Dense Thicket

[Marchbaby]

Coming from the Shady Glen

Tyler reached the Dense Thicket and slowly made his way through the path he had previously cut. The path was super small and branches poked him at nearly every step but he was finally able to get through the area after getting snagged a few times. The slow pace he had to move at did cost him some time but he was glad to be out of the area.

Heading for the Forest Shrine.

[Venominon]

Arriving from the Forest Shrine

With the rain continuing to pour down all around him, Venom continued to make his way back out of the Ilex Forest. Fortunately, all the clustered trees in the Dense Thicket shielded him from most of the falling water. Even though he had already traveled about halfway through the forest, defeated a gang of evil spirits, and even met Celebi itself, there was still something that the ninja had to take care of back in Violet City. Or more specifically, the Dark Cave just outside of Violet City. And it had to do with the Z-Ring that Venom wore on his right wrist. He knew that the third Alola trial was there, and it was all he could think about, as he stepped over the tree his Cyndaquil cut down in order for him to get into the forest earlier, reached the edge of the Dense Thicket and moved onto the Shady Glen.

OOC: Venom moves onto the Shady Glen.

[Venominon]

Arriving from the Shady Glen

As excited as Venom was to get to Goldenrod City, and the vast population of Poison type Pokemon that await him there, he was forced to come to a stop shortly after arriving in the Dense Thicket. Even though he was traveling by tree, it was impossible for him to go any further with such a large tree blocking his path. The ninja found it a bit strange that such a large tree could spring up so quickly, remembering that it wasn't there the last time he was here, but he simply chalked it up to another of nature's miracles. Plus, he recently freed Celebii from the clutches of an evil spirit, so the Time Travel Pokemon's return probably played a part in the enhanced plant growth as well. Regardless, Venom came to a complete stop as soon as he eyed the tree, kneeling on one of the branches of a smaller tree that was nearby. Then, remembering how he got passed this huge tree last time, Venom reached for a certain Pokeball from within his bag.

"Cyndaquil, I need your help!" Venom tossed the sphere down at the ground in front of the large tree, and out came not a Poison type, but a Fire type instead. And as soon as she did, Cyndaquil eyed the tree before her, remembered the last time she was here, and knew right away what she had to do. "Ah, the tree again! Just say the word, master! I'm all over it!" The Mouse Pokemon assured her trainer, lit the flame on her back, and awaited said trainer's word. "Glad to hear it, Cyndaquil! Use Cut!" That was all Cyndaquil needed to hear, as she jumped at the tree, and cut it down with one good slash of her claws. "TIMBER!" She couldn't resist shouting out as the tree fell, giggling to herself a little afterward. "Good work, Cyndaquil! Thank you! Now, return!" With that obstacle out of the way, Venom called the young Fire type back to her Pokeball, put it away, then jumped to the next tree ahead of him, still bound for Goldenrod City.

OOC: I know Cyndaquil isn't in Venom's party right now, but it seems pointless to just add her to his party for this one task, then immediately put her back in his PC. So, hopefully this is okay, but I'm gonna wait for a mod's okay before moving on. Once I get that, Venom will be moving on to the Forest Shrine. Thank you.

[Tarlar]

The tree was humongous and it would make sense that Celebi would spin time back to help it whenever it became damaged, it was the king of the forest after all and many of the smaller trees was actually a part of it as they sprouted from its roots deep down in the ground.
Since the tree was so big it shouldn't really have held Venom back now he was traveling along the forest's branches, but he would be stupid if he tried as it was overgrown with brambles with several inch long thorns everywhere. It seemed like it stretched for miles in both ways so it could take days if he tried to get around it. Venom of course had a better idea, if he removed the tree it would take the brambles with it and make a nice clear path for him to continue down, and wasn't it good for the diversity when the old big trees fell and made room for new sprouts and became food for the pokemon living around here.

