Better late than never [F]

[Professor Oak]

As Astrid rode along on Yakul with hopes of reaching her home in Bloomingvale before dark, a small Nidoran suddenly darted into nearby shrubbery, obscuring itself as best as it could as if playing some sort of game. The little purple creature tried hard to keep silent, but every now and then it let out excited whimpers along with visible clouds of breath.

Signs of the Nidoran's pursuer became more and more apparent as the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs came closer and closer. "You had better show your face immediately! It's almost dark now and I have no idea where Liz and the others have gone," strained the voice. Eventually, the figure of a boy in a scout uniform made his way through the foliage and out into the open. He was covered in mud and his clothes were wet from foraging in the snow looking for his mischievous Pokemon. He did not look like a happy camper at all!

The young trainer did not notice Astrid and her Skiddo until they almost trampled him as he continued to crawl around on his hands and knees in search of his errant Pokemon. When he did look up he jumped up in shock at the sight of the older woman riding on the back of a little goat Pokemon.

"Hey lady!" cried the young boy with a startled tone in his voice. "Have you seen a small Nidoran darting off somewhere?" The camper gave Astrid a rather accusing look, as though suspicious that she may have abducted his Pokemon. No sooner had he thrown the accusation out, he noticed something purple hiding in the shrubs opposite him. "Ah-ha! There you are!" With quick reflexes, the boy reached deep into the bush and dragged out the squealing Nidoran, which seemed to be laughing in glee.

The camper nonetheless seemed tired of his Pokemon's antics and was eager to find his friends and go home. He turned around to leave when a thought struck him. Maybe this strange old lady might be able to help him after all. Perhaps a battle would tire out his energetic little Pokemon and maybe the lady even knew where his friends went. "Hey-ah... ma'am. Was wondering if you wanted to battle? Also... ah.. I seem to have lost my camping group.. have you seen others like me wandering around here?"

Camper Roland and his energetic Nidoran would like to battle!

[Tarlar]

Astrid got pulled out of her worries not long after as a familiar, albeit different pokemon appeared and raced into a bush to hide. Astrid frowned and wondered if it was scared and seeking shelter for something troublesome.
She just got to decide that she would have to be alert and ready for dangers to arrive when a boy emerged too.
Yakul didn't stop or try to dodge him, instead she lowered her horns a bit and stubbornly continued to walk straight at him. It forced Astrid to concentrate on getting a hold of Yakul's horns before the boy got injured in any way.

When Yakul stood still Astrid frowned at something she had heard him say but hadn't really paid attention to. She looked around and didn't think it was that late of the day, it couldn't be! She had set out early to be sure to arrive well before nightfall and even if the melting snow helped lighting up the area it shouldn't make such big of a difference!
The boy had to be mistaken or just saying it to try get whatever he was looking for to work with him, but a little part of her couldn't help but worry she had messed up something and it was much later than she believed.

When the boy unfriendly asked if Astrid had seen the nidoran, both she and Ove pointed at where it was hiding under the bush, and the boy noticed it although it was uncertain for Astrid if it was due to her help or not.

Astrid smiled and shook her head defeated when the boy challenged her to a battle.
"Alright, but only of you tell me your name," Astrid said as she dismounted Yakul.
"As for your friends I have only met one out here and I did not get to chat much with her. She was busy with her phone and wanting to catch Ove here," Astrid said kindly and then thought for a moment.
"She did mention someone called Richard I think, but I am not sure anymore," she added.
"I do not know if she was a part of your group, she was wearing clothes in a similar style of yours and had a lighter colored pokemon similar to yours, which she also called nidoran."

She turned to Yakul and touched her horns.
"He would like a challenge, please be careful," Astrid told the skiddo, whom stepped forward immediately threatening the nidoran with her horns. Although since Astrid had told her to be careful, she understood it as she would have to protect herself, and therefore she began shooting a few seeds at the bunny.

"If you are lost you are more than welcome to come with me, I live in Bloomingvale which is not far from here," Astrid offered and let him think and answer before she continued.
"I am a bit surprised that you said it would soon be dark, as I am sure it is not that late in the day. I was planning on being home before noon, and I do hope that I am not that far off as I will not handle a cold dark night very well, I am afraid," Astrid said with a chuckle and looked questioningly at him.

Wordcounts: 546
(ooc: Yakul uses Leech Seed)

[Marchbaby]

As Astrid pointed out that Roland had forgotten to properly introduce himself he felt a bit foolish and rude and quickly set out to right that mistake. " I feel like such a rude little boy right now, my name is Roland and this here is my Nidoran." After pausing for a moment to point to process what Astrid had told him he was pretty sure that she had met a member of his group. " That must be Liz that you met, yes she can be quite rude at times but her Nidoran really likes mine. I do not recall a Richard but her trying to snatch another trainers Pokemon is not too surprising as she is a bit of a whiner when she does not get her way."

