Autumn Frost?

[Important inventory: Rainy Orb, Shocker Orb, Allure Seed]
[Energy: 17 - 11 = 6]

Recently, Valen had learned about an exploration organization called the Windrose Scouts and its base in Fallen Leaf Copse. Along with Saturn, the Cubone who had told him about the organization in the first place, Valen had decided to become a member. Especially as Valen was also a member of the Aileron Guild and the Peak Academy, some might have said that it was too much for one little bird - but Valen himself felt confident that he could manage. In fact, almost right after joining, Valen, along with Saturn, had decided to investigate one of the rumours on a Windrose Library bulletin board.

So, someone says "flowers made of frost" are appearing in these woods, huh. Valen thought. Could that really be true? I mean, from what I've heard and read about, this place is basically autumn all the time, so how could there possibly be frost here? Maybe someone mistook white flowers for frost or something - or they're just making things up?

Now, Valen was outside the Windrose Scouts base, but still inside the woods themselves. He looked around. There were, of course, the trees with their beautiful orange and yellow leaves that were everywhere here - but as far as he could tell, no frost, in fact nothing white whatsoever was present. Then he remembered something.

The rumour said they're at the bases of trees and on branches on the ground - and I haven't really looked down yet! So Valen did that. There was a carpet of fallen leaves, and Valen could see some small plants growing as well - including a few flowers. But again, none of these were frosty or even white.

So now, they had to explore some more. At least everything was in the same dungeon as the scout headquarters itself was located in, so Valen hadn't had to travel very far already after deciding to investigate the rumour - one reason he had chosen this one in the first place to start with. But then Valen thought: What if this really is just made up? Then how are we going to prove that there are, indeed, no such flowers? Do we really have to search the whole of Fallen Leaf Copse? Well, we can certainly at least search one part of this place to begin with...

Valen turned to Saturn. "Saturn," he asked, "have you seen anything here now? You know, any frost or anything that looks at all like it?"

[Current Inventory: Oran Berry x2, Heal Seed]
[Energy: 19-11=8]

Valen and Saturn left the Windrose Library, fresh new members of the Windrose Scouts, with an objective in mind. Right after applying, they took a look at the Rumors Bulletin, eager to get to work as soon as possible. Saturn figured that doing some work right away would definitely help earn the respect of their peers, especially if the made an interesting find. Plus, the thought of going out and researching rumors and hearsay left Saturn feeling rather exited; giddy, even. Who knows what hurdles and oddities they might come across!

As Saturn trudged through the thick layer of orange and brown hued refuse on the ground, Valen gliding alongside him, he had to remind himself that they were, indeed, in a Mystery Dungeon, a dangerous place rife with violent ferals, dubious ruffians, and plenty of treasure to boot. He couldn't let his guard down for a second. Who knows what manner of creature could be hiding just out of sight, awaiting its next victim? He certainly didn't want to find out the hard way, that was for sure.

As they continued their foray deeper into the Copse, Saturn went over the details of what they were looking for in his head once again, to make sure he didn't forget. Rumor has it that flowers made of frost were appearing on branches and the bases of trees, which is not a natural occurence in the Fallen Leaf Copse. To discern whether this was just meaningless gossip, completely true, or somwhere in between was their objective. Well, that and write a detailed report on their findings, which Saturn figured they would do when they got back from exploring.

Saturn's inner thoughts were interrupted by Valen asking if he had seen anything pertaining to the rumor they were investigating. "Hm? Uh, no. Not yet. Hopefully, when we do come across one of these flowers, it should be rather easy to spot considering it would be a bright white against an orange, red and brown landscape. Perhaps you should focus on the branches while I focus on examining the bases of the trees, that way we're less likely to miss something?" Saturn managed to maintain a cool and collected facade, but inside he was cursing himself for failing to keep focus on his surroundings, not five minutes after he told himself to keep his guard up! Thank goodness he had Valen here to watch his back, otherwise this adventure might end like their exploration into Pecha Forest all over again; except without the happy ending.

"Oh, and Valen? Try to keep an eye out for grass types if you can. Not only are they strong against me, but they tend to have rather nasty tricks up their sleeve."

"Okay then, I'll focus on the branches." Valen replied to Saturn. "And yeah, I'll look out for Grass types. I think it should be okay, as I remember I have the type advantage against them." Valen continued. Wait, that reminded him about something...

What if there's an Ice type making those 'frost flowers?' Why didn't I think about that before? Because Ice-types don't normally live here? But what if - could an Ice-type Pokemon have traveled here?

"Umm... I was thinking. I'm not sure how big of a stretch this may be, but if there are really 'frost flowers', what if Ice-type Pokemon are involved somehow? I'm weak to them. What is your type matchup against them?" Valen asked Saturn. Valen had forgotten that Ground-type Pokemon were weak to Ice-type moves.

