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Pokedex Entry: Pokemon: Charmander: Moveset: Smokescreen

Notice: Protected Regional Information Enclosed

Failure to comply with the Protection of Information Act will result in legal action. Do not leave enclosed documents unattended.

In order to better understand the physiologic advantage of the Charmander line, one need look no further than its natural habitat. The Sevii Islands unique volcanic geology has pushed its occupants' environmental adaptations to the brink of credibility, making it one of the most unique biomes in the world. The Charmander line in particular have accumulated multiple unique adaptations, which in turn have transformed them into the preeminent apex predator. While a comprehensive analysis of their biology and skills is outside the scope of this article, two particular adaptations are crucial to understand if the Trainer is to employ smokescreen effectively.

Firstly, the Charmanders flamed tail. While the underlying mechanism remains unknown, it's correlation in power to exposure to heat and light exposure is undeniable. Prevailing theories claim that a mixture of these two allow the Charmander to synthesize its flame, and battling statistics support their increased efficacy when fighting in these conditions.

In addition to a unique source of energy, Charmanders possess a nictation membrane - or accessory eyelid- in order to help them peer through smog with increased acuity. For the Trainer, the combination of these two traits should always be at the forefront of their minds when initiating combat. Reducing visibility with Smokescreen will gain them a tactical advantage over their opponent, but liberal use of the move may decrease the power that the Charmander line may draw from.

Still, our recommendation remains that one should encourage the liberal use of smokescreen for Charmander, in order to encourage fine control of its smoke, despite its setbacks. Additionally, one may instruct the Charmnder to control the clouds with some accuracy by creating drafts of air from the heat of its tail, allowing for creative use of the clouds in combat. Due to its high adaptability, mastery over Smokescreen should be placed at the highest priority for the prospective Trainer.

Ash leaned against the trunk of a tree, Pokedex held in one hand while he stroked Splinter's fur with the other. As of a few minutes ago, Splinter had begun tilting his head upwards with each pass of Ash's hand, each stroke causing him to release a low hum.

Ash stopped for a moment to flip the page on his Pokedex. The humming turned into a soft growl.

"Alright, alright." Ash said, returning his hand to Splinter's head. "No need to be so greedy." He received a small wriggle from his friend in response, causing him to chuckle.

Their second day heading towards Pewter city had been an eventful one. Ash had battled every Trainer willing to fight him, most of whom had use made of the liberal amount of bug pokemon that could be caught in the area. Ares had torn through their teams with ease, knocking out most of their Caterpie and Weedle in a single Ember. After seeing that Ares wasn't getting any sort of meaningful experience from their battles, he had switched over to using Splinter. While he hadn't run through teams in the same way Ares had, he still had yet to lose a single match.

The sun was now close to setting, causing the trees to cast long shadows over the small field in front of him. The Mareep he had caught yesterday was still tucked away in the ball at his waist, healing in stasis since its fight with Ares the day before. But now the time was ripe to meet their new teammate.

"Hey Ares," Ash called out, snapping his Pokedex shut and looking around for his starter. "Time to come back! We're about to meet our newest family member."

Ares had run off earlier to train rather than spend time relaxing, despite Ash's objections.

While Ash definitely appreciated Ares dedication to becoming stronger, it was a bit worrying how hard he pushed himself. A morning training, followed by a full day of battling, and another exercise routine in the evening. Was this common for other Trainers with Charmanders?

Despite the extremely useful advice in the Pokedex, he had yet to find anything related to Ares' otherworldly urge to push himself.

His thoughts were broken as he spotted Ares running over to him, his fur caked in dirt and debris. Despite his appearance, Ares showed no signs of fatigue as he arrived, only stopping to give Ash a small bump with his head before lining up at his side.

"How about it buddy," Ash said, reaching down and brushing some of the dirt from Ares' fur. "Are you ready to have a new teammate?"

