Intermission: Moving Onward

"It may be necessary to retrace from where you left it off, so that you don't lose track of where you're heading."

---

Starting from an attempt to forage into causing a great disturbance between wild Pokémon, the group boarded themselves inside the flying airship, better known as the 'Behemoth' and turned its direction opposite of the seemingly unfinished brawl down below to make their way further from their reach. As the turbines began to spin, the flying ship is propelled forward, making their leave as soon as possible before any of the wild Pokémon could ever take a glance upon the ship's departure.

With the airship that carried its passengers hovering steadily in the midair, the group takes their time for a quick rest or perhaps, minding their own businesses in wait of what will their next move turn out to be. That is, before they'd gather up once more in the deck to discuss of said matter.

Just above the wooden ceilings of the mess hall is the deck where they chose to lounge at, although its size isn't as wide as the Behemoth in its former days until its untimely accident that led to its eventual renovation. The deck provides seating for them, through folded lawn chairs that are a bit rock hard, but still better when compared with the cold sturdy timber base they laid their shoes on. With the ship staying at an altitude, the sound given by the passing winds can still be heard but not too excessive for them to hear their voices. It gives a rather relaxing air when their worries fade momentarily with the breeze of the skies keeping the temperature at manageable level.

"Well, we got a while before we hit our next destination..." Irek starts chewing on some Autil Grass that easily fit inside his mouth, "...I guess we could talk."

One of the passengers who was accidentally a part of and recently rescued by the group, Sevish, sat still on the bench with a relieved gaze. Surely enough, the surreal world he is in demands more than just bravery and aptitude, but there are times where one can simply lean on one side and appreciate the sight to behold of from above. Still, he heard very well of what Irek said just now, intending to hit the green Mouse Pokémon with a question that has been nudging his curiosity for a while now. "Irek, was it?" He glances at him, "Can I ask you what's exactly going on in this place?"

"Can you elaborate?" Irek asked back.
"Let's say that I'm not entirely sure where we are now, nor do I know where we are going." Clarified Sevish.

Irek sniffs the air and sighs, "We're in the Boggah Marshlands. A swamp with pools of poison that can stun or kill small creatures like yours truly. I can smell the Muk and Grimer that inhabit this place."

"That sounds peculiarly morbid." Another passenger who claimed a shared seat in the deck, Chebyl, momentarily joins in the conversation they had with a snide remark without looking directly at the interlocutors, eyes glued at a particular opened book in between her hands. She seems to be particularly caught up with it, keeping a flat expression throughout while attentively listening them.

"Well, not everything in Lethia is as wondrous as Gaia's Heart. There are bound to be a few stinkers, pun intended." Irek continues his gnawing, "Though the poisonous pools aren't to be more worrisome... It's the hunters that inhabit it."

"Hunters? You mean, something like big, ferocious Pokémon?" Chebyl added.
"Not... entirely." Stated Irek in response to the girl's question, "Large Pokémon couldn't traverse the marshland with ease without getting hurt or killed. I'm talking smaller, about the size factor of a human roughly. Able to move with ease and detect or watch their step with the pockets of water and poison pools."

"It seems we're gonna have another rough time. But I guess that's just how it is." The green-haired boy lets out a disappointed sigh, "See if I can eventually go back to Hoenn after all this. I've been swaying from my destination for I don't know how long..."
"If we could restore our engine core to the Behemoth, that wouldn't be a problem... but it's shattered and parts to fix and polish a large Way Stone isn't easy to come across..."

The two sigh simultaneously, until they hear a creaking noise that caught their attention, noticing somebody appearing from the wooden entrance below. A brown-haired, green-eyed man with a somewhat rugged and sloppy, yet unusually young looking appearance despite in his mid-twenties already. As he's making his way to the deck with a curious look, Relieved of his well-being, Irek perks up and instantaneously goes to greet his partner, "HEY! Shadoan! You awake, oh Captain, my Captain?"

"I'm coming up, you green hairball..." Shadoan chuckled, "Has Avaith recovered?"
"It may be a bit, come say hi to the fresh meat." The green Pikachu glances at the two Trainers who had accompanied him in a little chat of questions and facts. Chebyl sure did see Shadoan through the wide gap that still let her to grasp a bit of her surroundings, though looking less interested to initiate unless asked to, unlike Sevish who immediately stands up from the bench to greet him with respect. "The Captain of the ship? Pleased to meet you, my name is Sevish."

