2x- Catch the Wind

[macbeth]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Declaration}

Party
Trapinch Gifted at Level 20 SPOILER: Click to show {Personality}Buttercup is a young Trapinch who loves nothing more than tearing things apart and making messes. She often tracks mud and dirt into the house, and is fond of using moves such as Sand Attack and Mudslap to make her bed comfortable. Queen despises her frivolous attitude towards staying dirty, but she can’t help it! It’s so fun to play in the sand. It’s difficult to buy clothes, collars, and harnesses for the little bug, not only because of her small size, but because she loves sinking her maw into anything soft and violently shredding it. In the corner of Bailey’s room, under her bed is a pile of tattered stuffed animals, socks, and collars that she has burrowed a nest into. Fortunately, she doesn’t like to drag food down there… Buttercup gets along well with most other members of the team due to her naturally friendly demeanor, but is often willfully obstinate when it comes to orders on the battlefield. SPOILER: Click to show {Strategy}For Buttercup, all battles represent are another opportunity to get dirty. Her favorite and most frequently used moves are (unsurprisingly) Sand Tomb, Dig, and Mud Slap. Bailey is trying to perfect the little bug's Bite and Rock Slide, but she doesn't seem to be listening... Nickname: Buttercup Gender: Female Nature: Impish Type: Ground Ability: Hyper Cutter Height: 2’1” Weight: 33.1 lbs Health: Scrawny EXP Rate: Medium Slow EXP Gauge: (119/133) EXP Gained: 48 Level: 24 Division: D8 Total Stats: 264 Attack: 106 (40%) Defense: 40 Sp. Attack: 18 Sp. Defense: 40 Speed: 60 Vitamins Used: None	Moveset: 1. Bite 1. Sand Attack 1. Feint Attack 1. Bide 4. Laser Focus 5. Mud Slap 8. Bulldoze 12. Sand Tomb 15. Rock Slide 19. Dig 22. Crunch Unique Moves: -Hidden Power [Flying] (TM) -Mimic (TM) - - Item: Soft Sand
Helioptile Caught at Level 15 SPOILER: Click to show {Personality}This little fellow may act shy, but don't believe it. He's rotten through and through. He will attempt to sneak up on unsuspecting Trainers and Pokemon, then attacks them out of nowhere. Even when confronted by a stronger foe, he attacks with savagery more common with bigger Pokemon. Still, he doesn't seem to be hurt, or fear being hurt, he's just mean. Meatball's relationship with other party members seems to be quietly hostile at best. He is acutely territorial of anything he deems 'his', and will fight tooth and nail for favored toys, napping spots, and even Bailey's attention. SPOILER: Click to show {Strategy}Meatball doesn't seem to listen very well. Maybe it's a good idea to give him some more training... Nickname: Meatball Gender: Male Nature: Naughty Type: Electric/Normal Ability: Solar Power Height: 1’8” Weight: 13.2 lbs Health: Scrawny EXP Rate: Medium Fast EXP Gauge: (67/74) EXP Gained: 20 Level: 17 Division: D8 Total Stats: 187 Attack: 40 Defense: 17 Sp. Attack: 47 (25%) Sp. Defense: 17 Speed: 56 (30%) Vitamins Used: None	Moveset: 1. Pound 1. Tail Whip 4. Mud Slap 8. Thunder Shock 12. Quick Attack 16. Charge Unique Moves: -Camouflage (Egg) - - - Item: Soothe Bell

It wasn't until around the second hour of hiking around Serenity Lake with a lizard trying to climb her body like a deformed tree trunk that she began to regret every life decision that led up to this point. She had long since abandoned the idea of attempting to bring a backpack to carry her hiking gear after the Natrio Flats incident, instead opting for a bright red wagon she bought at the discount aisle of a Value Mart and a copious amount of bungee cords. It bumbled awkwardly on the mostly flat trail behind her, made no less heavy by the Trapinch who had decided that it made a perfect napping spot. She kept her internal swearing to herself- Bailey wasn't familiar with the newly named Meatball yet, and he was surprisingly calm today. No need to accidentally ruin his good behavior.

