Onward and Upward

[Klomonx]

Alexander stretched as he walked toward Silav Town. It was morning, the sun was now rising up blanketing the sky in a thick orange color. Masquerade walked next to him, stretching out her wings for a moment before returning them to her side. "Its about time he came to a town, now you can heal up Hydra and Brutus." Alexander nodded, agreeing with his Daemon, for once. However Alexander also noted that this Town had the first gym. The question was, would he challenge it.

"I know whats on your mind, Alexander." Masquerade continued, "but isn't your strongest Pokemon, Pip? And isn't this gym a Grass Gym? You wouldn't last long." "Well Mask, what do you suggest we do then? Backtrack?" "Well I'm sure it wouldn't take long to train them at least until level 12."
Alexander sighed as they were passing the sign for Silav Town. Because it was winter, the town was not as brilliant as it would have normally been. The cold easily frosted away the glory of the area. "I'm not saying you can't take on the gym, but I highly advice against it." "Do you lack faith in Thistle? In the rest?"

Masquerade sighed and rubbed her wings together, "Its not them I lack faith in. Its your arrogance and pride. Not to mention your health..you almost fainted when you saw what Jim did to Pip." Alexander said nothing, and Masquerade responded by doing the same.

[Birdybot]

The street Alexander had walked into seemed to me the trainer's area. A number of such people were out and about with their Pokémon. One was heading into the Gym, which was down towards the end of the street. Others were coming out or going into the Pokémon Centre, which was right by Alexander. The rest were either walking somewhere, chatting, or sitting down. Some were stroking their Pokémon, grooming them or generally being nice, others were giving them pep talks and discussing strategies.

One trainer noticed Alexander and grinned. He walked up to him, smiling as he noted what he'd overheard the boy talk about. He was older than Alexander, his daemon taking the form of a Weavile- Thistle's evolved form. He opened his mouth to speak. "Hey, mate. You were discussing training, yeah? Well, you can go to the training centre, easy, but... could you please battle me? Heal your Pokémon or whatever, then come out here for a battle. OK?" he requested.

[Klomonx]

((OOC: Hopefully what I did was okay, I assumed you wanted to get to the battling quickly))

Without much warning, Alexander found himself bombarded by the trainer with the Weavile Daemon. The moment the trainer had uttered, 'heard ye disscussing' it made Alexander secretly cringe, and Masquerade nudged him. He hated speaking to his Daemon around others, for that exact reason. When he had been a detective, it was understandable, a would-be criminal could hear your thoughts outloud. Could easily see what your plan of action was, and turn it against you. But now, being a trainer, it was an odd little quirk that was not really worth keeping and just another scar from Alexander's past.

"Alright," Alexander agreed, "I'll battle you after I heal them. Come on, Mask." Alexander walked past the trainer and continued on to the Pokemon Center; the question was, with five Pokemon, which should he choose? He had yet to really battle with any of them with the exception of Thistle, and they all could do with some training. Masquerade muttered quietly, her rusted voice groaning, "I believe the gym leader here is a grass-type gym leader. Thistle, Anubis, and possibly even Hydra may be able to help us win."

Alexander walked into th Pokemon Center, and took out all five of his Pokeballs, ready to heal the Pokemon inside. He began to think of which Pokemon he should use. Brutus, and Hydra were in the most need of training, but it would also be harder and less likly that they would meet a weaker type then thmselves. No matter; Alexander guessed he had enough back-up plans if a foe's pokemon was type that easily beat a Poison-type or Dark-type.

Leaving the Pokemon Center a few minutes later, the nurse having healed his five Pokemon, Alexander returned to the trainer whom had requested a battle. Alexander had decided to train Hydra; he and Brutus had not been out of the their Pokeballs the longest. "Are you ready?" Pulling the brim of his hat down slightly, Alexander took out Hydra's Pokeball and flung it, the red energy revealed the Ekans, who blinked and after realizing where he was, hissed, preparing himself for a good battle that he sensed was coming.

[Birdybot]

The other trainer smiled, studying Alexander and Hyrda carefully. Alexander looked far older than most people who came for a gym battle. He looked at least thirty-five... but that just gave him experience, right? Then again, he was forty himself, so he couldn't talk. And then Hyrda... an Ekans, a Poison type. Good thinking on Alexander's part; Grass types, which most people had in this town, were weak against Poison types. However, he could see a flaw. Hydra looked like he hadn't battle with Alexander before, and how did Alexander tell whether he lived in this town anyway?

The opposing trainer smiled. "I'm not from this town, but lucky for you I'm Elika's cousin, and a love of Grass types runs in the family. Unluckily for you, so does a talent for being a skilled trainer. I'll use a well-matched Pokémon to fight you, one I recently caught. After all, it wouldn't be fair if I used my Sceptile, would it? Go, Trevor!" he said, throwing a Pokéball. From it emerged a Turtwig, looking excited and determined. His first battle, just like Hydra. "You can go first." offered the other trainer.

