PTA: Wuhtu (IC)

[CosmicOccurence]

As you look around the room, two trainers stand out to you. One, a boy about five years older than you, you remember watching beat Halle's father to earn his first pokemon. You can't quite recall his name, since it was so long ago and you never really met him.

The other, a girl who used to frequent your family's cafe during her time in Wrystone, you recognize as Tess Bowers. She hailed from Maelstrom but found a second home in the Wrystone gym, spending almost a year as a gym trainer there. You remember that only a few weeks prior, she had moved on to earn her last badge from Trip up in Gateway.

Smiling to see a familiar face, Leo apologized to Violet and excused himself. Walking over to the girl, he greeted her heartily. Tess! How are you?

[HZ514]

Nikolas nods appreciatively when Orobas aids him with camping duties. According to his Pokedex' navigational function, they were about a day from Xylo Central. With some luck they would make it there before nightfall even. From there it would be training, earning a gym badge, and seeing the long-forgotten city sights. He was honestly excited in spite of himself. Once inside the tent, Nikolas releases his entire team to share in the good cheer. Sitting in front of them, with Ten in his arms (to keep the little bug from wandering off...), he explains to them their destination. "A-alright guys. By tomorrow we'll be in Xylo Central. It's...a pretty big place but if you stick with me I don't think you'll get lost. I may not look like it but I'm actually a city kid. Once we're there we'll spend a day exploring the sights while I start training you guys up proper. Xylo is where I'll be challenging my first gym so I hope you guys understand how important this is to me. It was thanks to Avu's recommendation that I got to meet you all and because of that I'm gonna repay him back by showing him how well I can do in the world. I-I'm not the best trainer and I'm sure you guys have gotten pretty tired of my inexperience so I just wanted to say...thanks for all the support. It's only going to get harder from here but...I know we can do it if we just stick together, like we always have." Smiling sheepishly, he scratches at the back of his neck and looks around anxiously. "So...I guess that's it. You guys can uh, go to sleep now I guess. I just wanted to get a pep talk in before we get to the city you know?" Awkwardly, Nikolas sets the Trapinch down and trawls around on the floor until he finds a comfortable spot on he sheets. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, after all.

Your team listens intently as you give them the nice talk, and they all appreciate your words. Praelia's the one to voice what they all feel. "We believe in you too, Nikolas."

Once you find your spot, Ten curls up beside you and Orobas leans himself against you as well. Looks like you're their comfortable spot.

Loki seems intent on doing something outside and is basically pestering Praelia into coming with him. She sighs and relents. "Why do I feel like this is going to be trouble?" she mutters to herself in a resigned tone as she walks out to follow him.

Spoiler

Show

Go ahead and make a 1d20 roll just to see what kind of adventure Loki and Praelia go on, but you'll wake up the next morning without any sort of trouble.

[HZ514]

All part of the game, Pitch whispers as silently as possible.

Pitch once again scoops up Outlet.

We'll keep going, Pitch says, despite the lessening amount of light. Bigger stuff came out at night, and bigger stuff would be more useful.

Lighter, keep your tail as lit as possible. Inigan, Dilos, patrol the sides. Thales, you take point. Keb,watch the back with Rope. Carn, do as you will, Pitch says, swiftly delegating a plan to attempt to avoid being snuck up on.

Absol, stick by me. You won't need to fight due to your precious cargo, understand?

Formation planned out, Pitch and Crew begin to travel in to the fading night. The slight click of a switchblade being flicked in and out is the only sound other than the occasional hissing of the snake siblings. Outlet is still cradled in Pitch's other arm, carried much like a football. Despite the dark, the heavily injured Audino, and the aching arm from the Poison, there is a wide grin on Pitch's face.

Carn lets out a hearty laugh at your comment...perhaps a bit too hearty? Nah, it's probably nothing.

Your team executes your well-thought out formation as you travel, and the Absol nods to your question. Carn travels alongside you, rather cheery. He occasionally whistles a tune to himself to break the silence, but other than that your travels continue in relative stillness.

[HZ514]

Smiling to see a familiar face, Leo apologized to Violet and excused himself. Walking over to the girl, he greeted her heartily. Tess! How are you?

