~battle number/// second gym!

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron had entered Beeville. At last, she was in civilization again! It seemed like forever since she had last been in a town, since a lot had happened since then. She'd crossed routes four and five, dealing with a tricky Mismagius and a gang of vagabonds, catching two new additions to her party; Valitu the Linoone, and Festino the Eevee. These names were Latin, Festino meaning to hasten, which suited Eevee's personality perfectly, while Valitu came from valiturus, 'to be strong'. She had picked these while walking from the forest to the town. The Espeon 'morph was smiling. She knew Smiteful Forest either had good or bad happenings. She supposed she'd had a bad happening, but gotten good out of it; she'd caught two Pokémon, and Mizu the Buizel had evolved.

At the moment, Fiela and Fairo were out of their Pokéballs, walking along either side of her. They were feeling pretty good about life right now, and Sulteron began to head towards a Pokémon Centre. Oh, good! They would be healed. She entered the building, looking around her. It was a typical Pokémon Centre, really; trainers and coordinators milling about, only these were a little more experienced than last time. ~Let's get healed already.~[/color] Fairo the shiny Charmeleon complained impatiently. She smiled, then approached the counter. Once Nurse Joy had healed all six of her party Pokémon to full health, she turned to the PC on one side of the room. "I think I might make a little party change." she said softly to Fairo and Fiela. They shrugged, following her.

She booted up the PC, looking at the little images of the three Pokémon in there; an Electrivire, Linoone and Eevee. The next gym specialized in Combee and Vespiquen, so Fairo, Minati, Prisul and perhaps Fiela and Zen to a lesser extent would be useful. However, Festino and Vilatu would be better suited to the coming routes than Mizu. She placed Mizu's Pokéball in the slot, ready to head into the PC. Festino needed more training than Vilatu, so she decided to pick him to take out her PC. When she shut down the PC and left, she no longer had Mizu the Floatzel with her, instead having Festino the Eevee, much to Fiela's delight. The Eevee was sitting in Sulteron's arms, prefering this to his Pokéball.

As Sulteron walked to the gym, they passed a Pokémart. Festino wriggled and squirmed. ~Sulteron, please! a Pokémart! See if they have any Leaf Stones, I wanna evolve!~[/color] he whined. Sulteron wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but it was what the fox wanted. She entered the building and approached the counter. "Do you have any Leaf Stones?" she asked.[/size]

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

It had been a pretty drab day, yet Nurse Joy remained as cheerful and light-hearted as always when she healed Sulteron's Pokemon. She bowed as Sulteron laughed, then proceeded to wave and smile.

A head perked up at the sound of someone entering the Pokemart. It had about mid-neck-length ginger, glossy hair, and was wavy. The woman had some bright pink lipstick on, and looked quite up-to-fashion. If Brock were here, it'd be another woman he'd go after, only to be Poison Jabbed by his Croagunk.
"Leaf Stones? I'm sure we do, somewhere around here..." she said, standing up. "Please wait here one moment. If we have any, they'll be in the back, not on the shelves." she said with a smile. A couple of minutes passed before she returned, a Leaf Stone in hand. "If I remember correctly, the price is five thousand," she said with a smile as she placed it on the counter, pushing it to the other side for Sulteron.

[/size]

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron counted out 5,000 SH, and smiled. She had that! She handed it over to the clerk, taking the Leaf Stone in return. She examined it briefly, before turning to Festino. "Are you sure you want to go through with this right now?" she asked him, making sure they made no mistakes; there was no going back, after all. The Eevee nodded. ~Just gimme already!~[/color] he whined. Before the Espeon 'morph could react, he'd made a dive for the Leaf Stone.

The rock came into contact with Festino, and that was all that was needed. He smiled in delight as he found himself shining brightly, form changing. He allowed this to happen with great relish, looking around when he found himself a taller, stronger Leafeon. Fiela gave a little sigh, which boosted Festino's ego a fair bit. He didn't love Fiela, but it sure was fun having her love him.

Sulteron looked at Festino. "Right, then! Who wants to go challenge a gym leader?" she asked her Pokémon. Of course, as expected the answer came in the form of an all-round, enthusiastic 'yes', so she led the way over to the gym. The gym leader trained Combees, right? Well, Fairo would do well. She located the building thanks to how much it stood out, and entered, looking about. "Hello? My name's Sulteron, and I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" she called.

ooc// Money deducted.[/size]

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

The Gym was empty of any Trainer or Pokemon from the first look. However, a half minute after Sulteron had entered, a buzzing sound came closer, almost as if it were relaxed or taking its time. A single Combee drifted toward Sulteron, the expression on its face not what you'd expect. Instead of the three happy faces you'd see, each one looked a bit sad. <If you're looking for a gym battle, today isn't the right day.>

[/color] the Combee said. <You see, Crombee has been absent for a couple of days now, and nobody has seen him. They've tried his house a few times, but no one answers the door. His Vespiqueen is the only thing we've seen that moves in his house, and she refuses to come out, and nobody dares enter.>[/color] he said.

