Climbing to the top [F]

[[Arzadon]]

I picked up the bird and above the dim I said,
"That's the last song you'll ever sing."

The Elder let out a small gulp as he saw the Snorunt appear in the battlefield. Ice pokemon had a tendency to destroy him, and the Snorunt looked a rather intimidating with it's cone shaped head, and constant shivering. "Bellsprout, cut that Snorunt down to size with magical leaf! Hoothoot follow up with a peck on Cyndaquil, it still needs to be taken out!" Li quickly commanded, hoping to take out the two pokemon before Shadara had a chance to counter attack.

Bellsprout took a dramatic step forward, then another. Small flakes of wood began to peel off from the old wooden floor. The wood began to take form of leaves, and as a odd golden aura engulfed them they shot forward. Snorunt ran to the side, in a attempt to dodge the leaves. The leaves took a sharp turn as they chased down Snorunt, it was if they were magically possessed.

Realizing that he couldn't dodge the leaves, Snorunt sharply turned around to face the wooden leaves. With a puffing sound he began to inhale as much air as he could. His body began to shiver as he held the air within his mouth for a few seconds. Then he realized the air, which was rather chilly at this point. The cold air consumed the wooden leaves, and many of them fell to the ground. Useless now that they were covered in ice. Snorunt's deflecting attack was rather successful, however a few of the leaves managed to get past his icy breath and slam into him. Small nicks and scratches covered his body, but it was nothing serious.

Meanwhile Hoothoot timidly hopped up to the Cyndaquil, half excepting a fireball to the face. But after a few seconds it seemed like the ember pokemon would not awake. So the bird slammed his beak into Cyndaquil's head. The sleeping pokemon squirmed, clearly in pain. Once the deed was done Hoothoot went scurrying back to his owner. This wasn't a battle the owl was looking forward too. The Elder let out a laugh as his pokemon finished their attacks. "See that my child? You clearly have no chance. Now why don't you run on your way, and leave that Cyndaquil behind. We will take very good care of him." The Elder said, putting emphasis on good.

---

Battle

Bellsprout | Level 12 | Health: 25/40 [45%] Status: Normal	Hoothoot | Level 10 | Health: 35/35 [100%] Status: Normal

Snorunt | Level 13 | Health: 27/32 [84%] Status: Normal	Cyndaquil |level 10 | Health: 23/30 [77%] Status: Asleep [2/5]

Battle Results
Shadara recalled Swablu and sent out Snorunt
Shadara used a Potion on Cyndaquil, and healed twenty hp.
Bellsprout used Magical Leaf on Snorunt, dealing five damage.
Hoothoot used Peck on Cyndaquil, dealing seven damage.

Level Tracker
Swablu will gain one level at the end of combat.

[OCC: Lyrics :: Bird Song -- Florence + The Machine ]

[Morrigan]

With sending forth her next choice of Pokemon as well as using an item, that was her round over and all she could do was watch silently as Elder Li ordered his next wave of commands. Interestingly, she noticed an immediate change in him as he stopped his full on attack on the sleepy Cyndaquil and aimed a flow of magical, dancing leaves in the direction of Snorunt. She smirked slightly as the attack caused mere scrapes. While Swablu had a type advantage, Snorunt did aswell, except she was a little tougher and more in tuned with the flow of battling.

A chilly icy breeze began to form slowly around the Snorunt as it continued it's series of shakes. Small snowflakes forming and floating gently down from it's breath as she breathed in and out heavily. Meanwhile, things were looking a little easier for the little fiery mouse. The Elder's other Pokemon, Hoothoot, looked a tad cautious as it moved into range of the Cyndaquil and began Pecking at it. Luckily for the feather brain, Cyndaquil was well gone and was probably floating through the soft and fluffy sky in his dreams. His small flailings of pain probably suggested that the attacks his dreams werent as happy as Sharada was hoping for, however.

Hearing his laugh echoing throughout the room caused Sharada to raise an eyebrow. His first calm and polite impressions were slowly beginning to change, the mere tone of his voice starting to sound more sinister. "After witnessing what your fellow monks did to him earlier... Nah, I dont think I will be leaving Cyndaquil behind." With a laugh of her own, Sharada turned to her Snorunt, noticing she was more than prepared to attack with the chilly air she had been stirring up for a while. "Snorunt! Give their ego's a chilling with your Icy Wind attack!" Her command was not ignored as the Snorunt pranced around in a circle on it's little feet before creating a strong gust of wind and snow which hurled itself towards the opposing team.

OOC: I wasn't sure if Icy Wind attacks both Pokemon in a double battle. It says on Bulbapedia it does, I think, but if it doesnt, then I'd say it was aimed for Bellsprout.

