actually came here to map the area."

Grateful to the help, Jake was glad that the Burmy wasn't wild; In fact, he seemed to be a very kind Pokemon. "Nice to meet you, Russell! And being an adventurer isn't my job either. I just really like to explore, which is why I joined Grassville's Guild a while back." The Tepig explained about how he realized the Guild life wasn't for him, that he tried to start a shop, but couldn't get the supplies for it, and also about his current career: Nothing. He hadn't been able to find anything appealing to him ever since leaving the Guild and his failed shop. "Sorry for rambling on about myself, Russell." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Are you sure you can actually map out a dungeon, though? I thought that they changed around every so often."

Russell listened politely as the Tepig explained about his previous career exploits and attempts. His love for adventure and exploration was admirable, and he sounded passionate about doing just that. Perhaps he'd be a good fit for the Windrose Scouts if not Grassveil Guild?

Putting his considerations aside for a moment, the autumn cloaked Burmy figured he'd learn a little more about Jake before proposing anything. Though first he'd answer the Tepig's perfectly valid question.

"That's completely true of course. I can only really map up until the outskirts of a dungeon, but within dungeons I fill my journals with observations about each place I visit," Russell replied, pausing for a short moment in thought before he continued.
"I actually hope to solve the mystery of why dungeons change around as they do. My dream is to map the whole world, and though I can't map dungeons themselves, perhaps I figure I could at least find the explanation why," he added with a small smile.

The Tepig wore a faint smile while he listened to Russ's response.  It seemed that the Burmy was very passionate about his dream.  It reminded him of his own drive when he wanted to join the Guild.  But those days are gone, and now he's just a lone adventurer.  Out there on the loose, just finding what he can, and hoping to sell some of it for Poke.  Maybe the fire hog could figure out a way to assist the bug type.

"Is there any way I could help you in that dream?"  Jake chimed in about half a minute later,  "I would love to be of service and aid you with your research.  Although, I'm not very good with drawing maps."

"Maybe," the Burmy replied with a thoughtful cryptic-ism, figuring it was worth at least considering. But for now, he'd focus on the reason he was here on Pricklemist Hill and the autumn cloaked Burmy turned his attention to the mists around him.

"So, have you been here before?" Russell asked, finally taking in the environment around him. It didn't really seem like somewhere you'd want to go alone unless you had experience in the area... but then he supposed he'd come here alone so...

Perhaps he could have been a little better informed before he had made the decision to come here alone, especially with the mists that surrounded the area. Nevertheless he had a companion now who also seemed enthusiastic about seeing what was to be found in the area so Russ supposed it wasn't all bad.

Solilo carried out 6 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

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"I've been here a few times, but that was a long time ago." The orange and brown hog looked off into the mist, which was concealing treasures or making a camouflage for wild Pokemon. Most likely both. With what little experience he had within the dungeon, he knew that there was always something hidden away behind curtains of fog.

"The best, consistent, information I have about this place is the dangers within the mist. It's usually OK to go in alone if you've been here many times, have amazing eyesight or sense of smell or hearing, or you can produce a light." Jake looked around again at the heavy clouds around the duo, which, for the moment, were void or any and all shadows.

"I suppose it's not too bad that we have each other now then, right," the autumn cloaked Burmy chuckled, figuring it wasn't too big a deal that they could be attacked from the mists if there was two of them to spot potential dangers and react in time. As such, Russell promptly moved to head onwards, eager to explore the dungeon and learn more about it.

"I wonder if there's a specific reason for the hill's mists," he wondered out loud as he walked, his pace slow and steady due to his small stature. Whilst he was moving, he began to rifle through his bag, searching for his journal so he could use it to make appropriate notes along the way.

The Tepig followed Russell to wherever he wandered.  Cautious as he was in this area, due to the dense fog, Jake was looking left, right, and everywhere in between in the search for shadowy figures.  So far, so good.  For a moment, the hog let down his guard.  Unfortunately, it was at that moment when something swooped down and tackling into him.

"Argh!"  Jake was launched backwards a few meters, landing on his back, hitting the ground hard.  Thankfully, the earth was softer, most likely due to the moisture in the air.  Getting up, the Tepig, looked over to where Russell last was, to see another Pokemon running over to the autumn cloaked Burmy.  He couldn't make it out, since the mist caused it to be nothing but shadows to the eyes, but it was long and slender, running quickly in a straight line.  He went to call out to his acquaintance, but was stopped by another hit from the flying type attacking him.

Now that he could see it properly, Jake figured out that his aggressor was a Fletchling.  He thought as quickly as he could, thinking of what to do.  He needed to knock out the feral Pokemon quickly, then get over to Russell.  Then he remembered the TM he used some time ago.  Rock Tomb.  He smashed down at the ground, and some small boulders lifted up.  He kicked them at the bird, knocking it out of the sky and trapping it in said rocks.  I'll need to take care of the Fletchling later, but that should buy me enough time.  This thought flashed through his mind as he ran off to help his Burmy friend.

Russell had just found his journal and removed it from his bag when Jake's cry echoed from beside him, making him jump as the Tepig was launched backwards by some form of airborne attack.
"Jake!" He called out, the thickness of the mists around him causing him to take a moment before he could locate the hog's new position. He'd been about to head towards Jake in order to aid him in his fight against the Fletchling, but was quickly distracted by the sounds of another Pokemon moving towards himself.

Turning around, Russell spotted the lithe creature weaving its way towards him. It was definitely fast as it leaped, using headbutt. The Burmy barely had enough time to use Protect, erecting a barrier between himself and the Pokemon he could now name as a Linoone, protecting himself from the powerful move.

Tactically levitating his bag and journal out of the way so that neither would be damaged by the fight, Russell kept up his Protect for a few moments until he was satisfied that his precious belongings would be safe. when that was achieve, the Burmy turned his attention to attacking the Linoone.

Glancing around, Russell looked for something that he could make use of with his limited moveset, and spotted Jake using some form of rock type move to entrap his opponents within a prison made of small boulders. Rock Tomb.

With an idea now planted in his head, Russell mustered up all of the energy he could as the Linoone dashed forwards, this time aiming to attack the Burmy with Tackle. Russell levitated a few of the rocks around him using his Hidden Power, psychically throwing them at the Linoone so that they would hit it's head and prevent it from successfully executing int's chosen move.

One alter the other, Russell threw rocks at the Linoone, attempting to make something resembling the tomb that Jake had easily constructed with his own move. The lithe striped ppkemon didn't seem to take well to being barraged by so many rocks, and retreated backwards a few paces, intending to get out of the Burmy's range.

Russell used the momentary lapse in the Linoone's attacks to check on Jake, calling out to him.
"Jake, are you okay over there?" He asked. As a Burmy, Russell was lucky in that he was innately able to protect himself from attacks, but Jake wasn't lucky enough to naturally possess a similar ability.

Jake saw the shadow of the Pokemon retreat a bit, as well as some larger shadows fly off towards that figure.  Now that he was a bit closer, the Tepig could tell the Pokemon was a Linoone, and the larger objects were boulders.  Hearing his name and a question directly after it, the fire pig looked at Russell.

"Yeah, nothing a little rest and some food can't fix."  Jake laughed with a grin on his face.  "Hopefully the Fletchling has been taken care of, seeing as it's been trapped and banged up.  And it seems you're doing quite well with this fight over here.  I was a bit worried, to be completely honest.  I've heard that Burmy have very little attacks."