A Seemingly Relaxing Night [Catch Thread, Hoenn, Grassland]

[Josh Dragomir]

Nice to be home again, the blonde thought as he walked through the routes around Littleroot Town. He'd decided to take a little walk after being home all day. Josh just couldn't stand to be sitting around doing nothing, it wasn't in his nature. Visiting his mother was nice and all, but Josh was antsy to get on the road again. He sighed as he looked up at the night sky. It was late out at the moment, just getting dark now. The sun was going down, the moon was coming up, and people were back in their homes for the most part. So it left Josh able to sit down on a hill and relax as he looked up at the stars that had begun to outline the sky. 

It had been so long since he'd come back here... He'd left so quickly, he thought. Josh had never gotten to sit back and smell the roses in Littleroot before he went off on his journey, and he took all this for granted. But, here he was now, happy to take a break, relax, take it slow and enjoy himself. 

[Nigenteki Reikon]

A WILD POKEMON HAS APPEARED!

POKEMON Oddish GENDER Male ABILITY Chlorophyll

○ Acid ○ Mega Drain ○ Sleep Powder ○ Petal Dance

[Josh Dragomir]

Josh smiled a bit as he watched the night sky, before laying his head back on the grass....

Whoops! That spot wasn't grass! It was an Oddish napping! Josh realized too late when he felt it moving and he got bucked off. "Oddish! Odd! Odd!" it let out as Josh got up. It was angry, he could see that. "Shit... Hey, I'm sorry little guy..." Josh apologized, frowning as he knelled down to try and comfort the Oddish. He hadn't meant to hurt the little guy. How could he? He loved Pokemon, especially little ones like Oddish. He wouldn't dare try to harm one.

Sadly, the Oddish seemed to be a bit of a hothead, because he wasn't having it. "Odd!" he let out angrily before shooting a blue spore toward Josh... Sleep Powder!

"Shit..." Josh muttered as he backed away from it, trying to escape the Sleep Powder. "Little bastard..." he muttered. "Hey! It was an accident!" he called out, shaking his head. "I swear, I didn't mean to lay my head on you! You blend into the grass!" he said. Of course, Josh would quickly have to back out of the way as the little vegetable decided to attempt to slam itself into him.

Now, Josh was 6'1, with a muscular body, and a ton of strength. He could have easily punted the Oddish and it'd be gone and sent flying across Littleroot. But Josh wasn't like that. So the only way he was going to be able to defend himself from this very angry midget vegetable was to use his Pokemon.

"Alright, if you want a fight, guess I'll have to give you one, and catch you to boot!" he said, cracking his neck as he took out a Pokeball. "Go, Inferno! Extrasensory!" he called as the Quilava came out of his Pokeball and without hesitation would shoot a ball of psychic energy toward the Oddish. The Oddish though, would quickly hop and skip out of the way, that angry yet somehow still fucking adorable expression still on it's face. "Oddish! Odd!" it said as the Oddish quickly would spin it's weed hair, spawning and sending an array of petals toward the Quilava. "Dodge, Inferno!" Josh quickly instructed as Inferno would slide himself out of the way of the petals.

"Damn... He's fast, Inferno! Watch out!" Josh called as the Oddish sent out more Petal Dance petals at Inferno, to which was responded to by the Quilava taking off at a run around the makeshift battlefield, avoiding the attacks of the Oddish. "Keep running, Inferno! Pick up speed!" Josh called. "Quilava!" Inferno responded as he kept running, starting to pick up speed as the Oddish fired off an Acid attack that just barely missed the back-end of Inferno as he raced by the attack. Inferno kept picking up speed as he ran in circles around the battlefield until Josh was satisfied. "Now! Flame Wheel!" Josh instructed. "Quilava!" he quickly chirped, changing course and charging head on as he was engulfed in a veil of flames, slamming direct into the Oddish and sending it back with power increased due to the speed, as well as the type advantage. Josh had picked the right choice against an Oddish, with Inferno being a Fire type, and Oddish being a Grass type. Flame Wheel was a great choice of moves as well, especially with using the opportunity that presented itself to up the speed and velocity of Flame Wheel, thus temporarily upping it's power before he actually had Inferno unleash the attack.

The Oddish would reel in pain and tumble backwards onto it's back. Josh smirked and pulled out a Pokeball. "Alright Oddish, you're mine now!" he said as he prepared to toss the Pokeball. Before he could though, just as he reeled back the Oddish would suddenly get up and send a Petal Dance attack toward Josh, which he would be forced to duck for obvious reasons, preventing him from using the ball.

