A test of might in the greenland [Event]

The undying forests were a strange site on the eastern lands. From Grassveil to the eastern coast one would expect to see a transition from greenery to barren wastelands. Instead, amidst the journey, one may encounter the Everspring Vale. Still, if one was to get to the Eastern Desert, they would have to get through this Vale or find a way around it... Or so a young Sandshrew thought, approaching the limits of this unexpected overflowing garden. That would be the only way he could describe it, garden, as every single tree looked youthful and the leaves didn't even have another colour outside of green despite winter coming close. Someone... Or something, probably the Forest Keeper, was making sure these woods remained healthy forever.

The Sandshrew took a deep breath and looked at himself. An average two feet tall rodent with the usual pointy ears, pattern and tail yet unusually barbed claws, a scarred eye and nose, standing on all fours. Around his neck would be a pink Trap Scarf bestowed upon him by a lost mentor while a belt traveled from his shoulder to his hip, where it wrapped around it and was held tight by a buckle. Hanging from the sides where two bags, one small on his left containing a few berries he could use to recover as well as a Revival Seed and some other seed and orb with which to get around the issue of powerful feral Pokémon, too strong to face head on.

On his right, he carried the few Poké he could spare, some reliable 20 coins with a 'P' engraved, and a crystal with which he could unleash great power if it was ever needed. Having checked that everything was in place, the Sandshrew, named Yigo, decided to venture in, ready to test his strength and endurance with a wish to return to the land and family that watched him grow. And so, with steady steps and into the corridors formed by carefully grown and tended to trees and brushes, another adventure began.

The mighty Everspring Vale inspired a feeling of awe within Opal. The forest here was even grander than the pecha berry-filled one near Grassveil! It was really quite amazing, this place. What untold wonders lay within? There must be so many things to find! The young growlithe simply had to see them for herself!

Opal had Yigo to thank for this opportunity, a sandshrew she had come to regard as a friend. It was he who had desired to come this way, and when she had heard his wish, she'd been only too happy to offer her assistance. It made her think, too. She also hadn't seen her family in a long time. Where were her brothers and sisters now? How were her parents? She would have to organise a trip to meet them sometime. Maybe there'd be an impressive mystery dungeon on the path there, too.

[ENERGY => 24 - 20 (Entrance Cost) = 4]

Item bag:

-Oran Berry
-Reviver Seed
-Totter Seed
-Slumber Orb
-Groundium Z

Equipped:

-Trap Scarf

Right up at the end of the corridor made out of treebark and treetops beautifully letting the ground be showered by bright sunbeams – a contrast to Shadowhue in almost every way – a strange phenomenon could be seen taking place.

Under his own paws, Yigo could feel vibrations. He was naturally attuned to the earth and had caused it to shake many times in the past yet, this one time, it was not a pulse caused by the raging earth. It was water, a stream of it rushing at high speeds below. The quakes started to get more intense until, at a spot on the floor, a column of water burst out like berry juice after being squashed under one's feet.

This caused Yigo to step back in surprise. He had never seen a phenomenon like this take place before. At the top, the hot, boiling water turned into raining drizzle that gently fell around the scenery. And, just like that, barely wetting the area, the stream of water was gone again. "Opal, have you ever heard about Groudon and Kyogre?" Yigo asked, figuring out that this had to be their doing "It is said that this two giants fight constantly, water trying to rise above the land, land trying to consume the water. You can see the effects in the tides, where one can see first hand how the water strikes the coast and retreats"

That was how he learned about how tides worked or how he made sense of it, at least. For someone who had never seen the sea until last year, that's the best explanation he had based on the stories his mother told "This must be another of their battles" he continued both talking and on their journey "I hope it's not a bad omen and we end up encountering one of them" That was said with the hope that it'd never come true. Not exactly a joke but in his tone there was little to no worry about that happening.

The only thing left to do was to surround the geyser and to keep advancing through the valley.

[44-20=24]

The steaming geyser caused Opal to jump backward as well. The pup let out a startled yip as she did so and bristled up, readying herself to face danger, only for the water to disappear and nothing else to leap at the travelling pair. She turned to Yigo after looking around and satisfying herself that they had nothing to fear. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" she asked after shifting her attention to her friend.

