The Bug and the Weasel

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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.

"Silver wind is your best bet... But it could hurt me... if there was a nice gust around here I could just move out of it's way as you Silver Wind... hmm... So Leech Life is your only usable move" Kuro didn't have time to linger on the thought as the Gastly launched a counter attack. She got caught off guard as a Lick attack succeeded to hit her, knocking her to the ground.

She shook her head, jumping up to her feet as fast as she could "Not cool." She muttered, her fist growing colder and surrounding itself in a cold mist, she sprinted towards the Gastly who was about to Lick the Nincada, punching the Gastly again

While the Nincada managed to crawl out of the Gastly's path in time, he realized, that the situation they were in definitely was not getting better. The Sneasel had just confirmed that the most useful thing he could do was to use Leech Life and he had already proven, how little damage it caused.
Dodging would only be a viable option for so long before Ned would be getting tired.
Running away was not possible either - not only was the Ghost type far quicker than he could ever be, but it could also float and pass through solid matter.
Panting, trying to regain his breath Ned hoped for the Sneasel to be able to save the day.

The Gastly focused on the Sneasel who was ready to attack again with the same Ice Punch. As Kuro sprinted towards the enemy, silence seemed to fall in the hill, bugs had stopped their mating calls and Hoothoot's had hidden themselves in their nests. The Gastly made itself bigger, using Night Shade to knock Kuro to the ground, but she leapt to her feet once again, ducking under a Lick attack and striking a decisive Ice Punch uppercut.

The Ghost type wasn't knocked out, but was hurt enough to simply drift through the plain, inevitably disappearing from their sight. She sighed, looking at Ned with a smile "You okay?"

It all went by so quickly, that it took the Nincaca to comprehend what had happened just now.
"Uh...I guess I am. At least I do not feel injured. Not too badly that is. Where did the Gastly go? Everything happened so suddenly."
An entire battle had gone by and the Nincada had not been able to do anything of even the slightest use. But had Ned expected anything else? He still was the same little, pathetic, useless Nincada after all. Nothing had changed. Maybe nothing would ever change.
At least he had survived the encounter. For now.
It was clearer now than it had ever been - the Nincada had to evolve and that as quickly as possible.

"It drifted away, wounded. I think it'll probably just slumber for a few hours. If ghosts do slumber... well they did die which is like an endless slumber.." Kuro lingered on the thought, wondering if they were actual Pokemon before they became ghost types. She got back to the scene at hand, looking at Ned with a smile "You helped there. I know it may not have seemed like much, but that Leech Life put it off balance so to say. Sometimes in battle, damage isn't all you can do"

"Put it off balance...", the Nincada repeated to himself.
"It certainly put ME off balance. I endangered myself, thereby forcing you to shift your focus from defeating the adversary to protecting me - something that would not have happened, had I simply not been there."
The Ice type may have been trying to cheer him up, but no matter the situation, one could always rely on the Nincada's constant crushing self-doubt. No matter how sincere the compliment, how world-savingly incredible his actions, Ned could and would always find a way to twist it into another example of his pathetic weakness.
And that was the reason he was pathetic.

"True. But he might have focused on me! Hurt me a bit more than I am already. So for that, thanks!" Kuro chirped happily with that same bright smile of hers "But you'll grow stronger in time. We all do. Anywho, let's continue on our little journey" She begun a slow pace in front of Ned. She didn't understand how he always put himself down, she really thought he helped out in that battle. Perhaps her naivety was her own weakness, but she never thought about her own weakness

"Well, if you say so...", the Nincada muttered, still not agreeing with the Sneasel.
But it had become apparent that she would not change her opinion, so there was no point in prolonging the discussion. Silently he skittered next to the Dark type, walking next to her.
He still did not understand why he was following this Pokémon around even though it could very well be a trap and had no discernible benefits for him. Yet he was following this Pokémon around - a creature he had just met. What made him do this?

"So, Ned. Have you checked out the guild in grassveil? If not you really should, there are some cool people there. Grassveil is full of a lot of interesting people. And the food there is amazing! Way better that food you will find in the wilderness." Kuro brightened up at the thought of the 'luxurious' food, she at least thought it was luxurious, yet it was what his team leader would call common food.

"I used to live in the wilderness, and even with all the assortment of berries and... other food... it doesn't stand up to what you can get in a cafe" The sneasel rambled on, walking forward determined to reach Rainfront Town to meet new people and try out new things there.

A small chuckle was emitted by the Nincada.
"Yeah, I've been there already. But I don't think I'm ready for this sort of thing just yet. Maybe I'll give it a try after I have finally gained enough strength to evolve. Right now I would just get into everyone's ways as usual. Additionally a signup at a place as prestiguous as this institution would certainly draw the attention of the clan towards me, so I'd rather be prepared before I ruin myself with a hastily-made descision."
Would he ever be strong enough to satisfy the guild?
Ever be strong enough to fight off the clan?
And most importantly - would he ever be strong enough to accept himself?

"Yeah ya gotta be careful with a clan after ya. Apparently there are a lot of Sneasel and Weavile clans scattered about. I don't exactly have one, but I know that they can be dangerous. and I imagine Ninjask are pretty scary in a big group" Kuro lingered on the thought for a moment before continuing "But once you get a few friends, and maybe a fire type, you'll be fine!"

Finally someone who agreed with his opinion!
The Nincada was happy to see that he was not the only one until one particualr word was spoken.
"Yeah, they are pretty strong but I would be more worried about the Shedinja. They ARE almost invulnerable after all. And...wait, did you say "fire"?"
As the word was mentioned the Bug type cringed involuntarily; there were many things he was afraid of; water, ice and birds for example, but nothing could ever be worse than fire.
"Uh...I don't think that would be a good idea. I'm not the type to ever make friends and a Fire type friend would be the last thing I would ever have..."

"Well if not fire, then maybe a rock type pokemon? Or perhaps a pokemon that has a move to help you out with those pokemon that want to hurt you" Kuro smiled slightly, although one part of her statement made her frown "You've never made a friend? That must suck. But I'm sure you will make friends, or even comrades. Teammates are the best friends you can make" Her mind drifted off to her current teammates, wondering what they could be doing at the moment

"Heh, lucky you."
A wry smile appeared on the Nincada's face.
"When you're as small and fragile as I am, then going out and making friends isn't really an option, especially not with Pokémon whose types I am weak to. If I had the choice, I'd just spend all my life under a tree or in a similar place until I could finally evolve. Seems to be a while until that's going to happen though."
While Ned appreciated the sentiment, it was getting a bit annoying. They may have had his best interests at heart, but everyone he came across just kept on suggesting to stop being so careful, never once thinking about the dangers a Pokémon of his size had to face daily.
At least they were trying to be nice...

"But that'd take way longer. Plus ya gotta learn from your mistakes, I mean you get beat, take a step back and realize what you did wrong and improve on it! If you just stayed under a tree it'd take you a long long time for you to evolve. Plus you need battle experience for when you do evolve" Kuro seemingly ranted in one breath, then exhaling largely at the end of her speech. She smiled at the Trainee Pokemon, still hoping to encourage him