An Afternoon Showdown

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Energy: 23 - 11 (entrance fee) = 12

Equipped Item: Defense Scarf

After stopping by Dandy's Boutique to pick up his brand new scarf, tied cape-style around his neck, Raze was jumping from stone to stone to reach the island inside of Fallen Leaf Copse. Considering the amount of excitement based around his explorations around Grassveil, he had never had any time to battle another civilized Pokémon. All of his battles inside dungeons had been with ferals, but most were mindless and posed almost no threat. Maybe there's someone who comes out here at this time, I guess they'd be up for a little battle... he thought, reaching the end of the stepping stones.

Leaves fell around like a barrage of green, yellow, and brown. The soft breeze rustled them, however, once they hit the floor. Letting his bag drop to the floor, the Minun stretched and looked over the lake. The peaceful scene acted like preparation for him as he got ready to look for someone to fight. The electricity already began to charge up at a slow, leisurely pace. Heh, and this time, I'm not losing without a struggle!

Energy: 0

At the moment the ghost started to speak, Raze wished he was anywhere else in the world. Its chilling voice caused him to shake and shudder in surprise (sp00ky scary skeletons) when he recognized that he had somehow angered the specter. He managed to look up from behind his companion and see a small, floating figure with a tree stump covering its head. Red piercing eyes stared directly into his own and sent a wave of terror through him. The Astonish it released was no help to ease his state of fearfulness. N-Not a good idea, come on! Get out of here, who cares if the lizard has to fight him?! the Electric type thought, letting paranoia sink in.

After several more seconds of cowering from the Phantump, Raze stood and ran. He didn't get very far, however, due to the guilt of leaving the Charmander to fight it on his own. "He's all yours, I'm n-not getting near him!" the mouse called over, firing a Helping Hand to his ally. At this point, he was desperate to not confront the Ghost type and told himself to just sit out for one battle. Y-Yeah, just leave it to him... He's more than capable of handling it anyways, it's part Grass type... he thought to himself, struggling to coax himself into relaxing. Normally, he would have made the first move and struck the Phantump with a Spark, but his phobia of the undead caused him to become a nervous wreck almost instantly. Raze always hated that part of him, but there was really nothing that could be done about it currently. All he could do was pray that his companion dealt with it quickly.

"Huh...?" Hidon murmured, looking back at Raze again. But before he could say or do anything, the Minun was turning and...running away!? "H-hey!" Hidon called out, holding one of his claws out as though to stop the smaller Pokémon. "Y-you little...!" But his words stopped themselves when the Minun suddenly stopped in his tracks. This caused the Charmander to look at Raze in confusion. But then, he understood. He was probably going to use some kind of attack, right? He must have had a chance to come up with a strategy to fight back. That's what happened with the Teddiursa, after all. Hidon didn't really like the thought of him being used as a mere shield for this little rodent, but what did he care? He'd originally come here for training anyway. So what if he was the one who did most of the fighting? That worked out well for him in the end!

But then the Minun called out to him, causing Hidon to stop, stunned by the Minun's words. "Wh-what!?" the Charmander exclaimed. "You're just gonna-!" At that moment, though, he felt something surge through him. Like...some kind of newfound strength. He stopped his opposition immediately and smirked slightly. He didn't understand what was going on, but he had to admit that he liked it. Besides, he could handle this Pokémon easy. Sure, he was a Ghost-type, but he was obviously a Grass Pokémon on top of that. This fight should be over in one blow! Still...there was something that was bothering him....

What was with the Minun's reaction? First he freaked out, then he ran and cowered behind him...and now he's saying that he won't get anywhere near the Phantump? Wait...did that mean...? A sly grin then suddenly crept onto his face. Then that turned into a wide smile. This led to a soft chuckle which eventually built up into full-blown, loud laughter. "Haha!" he exclaimed loudly, laughing so hard that he actually almost fell onto his back, clutching at his sides. "D-don't tell me...you're terrified of this little thing, aren't you!?"

