The Tree Grove: Home of the Mother Tree (POKEMON RP ONLY)

[DaveTheFishGuy]

Salazar, Conina, Darktan:
Curled up and moving fast, but not as adapted for this method of transport as her evolved forms, Conina was unable to see exactly where she was going. After a few moments of rolling, she hit something. Something big. Bouncing off the obstruction caused the Venipede to lose her balance, spinning onto her side and skidding to a stop. Unfurling, her legs waved in the air for a few seconds before finding purchase, hauling her right-side-up as she looked around. "Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going you big... huge..." All defiance and feistiness left the small Bug-type as her initially fierce glare made its way up the leg she had collided with, to a long, segmented body, up to a head adorned with long antennae. In the presence of her fully-evolved form, the Venipede was left speechless with a mixture of awe and respect, her sentence ending with a soft "meep."

"Conina!" another voice called from behind her. Still somewhat stunned, the arthropod didn't turn, but she knew who it was. Darktan had taken a while to catch up, Conina having picked up a fair bit of speed with her rolling, but the Rattata was quick on his feet. Rushing to his teammate's side, he couldn't help but feel cautious as he beheld what had stopped her. A huge Scolipede towered over the pair of them, his odd Ash-grey colouring making him appear even more foreboding than others of his kind. However, he seemed pleasant enough, introducing himself to the pair. Darktan was put somewhat at ease by this, but he remained tense. You didn't survive long at the lower end of the food chain by letting your guard down easy. "Afternoon." he replied. "Nice to meet you, Salazar. I'm Darktan, and this here is Conina." he replied, gesturing to the invertebrate. "We were just going to explore around the tree. Well, she was, I was keeping an eye on her."

The Rattata was quite surprised with how quiet the usually dramatic Venipede was being, and batted her with his tail. "Oh! Yes, p-pleased to make your acquaintance." she stammered. "Sorry, I've just never met another member of my species family before, especially one so... different in colour." explained the smaller centipede, managing to shake off her nerves. "I've heard that there are alternate colours for all Pokémon, though I thought Scolipede were blood red with blue rings. You appear to be something new entirely, Salazar." she observed.

Darktan was taken aback at how gentle Conina's tone was compared to her usually moody, aggressive personality. "Anyway, are you out here by yourself?" he asked the Megapede. If there were any more potentially predatory Pokémon nearby, it wouldn't hurt to get some intel.


Nagini, Norbert, Six, Rune, Rincewood, Rhys:
A minute or so of burrowing lead to a crumbling noise in one of the tunnels. Soil and rocks fell from the roof before Rhys' snout poked through the resultant hole, the rest of the Sandile's body soon following, slithering down a wall to land on the floor. Rincewind followed, but his more compact body lead to him bouncing down the wall and landing on his back. A flick of his jaws soon had him the right way up, and he turned to face his fellow Ground-type. "Well, where are we? I can't see a thing!" the larva complained.

"We're somewhere under the tree. I can see fine, don't worry. There's nothing here, except..." the reptile sniffed.

"What? What is it?" the Trapinch asked, starting to tremble a bit.

"I smell... fire. Something burning came through here not long ago. And..." the Dark-type put his foot forward, stepping onto something before holding it up. "Wax? Someone has too much time on their hands. Oh come on, you know some attacks that can light places up, right?"

"Uh... yeah! I've never used them though... hang on." Rincewind muttered, opening his mouth and aiming along the tunnel. After a few seconds of focusing, a stream of rainbow light burst outward, lighting up the cavern as the Signal Beam moved along. Light reflected off the wax, but otherwise just confirmed that they were in an empty tunnel. "Well, at least there's nothing to be afraid of." he confirmed. Only to instantly be surprised by a voice behind him. "Gah!"

With the Ant Pit Pokémon having leapt about five feet in the air from fright, Rhys moved forward, jaws agape and crackling with electricity. The Thunder Fang lit up the area before him like a torch, while also ready to deal with a potential threat. "Wait, it's... a Vibrava?" Rincewind asked, his evolved form scurrying toward them. More Pokémon were visible behind it, but he couldn't quite make them out. "Hang on, Litwick are living candles... maybe it left this wax trail?" he asked his fellow Ground-type.

Rhys powered down his attack. Not that it would have damaged the Dragon-type anyway. "Sounds plausible. Hi there! We think a Litwick might have come this way, there's wax on the floor and it smells of fire." he explained. "Also, I'm Rhys and this is Rincewind." he introduced, almost as an afterthought. Rincewind waved a hello before trying to hide behind the Sandile, slightly fearful but mostly in awe of a Pokémon higher up in his species' evolutionary line.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Salazar, Conina, Darktan: The Venipede seemed decidedly irate at her rolling having come to an abrupt stop, but as she noticed just what she had crashed into, her irritation slowly gave way to awe, rendering her speechless. Not far behind her was the Rattata, who introduced himself as Darktan, and the Venipede as Conina. As the Normal-type nudged his companion, she explained that she had never before seen another of her own kind, and commented on his unusual coloration. "I was actually born the usual color for our kind," Salazar explained. "Then, last Halloween, I volunteered to look into a mirror that was supposed to be haunted. I saw a lot of different things happen with the other Pokémon that attempted it. Me, it changed my color to look like this. It was a surprising change, for sure, but... well, my trainer is fine with it, and my girlfriend likes it, and I don't mind it at all, so it's not really a problem." Darktan then asked Salazar if he was here by himself. "I'm here with the rest of my team, actually," Salazar replied. "I'd be wary, though," he added. "One of my teammates is a Seviper, with a particular taste for your kind, Darktan. Other than that, though, my teammates are decent enough. It's a big team, though, I'd be surprised if you hadn't run into any of them yet. So, I'm assuming the two of you are teammates?" he asked.

Nagini, Norbert, Six, Rune, Rincewood, Rhys: Meanwhile, down in the tunnels, just as Norbert had asked Rune which way they ought to go, they came across a Sandile and a Trapinch, the former of whom reported a wax trail in the tunnel they had just entered, one which smelled of fire. The Sandile then introduced himself as Rhys and the Trapinch as Rincewind. "Nice to meet you," smiled the Axew. "I'm Norbert, this is Rune," he said, pointing to the Vibrava, "This is Six," he added, with a glance at the shy little Foongus, "And this is Nagini," he finished, pointing at the Arbok. She nodded politely in acknowledgement of the newcomers, and would have introduced herself were it not for the Fire Fang attack keeping the cave illuminated for them.

Six, at that moment, noticed that Rincewind seemed to be trying to hide behind Rhys. The Foongus knew what it was like to be scared, but wasn't entirely sure what the Trapinch was scared of. He hopped over to the Trapinch and spoke up softly. "Uh... um... h-hi," he squeaked. "Um... wh-what are you h-hiding f-from?" he asked.

 

[Charm]

Nagini, Norbert, Six, Rune, Rincewood, Rhys: "Oh, thank goodness!" she yelped, relieved for the good sign. "He can't be too far, let's go!" she said, already scurrying off. "Oh, I forgot my manners... Nice to meet you two," she turned back to say as Norbert finished off the introductions for the group. She noticed the Trapinch seemed a little shy, but her mind was too filled with worry for her to properly address that. "Could you guys help us find him? Lumie, er, Lumiere, I mean. He has this awful tendency to play tricks on us and now he's run off while leaving us in the dark." She began to ramble as she looked along the trail of wax.

Without waiting for a response she was already off, beginning her pace as the group followed. They continued on for a bit, keeping track of the trail of wax beneath them as they finally reached an exit. Outside the group finds themselves at some sort of wild plaza for several residential Pokemon. Large plants and flowers bloomed all over the clearing, as a pond nestled off to the side, everything seemed peaceful apart from the wild Pokemon who were in full panic. "What happened here?" she asked, approaching a nearby Bellossom.

"A gang of Fearow c-came by and... snatched up a lot of our infants," she sniffed, "They t-took my baby Oddish!" she began to weep. The Vibrava took a moment to register what happened when it suddenly dawned on her. She began to frantically fly around in search of any trail of wax. "LUMIEEEE," she called out, yet no response came. "The Fearow! Where did they go?!" she buzzed to a near shout. The Flower Pokemon was taken aback and coughed back a few tears, "T-they probably flew over to their nests... by the big waterfall..."

The Vibrava took a deep breath, taking another moment to calm herself, "Don't worry, miss... We'll find save your child and the other Pokemon that were kidnapped. You have my word on that." She then turned over to the group, letting out a quick sigh, "Lumie was probably taken to their nest... Do any of you know where this waterfall might be?"

 

[DaveTheFishGuy]

Salazar, Conina, Darktan:
Conina listened intently to her evolution's tale, which explained why he was such an odd colouration - down to a Halloween curse of some sort. "I think it looks good on you too!" she added, more enthusiastic, "It must be nice to be a different colour. I always thought I'd look good in gold, myself. Hmm... perhaps that's something to badger my trainer about..."

Darktan rolled his eyes. Females and their vanity. His ears flicked about, his whiskers twitching as he sensed his surroundings, especially when Salazar mentioned a certain teammate of his. Though his face remained relatively relaxed, his tail went stiff. "A Seviper? Good to know, I'll make sure to keep an ear out for him. Thank you, Salazar." he replied. The Rattata hoped that his body would catch up with his mental maturity soon, allowing him to evolve and become better equipped to defend himself, but for now he was stuck in his base form, and constantly on the alert in order to survive. "You're actually the first Pokémon we've met. Some of our teammates tunnelled in and we've just surfaced, so we haven't had much time to even see any others. I was just keeping an eye on Conina here."

