Chapter Two: Through the woods we go

[Birdybot]

Pidgey gave a truimphant trilling sound as it's Tackle finally struck. Ha! There! It had used an attack, and it had hurt! Pidgey was feeling relatively weak, but then again, sacrifices would have to be made. However, now that there was nothing blocking it's path, sacrifices didn't have to be made. It lowered it's height in the air, then saw that Aspen was using a Swift. Swift was much stronger than it's Tackles, and with it's Defense stat lowered by the earlier Tail Whip, Pidgey just didn't know whether or not this would end the battle or not.

Well, Pidgey didn't need to be a genuis to know what to do here. It dodged the Swift, moving lower to dive in an arc towards Aspen. This was, of course, another Tackle attack. This move wouldn't be as strong as the last ones, for it was much slower due to how weak Pidgey was right now.

[xxninja]

Aspen felt her body go stiff as Pidgey deftly dodged her attack, swooping low under the ray. It was obvious this bird was no different than any other - very skilled in the air, be it attacking or retreating. As a small child, she would watch the Flying-types as they danced through the sky, just as free as could be to zoom this way and that as they pleased. She often wished she too could have wings and soar above the treetops like that, but alas, she was born with legs and paws instead of feathers; this only meant she was going to have to be the best she could be on the ground where canines belonged.

The little Vulpix could tell her opponent was weakening fast. It was progressing much slower now, and that burn would be sapping it's strength little by little. Still, she admired its perseverance; it seemed a bit stubborn even, refusing to admit when it was too tired to keep battling. It was now that she realizing her own breathing was coming heavier - battling took a lot out of a young Pokemon like herself. All that fancy footwork Lee asked her to do was strenuous, and she could tell her attacks were never as powerful as the ones before. Still, this was the most fun she'd had in a long time; being in a battle made you feel so alive! Anxiously, she turned to her trainer, awaiting further instruction.

"Keep it up, Aspen, Pidgey's starting to get tired! Try and roll to the side, then hit hard with Swift as it goes by." Queenie gulped, feeling the same jittery nervousness as her foster daughter. Her grip tightened on Lee's shoulder, and Iza leaned over, whispering into the Kangaskhan's ear words of encouragement that ensured the fox's safety. He had never been a mother, so he had no idea what must be going through her head, but the way his human complained about her own mother being too overprotective gave him a clue.

[Birdybot]

Pidgey was furious. Honestly, this Vulpix was seriously overreacting to the battle. The Flying type was forced to pull out of the Tackle to avoid being hit by the Swift, but it was still fairly near Aspen. Really. She'd been hit twice. Twice, by a weak and basic move, yet she was acting as if she was going to die or something. Either she was a huuuuge whimp, or she had like, half the Defense stat of a normal Vulpix. As for it, Flying types generally had low Defense and it's had been lowered, and it was Burned, and it was on it's first battle, and it was, by it's reckonings, even younger than Vulpix! With all that, Pidgey had been hit two Embers, more powerful than Tackle, and a Swift, loads more powerful than Ember!

Well, Aspen might be acting as if getting hit thrice by a weak attack would kill her, but Pidgey wasn't. The Burn made it wince, but it blocked out all pain. Pain had no meaning any more. It wanted, no, needed, to go out with a bang. It needed to deliver one last attack before it fainted, and wouldn't give up until that was done. Pretty certain that an attack as weak as a Tackle wouldn't be the end of the world for Aspen, Pidgey shot forwards. This attack was likely to hit, because Pidgey was quite close to Aspen. However, Aspen would then be able to hit Pidgey as it recovered from attacking, which would probably make Pidgey faint. However, if Aspen tried attacking before Pidgey hit, from previous experience they should know by now that Pidgey would be able to pull out of the attack. So, it was either don't get hit and the battle would drag on, or be hit then make Pidgey faint.

[xxninja]

Lee could tell Pidgey was getting angrier and angrier. It was a little surprising, actually, and sort of scared her - only minutes ago it had been such a peaceful, carefree little bird. Even if they won the battle, what if it was so infuriated that it refused to show them the way after all? She just had to trust it would keep its promise.

