First things first [Catching]

[Soap]

"Alright Kyokou, use Bite!

[/font]"

The sharp crack of the Bagon's jaws coming together shook the forest's edge. The tiny dragon's beady eyes burned with determination to successfuly attack the target.

"Too slow...almost...not quite...missed again.[/font]"

Soap had plopped himself down onto a nearby stump, dangling a long thin branch above his Pokemon. Hanging of the stick's end was a fat, juicy red apple that Soap liked to call "motivation".

Over and over, Kyokou would attempt to leap and snatch the food while his owner would heartlessly moves it out of his grasp. This was a speed-increasing training method he used to use on the farm, though he had about fifty apples to motivate the many Pokemon that participated in it.

This sucker, however, seemed to be taking longer than the others. "You're going to have to move faster to get the food, Kyo.[/font]"


That must have been the Bagon's limit, as he attempted once more with great ferocity; a loud snarl accompanied his actions. Hoever, this attack would be a feign, as he would swiftly leap backwards, snapping the area of the branch just behind where the apple was. His meal fell to the ground, to which he gobbled up with only a couple bites.

Soap was dumstruck. Not only was he quite fast, but quite tactical too. "Erm...not bad,[/font]" he grumbled, not wanting to show how impressed he was.

It had only been a day since he left on his journey, and already his companion was making progress. Maybe it was time to test him out...


"Alright, that's enough training for today, Kyo. We're going to find your first opponent out here.[/font]" The tiny dragon murred with approval, and began sniffing out the area for an opponent.

It was a good thing Bagon decided to show his promise so early, Soap thought, or he may have been too tired to fight. His new partner much resembled himself; maybe they'll be able to have some kind of super synchronization during battle one day.


The two scoured the area for about twelve minutes; it was beginning to seem as if this area was empty. Or maybe everyone just caught all of them... He hoped this was not the answer.

Suddenly Kyokou began to sniff with more intensity, then would stop his rapid inhalation all together. Something must be nearby. Now they just had to wait and see if this was true.

Kyo suddenly pounced a nearby bush, forcing Soap to instinctivly draw his PokeDex to catalog the new opponent. His companion growled and snarled in the veiling foilage for a few seconds, only to be replaced with the sounds of wheezing and choking.

"Aaah! That thing's trying to kill my Pokemon![/font]" he shouted, leaping into the shrubbery to save his Bagon. His hand found the scaley skin of his partner, and he tugged and pulled the dragon out of whatever vice the other Pokemon had put him in. With a great tug, he and his Pokemon had come tumbling out of the bushes. Soap sat up as fast as possible to get a sight of his mysterious opponent.

"......[/font]" Nothing came out.

Turning to his still wheezing Bagon, he knew what had happened from the blue juices it was now lapping of its lips. Kyokou had sniffed out another Pokemon's stash of Oran Berries, and was greedily helping himself to the rather hard fruit. Unfortunately, during his eating spree, the dragon must have stuffed too many in his mouth and began to choke. The sharp tug of its owner against it must have dislodged the blue fruit from its throat.

Soap's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Idiot. C'mon, let's keep looking.[/font]" He and his Pokemon, now regaining his breath, stood once more to continue their search for a wild Pokemon.


"And no more snacking.[/font]"[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 736

[Flash~!]

A flock of Tailow flew above Soap and his Pokemon's head. While most of them were flying in an orderly fashion, there was one Tailow that seemed to swerve a little bit. Before long, it started to do a nosedive towards the ground. It would crash through a few trees, and land with a thud in a bush a few meters away. Upon closer inspection, the Tailow's wing was hurt badly, although the reason probably couldn't be told just by looking at it. The hurt Tailow limped out of the bush, looked around for a moment before falling over in pain. It cried out for help, which attracted another Pokemon, although this one wasn't nearly as friendly.

An Ekans hissed it's way towards the helpless bird Pokemon, and if nobody did anything to help soon, the Tailow would be the Ekans's lunch.

Wild Tailow Appeared!

