The CORONET Team

In a small crack in the great mountain's inner walls, lay a hidden Pokemon, rare and ancient for this time. His shield-like face light off a slight shine in the dim light that entered the depths of the caverns. After a few moments, his innate alarm clock woke him up slowly, and the Shieldon rose. Blinking in morning exhaustion, Benton stretched his miniature legs, yawning. Mount Coronet... the span of rocky hills that divide this region into two... His thoughts rambled on as he waddled out of the hole in the wall and into the wide maze of the mountain.

He had, after escaping the hungry maws of the infected for quite some time, run into Mount Coronet. BT had read a lot about its varied landscape, and though he was small, the little Shieldon had found himself eager to explore its tunnels. He was determined to conquer this mountain- and he would, given time of course. Patience is a virtue, after all.

Streams popped up here and there, and Benton glanced towards the nearby cave entrance that would lead out to Route 216. Which would lead to 217, to where it would then head into Snowpoint. The Shieldon yawned again, ruffling his Yellow Bow, and watched the morning sun rise through the opening. "A new beginning," he whispered, though mostly to himself than anyone else. Who would reply, in this barren world of undead Pokemon?

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Foot of Mt. Coronet | Morning
[1]

"It's been a while..."

Looking out from within the forest, an arcanine emerged. His eyes, dull and glassy, flicked from side to side as the tall creature took in his surroundings. It may have been 3 years since he last visited this damned mountain, but it appears as though nothing's changed.. Well, other than the emptiness and the rank smell of blood and corpses, of course. He delved deeper into the memories of his past adventures, particularly the incident that resulted in the loss of one of his limbs, until he heard it...

“Ringgg~ Ringgg~ Ringgg~”

“Something’s here...” Xerxes breathed. His head snapped from left to right, cobalt eyes locking onto a figure, noticing its odd pallor. It seemed to be frustrated as it began to rant about something, never noticing the large mound of fur watching from a distance. Losing interest in the noticeably extroverted pokemon, Xerxes began to shuffle away from the sight, until he noticed the oddly colored Flaffy shut up and wave its stubby, little arms. This immediately caught his attention, as it meant that the fellow survivor had spotted a comrade. Xerxes plodded forward, paw by paw towards the smaller pokemon.

“Hey, who are you—GET DOWN!” Xerxes bolted across, vaulting himself over the Flaffy as he slashed at the infected Geodude rushing towards the unsuspecting pokemon. Skidding across from his fresh kill, his eyes shot towards the pokemon in front of him. “Watch your damn surroundings would you?!” he growled, teeth barred in rage.

Something inside him seemed to have just snap at the sight of the Flaffy and the undead pest rolling towards it. He knew he had crossed the line, but he just couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t bare the sight of another pokemon being ripped apart at the hands of those demented insects right in front of him. He just couldn't.

But even that couldn't stop him from feeling a bout of guilt from filtering through. Xerxes could already hear Bea’s admonishing tone. ‘All that pent up stress from those infected pests, and you’re throwing them all at a pokemon you barely even know. Way to go, buddy! You’ve officially set yourself up for douche of the year...Come on, Xer, I know you’re not like this, so just go and apologize. I’m sure she’ll understand.’

Looking at the ground below, Xerxes quietly sighed. He had let his anger get the best of him...again. And now, instead of making “friends” and earning a new companion, he lost it and went completely ballistic all over the poor thing. Under his breath he uttered a low, “Doubt it” before switching his gaze to the pokemon in front of him.

Aria was slightly tired from her ventures and fighting of the undead as she approached the mountain's base.'I've never seen such a dull place before' Aria thought before taking the last few steps towards the entrance.

“Ringgg~ Ringgg~ Ringgg~”

"What is that noise." Aria whispered to herself not wanting to rouse the infected. Upon closer investigation she saw an oddly colored Flaffy as well as an Arcanine.Worried and confused she approached the others her Oranberry held close.

