Entering The Grassy Veil

The lone Treecko wandered into Grassveil Town, looking less than interested in the people around him. He'd just look around town, maybe try to find the Guild. He wouldn't apply to start an official Exploration Team, not yet anyway. There was no guarantee he was qualified. Besides, he didn't have a team yet. His mind wandered back to his past, his mother bidding him farewell on his journey to... Actually, he wasn't sure yet. He could try just looking around town for now. Yeah, that would work well enough.

As he walked through town, he noted what shops he saw and which ones were most likely to be useful. The town seemed friendly enough, but he didn't really do much to reciprocate, instead walking with his eyes scanning the area, his tail swaying from side to side. If he had pockets, his hands would be in them. Instead he fidgeted with his collar. He always wore it, and should he Evolve and find it too small he'd adjust it to fit better using more vines. It was very important to him.

As he walked, he noted important landmarks, such as the Feather Café, which was apparently closed for renovations, the Police Station, which he decided to make note of, the Springfall Dojo, where he could train to get stronger, among other places. He wondered aloud "Which way is the Guild? I don't even know where to start looking."

Well, there he was: the young piplup finally made it to the city. He stopped there to take a short break, first because he wasn't used to so much walking, but also to gaze upon the entrance of the town; it seemed very welcoming, although the penguin pokemon couldn't get a good view of the inside of it from where he was; the entrance being very busy didn't allow that, as a lot of pokemon were entering and exiting the city. Regardless, everything seemed quite colorful, and Niko liked that.

After what felt like a minute or two, the blue pokemon took more steps toward the city, finally setting foot in it. The place was huge, at less compared to his past village. After exploring the area for a bit, he felt a bit stupid not having prepared a map or something along thoses lines. He however quickly shook that thought away, as each part of the city looked quite different from one another, and so the place was easy to memorate.
"Which way is the guild ? I don't even know where to start looking !". Strange, he felt like he heard someone else say the exact same thing than him not far away. Anyways, he was really enjoying his visit, as the city looked very much like how everyone on his way described it like; a town bustling with life, full of shops that all seemed more important than the last one. The pokemon there were unfortunately less welcoming than the one from his village, and so when he got past a croconaw ,which reminded him of his father, and greeted him with a short, cheerful and simple "Hello !", and didn't get any responses, he repeated his word a second time, louder. When he was finally being answered by an even simplier "Piss off", his ego took a critical hit, and he lightly pounded the pokemon.

"Hehe, Oups !" was his first sounds after realizing what he just did, and when the croconaw slowly turned his head toward him with a very unfriendly face,  he quickly started to awkwardly walk in another direction before the pokemon could say anything. He was a proud pokemon, however he wasn't crazy enough to battle something more evolved than him, and he hoped that the pokemon won't bother pursuing him. After quickly peeking around, it seemed like his hopes weren't answered, as the pokemon was going in the same direction, and so he started walking a bit faster.

Leif looked around and stifled a yawn. Noticing the Piplup being followed by a Croconaw, he proceeded to follow the two from a distance. He knew better than to attack without reason, but he also knew his Type advantage would be important here. It would be the best way to make sure nobody got hurt. And he wasn't easy to intimidate anyway. He fidgeted with the collar as he followed, hoping things wouldn't get too heated, no pun intended.

As Niko's plan to awkwardly walk in the opposite direction didn't work, he thought that his best option would be to face the pokemon. After all, it wasn't much more evolved than him, and because of his typing, he could probably take quite a few hits, thinking that the Croconaw would mainly use water moves. His own water moves probably won't be much use either, but fighting the pokemon at close range might be dangerous, so his Hydro Pump might come in handy. He also couldn't help but notice that the alley in which he got himself into in his "strategic back away" was pretty empty, with only a few pokemon wandering around.
After puffing his chest proudly, the pokemon made a 180 degree turn to face the Croconaw, and looked strait into the crocodile pokemon's eyes.

" -You better back away" started the piplup, trying to sound as convincing as possible. He wasn't really scared of the situation, and even gained a boost of confidence after his bold actions, as he now thought that he could maybe even battle him alone. He was however a bit surprised when the other pokemon started to laugh. After a good 30 seconds of giggles, the other water type followed:
"-You really think your impressing me with your dramatic turn around ? Ah, good one kid. You must be a foreigner, right ? Anyways, i'll close my eyes for, say... 500 poké ?"
The Croconaw was equaly surprised when an Hydro Pump made it's way to him.
Niko was furious of the pokemon mocking him, and conflict was inevitable. The Croconaw was also looking enraged; and it dashed straight away at the Piplup, which barely had time to dodge it's Frustration. As Niko was getting ready to counter attack with a well placed Pound, the agility of his enemy surprised him when he quickly followed his attack by a Brick Break which touched the smaller water type. The fighting move had knocked Niko back quite a bit and made him dizzy, he however quickly focused back and began to charge another Hydro Pump.

