Mission 2b: Fearful in the forest

[Evolutions]

Trainers Present:

Kyosuke
Kisa Argent Dei
Mamoru
Andrew Winters
Miho
Kim
Fangs


With no pomp or ceremony, and no briefing whatsoever, both groups set out into the forest at the crack of dawn, quickly splitting up as your group moves deeper into the forest, and the others turn to start combing the stretch of forest closer to town. Initially, the whole place feels barren, with no discernible sounds from animals or Pokémon whatsoever, and you cannot all help but feel that you're being watched. That feeling only gets stronger as you all press forward, the natural sounds of the forest slowly filtering into your ears, as you start to realise just how many Pokémon there must be out here, and how much danger you must be in every step of the way.

[Kisa Argent Dei]

"Solstice, take point." Kisa looked at the group, she'd had at least a few words with each person, at least she thought so, there were so many faces around the Pokecenter and if she remembered right most of them had fought at the center, so they were at least able trainers. The Absol nodded, disappearing into the undergrowth of the woods, her nose to the ground and her eyes darting side to side as she went. Confident with the rest of her team's abilities, Kisa quietly called out her other three Pokemon. "Okay, guys," she said, "we're searching out Pokemon nests, dens, and hideouts, so put your noses to work to flush out anything that's hiding. Alert me if you run into any wild Pokemon." She patted them and they started searching, first close to the group, then moving out a little ways away in a fan shape. Kisa looked at the other trainers again, then followed her Absol. She didn't go to far, just to the edge of the undergrowth and started looking around, searching for signs of Pokemon trails and any signs of resent activity or heavy traffic. One bush seemed to have seen better days, it'd been striped of any berries and most of it's leafs, this was the one she'd noticed yesterday when getting Fangs, likely done by... Hm... signs of Growlithe, good thing that girl who got sick didn't come with us. She thought as she studied the chew patterns. But the leafs were eaten by something else... I don't have enough marks to even guess what it could have been. It's too bad I didn't get to them first, this looks like it's a Chesto plant.

"Hey, this is the same clearing from yesterday, remember it Fangs?" That comment would most likely get her a rude gesture from him, but she just continued. "You probably didn't see this, but some of the bushes in this direction have been stripped." She waved at the one that was most noticeable. Suddenly she turned back to the woods on her left. That's odd, I was sure I heard something. Now I feel like there's something watching us, but... She caught sight of Pr-aA's black mane and sighed, stealth was not one of the Luxio's strong points. "Just Pr-aA." She mumbled. At least the noise was Pr-aA. Continuing she said, "It looks like a Growlithe ate the berries from this one and... that one... I don't see a well worn path here though."

"Anyone know basic tracking? I'm good at identifying plants and once we get a trail I may be able to figure out what's been there lately, but..." She shrugged. "I'm better with Pokemon I can observe."

[Kim]

"Sorry, Kisa. All I'm good at is contests. Not sure if my Cherubi would be any good though, I mean, it is a Grass type, but yeah, you never know..."

Kim paused for a moment and then continued. "Then again, Growlithe around here will be a problem. Anybody got any Water Pokemon? Because if one of those sets a tree on fire, we'd have to run faster then a Jolteon that's used Agility and Quick Attack."

With that, Kim threw out his two Pokeballs, revealing Cherubi and Cyndaquil. Having done that, he pulled out a rather... elaborate hat, with a large Staraptor feather in one side, and tufts of fur on the other, and put it on.

[Fangs]

"I guess this is the same clearing..." Fangs remarked, having a look at the bush. "If I had to guess... I'd have to say a BeedriII made these bite marks, though it is strange that they would eat only parts of the leaves..." Fangs said, pulling a leaf off the bush. Being a Pokemon Rights Activist he knew basic information to such an extent. "I don't know tracking, but I could probably recognise marks and stuff. If that would help."

[Andrew Winters]

"Don't sell yourself short, Kim," Andrew said as he placed a hand upon the young man's shoulder, "It takes a lot of skill and talent to be a coordinator."

Andrew soon turned around in a circle and scanned around the area above him. Going deep into the forest was not exactly something he was comfortable with. He had come in from the forest and it was not an easy task. Had it not been for some of his less than reputable skills he doubted that he ever would have made it to Celadon at all. Still, those skills would be useless to him in a group this large so he would have to rely on something else. Teamwork.