"Hello."Aria whispered in her usual British accent. Still unsure she stopped about two feet from the others and waited for a response.'Ugh why are you being like this they aren't infected...come on Aria smarten up they could kill you' Aria thought as she held her Oranberry closer still.[center]

Benton had now shaken off his morning drowsiness and had now walked out of the cave to munch on a stub of grass nearby when he heard bells chiming. Ring... riing... ring! It had a soft chime to it, pleasing to the ear and reminding the Shieldon of wedding bells. BT glanced down his rocky bluff vantage point to see a shiny Flaffy waving its arms crazily.

Dear Arceus! Living creatures, the Shield Pokemon was about to shout a hello when a large canine jumped out of hiding to attack and easily defeat an offensive Geodude. The duo soon became three as a Snivy cautiously joined them. BT quickly chewed up the rest of the grass (he never liked wasting a good moment to eat), before wagging his tail and trotting to the edge again. He wasn't going to miss out on the action.

"I'll be right down!" He shouted, preparing to slide downward. If there were one thing he was good at, it was traveling down mountains. Before he was fossilized, he had lived his life on Mount Coronet. All the rocks and grass he could wish were there for him, and his entire family butting heads. That was the life. Sliding down the rocky mountain side slowly, Benton wondered how these new Pokemon were like. In his time, they didn't exactly exist yet...

BT tossed the thought to the back of his mind- surely common courtesy to any Pokemon species didn't matter with time. Then again, this pandemic has changed a few things. Then again, he tossed the thought away. He rather liked the large striped Pokemon's pelt and his surefire attack on the Machop. And the pretty Flaffy had an eye-catching bell attached to the neck. Surely that Snivy would have some amazing qualities also!

Reaching the bottom, the Shieldon worked up a Rock Polish and sprinted towards the other Pokemon.

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Foot of Mt. Coronet | Morning
[2]

"Look, jackass, think I got eyes on the back of my head? No, no I don't. So go easy on me will you?"

He blew it. He had just lost his chance a making a friend. 'What are you doing! Shouldn't this be the time when you start apologizing? Come on this is your last chance to reconcile with her. You could still become compadres!"

"Listen, I'm sorry for—" "But thank you anyways." Blinking his eyes in confusion, Xerxes simply looked on at the Flaffy in disbelief. There was no way she was just letting him slide that quickly. He was about to speak up, when a tiny voice with an accent pipped up. Turning his gaze towards the direction of the voice, he was met by the sight of a snivy holding an Oran berry close to its chest. It’s composure seemed slightly off and with his best guess he concluded that the poor thing was just nervous.

“Hello...” he greeted. Looking off to his right, Xerxes noticed a small pokemon staring at them. The pokemon seemed to acknowledge their presence as it quickly munched on the last bit of grass before it finally spoke, yelling, “I’ll be right down”, as it slid down the mountainside. Xerxes simply looked on interest as the small pokemon expertly made his way towards the trio. As soon as it reached the bottom, the Flaffy next to him asked, "So you must be the Pokemon from above, correct?"

'It seems so.' Thought the arcanine. Walking up to the sheildon, Xerxes looked over the small pokemon with interest before finally speaking up, "Name's Xerxes. How do you do?" At that very moment, the arcanine decided that this whole situation was simply going to get even more complicated. Sighing, the fluffy pokemon thought to himself, 'Can this group get any weirder?'

"Nothing..."Aria answered the oddly colored what she assumed to be Flaffy.Looking about she quickly dashed over to the group but stayed far enough away in case the Arcanine got mad again.'These Pokemon don't seem that bad.'Thought the cautious Snivy.

"My name is Aria."She said carelessly. Aria then glanced at the Shieldon and smiled glad she wasn't the only unevolved one here and waved gently.This action caused the oranberry she was holding to fall to the ground and roll away into the grass nearby.Aria gasped softly and chased after it.As the frightened Snivy walked towards the grass another infected Geodude appeared before her.

Scared but not helpless she used her vine's to attack the creature.However Aria's attack had little effect on the monster as she was such a low level.She quivered and stepped backwards tripping, embarrassed and worried she looked at the others for help.

Osmund had been watching these pokemon for a while now, he had been shuffling along in the tree line looking for some berries, when he spotted a weirdly colored Flaffy. Being surprised to see another living pokemon he grabbed some foliage and leaves and covered himself in them so he could get a better look without being noticed.

