All Boys Got to Leave Home Someday

The alarm clock in Felix's bedroom rang, jerking the ten-year-old awake. Felix's eyelids peeled open slowly, revealing his brown eyes which were bloodshot from a night of restless anticipation. Today marked the official beginning of Felix's pokemon journey. Soon, he was to make his way to Professor Oak's laboratory to receive both his first pokemon and starting materials. Felix rolled out of bed, yawned, and prepared himself to head to Professor Oak's laboratory - washing up and getting dressed. Felix finished his preparations by grabbing his white and red baseball cap, placing it on top of his head, and turning it backwards. Felix looked in his bedroom mirror and smirked. Once he determined that he was satisfied with his appearance; Felix grabbed his yellow backpack and exited his bedroom.

Felix walked downstairs into the kitchen of his home to find his mother, father, and younger sister sitting around the table, enjoying a pleasant breakfast. In a hurry, Felix swiped a bagel off the table and said goodbye to his family.

"See you guys after I become champion," said Felix as he bid farewell.

"Goodbye son, good luck!" Exclaimed Felix's mother, wishing her son good luck on his travels.

"Both of my boys are following in my footsteps and becoming trainers," sobbed Felix's father. Tears of happiness streamed down his cheeks. Before Felix, his older brother left to go on a journey of his own. Inspired by the travels of his brother, Felix decided that he too would become a pokemon trainer in hopes of one day earning the honor of champion.

Felix hugged Linda, his younger sister, before leaving. The relationship they shared was close - Linda too wishing to one day become a pokemon trainer like her brothers. Felix promised to tutor Linda on pokemon training when he became an expert, promising his family that his quest would be successful. Now the first step of his journey was to select a pokemon. The decision would be hard for Felix. The three choices - bulbasaur, charmander, and squirtle - were all good pokemon and would each benefit Felix with their own individiual strengths and weaknesses. As Felix walked across the long dirt roads of Pallet that lead to Professor Oak's lab, he carefully contemplated his choice.

Whatever pokemon I get, I'm sure it'll be great. Felix reassured himself as he approached the lab's front door. He inhaled, exhaled, and reached for the door knob - the heart in his chest beating as he opened the front door. Felix stepped into the laboratory slowly, the excitement nearly overwhelming him as he entered.

"Um...Professor Oak?" asked Felix. He looked around the laboratory, not noticing a single soul. "Are you here?"

The lab seemed to be very empty, and an almost eerie stillness in the air. The light hum of machinery and other computer equipment could be heard, keeping things running smoothly thanks to proper codes being executed in time. The walls were lined with shelves and shelves of research books, many of which were written by Oak himself. There seemed to be a draw toward the back of the room, pulling Felix in.

A he entered, there was a faint glow seen toward the rear of the room. A fumbling could be head, many papers shuffling around. "No, no, no!" A senile sounding elderly man's voice chimed. He seemed to be grumbling about something not adding up. Classic professor like stuff.

"Saur!" A gruff little voice was heard, followed by a grunt of recognition from the man.

"Hmm? Someone's here?" He asked, the sound of his desk chair wheeling back resonating. He came into view, rolling right into the aisle way and staring at Felix. He seemed to have a bit of a confused and astonished look on his face, perhaps he'd forgotten that he was expecting a new trainer today.



"Ah yes, hello," Oak said, standing from his cushioned chair to greet Felix. "I'm the Pokémon professor, just call me Professor Oak! Now, how can I help you...errr..." He asked, rubbing his chin as his mind worked overtime to try and think of Felix' name.

The interior of the lab sparked Felix's curiosity. As he paced through the facility, he found himself tempted to fiddle with the beeping machinery that he passed. Never had he seen equipment similar to the machines that Professor Oak had in his laboratory - it was like stepping into the future. Felix could only stare in awe at the amount of books that the Professor had strung along his bookshelves. While reading wasn't one of his primary interests, Felix was still amazed as to how someone could have so many books. Anxious, Felix continued walking through the lab until he encountered an unsuspecting old man.

