Ettie's wanders were taking her further and further from 'home' in distant Fortree, to say the least. Each new place was a new discovery, a new adventure - so many new sights, sounds, and smells! And even in places that the young wildchild had been to before, she was pretty sure that there were plenty of things she had yet to find; be they new pokemon, or hidden crannies, or even simply turns she didn't take the prior time through. It was truly boggling, just how much Hoenn had to offer, compared to the comparatively tiny territory in 119 that she originally called home.

Safe to say, the pack here hadn't originally been here for any particular reason. It was just her pack wandering as usual, playing amongst the snow and looking for new friends to make. There was a light dusting of snowflakes coming down - one that'd occasionally have the pups shaking themselves off, so that the snow didn't melt into their fur. But as they moved, something would catch their attention... Namely, a set of trails in the snow.

One appeared to be from a human, and the other from a pokemon of some form. A trainer-pokemon duo? Ettie cocked her head as she looked the trail over - glancing in the direction it went. Judging by the interest that some of her packmates showed, the trail was fresh - whoever it belonged to had been through here not long ago. New friends, perhaps? Ettie would never say no to new friends! "Let's go!" She called, gesturing for the pack to follow.

Thus, the pack was off - following the twin trails through the snow with practiced ease. However, Anne couldn't help note something about the trails they were following....

... Namely, that there was another scent trail here. Fainter, older, but present; and this duo was following close to it. She casted a glance to Haru - and their eyes met, clearly thinking similar things. Whoever this duo was, they were tracking someone - and the lycanroc couldn't help but wonder who, and why...

But another question worth asking was, how long would it take before Nikita and Winters realized they were being followed? And how would they feel, about being followed by a pack of beasts...?

Ettie would glance at Josh - regarding him curiously as he both gave the cyclizar a name, Goroh, and mentioned a... Racing league? "Goroh good-name!" Ettie spoke with a bright smile. She didn't know if it meant anything like Ruffian or Princess did, but it had a nice mouthfeel to say and seemed easy to remember - which in Ettie's opinion, was enough to make a name good! "Ettie like!"

But the racing league would get Ettie's attention, too. "Race like... Lots-run?" Ettie questioned, tilting her head. Did other people like letting their pokemon play and run together, too? That sounded like fun! Maybe Duchess would enjoy something like that - even if it sounded like this specific... League, or whatever, was for cyclizars in particular. Maybe there was a league for electrikes, then?

But in any case, there were pokemon who needed tending. And though Josh claimed that Ettie didn't have to tend to them, the young girl shook her head. "Stop-bleed important. Cover important!" She spoke with a surprising amount of firmness - this wasn't something that she was going to budge on, from the sounds of things. Perhaps a good potion would've sufficed to treat the wounds - but from Ettie's perspective, just letting the wound remain uncovered was unsafe. Even for the more superficial scratches, leaving an open wound exposed while in the wild was just asking for it to be infected - even if they headed to a Pokecenter first-thing.

Better safe than sorry - Ettie knew how bad it could get if a wound was allowed to become infected, or worse.

And all that aside, it was clear that the Eeveelutions appreciated Ettie's care and attention. Though she was briefly startled by the sensation of Janus' psychic empathy, the feeling of the communicated emotions washing over her was... Warm. Soft.

And with Ettie's sensitivity, these feelings were all the stronger - all the more affirming. Ettie couldn't help being vaguely misty-eyed, at being able to feel the conveyed emotions so clearly and honestly and intimately. As if hoping to reciprocate fully, she'd gently hug Janus with a single arm - wiping her eyes briefly with her opposite hand - thinking hard on her own feelings, feelings of warmth and genuine affection for a friend, even if the espeon was someone she only just met. She wanted to make sure Janus knew her own feelings, too.

Pinky, too, seemed eager to show affection of her own, giving the little wildchild a hug with her feelings. Ettie couldn't help but giggle happily at this, returning the hug and nuzzling her cheek against Pinky's own. "No-bleed?" She asked, to double-check that everyone was tended to. It wouldn't do, to leave anyone hanging!