Roland was quite appreciative of Astrid's offer to help him though he had never heard of Bloomingvale. " Thank you very much, I could really use some help trying to find the others but I have never heard of Bloomingvale. Then again I rarely get to venture very far away from Violet City unless I am at a campground. Maybe I am off of the time as well since I am not very used to this area." He said as Nidoran started to slowly grow annoyed that he had yet to issue an order to attack. As he saw Yakul start to grow a Leech Seed however he quickly planned out an attack hoping he could overcome the grass types initiative. " Nidoran quickly use Poison Sting before that Skiddo can launch that seed."

It was too late however as Yakul fired the energy sapping seed right into Nidoran's face as it started to sap his energy. As the seed took a few moments to take effect however Nidoran was able to fire off a series of poison tipped needles from its mouth scoring a direct hit as well. Unlike Yakul he could not get very lucky with the bonus effect his attack could have but it did cause decent damage. Before Roland could celebrate however the Leech Seed finally kicked in sapping some of his Nidoran's energy though not enough to fully recover from the Poison Sting. " That Leech Seed is pretty strong, Nidoran we are going to have to be careful as it will sap your energy each turn until you either get knocked out or win the battle. I am impressed at how useful that move can be."





Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Chinook (Land Pokemon gain +1 speed)

Roland's Nidoran Male | Level 13 | Rivalry |
HP: 86% (33/38)
Status: Normal, Speed +1 (Leech Seed drains 5 HP)
Used Poison Sting!

VS

Yakul | Level 14 | Sap Sipper |
HP: 89% (41/46)
Status: Normal, Speed +1
Used Leech Seed!

[Tarlar]

Astrid smiled warmly as it was always nice when children realized their bad behavior and did their best to make up for it. A lot of adults had trouble admitting their own errors and then they awkwardly tried to explain or excuse themselves where children often had that problem and readily apologized.
"I am Astrid," she chuckled as she had almost forgot it before they continued the rest of the conversation.
She nodded to Roland's guess of whom she had met, she never got the girl's name so she wouldn't be able to confirm it. It did sound a lot like her, but unfortunately there were more than one upstuck girl in this region.

"Bloomingvale is not far from here but it is not well known, I do believe it is that others find the sunflora they are all gushing about boring. I do not get it either but they are kind pokmeon and a nice neighbourhood," Astrid explained and looked forward to see her home again. And chat with some of her friends she had there.
She let Rolan concentrate on the battle while she thought of the best solution for his problems.
"It is very useful yes, although I am surprised Yakul chose to use it as she is usually much more aggressive," Astrid said puzzled and Yakul confirmed her words by swining her horns threateningly at the nidoran and leaping forward to tackle him.

"As for finding your camp again I think we should try another approach first, and then go to my house to get warm and such if it fails. I have Araceli who could fly out and scout to see if he can find anything," Astrid told and got interrupted by Ove who began buzzing loudly with his wings and lifted himself a bit into the air when she looked at him.
"Oh that is right, Ove here can also help," Astrid laughed and looked at Roland again.
"Can you tell any directions the camp could be in, or landmarks anything else similar they could look for?" Astrid asked and as soon as Ove had something to go for, he took off and went searching.
Astrid looked surprised after him before she began to search for Araceli's pokeball in the trolley.

Wordcount: 377
(ooc: Yakul uses tackle)

[Professor Oak]

Roland was very grateful he had met Astrid and just thankful he had met anyone at all out in the cold barren wilderness. However, he was still a bit unsure about the kind lady's proposal, particularly as Bloomingdale sounded like it was in the opposite direction of where the others had gone. "The campsite isn't too far from here but actually I should be heading back towards Violet City,", the camper explained. "There are four of us kids - me, Liz, Gordon and Albert.. Oh, and our teacher Mr Peterson as well. We're from Violet Central High School on a camping trip."

The young boy seemed too distracted by the conversation and his concerns to pay attention to his Nidoran. The purple poison Pokemon was full of energy and was running around in circles in the snow, despite the plant spurs that had now attached themselves to his hide sprouting green shoots. "Our group got separated when Liz ran off. She is always rebelling against Mr Peterson. I guess it's because our teacher is her stepfather now... she never liked him and the fact she ended up in his class really irritated her." As Roland continued his story, Yakul charged at Nidoran and swung her horns at her opponent, catching him in the ribs. "Oh, quit playing around Nidoran. You need to learn to focus your energy on the battle."

Nidoran nodded at his trainer and closed his eyes while sinking his hind legs into the snow. He stood motionless for a few moments as energy built up around him. It was the first time it seemed that the Nidoran had kept still as all throughout the battle it had been running around energetically as if playing games with Yakul. "Anyway, Liz ran off again.. probably to find mobile reception in order to call her friend Miranda. Then Mr Peterson went looking for her and never came back. Gordon, Albert and I decided we'd try to find them but my Nidoran decided to run away at the worst possible time!" Nidoran opened his eyes at the sound of his name being called but flinched a little as some energy was sapped from him by the Leech Seed.

Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Chinook (Land Pokemon gain +1 speed)

Roland's Nidoran Male | Level 13 | Rivalry |
HP: 53% (20/38)
Status: Normal, Speed +1 (Leech Seed drains 5 HP)
Used Focus Energy! Critical increased +2 stages!

VS

Yakul | Level 14 | Sap Sipper |
HP: 100% (46/46)
Status: Normal, Speed +1 (Recovered 5 HP)
Used Tackle (8 damage)!