[/blockquote][/size]

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron looked at the Combee, instantly seeing something was up by his expression. Aw, the poor thing looked terribly sad! She listened to what the honey-maker had to say. W-what? Crombee was absent, no-one answering the door at his house? No-one would come out, and no-one dared to enter. What could be wrong with Crombee? She supposed a lot of trainers would leave and just wait, but she wanted to do something about this. What if the gym leader needed help?

If that were true, then the Espeon 'morph had a number of theories in mind. He could be ill, but why hide yourself completely for being ill? Surely you would let a doctor in! Sulteron couldn't understand what was happening, and wanted to try and help, or at least get a better look at the situation. The Combee here would definately be of good use in this situation. "Combee, I think I want to try and help. Could you please lead me to Crombee's house? I'll see what's wrong and perhaps be able to help a little." she asked the Bug type.

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

<Well, if you can get past Mistress Vespiqueen, then by all means, figure out what's going on in there.> the Combee said. <Follow me, follow me...> it said with a heavy sigh, buzzing deeper into the Gym. A few other Combee poked their heads out from the trees inside and murmuring amongst themselves. Odd... wouldn't Crombee's house have been outside? Alas, no; after about a hundred meters of walking, and a steady walk downward, there lay a building by itself. It was quite small, and had paintings of Combee all over it. There was only one window that you could look in, but the yellow Combee-decorated curtains were drawn tightly shut, and the faint outline of a Vespiqueen could be seen within. <This is as far as I'll go. I'll probably already get yelled at by Mistress Vespiqueen for leading a stranger here. Good luck getting in.>

[/color] the Combee said as it buzzed off. Well, there are many options for gaining access to the interior of the house. Just waltz in, and likely piss off the Vespiqueen and have her attack you directly, knock on the door politely, or, well... whatever else might come to mind.

[/size][/blockquote]

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron watched Combee fly off, wondering what to do. She wasn't sure whether Vespiquen would let her inside the odd building-in-a-building. There was a window... nooo. If the Bug type didn't like people coming in through the door, Sulteron could imagine how angry she'd be if she entered through a window, probably braking something. So, she supposed her best option was probably the door, but she doubted she'd be let in that way. Meh, it was worth a try. Maybe, just maybe, the stubborn queen bee would see that she wanted to help and tell her what was wrong.

Sulteron moved around to face the door, a little nervous. Well, there was only one thing for it, she supposed. The Espeon 'morph reached out and knocked hard on the door; Vesiqueen would here that. She called out to the interior of the building, too. "Hello? I'm here to help! Could you please tell me what's wrong with Crombee? I promise I'll do everything I can to make things better." she said, hoping she wouldn't be ignored.

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

There was a very distinct noise coming from inside the small house; a loud buzzing, if you will.
+Help? Ha! That's what the last person I let in said! Go away!+

[/color] a very angry feminine voice roared through the door. +Traitors! Heresy! Using poison! DESPICABLE!+[/color] she roared again. Alright, so that was a start; Crombee had perhaps been sick before, and when the Vespiqueen let someone else in, they ended up making his condition worse. Or, so it would seem that way.
+Shady characters, they were...+[/color] the voice of the Combee that had guided you earlier sounded behind them. +Told Mistress Vespiqueen they didn't look too friendly, but Crombee needed some special medicine, which they claimed to have.+[/color] he said quietly, so as to not be heard by the Vespiqueen. +You can only imagine what happened next. Mistress Vespiqueen was furious, and ended up taking out both of the teams that were sent against her, making the two shady people flee. However, they did leave their mark.+[/color] Combee said, gazing back toward the entrance, almost as if he expected the two to return, bursting through the door at any given moment to finish the job.

[/size][/blockquote]

[~/Birdybot\~]

It wasn't much of a surprise to Sulteron that Vespiqueen was refusing to allow her entrance. Combee's story, on the other hand, she hadn't expected. Poison? Why would anyone want to poison a gym leader? What was there to gain from that, exactly? Maybe they had wanted to steal some of Crombee's Combees. Yes, that seemed like a possibility. Now, she was no doctor, but she knew she would definately need some more information before she would be able to help Crombee.

These shady people. Sulteron wondered who they had been. Possibly members of team Vex, of course. But what sort of poison was this, and what condition was Crombee in? Surely the people hadn't wanted a murder on their hands over Combees, in which case he would just be ill. But she still couldn't understand. "Clearly, they wanted something. I was thinking perhaps Combees, but who would go to all the trouble of poisoning a gym leader to kidnap you? Unless... unless they plan to return. Yes, that could be it. Maybe they want to come back while Crombee can't to anything about it. Combee, what do you know of Crombee's condition?" she asked, hoping this would help.