"So the pokemon seem to still be hunting and foraging for food. At least this means that they are probably not under some group or organization's control. At least not all of them. Not that I feel any better about them just being out of control..." he stated, "Having been out here alone once already, I think it would be best if we all make sure that no one, human or pokemon wanders off too far alone. There is definitely something here watching us, so let's not give anything the horror movie advantage of getting to us one by one."

Holding his arm out, he allowed Eevee to jump down to the ground. The brown and tan pokemon quickly using all of its senses to prepare for danger.

"Stay close to me Eevee," the trainer said, "If anything goes awry, I'll need you near me."

[Fangs]

Still staring at the leaf he picked off the bush, Fangs begins to mumble questions to himself. "Since when do Beedrill eat leaves? Are these woods really that barren of food? And why didn't they finish the leaves? Some of the leaves were completely eaten, so why not all of them? The scorches on the bushes were probably made beforehand..." He looks up at the group and poses a general question. "Do you think something might have scared the Beedrill away?"

[Kisa Argent Dei]

"Growlithe are know for eating both meat and plant berries. There could have been a fight over the food or territory." Kisa nodded at Fangs. "Beedrill aren't something I've been around much, just the ones that trainers left at my parents breeding center, I prefer Combee, but it's common for bugs and bug Pokemon to only eat parts of leafs." Seeing Kim's hat she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Sorry." She said right away. "It's okay, I'm sure we'll find a major path, if we can't find smaller trails." She paused as her Absol let out a chirp of warning and came sprinting back into the clearing.

"Sol! Ab-Ab-Soool!" She growled at the area she had just came from.

"Alright, what did you find?" Kisa pulled her staff from it's place attached to the side of her satchel.

'Blood. I smelt it. It's slightly old, but no more than a day. Solstice's voice, clear spoken words if only to Kisa.

Kisa nodded and looked at the waiting group of trainers. "Looks like something or someone who's hurt was close to here, and not very long ago. I think we should go see what Solstice warned us of, ja?"

[Fangs]

"My Houndour can probably pick up the scent of the blood." Fangs notes, letting the Pokemon out just before speaking. "And by the way, Beedrill only eat leaves as a last resort. Also, single Beedrill would eat only parts of leaves. But, Beedrill travel in swarms, capable of eating the leaves off of ten bushes in one meal. It just worries me that the bushes aren't stripped clean."

[Andrew Winters]

"It's possible," Andrew replied to Fangs' query, "The question then becomes... What would be scary enough to frighten off a swarm of Beedril? The Growlithe maybe?"

Unfortunately, Andrew really had no answer. During his long journey through these very woods toward Celadon he had seen a number of pokemon that were not supposed to be native to this area of the world. But he had seen them. He supposed they could have been the pokemon of other trainers, but that thought was even more worrisome than if they were just wild pokemon that somehow ended up in the area. Nevertheless, it was just another piece of the puzzle for them to solve.

Taking the initiative, Andrew walked over to Kisa and Fangs only to grab a hold of the stem of one of the berry plants and uproot it. Once out of the ground he placed it in his pack.

"Don't mind me," he said looking toward the other trainers in the group, "I'm just taking a sample for Joy and Jenny to look at. Even if we are fairly sure what was here, it wouldn't hurt to let the experts take a look and confirm our ideas."

Without warning, Kisa's Absol began growling. Andrew's eyes narrowed as he tried to determine what the dark pokemon was saying. However, he hadn't Kisa's knowledge or skill in understanding Absol and was thus forced to wait until the blue haired trainer explained.

"Looks like something or someone who's hurt was close to here, and not very long ago. I think we should go see what Solstice warned us of, ja?" the girl said.

Andrew wanted to burst into a sprint, but knew better than to rush into something that haphazardly. Turning to the others he said, "Yeah, I'm with ya. I mean, if someone's hurt we have to help them, but let's be smart about this. The last thing we want to do is fall into a trap of some kind."

[Kisa Argent Dei]

When no one seemed to disapprove of the suggestion, Kisa looked down at Solstice and with a nod said, "Okay, lead us to the spot you picked up the smell."

