The First Ember Of An Inferno [Finished]

[Blackbird]

“Thank you, Professor Elm!” a lanky girl with moon colored hair called, a red and white new Pokeball clutched in her fist. She pushed the door open with her shoulder, eyes never leaving the sphere that would change her life. She limped outside, barely picking up her right leg, then looked around. She pressed her thumb to the white button that stuck out slightly in the middle of the Pokeball, causing a beam of red light to shoot out, revealing an orange, lizard-like Pokemon with blue-black eyes. A bright flame burned on the tip of its tail, waving in the breeze.

‘Who are you?’ It asked, though it knew the human would only hear it repeating its species name. ‘You’re my new trainer, right? You don’t look like much.’ Its eyes focused on her leg. ‘And you’re crippled! How are you gonna make the trip?’

The white haired girl leaned over into an awkward crouch, her right leg sticking out. “Hello, Charmander. My name’s Haley, and I’m gonna be your new trainer. Now, do you mind if I give you a name?” The female Charmander shrugged, giving a low Chaaaar. “Okay, what about Inferno?… Nah. Blaze?… No, let’s get something a bit more… feminine. What about… Honou? It means flame.”

The Lizard Pokemon mulled the name over for a moment. ‘Okay, that sounds pretty good! I wouldn’t be able to pick a better name if someone asked!’ Because Honou knew the trainer wouldn’t understand her, she nodded.

“Great!” Haley smiled. “For a nickname, I’m gonna call you… Hon! That alright?” The Charmander nodded again. “So, you ready to start our Pokemon journey? I promise to treat you fairly, and only put you into battles I’m sure you can win.”

‘I like this trainer. Most trainers wouldn’t give me a choice. But is she gonna make me go back into my Pokeball? I don’t like it.’ She thought, nudging Haley’s leg.

“Don’t worry; you needn’t go back into your Pokeball.” When the Charmander looked up in surprised, she chuckled. “It was all over your face. So, you ready? Let’s go!” The pair turned and began to follow the route, the human smiling happily, although she limped heavily, while the Charizard watched her contemplatingly.

‘Is she going to be a good trainer? I mean, she seems nice, but so does a Magikarp until it evolves. She could be horrible! But, I could outrun her. With that limp of hers, she outta be really slow.’

[Kataya]

Honou seemed uncertain of her trainer, but well, maybe that'd change in the future. For now, they'd have to focus on getting out of Route 29. Honou hadn't quite been there, but she had once played outside of the lab with one of the Professor's Bulbasaur, and it looked like a pretty large place when she had stared out at it. Then again, she was a baby then. And even if she wasn't so small anymore, she was still a Charmander, therefore smaller than most things around her. Still, if her trainer seemed confident about the route, then she'd need to be too.

What she didn't know, is something was slowly stalking them. It wasn't...actually threatening at all, but nevertheless, it had been following them for a long while. Stepping carefully as if not to be heard, its bushy, ringed tail swaying behind it. It was actually having fun, the brown butterball of a Pokemon. Now, Sentret were quite common in this area, but not many played around like this, enjoying the thrill of the chase...er...stalk.

"Ret Sentret..." It murmured lowly, like it was about to pounce upon either the trainer or the Pokemon. Its tail swished wildly as it prepared to leap at them. Honou stopped suddenly, looking around frantically as the feeling that they were being watched suddenly hit her...and then, well then the watcher hit her. She fell to the ground with a rather chubby Sentret landing on top of her. It was giggling even as she pushed it off. Unamused, Hanou growled, her tail swaying angrily. The Sentret, it had startled her, so her instincts were acting up. The flame on her tail flared brighter, and Sentret stopped its laughter, cowering now as it realized it had made a mistake.
------------------------------------------------

Wild Sentret (Level 4) has decided to play with you! Please tell your Charmander to refrain from mauling it.

[Blackbird]

Haley sighed as she looked around, watching the Pidgey’s (annoying things they were) flitting through the trees, while the Rattata’s peered out at her. “Is, something the matter, Hon?” she questioned, noticing that the small Fire Lizard had begun to look around, eyes wide.

