The Bug and the Weasel

Kuro looked back to the exit of Serene Cave with a sigh of relief, then to the horizon, the evening sun setting over the hill of Pricklemist "Such a romantic scene.. I'm so glad I got to spend it with.." She looked to her side with a slight look of dissapointment "Ah well! The adventure continues to Rainfront!" She seemingly narrated to herself, not caring if she interrupted and sleeping Cherubi or waking Hoothoot.

The Sneasel looked around, surveying her surroundings from the small rock that she stood on "Let us see... moving north would be the best choice... buuut~" She decided to head northwest instead "That wouldn't be fun at all would it.." She said under her breath, raking her claws against the nearby bark as she roamed aimlessly, keeping the claws sharp and ready to fight. Signs of her feral heritage still showing despite being around reserved and 'normal' pokemon, although to her they weren't quite so normal.

Being out in the wild reminded her of her youth, days spent hunting for food, sometimes berries, and on harsh winter days when the vegetation and other tree-bared foods dwindled, other pokemon were the prey. She disliked those days unlike those of her kind.

In the tall grass a small, white creature was hiding.
This creature was Ned the Nincada, having fled here to avoid the wrath of the clan.
After they had tracked him down in Shadowhue, his journey into the Cattail Marshes had proven not to be very successful. But maybe they wouldn't suspect for him to be here. No tree in sight, so it would be very easy for him to be spotted by a Flying type.
And so Ned was wandering across the grassy plains, wondering to himself when he would finally evolve, leaving all this hiding, all this weakness behind.
It would probably take a long time.
After all he still was this pathetic, weak Bug type.

Kuro kept up her steady pace, nighttime had quickly consumed the hill, surrounding it in a strange eerie darkness, only the moon illuminating the grassy terrain. The Sneasel looked up to the sky and narrowed her eyes "Not many stars out tonight huh? That sucks. I hate cloudy nights" She thought out loud to herself. While looking up at the night-sky, she lost her footing by tripping over a small rock that jutted out of the green painted canvas of a floor.

Landing face first onto the ground, she spit out some grass that she had unfortunately ate. She looked to her right to see a white bug pokemon that seemed misplaced in this type of terrain "Hey there" Kuro said quite relaxed and straightforward "You from around here?" She asked nonchalantly

Seeing the other Pokémon trip directly into his field of vision all of a sudden, the Nincada jumped into the air in shock, letting out a surprised yelp. Where did this creature come from all of a sudden?
And obviously it had to have landed right next to him.
He was done for - that was certain.
"Uh...n-no, not r-r-really. I'm from q-quite f-far away actually."
Just what did this Pokémon want, chattinjg with him nonchalantly like this?
It was a Dark type...so the clan probably hadn't sent it to defeat him.
Or they chose a Dark type to make it more humiliating.
Yeah, that probably was it.

"Far away huh? Well for you far away could be the other side of hill" Kuro nodded to herself "Oh where are my manners, I'm Kuro. You are?" Kuro stood up, dusting herself off as she waited for the answer. She didn't feel any threat coming from the Nincada, although she knew that bug types were fearsome in their own way. She experienced that first hand when fighting the outlaw Butterfree

"Uh, I'm Ned. Really creative I know. And I don't know, how you would define the term "far", but the jungle I was born in lies past the Blackmist Mountain Range. And the journey was not a comfortable one I assure you. But enough of that - what are you doing here? If I remember correctly your kind prefers colder climates."
While the Sneasel did not seem to be animous towards him, the Nincada still remained wary.
She was an Ice type after all and he had just met her.
Being too cautious had rarely hurt someone before, while carelessness was one of the most threatening enemies of Pokémonkind.

