Fang and Claw
Mid-morning found Rei weary with sore feet after having only traveled a few miles outside of Pallet. Giving a sigh, she crept off of the road only to half collapse into a soft bed of cool grass. Shrugging her backpack off, she closed her eyes and let herself just relax in that position, breathing in the fresh scene of earth and plants. However, as she tried to roll onto her stomach, her new Pokéball gave her a fierce jab in the hip, causing the startled woman to sit up abruptly.
Glancing down, she recalled placing Charmander's Pokéball on her waist and carefully, she retrieved the orb to study its features. In its miniature form, the Pokéball seemed to be a simple contraption with the sole purpose of transporting already tiny creatures. Though, when she thought about it, if every trainer had multiple Pokémon out and about, it would cause quite a bit of crowding. Still, she wondered what it was like for Charmander, inside of that ball.
For a few minutes, she sat there, feeling the warm sun shine down upon her as she rested her aching feet. Since this was an open field spotted with trees, she felt content that few Pokémon would purposefully run so close to a road, even if it was a scarcely traveled path connecting Viridian City to the barely known Pallet Town. Even though a few interesting trainers had originated from Pallet Town over the years, it was a small town at heart, and was hardly a spot for tourists.
Deciding on an action then, Rei's thumb pressed against the center release mechanism, enlarging the ball so that it completely filled her palm. Another push opened the ball, causing the top half to literally snap backwards as red energy flooded out, causing the woman to look away quickly, least she be blinded by the raw energy's brilliance.
"Char!" her new Pokémon was happy to be out and about, or so she guessed. Taking this opportunity, she looked into the Pokéball, studying its inside. For the most part, the inside seemed to be forged of a black metallic material, the inside lined with what seemed to be mirrors. Baffled, she flicked her wrist, causing the loose top to snap shut.
"So, you're a… Charmander," she tested out her voice for the second time that day and found the beginning to come out with less of a scratchy note. Still, she cleared her throat just in case, giving Charmander a closer inspection.
"Charmander?" it had its head tilted to the side, observing its new trainer with the same curiosity as she showed in it. Again, her attention was captured by the curious, almost glowing eyes that looked at her, the eyes of innocent youth uncorrupted by cruelty. She reached out and found herself picking up the lizard with little difficulty. Well trained to be handled even by over curious youths, her Pokémon merely allowed her to run her hand over its body.
At first, she had believed pure skin had been naturally dyed a strange red color, but now that she could actually feel the living, breathing creature, she realized that small, smooth scales covered it from head to toe, merged so seamlessly that she had to actually squint to look at them. However, they still had a very soft, almost baby-skin feel to them as she stroked the Charmander's back slowly. Just like the other Pokémon, this one had to be young, its body still developing defenses.
This probably feels better than being poked and pinched at by over-eager youths, Rei noted mentally as Charmander seemed to bask in her attentions. It had even begun to give a little purring noise as she checked it over with gentle hands. After feeling its skin and the slender muscles beginning to develop, she checked its spine for the rumored bone growths her brother had mentioned. After a little searching, she found them.
"A wise person once told me you critters had a strange growth going on back here... though he didn't know if it was related to the horn or the wings you grow as you mature… what do you think?" she spoke softly, smiling a little. She could recall clear as day her hours spent in the hospital, sitting next to her brother as he recited everything he knew about one of his favorite species. He had even confided in her once…
She broke that train of thought quickly, not wanting to think too long on it. Even though she had picked a Charmander for that person's memory, he was gone, and eventually, he would become a figment of the past. With a sigh, she set the Charmander down and pulled the Pokédex out of her pocket, flipping it open and reading the synopsis of the species. The subject in question had begun to wander around, outside for the first time in weeks.
Much better at handling technology than Pokémon, Rei quickly figured out how to observe the condition of her Pokémon, and used this information to discover that her Pokémon was, in fact, a male. Relieved that she no longer had to consider her first Pokémon an 'it', she leaned against her bag and watched the youngster wander around, the wild grass coming easily up to his waist. Aware of his situation in the grass, the Pokémon readily kept his tail held high above the grass, though strands here and there were accidentally singed. Still, as long as he was careful, he wouldn't set the field aflame.
"Smart boy," his trainer noted from where she had begun to remove her shoes to check for sores. Recognizing her tone as praising, the lizard looked back enough for a pleased squeak before resuming his venture.