The Phantump glanced at Hidon for a moment, wondering if the Charmander was going to get in his way. He didn't particularly care about the Charmander for now...and honestly, he didn't want to fight a Fire-type Pokémon in the middle of this forest. But soon, the Charmander almost collapsed, and the Ghost Pokémon immediately took its chance. It rushed forward, flying straight past the Charmander, and aimed itself right for the Minun. "You won't get away that easily!" it called in that cold voice, attempting to physically slam its stump-head up against the Minun's body, trying to Tackle him.

~~~~~

Wild Pokémon!

Name: ???
Moves:
- Tackle
- ???
- Astonish
- ???

Energy: 0 + 1 (new page) = 1

However, the mouse's moment of peace was short-lived. His Charmander friend was laughing at him! "H-Hey, not funny!" he shot back. "I wanna see you try and- Waah!" Raze was cut off at the sight of the Phantump's charge yet was too panicked to move out of the way. The attack struck him square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Not that his Defense Scarf (or Defense Cape, as he calls it) would let him take much from the strike, but he was still jarred violently from the blow. Luckily, he managed to muster enough courage to create a fairly decent electric field around himself. D-Dammit... It has the type advantage, but it's all I can do without getting closer! That, and it probably would hit my buddy over there, but he deserves it for that little laughing fit. the Minun reassured himself. He had every reason to not use Spark and go straight to Discharge.

Of course, being how he is, Raze had to come up with something to say beforehand. "I h-hope you like being shocked, y-you haunted root!" the Electric type threatened, doubting his own abilities against the phantom. Even his tone of voice was shaky and unsure during his taunting. He closed his eyes and released the blast, hoping to do some decent damage to the Phantump and make up for some that he had taken from the Tackle.

MCLikeANinja carried out 1 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

{Energy: 0 + 1 (new page) = 1}

Hidon's eyes widened slightly when he realized that the ghost Pokémon was not bothering with him. Instead, it had rushed right past him and began targeting Raze once more. He'd hoped that the Phantump would attack him instead of the Minun since he was the closest. But it seemed like whatever the Minun had done to tick this thing off was enough to really keep its focus. But even in a situation such as this, he could not help himself. A slight snicker sounded from his throat as he thought about Raze's terrified tone. Well...he supposed that it was his turn to play the hero for sure!

Hidon turned around to face where the Phantump was coming from. However, when he turned in that direction, he suddenly felt a surge of electricity blast through his entire body. "GRAH!" he cried out as he got caught up in the Minun's Discharge along with the Phantump. His loud, pained cry would be easily heard by the Minun. Once the Discharge was over, he sank down onto one of his knees. The Phantump, however, had merely bit down and taken the blow. Thanks to its resistance to Electric-type attacks, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. but that certainly didn't mean that it hadn't felt that. But unlike the Charmander, the Phantump was able to stay up.

"Hey!" Hidon roared angrily at the Minun. "Watch what the hell you're doing! You could'a paralyzed me again you half-pint!"

The Phantump cast a glance at the Charmander, glad to see that he was still keeping his distance. He turned his focus back on Raze. "...You shall pay dearly for this!" he shouted aloud, eyes beginning to glow an eerie blue red color. It would then fly directly into Raze's face in an attempt to force the other Pokémon to gaze into its glowing eyes, regardless of which direction the Minun was facing at the time. If it could manage to pull that off, its Confuse Ray would be a success and the Electric-type rodent would find himself suffering from Confusion status.

~~~~~

Wild Pokémon!

Name: ???
Moves:
- Tackle
- Confuse Ray
- Astonish
- ???

