Lee and Jet's First Challenge

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Lee walked out onto the edge of the small pond. It was exactly as it was described by the other pokemon of the town. A simple small pong that was filled with clear blue water. And surrounding the pond was not much different, it was a calm and serene atmosphere that caused a lot of pokemon to flock to the area and relax.

However there wen't as many pokemon in the immediate surrounds of where Lee and Jet had arrived. This was possibly caused by the bushes and trees that dotted the surrounding area. But Lee chose this spot specifically for that reason. The foliage would allow him and Jet some cover from each others attacks. And since the water was nearby, they could easily turn this into a water battle to change things up.

Lee turned to look at Jet who was just slightly behind him, "So are you ready for our match Jet?" he asked.

Jet quickly took notice of Lee's reaction to his Sonicboom attack. He had figured that the Froakie would be able to avoid a direct hit...but that was why he planned to follow the attack up. He swam down, following his attack as quickly as he could. His Sonicboom was quite a bit faster than he was, but he was able to speed himself up at least. All he had to do was spin his tails behind him and they propelled him through the water. This was a trick he had picked up a long time ago...using his tails like a propeller to really speed up his swimming. This time, however, he didn't plan on allowing Lee to get away.

Once Lee had dodged his attack, Jet altered his course by shifting his tail appropriately. He barreled toward the Froakie, hoping to strike before he could manage to swim away again. Or at the very least, he hoped to keep Lee guessing and on his toes, metaphorically speaking. If he could keep up the pressure, it was more likely that he would fail at some point...and that was the moment he was planning on, even if this attack didn't work.

As he rushed forward, though, some of the water began to spin around Jet's tail, which showed a different attack than most Buizel would be capable of at this point. When he closed the distance, he spun around again...this time, he whipped his tail around, with water spinning around it, and tried to slam it as hard as he could into the back of Lee's head. He hoped that he would be able to slam him downward, toward the bottom of the pool using his Aqua Tail attack.

Lee looked up from his search from a kicking stone just in time to see Jet turning around and swinging his tails at Lee. He quickly held up his hands to block his head. He knew that he couldn't dodge the attack fast enough, so blocking it was the best possible option that he had.

Lee took the force of the Aqua Tail and went flying towards the bottom of the pond. He quickly tucked in his head so that when he hit the bottom he would not damage his head. Luckily the water slowed Lee down enough that there was not much strength in the impact on the ground. Lee then looked up at Jet and thought about his sparring partner, Jet definitely had the strength and the intelligence necessary to be Lee's partner. And now that he knew Jet was going to be his partner Lee used Camouflage so that he vanished out of Jet's sight, there was no more need for Lee to take it easy now.

Jet was actually rather surprised that his attack had worked as well as it had. Sure, Lee had managed to block it, but a direct hit was really just pressing his luck at this point. He was just grateful that he had managed to land a hit on such a slippery Pokémon. But he tried to shake this elation aside, as he had a battle to concentrate on. He looked down and saw the frog Pokémon tucking his head in to avoid hitting it on the pool bottom. He needed to attack again quickly before he got away.

And so, Jet turned himself in the water and aimed himself downward. He had a harder time descending in the water than ascending due to his floatation sac, but it didn't put up much resistance. He spun his tails around like a propeller, just like before, and came rushing down toward the bottom of the pool, following Lee's path. He saw the Frog Pokémon look up in his direction and then...disappear?

No, that wasn't right. He must have simply used Camouflage again! Jet needed to hit now before Lee got away with his camouflage and went missing. Unfortunately, he was too far away to hit with another Aqua Tail. So instead, he spun around the moment he saw the Frog Pokémon disappear, slashing his tail through the air and launching a sonic wave through the water, aimed directly for him...or, rather, where he was at the moment he disappeared. But would his attack make it in time before he had a chance to avoid it...? He could only hope right now as he scanned the area, looking for any signs of his new rival.

Once Lee used his camouflage he quickly pushed off of the ground so that he wasn't in the direction of any oncoming attacks from Jet. As soon as Lee pushed off the Sonicboom attack has just collided with the ground of the pond. Luckily the force from the attack caused Lee to move a little more quickly in the direction that he was moving. Lee then shot a bubble attack towards Jet. He figured that the bubbles would blend into the water and Jet wouldn't be able to see them before it was too late.

Jet continued to gaze around the water carefully. It had quickly become obvious to him that his Sonicboom attack had failed to hit a target and that Lee had managed to swim away in time. In fact, he had possibly even used the resulting force from the attack to increase his own speed. He could be just about anywhere by now. He had to be extremely vigilant of his surroundings if he wanted to find this Pokémon.

It was then that he caught something out of the corner of his eye. A flash of motion was all he needed and he spun around, seeing a barrage of bubbles headed his way. A normal Pokémon might not have caught it...but he clearly had spectacular powers of observation, as the ripples in the water and distorted images managed to catch his notice. Just as he thought, Lee had been in a completely different direction. He then spun himself around and slashed his tails through the water once again, trying to send another Sonicboom attack straight through the bubbles and attempting to hit the source, wherever it was coming from. Undoubtedly, at the source of the bubbles, the Froakie was lying in wait. Perhaps he wasn't in the same spot any longer, but it was his best bet at this point.

