Following Portia's lead, you follow a small trail into the thick forest. The smell of moss is mixed with hints of jasmine, while the distant thrumming of Metapods replaces the sounds of the highway.

You keep on the look out for wild Pokémons, but only find traces of rattatas and bidoof. They probably prefer to stay hidden this close to the city. Still, the peaceful forest is a nice change from the bustle of the city.

As the afternoon grows late, you settle into a small clearing for the night. While Laconney starts a fire, you notice a rustling in the bushes around you...

Atticus' legs were already sore from all the walking they had done, so it was nice to get a chance to rest for the night. He found the clearing peaceful and since his Pokemon had been stuck inside of their balls for the majority of the journey, he decided to let them out to play and get to know each other. "Bubby, Shelby, come on out now," he told them cheerily before the Bulbasaur and Shellder joined the small group. He figured Bubby would enjoy the environment they were in but he wasn't sure how Shelby would act now that he was no longer by the beach. He then heard the rustling in the bushes and lifted his head up alertly. "Hey guys... do you hear that?" he muttered quietly, fists clenching by his sides nervously as he tried to see where the rustling was coming from.

Jakey kept both of his pokemon out as he walked. While Fetcher had no issue keeping up, Jakey needed to hold Skipper part of the time and let it hop along side the other half. Despite the long walk, the scruffy youth seemed to have lost no spunk. The only spunk he seemed to lose was when he realized he had never been so far away from the city and without a path before. It was a bit scary, but he was happy to rise to the challenge.

He did his best to relax as they set up camp. He was no stranger to rough'n it, but he was outside his native environment. He did his best to mask his uncertainty as he made himself comfortable. He seemed to notice the bushes moving as well. He drew his pokemon closer to him and grabbed the sturdiest looking stick he could find in close proximity to arm himself.
"Yeah, I heard that. You think it is some punks or pokemon?"

He suspected the latter. The young crew were probably the only punks in the forest.

Now that you're paying attention, you realize the sound is surrounding the clearing. Between the bushes, you can barely catch glimpse of small shapes moving around, too fast to identify.

As you try to decide what to do, an onslaught of rains on your camp. You're not hit, but you're left confused as you see pieces of blackened cut potatoes, berry cores, and a few bones. All smell faintly of dish washing soap.

Seymour had enjoyed the trek through the forest for the most part. It was a nice day and the wilderness was beautiful. And as long as they kept moving, the mosquitoes weren't too terrible either. Seymour was having fun getting to know his fellow trainers better as they walked as well.

He let each of his pokemon spend some time outside their pokeballs, and even managed to come up with some names for his Laconney and Farfetch'd. He decided that the Laconney, with its little outfit, looked kind of like a cuddly little warlock. So Seymour named him Locke. His Farfetch'd seemed rather strong and well-groomed, and he felt Farrah would be a good name for her. But Seymour opted to keep his Lotad's name as Lotad. He had been calling him Lotad for so long, it would feel weird to change it now. Perhaps he would revisit the name-change concept if Lotad ever evolved into a Lombre. And of course Glumpy the Shroomish already had her new name.

When they settled down for the night around their campfire, Seymour's pokemon were all resting in their balls except for Locke the Laconney, who could help with the fire if necessary. Locke was currently resting on Seymour's lap as he pet the dozing pokemon. But he nudged the pokemon awake as the food waste came pouring in. "Who's there? Why are you picking on us?" he called out to the night.

To Locke, he said, "Think you could help illuminate the area a little more?" He held his little rabbit up in the air, blazing-blue tail outward. Seymour peered out into the darkness to try and see who (or what) was invading their campsite.

---

Hoping to use Laconney's Glow ability to illuminate our surroundings better.

Jake would have acted decisively to chase down whatever was causing the commotion if there was just one thing ahead, but it seemed to be all around. Still, he didn't want to be completely helpless -- even if the debris didn't hit him and didn't smell particularly bad. He rallied his pokemon to his side,
"Skipper, Fetcher, let's return fire! Skipper, knock down anything that gets too close. Fetcher, let's bat it back!"

Jake then demonstrated with his own stick what he expected his bird pokemon to do, to bat the various bits and pieces back into the bush. Jake wasn't as sure what he wanted his mudkip to do, so just having it do some target practice was fun.

Locke pushes the shadow a bit farther, briefly revealing the shapes moving through the bushes. It looks like pink balls... no, more like eggs. Many of them. It doesn't take long for Seymour to recognize a pack of Exeggcute. It's clearly not the only group though, as other bushes a shaking on the opposite side too.

As a second wave of table scrap flies their way, Jake swing wildly, not hitting anything. Still, it's enough to inspire his companions, who do a good job batting aside the trash. A few of Skipper's bubble float between the trees, causing an angry scream to fill the forest.

"EXEGG... GUTOR!" A two meter tall palm tree enters the clearing, giving you an angry glare with it's three coconut heads.

Just as it was dawning on Seymour which species of pokemon were surrounding their campsite, the exeggutor emerged. The trainer staggered backward and held his laconney tight. "Ex- Exeggutor!?" he blurted.

Nervously, he looked toward Portia out of the corner of his eye. In a loud and nervous whisper, he asked her, "Do you know what to do? What with your psychic connections and all? There are exeggcute in the bushes too." Seymour had no idea if Portia had any actual psychic connections, but she had a psychic pokemon she was close to.

Then it finally dawned on Seymour that he had a grass type pokemon he was close to too. In fact, he had two grass types. He suddenly found himself wondering if he himself knew anything that might help them in this situation. Why was the exeggutor so angry with them? Were they in its territory? Was it just itching for some confrontation? Something else? He did his best to calm his fight or flight instincts and soak in the clues.

---

Seymour is using his Intuition and Pokemon Knowledge to try and assess the situation. Namely, why is the exeggcute/exeggutor here, and what can they do about it? Just how much danger are they actually in right now?

Portia remained calm at camp despite the growing agitation in the bushes - she hardly seemed to pay attention at all, really, even when debris began to rain down on the group.  Not a single bit of it actually hit her in lieu of falling short or just whizzing past her head.  Houdini was her early-warning system, after all; just as he'd Teleported them away when the Shroomish were an immediate threat, the lack of response from him seemed to assure Portia that she wasn't in any real danger.  Instead she focused her attention on what had been thrown and scowled as she turned over some of the refuse.  Blackened, hand-cut food scraps...

"I don't think we need psychic powers to figure this one out, Seymour.  Rope it in, boys - don't attack them." Portia reassured her companion as she finally did rise and set a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  She stepped ahead a short ways toward the Exeggcute and Exeggutor, hands open and outstretched to show she meant no threat.  "Easy friends, easy.  All this garbage... I bet it was left by other travelers making a mess of your forest, huh?  I'd be pretty mad too if someone came and dumped their bin in my home.  We're not gonna leave anything behind when we pull up camp, I promise." the young woman kept an affable, gentle tone as she spoke to the wild Pokemon.  "In fact, why don't we help you?  If you show us where other Humans left messes, we can help clean them up.  Would you like that?"

Portia will make use of her "Pokemon Friend" strength in an attempt to calm and cooperate with the wild Pokemon, based on her deduction of what the garbage means.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:40, Mon 06 Jan 2020.

Portia's deduction makes sense. It's not rare for Pokémon to blame all humans for the bother caused by some. Though they remain angry, the offer to help did end the rain of trash.

Multiple Exeggcute jump out of the bushes, shouting to one another and to the Exeggutor. Finally, the palm tree turns sideway, and leads you into the forest. It's a short trip, ending at the base of a small cliff. The area is mostly covered by thick leafy branches, invisible from anywhere but below. The perfect place for a group of Pokémons to hide.

Except for the smell of soap floating over the area. Bits and pieces of food are scattered about, clearly the remains of human cooking. Looking a bit closer, you spot strands of spaghetti hanging from higher branches, hinting that the trash fell from above.

The cliff is close to vertical, but does have plenty of hand-holds and is only five or six yard high. Climbing it wouldn't be very difficult.

Jake was thankful that the others with him were able to de-escalate the issue. It was unlikely any of the trainers were in a position to challenge an evolved pokemon... especially not one with support. He eagerly followed the pokemon through the forest. When confronted with the cliff, he recalled his mudkip into its pokeball but left Fetcher out -- after all, it could probably swoop up on its own.

He was happy to see a challenge that he felt he could surmount. He wasn't familiar with climbing cliffs, but he had scaled small buildings before. The fit youth nearly attacked the cliff face, racing towards it and leaped up to try to get a hand-hold as high up as possible to reduce the climbing time further. He took just one moment before the radical action to explain his actions,
"Imma take a peek and see if they are still there!"

As Jake looked down to the others to explain himself, Portia gave an encouraging double-thumbs up.  Though, as he turned back around to look up at his destination above, he'd find Portia suddenly already up at the top of the cliff ahead of him.  Leave it to a teleporter to show off and take the shortcut by not even bothering to travel between Point A and Point B.  The smirking girl knelt down to offer her hands out to help haul Jake up and make his climb a bit easier.

"C'mon, the buddy-system exists for a reason." she urged with a grin.