Opal made sure to listen intently this time. She was sure she'd heard something along the lines of what was being told, but she couldn't place a claw on it right now. "I've heard of Groudon before, but not Kyogre. It makes sense for there to be a counterpart. I hope we don't run into them, either, but it seems unlikely."

After another scan of the foliage, Opal saw what appeared to be a small dirt path. "Should we start by going down there?" she suggested and pointed.

It'd make sense for others to know the legend of Groudon, but to know it without knowing of that with which it battled felt strange. Then again, he doesn't know much about Opal aside from the fact that her homeland was also the desert. It was not a strange occurrence to find species from the desert elsewhere but it was always pleasant every time to have someone whom with Yigo shared roots. Even if they never met due to not knowing each other before or by living in different areas, Yigo expected desert legends to be the same, after all, his mother knew about them and more.

Yigo shook his head for a moment, shaking those thoughts off before explaining who Kyogre was in a bit of detail as he approached Opal and followed her along the dirt path "Look around and see, Opal. Everywhere we look at, we see land" Yigo pointed above the treelines where it could be seen how the dungeon was surrounded by mountains "This place is the land of Groudon. It was Groudon who made it all out of nothing! But you probably already knew that. It is said that it rules from mountains that spew liquid fire from where it sleeps and causes earthquakes to happen and even islands to move" He made a motion with his paw, moving it from his left side to his right side simulating an island moving above the water "But if you live in an island, what you see around you is not land as far as your eye can see. You can only see blue, water and skies. The water is Kyogre's doing as much as the land and mountains are Groudon's. I haven't seen what you can see under the water but my mum said that there are mountains of water too! This means that, for us, it's just a very big hole full of water" he giggled to himself. He always found that fact funny "Kyogre sleeps inside those water mountains where the water is as hot as lava. Mum told me that, even though they are asleep, ground and water still fight"


Yigo walked around a little more. They were making good progress walking on that road. With a bit of luck, they will reach the other side of the dungeon and be able to gaze upon the mountains made of golden grain. Oh how much he wanted to see it again, but not only the land but his mother who told him all of those stories. He looked at the sky, imagining the views of it from the desert. Not too different but less cloudy. Now that he thought of it, he turned to Opal and pointed at a cloud in the sky.

"Do you see that cloud? Imagine if it was a blue fish with a white bottom and red lining. It's that big! No wonder why it has to live in the water mountains" That was a nice story but that was but a single story. Since Opal didn't know about some of the desert stories he knew, maybe the opposite could be true. Yigo thought about asking but felt like it would be pushing a little hobby of his too far.

"If Groudon makes the land and Kyogre makes the water, it makes sense that I know more about one than the other," the growlithe mused, "Water isn't that common in the desert. There's a surprising amount of berries, though. I'm quite fond of the Rawst ones myself. Ate lots of them at home."

Opal enjoyed the storytelling as the pair walked down their chosen path. Her family knew some legends, but they placed a higher priority of foraging for food. Well, her mother did, anyway. She didn't know much about what her father did. Probably the same, only at night instead of during the day.

When Yigo pointed to a cloud, Opal looked, but didn't know why he'd gestured to it until he began to describe what must be Groudon's counterpart. "Kyogre? Wow! Well, Groudon is really big, too, so that's hardly surprising."

Rawst berries are not exactly a delicacy among many Pokémon. Finding someone that enjoys them over the sweet berries over at Grassveil's Woods is a rare sight but Opal appeared to be one of such. Yigo did like Rawst as well and he's been feeding on them whenever he had one in his possession. Now, all this thinking about berries was making him hungry, his stomach giving a very audible growl.

It is common knowledge that going out dungeoneering with a bit of hunger sharpens one's senses but Yigo and Opal have been on the go for so long that it had built up into being an annoyance that could cause trouble. Yigo turned to Opal once again, putting an arm on his belly and getting a bit flustered as his own ears twitched at the sound of his belly "Opal, uh... Do you think it'll be a good time to put those Rawst berries to use? I know that we didn't get any serious burns but I wouldn't like to get jumped on because someone heard my stomach complain"

There was no use resting on the path itself. They would need to find someplace that is more comfortable. Just being able to rest for a moment after the long treck sounded to him like a good idea to him although pushing forward to check out their destination on the other side of the Vale was also tempting. After all, they were but steps away. It was a bit of a dilemma.