Shadoan comes up, using a walking stick as a crutch to move on his broken legs from his earlier transport attempt into Lethia. A thump with each step like a pirate's peg leg. "I'm Shadoan, nice to meet you too..." He then paused a bit to observe the ship, recognizing several familiar faces among the new figures aboard. The moment he did that, both Lin and Sparth come up from behind; Sparth taking the ship's wheel as Lin walks up behind him red-faced. "Gelius is here, I see... And the rest of you are?"

The girl who's still reading the book peeks from the gap from the horizon of its cover. His eyes are directed at her, and no other person has said a thing for the next seconds she waited. The feel of being asked something very simple somewhat tensed her up, but she manages to get it over with as she closes her book and introduces herself vocally. "The name's Chebyl, and that's that."

"Nice to meet you..." Shadoan greets her response smilingly, then he turns to his Pokémon, "Irek, what's the status of...everything?"
"Most of our team is out of fighting condition; Jev is up, but barely holding and needs medical attention at some point. The rest are out cold." Still chewing on the residual Autil Grass, he continued, "Our experimental data and journal pages are scattered; we've lost about 45% of our cargo after the warp including food, fresh water among other supplies. Our ship's core is shattered and we're running on a jury rigged battery by the gent named Sparth helming our ship; which we lost a chunk of and had to saw into a rough quarter in order to survive and make a makeshift floating raft. We're going through the Boogah Marshlands though to where, I have no idea. Sparth has been piloting the ship since you've been out of it."

"......Ugh... Please tell me we still have a crate with Dream Marsh."
"Somewhere; most of the medical supplies made it, though not a lot of food." Informed Irek, wagging his tail side by side.
"I see..." He walks over to a folded lawn chair and attempts to open it. Irek gets up from his spot and helped him open the chair and aided him in sitting down. "Alright... Sparth, where are you taking my boat?"
"A cave..." Sparth replied, "Down there...somewhere... To get to Grimor...and kick his ass."

"Hmm, and may I ask, what is Grimor?" The green-haired boy asked again.
"... Is he a newcomer?" Shadoan whispered to Irek, "Most of them are, Captain." Irek nodded. Shadoan leaned forward to explain. "Grimor is... something else. I can't put into words what he's like; he's a Pokémon or something that is not... whatever the hell he really is; he's like a second Arceus who can do things in the natural world that a lot of people would deem improbable and impossible."

"So basically he's a deity that rivals Arceus?" Sevish continued his inquiry.
"More like he's the diet coke to the original Arceus, barring the sugar..." Shadoan resumed, "A prime example, one of the wishes made for the last iterations in the contest was to revive all the Trainers who lost their lives on the island... He revived all of them."

"Huh? Reviving Trainers who lost their lives in a contest?" Perplexed by the nature of the subject, Sevish asked again, "Just what on earth is this contest then?"
Shadoan leans back on the lawn chair as he indulges the curious boy, "... Earth and Sky was made to be a survival contest to push the limits of the Trainers, their bond with their Pokémon and friends to extremes and the reward for each contest was always a wish... When they said wish, they meant it. You could ask for anything if you win... and I mean anything."

"A-are you saying that now I'm part of this contest now?" Visibly tentative, Sevish continued humbly, "If so, I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I simply don't think I can really help, nor do I really have anything to wish for. I just wanted to go back to where I should be heading to right at this point."
"That's not an option... Irek?" Irek pulls out a small wine-colored stone as Shadoan relaxes on the lawn chair; the green rodent takes over. "This is a Way Stone. They've existed all over Lethia and are charged with cosmic energies that can make even the most basic human roughly gifted with the ability to teleport. However, the way the teleportation works is the problem on getting home. These stones can teleport small distances or incredibly far distances back to where they were last charged... The stones you receive from the combat challenge on Earth were set to random areas in Lethia; there's no going back unless someone wins or have a Way Stone charged with the ability to go back to Earth... We had a stone set for Earth... until it broke so now all we got is what we won from the entry test."

"Simply put, there's no turning back." Chebyl sums up Irek's statement, eyes still glued to the book. Having to digest what he's been told and he'll be up to, he frowned, "Looks like I don't have a choice but to go along. How does one win the contest?"
Irek finished chewing on the Autil Grass and answers, "We follow the instructions on the giant diamond back on Earth that issued the tests; beat Grimor, we win, we go home with a prize, master of Lethia."