[/i]

Name:
Tailow
Gender:
Female
Level:
3
Abilities:
Guts
Attacks:
Growl, Peck, Steel Wing

Wild Ekans Appeared![/i]

Name:
Ekans
Gender:
Male
Level:
6
Abilities:
Intimidate/Shed Skin
Attacks:
Wrap, Leer, Poison Sting[/center]

[Soap]

Shadows suddenly danced around Soap, forcing his eyes to the sky. A dozen or so Tailow were flying away from the area, whether migrating or fleeing from something. Regardless, the boy was pissed. Damn. All of our commotion from earlier must have spooked them for something. The new trainer was beginning to regret his choice in Bagon. Dragon Pokemon were hard to train; perhaps he could get back in time to swap it.

His dilemma was cut short when one of the birds began to spiral down to the ground; poor thing couldn't keep up, Soap guessed. Bursting through branches and thickets of leaves, the Tailow found itself face-planting the blunt of a thick bush. Now Soap's tasteless sympathy evolved into interest.

"This could be our first, Kyokou. Be ready.

[/font]" The tiny dragon had only now caught notice of the situation, trotting towards the bush with curiosity. Hungry curiosity, it seemed, as Soap could hear the Bagon's smacking his lips. "Haven't you eaten enough yet...?[/font]" the trainer mumbled quietly.

Just as they neared the scene, the bird flopped out of the bush. Soap quickly reached for a ball in case the Tailow would attempt to fly away; even if the Pokeball wouldn't catch it, it would still give Kyokou enough time to get within fighting range. Fortunately, the bird didn't fly away (more so it couldn't). Maybe it's dazed or something. Oh well...

"Let's catch this suck-" he started before being cut off the rattle and hiss of a nearby Pokemon. Just next to the defenseless bird was an Ekans, its scaly purple hide stretching and twisting as it neared what the boy presumed as an easy snack. Might as well be a hero today.

"Alright Bagon, we've gotta go save that Tailow![/font]" he called out to his companion. No response. Soap turned only to find his partner had already made its move, nearing the bird with hungering eyes. "You little- Get out there and kick that snake's butt![/font]" he shouted, planting a well-placed kick in the dragons behind to send him flying into the snake.

As he wasn't prepared for the strike, the Bagon would let out a surprised 'scraw' before bending to rub his rump in mid air. If the Ekans were to stay in the same spot, it would receive the business end of Kyokou's steel-like scalp directly in its long stomach.

Despite the pain, Kyokou found the ride through the air exhilarating, as almost all Bagon share the dream to be able to fly one day. Perhaps his owner could administer this kind of entrance more often in the future...[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 512

[Flash~!]

Ekans had it's eyes focused on the helpless bird when he noticed the dragon-type flying towards him. The move was very unorthodox, and as such was dodged by the snake type with ease. The Ekans hissed at the Bagon, rattling it's tail and glaring at the dragon with it's beady yellow eyes. They were actually yellower than usual, as they were glowing from a Leer attack to lower the Bagon's defenses. The Ekans then opened it's mouth to fire a Poision Sting at the Bagon. The Tailow was staring to faint, and started crying out for help once more, as it was in a large amount of pain. The cuts and bruises on it's wing very very noticeable.

[Soap]

The snake twisted its elongated body to avoid the attack, sending Bagon toppling over to the ground just a couple yards away from the two wild Pokemon. "Wow, that almost hit him,

[/font]" Soap muttered about his own accidental style of attack. We might need to work on that later.[/font]

The snake Pokemon turned to face its new opponent, though from Soap's angle, it would be hard to tell what move it was using. This would not be a good angle to call out moves for his dragon to use, especially against a wild Pokemon. "Kyokou! Try to dodge whatever that thing throws at you; I can't see what it's going to do from here!"

The dragon, realizing the reality of the situation, gained its footing and prepared to move back towards its owner. However, its eyes met the opponent during its Leer, momentarily halting his movements in fear as its defense fell. He continued the movement just as the snake began to use Poison Sting, leaving a cluster of poisonous spines where he once stood. He aimed to move around the Ekans so it would be facing his trainer.

In the meantime, there was the Tailow to be dealt with, and Soap needed a distraction. If the dragon were to make it to its intended destination, the boy would execute part two of his plan to solve the situation."Alright Kyo, charge it with Rage![/font]" The dragon was already a step ahead of him, dashing toward the snake with the intention of pummeling its stubby arms, head, feet, jaw; anything it could smack it with.

