Pokémon: The Promised Land [IC/PG-16]

[Sethera]

 

<OOC>

 

Summer

 

BGM: Mushishi no Theme

 

It was the dead of night, the time when not a whisper of sound rustled the trees or scraped the ground. Even the trio of Hoothoot in the nearby oak had gone silent, staring straight at the waxing moon with unblinking red eyes. The clearing was still. The merchants had packed up their wares and gone home, leaving behind nothing but bare spaces. Two large straw-roofed huts housed the dojo and school, both empty. In the middle stood a well-kept shrine with various offerings strewn about. Clumps of wildflowers and pockets of shadow broke up a silvered lawn. Three such pockets revealed themselves to be ponds at close glance; so smooth the moon found its twin in each surface.

The flap of leathery wings shattered the quiet, and a small furry form hurtled through the air like a comet, crash-landing at the eastern pond next to a willow. Not stopping to recover, the figure pushed itself up and straightened, facing an opening underneath the tree’s twisted roots. “Chief, chief! We’ve got a problem!”

A couple beats later, the sounds of cursing and crashing could be heard from within the opening. After some shuffling, a rather disgruntled egg-shaped blue rabbit appeared. “What is it?” he grumbled, ears lowered in annoyance, fur sticking up in a glorious bedhead.

“Pfft…I mean, sorry sir! But…we have an…um, what do youse call ‘em? Code red? Naw, that’s not it. Emergency, yes! We have an emergency!” the figure flapped black wings for emphasis.

“Slow down. What’s this all about?”

“A hoo-mun! A hoo-mun has been spotted on the borders of the wood!”

The rabbit’s ears straightened in shock, wide black eyes narrowing. “Does it know?” his voice lowered instinctively, hissing out beneath clenched teeth.

“No, we don’t think so anyway,” the figure, a small bat, shook its head. Its usual face-splitting grin was absent, expression abnormally serious. “Laputa chased it off, but…well, sir, this is the first time since I joined the sky patrol that I’ve even seen a hoo-mun.”

“I know,” the rabbit replied grimly. “It’s been a long time. Perhaps too long. None of us know how to deal with something like this…” he straightened. “Tell the others to keep this to themselves. No need to cause a stir until we know which way the wind blows.”

“Ye sure that’s wise, sir?”

“I hope so.” The blue-and-white rabbit stared grimly over the forest clearing. “I dearly hope so. After all, it’s almost Midsummer.”

 

 

BGM: White Forest

 

A lithe orange form ran between trees with the ease of long familiarity, patches of sunlight creating shifting golden patterns on its fur. Its paws thudded against packed soil and springy moss, pushing off hard against the earth to leap over a fallen log, then pressing close to the ground as its owner flattened itself to wriggle underneath a patch of brambles. On the other side lay a sunlit clearing, nestled in the crook between two gentle slopes. A valley of peace and prosperity.

A prison, the creature thought sourly. Perhaps he was being too harsh, but it felt like that sometimes. A prison led by an overbearing father. Flicking his two tails in a gesture of annoyance, the Pokémon emerged from the shade of the overhanging boughs, revealing himself as a Buizel.

Glancing around the clearing, the sea weasel clocked the shrine in the center, the dojo and school off to the side, and the three ponds. The cleared patches normally set aside for merchants were currently bare, every single inch of space reserved for the festival preparations. Scores of Pokémon scurried to and fro. Their eyes gleamed with excitement, and the crackle of voices filled the glade like a lightning storm. Energy surged through the air.

Tomorrow night would be Midsummer’s Eve, the biggest event of the year. And my ticket to freedom, thought the Buizel. His father would be too busy performing chiefly duties to notice him slipping away in the chaos.

In the meantime, he had a job to do. Every Pokémon in the forest was encouraged to help prepare for the festivities. There were multiple divisions in charge of various activities. The food gathering division was in charge of finding food, for instance. The land preparation division was in charge of clearing off the land and making sure it was ready for the various tables and games. The woodcutting division was in charge of gathering wood for the bonfire. The carpentry division was in charge of carving up tables and stands. The weaving division was in charge of the flags and team headbands. The cooking division was in charge of cooking. The events division was in charge of organizing and setting up the events, such as the three-legged race, the tug-of-war, ring toss, etc. The music division was in charge of setting up the stage, and was mostly comprised of the musically inclined. In short, there were a lot of divisions, and some more he hadn't named.

He was part of the food gathering division, tasked with fishing up some nice dishes for the table. Better get on that soon, Deyna. Still, he wouldn’t fish from the ponds. Too big a chance it’d be somebody he knew. He’d have to go back to the forest stream for that. For now though, I think I’ll wander around the clearing…see how things are going and all.

[spoiler=OOC]

Each of your Pokémon has either chosen to join a division to help prepare for the Midsummer’s Eve festival, or decided to do something else. You can make up a division if you want--I tried to cover all the bases, but obviously I can't think of everything. However, keep in mind that most Pokémon are busy working, so your character will stand out if they look like they're doing nothing.

 

 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

 

"The festival!  The Festival!"  Usually Dark-Type's weren't too cheery, but for Apo that definitely wasn't the case.  The festival is where all of his friends gather to have a wonderful time!  Apo's job was also very important during this time!  He was the sole member of the food approval division! Instead of checking if food was too dangerous to eat, he instead made sure that everything was as delicious as possible for the festival!  Eating each dish from each stand quelled his appetite so they wouldn't run out of food during.  He was the closest thing White Forest had to a munchlax, but his appetite could be tamed much easier.  

 

"Which way!  Which way!?"  However, Apo was late for his duties!  He had gotten lost, losing track of his footstep count.  Apo bumped into a lot of other pokemon as well, and each time he bumped into one, he instinctively nibbled whatever it was he bumped into.  Sometimes it was wood or dirt, and other times it was fur or harder material.  "Sorry!"  Apo apologized every time however.  He was glad that the other villagers could put up with him despite wearing some pretty nifty battle scars Apo had delivered them.  

 

"Of course!  Of course!"  How could he have forgotten.  His sense of smell was at least ten times better than a Growlithe's.  He pointed his nose towards the air, aromas wafting in from all sorts of different directions.  Then it hit him.  The smell of roasted berries, and other delightful foody concoctions that had been cooked up!  He bolted towards the food stands, but had skidded too far while stopping.  He smacked his head right into one of the stands.  That stand deserved the nibble it received!

 

"Food Approver Apo reporting for duty!"  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jewel was running around like a torchic with a missing head.  She had slept in too late, and ended up falling straight out of her nest.  The start of the festival wasn't looking too bright for the young fossil Pokemon.  To make matters worse, the planning committee for the festival hadn't put her in a division!  Jewel could see them sweat nervously when she asked to be put on one, but why was that the case?  

 

"I'll try super hard you guys!  I promise!"  She pleaded, clapping her wings together.  The furret at the desk sighed and nodded.  

 

"Alright Jewel...you can be on theeeeeeeeeeeee...sitting division!  Go and sit somewhere and tell us how comfortable that spot is!  It's a veeeeeeery important job!"  