He received a toothy grin and a snort of flame in response.

Taking that as confirmation, Ash grabbed the lone Pokeball at his belt, tossing it to himself a few times before throwing it into the grass in front of him.

"Marrrrrrrrreep".

The Mareep appeared in front of him with a familiar flash of light.

Unlike with Splinter, it showed no signs of aggression as they met for the first time. It tilted its head one way, then the other, investigating him and his team with a curious expression. He gave it a few moments to observe him and his team before he spoke up.

"Hey Mareep, I'm Ash. This is Ares, and Splinter." Ash said, pointing to each of his friends in turn. "After your battle with us yesterday, I caught you, and I'd really like you to be part of our team." He smiled at it, trying to look unthreatening. "How about it?"

Mareeps eyes glinted with excitement, nodding its head vigorously.

Alright then, that had been easier than expected. He held up his Pokedex, showing it to Mareep.

"This is a Pokedex, it's going to tell me a little bit about you, okay?"

Mareep nodded, choosing to absently graze on the grass in front of him as he scanned.

Mareep, female. The wool Pokemon. Mareep's fluffy coat of wool rubs together and builds a static charge. The more static electricity is charged, the more brightly the lightbulb at the tip of its tail grows.

Mareep knows the moves: Tackle, growl, Thunder Wave, Thunder Shock. Its ability is Static, which causes contact with the Pokemon to inflict paralysis.

He looked down at Mareep. She was observing Splinter closely now, sniffing the air around him with a curious expression in its eyes. Splinter stood frozen in place, looking up at Ash with a slightly worried expression.

"Hey Mareep, would you like a name?" Ash asked, directing her attention away from Splinter. "Ares and Splinter got to choose theirs."

Mareep seemed to ponder it for a moment, eventually giving out a soft bleat and pawing the ground. Ash took that as a yes, and started thinking of a name. He had some names ready for Splinter, since he had been expecting to catch a Rattata, but he hadn't honestly thought he would meet a Mareep near Viridian.

He watched Mareep for a few minutes as he thought, who had taken to sniffing Ares now. Ares was clearly not a fan, and used the blunt section of his claws to push away the curious Pokemon. He received a light shock in response, sending his hair on end and a light smell of ozone into the air.

"Careful buddy, remember what I told you about getting shocked."

Ares growled softly in response, narrowing his eyes at the sheep Pokemon, who looked back at him with innocent eyes.

Ash finally came up with a good name.

"How about Jupiter?"

Mareep bleated, bouncing lightly on her feet around him. Ash grinned. It seemed like she approved.

Ash froze as Jupiter walked up to him, brushing the soft fur on the top of her head against his leg. He stiffened, prepping for the electricity that would run through him at her touch.

Nothing came.

He frowned. He hadn't been shocked?

Looking down, he found his answer. The electric fleece that covered Jupiter had a bare patch just between her nose and eyes, which she carefully rubbed up against his leg.

Hesitantly, Ash reached down and scratched the area with his hand, feeling the soft strands of fur under his fingers. Jupiter gave out a soft hum in response, closing her eyes and swaying her head back and forth.

"You're going to be trouble," Ash said as he scratched her. "I can already tell."

Jupiter chirped once before heading towards Ares and Splinter, who had already taken up wrestling in the grass. Ash watched as she tried to join their game, only for it to turn into a game of chase as they tried to avoid being shocked by her touch.

Ash couldn't keep a smile off of his face as he watched. It looked like she would fit in just fine.

Ash's fingers tapped furiously on his Pokedex as he watched Splinter, Ares, and Jupiter dance around the clearing. Ares had taken center stage, dealing small scratches and burns to each of his opponents as he flitted in and out of a cloud of smoke.

He had asked Splinter and Jupiter to take on Ares at the same time, hoping to get a decent evaluation of Jupiter's skill, while also pushing Ares to find unique ways to use his smokescreen.

