Calamity Caves

Lumina
Energy: 46 - 20 = 26
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina padded forward, the smooth stone underneath her paw pads cool to the touch. She had not been to the Serene Cave since before she had evolved, and she was now interested in taking on the challenge, now that she was stronger and had developed new talents.

She now had psychic abilities, particularly in the art of telekinesis, which was useful to the quadrupedal pokemon. She no longer had to carry things awkwardly with one paw or in her mouth. Her bag was slung around her neck and shoulders, and sat on her back easily, though for now it was empty. She was actually on a mission to fill her bag with useful items on this mission, though she wasn't sure what kinds of items she would find here in the cave.

{Energy: 28 - 20 (entry) = 8}

Jet the Buizel looked cautiously around the cave, even going so far as to peer around every corner that he came to. He couldn't help but feel paranoid; this was the most dangerous dungeon he'd ever been in. Sure, the Black Mist Mountain had driven him to the point of exhaustion upon arriving...but this one was somehow even trickier to get to. And, despite his improvements in his endurance since that adventure, he was just as tired now as he had been back then. And usually, when a dungeon was tricky to get to, it was going to be more dangerous and trickier to navigate as well. And every bone in his body was telling him to turn back now and walk away before it was too late. After all, he wouldn't have even SURVIVED that Black Mist Mountain adventure if it hadn't been for Jak and that one Absol. And this one was potentially going to be worse.

But despite his fears, he took a deep breath and steeled himself. He couldn't run away from this. It was important to him. He absolutely HAD to find an Everstone. He had spent the last few days at the Grassveil Library, studying up on Everstones and where to find them. He had come across them once, and had discovered that they possessed the power to stop evolution. That was why he was here and he wasn't going to leave without one. Or at least, that's what he was telling himself now. He doubted that he would be evolving anytime soon anyway, given how pathetically weak and unskilled he was as a battler, but it was better safe than sorry.

The Buizel nodded to himself and peered around another corner...only for his eyes to widen in surprise and he completely pull himself back around the corner again, trying to hide himself. Around the corner had been a Ninetales, walking in his direction. A fully-evolved Pokémon. There was no way he could handle somebody like that, even if he did have a type advantage! Although it would be hard to believe that the Ninetales had failed to notice his bright orange and cream coloration, he still clung to the hope that, just maybe, the Fire Pokémon hadn't noticed him and would not turn down this path. He silently gulped as he awaited the Ninetales' actions.

What a wonderful start. He hadn't been in this dungeon for longer than five minutes and he was already tired and cowering away from a Pokémon...and the potential fight it might cause.

Lumina
Energy: 26
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina continued on her way through the cave, looking around carefully at the dank walls of the cave, wary of an attack by a feral pokemon at any moment. It was due to this careful watching that she immediately noted the bright orange hues of a pokemon when it darted by the corner of her eye.

She turned towards the sight, but whoever or whatever it was had disappeared behind another cave wall by the time she had finished turning her head. She narrowed her fierce ruby eyes at the darkness of the cave, and spat a small glowing ember at the floor of the cave, casting a glow through the surroundings.

"Who's there?" she called out. "If someone's trying to mug me, better come out now and face the consequences, rather than sulk in the shadows. I'll be easier on you now than if you make me wait."

Then she awaited a response with her inner ember flared and waiting for a fight. If it was a feral pokemon, they'd attack out of sheer annoyance at being unable to understand her. If it really was a bandit, and they tried anything, she'd be ready.

Jet gulped, visibly flinching when he heard the Ninetales' voice call out to him from afar. Clearly, just as he had feared, she had seen him pop out from the corner and then quickly try to hide. He supposed there was no use in hiding now. Since the fox-like Pokémon likely had an acute sense of smell and hearing, hiding would be pointless once she actively started looking for him. That said, she did say something that bothered him. She thought that he might be trying to mug her down here? He definitely couldn't let that one go. Even if he did get out of this without much interaction, he certainly didn't want to seem like a thief.

That said, though, he did realize something else. The fact that she was talking to him normally meant that she wasn't a feral Pokémon either. And since she was questioning whether or not he might be here to mug or steal from her, he had his doubts that she was an outlaw or anything like that. So, perhaps she was just an explorer like him? If that was the case, then he would be in luck. A fully-evolved Pokémon like her helping him? Surely that would make finding him an Everstone a lot easier!

