The Going Gets Rougher

[Birdybot]

Mankey sniffed, waking up. He was surprised at first not to feel horrible, but quickly got over that. He could smell something in the air which made his stomach growl. He was hungry, as most wild Pokémon were, and the smell of Lith's dinner was very good. Could he smell... potato? It was potato, but wan't quite potato, as if someone has done something to it. Flavoured it. There was also some fruity smell, but that was odd too. As if someone had sweetened them. Weren't fruits sweet enough? And there was another smell, absolutely fabulous, a smell he hadn't smelled before.

Mankey drifted over, and was surprised to see the trainer he'd battled along with her daemon and that Meowth. Oddly enough, he felt he actually liked that Meowth for hating her. What an odd relationship. He didn't dwell on that much, because he'd found the source of the tastiest smell; the food she was eating. It was so good! He had to have some! He stopped himself before he lunged forward, and turned to the trainer instead. After all, he didn't need another fight. He was about to speak, but his stomach spoke for him with a rumbling growl. He blinked, going a little red. Would Lith feed him?

[Zorrel]

Lithalia smiled when she saw that Mankey had woken up. "Well, look who finally decided to join us in the world of the waking?" she chuckled. And after she heard his stomach growling, she chuckled even more. She pulled out another handful of pokefood and offered it to him. "Here, feel free to take a seat and eat up," a warm and friendly smile crossed her face as she said this.

After the wild Pokemon had taken the food, Lith grabbed a few pieces of her small round candy and popped them in her mouth. "So," she started in between bites, "I was wondering, Mankey, if you'd like to come along with us on our Pokemon journey. I'm on my way to become the best trainer ever, and it'd be awesome to have a strong fighting type like you on our team!" she exclaimed as she pumped a fist through the air with a smirk on her face. Then, she giggled a bit before adding, "Plus, Amira seems to want you to come along." At this, the cream colored cat Pokemon blushed once again. She turned away from the Mankey to silently munch on her dinner, pretending she wasn't eagerly awaiting his reply.

[Birdybot]

Mankey grinned broadly as he was handed some Pokéfood. Oh, yes! He sat down and began to guzzle it, seeming to inhale it rather than eat. Eventually, though, he slowed down, savouring the taste. Man, this human-made food was great! He was starting to like humans an awful lot now, despite what some other Pokémon had told him in the past. Humans weren't bad, they were good. Potions and wonderful food and exploring and fighting.

Mankey was very pleased by Lith's offer. To be honest, he had been about to ask the same question. So, she wanted to be the best trainer ever, did she? Interesting. Now, he would be very lucky to be on the best trainer ever's team. That would make him one of the best Pokémon ever, right? His smile broadened. With all the things he'd just been thinking about, he could hardly turn down this sort of offer. He nodded. ~Anything to please the lady Meowth.~[/color] he teased. ~So, do I get a Pokéball?~[/color][/size]

[Zorrel]

Lithalia's grin widened. She scrambled around in her bag to find an empty Pokeball before realizing that they were on her belt. With a nervous laugh, she began to unclasp one. While Lithalia was busy fumbling with her belt, Amira let out a snort in response to Mankey's comment. ~You still smell like a Skuntank and look like a ball of cotton that's been put through a blender,~ she paused as a smirk crossed her face, ~but I am glad that you have decided to join us.~[/b] She felt the same strange relationship with that Mankey that he seemed to have towards her. The cat Pokemon thought she absolutely hated him at the start of their battle, but now her words about being glad he joined were sincere. This was going an interesting partnership indeed. Lithalia, finally having gotten a pokeball ready, gently tapped Mankey with it. A bright red light flooded out and wrapped itself around the monkey before absorbing him into the sphere.

Lith giggled again. She'd just gotten her fourth Pokemon, and it's only been, like, a day! She thought that was pretty impressive. Speaking of which, what a long day it's been. The young girl's giggles broke out into a small yawn. "At this rate, we'll have a master team in no time at all!" her daemon excitedly chanted from his spot beside her. "By the way, isn't this the part where you decide on a name?" Alex smirked, one furry eyebrow raised teasingly.

With a smirk of her own, Lith replied, "How about you name him, wise guy?" She held Mankey's new pokeball out to the Growlithe daemon, as if waiting for him to find a name for the newly caught Pokemon inside it by just inspecting his pokeball.

