Herbal Supply Run [Quest]

It took them less than ten minutes of traversing through the undergrowth before they ran into a problem—and it looked terrifying. Now, Damian was a native of Hoenn, so he didn’t recognize the Pokémon that had suddenly appeared right in the middle of the path they were taking; which made him fish out his Pokédex before checking just what it was.

So, it’s a Bug-type… but dang, it moves that fast?! Well, I have to be very careful… Damian thought as he suddenly slowed down before his Riolu bumped into the back of his knee. “Alyosha, wait. Don’t move. It… it looks rather hostile… you think you can talk with it?” he asked, hanging back rather nervously. While the Riolu was still nervous about facing the much larger Accelgor, he nodded, before stepping forward and slowly getting a read of the Bug-type’s aura.

And boy, it looked like they were going to be in for one heck of a problem. Not only was said Accelgor aggressive, it was mere moments away from attacking! The jackal ‘mon then looked over to where Damian stood, before quickly retreating backwards, unable to keep the nervousness out of his actions before returning.

“Is… is something the matter?” he asked his companion, before the Riolu whined in his direction before discreetly pointing at the Accelgor. He was just about ready to panic, and Damian picked up on the alarm before quickly patting the young one on his head. “Okay, I can tell you’re about to lose it. Calm down, Alyosha… take a deep breath and calm down, okay?” he began, and watched as the Riolu did as he asked; before the spike of worry gradually vanished from the jackal ‘mon’s aura.

“Okay, that’s better… now, I completely mean no harm. If I did, I would’ve avoided him outright, or tried to run away… isn’t that saying something in itself entirely? I know you can understand me, and so can he,” he trailed off, before nodding his head and fixing a level-headed stare at the Accelgor and eventually returning to look at his companion once more.

He then took out the list of plants they needed to bring back, and read through it another time. “Okay, if you can ask the Accelgor there, as nicely as you can, if we can pass so we can get the plants that we need. These plants are needed by someone down where we came from, and I can take a guess it’s for something important—seeing as there’s Lum and Leppa plants involved in it. Can you talk with the Accelgor for me, please? I’ll wait here…” he remarked, before gently booping the Riolu to walk forward once more.

Nodding, the Riolu then stepped forward once again, before taking another deep breath. (Well, I’m pretty sure you heard what my friend said… we need them so we can help another human back where we came from not too far from here. Since you did say you saw other humans going through here, maybe they were also getting those plants that the other human needed? Not my companion, of course… we can get along fine. So, may we please pass?) the Riolu tried once again, before looking over his shoulder and back at Damian.

While he didn’t understand a shred of Pokéspeak at all, he hoped that he’d conveyed the message well enough. As if to emphasize it even more, Damian then waved the piece of paper in his hand at the Accelgor’s direction, before deciding to open up his overcoat, to show that he wasn’t carrying any hidden weapons. He didn’t know how much it was going to help with the cause, but he held his overcoat open as long as necessary.

Asides from his usual preferred attire of jeans, a dark shirt, high-cut sneakers and a purple scarf—there really wasn’t anything else hidden within his coat. “See? I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said, before watching and waiting to see what would happen between Alexei and the Accelgor.

(I’d know right away if he did have something to hide… I can read his aura, and he can read mine. We don’t have secrets from each other, so, please… we really need to get to where the plants are located. Would you spare us the anger you’re carrying right now and let us through, peacefully? You can see that my friend Damian has nothing to hide…) the Riolu tried once more, gesturing behind him.

Damian kept his overcoat open as long as possible; secretly relieved to get some relief from the sticky heat that was permeating around them. “Please. I swear, we’re not going to do anything too drastic. All we’re going to do is get the plants we need, and then we’ll clear out of your territory as quickly as we came. Is that alright with you?” he added, after his Riolu had spoken for him.

The two watched and waited silently for the Bug-type’s reaction. Sure, they were both extremely nervous (Alexei more so than Damian, due to the gap in power between himself and the Bug-type) but they held their ground.