While his Pokemon would do its second action, Soap would enlarge the Pokeball he held in his palm. With a quick breath and nod, he would lob the sphere to bounce off the suffering Tailow's forehead, hopefully capturing the bird for easier transport to the nearest Center.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 369

[Flash~!]

The Ekans watched with it's beady eyes as Bagon dodged the attack, and then watched as the Pokemon was running around him. Curiously, the Ekans cocked it's head at the dragon, confused as to what it was doing until he was facing the Bagon's trainer. Watching as he threw a Pokeball at his meal, the Ekans glared at the trainer before firing a slew of Poison Sting missiles at the Pokeball, causing it to be knocked away from the crying Tailow. Unfortunately, while focusing on the Tailow and the trainer Ekans forgot that he was in the midst of a battle. He was hit full-on with the Rage attack, and slid back while wincing in pain. He shot another Leer at the Bagon, then waited to see what it would do. The Ekans continually switched it's eyes back and forth between Soap and his Pokemon, as he didn't want either of them ruining his lunch.

[Soap]

His Pokeball flew through the air, its original owner's fist shaking with anticipation just before it would be shot down by several poisonous spines. Damn. This one is smart... he cursed to himself, returning his gaze back to the battle at hand.

Fortunately, his Bagon managed to land a solid hit against the Ekans, its thrashing self knocking the opponent back slightly. Overwhelming the opponent; a great start to a battle for Soap. The snake glared at his tiny dragon, its eyes beginning to glow a luminescent yellow. "Is that...?" He had to assume the worst. "Kyo! Don't loo-

[/font]" he started, though his words were halted when the Bagon anticipated the Leer.

Using the same attacks a second time with little to no change in their execution led to Kyokou avoiding the Leer just by spinning clockwise into a second attack. Though the constant motion would blur his vision, it would make the sight-based attack against him to be rendered useless as well as adding momentum to its slashing claws of Rage. The tiny tornado would aim to slice and cut the snake ruthlessly.

Between a long-ranged meal thief and a spinning buzz saw, the Ekans's divided attention could cause its own downfall.

Soap, in the meantime, watched for a moment in awe at his companion's battle prowess. How did you anticipate that faster than I could?! Whatever; that's for a later time. For now, the trainer would make a roundabout to his right, increasing the angular distance between him and his Bagon as well as getting closer to the wounded Taillow. As he ran, one of his hands would snake into his backpack, withdrawing a second Pokeball.

His dragon would have attempted its unique attack by the time Soap would have moved about eight feet to his right, tossing another ball at the injured Taillow. Just after the ball would be lobbed, he would have seen his dragon executing the unique move. "How...did you learn that?" he would ask quietly.

This new partnership just got interesting.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 407

[Flash~!]

As the Ekans was switching it's vision from Bagon to Soap, he saw the Pokeball being thrown. He tried to shoot another Poison Sting attack, but was hit with rage before he could do anything. The Tailow was then successfully caught, although she would need a Pokemon Center as soon as possible. The Ekans slid back from the attack again, this time in much more pain, and watched his lunch leave his eyesight. Extremely upset, the Ekans thrashed about, screaming out and shooting Poison Sting barbs at Soap and Bagon.

Congratulations! You caught Tailow!

[/i]

Name:
Tailow
Gender:
Female
Level:
3
Abilities:
Guts
Attacks:
Growl, Peck, Steel Wing
Personality:
Something has scarred this Tailow physically and mentally, as she is very withdrawn and afraid of almost everyone and everything.[/center]

{The Pokeball I shot with the Poison Sting is still good, just FYI. Also, the personality I put is just a basic idea, you could maybe expand on it, or give it a different personality altogether.}

[Soap]

Success! Soap just caught his first wild Pokemon!

The boy began to think of possible nicknames for the Taillow; maybe "Futeki" or something else along the lines of 'bold'. Unfortunately, he couldn't rejoice by trophying the Pokeball a this very moment, as there was still another problem blocking the path to coddling his newly caught partner's container.

Soap watched the Ekans's movements now that it was his new focus. It thrashed about, shrieking in pure rage at the loss of an easy meal; what a hot-headed little snake. Despite the nasty attitude, its ability to both protect its food as well as hold off another opponent impressed the boy enough to consider taking it to be a part of his team. But first, of course, he had to subdue this bucking bison (er, bucking...purple snake. Shut up.)

