Mountainous Mischief

First topic message reminder :

It was an overcast day, the dark clouds hiding the blue of the sky from sight. Vesper wandered onwards, glancing up every now and again and holding in a small sigh. It really sucked that there were always clouds everywhere at the moment. It was much harder to photosynthesize food for herself when the sun hardly peeked through to give her a chance to. Honestly, the Roselia just missed the warmth on her cheeks at this point. She could always eat actual food to feed herself when there wasn't any sunshine after all.

Vesper wandered onwards, up towards the mountain. She'd been here once before, but not for very long. There was still a lot she could explore around here. New things were interesting to Vesper, though she still wished she'd picked a better day to come and be nosy. That said, every day was this cloudy at the moment so better now than never, right?

Humming pleasantly as she walked along, Vesper wondered what sort of pokemon actually lived around here. The last time she'd been here she'd met quite the variety of individuals, although neither seemed interesting enough for her to consider meeting with them once more.

Alki giggled as the Roselia continued to praise her and her abilities. Copycat wasn’t that impressive, but the way Vesper was describing it, one would think it was the damn best move a Pokemon could learn, one built for legendaries. “I-I learned it a bit early on, b-but thank you...”Alki said, trying hard to control her sudden urge to stammer. She was red, she knew that much, and again, she pulled the hat down over her face as if she were hiding. The praise was so unusual! She felt like a small child again, and she couldn’t help but look towards the Roselia, feeling shy and embarrassed, yet at the same time, hoping for more praise.


So Alki felt nothing but ecstasy as the small, thorn-like Pokemon almost immediately noticed something different about her red feather. She seemed to hone in almost instantly on the one thing that was different, the small bumps and grooves on the shaft of the feather. Alki began to grin, her eyes lit up like Christmas candles. Her eyes only grew brighter and brighter, her smile more and more broad, as the Roselia spoke, turning the feather over and over in her flower-like hands.


She’d found a friend, someone who she could perhaps look up to as a more capable thief than herself, someone who’d embrace her change, rather than hate it. Darcy was sweet, but she was a guild member through and through, and perhaps Vesper could be a friend who could also be trusted. A friend and a thief. Alki resisted the urge to hug the smaller Pokemon in front of her, but she still couldn’t find the right words to say. Her tongue was tied and as she searched for the proper phrases, words to string together, all she could come up with was juvenile glee, she was like a child again, one who had found a new friend.


“S-So y-you’re a thief?! Y-You… I was right? We’re both thieves?!” She asked, her voice a bit louder than usual, which still wasn’t saying much, but she began to bounce, as if forgetting she was a Jigglypuff and instead flailing about like an Igglybuff learning to bounce for the first time. She was a small child again. She laughed lightly, the new, feral feather waving about wildly in the wind.


“S-Sorry, I… I’m just excited, y-you see, it’s… a bit difficult for me to make new friends, and… well, that’s another story altogether, I’m just… I’m just happy I was right.” She said, mumbling the words quietly as her face began to light up. She was supposed to be ashamed, but she just couldn’t erase the joy that was present in her. Vesper was amazing, and to learn she was a thief brought the Jigglypuff such great joy. She could introduce her new friend to Synd’r and maybe, if the Vulpix agreed, they could be Phantoms together! She giggled as the Roselia bowed in front of her.

“Y-Yeah, I suppose we do have to be careful, I’m… I-I’m a bit of a greenhorn, I suppose. There’s… I don’t do it alone, though. I… Where I got it? Well, it’s… c-complicated, but… like I said, I don’t do it alone.” She looked up at the Roselia, a glint of mischief in her eyes. She was technically breaking the rules. She knew that much, the Vulpix had taken the time to explain to her all about the rules. But hadn’t Vesper said she was floating between jobs? “I-I’m… not really a leader, but hey, there’s… a lot more thieves than you might think in Grassveil.” She grinned, winking in turn at the Roselia. “And you didn’t hear anything from me, but I hear that a Synd’r might know some stuff about these thieves.” Alki laughed, bowing at the Roselia in front of her. “But you didn’t hear it from me!” She said lightly, before sitting down in front of the Roselia. “S-So are you… um, experienced? I’m… new to the whole business, I guess you could say, but…  I just want to do something I’m good at, and… I feel despite being new, I am rather good… but enough about me… keep the feather! Any stories of your… um, activities?” She said, the large, dopey, child-like smile still on her face.

