It had certainly been a day, when some of Ettie's pokemon had evolved. Namely, the three who were the first to join her and her then-just-starting pack - Princess, Duchess, and Ruffian. No longer were they pups - they were now a Granbull, a Manectric, and Herdier. And with Duchess in particular having grown, it meant that Ettie was going to be able to challenge Josh Devlin , and try to race him with her! ...

... At least, once Josh had an opening for that. With how popular he was as a gym leader, he often had challengers galore - which meant that there was going to be a wait, before she could race him properly.

Thus, Ettie instead decided that she'd take the time to practice with Duchess. She'd been able to get a saddle from Verdanturf - much like what Josh had suggested before - as well as a pair of gloves, since she wasn't one for reins (even if gloves in general did feel a bit weird to wear.) Instead, there were a couple of straps that went around towards the front of Duchess that she could hang onto if needed, whilst using pressure from her hands and legs and leaning to direct the manectric.

The gloves and saddle both were made to help protect her from electricity - for whilst Ettie was plenty used to the static that tended to build up in Duchess' fur, a hyper manectric going all-out was sure to produce more than just a little bit of static in their fur. The cantle - or 'backrest' of the saddle was relatively high too, to help give Ettie some support and bracing whilst Duchess moved at full speed.

But, once the saddle was on and Ettie was settled into it, it was time to get going. "Is-ready?" She'd ask Duchess, a hand gently stroking along the wolf's neck.

Duchess, for her credit, was more than ready. She was gonna be able to run! Run run run run, for as long as she liked, and she got to run with Ettie! The manectric would bark in response, before going into a playbow - tail wagging and body wiggling with absolute joy. Go! Lets go! When would she get to go??

Ettie squealed and laughed as she had to hang on - her feet in the stirrups and her hands gripping the front straps - "Duchess! Up, silly!" She called with a giggle - only being able to relax in the saddle once more, once Duchess was standing properly. "Okay, okay- Ettie ready, too." The wildchild would soon agree, steadying her hands on Duchess' withers, roughly where the wolf's neck met her shoulders. Ettie would take in a deep breath, preparing herself... Before nodding. "We go."

And like that, Duchess was off - bolting into a steady run straight ahead. Behind, the pack would follow at a leisurely pace - the plan was for Duchess to run laps around the outside of Rustboro until Ettie or Duchess had their fill (more likely the former rather than the latter.) And then once they were done, they'd meet back up with the pack and return to the nearby temporary den they were staying at. It would make for plenty of practice, to say the least - and overall just be a great way, for Duchess to burn off some energy.

But most importantly, was that it was fun for the both of them. Ettie couldn't help a whooping laugh as Duchess picked up pace, weaving between a few trees in a zig-zag motion. It was plain to see that the manectric was having the time of her life - and Ettie shared in that feeling. The rush of wind around her, against her skin, through her hair, it was like nothing else! But, she knew that this wasn't the fastest that Duchess could go... "Quick Attack?" She suggested to the manectric, gripping onto the straps to prepare herself.

And Duchess, catching on quick, was immediately game. Barking in response, the wolf would pick up in speed - faster, faster, until she went into a Quick Attack - darting forward, as fast as she could go...!

Ettie howled in delight, with this - throwing back her head and simply putting a whooping voice to her feelings. And Duchess joined in the howl, a duet of just the simple joy that they were both feeling.

But amidst all of these shenanigans, Ettie and Duchess likely should've been paying more attention to the path before them. Wrapped up in all of this excitement, and being so close to Rustboro, well - it was only a matter of time, before someone else came along...

Another day, another expedition - this one, initially, started not unlike the prior two. The initial intentions were to better study the seals - especially when Charon made a mention of concerning disturbances happening near them - and yet... Partway into the expedition, was when the group began to realize that something was awry.

Namely, that noone was casting a shadow any longer.