The opponent began to launch its multiple glowing darts of poison at the boy and his Bagon. However, due to the increased distance and angle between the two companions, the density of the barrage of needles allowed each to defend against a small number of spines. Desperation was definitely influencing the rest of their opponent's actions; the time to finish it off was now.

Soap was prepared for the snake to attack once again. "Be defensive Kyokou, and wait for my next command!

[/font]" The Pokemon, much wanting charge straight in with another Rage, hesitantly took the advice. Its defense was already lowered from earlier, and a critical attack could possibly deal more damage than needed.

As the needles took the the emptiness of midair, the Bagon would have leaped to the side to avoid the first wave of needles, and would continue to do so until his owner told him else wise.

Soap took up his defense against the attack by dropping to the ground, hearing the sharp, pulsating whistle of energy needles pierce the air around his head. Trainers,[/font]he concluded, definitely do not belong in the middle of battles.[/font] Luck was being sweet to the boy, however, as just by where his feet once stood lay his earlier-thrown Pokeball.

The area around the central button had tiny dents in its material from the Ekans's countering Poison Sting, resulting in an almost perfect triangle pattern around the button. The boy knew what ball he would be using to catch this feisty one with.

"Now Kyo! Use Bite to hold it still![/font]"

Now that the Ekans' attention at been aimed toward Soap, the tiny dragon had the perfect opportunity to get in a third solid hit on the target. However, after Kyokou would clamp his powerful maw on the length of neck just below the snake's chin, it would grip it with great intensity, making sure to not let it slide from the vice. He would then instinctively shake its victim to render it unconscious.

"Wait! Wh- well, never mind. I guess I can catch it when it passes out.[/font]" he would say if the action were to be completed.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 571

(OOC: I figured as much for the Pokeball, though I appreciate you telling me so. Also, I like how you made the Ekans. I was planning on having a group of pissy Pokemon who constantly attacked their trainer, and this might influence me to go on with it.)

[Flash~!]

The Ekans was so busy being upset that it didn't notice the Bagon coming until it was too late. He started raging even more as the Bagon bit into his frail body. He wasn't about to go out without one last move though. The Bagon had bitten around his neck area, so the Ekans used his lower half/tail area to Wrap around the Bagon's body and squeeze almost as tightly as the Bagon was squeezing. After a few moments of tug-of-war between the two, the Ekans couldn't handle it anymore. He loosened his grip, before finally releasing his grip on the Pokemon and fainting.

[Soap]

The attack was successful! Kyokou's mighty jaw wrapped tightly around his victim's throat, only to then be followed by viscous shaking to either side to knock it unconscious. "Keep it up, Kyo! Give it the old bite-and-shake!

[/font]" As ferocious as he was, Soap's new Bagon sure had an excellent affinity to battle. Being able to handle itself in an all out battle while its trainer ventured to save a wounded Taillow made the Pokemon all the more special to the boy.

However, due to the extra slack of its tail, the snake managed to coil its remaining length around the dragon's small body, vicing it to the point where Kyokou began to groan and almost cry out in pain. Soap grasped the scarred Pokeball and began to charge the scene, as he would attempt to catch the weakened Ekans (or otherwise temporarily restrain it) to release his Pokemon from the Wrap. Though by the time he got there, the snake's body would had betrayed its own fiery will and went limp.

Soap attended to his partner first, making sure it would come out of this without any permanent injuries. Besides having the air squished out of it, the Bagon still retained enough strength to snap at its owner as he got close. Ignoring the inappropriate greeting, Soap lifted his Pokemon to its feet, rubbing its smooth scalp in appreciation. "You did amazing today Kyo,[/font]" he said with a determined grin. "We won our first actual fight![/font]" Kyokou, still trying to remain hostile to its owner, couldn't help but feel proud of itself. The sudden fullness of pride must have relaxed the Pokemon to the point where its body remembered it was exhausted, as the tiny dragon slumped back on the ground to reunite with its dreams. Chuckling to himself, the boy recalled the sleeping Bagon to its blue Pokeball to let it rest.

