Come On, Get Happy! [Happiness Quest]

[Steph]

Route 29 looked different in springtime. Snow no longer blanketed the ground. Instead, tall, green grass poked up every which way, teeming with lively Pokémon. The trees, which had been crystallized with ice and snow back when Daisy began her journey, were now exploding into bloom. Rustling merrily under the open sky, they seemed to freely whisper the promise of new horizons to the Flying-types birthed in the safety of their flowery boughs, clamoring to learn how to soar.

Daisy was alighting in a tree too, but she wasn’t exactly planning to take off and fly. At least, not literally. She just wanted a clearer view of the road back to New Bark Town. Which was why it made perfect sense that she was stooped on top a branch like an awkward Hoothoot, scanning the horizon with hawklike intent.

”Daisy, be careful! I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch you if you fall,” said Tulip the Bulbasaur. She was rooted in place on the ground, but her vines stretched up towards her Trainer, just in case.

Daisy looked down at her Pokémon and frowned. ”Dont be such a ‘fraidy-plant, Tulip. You should climb up here, too.”

Tulip politely declined.

Now that the nuisance of Team Rocket was (mostly) behind her, Daisy was heading back to the lab at the Professor’s request. He had a new egg that needed some TLC before it could hatch—and with all the running around in circles Daisy usually did, she was a prime candidate for egg babysitting, apparently. But she was happy to help. Being surrounded by Pokémon was a lot of fun—as long as the Pokémon were friendly.

Speaking of being surrounded by Pokémon—

”Holy Hippowdon, do you see that?!” Daisy exclaimed. She pointed to a spot about ten trees down the road. ”That kid’s getting attacked by a buncha ruffians!”

The so-called ‘ruffians’ were a group of Houndour, ominously circling a little boy who had been reading a little ways off. He and his own Pokémon seemed to be quaking in their boots, immobilized by fear.

It was an alarming development, to say the least.

”Should we call someone for help…?” Tulip asked, looking up timidly.

No one answered, because Daisy had already slid down the tree trunk, ignoring any newly-formed scrapes on her arms and legs from the descent. She ran straight ahead; plunging head-first into whatever danger lurked on the path.

”No time to lose! This looks like a job for Daisy the Violet!”

Tulip retracted her vines almost delicately and sighed. ”Oh, not again,” she said.

Still, with only slight hesitation and a brand-new knot in her stomach, Tulip bounded after Daisy, more afraid of what would befall the human child if she tried to fight off Houndour alone than of what disaster was going to befall her own leafy hide in the upcoming battle.

---

Daisy threw a rock in a bid for the snarling Houbdour’s attention, aiming for the spot right in front of the leader’s paws. If it worked, the veritable Cerberus would hear the clatter, turn around, and look at Daisy instead of poor, unlucky Jimmy.

”Hang on, kid! I’ll save you with my wizard powers!” she said. “Sandrew the Bold! Tulip the Wise! Lord Fireball the Ravenous! I summon you! Look alive, we got some rescuing to do!”

Out of breath from running and clearly nervous, Tulip took her place on the right, wondering if Daisy had fire insurance. Probably not—but at least Tulip had gathered up a nice Oran Berry for herself earlier. It might just spare her from fainting here, if she was lucky. On the left, Sandrew leapt from his Poké Ball and jumped into battle head-first like he always did. He was of the opinion that one should throw punches first and ask questions later. (Besides, he had just learned a new TM move he’d wanted to try out.)

Fireball, on the other hand, refused to come out of his Poké Ball.

”Naptime’s over, Lord Fireball! Wake up!” Daisy screamed, holding the Poké Ball up to her face and jiggling it a little. Alas, there was nary a peep from inside—although she thought she could faintly make out the sound of a tiny stomach growling.

Daisy checked her pockets. It was really impossible to get Fireball to do anything without some food. But there were no crackers, no candy, and no popcorn on her person. She’d left her bag full of goodies over by the other tree. And she’d look stupid if she ran back there now after her big, dramatic entrance.

”Aw, crap,” Daisy said.

Lord Fireball was probably going to have to sit this one out. Which was a shame, because his attacks looked very cool and heroic when he actually decided to use them.

Oh, well. Sometimes you just had to improvise.

Daisy looked at the fearful, cowering boy with fresh eyes, and then turned her attention to his equally fearful Pokémon. Maybe there was a solution here. The green one looked a little too…well, green—not necessarily in the color department, but in terms of experience and the fact that it was most likely extremely flammable. The yellow one was viable, probably, and it had a nice glint of defiance in its eyes, but there was something about the weepy-looking blue Pokémon next to it that just screamed “water-type attacks,” which seemed like kind of a good idea right now.