So what should we do now? Valen thought. Just fly (and walk) around and look, I guess. Carefully - this is a dungeon after all. Although come to think of it, even if there are frost flowers and someone is creating them, that doesn't necessarily mean they're a threat. And if there aren't any such flowers? Hey, what if someone just claimed they're on or near the ground to make it more difficult for flying Pokemon to check the truth? I mean, if I flew high enough I could probably see the whole area of Fallen Leaf Copse - but it would only be the tops of the trees. Valen was thinking while waiting for Saturn's response.

In response to Valen's question about type matchups, Saturn strained to remember the details of an old scroll his parents had stored. It depicted a symbol for each element, with red arrows webbing out from each symbol denoting what types the element was strong against and blue arrows denoting which elements the type resisted. He distinctly remembered Ice being strong against Flying types, as Valen stated, and he recalled Ice being strong against Ground, also. This meant that a hostile Ice type pokemon, or one with Ice type moves, would do fairly well against both of them. The caveat here, is that his only damaging move, Ancient Power, is Rock type. He, for the life of him, could not remember if Ice type was super effective against Rock or if it was the other way around. He certainly hoped it was the latter, as that would give them at least somewhat of an advantage, assuming it is an actual Ice type pokemon behind this.

"Yeah, i'm weak to them, from what I remember. What I cannot accurately recall however, is if Rock is super effective against Ice or vice versa. you see, I know a Rock type move; Ancient Power. If Rock is strong against Ice, then that will definitely work in our favor, assuming it's not a non-Ice type pokemon wielding an Ice type move. Regardless, we definitely need to stay as alert as possible and try to get the drop on such a creature, assuming they're a threat. If they're going around making Ice Flowers, then hopefully they will at least be approachable.

"What really worries me, however, is the thought that these frost flowers are a potential consequence of Ice types encroaching on this territory. If they're leaving their natural environment and looking for shelter elsewhere, that could have a lot of concerning implications."

Saturn thought for a second, realizing his alarming theory makes a lot of far-reaching assumptions. "Then again, it could also just be some silly prank or an artistic expression of some kind. Only one way to find out, right?" With that, Saturn continued his search for a flower that may or may not exist.

"Oh yeah. It's important to be careful, but neither should we be making assumptions that someone is dangerous without evidence that they are actually harming others. I remember..." While Valen was talking, he had been thinking about what had happened in Pecha Forest again, when he had attacked a certain Weepinbell who wasn't actually the feral one they had dealt with before. It was quite an embarassing event, so he didn't like to think about it, but now he had to admit it had taught him a good lesson.

Valen flew at a lower altitude than usual for him for some time, looking at the branches on the ground, but there didn't seem to be any flowers at all on branches, and as before, any flowering plants on the ground didn't have even white flowers. Just to be absolutely safe, he looked at the branches higher on the trees as well, although he knew that the rumour hadn't claimed there were ice flowers there. Sure enough, what he was searching for wasn't there, either. However, he knew that so far, they had only searched the tiniest fraction of the whole woods. I shouldn't be impatient right now, Valen thought. But still, he was doubting that there were any frost flowers at all.

[21 - 11 for entry = 10 | 10 + 5 for Black Coal's energy bonus = 15]
[Items; Joy Ribbon, Black Coal | Missions; Missing Signage & Trouble in Paradise]

Arietta hummed lightly as she deftly hopped along the forest floor of Fallen Leaf Copse, a number of signs tucked under her wings. She'd been to the autumnal forest a number of times since it's discovery and the sight of the beautiful flame coloured leaves was always pleasant. They always reminded her of some of her happier childhood memories.

Having been to the copse previously, Arie was vaguely confident that she could find her way around, hence why she had taken on the job to put up a number of signs to help lost pokemon on their travels. It wasn't the most riveting of tasks, but Arie had joined the Guild to help people in a way that didn't involve being a police officer, so she wasn't about to complain when the job was about doing exactly that. Plus, she could never turn down an opportunity to visit Fallen Leaf Copse.

Pausing in her thoughts, Arie turned back to the Piplup that had been accompanying her. Putting up signs wasn't the only job she had taken on for today and Clovis had seemed interested in the prospect of a fight when the second job had come up in conversation; it's aim being to defeat an outlaw Grimer that was harassing the residents and messing up the scenery.

"I guess we should keep an eye out for any of that 'messed up scenery' that Minccino mentioned," she mused lightly, pausing to take one of the signs out from under her wing. They were a little ways into the forest now, so this would be a good place to put one.

