Nighttime Traveling

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Saren and Kit were in their Pokeballs, while Umbra slept in his arms and Zar was zigzagging ahead of him. For some reason, he felt that traveling at night would be better than day, since he did, after all, have Pokemon that liked the dark or were dark-type. He wasn't quite sure about Umbra yet, but he was sure she would warm up to the dark eventually. +Hey Dex, it's a river! We;re going the right way,+

[/color] Zar said as he heard the steady running of water up ahead. "Well, that's good. I'd hate to get lost in this forest at night. Wouldn't be able to see anything,+[/color] Dexter replied, jogging a bit to catch up to Zar, who was looking out over the river. Even in the moonlight, bth could tell that the water was tinted a red color.

+What made you like the dark, Dex? I know I've been with you for a long time, but that question still bugs me,+[/color] Zar said, slowing down so he was hovering even with Dexter's steps. "I don't know, to be honest. I think it just came naturally. I was always the one who was known to like the dark, even as a kid. While most kids, boys and girls, had nightmares of darkness, I had wonderful dreams about it. It was almost as if darkness and I got along quite well s far as I can remember," Dexter said, looking up at the beautiful, twinkling stars and bright, full moon. Umbra began to stir in his arms. +Are we there yet?+[/color] she asked sleepily, still half-asleep. "Well, if you're meaning the next route, yes, we are," Dexter said. Umbra shook her little head back and forth tp try and wake herself up. She leapt down from Dexter's arms and proceeded to the river's edge. Not noticing the red tint, she took a few laps from it before returning to Zar and Dexter. +How long is this route supposed to be?+[/color] Umbra asked, looking down the dirt path that was a little muddy from the snow that had completely melted earlier that day. "Don't know. Guess we'll find out though, won't we? Come on, Umbra," Dexter said as he continued on, Umbra close behind, with Zar walking beside her. +It's a great night tonight. I love full moons,+[/color] Zar said, gazing up at the moon. +It's beautiful,+[/color] Umbra agreed.

They continued on in silence, enjoying the night sounds of water Pokemon making a few splashes here and there, the calls of the bird-Pokemon quietly to one another, and of course the other sounds of happiness at night.
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[~/Birdybot\~]

It was very much the sort of summery night time- peaceful, warm, and lit gently by thousands of tiny stars above. Being night, many Pokemon had fallen asleep, but plenty more were waking up. The two noticable ones were in the water themselves; two dim, shimmering glows, one tinted purple. On closer inspection, they were a Chinchou and Staryu. Upon seeing Dexter's face peering down at them, the two Pokemon swam to the surface, each looking ready for a battle.

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Dexter noticed a couple of Pokemon surface the water, both looking battle-ready. "Well, would you look at that. A Chinchou and Staryu," Dexter said. Neither really interested him, but it would be great battle experience. +Seems to me they are looking for a fight,+

[/color] Zar said, observing their expressions and stances. "Well, it it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get, then," Dexter said. "Kit, come on out!" Dexter said as he released his Murkrow. "Umbra, you want to have the honors of fighting this as well?" Dex asked his Eevee. +With pleasure,+[/color] Umbra said, stepping forward. Dex knew that Kit needed a lot of battle experience. He had been quite weak, but had high spirit. In his hands, perhaps he would be even better; he had taken some good hits from Saren and had not fainted. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad... hopefully.
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[~/Birdybot\~]

It seemed that Kit ended up paired with Chinchou, while Umbra with Staryu. Chinchou sized the Murkrow up, unsure to it's abilities. It did not seem like other Murkrow it had met; they had all been hyperactive, annoying pranksters, which doubled in annoyance rating at night. This one, however, seemed calm and cheerful, as though it was extremely glad to have this trainer for a friend. How pathetic. It'll soon show him! Chinchou pulled bakc, before leaning forward and shooting an array of large bubbles at Kit; Bubble.

Staryu seemed quite lulled to sleep by the warm, calm night, although it could just stay awake. It looked the sort of Pokemon who would fall asleep easily, but in this case at least it remained awake. It did not attack, giving Umbra the oppertunity to attack first.

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Kit flapped his wings slowly, keeping himself hovering just above the ground a few feet from the edge of the river. It was waiting for the Chinchou to make its move. He hoped that this battle would go as well as the one against its ex-trainer had. Kit felt a little... strange. He felt like he should be enjoying the night, being... quite active, but instead he kept himself calm. The verdict was in; Chinchou used a Bubble. Murkrow waited for his order, expecting it to be harsh and yelled, but it wasn't harsh... it was just loud and enthusiastic. "Kit, dodge, and use Peck!" Dex called from behind. Kit flew to the side just in time to dodge the Bubble, and flew at the Chinchou, its beak ready with a Peck. Already, he felt like he could do more with his new trainer. It was a really good feeling.

