The Island that Time Forgot

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Valen had finally reached Ancient Island, not only with his power of flight, but also a few friendly Water-types who had let him rest on them when he was feeling tired. There hadn't been any specific mission that had made him come here - he had just heard there were ancient Pokemon and plants that could only be found here, and decided that writing up a report on the place and its features would be useful for the Windrose Scouts. Indeed, along with his other supplies, he was also carrying ink and paper to take notes, but unlike for his trip to Pecha Forest, it didn't seem that anyone else had written a report on this island so far. There was also a rare and powerful item Valen had finally managed to buy earlier - a Flyinium Z, a crystal which could change an ordinary Flying-type move into a devastating "Z-move." It seemed that now, the only move he knew that was actually Flying-type was Mirror Move, but still, he thought it might be helpful, especially because of the claims that Pokemon here were particularly aggressive.

Valen looked around. He didn't see any other Pokémon at the moment, and the beach looked fairly normal, with just some very tall trees with big leaves at the top growing there. That did remind him about some unusual things that he had heard and already written down, although not from the Scouts. One was that there had been reports of traps helping rather than harming those who triggered them, and that some Pokémon claimed this was due to a "forest protector." Also, the Pokemon he had met while traveling here had mentioned oddly powerful and long-lasting storms had happened some time back - although thankfully, while Valen had been traveling, the seas had remained fairly calm. Valen wasn't sure whether anything on the island would give clues to either of these, but it was worth keeping in mind. He wrote brief notes on the (not terribly interesting) scenery in this part of the island, but still made sure to watch out for danger.

[Energy: 22 - 15 (entry cost) = 7]

It was good to see that nothing bad had happened to Darios. "What did you find?" Valen asked, not having seen which items the Heracross had just obtained.

The two got some distance towards the mountain without anything significant happening to them. Valen had, however, been thinking about the plants in particular. They might not be as "flashy" as Pokémon or items, but he supposed that knowing what grew there might be useful in its own right for something. And here, in particular, weren't there supposed to be plants that grew nowhere else?

While flying, Valen could mostly see the tops of the trees. A lot of them seemed to be the same tall, large-leafed sort that he had often seen here before. The Exeggutor here had also looked like that - he wondered whether it was a sort of camouflage for this environment. At least none of the trees they saw now had attacked so far, although perhaps it was because of the height the two were flying at. Still, Valen thought that they should probably land at the mountain at least, and observe things from a lower level again.

(OOC: Using a Tiny Reviver Seed now to get some more energy - I'll use it IC later, for an actual fight).

[Energy: 0 + 11 (Tiny Reviver Seed) + 1 (New page) = 12]

Pickup roll:

Shield carried out 1 launched of one Ancient Island :

Regular rolls:

Shield carried out 10 launched of one Ancient Island :

, , , , , , , , ,

[Energy: 1 + 1 (Page Regen) = 2]


"A few seeds and an orb" he commented, slowing down in his flight to put them into his bag. The orb required some identifying before the Heracross could tell what its effect was. Holding it between his hands already gave him a surge of momentum that only required his command to be unleashed. Resisting the urge to just blast into the skies and surprise Valen, he assessed that this particular orb was a Pounce Orb. Very useful to approach a foe to their expense or to the user's expense should the miss and hit a wall instead.

Picking up the pace, he lamented that he couldn't find the object of his pursuit. While the greenery was fine, there was still no wild flower that could please his sights. Had he just been unlucky or were they looking in the wrong areas? What plants they've seen were confusing even to the natives of the region.

Taking a glance below, Darios saw that there were some hints of colour but the shapes were too big. If those were flowers, they were too big to be contained inside his bottles.

Unbeknownst to Darios, the spots of colours may not have been flowers at all. When the group flew by, a rock was tossed in their direction. As if shot from a Golem's cannon, it pierced the clear skies until it hit the Heracross. It hadn't been a direct hit, but it struck on his right side and damaged his wings.

