Helping a friend gain strength

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Jak {37-16=21}
~Before Reaching Mountain Base~
After spending some time in grassveil in his home to rest from his recent journey's. Jak to take a visit into the town center.
He stumbled across an old friend in town. That person was a buizel named Jet. Jet had always come off as a little shy and timid pokemon to Jak. However Jak knew he had a lot of potential.

When Jak had saw his old friend. Jak offered to help train Jet some more. He seemed to like the idea of getting more training. Jak offered to bring him to Black Mist Mountain for some training. It would be a bit tougher then the normal areas around grassveil, but it would be helpful to Jet. Jet was a bit hesitant to do so at first, given that he had never been very far beyond Rainfront Town before. But he would be with Jak, somebody he knew he could trust and rely on...and it would serve to help him grow better than what he was used to. He needed greater progress than what he was currently receiving. After agreeing, Jak stated that they should prepare for the trip. It would be a few days trip to the mountain, especially from grassveil. The Buizel nodded to him, knowing full well that the mountain range was much farther than he had ever traveled before. He was definitely going to need to be properly prepared.
"So, I am going to get ready for the trip.. Meet me at the exit from town when your ready to head out." Jak stated as he waved to the Buizel. Jet nodded again, returning the wave before departing and seeking to gather what materials he would need as well. He just hoped that he could pull his own weight out there and wouldn't end up dragging Jak down with him....

~On the way to Mountain~
Jak had been walking at a steady pace with the Buizel, ensuring that they had not gotten too tired when they arrived there. Having breaks every so often , resting at night in natural shelters along the path. They both would have to be in top condition if they happened to have come across some hostile natives early on their adventure. "We are almost there. We should arrive there before tonight..." Jak stated as he looked around to see if there was any natural shelters from the elements for the night. The weather had been unstable in recent days. So Jak had not liked being out overnight without something overhead, Just incase the weather decided to go for the worst and start raining on him. Knowing that he could die if the rain got heavy enough, being something he had gotten used to doing before nightfall,

"We should probably keep an eye out for shelter the rest of the way. I really don't like getting caught outside when having to rest... It isn't fun being caught outside if it suddenly starts to rain... However, I can't say the same for you." Jak stated with a slight chuckle.

"How are you holding up so far?" Jak asked the Buizel, making sure he was still doing alright on the travel to the mountain.

Note For Staff:

Jak looked towards the Buizel as it asked about what happened... Jak pondered whether or not to say exactly what happened, or whether to state what mistakes happened... It was a difficult decision... He didn't quite understand what kind of reaction he would get with either responses. "The same mistake I made with Obera... When she was training me... You refused to rest between the sparring match..." he said as he looked towards the direction where the Cubone traveled... He felt a hint of sadness and Déjà vu creep over him. It was exactly as he said, the same mistake he made with Obera...

On the edge of the overhang. The cubone had been gazing at the rest of the mountain range... As if he was searching for something, or watching for something.

Jak turned back towards Jet, "Do not be upset about it... Everyone wants to prove that they are strong... We just have to know when we have to try and escape, or give up... It is a difficult decision on its own." he said as he offered a paw to the Buizel to help him up.

"You did fairly well out there, you learned a bit from him..." Jak said as a compliment... "I might have to learn a bit from that Cubone also..." he said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, by the way... Here is half the TM's that were in the stack, there were 4 Double Team tm's in total, You get two and I get two." he said as he gave two of the TM's to Jet.

{Energy: 24 + 1 (new page) = 25}

Jet looked at Jak as he explained what had happened. As the Charmeleon spoke, the memories came back to him almost immediately. His eyes widened for a moment at the realization of his crushing defeat. He looked down toward the ground and lowered his head slightly, as though he were ashamed of himself. He had even possessed a type advantage and a decent move with his Aqua Tail. Yet somehow, he had still managed to get crushed. He really was too weak for this place after all, it seemed. Perhaps it was not too late to turn back and make his way back to Grassveil now. He was stupid for thinking he could come all the way out here with Jak to train. He obviously didn't have what it took to take on one lone Cubone. How could he hope to be of any use to his friend out here if he couldn't even properly defend himself?