Turning to the recently KO'd Ekans, Soap gently tossed the now unique Pokeball at its scalp, a metallic 'ponk' sounding just before the ball vacuumed its newest victim into the technological housing of its insides. As it was unconscious, there would be no fight, and the snake would be caught. First victory, his dragon is more experienced, and two more team mates? Best day ever.

It was definitely time to head to town; the Taillow - Futeki - needed to see the Pokemon center urgently. For it to fall out of the sky for no apparent reason could be due to some internal injury that he didn't see. With everything in tow and tucked into his pack, the boy began to jog in the direction earlier-spotted signs had described as the path to Stormcloud City. In the meantime, Soap formulated different names for his newly caught Ekans. "Maybe something along the lines of Okoru...yeah. Okoru![/font]" The boy smiled gleefully, though this shifted to a hardened stare as the suspicion of being seen as happy as a child in a candy store by possible onlookers.

This wouldn't be the last visit to the forest; his team just needed some good resting. Seeing as everyone was motivated to find Pokemon and fight by the thought of eating Futeki, maybe I should bring some snacks next time,[/font] he thought, now being haunted by the thought of his Pokemon trying to eat one another.

[exitTHREAD][/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 631

EXP Earned: 2895
Total EXP: 3395
Levels Gained: 7

[Soap]

【 First Things First : A c t T w o 】

Morning. The most relaxing yet tedious part of the day. Preparations for the later day must be fulfilled, early exits from one's home in order to arrive just shy earlier than scheduled, and then there's just waking up to boot. However, in the life of a trainer, one's morning routine and attitude are significantly different.

Each moment wasted sleeping at the Center can lead to a whole minute of exercising his cadets for any possible upcoming battles. Though for the past two days, there was little to no one around who would choose to waste their time fighting against a newbie trainer like Soap. After some considering, however, the boy knew of a sure way to find some more agreeable opponents. It was time to revisit Sakura Forest.

__________Sakura Forest, 9:24am__________

[enterTHREAD]

After an hour of searching, Soap began to reconsider his decision to pluck out an opponent from the wild. It had not even taken him this long to come across his very first wild encounter, and that was a two-for-one deal! And the most amazing part was, after reading into the different species of forest inhabitants in the area, Okoru (his Ekans) wasn't normally found in this area. He grinned widely and stupidly at the thought, pulling out the damaged metallic sphere to admire it in the light.

Seeing as nothing had come up yet, the boy decided the day would be better spent making actual progress through training than pushing aside shrubs on a wing and a prayer. Reaching down with his free hand to the ball holster snapped onto his porcelain-white belt, the boy would expand his three occupied Pokeballs, releasing those who resided in their technological chambers.

The first feeling Soap would experience after letting his Pokemon out would be one he has began to be accustomed to; the feeling of small, sharp talons digging into his shoulder. Futeki, not being as brave and bold as he once assumed, lived up to her name's secondary meaning quite well. As it seemed the other two reptile-like creatures he owned would like nothing better than to snack on some Taillow tail, the tiny bird habitually found her safest roost to be upon the boy's broadening shoulders. He wouldn't mind it so much were it not for her claws digging into the same tender flesh every single time. Seriously, he wondered,I'm going to eventually have a six dotted scar running up and down my collarbone one day.

Okoru had not matured over the last few days of training, acting almost as arrogant as Kyokou. However, its highly intolerable attitude towards changes and challenges greatly mirrored the tiny dragon's usually calmer demeanor. He sat coiled tightly about himself, not wanting to take part in whatever his inferior owner had planned to do. Despite what she assumed from the earlier day, the Ekans had no plans to gorge himself on such an itty-bitty bird anymore. Though this certainly did not mean there weren't other tasty morsels hiding in the forest for him...

Lastly, Kyokou landed with its mouth full of berries. Considering the monstrous appetite he seemed to own, Soap made sure that he would receive as much food as the Bagon could stomach; he also found that as long as he was kept happy, Kyo usually kept his jaws off of the boy's appendages. As its latest battle greatly increased his skills, Kyo began to act a bit snobbish around the other two Pokemon. The tiny dragon assumed that, since he did all of the work, he was the team leader. Discipline is what this team needs, thought the newbie, scratching his chin in thought.