A brief glance at the Holocaster told her that her destination campsite, a forest clearing overlooking the lake, was about twenty more minutes away. According to 'tripadvisor.go.edu', it was rated four point five out of five stars by a total of thirty seven assorted trainers and faculty. She vaguely guessed that the only reason the numbers weren't higher was that it was a pain in the ass to get to. Not only did you have to make the trek to Djenganti, you also had to make the trek to Serenity, and then a tertiary (but much more tolerable) walk towards the campsite.

A small, scaled paw pressed firmly against her cheek as the electric type attempted to climb on top of her head to better sun himself. The sensation was uncomfortable, but ultimately he didn't weigh very much- if it caused pain, she certainly didn't notice it. An unfortunate stumble on a root had her newest pokemon hiss out in protest, digging fingers into the side of her skull. Fortunately, he didn't have any claws. Her mind wandered back to their first meeting- he was aggressive, violent, and refused to back down. But now?

Well, he was still aggressive. Still violent. But his violence towards her specifically had seemingly redirected itself into a nearly unhealthy clinginess, likely the result of the friend ball and the soothe bell collar that he refused to let go of. It was strange how they worked- she didn't claim to understand it at all, but she found herself suppressing a shudder. Was altering a given pokemon's moods like that really... ethical?

Nonetheless, she proceeded en route, shifting focus from her disturbing train of thoughts onto the physical sensations surrounding her. She had been too poor to go on very many trips growing up, but when her brother won his second badge, her whole family went to the southernmost camp at Serenity for a three day vacation. While there, her brother had eagerly pointed out many wild edible flora he had learned about in his trainer course- fireweed, mountain sorrel, watercress, and many more that she had long since forgotten the name of. Glancing around, she could've sworn she saw plants that matched their descriptions, but she wasn't brave enough to try them out for herself.

She was interrupted from her thoughts once again by a contented hum coming from above her head. Glancing upwards without shifting too much, she saw a faint glow coming from his frills. It wasn't bright enough to blind her, but it sort of resembled a faint glowstick in terms of how much it lit up the area around them. It was barely vivid enough to notice. The trainer vaguely remembered reading something about this in a four year old pokedex entry- it had been written by a career breeder who barely wrote the Godian language well enough for his posts to be legible. When Helioptile felt safe, they'd 'sunbathe' with their frills extended. In this manner, they charged electricity to be used for later. A byproduct of this could occasionally result in a glow coming from their frills, but the effect was much more pronounced in members of the species carrying the recessive Solar Power ability. Which, she supposed, Meatball did.

Ultimately, she was glad that the new member of her team felt comfortable enough in her presence to do something like that while quite literally on her head. A small part of her wished, however, that such a relationship had developed naturally, not as a result of whatever aura altering mechanisms were present in Friend Balls and Soothe Bells. Her eyes trailed to Buttercup behind her, a soft frown marring her features. She would've liked to take her other pokemon with her on this trip, but she wanted to focus on whatever the hell she'd do with the newcomer. He might have warmed up to her unnaturally quickly, but he was still hostile to everything and everyone else. If anything, he was more irritable- he considered her attention to be an invaluable resource and was willing to fight tooth and nail against even Queen for scraps of it. The bug let out a strange, chittering snore, completely oblivious to what was going on inside her trainer's thoughts. Buttercup was completely immune to Meatball's stronger attacks and could weather his weaker ones pretty consistently, so she had been an obvious choice to bring along just in case she lost control of the electric type.

A shift in weight on her forehead as the lizard's entire body slinked down to her shoulders. Her glance trailed forwards, eyeing in the distance the intended destination. The thought of setting up and going straight to sleep nearly brought her to tears. A small fleck of color caught her attention- was someone already there?

She winced, praying that this would end well.