After a grunt of pain, he realised that he had lost control of his flight, spiraling down back to the ground. In this haze, he caught glance of Valen. If he's struck too by a rock of that size, he may fall unconscious. Knowing that the crash wouldn't be gentle either, he reached to find the Pounce Orb and aimed it towards. Perhaps he can catch the Pikipek and spare him the fall.

...he still have that Tiny Reviver Seed in the bag, correct? Darios is definitely going to crash badly but there is a safety net that will get him back up.
(ooc: Great idea. Mind if I take inspiration from it?)


[Energy: 2 + 12 (Tiny Reviver Seed) = 14]

PrimordialPrim carried out 10 launched of one Ancient Island :

, , , , , , , , ,

As Valen was flying on, a large rock flew into the sky and crashed into him. Unable to control his flight, he started falling down... Darios' Pounce Orb did allow the Heracross to grab him, but then, another, only somewhat smaller rock was fired and hit Valen, knocking him out (and out of Darios' grasp) as he fell to the ground.

And then, Valen's Tiny Reviver Seed activated, and he managed to stand up on the ground. Everything still hurt and he found himself unable to fly, but he could see that there were three Pokémon. He couldn't really tell what they were himself, but there was a Kabutops, a Cradily, and a Lileep peeking out from behind the Cradily. They all looked quite hungry.

[Energy: 0]

The Pounce Orb had propelled the scarab forward, enabling him to pick up Valen. It was a heroic rescue but Darios was not going to wallow in it. After all, he still had a fall to worry about!. As if luck was on his side, his trajectory included some dense trees whose leaves could be used to stop the momentum. Wonderful!

And like a Skitty chasing after their own tail, the sensation of success was fleeting. A second stone had struck Darios, causing Valen to be knocked off of his arms and he himself to change trajectory. Never mind that the blow had almost knocked him out of his sense, the crash is going to be against a rocky surface. There's no correcting that now. Turning towards it to avoid any further damage to his wings, Darios braced the crash and landing head-first against the ground.

Amidst the cloud of dust generated by the crash landing, a beacon of light surged from Darios's body and brought him back into consciousness

"Aaaaaye...!" He complained, putting his claws on each side of the ground before pulling himself back up. His tunic was now in rags and dirty, and his shell was cracked in some spots. His wings had retreated under its armor but they appeared to be functional after a quick test. Moreover, everything about him seemed to be working better. His body was feeling strong and he was eager to charge into something, all the while he buzzed unintentionally. His mind was somewhat hazy but he could remember this being the power of the Swarm.

One last surge of strength when he is at his lowest for all the bug-style moves. It's only a shame that Darios has so little room to use the power of the swarm. He still didn't know how to charge with his horn into the famous Megahorn. All in all, this power amounted to nothing but a headache and a beacon for anyone that wanted to locate him.

Speaking of locating...

Where is Valen? Is he fine? Darios could only hope he was fine and see if he could find the Pikipek on his own...

[Energy: 14 - 13 + 15 - 22 < 0 => 0]

Valen heard the sound of something crashing to the ground - and so did the Kabutops, Cradily, and Lileep, as they all turned to see the Heracross. The Kabutops suddenly rushed at Darios with an Aqua Jet, the Cradily and Lileep moved, although more slowly, in that direction, and Valen followed in an attempt to protect his newfound partner. It seemed the obvious thing to do, but there was a problem...

Rocks suddenly crashed down towards Valen and Darios as the Cradily used Rock Slide on them. Thankfully, the boulders managed to miss Valen as he ran. If they hadn't, he would probably have been knocked out again. Upon seeing this, the Lileep used another Rock Slide on the same area. It was weaker than that of the Cradily's and the boulders were somewhat smaller, but these actually did graze Valen.