But from the looks of things, everyone was doing alright now - everyone had been tended to. At Josh's thanks, Ettie would nod and smile brightly to him. "Yes! Pack help pack. Pack protect pack!" She responded easily - being packmates was about looking after each other, after all.

With everything properly resolved though, they could return to a prior conversation - namely, one regarding Blinky's fur. Ettie nodded understandingly as Josh explained everything - it made sense, to make sure that Josh didn't get poked while he was riding - that probably would be unpleasant! But then came the question of if she'd seen how fast they could really get - to which she cocked her head thoughtfully, thinking hard on it for a few moments... Before shrugging. "Ettie not-know." She murmured - it was hard for her to know for sure if she'd seen the Eeveelutions at their fastest, unless Josh told her it was their fastest.

Were they at their fastest, when they had been chasing down the cyclizar? Cause then the answer would be yes, since she was watching! Or were they capable of going even faster than that?

Skipping

Josh Devlin

So Alola was a greeting? Ettie would smile brightly, nodding in understanding. She'd never heard of a place's name also being a greeting - but she supposed that was a way to make things easier to remember! "Alola!" She'd call to Toki with a giggle, being one to get straight to putting her newfound knowledge to use. This greeting even had a nice mouth-feel to it, really - A-lo-laaaaa~...

... Anne would watch with a hint of amusement, as Ettie began simply sounding out and enunciating the word to herself under her breath - the young wildchild happily swaying from side to side from her perch on the Lycanroc's back.

But safe to say, it seemed that the pokemon were getting along pretty nicely. Even if Ruffian didn't seem wholly interested in chasing the stick that Aylin was throwing, Duchess absolutely was! As soon as the stick is sent flying, she's running off as fast as her little electrike legs can carry her - practically skidding right past wherever it lands, just so that she can dart back the other direction and scoop the branch up in her mouth to bring it back. And once she had returned with the stick in turn, she sits down in front of Aylin - setting the stick down at her feet, and her tail wagging excitedly. Duchess is a good girl! She'll bring ALL of the sticks back!

Meanwhile, Azura only further convinced Ettie of her dogliness - namely, in the reciprocated play-bow and the bark-like calls that the little water-type made! Friend! Ettie would bark back with joy - getting closer to nuzzle Azura, before bouncing in place. Play! Play! Ettie wanted to play!

Ruffian, however, seemed more keen on trying to roughhouse - as he came in close to Aylin, and attempted to nip at the tinkatink with little 'rrrrruff!'s. He was itching for a tussle - and surely, one of Toki's pokemon would suffice, right? (Thankfully, it was likely hard to regard Ruffian as being genuinely threatening, when he was the smallest of the pack.)

But when Toki spoke, Ettie would pause in her attempts to play with Azura to regard him. "Toki-pack friends!" She responded easily, wiggling briefly. "Play fun! Play good!" Why wouldn't they play, when everyone here seemed so friendly? She wanted to get to know them!

But, ultimately, Toki wanted to get to Fortree - and wanted to ask for her help in it. She could do that! "Can lead! Toki-pack follow! We go?" She'd smile to him expectantly - were they gonna head out now, or later? She'd be happy to guide Toki and his pokemon straight to Fortree!

The mention of Azura, however, would make Ettie curious - and she would glance back to the popplio. "Azura sister?" She asked thoughtfully, reaching down to scritch her behind the ear. Anne was her first packmate, and is Ettie's sister - so maybe the same was true of Toki and Azura?

Uriah's presence wasn't immediately noticed by the pack - but it did not take long for multiple sets of eyes to be pointed in his direction. Anne would be the first to notice - pausing in another charge towards Haru, as her ears pricked at the sound of someone's approach. Once she came to a complete stop, she'd stare in Uriah's direction - her demeanor very much having the airs of a stare-down between wild pokemon, given her usual suspicion towards human strangers.

And once Anne had stopped mid-spar, Haru would be the next to notice - the braixen glancing over at Uriah with a hue of timidity and uncertainty, her shyness plain to see. Who was this person, she wondered?

