On the Road to Rainfront Town

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

Pilot looked up at the large hill before him, panting heavily. After traveling on foot for hours without rest, he had finally reached the toughest part of his journey to Rainfront Town: Pricklemist Hill. The huge mound of dirt was the only thing separating the exhausted bird from his destination. If he could hurry things up, perhaps he could finish up his business with the DreamCatcher's Service by nightfall... It was a hopeful thought, considering that it was already mid-day, but if anyone could do it, it was him. I wish I could've just flown there, Pilot anxiously thought to himself, twitching his damaged wing. It still hurt from when he had crashed into a tree in Shadowhue Forest. It was beginning to heal, but flying for long distances was simply out of the question.

A dense cloud of mist surrounded the hill, giving it an ominous appearance. The area had a bit of a spooky reputation, but Pilot wasn't scared. There was no evidence of ghost types living there, so why would he be? Besides, as long as he didn't dawdle around, he wouldn't even be in the dungeon for long. Quietly whistling a tune to himself, Pilot began going upslope, starting the exhausting process of scaling the hill. I should've brought that Mim girl with me... He thought to himself, not exactly thrilled that he was traveling alone...

[Energy: 19 -10(Entry Cost) = 9]

Horochi looked up at the giant pile of foggy dirt that others called "Pricklemist Hill". After he had settled down in Grassveil Town, he still had the urge to explore the world and grow stronger in the process so that he'd become the mega-evolution-capable pokemon he always dreamed of (as well as finally getting legit arms). As Horochi started walking up the hill, he noticed a tailow walking up the hill too, odd since tailows can fly. Horochi also noticed that he seemed kind of unhappy and since they seemed to be going in roughly the same direction, Horochi decided to strike up a conversation.
"Yo dude, where ya goin'?" he asked with a smile on his face.

As if Arceus himself had answered Pilot's thoughts, a potential traveling companion seemed to pop up behind him. He swung around, quite surprised that the Torchic had managed to sneak up on him unnoticed. "Me..?" The bird asked, in disbelief of what had just happened. It was the only interaction he had with a non-feral in hours (which was significant to a loudmouth like Pilot). "I'm going to Rainfall Town," He casually replied, grinning. "It's right over this hill... Why, where are you going?" He asked, wondering why the Torchic was in the area. After all, it rained quite frequently near Pricklemist Hill, and don't fire types dislike water? He's probably just training or something, Pilot thought to himself. I'm sure he wouldn't mind going through this dungeon with me...

Horochi noticed a glint of joy in the tailow's eyes, clearly he was happy to see him. "Me? I'm just tryin' to make myself stronger so that I can evolve one day." Horochi replied. Then he was reminded of why he approached him in the first place. "Say dude, I noticed ya walkin' up this place. I mean, you're a flyin'-type ain'cha? Why not just soar over this fog-ridden piece a puke and save yourself 10 'r so minutes?"

"'Cause I broke my wing a while ago," Pilot explained, lifting up his damaged appendage and slightly cringing. It stung just to move it, so flying over the hill wasn't an option, as much as he wanted it to be. The avian Pokemon probably could've flown to Rainfall in an hour from Grassveil, but since he was going on foot, he had probably been walking for over four. And yet, here he was, wasting precious time on a broken wing... At least it was a good opportunity to train and collect supplies. Maybe I should be more careful next time? ...Nah. Being careful is too boring. And a waste of time. He ironically told himself, zoning out a bit. The bird had always had issues with focusing on things, which was probably why he disliked planning anything.

Right, I should probably tell this guy who I am, Pilot thought to himself, puffing his chest out a bit to appear bigger. "Name's Pilot, member of Team Rising~," He chirped, taking great pride in his status as an explorer. Whenever he was presented an opportunity to brag, he took it. After all, it was his lifelong dream to become an explorer, and he had finally found his way into the Grassveil Guild. If he could become skilled enough to join the Aileron Guild, it would be even better...

Horochi noticed that Pilot was puffing up his chest as a means to create the illusion that he was bigger than he actually was. Horochi had seen it before, usually with pokemon who brag so much that they build themselves up to be better than they actually were, which he took it upon himself to run their self-esteem into the ground (usually through battle), but being part of an exploration team did give you some bragging rights, so he let it slide and decided to introduce himself. "Name's Horochi, I ain't really part of an exploration team yet, but I'm hopin' t' either join 'r create one in the future." he said as he stuck out one of his talons to shake Pilot's good wing.

Pilot stared at Horochi for a few seconds, not registering his friendly gesture, mainly because the Torchic's had to use his feet. When it finally clicked, Pilot quickly stuck out his good wing, and shook the Torchic's talon, a bit embarrassed by how long it had taken him to figure out what the Torchic was doing. Still, it didn't bother him too much; it certainly happened to other Pokemon whenever Horochi introduced himself, right? Hah, must suck to not have any arms or wings... Pilot thought to himself, slightly amused by the poor Pokemon's lack of hands. I used to hate not having hands to grab things with, but this guy's got... Well, nothing! I guess I'm lucky, then...

