Starting Small [Mod, Route 30, Finished]

[alyssaimagine]

The trip to Cherrygrove City was mostly uneventful after promising to help the sick child who gave her Scatterbug to take care of. She'd had to rest a couple of times during the journey, which is something she hadn't anticipated. She didn't realize it was further than she'd originally thought. During rest periods, she let her Pokemon outside of their pokeballs and learned that her Charmander had grown stronger during that fight with Sentret. It was occasionally blowing out a small fireball for Faith to see, obviously very proud of herself. Faith figured it was also sent as a warning to the mischievous Sentret to be on good behavior. In fact, from the moment the Sentret had been released from the pokeball her Charmander had been watching. It became evident that Charmander was taking it upon herself to make sure the Sentret did nothing wrong.

Once the Sentret saw one of Charmander's new fireballs, he was uneasy and tried not to be seen as much as possible. Faith's newest companion, the Scatterbug seemed even more afraid of the ember's Charmander was letting loose, and tried to keep far away, preferring Faith's shoulder. Charmander didn't know what it had done wrong to the Scatterbug, and would on several occasions attempt to make amends. Scatterbug would, unfortunately, have nothing at all to do with the Charmander for the time being and would simply nudge Faith, as if seeking protection whenever Charmander was around. Faith enjoyed watching the interactions between her Pokemon, and her earlier nervousness for capturing such a naughty Pokemon as Sentret had vanished. With Charmander's newfound strength, the Sentret was going to keep in line. For now.

What Faith wasn't aware of was the fact that her Sentret was patient, just as she was. In fact, Sentret was merely biding its time and even hoped (though it hated to admit this, even to himself) that Faith would help him grow stronger. Once he did, well he'd surely be able to beat that Charmander and show her who was boss. Then, maybe he would be able to escape or find some other way to be free again. Like Faith, he hated losing his freedom. Faith wasn't aware of any of this. In fact, she didn't see why the Sentret would be too unhappy. It's not like she constantly kept them inside their pokeballs. She gave them breathing room and a chance to roam around! It was more than she had growing up. After all, how often had she been able to explore outside her house? It's why she couldn't stand the thought of keeping her Pokemon in pokeballs all the time. The isolation they must feel, well the thought would make her shudder. She wanted to give them plenty of breathing room and more freedom than she'd been given while growing up.

Sentret wouldn't see it her way, however. He had not grown up in isolation like Faith had been, and was not at all happy with the newfound leash it had (pokeball). Well, Faith would find it hard to please all of her Pokemon, and it was one of the many tests given to Pokemon Trainers. When she realizes everything, it would be up to her to find a solution.

As soon as Faith entered the city, she was lost. Unfortunately, finding a Pokemon Center wasn't as easy as she would have thought. After all, she'd been isolated her whole life. She didn't even know every street that her hometown had! She didn't know how cities were structured, and while this would later prove to be a small city in comparison to ones she will eventually see, right now this was the biggest place she'd been too. Worse, she was afraid to ask for directions, as her isolation made her nervous when it came to people! That, again, was just one more thing added to the growing list of things she did not expect. Faith hadn't realized just how big of an impact living in isolation would have on her. The amount of times she'd thought about giving up and running back home was enough to make her ashamed, and she doubted she'd ever tell a soul. Faith had wanted freedom and adventure more than anything else, and now that she had it, she was discovering it was more difficult than she'd ever known. She hoped this was only a phase.

After some time, she finally found herself standing in front of the Pokemon Center. She still looked uncertain, as if this might not be the place. She wasn't a hundred percent sure what she should be doing, either. All she knew was that Pokemon Trainers used these places to heal their pokemon. It was referenced many times in the books she'd read at the lab! It wasn't until another person walked in, carrying a hurt Pokemon, that she walked forward. Her steps were slow, following the person in front of her. She watched the interaction between the other person and the nurse, and when it was her turn she attempted to mimic the person as much as possible. Thankfully, there was no issues and before long her Pokemon were healed and her pokeballs were given back to Faith, who sighed in relief at the sight. She thanked the nurse profusely before turning around and leaving the place.

With little money, and no experience, Faith didn't know where Pokemon Trainers stayed inside cities, and was pretty sure they needed money anyway. When night descended, Faith found an empty place and slept there. It was far from comfortable, and she didn't dare let her Pokemon outside of their pokeballs there. It was, however, the best she could mange with limited experience.

The next day approached, and with a restless sleep, Faith was already up and alert. Despite her bad experiences of the day before, she found that she was both eager and excited for the new day. Not every day could be bad, she figured, and hoped that today would be more like one of the days she'd dreamed of. Unfortunately, she realized the weather was anything but good. It was dry enough when she'd first entered the city, but overnight some flooding had occurred. Her shoes were wet, and she worried for her Charmander. If she let her Pokemon out, it would hate the water. Well, Faith knew it was something they would both have to manage together. It wasn't pouring, and it should be safe for her fire type Pokemon, even if it was unpleasant. Faith would just have to be there for her friend.

Faith made her way to route 30, and hoped to test her Pokemon's strength, and maybe even find another Pokemon or two to add to her team!

[Tarlar]

It had really been a wet and cold night for Faith, a shame she hadn't asked inside the Pokemon Center as they usually had rooms for the trainers, and if not or Faith didn't have the funds to pay for such, Nurse Joy would certainly had found some other solution had she known the need!
Faith's stomach probably begun to complain about being hungry soon as well, since she might not haven had the time, or the money to get something to eat since she had left her home the day earlier. There was a lot of things to think of and plan as a trainer, which wasn't not only about training the pokemon themselves, but that wouldn't discourage Faith today as she found her way to the route leading towards Violet City to do some more exploring.

