Elio: Beginner Capture Quest (Dec 11)

#1
He could feel it. The creeping sensation of hopelessness.

Elio's search for clues, hints, or even the vaguest whisper of the missing Empress seemed all for naught. He had spent days searching Yongkai City, asking anyone he could think of for information on Empress Lyrica, but he learned nothing that he hadn't already learned in school. He had no leads.

His quest to expand his team of Pokemon hasn't been going well either. As tough and relentless as the people of Yongkai were, the Pokemon were tougher. His Elekid had almost no hope of besting any of fierce wild Pokemon scattered about the back alleys of the city.

Elio began to realize that he would need to expand his search, both for clues and Pokemon. Elio knew that the Empress visited the smaller villages dotted around the Storm Kua frequently, ensuring her rule across the faction's territory. Perhaps they might know something the city folk don't, or would at least be more willing to talk about it.

Catching Pokemon would be easier outside the city as well, where the competition wasn't so harsh.
That settles it. Elio would leave the city for the first time in years. Ah but where to go? There were a number of villages dotting the mountainside around the city. There was the renowned smithing village of Kuijia, the dragon aerie Qi, and the lively merchant town of Shaizi. They were all relatively close to Yongkai, but Elio figured he should decide on one to visit first. And who knows. Along the way he might even encounter some Pokemon to join his team.

With a sigh of relief and the weight of hopelessness lifted from his shoulders, Elio headed out of the city towards a grand new adventure.

(Which town would you like to visit?)

No Random Drop (d: 75)

Spoiler: Your Team

Team:

Elekid , lv. 5 (24/24 hp)

Items:
3 Quick Balls
Lum Berry [10/10]
Enigma Berry [5/5]
Petaya Berry [5/5]
Chesto Berry [5/5]
Chople Berry [5/5]
Wacan Berry [5/5]
Yache Berry [5/5]
Shuca Berry [5/5]
Babiri Berry [5/5]
Occa Berry [5/5]
Tanga Berry [5/5]
Colbur Berry [5/5]
Kebia Berry [5/5]
Kasib Berry [5/5]
Sitrus Berry [5/5]

 

The shard was bound tight in Elio's fist. Sometimes he found himself clenching it when he was thinking. This left an imprint on the insides of his fingers and palms, which would bring him back his bearings. This was one of those times. He stowed the shard in his pocket and swept his cloak to cover his body. The shroud would enable him to leave his home town unnoticed.

But where to go?

As he stumbled over the tall grass outside of the village's perimeter, off the beaten track, he thought about the neighbouring locations. Those regions closest to the mountaintop and closest to the Empress' palace would perhaps be the most knowledgeable of her destination. But, these were busy locals, with suspicious eyes peering out from every nook and cranny. Elio figured he was better off heading towards one of the quieter merchant towns. Shaizi seemed like the perfect fit. It was close enough to the palace of Yongkai for whispers to reach, but far enough to hide from stares. His departure would not reach his mother's ears before he had left the Storm kua, he decided.

Perhaps the fishermen or sailors of Shaizi will have word from afar of the Empress' travels. But first, Elio had to make it there. And the grassy verges that seperated Yongkai from Shaizi were renowned for being treacherous for travelers, particularly when the sun goes down. Who knows what awaits Elio out there.

As Ely took his first steps out of Yongkai he could feel the drenched grass squelching beneath his boots.

Maybe I should have packed a jacket...

 

#2

Elio trudged along through the rain, his shroud now completely soaked through. Yeah... a jacket would have been lovely. Maybe he can pick one up in town? At any rate, he had better hurry along.

As he continued along the path, he reached the tree line of the mountain. The landscape became populated with more and more trees as he walked along until he found himself strolling through a forest. At least the rain isn't so harsh in here.

As Elio walks through the conifers, he suddenly hears a loud cry off to the right. All of a sudden, two Pokemon come crashing through the under brush, grappling one another in a furious contest over... something? It's too hard to tell what with all the flailing about. Elio manages to identify the two Pokemon as a Grubbin and a Pachirisu. As they stumble across the path in front of you, they unattach themselves and tumble to the ground. They both spring up and turn to face each other. They look down at the ground at the contested prize. It looks like it was a berry at some point in its life, but the scuffle has rendered it somewhat mushy. Nevertheless, these two Pokemon seem intent on claiming it for themselves. They lock eyes and literal electricity starts to spark between them.

What will Elio do!?

Encounter: Grubbin & Pachirisu!

Grubbin, level ??? / HP ???

