Epic Training: Lithalia vs Alexander

[Zorrel]

A young, blue haired trainer and her daemon stood before an open field full of hills that were covered with a thin blanket of freshly fallen snow and were bathed in sunshine. The lightly falling snow started catching on her clothes and shoulders, and brushed softly across her smiling face. It was a fantastic winter afternoon; perfect sun, perfect weather, and a perfect training area. After taking in the warm rays of sunlight for a few moments, the girl unclipped four pokeballs off her belt and tossed them all into the air above her. "Come on out, everyone!" she happily exclaimed.

The array of red light from the pokeballs soon solidified into four small figures. A young Riolu looked around in curious wonder before looking up to figure out where that cold white stuff was coming from. A Meowth sat where it was released and started daintily licking a paw. A Burmy stood on its twiggy legs and blicked lazily, waiting for something to happen. A Mankey shivered from both cold and anticipation of what it hoped would happen next; a battle.

"Alright, guys," started Lithalia, eyes glowing brightly. "We're gonna do some training today! How does that sound?"

The Meowth stopped licking her paw and looked up to her trainer. ~It's a bit too cold to be outside, don't you think, Lithalia?~ All this kitty wanted to do was curl up on a rug in front of a nice, warm fireplace and take a catnap.

The Growlithe daemon sitting beside the human girl translated Amira's question. Lith opened her mouth to respond, but the Mankey beat her to it. ~Battling will warm ya up, so stop complaining, princess,~ he said, bouncing around in excitement. Amira replied with a slight hiss and a roll of the eyes. This Meowth and Mankey had quite the odd relationship; they always bickered back and forth with taunts and teases, but still liked each other like family.

Their trainer giggled. "No fighting, you two - atleast, save it for the battlefield. Now, Rikio, you need some experience. Would you and Vex mind being the first two up?" she asked, glancing back and forth from Burmy to Mankey.

~Fine with me,~ the Burmy calmly responded before stepping out onto the soon to be battlefield. He started checking over his leaves to make sure they were all in place, which was a habit of his; what he was really doing though was trying to hide his excitement about the thought of getting closer to leveling up.

~A'course! I've been waitin' to have another battle for forever,~ Vex said, going out to face his leafy opponent. ~You're goin' down, twig-legs,~ he taunted; trying to wear down the enemy with taunts was one of this Mankey's battle strategies. Rikio's laid back attitude, however, seemed to prove immune to Vex's tactic when he seemingly shrugged off Vex's banter. Atleast, it looked like he shrugged.

After seeing the two accept her request for them to battle, Lith gave a satisfied nod and called out, "Hey Alex, do you wanna play trainer for Vex?" Alex looked up from his spot laying down beside her with eager eyes that obviously said yes; while he was a daemon, he loved to call out the attacks in a battle. He happily trotted as far as the human-daemon pair could get from eachother without sustaining injury and stood behind the battle-hungry Mankey. Amira got up and took it upon herself to look after the little Riolu. She sat down next to Blaedyn and the two commenced making snowmen and snowcastles together with what little materials they had. Then, with a smirk, Lith called out the first attack. "Riki, start out with Vine Whip!"

The Burmy's face turned from one of laid back apathy to a determined, battle ready expression in an instant. Thick vines shot out from under his leafy coat and headed straight for Vex. "Jump up to dodge it, then come down on Rikio with Low Kick!" shouted the Growlithe daemon. Following Alexucard's orders, Vex jumped right over the Burmy's vines and swiftly went into a Low Kick.

"Quick, use Protect!" was Lith's counterattack. Quickly recalling the now limp vines, Rikio was able to created a blue, glimmering shield above it to protect it from the Mankey's kick just in time. Therefore, Vex's Low Kick was rendered useless as it simply bounced off the Protect, leaving the Burmy underneath it completely unharmed.

Alex couldn't help but smirk, even though Vex's attack had failed. This was his first real trainer battle! He felt as excited as any first time trainers felt during their first time battle."Focus Energy, then Scratch!" he called. Both human trainer and daemon trainer exchanged smiles back and forth as their first battle against each other went on and the sun slowly continued its climb higher into the sky.

ooc// This is where the awesome trainer Alexander makes his epic entrance!!!11

[Klomonx]

The light snow hardly affected Alexander, his read coat had been tied together to keep him warm, and his hat caught a lot of the snow. His Skarmory Daemon walked next to him calmly. The snow drifted off of his hat and shoes, he seemed very aloof and uninterested about being here, and yet he had a plan in mind. His Pokemon needed training in order for him to take on the gym, and he knew out of all of them, Hydra, Anubis, and Thistle needed to be trained the hardest, for they would be the best to take on the gym leader's Pokemon. Alexander took out all five of his Poke balls and flung them in a straight line over the lightly fallen snow. The red beams turned into his five Pokemon, in the order they had been caught. They lined up and stretched.

The first was Thistle, his first Pokemon. Thistle was a Sneasel, her short black fur coating her body, and her ears flicking as she looked around with her piercing golden eyes. She crossed herself with her claws, smiled and slashed them across the air with unimaginable speed. She was the Weasel Pokemon. Next up was Hydra, his second Pokemon. Hydra was an Ekans, and he hissed with pleasure as he sat coiled up in order to avoid freezing. He hissed in a slight shiver. He was the Snake Pokemon. Third, was Brutus. A Poochyena who seemed to be ready to take on the world. The pup immediately looked over at Thistle and growled. "~Hey, you! You little speed demon!~" Thistle looked over at Brutus and smirked, "~I'd like to show you my new Artistic Technique, why don't you watch?~" Thistle quickly sliced one of her claws into the snow, and after a second she flung a perfect snowball, hitting Brutus square in the face. The pup sat down, surprised, astonished, and snarling. "~You little cheat! You can't do that!~" "~Hussshhh up you two. Its too cold for thisss.~" Hydra responded, not at all amused. Fourth was Pip, the Mudkip. He uneasily shook his body and stepped into the snow, whimpering a little bit. He blinked at it, and then looked back wearily at Alexander. Where were they? Lastly, was Alexander's Special Pokemon. It was a Houndour, by the name of Anubis. She sat calmly in the snow, before looking down and setting the snow on fire with a brief ember, melting the snow around her and making the ground warmer. Anubis had been given to Alexander, and out of all of them, had the least experience with battling.

"Alright, two of you are going to be training today," Alexander spoke sharply. All of his Pokemon turned to face him, silent and calm. "The two I selected will be pitted against one another, and will be focusing on two major areas of your abilities. One of you will be commanded by myself, the other by Masquerade." The five Pokemon nodded in Unison. "In order to make this battle a little more fun, I will be pitting type-match ups together. That is, Thistle-and Anubis." At once, Thistle smiled, sharpening her two claws over each other quickly, warming them and creating sparks. Anubis nodded, smiling. Brutus growled, "~Why does she get to battle?!~" Masquerade translated what Brutus said, and Alexander responded. "In time, Brutus, you will be able to battle." Brutus didn't like the answer, and he grumbled again. "The three of you not battling, can wait off to the side." Alexander waved his hand to the right, and the three Pokemon not battling slithered, pawed, and wiggled their way through the snow and off to the side.

