This is hardly fair, Yoni thought, but I agreed to it. That fiery drive that he had had in the school, having his first battle had taken over him, making the decision for him. Seemingly seamlessly he had found himself with a battle on his hands. How he planned to win it - and still be able to continue moving forward- he had no idea. That was the truth.
Even Ventisca looked kind of nervous. Though Yoni couldn't see the eyes, he never could, he could see the noise moving rapidly as it assessed the situation. A Swinub's noise was amongst its own most prominent figures, so it was what Yoni had taken to measure the mood of the Swinub. It also helped that he moved in circles. Maybe there was a truffle or a berry buried underneath their very same spot and he was trying to figure out how to dig it, or maybe he was as nervous as Yoni felt. Though he knew Ventisca to not be a psychic type he was well aware that Pokémon picked up the emotions of trainers. Not as accurately perhaps, hypnos were famous for their ability as psycho-therapists, and Ventisca was no Hypno but nevertheless they felt it.
The truth was that he had agreed to it however, and that meant that he couldn't back down. The Hoenn weather wasn't the only thing around that small route. A small route that would take all day - and perhaps more to cross. No, despite the humidity, the trainers who caught his eyes and the spider like Pokemon, Yoni was still hot blooded. A hood blooded Johto boy. The same blood that had made his father keep inventing despite failure, despite the lack of success, ran through him.
Yoni had never ever considered himself similar to his father, or to his mother for that matter, he had had no interest in most of the stuff they did. The sudden pull from Johto to Hoenn - As well as the Pokemon he now owned - those made him wonder, however, if younger his own parents had wanted to be trainers. Yoni had never thought to ask about their pasts. How they had met, and how he had been conceived were not in his mind, in many ways he felt better not knowing.
But still the same dedication to a result, the same determination to not give up were present in him. Every single muscle in his body tensed up, as if he were expecting it to be a strained effort. Even if, realistically speaking, it would be Ventisca bearing the brunt of the assault. So as Youngster Joey raised a Pokeball he only nodded. Teeth grinded, he pointed at his Swinub to indicate he was ready. It was not like he had any other Pokemon to use, was it?
Joey - the name did sound familiar to Yoni though he couldn't place it - Sent out his first Pokemon. There was a moment where Yoni held his breath as he stared at the confident smile that the young boy had. He awaited to see what his first challenge would be. What Pokemon did Joey own? He glanced down, at Ventisca, half wondering if he was up to snuff. Whatever doubt he had, however, he chose not to share it with his Pokemon. They would have time to be confident or panic, when the choice was revealed.
What at first was a white light soon took form. It was not much larger than Ventisca, and it didn't exactly strike fear in Yoni's heart. Its snout was pointed, but it held no other canine qualities. Its fur was stripped, in a zig-zag pattern. It was that same pattern, and the fact that it let out a soft bark that helped Yoni identify which species it was. None other than a Zigzagoon.
Yoni softly decided that, despite her probable connection with Team Rocket, Roxanne was nevertheless not that bad. He had her, and the various books she had let him borrow, to thank for the few trinkets of information he had about the Pokemon. Not that there was much he could borrow from his memory.
But as he doubted that pulling out an encyclopedia would be acceptable, and since he didn't even have them with him in any case, he was reduced to what he had in front of him. And that was Ventisca, who, when faced with the creature hadn't hesitated. He had approached, almost as if wondering just what the Zigzagoon was.
For a moment it seemed like the two would get along, their muzzles approached and the glances that Zigzagoon stole at the Swinub - for it was impossible to tell if Ventisca had looked at all - were friendly. But a soft bark soon turned into a growl, and Ventisca was quick to retreat.
Yoni saw Ventisca right in front of him, it had pushed back to near his heels. Yet in its attitude he hadn't been meek or cowardly. Every roar and groan he heard was punctuated by a retort back. He was ready to attack.
Back in Johto there had been laws dictating what Houndours and other canine pokemon had to wear when out in the city. Though Yoni hadn't done many of such trips, he knew that, even so, in Johto he hadn't had to worry about being bitten. He didn't know if such laws applied in Hoenn - Or if they even had many a canine pokemon. But he figured it didn't matter. For they were in a route, not a city, and while fierce, the Zigzagoon had met opposition in the form of his Pokemon, Ventisca.