It takes a bit of shaking to get Houdini to react, but Portia soon finds herself at the top of the cliff, and she helps Jake reach her. You see there's a trail leading away from where you stand, one used by humans it seems. It's a bit hard to see between the trees, but farther away you spot what seems to be tents. Camouflaged tents.

Before you can move closer, you notice movement coming your way. A woman dressed in a garish tie-dye shirt.

Not being much of a climber himself, Seymour opted to stay at the bottom of the cliff until he was needed. But he did release his own farfetch'd into the air to go join Jakey's. "Help them if they need it," he instructed to Farrah Farfetch'd, then send her flapping up to the top of the small cliff.

"Oh thanks, you're sure speedy!"
Jake cheerfully says to Portia as she helps up him the cliff. He then waves to Seymour at the bottom of the cliff in thanks for sending his pokemon up to help them if need be. He then pops Skipper out of its pokeball and scritches it at the base of its neck before pulling out his pokedex in case the approaching figure was angling for a fight.

He waves to the approaching figure with his free hand. He figured accusing them of littering as the first thing to come out of his mouth would be a bit rude so opted for something more cheery
"Hi there, nice to see some other campers in the forest!"

The woman didn't seem to be paying attention as she was walking toward you, probably more focused on the barrel she was carrying on her back. That changed when Jake called out, surprising her. She falls on her back, causing the barrel to spill soapy water.

Instead of standing up, she pulls out a Pokéball. "Kirlia! Help!" In a flash of light, the green-haired Pokémon appears in front of you, ready to fight.

OOC: Although she is hostile, you can try to talk them down before the fight starts. Seymour and Atticus are close enough to hear the woman's shout, and shout back as well, though they obviously don't know what Portia and Jake are seeing.

Seymour didn't know what was going on up top, but it sounded like it was more than just an abandoned campsite. With a sigh, Seymour approached the short cliff and searched for some good handholds. "Sounds like it would be a good idea to head up," he commented reluctantly to Atticus.

Portia scowled as she caught sight of a familiarly-colored shirt.  She might've considered the group nothing but a bunch of low-tier troublemakers if it hadn't been for what they were accused of back in the city.  While she wasn't so convinced that she could trust what the officials said, the woman's immediate fear of attack didn't exactly reassure Portia as to their innocence either.

"Oi, it's the tie-dye brigade." she leaned back over the ridge to call down to the others below.  Specifically Seymour, in case he felt the need to stow Laconney away for safe keeping.  With that, Portia looked back to the panicked woman and her Kirlia with a deadpanned expression.  "Rope it in, lady - we're not looking to pick a fight.  And believe me, you really don't want to push it." she warned.  Though she made no aggressive motions herself, there was something decidedly eerie in the way one of Houdini's eyes slowly peeked open just enough to give an intimidating gleam as if daring the other Psychic to give him a reason to test his new Move.  "Your camp's been dumping your rubbish off the side of the ridge, huh?  You know you're really ticking off the local Pokemon." Unlike Jake, she had no qualms with being rudely direct on the matter.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:23, Sat 11 Jan 2020.

The woman looks embarrassed as she gets back on her feet. "Yeah, well... you kids shouldn't be out here! Go back home before you get hurt!" She holds on to her Pokémon's arm, as it's eyes begin to glow.

To Seymour and Atticus' surprise, the cliff is actually pretty easy to climb. The two reach the top soon enough to see the stand off, as well as Farrah about to make a fly-by attack on the Kirlia...

With a glance from Portia, Houdini vanishes from her shoulders... and reappears between the woman and her companion, scaring them apart. The move is so sudden, that the Kirlia still vanishes, bringing Houdini with her by accident.

The woman is stunned... but gives a nervous grin. "Ha! We got your Abra! Don't follow me if you want to see him again!" She starts to run away. A good thing, seeing how Houdini teleports back to Portia moments after the empty threat.

Even though he's safe and sound, Houdini gives a worried "Braa..." while pointing along the path the woman is taking.

It didn't take Abra re-appearing to cause Jake to start off after the tie-dye woman. He quickly recalled Skipper into its pokeball once again so it didn't slow him down as he tried to accelerate to a break-neck pace to catch up to the woman before she could alert others to their presence... or whatever she was trying to do. The forest floor was a type of ground he was not familiar with covering at a fast pace, so he tried to pay some attention to where his feet were landing so as to not trip and fall on his face. He hoped and figured Fetcher would be able to keep up, or at least to be able to find him as he raced after the woman.

In fact, he took of so quickly, he hadn't even realized that the Abra was safe with Portia, he called after the woman,
"Come back, you littering thief!"

There was no sense of irony in those words despite Jake knowing full well he was guilty of both of those crimes from time to time... but he wasn't doing them now, so it was fair to call someone else out on it.

As much as ever, Portia and Houdini appear to be in sync - she just held her arms out in a cradling position and, after a moment, her Pokemon popped back into existence in her embrace without her so much as batting an eye.  "Guess these guys aren't that smart, huh?  Who honestly thinks they can kidnap a teleporting Pokemon?" she muttered as he helped Houdini back up to his usual seat atop her shoulders.  Portia looked back down the side of the cliff below and called out to Seymour and Atticus.  "Get up here!  Looks like there's gonna be trouble!"

With that, however, Portia didn't linger to wait for the others to join up.  She turned and hustled after Jake, close on his heels - he may have had his Pokemon with him, but she didn't want to risk him getting caught up in danger alone.

With the entire group atop the cliff, you chases after the woman... only to pause as you get a look at their actual camp. Between the scattered trees and the camouflage webbing, it's hard to figure out how many tents there are. You clearly see a pretty pavilion, with a smaller tent connected to it, opened toward the forest path you're on. Beyond that you count two or three more large tents, probably large enough for half-a-dozen people each.

Jake manages to grab the woman, but you already see some movement. Multiple people wearing tie-dye clothes, gathering toward the pavilion. Perhaps that was the Kirlia's destination.

For now, you need to decide what to do with the woman. And fast, before someone comes looking for her.

As he climbed the cliff, Seymour returned his laconney down below to its pokeball the moment Portia had mentioned the "tie-dye brigade." AKA Team Gaia. And when he reached the top of the cliff, it took him a moment to recognize what exactly was happening. But he gave chase with the others when they ran after the woman. He even signaled to his farfetch'd to fly back toward him in case any new dangers cropped up.

To his surprise, Jakey had managed to grab the woman he was pursuing, but it looked like their trouble was only just beginning. There were a whole lot more people here than he had anticipated. It was unlikely they would be able to stand up to them if an outright fight broke out. And these were the guys who would eat the pokemon they defeated... A shiver ran down Seymour's spine at the thought.

Almost without thinking, Seymour pulled out his pokedex and held it up so that it had a great view of the area. Perhaps they could put some of that government surveillance to good use. "I'm going to record everything that happens here," he mentioned to his companions, then pressed record. "Maybe Team Gaia will be less likely to attack if they know the government is watching, and can get our current location in order to track down their camp." He made sure he pronounced the words "Team Gaia" clearly into his pokedex's speaker, just in case the government was listening in in real time. Then Seymour watched to see how Jakey handled his catch, the littering thief.

For what it was worth, Jake had no idea to do with the woman he caught, he tried to keep her quiet with one hand over her mouth. Craning his head with a confused expression to Portia and the others,
"Should we teleport her back to the cliff so we have a chance to talk to her about the littering? I feel like we are the baddies right now, I don't really want to fight, I just want to talk."

In his free hand he also held his pokedex that seemed to be recording. Seems he had the same idea as Seymour. He was a bit eager to hand off the prisoner so he didn't have his attention quite as divided.

"They're Team Gaia.  While I'm not sure I fully believe the word on all this, they're apparently the ones responsible for a bomb attack back in the city that killed a bunch of Pokemon."  Portia huffed as she caught up with Jake and offered the woman he'd caught a dark glower.  "And considering how keen she was on kidnapping my buddy, and making a mess of the local Pokemon's home, I'm pretty inclined to think the officials might actually be on the level here.  Seems these guys are a bunch of criminals.  Maybe I should dump her back with all the Exeggcute and Exeggutor - I bet they'd love to see her."

OOC: Just to be clear, the Kirlia was trying to teleport her trainer. When Houdini teleported between them, the Kirlia teleported with him by accident. The woman's shout was just a desperate attempt to make you hesitate.

OOC: That's how I understood it to begin with, yes.  Portia's remark isn't saying that she believed the woman set out to snatch Houdini in the first place, but is holding her to account at being so eager to make a threat at the first apparent opportunity.  Given the two guys chasing Laconney earlier and the fact that the woman's first knee-jerk reaction to such a surprising moment was basically "Hah, now we have a hostage!", Portia's plenty convinced these guys are no good.

A bomb attack? Maybe teleporting the woman away and interrogating her was a good thing. Still, Jake wanted to see a bit more of this Team Gaia, but not in a fight,
"I mean, we gotta do something quick. Maybe just bring her back to our camp to show her all the trash and stuff. I wanna take a quick look around to see what they are up to here."

Jake thought he could probably get back to camp on his own. And lurking around was one of his specialties.

In the camp, the gathered people are heading around the large tent, and toward the path you're on. The Kirlia seems to be leading them. You only have a short time to hide or run, and it would be hard to drag the woman along with you either way.

