Everspring Exploration [Event]

First topic message reminder :

[Energy: 0 (escorted by Darcy)]

Valen had flown to the very edge of the boundary between Everspring Vale and its surroundings. He couldn't stop looking into the dungeon - it was one of the most breathtaking places that he had ever seen. Near where he was, there were several hills, and farther in the distance, Valen could see a great waterfall rushing down. And nearly everything was a deep, beautiful green from the trees everywhere in this land of spring.

It wasn't just to look at the scenery that Valen had come here, however - hopefully at least. He had heard a story - the legendary Pokemon Zygarde had said that their final recruit is "Betwixt Winter and Summer." Valen had thought about it and come to the conclusion that the season being referred to was Spring - and this was the dungeon that had endless spring, like Fallen Leaf Copse was forever Autumn. And if that final recruit was found - that could be the end of the war between the deities and the return of the world to normal. Saving the world was a good thing, of course, and the idea of adventure strongly appealed to Valen in particular.

But it was also a weighty task. Valen was a generally confident Pokemon, but even he strongly doubted that he alone could help a god - especially as given the other stories he had heard, this could entail a physical encounter with another god. Most ordinary Pokemon, in Valen's experience at least, wouldn't do this task even if it was to save the world. But there were still many other explorers. Were some perhaps here right now to find this recruit as well?

As the two moved along, Valen saw a large plant that still had some Sitrus Berries growing on it. "True," he said, in response to Tempo's last statement, "but getting those berries won't hurt if we do it quickly." The Pikipek swooped down to get the berries; as soon as he had grabbed one with his foot, something collided with him!

Valen saw that it was a Furret, the evolved form of Sentret. But as he got himself ready for a fight, to his surprise, the ferret Pokémon cried "I'm sorry! You can have this!" and pushed another Sitrus Berry towards the Pikipek. What? Valen thought, So this Furret can talk... He had seen Pokemon who could do that living in dungeons before - right now, he specifically remembered the Sentret he had met in Fallen Leaf Copse who had apparently been using Ice Beam to freeze flowers - but somehow, it still seemed odd to him.

It might make evacuating them easier, Valen thought, as he managed to explain "We-we're trying to get Pokémon to safety. Away from Regigigas."

"Re-really?" the Furret replied, "That... big guy rampaging around? Take me with you!"

"Certainly," Valen said as he picked up both of the Sitrus Berries. Should I try to give the one the Furret gave me back? Just keeping it doesn't really seem all that nice, Valen thought. Not right now, at least - there isn't enough time to bother with that, he told himself, but there was also a part of him that just wanted to keep the items.

(OOC: The second Sitrus Berry was the held item of the rolled Furret. Valen knows Knock Off, which is why he can take that item. He didn't actually use the move IC, but it was confirmed on Discord that actually getting the item can be RPd any way you want as long as the rule qualifications to take held items are met.)

[Energy: 0 (rolls) + 1 (new page) = 1]

Pickup roll:

Shield carried out 1 launched of one Everspring Vale :

[I forgot to count my energy from the Oran Berry. Well, 0 + 10 - 10 is still 0]

He looks up to see the berry tree and the Pikipek going to grab one... Before Tempo could object, he's already gone and found a Furret... but he shouldn't waste time, considering that the Regigigas isn't leaving anyone alone anytime soon. He runs off, seeing a Rufflett in the distance crying for help... "H-Hang on! I'm coming over!" Tempo called out as he rand over as fast as he could... But he noticed a nearby river he could use to get there faster!

With a quick glance, he noticed that the river seems to be going directly towards where he needs to go, so he dives under and swam with the current as fast as he could... If he judged it right, the Rufflet was right... here! He jumps out of the water and climbs up to shore, seeing why the Rufflet was crying out. There was a Teddiursa who had its leg bit, making it unable to move! Tempo wasn't sure what to do! He checked his bag, and while Oran Berry juice could ease the pain, it likely won't help the Teddiursa recover enough to escape... "What happened?" The otter asked both the bird and the bear. "H-He got bit by a Basculin in the water while trying to catch something, and now we have that huge thing destroying the forest!" The Rufflet explained. The Teddiursa nods in affirmation.