"Mask, you can handle Anubis, I assume?" Masquerade nodded, "I've handled worse than fire-types, Alex. And you know that." With a nod, the Skarmory fluttered as far as she could without harming Alexander, Anubis followed her without question. Thistle stayed where she was, in front of Alexander and waiting for orders. Alexander then addressed both Pokemon. "Thistle, we are going to work on your speed, accuracy, and defense. You need to be able to withstand attacks. Anubis, we are going to focus on your Power, Defense, and Speed at Unleashing your attacks." Thistle nodded, "~Alright.~" Anubis nodded as well, smoke falling out of her jaws as she barked an answer, "Understood."

"Thistle lets start this off with Leer!" Thistle blinked and stared at Anubis, her eyes shining and then narrowing suddenly. Anubis stared right back, and without any orders given to her, she too unleashed Leer. Masquerade blinked in surprised, Anubis was not going to follow orders easily. The two leers hit each other, and the defense stat fell on both of them. "Thistle follow the attack up with Ice Punch!" Thistle ran forward, her speed increasing considerably as her claws began to glow in the ice-blue, almost white hue. "Anubis withstand the hit." Masquerade groaned, calmly. The attack hit Anubis head on and she slid back, growling. "Now Anubis-" Before Masquerade could continue, Anubis unleashed ember at full blast. "Thistle use Metal Claw to help block the Attack!" Thistle's quick reflects allowed her to use Metal Claw an instant before the Ember hit, blasting her back and only giving her half the damage she would have received. It still hurt, and hurt her bad, but she didn't care. She still stood up and wasn't about to back down.

"Thistle, use Scratch, double time!" Thistle's speed increased as the Weasel ran forward, not staying in one place to long, she was like a shadow as she moved, ready to unleash a painful scratch attack. Anubis growled, preparing. "Focus, Anubis. You can hear and scent her. At the last moment, Dodge." Thistle came closer and closer to Anubis, her speed was increasing as she zig-zagged her way through the snow. The powder was riped up by her claws and feet as she approached Anubis. She stopped to slash her when Anubis jumped over the attack, landing behind Thistle and sliding in the snow. "~Nice leap.~" Thistle commented, turning to face her foe. "~Its easier when you have four paws. Not claws.~"

"Don't back down, Thistle use Scratch again!" Thistle pushed off and ran at Anubis, who prepared to jump over the attack again. This time however, Thistle did not pause before she struck, and with a quick swipe she slashed at Anubis. Her claws grating into Anubis' fur and causing her to fall over. The Scratch was a critical hit, and that had been surprising. "Thistle use Scratch again!" Anubis' eyes widened, she wasn't going to allow herself to get beat on her first battle so easily. The Scratch probably wouldn't faint her but she wasn't about to chance it. Out of instinct, Anubis unleashed an ember-despite Masquerade's orders to avoid the attack again. The ember hit Thistle directly, and hard. In fact, Thistle was flung into the air, snow flying past her and hitting her.

She landed on her feet, directly in front of Vex's Scratch. Thistle panted, and with a quick reaction defended herself by blocking the attack with Metal Claw. Instantly, Alexander came running over to the battle. "Thistle, are you alright?" Thistle had been knocked back by the scratch, but was still standing despite the fact the two Embers had taken a toll on her, she refused to faint. Masquerade and Anubis, along with the other three Pokemon were at Alexander's side as well. Alexander then looked up and realized that Thistle had been knocked into another's training session. "Please, excuse us." Alexander said, checking up on Thistle. Thistle had a burn, and a nasty one. She wouldn't last long in another battle, though she refused to let herself go down, which made Alexander smile. He always pushed his Pokemon, and was glad to see that Thistle had understood that.

[Zorrel]

Vex calmed his rising anger from the ineffective Low Kick by using Focus Energy. He closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths before locking onto his opponent. The Mankey had his eye right on Rikio as he ran full speed at him, pointed claws outstretched in a Scratch attack. A little bit further and he'd have his claws scratch against Rikio's twiggy body. That would be satisfying, he thought to himself. The attack was backed by both his already pent up anger at the Burmy and the Focus Energy he'd just used. And, lucky for him, Rikio had just used Protect, so he wouldn't be able to use it against him again this turn. Vex smiled. This would be easy. He was about to bring his claws down on Rikio- then a beat up Sneasel landed right in front of his attack. So, instead of raking his claws against leaf and twig, he ended up hitting this black furred stranger. Unfortunately, this stranger had used a move in retaliation. Vex was hit back a bit by the Metal Claw, and, although he wasn't hurt too much, he was angry that his perfect attack had gotten interrupted. ~You are so paying for that, you feather-headed freak!~ He charged at Thistle, but was promptly held back by strong, thick vines sent by Rikio.

Lith and company blinked. No one was really sure where the Sneasel had come from or what had just happened. Atleast, not until a red cloaked figure appeared in front of them. Oh. So another trainer had been training a bit away from where they were training. Perfectly understandable. After taking in what this stranger had said, she exclaimed, "Oh, heh, it's alright - your Sneasel didn't cause any damage. Sorry about my Mankey there, though," she giggled nervously before sending a warning glance to Vex. The Mankey merely snorted in response and turned the other way, crossing his arms in annoyance. "He gets mad really easily." Looking over to Rikio, she whispered, "Thanks for holding him back, Riki." He simply nodded in response before releasing his grip on Vex and bringing back his vines. He then watched Lith and the new trainer intently and waited to see what would happen next.

By this time, Alex, Amira, and Blaedyn had padded over to see what all the commotion was about. ~What is going on here, Lithalia?~ the cream colored cat inquired with an intrigued look in her eyes.

"There was another trainer who was training his Pokemon a bit away from us," Lith started explaining. "His Sneasel got sent right into the middle of Rikio and Vex's battle, and here we are." Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Amira sat back down and started grooming herself again; she didn't like the sticky snow getting all caught up in her fur, and was determined to keep it out despite the new flakes falling into it every second.

Then, Blaedyn walked over to Thistle with a curious look in his eye. After a moment, he waved up a paw and said in a friendly tone, ~Hiya! I'm Blaedyn.~ Then he looked up to Alexander. ~Wow, you're tall!~ he observed; it seemed like he wanted to make sure that the red coated stranger knew this fact.

Lith giggled after Alex translated what Blaedyn had said. Following the Riolu's example, Lith introduced herself. "Blaedyn there has the right idea; I'm Lithalia Wolfe, and my daemon's name is Alexucard. That Meowth there is Amira, the Burmy is Rikio, and that ill-tempered Mankey is named Vex." Suddenly, a proud and determined look came across her face as she pumped a fist through the empty air in front of her and exclaimed, "We're training to be the best Pokemon team ever, and me and Alex are gonna be champions soon! So, what's your name, mister?"

