(Egg) Laying the foundation

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(Energy: 17-5=12)

"Pecha Forest again..."

Cirrus didn't expect to have too much troubles with the dungeon this time. She had been able to purchase a TM for the move Double Team and gotten some practice in on the new technique. Clearing Pecha Forest wasn't her plan for today though. What she intended to do was gather herbs.

On her last visit, she had met up with a Shiny Houndour and learned about some of their effects. Borage, Cirrus recalled, could bring down a Pokémon's fever. She had since done her homework and was now returning to collect more varieties. To expand her knowledge...

"Well, in I go~" the Togepi said while walking in to the forest, her eyes open for anything.

Darcy settled into a more leisurely walking pace, both to give Cirrus a chance to catch up and to make things easier on herself.  Excited though she was, dashing around and boosting her heart rate had worsened the sensation of poison in her body, and she felt a little light-headed again.  She suppressed a shudder and resolved to use some more self-restraint from now on.

The thought of playing with dandelions was more than enough to keep her mind off of it, though.  "So, how far away are they?  Are they much deeper in the forest?" Darcy asked the Phantump cheerfully as she hopped over a fallen maple branch in the middle of the path.

"Not far at all, actually," he responded.  "I know the way there quite well.  I usually thin this patch of dandelions out at the start of each summer because their seeds always find their way into my garden.  You're lucky that I haven't gotten around to it yet!"

They rounded a bend, and at the and of a long avenue of trees, Darcy could just make out a swathe of yellow in the distance.  That must be it!  She felt a new spring in her step as the group drew near to the little meadow.

(Energy: 4+1=5)

The Togepi's eyes were immediately fixated upon this swathe of yellow in the distance. "I-it looks so beautiful..." she found herself murmuring upon their group's arrival, well and truly captivated by the sight of all those dandelions all situated within that little meadow.

Cirrus soon drew herself into this meadow and picked a few of these flowers, leaves and all, before placing them into her bag with the absolute utmost of care. The thought of such a delicate thing possessing medicinal qualities was still a new and fascinating possibility for her.

"Ok, this looks like enough." she said after collecting a few more of them with similar lighthandedness, as though they might shatter under a heavier hold.

Gengarzilla carried out 5 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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The first thing Darcy noticed about the clearing was that there were no puffballs, but that was quickly forgotten.  Cirrus was right.  This place was beautiful.  Tall trees enclosed the little meadow, making it feel like a secret courtyard hidden deep in the forest.

Enchanted, Darcy waded through the dandelions into the center of the field.  She purred as she took a moment to roll around in the colorful flowers, breathing in their grassy scent and enjoying the sun's warmth.  She settled onto her back and stared at the sky, having a clear view of the fleecy clouds far above for the first time since this morning.  The Skitty let out a contented sigh.  She felt like she could just lie here forever...

There was no time for that, though.  She forced herself out of her reverie and rolled onto her belly.  "Then we should head back.  That Tangela made things sound urgent," she said to Cirrus.

"In that case, I think I'll take my leave," the Phantump said, giving the two of them a small bow.  "If you're ever in the area again, feel free to stop by my house.  It's at the opposite end of this path.  I'd love to have you over for tea sometime.

"Take care!  I hope your friend gets better soon!" he finished, waving goodbye as he began drifting away through the trees.

"Byyyeeee!  Thanks for all of your help!" Darcy said as she stood up and waved a forepaw at him in return.  She hoped she could find this place again the next time she was in this dungeon.

(Energy: 5-11=0)

Cirrus had heard Darcy's earlier purring, attributing it to pleasure at the location. She also hoped that she would be able to wander across this area in a later exploration but broke loose from her thoughts in time to wave goodbye to the Phantump. Tea would be rather nice...

Taking one last stop to place a Blast Seed and a solitary stick into her bag, Cirrus begun leading the way back to the Tangela's house, carefully retracing her steps from when the Phantump took them to all those dandelions. The very last thing Cirrus wanted to do now was completely screw things up by getting them both lost. It was thus with a great sigh of relief when their desired location came into view. The Togepi quickly ran in to find the Tangela with a sickly looking Hoothoot.

"We're back. I've found what we need." she said, correctly assuming the Hoothoot to be the friend spoken of by that Tangela.

Darcy followed along dutifully.  She didn't think she would be much use if they got into another fight, but she could at least keep watch for any ferals so that they wouldn't be caught off guard.

When she spotted the Tangela's house, she walked inside after Cirrus, still a little too shaken by her poisoning to run.  "I hope we didn't take too long," she said as she spotted the Tangela.  It was only then that she noticed the Hoothoot perched uneasily on the other side of the room, eyes closed and feathers in disarray.  "Wow...  Your friend was right," Darcy muttered as she paced over to the bird Pokemon.  "You really don't look too good..."

"Ok, then in I go..." She felt somewhat nervous but managed to swallow this down for everyone's sake, approaching the Hoothoot with her bag at the ready.

