Mahogany Knoll

[latani]

(Ignoring Roar.)
No victory cry sounded from the four as they watched Farfetch'd go down, knowing that there was a long, pain in the ass trek to carry the bird back to its master. Tanya stooped to pat Ironhide lightly, the gesture a commendation for his work. The Aron inclined his head, acknowledging the silent praise and doing no more. He was quickly returned to his ball and restored to her messenger bag so that she could focus on the Farfetch'd.

Saphira yawned widely, scratching her cheek as her trainer shuffled forwards and scooped the unconscious avian into her arms. Like the last time, she also plucked its leek from the leaves, shoving it into her pocket. "A'ight you two, let's roll," Tanya told her patiently waiting partners. Saphira grinned at her trainer and hustled forwards, making sure to keep her flaming tail well away from the burnable shrubbery.

A silent whisper of wings unfolding was all that came from Starscream as the steel bird lifted up and circled around the vast expanse of brown. Tilting his body, the raptor angled towards the way they'd come for the long, annoying walk all the way back to Sylvester.

Exit to Luminous Vale

[Tyger]

Incoming from Luminous Vale

Justin leaned up against the tree of choice, nibbling on a sandwich as he did so. Simba's head was down, nibbling on a few bites of food while they rested. They'd been at the forest for the better part of the day, wandering and learning it's twists and turns. Funny, too, that they hadn't ran into any trainers or anything else. Pokemon were easy enough to dodge, as Justin had practically booked it through most of the forest. However, he was getting pretty tired, pretty quickly.

"I need my second wind here soon. Getting pretty winded."

Justin murmured, rubbing his forehead with his sleeve. It was getting kinda hot, too.

"Think you could carry me the rest of the way?"

Justin joked to the lion, who refused to look up from his food and acknowledge said joke. Instead, they just continued to eat silently to themselves, until Justin had finished and begun to pack up.

"Well... let's get to it, kitty."


Exiting to Pine Gap

[Tyger]

Incoming from Pine Gap

Justin was aware that Surreo had popped out of his Pokeball to follow Justin for a good leg of the trip. They had walked in silence, Justin carrying the heaviest bag, while Surreo levitated the second bag behind him. Psh, easy way out. The trees and flowers he'd been so adamant on taking pictures of were too dark to notice, and the only light before them was the glow of the psychic energy Surreo was using, and a flashlight Justin was using to make sure he followed the path and didn't trip. It was only a matter of time, Justin thought, until Surreo would say what was on his mind. The Gallade was patient, and was probably waiting for the right time. If his team was about to mutiny, Justin needed to know about it. 

"You're freakin' me out, being all quiet like that. What is it?" Justin finally asked, looking over at the Gallade as they walked. Taken aback by the abrupt bluntness, Surreo recomposed himself and let out a small shrug. They always communicated telepathically, so Surreo's replies were always in Justin's head. Justin was probably talking to fill the empty space in the air. I just... wanted to make sure you are okay. The Gallade thought simply, turning his head to face the road once more. Justin digested the sentence, and tried to pinpoint when he wasn't 'okay.' "Wasn't aware that I was in a situation where I wasn't okay and needed to be asked. Sorry if that's the case, but i'm fine." 

It's just that.. we're going to be at the Conservation Center while you train up more Pokemon... Surreo began, and Justin's heart sank. Did they really think he was going to replace them? Yes, actually. Well crap, he can read my thoughts. We've established this quite a while ago. Yeah, well sometimes I forget. Clearly. Well, read this, Surreo. I'm not replacing you. There was silence for a few paces, and Justin concentrated on the road, clenching his jaw. There'd be more words spoken on this, mainly because the trainer was a little hurt that the team even thought that. It was out of the question. He'd never replace the team. Only add to it. That's what Pokemon training was, right? "Crossroad." Justin grunted, and turned towards the Luminous Vale. Surreo was silent, evidently digesting the double meaning of Justin's last word.