The Venipede huffed. "Only because I stormed away from that pitiful excuse for a Trapinch. Can't even dig properly..." she grumbled, before smiling up at the Scolipede. "Are there any interesting sights around here, Salazar? Aside from the huge tree, of course." she enquired, still fascinated by the fully-evolved Bug-type.


Nagini, Norbert, Six, Rune, Rincewood, Rhys:
Rhys provided a useful shield for the nervy insect. Though Rincewind knew he wasn't in danger, he was still anxious around Pokémon he didn't know, especially as the lengthy form of an Arbok slithered into view. The Sandile pretended not to notice his cowardly colleague, instead nodding as an Axew introduced the small group, including the aforementioned Vibrava and Arbok, who was illuminating the tunnel with a Fire Fang attack, and a small, timid Foongus. "Nice to meet you. I presume you've lost a Litwick, then?" the reptile queried, despite the obvious. Receiving an update on the tricksy Ghost-type that had left the rest of them in the dark (literally), Rhys nodded. "Sure, we can help out, no problem!"

Rincewind was slightly less enthusiastic, cowering behind his teammate. Suddenly, a soft voice behind him caused him to jump, even the mild tone grating on his fragile nerves. Turning, he found himself face to face with the young Foongus, introduced as Six, who asked what he was hiding from. "Wh-what? I-I'm not hiding!" he lied. "I've... I've just never met another Pokémon of my evolutionary line is all." he explained, looking down at the floor as he did so, "It's kinda strange to think that I'll look like that one day. Having wings will be so cool!"

Speaking of the Vibrava, she quickly scuttled her way along the tunnel, following the trail left by her charge. Noticing, the rest of the party followed, soon ending up back outside. With a swipe of his claws, Rhys buried himself again, leaving only his nostrils and eyes protruding from the soil as he burrowed alongside the other Pokémon, only to soon catch up with Rune as she interrogated a stressed Bellossom. Rincewind and Rhys looked at each other as they heard the tale. A flock of Fearow had kidnapped a few baby Pokémon, and from the Vibration Pokémon's reaction, she was fearful that a certain Litwick had been taken too. But waterfalls? "Hmm... there's a pond here, but it looks still." the Trapinch mused, thinking aloud.

"That way." Rhys hissed. Rincewind looked at him, confused. "There's a Fearow up there. It's not carrying anything, but it's flying that way, toward some cliffs." the Sandile elaborated, using his special eyes to see further away than the others could. "Bet you anything those cliffs are where you'll find a waterfall."

 

[Missingno. Master]

Salazar, Conina, Darktan: Conina remarked that the dark grey looked good on Salazar. "Thank you," the Scolipede replied. "My trainer thinks so, too, as does my girlfriend. Salazar's blood-red eyes lit up as he mentioned Silane, though he was also a little saddened as he recalled that it had been quite some time since he was able to see her- he doubted she had even been made aware of his evolution into Scolipede... He snapped out of it, as Conina remarked that she thought she would look good in gold. "That'd probably be interesting," Salazar replied, before warning Darktan about Marvolo. "Not a problem," said the Scolipede, in response to Darktan's thanks. "Also, now that I think of it, I think I should warn you both of my trainer's Carnivine, as well. Fang takes a much more active approach to hunting than the average Carnivine- instead of luring prey to his mouth, he stalks his prey himself. You should be especially wary of him, Conina," he added to the Venipede. "While Fang is not a picky eater, Bug-types are his favorites. He actually tried to eat me on more than one occasion," he chuckled. "Failed miserably, of course, even after he learned Sleep Powder. But all the same, please be careful."

The subject then turned to their location, as Conina asked if there were any interesting sights in the area. "I was about to see for myself, actually," Salazar replied. "I had only recently woken up from a nap, which started not long after my trainer dropped me and my teammates off here for the day. Keith, my trainer, rides around on my back very often," he explained. "I got no objection to it, to be honest- Helps me stay in shape, and the guy's not heavy in the slightest. But enough about that- what say we explore together?" the Scolipede suggested. "We might even come across some of my teammates- ideally, the ones who don't hunt, of course."

Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewood, Rhys: Elsewhere, Rincewind jumped at the sound of the voice behind him, even though the voice was considerably soft and mild, belonging to a timid Foongus. The Trapinch lied, stating that he wasn't hiding, merely that he had never met another member of his evolutionary line. "W-wait, you evolve into that?" asked Six, sounding surprised. "W-wow, you and R-rune look n-nothing alike... I w-won't look too different wh-when I evolve," he added. "A-Amoonguss looks a l-lot like m-me, except bigger, w-with big sh-shields on the ends of its arms."

At that point, the Vibrava, Rune, led the way down the tunnel, following the trail of wax, until finally they were greeted with unforgivingly blinding sunlight. It took a while for Nagini, Six, and Norbert to adjust to the new levels of brightness, though the Arbok was grateful for the chance to extinguish her Fire Fang. Once they could see properly, the scene before them made them gasp simultaneously- the wild Pokémon in the area were in full-blown panic mode. As Rune interrogated a nearby Bellossom, Nagini could hear nearby voices.

"-please, have you seen our son?" one of the voices was asking. "He's a little Foongus, about this tall, and he likes to use his Defense Curl to roll around, so he might look like a Poké Ball just moving around on its own-"

"James, Lily, over here!" Nagini called. At this, Six perked up and turned around to see a Vileplume and Venomoth happily racing his way.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Six exclaimed happily as he rolled right up to his adoptive parents, which resulted in the three of them hugging for a good minute. Once they broke apart, the three approached Nagini and the others.

"Nagini, thanks so much," said Lily. "We were worried sick about Six!"

"Please, I don't deserve the credit for this," Nagini replied modestly. "All I did was light the way. Norbert was the one who helped Six calm down, and Rune here, she found the way out of the tunnels. It was around then that Rune finished talking to the Bellossom, and addressed the group once more asking where the waterfall might be. The semi-submerged Sandile spoke shortly thereafter- his eyes were specially adapted for seeing long distances, and indicated the direction in which they ought to go. Then, Six hopped over to Rune.

"Uh... Um... Uh... Th-thank you for helping me out of there, R-Rune," Six squeaked.

"Yes, thanks so much," James added, the Vileplume smiling happily. "All of you."

"Alright," Norbert stated. "James, Lily, we're gonna go and help Rune get his teammate back, right?" he asked.

"I dunno," the Venomoth stated uncertainly. "It wouldn't be that safe for Six-"

"Um, um," the Foongus spoke up, "I... I want to help. P-please?"

James and Lily exchanged looks. "What do you think, dear?" Lily asked James.

"Well... It's not like our son is completely defenseless," James reasoned. "To be honest, I was going on adventures when I was his age. And believe me, any Fearow that gets too close gets a taste of my Thunder attack. Yeah, sure, let's all go and help, why not?"

"OK, we're on board with this, then," Lily informed the others.

"Yay!" Norbert smiled. "This is gonna be so cool, Six!"

"Um... I... I agree," Six replied. The uncertainty in his voice was contradicted by the budding gleam of adventure in his eyes. Shy and timid, yes, he was, but being with his parents always gave Six courage. "R-Rhys, will you l-lead the w-way? Y-you're the one wh-who can see wh-which way the cliffs are."

 

[Charm]

Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewood, Rhys, Osage: As Rune turned around to give the update, she couldn't help but look in awe at the heartwarming embrace of Six and her parents. She took in a deep breath as Norbert talked to them, relaxing just a bit before approaching them. "I'm glad Six found you guys," she smiled, "My name is Rune, and uh, thank you so much. Any help in finding Lumie and the other children would be great."

It was then that Rhys' enhanced vision caught the sight of a Fearow flying towards a cliff. A cliff. A cliff could mean a waterfall. The Vibrava's eyes widened with hope before Six gave the suggestion for Rhys to lead the way. "That's a good idea, Six," she buzzed, mulling things over until she heard rustling in the branches above her. She looked up to see a black bipedal figure jumping from branch to branch with ease until he finally descended before the group.

"Osage, what are you doing here?" Rune said to the Sneasel. "What does it matter to you?" he rudely remarked. "Whatever, we need your help. Lumie and a bunch of children got kidnapped by a group of Fearow. We're going to save them and your Ice attacks could come in handy." The Sneasel folded his arms together has he thought it through, "... Okay. I'll do it for the children, but I'm not following any orders. Got it?" Rune sighed before turning to the group; a yes is a yes, so she accepted it.

"Alrighty... Rhys, lead the way please?"

 

[DaveTheFishGuy]

Salazar, Conina, Darktan:
Darktan listened intently as Salazar made him aware of more of his teammates who were potential predators, exchanging nervous looks with Conina at the mention of a particularly unruly Carnvine that had even tried to eat the Scolipede himself. "Sure would be interesting to see that one try to eat Conina. She's... not exactly smooth. She'd probably just curl up and fire Poison Sting and Twineedle attacks everywhere." the Rattata mused, chuckling at the mental image. "Still, thanks again for the heads up."

"Yeah, thanks." Conina muttered, flashing a glare at the rodent for envisioning her being eaten alive. "Anyway, sounds like you get a good enough workout usually, Salazar. None of our trainer's Pokémon are big enough to transport him yet. Well, there's a Wailmer, but Tethys isn't much good out of the water." she responded, her respect for the Scolipede growing by the minute. "I think exploring together sounds like a great idea. Plus, you being on our side might put Darktan's nerves at rest." the Venipede giggled slightly, this time the Rattata being the one to stare daggers.

