Frost Covered Berries

(Energy: 23)

Gauel stretched his arms out in front of him as he walked into the Pecha Forest. His joints popped as he stretched, sending small waves of relaxing pleasure down his arms. Sighing in relief, Gauel looked around at the forest. His breath formed a small puff of mist in front of him, dissipating into the surrounding cold air. He stood there for a moment in silence, a hand scratching his belly as he took in his surroundings.

In another moment the Treecko was slumped over on his hands and knees. "That shop owner was right, this place is boring..." he groaned out. It was as average a forest as any other he had seen. The only special thing about it right now was the bits of snow and frost around it. Which, given that it was Winter, weren't all that special to the Treecko.

[Energy: 40 - 5 (Entrance Cost) = 35]
[Exclusive Item: White Silk (Reduces cost of every other Pokemon rolled by 1)]

I don't think things could possibly get any worse... A certain bright-pink Taillow gloomily thought to himself as he glided over the outskirts of Grassveil Town. He could see the denizens of the lively village pointing up at the sky and laughing, as if he were a flying circus, or some other form of entertainment. It felt awful. All of his self-confidence had been completely drained, leaving an empty shell. His heart ached, and he felt a constant, throbbing pain in his head.

All because of a lucky shot... I was winning for that entire match, and he scored a critical hit! The bird fumed, stubbornly denying that fact that he had been beaten fair and square by his partner. Still, I should probably train some more so that this doesn't happen again! There's no way I'm gonna lose to that plumpkin more than once! He told himself, then deciding that he would spend the rest of the day in Pecha Forest. It was a rookie dungeon, sure, but he didn't really feel up to traveling any further; every second he spent in the air was another second spent thinking about his loss. And as long as he didn't bump into anyone in the forest, he wouldn't have to deal with any embarrassment...

The avian Pokemon lowered his altitude as he neared the sweet-smelling woods, staying just above the dirt trail to make sure he didn't get lost. However, as he went around a bend, he narrowly avoided a collision with a green gecko Pokemon slumped over in the middle of the path. Ah crap, just my luck... The Taillow bitterly thought to himself as he landed several meters away from the grass type.

Gauel didn't even so much as notice the Taillow fly by with his currently lowered head. Though, he did feel a slight breeze from the winged Pokemon's quick maneuvering out of his way. Sighing softly, the Treecko stood back up, looking down the path. He blinked a couple of times has he now saw a Taillow. A very...pink Taillow.

Gauel tilted his head slightly, curious about the Taillow's choice of color. "Um, hi," the Treecko said, raising a hand up halfheartedly. If anything, the Taillow being here gave Gauel hope that perhaps this forest wasn't as boring as it appeared at first glance. "So, how are you?"

The Taillow blinked, internally sighing as the stranger gave him an incredulous look. It took all of his strength to form a friendly grin on his beak and wave. "Hey, sorry about that~!" The bird chirped, hopping closer to the reptilian Pokemon. "How am I? Well, I've been better, honestly..." He responded, gesturing to his own pink plumage. "As you've probably noticed, I'm pink..." He chuckled, and then paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to explain himself without sounding like a complete pushover. "Yeah, it was supposed to be red, but that Dandy guy must've heard me wrong or something... And I can't get dyed again until this stuff fades..."

It was a pretty good excuse, in his opinion. He would've used it back in town, but he was reluctant to ruin Dandy's reputation just to avoid some embarrassment... After all, he had to admit, the Furfrou had done a pretty nice job, even if it was in such a flamboyant color. He would definitely be coming back once the pink dye had worn off his feathers.

Zoning back into the conversation, he figured it would be a good time to introduce himself. "Anyways, name's Pilot. What's yours?" The flying type asked with a halfhearted smile.

The Treecko listened to the Taillow's tale of why he was pink. "Dandy? Well, that's a name. Can he not remove the dye?" he asked in response. If anything, the shop owner should at least repay the Taillow for the mistake until it could be fixed. Though the Taillow was already changing the subject by the time Gauel was going to ask if the Taillow got reimbursed.

"Oh, it's Gauel Buidhe," he said, extending his hand out to the bird Pokemon. Do bird Pokemon even shake hands? Or, wings? Gauel's mind began to wander at the thought of how winged Pokemon did things that would normally need hands.

Bringing himself back to the conversation, the Treecko smirked a bit, "So, red feathers, eh? I dunno bout that, maybe black would do better on ya."

OOC: Sorry about taking so long! I've been a bit busy lately. Anyways, just know that I'm going to try and be a more active poster... At least once or twice a day, assuming that I don't have anything big going on. =]

For a moment, Pilot stared at the grass-type's scaly appendage, unsure of what to do. Oh, he's going for a handshake, He realized, sticking his wing out and completing the odd social ritual. Wow, I haven't done that in years... Why are handshakes even a thing? And who came up with them, anyways? The bird wondered, and then shrugged. They seemed a bit pointless to him, but the last thing he wanted to do was come of as rude. After all, he was pink, so it's not like the Treecko would take him seriously...