Exiting to Luminous Vale

[Tyger]

Incoming from Gleaming Hollow

With the newest bounty, Farfetch'd number 1, draped across the back of the Tauros, Rhoan squinted and peered as she watched the trees go by. "Damn trees.. they never freakin' end." Finding the birds for Sylvester was the only job she had at the moment, and even then, she still had to find the next damn bird before she could turn them in. Handing him on half-dead bird wasn't going to be enough. "Hey, you think I could just get a Pidgey or something? Would that still work?" Ready to get out of Ilex, Rhoan was trying to think of anything but continuing to search for a needle in a haystack. 

"Okay, I guess not. Your silence is loud." She patted the Tauros's neck, who merely snorted and continued at the given pace. His bulky body seemed to blend in with the forest and trees, at least. Rhoan hadn't made a mistake when it came to using Ares for getaways and travel. "Alright. What did Sylvester dude say about the next bird? Somewhere where a lazy Pokemon is. What kind of hint is that?" Rhoan snorted, crossing her arms. Her Tauros rolled his eyes before skidding to a stop for his trainer to look around. From what Rhoan could tell, however, lazy Pokemon weren't necessarily in abundance here.

"Most Pokemon can't afford to be lazy in a Forest. Bugs get eaten if they're lazy. Lazy birds don't get food. Something would have to need like, no food, and no predators to end up being lazy here." Rhoan wasn't a scientist, but at least she knew there weren't any lazy Pokemon here. "Let's keep going. I think we'll eventually hit a Pokemon or two that are lazy. Lazy Pokemon don't run away or fight, ya know?" Deductive reasoning was sound enough, right? The next path ahead of them began to recede into pine trees. Perhaps something down there? She could turn right, and head back to the bright vale where she found the Ledyba, but since there was no Farfetch'd there... it had to be somewhere with the Pine trees, or in a totally different part of Ilex all together. Cursing her predicament, she kicked her heels into Ares's flank, urging him to press on for the Pine Gap. She'd find that damn bird. She'd find it, even if she had to burn down this whole forest. She took the job, she'd damn well finish it.


Exiting to Pine Gap

[Tyger]

Incoming from Pine Gap

Riding Ares was less taxing than walking the entire way, especially if she had to carry the birds the entire way by herself. Ares was convenient and powerful at that. She'd made her choice wisely, bring him along. However, the extra weight was proving to be quite a challenge, as Ares trekked with the two birds and his trainer. He was still a young bull, and was probably moving a little slower with the weight. "Having issues?" The normally quiet bull grunted and continued forward, albeit slower than his normal pace. Rhoan thought for a few moments before she slid off Ares's side to walk alongside him. 

The bull blinked and then hunched his shoulders as they walked, as if he were stretching them out. Rhoan kept silent as they progressed, placing a hand on his hide to help steer the steer. "We should have a few more places to hit, and then we'll be back where that Sylvester kid is. Dumb kid, to lose the Pokemon like that. He's lucky someone hungry for that HM came along." She muttered, absentmindedly fiddling with part of the reigns as they walked. Ares remained silent, although he did continue to watch Rhoan out of the corner of his eye. Was he sizing her up? The trainer half wished the brute would utter a word, instead of snorts and grunts. But, it wasn't up to her. If the bull didn't want to make a sound, that was his problem.

"After that, I got word of some work in Azalea. Finally time to step it up in the company, you know?" Rhoan nudged Ares with her elbow in a chummy way. Ares hefted his shoulders and shrugged. "After that, we'll rocket our way through this stupid forest again and see what Goldenrod has for us. How's that sound?" There was also a festival going on. She'd heard a few travelers mention it as they passed through here, so maybe she could make something of that too. "TM's, Pokemon and other stuff to nab. I think it'd be useful to hit that festival they keep chittering about too." As they walked, Ares swished his tails and Rhoan kept a hand on his hide. The Knoll was coming to an end as the light shifted to more of the Luminous Vale type. "Heh. Not far now. Hope he likes his Farfetch'd on the unconscious side."