"You can never be too careful." he muttered. "But I agree, exploring as a group would be the safest and, dare I say, possibly most fun option. Mind leading on, Salazar? You can see furthest, after all." Darktan pointed out, ears constantly twitching so as to not be surprised by anything else in the undergrowth.


Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage:
Rincewind mildly considered following Rhys' lead and tunnelling underground as a few more Pokémon joined the party. First the two Ground-types were introduced to Six's parents, a Vileplume and Venomoth pair, the former of whom boasted access to a powerful Thunder attack, cementing the idea that the trainer of this group of Pokémon must be skilled indeed. Shortly after, a Sneasel acquainted with Rune dropped in, agreeing to assist in the rescue mission. Once all was settled, the rest of the group turned to Rhys, asking him to take point. "Sure, no worries." the Sandile responded, diving underground before surfacing a couple of feet away, pointing in the right direction. Checking that the group was following him, the Dark-type set off, almost looking like he was swimming through the ground.

Not quite as adept at speed-burrowing as his teammate, Rincewind relegated himself to walking alongside the others. Once or twice, he tried to pluck up the courage to engage one of them in conversation, but faltered, leaving him to walk in silence. As the group moved along, the sound of running water started to grow from up ahead. A small stream that was feeding the pond lead up to where it split from a faster river, showing that they were going along the right path. After a few more minutes of walking, the much louder sounds of splashing could be heard, and the cliffs Rhys had identified from a distance loomed up ahead, now visible to all. As they got even closer, the roar of the waterfall echoed around the base of the cliffs, the torrent pouring from above to land in a plunge pool at its base, kicking up spray. A few Fearow soared on the currents kicked up from the impact, but paid the approaching party no heed.

"Their nests are set into the cliffside." Rhys hissed, just making himself audible over the crash of the waterfall, his eyes zooming in once more. "I can't see into them from down here, though. Any volunteers to go rock climbing?" he asked, turning to the rest of the group, not exactly suited for the activity with his body form.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Fang, Salazar, Conina, Darktan: "No problem," Salazar replied as Darktan thanked him for the heads up about Fang. "There's also one more, but this one won't really be a problem unless you feel like swimming- Pisces, my trainer's Blue-Striped Basculin. However, several of my other teammates are good at keeping her under control, including the Pawniard and both Qwilfish."

The subject soon turned to the idea of the three of them exploring the Tree Grove together. Conina was in favor of the idea, and also mentioned that Salazar's presence might set the Rattata's mind at ease, prompting Darktan to retort that one couldn't be too careful.

"He does have a point," conceded Salazar. "Rattata as a species aren't exactly on a favorable end of the food chain, so it's smart to be careful. Even so, no reason you can't enjoy yourself every now and again- oh, come on," he grumbled, suddenly catching sight of something- a bush not far from where they were had rustled ever so slightly, despite the distinct lack of wind. Then, almost imperceptibly, several vines slowly snaked out through the grass, headed in Conina's direction, barely noticeable to anyone not actively looking for them, as Salazar was. His blood-red eyes narrowed, Salazar fired a single Sludge Bomb into the bush. Whatever was within gave a startled shout as the vines retracted. "Fang, what the hell are you doing?" sighed Salazar.

At this, a rather disgruntled looking Carnivine hovered out of the bush. "Well, until I was so rudely interrupted, I was about to grab me some lunch!" Fang retorted.

"I was under the impression Keith fed you along with the rest of the team before dropping us off here," said Salazar.

"I was under the impression that was breakfast," the Carnivine replied. "Besides which, eating's only half the fun- there's no thrill in stalking and devouring a bowl of Pokémon food."

"Well, there'll be even less thrill in it for you if you go after my friends again," the Scolipede retorted.

"Hey, now, be fair," frowned Fang. "I wasn't after both of them. Just the bug. Rattata are OK, but that's more Marvolo's thing."

"My point still stands," insisted Salazar. "Now, please leave us alone. I will attack you if I need to, and I think you and I both know which of us is the stronger."

The Carnivine shot an irritated glare at Salazar in response to this, but wheeled around and flew off.

"Sorry about that," Salazar said to Conina and Darktan. "That, as I'm sure you've guessed, was Fang. He's not the most popular Pokémon on the team, though he gets along decently with the rest of the team's predators. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure I listed all of them... There's a few other predators on the team, but the ones I didn't mention aren't worth worrying about- most of them only target wild Pokémon, and the one that doesn't, Dudley, our Slowpoke, he's only gonna be a problem if you go in the water and bite his tail, so yeah." Salazar paused to chuckle slightly here. "Anyway, so, I was thinking, we could either check out the big tree, or head for the underground tunnels. Which sounds better to you two?" he asked.

Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage:

Elsewhere, a Sneasel suddenly jumped down from the tree branches to join their party- Osage, a teammate of Rune's. Rhys then led the way towards the cliffs, semi-submerged in the ground, almost seeming to swim through it. As the group continued on, Six couldn't help but notice Rincewind, as the Trapinch seemed almost constantly on the verge of talking to someone else, but didn't seem to be able to go through with it.

"Hey, Six," James said, "Wanna ride on top of my flower?"

"Yeah!" Six replied eagerly- he loved riding atop the Vileplume's flower. Then, Six turned to look at Rincewind. "Hey, um... Rincewind?" he said to the Trapinch. "Do you want to ride on my dad's flower with me? Th-the view's great," he said.

Eventually, the party reached the base of the cliffs, and though Rhys could see the Fearow nests, the Sandile could not look into them. As his body was not especially well-suited for climbing the cliff, he asked whether anyone else would be willing to climb up and look.

"Well, I could fly up there-" began Lily.

"Um, honey, those are Fearow up there," James said. "They're territorial, and they have the type advantage."

"How about I go?" asked Nagini. "I could just Dig into the side of the cliff, tunnel my way up, and look into the nests."

"That's a good idea," said Lily. "Nagini's more than a match for any Fearow, I'm certain," she added to the others.

"You're too kind, Lily," the Arbok smiled modestly. "So, unless anyone has a better idea, are we all OK with this?"

 

[Charm]

Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage: The group began their move as Rhys dug his way underground, seemingly swimming through it, as he lead the charge. Rune remained elevated a few feet above the group, getting increasingly antsy the closer they got to the cliff, but remained silent.

Osage, meanwhile, seemed rather calm that his teammate was missing. He glanced up and noticed Rune's flight patterns looked a lot more frantic than usual, rolling his eyes at the sight as he kept his silence. The sound of running water became increasingly loud until they sighted some cliffs and stopped to plan.

Rhys told the group that he could see the nests of the Fearow on the cliffside, though his eyes can't zoom in far enough to see the Fearow. Lily volunteered to fly up there, though James shot it down as he noted the territorial and type disadvantage she would have. Instead, Nagini offered to dig into the cliff and dig her way up to take a closer look.

"Um..." Rune uneasily buzzed over the thought, "Okay... but be careful. Avoid fighting them, if possible. Just take a look to see if any of the children are there..."

Osage then chimed in, "I'm not one for rock climbing, but I can climb decently while remaining quiet. If you need the back up, I won't be too far."

"Yes... Good idea, Osage," Rune commented, "I can also fly over, should you need help... but try to be safe, please?"

 

[DaveTheFishGuy]

Sorry for the delay guys, I'm an awful person. Not helped by Bulba deleting what I'd written three different times. I'll try to get faster in future.

Salazar, Conina, Darktan:
Slightly ironically, even as Salazar tried to talk Darktan into letting his guard down, he'd spotted another potential threat. The smaller two Pokémon watched as their companion fired a volley of venom into a bush, causing several previously unnoticed vines to retract away from Conina, who flinched when she realised how close they had been getting. Seconds later, and a Carnivine that could only have been the teammate Salazar had mentioned floated into view. Darktan's fur bristled as he bared his metal-hard incisors at the interloper, while Conina simply curled up, sticking spines out in all directions. Fortunately, they were on the right side of the engagement, and after some discussion the Grass-type floated off.

The Rattata batted his teammate with his tail, careful to avoid the venom-loaded pins sticking out of her exoskeleton. "He's gone. Thanks, Salazar." he nodded to the Scolipede. "It's not your fault, no need to apologise."

"Yes, th-thank you." Conina added, uncurling herself and looking up at her evolved form, trying to hide how rattled the encounter had made her. "Good thing you were here to protect us. Or him. I'd have hated to have to poison that flytrap to death from the inside."

"Aaaaaand she's back." responded Darktan. In the rare instances that the Venipede's confidence was rattled, it didn't take long for it to come back in full force. "Anyway, I'd rather stay out in the open air if that's alright, no point in going back underground so soon after tunnelling in."

"Same here. I like the open air, and I'm sure the tree will be interesting enough to be getting on with." Conina agreed. Darktan nodded, though he kept looking around at the undergrowth. Something told him that they hadn't seen the last of any would-be predators...


Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage:
So a plan had unfolded. Nagini would Dig into the cliff and head upward to scout at the nests, with Osage providing backup from the cliff face below should it be needed. "I'll come with you." Rhys volunteered. "I would have suggested it myself, but... I don't actually know Dig yet, so all I can do is burrow normally." he explained, slightly embarrassed. "But if you do the work, I'll tag along. Rincewind, you stay here and tag in if the Fearow decide to give you any trouble, alright?" The Trapinch nodded in reply, though his nerves at the prospect of some kind of battle were obvious. "Right, let's go then."