Not that Yoni feared being attacked. Indeed to attack a trainer instead of their Pokemon was seen as thuggish, low, a cheat. Deemed fitting to the likes of Team Rocket and nobody else. Yoni briefly thought of Roxanne, her pokemon would be perfect to camouflage themselves as rock, yet he couldn't possibly imagine her doing that. Instead he choose to focus on the battle.
Much like the walk to the spot where they currently stood, Ventisca stood glued to his legs. Though Yoni was a newbie, if overconfident trainer, he was not emotionally tone deaf. He could see by the movements Ventisca made, scratching the ground, rustling the blades of grass that, contrary to the path there, were so low Ventisca could stand on top of. If the route had winded down the blades, and given room to a slight break, it also had allowed him to be seen. Yoni felt hot, not only because of the weather or the jacket.
He decided that this type he'd try to make the first move. Sure Zigzagoon could bite or scratch at Swinub, images of his Pokémon being used as a chew toy running through his mind. But a saying he had had heard somewhere - he didn't exactly know where applied. Offense is the best defense.
Yoni wanted to plan things out more than just mindlessly telling his pokemon to rush forward and win a battle of attrition. This was no Metapod fight, or, if he wanted to go native, Silcoon and Cascoon. The grass under his feet - sparse enough now that he could see dirt - tempted him to use a similar tactic to the one he had used with Izzy. But that would, in all likelihood fail.
As an attempt of intimidation the Zigzagoon waved his tail around in a frenzy, pushing his body hair upwards, to attempt to seem bigger. It was a tactic as old as time. Used by prey to scare off potential predators. Yoni wondered if Swinub would see it as a threat, and back away.
While there was some hesitation in the Swinub's part, he held in place. Yoni's mouth ran, assuring him he had a plan - even though he himself hadn't - and that everything was going to be alright.
If they were talking intimidation - straight up scares and tricks without resorting to physical battle, then Joey, the youngster had no idea who he had messed up with. While he had never been trick or treating - what was the point when there were no houses nearby - Yoni had collected many a set of cards - Dark and ghost type cards. Sure Swinub couldn't do a scary face, but there were more subtle tactics to be had. Tactics Yoni had in his mind.
"It's going to be alright, you know that, now" - Yoni didn't have much faith in his plan but it was the only one that had come to mind - "Goad him, he wants you scared? Play the part!"
He talked in a whisper. While Lance had made a show out of his battles, when Yoni had watched him on TV, that had been for the sake of the audience, he rather prefered not to shout out and indicate to his opponent his tactics.
Swinub turned to look at him like he was insane, but nevertheless did as told. All that Yoni had heard from the pokemon before were grunts, and excited little whimpers, but Swinub was versatile. Using the fact he had already turned backwards in the direction of his trainer Ventisca pushed in between Yoni's legs. It was a position where he had been through most of the walk there, but - back turned to the threat, Yoni hoped it would convey fear.
This isn't quite how I pictured it, Yoni pondered to himself, but it's a start. Though his ultimate plan involved pushing the battle into the tall grass from whence he had come from, having Ventisca by his side would at least delay an attack. Joey wouldn't order the attack knowing that, if missed by a few inches, instead of biting at the Swinub, he would be nipping at Yoni's thighs instead.
Yoni took a glance at the position of the two Pokemon. Zigzagoon stood, looking, despite the raised fur, silly with his tongue lolling out. But he wasn't fooled. Ventisca stood by his side a half a dozen steps of the taller grass.
It was close enough that he could reasonably move backwards and make it look natural, but it still didn't solve his problem. He needed the Zigzagoon to attack near the grass, if his plan was to succeed. Unfortunately, as he had learned, the only thing his Swinub knew to do was to tackle. His belly ache, where he had been hit, was proof enough of that.
Though it was subsiding, and it had been a mild blow it still served as a reminder of Swinub's abilities. He could be surprisingly fast if one weren't expecting it. It was not ExtremeSpeed fast, sure, but it was still something of an asset.
Yoni was faced with a choice. Have Ventisca run to the grass and hope he was followed, or feint an attack slowly driving the Zigzagoon closer and closer to the verge? He couldn't quite push him forward, unfortunately. Though he had come from grass it appeared that at least part of the roads were paved with a loose gravel path. Yoni wondered it it was just some of it, or if the grass covered the one where he had passed.
Although... Yoni had never had a bicycle, paying the ridiculous amount required for one hadn't been in his plans. His father had fashioned him something similar, if crude. Back in Johto it had propelled him forward, but lacked in any of the design safeguards such as breaks. The loose gravel and dirt in here strangely reminded him of it. More concretely of when he had tried to go for the brakes, found he had none and ended up with his knees scratched to heck and back.
