Ninja Encounter

Geo was a ninja. He was also an Eevee, but didn't think something small like that could hold him back from his goals. He could do anything he wanted if he set hit mind to it, even something most pokemon would call impossible. Even so he couldn't help be a bit embarrassed. What would other pokemon think if they found out about an Eevee aspiring to be a ninja? It simply wasn't usual. He didn't want to find out how pokemon would react, so he only wore his ninja headband when alone or with close friends.

This time he had made the unfortunate assumption that he would be alone at night in Pecha Forest. This was the perfect time to wear his headband. To run around, tossing sticks and Cacnea spikes like kunai. Using gravlelrocks as shuriken. He had the limitation of not having opposable thumbs, so he used his mouth for throwing such objects. This was difficult, but with determination and practice he was getting the hang of it. This was, in fact, not his first night exploring at night as a ninja.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't a ninja yet. But he loved to pretend he was. He never trained with a clan, or learned the lifestyle, but he had learned what he could and practiced what he knew when he was alone. This was by far one of his favorite activities. That being the case, Pecha Forest at night was nearly perfect. It was dark, great for trying to sneak around (something Geo needed much more practice with), being a ninja without anyone seeing him do so (in theory), and being relatively safe for a pokemon who was still finding their inner strength. He had no lack in determination, so however hard this quest for becoming strong like his uncle Gli might be, he was sure to manage it eventually.

But for now, his expedition would lead to an encounter with a more expert ninja.

Lee made his way through Pecha Forest by hopping across the tree branches. He was moving slower then he normally would through the trees. Back home the trees were much larger and almost all of the branches could hold his weight, so Lee normally had no need to look for his next perch. But not all of the trees in Pecha Forest had such strong branches, so Lee had to occasionally pause and plot out his next set of jumps through the trees.

Lee was also being surprisingly quiet for his usual loud and rambunctious self, but this however was because there was nobody around for Lee to shout at. Lee was running around in the middle of the night because he had successfully formed a rescue team with Jet, and he still had some residual excitement remaining. Lee continued to move through the trees when he came across a small pokemon with brown fur that was throwing things around as if it was a ninja. Lee stopped jumping around in the trees and watched the small pokemon jump around.

Since his father was the clan leader, Lee had met many ninja's from different clans, all with different appearances and skills. But Lee had never encountered a ninja clan with members that looked like the pokemon in front of him. Lee watched quietly, debating his next move and how he should treat this other ninja.

Geo continued practicing his aim on the trees, before eventually deciding to make another attempt at leaping from tree to tree. He had managed to climb up easily, but usually fell when he tried to travel across the branches. He made it to the top of one, then leaped between two branches, off to a surprisingly good start... before he lost his balance on the third branch, which he grabbed between his teeth before he would fall. There was a ways down, and one particular branch that looked like it might be viable to leap down on. He let his teeth go, and he landed on the branch successfully.

Before he could make another attempt to leap to another branch, a particular blue pokemon caught his eye. A flash of panic flooded through him as he realized a pokemon just saw him acting like a ninja. He struggled to get the headband off him and into the bag, which he managed just before slipping and hanging onto the branch by his forepaws. He kicked until he could make his way back onto the branch, then he leaped down to a lower one, and raced down the three. He turned behind the tree to get out of this pokemon's sight, trying to be stealthy and save himself the embarrassment. But try as he might he made quite a ruckus and a bit of a scene for the ninja frog.

He tried to quickly come up with an excuse to explain that he was most definitely not acting like a ninja, and ideas raced through his mind before he ultimately concluded that there was no escaping the embarrassment of the situation. Though he could approach this pokemon, and try to make friends. Maybe he would feel a little less nervous about being cause with his ninja headband if he could make friends with this pokemon.

He came back into the line of sight of the Froakie, calling out, "Hey! I'm Geo the Eevee!" He didn't want to seem too pushy, or to ask for a name. Geo decided to simply see how he would react.

Lee watched as the small pokemon tried to climb into the trees and move across the branches. It seemed to struggle a lot with moving across the branches. While Lee could understand to a certain extent that moving through these trees was a struggle, but this 'Eevee' was struggling more than any trained ninja should be with simple movement.

Lee continued to watch as the pokemon hopped down into the trees and finally noticed him. Lee wasn't so worried with not concealing himself, it was now evident that if Lee needed to escape he could easily out maneuver him through the trees and then disappear with his camouflage. When Geo introduced himself, he was reluctant to respond. This pokemon seemed to think itself a ninja, and wanted to keep it secret. Lee wanted to know how well it was at keeping its secret, but even more he wanted to know what clan this pokemon was from. "What were you doing just now?" he asked. Lee was going to try and figure out everythig he could from this pokemon.

Lee's Energy: 14

((Forgot that in the beginning))

(14 energy)

"I... um..." this situation would require quick thinking. What kind of introduction was that? Obviously not the one Geo was hoping for. Should he be honest or make a cover story? Honesty. Obviously. Technicalities were a lifesaver. "I was trying to run through the trees, and work on my aim throwing items. It's good for balance and coordination." That was perfect, he never had to admit that he was trying to train himself as a ninja. After all, couldn't non-ninjas do those things too? He figured that since this pokemon had been so hasty to inquire what he was doing, it wouldn't be too rude to ask the same, "and you? What brings you here at this time of night?"

