Rising to the Challenge

First topic message reminder :

Mission:

{Energy: 23 - 5 (entry) = 18}

Hidon bore a grin as he stepped into the trees of the familiar Pecha Forest. He had been here plenty of times before in the past for training and gathering supplies for himself, of course. But now that he had finally rounded up his team and both members had spent some extra time training and preparing themselves for their first outing...it was time. And Hidon could not hold back his excitement. At long last, he had formed his own team at the Grassveil Guild. Sure, his partner wasn't exactly a perfect teammate, but the two would definitely keep pushing each other to be the best that they could be, to never lose out to the other. And now, they were ready to see the results of their recent training. It was time to go on their first adventure together as a team.

The two had previously agreed on which mission to take for themselves, and when they were going to actually go out and accomplish it. They would give each other plenty of time to train and prepare. And now, the day was finally here. so, Hidon had taken the time to drop by the Guild's bulletin boards, take the mission for his team, and immediately make his way down to the forest. The two had agreed to meet near the entrance, but still inside the forest.

Hidon soon found himself in a clearing and he nodded to himself. This would be the easiest place for his teammate to find him; he was out in the open and it would be pretty easy to spot from the air, more than likely. He set the bag that the Guild had given him onto the ground and allowed himself to lean up against a nearby tree. Now, all he had to was wait for that Taillow to show up. Until then, he began to think about when the two of them had first met and that first battle that they'd shared. Back then, Pilot had managed to beat him (with the assistance of some stupid trees of course)...and now, he was going to get the chance to prove that that win had just been nothing more than a fluke.

The Charmander grinned in excitement, looking to the sky to see any sigh of that familiar Taillow plumage. As soon as they appeared, showed up, then the fun could finally begin.

Hidon had already prepared himself for Pilot to accept his offer and counter him with a bet on their battle. And he was ready for whatever wager that the Taillow would want to put onto their battle. And he was willing to put anything on the line for this, even if it was having to bow down to his teammate's whims should he lose. After all, he was very confident in his abilities this time and was sure that he would win this. So he was ready to take on any risk to show this bird brain up once and for all!

...Or at least, so he thought. When the actual wager left the Taillow's beak, his eyes widened slightly and he immediately began to picture himself. He'd seen his reflection a number of times in the past, and he wondered what he would look like if he were pink in hue instead of orange. And the thought immediately caused his face to turn slightly red in embarrassment. If he had to wander around the guild with a pink body, he wasn't sure how much heckling he'd get. He couldn't possibly accept this bet! He was more than willing to do anything Pilot wanted...but not if it involved making himself the laughingstock!

But then another thought crossed the Charmander's mind. That deep blue plumage on Pilot's body...what if it was actually a bright pink instead? It would definitely show him up and it'd be a hilarious sight. If...no, ONCE he won this battle, he would really get to enjoy a show every day. THAT thought caused him to grin slightly. "...Yeah," he replied, tone practically dripping with overconfidence and his typical cocky demeanor. "Yeah, you're on. Loser gets dyed pink at Dandy's." He then cast a quick glance at Raze, nodding. "You hear that, Bird Brain? You're gonna have company as those feathers of yours become a bright pink."

((tfw ur late for your first mission))


[ Energy: 16 - 5 = 11 ]
Late. For her first, 'official' team meet up no less. She was bound to be, for ever since Mim stepped foot into this new nation, right was wrong and wrong was right and everything just seemed so complex, it went against all she been taught back home. And as the thought slowly dawned on her, the young hatchling wasn't sure whether she was supposed to be frightened or relieved by these alternatives.

That's why she still considered it a good thing when she ran into Pilot. Cocky and rude, sure, a spot in Grassveil's infamous guild would be difficult to turn down. If her being late didn't make him recline, and they did go through with the recruit, she'd finally be set on the path to making a name for herself!

But before she could dream, Mim needed to make sure that this thing would be official, which it probably would've been several minutes ago, had she been better at planning. After getting the much needed directions to said dungeon, the scavenger was off, scurrying as fast she could on her three-clawed toes down to the pink splotched patch of woodland.