"This is interesting" He thought to himself as an Arcanine tackled the flaffy, and killed a infected Geodude, then not even a moment later a Sheildon and a Snivy popped out of nowhere to greet them. Osmund was thinking now, thinking hard.If he could befriend them he'd have someone to watch his back and he wouldn't have to keep running from infected! He smiled, "and that small one has food!" he whispered to himself gleefully. The Snivy had let out an awkward greeting to the Flaffy and the Arcanine, then turned and smiled at the Sheildon. "Hmmmmm" Osmund said to himself, as he lapsed in attention "there's a smudge on my tie" he mumbled angrily, when he looked up the Snivy was running after a berry that was rolling in his direction, "hehehe it's got nubby little arms" he chuckled to himself.

The Snivy was now uncomfortably close and would have no doubt noticed him, if the infected Geodude hadn't come to attack it, under normal circumstances Osmund would stand aside and let the other pokemon deal with the Geodude, but this was his chance to make an entrance, plus the Snivy was no match for the Geodude, and he did miss the company of other grass types. So Osmund did what seemed appropriate, He burst out of his foliage cover and Needle armed the Geodude in the face, shattering into pieces with chunks of hard rotted brain splattering onto the lush green grass.
"You alright?" Osmund said with a grin on his face? He picked up the berry and handed it to the Snivy, "I think you dropped this".
The others where looking now, Osmund gulped as he waited for their reactions.

"So you must be the Pokemon from above correct?" BT grinned at the Flaffy, trotting up the few feet distancing him from the other Pokemon. For some odd reason, the entire place had a lower population of infected. A wonderful way to start the day! He hummed the rhyme, nodding in response to the question. Come and play, get out today. He was really getting into the hum that he barely noticed that the Arcanine had introduced himself.

"Name's Xerxes. How do you do?" The Arcanine asked, while the Snivy spoke her name also. Benton's eyes twinkled as he stared at the giant dog- for centuries, even in his time when buildings did not exist yet, Arcanines were majestic Pokemon that only few had the luck to see. His eyes almost watered of having the opportunity to have one speak to him. The Shieldon glanced at the shiny Flaffy, knowing of the fables that meeting a shiny meant good fortune.

Now's not the time for that, Benton softly chided himself in his head, though he didn't mean the words. "I'm Benton, though you can call me BT." The Shield Pokemon padded after Aria when she dropped her berry, but stopped when a roar from another infected Geodude came. "Aria!" Putting up an Iron Defense, he started to follow, but the heavier defense made him slower than before. He watched in hopelessness as the Geodude prepared to strike a blow to the Snivy...

And was shot down with a Needle Arm by a Cacturne. At first, BT didn't know what to think, but soon after he only smiled and came up to the two grass types that were now together. What a relief...! The Shieldon thought to himself, ripping a bit of grass nearby to chew on it.

"That was a well-placed attack!" He thanked the Cacturne, looking it up and down. A rather nifty Black Glasses lay atop its head, and around the neck was a red tie. He almost looked like one of those police on television that he watched some time ago. BT mentally sighed. One thought just lead straight to a memory- and more cluttered events in his mind was the last thing on his list. Remembering isn't always the best thing to happen... He smiled nonetheless to the Cacturne.

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Foot of Mt. Coronet | Morning
[3]

"I'm Benton, though you can call me BT." Smiling slightly at the response, Xerxes nodded towards him in acceptance. He watched in amusement as the small pokemon trailed after the Snivy in front of it, until he spotted a Cacturne hiding, disguised as a tree. Growling, Xerxes inched closer and closer alongside BT, never keeping his eyes off of the pokemon. He was just about to pounce at the Cacturne, when out of nowhere, comes another infected Geodude.

"Aria!" Xerxes began to bound closer and closer towards the infected, with BT running by, at his heels. Xerxes was about to go up and take down on the Geodude, but before he had the chance to, the Geodude was struck with Needle Arm by the Cacturne from earlier. Xerxes began to slow down his pace, until he reached to a complete stop in front of the two grass types. "That was a well placed attack" lowly agreeing, the Arcanine whispered, "Impressive." Looking over the new addition to the team, Xerxes found himself quite curious about the pokemon. He seemed to be rather fidgety as all the attention was placed onto him, which was understandable. But what he couldn't wrap his mind around was the pokemon's odd vibe. Xerxes could tell that the Cacturne was a good kid, but there was just something about him that rose doubts. Before he could prod the Cacturne, though, the loud voice of the Flaffy, boomed from behind them.

