Putrid Swamp

[Tiki]

-Eerie Wood-

Continuing toward the next area, there was no way he would forget about this stinky, muddy swamp. Holding the Chikorita with one hand, and covering his nose with another, he quickly tried to make his way out of here. Even though this area stinks, it was a hope for him to find the missing piece to cure the Chikorita. Wherever he was actually going, he hoped that he was on the right track. It might be a bad idea if he would have to walk all over the area again.

-Twilight Glade-

[Marchbaby]

Coming from Eerie Wood.




With the Putrid Swamp right in front of them, Tyler and his Pokemon were more annoyed than anything as the familiar purple fog surrounded them. This time Tyler did not even call out the spirits as he knew they would pop out when they were good and ready, he decided instead to talk to Mania and Hollenhund until the spirit grew brave enough to show itself. " This place smells worse than a Muk's rear end, how anything can handle such a putrid smell is anyones guess. You two must be half choking to death with your heightened sense of smell. I am quite glad my nose is not stronger than it is or else I would be finding the source and shooting it." He then coughed a few times before he had the strength to continue.

" I highly doubt many Pokemon outside of our spirit friend will greet us here, however you two still need to stay on task. There is no telling when Casper will try and make an appearance. It will regret doing so when it does as it falls victim to your claws Mania so look sharp." Mania was more than just ready though, she was praying for the wandering spirit to try its luck against her so she could go all out. " My claws are hardly satisfied with the tattered remains of these pests, if a real challenger does not appear before us soon I might need to take out my frustration on the native Pokemon."

Hollenhund just kept to himself like usual as he had to stay below the level cap in case his master needed help in the next gym. He could not allow himself to grow any stronger hence why he was making Mania handle everything as he observed. Even  in that capacity he was getting a good read on both his master and Mania's fighting styles. It also allowed him to train his senses enough to know where the spirit would show itself. Hollenhund shoved Mania out of the way as the fog began to swirl around. Tyler cracked a smile as he knew the spirit had finally decided to show itself.

" So you are finally ready for a fight? Good I was bored of waiting on you. Chikorita here is going to be in for another display of our might. Mania front and center, I want you ready to tear this sorry ***** to shreads as soon as it takes on its real form." He said as Mania took her position.



OOC: Waiting on spirit encounter.

[Lamont]

The humid stench of the swampy section clung to everything. It wasn't just the simple matter of rank permeating the area, no. It was wet, heavy, thick; like a mist of excrement that slicked everything it touched. Whether it was always this bad or if it was just the unholy fog pluming in the area was hard to discern, and likely not of much concern so long as Tyler was able to dispatch with the ethereal onslaught soon.

Though, the man and his fearsome entourage had been dogged for quite some time really. The fog wasn't just a natural phenomena from the fumes of the swamp. A part of Tyler knew this. And it was this knowledge that led him to play ignorance of the ghost's presence; to the beings chagrin. It continued to wait, slowly building up its spooky effects as the nefarious trio stepped their way along the sodden path. But there was a limit to its patience.

For dramatic effect it swirling some of the fog around it's camouflaged self before slowly transitioning from the ethereal plane into the mortal realm. However, to further its frustration none of the audience was even a little bit frightened. Even the child-like one resting in their company, afflicted with horrors, didn't bat an eye at Duskull's appearance before them. It grumbled in discontent, the glowing red narrowing behind the skull of its head in quiet reply to Tyler's comments towards it. The ghost raised both its hands and wailed eerily. There was no backing out now.

Duskull (LV 17) appeared for some screams!
Go here to battle

[Marchbaby]

As annoying as the spirits had been Tyler was beyond relieved that there was nothing more to stop them from achieving their first goal. Tyler did not think by any means that it was over as there was no way they would poison a Chikorita and then give up at the first sign of trouble. He had to stay on guard as close as he was to ending the nightmare of a situation he had gotten himself into. This Chikorita was going to owe him big time as soon as she was cured. He was just going to sell her but now his plans had switched to breeding her so he could sell the eggs to make even more. She would be worth her weight in gold in no time at all.

