Aimless Morning Gold

[adumbratus]

Janguru was terribly excited- They were registered now! All official! Tarovir was a trainer, and they could go do trainer things! She was less excited, however, when Taro didn't walk towards the first route, but instead back towards the house. "Hey! Where are you going?" Jangu hopped after him, Duncan scrabbling to catch up. "H-Hey!" He was really, really trying! But Jangu's legs were really long, and Taro's legs were even longer than that! "Wait up!!!"

"I need to get things. Like clothes. And supplies. And food." Taro sighed, going inside. Jangu made a face at him, huffing and sitting outside the door. "He's so prissy!" Duncan finally caught up flopping down beside her, tail wagging. "Where are we going?? Will it be fun?" Jangu glanced at him, and nodded. "We're going on an adventure! And it'll be a lot of fun!" The pup's eyes slowly widened. "A lot of fun?!" At Jangu's nod, the puppy about lost it. He was simply unable to imagine how a trip could be a lot of fun. Meeting Taro- that had been fun! So how could anything be lots of fun??? How could anything be more fun than meeting Taro???

Tarovir came back outside, having put together a small satchel of gear, and about tripped over Jangu- why was she in the doorway anyway? He shoved the thing out of the way with a foot, earning a reproachful yowl. "We ready to go?" He asked, casting his eyes to find Duncan- And the puppy was tearing around in circles, barking like something possessed.  Tarovir picked it up, looking at it rather concernedly when it just continued barking. He kinda turned it this way and that... and finally just reached out to boop his nose. The barking stopped.

"Finally," Jangu yawned, getting to her feet. Taro shot the daemon an incredulous look. "What? All I said was that we were going to have a fun adventure. That's all." The man stifled a sigh, setting the puppy back down.

"Alright, Duncan, can you lead the way?" Taro asked patiently, pretending to ignore Jangu, who was much wounded.

Duncan's eyes grew huge. "YES!" He barked, scampering off towards the route.

[Rin]

Wild Bulbasaur has appeared!
Lv. 6
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
Moves: Tackle, Growl

The young Poochyena's loud rustling through the underbrush disturbed a sleeping Pokemon. She yawned from her position in the undergrowth, squinting up at light that was pouring through the leaves, the bulb on her back warmed by the sun high in the sky. It was a young Bulbasaur - a fairly rare Pokemon. Blinking a couple of times, she peeked out of the bushes at Duncan leaping along the Route, and Taro and Janguru walking along behind. A Trainer! She saw them fairly often, but she had never been this close to one. It seemed nobody had noticed her, what with her green camoflauge in the grass and between the fallen leaves. Perhaps she could make a dramatic entrance! She smiled shyly at the thought, tiptoeing through the grass and following them for a good few yards before jumping out in front of the Poochyena and his Trainer and the Luxray daemon. "Hi-yah!" she called, though what she had wanted to be a brave call came out in a soft, shy sort of voice. She smiled at the Poochyena, who looked friendly. "I mean, um, hiya. Are you a new Trainer? Or perhaps a Breeder, or a Coordinator?" she asked, ears flattened and body pressed close to the ground. 

[adumbratus]

Duncan yiped, jerking back and somehow falling backwards over his own head. Jangu just shook her head. "Hello," She greeted, gently helping Duncan back up. "And he is a new trainer, as a matter of fact!" The daemon smiled, settling down on the path and urging both Duncan and Taro to do the same. Taro rolled his eyes and sat, while Duncan just squirmed and skittered free, sniffing at the bulbasaur before declaring "You smell nice!" and bumbling off to sniff and chew at other things.

The luxray daemon turned back to the shy bulbasaur, giving her a reassuring smile. "Were you looking for a trainer?" She asked, keeping her voice soft, not wanting to startle the other- she seemed delicate! Taro just yawned a bit, moving to lean against a tree. Duncan finally seemed to explore everything that was interesting, tearing back over and scrabbling into Taro's lap, intention being as close as he could possibly be.

[Rin]

The Bulbasaur smiled weakly at them as they greeted her in a friendly manner. Oh, they did seem nice! But she had never talked to a human before. She had always been too scared, but something about the happy-go-lucky Poochyena and the kind-looking man who was evidently a trainer. His Luxray daemon looked scary, but her smile seemed reassuring, like she was encouraging the little Bulbasaur to be braver. She shied away at first but giggled as Duncan ran to her, sniffing at her bulb and back before bounding away.