After Professor Oak introduced himself, Felix was faced with the issue that the professor seemed to have forgotten his name. Felix let out a low chuckle, the professor's demeanor relaxing him and calming his nerves. Felix kept telling himself that all trainers felt nervous the first day of their journey. In reality, Felix as perhaps being too apprehensive about his day of departure. In present, he still had more things to worry about - Felix had yet to decide on which starter pokemon he would be selecting.

"Hello sir, the name's Felix Edwards," reminded Felix, "I'm just here to get myself a pokemon so I can be on my way to becoming the next champion."

"Ah yes, yes, Felix. I remember your brothers err...well regardless, I'm sure we can find you a Pokemon to start off with," Professor Oak ensured, clearly having forgotten the names of Felix' brothers as well. It was a wonder he hadn't allowed his grandson to supersede him yet, insisting on running the place still. "Right this way."

Oak led Felix around the corner, where a large machine sat. It had a red translucent glass top that resembled a pokeball in many ways. Casually walking up to it, Oak turned to face Felix with his "proffesional" face on. He had one hand in his pocket, the other going to his chin in a serious, yet nostalgic fashion. "For many years now I've been handing out Pokemon to young men and women who were just starting out on their journeys...I'd like to think that they all found their place in this world. For some people, Pokémon are pets. Other use them for fights. Myself… I study Pokémon as a profession. A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits!"

Oak chuckled a bit. "I've rehearsed that speech so many times," he said with a soft sigh. "Anyway, in this machine holds the pokeball of your future partner," he pressed a button on the side of the machine. The lid split into two, retracting into the lower part of the machine. Three pokeballs were shown, each beside the etched symbol of a leaf, water droplet, and flame respectively. "You can go ahead and choose one."

"Saur!" the gruff voice said again, a Bulbasaur nudging at Felix' leg. It looked up at him with what looked like a smile on its face. Hard to tell really, being a dinosaur like Pokemon. Still, it's eyes looked happy to see him for some reason.

Felix overlooked Professor Oak forgetting his brother's name. Like he said, he had been giving out pokemon to rookie trainers for many years now. It was marvelous that the elderly researcher even remembered that Felix had a brother to begin with. Felix simply nodded and smirked at Professor Oak when he mentioned his brother as an indication that he was correct. It had been at least two years since he visited the lab to receive his own starter pokemon. Now it was Felix's turn to complete the same milestone.

Felix's heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he saw the machine that contained the poke balls. There were three, each one emblazoned with a symbol that correlated to the type of pokemon within. Felix accidentally ignored Professor Oak's generic speech, his mind focused solely on the task of choosing a starting pokemon. Once the lid of the machine opened and Professor Oak gave the okay, Felix began his selection process. He hovered his hand over the machine and quarreled with himself over which pokemon he would select. He was terrified that he would make the wrong choice.

Squirtle, Felix mused as he looked at the poke ball with the water droplet symbol, With it I can easily defeat the gym leader of Pewter City.

Felix lowered his hand onto the poke ball imprinted with the water droplet. At the exact moment which he was about to claim it, he felt something nudge against his leg. Felix looked down, surprised, to see a jovial bulbasaur.

"Whose this little guy?" Felix asked Professor Oak, reaching down to pet the seemingly friendly pokemon on the head. Felix was aware that bulbasaur was one of the starter pokemon distributed by Professor Oak. Since this particular bulbasaur wasn't inside of its poke ball, Felix assumed that it belonged to someone else and was merely at the lab for storage purposes.

Oak watched as Felix hesitantly thought over his options. Even with all the time to prepare, most kids still went in there without any real idea of which starter they would choose. He smiled as Felix' hand hovered over the water Pokeball. "Ah yes, Squirtle is an excellent choice. It offers a strong defense and is rather easy for most trainers to raise," he said, before the trainer's attention was pulled away by the Bulbasaur.

"Ah this one? He's a bit of the runt of the litter. Most of the trainers refused t take him, so we've just been keeping him around here for now. He seems to like you," Oak noted, tapping his chin. "I wonder...You know, they say a Pokemon will only grow to the environment it's raised in. It's quite possible that this Bulbasaur wont grow any more unless he gets out into the world."