"Look guys, I have a reason to be here, so I'm off inside the cave, so instead of talking your ass off about your day and stuff, let's actually TRY to survive." Xerxes gaped at the Flaffy walking deeper into the cave. Never had he met someone so annoyingly arrogant and haughty, who didn't give a rat's ass about Aria's severe plight. And that pissed him off the edge.

"Oh yeah? Well who said that we were coming along with you?! Honestly, I wouldn't give a damn about YOU if you didn't remind me of someone I knew and made a promise to! Right now, I think you're acting like a spoiled brat who doesn't care about others or what they have to say because your BIG DAMN HEAD seems to revolve around the notion of my way or the highway! Now if you truly insist on coming along with this little group of ours, I suggest you stop acting up and start caring a bit! I don't care if you don't give a shit about the rest of us, at least act it!" Huffing and panting, Xerxes glared holes into the Flaffy's head. At this point, he didn't give a damn HER needs! He just wanted to help out other pokemon and give them chances to live while protecting his. He made a promise and he wasn't going to break it just for one uncooperative pokemon.

"I think you dropped this."
Aria heard this and looked up to see a Cacturne holding out her oranberry to her.She nodded and took it cautiously yet gratefully.Aria felt for peace for a moment."Thank you for helping me."Aria said shyly.

Just then she heard the Flaffy speak "Look guys, I have a reason to be here, so I'm off inside the cave, so instead of talking your ass off about your day and stuff, let's actually TRY to survive."Aria was a bit irritated and was about to speak when Xerxes shouted.This somewhat frightened her so Aria hid behind the Cacturne that had helped her a few moments before.

After the Arcanine finished his rant she thought to bring up her own issue."Xerxes is right we have to be more co-operative and cautious in order to survive."Aria said in her proper fashion.'what are you thinking these pokemon are bigger than you they could eat you Aria'she thought to herself, but part of her was unafraid to be so bold.

Aria moved out from behind the Cacturne but stayed close as her appearance changed from overly frightened to leader like."Also he just saved your life so you should be a little nicer to him, or I'll bloody well leave."Aria huffed, her British accent thicker than usual.

"Look guys, I have a reason to be here, so I'm off inside the cave, so instead of talking your ass off about your day and stuff, let's actually TRY to survive."

Osmund could already tell he wasn't going to like the rude flaffy, he was going to let off a rude remark But the Arcanine beat him to it. As soon as the Arcanine yelled back at the Flaffy, the Snivy hid behind Osmund's leg, which was understandable sense Osmund also went stiff for a moment. After the Large Canine finished it's rant, the Snivy said in a British accent "Xerxes is right we have to be more co-operative and cautious in order to survive."

Osmund was remaining silent, but he couldn't help but agree to stick together, however he didn't care for the Flaffy, he was about to join in the conversation and introduce himself when the Snivy came from behind him and said "Also he just saved your life so you should be a little nicer to him, or I'll bloody well leave." before letting out an irritated huff. Osmund was slightly taken aback, this little British banana had spunk, he liked that.

"Ahem" Osmund said as he fidgeted with his tie, "My names Osmund, but you can call me Oz if you want" He said nervously. "I was shuffling by when I noticed the Geodude about to attack your friend, He nodded toward the Snivy, it's been awhile sense I've seen other living so I'm not sure how to introduce myself properly..." He said.
"LIKE A BOSS." he thought to himself, before letting out a nervous smile with his porous mouth.

Toxishock was walking slowly his lower abdominal area dragging across the ground.He was out hunting when heard some ruckus nearby.'I wonder what it could be.'the infected spider thought.Curious Toxishock wandered over to the treeline of Mount Coronet.

He saw a large group of un-ifected and the Snivy reminded him of a pokemon he had seen long ago when he raided a safe house.when he heard it's British accent Toxishock knew it was the same one.Toxishock was about to hiss with anger when he saw a large fire type that could have easily taken him down.

