O'er the roadless path [Route 32 journey]

[Jenesis]

"I hate this!" Nurse Joy complained.

Trixie sighed. They had only been in this fog for about ten minutes and already her last-minute escortee was complaining. She knew Nurse Joy hadn't ever been outside the city limits before ("but a position at Union Cave's Pokemon Center opened up, and it would be a great opportunity, they said!") but this was testing her patience. Joy was jumping and shrieking at every little thing - a light in the distance that was just another trainer taking pictures on their cell phone, a rustle in the tall grass that was some bug or another. It was getting to the point that Trixie was wondering if she should just ditch her. But to leave Joy all alone in this fog, when she couldn't even see her own way back, would be a cruel thing to do. The teen could have a mean streak at times, but she had to admit, Joy hadn't actually done anything wrong to her... she couldn't in good conscience dump the nebbish nurse now, after she'd already promised and all that.

"Zag! Zag!" came a bark out of the fog. Joy yelped again and tried to hide behind Trixie, who rolled her eyes.

"Relax! It's just Beth." The Galarian Zigzagoon came running up to her, with something in her mouth. When Trixie examined it closely, she realized it was just a discarded old tin can that had probably washed down the river. "Nice try, Beth... but that's not exactly the treasure we're looking for." She tossed the can into the air and kicked it down the road, where it bounced into the grass with a metallic clatter.

"Come on, Joy. The sun's going down. If we hurry, we can make it to Union Cave before the day ends."

"Is--is it nightfall already?!" The girl clutched at her chest, looking like she was almost about to faint. "I'm... not sure I want to do this after all..."

"What, are you scared of the dark?" Trixie asked, sarcastically, before realizing that yes, Joy probably was. "It'll be fine! Beth is a Dark-type, she's in her element right now. And with the rest of my team of Pokemon trained for battle, and you being able to heal them if they faint, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Well... if you say so..." Joy did not look confident at all. Still, she gulped and followed Trixie into the fog.

[words=403] 400 to Incubator
Party is as follows: Frederick holding the Muscle Band, Kuroinu holding the Lucky Egg, Vega holding the Shell Bell, Panzy holding the Amulet Coin, Rivvi holding the Exp. Share, and Beth holding nothing.
Pickup is in effect.
Time of day is Night. Looking for an encounter!

Doing the Job Board task "Nurse Joy doesn't like nature and want's to be escorted and protected on her travel through an area." Mods, feel free to play Nurse Joy's reactions!

[Caramell 🍬]

Nurse Joy sighed as she followed the small punk through the heavily forested area. She wasn't happy about the need to rely on others just to travel from one area to the next. If this matter wasn't the most important thing for her to attend to, it would be just as easy for her to turn around and high tail it back to the Pokemon Center she was accustomed to working in, with its safe and secure walls to protect her. "Its just... something terrible happened to me once when I was really young. It was dark outside and I strayed too far away - oh!"

Joy's voice wavered as she yelped at the top of her lungs. She immediately jumped back behind Trixie and clung to the young girl's shoulders with her hands. They were pale and clammy, shaking wildly as though she might fall over from the effort of standing itself. "What's that?! Oh, please no! Protect me! I don't want it to happen all over again!" Nurse Joy whined as she convulsed behind Trixie's back. Whatever the poor nurse must be talking about, though, was really anyone's guess.

A small pink Pokemon slowlu climbed out from underneath a thick green bush. It stoppee and smiled up expectantly at Trixie a d Nurse Joy. The snail didn't seem too bothered or scared of the humans before it, even as one seemed as though she was liable to faint on the spot. "These strange creatures like to feed us wild Pokemon." Shellos commented softly to itself, ever hopeful it might get a free scrap of food. "Maybe if I'm polite, I'll get lucky? It's only a mother and her child that I see, after all." Shellos giggled.

A Wild Shellos wants food!

Level 12. What will Trixie do?

