Dense Undergrowth (Open)

Shadowhue Forest stood tall and dark in front of the rising sun. Small trickles of light tore through the edge of the woods, only to be swallowed up by the darkness inside. The calls of Pokemon and nature itself echoed out. At the edge floated a small Cottonee, the little puff ball swaying back and forth several feet thanks to the slight breeze. This Cottonee, known as Janne, was psyching himself up to enter the dungeon. His whole life up until now was spent high in the clouds or in the safety of villages. This was his first time entering a dungeon, and while he was shaking in excitement, his senses were screaming for him to back down and return to the safety of Grassveil.

(Energy 6)

Cían was tired. This was the fourth day straight he'd been walking, and he was on his ration plan as well to add insult to the mix. "Only a short ways down the road, he said..." he muttered under his breath, cursing the Luxio who'd pointed him this way earlier in the week. "Bloody Thunder-Mutts..."

Cresting the hill his stubby little legs were slowly taking him over, he stopped at the top to gather his breath and see if he could take stock of his situation. Wheezing a little, he let himself sink into the loamy soil before looking out over the empty ground ahead.

Surprisingly, the Aron wasn't alone. There was a small cotton ball hovering in the air just in front of an ominous looking treeline. It didn't take a lot of observation to tell that the Pokémon was thinking about entering the forest.

Sighing, Cían put on his friendly face and stood again. Heading down the hill, he called out as he approached the Cottonee.

"Hey! Puffball! Whatcha doin' in a scary lookin' place like this?" Admittedly, not his most endearing line, and he cursed himself, wondering how much of a Bandit he looked. He was covered in dirt from his travels, and his rationed diet had left him looking somewhat worse for wear as his carapace hadn't had a chance to build itself back up.

(Energy 9 out of 19)

The cool breeze brushed over the Slakoth's resting face. He had made it to Shadowhue Forest, and he was ready to search the area for something of use. Maybe something to steal, or just a place to make a temporary hideout or storage area.

Then he heard someone calling out to someone else a bit behind him, just at the entrance to the dungeon. He decided to lie and wait to see what would happen. Maybe there were some naive Pokemon he could pocket something off of. Or maybe outlaws that he could make a deal with, like he did with Synd'r. Er, at least he think he did. It was hard to tell with her.

Energy: 16 - 10 = 6

(Energy: 22-10[Enterance cost]=12)

Arlo wasn't unfamiliar with the Shadowhue Forest, he'd been in once not long ago when it wasn't nearly as busy as it was today. He'd only encountered one reasonable Pokemon at the time, Maxie, and while they became quite good friends Arlo only found two items he was able to take out of the forest with him. Today he intended to fix that, and find some actually useful stuff!

Perched one of the highest branches of a nearby tree overlooking the entrance, the Emolga watched a few pokemon gather below. Ehh, if these guys are planning on going into the dungeon they're not the most effective group, but hey I guess we're all here at the same time by chance, so what can you do. He gingerly trotted over to the edge of the branch to get a better view of the Pokemon below and hear what they're saying. He was bold, but not about to jump into the middle of a situation with a bunch of other Pokemon when he wasn't sure if they were actually going in or not. If they were, he doubted they'd refuse some extra help; few can say no to good aerial support.

Janne's already tensed up body shot up higher into the air at the sudden voice from behind him. He turned around, puffing out slightly as he eyed the Aron who had shocked him. "I ain't called Puffball. My name's Janne and I'm here to explore around some," he said. He eyed the Aron up and down as he floated up there. The steel type had surely seen better days, as far as Janne could tell. Little chips and scratches on it's normally shining white carapace, not to mention the dirt and grime stuck to it, made the Aron look less like a bandit and more of a homeless Pokemon.

Cían grinned, sauntering up to the Cottonee. "Well, Janne, it's a pleasure to meet you.
I'm Cíán." Looking up, he tried his best to catch a ray of light through the top of the ominous canopy ahead. "...and you were gonna head in there alone? Looks dangerous, mate"

The Aron shook his head. "Well, what would I be but a vagrant if I didn't offer some assistance?" Taking a step closer to Janne, he was beginning to come quite close now, around 3 feet away. "Could very well be the end of a lil' cottonbud such as yourself if some Ariados took a liking to you."

The Slakoth climbed down the tree he was on, trying to stay hidden while also picking up on the conversation. It seemed he would have an opportunity to ct helpless and one of the voices would at least offer to help him.