Exiting to Luminous Vale

[Lamont]

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He had to have been in this forest hours now -- or at least it felt like it. The paths through the forest quite often hid among the fallen brush and leaf of the canopy above, a few times while he was walking toward it. No doubt some bird or other tree dweller bouncing quietly along one of the highest branches to escape the watchful eyes the ranger had full confidence were on him. Still, this was basically the forest experience he was expecting when he first walked in the sea of trees that was Ilex. At the very least he didn't feel like he was going to be jumped like in the earlier parts of his venture today. This new area of wood was a bit dark, yes, but in a vibrant hue of fall that made it feel like he was taking a pleasant stroll approaching sundown. [break] [break]

The boy paused here, the melodic clicks of a near Kricketot singing through the clearing. The boy decided now would b ea good time to take a breather and observe the makings of the trees; trying to match up the clues which Sylvester gave him. It seemed he was getting close. The bulk of deciduous trees dominating the brighter section of forest from which he came were being overtaken by needles, and the trunks were definitely thicker in this little area. [break] [break]

He walked around it, keeping extra care to note the break of trees of which he entered from. This area of Ilex was definitely less traveled than the rest. The solid layer of red leaves and dead fall looked to be undisturbed even by many pokémon. Though, this eventually got him to catch onto the faint ducky-footprints that had trudged through the ground born leaves. Renewed energy sparked within him: it had to be the Farfetch'd! What other duck-like pokémon would be in this dry area?[break] [break]

Quietly patting himself on the back Damien took after the trail. Maybe he was finally becoming a true ranger. A year ago he'd probably have been bumbling and lost at this point, perhaps even find himself circling back to the clearing with Sylvester a time or two. Now... just hopefully he wasn't just following a ghost trail.

Word Count: 372

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((Coming from Luminous Vale. Adding words to Incubator. Leaving to Pine Gap.))


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[Lamont]

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Yes! This looked familiar. The autumn clearing was a relieving sight to see. Booker matched his trainer's pleasure with a skip forward and continued sniffing. Damien remembered having walked around this area quite a bit due to his fondness of the atmosphere, so he wasn't too surprised to find his herdier trotting circles all around trying to find the oldest trail of the ranger in order to lead him back near the entrance. [break] [break]

In the meantime Damien found a chewed trunk of tree to seat himself on and take a quick break. His legs ached at this point from all the activity in the Pine Gap and general walking all day. Though, it almost felt too good. When Booker announced his findings Damien was loathe to stand again; but he did. Oh he couldn't wait to finish this little side quest he'd undertaken. And to think, he'd probably not even explored half of what this forest was. Ilex's size was mind boggling. [break] [break]

"Good boy, Booker. You're going to get a treat tonight." The boy and his dog continued through the immense wood.

Word Count: 182

[break] [break]

((Coming from Pine Gap. Adding words to Incubator. Leaving to Luminous Vale.))

[Tyger]

GRAYE'S MARINADES

-Coming From Luminous Vale- 

The same shady, dark feel from Shady Glen was mirrored here in Mahogany Knoll. The cool, fall breeze seemed to ruffle through Sam's hair and cause a bit of flopping with Anapa's ears. The hound didn't like that and immediately pressed them to the sides of her head in distress, letting out a little whine of irritation. She didn't make too many sounds, so Sam was slightly amused at the Riolu's expense. "It's just a little wind, but I can understand if it's a bit obnoxious with those ears." Sam pressed forward, feet crunching in a seemingly endless sea of leaves. 

"This place is definitely orange... and brown.." Old, fallen trees dotted the landscape and the rest that wasn't covered in orange and brown leaves were rotting stumps just waiting for time to consume. Perhaps each layer of the forest was just packed in by trainers stomping around in the leaves. Wasted trees packed in with leaves upon leaves, and then the next generation comes to the same thing, different day. Odd musings aside, this could definitely be a place where she might find a Farfetch'd. 

"What was it he said about the orange and brown place again? Something about... a bird?" Her eyes scanned the canopy above her. Occasionally she'd get a glance of a black and white species of bird (she was thankful they didn't battle her right now) and their cries were definitely... jarring... But aside from that nothing else really stuck out about the place. "It's too bad both of them aren't here. I hope at least one is, and I really hope they don't rotate around and just mess with us. Finding two places isn't bad... but chasing them through the entirety of Ilex? Not so much. Do you see anything, Anapa?" 