Many pokemon found Rawst berries to be very bitter. Sure, they weren't the sweetest things in the world, but to Opal, the precious blue food parcels were just right. She would have to try them with a sauce sometime, she thought. Perhaps a sweet or spicy ladling would do. Someone in Grassveil had to sell sauces! The growlithe would look for whoever that was when she got back.

Opal stopped when a hungry Yigo asked to have some of the berries. "Erm... I don't have any," she replied apologetically, "We could go look for some? This place borders the desert, so there might be a bush or two nearby."

"Mmm... You think that there may be desert plants over here?" Yigo would ask Opal. It'd be strange as how this dungeon looked so... Different in almost every way. He looked around and extend his hand to one of the plants along the road, not nearly touching it but distracting himself all the same. He stared at a one of the trees and thought how different this one was to anything Yigo would have seen back home.

Even if his early memories are not to clear, he could remember the small patches of water where he and his mother stopped where the trees are small and long. On the other hand, cactus as bulki, green, thorny and have no treebark. Nothing like those trees that can be seen anywhere.

A bursting geyser many inches ahead of the road woke Yigo from his thoughts. He shook his head and remembered something. Mystery Dungeons don't always follow the rules and berry bushes appear in any dungeon he has been in, even in the mire, so it wouldn't surprise him to find the same Rawst berries that he once saw in the desert. He nodded to Opal in agreement "That is a nice plan. I have some food to share if we end up empty handed but it would be great to save that for our way back"

Yigo had a second idea thinking about how to optimise the search after feeling a rumble on the ground, probably another hot stream of water that reminded him of the geysers. "We could go together or go each one on our own. After some time or after we've found something, we could use one of the water pilars to return. It seems like they always appear in the same place and they rise quite high.

But if we go together, we will be safer together. Since you are the explorer, what should we do?"

Opal began the search for berries, or anything tasty, really. As well as sight, she relied on her nose to help her find food. She knew many smells, and hopefully one of them would grace her senses before too long had passed. Being hungry during an exploration was never a good idea. It dimmed the wits and dulled the senses. Explorers had to be sharp and alert at all times if they wanted to remain in peak condition.

"I'd rather walk than get all wet, but I can't deny they'd be useful for getting our bearings," Opal replied to Yigo's suggestion of geyser travel.

"You're not wrong about safety in numbers. There's always at least two of pokemon on a job for that reason. I'll see if my fire gem gives us any leads. It's led me to some neat treasures in the past."

With that, opal dug a magnificent jewel out of her bag that seemed to glow with tiny embers. She thought it was quite beautiful, as always, and focused on the connection she felt with the precious object.

Fiery Gem

Frebedor carried out 3 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, ,

The decision of the explorer would be the go to for now. Opal is supposedly an expert and Yigo has seen few outsiders that were not explorers in the desert so hearing what they have to say was good advice. Besides, Yigo knew about the rule of two and it was a really nice tactic to avoid nasty surprises yet, in his own life, it was seldom affordable without permanent company. Going alone had many advantages as well like less chances of failing to sneak past ferals or no treasure that needed to be split; but this time it was not about the treasure.


When the Growlithe pulled out a gem, Yigo looked at it with curiosity. It reminded him of a gemstone he had found within a box which he thought it was unrefined. Bringing it to a special Pokémon in the Blacktooth turned that raw gem into that powerful catalyst of his inner strength, the Groundium Z. Was Opal using it to look into the dungeon itself and locate items she may need?

Looking at the gemstone, the Sandshrew could only spot the same embers his partner was seeing. It didn't look anything special to him aside that, again, looked quite raw as if it had been dug out of a mountain. "Does that weapon work without refining?" He referred to it as a weapon, thinking all stones were power amplifiers as his own "Or are you like those Spoink that can use it to read minds and see far ahead?"

He wouldn't make Opal answer right away and go along with her anyway. Whatever the case, there was something else about what she said that made him suspicious. Shouldn't Opal, as an explorer, go on missions rather than go with Yigo because he asked her?

