Setting Forth

Before the sun rose completely and cast an orange glow into the face of a young woman sleeping soundly in her bed, an orange and black striped Pokemon crawled carefully from its position napping upon warm feet tucked neatly under covers. The puppy Pokemon, a Growlithe, checked over its shoulder before softly padding towards the dark curtains that should have been drawn, but in the human and Pokemon’s fatigue had been carelessly left open. It was half past five in the morning, and the two had only received the desire to sleep a mere hour ago; running around Ectruteak and deciding themselves urban explorers of the Brass tower which was quite dangerous in the daylight let alone at night when they chose to investigate it, had taken up much of the evening and night. Still, the girl, named Morrigan Tomm, had felt comfortable there, even cozy within the claustrophobic confines of the burnt tower, although disappointed that the basement had been impossible to penetrate. They had even snuck by a monk who had been guarding the path to the infamous Tin Tower, where a legendary firebird Pokemon that flew on rainbow wings was rumoured to nest, but the path had been long, treacherous, and Morrigan had grown bored of the seemingly infinite darkness.

“Another day,” she had told her young Growlithe, Doc, who had barked happily and wagged his tail. He had been ready for bed ages ago anyway.

And so, it was a mere three hours alter when Morrigan was awoken by the sound of breakfast pots clanging, and begrudgingly she arose to break her fast. It was, after all, a big day for her. That afternoon, she would set out on her first ever Pokemon journey, and with Doc at her side, she was confident in a successful educational experience. Her parents had not been thrilled; they had wanted her to focus on the history of the city, yet when she told them everything she knew about it, they were somewhat stunned, and at a loss. With nothing left to nag her about, and with her aunt and uncle’s approval that the usually dismal girl was excited about a tradition that was easily hundreds of years old, her parents decided that perhaps a Pokemon journey wasn’t such a bad idea after all. She already had Doc, after all, to keep her safe. Thus, after breakfast, a quick nap, followed by an inventory of her, and a proper fitting vest for Doc so that the bad-backed grave digger wouldn’t have to carry <i>everything</i>, Morrigan bid her family good bye, and set out of the house into Ecruteak to seek her fortunes as a Pokemon trainer.

“So, Doc, we brought…money, a few books about edible food found in the forest, a tarp, and a sleeping bag, a warmer coat than my formal funeral wear, Pokemon treats, Pokeballs, some trail food aaaand…do you think we need anything else? It’s a bit <i>bare bones</i> but it should do, right? We want to travel light, after all.”

The Growlithe shook its head and jumped happily, excited to be going off on a crazy whirlwind adventure. To the potential police-dog’s mind, their packing was perfect, and whatever they needed to could find on the road, after all.

“Maybe, when we’re done with this aprt of the Indigo league, we can challenge the other half back home.” Morrigan whistfully spoke out loud about her home country, Kanto, and when Growlithe began to answer back in his own growling, barking way, it turned into a terribly off-tune song about ‘home’ and ‘family’ and ‘life in the tomb after war’, which really was irrelevant to the girl, who harboured no homesickness, nor had been in any war.

Looking at the map she also carried, Morrigan began to remind herself of the route she intended tot take.

“Ecruteak to Goldenrod, Goldenrod to Azalea town, then to Violet, then we come back to Ecruteak, Olivine, Ecruteak again, and then we go for the final badge in Blackthorn. Sound good? We come back here a lot, but I think the rest will be well worth it. There’s no limit on when you can challenge the league, and all I really want are the badges, after all.”

Growlithe smiled knowingly; the spark of adventure in his master’s eyes betrayed that, by the time she had a single badge, she’d be gun-ho to take on the Indigo Pokemon league.
Putting the map away, Morrigan looked around, and began to head towards the edge of the city, where the wilderness began.

“We should train, first, before taking on the gym here.”

Growlithe barked excitedly, and bounded after his master’s heels.

Whilst exploring the dark grass, Morrigan heard a wild Pokemon rustling about.

(Max Silver, you are not allowed to RP until your character has been approved.)
The Pokemon was a male level 14 Ledyba! He angrily glared at Doc, the lust for battle in his eyes.

When the Ledyba jumped out, Morrigan refused to jolt in surprise or even acknowledge the speed of which the bug type Pokemon rushed from its foliage cover. She squinted at it instead, crossing her arms over as it hummed and buzzed angrily, swaying on its wings and clearly conveying aggression. Such an attitude was never expected of the generally peaceful bugs, and it was rare to incite anger in even domesticated Ledyba. For a moment, the gravedigger stared down the Ledyba, which stared back. Finally, the trainer coughed and gestured to Doc. The Grolithe bounded forward and, wagging its outrageously fluffy tail, eagerly listened to its master.