[WC: 950]
[Total WC: 950]

[seenter]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Declaration}

Pokemon
Gible Caught at Level 14 Nickname: Gryn Gender: Female Type: Dragon/Ground Ability: Sand Veil Height: 2’ 04” Weight: 45.2 lbs Health: Low EXP Rate: Slow EXP Gauge: (78/82) EXP Gained: 35 Level: 17 Division: D8 Total Stats: 187 Attack: 56 (30%) Defense: 35 Sp. Attack: 33 Sp. Defense: 25 Speed: 38 Vitamins Used: None	Moveset: 1. Tackle 3. Sand Attack 7. Dragon Rage 13. Sandstorm 15. Take Down Unique Moves: - - - - Item:
Castform Caught at Level 15 Nickname: Dusk Gender: Male Type: Normal Ability: Forecast Height: 1’ 00” Weight: 1.8 lbs Health: Intermediate EXP Rate: Medium Fast EXP Gauge: (62/64) EXP Gained: 15 Level: 16 Division: D8 Total Stats: 165 Attack: 35 Defense: 35 Sp. Attack: 35 Sp. Defense: 35 Speed: 34 Vitamins Used: None	Moveset: 1. Tackle 10. Ember 10. Powder Snow 10. Water Gun 15. Headbutt Unique Moves: - - - - Item:

The day was bright and sunny as Chris finished setting up his tent. It was a strange color of red and white against the green of the surrounding trees. I might as well send a signal flare stating ‘Here I am’. Still it was a gift from a mysterious benefactor, and he wasn’t one to look a gift Rapidash in the mouth. Going over the tent again he made sure the stakes were firmly in the ground and the rain tarp was over the top. Despite the calm breeze and the cloudless sky, he wasn’t about to take any chances.

Speaking of sky, Chris noticed something grey and white drifting on the wind above him. Dusk his Castform lazily flew across the sky as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Chris had caught the placid Pokemon in the windy valley of Acrelea. Both him and his friend the Skiploom that Chris called Speedy.

Speedy was one who didn’t like being held against his will, and as a result he was distrustful of Chris. No matter what the trainer did the Skiploom would still launch the occasional Stun Powder or Sleep Powder at him. Thank Arceus for Samis. His partner Samis was a Skiddo that had been with Chris for years before he went on his journey. Being a grass type Samis had managed to keep Speedy somewhat in check.

In fact Chris had booked a Pokemon spa for most of his Pokemon while he went out for personal training. He left Samis, Speedy, Flint his Tranquill, and Rein his Heracross behind for some pampering. The only Pokemon he took with him was Dusk the Castform and Gryn his Gible. In a surprising term of affection, the small Pokemon wanted to stick with Chris when he went out. The trainer figured it was because Gryn wasn’t comfortable with new people just yet, and the spa people scared her. Speaking of which.

Frowning Chris turned around in the clearing to catch a glimpse of the dragon/ground Pokemon. Movement to his right caught his attention, and he saw the telltale sign of the grey fin peaking out from above some bushes. ”Stay nearby Gryn. Don’t go wandering off.” A head poked out above the greenery, and Gryn smiled at Chris in response before returning to whatever she was doing. The trainer left her to it. She was trusted enough to stay nearby.

Dusk drifted within Chris’s field of vision, and the young man remembered why he was out here. Walking over he opened his bag and fished around. His hand closed around something that felt soft and lumpy, and he pulled out a white cloth bag that was tied shut. Loosening the string he reached in and pulled out two different berries. One was a dark green color and very lumpy, and the other was orange with white markings resembling leaves. A Salac and Liechi berry; two of the hardest berries to grow due to their care. This was going to be training for both him and Dusk.

Nodding his head Chris tucked the berries into his pocket and tied the bag closed before stuffing it back into his backpack. He then stood up and looked around the clearing. It was a well-used campsite, with a lot of hard packed dirt with tough grass growing in patches. The edges of the trees had a lot of roots that made the soil just as hard and rocky, but there looked to be some open spots he could use.

A snap of a twig nearby caught Chris’s attention, and the turned in that direction cautiously. They were out in the middle of nowhere, and he wasn’t as familiar with the local Pokemon as he was with the ones near Kotoba City. ”Hello?” In a way he hoped it was another human, but he was ready if it wasn’t. Dusk still floated lazily in the sky, and Gryn was still rooting around in the bushes. Ok, so maybe I’m not ready. But still he was sure Gryn would help if it was an aggressive Pokemon. Or at least he hoped she would.

