flip the page, flip the page.

[xxKrows.]

XUAN

Route one.

She had been waiting to start her journey for a time now; to actually do it was something completely different from thinking about it.

For one, the trees looked a lot less comfortable and a lot more menacing than they did when she was still in Pine Village.

Xuan sighed, decided that there was no use brooding and wasting time, and set off at a brisk walk. So long as she kept her mind and eyes on sketching, she was sure that she wouldn't run into anything too dangerous. Besides, it was the first Route; what could happen? Her pencil flew across her sketchpad, mounted on a strap that ran across one shoulder, her backpack, and back from under one arm. It made juggling her bag and satchel all the more difficult, though she didn't think she needed to use her items yet. The Choice Band she had given to Rex, who cheerfully wore it around her forehead.

The Larvitar was now trotting beside her, chatting animatedly with her Daemon. Before them, a Sneasel proudly strode forwards, falling back now and then to add her own quip to the conversation. Mustela was the newest addition, a gift she received from her foster mother along with the Choice Band. The three Pokémon got on fine with each other; she was grateful for that.

Sketching down a particularly-shaped tree and the Pidgey nest in its branches with a few flying strokes, Xuan flipped the page and started on a Wurmple nibbling at a leaf, above a Rattata nudging at a fallen nut. She enjoyed drawing Pokémon, but it rather disappointed her that there were no Ekans draped over a limb, or a Kecleon making its way through the foliage. Well, maybe not so soon, but one could always hope.

[Birdybot]

Xuan's hope for an Ekans or Kecleon wasn't likely to be fulfilled on Route One, since Kecleon were rarer than the common creatures who generally dwelled the route, and both Pokémon tended to prefer denser forests than this cross between a plain and a woods. The trees dotted around didn't offer too much shelter, but it was enough for many a Pokémon and the tall grass and bushes offered extra shelter, making Route One a haven for all manner of small Pokémon.

One Pokémon in perticular was enjoying himself, strolling proudly through the grass. He was a bug, true, but often even people who usually hated bugs didn't mind him, since he was a cute ball of fluff. The Venonat looked around with his sectioned red eyes, white antennae twitched as he discovered a trainer nearby; Xuan. He smiled, wondering closer. It wasn't too often that Pokémon allowed themselves to be seen by humans, so it was definately noticable that this little Pokémon had ran up to Xuan and introduced himself with a ~Hello, trainer! I'm a Venonat, and what are you doing?~[/color] knowing that Jun the daemon would be able to translate for Xuan.[/size]

[xxKrows.]

XUAN

Jun tilted his head, looking at the Venonat in amusement. Such a bold Pokémon, he thought, and trotted nearer, in his Treecko-form, to inspect it. Beside him, Mustela and Rex approached as well, flanking the Daemon (though Mustela did muscle her way forwards with a scowl, bent on taking the leader's position at the front).

Xuan's ears twitched at the tiny voice. She glanced down at the Venonat, brows furrowed. She didn't quite like insects, but she did find the Venomoth a better choice to the Beautifly and the Butterfree. Perhaps, she ought to try and capture it? Allowing the drawing-board to slide to her waist, she reached back and fingered the empty Pokéballs in her satchel. She ought to use Mustela, if she wanted a battle; despite the obvious type disadvantage, she was ready to bet that the Venonat doesn't know any offensive Bug-type moves yet. Besides, Rex's only suitable move was Bite, and that would deal half damage at best.

She wanted to speak to the Venonat, anyhow, before either party started a battle. Leaning down with some difficulty, she scrutinised it; not much different from the norm, perhaps slightly bigger. Rex, by now, seemed to have overcome her initial confusion at the fact that a grapelike, furry thing with eyes, paws and a mouth was speaking. The Larvitar grinned at it, clearly excited: "I'm Rex! How do you do? We're on a journey! That's my trainer, Xuan – she's a 'morph, so she can speak to us fine! It's so fun, being able to chat with a human!" Before she could continue, however, a paw was clapped over her mouth – apparently, Mustela didn't enjoy listening to her babble.

"Out of the way, little fuzzball, before I grind you to bits," the Sneasel said haughtily, one eyebrow quirked up. Jun shook his head in exasperation. His human, sharing similar sentiments, simply pushed aside the Pokémon despite her protests. "Give them no mind, Venonat. I assure you that we would not force you to battle, if that is not what you wish." She tried a smile. "I am not a trainer by nature; instead, I groom, raise and breed Pokémon. If you would like to come along on a journey…?"