“Um, yes, well, no, I was sleeping. But I saw you in the woods, um, on the path, and I thought you guys just looked so very fun,” she offered politely. Now her red eyes looked a bit confused though. Normally wild Pokemon were supposed to battle Trainers, right? And maybe even get caught and go on an adventure! She did like seeing new things, although she was often too scared to go and explore. In fact, she had surprised herself by even revealing herself to the Trainer. “Um, so…” she said, quietly, “Am I supposed to fight you I guess? That sounds kind of scary, but if you want to I’ll…I’ll do my best!”

[adumbratus]

Duncan had scrabbled back at that, puffing himself out. "We can fight! But I'm warning you- I'm scary!" He said, very quickly baring his little teeth and offering up a growl as proof. The luxray just laughed. "I don't think you have to fight us, if you don't want to. But it's fine if you do." She laughed a bit at the over-eager (and obviously very scary!) poochyena, turning to glance back at Tarovir. "Nap's over! The little bulbasaur would like to challenge your prowess as a trainer!"

"What." Taro got back up, padding over to the cluster of pokemon. "You say not to intimidate or scare it, and now you want us to fight it."

[Rin]

Bulbasaur’s eyes shifted from Duncan (who actually did look a little frightening to her) to Jangu to Taro, who had walked over to see the commotion. “Oh, I mean, I do not mean to say that you are a bad Trainer of course. I…I just thought that wild Pokemon are supposed to battle Trainers! Um, should I not?” It seemed as if the sweet little Bulbasaur was rather indecisive – if Taro wanted a battle, he would have to make up his mind and ask for one. She eyed the Poochyena whom she presumed she would be battling, if she did fight. His sharp teeth did look quite intimidating! She cowered a little in the long grass at the thought. And he was so fast and full of energy! She was little and had stumpy legs. Maybe he would dodge all of her moves. Still though, perhaps she could try? Not unless Taro wanted it though. She looked expectantly at him – she’d live with whatever decision he decided to make.

[adumbratus]

Tarovir just frowned as the situation was explained to him. "Look- the thing's scared to death. Duncan, come here. Stop growling." He barked instead, so Taro just picked him up again, prodding Duncan's nose when he chewed on Taro's fingers.

Jaguru seemed to be smirking at something, but quickly offered a warm smile to the bulbasaur. "We're not going to make you do anything you don't want to." She gave a little stretch. Were it any other pokemon, she'd dangle another sentence, well since you're so scared we'll just go... but.... she got the feeling that wouldn't work as intended with the bulbasaur- The poor thing'd just get more hurt, instead of rising out of anger. "If you want to come with us, you most certainly can."

[Rin]

Bulbasaur tilted her head. It seemed as if Taro did not want to battle after all. That was surprising, since new Trainers were usually raring to fight. But that was okay. She wouldn’t get to fight, but perhaps she could at least travel alongside Taro, Jangu and Duncan for a bit. They seemed like good company, and would give her courage to explore more of Route 1 (she had always stuck closer to the lab). “Oh, yes, that sounds lovely. Thank you very much,” she said happily. She moved closer to Taro and started walking alongside him and his little group.


As the day lengthened, there seemed to be little activity on the Route. It seemed that most of the Pokemon were sleeping in the grass or the undergrowth, avoiding the hot sun – even though it was autumn, it seemed as if the sun was blazing today. Even Bulbasaur, who liked basking in the warm sunlight, tried to stay in Jangu’s shade, worried that the heat would wilt her bulb. It seemed as if they would get through a large part of the Route without seeing any other Pokemon when suddenly, the bushes rustled and a Volbeat jumped out of the brush.



Wild Volbeat has appeared!
Lv. 8
Gender: Male
Ability: Swarm
Nature: Hardy
Moves: Flash, Tackle, Double Team

“Please, you’ve got to help me!” The poor bug Pokemon looked distraught and disheveled, with injuries, bruises and antennae askew. “My mate- my mate and I – our nest was attacked, she has to protect the eggs, please help us!” the Volbeat pleaded. “It’s the Ekans, they’re trying to eat our eggs!”

