Raising Inner Strength

Hidon was a really strong Charmander. At least, as far as he was concerned or was willing to admit. He was certainly not about to call himself weak or helpless. He felt that that described the very opposite of his being. But...even he couldn't admit that a few of his outs for training purposes had been disasters. He had met an Absol that had practically destroyed him. He'd met with a Deino who pinned him down with ease and ended a fight within seconds. He'd even battled with a Treecko who had Pounded him into submission while he slumbered away. But worst of all, in his mind was the wild Ariados that had nearly knocked him out and robbed him of everything he had. It had spooked him, rendered him completely helpless with webbing, and taunted him the entire time while creeping him out. That fight bothered him the most. And he knew exactly why.

That had been the first time that Hidon had actually felt true fear in years. And that fear had rendered him completely useless in that fight. He was humiliated by his performance that day. And had it not been for the help of a passing Flabébé, he would have been defeated and robbed. He needed to iron those fears out. He needed to get himself back on track. And most of all, he needed to be a lot stronger than he was now...both physically and, apparently, mentally. He needed to steel himself so that he wouldn't be so useless in the face of fear again. And that was why he found himself hear, in the dungeon known as Pricklemist Hill. It wasn't too far away from Grassveil Town, where he made his home and it was supposedly home to Ghost Pokémon. The mist made things around him tougher to see and the whole place gave him some kind of chill down his spine and an entire "haunted hill" kind of vibe. And it certainly did not help that people from Grassveil told him ghost stories about the place. Though for all he truly knew, these ghosts might not exist in the first place and he could just be wasting his time. Still...he felt like he could be stalked in the mist with relative ease or otherwise scared easily.

And that was exactly what he was hoping for. After all, what better place than a foggy land where Ghost Pokémon supposedly lived to help train himself to fight through fear? He just hoped that his fear wouldn't get the better of him again. He might not have such luck a second time.... The thought made him shiver a little and he now felt slightly jumpy. He took step after step, deeper into the mist, slightly hoping in the back of his mind that his bravado was not about to get himself killed or something.

Alkere was back, after her misadventures involving a haunted house and a disembodied voice. She had returned to this Mystery Dungeon because she figured it would be a waste not to explore some more while she was in Rainfront. Who knew when she could come back here, right? It was a bit above her skill level, but that just meant it was a good challenge. She wasn’t going to learn anything pacing through Pecha Forest ten million times. Besides, last time she came here hadn’t gone too poorly, so what was the worse that could happen?

Right now, the Bagon was dragging herself up the hill, and had an unfortunate sense of deja-vu. Last time she’d been here, it had taken her two attempts to get herself up to the house in the first place. This was mostly thanks to the fact that her species had been ‘blessed’ with short, stubby limbs. It made this climb uphill a bit of a challenge to the small dragon type. She didn’t mind being a Bagon, it was worth it when she remembered that she’d be an awesome, flying, powerful dragon one day... But until then, she needed to watch her step. Thankfully for Alkere, she managed not to have a repeat of last time, when she tumbled down the hill and had to start the hike all over again. She managed to make it to the top on her first attempt.

She paused for a second to catch her breath before circling the house, trying to find the door. Something else caught her eye, however. It was a tiny flame that pierced through the mist. She was puzzled for a moment before she realized the flame was moving uphill. It must’ve been another Pokemon, then. Plenty of Pokemon could make fire, even she could, with her Ember attack. Someone was probably holding a torch, she figured. Not a bad idea, with how dark it had been last time she went into the abandoned home. Maybe she could ask to get some help going through the Mystery Dungeon?

... Or she could prank the stranger. That would work too, and have the added bonus of being entertaining. It was only fitting, Alkere decided. After all, they were at a haunted house! Might as well get into the spirit of things. She scurried back behind the wall of the house, giggling under her breath before forcing herself to be silent. She’d need to be quiet if she wanted to take the other Pokemon by surprise. She waited for a moment, gathering her breath. Then, from her position behind the wall, she let out a loud, bloodcurdling shriek. She did her best to sound afraid, even though she didn’t grow fearful all too often.

