Dual Pokemon Quest

[Blacksheep]

Jaden turned and retreated from the fairy garden.

Or he tried to, at least. Finding his way back was more difficult than he expected. He had thought it had been a simple route to follow, but he actually didn't see anything familiar. Jaden wasn't sure how long he spent wandering around. The fairy pokemon were at least polite about him being lost in their home, a ralts stopping by to offer them some berries to snack on and a group of marills being happy with him taking a break by the stream they were playing in. It seemed this little grotto was a lot bigger than he had thought.

Eventually he came out, surprised to find that it was noon. He could have sworn it was later when he first entered the fairy garden, but he was feeling generally confused about time at this point, and was just happy to sit down and take a break. Then they could keep going. That had actually been really cool to find, and Jaden was definitely planning on going back later. It was an awesome adventure! Just not one he had been quite ready for yet.

The next day Jaden asked Oliver to take the lead. The zigzagoon was more than happy to be the one to lead them along the path further down along it and investigating what was there. He found another patch of berries, this time aspear ones. He tended to wander on and off the path as they went. He wasn't used to traveling beyond the territory he'd once lived in, and while he was more than happy to take the lead while Sam took the chance to chase off and pounce on anything that came near them, his meandering path was a clear mark of his inexperience.

Jaden challenging him to race with him and Sam through the forest had the cheerful zigzagoon pumped up. So was Sam, eager to prove himself against the zigzagoon and once more reaffirm his place as the top pokemon. Oliver might not have a mental bond with Jaden like Sam did, but Sam was still eager to earn that position. He loved his human, and would do anything to keep him close with him. The fact Jaden loved him back in an endless flow of adoration only strengthened Sam's eagerness.

Running through the forest was quite different from free running in a city. The ground was much more uneven, and there were more things to snag on. Jaden found himself falling further back behind his pokemon as he figured out how to keep his balance without being slowed down by the undergrowth. That would take practice, but so had learning to run through the city in the first place. It was really cool running with his pokemon like this, watching them flick in and out of view as they darted through the wilds.

They actually found a pack of poochyena playing with a skeleton of a blaziken they had taken down. It had clearly been dead for a while, with feathers mostly gone and the bones picked clean. The pack was just having a good time. They perked up at the group's approach, one approaching boldly to demand tribute from the group traveling by. Yes they were near the path, but most humans liked poochyena. Surely this would be an easy human to coax food from.

[ ]Give treats to the wild poochyena pack
[ ]Leave the wild poochyena away
[ ]Battle the wild poochyena
-[ ]Challenge one on one
-[ ]Group battle
[ ]Write-in

Camp Actions
[ ]Explore what pokemon live off the path
[ ]Look for hidden secrets that might exist!
[ ]Write-in

Pokemon Actions
[ ]Train your pokemon in battle
-[ ]Write-in specific training (speed, offense, dodging, train a move)
--[ ]Train both pokemon
--[ ]Train Oliver
--[ ]Train Sam
[ ]Play with your pokemon
-[ ]With both
-[ ]With Oliver
-[ ]With Sam
[ ]Write-in

Travel
[ ]Walk west on Route 121
[ ]Head back to Lilycove
[ ]Head up to the Safari

 

[Blacksheep]

The pack perked up when Jaden took out the berries and offered them to the pack. The request for a battle challenge carried across clearly, and the pack was eager and interested in what was being offered before them. The pack took a moment to get organized, clearly excited for the entertainment and the challenge of battling against a human trainer. Eventually two of them sorted themselves out from the pack and held themselves forward against Sam and Oliver.

Sam's tail flame had grown in size with his excitement for battle. Oliver had settled in beside him, digging into the ground and braced to fight. One of the poochyena in the pack let out a yip, signalling the start of the match, and the pokemon leaped towards each other. It was clear that the wild poochyena were experienced in working as a team, smoothly aiding each other in trying to pin Sam or Oliver for bites and nips. Oliver was good at holding his ground and not giving it though, and Sam was fast. They gave as good as they got in the battle. It was a good thing that Jaden was there to supervise, as the pokemon were able to battle harder and longer than they would have been without having healing for the scrapes and minor burns they were all accumulating.

