A Prankster's Folly

Sanja padded into the town, breathing in the air she has missed after training in the field for so long. The young Eevee has been taking things so serious lately, but it was high time she finally kicked back and relaxed. It's what she deserved after so long now.

"Ah, finally," she sighed, finding a cool shady tree to lean on. Her legs were still sore from all the running she's been doing, and as much as she would like to deny it, she had taken quite a beating from her trek. Her pads were cracked and covered in scars, small grains often getting stuck inside and stinging. The soft grass surrounding the town was a relief to touch, and her muscles would finally get a chance to loosen.

From her view, she enjoyed watching the towns'mon walking about, busy with their own lives and worries. It's certainly been a long time since the excitable normal type had gotten the chance to throw a prank on passersby. That would certainly be fun. Just like old times. She didn't reminisce for long, however, as the fluffy canine soon fell into a doze.

As the exhausted Eevee fell asleep, her tired mind and been too preoccupied watching the hustle and bustle of the town to pay attention to much else. If she'd been more awake, she may have heard a faint scratching coming from BEHIND the tree, like someone was walking on gravel. On the other side of the tree, a thin but deep hole could be found. Within the hole, with only the hole of light above him to light the way, Gentzer was furiously digging away, stopping frequently when he came across crystals, puasing to "review" how rare they were. Sadly he hadn't found anything worth keeping so far, and so he'd eaten most of his findings. Despite his barren haul, Gentzer remained optimistic as ever, digging feverishly despite having dug the hole for several hours already.

He continued his work, too far away for the light scratchings of his digging to bother anyone, when he found a gleaming purple gem embedded in the rock, it's gleam captivated him, and he spent entirely too long just staring at it in disbelief. Gentzer knew what this glorious sheen meant! This gem surely must contain incredible powers! Suddenly, he sprang for the gem like a starving creature would for food, and dusted the dirt off his prize.

"YES! I knew there was more outside of that boring old cave! I KNEW IT AH HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!" He gleefully cackled, ruining the peaceful tranquility of the grassland as he yelled his triumph so loud even Pokemon in the town were peering towards the tree in confusion. He continued to laugh maniacally as he hugged the little gem to his chest, oblivious to the company not far above his head.

Unfortunately due to her exhaustion, the warrior didn't remain aware while napping like her usual habit. It's been quite a long time since the Eevee has gotten any actual sleep, especially since her vigilant nature had been amplified after her journey to this continental area. The blazing fire that engulfed her Clan still traumatized her to this day, and she never wanted such a circumstance to repeat itself due to her fault. However, her vow slipped out of view once she drifted off to sleep.

A sudden chuckle that rang out jolted Sanja back to her weariness, whipping around the tree to see a particularly shady figure bellowing in excitement. She might have wailed in alarm if she hadn't been so well trained to remain silent in the forest as to not call attention, and it was fortunate she did not since that would only draw the glaring eyes of those in the town curious to what could cause such hoopla.

"Hey, whack-a-mole, what on earth are you doing?" she snarled at the grinning dark type. Sanja had met her fair share of nasty 'mons, and she wasn't about to submit to another, no matter the hostility.

Gentzer was snapped out of his ecstacy-riddled reverie by the curt call, whipping around suddenly to greet the new acquaintance, grinning like a madman the entire time. Facing the Eevee, his smile became slightly less demented, finally veering somewhat towards being a welcoming smile, and gave an oddly theatrical bow to the Eevee.

"Good day! Didn't see you there buddy, name's Gentzer, gem finder extraordinaire!" He proudly exclaimed, feeling very full of himself at the moment. His high dying down a touch, his thoughts rapidly changed to his new find, he started to feverishly wonder what this gem could do. He approached the Eevee, and started to ramble again. "Hey, you got any idea what this beautiful little thing could do?" He asked, showing the gleaming purple gem off. "Maybe it's part of some large treasure...or grants psychic powers, or maybe it has something to do with those old legends! Oh! Oh! Maybe it's..."

Having gotten himself waaaaaaaay too excited, Gentzer started to ramble on, describing all the ways his gem was the most incredible find of the year. He got so into his tirade of delusions, it was almost like he'd forgotten he was speaking TO someone.

Sanja's only response was a facial expression in the mixture of disgust and distrust, which she soon suppressed with a wave of her paw to signify her annoyance.
"I'll have to stop you right there, buddy. That gem is great and all, but I have a nap to get back to," she said dismissively, her voice tainted with just the slightest of longing. The Eevee attempted to settle back down again, her right ear tilted towards Gentzer's general direction to keep her partial attention to his actions. However, it wasn't long until she succumbed to her curiosity to look back at the gem. It was a bizarre temptation, so no wonder this guy wanted to collect the shining jewels.