"...M-maybe you're right," Jet mumbled in a defeated tone. "M-maybe I shouldn't be so stupid to think I can be strong enough to do these kinds of things. Maybe I should just give up while I can still walk." He looked up for a moment, seeing Jak's claws get held out to him, clearly offering him a hand to get back up again. "M-maybe I did learn a thing or two from that battle on how to fight properly, but...th-that doesn't do anything for me if I'm not strong enough." He did not take Jak's paw and instead started climbing back to his own feet. Truth be told, he did not think he was worth Jak's time anymore.

when Jak held out two TM's for him to see, he looked at them and considered them for a moment. "Th...thanks, I guess..." he mumbled, accepting the gifts from his friend. However, he did so half-heartedly. It was clear that he was taking his defeat rather hard....

Digizel carried out 10 launched of one Black Mist Mountain :

, , , , , , , , ,

Jak frowned as he noticed right away that Jet was upset with the defeat. "Hey... you didn't lose... Every bit of experience is a win... It isn't always someones power that wins ... It is how smart they can be with their battle, and you did everything you could... That is what that matters." he said as he put his paw on the Buizels shoulder. "Trust me, I doubt I would of stood up to the Cubone, the way he battled... I think It would be in for a rough match." he said with a slight chuckle... "I am a bit glad he isn't hostile." he finished.

"Also, your welcome... I don't know if you can use those TM's, however you could always sell them if you can't." he responded to the Buizel's thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At some point, the cubone stiffened as he noticed something bit of a ways ahead on the path they were on. He glanced towards Jak and Jet then back towards the path. "hmm, Something not good ahead..." he mumbled to himself. An absol seemed to be just out of sight of all three of the pokemon. Watching their every movements. The same one Jak kept thinking he was imagining.

((Aggron encounter pretty soon))

Jet let out another defeated sigh as he looked over at Jak. The Charmeleon's words helped him slightly. Knowing that the Cubone was a very powerful fighter that might even be able to beat him allowed him some relief. But still, the Cubone had a serious type advantage against Jak. Him managing to defeat Jak would be much less surprising. It was the fact that Jet had had an advantage, yet still got crushed as badly as he did. "Th...thanks for that and all. A-and really, it means a lot that you're still sticking with me..." he murmured back to the Charmeleon. "B-but it's the fact that I did everything I could that's important. I-I did the best I could...a-and I could barely touch him. E-even my Water-type attacks were completely ineffectual." He then shook his head. "B-besides, it's more than how smart you are. If...if my attacks do nothing, then there's nothing I can do. Maybe I'm just...too weak to be of any help to anyone after all."

He let out another sigh and turned to look onward as the Cubone looked back at them for a moment. He had to admit, he was happy that the Cubone wasn't hostile as well. If he were, they both might have been defeated and who knows what could have happened? He supposed that he should just be grateful for what ended up happening, rather than focusing too much on what could have been, but still. It wasn't even really the loss itself that got him down. It was more the fact that he had been embarrassingly crushed, with such minimal resistance on his part. And the thought caused him to blush slightly and avoid all eye contact as much as he could, preferring to keep his gaze lower than the others.

But even still...he knew that it had been his idea to go training with Jak. It had been his request, and he had hoped to use it to distract him from thinking about Fang too much. The Charmeleon had come with him all the way out here...and he didn't want to just give up on all of that. Then he'd have just wasted Jak's time. He looked over at Jak and began to follow him again. "S-so...what do we do now?" he asked. "I-I mean...I-I guess we may as well keep going, s-since I'm back up and everything...."

{Energy: 25 - 28 = 0}

Jak seemed to frown as it seemed, even though what he said did help... The Buizel was still upset about something. He didn't know of anything else to say at the moment that might help. He then turned towards the Cubone to see it still on the ledge. It then turned towards them, seeming to gesture them to come over.

"I think he wants something..." he said as he looked towards Jet with a curious expression on his face. "I wonder what exactly it is that he needs." He said as he started to walk towards the Cubone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once the two pokemon got towards the Cubone, he gestured to the path ahead of them. "Something wrong, we go now..." it said rather bluntly. Jak took this as a hint about something bad was happening either ahead, or something was coming to them that even the Cubone didn't want to face. However this would be proven once they head up the path.

Jet looked at Jak as the Charmeleon frowned. He could tell that Jak did want to make him feel better about himself...but still, there wasn't anything that could be done. He was a hopeless case. At least for the moment. Still, he could certainly appreciate the Charmeleon's attempts. It meant that he was really a good friend, and not somebody who would just think of him as a burden and that he wasn't the type to make fun of him just because he was as weak as he was. And honestly, the friendship was what Jet was most grateful to have right now.