"I... don't think we have time to drag her back..." Seymour commented, already nervously taking steps backward toward the cliff they had climbed. They didn't have the time, and Seymour definitely didn't have the muscle required to drag an unwilling person safely down a cliff face.

"I would rather cut our losses and make our way back to safety." Seymour still held his pokedex aloft to record as much as he could, but he was very clearly heading back they way they had come now.

As you hesitate, your prisoner decides to take the initiative. With a well placed elbow, she stuns Jake and manages to free herself. She stumbles down the trail, screaming for help and encouraging the rest of Team Gaia to hurry. You manage to hide in the bushes, but only just.

As you hold your breath, you hear the group talk.
"I got attack by trainers!"
"What? Where did they come from?"
"I don't know, they just jumped me..."
"What were you doing that far anyway? Aren't you supposed to take care of the cooking?"
"...I was dumping the used water..."
"...Weren't you supposed to dig a hole for that?"
"...Hole, cliff, what's the difference?"
"We'll discuss this later." The tone tells you it won't be a nice discussion. "For now, we need to find these trainers. If they get back to Bluweil, they'll blab and ruin our plan on the Night Challenge. And I will NOT waste the effort our friends made to get these Laconney."
"Got it. I'll tell everyone in the camp."
One pair of feet head to the cliff, before turning back and returning to the camp. "...This will be a long night."

Team Gaia has walk far enough that you can get out of hiding, especially as the sun has set, leaving you to decides what to do in a dark forest. While dozens of people are chasing after you.

Seymour's heart was still pounding heavily in his chest long after the Team Gaia people had wandered out of earshot. Still crouching nervously, he risked a whisper to his friends. "This is insane. We gotta get out of here before they spot us. I do NOT want to die in the middle of a dark unfamiliar forest at the hands of terrorists..."

Seymour wasn't going to stop anyone if they wanted to stick around, but he was already looking for the best way out of the area without being spotted. For himself and his pokemon if not for anyone else. He wanted to get to safety and find a way to alert the authorities about what they had overheard. In addition to the recording he was already making, of course.

Despite all her indignation at the situation, Portia was too accustomed to fleeing from danger all her years thus far to necessarily stand firm and fight.  Especially not with the others hastily wanting to make a quick retreat as well.  Though she hunkered down in hiding, she stewed and seethed to do so.

"We can't just leave!  Didn't you hear what that one said about the Laconney?  They might have captured some alive." she hissed in a low voice.  "You guys can head back if you want, but I'm not gonna just sit by while there's Pokemon in danger.  Houdini and I can watch our for each other."

The darkness spreads quickly, the moon barely visible in the sky. As you try to decide what to do, you notice ghostly blue lights floating through the trees. One of them seems to be coming toward you.

OOC: I've updated the map. You are currently at the camp right of the road. You all have some form of light, but using it may make it harder to hide.

Jake seems to take Portia's side. While he did not seem overly interested in the plight of the Laconney, he seemed interested in getting team Gaia in trouble. He talked in a hushed tone, figuring talking louder might attract attention,
"Yeah, I want to take a closer look. Maybe you can go to the south and we can catch up later, we have our dexes to stop us getting lost. Uwha?"

Jake made a confused noise and pointed in the direction of the blue light coming towards them,
"I don't think that is a flashlight, do you think they all have bright pokemon, or are those wild?"

Jake presumed the lights were caused by pokemon. He was a bit skeptical that the team all had matching pokemon, so figured they were not in imminent danger of being caught, so he switched his pokedex to identify the pokemon and tried to get a read on the one approaching

Seymour stopped in his tracks when Portia mentioned Laconney, and a pang of guilt resonated throughout his entire body. His new friend, Locke, had put his trust Seymour. He couldn't betray that. Not without even trying to get some fresh information. And if Locke's fellow Laconney might be in the camp, leaving would be unforgivable.

With a deep breath to settle his nerves, Seymour nodded to the group and turned his attention back toward the camp. "I suppose the last place they would look is in their own camp," he admitted.

When the blue light showed up, Seymour was about to use his pokedex on it when he noticed Jakey had beaten him to it. So instead he looked at the light more carefully to try and determine if its source was a friend or foe.

Between the darkness, the trees, and the distance, the Pokédex is unable to find out the source of the lights.

As one of the lights move closer, the other three seem to form a line, moving through the forest. Cracking branches can be heard, and if you don't move, whatever is approaching will be directly on you.

Jake muttered something inaudible as the light continued to approach and he could not identify whatever it was with his Pokedex. Hiding was something he was familiar with though, and they were surrounded by the means to hide.

If he began to run, it would make far too much noise and risked him tripping in the forest. Rather than running or simply hiding behind a tree, Jake looked for a nearby tree that looked like it could be climbed and tried to climb it to get out of sight. He didn't know what the others would do, but he was to most concerned about himself.

"You hide for now too," Seymour whispered to Farrah Farfetch'd. But Seymour himself stayed out of hiding and faced the blue light. He released is Laconney from his pokeball.

"Are these friends of yours?" he asked Locke, pointing toward the approaching lights. Seymour felt exposed and vulnerable standing out in the open. His knees were actually shaking too. But if these actually were Locke's friends and family, he figured the risk was worth it.

And if they weren't... Well, hopefully Farrah could be his surprise backup plan...

Considering how high the lights are, a Laconney would have to be flying... or be held up.

The more Seymour looked at the lights, the more he realized they probably were not actually the Laconney he initially believed they might be. "Locke," he whispered to his pokemon as he knelt next to it. "Your species isn't particularly nimble in trees, is it? And you don't evolve into anything that can fly? ... I'm thinking we may want to hide out ouf sight after all..." Seymour his with his Laconney in an attempt to stay out of sight of the approaching lights.

The group quickly hide in the bushes and trees, holding their breath as the light draws closer.

As they get closer, you're finally able to see them clearly. Team Gaia are combing the forest trying to find you. The lights are indeed Laconney, held up by some of the seekers. Their tail lights are kept low, just enough for the humans to see with their light-amplification goggles.

Two of them stop right under Jake's tree.

"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"A pop, I think?"

Jake tried not to make any sound as he slowly lurked in the branches of the tree, trying to bring himself into a position where the leaves of the tree would hide him from view of the ground. He kept his ears open for the popping sound they mentioned. Was it him? Was it something else?

Despite paying close attention to their surroundings, the Team Gaia goons fail to notice Jake's movement. For your part, all you are able to hear is the faint noise of cracking branches as the search party moves on.

After a few moments, the line of Gaia searchers arrives at the cliff, and prepare to repel down. They are just far enough that you think you could leave without getting noticed.

"It looks like they really do have some of Locke's friends," Seymour whispered when it seemed the coast was clear again. He wasn't sure what to do with that information yet. "Should we get to safety and figure out what our next move is?" he suggested.

Once you're sure they won't spot you even if they turn around, you come out of your hiding spots. The situation looks rather bad. Judging by what you've seen, their search party is composed of three person per Laconney. So if they find you while they are close together, you'd be outnumbered almost four to one.

Wait, no... make that five to one. Portia is missing.

Jake grit his teeth as he descended the tree and realized Portia was missing. Surely Team Gaia did not snatch her from the bushes as they hid -- they would have heard something. Portia must have sneaked off while the rest of them were hiding. Despite her being on their own, Jake was ready to get out, he nodded to Seymour,
"Yeah, maybe we avoid the way they went. We can tell Portia where we are when she wants to get back. She can teleport, we can't. Maybe lets just go to Bluweil now. I don't want to get caught, there are a lot and they might eat our pokemon."

Bluweil does seem like the safest place to be right now. There's just a problem: you're not sure where the town is.

You have two reference points: Team Gaia's camp, and the cliff the hunting party is going down (and your own camp beyond that).
Crude map

                          Cliff
                 1          [
             8       2      [
Team                       [        Your
Gaia        7   you   3    [        camp
camp                      [
             6       4   [
                 5       [


Based on that, in what direction do you wish to go?

Jake pointed back in the direction of the cliff and suggested they go that way,
"They went towards our camp, so maybe we go the same way so we can keep track of them a bit easier. They are glowing in the night and if they are beneath us on the cliff even if they spot us, we have time to run and hide again."

It easy to follow the hunters discreetly. Not only do they have lights to reveal their positions, one of them is swearing loudly after falling down the cliff. You see the last two are about to head down, one of them holding a Laconney to light their way. At the bottom, the others are spreading out once more.

Seymour followed behind Jakey as quietly as he could, and motioned for his pokemon to follow. It wasn't until after the hunters had descended the cliff that he dared risk speaking again. "It looks like now is our chance to make an escape. Let's try and get to Bluweil and alert the authorities. I think it is... this way." Seymour pointed in the direction one of the cliff faces ran, but he was less than certain he was correct. Still, he began inching in the direction he had chosen. "Feel free to stay if you want, but me and my pokemon are getting out while we still can."

As he moved, he turned toward his laconney with a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry we have to leave your friends behind, Locke. For now. But it is too dangerous for us to stay. However, we will be sure to send people here who have the skills necessary to rescue your fellow pokemon."

---

Seymour is heading along the top of the cliff in the direction of number two.