”Okay kid, change of plans! You’re gonna learn to fight back, got it?”

Without warning, Daisy picked up the little boy’s blue Pokémon and plopped it down into the center of her battle formation.

”Watch what Tulip and Sandrew do, and then call out an attack when I tell you—you know, like Bubblebeam or Water Gun or something would be really good! Trust me, I’m a Professor. And a wizard.”

That was enough of a tutorial for the little squirt, Daisy hoped. Now, it was time to get into the thick of battle.

”Tulip, use Razor Leaf to hit all of ‘em at once! Sandrew, use Dig—go for the one right in front of you! Blue Guy…do what your Trainer says!”

She turned back towards the target of her rescue efforts, who quite frankly looked like he was about to pee his pants. He probably needed a little more encouragement. ”You can do it! You don’t even gotta move—just call out an attack and believe in your Pokémon!”

---

OoC:
Party notes!

Give Oran Berry to Tulip to hold
Teach Dig to Sandrew, replacing Mud Shot

Battle Notes!

Daisy requests Jimmy and Azurill team up with her for a multi battle! (hope that’s ok lol)
Send out Tulip on the far right, Sandrew on the far left, and Azurill in the middle.
Tulip razor leafs all her enemies!
Sandrew uses dig on the leftmost Houndour.
Azurill does whatever Jimmy says! (Leaving it up to the mods 👍)

[Tarlar]

It had been such nice and calm day when Jimmy had left home and ventured into the wild with his three young pokemon. He couldn't wait until he was old enough to go on a journey himself and then he would start with one of his three friends here! For now though, he had to read about other's travels (and fictions about young trainers, he especially liked one about a young trainer with an electric pokemon who had met a tons of legendaries!). Sometimes he played pretend when they encountered the occasionally bidoof or weedle. Jimmy had felt he had a pretty good grasp at being a trainer, that was right until today and the three scary houndours had appeared. He had tried but when both poisonous gas and fires breathed at them made it clear they were way out of their league, the courage left the whole group and they were left guivering in fear, in what they expected would be their last few moments as the hounds surrounded them.

Daisy's encouraging shout didn't get through to Jimmy at first, he was too paralyzed with fear to notice anything other than the sharp teeth which were so very close to him. His pokemon reacted faster, although only by looking around hopefully, they did cover back when the hounds snarled.
The rock flew and hit the leader of the pack, Havoc, on the shoulder, and it spun around growling threateningly. Great job of Daisy to recognize the leader! It only took a moment for for Havoc to decide that Daisy needed to pay for that, and with a short bark, they all left Jimmy and turned to face her, hadn't she called out several pokemon and acted full of confidence they would have jumped her right away. Now, with two pokemon they hesitated slightly, as trainer pokemon often had some nasty surprises.

"I..I..I don't know what they're doing here!" Jimmy stammered as he suddenly appeared beside Daisy, having gathered the courage to run around the three houndours to join her. He half hid behind her and looked like he would have run off if it hadn't meant the dogs would have run him down in no time.
"But I'll lose!" He blurted out when Daisy told him he needed to fight back, "we tried..." he added crestfallen. He didn't say anything when Daisy picked up his azurill and put it between her own two, she seemed to know what she was doing.
Azurill looked over its shoulder at Jimmy and he fidgeted uncomfortable, "just do as she said, you know. Bubble Beam. Careful!" He mumbled and ducked his head.

The houndours weren't going to wait anymore and Havoc barked a few orders before it threw its head back and let out a chilling howl which made Jimmy whimper and retreat fully behind Daisy. His two unused pokemon followed and his azurill stumbled backwards until it ran into Daisy's leg, there it looked nervously up at her. The one in front of Tulip did exactly what they didn't want them to do, it opened up its maw, which was bathed in flames and shot them at the grass type.
The remaining houndour looked to be about to do the same when Sandrew disappeared under ground and it instead leered around suspiciously, what was all that about?
Tulips leaves hit two of the dogs, the third was too far away for her to reach it, she would have needed to be on Azurill's spot to do that. It wasn't that affective since a lot of the leaves crumbled in the heat of the fire types before they did any real damage.
Azurill's bubbles cut off the leader's howling and it staggered back from the force. It glared at them and promised them hell for what they were doing to it.