Both had been a resounding success so far. Jupiter, while relatively immobile, used her attacks to force her opponents to keep a safe distance. Once they wore down, or lost concentration, she would send a thunderous bolt of electricity at them to try and finish the fight.

Ares had started the battle by hiding behind individual clouds of smoke, using them to shoot flames from a hidden position. But after being hit by Splinter and Jupiter multiple times, he had forced the clouds to group together, moving constantly around the edges to keep his opponents off guard.

Jupiter released another bolt of lighting into the cloud of smoke, sending the scent of singed fur into the air. He heard, rather than saw, Ares snarl from within.

"Careful Jupiter." Ash called out. "We talked about taking a little power out of our attacks before starting, remember?"

Jupiter looked back at him with an innocent expression, wiggling her ears in response.

Ash huffed softly. "How about this, tone it down in training, and I'll let you fight in our next Trainer battle, okay?"

Jupiter belated happily in response, turning back towards the battle and sending another bolt, this time slightly weaker, into the cloud.

It might take more effort than he originally thought to keep Jupiter in line. She had a mischievous streak about her, no doubt about it. Especially when it came to Ares. She wouldn't actually hurt him, but she liked to toe the line of how much juice to put behind her attacks, a habit that certainly annoyed Ares.

He focused back on Splinter, who had tagged Ares with multiple bites now, without taking a hit in response. The mouse Pokemon zipped in and out of the cloud, leaving wisps of smoke in his wake with each pass as he chased Ares through it.

Seems like Splinter is more comfortable when he doesn't have to be the center of attention.

Ash looked over the cloud, trying to estimate how fast it was dissipating. He glanced down at his Pokedex, reading the clock on the glass surface. Three minutes, and it looks to be about half its original size.

Ares naturally understands using smokescreen to his advantage to draw his opponents toward him. Ash typed into his document. Easy to antagonize and draw him out. Will need to work on prioritization.

"Hey!" A voice called out, cutting off Ash's typing. "Are you looking for a battle?"

His team's movements abruptly cut off, each of them stopping to look at the new arrival to their area.

A boy walked out of the trees, clad in pocketed shorts and a thin T-shirt. Strapped to his back was an overly large backpack with a net, the size of which made him hunch over slightly. The combination made him look a bit like shaped turtwig.

"Yeah, I am!" Ash replied, smiling and waving to him. "Are you down to start now?"

"Of course," The Trainer replied. He glanced over at Ares. "Would it be okay if you didn't use your Charmander though? I only have two Pokemon myself."

Ash nodded knowingly. Ares had made short work of the bug pokemon in the area, and judging by the Trainers net, that was probably the only type of Pokemon he had.

Besides, he had just promised Jupiter a spot in their next battle.

"You bet." Ash replied, holding out his hand. "I'm Ash by the way."

"Henry."

They shook hands, then walked to the sides of the clearing.

Ash called out his Pokemon first, giving his opponent a slight advantage. "You're up first, Splinter."

Splinter walked into the grass between them, licking one of his paws that had gotten singed during training.

"Alright," The Trainer called out. "Lets goooooo, Caterpie!"

A small caterpie popped up opposite of Splinter. Its shell had turned a darker green, signaling that it was close to evolution. It narrowed its eyes at Splinter, who was clearly unfazed as he continued to lick his paw.

Ash stayed silent, letting Henry make the first move.

Henry nodded, then thrust his fist into the air as he called out to his Pokemon.

"Caterpie, stringshot!"

The green caterpillar inhaled, then spit out a razor thin line of string, swiveling his head from side to side.

They had seen this pattern before. Every Caterpie and Weedle Trainer tried to subdue their opponents with stringshot before finishing them with a tackle or poison sting. It was a fairly basic strategy, but that didn't mean it wasn't effective.

Splinter instantly reacted, dancing between unseen lines of string with controlled movements. Caterpie kept spraying, tracking Splinter movements as he made his way closer to the bug Pokemon.

