Chapter Two: Cat and... wolf?

[Taradactyl]

As Emmett took his first steps towards the next town--Purity Valley, if he remembered correctly, he thought it wise to release his Firecub, whom he had named 'Aduro'. That meant, in the general sense of the word, fire, and Emmett thought it a good name for a fire elemental.

The Firecub was pleased to be released--it seemed he wasn't one to be confined. A free spirit... or something of the sort. Emmett hadn't released Aduro just so that he could feel the wind in his (as of yet non-existant) mane, but rather for protection-- It would seem quite strange if he ended up fighting the wild pokemon of the route with his bare hands. (Or whatever tool he might find to aid him in his violence.) He could no doubt take some of the lower-leveled ones who relied on physical attacks-- It was the stronger, special-attacking beasties that he knew he had no chance of taking. And besides: Who gets a pokemon and then doesn't fight with it? Wasn't that the point?

In any case, Aduro was now walking beside Emmett, his flame-tipped tail wagging happily behind him. Why he was wagging his tail, Emmett wasn't sure. He had thought felines didn't do that, but... Ah, well. He was taking a liking to Aduro already.

"Hello," said Emmett, feeling strange not addressing his pokemon, "My name's Emmett. You already saw me at the lab... And you're my Pokemon, obviously. I've decided to nickname you Aduro, if that's okay with you. ... Well, that's what I'm going to call you anyway. I wasn't really asking."

Aduro mewled his greeting back--with exactly the same amount of sarcastic undertone, then promptly bit Emmett's ankle.

"Hey! What was that for?"

... But Aduro was already several feet ahead, snarling at a ferocious-looking piece of grass. Emmett took a deep breath of the salty sea-side air and strode forward. "Come on then, Aduro. Let's get going."

The Firecub happily bounded along behind Emmett... a limp blade of grass dangling from his jaws.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

A soft breeze was whistling through the route, causing the many leaves on the tall trees to rustle in harmony, a soothing sound that was quite prone to appear here. The sun was beating down from cloudless skies, its rays and heat filling the area with a pleasent warmth and rather joyful feeling. It was beautiful here.

The tall grasses swayed in the breeze, adding to the rustling of the leaves with their own calming rythmn, brushing against each other and making a similar, if not a slightly quieter, sound. The dirt path stretched onward towards the horizon, in the distance of which could be seen a row of small hills. This was where Purity Valley lay, far ahead at the end of route one, quite possibly at least a few miles up ahead.

A Rattata or two could be seen scampering across the path, but they did not stay long enough to be attacked or attack the trainer and Pokemon themselves. They were too involved in their game of tag to really even notice the duo as they scampered further into the grasslands.

A flock of Pidgey could too be seen taking off into the distance, but they were unconcerned with the human and Firecub. After all, they were going to be in the safety of the skies now, and they recognized the type that came out of Seaside Village. They were never very experienced and rarely had a Pokemon that could give chase up in the air.

However, two eyes were watching the couple unblinkingly from a cluster of higher grasses, translucent wings buzzing in the air so quickly it almost seemed like it didn't have any beneath the red and black spotted carapace it had. "Ledy..." it muttered, as if considering the odds against it. This human had a fire type with him, yes, but it looked young. perhaps it was beatable, after all, this wild Pokemon doubted it knew any fire element attacks yet, unless the trainer had had a TM of one on him.

Coming to a decision, the ladybird-like Pokemon gave a small nod of its head and charged forward in an attempt to Tackle the Firecub. Hey, it always took the advantage when it could, and attacking a Pokemon that seemed to be almost completely oblivious to the possible threats of the routes seemed like a pretty good idea to it at the moment. After all, wasn't it every Pokemon's dream to eventually evolve into a more powerful stage? This Pokemon though so, the image of a Ledian crossing its mind as it sped forward, as fast as its buzzing wings could carry it.


Event!
Wild Ledyba is Attacking!

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[Taradactyl]

It was quite a pleasant day, indeed. Glimpses of wild pokemon were common, and Emmett was beginning to wonder if he'd come close enough to do battle with one of them. Not personally, but through Aduro... Well, that was the plan, no?