Violetta nods and returns to talking to the trainers she was speaking to before.

Tess turns around, her long flowing hair cascading behind her head. "Oh!" she says, struggling only for a moment to recognize you. "Leo? No way! Are you a trainer too now?"

[Arcran]

Carn lets out a hearty laugh at your comment...perhaps a bit too hearty? Nah, it's probably nothing.

Your team executes your well-thought out formation as you travel, and the Absol nods to your question. Carn travels alongside you, rather cheery. He occasionally whistles a tune to himself to break the silence, but other than that your travels continue in relative stillness.

The laugh puts Pitch slightly on edge, causing him to miss a flip of his knife and earning a small scratch for it. With a silent curse he pockets it. He didn't like laughing. He all too well knew what hearty laughter at a comment like that meant.

For awhile they walk in silent. Pitch does have one question continues to gnaw at the back of his mind though. Something that has been bugging him. Something that may help him understand Carn better.

Carn, how do you see other Pokemon? he questions, wondering at this answer. Obviously as a predator you see them as a food source and not individuals. But what about fellow Scyther? Does your ability to speak put you above them? Are above their frail minds? he asks almost sarcastically.

Are you still a Pokemon? Or are you something... more?

[Bad Situation]

Unsure of what Loki is planning, Nikolas simply tilts his head to the side and sees them off with a smile. He could trust Loki t-...he could trust Praelia to keep Loki out of doing something stupid. Whatever the case, the two were strong and independent enough that they could handle themselves out in the wilderness at least. With that in mind, Nikolas turns over and curls up against his two remaining Pokemon to welcome the sweet embrace of sleep for once in his no longer miserable life.

---
Rising for an early morning, Nikolas pulls himself from out of the covers and stretches himself out, trying his best not to disturb Ten and Orobas from their respective rests if they were still asleep. Smiling, regardless of their state, he whispers a quite "Good morning."

Filling out some empty trays with what remained of his Pokemon food, Nikolas looks out toward the horizon, eager to reach Xylo sometime before the day was through. While outside, he begins packing all while keeping an eye out for Praelia and Loki if they have yet to return by the time he wakes.

[HZ514]

The laugh puts Pitch slightly on edge, causing him to miss a flip of his knife and earning a small scratch for it. With a silent curse he pockets it. He didn't like laughing. He all too well knew what hearty laughter at a comment like that meant.

For awhile they walk in silent. Pitch does have one question continues to gnaw at the back of his mind though. Something that has been bugging him. Something that may help him understand Carn better.

Carn, how do you see other Pokemon? he questions, wondering at this answer. Obviously as a predator you see them as a food source and not individuals. But what about fellow Scyther? Does your ability to speak put you above them? Are above their frail minds? he asks almost sarcastically.

Are you still a Pokemon? Or are you something... more?

Carn tilted his head after listening to your questions, thinking for a moment before answering in quite a Socratic manner while absentmindedly sharpening his blades. "Imagine, if you will, that your species could not speak. No, not just that. Imagine that humans could not think. Not in the truest sense of the word, at least. Instincts and conditioned responses would be all that drive them to do what they do.

"But you are different. You can speak. You can think. You can control yourself in a manner that isn't just above their abilities, it's above their very comprehensions. If that were the case...how would you view your so-called 'peers' in life?

"Would you still be 'human' in that case? Or would you be something more?"

[Arcran]

Carn tilted his head after listening to your questions, thinking for a moment before answering in quite a Socratic manner while absentmindedly sharpening his blades. "Imagine, if you will, that your species could not speak. No, not just that. Imagine that humans could not think. Not in the truest sense of the word, at least. Instincts and conditioned responses would be all that drive them to do what they do.

"But you are different. You can speak. You can think. You can control yourself in a manner that isn't just above their abilities, it's above their very comprehensions. If that were the case...how would you view your so-called 'peers' in life?

"Would you still be 'human' in that case? Or would you be something more?"

Pitch nods; nothing he hadn't expected. It had been more of a lead-in, after all. The philosophical nature of the Scyther always managed to catch him off-guard.

And humans? You have our intelligence, yet you maintain the prowess of a Pokemon. That puts you in an interesting position. Few humans could beat you in a fight, Pitch says, stating a fact.