He nodded, resolving himself to what needed to happen next. He hesitated, shaking himself...and then stepped out into the Ninetales' line of sight. He quickly raised his paws into the air as though he were surrendering before a fight had even broken out. "A-ah, n-no, p-please don't hurt me! I-I'm not here to rob you o-or anything, I-I promise!" Honestly, he rather doubted a Pokémon who would talk like this would even make a credible thief. "I-I just came here by myself to look for something. B-but I-I've never been somewhere this tough before, s-so I...I g-guess I just got a little scared..."

He looked at the Ninetales, though trying to avoid making eye contact. He looked down at the ground, toward her paws while not lowering his own. Hopefully, this Ninetales wouldn't just open fire on him.

Lumina
Energy: 26
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina narrowed her eyes further as a pokemon came into her line of sight. It was a buizel, trembling in its bright-orange coat.

"A-ah, n-no, p-please don't hurt me! I-I'm not here to rob you o-or anything, I-I promise! I-I just came here by myself to look for something. B-but I-I've never been somewhere this tough before, s-so I...I g-guess I just got a little scared..." It exclaimed fearfully.

Lumina sniffed at the air, wary of a trap. She could scent no other pokemon around, but it could have been hidden beneath the fear-scent of the buizel.

"You can stop trembling like that. If you don't attack me, you have nothing to fear from me," Lumina stated calmly, padding closer to the buizel, still wary of an attack but eased up a little bit.

Jet watched Lumina cautiously, keeping himself ready to find some way to react should the Ninetales decide that she didn't want to take the risk. But at the moment, all she seemed interested in was whether or not he was a threat to her. That was understandable, he supposed. But still, if he were looking to mug somebody, he definitely wouldn't have come all the way out here. Rather, he'd stick around Pecha Forest or that one supposedly haunted place he'd been before. It would mean you'd be much more likely to find weaker Pokémon or could get away more easily. Still, he would probably be just as cautious himself.

He watched as Lumina sniffed at the air, likely to try to detect any other Pokémon that might be lying in wait. But thankfully, she reached the conclusion he was hoping she would reach. He let out a sigh of relief when she instructed him to stop his trembling. He nodded eagerly and finally lowered his paws. "Th-thank you," he replied. He did not yet relax, though. The Ninetales was approaching and there was still the possibility that she was just trying to get him to lower his guard.

"Um...b-by the way, y-you haven't seen any Everstones around here, h-have you...?" he asked uncertainly, rubbing his left arm with his right paw absent-mindedly. "Th-that's all I came here to find, s-so once I find one, I-I'll probably leave. I-I probably don't have what it takes to stay here for long..."

Lumina
Energy: 26
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina eyed the still-fearful buizel thoughtfully. It was clearly quite the timid pokemon, to still be stumbling over every word like that, even after she assured him that she meant him no harm. She stopped advancing upon him, and sat down, licking one front paw calmly.

"I have only been here once before, and didn't see any everstones then, so I'm afraid I can't help you there," she said simply.

She looked around the dark cave, the embers she had spat upon the floor slowly dying in its light. "If you wish to accompany me through my travels in this cave, you are welcome. If you prefer to be on your own, that is also alright. I'll take my leave."

She then stood up and turned around to go further into the cave, unconcerned whether the buizel would follow her or not.

"O-oh, I-I see," Jet murmured in response, still eyeing Lumina cautiously. He felt more assured now that she truly meant him no harm, but he still couldn't help but feel overly cautious. Though he assumed that that was probably simply because he was in an unknown, more dangerous dungeon than any he'd ever been in before. He was probably just on edge at the moment and would relax a little bit more as time went on. Especially if he managed to stay with this Ninetales for an extended period of time. That said, though, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when she had revealed that she had never seen Everstones here before. He supposed he had no choice, then, but to look for them himself.

When Lumina actually allowed him to accompany her, his eyes widened slightly and he looked up toward the Ninetales, watching the Fire-type Pokémon begin walking away. He hesitated, wondering if it would really be okay to follow her. He knew that he'd be safer with a partner, but at the same time....

He shook his head. Lumina was already heading around another corner. "U-um...p-please wait for me...!" the Buizel called out, quickly making up his mind and following her footsteps. When he finally caught up to her, he looked down and to the side slightly. He knew that he was small and weak, but beside a fully evolved Pokémon like this, he seemed even smaller than usual. "A-are you sure you're okay with this...?" he asked aloud. "I-I mean...s-someone like me wh-who might just get in your way...f-following you like this...?"