Cyndaquil was just the pokemon for the job. She easily found a spot near the ground with fewer brambles where she could reach the trunk hidden behind it, she cut through it nice and clean and the forest complained and shrieked as the huge tree fell and took several others with it as well. It landed with a loud rumble and cyndaquil was thrown of her feet as loose brambles flew everywhere.
When the noise died down it was replaced by some furious cawing, couple of spearows had nested in the tree, finding it safe from predators but that had no been destroyed. They glared but since they had had no youngsters at this time of the year they decided it was not worth the hassle and flew away.
The path was clear!

Nothing happened beside the tree falling down, and some birds being scared away.

(ooc: you need the pokemon in the party to use the HM, but you can switch it in before you using it and then switching it out the post after, (if a battle doesn't start, then after the battle). I'm not going to hold it against you here, had a battle started in this, I would have asked you what pokemon you wanted to switch out for Cyndaquil but since nothing happening this time, I think that's a bit dumb to ask of you now since you'd just Pc'ing it next post anyway Just remember to another time.)

[❤ Aphrodite ❤]

Coming from the Shady Glen...

Unfortunately, Aphrodite had to leave the forest to catch herself a Pokemon that could learn the HM Cut after Alvaro had refused to learn the hidden move. To be honest, Aphrodite was not too upset with her Gallade. She had heard other trainers complain about the move not being useful in Pokemon battles, because it does not deal a lot of damage. Luckily, it did not take her too long to catch a Sentret. "Alright, come on out!" Aphrodite called out, summoning Candycane from her Poke Ball. The adorable Sentret took a quick glance around the mysterious forest before standing up on her tail to make herself taller. "Alright Candycane, here's your time to shine. I need you to pay close attention to this," Aphrodite explained in a calm tone as she presented the Sentret with the HM Cut. Candycane nodded as head as she focused on learning the HM Cut.

After a few minutes of studying the HM Cut, Candycane soon found herself feeling slightly confident about using the new move. The Sentret would pretend slicing at the air with her sharp and powerful claws a few times to demonstrate that she has mastered learning the new technique. "You're a quick learner, Candycane. I think you're ready to use Cut now. Let's give rid of these trees blocking out path," Aphrodite added with a gentle smile. The Sentret nodded her head before leaping towards the trees, using her powerful claws to rip them into shreds.

"Perfect! I knew that I would be able to count on you! You deserve a nice rest!" Aphrodite told her Pokemon before returning her back to her Poke Ball. The golden-haired beauty trainer would then make her way towards the now clear path that would lead her to her next location.



Next stop Forest Shrine!

[Caramell 🍬]

 
MISHU MIZUMA
Dark Type Trainer •
Education / Science

Mishu stared in amazement at how dense and overgrown the thicket was. Trees sprung up in every direction, creating walls that blocked out the unwary traveler from specific pathways through the wild forest. In between the tall and ancient trees were smaller sprouts who grew in numbers and seemed to compete for the same bit of space with each other. Mishu cut through the smallest sprouts, using her carry on short sword to swing her way through the small saplings that wouldn’t prove to be too difficult for her. Though it only gave her a few feet of depth in any direction, Mishu paused after nearly an hour of this grueling work and wiped away a river of sweat that had built along her eyebrows.

Kumaneko kept close to her trainer, hacking, and slashing her way bravely through the dense thicket. The thicker saplings and smaller trees were her adversaries. A strange light covered her furry claws as she rushed forward and ripped through the wild plants all around her. She paused, huffing loudly to regain some of her own energy, and searched with determination to either of her sides as she waited for her trainer to catch up. “Man!” Mishu laughed, wiping away the sweat on her face and around her neck with her spare handkerchief. “This is…a lot of work.” She sighed, shaking her head, and pulled out a couple of snacks. She passed one to Kumaneko, who eagerly accepted it and scarfed it down in one large gulp.

