"Rath, no," whispered Amber.

The Cacnea, of course, does not give a shit. He gestures once more at the bulky Golisopod that was lumbering along not too far away from where the two of them were.

"That's a bug type," she continued, trying to dissuade the unruly Cacnea from picking this fight which would, frankly, likely go absolutely terribly for him. "It'll tear you to shreds."

Rath was adamant, though, hissing and stomping as he prepared once more to march straight up to the much bigger Pokemon and fight it.

"Rath, seriously! Let's go find something else for you to fight. What about a Krokorok? I saw one earlier. They're strong too."

More hissing and stomping.

"What about I get a teammate out to help you," suggested Amber. She could think of a few Pokemon she had that could help against the Golisopod.

Rath continued to hiss and stomp.

"Fine! Fine," she muttered. "Just don't come crying to me if it hits you too hard."

Rath hissed, this time victoriously, and began to charge at the Golisopod. Well, his charging was more like shuffling, with how short his legs were. This meant Amber had plenty of time to see that the Golisopod was not in fact wild, and was accompanied by a trainer who looked about her age.

"Oh," she said, no longer whispering, and then glanced down at Rath. "Um, sorry. My Cacnea is itching to get beaten up by your Golisopod. Um... would you mind letting him work off some steam?

peggie vela

"I know," said Amber, resigned. "I'm sure he knows, too, but he's just stubborn enough to get beaten up anyways."

Sure enough, Rath seemed to be rapidly reconsidering his challenge as the much larger bug charged towards him at a speed that neither he nor Amber would have thought possible. He fired Cotton Spores at the incoming attacker, the spores growing in size and sticking to the Golisopod, hopefully hindering his movements.

That didn't stop the attack from hitting Rath.

The little Cacnea hissed again, not in challenge this time, but in pain. He was thrown backwards by the attack and landed on his back, half-rolling until he stumbled back to his feet.

"You done yet?" asked Amber, with a half-serious glare at the Cacnea. He seemed to still be glaring, so Amber rolled her eyes and grabbed another Pokeball, releasing Flayn. The Comfey curled around Amber's arm, squeaking.

"Hey, Flayn, can you heal up Rath?" asked Amber. The Comfey needed no more direction to unleash a flower-shaped pulse of energy at the Cacnea, the Floral Healing restoring his health and healing the damage caused by the Golisopod's mighty attack.

Flayn curled up around Amber's forearm again, and Amber looked up at peggie vela. "Any of your Pokemon need healing?"

As peggie vela tends to her Golisopod, Amber watched as a Gloom wandered nearby. The perfect target for Rath and his wounded pride, unfortunately.

Rath launched himself at the Gloom, firing point-blank Pin Missiles right into its face. It wailed and unleashed a sickeningly Sweet Scent in response, perhaps to nauseate Rath, but the Cacnea was a Pokemon possessed, swinging his arms furiously into the Gloom's round body.

"All right! All right, that's enough," said Amber, tossing a Pokeball at the Gloom. It was good to work off steam, but she didn't want Rath to get too accustomed to beating the shit out of wild Pokemon. Because look how that had turned out with this girl and her Golisopod.

The thought seems to prompt the blatant insult towards the already furious Cacnea, who snarled and raised his arm towards the Golisopod. Amber recalled him before he could fire another Pin missile.

"Sorry about him." She puts both Pokeballs in her pocket. "He's already a hothead, and he was in a terrible mood today, too."

She eyes the Golisopod, who still seems to be willing to fight something. The Purrloin that had been furtively watching them would probably be no match for it, either, so Amber shrugs and reaches for a different ball.

"Hey, if nothing bites," she suggested, "I've got a friend who'd be more likely to be a challenge for your monster bug."

peggie vela

Amber nods as she pockets Rath's pokeball. Being a trainer was a responsibility, and it would do her well to be reminded of that. Not only to keep your own Pokemon safe, but to keep others safe from your Pokemon as well.

She's about to reply when a Cacturne shows up on the scene, and regrets it almost instantly as Hull dives at it and clobbers it. The Golisopod takes hits during the fight, too, but he clearly has the advantage, shrugging off a Pin Missile and sinking his jaws into the Cacturne's body.

Amber feels Rath's pokeball quit shaking angrily in her pocket as they watch the fight.

"Uh-- yeah," she says, just a moment too late in response to the girl's request for healing. Flayn was already on it before she even spoke, however, drifting closer to give the huge, deadly Golisopod a burst of refreshing Floral Healing. It wouldn't be instant, but it would patch up the damage that Hull had taken from the Cacturne's attacks.

"Your Golisopod is strong," said Amber cautiously. "Did you train him yourself, or just catch him wild?"

If it's the latter, that makes sense. But if it's the former, well... Amber is suddenly a lot more respectful of the girl.