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Gusting (tailwind)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Abyss LV 10
HP 81% [26/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Havoc LV 10
HP 47% [15/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Helena LV 10
HP 100% [32/32]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-1"]
Sandrew LV 14
HP 100% [42/42]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Azurill LV 10
HP 100% [33/33]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Tulip LV 12
HP 50% [18/36]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Helena [Flash Fire]: Normal (+1ATK)
Havoc [Early Bird]: Normal (+1ATK)
Abyss [Flash Fire]: Normal (+1ATK)

Tulip [Overgrow]: Normal (-1DEF)
Azurill [??]: Normal (-1DEF)
Sandrew [Sand Veil]: Normal (-1DEF)

SP21 Havoc used Howl!
SP21 Helena used Leer!
SP21 Abyss used Ember on Tulip!

SP20 Sandrew used Dig! he disappeared underground
SP19 Tulip used Razor Leaf on Havoc and Abyss!
SP12 Azurill used bubble Beam on Havoc!


(ooc: do you have a preferred ability for the azurill? It would stick after the battle of course ^^ otherwise it just won't have any until the battle is over)

[Steph]

The mystery of what the Houndour ruffians were up to deepened—not even the kid being attacked knew why they were doing this, apparently. Daisy remembered something she’d read in a manga once: ”There’s no such thing as a bad Pokémon; only Pokémon who belong to bad Trainers.” She wondered if this was true at all, because she’d encountered plenty of wild Pokémon that had clearly been out to get her—like monsters that randomly attacked the hero in an RPG.

But questions about the perceived goodness of Pokémon who maybe wanted to eat her and any related media discourse would have to wait until later. The battle was afoot!

Heeding Daisy’s advice, the Youngster commanded his Azurill to use a super-effective Water-type attack.

”Heck yeah, kid! Hit ‘em where it hurts! That’s right!” Daisy said, cheering him on. ”Oh, and I’m Professor Daisy the Violet, by the way. But you could just call me Daisy.”

Daisy took stock of her Pokémon. Sandrew was in the middle of his Dig attack, just as planned.

”My next lesson for you is that some attacks take more than one turn to work. Like…look at Sandrew’s Dig, for example. It takes a while to pull the attack off, but when he pops outta the ground, watch out! It really packs a whallop! So it’s up to you sometimes if you wanna hit right away like Tulip, or hit later for more damage later like Sandrew. The cool thing about Dig is that almost nothing can hit a Pokémon while it’s underground.”

Tulip, unlike Sandrew, wasn’t avoiding damage at all. The Houndour’s hot flames were starting to wilt her bulb. She looked like she was holding back tears.

”My other tip is that sometimes when a Pokémon isn’t looking so healthy in battle, you have to help it with items. That’s why I always keep a lot of Potions with me,” she explained. Rifling around in the deep pockets of her oversized white hoodie, Daisy produced a spray bottle of potion from the local shop and held it up so that its contents were slightly illuminated in the sun.

“Taste the relief, Tulip! I have a Potion of Healing!” Daisy said. She used it on the ailing Grass type, hoping to extend her tenure in battle.

”But hey, your Pokémon is still looking good, kid. So go ahead and call out an attack again! That Houndour in the middle is looking pretty weak. Maybe you could knock it out soon if you keep at it.”

---

OoC: Let’s give Azurill Thick Fat!
Daisy uses a Potion on Tulip!
Sandrew goes to Dig turn 2 on Helena!
Jimmy is encouraged to call out another move for Azurill!

[Pixel]

Jimmy still wasn't sure if this would work out. 'Professor Daisy' looked his age if hardly any older, but she held herself with a spunky confidence that he didn't have at all. She started to go into teacher mode, telling him about moves and effectiveness and healing. He found some of the tension bleeding out of him as she spoke, seemingly certain that they had this handled. Daisy was a little bossy but in a good way. She didn't panic and give up like him.

He grimaced.

He had tried so hard, but his team was out matched. Maybe if he had more water types or a ground type...then again, Daisy was making the grass type bulbasaur sorta work. Jimmy shivered and winced as the houndour attacked, smog swirling around his azurill and making the little mouse choke, and fire once more knocking the bulbasaur down to a vulnerable place. However, the battle took a sudden turn as the sandshrew jumped up from beneath the furthest houndour and slammed into its belly. The hound yelped and fell back, thoroughly cowed in a single hit. 

Maybe...maybe they could do this!