By the time she arrived at its outskirts, Mim was struggling to catch her breathe as she slowed to a walk. Due to yesterday's events, one or two limbs still mildly ached. It was the first time she had ever experienced battle. She hoped whatever company Pilot had with him wouldn't notice her lack of knowledge. Being one to use his wings a lot, Mim figured it would be hard to find him through all the timber. She had completely forgotten about how mouthy the feather-brain was until the harsh tone of someone's voice echoed through the woods. It continued, fading in and back out again, accompanied by another voice once or twice. Mim followed it until all the oak gave away to a massive clearing. Her eyes wandered for a brief moment, awe stricken by this new environment until she was drawn to the voices again.

The source was Pilot himself, but he wasn't alone. Two other unfamiliar specimens stood by his side, one of them seeming a bit more 'bothered' by Pilot than the small rodent who stood off two the side. Though pleased she was able to find him, Mim had the feeling she arrived just as something was about to break out. Was that a good or bad thing? She didn't know. The desert pokemon slowly approached, shy and a bit hesitant, she tried getting their attention with a weak wave of her hand.

I'm really sorry for taking so long! I'll try not to do that again...

"In your dreams, tubby. We both know how this is gonna end~," Pilot chirped, completely assured of his ensuing victory. He was going to prove that their last battle wasn't just a fluke. "You're going to look absolutely fabulous when I'm done with you," The Taillow added with a sarcastic wink, imagining what his Charmander partner would look like when his orange scales were dyed pink. He couldn't help but cackle at the thought. I can't believe he took the bet! What a moron... Doesn't he know what's going to happen? Shouldn't it be obvious? I guess he's even more thickheaded than I thought!

His train of thought was interrupted when he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. It was Mim! "Hey, kid- I mean, uh... Mim!" He shouted with a smile, almost forgetting the girl's name. Considering how pissed Hidon already was about Raze, Pilot couldn't even imagine what the lizard's reaction to a second unauthorized recruit would be. He gave Hidon a smug look, and then turned back to the Helioptile.

"Haha, great timing! You're just in time to watch Plumpkin here get his happy little ass beat before the mission," Pilot added with a sly grin forming on his beak.

{OOC: ...Welp, apparently my last roll says 53 for me. XD}

Energy: 20 - 43 (rolls' results) = 0 (Poisoned status)

Though he had the nagging urge to just get up and pursue the Pidgey immediately, Raze resisted and leaned on his bag, watching the pre-battle boasting. He wasn't too sure that either would win flawlessly as they thought; at the moment, it was pretty much even ground. Now seeing Hidon's usual comebacks and Pilot's relaxed yet determined dialogue completely leveled his opinions. It's settled then. I guess I could let it happen... But if one goes too far, they're getting a Discharge. the Electric type nodded. Plus, hey! It gives me some time to think while they're fighting! It's really hard to remember the last time I was able to do this, so this could be a pretty good thing.

The Minun's thoughts were cut off by a yellow entity catching his eye. One glance revealed the Pokémon as a Helioptile that Pilot referred to as "Mim". "...Hi? It's Mim, right? Name's Raze. Don't mind these two; they were just about to fight each other. Loser gets dyed pink, so that's always a plus." he stated with his natural swagger and confidence. Sure, he'd never seen this specific Pokémon before, nevertheless another Electric type other than himself and Erebus around Grassveil, but that didn't stop Raze from his typical greeting. "I take it that you're the other person that Pilot invited? Heh. It's kind of a relief to know that I'm not the only Electric type here, you know. Anyways, we'd better move; I don't want to be caught in the crossfire between these two."

"Yeah, with your feathers coated a nice, bright pink!" Hidon retorted back at the bird Pokémon, his own cocky demeanor staying just as strong. Although he did have to admit...Pilot's own confidence was starting to overshadow his. Perhaps it was the fact that Pilot had managed to win their last battle that was the cause of his unease, but he still couldn't shake a bad feeling that he was starting to have. Maybe he shouldn't have accepted this bet. If he lost, he'd be humiliated! And truth be told...he still had yet to win any actual fights that he could remember that weren't against feral Pokémon. And even in some of those, he hadn't been victorious every time...and he usually had some help against them. And so, he couldn't help but blush slightly when Pilot began to let out another loud cackle. He knew exactly what was going on in that bird brain's head, and he couldn't help but picture it himself.

He shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that. He couldn't let his opponent get into his head before the battle even started! That was only going to cause him problems when the fight actually got rolling.

Before he could do anything else, though, he saw Pilot look over to the side and he gave him a questioning look. However, his unspoken question had been answered before he knew it. No...no, it couldn't be, could it...? He quickly followed the Taillow's gaze and spotted just who his partner had been looking at. A small, yellow Pokémon of some sort was standing not too far away from them. "N-no, you didn't..." Hidon muttered in disbelief. But of course, that smug look that Pilot shot him was all the reply that he needed. He opened his mouth to says something, but the swallow Pokémon was already talking to this newcomer, apparently named Mim if Pilot was right.

"W-wait, what did you just call me!?" he growled, his blush returning as he moved to confront the Taillow again. That was the first time he'd ever been called "plumpkin." He knew that Pilot liked calling him fat, but Plumpkin was a new one. And somehow, it felt even more embarrassing than anything else so far. He was actually so caught up in the new nickname he'd been given that he didn't even think to deny Pilot's claim about him being the one about to get beaten.

After the yellow 'mon had closed in enough distance between her new allies, she shot Pilot a look of concern and mild disbelief. It was quite obvious the pudgy flyer was inferring to a fight. Mim hesitated, but proceeded to look in the Charmander's direction, a bit put off by the constant irritated look occurring as his expression. She scoffed.

" This for training, yeah?" The misconception was immediately corrected when a higher pitched voice sounded on Mim's side. She turned her attention over to the large eared rodent, who efficiently filled her in with a explanation, only leaving the reptilian more confused, however.

"Hah! Really? Who came up with that?" She looked back at the rivalry and flashed them both the same amused smile, unaware of the consequences of their bet for Mim was still quite youthful. She might've pulled a joke about how Pilot would probably loose, but she was distracted when thwir smaller company asked her a question.

Mim simply nodded and hummed an approval at Raze's question, clarifying that she in fact was Pilot's recruit. She wondered if Raze a recruitment of Hidon's, that would be neat. "Same here. Glad I have another of my type around. But should we really leave them? We might not find eachother later." The somewhat weak excuse was simply Mim's attempt at persuading her electric ally to stay. As important as this mission may have been, Mim very much wanted to see her partners rumble. She might learn something just by watching. "Also, who'd be there to assist Pilot once he's fainted?" Mim's statement was followed by a slight smirk, thinking it was alright to joke around with the avian since they new eachother a hit better.

OOC: Sorry for the delay (last time I posted was last year!) and low quality of the post. I'll try to be quicker in the future.

"Haha, I like that one. Plumpkin. It has a nice ring to it~," Pilot chirped, clearly pleased with Hidon's new nickname. He already had plenty of funny names that he could use... Chubs magee, hotshot, lardass, tubby, and roly poly, just to name a few... But Plumpkin definitely took the cake, providing that Hidon didn't already eat it. "Yeah, I think I'm going to keep calling you that..." The Taillow said with a sly grin creeping up on his beak. Getting under the Charmander's skin was way too easy! In truth, he didn't actually think that Hidon was fat, but the reactions he was getting were hilarious.

"Wait, assist me?" Pilot asked, picking up on Mim's comment to her fellow electric type. He looked more amused than annoyed. "Ha, he doesn't even have a shot! I beat him last time, and I'll do it again! Just watch!" He announced, backing up and getting in a proper battle stance. He turned and gave Hidon a cocky smirk. "Your move, fat boy," He taunted, spreading his wings. His plan was to take off as soon as Hidon charged at him, and start the battle with a Brave Bird. If he got lucky, he could end the battle in a single move...