 

At the news, Jewel flapped her wings with glee.  "I won't let you down!"  She skipped towards an area that had just been cleared off to make way for tables.  She plopped her tail feather down and thought carefully.  "Hmm...the ground here isn't too bumpy...but it isn't too smooth either.  My behind feels comfortable...but it could be way better!"  She hopped up and jumped some more.  "Great spot guys!  Easy to sit here!"  She skipped to the next place where she could rest her rump.  A Swadloon had just gotten done making a chair out of log pieces, and string shot.  It looked like a perfect spot for her to do her job.  

 

"Excuse me sir!  I must test the comfortability of this newly crafted chair!"  She hopped up on it.  "Hmm...I'm not much for sitting on wood...I'd much rather sit on a big pile of leav-" a creak could be heard before the entire chair collapsed in on itself.  Jewel and the Swadloon looked at each other, as if in a daze.  "I...I-I-I-I'm so sorry!  I'm a terrible sitting committee chairwoman!"  Jewel flapped her wings hastily, and she ran off.  The Swadloon's face stood still, it hadn't moved from the time the chair had collapsed.  Jewel thought it was only a fluke, so he cheered herself onward.  "I won't break anymore seats!"    

 

In the next five minutes, Jewel had sat on, and destroyed: A picnic table, three stools, one trampoline, and a log.  Jewel sat herself on the ground, it was the only thing that she couldn't destroy, although her rear made dents in the grass.  "I-I-I'll just stick to finding suitable lawn seats....hehe..."

[Ren✧]

"Dante, quit punching the tree and just cut it down!" The colorful avian heard his division leader chastise him as he practiced a series of powerful, quick jabs into the trunk of an old tree. Having learned not to talk back to the grumpy Shiftry, the head of the woodcutting division, Dante murmured a string of curse words about the leafy bastards before he dutifully returned to his given task.

 

Dante hated this time of year. The Midsummer's Eve festival meant he had to take precious time out of training in order to help prepare for a glorified party. There wasn't even any good fighting at the festival. At the last festival, Dante had tried to get a little sparring ring going, which had earned him custodial duties at the dojo for a month. He would not be trying that again this year. Still, he hoped that this year would be more exciting. 

 

"Dante, what did I just say?" Lost in thought, Dante had absentmindedly started to practice his sparring set on a nearby sapling.

 

"Quit your jabroniin', dude. For Arceus' sake!" 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

“Come on come on put your back into it boys.” The elderly, by Pokemon standards, Stoutland said to a group of young Machoke who were helping with creating stalls for the upcoming festival.
Constable had taken it upon himself to patrol the grounds to make sure everything was going well, and nobody was causing trouble. He already had an incident where a Rattata had tried to sneak away some of the food and had to scold the young Normal type.
However it seemed today was a peaceful one, beyond the occasional sounds of someone being knocked over by Jewel. Constable let out a half sigh, half chuckle, at the antics of the Archen.

He knew, as Sergeant of the Forest Watch he had to be on the lookout for troublemakers. However he could give the well-meaning girl a pass for now. She didn’t want to cause any issues and it would feel wrong to scold her for it.

However that one...Constable stretched a bit, before taking off at a charge at a young Ducklett who was throwing garbage all over the place willy-nilly. “You there, cease that at once!” The Ducklett froze upon hearing Constable’s commanding voice.
“Y-yes sir?” He said.
Constable gestured with his head at the trash. “Littering is against the rules, you should know that, I remember this is the third time this month I’ve had to tell you. We may live in the wild but that doesn’t mean we can’t pick up after ourselves.”
“Oh, r-right sir of course sir I’ll pick it up right away sir won’t happen again sir.”
Constable “Hmph”ed and then nodded. “Very good, I know you can do better than this. Your grandfather was a member of the Sky Patrol was he not? Good man, good man, you’d do well to follow his example.”

The young Ducklett looked off to the side and mumbled something. “What was that, speak up, I’m getting old after all.” Constable said with a gruff, barking, laugh.
“I’m not good enough to be like him....”
“Nonsense!” Constable said, surprising the kid. “Your grandpa was a bit of a slacker when he was your age, did you know that? Always had to be yelled at three times before doing anything. You only had to be once! No no, I’m sure you’ll shape up to be a fine man. As long as you continue to clean up your messes.”
“Uh...thank you sir.” The Ducklett said with a shy smile. Constable continued on, nodding encouragingly at the boy, before continuing on his way.

He looked up as some Sky Patrol members flew overhead and frowned. He had noticed something was up earlier today, the leader of the Sky Patrol had a grim expression all this morning. Constable hadn’t been able to ask about it, and had brushed the thought away. But perhaps once this patrol was over he’d go see the Chief. He had wanted to check up on how his son was doing, anyway.

---

Samba was happy, today was a glorious day, a glorious day with all kinds of opportunities and excitement!
And he was standing in the middle of an area reserved for cutting down trees. He had asked around for something to do, eager to help out and make everything work out well so each and every Pokemon could have some fun. Everywhere he turned to told him the same thing. “Don’t worry about it maybe someone else has something for you to do.”

And so he found himself with the woodcutters, the leader of which decided to let him stick around rather than send him somewhere else. Unfortunately, probably an oversight on the Shifty’s part, Samba had no means of cutting! When he asked about leaving to help someone else, Shiftry got really really adamant about him staying. “Just stay here and spin around or something. It’ll, uh, keep up motivation.” Samba wasn’t sure how this worked but he wasn’t a thinker, so he went with it.

And thus it was that he was spinning and spinning, just like Lilligant had shown him. It was all great fun, spinning in time to the chop chop noises. But he had forgotten that he was supposed to spin in place, and instead careened off right into a hard-working, Samba assumed, Hawlucha. “Whoopee-daisy! Didn’t see you there buddy ol pal ol stranger who I don’t actually know but hey we can still be friends right? What was I saying? Anyway nice feathers you’ve got there, reminds me of a Braviary back home.” Samba had completely forgotten that he had just ran into the young Pokemon, and was swaying back and forth happily to a beat only Samba could hear.

---

“No no no no that will not work at ALL are you listening to me?” Duchess was tapping a vine onto the stump-turned table that she and a few others were standing around. She had been told she needn’t do anything for the festival, having been new to the forest, but she refused. And so she took upon herself to take charge of the planning committee.

Much to the chagrin of the Politoed that was leading it. “We can’t make such kero kero changes on such short kero kero notice.” The Politoed said with a deep sigh.

“It would not have been short notice had you listened to me the first part. But fine fine, it’s on you if this turns into a TOTAL disaster.” Duchess sniffed. The action was meant to show derision but it also served to remind her that they were at the food stands. This had been the area that needed most direction and so the planning committee had set up shop nearby.
“And speaking of disaster, where is that idiot that’s supposed to...”

Duchess flinched as a crash was heard nearby. She spun quickly and wildly to check it out, smacking Politoed with her Vine Whip accidentally in the process. “What by Virizion was that?” She said, then she saw...him. The bumbling, incompetent, and LATE Deino that was to serve as a food tester.

Duchess strode towards the young Dragon and crossed her small arms over her chest with an infuriated expression. “You. Are. Late.” She said, poking him with her vine at every word. “We cannot have a single Pokemon being late and muddying up my carefully laid out plans.” She ignored the annoyed murmurs from the Pokemon behind her about it not being just her plans. “I know you all are commoners but that does not excuse this behavior. You need to straighten up and get to work.” She punctuated her sentence by tilting her chin derisively at the boy and letting out a simple “Tsk.”
 