'perhaps I should join them.'Toxishock thought although unsure of what might happen if he where to just show up.However unsure of this he stepped out from his hiding place and revealed himself."I coMe iN PeaCCce."He said to the group unsteadily.

"Look guys, I have a reason to be here, so I'm off inside the cave, so instead of talking your ass off about your day and stuff, let's actually try to survive." Benton flinched as the clipped words came from the shiny Flaffy, whom he didn't even know the name of. Oh, if he had the luxury of knowing the name, he'd tell the pretty Pokemon with a kind voice that verbal abuse was never the answer- indeed, others had the same idea, as Xerxes opened his large jaws and returned the shout just as harsh.

"Also he just saved your life so you should be a little nicer to him, or I'll bloody well leave." BT frantically glanced at the Snivy, panic starting to well up. You can't leave yet! We just met moments ago! He started towards her, when a scratchy voice called to his ears.

"...I coMe iN PeaCCce..." It said eerily, causing BT to turn his head to the source- another oddly colored Pokemon, the spider Galvantula. A shiny? The Shieldon wondered if he had heard the tales wrong; if he had seen two shiny Pokemon in a single day, then he should be twice as fortuitous... or was it the other way around? If only I could remember things like this! He thought to himself frustratedly. Figuring that this Pokemon certainly came in 'peace', he nodded towards it in welcome before shouting over to the Flaffy.

"I do not know your name, though I do want to learn it, but we'll come right over! Just a moment if you please," his voice carried over to the Flaffy, hopping up and down to get his point across. After a few seconds more of pouncing up and down (which was really fun, he had to admit), he turned back to the others. "Benton, pleased to meet you," he said to the Cacturne and the Galvantula. "Let's make talk as we walk over to the mountain, shall we?"

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Foot of Mt. Coronet | Morning
[4]

"Oh hell no..." grumbled Xerxes. Bound together to a sunglasses, red tie wearing Cacturne, bell wearing Sheildon, and a Oran Berry clutching Snivy, the Arcanine was beginning to get really annoyed with all this random shit. First he comes across a loud mouthed Flaffy with a bitchy attitude, then he gets yelled at for saving it, then he meets a bunch of mismatched pokemon, one of which almost died in a near encounter with an infected Geodude, and now he gets stuck to said pokemon, except for the damned Flaffy...Fan-Fucking-tastic.

"Damn, an infected, WELL THEN, COME AT ME BRO!"

"...You've got to be kidding me."

At this point, even the most patient pokemon would snap, and Xerxes was well close to doing just that. But with three other pokemon strapped to him, he couldn't really do that now could he?

"Listen, I'm gonna try and burn our way through, okay? So be prepared." Taking a deep breath, the large fluffy mound of a pokemon let out a steady flow of fire, cutting strand by strand the thick coating cotton. By now, Xerxes had long ignored the Flaffy's attempts at heroism and simply focused on getting free in the safest way possible. 'This is taking way too long!' Xerxes inwardly groaned. If only they were caught individually. Maybe then he could just blast flames at the cotton and let it all burn away, but Arceus decided to fuck with him today and let Xerxes get stuck with his companions.

Knowing that this was the only possible way they could all get out, Xerxes continued on, burning away at their restraints, only taking short breaths in between. 'Just a little more...' he thought.

Aria was taken aback when the Flaffy that had been so rude before was trying to play hero.Covered in cotton she tried to move around but this only resulted in her dropping her bag."Oh no."Aria huffed irritatedly.When she heard the voice of the infected she instantly curled up into a ball.'Why now'she thought to herself.

Giving up on trying to escape until she heard the Arcanine speak.Something about freeing them but when she felt the the heat she screamed "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Slightly worried her scream had aroused more infected she froze for a moment before trying to drag herself away from the Arcanine.However only succeeded in burying herself deeper in the cotton.

"Damn, an infected, WELL THEN, COME AT ME BRO!"