[Word Count= 689]

[macbeth]

As she drew closer and closer, a bright red tent came into view, though that line of thought was quickly interrupted after she stepped on a branch. A stranger's voice called out a tentative hello in response. Bailey paused in her footsteps, jostling Buttercup from her slumber enough for her to fall belly up onto the ground. The little bug wriggled in place for a bit before righting herself.

"...Uh, hi?" she answered after a moment. Meatball's head twitched, provoking the Soothe Bell collar to ring in retaliation. A dark paw grasped her ear. Experiencing first hand what it felt like to have small reptilian fingers jammed up her ear canal, she managed to catch the trapinch running off out of the corner of her eye- she must've spotted something. She decided to hold her verdict until she potentially heard sounds of battle- the trainer couldn't see anything from this angle, but more often than not her pokemon only did that when she found a shiny pebble or perhaps a particularly tantalizing piece of garbage.

A few excited chitters caught her attention, followed by a large plume of sand swiftly rising several feet into the air- it was a Sand Attack. Less intense than the ones she used when she was 'serious', but still slightly larger than normal due to the Soft Sand she liked to keep tucked in her chitinous carapace. "You, uh..." Another plume of sand, this one smaller. It settled over the bush line, coating it in a fine layer of dust. "You don't have any pokemon out, do you?" Bailey then made to scratch her ear, but her hand was quickly swiped away by a reptilian paw. "I- sorry, this is probably all getting over your camp-" the last part was more a mutter than anything. Her lungs burned as she let in a sharp inhale before whistling as loud as her body could manage. It was a shrill, piercing sound. The sand attacks stopped. The forest path was silent for a moment, only the barest traces of wind rustling the leaves before her pokemon stumbled out of the bushes and barreled face-first into her leg.

She winced, but it ultimately wasn't a full on attack. It was harmless. Most of Buttercup's power came from biting moves, anyway. Dust shook off her small frame at the impact. An excited chitter followed the fact, as if to tell Bailey 'look what I did!' Beady eyes glanced up at her for approval, which she reluctantly gave with a thumbs up. She glanced something looking out at her from the branches- a flash of gray skin, something resembling a horn, but with the dust still having yet to settle it was difficult to make anything out. Her pokemon barked out one last chatter at her motion, snapping her eyes back downwards. Evidently, that was an acceptable substitute- the bug settled nicely back into her footsteps as she approached the stranger's campsite once more. "Sorry to bother you," she spoke up once again, scratching a bead of sweat off of her nose. "I was hoping to set up camp in this clearing as well, but if it's too much of a hassle, I can keep going."

Bright blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the stranger. In the breeze, the bell shivered.

[WC: 550]
[Total WC: 1,500]

[seenter]

A voice called from the tree line, and Chris relaxed a bit at the human voice. Not a Pokemon coming for a meal. He shook his head in relief, and then heard a crashing coming from the direction of Gryn. Curious he turned to the sound and noticed an orange shape racing towards where the Gible played. He could barely see the grey fin poking up in the bushes. As soon as the orange thing got close both stopped moving. Then a small cloud of dirt sprung up. Or is that sand? A second cloud sprung up, though this time it was smaller. Was that Gryn? Maybe I should call her back. The voice called out asking if he had any Pokemon out.

Before Chris had the chance to call the Gible back a loud whistle came from the direction the voice came. He started at the sound at first, and then noticed the orange thing rushing through the bushes towards the whistle. The fin on Gryn’s head followed suit. ”Gryn!” The dragon/ground Pokemon stopped at the edge of the bushes leading out of the clearing, and then turned around and rushed back. She jumped into the tent and ducked around so she wasn’t visible. What’s going on with her?

Dusk floated past on a faint breeze as if he wasn’t affected by the commotion. He drifted down to the tent and peaked inside, and then just as nonchalantly drifted away lazily. Chris stood with his hands on his hips trying to figure out the Castform. Another call from the female voice; at least it sounded like a female, brought him out of his contemplation. He turned back to the edge of the clearing and called out. ”No, it’s not too much hassle. There’s plenty of room.”