Oliver went down first. As tough as the zigzagoon was, and as smart as he had played at using the dirt in sand attacks to disorient his opponents, it was still two on one. Sam helped, and Jaden had a good eye for the battle, calling out strategies and directing them to help each other, but the lack of practice as a team had them far more disjointed than the poochyena they were facing against. Sam took down a poochyena in a pin in return, leaving the last two to round on each other until finally Sam was pinned to the ground, struggling desperately to get up even as the poochyena got quite comfortable on its new charmander chair.

The pack cheered for their winners. Oliver immediately of course, forgave everything. He wasn't being eaten, and it had been a playful challenge, so all was good. He even was given a bone by one of the poochyenas to chew on. Sam was much more huffy about the entire thing, clearly deeply insulted that a dragon like himself had lost. The fact he was still very much a child of his species didn't impact his opinion on how he thought things should have gone at all. Jaden helping to patch everyone up when he had worked so hard to burn the poochyena had him sulking even harder.

[ ]Ignore Sam's sulking
[ ]Try to assure him it's fine
[ ]Promise Sam he just needs practice
[ ]Write-in

Playing with Oliver and Sam was really fun. It turned out both were big fans of chasing down random things that Jaden would point out, competing for who would bring the "treasure" back to their human. There were plenty of different things out there that were interesting enough to catch his eye. They even brought back a pokeball someone had lost at one point. Oliver wasn't nearly as fast as Sam, but he was incredibly agile and great at twisting his body up at odd angles. It gave him an edge in stealing things away from the charmander in their games. It ended with Oliver wrapping himself around Jaden's lap in a cuddle pile and Sam doing his best to climb up Jaden's back so he could join in.

Jaden was getting close to the safari, he could easily visit there now as they were walking. It would be cool to check out some of the more rare pokemon that lived there, and listen to the rangers talk about what they did fighting poachers.

Camp Actions
[ ]Explore what pokemon live off the path
[ ]Look for hidden secrets that might exist!
[ ]Write-in

Pokemon Actions
[ ]Train your pokemon in battle
-[ ]Write-in specific training (speed, offense, dodging, train a move)
--[ ]Train both pokemon
--[ ]Train Oliver
--[ ]Train Sam
[ ]Play with your pokemon
-[ ]With both
-[ ]With Oliver
-[ ]With Sam
[ ]Write-in

Travel
[ ]Turn north up Route 120
[ ]Head to the dock to catch a boat towards Mt Pyre
[ ]Head back to Lilycove
[ ]Head up to the Safari

 

[Blacksheep]

Sam listened to Jaden's words. He had a point. They had seen a fairy grotto, and they were going to travel far. Sam was a dragon, he was going to be a charizard. Yes he lost this time, but he was going to grow! He perked up and nuzzled into his human. Jaden had managed to lift all the weight off of him with his words. He would get better, and improve, and they would leave losing to a poochyena far behind.

The safari was vast wild grounds. There were divisions in the area of course, as certain pokemon couldn't be allowed to run into each other. This place was meant as both a sanctuary for pokemon, and a place where more at risk populations could grow in numbers. That wouldn't work if they were eating each other. The safari had a grand gate decorating it, and a large comfortable building with a lobby within. There was a small area that could be self toured, speaking about how the safari came to be and the types of pokemon that were kept within. A receptionist worked at the front and welcomed Jaden with a warm smile, asking if he wanted to look into ranger work, or was hoping to explore an area of the safari. He would have to register for which area he would be visiting of course, and would not be allowed to bring his own pokeballs. If he wanted to catch a pokemon from the safari they had pokeballs here that would specifically fail to catch any pokemon they had listed as being unavailable for catching.

[ ]Tour the small side museum first
[ ]Visit the Water Area
[ ]Visit the Psychic Area
[ ]Visit the Forest Area
[ ]Visit the Fields Area
[ ]Visit the Jungle Area
[ ]Ask to learn from a ranger
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden bounced along over to the small museum. It started with a description of the founder, a pokemon professor who had noted with concerns the struggling populations of certain pokemon. She had enough wealth and influence within the community to purchase the land the safari was now built on, and began to use it to breed up those pokemon with lower numbers. As time passed the pokemon they brought in changed, as well as how they set up the environments. It was very much a false environment, considering how the pokemon weren't allowed to eat each other and had access to plentiful food, but this place wasn't meant for pokemon to live naturally in. It was meant to protect them.