The Absol made an affirmative sound and turned, walking over the bare place where Andrew had pulled up the plant. Kisa, staff still in hand followed. Soon it became clear that the plants near the edge of the clearing were not the only ones with signs of being over used. Kisa frowned, this amount of damage had been done within days of her coming through these woods to get to Celadon and now she had to wonder just how she'd made it to the city without any problems.

She followed, walking through the sticky mud that had yet to dry out all the way. A bare branch snagged her pants leg, snapping. It rang out loudly in the early morning. Solstice looked back at her trainer for a moment then to the other trainers.

Fang's Houndour trotted along side the larger Pokemon silently, from time to time Kisa saw it sniff a passing plant before returning it's nose to the ground.

[Kyosuke]

Releasing his own Houndour, Kyosuke quietly walks towards the rear of the group, watching the trees on all sides. That no Pokémon had yet come after them, despite their obvious cries closeby, was worrying in and of itself. Either they were being led into a trap...or some poor soul out here was giving them ample distraction already.

"I wouldn't be so sure that the Beedrill were scared off. Beedrill were fairly common around here prior to all this, but it's quite possible that they migrated into the city when this all started, rather than being pushed there. What I'm more concerned about is the food situation. If the bushes and berries here are so depleted, we're likely to see more Pokémon move into the city soon, in search of food. Our own foraging parties will have their work cut out for them."

[Fangs]

"I suppose that would make sense." Fangs replies with a sigh. "But it still doesn't explain why the leaves weren't fully eaten." At that moment, Fangs' Mawile burst out of its Pokeball, not liking to be confined in it. "Oh, sorry buddy, I forgot to let you out this morning."

[Evolutions]

A trio of Poochyena suddenly burst from the bushes. They snarled at the group of humans. They kept their distance as they sized up these newcomers, pacing around them. However, their ravenous eyes soon centered on the sickly Miho.

[Fangs]

Releasing his Totodile from its Pokeball, Fangs steps inbetween one of the Poochyena and Miho. "Totodile, Water Gun. Houndour, Ember. Mawile, Bite. Each of you attack a different Poochyena to split them up."

[Andrew Winters]

-For someone who seems to be so worried about pokemon, he sure is quick to attack them- Andrew thought as he watched Fangs release his pokemon and order them to attack the trio of Poochyena. While he would have liked to have had a chance to get a good look at the canines to determine whether or not they were merely normal wild pokemon starving for something to eat or more like some of the other pokemon who seemed to be acting out of character, his hand was now drawn and there was nothing left to do but play it thanks to Fangs' impatience. Pursing his lips tightly, he reached down and withdrew two pokeballs from his belt releasing Vulpix and Taillow in a flash of light.-Oh well, maybe we can capture them to get some answers-

"Miho, no matter what happens stay close to us," he stated to the young girl as he stepped to her side after noticing the circling poochyena glaring at the girl. If the poochyena stayed true to typical pack form they would try to seperate them and then gang up to pick off the weaker ones. Andrew had no intention of letting that happen to any of them and decided to use a defensive plan of attack, "Everyone move together and keep your backs to one another to form a circle so that none of them can get behind us. One of them should be the Alpha of the pack. If we can determine which one it is we should be able to use the same strategy we used against the magnet pokemon on them. Take out the leader and rest will lose their resolve. We should also try to catch one or all of these puppies if we can to determine if they are just hungry or if they are affected by whatever it is that has affected most of the other pokemon around here."

His eyes followed the dark dogs as he backed slowly toward the other trainers. Eevee and Vulpix stepping with him while Taillow sat on his shoulder as he relayed his instructions to them, "Eevee, use your Sand Attack to blind them. Vulpix, if any of them come near us use a Roar to frighten them, then knock 'em back with a Quick Attack before they get their bearings. Taillow, I know there's not much sky for you here, but I want you to hover above us and keep an eye out for any other danger that might be near while our attention is on the Poochyena. Let us know right away if something else is around."

Having given his pokemon his instructions, Taillow took to the air while Andrew reached to his belt once again and retrieved one of the few empty pokeballs he had left. If one of the Poochyena fainted or looked close to fainting he would throw it at the canine in an attempt to capture it.