Trying not to get too caught up in the Torchic's comically structured body, the avian Pokemon decided to change the topic. "So, you said that you're training, right? Want to come with me through this dungeon?" Pilot asked, giving the chick Pokemon a hopeful look. If this guy comes with me, it'd be a huge help... I'm already exhausted from the trip here. Things would go a lot quicker if he joined me...

Horochi heard Pilot's question loud and clear; he was intending to ask it himself, but this guy did it for him, after all, Horochi didn't know what kind of pokemon he'd end up practically superglued to once he became part of an exploration team, so he thought that he'd try to work with multiple pokemon with various personality types that he didn't beat up, and seeing as how Pilot was handicapped, he figured that the tiny swallow pokemon could use all the help he could get. "Ya took the words right outta my beak. I'm always up for havin' a travel buddy." he replied with a grin.

And thus, Horochi began his trek over Pricklemist Hill alongside Pilot. However, Horochi had met a few pokemon that judged him as weak simply because of his small stature and/or the fact that he only has two limbs, so he began scanning the area for an enemy or two to take down and hopefully prove himself to Pilot, as well as see what the little tailow was capable of as well.

MagicalMario carried out 1 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

[Energy: 9-1 (dice roll) = 8]

[Energy: 7 - 1 (Warp Orb) = 6]

"Alright, let's go~!" Pilot chirped, taking the lead and beginning to hop up the hillside. It was a bit difficult for him to walk on an incline (his body wasn't exactly built for scaling hills), but after stumbling a few times, he managed to get on secure footing. Despite being injured, the impatient little bird didn't slow down, trying to power through the dungeon, and hopefully avoid any confrontations with wild Pokemon. As the two ascended, the eerie fog that surrounded the area became progressively more dense. Visibility was extraordinarily low, and Pilot could barely even see his partner. Surely, any enemy that they came upon would be able to take advantage of this...

Suddenly, Pilot yelped, and the sound of him stumbling down the hill could be heard. Since the fog was dense, Horochi wouldn't have been able to see that the tiny Taillow had simply tripped on an item laying on the ground. Instead, it sounded more like Pilot had been attacked by a feral, and with no visual cues to go off of, that's likely what the Torchic would've thought. Pilot disappeared into the fog, tumbling down the hill, until he was met with a shrub.

[Energy: 9 - 2(feral pokemon) = 7]

Horochi walked up the hill with Pilot hopping a meter or so ahead, but he found it easy to keep up since the tailow seemed to be having trouble going up the hill, and when paired with the extremely dense fog made Horochi worry about the injured flying-type more so. He then spoke out to the vast whiteness that lay ahead of him. "Yo Pilot, ya need help gettin' u-" Horochi heard Pilot yelp before he could finish his sentence, hearing him stumble past the worried torchic and down the hill, finally hearing him collide with what sounded like some kind of bush. What had happened? Had Pilot been attacked by a feral? Did he step on something sharp? Did something make him jump? Had he simply slipped from having trouble climbing up the mountain? Horochi asked all of these questions as he used his ember attack to displace the fog and light up the area, shouting for Pilot, hoping to get some kind of response. "Pilot! What happened?! Where 're ya?!"

Horochi heard Pilot's voice and managed to find him in the foggy terrain. "Ah, there ya are." Horochi said upon finding Pilot. He then started hearing some kind of laugh, as if something was illiterately mocking them. He looked all around the area where they were, but heard nothing. "Sounds like a ghost-type." He assumed. Horochi saw that Pilot was scared, so he figured that he was afraid of ghost-types, so he decided to try and make Pilot feel better. "Don't worry," he reassured, "I've dealt with ghost-types before, and I gotta move that's super effective against 'em."

Pilot rolled his eyes, not taking kindly to the Torchic's reassurances. The way that Horochi was comforting him made him feel like a mere child, or a even worse, a subordinate. In fact, it bore an uncanny resemblance to how his partner had tried to prod at him earlier. But rather than getting too upset with his new acquaintance, Pilot decided that it would be better to just prove himself... Not against that creepy ghost Pokemon, of course. He predicted that many of his physical attacks would prove ineffective against whatever apparition was hiding in the dense fog...

Suddenly, a spherical object zoomed out of the thick haze, and impacted Pilot in the head! He yelped, stunned at what had just happened. Scooping the object up, he found that it was a Warp Orb! "That buttmunch just threw an orb at me!" Pilot piped. Does this guy think this is some sort of game!? He fumed to himself. He was answered by more maniacal laughing. "Okay, come on out, you coward!" The bird challenged the unknown enemy without hesitation.