After eating the bag of cheese crackers she’d pulled out as a snack, Mishu would nod her head firmly and continue her trek through the overgrown foliage of the Dense Thicket. They stopped, however, when a large and nearly dead tree sprung up directly in their path. It was pretty large – much larger than the saplings they had been hacking and slashing their way through relentlessly – and seemed to be the last remaining blockage from allowing them to continue their way through to the next section of Ilex. She sighed, shaking her head, and turned to Kumaneko. “Do you think you can cut this one down for me?” Kumaneko laughed, rushing forward as her hands began to glow, and slashed through the thick trunk with relative ease. (Ok…there was a bit of a struggle, and Kumaneko definitely said some choice words under her voice.) “This is nothing for me!” She proclaimed proudly.

Set at _

WORD COUNT: 407 words
OOC: Coming from Shady Glen. Looking to cut the tree out of the way!

^{Mishu | Ziggy | Wanigara | Akira | Yōsei | Reukurotta | Kumaneko}

[Tiki]

When the sound of snack and cheese crackers were pulled open apart to release the processed food from the constraints of plastic wrappers (or were they biodegradable now?), some Pokemon squawked nearby. They would not need to mind the wild cries as their mouth chewed and crunched the delicious snacks and destroyed them into mini pieces before swallowing. As if the snacks weren't enough, after the large tree was cut down, a flock of Spearow flapped their wings and flew away from the nearby trees, startled.

The large tree dramatically fell on opposite side from Mishu, ending with a loud thud and creaks, as the branches mingled with other trees or plants or bushes. After that, it was all quiet again in the area. It didn't take long for Spearow to caw the latest hit singles from Ilex Top Ten's Playlist to each other, trying to find a pair. As the human continued on, Mishu could find a pile of Luminous Moss on a tree branch that they could harvest.

1 Luminous Moss obtained!

[Caramell 🍬]

 
MISHU MIZUMA
Dark Type Trainer •
Education / Science

Mishu paused to listen to the loud squawks of nearby birds calling out into the distance. It was short and almost like a purr, with two distinct pieces where the first call was longer than the last. She hummed thoughtfully and tried to recall where she might have heard such a call before. Her soft amber eyes widened. That’s it! The memories of her travels through Cherrygrove City, where she’d stopped for a cup of coffee only to have a small sparrow with pink wings attempt to steal it from her and engage her in battle flooded her mind. “Spearow around here? They seem to thrive everywhere in Johto so far, don’t they?” She commented more to herself than anyone else.

They were also pretty territorial – something Mishu wasn’t too keen to stick around and find out about right now. Kumaneko knocked the last bit of the old tree to the ground with a loud crash. The sounds echoed through the densely populated forest, followed by sharp shrieks of nearby Pokemon who rushed to find cover. “Oh dear….I didn’t mean to disturb their homes…but I really do need to get past.” The conundrum weighed heavily on Mishu’s heart. She searched the tree for any signs of possible nests or abandoned chicks that might have been discarded through the roughage. Though there were some smaller nests, now busted up and ruined, Mishu was relieved to find that there was no hint of young chicks or baby Pokemon she’d harmed in her assault of the old tree.

“Well…we still have our own mysteries to solve, you and I.” Mishu turned to Kumaneko as she spoke. The laughter in Mishu’s eyes lit up her face. Kumaneko, by comparison, was hardened with determination and a need to keep her wits sharp as they traveled through the overgrown forest. The further they pushed into Ilex, the more the same feelings kept resurfacing for Kumaneko, making her grit her teeth and stare suspiciously through the surrounding trees and up into the passing canopies above. “It’s not safe here.” Kumaneko growled softly underneath her tongue, though Mishu would gently reach out and pet her Pokemon with one arm to try and console her. “Kumaneko, it’s alright. I’m here. Do you think you know what happened that scared a few of you into the heart of Azalea?” Mishu asked curiously as they traveled together.

Set at _

WORD COUNT: 401 words
OOC: Heading to Forest Shrine. Self-Updating the moss to inventory!