Asking if you felt remorse would be a foolish and hypocritical question, he says, pondering. But how do we fit into your list? Do we rank just above the "barely thinking" Pokemon?

[HZ514]

Unsure of what Loki is planning, Nikolas simply tilts his head to the side and sees them off with a smile. He could trust Loki t-...he could trust Praelia to keep Loki out of doing something stupid. Whatever the case, the two were strong and independent enough that they could handle themselves out in the wilderness at least. With that in mind, Nikolas turns over and curls up against his two remaining Pokemon to welcome the sweet embrace of sleep for once in his no longer miserable life.

---
Rising for an early morning, Nikolas pulls himself from out of the covers and stretches himself out, trying his best not to disturb Ten and Orobas from their respective rests if they were still asleep. Smiling, regardless of their state, he whispers a quite "Good morning."

Filling out some empty trays with what remained of his Pokemon food, Nikolas looks out toward the horizon, eager to reach Xylo sometime before the day was through. While outside, he begins packing all while keeping an eye out for Praelia and Loki if they have yet to return by the time he wakes.

Your movements are subtle enough that they don't wake your two sleeping Pokemon. Praelia and Loki are still gone at the moment.

Outside, Quinn sees you admiring the horizon and says, "We're almost close enough to see Xylo! We should be able to get there before dinnertime tonight. What're you gonna do first when you get there?" she asks as she packs up some of her stuff.

[HZ514]

Pitch nods; nothing he hadn't expected. It had been more of a lead-in, after all. The philosophical nature of the Scyther always managed to catch him off-guard.

And humans? You have our intelligence, yet you maintain the prowess of a Pokemon. That puts you in an interesting position. Few humans could beat you in a fight, Pitch says, stating a fact.

Asking if you felt remorse would be a foolish and hypocritical question, he says, pondering. But how do we fit into your list? Do we rank just above the "barely thinking" Pokemon?

"I find humans...intriguing," Carn says after a pause. "Educational, even. Your species is truly unique. While it is true I could beat most of your kind in a fight, all it takes is one of your more advanced inventions to neutralize me completely. That's what sets your kind apart.

"Your ingenuity and adaptability have placed you high above the follies of nature. We Scyther are apex predators, but you have removed yourselves entirely from the food chain. The problem is how complacent many of your kind have become. They rely on technology and would be nothing without it. They have let themselves grow...stale.

"That's what sets you apart. You are not the sum of the creations of others but rather a predator in your own right. You don't shun the food chain, you choose to take your rightful place atop it.

"I'm sure you find me interesting for the things that make me special. That appreciation is mutual."

[Arcran]

"I find humans...interesting," Carn says after a pause. "Your species is truly unique. While it is true I could beat most of your kind in a fight, all it takes is one of your more advanced inventions to neutralize me completely. That's what sets your kind apart.

"Your ingenuity and adaptability have placed you high above the follies of nature. We Scyther are apex predators, but you have removed yourselves entirely from the food chain. The problem is how complacent many of your kind have become. They rely on technology and would be nothing without it. They have let themselves grow...stale.

"That's what sets you apart. You are not the sum of the creations of others' but rather a predator in your own right. You don't shun the food chain, you choose to take your rightful place atop it.

"I'm sure you find me interesting for the things that make me special. That appreciation is mutual."

Pitch nods, smirking slightly as the special snowflake speech goes by.

As long as you don't decide to dissect me, I can handle being "interesting," he says with a small chuckle. We'll see if I can't get some cool technology as well. Should help a bit.

After that Pitch resumes flicking his knife and peers intently in the darkness, hoping for some foe to challenge him. Killing Wurmple just wasn't the same.

[CosmicOccurence]

Violetta nods and returns to talking to the trainers she was speaking to before.

Tess turns around, her long flowing hair cascading behind her head. "Oh!" she says, struggling only for a moment to recognize you. "Leo? No way! Are you a trainer too now?"

Leo scratched his head in embarrassment. My mom finally decided to kick me out so she could run the cafe in peace. I just beat Halle this week, and I'm travelling to Xylo to grab a badge and talk with some tech people that Halle recommended me to. Then, I stumbled into this place, and I got myself entered. I won my first round, which was really cool.