"Azurill! Use bubble beam again!" Those bubbles crashed into the houndour and suddenly, that hound too retreated from the fight, leaving a single one standing. "Woah. W-we might have this!" He smiled.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Gusting (tailwind)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Abyss LV 10
HP 81% [26/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Havoc LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Helena LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-1"]
Sandrew LV 14
HP 100% [42/42]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Azurill LV 10
HP 64% [21/33]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Tulip LV 12
HP 50% [18/36]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Helena [Flash Fire]: Fainted
Havoc [Early Bird]: Fainted
Abyss [Flash Fire]: Normal (+1ATK)

Tulip [Overgrow]: Normal (-2DEF)
Azurill [Thick Fat]: Normal (-2DEF)
Sandrew [Sand Veil]: Normal (-2DEF)

SP19++ Tulip was healed with a potion [+20 HP]

SP21 Havoc used mW3fxRWsp_1-4 Leer
SP21 Helena used p_1-4 Smog on Azurill 
SP21 Abyss used p_1-4 Ember on Tulip

SP20 Sandrew used Dig! Helena is out!
SP12 Azurill used bubble Beam on Havoc! Havoc is out!

Burn? p_1-100
Poison? p_1-100

1-4·1-4·1-4·1-100·1-100

[Steph]

Daisy flinched as Tulip the Wise was once again set ablaze by an enemy’s Ember attack. It looked like she was taking serious damage. Tulip was a good, reliable Pokémon, but her fatal flaw was painfully apparent today.

”You’re really allergic to fire, huh,” Daisy said conversationally to her budding buddy. She squatted down next to her Pokémon and readied another Potion; this time from her other pocket. It was important to double wield medicines for times like these.

Tulip shivered as the salve splattered across her face and her bulb. Some of it even got up her nose, somehow. ”Allergic?! Most living things don’t take very well to being set on flambé, Daisy!” she whined. “Still…that does feel better.”

”Okay, good! Then get ready to Tackle that thing so we can get this over with,” Daisy advised, pointing towards the Houndour on the right.

Turning to glance at her young charge, Daisy rubbed her chin and thought through things. ”Type advantages. Sometimes they’re on your side, and sometimes they kick your butt. Sandrew can’t attack the one on the opposite end, so this is mostly gonna be your show, kid. But you got the hang of it by now, right?”

---

OoC: On Sandrew’s turn, Daisy uses a potion on Tulip. Tulip uses Tackle on Abyss. Azurill listens to Jimmy.

[Pixel]

"B-bubble beam again!" Jimmy called out with hope in his heart. This battle was going super well. As Daisy healed Tulip, the houndour leered, looking mighty intimidating as it gauged its situation. Clearly this battle wasn't going on its favor if both of its packmates were down and out. Perhaps the wisest course of action would be to flee? Its hesitation bought the little mouse time to spit bubbles at the houndoor and caused the hound to yip in alarm. Caught off-foot, the following tackle nearly bowled the pup over. The battle was close to done but not quite.

"Oh no. It's still up. But we have it outnumbered, yeah? Even if your sandshrew can't help from over there, between me and your bulbasaur, we can take it down. Its pack can't surround us anymore." Jimmy looked a little braver. Then again, that could be the adrenaline talking.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Gusting (tailwind)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Abyss LV 10
HP 21% [7/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Havoc LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Helena LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-1"]
Sandrew LV 14
HP 100% [42/42]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Azurill LV 10
HP 64% [21/33]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Tulip LV 12
HP 50% [38/36]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Helena [Flash Fire]: Fainted
Havoc [Early Bird]: Fainted
Abyss [Flash Fire]: Normal (+1ATK)

Tulip [Overgrow]: Normal (-3DEF)
Azurill [Thick Fat]: Normal (-3DEF)
Sandrew [Sand Veil]: Normal (-3DEF)

++ Tulip was healed with a potion (Sandshrew's turn) [+20 HP]

SP21 Abyss used hjCHhQy3p_1-4 Leer
SP19 Tulip used tackle

SP12 Azurill used bubble Beam on Abyss 

1-4

[Steph]

Daisy nodded. Despite the Houndour’s angry leering, the battle was almost over. A cinematic moment was at hand, and a legend was about to be born. She could feel it in her very small bones. Pointing up at the sky, she commemorated the occasion as anyone should—with an impassioned speech.

”That’s right! In a world ruled by madness and monsters that set stuff on fire, a new hero will rise above the rest to save all of humanity! And that hero is…you! Jimmy and Blue Guy!”

Her pointer finger swooshed down towards the sudden targets of her tutelage for emphasis.

Sure, the world could be kind of upside-down sometimes, she thought. Team Rocket was always strutting around Johto like they owned the place, and now some mysterious shadowy organization was apparently loosing unruly Houndour to bite unsuspecting townsfolk. The police were nowhere to be found, as usual. But maybe it still would be okay if a new generation took over—starting with this wimpy little kid’s heroic origin story.

