the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Oldale Town. It'd been... well, to Ryusuke it felt like years, even if he knew it'd only been the one.

Red duster faded and slightly beaten from the flight inland before the long trek up Route 101, the sight of the quaint little town was a welcome one. There really wasn't much here - a handful of houses that stretched along the cleared green fields that somehow managed to avoid being overtaken by the surrounding jungle and rainforests that Hoenn was known for, but the building that was of particular interest to Ryusuke was easily spotted and picked apart from the others. Unlike the smaller houses scattered across the open expanse within the town's borders the Pokemon Center was a much more modern construction and easily identifiable by the large sign planted by the road that ran by it. Craning his neck to try and work some of the remaining stiffness from it, Ryusuke began walking towards his intended destination in the distance, Grovyle right behind him.

Considering what had happened in Slateport during his absence from the region, Ryusuke found himself rather conflicted by the state of Oldale Town. The little place had always been somewhat isolated from the rest of the region in much the same way Verdanturf had been before the construction of the tunnel meant to link it to Rustboro. To a point, it was something of a relief to see that nothing had really changed in the year that he'd been away, but.... at the same time, also concerning. Hoenn was a relatively peaceful region compared to a lot of the others, but he would've thought there'd have been some sort of response given their proximity to Slateport. Just a quick jaunt up Route 110, cross the sea inlet that made up a good portion of Route 103 and that'd put the Rockets literally at Oldale's gates. It was a sobering thought, and Ryusuke wasn't sure what would've disturbed him more - the lack of response that he was currently seeing, or something more proactive which would've just driven home how big a development the Slateport incident was.

Well, regardless. There wasn't really much point to worrying about it now. There wasn't really anything he could do about events on way or the other at the moment, and Ryusuke found himself reminded of that fact as he suddenly became acutely aware of Grovyle's careful gaze, the Wood Gecko's head tilted sideways to allow one, large reptilian eye to watch him as they walked.

"Yeah, I know. I'm fine, let's just get to the Center. We'll figure things out from there." Ryusuke said, glancing down to the Grass type as he spoke - Grovyle, clearly not believing that, still reluctantly turned his gaze back to the road after another moment of scrutiny.

That really was the question, though, wasn't it?

What were they going to do?

Ophelia Yearwood

[attr="class","dibody3"]nyx would softly start to sing to herself as the pair continued walking down the path. she honestly wasn't looking at where she was going nor did she really care. the point of travelling was to let her feet take her where they were suppose to rather than strategic planning. for once she didn't have to worry about doing the right thing. nyx's volume in her singing got louder as she then bounced around with a happy smile coming to her lips.

"the first alice was the wrathful woman of the spade~" she sang eeriely, looking to chaos with a grin. as she continued the song, she went through each of the alice's until she got to the third one where she stopped for a moment, thinking about the lyrics as she sand them.

"the third alice was an innocent young girl of club. an enchanting, graceful figure in the world of wonderland."

taking a breath after she sang, the young woman would close her eyes for a moment as she continued marching until she finally felt herself bump into someone.

the absol would quickly run over to her, giving a soft noise as if asking if she was all right. nyx opened her eyes as she looked to the canine and gave a light smile. "i'm okay, chaos...." it was then her eyes went to the person she had bumped into, ready to glare and chew him out for not paying attention to where he was going.

however, the girl stopped and her pale cheeks would redden a bit as she stared at him. her words would be caught in her throat. "uh...oh....sorry."

wait, why was she saying sorry to him? this was totally his fault that she was now sitting on the ground.

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

As another several minutes of monotonous walking crawled by Ryusuke found himself unable to prevent his mind from wandering off again. It was something of a bad habit - the blond had always had trouble when it came to simply switching off, and he'd never really gotten to the point that he was able to stop thinking. Useful in some ways, but not so much in others. The thoughts drifting through his head now, though, were of the other trainers he'd met in Johto. One or two he'd traveled with, others he kept encountering by chance and still others who'd made a point of keeping in touch. At least a handful of them had intended to visit Hoenn, either after meeting Ryusuke and his Pokemon or simply as a matter of curiosity. It was something that kept the blond preoccupied as he turned his attention away from the edge of the road he and Grovyle were walking along, prosthetic hand reaching into his pocket and fishing around for the PokeNav inside.