It's been a bit since you left. How many badges have you got since then?

[Bad Situation]

Finished with his packing, Nikolas sits back a ways and mentally goes through his plans before listing them out to hear. "Ah, well I'm going to be challenging the gym as soon as I feel my team is ready. Before then I'll probably do some research about the gym's typing so I can prepare some strategies before I go in. After that I guess I'll be exploring the city and showing my Pokemon what the big city has to offer. Definitely going to hit up Serenity Corp." Turning to flash her a small smile he asks, "And you?"

[HZ514]

Pitch nods, smirking slightly as the special snowflake speech goes by.

As long as you don't decide to dissect me, I can handle being "interesting," he says with a small chuckle. We'll see if I can't get some cool technology as well. Should help a bit.

After that Pitch resumes flicking his knife and peers intently in the darkness, hoping for some foe to challenge him. Killing Wurmple just wasn't the same.

"No promises," he says with a chuckle. He's probably joking, but the fact that he sharpens his blades while saying it doesn't help you feel better about it.

As time passes and night takes over completely, Lighter's flame is all that lights your way. Carn continues to whistle as you travel.

Spoiler

Show

You've got one last chance to do something other than keep going

[Arcran]

"No promises," he says with a chuckle. He's probably joking, but the fact that he sharpens his blades while saying it doesn't help you feel better about it.

As time passes and night takes over completely, Lighter's flame is all that lights your way. Carn continues to whistle as you travel.

Spoiler

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You've got one last chance to do something other than keep going

Spoiler

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That's not ominous at all.

Little bit longer, Pitch says, starting to actively look for a camp site.

Spoiler

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PERCEPTION! (2d6+1)[10]
Oops, -1, so subtract 2. Real roll is 8.

[HZ514]

Leo scratched his head in embarrassment. My mom finally decided to kick me out so she could run the cafe in peace. I just beat Halle this week, and I'm travelling to Xylo to grab a badge and talk with some tech people that Halle recommended me to. Then, I stumbled into this place, and I got myself entered. I won my first round, which was really cool.

It's been a bit since you left. How many badges have you got since then?

Tess laughs and gives you a congratulatory pat on the back. "That's awesome, Leo! And congrats on winning your first round, I'm impressed. Being a new trainer your opponent must've been pretty experienced. Maybe we'll face each other later on," she adds with a smile.

"Oh wow, yeah it's been a while. I spent a long time training up in Gateway, and I finally got my last badge last week!" she exclaims, showing you her full set of eight. "I came here to celebrate and unwind before heading out to Victory Road...and I wouldn't mind winning that Larvitar, you know?"

[CosmicOccurence]

Tess laughs and gives you a congratulatory pat on the back. "That's awesome, Leo! And congrats on winning your first round, I'm impressed. Being a new trainer your opponent must've been pretty experienced. Maybe we'll face each other later on," she adds with a smile.

"Oh wow, yeah it's been a while. I spent a long time training up in Gateway, and I finally got my last badge last week!" she exclaims, showing you her full set of eight. "I came here to celebrate and unwind before heading out to Victory Road...and I wouldn't mind winning that Larvitar, you know?"

I don't think anybody would mind getting Spike. He certainly is a prize. Since you have eight badges already, I take it you're a first seed?

[HZ514]

Finished with his packing, Nikolas sits back a ways and mentally goes through his plans before listing them out to hear. "Ah, well I'm going to be challenging the gym as soon as I feel my team is ready. Before then I'll probably do some research about the gym's typing so I can prepare some strategies before I go in. After that I guess I'll be exploring the city and showing my Pokemon what the big city has to offer. Definitely going to hit up Serenity Corp." Turning to flash her a small smile he asks, "And you?"

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Quinn says with a smile that betrays a bit of jealousy. "I've gotta get straight to work once I get to the city. We have some leads on some potential Ostra strongholds, I'll probably be assigned to investigate some of them." Suddenly her Pokegear starts ringing. "Oh sorry, excuse me for a moment."