Did it work? She hoped that took the stranger by surprise, if nothing else. It would kind of suck if she scared whoever that was off... The help going through the Mystery Dungeon would be nice. But if they got spooked by something like that, then they probably wouldn’t have been much help anyways. She sat down by the wall of the house, trying to catch her breath and stifle her laughter. She couldn’t ruin it now by laughing! It was still a little too early to give herself away.

Energy: 6

{Energy: 19 - 10 (entry) = 9}

Hidon groaned as he continued to make his way up the large hill, toward what appeared to be some kind of house at its top. This was getting tiring at this point and the creepy feeling that the area was giving of was really starting to settle in on him. He was tempted to just give this up now and go back home. After all, what was the point of sticking around a place like this? If he got attacked while he was this tired, would he be able to fight anything off by himself? Especially any kind of ghosts or whatever might really live here. But he shook his head, trying to dismiss such negative thoughts. He was here to make himself more brave. Not to chicken out and prove how spineless he truly was. No...he needed to face this challenge with bravery...and perhaps a small bit of the stubbornness that he'd been accused of now and again. Still...he needed to-

An extremely loud shriek suddenly pierced the otherwise-silent air. "WAH!" he exclaimed loudly in fear, stumbling backward and actually tripping over his own tail. This sent him falling down hard onto his rump, tail sticking out from underneath his body and on the ground now. Wh-wh-what the heck was that!? He stayed on the ground in his shock, mind simply not functioning for a moment as he fought to return his racing heart rate back to normal. After a few seconds, he finally found himself able to get his body to respond and he climbed back to his feet. "Wh-who's there!?" he demanded into the fog around him. He took a hesitant step backward...but then realized what he was doing. No, he couldn't run away now! What would the point have been in him coming out here in the first place?

Besides...what if that shriek meant that there was a Pokémon who needed his help? He could finally get to rescue his first Pokémon! He grinned slightly at the thought, using his imagination and his pictured heroics to help him step forward again. He looked around, stepping up toward the house again. He then turned around, turning his back to the building, and unbeknownst to him, the Bagon giggling to himself that was truly behind the scream. "C'mon, sh-show yourself before I get mad...!" his tone betrayed the creeping fear that was masked behind his bravado. It would not be difficult for Alkere to tell that she was successfully getting to him.

Oh, man, this had went even better than she expected. Alkere watched, pleased with herself as he demanded someone show themselves. Maybe the scream had been a little over the top, but what could she say? She was only getting into the spirit of things. She knew she wasn’t very good at reading people, but even she caught the Charmander’s fear behind the brave mask he was putting on. The stutter alone gave it away. She paused for a moment, feeling the slightest bit guilty, the guy looked really spooked... But it was fine. She’d reveal herself, they’d have a good laugh over it. No harm done at the end of the day. It wasn’t like she’d stolen something precious from the guy or razed his hometown to the ground, it was only a harmless prank. A pretty good prank at that, she thought. She dragged herself up off her feet and stopped trying to stifle her laughter. There were a few soft giggles from the Bagon before she managed to gather her thoughts and speak up.

”Ha, that was awesome... You should’ve seen yourself back there...” She said in between spurts of laughter. She walked out from behind the wall of the house, looking very satisfied with herself. Hopefully he was smart enough to put the pieces together and realize it had all been a joke. She didn’t want to have to spell it out. He definitely looked frightened back there, but he’d came up to the house anyways. At least that meant he wasn’t a coward, she decided. Point for him in her book. Her laughter began to die down and she nodded to the stranger. ”Man, that went even better than I thought it would.” She admitted, a familiar smirk on her face. ”Nice to meet you. Name's Alkere.”

