Not mushroom for hardboiled stunts

(Energy: 17-5=12)

"Let's see... Berries..."

Cirrus the Togepi was in the midst of another Pecha Forest run, this time on the hunt for berries. She kept her eyes peeled for them, remembering full well that the ones up on the trees were no good as a result of being unripened and still growing. It was now an established fact that she had to find them on the ground.

The weather was overcast and generally not as good as it was on her last trip, so she had made plans to cut this short in the event of any rain. Finding shelter would be risky and there were going to be no attempts to clear the dungeon in such a situation. Not a bit. She let out a small yawn and continued.

(Energy: 16-5= 11)

After his parents' blessing, Schomburg made it into the Pecha Forest. He was starving; the poor Shroomish hadn't eaten anything since leaving the warm comfort of his family's abode. Even though he was a survivalist, he was just a rookie at it, and as such, his stomach began to gurgle.

He scanned the forest floor for any sweet, succulent berries he could use to placate his growling innards. Schomburg took a small comfort in the delightfully damp air of the forest, savoring each breath he took. Suddenly, he heard a a rustle from... somewhere, he wasn't sure. Schomburg quickly gathered a pile of leaves and leaped into them, awaiting whatever made the noise.

"Huh..." Cirrus could have sworn that she heard a rustling noise nearby... She quietly scanned the general vicinity once she arrived near the hiding place, her eyes going past the pile of leaves used by Schomburg as an ambush spot without discovering him, before concluding to herself that whatever made that noise had left the area. The Togepi let out a small sigh of relief and went to continue onwards.

"The feral must have flown off... Might have been a Hoothoot." she said to herself. Something located behind the Shroomish's pile of leaves then caught her attention, causing her to unknowingly approach him...

The Shroomish waited a while, his (metaphorical) ears sharp. He saw a round figure in the distance slowly approach. Puzzled, he wondered what it could be. Whatever it was, it could not be underestimated, no matter the size. He learned that through painful run-ins with feral Spinarak. He entertained the various courses of action he could take, but then it took another step. That was it; it could not take another. The Grass-type took a second to collect his wits, then let loose the most savage tackle he could on the intruder, slamming into its oddly tough surface.

"Ahh...!" The force of that surprise attack sent her round body rolling back. Quickly thinking on the spot, Cirrus used Double Team during her roll to send out multiple shimmering copies of herself while she pulled herself upright behind them. It seemed like a feral...

Or was it...? She admittedly didn't know all that much about the random Pokémon that lived within mystery dungeons, but it was an unquestionable fact that this one was smart. Too smart... Hiding within a pile of leaves for a premeditated ambush simply didn't feel feral, she thought...

Deciding to put her suspicions to the test, she called out to the Shroomish from behind her rippling copies. "Who are you?"

Schomburg quickly regained his wits and assessed the situation. He had never seen so many of a single Pokémon. The sheer numbers the spiky ball thing possessed made him cower a bit. For the first time, he knew what it was to be on the business end of the ambushes he pulled off with his siblings. The fear he felt, combined with an innate need to grandstand, made him predisposed to a showy introduction.

"I am Schomburg, son of Vila and B'room! Who are you, and why are you trying to take my food?" he questioned in the most booming voice he could (which wasn't much; Shroomish have very shrill voices).

"Food?" she questioned, knowing exactly nothing about the typical diet of a Shroomish. Cirrus simply couldn't find anything nearby that she or a normal Pokémon would consider to be tasty, let alone edible. Placing Schomburg's shrill introduction together: Vila and B'room were clearly the parents and she had come rather close to whatever the Shroomish's food was.

"I'm Cirrus, a Togepi. I've come here looking for berries that can be used to heal any sick Pokémon."

Looking back just now, she suspected that she'd just made him more wary. Cirrus couldn't keep the intimidation factor provided by Double Team's copies up for much longer either, the copies were already losing their opacity and would soon fade...

Schomburg stared at Cirrus, puzzled. Pecha berries were used as medicine? They were a staple of his family's diet (unknown to him, this steady diet of Pecha caused his Ability). However, he could not stand in the way of someone like Cirrus, who had to take care of others; Schomburg himself had to tend the nasty burns of his parents and siblings various times. His ferocious drive weakened and gave place to a more caring persona.

