It's a short drive to the town. As you get closer, Compton points at colored forms going down the side of the mountain. "Mountain bikers. People loves to do that. I tried it a few times, but I just stuck to the beginner's trails. The experts look like they're riding down a sheer wall. It's not for those who're scared of heights!" He says with a grin.

The town itself looks like a peaceful collection of peak-roofed houses, like a ski resort, though without the snow. A few Starly fly lazily as the sun draws low. But as you drive closer, your eyes start to water, and you notice an ashey smoke coming from ahead.

Just before the town's main square, the road is blocked by a burning pile of tires. Compton stops the jeep a good distance away, and looks carefully at the buildings on each side. You hear a shout, but can't quite make out what was said.

Jake looked out the window with an impressed expression, especially when he saw the mountain bikers. He had learned to bike around town on a stolen bike for convenience, but that mountain biking looked FUN. Still, he kept quiet, letting the awed and eager look on his face do the talking. He glanced down to his lap where Skipper sat and wondered if Skipper would be interested in mountain biking.

Jake's nose scrunched up before he could see the tires. He had smelled tire fires before, even been a party to starting a tire on fire for the heck of it. He plugged his nose with one hand and patted Skipper with the other, returning it to the pokeball after comforting it. Despite the burning tires blocking their path, Jake still thought of the issue as someone else's problem. The fire fighters or military or whatever would probably show up soon and take care of it.

"What is going on?" Seymous asked Compton, concern in his voice. "It's not Team Gaia again is it? Or a wild fire type? Think anyone needs help?" He already had one hand on the door handle, which surprised Seymour once he realized it.

"Not sure... looks like a demonstration, or what's left of it. Meaning it's aimed at us soldiers." Compton puts the jeep in reverse, and drives away from the barrage. "Let's not take chances. I'll drive you to a more discret spot, where you can walk to the hotel without being noticed."

You get a bumpy ride as your driver goes off-road, but you soon reach the base of the mountain. There's a chairlift not far, but it doesn't seem active at this time. A few riders are finishing their descent, while their friends are waiting at the base.

The hotel itself looks like a trio of big chalets merged together. Though the walls are made of stone, there wooden beams and roof sidings gives the building a cozy feel. "Here's your stop. Take care kids!"

Kyren sat in the vehicle, watching the bikers and wondering how his blitzle would do on that terrain.  Then again, he might fall on his ass even if Sparky did fine with it.

The scent of the fumes was disgusting even from a distance and was surely worse up close.  "as long as its contained to the tires and road people should be safe from the fire.  Though the fumes are another matter." A small shrug as it seem they'd be leaving.  "People should be fine there as long as they don't get too close.  Question is are they trying to stop people from getting in, or getting out of the city.  Specific people, or anyone?" Those were Kyren's main thoughts at least, he could be totally wrong he imagined.  He didn't seem overly concerned more that it was a puzzle to think on.

Kyren hopped out of the car once the were there.  His poochy had been in the pokeball for the ride, mostly to make sure plenty of room for everyone.  Now that they were stopped it seemed second nature for Kyren to open up Snarl's pokeball right away.  The first thing it did was to start sniffing the wind.

A wave of uneasiness washed over Atticus when they stopped short of the blazing fire that caught everyone's attention in the middle of the road. The conflicts in this region were more frightening than he anticipated and he chewed on his lower lip as they drove away from the accident and towards a stealthier spot. He doesn't speak up as the others talk about what had occurred, hoping that nothing else dangerous came their way. However, there was a small spark of excitement in him -- this was an opportunity to train and get stronger too. When they arrived to the hotel, he got out of the vehicle as well and turned to his companions. "What was that all about? There's a lot of weird stuff going on in this region..." He turned to Seymour specifically, since Atticus had come to see him as the brainiac of the group who was good at coming up with solutions and answers. "They're definitely not telling us something big, right?"

Snarl growls, looking to the side of the hotel. It takes you a moment to realize what's bothering him, but once you smell it, you can't ignore it. A stench reminiscent of carrion.

You quickly discover the source. The hotel has a small fighting arena, where a Stunky is giving his Pancham opponent a taste of his toxic abilities.

Seymour waved goodbye to Compton, glad that the soldier had gotten them safely to their destination. He then turned to address Atticus's question. "I think this region definitely has its own issues, just like any other. It is difficult to tell just how widespread though. Definitely keep an eye out for dangers though."

It was then that Seymour began noticing the smell. "Should we head inside and get our rooms? Hopefully that smell will be gone by the time we are all settled in. I was hoping to find some time to get to know my pokemon a bit better tonight. I have a dunsparce that I have barely even met yet."