"Alright gang, listen up! It looks as if today will be another training day, though today will be in the woods." His team displayed their usual mixed reactions; Fu began to shake, Oko ignored him, and Kyo began snapping his jaws in anticipation. "Ok, Fu! Your exercise for now are aerial laps. We can do combat later, but for now just work on that speed girl!

[/font]" Relieved that she wouldn't have to take the chance of hurting herself again with an attack, the tiny bird took to the sky in a black blur, circling the area with impressive speed.

"Oko, I want you to work on your aim again.[/font]" He ordered, though the snake simply flicked its tongue in annoyance. Again with this one! "Hey! You listen to me! Your aim stinks worse than your attitude, so unless want to be the weakest of the group, get your game on![/font]" Okoru hissed sharply at its owner's harshly truthful words, though he would slide toward a nearby tree tattered with knotholes for targets. That snake had potential, though with that nasty attitude, it wouldn't be able to perform well in battles.

"And for you, Kyo...[/font]" The dragon waddled close to its owner, glaring with intrusive self confidence. Though this probably wouldn't help with the Bagon's ego problem, he definitely needed what Soap was about to give him. "This-[/font]" he began, pulling out a small CD player-looking device, "This is a Technical Machine, or a TM. I bought this recently for you seeing as you won't get a long ranged move for a while.[/font]" Despite the tiny dragon's doubt about using the machine, Soap would place the business end of the device on his partner's forehead as the disk began to rapidly spin.

A faint navy blue glow emanated from the device, as well as from Kyo's eyes. Just a minute or so later, the disk would cease to turn, and the dragon would plop down on his rump from the sudden experience. "If this worked like I think it should, you should be able to use something called Dragon Pulse. Give it a try![/font]" Kyokou regained his footing, rubbing his head from the sudden intake of knowledge. It looked towards the tree that Okoru would be dotting with sharp glowing darts, and opened its mouth. Waiting a few moments, Soap began to wonder if the disk was a dud, or if this TM thing worked at all.

Suddenly, a bright green basketball-sized sphere of energy expanded from the dragon's maw, illuminating the forest with an unnatural light. With great force, Kyokou spat the ball at the tree while his owner watched in awe as it was driven completely through the wood, just before smashing into the ground with a rippling explosion. "W...wow.[/font]" Soap was speechless. Okoru was left with a gaping jaw at the display, then would furiously begin spitting more purple spines at what remained of the tree, determined to get better and outclass his higher leveled team mate.

Just before Soap could congratulate his companion, Kyokou would begin to inhale rapidly, shaking his snout in a general direction. The blast must have attracted a Pokemon! "Everyone! I think we found an opponent; come back to me![/font]" Just like a kid in a candy store, the boy and his team would rush toward where the Bagon was sniffing away at, watching for any signs of movement from the surrounding foilage.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 1352

[Flash~!]

A pile of twigs and branches started to wiggle and jiggle, before a small, baby Sewaddle popped it's head out. With worried eyes, the Sewaddle started to cough a little before if ferociously turned it's head all over the place. After a few seconds of this looking, the Sewaddle started to cry.

It cried for a while before it turned it's head to look at Soap and his team. It sent an angry glare at them, but it was just a baby so it's attacks weren't very strong. All it could do was look at Soap and his Pokemon in a mean way. After it got tired of this, the Sewaddle climbed out of the pile of twigs and branches, and started to crawl around, apparently looking for something.

Wild Sewaddle Appeared!

Name:
Sewaddle
Gender:
Male
Level:
5
Abilities:
Swarm/Chlorophyll
Attacks:
Tackle, String Shot

[Soap]

The team of Pokemon had gathered around Soap's general area to locate whatever Kyo had sniffed out just moments earlier: Fu nervously circled the area, wishing for the chance to skip out on fighting whatever they may find; Oko took the opportunity to out-smell his parter, swinging his massive head like a pendulum to locate the mysterious scent.

Kyo, on the other hand, remained close to his master, confident in his scent tracking abilities. Though he didn't want to admit it, Soap seemed to be favoring the dragon; he would have even gone out to say it was his friend were it not for its habitual act of locking its jaws around the boy's arm. Whatever. Keep your eyes peeled, Shabon.

[/font].