[Tesability Black]

Flap.

Flap flap.

High in the skies above the forest, a lone Pidgey was keeping watch over everything and everyone, a smirk on its beak upon seeing everyone being as busy as possible. He cheerily hummed a tune to himself as he momentarily took a dive towards the forest's center, where a larger number of Pokemon seem to be to rest his wings before the next round.

"We cannot have a single Pokemon being late and muddying up my carefully laid out plans," he heard soon after landing, prompting the bird to roll his eyes up towards the sky he just came back down from before glowing briefly with a pale-blue light. After a second, the shape of the light changed to something more blob-like before disappearing, leaving behind a traditional-looking Ditto.

"Um...excuse me," the Ditto asked with a small shake to his voice, his nerves trying to get the better of him, despite the Pokemon trying not to let them do just that. "Is there something wrong here?"

[Ren✧]

"It's the eye of the Pyroar, it's the thrill of the fight..." Dante quietly sang to himself, trying to remain on task. Hopefully he fulfilled his quota of wood, the crotchety old Shiftry would let him go back to the dojo. Focused on collecting firewood, the brightly feathered Pokemon didn't take notice of the Maractus bobbing and swerving towards him until...

 

CRASH!

 

"What the sheet, bro?" Dante exclaimed, spilling all the firewood he had collected thus far. 

 

“Whoopee-daisy! Didn’t see you there buddy ol pal ol stranger who I don’t actually know but hey we can still be friends right?" The Maractus was talking a mile a minute, all the while swaying about so that Dante was getting dizzy just looking at him.

 

"Friends? You tryin' to start a fight with me and then you want to be my friend? That doesn't make much sense, broski. Seems to me like you've been hittin' the Moo-Moo Milk a little too hard." Dante picked himself up, dusting himself off in the process.

 

"What was I saying? Anyway nice feathers you’ve got there, reminds me of a Braviary back home.”

 

Dante blushed at the compliment, not used to receiving them. "Wha-? These things? Yeah, I, uh, I grew them myself. Oh! Forget it! Are we gonna settle this or what?" The Hawlucha raised his fists, a glimmer of excitement more than evident. This year's festival was already turning out to be better than last. 

[The White Wolf]

It was that time of the year again, and of course everyone was expected to help. Well, everyone except for Pandora, that is. The Disaster Pokémon had perched herself high up on a tree branch, watching the busy Pokémon below her. Before, fellow inhabitants had always looked at her oddly when she didn't help, but that was years ago. These days, the others didn't expect her to help. It wasn't that she didn't want to, or that she mostly preferred time to herself, it was more that there weren't any jobs that suited her. Nor that needed her.

 

It's the same every year. I've lived in this forest most of my life, and it's amazing to watch tradition hold in such a way. Her thoughts gained control now, but she couldn't help but chuckle in amusement to the disciplining of the Ducklett from Constable, the Stoutland and the Sergeant of the Forest Watch, in the area below her. That was one thing she certainly did enjoy of the White Forest, order was present. To an extent, at least.

 

Her eyes slowly gravitated to the sky, the clouds, specifically, moving in perfect rhythm with the wind. Then to the north; to the mountains. A place she longed to go to. No one had ever really expected an Absol to have these kinds of sentiments, but here she was. But the White Forest was her home. 

[PhoenixVanguard]

Lumina sneered to herself as she watched a particularly unimpressed Snivy berate a poor Deino. The festival had so many Pokemon reduced to little more than bundles of nerves or tempers that waited to erupt. 

 

To Lumina it made no sense. Granted she wasn't native to the forest, and as such had no attachment to it's ceremonies or festivals, or anything of the sort. That's why she was happy to have the simple task of serving as an "interior" guard. The border patrol was stacked for the occasion and, as such, its ranks were drawn closer to the major areas for the festival to ensure nothing went awry. 

 

However there was an unfortunate downside to having so simple a job: boredom. If Lumina snuck off to go train she'd no doubt get caught and wind up reprimanded in a manner similar to the Deino. Leaving her designated area without an acceptable excuse was out of the question.

 

But how else was she supposed to entertain herself.

 

Seeing the fuming Snivy before her, Lumina decided she had found her answer. She approached the Snivy with a swagger to her step, ignoring the Ditto that appeared near her, and smirked.

 

"Something the matter here, princess?"

Why not stir the pot a little bit. What harm could that bring, hm?

[Sethera]

So far so good, Deyna thought, nodding in approval at the mixture of Whismur and other Pokémon setting up the stage. They had done a sound test, and the acoustics were great! The only problem was that the head singer was missing, but she had a tendency to wander off, so that wasn't a big deal. Walking forward, the Buizel caught the eye of the desk Furret in the planning committee, who immediately perked up at his appearance. "Oh, it's you," she breathed. "What a relief."

 

Oh? The sea weasel's heart sunk. For some reason, probably because of his father, Pokémon had a tendency to go to him with their problems when neither the chieftain nor the sergeant were present. While such attention was flattering, it was also terrifying. Eventually he would come up against a problem he couldn't solve, and then everybody would see how inadequate he really was...

 

Shaking his head, the Buizel approached the Furret. Best not think about that now. "What is it I can help you with, Tachi?" he asked politely.

 

"Thank goodness you're here, Deyna. Do you think you can do something about Jewel?"

 

Oh, Manaphy. Her again. "What did she do this time?"

 

Tachi proceeded to lay out a litany of complaints, from broken chairs to broken trampolines, eventually finishing with a sob. "I don't know what to do. I tried to give her a safe, out-of-the-way job, but she managed to mess that up too."

 

"So..." What do you want me to do about it?

 

"Deyna, do you think you could...keep her from damaging any more things?"

 

The Buizel followed the Furret's line of sight. There she was, sitting innocently as you please on the grass, with a trail of broken debris behind her. "Looks like she's already learned her lesson, but sure." He would just check in with the Archen, see how she was doing, and hopefully Tachi would be appeased. The sea weasel trotted over to the dinosaur's side, "Hey, uh..." what had she told him again? Jewel was part of the sitting division? "Is this spot comfortable?"

[Kazooie]

"I cannot wait for this inane festival to be over..."

 

Janum sighed as she thought about her task, the presentation of the dishes that the cooks were creating. Presently though, the dishes were still being created, so she simply closed her eyes for a moment, resting against a tree. She yawned as she took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the food that was being prepared as she did. She hummed softly to herself, just a small tune to help her relax. Her breathing soon became shorter, her humming becoming a small snore as she drifted off to sleep...

 

"Food Approver Apo reporting for duty!"  

 

She jumped at the crash the Deino had delivered to the stand, a small scowl on her face as she stood up, brushing the front of her body with the rose petal hands of hers. She swayed over to him, before taking note of the furious Snivy that seemed to be heading this way. She sighed, having a decent idea where this was going.

 

“You. Are. Late.” 

 

And there it was, queen Snivy. Janum sighed a bit as she yawned again, stretching as she shook her head some before turning to address Apo and Duchess, "He might be a little late, but in the end it doesn't matter. The dishes aren't quite ready for tasting yet. We lack any fish for those dishes, the stew is still simmering. It needs more time... I haven't been able to work on plating the food at all really. You really need to calm down, your highness."

