Apple Hunting

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Mordred entered Shadowhue Forest. In his hand was a sheet of paper. He brought it to his face, reading it for the 3rd time.

Spoiler:

"Just have to find a Big Apple..." He muttered to himself, before putting the sheet back inside his Treasure Bag. Looking around, he was greeted by the same tall trees, the same minimal sunlight, and the same eerie atmosphere.

"...Better make this quick." He proceeded to walk, paying close mind to his surroundings. Even the slightest sound of rustling caused him to react, ready to beat the sense out of whoever would dare to ambush him during his first mission.

"Actually, about that, this is kind of my first official mission. And even then, it's not exactly official, since it's yours."

Mordred seemed surprised. It may have been the laid back nature that caused the assumption, but the Pikachu seemed to have been experienced. Or it could just be the fact the Scraggy had terrible judging skills. "Huh, really? At first I thought this would be your 4th or 5th. Guess I can't judge by looks." He said, just a bit embarrassed over his stupidity. Being a newbie sure does wonders on a Pokemon's views, making every other explorer seem like a pro in comparison.

"Well, no, not yet at least. I'm on my own too, but I'm guessing I'll find someone around who ends up interested a bit later on."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find one soon." He didn't have much doubt on it, as Nate seemed friendly enough to have no trouble in finding a partner. His attention was then caught when the bushes nearby began rustling uncontrollably, the sound of cries and paws being struck down emitting from them. Before he knew it, Mordred's sight was covered by a thick layer of silk.

"Mmmrph!" He said, words muffled by the silk on his face. He began clawing at it, attempting to tear the silk off his face but causing it to stick to his hands. As he flailed and struggled, a Weedle jumped out of the bushes, covered in bruises. Its eyes were wide with fear and panic, even more so when the sound of growling began to come closer to the area. It couldn't think rationally, and with all its been through, it could only think of the two pokemon looming over it as predators out for its life.

Piercing eyes gazed from behind the bushes, a low growl coming from it. A Mightyena walked out from the leaves, fangs bared and eyes looking ready to kill. On its dark fur were small bits of silk and a few patches were covered in crimson. From its unhealthy physique, one could easily tell it was hungry and aching to eat.

Nate shrugged as he went on his way, hearing the Scraggy's comments. Well, I guess he can tell by looks. Wouldn't want to demotivate him. He thought to himself and was about to make a comment about it when he also started to hear the same noises coming from up ahead. [i]That doesn't sound good at all. I don't really want to meet what's making those noises.[.i] Nate decided before turning to look at Mordred. "Hey, maybe we should-" He started to say when he noticed that the Scraggy's face was covered in silk. Blinking, he turned back and saw the Weedle jump out of the bushes. "Crap, that pokemon can poison us. We should be careful-" He started to say but stopped as he noticed that it didn't seem angry or aggressive, but more scared. As Nate began to wonder what was going on, that was when the final piece of the puzzle showed itself, a Mightyena. "Well, that explains it. I think we're going to have to fight, and I suggest taking the Mightyena out first before the Weedle." He suggested, showing some slight nervousness in his tone as sparks started to bounce off of his body, and a bolt of electricity went flying towards the Mightyena, hoping to hit it with a Thundershock.

The Mightyena was hit by the bolt, but barely flinched. Its eyes sharpened upon seeing the Pikachu, choosing a new target. It growled, feeling anger and hunger build up inside, seeing that there were now more rewarding prey in its premises. It suddenly leaped, fangs open and ready to sink into the Pikachu's fragile head for Bite.

The Weedle grew panicked as it saw the Mightyena. Seeing 3 foreign pokemon immediately alarmed it, causing it to attempt to flee. It didn't notice that it was heading for the still-flailing Scraggy, and ended up colliding with the pokemon in its haste. It used Bug Bite, clinging to the Scraggy's leg in hopes of fighting back.

Mordred let out a shriek at the sudden grip. He hadn't met many bug types, but he didn't expect the Weedle to have such sharp, little teeth. Luckily, he wasn't damaged too much, and soon he was able to clear his face from the silk. He grit his teeth, trying to get the Weedle off his leg. He used Low Kick on it, causing it to let go of his leg. Although it was too late, as he saw the starved Mightyena leap towards Nate.

Nate started to relax, thinking that the bolt would do more and immediately saw how wrong he was. You've got to be kidding me. He thought to himself as the Mightyena suddenly leaped at him, jaws open to go in for the kill. Without many other options or time to think, he started to back up a few steps and tripped, falling back and watching as the bite pokemon's jaws snapped right above him, barely missing what would have been a fatal attack as he hit the ground. Acting defensively now, Nate swung his paw up at the bottom of the Mightyena's jaw, using a thunderpunch as electric sparks started to come out of his paw. After this he started sliding back away from the pokemon, trying to get to an open area for him to get back up as fast as possible.