The Riolu turned on Sam's shoulder to look over her own, but the wasteland of leaves was all she could see for now. Pokemon rustled below and around them, but there was no way of determining if they were a Farfetch'd or not. "I guess we should be quiet and see if it stumbles this way." Realizing Anapa would be quiet anyway and Sam's own blabbering would give them away, she decided to stay silent from here on out until something shuffled their way. Hopefully a bird. Just not the black and white ones. Anapa's eyes scanned the area as well, her body tense.

-Waiting for Encounter- 

Waiting for possible Farfetch'd encounter. Please attach EXP Share to Anapa, please.

[Marchbaby]

Samantha and Anapa would not have to wait very long at all to find out if they were in the right area. From a nearby pile of leaves a green and white stalk popped up and began moving around. At first it seemed as though the leaves were haunted by the mysterious vegetable until an orange beak popped out as well. The strange sight only fully made sense when the rest of the Pokemon jumped out of the pile and looked around. Farfetch'd was no genius but it had sensed the presence of Samantha and did not believe for a moment that she was an ordinary visitor. She had to have been sent by Sylvester.

The duck Pokemon had no desire to go back to its numbskull of a trainer as it quite liked exploring Ilex Forest. There were plenty of Pokemon to challenge and best of all it did not have to follow orders. Farfetch'd was still certain that defeating Samantha was the only way to avoid going back. It was a very confident fighter but the Riolu on her back unnerved Farfetch'd a bit as they were a rare species and only a strong trainer would have one in their possession. The flying type Pokemon could not allow pride to cloud its judgement in this battle knowing that. Farfetch'd still could not allow fear to overcome its fighting skills either and balancing the two would take all of its skill.

Waiting for the right moment to strike Farfetch'd looked Samantha right in the eyes with great determination. This was going to be quite a tough battle if Farfetch'd could avoid mistakes.

Sylvester's Farfetch'd appeared. Please go here to battle it.

[Tyger]

GRAYE'S MARINADES

Anapa's cool eyes watched every movement of Farfetch'd, but she was not the duck's opponent today. Instead, all focus was on the spirited Icarus who simply glided down to the ground when it was time to actually battle. He had to get his bit of affection in every time he was released, after all, he was Sam's favorite. Or so he liked to think. Being her starter, alongside the egg that eventually hatched into Garrus, things had started off with the pair. It was only fitting that Icarus was one of her best fighters, especially against such a leery opponent. The Emolga hadn't seen such a Pokemon before, especially one so keen on fighting with... vegetables... but it couldn't be helped. If that was his charge, he'd zap it.

"Anapa, this is Icarus."

Sam introduced, knowing the Emolga could feel the steely eyes of the Riolu on his back. It didn't matter though, Icarus wasn't one to bend under pressure or have any sort of battle anxiety. In fact, the glider was a bit of a showboat at times. Having an audience was everything the Emolga needed. 

"He was my starter Pokemon. I started my journey with him, and an egg. That egg held Garrus, kinda like your egg did too. You'll meet him later." Sam promised, going a bit off tangent for a moment. "Icarus mainly fights with electricity and flying moves." At the mention of flying, Anapa winced slightly. It was the fighting in her probably. "But don't worry, he's definitely on your side." She promised, giving the Riolu a little wink. At mention of his name once more, Icarus turned around and gave a small bow to the Riolu. It was actually nice to have another Pokemon close to Icarus's size. At least to the glider, that is.

Obviously irritated that this lesson was taking precious time away from both the battle and the Farfetch'd's freedom from Sylvester, the bird took a step forward. 

That was it's mistake.

Having figured the battle was fully initiated, Icarus sped into action almost too quick to see. Anapa's soft gasp of shock was right in Sam's ear, since she was on her shoulder, but Sam kept quiet. Electricity sparked off of the glider's body as he rocketed forward, getting as much height as possible before he charged into the bird Pokemon. Even though Farfetch'd leek was at the ready, there was no use. It was over before it had practically began. Farfetch'd fell to the ground in a heap of charred feathers, it's body occasionally twitching when a bit of static went through it. Anapa still seemed to be in shock with how quickly the battle was over. 