Vesper merely nodded as Alki asked outright if she were a thief. The question itself seemed almost rhetorical considering the fact that the Jigglypuff continued straight afterward, barely waiting for a beat before she nodded. The Roselia's smile was a genuine one. Although she always tended to make the best of whatever her situation was, it wasn't often that she ended up fully able to throw caution to the wind and just enjoy herself with a new friend.

"No, no! I completely understand being excited!" Vesper grinned as Alki explained how she found it difficult to make friends. Hell, Vesper too was excited to see just what Alki could do now that she knew the Jigglypuff's 'true identity' per se.

The Roselia nodded as Alki very vaguely explained the origins of the lockpick feather. It seemed.. that Alki wasn't a thief who worked alone? Vesper could assume that at least from what the other was insinuating. As the Jigglypuff continued to elaborate, Vesper began to imagine quite the picture! A shadowy organisation of thieves? And she hadn't heard of them?! The travesty!

"...I think I get what you're saying," Vesper replied, understanding enough that Alki was being cautious and cryptic for a reason. Of course, the Roselia didn't know exactly what that reason was, but this exchange had piqued her interest enough for her to not mind the backwards way they were somehow communicating about this secretive group.
"Whatever it is, it sounds interesting! Could you perhaps... introduce me to this, Cinder person at some point?" She asked.

"I'm pretty experienced as thieving goes. Been stealing things since I was a Budew." She chuckled lightly. The laughter would have been unexpected to those who knew the Roselia's story, as the circumstances behind her thieving beginnings were... less than pleasant. She paused for a moment, gently tucking the unique feather accessory into the small, blue swirled scarf that she wore before turning back to Alki.

"Hmmm.. you'll have to give me a moment to think of some good ones, but I'm sure I have a story or two in me somewhere!" She grinned, turning to continue onwards up the mountain, "I can tell you them on the way!"

Alki smiled shyly as the Roselia excused her child like mannerisms. It was all so amazing, though! The Jigglypuff's hands couldn't stop twitching, and she stood up on her tiptoes, and then rocked backwards, flat footed. She rocked back and forth like this, as if unsure as to whether to start bouncing again. Her mouth curved at the corners, a feeling that she'd started to consider not unusual. She'd been hurt so many times as a child, all these sweet little moments lit her day up ever brighter. Her eyes were aflame, the large, bulbous, blue orbs shining with a bright blue fire. She'd made another friend, and this one seemed to be as excited to meet Alki as Alki was to meet her.

The fool's smile wouldn't disappear, and it grew as the Jigglypuff watched the Roselia. Her face scrunched up ever so slightly in thought, as if considering a riddle, but it was an easy one, as the scrunching stopped soon enough as Vesper put two and two together. The gears in her head worked fast; Alki could practically hear them working, turning and turning at the speed of sound. The Jigglypuff's bright smile and enthusiastic nod were all she could say in response to the Roselia’s question, the words had caught in her throat, she was choking on them and she was gleeful, but she wanted them out, and she felt them come lose, the pressure in her throat coming to a head before spilling out. “Introduce you, oh, oh, Arceus I'd love to introduce you! She'd love you, you two would get along great, and, and, you could join us in heists and stuff and you and me, we could work together!” She explained, the Jigglypuff's words tumbling out of her mouth, head over heels as the words ran into each other, jumbling each other up like a cacophony of joy. Alki took the Roselia's hands in hers and began to bounce again, her eyes closed as she sang the words instead of speaking them.

“Oh, you gotta hurry up and join, I… it’d be so cool to have you along on heists and, well, I'm not gonna lie, it'd make me feel a whole lot better, knowing you're with me, I… I wanna work together with you! You'll join, right? Tell me you will!” She practically began to plead, before running up the mountain, away from the still unconscious feral, still speaking in an almost sing-song voice.