[adumbratus]

Jangu was getting a little tired at that point- the heat and her fur were simply not working well together. Duncan had just stopped about halfway through, and had only recently woken from an exhausted nap. He was nestled into Taro's arms, lapping up water from a bottle. Jangu froze as the volbeat appeared, quickly translating for Tarovir, who got a hard look on his face. "Duncan," He said, a bit shortly. "You feeling better?"

The pup looked up at him. "Are we gonna help?" He asked, wriggling down. Jangu nodded, turning back to the volbeat. "Take us to them!"

[Rin]

Volbeat nodded, a look of relief washing over his face. “Thank you! Thank you so much. I—“ he winced, staggering a bit, and now a strange purplish aura could be seen briefly about his wings and body. “I…I’ve been Poisoned,” he gasped, almost choking on his words. But his face tightened, and he quickly darted off the path and buzzed between the trees. For about a minute they weaved between trees and through the undergrowth. Volbeat would occasionally flinch, and the sickly violet aura would come back. “There were four of them—they came for our eggs. My mate and I defeated two but…four on two, we’re close to fainting. Especially with…the poison,” he shuddered again. “This way, this way, we’re close.” Bulbasaur stayed close to Jangu and scampered with the group as fast as her little legs could carry her, looking nervous. Poison type moves were super-effective against her after all.


Soon the party could hear angry hissing, and the smacks of attacks hitting brushes in the undergrowth. “Please, please, leave my nest,” came a female voice, which was presumably the Illumise guarding her nest. “No thankksss, we thinksss,” was the reply. “Those three eggssss of yours look very tasty, we thinkssss, and we are hungry.” Volbeat looked panicked and crashed through the bushes. “Get away from my mate!” he growled. Now that they were in the clearing, the scene before them was clear – also quite battered and injured, but not Poisoned, was the Illumise, guarding 3 eggs in a small nest on the low branch of a tree. Meanwhile, two Ekans lay slumped on the floor – these must have been the Ekans that Volbeat had defeated earlier. Two more, who looked relatively healthy, snapped at the Illumise, partially slithering up the tree before the Illumise, panting, beat them back down again. One arched its neck, and flung itself powerfully upward, trying to attack the Illumise with a Poison Sting move. “No!” Volbeat cried, jumping in the way of the attack. He was able to block the attack from hitting his mate, but crashed to the ground afterward. “Help…us…” he pleaded Taro and Jangu, before fainting.


Bulbasaur crouched low to the ground, hiding behind Taro’s legs. Would he call on her to fight? It would be one vs. two with only Duncan, though perhaps Illumise would fight too. She needed to stay in the tree and guard her eggs though, so it could be hard…

.


Wild Illumise has appeared!
Lv. 7
Gender: Female
Ability: Tinted Lens: The power of “not very effective” moves is doubled.
Nature: Bashful
Moves: Tackle, Play Nice, Sweet Scent


 
Two Wild Ekans have appeared!
Lv. 5
Gender: Male, Female
Ability: Shed Skin, Intimidate
Nature: Serious, Rash
Moves: Wrap, Leer, Poison Sting

[adumbratus]

Tarovir just snarled, looking down at Duncan. "Go! Show them what you can do!" Duncan barked, running forward.


Duncan has entered battle!
Lv. 5
Gender: Male
Ability: Quick Feet (ups speed with status effects)
Nature: Adamant
Moves: Tackle, Howl, Play Rough

Duncan planted himself before the Ekans, barking sharply to get their attention. "Hey! Leave them alone!" He summoned his strength, and let out a fearsome Howl, boldly marking the area as his own- and Poochyena were not known for taking kindly to strangers or mean people in their territory!

Jangu was just snarling irritably, glancing at the obviously-scared bulbasaur. "You don't have to fight- but I'm sure you can see these numbers are unfair." Her eyes flicked back to the Ekans.... If she only had herself to worry about, she'd be on them in an instant- but with Taro...