"Sick? Is someone ill?" inquired the Grass-type. Memories of Odom writhing in bed, burned and pained, flashed through his head. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.

"Not at present, no..." Cirrus forced herself to admit. "but I'd hate to come across such a Pokémon and find that I'm unable to help it..." This was one of her newest fears, having no way to help someone who needed it. It just so happened to have developed on her first visit to this forest with a teammate at her side as a matter of fact.

"I just... want to be ready for when I do encounter someone who's sick." The Double Team wore off, leaving just the one Togepi. "I don't wish to take your food and I'm sorry to have disturbed you"

She hoped that Schomburg would continue to hear her out and be an understanding sort, because she admitted did feel his earlier Tackle attack even now.

Schomburg was surprised. His parents had been very clear that his survival is the top priority. He'd only worry about others when the others were his siblings or his parents; anyone else was, frankly, not important.

"Huh... No problem. Sorry for Tackling you earlier, then. Simply a precaution; I come from a survivalist family. We're trained to always be on our toes. In fact, let me make it up to you. I'll help you collect some berries."

Cirrus seemed the trustworthy sort. Although his parents would have frowned upon the decision he just took, Schomburg believed it was the right thing to do. And if it wasn't, then he could take Cirrus one-on-one.

A survivalist family? That sounded really tough... She was assaulted with the unpleasant reminder that not every Pokémon shared her own stable and sheltered upbringing within a hidden nest, but didn't voice her sympathy for the Shroomish. It didn't feel necessary.

"That's alright, I'm not hurt" she replied to his apology, finally taking that time to brush off his Tackle. "I'd love to have your help for this. It would be very welcome."

She surmised that Schomburg's survivalism and his stated training would be valuable assets in this hunt. On that note it intrigued her to see how his mentality differed from hers as a result of their upbringings. One of them being actively taught survival, the other one being hidden away...

Gengarzilla carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

Immediately, Schomburg tried to apply his experience hunting to aid Cirrus. He thought back to all the times he foraged with his family and recalled a mental map of the forest.

"Hrmm... There's a clearing up ahead. We might find some berries there," the Shroomish indicated.

The tiny pair trudged through the woods, eventually finding the clearing Schomburg mentioned. He noticed some pink shapes; those are probably the berries, right?

"Be really careful, Cirrus. Let's take this easy," he whispered. Schomburg tiptoed his way to the weird orbs that lay in the middle of the clearing...

(Energy: 12-8=4)

...Something wasn't right. Although they admittedly had a similar pink colouration to that of Pecha Berries, they lacked the stalks at the top and Cirrus could see what looked like cracks on them. One of them even appeared to have a yellow inside that was visible through its broken... shell... Shell... Eggshell... Eggshell...?!

Before she could even relay this revelation to Schomburg, Cirrus became aware that the Shroomish was already sneaking his way closer and closer towards the pink things, one of which, Cirrus noticed with a jolt in her heart, had just twitched!

"Those aren't Pecha Berries, it's an Exeggcute!" she urgently called out to Schomburg, rushing out and pushing the Shroomish aside only to take the Poison Powder herself, inhaling the purple spores in an involuntary gasp. (Sorry to deny you of Poison Heal but I rolled the status. You can still battle it.)

Schomburg quickly got on his little feet stubs. He panicked as he noticed the difficulty with which Cirrus breathed. Those six smug eggs were sure in for it now. They'd scrambled the duo's plans, and now they'd get an ass beating served sunny-side up.

He launched himself at the egg cluster, slamming into them as strong as he could. He felt a burning, guilty sensation within him. How could he have not noticed they were Exeggcute? On top of that, the first traveler he met was now sick, all thanks to him. The Tackle was all the more stronger because of that.

The group of eggs were quickly scattered as a result of his forceful and distressed Tackle attack, they bunched back together and sent a spray of yellow seeds towards the Shroomish in a Barrage attack but instead resorted to fleeing into the nearest undergrowth once their move missed Schomburg entirely. One look at the Togepi would confirm that the Exeggcute had indeed complicated their plans regardless of it whiffing the last move.

"U-uhhh..." Cirrus moaned, visibly shivering from the effects of the poison beginning to coarse within her system but picking herself up regardless of the affliction. They had a task to do and she still had a healing move handy, but she still felt worried for Schomburg after his mistake...

"Right, l-let's keep looking..."