Mud is gross and so is humidity and so is your face if you disagree

[astralprogenitor]

Let's go! Expedition time!​

Players participating: @polliwoggi & @sharkberrypizza

Trainers participating: Daryn Hayashi & Louis Morel
Pokémon participating:
Daryn: 233 & 327
Louis: 12, 52, 357

Expedition area: Darksallow Valley

 

[astralprogenitor]

Total WC: 3878
391+209+288+220+268+293+384+269+278+286+374+317+301

GEs Remaining/Earned: 9/13

VIT Count​

Daryn​	Ran (233)​	Rat (327)​
3/3​	2/2​	1/1​
-------------------------​	-------------------------​	-------------------------​
Louis​	Anise (12)​	Raspberry Sours (52)​
2/2​	1/1​	3/3​
​	¡P4N1K! (357)​	​
​	2/2​	​

Me:
Nothing!

Shark:
N. Scatterbug (Research Ball)

 

[astralprogenitor]

"Hey Louie."

It was with no small amount of irritation that the words filtered out from between gritted teeth, and they were followed with a very distinctive squelch sound as one particularly perturbed young man stepped back, yanking now mud-covered boots out of a rather deep pool of soggy muck. At least, well, he hoped it was mud and not something worse; the damp scent of wet riverbank combined with the unfamiliar smell of rotting leaves and debris that made up a thick forest floor was utterly alien to him to the point that he couldn't be sure what anything was by that alone.

Sure, he'd roamed all over Galar - Daryn wasn't a stranger to being out away from a city, and he didn't mind it one bit - but the problem wasn't that. The cooler climate and open, rolling hills of his home region were a far cry from the dense underbrush he and his companion were currently trekking through. Deepsallow certainly looked pretty from a distance, especially at night, but once off the short path the initial teams had made down to the river proper, it was, well...

"This place is fucking gross."

Being at the tail end of summer, the heat was equally opressive as the grunge itself was to the young man; he'd thought that the warmth of the city and the beach was due to the reflective sands and the lack of shade, but, so far as he could tell, that wasn't the case at all. Now well shaded next to the lazily flowing water, his skin was already coated in a fine sheen of stickiness, and his very breath felt heavy, as though laden with the moisture trying to cling to his body. It felt, for someone not exactly acclimated to it, awful.

"Why does Dad care abou-- ow!" before he could finish the complaint, it was cut off by a sharp interjection as the young man accidentally grabbed a thorny branch in his attempt to move past it. More complaining and swears followed, accompanied by a rather dramatic sigh.

"Why does Dad care about this stupid area anyway? It's just full of thorns and mud," he griped. "Not to mention we haven't even heard a peep of a single pokémon the whole time. You think the initial crew just scared them all off?"

 

[sharkberrypizza]

"A lotta p--"

Louis stopped mid-thought, cut off by just how absolutely sogged his trekking buddy seemed. It was one thing to complain about a marshland, and it wasn't like Daryn didn't enjoy complaining about nearly every other inconvenience either, but it was wholly another for his so-called rival's head to be so badly out of the game.

Didn't they come out here to look for cool, new pokémon?

"That one's got thorns too," Louis murmured, sighing just a bit as he carefully lifted the offending plant out of the way with a gloved hand. "that's why I wore these."

And why all his pokémon were safely tucked away in their balls, he thought to himself.

"You know there's probably some toxic 'mons that like this kind of biome. Maybe rock or even water."

There was no getting used to it though. He hated the thick, disgustingly soupy heat as much as his partner, and it showed in the equal displeasure on his face as he drug on through the next too-deep step into the swampland. Maybe Daryn was right and they were out there for the sake of being miserable. What could they find that hadn't already been found? Why was a damned bog next to a beach?

 

[astralprogenitor]

"Ugh, yeah, I guess so..."

With a slight sigh, Daryn paused, tilting his head upward towards the trees. It was quite marshy here by the river, but maybe it wasn't so bad a little more inland? They'd stayed near the water for visibility, but this particular section was simply getting worse the more they trudged along it. Too close to the river and they risked slipping in, but it was getting harder and harder to move - maybe...

He grunted, reaching up to wipe a row of sweat off his brow before jerking his foot out of the latest mud sink it'd found itself in. It certainly couldn't be any worse than this - at least tree roots would have to give him something to stand on, right?

"If I had my proper damn team these stupid thorns would be no problem," he grumbled under his breath, before carefully navigating around another bush and into one that, at least, wasn't covered in painful prickles.

"I guess you're right, though; I shoulda brought gloves. You win this one," he added softly, making a face at having to admit that Louis was smarter than he was. Still, that at least gave him a little motivation; what good was sitting around and whining when he could be trying to find a better path? His rival was right - there had to be pokémon out here. If he wasn't complaining so much, maybe he'd actually find some.