[Klomonx]

Alexander was quite grateful to see he was up against a type that was weak to a poison-type. Of course, that only meant it would be harder to make an attack, the other trainer would be on guard. Alexander also found it lucky that he was battling Elika's cousin, which meant this battle would make very good practice for him and Hydra. Hydra blinked once, keeping his yellow eyes locked on Trevor.

When the other trainer let Alexander go first, he found it fairly odd, but moved on. "Hydra, lets start this off with Leer!" Hydra nodded in response, and lifting its head up off the ground, looked directly at the Turtwig, preparing to use leer. Hopefully, for Alexander's sake, this battle wouldn't be as hard to win as the last; if it hadn't been for Pip and Thistle, Alexander doubted he'd still be in good health.

[Birdybot]

The man smiled. A Leer? Even with a lowered defense stat, a Turtwig like Trevor would be able to take hits remarkably well. Besides, he could very easily get the tortoise's stat back up to normal again, meaning Hydra's Leer would have been wasted. Perhaps Alexander would try to lower Trevor's defense again. If he did, he would just raise it to normal again. Trevor's defense would never linger below normal for long. "Withdraw, then Tackle." he said calmly and causally.

Trevor gave a little squeak of happiness, then curled into a ball so that all his harder shell parts were on the outside. His defense raised, he uncurled and locked eyes with Hydra. An Ekans like him might be a Poison type, but Grass types could take hits, even powerful super effective ones. It would just make things a little more difficult, that was all. The Turtwig then charged at the snake. He wasn't trying to be speedy, no, he was simply trying to hit hard, which it looked like he would do if the Tackle was sucessful.

[Klomonx]

Alexander grunted his teeth, why didn't he see that coming? Turtwig was a turtle-after all. It could easily recover any defense loss that Hydra flung at it. However, Alexander also knew that though the battle wouldn't be easy, the type match up made up for the failed defense-lowering tactic. He simply had to come up with another one, and fast. The Turtwig was now coming at Hydra with a tackle, and the Ekans hissed at it, preparing to move away from the tackle on instinct.

"No, Hydra, don't dodge it. Let it hit you, and when it does, use wrap-and don't let go!" Hydra seemed surprised, as his eyes widened and he hissed out a "~Whhaat?~" However Hydra quickly regained his focus in the knick of time, and as soon as Trevor made contact, Hydra let out wrap, hoping it would work. Hydra took the attack-the attack at full power-and was now simply hoping that his trainer's tactic worked.

[Birdybot]

The other trainer seemed very pleased indeed when Trevor's Tackle hit. He smiled. Good. Now he would be able to see how much damage Hydra could take, how log it took him to recover, and all sorts. That kind of information was useful to know when in a battle. It would also help him understand how the Ekans species fought in general. Presently, he grimaced as the snake caught his Turtwig in a strong Wrap attack. There wasn't much he could do about that, since Trevor's only offensive attack was Tackle. "Withdraw and try to escape, Trevor!" he called.

Trevor was angry. Alexander must have known that he wouldn't be able to put up a fight against the Wrap if he was Wrapped after using a Tackle. It also gave Hydra an excelent grip on him, one which was hard to break since he had been able to plan it. The Turtwig used a withdraw to reduce the pain and wriggled in a last desperate attempt to free himself, but it was no use. For now, the Grass type was stuck.

[Klomonx]

Alexander was pleased to see that his plan had worked, and that the Turtwig easily fell into the trap. As long as Hydra kept a good grip on Turtwig, it would be an easy win, no matter how many withdraws the Turtwig did. Hydra hung on tightly, watching as the Turtwig struggled to get free. He had the upper hand, and knew that this battle was going to be easier then he at first thought, or at least for now it was.

"Hydra, use Poison Sting on the Turtwig, but keep your grip steady!" Hydra nodded, and prepared to use the attack. In order for him to do so, however, without letting go, the attack's power would be reduced. If he shot it to hard, the recoil could easily knock him off of Trevor. Still, the attack would be hard to dodge, and that made up for the lack of power. Hydra then opened his jaws and sent out a Poison Sting.

[Birdybot]

Trevor was, obviously, hit by the Poison Sting. The super effective move had an effect on the Grass type, but thankfully he wasn't poisoned by it due to the fact that it lacked power. The trainer grimaced. He really needed to find a way to get Trevor free; on every turn he'd lose a little health from the Wrap, and the Poison Stings would only make things worse, especially if they managed to poison him. "Hang in there, Trevor! Use a Tackle, back and forth!" he called.