So it was a bit of a surprise when he turned to glance at his Firecub-- and watched it get plowed into the ground by a Ledyba. A Ledyba had effectively piledrived his Aduro into the dirt. What a scum-bag-- attacking from behind wasn't fair... Emmett, once more, found himself smirking. He attacked from behind all the time; it was a common tactic for him. But... Pokemon were supposed to be fair fighters, or some other nonsense like that. It was the trainer that was bad, he remembered once hearing on television.

"Alright, Aduro-- Shake it off! Get ready to attack! And don't worry, I have potions. Be reckless. Well... that's not really a good mindset to get into. Nevermind."

The Firecub yowled its displeasure at being rammed into the dirt, and flipped around to face the Ledyba. Growling, he bared his teeth and awaited an order-- something most "tame" pokemon did. "Ah... Tail whip. You can take another hit, that's for sure. Like I said-- potions. Get its defenses down and you'll be able to hit it harder, see?"

Of course he saw. What did Emmett think he was, a human? Still baring his teeth, Aduro wagged his tail from side to side in a tail whip attack. The flame at the tip of his tail make rather distracting smoke trails in the air-- this strange back-and-forth movement might just cause those who watch it to, indeed, become distracted and perhaps even lower their defenses...

[Ayra Calaenlen]

The ladybird-like Pokemon seemed to sway in the air, its eyes following that path of the flames that burned on the Firecub's tail. Its muscles seemed to relax slightly, which meant only one thing; its body didn't have as much protection as it had a few moments ago.

Breaking out of the trance suddenly, the Pokemon seemed to be surveying the situation. You can take another hit, that's for sure. Like I said-- potions. Get its defenses down and you'll be able to hit it harder, see? The Pokemon recalled what the trainer had just said. So that's what they were doing, trying to get its defenses down so the Pokemon would go down quicker. Well, it wasn't going to go down without a fight, that was for sure.

The Ledyba continued to hover in front of the Firecub, however, it did not charge in for another Tackle this time. Rather, it began to make a buzzing noise by rapidly shaking the two antennae on its head. Rings of supersonic energy extended from the source of the buzzing, getting wider and larger as they headed for Aduro. It was the Pokemon's Supersonic attack.

Well, this would definately make the battle a bit more interesting anyway. After all, if a Pokemon was confused there was always that chance that they would end up hurting themself rather than the wild (or trained) Pokemon they were supposed to be attacking. If this technique worked, the wild Ledyba would definately have a slight edge in its favor. And if by some chance it won, well, it would be one more step towards its dream of being a Ledian.

"Ledyba! Ledy!" the Pokemon taunted cheerfully, still buzzing its antennae to send out more ultra-sonic waves. This battle wasn't turning out too bad so far, at least it knew now that the fire type had no fire element attacks. That simpel fact just made it all the better.

[Taradactyl]

Crud. Emmett had been counting on the Ledyba knowing Supersonic-- this was a setback. It reminded him of those endless games of Spades he used to play, when no one knew quite what the other team was holding on to. He clenched his fists; a sign that he was tense (and ready to jump in and help, himself), and glanced to Aduro. Oh, wonderful. He had most definately been hit by the Supersonic attack. His eyes were crossed and slightly glazed over-- and he was staring at the clouds overhead.

Here's where Emmett was going to go ahead and throw his queen of clubs-- so to speak-- and order Aduro to attack. Hopefull that Ledyba didn't have anything higher.
"Okay. Aduro! Focus! I need you to use a tackle attack. ... Aduro!?"

The Firecub, having heard his trainer calling for a tackle attack, growled playfully and launched himself towards the Ledyba. Whether he would hit, or come crashing back down to earth--and, thus, harm himself, was still unknown.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

"Ledy!" the Ledyba called, trying to watch the Firecub's movements. It was rather accurate for being confused, and this suprised the wild Pokemon greatly. It had been hoping it would run into a tree or something, not actually jump right in its direction!

Acting somewhat on impulse, the Five Star Pokemon charged with its own Tackle. It knew full well it was going to hurt itself by doing this, but hopefully it would do some damage to the trained Firecub as well. After all, any damage towards its opponent was a plus.

