Yet another Misty Encounter

A cold mist fell upon the rolling hills surrounding Pricklemist Hill as Rally wandered, uncertain of her way. Night was soon to fall, and Rally was very much low on supplies, tired, and cold.

Why is this mist so thick? Rally thought to herself. She looked inside her bag for something, anything that could help her feel a bit more secure about her surroundings. Nothing. A small sniffle escaped Rally, who was working hard to hold in the tears. She needed to be brave; she couldn't let mist stop her or she'd never be able to become an explorer.

Rally checked her hands, making sure they were clean before giving herself a small slap on the cheeks. Looking around, Rally tried to spot some sort of landmark that could help her find her way. The setting sun barely was noticeable through the thick mist, which was more of a thick fog.

I think that is the Day Star...which means West should be that way...

Rally started walking again, hoping that she could find her way to someplace safe for the night. Preferably someplace less...scary...

[Energy: 18-10=8]

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

Around the town of Rainfront, a certain Porygon heard of a place shrouded in a thick mist all the year. Needless to say, that was a phenomenon he certainly wanted to explore. Now however, Tec wished he would have prepared himself some more. The day was soon to end and he learned at least one thing about "Pricklemist Hill", as the natives call it: the mist was thick...extraordinary thick. He couldn't see really much in front of him except the general direction of the setting sun.

Well...now I am lost. This mist seems to twist around my sense of direction as well...


Of course, he would never outright admit he was lost. Not in that forest he visited before and not here, he was just exploring the area and went in deeper to see more of it, he'd say. He could hear what sounded like foot steps here and there but never decided to investigate further, lest he risk stumbling into a feral unprepared. That was the advantage of being a Porygon, he didn't make any sounds since he wasn't walking to begin with, rather floating around.

Definitely good in a place as...difficult to get a real view of...as this one.


However, the deeper he went in, he decided to err more on the side of caution. He'd never really know if and when a Pokemon, feral or not, could just randomly bump into him and that was something he had to be ready for in case the Pokemon turned out to be dangerous or aggressive in the end.

[Energy: 19 - 10 (Entrance Cost) = 9]
[Held Item: Lucky Ribbon (Reduces cost of every item rolled by 1)]

Ashen strided up the misty hill at a brisk pace. For some reason, the place had a spooky atmosphere that put her on edge. Between the dense fog and the soft, chilling breeze, she felt uncomfortable. The young Houndour didn't want to be there any longer than she had to be.

She would have been in a hurry regardless of her location, however. The canine had told her mother that she would be back home by nightfall, but it was becoming overwhelmingly evident that she wouldn't make it in time. The sun was setting. As pretty as it was, she couldn't let the beautiful sight distract her. She didn't have time to be dawdling around, after all. She knew that if she didn't hurry, her mother would go out looking for her.

There was no clear path for Ashen to follow, and it made her wonder: when it was dark, how would she know whether or not she was going in the right direction? For all she knew, she could end up going in a circle... With that thought, she was already beginning to feel hopelessly lost. The hound whimpered, unsure if she should just turn around and stay at Rainfront Town until the morning...

As she wandered through the mists, Rally became more and more on edge. Cries from feral pokémon in the distance combined with the wind blowing through grass. wet mud sent shivers up Rally's spine every time she stepped in some, and with the sounds, Rally was very jumpy. Each time she heard a sound that could be a feral pokémon, she would slowly back away from it, paying attention solely to what she was backing away from and not where she was backing away to. Little did she know what she was doing brought her ever closer to yet more pokémon...

A rustling noise in the nearby grass startled Rally. Not sure of what it was, Rally moved back from it, hoping beyond hope for it not to be a feral pokémon. As the rustling slowly got louder, Rally slowly backed further and further away.

To say that Tec was borderline bored now would be tec-hnically wrong as the young Porygon doesn't grasp the concept of emotions yet. To say that he was floating lazily around the hills was correct. He came to wee the phenomenon of the fog covering the Pricklemist Hills...and he got what he wanted. However, one should have seen coming that there is in fact not much to see now that everything was shrouded in some sort of thick mist.

Should have seen that coming. Well, can't say yet that this expedition was wasted. I got to see the mist-erious mist even though I can't see much else. But I have yet to observe the ferals that are said to live in these parts. Then my trip here would turn out to he successful.