Shiny: JAhPOEEAp_1-42

SPOILER: Click to show

Pokemon: (rare) p_1-5 (uncommon) p_1-3 (level) p_8-12

1-42·1-5·1-3·8-12

[Jenesis]

"Something terrible in the dark?" Trixie was about to ask for more details - was it a wild Pokemon? Perhaps even a Dark-type? How would Joy react if she knew Trixie was a type specialist? - when Joy let out a yelp and practically threw herself at Trixie's back. "Don't worry!" the teen said in the bravest voice she could muster. "I'll protect you from-- oh, it looks like just another worm." Disappointment showed in her voice and face scrunched up in confusion as she held out her Pokedex to scan the unusual creature. "Shellos. The Sea Slug Pokemon," the mechanical voice rattled off. "Its color and shapes differ from region to region. It lives along bodies of water. Beware of pushing strongly on its squishy body, as it makes a mysterious purple fluid ooze out."

"Eww... let's not touch that one," Trixie said, slightly disgusted but also fascinated by the idea of getting the slug Pokemon's ooze on her hands. The Shellos was looking up at her with expectant eyes. "It seems friendly enough, I suppose," she shrugged. But as she looked back at Joy's face, she could see that the nurse was having none of it. She was about to release a Pokemon when a sudden flash of light drew her attention. Kuroinu had leapt out of her Pokeball, and was barking at the foreign creature.

"Kuroinu, no! That's a Water Pokemon - you're not strong enough to fight it yet!" The dog's trainer immediately raised her Pokeball and shot out a red beam of light, sucking the Houndour back in with a whine of protest. "How about this instead? Let's go, Vega!" She threw another Pokeball high into the air, which revealed a thick-armed cactus with a dopey-looking face.

Vega was excited! Looking around, he didn't see a beach, but there was a water-dwelling Pokemon in front of him, so the beach had to be nearby, right? In any case, they were sure to be compatriots. He waved at the Shellos in greeting, before flexing first one arm, then the other, in an attempt to impress it. Whether the knobby spikes on his arms would be interpreted as food to the hungry wild was anyone's guess.

"Okay, enough messing around," Trixie said through a snicker. "We gotta get a move on, and Joy's too scared to keep going unless we win this fight, so... use Magical Leaf!" The Cacnea raised both hands high over his head, the spikes on the ends of his arms glowing, before they shot out radiant green leaves that seemed to cut through the fog and hone in on their target.

[words=435] 400 to Incubator
Trixie sent out Kuroinu!
Trixie switched Kuroinu for Vega! Vega used Magical Leaf!
Applicable items: Lucky Egg on Kuroinu, Shell Bell on Vega, EXP Share on Rivvi.

[Pixel]

It was painfully obvious that the shellos of the area were fed by humans—whether it was from trashcans they pillaged or from well-meaning kids who found the small slugs cute and docile when given chips. Regardless, the feeding of wild pokemon made them less shy and often much more audacious. They were lucky this one was docile and wasn't aggressively trying to bully them for snacks. There were reports of a kid getting chased by one in this area recently for trying to be 'nice' to a shellos who kept harassing him even when the snacks ran out.

This one at least wasn't trying to soak them or spew mud all over them when no snacks became instantly available.

Instead it appeared to be going for the cute approach, head tilting, little, curious warbles escaping. Then, there was a flash and a houndour was right there.

<Hey! Get your own snacks...> the shellos complained, perceiving the other pokemon as competition. It half-heartedly spat some water in its direction and preened when the hound 'backed off'. Back to pleading for noms. More little warbles... Maybe if it shimmered? The little humans always gave it treats when they saw it use recover because they thought it looked pretty and sparkly. So for show, it glowed with an ineffective recover. 

Joy whimpered and scampered back, useless in the face of this 'hostile' pokemon inching in their direction.

Of course, Trixie finally tried to deal with it by having Vega use magical leaf which got the shellos to snap its attention to the cacnea. <What gives?! I didn't do anything to deserve getting attacked.>


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Clear

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Wild Shellos LV 12
HP 44% [19/43]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Vega LV 10
HP 100% [33/33]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Shellos [Ability]: Status
Vega [Ability]: Status

SP+ Kuroinu was switched for Vega
SP16 Shellos used Water Gun! Missed due to fog!
SP16 Shellos used Recover! HP is full
SP15 Vega used magical leaf



Move? hL|0J|tCp_1-4 Water gun
Move? p_1-4 Recover

Hit? p_1-100 Water gun miss! 1-4·1-4·1-100

[Jenesis]

Trixie, being unable to understand PokeSpeech, was admittedly baffled by the Shellos's behavior. First it had simply spat some water off into the distance, not even appearing to try to attack the Cacnea. Then it... glowed? Was this a shiny Pokemon? She stared at it, but it soon reverted back to its normal color, which was a disappointment. And finally it had protested when Vega nailed it with a Magical Leaf, but showed no sign of trying to fight back. But if it wasn't hostile, then what did it want with her? Nurse Joy certainly seemed afraid, cowering as she was behind Trixie's back.