"Hey, why don't we actually do some exploring and check out the woods proper? It's gotta be more solid up there, don't you think? Maybe nothing's down here because the mud fucking sucks... literally."

Pop - Daryn pulled his other foot free with another grimace.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

"Anything's better than this. I feel like I'm stepping in a muk."

Grunts accentuated Louis' words as he pulled away and further on from the thick goop, and despite his weary legs threatening to give with each burgeoned step, he laughed. It was true; they'd been following the damn river for hours without result. It felt hopeless, but when had they ever stopped because of that? Two champions in their own right - but even then it felt like starting over.

If only his idiot didn't have such a big mouth when it came to his dad, but it wasn't like he backed down from the challenge either. Leave your team at home and ...

He grunted again as he turned to offer a helping arm to his partner - he'd be damned if he wasn't as equally determined. It fueled the trainer along until finally he felt clear of the natural trapping enough, but when he did he collapsed, sinking down onto the too-hard ground. At least it was firmer there, in the short distance separating where they'd been and their newer course.

"I don't feel like I've won anything." he breathily laughed, turning the side of his face to the cooler earth.

Anything to cool down, just a bit.

"We've done worse though. We can do this too."

 

[astralprogenitor]

The screen flashes and exciting music plays...​

Current Word Count: 1108
Total GEs Earned: 4
GEs Already Used: 0

15

You come across a comfortable clearing that looks like a great place to relax. All party members can recover 1 VIT.

Heal

--

 

[astralprogenitor]

"I guess so... Heh, I guess it's better than freezing our asses off on the tundra, right?"

Daryn followed, pushing through the brush until the trees opened enough to, at least, give a little light filtering through the canopy. He sank down nearby, seating himself on an ancient, gnarled root; he tilted his head upward, gazing at the thick cover hiding so much of the sun, and for a moment he felt his tension ease. It wasn't so bad here - they just had to learn to overcome it, just like they had so many other obstacles.

Right?

The younger man shifted, reaching into his pack to pull out the two pokéballs he'd been allowed to bring with him. It still annoyed him to no end, but then again, he shouldn't argue about getting to make new friends, right? He was, at least, beyond the once ever-present thought that only strength was worthwhile in his journey, and a slight smile crossed his lips as he let the small nidoran and slightly-larger rattata out of their confines to enjoy the clearing.

"Don't wander off," he warned, as the two immediately began to sniff their new surroundings, before he tilted a violet gaze towards his human companion.

"We just gotta do our best like always, right? How're we gonna find all those cool new pokémon if we're just sitting around whining?" he chuckled, lifting his brows. "Issat right? Fuckin' sound like I've been around you too long, nerd."

A grin split Daryn's lips as he playfully kicked a small rock in Louis's direction - though not at him, at least.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

"Like that's a bad thing?" Louis shot back, letting the small rock ping his leg as he rolled to sit in a more comfortable position.

The clearing was pleasant, much more than the previous muck they'd been tromping through, and he felt the beginnings of a small felt hope settle warmly into his chest as he cast his sight toward the sky. Sure, they didn't have their real partners - the ones they'd journeyed with for so much of their lives, or the ones they'd made fast kinship with on their ways to fierce competition - but maybe the end of the grueling endurance test they'd tried through today ...

"Maybe the worst of this one's over?" he questioned with a shrug.

"I mean, you know. At least we've got a couple of pokémon, so it can't be that bad, right? We just keep getting more from here, and my folks are busy running whatever's going on in the city, so they're staying off my back right now."

Louis settled his gaze on his boyfriend as he lifted a hand next, but let it drop to his bag as a movement near the edge of the clearing caught his attention next. Would it be unfair if he didn't let the others have a moment to wander around? Were they snug enough in their balls, safe from whatever - at least for now?

He'd have to ask his parents that one - maybe it would be worth asking the ones that they could; what if it was a debate of ethics? Personal preference? It was, at least, enough to make him laugh a little.

"What kind of pokémon do you think we'll find? I mean, do you think there's anything strong out here somewhere?"

 

[astralprogenitor]

"There's gotta be something out here, right?"

Daryn leaned forward, tilting his head to watch as the nidoran and rattata seemed to relax enough to play, with the former nudging the other into a game of chase. As the small critters scampered around the clearing, his eyes followed, though that gaze soon turned upwards towards the branches once more.

"I mean, I've seen that ... you know, that plant thing - the thing with the big ears and tail? The hell is its name..."

He crinkled his nose; having to learn so many names was always a hassle, but it was part of the territory of being a trainer, wasn't it? As if it wasn't enough having to worry with the typical strengths and weaknesses of so many creatures, what they were capable of, what he might be facing off against... names were just-- Well, he didn't need to admit that it was a bit of a weak point of his, anyway. He could just opt to be annoyed by it instead.