"This Flaffy is frikkin' insane!" Osmund thought to himself as he struggled in the cotton.
The Snivy then yelled "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" , then the Arcanine mumbled something before breathing fire into some of the cotton. "THIS IS GETTING TO CRAZY FOR ME!" Osmund screamed angrily, he then started thrashing violently, his spikes cutting at the cotton. "HNNNNNNGH!"

Osmund violontly flew out of the cotton and hit his head against what he assumed to be a tree.
"IT'S IN MY EYEES!" He shouted as he fruitlessly tried to grab the cotton off of his face with his nubby hands. "I coMe iN PeaCCce." something said,"Ayeeeehwhowhowhohuhuhuh!" Osmund squeakily yelped as he began running blindly around trying to get the cotton off of his face.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap OHH SHIIIIIT!" He yelled, before finally running into the side of the mountain head first and getting knocked out cold.

Toxi looked about confused by the Flaffy's actions.He stepped forward his stomach scraping across the ground when he heard the Snivy shout"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Stopping Toxi looked at the cotton shroud and it seemed to be glowing.

Still baffled and waiting for his next move he tilted his head when the Flaffy's words registered in his head."Come at me bro." Toxi moved about wondering as he heard various thuds before deciding to attack.Purplish liquid gathered around his mandibles as he advanced."IiIFfF YyYooOUUu IIiNnnsSssistTt"Toxi hissed before digging his mandibles into the Flaffy's stomach.

[Ooc-Wind has given me permission to attack and poison Bells]

"Damn, an infected, WELL THEN, COME AT ME BRO!" BT turned his smiling face to a shocked one as the shiny Flaffy sprung from her position at the cave's entrance to come over to them and produce a Cotton Guard, developing all of them in a thick cotton of her pinkness. What utter madness! He thought as the fluff surrounded him and even swept him off his feet- he was literally surrounded by the cotton.

"So be prepared." Xerxes' spoke as he ignited his teeth and bite into the cotton; or at least, that's what BT though he was doing. The Shieldon couldn't even see through the cotton, and it was choking him! There's only one way out of this. Hearing Aria scream and multiple other voices rising at the same time, BT started to eat the cotton. In fact, if he chewed on it for a long time, it nearly tasted like cotton candy. Closing his eyes, Benton chewed on the pink fluff, enjoying the taste.

"Mm..." He didn't even mind that everyone was shouting all around him.

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Foot of Mt. Coronet | Late Morning
[5]

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" came the first scream. Xerxes, continuing to burn at the cotton, tried to ignore all the squirming and screaming coming from both his left and right. He was just about done when the cotton around Osmund came loose as he ran around screaming about something that was in his eyes...that is, until he fell and cracked his head on the side of the mountain.

Okay? So, now we have an unconscious Osmund, a terrified Aria, and a cotton eating Benton...Just great. Xerxes sighed in defeat. There was no way this group was going to get anymore normal, so he thought he'd just go with the flow. Lying down on his belly, the large Arcanine decided to just watch the event unfold before him, but not without watching each and every corner to make sure another infected doesn't try to man handle them.

From his spot on the floor, Xerxes watched as the Flaffy, whom he thought should be nicknamed "Bitchy", got bit by the infected Galvantula, whom she proceeded to throw a Power Gem at. As she fell, Xerxes got slightly nervous and advanced cautiously towards the Flaffy, wondering if she was okay and if she needed help. She may have been an annoying hag, but she still forgave him for yelling at her hours before... And he made a promise to an old friend to protect each and every living pokemon he came across, and seeing as he'd already broke that promise once, there was no way in hell that he'd forgive himself if it happened again.

Sighing with relief when the heat left aria stood back up and grabbed her bag hiding it again."Bloody hell that dog must be crazy."Aria growled her accent making her words sound funny.Shaking her head she looked about and noticed that the cotton was being eaten away near her.'Who would eat this stuff?'Aria thought disgusted.

Less terrified and more than irritated Aria focused on using Growth hoping the roots from below could remove the fluff. Little good it did besides giving her a slight boost of strength."Just bloody perfect."She huffed again.Aria decided the best thing to do know was sit and wait until what she assumed to be BT ate the rest of the way through, or the Flaffy died from the bite.Chuckling slightly at the thought of the Flaffy dying even thought she had a pecha berry handy was enough to keep her amused for the time being.