"Quick attack, Bite."

Ash loved this particular combination, and had used it to defeat most of the Trainers they faced today. Quick attack would send the opponent sprawling, unable to counter as Splinter closed in and sealed their defeat with a vicious bite. He didn't have a good name for it yet, but he had a feeling it would be a staple of their fights going forward.

Splinter's speed increased even further, causing Caterpie's eyes to widen in surprise as he briefly lost track of his opponent. As suddenly as Splinter disappeared, he reappeared next to Caterpie, crashing into his side with his shoulder. The bug Pokemon went sprawling, making a shrieking sound as it careened through the dirt.

Without hesitation, Splinter closed the distance once again, sealing Caterpie's fate with a single bite.

Henry frowned at Ash as he recalled his Pokemon. "That was the fastest Caterpie has been beaten in a long time. Unfortunately for you, it was just a warmup, get ready to face Butterfree!"

"Looking forward to it." Ash smiled at Splinter as he recalled him. "Come on back Splinter, let's give Jupiter a turn." Splinter gave a small nod as he was sucked up into his Pokeball.

"Your turn Jupiter," Ash said, turning to his side to look at her. "Are you ready?"

Jupiter bleated in agreement.

"Watch out for its powder," Ash muttered to her. "So long as we don't get caught, we have this in the bag."

She nodded, widening her stance to prepare for a fight.

Unlike with the previous fight, Ash needed to strike first here. Her lack of mobility would be particularly dangerous against Butterfree, and she wouldn't be able to avoid its sleep or poison powder for long.

Butterfree had been released as they were talking, and now floated in the air in front of her Trainer. Ash shook his head. Henry was a nice guy, but he really shouldn't have given them the opportunity to go first.

"Thunderbolt." He ordered.

Mareep bleated, sparks flying off of her wool as she sent an arc of blinding yellow light through the air from her tail.

Butterfree swopped down, going well under the arc of electricity that shot at it. However, the beam of light traced its path, jaggedly swerving downward and striking Butterfree directly in the chest. It screeched in pain as the electricity crackled, losing control of its wings and scraping against the ground.

"That's alright butterfree," Henry encouraged. "Hit it with a leech life!"

Butterfree responded with a shriek of anger, its eyes locking onto Jupiter with a slight glow.

Ash watched as Jupiter shifted from side to side, looking to dodge an incoming attack, only to flinch in pain as green orbs rose directly from out beneath her wool.

More dodging would be useless here. Time to push the pace.

"Thunder wave." He ordered. "Follow up with tackle and thunder shock."

Jupiter growled, her tail glowing as the electrical charge built within her. The delay gave Butterfree enough time to send powder flying into the air, which formed a light blue blanket of dust above Jupiter's head.

He groaned. Sleepoweder. There was no way she would be able to dodge in time, and Ash had no idea how long she would be able to resist falling asleep after it landed. He saw small waves of light finally form around Jupiter, and decided to take the gamble.

"Thunder wave Jupiter, through the powder!"

Jupiter jumped in the air, blasting out rings of light through the blue mist. A foul stench filled the air as it traveled, leaving a path of burning and blackened powder in its wake.

"Quickly Jupiter, close in and finish this!"

He barely finished the command before Jupiter lept into action, but instead of throwing herself forward, she dodged to the side, directly into the path of the unburnt sleep powder.

What the hell? If Jupiter had tackled, she would have easily dodged the remaining active spores.

Ash focused, reassessing the situation. That would have to be dealt with later, they still had a fight to win.

Coming up with a plan quickly, he called out another command. "Move in Jupiter, but hit it with a thundershock, point blank."

This time, Jupiter followed his commands. The Butterfree clearly saw the attack coming, attempting to rise into the air in an attempt to get distance from her. But it was no use. The thundershock struck Butterfree directly in the chest, causing it to screech in pain and fall out of the sky.