It was becoming obvious where Oak was going with this. But was his interest merely in trying to pawn off the little plant Pokemon on this unsuspecting trainer? "If you wouldn't mind, you could take him and help him grow as your partner," Oak said, turning to his desk to retrieve the Bulbasaur's pokeball. He held out the red and white orb to Felix, a proposal left open for his taking. "Of course it's up to you, you can still pick one of the others if you like," he said, beginning to retract the ball again, trying to make the offer seem more rare and tempting.

Felix was relieved when Professor Oak asked him to take the runt of a bulbasaur off of his hands. By taking the bulbasaur, Felix would be solving two problems with one solution. Since bulbasaur was offered as a starting pokemon, Felix would still be getting what he came for. The little bulbasaur also desperately needed to get out of the laboratory if it was to ever grow. Besides, the pokemon appeared to have certainly taken a liking to him. Hopefully that meant it would be even easier to train.

"Alright, I'll take 'em," Felix said, accepting the bulbasaur's poke ball from Professor Oak.

The professor handed over Bulbasaur's Pokeball to Felix with a smirk. He then proceeded to quickly gather some supplies, namely a few spare empty pokeballs and a pokedex. He shoved them into Felix' bag as he walked Felix to the door a bit forcefully, talking about the usual 'have plenty of fun adventures with your Pokemon' things. Finally he forced the boy out the front door, waving with a smile. "Oh I probably should have told you before, but that Bulbasaur can be somewhat stubborn," he chuckled, "Have fun!" he shouted, quickly closing the door behind him. Well, no turning back now. Felix was stuck with his new partner, who was now looking up at him with a trollish smile.

Felix looked down at his new bulbasaur and cringed at his devilish grin. He hoped that the pokemon wasn't really as stubborn as Professor Oak made it out to be. Nevertheless, he had made his decision and would have to live with it - the common consequence of not thoroughly thinking an action through before executing it. Felix knew he would accept his starter no matter his faults. Also, it always felt strange to Felix to address a pokemon by the name of its species. Humans had their own individual names, therefore, Felix felt that pokemon should to.

"Hey," Felix greeted his bulbasaur gently, "The name's Felix, I'm your new trainer. We are going to be together for quite awhile so I think we'll have to come up with a name for you too."

Felix mulled over what call his bulbasaur for only a few seconds. It wasn't troublesome to think of a name for a grass-type pokemon - Felix's brother often named his grass-types after plants. Felix decided to use the same strategy as his older brother, thus, the bulbasaur's new name was born.

"I'll call you Basil," Felix announced, naming his bulbasaur after a culinary herb. The name itself also had several other meanings such as royal, kingly, and valiant - all of which Felix was completely unaware of. Still, Felix thought the nickname to be fitting for the pokemon, the bulb on his back reminding him greatly of the plant which he named him after.

"Saur," Bulbasaur- now Basil chimed in return, his gruff voice sounding somewhat happy that he now had a name. Now Felix' journey could truly begin, only limited by his own determination. He would rely on his partner as much as Basil relied on him from now on. The route north of town was calling their names, beckoning them to journey on, and leave this town as the past. There was no turning back now.

You may now take control of Basil.

"Come on Basil, let's go!"

Excitement took total control of Felix at that instant. Impulsively, he ran towards Route One - wondering what kinds of pokemon he would meet. His imagination ran rampant as he entered the route - his mind displaying to him images of wild dragonite waiting to be captured. Deep inside, Felix knew that there were no wild dragonite - especially near Pallet Town. Still, it was great for a boy to dream about what he might encounter. Felix entered Route One with confidence. It was the first time he had been outside of Pallet Town without adult supervision. It was the first time that he had ever known true freedom.

Basil, obviously, wasn't as thrilled as his trainer. While Felix ran towards Route One full speed, the bulbasaur took his sweet time. While he didn't walk, he "trotted" at a pace which was considerably slower than that of Felix's. Basil just wanted to keep up with Felix and not get left behind. If he was to evolve into a venusaur like all young bulbasaur wanted to, he would have to depend on the goofy human until then. Basil's body responded well to being outside - the warmth given to him by the sun's light providing him with a nutrient that was unavailable to him in the shadows of Professor Oak's laboratory. Temporarily forgetting about his trainer and the fact that he was subordinate to him, Basil crawled over into thick grass and began to sunbath.