[Fangs]

Fangs was already a few steps ahead of Andrew, holding three empty Pokeballs in his hand. "Houndour, Totodile, Mawile, wait to use your attacks." The Pokemon begin to form a tight circle around Miho. "If you confront the pack, the Alpha always steps up to defend the pack. If none of them do, we'll know they're acting strange." Drawing his boukan, Fangs stepped forward a step, pointing the boukan at one of the Poochyena."

[Kisa Argent Dei]

"Solstice!" Kisa backed away from the Poochyena and took a fighting stance, her staff at the ready if one of them came too close. "Taunt one of the Poochyena to get it's attention away from Miho, then use Quick Attack on it."

Solstice nodded, staring down the nearest Poochyena and vocalizing a Taunt attack. As soon as she got it's attention, she would attack. The sounds of the beginning of the battle alerted Kisa's other Pokemon to the melee and they rushed into the clearing from either side. Her Houndour landed almost next to her. "Akefia, Ember!" She swung her staff to point at the nearest Poochyena. "Kyuu, use Confuse Ray followed by Will-o-wisp! Pr-aA Charge, then Spark!"

Her Pokemon joined in just as the other trainers Pokemon started their own attacks. Kisa though was worried, the Magnamite had a leader and if these Pokemon were working the same way then... "Right." She agreed with Andrew. "But don't you think it's more likely that they have a Mightyena as Alpha?"

Though it was best to just finnish this battle as quickly as possible, now that her Pokemon had their first orders, Kisa felt she could watch the Poochyena, observe their actions to interpret what was going on with the three dark type canines. OOC: To the game masters, this means I'm having Kisa use her skills in Pokemon Lore. She twisted her staff around in one hand, freeing the other to grasp an empty Pokeball. Crazed or not, She thought, it will be best to bring some of the Pokemon we run into back with us.

[Kim]

Kim grabbed his bayonet as he watched one of the Poochyena that was prowling around.

"Cyndaquil, counter any attacks with Quick Attack! Cherubi, stand by Miho, if any of those Poochyena get near, fire a Leech Seed at them!"

(OOC - Short, but eh, I'm in a major rush.

[Andrew Winters]

"A Mightyena...." Andrew said quietly to himself as he let the idea settle into his mind. It made sense. The Magnemite and Magneton were led by a Magnazone, Kyosuke and Ferris seemed to have had a strong suspicion that a Tentacruel may have been at the Desailization plant along with some Tentacool. If there was a Mightyena around, then it's possible that a pattern might be starting to form among the pokemon of this area. Then again it could just be an extreme coincidence. Regardless, it was something to keep in mind when they discuss the situation later.

"Taillow, keep those eyes of yours sharp," he said to the flyer above him, "Get a little more altitude so that you are out of range of any physical attacks and circle around us to see if there is something else out there like a Mightyena. Whatever you do stay within our field of vision."

"Kyosuke," he began to ask the Ranger, "Out of curiosity, are these guys native to this area and do you think that maybe they might have driven off or heaven forbid devoured whatever was feeding here?"

[Mamoru]

Mamoru curses, placing a protective arm in front of Miho, and releasing his Charmander, who begins to Growl at the surrounding Poochyena. Just typical of their recent luck that the first thing they'd run into out here would be a Dark type. Their Ralts would be useless in this fight, as would Scyther. Only the direct approach is going to work here...

"The best defence here is going to be a good offence. We can't afford to let them surround us. If they run away, we're just going to have to chase them and take them down anyway, so we should just take them down here and now. We shouldn't be throwing any Fire attacks around though. Not here."

[Kyosuke]

Releasing his Squirtle and Pidgeotto, Kyosuke turns around to watch everyone's backs, with everyone having turned to face the Poochyena coming from the front.

"They're native to the areas around Celadon, but we usually see them to the East, not the North. Fairly rare too, only a handful of packs. There's even fewer Mightyena around, mostly female. If we're lucky, they're back at the den. It's breeding season for them right now, and they'd be absolutely vicious. If the pack is ranging this far afield, it's likely that they're looking for food themselves...or at least, it would be, if these Pokémon were acting normally, which I'm not convinced they are."