The Pikipek knew he couldn't last much longer against the super-effective attacks of these Pokémon. He himself had nothing stronger than Rock Smash to use against them. How was he going to get through this? But then... he remembered he could use one extremely powerful attack, formed from the one he had enjoyed using first. Grabbing his Flyinium Z, he gestured as he used Z-Mirror Move to copy the Lileep's Rock Slide.

Z-Power flowed through him, making him feel much stronger physically than he had before, even though he still couldn't fly. But that was not the only thing - it also turned the copied Rock Slide into Continental Crush! "Watch out!" Valen cried to Darios as rocks from all over - and under - the ground rose into the sky. A giant mass, about to crash down, was forming right over the Lileep...

Still finding his footing and trying to re-orientate himself in this foreign battleground, he heard a blast from the shadows before a Kabutops had rammed into the bug type. All of this progress in getting back up was undone by a charge. Like the apex predator that it was, it had pinned the Heracross into the ground with a vicious look. One of its feet pressed against the chest of the bug and his scythe-like arms appeared ready to cut him into shreds.

A rock slide was something that had worked to his advantage and, even if it was sudden and unexpected, it had hurt much more to the Pokémon that was pinning him down than himself. Rocks hit the back of the Kabutops, and some onto Darios's horn which damaged it a little. With each bit of damage, his buzzing went louder, and his thoughts grew more chaotic and primal. Strategy was no longer in the book. He had to smash this Kabutops.

Even if he couldn't find a use for his Swarm power, Darios was still strong enough to shove the rock type off of him and get back onto his feet. His appearance was that of an agitated wasp. His wings had extended and they were in constant motion while his stance changed from orderly to practical, displaying his horn forward. The Kabutops went back into action but Darios was quick to strike with his horn so fiercely that he had gone into a rage with the strike. He charged, propelled by his wings, and struck at the shell of the Kabutops for minimal effect. That rocky hide was hard and this Fury Attack was not even denting it. To Darios's advantage, the attack was giving no room for the Kabutops to retaliate or even move as the Heracross returned the charge against him with a few of his own!

The Kabutops eventually managed to dodge one of the charges and push Darios away, causing him to lose his footing before another wave of rocks and pebbles rained above him. While Darios could take a step back and try to shield himself from this attack, he was on his last leg, literally. Darios had kneeled after defending himself from the falling rocks and he was unable to get back up, stunt in place, and struggling to gather the strength required to get back up. He eyed the rock types around him, surrounding him even if some were focused on taking Valen down from the sky. They could make him faint right there... but Valen's voice seemed to have caught his attention.

Swiftly, Darios used his wings to propel himself back into the sky and away from the striking range of the floating rocks. The flight was unstable, as some wings were still damaged by the fighting. He'll try to land in safety, catch his breath, and pick up whatever Valen's attack left of the foes if they aren't running away.

Valen - and the Cradily and Lileep - hastily backed up as the giant mass of rocks crashed down. He innately realized that being on the ground right now was not a good idea, and managed to use his newfound strength to take off again as the earth shook. As the Lileep had managed to get some distance away, no one was directly hit by the main mass of rocks, but it was still a powerful attack, and smaller stones scattered everywhere.

Valen was still shaking as he looked down at the scene. Through the dust, he managed to discern the forms of the injured Kabutops and Cradily fleeing, the latter carrying the apparently unconscious Lileep. Where was Darios, though? Valen thought he could see the Heracross in the sky. But this bird still couldn't fly for long - fortunately, he managed to land a bit away from the unconscious Pokémon.

A dust cloud covered the battlefield when the mass of rocks crashed like meteorites against the ground. Darios had found his footing outside the cloud but he was unable to caln down. The cracks on his shell had grown significant and his tunic was beyond patching at this point.

Despite his feral reflexes and strength, he could still think clearly. The time the Z-move had given him was enough to catch some breath and focus, attempt to get back onto his feet and prepare for another round of combat. Shaking his head, he waited for the dust to clear before diving straight into battle yet again until either team falls. Amidst the opaque cloud, he could hear the sound of steps, hurried, racing, but to his surprise, the sound did nothing but grow fainter.