After leading them to the cliff, it became Jake's turn to be the follower. He didn't want to flash his pokedex around too much in the light for fear of drawing attention, so he nodded and said in a hushed tone to Seymour,
"Definitely, lead the way."

In another world -- a more urban world, with other friends -- more rough friends, Jake probably would have taken a different approach and gone after the two isolated members of Team Gaia, but it was a bit too risky here. He could only follow the others and hope that Team Gaia wouldn't be able to track them down.

You move carefully through the forest, trying to avoid the fallen branches. But after a short while, you look back and see the blue lights heading toward you once more...

You press on as quickly as you dare, until you spot another light, white this time. It reminds you more of the moon than of the wisp-like light the Laconney gave. As you get closer, you see it seems to be a trainer with a Noctowl on his shoulder, using a paper lantern to light his way. Unlike the members of Team Gaia, he's dressed like a bug catcher.

"Should we warn him?" Seymour whispered to Jakey, hopefully quietly enough that the noctowl couldn't hear them. "He might be in danger too if Team Gaia spots them. But on the other hand, they might direct team Gaia toward us if they know we are here too. They could be just the distraction we need to slip away."

Seymour hated the idea of using the bug catcher like that, but they would probably be alright. Probably... But at any rate, he would let Jakey take the lead on how to handle their new predicament.

Jake waited to hear the other's opinion before making a move. One of Jake's primary concerns apart from Team Gaia was getting lost in the woods. Well, getting lost in the woods then caught by Team Gaia. He weighed what Seymour suggested before rushing out, waving his arms at the bug-catcher; despite his animated flailing, he didn't shout,
"Help, help! There are crazy people in this forest!"

The man looks at Jake in surprise. "What? What are you..." Looking behind your group, he spots the floating lights. "Now that looks like trouble" he says, calling out a Spinarak. "Best we get out quick, Spin! Give us some sticky webs to slow them down!"

As the spider covers the floor with nearly invisible strands, the man guides you along the trail he was following. "My cabin's not far from here, we should be safe there." He pulls out his Pokédex, but frowns after activating it. "No signal? What's going on... unless..." He looks worried as he hurries you up.

Jake was too worried to give a sign of approval to the man. That didn't mean he was ungrateful, he was just saving his gratitude for a time of safety. Jake hoofed it following the bug catcher. He was a bit skeptical the cabin would be completely safe, but it would likely be safer than running around the woods in the dark.

He checked behind to see if the others were following him, but didn't check his phone after overhearing that the other man's phone had no signal. He didn't have a reason to call anyone at the moment.

Seymour was glad that Jakey's gut instinct seemed to be correct about the bug catcher. The new stranger didn't even hesitate to help them evade their pursuers. The idea to use webs was genius. And it gave Seymour an idea too.

Since his laconney was already out of his ball, Seymour said to it, "Add some mist into the mix too, Locke. It might help make the webs more effective."

Seymour then hurried along to get to the safety of the cabin. When their new friend commented about his pokedex, he subconsciously mimicked the bug catcher's worry. "What's wrong? What does a lack of signal mean?"

"It means these guys are worst than I thought..."

You soon reach the man's cabin. It's not very big, just a main room/kitchen and a bedroom, but it seems well built. As soon as you're inside, he locks the door. "Looks like that mist of yours mixed them up real good. We should have some time before they reach us. Take a seat, boys. Name's Cary."

He digs through his fridge, and pulls out cans of cola for everyone. "I heard there were more people than usual going around in the woods, and I though they were just poachers or something. But if the Pokédex aren't calling, than they got to have some sort of jammers. Not something your run-o'-the-mill trouble maker carries. Can you tell me anything about these goons?"

Jake happily accepted the soda and found a seat. He was impressed the two strangers had been able to coordinate the delaying tactic, but was worried when Cary implied it was a matter of time until Team Gaia stumbled across the cabin. Still, Jake was ready to express his gratitude,
"Thanks a bunch Mr. Cary, I am Faulkner. We are from out of town and explorin' in the woods to find some more pokemon, but ran into these weird Team Gaia people instead. I think they steal pokemon, but I know for sure they litter in the forest. I didn't run into them as much as my friend here."

Jake gestured to Seymour, who likely knew a bit more about Team Gaia than himself. It was probably a good time to actually listen to other people given the stakes of the conversation.

"Yeah, Team Gaia is supposed to be real bed news from what I understand. The police back in Rivierestel even suspect them to be behind a recent bombing there." Seymour then explained what he had learned about them from the police, and how his Laconney's family had met disaster at their hand. He then mentioned how they had spotted Team Gaia using some laconney as light sources in the forest, which helped back up the credibility of the bombing story.

"So yeah, I have no desire to have a run-in with those goons. Is there a way we could get to a place with a signal for our pokedexes? I have a recording on mine that I am sure the authorities would like to see."

Cary crosses his arms. "It won't be easy. I got no idea how far those jammers work. We could try to make a break for Levallac, but it's pretty far. Bluweil... well, it's not closer, but the local base is specialized in night operations. Odds are, they'll have some patrols going around there. If we can find one, they could help us."

He takes another look outside. "Looks like they got their act back together. If you have a suggestion, now's the time to bring 'em!"

"Bluweil sounds like the better bet," Seymour commented. "And it is where we were headed anyway. I say we head in that direction." He looked to the other to see if they agreed with his logic, or if they had any other insights.

Jake wasn't much a thinker. He had already spent much of his creative energy that night. That, and the best path seemed obvious, go in the direction they had originally intended before everything got so far off track due to Team Gaia. He offered support to Seymour's plan,
"Yeah, I think Bluweil makes the most sense. How do we get there in the dark without them seeing us though?"

After thinking a bit, Cary digs into a cabinet. "Ah! That should help." He hands you a sturdy compass. "The dial is phosphorescent, so you won't need to turn on your lights to see it. Just head South-West, and if you hear someone who's not coming from behind you, crack and shake one of those," he says, holding up three yellow tubes. "The soldiers uses them to signal for help when they're in hostile territory. If a patrol sees it, they'll try to contact you."

He takes another look outside, and calls out another Pokémon. This time, a two feet tall bug with a black carapace appears. "I'll try to blind them with Volbeat's Flash, then I'll try to lure them to the North. If you use your mist again, you should be able to sneak away without being seen.

...They're getting close. Are you ready?"

Jake eyed the compass suspiciously and gestured to Seymour. Jake didn't trust himself with 'advanced technology.' He understood broadly what a compass was, but not the minutia of how it worked. Seymour struck Jake as a smart person, so hopefully he could get the thing to work properly, maybe even be able to figure out what phosphorescent meant. Despite his lack of interest in the compass, Jake was eager to get his hands on one of the yellow tubes. The instructions given for those were easy enough.
"Wow, really cool. Thanks a bunch. I guess I am ready as ever. Even with Team Gaia, this country has so many nice people! Good luck out there. If we run into any patrols, we will tell them to check on you too."

Jake took one last moment with his pokedex to look at the map and prepare himself for rushing out into the dangerous night. Despite it only being the second night in Cadien, it had already become quite an adventure.

Seymour gulped as he looked down at the compass in his hand. He reoriented himself so that he knew where south-west was, and returned his Farfetch'd to her pokeball. He didn't want Farrah to get separated from the group as they ran. He would have done the same with Locke, but they still needed his mist.

After one last unsuccessful attempt to steady his nerves, Seymour said, "Alright. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Thank you for everything, Cary. I'll try to leave a message for you at the pokemon center in Levellac once we make it to Bluweil. Stay safe." And with that, Seymour opened the cabin door, told his Laconney to shroud the area with mist again, then attempted to lead their little group safely to the south-west.

With a final "good luck!" Cary opens the door. Even though you're starring away, the clearing outside the cabin gets briefly burned into your eyes by Volbeat's Flash.

Right at the edge, their Pokéball ready, you see Team Gaia wearing their night goggles. All fifteen of them. The stream of expletive you hear seem to indicate their goggles aren't designed to handle that kind of bright light, and Locke's mist gives you a clean get away from the cabin, while Cary runs off in another direction, using Volbeat's light to both guide him and keep Team Gaia's attention on him.

It's a bit hard to walk in the dark, but by the lack of lights following you, you don't really feel the need to stay stealthy. Unfortunately, Team Gaia isn't the only threat in this forest...

You almost jump out of your skin as Atticus screams in surprise. He turns on a small penlight to see what's on the ground, and you see he just stepped on a very angry Dunsparce.

Locke is the only one out right now, but even then the Dunsparce will get the first blow. Otherwise, time to give your orders.

Turning to see Atticus in trouble, Seymour was quick to react. "Locke, use Em- Use Splash!" Seymour nearly had his pokemon use ember, but realized at the last second that creating a bright fire in the darkness would not help their escape. Hopefully the splash would be enough of a distraction for Atticus to get to safety. Then they could decide what to do with the Dunsparce after that.

Rather than fumbling for his pokeballs in the dark, Jake did the first thing that came to mind . Jake had a long history of not being a trainer, so the first thing that came to mind was uncharacteristic for most to see. The first action he undertook was not unusual, pushing the person in most danger out of the way was pretty standard when dealing with an ornery pokemon. However, Jake, in one smooth motion with pushing Atticus out of the way, also went in to give the Dunsparce a solid kick.

