Toughening Up

[Energy: 17 - 10 (Entry Cost) = 7]
[Exclusive Item: White Silk (Reduces cost of every other Pokemon rolled by 1)]

It was a dark, rainy day in Shadowhue Forest.

Conditions were particularly unfavorable for a certain Taillow. The rain had completely soaked his feathers, making flight much more laborious. Not that he would be able to go anywhere. The foliage was so dense that one couldn't even see the dark, cloudy sky. It was as if the treetops were a barrier, completely preventing Pilot from escaping the confines of the shady woods... It made him nervous, to say the least. In his opinion, Shadowhue Forest sucked.

But at the same time, it was perfect. During the small bird's battle with Hidon, his new partner, the surrounding environment had helped him win. However, he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky the next time. Pilot had decided that he needed to train in every possible location, and in all conditions, to be as prepared for his next sparring match as possible. Arceus forbid he fell behind his new partner...

...He didn't come to Shadowhue Forest just to physically challenge himself, however. There was also a subconscious component to his choice of location. Pilot had been raised very close to Shadowhue Forest, and the similarities between his birthplace and the murky woodland were stunning.

Ever since he had left the nest and became a messenger, the Taillow never heard back from his parents. And when he returned to his mother's nesting site, it was completely abandoned... The unknown whereabouts of his family troubled him, to say the least. Almost instinctively, Pilot was guiding himself towards the place of his birth.

To keep himself distracted from the physical and emotional discomfort he was experiencing, Pilot began to sing. Music made him feel as if he wasn't completely alone (which was a feeling he hated), and as narcissistic as it sounds, the sound of his own voice soothed him. One song in particular fit the situation quite well. "The sky is crying~♪," Pilot sang, "Look at the tears rolling down my beak...♪"

[Energy: 16 - 10 (Entry Cost) = 6]

(aaAAH SORRY FOR THE DELAY I HAD TO GO SOMEWHERE)

"Eesh, and I thought the desert was creepy..."

A small, childish voice could be heard beneath the heavy pitter patter of the rain. It had sounded from a short, yellow reptilian who was reluctantly approaching the boundaries of the forest dungeon. With a slight frown, Mim eyed the beginnings of Shadowhue from top to bottom, barely being able to make out the rest of it through the nooks and crannies of the cluttered bark.

Hours ago, Mim was still enjoying herself and her arrival in Grassveil, uncovering more of it's joyous atmosphere was like an exploration itself. While sight seeing, the electric type caught wind of a conversation between two idle citizens. One was going on about a job they had sent to the nearby guild. Although most details were hard to make out, (and frankly, not interesting,) the certain name of a place was spoken, and it ran thrills through the young lizard. Shadowhue Forest. Certaintly a forest with a name so peculiar had to be hiding away a secret, maybe even riches! After their chattering was done, Mim approached and asked innocently as possible where the woodland could be found.

Their answer lead Mim to where she stood now; in front of this eerie, somber patch of woods that may or may not have much too powerful enemies lurking inside. Mim cursed herself, wishing that she had asked the townsfolk to spare her some items, surely they would've taken pity on a penniless pokemon. Wouldn't they?

The Helioptile inhaled a sharp breath, turning to look over her shoulder and back to the speck of the town. She had somewhat hoped the villager's directions were wrong, and that the actual Shadowhue lied elsewhere. Then again, it wasn't like anyone was here to tell her that. It was up to her own judgement now.

With an almost miserable sigh, Mim delved into the thicket, bushes rustling as she pushed past them to proceed into the dungeon.

Before, Mim was relieved to see that rain began to fall. Was. She had hoped the pleasant change in weather would loosen her up and cease her worrying. It was nice, but the sensation wasn't enough to stop her worryful fidgeting and arm rubbing.

But then, behind the harsh sounds of the rain, there was another noise. Rather, a voice. It became more and more out of place the long Mim listened. Was someone...singing? That must've meant another wanderer was within the forest! The yellow pokemon was much too reassured to question why someone was singing in this glum atmosphere, and instead began to search for the source of the voice. Her eyes brushed back and fourth across the damp turf, but there was no sign of anything there. It wasn't until she ran a few paces forward that the idea suddenly hit her. Slowly, Mim's head craned upwards towards the tree tops, surprised when a lone bird pokemon crossed her vision. The movement of their beak told her that she had finally found the owner of the upbeat tune.

"Hah, nice song you got there!" Mim called out, hoping her voice would be audible in the loud environment.

"Eep!" Pilot squeaked, clearly not anticipating any company in the seemingly empty forest. He swung around, finding that a small (yet still bigger than him), lizard-like Pokémon had been trailing him. Had they been listening to him the whole time? Completely flustered, he looked around to make sure that the Helioptile was alone. Arceus forbid anyone else heard his singing...