[Tarlar]

"Ah of course, guiding you back towards Violet would surely be a better option," Astrid said with a small shaking of her head, why hadn't she thought of that.
She didn't have much to say to his long explanation of the situation, although it did not surprise her. Liz had seemed like the rebellious not-listening type and it wouldn't surprise her that she had made so much trouble that she seemed to have destroyed the whole trip.
"I hope you all fifure it out and that Liz soon grows from her rebellious state," Astrid said reassuringly and paid as little attention to the battle as Roland did. His call out to the energetic nidoran was what called her back to it as well.
"You are doing good Yakul," Astrid encouraged the skiddo and smiled when she found the pokeball she had been searching for.
"Here he is."

Ove nudged her and buzzed impatiently with his wings again.
"Oh, right. It does not sound like he knows where the camp is, but try fly a circle around and start in the direction he came from. Then go back towards Violet and see if there is anyone going around looking like they are searching for something, the girl or something that looks like a camp, can you do that?" She asked and the scyther confirmed. He had lived in this area for quite some time and knew it well, along with a lot of stuff about humans which was unknown for the typical wild pokemon. He would have no trouble finding what Astrid had described, if they were out there.
Ove buzzed into the air and flew at the direction Ronald had come from.
Yakul backed up when he flew above her, wary that another could attack her while she was busy 'protecting' her human.

Araceli shook his wings and fluffed up as he looked curiously at Astrid.
"Oh, I just remembered. If your nidoran is too much to handle, Araceli can sing it to sleep, if you want," Astrid offered and the swablu turned to look at what happened behind him.
"That would surely calm him down," Astrid chuckled and Araceli tilted his head. It would be hard to put such energetic pokemon to sleep, it more looked like it needed to run off some steam but he could help with that as well.

"Araceli, where are you going? I have not told you what I need your help for," Astrid asked surprised and got a reassuring trill from the swablu who continued towards the nidoran. Whatever she needed help for could surely wait util the nidoran were easier to handle, or else she would not had spent time chatting calmly when he was called out.
Yakul withdraw when another pokemon flew past her and she placed herself closer to Astrid to be able to better protect her and keep all the visible pokemon in sight. She kept scanning the sky for more surprises.
"How fast you are, fast enough to catch me?" The swablu called to the nidoran with a chuckle and would do his best to avoid the land pokemon, attempting to get it to run and leap a lot to reach him.
When he found it got too close, he turned abruptly to startle it and get some distance to it again.

Wordcount: 554
(Araceli switches in and uses Astonish. It would be awesome if Oce could get a short description of what he sees, he doesn't need to find or encounter anything unless you have an idea, fluff is fine )

[Professor Oak]

Ove elevated into the air like a large shiny green drone, scanning the fields for any signs of life. All around he could only see the matted stalks of grass defrosting in the sun while rapidly diminishing patches of snow lay glistening. The Scyther circled around for a while unsure about which direction the camp was but he did eventually spot some movement in a grove of trees not too far away, towards the direction of Violet City and moved in closer to investigate.

This was a dark part of the forest surrounding Route 32, almost impenetrable and difficult for anyone to walk through on foot. However, it seemed as though some have tried as on first appearances, this section of the forest looked liked a short cut back to the busy city at the end of the colour spectrum and the undergrowth was well worn by trampling. Looks were deceiving because it would be folly to try and pass through the grove as monsters lay in ambush. Ove could see four humanoid shapes wrapped in silk suspended from a giant spider web!

Three of cocooned bundles were child-sized while the last bundle was much larger - adult in size. The ghostly white faces of the victims could be seen protruding out but the expressions were sedated, and their lips deep blue in hue as though some kind of toxin had placed them in a lethargic emotionless stasis. Crawling up and down the web were dozens of Spinarak, busily weaving and reinforcing the silky strands in order to catch even more prey. However, this could not be the work of these Spinarak alone. Something larger had surely created the giant web...

Ove hovered cautiously overhead, wisely deciding not to get too close in case he too became ensnared in the sticky web. He turned full circle and headed back to where Astrid and Roland were currently battling, eager to report to his trainer what he had just seen.

Roland had now become deeply engrossed in the battle and for a moment had completely forgotten about the fact he was lost. "C'mon Nidoran, let's show 'em what you got with Posion Sting!" The now fully focused Nidoran aimed the horn atop his head at Yakul and fired a toxic barb in the Skiddo's direction but before it got there it, a Swablu was in her place. Araceli was jabbed by this poisoned barb. The Swablu nevertheless began to play his little game of coaxing the Nidoran towards him but this was a mistake. Now finding himself faster than the blue bird due to the slippery conditions, the Nidoran ran right up to the bird and discharged a toxic spike from point blank range. This time the attack was far more devastating, landing in the sweat spot below Araceli's wing. Araceli suddenly began to feel sick, the toxins flowing through his body sapping away at his energy.

The Swablu tried to startle the Nidoran with Astonish, boosted by the power of the Muscle Wing he was keeping tucked away in his white wing feathers. The Nidoran was indeed very startled by the sudden movement and flash of light and fell backwards hurting himself in the process. Once again, energy was drained by the sprouts protruding from his body.

Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Chinook (Land Pokemon gain +1 speed)

Roland's Nidoran Male | Level 13 | Rivalry |
HP: 18% (7/38)
Status: Normal Speed +1 Crit +2
Poison Sting (8 damage), Critical Hit Poison Sting (16 damage on second turn), (Leech Seed drains 5 HP)

VS

Araceli | Level 15 | Natural Cure |
HP: 49% (21/43)
Status: Poisoned
Astonish dealt 8 damage, Muscle Wing consumed, (Recovered 5 HP, Lost 3 HP due to poison)

[Tarlar]

Ove knew he was new to Astrid's team and that he therefore wasn't the first who would spring to her mind, but he felt a bit disappointed that she somehow had forgotten that he could fly too and go search. Especially since he knew this area so well.
It was a bit aimlessly around in the beginning as he had not been provided with much information from the boy, and he knew several places where he had seen human camp for the night, so where to go?
While flying around he spotted some movement and flew closer to investigate, and made sure to keep a safe distance when he recognized the webbing that covered the area. Was those pokemon beginning to make troubles again?
He searched the area from the air and hoped he would find no sign of humans here. He groaned when he spotted the four human shaped cocoons which didn't promise any good.
He hovered there for a moment to see if there was anyone else than those four, and to see if he could guess how many spinaraks there were around, but then he turned and hurried back towards Astrid.
He had long wanted to do something about this problem but it had been hard on his own, now with Astrid behind him, and hopefully a lot of other strong pokemon, it should be possible.

Both Astrid and Araceli winced when the swablu got hit several times by the poison sting, and he shivered as the poison reached his blodbanes and spread through his body. This was not good, he hadn't imagined that the bunny would shoot at him instead of charging directly with how it had run around before. It was awfully fast and Araceli learned the hard way that he had no way to outspeed it. If he wanted to tire it out he would have to do it the hard way and get up close and personal. He doubted it would be ready to listen to any singing at the moment.
"Be careful," Astrid warned as Araceli faced the nidoran and dived towards it to give it a good pecking. It might be good at catching up and hitting a moving target, but would it be just as good to defend itself and avoid attacks?

As a loud buzzing was getting closer, Yakul leaped from where she had been standing and raced back to where Astrid was to protect her.
"It is just Ove, take it easy Yakul," Astrid said reassuringly and patted the skiddo as she smiled to the returning scyther. It took her a moment to read his determined expression and she frowned.
"Have you found the others?" She asked and he nodded hesitantly, unsure of how to get her to understand the problem.
"So what is the problem? You do not look happy at all," Astrid commented and glanced at Roland and wondered what to say to him.
Ove looked troubled at her and gestured to the battle and took a step in the direction he had come from, while Astrid watched him worried.

"Hey Roland, I think Ove might have found your friends but there might be trouble too," Astrid called out to her opponent.
"Something is amiss," she said quietly to herself.

Wordcount: 544
(ooc: Araceli uses Peck)

[Professor Oak]

Ove could only watch on as the battle continued but he nervously scratched at the ground with the tip of his blades knowing that every second they wasted could have catastrophic consequences. Being new to the team, he wasn't sure how to best communicate all that he saw to Astrid but the lady seemed to sense that something was amiss and time was a pressing factor.

Roland on the other hand was still deeply distracted by the battle, buoyed by Nidoran's new found focus which had turned things around for them, it seemed. But Astrid's reminder about his friends and warning that they might be in trouble brought him crashing back to reality. "Oh has your Scyther found them?" he quizzed the elderly lady. "Nidoran, I guess we have to wrap this up quickly. Another Poison Sting!"

The purple guinea pig responded and became excited, thinking that maybe he'd see that other Female Nidoran soon. After all that's why he had tried to run away from Roland, he couldn't bear to be apart from his crush. As Araceli dived from the darkening sky to land a peck attack, he was struck by another toxin barb fired from the poison Pokemon. Luckily the Swablu did not sustain any critical damage but he was still sweating profusely with the toxins seeping through his veins. Using his small white beak to tap the Nidoran on the forehead, he watched as his opponent collapsed to the ground breathing heavily. The contest seemed to be finally over and the troublesome Nidoran was finally worn out!

"You did well Nidoran, come back for some rest!" Roland called out encouragingly. Holding out a Poke Ball in his outstretched arm, a red beam sucked the exhausted Pokemon inside where he could rest. "Okay ma'am, where should we go now?"

Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Chinook (Land Pokemon gain +1 speed)

Roland's Nidoran Male | Level 13 | Rivalry |
HP: 0% (0/38)
Status: Normal Speed +1 Crit +2
Poison Sting!

VS

Araceli | Level 15 | Natural Cure |
HP: 23% (10/43)
Status: Poisoned
Peck!

Araceli gained 2 levels and is now level 17. He gained 1 happiness point and can learn the move Round. Replace an existing move?


Yakul gains 1 level for participation!

[Tarlar]

Astrid watched the battled grimly but didn't really see how Nidoran quickly shot stingers as Araceli or how the swablu retaliated by pecking and won the battle. She didn't really see how worned out and dizzy Araceli looked as he landed tiredly on the ground.
"Perhaps," she just answered vaguely and waited until Roland had joined her.