The Mightyena let out a yelp! as the electrified fist collided with it's jaw. It went back a few steps, shaking its head in attempts of ridding the shock in its jaw. It took a mere few minutes for it to open its eyes again, now more enraged due to the punch. Baring its fang again, it began running towards the Pikachu with impressive speed, planning to hit the electric mouse with a Tackle.

However, it was unable to do so due to a certain foot colliding with its side. Mordred had ran up to the canine, using a Low Kick. Although, he received some unwanted damage from the attack due to the small wound that was still present thanks to the Weedle. He grit his teeth, ignoring the sting as the Mightyena fell on its side.

The Mightyena whined in pain, having its rib hit. It stayed on the ground for a few minutes, before standing up again. It could still feel the pain from the hit, but refused to back down. It let out a loud Howl, feeling strength suddenly build up. Its piercing eyes glared with hatred at the two pokemon.

Not having gotten up by the time the Mightyena tried another attack, Nate braced himself for the hit, unsure of what else to do. Surprisingly for him, the hit never came as he saw Mordred intervene with a low kick. Smirking, Nate got back up and turned to look at the bite pokemon.
"Thanks for that." He commented to the Scraggy, recovering from the shock of most likely having almost died, and in that way. If there was one way he didn't want to go, it was getting eaten. That just sounded like it was one of the worst ways to go. As he thought this, the Mightyena got back up, at first looking weakened enough to defeat which initially gave Nate hope, but then it howled and suddenly seemed to recover, ready to fight more. "You've got to be kidding me." Nate commented in disbelief as he sent another bolt at the opposing pokemon, knowing that it didn't do very much the first time and probably wouldn't the second, getting ready to react.

Mordred sent a Leer at the Mightyena the second it used Howl, eyes glinting and lowering the canine's Defense. The canine would surely be more powerful now after that howl, so balancing out the fields would be the best option. The Scraggy got ready; this fight was going to last for quite a while.

The canine only grew more provoked after being hit by the Leer, but was cut off when it was suddenly hit by another bolt of electricity. It seemed to have dealt more damage than before, as the Mightyena took longer to recover from it. The canine began running towards them again, preparing for another Bite attack.

Mordred was about to use Sand Attack in hopes of making the Bite miss, but was ironically cut off as well, this time with a familiar layer of silk suddenly covering his body. He was thoroughly irritated by this, attempting to tear off the silk. "I. Am Going. TO KILL THAT WEEDLE!" He said, shooting the bug pokemon a glare. The Weedle didn't react, too busy trying to find a way to escape the battle field.

Nate once again started to charge up another thundershock attack to fire at the Mightyena, but looked over at Mordred and noticed that he had been hit by the Weedle with more silk. That one's more of a nuisance then I thought, taking it out will let us both put attention on the big one. He deducted in his head and instead sent the bolt of electricity at the Weedle. Getting ready to turn back to the Mightyena, Nate hadn't realized that it had already started to attack and felt it's jaws clamp over his paw, making him yell out in pain. Crapcrapcrap, did not think that through, ah that hurts... He began to think to himself as he tried to pull his paw away, trying to get free of it's grasp.

The Weedle let out a short screech of pain at the bolt of electricity, suddenly unable to move. Small sparks appeared on the Weedle's unmoving form, indicating paralysis. A small amount of smoke crept from the Weedle's slightly roasted form.

The Mightyena only bit down harder, refusing to let go. It was already on edge with starvation, with anger fueling its frustration. Its eyes suddenly snapped shut- sand being thrown in its face. It growled in defiance, more so in its belly.

Mordred had just torn through the silk. Luckily, it wasn't as thick as before, so he was able to tear through it quickly, but not quick enough. He watched as the Mightyena clamped its fangs down on Nate's paw, before using Sand-Attack on impulse. The canine barely flinched, fangs not leaving the pikachu's paw.

"Let go!" The Scraggy used Low Kick, thinking it would be enough to send the Mightyena on the ground again. But even in its state, the canine only gave a muffled whine at the pain, its persistence overpowering the damage. The Scraggy tried again, but received the same effect. Nothing was working on this pokemon. 'Never expected hunger to be the best willpower... But surely its close to giving up now!' The Scraggy thought, agitated by the Mightyena's lack of response.

Nate let out a gasp as the Mightyena bit down harder, definitely bruising if not starting to break his paw. At that moment he suddenly felt himself getting angrier, before glaring at the bite pokemon. Raising his other paw up, he started to punch the Mightyena rapidly with a thunder punch, trying to get it to let go. Crap, if I don't get that thing to let me go I'm either dead or losing a limb, neither of which sound very good. He thought to himself as he continued his attack, having nothing else to do as long as he was restrained by the Mightyena. All he could hope for was the combination of his and Mordred's attacks would do something.

