Now, Together and Alone

[Melody]

(I though I'd just try jumping back in where I left off with Kai... not that it was very far in. ^^; If you'd rather I just start over, just let me know!)

She had walked a fair distance from the lab before the reality of the situation hit her - and when it did, she found her knees suddenly unwilling to support her, a task which the earth was more than willing to take up as she bruised her knees on the hard surface. Arcallian was instantly at her side, but it was amusement and not concern that coated his dark face. He could easily guess the cause of her dismay; nothing more than her fears from earlier that day.

"I have two Pokémon." It was a matter-of-fact statement, spoken in a dazed voice. How quickly the world could change! Not long ago she had been home, surrounded by her family and friends... now, she was out in the midst of a new place, alone but for her Daemon. Her Daemon, and the two new companions she had suddenly found herself with.

"You do, they might not know it themselves yet," commented the Absol with a smirk. "You were planning on meeting your Pokémon, were you not?"

Kai blushed fully, a horrified expression finding a home in her features. She'd been moving as if in a dream since she left the lab, and she hadn't even let her Pokémon out of their balls yet! Worse, she hadn't even since the Torchic the Professor had given her, the Torchic who was supposed to be her companion for all the journey ahead. The teenager fumbled quickly for the two Pokéballs, snatching at one as it slipped and almost rolled away.

"I can see you need a bit of work, O future strongest trainer." Nothing could hide the wide grin of the Daemon now; he was quite enjoying the opportunities to employ his sarcasm towards the person he loved most dearly. Kai was often scatterbrained and clueless, it was true, but rarely was she this disheveled; usually she was able to maintain a more objective, calm demeanor. Her nerves were quite easily frayed, however, thus her haphazard appearance at the moment.

Finally getting a firm hold on both of the balls, she released a heavy sigh before directing a glare towards the tawny-furred Absol. "You're not helping, future Daemon of the strongest trainer." Sticking her tongue out at him to help regain some pride, she eyed the Pokéballs for one moment more. "Well... I guess we should meet our new friends."

"Don't be too hasty." Ignoring Ark's final snide comment, she tossed the two balls, unable to suppress the rising feeling of apprehension. With a flash of light, the balls opened to reveal her two Pokémon: the Torchic she had picked from the Lab, and the shiny Trapinch who had followed her in. The four new companions gazed at each other in silence for a moment before the Trapinch cocked its head with curiosity.

"I, uhh... I'm Kai, Kai Thornston." She swallowed, watching the Pokémon. This wasn't as bad as talking to people, but it was still a new experience for her - she didn't know where to start. "And this is my Daemon, Ark. Well, his name is Arcallian, but I like to call him Ark sometimes. I guess it doesn't really matter," she ended, a bit abashed. The Trapinch seemed a little distracted, but Kai was a bit disconcerted by the focused look the Torchic was giving her. It seemed to be expecting something.

"You aren't planning on calling them by their species, are you, Kai?" Her ever-patronizing Daemon put in. "I'm sure they would appreciate names of their own."

"I was coming to that!" stated Kai, though as the Absol well knew it had slipped her mind completely. Her psyche was not in the best state this morning, and she was embarrassed at the thought of the impression she must be making on the two Pokémon. Turning back to them quickly, she faced the Trapinch first. Something about her simple-seeming nature made her seem easy to deal with. "...Kehru, I think. How does that sound to you?" The name was just one that had come to her in the moment, but as the Pokémon expressed no dislike in her soft growl, Kai nodded to show that it would stick.

She turned to the Torchic, stunned by the intensity in the small chick's eyes. Hesitation caught her for a moment - there was something special about one's first Pokémon, and something special about her and this Torchic in particular. The name was important. "Temnis." She finally said, remembering the name of the hero in a favorite book she had read. It seemed to fit this solemn, strong-willed Pokémon who gazed back at her. He, like her, paused for a moment, then nodded his consent. He would bear the name of Temnis.

"From the story of the Blue Angel, if memory serves me." Arcallian gave his own nod of recognition to the newly named Pokémon. "A worthy namesake," he added, speaking to the Pokémon now. "I hope you'll live up to it."

