Luminous Vale

[Venominon]

Coming in from the Shady Glen

After going around in a circle and leaving the apprentice woodcutter back in the Shady Glen, Shinya entered the Luminous Vale, where one of the two missing Farfetch'd were said to have run off to. Upon his arrival, the Team Skull grunt stomped some of the flowers that were growing there into the dirt before coming to a complete stop and having himself a good look around. Staying true to his nature, he scoffed at all the natural beauty of the landscape around him, slowly withdrawing a Pokeball from his bag and pressing the button on it to activate the small device. "Alright, Farfetch'd! The game's over! Come on out and claim your prize! I've got a good one for ya too! It's a real doozy!" Shinya smirked and snickered mischievously, as the Pokemon contained without the Pokeball in his grip was sure to knock this Normal/Flying type for a loop. Literally.

OOC: Awaiting Farfetch'd encounter.

[Pixel]

This was freedom! With a strut to its step, the Farfetch'd wandered about, swinging his trust leek at anything that appeared in front of him, chopping it down with practiced ease. Flowers? Whack! Branches? Whack! Random bug pokemon? WHACK! He would surely get stronger this way too. That kid wasn't a good enough trainer to handle him and his brother. They could see the inexperience and uncertainty in him, and once the old man was out of sight, so were they. The brat barely followed them past the tree line before hesitating, too afraid to venture further without protection. 

Well, he wasn't going to do what that coward wanted! He was going to stretch his wings and cut down stuff until he felt like going home. The day was young yet and the forest peaceful. 

However, his attention was drawn to someone stomping around and squishing flowers.

Oh?

<A worthy foe!> the duck cried out, leaping forth. <I will chop you down where you stand!>

---

A [LV 20] Farfetch'd Appeared!
Battle it here.

[Venominon]

In spite of Anorith's unwillingness to battle, this bout was over in a flash, as she and Shinya eyed the unconscious Flying type, helplessly pinned under a pile of boulders. With that, Anorith let out another yawn, getting ready to doze off once more, but still checked with her trainer to make sure her work here was done first. "...Glad that's over already...So, now what do we do, boss?...Do we take this one back to its trainer...or keep looking for the other one first?..." Indeed, that was the question. Where would Team Skull go from here? Before opening his mouth to speak, Shinya gave it some thought, doing his best to envision both scenarios in his head.

On the one hand, the Shady Glen wasn't too far away. Making the trek back to return the Farfetch'd they had just defeated to Sylvester would be a very simple task. But on the other hand, the green-haired trainer had already passed through the Shady Glen twice. And if he was being honest, he had absolutely no desire to do so a third time. At least not until their side quest was complete. With that in mind, Shinya reached his decision, walking over to Anorith and picking her up in his arms as he spoke to her. "Well, it doesn't look like that Farfetch'd ya just buried alive is gonna be goin' anywhere anytime soon. Even if it regains consciousness before we get back. So, let's just go find the other stupid bird and get this over with."

"I've already got a pretty good idea of where it is too. And since ya did such a good job with this one, Anorith, I'll carry ya the whole way there. So, get some shut eye, and be ready to fight again once we get there." The Old Shrimp Pokemon was pleasantly surprised to hear this from her trainer of all people, happily accepting his offer by closing her eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep once more. "...Oh, boss...You're...so sweet..." That was the last thing Anorith said before sleep claimed her once more, as she made herself comfortable in Shinya's arms. Looking down at her, Shinya couldn't help smiling and chuckling a bit, before facing the path ahead of him and moving on to the next area of the Ilex Forest.

OOC: Moving on to the Mahogany Knoll.

[Pixel]

Silas followed Syndicate's lead. The honchkrow lead them deeper into the forest with a caw and a crow, repeating the word "SUNNY!" despite the late hour. Silas let his gaze flick up to the sky where the moon was creeping higher. The wood cutter kid, Sylvester, was likely supposed to be home by now, but couldn't go back without the farfetch'd. Irresponsible of the father, he'd argue. Especially when you didn't know if someone would just take those pesky CUT birds for themselves on a whim. 

Of course, Silas wouldn't do that. Purely because that would leave a trail he didn't need. Instead he'd play good citizen, help out and then be on his way with that HM in hand.

Now, where was he? 