Crap... Tempo wasn't sure what to do... He was no doctor, but if they could at least leave the area, they can wait out for someone more experienced to help... The river was the easiest way, but not only could the Teddiursa have a hard time swimming due to an injured leg, there could be a Basculin in there. He doubts Rufflet could carry them out, either... "...I think I have an idea... Teddiursa, do you have enough strength to hold on, and can you handle the water?" Tempo asked. "I-I... think so..." The Teddiursa responded. Tempo helped out by using an Oran Berry to help the bear regain enough strength for the long swim. "Alright. I'll swim along the surface and you hold onto me." Tempo adjusts his bag strap to work as a makeshift seatbelt, walking over to the water while assisting Teddiursa over... Once ready, Tempo went out into the water, floating on his back, with the Teddiursa soon climbing onto him and letting Tempo tighten the bag strap. "Rufflet! Check the water and warn us when you see any Basculin! The water should be clear enough for you to see them from above!" "R-Right!" With everyone in their positions, Tempo kicked off and swam downstream as fast as he could...

Valen looked back at Tempo. From what the Pikipek could see, the Oshawott was talking to a Rufflet and a Teddiursa near a river. And then, Tempo jumped into the water of the river, while carrying the Teddiursa, and started quickly swimming away. "Tempo!" Valen shouted, continuing with a "Follow me!" when he turned to the Furret, and started flying in the direction Tempo and the Pokemon he had found were going.

"Tempo? Uhh... Allegro?" the Furret replied, while running in the same direction as Valen. The Pikipek noticed that despite their short legs, the Furret was able to move with surprising speed. Nevertheless, he wasn't sure how long they could keep up with Tempo, especially since Tempo might have the river current helping him, while neither Valen nor the Furret had something similar at the moment.

"Tempo is the Oshawott in the river we're going after right now," Valen managed to say.

"Oshawott? I didn't think those lived here..." the Furret replied.

"We came from outside, to help with Regigigas," Valen explained. That Furret didn't ask about me... Do Pikipek live here? he wondered, I haven't seen any here, though...

Tempo did his best to keep both of them above the surface. The currents of the river at least made it easy to ride it down without getting dragged under, but the worry about hostile Pokemon in the water still appeared in his mind...

"O-Oshawott! Look out!" Ruflett suddenly called out, causing Tempo to swim to the shore to get out. Before he did, however, his own leg gets attacked by the Basculin, causing his swimming to falter and made him fall under a bit! This is bad... That Basculin clearly won't give up. Truly a feral... They can't escape like this! The pain in his leg made it hard to get out, and he knows that the Teddiursa can't swim in his condition, either! Another strike from the Basculin, later, and he falls below the surface, Teddiursa in tow... "N-No!"

Tempo tries to shake out of it. It's not just him stuck down here, it's someone who isn't aquatic in the slightest! He has to make this battle quick! The Basculin stared at the struggling Teddiursa... Tempo could tell this is the same one from earlier, and now it wants to finish the job! Before it could attack again, he slams his scalchop against the fish, knocking it back with an Assurance! He follows it up with a Scald to make sure it stays distanced. However, he notices the Teddiursa growing limp, and his own vision is fading as the pain from his leg and drowning grew! He grips the bear tight with one arm and uses the other to push himself up... It's getting hard to, however. His body started to falter, again, growing heavier as time went by...

...but soon enough, Tempo manages to breach with a loud gasp, coughing heavily and desperately trying to get back to shore. Teddiursa weakly coughs, itself... In desperation, Ruflett flew over after calling another one of his kind to help, grabbing the two with their talons and flapping their way back to the edge... Thankfully, it wasn't long before they all managed to return. The Teddiursa and Oshawott were barely conscious, however... They needed rest.

