Eterna Forest

Elfana Aroway

The forest was a welcome change from Eterna City. Her mood seemed to improve almost instantly. The further they got from Eterna, the better she felt. She even felt good enough to chat with Walter and Kayuki, although she was terse. Being sent a babysitter still didn't sit well with her but she knew she couldn't hold a grudge against the Jynx forever. She was only doing what her brother had asked her to do. The slowly darkening surroundings did not manage to sour her mood any. Eterna Forest was a natural maze. She had expected it to be dark and "spooky" to a certain degree. What she was not expecting was the chill. The further they got in the forest, the colder it was. She had to stop after a little over an hour of walking to retrieve a coat from her bag. "Maybe coming here was a bad idea." Walter muttered as he took in their surroundings. He had not anticipated that the forest would be so unsettling. If something went wrong his trainer would likely be too stubborn to admit to it. She would continue right on as if there wasn't a problem. Eterna Forest could be more dangerous than he had originally thought. "If we stay together we'll be fine." Elfana shrugged then slipped on her coat. She wasn't worried. They would train up for the Gym, get the Buneary that Walter had insisted she needed, and make it out of the forest just fine.

While Elfana was distracted, Kiro had wandered off a little ways. The air around him felt somehow colder than it had back with his trainer. This put the Croagunk on edge. The cold did not feel natural. He paused then frowned. Wandering any further alone was probably dangerous. When he turned to look back at his trainer he found himself face to face with a curious Bidoof. Croagunks weren't something it got to see every day! It had only wanted to get a closer look. Kiro croaked in a panic and spat poisonous gunk into the Bidoof's face. The poor Pokemon tried to curl in on itself, attempting to prevent further damage only to be knocked away by the startled Croagunk. That was probably unnecessary...Who sneaks up on people like that though?! The Bidoof clearly deserved to be punished. He crossed his arms and croaked at the unconscious Pokemon, scolding it for its behavior despite it being unable to hear him. "Kiro?" The Croagunk looked in the direction of his trainer, choosing to end his lecture in favor of joining back up with her. A nosy Bidoof was not worth any more of his time. He let himself be picked up the moment he got close to her, relaxing in Elfana's arms. Kayuki would be fine in the cold but Walter and Kiro needed to be kept close. "Let's keep moving." She opened her coat enough to wrap Kiro with it and continued on her way. They needed to find somewhere comfortable to camp out before night fell.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Kiro versus Lv. 14 Bidoof}
HP 110
Defense Curl- Raises user's defense by one stage
Growl- Lowers target's attack by one stage
Headbutt- 70 | 3/10 chance of making target flinch
Rollout- Increases for five turns (10, 20, 40, 60, 100) | Damage doubled if target used Defense Curl before Rollout

Kiro used Gunk Shot! (-100 10/110)
Bidoof used Defense Curl!

Kiro used Mudslap! (-18 0/110)
Bidoof fainted!
Kiro gained 7 exp.

Partners:
Out of their Pokeballs: Walter (Alakazam), Kiro (Croagunk), Kayuki (Jynx)
Wearing: dress, hairstyle, shoes, coat
Trainer Encounter: 18/25
Wild Encounter: 17/5
Item Posting: Fan Plug 17/30
OOC: Travel Egg active for Liandry. 4/7/20


Halloween Notes:

Elfana Aroway

After the Misdreavus incident things seemed to settle down. The forest around them was quiet enough to almost be unsettling. Almost. Elfana had abandoned her notebook. Writing out her plans could wait until her Croagunk was taken care of. He was her priority. She sprayed him down with a Potion, carefully rubbing it into his skin after to make sure it would be effective. This also gave her a chance to check him over for more serious injuries. Kiro was fine however. He was tired and had a few bruises from getting so well acquainted with the ground but it was nothing a Potion or two couldn't fix. She set the empty bottle back in her bag, not wanting to discard it on the forest floor. They could throw out any of the used bottles when they returned to the city. She has treated too many Pokemon that were ill because some ignorant trainer had abandoned their garbage somewhere they shouldn't have. "There. That should hold you over for now." She kissed the top of her Croagunk's head before setting him down beside her. "We'll stay here tonight. Tomorrow we will head further into the forest." That was probably a terrible idea. Her refusal to admit that she was lost didn't make it any less true. Walter and Kayuki sat on the blanket near her, the former holding his hands out to her. Elfana took the Alakazam's hands in her own, taking her time running him through his daily exercises. She still had a few things she needed to do before she could go to sleep. That was fine though. This was time she got to spend with some of her companions. While she was still much further from her lab than she ever wanted to be, little breaks like this were comforting for her. She could focus on something other than her desire to return home.