Henry winced as Butterfree hit the ground, its wings crumpling like tissue paper at the moment of impact. He recalled Butterfree as soon as it was obvious it wasn't going to get up.

He muttered softly to the Pokeball before turning to look at Ash.

"That was some battle. Butterfree hasn't been taken down like that before."

Ash smiled at the Trainer. His strategy had been fairly simple, but Butterfree had put up a good fight. "You did a great job, it looked like you haven't fought anyone who could deal with your stringshot or sleep powder, right?"

"That's right." The Trainer said, shaking his head. "I've fought a bunch of trainers before, and all of them go to sleep before they can get a good hit on Butterfree. I didn't think that your Mareep would be able to burn it away with a thunderwave."

"Me either." Ash said with a small laugh, brushing off the fact that Jupiter had still gotten hit with it. "I honestly just guessed, and hoped for the best."

Henry's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. I've found that sometimes you just have to try something and see if it works. Worst thing that can happen is you lose a battle, and you know what not to do in the future." Ash pet Ares' head, who still remained by his side. "Ares here taught me that he is always coming up with new things in battle, right buddy?"

Ares snorted a puff of smoke and grinned at his Trainer, releasing a quick "Char!" In confirmation.

"I'll have to start doing that. I haven't really tried any new techniques since I started out, I try to stick with what works." The Trainer said, shaking his head.

Ash nodded. Fear of failure was a trap many Trainers fell into, and he had specifically been warned about it by the Professor back in Pallet.

It was an understandable fear though.

Trainers were a massive investment, and your record was used as the main indication of whether you showed promise as a Trainer. Trainers with bad win rates and low badge count could easily go unfunded if they didn't show progress within their first few years of their journey. Luckily, Ash was sponsored by the Professor, who had no such aspirations for his Trainers.

Even for him though, the appeal of becoming a hyped prospect was undeniable. Silph sponsorships, Gym Trainer positions, and even Ranger and Ace Trainer admissions had been offered to Trainers with as few as 3 or 4 badges, provided they showed enough promise.

The pay that accompanied those would set up Ash and his mom for life. Something that would provide a much needed ease on her mind.

He frowned. He had forgotten to call his mom after his meeting with Giovanni in Viridian.

Tomorrow. He promised himself. I'll give her a call to check in.

His train of thought broke as Henry reached out his hand. "Anyways, thank you for the battle, and the lesson afterwards. Can I get your I.D so I can log the battle?"

"Sure!" Ash replied, shaking his hand. "Let me pull it up."

After a quick exchange of I.D, Ash set back out into the forest, looking for Kade, who had been setting up their campsite.

Ash reviewed the battle in his head as he walked, glancing back over the notes he had written during training just prior. Splinter had done a great job of taking advantage of his mobility, and Ash was confident it would only get better with time.

Jupiter though, was different. She had ignored one of his commands, and it almost cost them the battle.

He turned to look down at her. She was happily prancing beside him, shaking herself every so often to work the remaining blue powder out of her coat.

"Hey Jupiter," Ash started. "What happened back there? If we had tackled that Butterfree, I don't think the sleep powder would have hit you. Is something wrong?"

Jupiter tilted her head at Ash, then looked concerningly at the patches of blue powder still left in her fleece from the battle.

"You…. don't want to damage your coat?" Ash guessed.

A swift nod from Jupiter confirmed his hypothesis.

Ash groaned internally. If Jupiter didn't want to harm her coat, her Static ability would be next to useless. It would only work with physical contact, which would be hard to come by if she didn't want her wool to actually touch anything.

"Do you think you could still tackle, for me?" Ash asked hopefully.

Jupiter seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook her head vigorously, a small cloud of blue dust forming around her head as she did.

"That's alright," Ash said, reaching down to scratch the bridge of her nose. "We can work around it. Your coat still looks beautiful, by the way."