But that was enough for Ettie to notice him next, the young wildchild perking up curiously at the notion of a visitor. "Oh! Hello, friends!" She greeted with a bright smile - briefly wiggling in place as if she were a happy granbull, or otherwise trying to wag a tail she didn't have.

(Much to Princess' chagrin, the Snubbull having been attempting to doze off on Ettie's lap.)

"Pack practice lots! Play-fight lots!" Ettie explained, gesturing animatedly towards her pokemon - before adding with a hint of reassurance "Friends not-intruder. Friend play-fight? Friend watch?" She would be more than happy to let Uriah's flapple join in, if they were interested!

And it was only now that Ruffian and Duchess would notice Uriah - both pups pausing in their spar (if it could even be called a spar,) to glance in his direction. The lillipup's eyes in particular would linger on the flapple that was flitting about the trainer, sizing up the little dragon for a potential fight. But Duchess, on the other hand, was just eager for more people to PLAY! with - her tail wagging as she yipped in greeting!

URIAH BLACK

A small and quiet communal garden, hidden away at the edge of Fortree - where the line between wild and civilized blurs. No one really knows who first set it up - or if it started as a natural hidden grove. But it's safe to say that everyone who knows of it - be they pokemon or human - often lend a hand in some shape or form, to ensure that the plants grown here are properly tended to.

• Slot One: Passho Berry
  - Planted: 11/16/2024
  - Harvestable: 1/12/2025
• Slot Two: Occa Berry
  - Planted: 11/16/2024
  - Harvestable: 1/12/2025
• Slot Three: Occa Berry
  - Planted: 11/16/2024
  - Harvestable: 1/12/2025
• Slot Four: Kasib Berry
  - Planted: 11/16/2024
  - Harvestable: 1/12/2025
• Slot Five: Kasib Berry
  - Planted: 11/16/2024
  - Harvestable: 1/12/2025
• Slot Six: Gard the Appletun
  - Ettie's Garden Pokemon

Certainly, for much of Ettie's day-to-day life, a lot of the downtime amongst the pack was spent partaking in general fun and shenanigans. When they weren't moving from place to place, or on a hunt, they were sure to be playing amongst themselves - or otherwise getting into shenanigans if they're in a city or town. But just playing tag or hide and seek wasn't always enough for everyone in the pack. Ruffian was always looking for his next opportunity to try and prove his strength - and Anne, being the more practical of the two packleaders, knew that they should keep their skills sharp; epecially for the pups, who were still growing.

Thus, it would be in Route 117 that the pack was gathered today - having found a clearing where there was plenty of open space to practice and train. Ruffian versus Duchess, and Anne versus Haru - they were paired up against one another, whilst Princess and Ettie watched from the sidelines.

Could Ettie be directing them? Perhaps - but outside of cooperative situations such as hunts, she was content to simply let them act and train by their own means. She trusted them to know what they wanted to do, after all! ... Though, maybe Princess could use some exercise, too. "Princess spar, later?" Ettie suggested, glancing down to the snubbull in her lap.

Princess grumbled softly and lazily in response - but slowly nodded. If it made them happy, she'd at least try. Maybe once Duchess was done roughhousing, she'd show Ruffian what-for?

But for now, there were the current training pairs - firstly, Duchess and Ruffian. It was, perhaps, a bit of an odd duo - though Ruffian wasn't ready to try his luck against Princess or Anne, and Haru was already occupied. Thus, Duchess was the remaining choice (unless he wanted to try sparring Ettie? It was an option, even if an odd one.)

All that aside, the spar in question was one of speed versus strength to say the least. Duchess' swift nature meant that she darted about Ruffian with ease - coming in with nipping Thunder Fangs, before darting out as Ruffian attempted to catch her with a Crunch. The lillipup growled - unable to help his frustrations at being unable to catch the flighty electrike just yet... But just you wait - the second he managed it, he'd come in like a truck!