"I do not know, it is a bit hard to figure out when I cannot really talk with him," Astrid conceded and thought for a moment.
"But Ove, you can shake you head," she declared to Ove, who didn't react before she called his name again. It would take a bit of time for him to learn his nickname.
"You can shake your head," Astrid repeated and the scyther hesitantly shook his head as reaction, looking confused at her.
"Is it dangerous what you have found?" Astrid asked and Ove nodded.
"Have you found a campsite?" Ove shook his head.
"Have you found humans?" A nod, "are they in trouble?" several nods.
"Are Team Rocket or other bad humans involved?" Head shake.
"Are the culprit dangerous pokemon?" Grim nodding.
"Are we running out of time? Do we have to hurry?" Ove looked seriously between the two humans while he nodded determined.
Astrid thought for a moment and then called Yakul to her side.
"Alright, we need to go check it out and we will have to hurry," Astrid decided and then turned to look firmly at Roland.
"Alright Boy, I cannot leave you here, it might be too dangerous but you will have to do as I say, understood? And one more important thing, if I say you should run, you run! No matter what! You will have to promise me that! If we run into trouble you are the fastest and can get help from Violet City long before I would," Astrid said and would wait until he had promised what she demanded. She hoped her excuse for why she wanted him to run, would convince him and keep him to his word if she needed to get him out of there.
"Can you take the trolley again Ove? I think that is the fastest," Astrid said and the scyther hooked the handle with one of his scythes and looked impatiently while Astrid mounted Yakul and then finally gestured for him to show the way.

Araceli was forgotten more or less although he was certain that if Astrid had not had other things on her mind, she would have helped him. He didn't feel well with the poison roaring through his body and he gasped shallowly while he attempted to follow what was going on.
He understood enough to realize there were trouble ahead, and he wanted to help if he could. He quietly made his way towards Astrid to avoid being recalled, while she was busy talking with first Ove and then the human boy.
When Astrid nudged Yakul into motion and followed Yngve, Araceli took to the sky but was barely able to stay upright and just wanted to relax and sleep, he knew the poison would be out of his body eventually but right now it was a pain.
Through a fog he fought to follow Astrid and ended up aiming at her. He managed to land on Yakuls' rear, making the skiddo make a small leap forward from surprise, and he bit down on Astrid's jacket to keep himself from falling off.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on enduring the ride.

Astrid bore a frown as they hurried after Ove, she feared what they would encounter and she feared if she could handle it or was leading them all into their end. She was not used to be in charge for such situations, there had always been a superior back when she worked for the police as she had just been a assistant who had helped out with noting down the informations the others gathered. She knew she was not cut out for this and had no idea of how to handle what lays ahead, especially since she had no clue about what it was!
Yakul shook fearfully under her and Astrid closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down again. She had already decided they didn't have time to get some proper help, she would have to see for herself what was going on and then she would have to do the best she could. Hopefully that would be enough.
She patted Yakul reassuringly and reminded herself that she wasn't alone. Her pokemon had pulled through dozens of times.
She briefly tried to make some plans for what to do when they arrived at what Ove had found, but it was hard when she knew little to nothing about it. She glanced at Roland who hopefully was still with her.

"So Roland, do you recognize any of this area?" Astrid asked and did her best to sound casually, she wasn't certain she succeeded.
"Or do I need to point out the direction of Violet City for you?" That came out a bit more harsh than she had wished. Astrid sighed deeply and tried to concentrate on chatting with Roland to keep him from worrying too much about his companions.
"You were on camping or what were you doing out here?" Astrid asked and managed to sound kind and interested, albeit a bit forced.
"Do you have any other pokemon with you than the nidoran? And how did you get him?" She continued as she realized it was good to know if he had any pokemon that could help with the challenge they were about to face. She did her best to disguise it as simple chitchat for now.

When Ove thought they were getting close to where the spiders were, he gestured for the others to be quiet and they continued cautiously. Yakul was tense like a spring and Astrid worried she would jump by the smallest thing and she would fall off, which could be fatal at her age.
It was impossible for Astrid to calm down, and it wouldn't have affected Yakul much anyway, there was a feeling in the air, that something was off here.

Behind Astrid, Araceli began to feel a bit better.


Wordcount: 1044 (600 for eggs)
(ooc: Buz the spewpa needs a level from exp-share, and I like for him to evolve as well. Has Yakul got a happiness point for battling?
And I hope it is alright I assume Roland follows along, that would be most fun I think. And I'm certain Astrid could use his and nidorans help in this case, hehe)

[fylisfe]

Roland kept pace running beside Yakul and Astrid. He was young and luckily took after his nidoran-- full of energy. As they followed Ove through the forest of route 32, Roland’s stomach started to do flips. He was nervous and increasingly worried about his friends after Astrid’s exchange with Ove about the possibility that they might be in danger. It was just like Liz to run off in a snowstorm and get lost and then get everybody else in trouble too, he thought, his worry now mixing with a little bit of anger at his friend. Astrid’s questions came as a welcome distraction to the anxious feelings bubbling up in the boy.

