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Wren Briony sat in the Pokemon Center in Castelia City, still having been there from picking up his new Petilil after he had dropped off the little Pokemon when he took the supply crate to Virbank. He'd released the slightly wilted Grass-type and was in the process of naming her when he heard something on the news.

"It sounds like the people who tried invading Virbank are at it again! They've just about ousted everyone from the city already! The poor folks are trying to find -somewhere- to go."

"I heard Roxie's building a camp for them to rest in for now before they try and take the town back."

"Again?! Those lot were just kicked out!" Wren blurted out to himself before remembering where he was. Looking up to the large television in the Trainers' area, he realized it was off. It wasn't the news he'd been hearing but an actual conversation between some locals. "Sorry. Didn't mean to eavesdrop on you." He told the pair before turning away again and looking to Petilil.

"It sounds like they could use some help, Altissima." He told the tiny Bulb Pokemon. You want to come with me and offer a bit of assistance?" He asked.

"Petipet." The Petilil replied with a small nod.

Wren heard the strange young man talking to someone he couldn't see when he approached and and, despite not really intending to eavesdrop yet again, he found himself offering his assistance. "If you're new to the area, Virbank City is in the southwestern penninsula and they were recently invaded by a group calling themselves "Team Flare" if I understood from the the group who helped push them back." He explained. "And it sounds like they're coming back again."


"Peti petpet liiiil." Altissima cooed, sounding a bit distressed though Wren couldn't tell if it was from the poor thing's rotten health or from concern for the citizens of Virbank.

"If you plan to head that way, I'd suggest being careful." He recommended, standing up and taking his Petilil into his arms. "I'm heading that way to help with the relief effort a bit more, myself." He wasn't sure why he volunteered that information at first but after he had said it, he realized why. The young man standing in front of him was wearing something that looked very familiar. He was wearing a mechanized glove that looked very much like the ones worn by the pair who had allowed him to join them when they drove Flare out. "You're one of them, aren't you? The ones who fought them off wore gloves just like that..."

Wren nodded quietly to Arkelos as the man spoke, though much of what he said seemed to simply slip through the middle-aged male's attention. The only things that really seemed to stick were his name, the statement that he was a mercenary and the questions directed at himself. "Uh...um..." He stuttered for a moment, briefly forgetting how to formulate proper sentences, before he managed to recover his senses enough to offer a response that made any semblance of sense. "My name's Wren and no, I'm not a travel guide. I've lived in Unova my entire life and I run a business that branches all over the region." He finally replied once Arkelos had returned from retrieving his Pokemon.

"I have several business partners in the Virbank area and I'd like to go offer my assistance to them to try and get their businesses back under control." He explained. "If you want to come with me, you're welcome to do so but I'm certainly not paying you and I'm not asking for money to guide you."

"Come on, Altissima. Let's get going before they get into too much trouble." He told his Petilil before he started to walk off. If this Arkelos fellow was going, he might want to follow or stop him now.

Wren paused when Arkelos called out to him. "That's correct." He replied when asked about his name. He started to asked why this man wanted to place himself within reach of people who might be out to get him but he figured it might be better not to ask. "Teleportation, I assume?" He asked, both familiar with and unfamiliar with the mode of transportation. He knew of it and knew of it's convenience but had done little in the way of using it for himself, primarily relying upon a combination of it and the company Tropius for product transportation.

"Very well. I suggest we go to Flocessy Town, then. It's close to Virbank and the farthest place Flare was able to reach was just outside of it. The citizens who've been displaced will most likely congregate there or near there at minimum, in order to try and reclaim their home at the first chance they get." He told Arkelos, though he was facing Claydol. He wasn't sure what to expect here but he couldn't deny that it would be much easier to get to their destination if they didn't have to get through Virbank itself with Flare trying to get back in.

Wren felt the world around him lurch beneath his feet suddenly and then, as fast as it had happened, it returned to it's normal place. He felt a bit disoriented at first as his brain wrapped itself around his suddenly being in a different location that he had been a moment before but when he finally did, it became clear to him that he was now standing outside the Pokemon Center in Flocessy Town. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't floating in the sky like he'd been expecting, although he did believe for a moment that he was when Altissima leaped out of his arms and floated in the air in front of him for about ten seconds. "Phew... You scared me for a second there." He told the Grass-type before he caught her and set her on his shoulder.

Looking around for Arkelos, he waited until he saw the silver-haired man before he started walking in the direction of Virbank, looking for a local that could tell him where to find the refugees.

"You wouldn't care in the slightest for my business, then." Wren laughed at Arkelos' innocent, if a bit rambling, comments regarding his lack of knowledge about the area and the distaste for farm Pokemon. "You wouldn't be the first to tell me as much, either." He admitted.