When the Cubone waved them over, though, and Jak said exactly what Jet himself was thinking, he nodded to him. "I-I guess we should go see what he wants then," Jet said unnecessarily before Jak took his first step. Then, Jet started following right behind the Charmeleon and the two slowly approached the Cubone. On the way forward, however, Jet found his attention getting drawn to the side. Much like before, there seemed to be a small seed that had fallen or been dropped on the round just beside the path. Nobody else seemed to notice them, so he decided to step away from the others and pick up the seeds laying there. A Blinker, Reviver, and another Bound Seed was what he discovered before he pocketed them into his explorer's bag. These were handy finds indeed...especially the Reviver Seed, which would replace the one that had been used earlier. He then speed-walked to quickly catch up with Jak again.

When the two arrived at the Cubone's side, the Ground-type Pokémon did not have any pleasing information for them. "S-something's wrong...?" Jet inquired. "Wh-what do you mean something's wrong?" This couldn't possibly bode well. If there was something that even the Cubone did not want to face, he would probably get knocked out again almost immediately in an encounter with it. "D-do you mean something is coming for us...?" He had to admit, the idea of running away was quite appealing if this were the case. Sure, he had come here to train and help bolster his courage...but after his last defeat, he had a greater fear for the dangers that this mountain could hold. One wrong step and he could end up trampled....

Jak thought about what the Cubone had said. Then Jet decided to ask what it meant about what was troubling him. "Not us, but others..." the Cubone said as he started running in the direction he had previously pointed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jak glanced over to the Buizel after the Cubone responded as it started running up the path. "Hmm, We should go help.. I can't stand here if someone else is in trouble." he said as he started running after the Cubone. The cubone remained in view for a bit until it rounded a corner. At that point he heard a combined Roar of three pokemon. Just as he turned the corner he saw three different massive steel pokemon... He stood next to the Cubone. "Oh jeeze... That isn't good." he spit out without realizing it. He then noticed the two Poochyena stuck in the corner.
"There, we help!" the Cubone said just as Jak saw the two trapped pokemon.

"O-others...?" Jet repeated. Oh no...why did it have to be somebody else that was in danger? If it were just the three of them, they could have just escaped easily enough. Unless they were fast enough to keep up with them, it would be a simple matter. But now that Jet heard that there were some other Pokémon that were in danger that needed their help...they had no choice anymore. Jet would never be able to forgive himself if he knowingly let some strange Pokémon get hurt just because he was too cowardly or weak to stand up for himself or help.

So instead, he watched the Cubone run off and he nodded to Jak when the Charmeleon insisted that they follow suit. He simply nodded in response, not sure what else he could say at this point. He didn't have much of a choice as far as his conscience was concerned. So, as Jak stepped off and began following the Cubone, he quickly followed suit...though at a more cautious, slower pace due to his own increasing fear. Finally, when the cubone and Jak rounded the corner ahead...he heard a loud roar that caused the Buizel to freeze in place. "Wh...what...was...?" he murmured lowly, slowing his pace even further. When he finally turned the corner himself, he froze.

Standing before them were three giant Aggron, backed up by two smaller, but similar-looking Pokémon. wh...what could the three of them possibly do against opponents like this? There were three Aggron and three of them so, perhaps they would have to take one Aggron each in order to lighten the load of the others? But then what about the other two Pokémon? And it wasn't until Cubone said something that he became aware of the two Poochyena that were trapped, cornered by the Steel-type attackers.

"J-Jak, wait!" Jet called out when he realized what was about to transpire. He stepped up to the two of them. "Y-you can't just fight against things! I-I read about them in Grassveil. Th-these are Aggron! Th-they're supposed to be territorial and very dangerous. Th-they're also Rock-type Pokémon as well as being Steel-type, so their defenses are nearly physically impenetrable! A-and there's three of them together!" The last thing he wanted was for Jak to end up getting crushed by these monster-like Pokémon. "I-I know we can't just leave the Poochyena, b-but I hope you have some kind of plan for this...!" He himself felt panic start to overtake his rational thought. The sheer thought of going up against all of these powerful Pokémon all at once really shook him to the core. His visible, fearful trembling was more than a giveaway to that.

Jak looked towards the Buizel who seemed to be very concerned about Jak and what they were up against. Jak remained still as the Buizel had stated what they were up against. However Jak wasn't one to just stand by idly while someone was in danger.

"You are right, but we might not have much time... We will have to use their own power against them." he said with a slight smirk. "Try to get them to charged towards us in the direction of the cliff side... They might run off it. Just be sure you can get out of the way of such an attack before attempting it." he said quickly.