"I shall," replied the Torchic without hesitation. Kai smiled. She couldn't understand the final exchange of the two, but it soothed her to hear her beloved Ark acknowledge and approve the names she bequeathed. She finally rose to her feet, brushing the dirt off of her knees. Her Pokéballs rested at her waist, unused for now. It was the beginning of their journey together, and she wanted her Pokémon by her side for each initial moment.

Her Pokémon. Now it seemed the most wonderful thing in the world.

[Birdybot]

ooc// Woah man that post is so long it gave me a brain fart 0.0

ic// A Pokémon was watching Kai, her daemon, and her Pokémon. Ooh, a shiny Trapinch and a Torchic. He watched as the trainer named them. So, the Pokémon would now be referred to as Kehru and Temnis, would they? Great, whatever. The Torchic, or Temnis as he was now called, seemed to be one of those Pokémon that were big on nobility and fighting for their pride and all that. Frankly, he himself didn't care all too much about that sort of thing, but hey, everyone was entitled to their own opinions.

Now, Trapinch seemed like a simple, easily content girl. She looked calm and gentle, the sort who was easy-going and didn't care too much about things. At least, this was what the Pokémon thought; he might be wrong, since he was basing all this on what he had seen just now. Kehru, Temnis, Arcallian and Kai. Those were the names of the group, it seemed. Hm. Well, Ark seemed very willing to translate pretty much everything her Pokémon were saying, so hopefully it would be easy to communicate. Yes! He had decided to communicate with the trainer!

As the Pokémon stepped softly out the bushes, he blinked, revealed to Kai; a Teddiursa, easily recognisable by his teddy bear looks and cresent moon shape on his forehead. He smiled at her. ~Er- hello there. So, you wanna be the greatest trainer ever? Yeah, that's so going to happen.~[/color] he smiled. He was a big fan of sarcasm too, it seemed. He wasn't entirely sure what to do. Being the spontanious Pokémon he was, he yelled ~OMNOMNOM!~[/color], and chose to leap onto Kai's backpack and start chewing it.

[/size]

[Melody]

(Sorry, I don't usually have posts that long. ^^; My intro posts just tend to ramble a bit, and this one happened to have a fair amount of dialogue.)

Much to Ark's chagrin, it was the watchful Temnis who first spotted the interloper. His intense gaze both alerted the others to the Pokémon's presence and fixed it in a rather less than friendly gaze - as if he had predicted the path of the Teddiursa's disapproving thoughts, though it was more likely that this was simply the haughty Torchic's standard reaction to strangers and possible adversaries. He gave his best 'hmmph!' in response to the small bear's words, though his own minute stature made the expression less than impressive. Torchic were not known for their skill in intimidation, nor did the untrained and untested Pokémon have much justification for his pride.

Kai watched with curiosity, wondering at the dichotomy between the visitor's sweet face and smile and her own Pokémon's adverse reaction. "Ark, what is he saying?"

"Only the truth," the Daemon replied with another characteristic grin, unable to resist although his loyalties and belief lay with Kai. Her expression and sigh prompted him to be more specific: "He is expressing his polite disagreement to your statement that you will attain greatness on your chosen path. Ah, and he greets you as well, of course!"

"Wonderful. I have strangers coming up to me out of nowhere and mocking me. And I thought-"

Whatever she thought was cut off suddenly as her mouth dropped open in surprise at the Teddiursa's next action. Suddenly, there was a Pokémon clinging onto her backpack. And apparently trying to eat it.

Before she had a chance to react, Temnis leapt towards the Teddiursa with his talons ready for a scratch attack, trying to knock it from the bag. As the bear Pokémon had correctly predicted, it was in his nature to be pugnacious and prideful - and by insulting the ability of his trainer, even though she and he had just met, his opponent had insulted his honor as well.