Luckily the flooding wasn't covering all and if Faith and her pokemon were watchful they could avoid getting their feet too wet. It was muddy and some places were more swampy especially the hollows which wasn't full of water already, and more than once they would have to take a detour from their route since they were met by large puddle of water.
A lesser river ran through the area and it looked like it was the culprint as it had overflown its banks, although it really must have rained a lot nearby for this much water to end here, or perhaps the flow was blocked further down the river.

A brown chubby pokemon was getting out of one of the new small lakes and shook its fur to get dry, it sniffed around looking hungry, and then disappointed. The flood had hidden or washed away most of its food sources and it was hungry since it hadn't eaten since the day before.
It noticed Faith and froze warily, but then brightened up and came running over only to stop in a safe distance.
"Bidoof bidoof!" It called out to them, and then turned to run back a bit, before stopping and looking at them expectantly.
"Doof!" "I wanna show you something!" It called out eagerly for Faith's pokemon to understand.

It would lead them a short distance, and it was thoughtful enough for it to be mostly through dry ground, until they reached the new shore of the river. There it called out over the water and then stepped back eagerly, looking between Faith and the water.
Something blue appeared and a head of a dull looking pokemon appeared and looked around slowly.
"Siiiire," it said with a faint smile when it noticed the trainer and then it disappeared under the water.
The moments ticked by without anything happening, the bidoof fidgeted but kept reassuring they just had to wait a little bit longer.
Then the quagsire broke through the water surface and swam to shore and slowly got out of the water. It walked to Faith in a leisure pace and bidoof stared hungrily at what it was carrying in its arm. There were some round objects which Faith would have a hard time to see what was before she was handed them by the water pokemon. As soon as she had expected it turned around and walked back to the water only to dive below and disappear.

Oh lucky! You met a Quagsire!

It gives you a Sitrus Berry, a Pearl, and a Pokeball!

The bidoof sniffed and then warily moved closer, its eyes fixated on the berry that Faith had been given. It smacked its lips hungrily and then took a battle stance.
Bi-bidoof! "I want yo battle you for that berry!" It declared now she had food and it was worth the fight for it. Quagsire's only gave stuff to humans for some weird reason but the bidoof knew how to use that for its own purpose now it had been lucky to see on while it had been foraging.

Bidoof [lvl 7] wants to battle you for the Sitrus Berry.
What do you do?

Shiny? uMTrd60U1-421-42

[alyssaimagine]

It was tougher being a Pokemon Trainer than she had imagined. Her stomach growled, and while she was used to being isolated, she wasn't used to being hungry. She had always been fed, clothed, and cared for by her mother growing up. While the two certainly didn't always see eye to eye when it came to her freedom, Faith had at the very least been cared for. Her mother could hardly be accused of being neglectful. In fact, she had been around so much that were times it made Faith want to go insane. There was nothing that Faith could do on her own. Even while at the Pokemon Lab, she'd made sure someone was there to hover over her while there. Still, it was the most free she'd been growing up. At least it hadn't been her mother watching her, and she'd managed to make friends with the lab worker.

Worse than her own hunger, however, was that of her Pokemon's. Faith had never been in charge, and granted so much responsibility before. All she'd ever had to do was think about herself, and she had never really considered how inexperienced she was. Taking on the task of being a Pokemon Trainer wasn't easy: she always had to be aware of her Pokemon too. Some people may not care about their Pokemon companions and abuse them, but Faith wasn't really aware of those kinds of people, and she most certainly never would abuse her Pokemon. At least, she would never do it on purpose.

Almost as soon as Charmander was out of her Pokeball, her stomach had rumbled too. Worse, she had looked up at Faith expectantly and was obviously downcast when she realized Faith had nothing to offer. Her Sentret wasn't as bad off as the rest of them, though. He'd been used to living on his own, and sometimes he'd see something within the bushes and scurry off. Her Charmander always followed after to make sure he wasn't trying to run away. The Sentret would often come out with a mushroom in its mouth, which it wouldn't share with the rest. Instead, he would tease the other two Pokemon with his treasures before eating them. Faith knew that she needed to do something. Pokemon Trainers made money, though she wasn't really sure what they did to make it. Was it challenging gyms? Was that the only way to make money? If so, how could she make her Pokemon train like that without food in their stomachs?

Faith had a hard enough time without food, she couldn't imagine having to battle on an empty stomach. That's when she noticed some movement. She glanced over and spotted a Bidoof. She'd seen the Pokemon in the books she'd read. They were common enough, and was hardly a Pokemon she'd considered before. Not because she didn't think it was cute, only that she was aware it would be hard to train too many at one time and she'd had others she dreamed of. However, it would be a good Pokemon to help train hers up and the faster she could train them, they faster they might be able to pay for food. She reached into her pocket and took out the PokeDex the Professor had given her, then pointed at it, clicked, and looked over the information given. Just as she was putting the PokeDex away, her Pokemon began following after it.

Her head had been down, and focused on putting the PokeDex away, so couldn't have seen the Pokemon motioning for them and trying to get their attention. Her Pokemon weren't slow, however, and Sentret was the first one to follow after the other Pokemon as if it were seeking some sort of opportunity. Faith looked up, surprised to see her Pokemon following the Bidoof, and hurried to catch up to them. She had no idea what had gotten into them, since all of them had followed her earlier. Maybe they wanted to eat the bidoof? Faith frowned and dismissed the thought. Her Scatterbug was following behind just as much as they were, and she highly doubted it wanted to eat a bidoof. Still, she couldn't figure out this sudden change of events, and could nothing more but to follow them.

Eventually, they came to a stop. Faith glanced at bidoof who appeared to want to say something, then witnessed a surprising sight. A blue head was making its way out of the water, and she took out the PokeDex to take the info. It was rare for these parts, she realized. What was more surprising, however, was the Pokemon making its way over to her. She could hardly understand what had to be so intriguing about a mere human on a Pokemon's territory, especially a rookie Trainer. Even more surprising, it handed her some items before disappearing back into the water. Faith couldn't help but to me stunned by the whole situation, and could only stare at the spot the blue Pokemon had been only seconds earlier.