As Quinn walks off to answer the call, you see Praelia and Loki return from the trees. Loki's flying all around with the same nonchalant glee on his face, while Praelia looks absolutely exhausted. "He doesn't get tired at all, does he?" she asks, exasperated. "I spent all night keeping him from terrorizing local Pokemon. If you could let me rest for a while inside a Pokeball, I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, and we found this," she says, holding out her hand.

Spoiler

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Loki gains 20 EXP!
Praelia gains 15 EXP as well, but she's also exhausted. Using her in battle today would be ill-advised.
Praelia hands you an evolutionary stone. Which one? Let's roll to find out!
1-2 = fire
3-4 = water
5-6 = thunder
7-8 = leaf
9-10 = moon
11-12 = sun
13-14 = shiny
15-16 = dusk
17-18 = dawn
19-20 = reroll
(1d20)[6]
(1d20)[8] (if necessary)
(1d20)[9] (if necessary)

[Bad Situation]

Nikolas takes the thunder stone with a smile but looks at it confusedly before wrapping it in a cloth and stuffing it into his bag. "Well...I don't really know what these are for but it sure is pretty. Thanks!" Hearing Praelia's account of last night's affairs, he can't help but crack a smile. He'd been correct in sending Praelia after Loki after all though the fact that she was so tired was worrying to some degree. Pulling out the Mienfoo's Pokeball he holds it out for her to enter on her own accord. "Eheh, but it sounds like you had fun regardless. And don't worry too much about battling today. I don't think we're really ready for the gym as we are, so you can rest while I train the other guys a bit. You deserve a rest anyway, since you've been so helpful to me so far."

Turning to Loki, Nikolas puts his hands on hips and frowns though the look on his face shows that he is clearly amused. "And you definitely look like you enjoyed yourself last night. Terrorizing the local wildlife is that fun, huh? Well, it's fine as long as you don't get into trouble but try not to drag Praelia into it to often okay? She doesn't have half of your mischievous energy?" Having fun was all well and fine but like Avu said, he had to be firm as well as fair. Loki needed to understand that there were certain boundaries that he had to observe while he was off gallivanting during the night.

[HZ514]

Spoiler

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That's not ominous at all.

Little bit longer, Pitch says, starting to actively look for a camp site.

Spoiler

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PERCEPTION! [roll0]
Oops, -1, so subtract 2. Real roll is 8.

Spoiler

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Perception (mostly) success!

Just as your circadian rhythm starts to let you know it's probably time to call it a night, you notice a gap in the tree line to your right that leads to a relatively small, but serviceable clearing for making camp.

There is a stillness in the air in this place. That isn't really surprising in itself since you're in one of the thicker parts of Elrem Forest. The disconcerting part is that the leaves on the trees around you occasionally shake and flutter as if in some nonexistent wind. Might just be your tired mind playing tricks on you, though.

[HZ514]

I don't think anybody would mind getting Spike. He certainly is a prize. Since you have eight badges already, I take it you're a first seed?

"True. And yep! I'm down in the Elrem region, which one are you in?"

Spoiler

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The bracket websites I'm trying to ease keep messing up in silly ways. I'll keep working on it, but the gist of it in terms of named NPCs is that:
Gateway region (top left) has Violetta as a 3-seed
Orum region (bottom left) has you as the 16-seed
Maelstrom region (top right) has Blake as a 1-seed
Elrem region (bottom right) has Tess as a 1-seed and Pete as a 10-seed (he was a 9-seed but I just retconned that so Tess and Pete would meet later than the next round)

[HZ514]

Nikolas takes the thunder stone with a smile but looks at it confusedly before wrapping it in a cloth and stuffing it into his bag. "Well...I don't really know what these are for but it sure is pretty. Thanks!" Hearing Praelia's account of last night's affairs, he can't help but crack a smile. He'd been correct in sending Praelia after Loki after all though the fact that she was so tired was worrying to some degree. Pulling out the Mienfoo's Pokeball he holds it out for her to enter on her own accord. "Eheh, but it sounds like you had fun regardless. And don't worry too much about battling today. I don't think we're really ready for the gym as we are, so you can rest while I train the other guys a bit. You deserve a rest anyway, since you've been so helpful to me so far."