As he peeked over though, he noticed that the Oddish was something that Josh hated seeing on any of his Pokemon. Confused! The poor thing was wobbling about on it's midget feet with difficulty, it's eyes in swirls. "Ooooodddd...." it whimpered as it tried to coherently find a way to attack. "Now's our chance, Inferno!" Josh called. "Flamethrower!" he commanded. Inferno would nod and the flames on his back would spring up. "Quilavaaaa!" he let out as he breathed out a white hot jet of flames that was heading at mach speed right for the Oddish.

This time, the Oddish was unable to dodge, and was hit dead on. "Good shot!" Josh complimented. "ODD ODD ODD ODD, OOOOOOOODDDD!" The Oddish would let out after Inferno had stopped breathing fire, running around the field with it's grass hair on fire. It had snapped out of it's confusion due to getting it's head set on fire, but that didn't make the fire any less painful to the grass type! "Let's finish this off, Inferno! Flame Wheel!" Josh instructed. "Quilava!" Inferno let out as he immediately charged toward the Oddish, the veil of fire claiming it's victim again as he charged toward the Oddish without remorse. Suddenly though, the Oddish would manage to put out the flames, and nail Inferno with a Mega Drain while he was charging, ending the veil of fire and sending Inferno back. "Quill!" he let out in pain, and Josh gritted his teeth. Damn! This weed top was tough! But he was the perfect Pokemon to add to his team. Despite it's anger issues, it had earned Josh's respect, and for that he wouldn't hold back. But the Oddish would be well taken care of once he caught it, he promised.

"Don't let that get to you, Inferno!" Josh called. "I know he drained some of your energy, but it won't have that energy long if you get right back on the attack!" he encouraged. The Oddish meanwhile, seemed refreshed, though still tired. The fire attacks from the stronger Inferno had taken a lot out of Oddish, especially fighting at a fast pace like they had been. But the battle wasn't over and the Oddish would quickly send out the blue spray of spores again. "Sleep Powder!" Josh warned to Inferno. "Get out of the way!"

"Quilava!" he let out as he jumped back, dodging the Sleep Powder. "Quick, Flamethrower while it's still firing!" Josh called. "Quilava!" he responded in affirmative as he opened his jaws again, the flames on his back getting even bigger as he fired off the Flamethrower, with it going right through the blasts of Sleep Powder and digging straight into the Oddish, who would be hit dead on and let out another ear piercing scream. That was hard for Josh to bear, but the Oddish needed to be KO'd for this stubborn little bugger to go down long enough to be caught.

"Hit it with Extrasensory, Inferno! Then finish it with Flame Wheel!" he called. "Quiiillll...." Inferno began as the ball of psychic energy began to charge itself. "Quilava!" he finally let out as the psychic ball would be loosed and collide with the stunned Oddish, who would be sent back. "Now! Flame Wheel!" he repeated. "Quill!" Inferno let out as he charged full speed one more time for the Oddish, the veil of flames engulfing it's master once again as Inferno slammed into the Oddish, sending it flying through the air. "Pokeball, go!" Josh called as he tossed the Pokeball again, this time with it hitting the Oddish in mid-air and sucking it in...

"Whew, that was quite a bit of nice training..." Josh whispered as he saw the ball hit the ground. Hopefully this works... Inferno was getting better by the day, he thought to himself.

[Nigenteki Reikon]

FOR THE HORDE!
10 WILD POKEMON APPEARED!
You Choose:

POKEMON Dodrio GENDER You Choose ABILITY Run Away or Early Bird

○ 4 MOVES ○ FROM START ○ TO ○ LEVEL 30

POKEMON Doduo GENDER You Choose! ABILITY Run Away or Early Bird 4 MOVES Start - LVL 50

[Amber Kazuki]

. . . !
Congratulations, ODDISH was caught!
One Pokeball has been removed from your inventory!

[Josh Dragomir]