[Birdybot]

ooc// Actually, Bite does normal damage, not half damage Venonat are Bug and Psychic types.

ic// Venonat looked at Mustela as she snarled, stepping back a little. He didn't perticulary enjoy a Sneasel intimidating him like that, but once the shock of it was over he didn't want to appear weak and so snarled back, trying to appear brave. The little guy wasn't sure where he wanted to battle the Sneasel, she seemed a little too violent and competative. The Lartivar, on the other hand, seemed friendly enough. Venonat was a little relieved when the trainer called Mustela off.

So, she was a breeder, was she now? How interesting. The bug smiled, although this was tricky to see on the fanged Pokémon. He liked the fact that she was giving him choice, that showed she was nice and understood a Pokémon's feelings. Then she'd offered him a place on her team. He supposed he wouldn't mind that, but he wasn't giving in too easily. His expression turned to a determined one. ~Sure, I'll join your team- if you can beat me in a fight.~[/color] he told the trainer.[/size]

[xxKrows.]

OOC: Apparently it is Bug/Poison… D:

XUAN

Xuan rocked back on her heels, eyeing the little Pokémon as he snarled at her Sneasel. It's certainly got a fighting spirit, she thought approvingly.

Mustela did not enjoy having her authority challenged. "Lemme at that thing!" she snarled, breaking out from behind Xuan. She flexed her arms, standing above the Venonat with all the authority she could muster. "You want a fight? Is that it? Come on over an' take it, then, if you dare!" She unsheathed a deadly claw, pointing it in the general direction of the insect. "I'll show you what's real power!"

With a grimace, Xuan stood up, hands propped onto hips, one foot nudging her overexcited Pokémon backwards with a warning glance. "Well. It does appear that Mustela wishes to engage you in combat… As you are, after all, the Wild Pokémon, one must make allowances; I will let you have the first move—"

"Hey, girl, who agreed on that?" Snapped Mustela, clearly enraged by the proposition. "I ain't gonna hand it the first attack all free!" Snarling, she flew forwards, paws barely skimming the ground as she charged at the Venonat with a Quick Attack, Leering as she did so. Rex half-shrank in fear and awe, expecting her team-mate to score at least a glancing blow; she was so fast!

Behind her, both Xuan and her Dæmon put their faces to their palms in a gesture of extreme despair.

[Birdybot]

ooc// Oops, I misread the types on Serebii. Still, I'm sure I'm readin the matchup chart correctly.

ic// Venonats might be a lot slower than Sneasels, but they made up for it with other stats. They had a higher defense stat, and it would take more damage to make them faint. Because of this, there was no way the wild Venonat could have possibly dodged the Quick Attack, but thankfully emerged from the attack all right, if a little battered. The bug was tough, wincing but holding back the cry of pain that threatened his mouth, instead keeping quiet and taking in calm, deep breaths. The puffball knew that he should keep calm and focused, so stayed exactly that rather than raging like Mustela had.

Right, so it was his turn now, wasn't it? Yes, he was fairly certain that that was how it worked. Anyway, he needed to think of what to do. A good, strong attack would be nice, which instantly turned his mind to his Tackle attack, but he knew that Tackle was too slow. Well, what about a different offensive move? He could think of one which would probably work; the very fittingly named Confusion. The purple Pokemon focused on Mustela, red eyes glowing as he used the attack. With any luck, a sharp pain should press on the Sneasel's mind. Plus as an added bonus, this move had a chance of confusing the opponent.

[xxKrows.]

OOC: Ah, I see...

XUAN

The Sneasel streaked by the Venonat, feeling her claws skim the surface of its round, furry body. She allowed herself a broad grin that had nothing to do with happiness or friendliness in it, flashing all of her sharp, pointed teeth at her opponent. There, she'd gone and showed the gnat who's the boss here, hadn't she?

Her triumph wilted somewhat as she saw that the Venonat wasn't fazed much by her attack. Mustela had never been one to go for defence over offence, but right now she rather envied the fact that a Pokémon could go through a battering almost unscathed. She did take note of the momentary wince and the deep, calming breaths, though, and was relieved that at least her Quick Attack had worked something on her foe.

Xuan, having removed her hand from her face, studied the scene before her with interest. Mustela was squaring off against her opponent, panting slightly from her previous attack, claws held out in a defensive stance that could quickly shift into an offensive one if the situation changed. Right now, though, she was bracing herself for the next attack, hindpaws shoulder-width apart, ready to take a physical blow if needed.