"Then that means...if we manage to beat this Grimor being, we'll win with our own wishes?"
Sparth interrupts, "Becoming master of Lethia is the wish in itself; you can have infinite wishes granted. You're basically making Grimor your slave... or friend, however you view it... Either case, once he's beat, EVERYONE goes home; all Trainers, their Pokémon, EVERYONE goes home."
"You know this how?" Irek questions his unusual knowledge, though Sparth remained silent, still not giving answers upfront. "...Right... okay then..." The green Pikachu backs down, confident that he won't spit it out even if he begs.

"Then let's beat him! Where is he now?" Sevish exclaimed, as if he's dead set with the goal they share after a quick consideration.
"I have no idea." Sparth replied as he looks below, "I'm working on that right now, nothing is easy, but I know to reach him. You need a team of humans ALIVE with Pokémon..."

"Then, what should we do now? I can't just sit here and do nothing..."
"Maybe you can try to not get too excited." Said Chebyl toward the suddenly gung-ho Sevish, "Back then in the desert, most of us were really not expecting and prepared for what was to come and among the familiar faces that I could recognize in this ship, I think I'm missing a few. I don't quite remember what happened when it...just...happened." Her eyebrows puckers as she abruptly stops mid-sentence, most likely unable to admit her apparent defeat against the harsh environment she was put along with the other missing Trainers and Pokémon in Silitune Desert.

"I, well... I also don't quite remember how it went either." Sevish replied toward the brunette's statement, "The heat just became so unbearable to me that I must've passed out. Having to take down that tough, steel snake being-"
"They're called Steelix." Chebyl corrected incisively.
"...Having to take down that Steelix is probably some of the worst thing that have ever happened to me, so far." Sevish rephrased his sentence, "It's so sudden and annoyingly hot, what am I supposed to do when death is clearly waiting for me to make my choice? I'm not even sure if I could do it myself with my own Pokémon, let alone winning this. Maybe my chance to keep my feet in such luxurious moment stays low for the remainder of this contest's progress."

"Don't strain yourself about it too much." She reopens her book, "We somehow manage because we can. This includes you, and together, we have a chance. For now, just get yourself ready when the time comes."
"Or start training your Pokémon, have those who are healthy enough to spar for training or run some drills." Sparth replied as Irek stares at him, "What if they get hurt and we need them?"
"I'll take responsibility and cover for it." He replied as he floats the airship to a rock formation in the distance, with the Vivent Mountains still on the rear sight.

"Training, huh?" Sevish stretched out his hands upward, "Been a while since I quit being a Trainer years ago, I felt like becoming one again through that motivating magic. But for now, I suppose keeping ourselves fit may be better than getting exhausted at unexpected times, eh?"
"Well, let's talk about combat then." Shadoan takes a deep breath as the two newcomers on the bench listened attentively, then speaks, "As a veteran, I have some pointers... Here's a good one; be aware of your and your Pokémon's surroundings and feel the battlefield. You can use it to your advantage in almost any fight, especially against an opponent who has more power and overbearing odds stacked against you... The poisonous pools of water are a good example."

"Taking advantage of your surroundings, huh." Sevish slowly nods, "Though I'm not too keen whether I can abuse the environment we're heading at, I think I get a glimpse on how it'd work."
Chebyl flips a page of her book as she turns to him, "If you're not sure about when to strike, think of it like this: if you find an opening, you might as well go ahead and surprise them with a super-effective move, then retreat back to safety before you start attacking them again. All you needed is timing, and the battle is yours to win."

"Well, another advantage is creating hold items for your Pokémon; items that can give them a boost in battle and in Lethia with the herbs and other items that grow here, you can go further and modify what you can give them... For example, Irek, we have those nuts that change emotions?" Shadoan asked the green Pikachu. "...You want to show them the powder we concocted, do you?" Irek asked back, in which Shadoan confirms with an affirming nod, "Yes."

Following his command, Irek pulls out a red bag with some type of medicine powder overflowing on its top. "We mixed in some emotion changing nuts for rage and courage; thus we have Berserk Dust. Guaranteed to increase your Pokémon's physical ability to punch harder...in theory... We had our Heracross Jev test it and the results were satisfactory; though he's a bit of a knucklehead to start with, we don't know about other Pokémon on how they would react to it yet."

