Sojaveña Wilds Las Picaras Bandit Camp

[Virgil134]

Rodion's eyes shot open at the sensation of someone kicking sand into his face. What... was happening? Was he under attack?

He looked up to see the shape of a Pokémon in front of him, presumably the one that had kicked the sand into his face. Water began to form around his right paw, and he instinctively shaped it into a sword that he promptly pointed right between the Pokémon's eyes, ready to strike if his would-be assailant made so much as a move. It didn't take long however for him to realize that the Pokémon in front of him was none other than the Eevee who had arrived here with him, prompting Rodion to blink in surprise before narrowing his eyes into a sharp glare at his supposed teammate.

"What the hell is your problem, Eevee?!"

He briefly glanced around him, his head still facing Lavender's direction. Immediately, he noticed two things: One, the campsite was empty aside from him and his teammates. Apparently Hob and his crew had chosen to abandon them in the middle of the night. The second thing he noticed was Silver, who was starting to go on an angry rant. The reaction struck Rodion as odd. While being hit by Sleep Powder and abandoned was a good reason to be upset, Silver's reaction seemed more than a little exaggerated, especially since they weren't any worse off than before they ran into the bandits. He wondered if this experience had brought up some sort of bad memory for Silver, but he'd worry about that later.

Rodion looked back at Lavender, before dispelling the watery blade from his paw. The Buizel got up and crossed his arms, as he looked down at Lavender with a dark scowl.

"I don't know where you got this sense of entitlement from, but I suggest you drop it. Fast."

 

[ShadowVulpi]

"You call it entitlement, I call it taking charge and making sure nothing happens to us," Lavender huffed, not flinching even when the water blade was pointed at him. "We're rather lucky we didn't have anything happen besides being abandoned not far from civilization. Do you still feel putting confidence in those Pokemon was a good choice on your part?"

He was tempted to pose the same question to Silver, but considering his angry outburst, he probably realized his mistake already. And Lavender was wary of what would happen if he pushed the Sneasel further.

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver looked back and forth between Rodion and Lavender, giving a quick smirk of appreciation toward the Buizel and an unamused glare to the Eevee. Such patronizing tone irked him to his bones.

“Oh yeah. It’s not like you did an exceptional job watching our backs, furball…” he muttered under his breath, his eyes glowing with a sinister shine.

Silver quickly realized that his temper was threatening to flare up again, so he closed his eyes and took many deep breaths. Bickering wasn’t going to help. Calm… He needed to stay calm…

“…Okay. Look. That’s no time to point fingers at each other, alright? We’ve got far more pressing matters in our han—paws, and every second is essential. Let’s look at the… heh, silver linings, shall we?”

Silver opened his eyes again, feeling the clarity rushing into his mind. Nothing was better than taking some time to think.

“We aren’t injured, we’ve got our strength back, and it’s dawn time. The air is fresh enough to not cook under a merciless sun and there’s enough sunlight to see where the heck we’re going and not accidentally fall into precipices and whatnot.” He shrugged. “Not the ideal situation, but it could have been far worse.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle stirred and flared up, stumbling awake. The last thing he remembered was that Toxel asking him something and then blacking out after.

... Oh, well there was the Toxel. Lyle pulled himself away as he heard shouting... and Rodion and Lavender glaring daggers at each other.

"Um Himmels willen," he grumbled. "It's too early to be dealing with fights like this-"

The Cyndaquil trailed off and looked around. They had fallen asleep in an encampment last night. He recognized the rocks and the surroundings... but where was the encampment?

Bits and snatches of the conversations between the others filled him in, as he shook his head with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, guess that's one relationship that didn't pan out," he sighed. "Though is it exactly safe for us to just go into Frontier Town?"

 

[Keleri]

Tarahn yawned expansively and rolled over onto all fours to stretch, arching his back and spreading out his toes. That was a long sleep! He would normally have woken up and done a circuit of the camp at least once while the humans were all sleeping, and widdled on or envenomed a landmark or two for the fun of it.

A bolt of panic went through him as he noticed the missing campsite.

"Oh! We slept in! We're late for pokemon school!"

 

[RJr3:2]

"They left us, as was their right to do so," Aige said, watching the arguing warily.

The Roggenrola hummed. "What's done is done. We can argue forever about what we should or could have done, no?"

