Obvious exits:
West <W> leads to Commerce Road - Route 7: Sunny Offshoot.
North <N> leads to Hop Hop Town: South Entrance.
East <E> leads to Saffron City: West Gates.
Southwest <SW> leads to Commerce Road - Route 7: Cache Creek.

Soki arrives from Commerce Road - Route 7: Sunny Offshoot.
Soki has arrived.

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty. In the forest, fiery red, gold, and orange leaves rustle and blow past you, swirling in the wind. While at the coast, the sea is a warm blue, reflecting the saved warmth from the summer, and the waves are gentle.

The land here is barren. Except for the occasional shrub and perhaps a tree here and there, only the shabby wooden structures of the area contrast from the low grass, caked mud, and dirt. It's not exactly terrain Peppy's used to - but having said that, few pokemon can adjust to wide open spaces in the first place. His head lowered to the ground, his steps slow and tired, Peppy doesn't seem to be marching along proudly; he looks plum exhausted. His mate is nowhere to be found, but undoubtedly she's resting or taking a nap while he hunts - that why explain why the pup's sniffing around here and there. Hey, it's a heck of a lot harder to walk when you're not only carrying yourself but multiple little puppies as well, and that's why Peppy, despite his sleepy condition, bears a determined little smile on his fuzzy face, keeping a grin-and-bear-it attitude in mind.

That same grin-and-bear-it attitude is what kept Soki alive for his entire life up to exacting his revenge, so why give it up once that was over? That said, a small platoon of Pokemon are heading Saffronward, amongst them a Ponyta, a Cubone, a Clefairy, and, of course, a Sandslash, all but one of them looking as though they'd love a nice, long, sit. Only one guess as to the one who isn't ready to pack it in for the day.

Plop, plop, plop. Well, Peppy's been pretty unsuccessful these last few days, but he's not all to blame; many trainers of this region understand that the closer route 7 gets to the city, the fewer pokemon found in the environment, almost undoubtedly a direct result of the constant flow of people wandering about the area. Thus, it's not quite easy for your average Fuzzy Puppy to find Helpless Rattatas. Still, Peppy seems to keep himself from getting stressed out - somehow. Plop, plop, plo-*stop*. The Growlithe halts right in the middle of a step, his eyes still directed towards the ground, his tail suddenly jumping into an erect position. He smells something. ... No, make that lots of somethings. Quite a few somethings, actually. "Grrrowlithe?" the canine pokemon asks himself rhetorically, sniffing a couple more times as he motions his muzzle even closer to the ground, now slipping along at an even faster rate. It doesn't smell like a Rattata - but hey, you never know.

After a comment by the Cubone, Soki answers, <Not yet. We have to make the human city by nightfall.> This ellicits an underbreathed mutter by the Cubone of the type that Soki's learned to ignore. The Cubone's got his own side of this deal to look forward to, so he really hasn't the right to complain. Of course, in Soki's mind, few people ever have the right to complain. As of yet, the Team hasn't detected Peppy's presense, but that's because the team leader's tuning everything out again, and the ones with the better sense of smell can't pick the Growlithe up because he's downwind.

Okay, it kind of sort of -maybe- smells like that thing Peppy talked to the other day. The one who screamed at air and is going to have 'Cubone babies'. This is mixed up with a bunch of less familiar smells (he must not have quite had the chance to pick up Soki's scent - undoubtedly because he was cowering in fear from the giant Charizard at the time), of course, so Peppy can't quite be too sure. Step step sniff sniff step step sniff. Here the Growlithe stops inhaling for a moment to lift his head off the ground, perhaps to see if he can visually locate the position of whatever in the world he's smelling. It doesn't take him long - the landscape is, after all, barren. <Is that a Rattata?> the pup asks himself uncertainly, glancing to the side before back at Soki's band. Fwoosh! Peppy kicks off of the ground and heads into a fast trot - not quite a sprint, but perhaps enough to catch the more timid pokemon of the party off guard. <Hey! Hey! Are any of you pokemon a Rattata?> he howls as he rushes, as if he's really going to say, '<Oh, okay, then can I eat you?>' if one says yes.

Snatch your backpack, steal your purse, save the data from this curse! (Psykitt-- eh, Saving)

Peppy's actions prompt a sudden switch in the party's formation. The Clefairy darts to the front and Soki is suddenly on guard at the back, looking for the intruder that yelled at them. However, as soon as he recognizes Peppy's face from a night or two ago, Soki drops his guard and says, <Oh, it's you. No, none of us are Rattatas. Why?> The Ponyta chuckles slightly.