No longer what way the light shone or how, there was no shade - as if the light of the sepia-toned sun above was passing through right them. It was easy to confirm that Angelica wasn't the cause - nor were any of the other ghost pokemon in the group's possession. And yet, what the true cause could've been was beyond them - the Border was already so strange, being that it was the space between life and death itself. Only time would tell what, exactly, was going on.

And as time passed, well... That was when things began only becoming stranger.

Ettie paused in her tracks, when the sound of wings and cawing caught the attention of not only her, but the pack as well. Glancing up, she expected to see Adrea and Astus, sure, but... It was much more concerning when there weren't two shapes up above, but four. Adrea and Astus were circling above, with what looked almost like shadowy clones mirroring their movements. Ettie couldn't help but stop in her tracks at this - blinking once, twice, before there was but a single puzzled word out of her mouth. "... Four??"

Anne couldn't help a brief growl at this - and one of Ettie's newest additions to her pack, Anat the Lucario, couldn't help but concur at the lycanroc's sentiments. This was not normal. Something was wrong.

And this feeling would only be emphasized, by the sounds of distant howls. These howls were almost like that of Ettie's pack - and yet, there was an unnatural tinge to them. Ghastly, fleeting, almost not-all-there - and yet the chorus was there all the same. And in hearing it, Ettie and Anne tensed.

"... Hunting." Ettie spoke, unable to help the slightest curl of her lip, the slightest growl in her tone. "Pack-call, for-gather - for-hunt." Her eyes slid up towards the shadowy clones of Astus and Adrea - her gaze that of a wild beast assessing a threat. "Flock-show, where-prey." Her lips curled further, into a full snarl, as she growled out "Not safe!"

And Anat wasted no time in acting - forming an Aura Sphere, firing it upwards and at the shadow-Astus. Though the two real corvids would let out crows of alarm in response, the shadows were worst-off for it - the shadow-Astus crowing as it was struck. The Lucario barked to Astus and Adrea both - and the two corvids wasted no time in acting, chasing off the shadowy clones with Heat Wave and Swift both.

Ettie, however, was not comforted by this. Taking out her pokeballs, she'd recall Astus and Adrea. "They know. We move?" She spoke - her eyes briefly glancing to the others for their input. Whatever the howls belonged to, they were sure to be closing in - hunting the group, if Ettie's guess was right. So, how would they approach this...?

Present:

Josh Devlin , Callan Young , Johanna Joy

completed:
18 lose your shadow, or encounter your shadow moving independently of you.
29 encounter shadowy copies of yourselves or your pokemon that mimic movement, form, and more.

Ettie bared her teeth, growling as she grappled with the woman. Though the thug made an honest attempt to throw her off, arms raised to protect her face, Ettie hung on with her clawlike nails - and snarling, she'd bite down on the woman's arm. Her teeth didn't sink in hard enough to break skin and draw blood - more focused on keeping the woman occupied than actually fighting or hurting - but it was still enough to draw a terrified yell from the woman.

It likely didn't help, when Anne moved to stand over them both - and though it would take but a breeze to knock the lycanroc over, the large wolf was still an imposing presence as she snarled at the woman, frightening the thug into simply staying still.

However, the final thug turned tail and ran - at least, until Ribbon and Spot both interfered. Duchess, too, would attempt to join in the chase - the little pup barking as she ran circles around the man. She was clearly ready to act, if he got back up! She was a good girl! She'd catch all the bad people! ... Although, after a few loops, she'd slow down with a half-whine - okay, maybe she wasn't ready to catch all the bad people. She was actually starting to feel kinda tired and really icky...

And with that, the chase and fighting was over - Julia bringing out some rope, to tie up and properly arrest the thugs. Only then did Ettie get up and off the woman - though her demeanor still read like that of a wild animal. Her eyes were locked on the thugs for any sudden movement, low growls rising every so often. She'd only turn her eyes away to glance to her packmates, making soft chuffs and inquiring whines in her throat as she tended to Anne and Duchess both.

