Useless (Training)

[Asuka]

Useless...

Nebula forest was a dark and dreery place. And in fact, just a bit useless. At first, Asuka felt that she had a valid reason for going there: to train, to catch, yadda yadda. But even after having only been there for about an hour, she realized that there was nothing she could actually gain from being there. She saw a bug, a Bachuru to be exact. It was annoying little thing, and had followed her for a good ten minutes. Eventually it went away because she was ignoring it for the most part, though ... Over all, a boring experience. Asuka was fairly aware at that point that she wasn't the type to initiate battle. It wasn't any fun that way to her, especially not against tiny weak looking squishable bugs.

At any rate, she didn't have much more reason to stick around, since she knew full well that there weren't any large scary pokemon that she could challenge. Just kidding -- she didn't mind fighting tiny pokemon, but it would seem that she just plain wasn't in the mood to train on that particular day. Both fortunately and unfortunately for her, she didn't exactly have a choice on the matter this time. As she walk further and further into the forest she begin to notice that she wasn't hearing anything ... Except dead silence ... What is going on? She had suddenly heard a sliding sound ... Something sliding against the underbrush. A Seviper lunged out of the bush to her left and tried to get her with it's fangs! Her part members weren't going to have any of that.

The Seviper had come out of nowhere: causing Asuka to squeal and jump back, throwing Drifloon off of her shoulder. He hovered in mid air, whereas his trainer fell flat on the ground. Moving forward without hesitation, and reversing minimize, he stretched out his arms protectively. Hitomoshi would be the one to battle however. She remained minimized, so as to avoid detection. However, her attacks would still have the same power behind them ... With a tiny squeak of a grunt, she sent a full power ember in the snake's direction, attempting to ward it off. The battle was a short one; Drifloon hovered by his person's side, normally vacant blank eyes narrowed to the point in which they could barely be seen. Hitomoshi acted as the powerhouse, as the dual flying ghost type protected his trainer by acting as a barrier. The two worked well together.

The Seviper wagged it's tail slowly. It seems to be amused by the ability of the Drifloon to reduce and increase his size. "Viper.." The pokemon cried as he forgot about it and got ready to fight. Hissing, it's tail shining bright purple, the snake got ready to battle. What it didn't know was that drifloom wasn't his opponent in this occasion; it was the candle like pokemon which had still gone unspotted by the seviper. Hitamoshi grabbed this opportunity and shot the ember at the seviper. Seviper got hit by the spontaneous flame and looked around for the cause of it. The seviper was pushed back but it quickly came back to it's senses and started to search for the source of the attack. Noticing a small purple flame the Seviper spotted Hitomoshi. The seviper smiled as it's tail shined purple and then released a night slash towards the Hitomoshi.

Hitomoshi should have expected the snake's keen eyes to spot her out. Nonetheless, she felt like there was nothing to fear. So long as she had minimize, she was safe ... With a gasp, she blasted an ember directly into the snake's face as it lunged at her, and then immediately proceeded to float a bit higher, making it difficult for Seviper to reach her. With a bit of effort, the smoke that came from the candle's flame suddenly began to turn purple, spreading out and into the surrounding area. It was a dense cloud by the time she was finished; hiding her presence, as Asuka and Drifloon covered their mouths and noses. Although, Drifloon didn't have a nose to cover. The battle raged on like that for a while, with Hitomoshi and the others hidden in a cloud called smog; Seviper was eventually worn down to the point in which it could no longer battle, collapsing; unconscious. With a shaky sigh, Asuka rose to her feet. Now that that was over and done with, she praised Hitomoshi, patting the candle's side gently, before moving on.

Asuka continued walking along the forest path, if it could be called that. "Thanks you two." She said gratefully, her shaky voice betraying her outward calm and dispositioned demeanor. The two ghosts nodded, eyes vacant, but smiling none the less. It was always nice to have their trainer thank them, praise them no less. The forest was silent for the most part; at least when they were walking. Something made a noise whenever they stopped moving for a moment, as if to mock them and frighten them all at the same time. It was frustrating, to say the least. It happened a few times, actually ... Asuka was walking calmly with Drifloon and Hitomoshi on each of the girl's shoulders, and every time she hesitated -- something would make a noise. A twig would snap, or a bird would caw. Unnerving, and frustrating; Asuka was at her limit.