{OOC: Do these leaves even do anything...? Because if not, I have an idea for how I could use all of mine at once... ;)}

Energy: 1 - 1 (roll's results) = 0

The Minun watched his attack go through for once without closing his eyes. The flash, however, made him quickly regret it and temporarily make him almost blind. Rubbing his eyes, Raze had the uneasy feeling that the Phantump was still nearby. He didn't have nearly enough time to form another Discharge before he felt the familiar chill. In a panic, he opened his eyes and recoiled in fear at the sight of the enemy. Even trying to blink away the image whilst stumbling back, there still remained the startling... blue glare? Even opening his eyes couldn't remove an eerie blue tint from his vision. "I-Is that... t-the best you've got...? he shakily said, seeing what appeared to be the Phantump shouting something about paralysis.

Little did Raze know, that this was in fact his own ally. The confusion caused him to immediately see the Charmander as what he was focused on. This is my chance, I think I paralyzed him! he thought hopefully. For once, he mustered enough courage to electrify his body and charge at the Pokémon. The Electric type closed his eyes shut tight as to not look at whatever he was charging straight into with the Spark. "I got you now!" he shouted in rage and for once not stuttering.

Hidon continued glaring at Raze from across the field, That stupid punk's Discharge had hurt! He was just lucky that the blast hadn't Paralyzed him. If it had, he'd have to waste some time digging out another Cheri. Or else he'd have a much harder time dealing with the Ghost Pokémon that the Minun seemed so intent on fleeing from. But soon enough, his vision was cut off by the Phantump, who had flown right in front of the Minun, giving him another scary glare of some kind. Was it another Astonish? Well whatever it as, he could have fun making fun of the Minun later. For now, he had to take down the Phantump. If he didn't, the Minun might shock him again, after all. And so, the Charmander took in a deep breath, ready to unleash his Helping Hand-assisted Ember attack on the Phantump, which was sure to knock it out in one shot!

But then something unexpected happened. The Minun stepped away from the Ghost Pokémon and faced him instead. "Hey, what're you-?" Hidon started to ask, but was cut off when the Minun began charging. His eyes widened slightly, stopping before his attack could be used. However, his reaction time was no match for a Minun's superior speed. The Cheering Pokémon's body landed a clean hit, slamming the Spark attack powerfully against the Charmander. "Urgrah!" he grunted from the impact, falling down hard onto his back at the Minun's feet. "Wh-what the hell!?" he growled up at the Minun...but quickly stopped when he saw a blue tint in the Minun's eyes. Now he understood...he was under Confusion status, something he had seen and experienced before himself.

Unfortunately, Hidon had no way of knowing how to deal with this yet. But...maybe if he could quickly take out the Phantump, at least the situation would resolve itself eventually...hopefully.

The Phantump watched the Confused Minun scurry right past it and barrel into the Charmander, harming its own ally. It then couldn't help itself...a small giggle sounded. It as an amusing sight, to say the least. Plus...now it could just sit back and enjoy the show. And on the bright side, if the Minun finished off the Charmander, this battle was its victory. It had a quite a show to look forward t-

FWOOSH! came the sound of flying flames. The Charmander had finally launched his attack: an Ember straight for the Phantump! But the Ghost Pokémon was too busy giggling about the Minun's Confusion to see it coming until it was too late. The Ember attack, backed by the power of Raze's Helping Hand, collided with its body, causing it to get thrown back against a nearby tree and collapse, falling to the ground with a clunk from the stump. Though whether it had actually been knocked out or not was impossible to tell from this far away. Hidon himself was still lying supine on the ground at Raze's feet. he had craned and raised his head to get a better shot, and fired his attack off. Though of course, he was still quite vulnerable in this state. But that didn't stop him.

"Ha!" he shouted. "that all you got!?" Of course, he hadn't even thought about how the possibility of how that might be misconstrued by the Confused Minun....