There was an exhibit talking about the rangers stationed at the safari and how they trained to handle the semi wild pokemon. It talked about enrichment in the environments and how the pokemon here were often eager for battle and testing themselves. They began allowing people to catch pokemon here when it became clear that certain pokemon would bond with a human and start causing stress when refused being allowed to leave. Of course they still had a duty to keep the numbers up, so that followed up with a section on how the safari pokeballs worked. Nothing about the actual technology, of course, as they didn't want anyone hacking them, but a review of how they were used and adapted and the system the safari workers used.

Looking through what pokemon the safari currently proudly declared as part of their efforts was fun too. Jaden hoped he might find a possible future teammate here, or at least some fun new battles.

Psychic:
Natu, Girafarig, Wobuffet, Abra, Chimeco

Water:
Reticanth, Spheal, Goldeen

Forest:
Pikachu, Pinsir, Hoothoot, Spinarak, Stantler, Slakoth, Nincada

Fields:
Phanpy

Jungle:
Ledyba, Heracross

[ ]Visit the Water Area
[ ]Visit the Psychic Area
[ ]Visit the Forest Area
[ ]Visit the Fields Area
[ ]Visit the Jungle Area
[ ]Ask to learn from a ranger
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden headed back around and asked if he could talk to a ranger about the safari. One came down with a pair of mightyenas. Both of them were very happy to greet the small team. Oliver was jovial and happy about poking his nose in about the mightyenas and gently pawing back at them. Sam was more withdrawn about the mightyenas, especially since he had recently battled a poochyena and lost. The fact Jaden had assured him it hadn't been his fault helped, but he was still a prideful little beast.

If he did reach out to investigate the mightyenas, bright and curious, it was clearly a trick of the mind. He was definitely not trying to sink into their fur.

"Hey, I'm Terry. Great to meet you," the ranger greeted happily. "This is Rax and Jak."

Jaden grinned widely back at her. "Hi! The safari's really cool! I'm super excited to explore it! But why do you let people catch pokemon here? Isn't that against what you do to preserve them?"

"You would think that," Terry agreed. "But letting the pokemon here spread out when they reach high enough numbers helps our efforts. And that's not excluding the fact that pokemon are intelligent. Some of them want to go with a trainer. Trying to stop them from leaving would only make them unhappy, and that would go against what we're doing here. We do have all the pokemon here in the Safari registered in our database however, so we can lock out certain species from being captured by the safari balls, and lets us track who's taken so we can keep track of the information on the species. If we're lucky, the trainers who do capture a pokemon here will breed them, and help bring their numbers even farther up."

"Are there pokemon that aren't being preserved that come here on vacation?"

"Good question!" Terry looked at the pokemon playing around their feet. "That's a little more tricky. We have an invisible fence set up around the Safari that alerts us when pokemon and humans pass in and out of the safari. Pokemon that aren't being preserved can come here, and we have had pokemon come here for aid in the past, or to hide. But we have to keep a close eye on what's coming in, as we need to protect the pokemon here from predation. Which is where my team comes in: when we get a call that a pokemon that's not supposed to be here has crossed over, we go round it up and send it back out."

"How come relicanth are rock and water? That sounds like it shouldn't exist!"

Terry actually laughed at that question. "Why does any pokemon have the types that it has? Scientists think it's because relicanth are partial to sea caves, but we don't know for sure."

"I'd like to catch an abra. Do you have any advice?"

Terry paused to really consider that one. "Abras tend to be drawn to certain types of mindsets. Calm, safe, not actively hunting them. They're more of a pokemon you invite to you, than one you chase down. My best advice would be to head out to the psychic area and then set up to wait. If there's an abra there that likes how you feel mentally, it'll come to see you."

Jaden nodded. He guessed that kind of made sense. He certainly didn't like a lot of noise. If someone was basically yelling at full volume in their head at him he'd avoid them too.