Josh took a breath in relief as the ball would click. He would pick it up before tossing it into the air, watching it be absorbed into light, as the ball was transferred automatically to the Ranch. "Mom's going to get a nice surprise when she goes back to the ranch" he commented with a small smile. He looked over at Inferno and opened his arms for the Quilava, who would rush into them. Josh would laugh as he wrapped his arms around Inferno. "You did great!" he chirped happily as he ran his fingers through the fur on the Quilava's head. "That's some of the most impressive battling I've seen from you so far. You're just getting stronger and stronger, and you have no idea how proud I am of you" he praised. "Quilava!" Inferno responded happily. The two looked up at the sky, and Josh smiled a bit. "Aye... It's been a long time since I came here, Inferno. You've never been here before this, have you?" he asked. "Quill, Quilava!" Inferno responded, shaking his head. "Yeah... I gotta admit, as much as I've enjoyed traveling, I've kind of missed home" Josh admitted, chuckling. "Do you miss home, Inferno? You miss Izumi, and your mom and your brother?" Josh asked, looking over at Inferno. The Quilava seemed to pause to think for a moment, but nodded. "Quill. Quilava!" he responded, before snuggling up against his Trainer. Despite missing his family, he still seemed to be enjoying traveling with Josh, and was making it obvious he'd like to continue doing so. Josh chuckled a bit as he petted him. "I love you too, Inferno" he said with a laugh. "But we should be getting home. I'll bet dinner's ready, and we don't want to be late" he said as he stretched, standing up to full height.

Of course, what they hadn't realized is that the battle with the Oddish had disturbed the habitat of some local Dodrio and Doduo. Before long, Josh heard the cry of a Dodrio before looking up at the hills around them. They were surrounded. Completely. Six Doduo. 4 Dodrio. And they didn't look happy.

"Shit..." he muttered as Inferno got into a crouch, the two looking around at their surroundings... They were completely boxed in, no way out... But yet, Inferno looked ready for battle. Josh took a breath. They were going to be in a for a fight! "Get ready Inferno..." he growled quietly as he crouched as well, in sync with his Quilava. They watched, poised, serious, just waiting for one of these Angry Birds to attack. Finally, it would come. One of the Dodrio, noticeably bigger then the rest of his pack, possibly the leader, would let out a screech toward them, and one of the Doduo would attack in response, charging toward them as fast as it could.

"Wait for it" Josh commanded, raising a hand. Inferno decided to trust his Trainer and be patient, his eyes plunging themselves into his sight of Doduo as he waited for the signal...

"Flamethrower" Josh commanded calmly and coldly. Inferno's jaws would quickly spew a white hot blanket of flame as the flames on his back flared up, the flames shooting from his maw engulfing the Doduo just inches from him, hitting it at close range dead on. The Doduo, likely the weakest of the bunch, would let out a scream in pain as it flailed around in the flames, both it's heads trying to look for a way out of the fire but the searing heat was just too much on their poor little heads.

"Stop" he said calmly. Something had overtaken Josh. Perhaps it was the training session he had recently taken in the mountains re-sparking his survival instincts, mixed with the danger of this situation? Who knows? But whatever it was, in this situation Josh was cool, almost cold... He remained cool-headed, his expression polar, poker-faced and stone serious. He spoke with a calm, yet commanding tone that was very unlike him in the norm. Yet one that to Inferno screamed confidence, and a Trainer with confidence in oneself and their Pokemon brought confidence to the Pokemon. Inferno would stop the torrent of flames, leaving the burnt and crispy Doduo to try and gain it's senses back after the painful ordeal.

"Extrasensory" he said calmly, pointing the finger of targeting toward the Doduo. Inferno would nod and immediately begin charging the ball of psychic energy as asked. "Quiiilllll....AVA!" he would let out as the ball finished charging, going straight for the Doduo that was still stunned from the Flamethrower, nailing it dead on and sending it flying back. The weakest of the herd had fainted and lay on the ground... Setting the bar for the others. Five more Doduo. Four Dodrio remaining.

It was likely, Josh realized, that the smallest Doduo was just a test. And one that they, unfortunately, had passed. They had made a mistake in underestimating their opponent and would not make the same mistake again. Josh knew this. Inferno knew this. This time, there would be no mercy. 

This time, two Doduo would take the stage, both charging down toward them. Normally, Josh would employ Rollout, but this type of attack generally had no effect on a Flying Pokemon like Doduo, so they would have to improvise somehow. For now though, they just had to survive. 

"Be ready Inferno, they're coming from two different sides!" Josh suddenly called out loudly. "Cut one off with Flame Wheel before it can attack!" he said, pointing to the Doduo on the right. Inferno would nod and quickly charge to meet it head on, being clouded in a veil of flames as the Quilava would run at high speeds, slamming into the first Doduo and sending it back. "Dodge!" Josh suddenly called as the other's beak would start spinning and would attempt to drill it's spinning beaks (Drill Peck) into Inferno from behind. The Quilava would acknowledge the command and slide right. "Flamethrower!" he called, and Inferno's maw would open loosing a jet of fire that would engulf this one at close range as well, dealing a nice set of damage. "Stop, duck!" Josh called and Inferno would instantly stop the Flamethrower and duck, just avoiding a Drill Peck from the Doduo that had recovered from the preemptive strike. "Smash your head against the side of it's skull, and then Flamethrower again!" he called. Nodding, Inferno would quickly rear his head and slam it into the side of the skull of one of the Doduo, causing it to crash into the other head, and confusing and stunning them both. Josh's strategy to use Doduo's twin heads against one another was working perfectly, and Inferno would quickly shoot another heat-laden torrent of flames that engulfed it, sending it back. "Inferno, look out!" Josh called, but Inferno couldn't react quick enough to stop the Thrash attack of the other Doduo. It was quite obvious that Inferno was having difficulty with the numbers game. But the big problem here was that one of the Doduo had entered a rage and was rampaging around the area, it's two heads going everywhere as it ran around in a fury. There had to be a way to stop this thing, and fast!