‘Didn’t you hear that? I think… I think something’s following us!’ The small fire-type whimpered, moving closer to her trainer and tugging on her jeans.

“I’m sorry, Hon, but I can’t understand you.” She frowned, trying to follow the frantic Pokemon’s gaze. She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, only spotting the Pidgy and Rattata that were ever so common on this route. The trees were heavily laden with berries, but contained nothing that could evoke such a reaction from her starter. What was it?

Chaaar! Honou cried as a chubby brown blur tackled her, taking her to the ground. ‘What in the world? She growled, leaping to her feet after having shoved the above the normal weight Scout Pokemon off of her. ‘What’s your problem?!’ She snapped, being further enraged by the giggling the Sentret was emitting. Is this some kind of game, to you? She snarled, letting smoke filter from her nostrils.

Haley jumped slightly at the appearance of the Pokemon, giving her Charmander a once-over to make sure it was alright. She couldn’t help a small frown at the obvious laughter coming from the brown Pokemon. “Honou, use Scratch!” she commanded, hoping that the obstinate fire type would obey.

[Kataya]

The Sentret's day had suddenly turned into a nightmare as it realized it definitely pounced upon the wrong duo. It shivered when Haley ordered Honou to attack, and it covered its face with its tiny paws to protect itself when the Charmander rushed it, her claws coming down quickly across the Sentret's arms. The Sentret cried out in pain, holding out its arms and sadly examining them.

It would have to fight back, but it at least wanted to set up some kind of defense. The young Pokemon curled up, becoming locked in a ball of sorts, ringed tail prominent in the view of the formation. Curious, Honou tilted her head, her tail waving as she pondered upon what it was the sentret was doing. There was a quick flash of blue that surrounded the Sentret's body, coating it lightly in that color.

Honou realized what this was, she had sometimes seen it used by other people's Pokemon around the lab. Defense curl. She didn't know if that would hinder her any, but even if it did, she wasn't going to let her very first battle be a flop. She turned back to Haley with an assuring nod, and waited for her next commands.
---------------------------

Wild Sentret |Level 4|
Health: 13/18
Status: Defense +1!
Sentret used Defense Curl!

VS.

Haley's Honou |Level 5|
Health: 20/20
Status: Normal
Honou used Scratch!

[Blackbird]

Haley frowned as the Sentret began examining it’s torn arms, using the moment to plan out her attack. The Sentret didn’t seem like it would fight very much, and probably hadn’t even wanted to get into the fight. But, she wasn’t going to lose her first Pokemon battle! Besides, if she left it here, wounded from the battle, it could very well get picked off by a Pidgeot. Sorry little buddy, She thought, But I’m not leaving you here, or losing to you!

What is it doing? She pondered as it curled up into a tight ball, causing its Raccoon like tail to be the easiest target. A scratch would break that formation, but I‘m willing to bet that there’s a move its using, not just trying to keep out of the battle.

‘What are you doing? Honou asked in confusion, staring at the Scout Pokemon. ‘If you think curling up into a ball is gonna stop me, its not. You’re merely giving me an easier target.

But of course, things in a Pokemon battle aren’t that easy. A blue light enveloped the Pokemon, and both Honou and Haley realized what the attack was. Defense Curl! They thought at the same time.

Honou frowned, looking at the Sentret. What does that attack do? She wondered. I’m not in any pain, so maybe it’s a status attack?

Haley frowned at the Pokemon, trying to think of a strategy. Defense Curl increases the users defense, thus making Honou’s attacks less effective. Growl won’t be useful against that-it lowers the opponents attack. If she knew Leer, that would counter the Defense Curl, but she doesn’t. So I guess we’ll just have to attack and hope it works.

She nodded back to the fire type. “Honou, use Scratch! Give it everything you’ve got!”

[Tiki]

After Haley had pondered for a while, she finally gave an order to Honsou that she proceeded to carry out. With mutual understanding that the Charmander could not counter the defensive curl, the duo carried on with the offense. The Sentret once again was scratched on the back, literally, as it was trying to dodge the claws of the lizard. The brown Pokemon obviously was hit.