Jake seemed fully recharged after the truck ride and seeing the mountain biking. He hopped out of the jeep and trotted towards the hotel, waving the the soldier as he went. Jake didn't seem to mind the smell too much compared to the smell of burning tires. He didn't get involved with any talking about politics, but ardently agreed with Seymour's suggestion,
"Yeah, I am looking forward to staying here for the night. It looks great. I'd also like to see what Fetcher and my lacconey are capable of."

If nothing else gets in the way, Jake would proceed to check in and investigate the rooms before coming back down to watch any more spars happening in the arena.

The receptionist gives you a warm welcome, asking all sorts of questions about you home region. After you've done your best to satisfy his curiosity, you get the chance to head to your individual rooms. They're pretty standard, but far more comfortable than the barrack's bedroom you woke up in.

Though the sun has set, the half-day you spent sleeping leaves you with plenty of energy to do something in the evening.

After getting settled in, Seymour headed outside to find a nice open area to relax in. He let all of his pokemon out of their balls so that he could get to know them a bit better, and so that they could get to know each other as well. Locke the Laconney seemed content to relax on the grass, nibbling at tasty clover buds. Glumpy the Shroomish wandered around nearby, looking at things curiously, but didn't seem to have any real goal with her investigations. Lotad was somewhat shy at first, especially around the newest addition to their team, but he warmed up after a while. Farrah the Farfetch'd and Doom the Dunsparce were very different pokemon, but somehow seemed to have similar personalities. Crude, but in a nice way. Seymour also got the sense that they were the strongest of his crew, but that wasn't surprising. Neither Farfetch'd or Dunsparce were really known to evolve, so while they were strong now, that likely wouldn't remain the case once some of his other pokemon evolved. If or when they decided to do so.

After a while, Seymour sent a message to his travel buddies (and Kyren) to let them know he would be up for some sparing in any of them were in the mood. Or maybe even a short excursion into the nearby mountainous areas to search for new pokemon. He wouldn't want to stray far though. Not after what happened the previous night.

Once they had all gotten comfortable at the resort, Atticus did the same as Seymour, letting his Pokemon roam free for a little while. They had been through quite a hectic experience so it was nice to finally relax for once. He contemplated on how much stronger he needed to get if he wanted to get anywhere in this region. It was going to take lots of hard work and determination but he was motivated to succeed now that he had a good group of buddies to help him through it. When he received a message from Seymour about sparring, that fire only spread wider and he was filled with newfound confidence. He rushed over to find his travel companion hanging out with his Pokemon too and he beamed brightly while standing across from him. "Seymour! Let's spar, I'm totally in the mood!" he enthused as his Pokemon gathered around him and agreed with his invigorated spirit. "Wasn't there like a set-up when we came in?" he pointed out as he stretched his limbs and tried to remember all the moves that his Pokemon had acquired since starting his journey.

After finishing making himself at home in his room, Jake trotted down the the arena, hands casually in his pockets. Walking through the door of the arena, Jake stretched his arms and greeted the people inside before releasing all his pokemon to get to know his Fetcher and Lacconey better. He was not rearing for a spar, but was not opposed to it,
"I'm feeling all at home now! I don't need to spar today, but if there is a partner I wouldn't mind. I think my pokemon need to work on their speed, so if you don't mind, I'll run around the edge of the arena while watching. I barely got to stretch my legs today!"

Jake was unsure how much his Fetcher and lacconey needed speed training, but seeing his mudkip utterly outclassed in speed in the forest inspired him to focus on speed.

The arena is pretty small, but it's well lit, and the trainers that were there previously have left for supper. You have the place all to yourselves, if you wish to train.

Seymour wasn't in an overly combative mood when he was just lounging around with his pokemon, but he could feel the competitive itch returning to him as they entered the arena area. "Alright, Atticus. Let's do this. Who are you going to send out against my Doom-sparce?" He sent out his newest pokemon, Dunsparce, in order to get a feel for how he managed in a combat setting. "Should we keep it to a one on one battle for our first match? Then maybe afterward we could do doubles, if Falkner and Kyren feel like joining in?"

When they walked towards the arena, Atticus felt a wave of excitement wash over him. This was why they all set out on their journey, after all! He thought about his choice for a moment before settling on his decision. "I'll use my new Pokemon too. Shelby, show me what you got!" he cried out as he launched his Pokeball to allow the Shellder to come out in front of him. "I think we can do just one on one for now, I think the others are probably busy..." he mused as he noticed that Jake had started to run laps around the area with his Pokemon in tow.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:13, Sun 19 Apr 2020.