Geo felt in his small pouch, his headband. He wondered if the other pokemon saw him wearing it. He then wondered what sort of pokemon this was. It was dark, so he couldn't make out the color, and this wasn't the shape of any pokemon he knew. Maybe this was a pokemon he never saw before? He'd have to have a proper introduction before he got to ask a question like that, so he hoped and waited for a response.

Lee was still kind of suspicious of Geo. He thought that the Eevee had been hiding something, but there was no way to find out without straight up asking him and Lee wanted to avoid that if possible. For now Lee would act as if he saw nothing and would try to figure out the truth in some other way. "Just moving around," Lee said. He hopped a little closer to Geo so he could get a better view of the suspicious ninja-acting pokemon. "I recently formed a rescue team and I have some residual excitement." he said.

Geo ran a bit closer, and climbed up the tree next to Lee, getting close enough to be sure this was definitely a pokemon he'd never met before. "Oh! Wow, you're really on a rescue team? That's my goal is to join the guild, and..." he almost said that he wanted to train with an actual ninja in person, but caught himself, "...and become the best explorer that there ever was!" This also was being honest. Geo had high goals, he was determined, and he had learned from his uncle Gli to do the impossible. So as impossible as becoming the best explorer ever was, he was going to do it one way or another.

"Yes, I am a member of Team Mitzuchi with my friend Jet," Lee said. Geo seemed to genuinely want to be simply an explorer. Perhaps this small pokemon wasn't a ninja and was more like a Jet, a local pokemon that simply wanted to become a pokemon explorer and didn't know much about the ninja realm from which Lee came from. Lee himself still wasn't sure what it meant to be a pokemon explorer, he still thought that they were very similar to what he was raised to think a ninja was.

"That's awesome!" Geo shouted louder than he expected, with genuine interest. He calmed down a bit, "Yeah, I've wanted to join a team but haven't really met anyone to explore with... yet! I'm sure I will. I love meeting new pokemon, I'm sure I'll come across a pokemon who wants to team up with me." He remained hopefully optimistic, thinking maybe this pokemon could give him some insight, "So how's it been like, being on an explorer team and all?"

"It's pretty cool!" Lee shouted back. Now he was feeling more comfortable around Geo. "We haven't gone on any missions yet. But we will be soon, I still need to get used to Grassveil and the surrounding area first." he said, "I've only been here for a few days." Lee didn't hold out his hand or anything, but he slightly bowed his head and said, "My name is Lee by the way."

"Oh, okay. I've been here for a while, a moon maybe. I'm used to the area by now. I tried to form a guild with some pokemon but it just didn't work out." Geo laid down, getting comfortable with the branch he was on. "Nice to meet you, Lee. I believe I already said my name is Geo." He continued gazing inquisitively, still unable to figure out what pokemon this was. "You know, I've never seen a pokemon like you. What kind of pokemon are you? Like, as I already said, I'm an Eevee."

"I'm a Froakie," Lee said, "There aren't many of my kind around here." Lee thought for a moment how Geo said he was here for almost one full moon. That meant he should of had plenty of time to get used to moving through the trees. So since he was struggling with it so much, it meant that he couldn't possibly be a ninja. Because having a full month to practice should have allowed his skills to advance at some level. "Also, if you were to see another Froakie they won't look like me. I have a much lighter skin color than other Froakies," Lee said, mentioning the fact he was more white than blue.

Unbeknownst to Lee, Geo started out barely able to climb the trees as he now did with ease. It took him a week to get that down, but it stayed sloppy for the next couple weeks, this made it hard to practice jumping from branch to branch. He'd only been at the travelling between branches for a week, and was just beginning to improve. Having never been trained as a ninja, he had to practice these skills and learn them on his own, without advice or other applicable techniques.

"Oh wow, that's incredible. What are the chances I'd see a pokemon that's not only rare here, but has a rare color too." he thought to himself, yeah, if only I could have that kind of luck when it came to meeting a ninja.

"Yea my parent's and family elders always told me that my colors are rare." Lee said. Lee made it so that he was now sitting down on the branch with his legs hanging down its side. "But they also said that everyone in our clan's history who had these colors went on to be great. The first one being Master Mizuchi, who founded our clan." Lee thought back to all the stories he was told growing up, and how his colors meant he was a reincarnation of their founder and was meant for greatness. But Lee's older brother was always the one to make sure that Lee still trained hard so that he would deserve the reputation that had been placed upon him.

"Wait, clan? Family elders? Master Mizuchi? Lee?" Geo spouted, thinking aloud. Even in the dim moonlight one could obserbve a small sparkle in Geo's eye. He didn't want to directly give himself away, so he tried to ask an indirect question. "What kind of family did you have?" Geo was already almost sure of what the answer would be. He was probably either a samurai or a ninja. Everything about what he was saying seemed to ring of oriental culture. That would explain why this pokemon was also in the trees if he was a ninja. Geo restrained himself from jumping. Partly because he didn't want to give away his excitement, partly because he didn't want to fall again.