“Really, take all the time you need! We got a long way to go till we reach the top! I wanna hear the best stories you got! I'll… I don't have a lot of stories, honestly. I'm… well, I'm weird, I guess.” She said, stopping, the joy of making a new friend slowly subsiding as she began to remember just how painfully average she was, even after escaping from her house what seemed like so long ago. She was pitiful compared to special Pokemon, like the one besides her. Alki let go of the Roselia and her pace slowed to a walk. Her eyes began to sag ever so slightly, and the fire began to fizzle out as she lowered her gaze to the ground in front of her feet. What stories did she have? She forced a smile on her face, the melancholy gloom lingering for only a few seconds. “I'd love to hear them, Vesper, I'm sure yours are really cool!

The idea of a group of likeminded Pokemon all doing heists definitely appealed to the Roselia. It sounded exciting and if Alki was willing to introduce her to the Pokemon behind it all then she definitely wasn't going to say no.

Vesper couldn't help but grin at the Jigglypuff's enthusiasm. Other people normally weren't so enthusiastic when it came to her company after she'd told them about her thieving tendencies so it was almost refreshing to have met someone that could accept that part of her, maybe even join her on such exploits!

"As long as you're all willing to have fun!" She grinned widely as she ran after Alki, "I'd love to work with you! There's no point doing things if you don't enjoy them, but I feel like we could do some awesome team stuff!" Honestly, this was all so exciting! Vesper couldn't keep the joyful grin off of her face at her newfound friend. It would be nice to have someone to spend time with. Avaria was a good friend of hers, but the Oshawott often kept to herself. Perhaps someone like Alki would be good for her.
"And honestly, I like you," Vesper added.


Vesper shrugged gently as Alki spoke of not having a lot of stories herself. Not in a way that implied she didn't care about the situation, but more that she didn't think Alki needed to worry.
"It's not weird at all. No one starts off with stories to tell! And you'll always have time to make new ones. I just happen to have been a thief for a little while now. You'll find and experience your own in time." The Roselia's tone softened from the loud boisterousness of before to a more sympathetic one. She couldn't relate to Alki's feelings, having never had her own concerns about herself being 'weird', but Vesper could still sympathise with something that the Jigglypuff was feeling. She just hoped that her words might help in some way.

The Jigglypuff nodded along, enthusiastic about everything the Roselia was saying. She was right, there was so much the two would be able to do together? And then add Synd’r to the mix, even Pterra, as much as she hated to admit it… they'd have quite the band of thieves, and it could potentially grow even larger! Alki giggled as the Roselia spoke of the ‘team stuff’ they'd do, and despite the vague language, Alki had quite a clear image for the future.

What the Roselia said next, however, was as much surprising as it was pleasant. Only a simple sentence, but one that the Jigglypuff had been hoping for since they'd met, albeit, not quite expecting. “You… like me? W-Why?” She managed to stammer, the straw on her head suddenly weighing much more than before. She wasn't anything special, just a half-fairy, half-normal type who didn't really have any particular talents to her name. She wasn't even much to look at, nothing fancy about her species, aside from their eyes. They were large, and even smaller eyes could tell a lot. In that moment, the Jigglypuff's large, blue eyes betrayed her confusion, her surprised pleasure, and even the self-doubt that she so hated, yet couldn't get rid of. “I m-mean, I like you too, a lot, you're… really, really cool, but… I'm not much…”

She scuffed the ground in front of her, rocking back and forth, from her heels to her toes. She hoped she hadn't soured anything, but she didn't know what else to say. She hoped the Roselia would understand, and she hoped, more than anything, that it would remain true, even as the Jigglypuff's numerous flaws became more and more apparent.