Jupiter bleeted, beaming at Ash.

As they made their way back to camp, Jupiter led the way. She glanced back at Ash as they went, no doubt making sure he could watch her as they walked. Ash smiled. Despite everything, she was a great addition to the team.

Ash returned just around sundown, tired but pleased with himself for all the progress they had made that day.

"Another battle?" Kade asked, eying Jupiters wool. "If you keep this up, I'm not sure we will make it to Pewter before the end of the year. At this point, I'm considering tying you to Bang and walking you there myself."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Ash said with a grin. "I just don't want to rush into my first gym battle. A debut gym appearance is important, and I don't have any attacks that work well against Brock's pokemon yet."

Kade nodded, turning back to his cooking. Ash took the time to recall Jupiter and Splinter, who were clearly exhausted from their earlier battle.

Ash's stomach rumbled as he took his place across the fire from Kade. The food looked to be a spiced meat, and maybe some sort of vegetable? Either way, it smelled heavenly.

"Have you considered catching a Pokemon specifically for Brock?" Kade asked as he placed food on the two plates set out in front of him. "You will likely find multiple Pokemon that will suit your needs here in the forest. My recommendation would be a Caterpie. It's evolution, Butterfree, would let you make short work of most of the Pokemon Brock will use for Trainers challenging for their first badge."

He offered the first plate of food to Ash, who accepted it enthusiastically. The sizzling meat and vegetables instantly made his mouth water, and he dug into it immediately.

"I have thought about catching a Caterpie," Ash continued between mouthfuls. "But I don't think that I'll be catching one here. This food is incredible by the way, can you show me how to make it sometime?"

"Of course, it's just some salted Tarus meat, but I'll show you how to spice it next time we eat. Kade said, the ghost of a smile forming on his lips. "But what drew you away from catching a Caterpie? I didn't take you for a Trainer who looked down on Pokemon for lack of prestige."

"It's not that…. It's just- I'd rather them be on my team because they want to, rather than forcing them to join. Does that make sense?"

Kade nodded. "I'd say it's uncommon, but not unheard of. Many Trainers don't have the luxury of waiting for the perfect team to form around them. But many people, the Champion included, believe that your Pokemon will serve you better if they join voluntarily."

Ash winced. He didn't enjoy the thought of Pokemon as servants, though most of the Pokemon in Pallet had been caught involuntarily. He had watched them closely growing up, and they all gave off a slight feeling of sadness despite living in the comfort of peoples homes. He understood that catching them was necessary for the town to function, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Anyways," Ash said, shaking himself from his thoughts. "You said you'd tell me something about yourself once we got to Viridian?"

Kade set down his plate, sighing heavily.

"I can't tell you much, certainly nothing about my job as a Mercurial."

He held up a hand as Ash started to interrupt. "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I am physically unable. There are processes in place to restrict access to information about Mercurials. And don't ask how, that's part of it."

Ash frowned and crossed his arms. Kade was supposed to protect him on his journey, and he couldn't know anything about him? The warning from Giovanni flashed across his mind.

Not to be trusted.

"But I can tell you a little bit about myself." Kade continued on. "I was born and raised in Orre, and started my journey as a Trainer at the age of 21. Our system for recruiting Trainers is different there, but I still traveled the region, forming my team as I went along. I ended up becoming a non-specialist Trainer. I didn't have a particular goal in mind, but I wouldn't have minded becoming a regional Leader. Unfortunately, events in Orre forced me to leave before that could come to fruition. I then traveled the world a bit before deciding to make something of myself, so I arrived here and started the process of becoming a Mercurial."

Kade was clearly leaving quite a bit out of his background, but it was more than Ash had gotten out of his current situation. He decided not to question him about it; he didn't need to know all of Kade's childhood.

"Most of the Leaders here are specialists, any reason you didn't want to become one?"

Kade began to speak, but abruptly shut his mouth.