Fallen Leaf Copse, hoo boy. A nice place overall, apart from the bears. And the Grimer, apparently. Clovis was here with a guild member, kind of like how he had been the first time he came there. This scenario was a bit different from last time, however, as rather than being condescended to by a haughty Ninetales, he was accompanying this one on her mission, or rather, missions. They were there for two tasks, including dealing with an outlaw, and the wonderfully exciting task of placing some signs down to guide travelers! How exhilarating. Though he supposed he ought not to expect too much from a mission assigned to a grey rank member of the guild. Sigh.

Dealing with the outlaw, he supposed, was the more interesting of the two, though he was less sure what that entailed. The Fletchling had attained his companionship through the promise of adventure and the possibility of a fight with some outlaw Grimer, a prospect which left him both eager and a tad bit nervous, somewhere in his stomach. He'd fought plenty of ferals in the past, but never a true outlaw, and he wasn't entirely faithful in his companion, whom he had only met just before this little expedition. Still, he looked forward to the encounter more than he did placing signs around.

Carrying the bulk of the signs on his back, Clovis marched along with the Fletchling, scanning the path he walked with his eyes. Really, he wasn't too sure where exactly he was supposed to place any of the signs he was carrying, but the smaller bird would probably tell him when he had to. Walking through the copse, she mentioned watching out for signs of the outlaw. "I suppose we'll know it when we see it. Or, smell it, as the case may be." She placed a sign down, providing direction to something or another. "You just, uh, tell me when you want me to place one of these, Henrietta." That was her name, right?

Saturn continued his pursuit for evidence of this fabled 'frost flower'; examining every tree trunk (of which there were many), searching under every pile of leaves (also just as numerous), and just generally being as thorough as he possibly could with his search. His efforts had been rather fruitless so far and he had the sneaking suspicion that wasn't going to change any time soon. Hopefully, he was wrong.

"Perhaps we're simply in the wrong part of the forest. After all, if these flowers are a rare occurence, then it stands to reason that they might only pop up in a few select locations. If we could just find a civilized pokemon like us that also knows this area well then we could probably ask them."

Saturn continued his search as he spoke, still finding little more than dead leaves and moist soil. "Of course, that's easier said than done..."

southpawXlegacy carried out 4 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

, , ,

“Maybe,” Valen replied, “but how likely are we to find a civilized Pokémon in a dungeon?” But then again, he remembered, I have met civilized Pokémon in dungeons quite a few times before. Which is odd. Is it just a coincidence, or are there actually more civilized Pokémon in those places than I thought there would be? But even so… Valen continued talking. “And even if we do find one, how likely is it that the Pokémon will know this place? If they’re from outside and just exploring a new place, as seems likely, they may not be able to guide us well.” Well, maybe if they’re fellow members of the Windrose Scouts who actually live here – I think there are some like that – but this is our job. I don’t want to ask for help from the other Scouts, Valen resolved to himself.

Valen was generally an optimistic Pokémon who liked exploration and discovery. But now, wherever they had flown, everything looked so similar – trees, autumn leaves, branches, small plants – and absolutely nothing like what they had been looking for. There hadn’t been much really to break things up – not even a feral attack. It was a bit annoying. Yet still, Valen didn’t want to seem that he had given up. “But I think you might be right about those flowers only being in certain parts of the forest. Let’s keep going!” he told Saturn.

Pickup roll:

Shield carried out 1 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

Regular rolls:

Shield carried out 6 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

, , , , ,

Arietta chuckled lightly at Clovis's talk of the Grimer. She'd never encountered one personally, but they did come with quite the reputation due to the nature of their sludgy bodies. "I guess so," she replied, sticking the sign from under her wing into the ground after a moment of correctly lining up the direction it pointed to. Arie then fluttered above it, pushing down on it with her tiny feet to force it further into the ground.

"Ah, It's Arietta. And will do! Thanks for carrying those for me, by the way," she replied, seamlessly correcting her name before moving on. It had been a bit of a struggle trying to drag all of those signs out from the Guild after she'd accepted the mission. Arashi would normally have come with her since the two of them made up Team Firefly, but the Shinx had happened to be busy. Having already accepted the job Arie wasn't about to back out, so it was lucky she'd run into Clovis really. She was grateful for his help.

"I think we'll probably have to head a little deeper into the forest for the next one, though," she hummed, wanting to keep Clovis in the loop of their progress. She had to admit it was a little boring though and she felt sort of bad for dragging the poor Piplup along with her. He certainly didn't look very entertained by the situation.

Hopping down behind the sign and ready to head off once again, Arie took only two steps before she recoiled at the sudden cold beneath her tiny claws. Lifting her foot and examining the ground, she saw what looked like a small, crushed patch of ice. There were a few leaves sticking out of it, looking like the ice had tried and failed to crawl up the tiny piece of foliage.

"The heck?" Arie said out loud, shaking her foot in attempts to rid it of the cold sensation.