[Miho]

Clearly frightened, but feeling safe with everyone moving to stand protectively over her, Miho switches her Ralts over to one arm, reaching around to fumble with the Pokéballs on her waist and releasing her own Charmander. An underdeveloped runt compared to Mamoru's, Charmander nevertheless takes up a defensive position next to her.

"Mamoru's right. W..we can't u..ise any f..fire attacks here. The f..forest. It's t..too dry. Everything's been s..stripped. It's t..too d..dangerous."

[Andrew Winters]

"Mamoru, you're a genius!" Andrew stated with a sudden realization, "Our mission is to find the dens of these pokemon right? So what if we were to frighten them off and follow them home? We might not be able to keep up with them ourselves, but I bet a few of our pokemon could, such as my Taillow and Kyosuke's Pidgeotto. Once they find the den, they could return and lead us back to it. Of course this idea all depends on the poochyena returning to their den. After all, taking out these three won't do much for Celadon, but if we find their den, we could take care of the entire pack."

Andrew still held his pokeball in his hand. While he wanted to find their den, he also wanted to catch one of the canines for Joy and Jenny and would still attempt to do so. If he had to, he would release it later and see if it would lead them back to its home.

[Evolutions]

The question of which one was the Alpha was answered as the one the Absol was taunting began to glow and grow larger. Soon she was facing a snarling Mightyena. The timber wolf like Pokemon raised its head and gave a bone chilling Howl.

The two other Poochyena sprang into action. Their crazed state coupled with maddening hunger they charge at the group. They completely ignore the Growls, Confuse Rays, and Roars and when blown back by an attack they got up and charged in even faster.

Mightyena was interested in other things however. The snarling beast turned to the Absol. It wasn't picky about its meal and Absol had made herself the target. The two circled one another, sizing each other up.

[Fangs]

'As if three Poochyena wasn't bad enough, we have to deal with a Mightyena.' Fangs thinks before he quickly begins giving his Pokemon orders. "Mawile, help out Solstice. Bite if Mightyena starts getting aggresive. Totodile, Water Gun on the left Poochyena. Houndour, Smog on the right one." He glances at the rest of the group's Pokemon. 'Of course. All these Fire types and we can't use Fire attacks.'

[Kisa Argent Dei]

Strong. Solstice noted as she paced around with the Mightyena, her eyes glowing with the power of a Leer Attack then with out warning she sprang at it in a Quick Attack, her claws spread wide. 'Why?' She growls at the other, unsure if the wild Pokemon were in the state of mind to even understand anymore.

"Okay, Kyuu! Akefia! Come in right behind that Smog Attack of Fang's Houndour and use it as cover to get in Quick Attacks and Bites to the Poochyena!" Kisa called out to her Vulpix and Houndour. "Pr-aA, use another Spark attack! Aim it at the Poochyena that the Totodile Water Guns!"

"Luuux!" The Luxio Charged his electric, readying to attack.

[Kim]

OOC - Fangs, only two Poochyena now. One evolved. And yeah, I agree with you about the Fire types bit, but if we did use one, then we'd have Evolutions II - Celadon City Inferno.

[Andrew Winters]

OOC - Better get used to it. I have a feeling that we're going to run into a lot of places where we won't be able to use the Fire attacks of our Fire pokemon, such as the inside of buildings or anywhere with a lot of plant life.

Andrew watched as the answer to the Mightyena question was answered. -Figures- he told himself -Next time I won't even bring it up. Then maybe we won't have to battle with Murphy's Laws as well-

The battle was going okay. The dark canines weren't able to break through the groups line of pokemon. However, the trainers' pokemon hadn't been able to take out any of them either. As it was, sooner or later one side was going to get a break that could change the course of the battle. Andrew knew he couldn't let the crazed dogs to get that advantage.

"Eevee, use Helping hand to boost Solstice's attacks," he commanded his partner, "Vulpix, continue to keep them off of us. Taillow, return to hovering above us."

[Evolutions]

Burn baby burn, DISCO INFERNO! Alright, I have that out of my system now.

The Mightyena, not deterred by the Leer dodged the Quick Attack. His "speech" was a slurred gibberish. It was clear is mind was pretty far gone. However, then came one word as clear as day. "Pain," he replied.