Chris turned to his campsite to make sure what he said wasn’t a fib. He originally planned on camping in the center of the clearing and plant the berry trees around his tent, but he discarded the idea. It would make it hard to keep track of the bushes behind his tent if some wild Pokemon decided to come for a midnight snack. Instead he camped on the western most section of the clearing since it looked to have the most roots. It would make for a very uncomfortable sleeping, but the other side was more fertile. Looks like I won’t be planting today. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

A familiar note on the wind caught his attention, and Chris paused stunned at the sound of it. That’s…. It wasn’t the sound of his Soothe Bell. He had left it with his extra pack at the Pokemon spa. Rein usually carried around that pack specifically for that reason, though it held a lot of other extra things that couldn’t fit in Chris’s main backpack.

The single note dredged up memories that Chris wished he could forget, but he knew that he would hate himself if he did. Memories of a tiny bud Pokemon that was sick with fever chasing a much larger beetle Pokemon. A small flowering Pokemon that was always happy and spreading cheer to those around her. A young Pokemon who tragically lost her life to a predator in the dead of night. A precious Pokemon that held Chris’s Soothe Bell. He quickly scrubbed away the single tear that rolled down his cheek and did his best to shove those memories into the back of his mind. It wouldn’t do to have the first meeting with a stranger be him, a grown man, crying in the clearing.

[Word Count= 600]

[macbeth]

Bailey offered her thanks to the stranger- he seemed nice enough, but the age gap between the two of them made interaction slightly awkward. She predicted half-heartedly that most of their conversations would likely revolve around their pokemon. The wagon bumped slightly as it rolled over a root. The reptile perched on her shoulders jolted at the motion. Thankfully his fingers weren't long enough to reach her eardrum...

She parked the wagon lakeside, towards the east of the camp, and rifled through her bags to search for her tent and the accompanying stakes. A disappointed chitter to her left let her know that the ground type wanted to interact with the pokemon she'd briefly seen in the bushes before it darted to the stranger's tent. In truth, the aspiring trainer would be more affected by her cries if she didn't sound like that every time she wanted something. The cuteness factor waned with overexposure. She whistled sharply once more, barking out a command. Hopefully, it'd perk the bug back up... "Buttercup, make flat!"

The bug's mouth clicked together. Little legs tapped on the ground- likely feeling out the soil composition- before she stood in place. She stomped on the dirt floor with a hiss, letting a very weak Bulldoze reach out in a short radius around her. With each tap of her foot, ridges of silt, clay, and dry soil sifted out into a mostly flat surface. Every so often, she'd evidently get distracted (or otherwise find a place she'd miss) and level it out with a quick tap.

After about two minutes of this, Buttercup looked somewhat satisfied, and trotted off to inspect the stranger's tent. She wouldn't attempt to get in, but she did like to survey new locations and people. In all likelihood she'd probably just wait by the door for his pokemon to come out.

She itched her neck before leaning down, gently detatching Meatball from his perch and setting him on her backpack. He blinked at her. His features were hard to read, but his disdain seemed evident. After a few seconds, he settled into a half-curled position and allowed her to roll out the canvas.

Originally, Bailey reflected, she'd taught Buttercup how to use bulldoze for gardening purposes. Her thought process reasoned that maybe channeling the bug's excessive energy into something productive would be enriching. About eight hundred dians later had settled the idea that the ground type was much better and making messes than organizing garden plots. All holes dug were promptly tunneled into, and all mulch spread was sooner or later chewed up and eaten. The main thing that had stuck was the ability to flatten out a small patch of land semi-consistently- likely because the Trapinch wasn't too obsessed with the destructive capabilities of her moves regardless.

She turned around the instant after she had begun to hammer in the last stake. The bug was still settled patiently in front of the stranger's tent door. The image brought to mind her brother's Growlithe waiting just patiently enough to earn a treat before he returned to eating paper and knocking over chairs. "You can't make them come out," she spoke, not particularly expecting a response. Clang! Her brow furrowed- was there a rock or something? She rooted around the dirt, fingers closing around something cold. After a few seconds, she pulled out a chain caked in dried mud. A patch of silver glinted in the daylight. What...?