In a burst of light, Commander burst from his ball in a torrent of flames and hissing only to be met with a fainted bird already. If Anapa was the perfect student, Commander was the worst. Dejected, the feline cast a sideglance at Icarus, who simply shrugged and hugged Sam's pants leg in undying affection. Commander rolled his eyes and sniffed at the fainted body of the Farfetch'd before sighing and trudging back to Sam's side. "Aww, i'm sorry Commander. Perhaps we'll get you in the next one. I promise there's tons for you to fight in this forest so don't worry." She winked, returning all of the Pokemon but Anapa. 

"That was Commander. He's a bit of an older Pokemon, but he's always itching for a fight. He's desperate to prove himself, so he was really looking forward to that battle. He may have started later than most of the other Pokemon but he makes up for it with spirit. So, let's go find that second bird, shall we?" Sam grinned, picking up the Farfetch'd before turning to look at the paths. With a quick glance, Anapa pointed down another path. 'Pine Gap'.

"Looks promising! Pine trees have pinecones, right?"

-Leaving to Pine Gap-

[Sacred Fire]

Reet, reet, reeta, the sounds of crickets could be heard as she entered the area it was unmistakeable that this was the area that Sylvester had mentioned earlier. Avila was positive of it. The surrounding trees in the forest had an eerie dark brown color to it. Fog settled right in making the darkness even less inviting than the beginning part of the forest had been. Despite this fear that she had of it, creatures and creepy crawlers lurking around each corner, Avila knew she had no time to be scared. With Blazebit at her side she knew that they could just conqure about anything that came into their path.

"Well this has to be it, we came to the spot where the cricket pokemon are. I think." Avila said as Blazebit nodded in agreement. His flame tail was lighting up the area just a bit so they could see. Suppose this forest was the very essence of where ghost stories came from. Avila liked that stuff, especially around halloween. But the thing was, this forest was probably like that all the time here and year round.


"Farfetch'd, where did ya go!?" Avila called out hoping that her calls would be answered by a cry of a pokemon. But it was silent out. So far she could see nothing and hear nothing. There were patches of grass like the last part of the forest. What about trying searching there in the mean time? "Well I guess we're back to searching in the grass." She pointed out as Blazebit nodded in agreement. She soon went into the long and tall grass. It was up to her waste at this point and now she was vulnerable to any pokemon that might come out and jump at her. But Blazebit wasn't going to let that happen on his watch. Aphrodite and Phyrus had been able to hold them off too so she was proud of her entire team so far.

Ooc: Coming from Luminous Vale

[Midnightive]

At first, the grass seems to only bend lightly in the wind. The wind gently ruffled the bending grass the length of the grass did hide Pokemon perfectly. Avila had taken on such a task to find the missing Pokemon a bird no less. But as the pair started to look closer and closer at the grass in front they noticed it was hitting off something. Moving forward towards the grass a squawk can be heard.

Knowing the squawk they both ran forward to an opening the grass and a very upset Farfetch'd in the middle. There was no denying that was Sylvester's Pokemon. He was banging the ground with his foot likely trying to get a Caterpie to show its self it could eat it.
Turning around to see the human it squawked angrily forgetting about its food. The hot-headed bird was ready for a fight.

Sylvester's Farfetch'd was found please go to here to battle.

[Tyger]

GRAYE'S MARINADES

-Coming from Pine Gap-

Anapa followed dutifully behind Sam, gingerly carring/tugging the Farfetch'd alongside the trainer. The rest of her Pokemon were safe in their pokeballs, resting for the battles to come. Commander had offered to take the second bird, but Anapa refused. Perhaps she saw it as a training exercise? The little pup seemed to have the drive for training, Sam just hoped she'd have a chance to actually work with the little pup. Maybe she had a TM to reward the pup with? 

