Amber Frost
Once she'd entered into the forest, Amber let out all her Pokemon. Swindle quickly bolted up a nearby tree and began following Amber by jumping from tree to tree. Spirit casually trotted next to Amber, looking around at all the incredibly flammable trees. Twitch started scurrying all around, running circles around Amber's feet before darting ahead, running a spiral pattern up and back down a tree, and running forward again in rapid succession. Valor rotated himself slowly on Amber's shoulder, clicking at a constant pace to search for both dangers and enemy Pokemon to train against. He spotted a Silcoon hanging on a tree and suddenly flew at it, bombarding it with Wing Attacks as it sat there and used Harden. After numerous attacks that weakened in power the more the other Pokemon Hardened, the Silcoon finally fainted and fell off the tree. Valor, somewhat tired from the rapid fire attacks, went back to Amber's shoulder as they walked through the forest.
Amber stopped suddenly as she stumbled upon a clearing in the forest. Dappled rays of light shone through the treetops, trickling down to the earth and casting a dancing pattern of lights on the clearing floor. Several logs lay around the clearing, forming what looked like crude benches. Valor quickly examined the area and found it completely deserted. With a shrug, Amber went over to the one of the benches and sat down as her Pokemon explored the area. She found it was actually quite comfortable, and lounged on it, stretching herself out across the log. Her Pokemon all went off in different directions in search of battles. They usually trained by themselves, going over their moves and making sure they knew all the steps. This method of training prepared them well for real battles, allowing them to gain the independence they required for Amber's battling techniques to perform smoothly. Spirit blasted away several small Bug type Pokemon with an Ember attack, while Swindle was locked in combat with a Ratatta. Her Pokemon working, Amber relaxed, closed her eyes, and grabbed her phone, playing some punk rock music on the speakers. It wasn't until the sound was suddenly muffled by a furry obstruction that she remembered something very important and opened her eyes again. Or rather, someone.
She sighed and extracted Twitch from her cellphone. She honestly had no idea what to do with the fuzzy little scout. Hell, she didn't even know what kind of Pokemon it was! But, nonetheless, she'd have to train him or her. She held Twitch up at eye level. "Okay, little guy-" she started to say, but was cut off by a pout from Twitch. "Er, girl? Okay then," she chuckled, embarrassed. "Anyway, we gotta get to work!" she said, standing up and placing the Pokemon on the ground. After a moment of thinking, Amber called out to Valor. "Valor, help out Twitch for a bit, yeah?"
Valor looked rather irritated with his task, but he took his place opposite Twitch, clicking much faster than usual to make sure he could track her rapid movements. Amber spoke once more. "Alright, let's find out what moves you know, Twitch. Use any attack on Valor there," she commanded. Twitch bounced in excitement before dashing towards Valor at surprising speed, yelling out a battle cry.
"I'm going to drink your blood! Woo!" she cried, laughing as she jumped towards Valor, fangs bared for a Leech Life attack. She was nearly invisible to Valor's echolocation at her speed, causing him to only launch into the air at the last minute, her fangs grazing him slightly.
"Hey, no fair!" she called up to Valor as he landed up in a tree, before charging up the tree after him, a nearly invisible thread of silk trailing out of her mouth as she ran. Valor quickly flew to a nearby tree, and Twitch followed, jumping across between branches.
"Rule number one, never announce your attacks!" Valor called out smugly as he flew ahead, the smaller Pokemon jumping around to keep up, leaving a trail of thin webbing between each tree as she jumped to them. They kept it up for some time, going in circles around the clearing. Valor landed and turned around as Twitch primed an Electroweb. Valor rocketed off the tree as a sticky, electric projectile splattered where he had just been. She continued her assault, throwing web after web at Valor. Large globs of webbing fell to the ground in vertical lines between the previously laid webs and the ground, creating a nearly invisible net around the clearing. Valor began to take on the offensive, bored of their apparent stalemate. If he continued dodging on the defensive, sooner or later he would make a fatal mistake. He flew upwards before diving down, dodging side-to-side as Twitch shot webs up at him. He prepared for a Wing Attack, however he shot out a wing for the attack too soon, and a web landed squarely against his wing, sending him crashing to the ground in a tangle of wings and webs.
"Rule number five hundred and two! Never underestimate the power of the scout's code!" Twitch giggled and nodded sagely as Valor smashed into the earth. Valor struggled into an upright position, his wing wrapped up by an electric web. Tiny electric shocks combined with constricting webs left his wing numb and unusable, greatly hindering his Speed and mobility. Still, he had one working wing, leaving him plenty of mobility, but Twitch didn't need to know that just yet...
Amber silently watched as the two battled. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she'd started, but she thought it turned out pretty well. So far she'd seen two different types of web attacks, along with an attack involving her fangs that never connected. It looked like Twitch would take just fine to their battling style. Amber hadn't given a single command besides the one at the start, and both Twitch and Valor had worked out complicated strategies on their own. She got the feeling that most trainers were too focused on their own plans and tactics to realize how intelligent Pokemon truly were.