But what if... A mischievous glimmer flicked on the big grin that had crossed the blonde's face as the idea came to fruition. Why stop it when you could use it? Josh would make sure to position himself in front of the out of it Doduo that had just eaten a Flamethrower, who was starting to get up but hadn't gotten it's bearings yet. He called out to the rampaging Doduo. "Hey! Kentucky Fried Doduo! Over here!" he called out with a playful grin on his face. He watched as the rampaging Doduo would rear it's angry heads toward him before charging toward him with heads flying. Josh would wait until the last moment before moving out of the way, just as the woozy Doduo would manage to get to it's feet. "Da?" it let out as it heard the noises coming from the charging Doduo, who couldn't stop itself from slamming full speed into it's comrade in an angry rage, sending it flying back and into a tree. The struck Doduo would slump to the ground, down for the count. 

"Four more Doduo to go..." Josh whispered, before noticing that the thrasher was just as Josh expected. Confused! The plan was working. "Quick, Flame Wheel!" Josh called. Inferno, thanks to Josh's interference, had managed to recover from the Thrash attack enough to charge full speed at the confused doduo, the veil of fire working it's magic as he would slam into it, sending it back and crashing to the ground, also down.

"Haha.... Three more to go!" Josh said, patting Inferno's head. "You're doing good, keep it up!" he praised.

The three Dodrio didn't look happy, to say the least, and the leader would tilt it's head before all three of the Doduo that remained would hop down. Being young, they would recklessly charge their way from three different directions. "Gah...." Josh muttered. "This isn't good! Inferno, wait for my signal" he said, backing up from the fight as not to get in the way of what was to come. This was Inferno's fight, yet also in a way it was theirs. And although Josh couldn't fight these things physically, he would be there to help Inferno all he could. He took a breath and waited, but what he wasn't expecting for all three Doduo to use Agility respectively, upping the speed of all three of them mid-charge. "Inferno, do-" Josh couldn't even finish before the quick Doduo would each hit Inferno would Double Hit from all sides, before proceeding to hit him again as per the usual from Double Hit's attack using their beaks. Josh gritted his teeth as Inferno reeled back, before being nailed by a triple Drill Peck by the three beak-spinning Doduo.

"Come on, Inferno... You gotta fight this!" Josh called, his fists white as he clenched them. They had come so far, they couldn't fail now! "Inferno, back up and use Flamethrower to make them back off!" Josh commanded. The wounded Quilava would nod and let his gaping maws do the talking as the flames on his back only got bigger and hotter, prompting him to shoot an even hotter Flamethrower that would be narrowly dodged by the Doduo, but it would make them back to the side, giving Inferno room to maneuver. But only for a moment as they would separate and surround him, in a pack mentality as they would each go for Drill Peck again, charging full speed as Agility allowed. Josh took a breath, waiting for it... Waiting for it..

"Now! Jump!" Josh called. "Quilava!" Inferno let out as he leaped into the air, causing all three Doduo to crash full speed into one another. What resulted was their heads getting all tangled, and the drilling peaks repeatedly hitting the heads of either the same Doduo, or the other Doduo. It was a crash course disaster, that was for sure. It was ugly, and Josh felt bad. But it was self defense, and he knew that it was something needed for them to survive. "Flamethrower!" Josh called. Inferno would nod and once again unleash hell from his maws as the jets of fire would engulf the immobilized and tangled up Doduo, with them all letting out respective screams of pain. "Let's finish this! Rollout!" Josh called. Despite knowing it wouldn't do much to Doduo, Inferno nodded and curled into a ball, charging right for the tangled Kentucky Fried Doduo group. "Flame Wheel!" Josh suddenly called. Inferno obliged, the Rollout attack being turned into a ball of fire that was guaranteed to roast these dodos to the Distorted World. At full speed the fireball would crash into them, sending them all flying back. They would magically get unstuck as they each fainted respectively, crashing to the ground from the impact. 