He slowed his pace when the honchkrow landed and began to preen his dark feathers. A cold gust of air reminded him of the weather and Silas shivered, pulling up the collar of his jacket to brace against the chill. After a moment of looking around without a clue of what he was looking at, he pulled out that guide on his phone again. "This must be the Luminous Vale. I suppose this would be a good place for those birds to catch sunlight during the day. And it isn't too far from the boy...perhaps we should look around." 

Putting away his phone, Silas whistled, "Syndicate. Look for that farfetch'd. If you find it, herd it my direction so that I may disable it from committing any further mischief and return it to that Sylvester boy. Go on and be quick about it. We don't have time to dither. If that boy's father comes out here looking for him and finds the birds himself, we might not get that HM."

Syn crowed and alit back into the air, keen eyes searching the darkness. Silas wandered a bit himself, seeking out signs in the dirt and foliage that the bird was around. Not that he was much of a wildness tracker. He wasn't a scout. He was decent at breaking into houses and tracking down people in cities, but out here in the woods, he was out of his element. 

How did those tree kissing rangers find pokemon? 

Grumbling to himself, he crunched along the snowy Vale, hands buried in his pockets.

"If I was a runaway farfetched, where would I be out here?" he asked himself.

—

Word Count: 400 (+400) | OOC: 

Waiting for farfetch'd encounter

Arriving from Shady Glen

[Professor Oak]

In the serene expanse of the Luminous Vale, the moon's gentle glow filtered through the dense canopy, casting ethereal shadows across the forest floor. Amidst the tranquil silence, a rustle echoed through the foliage. A duck emerged from the shadows — a Farfetch'd, its feathers ruffled and weariness evident in its cautious steps.

The Farfetch'd, having wandered far from its familiar haunts, appeared disoriented in this unfamiliar terrain. Its plumage bore the signs of a long journey, and its eyes held a mix of uncertainty and apprehension.

As the Farfetch'd cautiously navigated the undergrowth, its senses heightened by the unfamiliar surroundings, it suddenly caught sight of a dark silhouette gliding gracefully overhead. Startled, the Pokémon stumbled, momentarily thrown off balance by the unexpected presence in the skies. Instinctively, it hurried forward, inadvertently rushing directly into the path of a figure it hadn't noticed before.

The Farfetch'd, feathers ruffled and leek stick raised in a defensive stance, halted abruptly in front of Silas. Its eyes, wide with surprise and trepidation, locked onto the man, a silent plea for mercy evident in its startled gaze.

---

A [LV 20] Farfetch'd Appeared!
Battle it here.

[Pixel]

A couple sharp sparks and then silence. The farfetch'd barely put up any resistance. Jessica didn't even get swiped at by the bird before she knocked it out. Good. Time to grab and bag the bird and head out. "Syn, keep a look out. We are going to somewhere with pine trees and I believe I know the direction we need to go." 

The crow let out a hearty caw before fluttering off his perch and alighting back into the sky. Higher and higher the bird climbed until he was but a shadow in the moon glow once more. 

"Jessica, you did well. No doubt I will call upon you again shortly," he told the mareep, returning her to her ball as she preened about her flawless victory. He reached out and pat Mercenary's neck, "Do you smell anything? There is much out here that we could burn should it displease us. But alas, we must keep a low profile for the better good..."

Mercenary growled and huffed, as if scoffing, before leading the way out of the Luminous Vale. Her spaded tail flicked, her nose twitched and her lithe, canine body moved like a blot of ink upon parchment. Every now and then her lips would curl back and she would growl, but whatever was tempted to menace them instantly regretted it and retreated. Not much could stand up the hound. She was quite the proud and terrible sight in a forest of mostly bugs.

Snapping her jaws at some shadow or another, the houndoom padded her way out of the Vale, the smell of farfetch'd fresh in her nostrils. There was the one they had just captured, but there was indeed another, fainter, similar smell fairly close. This way. Yes. This way. The wind carried the aroma quite proudly so that it danced upon her senses. 

Syn could not smell their prey, but his eyes were keen.

And Silas? He kept himself alert as he searched the gloom himself, wary, but unafraid. Those birds couldn't threaten him. Their only 'threat' factor was how annoying they were to find. As they departed the Vale, he did spare a glance back, adjusting his grip on his bag and the first farfetch'd. 

"Hm. Looks like we won't pass by that boy on our way to the next location. No matter, we can just bring him both of these birds at once. Save ourselves some time."

