» PC
» TAGGED, fitz
» WORD COUNT, 826

» PC
» TAGGED, fitz
» WORD COUNT, 541

The Pokeball sucked up the ornery little mime, falling to the ground and solemnly clicking silent. Eva picked it up in little hands and jogged it back to Hal, who stooped and plucked it from her. She frowned at it for a moment before tucking it away in her bag for later consideration. Maybe she could trade it off for something less... unpleasant. "Well, come on then. We've got plenty to do." Her mood wasn't ruined, necessarily, but her lingering headache wasn't making her particularly chipper. Adonis was heavy on her shoulders, mentally exhausted though he was physically unharmed. He hated the Pokeball, and if he wasn't feeling well she was more than willing to shoulder him in return for his loyalty. He slept, draped around her like a scarf. Gavin was a little more subdued, a little more wary, and didn't make any snide comments about Adonis' state. Perhaps he'd proven himself to the butler-like Grimer, showing him that he was willing to protect their mutual mistress at the expense of himself.

They moved on. "Little bug, what did you learn?" It had become a habit, though Hal wasn't a maternal sort, for her to quiz Eva on different situations. It got the Cleffa to pay attention and passed the time, anyway. Eventually she'd evolve from her pink fluff form into something a little more sturdy, and at least she'd have watched a few battles beforehand. She wasn't hiding her face quite as often in scary situations, anyway. The Cleffa jumped up to Hal, struggling to keep up with the woman's long strides. < Ummmm, the ummm. Adomis is strong! And theee little ah, the other one was a little strong too but Adomis won. > Hal rolled her eyes, not able to empathize with the stupidity of children, but Gavin praised the Cleffa. < Yes, Adonis was stronger. The Mime Jr. is part Fairy type, which is what you are. They are week to Poison moves like Adonis and I have. So if you see anything that looks like Adonis or I, don't fight them, alright? > Eva looked a bit troubled, scrunching up her little face the way she tended to do.

< No, ahm, no poooisun, > she muttered, and it was hard to pick out what she was unhappy about exactly. Gavin wracked his brains, and then said with a jump, < Oh, but you Fairy types are very special, Eva! You're the only type that's strong against the Dragons! Not that you should fight them either, mind you, but if you had to! >

"Yes, please don't go fighting the big monsters. They'll definitely eat you." She rolled her eyes into an exasperated look at the Grimer, and his look said he knew he'd slipped up a bit. Eva was the sort of creature that might wrap her head around the fact that she was 'stronger,' even if that wasn't actually the case. In the way of children, Hall could see a bravado building in her eyes, quietly, proudly. Ah, well. If it gave her some confidence, they could keep her safe. She didn't seem particularly thrilled at the thought of being eaten, though, so maybe she'd be cautious.

For now, Hal was irritated and fired enough to take on whatever came next.

---

» PC
» TAGGED, fitz
» WORD COUNT, 1,226

The sky darkened. If the moisture in the air or the stirring of the leaves was any indication, there was a storm moving in. Most would probably feel their mood darkened along with it, but maybe there was something about the pressure change in the air. Hal could feel her headache lightening up the longer they walked. So though the sky could open up on them at any time, she was beginning to feel rather chipper. "What do you think, boys and fluffy pink thing? Lunch?" She hummed as she set her bag down beside a rocky outcropping, unwinding Adonis and laying him on a still-sun-warmed rock. He curled up tiredly, looking at her with half-lidded eyes. Eva plopped herself down at the bottom of that rock, which was probably closer to the snake than she'd ever purposely put herself before. She was playing with some sort of bead or rock that she'd found on the ground, so Hal just ignored her for the moment. It's not like she could hurt herself. Probably. Unless she swallowed it. Oh, for the love of... "Give it here," she said, and with a pout the Cleffa placed it in her open hand. Hal shoved it in her pocket without looking.