Finally, Valen and the Furret managed to catch up with Tempo and the Teddiursa. It seemed that two Rufflet had managed to rescue the otter and the bear from the river, but they still didn't seem very well at all.

"Tempo..." Valen said, not entirely sure what to do. A part of him was thinking about how many times Tempo had gotten into trouble - Valen now had to admit that he himself did as well, but he felt Tempo had done so more often - but overall, he was genuinely concerned for the Oshawott.

"...I could help carry them," said the Furret, also looking worried as they gazed on the two barely conscious Pokémon, "...Probably just one, but still..."

"That might just hurt them more," Valen said, thinking out loud, "I think they need to rest right now." It's safe here - well, nowhere's really safe in the Vale now. But at least Regigigas is currently away, and the Pokemon right here all seem to be friendly at the moment, Valen thought but didn't say out loud.

He was wondering whether to give them healing berries, but given the state they were in, he wasn't entirely sure whether they would be able to eat berries, or if berries alone would even really help. At the moment, he just waited and watched, both their condition and whether any danger was coming from outside.

It might be best to help get them away, before the Regigigas has time to catch up... But Valen was right. If they moved, their injuries from the battles likely would get worse... Not to mention berries won't really help much, either... Judging from their distance, though, they should be out of harm's way...

Tempo checked his bag for anything to help their wounds, but unfortunately, all he had were berries... He took off his Joy Ribbon and wrapped it around the Teddiursa's leg, similarly using one of his tabi to cover his own... They were temporary, but they'll have to do, for now...

"...Thanks..." The Teddiursa weakly says, letting out a few coughs as he did... Tempo could only nod in response. Meanwhile, the two Ruflett flew around to make sure they were both alright... and noticed the Furret and Valen. They seemed friendly, at the very least...

Valen noticed Tempo looking through his bag, and saw that he had some berries in it as well. Tempo ignoring them confirmed to Valen that berries would not help. But Valen did see Tempo using a Joy Ribbon to cover the wound on the Teddiursa's leg, and another item on his own... And apparently, so did the Furret.

"I've seen things like that ribbon around here! Not exactly the same, but I could go find some! Would that help?" they asked.

"Maybe..." Valen replied. It seemed to him that the significant wounds were leg wounds - he could guess that Tempo and the Teddiursa had been bitten by some sharp-toothed aquatic Pokémon, even if he hadn't seen everything - and he wasn't entirely sure how much more ribbons and the like could be used on them. But the Furret appeared to take Valen's reply as a "Yes, please do it," because they quickly scampered off.

Valen thought about going after the Furret, but decided against it, as he felt that guarding Tempo was more important than trying to get the Furret, who could at least run away from danger, to come back right now. At least the two Rufflet who had saved Tempo and the Teddiursa were still there. In fact... "Thank you," Valen told the eaglets.

As they waited, Valen thought about whether there was anything else he could do. He looked at his leg and the ribbon that was on it. It was interesting how uncomfortable it had felt, but now he barely noticed it unless something drew his attention there. However, once he thought, it didn't seem like it could be very useful for the wounds, given that it was fairly small. It was also still tied tightly enough that it would take some effort to remove. He just kept watching, now for the Furret to come back as well.

(OOC: I've changed the Furret's speech color a little bit because somehow, I only noticed now DJOshawott was also using white for the Rufflet.)

The two eaglets looked at the Pikipek with a simple nod, still sticking around in case something else goes wrong... They fly into the air and searched for anything that was out of the ordinary or dangerous... At the very least, everything around was normal, for the time being... As normal as a giant thing breaking everything in the area...