Leif rushed over and fired off Magical Leaf. "WATER you doing? LEAF that poor kid alone!" He snickered at his puns. Magical Leaf being guaranteed to hit, he fired off another, hoping to distract the Croconaw. "I won't let you hurt him! So I suggest you retreat! Or I'll be forced to REALLY hurt you!" Here's hoping he takes the advice... I don't like combat, but I can't stand to see this kid being picked on by someone bigger than him... He readied a third Magical Leaf, hoping he wouldn't have to fire it.

As the Piplup was getting ready to fire his second Hydro Pump, he came to a stop after the Treecko's intervention. His Magic Leaf didn't miss the Croconaw, and it looked like it had a bad time putting up with the grass moves. Niko was surprised of the pokemon's intervention and he couldn't help but chuckle a bit about the pokemon's pun, disregarding the joke's quality, although the situation really didn't call for it.
Regardless, Piplup took an agressive stance toward the Croconaw. He surely couldn't put up with the two of them, and so he waited for his ennemy to react.
The Croconaw was also surprised of the grass pokemon's action, and he quickly judged the for and against of continuing the battle. The both of them didn't look very rich anyways, and he didn't even know if the Piplup had money to begin with. Although his nemesis didn't look exceptionally strong, they were still two, and having a numerical adventage is always good. The treecko also had an upper-hand with his typing, and so he resigned from the battle, without saying a word.

The Piplup looked at the water pokemon while it walked away. He was happy with his victory, and so he swiftly walked toward the Treecko to greet him, not after nearly tripping over a rock.
"Hey, thanks for the assist !" he started, with a friendly voice. "Not that I couldn't totally battle that guy alone, but your intervention was still helpful. So, what's your name and all ? Mine is Niko."
The small penguin took a look around. There were very few pokemon near them, and it looked like they really didn't care about the whole conflict. Their battle also seemed to have caused quite a bit of damage around them, and so the Piplup quickly continued his last sentence: "We should probably be on the move before someone see the destruction we've made here".

Leif nodded and pulled a twig out of nowhere to chew on. "My name's Leif, pleasure to meet you. And you're quite welcome. You new here too? Heh. Let's LEAF before someone thinks we're doing something shady." His posture loosened into a partial slump. "I don't really like fighting, but somebody had to do something." He proceeded to walk out of the alley, gesturing for Niko to follow. "C'mon, let's VINE somewhere to sit and chat more comfortably than here." Piplup are somewhat infamous back home for their immense pride, to the point that it's hard for them to accept help. At least THIS one knew his limitations and tried to get away before being forced to fight. Every Pokemon has their quirks, I know I certainly have some.

Niko smiled at the lizard's pun.  It had less effect than before, but still had a small grip on him. Before following the Treecko, he took a quick glance around to make sure that their agressor was gone, and fortunately the Croconaw was nowhere to be found. When he turned his vision back toward Leif, he had taken a small head start and so the Piplup accelerated a bit to catch up with him. " Leif ? That's a nice name. I think there are a few benches lying here and there in front of of the feather café, we could sit there." He tried to keep the conversation going : "So, while we get over that spot, care to talk about why you came here ? It's really nice to not be the only pokemon new to this town." Niko felt foolish again as he considered the fact that the pokemon's backstory may be a bit personal. "Or don't if it's a touchy subject."

Leif grinned at the Piplup. "Oh, I'd be happy to tell you about it. You see, when I was little, mum would tell me stories about my dad Drake, an Explorer. I've dreamed of seeing the world, seeing new places, trying exotic foods, all that stuff. Mum herself was a gardener, and taught me a LOT about plants. Her name's Selena. I think you'd like her if you met her, but that would require getting to my old home, and it took me long enough just getting HERE." He thought a bit. Not a single pun in that entire paragraph. Disappointing. "Still haven't decided the exact path I plan to go down, but mum recommended talking to the Exploration Guild here in Grassveil. Why are YOU here?" I think I might have found a Partner! The Treecko's spine tingled with excitement.