“It’s a male, Doc. Check out the antenna, how long it is.”
Doc huffed in agreement.
“Ledyba evolves at level 18 into Ledian. I remember on the day shift, ol’ Briggs had a Ledian. The thing was always asleep; they’re nocturnal. Weird to see one out this early…” Morrigan trailed off, but then reached to her belt where a magnetically clipped, empty Pokeball waited. She tapped it indecisively with a slender finger, before finally heaving in a breath and screaming at the top of her lungs, partly to startle the Ledyba, partly just for fun.

“Doc, dodge to the side and get close for an Ember attack!”

The Growlithe moved swiftly, weaving back and forth to close the short distance between him and the wild Pokemon. Its chest began to feel warm, and then the heat ripped up past his throat and out of his mouth as he sprayed licks of hot flame from behind his teeth. An attack like that wasn’t meant to weaken the Ledyba; it was meant to hurt it enough to knock it out. Morrigan knew that bugs had a terrible weakness to fire types, and if the Ledba was as tough as it acted, maybe she’d catch it. For now, the grave digger was intent on simply leaving it behind in the dust and ash.

The super effective attack's cinders sprayed across the Ledyba's chest and face, and for a moment he was caught off guard. A split second later he was back on track though, despite the attack having already weakened him severely. Rearing up, he launched himself into the air, his wings aiding his hop but not carrying him (rather like a grasshopper). His launch carried him in a funny sort of tumble too, and as he arced through the air towards Doc he was tipping forward, his head on track to collide with Doc's.
In short, he used Tackle.

The Ember attack was a success, and the bug type Pokemon had been hit head-on with the hot flames from Growlithe. Morrigan smirked, her arms once again crossing over her chest in a smug manner and she began to tap her foot to an imaginary beat only heard in the confines of her yolky mind. It was a mocking motion, one that would likely insult the hotheaded Ledyba if it happened to notice, but one that wouldn’t backfire if it didn’t.

When the Ledyba shook off the pain from the first attack and launched itself forward in a manner most elegant, Morrigan weighed the pros and cons of letting its unique Tackle attack hit her fire type Pokemon. The bug had already been weakened with a rather effective move, so surely it would be sore enough that a simple tackle wouldn’t do too much to Doc. Combined with Doc’s Intimidation ability, what could it do? Then again, it was a rather aggressive little termite, so perhaps it had more spit and vinegar than she was giving it credit for.

Only one way to find out.

“Doc, open your mouth and brace yourself!”

Doc made a noise of questioning, but obeyed, opening his mouth as wide as he could without straining the soft corners of his maw. With the excitement of a battle, Doc’s eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth grew and curved like his fangs as he practically hopped in place, but when the Ledyba tackle him, struck him head-on, and he felt a tooth shift in the back of his mouth where the damned insect struck his jaw with its skull, his excitement was quickly replaced with irritation. On the bright side, the Ledyba's head wa practically in his mouth. The Growlithe barely heard his trainer’s call for another Ember attack, but when he let it loose, he heard the roar of fire in his ears and tasted the heat slick against his tongue as he blasted out sparks and flame directly at the face of the Ledyba

The head-on Ember attack was too much for the Ledyba, and it fainted.
Growlithe gained 14 EXP, leveling up to 13!

((It’s not bad form to continue training Growlithe, is it? I mean, to fight more than one wild Pokemon in the same topic? I’m finding this a great way to warm up after having not written in so long.))

Doc finished heaving his attack from his lungs and watches as the Ledyba gave a satisfying sizzle before collapsing into a heap on the ground, complete knocked out by his attack. The Growlithe puffed out proudly before retreating excitedly to his master’s side, skipping a circle around her before sitting contently at his feet.

“Good work, Doc,” Morrigan said, gently patting the fire Pokemon on its head and giving it an approving scratch behind its velvet soft ear. “You’re going to be a very strong Team Leader one day.”

Doc look up at Morrigan and tilted its head curiously. Such a thought had never occurred to the young pup before, but he supposed it would be true. He was, after all, Morrigan’s first Pokemon, and would probably end up as her strongest one day. He would need to lead her weaker, younger Pokemon into battle and onto victory. Determination set into his heart, and the Growlithe got up before dashing off into the grass, looking over his shoulder expectantly at Morrigan. The message was clear.

“We go forth,” Morrigan announced to nobody in particular, and with that, she headed off after her Growlithe into the tall grass outside of Ecruteak city. They had more training to do, and if the aggressive Ledyba had been any indication of the late morning’s future, things were going to remain exciting.