Tempo and Teddiursa stuck close to each other, for the time being... They needed to leave, soon, though, and they had no ways of doing it. The makeshift bandages were... sort of doing their job, but the tabi were barely helping... Nevertheless, the clothes were covered in blood from both their legs. They could be washed, later, especially with how much Tempo swims, but it's clear they weren't built for bandaging wounds... "Valen... Thank you for sticking around... I-I don't know how far the closest village is, though... Do you think it's close enough that someone can retrieve us...?"

"Hopefully..." Valen replied, "The first step is to find a way out of here..." He realized he hadn't really been thinking about that earlier. He had supposed that they would be able to find a way out after they had finished what they had come for, especially since he could fly and see the layout from above, but Everspring Vale was very large. Plus, even if they found a way out, how was Tempo going to travel?  And the Teddiursa, for that matter, especially since Valen was suspecting that getting Pokémon out of the Vale altogether was the only way of keeping them truly safe until the Regigigas situation was resolved.

Valen's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the Furret running back with some scarves in their mouth. After dropping the scarves near the injured Pokémon, the Furret said "I managed to find these! Hope they will help..."

Valen quickly looked at the items. One was a Weather Band, which protected the wearer from the effects of weather. That might be very useful in certain areas, but as it was always spring here and the weather had seemed fairly mild ever since Valen and Tempo had entered, if this was going to be useful now it was probably only as a makeshift bandage. But the other one... was a Pass Scarf. Valen had actually heard several stories about those items and their usefulness from his mother. They could pass off the effects of moves targeting the user onto another Pokémon, and while they had their limitations and could endanger allies who were too close, they were still powerful.

It's unfortunate that there's only one here, but perhaps it could keep Tempo or the Teddiursa safe, whoever gets it... but who? Valen wondered, before something else interrupted him - this time, it was the sound of hooves. Valen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Sawsbuck and a Bouffalant quickly approaching! He became alarmed, especially remembering the Bouffalant that had attacked earlier.

The Furret could tell that Valen was panicking and explained, "They're friendly! I told them and they said they would help carry the injured Pokemon to safety!"

As he tried to get everything back to order, so that they can get out of the area as soon as possible, Tempo suddenly heard the stampeding of two Pokemon approaching! This, understandably, worried him... But as he saw them approach, they seemed to... be stopping by to help, too? The Furret seems to be responsible, from what he can tell from the conversation... "Thanks... N-Now, let's hurry!"

The Teddiursa did his best to try and get up, itself, but it fell off before he could. "...Urgh... H-How will we get up... I'm not sure if they can lift us up... can they?" "...I think so... Can you two help, please...?"

Valen put the Pass Scarf and the Weather Band in his bag, as he supposed they probably weren't necessary to wear right now if the Bouffalant and Sawsbuck were going to carry Tempo and the Teddiursa, especially because one of the injured Pokémon wearing the Pass Scarf might ultimately cause harm to their carrier. By now, he was assuming he could trust the Furret that the Pokemon that had come really did want to help, especially as they hadn't attacked immediately, as the first Bouffalant had.

Remembering that the Rufflet had been able to lift Tempo earlier, said "Yes, I think the Rufflet and I together should be able to lift you onto their backs - Can we?" he continued, turning to the Rufflet.

"Certainly!" one of the Rufflet replied, and the Sawsbuck and Bouffalant nodded. Valen flew over to Tempo, and the Rufflet who had spoken came along. They carefully held Tempo in their feet and flew to the Sawsbuck before gently placing him on the deer Pokemon's back. Next, they moved to the Teddiursa and attempted to pick the bear up, but it was more difficult - though Tempo had been fairly heavy, the Teddiursa seemed to be even heavier. Noticing their struggles, the other Rufflet flew over to help. All three of them managed to get the Teddiursa onto the back of the Bouffalant.