"Alright! That's all the Doduo!" Josh said with a smirk as he looked up at what was left... The two Dodrio and their leader. Both lackey Dodrio would step forward and Josh would grit his teeth. He could tell that Inferno was getting tired, and fighting another two wouldn't be easy. Unlike their younger counterparts, the Dodrio didn't charge in wildly. Instead, they walked with stone serious faces, but the anger being evident in their eyes as they advanced on Inferno. But it was only to get their guard down as they would suddenly start using Fury Attack, pecking and pecking and pecking the hell out of Inferno with all three of their heads. With six different heads attacking Inferno from both sides, the Quilava was having trouble. Josh gritted his teeth, trying to think of a plan. "Quick Inferno, Flamethrower to get them away!" he called. Inferno would nod, despite the wounds starting to tick along his body, unleashing a mawful of flames that would send the Dodrio moving back to avoid it. "Flame Wheel!" he quickly called, and he would charge to abide by it, the veil of fire making another appearance as he quickly capitalized to hit one of the Dodrio, only to be hit by a series of Fury Attack from another as soon as it hit. This was going to be physical, Josh knew it.

"Inferno, bite into one of the necks!" Josh called. It was a dirty move, but this was needed for survival and they were getting desperate. As Inferno was plagued by the Fury Attack over and over, he would manage to find an opening and sink his teeth into the middle neck of the tri-headed bird demon, causing it to reel as it let out a screech. "Flamethrower!" Josh called, and Inferno would respond with a quick mawful of fire right to the face of all three heads, a direct hit which would send the Dodrio crashing to the ground and down for the count. The move was dirty, but it had made this a one on one affair. But Inferno was getting tired.. He could see blood starting to trickle from the Quilava's wounds as Josh could feel himself starting to shake a bit from the overwhelming stress of this battle.

As for the other one, it would peck itself in the pressure point while Inferno wasn't looking, boosting it's power. Josh noticed though from the corner of his eye, and was prepared for the next attack. It would quickly attack with Rage, hoping to use the anger built up from watching those Doduo get destroyed to destroy this Quilava. It would charge now, and Josh waited for the last moment before....

"Dodge!" he called out and Inferno would slide to the left. It would turn and try to peck at his head again, but Josh would call. "Left!" which resulted in Inferno moving to the left to avoid another. Another Fury Attack would ensue and Josh would quickly begin calling out commands. "Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right!" Josh would call in succession for every attack, with the careful timing and Inferno's speed allowing him to quickly avoid the attacks. "Duck!" he called to the next one, and Inferno would duck to avoid another Fury Attack. "Flamethrower!" he called, and Inferno would look up before unleashing another mawful of fire to directly hit the Dodrio, sending it back. This time, it would suddenly speed up on the second charge, using Rage to hit Inferno full on before Josh could launch another attack. Inferno's exhaustion was evident, he was nearing the end of his energy limit here. Josh knew he had to end this fast. "It's coming back for another Rage!" Josh called as the Dodrio charged again in a full out rage. "Meet it head on with Flame Wheel!" he called. Inferno's veil of fire would embrace him again as he charged, the flames on his back getting even bigger as he met the Dodrio head on, and they would clash, one trying to get the better of the other. Finally, Inferno would win out and the Dodrio would fly back, slamming into a tree and slumping to the ground. 

Josh took a deep breath, just as tired as Inferno was. Finally it was over, right?

Wrong.

They had forgotten the leader, who watched this patiently. It was the biggest one of the group and scars outlined it's fierce and angry face. Finally, it would leap down to them and would stare the tired Inferno down... Josh took a breath as Inferno tried to catch his breath... This wasn't good... The leader was fresh, Inferno was spent, and Josh's other Pokemon were back at the house... 

Josh made a statement first, tossing three Pokeballs he'd kept in his pockets at three of the Doduo. At the very least, it would keep the Dodrio leader distracted long enough to allow Inferno to catch his breath, but he didn't know how long it would be... The Doduo were out cold, quite frankly, so Josh knew they were his if the Dodrio leader didn't interfere, but you never know what can happen. 

[Zernebog Romanov]

. . . !
Congratulations, DODUO were caught!
Three Pokeballs must be removed from your inventory!

[Slate]

. . . !
Congratulations, EVOLUTION confirmed!
One Evo has been removed from your inventory!