Solstice was confused by this answer. Was it just some random part of the gibberish that seemed clearer for some reason? She was then knocked back as the Mightyena through the charging Mawile into her.

The two Poochyena continued their attacks. However, with a combination of hunger the punishment they were taking their bodies gave out. They collapsed and would soon expire their state.

[Andrew Winters]

Andrew could see that they were wearing their adversaries down. The Mightyena, while putting up a good fight against Solstice was looking fatigued. The two poochyenas that accompanied it had finally collapsed. Whether it was from the constant barrage of attacks against them or just plain exhaustion didn't matter. An opportunity had presented itself.

"Now's our chance!" he shouted to the other trainers who were holding empty pokeballs. With a squint of the eyes, he reached back Andrew tossed the pokeball in his hand at one of the fallen Poochyena in an attempt to capture it.

[Kisa Argent Dei]

Solstice stood herself back up, pushing the Mawile up as she did. She growled at the Mightyena, her head held low, waiting. She'd heard it, him, say something... pain... she would tell Kisa this, but pain? Hunger pain? Hurt pain? She didn't understand.

Kisa glanced at the two Poochyena, down on the ground and unable to fight. "Kyuu, Akefia, Pr-aA, come back!" She ordered, keeping them from attacking again. "Stay alert." Hearing Andrew and seeing his tossed Pokeball, Kisa took aim at the Mightyena, considering there were no Pokemon in the way now, and threw her own held Pokeball at it.

[Fangs]

"Totodile, Houndour! Get away from them!" Fangs shouted before throwing his own Pokeball at one of the Poochyena. 'We have to find out what's wrong with these Pokemon...'

[Kim]

OOC - Sorry about the late post and all, but eh.

BIC - "Cyndaquil, stand your ground. We don't know what else that Mightyena will get up to." The Mawile being hurled into Solstice had been a shock to Kim's system, but he was still able to convey orders to his Pokemon.

"Cherubi, stay by Miho. We might have some guests appearing from the other side."

[Mamoru]

OOC: Sorry for the late reply. Had exams to take care of here.

Remaining where he is by Miho's side, Mamoru quickly scans the forest surrounding them, looking for any possible movement. Kim's warning echoed his own thoughts. These Pokémon...they might have been starving, but that battle was still too easy. They were tired...something had exhausted them before the battle had even started. Which could only mean...there's something else out there still...and probably close by.

[Kyosuke]

"I don't think we have anything to fear right now Kim. If there were others, they'd either be on us by now...or they've run off after the beating their packmates got."

His face scrunching up in its trademark frown, Kyosuke continues to survey the area, watching back the way they came.

"Still...even if there's no other Pokémon here right now, there's sure to be other groups relatively closeby. There's still the den to cover at the very least."

[Miho]

Looking at the battered, bruised and exhausted Pokémon everyone just defeated while protecting her...Miho has a realization which scares her...why can't she feel any pity for them, or any sorrow that this kind of thing had to happen? She's not even scared of them anymore...she just feels angry...angry at the Pokémon, and all that they've done to everyone. And that idea scares her more than any Pokémon attack has since the start of all this.

[Evolutions]

The two Poochyena give no resistance and are captured by the Poke Balls. Despite a more lively fight, the Mightyena also collapses and is captured.

Before you move on you make sure that there are no other surprises in the area. The last thing you want I for your way back to the relative safety of the city cut off by an enemy behind you. Your group plunges deeper into the forest. The brush grows thick, slowing your progress and providing ample places where you could be ambushed.

The far off cries of Pokemon leave you feeling on edge as the morning sun is swallowed by the canopy. Perhaps you wonder if it was a good idea to travel into the woods where the Pokemon have the clear advantage. Though, it's too late to think about now. The only thing to do is push on and be wary of your surroundings.

[Andrew Winters]

OOC- Sorry for taking so long to reply... Holidays and all... hope everyone that celebrated one had a good one

Andrew collected his pokeball with the Poochyena in it and stared at it for a moment before clipping it to his belt. His heart saddened. These pokemon had seemed so desperate. So confused. He now had no doubt that there was far more to what was going on than he had first suspected. The poochyena somewhat reminded him of how trainers would abandon pokemon that they thought were too weak or useless to keep. But, instead of letting the pokemon know that they were free they would just leave them with the hope that their trainers would come back to them only to end up waiting the rest of their lives for nothing.