"Ned huh? Not too creative, but it's a start!" Kuro nodded to herself "Blackmist? That is quite the journey right there... Plus the terrain wouldn't be that good. But then again you must be quite strong to be able to survive all that way." She agreed with herself, that or he had a lot of people to accompany him

"Ah, me. Well I had some time to kill between missions, and I wanted to see if I could climb over the cave between here and Grassveil. Since everyone just goes through it. Well I did climb over it, and I wanted to check out this Rainfront Town for a little bit, not for too long I think. But there might be some 'cool' adventures along the way waiting for me" She giggled slightly at her own pun

"I doubt for me to be strong. I just got lucky I guess. Why did I have to be a lowly Nincada again? Heh, you are lucky to be a member of a species that can actually be of use somehow."
Here he was again, talking to a Sneasel he had just met and already he steered the topic on to his own poor self-image. Was he really so pathetic, that he needed to constantly tell everyone he met about it?
More and more it became apparent to Ned that he had to evolve soon simply to prevent this sort of thing from continuing. But what else could he do? He tried waiting, he tried fighting.
Nothing worked. Maybe he was doomed to remain in this form forever...

"You can't be too weak. Trust me with a type advantage you could beat a lot of pokemon. Psychic, Dark and Grass types dont stand a chance against ya. But you'll grow stronger, I mean don't we all?" Kuro smiled reassuringly, then begun to stretch "But if you feel so insecure about your own powers, how about I accompany you for a little while? I'm bored so I might as well. Where ya heading to?" Kuro asked, tilting her head slightly with that same warm smile that mirrored her typing

"But in torn I am at a serious disadvantage against Flying, Fire, Water and Ice types.", the Nincada objected.
"And even if I am at a type advantage against an adversary I still tend to have trouble in battle. With enough power any disadvantage can be overcome. And sadly my enemies tend to have far more power than I do."
It was true, Ned definitely was pretty close to the bottom of the list regarding raw power.
And while this meant a disadvantage in battle, it also had a rather profound effect on his self-confidence.
Would reaching evolution really help him overcome his doubts?
"Nowhere in particular. Just sitting around I guess."

"Well battling isn't all that you can excel in. There are shopkeepers, treasure hunters and more that don't focus on battling. But if you do want to battle, then train. Having a low confidence type of attitude won't really help you out. So why don't you come with me, and if we have a battle with something at one point, we can work on our skills and see what you can do" Kuro said, still sticking with that same old smile of hers

Still hesitating, Ned was not too sure about the entire thing. This could very well be a trick to lead him into an ambush.
"Even though there may be other things to be proficient in, those hardly are useful for helping others.
And training usually is too risky to be worth the effort, so I tend to spend my time waiting until I finally evolve. Then I might be remotely useful in a fight. But since you are offering I guess I have little choice here."
Even though they were soulless, horrible beings, the clan members had taught Ned three things:
Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
And this time it was the first standard he would put to use.
Refusing an offer of help would simply not be very polite after all.

"You may not be strong little guy, but endure the tough times with some friends by ya side and who knows, you may become as strong as me" Kuro chuckled slightly "Especially with your typing, Sayonara Grass, dark and psychic types" She nodded to herself "So when you evolve do you gain any cool new things? Can you swim? Fly? Go through walls? Sharp claws?" Kuro babbled on with a slight grin, reminding herself of her own evolution

"If I manage to endure the tough times and if I manage to evolve somehow. And until that happens I'd lose a fight against a wet piece of paper.", Ned commented.
It was true, that one should have to work for a reward, but the amount of work he had to do simply to survive was beyond anything remotely reasonable.
"Well, should, and emphasis is on should there, I ever manage to evolve, I'll split into two Pokémon.
One of them, Ninjask can indeed fly, quite quickly at that. The other one, which is Shedinja, can levitate and seems to have a guardian angel on caffeine, but is ridiculously fragile otherwise. But I still am this tiny bug, unable to do most anything."

Kuro begun walking, nodding along to show she was listening "Well Ninjask sounds like a pretty cool exolution. Shedinja too. So do you get a choice what you evolve in? Or do each have their own requirements like an Eevee?" She asked, puzzled about how it worked, yet curious to know how he would evolve "Also I gotta say, it must be cool to fly. I get some cool claws and I get stronger, but you might get to fly!"