“So now give ‘em all you’ve got—for great justice! And we’ll help, too. Tulip, another Tackle, if you don’t mind,” Daisy said.

---

OoC:
Tulip uses Tackle!
Sandrew is on standby flexing his muscles :,,)
Jimmy’s Azurill gets to save the day!

[Caramell 🍬]

Schoolboy Jimmy’s courage was slowly building up as the battle carried on. Daisy really seemed to know what she was doing! He spent so many long hours in his free time, reading his books and really getting to know the ancient and mysterious Pokemon, he felt like he never had the time that authentic Pokemon Trainers had with their Pokemon. Would Daisy be a better fit? “Azurill, keep up the Bubble Beam! We can beat these mean doggies!” Jimmy snapped, finger pointing excitedly.

Abyss was the last one, but she wasn’t giving up! She spewed powerful flames over the battlefield. They scored a direct hit on Tulip, causing the bulbous plant an immense amount of pain as the flames ate away at her legs and large bulb. Tulip rushed through the flames that burned around her and slammed into her opponent, knocking the small pup over angrily. As soon as Azurill spritzed the Houndour with water, it leaped up and raced off through the thick overgrowth of the nearby forest with its friends.

“Oh my gosh, that was really good! Looks like they all ran off in different directions, even. But uhm…” Jimmy pointed out the three trails each of the dogs tore their way down. He then turned to his small aquatic mouse and kicked at the dirt ground with one foot nervously. “I was wonderin’ if… would you… please? Uhm… take Azurill with you? Azurill really should see the world and I can’t give my Pokemon that…”

Tears welled up in the corner of Jimmy’s eyes, and if Daisy refused, he’d cry profusely until she agreed or meanly walked away. He just wanted what was best for Azurill after all, who would say no to that?! He also dug out a small bell, nothing special really, and passed it over to Daisy with a wide grin. “Oh, yeah! Take this too… pretty please? It can help make Pokemon nicer to you!” He informed her, trying his best to explain how the bell worked.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Gusting (tailwind)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Abyss LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Havoc LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn2"]
Helena LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-1"]
Sandrew LV 14
HP 100% [42/42]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Azurill LV 10
HP 64% [21/33]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn2-2"]
Tulip LV 12
HP 61% [22/36]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Helena [Flash Fire]: Fainted
Havoc [Early Bird]: Fainted
Abyss [Flash Fire]: Normal (+1 ATK)

Tulip [Overgrow]: Normal (-3 DEF)
Azurill [Thick Fat]: Normal (-3 DEF)
Sandrew [Sand Veil]: Normal (-2 DEF)

SP21 Abyss used Ember!
SP20 Sandrew used Defense Curl! Sandshrew's defense was buffed!
((Usually you can't opt to choose no attack, but you can try to miss, like you try to hit or get creative. Up to Mod Discretion.))
SP19 Tulip used Tackle! [-1 HP]
SP12 Azurill used Bubble Beam! Abyss fainted!

---

2/3 + 2/3 + 2/3: 0.6 + 0.6 + 0.6 > 2
Tulip gained +2 levels to [Lv 14]!
Tulip gained +1 ❤️ to [+1 Happiness]!



2/3 + 2/3 + 2/3: 0.6 + 0.6 + 0.6 > 2
Sandshrew gained +2 levels to [Lv 16]!
Sandshrew could learn Rapid Spin but he already knows!
Sandshrew gained +1 ❤️ to [+1 Happiness]!

Schoolboy Jimmy is so grateful!

He gives Daisy his Azurill, a Soothe Bell as thanks!


[img src="https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen5/azurill.png"]
[b]Azurill[/b]
Name: [choose]
Gender: [choose]
Level: 10
OT: Daisy Gambino
Moves: Bubble Beam, Charm, Tail Whip, Helping Hand
Ability: Thick Fat OR Huge Power
Nature/Personality: [choose]


Will Daisy chase after the pups?

⇦ Left Path

⇧ Center Path

⇨ Right Path

Note, she can only explore (1) path at a time.

[Steph]

The evil was defeated! (For now, anyway.) Sandrew, looking mightily pleased with himself, struck a pose worthy of a cheesy video game victory fanfare, raising his right paw towards the shimmering sun. Tulip, on the other hand, flopped down in exhaustion. She was happy the battle was over and that all was well—but taking the brunt of a fire Pokemon’s flames hadn’t exactly been a picnic for her. True to her species’ name, her bulb was sore.

And Daisy—well, Daisy was a little taken aback. She blinked down at Jimmy.