Easily, the Arbok dove into the ground, her strength and experience showing as she slithered into it as easily as if it were mud. Wasting no time, Rhys scrambled after her, his sharp claws allowing him to keep up, while Osage began his silent ascent. Despite his large claws, he made no sound as he leapt from ledge to ledge, steadily gaining height. After a few moments, the cliffside level with a nest gave way, exposing Nagini's head. With a twist, the Poison-type made her exit hole wider, allowing Rhys to poke his head out alongside, both reptiles scanning the small group of nests. Instantly they spotted something that shouldn't have been there in normal circumstances. "Help!" The nest before them held a few bunches of trembling green leaves - the tufts of leaves that grew from the heads of Oddish. "Want... want mama!" one of the young Grass-types was mumbling, on the verge of tears. Two of them sat in one nest, and next to them sat two large, brown eggs. Obviously this was some kind of living larder for when the baby Spearow hatch out.

Rhys scanned further along the nesting site. There were a few more, and from what he could see there were more little Grass Pokémon in each. The headdress of a Petilil, the twirling leaves of a Hoppip, the fluffy coat of a Cottonee... and the faint, flickering flame of a certain Litwick, in the nest furthest away. "Search over. Hey Rune! We found your friend!" the Sandile called down. However, rather than the Vibrava responding, an answer came from above, a deafening, angry screech. The Sandile glanced up as shadows began to form overhead, the form of several adult Fearow wheeling toward the. "Well, that's just great." he responded.

The flock descended, hanging in the air above the nests, glaring at the interlopers. Explanations whirled through Rhys' brain before he tried to stammer out a response. "Erm. Hi. Sorry Fearow, bu--" Another caw silenced him as the lead bird folded its wings in, starting to spin into a Drill Peck attack while a couple of its cohorts peeled off, having noticed the group waiting on the ground. "I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this..." The Dark-type muttered. Though he felt confident knowing that Nagini was at his side, he'd still have rather not get into conflict at all. Though with Fearow, he should have expected it. Closing his eyes, he summoned multiple sharp rocks around himself, which swirled for a moment before he reopened his eyes, firing the Stone Edge at the incoming Fearow in response.

Down on the ground, Rincewind's beady eyes widened as he noticed that he too had company. "Dammit Rhys, what did you do." he muttered as a couple of Fearow closed in, the lead one going into a spinning Drill Peck of its own. Focusing, the Trapinch drew upon his inner strength, orbs of an icy blue starting to appear and churn around his body. With a snap of his jaws, he fired his Hidden Power at the attacking bird, hoping its arctic strength would help him out. If all else failed, he was sure James, Lily and Rune would be strong enough to do a better job at fending them off compared to him...

 

[Missingno. Master]

Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage: Nagini began to expertly Dig into the cliff, tunneling into the ground as easily as swimming. After a while, she emerged from the cliffside level with the nest, and was almost immediately able to see something out of the ordinary- numerous different species of young Grass-types, all of them trembling with fright. The Arbok's eyes teared up at the sight of the helpless captives. Meanwhile, Rhys continued to look, and spotted Lumiere in the nest farthest from them. As the Sandile called down to convey this to Rune, however, the only response he got was an angry screech from above. Nagini swiftly looked up at the same time as Rhys, both of them spotting a flock of Fearow.

"This could get ugly," remarked Nagini. As the angry birds drew closer, the Sandile attempted an explanation of some sort, but barely got four words into it before the leader of the flock interrupted with an angry caw, and proceeded to go into a Drill Peck. Some of the other Fearow separated from the flock, headed for the ground, though right now, Nagini had to focus on the ones coming for her and Rhys. The Sandile was launching an impressive Stone Edge, but he'd need help, she knew. Nagini therefore opened her mouth wide and fired off an Ice Beam at the oncoming Fearow.

Back on the ground, the few Fearow that had separated from the flock did not go unnoticed. Six squeaked in terror and pulled himself into a Defense Curl, before James took him off his flower and placed his son on the ground next to him.

"You just leave this to daddy," the Vileplume reassured Six, before turning back to face the oncoming Fearow with determination in his expression. His petals crackled with electricity, and James launched a sizzling Thunder attack at the nearest Fearow.

Meanwhile, Lily was already in the air, with Norbert the Axew on her back, his Claws Honed and ready for action. The Venomoth Hardened her body before launching a Sludge Wave at another Fearow. Then, Norbert jumped off of Lily's back as she flew over another Fearow, the Axew going into a savage Outrage as he dove down at the Normal/Flying-type.

Finally, Six peeked out and saw the battle beginning to unfold. He saw his parents launching their attacks, and even saw Norbert going for one of the Fearow. And that's when Six made up his mind- scared though he was, he wasn't going to just stand by and do nothing. Slowly, he unfurled himself and shot off Sludge Bomb, aiming for the Fearow flock in general.


Godric, Salazar, Conina, Darktan: Elsewhere, Conina was somewhat rattled by the close encounter, but recovered quickly enough. She tried to hide just how much she had been unnerved by this, though it wasn't hard for Salazar to pick up on this in any case. Out of respect, however, he said nothing on the subject. She and Darktan then proved to be in agreement as to what they wanted to do- they preferred the idea of checking out the big tree over the prospect of investigating the underground tunnels. "Then it's settled," the Scolipede stated. "Let's go- what now?" he groaned as another nearby bush started rustling. Before anyone could start thinking too much about what it might be, another Pokémon appeared before them, this one a Nidoran. "Oh," sighed Salazar, relaxing somewhat. "Hello, Godric."

"Hi, Salazar," the Poison-type replied cheerfully, before turning to look at the two smaller Pokémon. "Who are you?" he asked. "Name's Godric."

"Godric, this is Conina, and this is Darktan, they're friends of mine," responded Salazar. "Conina, Darktan, Godric is one of my teammates."

"Nice to meet you both," smiled Godric. "What are you guys doing, anyway?"

"Well, we were just about to go check out the big tree-" began Salazar.

"Really?" Godric replied, his eyes lighting up with interest. "Would you mind if I came along? I do love a good adventure."

"It's fine with me," Salazar replied, before turning to the Venipede and Rattata. "Conina, Darktan, is that OK with you two?"

 

[Charm]

Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere: "Be careful!" Rune buzzed, and the group began their move. Nagini burrowed her way into the ground, effortlessly scaling up the cliff as Rhys stayed close behind. Osage leaped and clawed his way up, a safe distance from the diggers as he maintained perfect silence. The Arbok then poked her head out, creating some room for the Sandile's head as well while the Sneasel climbed his way next to them. Rhys scanned the area, finding several baby grass-types, a few Spearow eggs, and a flickering light emitting from a candle. Lumiere! "LUMIE?!" Rune rang as Rhys called out to inform her, but her voice was quickly cut off by the haunting screeches of Fearow.

"Oh shi-," Osage mumbled as the Fearow swarmed in. There wasn't much time to think. A battle unfolded. Rhys quickly formed a Stone Edge, expertly launching the rocks into one of the Fearow as Nagini opened her mouth to release an Ice Beam. Osage joined in, opening his mouth to release his own Ice Beam at a different Fearow, however some of the Fearow split apart from the main group and headed towards the grounded party.

The grounded party began their assault as well. Norbert climbed onto Lily's back, honing his claws as Six cowered in a Defense Curl. Meanwhile the Venomoth quickly Hardened before launching a Sludge Wave as Norbert jumped off her back and unleashed an Outrage. James too zapped a Thunder at a different Fearow as Six found the courage to bring his own Sludge Bomb. Rune was having trouble coming to terms with the events. "Don't worry, Lumie, I'll be right there!" she began to ascend until two Fearow appeared before her. "OUT OF MY W-" she began to charge through then the two Fearow jabbed her with duel Aerial Aces. She groaned as they knocked her back, shaking off the blow as she opened her mouth to release a Dragon Pulse at one of them. The other bird quickly swooped in, however, pecking at her wings several times in a Fury Attack assault. Rune cried out in pain as she descended with each attack to her wings, "Lumie... I'll be right there..."

Back on the cliff side, a normally mischievous Lumiere was panicking in fear. "HELP MEEEEEE~" he cried out, though the loud screeching and shouts of the battle drowned his voice out. What could he do? He was just one little Pokemon. He had to help out somehow, he figured. These people came to save him, even after all he did. That was it. "Hey, you!" Lumiere shouted at the nearest Fearow, "Leave my friends alone!" The Fearow tilted his head in confusion, nearly laughing at the Litwick before flying towards him. "Uh oh," the Litwick whimpered as the Fearow flew in. "Stay back..." he said, gradually inching towards the edge of the nest, "Back, I said!" His head flame enlarged as he breathed in heavily, puffing out a searing Flamethrower towards the Fearow, the force of which ended up pushing him off the edge...

"HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLP!"

"LUMIE!" Rune gasped in shocked, watching the Litwick falling to his demise. Without a second thought, the Vibrava beats her wings with every ounce of her strength. Flapping her four wings steadily towards the Litwick, but it wasn't enough. She needed more speed to catch him in time. "Urghh, I'm coming Lumie-" the Vibrava groaned, the pain of her wings pulling her down, but she couldn't give in. She had to save him. Her body began to glow bright white. Her tail lengthened, her body enlarged, her wings combined into two larger ones, until the glowing stopped. Left behind was a larger, healthier-looking

who continued flying towards the falling Candle Pokemon. Reaching out her hands, Rune wrapped her arms around the Litwick. "You're safe now, Lumie," she sighed in relief, her voice sounding a lot more draconic and elder than before. "Rune... is that you?... Rune!" Lumiere said, hugging his body against the Flygon, "I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "Shh, we can discuss this later. Our friends need our help," and with that said, she plopped the Litwick onto her back. "The other children need to be saved too. Now promise to behave and help out, okay?"