[Birdybot]

ooc// I see. My teachers call that waffle. I often do it in essays and stories.

ic// Teddiursa grunted in pain as Temnis' claws connected with him back, scraping him awkwardly off the bag. Ooh... that was quite a good attack for a Pokémon who clearly hadn't fought before. So, it seemed something had ticked him off, either the insult or chewing. Knowing Temnis, it was probably the insult. Then again, thinking about it, eating people's bags was probably considered socially unacceptable too... ah, well. Right now, it seemed that Temnis had started a battle. If it was a battle he wanted, Teddiursa would give him one. After all, he didn't have anything better to be doing right now, although there was a rock that looked quite interesting.

Teddiursa hadn't fought in many battles before, but he had been taught to fight the traditional wild Pokémon way, and told a few things to watch out for from trainers, like the way they would use loads of items on their Pokémon and stuff. Teddiursa rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms, getting himself ready to fight. He then needed to pick a move. Taking one of his offensive ones at random, he suddenly made himself look very cute. A number of hearts flickered off him, and stayed together until there was enough of them. Then they shot towards Temnis. This was a Covet attack, a move that was just as strong as Scratch.

[Melody]

Temnis' fervor could not make up for the fact that he was untrained and inexperienced, probably even less so than the while Pokémon - he'd had some scuffles in the lab, but then his opponents hadn't had anything to fight for, and their natures tended to be made more meek through their captivity. His expectations of wild Pokémon were not helping him either: he had thought the Teddiursa would likely flee when faced with any challenge, or when he discovered that food (or whatever it was he had sought from the backpack) was not to be forthcoming. The sudden counter-attack therefore caught him off guard, and the speeding hearts smashing into the young chick Pokémon's body with substantial force, throwing him off balance for a moment.

"Kai!" The Daemon's warning bark cut through the trainer's surprise at the suddenness of events. "He can't do this alone. You must fight with him!"

The girl's uncertain nod soon dissolved into an expression of more resolve. This was her first test. She and her Pokémon made up a team, and they had to learn to compete together. Finally focused and determined, she quickly cast her thoughts about to judge the situation.

Temnis was struggling to steady himself as well, truly riled at the Teddiursa now. How dare he humiliate him with such an attack! It was obvious from his aggressive stance that the Torchic was ready to fly at the bear Pokémon with another offensive attack, throwing caution and strategy alike to the wind in his eagerness to land another blow. If it came down to a battle of brunt strength, neither side had a clear advantage: the Teddiursa looked like it might be a bit stronger than Temnis, but Temnis had been able to land the first blow. The odds were not good enough to risk; there wasn't much the untrained team could do in this situation, but Kai knew that flying into a frenzy wouldn't help.

"Temnis, use Growl!" She met the proud Pokémon's startled eyes for a moment; he seemed to have forgotten the presence of his trainer. But he recognized that any further delays could cost him the one advantage he had, so he compromised: he launched himself towards the Teddiursa with his talons raised again for another Scratch, but he released a Growl as he went. The effect of the two attacks had a chance of being reduced since they were simultaneous, but he wasn't going to miss a chance to get back at the Pokémon for hitting him with hearts!

[Birdybot]

Teddiursa watched as the trainer realised that she was required to give her Pokémon orders. Wasn't it basic general knowledge in this world that trainers conducted the battles, helping their Pokémon through instruction? After all, there would be no need for trainers if they just stood there. Teddiursa heard her order a Growl, and prepared to have his attack lowered. However, Temnis seemed to be using a Scratch! Oh- wait, he was using both at the same time. The Scratch was a fair bit less painful than last time, since Temnis was distracted a fair bit by the Growl. The Growl lowered his attack less than it should, because Temnis was distracted by the Scratch.

Teddiursa smiled, generally pleased about that. Just as trainers thought up good strategies for their Pokémon, when the Pokémon disobeyed it wouldn't work so well. Ha, it was the Torchic's loss. The teddy bear was intending to use a stat changing move to neutralise the Growl, but didn't feel like it. After all, he was the sort of Pokémon who did what they felt like- within reason, of course. Presently, he took advantage of the fact that Temnis had got up close to him. He aimed a Scratch of his own, lashing out a quick blow with his claws.