Partners:
Out of their Pokeballs: Walter (Alakazam), Kiro (Croagunk), Kayuki (Jynx)
Wearing: dress, hairstyle, shoes, coat
Trainer Encounter: 20/25
Wild Encounter: 14/5
Item Posting: Fan Plug 19/30
OOC: Travel Egg active for Liandry. 4/7/20
Halloween Notes:

Elfana Aroway

Elfana wasn't sure how much time had passed before she woke up. The forest was still dark so it couldn't have been long. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision enough to see whatever it was that had disturbed her. "Did it get colder?" She muttered as she sat up. Something was moving nearby. Whatever it was must have woken her up. "Probably a Bug." She sighed, grabbing for her coat so she could pull it around herself. If it was just a Bug then she wasn't going to worry about it. She was awake now so she was going to take the time to plan out their day while her Pokemon rested. She blinked when her hand touched her exposed skin instead of the warm fabric of her coat. That wasn't right. Had she managed to push the coat off of herself in her sleep? "I'm sorry, Kiro." She murmured as she felt around for her coat. Her poor Croagunk was probably freezing. "Finding it would be easier if I put my glasses on." Despite acknowledging this she continued to blindly feel along the blanket for her coat. A second problem occurred to her when the sleepy fog started to clear from her head. "Kiro?" Her Croagunk should have been right next to her but he wasn't. "Kiro?!" She called again, searching the blanket frantically for her Croagunk. "Kiro!" All of the noise she was making was enough to wake up the sleeping Jynx and Alakazam. Kayuki frowned, placing her hand on Elfana's shoulder. "Elle? Sugar, what are you yellin' ab-" A loud, frightened croak cut the Jynx off. "KIRO!" Elfana grabbed for her bag, just in case she needed one of her Pokemon to help her fight off whatever was hurting her Croagunk...only that was gone too. "No. No, no, no! Where are they?!" Her Pokemon were gone! When the frightened croaks began to move away from her, Elfana got to her feet and took off after whatever it was that had her Pokemon. "Elle, wait!" Her Alakazam called after her but Elfana refused to listen. She needed to get to her Pokemon as quickly as possible.

The silence of the forest that was on the verge of being unsettling earlier became a special sort of awful when Kiro's croaking stopped. Elfana was convinced her heart had stopped with it. "Kiro?!" She called to him again, near breathless after her blind sprint through the trees. Her Croagunk did not respond. Elfana continued on, hoping that she was going in the correct direction. She needed to find her Pokemon. The further she wandered, the darker it seemed to get. She couldn't help but wonder how far into the forest she had gone. Coming to Eterna Forest had been a mistake. She should have struggled through the Gym and been on her way. Elfana wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them as she tried to keep herself warm. She was barefoot, her coat was gone, her Pokemon were missing, and she had left her glasses behind. She was certain that her situation could not get any worse. For nearly an hour she walked, lost and alone. Her Croagunk hadn't called to her again.

Her luck seemed to improve when she stumbled upon an area that opened up to what appeared to be a large mansion. It appeared to be rundown but there was always a possibility that someone was camping there. Maybe they had seen her Pokemon! Or maybe they had taken them. If she ran into anyone she would be prepared to deal with whatever their response was. What she wasn't prepared for was for something to grab her ankles suddenly as she approached the building. She hit the ground hard, cursing whatever she had tripped over. Why hadn't she grabbed her glasses? She would have no trouble avoiding obstacles if she had taken a second to grab them. She nursed her bruised wrist, irritated by the discomfort but grateful that it wasn't broken. Or at least she thought it wasn't. She didn't have time to properly examine it before she found herself surrounded by bright purple lights. "That probably isn't good." She commented but did not look away from the lights. They seemed to be hovering around her. The longer she watched them, the more disoriented she felt. Her head felt as if it wanted to split open. She closed her eyes, thinking that would protect her from whatever the lights were doing to her, but the sudden darkness only threw her further off. Elfana blacked out.