[Rin]

The Ekans turned around quickly as Taro, Jangu, Duncan and Bulbasaur burst into the clearing. “Get out!” they chorused angrily in unison. “Thissss isss not your fight, Trainer and daemon.” They backed up though as Duncan ran forward, snarling angrily and letting out a great Howl. “Sssilly Poochyena,” one hissed, “If that’sss what you really want!” It glared at Duncan, using Leer in order to lower the pup’s defenses. As this happened, the other seemed to shoot across the clearing to where the Poochyena was, and flung its body forward, attempting to Wrap and constrict Duncan in its coils


Illumise’s heart had jumped in her chest when she had seen Volbeat fall, but she gave an audible sigh of relief as Taro and Duncan stepped up to fight. Their nest might have a chance after all, and she could see the poison had left Volbeat now that he had fainted. “Th-thank you, so much,” she called out to Taro as she clutched low over her eggs, shivering and sporting multiple injuries. Meanwhile, Bulbasaur looked up at Jangu. She was right, it really was unfair and the poor Duncan would probably lose at this rate, just due to sheer numbers. She really should fight…but the two snake Pokemon looked so terrifying and she couldn’t help but shrink back for the moment.

[adumbratus]

Duncan froze a bit at the leer, tail drooping somewhat- his first battle, and it was really scary! He couldn't let himself be intimidated, though, he had to- He let out a yelp as he was grabbed, near instantly scrabbling to try and get away. <"Taroooo!!"> He wailed, now very much scared and unsure what to do.

Tarovir was incredibly upset- he and Jangu both wanted to go over and beat the snakes into submission, but pokemon fights were highly ritualized and organized. If they interfered, they had waved their own white flag. So all he could do was just stand there and make unhappy faces at the Ekans.

Dunca continued whining and scrabbling to get free. He whined a bit more, finally just batting at the Ekans who had grabbed him, starting to really Play Rough with the creature. "Lemmee go!"

[Rin]

Unfortunately, Play Rough was a Fairy-type move so its effectiveness was lessened against the Ekans. She hissed angrily and let go of Duncan though – some of those bats of his paw to the nose had been quite painful – but her Wrap at least ensured that there would be a little constriction damage each turn to the pup. It was 2 on 1, and it seemed like the Poochyena’s silly Trainer wasn’t giving his Pokemon any advice at all. Weren’t Trainers supposed to give their Pokemon orders in battle? The Ekans looked at each other and shrugged. It wasn’t their problem if the Trainer didn’t know how to battle.


This time, both of the Ekans prepared to Wrap Duncan in their coils. Bulbasaur watched, frightened. What if they won? Would all of Illumise and Volbeat’s eggs be eaten? Would they attack her next? What would happen to Tarovir and Jangu? Just as one of the Ekans was about to Wrap himself around Duncan, she decided she’d have to help them, even if she was terrified. She jumped out from behind Jangu’s leg, Tackling the Ekans powerfully and sending him slamming into a tree where it sat for a moment, dazed. “L-leave him alone!” she Growled. The other Ekans whipped around, and instead or Wrapping Duncan again she fixed her gaze on Bulbasaur, Leering in a sinister manner. “You want to be eaten up too, don’t you little Bulbassssaur? Too bad plantssss aren’t tasty…” she grinned as she slithered towards the shivering plant-dinosaur.

[adumbratus]

Duncan plopped onto the ground, shaking himself out before hopping to his paws again. His chest hurt from the stupid, mean Ekans, but that didn't meant anything! He'd still fight! He yelped when lunged at though, trying to scrabble away, looking incredibly relieved when the Bulbasaur interevened. "Yeah!" He barked, seeming to realize something and turning back to Tarovir. The man also seemed relieved, and just gave Duncan a little node. The little pup felt his heart leap. "Okay. Okay!" He yelped, turning back to the mean snakes with a snarl. "You're not gonna eat her!" He cried, letting out another little Howl, this one less shaky than the first, and getting a good running start before hurling himself at the already-wounded Ekans in a Tackle. Maybe if her friend was all beat-up, she would leave his friend alone!

Tarovir was not as reassured as he would have liked. He kept going to speak, only to have Jangu shoot him a look. Yes, he knew, if you shout out what they're going to do, they can anticipate the attack blah blah he was still allowed to be nervous about the battle. "They know what they're doing..." Jangu tried to soothe. Taro huffed, and just crossed his arms. "Keep your head up!" He called, though, to the little bulbasaur. "I know you can do it!"