[Mr. Hyde]

 

“You. Are. Late.”   Apo could feel the prod of a vine whip with each pause in the pokemon's words.  Each time the vines retracted, he attempted to get a bite in on them.  Mostly out of frustration, but more so to identify his taskmaster.  It was obvious that by everyone calling her "your highness" that the prodding pokemon was none other than Duchess the Snivy.  However, Apo couldn't tell who the others were around him.  It was time to get friendly!

 

*Nibble*!  Furry...yet firm to the bite.  Muscular in tone.  This must've been a Riolu, and the only Riolu he relatively knew around here was Lumina.  

 

*Nibble*!  Leaves, with the faint trace of pollen.  This was definitely Janum.

 

*Nibble*!  Goopy...not much substance behind it.  Gelatinous in nature.  Neos, the Ditto.

 

After his rotation of introductory nibbles, Apo spoke up.  "Hey now guys!  It's all my fault.  Duchess is totally in the right here!  You all know i'm blind, so it's kind of hard for me to get around if I lose track of my steps!  It seems the food isn't ready yet so everything should be as cool as a cubchoo's nose!"  Apo licked his lips.  Nibbling all of the pokemon's hides sure had gotten him in the mood to taste all of this food.  "What's on the menu Janum!?" he barked with excitement.  

 

 

 

 

 

With a sniffle, Jewel proceeded to make sure this spot she was sitting in was the only spot she'd survey for the rest of the festival.  "I can't do anything right..." she whimpered to herself.  

"Hey, uh..." The sudden voice behind her made her jump, "Is this spot comfortable?"  Jewel turned behind her to notice the chieftain's son, Deyna the Buizel.  At the sight, Jewel's eyes began to water up.  

 

"Are...are you here to banish me from the Festival?!"  The tears exploded from her ducts almost in a cartoonish fashion.  "Are you here to banish me from White Forest too!?  OH WHAT A WORLD!!!"  She wouldn't blame everyone for wanting to do so, after all she managed to break a lot of the stuff that had been so carefully made.  But she was only doing it because she wanted to prove to everyone that she wasn't some sort of super klutz!  She wiped the tears that had suddenly evaporated.  

 

"I knew this would happen someday..." she stuck her wings out and hung her head low, "You can take me away Deyna..I'm ready."   

[Sethera]

Deyna had been expecting a lot of things. A silly, oblivious grin, or a meek apology. He had not been expecting tears.

 

"Are...are you here to banish me from the Festival?!"

 

"W-wait, no, that's not why I'm here at all!" the Buizel sat back on his haunches, waving his front paws in front of his face in agitation.

 

"Are you here to banish me from White Forest too!?  OH WHAT A WORLD!!!" The Archen exploded into tears, drawing stares from the nearby Pokémon. Deyna winced. Oh great, just what I need. More attention.

 

Taking a breath, the sea weasel shook his head, "Please, don't worry. Nobody's going to get banished." His father may have been chieftain, but that didn't mean he had the power to banish people without forest-wide consent. And Jewel was a nice Pokémon, well-loved despite her numerous screw-ups. Deyna himself saw a kindred spirit in her eagerness to please others.

 

"I knew this would happen someday..." And then the Archen did something completely ridiculous yet hilarious. She stuck her wings out as if she were about to be cuffed and hauled away. "You can take me away Deyna..I'm ready."

 

Deyna couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face at the actions of the hapless Archen. He patted her on the head. He had decided to forego talking to her about her mess-ups. She had learned her lesson, and it didn't look like she would be continuing to break things anytime soon. "You're not going to get taken away, Jewel." Leaning back down on his haunches, he smiled and cocked his head. "So how are you doing? This place seems comfortable to sit in." The grass was nice and soft, soft enough it would even form dents when they sat down. Like makeshift chairs. Plus it had a good view of the music stage.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Duchess scoffed. So many Pokemon had shown up as she got done scolding that lackadaisical Deino. First was the Ditto who came in to ask if there was a problem. At least, Duchess thought that’s what they were trying to say. She’d tell them to grow a spine if it weren’t for the fact they were an amorphous blob. Before Duchess could ask them to speak up, however, they were so very rudely interrupted. She did, however, find time to give the Ditto a frustrated glare.

"Something the matter here, princess?"

Duchess knew about this one, and from what she heard she wasn’t impressed. The Snivy tilted her head and looked at Lumina. “It’s Duchess to you. And there’s Nothing you have to trouble yourself with. This is a matter for brain, not brawn, you have no place here.” She sniffed and turned away just in time for yet another Pokemon to appear to annoy her.

 

"He might be a little late, but in the end it doesn't matter. The dishes aren't quite ready for tasting yet. We lack any fish for those dishes, the stew is still simmering. It needs more time... I haven't been able to work on plating the food at all really. You really need to calm down, your highness."

twitch twitch twitch. Oh that was IT. “Oh I’m soooo sorry, yes of course he’s not late because everyone else is late! I don’t know how someone like you does things but the proper way to do things is. On. Time. And it’s oh so very clear that no one here has ANY idea what that means. Why don’t we have fish? Why isn’t anything getting done in its proper time? And some of you aren't even supposed to BE in this area, yes I mean you Neos. You all are so...so...useless!” Duchess threw her hands up and stormed off, barely hearing the surprised noises as Apo no doubt was taking a bite out of each of them in his bizarre greeting ritual.

Duchess hated having her plans ruined and, worse, questioned by inferior minds...However she hated losing more. So she let out a deep sigh and returned a moment later. “Look.” She said, speaking slowly. “I understand none of you are able to comprehend why it’s so important but that’s the fault of your education not me. I’m willing to make it easier for you to get if you need but you have GOT to work with me here. Things must get done on time or else this entire thing will be ruined.”

---

Samba bounced back and forth as he watched the strange Hawlucha do some kind of complicated friendship making dance or something like that. He wasn’t quite sure what the excitable Pokemon had said as Samba was remembering a delicious treat that he had eaten a year ago that had really stuck with him and he was never able to try again.

“I wonder if anyone here knows how to make it.” Samba said loudly, clearly having forgotten he was in the middle of a conversation.

Samba spun a few times before noticing the Hawlucha standing there. “Oh hello! Nice to see you. This festival thing is going pretty well ain’t it? Guess I can’t say that since it hasn’t started or has it? I dunno when the official start of a festival time is...Maybe Shiftry knows!”

Samba looked around for Shiftry and spotted a Hawlucha with a very intriguing expression instead. “Oh it’s you again!” He offered his hand out towards the Pokemon. “I’m Samba!”

---

Constable let out a “Harumph” as he left the chief’s hut. So that’s how it was. Why the chief didn’t decide to tell Constable on his own the old dog wasn’t sure but there must have been some reason. Nonetheless he had been willing to give out the information after making sure Constable understood to keep it to himself.

An unneeded warning for sure, Constable knew better than to spread panic. Panic led to injury more often than not. And the last thing they needed was Pokemon hurting themselves to escape danger that may not come. The Sergeant trusted that Laputa could keep them safe, the Golurk had never failed before. And while they and Constable had a rather...strained relationship due to some decisions Constable made in the past, one thing about Laputa was that they had an excellent memory for any and all wrong-doings, the old Stoutland respected the Patrol Commander.