"Ledy! Ledyba!" the Ledyba squealed, feeling the impact from the Firecub's own Tackle. It was thrown backwards, beating its translucent wings wildly as it tried to regain its posture in the air. This wasn't good, it had forgot about the Tail Whip the Firecub had used previously and well, even that confused Tackle hurt-- a lot!

It finally was able to pause in the air and buzz forward again, hoping it had at least done /some/ damage to the Firecub. It seemed to be panting slightly. Another few hits like that one and it was pretty much done for...

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[Taradactyl]

Wow. That collision had been audible-- And it was, no doubt extremely painful. Aduro was thrown backwards with a rather painful-sounding thud, and mewled in a piteous fashion. He was sprawled on his back, with his legs bent out at strange angles... Yeah-- that looked bad.

"Eh... Aduro? Get up."

The Firecub, hissing now that the Ledyba had gotten him angry, struggled to his feet. It seemed nothing was broken, at the very least. "Use growl... er, no, tail whip. Um-- okay, go with another tail whip."

Aduro, though he listened to what Emmett had said, hadn't really understood-- It seemed the confusion attack was still in place... And the Firecub began to run in circles, chasing his own tail. Emmett clenched his hands into tighter fists and watched his pokemon trip over his over-sized 'cub-paws'.

"Hey, Aduro. Stop that. Aduro. ... Aduro. Aduro! Listen. Stop that-- and use tackle."
The Firecub stopped running in circles and lunged in the first clear direction that reached his eyes (as he was running in circles earlier, the scenery about him had been a bit blurry)... But would he hit the Ledyba? Emmett didn't think so, but if that thing tried tackle Aduro again, maybe the attack would land.

[ooc// Haha-- the /sound/ of the collision was audible. DUH. --(edit)]

[Ayra Calaenlen]

Now, any Pokemon that was thinking logically would have tried dodging the Firecub's Tackle, after all, that would mean the fire type would be open for a good hit. But, the Ledyba wasn't exactly what you would call a logical thinker, rather, it used the same exact tactic for the second time!

Charging to meet the Firecub with it's own Tackle, the Ledyba let loose a cry of determination. You didn't get stronger by running and dodging, no, you got stronger by enduring pain, by suffering through the challenge. At least, that was its philosophy it seemed, seeing it used the same recoiling tactic for the second time.

With a rather loud, squeak-like sound, the Ledyba was thrown backwards again, however, this time it was at an angle, causing the bug to slam against the ground. One of its fragile wings seemed to crumple beneath it, causing it to cry out in pain. Well, this was just great, it was grounded!

The Ledyba glared at Aduro, hoping its Tackle had at least hurt him somewhat, if not badly as it would have prefered, after all, the fire cat had caused one of its wings to become injured! However, this position was definately bad for the Ledyba, here it was, panting, grounded, and pretty much done for. One more attack like that, well, again, it was done for...

OoC:
Meh, short post D:

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[Taradactyl]

Emmett couldn't believe it-- that Ledyba had gone for the counter-tackle-with-tackle tactic again, meaning Aduro had, at the very least, landed some sort of attack. He was about to speak when he noticed how the Ledyba had landed... and nearly laughed out loud. The pokemon had hurt its wing! There was no way it was going to get airborne again-- or so he thought-- and now was open for attack! However... Aduro, too, was showing signs of strain; his breath slightly labored; several bruises welling up about his side where the tackles had landed; a few scratches were visible across his tiny black nose...

Emmett also noted, with something of a grin, that Aduro's eyes seemed more focused... Perhaps he had snapped out of confusion? Emmett certainly hoped so. "Okay, Aduro, you gotta' learn to handle your pain-- never let down an attack just 'cause you're sore, eh? ... Oh. Tackle, Aduro. Try to hit low--those usually keep 'em down."

Aduro eyed Emmett curiously. What the heck was he talking about? He patiently listened to his trainer's comments, however, nodding along as though he knew, or cared, what Emmett was talking about. Tackle. Yes-- that was simple. With something of a battle cry, Aduro leapt forward, towards the Ledyba.