Digizel carried out 1 launched of one Fallen Leaf Copse :

Energy: 0

Raze still had no idea what was with the blue tint he had in his vision. Must be just exhaustion I guess... No! I can't think of being tired right now, this thing's down! he thought, adding a small charge to himself already. The Minun was about to make the "Phantump" immobile with a Thunder Wave when he froze at what it did next. It seemed to use an Astonish on his partner who sat idly by and watched the battle. The "Charmander" flew back and hit a tree a ways back. This instantly made him all business. "Y-You devious little rat!" he shouted, bringing his voltage up from nothing to 10 amps at least.

A small thought formed in the back of his mind. If the Phantump was angry at him, why would it attack his companion when it was focusing on him solely? Even if it had directed its attention to him for a brief second, why did it... just yell something at his ally...? Raze had faltered slightly at the logic of this, but panic overtook as the "Phantump" moved again. Almost on cue, he released the powerful energy and would have certainly blinded himself again had he not closed his eyes. "Hah... T-Take that..." he stuttered, struggling to steady his uneven breaths whilst slowly backing away from the mass that had been shocked. "T-Tell the other Ghost types what happened, Phantump, or I'm c-coming back here!

{Energy: 1 - 1 (Lum Berry) = 0}

It seemed like his Ember attack had done the trick. He smirked to himself, glad that the Phantump had been taken care of. Now that that was over with, the two of them could get back to...wait, what was the Minun shouting at him? Something about being a rat...? "Wh-what are you talking about...?" he muttered. For a brief moment, Hidon had forgotten that Raze had been Confused. But he was very quickly reminded of the fact. The Minun's cheeks began to spark to life. His eyes widened at the sight when he realized what was about to happen. But before he could voice his opposition to the attack, the electricity was unleashed. "GRAH!!" he cried out in pain as the electric attack surged through his body while he lay helpless. His body convulsed slightly from the electrocution, but it eventually settled once the attack was finished.

"Urgh..." Hidon groaned, simply laying flat on his back for a moment, trying to regain some of his lost strength. He listened to Raze's words, blushing slightly at his downed position. That was it. He didn't care if this Minun was hallucinating or not. He was going to REALLY get it for hitting him with another freaking electric shock!

The Charmander growled in annoyance as he rolled over and began to slowly push himself back to his feet. "I don't care what's going on in that head of yours anymore," he muttered. "I'm...going to get you for that!" Of course, since he took so long to rise back up to his feet again, Raze would have plenty of time to react to him. But if the Minun did not do anything to stop him, Hidon would then back up slightly, before moving to rush forward, flames sparking to life around him. He would attempt to, drive his shoulder into Raze's chest, utilizing his Flame Charge attack.

Energy: 0

Bad idea, bad idea! he thought, panicking and almost releasing the charge in his body. Raze's reaction was delayed due to the "Ghost type" charging at him with an odd red flame cloaking him, but he managed to bring up enough willpower to raise his voltage again and meet the attack head-on with a Spark. Unfortunately, he only managed to transfer the voltage before he was knocked backwards, rolling to a halt. This tree is pretty tough... B-But I'm not out yet! the Electric type encouraged himself, trying to only focus on its Grass typing. "L-Lucky shot, you undead t-tree root..." he stammered, hoisting himself up and facing the enemy again.

The blue tint made no difference in his field of vision, luckily, as he sent a semi-hesitant glare at the "Phantump". How was it that a Grass and Ghost type like this feral learned a move that utilized fire? "T-Tell me something, you damn spirit. How did y-you learn that... T-That attack...?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice steady but to no avail. Despite the attacks that he had initiated against it, the "Phantump" scared the Minun still. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. Raze kept a strong electrical field around him just in case the "Phantump" decided to make a move.

Just as Hidon charged forward, so too did the Minun. He hadn't really expected the electric-type Pokémon to just stand there, but he wasn't expecting him to charge so quickly. When the two attacks collided, Hidon grunted, feeling the electricity transfer from his opponent's body into his own. He stood his ground after the exchange of attacks, gritting his teeth and trying to ignore the electricity that had passed into him. At this point, he should be an expert at enduring electrical shocks. He shook his body, ignoring the pain and glared at the Minun. To his satisfaction, the Cheering Pokémon had taken the worst of the exchange. "Heheh...it takes more than a lucky shot to...huh?" He had to stop himself there. Raze had just said something...very odd.