The Turtwig nodded, seeing his trainer's plan there. This wasn't to try and hurt Hydra, more to free himself. Once he had felt the pain from the wrap, he began to rock backwards and forwards, pushing against and towards the snake. This loosened the coil he was trapped with, and thankfully, he at last managed to squeeze out. He was free! The Grass type grinned in happiness, trotting away from Hydra and waiting for the next turn.

[Klomonx]

Hydra was quite pleased to see how the Poison Sting hit, and in a way he lost focus. Being his first battle with Alexander as his trainer, it was easy to tell that Hydra had not seen the forcefulness that Alexander had, pushing his Pokemon to their last moment. Hydra hadn't realized that when he had thought Thistle, but the moment his grip fell off of the Turtwig, he thought he sensed Alexander's gaze at him become one that he wouldn't enjoy. Hydra had been hurt by the shifting of the Tackle; it was hardly anything but he still had felt it.

"Hydra-" Alexander began, sharply and coldly as ever. Hydra grimaced by Masquerade stopped Alexander before he got much further, gently nipping his arm with her beak, making him break out of the heat of battle and the anger that often arises when ones plan has fallen. Alexander also realized that the Turtwig had also used its only worthwhile attack, leaving Hydra open to shoot a Poison Sting, and this at full power. "Hydra, use Poison Sting again! Quickly now!"

Hydra felt that Alexander's gaze at him softened, and he became more confident as he set out another Poison Sting. It was not full power; to do so would waste energy when the battle had just only begun. However it was stronger then his attack had been with him wrapping around Trevor, which was a good thing-but only if it hit.

[Birdybot]

Trevor was hit by the Poison Sting, a slow Pokémon like himself unable to move out the way in time. The super effective hit still didn't seem to be the full thing, like Hydra was holding back for some reason. As a result, the Turtwig was not Poisoned. Perhaps if Hydra used the full attack he would be, but for now he was fine. His trainer did not shame him for being hit, instead gave him a little encouragement in case he was feeling upset about it. "Trevor, you're doing great! Use a Tackle!"

The Grass type lowered his head, beginning to charge at the Ekans which was his opponent. This attack wasn't very fast, and Trevor was a little worried about getting caught in another Wrap, but his trainer would think of something if that happened, right? Yes, of course. This Tackle would be a strong hit like the last one had been, but would also give Hydra plenty of time to move out the way thanks to Trevor's poor Speed stat.

[Klomonx]

Hydra seemed to prepare himself to use wrap again, but again he seemed to hesitate. "Hydra, let the tackle hit you, and again use wrap! Don't let go so easily, this time!" Hydra nodded, becoming more confident in his abilities. He could sense that Alexander was thinking along the same lines, Hydra was a good Pokemon even though it seemed to hesitate a lot.

Hydra unraveled his body as he braced for the impact of the Tackle. When the tackle hit, Hydra instantly unleashed another Wrap, still feeling the pain from the tackle, as it still hurt in collision alone. He could only help that his confidence didn't get ahead of him. This battle was exciting-this trainer sure knew how to pick his battles!

[Birdybot]

As he watched Hydra use the same strategy to catch Trevor, the other trainer became unsure as to whether the battle might slip to become less exciting. Using the same strategy over and over in a battle might work, but it became predictable and a little boring. Since he had guessed that Hydra would use the Wrap technique even though he would get hurt by it unlike if he moved towards the slow Turtwig, he had a plan. "Trevor, use Tackle. A normal Tackle, at any tree lining the path." he said with a smile.

There was a fair bit of effort and pain on Trevor's part as he struggled to get his legs free. Eventually, he managed to get them to the ground, and started charging. As a strong Grass type, he could just about cope with Hydra's weight. He was slowed, though, as he rushed at the fat trunk of the nearest tree. The idea was that Hydra, at the front of the attack, would be hurt. Trevor himself would be injured as well, but hopefully not so much.

[Klomonx]

Hydra hung on with his wrap as he felt Trevor's weight shift and move about. He hung on with a hiss as it was hard to hang on when you had no limbs that could hold you. He looked at the tree that Trevor was going to collide with, and braced of impact, knowing that it would be hard to hold on once collision occurred, but he couldn't fail Alexander.

"Hydra, use Poison Sting on Trevor to blast yourself away!" Hydra's eyes widened, he hadn't expected that in the least, but decided that it would be good, seeing as the tree was growing very near. As quickly as Hydra could, he lifted his head and loosened his grip, before shooting out a Poison Sting at full blast. This sent Hydra blasting off of Trevor, and him landing somewhat hard on the ground. Hydra cringed in pain, the landing wasn't very soft, and he tried to shake it off. "~..that smartssssss..~" Hydra growled, grinding his teeth as he recovered from the fall. It was less damage than the tackle would have been, but it still caused some damage to Hydra.