[ooc// Like Scar, when he was gonna' kill Simba, and he was jumping through the fire, and he was all like "RAAAA", but then Simba kicked him off the cliff-y thing. :3 *nodnod*]

[Ayra Calaenlen]

The Ledyba stared, wide eyed as the Firecub leapt towards it. Well, this was it, its dream of becoming a Ledian zipped right out the window it seemed. It was going to get beaten by a fire element, that didn't know any fire attacks! Well, this was just great!

The Pokemon continued staring, and then slowly closed its eyes in defeat. Maybe this trainer would help it fulfill its dream? Its dream to finally evolve? Maybe, just maybe... It continued staring as the fire lion came closer, and closer, and closer, and then-- the Tackle connected.

With a loud, pained squeak the Ledyba flew across the ground and connected rather hard with the trunk of a tree. Still having what seemed to be a fighting spirit, it tried to rise to tos feet again, but then fell with a loud thump, fainted upon the ground. Well, that had definately been an exciting battle, but Aduro had risen victorious over the Five Star Pokemon, and that was definately an accomplishment.

Congratulations!
Aduro gains three levels for defeating the wild Ledyba!
The wild Ledyba can now be caught!

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[Taradactyl]

Emmett watched with and eager expression as Aduro lunged towards the Ledyba-- had it given up?--and pumped a fist into the air as his Firecub slammed its opponent into a tree. "Nice hit, Aduro!"

And then it fainted-- his first real pokemon battle was a win. "Alright! Nice fight. You need a potion? You look a little tired."
He did, indeed, look tired-- His tongue was lolling from his mouth in a very dog-like pant; his tail drooped; his bruises were darkening; his fur matted with sweat. <Fi.>

Emmett took this to mean 'yes', and removed a potion from his bag, which he used on Aduro. It worked well-- the bruises began to fade, as did the scratches, and the Firecub began to perk back up. It reminded Emmett of watering a wilting plant, in a strange sort of way.

He threw a glance at the Ledyba. He never liked those things-- they were always buzzing about and pestering him as he traveled to Goldenrod, and they weren't all that powerful, in his opinion. He decided to leave it where it was: Face down in the dark dirt. [ooc// She said, this doesn't hurt... AGH. That song won't leave me alone.]

"Come on, Aduro. Let's keep walking."

[Ayra Calaenlen]

A small, slim figure sniffed at the fainted Ledyba as the trainer and Firecub continued on. A small grimace spread across its black-splashed face, the creature's yellow and red eyes flashing. A cat... if there was one thing this Pokemon hated, it was a cat... Even though Aduro was really a lion, he was still of the cat family, right?

The Pokemon padded softly after the pair, slipping in and out of the high grasses. Maybe, if it was lucky, it could get a good pounce in. Hadn't that been what the Ledyba had done to attack? Cats... the grey and black Pokemon thought rather angrily. Oh how he hated them... actually, he loved nothing more than attacking the Meowth that were occasionally seen around here. He tensed his shoulders, raising the fur along his back. That cat wouldn't know what hit it!

However, he would have to wait for his chance, seeing a Wurmple had inched out of the grasses and was now staring curiously up at Emmett and his Firecub. Muttering something beneath his breath, the Poochyena that had been stalking the pair vanished back into the grasses, hiding in their shadows. He would wait, and then he would attack.

"Wuuuuurrrrrmmmppppplllleee!" the red worm said cheerfully, closing its eyes in a somewhat happy manner. It had grown used to seeing trainers wander down the path and on occasion one of them would toss a bit of food to it. It seemed that quite a few trainers would rather feed it than catch it, which had, in turn, caused it to become rather comfortable around people. Of course, at some times that could be a mistake.

The Wurmple smiled up at Emmett, inching along next to him as it waited for the boy to drop something for it. After all, that was what most trainers did, wasn't it? The Wurmple hadn't seen the battle with the Ledyba, so it wouldn't know.

The Poochyena growled slightly. That Wurmple was an idiot, going up to trainers like that! Oh well, it was its skin, not the Poochyena's, why did it care about the bug? The wolf went back to waiting, slowly stalking after the group.