[[Arzadon]]

I picked up the bird and above the dim I said,
"That's the last song you'll ever sing."

Before Elder Li could issue his orders the up beat Snorunt hopped forward. The ice pokemon puckered up her lips, and sharply breathed in some air. Her cheeks bulged outwards as she shivered, and small particles of ice began to build up within her mouth. Then she exhaled. A large gust of wind shot from her mouth, the wind was a pale white. Tinted by the snow & ice within it.

The wind rolled pasted the battle field, and slammed into the two opposing pokemon. Both of them shivered from the sheer coldness of the attack. Small clumps of ice began to form on their body as the wind passed by them. The small chunks of ice being carried by the wind left small nicks and cuts. As the icy wind subsided Shadara could see the Bellsprout crumpled on the ground, passed out from the attack. It was clear that the move would take it out, it was already weak from the earlier attacks. But the Hoothoot was barely standing. It stood on both it's taloned feet, furiously shaking from the ice wind that juts passed over him. He huffed and puffed, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to take another hit, it seemed like a soft slap could take this owl down.

Then a miracle happened Shadara discovered a magnet, the young Cyndaquil cracked his eyes open. With a loud yawn he arose to his feet. He took a few seconds, his eyes still half closed from the sleep. Then his eyes widened when he realized he was still on the battlefield! The fires on his back suddenly shot upwards, as he opened his mouth. Without thinking, or looking for orders from the girl, he started to summon the embers within the back of his throat. Then with a frightful howl he spat them forward towards the Hoothoot. The poor owl had no time to dodge, and simply fell over. The embers zoomed over head, but he did not get up. Simply pretending to faint.

"NO"

The Elder shouted upon seeing his pokemon. His beloved Bellsprout was gone, and the Hoothoot might as well be gone. The man glared at Shadara, the one peaceful and kind face was replaced by one of pure rage. "THIS IS NOT HOW IT WORKS. I ALWAYS WIN. I ALWAYS WIN." He screamed in fury. Then Cyndaquil's eyes widened in horror as the man reached for something on the wall. The upper floors of the Sprout Tower was decorated with ceremonial weapons. Katanas, bo-staves, nunchucks, each of these weapons were said to hold peace within them, and it was forbidden for even a drop of blood to touch him.

The Elder grabbed a sheathed katana from the wall. Cyndaquil's eyes widened in horror, he knew that weapon all too well. The little ember pokemon, who only seconds ago was one of the bravest things in all of Johto, darted behind Shadara's leg. His little body shook in fear as he peaked from behind the woman's leg. He was not about to face the weapon that took his mother from him.

With a grunt the Elder drew the weapon from it's sheath. Blood stains adorned the holy blade. The other monks gasped in horror, never before did they think that their holy object would be stained in such a way. The blood seemed old, years old in fact. It even looked like the Elder tried to scrub the blood off the blade. The man slowly walked towards Shadara, a killer look in his eyes. The other monks simply watched, their eyes glued to Shadara. Was this another test, or did they truly follow this heartless leader?

---

Battle

Bellsprout | Level 12 | Health: 0/40 [0%] Status: Fainted	Hoothoot | Level 10 | Health: 0/35 [0%] Status: Fainted

Snorunt | Level 13 | Health: 27/32 [84%] Status: Normal	Cyndaquil |level 10 | Health: 23/30 [77%] Status: Normal

Battle Results
Snorunt used Icy Wind and dealt thirty damage to Hoothoot, and Thirty-nine damage to Bellsprout.
Bellsprout fainted.
Cyndaquil woke up! Cyndaquil used ember on Hoothoot, and finished the owl off!

Shadara has won the battle!


Swablu has gained one level!
She is now level Eleven.


Snorunt has gained two levels!
She is now level Fifteen!

[OCC: Lyrics :: Bird Song -- Florence + The Machine; I don't know if I'm allowed to do this. :v OH WELL. ]

[Morrigan]

As the chilling gust of wind created by Sharada's Snorunt slowed to a halt, the once snowing air thinned out to reveal the state of the opposing team. Her plan of focusing on the Bellsprout was a success as she noticed it sprawled across the floor, the icy attack proving too much to handle for the little vine. Cheering mutely under her breath, the next trouble maker shivered before her. The Hoothoot was literally standing on it's last leg, fluttering it's feathers rapidly in an attempt to warm itself back up from the cold winds. In fact, even if Sharada were to approach it now, a single flick of her finger would probably cause it to roll back in agony. Though she wasn't necessarily that type of trainer, just another attack to put it out of it's misery would suffice.