Lumina
Energy: 26
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina slowed her walk to allow the buizel to catch up to her as he called out to her. She cast a look back at the fearful pokemon as he stumbled his way through questioning whether he was going to be a burden to her. She just barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes at the timid pokemon.

"I assure you that if you were to get in my way, I would let you know," she said to the buizel, before turning her head to look back in the direction that she was walking. She could feel the chill of the rock beneath her paws, which sent shivers up her legs and along her spine.

She sniffed the air tentatively. She didn't like the sudden chill in the air that hadn't been there before. She swept out her tails behind her to block the buizel's path as she stopped, a paw in the air warningly. "I think there's something here," she murmured quietly.

Silver carried out 5 launched of one Serene Cave :

, , , ,

"O-oh, y-yes, I-I suppose you would," the Buizel quickly stammered out, swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat. Maybe he should reconsider this little endeavor. He wasn't entirely sure how comfortable he was with this Ninetales, who was more than willing to let him know exactly what she was thinking...good or bad. He supposed he had to respect the fact that she wasn't willing to sugarcoat things for him just because he was smaller and weaker. But of course, that certainly wasn't helping him any. He could only hope that they were able to find exactly what he was looking for down here. He doubted that he was strong enough to evolve yet anyway, but that was still not a risk he wanted to take....

Suddenly, the Ninetales interrupted his thoughts, causing him to stop, even though he had just now managed to catch up with her. "S-something...?" he murmured awkwardly, instinctively moving to step behind the Fire-type Pokémon. "U-um...I-I suppose my senses aren't as keen as yours.... D-do you know I-if it might be a...a big something...? O-or is it just a little something...?"

Lumina
Energy: 26
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A



Lumina didn't immediately reply to the warbled query, too busy scanning the area ahead with all of her senses. She could tell that there were two pokemon. A deep breath in told her that there was a water pokemon, and a normal pokemon, but she couldn't place the exact scents.

"I believe there is one big pokemon and one small pokemon... perhaps a mother and her young," she finally replied in a quiet tone. She spat a stream of embers into the cavern ahead of them.

A surprised grumble answered the scattering of embers, and a large figure appeared against the dim light of the fire. A bibarel. Lumina snorted; she couldn't believe she'd actually been worried for a moment there. Her tails raised up and she closed her eyes, murmuring nonsense under her breath as she focused her newfound psychic powers.

The bibarel let out a cry of surprise as it was bodily thrown against the cavern wall by an unseen foe and held there for a moment before stabbing pain from all around began to wreck through the water-type's body.

So in actuality, there were two somethings. According to his Ninetales guide, there was one big one and something that was smaller. Whoever they were, they were together. The possibilities were relatively endless, but he supposed her assessment of a mother and a young was a fair one. Besides, she was the one actually detecting them with her senses, so she would have a better idea of what they were and their relationship.

Before Jet had the chance to reply back to his companion, she had already begun to launch flames down the hall, illuminating the path ahead of them slightly more and resulting in some grumbling from that direction. The Buizel's eyes widened when the Pokémon's grumbles met his ears and he quickly stepped back further behind the Fire-type. However, his nerves began to settle slightly when the large Pokémon revealed itself to be nothing more than a Bibarel.

At the sight of the Pokémon, he let out a small sigh of relief. Bibarel and Bidoof were certainly not the most threatening of Pokémon, nor the most intimidating in appearance. Of course, he still had his doubts that he would be able to best one in battle by himself, but at least he didn't have to worry so much about that. After all, he had a fully-evolved Pokémon with him that could probably take him down with little problem. He just hoped that the type disadvantage wouldn't prove to be a problem....

And of course, his answer came quickly when suddenly, the Ninetales began to mumble something to herself. A moment later, the Bibarel levitated into he air and thrown against the wall! Jet couldn't help but utter a cry of surprise himself and jumped back. "Wh-what was that...!?" the Buizel exclaimed. "I-I didn't even see what hit it...."

Lumina
Energy: 26 - 10 (roll) = 16
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina snapped open her eyes and cast a disbelieving glance over her shoulder at the cowering buizel. Perchance he had never met another of her kind before? But he'd seemed familiar with her species... perhaps he hadn't realized her psychic abilities.