And as if to remind her of how normal and plain she was, the thought of stories popped into her head. She didn't have any. She wasn't so young anymore, she was evolved and she didn't have anything that would befit a thief. Especially not one like Vesper. The Roselia acknowledged her words, her tone turning from loud and confident to calm and sympathetic and friendly. They'd only just met, and sure, they'd fought a feral together, but she was treating her so well! “I… it's not the stories, it's… I'm weird, just…” Alki paused, considering whether to continue. She didn't want to bother the Roselia any longer with her silly little complaints. She was ruining the mood. She forced a small smile on her face, and brushed it off. “Sorry, I'm… I just didn't have the best time, growing up, so… if I ever act a bit strangely I…please be patient, is all I'm saying. I'm… I'm sorry…” She mumbled, glancing around, searching for anything to divert the conversation. She found her distraction in the form of a TM, just lying there on the ground. Someone had had a bad day. She approached it, inspected it. Maybe she could sell it? Or learn it, who knew? She picked it up from among the weeds and overgrown plants and turned to show it to Vesper. “L-look what I found!” She said, hoping the Roselia would focus on the TM instead of her shaking, nervous hands.

Vesper stood, a little surprised at the Jigglypuff's reaction. She wasn't sure what to say for a moment but just decided to be honest since that appeared to be the positive reinforcement that Alki needed to have a little more confidence in herself.
"Honestly, I like how genuine you are... and that I can be myself and not have to worry about someone judging me for what I like to do and who I am," she replied. The Roselia wasn't the greatest with words. Her skills were in the practicals of thievery more than the manipulation aspect of it after all, but she hoped that her words would get across that Alki didn't need to be 'special' to be liked, she just needed to be herself.

The Roselia bit her lip as she realised she'd perhaps misjudged what was truly bothering the Jigglypuff. She wasn't too great with all this feelings stuff to be honest. She only knew how to be herself. Vesper poked her roses together gently and almost nervously.
"It's fine, honestly..."

She trailed off, unsure of how to continue, but Alki soon attempted to switch the topic of conversation, having spotted a TM on the ground that had gone unnoticed. The Jigglypuff picked it up and Vesper walked over to her, curious as to what she had found.

"Oh!" Vesper paused, leaning closer to the TM, her gaze skimming its surface. The dark brown colour that shined through the TM's surface seemed to give some sort of hint towards what move it would help teach, but the Roselia wasn't entirely sure what move it was.
"I think it's for a rock type move of some sort," she commented, leaning back. Vesper had never really had much contact with technical machines. She had never actually stolen one before either, so she wasn't particularly well versed in their use. What she did know, was that dark brown was usually associated with rock types, allowing her to make somewhat of an educated guess.

Alki listened as the Roselia tried to comfort her. While it did make her feel ever so slightly better about herself, she could tell that it was only words. After all, everything she’d gone through in her whole life had taught her that being herself wasn’t good enough. Everytime she’d tried to be herself, she’d been either punished, hurt, or she had caused plenty of problems for those around her. It wasn’t something she could just do. Memories of her parents, and the children at the pond, and all the problems she’d caused as Darcy’s teammate flashed through her mind. No, she couldn’t be herself. That wasn’t in the cards.

Even if the Roselia wasn’t speaking the truth, Alki didn’t want to embarrass her companion or herself any further. She clearly had good intentions. Alki gave her a small nod, beneath the brim of her hat, she tried to prevent her eyes from looking too sad. There wasn’t much more to say on the subject, was there? At least Vesper had tried… Alki marched off, trying hard to wipe the pitiful look off of her face. It wouldn’t do to be so sad after meeting another thief! Then again, thinking about herself usually resulted in that… She gazed at the TM after calling out for Vesper to take a look. She knew well enough what move it was for, but she would’ve payed to hear the Roselia talk about something that wasn’t Alki.

“Y-Yeah, I guess it does, huh.” She mumbled, turning the TM over and over in her hands. It felt nice, it thrummed slightly, perhaps with a power that Alki knew she would probably never know. Jigglypuff could learn a lot of moves, but Rock types were very uncommon for her species. “How much do you think I could sell it for? TMs are usually sorta expensive, right?” She mumbled, tucking it lightly into her bag. “I… let’s keep going, huh? We still need to reach the top...” She said, a small smile returning to her. If she couldn’t be happy for herself, then she could at least try to be a bit more cheery for the Pokemon around her. It would be awkward if she was just moping all the time, around Synd’r and Vesper… That wasn’t how an evolved Pokemon behaved. Certainly not how a thief behaved, that was for sure.