“Uhmm, yeah, this looks sort of familiar,” Roland answered. “I think we walked by here when searching for a campsite… but Mr Peterson said this part of the forest was too dense and dark and not… safe.” Roland swallowed the lump of worry in his throat. “I...I… I think I could find Violet City from here.”

“We were on a class camping trip,” Roland continued to answer Astrid’s questions. “We were supposed to be learning how to identify pokemon tracks for a project. Mr Peterson said it would be really easy to find tracks in the snow and he was even going to show us how to make casts of the tracks. This trip was Gordon’s idea, actually, I wanted us to go to a fossil museum because they have fossilized tracks sometimes.”

When Astrid asked about the nidoran, Roland’s face beamed. “Nidoran is my only pokemon but he’s really great. I got him at the same time as Liz got hers, Liz’s mom is a pokemon breeder and she gave us both eggs to raise. It was really hard and we had to carry them around everywhere and keep them warm and wash their shells gently… Liz’s nidoran hatched first and I thought mine was never ever gonna hatch!! But I was really happy when he did hatch. Liz’s nidoran and my nidoran are like best friends but Liz and I are more like… best frenemies. We have battles a lot and we have a bet as to whose nidoran is gonna evolve first. Whoever wins gets to name the other person’s nidoran, but there’s NO way I’m gonna lose.”

Roland was going to continue on about his and Liz’s bet but as the group got deeper into the dark forest it began harder to chitchat. There was a heavy tense feeling in the air, when Ove signalled everyone to quiet down, Roland had already trailed off into silence. As they cautiously walked in, Roland gripped his pokeball tightly in his hand. He could feel sweat starting to pool on the back of his neck.

Eventually, the group arrived at the giant spider web that Ove had spotted earlier. Roland covered his mouth to hold back a scream at the sight of the three humanoind cocooned silk bundles suspended in the web. Roland’s face turned pale and he stumbled backwards, almost tripping and falling into Yakul and Astrid but Ove quickly caught the boy before he collided into them.

High above them all, they could see dozens of spinarak crawling up and down the web. The spinarak’s work was meticulous and careful and if weren’t so terrifying it could be called beautiful. The silk threads on the web reflected any small bit of light that made it past the thick treetops in such a way that seemed that the threads were made of rainbow light. The presence of the trainers and pokemon did not go unnoticed by the spinaraks fo long. Once one spinarak noticed their audience it quickly relayed the message to the others, the news seemed to almost ripple through the rainbow web from one small spider to the next until it reached the dark hollow hole of the tree which served as the center base for the web. One little spinarak scurried into the tree hollow and the next thing that was heard as a scratchy skittering call “Rrrrdos”. All the spinaraks stopped their work and immediately moved into the hollow. Once all the spinarak had retreated, a single round red head with violet eyes, white fangs and a white horn poked out from the tree hollow. “ArrRrriaAaddoss” the head poked back down into the hollow and two of the largest spinaraks that had been working on the web crawled back out on the the web.

The two spinaraks quickly scurried down the web, crawling right over the cocooned bodies and then suspended themselves by one thread over the heads of Astrid, Ove, Yakul, Araceli and Roland. Roland gulped, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, he looked to Astrid for guidance.

 

Two Spinaraks (lv10 and 12) are hovering above, suspended from a giant web, ready to wrap up new prey!

Shiny Check: 

znQAvgqS1-42 

 Shiny Check: 

1-42 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

((OOC: I thought it would be cool for you and Roland to have a double battle together! Does that sound okay?

    Also, I'll ask for those updates (Buz leveling and evolve, and +1 happiness for Yakul!) to be done!))

1-42·1-42

[Tarlar]

As soon as Roland had accepted her requirements they were on their way, and Astrid did her best to listen to Rolands chatting. She found it hard to concentrate but Roland didn't need much help to keep going, and it seemed to help him which was one of the goals.
At least until Ove wanted them to be quiet and they had nothing to take their minds of their worries.

Ove took the lead and Astrid found it safest to let Roland be between him and her, so she could keep and eye on him and he wouldn't be the target if they were attacked from behind.
She regretted the decision when they arrived and saw the webbed figures and Roland went pale. At that moment she thought it would have been best to leave him behind or better, send him towards Violet already to fetch some help. There was no turning back now and Astrid clenched her jaw, she would have to do something and quick.
She leaned down and grabbed Rolands arm tightly and forced her voice to sound calm and confident.
"We will save them, do not worry," she told him and dearly hoped they were not too late and the trapped ones were already dead.

Ove took the matter into his own claws and stepped forward.
"You have to release them, you have gone too far!" He called to the hiding Ariados in the tree.
"Stay back and let me get them and we will leave peacefully," he told it and sighed when two spinaraks were sent out to keep them back, at least they were decent enough to not send the whole swarm at them at once, or else the ariados wanted to see what he had brought with him this time.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked frustrated and looked back at Astrid.