"The ninetales species is known for its psychic abilities," she replied quickly to his cries. "I did not mean to scare you," she added with more than a little amusement on her part, her tails curling up and snapping out, brushing under the water type's chin cheekily.

She returned her attention to the bibarel, whom was finally getting up after the psychic attack. It grumbled and then slammed down its tail, bringing forth a wave of water towards the two pokemon. Lumina rolled her eyes and danced out of the way, not caring if the buizel was smart enough to follow suit -it wasn't like water would hurt him, at least not in the same way that it would harm her if it connected.

"Is that all you got, mama-beartic?" Lumina called mockingly. She whistled sharply and raised her tails again, her ruby-red eyes glowing strangely in the darkness of the cavern. Several purple balls of light emerged from her tails and floated across the cave towards the bibarel, circling the large water type and causing a confused roar to emit from the bibarel's mouth. "Pity, but it looks like I'm the winner of this little fight," Lumina said cockily. Her eyes continued to glow, this time mixing with a sinister blue light to surround the bibarel in a cone of purple flames, which struck the bibarel with all the force of a hurricane. The bibarel let out one last roar before falling silent for good.

"And that's how you take out a pokemon larger than yourself," she said, raising her nose in the air. Then she looked around. Where was the buizel, anyway? Did it get washed away by the bibarel's attempted wave of water?

"A-ah...ah, y-yes, of course...psychic properties, I-I had forgotten...." Jet mumbled lowly as Lumina responded to his own queries. Truth be told, he had never actually seen a Psychic-type attack like that before. In fact, the only memory that comes to mind of any psychic energy whatsoever was via a Zen Headbutt attack, which was nothing like...whatever attack the Ninetales had just used. However, in a slightly vain attempt at appearing competent, he decided to play it off as though he had merely forgotten what they looked like. Hopefully, the ploy would work, but he wasn't entirely confident.

Soon, however, he watched as Lumina's attention was drawn back to the Bibarel across the cave. He quickly followed her gaze and saw that it had finally taken the time to get back up again, clearly ready to resume the fight. He braced himself, thinking himself ready for anything that the Bibarel could do. Bibarel were common enough, so he figured it wouldn't have anything he wouldn't expect. But boy was he ever wrong.

The Bibarel lifted its tail upright...and then slammed it down onto the ground in their direction. A moment later, a wave of water was rushing right for them! Jet's eyes widened in shock as he saw the wave rushing him...but where was he supposed to go? He didn't want to leave the Ninetales to take the attack. He turned to look at her, ready to see if she was able to escape first. She was a Fire-type and she was-

...no longer beside him. "Wha-?" he questioned when he realized that she had already moved somewhere just out of harm's way. He quickly realized his own mistake a moment before the consequence came crashing down onto him. "BWAH!" he cried out as the water crashed into him before he could escape himself. He was hurled off of his feet, his back soon slamming up against the back wall of the cavern. When the water died down, he slid to the floor, slumped up against the wall.

"Ngh...ow...." Jet murmured as he returned his gaze back to the Ninetales. But by the time he had, she already seemed to be preparing some kind of final attack. His eyes widened in awe as he watched the violet lights circled the Bibarel, only to be turned into strange blue light that suddenly engulfed the target, which in turn cried out and collapsed completely. "...W-wow...." Jet murmured lowly at the sight. She had even said that she was showing him how to take down a Pokémon bigger than himself. Yeah...yeah, that was the kind of explorer he wanted to be. The kind who could take down a big Pokémon like that without even batting an eye!

But oh boy did he have a long road ahead of him for THAT goal....

Lumina
Energy: 26 - 10 (roll) = 16
Items in Use: Heal Ribbon (adds 1 energy to the normal 1 energy regain upon page. i.e. +2 energy each page)
Vulpix Tag (-1 energy per pokemon roll)
Inventory
-N/A


Lumina cast a glance at the buizel, who'd finally shown up after the wave. He was staring at her wide-eyed, obviously in awe at her wonderful fighting skills. Lumina glowed with pleasure. This was when she was at her best, showing off in front of other pokemon. It helped that she had the skills to back up her arrogance.

She looked over at the collapsed bibarel and sniffed. "Well, do you think you can take out a bidoof, or do you want me to flamethrower the poor thing?" she asked the buizel off-handedly.