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[Taradactyl]

Emmett thought he saw something-- a faint shadow in the corner of his eye, but when he turned to see what it was, there was nothing there. He shrugged it off and the two continued walking down the path... Only to be interrupted several moments later by a Wurmple.

Why was it looking up at him like that? It didn't seem like it wanted a battle. It looked like it expected him to feed it. Emmett wasn't one to be particularly nice, so he merely smirked at the Wurmple, stepped around the tiny creature, and went on his way. He just beat a Ledyba, and didn't think a smallish Wurmple would provide a large amount of experience for Aduro, who was... not walking next to him.

Emmett spun around, a frown starting to tint his features. "Aduro. Let's go." ... But the Firecub was crouched beside the Wurmple, his haunches raised and tail twitching. He looked like he was about to pounce, and Emmett didn't want another battle, not right now. He just wanted to walk, to pass some of the distance...

"Aduro, come on."
The Firecub, still not listening, batted at the small pokemon in front of him.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

The Poochyena that was still crouched in the shadows seemed to actually grin slightly, though it looked a bit like an evil smile due to the fangs that adorned its mouth. That wasn't exactly its fault, and rather, it wouldn't give up the fangs for anything. they were powerful, and really useful in hunting, so why live without them if they were such an advantage? However, the Firecub batting at the Wurmple seemed to amuse it somewhat. After all, Wurmple weren't exactly very aggressive.

Indeed, the Wurmple seemed to think that the Firecub was playing and, did what was obvious to do, played right back. "Wurmple wurm!" it said cheerfully, inching around to a rock, away from the Aduro's batting paw. It crawled up it and then jumped, trying to land on the cat's back.

Oh yeah, a complete idiot... the Poochyena thought, though it couldn't help but wonder what the Firecub was going to do. It had to admit that the worm was lucky it wasn't evolved into Pyraness yet, that's when they gain the flames on their back. No, so far it was just the tail... but, that didn't make the red worm Pokemon anything less than an idiot in the Poochyena's opinion. It flicked its tail. If only that cursed worm would leave already! Then it could go for the cat!

The Poochyena blinked suddenly. Why couldn't it just attack now? While that Firecub's distracted? It hadn't thought of that, but, it still waited. It was a hunter after all, so, it would wait for the perfect moment to strike...

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[Taradactyl]

Emmett shook his head. It seemed Aduro had made friends with the Wurmple-- after the smallish worm pokemon jumped onto his back, the Firecub shook it off and rolled onto his back, purring. Purring? "Good Lord, Aduro. You're supposed to be a hunter, aren't you? Kill that thing."

The Firecub stopped rolling around in the dirt and threw a glance at Emmett, as if to say 'make me'. Most new pokemon were a bit on the defiant side, especially towards new trainers, but Emmett wasn't going to stand for this. "Aduro-- We're leaving. Rather, I'm leaving, and if you don't want to be abandoned you're coming with me."

And, with that, Emmett spun on his heel and walked away. Aduro, still sitting next to the Wurmple, mewled piteously-- but trotted ahead to catch up with Emmett. He didn't want to be left alone. Sure, he could probably fend for himself, but there was very little chance of him becoming a Furion without a trainer's help.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

"Wuuuuurrrrrrmmmmmmple..." the Wurmple crooed, inching quickly after the duo. It wasn't going to let them leave that easily, after all, not only could the Firecub protect the little bug, but it was nice, and the Pokemon decided it liked the fire type, as a sort of friend.

"Wurmple, wurm wurm, wurmple!" the worm seemed to have started singing, which, if translated to english, would sound something like, <F stands for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me! N is for anywhere at anytime at all, right here in the High Prarie!>

The Poochyena sighed quite audibly. He should just attack now, seriously. That Wurmple was getting really annoying and now it was singing about friendship? I wonder what will happen if I just rip it apart... the Pokemon thought, tapping one of its paws on the ground impatiently. Though I don't know if bug would taste very good... This was quite a dilema.

