This chapter is finally finished! I struggled writing the last bit of this. But here it is: Bayleef's chapter! Please keep in mind that this particular story is going to be a two-shot, so there's one more chapter after this, which will be from Sceptile's POV. This chapter is one I've had in my mind even before I wrote this story, so it's good to finally have it written down.
Enjoy!
Story 7 - Grudges, Part One - Bayleef
Adjusting to life at Professor Oak's hadn't exactly gone smoothly for Bayleef. Everything from Body Slamming the Professor and even a few attempted escapes from the lab, she just hadn't been able to settle. Her antics at first had left her confined to a Pokeball most nights simply so the old and worn Professor could catch a chance to rest. Eventually Bayleef had calmed down a bit, accepting the fact that she couldn't reach Ash by running, and that he'd return to the lab eventually, and soon she had started trying to adjust to her new lifestyle. Bayleef often looked back fondly on those days during Ash's Hoenn travels, they were the best times of her life, besides traveling with Ash of course. With Ash's Cyndaquil as her main companion and friend, along with taking care of Ash's young Phanpy she had eagerly waited for was Ash's return from Hoenn, but that's also about the time when things had started to get worse.
Phanpy had left to rejoin Ash's team, and had later returned as a powerful, and much more mature Donphan. Donphan had then prefered to hang out with the ground and rock types, and most of them didn't appreciate when Bayleef came to say hi to her friend. Of course it made sense, with them probably not wanting a grass type around. Cyndaquil soon had started spending more time in the fire habitat, and slowly growing out of her timid nature and making new friends. Bayleef had been proud of her, but she just couldn't stand going into the blazing heat that was provided for the fire types, and she found herself seeing Cyndaquil less and less. Bayleef soon had stuck to the forest. If anyone had wanted to see her, they'd know where to find her: in a clearing sunbathing on a large, mossy boulder.
Bayleef turned on the rock she was currently sunbathing on, vines curling as she thought back on the times she had traveled with Ash. Admitting her crush on Ash wasn't something she did often with other Pokemon, they found it... strange. Perhaps it was, having a crush on a human, but she couldn't help herself, she admired Ash. He was sweet, brave, and cared for everyone around him. Of course she had acknowledged the fact a long time ago that her feelings would never be able to go anywhere, so she had never let them expand beyond a little crush. There was no reason to get her hopes up for nothing.
Bayleef sat up, looking around the clearing. Snivy nor Sceptile were currently there, only Leavanny, who was on the other side of the clearing. She didn't see Buizel either, who had started to hang around lately. She admired the water type's courage to live in the grass type habitat, and wondered if that was some sort of sign for her to take courage to go to the fire type's place and see how Quilava was doing.
Bayleef sighed, then slowly stood up, wandering over to the other side of the clearing. Out of habit she made a wide berth around Sceptile's tree, which stood tall in the middle of the clearing, and made her way over the more rocky soil, then hopped up onto Leavanny's rock. He looked up at her, smiling.
'Hello friend!' He practically sang, placing down several leaves and then waving to her, even though Bayleef was right in front of him.
'Hello Leavanny,' Bayleef replied, settling down on the rock next to him, 'What are you making today?'
Leavanny smiled, picking up his weaving once more, 'I'm making scarves! I'm also trying to figure out a type of plant I could use that could be more resistant to heat so I can make outfits for fire types that last longer!' Leavanny held up the scarf he was currently making, which was sown out of maple leaves. He nodded, 'This one is finished,' Leavanny said, tossing off of the side of the rock, then grabbed two leaves from the pile of fresh leaves he had gathered on the rock in front him, carefully preparing his String Shot attack. Bayleef didn't have to look over the side of the rock to know what was there. At the top of the pile were the "outfits" that Leavanny had made today, but underneath that were dozens of wilting and rotting leaves, the remains of all the outfits he made, but no one ever wore. He'd make them and then toss them to the side when no one would accept them, so they would simply decay away.
'That's great, Leavanny,' Bayleef said, offering a small smile.
Leavanny returned her little smile with a much bigger one, 'This one is for you,' He said, holding up the project he had just started. Bayleef looked at the aspen leaves he was weaving together, and she let another small smile tug on her face.