"Okay!~" Lumiere grinned, his head flame flickering with new hope as he launched another Flamethrower towards one of the cliff side Fearow.

 

[DaveTheFishGuy]

Godric, Salazar, Conina, Darktan:
With the encounter with Fang over, both Pokémon started to relax until Darktan's ears pricked up again at the sound of rustling undergrowth. Whirling around, the Rattata bared his fangs in readiness before the noise revealed itself as a Pokémon of similar build to himself, also from the early reaches of the Kanto PokéDex - a male Nidoran. Quickly introduced as yet another of Salazar's many teammates, the Poison-type quickly proved himself excited to adventure along with the trio, the Scolipede checking that this was alright with the other two. "S'fine with me, nice to meet you Godric." the Rattata replied, relaxing again at the proof that this was no threat.

"It's more than alright with me too, and likewise." Conina added, welcoming another spine-covered Poison-type to the group. "Well, seems like we trip over your teammates every few minutes, Salazar. I wouldn't be surprised if we bump into a few more at this rate." she tittered.

"Hopefully the less predatory ones." Darktan added, still keeping an ear out for any other suspicious noises from the foliage. You could never be sure what was lurking in the brush. "Shall we make for the tree then? I'd imagine things will be a little more open the closer we get to it." he suggested, as much concerned with adventure as with getting to a safer area.

Conina nodded. "Sure, might as well. Come on guys, you don't want to keep a lady waiting, do you?" she added, giggling slightly before curling up, starting to roll through the forest toward the tree, leaving the male members of the party to catch up.


Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere:
The battle started slowly, but quickly ended up as something of a bloodbath. The lead Fearow was battered by Rhys' Stone Edge, stunned for a second. This left it helpless against Nagini's Ice Beam, the attack chilling the bird and sending it spiralling away, crashing into the cliffside before falling limply to the ground. "Well, that went about as well as could be expected." Rhys muttered, winking at the Arbok before turning back to the battle. Another Ice Beam crashed into the second Fearow to swoop in, the Sandile noticing Osage having found a handhold further along the rock wall. The avian screeched, not defeated yet as it spun toward the two reptiles. Hissing, Rhys gaped, electricity surging within his maw and coating his teeth. As the Fearow approached, he dashed forward, launching from the ledge toward the bird's legs. Paying the tan archosaur no mind, the Fearow was entirely transfixed on Nagini and her brightly-coloured hood markings, and so was entirely unprepared for the Thunder Fang that shocked its body seconds later, Rhys clamping down on one of its legs and hanging on. With a squawk, the Fearow lost control, pulling up and smashing into the cliff above the tunnel, allowing the Dark-type to let go and land next to the Arbok once more. Stunned, the Fearow drifted to the ground to join its flockmate. Seeing that the battle had gone to ground, noticed more Fearow around the nests. "Come on, let's help the babies." he muttered, heading for one of the nests.

Rincewind's Hidden Power did a good job of slowing the Fearow down, leaving it writhing in pain in the air. The Trapinch attempted not to soil himself as he stepped back for another attack, but was able to watch a Thunder from James zap another bird into unconsciousness straight away. "...wow." the ant-lion muttered, impressed with both the power and movepool displayed by the Vileplume. He also saw the other Pokémon leap into action, Lily washing a Fearow away with a wall of slime while Norbert ripped and tore at yet another bird, his display resembling a dust cloud brawl between two comic-book characters.

However, just then he realised that his previous target was on the move again, and he hadn't even prepared an attack! Unsure of what to do, the larva could only watch in terror as the Fearow closed in, beak wide... only for a volley Sludge Bomb to blindside it. A screech of pain burst from the beak, and its owner was thrown to the side, just barely missing Rincewind as it slid across the ground, coming to an unmoving standstill. The Trapinch looked around for his saviour, and noticed that it must have come from his fellow timid Pokémon. "H-hey! Nice shooting Six!" the insect replied, one of the Foongus' salvoes obviously having saved his bacon as Rincewind shuffled closer. "Maybe we're not so bad at this after all, eh?" he chuckled, regaining confidence enough to fire more Hidden Power at the Fearow waterlogged by Lily's Sludge Wave, sending another bird to KOville, population: many.

He'd almost forgotten about Rune, but looking up he saw her charging through the flock, being beaten down without any support. "Guys! Rune's in trouble! She needs help!" he reported to the others, slinging more Hidden Power toward the Fearow menacing his evolved brethren, careful not to let the icy orbs hit her by mistake. Just then, he saw something fall, something... candle shaped. The Trapinch watched as the Vibrava pumped her wings, trying to catch the falling Litwick. "She... she's not gonna make it..." he stated, until a brilliant glow lit up the surrounding area. Seconds later, the Litwick was safe in the arms of a freshly-evolved Flygon. Rincewind's trap-like jaw dropped. "She... she did it! She evolved AND caught him! Awesome!" he shouted excitedly, full of admiration for Rune and longing for the day he'd reach that stage of evolution himself.

Not time to celebrate just yet though, as Rune and Lumiere renewed their offensive as more Fearow turned back to the cliffside. Their numbers were dwindling now, but that made them no less dangerous. Rhys had just finished scooping some baby Budew out of a nest with his jaws when he heard the beat of wings behind him. Hissing as he whipped around, the Sandile fired off another Stone Edge attack to hit the incoming bird, but momentum carried its Drill Peck attack through, slamming into his side before wheeling away. Clawing the ground, Rhys managed to prevent himself being carried over the edge of the next by the impact, but was left gasping in pain from the attack. His super-effective moves had given him a power boost, but he was still seriously under-levelled compared to these mature Fearow. As he tried to recover, he noticed his attacker swooping back down, going into another spin as it targeted him once again. The Sandile gritted his teeth, trying to move away from the bird's path, but in his injured state he couldn't move fast enough, leaving him helpless as the Fearow closed in yet again...

 

[Missingno. Master]

Fang, Godric, Salazar, Conina, Darktan: Neither the Venipede nor the Rattata had any sort of objection to Godric joining their party, which seemed to please the Nidoran greatly. "Nice to meet the two of you, too," he replied.

Conina then remarked on how they seemed to be stumbling upon Salazar's teammates left and right, and claimed that it wouldn't surprise her to find a few more. "Wouldn't surprise me, either," nodded the Scolipede. "I don't know exactly how many Pokémon Keith has, but I'm pretty sure the number's nearing 50 by now. And they're all here, too, so yeah.

"Yeah, it's a big team," grinned Godric, "but I really like it."

Darktan then agreed with Conina, though expressed his hope that the ones they found were not of the predatory variety. He suggested they get moving, in hopes of quickly getting to a more open location, and thus away from any bushes that might conceal predators. "Sure, let's go," nodded Salazar.

"All right, then, onward!" declared Godric, the Poison Pin Pokémon taking charge almost immediately and dashing off in the same direction in which Conina had proceeded to roll. Salazar was tempted to travel in a similar manner as Conina was doing, but a Scolipede curled into a ball was larger than a truck tire and had enormous potential for unintended destruction. It was good for speed and battle, but not much else. He started walking after Conina and Godric, when the latter slowed down, his large ears twitching as his eyes darted from side to side.

"Godric?" said Salazar, his head tilted in confusion.

"...I hear something," the Nidoran declared quietly. "In the bushes. It's trying to be stealthy, but it's not succeeding. Not completely."

"Oh, crap," groaned Salazar, quickening his pace as Godric started racing off again, going in the same direction as before.

"It's moving quickly... Hey, it stopped," Godric said suddenly. "In a bush just ahead of Conina- oh, no, that can't be good," he suddenly realized.

"Oh, double crap," Salazar replied, as he fired off Sludge Bomb at the bush in question, but due to the distance, missed. However, he did see a few multicolored vines rustling behind the leaves in the bush. "Oh, triple crap," the Scolipede muttered. "Fang!" he bellowed. "Don't you dare!"

"Fang, stop!" yelled Godric. He lunged, trying to hit the Carnivine with his Tackle attack, but in his haste, jumped into the wrong bush. As he attempted to disentangle himself from the leaves and branches, the Carnivine flew out of the very next bush, headed right for Conina, his mouth wide open! Salazar barely had time to react, let alone prepare an attack, and even so, he knew his Sludge Bomb wouldn't hit in time to stop Fang.


Gemini, Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere: Elsewhere, the battle between the Fearow and the, uh, other Pokémon, continued. Rhys's Stone Edge and Nagini's Ice Beam took out one of the Fearow right away. The second one was handled by another Ice Beam, followed by the Sandile's Thunder Fang. As the rest of the battle was headed for the ground, Rhys suggested that they help the babies. "Right," nodded Nagini as she slithered over to the nests. "It's OK," she said gently to the baby Grass-types. "We're going to get you back to your families, OK? Rhys," she added, turning back to the Sandile. "Let's Dig a new tunnel to get them down- I went straight up when Digging my way up here earlier, but I doubt they'll be good with going down the mountain that way- oh, wait a sec," she added, suddenly spotting something else in the sky coming towards them. But it wasn't a Fearow- it was a Weezing! "Hey, it's Gemini," smiled Nagini. "My Trainer's Weezing," she added to Rhys. "They can help us bring the babies back down to the ground.

"Nagini?" said the Weezing's larger head in mild surprise as the Poison Gas Pokémon approached the Arbok and Sandile. "What are you doing up here?"

"And who are all these?" added the smaller head.