Turning his attention to his own pokemon he recalled Vulpix and Taillow to their pokeballs while extending an arm so that Eevee could take his normal position on Andrew's shoulder. His thoughts ran wild as a sense of concern washed over him. Eevee had never been in a pokeball before. If whatever was affecting the pokemon of Celadon was some kind of external machination like that incident with the radio towers in Johto a while back, would Eevee become crazed and rabid looking like the poochyena they had just captured? The thought sent a chill down his spine as he followed the others further into the forest.

Before long the sunlit skies above began to vanish under the thick foliage of the trees reminding him once again of his journey to Celadon. The difference this time being that he had other allies with him. Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen. On his own he was able to move silently through the woods, sticking to the shadows to avoid drawing attention to himself. With the others, there was no way they would be sneaking anywhere as evidenced by the cries of pokemon echoing through the forest and the general noise made from a group pushing their way through the thick underbrush. Still, there was strength in numbers and he had already cast his die when he agreed to go on this mission. Besides, from what little he knew of these trainers, he felt that no matter what happened he would be able to trust them to be there for himself and one another when, and if, the time came.

"Is it just me or did those poochyena look sick?" he asked finally breaking the silence of the group, "I mean sure they looked hungry, but they almost seemed rabid, ya know?"

[Fangs]

"I wouldn't go with rabid, if they were rabid they'd attack eachother, instead of searching around for food." Fangs noted as he picked up his own Pokeball with one of the Poochyena inside. "Of course, these Pokemon haven't exactly been acting to the natural order of things as of late anyway, so I wouldn't say it isn't possible."

[Andrew Winters]

-I should choose my words a little more carefully, I guess- Andrew thought as he listened to Fangs. It had always been a problem of his. Assuming that others could understand his his thinking when he didn't explain himself completely, -What was that old saying? You know what happens when you assume... you make an ass out of me and you-

"I meant it in more of a metaphorical way," Andrew responded politely to Fangs' observation while scratching the back of his head, "They seem to be crazed, fearless, unthinking, acting on instinct far more than they normally would. Similar to a rabid animal."

"Regardless, my concerns are not so much about how they are acting, but why they are acting the way that they are and if our pokemon are in any danger of being affected as well," Andrew stated with a hint of concern in his voice, "Kyosuke, Mamoru, Miho... you all live here, right? Have you heard of or experienced any tame pokemon acting strange?"

[Kyosuke]

Kyosuke shakes his head. "Strangely, no, I haven't. There've been tame Pokémon who have been afflicted by some sort of strange terror, and have done nothing but cower safely in their Pokéballs, refusing even medical treatment. But insanity like these wild ones? There's been nothing like that reported. It could easily escape our notice, I suppose, if the Pokémon's trainers were....unable to report back about what happened, but you'd think that the ones in most danger would be those belonging to the officers, and to us, who've had the most direct contact with the afflicted Pokémon. Nothing of the sport has happened."

[Kisa Argent Dei]

Solstice brought the Pokeball containing the Mightyena over to Kisa, dropping it into the young woman's hand. "Kisa." She said. "This Solstice is unsure, but thinks that this one was in much pain. Pain from what I do not know." She tilted her head to the side. "Please try to help them. She said quietly, then turned to walk ahead of the group, keeping an eye out for any more threats.

Kisa nodded, then she gave a quick wave to her other three Pokemon. They resumed their scouting at the edges of the group's sight. She clipped the Mightyena's Pokeball to her belt, following her Absol and listening to the others talk. They were talking about the actions of the Poochyena and Mightyena. "Solstice said that she thinks they were... are in pain." She motioned to the Absol with her hand. "They could be reacting to something that isn't noticeable to us yet, something that takes being exposed to it for longer amounts of time, maybe?"