Hidon looked around for wherever the source of the shriek had originated. However, unless it occurred again, he would be unable to find it without actually looking for it. So, he decided to...wait, what was that? The Charmander's senses were soon interrupted by spurts of laughter and what sounded like the beginning of regular small talk. He turned around to see a Bagon stepping out from around the house. He stopped and thought about what she had to say while she continued to laugh for a short while. "...Seen myself back...?" he repeated before it finally seemed to dawn on him. "Y-you mean that voice was...?" He trailed off there, though. His expression changed rather quickly from fear to surprise...and then to a look of anger.

"Y-you little runt!" he exclaimed, even after Alkere had finished introducing herself. He clenched one of his claws into fists and raised the other, pointing it accusingly at the Bagon. "Y-you scared...!" He then stopped himself at that. He certainly did not want to admit that this little blue runt had managed to scare him as well as she had. He wasn't sure if his pride could take the laughter for much longer without causing him to blow. "I-I mean...y-you could've seriously scared someone half to death if it had been someone other than me out there, you idiot! I don't know who you think you are, but I've got half a mind to drop you where you stand for that!"

Needless to say, Alkere's harmless prank had apparently been embarrassing enough to anger Hidon relatively quickly. And he was not nearly as quick to include niceties as she was.

The dragon type watched quietly as the Charmander snapped at her. She managed to stifle any further laughter, but she hadn't quite wiped the smirk off her face. Man, this guy was angry. It was a little bit funny, she thought. "You have to admit, I got you pretty good." She said, a hint of triumph in her tone. Unfazed by the stranger's harsh words, she turned back towards the entrance of the supposedly haunted house. Had she taken things a bit far? Nah... he was just overreacting, she was sure. It had only been a little joke, hadn't it?

She reflected on the fire type's words for a moment before turning back towards him. "I was about to enter the dungeon, but if you want to try and 'drop me'..." She was assuming that was some kind of slang for fighting, and she was always up for a good brawl. Hopefully this guy wasn't just all bark if he decided to accept the challenge. Or maybe the threat of fighting would put some sense into him, that would work, too. "... well, it's been a while since I had a good challenge." She concluded, watching the other Pokemon's expression to see how he reacted next.

The Charmander seemed stunned when Alkere's next words came through. He saw the smirk on her face clear as day and saw that she didn't regret scaring him in the slightest. In fact, she actually seemed rather amused by his threats instead of backing off! How was that possible? "G-got me good...?" he repeated before shaking his head, face reddening slightly in embarrassment. He couldn't really deny to himself that she was right. But since when did something like the truth stop him? "I-I don't know what you're talking about! The only thing you GOT was an angry explorer extraordinaire breathing down your neck!"

In the end, though, Hidon's words were probably just as meaningless to the Bagon as her reasoning was to him...at least as far as he was willing to admit. However, it was what she said next that really caught his attention. He heard the word 'try' in there specifically...and he knew what was going to happen next. He allowed his furious, slightly embarrassed expression to change to one consisting of a smirk, but still maintaining a glare that showed he was still angry. "So, you're willing to actually man up and fight back after all, huh?" he said. But then he realized his mistake almost immediately. "Er...woman up. Or...whatever!" He then shook his head, as though he were clearing away his embarrassment again before continuing. "I just hope you're as tough as you're making yourself out to be! I don't want to beat on some runt TOO badly."

The Bagon started to chuckle under her breath once more as the Charmander stumbled over his words. She wasn’t sure where he got the idea she wasn’t willing to ‘man up and fight’, but she was going to prove him wrong. She could take this hothead! I don’t want to beat up on some runt TOO badly. A runt? She scoffed, her eyes narrowing and her voice raising slightly. Alright, fun and games were over. ”You don’t want to beat up on a runt, huh? In that case, you won’t be disappointed.” She called, taking a few steps back from the fire Pokemon as she prepared to fight.