"Uh...don't Pokémon hate herbs?" Sevish contended.
"If you force them to eat them frequently, then yes." Said Chebyl, closing her book once more.
"This is more of a temporary supplement anyway. I've been helping to try making the final product taste better, but this stuff is always so bitter..." Remembering the last time he tasted it, Irek subtly shakes his head, perishing the thought.

"...That aside, we have some experimental stuff that you can use if it helps us in our current predicament." Shadoan shows the two Trainers more of the crafted medicines that would surely contribute greatly. Chebyl stands up, "I'm always up for it. Let's see if I can help."
"Well, me too. I guess. Although, I do have one more question." Sevish asked again.
"Shoot." Shadoan replied solemnly.

"We're participating in a contest, whether it's voluntary or accidental depends on their origins." Sevish continued, "If that's true, say, are there actually more Trainers out there?"
"There should be, Earth and Sky is a battle royal between Trainers... This is just...well, the same thing, but everything is either restricted or closed off." Answered Shadoan.

"That should come as obvious, but I think we still need to be on guard whenever a Trainer shows up on where we're heading." Suggested Chebyl.
"And why did you say that?" Sevish replied to her response, "I think everyone had a good reason for being here and out there, right?"
Shadoan and Irek burst out into laughter for a few minutes at the answer and sigh, "Yeah, and I'm here to attain the highest honor of science and Irek here is to get with a fine lady and live happily ever after."

Hearing their laugh makes her think she's being misunderstood, "Uh, no, that's not what I mean-" but her voice is cut short when Sevish interrupts loudly, "Well, if I can really wish for anything... I'd like to live a high life, where I can be known as the best photographer in the world! Let the dough roll in millions! History will carve my stories forever! Everyone will know my name and I'll never have to resort to instant noodles for the next month!"

Shadoan and Irek remain silent a few moments after hearing hearing his excessive desires before Shadoan speaks again, "...Why haven't you started snapping photos of Lethia yet? This is a region with the most bizarre and unnatural wonders in the world; you could probably make a good living as a reporter or journalist here if you base an article on nearly anything here. The plants, the oddities. The Pokémon and their behavior."
"Pretty much everything here." Summed up Irek.

"In fact, I did. And fortunately, I have lots of photos taken as well as films so that my camera can create and portray its wonders. Here, for example, pictures that I took when I ended up on the beach of some sort." Sevish flashes the photos in bulk and put them on the table in front of them. When they look at the pictures he took, they realize he wasn't kidding about his deep commitment in what he's pursuing. "Then you'll make a good name for yourself, haha... Though not everyone who comes to Lethia to participate in the contest has the best of intentions. Especially what happened when Lethia was on Earth and not out here."

"...What happened to the contest before this ever happened?" Apparently, this isn't the last of his questions that Chebyl had to sit down back on the bench they share, giving a look of impatience. Yet, she is as curious as the boy next to her so that she can also get a good grasp of its history.

"My first year participating, the league's champion wanted to remain undefeated and started attacking Trainers that he saw as a threat to his status as league champion, either by killing them or putting them in hazardous situations... My next year, an organization hijacked the region and caused it to be a floating continent by using the body parts of Grimor, which I have no idea how they did it and I have no further idea how we got him back together; so the less details known about that, the better... Then after that contest, Grimor picked up the entire region and flown into space with it--never to return while evacuating all the humans off it."
"... It was a strange few years for us all."
"That sounds very horrible..." Sevish gave an upset look.

"I made the wish to being everyone back on my first year because I attained all I wanted from Lethia... I won my second year... on a technicality." Before he can continue any further, Irek brakes Shadoan, "Are you going to get into that whole mess now?"
"May as well," Shadoan answered somberly, "...My last bout was against another team and decent friend of mine. I lost and my said friend originally wanted to unite Johto and Kanto in politics, but he instead chose to rearrange time to where both our teams were one team thus we have all won at the same time, those on my team and his... To make matters more complicated, he wanted the memories of both timelines--the original timeline and the new timeline he wished for and created..."
"Why he would want that, we don't know, seems like it would be a headache to us." Irek shrugged.