Useful little devices. The one Ryusuke owned was an older model, not the shiny new Pluses that people were walking around with now a days. That wasn't to say that it didn't do it's job, though. The things were incredibly convenient, and Ryusuke would've sworn superior to the PokeGear a lot of the Johto trainers were walking around with. Map functionality paired with GPS, phone, contact lists, the features just went on and on. What Ryusuke was interested in, though, was the little marvel's ability to combine a number of those functions to track other similar devices registered as contacts - in short, to keep tabs on trainers who'd shared their information and kept in touch. Thumbing the device on and swiping to the map screen, Ryusuke would swap through the filters before finding what he was looking for.

... not as many as he would have liked, but more than he'd hoped for. To be completely honest Ryusuke was surprised that he was getting any hits at all. Most of them were trainers that he'd run into during his first year spent touring Hoenn, but there were a couple of hits in... not Slateport, but the coast off to the east?

Interesting. Ryusuke hadn't been aware that there'd been people he knew on that ship with most of the trip spent holed up in his cabin. If he'd known-

So focused was Ryusuke on the tiny little screen in front of him, so lost in thought that the sound of someone else talking didn't even remotely register until the collision had occurred. While fairly short by most standards Ryusuke was fairly solid in build from so much travel and a background in martial arts, enough that Grovyle's tug on his sleeve did little more than the other person colliding with him. It did, however, serve to pull Ryusuke out of his disconnect with the surrounding world as the blond paused, looking up in confusion before registering that what he'd run into was now on the ground instead.

"Oh."

Not the most eloquent of responses, but it summed up his confusion fairly well. The kid on the ground appeared to be maybe a couple of years younger than he was - and, surprisingly, even shorter than Ryusuke had been before he'd started growing again a month or two a go. Still, her smaller size and much smaller frame explained how she'd gotten knocked over by the accidental collision. While Ryusuke's initial response would've been to help her back up, both the initial look in her eye and the presence of the Absol he knew nothing about stopped the trainer from extending an arm within biting range as he hesitated, turning off the PokeNav and pocketing it. Grovyle, for his part, had stopped walking as well, taking a moment to size the Dark type up himself.

"Shit. You okay?" Ryusuke started, hesitation evident as he took a risk extending his right arm, an offer to help pull the kid up to her feet. While he was still nervous about the Absol, at least the metal limb was replaceable - and durable enough to last for the second or two needed for Grovyle to intervene if shit got out of hand.

Ophelia Yearwood

[attr="class","dibody3"]nyx would continue staring up at the blonde, swallowing again as she started trying to think of something smart to say. while she couldn't think of anything, the young teen would slowly move to take his hand and stood. her puffy dress would have small bits of dirt on it now seeing as how she had fallen to the ground.

the girl then moved to dust herself off before she spoke. "yeah, i'm okay...what about you? i....i kind of ran into you.." she muttered as she looked back to him with her deep clue colored eyes. "but either way, you should have also been careful, seeing as how we were both out of it!"

there she goes, her sassy nature coming out of the daze she had been in. sure, he was kind of cute but that didn't stop her from making it a point to take charge.

"who are you, anyway?"

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

That was a bit of a relief, at least. Ryusuke could immediately tell from the lack of accent that the girl was a fellow Hoenn native, although beyond that he could only make assumptions. A relatively safe one, though, was that she probably wasn't traveling alone. The Absol aside, Ryusuke knew that he was in the minority as far as trainers went, at least ones of similar age. While it was fairly common for adult and older Pokemon trainers to travel solo or with maybe one other person it was an equally common practice for younger trainers to travel in groups. Safety in numbers, as it were. Most were starting at older ages now a days compared to the ten or eleven of his mother's generation, but lack of familiarity with areas beyond their home towns didn't change. And as was readily apparent with the woman he'd run into back in Littleroot, trying to cut it solo without the experience or Pokemon to get you out of accidents tended to result in hospital visits or worse. There'd been plenty good reason why his dad had insisted someone accompany Ryusuke on his first tour of Hoenn, even if the blond didn't realize it at the time.

In short... the kid probably wasn't alone, and the last thing Ryusuke needed was to pick an unnecessary fight with a bunch of other trainers. Battles were fine, but grudges didn't always end there.

Ryusuke was about ready to resume his walk to the Pokemon Center just as the kid spoke again, though, stopping the trainer mid step as he turned to blink in slight confusion.