Screech! Peppy comes to a halt by digging his claws into the ground, and he comes -this- close to tripping over his front paws in the process. His body weight leans forward a bit, but the Growlithe is just barely able to not stumble. After sure that his balance is kept, the pup whiplashes his head up at Soki, plops down on his haunches, and wags his tail in an ever-so-friendly manner. <Are you sure you're not Rattatas?> It's only now that the fire-type takes a closer look - he sees a small thing that looks vaguely familiar, a really *big* thing, that daddy-Cubone-babies-thing-that-talks-to-himself, and, of course, Soki himself. His mood seems to drop a bit, as he really got himself worked up. Hey, when you're colorblind, everything looks like a Rattata from a distance. <I was just wondering, because Aurora wants one, and I sort of want one, too,> he woofs, his voice not quite so cheerful anymore.

Once again, Soki is forced to ask "why." <Why do you 'need' a Rattata?> Something to cuddle? Comfort a dying spouse? Lost a friend who was a Rattata? These are all great guesses, but unfortunately Soki's brain doesn't go to the seemingly obvious one, because that's just not how he thinks (at least, not in this case). If the bespiked one knew that Peppy was a carnivore, then this whole issue would go in an entirely different direction.

Anybody who's held more than a minute worth of conversation with Peppy knows that he's pretty much an idiot. Soki has yet to reach that mark, however, so he probably won't be able to tell - yet. Even though the pup may be an idiot, even he knows that talking about eating other pokemon isn't exactly a bright idea unless you -know- that the other pokemon you're talking to is a carnivore, as well. Peppy sort of peers blankly at Soki for a moment, his green eyes decisively vapid, before he babbles out a nervous, <Uh, well, just...> Um. <Just curious, really. I like Rattatas.> With a little half grin, Peppy's tail twitches anxiously. Oh, please don't let him look into the word 'likes', the dog thinks to himself.

Soki ain't stupid. As much as he hates to do this, he's the leader of a team that's three-quarters prey, so therefore he sets a verbal snare for the unfortunate Growlithe. <My friend,> motioning to Vertebra as he says this, <Likes Rattatas, too. Think it's the same way?> Not much of a snare, but Soki isn't much of a liar, either. To the entire ordeal, the Cubone snorts derisively, as if to condemn the very thought of this scheme working as Soki expects it to.

Peppy reflectively gives a whimper here, his tail slowing, stopping, falling, drooping. He's seriously somewhat confused here, which is one of the many drawbacks to having the brain capacity of an empty peanut shell. Twitching and motioning his head away as the wind picks up a bit (and perhaps wanting to avoid Soki's little trap), the pup woofs a soft, <Um... maybe? ... Um.> Ding! Peppy gets an idea, and, raising his head up to the Sandslash's level, he barks a halfway cheerful, <What do -you- think about Rattatas, though?> Maybe if the ground-type likes to eat Rattatas too, Peppy's home free!

The stammer is enough for the Sandslash. With a warning tone, he says, <I think the killing and eating of a creature that shares an equal intelligence level is inexcusable and barbaric.> About the only reason Soki tolerates Vertebra's dietary habits is because the Cubone eats things that're already dead. <Unless you'd like to limp back to this 'Aurora' of yours, I suggest you claim to be a scavenger.> Peppy may not know what a scavenger is, but it definitely sounds as though he should declare himself as one. The Clefairy seems to object this comment, but it's only in a look on her face and not in words.

Yeah, Peppy and Rattatas are about on the same intelligence level, supposing the Rattata is about a week old and was dropped on his head a couple times. <Scurvener!> the pup instantly repeats, even the translation of the word appearing mangled and odd. Clenching his teeth together and shaking his head quickly, the pup repeats (sort of), <Snavenujer, I'm definitely a snavenujer.> This is really not working out well - even if Soki isn't quite as big or physically intimidating as a Charizard, he still doesn't quite look like a pushover. Peppy glances left, right, and then, with pleading puppy-dog eyes directed at Soki, he half-whimpers, <So you don't have to hurt me now.>

Soki hrmphs. <I won't,> he says, hardly conciliatorily. This Growlithe is lying and he knows it, but at the very least it's got a sense of self-preservation (and "respect"). <Vertebra!> Soki shouts to the Cubone. <Go get a Rattata.> Vertebra gives the Sandslash a long, hard glare for ordering him around, then, having been given a longer, harder stare by Soki, heads off to go find a dead rat. What an appealing job.