'Thank you Leavanny,' She said. Like most of the Pokemon at the lab, she wasn't thrilled at the idea of wearing the leaf outfits that Leavanny made, but she still appreciated the thought. She wouldn't call herself and Leavanny friends, exactly. They didn't really share any interests, nor were they close in anyway. Leavanny and her just had the same trainer, and that was really it. They'd talk and hang out together, but that was mostly since there was no one else for them to be with in this forest.
Bayleef looked up at Sceptile's tree, cringing. She didn't know why, but she was positive that Sceptile didn't like her. No, she was positive that he hated her. She recalled the brief time she had met him as a Grovyle, when Ash had stopped at the labs after his Hoenn journey, but she hadn't paid much attention to Grovyle at the time since she was too excited with seeing Ash before he went through Kanto again, though Grovyle had seemed nice enough. But that view had changed when Ash left him at the lab as he left for Sinnoh.
He was now fully evolved into a powerful Sceptile, but Bayleef hadn't been intimidated by him at all. In fact, she was excited to have another one of Ash's grass types around, since Bulbasaur was always helping out Professor Oak in the lab. Now there was another grass type that would be in the woods as well. Bayleef only tried to befriend him, but he had been cold and rude to her right out front, giving her glares every time she came near him. If he talked to her at all (which wasn't that often) he'd only give short, harsh responses. Ash's Glalie had told her that he was cold on the outside, but nice deep down, so she hadn't given up so easily on the idea that he could be her friend, but soon her efforts had proven wasted.
At first she had been personally insulted, frustrated that he wouldn't even give her the time of day, but soon she began to wonder if she had done something to upset him. Yes, he wasn't the warmest Pokemon, but he never treated the other Pokemon at the lab in the same way he treated her. She was growing sick of the harsh glares and the way he'd always move somewhere else every time she would come near him. Bayleef had even spent several nights trying to recall every moment she had been around the Sceptile, trying to figure out what she had done to offend him, but she couldn't come up with anything. What was she missing?
Ash's Unova and Sinnoh travels had been the hardest on her. Her old friends had moved on and had expanded their friendships to other Pokemon. She rarely got to see Ash, and she just couldn't seem to befriend the other Pokemon at the lab. They didn't hate her- but she just wasn't close to any of them. Same with her fellow grass types, Bulbasaur was always busy, Torterra never came into the woods she called home, and Sceptile hated her.
And she just couldn't figure out why.
Things had improved ever since Ash's Unova Pokemon joined the lab; Snivy and her got along well enough, and Leavanny was kind. Snivy was more like a sister than anything, they respected each other and got along, but just had different interest and personalities, and Snivy got along better and hung out with Sceptile. And since Sceptile wouldn't go near her for whatever reason, she rarely got to be with Snivy. So she spent most of her days with Leavanny, listening to him hum and sew, occasionally telling her stories. Most she wasn't interested in, but it was nice to have the company. Better than the days when only Sceptile was around. She was surprised that he had even decided to live in the same clearing as her.
'... Leavanny?' Bayleef asked quietly as she pulled herself from her thoughts.
He looked up from his weaving, 'Yes, friend?' He asked, reaching for another aspen leaf. Bayleef didn't take the term "friend" to heart, that's what he called everyone.
'... Do you know why Sceptile hates me?' Bayleef asked. It had been sometime since she had last tried to befriend the lizard, but she couldn't help but wonder if she had done something... Was this whole thing her fault?
Leavanny tapped his chin, 'I don't think he hates you. Not everyone gets along though.'
'I know... but I just don't know why, I only tried to be friends with him when he first joined the lab, now...' Bayleef sighed, 'Nobody really notices it, but I do. He glares at me everytime I'm around, won't come near me either...' She looked away, 'Get's up and leaves if I do something like come up and say hi to Snivy...'
'Strange,' Leavanny said, 'Maybe you need to reach out to him,' Leavanny measured out the current scarf he was making, grabbing another leaf.
'I've tried that...' Bayleef muttered.
'Then ask him why,' Leavanny simply replied, sewing on the next aspen leaf.
Bayleef looked away, 'Just walk up to him and be like: "Oh, hey Sceptile, just wondering, why do you hate me? I just want to be friends!" That's a great conversation starter!'