Blinking her eyes several times, she glanced around slowly. Had she been seeing things? That wasn't normal was it? She closed her hands into a fist and felt the items there. No, it couldn't have been her imagine. She opened her hand and glanced down at the items. One was a berry, and probably delicious for a Pokemon. Another was a Pokeball, which was always a welcome sight to a Trainer. After all, if she ever ran out of Pokeballs, she wouldn't be able to add more to her team or fulfill the promise she'd given the Professor. The next was confusing, and she didn't know what it was for sure. Maybe it was something she could sell. In one of the books she'd read, she was fairly certain she'd seen something written about it, if she were not mistaken. She stuffed the items into her pocket, before the Bidoof caught her attention again. It had pointed at the berry in its hand, and it looked as hungry as her own Pokemon.

Faith felt bad for it, but knew a battle was always good. She grinned at the Pokemon. "We can battle, and if you win, you'll get the berry. If I win, why don't you come with us?" She asked it. Of course, she had no idea if the Pokemon would understand any of that.

Her Charmander charged forward, but Faith shook her head slightly. "We need to train the others too. Stand back Charmander," she said, then glanced over at Scatterbug. "Scatterbug, go forward and use Stringshot." She figured slowing it down may be a good idea.

[Caramell 🍬]

The furry brown beaver began digging its feet into the ground. It grunted out excited and competitive noises as the wild normal type Pokemon challenged the pale young woman and her Pokemon for the berry. Drool formed at the corner of the wild Bidoof’s lips, an obvious sign that the furry little beaver really wanted that berry. The flame-tailed orange lizard seemed as though the Bidoof would have a worth adversary, but the taller human trainer easily stepped in and stopped her Pokemon with a shake of her head and a stern command.

What?! The Bidoof was furious that the trainer would stop the battle! Before the wild Pokemon took the time to see the fresh new trainer pull out another Pokeball and summon the small black larval worm-like Pokemon, the Bidoof began to stomp and jump about. It zipped through puddles of muddied water from where the recent flooding had covered the route. With an erratic dash, sprays of mud and sand kicked up everywhere – not as any attack, but more as a statement. A cry from a Pokemon that wanted that berry. Why did the Quagsire always share with the human trainers anyways?!

Then the Bidoof turned and huffed heavily. It began to dig at the ground with one leg in warning, and it was evident that the furry brown beaver was about to run towards the young trainer whether she liked it or not. It wasn’t long, however, that the Bidoof’s targeted path would be intercepted by the small bug Pokemon as Alyssa summoned another Pokemon. “Doof Biddd! Bidoof! Bid Bidoof?” It bellowed, stating, “How dare you not fight me! I want that berry! Why would I join you?”

Bam! Faith’s Scatterbug flew back as the Bidoof’s head slammed directly into the Scatterbug’s body and it made direct contact with the little larval Pokemon. Scatterbug flew up and backwards on the battlefield, landing with a skrrrtttt across the ground. It squealed out from the powerful Tackle, rolled back onto its short little limbs, and shot out a thick web of sticky, stringy goo. The Bidoof tried to jump and squirm away but only seemed to make it worse as the Scatterbug’s string shot covered the Bidoof as it attempted to slow the hyperactive beaver down.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Flooding [Water Sport]

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Wild Bidoof

LV 7
HP 100% [27/27]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Faith's Scatterbug

LV 5
HP 65% [13/20]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Bidoof [Ability] ^{SPD: 11 5}: Normal _{-2 SPD}
Faith's Scatterbug [Compoundeyes] ^{SPD: 10}: Normal

<Bidoof used Tackle. Scatterbug used String Shot. Bidoof's speed has fallen by 2 stages!>

[alyssaimagine]

Faith may have been hungry, but at the moment she didn't mind all that much. Without pressure from someone crying beside her, the battle was more interesting. She was able to focus entirely on the situation at hand, instead of her thoughts being consistently interrupted by a crying child. Her Charmander sulked over to her. Charmander raised her tiny hands and gently yanked on Faith's pants, and pointed to the battle. Faith knew that her new friend was likely excited and wanted to fight, which was great news to Faith. She didn't want to force her Pokemon to fight, she'd rather they be as eager to grow as she was. Besides, forcing a Pokemon to fight may make them dislike her! That was hardly something she wanted.

What she didn't know was that Charmander was clearly concerned for the tiny bug Pokemon. Charmander could tell the bug was small, and not very strong. After all, this was the bug's first fight and that Bidoof looked far too strong to take on. All of this was very clear to her Charmander, but perhaps not to Faith. Her Sentret watched the battle, more interested in the fight and not at all caring about the outcome. Sentret figured he could learn a thing or two from the fight. After all, his goal was to become stronger so he'd be able to take down that Charmander and see about an escape plan! In the meantime, he needed to figure out a way to make Faith use him battle to make him stronger.

Of course, Sentret was hardly envious of the little worm Pokemon. This fight looked like something that Sentret couldn't take on, and he somehow doubted the little worm was in a much better position. What he wished was that Charmander could face a foe too powerful and lose. Sentret would love that! Then he'd gather a ton of mushrooms and eat it right in from him, it would be a mushroom feast! And he'd chortle and tease the Charmander. These dreams were beautiful for the Sentret, and he'd momentarily forgotten his goal to watch the fight and become stronger. It wasn't until the Bidoof tackled the worm Pokemon that Sentret was shocked back to reality. Even though he hardly cared for the worm Pokemon, he couldn't help flinch at the impact. Sentret had been correct: that worm Pokemon couldn't fight against that Bidoof!