It seemed that the Venonat was considering its options. Its gaze seemed to flicker, and then glow with a steady light, as it narrowed its focus towards Mustela, clearly using a move. The Sneasel, though, only maintained her pose, one eyebrow slowly quirking up in query when nothing seemed to happen.

"I think the Venonat might have been using Confusion," suggested Jun. "It just didn't affect Mustela."

"A pity," murmured Xuan. "It would have knocked her down a peg or two." She was content to let the Sneasel handle the situation herself; after all, she was none of those control-freak Trainers.

In any case, there seemed to be no effect on the Sneasel. After a few more seconds, Mustela snarled in impatience, flexing her claws again. "Well, if you ain't moving, I'm going after you," she told her foe with a contemptuous Leer, and leapt at the insect, claws slashing in another Quick Attack.

[Birdybot]

Hm? His... His attack had failed to work? But surely that was impossible! His Confusion attack had hit Sneasel fair and square! Why wasn't it doing any damage? For a moment, Venonat froze, outraged, then he realized that Sneasel was a Dark and Ice type. That meant that she was immune to Psychic attacks. How could he have been so stupid? The feeling of his defense stat lowering made him come to his senses, appearing more worried about the oncoming Quick Attack now it would hurt him more. He attempted to dodge, but slow as ever failed, althoughr he did make a good try. He did let out a cry of pain this time, a sort of angry snarl.

He'd get Mustela for that! Much to his disappointment, he knew no moves that would blanace out the loss of defense stat. He could always try to confuse Mustela, but he found it fun fighting a challenging opponent and so would only use that as a last resort. The bug instead was restricted to just one of his offensive moves, something he clearly wasn't too pleased about. The purple puff would do his best with it though. The Venonat charged at Mustela from a close range, using a slower version of her move; a Tackle. Venonat's Tackle looked as though it might end up being his first hit of the battle... Or would it?

[xxKrows.]

XUAN

Mustela, overly excited by her managing to land another blow, went flipping over the Venonat's head with a whoop of delight. Behind her, the insect let out a snarl of pain and anger, and Xuan resumed her previous position of face-in-palm. Having a spirited Pokémon was all very well, but her general battle-happy attitude could prove to be a pain in the neck.

In any case, the Quick Attack seemed to have hit again, and the other two spectators sighed in relief. Rex waved two excited forepaws in the air; Jun let out a hiss of approval. The Dæmon and the Pokémon watched the battling pair intently. The Venonat, after recovering from the blow, seemed to be thinking rapidly. It decided on an offensive move, apparently; with no warning, it charged straight at its foe.

Mustela was still enjoying her victory. Brandishing a clawed forepaw at her audience, she hissed, obviously ignorant to the charge that was about to take her from behind, "Damn, I'm good." Jun couldn't help but smirk as the Tackle immediately rammed down the Sneasel, almost as if her words were a cue for that to happen. The result was one Venonat and one Sneasel, piled up against each other, the ground, and a convenient tree.

With a howl, the Sneasel struggled out from under copious amounts of purple hair, spitting out a mouthful of shed fur and sand. A few twigs and leaves were collected in her pelt from the pile of plant matter under the tree, and she dragged her claws through them, tearing off the debris. "How dare you, insect!" With a Screech of rage, the Sneasel took advantage of the close range to bring a claw down towards her foe in another Quick Attack. It was rather obvious that this was her favourite move, thought Jun, eyeing the battle with a quirked brow. If the Venonat knew that, it might be able to dodge it, or use it to its advantage…

[Birdybot]

Birdy//

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Venonat smiled at Mustela as she used a Screech in anger, clapping his stubbys hands over his antenna to avoid being affected. It seemed to work, and the Bug looked Mustela in the eye. ~If you think you're so good, how come your trainer doesn't even tell you how to fight? After all, the advantage trained Pokémon have over wild Pokémon is a smart human to think for them. Since yours doesn't like you enough to do that, you're no stronger than me. In fact, I bet your trainer likes me, a stranger, better than you.~

[/color] he poked his toungue out.

