Expectations

Apparently there is a mystery dungeon just south of Grassveil that is perfect for younglings and other rookie-level adventurers. It has been frequented by many due to its relative proximity to Grassveil and lack of particularly powerful residents. When he heard of it, Saturn was more than eager to scout it out. Who knows who else he would run into considering how popular a destination it was for individuals of his skill level.

Before he knew it, Saturn was hightailing it down the south road out of Grassveil, ready to see what would be awaiting him at such a place.

He was mildly dissapointed with what he saw when he got there. Instead of what he imagined, (which was a colorful forest with friendly adventurers like himself wandering about), he got a rather plain-looking wood with as much thicket as there was trees. Perhaps the scenery changes as one goes further in?, Saturn thought. As he entered the mystery dungeon, his surroundings quickly took on a slightly more sinister vibe as the presence of trees meant there was a bit less light to see by, aside from the occasional break in the canopy every few dozen feet. These gaps in the treetops let in rather mesmerizing shafts of light that made for an odd contrast to the darker areas where the canopy was thicker. All in all, it kept Saturn's eyes from ever truly adjusting to one side or the other in terms of brightness. The entire situation was already starting to give him a headache, but Saturn wouldn't let that deter him. "Considering it's name, I bet this is a great place to find berries.", Saturn pondered aloud. Hopefully, pecha berries aren't the only things that grow here.

[Energy: 19-5=14]

A small sea otter Pokemon was walking along the pathway to this forest. It's pretty strange that he was here, being so far from the ocean home he was used to. He needed the change in the scenery, admittedly, plus a break from... well, the whole "drowning" thing his previous adventures seemingly ended him up at...

Pecha Forest, admittedly, seems a bit too... easy, especially for all he has been through. Like the adventures in the swamp and in the ocean, which even he wonders how he managed to stay alive... But that's beside the point. This is meant to be relaxing. He needed a break from all the near-death experiences that plagued his adventures. Plus, it is a good place to get some helpful items that is super rare in many of the other dungeons. He was alone, though, which is very... dangerous, even in something like a seemingly casual stroll through the forest. Along the way, he managed to see... a Cubone? Strange... He thought it would be a familiar Sandshrew he was friends with... especially in this dungeon. At least, he remembers that they met here...

[Energy: 21 - 5 = 16]

As Saturn wandered deeper in, he realized his headache wasn't getting any better. Perhaps he was allergic to something in the air? Either way, he decided a short rest was in order. He promptly found a tree to lean against and plopped down, eager to rest his head against it. As he rested his head, waiting for the migraine to subside, he looked back the way he came. Where the trees ended and the grassy plains began, he could just barely make out the dirt trail he followed to get here. It was comforting to realize that the exit was not too far off, if he got overwhelmed. What really piqued his interest, however, was the small, pudgy, blue and white creature walking along the dirt path, presumably an adventurer like him.

As the stranger drew closer, Saturn was able to make out more details. Whoever they were, they seemed to have some kind of seashell attached to their torso. How odd. Of course, Saturn had no room to judge, he was wearing bones after all. He had been tempted to leave them behind on multiple occasions, but just couldn't bring himself to do so. The skull helmet had already saved his life once, and the femur club will definitely come in handy later on, as both a tool and a weapon. They're simply too useful to leave behind.

It was at this point Saturn realized his headache was finally fading away, and decided to get up. He hoped the blue, seashell-wielding creature coming his way was friendly.

As he approached, he noticed the Pokemon was in pain. Did something hurt it? Tempo clearly worried for him, after all, running towards the Ground Type to make sure nothing went wrong. It did seem to clear up as they continued, but would it appear again? There had to be something that caused it, and it might have to do with the forest...

When Tempo approached the Ground Type, he tried to do so cautiously enough, making sure he didn't come off as a hostile Pokemon, especially due to the type advantage. "Um... Hey, are you OK, mister?" The otter would softly speak, referring to the headache that was already starting to pass. "Just... Don't worry, I won't hurt you, um..." He digs around his bag for anything that would help...

"Yes, i'm fine, really." Despite Saturn's reassurance, the sea otter in front of him started rifling through his satchel for a remedy. The gesture was genuine, but unnecessary.

"Yeeeah... I don't think that will be necessary. It's just allergies, really.", Saturn said. He was grateful, regardless. It's not every day that one comes across someone so eager to help. In Saturn's opinion, generosity is always a good trait for someone to have. After all, good deeds usually come back around.

