Sunny tries to put the Dodrio to sleep, but it's an Early Bird, and very resistant to that status effect. On the other hand, you also realize Dodrio knows Pursuit. Your target is too far for Maley to target it with that move, so instead you focus it on one of the faster cart, helping you to speed through the path, and close in the gap with the Dodrio. You just have to navigate the two workers carrying a very big window...

Jake runs away from the nest, fast enough that the buzzing behind him doesn't catch up. You can see the Dodrio ahead, with Sunny trying to slow it down. You just have to get across the street blocking your way. You could try to jump on a passing cart, or you could try crossing using a line tied across the street. You pretty confident it's not a power line... and it's covered in black rubber, so it should be safe, right?

Seeing that putting the fleeing Dodrio to sleep wasn't having the intended effect, he called up to his flying plant-bird, "Sunny, try using Leech Seed instead!" It definitely wouldn't be as helpful as lulling the Dodrio to sleep, but hopefully it would at least help a little.

Unfortunately Seymour had more immediate concerns to focus on though. There was a big window in the way. No time to stop and go around, and jumping over was not in the cards right now. Which left one option. "Malley, un-transform and we'll slide under!" Seymour was no sportsman, but he did his best baseball slide as his pokemon shrank beneath him. If his gambit didn't end in disaster, he would have Malley change into the Dodrio again on the opposite side so that they could continue their chase.

Pretty confident to Jake meant it was all systems go!  Plus, he'd seen enough people shocked by electric type pokemon to know electricity was an inconvenience, not a true danger. Still, he didn't want to fall, so he approached the line and tested the strength before trying to rip over the street in hot pursuit.  If close enough, he'd re-release growler and release bandy. Growler to pick up the scent with odor slueth and bandy to try to keep up with the fleeing bird.

As Sunny launches his attack, Seymour slides under the glass, barely. Looking back, you see Malley has returned to his normal form... but not fast enough to slide under the glass. Instead, you watch it slam against the window, turning into a big smear while it looks at you, confused.
Glancing back at the Dodrio, you could probably get close enough to command Sunny into fighting it, if you don't wait for your Ditto to get himself back together...

Jake finds the cable strong enough to hold him, and crosses like a trained acrobat. Before sending out Growler, you spot the Dodrio getting attacked by Sunny, close enough that Bandy can run in and join the fight.

You can give your orders to Sunny and Bandy to start fighting, and end the chase!

Seymour looked to the Dodrio, then back at his smooshed Ditto, then back at the Dodrio again. In the end, he would have felt too bad about leaving Malley after all the Pokemon had just done for him, so he returned to help peel the Pokemon off the glass. The battle could wait a few more moments.

---

I think Jakey can handle the first round of the battle on his own. I don't want to leave Malley behind. Poor pokemon!

"Bandy, use thief on the thief!" Jake ordered.  He wasn't sure what the dodrio and its rider was after, but he was going to find out!  If the move succeeded, Jake would direct Bandy to proceed to feint attack.

The Dorio's rider, a small person wearing a tattered cloak, jumps off their pokemon as Bandy approaches. Before she can strikes, the three heads of the Dodrio scours the warehouse's roof with beams of fire and frost. Bandy dodges most of them, only to get clipped by an electric blast. Not bad enough to harm her, but you can see her twitch as she fights her paralysis. She still manages to hit with her own attack, swiping away what looks like a palm-sized medallion.

Meanwhile, Seymour takes a while to pull Malley away from the window, while the movers holds the glass in place (and give snarky suggestions that you should use a scrapper). Once he's freed, you turn your attention back to the Dodrio on the roof, as fires it's Tri-Beam at Bandy.

"Malley, take a good rest in your pokeball. You've earned it." Seymour returned the Ditto to its ball, then turned his attention to the battle at hand.

As he rushed toward the conflict, Seymour called out orders to his Verdakeet. "Sunny, Quick Attack! Follow it up with some Bullet Seeds!" The leafy bird might have been at a slight type disadvantage, but he still believed in Sunny's capabilities. Especially when teaming up with Bandy.

The Dodrio rushes Bandy, bowling her over before kicking her off of the roof. It's then distracted by Sunny's attack. It stomps about the roof, dodging Sunny's bullets, only to be struck by Bandy as she swings back on up with ease, unbothered by the bird's attack. Before the triple bird brain can figure out what's happening, Bandy whacks it again and knocks it out.

"Trio!" The Dodrio's rider, a young girl it seems, runs up to the knocked out bird.

Jake retrieved the medallion and took a look at it before returning bandy and growler to their pokeballs. He then approached the thief, hands on hips,
"You almost got us into a lot of trouble. What is your deal anyway. Also, we are trying to find our hotel."

He then glanced at Seymour, unsure what to question her on beyond what he already did.

Seymour nodded. "Yeah, why were all of those warehouse workers so desperate to catch you?" While he waited for the answer, he congratulated Sunny on a job well done and returned the Pokemon to its pokeball.

The girl pouts, sitting next to her knocked out bird. "They don't like me going through their warehouse... I mean, they've got so much stuff, they can't really miss a box of food every once in a while..."

Despite what she says, the medallion Bandy grabbed is definitely not food.


She shrugs when you hold it up. "A weird guy asked for it. He said it was in a special crate on the side, and he'd give me plenty of stuff for it."

"Food is nice, but this looks better," Jake quipped.

He felt a bit bad about chasing and knocking out the girl's pokemon, so he decided to be generous,
"Lets get you some food and call it even."