Felix was focused solely on the adventure ahead. He observed Route One as far as his human eyes could see. While it wouldn't appear interesting to the seasoned traveler; Felix, being a newbie, was marveled by the sight of the wilderness. The environment was absolutely free from human interference. The air was perfectly clean and the grass looked healthy. Even the trees looked peaceful to Felix - sitting motionless as if they were ignoring time.

"Okay," Felix mumbled to himself, "If father told me right then Viridian City should be directly north. That'll be my first stop on my journey!"

Felix didn't get too far when a few rocks began to tumble down a nearby cliff. It wasn't too high a cliff, nor was the slope overly steep. It would still be quite difficult to climb up from this side, making walking around the only logical choice. Still, that wasn't the focal point as a girl came sliding down the side of the cliff seemingly with some skill. It was obvious she'd jumped over those ledges many a time in the past to succeed with such ease.


The girl appeared to be close to Felix in age, somewhere between 9 and 12 at a glance. Her brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and adorned with a yellow bow giving her an overall cute appearance in her school uniform. She landed on the ground next to Felix, taking a strong and confident stance as she pointed to him.

"Alright, rookie. I know that old man gave you a Pokemon, so time to show me what you got!" She demanded, pointing to Felix with a serious face plastered on. She whipped a pokeball from her waist, ready to battle. Young Trainer Sachika has challenged you to a battle!

Felix was slightly startled by the rocks falling from the edge of the cliff. They caught him by surprise - his attention at first focused solely on the path that lay ahead. He looked up the cliff and was stunned by its appearance. His instinct was to climb it out of curiosity, but even he knew that would be a bad idea. Instead, thinking logically for once, Felix figured that walking around the cliff would a more viable solution. He looked back to see that he hadn't moved too far from his previous position. Basil still remained nestled in the thick grass a little ways back, peacefully absorbing energy from the sun.

"Come on Basil," Felix shouted at the comfortable bulbasaur, waving his arm as a signal for him to follow. Basil halfway opened his eye to get a look at his trainer, shutting it immediately after deciding that he did not want to follow Felix's lead. Feeling disrespected by his pokemon, Felix grabbed a pebble off the ground and tossed in Basil's direction. He wasn't trying to hit his bulbasaur - that would just be rude - Felix was instead intended on getting Basil's undivided attention. He would need his help if he was to become champion of the Kanto region. A trainer was nothing without his pokemon.

Felix assumed that Basil would catch up to him whenever he was done resting. He raised his foot to take a step and begin his navigation around the cliff. At the moment which he prepared to move, something caught his eye as it slid down the side of the cliff. Amazed, Felix whirled around to see that it was a girl making her way towards him. Intrigued by how easily she was able to tackle the cliff, Felix ceased his movement - wanting to remain and question the girl about her mastery of scaling the cliff.

A closer observation by Felix revealed to him that the girl was of an age similar to his. Whether she was older or younger, Felix couldn't tell. The only thing he was certain of was her status as a trainer. When she boldly challenged him to a pokemon battle, Felix eagerly accepted. He would have to battle many trainers throughout his pokemon journey. A little practice now wouldn't hurt.

"You're on!" Felix shouted, "Basil c'mon!"

The bulbasaur heard his trainer summon him and twitched his ear. Sheepishly, Basil raised his head up and locked eyes with his trainer - silently refusing to obey him.

Sachika scoffed a bit, laughing as Basil refused to follow orders. "I think you got a defective Pokemon," she joked rudely. "Either that or you're just a bad trainer already," The girl taunted, pushing all those oh so sensitive buttons. She was good at getting on the wrong side of people, that much was already clear.

"I'm waiting," she said, tossing her pokeball into the air and catching it again. "So are you gonna battle or not? My Pokemon has been itching for some action," Her voice resonated in an irritating fashion, trying to make herself out to be better than Felix in every way imaginable. "Or am I gonna have to beat up a pathetic, lazy plant?"