Constable realized he had been wandering without any direction for a while now. He scolded himself for being so lax in his duty. Even if he had many more things on his mind than prior he still had to continue his job and not get side-tracked. He wasn’t Samba after all. Constable chuckled at the thought, then realized he wasn’t alone.

He was ready for a battle when he looked up into the trees. But the source of the feeling of being watched soon became clear. Pandora. A rather...unusual denizen of the forest. But not a threatening one. At least she hadn’t been yet. “Ah. Erm, hello there.” Constable greeted. While he was still much older than the woman, he still couldn’t help but feeling a bit awkward in her vicinity. “How do you do?”

[PhoenixVanguard]

Lumina twitched and frowned when the Deino nibbled her leg. He didn't bite hard, but...really? Wouldn't sniffing accomplish the same thing? Or was his sense of smell as bad as his eyesight? Ugh, whatever, he wasn't the reason she had come here.

 

She quirked her brow when Duchess snubbed her, slipping in a not-so-subtle insult while she did it, but before Lumina could give her retort Duchess went full drama queen on everyone. She spouted out some rant that Lumina tuned out of before it was even half-finished, and then walked off with a huff to boot.

 

Well, that was lame.

 

Thankfully Duchess actually returned, and she seemed a bit more calm to boot. Hmm, now Lumina had to debate continuing on from where she had left off. Duchess would either keep it together and just ignore her or lose her marbles for good and likely bash her head against a tree trunk repeatedly, or something equally dramatic.

 

"Well, if it's any consolation, I was on time today." Lumina stated with a smirk, "At any rate that doesn't matter, right? The whole brawn and brain thing."

 

Eh, what was the harm and messing with Duchess a little bit more? Organizing things meant more than flipping out just because things went wrong. Things ALWAYS went wrong, especially here.

 

Actually, that was a good point.

 

"On a serious matter, for all your issue with time being wasted and everyone being late, going on tirades like that just waste more time, right? Rather than get stuck on how things aren't going according to plan, why not get them back on track, huh?"

...Okay, and now she was giving her genuine advice. When did this start?

It became very apparent to Lumina that she was even more bored than she thought.

[Ren✧]

"I wonder if anyone here knows how to make it.” The Maractus pondered loudly, causing Dante to lower his fists slightly in confusion. What was this crazy, dancing twig talking about? He was crazy. There was no other explanation for it. 

 

"Make? Make?! I'll make you a knuckle sandwich how about that?" Dante threatened, raising his fists again, making a few short jabs into the air. He was growing impatient. First this strange Pokemon tackled him, making him drop all his firewood and now he was stalling for time. Dante would be the first to admit he didn't always understand the brain games his opponents sometimes played, but this was definitely the most bizarre one he'd ever seen.

 

Instead of responding, the Maractus simply spun around a few times and continued his senseless dance. Dante let out an exasperated sigh. He was beginning to think that maybe his opponent wasn't really an opponent at all. 

 

“Oh hello! Nice to see you. This festival thing is going pretty well ain’t it? Guess I can’t say that since it hasn’t started or has it? I dunno when the official start of a festival time is...Maybe Shiftry knows!”

 

"Uh...yeah...we've already met, bro. You literally just funking ran into me. " Dante ventured, finally dropping his raised talons. This guy definitely didn't mean to fight him. What a let down. The mention of the old Shiftry made Dante nervous though. He'd been standing around talking for awhile, he'd get yelled at pretty soon.

 

 “Oh it’s you again! I'm Samba!" 

 

"Dante." The Hawlucha said, introducing himself, becoming more and more confused at the Maractus' actions. "Are you...feeling alright?" 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

 

“I understand none of you are able to comprehend why it’s so important but that’s the fault of your education not me. I’m willing to make it easier for you to get if you need but you have GOT to work with me here. Things must get done on time or else this entire thing will be ruined.”

 

Apo hung his head low.  Duchess always had a condescending tone that made him feel like the two weren't friends working together to make this midsummer festival the best one yet.  He walked up to duchess to try and nip her on the tail, but he figured doing so would only put her in a worse mood.  Instead, he sighed.

 

"Duchess...You're totally right.  We should all make a better effort to try and make this the most incredible Midsummer Festival that any pokemon has ever dreamed about!  I know that with you in charge, you can totally get things back on schedule."  His tone turned softer now.  "But...you shouldn't call your friends useless you know?  That's not going to make anyone feel better...not even you!  You're smarter than me, but you don't have to make it seem like I'm any less helpful than you too.  Let's work together huh?"  He plopped down in front of the food stand that Janum had been put in charge of.  

 

"Now if you don't mind me, I'll do my duty!  Janum, lemme have the samples you prepared!"  The deino licked it's lips with anticipation, Janum always had the tastiest treats.

 

 

 

Instead of being met with malice and resent, Jewel felt a soft hand rub her head.  She couldn't help but blush.

 

 "You're not going to get taken away, Jewel"  The buizel instead sat down on his haunches next to her.  "So how are you doing? This place seems comfortable to sit in."

 

Jewel almost started crying again out of joy.  "Really Deyna?!  I'm so happy!  After all this place is still my home, and I didn't really want to be taken away from my home seeing as how all of my friends are here and you are here and my parents lived here and i have to carry on the legacy of being the only fossil to live here and all and i'm talking way too much!"  Jewel shut her mouth before she could continue her airhead rambling.  But she couldn't believe the situation she was in.  She was sitting here next to the village chief's son, talking to him about a spot she had found suitable for the music show.  She fixed her hair feathers and opened her beak once again.

 

"As for the spot, it's highly comfortable!  The grass isn't too poke, but it isn't soft enough to make your tail go numb!  It should be the perfect spot for anyone to watch the show we'll have tonight."  Jewel twiddled her talons together.  "Especially couples..."  she blushed again at the thought and turned back towards Deyna.  "So...was my analysis good enough...because I don't think I should get up from this spot...lest I mess up anything else."  She started tearing up.  "I hope that isn't too selfish of me!"   

[Tesability Black]

*Nibble*!

.

.

.

The pink blob of being that was Neos had become stunned by the sudden light Bite he wound up receiving from the Deino, unsure of what the point of such was. All he could manage at first was a set of stunned blinks at the nibble.

 

"And some of you aren't even supposed to BE in this area, yes I mean you Neos. You all are so...so...useless!”

Of course, there was Miss Priss thinking that she was the best in the world...he knew he really wasn't, but at least he didn't make this kind of damned show. He was thankful she had snapped him out of his stunned state, but didn't appreciate how she wound up doing so. "I don't exactly have a place to be at the moment," he grumbled mutely before moving away, annoyed by the prissy Snivy before shifting into the familiar Pidgey form and flying up into the air, but still relatively low to the ground.

[Sluggaholic]

[spoiler=BGM - Late Riser - Twinleaf Town - Day]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhDBpjabNyg

 

 

- - - - - -
 

 

- - - - - -

 

A hint of mid-afternoon sunlight glided onto the old dog's face, which had somehow wriggled its way out from underneath its covers. Groaning to himself, he rolled over, trying in vain to escape the ever watching blazing eye above. Finally, after letting out his signature, resigned sigh, he allowed himself to be awoken by the warm, trickling sun, whose rays revealed a beautiful scene; the old dog's eyes were graced with a sight of dancing dots, specs of dust, motes, even, dancing in their spotlight. A soft, bouncing dance like the falling leaves in autumn. Autumn. A time of year where he could hide himself better than most in the forest if he wanted too: the red of his fur making him look like any other pile of leaves.