Umbra looked at the Staryu with little interest. Well, looks like she would be making the first move. She looked back at Dexter to receive her order after Kit had received his. She knew this would be tough, having a two on two battle with wild Pokemon, but it would be interesting; it would show her how good Dexter was at this. "Umbra, use Tackle!" Dexter called to his Eevee. Umbra nodded and began running at a fast pace towards teh Staryu, ready to bash her head into its hard outer-body.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Chinchou gave a grunt of surprise and pain as Kit made contact with it's slippery skin. This Murkrow seemed to relish this moment of battle as if it would not get it again... how odd. Perhaps it had gone through a rough time or something. Maybe it had seen something weird that had made it crazy. Maybe it knew a murderer and was keeping it a secret on risk of it's life! Chinchou gave a muffled snicker of amusement as it realised it was just being stupid. There were no murderers around here! Besides, it should concentrate on the battle. Murkrow was a Flying type, right? So if Chinchou used an Electric move... it would be super-effective! The only Electric type move this Pokemon presently knew was Thunder Wave, but that would work anyway, it thought as the waves of energy crackled through the air.

Staryu watched the Eevee with interest at the way she moved, attacked, everything. After all, Psychic types such as this one tended to want to gain much knowledge, and a good way to gain this was by analyzing and defeating as many different kinds of Pokemon as possible. ~Sti-yaa...~ it murmered softly as it let the impact hit off it's rock-like body, surprised such a small Pokemon could be quite so surprisingly strong. It decided to compare this attack and it's reactions to it's own attack and Eevee's reactrion to it, mimicing Umbra's movements perfectly as Staryu used it's own Tackle attack.

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Kit felt really good after making contact with the Chinchou. That was the first time it had actually tried a move, and had it successfully hit! He crowed in happiness as he backed off for a bit, circling above the Chinchou, waiting for his next command. However... if memory served right, weren't Chinchou partially electric-type as well? And... weren't flying-types, such as himself, vulnerable to electric-type attacks? Having a slight moment of doubt, he nearly missed his command from Dexter. "Kit, watch out behind you!" he called. Just in time to barely dodge it by a powerful pump of his wings, the Thunder Wave missed Kit by a near centimeter or less, instead hitting a tree behind Dexter. "Great! Now, use Astonish!" Dexter said. Kit cawed, and flew with great speed towards the Chinchou, using Astonish.

Umbra was glad as she made contact with the Staryu; she quickly rebounded and landed on the edge of the river, her paws slightly damp. That had hurt a little, considering how hard Staryu's outer-body was. The bad news was, Dexter, at the moment that the Staryu was using its own Tackle, was giving orders to Kit. So, trying to take things into her own hands, Umbra let herself get hit with the Tackle, not surprised at how strong the rock-like Pokemon was. She took the opportunity that the Staryu hit her to use Tail Whip, lowering its defense so she could do more damage in the near future. As she skidded to a stop, Dexter had just finished giving orders to Kit, who had had a very close call. "Sorry, Umbra. Use Tackle again," Dex said, finding it very difficult to do a two-on-two battle as he had thought it would earlier. Umbra nodded, and charged at the Staryu again with a Tackle, knowing its defense would be a little less now that she had used Tail Whip.

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[~/Birdybot\~]

Chinchou was feeling a mixture of emotions as the fish's attack sailed past, leaving the Murkrow unharmed. It noted how this trainer called it a 'Kit', wasn't that a little insult, to call a Pokemon a kitten, or kitt? And to call a bird this too... Chinchou had much to learn about the ways of trainers. Presently it leapt smoothly into the air, attempting a sommersault. Not being the most agile of Pokemon, Chinchou failed miserably at the stunt, ending up sprawled on the floor. Then it screamed and jumped a foot in the air as Kit startled it with a careful Astonish. Chinchou eyed him warily, mumbling unhappily while chewing nervously on the end of its paw.

Staryu rolled it's eyes at it's comrade. Honestly, if a little Murkrow could take down Chinchou, then what would beat it? Staryu would not be defeated by this pet fox! Why would Chinchou? It made no sense to the obnoxious star! It allowed the Tackle to hit, again surprised at the power the Eevee was capable of, and began to spin once more in its own Tackle.

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Kit was feeling good after that last attack. This was actually sort of... fun, in his opinion. It was good experience, and considering the Chinchou was partially electric, he was doing good. "Great job, Kitkun! Now, use Peck!" Dexter called from behind him. Cawing happily, the Murkrow flew straight at the Chinchou, his beak glowing white as he attempted another Peck, hoping it would be successful as he other attacks had been.