A Quick Attack was then coming for him. Ah- not so good. The Pokémon could see that the Sneasel favoured the Quick Attack, and the move was too quick yet again and threw him at the ground. The Bug got up, but he now knew exactly what Mustela would do every turn; lower his defense, then use Quick Attack. Well, not any more! If she was completely unable to think straight, she couldn't do that, could she? The Venonat's eyes glowed, and he screeched a high pitched noise, sending out yellow rings of sound. This was a Supersonic attack, aiming to Confuse Mustela. It looked fairly accurate- would she be confused?[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[xxKrows.]

OOC: If it gets to be confusing down there, the Quick Attack that hit was the one in our previous two posts. XDD

XUAN

She scowled as her opponent clapped his paws over his antennae. Her Screech failed, apparently, but at least her previous Leers might have helped lower its defence. She was about to charge in with another combined attack when the Venonat spoke.

~If you think you're so good, how come your trainer doesn't even tell you how to fight? After all, the advantage trained Pokémon have over wild Pokémon is a smart human to think for them. Since yours doesn't like you enough to do that, you're no stronger than me. In fact, I bet your trainer likes me, a stranger, better than you.~

Mustela's face was interesting to watch, noted Xuan. Her expressions really are varied and plentiful.

The Sneasel's eyes widened at first, and her jaw hanged loosely as an expression of almost-comical shock took over her face. Then, her eyes narrowed; her teeth ground together with an angry clash. A muscle jumped in one cheek. Her forepaws balled into fists, and a low hiss could be heard. As soon as the insect finished speaking, Mustela pretty much exploded.

"How dare you, you--you dirty, vile wretch! I--I-- Of course I'm good! I'm the best in this neck of the woods, you hear me? I don't need any human to tell me what to do!"

Ouch, reflected her Trainer wryly. Truth was, she hadn't managed to get in a command, what with Mustela stubbornly wanting to do everything her way. And what harm was there, for now? It would do better for her to realise her mistake early on, so that it did not cripple her later down the road. So she simply crossed her arms and waited for the situation to play out by itself.

"That does it!" With a cry of rage, the Sneasel snarled as her claws swept at the Venonat and knocked it down. Thankfully, that attack had hit and taken the edge off her anger, or she might have really lost it right there and then. She was prepared to repeat her actions when, suddenly, a battery of high-pitched squeals, visible in yellow concentric rings, rammed her physically sideways. She was sent reeling against the tree again, but she barely felt that pain; worse was the dagger-like stabbing of noise against eardrum. The Sneasel covered her ears, writhing in agony.

The world seemed to blur before her. Trees alternated between stretching and shrinking. The Venonat grew to be a giant, and she cried out in fright; it shrank again, and she heaved a breath of relief. Colours began to bleed together. An array of alien sounds assaulted her, none of which making much sense: why would there be a waterfall on Route 1, along with the howls of wolves at night and the slapping of angry waves on sand? Curling into a ball, the Sneasel waited for the worst of it to pass, before standing gingerly. Her paws seemed to sink into slimy mud, but when she took a step forwards it fetched up short, as if she was standing before stairs. Another step and she fell over. The Venonat loomed. Angered, she swept a paw at it, resorting to a Tackle instead of her usual Quick Attack.

"I'd say she was Confused," Jun remarked calmly.

[Birdybot]

Birdy//

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Venonat smiled as he saw Mustela get herself worked up into a rage. Good, good. An angry Pokémon would be less focused; the anger would hopefully blind her into attacking furiously but with less acuracy or strategy. Her being Confused... well, that pretty much rounded things up perfectly. She would be less able to harm him if she was Confused, but of course she would be able to attack a fair bit of the time rather than hurting herself, so Venonat needed to be careful.

Like this time, for example. Mustela had launched into a Tackle- a fairly decent one, to be honest. Apart from stumbling at first, the move looked fairly decent- but slow, too. When she had used the Quick Attacks, the Sneasel had been incredibly fast- now, she was a little slower. A lot slower. In fact, so much slower that Venonat just barely managed to dodge her, feeling her body skim past his fur as he did so. Wow. That had actually worked! The Supersonic had made her slower, and so dodgable!

Breathing a sigh of relief, Venonat then turned to his opponent. It wasn't over yet; far from it. He smiled, eyes narrowing just a little with fiery determination. He could win, he knew it. He desperately hoped so, at any rate. The Bug type gave a little snarl as he began to mimic Mustela's previous attack in a Tackle of his own, moving as quickly as the little puffball could on his stubby legs. His Tackle looked accurate, and with Mustela confused it was more likely to hit. Would it, though?

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[xxKrows.]