"This is Rhys," Nagini explained, nodding at the Sandile. "And as for these Grass-types, they were taken up here by a flock of Fearow. Rhys and I just drove away the few ones that hadn't gone down to the ground to attack the others, and now we're focusing on getting them back to their parents. We were just going to Dig a tunnel in the cliff to help get them back down, but would you help fly them down?"

"No problem," smiled the larger head. "I dunno if we can carry all of them at once, but we'll make several trips if we gotta."

"OK, then," the Arbok said gently, addressing the baby Grass-types. "Just climb onto the nice Weezing's heads, and he'll take you back to your families." Gemini took this as their cue to get into position so the top of their larger head was level with the cliff, as Nagini told them where to take the babies to.


Down on the ground, the battle continued. Rincewind's Hidden Power was a hard hit, but he watched in awe as James's Thunder, Lily's Sludge Wave, and Norbert's Outrage each took out their respective targets with little trouble. The Trapinch then noticed, almost too late, that the Fearow he had hit was going in for another attack. He couldn't prepare a move in time, but this mattered not, for Six's well-timed Sludge Bomb knocked it out. "Th-thanks," the Foongus squeaked in response to Rincewind's compliment. Six sounded somewhat surprised that he had actually taken out the Fearow, but knew that this wasn't the time to get distracted by that. Rincewind then used Hidden Power again, striking a Fearow that had previously been subjected to a Sludge Wave, this time knocking it out.

And then, Rune was clearly in trouble, trying to muscle past a whole flock of Fearow to get to Lumiere. For a moment, it looked grim... and then she evolved into Flygon! Norbert in particular was awed by how his friend and former teammate reached her final stage of evolution, and cheered happily for her. But the battle was still going on. Lily flew down to James, and as they held hands (or, James took hold of one of the Venomoth's front legs), a heart-shaped glob of purple sludge surrounded them, before they simultaneously unleashed a double Sludge Wave. This one was so wide, so forceful, that multiple Fearow were likely to get caught up in it, maybe even OHKO'd. Six, meanwhile, fired off another Sludge Bomb at an oncoming Fearow. He was shaking with nervousness, but at the same time, did not look likely to back down. His recent success had emboldened him, if only somewhat. And then, to top things off, Norbert waited until a Fearow was inches away from slamming him with a Drill Peck, then jumped into the air, causing the Fearow to instead drill into the ground. As it tried to extricate its beak from the ground, Norbert landed on it, going into full-blown Outrage once more.


Back up on the cliff, just after Gemini was set to start carrying some of the babies back to their families, some of the Fearow came back. "Oh, not good," hissed Nagini. Before either Poison-type could react, one of the Fearow powered through Rhys's Stone Edge and struck hard with Drill Peck. The Sandile struggled to recover, and then spotted the Fearow coming in for another hit. He tried to move away, but in his injured state, this was not an option...

However, the need to escape from this Fearow was suddenly eliminated as Nagini blasted it with Bubble Beam. Despite having flown right through that Stone Edge earlier, that move had taken its toll, and it combined with the damage from Bubble Beam resulted in the Fearow's KO as it spiraled towards the ground. But this was no time to celebrate- more Fearow were coming, after all. Nagini hastened to fire off her Gunk Shot at one of the Fearow- the most powerful Poison-type move in existence. Gemini, meanwhile, shot off a Hyper Beam at another Fearow. Both moves hit their intended targets for instant KOs, but their problems weren't over yet. That said, there were now but a few Fearow remaining.

 

[Gemini Spark]

Toby, Mia, Brittany, Vi, Zyra, Conis: "And then I knocked her so hard, she didn't even know what hit her until she spun around a few times!"
"Wow, really!?"
"Oh my gosh, you're so cool now that you've evolved! I'm kinda jealous actually!"
"She's way tawwer now, 'n she has a showder I can pewch on~"
"Yes, she looks much older and stronger now too!"
"Haha, yeah, I'm ready to kick some butt now! Even stuck-up Amethyst, she and her boy were eyein' me as lunch before, but they'll regret that after I feed 'em knuckle sandwiches!"
Vi was the loudest of the five female Pokemon that had just entered the Tree Grove. Being a Combusken, she was crowing quite proudly of her strengths and how she had gone toe to toe with Aisa, the Whirlipede that was picking on her at the Park. With Brittany the Spheal, Mia the Taillow, Zyra the Bulbasaur, and Conis the Mareep all beside her, she couldn't resist chatting about it with her friends. While they were all busy having some fun girl talk, a sixth teammate was walking behind them, a bit lost in his thoughts. As the only male of the six, Toby felt a bit left out of the conversation but didn't mind it completely. Zyra, for whatever reason, had wanted him to come along with them, and he was fine with that. After all, he was shown the best spots to sunbathe during his last trip here, so he could always visit those places if he felt like it. "Hi Toby!" The Turtwig was shocked to see Zyra's face suddenly in front of his own. "Whoa, I thought you were with the others, Zy!"

"Yeah, but I didn't want you to be all alone like this," she said as she gave way to Toby so she could walk beside him.
"Well, I do appreciate the company," Toby remarked, "though I still don't know why you brought me here in the first place." This caused Zyra to stand still all of a sudden, though Toby didn't notice this and kept talking: "Not that I have a problem with it, just... it feels out of the blue, you know?"
"Ahahahaha, well, I-I just... thought you could use the fresh air, that's all!" she chuckled nervously, her eyes shifting left and right, as if she was trying to cover something up.
"Meh, whatever. The air is nice, though, so thanks for bringing me out here. Seems pretty chilly right now, if you ask me."
"Well, we c-could always g-go somewhere to... to sunbathe and, uh, get warm, if you want."
"Sure, I think that'd be great!" Toby chimed in. "I know the best spots from before, we'll have a ton of peace and quiet while we get warm."
H-he's taking me to... his best spots!? Zyra thought, her face starting to resemble the color of a radish. Where we'll have... peace and quiet!? And we'll get... warm and cozyyyyy!?
"Hm?" Toby turned around to suddenly realize Zyra had stopped. "What's the matter, you coming or not?" he asked nonchalantly, completely oblivious to what the Bulbasaur was feeling.
"Ah!" she gasped out of shock. He... he wants me to... to go with him! Is he... going to tell me that he... "YES! YESI'MCOMING!!" she shouted before covering her mouth with one of her paws. Oh, I said that too loud... She didn't say much more and followed him over to an area that had recently been heated by the Fire-type Pokemon working there specifically so Grass-types could stand the cold and not freeze to death.

"What's with Zyra?" Vi asked the other three Pokemon with her. "Ever since she got Toby to come along, she's been kinda off in her own world or something."
"I dunno," Mia chirped. "It's kinna like when big bwothew tawks funny with guhl burdies, I don' get it."
"Yeah, and Uncle Mikey talks a lot about Helena, I don't get it either," Brittany added.
"Maybe we should go after her," bleated Conis. "Maybe she needs help,"
"Nah, just leave her," Vi ultimately said. "Those two can take care of themselves, they got to spend some time with our trainer recently, so they've started to get stronger too, just like I have!"
"Okay," Conis's voice trailed off, still concerned about Zyra, but knowing this was probably something she needed to deal with on her own, whatever it was.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Molly, Mia, Brittany, Vi, Conis: As the two Grass-type starter Pokémon went off by themselves, the other group of Pokémon that had accompanied them soon came across another Pokémon- a Mankey, happily munching on an Oran Berry. She stopped as she noticed the group of female Pokémon and waved happily. "Hi, there," she greeted them cheerfully. "My name's Molly, who might you all be?"

 

[Charm]

Gemini, Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere: Bodies of Fearow were dropping all over the place as this all out battle continued progressing. The newly-evolved Flygon had no problem getting back into the fray. As she swooped in, a certain Litwick atop her head breathed a searing Flamethrower into one of the cliffside Fearow as Rune swung around and sent the bird flying unconscious with a whip of her Dragon Tail. "Woah, you got stronger Rune!~" Lumiere praised in awe. "Hm, I did, didn't I?" Rune grinned, taking in the glory of her newfound power. Osage just finished climbing towards the nest where Rhys and Nagini were when he interrupted, "You can gloat later, Rune, we have a job at hand," before breathing out a Frost Breath. "Oh, right," the Flygon said, as the breath attack washed over a Fearow that was approaching her while she didn't notice.

Meanwhile, a teammate of Nagini, a Weezing by the name of Gemini, came by and offered his help in transporting the babies. Soon releasing a Hyper Beam as the Arbok released a Gunk Shot, sending two more Fearow into unconsciousness. "What power...." Lumiere said as he watched the two teammates fight together.

The battle seemed quite exciting from the ground as well, but Rune maintained her attention to the cliff side for now. With several beats of her wings, she sent a volley of large, menacing Waves of Heat, knocking a large portion of the remaining Fearow back. "I can help with transporting the kids as well," she then volunteered herself before flying over next to a nest. "Climb on!" Lumiere squeakily roared as Osage came over and grabbed little Cottonee and Petlil before placing them on the Flygon's back. "This is all I can carry for now, ready to go, Gem-" she said before getting cut off by the loud squawks of the Fearow who have managed to recover and started coming in again. "Go," the Sneasel said, prepping an Ice Beam within his hand-claws, "we'll take care of them. Lumiere also hopped over next to Osage, puffing in as he prepares a Flamethrower. "Well... alright, ready to go, Gemini?"