Arietta. "That's what I said, innit?" Clovis was close, and unwilling to admit to being wrong. "And uh, yes, it's my pleasure, really." Clovis accepted the thanks with a bit more courtesy than was in his last statement, realizing that it probably wasn't very nice of him to snap at the Fletchling for pointing out one of his mistakes.

Either way, the first of many signs were placed, with plenty more honest labor to do before the task was complete. Plus the outlaw thing. We're really in for our share today, aren't we? The two of them would have to go even deeper into the Copse to place their signs, about as was to be expected.

Walking off from where the first sign was placed, Clovis heard an icy crunch from below him, followed by the confused voice of his companion. "Hmm?" Arietta had stepped on some ice, it seemed. "Must be frosty today." Oh well, nothing too worrisome. Clovis usually preferred colder weather, as it were, and some ice on the ground didn't concern him one bit. It'd be best if they kept moving on.

Valen picked up his pace as Saturn did so, and had similar feelings about the lack of anything fruitful where they had been. And as he flew, he noticed something - a seed on the ground. "Hey! Saturn, I saw something!" Valen landed and picked up the seed, examining it closely. But when he did, he could tell it was just a Sleep Seed."Oh whoops, it's only a Sleep Seed. Doesn't seem related to any 'frost flowers', but I guess it could be useful if we have to fight."

And soon after that, Valen did see two other Pokemon approaching. He felt happy that he could recognize both of them now. One was a Deerling, notable for how their appearance changed depending on the seasons - Valen couldn't recognize all of the forms yet, but presumed that this one was in its Autumn Form. The other was a Ribombee - they weren't Flying type but they could fly, so Valen had seen them in Aileron Village before. Valen found them a bit funny. I have two evolutions to go, and I'm still bigger than this fully evolved Pokemon.

Valen moved up to them. "Hello!" he said. "By any chance, have -"

"Let's play!" the Ribombee said. "This will be sooo fun!"

"Uh..." Valen said, but then the Ribombee flapped her wings and sent a strangely sparkling gust of wind that struck Valen. Valen had forgotten that the move's name was Fairy Wind, but he decided to try and copy it. Using Mirror Move, Valen flapped his wings and sent a similar gust back at the Ribombee, hitting her. "Hey! Wait!" the Deerling cried. But the Ribombee didn't seem to be fazed either by Valen's attack or the Deerling's words, and in fact was preparing another move...

Arietta frowned slightly at the idea of frost in Fallen Leaf Copse. It didn't seem quite right, but she supposed it might be possible. Just because she had never seen it before didn't mean it couldn't happen.

"Maybe... It does seem a little weird that in the whole forest so far, it's only this small patch though," she mused, poking lightly at the crushed ice for a moment.  The fletchling shook her head, deciding to move on from the matter, "Oh well. Let's keep going!" she smiled, leading the way onwards.

Arie didn't have to travel far before she came into range of various voices. They were relatively quiet, only normal conversation level until a louder cry of "Hey! Wait!" echoed through the trees.

Unsure what the meaning of the cry was from where she stood, Arietta did the only thing she could do as a self-respecting Guild member and made a beeline for where she thought it had come from, briefly letting Clovis know her intentions before she did so. She couldn't just leave it be without investigating, just in case someone else was in trouble.

Ignoring the bit of frost on the ground, Clovis and his companion kept moving on. While it was true they were supposed to be looking for signs of tampering with the environment, frost was a common natural phenomenon no matter how unusual it seemed in that circumstance, and probably couldn't be connected to a Grimer. Nnnn, still no signs of the outlaw. What a shame.

Walking along, Clovis heard some voices, though they weren't very distinguishable from background noise until one of them started shouting with some concern in their voice. Though curious himself as to its source, the Piplup waited for the pokémon next to him to react before taking any action, instead letting the guild member (who would have had more obligations than him) decide if it was worth tearing themselves away from work to investigate. As Arietta darted off towards the noise's source, Clovis quickly began to place a sign while he was still on his initial path, bashing it down with as much speed as the situation warranted. Might as well let them know where they left off.

Hurrying after Arietta, Clovis reached the area which sourced the shouting and stood up straight at his companion's side, ready to let her give her guild spiel-- as he saw fighting between a Riombee and Pikipek, along with a Cubone and Deerling on the sidelines. He wasn't entirely sure if this was his business to interfere in just from looking at the fight, but he figured that announcing his presence couldn't hurt. If he needed to do something, they would tell him, and if they were just sparring, then surely they wouldn't mind him being there as a second. From the way the Riombee laughed, it could very well have been a friendly affair. "Ahem!" He placed a flipper over his joy ribbon and spoke up, presenting himself in a courtly manner. Hopefully this diversion wouldn't take too long, he still had plenty of signs to place before the day was over.