"My business partners are on the Ranch, though. So if you're going with me, we'll be getting even closer to them." He warned, leading the way to the north and further on to the northeast once he was certain Arkelos was present and accounted for. "They supply me with some of their organic fertilizer in exchange for some of my own." He explained along the way. It wouldn't be very long of a trip, really. Only a few minutes in all from Floccesy Town to the Ranch which shared it's name.

Upon entering the Ranch itself, the pair would be greeted by the sight of various farm Pokemon wandering the area, though Mareep appeared to be the predominant species in the area. "Heyo!" He called out upon spotting an old couple near the entrance to the large building that Arkelos would likely, and would probably correctly, assume to be the ranch house. "Mr. and Mrs. Sonjay!" He called out, trying to get their attention.

"Wren?" The old woman asked as she turned around. "It is you! How have you been Mister Briony?" Her husband, thankfully, seemed to be ignoring him. Mr. Sonjay was well known for his attitude problem and Wren preferred to avoid riling him up when he could.

"I'm doing just fine, Ma'am. I'm glad to see Mr. Sonjay is alright now, as well." Wren replied. "I'm looking for something, though." He told her.

"Oh? What might that be?" The old woman asked, curiosity sparkling in her ancient eyes.

"I'm trying to find out where the townsfolk from Virbank are. I want to help them set up a camp or something nearby so they can try to get their homes back quicker." Wren replied, looking around. "Would they be near here?"

"Oh, yes! The owners of the Ranch are letting them set up a camp in that secluded grotto to the north. They'll be well hidden from those foreign thugs there and the forest will provide them with plenty of extra help with feeding everyone." Mrs. Sonjay replied, pointed a grizzled old finger toward the northern end of the Ranch. "If you're going out that way, take this and tell them the people of Floccesy Town wish them a swift return." She said as she handed the dreadlocked brunet a large jug filled with a strange brown water and a basket of what looked like biscuits of some sort. Sweet tea and homemade buttermilk biscuits, he assumed. Staples of the Unovan south, these were.

"Sure thing, Ma'am. Stay safe, you two!" Wren replied as he started off in the direction he'd been pointed. "And thank you, ma'am!"

"Bless his heart... They're going to tear him apart..." Mrs. Sonjay muttered as Wren walked away. Arkelos might have heard it seeing as the old woman seemed to have been completely blind to his presence due to the reunion with Wren and her husband paid no more attention to Arkelos than he had to Wren.

Wren shook his head at Arkelos' question. "No caverns." He replied, shifting the jug of tea and the basket full of biscuits around a bit to hold them more securely while still allowing Altissima to ride shotgun in his arms. The little Grass-type definitely seemed like she enjoyed the opportunity so he felt bad about denying it to her at the moment, especially with her withered and weakened as she was. "We're heading to a clearing in the woods."A place we called a Hidden Grotto here in the Unova region. They're places where strange things can happen. Sometimes rare Pokemon with no way of truly surviving in the Unova region or in the environment where the Grotto can be found show up in them or items mysteriously manifest themselves out of nowhere." He explained. "That kind of place might be the best for the citizens of Virbank to hide out. The Grotto's properties might help them remain hidden until they can reclaim their home." Wren explained, pausing as a rustling sound caught his ears. "Crap..."

Before he could clear his hands, a Riolu and an Audino emerged from the tall grass nearby, the Riolu charging toward Arkelos while Audino stood by and watched Wren, seemingly intrigued by him but not necessarily looking for a fight. It was hard to tell if Riolu wanted to fight, play or play fight, though.

"We might have to battle these two." Wren voiced, attempting to finagle a Pokeball free from his belt without setting the food in his hands down but failed horribly at it. Rather than using Hemlock as he had intended, he wound up relying on Altissima to defend him for now.

((You can control the battle if you want, otherwise I'll do it.))

While Arkelos was busy with his Riolu, Wren was still attempting to wrangle a Petilil that wasn't quite in good enough health to battle. Finally dropping the basket of biscuits in his hands, he grabbed for another Pokeball instead. "Altissima, back! You need to spend time recovering first." He insisted. Attempting to return Altissima to her ball, he missed entirely as she darted to the side, releasing a burst of Sleep Powder around her as she did.

Wren quickly covered his mouth to avoid inhaling the spores, the silken band on his wrist shimmering slightly as it became covered in the hypnotic dust. "What the-?" Wren questioned, not having seen Altissima use this attack when she battled him in Castelia.

Audino, in response to the sleep-inducing powder cloud, unleashed a Secret Power, the grass at it's feet winding itself into a whip as it grew in length, snapping back at the Petilil violently, dragging the Sleep Powder through the air with it. Fortunately for Altissima, she was immune to her own spores as a Grass-type but the snapping vines still hurt when they hit her in the face.

"Petipeti!" Altissima exclaimed, a cloud of bright pink perfume erupting from her, a sweet, minty scent accompanying the pink mist.