" I wonder how much Chikorita eggs will sell for in the black market? We will find out soon enough when this disaster is finished. Until then you will still have a front row seat at the carnage we shall unleash on anything else that slows us down." Getting out of this swamp was a welcomed bonus to his victory as they looked for another sign. It did not take long at all to find the sign there were after as it was located behind a nearby tree. Once they looked at the sign their goal was clearly marked as being straight ahead. Tyler breathed a sigh of relief as they were nearly done with the swamp. The smell would take a while to get over and he would not forget how bad it was anytime soon.

" We are nearly there, this path is going to take us out of this cesspool and into the Sombre Valley where our first objective is located. Once we aquire what we are after we still have to trek back to the shrine. We are not going to give up though, we have nearly finished off these pests for good. Just a little bit more and then we can leave this awful forest and report our status directly to headquarters. I hear the golden city is wonderful this time of year unlike this dump." Mania then chimed in right as they reached the edge of the swamp.

" Good, I need to clean off my claws. They reek of this place. I look forward to seeing the golden city soon as well. Let's get this mission over with so we do not keep headquarters waiting much longer."



OOC: Heading to Sombre Valley.

[Marchbaby]

OOC: Returning from the Sombre Valley.


The overwhelming stench grew worse the closer Tyler and his Pokemon got to the center of the swamp. There was no creepy fog this time as he had already dealt with the evil spirit lurking in the swamp. It was still so creepy to walk through though the stench would never cease being the worst part. The one thing they all looked forward too was that they could rush through the area without being stopped by anything other than their lack of direction. The Twilight Glade's location had to be nearby but they did not know in which direction. As they walked around a faded map was painted on a board and Tyler tried to make it out.

" This map is the worst one I have seen so far. It is very difficult to make out due to the piss poor job the rangers do for maintenance but it looks like we need to head south from here. There is only two exits from the swamp and we came from the northern one." It was a start if nothing else as they all wanted to leave the swamp as quickly as they could before the stench killed them. The group began to walk south as Mania started to sniff around hoping to detect a spirit in the distance to get them going in the right direction as soon as they left the swamp. At first she could not smell anything but as they got further away from the center of the swamp she started to sense something.

" It is not much to go off of but I can smell one of those spirits to the south of us. We are still a long distance off but we are heading the right way." Tyler was pleased to see Mania take the initiative as any clue to their next destination was a help though hearing there was another spirit was very annoying to him. He thought all of them had been dealt with already. It was not news he wanted to hear but Mania would get even more of a benefit for her efforts. " Ah good I think we are just about there. I never want to see this putrid swamp again." He said as they came across another sign. This one stated that the Twilight Glade was straight ahead. It was a relief to all of them to survive the swamps fumes again but they still had a few more stops before they would reach the shrine.



OOC: Heading to the Twilight Glade.

[Marchbaby]

Coming from the Eerie Wood.




As Kevin and his team left the Eerie Wood the creepy atmosphere turned into one of a foul smelling nature instead. A pack of Stuntank had nothing on the stench the swamp produced as the group struggled to make headway through the rather unforgivable terrain. Though the stench was horrible the curse was not bothered by the stench at all as Oracle could feel the curse surging yet again. The good news however was that before the curse jammed the signal again she could tell the spell they were looking for was fairly close now. If her estimates were correct the next area should be the area they would need to search.

The curse was still blocking their path however and Kevin had no change to his planned counter to the spirit lurking in the area as Eiskalt stepped forward. " Eiskalt it seems as though we have another unwanted visitor. We will have to deal with it before we will be able to move on just like all the others. I can only imagine what is going to try and stop us now."



OOC: Waiting on the Spirit Encounter for the area.

[Caramell 🍬]

The Putrid swamp was a maze of wetlands and tall grasses sprinkled between large water tupelos, needling pines, and eerie cypresses. Large magnolia trees decorated the area, though not as populace as the tupelos or cypresses, with dying flowers whose petals had all browned and fallen off. Their bright red seeds remained, popping out from the shells of the browned fruits and clinging on. A strange presence lurked in the swampland, foreboding as it seemed to beckon them closer. “Suuchh swweeeettt suffeerriinnggg!” A voice called from deep within the swamp.