Leavanny didn't reply for a minute, '...Well, if you want to be friends with him then you got to figure out why. Even if he's rude to you, I'm sure you see him as someone that can be a better friend than me,' He said this so simply and off handedly and it took Bayleef a moment to realize what Leavanny was saying.
She sat up, turning to look at the bug type, 'I-'
Leavanny gave her a dry smile, and for once his cheerfulness was gone, 'Pokemon don't think I notice, do they? I'm the weird and strange one. The Pokemon that weaves stuff out of leaves that no one wants to wear. I do notice, I just ignore it though. If they can't accept who I am, then I will just have to accept myself then,' Leavanny picked up one more leaf, spitting out a String Shot and attaching it to the leaf, 'I enjoy your company, friend, but I understand. If you want more friends, then I'm not the one to befriend. Sceptile is a good choice, strong and respected. If you can befriend him you'll make many friends here.'
'I-'
Leavanny stood up, holding the finished scarf. He gently wrapped it around Bayleef's neck, 'There you go, friend. This scarf is for you. I need to go gather more leaves, but if you don't want the scarf then you know where to put it,' Leavanny pointed to the pile of unused clothing, 'And if you can't figure out a way to befriend Sceptile, then you know where my rock is. I'll always welcome your company... friend,' He said the last word quietly.
With that Leavanny hopped off the rock, scurrying off into the forest, leaving Bayleef with a heavy weight of guilt, 'No, I-' She stuttered to no one, 'I don't want to be friends with him because he's strong and popular! I just want to understand why he seems to hate me! That's all!' She cried, but there was no one around to hear her.
Bayleef looked down at the aspen leaf scarf Leavanny had given her. She touched it with one vine, realizing how much pride and time Leavanny had put into his work... He had given it to her even though he expected her to just toss it away. Leavanny wasn't deaf, he heard Sceptile and Snivy talking about him. He heard all of the Pokemon talk about him at lunch. Another wave of guilt crashed down on her as she realized that she had agreed with what most of them said. Bayleef pushed herself to her feet, hopping off of Leavanny's rock. Was he right...? Did she just want to be around Sceptile because everyone admired him? No... That wasn't it. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be friends with someone like him considering how he treated her. But... But if this whole thing was her fault, then she wanted to fix it.
'That Ice-Aqua Jet wasn't half bad,' Came Snivy's familiar voice from a little ways in the forest, 'You still need to figure out how to freeze the whole thing with your Ice Punch though.'
'That half-one still hit me hard!' Sceptile's voice called, and Bayleef turned her head up as the now-trio entered the clearing. Buizel was looking quite proud of himself, an Oran berry in his paw. He and Sceptile looked a bit beat up, probably from training. Snivy was accompanying them, but she looked unharmed.
Bayleef look a deep breath, then approached them. She let a smile spread across her face, 'Hello! How was training?' She asked warmly, though she wasn't feeling that cheerful on the inside.
Bayleef tried not to cringe as she noticed Sceptile's claws curl, one of his many reactions when he saw her. He looked disgusted at just the sight of her, and she tried not to shiver. Buizel had his head held high, 'It was awesome!' He said, thumping his chest, 'Nearly have my new solo Ice-Aqua Jet combo down!'
Snivy rolled her eyes, '"Nearly" is an understatement. He's sloppy,' Bayleef frowned, since she had just heard Snivy praise Buizel moments ago. Buizel shot Snivy a glare, and she looked at the scarf around Bayleef's neck, 'Ah, I see you have been Leavanny-ifed.'
Bayleef touched the scarf, remembering Leavanny's words, 'Oh- No, this was a gift, I'm wearing it because I want to.'
Snivy glanced at Leavanny's empty rock, 'He's not here you know, it's not like he'd be listening in even if he was.'
Bayleef opened her mouth to defend Leavanny, but was interrupted.
'Excuse me,' Sceptile said coolly, 'But I'm going to go take a little nap,' He gave a stiff nod to Buizel and Snivy, then scurried off to his tree without even glancing at Bayleef. She shifted her feet, why was he like that? What had she done to him?
