Not mushroom for hardboiled stunts

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(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.

"Y-yeah, let's do that..." Schomburg whispered, almost inaudibly.

Despite eggselling in the fight against the pink spheres (it was over in just one attack, after all), guilt still bit at Schomburg's stubby heels. How could he take care of Cirrus? He needs to find an antidote, quick. Maybe if he had found a berry earlier, he might be able to help his travel companion in the dire straits she was in...

The faith he had in himself was shaken. If he couldn't make it out a bit farther than his house, how could he last in the world? He pushed the idea out of his mind; he had to persevere. He'd help Cirrus somehow.

I liek Squirtles carried out 1 launched of one Pecha Forest :

(Poisoned, No Energy Regen)

Cirrus could tell that the Shroomish was feeling down on himself now, but she simply couldn't turn around and blame him for her predicament. No, there wasn't a chance of that.

"Hey... It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself..." Despite the uncomfortable constricted sensation that she could feel within her chest, her unfailingly kind heart still left her outright incapable of passing any form of annoyance upon Schomburg. Such discord would only dismantle their efforts even further than any status condition. "Let's just keep moving for now." she said, carefully conserving her movements so as to not let the poison spread too much.

(Just so you're aware, you recover 1 energy per page if you're not afflicted with a damaging status condition.)

(Energy:11+1= 12-8= 4)

Cirrus's words soothed Schomburg's guilty conscience somewhat, but he still felt defeated. The pained expression the Togepi had flinched with every step. It convinced him that he still had a lot to learn. He wasn't in his backyard anymore.

A Tangela creeped up on the duo; their sorry states prevented them from noticing the mass of vines. It reared up and delivered a solid whump to the Shroomish's back, knocking him out cold for who knows how long.

Cirrus immediately sprung into action at the very moment she saw the Shroomish get knocked unconscious by a feral Tangela, jumping at it and ramming into the opposing Grass type before she used Double Team in an attempt to create the same scenario she had done when first encountering Schomburg, whom was now safely hidden behind the copies and away from further danger for the duration.

However, the visage of a small group of opponents wasn't coming close to having the same guaranteed effect of intimidation like before as a result of the real Togepi being identifiable by her poison-induced shivering and shallow breaths. Cirrus hoped that it wouldn't notice.

Schomburg lay on the ground, recoiling from the Tangela's assault. He floated in and out of consciousness; those vines really did a number on him. After a little while, he regained his bearings and slowly stood up. Cirrus, weakened as he was, had set up an illusion, the very same trick she pulled the first time they met. With all of his remaining strength, he threw himself at the feral Tangela, slamming it and sending it tumbling into the wilderness.

"That should put it out of commission... Sorry for, uh, dragging you along into all of this. I can't believe I let it sneak up on me!" Schomburg said. The last sentence seemed more like he was chiding himself.

His eyes were glued to the floor, still searching for berries. This time, however, he wanted one to cure his travelling companion...

"Don't worry, it's ok. We just gotta find a berry..." she replied to the Shroomish, still trying to pick him up. They weren't going to get anywhere fast if one of them were constantly beating themselves up...

Obviously, Cirrus could hear the shouting as soon as the words were bellowed straight out of the speaker's mouth. "Someone's here..." the Togepi uttered to Schomburg. The one shouting didn't sound feral but she didn't want to shout back if she could help it. The poison was sapping away at her stamina enough as it is without her hollering stuff out to a Pokémon that could be situated around the corner.

Schomburg perked up. There was someone else nearby? Another member to their party would certainly aid their expedition. The worst bit would be, perhaps, that the new guy might get statused like Cirrus was. But before thinking about worst case scenarios, the Shroomish had to ensure that whoever was screaming wasn't hostile.

"Uhh... Hello?" he said in the general direction of the unknown speaker. "Who are you, and what are you looking for?" added Schomburg. He prepared for the worst, even though he was still nursing the beating the Tangela gave him.

Cirrus took a gentle breath to steady herself. Though no fault of Schomburg's, this wasn't her best of days. She could really do with a nap of some sort right about now. "So they aren't feral?" That was good news, the Togepi was in no fit state to combat them should they turn aggressive...