[Josh Dragomir]

The Dodrio Leader's attention would be diverted toward the Pokeballs as they wiggled a bit, before each stopped, made a "Doot~" and then would each disappear into a bright light as they were each transferred to the Ranch. Josh smirked a bit, knowing that despite the risks it posed to his own well being, it would give Inferno a spare moment to recover. Time was all Josh could provide right now, and he knew Inferno needed it. He knew that this fight wouldn't be easy...

The distraction worked long enough for Inferno to regain his breath and rest for a moment, before the Dodrio's anger boiled over. How dart this insolent runt catch members of his flock, his lackeys? Sure, he could replace them, but they were so DIFFICULT to fool into serving it! And now this human boy had ruined his hard work and he would have to go recruit more of them! Gah, it just made him so MAD!

The Dodrio's rage didn't escape Josh, though he didn't know of the pure evil that rested in the veins of this oversized, scarred up Dodrio. He figured it was a territory thing, but in reality the Dodrio was just naturally violent. Regardless, it's anger boiled over and it would start pecking itself in the pressure points... Repeatedly. Josh raised an eyebrow. What in the holy hell was it doing? 

Then it hit him. It was using Acupressure over and over to boost it's own stats and increase it's own power! It was determined to risk harm to itself in order to hurt Inferno! This wasn't looking good... 

And it wasn't. Because as soon as Inferno even got to his feet, the Dodrio would immediately lunge at him with powerful speed, sending him back several feet with a Quick Attack, with the speed of the Quick Attack only causing the attack to go even faster, and increasing it's velocity. Inferno didn't even have a chance to defend himself. Josh gritted his teeth... This one was tough. This was bad. He needed to think quickly. 

"Inferno, grab the beak!" Josh called out as the Dodrio would go for another quick attack. "Middle head, any beak!" Josh instructed, and the Quilava nodded as he waited patiently, waiting for the Quick Attacking Dodrio to come near..... 

WHAM! The Quilava managed to grab the beak of the middle head, but the other two would start pecking at him fiercely, leaving nasty cuts and bruises along his body. Inferno couldn't hold on anymore and let go, and was then sent flying back by another sudden Quick Attack. "Gah..." Josh muttered as he watched Inferno fly. The Quilava, his Quilava was getting destroyed by this blasted thing and there wasn't anything he could do! He saw the cuts that had begun outlining Inferno's body from the previous fights.... Inferno was too tired from fighting off 9 of the other birds to defend himself properly, and he could tell that this Dodrio was taking full advantage. 

Thinking outside the box had worked so far, but yet somehow anything Josh thought up seemed to have no effect. Quickly, the Dodrio would charge again and quickly go for Fury Cutter. "Dodge!" Josh commanded as one head tried to peck at him. "Dodge, and keep dodging!" Josh called as Inferno would rapidly back up and dodge the fury attacks of the three heads, over and over as they backed through the field. Sadly, they were closing in on a wall at the bottom of a cliff nearby... Josh gritted his teeth... Before he realized it...

"Bounce off the wall and use Flame Wheel!" Josh suddenly called. Inferno looked back before nodding. "Quilava!" he called as his flames sparked back to life, and he would leap back, his feet planting against the wall. He would spring off, and the veil of fire would cover Inferno as he charged in mid-air, hitting the Dodrio head on and sending it flying back. "Yes!" Josh praised, grinning wide. They could do this! They could mount a recovery! 

"Flamethrower!" Josh quickly called. "Quill!" Inferno let out as he loosed a mawful of flames. Sadly, the Dodrio was prepared and quickly got up, dodging the attack and charging for another Quick Attack. "Dodge!" Josh called and Inferno sidestepped, the charging Dodrio running past him and going up the hill. "Go after it!" Josh called, knowing it would just come back. "Quilava!" Inferno replied in affirmative before charging after his target, with Josh giving chase. Eventually, they would come to an open field, with trees all around. No more hills, just trees and open fields now. Any Pokemon in the area had cleared out to avoid getting hit and to watch the battle from the sidelines and their hiding places. The Dodrio would suddenly stop and then turn, nailing Inferno with another Quick Attack and sending the Quilava crashing into a tree. 

"Inferno!" Josh cried out, his fists clenched. Inferno was exhausted, he could see it... He could feel it... But Dodrio didn't care.

The Dodrio would quickly take advantage of the situation to slam itself with a Quick Attack into Inferno again as he tried to get up, slamming him back against the tree. Inferno was pinned now, unable to move, unable to defend himself... And the merciless Dodrio would start using Fury Attack mercilessly, over and over and over, nailing hit after hit after hit on the bloodied and wounded Quilava who was quite frankly too wounded to even attack. 