Lee watched as Jet destroyed his bubbles and launch another Sonic boom in the direction that they came from. This was a smart move, however it was a useless attack because Lee was now waiting directly underneath Jet. Once Jet had launched his Sonicboom attack Lee pushed off of the bottom of the lake and shot directly towards Jet. Lee's fist was slightly glowing white with the power of a normal attack so that he could hit Jet with a powerful pound attack. If this attack would manage to land then Lee would bring the test to an end, and then he and Jet could return to the guild to become an official team.

Jet saw his Sonicboom attack successfully destroy the bubbles that had been in his path...but he saw no signs that Lee was in the path of his attack. So then, either he had managed to avoid the attack at the last minute or he had moved well away before his attack had even come at him. He then looked around, trying to find any sort of indication as to where Lee might come from next...there was no real way to tell like this. However, he knew that if he was just patient and cautious enough, he would be able to spot him. After all, in order to attack with anything but his Bubble attack, he would have to stop his Camouflage. Or at least, that's what he had assumed from earlier when he was hit by that first Pound attack. He wasn't quite sure what the reason or it was, though...but it was a hypothesis that could help him here.

More motion caught his attention and he looked down below him just in time to see that familiar white fist. he knew that attack anywhere; he recognized the same Pound attack from before. But now that he had seen it coming, he could use this to his advantage. At the last moment, he squirmed around, narrowly dodging the fist to the side...then his tail began to warp the water around it once again. The water surrounded his tail and he tried to swing it around, slamming an Aqua Tail as hard as he could toward the Froakie's body as the Pound bypassed him, hoping that he could hit him as he passed by.

Lee kept his eyes trained on Jet as he flew closed to the water weasel. As Jet suddenly dodged to the side, Lee began to curl his arm and twist his body so that he could still land an attack on Jet. As Lee's fist began to come into contact with Jet's body, Jet's tail came into contact with Jet. The force from each others attacks caused the two pokemon to be forced away into the water.

Upon getting hit Lee stopped using his camouflage and held out his hand with a thumb at Jet, "Congrats!" he said, "You passed the test! Now we can be teammates!" Lee was glad that he was able to get a hit in on Jet. After this match he felt confident that the two of them would be a good pair for each other.

Jet tried his best to evade Lee's fist, but despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to get far enough away to avoid the punch if he wanted to stay close enough to strike with his Aqua Tail. Hopefully, however, he would get the best of the exchange. He was knocked backward in the water, surprised by the fact that he was able to remain upright. When he recovered a few moments later, he saw Lee lower his camouflage.

"W-wait, what...?" Jet asked, slightly confused. "I...passed? But we didn't even finish the battle yet...." He had no idea why he was complaining, really. The idea that he had been able to create a team with Lee was enough of a reason for him to take it. But even so, he hardly felt like he had earned it. After all, he had been the one taking most of the beating here in his opinion. He had taken more damage, or so he believed. Sure, he had managed to land one or two blows himself, but he felt that they were more like lucky hits than anything else...and he had mostly done more standing around and running away than actually attacking.

"Well this was never really about the battle," Lee said. Lee was very happy to see that Jet wanted to continue battling, but he obviously didn't understand what a test was. "This was test!" Lee said more loud and proud, "And I believe that you are worthy to be more partner as a ninja!" Now that Lee decided Jet would be his partner, all that was left in his mind was to go to the guild and official swear allegiance to the master of the guild. However Lee did not know that the two of them still needed to create a team name, and also that forming a team wasn't really like swearing allegiance.

Jet listened to Lee's response and he tilted his head slightly. He knew that the fight was just a test, but he had expected the ninja Pokémon to wait to pass his judgment until the battle was completely over. Whether or not he had been beaten wouldn't necessarily be the deciding factor, but even still....

"But...isn't the end of the battle the most important part of it?" Jet asked. "I mean...what if, after taking a little bit of a beating, I just couldn't take it anymore and simply surrendered? Wouldn't you have denied me in that case...?" He tried to avoid making eye contact with the frog-like Pokémon, preferring to keep his attention either to the side or down toward the ground. He still wasn't sure that he really yet deserved the position.

"Normally I would think so," Lee said, "but my brother and sensei always taught me that a ninja's role is to simply do the job." Lee looked up to both his brother and sensei, so he remembered a few things that he was taught. Lee himself didn't fully understand this lesson though. In his mind it would be best to go above and beyond what was required for a mission, that way he could bring more fame to both his and his clans name. "So since the purpose of this was to test you, and you've passed my test, the job is over and we must move onto the next one." Lee paused for a second and then said with a slightly sinister grin, "Unless however you would like to keep sparring, I wouldn't object."