”You want me to train up Blue Guy…?” she asked, thinking over Jimmy’s tearful proposition. She took the Soothe Bell into her upturned hand, staring into it intensely as if it held all the answers in the universe. It emanated a pleasant little jingle as she rolled it around in her palm.

She couldn’t deny that a baby Pokémon might be able to grow up into a bastion of truth and justice a lot faster if it was on her team. After all, Tulip and Sandrew had seen lots of action on the road, helping Daisy beat numerous bad guys, and they’d both learned new moves along the way. Daisy’s Wurmple, Wrigley, had even evolved already.

But Daisy didn’t want to cut short Jimmy’s path to becoming a hero, either. He was showing a lot of promise from the way he’d handled himself in battle. Would taking Blue Guy away ultimately hold Jimmy back from his true destiny…? It was a hard thing to think about, but Daisy thought about it anyway, her brow creased in concentration.

Eventually, though, it dawned on her—If Jimmy was going to ask her a favor like this, then she was going to have to ask him a favor, too. It was the only way to make sure the number of good guys in the world kept increasing.

”Okay. I promise to raise him into an awesome hero! But you gotta do something for me, Jimmy. You gotta start training those other two guys so that they get stronger and stronger—so strong that you don’t get in trouble with bad guys again! Then you can be a hero of justice, like me! And when you’re ready…come find me at Professor Elm’s lab, and we can have a real Pokémon battle. Just like they do in the big leagues.” She extended her little finger towards the school boy. ”Pinky promise me, okay?”

---

Her first battle of the day had concluded, but there was still a lingering mystery to solve. Where had those three Houndour come from? Was this just Team Rocket up to no good again? Or was it really the work of a shadow organization, as Daisy suspected?

She had to get to the bottom of this. But first…the fine folks at Elm Labs deserved to know why Professor Daisy was going to be late to pick up the egg she was supposed to be babysitting. Daisy tore a page out of her notebook and wrote him a letter.

Dear Proffessor Elm,

How are you? I am good. I am still on my way back to the lab to pick up the egg. So do not worry because I will be there soon. But first I had to stop and help a kid named Jimmy because he was being attacked by three Howndower at once and I needed to use my wizzard powers to save him and also I have a few more wizzard errends to run before I come over. I am sending Tulip the Wise to hang out with you and the Lab Guys for a few owers though because I think she is very tired from all of the battling and fire and stuff. I will be okay because I have my other Pokémon with me and also Jimmy gave me one of his and I brought alot of crackers for Lord Fireball the Ravvenus King of the Volcaneo.

Best reguards,
Proffessor Daisy

Daisy fastened the mail to Tulip, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to cut her a little break for once, and transferred the grass-type back to the lab. ”Wait for me at Professor Elm’s place, Tulip. I’ll be back soon to come and get you and the egg, okay?”

Worried about whatever stupid thing Daisy was going to do next, but secretly relieved to have the rest of the afternoon off, Tulip nodded. ”Just be careful! If there are any Pokémon that are too strong for you, don’t fight them! Just run away! And you—“ she turned to look at Sandrew and the Azurill that was tagging along, ”Make sure nothing bad happens to her, all right?”

Sandrew gave a salute. Then, he poked the Azurill in the side, motioning for it to do the same. It tried its best, although it was hard to effectively salute without any arms to speak of.

Daisy made a quick loop back to where she’d left her things, crammed half a sandwich into Lord Fireball’s mouth, gave a Potion to Blue Guy—who was holding on to the bell now—and set off down the path to the far left, where one of the Houndour had run off to.

---

OoC:
Tulip is sent to the box to rest, and Azurill takes her place.
Use a Potion on Azurill.
Give Azurill the Soothe Bell to hold.
Daisy takes the left path!

Azurill’s info:



Azurill
Name: Marshall
Gender: M
Level: 10
OT: Daisy Gambino
Moves: Bubble Beam, Charm, Tail Whip, Helping Hand
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature/Personality: Sassy. Marshall is cute and adorable, and he knows it. He wants to be doted on like a favorite child, and is always looking for ways to increase his natural charm so he can make others smile. He prefers Pokémon Contests to battles, and dreams of someday being on television.

[Pixel]

Professor Daisy had quite the conundrum on her hands. 

With Jimmy left behind (agreeing shyly that he would indeed do his best to train up the other pokemon in his care to be big and strong and worldly), she was now faced with a great mystery to solve. In her time in Cherrygrove, she had unfortunately learned that not all adults could be counted on for help. But with her new companion against the shadowy forces of evil, who needed them? Elm would watch over Tulip until she could get back to the lab as she promised, and in the meantime, she could focus on this series of strange events.