^{Mishu | Ziggy | Wanigara | Akira | Yōsei | Reukurotta | Kumaneko}

[Venominon]

Coming in from the Shady Glen

Having finally gotten his hands on the HM for Cut, Shinya spun the disk-shaped item around the index finger of his right hand, whistling Team Skull's theme song as he made his way down the path that led into the Dense Thicket. Straight away, Shinya could see how this part of the Ilex Forest got its name. It was almost nothing but trees on every side, and most of them were so close together that it was next to impossible for him to even stick one arm in between them. Let alone his entire body. Still, even with trees on all sides and ice under his feet, the Alolan trainer continued to whistle and march forward, not about to let anyone or anything stand in his way after coming this far. Not even the very big and very twisted tree that soon stood before him, preventing him from going any further. At first, anyway.

Coming to a complete stop and looking up at the literal twisted design of Mother Nature, Shinya continued to twirl the HM around his finger and whistle for another minute. Once the Team Skull theme song was over, he stopped both actions, and began speaking in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Oh no! This awkwardly placed tree is blockin' my path! What ever will I do about it?! How 'bout this?!" Dropping the sarcasm when he reached the final part of his statement, the Bug type trainer quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his bag and unleashed the Pokemon inside. Every tree's worst nightmare. The Stagbeetle Pokemon, Pinsir. This was the first time Pinsir had been called upon by Shinya since their time in Cherrygrove City, and Pinsir was itching to cause some havoc, looking all around at the environment he now found himself in and flexing the pincers on top of his head at the same time.

"Tch! Been a while since ya called on me, boss! Hope that means ya got somethin' for me to destroy!" The pure Bug type looked up at his trainer with plenty of eagerness in his eyes, and Shinya looked right back at him with a proud grin on his face, more than happy to fulfill his request for destruction. "Ya know I do, Pinsir. But first, you'll need this." The Alolan trainer tossed the HM to his Pokemon, and Pinsir caught it in his claws, recognizing it right away. Gripping the disk-shaped item with both claws, Pinsir absorbed the move contained within, adding it to his arsenal in a matter of seconds, while the HM shined brilliantly throughout the entire process. With said process now complete, Pinsir tossed the HM back to Shinya, and grew even more eager for a round of destruction. "Alright, who's the unlucky customer, boss?!"

Shinya tucked the HM into the TM pocket of his bag, then gestured at the large, twisted tree that stood before the destructive duo. "Right there, Pinsir. Go and get that obstacle outta the way, would ya?" Without even the slightest bit of regard for Mother Nature or her creations, Shinya gave Pinsir his command, and made sure not to blink, not wanting to miss the show. Turning to face the twisted mass of wood, Pinsir gained a glint in his eyes, flexing his pincers several more times. "With pleasure! You're goin' down, ya freak of nature!" Pinsir charged straight at the tree, opened his pincers up as wide as he could, then in one big cut, the tree had been severed clean through and was now falling to the ground. "TIMBERRRRRRRRRR!" Unable to resist the urge, Shinya shouted out as loud as he could, then chuckled to himself for a few seconds.

Once the tree hit the ground, the impact echoed out in all directions, causing numerous wild Pokemon to run or fly away instantly as a result. This only caused Shinya to chuckle a bit more though, while Pinsir let out a loud battle cry, very satisfied with his handy work. "RAAAAHHHHHHHH! Damn, that felt great! I've missed this so much! Destruction! So cool!" With his grin still present, the Team Skull grunt faced his Pokemon, and offered him some praise before calling him back to his Pokeball. "That was nicely done, Pinsir. Thanks. I'll be sure to call on ya again the next time I come through here." With the path ahead now wide open, Shinya was right back to hiking and whistling, putting both of his hands into his pockets this time though. His work in the Ilex Forest was still far from over though, even if he didn't realize it just yet himself.