 

However, today was not the first day of autumn, nor the last. As a matter of fact, when the old dog awoke, it wasn't even autumn to begin with. It was summer, midsummer, to be exact.

 

"Zat ecksplains ze ruckus outzide..." He muttered, trying to shut an annoyed eye. However, the sun had other plans, as did his stomach, which roared at him like the sea, forcing him to get to his paws. Whether he liked it or not, he was getting up early today; to make matters worse, he'd have to do the one thing he dreaded doing with wild Pokemon. No matter where he went, he always found it hard to socialize, really relate to wild Pokemon. After all, if you looked at him, then any other wild Furfrou, or wild Pokemon in general, there were some key similarities.

 

For one, he wasn't nearly as lean, agile as his wild brethren. He had a (thinning) layer of fat between his skin and muscle, and it made him slower than most. However, despite this, he was more resilient: his bones bred to be strong as they could be, so that they would never break doing a stunt or otherwise. Sometimes being bred to be a show-dog had its perks. Other days, like a few weeks ago, where his knowledge (or in this case, lack-thereof) of berries nearly killed him, it really did prove to him he should've been born wild. After all, he'd been through two Trainers at this point, and countless battles, and where did that put him? In the middle of Hickville Unova, far away from any form of human civilization, and even farther away from the battles he had to endure there.

 

He sighed again, sliding a steaming bowl of Berry Juice in front of himself, and sticking one of the few human objects he'd managed to keep with him, besides his Rare Bone, from his days as a Trained Pokemon, a straw, into it. He drank deeply, and washed his glum, sour feelings away with the rosy feeling that warm, juiced berries gave him. He supposed that this place wasn't so bad. After all, if he'd never come here, he'd have never found this delicious drink. For the first time that morning, a smile graced his maw. He didn't know why, but for once in his time here, he could feel the local festivity, general happiness filling him. You know what? Why not. Today, he'd try something new out for a change.

 

He'd try to have fun. You know, be part of this world that was so different from his own. He lifted a paw to the long strands of orange hair that cascaded down from his head, and felt the bone hidden inside of them. Even if he had been through a couple trainers, he was wild now. Time to forget about humans and their oddities and focus on being wild. Or, as wild as a member of this Pokesociety could be.

 

- - - - -

 

As Lamier stepped out from his hut, he instantly frowned. Well, if he was going to be part of society, he'd need to find better living arrangements. Preferably closer to town. But, he could worry about that later. Just telling by the laughing, loud banging, and general cheer arising from the town square, he figured some kind of festival was going on. 

 

Unknown to Lamier, who'd come to the White Forest about a month after Midsummer's Eve, the party of the same name was currently being set up. It'd become more obvious as he strolled the streets, occasionally catching odd looks and questioning glances. Most Pokemon had never even seen him before, or, if they did, forgot about him; a given, considering he'd been about as much of a shut in as physically possible. Oh well. The time to grieve was over. He stomped on the ground, a determined grin growing on his face. That was the old him. The new Lamier wouldn't let old ideals like that drag him down! But... first he'd need to find something to do...

 

Glancing around, it became increasingly obvious that most of these jobs wouldn't fit him. Out in the forest, he could hear trees falling, and he figured those people would be log cutters. Well, if he ever learned how to hold a scythe, much less cut down a tree, he'd call them up. See if he could help. He couldn't cook (very well), he couldn't think very financially, and Arceus forbid that he be forced to sing. All that left, was...

 

"Ze... grunt work. I see." He stared, blankly, as some random Pokemon shoved items out of the way and into back corners. Oh well. A job was a job and he'd try his best. Nodding to himself, he padded over to a rather large cart, holding a variety of items: old food, useless bits and bobbles. The like. While the Forest didn't make much trash, every large society would make some. Well, everyone needed somebody to get rid of other's trash. Might as well start low, and make his way up right? Sure, his pride might take a hit, but he was bred to be prideless anyways. What would a little indulgence in his reason for birth hurt.

 

Huffing, he slammed against the large cart. At first, nothing happened. But after nearly 20 seconds, the cart finally began to move, and it only picked up speed as Lamier shoved it. Thus, the Trash Brigade was born. Members? One.

[Sethera]

Deyna almost recoiled at the second burst of emotion from Jewel in so many minutes. But this time it was happiness. "Really Deyna?! I'm so happy! After all this place is still my home, and I didn't really want to be taken away from my home seeing as how all of my friends are here and you are here and my parents lived here and i have to carry on the legacy of being the only fossil to live here and all and i'm talking way too much!"

The sea weasel had to take a moment to digest the words, so fast did the dinosaur speak. But when he did, he smiled. "Really? I guess I should've expected that." Expected her sentiments to echo his so well. After all, they already shared the desire to please others, but he hadn't expected her to feel the same insecurities he faced everyday. I guess my problems aren't as unique as I thought they were. His heart lifted at the thought. Not that I'd wish my troubles on others, but I don't feel as alone knowing that others are experiencing the same things.

"As for the spot, it's highly comfortable! The grass isn't too poke, but it isn't soft enough to make your tail go numb! It should be the perfect spot for anyone to watch the show we'll have tonight. Especially couples..."

That last statement was enough to draw Deyna out of his musings. Couples... he thought. That's right. We could do a romance-based event! Like a couple dance or something. But we have to be sure the single Pokémon don't feel left out. "Great idea!" he praised.

"So...was my analysis good enough...because I don't think I should get up from this spot...lest I mess up anything else. I hope that isn't too selfish of me!"

"It's perfect," Deyna patted her on the head again. She was just so adorable. "And no, that's not selfish at all." I know at least one other Pokémon that would definitely appreciate her staying right where she is. Chuckling to himself, the sea weasel took that time to relax, mind focused on what to do next. I need to talk to the event coordinator about the couple event...but he'll probably have to talk to...her. Deyna was a fairly mild-mannered Pokémon, but there was something about the head of the planning committee that rubbed him, and most everybody else, the wrong way. He could bear it though, as her skills were nothing to sneeze at. Maybe I should just talk to her about it and skip a step? The thought brought with it a certain amount of reluctance. Maybe not.

--
 
BGM: Menace (Intro)

Soon after, one of the Whismur he had just been talking with ran up, out of breath. "D-Deyna...bad...news."

"Hmm?" The sea weasel took a second to shake himself out of his lethargy. "What is it, Murmur?"

"Well...y-you remember when we were talking about Donna?"

Deyna nodded, frowning. Donna was the lead singer of "Complicated Fluff," a band that would play during events. It was the only band in the forest, but a pretty good one, nonetheless. A lot of that was due to Donna's talent. She was probably the most famous Pokémon in the forest, and the fame had gone to her head. She had a very highhanded way of speaking, but few called her out on that, lest they anger her rabid fans. She also had a tendency to wander off by herself, claiming "a lady needs her privacy." He had noted her absence when talking with the band members earlier, but didn't think much of it.

"Well...I thought Whisper had seen her but he said he thought Echo saw her who thought Amp saw her but Amp said he hadn't seen her since two days ago!"