Sentret glanced over at his trainer, and did his best attempt at a glare. Unfortunately, Faith wasn't looking at him at all. Instead, she was focused on the battle at hand. None of this made the Sentret feel any better. What if she sent him out against an opponent that he could not beat? Sentret preferred challenges in which he stood a chance, which he doubted was the case here.

"Char, Char," her Charmander pleaded, tugging on her pants once more.

Faith was well aware that this wasn't a battle the Scatterbug could win, but she'd read some books and it was common practice for trainers to switch out Pokemon. Still, she couldn't help but to feel uncertain. When her Scatterbug had taken that tackle, it had most definitely looked painful and she wondered if the little bug could handle another. To her surprise, the bug got back up and looked mostly fine. A little worse for wear, but she was fine. That still didn't make Faith's decision any easier. While she had set this up on purpose, she hadn't realized that book knowledge didn't mean experience. How was she supposed to tell that enough was enough? How was she supposed to know when to keep fighting?

Besides, if done wrong switching could be a bad play too. She'd read that. She was aware of that, but she needed to start somewhere. Faith knew that switching in a new Pokemon left them open to attack. She should try and have the other Pokemon damaged some before switching, though, right? Could Scatterbug handle that? Well, if she didn't test things out, how would Faith ever learn? Of course, if she failed this would make things harder. It would be harder to trust her decisions, and what she didn't realize was that her Pokemon's trust depended on her making the right actions. Right now they were all still learning about each other, and no trust was given yet. Mistakes were easier to make down the road, because the Pokemon would know that most of the time they would be fine.

How could they trust her when they lose so easily? If she didn't keep failing, she'd be able to gain their trust back later on, but it would certainly complicate things going forward if she made the wrong choices now. Unfortunately, she was still a new trainer and bound to make some mistakes. How could she tell if the Pokemon could keep fighting if she never tested those limits? With any luck, things would be fine. Faith grit her teeth, decision made. She was determined to stick this out and see how it goes. Certainly, she would know when it was too much?

"Scatterbug, tackle!" She used that calm, strict tone of voice. The one she hoped made her sound like a leader, someone capable of these responsibilities.

[Caramell 🍬]

The sticky bug goo covered the Bidoof all over it seemed! The wild beaver tried to move but it felt sluggish and slower thanks to the stringy substance that stuck onto various parts of its body. The furry brown Pokemon turned its head to its side and used its overgrown incisors to pull and prod off tufts of fur raveled up in thick balls of sticky stringy bug goo. It spat it out with a grimaced yuck! look on its face and huffed belligerently at the Scatterbug.

“Bidoof bid!” “Good move!” It shot at its opponent as it snorted and spat out yet another stringy ball conglomerate of bug goo and beaver fur off into the tall grass. “Bid Bidoof doof! Bidoof Bidoof.” “But I’m quite hungry! You won’t win.” A simple warning as the Bidoof’s stomach rumbled and roared underneath it. The timid Scatterbug rushed forward, faster due to the Bidoof’s slowed down speed, and rammed its body into Bidoof’s chest.

The Bidoof coughed from the strong attack and shook its head. The brown beaver hacked away for a short moment, catching its breath before it clawed at the dirt earth once more. The Bidoof pulled back the ends of its lips up into a grimaced and angry face. As its jaws parted, the furry brown beaver growled out as loud and imposingly as it could. In its attack, the growl seemed to lament of the Bidoof’s pent of frustration for the berry.


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Flooding [Water Sport]

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Wild Bidoof

LV 7
HP 88% [24/27]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Faith's Scatterbug

LV 5
HP 65% [13/20]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Bidoof [Ability] ^{SPD: 11 5}: Normal _{-2 SPD}
Faith's Scatterbug [Compoundeyes] ^{SPD: 10}: Normal _{-1 ATT}

<Scatterbug used Tackle. Bidoof used Growl. Scatterbug's attack was lowered one stage!>

[alyssaimagine]

For a few minutes, the Scatterbug looked rather proud of itself. After all, the odds were stacked against her and she felt that she was doing a very good job! That Bidoof didn't look too pleased with the bug's work, which was kind of the point. "Scatter!" It chittered, teasing the bidoof playfully. It was obvious the Scatterbug was enjoying herself and found this to be a rather interesting game. "Bug, bug!" It said, crawling around, as if dancing. It liked that all the goo had covered the Bidoof. It made the big Pokemon slower, and she found it a rather amusing sight.

Naturally, the Bidoof was far from agreeing with her and appeared a little agitated. None of that would bother the Scatterbug, however. She had never experienced a real fight before, and the thrill of bothering an opponent was wonderful. She hadn't expected it to be. The little Scatterbug didn't want to hurt other Pokemon too much! It just wasn't all that nice to do, now was it? However, giving minor ailments, annoying them, well all of that felt fun! It was good to play. Scatterbug didn't take any of it all that seriously at all. It just wanted nothing more than to play with the opponent.

It was unfortunate that the opponent rarely agreed with that. Bidoof proved that this was the case when it let out a hair raising growl that made the Scatterbug very unhappy, and she couldn't help but to look down. She didn't even want to meet the Bidoof's gaze anymore. It was as if she felt all of that frustration and it just seemed to melt some of Scatterbug's will to fight. Instead of looking at the opponent, the Scatterbug looked over at her trainer imploringly. She didn't want to fight against that mean old Bidoof! It was too loud and didn't enjoy the game one bit!

Faith wasn't all that aware of what her Pokemon were thinking. She was a new trainer, and she hadn't grown up interacting with Pokemon like many other children had. Everything was too new to her. She did, however, understand the ability the Bidoof had used and had seen the rather pitiful attack the bug had dealt it last time. That was fine, of course. Scatterbug was still young and inexperienced. None of her Pokemon were all that strong yet, and Faith knew the only way to help them get stronger was by battle experience. She had never meant for the bug to stay in the whole time, though she had hoped the bug could have been there longer. However, with a weakened attack, it wouldn't be able to do much damage anymore and would only get hurt again in the process.