Alexucard thought for a moment. "I like Vex," he spoke up after a bit of what seemed like hard thought out contemplation. "It certainly seems to fit his personality," he added with a chucke.

"Alright then, Vex it is." Lith nodded approvingly, with a playful smile to show she agreed with his reasoning. Yawning, she motioned to put the ball back onto her belt. "Good night, Vex."

She glanced up to Amira who had just finished the last bite of her pokefood, and held out the feline's pokeball. "You should get some rest, too, Amira," she said caringly. After Amira nodded, obviously eager for sleep, the same red light that had gathered up Mankey earlier now surrounded her before sucking her inside.

Alex helped get ready for bed time by putting out the fire with dirt he kicked onto it with his front paws. "Today's been a long day, hasn't it?" he sleepily asked with a yawn of his own. "Well, good night, Lithalia," he said as he curled up in a nice, comfy mound of twisted blanket next to his human's sleeping bag. Gathering the fast asleep Blaedyn into her arms and gently cuddling him next to her chest in a tightly zipped up sleeping bag, she mumbled a barely audible 'night' back to her daemon before they both drifted into a much needed sleep that would, hopefully, last the rest of the night.

[Birdybot]

During the night, a Pokémon sat in a tree, watching the tent. Inside was a human. A human, her daemon and a Pokémon. That would make a good prank. It was currently a little after midnight, and the Pokémon doubted the trainer would make for a very good battle right now. She'd be too tired. Because of this, the Pokémon decided to come back later, and went away to do something else for the rest of the night.

In the morning, the Pokémon came back. Normally, it would go to sleep soon, but it had slept far too much the previous day and so was wide awake and not sleepy in the least. It hopped a little closer to the tent, not sure whether the human would be awake yet. The sun was rising, so considering it was winter, it would probably be about seven, meaning the human could well be awake. Well, only one way to find out, really.

~MURKROW!~[/color] the Murkrow bellowed at the top of its voice as it burst into the tent. It aimed to give them a fright, something it absolutely loved doing.

Mankey's stats;


Name:
Species: Mankey
Gender: Male
Level: 6
Ability: Vital Spirit
Attacks: Covet, Scratch, Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy
Personality: This Mankey is rude and a little obnoxious. He and Amira have a very unusual relationship. He likes her an awful lot, yet he is constantly arguing, insulting and fighting her. It's an odd way to express like.

[img]http://www.serebii.net/heartgoldsoulsilver/pokemon/056-m.png[/img]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b] Mankey
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Level:[/b] 6
[b]Ability:[/b] Vital Spirit
[b]Attacks:[/b] Covet, Scratch, Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy
[b]Personality:[/b] This Mankey is rude and a little obnoxious. He and Amira have a very unusual relationship. He likes her an awful lot, yet he is constantly arguing, insulting and fighting her. It's an odd way to express like.[/size]

[Zorrel]

The cool winter breeze blew through the mix of bare and leafy branches as the sun started rising. It lit up part of the sky with bright, warm colors, leaving the rest of it dark blue and still dotted with the last stars of the night before. Lithalia and the gang, luckily, slept soundly throughout the night, but Lith and Alexucard loved sleeping in; so that's exactly what they were doing now.

Atleast, that's what they were doing until a Murkrow crashed into the tent and abruptly jerked the pair away from their pleasant dreams of victorious gym battles and running through grassy-green meadows alongside championship Pokemon. The girl woke with a start, releasing a short, relatively loud scream whilst becoming tangled in a mass of sleeping bag and blanket. The Growlithe daemon curled up beside her responded - more to Lith's actions than to the Murkrow's screech - by letting out a short series of rapid barks. Blaedyn, having been toppled over and tangled up in the blankets with his trainer, sat in Lith's arms with wide and alert eyes. If the shadow-feathered bird's mission was to scare the tent's inhabitants, it was definitely successful.

After kicking and flailing had failed to get her out of the pile of blankets and her heart had slowed down to a much more normal rate, Lithalia took a short moment to recompose herself. Once she was calm, she scrambled for a breif second to throw aside the sleeping bag and coverings to reveal a small black bird staring at her, Alex, and Blaedyn with a mischeivous gleam in its eyes from the opening of the tent. "You!" the girl shouted with a seemingly angry tone, a finger sternly pointed at the intruder. Then, lowering her outstretched arm and all irritation having vanished from her now innocent looking face, she questioned casually, "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, and what makes you think you can just come and barge into other peoples' tents while they're sleeping?" Alex spoke up, a bit more irritated than Lithalia had been at being woken up so early in the morning.