Isn't there anything else that she was needed for? Not like he didn't appreciate the company but he never expected a explorer to go alongside him for free and she had just reminded him of the fact with her advice. Maybe Yigo will ask her later...

As Opal focused on what the gem had to reveal, the faint scents of multiple kinds of food wafted past her nose. It seemed like the younsters' bellies were in luck! The growlithe turned to Yigo to inform him of what she'd discovered, but paused for a moment to think about the questions she had been asked. She had to admit she was surprised, for she had never much thought about the artifact's origins. She certainly wasn't a psychic type, either.

"The gem's not a weapon as such," Opal began explaining, "It helps me find things somehow. I've no idea how it was formed or made, I bought it off another pokemon. Apparently it only works for fire types, which the seller wasn't."

"As for being like a spoink... No, I don't think so. I'm not a psychic type. I don't know any psychic moves. Actually, figuring out how the gem works would be a really interesting endeavour, don't you think?"

Opal was excited at the thought. Imagine making history! Uncovering such a secret would be incredible! What information could be gleaned, and how could it be used to help everyone? Now that she'd thought of it, she really wanted to know. She eagerly awaited an answer to her own question.

Yigo nodded to what Opal asked, feeling equally as curious to the nature of those gems. Maybe the unrefined gem he used to have was not attuned to him and, thus Yigo couldn't enjoy the benefits that it granted? The Sandshrew stood on his hind feet and used his paws to take something from a satchel on his side.

He pulled it out with care, revealing a pristine crystal, of a colour between yellow and brown without being orange and with a strange seal on the front. He extended it to Opal "I had with me a gem like yours but I never knew how to use it. It never showed anything useful to me so it was only a shiny to hold onto or sell"

"I didn't exactly buy it but it was found inside a locked box. When asking what I could do with it someone directed me to the city in the great mountains where I could find someone who could turn it into what it is now" As an example of what the crystal could do, Yigo gathered energy within it as both himself and the crystal began to glow in a golden yellow light. The energy was palpable yet gentle looking before Yigo returned the crystal into his satchel, after which the connection was severed and the energy slowly dissipated into thin air.

"This gem doesn't let me find stuff, or I don't know if it can do that yet. What it does is... Giving you a sense of strength that only a... Uhm... A Charizard could have! It makes you feel that strong and fierce! But only for one attack" Yigo extends his paws forward and tensed his shoulders and back trying to mimic how a wingless Charizard would roar and stomp. It made him giggle after the little trick by the time of which all of the excess energy was gone "What have you seen with it, o mystic Opal the gem-seer?"

"A charizard?" Opal cringed. She hadn't told Yigo about her... rather eventful arrival in Grassveil."That's... a lot of strength indeed. If you ever learn how to use it, make sure you use it for the right reasons."

The growlithe was unfamiliar with the type of item of which Yigo spoke. They were both crystalline structures, that's about all she knew. They also clearly served different purposes. If they did have something else in common, Opal was unaware of it.

Wanting to change the subject away from scary fire lizards, Opal continued, "I sensed food with it. It's this way."

With that, the little fire dog began to trot away.

Frebedor carried out 10 launched of one Everspring Vale :

, , , , , , , , ,

Opal need not tell Yigo how to manage his power. The crystal was not to be used anytime as Yigo could only seem to use it once every day and, even with that restriction, he knew that the damage that could be caused with it were enormous by the few times it's energy was needed to enhance some other moves. Believe him, Opal. He knew when to use it.

A warmer thought was the idea of food to forage being around. Yigo still had no clue how the gem worked and was eager to see for himself if what Opal spoke of was true, if only to try and catch a clue of the sensing methods. Following from behind Yigo started to catch a fruitful scent, he even stopped for a moment to enojoy it. Even if the scent seemed to be from one of the Grassveil Woods' berries, he was not going to say no to such a snack.

"Mmm... Yes, I can smell it now" he resumed his march in a similar pace to Opal's. Whatever was guiding her, it was guiding her well. But... Wasn't there some other scents in the air? No, not the bursting geyser but... Something else. He sniffed around some more, looking around "Actually, you may want to slow down now. We may not be the only ones looking for food"