"Wh-what the heck are you talking about!?" he demanded, glaring at his companion. "Who are you calling a tree root? I don't look anything like that stupid Phantump! And it's none of your business how I learned that move! I know it and that's all you need to know, you stupid rat!" The truth of the matter was really just that he didn't want to admit to merely buying a TM to learn that Flame Charge attack. On top of that, he had run rather low on patience at this point. Of course, there was some slight confusion about why the Minun was apparently mistaking him for that Phantump...but at this point, he hardly cared anymore. He was just rather ticked off at this point.

Energy: 0

Raze was surprised at the "Phantump's" answer. Why had it denied its own species and claimed that it wasn't itself? "...What? B-But you look exactly like a Phantump to me..." he stammered, slightly dizzy from the blow. Considering how much the entity was messing with his head, the Minun struggled not to give it a swift punch to the jaw and shut its trap. This isn't possible; how can this not be the Phantump? I saw it strike that Charmander over by the tree... he thought, glancing over towards the trunk of the tree that they landed on. His companion appeared to still be there unconscious, but there was nothing he could really do to help him. If things got bad, he could always just defend him until he awakened.

Then, it struck him; what if the entity in front of him was telling the truth? Could it be some sort of ruse? Is it related to the blue tint that lingered in the Electric type's line of sight? Raze continued to receive questions that perhaps would go unanswered. "Fine, damn weed. Go ahead and tell me what's going on, because I'm not happy right now." he threatened. Most of his thoughts were on a surprise attack, but he would at least listen for any words from the being. "Er... Rather, start with what you actually are, I guess?" The moment that the "Phantump" says something that Raze doesn't like, he would give the ghost an uppercut to the jaw. Seeing as its typing would prevent any serious damage, it would give him all the time he would need to grab his companion and run. The mouse pushed his nagging feeling of panic aside and held onto his cape with his weaker hand.

Hidon wasn't sure how to take the Minun's words at first. Were they an insult or something? Or maybe he was calling him scary for some reason...? Whatever the case, somehow, he was being mistaken for the Phantump. That much was obvious. But how in the world could he possibly look like a flying tree? He even had a freaking open flame right there on the tip of his tail! Why would an undead stump have a flame on its tail!? "Are you insane!?" he growled in disbelief. "How could you mix me up with that miserable excuse for firewood!?" He still had not quite yet caught on to the fact that Raze was, in actuality, merely suffering from a strange instance of the Confused status, mixing up ally and enemy.

"What, YOU'RE not happy!?" he exclaimed, once more with disbelief. "I'm the one who's getting mixed up or a flying stump!" But finally, he simply grunted and let out a sigh. Well, whatever. He'd have to teach this stupid rat a lesson in a little bit. But for now, he supposed he should just try to set things straight as much as he could. "Look, runt. I'm Hidon. That Charmander that was going to beat you in a battle not that long ago."

Of course, at any point of this, he could be interrupted by the uppercut that Raze was secretly planning, had he said anything to warrant the punch.

{OOC: And yes, I do know how Double Team only makes tangible copies, meaning they can only fake out attacks and the real one is the only one capable of actual attacks.

Energy: 0

It was still quite a bit to take in. How was it that the Minun could see the Phantump in place of what they claimed to be, a Charmander? As much as it sounded believable, Raze shook his head. In his logic, the deception skills of the Ghost type were strong enough to mirror a true statement. "N-Not buying it!" he shouted, throwing a heavy strike to the entity's jaw. Suddenly, the Electric type darted backwards to distance himself from the "Phantump". Tapping into an ability that he had learned from a TM yet never used until now, the mouse created an illusory copy of himself. ...Do I really look that pudgy? I could swear that- Gah! Nevermind that, this guy's got another thing coming if he's deceiving me! he thought, swiftly switching places back and forth with it to throw off the spirit.