Partners:
Out of their Pokeballs: Walter (Alakazam), Kiro (Croagunk), Kayuki (Jynx)
Wearing: outfit
Trainer Encounter: 22/25
Wild Encounter: 16/5
Item Posting: Fan Plug 21/30
OOC: Travel Egg active for Liandry. 4/7/20


Halloween Notes:

Thadius 'Thade' Dakari



Thadius, Little one, and even the snappy Musharna watched the near-silent exchange between Elfana and her Rotom with piqued interest. Although to be fair, the silence was really only on Thadius's part, Little one cringed several times at the static noises the Rotom was making while Musharna stifled several giggles, only to laugh aloud when the Rotom took over her phone. "Amature." She commented under her breath as the Rotom fell into a pretty simple human trap. Some Pokemon were so dramatic and hungry for attention that they didn't see the bigger picture. Plus he was a ghost type so, anything unfortunate or irritating that happened to one of them was more than okay with the floating dream pig. "Not the method I would have used but..." The bigger man stated simply, rubbing his chin several times over while he contemplated the events before him. To be fair, he tended to punish Pokemon he'd recently captured that were less than cooperative - but he found his methods to be less... Childish. Or that was how he saw it anyway. Then again, he had the feeling that this particular Rotom hadn't been the nicest before its capture. The man was still mentally processing the scenario with the Rotom and what he would have done differently when she finally seemed to respond to a question he had already forgotten he had asked. "You asked about her trip." The Musharna interrupted in his mind, causing him to growl a bit in a begrudging sort of gratitude. He really needed to work on at least his short term memory, forgetting things that happened a long time ago was fine, forgetting things that happened in the last sixty seconds was not. "Curiosity?" Knowing full and well that the one-word answer she'd given should have been enough to settle his request. He himself, while no scientist - was no stranger to curiosity, it was something that had gotten him into considerable trouble in the past but, such was life right? As she began to elaborate, the dull haired man smirked just a bit. He hadn't known Kana all that well, but this sort of thing practically screamed intervention. Ignoring your own sibling until they complied and followed a trail. That sounded just a touch familiar though he'd never be able to place his finger on it. "Saiphe?" He asked quizically, only to have the Musharna mentally remind him again before he corrected. "Oh - the Lucario. I see now. It sounds to me as though your brother really wanted this quest for you. I'm sure he has his reasons... Good reasons." What Thadius did NOT mention, was the possibility that her brother was pulling the long-con of the very same psychology that caused the Rotom to jump into Elfy's phone. Just a hint, and then complete silence until one was spurred into doing exactly what you wanted.

Little one had lost interest in the conversation between the humans, especially after the Rotom had been probably about to say a word his mommy wouldn't have approved of. The little turtle creature was waaaay more interesting anyway. Bobbing up and down on Thadius's shoulder, the Pidgey fluttered down so that he could sit in front of Pantalaimon. At that point, he simply continued to bob up and down excitedly, his eyes growing ever wider as they spoke back and forth. "Oh! Oh! I was thinking the same thing! Um, um, I don't know!" Little one admitted when confronted with what was possibly the hardest question he'd ever been asked- his little feet waddling as he attempted to chase the Turtwig around Walter. The action caused Thadius to cast a quick glance his way - but after Walter explained the situation the look became more of a 'behave' and less of a 'cease and desist', so Little one just kept on playing. "What about - Skyscr!? Or... Um, um - Hurricane! ...Zapdos?" That last one was totally out of the question, Zapdos would smite any Pokemon foolish enough to try and claim its name - but it was still a cool thought! Thadius Chuckled, causing Little one to stop and stare at his trainer curiously. "You and me both Walter, you and me both." It was amusing to have an older fellow around - even if the older fellow in question was a Pokemon. These kids would not know the struggle associated with simply sitting up and stretching in the morning that himself and, he assumed, Walter did, for a long, long time. When Kayuki, Pantalaimon, and Little one all seemed to begin chattering back and forth excitedly once again, he raised an eyebrow at Walter questioningly. The two baby Pokemon he could understand, but whatever the adult had added to their conversation seemed to get them a little two stirred up - his Pidgey flapping his little wings excitedly and leaping up an down. "I wanna mask! And a scarf! and a cool feather in my mask from like, another hero! Oh! A Zapdos feather!" He wasn't even sure if Zapdos had actual feathers or they could even come off - but he needed one for his outfit now if he was going to be the best bird superhero of all time! Almost as an afterthought, the Pidgey seemed to stop its reverie in mid jump, ing it's head towards Pantalaimon and whispering suddenly. "Will... Will you be my sidekick?"