She took out Scatterbug's pokeball, and contemplated the situation only a little longer. In the end, she knew it was the best idea. If it couldn't hurt the Bidoof much, wouldn't it just be prey to the enemy? Wouldn't the little bug be afraid to fight again if it faced such a hopeless situation? "Come back and rest, Scatterbug," Faith said. "You did good!" She didn't want the bug to feel bad, after all! It was only for experience, and Faith hoped her bug had learned something in the process. Both she had the bug were still learning, and Faith needed to see what the bug could do. The lowered speed was a good boon for the rest of her Pokemon, and so Faith knew it was good. She glanced over at her Sentret, and figured that she should test it too. Even if it was naughty, it was one of her Pokemon now too.

"Go Sentret, use Scratch!" Faith said, not taking her eyes off of the Sentret.

The Sentret had wanted to get stronger. This was true. However, it knew the Bidoof was stronger than he was and would rather pick fights where he was at least equal. He saw no use in this 'battle experience' thing when the opponent was stronger than he was. At first, the Sentret had every intention of disobeying Faith's command. Why should he listen to her, after all? Some rookie trainer who just wanted to send them out to get hurt! Hah! Sentret knew how to choose battles far more wisely and didn't want to do what the trainer asked of it.

Unfortunately, Faith had left her Charmander out. Charmander had never been part of the fight before, sure, but Faith kept her Pokemon out of the pokeballs as much as possible. So it was on the sidelines, and right next to her. In fact, the moment Faith had told Sentret to go out and attack, the Charmander had looked at Sentret, as if making sure it would obey the trainer. Sentret sniffed the air once and had the desire to flick sand at the Charmander's eyes, but he knew it would do little. Worse, that Charmander still knew how to use fire and Sentret did not wish to get burned. Certainly, the Bidoof couldn't do anything that would hurt as much as getting burned by a Charmander.

"Sent! Ret!" The Sentret said, showing his annoyance at the situation. Then it ran over to the opponent and hoped to catch it off guard. Then it raked its long claws across the opponents face. Fine, the Sentret would show all of them! He wouldn't get bullied by a Charmander, nor this Bidoof!

((OOC: Switched out Scatterbug and put in Sentret. Sentret used Tackle. I looked at the battle guide and if I read it correctly, you can do a switch and attack same turn, though that means Bidoof gets two moves. Just making sure I did it right, and clarified the switch out.))

[Caramell 🍬]

Where Faith and her team each had their own logic and reasoning for the battle, the Bidoof simply wanted food. If this meant that the furry brown beaver had to face off with each of Faith’s Pokemon – from the black larval bug, to the rotund furry rabbit, and eventually even the flame-tailed lizard that the Bidoof could see standing on the sidelines – then so be it. It chattered low incoherent sounds that basically conveyed an ‘I’m hungry’ meaning. The Bidoof was always hungry, however. The Bidoof smirked, digging its feet into the ground, and even pulling out long blades of grass by their roots.

The tiny black bug Pokemon was weak and wouldn’t have faired long. Whatever the Bidoof was planning, evident by the rttrttrttrrtrttt of the Bidoof furry paws against the ground as it reared for another attack, it would be thrown off. Quite literally, in fact. The fluffy furry beaver started in a sprint-long job towards its prey until a bright red light caused the wild normal type to come to a skittering halt. As Faith released her next Pokemon – a rotund fluffy brown Pokemon with long brown ears that resembled something between a rabbit, a ferret, and a tanuki, the furry beaver Pokemon would drop down and curl up into a tight ball.

A bright sheen light covered and coated the Bidoof. This defensive curl would strengthen the Bidoof’s defenses, making the thick furry Pokemon even more of a tank. What in the world was going on? It hadn’t planned on another Pokemon being released. It was so shocked that it had literally stopped and dropped into a tough ball in the middle of a puddle of mud. The fluffy furry wild Pokemon would leap up with a huff, feeling invigorated by its buffered defenses, to face off with this new opponent. “Doof doof, Bidoof.” “I will have that berry.” It chattered away bravely.

The furry brown rabbit moved in and used its sharp claws to rake against the Bidoof. Ouch! That smarted! The fluffy furry Pokemon’s claws caught the wild beaver on the side of its belly and ripped across the Bidoof’s furry hide, tearing out thick tufts of fur. The Bidoof howled, reared back, and rammed its thick skull into the Sentret. The furry brown Beaver managed to ram its head like a battering ram into the side of Sentret’s neck, just above its right shoulder blade. Take that! This Sentret had some nerve, ripping and tearing through Bidoof and messing up its already muddied fur.


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Flooding [Water Sport]

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Wild Bidoof

LV 7
HP 77% [21/27]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Faith's Sentret

LV 4
HP 61% [11/18]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Bidoof [Ability] ^{SPD: 11 5}: Normal _{-2 SPD | +1 DEF}
Faith's Sentret [Keen Eye] ^{SPD: 7}: Normal

Notes: Scatterbug [HP: 13/20]

<Scatterbug switches out; Sentret switches in. Bidoof uses Defense Curl. Bidoof's Defense increased 1 stage. Sentret used Scratch. Bidoof used Tackle.>

[alyssaimagine]

"Sent! Sent Ret!" The Sentret glared at the Bidoof in response to the curl. He was absolutely livid with the other Pokemon. Did he think little of the Sentret, that he wasn't worthy of an attack? That he couldn't withstand the other Pokemon's strength? Well, it was probably to, but the Sentret hated to be looked down on. Besides, he was well aware of the fact that things were going to be more difficult for him now. That made the other Pokemon harder to break through, which meant his claws weren't going to do much more damage. With a rather large grin, he wondered if even that annoying Charmander's ember could do much damage against this Pokemon. It would be thrilling to see Charmander smacked to the ground.