Perhaps he did it to give Seymour more time to get Locke ready to attack, or perhaps Jake's brain just wasn't working correctly due to the stress and adrenaline.

The Dunsparce lashes out against Atticus, but is soon distracted by Locke bouncing around him. Jake takes advantage of that to push Atticus to safety, before trying to kick the snake away. But with only a small flashlight to provide light, it's not easy to keep track of the Pokémon, even with it trashing about like crazy.

Locke, on the other hand, has it pretty easy. He just has to bounce from one tree trunk to another, occasionally rebounding in front of the Dunsparce's head. After one such bounce, the Dunsparce jabs it's tail right where Locke was... and into the tree behind him. Deep enough to stop it from pulling out easily.

OOC: You have an opening right now, as the Dunsparce tries to free itself. Do you want to change your plans?

Jake grit his teeth, not because his wild kicks missed, but because he had better things to do that battling a pokemon right now. While it had been a while since they had seen or heard overt signs from team Gaia, who know how close they still might be, and who knows if they heard the yelp from Atticus. The Dunsparce lodging itself in the tree was a turn of fortune, and he eagerly implored his compass-wielding companion to keep leading the way out of there,
"We don't have time for this, we gotta get to safety!"

Seymour tosses a Pokéball, reasoning that even if the Dunsparce doesn't stay in it, it will be out of the way long enough for the group to escape.

Surprisingly, the ball locks shut, and Seymour runs off with a brand new Pokémon.

A rapid win, even though no attacks connected. Everyone gets to increase one of their Pokémon's stat by one rank. Yes, even those who didn't participate in the fight.

But just as you feared, it seems the fight drew the attention of Team Gaia, as blue lights once again follow you. They seem to behave differently, though. More scattered, and slower moving. It seems one of them is missing too.

Despite that, you find one of the light coming ever closer. It's a good distance from the others though. If it comes down to a fight, you would have some time before others can come to help them.

Seymour had been cursing his reflexive instinct to throw a pokeball when he say his opening, but thanked his lucky stars when the dunsparce stayed inside its new pokeball. Things could have certainly gone much worse. Especially considering their pursuers were still hot on their trail.

"Think you can manage some more mist?" he asked Locke quietly as he reoriented himself with the compass. "It is probably our best defense right now. Looks like we need to go this way," He said to everyone. Seymour picked up his little rabbit so that it could create its mist without having to worry about where it was going at the same time.

Jake glanced around to the lights coming towards and listened closely to the surroundings. He was eager to get going, but he wanted Seymour to get the mist up before bolting out into the forest once more.

The mist seems to slow them down... but not long. A blast of blue flame rises between the trees. The light isn't too bright, but it's easy to notice, and draws the other search team closer. You press on the pace, and though Seymour's leg feel like they're about to fall off, you manage to outpace the hunters.

You feel like you've been walking forever, following the soft glow of the compass. You finally hear the sound of cracking branches nearby to the south of you, with no signs of the blue glow of Team Gaia.

Seymour stopped abruptly when he heard the cracking branches. "I really hope they didn't get ahead of us somehow. Falkner, do you still have those glowing sticks?" If their big catcher friend was correct, then hopefully the sound was coming from one of the Bluweil forces.

Of course there was always the chance it was coming from a wild pokemon too...

It did not take much prompting for Jake to grab one of the sticks, snap it, shake it, and toss it in towards the source of the sound. Even if it were just a Pokemon, there were a couple sticks left over for when the encounter a real patrol.

The stick spins in the air, hits a tree, then vanishes in the leaves. You hold your breath, wondering if you made a mistake in throwing it like that... until you notice two person moving closer, incredibly silently. When you turn in their direction, a man speaks up. "Did I miss a briefing? I didn't hear about a challenge tonight."

"There isn't one" answers a woman. She steps closer, using a small vest-mounted lamp to be seen. "They don't have goggles. Did you three try to catch Pokémons in the middle of the night? Are you lost?"

The two of them are clearly soldiers, wearing camouflaged suits and night-goggles, and with a rifle slung over their shoulder. For all the sneaking they were doing, they don't seem worried about the situation.

"We were camping way out in the woods," Seymour said hurriedly. "We stumbled upon a Team Gaia camp and they chased us all the way here. I should have a recording of some of it on my pokedex. We hoped you could help keep us safe." Seymour began fishing his pokedex out of his pocket to let them see what he had recorded. "A bug catcher we met, Cary, said they were using jammers."

Jake nodded along to Seymour's explaination, but felt obligated to add on his own editorializing,
"Team Gaia is really nasty, they tried to steal our friend's abra. We got separated from her. She wanted to help the pokemon they stole and then she disappeared. I really hope she is alright."

As an afterthought, Jake added,
"Seymour also did catch a pokemon tonight, we weren't trying to, it just attacked us out of nowhere so he aced it with a pokeball!"

"A jammer?" The man turns away for a moment, talking into his helmet mike. "Central, this is patrol Hotel. Do you copy? Central, do you copy?"

"I'm Lieutenant Wright. My companion is Private Compton. We've heard of Team Gaia. They've been causing a ruckus in Bluweil, but we didn't know they were hiding in the forest. You said they stole some Pokémon? They weren't yours, right?"

"They're right, radio's fucked." Compton turns to you. "Do you know what they're doing here? Have you seen any of their Pokémons?"

"We say them carrying Laconney as flashlights," Seymour replied. He rubbed Locke's chin as he continued. "Most likely family members of my own Laconney, which joined my after they attacked its home in Rivierestel. I also saw one of them with a Kirlia that could teleport, but that's all I remember." He looked around nervously. "Shouldn't we get somewhere safer?"

Jake tried his best to look innocent as he replied to the man,
"Sheesh, language. We are just kids, ya'know. I think they are planning a bit more in Bluweil. I donno what they said exactly. Something about a plan on a night challenge. Wait, didn't you just say challenge? You think they are hunting down soldiers? That is awfully brave of them."

From the tone of his voice, he didn't mean brave in a good way, but instead in a crazy way.

"Hunting us?" Wright thinks it over, looking at Locke, then shakes her head. "I don't think they were targeting us. The Bluweil gym challenge is centered on night combat and navigation. The trainers have to seek out Major Jacob, the gym's leader, as he camps in the woods. The challenge comes from both the wild Pokémon and soldier patrols, who gives the trainer clues if they are defeated."

"But there's also a psychological challenge. In the dark, it's easy to imagine there are threats everywhere." She points at Locke's glowing tail. "And if you find yourself chassed by weird blue lights... some trainer may panic and abandon the challenge. Not a carreer ending decision, but it could make them reconsider their decision to compete."

"So they're trying to screw with the rookies? We should warn..." Compton stops, before pointing behind you. "Contact, lights out." Both soldier crouch, turning off their lamps. As you imitate them, you notice a faint blue light in the distance. "Orders?"

"Kids, you feel ready to prove yourselves as trainers?"

"Do we have a choice?" Seymour replied nervously. He gulped, then added, "Ready as I will ever be, I guess."

The trainer looked down at his Laconney and whispered, "Locke, I think you should sit this one out. I don't want to pit you against your own family if it comes down to that." Seymour's fingers then drifted along the pokeballs on his vest as he contemplated which pokemon to use. His grass types would be at a disadvantage against a Laconney, if that's what their adversaries decided to use. His dunsparce was a complete unknown, since he had only just caught it. So that left Farrah Farfetch'd. She was probably his best choice at the moment.

Jake wasn't sure what to make of team Gaia's plans. It sounded deeply unambitious. They weren't even stealing anything! He also did not feel completely ready for a fight of the magnitude the soldiers alluded to,

"Ummm, I just have 2 Pokemon, I am pretty new at this, but I am happy to try!"

With that, he released skipper from its pokeball and steeled himself for combat.

With a nod, Wright hands you a flashlight. "I want you to pretend you're injured. That should lure them into this clearing, and then we ambush them. Use that tactical flashlight, it will both blind them, and let your companions see their targets. We'll do the same from the side. Got it?"

As she speaks, her companion hands his small LED lamp near the top of a bush. He then brings out his own pokémon, a Shiftry, who cut a few branches. "Just lie down in front of this bush, and hold those branch. They'll see the light, and think you're behind the bush."

Jake grinned when he heard the word ambush. Now they were speaking his language. Before he followed their instructions, he swiftly grabbed his mudkip and found a branch for it to hang out on until the trap was to be sprung. No one would expect a mudkip to fall from the sky, well, probably not at least.
"Thanks mister!"

Jake spoke quietly but with enthusiasm as he took the flashlight. He wanted to say something else, but he instead quickly got into place behind the bush and promptly collapsed to the ground with a small yelping noise.

Seymour nodded and took the branch and flashlight offered to him. "We'll try our best." He didn't much care for being used as bait, but he didn't have any better plans at the moment.

In preparation, Seymour also let out his Farfetch'd and told her to fly up above and be ready to dive bomb with a peck attack as soon as the flashlights came on.

In the distance, you can see a few other lights blinks between the trees. But your focus is on the one closest, heading in your direction. Atticus does his best to sound like he's hurt as Team Gaia draws closer.