A minute passed, and the boy was already planning on heading back to their new training field. However, the Bagon halted its march through the foliage, growling at a heap of tree debris. Soap pulled out his PokeDex- he had recently learned how valuable having the Dex out during a battle hand be- and readied it to read a quick outline of whatever awaited them amidst the twigs and branches. Slowly, Kyo crept closer and closer to the heap as Soap's other Pokemon began to make sense of what the sudden halt in motion meant. The tiny dragon was now only a few inches away from the foliage, halting his growls and replacing them with quick, quiet snorts.

Suddenly, as his Ekans and Taillow reached him, Kyokou ceased all sounds. It seems he was awaiting an order to attack; it seems he had some respect for his trainer after all. "Bite it, Kyo![/font]" he ordered. The dragon leaped into the bush, tearing and snapping what whatever may be hidden inside. Seconds passed, and Kyo managed to drag something out of the heap. It was-

Nothing.

The rest of the team almost toppled over in embarrassing, though the same could be said about egotistical Kyokou. Well, at least this time he didn't choke on something. And it looks like he was knocked down a peg. Good thing, too.[/font] Bagon, his head held low in shame, trotted back to his owner, not wanting to look his other team mates in the face. "Well, you did your best. Nice try.[/font]."

A sharp cry from Futeki managed to shift the attention away from the Kyokou, much to his content. Just a yard or so away from where they stood, a tiny caterpillar-looking Pokemon had managed to pull itself from a second pile of twigs and leaves just to cry out. It was obviously scared, as its head twisted and pivoted about its body with such intensity that it could have easily fallen over.

Just after this awkward display, the bug swung its massive mug towards Soap and his group, giving them each an adorably nasty face. It was...just too cute to be intimidated. As it did this, Soap activated his Dex, reading about the Pokemon. "I don't know this one; must be foreign or something...ah, here we go. Sewaddle, the sewing Pokemon...Grass and Bug type (nice, nice)...knows some pretty basic moves when this young.[/font]" He snapped the device back into its original shape before depositing it into his backpack. The new question is "Who should fight it?"

Okoru still needed discipline before they would be able to fight together well, and Kyo still doesn't seem to have any muse right now. That leaves... "Oi, Fu! It's your time to shine, girl! Let's take on this enemy together![/font]" He hoped that his confidence could perhaps help pull the tiny bird out of her obvious cowardly slump. Though, as he suspected, the Taillow squawked in terror at the idea, and continued to circle the air. "Fu! Fu, come on! I need you![/font]" Okoru realized that he was not going to be used and, despite acting as if he never cared, hissed violently at his owner. Pokemon and their emotional problems, know what I'm saying?

"That's it![/font]" Soap shouted angrily, catching the bird's attention. "Fu, it's either fight or get eaten by Okoru! Your choice![/font] The Ekans, now confused about the situation, was yanked from its comfortably hostile position on the ground, with his now gaping maw aimed directly at the Taillow. Fu must have decided that being eaten was worse than having to fight, as she swooped down close to the trainer, eying both the Ekans and her new opponent carefully.

Soap let Okoru slide down back to the ground (not before the snake delivered a nasty bite onto his right forearm) and smiled at his bird. "It doesn't always have to be like this, Fu. I can show you how fun battling can be![/font]" The bird looked back at her owner with fearful doubt, though this sight dampened when she saw her owner's confident face.

"Alright, Fu my girl, let's start this off with a Peck![/font]" he ordered, as his bird hesitantly swooped towards the now searching Sewaddle to prod its massive cranium with her stubby yellow beak.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

WC: 955

[Flash~!]

The Sewaddle seemed to have no idea what he was doing, because as soon as he saw the Tailow charge at him, he stood there in fear. Unfortunately, this Sewaddle was still a baby, and really had no idea of it's own abilities. Due to this, it got hit head on with the Peck attack, and fell straight to the ground, most of it's health already depleted by the super-effective attack. However, the Sewaddle managed to get up; a stubborn one this little guy was.

Suddenly, the Sewaddle looked very sick. It didn't know what was going on, but it felt something going on in it's stomach. The feeling started to rise up, and instinctively the Sewaddle threw up a String Shot attack at the Tailow. Surprised at what it had done, the Sewaddle continued to fire of String Shot attacks at the Tailow, hoping to entangle it.