She seated herself on the next rock over, digging into her bag. She pulled out a sandwich for herself, and distributed some food to the Pokemon. Adonis, understandably perhaps, wasn't feeling hungry. After a moment, she went into her bag again. "I was going to hold off on this, but you're making me miserable just looking at you." She addressed Adonis, pulling out the purple spray bottle of a potion. With Eva looking over the rock curiously, and Gavin ignoring them all, Hal put her hand on the snake's purple hide, spraying mostly around his head. It would take a hot second to soak in, but it would ease his headache. "Eva, when you're hurt in battle, this type of potion can make you feel good as new. But you can't count on it, because I won't always have them. Because I'll forget to buy them. So either don't get hurt, or remind me." Pep talks. While Adonis slept off his migraine, Hal let the others rest while the sky continued to darken quite angrily.

It was just a casual glance to the side that did it. A light scan of the surroundings. Completely unprepared, she caught sight of a creature, eyes glowing, just standing there about ten feet away. "Shit!" she started violently, scrambling off the rock. Goosebumps ran up and down her arms, a chill violent chill striking down her back. "Freaky piece of... who does that?" Her voice was shrill, but she didn't even care. In the din, it was like every horror movie she'd ever watched. Now that the initial shock was over though, with Adonis half wrapped protectively around her waist and Gavin standing in front of her, she could get her wits enough about her to take an actual look. Otherwordly was a good term for it, with its big head and glowing eyes. It wasn't very tall, but it didn't have to be to be scary as hell. "Are you going to come out or what?" she asked sharply, unsure as to what the creature would do now that it was discovered.

Apparently, not run. It moved out from the foliage, eyes large and incomprehensible. Behind her, Eva had managed to pull Hal's Pokedex from the bag, which was surprisingly useful because she had no idea what the hell this thing was. Elgyem, the Cerebral Pokemon. Rumors of its origin are linked to a UFO crash site in the desert 50 years ago.

< Yooou eff oh? > Eva questioned, and Hal couldn't help but smile. "That sounds vulgar coming from you, kiddo. I'll explain it later." Because the Elgyem had started to advance. Freaky little alien. < I didn't come here for you, human, > it said, but not through its mouth, and there wasn't a hint of emotion in its voice. Despite its words, it continued to advance. Dangerous. Without much warning, it sent a wave of Confusion at the forward-positioned Grimer, who flinched from the attack. It was weaker than he was, but its attacks would still be troublesome. "Poison Gas, Gavin! Slow it down, it doesn't get any closer!" The Grimer did as she asked, immediately belching up a noxious cloud of Poison Gas toward the advancing Elgyem. It didn't show the usual signs of poisoning, given it had no mouth to cough out of, so she couldn't assume it had worked. They'd find out soon enough. Gavin followed it up with a quick Mud-Slap, as the cloud of gas hid the attack. The Elgyem stumbled back.

When it looked at them, Hal could feel its anger. "If you're not here for us, why attack us?" she asked, though the feral smile she tended to get during a battle stayed in place. The Elgyem remained emotionless, expressionless. < It doesn't hurt to tell you, since I'll be long gone before you can tell, anyone after I'm done with you. I was sent here to destroy your terrestrial shrines and weaken your guardians. This one wasn't even on my list, but it's so empty I couldn't resist. You will not stop me. > It was odd, her first time hear a Pokemon talking about the legendaries or shrines with anything but respect. It flung a hand forward, unleashing another wave of Confusion. Gavin knew it was going to hurt, but he had his own plan. As the attack landed, he implemented a rippling Harden, not helpful against the current attack but all part of his plan. Getting a major headache to sympathize with Adonis, Gavin belched out another burst of Poison Gas - but this time, as more of a smokescreen than anything. While the Elgyem was distracted with the fumes, the Grimer rushed in with his slightly hardened body and nailed the wild Pokemon with a Pound that knocked it off of its feet. The Elgyem rolled a few feet before coming to a stop, pushing itself notably slowly to its feet. It let out a mind-numbing Growl, feeling enough pain to be angry now. < You upstart! You're a hundred years too early to beat me! > Even as it said it though, it was edging back, showing signs of fatigue. Looking for a way out. Strictly speaking, it wasn't going to happen. Apparently the poisonous fumes had done their job, because Gavin hadn't done enough physical damage to cause the effects she was seeing in the Elgyem.