"Wait, wait...nobody's seen her since two days ago?"

"That's what I said!" Murmur wailed.

"Okay..." Deyna started. Two days...that's...not good. Unlike most wild Pokémon, the inhabitants of the White Forest had grown reliant on working with each other to get what they needed. For instance, Madame Leavanny had never learned how to hunt, but instead spent her time weaving. The border patrol and foraging parties were different, and if Donna had been a part of one of those groups, he wouldn't be worried, but... The prissy Delcatty singer had never had to do a hard day's work in her life, let alone anything "beneath notice." "Where did Amp last see her?"

"He said she was going to the Pecha berry patch."

"Okay...we'll start there. Try and ask around to see if anybody else has seen her. But don't make a big deal out of it. I'll go gather up a search party." He didn't want to have to draw too many Pokémon away from their duties, but he needed a good amount to spread out and search the area. Two days...she could be anywhere in the forest by now.

"Who to invite..." he thought. "Constable is probably busy enough as is. I could invite Duchess, but...do I want to?" he muttered the last part under his breath, before turning to Jewel. "Jewel, do you want to join me to search for Donna?"
 

While running, Murmur tripped over a Hawlucha and almost fell on a nearby Maractus in his haste. "Ahhh, sorry sirs, sorry! Umm...have you seen Donna anywhere?" At the very mention of the word "Donna," various Pokémon nearby congregated around him, eyes wide and curious. Despite Murmur's attempts, he wasn't able to stop them from gossiping. I'm sorry, Deyna, but it looks like everybody will know soon enough.
 
--
 
"Hey did you hear? Donna's missing, yup yup! Apparently Deyna's getting a search party together," a friendly Bidoof told a small gathering of Pokémon, before his eyes widened at the sight of a certain Snivy among them. "Uhh...you didn't see me slacking, nope nope. I'm, uh, going back now...bye!"
 
--
 
Before long, the whole clearing was buzzing with the news.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Okay! First plot stuff! Donna the female Delcatty, lead singer of the band "Complicated Fluff" has been missing for two days! My character is currently gathering up a search party. Even if your characters weren't addressed above, they probably heard about it anyway, since the news spread like wildfire. You can choose to join in, follow behind them, run ahead, or keep doing what you were doing before.

 

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Samba was quite happy this strange Pokemon was asking about their well-being. "Well that's super nice of you! Asking someone you've never seen before if they're alright. I'm great thanks! That's super nice of you!" Samba seemed to have forgotten they already said that last bit.

 

He was about to do...something more but then a Whismur came onto the scene in a panic. Samba helped steady the poor creature after it talked about a lost Pokemon. Unfortunately this help ended up knocking the thing down.

 

"Whoopsie!" Samba said, he was going to help them up but then got distracted by a bright light that turned out to be the sun. After a few moments of staring, Samba turned to the Hawlucha...Dante! "Hey hey hey I heard there was a lost Pokemon? What're you gonna do? I think we should totally go find them, it'll be like an adventure or something!"

 

Upon saying this, Samba grabbed onto Dante and began tugging him in...some direction.

 

---

 

Duchess sighed. "Yes yes fine whatever." Both the Deino and the Riolu had expressed that it would make more sense to just continue on. "Apparently you don't even know the value of learning from your mistakes but fine we'll just carry on like nothing happened." She didn't even bother responding to the Ditto as they had taken flight once more. Which was his entire job to begin with. Snivy shook her head and went back to her plans.

Ahhh yes, this was much better. No annoying lesser-intelligent Pokemon to bug her. Only her and her genius mind...of course she totally ignored the other's contributions to the plans. She knew much better after all.

 

Of course that's until that horribly useless Bidoof came up and spouted something about their singer being missing. He then tried to run off but Duchess wasn't having any of that. He dragged him back with her vine whip. "Excuse me? She's missing? How did that happen? Don't you idiots pay attention to anything? She's vital to the entire plan!" The Bidoof stammered about not knowing anything about it and she let him go. "Fine, just tell me where Deyna is." She would get to the bottom of this. If you want things done right you'd better do it yourself. Deyna was...less than impressive. But at least he could do something.

 

Duchess looked towards Neos. "You, get down here. You're coming with me to find Donna. And anyone else who thinks they can be useful come as well." With that said she headed towards the direction the Bidoof had indicated, head held high and with a scowl on her face. This little Snivy meant business.

[Sluggaholic]

- - - - - -

 

 

- - - - - -

 

Lamier let out a huff, as he finally stopped the trash cart. Disposing of the trash hadn't been a problem for him. He simply left it at a Trubbish's house. He assumed a Pokemon made of garbage would know what to do with it. For now, he'd spend his time trying to collect scraps and bits of unused refuse from around town. Being a part of society wasn't always easy, but it was just something you had to do sometimes, he supposed. 

 

And so, Lamier set off on his job: cleaning up the village. What surprised him the most, as he moved from stall to stall, area to area, was how friendly most of the villagers were, despite not knowing him in the slightest. They'd give him a happy, gracious smile, talk for a minute or two, before giving him their trash, and moving on. It was... nice, to be able to say hello to someone every now and then. Perhaps sulking really wasn't the way to go earlier. He really should've been doing this from the beginning. Helping these Pokemon, talking, learning their names and stories, it was fascinating how different and yet similar they all were. They all had different backgrounds, differing histories, and yet they all lived together in this village, and on its outskirts, working together to make their lives just a little bit better and just a little bit easier. 

 

Something that truly struck Lamier as beautiful was how innocent everyone seemed to be of the litany of excessive violence and debauchery in the world outside. He loved to see the children run and laugh just as much as the next Pokemon, but it struck him as odd, even now, how these Pokemon carried themselves, like they feared no outside influence on their life could exist. It was just so... calming, to see. It almost made him forget how bad it could get out there.

 

Almost.

 

- - - - -

 

[spoiler=BGM - Rise of Trouble / Rising Actions - Special Program "Search for the Red Gyarados" - Part One]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp89H0W5FDs

 

 

 

 

Lamier was just doing what he'd been doing for the past hour or so, when the whispers reached his ears. Though hidden behind his streams of fur, his ears were honed. Sharpened by years of battle. In seconds, he understood the situation completely. The lead singer of this seemingly important band, a Delcatty, had gone missing. How long wasn't mentioned, but he doubted she just went off on a leisurely stroll. No, this was no little walk in the park. Lamier's expression darkened.

 

"I'd met my money zat she's been captured..." He muttered, under his breath, though some young child heard him, and gave him a confused glance. He stalked away from the child, tugging the trash cart along, his head hung in thought. But whom? It wasn't as if poachers knew of this place; if they did, then the village wouldn't exist right now. Perhaps she was eaten? Or maybe Pokemon took her? He swallowed at the thought of that. With a human, he might've been able to reason with them. Sure, he couldn't speak the language, but if he acted right, maybe they'd let her go. But a Pokemon? Wild, at that? No way. The only way things were settled outside the village, he thought, was through fisticuffs. Or, in his case, mandible-icuffs. Nodding resolutely to himself, he resigned himself to giving in to his more righteous side. He'd help, to a degree, but if fighting was the only way to resolve the problem, he'd let someone else handle this.