Twitch, meanwhile, was focused on her prey. Valor was mostly immobilized; at least, his flight was disabled by the Electroweb wrapped around it. Without his flight, he couldn't escape from the circle of Spiderwebs that she had laid while she chased him. She may be a bit random and crazy, but she definitely wasn't as unintelligent as she seemed. She opened her mouth slightly to let a tiny thread of silk out once more as she charged forward towards Valor slightly slower than the first time, preparing for a Bug Bite attack. Valor watched her approach, clicking at a slow and steady pace. Right before she reached him, he jumped to the side, using his one wing for additional lift. Twitch was thrown off, not expecting him to be able to move that quickly after being partially paralyzed. Still, he was headed right where she wanted him to go.
Valor turned to face her as he half jumped, half flew to the side, grinning in triumph as he managed to surprise the bug Pokemon.
"Rule number two, never assume you've won until the battle is over," he called out tauntingly. Twitch looked at him, smiled innocently, and declared,
"Oops! Looks like you just broke the rules!" Valor barely had time to process that statement before he collided with a wall of webs and was bounced violently back into the ground in the center of the clearing.
Valor struggled to get up, momentarily dazed from the sudden change in momentum and the resulting crash. Twitch took the opportunity to hit him with a volley of Electrowebs, slowing him down to the point of immobility. She took a deep breath and shot out electric waves, Paralyzing him with Thunder Wave for good measure. She went at him once more, bouncing and dodging and slicing at him with repeated Fury Cutter attacks, laying out webs all the while. Valor struggled against his bonds in vain, then watched in both amazement and confusion as Twitch
walked on the air?! Then he clicked at the spot Twitch had just been, and finally saw them. He was trapped, not just in the Electrowebs, but in a dome of tiny Spiderwebs. And beyond that, he deduced, another layer of webs that bounced him back upon contact. Now that he was trapped and vulnerable, Twitch was free to dart in and out, slashing him with Fury Cutter repeatedly, each one stronger than the last.
He had lost.
He had just gotten outplayed by a bug. He stopped struggling and lay limply on the ground as he realized he'd been checkmated. Twitch stood above him, suspended on top of the dome of webs. She grinned smugly at him before scurrying over to Amber, giggling in delight at her victory over the team tactician.
"Yay! I won!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down. Amber grinned and picked up the tiny spider Pokemon before strolling over to Valor and pulling at the Spiderwebs unsuccessfully. She looked at Twitch again, somewhat less amused.
"Oops," she muttered. Amber rolled her eyes and whistled loudly for Spirit and Swindle. They slowly emerged from the forest, looking tired and scratched but in better shape than Valor. Swindle spotted the webs and simply climbed over them. Spirit on the other hand, had to be a bit more careful around the flammable trees. He lined himself up with both the webs in front of him and webs on the other side of the clearing. He ran forward in a Flamewheel, burning a hole through the first webs, before pushing off the ground and sailing over the heads of Amber and the other Pokemon, who wisely ducked before he launched himself. His charge continued, burning a hole to the outside before he stopped and extinguished himself. Small webs still clung to the trees, which remained relatively undamaged.
Spirit trotted back to them looking smug.
"No need to thank me, just clearing the way. But seriously, you can start showering me with praise now," he remarked airily, giving a slight flip of the mane and letting it billow out behind him in the breeze. Twitch stared at him in admiration, stars literally visible in her eyes somehow. Valor rolled his eyes and huffed impatiently at his friend's antics.
"Can you hurry up and untie me already?" he snapped at Spirit, tired of being stuck on the ground. Spirit grinned and stood above the trapped Valor.
"Only if you promise to be my unwavering servant for all time," he bargained, still grinning impishly. Valor didn't even respond to that; if he could've glared, he would've. Sensing his unamusement, Spirit chuckled and let loose an Ember attack on the outer Spiderweb dome, incinerating it and leaving only the Electrowebs tying Valor to the ground. Spirit put one hoof on the edge of a web tying Valor's wing.
"It's not too late to change your mind! Being my servant is a great honor!" he laughed playfully. In response, Valor yanked on his wing, causing the Electroweb to unravel, allowing him to undo the rest of the webs with his free wing.
"Not happening," he said, very unamused. Spirit helped his grouchy friend back up onto Amber's shoulder and they began walking back out of the forest.
"Jeez, chill out. Just playin'" Spirit remarked nonchalantly as he trotted slowly at Amber's side. Valor didn't respond, choosing to tiredly duck inside his wings for the rest of the walk towards the Pokemon Center.
Amber regarded her team thoughtfully during the walk. They didn't have much formal training, as most of their time was spent trying to get food to eat and a place to stay, but they worked well as a team. And the recent addition had only made them stronger. She was starting to think they might have a chance in this upcoming tournament. They could definitely use some practice in a real stadium against trained Pokemon. And Valor looked like he needed some cheering up after that loss. They still had a little bit of time left, perhaps they would visit Oak Town and pick up a few things that could give them an edge over the competition. Once they'd all healed up, she'd have to ask Valor what he thought. Amber spent the rest of the walk towards the Academy Pokemon Center in pensive silence.
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