The fossil Pokémon weren't going to charge through the dust in pursuit. They are running away.

Darios let a sigh of relief, his muscles and wings unable to calm down despite this respite. Now that the threat is no more, he should check on Valen and see if he was fine.

"Valen?" Darios asked, looking around and trying to search the area. However, when he tried to take the step, he noticed a sudden pain that made him flinch back in place. Perhaps moving was something he should hold back from doing for the time being "Our foes have fled! We are victorious! Where are you?"

There was Darios. He had also landed, and his cloak - not to mention his shell - seemed quite damaged. Valen was certainly injured too, but he was worried that Darios was even more hurt. At least the enemies were fleeing.

"I'm here. How are you feeling?" Valen asked, as he looked in his bag to see if there were any healing items. He wasn't sure how much they would help with this degree of injury, but it was worth trying - if he could find any. He soon noticed that he had mostly some Gummis and Reviver Seeds. Perhaps he should have brought Oran or Sitrus Berries as well... but it was too late for that. At least he still had an Escape Orb as well.

But even now, unless the situation was truly dire, he still felt like looking around the island for just a bit more, and seeing the plants and items. As of now, it didn't seem that any more Pokémon were coming. He knew they could at any time, but he hoped that the sound and perhaps sight of such a powerful attack might have scared them off.

"Bruised" He replied, taking a moment to sit down after he saw Valen flying closer and rummaging through his bag. Darios did the same, but his bag contained no healing items. He had been expecting to collect a flower and wait for the Aileron explorers to bring him back. Speaking of which, he still hasn't found a nice flower to bring back home.

Darios shook his head and regained his strength, at least enough to walk around. His more unruly appearance was still showing, and it would be while he remains injured. It is annoying but they'd have to deal with it.

"I hope that my performance has convinced you that we make for a fine team" Darios said, trying to lighten the mood and distract Valen from their status "I couldn't see what you did there yet the shockwave was enough to tell that it was fearsome. Those creatures ran away in terror!" He celebrated, attempting to take a few steps around the area. The more he did, the more he got used to the feeling. He could walk around for a while longer, but Darios had burned his only Tiny Reviver Seed. They better be careful...

"What do you say, o leader? Shall we conquer forth or is it time for a timely retreat?"

"A team! Yes! So well, that was a Z-Move. Those are extremely powerful moves that are transformed from ordinary moves by a Z-Crystal of the appropriate type," Valen said, showing his Flyinium Z, "This Flyinium Z allowed me to transform my Flying-type Mirror Move into Z-Mirror Move, which not only greatly increased my physical strength but turned the copied Rock Slide into a Z-Move itself! The drawback is that performing such a powerful move is very tiring - I do not think I will be able to do it again for a long time. The thing is, I doubt the Pokémon here know that, so I feel they will have been scared off. And if we do get attacked again, we have our Escape Orbs so we can flee at any time. In addition, I have some Sleep Seeds with me... do you want one?"

After that long talk, Valen looked around again. There didn't seem to be any more Pokémon coming, but now he noticed the glint of the sunlight on something metallic in the distance. They seemed to be TMs, and even a treasure chest... Had they been exposed from the damage dealt to the ground by the Continental Crush?

Valen appeared excited after the battle, proud of his skillful maneuver. Although Darios could tell that he was being boisterous about it without finesse, he could let it slide since, in the end, it was his play that ended up tilting the skirmish in their favor. The information about this Flyinium Z was enlightening, considering that Darios knew about common exploration gear but this Z-Crystal was something new to him. He should write that down and do some more research into it and perhaps acquire one for himself.

"If you have some to spare, I will oblige and take some" Darios tried to hide his condition as he was getting better and getting used to this weakened state "It may open some more options should we run into more trouble"

The damage had revealed a cache of items. It almost felt like one of those games Darios played when he was younger. A battle against some foes and, as a reward, items dropped from them. Now they would only lack the experience points for the comparison to be faithful, but it was fascinating either way "Over there, perhaps Victini was pleased with our brawl and delivered a reward" He pointed at the reflection of some metal. With some hope, there will be some recovery items... right?