[Klomonx]

Thistle's pupils became thin when she saw she was about to be attacked by the Mankey. However when the attack was held back she calmed down again. The burn still hurt and even though she would have fought, the Weasel Pokemon was burnt in not in her prime state. Anubis looked at Thistle with concerned eyes as she sat next to Alexander's leg. Hydra was coiled up again, calmly watching everything around him as he waited for Lith and her Pokemon to come over. Brutus smiled at the Mankey, fully understanding what he meant, and he would have gladly helped the Mankey in defeating Thistle. After all, the two never got along well. Pip, upon seeing Lith, whined and hid behind Alexander's leg. He was never good with other trainers, all because of the abuse he had suffered. He could only truly trust Alexander.

Thistle made her way over to Alexander, and he pet her gently on the head, looking at the degree of her burns. "You'll be fine, Thistle. You can survive it, I'm sure." Thistle nodded, and she looked over at Anubis. "~I'm not finished with you yet, Anubis.~" Thistle mentioned, not paying much attention to the other Pokemon who had come up. Anubis smiled, "~I'll be waiting once you're healed, Thistle.~" Anubis wasn't angry nor mean. She seemed very calmed, and amused at Thistle's determination, even after being burnt to a crisp by her Ember. At least Anubis' Power and Thistle's speed had become better, that was sure.

Alexander now looked at the Pokemon who addressed him, and bent down to his level. The Riolu's words were translated by Masquerade, and a faint smile could be seen on Alexander's cold stances and demeanor. "Hello there, Blaedyn." Alexander spoke, holding out his hand as if to shake hands with the little Pokemon. However, he heard the young voice of Lith, the trainer who had these Pokemon with her come over with her Growlithe Daemon. After meeting with Blaedyn, Alexander stood up, pulling the brim down lower over his eyes, it was a habit of his, and the cold demeanor reappeared on his face once more. "I am Alexander Wood, and that there is Masquerade." Alexander's Daemon bowed, and her yellow eyes narrowed, giving her the dark outlook they always did, which always made other question Alexander's motives. After all, Masquerade didn't look too pleasant.

"As for the team you see here, the one who flew into your battle is Thistle." Upon hearing her name called, Thistle stepped forward in front of Alexander, but not much, and crossed her claws. She then slid them across each other, making a loud ringing sound and causing them to spark. It was like a customary hello for her. "The Ekans is Hydra." Hydra uncoiled himself and then re-coiled himself next to Thistle. He looked at Lith and her Pokemon with observant eyes, the odd-ball vegetarian Ekans then spoke. "~Hellooo.~" "The Poochyena-" Before Alexander could continue, Brutus ran forward, stopping and sliding in the snow. "~I am Brutus, sworn enemy of that Sneasel.~" Thistle glared, "~I can still hit you.~" Brutus simply wagged his tail as he was again pelted with another snowball, again it had been formed by Thistle. The Poochyena yelped as he took the hit, before shaking it off. Hydra who was again in the crossfire, hissed in annoyment. "Next up, is little Pip here. He's had a hard life, and is a little shy." Alexander moved out of the way, and Pip blinked at Alexander as if asking if he had to go up with the others. "~Its alright, Pip. They won't hurt you.~" Thistle said confidently, and with a slight nod, Pip walked up to them, and watched them, still a little unsure. "And our latest edition-and the one who caused the burns on Thistle, is Anubis." Anubis stood up from where she sat and walked over to the lineup calmly. She sat down and observed the others. "~Greetings.~" She growled, showing her fangs.

Alexander then chuckled as Lith said how her team was going to be the 'best Pokemon Team Ever'. It seemed all trainers had that, but in truth Alexander's dream was similar, anything would fit his dream as long as he didn't have to go back to his old job. Masquerade agreed with this, and if that meant he too wanted to be the 'best' then yes, that was his dream as well. "Really now, Miss Wolfe?" Alexander said, somewhat coldly, "maybe I can help, if we are both training, why not train together? Two-on-Two, perhaps?"

[Zorrel]

Amira was the first one to respond to the new party's introductions. ~It's nice to meet you all,~ she said politely, giving something that resembled a curt little bow. After that, she padded up and took a comfy spot to sit in right by her trainer to watch Lith and this strange new trainer exchange pleasantries. Alexucard followed her suit by padding a bit forward and giving a friendly bow to Alexander's daemon, Masquerade.

Blaedyn stepped up and stood next to Pip. Trying to make the shy Mudkip feel more assured, he gave a bright, friendly smile and waved. ~Nuh-uh, we're not bad people at all. You can trust us completely!~ Then, seeing Anubis let out a growl and bear her teeth, he backed away a bit from the slightly larger dog Pokemon and stood next to Lith's leg. That Houndour seemed a bit scary.

Lith giggled before squatting down. "Heh, it's alright, Blaedyn; I'm sure Anubis isn't mean at all,'' she comforted the young Riolu, gently stroking his head; the fox like Pokemon seemed instantly soothed, as the small trace of nervousness on his face had vanished. Then turning to Pip, she spoke in a soft, smiling voice, "And we're not mean either. So you don't have to be afraid, okay Pip?" She took out a special treat from her pocket - a poffin made by her older brother - and slowly stuck it out in front of her, offering Pip to take it.

Vex walked up next to the Poochyena whose name was revealed to be Brutus. ~I can easily tell why ya'd not take too much likin' to that Sneasel over there. I know how it feels to be around an annoying little pest all the time,~ he started, stealing a glance at Amira; his anger at Thistle's earlier interruption had obviously not subsided yet. The Meowth let out a 'hmpth' in response and continued to watch the two teams' interractions. ~Here, let me give you a hand in handling her,~ the Mankey huffed as he quickly padded together a snowball and hurled it at the unsuspecting Sneasel. That'd show her to mess up one of his perfect battle strategies. Rikio simply stood where he we was. He gave a slight nod that seemed to say 'Hey'.

Then came Alexander's most interesting offer. Lith's eyes lit up instantly, and her grin grew even wider - if that were possible. "That would be completely awesome!" she shouted excitedly; the other trainer's seemingly cold demeaner bounced right off of Lith's bright and bubbly one. "Especially since I've never done a two on two battle before! Well, there was this one time against these bad people, but I only controlled one Pokemon and my partner was a Ralts, and they-"

"Lith, you're rambling again," Alex cut her off with a taunting smile while rolling his eyes. This Growlithe daemon of hers loved teasing her this way; Lithalia had a tendancy to ramble like that.

A deep shade of pink rushed to Lith's cheeks immediately. "Oh, hehe, sorry about that," she apologized, raising a hand to scratch the back of her neck while doing so. "Anyways, yeah, we are so up for it. Right Alex?" Her expression swiftly returned back to its previous state of being one of eager excitement.

"You bet!" Alex barked in response, just as excited.

Lith nodded in satisfied agreement. "Well, there's your answer, Mister Alexander." Then she turned around to look at the Burmy who still had yet to move from his place in the snow. "Rikio, I want you and Vex to be the ones in this battle so you guys can still get training, alright?" she asked her teammates brightly.

