Follow the Yellow Brick Road

[Zorrel]

Lithalia happily skipped along Route One, Alexucard skipping at her side, her new Riolu in her arms. The young trainer had let him out of his pokeball almost immediately after she left the labs, and hasn't stopped from smiling a bright, broad smile ever since. She had little bursts of giggles every now and then, excited to be starting off on a journey with her best friend and a brand new pokemon she could call her very own.

"My name is Lithalia. Lithalia Wolfe,'' she was saying as she skipped. "And this is Alex, my daemon.'' She tilted her head towards Alexucard as she said this. ''As for you...I think I'll call you Blaedyn! How do you like that name, huh?'' she smiled, looking down at the Riolu in her arms.

The Riolu blinked. A name...Blaedyn... he thought to himself. His curious expression turned into a smiling one as he looked back and forth from Lith to Alex. ~Bleadyn. I like it! Sounds brave. Blaedyn!~ Alexucard translated what the young Pokemon had said to Lithalia, who responded by expanding the grin on her face even more, which seemed impossible. "Great, I'm so happy! We're gonna be a family together from now on.'' Alexucard barked happily in response. "I'm glad you're starting off with us on our journey, Blaedyn!'' The Riolu nodded excitedly in response, a toothy grin still across his face. He was happy to be a new trainer's first Pokemon.

[Birdybot]

A Pokémon was walking happily about the route. It had spotted Lith, Alex and Blaedyn, but thought nothing of it. Just another trainer and her Pokémon. Perfectly normal thing to see around here. It itself had seen many of these people, but preferred to keep away itself. Trainers were much bigger than it and their Pokémon were strong, and it knew that it didn't have too much of a chance against one.

But this trainer... this trainer was different! Her daemon had said they were starting off their journey. That would probably be a good thing. This trainer was only just starting out, so she wouldn't have had much time to train yet. Small, twiglike legs tottled forwards. Hey, why not. If it beat this trainer, it would be able to get stronger, and would be a step towards defeating the other passing trainers, the ones who had been journeying for a long time. As it showed itself to Lith, it was clear that this was a Burmey; not the most common of Pokémon. It growled, trying to appear challenging.

[Zorrel]

The group's excited giggles turned into surprise when the Burmy popped out of no where. "Oh?" Lith said curiously. Then, after a moment, a cheerful expression replaced her surprised one. "A Pokemon! Hey there!" she exclaimed, giving a friendly wave. "I wonder what kind it is...'' she then muttered while blankly staring at the leaf covered Pokemon in front of her.

"It's a Burmy, Lith,'' Alex responded in a know-it-all like tone. "They're bug types, obviously, and this one here looks like it wants to battle."

"A Burmy, huh?" Lithalia thought for a moment before looking down to Blaedyn with a mischievous gleam in her eye and a toothy grin across her face. "This could be our very first battle. Wanna go for it?"

~A battle?~ Blaedyn blinked and looked back up at Lith with big, eager eyes. ~Our very first!~ he repeated gleefully. ~Yes, definitely! Let's do it~ He then jumped down from his new trainer's arms and took a battle ready stance.

"Alright, Lithalia, this is your first time actually battling," Alexucard started advising her. "Remember, keep your head clear and try your best; it won't matter if you win or lose."

"Oh, but we plan to win, right Blaedyn?" she playfully winked. Blaedyn gave a sharp nod in reply. "Now, Blaedyn - start off with Quick Attack!" Shouting out an attack for the very first time made Lith giggle with excitement as she watched in anticipation at what would happen next. Alex sat right beside her, equally as curious.

~I hope you're ready for this, Burmy!~ the young Riolu shouted excitedly as it charged towards the bug type as fast as it could.

[Birdybot]

Oh, Burmy was ready, all right. It wanted to evolve. Then it would be an almighty- erm, which gender was it for Mothim and Womadam? No matter, it would evolve and be mighty. Awesome, sausome, Burmy. No, wait, Mothim or Wormadam then. Burmy was so caught up in thinking about what it would be like when it evovled the it didn't notice Blaedyn attacking- at first, however.

A movement was caught in the corner of it's eye. Oh, that must be an attack! The Riolu was streaking past very fast. A glimmering light formed in front of Burmy, creating a barrier from which Blaedyn would be warded away from; when he struck it, he wouldn't go through. This was a Protect move, but luckily, it couldn't be used twice in a row; Burmy would be unprotected from Blaedyn's next attack.

[Zorrel]

Blaedyn might have stopped if he'd known what attack the Burmy just used - but he didn't, and therefore he didn't stop. The young Riolu crashed full speed into the Burmy's Protect, and was sent tumbling backwards a few feet with an 'unf'. "Blaedyn, are you alright?" his trainer shouted worriedly.