Even if she was using bandages, pecha berries, and the like to tend to them like a human, she still was vocalizing and fussing over them like a pokemon - occasionally licking or nuzzling to reassure, sniffing for any signs of bleeding scrapes, and the like. And in turn, the two were checking up in Ettie in similar fashions - sniffing her, Anne licking her atop the head to soothe her, and so on.

Only when Ettie was satisfied, did she turn her attention to Julia and the others - and only then, did she speak. "Julia-pack okay?" She asked softly, looking over Spot and Ribbon briefly. She looked plenty ready to tend to them, too, now that she'd done what she could for Anne and Duchess.

It took a minute, for Ettie to realize that this route picked things based on which option was most popular. For a few minutes, she cocked her head at the screen with a puzzled expression - wondering if she didn't tap the right option. Cause surely, she picked the one to wake her up with a pokemon, right...?

Anat just sighed and shook her head, patting Ettie on the head. It'd take a minute for the wildchild to understand what this being a co-op route means, it seemed like.

All the same though, once the confusion passed, she was left with the continued story, and a few interesting options. Foreign legendaries, seal stones, and... A date? Ettie still wasn't sure what a date was, but the mention of legendary pokemon caught her attention. Thus, Ettie would pick Option 1 - Two foreign Legendary Pokemon spotted within Hoenn's borders.

Challenger: Ettie[break]
Traditional or Non-Traditional: Non-Trad[break]
Format: Land Race[break]
Pokémon: Duchess the Manectric[break]
Powers: N/A

"Ettie good! Pack good!" Ettie responded with a bright smile, briefly nuzzling her cheek against Johanna's shoulder - before tapping back down onto the ground once the two parted from their hug. "Boat-fun, ocean-lots-water!" She spoke with a bright grin. "Ettie not-see ocean before!" The biggest bodies of water she'd been familiar with up to now were lakes and rivers - but to be met with the sheer vastness of the ocean certainly was something else, even if she had napped the second half of the boattrip away.

Ettie wasn't sure what - exactly - a queue was, besides perhaps the line of people waiting to get in; but all the same, she nodded and giggled brightly as Johanna gestured to Joyland. "Ettie can't-wait!" She chirped, bouncing on her heels and wiggling in place.

But, Johanna had posed a good question - namely, that of the pack. There were lots of people and other pokemon who were in the park, and some of them may not be as used to the hustle and bustle as the average trainer-caught pokemon. Ettie, though, smiled gently. "Is-ok. Take turns!" She mentioned - crouching down, and pulling a few pokeballs out of her pack. She didn't want to crowd others in the park either, after all - and figured that not everyone would be keen on experiencing all the noise and lights of Joyland.

Thus, Ettie would return some of the pack to their pokeballs - until Anne, Ruffian, Duchess, Princess, as well as Astus and Adrea, were the only ones left out. Anne would be the one who stays out - mostly because the lycanroc refused to stay within a pokeball, especially not when strangers were around - but otherwise, Ettie planned on switching them out every so often so everyone got to have some fun! "Okay - ready!"

Ettie, safe to say, had very little understanding of things like games, or the sort of roleplay you tended to find in visual novels. But! She was nothing if she wasn't curious, and eager to learn and experience new things. It sounded like a lot of people were really interested in these oh-toe-mays, or otto-me's, or whatever they were - and she wanted in on the shenanigans! ... Although, there were a couple of hurdles she had to clear first, to get to this point in the first place.

1. She didn't own a phone - and more likely than not lacked the money to get a smartphone or the phone plan to make sure it could work without needing to fuss with wifi. But that was no problem - Julia Davis was willing to let Ettie borrow it, as long as someone kept an eye on her to make sure nothing happened with it. Which, Anne - being the responsible lycanroc that she was, and being glued to Ettie at the hip anyways - was plenty sufficient for the task.

2. Ettie didn't know how to read. This was a much bigger problem, given that it wasn't like one could learn to read overnight - and Ettie was still having some issues with that. Why did some letters come in different shapes? (And she didn't even mean capitals and lowercase, even if those were kinda confusing to her too!) But thankfully, the phone came with a built-in screenreader to help read out the words on the screen, there were audio cues from the game itself, and she had a few friends to help out.