OOC: Shinya withdraws his Pinsir from his PC and teaches him Cut, having him forget Focus Energy in its place. Shinya will also send Sizzlipede to his PC for the time being. Or ya can just teach Pinsir Cut while still in Shinya's PC and we could just say he was in Shinya's party for this one post, since I'm just gonna switch 'em back in Shinya's next post anyway. Whatever's easiest for the mods. Anyway, once all of that is said and done, Shinya will be moving on to the Forest Shrine. Much appreciated.

[Pixel]

No wonder the wood cutter had HMs for CUT laying around. You needed it to get through this part of the forest. Silas found himself wedging through greenery and pushing aside branches as he traveled, hoping to avoid his clothes being ripped. But eventually, his path was brought to an end. There was no way to keep journeying forward. 

He'd had to return his houndoom and honchkrow due to the crowd of foliage, but this was ridiculous. At least nidoran was small enough to nudge forward towards the cuttable shrub.

"Put that HM to work now. Cut down that tree and remove it as an obstacle."

The nervous little nidoran hummed a bit to herself before lunging forward to comply. Sharp claws slashed apart the trunk of the shrub with precision. 

Excellent!

This venture into Ilex was going quite smoothly all things considered!

—

Word Count: 150 | OOC: 

Using CUT on the small tree so I can continue onto the Forest Shrine!

If there is a spearow, Jessica will use thunder shock x2.
Otherwise, I will place nidoran back in my boxes and replace it with mankey.

Syndicate HP [ 85/89 ]

Coming from the Shady Glen.

[Tarlar]

Dense thicket really lived up to its name, the trees were towering above and the foliage above so dense very little sunlight came through. Perhaps that was why the trees in this area grew so rapidly? It was a race to reach the sun and get a bit of light, or they'd be starved below and die out. A clear sign that things here were growing fast was the path, it was well used and clear, and led straight under the tree which Shinya chose as his target.

The tree in question was no match for the powerful pinsir and it fell with a crash, whirling up dust and debris which rained down over Shinya. He recalled the bug, confidently he could move on, only to almost walk face first into yet another tree, or rather a couple of trees growing so close together they were intwined and a with a bramble crawling all over them with their prickly thorns all over the place. This looked to be a lot more work than the single tree they had just handle, and it could take hours to get through it on their own.

Luckily help was on its way, Silas had been on the same path and had now caught up to Shinya since the other trainer had been delayed a bit. It had been easy to hear where the action happened.
The two gentlemen of course managed the perfect teamwork, complimenting each others work style like a well oiled machine, and with a pokemon able to handle the bigger branches, and a smaller one to get close and take care of the brambles they got the work done much faster than if they had worked on their own.
Soon they had two tired pokemon, debris in their hair and dust in their faces, but a clear path which lead deeper into the forest.

What would the two men do now? Join forces and tackle the forest together, or run screamingly away from each other as fast as possible?

The path is cleared and Inner Ilex Forest lays at your feet.

Shinya Cut: tgf0T|qOp_1-8p_1-4p_1-2
Pixel Cut: p_1-8p_1-4p_1-2

(ooc: pokemon using moves needs to be in the party, but since no battle happened here, Pinsir just got switched in and out to lessen the workloud Had a Spearow appeared I would have put him in the party.)1-8·1-4·1-2·1-8·1-4·1-2

[Pixel]

Silas had not been expecting to see anyone else as he ordered his pokemon to cut down a tree. But apparently, someone else had approached from a different angle. He glanced over at the young man and pinged him for a trouble maker. And not the Team Rocket sort. If anything, he came across as a common thug that would try to mug him for his lunch money. 

He flashed a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "Hello there, stranger. It seems our paths have interconnected for the moment. I will try not to get in your way if you do not get in mine. Are we agreed~? No doubt the both of us merely want to get through this darn forest and to Goldenrod in a timely manner."

And with that, he made to slip through the freshly created gap their pokemon created while working together. He returned the nidoran and pushed onwards. 