At a very young age, the bird had been taught by his father that singing wasn't "masculine". Still, he enjoyed it very much, as a secret hobby. Whenever he was alone, Pilot would croon the songs that his mother used to sing to him. Had he not been convinced to become an explorer, the tiny Taillow probably would have pursued a career in performing. His love of mockery and singing, as well as his dramatic personality, would have fit perfectly. Unfortunately, the idea that males couldn't sing was drilled into Pilot's head by his father. He was terrified of a social taboo that didn't exist.

"Err, thanks!" Pilot cawed over the sound of the rain, blushing profusely. He couldn't meet eyes with the small stranger, as if he were ashamed of what he had done. Instead, he looked down at the ground, hoping that he wouldn't be made fun of.

"Dont mention it!" Mim said, responding with a loud but non hostile shout back. Then, the pleased grin on her face when Pilot had been spotted left much too soon, and instead was replaced with an awkward frown. The wanderer proceeded to walk in silence for several moments, expecting some sort of add-on, another response from the explorer that wasn't as measly as a 'thank you'. When nothing came, Mim began to wonder why, and how his talking just stopped all together. The conclusion to that only then crossed her mind when she began to speak.

"Um, is there any reason why you're just...flying...all alone out here?" Mim asked, pulling her gaze back down to normal height when it became tiring. She let out an agitated huff, wishing her company would at least glide a bit closer to the ground so talking wouldn't be such a hassle. Even with this irritation, the lizard-like pokemon tried being delicate with her words, so her feathery acquaintance would feel more at ease talking to her. Perhaps they were shy type, that would explain the sudden silence. "Hah, pretty brave of ya' to come here by yourself though!"

Pilot swooped down and landed next to the Helioptile, so the two could hear each other better. Hopping around on the ground would slow him down, sure, but it wasn't like the bird was in a hurry or anything. Maybe bringing a companion with him in the dungeon would help him focus on the task at hand... His mind kept drifting off to early childhood memories. Thoughts of his overbearing mother, his militaristic, hawkish father, and all of his annoying siblings... Somehow, he found himself longing for those days.

Realizing that he had zoned out yet again, the tiny Taillow snapped back to reality, and addressed the electric lizard's question. "I'm here to get stronger... You know, us explorers need to stay on top of our training~!" He chirped pridefully, puffing his chest out to appear larger. In all honesty, Pilot had only just become part of the Grassveil Guild several hours ago. He hadn't even completed his first mission as an apprentice yet! And here he was, already boasting about his new career.

He couldn't help it; it had been his lifelong dream to become an explorer. Now, all Pilot had to do was become experienced enough to transfer to the prestigious Aileron Guild! Then, his father would really be proud of him! Well, if he ever found out...

Mim took small steps back from the small, feathery explorer as he came to a landing. Now that he was finally at a much more reasonable distance, his features were easy to observe. He was small. Small-ER, actually! She would've guessed someone who was able to fly through heavy rain would've at least been a few more inches taller. Or at least possessed a few more pounds.

Mim had been too held up with her judging thoughts that she had not noticed her acquaintance's similar state. The sound of his voice reminded Mim of the situation, and she calmly blinked and stared up at the other's eyes. Her own gaze widened with delight. "An explorer, huh? You...must be apart of the guild in Grassveil then?" Mim asked this with a hesitant tone, but yet with a sort of smile as well.

Although the wanderer wasn't too familiar with the way guilds worked, but she did know it was tradition to seek them out if an exploration team wanted to be formed. So far, there was only one Mim knew of, and that was the one located right within Grassveil itself. "How lucky you are! I've been meaning to join as well, just haven't gotten around to it yet." The electric type paused and looked down at her small, claw-like fingers, awkwardly twirling them around each other. "And-uh, to be honest, I think i'm in need of a bit of training first."

Despite being distracted, Pilot was still listening to the Helioptile. He nodded when questioned, grinning at the electric lizard's desire to become an explorer. Finally, he had a job that other Pokemon envied! Instead of being some stupid mailbird, the Taillow was actually doing something meaningful with his life. It filled him with pride just to hear the word "explorer" associated with him. Pilot the Taillow, saving lives! He felt like a hero or something. And he hadn't even done anything yet.

"That's cool! We could train together~!" Pilot replied in a songlike tone. Bringing someone with me might not be a bad idea, He thought to himself, rationalizing his rash decision to invite her to come along. She might help keep me focused on training... I'm not sure how much of a help this little girl's gonna be in battle, but it's going to be interesting to find out. But before we start, though, I should probably introduce myself...

"Name's Pilot, by the way," The Taillow said, looking expectantly at the Helioptile.