Vesper paused for a moment in thought, tapping one rose against her chin as she did so, "I think I remember seeing somewhere that sold TMs for around 400 poke. So you could probably get a good deal if you wanted to pawn it off somewhere like Grassveil Town!" The Roselia looked rather excited at the idea. She'd never stolen TMs before but perhaps she would have to consider the idea in future if they were really worth so much. She hoped her memory was correct.

Alki soon suggested that the duo keep going, and Vesper eagerly agreed. She'd come here to climb after all! Vesper skipped along as she lead the way onwards, her movements full of energy. "I wonder just how far we'll be able to see when we get there! Maybe we'll even be able to spot Grassveil Town itself!" she mused excitedly, her thoughts having turned back to their destination.

"Four hundred, huh?" Alki said, adjusting the contents inside her bag to be more securely stored. It was a mess, honestly, and she didn't want to cause the rather valuable seeming TM to fall out on accident amidst their trek.   "I could really use that kind of money..." The jigglypuff said, her memory returning to the images of Darcy's parents, who were now her parents too, and their... problems. Problems, that it seemed, only money could solve... Her eyes looked up to the mountaintop, which still seemed fairly distant, and she began to walk forward, slowly and quite unsure of herself, but how else was she going to get to the top? It's not like she could teleport there...

"S-Spot it?" She asked, her eyes growing wide at the thought of such a sight greeting her. It made sense, though. The higher up someone was, the more they could see. It was only logical... maybe they would! She turned to the Roselia, her eyes wide as her smile grew even wider. "Daaaamn, that'd be so cool! She said, in her usual quiet voice, but the quiver and rising tone of her voice unmistakably excited.



[5 -4 = 1 + 1 for new page = 2 Energy]

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Black Mist Mountain :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Black Mist Mountain :

[6 + 1 for new page = 7
And reminder: Cubone]

Vesper turned to Alki and nodded eagerly to her questioning tone. The mountain was so high that they could probably see a lot, but Grassveil Town would likely be easy to identify because of the distinct-ness of that many buildings in one place. She was pretty confident that this would be the case anyway.

Before she could say anything more, Alki spoke once again and Vesper found her eyes widening slightly. She raised her blue rose to her face as her expression crinkled into one of amusement as she laughed brightly and openly.
"Alki! I never expected you to swear!" She laughed lightly, her amusement clear. Vesper herself had already sworn since meeting the Jigglypuff, but something about the soft spoken balloon pokemon hadn't lent itself to swears in Vesper's imagination.

Her warm grin still on her face as her chuckles soon subsided, Vesper slowed her pace a little to match Alki's as they continued onwards. They weren't in any rush, and the Roselia was quite content to match the other's pace. She leaned back and glanced up at the sky as she walked, resting her roses behind her head in a relaxed pose. All of a sudden, something seemed to occur to Vesper and she glanced over to Alki.

"Ah, I didn't get to ask earlier, but you said you recently evolved, right? How much different does it feel from being an Igglybuff?" She asked lightly, remembering part of the conversation they'd had before they'd fought the Archen. Curiosity had gotten the better of her as she too had experienced similar changes when she had evolved from Budew to Roselia.

Solilo carried out 2 launched of one Black Mist Mountain :

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Alki blushed slightly as she smiled, her grin betraying a bit of her embarrassment. Was it wrong to swear? She thought that's what cool Pokemon did to, well, be cool? The Roselia seemed to find it rather funny though... Maybe she was doing it wrong? She was left unsure as to what to say, and simply laughed along. "A-Ah, well... I-I t-thought... y'y-know, I thought that's what... uh, cool people did, r-right?" The girl laughed, blushing as she turned away slightly, her ears curving downwards. "I-Is it not?"

Her thoughts in her mind regarding what was cool and what was not were set aside after a few moments of silence as the Roselia brought up an old question that the jigglypuff had all but forgotten about. What with the recent emotions and commotion, it hadn't really been on her mind all too much. She slowed down and put a hand to her chin as she gazed up at the sky, thinking about what to say. After a few moments, the jigglypuff decided and nodded softly, a small stile remaining on her face.