Basil's ears twitched as Sachika's words burned his heart like fire. Being a grass-type, Basil's opinion of fire wasn't at all positive. Fire burned grass-types and was their primary threat. Basil was greatly offended. He raised up onto his legs and began to rub his front leg against the ground aggressively, grunting and snorting with frustration. Without warning, Basil charged at the girl - defending his own pride rather than that of his humiliated trainer.

"Uh-ah," Felix gasped, "Basil stop!"

Basil ignored Felix's orders yet again, not finding his commands to be the least bit useful. He halted his charge in favor of using a different technique to attack the girl. He began to conjure up a flurry of leaves, preparing to unleash what appeared to be a Leaf Storm. Felix was shocked by Basil's choice of move, unaware that his bulbasaur withheld such a technique at his current level. He just hoped that Sachika could stop Basil's assault. Felix's inability to control his starter was embarrassing enough - the last thing he needed was for a tragedy to result from it.

The girl smirked, clasping down on the ball when she saw Basil react. He charged, and she stood her ground. When he got near her, she jumped back and threw her pokeball forward. "Go, Fae!" The girl announced, a small pink fairy Pokemon forming before her. Basil's Leaf Storm quickly whipped up, Clefairy now in battle.

"Quick, use Protect!" Sachika commanded. Clefairy used her abilities to summon an ethereal wall, effectively nullifying Basil's attack as it hit. Clefairy used Protect! The girl's smirk returned as she looked at Felix who had been panicked. "Oh look, your Pokemon is ready to battle now," she said smugly. It was obvious she had been in battles before.

Clefairy, Female. ::ABILITY - CUTE CHARM (If a Pokemon of the opposite gender comes into physical contact, there is a 30% chance of INFATUATION) :: Level 5

Protect? Felix gritted his teeth when the clefairy voided Basil's Leaf Storm with a simple move of its own. Leaf Storm was a strong grass-type attack. To watch it be nullified so easily practically destroyed Felix's confidence. Honestly, he didn't know what to do. Basil refused to listen to his commands, instead Basil was confiding in his own intuition - resuming his charge towards Sachika and her pokemon.

"Bulba!" Basil roared, unleashing a gruff battle cry as he moved towards his target.

"Basil, stop!" Felix pleaded, "Stop and listen to me so we can win this!"

Basil ignore Felix as if were out of habit. He was convinced that he could win the battle on his own without the help of Felix - ironic considering that he only agreed to journey with Felix so he could train him to be stronger. At the particular moment, Basil suspected that Felix might not be of much use to him after all. The look on his face was too goofy for Basil to take him seriously. How could anyone take Felix seriously when he had such ludicrous dreams like becoming the next champion? Delusional, that was all that Basil took him for. A delusional trainer who was blinded by his own naivety, an absolute liability in combat.

Knowing now that Basil's special attack would be severely reduced from his previous attack, Sachika felt much more confident for her place in the battle. She grinned, seeing that Basil still wasn't listning to reason or orders. "You really are fresh, and got one of the most stubborn Pokémon I've ever seen!" She laughed, Clefairy stepping in front of her to take the hit (tackle?).

Just before impact, she let out an intimidating (albeit cute) growl in attempt to lower Basil's physical attack power as well. She knew that at the moment of impact there would be a decent chance that Bsil would become infatuated and make it harder for him to attack her. Clefairy used Growl!

"It's pretty funny, since usually Bulbasaur are pretty mild mannered and good for starting trainers," she noted in an amused fashion. She seemed to know an awful lot about starter Pokémon for not having one herself.

Felix tried his best to keep his composure. The situation was out of hand from the start, but he couldn't give up. If he did surrender, then he should just turn around and go back home to Pallet Town. As a trainer, Felix knew that there would face difficulties. He just didn't expect his starter to give him such a hard time. Felix wished he knew of a way to make Basil behave. Sachika's insults weren't making things easier for the burdened trainer. Nevertheless, Felix still pressed on - continuing his struggle to get his pokemon to listen.