Finding the psychic area of the safari is strange. It's like a building hum of warmth. He can feel it reaching out, softening the world somehow while also welcoming him in. Sam perks up, able to feel the change through his bond with Jaden as they enter a rather beautifully decorated area of hills and trees with a central area containing rocks that Jaden can tell are charged with psychic energy. They pass a small cluster of girafarig that are grazing nearby peacefully. Jaden almost feels dizzy walking through here. It's like when he first connected with Sam all over again. He can even connect with Oliver easier here! The zigzagoon is clearly confused by the connection with Jaden he hadn't even been aware of, poking at it curiously and trying to understand what's changed.

Jaden can sense all the psychic minds here, connecting and creating a safety net over the area that keeps it from being too loud while also networking together to inform each other of everything inside it. He hasn't entered it, though he knows he could. Just the feel of the place is alone to make him want to spend hours lounging. But if he reached out, how much more could he see?

[ ]Stick to the plan, relax and wait to see if an abra appears
[ ]Reach out to the psychic net
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden reached out to the psychic net slowly. He started with Oliver and Sam of course. He knows them, they're familiar. Sam is a warm presence guarding in his mind, happy to be so close with his human and willing to follow wherever he leads. Oliver isn't handling the mental contact as well. There's a lot of confusion, and his mind's more disorganized. It's obvious that he's not really meant for this kind of contact like Jaden and Sam are. He's doing his best of course, and seems comforted by the fact that it's Jaden and Sam, but it feels similar to watching a zigzagoon swim out in a lake. Doable, and sometimes fun, but mostly the zigzagoon is confused to how it got out there in the water in the first place.

Once the pokemon were settled with Jaden, Oliver taking comfort curled in the back of the connection and Sam ready to help blaze the way forward, Jaden reached towards the unfamiliar parts. He just brushed the edges first. Something that felt wise reached back, gentle in welcoming the young psychic. They were happy to meet Jaden and his team. This place was safe. All of the pokemon here would work to keep from overwhelming Jaden as he learned. They took care of each other. Jaden could be part of that.

[ ]Follow the wise one's lead and learn from them
[ ]Use the safety offered to explore independently
[ ]Focus on looking for an abra
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

The wise presence guides Jaden through sensing the other presences nearby and picking up their identities. It's like a unique feel, or coloration, or sound. Perhaps a bit of all of them mixed together, but Jaden knows he'll be able to recognize mental identities now. He's taught how to knock politely to start a conversation, and has a strange experience of sharing his perspective on how his day has gone with a natu. It's a bit much, and the wiser presence that's guarding Jaden steps in. Another presence steps up to work on the foretelling the natu was doing and help sort through it while the original presence with Jaden helps smooth out the fragments of possibilities that Jaden had caught sight of.

He's introduced to a kadabra that's contemplating the weight of the world and how to shift it, their mind racing with mathematics far too advanced for Jaden to grasp. He has a feeling that his guide is not, in fact, an abra like he thought. It feels more similar to the natu, but he isn't being overwhelmed with the glimpses of possibilities the natu had accidentally spilled as it had shared how it had gone about its day. Jaden asks about that and receives amusement as she reveals herself as a xatu.

She does a lot of divining, but the psychic gems here help provide a clarity and protection to keep her rooted in the present. She can scry farther abroad when she's able to move laterally instead of simply through time. Jaden drinks it in intently. He can feel how the psychic net helps to amplify abilities and gives them direction. When one of them reaches the others subconsciously boost and guard. He can even feel a small part of himself smoothing out ripples in the net now that he's looking at it.

It's like another layer of reality that he wasn't quite able to access before. His guide explains that it's easy for him to do here because of the gems and the psychic net. Away from other psychic pokemon or items that boost psychic abilities it will be much more difficult for Jaden to achieve what he's doing here and now. He's more than welcome to stay and learn of course. The basics of how to communicate, how to view what's there, and the grasp of what's possible, is the least of what he will carry away.