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

<Sorry, but I don’t know much. The only ones that know his condition are him, his Mistress Vespiqueen and his two personal Combee. The two Combee come out every now and then, but only to gather honey. They say that Mistress Vespiqueen has told them not to interact with any of us or any other humans for fear of word spreading on his condition and the people returning to finish the job.>

[/color] the Combee said, giving something that might’ve resembled a shrug. <That is a good theory, however… Today will have been four days that he’s been in there. I believe that his two Combee are bringing him honey to help him with the poison. It seems to at least make it neutral, or Mistress Vespiqueen would be in an even greater fit of rage and would attack anyone who came near the house instead of just yelling at them to begone.>[/color] the Combee said. It was just common sense, and for the most part true.

“How long have I been in here?” a tired voice asked, full of pain, suffering and exhaustion.
<Today is the fourth day.>[/color] the Vespiqueen replied reluctantly.
“Oh, my… I bet everyone is wondering where I am…” the same voice said.
<Indeed. I’ve kept everyone away from here, in case they pretend to be those bad people again and want to finish you off.>[/color] the Vespiqueen said, hovering next to the bed.
“Don’t be so… stingy. If you keep everyone away, they’ll start to think you’re rebelling or something.” The man in the bed said with a light-hearted chuckle, coughing, and then rolling over to spew in a wastebasket that was about half-full of dark green and tan gunk. The talking was in low voices, but if you were close enough to the building, you could hear the sounds of someone definitely sick inside upchucking his guts.
<Well, it seems as though you’re getting better…>[/color] the Vespiqueen noted. <You haven’t done as much today as you have the past few days.>[/color] the Vespiqueen said optimistically.
“So it seems…” the man said with a groan, laying back on his back and laying his arm across his forehead. “No sign of them returning?” he asked.
<Not a single clue.>[/color] the Vespiqueen said bitterly.
“Good… perhaps by tomorrow I’ll be well enough to move around…” the man said. Little did he know that the poison he had ingested was not one that would go away so easily. It may go dormant for a while, but the symptoms of fever would come and go unless the poison was extracted from him completely, in which case he’d need medical help for that to happen.

[/size][/blockquote]

[~/Birdybot\~]

So, Crombee was stuck in there with a mystery illness and Vespiqueen wasn't letting anyone know about it, not even the Combee. It might just be her, but Sulteron was fairly certain that hiding wasn't the best way of combatting the poison. If they didn't trust a doctor to come to them, why couldn't they go to a doctor? Or a hospital? Surely there was no harm in that. They would be able to extract it from him with some sciencey method. In fact, had Crombee even had any tests done to find out what exactly this was?

She heard the sound of puking, and grimaced. Just... wonderful. Just what she needed. Well, she needed to help somehow, whether or now Vespiqueen trusted anyone. There had to be some way of getting her to trust in the Espeon 'morph! But she just didn't know how. There had to be a way, but as of yet it was a mystery. She could only try giving advice. "Vespiqueen, you can trust me! Seriously, I'm just concerned about Crombee! Why don't you just take him to the hospital? I'm sure he'll be safe there, and they'll be able to find out what's wrong and cure him! If he comes to any harm, you could sue, right?" she pointed out, making sure not to mention the fact that she knew he was poisoned since she didn't want Combee to get in trouble.

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

<Who says he needed a cure? He'll be fine here!> the Vespiquen shouted back.
"Oh, come now... quit fighting with the guests. This one just sounds like a concerned kid who probably came looking for a battle." the man said, sounding a bit agitated.
<But, Crombee! I-

[/color] the Vespiquen started, but was quickly interrupted by her trainer.
"I understand your concern. If it turns out to be another one of those people, you can just shoo them off again. All of the Combee will be at your side." he said with a smile. Crombee sat up and leaned against the bedpost, glad to be able to move that much without passing out or getting dizzy. He looked at his Vespiquen, knowing that she was guilty for the way she'd been acting. "Go let the guests in. I'll try to freshen it up in here a bit," he said, kicking the blankets off and dangling his legs over the side of the bed. With great effort, he heaved himself to his feet, only to fall forward, and be caught by his Vespiquen.
<You should still be resting. Let me take care of it.>[/color] the Vespiquen said, helping him stand upright.
"No, no, it's fine... I just haven't walked for a while. I need to get back into shape. Being in bed for a few days isn't that great, let me tell you." he said, taking a few steps forward. After a bit, he finally got the hang of it.