The cubone nodded in agreement. "Power, can be weakness..." the cubone added. It seemed to reassure the fact that you can win a battle without the strength to match your opponent.

Jet listened to the Charmeleon's words in response to his information. But still...Jak did not seem to be willing to back down any more than he had been before. His eyes widened at Jak's level of confidence and levelheadedness. W...wow.... This guy was really incredible. How could he even think about combatting something like three powerful Aggron? Had it been up to Jet, he would have figured a distraction would have been a better alternative. Then, perhaps, two others could grab the Poochyena and escape with them, with the distractor escaping on his own using superior speed. It would probably only be a temporary solution, but it would at least get everyone out of there safely for the moment. And there were several points in that plan that could go wrong...but what about a plan like Jak's?

However, Jet shook his head soon after having such thoughts. There was no time to be doubting himself right now, nor the plan of action that two of the group seemed to agree to. Well...if this was the best plan they had, he may as well do his best to play his part. And then, he thought about how he could do this without hindering the others too much...and an idea came to his mind. "...Wh-what if I did it?" he asked, looking at Jak and the Cubone. "I-I can...I can get the Aggron to chase me. I-I think I might be the fastest if I use my Rain Dance. I-I...I might...might stand the best chance of escaping unharmed. Th-then meanwhile, m-maybe you two can try to handle the other Pokémon that don't follow me a-and protect the Poochyena."

He could hardly believe that he was volunteering himself for such a suicide mission. Still...he wanted to be useful. He did not have the confidence in himself to fight against another Pokémon out here right now, and in such an important situation. He did not trust himself to win. So the other two would perhaps be better choices for that role....

Jak looked at Jet as he volunteered. "If it will make you faster, then raindance away... I'll be able to handle the rain." he said as he looked towards the ground type. "As I," it added.

Jak went to move ahead towards the side out of view of the Aggron for a brief moment, however he stopped briefly. "And jet... Don't hold back... You can do it." he said with a smile as glanced towards the Buizel.

"Trust your instincts." the Cubone added as he followed Jak.

With that the two ran off to get around the Aggron. Hoping to skip past them and take out the other two pokemon that were with them. Jak couldn't help but be a little worried about Jet's confidence... It was the one thing he thought that might hurt the Buizel. He was certain once the rain started. Jet would be able to out maneuver those giant steel types with ease.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three aggron didn't seem to notice the two pokemon yet as they had entered the area. They still had their attention directed towards the fearful poochyena.

As the two pokemon got close, they waited for the attention of the three aggron to be diverted before they attempted to go after the other two hostiles.

To be completely honest, Jet had almost completely forgotten about the fact that his Rain Dance would leave Jak slightly weakened. He may enjoy the sights, but with that attack hindering any Fire-type attacks he may want to be using, it would not be good in the middle of a fight. He hesitated, but...when Jak said that he would be able to deal with it, he had no choice but to trust him. After all, he would need that added speed boost if he was going to ensure his own safety. After all, the last thing he needed to do was get caught up in a Take Down attack and thrown off the cliffside himself.

"I...I'll try my best," Jet said in response to Jak, smiling slightly at the Charmeleon. He was glad that he could at least do...something about this situation to make it easier on his friends. He may not be good at fighting, but there was no doubt about his impressive speed. Buizel were naturally fast Pokémon, and his speed would be doubled as soon as the rain started. Hopefully, that would be enough....