What move could she open with? Ember wouldn’t do too much damage to a fire Pokemon. Her egg move, Thrash, would confuse her right off the bat and leave her open to attack. Neither seemed like a smart choice. Well, that still left her with one option. A very faint, nearly invisible red aura surrounded her claws and teeth. ”Come at me, then, hotshot!” She demanded, digging her feet into the ground. She hadn’t expected to get into a battle before even entering the Mystery Dungeon, but who was she to complain? This guy might actually be a decent challenge. He talked a big game, if nothing else.

Hidon growled and crouched down while the Bagon took a few steps back and finally officially accepted his challenge. Good. Now he could get her back for embarrassing him the way she did! "I better not be," came his simple and only reply. Finally, the Bagon offered for him to make the first move. Or at least, in his mind. He did not seem to notice the aura emanating around her figure. He didn't seem to acknowledge or react to it, anyway. But for now, he had an attack to focus on. But...which move should he start with? He didn't want to blow out his signature Dragon Rush right out of the gate. He'd rather surprise her with that move later. He could start with a simple Scratch attack and see how she responds?

The Charmander growled and finally began his charge. He rushed forward as quickly as he could, throwing his shoulder outward. He'd made up his mind on which move he'd prefer to use. It was one that he had been given very few chances to try out since he had acquire the TM to learn how to use it. Well...this was a good opportunity to see what it could do. As he charged, orange flames began to surround his body. His Fire-type attack Flame Charge would be resisted by the Dragon-type Bagon. But either he really didn't care or he didn't seem to realize it. He just really wanted to use the attack.

Alkere waited for a moment, curious which move the Charmander would open with. After a second, he seemed to settle on charging at her with flames surrounding his body. A fire type attack, was it? She could take that. After a half second of consideration, she seemed to copy the stranger and charged back at him. What was the worst that could happen? She figured a fire type attack wouldn't hurt her too badly in the first place. It must've been a fire attack, too, why else would there be flames surrounding him?

While charging at Hidon, at the last second she lowered her head, trying to break his momentum with the steel-hard crest on her forehead. Hopefully, she could break his charge with it. She'd heard rumors that the crest was hard enough to shatter boulders. She wasn't too sure about that, but it packed quite a punch, at any rate. She felt confident she could break his momentum if things went according to plan. ... which they very well may not, but she thought it was worth a try.

Hidon charged forward with all of the strength that his legs would carry him. He had his shoulder thrust forward, ready to smash into the wimpy Bagon before him and bowl him over completely to demonstrate his dominance. He could tell that the Dragon Pokémon was not willing to simply let him have his victory however. Instead, he watched as Alkere charged right back at him. 'Ha! The idiot,' he murmured in his mind. 'Without an attack too. This chick's as good as beaten.' He launched his attack forward, finally meeting Alkere head-on, ready to throw her back with his superior strength and move power.

However, what happened instead took him completely by surprise. Alkere's skull smashed into his body. It was much harder than it looked, almost reminding him of when he had tried punching a tree back in Shadowhue to test his physical strength a while back. Only this time, his body recoiled from her skull, which turned out to be even harder than the bark of that tree. Just as Alkere had hoped, his charge had been broken and his guard crashed. He had certainly not expected this. She probably still felt something from his attack, but the type disadvantage his move had probably did not help him much in that regard.

The Bagon stumbled back, feeling the slightly dazed. Hidon's attack had, technically, hit her... and the red aura surrounding her body became slightly brighter and spread to the silver crest. Not bad at all. "I don't suppose you're gonna read the writing on the wall and stay down?" She taunted, although a large part of her knew he wouldn't. What kind of battle would that be, if it ended in a single attack? That would hardly be any fun. She backed away slightly, waiting for the Charmander to get back up, a victorious smirk on her face. She knew this was far from over, but knocking that hothead off his high horse had felt rewarding enough.

