I'm trying to get to Fortree city, there's a festival taking place there in less than a week, and I'm supposed to be there to help open the new temple they've built there, dedicated to the forest sprits" he answered. "If you're interested, I've heard there's a big tournament happening during the festival."

The misdreavus, Maiden by name, drifted back, falling in next to Ginger. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, speaking in the pokemon language of course. It was hard to believe that the sweet, timid little ghost had only moments before looked quite frightening indeed.

"Absoool... (Go away...)" Ginger still felt bitter after her humilating defeat...but it did make her feel good to know that someone cared.

"Fortree City? That's great!" Sidney looked positively delighted and she clapped her hands together. "I'm from there. Ginger and I lived there five years before I became a trainer. I know the place like the back of my hand."

Maiden nodded, drifting back a few paces to keep an eye on the absol from behind. She looked genuinely worried about the dark pokemon, despite the feud that was supposed to exist between ghosts and dark-types.

"Really?" asked Cassius, "I've heard it's a beautiful city, but never had a chance to see it for myself." He didn't quite have the nerve to ask for more directions- how hard could it be to find such a big city once he got his bearings again, after all?

"Oh, it's really beautiful. Everyone lives in trees. And speaking of trees..." She turned around, walking away. "I need to stock up on some things before we go. Wait here." The young woman had made her way over to a nearby evergreen. A vine, out of place, dangled from the branches. She tugged on it, checking its sturdiness, and started climbing. "This is my base!" she called once she reached the top. It was a few minutes before she came down again, her bag looking a bit more heavy than before. "Ready when you are."

Cassius was a touch amused to see that the Fortree trainer was still living in a tree, even when she'd moved from the city. "I'm ready, then" he said, double checking to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything back at the battle ground. Misdrevus chirped her approval, examining the vine at the base of the tree with some considerable interest.

((Gotta go. I'm thinking about making a profile for Sidney and her Pokemon. Or maybe we could start a profile section. I think we need a rules section first though. But rules take a long time, so that might have to be a weekend project. ))

((I've got a document I'm writing covering a few of the basic term definitions (godmoding/powerplaying, Mary Sue, literate/advanced, one-liner and character, so far.) It'd be nice to have a little paragraph or two on exactly what roleplaying is, though.))

((I'm trying to plan how Ben wil come into the picture later. Also, my story thread has info on Ben's pokemon.))

Meanwhile, Michael was staying quiet; he knew all 3 of them didn't trust him, with his amatuer mistake, but he needed to get to Fortree City so he would be able to get a badge. That means he would have no choice but to tag along, no matter how much they disliked him. Although the thought of getting another badge perked him up a bit, especially since the Gym Leader there used Flying tpyes, which would mean an easy victory for him.

((Argh, every time as soon as I leave, you all get on and post 2 full pages worth of writing, which leaves me well behind every time. That's one large disadvantage of RP's. I'll try to get by it though.))

Sidney nodded, then noticed the other trainer standing there. "Oh, I'm sorry! I was supposed to battle you, wasn't I?" A sigh. "I'll have to fight you some other time, after my Pokemon had rested." She turned back to Cassius. "Okay, Cassius. Let's go." Then she remembered something. "Uh...did you want to come?" she asked Michael.

He got back up from the ground and said, "Well, I did want to battle you, but I can wait, and yeah, I'm coming also." He then got off of the grass and back on to the dirt road, standing there and said, with a surprizingly odd positive tone, "Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!"

Sidney smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, someone's in a cheerful mood. Do you even know where the place is? Or am I the only one here who does?"

The Absol didn't mind Michael so much. Cassius on the other hand. That dude gave her the creeps...and his Pokemon beat her to a pulp. One wondered how long it would take the little Pokemon to forgive the trainer.

"I've got a map to Fortree, but I'm a little lost even with it" he didn't mention the fact that he couldn't read maps to save his life. "By the way, you never gave me your name" he added, following the other two as they began walking. Misdreavus followed as well, several paces behind. She wasn't particularly fond of sunlight, but she hadn't been out of her pokeball for awhile and was enjoying the chance at some exercise.

"Yes, I do know where Fortree is; that's where I was heading to, to get a badge there. Oh and my name is Michael.", saying the first sentence to Sidney and the last sentences to Cassius.

((Whoops. I'll fix this post.))

"I didn't?" How could she have forgotten. "My name is Sidney Valentine. You already know Ginger. And I'll have to introduce you to the rest of the team sometime."

Cassius nodded, and turned to glance at Ginger for a moment, mentally connecting the name and the absol's face. Unfortunately, it looked more like a glare coming from him.

Notcing that the other 3 humans had a Pokemon out, Michael decided to send out one of his own. With a flick of his wrist, he grabbed one of his Pokeballs and in a flash, sent out his strongest Pokemon, Static, a Raichu. "Decided to give my Static some fresh air." Michael said, trying to act nonchalant.

The ghost trainer looked over at the raichu, unconsciously putting a hand on Pandora's pokeball. The haunter would no doubt be interested in meeting Static, but he'd been injured in the battle, and it would be best to get him to the center in case perish song had any long-term effects.

The Absol glared back, flashing Cassius a devious grin. Sidney walked past Michael, down the dirt road. Once she was a few yards away, she turned around and waved at the two. "You guys coming?!" Ginger gave Cassius one last look before following her trainer.

((Be back in a bit.))

Cassius walked quickly to catch up, followed closely by Maiden, who sped past him to circle around Sidney. She callled for her trainer to hurry up, eager to get to the festival. She'd been looking forwards to Fortree city ever since they'd been invited.

Michael picked up his walking pace to catch up with Sidney, as did his Raichu, Static. "Whoa, what's the sudden rush?", Michael asked Sidney. "This isn't a race ya know."

((EDIT: I gotta go now, probably won't be on until tomorrow, so don't go too far.))

((EDIT2: Looks like I got about half an hour starting now.))

Cassius caught up to his pokemon reasonably quickly, taking care not to let his tiredness show as he slowed his pace when he met up with Maiden. Someday, he would probably learn that he always, always regretted using attacks while possessing, but apparently that little tidbit of common sense had yet to seep in.

((Should we skip ahead in time or keep going?))

((I think a little time skip would be a good idea, possibly to lunchtime? Or evening, depending on when we are now. Or if the town isn't too far, then until they get there ))

((I'm fine with that. BTW: What was that plot idea of yours Flannery? ))