Standing at the place where the Houndour scattered, paw prints lead in three directions. She chose to investigate the first path, but as she traced those steps, the prints became harder and harder to see. In fact, she was soon on the outskirts of the city where human and wild pokemon tracks all overlapped in the dirt. Dangit. The results were muddied. If she was to locate the houndour, she would need to find the correct set of prints all over again!

Now which ones would she follow....?

---

	A	B	C	D	E
1
2
3

Which set of prints will you follow?

[Steph]

“Aw, geez, what a mess. It’s like everybody and their mom and their Pokémon decided to walk all over here, Daisy said. She chewed her bottom lip as her eyes traced a circular cluster of footprints in the dirt, which made her dizzy.

Everyone knew that a good detective didn’t rely on their eyes alone, though. Daisy shook her head and got down on all fours, trying to see if she could smell where the wayward dog went. Her nose twitched as she sniffed along the edge of ground. There were a lot of smells to be smelled here—not all of them pleasant—but there was a whiff of flames in there somewhere. It just wasn’t distinct enough for Daisy to choose a direction.

But using your senses was for chumps, actually—the best detectives relied on their Pokémon, of course.

”Officer Sandrew, big news! The chief wants you back on this case! You gotta figure out where that Houndour went!” she said, calling out her best sleuth.

Sandrew burst back out of his Poké Ball, full of strong, silent energy as usual. He did a runner’s stretch to warm up his calves and cracked what few knuckles he had.

Looking at the ground, he found himself faced with the same tangle of footprints that Daisy was stuck on—but Sandrew had another sense he was willing to use. He pressed his hand against the dirt and then licked it, shook his head, rinsed and repeated—until the taste of one of the footprints seemed especially fiery and dog-like.

He tugged on the hem of Daisy’s shorts and pointed off in the direction that tasted like Houndour feet. Daisy wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or worried that her Pokémon had just solved a riddle by eating dirt.

”You got some real weird methods, you know that?” Daisy said, quirking an eyebrow at her Pokémon. But hey, if it worked, it worked—Daisy shrugged and started following him.

---

OoC: Sandrew follows his…tongue…towards E2…and Daisy follows him!

[Caramell 🍬]

In a densely populated forest, it would be unsurprising to most to expect that there were many beasts that inhabited the forested region. Some of their fluttered overhead, their dull brown wings stretched across the heavens above as they weaved in and out of the network of soft, pillowy white clouds overhead. Small, furry creatures with thick, bushy tails scampered up the barks of tall trees. Sometimes they frolicked cheerfully, sometimes they were being chased by large, scaley serpents that slithered eagerly behind them.

Still, the tracks were a mystery. And whilst Steph and her companion might have assumed the one that Officer Sandshrew picked would be especially fiery and canid in taste and compilation, that just wouldn’t remain so. There was a hint of normalcy. Like a Pokemon whose best days were spent tucked away in a cave or chasing after insects for the pollen and nectar they managed to pilfer off others inside of their hives. Still, muddled on the ground in a mix of other prints that seemed to scatter over each other haphazardly, who could have blamed them for the mixup?

Daisy would find herself being lured towards the entrance of a massive cave. Something growled inside, and while it was anything but friendly it was more ursine in nature as well. It stomped, large eyes that loomed out of the shadows with a wide, toothy grin. The massive beast remained firmly rooted in place as it poked its snout out of the shadows and growled. She could attempt to try and take the beast on if she dared. A brave kid lost in the woods confronting something of grisly proportions often made for a wonderful children’s book, but did poorly on ratings when it came to real-life adventures.

The beast popped out of the cave and rose up on top of its two massive fore limbs, slashing its front limbs in the air in warning. It roared, a boastful sound that clamored in the air as a warning to all around. Daisy had one moment to seize, where she could turn around and run as fast as her legs could carry her. If Officer Sandshrew or any of her other partners so much as tried to tango with the beast, it would easily snatch them off the ground and send them spiraling several feet backwards, with enough force and effort to knock the very wind out of their lungs as a warning.

Surely, it was best to turn back to look at those tracks once more? Surely, one of the other tracks must be more canid and fiery compared to all the others?

---

	A	B	C	D	E
1
2
3

Will Steph choose another path?

[Steph]

Yeet.

Sandrew was tossed violently out of the cave like a soccer ball being chucked out of the penalty box by a very furry and ferocious goalkeeper. On pure instinct, he rolled himself up for protection. Daisy’s eyes went wide with shock as she watched his trajectory in the air and lunged to catch him right before he hit the dirt.