---

"What a history! I couldn't have known that you were the champion, twice." Sevish commended.
Impatient, Chebyl stands up again, "I'm done talking; let's see what kind of 'experimental stuff' you mentioned just minutes ago."
"..Oh, yeah. Irek, did that case survive the warp?"
"Most of it, I'll go get it." Irek scurries off as Shadoan exhibits the medicines inside the box of experimental drugs, "Alright, I'll loan our one of the experiments, We have a Berserk Dust, Aura Patches, Chaos Dust, a natural cure all we're calling Angel Honey and Mating Powder... Take your pick!...after I explain what they do."

Shadoan then describes comprehensively to them, "Berserk Dust, you already know. Aura Patch is a combination of Baloo Leaves with a mixture of those fruits I talked about earlier and some Aura Bark to make Pokémon more alert and more in tuned with the world... In a sense, they can do more with special moves and even further if they can master Aura. Chaos Dust is more for offense and can put opposing Pokémon into a rage of mass confusion. Angel Honey is... well, what's fixing my legs now; it's a powerful medicine with some less than desired side effects... Mating Powder is something more for Pokémon Day Care's if you are a breeder... Pick one!"

"...Why do I think I won't be using the last thing you mentioned? But I think I'll take the Berserk Dust." Irek returns with a small crate of neatly arranged items as Shadoan tosses her a red bag tightly closed. "They need to eat or inhale. Just as a forewarning." Said Shadoan.

Catching the red bag with both hands, Chebyl puts the red bag on the table as she reaches her sling bag for a Poké Ball she kept for the entire time. She throws the Poké Ball upward, releasing an Ivysaur who landed on the floor gently. "It's time for some training, I think. But before we do that, I want you to take a little sniff on this." Curious, Ivysaur walks closer to do what his Trainer want him to do. He inhaled the bag slightly, though it doesn't seem that the Grass Pokémon really like the scent of it. He starts to act a bit weird in response to its supposed effect, looking stiffer and black pupils narrowing slightly.

"Testing it firsthand? Alright... Irek, toss Ivysaur a testing dummy." Irek nods, putting the box down and kicking a log over at Ivysaur. "Alright, let's see what you can do. Razor Leaf!" The girl's command echoes, Ivysaur shakes his body before gesturing his pink bulb to release several green blades that quickly pins down the log. However, not only that they stick on the log, it apparently create cracks that simply destroys the log into miniatures, the blades fading after. "...Test results: satisfactory for Pokémon who can perform long-ranged attacks." Irek smiles.

"Mighty work, Ivysaur. You've certainly outdone yourself." Chebyl praised Ivysaur for putting a display of his ever-growing potential. In return, the Seed Pokémon lets out a delightful grunt.
"Irek, is Ivysaur alright? Does he look like he's in control of himself? Is he looking stressed?" Asked Shadoan.
"He looks fine. A sniff is a small dosage; the effects should wear off soon."

"I'm thinking of keeping some, to the point of creating them on my own for my Pokémon. These surely come to be handy, and while we're at it, I think we need more target practices." The satisfying results set fire on the girl's spirit to continue the training, though Sparth clears his throat as he glances behind, "Mm, you'll have more when we land here in a minute." Sparth reported, "Just don't destroy the guy's ship as your target practice--still need it to get around safely."

"... And another note; don't overuse the dust." Shadoan warned again, "Keep it in controlled portions and dosages... Too much, your Pokémon may lose control of themselves and fight instinctively without following commands... There's a reason we called it 'Berserk Dust.'" Considering the possible consequences, she backed down before she can potentially destroy the ship, withdrawing Ivysaur back inside the Poké Ball with a dissatisfied tone, "Fair enough."

"NOW, Sevish, pick one lad!" Shadoan offered the remaining three medicines that has yet to be picked. Unsure of what to pick, Sevish alternated his hand at random as his mental note eventually lands his hand at an envelope-like container. "This, what it's called again...uh, right, it's the Aura Patch, I think. Yes, this one." His request is granted as Shadoan hands him the thick paper envelope, "Increases the special abilities and being more in tuned with the world... There are side effects of overdosing like the dust, so keep the patches down to one if possible and use sparingly."