"If it matters to you, I am called Silas."

Then away to the next part of the forest he trudged.

—

Word Count: 150 | OOC: 

Onwards to the Forest Shrine!

Mankey back in party over Nidoran.

Syndicate HP [ 85/89 ]

[Venominon]

Although the path before him had been cleared, it seemed as though luck was not on Shinya's side today, as he witnessed the approach of the same man he spotted back in the Pine Gap. Even though he had helped him clear the way, Shinya still got bad vibes from the suited gentleman, keeping his guard up as Silas initiated a conversation. The Alolan trainer had no way of knowing that Silas was affiliated with Team Rocket, but the senses that he inherited from Tapu Bulu had never steered him wrong before. Still, wanting to avoid a confrontation with this man, Shinya kept his cool and gave him a response, but also kept his eyes narrowed on Silas the entire time. "You stay outta my way, and I'll stay outta yours. But yeah, looks like we're stuck together for now. I'm willin' to work together with ya, but by no means does this make us friends."

Even though he was reluctant to do so, Shinya followed Silas' lead, hiking out of the Dense Thicket through the opening that their Pokemon had created. However, Shinya made sure to stay at least ten feet behind him and keep one hand on a Pokeball at all times, never taking his eyes off the older male in front of him or lowering his guard. "Oh, and by the way, since ya brought it up, the name's Shinya. Shinya Stinger. New leader of Team Skull. Be sure to remember that, suit." Doing so in a standoffish tone of voice, the Bug type trainer gave the other trainer a nickname of sorts. Just as he had done for other trainers who managed to pique his interest in the past. Still, that didn't change the fact that dark forces had gathered in the Ilex Forest that day. And these two trainers would soon learn that those dark forces didn't consist only of themselves.

OOC: Shinya has decided to tag along with Silas and head for the Forest Shrine.

[Pixel]

Slowly, the trees seem to grow close together, making it harder and harder to navigate. Sarge was leading the way, alert for any trouble, and Flicker happily burned any vines or bushes that covered the path. Adrian could see signs of travelers heading this way before him, so he figured he was going the right way. However, eventually, the path narrowed so much that he was forced to just squeeze between trees and hope for the best.

Then came the dead end. He couldn't tell if the tree was growing there or if it was a large log that had fallen on the path, left propped up by the trees around it, but regardless, he couldn't move it. Adrian tried pushing at the small 'tree', and he found he couldn't move more than his arm past it. 

Peering through the gap, he could see the path widen significantly ahead.

Which mean he needed to cut through this obstacle.

"Clawdia, this is your time. Use CUT!" he commanded, tossing the ball. The prim feline meowed as she emerged, nose twitching at her surroundings. This was not the ranch, nor was this a warm porch she could sun herself on. But that tree did look like a perfect place to scratch her claws...

So with eagerness, she extended her claws and sliced into the wood until it fell apart.

—

Word Count: 000 | OOC:

Coming from Shady Glen

Glameow uses cut on the tree!

IF a battle starts, Sarge can thunder fang x2.

[Tarlar]

Four deep gashes appeared in the trunk and bits of wood flew everywhere, it was clear this was dry wood which would mean it must have fallen and gotten stuck between the others somehow, but it also meant it would be easier and faster for Clawdia to cut through.
Several more gashes and she was now one third way through the trunk with sawdust collecting on the ground and in her fur, the tree began to shake with each of her strikes when she reached half way through it, and she was getting hot. This was hard work.

She reached three quarters through and suddenly with a loud snap the tre split in two, for a heartbeat it just hung there but then the top part swung away, bumping into the living tree it was tangled into at the top. A single spearow leaped from a branch but just soared away, not wanting to engage in battle at the moment.

The path was clear, somewhat, the bottom was still protruding up and in the way, full of splinters and sharp points. Adrian could get over it if he wanted to, with a little bit of difficulty, or he could get Clawdia to cut it down further to ease his walk, anyway the path was clear.