Blaedyn slowly got up and gave a sharp nod. ~I just wasn't expecting that was all~ he coughed, giving an excuse.

"Oh, well ok then," Lith giggled once Alex translated what her Pokemon had said. "Now, go for a Blaze Kick!'' She knew that bug types were weak to fire, so it would hopefully cause the Burmy a good deal of damage if it hit. A smirk came across Blaedyn's face as he ran at the opponent once more, his foot turning to flames. He jumped at the Burmy with all he had, flaming foot extended in a kick, hoping that his attack would hit the pesky Pokemon this time.

[Birdybot]

Burmy watched fearfully as the Riolu use a Fire type attack. What? Riolu didn't learn that! Unless... unless Blaedyn had got lucky with his parents. Of course! Blaedyn must have come from the lab, it had never heard of wild Riolu on Route One, and from the lab, each Pokémon knew an egg move! Blaedyn's must be this Blaze Kick. Burmy tried to move out the way, but it's little twiggy legs refused to move fast enough. Of course, Protect would fail if it attempted to use it, so Burmy was struck by Blaedyn's burning foot. It shrieked in agony, moaning and whimpering. That had hurt so much!

However, Burmy, who at this stage would only usually know Protect, had a trick up it's sleeve. Thick vines extended from it's body, moving in much quicker than Burmy was to use a Vine Whip. That was strange, wasn't it? Burmy never learnt Vine Whip through levels, egg moves, tutoring or TM!

[Zorrel]

"Wooo, great job, Bleadyn!" Lithalia cheered after the Riolu landed his first hit. Alexucard gave a bark as well to root on his new companion from his spot beside Lith. Blaedyn was happy too, and felt a wave of confidence rush over him. He loved battling, he now decided, even if he got hurt every once in a while.

He was so caught up in the fact that he just got in his first attack, however, that he wasn't paying attention to the battle and didn't see his opponent use that unusual move. "Bleadyn, look out!" his trainer called. But it was too late. The Riolu tried to jump out of the way of the Vine Whip, but ended up getting lashed instead.

Lith winced as Blaedyn got hit by the vines Burmy sent out, and then shouted, "Blaedyn, try to hold on, okay? Use another Quick Attack, the fastest you can do!"

Alexucard tilted his head, a bit confused. "Odd, Burmy aren't usually able to learn that move," he muttered to Lithalia. "I wonder if this one's special somehow."

A curious expression came over Lith's face after hearing what her daemon had said. "Oh," she responded simply. "Well, maybe we'll have to ask it about that after the battle," she concluded with a slight grin. Alex merely shook his head teasingly in response.

Blaedyn got up and tried to shake off that last hit. He could still on go on, but he was getting weaker. Then, after hearing his trainer's orders, he jumped back into action and ran as fast his legs would let him toward the Burmy once again.

[Birdybot]

Burmy cried out, it's stubby legs no match for Blaedyn's speed. It fell, a few leaves falling from it's body as it did so. Quickly gathering them back together, it growled angrily. It didn't like loosing leaves, even if it did get them back quickly.

It then turned to the Riolu again, using another Vine Whip; last time that had been done, it had been quite effective.

[Zorrel]

Lithalia smiled as her Pokemon landed another successful hit. "Keep it up, Blaedyn!" she encouraged him. She was becoming more and more excited as the battle raged on. When she saw the Vine Whip come at him again, she called out, "Dodge it!"

And this time, Blaedyn was ready. After he hit Burmy with his last attack, he quickly turned around and leapt into the air. He escaped most damage, but one of the vines skid past his back paw. Now he was right above the leafy Pokemon - an opportune position to land an attack. Lith gave a smirk as she realized this fact, and called out another attack to Blaedyn. "Come down on it with one more Blaze Kick!" The Riolu gave a smirk as well, and accelerated down towards the Burmy in a powerful flaming kick.

[Birdybot]

Burmy smiled. Blaze Kick. Just the thing it'd been waiting for. It hadn't dared use a Protect on the last turn in case this very thing happened, and now it was rather pleased and proud that it had done that. Blaze Kick was super effective, and a powerful move even when it was normally effective. This meant that Burmy didn't stand much of a chance against it. Well, it had experienced it for itself; and yes, it was definately worth avoiding.

Burmy concentrated on the air before it. It would have to be quick, as quick as possible what with the speed Blaedyn was moving at! The air shimmered, solidified, and Burmy relaxed. Phew. There. Now The Riolu wouldn't strike. The Protect worked, fading once Blaedyn had finished the attack. Burmy didn't make for an attack, because it had already used Protect.