Taking the envelope with him, he reaches out his hand for a Poké Ball to commence testing purposes...until Chebyl stops him by tugging his arm before he could touch any, "Hold on, which Pokémon are you going to send out?"
"Ehh?" Taken by mild surprise, Sevish answers, "Since Watch the Watchog is already very aware of his surroundings, I'm thinking about going with Stonehenge the Gigalith! Now if you'll excuse me-"
"No, don't do that. Do you recall where we're standing at?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're on a flying ship and what's the matter with sending out a... Oh." As soon as he is told, he is struck with realization once he gives a quick look around of his surroundings, "I see your point. Alright, I guess I can use this little buddy I had with me." Reaching out for the third Poké Ball, he clicked the button on the middle as a Karrablast is sent out from the machine. It wriggles out briefly before standing on its two feet, staring at his Trainer who momentarily glances at Shadoan, "How do I use the patch again?"

"Baloo Leaves are naturally sticky, you just slap it on. The rest sinks into its system. Particularly the blue shiny side where the stuff is for the effect." Following Irek's instructions, Sevish puts on the patch with his palm and gently rubs it on his Karrablast for it to stick, then he puts away his hand leaving the mark to vanish slowly. "So, how does it feel?" The Karrablast doesn't seem to be feeling anything, as he simply wanders to where his curiosity lead him to.

"...Aura Patch may need more work... Try giving Karrablast a command to attack the chunks of wood Ivysaur cut up. Maybe he can do something more otherworldly." Irek suggested.
"Alright, Karrablast. Please come back here and attack these chunks of wood." The Karrablast notices his Trainer calling and ordering him to attack at something unseeable from where he is now. He approaches the broken pieces, and stumbles over, disappointingly. "Well, that was certainly something."

"...Huh..." Irek approaches it and helps it up. "...Uh... Shadoan, I think the patch is working though I think it's a bit much for Karrablast... He's zoning out here..."
"Peel the patch off, we may have added too much bark and need to add more of the green berries to stabilize." Irek follows the command and peels the leaf off.

"That's unfortunate, but that's that. Sorry for that Karrablast, you may rest for now." Said Sevish, withdrawing his Pokémon back to his Poké Ball.
"Lin, your turn, take your pick." He motions at Lin, who was busy checking the medicines to see if anything else was needed for Shadoan, to come over to his lawn chair as Irek brings the box of experimental drugs over to Shadoan. Hearing him calling her name still makes her blush, she is still trying to take in what had happened earlier. She politely does so, and starts choosing. "I would pick the healing one, but it seems to be working fine... I might as well try the Aura Patch."

As Shadoan hands her the envelope, Lin, still blushing, quickly turns away before applying the patch to her Braixen. "Alright... Kisume, huh... Try something?" Said Lin, not really sure. The Braixen proceeds to enter a state of serenity, presumably caused by the patch she had with her. There, with the might of a Fox Pokémon amplified by the patch, she concentrates a powerful Psychic, lifting up almost everything on the deck and even nearby boulders outside. Sparth hangs on the wheel with his legs leaving floor, staying upward as he quickly stops the ship from going any further. Both Chebyl and Sevish keep themselves steady in the midair despite being startled by the force, while Shadoan and Irek stay put on the lifted lawn chair, smiles plastered on their faces.

"Aaaah! Kisume! Stop! Put us down!" Said Lin, as said Pokémon stopped her psychic power, which leads to Lin falling down on the wooden floor as well as several others. Gelius did fall too, but at least he managed to do somewhat of a decent landing as opposed to Lin, whose clumsiness hurting her more compared to how many times she blushed. He simply picks a notepad as soon he recovered from the fall, "Interesting. Seems that the Aura Patch works better on Pokemon that, per say, might be inclined to the special side of the attacking spectrum." Said Gelius, writing stuff down on the notepad he held. Weavile laughs at the situation that just happened, especially since Psychic isn't effective at all on Dark-Types.

"That just leaves you two, Gelius and Sparth." Shadoan turned to Gelius first with the wood crate in his lap. Among the Trainers who made the situation livelier, though he is still observant with what's going on, Gelius hasn't shown himself talking for a while now. Isn't particularly because he doesn't want to interact, Gelius had been storming through noting down the effects while trying to solve the "puzzle", so he only really thought on what to pick at that exact moment.

"Well.. I'll pick Cha..." He then stops on his tracks, looking at Sparth. He still doesn't trust him, despite both working together against those Ghost-Types and finding the Behemoth earlier. He wouldn't trust him with a Mating Powder. Hell no. "I guess I would test the Mating Powder. The only problem is how we test that in situations like these. I think that one should be investigated when other stuff are out of the way. We're not just gonna make our Pokemon make an egg right here and right now. Plus, There are matters I'd like to speak with Shadoan once I can. So for now, I request I keep the Mating Powder, and I'll research it later, or at the very least save it so once I go back to Johto, where I can give the Powder to the Day-Care Couple in Route 34 to test it." Gelius suggested, going back to his notes.