She now watched as Aspen's opponent closed in fast. If the Vulpix tried to dodge now, it would be gone in a flash and she wouldn't be able to counterattack. The poor fox felt her legs shaking, knowing she had little time to act. Right now, she really wanted to simply hurl herself out of the way, to protect herself from being hit... But no. No, she had to be brave now. For Lee. For Queenie. But most of all, for herself. If she kept running away from everything thrown at her, she'd be scared for the rest of her life. She had to withstand it like Pidgey. She could take it. Flaring out her tail, she tensed her legs, eyes boring into those of her worthy opponent. With any luck, she'd be able to recover fast enough to send the attack before the pigeon got away.

It all happened so fast, like most attacks, it rattled her a little before she felt the actual pain from the strike. Pidgey's Tackle wasn't near as powerful as the ones before - it must be feeling weaker than it let show. Such a brave Pokemon; Aspen wished she too could be strong like that. Picking herself up, she focused her mind on her attack and completely ignored the sore spot on her flank. Using every ounce of her might, she fired the Swift.

[Birdybot]

Pidgey had been retreating from the attack so he might recover from it. He'd thought that he had won the battle with that Tackle, he honestly had. He was ready to celebrate when he looked behind him at what should have been Aspen's fainted form. Instead, he saw a Swift, too close to dodge. It struck him hard, and he fell out of the air. He had been defeated before he hit the ground.

Now he was fainted, Lee should either wait until he aroused for him to guide her, or catch him; a Pokéball would make him recover just a little bit.

Pidgey fainted! Aspen gained two levels!

[xxninja]

Aspen watched as the Pidgey was struck by her attack and sent careening off his course before plummeting to the ground. He gave a weak little caw as his body met hard earth. When he didn't move again, however, the vixen became worried. What if he was just playing opossum to trick her to come near, only to hit her with an attack when she thought she had won? Or what if he hadn't fainted, but... But.... She refused to let herself finish that thought. Yes, she could feel the rush of energy as she leveled up - she had most definitely been victorious. Confidently, she padded over to the limp body of her opponent, noticing little swirls in his eyes. Elated, she gave a yip and charged toward her trainer, maw agape in a grin.

Lee Ann laughed as her little champion launched herself into her arms, pressing her lupine face against her cheek. "That was amazing, Aspen! I think you're really getting the hang of battling!" she congratulated, gently stroked behind the fox's ears. The Vulpix ran her tongue the length of Lee's cheek bone before leaping to the ground, proudly approaching her mother with her tails held high. The shiny Kangaskhan scooped her up in her arms, nuzzling her foster child lovingly. When their trainer regained her breath from giggling too hard, she said, "Alright, Queenie, Aspen needs her rest after that match. Return!" She brandished her Pokemon's ball, poking the button in the middle. Instantly, a beam of red light surrounded the Vulpix, transporting her inside. She kissed the ball, wishing the champ a nice long rest before hooking it back to her belt.

But now that the battle was over, she wasn't quite sure what to do now. Crouching over the fainted Pidgey, she pondered her options. She could, if she wished so, capture him to speed up his healing process. He would make an excellent addition to her team, but did the Pokemon really want to go with her? If he wanted to stay in his forest, she didn't want to make him travel with her. After a few minutes of brain function and advice from her daemon, she decided to create a little nest of leaves and soft earth to place the bird in while he re-cooperated. She wasn't sure how long it would take for him to awaken, but she decided they could wait. If it got to be dark, they could set up camp and set off in the morning.

It was then as she let her eyes wander that she noticed a large stone protruding from a cluster of nearby bushes. Curious, she approached it to investigate. The boulder was incredibly smooth in texture and oval in shape. Not only that, but it was quite the odd color for a rock - a muted coral, with lighter and darker flecks of pink. "How odd..." she commented to herself, lifting the stone into her arms. It was quite a bit heavier than she pictured and seemed to be a little warm. Iza hopped down to the ground next to her, cocking his head to one side as he examined their strange find. Suddenly, his Pikachu ears perked and a few stray sparks wandered from his cheeks in excitement. "Do you know what this is, Lee?" he pressed, though didn't wait for a reply before continuing: "It's an egg!" His human gasped, quickly (but gently) returning the little baby Pokemon to its nook in the ground. "What are we gonna do, Iza? What if its parents don't take it back now that I touched it?"

At that, he promptly turned into a Growlithe and began scoping out the area. His nose snuffled and snorted as he checked every pebble and blade of grass for a recent scent and his eyes were never in the same place for long as he searched for paw prints or patches of fur. Within minutes, he had thoroughly investigated the area and returned to Lee to report. "I can't find any clue that would suggest its parents have come back in a while." Sadness shone in his eyes like a strobe light; she didn't have to ask to know that the poor egg had been abandoned. Nodding solemnly, she returned her attention to the unhatched baby before her. Iza continued. "Since its so heavy, that probably means its still alive. As a matter of fact, it may even be close to hatching. Its lucky the climate here is so warm - if it were any colder, it probably wouldn't have survived."