Though she duly noted the claws, fangs, and flame the small Pokémon possessed, in that moment, Rei didn't see a creature who would at home in combat. Instead, she saw a youth learning about its environment, studying the large trees and tall grass with enthusiasm. No one would touch Charmander, that's what she had decided already. But, watching him as he was, she couldn't shake the haunting suspicion that perhaps she should keep Charmander out of combat as well. What good did it do a Pokémon to have to suffer through battle? The more common battle situations could easily be avoided, where trainers went against other trainers.
All she had to do was protect Charmander from other trainers and it could live a happy life, free from worry of accidents where its life might be threatened. Were she a Pokémon, she wouldn't want to fight against random people whenever her master called on her, commanding her obedience without question. Nodding slightly, a grim look on her face as she watched Charmander duck into the grass, she decided that she had picked the best course of action.
Upon discovering that no blisters had formed, she replaced her socks and shoes, standing with a light stretch, she wandered over to where Charmander was. Rei was in no hurry to travel about quickly, and getting to know her Pokémon better seemed like an easier task than causing her feet to suffer more than necessary.
"What do you have there, Charmander?" she inquired, looking over to where Charmander had half vanished into the small emerald forest of waving grass blades. Happily, the young Pokémon chatted at her while raising a claw to point at a visitor. Curious, Rei followed his gesture and saw a Rattata, huddled away from her imposing form. It bared its large fangs at her without hesitation, uttering an angry hiss. Apparently, wild Pokémon don't like humans, especially the ones living closer to town.
"Oh, another Pokémon," she stepped back, surprised. She hadn't thought that she would encounter one of the wild variety so soon. Slowly, she pulled out her Pokédex to scan the small purple rat. As the Pokédex's automated voice spat out random facts, she noticed subtle differences between the picture given and the Pokémon before her. The deep, rich purple of its coat in contrast to its ivory underbelly seemed much more profuse in life, and a small nick seemed to have been taken out of its left ear.
"So, you're a common guy, aren't you?" she inquired of the small mouse. In reply, she received an angry scolding sort of chatter, which only received a blank stare in return. "Hm… eh…" she looked down at Charmander, who was eyeing the Pokémon, smaller than itself, with particular interest. Still, Rei hesitated, not wanting to put her Pokémon in harm's way after having decided to shelter it from that sort of life.
Instead, she backed slowly towards her backpack and picked out a small handful of Pokéballs before returning, keeping an eye on the cautious Pokémon. Well, who said she had to fight a Pokémon to get it as a companion for her own? It wasn't in any rulebook. So, without a word, she picked out an empty Pokéball and tossed it at the mouse. A startled squeak followed the action as the sphere smacked into its head and forced its body to go through a quick transformation from flesh and blood to raw energy.
Fascinated, Rei could only watch as the energy was then sucked into the Pokéball, followed by a snap as the orb sealed itself and fell back to the ground. Still, the novice trainer paused as the orb then began to rock slowly, then, to her surprise, it burst open. Rattata gave a very angry hiss as it launched itself towards not Rei, but Charmander, delivering a heartfelt full body blow to the unsuspecting lizard's stomach. The trainer found herself squinting her eyes, wondering if her vision was impaired or if the small creature had blurred a little during its assault.
"Charmander!" she paused, frowning. Why had Rattata turned on Charmander when he hadn't done anything wrong? "Eh… use… Growl to scare it off!"
Cringing a little and obviously winded, the orange Pokémon scrambled to his feet, wheezing in a few breaths before uttering a very vicious sounding snarl, making his own trainer's eyes widen. If she hadn't already come to believe Charmander was a gentle sort of creature, she would have worried that he would turn around and bite her. Rattata obviously was just as startled, taking a few steps back before arching its own back, much like a cat, and making a similar growling noise, though not quite as dramatically as Charmander had done. Suddenly, Rei wasn't so certain about Pokémon.
"Use… use another Growl…" stuttering, Rei's voice had grown quiet, causing Charmander to look back over his shoulder, wondering if he had heard her properly. However, this cost him as Rattata launched another surprise assault, ramming into him head first. This blow was strong enough to knock the lizard back a few inches, but didn't have the same strength to it as before.
Once again, Charmander unleashed a vicious snarl, causing Rattata to turn tail and quickly retreat a couple of feet before it turned around and took up its battle stance once again. Rei frowned, noticing the rat Pokémon's persistence. Though she didn't think it was a very useful trait, it was interesting for her to see a mature Pokémon's personality so distinctly.
"Just… give it a Scratch now. I don't think it's going away," she decided finally. Rattata was too unsure to make another initiative, but it didn't seem like it was going to simply leave so easily. Nodding the already worn Charmander launched himself forward with his powerful hind legs, claws shining lightly as he focused energy into them, delivering a quick slashing attack to the opponent's side when Rattata turned to evade it. The blow itself didn't seem to be that deep, only a little bit of blood showing from the effort, but Rei took this opportunity and tossed another Pokéball hopefully.