((Not at all :D))
Suddenly, a wild Stantler jumped out! It was a level 15 male. It was glaring angrily at Doc!

Max sat on a large rock in Roue 37 having breakfast with Eevee. Max had been on his way to Azalea Town so he could challenge Bugsy. But he had been hit by the realization that Eevee might not be able to beat the strength of Bugsy's famous Sycther. Max needed a new pokemon and maybe this route was the place to find one. Max sat up when a Stantler ran past him. He was about to grab a pokeball and tell his Eevee to attack. but the Stantler had other plans. It ran over to a Growlithe and looked ready for a battle. Max sat up and was hoping to see an interesting wild battle.

Max then saw a young female trainer about his age standing beside the Growlithe. Looks like this girl is either training or catching pokemon. Eevee looked up from her bowl of pokefood and looked excited from the sight of a battle. Max picked his Eevee up before she ran off to fight the Stantler.

'Lets let her take care of it Eevee' Max said. 'This will be fun to watch.'

The ground became somewhat sloppy the further into the tall grasses Morrigan and Growlithe trecked, while the grass grew outrageously long in some places. She was up to her waist in the shrubs and out of control field tufts, but Doc was even lower, his fluffy brindle patterned coat becoming entangled with brambles and weed pollen. Still, Morrigan knew that this was prime habitat for Pokemon along the route, having seen many Trainers out this way intentionally heading into the fields in search of encounters with the native critters. Her endeavour once again proved fruitful, when a majestic crested Pokemon bounded in front of the Growlithe, startling both Pokemon and Trainer. As the big-horned Normal type looked at her with a wild gaze, Morrigan couldn’t help but notice its antlers barely poked out of the confines of the grassy shield it grazed within. Still, as adorable as it was, the wild Pokemon was clearly challenging her.

With a smirk and the rush of victory still coursing through her spirit, the grave digger hollered that Doc Leer right back at the Stantler, and proceed to Bite that thing in the face! Doc obeyed his master, his fur bristling up as he lowered his snarling maw to the ground and crouched, readying to leap at the foe Pokemon and snap his jaws shut right around its muzzle.

Morrigan smirked when she realized how useful Intimidate was going to be in practise, how it changed the way her sweet puppy Pokemon into a frightening guard dog. Her eyes, focused on the battle, didn’t notice the other trainer watching her battle just yet, until she unclipped a Pokeball at her waist in case the Stantler proved useful to catch and bobbled it, clumsily juggling it in her hands until she caught it safely. When she looked up, she caught sight of an Eevee being held by a teenager around her age looking her way.

She gave a nod of acknowledgement, not meaning to be rude, but she had a Stantler to beat and there was simply no time for introductions!

The jaws snapped shut , closing tightly on Stantler's face. Stantler reared up, angry with Doc, and came crashing back down towards him with Tackle!

For a moment, Doc’s world froze. His teeth sank deep into the Stantler’s maw, and the Growlithe couldn’t have been pleased to shake his head like he would shake a toy tug Morrigan would sometimes use to strengthen his jaw muscles. Yet when the deer Pokemon lurched forward and downon its powerful hind muscles, Doc’s jaw slackened under the crushing pressure of the Stantler’s thick skull. Pinned, and winded, the Growlithe exhaled a dark smoke involuntarily, and pawed uselessly at the ground as he strained to get his breath back.

Morrigan, behind her Growlithe by a few yards, found herself yelling at her Growlithe, encouraging it to move, to wiggle, to flail its way free. Doc wasn’t listening though, and Morrigan knew why; he wasn’t ignoring her, he was simply struck dumb by how forceful that Tackle attack had been. Her Growlithe was not used to being forced away with such strength and now the enemy’s antlers had her guard dog pinned. Her mind raced, and finally the only solution to work her Growlithe up and get him out of his current predicament came to mind. Before she heaved in a breath and began yelling to her Pokemon, she vaguely wondered if the other trainer would bother taking her seriously after this engagement.

“Damn, Doc! Wiggle! Wiggle, my wuppy widdle puppy! Wiggle like a good fluffy muffy! There’s my puddley-wuddley boy!”

Doc growled quietly, though it meant nothing. He didn’t like the baby talk his trainer was currently directing his way; only the small school girls from Ekruteak used that on him, and they were young, and knew not that Doc was a professionally bred, non wiggly type of ‘wuppy widdle puppy’. The only way to get Morrigan to stop teasing him was to comply, and so it was with a minimal amount of reluctance, Doc began to twist his waist and chest while flailing his legs and paws, before finally managing to struggle out from under the Stantler’s antlers.