"Hey, Anapa." Sam broke the silence, breaking herself and the Riolu out of any trance they might have been in. The Riolu looked up at her trainer, blinking slowly. "I think after we finish here, i'd be down to backtrack a little bit so we can do some training. How does that sound?" Sam searched Anapa's eyes for any sort of emotion, and Anapa delivered. The pup smiled a bit, shifted her hold on Farfetch'd, and nodded. Hey, it was progress, right? "Awesome. Sounds like a plan then. Which way again?" So once again, they followed the paw.

-Leaving towards Luminous Vale - 

Taking birbs and heading back to Mahogany Knoll. Word count to Nursery!

[Tarlar]

--Entering from Luminous Vale--

The forest changed once more and it became much darker and the swarming pokemon from the sunny part of the forest disappeared as well, and Amanda floated closer not liking the darkness. Pia continued on and disappeared in the treetops several times only because they were dense.
"There is not much which can survive down here, huh?" Astrid said quietly and Amanda jingled quietly as answer. Yakul snorted and shuffled a bit louder through the leaves, snatching a stick here and there, then bleated and made weird steps that kicked some of the dry leaves into the air.
"Do you have fun Yakul?" Astrid chuckled and then realized this must be the first time the skiddo saw this much dead leaves.

Nothing happened for another hour and then Astrid realized that she was surrounded by light and things got darker further out. She looked around worriedly until she saw that it came from Amanda and eyed her surprised.
"Have you been using Flash for long?" Astrid asked and The chimecho chimed happily, she liked that she could chase of the darkness.
Astrid stopped Yakul and looked around more closely.
"Oh my goodness, it has become much darker than I had realized!" She exclaimed and Amanda chimed and lit up more making Astrid smiled tiredly to her, "Thank you Amanda, but we need to find to set up the tent, it must be past dinner time. Pia! Come here, we need to find a place to stay for the night!"
Pia came flying down curiously and looked hesitant.
"This is too uneven and there is too much there needs to be moved for a tent to be put up, can you find a place where there is enough room for me to lay down?" Astrid asked guessing that Pia didn't know what she was looking for now. The trumbeak nodded and set off again.
The darkness didn't really become more dense as they continued but that was because the trees began to thin out and the sky became clear.

Wordcounts: 339
--leaving for Pine Gap--

[Tarlar]

--Returning from Pine Gap--

It had been an early morning, Astrid and her pokemon had woken not long after the sun rose and they took a slow morning, eating the porridge she made and slowly packed things up. The farfetch'd had stayed with them, not that it had much choice since Pia was watching it like a hawk, and it learned that Janus had webbed its feet during the night to further keep it in place. The farfetch'd rolled its eyes and when it asked Janus to why, he simply told it, it was so Pia could get some rest as well. The brown bird looked directly at the tiny joltik when it easily lifted its webbed feet and snapped the strings tying it down, Janus didn't look bothered at all or surprised it could which left it watching him uncertain.

Astrid got the tent taken down and packed with the help of Lykke and Amanda mostly and made sure the backpacks was laying good on Yakul and wouldn't fall off before she turned to the others.
"Alright, I am going to recall some of you and then we head back to Sylvester. I sure do hope he is still there and that he has not gotten into trouble with his father yet," she said cheerfully and looked around in between them. Farfetch'd sighed and trotted to stand ready at her side to show that it was ready to go and would follow her, she smiled down to it and then made her decission.
"Baard, please come here," she called and the vivillon flew to her side, she took off the exp. share and put it on the head of Yakul, then she recalled the young butterfly. Janus, Amanda and Lykke soon followed and Pia raised her beak proudly when she realized she was the only one staying out beside Yakul, who of course needed to carry Astrid. She eyed the farfetch'd as she was sure what her task would be, the other bird rolled its eyes and ignored its guard as it followed Astrid and Yakul back to where she had met Sylvester.

They soon entered the gloom of the big mahoganies and this time Yakul dragged her hooves through the leaves, to make a shuffling sound. The birds followed on foot with the air cold as ice in between them.
"I wonder if they plan on cutting down those trees as well?" Astrid asked herself quietly as she looked around at the majestic forest, "I hope not, they look old."

Other than seeing a few sentrets shuffling around and burring food for later, they didn't see anything else during the trek and soon the forest thinned.

Wordcount: 449
--Leaving for Luminous Vale--