"Say, do you want to explore this place together? I bet we could cover a lot more ground that way.", Saturn said. "We can watch eachother's backs and make sure enemies don't ge the drop on us, y'know?" This pokemon seemed pretty friendly, and probably had the same idea in mind, but Saturn decided to 'break the ice' so to speak. He needs to be more outgoing if he ever wants to be part of an exploration team, after all.

“Hm? Oh, alright.” He stops rifling through the bag, seeming relieved it’s nothing too serious, though he did make sure he was stocked enough for the danger that might happen. After all, even something simple, which he tries to do, it usually ends in disaster.

His ears perked up a bit in response to the Cubone’s offer. “Really? Sure, then. I was gonna ask the same thing, if you were friendly.” The otter said with a smile, trying to show he’s friendly, too. “Although, we’ll need to introduce ourselves. My name’s Tempo. Nice to meet you, mister...” He asked the ground type.

"Saturn's my name.", Saturn stated eagerly, thumb pointed towards his chest. "I may be new to the adventuring business, but hopefully that won't be much of an issue." Saturn then realized that something felt... off, like he was forgetting something. After a moment of patting himself down, he realized both of his hands were empty. "Oh dear, my club! I misplaced my club! Oh shoot were is it?!" Saturn exasperatedly scanned the area around him for his lost tool, only to find it was literally leaning against a tree about ten feet away. He quickly snatched it up, relieved to have it in his grasp again. "Sorry about that, this bone is basically my only possession.", Saturn said apologetically to the Oshawott next to him. "While it doesn't have any intrinsic value to speak of it..., Saturn trailed off searching for the right words. "It makes me feel safe.", Saturn nodded, satisfied with his wording.

Man, i'm such a goof.

southpawXlegacy carried out 2 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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The sea otter Pokemon didn’t seem to really mind that the Cubone was new to the exploration business. After all, he was new, himself, exploring more than just the deceptively beautiful coral forests that lined his home. ”Well, you’re not alone on that front. I’m new to this business, as well. My name’s Tempo. Nice to meet you, Saturn!” He cheerfully replies before he suddenly sees him run away... Did he scare the Cubone off? ”Hey, wa-“ He cut himself off as he saw what the Cubone was actually doing. He was grabbing his weapon/keepsake that he left behind, saying it helps protect him. ”Well, yeah, I can understand... My scalchop is also similar. When I lose it, it’s usually whenever something happens that I need it to get out of, and since it’s usually deep in the water, back at ocean...” He seems to shiver in fear.

"Yeah, I can only imagine what kind of terrifying creatures live in the ocean. I'm really weak against water types, so I wouldn't be caught dead near an ocean or a beach." Saturn frowned under his mask, realizing the irony of his situation. "Now that I think about it, I'm not really in a better position considering how common gass types are in a forest, which I'm also weak against. Perhaps I should invest in some attacking moves that help cover up my weaknesses?", he said, looking at Tempo. "Or, maybe the superior route here is to just get some utility moves that work regardless of typing? Hm...., Saturn scratched his chin under his helmet. "I dunno. I'm sure I will figure this all out as I go. Anyway, how about we head in?, Saturn asked. After all, there was adventure to be had.

Meanwhile, deeper in Pecha Forest (but not that much deeper), a feral Weepinbell is hunkered down along the well-worn path that runs through the forest. She hasn't eaten a proper meal in almost two days, and is eager to slurp up whatever unlucky victim strolls into the range of her stun spore. The surrounding foliage provides ample camoflauge for an opportunistic predator such as herself. Her strategy is simple but effective; first she blasts her victims with Stun Spore to make sure they can't get away (she isn't very fast on foot), then she douses them with a strong acid to finish them off. This tactic is fairly reliable, and has resulted in many successful hunts in the past.

Hopefully, it will prove to be just as effective today.

Those were all worrying factors that the otter didn't really think of. Come to think of it, he was also weak to Grass Types, so if they were to run into a hostile one... He shook it off in his head and simply nods. "Yeah, you're not wrong. I need moves besides the Water and Normal ones I have to deal with not only those resistant to water, but to deal with Water Types in general. Considering there are lots of those underwater, it makes swims... stressful, to say the least, when you can't do much and you're close to drowning." The Oshawott simply replied, before simply nodding as he continues into the forest.

"So... Should I lead the way? Since I'm a bit more experienced, or do you want to take it? I don't really care, either way." The Oshawott said as he starts his hike, slowly to start off in case the Sandshrew wanted to take the lead for the time being. It was the perfect opportunity to search for anything he could use.