The girl turned to the older woman with a puzzled expression. "What are you so scared of? As far as I can tell, this one's just a dopey punching bag."

"Well..." the nurse started to explain. "Haven't you heard the rumors? Wild Shellos are becoming aggressive and attacking people for their food! One of them even hurt a little kid when he ran out of snacks for them!"

"So you mean it's just hungry?" Trixie frowned. She knew that there were only a limited number of sandwiches in her pack, and she couldn't simply go feeding every wild Pokemon that came her way. But this one looked so desperate, and honestly, a little pathetic. Maybe if she could befriend it, she could show Joy that she needn't be afraid of every wild Pokemon that came their way.

Trixie walked up to the Shellos.

"What are you doing? Come back!" Nurse Joy whimpered, as Trixie unzipped her backpack and pulled out a sandwich.

"You're hungry, right?" The girl ripped off a corner and tossed it in the slug Pokemon's direction. "Go on, try it. See if you like it before I go giving you the rest."

<My trainer makes great sandwiches!> chimed in Vega.

"You know, if you want... I know a Professor who's studying Pokemon right now. He has a big lab, with all sorts of different species, and he makes special food for each of them. If you let me catch you, then you could go live there. You'd get plenty of regular meals, and never have to worry about begging for food again."

After rifling through one of the pockets for a while, she found the perfect new home for the Pokemon standing before her, and held out her hand. "What do you say?"

[words=400] to Incubator
Trixie uses a Net Ball!
Applicable items: Lucky Egg on Kuroinu, EXP Share on Rivvi.

[Pixel]

Shellos' eyes went big when the chip was thrown. It happily squirmed its sluggy way to the snack and crunched on it. Yum! More, more! It wiggled in delight and looked up at Trixie and the bag of wonderful tasties. Happily, it wiggled its way closer, eager for more chips for crunch on, a little surprised when the human got at eye level to speak to it. The shellos paused to listen, understanding that the ball meant more food. Lots of food. It did like food...hm. It reeaaaached up for the bag still in Trixie's other hand and crunched on it a bit as it thought about it. Unlimited snacks did sound like a good idea. So without much in the way of hesitation or protest, the shellos nudged the ball with its mouth and caused the capsule to pop open.

The light inside burst out like a net and the shellos vanished within.

A few light, curious wobbles later and the ball fell still.

The terrible, terrifying Shellos was contained. Its reign of terror ended.

---

(-1 net ball)

---

Kuroinu gained +2 LVs (Lucky Egg) for participating
Grew to LV 5 and is trying to learn Howl
Forget a move and learn howl?
+1 happiness

Vega gained +3 LVs for victory!
Grew to LV 13 and tries to learn Sand Attack.
Forget a move to learn Sand Attack?
+1 Happiness

Rivvi gained +1 LV and grew to LV 11

Please fill out the info below for your new pokemon:

[img src="https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bwani/shellos.gif"][img src="https://www.serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/netball.png" alt=" "]
[b]Shellos[/b]
Name: [choose]
Gender: [choose]
Level: 12
OT: Trixie Hayworth
Moves: Water Gun, Mud Slap, Harden, Recover
Ability: Sticky Hold or Storm Drain
Nature/Personality: [choose]

[Jenesis]

The Shellos was all too eager to leap into the Pokeball Trixie offered, and it snapped shut after scarcely a few wiggles. Trixie smiled, pleased with her latest catch, and took out her notebook to write a few field observation notes to Professor Elm. "Feed plenty of snacks," she noted down, remembering the trouble that other trainers had had with the species in the area. While she was recording, Vega helped himself to the remainder of the sandwich - a fine reward for a job well done, Trixie had to say, so she made no move to stop the little cactus.

