Sneasel

Sneasel had run out of the forest. He was certain the Houndooms were not chasing him, and even if they were, he was too speedy for them to ever catch up with him. He was mad at himself. How could he have failed the test? He had been trained well by his father and other teachers. If not for the Houndooms, he would still be part of the clan.

His left arm was wounded but he had patched it up a little bit. He could move it but could definitely not attack or defend with it. The pain had increased over time but Sneasel was toughing it out. Upon exiting the forest, he slowed down and examined his surroundings. Ahead of him was a very long meadow, stretching as far as the eyes could see. Near the middle of the field lay an untidy hill made of rocks and boulders. What surprised Sneasel most, though, was the boy quite near to the forest boundaries.

A few metres southwest of where he was standing, an average sized human rest on the floor, twitching his legs and arms every so often. His teeth were showing and he seemed to be very cold. Then Sneasel spotted the assailant.

Hovering above the boy, with its eyes shut and its mind focused, balanced a ghostly Misdreavus. It had hypnotised the boy and was now giving it nightmares, feeding off the boy's misery. Sneasel could not help but to feel pity for the youngster. Sneasel did not know where the boy had come from, or how long he'd been under Misdreavus' influence, but he felt it was his duty to stop the phantom.

As the Sneasel sneakily approached the Misdreavus from behind, it could feel a strong psychic field coring around the Pokémon. He wondered if it had felt his presence somehow, and decided to attack it quickly but carefully. He was now only a few paces from the Misdreavus, and prepared a slash attack.

He rushed forward and launched its claws upwards towards the ghost, but it was no longer there. Sneasel lost balance in mid-air but managed to recover when he hit the ground. Looking around, behind him he spotted the Misdreavus, eyes wide open and focused on him, sending a wave of darkness right at him!

Sneasel ran right in the direction of the dark pulse and, just before it would have hit him, leapt over it and swiped its right arm powerfully at the Misdreavus, but it had disappeared yet again. It had teleported and was now floating a few metres away. Sneasel felt the psychic field come crumbling down and he realised that it must have been caused by Misdreavus' hypnotisation. The boy would be rid of his nightmares. Sneasel looked back to the boy, who was now sitting up confusedly.

But he had more central matters to worry about currently. The Misdreavus created a shadow ball, which floated in front of its creator and grew in size until it was almost double Misdreavus' size. It proceeded to launch it at Sneasel. Preparing to leap over the attack, Sneasel had not anticipated the shadow ball to travel so fast, and it hit him square in the back as he turned around. Misdreavus cackled and moved closer.

Sneasel was sprawled over the grass with its arms outstretched. He tried to get up, and spotted the Misdreavus preparing another shadow ball. This time Sneasel knew how to react. As the Misdreavus launched the gloomy sphere, Sneasel rolled out of the way and jumped up on its feet. He dashed left and right with a quick attack, and dodged another shadow ball.

As he was about to leap and strike Misdreavus, he wheeled around and send his claws upwards, striking its target with a critical hit. As Sneasel landed, the ghost was sent flying backwards a few metres, before regaining its balance. It bolted off towards the forest, leaving behind the boy and the Sneasel.

Sneasel looked in the direction of the boy, and he managed to stand up. He looked at Sneasel in awe and shock. Sneasel held his head high and assumed a victorious pose, and the boy smiled.