Carefully maneuvering itself, the Sentret bounced on its own tail and stalked Honsou. However, on its last bounce, the Sentret leaped while shouting "Sen-tret!", and then powerfully scratched the fire type with its tiny claws. Albeit smaller, the impact was multiplied by the momentum from the bounce, and the lack of defensive curl. Honsou was struck, but the pain was not that bad for the Sentret's first offense.

---

Wild Sentret- Level 4
9/18
Status: Defense +1
Sentret used a successful Scratch!

Haley's Honsou- Level 5
15/20
Status: None!
Honsou used a successful Scratch!

[Blackbird]

‘Come on, work!’ Haley pleaded under her breath, crossing her fingers and praying that the defense curl wouldn’t be strong enough to take all the power from the attack. “Awesome! Good job!” [/I] the silver hair girl cried when the fire lizard landed the attack, even through the attempt to escape the attack by the Sentret.

In response to the trainers cheer, Honou huffed and let some smoke escape her maw. ‘Why are you so excited? You shouldn’t be surprised that I managed that hit! Anyone half bit Pidgey could have landed that attack!’ She growled, offended by the thought that her trainer had thought her too weak to manage a hit.

Haley frowned, watching the Sentret as it reared up onto its tailed and bounced towards her Pokemon. ‘What in the world is it doing?’ she wondered, only for her eyes to widen when she saw it lunge towards Honou with claws bared. “Look out!” she cried too late, as the normal-types tiny claws shredded her partners skin.

‘Hey!’ Honou snarled, leaping back once the attack was landed. She turned to Haley, eyes shining with want for retribution. ‘What attack? Scratch, again?

Haley tilted her head at the Sentret, the brown Pokemon panting slightly. ‘I’d say he’s about half life, now. One more hit and I can use a Pokeball!’ She turned to meet the Fire-types gaze. “Use Scratch, one more time! Honou nodded and turned to deliver the move.

[Sacred Fire]

Honou seemed excited about this battle as it continued on. The Sentret had been a tough opponent so far in the battle and had been an interesting opponent so far and had given them a battle that was worthwhile. Honou heard another attack being cried out from his trainer as he raced forward on his two feet. His tail swished about as he heard out the call, fire on his tail was ablaze. Then with three sharp claws, his fist began to glow as he wracked at Sentret with them and made the pokemon winced. “Sen-Sen!” The pokemon cried out in pain.

Sentret winced from the attack as it had hit successfully. It was starting to breath heavily now from losing all the health it did in the battle. At this point in time, it would have been enough to capture the normal type pokemon, as its health was way down low. But Sentret looked as if it wasn’t about to give up either. It was going to show Honou that it had strength too, by using the very same move again, another scratch!

Soon the Sentret hopped down on all fours from being on top of its tail for balance. And raced forward at The fire lizard pokemon and brought its own claws out. Then it struck Honou making the lizard wince from the strike. It was just as painful as it had thought, though Honou didn’t seem to be as tired as the Sentret. He would be able to go on a bit further than the normal pokemon. It seemed to be huffing away from the attacks. One more might do it, and put an end to this battle.

Battle

---

Wild Sentret | Level 4|
Health : 4/18 22%
Status : Normal, +1 Defense
Used a successful Scratch!

Honou | Level 5|
Health : 10/20: 50%
Status : Normal
Used a Successful Scratch!

---

[Blackbird]

Honou frowned at the Sentret, bouncing on her sharp claws in anticipation. She hadn’t had this much fun in ages! ‘Come on, then! Give it all you’ve got! This is fun!’ she called to the Sentret, eyes sparkling and tail thrashing, the image of a perfect Charmander. Upon hearing her trainer’s call, she charged forward, slashing her claws in preparation for the hit. She dug in her claws when only two bounds away from the brown Pokemon, and leapt forward, slashing through the tough skin of the Sentret.

A smirk snuck onto the fire-types face as she watched the Sentret, knowing the end of the battle was near. She began to slash her claws against each other in anticipation of the next attack, anticipating her trainer’s attack but waiting for the call. So focused on the sharpening of her was she that she completely missed the opponent dashing forward until his needle-like claws tore through her own skin, tearing through several scales.

