While he'd been examining, Trey's Absol, Indigo, had been keeping an eye out for trouble. The Dudunsparce wasn't able to get too close before he intervened, stepping around Atreyu to face it head-on. The pokemon didn't seem to be hostile, but one never knew, especially since this was their first time in the depths. Still, Indigo didn't react immediately. He sniffed the strange pokemon's segmented form, and when Trey finally noticed, he turned to crouch down, extending a hand for the Dudunsparce to investigate.

The trio waited, silence passing between them before the Dudunsparce finally gave Trey a sniff. The trainer smirked, pleased. "Kind of docile like a regular Dunsparce, huh?" he mused aloud, quickly whipping his phone out to take a picture. Unfortunately, he made a rookie mistake: the flash had been left on. The land snake pokemon squealed and reared up, flailing in a way that had it landing on its back. It squirmed and panicked as it tried to right itself, and all Trey could do was wave his arms back and forth in panic. "Fuck, sorry! I usually keep it turned off! Let me help—"

Indigo sighed, watching with the same disdain a parent might possess. As Atreyu righted the Dudunsparce, which promptly fled, tiny wings flapping in shock, the Absol felt something that made it suddenly alert. By the time his trainer noticed, he was pointed in the direction of a large crystal, hackles raised suspiciously. He didn't approach, though. Curious, Trey finally stood, brushing off his pants as he looked in the direction Indigo was pointing. "Uh, is someone over there? Hopefully not another Dudunsparce hoping to enact revenge for his fallen comrade," he joked, shoving his hands in his pockets. It was very likely that the presence was a pokemon, but if that were true, he didn't think Indigo would be reacting so dramatically. If he was being followed, it was better that he confront them now rather than when he ventured in deeper. "You might as well come out—my Absol is a pretty good sleuth."

kkfX_fAH

Eris Halla

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The first thing to reveal itself was a stoic Luxray, seemingly poised for a fight but lacking the gumption to start anything. It was probably sizing them up like Trey and Indigo were doing to it, though the ecologist was less inclined to fight than the Absol. Silence passed between them for a bit, and Trey was willing to turn his back and start walking deeper into Area Zero until a person also stepped out from behind the crystal.

Ha! So Indigo had been right, then.

Trey offered a smirk at the girl's greeting, removing a hand from his pocket to wave awkwardly back. "Yo," he started, hoping to keep it casual. "Cool Luxray. You been down here before?" He didn't feel the need to bring up their affiliations yet; no doubt that might potentially dredge up hostile feelings between the two of them if they didn't align. Instead, he looked around them to take the crystals in, proving to her that he was still very much in awe of their surroundings. "I'm Atreyu—Trey for short—and this is Indigo. We're basically just here to see the sights; get a glimpse of what all the fuss is about. So far it's pretty tame, but there's probably more down here than a camera-shy Dudunsparce," he joked, smirking. He could only assume she saw his little blunder. It'd be just his luck.

8Gh25P5N

Eris Halla

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Trey shrugged, scuffing his boot in the dirt. "Nobody really stopped me from coming down here; seemed like everyone was too worried about their own agendas to notice me strolling through Area Zero." What he knew of the area was basically just that: the names. The Giant Chasm; Area Zero. He'd heard rumors in bars that it was a little dastardly down in the depths, but how was he to know the severity of it without exploring himself? He was way too nosey to let rumors slide without checking things out. "To be honest, I don't know much about anything going down here. I read a few articles, but public knowledge only takes you so far. Doesn't make sense for some random guy to come strolling in that's pretty clueless, does it?"

He knew it was stupid to some degree. Stupid had never stopped him before, though.

"Anyway, I'm just here to explore. I..." Something stopped him for a moment, Trey chewing on his thoughts as he mulled over what all he wanted to reveal about himself. He was a pretty open book, but he didn't exactly feel like spoiling the mood by talking about dropping out of school. "I'm a budding ecologist, so seeing the relationship between the area and the pokemon here for myself was too good to pass up. It probably would make sense for me to chat it up with a Ranger, but I haven't gotten that far yet." Indigo watched on patiently, though he kept a close eye on the Luxray in case things were to go south. His trainer was a little too trusting for his tastes.

_zwtyr5E

Eris Halla

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He didn't know this person from Adam, but Trey didn't really need to in order to detect this girl's disdain for his approach. His smile remained, if only because he was openly laughing at himself, now. Indigo relaxed a fraction; he might not've been keen on how friendly his trainer was most of the time, but he had a hard time keeping up a stoic front in the wake of Trey's more positive moods. "Unnatural makes this place all the more interesting, unfortunately," he replied, pulling his phone out to make a quick note. "I've faced worse than boogeymen in my life. I'm also not entirely incapable for being an idiot, y'know. I can probably handle myself okay, even when facing monsters." Unless they were like, psuedo legendary pokemon or something. Then he might be in over his head.

But those didn't exist down here, right? Or was that part of what drew so many people in?

"What I've read of the distortion rifts leaves a lot to be desired. If I had to guess, that's probably what would actually do me in," he added, nodding. If they were going to question his capabilities, he might as well lay it all out on the table, right? And what could a person do to counter a distortion rift, anyway? It's not like you could wave a hand and magically will it to disappear, or so he assumed. "I came from Kanto recently, and there's only so many articles you can read about Hoenn disasters before it all becomes a mess of mumbo jumbo in your head." He was trying, though. His main goal might've been to find the man who set fire to his family's home, but he'd also have to do his part to integrate into Hoenn's society. He couldn't afford to get more behind than he already was.

He paused, brows flicking upward as a thought occurred to him. "Hey—you wouldn't be interested in being a tour guide, would ya?" He didn't really have the money to pay someone for taking time out of their day to escort him, but maybe if he was lucky, he could play stupid to the degree where this girl might take pity and agree. Lame, but he was willing to work just about any angle to start immersing himself in Hoenn.

Indigo gave Trey a sharp look and pawed the ground. Before he could so much as tilt his head, the ground started to quake, a far-off rumble sounding as the two braced themselves. It wasn't anything astounding, nor did it last long, but it definitely proved this girl's point. He made another note in his phone before patting Indigo, waiting to hear what the verdict was.

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Eris Halla
- roll total: 503
- TOTAL OF ROLLS MADE BY ALL WRITERS REACHES 377. - You experience an earthquake.

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