And the Wurmple continued singing its little song, which it didn't seem to know a lot of seeing it just repeated the first verse over and over again. It was definately obvious the hidden Poochyena was getting highly annoyed, seeing it had started gnashing its fangs together as if getting ready to bite.

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[Taradactyl]

[ooc// 8DDD ROFL. That made me laugh, right there.]

Emmett stopped, again, something of a scowl playing across his features. Was it singing? It was certainly following them. "Aduro. As your trainer, I'm commanding you: Use tackle on the Wurmple. It's annoying me."

Aduro turned, and, with a strange sort of smile-- it seemed he was trying to duplicate Emmett's smirk-- lunged head-first towards the Wurmple in a tackle attack. "There we go. Take 'im down," Emmett 'cheered'. He supposed a little extra experience was always useful.

There was one thing that was bothering him, though... He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched...

[Ayra Calaenlen]

OoC:
I just had to xD

BiC:
"Wurmple!" the wurm squeaked. It had thought they were friends! Why was its new buddy attacking it? Due to this, it didn't exactly move out of the way and went rolling backwards, hitting a tree and stopping upsidedown against it.

The Poochyena smirked slightly. Well, the Wurmple had that one coming... It glanced up at the trainer of the Firecub, twitching its tail. Not many trainers would have their Pokemon attack an innocent Wurmple out of the blue like that, unless they wanted to catch it that was, but it doubted that this trainer wanted it seeing as he had been ignoring the worm. The wolf grinned slightly now. It had to admit, that was the kind of trainer it liked...

The Wurmple flipped back over and gave Aduro something like a puppy dog look, its eyes getting really big. And then, it started to cry, wailing and then accidently running into the tree again as it tried to run away. It was probably a rather young Wurmple, that was for sure...

The Poochyena rolled its eyes. That worm was absolutely pathetic! Honestly, it could at least have some dignity and fight back. Most likely it would loose but still, fire a Poison Sting or something!

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[Taradactyl]

[ooc// XD I feel sorry for the Wurmple. Shame on you, Emmett! Emmett: *@%$ off! Me: ... 0__0 Ouch. Emmett: That Poochyena, though... ]

Emmett glared at the Wurmple. Did it have to wail like that? Surely Aduro hadn't hit it that hard, he was only level eight, and new to battling. What a weak pokemon-- Emmett grimaced. "Please shut it up, eh, Aduro?"

The Firecub, which seemed to have something of a mean streak, snarled and came around for another tackle attack. He didn't seem to care, anymore, that the Wurmple was fun to play with, or even that it was obviously much weaker and inexperienced than he-- He just wanted to battle! And, as one could tell by Emmett's expression, so did his trainer.

Emmett found himself staring at the Wurmple. Why did it want to follow them in the first place? Surely it knew how weak it was, and that not many trainers would want to capture it. Perhaps some other trainers had fed it, or been nice-- there was a laugh--and spent some time with it. Wild pokemon would soon learn, he thought with a slight smirk, that he wasn't the kindest of trainers. They should be thankful, though, that he wasn't Zane. Now there was a truly vicious person.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

The Wurmpled seemed to cower, still whining pitifully and wailing up into the sky as it quivered. Why were they attacking it? It just wanted to be friends, what did it do? "Wurmple worm..." it squeaked, edging closer to the tree. Maybe it would run into the tree when it attacked?

The Poochyena sighed. What in the world was that Wurmple doing? Why didn't it run at the very least? I don't know why I'm doing this... it thought, suddenly darting out of its hiding place with a vicious snarl, placing itself firmly between the Wurmple and the Firecub. Oh, right, a blasted cat... A slight grin played on its muzzle. This was going to be fun...

With a loud bark, the Poochyena abruptly raced at Aduro with its Tackle attack, trying to put as much force as possible into the attack. After all, it was a cat, the Poochyena was a dog, cats don't do well against dogs, right? "Yena!" it barked again, leaping and trying to ram Aduro in the side.

"Wurm...ple? not quite expecting a savior to suddenly appear out of the bushes the Wurmple stared dumbstruck. However, it seemed to come back to its senses and abruptly inched off. This incident didn't exactly change its view on trainers, it would just find another, nicer one. That was all.

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