"Unfortunately, I only have one Z-Crystal with me, and apparently they bind to their users so no other Pokémon can use them," Valen explained, back in his long-winded mode from the excitement of using a Z-move, "I got mine from a shop in... the Black Spear Mountain Range in the north, I believe. You'll need 500 Poke and a specific item to be refined into the Z-Crystal for a type. I needed a Dawn Stone for the Flyinium Z, but if you want a different type, you'll need a different item, and I don't remember the whole list right now, sadly."

Valen wondered whether Darios knew a Flying-type move. The Heracross could fly, but Heracross weren't actually Flying-type... they were Bug/Fighting type, weren't they? If Valen remembered correctly (which he hoped he did by now - type matchups were something he should have really, really, really memorized a very long time ago), that actually made them quadruply weak to Flying. Then again, plenty of Pokémon could learn moves that they were weak to. No doubt something about general Pokémon biology protected them from the moves they themselves used, unless they were the sort that caused recoil. Perhaps he should have asked Darios about his moveset, but he didn't as he went to pick up the items they had seen.

There were a lot. Besides the TMs (Valen could now tell he had seen a Rest and Giga Drain TM) and a Deluxe Box, there was a Yellow Gummi, a Sleep Seed, and an Escape Orb. Valen took the Deluxe Box, Escape Orb, and Sleep Seed, but he noticed that his bag was actually not that far away from being full. Rest was an interesting move - Valen knew he could learn it, as most Pokémon could, but although it could heal, he knew all too well how vulnerable being asleep would leave him. He couldn't learn Giga Drain at all, and although he wasn't sure if Darios could either, he had heard that some Bug-types could learn it.

"You can take these," Valen said as he pointed to the Giga Drain and Rest TMs and the Yellow Gummi, "I don't have much space left in my bag, and they aren't very useful for me... You were saying earlier that you wanted to find rare plants? Should we go into the forest now and look for them?"

(OOC: I know Heracross isn't one of the Bug-types that can learn Giga Drain, but Valen doesn't).

It was a shame that Valen didn't have any more crystals to spare. They must be as rare as he expected if, for their creation, they require items as expensive and exclusive as a Dawn Stone. It isn't even specific, meaning that if Darios wanted to power up another type of move he'd need that type's crystal.

The treasure trove was magnificent. So many free items in this small instance that would make some good merchandise. A rustling on the side alerted him while he was picking up the discs and the gummi, causing Darios to take a step back and warn Valen by waving and pointing at the source of the rustling.

A Kabutops had shown up from some brushes, with a Kabuto clinging to the top of her head. However, the fact that the latter was carrying with it one of Darios's bottles gave away that these were part of the tribe from before. Moreover, they didn't seem hostile at all, noticing Darios's and Valen's rough shape and waving at them to approach them and speaking to them in her ancient language. The Heracross glanced at Valen, shaking his head "I think they want us to follow them. I'm ashamed to admit that we may require their strength if there are still less friendly Pokémon prowling about"

At least his backpack still works. Fitting in there the TMs and the yellow gummi should be no issue.

Valen was surprised by the appearance of the Kabutops and Kabuto, and was worried he and Darios were about to be attacked yet again. But the bottle the latter was holding, as well as the fact that they seemed to be speaking to them - though still not in a way the Pikipek or Heracross could understand - made Valen realize they were probably friendly and came from the tribe that had helped them before.

As Darios had said, it seemed from their actions that the Kabutops and Kabuto also wanted them to follow. Valen wondered where it could be - back to the tribe, or somewhere else? At least, given how the explorers had been helped even when they had been in the most vulnerable of positions, it was probably not a trap or anything. "Yes, it would probably be a good idea to follow them," Valen replied, "Let's do it."