—

Word Count: 404 (+400) | OOC: 

Moving to Mahogany Knoll

[Venominon]

Returning from the Mahogany Knoll

The minute he returned to the Luminous Vale, Shinya stepped right over the field of flowers before him, crushing them under his shoes as he made his way over to the pile of rocks left behind during Anorith's bout with the first missing Farfetch'd. And sure enough, that very same Farfetch'd was still there, laying under the rocks with swirl patterns in its eyes, completely and utterly helpless. "So nice of ya to wait for us, ya stupid bird. Now, c'mon. Let's get ya back to that little wood cutter with a cartoon cat's name." Again, Shinya knew very well that the unconscious Farfetch'd couldn't hear a single word he was saying, but boy, did he enjoy himself, nonetheless. After kicking a few rocks aside, Shinya bent over, grabbed the first Farfetch'd by it's legs as well, then turned and proceeded to head back towards the Shady Glen, where he knew Sylvester was waiting patiently for him to return with the Farfetch'd duo.

OOC: Returning to the Shady Glen with a pair of Farfetch'd in tow

[Pixel]

Silas noticed an unusual rock formation on his second pass through the Luminous Vale. Had it been there before? It appeared recent given all the smashed flowered scattered about. Idly, he investigated it and found nothing save a few brown feathers. 

Now, he couldn't get too distracted, even by odd piles of rocks. He had a pair of birds to return to their owner. With his chin lifted high and a professional smile on his face, he made his way back towards the Shady Glen so that he could offload this...burden...onto Sylvester. 

He wanted his CUT HM.

—

Word Count: 100 | OOC: 

Going to Shady Glen

Syndicate HP [ 85/89 ]

Coming from Mahogany Knoll.

[Pixel]

After dropping off the farfetch'd with Sylvester, Adrian found himself in an area with plenty of open canopy space. Surely this would be a good place to sun if you were a lazy bird looking for a nap. But as he considered the area, he realized that Sylvester also mentioned trees. There was no need to 'sleep in sunny places between the trees' with so much open ground.

He checked his 'nav again.

"The gleaming hollow is supposedly densely wooded but also remarkably bright? Maybe that is where he meant?" Adrian could always backtrack here if he was wrong about his guess about where those wily birds had run off to. So once more he got a move on and headed deeper into the woods, this time towards the Gleaming Hollow.

—

Word Count:  000  | OOC:

Coming from Shady Glen!
1 farfetched obtained!

Heading to Gleaming Hollow!

[Pixel]

Farfetch'd in his arms, Adrian hurried back towards the entrance to Ilex. Fancy fluttered overhead as Flicker lit the way. Sarge ran ahead of him. He felt...safe surrounded by his pokemon. His companions. They were with him through everything and helped him learn new things about himself and what he wanted with his life. 

"I wonder if this fog will clear up soon," he pondered aloud as he picked up his pace. He hoped it did. Honestly, wandering around in this gloom was just unpleasant. It made his skin sticky and—

CRACK!

—ouch.

It was hard to see. So he stepped on things. Or ran face first into branches. Like that one.

—

Word Count:  000  | OOC:

Coming from Gleaming Hollow.
Heading to Shady Glen.

2 farfetch'd obtained.

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Zaiden traveled through the dense forest fighting against stray branches that swung out in front of his path. He had to pause a few times as heavily wooded sections would block out his path, making it impossible for him to trek through. How were other trainers able to make their way all the way to Goldenrod? Several sharp thorns managed to catch Zaiden's arms and legs, tearing at his roughened flesh and ripping small holes in his denim jeans. Sylvester mentioned a specialized Hideen Machine that sounded almost like a lifesaver in the moment, but was that all someone needed to make their way through the entirety of Ilex Forest? He kept a vigilant lookout as his feet ambled down one gently sloping hill to crawl up the side of another. It was bright and beautiful, with the tall grasses decorated in bright, beautiful flowers springing forth in bloom. Slowly, the path opened up, creating manageable gaps between the trees that Zaiden utilized to the fullest as he skirted around thick brushes and hopped over fallen logs. Small yellow flies darted in and out of view in the distance, taking off as soon as they heard Zaiden's footsteps snapping small twigs in half with a deafening crack. Beautiful butterflies hovered out of reach in the canopies, with a few daring to flutter down to nearby flowers only to zip off as soon as Zaiden neared. What did Sylvester say about the missing birds? One was in a place teeming with flowers and another was in a place teeming with bugs. But in a forest where bugs would definitely thrive to live their best life, wouldn't that describe virtually every inch of Ilex? Perhaps there were places Zaiden had yet to reach, so he couldn't possibly understand? Small red ladybugs pressed against the rough bark of tall oaks and shivered, wide eyes studying the trainer in hopes that they hadn't been spotted. Most opened their hardened shells to produce two translucent wings, which they used to fly away in a hurry as soon as Zaiden did so much as breathe too heavily. This place definitely had bugs, but he couldn't really see anything through the tall, emerald blades of grass that hinted to possible ducks on the loose. Maybe he should wait and really search the area? Zaiden peeked inside of gnarly bramblebushes carefully and peered around the base of large trees as he scoured Luminous Vale for hide or hair of the elusive feathered avians. "Where can you two be? The teenage lad hummed to himself with a heavy sigh. "It certainly LOOKS like there are plenty of bugs around here. And some wildflowers, too. What else am I missing to this puzzle piece?" Zaiden scratched the bottom of his chin as he thought aloud. OOC: Coming from Shady Glen. Looking for Encounter , On Wild Goose Chase Quest! Words: 464 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Okiagari | Moyashi | Tonbo | Kanja | Goshikka | Ichi | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