As he further made his way through the mist, she heard some rustling nearby. Immediately, he went from curious explorer to careful. He didn't want to get attacked unprepared, becoming a victim of not-paying-attention-to-your-surroundings. Ever slowly, he circled the origin of the noise, silently using Sharpen to prepare himself, should it come to a fight he would be stronger that way in terms of physical attacks.

As Ashen continued her ascent of Pricklemist Hill, the already dense fog somehow got even thicker, and visibility approached zero. If she wasn't lost before, she was certainly lost now. Letting out a long sigh, she became resigned to her fate. As much as she wanted to turn back, the young Houndour decided to take a chance and press on. If she managed to maintain a relatively straight path, she would end up heading in the direction of Grassveil. However, if she drifted off course, she could end up going in a giant circle.

The hound Pokemon could detect a Pokemon approaching. Her acute sense of hearing and sensitive nose told her that much, but she had no idea what to do. Should she run? Somehow, that didn't seem like a very good idea. "W-who's there?" Ashen nervously barked, getting in a combat-ready position.

Rally wasn't paying attention and found herself with her back facing a long slope. Unaware of this, the Riolu continued to back away, her foot sliding on some mud as she began tumbling down the hill backwards. As she slipped further and further down the hill, letting out a shriek of terror as she did. At the bottom of the hill, she landed face-first in a puddle of mud.

It took her a moment to find sturdy ground in the muck, but she slowly pulled herself from the muddy pool and on to misty grass. With a sniffle, she did her best to wipe the wet dirt from her silky-smooth fur. She then turned her attention to her pouch, which was covered in mud.

This will take forever to clean without water, she thought to herself with despair. Still, with no water to clean it with, Rally was forced to simply brush off the mud as best she could. She was lucky her pouch had not opened; in the blanket of fog surrounding her, she would certainly have lost her belongings. Still, the blue pokémon thought it best to give everything a once-over to make sure she hadn't lost anything, important or otherwise.

With all of her belongings thoroughly inspected, the young Riolu slowly began her ascent back to the summit of the hill when she heard rustling grass and a voice.

"W-who's there?"

Rally froze, too scared to move. Had she rolled into a pokémon's nest in her clumsiness? Whatever the case, she would need to be ready to run if things got bad like they usually do.

Gotta be brave, Gotta be brave, Gotta be brave, Rally chanted in her mind.

"W-who's there?"

At least this was a bit of information Tec was always looking forward to. It was no feral Pokemon, rather somepoke who either lived here, visited this place or got lost...like him? Never, he wasn't lost, he just couldn't see where he was going. Good enough, the voice was close to the rustling noise from earlier, meaning that it was either one and the same or it was two different parties who almost met each other.

Tec was balancing his options. He could either keep quiet and just sit still, trying to observe the situation. This was probably the safer option, however he had Sharpen'd himself before meaning that he would be prepared in case a feral would be attracted by him. So he decided for the more "aggressive" option, this time meaning that he would make himself known around here. Clearing his metaphorical throat (I mean, look at him, do you see any throat? Me neither), he raised his voice.

"Excuse me, I heard that there is another Pokemon around here. Whoever this is, I would like to meet you, you don't have to be afraid of me."

Ashen flinched when she heard the response to her question. The unknown Pokemon's tone sounded oddly flat, almost formal... Still, she was relieved that it wasn't a feral. The Houndour spat a quick Ember to illuminate the area, and headed in the direction of the voice. Eventually, she came face-to-face with a rather funny-looking creature. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Completely polygonal, the Pokemon looked extremely out of place.

"I-I, uh... H-hi?" Ashen stammered, looking very confused. What IS that? She thought to herself, cocking her head. It doesn't even look REAL... Oh well... Maybe it'll turn out to be really nice. I shouldn't judge it just because of its appearance, The canine Pokemon told herself, replacing the perplexed expression on her face with a friendly smile to avoid offending her new companion. "M-my name's A-Ashen," She said before giving the digital Pokemon a questioning glance.

Rally already had enough on her plate trying to be brave with one potential foe, when the second voice behind her startled her into turning back behind her.

Another one? I didn't sense anything; where'd this one come from? Rally asked herself. Not only that, but she also noted the dull flatness of the second's sultry tones. But before she could regain what little composure she had, a ball of fire flew up from the first's position. In terror, the young Riolu dived into a nearby bush and out of sight...as well as into another puddle of mud. However, she did not have time to clean herself once more; she instantly turned about, keeping low in the brush and hoping - praying - that she not be spotted and attacked, that instead they took care of each other and she found a chance to escape...