Maybe I do not need the grass, Yoni knew that switching plans out of the blue would be his inevitable downfall, but one of the things Steven had commended him on was creative tactics, and Steven was the Champion! He must have been doing something right.
The Youngster had a hand to his dirt stained shorts, which didn't have pockets. Yoni felt smug about his jacket. Sure he stank a lot but it had its positives. He wasn't quite sure how to proceed, that much was clear. It awaited for Yoni to make a move.
"Very well, Ventisca!", The pokemon stopped rubbing his scent against the socks of his trainer to listen to what he was saying. "Go for him - but dodge. Do not get hit", Ventisca stopped and Yoni realised how stupid the advice sounded. "Yeah, I know, don't get hit is a dumb thing to say., but even the Tin tower looked taller when the other collapsed by its fundations!"
The tower he was refering to hadn't really collapsed, it had burned. But Yoni figured that detail wasn't important enough to get in the middle of his poetics. Swinub turned around and pounced the air, mimicking the blow given earlier to his trainer.
Yoni smiled.
"You've got the right idea, but lower, the good thing about having only paws and not legs is that you can't be knocked down, you understand?"
Ventisca moved forward not giving Yoni time to clarify it any further. But he had the funny feeling that Ventisca had truly understood it.
We must look like total whackos, just praticing jumping instead of the battle. Yoni shrugged his shoulders. He had only been in Hoenn for a few days, he doubted anyone knew who he was let alone cared about what he did.
The Zigzagoon saw the Swinub approach and reacted accordingly. Yoni wasn't quite certain of what the reaction was going to be, but he was glad to see it moved to intercept. It probably figured that, as the bigger Pokemon, he could knock the Swinub, who lacked momentum. It wasn't as if it was going particularly fast.
Yoni was relieved, the thing about a moving target - especially one homing towards one, was that it was much easier to knock down than one who had stood its ground and planted its paws firmly.
The Zigzagoon moved erratically, the head bobbing up and took particular attention to where the Pokemon was stepping. It would be at its most vulnerable when it were to cross from the paved gravel to the dirt. While there weren't really any holes, just a slight inclination, the change in terrain would at least affect the speed at which it moved.
Swinub was nowhere near enough to reach him - or be reached at that point. It couldn't just stand the impact either, as if it stopped it would be dragged. Dodging was a possibility - Yoni had instructed him to try, but it was far from a given. It looked like the two Pokemon would collide head on.
Seconds before the impact Yoni gave the order. While Swinub had not been fast, he hadn't been walking at a brisk pace either. So when ordered to turn he presented a sizeable obstacle.
It was basic physics, even if Yoni couldn't justify it in such a manner, increasing the area of impact would reduce the total pushback. The Zigzagoon's head was pushed forwards as it tried to struck, but it hadn't been expecting the target to widen. While it did hit it found itself with his head on the flank of Swinub. Having his paws so low to the ground Swinub did not fold sideways, he braced the impact. Zigzagoon was not so lucky. Founding a greater resistance than expected his rear paws lifted as he was quite literally shaken up.
It wasn't as if Swinub had escaped unscathed, and he was pushed - fully standing, but still pushed, a few meters back. But now was the time for action. Yoni had given his Pokemon vague cryptic clues about knocking down the Zigzagoon. It didn't even need to push back.
"Roll away!", This one had been yelled for Swinub's benefit. Using some of Zigzagoon's attack own strength, which tried to propel him, Swinub rolled. The consequences for the Zigzagoon were quite sudden, and quite embarrassing. If it had hit so hard it had lifted its rear end, finding his head without support lead to an unbalance that made him fall.
Yoni grinned. It had worked just as he had planned. It was a trick he wouldn't be able to repeat - Joey was sure not to let him his Pokemon commit the same mistake twice. But still it had given him an edge.
The question of gravel or grass came to him again. Ideally he would have patches of grass tall enough to lead to the gravel. But Swinub had pawed at it. It was only dirt. Yoni used the moments it took for Joey's Zigzagoon to compose himself - shaking his whole body, as well as for his Swinub to hide away his soft belly, by finishing the roll to think. The grass was closer and yet -
Deciding on his course of action he ordered the Swinub to push himself back. Swinubs were tough little buggers, they could take a hit, but not much more than that one hit. He had also taken the time to - as naturally as he could - slide into the grass. It wasn't really as tall as some he had seen, it only went up to about his knees, but it would be enough.