 

[DaveTheFishGuy]

Gytha, Mustrum, Toby, Zyra:
As the two Grass-types found a sunny clearing to bask in, they only had a few moments to themselves before they noticed the trees above starting to rustle with activity. A thin crackle of electricity burst from the canopy, disturbing several bird Pokémon in the process, some Pidgey and Starly bursting from their roosts to take shelter elsewhere. After a few moments, this was followed by a second beam of voltage, announcing the appearance of a small, white Pokémon bursting form the canopy. A peculiar sight indeed, given its fish-like body form. "Alright! Did you see that? That was definitely more powerful than before!" it squeaked, watching the birds scatter before turning back to the treetops.

A second Pokémon followed it, this one larger and able to blend in with the leaves thanks to its green body. A whirling yellow flower held it aloft like a helicopter rotor, albeit much quieter, while a smile stretched across its face. "Well of course it was more powerful, Mustrum. Charge Beam gives you a very high chance to increase your special attacking abilities, after all." the Skiploom replied. "Though I'm sure a lot of it was down to you getting stronger in yourself as well!" she quickly added, not wanting to take away from the Tynamo's training.

"Thanks Gytha! I'd practise my other moves, but they're all physical, with this I can just shoot into thin air. And startle some Pidgey while I'm at it." Mustrum chuckled, before casting his gaze downward. "Hey, who's that? They don't look wild, that means they're here like us!" he exclaimed, noticing the two Starter Pokémon. Excitedly, he lowered his flight ceiling, approaching the two from above. "Hi! Whatcha doing?" he squeaked, dropping down next to the others before floating back.

At this Gytha descended alongside, almost touching down as she kept level with her teammate. "Hello there, dearies. Sorry for Mustrum's intrusion, he gets a bit excited sometimes when he's worked up from training." she explained, shooing the Tynamo back. "I'm Gytha, and who might you two youngsters be?"


Fang, Godric, Salazar, Conina, Darktan:
Having picked up some speed, Conina was in no state to react to the cries of panic and protest from behind. Sensing something was amiss, she halted herself at exactly the wrong time, uncurling to see the unwelcome form of Fang bearing down on her, jaws agape. The Bug-type froze, instinct taking over as he muscles contracted her into a Defence Curl, spikes sticking out all over her body, but that wouldn't deter such a determined predator, and Godric and Salazar were too close to be any help...

Something blurred past the other two Poison-types, the air bending around it. Something small, fast... purple. Darktan cursed himself as he sped toward his teammate. He should've stayed closer, rather than reacting from second-hand information. Time almost slowed down the closer he got, watching the Carnivine put his predatory plan into action. But split-seconds later, he was there, his Quick Attack carrying him into the Venipede, barging her curled-up form out of the way of the Grass-type. The Rattata winced, having contacted some of her Poison Points, but that was the least of his worries. Turning, he saw that Fang was now bearing down on him, and before he could react...

There was a snapping sound, like so many cartoon mousetraps. Searing pain shot through the rodent's body, concentrated around his midsection. Darktan's eyes were scrunched up. He was dead, he knew it. All his preparations and paranoia hadn't been able to save him after all. At least... at least Conina was safe. Darktan. Yes, she was. At least... at least hopefully Salazar would give Fang a good beatdown for eating another trainer's Pokémon. How was that going to go down with Dave, anyway? He'd let his Pokémon out to have some fun, and one of them had been eaten. Darktan. Still, at least Rattata were a dime a dozen, he'd find a replacement soon enough. "DARKTAN!"

He snapped alert, still aware of a searing pain around the middle of his body. Blinking, his vision managed to clear, and he saw... "Conina? Why are you upside down?" he asked, his brain still blurred from shock. Looking around, he saw Salazar and Godric too, also upside down. Slowly the mess in his head managed to sort, and he tried to get up, only for his abdomen to explode in agony. Slowly, he lifted his head... and saw Fang. The Carnivine had chomped down on his midsection, obviously trying to halt himself from swallowing him outright in the commotion, though not enough to stop himself biting down in the first place. The Grass-type looked miffed at his intended lunch being interrupted, but also had an indecisive look in his eye. Like he was working out whether to chew him up or spit him out.

Panting heavily from the enormous stresses his body was under, Darktan narrowed his eyes. "Fang, if you don't let me go right now, I'll make sure you regret it." The Bug Catcher didn't respond, sealing the Rattata's resolve. He'd have to fight his way out. Adrenaline began to surge through his body, preparing it for combat. But also triggering another side-effect. As the rodent twitched, trying to get free, he became aware of the fact that he was... glowing. "Huh. How about that." he muttered, almost sounding bored as his body exploded into light.

"Dar... Darktan?" Conina whispered, watching as her teammate began to grow within the indistinct lit-up mass. His body thickened and rounded, becoming a much more stout form, while longer whiskers stabbed outward from his snout. His forearms grew shorter, with hands more suited for grabbing and holding than for running. Unseen within Fang's mouth, hindlegs were replaced with larger feet, better suited for speed and swimming, while his tail lengthened and lost its fur. The energy also helped to heal the wounds suffered along his belly, pushing out the Carnivine's fangs along with his bigger body. By the time the light faded, Fang was only just barely hanging onto his prey, teeth only just having a purchase. The newly-evolved

blinked a few times, a slight smirk creeping onto his incisor-laden face.

"Well, there's a start. Now, how about that regret?" At this, the Mouse Pokémon's body was suddenly engulfed in fire, causing Fang to drop him. The Raticate fell to the ground, landing nimbly before spinning into a somersault, smashing his Flame Wheel attack into the Carnivine's body, sending him flying backward.

"Darktan! You evolved! Will you at least act like that's some kind of big deal?" Conina hissed, excited for her friend's boost in power and more than a little annoyed that he'd almost killed himself in the process.

"I'm not saying it isn't, I just wanted to get rid of him." the Normal-type replied, swishing his newly lengthened tail. "Which was thanks to your Poison, really. Turns out that I have real Guts sometimes." he added. It was hard to tell if he was grinning or just showing his fangs. Turning back to the offending Grass-type, Darktan glared. "Is that enough of a lesson? Or do I have to teach you some more?" he asked, holding his stubby arms together to form an ice-blue orb within, ready to fire an Ice Beam at a moment's notice if the flytrap didn't get the message.


{Congratulations! Your Darktan evolved into Raticate!}

{Darktan learned Swords Dance!}

{Darktan learned Scary Face!}


Gemini, Nagini, Norbert, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere:
Staring his incoming opponent down, Rhys attempted to power a desperate attack, but just as the Fearow approached it was deflected by a barrage of bubbles. The avian was buffeted, going limp on the deck as the last of its health was stripped away, leaving the Sandile to sigh in relief. Turning around, he saw the source of the attack was Nagini, obviously yet another move not common to her species. He smiled at the huge snake, feeling a huge amount of gratitude, respect and... perhaps something else. He shook his head, this not really being the time for such things. "Thanks." he replied, turning back to view the state of affairs, noticing that another teammate of Nagini's had showed up, a powerful Weezing named Gemini offering to take the babies to safety, both Poison-types taking care of another Fearow each.

Just then, Rune showed up, the Flygon demonstrating vastly increased power and speed as she nuked a few Fearow herself, along with Osage who had finally made his ascent to the nests. The Dragon-type offered herself as transport for the infants, and took some onboard before more Fearow began to close in. "Osage's right, we'll cover you, get going!" Rhys hissed, preparing another Stone Edge attack, rocks swirling around his body as he stepped up next to his fellow Dark-type, aiming at the same target as him as the Fearow approached.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Rincewind was realising just how far out of his depth he was, watching James and Lily team up to use the Power of Love to summon a giant Sludge Wave, washing away several Fearow in the process. He then saw Norbert going into an Outrage, knowing the Axew would have no trouble dispatching another Fearow, while another Sludge Bomb from Six caught his eye. The barrage smacked a Fearow about, but it looked out for revenge, going into another Drill Peck toward the Foongus. But it never made it, the Trapinch blasting out a Hidden Power to chill the Flying-type, causing it to slump to the ground just short of its target, unconscious. "Hey, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, eh?" Rincewind clicked, scuttling over to the mushroom as he prepared another Hidden Power, aiming at another Fearow, one of the few left.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Fang, Godric, Salazar, Conina, Darktan: Salazar could only look on in horror as Fang lunged right at Conina, and Godric had only just disentangled himself from the bush. It looked as though it was all over for Conina-

WHOOSH

Suddenly, a purple blur raced past the grey Scolipede- it was Darktan! His Quick Attack was allowing him to haul ass over to assist his teammate. As he pushed the instinctively curled up Venipede out of the way, he ran afoul of Poison Point, but more to the point, he found himself right in Fang's path, just as the Grass-type clamped down.

"Mmmph?!" Fang muffled in surprise. He had expected to crunch down on the solid, crunchy exoskeleton of a Venipede, and instead found the writhing, furry mass of a Rattata within his clutches. He wasn't sure what to do here. On the one hand, the Venipede had been his intended target- this interruption, in addition to being mildly annoying, was completely unexpected, it came out of nowhere. Caught him off-guard. The Rattata hadn't been his target. On the other hand, how many times had he watched Norbert and Marvolo dine on Rattata and Raticate when they were all hunting together? Fang preferred the bugs, though he was certainly not a picky eater, by any means. He had never actually tried a Rattata before... Well, no time like the present, right?

At that moment, Darktan informed Fang that if he didn't release him, the Carnivine was going to regret it. Fang, however, did not respond to this. He was totally convinced that Darktan wouldn't be able to carry out his threat, a move he would henceforth refer to as "mistake #1". For at that moment, his potential meal started glowing. He was rapidly losing his grip on Darktan as the Rattata proceeded to evolve, and finally, he had become a Raticate. Before the Carnivine could react, something started to scorch the inside of his mouth. Exclaiming in pain and anger, he hastened to spit out Darktan. After he and Conina exchanged a few words, the newly evolved Raticate glared at Darktan, asking whether the lesson had sunk in. As if to drive the point home, he said this while charging up an Ice Beam.