It shot a last Confusion attack at Gavin, who was visibly strained from the effort of withstanding the onslaught. The Elgyem looked pretty cocky still, but perhaps it had forgotten that this was a team effort. "Throw another Mud-Slap, Gavin," Hal directed, and the Grimer complied. Most of the time Hal's training style was to let her Pokemon make their own decisions - it was their bodies, after all - but every once in awhile she had her own plans. The Mud-Slap knocked into the weakening psychic-type, and it fell backward. Before it had time to throw what could have been a dangerous attack at the Grimer, Hal threw an accurate Pokeball at the struggling creature, watching its startled surprise as the red light sucked it in.

The Pokeball shook.

---

» PC
» TAGGED, fitz
» WORD COUNT, 845

The Pokeball clicked closed, and there was a noticeable lightening of the atmosphere around them. Instead of feeling oppressive and suffocating, the air returned to the fresh vibrancy of an old forest. Hal stepped forward, picking the Pokeball up off the ground. She had the urge to just chuck it into the woods and leave it there, but like the Mime Jr, it might be useful someday. So she put it in the bag and out of her mind. She turned to her Grimer, who was currently being cooed over by Eva, who seemed to be telling him he was a good boy and suuuuper strong and the best fighter ever. Nothing like a cheering section to get you motivated. Hal walked up to Gavin, who seemed to sag in the aftermath of the fight, and knelt down in front of him. "Good job, Gavin. You okay to take a rest?" she held out his Pokeball, giving him the choice, and he nodded slowly. < I think that would be best, Mistress, thank you. > He was proud, but he was willing to admit he'd had his ass kicked. He wouldn't be much good to any of them at the moment, and they were close enough to the shrine that they wouldn't need him to be. "Rest up," she said, and withdrew him into the ball with a flash of light. As she stood, Eva ran up to her, clinging to the jeans around her ankle. < He be okay?? He be okay, right? > Her face was scrunched with worry, which she'd hidden in front of him, different from when Adonis had been hurt - but then, Gavin was probably something equivalent to a kind uncle to her. She leaned to scoop up the Cleffa, placing her up on her shoulder. She clung to Hal's thick hair, using it as a handhold for balance.

"He'll be fine, little bug. We'll take a pit stop back to town before we go on the route and get him taken care of." And Adonis as well, if things went how she planned. This had been as instructive a trip to the shrine as she'd hoped, training both her Ekans and the Grimer - but not Eva, not yet. Hal got the impression they were getting closer, though, to the Cleffa being ready to try battle on her own. And if she had judged this correctly, she was becoming happy enough for evolution to be in the near future. That would be a treat. Gesturing for Adonis to follow from their rest stop, the Ekans traveled beside her on the ground now that he was feeling much fresher.

"Now, Eva, to answer your question from earlier. UFO is what the Pokedex said, and basically that's something that flies through the sky and nobody knows what it is. Mostly people think they're alien ships, and in this case they were right." She could feel Eva's silence at her ear, could tell that she was thinking it over. "The aliens come from space, from way up in the stars. Nobody knows where from, except ones like our little friend there." She stepped over rocks and roots as they went - the ground was uneven on the rough trail. Adonis was having an easier time, slithering between the obstacles with ease. Too much ease, for someone that hailed from a grassland. Adaptable as always. After some silence, Hal felt a small tug on her hair, and she looked a bit sideways at the Cleffa. Eva was pointing up to the canopy. < Stars up dere? Up dere sparkuls? > Her brown pointed ears were wiggling animatedly. Hal raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" she said, question implicit in the word.

Eva started hopping excitedly, exuberant enough that Hal didn't berate her for yanking on her hair. She was so excited it was strange. < Me!! Me frumm up dere too! With da big spwakles! > More than the knowledge, she just seemed excited to be sharing it with someone. Hal frowned, stopping, and pulled the Cleffa off of her shoulder and held her out in front of her. The pink creature wiggled, beaming. Well, it made sense. She remembered some sort of story about Clefairy dancing on full moon nights, and meteors in Kanto. And the whole moon stone evolution thing. It all logically made sense, but she couldn't grip the thought of that stupid little smiling face being an alien... though she could picture her grinning and bouncing riding a meteor like a horse. "Huh." was all she said, then put the Cleffa back on her shoulder. She quieted, settling in for the ride. While she'd been distracted, Adonis had decided to climb up a tree, and she could see him above in the branches. "I'm not waiting for you. And I'm not helping you if some Fearow attacks you for eating her eggs." The Ekans didn't deign to respond, but followed behind them at a decent pace, making with way branch-to-branch. And if he did occasionally sneak a small egg from a nest... Well, what the mommas didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

---

» PC
» TAGGED, fitz
» WORD COUNT, 836

Hal saw the potential problem before the actual event even occurred. A bird, a flouncy little Chatot, had been flying in a rather unspecific path ahead of them. Then, alerted by something, it had changed its course very linearly and directly to fly straight to the tree Adonis was in. It didn't look angry or upset, but trilled happily as it disappeared into the canopy.