On the other hand though, Haru and Anne's spar was a somewhat more equal fight - even if it focused mainly on helping Haru figure out her strengths. Given the braixen's tendency for quiet timidity, she likely needed a patient teacher more than a rival... And perhaps, a few more moves. The only attacking option that Haru had was Psybeam - which, while it did well in allowing her to fire upon the lycanroc from afar, she could likely use more options in her kit.

Not that Haru was an easy opponent to catch. Though Anne was able to catch up to her with Accelrock - darting forward with short bursts of speed to match Haru's consistent quicker pace - it seemed that the fox, somehow, would remain just one step ahead of her, each strike glancing at best, or a complete miss at worst. Was it Haru's Lucky Chant? It certainly felt as though a hex had been placed upon Anne...

Safe to say, both pairs had their own unique challenges to beat - but perhaps a newcomer could provide a new perspective?

BUYING
- 1x Lotad Pail (200 PD)
- 2x Grepa Berry (4 PD)

TOTAL: 204 PD

It seemed that this little pink pokemon was receptive to the friendly advances the pack made - and at the smile and wave, Duchess would yip happily - giving the little tinkatink a lick on the cheek, whilst wagging her tail. Yes! Most definitely friendshaped, in this electrike's opinion - they'll runrunrun together all around until they get tired!

But first, it appeared that the tinkatink had someplace that she wanted to lead them. Ettie cocked her head curiously, sharing a meaningful glance with Anne... But once the lycanroc sighed and nodded, Ettie would smile and gesture the pack with her - declaring "Lets follow friend!" And with that, they'd make their way after the little fairy-type.

Which as it turned out, the tinkatink would lead them to her trainer - a taller looking man, with dark skin and hair, and brown eyes. Was this the tinkatink's trainer? There were a few other pokemon here, too - namely, a popplio and fomantis! With these new individuals, the more rambunctious pups were clearly enthused - Duchess and Ruffian meeting with Aylin and Azura both.

Toki's greeting, however, would be met with a brief puzzled cock of Ettie's head. "Alola?" She repeated in response, wondering what that was. Was that another type of hello, like 'hi' or 'hey'? It sounded pretty different from the other greetings she knew, though - it didn't even start with an 'h' like they did!

But nonetheless, as Toki introduced himself, Ettie's eyes lit up with recognition - smiling brightly. Ettie knew rangers! Rangers were good! "Hello Toki! Am Ettie!" She chirped, wiggling like a happy Granbull. "Ettie-Anne from near-Fortree!" She'd explain briefly with a gesture to indicate the lycanroc in question, in her usual simple speech. It was hard to say if the wilds of 119 counted as 'near Fortree', but it worked well enough in the young wildchild's opinion.

Then came the question of Toki's other pokemon - which, Ettie would smile brightly. "More friends! Good friends! Good Toki-pack!" She spoke cheerily - seeming curious of Azura in particular. But, first came Toki's question as to Ettie's own pack - to which the young girl smiled. "Is Ettie-pack! Is Anne-Sister, Duchess, Princess, Ruffian, Haru!" She spoke - pointing to indicate each pokemon. "Pack good!"

Whilst Ettie introduced the pack though, most of them would be minging with Toki's own pokemon. Whereas Duchess and Ruffian were hanging out with Azura and Aylin, Haru and Princess would take to settling down near Malik. The Snubbull would curl up on the grass, dozing off near-immediately... whereas Haru seemed content to just sit down someplace quiet and calm. The only one who didn't immediately interact with Toki's pokemon was Anne - who instead would remain near Ettie, her eyes watching the Ranger cadet carefully.

But, once introductions were out of the way, Ettie would beeline for investigating Toki's pokemon - namely, Azura. The little popplio kind of looked like a canid pokemon - with floppy little ears, an odd set of paws, and a pointed muzzle... But was she a puppy? Ettie cocked her head curiously, before dropping down into a playbow, barking at Azura in a playful greeting. "Arf!"