"Inferno, you have to shake him off you!" Josh called out, his fists clenched, his knuckles white. It was paining him to see Inferno like this. He couldn't take it. "Please, Inferno! You have to fight back! Please, I'm begging you! Fight back!" he pleaded. This wasn't about pride, or a battle anymore... This was about protecting his friend, his partner, his baby... This Dodrio didn't care about battling, he just wanted to hurt Inferno until he was dead in a bloody heap, that had become obvious. 

Blood was pouring from the deep cuts that the Dodrio had left on Inferno's body, with the Quilava seeming to fade in and out of consciousness, unable to even process every single hit that just kept coming and coming. The Dodrio refused to stop attacking, constantly using the Fury Attack, coupled with the stat boosts from Ancupressure adding to it's power, to pulverize, brutalize, and destroy the poor Quilava.

Josh couldn't watch anymore. He couldn't. Inferno was down for the count. "Inferno, return!" he said, pulling out Inferno's Pokeball and trying to return him, only for the Dodrio to block the beam and then continue pulverizing his poor Inferno to a bloody pulp. Josh gritted his teeth. No, he wasn't going to allow this. He wouldn't take this!

"Leave him alone!" he yelled, speed walking over and trying to pull the Dodrio off of Inferno. Bad move. The Dodrio would leave Inferno alone alright, only to turn around to face the blonde one that had tried to interfere with this fight. Not a battle, a fight to the death, as Dodrio saw it. Inferno would slump to the ground in a heap as the Dodrio would immediately begin attacking Josh, driving it's beak from all three heads all over his body with a rapid Fury Attack, over and over just as it had done to Inferno, with the speed and power that came from the repeated use of Ancupressure. Josh tried to cover himself up, yelping and grunting at the rapid attacks as they contacted his head, face and body sharply. It was like needles being stabbed into him over and over and over, and all he could do was continuously back up and try to cover up. Finally, Josh tried to fight back, throwing a hard punch that nailed the middle head dead on, stunning it for a moment. Josh's vision was a bit blurry as he could felt the welts, bloodied up cuts and wounds all around his face, head and body. But within seconds, the Dodrio recovered and was back into rage mode, sending itself crashing into Josh with a Quick Attack. Josh let out a yelp as he was sent flying, crashing into a tree with thorns attached to it. The thorns stabbed themselves into Josh's back and he let out a cry in pain. 

Inferno's ears perked up and he weakly opened his eyes, hearing that earpiercing scream in pain from his Trainer. The flames on his back would flare up and he would attempt to get to his feet. As soon as he did though, the Dodrio had already turned it's attention back to Inferno and would nail another Quick Attack that would send him back into the tree, and before he knew it, the Fury Attack frenzy would begin all over again.

Josh's eyes opened wide, with the searing pain from the thorns keeping him from passing out. He managed to tear himself from them, ripping up parts of his clothing in the process. But he didn't care. He tried to make a run for Inferno but within seconds, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his knee and collapsed to the ground. Damnit, not now! No, not now! He couldn't have sprained it now, he had to get to Inferno! 

Try as he might though, he could only get up and hobble a few moments, before collapsing again... His left leg was giving him trouble and he couldn't move it right. Something told him it was more then just a sprain. But Inferno was still being attacked... And Josh could only watch... He tried crawling, but it got him nowhere...

Josh watched on in horror as the Dodrio leader continuously and savagely pecked and pecked, over and over at the wounded and exhausted Quilava, with the poor thing unable to muster up the strength to defend itself. Inferno was helpless, Josh felt helpless, and all he could do was watch. Inferno was in really bad shape, far past any limits he had ever been brought to before… This Dodrio wouldn’t stop until Inferno was dead, Josh realized that… And if Inferno couldn’t stop this thing, then he…

Josh’s entire body was shaking uncontrollably, as he watched his Quilava get pulverized and brutalized mercilessly, blood poured from the open cuts of Inferno as the Dodrio continued to strike at him without mercy. Josh’s only wish at this point was that it was him, and not Inferno, in this kind of pain. Another Fury Attack would rapidly strike Inferno, the poor thing pinned against the tree and too weak to defend himself. Josh could sense it, Inferno was fading… His strength was gone.... 

Memories flashed through Josh’s mind, before his very eyes. The day that Izumi had given him the young Cyndaquil to take care of, the joy in his eyes as he held the cute little baby Cyndaquil in his arms. The joys of days spent training together and spending time together. The day Inferno evolved into Quilava into the heat of battle and the joy that crossed Inferno and Josh’s face, Inferno for being one step closer to his dream of growing up, and Josh’s to see him achieve it. Inferno had become incredibly special to him, and in his heart, Josh knew he loved Inferno more than life itself.  And now, here it was… All coming to an end and there wasn't a thing Josh could do…

He couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears trickled down the cheeks of the blonde as he watched this massacre of his Quilava from this merciless monster, watching his Inferno slowly dying right in front of his very eyes… Josh wasn't one to cry, wasn't one to let the tears flow… But here, he couldn't stop himself. Overcome with emotion, with desperation, Josh would let out a scream.