Peppy actually sort of gives off a little exhale here, his gaze wandering to the side. Crisis averted - for now, at least. It's only a moment or two later, however, in which the pup glances up at Soki, a halfway curious, halfway worried look quite visible on his fuzzy visage. <He's going to go get a Rattata?> asks the pup quietly, as though he just wants to make sure. <I've been... looking for a while, but I don't think there are very many around here.> Stifling a yawn, his tail giving a little wag, the poor dog does still look tired, despite the excitement he just went through at coming *this close* to being torn to pieces of fluff by the ground-type's claws. <... Are you from around this place?>

Soki shakes his head, saying, <No. We're traveling around for a while, just seeing the sights.> To this, the Ponyta exhales with a vague negative connotation. It appears that Soki's sense of adventure is a bit more zealous than that of his subordinates. Continuing, Soki asks, <I take it you live somewhere near here?>

Snatch your backpack, steal your purse, save the data from this curse! (Psykitt-- eh, Saving)

Peppy sort of blinks, cocking his head slightly, his tail still swaying back and forth. <Sights?> The Growlithe glances to the left. Barren lands. He turns his head to the right. A couple shrugs and nothing else. He peers back at the Sandslash, and opens his mouth to speak. He undoubtedly would have asked something like "<What sights?>" was he given the chance, but Soki's next question comes too quickly. <Near here?> the pup repeats, before now looking *behind* him to peer down the human's path. The Cache Creek would be visible on the horizon, were the sun not setting in that direction and acting as quite a blinder. <No, uh, Aurora and I came from way, way over there.> He gestures towards the sun, though he turns his head perhaps a little too much - he squints his eyes and growls discontentedly. <But right now we're going to a farm. It's sort of far away, but we can find it!>

Soki nods. <It's nice to meet fellow travelers.> There's a teensy bit of a hidden message there... namely, that the rest of Team members are *not* travellers. They're just coming with him because he's the leader. In any case, Soki actually managed to pick up on Peppy's first rhetorical question, and answers it (though secondly), <Anything's "sights," even if it's barren. Bad times are as important as good times.> To this, the Ponyta, who sat down as the conversation became less violent, sighs. Apparently bad times aren't important to have in her opinion.

Peppy cocks his head at Soki a little more, though as the Sandslash's 'sights' quotation sinks into his mind, the pup gives in and nods his head, considering what the ground-type has to say. Perhaps the pup thinks of sights as only fresh and new things - after all, that does seem like an accurate consideration for a pokemon with no attention span. Soki's next comment, however, invokes even more curiousity from the Growlithe, and he woofs softly, as though this really has some kind of impact, <... But... But the good times are better.> No, really. Sheepishly turning his head to the side, he continues, <I don't like to live through bad times... but sometimes that just means that good times will feel even more good if they come right after bad times!> Believe it or not, he's speaking from experience, and while his head is still to the side, his wagging tail and doggy grin out of the side of his mouth suggest that he's happy.

Soki nods again. (He does that a lot.) <That's the point; there must be some bad times in your life to keep you from going soft. That's not to say you should always have bad times or that you should seek them out, but one should definitely tough them out and learn from the experience rather than do nothing but complain about them.> Sounds like a slight against Vertebra if I ever heard one. Oh well, the Prince of Cubones isn't here at the moment, so he can't possibly take offense.

Given that Peppy's had Charizards on top of babies on the mind, the pup can only think back to his own personal experience with Ballistic - one that ruptures a chill through the canine pokemon's spine and causes him to shudder a bit. <But it's not always fun,> the dog growls somewhat tiredly, still avoiding Soki's glance as he looks up, eyes darting to the darkening distance, the rare shrubs and trees fading as the light begins to disappear. <Sometimes when it's really rainy or really snowy I wish that it wasn't, but I don't think I've ever learned anything from them except that I don't like water.> Yeah, Peppy's got a one-track mind like that.

Soki shrugs. <So you learned that you don't like water. Might you have learned how to melt snow, or how to tough it out? If it were to suddenly drop snow on us right now, how would you get back to Aurora?> Number one sign that Soki hasn't spoken to Peppy enough: requesting creative thinking. This ought to ellicit an interesting response.

Peppy sort of blinks for a moment, as if trying to piece this out into his mind. <Okay,> the pup woofs gently, his tone admitting that Soki has a point. He seems used to it; others pointing out intelligent things that prove that they're smarter than him must come along often. <But all I need is one rain or one snow for that, not lots and lots, but there are still lots and lots anyway. I-...> Soki's question causes Peppy to trail off for a few moments, however, and when he speaks up again, his voice is quieter, filled with more growls and whimpers than woofs, arfs, and barks. <I'd... I don't know, because I might get lost, but maybe I could howl and she could respond if she's not sleeping...> A pause. Despite the fact that he sounds almost depressed from Soki's question, a tiny grin perks up the sides of the dog's mouth, and he adds, <Though she sleeps even more than me, so I'd just hope it wakes her up.> He missed the point entirely, but that's Peppy for ya.