[Birdybot]

The Murkrow cackled with laughter at as he saw that he'd woken them up. Oh, yes! Brilliant! He grinned. Their irritation seemed to make him even more pleased with himself. He puffed up his feathers proudly, before trying to look all innocent. ~I'm sorry, that's so rude of me. Oh, forgive me, oh, please!~[/color] he moaned in mock regret. He cackled again, then went on a victoy lap around the top of the tent, gave Lith a sharp peck, and shot out.

Murkrow sat on a low branch of a tree, in plain view of the tent. Lith would have a hard time not seeing him if she chose to emerge from the tent. Would she chase after him, though? Her daemon certainly looked annoyed enough, at any rate. If she didn't chase him out here, he'd have to go in there. Or maybe... yep. The bird flew down and pulled up a tent peg, then quickly flew back.[/size]

[Zorrel]

Alexucard's anger only grew when Murkrow started laughing, and got even worse when he translated its mock apology to Lithalia to hear. At this, she furrowed her brows, a bit perplexed at Murkrow's behavoir. Then the odd mannered Pokemon circled around the top of the tent, mocking them further. "Hey, what are you- Ow!" Lith stopped midsentence to let out a small moan of pain as Murkrow pecked her.

As her daemon, Alex could feel what Lith felt; therefore, he winced when her pain of the peck washed over him. After giving a quick glance to his human to make sure she was alright, he chased the Murkrow as it shot out of their tent's entrance. "Not so fast, you annoying birdbrain!" he eclaimed. He arrived right in the middle of the tent's entrance just in time to see the Murkrow pull one of its pegs and become draped by the thick covering as part of the structure collapsed. "Why you little-" he started bitterly as the tent fell over him. Lith, head now both hurting and partially covered, crawled over to help the struggling Growlithe daemon out of his entanglement. She giggled when she pulled back the heavy cloth to reveal his fur being all messy and fluffed up from his fight with the tent canvas, which, he obviously lost. With a stern face set in anger, he stared at her and warned, "Don't you start." But, after seeing her ignore his words and continue to chuckle, he couldn't help but start chuckling, too.

"You just look so funny, Alex," she managed to remark through her snickering. It looked like the two partner's anger at the misbehaving Murkrow had mostly subsided. Even Blaedyn let out a small series of giggles from the spot he sat under what remained of the tent's canopy. After a short moment, the three crawled out. They glared at the Murkrow with determination on their face and a mischievous smirk of their own.

Blaedyn was the one who spoke up first. ~Hey, Murkrow! If you wanna play so much, how 'bout a battle?~ he shouted toward the shadoy figure resting on the branches just a few feet above them. The young Riolu had just waken up from a long, rejuvinating sleep, and his muscles were aching to get into some action. Plus, he thought to himself, this Murkrow's playfulness and trickery ensured that if a battle happened, it would be a good one.

[Birdybot]

Murkrow smiled through his beak. A battle? Now, that could be interesting. As fun as it was to play tricks, a battle was the next step and could earn him levels if- er, when- he won. After all, it wasn't as if the stupid Riolu stood a chance, was it? No, that would be silly. Him, the wonderful hilarious Murkrow, loosing? Never. The crow nodded, swooping down in front of Blaedyn. ~A battle, eh? I would say 'prepare to lose' if it weren't so cliche. I'm an original character, I'm not about to go all cliche. Well, ladies first. Then again, men just before.~[/color] he jeered, both insulting Blaedyn and claiming the first attack at the same time.

Murkrow cawed a battle cry as he launched his dark feathery body into the air, lifting himself higher with each wingbeat. He flicked a wing lazily, showing as well as turning over to get a good aim of Blaedyn. Slowly, possibly not even noticably, he was moving closer to the Riolu. Then, the Dark type zipped forwards in what was definately a Peck attack. Perhaps Blaedyn shouldn't have offered to fight; Peck attack was a Flying type move, super effective against Flying types like the Riolu.[/size]

[Zorrel]

With the Murkrow's obvious agreement to Blaedyn's invitation to battle, Lithalia and Alexucard went a bit away from the soon-to-be battlefield. The trio stood in tense anticipation, the three of them waiting for Murkrow to make his move. Blaedyn simply shrugged off his opponent's taunt; if anything, it only raised his already high battle spirits. He figured he'd get his payback on that feathered fiend by teaching him a lesson or two in battle, fighting-type style.