Jet watched his friends go off to the side, hidden away from the Aggron's line of sight. Once they were safe, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his own nerves. Finally...he braced himself for what he was about to do. He stepped toward the edge of the cliff, readying himself to be the bait. He patiently positioned himself just right, putting himself right between the three Aggron and the cliffside. He then quickly faced the Aggron and spun himself around, whipping his tail through the air. This unleashed a Sonicboom attack at the back of the Aggron in the center of the three. If he could catch that one's attention, perhaps the other two would follow suit. "H-hey!" Jet shouted, sounding much less confident than he wanted to. "Y-y-you giant, e-er...t-tin can...m-m-monster...th-things!" he said, visibly shaking. "L-l-leave...th-those Poochyena alone...!"

~~~~~

Meanwhile, the Lairon and the Aron were approaching the two Poochyena, dark smirks on their faces. It was clear that they were going to enjoy this. Just then, the Aron began to charge forward, head lowered, as he prepared to Headbutt one of the Poochyena against the mountain cliff behind them. The Lairon loomed behind it, watching the Aron charge. However, the Steel-type Pokémon stopped his forward charge when a loud, shaky voice broke the air around them. The two Pokémon turned their attention away from the Poochyena at last and looked behind the three Aggron standing behind them. A lone, wimpy-looking Buizel stood near the opposite Cliffside. They quickly exchanged glances before looking at their Aggron brethren, waiting for them to decide how to deal with this.

A large bang occured as the sound barrier being broken by the Buizel, sending a shockwave of energy at the ground next to the Aggron. This had quickly gotten their attention. They turned around to see the Buizel near the edge of the pathway.

They roared at the challenge, even if their challenger seemed extremely nervous. They would enjoy such a challenge... because to them, this was a chance to smash in another victem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jak noticed that all of the pokemon had their attentions drawn by the huge bang that occured from Jet's sonic boom attack. He quickly looked toward the Cubone, seeing that it already was preparing to throw its bone club at one of the pokemon.

Jak in turn prepared to launch a flurry of embers at the other smaller pokemon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the aggron moved towards the Buizel, Roaring once more at the Buizel. The others remained in their spot, still looking just as equilly viscious.

Jak thought for a moment, Great, only one of them is going to attack him at a time? At least he doesn't have to avoid them all at once... but this might get tricky if they spot us... he thought, just after that he launched the flurry of flames at the larger of the two smaller steel types. The cubone at the smallest one respectively with his bone club.

Jet couldn't help himself. He flinched in fear as the three Aggron let out a simultaneous roar at his challenge. He also shrank back slightly at their glares. He could practically feel their desire to stomp him into dust emanating in the air. And unfortunately, more problems were piled on top of that. His eyes widened as he realized that only one Aggron was moving toward him. This posed a major problem. Sure, the Aggron might see Jak and the Cubone while they stood there, but if the other two Aggron saw what his strategy was, they were not likely to fall for it a second time. He gulped and tried to think about a solution. His best answer? He did not launch a Rain Dance like he wanted to before the first Aggron approached him, but instead tried to launch another Sonicboom attack. This time, he aimed the attack at the Aggron to the farthest left. He hoped to get both Aggron to charge him at once. At least that way, he would only have to worry about the last Aggron by itself if he needed to.

~~~

The Lairon and Aron exchanged glances with one another as one of the three Aggron started stepping toward the small, nervous Pokémon. They turned their attention back to the two small puppies sitting in the corner.

One of the Poochyena was cowering behind the second, tail between its legs, while the second Poochyena, slightly larger than the other, was barking somewhat cutely at the two Steel types, clearly trying to be intimidating but failing. thankfully, however, they did not have to be worried for too long. A few moments later, a bone came flying out from seemingly nowhere, as well as flames, each striking a particular Pokémon.

The Lairon cried out in surprise as the flames engulfed his body, causing him to stumble to the side with a roar. He tried to turn his attention to the source of the flames, quickly spotting the tail flame of a Charmeleon. He scowled and growled at the intruder, as though daring the Charmeleon to attack him again.

The Aron was then smacked across the skull by a bone that had flown from somewhere to his side. He stumbled, taken by surprise by the sudden attack and shook his head, trying to clear it. He then glared toward the source of the bone, quickly focusing his gaze on the Cubone. He then shook his head and let out a cry, daring the Cubone to throw it again.

Jak and the Cubone looked at each other for a split second as the two pokemon dared them to strike them again. They repeated their attack, however they expected it not to hit, and prepared for the pokemon to come charging after them. Jak built his flames up again. Building the flames to the point of glowing a wicked bluish white flame... ^Will-O-Wisp

The cubone held his bone club up high, swinging into in a small circle as his arm was still. Basically gesturing for the pokemon to try him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The aggron continued to glare at the Buizel. It seemed to remain there after its few steps. Just noticing the Buizel launched another sonic boom towards the group. This time aimed at one aggron on the far left, scoring a direct hit. It however, barely even was affected by the wave of energy the sound made. It simply smirked and took one step forward. It opened its jaw and a horrifying screech was emitted into the air. ^{Metal Sound}

Jak quickly grabbed his head with his paws as this had happened. The Cubone likewise... The aggron still unaware of the two's presence.

The aggron that had walked towards the Buizel initialled got down low to the ground, seeming to prepare to charge after the Buizel.

Where is that rain!? It doesn't take that long does it? Jak thought for a moment. He couldn't shout for the Buizel to do the move, it would draw the aggrons' attention away!