Fang was no idiot. He knew when he had lost, and if he pretended otherwise, this was going to end very, very badly for him. Even if Darktan wasn't charging up an Ice Beam, there was still the belligerent Venipede with the type advantage and the knowledge that Fang tried to eat her, the formidable and powerful grey Scolipede currently glaring down at him, and the angered Nidoran, ready to charge in at a moment's notice. "That won't be necessary," he spat, a defeated tone evident in his voice. "I'll go, alright?"

"And you'll stop going after my friends?" asked Salazar.

"OK, OK, but in that case, cut me some slack and stop befriending potential prey!" snapped Fang. "Haven't had a bite to eat since breakfast and the first prey I try to go for, all I get is a burnt mouth for my trouble..." he grumbled as he turned around and started floating away.

Once Fang was out of sight, Godric turned to face the rest of them. "OK!" he exclaimed. "Guys, what say we-"

He stopped at that point, however, as his ears stiffened. A Fearow, unseen by any of them, flew overhead.

"Godric, what's up?" asked Salazar.

"Something's going on," stated the Nidoran. "Stay here, I'm gonna check it out, see what's up." With that, he dashed off into the bushes and out of sight.

Salazar just stood in place for a moment, continuing to look in the direction the Poison Pin Pokémon had run off in. He was tempted to follow Godric, but the little Nidoran, in spite of his small size, was a born leader, and the Scolipede knew it. If he said to stay put, it was generally a good idea to listen. Then, he addressed Conina and Darktan once more. "So, you both OK?" he asked them.


Fang, Marvolo: As Fang floated aimlessly along, a familiar snake started slithering alongside him. "So, Fang," the Seviper hissed, "Something's bothering you."

"I don't want to talk about it, Marvolo," Fang quietly replied.

"Come on, talk," urged the Seviper.

Fang gritted his teeth. "Fine," he sighed. "I went after this Venipede, tried to eat her."

"Not my taste, but continue," nodded Marvolo.

"And after Salazar told me off for trying to eat one of his friends-"

"You didn't make a second attempt?" interrupted Marvolo.

"I was hungry!" Fang shot back defensively. "Besides, it gets worse. My second attempt, I hid in a bush and lunged... and then the Venipede's teammate, this Rattata, pushed her out of the way and I wound up with him in my mouth instead."

"Your first taste of Rattata meat?" smirked Marvolo. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"And he evolved into a Raticate, burned the inside of my mouth with a Flame Wheel, got free, and threatened me with an Ice Beam if I tried anything else," finished Fang.

"...Oh," Marvolo said lamely. "That does sound bad."

"I mean, I probably could've taken him if it was one-on-one," continued the Carnivine, "but when he had that Venipede, plus Salazar and Godric backing him up, I'd have been a fool to try."

"I see," nodded Marvolo. "Well, it was stupid of you to make another attempt at someone who had already been established as a friend of your teammate. Not only is that rude, but it's guaranteed to get said teammate on your bad side. The only enemies you want are the ones you plan to eat."

"Like I said, I was hungry," the sullen Carnivine replied. "Wasn't exactly thinking clearly."

Marvolo nodded. "That'll do it," he agreed. "This way," he continued, slithering on ahead. "There should be Rawst bush up ahead, that should help with the burn. Then how about you and I go hunting for lunch, hmm? Maybe even bring Norbert along if we find him."

Fang started to grin again. "Works for me," he said as he floated after Marvolo.


Gemini, Nagini, Norbert, Godric, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere: Meanwhile, the Fearow kept on coming, but it was clear that significant progress was being made in taking them out. High up on the cliff, the baby Pokémon were ushered aboard Gemini- and also now Rune. Rhys was impressed by Nagini's Bubble Beam, and was taking aim at another Fearow. He urged the Weezing and Flygon to get moving as they were going to cover them. Gemini may have two heads, but they did not need to be told twice! The Weezing started floating down, carrying the baby Grass-types down to where they could see their anxious parents waiting. As this happened, Nagini struck down another Fearow with Ice Beam.

Down on the ground, there was much success. James and Lily's dual Sludge Wave took out several Fearow simultaneously, Norbert's Outrage made short work of the Fearow he had been working on, and Six's Sludge Bomb hit its target, but not for a KO. The struck Fearow dove in for a Drill Peck, and Six was about to go into a Defense Curl, when a chilling Hidden Power struck down the Flying-type. It quickly became evident that Rincewind had been the source of this Hidden Power, which made Six smile.

And then, a spiky purple Pokémon emerged from the nearby bushes, ready to enter the fray- it was Godric, Keith's Nidoran! Not a lot of Fearow remained by now, but the ones that did looked as though they meant business. Almost immediately, Godric was able to size up the situation, and stood in front of the Pokémon currently combating these Fearow.

"Alright!" he exclaimed. "Let's do this!"

"Godric?" said James in mild surprise. "Where did you come from?"

"Came running as soon as I heard the commotion," came the reply. "Looks like you guys are doing pretty good so far, but how about I help you deal with these last few?"

"If you got any ideas, we're all ears," Lily stated.

"Good," grinned the Nidoran. "James, get in front of Lily and fire a Poison Powder straight up. Lily, use Icy Wind- that'll slow them all down, and you'll also be blowing the Poison Powder right onto them. After that's done, Six, rapid-fire Venoshock."

"I can do that- Godric, look out!" exclaimed James suddenly, as a Fearow dove down right towards him. Godric turned to face the attacker, but was met with a Drill Peck to the face and was knocked back. The Nidoran scrambled back to his feet, however, and jumped up on the Fearow's back. Noticing this, Fearow tried to shake him off, but the Poison-type clung on tightly, before blasting Fearow's head with Supersonic. Fearow cawed its displeasure and dove down to the ground, desperate to shake its passenger. Just before it hit the ground, however, Godric jumped off, and the Fearow ended up hurting itself. As the Beak Pokémon rose back into the air, it cawed menacingly, and dove down towards Godric once more. At the same time, Godric took off, charging forth in a Tackle attack. The two collided, neither of them giving an inch... It was an intense struggle, and soon, though Godric was stubbornly standing his ground, Fearow was managing to push him back slightly. Grunting, Godric pushed back harder, and when this proved ineffective the grunting became a determined yell. And at the same time, a bright white glow came over his whole body. Fearow's eyes widened in shock as it felt its opponent change shape while still pushing back, and before it knew what hit it, a newly evolved

knocked the Normal/Flying-type down to the ground.

"G-Godric, y-you evolved!" squeaked Six. However, the Fearow was still not ready to call it quits, and rose back into the air.

"Keep to the plan, guys!" urged Godric as he charged at Fearow. "I'll handle this guy- he won't go down so easily!"

As the newly evolved Nidorino squared off against a particularly stubborn Fearow, James, Lily, and Six prepared to carry out Godric's plan, Six carefully taking aim, ready to spew off those Venoshocks as soon as his parents did their Poison Powder/Icy Wind combination.

[COLOR=#944D94]What?  Nidoran♂ is evolving!

[img]http://www.upnetwork.net/fb/sprites/pn032.gif[/img]

...

...

...!

[img]http://www.upnetwork.net/fb/sprites/pn033.gif[/img]

Congratulations!  Your Nidoran♂ evolved into Nidorino![/COLOR]

 

[Charm]

Gemini, Nagini, Norbert, Godric, James, Lily, Six, Rune, Rincewind, Rhys, Osage, Lumiere: Given the go, Gemini and Rune began to take off on their escort mission as the others stayed to protect the remaining babies and keep the Fearow busy. Rhys and Lumiere stood beside Osage as they fired their respective attacks, a Stone Edge, Ice Beam, and Flamethrower. The combination of which was too much for one of the wild birds as it drops to the ground like many of its kin. "Good job team!~" Lumiere cheered, to which Osage replies with merely a satisfactory grunt.

The remaining Fearow by the cliffside at this point were dwindling to low numbers. The few remaining regrouped, eyeing each other briefly as if communicating a plan. Osage saw their exchange, suddenly alarmed as he warned his group, "Prepare yourselves, something's coming." This something was soon revealed as the remaining Fearow reared their heads back in unison before screeching out vicious sound waves which whistled through the air, amplifying each other as their Voices Echoed in all directions. The sounds ring through the ears of its targets, causing Osage and Lumiere to cup their ears in pain while the cries of the babies grow even louder. The sounds even seemed to have reached Rune and Gemini who stop themselves mid-flight as the cringe-worthy onslaught does it's deal. The Flygon does her best to remain calm through the pain as she comforts her passengers, "Don't cry, children... we're almost home..." though it did little to hush the cries of the infants.

The sound waves finally died down, to everyone's relief, as the cliffside faction of the flock began closing in again. "This isn't doing us any good, we have to get rid of these guys fast!" Osage chimed in, slightly angry. "Let me try something," Lumiere squeaked, still a bit fazed by the ringing squawks they just dealt with. The Litwick steps up, alighting his head once more. With enough concentration, the Candle Pokemon Flashes up a wide ray of light, shining onto the incoming Fearow and stopping them in their tracks as the light stuns them. "Here's your chance!" the Litwick yells. "... Not bad. Time for a counterattack," Osage says in his form of a compliment before inhaling a vast amount of Ice energy, preparing to unleash a Blizzard while the Fearow blink vigorously to shake off the effects of Flash...