Slight déjà vu set in as the sphere drew Rattata into its confines once again, yet this time the ball shook with noticeably less vigor, much to Rei's surprise. The release mechanism soon flashed red once, then the Pokéball went still. Was it that easy? Or was Rattata leaking out, somehow? Rei made a slight face at the thought of a rat leaking anywhere… but Charmander looked pleased with himself. Slowly, she approached the ball, tapped it with her foot once for good measure, and picked it up.
"Guess… that's that…" she looked down at Charmander, who had started to bounce eagerly, explaining his own name syllable by syllable as if to punctuate his eagerness to see his new friend. "Pokémon like friends, don't they?"
Clicking the still enlarged orb carefully, she managed to trigger it to release the Rattata, who came out looking less than pleased. It seemed to want to take a bite out of Rei's leg, and recalling just how much force the little creature could pack, Rei quickly stepped away from her new capture with a frown. Again, she pointed her Pokédex at the creature, now scanning its health and known attacks. To her surprise, it seemed to be worse off than Charmander, though it seemed to have more experience and had gotten two attacks in.
"I wonder why…" she frowned, looking at the tired Rattata, who was now ignoring her and talking with Charmander. "Well… as long as Charmander's happy… and as long as I don't lose fingers…" she eyed the large fangs cautiously before she went back to her bag. In the end, neither had sustained too much damage, and Rattata was even starting to clean its own wounds, flicking a small pink tongue over the claw marks. Charmander had taken a seat and was simply resting, seeming to already know that there wouldn't be any better cure than a good sit down at this point.
"Somehow, this isn't turning out like I had thought…" Rei murmured, looking down at her Pokédex once again. Earlier that week, her vision had included just herself and her Charmander, traveling a lonely path together. Yet, looking once again at the two Pokémon, both males, they seemed to already be keeping each other company in a way Rei couldn't. Smiling faintly, she lowered her head and tucked away her Pokédex. So what if Rattata didn't like her? As long as he liked Charmander, he didn't bother her at all. Well, as long as he liked Charmander and didn't eat her fingers.
Deciding to let things be, she glanced to her bag, having forgotten her own momentary lapse of energy. Now seemed to be just a good a time as any to resume their travels, and this time she could leave Charmander outside of his Pokéball and let Rattata look out for him. Without saying anything, she picked up her backpack, shifting it around until it felt balanced, and settled it down on her shoulders. Charmander was the first to pick up on his trainer's intentions, and happily followed as she set out on the beaten dirt road. Rattata took a bit longer, and after turning things around for a few minutes, he seemed to decide that following the trainer would be more beneficial than attempting an escape and sprinted to catch up.
It wasn't long, however, before Rei realized that there was something wrong with this method of travel. Charmander kept nudging her, tugging at her leggings, and chatting unhappily. At first, she had thought that something was bothering him, perhaps he had stepped on a sharp stone. Yet, the Pokémon seemed completely healthy apart from a light bruising starting to show on his lightly colored chest. Yet, even as she resumed on, the insistent begging for attention resumed, baffling the trainer.
It took her a little longer than she would have liked to admit, but eventually, she stopped completely and glanced back, noticing that Rattata, who had caught up earlier, was now lagging behind, his entire body screaming that he was exhausted. Once again, the young trainer was baffled at his lack of stamina. Hadn't the Pokédex indicated that he probably was in a better condition than Charmander? Frowning, she watched the tired rat glance up, noticing that the party had stopped. Relieved, he lay down in the middle of the road, a few yards between himself and his destination.
After waiting for a couple of minutes, Rei realized that the Pokémon was exhausted from something completely unrelated to their earlier battle. In fact, it was entirely possible that something had worn him out well before they had crossed paths. It would certainly explain why the feisty creature had been so easy to capture, though what had caused this exhaustion was far beyond her. Silently, she picked Rattata's Pokéball from where she had placed it on her belt, and recalled the collapsed Pokémon. Alone, he wouldn't have gotten much farther, and would probably be much more comfortable in the safety of his own Pokéball.
"Sorry, Charmander," she looked down at the lizard who had been trying to get her attention for so long. Inwardly, she cringed, realizing how callous she must have appeared to have completely ignored Rattata, expecting the semi-feral Pokémon to be able to fend for himself. Guiltily, she recalled Charmander as well, just in case his bruises were draining his energy as well. If she let him rest now, it would be better than wearing him out completely as well, until he collapsed as well. Rei had a lot to learn about Pokémon.