[Zorrel]

Blaedyn's expression of confidence quickly changed to that of surprise when he saw that Burmy had used Protect. However, it was too late to get away; he was already heading straight toward the shimmering barrier at full speed. Once again, the Riolu crashed right into Burmy's Protect. He bounced off and landed with a thud a bit away from his opponent.

Lithalia - and even Alexucard, who was watching from the sidelines - was also surprised by the sudden change of events. "Snap," she muttered under her breath as Blaedyn hit the ground. She'd thought that Blaedyn's Blaze Kick would have ended the battle; then she felt a little embarassed at the fact she'd walked right into such an obvious trick. But then she thought she saw an opening, realizing the Burmy couldn't use another Protect right away. With a slight smirk, she called out to her Pokemon. "Alright Blaedyn, hang in there a liiiittle bit longer. Now jump behind Burmy and try Blaze Kick once more!"

Blaedyn had almost had enough; but there was no way he was going to let his new trainer - his new family - down in his very first battle. Determined, he gathered his strength and slowly rose to his feet. Following Lith's commands, he quickly jumped around his opponent and then, without skipping a beat, charged toward Burmy with one last Blaze Kick.

[Birdybot]

Burmy was, of course, a slow Pokémon. Honestly, those silly little legs- surely they couldn't do much good, after all. Poor Burmy found that, mostly thanks to this, it couldn't really dodge Blaedyn's Blaze Kick. The burning back paw slammed hard into where it's chest probably was, and it flew backwards. It landed heavily on the ground, unmoving. It was breathing deeply. It appeared to be defeated.

However, Blaedyn hadn't gained any levels- usually, when a battle was over, the winner gained levels. We had spoken too soon. Burmy scrambled to it's feet, gathering together a few scattered leaves. However, last time the process had taken but a second, but this time it took far longer. Burmy was so weak it could barely stand up. It was a wonder how it managed to gather the strength together to send out a thick, strong vine in a Vine Whip attack.

[Zorrel]

Bleadyn was struck hard by the unexpectedly powerful Vine Whip, and was sent tumbling backwards once again. Lithalia, while admiring of the Burmy's hard determination, was getting a bit nervous. Blaedyn was getting weaker and more tired with every hit; he was young, and in his first battle, after all. Shaking off her doubts, Lith called out to the Riolu on the field. "You can do it, Blaedyn!" she exclaimed, having confidence in him. "Now, hit him hard with Quick Attack!"

The little Riolu scrambled up when he heard his trainer's words. He started running slowly at first, but then gathered speed as his pace turned into a Quick Attack. Blaedyn was going fast, but the attack wasn't as strong as it could have been.

[Birdybot]

With the amount of strength Burmy had, it was surprising it hadn't keeled over already. Swaying dangerously, black spots forming in it's vision, it could just about understand that Blaedyn was attacking. The form of a Riolu speeding towards it somehow didn't have much meaning to it right now, but it knew it ought to react in some way. It couldn't go down, it just couldn't. If it did, it wouldn't get a step closer to achieving evolution, after all.

A thin, flimsy glowing barrier was formed. A Protect- however, a pretty terrible one. It wavered, rippled, before shattering as Blaedyn rushed forwards. Burmy was struck, and it, as a resuly, collapsed.

Burmy was defeated! Blaedyn gains two levels!

[Zorrel]

A huge grin stretched across Lithalia's face once Blaedyn delivered the final blow to their very first opponent. "Great job, Blaedyn!" she giggled as the little Riolu ran and jumped into her arms, equally as happy they'd won. "That was awesome!" Alexucard barked cheerfully, congratulating the two on their first win. After a short moment of dwelling over her victory, Lith turned to Alex and Blaedyn. Still smiling, she asked, "So, guys, should we try to catch the little guy and add him to our family?"

"I say yes - catching new Pokemon is a necessity to a new trainer,'' Alex nodded, matter-of-factly. "Plus, I admire that Burmy's guts and determination,'' he added with a smirk.

~Yes, yes! He'll make a great friend, and I wanna battle him again sometime!~ Blaedyn excitedly responded. He would love nothing more than to see his new family keep growing.

"Well then, I guess that settles it,'' Lith concluded as she pulled out a shiny new Pokeball from her backpack. "Pokeball, gooooo~!" she exclaimed as she pressed the centered button to enlarge the sphere in her right hand. Then, she threw it somewhat awkwardly, yet forcefully, at the Burmy lying a few feet away from her.