Hunting in the Forest

First topic message reminder :

{Energy: 19-5 = 14}

"Hmph...so this is the Pecha Forest, huh?" the a voice murmured as its owner made his way between the various trees, scanning the area around him as he moved. So far, there hadn't been a single sign of any kind of living thing, other than the vegetation itself. There were no other Pokémon nearby, as far as he could tell, and that was rather disappointing. He had come here primarily for three reasons. The first was because it was recommended to him by some natives in Grassveil Town. If he was looking to start up an Exploration Team at the guild, he should need to not only find a teammate, but also stock up on some of the berries and seeds you could find hidden away in this forest. The second reason was also tied to the first. He needed to find a worthwhile teammate. And, just maybe, he might find another newcomer out here like him to fight with him. As long as they impressed him, of course.

The third reason was more simple than the first and second. He needed to train. As hard as he could. Push his body to its limits. And if he could scavenge for his own supplies while he was out here, then that was even better. He somewhat doubted he could find a worthwhile challenge from wild Pokémon this close to the town, but he might end up coming across another strong Pokémon that would battle with him while he was here. Plus, the wild and feral Pokémon could serve as worthwhile practice before he went out and did battle with Pokémon in more challenging locations, such as the mountains and out in the thicker part of the forest, which the locals called Shadowhue.

"...Tch," Hidon grunted, clicking his tongue. "Don't tell me that this whole trip is just a waste of my time. I've been walking around for at least a couple minutes now and still haven't found a thing." He had to admit, he was somewhat tempted to just turn around and leave. But no, he had spent the time coming all the way out here. He was not about to come back empty handed and have it be a waste of time. And so, he pressed onwards, still walking nonchalantly between the trees, bored eyes looking left and right for anything of interest.

Besides...leaving now would be like admitting the dungeon had defeated him by hiding its goods. And he was not about to let that happen.

Deimos did of course sense another imprintation into the earth as the Charmander stood up once more... He still wasn't respecting the earth. Glancing towards the Pokemon once more Deimos quickly read the situation. He knew that Future Sight was imminent, thus he made a simple choice. Deimos didn't even try to evade the likely punch, instead utilising Stone Edge once more, aiming to have it stab into Hidon's stomach. The plan was to lure him into a false confidence, merely to try and trap his opponent. His logic was if he defended against the Stone Edge Future Sight could potentially cover his defensive options, at least regarding what he'd seen so far, he had no clue if the Charmander had some sort of move that could protect him from the attacks, or he could just flame charge away and out of Future Sights range.

"I'm sorry... But time is up" Deimos spoke in a relatively cryptic manner, his tone seeming rather nonchalant about the punch, he didn't want to give his opponent any satisfaction.

(Just to specify, in no way is the trap garunteed, Deimos is predicting a committal. Also, I figured that Future Sight would probably be a bit overpowered if it had infinite range, you could just hit and run constantly, spamming the move, so I'm making it Deimos's Future Sight has limited range for balance)

Hidon felt such an immense sense of satisfaction as he felt his fist collide directly with the Absol's body, just as he had hoped. Sure enough, he was incapable of using his Sucker Punch against him when he wasn't directly using a move to harm him. However, he had no idea that Deimos had simply allowed him to strike, rather than it being due to his own speed and strength. And it was only a moment later that he felt the pain sink in. He had been so caught up in his attack and his desire to smash this Absol into the forest floor that he did not see the attack coming. A powerful stone slammed directly into his stomach, causing him to grunt in pain. The air rushed out of his lungs and he struggled to regain his breath, doubling over for a moment at Deimos' feet.

Hidon heard Deimos' words, but was very confused by them as he sank to one of his knees. "T-time's...?" he started...but was soon interrupted by his own powers of observation. He hadn't realized it until he had gotten so close...but both himself and Deimos were surrounded by some kind of...extremely faint aura. What was...?

A powerful energy slash suddenly struck him from seemingly nowhere. "AGH!" he cried out, getting thrown onto the ground on his back right at Deimos' feet. "wh...What the...h-heck was...?"

So his trap had been a success, Hidon had taken the bait, hook, line and sinker. He took a moment to turn around and look down at the damaged Charmander. Surely after a Sucker Punch, a super effective Stone Edge and a Future Sight it's body couldn't take much more. "Your mental state in battle needs work... Maybe now you'll be willing to listen with your mind instead of the rage within your heart. That move was Future Sight, a delayed Psychic type attack of extremely high power... I set it up before Sucker Punch earlier." Deimos spoke, his tone being rather nonchalant in nature, and yet it wasn't condescending.

"I have been dropping hints to test your mental acuity but every time your emotions have blinded you... Are you willing to listen and improve now? Only winning creates bad habits in a warrior, sometimes a good beat down is neccessary to get rid of such habits and to learn your own hidden weaknesses" Deimos spoke once more, making his real intent clear... This whole time he was going along with it and testing the Charmander in secret.