Sentret cleared his head and stared at his opponent. He didn't bother looking back at his trainer. He didn't like her much right now! After all, she was the one who'd taken his freedom and his stuffed Charmander toy! It would take a lot to forgive the annoying human for that, if it was even possible. How dare she steal his treasure? It had been funny seeing the human boy cry too! It had been such a marvelous day back then before she'd ruined everything. His train of thought was what made him completely unprepared for the Bidoof's retaliation to his claws. Suddenly, he was rammed by the Bidoof and nearly lost his breath for a moment! Today was not the Sentret's day, either.

"Sent!" He cried out in anger, shaking his little fist at the Bidoof.

Faith watched the match calmly, and winced at the Bidoof's attack. She glanced over to the side and wondered how her Charmander would fare against the Bidoof. She wondered if it would be difficult or easy. Were they a match? She glanced back at the Bidoof, and contemplated the scenario. If worse came to worse, she would capture it. Faith had said she was going to earlier, but had doubts about it now. Wouldn't it be better to find a more willing companion? Of course, it would hardly hurt, either. The Professor needed more Pokemon captured, because it held more information then. Still, Bidoof was never one of the Pokemon she'd dreamed of capturing back at home, either. She had a large list of Pokemon she wanted. After all, what else could she do with her time when always isolated? She could only dream about her Pokemon Journey!

Faith looked at her Sentret, and wondered if he would be able to fight much longer. Should she send him back right now and let him rest? Could he withstand the attacks of the other Pokemon? Faith wasn't all that sure, but she knew that it was best to test her Pokemon right now. How else was she going to learn what she needed to? She didn't want her Sentret to get hurt badly, either. He had an awful personality, but he was her responsibility and she was determined to take care of her Pokemon. Besides, he was already unhappy with the capture, and she wasn't sure that she could ever earn his trust if he lost on top of that. She had to be careful.

"Sentret, hang in there!" She said, hoping to make the little Sentret more energized. "Now, use Scratch!"

The Sentret, if it could laugh, would be right at the moment. The stupid human telling him to hang in there? Hmph! He didn't need any stupid humans telling him that! Besides, one day he was going to be powerful and then he was going to be stronger than that dumb Charmander by her side. He didn't need her being so repulsively nice! Still, he was well aware of the fact that Charmander could still choose to burn him. Even though he was hardly happy with the situation, he wanted to make the Bidoof pay for hurting him earlier too. He charged in the Bidoof's location, paused only to scratch the other side of the Bidoof's face, then stepped back. If one could see and understand's a Pokemon's expression, one would notice the grin on the Sentret's face. "Ret! Ret! Ret!" He said, chittering happily. This roughly translated to, "Hah! Take that, I bet that hurt!"

[Caramell 🍬]

The tiny black bug’s sticky bug goo still clung to various parts of the brown beaver’s pelt. It would appear as though the Scatterbug would remain very much apart of this battle, even if its trainer had removed it from the fight. The wild beaver had to stop to bend and contort itself so that it could nibble and pull off tufts of matted fur with thick clumps of the Scatterbugs string shot. This slowed the Bidoof down considerably, and it caused him to gripe and complain at just barely above a whisper as he moved and shifted through the grass.

This new adversary had a much different personality from the Scatterbug. Whereas the Bidoof generally considered the Scatterbug as a bump along his path, the fluffy furry beaver had to wonder if this Sentret was all bark and no bite, or if the wild Bidoof should consider and heed his words cautiously. They danced in the grass, with the Bidoof trying to backup and side-step with the Sentret, who moved swiftly and nimbly on his feet. But the wild beaver’s movements were much too slow – too slow to get the edge, and too slow to avoid the next strike. "Doof doof, bid?" "You think you're tough?"

The Sentret seized his moment as the Bidoof shuffled up against a medium sized rock that was slightly bigger than the wild Pokemon. Faith’s Sentret moved in and used his sharp nails to cut deep into the Bidoof’s fur. The Sentret caught the wild Beaver just on the soft part of its belly and caused the Bidoof Pokemon to yelp out in pain. The cut was deep, taking much more than just fur as the Sentret landed a critical hit on its opponent. In a fit of fright and pain, the Bidoof tackled its opponent and rammed its head up against the Sentret’s chest to create enough of a space to slink around the large rock and gain more open ground. "Bidoof bid bidoof?!" "Are you crazy or just mean?!"

Man, this was a lot of work for just a berry. That berry better be worth it!


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Flooding [Water Sport]

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Wild Bidoof

LV 7
HP 55% [15/27]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Faith's Sentret

LV 4
HP 11% [2/18]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Bidoof [Ability] ^{SPD: 11 5}: Normal _{-2 SPD | +1 DEF}
Faith's Sentret [Keen Eye] ^{SPD: 7}: Normal

Notes: Scatterbug [HP: 13/20]

<Sentret used Scratch. It was a critical hit! Bidoof used Tackle.>

[alyssaimagine]

While Sentret had no intention of joining this fight initially, that didn't mean he wanted to give up now. The Bidoof had hurt him! That just wasn't acceptable and Sentret felt that the annoying Bidoof needed to pay for his crimes! Besides, if he came out on the losing side maybe Faith would never make him fight again. Which meant he would always be weaker, and that just wasn't acceptable. If he stayed at his current strength, how would he ever be able to overthrow that annoying Charmander?! No, Sentret had a goal and he was going to pay that Bidoof back for those painful tackles. Sentret would show Bidoof that he was no pushover! He raised a tiny fist and flexed his claws at the Bidoof.

"Ret ret ret!" He chortled, still flexing his claws.

He was hurt, though. His body ached all over, and despite his showy attitude, it was hard to stand on his legs. He was feeling faint, and by now he probably wanted that berry more than the annoying Bidoof ever would. He had been fighting on an empty stomach, after all! He was hurt, tired, and hungry. All in all, it was a terrible mix. He didn't realize he was wavering, unable to even stand straight. He was still absolutely determined that this Bidoof would pay, so he paid no mind to his injuries. He wanted nothing more than to rake his claws against that annoying Bidoof again.