The Mightyena gave a muffled snarl, starting to feel pain and exhaustion as the two pokemon continued to attack it. Punch. Kick. Punch. Kick. The canine was growing weary, blood starting to drop from its nose as the punches were hitting its muzzle. One last punch to the middle of its face finally made it let go, and the following Low Kick to the rib sent it toppling to the ground in a heap.

Mordred was panting, having used his Low Kick one too many times. Was it finally over? It seemed so. The Mightyena was already on the ground, in a crumpled heap as it released silent whines of pain. He felt a tinge of pity for the beaten canine, but banished it to the recesses of his mind. Killers were meant to be punished; It nearly killed him and his companion. It deserved it. The Scraggy looked over to the Pikachu's paw, feeling a shudder escape him as he looked at it. "We'd better get that treated... You want to go back to Grassveil?"

A small squeal caught the Scraggy's attention. His eyes stopped upon the irritating Weedle who had just recovered from its Paralysis. Mordred walked over to the bug type, pulling his foot back before kicking the bug type into the bushes with as much force as he could. It should have just escaped instead of interrupting the battle, causing unneeded injuries to be added to the aftermath. The fighting pokemon was beginning to dislike bugs.

Nate backed up a few steps after his paw was released, immediately taking a good look at it to see how it was. It definitely had evidence of being bitten by a Mightyena nonetheless, a pokemon known for its biting, and it wasn't exactly the best sight. Despite this he looked back up at Mordred and smirked. "No, don't worry about it. You still have a mission to do, and I'm still willing to help." He said, hiding the pain from the wound. As he finished saying this he glanced back at the Mightyena, and despite the pain he was in because of it he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. It was feral and starved, simply working on instinct. "Actually, I'm kind of hungry. Mind tossing me that apple we picked up earlier?" He asked the Scraggy, planning on leaving it for the beaten pokemon.

Mordred seemed a bit puzzled at the Pikachu's request. Why was he worrying about hunger with an injury like that? What an odd pokemon. The Scraggy decided not to dwell on it for long, since it wasn't his decision. That, and he didn't think he had much of a right to defy someone who had just been hurt.

"Fine, but if that injury gets infected, don't whine. At least, not until we get out of here." The Scraggy said, rummaging through his Treasure bag in search for the Apple. He dug the fruit out from the bottom of the bag, handing it over to the Pikachu. He was a bit disappointed at the fact he didn't seem to have any Oran berries to quicken the injury's recovery, but decided to keep it in mind for when they came across one. Actually, he could probably find some if he looked around.

"I'm going to go search nearby. Once you're done eating, just come find me." He said, walking off to begin his quick search. The Scraggy only hoped that there wouldn't be any more ambushes.

"Don't worry, I'm not much of a complainer. I promise I won't slow you down." Nate assured Mordred, taking the apple in his good paw. He felt a bit disappointed in himself for having taken a hit like that, it just meant that now he needed to be even more careful as to not agitate the wound any further. Of course it wouldn't stop him from moving forward, and just like he said he would make sure not to hold Mordred back.
"Alright, I'll catch up with you in a minute or two then. Try not to get into any trouble." He commented as the Scraggy walked ahead. Once he was out of sight Nate looked down at the apple and back at the Mightyena, before dropping it by the fallen Pokemon. True, it had tried to kill them both, and nearly succeeded in his case, but it was starved and feral, most likely not knowing what it was doing. He sat down by a tree a few feet away, looking at his paw a bit closer and wondering if he had anything to wrap it with. Not thinking of anything at the moment, he decided to leave it as is before getting up and walking in the direction Mordred went. "Mordred? You still there?" Nate called out as he walked.

Mordred searched the area, trying to look for an Oran berry. The scraggy remembered not to wander far, but had indeed went a considerable distance ahead. He didn't realize this, of course, as he continued to inspect the bushes nearby- hoping to find the said fruit. He gave an annoyed grunt, remembering how he had the berry before coming in Shadowhue, but had regrettably left it in storage. A stupid move on his part.

He continued on, absentmindedly straying from his injured ally as he searched. It was puzzling how finding such a berry seemed to be difficult. Sure, Shadowhue was much darker than other forests, but he'd obtained an Apple earlier. Surely a measly oran berry could be found. But with each snap! of a twig, and the looming fog, the scraggy was beginning to feel uneasy.

'I should probably get back.' He thought, not wanting to stick around in case he would get attacked. He attempted to walk his way back, squinting his eyes as fog began to obscure his view of the area. He stopped, his foot colliding with something.

This dice is not existing.