The last time it happened, she heard a howl, and stopped in her tracks. Her body was still, with the slightest of shaking. Gulping, she shuddered, her voice weak and wavering; and her eyes darting from side to side in paranoia, as if expecting something to jump her in just a moment's time. And she was right to expect it. Another howl; A Houndour suddenly bounded out of the bushes nearby, snarling fiercefully at the trainer and her pokemon as they stood still, in shock. Or, well, floated still ... In shock. At any rate, the dark type was fearsome, tail pointed straight and ears folded back, it's large and somewhat bloody teeth shining in what there was of the dim and pale moonlight that slipped through the forest's canopy. Asuka covered her mouth, terrified, as she stumbled back and once again landed on her backside, wincing as a fallen branch pushed forcefully into the soft flesh of her hip.

Drifloon knew that Hitomoshi would be at a disadvantage, what with the whole ember not working too well, kind of thing ... How he knew this? Probably because this dark type canine was literally spitting licks of fire as it snarled angrily, slowly closing in on them. As Asuka shook in terror, Drifloon moved forward, no longer minimized. Hitomoshi shook violently, scared herself by the fearsome creature. Smog began to poor out of her flame yet again, filling the surrounding area. But at the same time, the Houndour acted as if it had no reason to be afraid. Why was that? Probably because of the fact that the very same kind of purple smoke was piling into the air around it, from it's own mouth. It was using Smog as well, countering, or rather, neutralizing Hitomoshi's attack. It almost snickered as it bounded forth once again, claws extended as it prepared for it's next meal.

"N-" Asuka screamed as she instinctively covered her scrunched up face with her skinny and bare arm, goosebumps covering her body as the hair on her neck stood on end. Hitomoshi quivered, but Drifloon stood strong. With a cry, he dashed forward to meet this hound in the middle of the scene, wrapping his arms around the dark creature, squeezing as hard as he could ... But it didn't seem to be doing much. Houndour growled, before it's body began to glow red -- what was it doing? It howled again, it's body suddenly appearing a bit more muscular than it had before. Stronger, in general ... It wasn't a game anymore; Asuka was scared shitless, and Hitomoshi was too frightened to move. Only Drifloon was capable of doing anything at that point; but he could tell that he didn't stand a match against this crazy canine in terms of power, and perhaps even wit. It was their best chance to run, but even then ... It didn't seem likely that they would be able to escape on foot.

The hound groaned as Drifloon tightened his grip, wrapping one arm around Houndour's throat, and the other around it's hind legs. Tied together, the creature fell to the ground, face planting with a whimper and a snarl. But no, it wasn't safe to assume that they had won. A face plant wouldn't knock this nuisance out. "Drifloon-" Asuka managed to choke his name out as her fist clenched, before leaning forward and away from the pointed branch that had been digging into her side the entire time. Houndour was shakily pushing itself up and back into it's feet, supporting itself mainly with it's front legs. It opened it's jaws, preparing to dig it's teeth into Drifloon's thin and weak arms, tearing them to shreds. "Astonish!" She cried out, causing the Houndour to jump slightly, making his ears perk and turn to her direction. It was a distraction, and an ironic one at that. Eyes, narrowed, Drifloon nodded in understanding.

As Houndour was busy trying to spot out the source of the noise amidst the clouds of smog, Drifloon opened his mouth, the 'x' spreading out, as if turning into a capitol letter from a lower case one. A sudden high pitched shrill echoed throughout the surrounding area, causing Houndour to howl in surprise, and the hair on it's back to stand on end. It stumbled forward, landing on it's side, tail between it's legs. Drifloon to the opportunity to wrap both of his arms around the creature's neck, squeezing with both in an attempt to cut off it's air supply. He wasn't planning on killing it -- just knocking it out until they could escape. But, either way, the canine wasn't going to let itself go down so easily. Another snarl, it lashed out with it's claws, trying to push Drifloon off ... Only to have it's paw literally pass through the creature's body.