[ ]Agree to stay and learn more
[ ]Ask how to scry
[ ]Ask about divining possibilities
[ ]Ask about abras
[ ]Ask about the math
[ ]Ask about enhancing abilities
[ ]Ask about the connection with Sam
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden hesitated for a moment before reaching out to the xatu and drawing her attention to Sam. Sam was special. Sam was his starter, his charmander, the one he was mentally bonded with. And that was part of what concerned him. Jaden had assumed that the bond he had formed with Sam was normal. Everyone talks about how special their first pokemon is after all, and the connection they have. But Jaden was getting the sense that they didn't mean that as literally as how Jaden experienced it. He certainly wasn't connected that way with Oliver.

The xatu studied Sam's presence curiously. Sam mentally puffed up, encircling around Jaden's mind and being as possessive as, well, a dragon. The xatu was gentle in studying how Sam connected to Jaden before pulling back to speak. The bond was unusual, yes, but not unheard of. At times there were pokemon and humans that were meant for each other more than other pokemon and humans were. Ones that would form a connection like this, meant to help each other grow and empower each other. As long as Jaden and Sam looked after each other and did their best for each other, their bond would be a strength that would bring them to new heights.

It could destroy them as well, but the xatu barely brushed over that fact, a mere glimpse of a possibility among the many many positive ones that the xatu saw laid out before them. Jaden and Sam would have to travel very far from who they were to destroy themselves. But Jaden had already seen the benefits, hadn't he? How Sam helped to stabilize Jaden's gifts, and protect him. It allowed Sam a deeper understanding of the world, and to work better with him. It would continue in that way.

[ ]Agree to stay and learn more
[ ]Ask how to scry
[ ]Ask about divining possibilities
[ ]Ask about abras
[ ]Ask about the math
[ ]Ask about enhancing abilities
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

The xatu was hesitant at Jaden's response this time. Jaden thought that seeing possible futures would be useful. He could use it to guide towards the fortune! But the future is not straightforward. It is not a river, or a tree, but a tapestry in the midst of being woven, with threads easily inserted or removed, altering the pattern that lays out. Jaden could learn it however, and it was safer to learn here, in this place with others that could help him, then risk him attempting it on his own.

She did her best to leave this impression of how flexible the future was, how it constantly shifted, into the young human's mind. He was eager to learn and use things, and divination could be useful, but he needed to know to not rely on it. Such could be dangerous, especially as he was not naturally inclined towards that particular gift. Once that was gone she began to guide him. It was a touch tricky, as the methods for peering into the future tended to need to be matched to the user. Jaden found that it worked best when

[ ]he gazed into fire
[ ]he gazed into water
[ ]he listened to the wind
[ ]he followed impulses, emotions
[ ]he focused on dreams when he slept
[ ]he used cards and pictures
[ ]he cast runes
[ ]write-in

[ ]Agree to stay and learn more
[ ]Ask how to scry
[ ]Ask about abras
[ ]Ask about the math
[ ]Ask about enhancing abilities
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden was very pleased with learning how to peer into the water to see possibilities. The way the reflections shifted was fun, and would definitely be useful in the future. But he was here for a reason. This was all cool, but he was here to be a pokemon trainer, not get sucked into learning. So he asked the xatu about abras.

The xatu was very amused by Jaden's request, and directed his attention towards a cluster of abras that were dreaming together.

Now, everyone knows that abras spend most of their time asleep. What quickly became apparent to Jaden however, was that asleep did not mean aware. This wasn't a soft awareness of what was happening around them, being just awake enough to teleport away from danger or do the bare minimum while they slept. This was a full submersion into a psychic dream realm, sharing with other psychic pokemon and experiencing the world that way. For an abra, this was far more real than the world they experienced while awake. It was the time spent in physical reality that was like a dream.

The abras were curious about the human who approached their cluster, and eagerly pulled Jaden into their shared dream. Sam was quick to follow, keeping Jaden from being plunged into the current game the abra were playing of seeing how deeply they could dive into the physics of the world without breaking anything. Kept on the edge Jaden could just barely catch the meaning of the games. One of the more curious abras poked at Jaden, asking why he was there if he wasn't there to play.

[ ]Talk about wanting a buddy to travel with
[ ]Talk about wanting a psychic partner to learn with
[ ]Talk about wanting a team to battle with
[ ]Write-in