Pachirisu, level ??? / HP ???

No Random Drop (d: 37)

Spoiler: Your Team

Team:

Elekid , lv. 5 (24/24 hp)

Items:
3 Quick Balls
Lum Berry [10/10]
Enigma Berry [5/5]
Petaya Berry [5/5]
Chesto Berry [5/5]
Chople Berry [5/5]
Wacan Berry [5/5]
Yache Berry [5/5]
Shuca Berry [5/5]
Babiri Berry [5/5]
Occa Berry [5/5]
Tanga Berry [5/5]
Colbur Berry [5/5]
Kebia Berry [5/5]
Kasib Berry [5/5]
Sitrus Berry [5/5]

 

It took only a couple of steps in the soggy grass for Elio to think about home... warm, dry home. His mother would be cooking the dinner, while riots would be happening in the streets... On second thought, home wasn't exactly a great place to be right now. Besides, Elio had a mission, and he was raised to be a fighter, not a quitter. But a fighter needs Pokemon. He had one, an Elekid, given to him as a child, but the pair hadn't really bonded much yet. Elio hadn't really taken much initiative to train him, to be fair; life gets in the way.

It didn't take long for the well-known mountains of the Storm kua to loom into view. And with mountains came the trees. Trees a-plenty. Soon Elio found himself surrounded by thick trees on all sides, their foliage blocking out what little light remained. Then, all of a sudden, a sharp cry comes out from the right. Elio turns around just in time to see two shapes come bustling out into the clearing. A small yellow-cheeked rodent with streaks of blue all along its body is hopping back and forth furiously, sparks splashing off in every direction. The other Pokemon, a Bug type by the looks of it, has a grey ovoid trunk, with two bulky orange pincers protruding from its face.

Elio quickly realised that the two Pokemon were fighting over the remains of some long-shredded berry. Feeling sympathetic for the ravenous Pokemon, and realising that his Berry pouch was stocked to the brim, Elio withdrew two berries. Holding a chople berry in one hand, he tossed it into the trees, hoping that the Pachirisu, with its quick motions, would dart after it. That would hopefully distract the squirrel-like Pokemon long enough for Elio to feed an occa berry to the Grubbin. Being a Bug type, Grubbin would surely appreciate the newfound resistance to Fire types moves it would gain, if it ate the berry. Perhaps Grubbin would be keen to stick around afterwards and join Elio on his adventure, if he enjoyed the berry, that is.

 

#3

Elio is quick to act in response to the sudden altercation that has appeared in front of him. He quickly reaches into his pouch, carefully selecting two berries. He withdraws a Chople Berry and an Occa Berry, one for each of the obviously hungry Pokemon.

He lets out a shrill whistle to get the attention of the Pokemon, slowly circling around to get in the view of the Pachirisu. The little squirrel looks up at him with hungry eyes locked onto the Chople Berry held aloft by the trainer. Elio quickly chucks the berry as hard as he can into the trees behind the Pachirisu. It follows the berry with lightning reflexes and scurries off into the forest furiously.

Elio is left alone in the clearing with the little Grubbin. It gazes up at this mysterious bringer of sustenance, eyes full of desire and wonder. Elio leans down to offer the Occa Berry to the little bug Pokemon. It crawls up to him, carefully at first, but once it is in lunging range, it leaps for the berry, gobbling it down in only a few bites. The Grubbin looks quite content with this succulent meal, and nuzzles up against Elio's outstretched hand.

Grubbin then turns and walks a little ways ahead, slightly off to the right of the path, stops, then looks back and the trainer and chirps. It walks forward again, stops, turns, and again chirps. What could this mean? Is it trying to show Elio something? Is it a trap? There's only one way to find out.

Elio follows the little bug into the woods, maybe only a few yards or so. The Grubbin reaches an old, decaying tree stump and crawls into a hole near the bottom. A few seconds pass before it emerges carrying something in its mouth. Is that... an Apricorn? Yeah it definitely looks like a Red Apricorn. Wow, what a generous little Grubbin. It crawls back over to Elio and nudges the Apricorn at the trainer. As Elio reaches down to pick it up, the Grubbin jumps onto his arm, climbing his way up to Elio's shoulder before settling in. I guess that means he wants to tag along on Elio's journey.

What do you say Elio? Will you accept the Grubbin's offer? Or will you continue on, simply content that you could help out a Pokemon in need?

Encounter: Grubbin!