Haley winced as the weakened Sentret landed a harsh scratch on her Charmander’s body, eyes looking over her body to make sure the wounds weren’t too severe. Honou turned to look at her over her shoulder, tilting her head and nodding, to let the human know that she was alright for another attack. Honou, get out of the way! Come to my side!

Honou nodded, though confused, and spun, dashing towards the crippled human. Once she was safe at her side, the silver haired girl turned to the Sentret, pulling a Pokeball out of her pocket. “Pokeball, go!” she cried, hurling the machine to the Pokemon.

[Tiki]

The Sentret soon found itself hit by a sphere, a human device for capturing Pokemon. Then, it was engulfed by a blinding flash of white light and disappeared into the Pokeball. There was no instinct when the situation calls for dealing with Pokemon capture device. The Pokemon knew it can't Defense Curl away from that thing.

The Pokeball wiggled to the right...

And then it rolled to the left..

Ding! The Sentret was successfully captured. From now on, the furry Pokemon was ready to defend its master, Haley.

---

Honou gained 2 levels for defeating Sentret!
She is now level 7! She learned Ember!

Congratulations! Sentret is captured!
Please fill out the information below:

Sentret
Name:
Gender: Male or Female
Level: 4
Attacks: Scratch, Foresight, Defense Curl
Ability: Run Away or Keen Eye
Nature/Personality:

[img]http://media.pldh.net/pokemon/gen4/hgss/161.png[/img]
[b]Sentret[/b]
Name:
Gender: Male or Female
Level: 4
Attacks: Scratch, Foresight, Defense Curl
Ability: Run Away or Keen Eye
Nature/Personality:

OOC: Pokeball deducted

[Blackbird]

Sentret
Name: Flounder
Gender: Male
Level: 4
Attacks: Scratch, Foresight, Defense Curl
Ability: Keen Eye
Nature/Personality: Naïve

Haley bounced, well, as much as she could bounce on her lame leg, crossing her fingers in hope that the Pokeball wouldn’t fail and the Sentret would be caught. Honou, too, watched the Pokeball, though with a glare more than the hopeful gaze Haley emitted. ‘I don’t want that stupid thing on our team! It’ll just be a liability!’ But, it seemed, that Arceus wasn’t listening to the little fire-types prayers, and the Pokeball rocked once, twice, three times, then stopped with the customary DING!

Haley let out a loud cheer, then darted forward, picking up the enlarged Pokeball from the ground. She turned, and engulfed Honou in a hug. “Thank you thank you THANK YOU!” she cried. “You were amazing! You really gave that Sentret a run for his money! Thank you!” Hon smirked and shrugged, watching as Haley turned to the Pokeball.

She tossed it lightly into the air, watching as the red beam formed into the shape of the sentry Pokemon. The moon-woven haired girl leaned forward, running her hands through the silky fur on the top of its head. “I think you’re a boy… don’t ask me how, I just do. So I think I’ll call you…” She paused for a moment, before remembering how the Pokemon had floundered slightly in the midst of Hon’s Scratch attack. “Flounder!” she chirped, and the Pokemon chirped in agreement. She stood once more, nodding to the pair. “Well then, let’s get going! she called, before beginning to follow the path once more.

[Ŀėx.]

Deeper in Route 29, a trainer sat at the base of a thick, lush tree; the wide brim of his straw hat was tilted down to cover most of his face. He had a half eaten sandwich in one hand, the other reaching out to daringly touch the top of his Weedle's horn with a fingertip. The caterpillar paused squirming and stayed absolutely still, looking up at its trainer trustingly. The trainer smiled and gazed up and around as he finished the last of his meal with a couple bites, revealing more of his young, boyish face. Sticky threads dangled from branches, webbed up in bushes, and clung to a few boulders everywhere. It was obvious they had just gotten done training Weedle's String Shot aim, but it was more than that. A few of the globs almost looked like tripwires and traps. Developing strategy.