Ideally Ventisca would freeze the grass around Zigzagoon when it turned to follow him. But while the breath it let out was cold, and some miniscule dots of white in his room hinted at the fact the ability was forming, Yoni didn't quite know if Ventisca could quite produce ice yet. So, instead he decided to use what he called the "Ekans" hunting strategy.
Yoni had heard the thrilling descriptions of Professor Oak on the Kanto and Johtonian Pokemon habits every Wednesday on the radio. And while not all of them had stuck with him a few had taken a bigger mark than others. There was Ampharos, of course, but then there was Ekans And Arbok, and their hunting habits.
While most Pokemon were found on tall grass, the fact that the snake like Pokemon saw through vibrations on the ground made them sneaking through the grass for an easy meal their main option for hunting. It was why Yoni had reminded himself to shake the ground, air it up, and check his boots, lifting them up in the air every time he went out. Vibrations could serve as a guide, but they could also scare.
Ventisca was quite similar in that most of his body was near the ground. While he didn't crawl, and couldn't quite place his whole body so as to slither away, a sneak attack could prove to be the deciding factor in this battle. Or, at least, the first Pokemon, Yoni grimly reminded Joey had two Pokemon with him.
While normally a Swinub's speed would be far too small for a direct attack it didn't really matter if it were an ambush. As Yoni softly conveyed instructions, careful not to be heard, he could see the Zigzagoon getting up. It looked angry, mad, in fact it barked as if to intimidate Ventisca.
"Taunt and run", the instruction was clear and concise. While normally the brown fur would stand out from the bright green, with some yellowing of the grass, the fact that the League hadn't cleaned it up to look presentable came in his favor. While Yoni had the realisation that it was likely to preserve Pokemon's natural habitats, it also provided a cover.
It was over faster than even Yoni himself had anticipated. Joey was practically breathing down his neck, as he had approached to see the action. The Zigzagoon tramped the grass beneath him. The fact that it was as tall, if not taller than him preventing him from straight out running. Ventisca, while roughly the same size, held still - concealed perfectly by the grass. Not even Yoni could see where he was.
As hesitation started to make itself clear on the Zigzagoon's face, and it refrained from giving more steps forward Ventisca attacked. Coming from it from behind - It had actually been passed. - It literally propelled itself forward with all of its strength.
Ventisca wasn't heavy, not particularly, but lacking any sort of warning Zigzagoon was like a bowling pin, ready to be knocked down. From behind there was a brief moment where Swinub wore the whole of Zigzagoon as a hat - having pushed Zigzagoon's paws of the ground and into its sides, resting the body on Swinub like laurels, before the Swinub got rid of the weight by shaking. Before the racoon like Pokemon had a chance to push itself upwards Swinub was by his head. It didn't tackle, or otherwise attack it. But the message was clear - Stay down. With a pitying whimper, the Zigzagoon chose to do just that.
Yoni felt so happy with his Pokemon he lifted him up to his chest. His weight was quite similar to the books Roxanne had pinned him with, maybe slightly lighter, so he had no trouble. The Youngster collected his Pokemon and smiled.
"You tricked me! What are ya some kind of genius?", Yoni instinctively pushed one of the hands he was using to pet the back of Swinub to refute the claim. Putting Ventisca down in the process.
"Say, your name looks familiar, do I know you?"
The youngster put a hand to his belt, where another Pokeball hung. Yoni had a bad feeling about this. He was all out of tricks. Though he had a vague idea about the gravel he wouldn't know how to apply it.
"Not that I know of!", the young boy shrugged, the smile never leaving his face, "But after you meet my friend here you'll wish you hadn't"
Yoni couldn't help but think of how overly dramatic the boy was being, especially considering Yoni hadn't been the one to engage. But if he were being honest threats and thrash talking were common in Johto too. It had even seeped into the higher levels of competition, he couldn't forget Lance.
Yoni didn't quite have a catch phrase or a line to say yet. But he felt that didn't matter. While earlier he had been caught up in worries about fighting two Pokemon, now he was so drawn in by the chance of victory his mind didn't even register the thought. He had only one thing to say. Ventisca at his heels, doing the not so dignified task of using its little pink tongue to lick at the ground, he vocalised his thoughts.
"Bring it!"