~Fine with me,~ the Burmy repeated from his response to Lith's earlier question. He still remained a leafy statue, however, and waited for the battle to start. Truth was, under all those leaves, he was shuttering with anticipation - he's about to get all that much closer to finally shedding his twiggy body and becoming a Mothim! He then silently stared off into space, fantasizing about how wonderful it'll be to soar the skies on his new moth-like wings.

~If it means battlin' that two-clawed weasel over there, then count me in,~ Vex snorted, a barely noticeable smirk across his mug.

The blue haired trainer gave another satisfied nod before looking back to her soon to be opponent. "Alright then! If you don't mind, would Alexucard here be able to be my trainer partner during our battle?" she asked with an endearing, childish look on her face; kind of like the look a seven year old gave its mother when asking for a freshly baked cookie before dinner. "Masquerade could be your partner! Then, it would be even more fun for everyone," she added with a giggle.

[Klomonx]

Alexander's Pokemon nodded when Amira introduced herself. They stayed in line, as if Alexander had them extremely obedient to his orders. However, Alexander had not told one of them not to move, they simply took it upon themselves to stay in the line-up as they were told, showing their loyalty. Masquerade watched as Alexucard came forward and bowed. The metal bird inclined her neck and spread her red-lined wings for a moment, creating a rusted groaning sound. Her yellow eyes stared right at Alexucard's and she raised her body, replacing the wings and remaining silent. The duo never liked to speak in the presence of others, no matter how Innocent the 'others' may be.

Anubis chuckled when she saw that Blaedyn was afraid. ~"I am not at all mean, not many take a liking to Houndours.~" Anubis' small tail wagged to show she meant no harm, at least not now. A battle was something different, something where her power was shown especially when it was do or faint. Thistle had learned that the hard way, and the Sneasel would need healing before she participated in any more battling. Still, Anubis remained almost deadly calm which gave many an uneasy feeling. After all, why should she be so calm? Pip watched, shaking a little bit when he saw Lith begin to talk to him. He blinked and backed up a little bit. "~...Al-alright, if..if you say so.~" Pip said, glancing around at the other Pokemon on his team before walking forward a very little bit. He jumped back at seeing the Poffin and with a very cautious nibble, at the Poffin. Pip then scurried back to the others.

Thistle's ears flicked as she was gently scratching her claws through the snow, making a little design in the snow. Thistle was a very artistic Pokemon, and as she was in her own little world, she had very little knowledge of what was going on. Her ears flicked again as she heard the Mankey speaking to Brutus. At the last instant, Thistle turned just in time to have the snowball hit her in the face. However, unlike Brutus, Thistle simply snickered. "~Before you try to nail me with a snowball, maybe you should realize we Ice-Types just adore snow!~" Thistle wiped the snow off her face, and quickly retaliated by flinging two snowballs at Vex and Brutus. Brutus had been laughing loudly as Thistle got hit in the head, and so the snowball got him right in the jaws. He held the snowball there a few seconds before it melted. "~You Feather-Headed Freak, when this is over I'm-~" Brutus growled but Hydra again had to come between him and Thistle. "~Sssaaave your agressssion for the battle, Brutusssss.~" Brutus growled in frustration and sat down in the snow, annoyed.

Alexander's Pokemon quieted down in time for them to see Rikio nod in a 'hey'. It was odd to see a Pokemon so silent, but after all not all Pokemon were as 'outgoing' as they were. Of course, as far as outgoing go, not many of Alexander's were that outgoing, mainly only Thistle and Brutus, and only because of their rivalry. Alexander's attention was caught when Lith began to talk about her last Double Battle. Though she didn't get very far into her story, the men reminded him of a team he had remembered tracing back in his old job. Masquerade had to gently nip him on the arm to get him to forget those thoughts and listen as Lith tried to say how she wanted to battle. "Alright then, glad to see you've accepted. Thistle, Anubis, are you up for this?" Anubis nodded. They both needed some treatment however, and Thistle needed it the most. Taking out two Potions and a Burn Heal, he used the Heal and one Potion on Thistle, and the other Potion on Anubis, giving them more strength and more readiness to battle.

Upon hearing Vex's commented, Thistle simply snickered. After all, the Mankey had very little knowing of what exactly he was getting himself into. Anubis simply accepted what was going on, and had no real comment to make. She was indifferent to anything going on around her. "Thistle, we are going to work on the same things with you as we did in our training. The same goes for you, Anubis." The two Pokemon nodded without complaint or need for an explanation. Alexander raised an eyebrow as Lith explained her Daemon would also call out answers. "Okay, that seems fair." Alexander doubted Masquerade would call out any orders, simply seeing as she never really did in the past, the exception being the training. The three of Alexander's Pokemon not battling went off to the side again as Alexander guided his two Pokemon to where the battle would be, Masquerade following Alexander. The snow was still falling, the large flakes making it only a little harder to see. Thistle loved the cold, and Anubis was rather indifferent. If she got too cold, her flames could easily warm her.

[Zorrel]

Alex blinked at Masquerade's somewhat odd actions in response to his greeting. A slight chill went through his body, caused by both the sound of the Skarmory daemon's rusty creeking metal wings and her staring at him. Those piercing yellow eyes seemed to stare right into his soul, and Alex felt a little creeped out by it. He wondered why this 'Masquerade' as she was called hadn't talked at all since they met. His eyes only gave away the slightest hint at his discomfort, however, as he tried to stay calm as not to be rude. Giving one last slight little nod of the head, he turned around and padded back to sit next to Lithalia and continue listening to her and Alexander's conversation. Then he realized that him and this new trainer had very similar names. He pondered this occurance as he chuckled softly to himself; this daemon seemed to share Lith's trait of being easily amused at the simplest things.

Bleadyn smiled when Anubis reassured him of her harmlessness and chuckled when Pip took the poffin. ~See? I told you she was nice,~ he said to the shy Mudkip. The little Riolu loved making new friends; maybe he could try to befriend all of these new Pokemon. That would really fun! Then they could meet again later, and share their new tales of adventure and show each other how much stronger the others got. He giggled again as he thought this to himself. Then, when he saw Anubis trotting away to get ready for the battle, he waved and called, ~Good luck!~ Even though he was obviously rooting for his own teamates to win, he was still a good sport.

Vex held a furry paw up to his face to block Thistle's snowball just in time before it hit him spot-on. His eyes narrowed in anger, and it seemed like he was about to spit out a nasty insult before he recomposed himself; ever since joining Lith's team he's been trying to become less ill-tempered. ~I'll getcha on the battlefield for that one,~ he said instead with a threatening smirk on his face. He shot a reassuring glance to Brutus to tell him that he'd get Thistle back for the both of them - it seemed he'd taken a liking to this active little Poochyena. While Vex's comment to Thistle was a little threatening, it was still better than what he could have said. Even though this Mankey was working on his anger management issues, he still kept his tendency to hold grudges quite easily; and Vex had a huge one against that Sneasel for her earlier interruption. And when he wanted revenge, he was sure to get it. Vex's small body shook in anticipated excitement for the upcoming battle as he seemingly calmly made his way to stand in front of Lith and Alex and wait for the Growlithe daemon to call out an attack.

