Megan had walked a little ways away from the lab and now had her new Cyndaquil standing in front of her. "Hmm… What should I name you? She pondered.

"Cynda!" the Cyndaquil suggested.

"That's a good one," Megan said with a laugh. "But I think I'll name you 'Cyni'".

"Quil!" the Cyndaquil squealed, as if agreeing with the name.

Megan smiled as she picked Cyni up in her arms. Cyni quickly climbed onto her shoulder and held onto it with his little claws. Megan smiled approvingly. She headed towards the forest, finally beginning her journey.

20 Minutes Later

Megan had been walking for a while when she heard a squawking noise from the sky. She glanced up at the sky to see a flack of bird Pokemon flying overhead. Curiously, she took out her pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon.

"Pidgey, a flying Pokemon," the pokedex stated with a mechanical voice. "It is easy to capture. A perfect target for the beginning trainer."

"Cyni, let's test your strength!" Megan said thrillingly.

"Quil!" Cyni exclaimed as he jumped off of Megan's shoulder and flared up his back excitedly.

"Use ember!" Megan instructed, suddenly going into serious mode.

"Cynda," Cyni nodded. He shot a blast of fire at the group of Pidgey. The fire hit on of the Pidgey's right wing. The injured Pidgey changed direction and headed right towards Cyni!

"Quil!" the fire mouse cried as he was blown over onto his side.

Megan had to think fast. Coming up with a combination attack, she shouted to Cyni, "Growl, then ember again!"

Cyni hopped back on his feet and let out an ear-piercing growl. The Pidgey squawked and covered its ears with its wings. While it was distracted, Cyni took this opportunity to spat out flames of fire at it.

The Pidgey squawked silently and fell over on its back. It was weak and badly burnt. Megan, noticing this, took out an empty pokeball and threw it at the Pidgey. She gritted her teeth with angst as she watched the sphere on the pokeball flash. After a few seconds it returned to normal, causing Megan to let out a sigh of relief. She picked up the pokeball triumphantly.

"I think I'll name you 'Orville'," Megan stated thoughtfully. Then she put the pokeball away and turned to Cyni. "Well, let's continue on."

Before either of them could move, a black dog-like Pokemon appeared from behind the bushes. And it looked mad. It was glaring at Megan and growling deeply. Cyni whimpered in fear. Megan pointed her pokedex at the Pokemon.

"Houndour, a fire dog Pokemon," it spoke. "It is know for its bad temper. Ot is difficult to catch."

Looking over the Houndour, Megan figured it must have had a bad experience with humans.

"Hound!" the dog barked and started toward Megan.

Realizing it was futile to try and fight, the girl picked up her Cyndaquil and ran. The Houndour followed closely behind. Megan looked back at it for a second. Bad move. She tripped over a root and fell to the ground, sending Cyni flying. Megan glanced at the Houndour fearfully. It was now towering over her, reading to strike at any moment.

Sensing his trainer was in danger, Cyni flared up his back and leaped in front of Megan defensively. Without waiting for an order, he shot out fire at the Houndour. Unfortunately, the Houndour also used ember. They were evenly matched, but the Houndour was gaining power.

Megan quickly got to her feet and brushed herself off. She knew she had to do something. All this was doing was causing both of them to tire.

Megan issued her first command to Cyni, "Stop using ember, then dodge Houndour's flames."

Cyni cut off his fire and got out of the way of the Houndour's ember attack. He looked at Megan for further instructions.

"Use ember, but direct it a Houndour's back," his trainer commanded.

"Cyndaquil!" Cyni cried before blasting the Houndour with fire. But the Houndour was quicker. It turned its head and counteracted Cyni's fire attack with its own.

"Try tackle," Megan suggested.

Cyni ran toward the Houndour, but it also tackled and sent Cyni flying. Megan thought long and hard. She knew they couldn't win on power alone. They needed a strategy.

"I've got it!" Megan exclaimed. "Cyni, climb up a tree. Then jump down and use ember."

"Cynda," Cyni nodded as he scampered up the nearest tree. The Houndour looked around for him quizzically. All of a sudden, Cyni leaped out of the tree towards the Houndour. At the last possible second he shot out fire right at the Houndour's back.

The Houndour howled in pain. Whimpering, it slowly sulked away. Cyni started after it, but Megan stopped him.

"Let him go," she said in monotone. "He's not worth it."

Megan strolled over to her tired little Pokemon and picked him up. She cradled him in her arms like a baby. Silently, she continued on her way.