I'M SORRY CHIMCHAR I LOVE YOU ;-;

The first encounter Ethel had with the local wildlife was short, nothing more than a curious Chimchar who felt the need to investigate Ethel and Stratus. The ape popped out from behind a nearby patch of tall grass, looking at them quietly.

Ethel smiled at it. "Hello there, we're just passing through here," she said. "Would you like something?" Stratus chittered at the Chimchar, decidedly less friendly than Ethel was. Ethel would have to work on that attitude.

The Chimchar, apparently not interested in Ethel for much longer, shrugged and turned around, heading back into the grass. 

The next Pokemon to interrupt her stroll, however, was not as benevolent as the Chimchar from before. The Ponyta pushed its way towards Ethel. Snorting and whinnying, it stared her down. 

"Hello," Ethel began. "Is something---"

The Ponyta attacked. Wreathing itself in a wheel of flame, it charged towards Ethel.

Ethel had expected this from the Ponyta's aggressive body language, so she reacted quickly. She grabbed the Pokeball at her belt that contained Crescent and let the Lampent out, who blinked and hooted softly in confusion just as the Ponyta ran right at him. However, the attack stopped as soon as it hit Crescent, the flame feeding into the ghost's incorporeal body and the Ponyta's charge stopping, puzzled. 

In the Ponyta's moment of confusion, Stratus, who had been drawn by the sounds of conflict, leaped towards the Ponyta and screeched threateningly. Electricity crackled from his fur and formed a ball that flung itself at the equine, which whinnied in pain when she got hit by the attack. Crescent, having picked up on the situation, began to form her own attack, a swirling column of flame building up at the Ponyta's hooves.

Ethel had seen enough Pokemon battles to know where that would lead. "Crescent!" The Fire Spin stopped, and Crescent looked back at Ethel. Whether the Ponyta had the same ability to absorb flame or not, Ethel wanted to give the wild Pokemon the chance to flee if she wanted to. She knew that many times, the wild Pokemon mistook humans' intrusions as intentional or threatening, and many would let up after a bit of self-defense.

This Ponyta was no different. Realizing that she was outnumbered, the Ponyta turned and fled, kicking up embers as it galloped away from Ethel and her team. 

Ethel's third encounter with the local wildlife was much more calm and quiet than her second, but certainly more interactive than the Chimchar. She saw the little Salandit creep up to their team, and snarl at them.

Ethel had plenty of experience with Pokemon, so she had an idea of what this Salandit wanted. It sounded curious, but also challenging. She seemed to want a fight, if only a spar. 

Ethel was about to say something to the poison-type when Stratus interfered. Well, of course another Pokemon would understand the Salandit well enough to take on its request, especially if it was a battle and Stratus was itching for something to do. Stratus leaped towards the Salandit, chittering with excitement. Then, he seemingly split into two copies, one of which approached the Salandit on the ground while the other took to the air, gliding after a high jump and releasing sparks.

Ethel had seen Stratus use this move plenty of times. He relied on it extremely often in battle, since he lacked in size and raw power compared to some other opponents. This wasn't really the case against this wild Salandit, however, but it would still find use. 

The Salandit was not so easily deterred. She skittered dextrously backwards and unleashed a burst of fire that was wide and tall enough to reach both images of Stratus, who squeaked and fell from the sky as the Double Team clone he had created on the ground vanished. Catching himself, Stratus landed gracefully on the ground and erected a screen of light between himself and the Salandit. 

The Salandit seemed not to know how to deal with this, trying a more concentrated attack of fire through the Light Screen at Stratus. The screen slowed and weakened the attack, and Stratus easily dodged it to fire off repeated Electro Balls at the poor salamander, who finally submitted.

Stratus pranced around boastfully, flaunting his victory and chittering with absolutely no audience, but that was just Stratus. The Salandit, now defeated, squeaked at Ethel, and she smiled, pulling out an empty Pokeball.

"We'll be happy to have you with us," she said, pushing the button.