[WC: 575]
[Total WC: 2,075]

(Mystic Water link: godairegion.proboards.com/thread/1109/catch-hands )

[seenter]

The first thing Chris noticed was how young the other trainer was. He should have known considering the voice, but he has known some older women who had younger sounding voices. Looking at her he figured she was either 16 or 17, and he prayed silently that there weren’t any cops or rangers wandering nearby. Maybe I should camp somewhere else…. He shook his head as he discarded that thought. He would just have to deal with it.

Chris glanced about trying to keep track of Dusk as he floated around. He noticed the Castform heading for the trees lazily. ”Dusk, stay in camp. The weather Pokemon slowly drifted around until he was floating along the edge of the clearing. Chris let out a sigh of resignation, but went back to sorting his gear.

Gryn peaked out to see what was going on and came out fully when the Trapinch started doing some terra-forming. Chris steadied himself on the ground after the first tremor, and he watched as the ground Pokemon began flattening the other side of the clearing. That’s not Earthquake, unless it has a lot more control that it seems. He nodded appreciatively as the land settled into something a bit more flat. I should teach Gryn something like that. It would make camping a lot easier.

Glancing to the side Chris noticed that Gryn was still right next to the tent flap watching the Trapinch with interest. When the young woman approached however she ducked back inside and hid within. He frowned slightly at the odd behavior. With him and his Pokemon Gryn was bubbly and full of playful energy. With a stranger it appeared she was shy and hesitant. Maybe it’s just strange humans she’s shy around. She did approach the Trapinch readily enough.

Once the ground was settled enough the Trapinch wandered over to Chris’s tent and waited patiently. Chris knew it was because Gryn was still inside, but he was content to leaving her in there for now. Instead he pulled out his flint and steel, and began looking around for some good stones. He kept an eye on Castform, who seemed content to slowly drifting around the clearing looking at everything.

Chris couldn’t find much in the way of rocks, as the clearing was mostly cleared away by whoever used it before them. They should have at least left the campfire stones. He had found where the campfire was before, but all that was left was a burned spot on the ground without any rocks to contain it. Either they took the rocks with them, or burned without rocks. The first was a jerk move, and the second was dangerous.

He had managed to find 3 good stones when Chris heard a metal ringing from behind. Looking back in hope that the young woman found another rock in the ground he noticed that it was actually a chain holding something metal on the other end. Curious he set the rocks to the side and wandered over to see what she held. ”What is that?”

Squatting down next to the young woman Chris tried to inspect it, but it was caked in too much mud to be recognizable. Offhandedly Chris spoke out loud. ”Dusk, can you use Water Gun on this to wash the mud off?” A moment passed before a shower of water sprayed on both him and the young woman.

Letting out a yelp of surprise Chris stumbled back from the torrent of water. It stopped as suddenly as it started, but it had left both him and the young woman soaked. ”Dusk!” The weather Pokemon just began to drift as if nothing had happened. Chris glared up at the weather Pokemon, but at least the chain was clean. Turning his attention back to it he could tell that at the end was a blue teardrop set within a silver back. ”That looks like a Mystic Water.”

Gryn heard the commotion coming from outside and peeked out to see what it was. She saw Chris and the stranger soaking wet, and also noticed the Trapinch waiting outside. Her large mouth grinned even bigger, and she came out to play with the new ‘friend’. She leaped at the Trapinch in such a way as to incite playful wrestling; like she tended to do with Samis.


[Word Count = 722]

[macbeth]

Water dripped down from her hair. Although it was refreshing in the midday heat, she couldn't disguise the violent flinch when the Castform's move arced towards her- an ingrained response from living with as many pokemon as she had fingers. Just because a tree trunk could take an attack didn't mean her face could. Meatball hissed violently, extending his frills, but made no motion to strike. Maybe he recognized the lack of ill intent?

Buttercup, on the other hand, couldn't care less. It was difficult to tell if she noticed or not. "A mystic water?" Bailey spoke up after a moment, slicking water off her eyes with a swipe of her palm. She didn't have any water types, but free stuff was free stuff. If worse came to worse she could sell it on gBay. The trainer slid it into her pocket with little fanfare before turning to the small gray head peeking out of the tent.