Basil stubbornly moved forward with his Tackle, completely unaware of Clefairy's Cute Charm ability. His pride had been injured by the girl's insult and he was fully intent on making her pay. At the moment, he had forgotten all about Felix. His trainer was irrelevant to his pursuit, ineffective in providing simple commands. Not only was Basil stubborn like Professor Oak said, he was albeit selfish too.

"Not all pokemon are the same!" Felix exclaimed in response to Sachika's comment about bulbasaur being mild mannered, "My bulbasaur is an individual and I accept that he may be a bit of a challenge for me!"

Felix was optimistic, sometimes foolishly optimistic. It was the attitude that a pokemon trainer needed to have if he was to ever make any accomplishments. What if he were to lose a gym battle? Felix wouldn't be able to give up then and he wouldn't give up now. Besides himself, he had a younger sister who looked up to him and an older brother who counted on him to eventually catch up. Felix was willing to accept wholeheartedly that it might take quite a bit of time before Basil cooperated with him. It didn't matter, respect applied to pokemon in the same way it did to humans - it had to earned - and Felix was determined to earn Basil's respect.

Felix's words triggered something in Basil, but not even the bulbasaur himself was sure what it was. Basil was slightly distracted by his trainer, briefly taking his focus off of the clefairy he was battling. The Growl unleashed by the pink pokemon blindsided Basil, piercing his ears as well as affecting his physical attack. Basil whirled his head around to lock eyes with Clefairy, feeling somewhat baffled by his own peculiar emotions.

Clefairy was struck by the slightly weakened Tackle, sliding back a bit and grimacing. She seemed to recover easily, though. She quickly hopped back to her feet, ready for the next command from her trainer. Sachika smirked at Felix. He was determined, she had to give him that. Kind of reminded her of stories she'd heard of a boy and his Pikachu.

As if being able to read his mind, she pointed to him. "You want to earn his respect so much? Let's test that theory," she said, shifting her aim to Basil. "Okay Clefairy, our turn. Use Pound!" The girl commanded her Pokemon with a strong sense of authority for one so young.

Clefairy nodded, determined expression plastered on her face. She rushed at the little plant Pokemon, raising one of her tiny hands in the air. She jumped at Basil, aiming to bring her fist down on him with some force! Clefairy used Pound!

A little bit of hope crept back into Felix as he watched Basil's Tackle make contact with the clefairy. He noticed the bulbasaur's reaction to his little speech. Perhaps Felix was finally getting through to him? Still, Felix knew that there was a lot of progress to be made - especially if they wanted to win this battle. The situation hadn't rotated much from the beginning of the battle. Felix and Basil were still on the losing end, and Felix doubted that he would get his bulbasaur to listen anytime soon. Perseverance would be the key to survival in this match. Victory was all but realistic.

"Basil, move out of the way!" Felix yelled, hoping that Basil would agree with his command. Felix figured that not even Basil was stubborn enough to take a direct hit from an attack. Proving his trainer to be right for once, Basil looked at the clefairy and prepared his reaction. Anticipation swelled up within Felix as he assumed that Basil was about to carry out his commands. His heart was crushed when the bulbasaur did the exact opposite - oozing a jet of filthy liquid from his mouth.

"Or use...Sludge Bomb?" Felix mumbled, feeling puzzled. Apparently, Basil was more experienced than what Professor Oak had let on. First Leaf Storm and now Sludge Bomb. Felix was certainly surprised by the move set that young Basil possessed. Of course it didn't really matter if Felix couldn't control Basil. He wouldn't be able to utilize the moves to his advantage anyhow.

Clefairy was quite surprised as the nasty sludge oozed from Basil's mouth, striking her with a good deal of force, though notably weaker than it should have been due to the failed Leaf Storm. Still, it wasn't like she could have dodged, being mid-attack like that. It didn't seem to slow her down too much though, as she pushed through with her Pound attack, hoping for it to land. The expression on her face was wincing in discomfort and pain from the bomb like attack. It seemed some had seeped into her skin, causing a mild poisoned effect.