The short wait had given Astrid time to collect her thoughts and get an idea of what they needed to be done.
"See! They are scared of us, they are all hiding!" She whispered to Roland and hoped he bought it.
A moment later the ariados poked its head out and Astrid couldn't hold back a gasp, that was a big strong looking one! Ove didn't seem scared of it at all so she hoped he could handle it, perhaps with the help of Araceli, but it would be ugly.
She frowned when it withdraw and sent out two rather big spinaraks instead, they were clearly trying to block the way. Astrid grabbed the chance of getting Roland to do something practical.
"Alright, the big one doesn't want to fight, if we're quick we can handle those two and distract them, so we can free you friends. Are you and nidoran up for that?" Astrid asked and smiled reassuringly to Roland.

She got Yakul to move to her trolley to find a pokeball, she let out Sonja a moment later.
"Alright Roland, we are ready when you are!" Astrid said encouragingly and looked expectantly at him.
Whether he was ready or not Astrid would start out.
"Sonja, please give them a powder snow to begin with, then you can roll into them later," Astrid asked. She hoped the snow could affect the web and if it froze some of it, it might break or at least be less sticky. She would hate for Sonja to be stuck while attempting to roll around, or for any of the other pokemon for that matter.

Ove stepped back when Sonja appeared and looked around surprised. Then she grinned at what looked like a big challenge, and after a short hesitation she did as Astrid asked her. She didn't know what was going on, and Astrid had perhaps an idea for the strange order, she knew she could hot much harder than by blowing a bit of snow.

Ove looked around and wondered how he could be lay a plan, when Araceli flapped to his side.
"Can I help with anything?" The swablu asked and Ove looked at the fluffy bird, thinking he looked very much like a pampered pet that wasn't used to seriousness of life. He had done alright against the nidoran but that had also more looked like a game than a real battle.
"I'm certain you can but it will be dirty," Ove warned, "we need to figure out how to get over there and get the trapped ones free," he explained and Araceli nodded.
"Fine with me," the bird said and burped as an reaction to the little remaining poison. He grimaced as it didn't taste well but at least he could think clearly again.

Wordcount: 776
(ooc: Sounds great to me! That is going to be fun. Sonja uses Powder Snow.
Also, when Buz has evolved I'd like to switch him out for Shane (another scatterbug) and give him the exp-share, if that is possible)

[Kataya]

Despite Astrid's assurance that things would be fine, that they would save his friends, Roland was still uneasy. Had they all been strong enough, he wouldn't have needed Astrid's help in the first place, not that he wasn't grateful for it. After all, that Ariados could probably eat his Nidoran, and that was something he wanted to prevent. As the other Spinirak dispersed, he felt a little more confident in Astrid's words. "Yeah...you're right. They do look pretty scared, don't they?" he asked. When she questioned if he and Nidoran were up for the task, he slowly withdrew his Pokemon's ball once again. "You bet, Nidoran, come on out boy! I need your help!" His purple monster materialized and looked around for a moment, but when he glanced up, he seemed to understand.

The two Spinarak that had come to challenge the new humans took notice of Ove, the fellow bug Pokemon that dared to ask them what they were doing...or rather, why? One of them cackled. 'Why? Haven't you heard of survival of the fittest? These humans wandered into our territory, we're simply taking them up on the food they have graciously offered us by overstepping our boundaries!' The other one hissed in agreement. 'And now you've all done the same. We're just taking what's ours!'

When the Sandshrew was called forth, Nidoran gave out a grateful bleat, knowing he would not need to do this alone. Powder Snow was ordered, and Sonja set to work. Nidoran watched as the powerful gust of snow slammed into the two spiders. He wished he could do things like that. He could do something...similar at least. "Nidoran!" Roland called, making the Pokemon turn back. "We have to be brave too, like Astrid and Sonja. So use Double Kick!" Nidoran nodded and charged, his legs slamming into his target twice before he flipped back into his place.


"You're right Astrid," he assured the older woman, "You hear that you guys?! Hang tight, we're gonna get you down safe and sound!" He wasn't sure his friends could hear him, but perhaps his words were more for himself anyway. The Spinarak shuddered from the cold of the snow before one of them created a green aura around the Sandshrew, claiming some of her glorious health for itself. What it didn't expect was how little damage it did 'Whaat? it normally works on those creatures...' It mumbled to itself in confusion. In the meantime, its friend crawled up some silk, revealing the scary face etched into its back which scared both the Sandshrew and Nidoran for only a moment.

Have some Battle Music!

Wild Spinarak |Level 10|

HP: 54% (17/31)

Status: Normal 

Spinarak used Scary Face!
Skrt Skrt, please use the next exit out of my life...

Wild Spinarak |Level 12|

HP: 92% (32/35)

Status: Normal 

Spinarak used Absorb!
Health was sapped from Sonja!

Your trainer looks tasty.

Astrid's Sonja ♀ |Level 14|

HP: 88% (37/42)

Status: -2 SPEED

Sonja used Powder Snow!

Astrid isn't on the menu today friendo.

Roland's Nidoran ♂ |Level 13|

HP: 100%|(38/38)

Status: -2 SPEED

Nidoran used Double Kick!

Ewwww Creepy Crawlies...

[Tarlar]

Roland was more mature than Astrid had expected, he did calm down by her words but he wasn't fooled to believe there were no danger at all. Instead he stepped up to the task at hand and was ready to stand by her side.
She sent him a proud glance as she called out Sonja.