It looked vaguely reptilian; if not a dragon type, then it was likely in the dragon egg group. The Trapinch noticeably perked up at the pokemon's arrival, responding to its leap with an open mouth that was ready to nibble on any captured appendages.

Her nose itched as water dripped down. "I don't think I've seen either of those pokemon before." she wasn't sure what compelled her to speak up; the desire to fill the silence was palpable. A soft hum rang in her throat as she scrambled for something to continue the conversation. "I know Castform, but what's the other one?"

Should he answer, Bailey would tap her dripping nose with a finger. "I haven't been to East Godai before- that might be it..." she'd let the comment ring through the air, swallowing back any potential add ons before they could escape her throat. Buttercup's jaw clicked audibly in the background as she snapped playfully at her new playmate. Inhale. Exhale.

She was never good at dealing with other people, much less strangers. Something about the man's tone brought up someone who had a lot on his mind. It wasn't her business at all, and truth be told she felt a little awkward witnessing him at a point where he seemed like he'd prefer solitude. "I'm going to go set up my bedroll." the announcement felt hollow, and if she took her time doing so, that wasn't anybody's business but her own.

She unpiled a few cheap yoga mats and blankets from the wagon and threw them in the tent haphazardly. Sleeping bags were expensive and uncomfortable- makeshift pillow forts would always be in style.

[WC: 433]
[Total WC: 2,508]

[seenter]

Chris noticed that the young woman slipped the necklace into her pocket as if he wasn’t there. He considered mentioning it, but kept his mouth shut. He didn’t have any water Pokemon; even though Dusk could use a water type move. So could Joy. The thought dampened his mood even more than his wet clothes.

As he turned back to his own camp Chris heard the woman ask about his Pokemon. “Oh, I found Gryn and Dusk in Arcelea Valley. It’s towards the eastern most part of Godai.” She then asked about Gryn. ”She’s actually a Gible.” He glanced at the Trapinch that was playing with Gryn. ”I guess similar to your Trapinch.” He watched the two for a bit before shaking his head with a small smile.

When the young woman said she was laying out her bedroll Chris glanced at her with a frown. It sounded like a forced declaration, as if she was as awkward as he felt. Well we are two strangers in the middle of nowhere. He figured it would probably be best to follow her example.

Chris headed for his own tent while stepping carefully around the playing Pokemon. They were starting to get a bit roughers as they played, but it hadn’t escalated into an actual fight so he let them be. He did make sure to keep track of Dusk; who was still drifting around the clearing without venturing too far into the woods. Need a fire to dry off. He still had the 3 stones from before, and managed to find 4 more smaller stones that could be used as fillers. I’ll have to keep an eye on it while it’s burning to make sure it doesn’t spread.

Turning back to the old campfire with his prize Chris noticed something was off. A small cloud of dust and debris had started to gather around Gryn and the Trapinch. As he watched in surprise the cloud began to grow bigger and bigger. The harder they play the bigger the cloud. A feeling of alarm coursed through his body as he realized the implications. Running at the two Pokemon he shouted to try and break them up. The last thing they needed was a Sandstorm in the middle of the clearing.

Chris stopped just outside the dust cloud wondering what to do. The two Pokemon kept play fighting regardless of his shouting. If Rein were here, he’d send the Heracross in to break the two Pokemon up. A human jumping into the middle would almost be suicide. Dusk! He looked around for the weather Pokemon. The Castform was drifting nearby the tree line to their left. ”Dusk. Use Powder Snow.” He pointed at the now large dust cloud.

Dusk drifted over and released a blast of frigid cold ice particles that covered the entire cloud. Almost immediately the cloud stopped growing and began to dissipate, and two stunned Pokemon sat in mid-bite. They were definitely chilled, but as far as Chris could tell not really harmed. More stunned than hurt. Letting out a sigh he walked over and forcefully pulled Gryn away from his new playmate. ”That’s enough for today. You need to calm down.” The Gible let himself be dragged away like a sulking child.

[Word Count= 543]