"As for you, though..." Once she had her other Pokemon squared away, she sent out Kuroinu again. "What did you think you were doing? I'm your trainer, and you have to listen to me if we're going to work together! If you pop out of your Pokeball whenever you please, you could get hurt!"

<I'm not a baby! I can fight, too!> the Houndour protested. To Trixie, of course, this just sounded like a lot of barking.

"Kuroinu, can I trust you to stay in your ball?"

<I'm totally strong! You just have to let me prove it!>

Trixie remembered reading somewhere that dog Pokemon were happier when they had a job to do. She looked at Nurse Joy, then back at Kuroinu. Perhaps there was a way...

She picked up a stick lying by the river. "Use Fire Fang." The dog clamped her jaws down onto the branch, and set it ablaze.

"There! Now we have a light." She was grinning ear to ear. "Kuroinu, stay by Nurse Joy and guard her, okay? Now that we have a torch, we'll all be able to see each other better. That way there'll be no risk of someone wandering off in the dark and getting lost." The Houndour nodded. While she would have preferred to guard her trainer, guarding an important friend was just as well!

"If... If you say so..." Nurse Joy was clearly still very nervous, not least because of the skull-headed dog by Trixie's side. But she had trusted Trixie to guide her this far, and she just had to trust that her Pokemon would be well-trained, or at least not turn hostile for no reason. With that decided, they set off again. Beth led the way, with Trixie following behind, and Nurse Joy and Kuroinu bringing up the rear.

[words=402] 400 to Incubator
Kuroinu will forget Ember to learn Howl. Vega will forget Growth to learn Sand-Attack.
Time of day remains Night. Looking for an encounter!

Shellos to be added to Trixie's box 1.

Dori ♀ OT: Trixie Hayworth	LV 12 West Sea Shellos
Ability: Sticky Hold ❤: 0	EXP: 0 / 1951
Nature: Docile. A follower rather than a leader, Dori is a kind and friendly Pokemon who can get a bit too energetic when it comes to seeking out food. She loves all flavors, and can often be found taste-testing new recipes with Romaine. Water Gun Mud Slap Harden Recover
Held Item: None Other: Obtained at Route 32 on Mar 1, 2024

[Tarlar]

As they continued the torch lit up their path well, and made the surrounding darkness even darker. At least it would help them avoid the worst puddles and getting wet feet, the ground became more and more soggy and muddy, and it soon became clear to why as they passed a lesser river which had been dammed by what looked a lot like a bidoof dam. The river ran over the edges and flooded the road they walked on, although it was shallow and with the light it was possible to avoid the deepest parts.
It was night time, so no bidoof were out and about, and if they chose to do something about it, the only option would really be to destroy the dam which would both flood the area even more, and would probably give them a whole family of furious pokemon chasing them.
"Ugh! See what those pokemon has done now! Destroying everything. I'll report that as soon as we have arrived so that it can be taken care of properly!" Nursery Joy would complain as she would make her way past the worst flooding. "Urgh! No! My socks are getting wet!"

The light attracted other things though, splashing was heard and soon a shadow made it out from the darkness. It was a girl in her late teens and she looked rather distraught.
"Hi!" She gasped and shot them a brief smile as she stopped in front of them, she was wearing a typical training uniform of those who were practicing martial arts. She was not breathing very hard even though she had just been running.
"I could really use some help!" She started and Joy gasped, "no! No time for sidequest!" She snapped and the battle girl sent her a weird look and then spoke directly to Trixie.
"You see, It's the anniversary with my boyfriend but I have been so busy training that I have completely forgotten!" She explained urgently, "he has been so understanding and supportive and if I mess this up too, it's really not fair." Nurse Joy grumbled under her breath. "I know of a flower patch of some special Moonflowers which he would love getting a few of, and I even know where they are."
"Then why don't you go an pluck them and get on your way?" Nursey Joy interrupted, the battle girl exhaled slowly, "there is a problem you see, I tried but got chased out by some pokemon, if you can keep them back for a bit, so I can pluck some flowers, that'd be great!" She looked hopefully at Trixie.
"I said no sidequests! We need to get to Union Cave as fast as possible!" Joy argued and the battle girl shot her a quick glance, "oh, if you move through the field where the moonflowers are, that will take an hour off your traveling, it's a great shortcut if you can handle the pokemon," the battle girl offered and pointed in the direction, while Joy sent her a skeptical look.