”Oof!” she exclaimed as she herself hit the dirt instead, barely hanging on to the rounded Pokémon in her hands. There were a few moments of blessed stillness. Then, Daisy sat up on her bottom and put Sandrew down in the grass. ”You thought that thing tasted like a Houndour? Seriously?!”

Sandrew shrugged.

”You gotta get your tongue checked, dude,” Daisy deadpanned. Sandrew sighed, looked down at his little feet, and started plucking bits out of the grass to distract himself from the bitter taste of failure.

Daisy, on the other hand, was more concerned about having the last word with the thing in the cave. She shouted in its general direction.

”Servant of darkness! Evildoer! Bully! Don’t talk to me or my son ever again! Or you’ll be hearing from my lawyer!” she said, pointing her finger animatedly at the cave from a safe-ish distance away.

(Daisy didn’t have a lawyer, and neither did her parents, but the ferocious bear didn’t need to know that.)

Now that her enemy was surely cowering in its cave, Daisy formulated a new plan.

”Okay, new idea, Officer Sandrew. It’s called process of elimination. If we try all of the footprints, then we can see which ones are the wrong ones, which means once we know all the wrong ones we can figure out the right one!”

Sandrew stopped pulling weeds and scratched his head, utterly confused.

”Yeah, I know. I’m a genius. Don’t worry about it too much,” Daisy said. She grabbed Sandrew by the paw and started dragging him towards a set of oval-shaped footprints that looked kind of soothing.

---

OoC: Wrong answers only! 😂 Daisy flees and follows D1…

[Pixel]

Perhaps it would be wisest for daisy to recall how many toes a houndour possess. Then again, the preceding battle didn't exactly leave opportunity to examine those paws closely and wiggle any adorable toe beans that may or may not exist.

The oval shaped prints were relatively faded, as if the pokemon had passed through a long while ago, and arced towards the beach. It was quite unfortunate to lose said prints as soon as she reached the sandy shores, the wind likely whipping away any traces of the passerby in a matter of moments. However, as Daisy looked around for signs of a houndour, perhaps checking in the crevices between rocks where one might make a den of sorts, she would see a strange pokemon sitting on the edge of the water, perched supine on a smooth rock, tail submerged in the the rippling waves.

A slowpoke!

No telling how long it had been there or how long it would stay. Their sort weren't known for moving quickly. It yawned, stretching its front feet out a little to flatten its pink body more, nary a care in the world. It would sleep as Daisy continued her fruitless search along the shore.

Well, right up until its beady eyes suddenly opened and it slooooowly pulled its tail out of the water, revealing the shellder stubbornly clinging to it, the clamp looking quite painful. There was no dislodging THAT unless the shellder released its tight grip. 

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright white light and the slowpoke sat upright onto its hind legs. Where a slowpoke once laid dozing, stood now a whole slowbro!

But no houndour. Dang it!

[Steph]

Life was a beach, or so the grown-ups liked to say. Maybe that was why Daisy now found herself standing on a sandy bank, lost and scratching her head over where the three Houndour had disappeared to. Up and down the shore she went, getting sand in her socks and picking up interesting-looking pebbles to show the Professor later. Maybe one of them was an evolution stone, she thought, trying to look on the bright side—or maybe they were just run-of-the-mill rocks for decorating a garden or something—but either way, she wanted something to show for all her hard work.

Sandrew seemed to be in his element in the sand, shaping a tiny pile to call his own, although he tried to stay as far away from the wet part of the beach as possible. Even the mighty Achilles had his weakness, and Sandrew’s happened to be water. It would be embarrassing for him if Daisy found out, he thought as he stuck a reed on the top of his lopsided sandcastle.

Daisy, meanwhile, passed the same Slowpoke three or four times, and each time, she paused to look at it—but there wasn’t much time to stop anymore, was there? What if the culprit got away? Frustration started to nibble at the corners of her brain.

”Ugggggh, this is getting us nowhere! I don’t even see any tracks anymore! How am I gonna crack this case now?!” she shouted at the water.

The water, weirdly enough, answered back. A Shellder bit the tail of the Slowpoke, and it evolved in a flash of glory.

”Oh! It turns out this pink thing was actually the wise and mighty guardian of the river!” she said to herself, nodding a little. ”That’s good for us. I think.”

She scribbled down a quick sketch and presented it to Slowbro:

”Oh, wise and mighty guardian of the river! I am the Wizard, Daisy the Violet, from the faraway land of Unova! Wouldst thou help me on my quest to defeat evil? ‘Cause I’m looking for a Pokémon like this, and, um…did you maybe see which way it went?”

---

OoC: Wizard Daisy rolls an animal handling check and asks the Slowbro for directions…