And then it struck Lee what she had to do - take care of it like it was her own. The two exchanged glances, and she smiled, slipping off her backpack. Opening the flap, she began digging around for a blanket to wrap around the shell. Once it was properly cocooned, she made a barrier around it with her arms, resting it in her lap. Now all that was left to do was wait. Wait for Pidgey to awaken, and wait to find out what kind of Pokemon slept in the egg.

ooc: Wow, this is way overdue. My egg was supposed to hatch on the 3rd, but I never got around to introducing it. ^^;;[/size]

[Birdybot]

Pidgey hadn't been fainted too far; in fact, he made a faint sound as Lee moved him. The bird was then lying comfortably in the little makeshift nest, but was not recovered yet. It most likely wouldn't be too long, however, before he did wake. A few minutes, perhaps. In his mind, dreams swirled past, dreams of flying across beautiful landscapes, of mountains of delicious food, and other wonderful things. He twitched, but wasn't too close to waking.

The Egg, meanwhile, was a different matter. While Pidgey was still, the Egg was not. It was shaking like crazy, almost as if something inside it wanted to get out. Did that mean it would hatch? Perhaps it did. To put an end to any other doubts, a small crack appeared, which soon lengthened, other cracks coming off it. A section of the Egg fell out, and the creature inside crawled out for the first time.

~Mree-ow!~[/color] the tiny, high pitched voice mewled softly as it looked into the eyes of what should be its mother. The first female it saw was its mum, right? The Pokémon was feline, a Normal type, and pink. A Skitty. Skitty looked adoringly at Lee, waiting to see what would happen next. Its mum looked funny.

Skitty was hatched!


Name:
Species: Skitty
Gender:
Level: 5
Ability: Cute Charm
Attacks: Growl, Tail Whip, Tackle, Fake Out, Foresight, Uproar
Personality:

[img]http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/9/91/Spr_4d_300.png[/img]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b] Skitty
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Level:[/b] 5
[b]Ability:[/b] Cute Charm
[b]Attacks:[/b] Growl, Tail Whip, Tackle, Fake Out, Foresight, Uproar
[b]Personality:[/b][/size]

[xxninja]

Lee released a gasp as the egg began to shake and rattle in her arms, lurching from one side to the next. "It... Its hatching!" Iza exclaimed, steadying it with his tail. Small chips of the shell flew to the ground as cracks zig-zagged over the surface. Then a larger chunk broke off and a tiny Pokemon head burst through.

The little pink kitty gave a mew, almost a kind of yawn as if awakening from a long nap, as it took its first glimpses of planet Earth. "Ohhhh....!" Lee cooed, speechless as the Skitty gazed up at her. "Lee," Iza gasped, zeroing in on the newborn, "she thinks your her mom!"

The girl's eyes shined brilliantly as she gently stroked the top of the pink cat's head. "Iza, she's so adorable!" she whispered wen she managed to find her voice. Her daemon sniffed at the child, and she touched her nose to his in greeting. With a purr, Skitty pressed her face to Lee's hand. It was the most beautiful moment she had ever experienced... And now she had a 'daughter'.

Curious, the kitten carefully lifted herself from her mom's lap and stumbled to the ground, attempting her first steps. Carefully, she placed one paw in front of the other, bumbling forward with an excited cry. Often times, she would misplace her step and teeter to one side - Izara would scamper to her side in an instant and help her catch her balance. It wasn't long before Lee herself was on her hands and knees, following after her on her very first adventure in life.

Skitty came to a pause suddenly, tail twitching slightly as she noticed something lying in a throne. It was brown and white and had a beak and was covered in feathers, and appeared to be fast asleep. ~Me-rew?~ she squeaked, prancing up to Pidgey. And then she realized that this bird must be a king! Kings sat in thrones, right? Smiling, she gave another cry and bowed as low as she could before the royal Pokemon.

[Birdybot]

Just as the unnamed, newly hatched Skitty lowered herself into a wobbly bow, Pidgey stirred. The stirring went on for longer than a stirring would have done, most likely meaning that Pidgey was waking up. The bird's wings fluttered gently, his eyelids twitched. Finally, those eyelids fluttered open. What a coincidence that this happened while Skitty was bowing. It could be enough to delude a young Pokémon like that into thinking... well, lots of things, actually.

