On the Trail We Blaze [Mod]

[Michael Davis]

It was finally happening. After years of preparing and dreaming, after countless hours spent watching influencers on their own adventures, Michael was finally walking down the path that so many had done before him. It was a path that many would walk long after him as well. It was the path of the Pokemon Trainer; one that would involve many trials and tribulations. Danger could lurk behind any corner. Hardships may lie in waiting for the unsuspecting. Heavy emotions would threaten to erode the mind of the unprepared. Knowing all of this, Michael's first step planted firmly over the precipice of Route 29.

Michael knew of the hardships ahead. He knew of the insurmountable odds that could stand in his way. He understood that heartache and sorrow could spring up at a moment's notice. But he also knew that with the dark times came the light. With the insurmountable odds came the teamwork to break through them. There was a beacon of hope that radiated brightly in the Ranger's core. And there was an undying trust in himself and the Pokemon he would call his family along the way. Hope, Love, Pride, Hate, Fear, Anguish; These were all natural emotions. And Michael vowed to conquer them all.

With two brand new Pokemon added to the Ranger's roster, it was time to embark on their Pokemon Journey. The Ranger had hoped that, rather than this misty haze that obscured his vision with a visibility of about twenty feet, he would embark on Route 29 with the sun shimmering down upon him. It mattered little, though, since nothing was going to sour his mood for a long while. What could be more exciting that beginning a new chapter in one's life, after all?

Even with the sun hiding behind the obscure cumulous clouds, Michael found pleasure in the current weather. The cool mist felt nice as it kissed his skin with its soft moisture. Just as well, Eimyrja's tail acted as a beacon that helped to light the way. Though the group needed to be careful. It would be too easy to trip and fall if they didn't pay attention to their surroundings.

"Stay close guys," Michael cautioned, keeping his head on a swivel as the trio walked. "We don't want to let any Wild Pokemon catch us by surprise. So let's keep an eye out for any so we can add numbers to the team."

By some odd coincidence, or a stroke of luck, Michael and his Party arrived at Cherrygrove with nary a scratch. It was quite possible that the smokescreen of mist covered the team's movements. So the team decided to rest for a while before continuing on to Route 30. Their team was still lacking, and Michael wished to get more experience with battling other Pokemon Trainers.

---

OOC: Route 30, Daytime. Running Shoes [On]

[necroix]

The decision to take a small rest seemed to be the best one that the trio had decided to take. While the mist had originally been the start of their journey into Route 30, it seemed the mists began to part once more. The sun that had been previously hidden behind the clouds seemed to part and the first rays of light cast shadows over the trees and a warmth began to cover the area. After so much mist and low visibility, it seemed that pokemon were finally making their way out once more. The trio would see various bugs and wildlife that hadn't been out before and there was definitely a Chatot somewhere mimicking a human's speech it had heard.

What the trio probably didn't expect was that in the midst of all of that, something seemed to appear. While his time in Cherrywood the ranger would have definitely heard of the protected wildlife in Quagsire. Yet right before his eyes one of them seemed to appear its face turned upwards to take in the warmth of the sun that finally peaked through the sky. It was there a few moments and the only thing that seemed to guarantee that the ranger was not hallucinating was the small bit of sway in the Pokemon and its tail that gently hit the ground in a repeating motion.

Only after a few moments did it notice the ranger and his Pokemon. A small tilt of its head as if it was seeing if they were real as well. Though it disappeared back into the tree line for a moment Michael could count it as one of the rare sightings that he had seen on Route 30, before it seemed to reappear. It waddled its way slowly over to the ranger before looking at him for a few moments in its arms a variety of things that it had probably picked up from humans that had passed through. As if judging his good nature the Pokemon set the items down leaving them for him.

<"Quag. Sire."> A moment of it staring at the ranger before once again turning and heading back into the trees. If this was not a good sign to the start of his journey nothing would be. It seemed the Quagsire had wanted to reward Michael for the good heart that he had towards pokemon and others.

Michael encountered a protected Quagsire!
Quagsire left the following items:


Polished Mud Ball x2
A Pearl

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[Michael Davis]

Michael was certainly hoping to encounter some rare Pokemon on his journey. But never did he expect to meet the very Pokemon that was protected by the preservation in and around Cherrygrove City! Perhaps the up-and-coming Ranger was lucky indeed! Michael and his Pokemon pair stood and watched in awe by the very encounter. The Quagsire waddled up to the group with its usual content look on their face.

"Well hello there," Michael greeted with a smile and a gentle wave.

If the preservation protected these Pokemon, then even so much as touching one could land him in a heap of trouble. Though, admittedly, it was incredibly difficult to resist the temptation probing at the front of his mind; A temptation to just reach out and hug the blue Water and Ground type Pokemon. With the light blue coloration and those paws, the Fishlike creature was just so adorable! Powerful emotions of joy and wonder threatened to drown out his thoughts.

When the Quagsire shuffled past the treeline, Michael and his gang were left with looks of confusion. Did they want them to wait there? Or had the Pokemon wanted indulge in their inquisitiveness?

The answer would soon reveal itself when the Quagsire returned. And with gifts of all things! Smiling brilliantly, the Ranger and his two Pokemon each offered a grateful bow to Quagsire.

"Why thank you, Quagsire! We appreciate the presents!"

Only when the generous gentle Pokemon turn to leave did Michael retrieve what was on the ground before him.

"Oh, wow!" he enthused! "Two polished mud balls and a pearl! Though what will I do with the mud? I guess we can check what they're used for at the Pokemart?"

Shrugging, Michael placed the three new gifts into his bag for later.

"Let's continue on and see what other Pokemon would like to join our adventure!"