[Tarlar]

The ground was dotted with shadows from the trees as the sun did its best to pretend it was summer and warm the forest. The shadows were not as big as the leaves were small so the summer-y feeling wasn't really there, but the pokemon didn't care. Spring was here! Flowers were blooming! While many trainers were fearing and complaining about the forest, the bugs loved it, it was their heaven! At least as long as they kept a safe distance to the more darker parts of the forest, but why would they be going there anyway?

A cutiefly swarmed around with the others, visited the flowers and rose to the sky like a cloud each time they got disturbed, for example each time Zaiden got a bit too closer. Unlike other humans, Zaiden stayed in the area, and instead of following the pokemon he did something very strange, which caught the little cutiefly's attention.
It left the safety of the swarm and carefully buzzed closer, only to dart away each time he made a sudden movement. It inched closer by this darting back and forth and it checked out the places he had looked at. Down at the roots of a big tree, diving into the bush which branches he had lifted to get a better look, zooming around the tree trunks which he had look around, but there was nothing out of the ordinary there.
As Zaiden peeked into a hole of a tree trunk he would hear a faint buzz in his left ear. The cutiefly was hanging right beside him looking along to see if what he was looking for was inside that hole.

Cutiefly [Lv 9] is curious to what Zaiden is looking for.
Weather will be Clear Skies (Clear)
Go to battle here

Shiny: MMOUJ3cap_1-42
Apricorn: p_1-81-42·1-8

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Kemushi’s conversation with the small yellow fly was cut incredibly short as his trainer easily zapped the small creature up inside of a Poke Ball. He sighed, lowering his eyes to the ground in temporary frustration. Not only did the wild Pokemon not understand what the Rock Type Metapod was trying to get across, he’d lost every chance he had to try and work out the locations of these wily feathered creatures that they were supposedly looking for. “It would help if you could at least try to understand what I’m telling you.” Kemushi snapped, hopping up and down in the wild grasses that enveloped the entire stretch of the forest. Zaiden tilted his head as he stared down at Kemushi bouncing around as though he wanted to attempt to run a marathon by himself. Metapod were known to wait patiently on their evolution, yet his was one of the most energetic and jumpy Pokemon he’d personally met in his life. What is Kemushi trying to tell me? Zaiden pondered quietly to himself, scooping to pick the red-and-white orb off the ground. He pulled out a small napkin and wiped away specks of dust and debris with ease. Wasn’t he trying to get me to invite our new friend along with us? Did I misread that somehow? Zaiden questioned himself and watched as the Poke Ball began to glow with a bright light, before it teleported off to the Professor’s lab. Something strange happened underneath Kemushi’s thick green shell. Small cracks formed, splitting the hardened material open. Two damp wings pushed out of the crack, beautifully white throughout with large black markings lining around their edges. The small purple bug the white wings were attached to crawled out after and blinked, studying his new world with bright red eyes. “I wasn’t supposed to evolve into this!?” Kemushi complained in confusion, growling at the top of his lungs as he unfurled his new set of wings and slowly lifted himself up into the air. “This has to be some sort of mistake?!” Zaiden’s face glowed from the excitement and happiness that he felt for his Pokemon’s newly evolved form. Kemushi wasn’t the first Butterfree he had owned, though his original he caught during one of the Bug Catching Contests now had a new home with a different trainer. I wonder how my old Pokemon is doing after all this time… Zaiden hummed quietly to himself while raising his hands up and applauding Kemushi enthusiastically on their newly achieved form. Kemushi landed on Zaiden’s head and gripped the boy’s short mousy-brown hair in his tiny fists. He tugged as hard as he could while screaming at the top of his lungs. “LISTEN TO ME, YOU STUPID HUMAN! I WAS MEANT TO EVOLVE INTO A RHYDON! YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! RHY! DON!” What was with his Pokemon?! Zaiden plucked Kemushi out of his hair with a bit of a struggle. “Owww! That hurt, cut it out!” The young teen complained, before finally prying Kemushi’s tiny paws out of his hair. Hopefully he didn’t have any random bald spots where the small bug managed to pull strands of his short hair free. He recalled Kemushi temporarily to give the small bug some time to calm and and turned to stalk his way into the next section of Ilex forest, hoping that he might find better traces of the mysterious birds that Sylvester was searching for. Again…Zaiden wasn’t totally sure he was the right person for the job. But, considering how few other people he’d seen so far, maybe he was basically the only person for the job? OOC: Headed to Gleaming Hollow! Kemushi evolves and learns Gust. Self-updating! Words: 610 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Cho | Moyashi | Tonbo | Kanja | Goshikka | Kemushi | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