Hidon groaned as he laid on his back at Deimos' feet. Such a powerful barrage of attacks. Each move had come one after another, and Hidon had barely been able to land a single punch. And even then, it seemed practically gifted to him. His body was exhausted from the heavy damage he had just taken...so all he could do for now was merely lay there and listen to what the Absol had to say next. As he listened to him explain what his Future Sight attack was and how it worked, he couldn't help but feel...almost cheated in a way. A move like that seemed rather unfair to him. Although this was merely because he had fallen right into the trap and hadn't even thought about such a move's existence. However, he also felt like he were being...educated. His eyes widened slightly, a shadow of an all-too-familiar Charizard seeming to loom over the Absol as he continued to speak to him.

Hidon wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, he had just gotten his tail kicked and handed back to him on a silver platter. And that very idea ticked him off to no end. He wanted nothing more than to beat this white-furred Pokémon into the dirt! But...he couldn't help but feel some amount of respect for him. Something about the way he talked to him reminded him, oddly enough, of his father. At this point, he wasn't really sure what to think.

He groaned slightly and tried to force himself into a sitting position, barely able to even do that. "H-hmph," he muttered. "I'm always willing to improve. N-not that that has anything to do with you." He then grumbled slightly, raising one of his claws so that he could look at it for a moment before clenching it. "I...I will get stronger.... And eventually, I won't need any other beat downs. And next time, I'm not going to stop until I smash your head into the forest floor." Even he, and all of his pride, had to admit defeat now. He could probably force himself to stand, but he would not be able to put up much of a fight. He'd only embarrass himself even more.

"Before you can do you that you must learn the matchup better... So far you've fought this matchup poorly, thus granting me a further advantage. Remember a mentioned respecting the earth? I was referring to the ability of my species, the ability to sense the most minute changes in the earth and sky... When you recklessly charged I could sense every step from the imprint you left in the soil, I also could identify tragectory and estmatep velocity based on the soil you kicked up, thus making it easy to time counters. By mentioning that you needed to find a way to beat a physically more powerful species I was in fact referring to my Future Sight as well. If you listen with your mind and not your heart you'll be much better off in battle. Deimos spoke, his tone nonchalant once again... This 'Hidon' still had much to learn, far too much for Deimos to teach... He was still improving himself.

(Quick post cause I gotta go to work)

Hidon listened to what Deimos had to say very carefully. Listening to him was a little bit like listening to his father again. However...he still wasn't sure about this whole "respecting the earth" thing was about. He understood that the Absol had some kind of ability to sense changes in the ground...but that was about it. Everything else went practically right over his head. Instead, he just bore an expression of complete and utter confusion. But the last part of what he had to say he did catch. Listening with his mind rather than his heart? Well, unfortunately for him, that wasn't much of an option. Sure, he was looking to better himself in battle, but there was just one problem with what the Absol was trying to teach him....

"Yeah, well, thinking about stuff hasn't exactly helped me in the past," he muttered. "Anytime I think of something different, it always bites me in the tail." He then paused at that. "Sometimes literally. I work better on the fly than when I try to plan anything." He crosses his arms. "Besides. that just means that my battle style is different than yours. My dad said that everyone has a different way of fighting...so I'm sticking with what I know doesn't blow up in my face."

"Every style of combat has it's strengths, weaknesses and counters... The counter to yours is strategy it seems... I can respect your wish to focus on one style of fighting, but in my opinion it's better to have a variety so that you can better react" Deimos spoke, shrugging somewhat before turning in order to walk away. "I have said all I have to say, now I must depart" He sighed... This Pokemon didn't seem to listen with his mind that well it seemed, sure he had reasonable logic but a few bad experiences shouldn't put one off an entire field... At least in Deimos's opinion, without negativity there can be no positive growth after all.

Hidon huffed slightly at Deimos' words. He knew that he had a bit of a point, but that didn't mean that he wanted to listen to him. He had gotten beaten so badly...he didn't want to give this Absol that much benefit from this encounter. He didn't want to get stronger because of some Pokémon who thought that he was better than him! With those thoughts swimming in his mind, the Charmander simply crossed his arms as Deimos finished speaking and turned away. "...Fine then," Hidon muttered. He turned away himself, ready to take his first steps in the opposite direction. But he stopped before even taking his first. He looked back at Deimos as the Absol started walking away. "But next time I see you, I won't be losing. I'll beat you into the ground so hard, you'll never know what hit you!" he declared before finally starting to move.

He stepped away from Deimos, ready to do some training on his own. He couldn't let this happen ever again. He needed to be a LOT stronger if he wanted to stomp that Absol someday....