Buizel stretched, 'I'm going to retire before lunch too, I need a little break after all that training, Sceptile's no push over. Someone would be a fool to challenge him to a serious match, he dominates me in our friendly matches!' The water type gave a small playful salute to Snivy, then took off on all fours into the forest, where a small pond and his new home was located. It wasn't too far from the clearing, and Bayleef knew that Buizel would be back as soon as he got bored.
Bayleef looked at Snivy hopefully, 'Hey, want to do something?' She asked, since this would be one of the few times Snivy would be away from Sceptile. But to Bayleef's disappointment Snivy shook her head.
'I'm going to catch a quick nap as well, those boys got me up early for their training. I'll see you at lunch though!'
'Yeah...' Bayleef muttered as Snivy walked away, 'Lunch...' Unlike humans, Pokemon didn't need three separate meals in a day. Professor Oak served each different Pokemon all the nutrition in they needed in a single meal up near his lab. They were fed according to their trainer, and Ash's Pokemon were fed at high noon. Mealtimes weren't much of an improvement for Bayleef, since she didn't eat with the other grass types, because she knew Sceptile would leave if she came near him, and she didn't have the heart to separate him from his friends. Donphan and Quilava had made new and more closer friends, and she just felt like a third wheel when eating with them, though she knew they wouldn't reject her.
She looked up at Sceptile, who was laying on a thick branch in his tree, a twin hanging from his mouth. He was fast asleep in the late morning sun, arm swinging lazily. "Ask him why..." Leavanny had said.
'I will,' Bayleef muttered. She'd ask him today... after lunch. Ask him why he didn't seem to like her, if it was something she had done or said... And if it was, what she could do to make it up with him. No, she didn't have to be best friends with him, she just didn't want to be on bad terms with any of Ash's Pokemon. Especially one that she shared the clearing with.
Bayleef wandered over back to her meadowy edge of the clearing, hopping up on her favorite rock. She laid down, she might as well take a nap herself, since there was nothing else to do. Bayleef closed her eyes, slipping into a light sleep, dreaming about her days journeying through Johto.
Bayleef soon discovered that saying that you're going to to something is completely different than actually doing it.
Many of the Pokemon were finishing up their lunches (and trying to protect it from any potential food thieves), while Bayleef had barely touched hers. Her stomach churned, she just wasn't hungry. Why was she so nervous about asking one little question? Well, it wasn't really a little question, Bayleef was quite sure that Pokemon didn't ask other Pokemon why they didn't get along.
What if it wasn't something she had done...? What if he was just that way...? Then what? She glanced at Sceptile, who was laughing at a joke Buizel had just told. Even Snivy had a little smirk on her face. He seemed like a nice Pokemon, so there had to be some reason behind his coldness.
"Dile..." Bayleef turned, watching Totodile sneak towards her untouched bowl of food. He froze in a crawling position as her gaze fell upon him. He gave her an uncertain toothy grin, laughing hesitantly. He began to back away, but Bayleef sighed, and pushed her food dish towards him with her vine. His eyes lit up, 'I can have it?' He asked, awed. He clearly had never been handed the food that he was trying to steal.
'Just this once,' Bayleef muttered, 'I'm not hungry today.'
'Awesome!' The energetic water type cried, seizing her food dish and running off, 'Haha! Beat this Gible, I got a whole another bowl!'
A few Pokemon shot Totodile a suspicious glance, all quickly glancing down at their own food dishes to make sure it wasn't theirs that had been claimed. Most of Ash's Pokemon were done eating though, a few starting to get up and leave, others waiting a bit longer for their friends and companions to finish. Bayleef hesitated again, Snivy and Sceptile were waiting on Buizel. They'd be leaving soon, and she had promised herself that she'd talk to Sceptile as soon as lunch was over. That time was rapidly approaching, and it wasn't long before Buizel stuck his last piece of food in his mouth, standing up and stretching.
'Well, that was delicious!' Buizel said as he stretched, 'But back to training!'
'You're always training,' Snivy sighed, 'Don't you have other things we can do?'
'You don't have to train with us if you don't want to Snivy,' Sceptile said, standing up at the same time as Snivy, 'No one is making you.'
Snivy huffed, muttering something under her breath, watching Buizel with her brown eyes, then the trio began walking back towards the clearing. Bayleef pushed herself to her feet, hesitating. It was now or never, besides, what was the worse thing that could happen?