The snow hit both opponent and the part of the web that they were sitting on, unfortunately it didn't seem to affect the web itself. It was probably too warm already or there wasn't enough snow.
Astrid hoped they could break the nets and get the trapped ones free without too much trouble, if just the spinarak kept themselves from swarming at them they should be able to handle it.
"Well done!" Astrid said encouragingly when the nidoran had successfully kicked one of the spiders.
She then flinched when one the smaller of the spinaraks showed its face on its back, and then had to focus on Yakul who snorted and backed away. Astrid had a hard time stopping her as the skiddo refused to get any closer and most of all wanted to turn tail and get herself and Astrid out of there!
"Good idea! I am certain they are thankful to know we are here and will do all we can to get them out," Astrid said to Roland, pretending that Yakul didn't really cause her any problem.
"But let us try finish those two off quick and quiet so we do not alert the rest, so we can help your friends faster," Astrid suggested and finally got the nervous Yakul to stand still.

Sonja glanced at nidoran but did not return the greeting, as long as her "partner" did not get in her way he was welcome to help out. This was just a bit of training to her anyway, she was not going to stay with this old woman. No, she still needed to find the Right One, the one she was destined to be with, the one who could bring out the best in her and make her go far in life, become something.
She glared at the spinarak that had dared to try take a "bite" out of her but her cold hard shell and stopped most of it.
She got caught off guard by the spinarak's scary face and she took a few steps backwards and hunched a bit, ready to protect herself. She was wary and quickly decided to forego her original plan to target the one that had attacked her, she wanted the more scary one out of the way.
The only problem was that it had crawled further up into the net.
She slowly curled into a ball, hesitant about going face to face with Scary-spinarak and when she did roll forward it was with less haste than she usually did.
While rolling she swung around so she was going directly at her target. On the way there was a big log which sent her flying into the air when she hit it, just as she had planned. Now she had no control of her going and just had to hope she had calculated her speed and distance correctly, and that the spinarak didn't move before she hit it.

Ove looked surprised as the spinarak answered his question instead of their leader who had hid. He scowled, typical the ariados to stay out of the way like that and letting the grunts do the hard work.
It sounded like the spinaraks had been taught a lesson from the ariados since it was not a thing he had heard before, although they might had thought so before but just not talked aloud about it since they hadn't been strong enough to live by it.
Ove sighed, it had been so much more peaceful before that ariados had appeared and had claimed a large potion of the forest as its domain.

"It looks like the two over there are plenty distracted, should we go over and cut the trapped one loose?" Araceli asked and Ove shook his head.
"No, we will just get stuck on the sticky part as well, give me a moment," he answered and they were silent for a moment.
"I got a plan!" Ove then declared confidently with a wry smile.
"The web is held up by core strings, the ones you can see that ends in a tree like that one. If we cut it the whole should fall apart. Or get loose enough for us to get them out without getting stuck ourselves. We just need to do it, while the battlers are hitting each other, so the movement in the web is disguised by it, or else the other might notice and come out to check what is going on," Ove explained and Araceli nodded.
They both flew to a tree each and got ready to cut the strings the moment the web would shook due to the battling happening on it.

Wordcount: 832
(ooc: Sonja uses Ice Ball on the weakest (and scariest) Spinarak)

[Kataya]

"Thanks Astrid, Nidoran needs all the encouraging he can get." Roland admitted. His Nidoran hadn't been the strongest in the bunch, the least confident, actually. So when he saw his Pokemon proudly lift his head, he thought for sure that things would be alright, sooner or later. Astrid had helped so much as it was, and thanks to her and her Pokemon, his friends would be free soon, he was sure. He smiled as his Nidoran got ready for the next turn. Despite being slowed a bit, they still proved faster than the Spinarak. Sonja conjured up a large ball of ice and launched it at the Spinarak that had scared them earlier on Astrid's command, knocking it back. "Go Nidoran, one more double kick, help Sonja!" the Nidoran charged and delivered the finishing blow to the already weak spinarak grunt, which in turn shook the web.

"One more Astrid!" Roland called. The one left began to glow as it had last time, this time however instead of taking health from Sonja, the health was being sapped from Nidoran instead. Ove had a chance to put the plan into action, the final nail in the coffin would be taking down this Spinarak. But it seemed eager not to go down.

Have some Battle Music!

Wild Spinarak |Level 10|

HP: 0% (0/31)

Status: Normal 

Spinarak didn't move this turn.
Oh noez, Iz Weak. Pls assist...

Wild Spinarak |Level 12|

HP: 100% (35/35)

Status: Normal 

Spinarak used Absorb!
Health was sapped from Nidoran!
Spinarak did 8 Damage!

Mmm Human...

Astrid's Sonja ♀ |Level 14|

HP: 88% (37/42)

Status: -2 SPEED

Sonja used Ice Ball!
Sonja did 14 Damage!

Great Balls of...Ice.

Roland's Nidoran ♂ |Level 13|

HP: 78%|(30/38)

Status: -2 SPEED

Nidoran used Double Kick!
Nidoran did 12 Damage

I don't like touching Spiders...