"Yeah, I am sure we can spare a bit of food," Seymour agreed. "Your Dodrio alone has three mouths to feed." He peered over Jakey's shoulder to see if he could identify what was so special about the medallion. If he could identify it, he would let Jakey know what he knew.

You're not really an expert on jewelry, so you have a hard time figuring out what those gems are. The body of the amulet seems to be made of polished iron, rather than a precious metal, and you don't see the kind of modern markings you'd expect from mass produced trinkets.

The girl looks like she wants to protest, but a rumble from her belly is enough to get her to reconsider. Thankfully, Seymour has enough reserve to sate her appetite. But the way she's eating, she's probably homeless.

Seymour didn't know what to make of the medallion, but had a hunch it was more important than it seemed. But to him, it was currently just a random curio.

"What did you say your name was again?" Seymour asked the girl. "I am Seymour. Seymour Mons. If food is all you really want, why not stick with us? I am pretty good at scrounging up food in the wild, and we seem to get other meals provided to us on a fairly regular basis as well." He reminisced for a moment about the tasty banquet after the swarm challenge, and that neat restaurant they went to the first night they spent at a city in this region.

"Not sure how Falkner feels about it, but I think it could be fun to have another fellow trainer to travel the world with, if you are up for it. We just gotta win the local gym challenge first though." Seymour showed his badge collection to emphasize his seriousness about the claim.

Jake nodded,
"Seymour can scrounge up food in the wild, I guess, but we usually just eat good food given to us. We are basically celebrities that no one has heard of."

Jake definitely didn't mind having another roguish companion; after all, he used to run with a gang back in the day, so it was almost nostalgic!

"If you tag along, I can see if any of my pokemon take a shine to you too. I have too many to keep trained, so maybe we can get you another poke-pal"

"I'm Phoebe." She says while eating. "But... I don't know. I kinda like being free to do whatever I want in my woods... Although it's getting kinda cold these days...

So you guys are trainers?"

"Guilty as charged, well, of being a trainer, definitely not of anything else." Jake lied.

"I'm Faulkner, nice to meet you," Jake lied again.

"No pressure on joining up. But we've had a lot of fun running with the locals here. We even got a boat ride with one. You'll get to see a lot of crazy things too! Like, I am sure this town is nice and all. I been in your shoes before, but it was definitely worth it to take a chance! Look where I am now!"

Jake spun around to demonstrate his relatively hip attire. Well, maybe he needed to work on his fashion sense, but he now had enough money to develop a personal style. That was nice! While Jake wasn't too desperate to have her come along, he was getting a sense that Cadien was a pretty complicated place, so having a local with could potentially clear up any misunderstandings that happen -- or maybe create more misunderstandings.

Seymour nodded along with Jakey's description of their travels. "In the end, the choice is all up to you. But do note that life with us on the road will be anything but uneventful. Not sure if that is a positive or a negative for you."

Phoebe thinks for a moment, munching on a piece of Slowpoke tail bacon, before answering. "Mm... why not. I guess I could take a trip for a while. I can't help you with your gym challenge, but I can show you the way back to your hotel."

As she leads you there, she gives you a glimpse of her lifestyle, as she describes how she sometimes dumpster dive at the hotel for thorn clothes or discarded linen. Trio has recovered enough to walk, though he'll need a trip to the Pokémon Center for a check up. As far as you can tell, Phoebe doesn't have a pokéball for him.

Seymour nodded, thankful to have someone who knew their way around town and could show them the way back to the hotel.

"Your Dodrio has no PokeBall?" Seymour asked when he noticed. A moment later he realized it might have been rude to ask, but it was already too late for that. "I could give you one if you would like. Regardless, how did the two of you (four of you?) become friends?"

She shrugs. "I never used any balls. Trio took care of me for as long as I remember. Some people tried to catch Trio, or to get me to live in town with some strangers, but the few times I tried were just awful. So I just stayed with Trio in the forest. Getting some things like medicine can be rough, but it's better than dealing with adults."

You reach the Pokemon Center soon enough, and get your teams checked up. The nurse raises an eyebrow when she sees Phoebe, but doesn't question her presence when you present her Dodrio.

As she steps away to take care of your Pokemon, Phoebe asks "so you said you're not locals? Where do you come from?"

"I'm from Kanto, one of the cities there, you probably wouldn't know it." Jake figured people in Cadien were just as ignorant of Kanto cities as he was of Cadien ones.

"Yeah, I don't always know how to feel about pokeballs, it feels a bit mean, but at the same time, the pokemon don't really seem to mind. Well, they are always ready to fight when they come out so maybe it does put them in a bad mood."

"Pretty cool that you can live outside of town. I basically never left my city in all my time before I came out here. Being outside at night with no buildings around is a bit scary, so it has been really nice to travel with someone." Jake then offered a high-five to Seymour, the MVP of travelling companions.

Seymour returned Jakey's high five with gusto, then said, "I am from the Hoenn region myself. My family owns a patch of land near the safari zone there. In fact, a large portion of my family actually works at the safari zone itself." He wasn't sure if people in Cadien knew what a safari zone was, but he didn't bother elaborating unless asked.

"So, now that we aren't lost and our pokemon pals are healed, should we rest up for the remainder of the day, or do some training? Training together could be a great way to get to know eachother better, since we will be traveling together," he suggested, mostly to their new friend. But if Phoebe wasn't interested, relaxing had its benefits too.