The light pauses... and after a few moments, two humans enter the clearing while the blue light stays back. The soldiers light up the pair on their side, and you quickly do the same. The two woman, both wearing dark blue and green tie-dye shirts, scream in surprise and toss out pokéballs while trying to shield their eyes.

A Clefairy and a Deerling appear in the clearing, surprised by the bright light.

OOC: Pick your targets, and give your commands!

Seymour stood and flashed his light right at their foes, blinding them. He was happy that their plan had worked, at least partially. "Farrah! Use peck on the Deerling!" Seymour yelled to his pokemon. The Farfetch'd dive bombed from the branches above and aimed its beak at the little deer pokemon.

Jake did his best time time everything just right. This was not the first time him and a crew had jumped someone. It was the first time in a forest; it was the first time with pokemon; it was the first time with soldiers... but it didn't feel different.  Rising dramatically, swiftly, he pointed his light at the target pokemon,
"Skipper, tackle that Clefairy to the ground!"

Jake wasn't certain, but he reckoned that they were not expecting a water pokemon to strike from the sky. Hopefully the fall would amplify the attack as well.

Skipper lands on the surprised Clefairy, but only bounces off the round fairy. Farrah's assault is more efficient, hitting the Deerling multiple times before it can launch a Leech Seed at the bird.

At it's trainer's command, Clefairy starts a chant, drawing everyone's attention... including that of the soldier's Beedrill, who bowls the Clefairy over. No a painful hit, but a hit none the less. Skipper looks at the Clefairy, confused by it's chanting, and apparently forgets to attack it. Still, the bug scares the Clefairy into a Defense Curl. On the other side, the Deerling manages to dodge Farrah's attack, and replies with a powerful Jump Kick... into a tree, as the Farfetch'd ducks out of the way.

The Deerling looks ready to fall over, while the Clefairy is unharmed. The two soldiers direct their pokémons to attack the third Team Gaia member, on the edge of the clearing.

OCC: Pause to adjust your strategy, and decide what you'll do if Deerling falls over.

Jake scowls as his pokemon gets distracted mid-combat. The tackle from the sky was less effective than he had hoped. The clefairy seemed too chubby in general to be sufficiently injured by simple tackles. However, his Skipper was not a single-move pokemon. With a dramatic point to the Clefairy, Jake commanded,
"Alright Skipper, start firing your water gun and don't stop till it drops!"

"Farrah, keep pecking away at that Deerling until it can't give us any more trouble, then help Skipper out with the Clefairy!" The leech seed on his Farfetch'd worried Seymour a little, but Farrah seemed to be doing well this far. He was impressed by her talent.

---

Seymour is just going to have Farrah keep using peck on everything for right now.

The Clefairy manages to buy a bit of time for the Deerling by using another Follow Me, but it didn't last long. Another Peck takes down the grass pokémon, leaving Clefairy on it's own against two foes.

Despite Skipper's earlier hesitation, he follows Jake's order and showers the fairy with Water Gun attacks. Most of them bounce off the pink skin, but it's enough of a distraction for Farrah to swoop in and join the assault. When she finally finds an opening, the Clefairy is surprised enough that Skipper manages to get a solid hit in as well.

It's trainer seems about to give another order, only to find herself with a firearm pointed at her back. "That's enough of you, girl. Call your pokémon back."

While Compton has the three members of Team Gaia lined up at gun point, Wright (who's holding a confused Laconney) signals her Beedrill. "Take her look, and signal the guys coming to head in this direction" she says, pointing toward Bluweil. The Beedrill spins in the air, taking a light pink glow as it does, only to be replaced by a convincing copy of the Clefairy's trainer.

You all duck behind the bushes, while Wright keeps the Lacconey in sight. One of the other Team Gaia search team move closer, but on seeing the fake trainer, follow it's direction to the South-East.

Once she's sure they're out of earshot, the fake trainer spins again, this time turning into a Zorua. "Good job. And you too, kids" she adds as she turns to you. "Now for the sneaky part. We'll head away from them with the prisoners. That should get us out of their jammers' range. If that doesn't work... well, that's where you step in.

You'll need to head toward Bluweil, while pretending to be part of their search teams. As long as you keep your distance, and have your Lacconey out and glowing, they shouldn't notice the exchange. If they turn around, just hide your Laconney, keep going, and try to call this number with your Pokédex."

She pulls out her own Pokédex, and sends you a contact number. "Tell them what happened, and if they ask for a code, it's Raticate. Got it?"

Jake cheered his mudkip on as his mudkip finally got the memo and started to attack the clefairy again. He looked substantially more subdued as the battle ended at gunpoint. He would have wanted to finish the fight properly rather than having it end with human-on-human threats of violence. It wasn't very trainer-like. In any case, the fight was done and the Ditto slinked off into the night. Jake seemed chipper enough to answer the soldier's orders,
"It was high time those Team Gaia folks learned a lesson. This will teach them not to... do whatever they do! Maybe they got a jammer on them or something, maybe we can turn their jammer off so we can use the pokedex again"

Jake took a step towards one of the team Gaia, seemingly interested in searching them, but obviously would wait for permission from the folks with guns before actually interfering with the criminals.

"Doubt it." Compton points to the third Team Gaia member, the girl who didn't join your fight. "Lantern girl here says it's the search leader who has it. He holds the center of the line. Still, doesn't hurt to check."

He does a quick search of one of the woman, while Jake does the same for another. A small radio falls out of their pocket, but Compton dismisses it as nothing more than a walkie-talkie, and not a jammer.

Seymour wasn't sure the plan would work, but the soldiers seemed to know what they were doing thus far, so he was willing to give it a try. "Should we take the walkie-talkie in case they send instructions?" he suggested as he returned Farrah to her pokeball. He then picked his Laconney back up to use Locke as a sort of nightlight again.

Jake offers the walkie-talkie to Seymour, but is ready to switch to give it to the soldiers if they want it instead. It definitely made sense to hold onto it for some reason that Jake could not put his finger on. He then smiled as Seymour began using his Laconney as a flashlight (just like team gaia). Turns out, Jake was a bit slow in listening and didn't catch that part of the plan.

"Good point. I doubt they'll be able to, the jammer would affect them too. Still, better safe than sorry."

With a final "good luck, kids," you part ways. You thought not having Team Gaia chasing would lead to a more relaxed walk, but that was without counting with the fact that hostile trainers are just a stone throw away. Still, despite your worries, they keep their distance as you advance.

You take a short pause at the feet of an ancient tree, when you're suddenly blinded by a white light. "Sneazles! Flank them!" You look around in a panic, and can barely spot a pair of soldiers pointing flashlights at you.

Almost without thinking, Seymour lifted his hands up in surrender. Which caused him to lift Locke high over his head. "Code Raticate! Code Raticate!" he blurted. Nobody would accuse Seymour of being the bravest pokemon trainer out there...

"Hold!" One of the soldier comes closer, and takes a good look at you. "You're Seymour, Atticus, and Falkner? We've been told about you." The lights grow dimmer, though the big red spot in your vision takes a while to fade.

In the distance, you can hear the sound of pokémon battling. "Come on, we've got a jeep waiting. The Major will want to see you tomorrow." The two soldiers, and their Sneasel duo, lead you out of the forest. Eventually, seeing you were at least another hour from the forest's edge.

OOC: Feel free to ask any questions you have to the soldiers. Otherwise, you get to the jeep without issue, and quickly fall asleep as they drive you to town.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:57, Thu 12 Mar 2020.

Jake's surprise evaporated once he realized that these were the troops they were expected to run into. Once he blinks away the lights he nodded eagerly. Despite the 'fun' they had in the forest, he was glad that they where making their way out. Plus, it was likely that they were going to have free lodging on behalf of the soldiers. Hopefully it would be more comfy than camping in the woods. Jake drifted asleep in the jeep, dreaming of a soft bed.

You wake up in a small room, on a rather comfortable bed. A clock next to the bed says it's around four-thirty. Your gear is sitting on a chair, while any pokémon you had out is sleeping on a big cushion nearby. There's little else in the room, just an empty trash bin, and small desk with pen and paper. Looking out the window, you see a few bland buildings, as well as a forest beyond a tall mesh wall.

Your legs still feel a bit heavy from all the hiking you've done, but another part of you won't allow you to remain in bed: your rumbling stomach.

Atticus could not even make up the experiences that they had just been through. He slept heavily through the night and into the day to recover from the craziness they had endured. He didn't even remember all that well how they got to the room they were in, but he could see his Pokemon sleeping nearby. He smiled and was glad that they had an opportunity to recover from the wild encounters that they had endured. But then he felt his stomach rubbling and he knew he needed some food as soon as possible. But how to go about that? He looked around to see if the other guys were up and had any ideas about what to do.

Jake groaned as he got up. He rubbed his legs to get rid of some of the soreness. Even his high level of fitness had limits. He glanced around to the others confused, like he also could not believe what had all happened last night. He patted his stomach, then went to pat Skipper. They had all earned the rest they got. He finally opened his mouth after petting his pokemon,
"Oh man, I'm starving. Can we just leave whenever, or is this like a secure military thing?"