"I didn't feel like the risks were worth the rewards for doing so."

Ash nodded. Specialists tended to get the absolute most out of all of their typed pokemon, but up against the elite of the elite, a single counterpick had the potential to run through their entire team. Even Agatha strayed from her ghosts when fighting at the highest levels.

He looked Kade in the eyes. "So why were you placed as my guardian? Seems like a bit of overkill to me."

Kade looked over at Ares, who was fast asleep next to Ash. "In all honesty, your professor pays very well. I'm currently on an assigned break, and this job came with a recommendation from my superior."

"So what does that mean for me? You're just going to walk me to Pewter and be done with it?"

"What it means," Kade replied. "Is that I will do everything in my power to ensure that you become a successful Trainer. Both for the good of the region, and for my own self interest."

Ash nodded. How he did as a Trainer was not only a reflection of the Professor, but also the Guardian who helped him start out. Becoming a highly valued Guardian could quickly become a lucrative business if someone was good at it.

"And what happened in Orre that made you come all the way here?"

"You don't ne-"

A scream, high and broken, interrupted Kade's response. Hoothoot flew from the canopy overhead at the noise, causing Ash and Kade to shoot up out of their seats. The scream seemed to come from all directions, echoing off of the surrounding trees.

"Nothing in these woods should pose a threat to you," Kade said, keeping his eyes on their surroundings. "But that isn't the case for every Trainer. We will have to act quickly. Do you feel comfortable searching on your own?"

Ash's heart squeezed lightly at the thought of being alone in the pitch black woods. He didn't have a fear of the dark, but venturing outside the walls at night was completely forbidden in Pallet. Even he hadn't been bold enough to go out by himself without a Pokemon.

He glanced over at Ares, who was now up on his feet, teeth bared at the unknown threat.

"Yeah," Ash said firmly. "We'll be fine."

"Good, have Ares shoot a flame into the sky should you find anything." Kade said, releasing Bang in front of him and walking into the trees. "I'll come over as quickly as I can."

Ash nodded, turning in the opposite direction that Kade had gone. In front of him a line of branches formed a veritable wall of green and brown, dense enough that he would have to duck his way underneath them to make his way through. Visibility would be low, and even with Ares' flame he wouldn't be able to see farther than a few feet in front of him.

He didn't hesitate as he walked into the darkness.

Ash tried to keep a quick pace as he made his way through the forest, which so far had only earned him cuts to his knees from stumbling over fallen branches. Ares watched over him each time he fell, tail flared in preparation to fight off any unseen danger.

As he pushed through a particularly stubborn bush, he expected to hear the rustle of leaves and another line of trees ahead.

Instead, he heard a faint crunch from behind him, like the sound of a foot stepping on broken glass.

He spun around, searching for the source of the noise as sweat broke out on his palms. Nothing but forest. Had he been hearing things?

He looked down as Ares emitted a low growl at his side.

"You heard that too then, huh?" Ash whispered, wiping his hands against the sides of his pants.

Ares nodded slowly in return, drifting his tail back and forth in an attempt to give them more light.

They stood still for several moments, but whatever had made the noise was gone.

Ash grit his teeth, and turned back towards the way he had been traveling. They needed to keep moving, whoever had screamed was still out there.

He spent the next few minutes pushing his way through various branches and bushes before he heard another crackle. This time accompanied by the soft feeling of someone's breath upon the back of his neck.

"Mine."

Ash swore, spinning around in time to see the flicker of a shadow pass between the trees behind him. Ares roared, apparently seeing the shape as well, and tore off in its direction.

"Ares, wait!"

Ash ran after Ares' following the flame that danced back and forth through the trees. As he scrambled to catch up, his right hand was sliced by a thorned vine, causing him to hiss out in pain.

Despite his best efforts, he could only watch in desperation as Ares' flame moved farther into the distance. It grew smaller and smaller until finally flickering out, leaving Ash alone in complete darkness.