"Gauel... Interesting name. Nice to meet you~!" The bird chirped, smiling. He was thrown a bit off guard when the Pokemon suggested a different color, but nodded his head agreeably. "That's not a bad idea, actually..." He trailed, his eye wandering upwards as he tried to imagine himself with black plumage. "Yeah, maybe I'll do that! I think that'd look pretty cool~!" He sang with a wide grin on his face.

"So," Pilot continued, trying to create more conversation. "What brings you here? Training or something?"

Gauel felt a bit awkward when he attempted to grab the Taillow's outstretched wing to complete the handshake. He ended up just sliding his fingers over Pilot's feathers, as he shook. He was glad when it was done, letting his arm fall back to his side. Handshakes were an odd thing. Lots of Pokemon were quaropedal or didn't even have hands to shake with.

He grinned at the Taillow's pleasure in the idea of being black instead of red, though it looked more like a smirk. "Glad ya like the idea," he said. He chuckled when the Taillow said his name was interesting, "Interestin, eh? I guess it is. I haven't 'eard of many Pokemon with names like it, at least. I forget what it means, though."

When the Taillow asked why Gauel was here tilted his head a bit. "Eh, kind of trainin'. From what I 'ear, this place is kinda for weaker Pokemon to use. I came from a town a good ways away from 'ere, so I'd like ta think I'm a bit too tough for this dungeon. Though I can't be certain if this place's idea of 'weaker' is different from mine."

Dracorexion carried out 5 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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Pilot nodded, seemingly satisfied with Gauel's answer to his question. "Yeah, the ferals around here aren't too bad. That's why a lot of the rookie explorers train in this place... I'm not really here to beat up wild Pokemon, though. I'm just looking for some items to use on guild missions," He told his new acquaintance nonchalantly, secretly hoping that the Treecko would ask about his job. He took great pride in his exploration team, and wouldn't hesitate to brag about his achievements. Considering the public humiliation that he had endured only minutes earlier, he really could've used an ego booster right about then...

However, as Gauel responded to him, something else grabbed his attention. There was a distinct rustling noise approaching them. He could recognize that sound anywhere: a feral was about to attack! Wasting no time, Pilot let out a loud screech, spread his wings, and darted directly at the unknown Pokemon (all mid-conversation).

The avian crashed right into the feral, which turned out to be a Zigzagoon. The normal type cried in surprise, and Pilot proceeded to follow up his strike with a few Wing Attacks.

(Energy: 0)
(Status: Poisoned)

Gauel was about to continue speaking with the Taillow when the Flying type suddenly screeched out, flying past Gauel and into a Zigzagoon. "Uh..." Gauel mumbled as he watched the Taillow enter a completely one-sided battle by beating the Zigzagoon into submission. Yeesh, and I thought Pokemon from my town were prone to violence, he thought.

The Treecko, though, still had his guard down as he watched the two Pokemon fight. It quickly became a mistake as something hard hit the back of his head, knocking him over. Gauel's vision blurred for a moment as he attempted to stumble back onto his feet. Though each time he nearly got back up, another hard object knocked him back down. Eventually he was being barraged from both sides. Growling in frustration, Gauel suddenly sped out of the way, skidding to a stop before tumbling onto his back as his Quick Attack ended.

He rolled back onto his knees, looking up to see an Exeggcute bouncing towards him. Still dazed from the multiple hits to the head, Gauel stumbled onto his feet. The unsteady Treecko swung his tail around, launching a barrage of multicolored leaves at the other Grass type, doing his best not to fall back down from the motion.

"Yahhhh!" Pilot shouted as he repeatedly smacked the Zigzagoon with his wings, oblivious to the fact that it had already fainted. Eventually, he realized this, and stopped beating on the poor Pokemon. Getting up and dusting himself off, the avian looked oddly pleased with himself. That guy didn't even stand a chance! Heehee, I'm too good for this rookie dungeon... I should go somewhere tougher next time, like, uh... Fiery Chasm! Yeah, that sounds awesome! Pilot thought to himself, completely zoned out. The distracted bird sat there for several moments, planning out his next trip.

Suddenly snapping back into reality, the Taillow swung around, taking notice of Gauel's ongoing fight with an Exeggcute. He stood there and crossed his wings, curious to see how capable his travel companion was. Hmm, he's holding up pretty well... Should I help him out? Yeah, why not? Pilot decided, shrugging. He used Quick Attack to dash in front of the Treecko and smack the Egg Pokemon, just as his partner's attack made its mark. Heehee, you're in for a world of pain, little guy, He smugly thought to himself, a cheeky grin across his beak.