"Hello, my name is Cirrus. I'm here to help. Your friend told me everything." the Togepi said in a calm and soothing tone of voice, drawing upon everything she learned from back at the nest. She completely threw off any nerves she still had at this point, taking out one of the dandelion leaves and offering it to the Hoothoot. "Please chew on this while I work, it'll ease any pains you may be experiencing."

With this, she begun looking around the Pokémon's body and soon found the sting on his back. Cirrus grabbed some of the dandelions and bent their stems to get at the white paste inside, gently applying this paste to the stung area. "I'll admit to having never seen a Beedrill before but this should do the trick. It's going to draw out all poison from the sting. Without that, it'll soon fade with time." she explained, rubbing as much as needed before reaching for the roll of bandages she'd had since leaving the nest and using some to cover the affected area while making sure they didn't interfere with flight.

"...and that'll do it, you're in the clear." Cirrus said to the Hoothoot as well as the Tangela, taking a moment to rub her forehead in relief.

Darcy stepped aside to give Cirrus more space.  She was quickly entranced as she watched the Togepi work.  Cirrus really seemed like a professional!

She hadn't thought about it until now, but Cirrus was really...  Cool.  She was smart, and nice, and while the two of them were probably about the same age, the Togepi really seemed to have her life in order.  Darcy couldn't help but admire her.  ...She hoped that they would get to spend more time together after all of this.

"That was perfect, Cirrus!" she said with a gleeful smile as she hopped over to the egg Pokemon once her work was done. She sat down again as she turned to face the Tangela and the Hoothoot.  "I guess that's that, then.  Um...  Sorry again for causing you so much trouble earlier.  Will you two be okay on your own from here?"

"We'll be fine now. Both of you, thanks so much... I don't have very much to repay you but perhaps these will do?" the Tangela replied, retrieving two apples with his Vine Whip and giving one each to Cirrus and Darcy.

"Apples? Thank you, that's very kind." Cirrus said back. He really didn't need to do this, but she wasn't one to push aside a gift from a thankful Pokémon. She graciously took the one that was offered to her and placed it within her bag before turning to Darcy. "Thanks for helping out and keeping me company, we really must do another exploration sometime." With some dandelions still left over in her bag, she had pretty much gotten what she came to find within the forest. "Let's get back to the main path now."

((I haven't forgotten about the Exeggcute I rolled earlier, don't worry. One last whammo awaits.))

Darcy smiled wide as the Tangela retrieved some apples for them.  She hadn't been expecting any kind of reward!  She thanked him and stowed it away in her bag, then waved goodbye as she turned to leave alongside Cirrus.

"Yeah, my pleasure!" she said to Cirrus with a giggle as they stepped back outside.  "Feel free to stop by the Guild anytime.  If I'm not there, just post a job request asking for me.  I check the bulletin boards every morning."

She stretched and let out a yawn.  It was starting to get late in the afternoon.  She turned to Cirrus as she started walking again.  "Um...  I know I wasn't very useful today, but I'd really love to go exploring with you again sometime.  If you ever need help collecting herbs again, or if you ever just want some company, you know who to call, okay?"

After today's fiasco, she felt like she owed the Togepi another day of help.  And beside that, Darcy just...  really liked being around Cirrus, for some reason.  She was nice.  Helping people through dungeons was the sort of work the Guild did anyway, so the Skitty would love to have a chance to do it for someone that she liked!

((Oh nooo!))

((Get ready~))

"I sure do~" It couldn't be denyed that things could have gone better than they had done, but she wasn't blaming Darcy for it. Cirrus was still completely eager and interested in teaming up with this Skitty again should her help or company be needed in the dungeon. With some more thinking and walking, the duo eventually returned to the area where the Tangela had previously made his move.

"What are you planning to do nex-" the Togepi started before a rustle in a nearby bush to their left interrupted her. She carefully approached it with her Blast Seed at the ready in case of a feral, only to receive a thick cloud of Poison Powder that shrouded her from view. Too busy coughing to even attempt any form of retaliatory attack, a focused round of Bullet Seed then knocked her into an opposing tree with considerable force just like Darcy had earlier experienced, the last seed in fact being a Leech Seed that bound her tightly to said tree with vines sprouting from the seed once it buried itself on her middle head spike.

Separated from her explosive item and nothing short of badly startled, Cirrus could just about catch sight of the Exeggcute responsible for this before the Leech Seed's vines took on a red hue and begun sapping her strength, her struggles against this only accelerating the poison.

Darcy flicked an ear curiously as she watched Cirrus investigate the sound.  It had been a quiet noise, and she didn't expect much from it.  It was probably just the wind, or maybe a passing bug Pokemon.  She almost fell over with surprise when the bush exploded into a cloud of purple dust.

Before Darcy could act, Cirrus came hurtling out of the poison powder, slamming into the same tree Darcy had been thrown at earlier that day.  "C-Cirrus!" Darcy gasped as she hopped a few steps towards the Togepi.  But things only got worse from there.  Darcy looked on with dread as some kind of vines sprouted from the Togepi's head and bound her to the tree.

