txl: Spelunking {mod}

[T.X. Lorelei]

Although she tried not to show it, Lorelei was very intimidated by the prodigious, prestigious Ledom Academy. She very nearly had a nervous breakdown when she walked through the campus earlier that day, clutching her bag with white-knuckled fists, her face pale as a ghost. She couldn't handle Ledom's campus, not yet. Not even long enough to find her dorm or meet her roommate. As soon as she was allowed, she bolted away from the looming, intimidating buildings.

The blessed sight of the underground tunnels provided a much-needed lift to Lorelei's spirits. She loved exploring dark places, so this was just the kind of area she needed to calm her frenzied mind and quaking heart. She stood at the entrance to the tunnels and took a deep breath. As she gazed ahead into the blackness and her eyes began to slowly adjust to the lack of light, a smile crept onto her lips.

Lorelei watched her shadow slowly fade and finally disappear as she made her way into the tunnels. What a fantastic place this was! Dark and unknown with a hint of hidden beauty, just the way she liked it. She inched over to the wall of the tunnel and began running her hand along it so that she wouldn't get too lost. She hummed a meaningless, formless tune as she meandered forward, content and in her element.

[fauna ☀]

A WILD MAKUHITA APPEARED !

MALE. FIVE. THICK FAT. FIGHTING. TACKLE - FOCUS ENERGY - SAND-ATTACK

was there someone trekking on his territory? the male makuhita had been pounding into some rocks when footsteps distracted him. there was no scent of another pokemon nearby, but he could plainly smell the girl getting closer. the round-bellied pokemon inched closer. he could spy the girl. her thick blue hair was black in the darkness of the tunnels. she hadn't seen him yet; of this he was sure. she probably would've said something. or sent out a pokemon, did she have any pokemon? or food? the makuhita loved food.

with a hopeful grin, the pokemon inched out of his hiding place. "maku, maku, maku. makuhitaa!" the fighting type demanded, shaking his little fist. if this human didn't have any food, there would be a problem. he couldn't attack her. his parents taught him not to attack a human who didn't own a pokemon. but, she had to have one somewhere. all students did. he stole a nervous glance to the left and right of her. her pokemon could drop from the ceiling of the tunnels. or emerge from the darkness. he wasn't gonna let that happen!

the makuhita, in a nervous frenzy, decided he wouldn't be ambushed. he began to kick up sand and flinging it around his body in an attempt to shield himself. his sand-attack shrouded the whole tunnel in a gritty fog. the fighting pokemon dove back into his hiding place behind the rocks and didn't say another word. if this girl had any pokemon, maybe she'd send them out. it would ease the little yellow pokemon's mind. he was a bit paranoid. after all, living in darkness with your family, you didn't really expect people to come barging in.

[T.X. Lorelei]

Adjusting to near-total-blackness took a quite a while, so when the Makuhita suddenly shouted out at her, Lorelei nearly died of a heart attack. She just wasn't expecting that kind of thing at all... which was a bit naive of her, but oh well. At least she would do better after this encounter.... Hopefully.

Maku, maku, maku. Makuhitaa!

Lorelei squealed in shock and tumbled backwards, landing hard on her butt. She winced as she felt bone smash against rock. She didn't have much there to cushion her fall. Not looking forward to that bruise. She thought in a bitter, slightly amused tone. She leaned forward, got on her hands and knees and looked up, trying to figure out where that blasted Makuhita was... just in time for a sand attack. Luckily, it wasn't exactly aimed right at her, but she still got painful, gritty sand in her eyes. "Raarghh," she exclaimed, half mumbling, half howling. She sort of sounded like a rabid animal. A pathetic rabid animal.

She sat back on her poor bruised bottom and rubbed her watering eyes. Her mind was quite stunned, and so the only thing going through her mind was how her butt hurt.

Not the ideal first encounter with a wild Pokemon.

[fauna ☀]

A WILD MAKUHITA APPEARED !

MALE. FIVE. THICK FAT. FIGHTING. TACKLE - FOCUS ENERGY - SAND-ATTACK

the pudgy little pokemon peeked out to spy on his new found visitor. she had fallen flat on her bottom and was shrieking in shock. the makuhita puffed out his chest in pride. he'd scared someone! actually, truly scared them. the first time he'd ever seen a real person was when he was very young. and his mother and father had hidden him deep inside the tunnels. where rarely any humans were ever spotted. there were secret parts of the ledom grounds that only pokemon knew about. if a human was lucky, they may be led there. but not today. not this girl.