Mim lifted her head back up and away from her fingers, staring down at the smaller pokemon with bewilderment. "Hah-wow, really?" She replied, delighted by his idea but at the same time growing somewhat nervous. Her large, owlish eyes slanted back a bit into a worried stare, but her smile stayed the same. The electric type knew for a fact that she was hardly experienced in both battle and exploration. Pilot, on the other hand, appeared to not only confident, but actually held the title of an explorer. He probably knew what he was doing.

Then again, that was the reason why Mim came to Shadowhue. It was to train herself. Having very little knowledge on where she was and how things worked, mistakes were bound to be made. Mim knew that was inevitable. So surely it would've been reasonable if accidents were occasionally made, right?

"Yeah, sure! I'm down for that." The taller one would reply, her worried smile easing up a bit as she used one of her hands to point at herself. "Mim. Uh-my name's Mim. Pleased to meet you." She said, wondering if her odd, short name would cause confusion for the other. "I think you 'oughta lead the way though, is that alright?"

Mim would give her companion a brief nod and a grunt in response. Telling by his confused tone and shrug, the name wasn't so quickly shrugged off. Mim took no offence to this, however, and instead decided to play along. "Strange, ain't it?" She asked with a giggle, practically laughing at herself in an effort to ease her nervousness. With her acquaintance's back turned, the reptile took these few unseen moments to stretch herself out, taking in deep inhales and exhales in the process. Alright, Mim. You got this. Just try to follow what Pilot does. With this quick reassurance Mim hastily got back up into a normal stance.

Then, with her feathery companion's sudden burst of energy, a thrilled grin found its way across the reptile's face. "Alright!" She called out afterwards, her pace quickening so she could catch up to her 'leader'. As they quickly advanced farther into Shadowhue, Mim perked her head up to catch the surrounding, woodland details they passed by. Overall, the atmosphere around them was still quite melancholy. But, the roamer knew these minor distractions would have no toll on duo! Although inexperienced, Mim promised herself that they were going to successfully conquer this first exploration, and there was no question about that!

Reese Cup carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

[Energy: 7 - 1 (Reviver Seed) = 6]

Sceptile carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

"Hey, I see some items over there," Pilot chirped, pointing his wing towards a small clearing. Rather abruptly, he fluttered his wings, and took air. Within seconds, the quick bird had reached the area he was referring to. Sure enough, there were two items there: a Reviver Seed, and an Apple. The tiny Taillow picked up the Reviver Seed with his beak, and dropped it into his messenger bag. Oooh, a Reviver Seed. That should be useful... He thought to himself, grinning. "You can take the Apple, if you want~," He offered, not looking particularly interested in it.

Pilot hadn't even thought about how the items had gotten there, though. Obviously, they didn't just happen to fall into a clearing. No, the area was probably the territory of a feral, but this fact flew right over the reckless bird's head. In essence, he had just lead Mim and himself into an ambush. If Mim was perceptive enough to figure that out, she could give Pilot advanced warning if a feral attacked. However, if she didn't, they would both be taken by surprise.

[Energy: 6 - 1 (Apple) = 5]


The electric type slowed to a halt, observing Pilot with mild jealousy as he began to take flight. If only travel was that easy for me too. She thought, her line of sight following the bird pokemon as he lifted into the air. Soon, Mim's legs took action as she scurried after her guide.  While following, the yellow reptile had a sudden urge to jokingly call her friend a 'cheater' but stopped herself when she realized they had only just met, and it might be taken seriously.

When they emerged into the open field, Mim finally took her attention off the Tailow and rested it on the two items laid out before them. She strode past her partner and towards the untouched apple, paying no mind to the fact that the explorer had gotten the more sweeter end of the deal. When the round piece of fruit laid at her feet, Mim crouched low to pick it up with both her small, nimble hands. She examined it carefully, as if there was something more significant about it. She wondered how an apple could provide usefulness as they advanced through the forest. Was it just for whenever she got hungry? I think i'll save this for later, after I get outta here.

With its use decided, the reptile finally pulled the fruit away from her face. But then, confusion hit her. She was at a loss of where to store it for now. She glanced over at her friend, who appeared to be storing away the seed in the satchel he had. "Uh...Does this mean I have to carry it the entire time?" Mim asked, laughter seeping into her question. After she had spoke, the yellow roamer turned to take in the rest of the open field. Her laughter had died down, and she was left wondering why two items were simply stranded in practically the middle of nowhere. Was that just how dungeons worked? Mim was pretty doubtful about that. She looked back at Pilot, hoping to find the same quizzical expression on his face. "Should we keep moving?"