As they talked a well known pink pokemon came wiggling, looking curiously at the torch. "How did you get the sun so small? Can I have it?" It asked awed.

Battle Girl Vera could really use some help to find some flowers for the forgotten anniversary.



There is also a Shellos [Lv 11] if Trixie wants to ignore the extra request.
Weather fill be Flooding (Weather Sport)

Shiny: wFJMwHIdp_1-42

(ooc: let's shake this up a bit, shall we? )1-42

[Jenesis]

It seemed that the torch was chasing away the foggy weather, and as they traveled onward they encountered muddy puddles and soggy grass in greater abundance. Kuroinu whined as she stepped around yet another patch of rain-slicked earth that she had only noticed just in time. In short time, they passed what seemed like the source of the abrupt change in scenery: a Bidoof dam that had changed the course of the river, spilling its water over the banks and flooding the surrounding area. Trixie steered Kuroinu and Nurse Joy away from the worst of the affected area. While she would have liked to run and splash in the puddles, she sensed that her traveling companions were less keen on the idea. Not to mention the possibility of waking up a family of angry beavers.

Beth was the first one to catch wind that someone was approaching, even before Trixie heard a gasping shout. A teen girl about her age was running up to her. Her thin shoes were dirty from the mud, and she seemed to be in very good shape, as the run over to the group had hardly affected her breathing at all.

Trixie listened to the girl as she explained about her anniversary, boyfriend, and the flowers she wanted to pick. Nurse Joy was adamantly against helping her at all - not terribly Nurse-ly of her, Trixie thought - but she couldn't deny that they were on a timeline. She had a job to do, escorting Joy to Union Cave, and anything that would get in the way of the job would have to wait until later. That is, until the battle girl mentioned that the trip to the moonflower field would be a great shortcut. And all she had to do was fight off some aggressive Pokemon? Well, Trixie could certainly handle that.

"It's a deal," she said, extending her hand to shake, much to Joy's dismay. "Think about it, Joy. You'll get to the Pokemon Center faster, she and her boyfriend will have a great anniversary, and me and my Pokemon will gain some valuable field experience. I say this sounds like a win for all of us."

At that moment a second Shellos had crawled up and was investigating a nervous Kuroinu. It seemed to be interested in the torch she was holding. "Why don't you give it to them as a present?" Trixie said. Bringing a torch into a field of flowers would be a bad idea anyway - what if they caught fire? And with the battle girl to guide them, they wouldn't be likely to get lost, as long as they all stuck together. The Shellos' eyes lit up as the "miniature sun" was presented to it, and it stared, fascinated, into the fire. To hang around and explain the nuances of Pokemon typing would take too much of their time, though, and Trixie bid it a fond farewell, grateful that this one at least wasn't begging her for food. "Lead the way," she said to the martial artist, and they were off.

[words=510] 400 to Incubator
Trixie is giving Kuroinu's torch to the Shellos and then following the Battle Girl.

[Caramell 🍬]

Nurse Joy was certainly NOT a happy camper about the side quest. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared down at the young girl. The weather was a complete mess, pushing their time back further with each new obstacle that they encountered. “I needed your help traveling through the area. You understand?” She asked with a short huff, pulling a forced smile over her lips. “I can’t very well say staying longer is accomplishing that.”

Battle Girl Vera turned to Nurse Joy, then Trixie, and bowed to each in a respectable manner, bending herself at a nearly perfect ninety-degree angle. “I truly appreciate the help.” She promised, her dark pupils brimming with so much hope that they sparkled under the dim moonlight. The blackhaired girl turned and led the way with a nod and a wave. “I promise, Nurse, this will get you through the area at a much faster pace!” She insisted. Nurse Joy just sighed, as though she had been thoroughly defeated, and shrugged. There wasn’t much else she could really do on the matter! “I truly hope you’re right, miss. I have pretty important business to attend to when I get to where I’m going!” She insisted.