Skipping both

Another strange thing to note, was the water running down from Resheph. Anne couldn't help but make a displeased grumble from the sensation of the water - shaking herself off as she backed away from the dragonair, even if she didn't necessarily get soaked. The lycanroc had a distinct dislike for getting wet though - even beyond how most rock-types shied away from water-types. Sitting around in the rain, going through a river... No thanks, in her opinion.

But nonetheless - when Resheph was struck by the Spark, the pack would react with collective alarm and confusion. Was she okay? It seemed like that hurt a lot more than it should've - but... At the very least, though Resheph was winded from the strike, she seemed okay - though Ettie would still take the time to pat the dragonair. "Rest if need, friend." She reminded Resheph, with a gentle smile.

But that did raise the question as to what to test next - and though Ettie took the time to look over the other pups with a thoughtful hum...

... Anne already had an idea of who should go next. Stepping over to where Princess had dozed off - leaning against a rock - she would nudge at the snubbull with her nose, chuffing gently. And as Princess stirred with a grumble, Anne would nudge her in Resheph's direction - the lycanroc's actions deliberate.

"Oh! Yes! Princess!" Ettie spoke - her eyes lighting up as she caught on to Anne's plan. "Princess help!" Princess had plenty of different types of moves that she could use, after all!

Princess would lazily glance between her packmates, and then at Resheph - the Snubbull yawning briefly as she got up to her feet. She wasn't entirely sure about what was going on, or why the dragonair looked like that... But if Anne wanted her to use some moves, then she supposed she could do so before she went back to sleep...

Toddling up, Princess looked Resheph up and down - before deciding to, first things first, use Lick - lolling out her large tongue, before running it against the cool watery scales sloppily. (Which, she found it to taste like that mineral water that Ettie had gotten once.)

She'd work her jaw a moment thoughtfully - though when Anne 'whuff'd instructions at her, the snubbull followed them dutifully. Fangs taking on an frosty blue glow, Princess would lean in to nip at Resheph with an Ice Fang - briefly watching the dragonair's expression for any adverse reactions.

Finally though, came Princess' Play Rough - which... Though she wasn't initially sure how to be gentle when 'rough' was in the move's name, she'd settle on just flailing her little arms at Resheph, as if she were trying to have a slapfight with the serpentine dragon. Hopefully, this would suffice!

Josh Devlin

Ettie couldn't help but deflate a little, at the lack of proper response to her remarks and questions. She supposed it was okay - Resheph was really pretty right now, and she'd be pretty distracted by something like this too if a packmate became all glowy-pretty-shiny! Who wouldn't want to just spend all day, admiring that beautiful glow, and watching the sinuous snake move through the air like a figure skater?

... She still kinda wanted to try doing it too, though... Maybe she could borrow the orb, when Josh was done with this stuff? (Though her idea of 'borrowing' might be slightly different from Josh's, even if she had every intention of giving it back afterwards.)

But in any case - Josh wanted some help in teaching something, namely in how Resheph might react to different kinds of attacks. Ruffian would perk up visibly at this - the pup clearly relishing the chance to tussle... But, the clarification that they had to be gentle would make the lillipup grumble - his enthusiasm for this disappearing just as quickly as it came. Figures, he wouldn't get a chance to go all out...

But Ettie, on the other hand, was plenty eager to help. "Okay! Ettie help!" She spoke with a bright smile - glancing over to the pack. Who should go first... "Anne try?" She'd suggest, patting the lycanroc's side.

Anne would regard Resheph thoughtfully for a few moments - looking the dragonair up and down... Before nodding, stepping forward towards the dragon(?)-type with a gentle chuff. If they were being gentle, and if Resheph was willing, then she could oblige. Hunkering down briefly, she would take a position as if preparing to pounce...

... Before suddenly darting forwards, in an Accelrock! She would scrape her pointed mane and claws against Resheph in a well-measured glancing blow as she passed - being mindful to not truly pierce the scales. Anne may favor strength over speed, but she knew her strength very well - especially for playing with rambunctious packmates.