Kisa frowned, she didn't have enough information yet to make a good guess, but throwing out a guess never hurt. "If we get the chance, I'd like to have a hand in it when Joy starts her work with these Pokemon. And you're right, they didn't look well... like even if we didn't fight them that they would collapse any second. Maybe my abilities could come in handy for Joy, me observing and working with Solstice to translate anything that is heard or seen... I don't know if it'll work though, even if I'm best with canine like Pokemon, mind set patterns are close in..." She stopped and looked at the tracks in the slightly sticky mud ahead of her, Solstice's footprints stood out clearly, as did the smaller prints of the Poochyena that must have came passed the small swatch of mud. "Looks like they came from this direction." There were only a few prints, the mud being almost dry, and all of the prints, other than Solstice's, were coming towards them. No help in finding anything else nearby. Silently she wondered if Solstice had picked up the scent trail of the blood she'd smelled earlier, but the Absol hadn't alerted her to anything yet.

[Kim]

"It wasn't like that with the Goldenrod incident. There was like, forced evolutions, but they were really common, and they happened to every Pokemon, wild or trainers. I don't think this is even remotely similar."

"Regardless, we have to carry on, that much is obvious."

OOC - Short, but eh, I had the total of 3 hours sleep last night.

[Evolutions]

All conversations are cut off by the sound of automatic weapons fire. You jump at the sudden racket and look towards its source. A woman with short, blond hair and wearing a black T-shirt and tattered knee length skirt emerges from the brush. She's carrying a Soviet assault rifle that she turns back and fires several rounds into the forest. She and her Gloom run into your group.

After sneezing she huffed. "What the hell are you people doing here? You've got to get out of here."

Before anyone can ask why they're answered. A massive flock of Murkrow numbers in the hundreds, possibly a thousand are flying like a black wall towards you. At point can only be described as a nightmare. A Honchkrow but so huge it would look Kyosuke in the eye standing on the grounds leads the cawing hoard.

It's soon obvious why the forest had been stripped and the Pokemon were in such a state. Such a massive flock would easily devastate a forest of both berries and prey.

"Gloom," the woman sneezed, "slow them up with Stun Spore."

Gloom looked back to her worried.

"Don't worry about me." She said tenderly.

Gloom nodded and expelled a cloud of yellow dust from its flower. Miho then accidentally inhaled some of it and collapsed. Mamoru picked her up and joined the group in the only option they had...run like hell.

[Kisa Argent Dei]

Kisa pulled free two Pokeballs from her belt and quickly returned Kyuu and Akefia, turning on the spot she rushed away from the Murkrow flock, following the lead of those who were once behind her. Off to one side a flash of electric signaled that Pr-aA had sent an attack at the flock as he retreated after his trainer. Solstice appeared beside of her in a white flash. "I think that answers that." She said to the dark type Pokemon.

'True. This one thinks that running is good.' Solstice stated.

"Ball?" Kisa jumped over an upturned tree root.

'This Solstice will stay to protect Kisa.'

"Alright, wah!" A Murkrow has suddenly dived down at Kisa, it's sharp talons aimed to sink deep. It was blasted into the air with one of Pr-aA's electric attacks, sent flying forward, ahead of the group. "Good one Pr-aA!" Kisa called out to her unseen Luxio.

[Evolutions]

Your hasty retreat brings you into the other group which had began searching the banks of a river. You're all forced to retreat well into the city before the Murkrow flock finally gives up and returns to the woods. You return to the police checkpoint and your group is surprised to see Yami sitting in the back of one of the patrol cars.

You're all taken back to the police station for a debriefing. Jenny was not pleased to hear about what happened out there. Most leave but Jenny keeps Ferris and Kyosuke longer, likely for full debriefing. You all return to the Pokemon center dejected.

MISSION COMPLETE
Pokemon Injuries:
Many Pokemon have minor injuries but should be ready for the next mission phase.

Human Injuries:
Miho inhaled Stun Spore. Although not life-threatening, she is very weak and will likely not be able to join the next few missions.

Obtained Pokemon:
The two Poochyena and the Mightyena

Obtained Items:
The woman's assault rifle (good luck finding ammo for it).
Although not an item you learned that the Pokemon's condition has something to with pain. What kind of pain you do not know however.

XP

All participants gained 1 XP.
-Kisa gained 2 bonus XP for having her Pokemon try to communicate with a stricken Pokemon.
-Fangs gained 1 bonus XP for determining Beedrill stripped the bushes (probably before being eaten by the Murkrow).