After what seemed like forever, Murkrow flew at the Riolu with surprising speed, pointed beak aimed right at him; a Peck attack. Blaedyn didn't make an attempt to move, but waited patiently for his trainers' orders. Lithalia, however, didn't expect such a fast attack and wasn't calling out a command; if she didn't act soon, Blaedyn would be hit with a supereffective attack right off the bat! That would leave him at a big disadvantage. So, instead of the usual sweet tone of Lith's voice, Blaedyn heard a different voice travel to his ears. "Blaedyn, quick, use Counter!" With a mix of confusion and panic, Blaedyn reacted to the command regardless of who it came from and stood his ground, bracing himself for the attack. Not even a second later Murkrow's beak hit him square in the chest, sending a sharp bolt of pain throughout his body. He let out a low growl as the breath was knocked right out of him, but because of his Counter status he was able to unleash an attack on the Murkrow that would cause double the damage that the Peck attack caused him; and that would be a lot.

Lith blinked. She wasn't exactly sure what just happened; and by the look of Blaedyn's wide eyes, neither did he. Temporarily taking their focus off the battle, they both turned to the Growlithe daemon sitting at Lith's side. "Alex, did you..." the trainer started in a surprised tone.

Alex shifted his paws in the dirt before answering, a somewhat guilty look on his face. "Well, you weren't saying anything, and Blaedyn would have been behind in the battle, and-" he was cut off by a soft nudge in the side. He looked up to see his partner smiling widely at him.

"You don't have to act like you're in trouble you know," she giggled. "It was quick thinking! I panicked, so it's a good thing you did speak up." She laughed a bit more before adding, "It's fun being a trainer, isn't it? We should become some sort of trainer duet, you and me, Alex!"

The daemon blushed in response to Lith's praise. It did feel good calling out that attack; it had sent an exhilarating thrill through his veins that he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before. Maybe he had a knack for this kind of stuff. And he was happy that Lith wanted to be trainers together, rather than just a trainer with a daemon who simply watched. Yeah, Alex thought that this new set up would be fun. Smirking, he gave a short nod and had a gleam in his eyes that obviously said, 'Let's do it.' If possible, Lithalia's smile grew even larger before the pair turned their attention back to the battle. Blaedyn, now understanding what had happened, lit up in a warm smile. He liked that Growlithe daemon; now he had a chance to have a better bond with him. Although he was considerably weakened from that last head on attack, he focused his eyes on the Murkrow with a new determinated confidence and waited to see what he would do next.

[Birdybot]

Murkrow felt the pain of the Counter. It was thrown backwards by the power of a Peck plus a type disadvantage times two. This equalled a lot, and the bird wasn't sure how he would cope if Blaedyn sent any more Counter attacks his way. He needed to find a way to avoid being hit by them, for otherwise the concequences would be pretty severe. Perhaps he should get as far away from Blaedyn as possible once his attack had been delivered, so the Riolu wouldn't be able to land a hit with the Counter!

That would work. Now, which move to use? Astonish was a Ghost type move, not very effective against Fighting types. Pusuit was stronger than Peck, but Peck would be super effective. Peck then, of course. Murkrow rose from where he'd landed on the ground, climbing into the air thanks to his dark feathered wings. He needed to be speedy with this attack so that he could make an easy getaway, but that could also mean the power of the Peck attack would be reduced. No matter, it was something he could cope with. Murkrow shot towards Blaedyn, aiming to use Peck as he flew to a spot some distance away so that the Riolu wouldn't be able to use a Counter.

[Zorrel]

Lithalia winced. She knew the Counter had hurt the Murkrow a lot. But the more Murkrow got hurt, the closer Blaedyn was to winning; so she swallowed down the worries she had for the dark bird whose peck she could still feel throbbing on her head and focused on her next move. Another Peck attack? Blaedyn would be in trouble if another one or two of those hit him, she thought to herself. "Wait till the last second, then jump behind it and back-attack with a Quick Attack!" she called.