"Me? I'm fine. Believe me, I've been hit by worse." Ryusuke said after a moment, casually raising his right hand and waving it in a mock "hello" just to drive the point home as the dull metal surface stood out in direct contrast to the flesh and blood left hand. There was probably a more tactful way of putting it, but if it existed it wasn't immediately coming to mind for Ryusuke. The change in tone was definitely giving him pause, though, and not the good kind. His mother and father had both been quite insistent about trusting his gut when he'd been growing up, and he seemed to inherit their good sense of intuition. But, then again.... the attitude added into the kid's voice was likely completely harmless and it was just Ryusuke's memory of his sister when they were growing up. Neither of them had been ideal kids, contrary to whatever their mother might've said, but while Ryusuke had been difficult to contain at times and gotten into all sorts of trouble... Shiori had a habit of causing said trouble, and a similar tone of voice often preceded a number of unpleasant memories.

Given how many people had PokeNavs in Hoenn, though, it wasn't like there was much point in trying to avoid an answer to her question. If she really wanted to know all she'd have to do is pull the electronic out and check the Trainer's Eye app.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. Yeah, I know!" The blond said, half turning towards the Pokemon Center's direction again before glancing and yelling out ahead as Grovyle gave an impatient shout back, the Wood Gecko having started to go on ahead on his own. Another individual best supervised at all times.

"Ryusuke. Sorry, do you need something? It's been a day."

Ophelia Yearwood

[attr="class","dibody3"]the poor girl would frown as ryusuke raised his voice, wincing a bit. this made her upset...angry to say the least. she moved to put her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. how dare he raise his voice at a young lady! where were his manners?!

chaos would let out a growl, as if to tell the blond that he was quickly crossing some borders with his attitude. no one treated nyx with disrespect. not while this absol was around. not at all.

the girl then immediately walked over to him, looking up at him and trying to be as dangerous as possible. "i need you to not raise your voice at me, for starters! i am a young lady, you show me respect! how rude of you to raise your voice in my presence!" she exclaimed, her attention on ryusuke...

at least until she saw the fluffy tail of something running towards her. it was small like her, but it seemed terrified of the big ass bug behind it. nyx would blink as her arms wrapped around the sentret. "uh...uh....you get that thing!" nyx yells to ryusuke. "i got this cute fluffball!"

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Whoawhoawhoa. While Ryusuke had turned his head and looked at Grovyle when he'd yelled to the Wood Gecko it apparently hadn't made much if any difference to the girl and her Absol. Their reaction to the increase in volume was almost immediate, as was Ryusuke's own - he'd spent enough years dealing with wild Mightyena growing up that the blond hadn't even registered what he was reacting to until after the fact, a hand already on Charizard's Pokeball as his body stiffened and his head whipped around to locate the source of the growl. Grovyle, typically carefree, would notably react in much a similar way as the Pokemon stiffened and turned, visibly restraining himself from raising his arms into a defensive position as he identified the Absol.

Oh, that did not bode well. While Ryusuke would've preferred to avoid a fight, though, that was going to be entirely on the kid in question right now. The Pokemon Center was within line of sight, and if she or her Absol decided to make things messy the blond wasn't going to hesitate to defend himself.

At least that was the mindset he'd intended to run with until the orders started coming out, the trainer bristling in response.

Respect?

You're gonna have to earn that first. Ryusuke thought to himself, horribly tempted to simply say it aloud but his tongue held by the Absol's presence. The girl, meanwhile, did not manage the same intimidation factor despite her attempts. Ryusuke knew he was short - his recent growth "spurt" put him at an even five feet tall rather than the four foot one he'd been for most of his teen years, and while that had never bothered him the blond was well aware of how that made other people perceive him. This kid wasn't even that tall, and when combined with the fact that he'd been in fist fights with people who probably lifted arm weights heavier than her... no, it was her Pokemon that had him nervous. Not her.

Thankfully, though, Ryusuke was relieved of any need to respond directly to the girl as her ADD came into play and a passing wild Pokemon got her attention. A.... wait. Sentret? For the briefest of moments Ryusuke was completely distracted by the presence of the foreign Pokemon, one that he'd seen a great deal of in Johto but that didn't belong in Hoenn. More to the point, the same applied to the predator chasing it.

All things considered, it was probably the most bizarre thing the blond had seen all day, and that was saying a fair deal. Not necessarily all bad, though, as Ryusuke had spent a fair time trying to hunt down Yanma in Johto - unfortunately Grovyle had still been a Treecko back then and lacked the necessary experience fighting Flying types to make up for the disadvantage, but now...