Turning to Loki, Nikolas puts his hands on hips and frowns though the look on his face shows that he is clearly amused. "And you definitely look like you enjoyed yourself last night. Terrorizing the local wildlife is that fun, huh? Well, it's fine as long as you don't get into trouble but try not to drag Praelia into it to often okay? She doesn't have half of your mischievous energy?" Having fun was all well and fine but like Avu said, he had to be firm as well as fair. Loki needed to understand that there were certain boundaries that he had to observe while he was off gallivanting during the night.

Praelia smiles and gives you a respectful bow before entering the Pokeball. "Best of luck today, Nikolas."

Loki can't help but cackle as you scold him, but it's much more mischievous than malicious so at least you're making progress with him. He gives you a cheeky lick when you're finished speaking.

Spoiler

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Not sure where Loki was in terms of loyalty and how that translates to PTU loyalty, but if he wasn't already 4 under the new scale, he is now!

Done with her call, Quinn lets out a chuckle when she sees your interaction with Loki. "So, ready to hit the road?"

[CosmicOccurence]

"True. And yep! I'm down in the Elrem region, which one are you in?"

Spoiler

Show

The bracket websites I'm trying to ease keep messing up in silly ways. I'll keep working on it, but the gist of it in terms of named NPCs is that:
Gateway region (top left) has Violetta as a 3-seed
Orum region (bottom left) has you as the 16-seed
Maelstrom region (top right) has Blake as a 1-seed
Elrem region (bottom right) has Tess as a 1-seed and Pete as a 10-seed (he was a 9-seed but I just retconned that so Tess and Pete would meet later than the next round)

I'm in the Orum region as the bottom seed. I did just start out after all.

[HZ514]

I'm in the Orum region as the bottom seed. I did just start out after all.

"Ah, well you've always had a head for Pokemon so this tournament's right up your alley!"

The attendants come shuffling back through the room, handing the winners their Pokemon back.

Jill's voice comes over the intercom again, "Okay! Your Pokemon have been nursed back to prime fighting condition so let's get straight to the second round!"

The trainers cheer as the large screen shows the bracket once again. Your eyes go straight to your matchup.

16. Leo Blackwell, Wrystone vs. 8. Minnie Lindi, Port Tidings

"We now have enough rooms to run all of these simultaneously, so please find your opponent and step up to the battle attendants to select a battlefield!"

"Well, good luck Leo!" Tess says cheerfully as she goes to find her opponent.

Another girl with short blonde hair finds you and lets you know, "Hi there, Leo? I'm Minnie. Nice to meet you!"

Spoiler

Show

You can RP going to find one of the attendants and roll a 1d20 to see what type your battlefield will be.

[CosmicOccurence]

Yup. It's nice to meet you. I hope we have a good battle. He says with a smile. He'd prefer to get a read on who she was battle wise, but it didn't look like he'd get the chance. Shall we grab an attendant? Leo asked.

The two jostled through the crowd to get to an attendant. Leo quickly drew the slip of paper with their fate on it, hoping to get a good one.

Spoiler

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(1d20)[9]

[Arcran]

Spoiler

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Perception (mostly) success!

Just as your circadian rhythm starts to let you know it's probably time to call it a night, you notice a gap in the tree line to your right that leads to a relatively small, but serviceable clearing for making camp.

There is a stillness in the air in this place. That isn't really surprising in itself since you're in one of the thicker parts of Elrem Forest. The disconcerting part is that the leaves on the trees around you occasionally shake and flutter as if in some nonexistent wind. Might just be your tired mind playing tricks on you, though.

Lighter, give us more light, Pitch says, shrugging off his pack and taking a more ready stance as he sets Outlet down. He didn't like things that move on their own.

Outlet, try to give us some light too, he says, searching for sticks for a fire. Light would be good in this case, and nightvision wasn't quite his area of expertise.

As Pitch tries to start a fire with the help of Lighter, he instructs his team to keep watch, especially the snakes. Hopefully their keener senses of smell could help him find something. If it were Ghosts again...