"Sweet Scent, too?" Wren asked her. "What happened to you using offensive moves?!"

"Ling ling deeeeeeerling."

"Oh no... Not another one..." The brunet groaned at the sound of another Pokemon. It seemed that Altissima's Sweet Scent hadn't just worked to reduce Audino's evasive ability via olfactory distraction but had drawn a wild cervine Pokemon towards her as well. The Deerling bound out of the edge of the forest, nose high in the air as it did. The Pokemon's pink coat reflected the Spring around it as it trotted across the meadow toward Altissima.

"Audi!" Audino exclaimed, jumping between Deerling and the Bulb Pokemon.

"Deer deer?" Deerling replied before it's trot turned into a full gallop with a trail of white light following behind. Using it's Agility, the cervine Pokemon raced around the Hearing Pokemon until it became dizzy. The moment Audino began to reel from the dizziness induced by spinning itself around and around to keep Deerling in it's view, the Season Pokemon darted closer and, with a brownish glow on it's hooves, it thrust it's front legs forward. The Double Kick landed square in the off-kilter Normal-type's chest and sent it flying.

"AudiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Audino cried out as it was thrown to the ground and slid a short distance away from Deerling and the Petilil that had attracted it, releasing a Hyper Voice along the way.

Both Deerling and Altissima cringed as the attack was released, though neither had the limbs required to cover their unfortunate ears and were rendered unable to resist the audio attack. Despite not being able to resist the sound-based blast of Normal-type energy, Altissima wasn't going to let it keep going on and quickly fired an Energy Ball at the Audino to drive it away completely. Deerling appeared to share the sentiment and jumped toward Audino, performing a surprisingly graceful flip for a quadrupedal creature along the way, and slammed it's posterior hooves into the Normal-type's head with Fighting energy shining from within them. The Jump Kick appeared to be the final nail in the coffin for Audino, knocking the Hearing Pokemon unconscious without much fanfare.

"Petipet lil pet peti?" Altissima asked of Deerling when the Audino was silenced at last, releasing a burst of sweet smells once more.

"Deer deer lingling deerling." Deerling replied, sniffing of Altissima's leaves and honing in on the healthiest, most aromatic ones with a bit of Odor Sleuth. Trying to take a bite of the Bulb Pokemon, however, would result in Wren recalling her to her Ball for safety and releasing Hemlock at last.

"Let's deal with this now." Wren told the Cancea. Deerling didn't seem to like the new Grass-type anywhere near as much as it had liked Altissima and her aromas and made it clear it wasn't fond of Hemlock with a Nature Power, resulting in a rather malformed Energy Ball rocketing towards the Cacnea rather quickly. "Poison Jab, Hemlock!"

Hemlock nodded and his arms began to glow purple, the barrel cactus jumping into the air and using his toxic arms to smack the incoming Energy Ball into the ground. The smack resulted in a slightly higher jump for the Cactus Pokemon, who used the height to his advantage by bringing both venomous arms down at once in a double hammer fist strike. Deerling darted out of the attack's range with Agility before leaping forward with it's rear hooves glowing brown again.

"Sucker Punch!" Wren called the moment Deerling started running, having seen what was coming next when it fought against Audino. Hemlock's arms went from a purple glow to their normal green with a smoke-like trail of black chi tracing the path of his movements. The diminutive Cactus Pokemon rang across the space between himself and Deerling and threw a Darkness-empowered uppercut at Deerling while it was still it midair. The result was one hard punch to the cervine Pokemon's chin and a harder crash from the failed Jump Kick. Deerling struggled to get back up after than, looking like a newborn babe struggling to stand for a moment, during which time Wren pulled a Great Ball from his pocket. "You liked Altissima so much... Maybe you should join the team and spend some more time with her." He suggested to the struggling deer before throwing the Ball at it. He almost missed thanks to a sudden gust of wind but Deerling's struggling caused it to stumble and fall right into the path of the capture device. Wren watched as it was drawn in and waited with bated breath for a moment to see if it would be successful in it's attempt to contain the Grass-type or not.

After what felt to him like ages, the ball pinged to signify it's success and the man retrieved it with a combination of a sigh and a laugh. "Didn't expect that to happen..." He admitted to Arkelos. "I guess you can consider the encounter with these guys as a sort of payment for your help. You can't hardly pay for such experiences." He told the silver-haired male as he clipped Deerling's Great Ball to his belt and picked up Hemlock for a hug, managing to show the needly Grass-type plenty of affection without bringing harm upon himself as many others so often did. Recalling Hemlock to his ball after thanking him for his help.

With the battles over and, luckily, nothing else in their way before they got there this time, Arkelos and Wren would reach the Hidden Grotto which housed the currently-under-construction "Fyre Fest" refugee camp. Now that they were here, it was time to put some work into building the place up!