Glancing over to the Wood Gecko Ryusuke could see that he was sharing similar thoughts. Neither of them were keen to follow the kid's order but the Yanmega didn't belong in the wild anyways, and it was something they'd given up on when they'd left Johto for home.

Ryusuke would simply give a whistle of approval to Grovyle as the Wood Gecko shot off at impressive speed, making for an intercept course with the giant bug. The trainer, conversely, would angle wide and towards the space behind it, Ryusuke's hand shifting over to the next Pokeball on his belt. Charizard honestly would've been ideal here and likely could end the fight in one move, two if he decided to be lazy or sloppy, but there was no need for him here. Grovyle knew what he was doing and the Froakie in the blond's care frankly needed the experience - six months into his training and the Pokemon still hadn't grown enough to evolve, although he had to be getting close.

Feet rapidly tapping away at the soft grass as he advanced, the moment that Grovyle passed the Sentret running for the girl he would all but vanish in a blur of movement, seemingly teleporting a short distance ahead with Agility and directly underneath the Yanmega, well within the Pokemon's blind spot. It was enough to make the Bug Pokemon hesitate as he was presented with two targets only for one to immediately vanish, and that was all Grovyle needed - legs coiling, the Wood Gecko would rocket upwards at a ninety degree angle to the ground with Quick Attack, slamming into the Yanmega's underside before the Pokemon could change course or otherwise react. Rather than halting his momentum, however, Grovyle's hook like claws would use the Bug's long abdomen to swing up and over, landing on the Pokemon's thorax and following up with a lightning quick slash of Leaf Blade intended to target one of Yanmega's wing pairs on the right side.

Confused, off balanced and supporting more weight than he easily could, the Bug would quickly start to drop out of the air to slam onto the ground, Grovyle riding his opponent down rodeo style only before kicking off of his mount, Detect allowing Grovyle to avoid the follow up Bug Buzz from the angered Yanmega that shredded the air and grass around it. Having leapt forward to avoid the attack, the Wood Gecko would again carry his momentum forward with a light hand spring maneuver off the ground, twisting his torso to land on his feet and facing the Bug type. It hadn't done nearly as much damage as many might have thought at a glance, but that wasn't the point. The Wood Gecko more than had his opponent's attention which meant it wasn't on Ryusuke, even though the trainer was reasonably sure he was still within Yanmega's excellent field of view behind the Pokemon.

All Grovyle had to do now was keep that attention. He'd rather easily nabbed the initiative in the fight, but while Grovyle needed no instruction of any sort from Ryusuke to fight the same couldn't be said yet for Froakie. Clicking the button on the held Pokeball and allowing it to pop open, the Water type sprang into existence directly in front of the trainer and already in a fighting pose.

"Keep him grounded, but watch for Bug Buzz. Don't get close if you don't have to!" Ryusuke called out, Froakie glancing back in minor annoyance at the more cautious nature of the command but not arguing with it. From what Ryusuke could remember of his time spent trying to capture a Yanma, they were largely special attackers. Same for Yanmega. While they did have a few powerful close ranged attacks, though, nearly all of their combat tactics and techniques took advantage of their rather impressive flight ability - and while they could have Tinted Lens to offset type disadvantage, Speed Boost was the far more common ability. On the ground the Yanmega would be manageable for the pair. If it got into the air, though, things would get ugly quick - Speed Boost would make a drawn out battle incredibly dangerous, and that would likely be the point he'd have to call Charizard out to deal with the problem.

For now, though, they appeared to have it handled.

Wings flaring up and well aware of its situation, the Yanmega would attempt to take to the air again only for Froakie to lunge forward, using Smack Down to shut down what the Bug type was doing and immediately withdrawing with Quick Attack before a retaliatory Bug Buzz rended the air once more. Unlike Grovyle's earlier attacks that had been more general harassment rather than damage dealing, though, the Yanmega was visibly reeling this time - Smack Down being a Rock type move, its dual Bug and Flying typing wasn't doing it any favors here. And Yanmega apparently wasn't dumb, either, as it almost immediately realized which Pokemon was the bigger threat.