Sat at the foot of the tree for the Ranger HQ in Fortree, a few of Ettie's pokemon would be gathered around her. Anne, Haru, Astus, as well as her newest addition to the pack - a lucario by the name of Anat - were present. On top of this, Scarlet would be laying on her lap, tassels wrapped around her forearms. Anat, being the wise lucario that she was, actually knew how to read - and the others were learning, as well. And Scarlet, with the shared 'headspace' that the two shared when they linked up with Ettie, was able to help interpret and convey.

So really, all in all, Ettie was set! Sure, she still had to figure out how games worked, but that was something they could figure out one step at a time! Which, required picking out a route and loading it up. 'Father Winter' had sounded interesting - but Anne didn't exactly like the idea of the 'content warning' having mentions of things like violence. So, she instead chose Dahlia Goode, another option on the screen.

Met with the description of the older woman fast asleep at the desk, Ettie would tilt her head curiously. That didn't seem like a cozy place to sleep! Though, this Dahlia at least wasn't dozing off on her own - she had a packmate with her! A stoutland... Didn't someone mention that being what Ruffian would grow up into?

But in any case, the question here was how they'd wake her up - ranging from shaking, to using the RotomPhone... Though really, the idea of using a pokemon appealed to Ettie. What better way to wake up, than with a good howl with your pack?

Thus, the young wildchild would choose Option 2 - to use a pokemon.

Buying:
- Mega Accessory (500 PD)
- - Getting a Manectite

Redeeming:
- Level Tutor (from border expedition)
- - Barbara the Houndoom learns Howl

Friends! Lots and lots of friends! Ettie was absolutely full of glee as she ran amongst the pokemon who made their home in this cozy base - embroiled in game after game of tag. She'd chase down a little Shinx - but as she tagged the kitten, she'd find herself tagged by a piplup! And as she chased down to tag the penguin, she'd find herself in a playful little wrestling match with a charmeleon! Amidst all the fun and shenanigans from the friendly pokemon, it was safe to say that Ettie had forgotten about finding the flag in the first place, in lieu of playing with everyone!

Anne, however, would have her eyes more on the prize - namely, the flag. It was around here somewhere, surely - although it was hard to say where exactly, when there were so many false flags scattered about the place. It was at least easy to identify which ones weren't real, when the fakes had been used as chew toys for the resident pokemon. But, the pokedolls and pokemon alike made it a little tricky to navigate sometimes - especially with the number of close collisions that occurred, with how haphazardly some of the pokemon were moving!

But before long, one flag would stand out amongst the rest, nestled inbetween two of the dolls that filled the base. Picking it up in her teeth, Anne would glance towards Ettie - who had taken to riding about on a meganium's back, giggling all the whilst... Before sighing, shaking her head with a fond and amused hue. Why not - she could play with for a little too, now that they had the flag.

It was an imposing sight, the large houndoom - and Anne, safe to say, did not take kindly to the more hostile reception it presented. When the hellhound curled its lips at her, she'd curl her lips back - standing straight and tall, holding her head high. Both canines were posturing at each other with clear tension, and things were quickly looking as though they were about to break out into a fight for the flag...

... But Ettie wasn't about to let that happen. Stepping between the two canids, Ettie would gently push Anne back by the snout - murmuring "Relax," with a gentle smile. Then, with her opposite hand, she'd extend the houndoom a peace offering - some jerky, which the hellhound briefly sniffed at. "Friend?" Ettie offered warmly, as she glanced to the dark-type.

Slowly, the houndoom accepted the jerky - and both canids would reluctantly, begrudgingly, turn away from one another. Tension lingered in the air, but things began to calm - especially when the houndoom retrieved a flag for the duo. Either this was their own peace offering, or this was their way of just telling them to leave already. Regardless, Ettie would accept the flag - chirping "Thank you!" before she hopped back onto Anne's back, the duo making their departure before either canid could start getting agitated all over again.