[Pixel]

"Tasty bugs or a creek, tasty bugs or a creek," Freya muttered. She had absolutely no idea how Ilex worked or what she would find here, but she did have plenty of audacity and a forest guidebook. As she walked, she flipped through the glossy pages as well as looked for farfetch'd in her pokedex. OH! So that was what those looked like. Brown bird pokemon with bill-like beaks and always holding a leek. It was apparently some sort of delicacy which likely played a roll in their declining numbers. Huh. Interesting.

After a while, she looked up from her booklet to search her surroundings. Nope. None of this looked like it was a creek or swarming with bugs. "I think we should keep moving, Baxy~" And then she was off, cheerfully leading the way through the forest and past all of these beautiful flowers.

—

Word Count; 000 | OOC:


Coming from Shady Glen!
Heading to Gleaming Hollow

[Pixel]

The scenery was less pleasant this time around while passing through the Luminous Vale. It wasn't idllic or fairy-like. Honestly, everything blended together into a horrific mess of sand and awfulness. She didn't want to loiter here if she could avoid it. Part of her wanted to retreat once this farfetch'd hunt ended. She could push towards Goldenrod another day. But she already threw a gauntlet down and challenged Adrian, told him that she could do this whole gym challenge thing better than him. So now she had to suffer the consequences of her hubris. 

She would let out a long suffering sigh if not for the fact that she would end up swallowing a bucket of sand in the process and that would be totally uncool and awful and— Freya coughed. Urg. There was no properly escaping it. She leaned against a tree and coughed. 

Baxy looked up at her and squinted. <Put me down. I can walk. You clearly need to find some way of covering your vulnerable, stupid face.>

"I'm fine, Baxy..." Freya insisted, trying to smile, her eyes watering terribly. Frigibax gave her a flat look and bit her again. She hissed in pain. "Okay, okay. But how about instead of walking, you go into your ball, alright? I would feel better about it if you did that. I know you hate being in your pokeball, but this is for the best, okay?" She got glared at. "Don't give me that look. I know your legs work, but this sandstorm is no joke. Please..."

Frigibax sighed and squirmed down, dropping to the ground and pressing herself against her trainer's legs, <Fine. I will comply. I will go back into that ball for now. But only until this weather ceases.>

Freya grinned, "Perfect! I'm so sorry about this. I know you hate it. But it will be for the best." She took out the Frigibax's ball and pressed it to the dragon's forehead. A moment later, the little dragon turned into red light and flickered into the capsule. Then the pokeball was cold and still in her palm. How odd... She wasn't used to traveling without her little companion on her heels anymore. Ah well. It was for the best. Now she could grab a scarf from her bag, wrap it around her face and keep walking...even as she died from the HEAT. Why did it have to be sandy AND hot?

—

Word Count; 405 (+400) | OOC:

Coming from Gleaming Hollow
Back to Shady Glen

[Frigibax HP @6% before LV up]

One farfetch'd obtained

On wild goose chase quest