“INFERNO!” he called out, desperation in his voice. Tears poured down his eyes, his cheeks, his face. This couldn’t be the end. It just couldn’t be! “Q-Q-Quill…?” Inferno weakly let out between attacks, his blurry vision managing to garner the heartbroken look of his wounded Trainer, who had already gotten hurt trying to defend Inferno. The tears in his eyes, the heartbreak that the Quilava could sense…. “QUILAVA!” Inferno let out wildly in return, before Inferno would begin to glow… The light blinding the Dodrio as it had to back up.

“What….” Josh whispered as he watched this. “It… It can’t be….” He said quietly as the light would fade… And there he was. Inferno, a Typhlosion, just as he had dreamed and aspired to be. Josh couldn’t help but let a small smile cross his face, pride in his eyes and his face at seeing it become reality… 

The Dodrio was stunned, but not for long. It would quickly go for another Fury Attack…

“Inferno, use Flamethrower!” Josh would suddenly call, taking advantage of the moment. “GRRRRAAAA!” Inferno would let out, loosing a jet of fire, with the just activated Blaze boosting it’s power even further then evolution already had, right at the Dodrio who would let out a squeal in pain as it flew back from the sheer power of the Flamethrower… They had a second wind! They could do this!

Inferno was running on pure adrenaline now. They could do this, Josh thought as he managed to get to his feet despite the bum leg... They could do this. They had to! He believed in Inferno, he believed in his strength, and deep down, Inferno knew Josh believed in him... He wasn't going to let all this hard work go to waste now! Inferno had achieved his dream, and he was going to make sure they lived to celebrate it! 

"Here it comes!" Josh advised as the Dodrio went for another Quick Attack at full speed. "Dodge!" Josh commanded as it was within inches of Inferno, and the Typhlosion would slide to the right to avoid the Quick Attack, which would transition into Fury Attack when it came close. Luckily for Inferno, he had managed to get out of the way of the combination. "Flame Wheel it from behind!" Josh quickly called. "GRAA!" Inferno responded, charging full speed as the flames on his back went full throttle, a veil of fire, stronger and hotter then ever covered Inferno as he slammed into the Dodrio after it had missed the combination. 

"Don't let it BREATHE, Inferno! Flamethrower!" Josh immediately called as the Dodrio would fly back from the attack. Josh was giving it no mercy after what it had done to Inferno... He was angry, and so was Inferno! "GRRRRAAAAAAA!" Inferno let out as he loosed a volley of fire that threatened to cook the damned bird, as it engulfed the Dodrio in the hottest flames Inferno had ever shot in his anger, complied with Blaze. "EXTRASENSORY! FINISH IT!" Josh commanded fiercely. The ball of psychic energy would immediately be charged by Inferno, who prepared to loose it ungodily upon this wretched cretin that had threatened their lives...

"FLAMETHROWER THE PSYCHIC BALL!" Josh suddenly called. Inferno would nod and shoot a maw full of fire into it, and watched as the flames mixed with the energy, causing the ball to grow... "FIRE!" Josh immediately would command. "GRAAA!" Inferno responded as he loosed the firey Extrasenrory toward the stunned Dodrio. "Now, Flame Wheel and hit him at the same time as the ball hits!" Josh called. Inferno nodded and would charge full speed for one more attack as he ran alongside the firey Extrasensory. The ball of fire would accompany the smaller ball of fire as Inferno was engulfed in Flame Wheel. "GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!" he let out as he, and the Extrasensory, would collide with the Dodrio full blast. An explosion would ensue, and as the smoke cleared, Josh would hobble his way to where Inferno had made contact...

"Inferno!" Josh called as the smoke cleared. And there he was, standing tall. The Dodrio below him had fainted at his feet. Josh smiled as he patted Inferno's head. "You did great.... Inferno.." Josh managed to breathe out weakly. He was exhausted... Inferno was exhausted... And they both had wounds that needed patching up. "I love you, Inferno..." he said quietly as he pulled his Typhlosion into a tight hug. "Let's go home..." he said quietly as the duo would start walking back to Littleroot Town... He was sure mom would be thrilled to see Inferno had evolved, after they explained the wounds, of course!

[End Thread]