Umbra watched the Staryu closely as soon as she had finished her last attack. Unfortunately, the Staryu's attack came quick again, as it had last time, and Umbra was unprepared. Well, since Dexter was having trouble keeping up with two battles at once, she would take charge. Dexter could man Kitkun's battle, and she would do her own. Unable to dodge the Tackle, she let teh Staryu hit her, while at the same time, her tail glowing as she used Tail Whip again. After the two had finished making contact, she landed on all fours, determined to beat the Staryu. She had to. She could do it, she knew she could! Without waiting for orders from Dexter, she charged at the Staryu with another Tackle.

Dexter watched Umbra with interest; she was taking charge of things on her own. That much was good. If she continued to do that, he could concentrate on ordering Kitkun's battle. Dexter turned his attention from Umbra to Kitkun, knowing that Umbra would likely take care of herself quite well.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Although Kit's Peck, a Flying type attack, was not too effective against and Electric type, the attack struck it's mark with fair success. Chinchou swayed dangerously as the Murkrow withdrew, but was still holding on to the few remaining fibres of conciousness it had left. Chinchou seemed just as determined as Kit. Once the bird had finished, it was now even more confused as to this 'kit' thing. Now it was called a 'kit-kun'? It sounded a bit more like 'kit-ten', but it still wasn't quite there. Well, at least this trainer didn't know his insults to say them. It suddenly remembered that it was in a battle, and shot a small string of Bubbles.

Staryu, being the cleverest of the two, knew about nicknames and so was not confused by this, but it was confused by something. Namely, why the trainer had stopped watching both battles and left the Eevee to fight without a trainer. Staryu pondered this for a few moments, before it descided that at least it put itself at an advantage, and cheered up right in time to be Tackled. Staryu was now furious. It roared as it sent a powerful jet of water at Umbra; Water Gun.

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Kit was glad he was doing so well, considering this was his first real battle, with no one bossing him around and threatening him. The orders were firm, but that came from the heat of the battle. If you didn't have firm commands, it meant that you were either one; not sure about battling, or two; didn't care about the battle. Kit noticed the confusion in the Chinchou, but, what was it from? He knew none of his attacks could cause confusion, so perhaps it was logical confusion. Either way, it would help him win, if at all possible. Though, considering he hadn't yet been hit by any of the Chinchou's attacks; at least give it some satisfaction. As the Bubbles came towards him, he reacted before Dex could tell him what to do. Instead of dodging the Bubbles, Kit flew straight towards it, bracing himself for it. Surprisingly, it wasn't as strong as he had thought, but still did a number on him. Recovering quickly, he sped through the air towards the Chinchou, using Astonish.

Umbra let out a mix between a purr and a growl as she struck the Staryu again. Now, her head was faintly throbbing from tackling the Staryu again, and this time it wasn't going away so easily. Well, this battle she knew would definitely be hard to win. Even with Dexter's commands and knowledge of battles it would be hard. The Staryu had a very high defense, even if it was of a lower level. All Staryu did, and the stronger they were, the higher their defence, and thus, the harder to beat of you didn't have a type-advantage. Shocked at how fast the Staryu retaliated, Umbra didn't have time to dodge, but rather attempted a Tail Whip to neutralize the Water Gun, but to no avail. For a second or two, the Water Gun stopped, but then she was shot back. Umbra rose up after the attack and shook her wet fur, making herself a little more poofy than she already was. Ok, now she was really mad. Though she was considerably weakened from that particular attack, she didn't look it. She ran full-speed at the Staryu again with another Tackle, her eyes definitely showing a newfound determination.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Chinchou was now a little calmer, having recovered a little from the deep thinking he had been doing earlier. It was now watching the battle progress, it's breath coming in heavy pants. It's condition wasn't too good, which was a good thing for the opponents, for the battle had so far knocked a lot out of it. Chinchou actually seemed a little bored, and whenever a bird flew past or a blossom fell from a tree, it watched it rather than the battle. Therefore, while Chinchou was busy staring at a stick bobbing down the river, Kit came up behind it and slammed into it's back. Chincou coughed, then fell foward. It fell still... then staggered to it's feet, swaying dangerously.

Staryu looked over to it's friend. Well, it was one of Chinchou's fist battles, but at least it knew itself had some experience. Staryu allowed Umbra to Tackle it. This time, however, it was prepared to feel the surprising amount of pain that it had before. What it actually felt was incredible. Staryu gave an agonised wail as Umbra struck it's star shaped body. Unlike before, however, Staryu actually moved. And fast; the Water type was flung against a tree, knocking it down to similar condition to Chinchou. Neither could draw the strength to attack, but the battle wasn't quite over yet.