As Kevin and his team searched, their feet would sink into the thick grasses where the land gave way to water. If they were not careful, they could sink into the water’s depths nearly up to their stomachs. Still, the voice that beckoned them closer pressured them into the watery remains of the swamplands, tempted by the suffering of the Chikorita whose life hanged in the balance. “Clooosseerr....cllooossseerrr. Yes....closseerr. Succhhh sweeeettt suffeerrrinnggg. Soooo tastyyyy! Joiiinn usss!” The spirit pleaded with them.

Though the strange spirit moved through the shadows as it tried to remain hidden, a strange and eerie red glow would give away its presence. When Eiskalt noticed it, lunging forward to try and stop the spirit from skittering back off through the swampy region, it would show itself in its full form. It was a grey ghost Pokemon with a large white skull covering its face where the red light glowed from inside. Upon the Pokemon’s back was a white bone marking, and wispy ghost-like hands jutted out from either side of its body looking more like cloth then hands. It moved in fast, dashing after Tyler in hopes of finding and confiscating the Chikorita from them. “Muusstt feaasstt ooonnn ttheee suuufferriinngg!”

Wandering Spirit is attacking!

^{Click Here to fight Duskull [Level 17]!}

[Marchbaby]

As Kevin watched Eiskalt defeat yet another spirit with ease. The spirits might have them in a bit of a rough spot but he was not about to give up. " These evil spirits sure do know how to make a mess of things. This poor Chikorita desperately needs help and with them getting in the way we cannot get to the shrine any faster. At least the path forward is clear so that we can get to the next area." The group then headed to the Sombre Valley in search of the Hex's spell.



Heading to the Sombre Valley.

[Marchbaby]

Coming from the Eerie Wood

As Kevin made his way through the Putrid Swamp he could hardly wait to escape again. The smell was overwhelming and sticking around was not an option for the time being at all. He was glad that the spirit in the area had already been dealt with as it meant he could move on without being stopped this time. He wanted to get to the shrine as soon as he could.

Heading to the Twilight Glade.

[Marchbaby]

The terrible smelling swamp made Tyler even more eager to get out of the area as soon as he could. He was very close to his goal now and he hoped within a few more minutes he could finally begin his search.

Heading to the Twilight Glade.

[Tarlar]

--coming from Eerie Wood--

Astrid had turned out Ramsey as he kept telling her about experiences he had had and how wonderful pokemon and nature was. It wasn't that she didn't agree with him, but he was preaching and not letting her get a word in and his many stories began to sound a bit alike.
The further they got into the swamp, the more strong the smell became and Astrid quickly covered her nose and mouth, while Yakul kept snorting in an attempt to get stench out of her system. Ramsey and his stantler seemed unfaced, the pokemon just waved through the swamp while Ramsey blabbered on about some infant pokemon he once had helped nurse back to life. Astrid tuned him out and tried to think about what could be going on with the pokemon they were looking for.
She saw some movement in the swamp and recognized a grimer which was soaking itself in the murky waters but it didn't explain the problem at hand. Soon the smell began to ease as the forest changed.

--moving to Twilight Glade--

[Venominon]

Arriving from the Eerie Wood

After everything he and his Pokemon experienced in the Eerie Wood, Venom was left with a big bag of mixed emotions. On one hand, he had to fight against any and all wandering spirits he encountered in order to find an item that could save the Chikorita waiting for him back at Ethereal Lake. But on the other hand, it appeared that not all of these spirits were evil. Some were just innocent children, who unfortunately met their end long before they should have. Despite his strong distaste for humanity, fighting against the spirits of deceased children left a rather bitter taste in the ninja's mouth. Fortunately, this next area of the Ilex Forest would do well to lift his own spirits.

As soon as Venom approached the area known as the Putrid Swamp, he immediately noticed a very foul odor drifting through the air. While most people would've found this odor to be extremely repulsive, Venom seemed to enjoy said odor very much, taking several deep breaths through his nose as he ran. Soon enough, the Poison type trainer came to a complete stop, arriving on the banks of possibly the biggest and smelliest swamps he had ever seen and smelled in his entire life. "Ah, the Putrid Swamp. The perfect home for a Poison type Pokemon. Feels just like home to me too." Venom spoke in a more relaxed tone, admiring his new surroundings with a new smile upon his face. He was so happy to be here that he almost didn't notice the presence of yet another wandering spirit. Almost.