And as she skidded to a stop at the opposite side of the dragonair, Anne would turn around before darting in once again. But this time, she'd snap her teeth forward as she came in close, nipping at Resheph with a Crunch just hard enough for her fangs to scrape. This up close though, the lycanroc couldn't help but note the humidity that Resheph's scent gave off right now - something that the wolf found quite strange, to say the least...

Ettie tilted her head a little bit, at the different terms that Josh was dropping on her. Terastallization, Z-moves, Mega Evolution...? "Ettie not know..." She spoke, her confusion plain to see on her face. Though she could understand that they're all fueled by this 'primal energy', whatever it was... She still didn't wholly get what they were, otherwise! At best, she knew that Z-Moves were stronger moves that some pokemon could do, and the Tera-whatever stuff looked as though it was related to the pretty-glowy-shiny stuff. It was all pretty complicated for the young girl, though - especially given that she'd only recently been exposed to these odd phenomenons... A lot of this wasn't something she usually had to learn in the wild!

The further explanation - that Saber couldn't Terastallize because he had already used up his energy in the Z-move - was a little easier to digest though, even if the subject at large was still beyond her. So she was kind of right - he was just tuckered out, and that's why it didn't work! Saber just needed some rest, and then they could try again, surely.

But in the meantime, Josh would bring out Resheph - and with the elegant dragonair, he'd once more attempt to Terastallize. The Primal Energy begun to swirl about the duo once more - the same brilliant shine that Ettie had seen from that mystery wild pokemon before. The pack watched on in awe as the dragonair was enveloped in crystals ever so briefly - before bursting free, like a butterfree emerging from its chrysalis. It was a dazzling display, one that was met with clear admiration. "Pretty..." Ettie breathed, ever so softly. The dragon had become like a beacon in the night, with her gentle yet brilliant glow - azure like water.

Clearly enthused by it all, Ettie would now turn her attentions to Josh - her gaze wide and eager. "Ettie try?" She wanted to make her pack all shiny-pretty-glowy, too! She wanted to see what they thought of doing what Resheph just did! Surely it'd be easy, if Josh was able to do it just like that, right?

Ettie's eyes lit up in recognition, at thr reasoning for Shawn's current state. Though she didn't wholly understand this 'Hypersonic Plasma Charge' - besides it potentially being what had them going so fast - the idea of going at such ludicrous speeds definitely seemed dizzying to the wildchild. "Ooohhh...." She'd murmur thoughtfully, before glancing over to the gym trainer in question. Approaching him, she'd reach up the best she could to give Shawn a comforting pat, saying "Friend rest lots!" He'd feel better in no time, she was sure, if he took it easy for a bit.

The tera orb, however, was certainly a curious item. Josh's warnings may have ended up being slightly too late - Ettie making a soft, surprised noise as her fingertip was nicked on one of the sharp edges... But the resulting cut ultimately added up into being a paper cut, and she'd pop her fingertip into her mouth to suck on it briefly. "Why sharp...?" She wondered out loud - furrowing her brows thoughtfully. There didn't seem to be much reason to make it sharp, right? Unless... you were meant to throw it at your enemy?

But it seemed that Josh had another idea - because he'd bring up the Tera Orb, with the plans to put its actual function to use! As Primal Energy began to swirl about the duo, Ettie's eyes lit up with excitement, and she'd point, saying "Yes! That glowy-shiny! Same glowy-shiny!"

... However - just as suddenly as Josh had begun whatever the process was, it had ended abruptly - with seemingly no clear reason why. Ettie blinked; cocking her head from one side, and then the other, like the confused pup that she was. "What happen...?" She wondered out loud, stepping closer to try and eyeball both Saber's Tera Shard, as well as the Tera Orb. Was something not working as it should...?

Maybe Saber just wasn't feeling up to the task? "Friend dizzy-tired?" She'd ask the manectric in question, idly scritching the electric wolf behind the ear. "Want rest?"

Haru would approach as well - even if somewhat timidly - the Braixen glancing to the Tera Orb with intrigue... Did she want to figure out this strange new object, too?