((Okay obviously this means that I'm posting again. I'm still in Rome for a few days but I'm able to start posting again but slowly. So let's finish up this thread and we can RP Lee returning to Grassveil. I also added into Lee's bio an explanation for the month long absence. If you click the spoiler under Chronicle of Lee's Journey it's there. So the way that starts is how I would like to end this thread as well. PM me or include OoC chat if you have any questions or ideas))

"A ninja's role is to simply do their job...?" Jet replied in a small murmur. He thought about that for a moment. It made sense, at least. Whenever he had thought about ninja Pokémon before, he had always thought about Pokémon with a strong sense of duty that could never be undone. But at the same time, the idea of doing nothing but sticking to a mission objective seemed rather...skewed. He wasn't entirely certain that he could agree with the idea of simply completing the mission.

Jet considered voicing his opinion on the matter to Lee. After all, if they were going to be teammates, that's something that he should learn at some point. Then again, Lee seemed to really look up to this brother and sensei of his. If he said something that might contradict what they have taught him or the way he grew up, then that might cause a rift to start forming between the two. And as it stood, Lee was really Jet's only friend right now in this strange new town. He would much prefer to keep it that way if he could.

"Well, I wouldn't mind finishing the spar," Jet said in response with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Although I suppose I kind of already know how it would end. But I am alright with ending the fight since I've apparently proven myself to you as well. Whichever you would prefer would be fine with me."

{Heh. That's perfectly fine with me. I don't really have any additional ideas...you can pretty much have it happen just like that if you'd like. Jet's not going to have formed a team, though since he never got around to it. But I can have him have stepped up to the Guild only to kind of...chicken out since he was by himself.}

Lee thought about whether or not he should continue sparring Jet. He figured that he would have no trouble defeating Jet in the rest of the sparring match, and it seemed that Jet kind of thought so too. But the fact that Jet wanted to continue made Lee curious as to whether or not jet had something hidden up his sleeve. While Lee was thinking about whether or not to re-start and continue their sparring match, he looked off towards the now setting sun that was setting across the lake. "Well I don't see why not. It's getting late so it's probably too late to go to the guild," he said.

Lee started to stretch his arms so that he could be prepared for the continuing of the match. Lee was about to say something, but all of the sudden a Frogadier came bursting through the trees and landed a short distance from Lee. He bowed his head and began to speak quickly through short breath, "Master Lee, I am pleased to have found you so quickly. You must return with me to the village immediately."

"Shunsui-san!" Lee said suddenly with shock. He hadn't even heard any sign of the Frogadier approaching. "What are you doing here? My father instructed all members of the clan that I would not be returning until I am a true ninja. Why should I follow you back to the village." Lee had for the most part recovered from the initial shock of Shunsui suddenly appearing.

Shunsui's voice became weak and look of sorrow came across his face, "Master Lee, your father has fallen ill, and our doctors fear he will not last to the changing of the leaves." He turned his head to look at Lee, "And one of your fathers wishes is to see you one last time. We must hurry back to the village, there is little time to waste." ((Im assuming that its near fall))

Lee was in shock with what Shunsui had just told him. He was frozen in thought and unable to speak.

Jet nodded toward Lee with a smile. It would appear that the Froakie would like to continue the fight after all. And he was correct...the sun was starting to fall behind the horizon. Even if they hurried, he couldn't guarantee that the two of them would make it to the Guild before everybody was asleep. And he certainly didn't want to interrupt the sleep schedules of the Guild members. Especially not if they happened to meet up with a particularly grumpy member. So the idea of finishing the sparring match was more appealing, as they could bide their time until they felt ready to hit the hay themselves. Plus...he could always use every opportunity to learn as much as he could; both in battle experience and about Lee himself.

He watched as the Froakie started to stretch and he did the same for a few moments...but after a short time, he started mentally preparing himself, contrary to Lee. He knew that he couldn't fight as well as Lee, so if he wanted to win, he would have to out-smart him. He needed to figure out some way to counter Lee's camouflage. Lee's battle style was clearly focused primarily on the element of surprise. If he could take that away, then perhaps he would actually stand a chance.

However, just as Jet was starting to think up a potential counter-strategy, a Frogadier appeared beside them, having emerged from the trees. "Wah...!" Jet cried in surprise, half-expecting the Pokémon to attack them. But he calmed himself when it became apparent that he and Lee were familiar with one another. "Wait...'Master' Lee...?" he murmured. He cast a glance toward Lee, looking at him questioningly. But he quickly silenced himself, not wanting to interrupt as Lee was given some dark news. His questioning look became one of concern and he looked at his new companion.

Jet noted Lee's shock and hesitation the moment Shunsui, the Frogadier, had finished speaking. Without hesitation, he quickly spoke up. "W-well then, I suppose you should get going right away." he said, trying to give his new companion a reassuring smile. However, it came off more forced than anything else. "We...we can finish our spar when you, erm...come back. I probably won't be leaving town anytime soon." He hoped that he could snap the Froakie out of his trance. Judging from the Frogadier messenger's words, it would be best if he could get moving as soon as possible.