Treasure Town ~ Woodland Outskirts

[Namohysip]

Just north of Treasure Town, beyond the roads and buildings, there was a small but dense forest that feral Pokemon called their home. Other Pokemon, too, explored this location, and they generally coexisted peacefully. Even during the tense tremors of Magikarp, the forest remained peaceful and nonchalant.

Tall trees and low bushes decorated most of the landscape, while short grass, dirt, and the occasional mushroom or flower patch covered the rest of the path. Fairy and Grass Pokemon in particular would feel right at home, feral or not. During the day, sunlight poked through the holes of the treetops and left intricate, scattered patterns on the forest floor. The salt of the distant ocean below was drowned out by wet dirt, flowers, and fresh air.

It was the perfect, quiet place to relax and think.​

 

[Jedi Shulk]

Fay walked through the quiet forest to find a place to meditate. The meditation would help him order this chaotic day.

 

[Ambyssin]

Of course someone chose to wander in here. But it didn't seem like they intended to do much, so Necrozma would ignore them. He still lay on the ground, but now he brought his right hand up. A tiny bit of light bristled in his claws. Necrozma tapped them against the soil. There was a faint gold glow, then a small, pale flower sprouted up under his hand. He brought his right arm down around it, like a parent cradling their hatchling.

What do you think of this place, Chiron? Do you think Io would've liked it? It seems so bright and colorful. Necrozma looked at the flower. His left arm tightened against his side.

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Tricky strolled through the woods, looking at all the vegetation around the forest grounds. The place was stunningly beautiful, but she didn’t see any mystery dungeons about... sad day. She thought she might have passed a kubfu quietly meditating in the woods, but she didn’t pay much mind to them.

It wasn’t long before she caught sight of somemon she recognized: a...A... she didn’t recognize the species, but they were toying around with a flower in the middle of the woodland floor. Without hesitation, Tricky bounded up to them.

“Hi! What’s your name? What are you? You can call me Tricky. Do you like cake?”

She orbited the strange Pokémon at almost dizzying speeds as she asked her barrage of questions.

 

[Ambyssin]

No.

Necrozma looked at the fennekin running around. His core darkened. The flower he'd curled around shriveled up and its dried petals scattered away. Necrozma rolled over onto his stomach and dug his hands into the soil. Why did there have to be one of these detestable vulpix offshoots? How much more was World Ender going to taunt him? If she was part of this group, she'd have to be protected, but that didn't mean Necrozma had to like it.

"Leave." He shakily pointed his right arm in the direction Tricky had come from. "Your kind have taken enough from me already."

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Tricky didn’t understand quite what was going on, but the strange pokemon’s reaction made her a bit uneasy. Not enough to leave, though. She stopped in front of the strange Pokémon, for once sitting completely still.

“...But I haven’t taken anything from you. And I wanna talk! Don’t be a dewott downer...”

 

[Ambyssin]

"No, but a delphox did. And I cannot so much as look at you without wanting to strangle you where you stand," Necrozma growled. "And all that will serve is to draw World Ender to us even faster, just as that stooge charizard wants." His core sparked with pink light. "It's in your own best interest not to associate with me. I'm not worth your time, anyway."

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Tricky sat flat on her haunches in front of the strange pokemon, shoving her nose up into the air haughtily.

“Well, I’m not leaving. And you can’t make me. ...So, you might as well answer my questions! What’s your name?”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I don't have one. Thanks to World Ender and your kind, I'm but a worthless phantom."

 

[Jedi Shulk]

Meanwhile Fay meditated to the sounds of the forest. Leaves breezed on the wind, insects scuttled on the ground and a orange fox was harassing a rock? Despite the racket the fox made, Fay had his inner focus on meditating. Fay fell the sensation of sitting on the grass.

 

[SparklingEspeon]

“Well...” Tricky thumped the ground with her tail in very slight frustration. “Well, what do you call yourself, then?”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I don't." He wasn't sure what the child expected. Necrozma intended to keep answering her questions as literally as possible.

 

[SparklingEspeon]

“Hmmpf.” Tricky began to idly fidget in place - she was very fidgety - as she thought. “Is there any way I can cheer you up? You look grumpy.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I already answered that." Necrozma again pointed in the direction Tricky'd come from. "Leave me to mourn in peace."

 

[SparklingEspeon]

“...Fine.” Tricky looked and felt a bit cowed—wasn’t talking to somemon the way to cheer them up? “You know where to find me, I guess.”

And with that, she turned tail and scampered out of the clearing.

 

[Ambyssin]

Once Tricky was gone, Necrozma dragged himself toward the nearest tree. His core rattled in his frame. Images flashed through his mind. Six gray legs. The cool embrace of spectral wings. A small nebula cluster. His crystalline arm reaching toward the nebula as it was sucked into a fiery vortex.

I should never have come here.

 

[windskull]

After the group had begun to disperse, Nip found himself uncertain of where to go. In the end, although sparring to test his current skills out sounded ideal, he decided to make for the forest. The trees and underbrush were less open than the rest of the town, giving him a sense of concealment and safety.

It wasn't safe from the giant magikarp, probably, but it was still safer than being out in the open.

He walked in silence through the undergrowth, passing by the Kubfu along the way, who he dipped his head to in acknowledgment. Then he came to a clearing and froze at the edge, the fur on the back of his neck prickling slightly.

The dark, crystal beast, a pokemon he did not recognize the species of, was there, sitting in silence. At least, he thought he was sitting. Something about him that he couldn't quite explain made him uneasy, though not in the same way Diyem did. On the other hand, they were on the same side. Fighting for a common cause. It would benefit him to learn more about his allies so that they could fight efficiently, especially if they were a pokemon whose skills he was unfamiliar with, would it not?

Once he had convinced himself of that, he stepped forward, stopping a few strides away from the creature. "Greetings," he said with a respectful dip of his head. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

@Ambyssin

 

[Ambyssin]

"Greetings," he said with a respectful dip of his head. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

Why? Why couldn't he just be left alone with his thoughts and whatever light he could salvage from the sky? Necrozma didn't turn over. He continued to look at the roots of the tree he lay against.

"An aura of ice mixed with dark. Is there something you need, Sneasel?"

 

[windskull]

Nip faltered slightly. He hadn't expected to be recognized, certainly without being seen. He supposed that said something about this pokemon's abilities. His surprise leaked into his tone. "I, um. Well, I did not expect to run into anyone out here," he started, idly scratching at the side of his head. Don't be rude, he warned himself. "What kind of pokemon are you, anyway? I've never seen anything like you."

Smooth.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Pokémon?" His core flickered. "No one's ever referred to me as one. As far as I'm aware, I'm not part of any sort of species. This isn't even what I'm meant to look like. I'm merely... a phantom of better, happier times."