"That leaves me." Sparth leaves the helm and hops down, "I'll take a bag of Chaos. Before I do though, can I see a pinch of that Mating Powder?" Shadoan obliged as he pulled out his Combusken and fed it to her. In a few moments, the fire bird was hugging her Trainer's leg. "...I think I can do more with chaos than that... Return." Shadoan takes a purple, paper wrapped ball with the word 'RAGE' written on it in red marker as Sparth returns to the helm and sets the ship down, soon to reach the still fertile, green grasses covering the brown soil just below it darkening with an enlarging shadow. Should one take a look from the sides, they can see that the airship has taken its altitude elevated down steadily, gradually, safely.

"ALRIGHT! We're here." He calls out as he hops down from the helm once again, "Before we go any further, is anyone claiming that Ascended Riolu we 'rescued' as their own Pokémon?"

"I would swap a Pokémon out for an Ascended Pokémon, as much as I'd love to, but unfortunately I can't send any Pokemon back without communications. That is one thing I will work on. Though I must be honest, I do own my own Lucario, which is on training." Said Gelius, not moving his face from the notebook. "Huh... I'm not gonna try using said kind of Pokémon. It scares me." Said Lin.

"I don't know if that Pokémon would really like me as a Trainer, but I surely don't mind if it wishes to stay with me." Chebyl volunteered herself.

"Well, now it depends on whether he does really want to be part of your team. Let him decide by then." Irek walks over to the Riolu, helps him up and turns to both Sevish and Chebyl. "Go on now, don't be shy." Irek tries his best to convince the red-hued Emanation Pokémon that there's nothing to worry about. Sevish only looks at Riolu with a curious look, obviously not expecting too much of chances for it to choose him over the girl beside him.

Standing unsteadily on his black toes, slowly staggering forward, he rubs his eyes before making its decision to follow. His clear, blue eyes are directed toward the two Trainers who stands before him, particularly angling at the one with green overalls. Without hesitation, the Riolu points ihis paw at the girl from the distance. In response, Sevish smiles and moves aside as she approaches the red Riolu, then crouching down to give it a light pet. It seems that Riolu has warmed with the Trainer very quick--his facial expression suggesting his comfort affirms her greatly. "I suppose this means we're now bound to help out each other regardless of the occasion. But don't push yourself too hard, you'll do more than just great."

"Until then, we're keeping him on the ship.... For now, his wounds are going to need healing and he's going to need rest. You can name him and train him later." Said Shadoan, who then he looks at Sparth, "Sparth, why are we here?"
"We're chasing Grimor... More or less, we're somewhere where I can gather data to find him in the cave. I need someone to come with me as a spelunking partner while the rest need to stay and guard the ship... Volunteers?" The redheaded man asked the Trainers in the ship, getting himself prepared for the next work to do.

"I would, but as I said before, I need to discuss matters with Shadoan." Said Gelius, refusing the offer.
"Hum... I guess it's good for me to leave the ship once in a while." Said Lin.

Gelius simply was now checking around the deck just to see if the electricity board was around, but found nothing yet. Gelius then turned to Lin, "Don't let Sparth off your eyes. I don't trust him." Said Gelius, whispering to her. This made Lin a bit astonished, but she quickly recomposed herself. Meanwhile, Sparth had already lowered the plank for them to get across from the ship, its end hitting the middlemost part of the glade and himself already making his way downwards for an exploration. Lin followed him soon after observing the cypresses placed in between the path leading to the cave.

From there, they begin their long walk into some ruins with the sounds of shifting earth of some nearby Ground-Types. On the way, they notice a glimpse of a yellow Pokémon burrowing its way to the grounds. While Lin doesn't seem to think too much of it, Sparth, on the other hand is confident that he is on the right track. "A Sandshrew... this is perfect--just where we need to be!" They continue along the path, following the sounds of moving and shifting earth until they reach a massive hole in the ground. Sparth pulls out a long length of Sol Vine from his rucksack and ties it to a stalagmite and starts climbing into the pit. "You're coming?" Lin slowly nods, and tries to follow. She wasn't feeling really that great. "I'm trying my best." She said.