Seymour begrudgingly pushed himself into a sitting position and ran his fingers through his hair. His messy, unwashed, hair. Ugh. It took Seymour a while to realize Jakey had asked a question, but he didn't know the answer anyway, so he merely shrugged in response. The trainer tried to stand up, but his legs complained so badly that he decided to remain where he was for a while.

Looking up, he smiled when he noticed his Laconney resting peacefully on a pillow. Good. Locke deserved a good rest. Without waking him, Seymour returned Locke to his pokeball. "What a night," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

"I could definitely use some food too," he said, finally responding more meaningfully to Jakey. But rather than searching for someone to help them, Seymour made sure his pokedex was back to working properly. Or did the military base (if that's where they were) have a jammer of its own?

The Pokédex connects normally, though who to call is an open question. Looking outside your rooms, you see you're in some sort of barracks, though no one's in the corridor.

Jake's eyes perk up as he prepared to exit the room. He returned Skipper to its pokeball and he gingerly tried to open the door and creep out. He did not know if they were supposed to stay put; being voluntarily abducted by the military was not something that had happened to him before, but he found it a bit odd that there was not someone assigned to keep an eye on them.

Once he saw the others wake up and start to gather their Pokemon and things, Atticus did the same. He made sure Bubby and Shelby were well-rested before putting them back in their balls, patting their heads lightly. He then turned his attention to Jake and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm hungry too. But it doesn't look like there's anyone stopping us from leaving," he pointed out quietly as he grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulders. He still wasn't sure what had happened these last few days but he hoped their journey wasn't delayed for much longer. If recent events showed them anything, it was that they were still relatively weak compared to anyone else they came across.

Seymour sent a quick message to Portia letting her know they were alright. Hopefully she was too. It seemed likely, considering her ability to teleport.

As he was typing his message he followed Jakey and Atticus out of the room, but he was too distracted to notice Jakey was trying to be sneaky. "Maybe we should head outside and ask for some direction. I'm sure they will either tell us where to go, or tell us to stay put."

Crossing the corridor, you pass a series of plaques, commemorating trainers who have beaten the Night Challenge. As you step outside, you are greeted by a guard at the exit. "Good afternoon! I hope you slept well. If you're hungry, the mess hall is right there. The Major's assistant will look for you there."

The building he points to looks like a school gymnasium from the outside, but you see multiple soldiers heading inside at a relaxed pace.

As they walked through the corridor, Atticus looked up at the plaques and read the names on them. He couldn't wait until he was a celebrated trainer like that. His attention was drawn by the guard who addressed them and he nodded to the man uncertainly. He wasn't even sure who to trust anymore. He turned to look at the others as if asking them if they were going to follow him without words and then started to make his way towards the mess hall. His stomach was grumbling way too much; he needed to get this food problem situated first before they thought about doing anything else.

Seymour thanked the guard, then followed Atticus's lead and headed toward the mess hall. He was glad to see they were being treated more like guests than anything else. He was afraid they may have had to face tougher scrutiny since they were not natives of the region, but just now realized that their pokedexes probably gave the military more than enough information to prove they had no malicious intents. He breathed a lot easier now that that realization had come to fruition.

"I hope they have pancakes," Seymour commented as they reached the mess hall. "What do you think the Major's assistant is going to say? Think we will be able to find out if Cary is alright?"

Your arrival into the mess hall draws a few looks from the gathered soldiers, but no one stops you. Even though you just woke up, the hall only serves their dinner menu. That still gives you a good variety of food options, including a few vegetarian options (guaranteed to not include grass pokémons).

Once you've chosen your food, you notice a hand trying to get your attention. It's Wright, signaling you to join her table.

Jake did not hesitate to fill up his plate with a little bit of everything. This food and setting was more his speed than the fancy restaurant a few days ago. While navigating his way to an empty table, he spotted Wright getting their attention. Jake waved his friends over and took a seat at Wright's table.
"Hi!"

He did not have many words reserved for Wright as most of what his mouth was doing was wolfing down the food in front of him.

Atticus did the same as Jake, filling up his plate with whatever looked good to him at the moment. The food did not look as good as it did at the restaurant but he was still grateful they were getting a good meal. When he noticed Wright trying to get their attention, he followed Jake's lead and walked over to the table to join them. He didn't say anything either, mostly because he didn't know what to say, and he started to nibble on a piece of fruit quietly after letting out a small "thanks".

Like the others, Seymour piled his plate full of food and went to sit with Wright. But unlike the others, he was dying to ask her a question. "What happened after we split up last night? Were you alright? Did they catch everyone from Team Gaia?"

"I take it you three slept well?" Wright grins at your group. "After we split, we managed to get far enough to send a call out to the base. They mobilized a force as soon as they could. From what I understand, they walked almost all the way to the forest's edge, where they were intercepted. I think some of them managed to get away, but most are in confinement. And more importantly, we managed to get the Laconney out of their hands. Seems they were scared of being found out, so they didn't try to capture the little hares.

By the way, did you get a call from your friends? Cary and... what was her name?"

Checking your Pokédex, you don't seem to have any messages on it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:40, Mon 23 Mar 2020.

"No calls, from Cary or Portia," Seymour said after checking his pokedex. He was a little worried, but not overly much yet. "That is good that they were able to save the Laconney. Locke will be happy to hear that." Seymour began nibbling at his food now that he felt a bit more knowledgeable about how the following night had concluded. As he ate, Seymour sent a message to Cary and Portia to let them know their group was alright.

Atticus checked his dex too but he doubted there was anything on there from them. He worried about the other girls too but didn't bring this up to the others as he ate his breakfast. He was glad that they had done something important by saving the new Pokemon but there wasn't much that he had done on his part. As usual, he recognized that he needed to get stronger and hoped that their future adventurers would lead to that. "So, when do we get to train and continue exploring? Is there a safer path we could maybe stick to?" Atticus asked quietly after he had finished most of his breakfast. He let out his Pokemon so that they could nibble at whatever he had left over.

"Well, it's always safer to travel by road and by day, obviously. But taking risk means you're more likely to find new Pokémons to recruit. Of course, the real question should be what gym you'll take on next. You're still at first tier gyms, right?

That means you can't try to raid the castle, or take on the naval or aerial battles. You'll need to challenge either Vinmur, Boonwagen, or Roarac. Vinmur's the closest, if you're willing to cross the forest again, and Boonwagen's the farthest."

OOC: If you've forgotten, the map is in the Game Map tab. And now is a good time to grill a local trainer on the various challenges!

Raiding castles? Naval and Aerial battles? Those gym challenges sounded both exciting and a bit intimidating to Seymour. Certainly a formidable challenge as a trainer too. But rather than ask more about those, he decided to focus his questions on the challenges for the lower-tier gyms.

"I was actually still planning on taking the gym challenge here in Bluweil first, if it is still an option. You don't happen to have any tips for it, do you? Or the other three, for that matter. Do you know what the challenges are like in Vinmur, Boonwagen, or Roarac?" Seymour listened intently for any useful bits of knowledge, even as he continued to nibble at his food. Thoughts of future gym challenges turned out to be just the distraction he needed to put the events of the previous night out of his mind for a while.

Jake also checked his pokedex. He was more invested in his food than he was in the conversation though. He exchanged some pleasantries as he chowed down and got seconds, then thirds if possible. Despite his attention lavished on the food, he followed the conversation enough to contribute,
"Didn't we already do the Bluweil challenge. We ran around the forest at night, got in a couple battles and won? Isn't that what the night challenge is?"

He then pivoted a bit back to Cary,
"Are there any other people like Cary on the roads or off the trails? If we get in trouble again, it would be good to know who we can go to for help."

Jake suspected that Cary was a plain-clothes military official, but he didn't want to sound accusing. All he wanted to know was if other people like Cary would be available.

"For the challenge, you'll have to ask the Major. He's the one making the final decision. As for Cary, I can't say. From what you said, he's probably a professional catcher. Major Pate likes to have a lot of variety for his challenge. He's in charge of the Roarac gym.

Roarac was my favorite back when I was a starting trainer. Their specialty is the 'horde battle'. Dealing with a large number of weak opponents trying to overrun you. It can be really exciting!

Vinmur is the gym most people start with, since you can quickly move on to Boonwagen from there. Their specialty is urban combat, but there's a lot of variety there. Major Kaufman loves to change the goal every month, or even every week! Only thing you can be sure of, is that it will be something along the line of SWAT task.

As for Boonwagen, that's Major Fran Orr play ground. She focuses on motorized combat. Expect a lot of driving around in the sand, and lots of smoke."

Jake had barely the time to finish his second serving before a severe looking woman stops at your table. Wright is instantly on her feet giving a salute. "At ease. You are the trainers who have been causing a ruckus all night? The Major will see you now."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:30, Wed 01 Apr 2020.

When Atticus realized that they were getting valuable information on their next few challenges, he took out his Pokedex quickly and started to take notes on them. He didn't even know where they were going to go first! Vinmur seemed like the logical step seeing as it was the usual route that Trainers took but he also considered the Blueweil challenge that they were nearby for. But he was worried that the challenge would be way out of their league this early into their adventure. Still, Atticus kept his thoughts to himself and before he could ask any questions, a strict woman came over to the table saying that the Major was asking for Jake. "All of us or...?" he asked quietly -- he wasn't going to let Jake go get in trouble by himself, after all.