Just then, Valen noticed that something was stuck in the Bouffalant's thick head hair. He pulled it out and noticed it was a Reviver Seed. Valen remembered that the first, aggressive Bouffalant that they had met had apparently been revived after fainting, and was a bit surprised to see that this other, different Bouffalant had one too. He put the seed back where it had originally been in the hair, but the Bouffalant appeared to notice and said "Actually, you can take that."

"Why?" Valen asked, "It's your Reviver Seed."

"I was told that you were explorers. Once we get out of here, I'm going to try my best to stay out of danger until the situation is dealt with - but explorers make a job of getting into that. So it's going to be more useful for you than for me," the Bouffalant replied.

"Okay, thank you!" Valen said, putting the Reviver Seed into his bag. He had thought of saying something else, but he could understand the Bouffalant's logic, and if the Bouffalant got into danger before leaving, Valen thought he could probably give them the seed then. He also supposed that trying to continue this further wouldn't be very helpful in the current situation.

Valen's thoughts were punctuated by the Furret saying "We should start now! I think I know a way to leave here, but it's a bit long..." before moving forwards. At that, the Sawsbuck and Bouffalant, carrying their respective Pokémon on their backs, followed, and Valen and the two Rufflet flew along as well.

(OOC: Having Valen and the Rufflet help lift Tempo onto the back of a Pokémon in my post was something DJOshawott agreed to when I asked. And getting the Bouffalant's held Reviver Seed is allowed because Valen has Knock Off, though IRP the reasoning is different, as with the Furret earlier.)

With the help of the two Pokemon offering the lift, as well as the pair of Rufflet from earlier, they finally managed to get on their back. Finally, a good place to rest as they can finally escape from this place... And hopefully to a place where they can heal their wounds. There did seem to be a few items scattered on ground and on the riverbed, but now's not the time to get those. "...I'll just rest for the time being... Think you can handle the rest of it, then, Furret?" Tempo asked it, lying down on top of the Sawsbuck.

The Teddiursa did his best to stay on top of the Bouffalant, itself. Its leg does seem to be hurting less and slightly healing, but not enough to walk on his own. "B-By the way... Pikipek?" He spoke up, pulling out a jar and offering it to Valen. "Take it. At least for the Oshawott's sake. I'm not sure if he'd be interested in it, admittedly."

(OOC: No, Tempo doesn't want the Honey, so don't worry about it.)

"I think so," the Furret replied to Tempo's question. After that, Valen noticed the Teddiursa offering him Honey. Valen took the Honey and said, "T-thank you..." So many Pokémon are giving items now? They might all be really grateful towards us, Valen thought, But what to do with Honey? I suppose it's food... and if Tempo doesn't want it even when he gets better, the Windrose Scouts might be interested in finding out whether Honey from different locations is different. And I suppose that Teddiursa doesn't know my or Tempo's name... not that I know theirs, and it's probably not important now. Valen was thinking that after they got out of here and found help for the injured Pokémon, he would write a report on Everspring Vale for the Windrose Scouts.

"Getting more gifts now, aren't you?" the Bouffalant said, talking more quietly this time.

"Yes... You're all so nice," Valen replied, lowering his voice as well without much thought, "So unlike the Pokémon that attacked us earlier..."

"Thank you... What happened is certainly horrible, don't get me wrong, and I'm definitely not saying it's your friends' fault. But... Pokémon don't usually attack just because they want to. They're hungry, or feel threatened, or are protecting their territory. And with the situation with Regigigas, everyone's on edge now," the Bouffalant replied.

Valen thought about what the Bouffalant had said. It wasn't really a new idea for him, honestly - he knew and had heard before about why Pokémon in dungeons might attack, but still, bringing it into his mind again... He supposed that the Pokémon who had attacked Tempo and the Teddiursa might have done it out of hunger, not that that really mattered now, either. He also wondered what the difference between the Bouffalant who had attacked earlier and this one was, exactly. Both of them even seemed to have Reviver Seeds...