Parting her lips to command another bone chilling move, a movement from the corner of her eye made her stop in her tracks. The once slumbering Cyndaquil had awoken and quickly sprang into action. The dancing flames on it's back lit with a burning passion and as he opened his mouth, bright bursts of flames scattered around the Hoothoot. The still silent Sharada couldnt find the words to speak as the burnt bird flopped down next to it's fainted ally, Bellsprout. She found the wobbling tower weird in itself, but all what had happened just made coming here even worse. Unbeknown to her, it was just going to get stranger.

With the bellowing voice of Elder Li echoing around the room, the mere change of his facial expression caused her to shiver slightly with fear. How could this, probably well respected, Elder of the Sprout Tower, raise his voice so threateningly. Trainers must pass by here on a daily basis so why did he seem so violent? "We won fair and square. You wont be troubling this Cyndaquil anymore!" she plucked up the courage to speak. Though as each word escaped her lips, her voice began to falter, watching as the Elder had moved towards a weapon cladded wall. There was no way that he would threaten them with a weapon, would he?

Sharada was soon placed in a situation she had hoped would never happen to her in her entire life, ever. The once seemingly peaceful Elder had drawn a blade and was now walking in her direction. What was worse, the blade seemed to be stained with splatters on blood. With Snorunt and Cyndaquil cowering behind her legs, Sharada mind was twisting and turning with thoughts on what to do. Whose blood was it? Where could she run? Why weren't the other monks doing anything? Her horrified expression remained glued to the blade, each step of the Elder approaching the group making her heart beat heavier.

Sensing the ever heightening aura of nervousness around her trainer, Snorunt decided to take it upon herself to take action. Peering through it's triangle hood, she stared towards the quivering Cyndaquil next to her. "H-H-Hey! I-I-I dont t-think this is a g-g-good time to j-just hi-hi-hide." her voice shook due to the coldness of her own body. "L-Let's duh-duh-double team that m-meanie! It's the l-l-least you could d-do for all s-s-she has done for yuh-yuh-yhoo!" The Cyndaquil simply looked towards the ice type with horrified eyes, the actions of the Elder were linking together and suggesting what had happened in the past, but nothing was set in stone. One thing was for sure, he was horrified, but thanks to this female trainer he was able to get this far.

Through Sharada's eyes, the Elder was still edging ever closer and she still didn't have much of a plan. The best idea she had was to just turn and scoop up her team and just run for it, the old man couldnt be all that fast but then again, who knew what was waiting behind her. Another option in her mind was that of an open window directly behind the Elder on the opposite side of the room, but again, there were too many consequences, an elderly man wielding a katana was the main one. Time was running out, small sweat drops were rolling down the side of her face. Was her journey really going to end here because of this crazy old coot?

Just as it seemed all hope was lost, a familiar chilly feeling began swirling around her leg. The next move she made would probably end up being the wrong one, but what did she have to lose besides her own life? Darting her eyes away from the Elder, she looked down to her leg, only to see Snorunt preparing an attack. With a small pounce forward, Snorunt skipped in front of it's trainer and let out a strong gust of Icy Wind, halting the Elder in his tracks, small snow particles clinging themselves to his mustached face. A simple breeze didnt stop him however, whatever had happened between him and the Cyndaquil showed merely through his facial expression. Using the katana to slice through the wind, the next phase of Snorunt and Cyndaquil's plan moved into place, right before Sharada's eyes.

Snorunt flipped to one side, bringing the Icy Wind to a halt, the Elder was literally a step away when the Cyndaquil pounced up onto Sharada's shoulder and sent a mighty blast of fire into Elder Li's direction. His attempt for revenge came to a painful halt as the sound of the katana hit the floor submerged under his cries of agony. Recoiling back a few paces, he began comforting his now burnt hand, but it seemed their plan wasnt over just yet. Cyndaquil lept down from Sharada's shoulder and began to pace speedily across the floor along side her Snorunt. In perfect unison the two Pokemon crashed into the Elder mans chest, causing him to fall backwards.

Knowing her chance when she saw it, Sharada decided to make her move. Placing a foot on the bloody katana, she skidded it backwards along the wooden floor, far out of reach incase the Elder were to attempt grabbing it once more. With Snorunt and Cyndaquil slightly dazed with their blunt charge, Sharada dashed in and swooped them up tightly into her arms, "Screw this maniac, we're outta here!" Victory prizes were the last thing on her ind right now, all she wanted to do was get the heck out of there. Turning to the stairway, she realised it had been blocked off by the monks who were witnessing their battle from earlier. There was one other escape route, she literally had no choice, "Hang tight guys!" With a brave sprint, Sharada approached the window before athletically jumping out and into the air. For a split second, she noticed a conveniently place rope hanging out of the window which led outside but it was far to late to reach for it now, "SSHHII--"

Clutching both Snorunt and Cyndaquil, a flurry from cries from all three could be heard as they tumbled through the air. The odd tree branch helped made her impact to the ground less painful, but the sudden slam from her back hitting the hard ground made the resting bird Pokemon flutter out of their trees to find a more peaceful resting spot. For a moment, Sharada just laid there, staring up weakly at the many branches which she had snapped on the way down. However, her view was soon blocked with the expressions of her worried Pokemon which had clambered onto her chest. Spluttering a cough, Sharada forced herself to sit up, resting her back against a tree trunk, "When I say lets jump through a window, make sure you stop me, alright?" she joked, carefully patting the heads of her team.