OOC: Awaiting wandering spirit encounter.

[Caramell 🍬]

Putrid Swamp was a strange mix of wetlands and dry lands that snaked around large cypresses and hemlocks and smaller dogwoods and alders. Sweeping black willows blossomed in its heartland, sending their sweeping tapered leaf blades spiraling in odd directions like a witch’s hair as they drooped in a surreal presence. The bubbling waterways were flanked by large lily pads that seemed to float on the top of the water in an almost dreamlike state. Small, white flowers pushed up in small clumps along the way. They bobbed and swayed in the gentle breeze that whooshed around the trees with a spooky howl.

Something stretched out from the darkness that persisted through the open swamplands. A strange reddish glow captivated the skies, belying the time of day as it seemed to almost pool and drip in shadowy waves on the trees and down their long, spiraling branches like a festering wound left open. Two eyes would appear in the distance before Venom, though when given chase they would disappear in a puff of black smoke. Laughter resounded with a chilling effect. No words, no form, just laughter, while he searched for the mystery spirit rumored to hide within the area.

Something shook on the waterways, causing large bubbles to boil up from the murky depths and float to the top with a loud pop. And still, the laughter carried on, seeming to come from all directions. Where could the source truly be? The trees shook and swayed. Their branches twisted and contorted in an unnatural manner and stretched out after Venom as they would try to snag the ninja up within their grasp. Though, should he run or attack, they would seemingly go back to their normal nearly stagnant forms. It was only if Venom would -at least seemingly - completely take his eyes off Chikorita that the strange apparition would appear, floating just above its form with only a heartbeat’s time given for Venom to react. “Sssoooouuullll!” It’s voice said with a strange, eerie chill.

A Wandering Spirit has appeared!

Level 17 Duskull. Please decide what to do here.

[Venominon]

This was the third wandering spirit that Team Toxic had encountered since they had arrived in the Ilex Forest, and with its defeat, they were now three for three. At first, Venom and Whirlipede were pleased with their latest victory, as they watched the third wandering spirit fade away before their very eyes. But then, the minute they heard the sounds of an ominous voice from out of nowhere, the poisonous pair flinched and raised their guards, looking all around them for the source of the voice. "Huh?! Whose there?!" Venom asked out loud, but failed to find the source of the voice, figuring that it must be yet another spirit. And based on the words it spoke to him and his Pokemon, it was likely the leader of all the spirits present in the Ilex Forest.

Additionally, Venom didn't like the words that he heard from the boss spirit, and immediately narrowed his eyes into a glare, yelling out as loud as he could afterward. "I don't know who or where you are, but Team Toxic will find you! And when we do, we'll make sure that you never harm anyone ever again! Mark my words, evil spirit!" The ninja's voice was filled with anger and conviction, as he quickly called Whirlipede back to his poke ball, then ran off down the path ahead of him. While he was confident that he and his Pokemon could defeat the evil spirit that was behind all of his madness, he didn't want to waste any time or take any chances. Which was kind of a shame, because he would've really enjoyed exploring the Putrid Swamp and meeting some of the actual Pokemon that lived there. Maybe he'd come back sometime after his mission was complete and the Chikorita was safe and sound.

OOC: Venom heads for the Sombre Valley.

[Venominon]

Arriving from the Sombre Valley

As Venom came dashing through the Putrid Swamp, the foul odors that filled the air proceeded to fill his nostrils once more. Once again, Venom found these odors to be quite pleasant, smiling as he breathed them in. However, as much as the ninja would've liked to have stuck around, met some new Poison type Pokemon, and just enjoyed the environment, he had a mission to complete. And unlike his last visit to this location, he actually had the means to finish said mission this time around. So, making sure not to get stuck in the swamp muck, Venom kept on running, bound for the area located just north of the Putrid Swamp. He was forced to take to the trees to avoid said muck, but this was no problem for him at all.

OOC: Venom keeps moving and heads for the Twilight Glade.