Sachika was just as surprised as both Clefairy and Felix, hands clenching into fists when she saw the attack. There was nothing she could have done to prevent that one. "Okay then, seems he's got some moves on his side!" Sachika said, taking a breath and releasing her hands. She threw one out to her side in a commanding fashion. "Let's try our best, then!" The girl said, moving her hand to point to Basil once more. "Keep using Pound!"

Clefairy, though poisoned, ran around, trying to rush up behind Basil. She reared her tiny fist once more, aiming to forcibly bring it down on the Bulbasaur. Poison sapped a bit of Clefairy's health, slowly draining her. Clefairy used Pound!

Clefairy; F; Lv5; CUTE CHARM
Status: PSN
HP: OK

Felix obviously didn't like Basil's blatant disrespect towards him. He had to admit, however, that the bulbasaur was holding his own against the clefairy with the arsenal of moves he withheld. Felix could only wonder what other secrets Basil had, if he had any more left that is. Even though the battle had briefly turned in their favor, Felix was still faced with the dilemma of getting his bulbasaur to heed his commands. The enemy clefairy was surging towards them with another Pound. Fortunately for Felix and Basil, some of the clefairy's health had been sapped by the ailment brought upon it by the unexpected Sludge Bomb. Felix briefly thought about what to do. Although he was sure that Basil would probably decline his commands like he had done in prior instances; Felix decided to take another shot at giving him a command.

"Basil, meet Clefairy halfway with a Tackle attack!" Felix commanded, praying that Basil would listen to him.

"Bulba," Basil grunted, taking a split second glance at Felix before focusing back on the battle. Basil swiped his foreleg against the surface of the earth and lowered his body, preparing to charge at the Clefairy again. A smile spread across Felix's face once he realized what was about to happen. When Basil ran towards the Celfairy, initializing a Tackle, Felix's heart almost jumped out of his chest. For once Basil chose to comply instead of recklessly battling to his own accord.

The two attacks connected, sending a shock of recoil through both Pokemon. Sure, he had managed to do some damage, but Felix would eventually need to learn to try avoiding damage before dealing. Still, Basil had listened to him, a step in the right direction. Or so it seemed anyway. Clefairy cringed a bit, standing back up and glaring at the foe Bulbasaur.

"It's alright Clefairy..." Sachika encouraged, though in her voice was a sense of worry. "We can still do this, use Pound again, and prepare for retaliation!" The girl commanded. Her fists were clenched nervously as the battle seemed to be winding tightly toward its climax.

"Cleff!" the small pink Pokemon chimed, running toward Basil once more. She again reared back her fist, preparing to land it on Basil's head with as much force as her body would allow. She swung, feeling the sting of the Poison still sapping energy from her. Clefairy used Pound!

Clefairy; F; LV 5; CUTE CHARM
Status: PSN
HP: CAUTION

Felix felt a morsel of confidence. He couldn't believe that Basil finally decided to listen to him! Perhaps they would make progress after all. Felix smirked, knowing that the tide of the battle was turning in his favor. So far they had managed to inflict Sachika's clefairy with an ailment and a considerable amount of damage. Now all Felix needed was a way to close the battle out. He mulled of the possibility of attacking with another Leaf Storm. His aim was to somehow halt the incoming Pound, but it didn't appear that there was enough time for Basil to unleash a counter. Since countering didn't seem like a viable tactic, Felix chose to go with the method of evasion.

"Basil, quick, leap out of the way!" Felix exclaimed. He hoped that Basil would head his command a second time. If Basil refused to cooperate at such a crucial moment, then his insubordination could potentially cost them the battle. Felix could tell that the clefairy was waning through the evident doubt in Sachika's voice. She seemed so sure that she could defeat Felix beforehand because of his inexperience. Felix wondered it must of felt for her - being proved that she was wrong.

Basil briefly glanced at Felix before turning his attention back on the clefairy. There was only a small amount of time left for him to make a move. Ashamed that he couldn't come up with a plan of his own to negate the clefairy's attack, his preferred method, Basil submitted to Felix and leaped backwards, attempting to both avoid Clefairy's attack and expose an opening for a retaliation.