'H-hey guys!' Bayleef cried, running towards them, 'W-wait up?' She didn't like how uncertain she sounded. They all paused as she called; Snivy smiled at Bayleef, Buizel looked impatient, and Sceptile scowled. Bayleef tried not to flinch under his glare, and she made eye contact with him. Golden eyes met ruby ones, and Sceptile turned away, eyes narrowed, claws clenched.
'Hi Bayleef,' Snivy said, 'Do you want to hang out? These two goons are just going to do more training.'
Bayleef's heart leapt in her chest, someone wanted to be with her! She had to choke down the desperate "yes" that wanted to escape her throat. She slowed down as she approached them, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath so she could reply calmly, 'That sounds great Snivy!' Bayleef smiled, she wouldn't be alone for today!
'Excuse me,' Sceptile said stiffly, 'But I should get going,' He refused to look at any of them, lower jaw twitching. Bayleef looked up at him, remembering the reason why she had come over in the first place: to talk to Sceptile. But was that necessary...? She was going to be with Snivy, so she was fine-
No. She had to know why, no more stalling.
'Sceptile,' She said as he started to walk away, and he froze, not turning around, 'I need to talk to you,' He glanced back at her, and shivers ran through her, 'I- I have a question for you.'
'...I'm busy. Talk to someone else... He replied slowly, the first words he had spoken directly to her in a long time. His tone was cold and final. He lowered himself to the ground with intent of speeding away. Buizel watched his friend, eyes narrowed.
'What did I ever do to you?!' Bayleef snapped, not even try to hold back the frustration that escaped from her mouth as he tried to leave. Sceptile stiffened, gritting his jaw, but he didn't look at her again, 'Why do you always treat me like this?!'
'...I don't know what you're talking about...' He muttered as he realized this wasn't a question he could just walk away from. His voice was tense, and he kept glancing around, eyes never settling. Sceptile's tail twitched, clearly not liking the attention they were slowly gathering from Ash's other Pokemon. Buizel's gaze kept flickering between Sceptile and Bayleef, and Snivy was frowning.
'You know exactly what I'm talking about,' Bayleef replied, surprised at the bitterness slipping into her tone. There was no way he didn't know about the rude glares he'd throw her way, or how he always left every time she came near. Bayleef blinked rapidly, 'Did I do something...?' She asked quietly, 'I've spent so much time trying to figure out if I did something to offend you, but I can't think of anything... If I did do something I'm sorry... I'm sorry...'
Sceptile let out a low growl, then started to walk away without another word, not even acknowledging her apology. At first Bayleef just stood there, but a ping of anger rattled through her.
'Ever since Ash left you here all you've ever done is be rude to me!' Bayleef yelled at him, 'I have only tried to be friends with you, yet you always treat me like I'm not here! Everytime when I'm in the area you turn away and makeup excuses to leave! What- did you think that I didn't notice? Did you think that it didn't hurt me?'
Sceptile stopped, eyes flickering back and forth as he found himself backed into a corner. Bayleef's yelling was loud, and Ash's Pokemon were starting to look up to watch the commotion. Bayleef normally wouldn't be comfortable with all the attention either, but she was too focused on Sceptile to care.
Sceptile's feet dug into the ground, 'Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps I just want my space? That maybe I didn't want to be friends with you?' He hissed back quietly, eyes still darting about as if trying to hide something.
His words stung like an Icicle Spear attack, and a stab of anger ran through Bayleef, 'And you think that justifies how you treated me? Why didn't you just say something to me then!?' All the times she had tried to figure out why Sceptile acted the way he did seemed to now mock her, every time she had somehow justified his actions now filled her with anger, 'It looks like Leavanny was right,' Bayleef spat, 'Everyone only likes you because you're strong!'
Sceptile said nothing, his bright yellow eyes gleaming with frustration and rage. All of Ash's Pokemon that were still around were watching in a hushed manner. Even Gible, who would usually use a time like this to search for leftover meals was watching with wide eyes, a berry sitting in his claws, forgotten.
'...Just stay out of my way,' Sceptile growled, mouth gritting against his twig as he walked away once more.