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Kit hovered a couple feet from the ground, lightly beating his wings, but panting heavily. He had never done this much work, but... it felt good. The adrenaline felt good as it rushed through his veins, giving him strength. He looked at the Chinchou with a piercing gaze. He knew that the battle was as good as won. Glancing over at Umbra, he watched her as she made the Staryu considerably weakened as well, but Umbra herself wasn't in the best of shape. He turned to look at the Chinchou again. Well, if the two were friends, at least they would be together, unless of course, for some reason, Dex decided to only catch one... but, from what he knew of Dexter so far, he would catch both and keep both together. "Alright, Kit! Finish it up! Use Peck!" Dexter called from behind him. Kit flapped his wings twice hard, backing up, the dove forward, his beak glowing white as he flew in for another Peck on the Chinchou, hoping to finish the battle now.

Umbra was glad the attack hit, and was surprised at how much damage it had done. All four legs trembled from the effort of standing as she gazed at the Staryu. She would win this, she would... as long as she could stay on her feet, anyways. So, if the Staryu wasn't attacking, did that mean it was finished battling, or just not strong enough to attack anymore? Either way, she didn't want to wait around to find out, in case the Staryu made up its mind to attack and finished her off or something of the sort. Running as fast as her little legs could carry her, she charged for one last tackle at the Staryu, closing her eyes a second before attempting to make contact with the Staryu.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Chinchou was panting heavily, black spots partially clouding it's vision as it struggled to stay upright and awake. It occasionaly muttered something, and it's eyes closed for progressively longer amounts of time each time it blinked. Chinchou watched the Kit/Kitkun/Murkrow advance upon it, fear pulling the hairs on the back of it's neck into an upright position. It gave a defeated murmur before Kit striked. It gave no attempt to reduce the attack's power or prevent it, for it did not have the energy and knew that even though it might just succeed, it was at such a state that even a newly hatched Magikarp could finish it off now. It was squashed slightly as the Peck dug into it's soft flesh, then bounced up a little, unconcious as to what it was doing.

Staryu was a in better shape to Chinchou, but still pretty bad. It actually didn't mind loosing despite it's normally arrogant and competative nature. When it saw it's friend fall, it seemed to find defeat itself rather inviting. Anything other than having to stand here on it's shaking legs, struggling to stay concious while a determinded Eevee rammed into it repetatively. Umbra made impact. Although a little weaker than before, the Tackle sent Staryu flying (not literally) to the ground, where it did not get up.

Staryu and Chinchou were defeated! Kit and Umbra each gain two levels!

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Kit made a mid-air U-turn and landed on his small legs, glad that he had made his first defeat. He felt stronger now as he defeated the Chinchou. It pleasured him to see the Chinchou unconscious, now ready to catch. "Great job, Kit! You did excellent!" Dexter said, praising Kit. Dexter took out a Pokeball and tossed it at the fallen Chinchou. He looked over to Umbra, just in time to see her defeat the Staryu as well. "Nicely done, Umbra!" he said happily. Considering Chinchou being partially electric, and Staryu with a high defense, Kit and Umbra had beaten the odds.

Umbra was completely exhausted after she had finished the battle. Panting heavily, she collapsed, glad the battle was over. That Staryu had quite the defence, and it had taken all of her energy to defeat it... not to mention the few attacks the Staryu had gotten in as well. Kit had had it easy. But, that suited him; he had never really been in a real battle before now. +Thanks,+

[/color] Umbra replied weakly, getting to her feet as she slowly made her way towards Dexter. As she was making her way over, he threw a Pokeball at the defeated Staryu. Well, she felt a little stronger, and also felt like she knew something more, but couldn't quite place her paw on it.

Upon seeing Umbra's exhaustion, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. +They both did great,+[/color] Zar said. Dexter looked down to see Zar looking up at him and Umbra. Dexter had nearly forgotten Zar was out of his Pokeball. "I think I'm going to have either Kit or Saren do the next battle, wherever it may be," Dexter said. Zar nodded in agreement. +They need more experience than me anyways,+[/color] Zar said. +That was fun! You're a great trainer, Dex,+[/color] Kit said, looking a bit tired now. "Nah, I'm not a great trainer. You're just a good battler," Dexter said. If Kit didn't have feathers, it would be quite obvious he blushed at that compliment, before returning himself to his Pokeball. Umbra nestled comfortably in Dexter's arms and was soon asleep. "Huh. Well, I suppose that even Pokemon who are nocturnal sometimes sleep during the night," Dex said, waiting for the Pokeballs to signal the Staryu and Chinchou had been caught.
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