Let's Try This Again!

Lumina's Energy:48 - 15 = 33

Slosh sliiiiish... slooosh. The sound of footsteps sliding through wet marshland echoed through the empty wetlands as the day drew near to noon. Though one would have trouble telling the time, due to the dark clouds covering the horizon from east to west, the darkened storm clouds stretched across the sky like a blanket. They didn't threaten rain, but something much, much darker to the denizens of the lands below.

"Ugh, my paws will never get rid of the stench and mud," complained the voice of the seemingly only pokemon around. A lithe figure emerged from the cattails, golden in color, except for the very tips of the nine tails the figure supported, which were hued a light orange. The ninetales supported a bag around her middle, colored a deep midnight blue, and a bright, fire-truck red scarf tied around her neck. A Grassveil Guild badge was pinned proudly on the scarf for anyone to see.

The ninetales was named Lumina, and she was fuming, for she had been set back on her mission to save the day from Giratina. She was all set up and ready to go tearing after the outlaws after Shaymin the other day, but lo and behold, she had got caught up with some other pokemon, and nothing had ever gotten done. She was determined, though, today. Today was the day. She was going to get to Misty Mire and she was GOING. TO. SAVE. THE. DAY. If it killed her.

Hopefully not, though. She would think better of herself than that, after all. She was better than that! She was a ninetales, after all. Lumina was maybe a bit full of herself, but she had the best intentions in mind for everyone.

The Shinx ran around through the mud and swamp, bounding without a care in the world. She was on a self-made mission based on some things she heard a few days ago. Outlaws at the Misty Mire after a certain Pokemon. It wasn't an official job on the boards at the Guild, but that wouldn't stop her from helping a fellow Pokemon out. Her golden bow became dirty as she charged along, but her similarly colored scarf stayed mostly clean. The badge attached to the garment shined as bright as ever.

"This is going to be so much fun! Taking down villains, saving a guy. Too bad Ariette isn't here to help. Oh well, I can still do this!" Arashi spoke to herself excitedly. Nothing could bring her down at the moment. Her blood was pumping rapidly as adrenaline flowed through her just from the thought of what she was going to do alone. "I wonder if anyone else is doing anything about this. I sure hope so. It's nice to find people who are there to help,
even when there's nothing to gain."

Her nose picked up the scent of another Pokemon over the odor of the marshlands. The Pokemon smelled pretty powerful, at least compared to most Pokemon she's met. Maybe one of the outlaws decided to come out of Misty Mire. Thinking nothing of the fact that the Pokemon was way stronger than she was, Arashi bounded off towards the smell.

Energy: 18 - 15 = 3

Lumina rose a single brow as a small figure skidded into view. It was blue and yellow and black- a shinx! It was a tiny bundle of energy, and it held all the electricity of a small thunderstorm. Lumina knew it wasn't one of the outlaws she was searching for, and wondered what it was doing so far from home.

"Hello there, child. What brings you out here on a dangerous day like this?" She asked, flicking her tails as she watched the shinx bounce around. She wondered who would lead a child into a place like this?

"Surely your parents wouldn't let you wander so far from them?" She questioned, unaware of Arashi's age, and going off of her seemingly boundless energy and tiny form.

Arashi stopped in front of the Pokemon she had sniffed out earlier. She wasn't one of the outlaws she had heard about. No one said anything about a Ninetales being in the group. Besides, this larger Pokemon had a Guild badge. The Shinx was pretty sure outlaws couldn't get into the Guild at all, and the only way you can get a badge is by being in the guild.

"Child?" Arashi looked up at the more powerful Pokemon. She puffed out her chest towards the Ninetales, attempting to bring attention to her own badge. "I'm not a child! I'm old enough to go where I want to, my parents are cool with it And I'm part of Grassveil Guild! I heard that some Pokemon was being targeted by a group of outlaws, so I decided to get ready and head off to help! Though I only heard it through a rumor, but that won't stop me!"

The Shinx continued on, talking about her excitement and how people should just want to help others in need, and not look forward to the reward alone, and so on. Eventually she calmed down and took a deep breath. She looked at the other Pokemon curiously.

"What brings you here? A job from the Guild, the same as me, or something else?"

Lumina brought up a paw to her mouth as she held back a giggle at the chil- no, tiny shinx's antics as she bounced up and down in front of Lumina indignantly at Lumina's words. Perhaps Lumina had been a bit quick to judge the shinx, for if she peered at the bouncing pokemon's scarf, there was a badge pinned there like her own -the Grassveil Guild's badge.

"Forgive me," Lumina spoke apologetically. "I mistook your tiny form for that of a child, and for that I apologize. Though, you don't exactly help yourself bouncing around energetically like a little kid," she added humorously.