"I've never heard of a gem that could grant powers... How does it work?" she finally caved into her curiosity, gazing in bewilderment at the curio held before her. She then remembered the presence of the Pokemon and sat up confidently.
"I'm Sanja, coolest around. You may be a good gem finder or whatever, but what do you even do with those things?" she inquired, playing to be relaxed, but beneath her fluffy fur she was on edge after the toothed 'mon confessed a dangerous theory of his. I can never really be too safe around strangers... she reassured her thought process silently.

Gentzer's grin widened, he could tell Sanja was interested, and he was excited to have someone interested in his..."hobby" after so many ears of being disregarded by others of his kind. He wasn't even fussed by that face she'd pulled in the face of his totally classy greeting, he was that happy, He opened his mouth to respond, before pausing when he realised just what exactly he'd been asked. His manic high died down as more level thoughts made themselves known in the face of actual conversation.

"That's...a good question." He admitted, looking at the little purple gem. He flourished the gem about wildly, trying to provoke some reaction from it, but no such luck. He went on like this for a short while, before finally realising what most sane creatures would've assumed from the beginning.

The gem was just a normal gem, albeit a pretty one. His interest depleted, Gentzer nonchalantly popped the gem into his mouth and crunched it down, hey, at least it tasted pretty good! Turning to Sanja, he grinned again and joked.

"That's what I do with them, hee hee hee hee" He giggled at his own humour unashamedly. The letdown of a gem hadn't dented his mood at all, after all, there was so much more to find! And someone listened to him for once!

"Hey...Sanja, right? You wouldn't happen to know of any good gems around here would ya? I'm on the hunt for rare gems, and I've never been out of Serene Cave before. Maybe you've got some good finds on you yourself?" He explained, moving closer to the Eevee, offering his clawed hand. Handshakes were what people did to be polite and all that right?

As the gem glistened, Sanja's sight remained hooked to the object. Then suddenly the gem disappeared from sight, jarring her attention as it went down with a "crunch," never to be gazed upon again. The Eevee entered a sort of shock from her surprised, and then looked into the eyes of the Sableye with a sort of offended and flustered expression. That was all the answer she needed.

With the rather underwhelming turnout, she recovered soon from her trance and returned a statement to the purple monster's inquiry.
"I've not once seen anything like that before, so I have no clue where to find anything like that," she admitted, still curious of how it got in a tree, or what use such a thing could have.
"But I guess I could join ya if you wanted to find another. A guy's gotta eat I guess." Already, her belly, too, was rumbling at the thought of food.

Gentzer then offered an unfamiliar gesture, Sanja responding by merely continuing to stare the dark type in the eyes. Being raised in a Clan, she was somewhat alienated from commonality of society her entire life. it's not like Eevee would shake hands, anyway. They are quadrupedal after all.

Gentzer stayed presenting his hand while continuing to grin awkwardly.

"Oh Arceus I forgot she walks on fours...oops." he thought to himself. The Eevee wasn't responding, instead staring him in the face. How awkward. Gentzer, wasn't going to let that faze him, as he stood straight. "Well, as I said I'm new to these parts, but I'll bet the nearby dungeons are full to bursting with fine jewels! As you can probably see though, I'm not much of a threat on my own, these claws are far better at cutting stone than cutting others, so I've steered clear of em for the time being. You're clearly a more...serious traveler than I am, so if you're interested in escorting me to the fine gems and lustrious riches, then I'll gladly share the spoils!"

Even though he was largely trying to excite the Eevee into accepting his offer, just saying that out loud reminded Gentzer of those tales of explorers and treasure, going on exciting adventures for loot and glory. He gave out an almost sinister sounding chuckle as he imagined himself doing the same. Realising he was going away with the fairies, he drew his attention back to to his new acquaintance, laughing a little nervously, worried that he was putting off the Eevee, who had continued to stare at him.

Dismissing the strange action of the ghost-type as he withdrew his hand, Sanja figured it may have been some tradition of the bizarre Pokemon's type. She knew next to nothing about ghost-types, except the vital fact that normal moves do not affect them. Everyone has to know that, or else they'd look ridiculous in front of their clanmates.

Hearing his proposal, however, the young furred Pokemon quickly relaxed her posture and casually outstretched her paw in a crude and nonspecific way to signify her self-confidence.
"Mmm yeah I'll be your bodyguard. Kinda figured someone like you would need-" She cut herself off with a groan of a stretch as she stood up with self pride, "-me to defend you." She flexed her claws, as if to show off, and then gave him an apathetic glance before raising her head, already listening for enemies.

The Eevee was pretty used to fighting frequently, having the role of defending her younger clanmates from the threats of the forest way back when; it was the experience of countless victories that had gone to her head. Clearly, everyone had to think she was cool. Being seen as anything less would just be a crime.