"Anyway, that means there's new shit out here. Those weird bugs too - those new scatterbugs give me the creeps, honestly. I wonder what they're gonna look like if they evolve, you know? But that means there's gotta be somethin' good out here."

He nodded, as if to reassure himself of that fact, before startling as something bumped into his ankle. Something was just Ran, though he huffed and reached down to playfully swat the nidoran's behind.

"Hey! That was almost my me! Be careful with those spikes!"

He chuckled, then turned his gaze towards his companion; his lids narrowed, a grin splitting his lips as his uncertain circles finally served only to set fire to his inner nature once again.

"I'll bet there's shit out here we could never even think of finding somewhere else! What's a few shitty little thorns between us and findin' somethin' legendary? Like - somethin' like Ho-oh, you know?"

Daryn's eyes sparkled at the memory of the old folktale; his dad's Johtoan legends were one of the few things he actually cared about from his ancestral homeland, and the thought of finding something so unique and powerful was one of the things that had driven him to want to become a trainer in the first place.

 

[astralprogenitor]

rolling a group event!

 

[astralprogenitor]

10

A patch of tasty oran berries hides uneaten in the shade of a thick tree. All pokémon can recover 2 VIT.

Heal

--

 

[sharkberrypizza]

6

Something seems to be stuck just under some exposed tree roots. You find thick vines that end in rounded tips, reminding you of a particular pokemon.

Discovery

--

 

[sharkberrypizza]

8

Something darts across your feet, attempting to flee into the underbrush.

Startled Pokémon

5

 

[sharkberrypizza]

- n. scatterbug

 

[astralprogenitor]

Using a research ball (cs 5) for daryn (2DEX + 5 CS) = 7

failed 8D

 

[sharkberrypizza]

louis - rolling to catch -
caught in research ball!

 

[astralprogenitor]

events that need to happen: finding oran berries, finding tangel vines, louis being a better fucking trainer than daryn

 

[sharkberrypizza]

"You really think we'd find something like that here? Don't those kinds of pokémon usually hang out around people?"

Louis had never really considered it; legends were legends, right? Just stories people made up in their boredom or desire for answers. Nothing like Lugia really existed, or ... well, maybe they had at some point. Maybe there were, in the past, incredibly strong pokémon that just weren't alive anymore. Maybe they just weren't around.

"Yeah." he murmured after a few moments, shrugging a bit as he roused to stand. "Maybe we could find something like that out here. Maybe it's people that scared all the strong pokémon off? You know, building, modern stuff like cars ... maybe it scared them all off. Maybe there's a lot of weird, strong pokémon here. Maybe that's what your dad's really after."

The trainer cast a suspicious expression to his boyfriend before stretching his arms high over his head,. He felt a bit trapped in the stiffer clothes he'd chosen for the expedition, protection against unknown elements winning over the heat of the island. It was a poor decision in hindsight, like he felt himself roasting under the jacket and jeans.

At least I knew better for the future, he considered as he bent forward this time, a crackle in his back making him laugh in relief. It was there, as he stood back upright, that he caught a rustle - Daryn's mon tugging at a peculiar vine poking from under some more ... seemingly normal stuff, anyway.

"Hey, your buddy found something over there."

He motioned with a jerk of his thumb.

 

[astralprogenitor]

"Heh, that sounds like something the old man would-- eh?"

Broken from the not-really-annoyed musing over his father's intentions for the island, the younger man turned his eyes towards where his partner pointed. He crinkled his nose, watching Rat tug at something stuck under a thorny, but otherwise unremarkable bush. With a sigh, he pushed himself up from his perch on the large root, crossing the clearing to see what the little, well, rat had gotten up to.

"Hey, the fuck ya got there?"

It wasn't just the rattata, as Ran was also nearby, sniffing with apparently great interest at the rodent's find, though the latter seemed disinclined to give it up. He even chittered angrily as Daryn attempted to see what it was, though that just resulted in an agitated crunch of the brows as the trainer reached down to scoop the feisty rattata up. What resulted was a surprisingly loud squeak of anger and whipping of tail as Rat protested mightily against the intrusion.

"H-Hey! What th-- calm down!"

Daryn wobbled, then dropped his pokémon on the ground - although not before snatching the apparently amazing vine out from under the thorns and ripping it upward, away from the interested pair. Both Rat and Ran began to paw at his jeans, and he crinkled his nose as he held up his prize - a plump, if slightly ... wilted vine, too thick to be a normal plant, but definitely ... related to flora, anyway. It smelled quite pleasant, actually, probably inciting the rowdy pair, but...

"Ew, is that-- Louie, you know plant shit, right? Is this a fucking tangela vine? You guys really wanna eat this?"