Back on the ship, Shadoan and Gelius have their moment alone in company. "Seems I got time to speak to you. How are you?" Gelius asked, while offering some food he had. Meanwhile, Weavile is wandering around until it finds both Chebyl and Sevish still on the deck. It had something in its mouth, but decided to shrug it off and walked away to catch the winds.

"Have you thought of a nickname to call him?" Asked Sevish toward the girl, who shakes her head in return.
"Not yet, but I'd surely come up with a name soon. Maybe I should start giving nicknames to my Pokémon too, hmm?" She shrugged, "Either way, I won't be so hasty. Naming isn't easy, but these'll come in time so there's no rush."

She shuffled through her bag for something she had with her before they could technically become a team. Soon, she found herself holding a spare Ultra Ball, then shows it at Riolu, "This machine here is what we refer to as Poké Ball. It's not always a requirement, but it's recommended for a Trainer to befriend their Pokémon with this. I'm showing you this because we're just one step closer. If you really wish to stay with me, then you may touch this ball."

Curious, Riolu sniffs the Ultra Ball she held then looks at her again. She nods, indirectly telling him that she has no intention of forcing him and therefore it all comes to his choice. Eventually, Riolu slowly raises his hand onto the Ultra Ball and puts it at the upper part, where he glows in white light that encases him inside the now closing in ball machine. To the right, to the left, right and left again, it doesn't take long for a click to be heard. Nonetheless, she finally caught her first Pokémon--an Ascended Riolu--in Lethia, and their encounter is simply the starting point of their arduous journey.

"Well! With all that coming to an end... I'm starting to get hungry!" Sevish laughed gleefully, though his belly's roar is certainly more audible than him mentioning the importance to keep oneself from famine, "Those green berries I ate from where I was confined before certainly wasn't enough to satiate me."
"Can one of you go find some food then?" Irek requested, "There should be some Plump Airmelons hanging around here somewhere... They're like watermelons except they hang from trees... Find some and I can cook something useful."

"Well, we kinda flubbed our first attempt on finding those as we got chased by a pack of wild Tauros. I'm not sure if things will be different this time either." Said Sevish.
"We don't exactly know where they are, right? So I'll be sending out my Pokémon to scout for us before we go there to pluck them up on our leisure." Going through her bag again, she grips the Poké Ball tight and throws it onto the air, releasing the Ember Pokémon from her place, flapping her wings in the midair. "Fletchinder, can you look around to see if there are trees that somehow grow melons around here?" Paying heed toward her Trainer, Fletchinder takes off by darting herself onto the skies above.

"That's our mistake, though. But first..." Chebyl searched her sling bag and yanked out what seems to be a wrapped loaf of bread and box of butter out of it, "At first I perished the thought of sharing, but we'll surely go find more once we're stuffed."

"A bread! And butter!" His eyes sparkled in awe, "Can I have some?"
"Yeah, but you can...have only a slice." She squinted snidely while unwrapping the covering paper, then turned herself to the side to open the butter box.
"No matter! A slice is good enough to keep me in a good shape!" He exclaimed, immediately snatching a one, a two, a three. Chebyl doesn't seem to notice that he already broke her terms when her back was turned to open the box, but decided to relent it over once she realized that his gluttonous self already ate half of it. "Even without butter, these breads aren't as tasteless than I thought! Where did you get these?" "Somewhere." She simply rolled her eyes, so long as she still had her portion she won't get herself angry over eaten consumables.

Shortly enough, Fletchinder returned back to her Trainer and perched her talons on her green cap. By the direction she came from, she perceived it as if she had found the exact point to where the plants are located. They may have to separate themselves from the group again for another round of food scavenging, but this time, they're double as wary as their former selves.

"Sevish, you'd better get ready soon." Chebyl swiped off the small leftovers on her lips with her thumb, "If we're fortunate, we should make it safely. Move your legs and don't be a deadweight now."

"Alright. Just don't leave me behind again, though." He got up from his spot, "See you later, Irek."
"Good luck." Irek waves his hand as the two Trainers descend from the ship, both looking back to wave at him and forth on their second attempt. Sevish had his Watch the Watchog to serve as a scout, while Chebyl took a stick lying just next to the tree. From there, they braved themselves by entering the deeper part of the forest that eventually leads them to where more dangerous creatures lie in wait for unsuspecting adventurers--the Hunters of Boggah Marshlands.