"You know, we got attacked by a Bouffalant earlier. And it was only Regigigas' arrival that saved us, actually... we managed to defeat that Bouffalant once, but then a Reviver Seed activated. I noticed you had one too..." Valen said, not sure what to say further after that.

"Well, I got my Reviver Seed when I smelled it out and pushed my hair into it to hold it," the Bouffalant said, "The one you met might have done that as well, perhaps."

That was another interesting detail. Bouffalant can smell Reviver Seeds? Valen wondered. Something reminded him of his own ability, Pickup. It wasn't the most noticeable of abilities, and he didn't think about it often, but his parents had said that it helped find items more easily. Valen didn't think that Bouffalant could have that ability, but he had to admit he didn't really know for sure. Once he got back, he wondered whether he could do more research on finding items. He had done an activity based on that for Peak Academy earlier, even.

When he looked around, he noticed that the surroundings now seemed to be more devastated. The area they had been going through earlier had seemed relatively untouched, but now, there were more cracks in the ground and fallen trees. It seemed that Regigigas might have been here. Valen was worried and strained his ears, but there wasn't much besides the sound of footsteps from the group and the thunder of distant waterfalls. If the titan was the one who had caused the destruction in this part of the Vale, which seemed quite possible, it had probably been in the past.

The Teddiursa nods in response to Valen and the Bouffalant. "Right. My injury was from me trying to get food, myself... Then it fought back and, well, here we are... B-But don't worry, I'm feeling better, at least! Thanks for the help!" He cheerfully says, at the end.

...however, the mood is ruined again upon seeing the entire area in front of them... It was awful... Imagine who had to abandon their homes... Who died in the middle of the escape... Did... they really want to get Regigigas to help? It seems to do more harm than good... "H... Hey... Is Regigigas really a good guy...?" He questions... even if nobody knew the answer.

The Teddiursa could hear that? Valen realized. Now, he supposed the Bouffalant might have been trying to talk privately, but if so, it hadn't fully worked. At least the bear seemed to be taking things in stride. As for Tempo's question... Valen didn't know for sure. He had had occasional doubts about whether to support Zygarde. He had, in fact, been thinking about supporting Arceus earlier, but he had ended up finding reasons not to, which he could go over again soon. There was something he could remember right now, though.

"The thing is... I've heard that the darkness from this legendary war is another thing that's been causing Pokémon to become hostile. It's corrupting them. I'm not sure whether Regigigas is a 'good guy,' but I think that might be what had happened. If we - well, perhaps Latios and Latias now - can get Regigigas out of this state, I think that's what Zygarde wants. The power of a Legendary to end this war," Valen said. At least, it was his best guess at the moment.

There was a fallen tree nearby, and as they approached - a Pineco, fairly large due to being covered in tree bark, could be seen on the ground. Upon the pinecone-like Pokémon, there was a broken branch - fairly small for a tree branch, but quite large to Valen. The Pokémon did not seem to be in a very good state - it had several large dents in its body and was apparently unconscious, not reacting at all even to the approaching group. The sight made Valen feel quite uneasy and nervous. He seriously hoped that Regigigas wasn't nearby then, but if this had happened earlier... how long had the Pineco been there in this state?

Valen wondered what to do. He was worried that the Pineco would be hostile... but it didn't seem in any state to attack at the moment. I need to help, he thought. He flew to the Pineco, who still did not do anything. He noticed a Heal Seed and a TM for Dig were upon it as well. He could pick up those items and put them in his bag fairly easily - they weren't going to help right now, but he did need to move them off the Pokémon and he felt he might as well keep them then.

The branch, though... Valen tried, but there was no way he was going to move that, or the Pineco, alone. They were far too large and heavy. "I need some help," he said, "Rufflet? Furret?" The Teddiursa might be feeling better, Valen thought, but neither he nor Tempo are still in any state to help with this. And the Sawsbuck and Bouffalant are carrying them... When we get this Pineco out, I'll see if the Bouffalant can carry it.