Reese Cup carried out 1 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

[Energy: 6 - 1 (Oran Berry) = 5]

"...If you want, I could carry that for you," Pilot reluctantly offered. He didn't like carrying a lot of items; it slowed him down, and hindered his ability to fly. At this rate, his bag would end up weighing more than him! Arceus, this thing's getting heavy... The bird Pokemon bitterly thought to himself. The satchel was beginning to make his wing sore... Not only that, but he looked silly, carrying a bag that was as big as he was.

Before hearing Mim's response, Pilot saw something interesting out of the corner of his eye. There was a feral Paras a few meters away, feasting on an Oran Berry. It hadn't seen him yet, giving him the element of surprise. He wanted that Oran Berry, simply because it would be difficult to get. Challenge accepted, The arrogant Taillow thought to himself, smirking. He dropped his bag on the ground, and turned to Mim. "Watch this," He whispered, before spreading his wings and taking off.

The avian Pokemon flew dangerously close to the Paras, and snatched the Oran Berry from its grasp. The mushroomy crustacean released a poisonous spore in response, but it was too late; Pilot narrowly avoided its attack. The bird landed back at the clearing with the Oran Berry in his talons. He wore a smug grin on his face, clearly proud of himself. Pilot was so caught up in his impressive stunt, however, that he didn't even notice that the agitated Paras was slowly making its way towards him.

[  Energy: 5 - 5 ( Paras Attack )  = ded ( zero ;v; ) ]

Before Mim could happily agree to the offer, she noticed that her partner suddenly seemed distracted. She eyed him witu confusion, before realizing that his line of sight was going straight pass her. Slowly, she turned to look at what caught his eye. Several feet away, a Red, beady-eyed pokemon sat. Its eyes caused a shudder to pass through Mim and she avoided its line of sight almost immediately. Thankfully, it already seemed to be occupied by a berry it held in its pincers, that meant the duo could just go on their way without causing any trouble. Or so Mim thought. She looked back at the bird pokemon, about to ask what kind of pokemon that was, until she laid her eyes on the bird, who wore a horribly cocky smirk on his beak. "....Pilot?" Mim's voice was laced with concern, and before she could say anything else, her partner was up and off towards the bug type.

"Dude! What are you doing?" She followed him a few paces forward before stopping, gritting her teeth when the Tailow got awfully close. But with the enemy's item snatched, a glare followed and soon Mim saw a violet colored cloud appear from the shrooms on its back. The reptile tensed up. She knew if her companion was hit, actions would have to be made. But, sure enough, Pilot was flying calmly back to her, a bitten Oran berry clutched within his talons. "I... can't believe it..you actually got it? Without getting hurt?" Mim admittedly was impressed, but still concerned with the flying type. "That was too close im surprised you didnt get-" Cutting herself off, Mim realized that the very same Paras was coming towards them, either for their berry or to simply take revenge.

The Helioptile took a deep inhale, a feeling of determination washing over her. Her partner had cleanly snatched a berry from their enemy's claws. Her skills needed to ammount to that, and defeating this opponent would prove it. "I got this!" She suddenly shouted, pushing past the Tailow and charging head on towards the feral. The apple she had retrieved moments before was released onto the dirt. Instinctively, Mim's claws shot up and readied themselves in front of her. The closer she got, the more her anticipation grew. But then, when the reptile was a mere meter away, another wave of spores shot out from the Paras, except this time they differed from purple to a bright yellow. The spores landed on her skin and immidiately began its process, stiffening Mim's joints till they were almost impossible to move. Panic striken, she was at a lossof what to do and tried to thrash in her place, but could hardly move. The bug type in front of her still seemed to be angered, but the way their mouth pincers formed told Mim they were also smiling. Then to add onto her condition, the insect delivered a clean blow onto Mim's face and shoulder, causing her to shout with pain.

"Eh, what?" Pilot said as he was pushed out of the way by his companion. When he turned around, he found that Mim was charging directly at the bug! The bird grinned, admiring the Helioptile's bravery. Her battle strategy of charging head on was very similar to his own reckless approach to combat. "I like your style," He murmured under his breath, although not loud enough for her to hear. The bird watched curiously, wanting to see exactly what his temporary partner's capabilities were. Just when Mim was about to make contact with the Paras, she disappeared into a cloud of spores, and Pilot knew that she was in trouble.

Almost instinctively, he darted towards the two, in an effort to extract his companion from the poisonous smog. Taking in a deep breath, Pilot swooped in, and grabbed Mim with his talons. However, just as he exited the plume of spores, the paralysis began to set in. The avian's muscles tensed up, and he dropped Mim from several meters in the sky. Even worse, Pilot kept going, and sailed head-first into a large tree. The Taillow fell to the ground, awkwardly landing on one of his wings. A painful crunch indicated that he would be unable to fly for the rest of the trip. The bird let out a loud, painful squawk, and continued to tremble due to the paralysis.