Then, after a thud of noise, came tumbling down from the treetops.

Hal moved quickly, Eva rolling back off of her shoulder with the sudden movement, and dove for the stunned, falling Pokemon. She rolled, skidding on the ground, and hit into the base of the tree with a dull thud and a scrape of bark against her back. In her arms, cradled close, was the Chatot. She sat up, cataloging only minor pains and scrapes, and the little bird blinked up at her blearily. There was a noted silence above them, like a guilty child trying to hide from a parent. "Adonis, please join us here on the ground," she said, not above a normal speaking tone. The Chatot seemed to be getting its wits back, shaking out of its feathers and looking around as if it wasn't quite sure how it had gotten there.

< It startled me, > came the voice from above, chagrined, and there was a sliding noise that was prelude to a soft drop to the ground. The Ekans came from the other side of the tree, hovering just far away as to not be an immediate threat. The Chatot hopped to Hal's knee, chattering angrily at the snake in what appeared to simply be a series of whistles and croaks, before switching to a heavily accented Common pokespeech. < You horrible creature! I am coming just to say hello and there you are just swinging that tail away in my own nest! My own nest! > Her feathers were all puffed out, and Adonis was surprisingly quiet, even shrinking down against the noisy onslaught. Hal hesitated, then took a leap and ran her hand down the ruffled feathers in an attempt at a soothing gesture. It appeared to work, because though her chest was fluttering angrily, her feathers began to settle. She finally shook herself out, gave a last narrow-eyed glare at the Ekans, then hopped around on her knee to face Hal. < I do apologize miss trainer for that ugliness, I forgot myself for one moment. Thank you very much for assisting me, it would have been a painful landing! >

"No problem," Hal said, situating herself more comfortably against the tree. Past the Chatot, Hal could see Eva hovering uncertainly, unnoticed by the bird just yet. Her eyes were big, and Hal could tell it wasn't from fear. < Pwetty burdd, > she whispered, rocking on her toes. The Chatot cocked her head, hearing the voice, and turned back around. Hal was starting to feel like a perch. < Oh, what darling fairy you have! Hello, little one! > She hopped down, approaching the Cleffa, and allowed the pink baby to stroke her feathers. She whistled and clicked her song, with all of the cadence of spoken language. After a few moments, the Chatot turned back to Hal. < You have done wonderful job with this little one, > she said pleasantly. Hal nodded thanks, finally pushing herself to her feet.

"Standard question then, friend. Would you like to come along with us? Eva likes you, and you can put Adonis in his place, which is refreshing." Not that she couldn't do the same, but most of her Pokemon were either wary or outright scared of him. The Chatot seemed taken aback, but not offended. She was quiet for a moment, looking at the woman, considering. < Maybe, > she finally offered, < But first some questions. You are human, with the gold and the means to do something for the world. How do you give back, with the moneys and time that you earn? > Suddenly Hal felt like this was a job interview. Or she'd died and suddenly this was the interrogation to get through the pearly gates. Well, that was going to be a bust. "Not a whole lot. I take care of my Pokemon, and myself. I'm planning on tossing some gold into the shrine up there, but that's about it." She wasn't going to pretend to be a saint, because it was way too far from the truth. The Chatot looked at her, then appeared to smile. Which was hard, with a beak. < Ah, but it is not so little as that, is it? You put down that small blue man that wanted to destroy the shrine. >

Hal raised an eyebrow. So she had seen that. "I beat it because it pissed me off, not because of any sort of altruism." The Chatot left the Cleffa, flying up to Hal, who reflexively put an arm out for her to land on. < Be that as it may, there is some good in you, I see that. >

"Agree to disagree. So? Any more questions?"

---