Even as it drunkenly turned to try and face Froakie, though, Grovyle would leap in again, well aware of what his role was as the Wood Gecko crossed the distance within the blink of an eye to slug Yanmega in one of its bulbous compound eyes. Rather than retreating, though, the Wood Gecko would stand his ground, seemingly making a mistake and lining up a second blow - and as Yanmega suddenly lunged forward with an attempt at U-Turn to try and flee the battle he'd fall into the trap. Arms snapping up and leaves hardening, Quick Guard would almost entirely negate the attack's effectiveness. Occupied with Grovyle and momentarily confused at by the failed attack, Yanmega would be left wide open as Froakie leapt in again, slamming down on Yanmega's back with a second Smack Down - and then immediately following it with a third as Yanmega slumped to the ground, stunned and unable to fight back.

"Clear!" Ryusuke called out, Grovyle and Froakie quickly moving to safety and away from the downed Bug type as he tossed an empty Pokeball at the creature, the orb striking it before sucking Yanmega inside in a flash of red light.

Ophelia Yearwood

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Bingo. As the Pokeball containing the Yanmega shook twice, an audible click would signal a successful capture, orb falling still and a small, confident grin crossing Ryusuke's face. Almost a full year since his first entry into Goldenrod's Bug Catching Contest and weeks spent hunting one of the things, he never once expected he'd encounter one after coming back home. All things considered it was a stroke of good luck in an otherwise bad day, and as Grovyle and Frubbles started to bicker - the Wood Gecko clearly trolling the younger, rasher Water type - the blond would walk over to pick up the red and white orb, taking a moment to polish off the bit of dirt where it had hit the ground with his sleeve. It wasn't going to be in fighting shape anytime soon after the beating it had taken, but they were close enough to the Pokemon Center that it wasn't all that big of a concern. It could've been a lot worse - those two weren't going easy on Yanmega but both Pokemon were well aware that they weren't even remotely close to being Ryusuke's strongest fighter.

That particular title went to the one Pokemon he'd rather not use simply because there wasn't much room left for growth there.

After everything that had happened in that short period of time, though, Ryusuke had admittedly almost forgotten that there was another person present with how focused he was on the fight.

"... I guess? I'd hope so, anyways. I've been at this long enough." The blond answered, clipping the new Pokeball to his belt and grin fading a bit as the nameless girl spoke. It'd been a solid compliment, Ryusuke recognized that much, but... perspective was relative. Ryusuke knew he was better than the majority of trainers that he was going to run into on the road, but that was very different from claiming to have talent. He'd gotten to where he was through hard work and plenty of failure - the majority of his initial year as a trainer had involved getting his ass handed to him by either family or friends of family. Ryusuke knew he was good, but he would never lay claim to the idea of being "talented" - he'd seen what that had looked like and what it was capable of, and knew he had a long way to go if he was even ever capable of reaching those heights.

"Anyways. We done? I was heading to the Pokemon Center in the first place and if anyone needs it now it's the Yanmega." Ryusuke started, looking over to the other trainer before a flash of movement would catch his attention from Grovyle's direction. Odd as the Yanmega had been, the blond had assumed that it was going to be the last Pokemon they were going to encounter and had left it at that - as most wild Pokemon tended to avoid settled areas it seemed like a safe assumption to make.... even in spite of the long, tall grass that made up much of the fields within Oldale Town. It was impossible to be sure of whether it was was a random encounter or not - perhaps the Pokemon had followed Yanmega, perhaps they'd simply been attracted by the sounds of the battle - but the only one who'd remained on guard was Grovyle. The flash of movement itself was a Scyther, leaping forward from the tall grass to attack the Wood Gecko, bladed arms swinging as it closed in on the smaller Pokemon and missing entirely as Grovyle used Detect, hopping up to plant a foot on one arm as another kicked the Bug Pokemon in the face, using it as a spring board to gain a bit of distance.

Frubbles, however, was far less fortunate. Attention drawn by the Scyther and already moving to attempt another Smack Down while it was attacking Grovyle, the little Water type was completely blind sided as a second Pokemon emerged from the grass and charged the Froakie. While Frubbles was able to notice his own attacker and began to move in an attempted dodge, the Breloom would perfectly track and follow his movements with Mind Reader - only to follow up with a move that could only be described as overkill, the larger Pokemon's tail slamming into Froakie's midsection as Dynamic Punch landed a solid hit, resulting in a OHKO as Frubbles was physically launched across the grass, already unconscious. Glancing to the downed Pokemon, then Ryusuke and finally to Grovyle who was already busy dodging the Scyther yet again, it was clear who the Fighting type's next target was going to be as it began hopping towards the pair already locked in combat.

Shit.