Grubbin, level 2 / HP 12/15

Random drop! Red Apricorn! (d: 8)

Spoiler: Your Team

Team:

Elekid , lv. 5 (24/24 hp)

Items:
3 Quick Balls
1 Red Apricorn
Lum Berry [10/10]
Enigma Berry [5/5]
Petaya Berry [5/5]
Chesto Berry [5/5]
Chople Berry [4/5]
Wacan Berry [5/5]
Yache Berry [5/5]
Shuca Berry [5/5]
Babiri Berry [5/5]
Occa Berry [4/5]
Tanga Berry [5/5]
Colbur Berry [5/5]
Kebia Berry [5/5]
Kasib Berry [5/5]
Sitrus Berry [5/5]

 

With a sharp whistle, Pachirisu looks up at Elio, eyes wide, ears pricking up as it was alerted. For a moment Elio was a bit frightened that the rodent would dart at him, bucked-teeth ready to chomp at anything in between it and the berry. Acting quickly, Elio tossed it as far as he could, and surely enough, the Pachirisu darted afterwards. Now came the less certain part.

With a trembling hand oustretched, Elio beckons the Grubbin closer. It scuttles over, beady eyes transfixed on the succulent berry ahead of it. With suprising strength and agility, the Grubbin leaps forward and snatches the berry out of Elio's grasp. Grubbin retreats suddenly and Elio starts to fear that the Grubbin may not be interested in sticking around, however, the Grubbin gives off a little encouraging chirp, before walking away.

With a smidgen of trepidation, Elio decides to go and follow the Pokemon -- adventures always begin with a sense risk and a racing heart, after all. Elio follows the Grubbin to a small, hollow trunk of a felled tree. Grubbin clambers inside through a crevice and emerges almost instantly with a red apricorn, a nice gesture from a lonely Pokemon.

Touched by Grubbin's kindness, Elio pockets the apricorn.

"I have a feeling this little fellow will bring me some more luck. You're sticking with me," Elio finds himself saying as the creepy-crawly climbs up Elio's arm and nestles down on his shoulder.

With his new friend in tow, Elio decided to take heed of his surroundings. In all of the excitement, he had lost track of his sense of navigation and now found himself in the heart of the woods. The mountaintops were obscured by the branches overhead, and strange sounds could be heard from nearby. "We should get moving before something else finds us, but where do we go now?" Elio said, to no one in particular, but Grubbin heard. Perhaps he would have some advice navigating the woods and getting them to the nearest town as soon as possible.

 

Elio started to panic a little. Had he come from that direction? Did that tree look familiar? Or was it that tree?

In his haste to follow the little Grubbin, he had gotten completely turned around, and was now lost in the woods.

Hmm, maybe the Grubbin knows where to go. Elio thought. He asked the little bug if he knew the way back to the trail, and it chirped cheerily in response before hopping off his shoulder and scampering off into the woods again.

Elio hurried after it, struggling to keep pace through all of the underbrush. The Grubbin was fast for its diminutive size, and seemed to know its way around. However, Elio soon realized that this route did not look familiar in the slightest. It definitely didn't take this long to get to the tree in the first place. Where the hell could this Grubbin be going?

"Where are we headed?" Elio yelled out to the bug. It just chirped and continued its trek.

Elio was struggling to keep up, not really keeping an eye on where he was stepping. He took one misstep and tripped on a tree root and tumbled to the ground, knocking his shoulder against the tree in the process. As he hit the ground, Elio heard another thud nearby. He looked up to find a very angry looking and very upside down Pineco glaring back at him. The Pokemon then began to spin, picking up more and more speed.

What will Elio do? He cannot see his new companion, but then again, he is laying on the ground. How will he save himself!?

Encounter: Pineco & Grubbin!

Pineco, level ??? / HP ???
Pineco is using Gyro Ball

Grubbin, level 2 / HP 12/15
Grubbin is missing!

No Random Drop (d: 34)

Spoiler: Your Team

Team:

Elekid , lv. 5 (24/24 hp)

Items:
3 Quick Balls
1 Red Apricorn
Lum Berry [10/10]
Enigma Berry [5/5]
Petaya Berry [5/5]
Chesto Berry [5/5]
Chople Berry [4/5]
Wacan Berry [5/5]
Yache Berry [5/5]
Shuca Berry [5/5]
Babiri Berry [5/5]
Occa Berry [4/5]
Tanga Berry [5/5]
Colbur Berry [5/5]
Kebia Berry [5/5]
Kasib Berry [5/5]
Sitrus Berry [5/5]