Pidgey took two attempts before he managed to, slowly and shakily, get to his feet. He looked about him, taking in Lee, her Pokémon, the Skitty. He was surprised to find that a newborn Pokémon would bow for him, the fact that he was on a nice comfy nest, and the Lee was still here. He looked at the trainer. Maybe he'd been out for a while, and Skitty had come along just as Lee was leaving. ~Hello again, trainer. Er, any explanation as to what Skitty's doing? Where did she come from, anyway?~[/color] Lee's daemon would be able to translate. He wanted to know this stuff.[/size]

[xxninja]

Lee had about as much an idea as to what Skitty was doing as anyone did. Her daemon cast her a puzzled glance, approaching the newborn inquisitively. She mewled urgently at him, bowing lower. It was at that moment that Iza noticed Pidgey beginning to stir and shift, eyes fluttering open. "Lee, he's waking up!" the Pikachu announced, standing up on his hind paws.

Pidgey looked inquisitively at the human before returning his gaze to the tiny pink cat kneeling before him. Lee sweatdropped, grinning sheepishly at the pigeon. She knew she would be psyched out if she awoke to someone bowing before her. Skitty, however was elated. She must have woken the king! It was just like in a fairy tale! Crying out triumphantly, she bounced around the make-shift nest, puffing out her chest proudly as if she were a hero.

"Umm.... She.... Must think you're royalty or something. Who knows what goes on in the mind of a baby?" Iza offered, padding over to Skitty after translating for the young teen. She crouched down next to the assembled Pokemon, brushing a strand of hair from her face with a bright grin. "Feeling better, Pidgey? Well, actually, we just found this egg, see? It was just sitting there in those bushes..." she gestured to the nearby foliage, "...and when I picked it up, it hatched into Skitty! And now... I guess that makes me her mom."

[/color]

Iza nodded to confirm this and maneuvered over to Pidgey, whispering in his ear to remind him of his promise to guide them to the correct path.[/size][/blockquote]

[Birdybot]

Pidgey couldn't help but smile a beaky smile as Skitty looked incredibly pleased with herself. Did she think... no, she couldn't... did she think he were a King? He didn't think he looked like a King, on a nest with his feathers ruffled. He laughed, seeing the funny side, hoping closer to the kitten. ~Skitty, I'm not royalty.~[/color] he informed her, in case that was what she thought. ~But I can be a guide, just as useful right now.~[/color] he explained as gently as possible, trying not to make her upset or anything.

He nodded to Lee. He had almost forgot about the leading he had promised. It had pretty much slipped from his mind as the battle had started. ~Come on, then.~[/color] he grinned, ~Follow me!~[/color] he told Lee, launching himself into the air. His wings were a little stiff, but it wasn't long before he'd worked all the kinks out of them. As he moved off slowly, he checked behind him to make sure that Lee was following. In the space of a few minutes, they were back on the path, Pidgey watching Lee to see what would happen next.[/size]

[xxninja]

Skitty looked at the king innocently, not quite sure what to make of his words. She didn't know what 'royalty' or a 'guide' was, but it must be something good. She smiled sweetly, glad he was a nice king instead of one of the really mean ones. At the gesture from Pidgey, Lee Ann scooped up the newborn in her arms. "Let's go, guys!" she called to her troop, following after the bird as he took flight.

During their trek through the woods, Skitty had wriggled and protested until her mother let her down. There were so many things to see and do in this wonderful world! This must be the kingdom, and perhaps they were going with the king to his castle. His land was so beautiful and enchanting. A pretty blue flower to sniff here, a log to walk on there, and plenty of leaves and tiny bugs to pounce on. Still, the others were going kind of fast, as if they didn't want to explore with her. She gave a whining cry, charging after her mom and demanded to be held again. Lee sighed and picked her up, suppressing a smile. Babies were so unpredictable. "I think,"

[/color] she mused, gently cuddling the kitten, "I think I'll call you Rosemary. Or Rosie for short."[/color] The newly-named Skitty gave a squeal of approval.