"S-Shut up and get real! I'm n-not falling for it, I bet that's not even the Charmander's n-name!" he shouted, causing his voice to shake even more. After every second that passed, he became even more skeptical of the entity's behavior. On a borderline between believing the story and taking it as a lie, Raze urged himself to just follow through and pray that he was right. Both him and his copy allowed sparks to display around them as they charged towards the "Phantump", one on each side for Spark attacks. Seeing as the false one came in from the left, the Minun had his dominant side advantage as well as a 50/50 chance of faking him out.

"What d'you mean you're-!?" he started to growl in response. However, he was cut off as the Minun suddenly let loose. Hidon's eyes widened as the Minun's blue fist slammed mightily against his jaw, similar to when the two had still been fighting each other when he'd first turned up here. The punch drove Hidon's jaw upward, smashing against his upper mouth and throwing his head backward. He had not been guarding himself at all, so the force of the punch actually caused him to lose his balance and fall over, onto his back just like before. This time, however, he was not going to just stay down. No...this time, his anger had already peaked and would not let his body remain stunned. He immediately started climbing back to his feet again. He turned to glare at Raze, ready to spout something more...but had to stop.

Hidon had to take a moment to rub his eyes with his arm. Maybe that Minun had hit him harder than he thought. he could swear that he was seeing double. On top of that, the two Minun were swapping places, too quickly for Hidon to keep up. He had to stop and rub his eyes again, trying to clear away the second Pokémon. By the time he removed his arm, however, they were both gone.

"wha-!?" Hidon exclaimed, looking frantically around him and quickly finding that both Minun were beginning to spark and rushing at him from opposite sides. He didn't have long before they came at him! But which one was the real one...!? He shook his head. It didn't matter! If he dodged both of them, then he'd dodge the real one! He could always play off his own confusion at the sight of two Minun later.

So, in a desperate move, he did not stand his ground or try to counter the attack. Instead, he turned to face a direction not blocked by one of the Minun and leaped backward, hopefully far enough to avoid the Spark attack coming from both Raze and his clone. If he did manage to avoid the attack, he would clench his fists and growl angrily. "Of course that's my name you idiot!" he would roar furiously. "And I cannot believe you just uppercutted me AGAIN! Why don't you freaking throw a gut shot while you're at it!?"

Energy: 0

Unfortunately, his Spark attack was unsuccessful as the "Phantump" stepped backwards and allowed him to phase right through his own clone. The mirage fizzled, revealing his position ending up to the left of the Ghost type. "C-Curses..." Raze muttered, recharging himself to an extent. If his Double Team worked, it would at least help get into the mind of his opponent. This time, the Minun formed two clones and swapped a few times, ending up in the middle where he started. The two fakes dashed off for similar Spark attacks whilst the Electric type stayed put and prepared a Discharge. He wanted to end this, and end it now. The mouse prepared to release the strongest Discharge yet.

However, a few words that the entity had said made him stop. His copies halted to a stop and fizzled as well. ...Again? B-But... How can it know that? Unless... Uh oh... the Minun thought, stopping his attack completely. His vision slowly returned to its natural state as he laid eyes upon where the Phantump was, slowly forming into the Charmander that it claimed to be. "I... But... What?! T-That's impossible!" he stammered, realizing his mistake instantly. He had been Confused and attacked his own ally! "But... How... I'm gonna kill that Phantump the next time I see it!" Raze was livid with anger and remorse for his actions, instantly looking over to where "his companion" had hit the tree, noticing only a dent in the trunk of a tree remained. Unfortunately, the Ghost type escaped to fight another day, leaving only the haunting experience in his mind.