[Melody]

In the split second before the Teddiursa's attack connected, both Temnis and his trainer recognized that, close as he was, he'd never be able to dodge the attack. Temnis managed to shift out of the way a bit so that the sharp claws raked against only his side and not the front of his body, but he still flinched at the sudden pain.

Then he realized something: the blow actually didn't hurt as much as he had expected! The growl seemed to have done a little good in the end - certainly more good than his reckless charge, which seemed to have had little effect on the tenacious opponent. His frustration was urging him to swing blindly back at his opponent again, but this time he held back a bit to see if his trainer would have any suggestions. He had half a mind to heed her, at least partially. Any battle ending with more blows on the opponent than on him was a success in his book, and so far this evenly-matched fight wasn't going as he had hoped.

Kai hurried to think of what she could do. Temnis' moveset as a young Pokémon was extremely limited, and his only damaging attack was the Scratch which had left him in a dangerous position a moment ago. But moves were what a Pokémon made them: and Temnis' half dodge had put the Pokémon next to each other, with the bear slightly behind due to the momentum of its attack. She could take advantage of the Teddiursa's own power.

"Push off of him with a strong Scratch!" came her order. She hoped a well-placed Scratch might be able to push the Teddiursa off-balance, and at the same time move Temnis far enough away that he'd have a little more room to maneuver.

This was an order that the Torchic could agree with eagerly. He kicked out a talon towards the Teddiursa - he wouldn't weaken it with a Growl this time, but he allowed himself the best battle cry a small chick Pokémon could manage.

[Birdybot]

ooc// You do know that all Pokémon from the lab get an egg move of your choice, right?

ic// Teddiursa watched as Temnis aimed a Scratch with the same kind of style as a karate kick. Well, the Torchi evolution line did become Fighting types, so that was definately understandable. Very understanable, in fact. The teddy bear wasn't extremely pleased by that- I wonder why? Maybe it was something to do with the fact that he had a claw in his face. Yeah, that might get one's spirits down a tad. The Normal type hadn't thought he had the slightest chance of dodging, since he wasn't a fast Pokémon and Temnis was. Plus, he was close. Well, what a nice position to be in there.

The Scratch had been given with force, so much of the pain of the attack was not caused by a slash but by the fact that it knocked him up balance, making him topple over. Oh, great, there went his plan of leaping back with a ninja counterattack. The bear groaned, getting back to his feet. Gr, how annoying. Temnis had now managed to get away from him. Hm, he still had a long-distance move. Covet, as witnessed earlier. The Normal type looked as cute as he could, forming a bunch of little hearts which he sent Temnis' way. Haha, that ought to do nicely.

[Melody]

(Whoops, I didn't know that. xD I guess Temnis just remembered that he knows Rock Slide!)

Both Pokémon and trainer grinned when the Scratch had its intended effect. They were finally settling into the battle, treating it as more of a competition and less of a scuffle. Temnis dug into the ground with his claws to turn himself back towards his opponent as quickly as he could - just in time, it seemed, as the bear recovered himself fairly quickly and launched another Covet attack towards him.

"Jump and dodge!" Temnis didn't need the reminder; he would rather get a Scratch in the face than be hit with those hearts again! The distance between the two opponents, and his own preparation, served him well: he was able to move out of the way of the attack. It was closer than he would have liked, however: the attacks he had already taken were beginning to wear on him, and he knew that if the battle dragged on much longer, fatigue would get the best of him. He and Kai both tried to think of what to do, for the same technique surely wouldn't work again, and unless they were sure they could finish the battle with one powerful attack they didn't want to risk getting locked in close again. But Kai knew that a Torchic wouldn't learn Ember, its first long-range attack, until level 10...

Luckily for her, her Daemon guessed her thoughts. "Kai, Pokémon from the lab are usually bred to know certain moves. I believe Temnis knows Rock Slide." The Chick Pokémon nodded in confirmation; though he'd never had a chance to use the attack within the lab, he did indeed know it.