“You see there’s this colony of spiders that won’t let me anywhere near the flowers. They have these large, intricate webs set up everywhere. I’ve insisted to be respectful of their home, but they just won’t trust anyone or anything.” Battle Girl Vera explained, turning around a large bend in the woods and stopping just short of the field of moon flowers. They were exquisite down each and every petal. Their pale white beauty glistened underneath the moon’s light, as though the moon itself caused them to bloom so perfectly and full.

Around the flowers as though it was encasing them were large webs strung from tree to tree. While most were perfectly formed, some were already tattered and torn, evident that something else must have trampled through the area before them. As though on queue, three green spiders with strange black markings in the shapes of faces on the backs of their abdomen jumped out behind a set of large briar bushes. They reared up on their back two legs and waved four of their yellow-and-black stripes legs menacingly in the air. “Go away! We do not allow intruders! Come any closer and we will BITE!” They hissed in unison.

Trixie is being attacked by Spinarak!

Levels 10, 12, & 8. Who will Trixie choose?
Weather is Flooding. Will be Triple Battle.

[Jenesis]

As Trixie traveled with Vera, the two girls would exchange stories of their journey to pass the time, while Kuroinu and Beth scampered on ahead, occasionally breaking off the main road to run in circles and tackle one another. They finally arrived on a sight that Trixie had to admit was quite stunning - the moon shining overhead, the field of glistening flowers, and the intricate lattice of webs hanging overhead, fiercely guarded by a clutter of territorial Spinarak.

Uh-oh.

"Kuroinu, wait--"

Trixie could see that a path had already been trampled ahead, presumably what had gotten these spiders into such a frenzy. Presumably someone else - someone in a hurry - had already come this way, which at least lent credence to Vera's claim that this was a shortcut of some sort. In order to get past, though, they'd have to deal with these bugs first! There was no time to waste, as one of them was already rearing up and threatening to strike the flame dog with its fangs. Kuroinu tried to summon up a fireball in her mouth, but with the damp air clinging to her fur, she could only let out a little bit of smoke and a whimper. She backed up nervously, still barking, and before realizing it had stepped knee-deep into a muddy puddle. She was in trouble!

Trixie wasted no time. She threw every single Pokeball she had into the air, and she'd sort out the rest later.

Frederick was the first to leap into the fray, standing protectively in front of Kuroinu and waving his blade-arms menacingly. Beth also ran up next to him in a protective stance. With the battle now evened at three on three, Trixie instructed the rest of her team to hang back and keep watch over Vera - and especially Joy. The poor young woman almost looked like she was going to faint dead away of fright, seeing the network of webs strung across the flower field. "We should go," she insisted. "We could always just - run away! Back the way we came!"

Trixie shook her head. "I don't think these guys are keen on letting us escape, unfortunately." She knew that certain bug Pokemon could shoot strings at their prey to trap them - what were the odds these spiders couldn't do the same thing?

"Beth, use Sand-Attack! Frederick, use Wing Attack! And Kuroinu... um..." She was going to call Ember, but it appeared that Kuroinu was already trying, and it wasn't working! "Do your best!" The Scyther was off, quick as a flash, swatting at the leftmost spider with his wings before it would even realize what hit it. Beth ran up to a pile of largely untouched dirt and started kicking it into the eyes of the middle spider. Kuroinu would bark... something... at the rightmost spider. Trixie couldn't tell what was said, but it appeared to be a battle cry of some sort, as one by one all of her other Pokemon would join in with a slap, a swat, or a bite, until the Spinarak was being harried in all directions.

Honestly, Trixie almost felt a little sorry for it.

[words=523] 400 to Incubator
BIG LONG OOC TIME:
Party order from Left to Right is Beth, Frederick, Kuroinu.
Beth attacks the Middle Spinarak (level 12) with Sand-Attack.
Frederick attacks the Left Spinarak (level 10) with Wing Attack.
Kuroinu attacks the Right Spinarak (level 8) with Beat Up.
Relevant effects:
Beth has the Pickup Ability
Frederick has Muscle Band
Kuroinu has Lucky Egg
Rivvi has Exp. Share