It was then he noticed they were not alone. His grin widened and he stood up, dusting off his hands. "Why hello there. My names Don, what's yours? Mind if we battle?" Weedle stared at the Charmander and Sentret then began wiggling its way over. "Weeeeedle-dle."

Bug Catcher Don would like to battle! Bug Catcher Don sends out Weedle (Lvl 3)!
Choose a Pokemon for battle!

[Blackbird]

Haley sighed, crossing her arms beneath her head as she continued her limping walk, letting her thoughts wander. ‘Will I be a good trainer? She wondered. ‘I mean, Honou and Flounder could have easily gotten a better trainer if I hadn’t come along. I’m crippled- I’m slowing them down. She stared at her feet, a lump forming in her throat. Honou took that moment to walk up to her, butting her head against her leg and giving a soft Chaaaar. Haley looked at her, then sighed once more. I’ve dreamt of being a Pokemon trainer since I could hold a Pokeball! I’ll turn my crippled-ness into an advantage! I’m going to become a Pokemon Master! her eyes sparkled, and she released her arms. She reached down and patted Honou.

“We’re going to be a good team, you and me. And Flounder too!” She added, turning to the Sentret, whom bounded up to her. “So long as y’all don’t give up on me, I will never give up on you!” she swore, the pair rubbing against her before bounding ahead… only to have to skid to a stop to prevent themselves from crashing into a boy and his Weedle. Chaaaaaaar! Char Char! Honou called, staring up at the boy. Sentret! Sen Sen! Flounder grumbled, picking himself up from the ground, having fallen over as he stopped.

Haley pushed into the clearing, seeing the webs in the trees along with the boy and his Weedle. As the trainer spoke, she nodded. “Hello, Don. I’m Haley, and I would love to battle! Flounder, let’s show ‘em what you can do! Use Scratch!” Flounder nodded Sentret! Sen! and charged forward, claws at the ready.

[Tiki]

"Sentret-sen!" the furry Pokemon squeaked happily as he prepared for his first battle with the new trainer. The enthusiastic Pokemon ran on its all four as fast as possible to land a scratch with his claws, but he was intercepted by his opponent.

"Weedle, Poison Sting!" Don ordered his bug
Pokemon. The small, yellow worm looked at the Sentret and opened its mouth, firing a barrage of white, thin barbs toward Flounder. Flouder was hit despite his attempt to dodge, being unable to outrun his opponent. The normal Pokemon checked his body for where the poison sting stuck and carefully pull out the stings quickly to avoid being ill from the poison attack.

"Senntreeet!" the normal Pokemon looked at the squishy bug once more and ran again. Then, at last moment, it jumped on its tail and proudly scratched his claws on the Weedle from above. The two Pokemon maintained their distances after the first round, readying themselves for the next exciting move.

"Well, Haley, looks like your Sentret can really scratch!" the kid commented, holding his bug-catching net over his shoulder as he looked at his Pokemon's condition.

---

Don's Weedle- Level 3
9/16
Weedle used a successful Poison Sting!

Haley's Flounder- Level 4
16/18
Flounder used a successful Scratch!

[Blackbird]

Haley smiled softly as she watched her Sentret charge forward, obviously excited about his first battle. Honou leapt into the air, letting out a burst of flame in a cheer. ‘C’mon Flounder, you can do this!’ She cried without thinking. The lunar haired girl turned to the Charmander for a moment. ‘Heh, she chuckled, ‘Hon didn’t want him on our team, and now she’s cheering like a Minun. A battle can change allegiances.’

Her head snapped back up upon hearing Don calling an order to his Weedle. “C’mon Flounder, dodge!” But it seemed she was too late, as the Sentret made a desperate attempt to dodge, but was hit. She nodded approvingly as the Pokemon quickly pulled the spines out before the poison had a chance to do anything. ‘He’s smart,’ she thought.

The small smirk that had twitched her lips turned into a full on grin as the scout Pokemon attacked once more, as though it had never been attack. Her eyes sparkled with pride when it landed the hit, revealing its power.

“Good job!” She called, before turning to Don and nodding. “Thanks!” She turned back to Flounder. “Now, Scratch, one more time!”