[Bad Situation]

Quickly returning Loki to his ball, Nikolas wipes off the ectoplasmic slime from his face using his sleeve as an impromptu facecloth. The ghostly saliva would disappear in time, he knew from experience, but walking about with a fresh coat of Gastly juice's wasn't really the best way to start the day. Finished with that he turns Quinn and nods his head and hums his ascent. "Mm."

Now that his bags were packed, all that was left was putting away the tent and returning Ten to his Pokeball. Orobas, as usual, would follow alongside him as they made their way into Xylo Central. Retrieving Ten's pokeball form his belt, Nikolas returns to his campsite and pokes his head into the canvas shelter eager to start the day. "Come on, Ten. We need to get going. You can rest inside your ball while we walk today. You too Orobas, you'll want to get ready before we hit the road."

[HZ514]

Yup. It's nice to meet you. I hope we have a good battle. He says with a smile. He'd prefer to get a read on who she was battle wise, but it didn't look like he'd get the chance. Shall we grab an attendant? Leo asked.

The two jostled through the crowd to get to an attendant. Leo quickly drew the slip of paper with their fate on it, hoping to get a good one.

Spoiler

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[roll0]

The attendant informs you, "You two will battle in our ground-themed arena. The door is right over there," he says, pointing to one of the large doors out of the area.

"Good luck to you," Minnie says politely as you both walk to your round.

When your platform raises up into the battlefield, you immediately realize the area is covered in a sandstorm. There's a protective bubble around your and Minnie's trainer platforms, but the rest of the place is a desert. There are also various spots of treacherous quicksand throughout the battlefield.

"Whoa! Okay, go Rhyperior!"

Spoiler

Show

Information on how the sandy terrain and quicksand tiles behave are in the legend below the map.

[HZ514]

Lighter, give us more light, Pitch says, shrugging off his pack and taking a more ready stance as he sets Outlet down. He didn't like things that move on their own.

Outlet, try to give us some light too, he says, searching for sticks for a fire. Light would be good in this case, and nightvision wasn't quite his area of expertise.

As Pitch tries to start a fire with the help of Lighter, he instructs his team to keep watch, especially the snakes. Hopefully their keener senses of smell could help him find something. If it were Ghosts again...

Your team huddles around you, because their Pokemon senses let them know something's amiss as well. The fire you start provides a decent amount of light, but not quite enough to illuminate the entire clearing. Lighter's tail is also a light source, while Outlet can occasionally provide a flash of light around him with a surge of electricity.

Spoiler

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You can place your Pokemon wherever you want around the area. The fire provides a 7x7 square of light, while Lighter can provide his own 3x3 square. Outlet's Spark is temporary 2x2. The rest of the area is shrouded in darkness.

The two snakes shuffle around cautiously, trying to pick up a hint of something, anything to confirm their growing unease. The Absol is muttering to itself in what comes off as prayer to you. Carn whistles a tune to himself that would sound somewhat like a dirge to a human.

[HZ514]

Quickly returning Loki to his ball, Nikolas wipes off the ectoplasmic slime from his face using his sleeve as an impromptu facecloth. The ghostly saliva would disappear in time, he knew from experience, but walking about with a fresh coat of Gastly juice's wasn't really the best way to start the day. Finished with that he turns Quinn and nods his head and hums his ascent. "Mm."

Now that his bags were packed, all that was left was putting away the tent and returning Ten to his Pokeball. Orobas, as usual, would follow alongside him as they made their way into Xylo Central. Retrieving Ten's pokeball form his belt, Nikolas returns to his campsite and pokes his head into the canvas shelter eager to start the day. "Come on, Ten. We need to get going. You can rest inside your ball while we walk today. You too Orobas, you'll want to get ready before we hit the road."

You and Quinn make your way across the countryside in relative peace, occasionally passing other travelers who are just a day out from leaving Xylo. There are fewer wild Pokemon in these areas, since they know better than to wander this close to the heaviest cluster of humans. A Delibird messenger hurriedly waddles past you in a hilariously awkward way. "Those are so cute, aren't they?"

Just past midday, it happens. Over the tip of the horizon, you can see the tallest skyscrapers of Xylo! The city is officially within eyesight, though you still have quite some distance to go before you reach the entrance.

Spoiler

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No need for an encounter roll, there's a scripted one coming up.