The Mienfoo was soon within her range of sight. She was unfamiliar with the Mienfoo species as a whole but assumed that the newcomer ahead was a Fighting type based upon her appearance alone. Having nothing else to say on the matter and desiring to make as little movement as possible, the Togepi kept silent.

Schomburg was surprised. Weren't Fighting types supposed to be constantly training? No matter, he thought. They'd have to take a break sometime.

"Well, I'm here because I just left my house to explore the world. Cirrus here," he said, motioning at the trembling Togepi, "Wanted to find some berries as a preventive measure to cure anyone who got sick. As you can see, Fate had some fun with her, he added. A bit of guilt still ruminated in his mind, but Cirrus assuaged most of it greatly through her positive reinforcement.

"Personally, if you're after a meal, Watmel berries are much more filling. Pecha are more suited for a snack or side dish, and they're cloyingly sweet.

"Uhh, right now...?" Cirrus didn't entirely feel like doing any sort of battle, considering her current condition. She tried to voice her opposition to Yin's proposal only to find that her words had gotten themselves tangled up before they even arrived at her mouth.

It was completely unrelated to the poison, and so was the shiver that had run through her body. A combination of the Mienfoo's height being around three times that of hers, the coat she was wearing, and the angry yet menacing glint in her eyes had together done exactly what Yin was intending.

"I'm not in a f-fit state for battling..." the intimidated Togepi finally managed to stutter, deeply wishing that she could use Teleport...

Schomburg glared at Yin. Could he not notice Cirrus was sick?

"You like challenging people weaker than you, huh? Why not pick on someone your own size?" The big brother in him was showing. His siblings were all tinier than him, physically, and he had to stand up to more than a few schoolyard bullies that showed up when his parents weren't around.

He was more than ready to knock some sense into Yin. If he kept bragging, he'd inhale a good dose of poison.

(Poisoned, No Energy Regen.)

Some confidence begun returning to the ailing Togepi at Yin's newest challenge. The Mienfoo evidently possessed a reckless streak, she surmised. Perhaps, his abilities combined with what she could offer at present...?

"If it's two on one..." she said while picking herself up and standing by the Shroomish's side "then I'll accept your challenge." Cirrus had never actually been in a battle against a Pokémon that wasn't feral but she greatly favoured the numbers advantage on offer to their side here. That and she wasn't too happy with sitting back after the way the Mienfoo had taunted Schomburg for talking back in that manner.

"Let's do this, Schomburg."

(Energy: 4+1= 5)

Cirrus's confidence bestowed Schomburg the bravado he had lost when she first got poisoned. The fact that she was sick while saying this gave him even more reason to fight. The numerical advantage, too, got his blood pumping. He was in his element, back in a foraging expedition with his siblings.

"If you say so, Cirrus," he replied.

To aid in their endeavors, Schomburg first launched a cloud of Stun Spores at Yin to prevent him from moving. Surely, the incapacitating effect of the spores would help the duo out to great effect.

Before the Togepi could even react, Yin was immediately all over Schomburg with her swift barrage of continuous strikes, catching Cirrus way off guard. Reckless the Mienfoo might be, but she was evidently no slouch within battle...

"She's good... Gotta come up with some way to get her off Schomburg's back." She was concerned that he may begin to tire out before his Stun Spore would truly kick in. Thinking quickly, Cirrus used Double Team to send out multiple illusory copies of herself and made them run around and towards Yin in order to try and distract her from performing her flurry of combo hits.

Yin's charge was completely unexpected for the Shroomish. Caught off guard, there wasn't much he could do but take it. Each hit not only bruised him, but dented his pride. Each punch the Fighting-type landed just infuriated him more.

The Mienfoo's many punches were beginning to take a toll on Schomburg. He had a hard time figuring out a strategy; he couldn't exactly throw himself at Yin, his preferred attack. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cirrus was running at Yin. Emboldened, he tried using Absorb to sap some of Yin's energy and weaken his resolve, if even by just a bit.