The Skitty heard movement behind her and whirled around to see an Exeggcute tumble into the clearing.  She had to suppress a wave of panic.  She knew that she couldn't beat it in a fight by herself.  The poison pumped through her body by her pounding heart made her feel too dizzy to walk straight, let alone manage any of her attacks!  Instead, she frantically dug her head into her bag to grab her Blast Seed.

But before she could activate it, the crowd of eggs had pounced onto the seed Cirrus had left on the ground.  An explosion erupted from one of their mouths and Darcy was blown back, narrowly missing Cirrus as she slammed into the tree trunk alongside her.  Stars flashed in her vision and she struggled to stay conscious as she was struck with a Leech Seed of her own, quickly sprouting vines and securing her in place just like the Togepi.

Upon seeing Darcy get similarly blasted back and bound tightly by vines, Cirrus pretty much froze up in visible fear for the first time in this exploration. Bottling it up was beyond her this time, she was too busy trying to not pass out on the very spot to put on a brave face for the Skitty...

The Leech Seed now holding Darcy in place then begun to similarly drain her health too, both seeds subsequently nourishing the feral Exeggcute. Cirrus found herself asking the very same questions as her partner had done while bound by the Tangela. What would their foe do to them?

"Darcy..." Cirrus managed to utter, tears welling up as she desperately attempted to conceive some sort of idea right about now, coming up with one potential possibility to get some ground in this struggle. "T-try... using your claws to cut yourself through and out..." she spoke up harder, suppressing coughs.

Darcy couldn't think straight. Her head spun wildly as the vines pulling tight against her singed fur began to sap what little energy she had left. Her mind drifted to thoughts of what would happen if they couldn't fight back, but she was too exhausted to even be afraid anymore. Her vision was fuzzy, and she hurt all over, and it all just made her want to drift off to sleep...

She heard Cirrus call her name, and she snapped back to alertness. Something was very wrong. For the first time since they had met, the Togepi sounded afraid.

One final surge of desperation rushed through Darcy's body. She had given up on saving herself from whatever this feral had in store, but Cirrus... Cirrus didn't deserve this. Just the thought of the gentle little Togepi taking any more abuse from this thing was enough to put tears in Darcy's eyes as well.

"Y-yeah! I will!" she mewed as encouragingly as she could manage while she struggled to get a hold of her senses. But instead of trying to free herself, Darcy first began clawing at the vines binding the Togepi beside her. With her current strength it felt like she was trying to cut through wire, but one by one, Cirrus' vines began to snap away...

The only thing Cirrus could do was watch as Darcy surreptitiously begun cutting through those vines. She first felt surprised that the Skitty wasn't freeing herself first, then very deeply touched by her actions. By the time the last vine was severed, resolve had begun to set in amongst the poison. She knew what to do.

"Beating that Exeggcute should stop its move... I'm... going to send that feral off and get you out of there if it's the last thing I do..." she promised Darcy and herself once she picked herself up and brushed off the nonfunctional seed from her head spike, the young Togepi's determined side now on full display. Cirrus immediately resorted to Metronome in the hope of a quick finish and pulled out a Stun Spore, her Grass type opponent being unaffected much to her chagrin as she shakily ran right to avoid a Bullet Seed.

Upon shivering and falling over, she used Metronome again and this time she shot straight towards the feral while cloaked in water, only for this Aqua Jet to be made similarly useless by the Exeggcute's fourth move: Reflect. The impact shook her but she still had the stamina left for one last attempt as her arms begun waving again...

"There!" Darcy panted with relief as she finished freeing Cirrus.  Too exhausted to speak much more, Darcy just nodded and watched with starry eyes as the Togepi marched forward and vowed to save them both.  It seemed like Cirrus wanted to protect her every bit as much as she wanted to protect Cirrus.  Darcy blinked tears of surprise and adoration out of her eyes, momentarily stunned by how touched she felt...

As the fighting started, Darcy shook her head and focused on breaking free of her own set of vines.  The sooner she could get out of them, the sooner she could help Cirrus.  But as they sucked away her strength, the already wiry cords only got harder and harder to snap.  She cut through one, and then two, and then three of them, but after that, she...  She just couldn't break any more, no matter how hard she tried.  She feebly struggled to get free, or at least to squirm around and reach into her bag, but she was still bound too tightly.  With nothing else to do, she looked up at the clearing to watch the battle unfold.

Cirrus didn't seem to be doing very well, while the Exeggcute looked as healthy as ever.  She supposed she only had herself to blame for that, with the stinging vines still wrapped around her body leeching the rest of her vitality.  She wished that there was something, anything that she could do to help her friend.

"C-Cirrus!" she called with the last of her strength.  "Don't give up, okay?  No one as nice as you deserves to lose!"

It wasn't much, but at least she could still cheer her on.