It seemed to be silent for quite a while after the angry and over-protective Vespiquen's last shouts, but the door opened slowly, revealing the Vespiquen. <Come in, if you wish. I'll be watching you.> she warned, leaving the door slightly ajar. A sweet aroma came from within; smelled like sweet honey and flowers of all kinds. Perhaps it was from the freshening up of the small cottage, or maybe it just always smelled like that? Crombee was in a tank-top, long, baggy shorts and long tube socks. His glasses were off and his hair was a mess. Despite these things, he sat at a coffee table just inside, drinking some sort of hot liquid.

[/size][/blockquote]

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron was surprised that Vespiquen actually had let her enter, and looked about. The place looked quite cosy, to be honest. There was no scent of anything Crombee might have been... er, expelling through his mouth. Instead, their was a lovely smell of flowers and honey. It smelled like the home of a Combee/Vespiquen fanatic should. The Espeon 'morph smiled at the smell, looking at Crombee himself next. He didn't look too good, but seemed to be on the mend, drinking hot liquid- being English, Sulteron's thoughts turned to tea. It might not be tea, though. It could be coffee, or hot chocolate, or medicine. Maybe a herbal tea or something with honey in it. Whatever.

Sulteron's tail flicked as she glanced to Vespiquen. She hoped the Bug type wouldn't kick her out again. Festino looked like he was deperate to do something stupid; he was stopped by a stern glance from his trainer. Fairo gave a grin at that, nodding to Vespiquen in respect as he entered. Sulteron sat down next to Crombee, a little unsure of what to do. She gave him a friendly smile, a genuine one. "Hi, my name's Sulteron. These three are Fairo, Fiela and Festino. I came looking for a gym battle, but I guess you're not exactly in the best shape." she introduced herself. Now that she'd introduced her Pokémon, she realised that their names all began with an 'F'. Hehe.

~Are you feeling better now? Do you know what was wrong?~[/color] Fiela asked curiously. Fairo thought this might seem a bit rude, so added, ~Is there any way we can help?~[/color] Sulteron understood, but thought that Crombee probably couldn't, so translated for him. "They want to know if you're feeling better, if you know what was wrong, and if there's a way we can help." she smiled, watching Festino cautiously. It wasn't like him to be this quiet- she suspected he might be plotting something.[/size]

[{ ~ Ironhide ; ; }]

The Vespiquen kept to herself, staying on the opposite side of the room. This... trainer... that the girl claimed to be looked rather odd. And she had three Pokemon out; why so many, unless she was planning on doing something with them? She didn't say or do anything, but kept a close eye on the three of them. The drink that Crombee was drinking, a mix of honey and herbal tea, seemed to be helping somewhat. A slight bit of color was returning to his currently pale skin.

Crombee smiled at Sulteron as she sat down at the table by him. "A pleasure to meet you all. Give me a day or so and I'll be ready to take on a challenger or two." he said. "Excuse my Vespiquen's behavior... she doesn't really trust anyone now after what happened." he said with a sigh. "You didn't notice anything strange when you came in, did you? Nobody lurking around?" he asked, tapping a finger on the table. He looked down to the mutated Espeon and the Shiny Charmeleon. She had quite the bunch of odd ones, she did. "Thanks for the translation, but I can understand quite fine, thanks," he said cheerfully. "I don't know for certain what exactly it was, but it was some kind of poison I hadn't encountered before. As far as helping, I think I'm fine for now. Thanks for the offer, though," he said graciously. "Would you like some honey tea?" he asked cheerfully.

---

"I'm telling you, we shoulda came here sooner!"
"We weren't able to until today. This is the last day we will be able to do anything about the honey we planned on hoarding. This time, we'll be ready. If that Vespiquen gets in the way again, we'll use-"
"Yeah, yeah. We know, already! Cut the chatter, and let's get it over with!"
"But, we're missing someone..."
"Blast it all! He's always late..."
"Well, it was a last minute call... with him around, there's no way we can fail."
"Fine. I'll give him five more minutes."

A shady bunch of characters stood at the edge of Beeville. If any of the Combee, Crombee, or the Vespiquen were to see them, they'd immediately recognize them as the people who had poisoned him earlier. Wonder what's going to go down?

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron frowned. People lurking around? Should she have? She supposed that would have been the people who poisoned him. Why would anyone want to do that, she couldn't fathom. Whatever, it seemed there might still be a little danger to the gym leader. Hopefully, the people would leave, and everything would be fine again. She tried to keep this out of her mind, but it did keep bugging her a little as she decided to think of how he could understand Pokémon instead. She was impressed; not many humans could do that. Maybe he was secrectly part Combee or something. She smiled at the thought.

"Yes, thank you." she said, taking a mug of tea and tasting it. Man, that was good! Nice and sweet from the honey, but still retaining its teaish goodness. "I didn't see anyone suspicious lurking about, no. If I do during my stay here, I'll let one of your Combees know." she promised him. Of course, she was unaware of the people outside the gym. What were they up to, exactly? Would they attack again? Sulteron remained oblivious to it all as she continued chatting with Crombee.