"Alright, let's use Rock Slide!" The attack was a little less accurate than Scratch, but it was more powerful and she hoped the Teddiursa might be too tired to dodge the large boulders successfully. And most importantly, Temnis could still keep a bit of a distance in case something went wrong. The Chick Pokémon nodded again and used the attack, sending rocks flying towards the bear Pokémon.

[Birdybot]

It was more thanks to Teddiursa's speed than his tiredness that meant he didn't dodge. Teddiursa were quite slow Pokémon, slower than Torchic like Temnis, at least, although Torchic were only a little faster than he was. Either way, being a tiny bit worn out from the battle so far meant he found it harder to dodge, and so the Rock Slide hit. That was a very strong attack, and Teddiursa wasn't a fan of being hit by very strong attacks. So you can imagine how happy he was to find he'd been hit by one and he now felt an awful lot weaker; like he only had one more turn left in him.

He would keep fighting! He would never give up, even when in times like now, where it looked completely hopeless for him! That may seem reckless and stupid, but it was how he felt and Teddiursa felt strongly about it, believing he could be considered a coward otherwise. He moved in, trying a Lick attack, but found he couldn't do it. Eh? Teddiursa was deeply confused for a moment, before it dawned on him what was wrong. He was flinching. Rock Slide could do that, and it was doing it to him. Oh, please! Any time but now!

[Melody]

The rhythm that Temnis seemed to have gotten into with his trainer deteriorated as soon as the chick Pokémon saw his advantage. His opponent looked weak, and the previous attack seemed to have landed a flinch effect! Things couldn't have been more perfect (well, the Torchic would have preferred fewer scratches on himself, but this would have to do). He therefore didn't bother to wait for his trainer's orders, still preferring to act independently based on his own less-than-perfect instincts.

He sprang towards the Teddiursa with another Scratch attack. Rock Slide might be a more powerful attack and the safer alternative, but true to his Fighting nature, Temnis wanted to end the battle with his own talons. He'd allowed his trainer to order him to long range when his pride and confidence had been weakened after a harsh blow, but now with victory seeming so close he reverted back to his own somewhat reckless style.

Kai frowned, but didn't attempt to stop her slightly rebellious Pokémon. Perhaps he would start working more smoothly with her as time went on. For now, she didn't see any immediate danger: if the Teddiursa didn't recover from its flinch in time to dodge, Temnis was in a good position to land a solid hit. And if the Teddiursa did somehow pull away and even manage to counterattack, perhaps the Torchic would learn some caution from it. Not that the last lesson had lasted more than a minute.

[Birdybot]

Flinching had no affect on a Pokémon's dodging, but Teddiursa wasn't exactly the best dodger anyway. If Temnis had experienced an attack from the bear, he'd have felt how weak the Normal type was getting. His brown fur was rising and falling with rapid pants, the Teddiursa seriously doubting his ability to carry on much longer. It seemed that Temnis was seizing his chance and not waiting for his trainer; a bad habit to get into. Teddiursa could only do his very best to dodge the move.

Still, his legs were moaning to him, weak. They were unable to move quickly enough, and he ended up attempting to lumber to one side, but being far too slow, Temnis' sharp claws striking him. With a last moan of pain, the bear fell to the ground, giving in to the crushing darkness and closing his eyes. He didn't move, but his breathing became calm and even, as if he were asleep. He was fainted, defeated. He was able to be caught, too, if Kai wanted to give that stuff a try.

Teddiursa was defeated! Temnis gained two levels!

[Melody]

Temnis let out a victory crow, flapping his tiny wings in celebration of his first true battle. Just that slight effort sudden revealed the soreness in his whole body - during the battle, adrenaline and sheer will had allowed the small Pokémon to gather his strength for the final charge. Now that it was over, however, he felt the blows he had endured all too clearly and realized that he himself had been pushed to the limits of his strength. The battle had been a close contest.

Kai noticed his fatigue. "You did marvelously," she praised, deciding that now was not the time to critique his disobedient style. She raised his Pokéball and returned him to it, the chick Pokémon returning without complaint, happy for the rest. She then turned to the fainted Teddiursa. The bear Pokémon had put up a great fight and impressed her with his spirit, greatly surpassing his small size. And just as there was something special about the first Pokémon she received from the lab, there was something special about her first battle.