Staring out over the scrubland, Aige balanced on one foot. "For bandits, or whatever they were, they were surprisingly nice. They agreed to hear us out if anything. If they were really so concerned about us, then they would have nailed us shut in a box and buried us alive. That would be the most efficient, barring killing us in our sleep."

Hearing Tarahn, Aige nodded at him. "I think they'll forgive us this time for exceptional circumstances," she said

 

[Cresselia92]

A bolt of panic went through him as he noticed the missing campsite.

"Oh! We slept in! We're late for pokemon school!"

Silver quirked an eyebrow at that mention. Pokémon School? Was that purple reptile-feline hybrid talking about the schools of Pokémon Trainers from back home, or maybe some actual school for actual Pokémon?

Whatever was the case, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Some levity was sorely needed in that situation, so he decided to entertain the small creature.

“Hey! How about skipping school for this one time only and taking this chance to have some fun with games on the sand?” He winked mischievously. “Nobody’s gonna know! It’ll be our little secret!”

"Well, guess that's one relationship that didn't pan out," he sighed. "Thought is it exactly safe for us to just go into Frontier Town?"

“Hmm… And what other option do we have? I dunno about you, but I don’t wanna stand here wondering how long it’s gonna take for a group of six Pokemon to sun-dry in some random desert,” commented Silver, before crossing his arms and gazing at the paw prints. “We could try following those idiots’ tracks, but who knows where they were actually headed…”

 

[Virgil134]

"Silver's right, that town is our best bet at the moment," Rodion said with a nod. "We tried things with Hob and his crew, but if they don't want to work with us then so be it. Their loss."

The Buizel looked out towards Frontier Town in the distance and took a few steps in its direction, before turning back to the rest of the group.

"Let's get going. It's not gonna get any cooler anytime soon."

 

[Keleri]

Hearing Tarahn, Aige nodded at him. "I think they'll forgive us this time for exceptional circumstances," she said

“Hey! How about skipping school for this one time only and taking this chance to have some fun with games on the sand?” He winked mischievously. “Nobody’s gonna know! It’ll be our little secret!”

Tarahn grinned at Silver the Sneasel at his suggestion that they play hooky.

"I'm down if you guys are, just we need to have our stories straight so we and our trainers don't get yelled at!" He thought about it for a second and sighed. "We should probably be responsible and go on to town, I bet that's where everyone is already, or at least we can regroup with them there." Being responsible sucked. But Frontier Town would have lots of little nooks and crannies to poke around in!

 

[ShadowVulpi]

It seemed everyone was mad at Lavender, and in some ways he didn't blame them. He did want to tell Tarahn there probably were no trainers and to really make the reality of their situation known, but he stopped himself. He stopped himself from doing a lot of things, because he needed unity and cooperation. And for whatever reason everyone was getting along fine, despite their different backgrounds and personalities.

But most importantly, he stopped because he remembered something. He remembered that he wouldn't remember any of this. He wouldn't remember any of these Pokemon when he was done here with this world. All the petty fights, heated disagreements, moments of camaraderie, kind affection, the supposed fact that they'd save this world together... he would never remember them.

All of this was temporary. A dream.

"Yeah. Let's go," he said quietly, the fire in his eyes gone as he turned toward the town. "This disagreement wasn't necessary."

And then the Eevee headed toward town without waiting for the others, though he did slow his pace as he went along, making it easy for the others to catch up.

 

[Cresselia92]

"I'm down if you guys are, just we need to have our stories straight so we and our trainers don't get yelled at!" He thought about it for a second and sighed. "We should probably be responsible and go on to town, I bet that's where everyone is already, or at least we can regroup with them there."

Silver’s eyes lit up briefly, his ear swishing with intrigue. “Trainers, huh…” he murmured, nodding in understanding. So Tarahn was a trained Pokémon! Were they from the same world or two different trainers-filled places?

He contemplated inquiring about that, but as the sun was rising and growing hotter, it was best to put that matter aside for the time being.

“Heh. I guess that can’t be helped. We’ll skip our responsibilities some other time.” Slowly, he gave a couple quick pats on Tarahn’s head and flashed a tiny smile. “…You’re a good ‘mon. Now let’s get outta this would-be-too-hot place and find the others.”

Thanks to his Sneasel’s physique, Silver quickly caught up with the leads of the group, but he slowed down just enough to let the others keep up with them.

That was a new day, and a new destination waited for them beyond the horizon.

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