She listened as the shinx went on about finding the rumours about Shaymin being captured within the marshy depths of the Misty Mire, and listened agreeably as the shinx went on indignantly about the pokemon who were in it for the reward, rather than wanting to do things for the good of all of pokemonkind. That, at least, they could agree on.

"I agree. It's simply deplorable, the way pokemon are simply reward-driven, instead of wanting to do things simply because it's the right thing to do." Lumina spoke derisively.

Arashi sat down, looking up at the Ninetales. She knew people often saw her as a child, or at least very childlike. Though she only approved of people calling her a child when they were elderly, because they've lived long enough to earn that right. But today, she was just too excited to help someone, so she didn't really feel that upset over it.

"Oh, it's alright. Also, I can't help it, with all this energy that's flowing in me, when I have nothing to do with it, I just start moving around." The Shinx smiled at the senior member. Her grin was wide, and her sharp teeth gleamed in the light. Her joyous nature couldn't be dampened, it seemed. "And of course! Sure, a reward can be good and all, but you shouldn't do something just for it. So does that mean you're here to rescue that Pokemon, too, or are you just agreeing with me? If you're here for the same reason, want to team up? I'm sure having a strong Pokemon like you to help would do wonders on this mission!"

Lumina looked down as the shinx finally sat down, and began to speak once more. She felt a little sheepish as the shinx explained that she couldn't help the boundless energy she had, as a trait of her species. She supposed that made sense for an electric type; she couldn't exactly help her inner fire and hotheadedness, after all. "I suppose that makes sense. Forgive my ignorance." she said.

She then smiled as the shinx asked her if she wanted to join together for their mission. "I would be delighted to join with you on this mission. It is of the utmost importance, after all." Lumina nodded importantly, lifting her head proudly, then looking back down at the shinx and winking at her.

"Soooo, what was your name? I never caught it. What made you join the guild?" the ninetales asked, flicking her tails as she stood up, ready to move on once more.

"Ah, that's wonderful! I don't even know if I would be able to get there all the way without some help, anyways!" The Shinx replied gleefully, walking off in some direction. "The name's Arashi, by the way. And I joined the Guild because it was the best way I could help other Pokemon. At least that I could think of."

Arashi looked around, wondering what this journey had in store. Maybe perilous fights, or lots of exploration. Maybe she'd find some long lost treasure along the way. But whatever happened, she was excited just to be on the way to help another Pokemon.

Lumina padded after the shinx, thinking to herself as she followed the energetic little pokemon. "Nice to meet you, Arashi. My name is Lumina," She introduced herself, padding through the marshy wetlands carefully as she thought about the Guild. It was nice to have a partner for once, on these adventures.

"Do you often go on adventures without other pokemon to back you up? That is to say, do you not have a partner on your team, to go into dungeons with you?" Lumina asked, wondering herself. She didn't have a partner, herself, but she was a ninetales, and could take care of herself. Arashi was tiny, and Lumina wondered whether she could take on a bidoof, let alone the outlaws they were after today.

"That's a pretty name, Lumina." The Shinx said, looking back with a grin. She continued moving on, her excitement too strong to stop. "Oh, and I usually end up going off on my own to places. But I have a partner. Her name is Arietta! She's awesome!"

Arashi stopped and looked around, sniffing the air. She could smell something different in the air, but she couldn't tell what it was. It just smelled different. Being the curious Pokemon she was, she started moving towards it, wondering what it could be. She didn't even worry about Lumina following her or not. She just moved on towards the odd scent.

"Thank you" Lumina said, flattered by Arashi's praise for her name. "I like Arashi for a name, too. It's a nice name." She said. She cocked her head to the side and listened as Arashi explained that she had a partner, and that her name was Arietta, but that Arashi usually went off on her own.

"You know, there's safety in numbers," Lumina said reproachfully, but the shinx didn't seem to care, or if she did, didn't seem to hear her, for she went off, sniffing at something she apparently found. Lumina rolled her eyes. "This is what I mean... Going off on tangents can get you in trouble, you know?"

Silver carried out 5 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

, , , ,

As the Shinx got nearer to the scent, she could smell other scents. The one she picked up originally was the most overpowering one, but there were others hidden in it. There were a couple of Pokemon, though she couldn't tell exactly which Pokemon they were. She did realize that the scent she was following was one produced by one of the Pokemon, sensing that it was originating from one of the other odors.

With that knowledge, Arashi stopped in her tracks. She realized that she had been in some sort of trance, but her nose helped her get out of it. She assumed that the Pokemon was letting out a fragrance, most likely Sweet Scent. She looked back at the Ninetales she had met only moments ago, noticing that she wasn't following her. Motioning at her to follow her, the electric type waited, sniffing the air some more, wanting to discern any more odors that could be hidden in the sea of the Sweet Scent.