"I-It feels a lot nicer. B-Being a jigglypuff I mean... y-yknow, w-when y-you're an Igglybuff, it feels... I dunno... I was always kinda scared... c-cause, well, y-you're light, and really weak, and... vulnerable. I guess." She paused, her smile fading as memories of her childhood returned to her. She shook her head slightly, as her ears folded inwards and her gaze fell. Those weren't pleasant to think about. "A-And I couldn't even walk anywhere... I was always bouncing..." She jumped forward, bouncing ever so slightly, but the distance she covered was nowhere near as notable as when she was her pre-evolution. She let herself bounce a few times before returning to her feet, blushing in embarrassment at her demonstration. It had been her own idea, but still... "I-I can't really do that anymore... c-clearly," She laughed lightly, pausing, before returning to her neutral, rather downcast expression.

"...I-It's not like I'm a powerhouse now, i-it's pretty obvious I'm not, b-but... a-a-at least I can... y-y'know... a-at least I'm not... a-as vulnerable..." She said, her words lowering as she thought about it more. She was still quite dependent on others... Synd'r, and Darcy especially, but... well... "I-I can... k-kinda take care of myself though," She finished, as memories of their earlier fight with the Archen returned to her. She wasn't a powerhouse, sure, and she wasn't as smooth or as confident or... amazing as Vesper, but... she wasn't useless. At least not completely... Anymore... And that had to count for something!

[0 energy]

[7 - 4 for encounters = 3
Roll Reminder: Cubone x2, Sitrus Berry]

Vesper seemed to realise she'd embarassed the Jigglypuff somewhat, so as her laughter subsided she explained. "Ah, I don't really think it's cool or anything. Some pokemon do it, some pokemon don't. I guess there's just an expectation that certain types of pokemon wouldn't. But nevermind what others think, you should just do whatever feels right!"

The Roselia returned to glancing up at the sky, before asking her question about Alki's evolution. It took the other a moment to answer, but Vesper didn't break the silence, letting Alki think about it. She nodded along with her words when she finally did speak up. It made sense that she'd felt so vulnerable, especially when it was hard to control her movement due to her bouncing.

"I can sorta relate to feeling weak. I'm still pretty small now, but when I was a Budew I didn't have any arms. Even now my arms are just roses, and back then I got by without them, but gaining them afforded me maneuverability that I just didn't have as a Budew. It always felt like I had to be so careful with my movements if I wanted to get things to go where I wanted them. I wasn't good enough with my Extrasensory move to use it for anything other than brute force attacking either..."

Vesper trailed off as she recounted her own experiences with evolution, thinking for a moment before adding, "But I suppose when I was still a Budew, that was just life and I had to deal with it. There was no guarantee I was ever going to evolve after all. I was just lucky at the time that I ran into someone I considered a good friend of mine."

Alki nodded along as the Roselia shared her own experiences with her pre-evolution. The Roselia seemed to have had rather similar feelings about herself back then, if not similar experiences. She can't have had too many experiences like Alki's... Vesper was much cooler, and much more confident, and just all around better than her... The jigglypuff walked at a slightly faster pace now, climbing up the mountain carefully as she listened to what the Roselia had to say. It made sense... At the very least, when Alki had been an igglybuff, she'd had arms. At least she'd had something to work with!

At this revelation, Alki's respect and admiration for her newfound friend only grew. "Wow..." She said quietly, her eyes betraying the admiration that she didn't seem able to state out loud. Vesper paused, seemingly deep in thought as she considered her next words. "O-Oh... Y-You're so smart..." The girl said quietly as she turned over Vesper's words in her head. That was just life for her, huh... Alki was always wallowing in self pity... She wished she could have that attitude, but that seemed much easier said than done...

"W-Who was that person like? Y-Your friend..." She asked quietly, interrupting her own thoughts as she tilted her head slightly, ears perking up as she turned to face the Roselia more head-on.