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Of course. You are traveling together, correct?

I am Captain Estela Harrell. According to the report, you are... Atticus Royce, Seymour Mons, and Falkner Diamond. Three of the cultural exchange trainer recently allowed into Cadien. Is this accurate?"

Seymour was enthralled with the descriptions of the gym challenges. They were unlike anything he had heard of before. He had about a million more questions to ask. But it seemed his questions would have to wait. They were needed elsewhere.

"That's us," Seymour replied to the woman. He stood up, ready to follow. He was interested in what The Major had to say. And perhaps a bit nervous. He had never met a Major before.

You are lead across the base, passing behind the firing range, judging by the sulfuric smell and thick white cloud floating above the area. You continue on to what seems to be an administrative building.

But before going in, you notice five Laconneys playing on the front lawn, under the amused gaze of a young trainer.

Jake didn't verify whether or not the Captain was correct. After all, someone else could answer to the best of their ability. Jake didn't like to lie, but he was willing to do so when he felt it was needed. After all, it would inconvenience the captain and major to know some rabble managed to sneak in. Anyway, it was truly cultural exchange when a gutterpunk from another country manages to slip through the border.

Jake followed through to the admin building and waves to the young trainer with all of the Laconney. Despite being in the heart of a military base under false pretenses, he seemed rather chipper and not nervous at all. He was not there to interfere with them, and they had no reason to suspect him. After all, he helped them apprehend some members of team Gaia!

Kyren was sitting with his legs pulled up, elbows on legs and head resting cupped in his hands as the Lacconey's played.  At 14 he still had some growing to do, at only 5ft tall and since his back was a bit sloped as he sat there he appeared a bit smaller than that.  His hair was black with bangs that hung down his forehead.

He was wearing broken in jeans, an off-white t-shirt with and an ash-grey jacket. A tan backpack that had clearly seen its share of days lay slumped against him.  A slingshot was sticking out of a back pocket.

Beside Kyren slept a poochyena, its narrow eyes sliding open as it heard others approaching.  It wasn't growling, snarling, or doing anything aggressive other than that keeping a close focused gaze on the new people.

Kyren put a soothing hand on the poochy's head as he turned his attention to the newcomers.  Standing up as he realized by the kid's age they might be here for the same purpose at him, and the lady leading them had a no-nonsense sort of look to her.  When one of the kids waved at him Kyren offered a casual "hello," with that quiet sort of assured smile.

Seymour paused when he saw the Laconney. A second later he noticed Kyren too, and said hello when the guy greeted them. He looked to be about the same age, and judging by the poochyena, may even be from the same region. "Are you... from Hoenn?" Seymour asked, unsure if there would really be another foreigner way out here. For all he knew, Poochyena were common in this area too.

Then, while he waited for a response, Seymour let out his Laconney to mingle with the others. Perhaps they were some of Locke's family members, saved from Team Gaia the night before.

"Good, you've arrived." A slender man exits the building. The black of his somewhat baggy uniform is broken by a yellow scarf and red beret, matching the color of the Scrafty at his side. He gives you a quick salute. "I'm Major Ruben Jacob, leader of the Bluweil Night gym. It's a pleasure to meet the foreign exchange trainers."

He glances at the playing Laconneys, then frowns. "Captain, I thought five Laconneys had been rescued."

"Yes sir. The sixth one is part of mister Seymour's team."

"Ah, I see. How did you catch him, young man?"

"No." A second of confusion at the guess and then glancing at the poochy and back up, "oh, no.  He was purchased.  I grew up in Kanto."

Before he could consider if he wanted to converse more the major walked out.  Kyren was glad he had stood up when the new people came so he didn't need to rush to do so now.

"Thank you Major, an honor to meet you sir," Kyren wasn't sure how formal one was supposed to be here but he'd go with over doing it versus under for now.  That said being sure to watch his posture, back straight and hands not stuffed in pockets, though he didn't appear tense at all.  Snarl was intently watching everyone but sitting there apparently content things were fine for the moment.

Seymour nodded at Kyren's reply. Even if the guy wasn't from the same region, it was still a tremendous coincidence that they happened to meet another foreigner who had been allowed across the boarder.

But Seymour didn't have time to think about that. The Major had asked a question. "Locke joined my team in Rivierstel, sir. He was being chased by team Gaia after they attacked the castle there. I helped him stay safe, and he decided to join up with me before my group left town."

"Ah, so they came from the Rivierstel lair. A tragic situation..." He shakes his head. "We'll make sure they are returned home, though the loss of their parents will be difficult on them. Of course, if some of you wishes to adopt them, I'm sure it can be arranged."

"Sir, are you sure that is wise? They..."

"It's fine. I'm sure Brigadier Alford would approve. After all, it's thanks to them that they were rescued." He turns back to you. "Which brings me to the important point.

Atticus Royce, Seymour Mons, Falkner Diamond, and Kyren Finkel. By facing Team Gaia yesterday, you have proven you have conquered your fear of darkness. Therefore, I award you the Night Badge. Congratulation!"

"And, as a small bonus, you can each pick one of the following TMs."

The Scrafty drags out a small briefcase, holding eight disk with the following labels:
Torment, Thief, Fling, Brutal Swing, Quash, Embargo, Payback, and Snarl.

OOC: You also get to increase one of your Attribute by one rank, and can choose one of these Strength:
 - Stellar Navigation: You get +2 to your navigation checks if you can see the night sky.
 - Night Combat: Reduce the penalty for fighting in the dark by 1, for you and your Pokémons.
 - Ambush Training: When you ambush your opponent, on top of the normal bonus, you and your Pokémons have +1 hit bonus for the rest of the fight.

Your Pokémons will also get a new move that I will add to their sheets.

Jake perked up on hearing all the good news. Not only would they be recieving a badge, but they were also to get a pokemon free of charge and pokeballs,

"Wows! That is awesome, Thank you so much Captain Major! I'll try not to get lost in the forest again. I'd love to adopt one so Seymour's won't get as lonely away from its family."

As for the TM, it did not take Jake to come up with an answer for that, perhaps a telling, suspicious answer, but an answer nevertheless,
"I'll take the thief TM! I bet my Fetcher would love to snatch some booty from the next Team Gaia thug that crosses our path!"


Jake then offers to high five everyone present, except the military officials, who he tentatively offered a handshake upon receiving the badge.


//I'll push Jake's strength to above average and grab Ambush Training.

Sermour was nodding along casually to what the major was saying up until he mentioned that they had all received the Night Badge. At that point the trainer's eyes widened and his jaw hung slightly open. It took him a moment to recover from the surprise.

"Y-yeah. Thank you!" he finally stammered, echoing Jakey. "I can't claim I was expecting a badge, but thanks!" He looked at the briefcase of TMs, still not sure his brain was working correctly, or that he wasn't still asleep and dreaming all of this. "I guess I'll take the... Payback TM." He then stepped aside so that the others could choose their own rewards too.

---

I'll boost Seymour's IQ to Above Average and take the Stellar Navigation strength. I think it fits well, since he was the one carrying the compass and it sounds like a brainier option to go with his heightened IQ.

"Hey, thanks." The offer of getting to take one of the rabbits was a pleasant surprise.  His attention turned to the one he had helped rescue.

Then came the questioning underline, but that was snuffed out fast.  Great.  But surprise surprise there was more coming to him.  Fear of darkness huh? Kyren felt a small lopsided smile at that. Kyren hadn't ever thought he'd get a badge just for doing what seemed the right thing to do at a specific moment in time.

"A badge, TM and pokemon?" His eyes glanced down at Snarl, "Well Snarl, want to play dad to the one we rescued?" Rescued from poachers.  Interesting how things sometimes works.  What would his dad have said?

The poochyena gave Kyren a rather flat look of tolerance, but a moment later the big tough guy had leaned over sniffing at the little rabbit, a slow wag of its tail."

"Softy," Kyren whispered to him.  Looking at the TM's there. "I guess its only fitting I take Snarl." Reaching out his hand to pick up the particular TM.

-----
I'll raise intuition to above average and night combat will work for my guys.

Atticus beamed brightly when the Captain awarded them with the badge and a bunch of extra stuff for completing their challenge. Even though he felt like he hadn't contributed much, the Major was right. They had indeed conquered the darkness so he wasn't going to complain about completing the challenge. "Thank you!"he exclaimed after the others and he considered taking a Laconney for a moment. It would be a nice addition to his team... but he knew Shelby would end up getting an Ice typing... he shook his head softly. "I think I'll pass on one although I hope the rest of them find good homes."

---

I'll raise Atticus' Toughness to Below Average and take Night Combat. I'll do Embargo for the TM.

The major nods as you make your choices, then ask "If you'll stand in line, please." You notice the captain has brought out a camera. She gives you a (brief) moment to adjust yourself, before taking the commemorative picture. "Well, that covers everything. I've called the Bluweil Rock Garden to reserve a room. Private Compton will drive you there."

He leads you back to the main road, where soldiers are lined up. "Atten-tion!" The soldiers stand straight, and salute as you walk to the waiting jeep.

And thus, with your very first badge, you're driven to the town of Bluweil...

OOC: ...and the thread Bluweil.