Rikio merely blinked lazily in response at the new Pokemon's stares. He was more of the strong, silent type; atleast, that's how he saw it. Maybe him and Alexander's daemon had something in common. In fact, he was probably the least outgoing of Lith's team. Amira loved to lay back and just soak up some rays of sunlight in a catnap, but she was active when it came to taunting and teasing Vex; it seemed that that Meowth and Mankey had a rivaly similar to that of Alexander's Sneasel and Poochyena. Speaking of Vex, he loved being active and running around. He especially liked to climb trees and swing from branch to branch, working on his upper body stength and getting physically stronger - but not as much as he loved battling. Blaedyn probably had to be the most outgoing of the four. His naturally curious and playful personality added with his friendly attitude combined to make him love to explore all sorts of places and partake and all sorts of activities. He loved to lay back and be cuddled every once in a while, too.

Lith's face grew brighter when Alexander agreed to her battling set up. "Great!" she exclaimed, not hiding an inch of her excitement. She ran to stand behind Vex and Rikio with Alexucard padding at her side. She waited eagerly as Alexander healed his two Pokemon in preperation for battle, bouncing from one foot to the next; she just couldn't stay still. Amira and Blaedyn, the two Pokemon on her side that weren't battling, went off to stand with Alexander's Pokemon to watch their trainers' battle ensue. Blaedyn was busy playing with the small clouds that formed as he breathed in and out in this cold weather before he plopped down next to Brutus and Pip. He started building another snow castle while looking up endearingly at the two Pokemon, smiling sweetly and motioning for them to join in.

Amira, in the meantime, curled up between the large roots of a leafless tree in a perfect spot to watch the battle in. ~Who do you think is going to win?~ she purred casually, her question directed at the Ekans named Hydra even though she never took her eyes off the battlefield.

Lithalia smirked after Alexander seemed all set to begin. She wanted to win this trainer battle, of course, but she wouldn't mind too much if she lost. Her Pokemon would be getting good training either way; plus, she met a new trainer! Meeting new people was always exciting for her, especially since she grew up in a small city where she saw the same faces every day. After one last shiver of anticipation that shook off the flakes of snow that had landed on her clothes, she shouted, "I guess we'll go first then. Rikio, start with using Vine Whip on Anubis, the Houndour!" In response, Rikio swiftly shot out thick vines aimed right for Anubis. The attack seemed nice and strong, but because Anubis was a fire type, it might not hurt the dog Pokemon too much.

Alexucard shook as well. He was eager to partake in his first trainer battle; and as Lith's partner, too! This was going to be great. "Vex, use Focus Energy and then go in for a Low Kick on Thistle!" he barked excitedly. This is what Vex had been waiting for for a long time. It was hard to calm his eager nerves, but he closed his eyes and did so in a Focus Energy. This would raise his chances of landing a critical hit on the opponent. After that was through, he opened his eyes and locked them onto Thistle. Oh, that Sneasel would pay, he thought to himself. He rushed toward her, then jumping as he got closer and extended his clawed, furry foot in a Low Kick; this attack wouldn't hurt Thistle as much as it could because of the Sneasel's light weight, but would still do a good deal of damage if it hit the dark type, as it would be supereffective. Now, it was Alexander's turn; Alexucard wondered to himself if Masquerade would call out any commands as he was.

[Klomonx]

Pip smiled shyly when Blaedyn spoke to him. He wasn't too sure what to make of these new Pokemon, but they really seemed to be nice enough, it seemed to be only true as everyone else-including Alexander-trusted them. Pip would take time to adjust, but once he did the shy Mudkip would easily get along with them all, or so it could be hoped, of course. The blue fish-like Pokemon was among the coldest there, simply being a water-type the falling snow wasn't exactly prime for him. The only one colder than Pip was Hydra, who coiled himself up as tightly as he could in order to keep himself warm.

Anubis answered Blaedyn by simply allowing a small trickle of flame float out of her mouth, before she turned her attention back to the battle, ready to give it her all. Anubis sat calmly in the snow, as if she were held by a leash and was waiting to be told what to do. Thistle sat in the snow, easily carving out little symbols in the snow. Her ears flicked and she looked up at Vex with a smirk. "~You'll have-ta hit me first.~" The Sneasel did not seem at all worried about loosing, she continued to doodle some sort of drawing in the snow, and if one took a good look at it, one could see it was a picture of Lith. For a Pokemon, it was a pretty good drawing, one could tell it was Lith-but it also carried an abstract theme.

Thistle did not seem at all threatened by Vex, nor Rikio. Thistle was not exactly outgoing, but not exactly shy. She spoke, and liked to show-off but wasn't nearly as friendly as Blaedyn was. Out of all of the Pokemon on Alexander's team, one could call Thistle the most outgoing, followed only by her rival, Brutus. Hydra seemed Neutral, not outgoing but not shy. While Anubis found it best not to talk, and Pip was the shyest of them all. It could be said that Alexander would not handle a very outgoing Pokemon well, if for no other reason than the fact that he himself was not immensely outgoing.

The excitement of the coming battle was there. If you could not see it in Alexander's murky eyes, you could see it in Masquerade's, which seemed to gleam with the urge to battle. Perhaps Alexander only truly enjoyed the battle for the violence. It could be said also that Alexander was not the same in the heat of battle, and that was very true. In the heat of a very hard battle, he could become almost heartless enough that not even Masquerade could really knock him out of it-at least, not easily. She always could, if it went too far, however it would just hurt both of them in the end.

Meanwhile, Alexander's Pokemon not battling tried to amuse themselves. Hydra watched the battle intensely, as well as slightly wanting to fall asleep because of how could it was for him. Hydra stayed awake though, he did not wish to freeze to death. Pip stayed by Hydra, not exactly the Pokemon he trusted most, but he trusted Hydra more than Brutus. Brutus, meanwhile, was running around in the snow, yipping and yowling. The snow dust covered him, and when he saw Blaedyn building the snow castle, he ran forward and jumped into it, his tail wagging furiously. It was hard to see if he had destroyed it out of being mean, or simply in good fun. He didn't seem too full of himself, in fact he seemed rather happy as he began to jump and roll around in the snow before smiling a little at Blaedyn. "~Wanna build another one?~" Pip however hesitated. He looked from Hydra to Blaedyn, very unsure.