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While Walter and Elfana seemed to break off into their own conversation, Thadius took a step back from the group and took in long, slow breaths, letting the mist the Musharna had begun emitting over his shoulder seep into his system. He had no idea how it actually worked, the pink mist wasn't a sleep powder by any means - and he wasn't even sure that it really did anything at all naturally. But his Pokemon had found a way to make it help with his condition and that was enough for him. The more he took in, the clearer his mind seemed to become... The downside to this was that normally they didn't let this process go on for too long, as apparently it had some negative side effects that worsened to overall issue he was having. Finally, The man sighed, his brain wasn't going to get any better than it was now, he could clearly picture the Lucario he could scarcely recall earlier and that was about as good a memory as he could ask for. Although he had missed most of the bulk of the initial conversation, Thadius frowned when he heard what his mind should have immediately framed as sarcasm. "You aren't really growing human limbs are you?" He asked, only to have a moment of realization and then shake his head, rebuking the question entirely. She didn't like people enough to grow human limbs he imagined. Not the best rationalization for it, but it was something.

Little one had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA why they were still jumping and bobbing but he had no intention of stopping! Even when the Turtwig began to explain all of the amazing things he could... well, PROBABLY do, if he really tried, Little one continued to bob and chitter excitedly. "Yes! I could throw buses at the bad guys! I need a catchphrase, all superheroes have c-" Little one stopped, his happy dance obliterated by the new input from the other Pokemon that he hadn't quite considered. She was right. She was so right! You couldn't be a superhero if you didn't have a sweet costume. That was like, the most important part! Instantaneously, the Pidgey's mind left the realm of reality as he mentally began trying on different colors, bows, capes - did he even need a cape? Of course he did! Had Little one a lip to bite down on, he certainly would have at the mention of obtaining a Zapdos feather. "I really, REALLY wish I had hands..." He muttered quietly, knowing he would have to try like SUPER hard to remember all of this stuff since he couldn't write anything down for later. Then again, Little one couldn't read either so that probably wouldn't have done him any good anyway. Even whilst processing all of this, Pantalaimon's acceptance and suggestion of gathering a water Pokemon that could swim got through to him... And when it did, Little one fell over, eyes glazed as his mind was as close to literally blown as it could get without a bullet. "So ...SO cool." He whispered, his eyes a bit glazed over while he tried to imagine something so incredible that even his childlike mind couldn't fathom it.

His brain back up to - well, as close as it was going to be to one hundred percent, Thadius nodded respectfully at the Musharna who seemed drained somehow, as if sharing the memories in bulk took that much effort. For All Thadius knew, it very well could be a draining experience, he couldn't say since he did not possess that power. He took a few long-legged steps towards Elfana and company, his eye twitching at a Pidgey that reminded him now of way too many soldiers who'd had too much to drink back in his day. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting this long. That was rude of me given the type of day I imagine you've been having." He stated plainly, not even noticing the slight change in his own posture or tone. "I came to ask you for a favor and nothing more, but we can walk towards your destination to save time while I... Explain the situation. If you can't do it, I understand. If you can, well, you know I return my favors in kind." That last bit had the edge of a dangerous man half his age, but he meant it all the same. When one called on A Dakari for a favor, usually they weren't the nice - 'go get me a few potions from the market' kind of favors. That being said, Thadius typically didn't let his demons bother him too much, and what was one more? The internal monologue brought a bit of a scowl to his face, but not because he had been wrong about what he was willing to do. He cast his tired eyes on the woman and forced a smirk. She didn't like people but suspected she wasn't the type of person who would ask him to break someone's legs, steal their pokemon, or kill them. chances are he'd be hunting some type of rare and impossible to find part for a wildly unnecessary prosthetic or something. The man seemed to pick up on what the frog Pokemon was hinting as the right direction, gesturing the others gently to move when ready before whistling a quick and sharp note that shook the Pidgey from its mental meltdown just long enough to flutter back up and rest on his shoulder. "Where to?" He asked, part to continue pleasant conversation, but mostly so that he could have Little one make course corrections if need be. Navigators didn't get lost, even retired ones.