the girl had inched up and was on her hands and knees when he'd unleashed the sand-attack. there wasn't any sign of friends for the lonely makuhita. or food. so, what did he need this girl for? "maku," he muttered once the sand had cleared. was she crying? concerned now, the little pokemon crept out from the rocks for a second time. he tottered softly over to the girl and poked her with his little fist. would humans ever listen? pokemon were always asking them for food. or for a friend to play with. but, there were others who decided just to fight anyone they saw.

the makuhita motioned at his mouth. and then again at his belly. "makuhita, mak," it muttered, staring up at the girl. without another word, the pokemon began rummaging around in her things. he prodded at her pockets and would occasionally stare up at her. did she have a purse? did all students carry purses? no, just the girl kind. that's right. when he couldn't find anything, his eyes were questioning. she wasn't getting it. with a defeated sigh, the pokemon sank back on his bottom. looks he he wasn't get gonna get a friend to play with after all. or a treat. mm. treats.

[T.X. Lorelei]

Lorelei stopped rubbing her eyes when she felt a soft poke. She blinked through her sand-induced tears and tried to look at the Makuhita. She couldn't see much- not only was it dark, but the vague forms and colors that she normally would be able to see were all smudged by the water and the sand in her eyes. She wiped at her eyes some more, and after a moment, her eyes were clear enough to properly see with again. But wait, where had the Makuhita gone?

Lorelei felt another poke- this time, in the pockets of her dress. But they were empty. She usually kept all of her things in her drawstring bag- but wait, where was her bag? She got on her hands and knees once more and felt around for it. When she had stumbled backwards and landed on her butt, it had been tossed and landed a few feet away after smacking against the wall.

Lorelei grabbed the bag and leaned back, moaning softly as she put her weight back on her bruised tailbone. She looked back over at the Makuhita as he began gesturing at his mouth and belly. That was obvious for her to understand- he was hungry! But she didn't have a supply of Pokemon treats yet. She made a mental note to learn how to bake some PokeCookies or PokeMuffins or PokeCakes. But in the mean time, did she have anything for this Makuhita?

She opened her bag and felt around inside of it. Aha! There was a small loaf of bread wrapped in plastic wrap and a small sandwich bag filled with gingerbread cookies in the shape of Eevee. She took them out and silently offered them to the Makuhita. Would he like these?

[fauna ☀]

A WILD MAKUHITA APPEARED !

MALE. FIVE. THICK FAT. FIGHTING.
TACKLE - FOCUS ENERGY - SAND-ATTACK

the fighting type pokemon stared at the blue-haired girl. she stared back at him. they both just stared at each other before the makuhita scurried off to look for something to do. the underground tunnels could easily bore a pokemon. especially one with no brothers or sisters. the girl got on her hands and knees again: was this how she walked? odd, even for pokemon's standards. "mak?" he queried as he tottered after her. there was purse a few feet away from them! he sped up to nab it first, but she beat him to it.

she grabbed it and leaned back. a pained sound came from her mouth. the makuhita cautiously scrabbled into her lap and poked at her fact. "makuhita?" he mumbled, tilting his head. the bow that appeared at the top swished to one side. she opened her bag and he gave cries of delight. did she have anything for him? there was what appeared to be some bread. and another baggie filled with.. eevees? was she a pokemon killer? the now panicked makuhita backed up and shook it's head. he pointed at the baggie and his bottom lip began to tremble.

if he could find some pokemon near her, maybe she'd prove herself okay. the fighting type strolled back over to her bag and shuffled around in it. a pokeball! his tiny hands poked at a pokeball. he held it out to her and nodded. he wanted someone to play with! and he needed to see if she was badly treating her pokemon. if she was, this pokemon was outta there. "maku," it said quietly, taking the bread from her other hand. he pointedly avoided the eevee shaped cookies. but, he laid the pokeball in the girl's lap. and repeated his cry.

[T.X. Lorelei]

Lorelei resisted the urge to go 'awww' when the Makuhita crawled into her lap. It was just so adorable. Having a Pokemon climb into your lap was one of life's simple pleasures... according to Lorelei, anyway. It was one of those moments that you just wanted to replay over and over in your head... especially when it was a wild Pokemon.

But then, when she pulled out the Eevee gingerbread cookies, the Makuhita recoiled like she had just pulled out the bloody, severed head of his father. A really confused expression appeared on her face and she set the Eevee cookies back in her lap. She watched curiously as the Makuhita began rummaging through her bag. What in the world could he possibly want from her bag? There wasn't any more food...

Then the Makuhita pulled out a pokeball from her bag. It was Jewel's pokeball- her Spoink, her starter Pokemon. "Jewel?" Lorelei muttered, still confused. She picked up the pokeball after the Makuhita placed it in her lap. "Okay..." She said hesitantly, pressing the center button and releasing Jewel.

