Raising Inner Strength

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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.

{Energy: 10 - 3 (Pokémon plus Defense Scarf) - 7 (items) + 1 (new page) = 1}

Hidon waited for a moment, wanting to hear what Alkere had to say next before he allowed himself to completely lower his guard. If she refused his offer of a draw, he'd have to be quick and get back up again to prepare to keep fighting. After all, if he wasn't going to draw, he'd have to beat her. To him, defeat was certainly not an option. But in the end, she nodded to him and finally replied, accepting his offer. But with a slight stipulation at the end of it. "...Another day, huh?" he replied, pushing himself back onto his rear, finally in a relaxed sitting position. He then allowed a smirk to cross his own expression. "Of course. You're pretty good. Better than you look, anyway." He then laughed slightly. "I don't think I've enjoyed kicking somebody's tail as much as I did against you,"

Alkere sat down as well, almost unwillingly returning a chuckle. "Hey, I almost had that!" She protested, though she didn't speak in a hostile manner. More a half-joking one. She'd thought he was just another hothead at first - and he still seemed to snap even easier than she did - but at least he wasn't just all bark and no bite. He wasn't that bad, she decided. "I just used Thrash a bit too early..." She trailed off, her vision finally returning to normal. She silently thanked the gods for that, she was sick of seeing doubles of everything. Her egg move was powerful, not to mention really fun to use, but the confusion afterwards was the worst.

Energy: 1 (7 - 9 from rolls = 0, + 1 from new page)

Hidon grinned slightly at Alkere's protest. "Heh!" he laughed in her direction. "Yeah, right! Maybe you got a couple of lucky shots here and there, but I was totally going to turn it around with my Dragon Rush. One direct hit of that, and you'd have been done for." His bragging was not completely intentional, but he did certainly feel that, had the fight continued, he'd have been the one standing victorious in the end. "But I gotta say, that Thrash of yours or whatever...well, if that's the thing you used to give me that last kick and headbutt, it really hurt." He then let out another small laugh. "Wih a powerful move like that, maybe you'd make a great rival. I'm actually looking forward to finishing this sometime."

Little was he aware, however, that a pair of eyes were watching the Pokémon, hidden behind he house and veiled by the mist.

"Ugh, their fight's over and neither of 'em got knocked out," he whispered under his breath. "That'll make it a bit harder." With the Charmander and Bagon talking to each other, they probably wouldn' hear her.

"Oh, who cares?" a second voice murmured back just as quietly. "If they stopped fighting, they must be too tired to continue. Let's just get 'em anyway."

"...Alright," the first Pokémon murmured back. "Then...here's the plan...." Her gaze then left the two seated Pokémon.