"~Go ahead and have sssssssome fun, Pip. It might warm you up.~" Hydra smiled and pushed Pip forward with his head, trying to make him go over. Nodding quickly, Pip walked over, ready to help rebuild the Snow Castle. Hydra then looked over at Amira. "~Who do I think issss going to win? Itssss hard to ssssay. Thistle wassss the Pokemon I battled when Alexander caught me. Sssssshe wassss rather ssssstrong then. However, Anubissssss sssseemssssss even more powerful, at leasssst in her fire attacksssss. Wassss Rikio and Vex the ssssame way?~"

And then with a snap, the battle began. Rikio unleashed his attack first, and Anubis watched the attack calmly. "Anubis, withstand it!" Anubis stood, putting all her weight on the paws as she closed her eyes and held her head down. The Vinewhip hit the top part of her head, where the skull was. The attack hit, and because it hit her skull it did not hurt at its full damage. Her paws dug into the ground and she smiled. The attack hurt, nonetheless. "Now Anubis, use Ember, aim for the Vine Whips!" Anubis nodded, and after a moment for the flame to charge she short it at the vine whip, using it as a 'wire' to run down and hence hurt Rikio.

Thistle stood up the instant that Vex was given the order. She prepared to move, and as soon as Vex as using the attack, Alexander called out an order. "Thistle, dodge it by jumping over it! Then use Metal Claw!" Thistle launched herself into the air, displacing the snow out of the ground and erasing her drawing. She wasn't that high up in the air, as a Sneasel's jump wasn't as high as some other Pokemon. As she sailed through the air over Vex, she began to unleash her Metal Claw. Her claws glowed silver as she came straight down at Vex, ready to hit him-or land in the snow. The former of which was what she was helping for.

[Zorrel]

Blaedyn was contently working on his snow castle. He'd already built up a sturdy pile of the cold and sticky white stuff that still continued to drift lazily from the clouds above him. Now, he was starting to hollow out a few areas; a nice big door, a window here and there. His smile grew in satisfaction to how nicely his creation was starting to turn out. Unfortunately, his attention was on his construction and not on the careless scamping around of the playful Poochyena. Right as Blaedyn was about to start building up some walls that would protect his mighty palace, Brutus crashed right into it. The young Riolu was too surprised to do anything but watch as his thought to be inpenetrable fortress was pounded down, and the snow that once held it up had returned to being an indistinguishable pile of white fluff. Blaedyn's eyes revealed his upsetness about his loss as he looked up to Brutus, obviously wanting an explanation. At Brutus's offer of helping him construct another castle, however, his eyes lit up with their usual sparkle. He nodded excitedly; this one would be even better than the last one! He started pawing up another foundation for it to be built on when he noticed Pip's shyness. ~Hey, Pip, how about you start making some walls? We need our fort to be protected!~ he exclaimed playfully, hoping to show the timid Mudkip that he wasn't too scary.

Two blue eyes peering out from between two giant roots of a large oak tree watched the whole event unfold. Amira had shivered; half from the cold and half from her annoyance at Brutus's actions. She knew Blaedyn would be upset if his castle was destroyed, and Amira didn't want him to be hurt like that. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt a motherly sort of affection toward the young Riolu, and wanted to make sure he was happy. She was about to get up and walk over there to scold the Poochyena about his careless inconsideration. The Meowth let out a purr of amusement, however, when Blaedyn quickly forgave Brutus and accepted his offer. She knew Blaedyn was friendly, and that he loved making new friends. She turned her attention back to Hydra with a content sigh as she listened to his reply to her earlier question. ~Well, I was not present when that Burmy was caught, but he seems like he could handle himself pretty well in battle.~ She paused before continuing. ~As for Vex, well, I was the one who had the pleasure of battling that annoying little pest of a Mankey. I can say that he knows how to rub someone's fur the wrong way; both with his tongue and with his battling skills.~

Rikio and Vex were now in the heat of battle. The Burmy's Vine Whip was headed straight for Anubis, and then, whack. The pair of strong, thick vines hit the top of the Houndour's skull with a loud thwomp. While Rikio had put a considerable amount of force behind the attack, it hadn't done much damage due to the type disadvantage. He was starting to reel his vines back to his body and await further orders when Alexander called for Anubis to set them aflame. The grass type winced in pain as Anubis's Ember attack hit its mark, lighting his vines on fire and causing them to travel down their length and head right for his leafy, flamable body. The worst part was that the attack was super effective. He panicked; if the fire got to his body then he'd really be in trouble. Luckily, Lith called out a command just in time. "Rikio, quick, drag your vines against the snow!" she called. Her voice was obviously edged with worry for the grass Pokemon. Acting as quickly as he could despite the searing pain he was feeling, Rikio slammed his two vines down into the blanket of snow that had been forming as the snowfall started to rain down harder. The frozen water managed to put out the flames inches before they reached the object that they were burning. Lith and Rikio let out a sigh of relief at the same time. "Great! Now, I want you to use Vine Whip again; but this time aim it at Thistle!" Rikio gave a quick nod before lashing out his semi-burned vines out at the Sneasel who stood a few yards away; hopefully Thistle was too distracted with Vex to notice Rikio's attack in time.

Vex was having equally as much luck as Rikio with his attacks. His Scratch attack, which he thought would land perfectly across the Sneasel's face, merely struck thin air as the Ice type jumped over him with ease. Fury lit up the Mankey's eyes in realization of his missed attack. He was about to open his mouth in a snappy remark before steel claws raked across his open back from above. He let out a growl of pain as the unexpected Metal Claw hit him square between the shoulders. Alex winced; he should have been quicker to respond to Thistle's dodge and retalliation. As he inwardly chided himself, he heard his partner suddenly call to Rikio to change targets. He glanced up at her, and she responded with a quick wink of a sapphire eye glittering with confidence. The Growlithe daemon took up a new air of confidence as well when he caught on and followed her suit. "Vex, quick, aim a Low Kick at the Houndour!" Vex gritted his teeth at Alex's orders. He wanted to get back at that Thistle for her attack so very badly. But he saw Rikio's vines headed straight for her, and decided to let him take care of her - for now. The corners of his mouth rose in the slightest of smiles as he rushed toward the unsuspecting Anubis, sharp clawed foot extended in a Low Kick. Because Anubis was part dark type, this attack would be supereffective; if it hit.

A bit away from the action sat a small, green and yellow streaked creature who watched the battle with attentive eyes. Small sparks flew from its fur every now and then from the excitement of what was going on below the hill on which it laid. These sparks alone, however, could not keep this Pokemon warm from the cold and increasingly bitter snow; perhaps it would decide to go off and join in on the fun those two trainers seemed to be having in order to warm up. From where he sat under the tree making his snowcastle, Blaedyn looked up. His ears twitched slightly. He thought he'd seen something out of the corner of his eye. Maybe he was wrong, he thought, as he quickly dismissed the matter and went back to working on the sides of his fort.

ooc// Enter the Electrike given to Lithalia by the wonderfully super awesome and super kind forum owner who is Birdybot!!!11

[Klomonx]

Brutus didn't seem to notice-or care-that he had momentarily hurt Blaedyn's feelings. He was already to preoccupied with helping build an even better castle, as the small dog found having a bigger castle to be much more fun to build, and even more fun to knock over. Brutus didn't seem to mind any of the looks Amira may have gave him, in fact he had too much fun helping to really care. The gray pup was simply overjoyed to be building an even bigger snow castle, and was even more overjoyed once he was able to knock it down.