OOC: Whoo, no more Confusion for this turn! Maybe it'll return later. ;3

XUAN

Mustela stumbled, her claws swiping through empty air instead of connecting with some solid Venonat flesh. She overbalanced for a wild second or two, cartwheeling her arms in terror. The ground seemed to yaw away at a terrible speed. Thankfully, that movement stopped, and she felt her hindpaws on solid ground again. She prayed that this strange affliction would end quickly.

That Venonat! Gritting her teeth, she put out a paw that connected with a tree trunk, stabilising herself. She would never forgive it for doing this to her – and on top of that, the nerve! Dodging her attack! Glancing around wildly, she tried to pin down the position of the Venonat, wanting to give it another try.

Instead she saw about six Venonats. Eyes widening in horror – just how did that happen? – she stepped back involuntarily, swallowing. This wasn't good. All six snarled; the sound was like a rumble of thunder, it was so loud. Then she saw them come charging at her, six forms blurring into four, then two, and she curled up and wished the battle was over.

The Tackle rammed home. She felt her head connect solidly with the trunk and a spear of pain blossom down her flank; then it was no more, just a span of darkness dotted by stars. All noise and feeling faded away. It was peaceful, so peaceful…

Wait.

"She couldn't have been knocked out, could she?" The terrified voice belonged to Rex.

"Well… She wasn't really all that good at defence," concluded Jun. "So, well, I suppose maybe it's your turn to fight, Rex." He sounded resigned, but yet a mocking tone overlaid the exasperation.

I like potatoes.

The Sneasel growled. Feeling, along with pain, came flooding back in, but at least her head was clear: no terrifying images, no disturbing sounds. She jackknifed to her feet, revelling in the way her body simply obeyed. "Shut up, stupid," she snarled at her teammates. "I'm not done yet." With a Screech, she lunged at the Venonat after a second of aiming, swiping a Quick Attack.

[Birdybot]

Birdy//

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

ooc// Naughty words! Er, stick to '****' for that kind of word, yeah? Or just use a better one like damn or crap or eh-oh something. Hm, I'd put a censor on that... strange it doesn't work...

ic// Venonat shivered as Mustela suddenly managed to get to her feet after appearing to be defeated, using a horrible Screech in her rage at being struck like that. The Bug type knew his defense stat was now lowered, and already being a weakened Pokémon, with his horribly low defense stat he doubted he'd manage to make it through another attack. At least he'd managed to get Mustela right down to this condition, he supposed, but it would have been even better had he been able to actually win, but still. There was a slight hope, there alway was.

As the Sneasel came raging towards him in a furious Quick Attack, he swallowed nervously, trying desperately to cling onto those last few hopes. It was hard, since the Quick Attack looked so fast, he doubted he'd be able to dodge it. Still, it was always worth a try, right? The Venonat snarled and leapt aside, but his low speed stat held him back and he found a rather angry Ice and Dark type collide with him in a very forceful and strong Quick Attack. His legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground, struggling desperately to remain concious. He attempted to get back up to his feet as Mustela had done, but failed, finding himself closing his eyes as he relaxed on the ground.

Venonat was defeated! Mustela gains one level!

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[xxKrows.]

OOC: Ahh, sorry… D: I meant to put "damn" at first, but thought to change it to something less offensive… I guess the standards are different here and there? "Damn"'s considered pretty offensive here, and "I like potatoes" is just an everyday exclamation everyone makes. I'll keep that in mind, though. Thanks for telling me! > <

XUAN

"Yeeha!" Screamed the Sneasel as she felt her claws connect. "There! Who's the boss now, buglet?" Waving her claws in battle-fed ecstasy, she failed to notice the Confusion creeping back up on her; with another whoop, she spun around and charged at the nearest target – Rex.

"Uh, what?"

"%@#$£&!!"

Xuan, seeing where this was going, fumbled out Mustela's Pokéball. "Return!" The Sneasel, caught in the beam of red light, was withdrawn from the scene – fortunately, before any damage was done to the Larvitar. Shell-shocked, said Larvitar crouched behind her Trainer as the Weavile found an empty Pokéball. "I'm going to catch the Venonat," explained Xuan as she flicked it at the immobile form. The ball bounced short, drawing a scowl from the girl, before it knocked lightly into the Venonat.

A gush of red light swooped out and enveloped the fainted Pokémon; Xuan watched on, eyes wide, hoping that it was successful.