A year ago, the sudden turn of events would have left Ryusuke stunned and confused, trying to process what had happened and what to do next. Now, though, only two facts immediately came to mind. Frubbles was out of the fight, and Grovyle was about to be matched up against not just one opponent with a massive type advantage but two. In short, an instant loss. Not something that was about to happen if it could've been avoided, and while Ryusuke would rather have not relied on him.... recalling Frubbles to his own Pokeball, Ryusuke's hand would go to the second ball that had originally been on his belt before the battle with Yanmega.

"Grovyle, get clear!" Ryusuke yelled out, taking a half step forward to put his back into it as he threw the orb out towards the dueling Pokemon. While he never took his eyes off Scyther the Wood Gecko would immediately acknowledge the trainer's words with action, ducking under another swing from Scyther before suddenly darting away from the fight faster than either Pokemon could follow with Agility. Just as he did that the Pokeball that Ryusuke had thrown would bounce off the ground between all three Pokemon, snapping open and releasing the Pokemon inside - a flash of light later, and a large, orange colored dragon would be left standing where Grovyle had been. Wings unfurling in a stretch, the Fire type would give both wild Pokemon a moment of pause and hesitation, the old reptile taking the moment to glance over his opponents, sizing them up before looking to Grovyle and Ryusuke. The gears would visibly be turning as the old dragon put two and two together in his head - far from appearing annoyed at being called out, however, the aura that Charizard would give off would be one of tired apathy. Not that Ryusuke could blame him. Unlike Frubbles and Grovyle the type match ups here were overwhelmingly in his favor, and the old Pokemon still preferred a challenge than not... plus he was still probably worn out from having flown them to Littleroot halfway from Slateport.

Again, had Ryusuke the choice...

"Yeah, I know. We're almost to the Pokemon Center, just need a quick out is all." Ryusuke said, a clearly apologetic note in his voice as he regarded Charizard rather calmly. Continuing to look in Ryusuke's direction as he thought for a moment, Charizard would let out a huff, smoke puffing from his nostrils before turning back to face Scyther and Breloom. Neither Pokemon had made a move, seemingly having picked up on the difference in strength by instinct alone. In effect, leaving Charizard with the first move. Wings spreading with a regal air and pumping once, grass in the air waving from the force of the wind, the dragon would take full advantage of that opening as he suddenly surged forward with a surprising degree of speed - even faster than Grovyle had been without the use of Quick Attack or Agility, his entire body seeming to erupt into flame as the reptile skimmed over the grass and left a charred path in his wake. Far too quickly for Scyther to dodge, Charizard slamming into the Bug with a body check and flames suddenly flaring out to encompass both Pokemon as Scyther was blasted across the field, immediately knocked unconscious from the force of the blow.

Neck bending sideways with an audible pop as Charizard's spine shifted following the recoil of Flare Blitz, the dragon would calmly turn his head to look to Breloom. To the Grass type's credit it hadn't attempted to flee or take advantage of the brief opening to attack, and if nothing else that had earned a slight bit of respect from the Fire type. Unfortunately, though, the Pokemon's clear willingness to continue the fight also meant there was really only one way this could end. Taking a moment to turn his body to face the smaller Pokemon, Charizard's mouth would open and spew forth the move that Fire types were probably most well known for, Flamethrower scorching the ground as it tracked up and towards Breloom, the Grass type barely managing to dodge to the side as it avoided the move. Attention shifting back to Charizard, Breloom would use Mind Reader again only to be forced to dodge a second time as the wind seemed to distort, ground immediately cleaving apart half a second later as Air Slash missed. The second blade, however, didn't, having been sent from Charizard's other wing anticipating a dodge - and in striking Breloom it effectively decided the fight in one blow, the wild Pokemon unable to withstand a times four type disadvantage as it was thrown across the field before keeling over, unconscious.

Remaining still for a moment as he watched and waited for any sign of movement, Charizard would eventually huff again, the same sense of disappointment from before easily noticeable as he glanced back towards Ryusuke expectantly.

"Sorry, I know. But thanks. You know I wouldn't have asked if there was another option." Ryusuke said, taking a moment to recall Charizard to his ball before clipping it back to his belt. As he did so, though, the blond would look to the two other Pokemon still unconscious on the field, thinking for a moment before pulling two more Pokeballs from his pockets, these ones empty. Ryusuke wasn't particularly a fan of either, but... well, trading was a thing, and better to find them homes with other trainers than let them roam free within Oldale itself.

Ophelia Yearwood