The tunnel lit up with the red light of the pokeball as it snaked out and landed a foot away from the Makuhita and Lorelei, until the light dissipated and revealed a Spoink.

JEWEL THE SPOINK

PSYCHIC - OWN TEMPO - FEMALE
lvl 05

SPLASH - MOVE - MOVE - MOVE - TM - TM

"Spoiiiiiiiiiii...?" Jewel crooned in a soft, confused tone. Where was she? Why was it so dark? She couldn't see anything, yet.

[fauna ☀]

A WILD MAKUHITA APPEARED !

MALE. FIVE. THICK FAT. FIGHTING.
TACKLE - FOCUS ENERGY - SAND-ATTACK

the makuhita couldn't help but notice the way the girl's face lit up when he seated himself in her lap. was it bad? was she just excited because he was choosing to be near her? whatever the case, the girl was totally unaware of the affect her cannibalistic-styled cookies would have on the little fighting type. she placed them out of site, though. which calmed him down a bit. finally, this human appeared to understand that the makuhita was wanting food and company. she might be trainable yet. she stared down at the pokeball and said something.

did the pokemon understand it? not particularly. but, whatever it was, she was releasing it from the pokeball. the fighting type gave a cry of delight and bounced up and down. friends! he watched in awe at the bright red light that illuminated the cave. a duo of zubats fluttered past deeper into the tunnels to escape the light. and when the light dimmed, there was a companion for the pokemon at last! "maku, maku, hita, mak!" it blubbered excitedly. the smile on its face stretched wider as he stared at the seemingly confused pokemon.

the yellow pokemon was so excited that it continued to talk in fast, loud tones. and paced around in circles. pointing out every rock and tunnel. and providing no such help to either of his new friends, but he was just so excited! the fighting type stared over at the spoink. the pink ball on his head looked ever so fun. he tottered up to the pokemon and poked at it. "makuhita," it said softly, poking it again. it was so fun: having another pokemon here to play with! the makuhita backed up and surged forward in a tackle attack. he was wanting so desperately to play! but this was the only way he knew how.

[T.X. Lorelei]

Lorelei watched, a smile plastered on her face, as Jewel interacted with the wild Makuhita. The fighting type was so excited by the appearance of her Spoink, that Lorelei couldn't help but let out an amused, happy giggle. Were all Pokemon as interesting as this Makuhita? Lorelei certainly hoped that that was the case. For if every day was like today, she would never be bored. Never again.

Jewel the Spoink was a bit confused at first, as it was taking her beady little eyes a while to adjust to the darkness. She could hear the voice of the Makuhita, but she couldn't see.... ah, wait a minute... she blinked a couple of times... there! Now she could see well enough. She turned her gaze toward the excitable Makuhita and grinned a huge, silly grin. "Spoink!" She shouted back at him, saying hello.

Lorelei raised her eyebrows slightly as the wild Makuhita began making hasty circles around the area, pointing to this and that and blabbering and rambling in a loud voice that echoed through the dark tunnel. She had absolutely no idea what he was going on about. She glanced over at Jewel, who appeared to understand it all.

In all honesty, though, Jewel didn't really have much of an idea about the Makuhita's rant, either. She was about as clueless as her trainer. But she didn't care; she just kept on staring and grinning at the Makuhita. She was as happy as he was; she was just being a bit more quiet about it at the moment.

Jewel blinked and the grin faded away ever so slightly as the wild Makuhita came up at poked at her lovely pink ball that was positioned atop her head. She bounced backwards just a little bit, unsure of how she felt about some random wild Pokemon poking and prodded her precious pink ball. But when the Makuhita came forward and poked at it again, she decided it was okay. No harm done, right?

And then she was tackled! "Spoispoispoi!" She yelled as she was tossed backwards by the attack. Lorelei gasped- that was not at all what she had expected. This was an interesting turn of events. The girl looked from Jewel to the wild fighting type and then back again. The Makuhita didn't seem like it was angry or spiteful. It just looked kinda playful.

Jewel rolled around on the rocky ground for a bit before finally finding a way to get back up onto her spring. Bouncing in place, she glared at the Makuhita- but then, when she figured out that the wild Pokemon was just trying to be playful and have fun, the glare was replaced in a milisecond with her wide, silly grin.

Two could play at that game! Her grin faded slightly into a look of amused concentration. She prepared to attack- she held her breath and furrowed her brow- and then unleashed a splash attack. She flailed her arms up and down and bounced furiously from side to side and forward and backward. She spun in circles and waved her arms crazily, shouting out a garbled war cry.