She reached for one of her empty Pokéballs and threw it at the Teddiursa, watching as it was absorbed in a flash of red light and began to rock slowly. She'd done all she could now, it was up to the Pokémon what would happen in the end. He'd fought bravely against Temnis, so he might fight with equal spirit against the Pokéball, even tired as he was. Kai watched intently, waiting for the conclusion.

[Birdybot]

The Pokéball took Teddiursa inside, since the fainted bear was unaware of this happening. Even if he had, being unconcious wasn't exactly the best condition to be in when trying to bat aside a capture device. He realised what was going on when he found himself facing the smooth walls of the Pokéball. Oh! The trainer had decided she wanted to catch him. As touching as it was that someone cared, he wasn't exactly sure whether he wanted to give up his freedom just yet.

He knew what to do, it was an instinctual thing. Teddiursa shoved himself against one side of the Pokéball, then the other, rocking it. Urgh, that was quite tiring, but it seemed to have a decent affect, so he carried on. After a couple more tries, he could feel that he was almost there, but not quite. He sighed, relaxing; the Pokéball was rather comfortable, after all. He knew it would be best for him to let Kai catch him, and did so, hoping with all his might that she was a kind trainer.

Teddiursa was caught!


Name:
Species: Teddiursa
Gender: Male
Level: 6
Ability: Quick Feet
Attacks: Covet, Scratch, Leer, Lick, Fake Tears
Personality: This Teddiursa is friendly and full of energy. He's peppy and cheerful, a pleasure to be around. He is a bit spontanious and eccentric, but he's still lovable and gets away with it. In battle, he shows a new side, fierce and determined.

[img]http://www.serebii.net/heartgoldsoulsilver/pokemon/216-m.png[/img]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b] Teddiursa
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Level:[/b] 6
[b]Ability:[/b] Quick Feet
[b]Attacks:[/b] Covet, Scratch, Leer, Lick, Fake Tears
[b]Personality:[/b] This Teddiursa is friendly and full of energy. He's peppy and cheerful, a pleasure to be around. He is a bit spontanious and eccentric, but he's still lovable and gets away with it. In battle, he shows a new side, fierce and determined.

[Melody]

Kai nervously watched the rocking Pokéball, even crossing her fingers without realizing it. Though it lasted just a few moments, the suspense was getting to her as a new trainer: had she done it right? Was there something she had forgotten? Kehru and Arcallian offered nothing; the former had already lost interest in the ball and was snapping after a butterfly (which actually would have been quite entertaining to watch, as the Trapinch's body was not well built for the jumps she was attempting), and while the Daemon did continue to watch the proceedings, it was in his customary silence.

Suddenly, the rocking of the ball ceased and with a click it settled. Kai hesitated for a moment as it set in. Then: "Yes!" The young trainer grinned from ear to ear, unable to help her exuberance: she had caught her first Pokémon! Even Ark was smiling a little; Kai's joy, especially contrasted with her worries just before the battle, was infectious.

She walked over and picked up the Pokéball, holding it out for a moment. She was eager to get to know the Pokémon inside - though a little nervous he might try to eat her bag again - but she knew that he would be even more tired than Temnis. She put the ball back on her belt and looked around.

"We've only gone a short ways from the Lab, and we've already added one battle and one companion to our count! I wonder if the whole adventure will be this crazy."

"Did I not say we should be in plenty of marvelous trouble?" chimed in her grinning Daemon. "If I am barred from the delectable foods of home, I should expect no less than some excitement to make up for it. And I do believe that your newest Pokémon, judging from our brief encounter, will provide plenty of that. What are you going to name this one?"

Kai called Kehru back to her Pokéball - the shiny Trapinch was beginning to wander off - and began walking down the route again, Ark tailing just behind her. "He does seem a little eccentric, doesn't he?" she replied, giggling a bit as she glanced over she shoulder to see the chew marks on her bag. "But he also seemed nice. I think I'll call him Amity."