Frustrated, Houndour snorted, before snapping wildely, spamming it's favourite attack; bite. But, it simply couldn't reach. It gave up with that idea, and finally settled on using it's final attack ... It's a good thing that smog wasn't flammible. If it were, than all of them would have died at the very moment that the creature's body was surrounded by flames. Drifloon cried out in pain, pulling his arms off of the creature, his thin and fragile arms burnt slightly. Fortunately he managed to pull away before any lasting damage was caused. But ... What else could he possibly do to defeat this creature? He only had one good physical attack, but now that he knew that his opponent had an ace up it's sleeve; he was pretty much out of options. Hitomoshi, whom had just finally regained her composure, was once again hesitant to make a move. Drifloon and her person were both in danger -- but what good was she without her flames doing any damage to the dog?

Still, she had to do something. Rushing forward, she gave out a startling cry, an Astonish of her own. Houndour winced, the sound vibrating throughout it's body and causing considerable damage. But, not all that much all the same. "Wait, Hi-" Asuka cut herself off, closing her eyes in forfeit. She knew it would be selfish to request that Hitomoshi stay by her side to protect her. Drifloon needed help far more than she did. "Hito-" The dual fire ghost type begin, taking a deep breath before hunching over. "Shi!" The candle like creature cried out with much effort, as a ball of fire was sent spiraling towards the Houndour -- Drifloon lunging in the opposite direction in an attempt to escape in time. He did, but the Houndour was still standing strong after the ember attack hit. It snarled; two on one, generally wasn't a fair fight. But, it seemed confident in it's abilities. Shoulders stiff, it slowly made it's way towards Hitomoshi, back turned to the distant hot air ballloon kind of pokemon.

The climax of the battle; it had reached it's peak. Drifloon closed in behind Houndour as Hitomoshi served as a distraction and powerhouse in the front. Drifloon quickly tied the hound up, wrapping his arms around the creature's neck and forelegs. He didn't have to worry about the hind legs kicking him; because they would go straight through -- what with him being a ghost and all. At any rate, Houndour was tied up -- and didn't have enough time to execute another fire attack; whatever that last one it used was, at least. Not before Hitomoshi closed in. The candle seemed confident, at least compared to before; what with her trainer seemingly safe, and now that the chance of their winning had increased; there was no reason to hesitate. With a small cry, Hitomoshi let out a smog attack straight into the Houndour's face; causing the canine to howl and cry as the poison reached it's lungs ... It wasn't a pleasant sight, or sound, at at that. Asuka closed her eyes.

Needless to say, Houndour had been poisoned. The effects of it slowed it down to the point in which it could hardly move. It had turned into a punching bag for Drifloon and Hitomoshi -- and they treated it as such until it was finally unconscious for certain. At which point, they floated back to their person without hesitation, soothing her with their presence. The Houndour lay there, still, but definitely breathing. Asuka's eyes narrowed ... She was tempted to catch it, but ... Was that really a good idea? This creature hadn't hesitated to try and kill the three of them -- would it truely make a good ally? At any rate, she didn't want to put her first two pokemon through that; Drifloon, and Hitomoshi; they were worth more than any stupid inconsiderate violent smelly, and ugly mutt like Houndour. Cruel, and somewhat soap opera-ish, but true none the less.

"Let's get the fuck out of here." Asuka choked out hysterically, with a soft but scared smile painted across her lips. Drifloon's vacant eyes sparkled with a sense of agreement and encouragement, as he helped his person up with his skinny but apparently powerful arms. She sighed, thanking him, before immediately turning her body in the direction from which they came. Her legs carried her, Hitomoshi and Drifloon sitting on each of her shoulders rather than floating beside her on the way back; they wouldn't be able to keep up with her ... Not as they were, anyway. "We'll just ..." Asuka hesitated for just a split moment, at a loss for words. "Come back later, maybe?" Nothing was particularly frightening about the forest, or whatever ... She just didn't see what the worth in visiting was at that point in time. Perhaps they could come back later ... When they were stronger. Asuka groaned as she rubbed her injured him, wincing as she felt where the branch had stabbed her. "Let's go to the center or something ..." The girl sighed, before starting off once again.

_______________________

Words: 2570
Results:

Drifloon +2
Hitomoshi +2

[Ray]

Approved.