Shit.

He was in real trouble now. He had left Jupiter and Splinter in their balls back at the camp, and now cursed himself for being so hasty. He wouldn't be saving anyone if he got himself killed.

He took a steadying breath and tried to reorient himself in the darkness. Using his left hand, he reached out in front of him, shuffling his feet slowly forward in an attempt not to trip. He eventually touched the trunk of a tree, pressing his back up against it as he thought about his options.

First, light.

He pulled his Pokedex out of his pocket. Its ambient light was barely strong enough for him to see his shoes, but it would have to do for now.

Secondly, safety.

His best option now would be to stay put. Hopefully Ares had chased away whatever was following them, and could find his way back to him once he realized Ash was missing. If not, he could find his way back to camp after the sun rose. He couldn't have been gone far, he had been walking a half hour at most.

His hopes were dashed as he heard another crackle in the dark, this time from directly in front of him. His skin erupted in bumps at the unnatural noise, and Ash bolted, anything to put distance between himself and danger.

He didn't make it far before his foot caught on something on the ground, causing him to topple forward though a line of brush. Sheltering his Pokedex with one hand, he used the other to catch his fall, which caused him to cry out in pain as his cut slammed into the rough dirt. He ignored it, spinning onto his back and preparing to fight whatever creature that had followed him through the night.

Only to see nothing but a line of bushes and the open sky above it.

The sound of his heart pounded in his ears, filling the silence of the night. Ash glanced around for something, anything he could use to defend himself. Thin branches, dead and withered, were piled in the grass to either side of him.

He quickly looked over his shoulder. He had fallen into a clearing, which was filled with a blanket of dead leaves. They formed a perfect circle, maybe twenty feet around, the edge of which ended a few feet from where he was lying. His eyes were drawn to the center, where the outline of a person sat on a pile of something he couldn't quite make out.

He scrambled to his feet.

"Hey!" Ash called out. "Were you the one screaming earlier? Do you know what's out there?"

Silence. He glanced behind him before taking a few steps forward, holding his Pokedex high to get a better look.

His eyes widened as he made out the form. It was a woman, completely naked. And she was old. Beyond old. Wrinkles etched their way through every inch of her skin, forming deep creases even at the height of her knees and elbows .

"We need to leave," Ash started, taking a few more steps towards her. "There's somethi-"

The air rushed out of his lungs as his sentence was cut off. He suddenly felt as if the weight of the world had landed on his chest, pressing down on him from all directions. He pulled in as much air as he could, but it was all that he could manage just to take a shallow breath.

A tingle spread through his body as panic set in. They needed leave, now.

He tried to take a step forward, only to find that his feet wouldn't obey his commands. He looked down at his legs, and finally noticed that they were planted just within the circle of leaves. He pulled at them, desperately trying to free himself from whatever was happening.

Before he could move, the woman released another guttural scream, arching at an unnatural angle as she did. Ash could only stand and watch as small cuts appeared over the backs of her hands, which slowly traveled inwards across the woman's wrinkled skin.

He grimaced as the scent of iron filled the air.

This was bad, very very bad. He reached down to his shoe, fingers fumbling over the laces before finally freeing himself and pulling his foot free. Before he could get to the second, the world around him erupted as black flames shot out from the ground underneath the women.

His scar erupted in pain as the wave of heat washed over his face and neck.

PAIN. FIRE. DANGER.

His stomach seized, causing him to double as the world spun around him. He fell forwards as he fought the urge to vomit, clutching his stomach tightly against the nausea that was rising up within him.

He managed to look up, desperately hoping to see Kade or Ares entering the clearing to save him from this nightmare. But it was just him, and the women. He looked up at her face, which wore a soft smile despite the flames that furiously whipped around her.

Her rasping voice filled his ears as the world turned black.

"Your pain is breathtaking, but there will be no escape. YOU. ARE. MINE."