It didn't take long for Pidgey to direct them to the correct path, obviously knowing the forest very well. He landed on the ground before them, watching Lee expectantly. "Thank you so much, Pidgey! If it weren't for you, we would have been wandering around back there for who knows how long?"[/color] Rosie scrambled to the ground again, deciding their talk was boring. It would be more fun to go see what was under that rock on the side of the road. Lee gazed after the cat for a moment, then returned her attention to their guide. "What are you going to do now, Pidgey? It would be great if you wanted to come with us. You're really strong and would make an excellent addition to our team. Y'see, we're traveling across the land to challenge all the gyms in Enera, then face the Elite Four. But of course, if you'd rather stay here in your homelands, I don't want to force you to come."[/color] She grinned hopefully at him. "So what do you say?"[/color][/blockquote][/size]

[Birdybot]

Pidgey listened as Lee asked what he was to do. He'd been thinking about a similar thing, in fact, about what he would do. Perhaps he would help all lost trainers in return for battles. That would mean he would get this same pleased, satisfied feeling a lot when he'd helped them, would get strong slowly, but there was also a down side. Right now, he'd grown attached to this Lee person. He didn't want her to go. How could he feel that, again and again?

So, when Lee asked him to come along with her, he was over the moon- metaphorically, of course. The bird fluttered his wings excitedly. This meant that he would grow strong quickly, he'd get a lot of good feelings from helping out, and, best of all, he would never have to say goodbye to Lee. He nodded furiously, smiling somehow even with his beak. He swooped forward and touched his beak to one of Lee's empty Pokéballs. He instantly disappeared into the red light, the Pokéball hardly twitching before announcing a successful capture.

Pidgey was caught!


Name:
Species: Pidgey
Gender: Male
Level: 7
Ability: Keen Eye
Attacks: Tackle, Sand Attack
Personality: This Pidgey loves to help people. He is a kind Pokémon, and loves the good feeling that comes with helping someone and the helped person's expression. He is very pleasant to be around.

[img]http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/a/a2/Spr_4h_016.png[/img]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b] Pidgey
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Level:[/b] 7
[b]Ability:[/b] Keen Eye
[b]Attacks:[/b] Tackle, Sand Attack
[b]Personality:[/b] This Pidgey loves to help people. He is a kind Pokémon, and loves the good feeling that comes with helping someone and the helped person's expression. He is very pleasant to be around.

[xxninja]

Rosie gave a mew of confused despair, pouncing forward as the king was sucked into a weird little ball. Somehow, even though he had just disappeared out of nowhere, her mommy was smiling! Demanding an answer as to what was going on, she began pawing at Lee's leg, crying out urgently. "Hm? What is it, Rosie?"

[/color] she wondered, stooping down to caress her ear. Iza, however, understood completely. "She's never seen a Pokeball work," he explained, sitting down next to the kitten. "You see, Rosie, Pokemon like you are kept in those balls there so trainers like Lee can carry you around easier. It's supposed to be perfect and different for everyone." he explained gently. The tiny Skitty considered this for a moment, then turned her head to gaze down the path. With a roar meow that seemed much too loud for a kitten her size, she began forward, tail held high as if she were the leader. Lee smiled. "Well, Rosie knows its time to keep going!" she laughed, following the young leader onward.

They had lost a lot of daylight wandering around in circles, and the sun was already nearing the horizon. Long shadows stretched out behind the figures as they proceeded; the newborn, fascinated by this concept, began chasing after her own and making silly poses. The trainer knew it would be time to set up camp for the night soon if they didn't make it to Saliv any time soon. And knowing her little problem with darkness, she wouldn't waste any time in pitching her nice safe tent before the sun completely disappeared.[/blockquote]

ooc// Ehh that took a long time. ;; My grandma came here while my parents are away to take care of me and my brother, but we ended up taking care of her..[/size]

[Birdybot]

As Lee travelled along the route, she walked past many of the homes of Pokémon unknowingly. Of course, most of these Pokémon completely ignored her, very used to trainers. They were starting to settle down for the night, and felt it a comfort to hear a trainer go past; they, generally the smaller, weaker Pokémon of this route, relied on the path for safety. Predators avoided the path because of the trainers, so the small Pokémon lived by the path. It worked. Lee did not see many Pokémon; it was presently an interval where the daytime Pokémon are falling asleep, but the nocturnal Pokémon hadn't woken up yet.

One Pokémon took more notice of Lee. It watched her as the moved away, moving away, too. It was curious, it was willing to fight. It wanted to fight, desperately so. Making a dash, it managed to jump out suddenly in front of her. ~NINCADA!~[/color] the Nincada yelled, not knowing that Lee would be terrified of such a bug.[/size]