Bayleef quivered, and she didn't know if it was from rage, frustration, or simply embarrassment. She swung the leaf on her head around, firing a half dozen sharp leaves at him. The Razor Leaf didn't do much, just bounced off his scales, but it was enough to make him stop. Sceptile paused, then slowly turned to face her, gaze expressionless as he scanned her. The was the first time he had made direction eye contact with her on his own. His eyes were cold, and he brushed his claws against were the Razor Leaf had hit him, and he looked away.
'I honestly wonder why anyone would want to be with someone like you!' Bayleef screamed at him. Resentment welled in within her, it seems she had been wrong. There didn't seemed to be a reason behind his attitude except for the fact that he could.
Sceptile froze up as these words left her mouth. For a moment he didn't move, eyes wide and unfocused. The leaves on his elbows gleamed, and he slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers once more. There was no rudeness in his unforgiving glare, only a deep, smoldering rage. Bayleef couldn't help but take a step back as she saw the raw anger emulating from him, and she realized that what she had said had struck a deep nerve. He blinked once, his yellow eyes stormy and foreign. His arms twitched, and suddenly he was speeding towards her, arm raised with a powerful Leaf Blade that slashed across her side.
Even with a type resistance against his attack, the force of the blow sent her flying back. Bayleef grunted as she was sent tumbling through the grassy field, side aching from where he had made contact. She lifted up her head, looking at Sceptile as the Leaf Blade faded.
'You know nothing about me!' He roared at her, 'Nothing!'
'Bayleef!' Snivy cried as the grass type struggled to her feet, eyes lined with pain. Sceptile glanced away, and Bayleef launched a flurry of Razor Leaves at him again. He didn't bother dodging the attack, the Razor Leaves did nothing to him. He simply launched himself into a Quick Attack, speeding towards her with blinding speed. Bayleef stumbled, struggling to keep her balance against the fierce grass type.
Two vines shot out of the side of her neck, the Vine Whip darting down towards Sceptile's legs in a hope to entangle him. He simply grabbed the vines with his claws as they came at him, pulling sharply, making Bayleef stumble to her knees. He released a blast of purple and blue energy, the Dragon Pulse hitting her head on. He let out of her vines, glaring at Bayleef with a look of malice.
'You know you can't defeat me in a battle,' He whispered as she retracted her vines, looking around hesitantly. Everyone was watching them, most with an uncertainty. Bayleef stumbled to her feet, glancing around as well. There was a thick tension in the air as Ash's Pokemon waited to see what would happen next between the two grass types, 'But if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get,' He prepared another Leaf Blade.
A sphere of silver energy formed above Bayleef's mouth, glittering in the sun. She launched the Hidden Power attack as he came charging in with another Leaf Blade. He destroyed the attack with a single swing of his arm, leaping up high into the air to deliver another blow. Bayleef grunted as she was hit yet again, skin hurting from where all the Leaf Blades had struck. She lifted her head, looking into Sceptile's eyes. Anger. Why was he so angry? He had said she had done nothing, but there had to be a reason for this anger...
Sceptile turned away, probably figuring that Bayleef was done with this 'battle', if the sudden harsh exchange of blows could be called that. While Sceptile may have been strong, Bayleef definitely wasn't weak, and she stumbled to her feet once more. She didn't know what beating him in battle would do for her, but she was tired of being ignored and hurt. She charged forward, ready to deliver a Body Slam attack.
Sceptile must have heard her coming, since he turned around right before Bayleef plowed into him. The force knocked him onto his back, Bayleef standing over him, huffing in exhausting, before launching a Hidden Power right at his face.
It seemed that Bayleef had finally gotten an attack on him that had done some damage, because Sceptile didn't move. He just laid there, staring into nothing for nearly a whole minute, eyes wide. Bayleef hesitated, her battle instincts telling her to take advantage of this opportunity and attack, but was this truly a battle? There had been no challenge given, they had just thrown themselves into different attacks.
'Get off of me...' Sceptile hissed quietly, breaking the silence in the field. Bayleef stared down at his face, whose scales were a dark green. She saw the anger filling his eyes once more, the same rage she had seen earlier, 'I said get off of me!' Sceptile roared in a voice that wasn't his own, thrashing. He released a powerful Leaf Storm around them, firing one Dragon Pulse after another, searing her skin as they hit. The blows managed to throw her off of Sceptile, and she was sent tumbling.