DJOshawott carried out 10 launched of one Pecha Forest :

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"I would very much like to take the lead, actually. My helmet restricts visibility a tad bit and makes it more difficult to watch out behind us. The last thing you want is a surprise Bullet Seed to the back of the head, trust me." After promptly taking the lead, Saturn quieted down a good bit, directing a vast majority of his admittidly short attention span to scanning the environment as he and Tempo walked further into the forest. As they got further in (but not too much further) Saturn noticed a small, yellow seed just kind of laying there on the side of the road. He raced toward it, happy to find some loot for once. "Hey, Tempo! Look what I f-" FZZZZT! Saturn was abruptly silenced by the cloud of muscle-cramping Stun Spores that were expelled towards him. Their strange, acidic scent assaulted his senses. It was so strong he could taste it. He quickly backed off and readied his club, wondering what manner of creature would do this.

He didn't have to wonder for very long. A rather hungry looking Weepinbell revealed itself from beyond the foliage, slim vines ready to reel him into its drooling maw. Saturn's first thought was to run away, but his cramped, jittery body wasn't having any of that. He was going to have to fight if he wanted to survive.

Saturn quickly glanced at Tempo, giving him a determined look before manifesting the will of the land around him into an attack. A small cluster of pebbles and rocks levitated around him briefly before all shooting off towards the Weepinbell in unison. Each rock found its mark, digging into the weepinbell's body and forcing out a sound that was somewhere between a shriek and a loud gurgle noise. The carnivorous plant was having none of this and decided to lash out with its vines, the first of which Saturn just barely managed to duck under. The second one was much closer to the ground and came from the opposite direction, and damn near swept his feet out from under him. This promped Saturn to hop away, towards Tempo hoping that he would cover him until he recovered his balance.

"We got this, Tempo! Let's show this overgrown weed who they're messing with!"

It was strange to hear the Cubone wanting to take the lead, but his reasoning did make sense. ”Alright, then. I’ll keep an eye on the back, then.” The otter replied, walking along the path and keeping an eye out for anything that catches their eye.

After a while, he didn’t really see much that he wanted, with exception to a seed and berry, which could be useful. His ears twitched as he heard Saturn find something, but soon... fighting broke out? ”Alright, I’m coming! Hang in there!” He chases after the voice, but as he did, he suddenly stops and sees some weird puffs in the air, light slowly pulsing from it. It... seemed so... relaxing... So relaxing, that Tempo grew tired, slowly falling asleep...

Meanwhile, two mushroom-like Pokémon peek out from behind the trees, seeing a small Oshawott falling to their trap...

Something's not right. Saturn could've sworn Tempo was only a few dozen paces behind him a moment ago. It's like he was there one moment, gone the next. Is he preoccupied with enemies of his own? Perhaps he ran off, fearing the Weepinbell's type advantage? No, Tempo did not seem like the kind of individual that would so quickly abandon someone else to save their own skin. It just doesn't add u- SMACK! The Weepinbell saw Saturn's lapse in focus and exploited it, landing a powerful blow on his left shoulder with a Vine Whip. It stung immensely, and made Saturn realize how precarious of a situation he was in, considering he no longer had any backup. This appeared to be a losing battle for him, not that it came as much of a surprise.

All he needed was an opening of his own, to catch the creature off guard, and hopefully buy him enough time to escape. This opportunity came in the form of his opponent opening its mouth wide in preparation for an acid spray attack. Saturn used Ancient Power, his only damaging move, to shoot the rocks directly into the Weepinbell's maw, but it didn't quite work as planned. The paralysis was starting to kick in full force and interrupted his attack. The stones simply remained where they were in the air, refusing to complete their journey. He tried with all his might to finish the attack, and sorta succeeded. The stones did fire off, but not with enough force to really do any damage. Instead, they collided with the Weepinbell's glob of acid mid-air, mitigating the attack to an extent. A fairly substantial portion still landed on Saturn, stinging his hide. It didn't have quite the oomph to it that the Vine Whip had, but still hurt, regardless. The Weepinbell, being feral and rather single-minded, immediately went for another acid attack, which was exactly what Saturn was hoping for.

As the hungry plant opened its mouth wide, Saturn readied one last Ancient Power, sending a cluster of rocks whizzing straight into the Weepinbell's gullet. It let out a guttural growl followed by a lot of coughing. Saturn took this chance to retreat off in the other direction, and was surprised at the newfound spring in his step. All of a sudden he felt faster, stronger, more in tune with his senses. This all-round boost allowed him to put more than enough distance between him and that ravenous plant, even with the paralysis.