Hidon growled as he was brought to the ground due to his broken charge. He was stunned for a moment, but he recovered quickly enough. He raised his claw to his head and shook it to clear his vision again, which was currently being obscured by a few stars. It was then that he heard the Bagon's taunts and realized the position he was in. On the ground, at her feet. And that was definitely the last place he wanted to be. He growled and clenched one of his claws into fists and shook his head again. This time, in response to her question. "After one lucky shot?" he growled at her while pushing himself back onto his feet again. "Not on your life. I'm just getting warmed up!"

He watched that victorious smirk play on the Bagon's face. Clearly, she thought she was on top at the moment. Well. He'd just have to show her otherwise. He was done playing. It was time to show her what he really had over her! Hidon leaped backward even as Alkere took a few steps back herself. He'd need the extra distance for this. "Playtime's over, runt!" he declared, clenching one of his fists again and he started another charge. This time, however, flames did not spark around him like they did before. Instead...a strange, bluish aura began to surround his body. The aura quickly morphed, however, taking on a more draconic appearance. It then focused around his arm, which he had pulled back. It was time to deliver his favorite move. He swung his fist forward, the aura following it, and attempted to slam a punch directly into the side of the Bagon's face utilizing his Dragon Rush attack!

Alkere watched as the Charmander heaved himself back up to his feet. His response was about what she had been expecting. Yeah, neither of them was going to surrender this early. ”Good! I wouldn’t want it any other way!” She hissed back. He was doing... Something. She wasn’t quite sure what. She watched closely as a blue aura formed around his arm, morphing into a draconian shape. This was obviously some kind of attack, but she hadn’t a clue of how he was going to strike. She scrambled backwards to avoid the blow, but wasn’t deft enough to completely dodge it, much less when she didn’t even know what move this was. The aura slammed into the side of her face, making the small dragon type stumble awkwardly as she tried to regain her balance and stop herself from falling over.

What Alkere knew for sure was that she didn’t want to let him get off another one of those attacks. It packed a punch, whatever it was. Somewhat unsteadily, she walked forward, spewing out Embers toward the Charmander as she did so. She was trying to get closer to him in hopes he wouldn’t be able to do that move at close range. She doubted the Embers would do much damage, but they would hopefully at least keep him busy while she got closer. He had an advantage, as long as he could keep doing that wierd blue aura attack.

Hidon did not acknowledge Alkere's words as he managed to force himself back onto his feet with relative ease. Instead, he concentrated solely on his Dragon Rush attack. And when he finally got close enough to swing his fist...he missed! His eyes widened slightly in surprise as his punch missed its mark. However, it seemed like his attack hadn't missed completely. Instead, the aura coming off of his body managed to land a direct hit against the Bagon, slamming into her face instead of his fist. He stumbled to a stop, not expecting to meet so little resistance, but he regained his footing within moments. At least, he was quick enough to see the Dragon-type Pokémon stumble himself and barely keep herself on her feet. While the sight was satisfying, he still wished that he could have been able to feel the blow land himself. That would have been immensely more satisfying.

Well, he'd just have to make do. He pulled his fist back and brought it back to his side before jabbing a thumb at his chest. "Heheh...you ready to give up now?" he asked her. Sure, he hadn't actually knocked her down yet, but he'd demonstrated his power well enough. "Or do I have to-ACK!" He was quickly cut off as another attack was launched his way. This time, it was a quick barrage of small fireballs, fired one after another. He recognized the attacks instantly. These were Ember attacks! But this was a Dragon Pokémon, not a Fire one! How could he have an attack like this...? He crossed his arms and held them up, trying to block the attacks and reduce the damage as much as possible. Thankfully, he was able to resist the attacks due to his typing, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt.

Hidon stumbled back, making a hesitant retreat. He needed to get out of this barrage of Embers and he needed to counterattack. He could do it with either his Flame Charge or his Dragon Rush...and he knew which one he really wanted to use. But he was going to need his distance. Unfortunately, the Bagon seemed more capable of closing the distance than he was of widening it. Alkere was ultimately able to keep the distance between them minimal...much to a certain Charmander's annoyance.