He stopped in the bushes, looking out through the leaves in wait for the two to walk nearer. He would exit the spot, walking around dizzily and acting as if he was in recent danger. He may even get something out of this little performance if he were lucky.

AHA! They were going into the dungeon! While Arlo was confident he could get by on his own, it never hurt to have some backup. From his perch high up in the trees, Arlo took a big breath and shouted down, "HEY, ARE YOU GUYS GOING IN THE DUNGEON?"

At that Arlo dove off his branch headfirst, free falling for long seconds before extending his wings and pulling up when only a foot away from the ground. He glided a couple inches off the ground, flying a couple quick circles around the Cottonnee and Aron before using his momentum to launch himself back up to a new nearby branch which was only about five feet off the ground; rustling every nearby bush with the burst of speed. "Wanna make it a party of three?"

Janne appeared to puff up more in frustration at the Aron's words. To him, the steel type seemed to be mocking him, ad he'd have none of it. Just as the Cottonee was about to speak, a sudden shout from a nearby tree shocked him slightly. The grass type turned in the air, watching the Emolga circle them before landing on another nearby tree.

"Um, hello," he said in a bit of shock. He'd only been away from his flock for a few days and was hoping to get a bit of solo time in. However, he felt a bit stuck. The Cottonee took another look at the dark forest, glad his wool helped to conceal his frown. "Well, alright,
fine, I guess we can all go together," he said, tripping up on his words slightly as he tried to sound a bit more happy with the situation than he truly felt.

Cían giggled childishly as the Cottonee appeared to balloon up in front of him. "Alright,
don't get your cotton in a bunch," he snickered, traipsing past the grass type and deeper into the forest.

"Nice to meet you as well, uh... whats-yer-name?" he called up to the Emolga currently perched above him. Ever the pragmatist, Cían knew bringing multiple types into the dungeon would be beneficial to himself. 'Better him than me if we come up against some unfavourable matchups' he thought to himself before trotting further into the dungeon. He couldn't help his weaknesses to Fighting types, but these two could certainly help him out in a pinch.

Turning back to the Cottonee as he walked, Cíán gave him a look over his carapace. "So, any reason in particular why you're headin' into a dangerous looking place like this?" The tone wasn't accusatory, but rather curious, as if the Aron was questioning why anyone would try to make their way into such a place alone. "Or were you just looking for trouble?

Capone scrunched up his face at the sudden yelling. He had only expected two, but it seemed that another Pokemon had arrived to the party. It was a bit less favorable to him, if his secret was revealed, there were more of them to know and contact authorities. He decided that maybe his plans to steal something from the group wouldn't work out that well anymore, but the gears in his mind were still turning. Even if he didn't get something from anyone there, he could still use multiple Pokemon as protection if something went wrong in the forest. He would still look for an opportunity, but if he found none, he still had other plans here, anyways.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any, he started stumbling out of the bushes, spinning around and holding his head. He did his best to look as confused as possible, and when he turned towards the trio nearby, he stopped. Groaning, he looked up at them, studying their features as best he could while under the act.

"H-hello? I think I got attacked. I can't remember what happened. All I know is I was looking for supplies here, and then I felt something hit me on the head." The Slakoth groaned again, clutching the top of his head painfully. "I woke up not too long ago, and I found my way to here. C-could you help me find my items? I promise I won't be too much of a burden."

The group was large, and a conversation was trying to get started but Arlo while usually one for talking, figured he wouldn't become too invested in this particular group of strangers. From his perch above everyone else he just stood waiting for the group to get a bit ahead of him he noticed a Slakoth come stumbling out of some nearby bushes, rambling about losing his stuff. GREAT, just what I needed to deal with today, someone who'll slow us down. Man, I already introduced myself and everything. Guess I'm commited.

Arlo was usually not one to be rude, but he wasn't about to interject into the current conversation without reason, so he'd just be to chat it up with the Slakoth. He took a running leap off his branch, taking in to the air while shouting, "Yo man, that sucks. Name's Arlo, I'll help you get your stuff back, but we should probably hurry before someone else finds it." With that, he swiftly flew up to and past the other two pokemon to a new branch where he had a look around for anything interesting.

(I think now is about as good a time as any to do some dice rolling. I'll roll on my next post if that's cool with ya'll.)