 

Glancing up, he looked ahead to see a Buizel and Archen, though he blanked on their names. He was sure one of them was slightly important, but politics always bored him, so he never bothered to see who, besides the leader of the village, was important. As such, when he strolled up to the couple, he thought them little more than a couple of young kids resting. He'd have to figure out who to talk to about organizing some kind of rescue party for this, "Donna" 'mon. She was important, he was sure.

 

"Ahem." He coughed, trying to get the Buizel and Archen's attentions. "You two. Do eizer of jou know who I should speak to about zis, erm... "Donna". Zhe has appeared to have gone missing, non? Zat isn't good. I eckspect zat zere is some kind of, erm, search and rescue group, for ze missing Delcatty." Enough exposition already, he mentally told himself, slapping himself upside the face in his mind. Get to the point! "Where, eckzactly, could I join zis party, young Buizel, Archen?"

[Tesability Black]

"You, get down here."

Oh, holy Arceus, what did the flipping Snivy want now?

"You're coming with me to find Donna," the shifted Ditto heard as soon as he turned around in the air to be facing her general direction before landing in front of the annoying Snivy. "And anyone else who thinks they can be useful come as well."

Donna? That was whom again? Folding in his borrowed wings while looking up, Neos thought for a second on whom that name belonged to, finally recalling it being attached to a lady Delcatty. Once remembering that, he thought about where he had last seen her himself...

...oh, he was going to be in heaps of trouble soon. He recalled her wandering close to the edge of the forest at one point and didn't recall her seeing her since. Some sentry I am...

Knowing better than to open his beak at the moment, Neos flapped his little wings after the Snivy before catching up to her side and landing, walking the rest of the way on talon for the time being.

[PhoenixVanguard]

Lumina had spaced out after she gave her advice. She didn't really care if the uptight Snivy actually followed it or not, she just felt some odd compulsion to speak and gave into it. Once she had spoken her mind wandered to more entertaining thoughts. Like the training she'd be able to do once the damned festival was done.

 

However, she was still tuned into reality just enough to hear Duchess mention something about finding...Donna? 

 

The name meant little to Lumina, but the prospect of something more exciting did. Even if it meant suffering through more of the Snivy's nonsense.

 

"Oh yeah, count me in. Anything's better than this." She'd get in a heap of trouble for abandoning her post...of course, she didn't really care.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

The place was a muck with rumors of the missing Delcatty who was to perform for the music festival.  

 

"You, get down here. You're coming with me to find Donna. And anyone else who thinks they can be useful come as well."

 

Apo looked towards the food food stand where he was supposed to do his job, but Janum had fallen asleep.  She seemed to be snoring in a rather peaceful tone, so Apo didn't feel the need to disturb her, even if he was starving.  It was pointless to try and get a meal out of a sleeping flower, so there was only one way he could be useful this time around.  He turned around to face Duchess.  "I'm coming with!  If there's no food to test, then I should make myself useful and be part of the search party!"  It was strange since the young dragon couldn't even see, but his sense of smell was impeccable, and his hearing top notch.  However, amidst the chaos, he was practically unable to tell which way he was headed.  There was one familiar scent close by.  Duchess'.  

 

"Uhm...sorry about this..."  He chomped down on her tail, but rather lightly.  "' 'M sowwy, I don'f wanf to gef wost!"  His speech was slightly impaired by the leaf in his mouth. 

 

 

 

All this praise from Deyna was making her more flustered than usual.  While the buizel was lost in a train of thought, Jewel's wings flapped furiously with anxiety.  Her beak was flushed, and their were slight muffled screams coming from inside.  Happy screams of course.  

 

Soon after her slight panic dissolved, a Bidoof came to deliver some bad news to the two.  The main star of the night had gone missing!  It was up to volunteers to go search for her outside of White Forest.  She turned to Deyna, who had already turned to her.

 

 "Jewel, do you want to join me to search for Donna?"

 

Her wings flapped quickly again.  "A-are you sure you want m-me to go with you...I'm sure you'd rather not have m-me slowing you down or anything."  She twiddled her talons nervously.  "U-uhm...but alright...I'll go with you!"  She hopped to her feet, and almost stumbled over herself.  You'd think her ability would be tangled feet, but sadly it was way worse than that.  

 

Just as she accepted Deyna's offer, a Furfrou walked up that startled Jewel.  All of her feathers stood on end as the poodle pokemon talked in a rather strange accent.  "You two. Do eizer of jou know who I should speak to about zis, erm... "Donna". Zhe has appeared to have gone missing, non? Zat isn't good. I eckspect zat zere is some kind of, erm, search and rescue group, for ze missing Delcatty.  Where, eckzactly, could I join zis party, young Buizel, Archen?"

 

"Well, we j-just made our own party to go and find her..."  She gulped nervously, "And If anybody would know a-anything about the situation, It's Deyna right here.  You should know that h-he's the village chief's son after all..."  She didn't mean to sound pretentious, there were plenty of buizel running around the forest.  "I-If you want, you can come with us!"  Surely a third wheel would divvy up the tension, and make it less awkward for Deyna.   

[Sluggaholic]

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Lamier nodded, and smiled at the Archen's answer. Well, despite being slightly terrifying trying to integrate, this was a rather enjoyable experience! Sure, he'd have to rain a little on his parade, having to go look for this 'Donna', but perhaps getting to know this Archen and Deyna, supposedly the leader of the forest, though he was sure it was an Azumarill, would be good for him. Make him a little less nervous about getting to know these Pokemon, and understand their surprisingly alien culture. Tossing his head to get the large tufts of fur out of his face, he put on his best friendly smile, and nodded.

 

"Ah, gud! Wonderful, een fact." He then blinked once, before waving his paws in front of his face, flustered. "Ah, erm, not ze whole, 'disappearance' zing, of course. A-ah meant being able to help." Chuckling softly to himself, he scratched a paw behind his ear. But, with a shake of the head, all of his anxiety seemed to disappear, and a confident, calm look settled upon his face: a true neutral face if there ever was a definition for it, for no emotion seemed to escape it. "If eizer of jou need assistance, I'll be right behind jou. Despite my rather pompous looks, ay'm a natural born fighter. Been trained all my life." He pounded a paw against the earth, as if to signify his strength. "Not to mensheon my nose iz one of ze best. I assure you, we'll find 'Donna'. But, erm," he glanced over to his right, to Deyna, "are we ze only ones in ze group? Or, are zere more on ze way?" While he almost hoped that there'd be nobody else coming, he both knew better than that and believed better than that. The people of the forest were quite compassionate. Fortunately and unfortunately, there was no way this rag-tag team of a weasel, poodle, and ancient-dino-bird-thing would be the only ones out there searching, and there'd be no way their group would stay this small. The thought of how large the group could get made Lamier flinch inside. Well, there was no backing out now. Might as well buckle up for the long run. Though, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know these strangers...

 

"Oh... one last zhing... Archen." He shuffled himself a little to face the ancient bird Pokemon, who seemed almost as flustered as he felt. "Jou've told me zis Buizel's name, Deyna, but jou have neglected jour own: vat is it, may I ask? Zat is, i-if it isn't too much trouble, of course." This last bit came out rushed, and he was nervously laughing all the way. Wow... was he really that out of it, that asking somebody's name could make him feel so awkward? He needed this even more than he thought before...