Brushing the dried mud from her clothes, she managed to squeeze a rather painful smile to the Cyndaquil, "You know what? I dont need to know your past, buddy. Just come along with me and lets make a nice future for ya..." The sound of rustling branches and leaves entered her ears, causing her to stagger to her feet. Returning a rather tired Snorunt to it's pokeball, Sharada instinctively grabbed hold of Cyndaquil. Was someone lurking close by?

OOC: That's it, I beat him, I'm outta here! D:<

[[Arzadon]]

Out of the bush came a lone Caterpie. The bug nervously eyed the woman who just jumped out of a window. Then it ran for the hills, it was terrified of being caught by her. After all it didn't want to be thrown out of the window. Within seconds the nervous bug was gone.

"HEY! LISTEN!"

One of the monks from the third floor was shouting out at Morri. "So, it turns out that the Elder was a serial killer. Weird, I know. He probably killed that Cyndaquil's mother, or something silly like that." the man said as he dismissively waved his hand, clearly not taking the situation seriously. "Anyways, we are taking him to Officer Jenny for being arrested. Thanks for all the help. Blah blah blah." The man said as he reached for something behind the window.

His hand briefly brushed along the sniper rifle, that the monks kept under all the windows. For a brief second he thought of taking it out. So that they could silence the girl. Nah, she's too hot. the man thought to himself. Unaware that a jealous Joey was behind him with a dagger. Unaware of his impending doom the man took a package out instead. "Heads up," he said as he tossed it down to Shadara. "That has TM70, which contains flash. It lights up some caves or something lame like that. Along with an empty pokeball for that cyndaquil. Oh and there is money. Buy something pretty for yourself." the man said with a wink.

True enough there was a shiny disc containing flash and one thousand poke-money. Once Shadara caught the package he turned around and walked back towards his fellow monks, until he was ambushed and then slain by a certain blonde thief. Shadara could hear a rather familiar man screaming out, "BLOOD MONKS, WHAT HAPPENED TO A LIFE OF CHASTITY." It sounded like the monk would be perfectly fine if he managed to get to a hospital within the next few minutes.

Cyndaquil shrugged and turned to his new mistress. She may have been crazy enough to jump out a window, but at least she wasn't a serial killer. It was clear that the little ember pokemon would be more then happy to travel with her, even if it meant being defenestrated... Again.

---

You got a Cyndaquil. Woooooo.
[img]http://serebii.net/heartgoldsoulsilver/pokemon/155-m.png[/img]
[b]Cyndaquil[/b]
Name: [choose]
Gender: [choose]
Level: 10
Attacks: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Ember.
Ability: Blaze
Nature: [choose]

[Morrigan]

The scurrying Caterpie made Sharada jump out of her skin. Thankfully for her it wasnt the Elder but a booming voice from above didnt exactly allow her to catch her breath. Her eyes shot back up to the second level of the tower, noticing a lone Monk poking his head outside to communicate with her. Her expression changed to a rather surprised one as the monk explained about the Elder, he truely was just some crazy old man. Pushing the Cyndaquil up onto her shoulder, she reached out her hands as the man tossed a package to her, just barely catching it.

Peering into the package, she lifted her head back up towards the window, "THAnk... you?" She raised her eyebrows slightly, it seemed the monk had gone back inside without even waiting for her to thank him. Strange cries were also flowing out of the window but Sharada merely shrugged them off, thinking perhaps Officer Jenny had already arrived or something.

Pulling out a pokeball from the package, she turned to the Cyndaquil, "He killed your mother?" she questioned softly, watching as he hide his face sadly. "Dont worry... From now on, you're with me. I'll make sure you get big and strong to make your mother proud." With a more energetic and cheerful cry from the fire mouse, Sharada swiftly returned it to it's pokeball before moving her way through the bushes until she was safely on the streets of Violet City once more. She gave a final look back to the Sprout Tower, shaking her head disappointingly from side to side, "No more towers or monks for me..."

[img]http://serebii.net/heartgoldsoulsilver/pokemon/155-m.png[/img]
[b]Cyndaquil[/b]
Name: Cyndaquil
Gender: Male
Level: 10
Attacks: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Ember.
Ability: Blaze
Nature: A brave little bugger (will actually update later orz)