[Caramell 🍬]

A small green caterpillar slowly crawled out from between the tangle of bright green grasses. Their colors mirrored so similarly that only it's bright red antennas protruding from the top of its head could make the nearly invisible Pokemon appear. It stared skittishly, cooing softly underneath its breath, and scooted slowly back inside of the grass as a large avian swooped down, missing it entirely, and landed on the ground. It puffed up it's feathers and pecked through the grass in hot pursuit. That tasty bug was hiding somewhere inside of the tall grass, it just had to find it!

Caterpie spat a long, sticky string of thread in the wild bird's face, causing it to stumble backwards with a loud screech. That was it! Hope blossomed in the small bug's eyes. If it could chase away this monstrous bird, then it would survive! Death stared at it in the form of two sharp beaks. The wild bird scratched at the ground with its sharp talons, trying to kick the wild bug out from hiding. Another face full of sticky thread! This time, Caterpie bound the wild bird's beak up with its strings. Finally! It slammed it's head against the wild bird's chest several times, huffing in pain and exhaustion but refusing to give up.

Eventually, Caterpie chased is predator away. Victory! But it was short lived as its eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the wandering ranger. Who was this trainer?! What did they want?! "Please leave me alone!" The small bug cried, quickly darting into the tall grass to obscure itself. "I'm just a weak little bug. I wouldn't be any fun to battle. Please, don't eat me!" After all, it had just defeated one monstrous predator. It wasn't ready to chase away another one anytime soon. Maybe they weren't mean trainers... But how could Caterpie tell? It has heard so many tales of mean trainers capturing wild Pokemon and forcing them to do horrendous things.

A Wild Caterpie Appeared!

Level 9. What will Ranger Michael do?

Shiny? bItH9bQm1-421-42

[Michael Davis]

Michael and company expected to witness some fresh sights. The trio was thrilled to witness the display of power between the caterpillar and the avian threat, even though it was a natural occurrence for wild Pokemon to fight in the wilderness. Eimyrja and Ratatouille both ventured forth with every intention of helping the Caterpie. Michael was quick, however, and knelt down to halt his enthusiastic partners, both of which sent a confused glance to the Ranger.

"Hang tight, you two," he requested. "I know it sucks, but we have to let this run its course. All Pokemon who live in the wild are a part of an ecosystem, and each Pokemon has just as much a right to survive as the next. That bird Pokemon might need sustenance to feed its family for all we know. Other times I'd intervene right with you. But, as much as I hate doing nothing, we can't interfere. Not yet."

Michael's words had sincerity to them. He was hurting, having to watch Nature take its course, though he silently cheered the emerald caterpillar on. They were putting on quite the fight, too! Against all odds, the Bug Pokemon seemed they would certainly come out on top!

With one final tackle, the caterpillar sent the bird packing! Michael smiled and pumped his fist into the air, even if a part of him felt bad that the bird might go hungry. Sadly, the exhausted insect cried out as a warning to Michael and his team. Though Michael wasn't fluent in Pokemon quite yet, he understood threat displays when he witnessed them. Fortunately, Eimyrja and Ratatouille might have the ability to calm the Caterpie down.

Michael settled onto the ground to get comfortable. Lowering himself might show that he wasn't a threat.

"Hey guys," he began, "could you check if the Caterpie isn't hurt? Let them know that we're not bad, okay?"

Ratatouille stepped forward as a volunteer. He looked back to his two friends and gave a firm nod.

"Maybe I can coax them out," he offered. "I'm small too, but tough. Maybe I can help convince them to join us."

The purple rodent hopped toward the tall grass. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air.

"Hey, it's okay," he offered, "you can come out now! We don't wanna battle you. In fact, we think you're really tough! We could use a strong Pokemon like you by our side!"

Eimyrja took a step forward now. Perhaps she could aid ratatouille in the negotiations.

"Our Trainer is really nice," she assured. "He treats us with kindness and care. You'll be safe with us."

Michael, meanwhile, fished out a Pokeball from his bag. He activated it, allowing it to grow to its full size. He then set the Pokeball on the ground before him as a peace offering. If the Caterpie was to join the crew, the Ranger wished to give them the choice.

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OOC: Micahel sends out Ratatoille and offers a Pokeball to Caterpie!

[Pixel]

The caterpie spooked when approached. It was bruised up from being pecked at by the bird and it was clearly still on edge. It spat a little string between them out of instinct and fear, "W-watch out. I-I'm tougher than I look." Tough but tired. So, so, tired. It just wanted to rest a little, not get into ANOTHER battle with these strong, trainer lead pokemon. A tremble quivered through it. The little worm whimpered. It was so afraid that it would have to fight OR be captured and forced to do terrible things! It was scared. So, so, scared.

But the other pokemon offered gentle assurances.

"...You...you're not gonna hurt me?" it asked softly. "I...I don't like fighting very much." Little legs wiggled as it fussed with a nearby blade of grass. "I...I just...want to be safe. I...I want to have a safe, dry place where I can maybe build a cocoon in peace but there are so many birds here. And trainers! I don't know if I'll ever get to evolve..." It wibbled a bit. "...Do...do you think...if I go with you two...I could maybe have wings one day? That way, I can fly far, far away from those mean birds?"

Because it was such a tired little bug. And so tired of being scared and tired.

It wriggled towards the pokeball.

It glanced up at Michael. 

"...I want to fly one day. I want to be...safe."

And it nudged the pokeball.

In a flash of light, it was captured.

---

Ratatoille gained +3 levels and grew to level 9

Ratatoille learned Focus Energy



[img src="https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen5ani/caterpie.gif"]
[b]Caterpie[/b]
Name: [choose]
Gender: [choose]
Level: 9
OT: Michael Davis
Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite
Ability: Shield Dust
Nature/Personality: [choose]

Catch? 68% MafKFJcZ1-1001-100