Faith was paying attention to the fight, however, and knew her Sentret was injured. Even if the Sentret didn't notice his swaying, Faith most certainly did and she felt that was a very bad sign. Her Charmander even looked a little worried, though not so much that she would pull on Faith's pants. Charmander cared some for the worm, but felt the Sentret deserved a little pain here and there. Still, the Sentret was one of her team mates, and it would hurt all of them to see him faint. That would be a heavy blow to the fight and Charmander didn't want that.

"Come back, Sentret. You did great." Faith said, her voice as reassuring as she could manage it.

Naturally, this was going to surprise the Sentret. In fact, he had heard her wrong. He was just about to deliver another attack when the light surrounded him instead. Faith turned to her Charmander, and smiled at it. Hopefully, her friend would be able to finish this off without much pain.

"Go Charmander," she encouraged her friend. "Use Ember!"

Charmander looked at Faith for just a moment, before jumping into the fight to replace Sentret. Charmander would show the rest of the team how to fight an annoying Bidoof! She glared at the Bidoof in front of her. "Charmander! Char!" She scolded the Bidoof, before letting loose her Ember attack. It was a new attack, and she still wasn't great at making sure it hit exactly where she wanted to. She aimed for the Bidoof's stomach and hoped for the best. Hopefully, Charmander would finish this fight quickly! She was sure Faith wanted the same thing!

((OOC: Switched Sentret, Charmander is now out and used Ember. Sorry, last two posts haven't been great. Been fighting a bad headache for a couple of days lol))

[Caramell 🍬]

The wild beaver and the furry brown Sentret danced through the tall blades of grass. The melting snow from the previous winter created large puddles of muddy water that scattered about on the route. The Bidoof had carelessly ran through them at odd intervals, though mostly the wild Pokemon did so in an attempt either to attack or to escape its enemies. Its small beady eyes narrowed down cautiously on the daring and brave Sentret, who flexed his claws tauntingly at the wild Pokemon. The Bidoof dug his foot into the wet earth, pulling out blades of grass as it upturned thick clumps of dirt. It grumbled underneath its breath, a short and terse sound that mimicked the pain aching through the wild beaver’s sides and stomach.

It wasn’t out, just hurt. Once it had managed to defeat all of Faith’s Pokemon, the Bidoof would be able to successfully claim the berry for itself. “Bidoof doof. Doof bid bid doof?” “You’re weak. Are you sure you can fight?” As the Bidoof started to question the determined Sentret who chose to ignore its trainer’s commands, a beam of bright red light engulfed the furry brown tanuki and recalled it back into a Pokeball. What in the world?! The Bidoof bellowed out a war cry and started rushing towards its opponent.

The wild beaver would trounce through the thick grass and open water puddles, kicking up mud and water in all directions as it would ram its head into the flame-tailed orange lizard chest. The fire-breath scaly Pokemon fired back, building a flaming ball of ember within its mouth that it released to alight the Bidoof on fire. The Fire was weakened by the watery environment, however, but still managed to burn, and singe the Bidoof’s thick fur, causing the Pokemon to cry out. The Bidoof roared out a deafeningly cute and disarming growl, sending echoing soundwaves that would further dig at and weaken the Charmander’s strong attacks.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Flooding [Water Sport]

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Wild Bidoof

LV 7
HP 44% [12/27]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Faith's Charmander

LV 7
HP 75% [18/24]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Bidoof [Ability] ^{SPD: 11 5}: Normal _{-2 SPD | +1 DEF}
Faith's Charmander [Keen Eye] ^{SPD: 16}: Normal _{-1 ATT}

Notes: Scatterbug [HP: 13/20]; Sentret [HP: 2/18]

<Scatterbug switches places with Charmander! Bidoof used Tackle. Charmander used Ember. The Flooding environment seems to have weakened its attack... Bidoof uses Growl.>

[alyssaimagine]

The Flooding! How could Faith forget something like that? The books had mentioned it, and she'd read all those lab books so often she figured there would be nothing she should worry about. Yet, she'd forgotten something so obvious. Her Charmander was a fire Pokemon, and the flood was going to make her attacks weakened. In fact, her Charmander was probably a little uncomfortable with all of the water. Sure, it wasn't a horrible flood yet. They could manage to walk and avoid most of the water and keep dry, but it was probably enough to be uncomfortable for a fire Pokemon. Especially a fire Pokemon who was just as new to all of this as she was. Faith felt a little guilty now for her Pokemon, knowing she was putting her through all of this.

Faith knew it was good experience for all of them, though. Later on, the flooding may make her attacks weaker, but maybe it wouldn't be uncomfortable too. Faith also felt a little bad for the Bidoof. He only wanted to eat a berry! Yet, he met Faith's entire team and it was never going to be fun to fight against a Pokemon that could burn you! She'd accidentally touched a hot stove when she was younger and it was extremely unpleasant. It was definitely not something she wanted to try out again any time soon. Still, Pokemon were somehow different from humans. While Pokemon did have mortal lives like humans did, they could withstand a lot more too. That Bidoof, for instance, looked ready to continue fighting even after his brown fur had been singed by her Charmander.

That little guy must be really hungry... Faith thought. For it to continue and never seem to tire down, she could only imagine it had to be severe hunger that kept driving it. Unless it really liked to fight? She glanced at her Charmander and then back at the Bidoof. What should I do? She questioned herself, drumming her fingers on her arm. She didn't want this fight to keep going. She'd much rather end it now and get her Pokemon back to be healed. If she could sell the object the other Pokemon had dropped, well maybe they could eat too. If they were going to continue training, how could Faith expect her Pokemon to keep going on an empty stomach? Hers was rumbling, as if in agreement. She knew they all really needed to go and eat.