Pip still seemed a little nervous about Blaedyn, as cheerful and welcoming as he was. He blinked, a little unsure. Pip tilted his head, trying to think of a way to convince himself that Blaedyn was not going to harm him, and that his trainer-Lith-was just as nice as Alexander had been. Slowly, Pip walked over to Brutus and Blaedyn and helped move snow around in order to create the outside walls of the castle. It was hard, as Pip had no real arms and so had to simply move the snow around by moving his back or paws. Needless to say, this made him a little colder, which made him shiver a little.

Hydra was not at all frightened by the blue eyes that appeared outside of the tree's roots. After all, an Ekans could be fairly frightening as well to some, especially if he had chosen to rest there. He continued to stay wrapped up, his yellow eyes occasionally closing for a few minutes, he seemed to grow colder by the minute. He reacted slowly to Amira's statement because of the cold. "~Ah, ssso Vex's sshow isssn't jusst all talk, then?~" Hydra hissed as if he were laughing, "~Maybe then Thistle will learn sssomething. Ssshe fought mosst of the Pokemon on Alexander's team, and Brutus nearly gave her a run for her money.~" Hydra coiled himself tighter, "~I would give a lot for ssssome fur right now.~"

Anubis stood rather pleased that her Ember had worked fairly well, and that for once she had followed orders instead of going her own way about them. It would be hard to get used too, but Anubis knew that Alexander's ability as a trainer had to be somewhat skilled. After all, Thistle had survived her attacks enough to still fight even in her burnt and close to fainting state. That, and well Anubis would have shot an Ember anyway if Alexander had not told her too in the first place. Still, Anubis' ears flicked when she realized that Rikio had somewhat avoided her attack. At least the vines were burnt, that would help whoever was attacked by them again.

Thistle landed behind Vex in the snow, making a rather delicate landing as the snow flew up past her. A smirk could be seen on her face, she had his Vex before he could hit her. She was expecting Vex to turn around and attack her-so she was not at all expecting the Vine-Whip from Rikio. Thankfully, Alexander was. "Thistle, let the Vine whip grab your arms!" Thistle was confused as the Vine Whip suddenly took hold of her right arm. She turned to have her yellow eyes look directly at the Burmy. Then, the other Vine took its hold on her left arm, rendering her virtually powerless-or at least, so it would seem. "Thistle, run forward and use Bite on Rikio!" Thistle smiled and she quickly began to run forward. Even with her claws rendered unable, her agility could still work to her advantage. And with Rikio holding onto her arms, it was a clear shot to hit him-or course that didn't mean it was going to hit.

Anubis heard Alexucard's orders and she turned to look directly at Vex. She knew well the attack would harm her, if it hit. However, she also knew that the whole reason Alexander had brought her here was too work on her Defense, Attack, and Reaction. She braced herself for the Low-Kick, knowing that dodging would be somewhat hard for an attack such as that. "Anubis, withstand the attack!" The attack hit Anubis in the paws, knocking her feet out from under her and causing pain to swell through her body. "Follow it up with Howl and then Ember!" Anubis quickly unleashed a howl as she stood back up, making her attack power stronger. She then unleashed Ember, and since Vex was directly in front of her, there was a good chance it may hit.

As Anubis unleashed the attack, however, she thought she heard and scented another presence. Brutus did as well, but he hardly payed attention to it. Anubis blinked, it was another Pokemon, but she had no time to react to it and hoped that it wasn't about to attack them. However, there was definitely another Pokemon there, and Anubis knew it-of course, she was referring to the Elektrike. "Alex," Masquerade whispered, gently biting Alexander on the arm, "Anubis senses something, I can tell by how she's reacting." Masquerade's voice was like steel, its groaning, rusted voice. However, she kept it as quiet as she could. Alexander nodded, unsure of what to do or what it meant.

[Zorrel]

Blaedyn, Brutus, and now the shy Pip continued working on their soon to be epic fort. Blaedyn was happy that Pip had decided to help out with the building. Maybe they could be friends afterall! He really hoped that Pip would come around more soon. Blaedyn also wanted this fort to be the very biggest it could be; atleast, that's what he thought he'd wanted. But then he started thinking about Brutus's motives, and how he'd so recklessly destroyed his former castle earlier. Would he do it again? The Riolu thought about this to himself for a moment before making his decision. When the castle had reached a height that was twice his size, Blaedyn stood up. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he jumped up as high as his small back paws would let him, and crashed right into his hard worked on snow fort. Snow went everywhere; but fortunately, it mostly went where Blaedyn had wanted it to go. When he landed in his collapsed pile of former glory, Blaedyn smiled up to a certain Poochyena who was covered in snow. He let out a giggle before he started to compile the snow together again. He looked back up at Brutus, offering to make yet another fortress out of snow. But then Blaedyn noticed that Pip had gotten hit by the sudden explosion of snow, too. He flashed an apologetic smile at the Mudkip, hoping his little excursion wouldn't cause Pip to want to stop playing with him.

In fact, Blaedyn's impact was so large that the cold white snow flew all the way to where Amira was having a quaint little conversation with Alexander's Ekans, Hydra. She let out a quick sigh in annoyance before lifting a paw to wipe off the cold substance from her face. The feline had been watching Blaedyn and his new friends build the castle, and was quite surprised when Blaedyn had been the one to completely destroy it. She settled back down between the large roots of the tree with another sigh, but this time it was out of amusement. Amira then tuned back in to her conversation, eyes flickering back to their trainers' battle. "Let's hope that Vex learns something from this battle, too. He obviously needs to be put in his place by more Pokemon than me, and by the looks of things, he is finding a challenge with that Sneasel there." She paused to hear the Ekans' last comment about wishing he had fur and couldn't help let out a small giggle. "Yes, it is quite the advantage having fur in such cold weather, but it is a big pain to manage on humid days; it gets all matted and stuffy."

Rikio's vines still stung with the pain of Anubis' Ember that they had suffered from earlier. He knew it was lucky that only his vines got burned, and that if he ever gets a full blast from the deadly fire attack that he might be done for, but that didn't stop him from wishing he could be quicker at dodging attacks. Darn these stubby feet! He wasn't sure if he could even call them feet. They were more like stick-like projections from his stick-like body. He couldn't wait until he evolved into a majestic Mothim. Oh, how he longed to gracefully flutter through the air rather than awkwardly wobble on the ground as he does now as a Burmy. He was lost in these thoughts of his before he focused on the vines that headed straight toward the Sneasel named Thistle. He smirked as his strong, thick vines came down hard on the unsuspecting Pokemon's arms. Just as planned. Atleast, that's what he thought at first. Then the Sneasel's trainer had told her to run at Rikio with a Tackle attack. Uh-oh. That wasn't part of the plan. He didn't panic as much as he did with the Ember, but he was still a bit worried; he wouldn't be able to dodge too well since he was sort of connected to the attacker. "Rikio, I want you to withstand the attack as best as you can, okay?" Lith called out. Rikio nodded. He trusted his trainer had another plan in mind, and planted a twiggy leg firmly on the ground with a determined look on his face as he braced himself for the attack. Thistle hit him, hard, and it sent a jolt of pain through his leafy body; he only got knocked back a little bit, however. A second later, Lithalia called out another command. "Alright, now lift her up and throw her down to the ground as hard as you can!" Rikio nodded once again. Since his vines already had a grip on the Sneasel, all he to do was lift them up. And he did just that, raising Thistle about ten feet into the air before slamming her down onto the ground in front of him. He took a step back and withdrew his vines, waiting to see what the dark and ice type would do next.