The Riolu waited. He painfully remembered how bad it hurt to be hit by a super-effective attack, and he didn't want to feel it again anytime soon. Right before Murkrow's beak would have collided with him, Blaedyn jumped up and over it, just as his trainer had instructed. A little too late, though; the Peck had grazed his tail. He winced a bit - it stung, but he could bear it. Without skipping a beat, he kicked off the ground and swiftly ran toward where Murkrow had flown to, gaining momentum as he went. His opponent had flown a bit into the air, however, so Blaedyn had to jump up in order to reach him; this would make him lose a bit of power if the Quick Attack hit, but he was still going at a considerably fast speed.

[Birdybot]

Murkrow was a little annoyed to see his attack merely graze his opponent. But he was doing so well! This was the benefit trainered Pokémon had over wild Pokémon; they had a trainer to think up strategies and the like. It was hard for Murkrow to think up strategies, since he constantly had to remain aware for attacks. He strained his wings to try and flee from the Quick Attack, but it hit. It didn't seem to be the pull power of the attack, but it still hurt. It pushed him further into the air, and he was thankful for being a bird as he protected himself from hitting the ground.

At least, he supposed, he'd avoided collision with the hard, cold earth. That was a good thing, definately. He praised his wings and he manouvered around to face Blaedyn again. What should he do now? Attack in another Peck? None of them had gone very well so far, but maybe that just meant he was due for a lucky break. Maybe. He took a chance as he swooped in on Blaedyn, hoping to land a good hit on the Riolu. He would keep going after to avoid any Counters, but that also meant the attack would be weaker.

[Zorrel]

Blaedyn smirked; the Quick Attack had hit. He watched the Murkrow get sent backwards a bit from the collision as he was falling to the ground, about to land safely on his feet. But then the Murkrow was suddenly coming right for him. That wasn't part of the plan. Another Peck! The Riolu, still in mid-air, started panicking; he didn't want to get hit by that super effective attack, not again. Lithalia was worried as well; Blaedyn was so vulnerable right now, and there was no way for him to dodge in time. Sharing her exact thoughts, Alexucard called out, "Try to use Counter again!"

Blaedyn tried shaking off his panic and focused. He readied the Counter, and, with a gulp, braced himself for the pain he knew he was about to feel. A second later Murkrow's sharp, jagged beak collided with him once again. And, once again, he winced sharply as he unleashed his Counter; but all he had countered was thin air. The Murkrow had gotten away too fast before the Counter could hit! With a gasp of both surprise and pain, Blaedyn fell to the cold, hard ground with a loud thud. "Blaedyn, are you alright?" Lith shouted, worry strewn across both her and Alex's face. Her voice was edged with deep concern; he'd gotten hit with a supereffective attack twice now.

He laid there unmoving for a moment before struggling to get to his feet. Obviously, the Peck had taken its toll; luckily though, it hadn't hurt as much as the first one due to Murkrow's quick getaway. "Can you still go on, Blaedyn?" Lith called again. Gritting his teeth, - partly because of the pain, partly because of determination - Blaedyn gave a slight nod in reply. Then, still feeling the worried look on him from his trainer, he glanced at her with a reassuring smirk on his face. This made Lith smile a bit, as she said, "Okay, if you're sure. Now, get pay back on that Murkrow with your best Blaze Kick!" With this, Blaedyn gathered his strength and rushed at Murkrow, his foot gaining flames as he ran.

[Birdybot]

Murkrow smiled but for his beak as he saw the Counter attack fail. Brilliant. That was perfect, wonderful! Other than the fact that now, Blaedyn was attempting the more powerful Fire type move Blaze Kick. That wouldn't be very good the already seriously weakened Murkrow. He intended to last a little longer than three turns, and so didn't want to take the risk of a Blaze Kick. He angled his wings and just barely managed to dodge the attack, the first time he'd done so this battle.

Phew! With that attack out the way, Murkrow felt a fair bit safer. He looked at Blaedyn, then decided to give him a little break from super effective moves. The bird moved closer, but this time, rather than aiming the dreaded Peck, it appeared to be using a different move. This was a Ghost type move, the move Astonish. It was as strong as a Peck, but normally effective rather than super effective. It was doing this because if Blaedyn used a Counter, he didn't think he'd be able to dodge it because he was tired.