Saturn backtracked towards where he last saw Tempo, hoping to find some clue of his dissapearance. He hastily examined the dirt path around him, looking for footprints or signs of a struggle. What he found were small specks dotting the ground that were glowing faintly, pulsing in a hypnotic fasion. This worried Saturn greatly, seeing as they bore a striking resemblance to the Stun Spore that Weepinbell hit him with earlier. Did some goons incapacitate Tempo and drag him off? If that was the case, he needed help right now!

Saturn noticed the glowing spores trailed off slightly into the forest, perpendicular to the direction the dirt path ran. Saturn trotted off into the thicket, ready to do battle with whatever threats he might face.

Please be ok, Tempo....

The unconscious Oshawott was unaware of the danger he was in, and the Morelull slowly pulled him away into the forest, where they wouldn't be able to see what they will do to him, taking his bag away from his reach... Tempo did begin to wake up slowly, but he was feeling... exhausted, still... And then he saw both the Morelull and Shiinotic, with their eyes closed, focusing on the otter. He could feel himself growing weaker, even though they aren't doing anything to him. Then he realizes what's happening... He runs close to one of them and tries to fight them off, but his energy continued to weaken, and his bag wasn't in his reach. He couldn't tell where it went, as his vision blurred and his power faded, close to passing out once again...

Suddenly, two Hoothoot flew in and quickly attacked the two mushrooms to distract them from their life force diet. "What was that!?" The Shiinotic panicked and attacked everything in site to see where they can find who attacked them. But before they could, the two owls attacked once again, until the Morelull and Shiinotic were fought off, soon helping the otter up onto his feet, a female Nidoran running to him with the otter's bag. "Here." She said, throwing a Reviver Seed into the otter's paws, with it soon glowing and causing him to regain some of his energy. "H... Heh.. Th... Thanks... for helping..." The otter weakly said. "Don't worry, rest... Those two did a number on you. If these Hoothoot didn't find you, you could've died..." The Nidoran said, the Hoothoot cooing in a sort of mixture between relief and agreement. "I... I see... Wh... Where's Saturn... Is... Is he..." "The Cubone? He's fine, just follow us." The Nidoran interrupted, with her leading Tempo out into the open forest where the Cubone was. "S... Saturn!" He looks over to see the Ground Type still fine, heading quickly towards him without hesitation, although he was a bit clumsy as he was still recovering.

Valen the Pikipek had heard that this forest, Pecha Forest, was a good place for new explorers to train. It had been a long journey from Aileron Village to here, but now it was about to pay off. He had never actually explored a real dungeon before, so he was feeling both very excited and a bit worried, although he didn't really want to dwell on the latter feeling. Well, he had also heard this place wasn't too dangerous, at least by mystery dungeon standards.

Valen flew carefully through the trees, making sure not to crash into one while watching and listening for any signs of danger or treasure. Once somewhat deep (but not extremely deep) inside the forest, he landed on one of the bigger trees for a moment. He looked around, admiring the surroundings. Then, he thought about drilling a hole in the tree he was on.

After all, his species was built to do that, yet he had few opportunities to makes holes in trees while in his home village. Also, a hole could potentially be a place where he could keep treasures safely, or a place to sleep if he ended up having to stay in the forest for the night, or even a marker to help him find the way back. But then again, what if the noise did something like attract dangerous feral Pokemon?

Valen quickly decided that yes, he was going to make the hole. I'm not scared of ferals, he told himself. I've practiced for this! If they come, I can fight them off. And I'm already in a dungeon, after all, so I'll probably find some eventually no matter what I do. He started pecking the tree trunk quickly, causing the sound of drilling to reverberate through the nearby area. Soon, he had formed a hole.

Suddenly, he heard some noises - that he knew weren't from him - in the distance. He stopped pecking and turned towards them. What was it? he thought. Had the ferals really come so quickly? He looked at his hole again and realized that he could fit into it, although it would be a tight squeeze. So if things got really bad, at least he had a place to hide. He decided to investigate what was going on over there, and flew towards where the noise was coming from.

(OOC: The noises Valen heard are from the action happening previously in the thread. I thought it would be reasonable for the previous events to cause noise, and his hearing it would be the way he finds the other characters in the thread. On my next post, I'll be making a Pickup roll due to Valen's ability. Is it okay with you if I also make some regular rolls?)

[Energy: 16 - 5 = 11]