Soki blinks for a moment. The Ponyta snickers to herself, but that's beside the point. Soki stands transfixed for a moment, before his head suddenly dips and he smacks it with the blunt side of a paw. This is, indeed, why humans harbor such little respect for pokemon. With a reluctant air, the Sandslash mutters, <You can breathe flames, can you not?>

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty.

Peppy glances at Soki for a few seconds, his eyes a little narrowed, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. It's as though he doesn't understand why the Sandslash is asking. <Yes...> he responds hesitantly, his bushy tail slowing down on its tick-tocking. A second later, it dawns upon the pup, and with a "Lithe!" of an "<Oh!>", the pup shakes his head. <But it doesn't really help in the snow much unless you're not going very far. I had to go from here all the way to the Assasi Farm, and I couldn't keep using fire the entire way.> He pauses for a second, and his head turns in Aurora's general direction. <Though I might be able to do it from here to Aurora.> There's another pause while Peppy stifles a yawn, and he adds, <If I wasn't so sleepy.>

Soki nods. <I only said that the situation was from here to Aurora. You've got to use your head if you want to stay alive very long in this world... or free, for that matter.> Speaking of sleepy... <Actually, it's getting rather dark, and we need to get moving along... wait a minute...> As soon as the thought dawns on him, the Cubone returns, Rattata in hand(s). It's taking some effort to get the carcass he somehow managed to find from point A to point B, but ultimately Vertebra manages to lay the dead rat at Peppy's feet. <Thank you,> Soki says to Vertebra, to which the Cubone grumbles.

Peppy glances at the Sandslash for a few moments longer, before tearing his eyes off of the ground-type's own to peer at the rest of his seventy pound body. Even as the Rattata is set down in front of Peppy, the pup only gives it a little glance, before peering back up at Soki, his face quietly contemplative - or at least, as far as Peppy goes. <But...> the pup woofs softly, his ears and tail drooping submissively. He really doesn't want to get this sharp-clawed Sandslash angry, so if Soki makes any threatening gestures, the Growlithe will undoubtedly stop. <But being smart isn't everything there is to staying alive. You... you need to be able to not just sleep through rain, and... and have some friends, and not always live your life fearing humans. I don't... want to be captured by humans, but sometimes...> Oh, God, this is so going to get him torn apart. Squeezing his eyes shut and cowering back a few inches, the dog half-whimpers, <Sometimes humans can be really good friends, too.> He's dead!

Soki, surprisingly, nods. <I know that. But you can't risk getting caught by one of the nasty ones. In any case, it takes smarts to apply skills... otherwise, you're nothing but a common animal.> Now that is a weird thing to hear a pokemon say, and deserving of question, except for one thing: <Well... it's been nice talking to you, and I hope you and "Aurora" get along well.> After this, he turns to the rest of the group and says, <C'mon! Everyone up! We're getting to Saffron by nightfall!> Since it's practically night already, this might well turn into a pleasant before-bed jog.

Peppy blinks open an eye. He hasn't been torn to pieces by going against the Sandslash's theory and by bringing up humans. His intial reply is quick and comes soon after Soki's finished speaking, and his voice is surprisingly calm. Perhaps he's just not scared of Soki - there's a first. <We will.> After this, it's only a small hesitation before the pup grins softly, and, looking sheepishly at the ground, he adds a little, <Not only because we love each other, but for the puppies, too.> Aww. While peering at the dust of the landscape, the dog eyes the dead Rattata corpse curiously, and, lifting his head up, growls/barks/howls (depending on how far away Soki and his troop have gotten by now), he asks, <Aren't you going to take this?> Soki turns his head to comment, <It's yours.> This, over the grumblings of the Cubone who is complaining that he doesn't get any of it. This is quickly reprimanded by Soki, and the two, it seems, are now locked in their own world of debate. Regardless of whether he wants it or not, that Rattata is Peppy's.

Peppy blinks back down at the Rattata, then up at Soki. Rattata. Soki. Rattata. Soki. <Thanks,> Peppy woofs gently, so quietly the Sandslash might not hear him. His next response, however, should be considerably louder. <Thanks a lot!> Snatching up the Rattata in his jaws, the Growlithe whirls around and begins to trot towards where his mate and himself set up for the night. He's not going to say he killed the Rattata himself - but Peppy has a hunch that Aurora's going to be every bit as happy to have the rodent for dinner anyway.