Adventure Thread - Group A

"My diet has made me hardy and healthy, you cowardly sneak," Peppers says with a smile, flexing his thick neck and pushing it against the blade. "You cannot hurt me enough to stop me before my Meowth, who loves me very much but is quite disobedient, cuts you to ribbons. Now, I have called your bluff. Kindly put that blade to use or remove it this instant before Meowth attacks you no matter what I say."

Shaken by his devastating defeat, Peppers decides that he's lucky to still have his life, and that he'd better get out of here while he still can. He breaks out in a dead sprint, headed back to Viridian and then onward still to Pallet. He needs to get to his boat and get out of this dangerous region. Kanto Trainers are in a class of their own. He needs to get back to the safety of Kalos.

"So sorry to desert you in this dark forest, young man!" Peppers yells as he runs out of there. "But Kanto is simply not for me. You'll be fine, I'm sure. At least, that's what I'll be telling myself from this day forward. Goodbyyyyyyyyeeee!"

His voice trails of as he disappears into the distance, kicking up an impressive dust cloud as he flees.

Vincent thanks the Pokemon Ranger solemnly, but refuses the offer to be escorted. He's done relying on other people. He thought he could believe in his teammates, but the only one that was truly dependable was Jax. Vincent almost wants to ask the Ditto to transform into a human again, but he won't do that to his friend. Jax has had his adventure and seems satisfied with the life of the Trainer that he's lived. It's time for him to live as a Pokemon once more, and experience the next adventure. An adventure that only Vincent can give him.

Vincent released all of his conscious Pokemon onto the ground before him. I'm not alone as long as I have my Pokemon, he thought,smiling a little.

"Alright guys, it's looking like it'll be just us from now on. The forest is dangerous so I need you by my side to ward off any threats. Hopefully they'll see a bunch of Pokemon and decide to look the other way."

Cal yipped and transformed into Sia, looking perfectly intimidating. Vincent chuckled a little. Jax... slithered up Vincent's leg and onto his shoulder. He formed a forefinger pointing forwards as if to say "Onwards!".

Vincent may have lost some friends to Viridian Forest, but with these friends (he counted Vel and Sia even though they were unconscious and in their Pokeballs) by his side, he could do anything. The only limitation was himself. He had either not been observant or stealthy enough and it had gotten him stuck, unable to help his friends. He had to get stronger, better. He needed more exposure to combat. Perhaps he should take a note from Peppers and Jax' book and try to catch as many Pokemon as he could. Not in Viridian Forest though. The place must be cursed or something with how bad Vincent's luck had been there.

Well, that was a note for the future. For now he needed to get out of this forest and back to Viridian.

"Let's go, team," Vincent said, and with that they were off.

(Not sure if you want something to happen between now and getting to Viridian, so I'll stop here, but assume that as soon as Vincent gets to Viridian, he's just going to heal his Pokemon, go to sleep and the next morning, run through the forest towards Pewter without looking back.)

"Watch out-" Too late, Vincent tries to warn a guy before he trips over something on the ground. Vincent watches as the boy tumbles together with all the stuff in his arms. Wait. Pokeballs, broken and normal... Baby Food... Incense, a Moon Stone and more? Isn't that Peppers' stuff? The man must have given it to someone who needed it more.

Vincent sighs. "Hey, are you alright?" Damn it. Why am I even bothering with this guy. I need to get my Pokemon healed. Something about him seems... interesting though. Maybe I'm looking too deeply into things, but what if there's another reason for him having Peppers' stuff?

"Did you by any chance meet a large man in a chef's outfit?"

Vincent eyes the boy, he can't help but think of the guy as a little younger from the way he had called Vincent 'sir', shrewdly. It would be nice to have another person around to mitigate the danger of travelling. He doesn't know anything about the guy and he sure as heck doesn't trust him yet, but what's the worst that could happen right? It's possible he would leave too, but that possibility doesn't bother Vincent. He wasn't going to try and depend on the boy. They'd just be travelling together. Partners maybe, possibly friends even, but Vincent would still be fiercely independent.

Still, as he looked at the boy critically he couldn't help but feel... underwhelmed. By his own admission the boy was more of an academic than a Trainer. Was he really suited for the Trainer life? Then again, he did have an Audino and a Lapras. Those were some really good Pokemon. Perhaps he should give the guy a chance.

Vincent almost shook his head but suppressed the urge. Instead he said, "I didn't get most of those entries. But yes, you can come with me. I'll be heading back for the Pokemon Center for now and tomorrow the I think the plan is to reach Route 2 to catch some Pokemon and then go to Pewter City and challenge the Gym. I'd like to spend as little time in Viridian Forest as possible really, the place has turned out to be a little more dangerous than I like."

Vincent sighed and prepared to talk about the Cacnea for the third time. "Well, if that's what you want to do that's fine. I did have sort of an agreement with the previous owner of the Cacnea that I would trade the next suitable thing I caught for it, but if you'd rather trade with someone else and gain a new Pokedex entry I'd understand," he said. I wonder if the Cacnea is even worth the effort, Vincent thought pessimistically. No, of course it is. All... well, most Pokemon are worth it and this one is a future Dark-type at that.

He waited for a response and then said, "Well, I'm going to get a room for myself and turn in early." He proceeded to do as he said and finally recalled Jax who'd been on his shoulder the entire time and Cal who'd stayed by his side. He then got a well deserved restful sleep.

The remainder of the night is uneventful. The morning comes almost too soon for some, but you drag yourselves out of bed and perform your usual morning rituals.

Vincent headed out into the outskirts of the city to do some training. When training four Pokemon at once, a little space was needed, so the area outside the city was perfect for that. Vincent did one on one sessions with each of his Pokemon, sparring with them a little and then he turned them on each other, ruling of course, that no Moves should be used. It was just a little rough housing to get them alert, ready to fight and a little more efficient for when they did use their Moves in combat.

After he was done training, he went back into the city to do a little shopping and then went off to find Eric. Once he did, he approached him. "Good morning. Ready to head out? We're going to be leaving Viridian City and its forest behind today."

With that, Vincent started walking towards the end of the city and the beginning of Viridian Forest. He planned of course, to stay on the path and not look around for wild Pokemon. He didn't need distractions this time.

Sticking to the path, your trip through the forest is fairly uneventful. You reach Pewter by mid-afternoon, and upon entering the Pokemon Center, Vincent sees a familiar face. It's Dan, the Bug Catcher from before. He seems a little down, but brightens when he sees you.

"Wha- oh! Hey Vince! I was wondering when you'd turn up here. Gonna challenge the Gym?"