Welcome to Gaia! ::

Somewhere half a mile or so away, at the decimated and destroyed ruins of the Safari Zone lobby in Hoenn, Bant sat atop his Torterra, enjoying a rare moment of peace whilst cleaning a shovel he had found on an excursion into the dense overgrown foliage of the old Safari Zone.

The crumbled walls of the lounge provided more than enough of a safe haven for Bant, and while Torterra had indeed had to Rock Smash an opening on the side of the building since the main entrance had been caved in, the interior was more than roomy enough for Torterra to sit comfortably and enjoy a nice bowl of water from Vaporeon's Water Gun.

Ten feet away, Alakazam sat, concentrating his focus on maintaining the Light Screen it had created to protect the entrance Torterra had made from the dangers of the outside wasteland. Next to it, Absol lay still, trying to Detect any human activity it could, per Bant's request.

Bant sighed, put down the shovel, and glanced at his belt. He could only wonder where Sableye had run off to and what kind of mischief it was causing. With Tropius safely inside its Poke Ball, and Vaporeon simply enjoying a rest from all the constant walking, Sableye was the only one unaccounted for.

I shouldn't worry..., thought Bant, He's probably just off looking for some diamonds to eat since it detests Tropius' fruit so much.

Absol suddenly sat up, alert, eyes glowing a clear light blue shade. It looked at Bant, and he nodded. As his belt lit up and all but Torterra returned to its Poke Ball, Bant sighed and muttered, "Survivors...time for another raid..."

The eastern wall of the Safari Zone lounge burst outwards and sent rubble everywhere as Torterra Rock Smash'd through. Bant stood atop Torterra with one leg forward, his feet firmly planted as Torterra swiftly moved through the rough, broken terrain of Route 121 with its Rock Climb attack.

Looking onwards, he kept an eye out for any indications of how far he was from the group, basing his distance on the images that Absol had shown him mentally. Noticing a familiar-shaped knot of trees, he knew he was close.

"Slow down, Torterra. This is where you stop."

Torterra slowed its advance, and Bant grabbed his shovel and hopped off; Torterra became engulfed in bright red energy as it returned itself to its Poke Ball. He lit a cigar, preparing himself mentally for the chore at hand; according to Absol, the group of people was rather large, at least larger than one would expect to find out in the wasteland.

Finishing his cigar, he grasped the handle of the shovel in his right hand, walking to a cliff that overlooked the rest of the area to the south and southeast. The area was mostly overgrown weeds with scattered debris; there was, however, a trail that he assumed led to the Lilycove City ruins with a small house near a rocky outcropping on the side of the trail.

Peering down upon the the small dwelling, he knew that the group of survivors were inside.

He looked at Mount Pyre and the dried-up lake surrounding it to the south; the fog covering the top of the mountain seemed to glow more than usual in the dark post-apocalyptic sky, and had since engulfed the entire mountain and lake in a dense mist.

A curious gleam caught his eye; in the lakebed, there seemed to be two light blue lights that shined for about five seconds at a time, faded, and then occured again. He drew comfort from this; knowing that he'll have unexpected help from a friend in his coming attack. He nodded, and for a split second there seemed to be a wide smile underneath the lights before they ceased to flash.

Confident, he turned around, lit another cigar, and walked slowly down the trail that led down the cliff towards the house, mentally preparing himself for any and all preemptive attacks that may be made on him out alone on a seemingly commonly-used trail.

Bant saw movement ahead. Someone was waving their arms at him.

Bant stopped in the middle of the trail. He wasn't sure if it was a Ranger; nonetheless, he couldn't pass up this chance to get any supplies he could from people so foolish as to walk down a trail alone unprepared. His hand instinctively reached for the shovel strapped to his waist, and gripped the handle tight. He turned his body as to hide the fact that he was reaching for the shovel. A cheap, unexpected blow could in fact be the difference between life and death in the wasteland, after all.

The person approaching him was a female, and did not seem hostile. What appeared to be an Eevee was with her, though he did not know if she had Pokemon in stock or in the surrounding debris, lying in wait.

He steadied his gaze, watching the approaching trainer for anything that would hint at an attack.

His belt suddenly erupted a red flash of searing light, and even Bant was surprised when Vaporeon appeared at his side, ready unlike any other time; she generally preferred not to fight but rather assist in escape in his attempts at raiding. He smirked, and returned his gaze to the girl walking towards him, cigar burning profusely from his heavy breathing due to anticipation.