Sceptile rose to his feet, Leaf Storm starting to die down as he came at her. Bayleef didn't get a moment to recover as she was pummeled with Leaf Blades and Quick Attacks. Bayleef tried to hold her ground, but she was helpless against the powerful Sceptile. Between her attempted efforts to attack she saw his rage-filled glare, but somehow she got the distant feeling that his anger wasn't towards at her, if that were somehow possible.
Bayleef fell to one knee, and she knew that there was no way she could win this fight. The only battles she had been pushed this far in were league and gym matches, but even then she had been in the shape to fight, battling under a trainer and a judge. This was different, there was no trainer to direct Sceptile in his attacks, and no judge to tell him when to stop, and Bayleef hadn't been in a battle in ages. She sank to the ground, groaning.
'You win,' Bayleef finally coughed out, but he kept attacking, 'I surrender!' Bayleef cried, 'You win!' He didn't seem to hear her though, as if blinded by his own rage, caught up in the fury of his attacks.
Bayleef had slumped over on her side from the blows when finally she heard a voice other than her own calling out between Sceptile's attacks, 'Sceptile, stop,' She didn't know the voice that well, and she forced an eye open in time to see a flash of blue feathers. Swellow?
When Sceptile didn't acknowledge the presence of the flying type, Swellow spoke again, a bit louder.
'Sceptile, stop!' Swellow demanded, 'The battle's over!'
No response from Sceptile, and Bayleef closed both eyes, "Bay..." She groaned.
Swellow threw himself into an Aerial Ace, speeding forward and striking Sceptile across the chest. The blow sent him stumbling, and Swellow came down with another Aerial Ace, landing between him and Bayleef.
'Sceptile!' Swellow cried once more, and this time the grass type's gaze seemed to focus on him. Sceptile paused mid-Lead Blade, 'Enough!' Swellow screamed at his former traveling companion, feathers ruffled, 'Can't you see that's not her?'
Bayleef didn't know what Swellow meant, but she managed to open her eyes again. The scarf that Leavanny had made for her laid torn in ruins around her, and she didn't dare move. Everything hurt. Sceptile was huffing, eyes still wild, but now focused. The rage in his eyes slowly drained away as he looked around.
'Bayleef!' Quilava cried, the fire type running to her side. Bayleef felt her warm paw nudging her leg, and Bayleef painfully shifted to look at her. Quilava wasn't the only one there, Donphan and Bulbasaur had come over as well. Bayleef turned to look back at Sceptile, only to discover that Snivy and Leavanny were standing next to Swellow, blocking Sceptile from her.
Snivy was quivering in rage, 'What was that, Sceptile?!' She screamed, as if she had been the one to be attacked. Buizel was standing uncertainly off to the side, glancing between his two friends.
Sceptile was shaking, 'I-' He began, shaking, 'I-' He stared at Bayleef, no anger or hatred in his eyes. Just horror, horror at what he had done. He stumbled back, looking down at his claws. His lower jaw was trembling, and his signature twig fell out of his mouth and tumbled to the ground.
'Are you okay, friend?' Leavanny asked, pushing passed Bulbasaur, laying a thin arm on Bayleef's side. Concern filled the bug type's eyes as Bayleef only shivered. She closed her eyes, trying to stop tears from falling. She had shrugged Leavanny off as nothing more than someone to keep her from loneliness, but here he was showing that he was a real friend for her. She tried to say something, but her body was too worn down to put in the effort.
Bayleef opened her eyes once more in time to see Sceptile turning on a heel, racing out of the fields. Once he reached the edge of the forest he sprang up into trees, a mere green blur, darting away before anyone could follow. Swellow glared in the direction Sceptile had done, opening his wings and going after him.
Too weak to stand, Bayleef felt the rest of Ash's Pokemon pulling her up onto Donphan's back, carefully carrying her towards Oak's lab.
No, Sceptile isn't out of character, there's a reason for why he's acting the way he did.
The next chapter should be out pretty soon, which will be from Sceptile's POV. But if you have any ideas for chapter nine feel free to leave a suggestion!
Thank you for reading! :)