Then the attack ended only seconds after it had begun. Jewel grinned and panted, watching the Makuhita with a sparkle in her eye.

[fauna ☀]

A WILD MAKUHITA APPEARED !

MALE. FIVE. THICK FAT. FIGHTING.
TACKLE - FOCUS ENERGY - SAND-ATTACK

the pokemon could see the girl staring at him from out of the corner of its eye. did she think he was gonna hurt her pokemon? maybe she wasn't so bad after all. the spoink greeted him with an equally enthusiastic cry of hello. his grin stretched even further as he clapped his hand together and began to recount his life story. and about how the tunnels were loads of fun, but they were dangerous at the same time. the psychic type seemed to understand. her trainer didn't though. he caught the girl's eyebrow raise as he began to speak. oh well.

the other pokemon seemed to get it. she was nodded and smiling. and her gaze followed wherever his stubby fists pointed. she was a good listener! when he began prodding at her ball, she stiffened. her spring coiled as she bounced backwards. the makuhita simply followed her back and poked it again. then decided he wanted to play some more! so, he tackled her and she was flung away by his force. the girl gasped and the fighting type twisted around to stare at her. as if to say: what's the matter? he then turned his attention back to the spoink. she was struggling to get back on her spring!

"makuhita, maku!" it said happily as the pokemon found a way to get back up. she didn't look as skeptical as her trainer after she caught the pokemon's face. her scowl had faded and it was replaced with a grin. the makuhita smiled back and watched as she countered his attack. the splash soaked both he and the ground below him. she looked funny as she splashed: she was wiggling around on the spring and drenching everything in sight. as she was splashing, the makuhita unleashed a small sand-attack. it collided with the water and the ground became muddy. the fighting type dove straight into it and motioned for his new friends to join him.

[T.X. Lorelei]

Lorelei relaxed a bit when she saw Jewel relax- the way she thought, if her Pokemon was okay, she was okay. So she knelt down- trying to keep the weight off of her bruised tailbone- and she was more than just content to watch the two Pokemon play with each other. How cute!

Jewel guffawed as she saw the Makuhita fire off another sand attack and create mud. She thought that was simply hilarious! And then, to top it off, he dove straight into the mud! Ha! How great was this! When the fighting type gestured for her to join him, Jewel was more than happy to oblige. She bounced extra high- nearly touching the ceiling with her pink ball- and landed right beside the Makuhita, sloshing the muddy ground and nearly spraying her trainer with the brown goop. Luckily, Lorelei- who laughed at the two Pokemon's antics- was out of range.

Jewel flopped over in the mud and rolled around, happy as... a pig... in mud...

[BAILEE!]

A WILD MAKUHITA APPEARED !

MALE. FIVE. THICK FAT. FIGHTING.
TACKLE - FOCUS ENERGY - SAND-ATTACK

the pokemon enjoyed the time with the female trainer and her spoink. he rolled in the mud for a while until his yellow color was turned into a brown coating. even though he was covered in the thick mud, he paced closer to the female trainer who stood close by with a happy expression on her face. the pokemon also became happy, and he began a skipping type walk towards her.

when he grew close enough he beckoned for the girl to catch him. whether she understood or not, he wouldn't know. but he liked this girl enough to travel with her, and be her own. plus he enjoyed the spoink who was already her companion, so she couldn't be to bad. smiling her pointed his fist towards where she kept her pokeballs, or where he thought she did. who knew with trainers. hopefully she would catch on, and he would have a home.

[T.X. Lorelei]

Lorelei, being pretty new to Pokemon training, had no idea what in the world with wild Makuhita was up to this time. She stared blankly, trying her hardest to figure it out. The blank look qsoon morphed into a look of concentration. She just wasn't getting it...

Thank goodness for Jewel the Spoink. She- being a fellow Pokemon- was much quicker to catch on to the Makuhita's intentions than her trainer. "Spoi~" She squealed with delight, very much delighted by the fact that her new playmate wanted to join them permanently. Taking matters into her own mud-covered hands, she bounced gleefully over to her trainer. She gestured wildly at Lorelei's bag, until the girl opened it with a confused expression on her face.

"Spoi-spoink!" Jewel shouted, sifting through the blue bag until she finally picked out an empty pokeball. Lorelei's face lit up with understanding, and she reached for the pokeball, but Jewel was too impatient. She tossed the empty pokeball herself at the wild Makuhita, letting out a happy little 'meep' as she did so.

[BAILEE!]

ooc- sorry, would you like to continue this thread?

[T.X. Lorelei]

(I wasn't sure if there was some official 'congrats you successfully caught this pokemon :D' thing that had to happen or not.)