The small penguin waved it's head at the Treecko as he spoke. Fortunately, it looks like he didn't hit anything personal, and in fact the pokemon looked quite excited. The penguin was also astonished that the grass type didn't make a single pun.
"Actually, my story is a bit similar to yours ! My dad used to be an explorer and my mom a traveling merchant until they met up. When I was young, I got used to a routine where i'd go explore with my sister during the day and search berries at the same time. Afterward, I'd come back home and if my father was here, he'd told us some of his stories from his exploration days" He took a short break, thinking about the pokemon's father. Why did he never mentioned him directly ? Well, Niko didn't want to ignite any dolorous memories and so he continued his monologue. "I kept doing that until recently, when I grew bored of my hometown. I just wanted to start a new life somewhere else and maybe even become an explorer, like my dad ! So at some point, my mother told me about Grassviel town, with it's guild and traders, and, well, there am I now ! The city looked perfect for me and so I migrated here. It was quite the long walk tho, and unfortunately, the inhabitents here are less friendly, but the town as a whole seems to make up for it." Now that I think about it, that Teecko would make a good partner for an exploration team. Well, i'd still prefer it if we were more than two, but that's a nice start.
His thought was cut short when Niko felt something on, or rather in his chest. It took him a few seconds to realize what it was; the Croconaw didn't miss him at all and his attack even knocked back the pokemon a bit. The short rush of adrenaline that Niko had experienced during the fight made the grief bearable, but now he could very well feel the impact of the pokemon. It didn't hurt him too much at the moment, but he still covered his chest with his left wing, as if it'd make the pain any lesser, and with the other one he pointed out at a location in the distance, trying to somewhat hide his pain "Hey look, the café's over there !"

Leif nodded. Ah, the Café! Sounds like a good place to hang out. Except... "I'm pretty sure the Cafe's closed right now. So, you met your dad? Cool. Mum told me that my dad left on an Exploration one day but hasn't gotten back yet. He left before I hatched, though, so I never met him. Apparently he actually worked alone, rather than alongside the Guild or even any teammates. Come to think of it, I wonder why dad never got home? Mum said it was supposed to be just a quick Exploration that got more complicated. Uh, you okay? Did you get hurt during the fight?" The Treecko's eyes made clear what his relaxed pose and expression did not: He was worried about the Piplup.

"O-oh it's alright" Niko smiled at the Treecko, trying to reasure him "It just so happen that the Croconaw really didn't miss me. I don't think I have anything broken, and im not bleeding a lot either. I've lived worst things than that anyways, I'll be just fine." Still, the impact of the pokemon hurted him a bit as he walked. A few drops of blood spilled on the ground. "It would be nice if we could slow down a bit tho."
He pondered a bit there, marking a short break, not thinking too much about his injury. Maybe I should ask him if he is really interested in the guild ? I've came here pretty much only for that afterall.  It would be very nice if I could already start a team ! He grinned a bit more at thoses thought, which seemed a bit counterproductive considering his injury. Well; he did defeat like a feral Dragonite on it's own at some point, so really a Croconaw is no big deal. Well, the Dragonite was asleep and badly injured, and he was also helped by his sibbling, but it still count. As he was getting out of the topic, he quickly shook thoses thought aways. "Sooo, about that guild... Have you visited it yet ?" He grimaced a bit at his scar. "Hum, do you happen to have some fabric or something so I can patch up a bit ? Not that I really need one, but it would help, a bit."

Leif shook his head. "I haven't started searching for it yet. And no, I do KNOT have anything to tie over that wound. In all seriousness, you should have that looked at. It looks a bit... Unpleasant." He shuddered. Was the world away from home really this dangerous? He hadn't heard of Pokemon drawing blood in fights, though this was considerably less rules-bound than the Mystery Dungeons his father had explored. He remembered what his mother told him, and unthinkingly said it aloud. "In a Mystery Dungeon, you are immediately forced out should you Faint. This makes them a slightly safer place for trying to search for things, but stay out of the South-Eastern lands. Those are Bandit territory, and far more dangerous. As far as your first Dungeon, start with Pecha Forest. Your father stated that it was among the safest, and was pretty popular among beginners."

"Nah, it's nothing really; I've had worst. Im sure I'll have this healed up in no time." Not paying attention the the Treecko's shudder, Niko looked quickly at his wound, and it seemed that the bleeding had slown down. The cicatrice was still unpleasent to look at, however it wasn't as big as he thought. It still caused him some pain and so he kept his left wing in front of it.
"Well, I guess we could start looking for that guild. I've heard a lot of good things about it and I was wondering if y-" The Piplup stopped as Leif started his monologue. He cocked his head on his right side in confusion at the Treecko which seemed to be daydreaming. Why did he sudendly got lost in his thoughts like that ? He listened to him; it looked like he was quoting something. Did his wound made him react like that ? Regardless, the Piplup waved it's right wing in front of him "...Hum, your okay there pal ?"

Leif blinked a couple times. "Err, sorry. Just recalling Mum's advice on Mystery Dungeons. I said it aloud, didn't I? Oh well, I'm sure we'll VINE it useful later on. I didn't realize life away from home could be so dangerous. It already feels like we're on an adventure, and we haven't even left town yet!" He grinned thoughtfully. "We could make a great Exploration Team, I'm sure. We need a name, then we join the Guild for training. Sound good to you?" He waited for a response.