Besides, she could always transfer the Bidoof to the Professor at some point. In fact, she was almost positive the Bidoof would have a much more pleasant time over there than with Faith. It could probably eat often at the Professors. If she sent it through the PC did it just stay in a Pokeball forever? Too many thoughts were racing through her head at the moment, and she needed to make a quick decision before the Bidoof decided things for her and attacked her Charmander. Faith couldn't allow herself to be so unfocused! She needed to concentrate on the situation and deal with it.

"Charmander, use Scratch!" Faith said.

It was best to keep going a little longer. It wasn't really a Pokemon she wanted, after all, and it hardly looked like it wanted to accompany her. As it was, she already had Sentret who was unhappy with its capture, and he was already one normal type Pokemon. It was not going to make it on her main team, and she doubted even Sentret would later on. It was best to get this over with, but if needed, she would capture it to end the fight sooner.

Charmander almost looked relieved when she heard Faith's command. Charmander wanted to show the annoying Badger its place after it had just attacked her! That had hurt! Even if her newly acquired flame wasn't up to par, well she figured her claws would leave a bigger mark than the silly Sentret she had to watch over. Charmander grinned at the Pokemon, before running over and raking its claws against the left side of the Bidoof. She wasn't about to let this Pokemon off easily! Besides, how dare this Pokemon want the berry her trainer had acquired?! It should belong to one of them, not this Bidoof stranger! She didn't want anything to do with a thief! She was hungry herself, why should this Pokemon get what should be one of her team mates? How did that make any sense at all? She would show him!

((Charmander uses Scratch.))

[Tarlar]

Bidoof was beginning to feel this fight as well at least it was so soaked that the embers hadn't done that much damage to it as they had been put out quickly. It was frustrated that they hadn't followed its brilliant plan for them to meet the quagsire so they got something it could eat, and then being beaten easily so it could get breakfast!
Had the normal type beaver known that the human was planning its future without its input it would probably have been more angry, especially since it didn't know what the things would mean to it, nor that it probably give it a much easier life. It clearly didn't know much about trainers and their pokemon, since it had seemed to not understand what the red recall light meant, and that challenging a trainer could result in having you to face up against six other pokemon in a row.

The human shouted again and bidoof had understood it meant that her pokemon would be attacking, and it it tensed. It had given up on trying to out speed them, that stupid bug's strings still clung to it and made moving painful and hindered it. It did attempt to dodge to one side when Charmander got in close but it failed and stumbled over its own feet instead. It tensed and blinked surprised when Charmander's claws only lightly touched its skin, it could feel they were sharp but Charmander clearly hadn't put much force behind it.
The fire lizard got a headbutt straight to the stomach which made her stagger backwards into a puddle. It made her legs and bottom of her tail brown and uncomfortable wet.

Bidoof smirked. "Doof doof! Bidoof!" "More bark than bite huh? What, did my growling scare you that much?" it taunted mostly because it felt like it actually had a chance to get out on top.
"Bidoof bidoof," "You are as weak as the others, and you aren't in your environment here, careful or I'll push you into the water!" It continued in the hope that it could scare Charmander to give up and finish this faster. It was really getting hungry.


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Flooding [Water Sport]

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Wild Bidoof

LV 7
HP 37% [10/27]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Faith's Charmander

LV 7
HP 50% [12/24]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Wild Bidoof [Ability] ^{SPD: 11 5}: Normal _{-2 SPD | +1 DEF}
Faith's Charmander [Blaze] ^{SPD: 16}: Normal _{-1 ATT}

Notes: Scatterbug [HP: 13/20]; Sentret [HP: 2/18]

<Charmander used Scratch, Bidoof used Tackle>

[alyssaimagine]

Three against one seemed like good odds at the beginning. How could one little beaver Pokemon stand against all three of hers? Faith had known that her bug would probably have some trouble, but still, it weakened the other Pokemon a little too, right? Sentret was new and weak still, too, but she had figured it could do enough damage for Charmander to easily finish off the opponent. Unfortunately, she was still a new trainer and many things she hadn't thought of had happened. Yes, her bug Pokemon slowed it down, but the other Pokemon weakened all of her Pokemon's attacks, making them nearly useless against the beaver Pokemon.  That mixed with the fact that the weather was playing against her Charmander, making it weaker than it should be. This fight should have been on Charmanders side, Faith figured, if not for the weather.

Charmander was feeling it now too. She visibly winced seeing the beaver fall into the puddle - it could have been her! A Charmander was no good in water, and she grabbed hold of her flame tail protectively. This weather was no good for a fire Pokemon, especially, thought Charmander, a fire Pokemon with visible fire. Charmander glared over at the beaver Pokemon, but knew it was getting the strength to say those things because it knew it was winning. Charmander knew it was winning too. She no longer felt as powerful, her steps were slowing down and she was having a really hard time managing this fight. Charmander wondered if her new Trainer was just as aware of that as Charmander was.

Charmander didn't want to let her human down, but thought it was getting to the inevitable end. The bug still had a little fight, Charmander still had a little fight, but it only a little. Only enough to barely make a dent into this Bidoof's health. What could they do, however, but keep on fighting? Charmander was willing to listen to her trainer, even if she knew the outcome of the fight. She would swallow that beaver's insults, and try again next time. Maybe they could come back healed and have another go?

Thankfully Faith was aware of the fight. She reached into her pocket, and took out a minature pokeball. Then she pushed the button, suddenly enlarging it. It wasn't that she wanted the Pokemon, nor did she want to take away its freedom. She didn't want to waste a Pokeball on a Pokemon she didn't plan on using - she only had so many! However, she was out of choices and if they were going to come out on top, well then that meant she needed to capture this Pokemon. She threw the Pokeball and hoped for the best.

((Attempted capture.))