Right as Rikio's vines attatched themselves to Thistle's slender arms, Vex effectively connected a powerful kick with Anubis's side. His smile had widened by now. All the rage he had toward Thistle for hitting him with that Metal Claw had been channeled into that Low Kick attack; he still felt great animosity toward that pesky Sneasel, though. He wanted to get back at her so badly, but he knew he couldn't do that unless Alexucard told him to do so; and he hoped that he would. He shook his head to clear his mind of these vengeful thoughts of Thistle - for now atleast - and focused his attention on his new opponent: Anubis the Houndour. His eyes narrowed as she howled. What an annoying sound, that howling. He could feel anger building up inside of him at Anubis just because of that howl; Mankey seemed to get mad at every little thing that happened. He was about to run up and give that mutt a smack in the face in order to shut her up before flaming embers were sent his way. He then realized that her howling was actually the move Howl, and that it raised her Attack. He grimaced, knowing that the Ember attack she just unleashed would be that much more powerful. Alexucard frowned. He was happy to know that his and Lith's switcheroo plan had worked out rather nicely for the most part, but he knew that Vex was too close to Anubis to dodge her attack; completely, at least. "Vex, jump bakwards and into the air, then come down on Anubis with a Scratch attack!" Following the daemon's command, he jumped back and into the air. He winced as the embers still made contact with his fur, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been if he was closer. Then, as graceful as a Mankey like him could manage, Vex coursed through the air and dived straight down toward Anubis, claws extended in what was to hopefully be a Scratch.

Meanwhile, that mysterious green and yellow creature still eyed the battle with considerable interest. She blinked once before getting up onto her small, furry paws. She knew that laying down in that one spot couldn't keep her warm from the falling snow, and so she decided to descend from the hill she stood upon. Making light steps in the snow covered ground, the lone Pokemon made her way down toward the two trainers' battle, yearning to take part in the action. Perhaps someone would notice her sooner or later and ask her to join in? More sparks flew from her body at the thought of how much fun she might have, being part of a trainer's team. Again, Blaedyn thought he sensed something. And again, he looked up. This time, he saw a figure sitting a way's away from where the battle was taking place. He tilted his head, wondering what the figure would do next.

[Klomonx]

The snow from Blaedyn's crash landing sprayed up into the air. It cascaded down and hit both Brutus and Pip. Brutus got hit with most of it, and the little dark type was piled with snow, to the point where only is eyes, nose, and ears pointed out of the snow. In fact, it was rather adorable as he made a perfect Poochyena-Snowman. Brutus smiled and growled playfully and he scrambled and shook himself free of the snow. He jumped out pf it and landed in the snow, not causing it to fly. He panted, happily, but with a spark in his eye. "~See? Isn't it fun? Little Thistle over there wouldn't understand.~" Brutus growled, nodding toward the battle. He was quite excited and would love nothing more than to start building a new snow fort right away.

Pip however, was not nearly as enthused. Snow spray him in the face, and even though he was not as covered by the snow as Brutus, he still was. Pip whined scraping the cold snow off of his face with one of his little stubby paws. He looked up at Blaedyn and Brutus almost on the brink of tears. After all, it was rather cold-literally-and Pip wasn't sure if it was best to stick around. "~Its a'ight, Pip.~" Brutus barked, "~He didn't mean to hurt you, it was for me.~" Pip nodded after a moment, and a faint smile replaced his tears. "~Can we con..continue with our..fort..rebuilding..?~"

Watching the snow fly out of the corner of his yellow eyes, the Ekans hissed. He braced himself for the snow's impact, but he hardly got any. Only a few after-bits that got past or flew off of Amira. They were still freezing cold, and the already cold Ekans shivered, squirming around to shake the snow off of him. "~At the moment, I would rather be hotter than colder.~" Hydra then blinked, returning his eyes to the battle, trying to ignore the cold and not doing too good at the task. "~Thistle looksss like sssshe'ssss having a hard enough time with Rikio.~"

And Hydra was quite right. Rikio had been hurt by her attack, but his grip had not been released, and what was worse, Thistle had no ways of escaping. In fact, Thistle was quite surprised to find herself in the air. Her yellow eyes widened as she tried to squirm free, obviously afraid of being so high up. Alexander could tell this, but there wasn't much he could do. However, Anubis, who should have been focusing on Vex, looked over at Thistle and her eyes widened as well. That certainly wasn't something you saw in a battle every day, and it was easy to tell that Thistle wasn't looking forward to the outcome. In a moment, Thistle was slammed into the ground and she screeched out in pain. Masquerade winced, as did Hydra-who wasn't even battling. "~That wasssn't too good. I think ssshe'll be alright though. Sssshe'sss probably jussst sssssurprisssed.~"

Anubis had winced at the Low Kick. It did a number on her, as Dark never did fair well against Fighting. What was more, she seemed more focused on her comrade, and she seemed to ignore Vex's dodge. "Thistle, roll out of the way and follow it up with-" Alexander began to talk, and as thistle began to follow orders and roll away from Rikio, the Houndour suddenly sped off toward Rikio-dodging Vex's attack. "Anubis?!" Alexander seemed insulted that without warning his Pokemon had again withdrew his orders and substituted her own. It wasn't that Anubis disliked or did not wish to follow Alexander's orders, it was simply that she thought she had a better idea. As Anubis charged forward she sent out an Ember at Rikio. This time not aiming at the vines, but at Rikio himself. Thistle meanwhile had moved away at an angle, and so it seemed that it would be her against that Mankey again.

Thistle didn't enjoy being tossed in the air, and she was relived to be fighting something less about Grass and more about something she could more easily fend off-though that wasn't nearly as true, as she was weak against fighting types. But that never meant they couldn't be easier. "Thistle, charge at Vex, use Leer." Thistle picked up speed rather easily, and within seconds she was now within range of Vex. She blinked and her golden pupils turned into slits as she glared at Vex with a leer, obviously waiting for Alexander's follow up, "and now! Use Ice Punch!" Being closer, this meant Vex didn't have as much time to prepare for the attack. Her claws glowed a light, soft blue and with some sort of artistic grace Thistle spun and unleashed Ice Punch at Vex.