"I see, I see." He responded, pausing a moment when he thought he saw the gears in her head turning only to add quickly. "Please forget I said anything. That isn't an avenue I'd recommend." Despite his request, he knew how these things went. Elfana reminded him heavily of his wife. Once she got rolling, there was no stopping her - she was like an avalanche. Elfana seemed much the same, though in a less 'kill them all, and let Arceus sort them out' kind of way. The Doctor Frankenstein image in his head based on the look Elfana currently wore wasn't really all that much better though. "Moving on." He stated, in an attempt to turn the conversation to less potentially horrifying avenues. He fell into step beside the doctor as she continued to move, easily matching her pace given his long legs. It was important to ensure you could see the person you were requesting a favor from. His mind was as clear as it was going to get, yet something still nagged at Thadius - he felt like he'd 'had this perfect plan to solve two different problems. One for his son, and one for the doctor. But even with the help of the Musharna - The older man could not even hazard a guess as to how he had originally planned this all to work out. 'Follow the pieces you have.' He thought to himself, trusting that he had taken his bad memory into account when constructing such an elaborate idea. Assuming it had actually ever been elaborate in the first place. "There is a young man, though - not too much younger than yourself. He is exploring the Hoenn region on a Pokemon trainer's journey, just as you are here. He is...Dangerous." Thadius was fully aware that he had meant to specify that the man in question was his son, but his tongue had omitted that truth in favor of another truth. Many nights the older man had spent debating what to do with his son. He hadn't seen the boy in over a decade - not unless it was through a scope, he could not bring himself to face the young Nicolai Dakari. Not after what had happened to his mother - after he had failed to protect his wife. No, in Thade's opinion, being dead and a 'hero' in his son's mind was better than the reality of knowing he was both alive, and a coward. Many nights, Thadius had dismissed the premonitions of his Musharna, and that other creature that sometimes came to visit. Then he had experienced the nightmares - visions shown to him of the potential futures where his son completed the Pokemon journey he embarked on and became champion. Those always ended in cataclysmic scenarios. But what scared him more than the horrifying visions all those lost Pokemon, all the bodies in the wake of his son's plan - was that in his mind, they were realistic. Believable. The son had taken far too many qualities of the father - and the skills he had obtained... In a dark and terrible sort of way, Thadius was proud of how efficient his son had become, but that feeling was overshadowed drastically by what the man saw his son doing with such skills. Would Thadius have been the same had he not had someone to steer him on a different path? Was this what became of someone with such potential but no one to teach them right from wrong? Growling, low and long, the man shook himself from the mental track he had been following - shooting an apologetic look to Elfana before finally continuing. "I was going to kill him." The man managed to speak this clearly and without emotion, but his eyes darkened just a shade. He really had considered killing Nicolai. But in the end he simply couldn't do it. Not without trying a different alternative first. "I'm not a killer anymore, not unless I have to be. But it's the only thing I'm good at. I don't see myself giving this individual a speech and turning his life around... but I would also prefer not to kill him. Even with his words as cool and firm as they always were, it was clear he was fidgeting somewhat while simultaneously trying to explain the situation without revealing his hand. "Currently I've set him on a course he will be unable to resist. The young man seeks Power - as many young men do. So I've given him a challenge to seek and find what he wants. However, that path should, unless I've lost my touch, make him aware of your existence." Thade's dark eyes twitched at his own words. He'd already gone ahead and put Nicolai onto Elfana without her permission. The man had no doubts she'd had an opinion on that but it was too late to take it back now - so he pressed on, the art of conversation exhasuting him more than any physical challenge he'd ever experienced. "I've painted you in such a light that no harm will come to you. You will be more important to him than you are to me. That being said, I... I don't know exactly what to expect of this to be honest. But I would like you to meet him if you could. Appraise him. He's going to need your help, so I suspect he will be compliant. In truth, Thade knew exactly what he expected - he simply didn't want to tell Elfana everything. That his son was lonely even if he didn't know it and that meeting a beautiful woman like Elfana who also had a strong will of her own might curb the road he was on. That perhaps the two of them might become friends even being that they shared several of the same qualities... Or that at the very least, her love of Pokemon and dislike to human beings might somehow balance his hatred of Pokemon and love of humanity. Stop him from making the greatest mistake of his life. Sucking in a breath, the man let loose a heavy sigh. He was not good at these types of things. In response to her refusing payment, Thadius nodded while knowing full well he'd still have to pay her back for this. He hadn't seen his son face to face in over a decade but if he was half as bad as he seemed from a distance... This would be more than a simple favor.




Little one ed its head from side to side, contemplating the word. He'd never seen a gyarados before but he was pretty sure it was a huge water snake thing. And also super powerful. After several moments of contemplating, Little one began to nod, though slowly at first, his head picking up speed in agreement as he considered how awesome an enemy a gyarados could possibly be. When the Jynx brought up a potential Lapras in their party, Little one giggled, chirping out the equivalent of 'yes, yes, a million times yes!'. He did not know what a gyrados was but a Lapras was something he was more than familiar with and personally he thought they were super cute! Plus they could shoot ice out of their mouths and carry him across the ocean when his wings were tired! "Yes! I want a Lapras on our team... Although that means we might need a cart to put him on when we are crossing through a desert. Bad guys like deserts... But that's okay!" This was quickly shaping up to be the best idea ever... Now if he could just evolve twice, get his friend to evolve however many times he needed to, and then FIND a lapras... Oh and also get costumes and Thade's blessing - THEN they could be the best super hero team ever!!