“Atta boy! Quick, latch onto its hindquarters with Crunch!”

Her strategy to have Growlithe pinch the Stantler’s nose shut with Bite and suffocate it into passing out had failed. The way she figured it, if one end didn’t work, she could get Doc to latch onto the other end, where he couldn’t be struck directly.

The Growlithe launched itself over the tail end of the Stantler, making sure to land on the side where the foe’s head was directed away from, which would force it to waste a precious second in adjusting its stance. Then, with enthusiasm unmatched by his first attempt at a toothy attack, Doc opened his fanged mouth wide and attempted crunch on the Stantler’s left haunch with every intention to hang on for dear life.

When Doc's jaws clamped on the Stantler's backside, Stantler began running in circles, attempting to flip Doc off but to no avail. Eventually, Stantler stopped (partially because running in circles was producing rather less-than-effective results and partially because it was simply growing weak). Without thinking, it used Hypnosis straight towards Doc. However, because it was using the attack down the length of its own body, it fell asleep before it got to see whether Doc did or not.

((Hope your Christmas was lovely))

Doc clung to the bucking Stantler as tenaciously as he could, and only once did he feel his jaw muscles would give out with the pain of so powerfully clamping down on such a tough beast as the wild Pokemon. Eventually, though, the Stantler began to slow, just as his master had known, and the Growlithe felt the warmth of pride in himself and faith in his trainer spread throughout his muscles and give him an extra boost of adrenalin that he needed to keep holding on.

Then, with little warning, the reindeer Pokemon abruptly slammed its hooves into the ground and turned its heated gaze upon the fiery canine, who immediately knew that no matter how deep his teeth had scored into the pelt of the Normal type, he was in for it now. Doc knew a Hypnosis attack when he saw one, and he steeled himself as best he could. Still, the Crunch attack had been a hard-wrought one, and Doc was growing weary even before the Hypnosis flowed down the length of the Stantler’s slim body.

Morrigan watched from the sidelines and, cursing under her breath, could only watch in slow-motion as the inevitable occurred. She had been hoping the Stantler would be defeated before it utilized its hypnotic power, or that the beast would simply not know the sleep-inducing attack just yet in its development. When the waves of psychic power made their way towards her Growlithe, however, she winced with the intel that should not have been ignored in the first place, but rather expected.

It was by pure miracle that the wild Pokemon proved slow of mind, or at least enraged beyond comprehensive strategy. It had unintentionally directed its own attack in the direction of its form, with reflected off and back towards its owner.

“Doc, hang on!” Morrigan yelled to her Pokemon, hoping that the Growlithe would have just enough stamina in his body to stay awake long enough to outlast the duration of the attack. The Stantler collapsed, first onto its knobby knees, and then onto its belly, where it’s full set of antlers weighed it off its balance and it titled to the side, snoring loudly. Doc, trapped under the Stantler’s back legs, was nearing extreme drowsiness, and groggily ground his teeth into the Stantler’s hindquarters before laying his head down and huffing out a hot breath of air. Closing his eyes, and still clinging to the flank of the Stantler, Doc fell quietly asleep.

Morrigan, on the other hand, was wide awake and somewhat livid. Here she had been about to beat the wild Pokemon in a wonderful fight, when it had sloppily hypnotised itself and lulled sweet Doc into a peaceful afternoon nap. She stood crookedly, slouching as she was wont to do, and thought hard about what to do next.

“Wait? Wait for the Stantler and Doc to awaken? Who’ll get up first?” Morrigan debated with herself, all the while rotating a new and empty Pokeball in her hand. She could try and capture the Stantler, and simply wake Doc up when the hypnosis wore off, but she very dearly wanted Doc to get the experience of winning a fight.

“Doc, wake up and…and…finish him…”

One of Doc’s paws twitched in his sleep before moving to cover his face. Morrigan sighed slowly, a long and drawn out noise. She didn’t feel up to capturing the Stantler. Rather, she didn’t feel comfortable raising a new Pokemon when she didn’t feel Doc was strong enough to be a team leader. Was Doc ready? Was she ready? Maybe the Stantler couldn’t even be caught. It would surely escape.

Yeah, he’ll escape. Then run away once he realized his freedom is at stake…and…then…besides, what good is a Pokemon that won’t be any help in the cemetery? Then again, it’s a Normal type…and they can have a pretty weird move-set...

With a deep breath, Morrigan held the Pokeball up, and with as steady a hand as she could muster, hurled the sphere at the sleeping Stantler. It was a better strategy than waiting to see which Pokemon would wake up.