{OOC: I apologize, I haven't posted since last year! XD}

Energy: 0 (Poisoned)

Mim's comment resulted in a shrug from the mouse. "I dunno, I mean, Hidon's not exactly all that great in battles either. Whooped his tail so bad that I couldn't tell him apart from a bruised Cheri Berry." he taunted with a smirk. Sure, Hidon wouldn't necessarily like it, but it was the first battle Raze had ever won fair and square! Why would he not take advantage of his moment in the spotlight? "Heck, I think that we'd need to help him after Pilot's done with him. How about a friendly little wager? Whoever loses the bet has to... Oh! They have to follow the loser to Dandy's to get dyed! I'll go with Pilot if he loses, and you with Hidon. Deal?" Sure, he had promised to go with either one of them regardless, but having Mim in place of him if Hidon lost (which he was confident in) would relieve the awkward conversation before it happened.

Drawing his attention back to the battle preparations, both of them took up stances. Though he was imagining how Hidon would land after one hit, the Minun felt almost a desire to see him beat the bird. It wouldn't help him very much in the bet, but after all; Pilot seemed fond of him, and accompanying him to Dandy's wouldn't be as bad as he at first thought it would. "...Hey, Hidon! Watch the Brave Bird; there's an opening for a counterattack!" he called over to his Charmander companion. Raze remembered the moment against the two Nidos when the Taillow fell hard after taking his signature attack. Type matchups worked well, but Pilot still seemed very disoriented after the blow. If Hidon landed one hit like that, he would have the advantage to an extent. "Even though I'm betting against you, we don't need an unconscious leader right before the mission!"

Hidon would normally have been more than happy to flash the Helioptile that had just smack-talked the Taillow a grin and a nod of approval. However, he was far too invested in what was going on with Pilot right now to even be able to really tell what she had even said, given that she was so far away from him. This bird-brain had already pushed him with that Plumpkin comment. And now, he was hardly paying any attention to anything else. But thankfully, Pilot said something else in response to Mim himself...and that was something that he could make out loud and clear. He allowed a smug grin to appear on his face again, finally having shaken that terrifying image of a pink Charmander staring at him from a reflection out of his head.

"Ha! That's a good one!" the Charmander replied. "You beating me last time was nothing more than a fluke! Besides, there's no running and hiding from me this time. You can't just fly into a tree and stay out of my reach. I'll be able to blast you right down this time!" His grin widened, ready to show off one of his new attacks. It was going to be a great way to start this battle off...and he couldn't wait to see the look on that bird-brain's face!

But then, suddenly, he heard another voice...this one calling out loudly to him before the battle even started. He immediately lost his train of thought and turned to glare at the Minun that had called out to him. "Can it, Raze!" he growled in annoyance. "If I wanted your help, I'd ask for it! Thanks, but I don't need your help to beat this bird brain! So button it!"

With that said, he turned his attention back to Pilot, pretending that he didn't hear a word of what Raze had said. He went back to formulating his plan on taking his opponent by surprise with a ranged attack. But then he stopped and reconsidered, thinking back once again to that frustratingly annoying "Plumpkin" comment. Nah, he couldn't start this battle from a distance like that. He had to get up close and personal...he had to feel that first blow land! Yeah, that's what he'd do. He nodded and decided on his first attack for sure this time. He suddenly began to rush forward, clenching his fist and pulling it back. He was going to come out, guns blazing! As the Charmander dashed, a blue aura began to emanate from his body. After a moment the aura began to shift, soon surrounding Hidon's body in a draconic shape. But that wasn't the end of it. The aura then began to grow smaller, shifting to cover Hidon's clenched right arm, making it a more concentrated attack. And, in his opinion, much more satisfying to hit with.

He would then swing at Pilot as he drew near, trying to smash the bird brain into the ground with his strongest move right out of the gate...his Dragon Rush punch!

...Of course, the Charmander was completely ignorant of Pilot's plans to fly back and counter. But what did he care? As long as he got to smash his fist into him, he'd be satisfied.

Eep! I'm really really sorry I haven't been replying! I've been too busy too check back ;_;))

Mim quickly began to take precautions the moment her teammates switched stances into something more...feral-like. As if they were about to unleash something fatal on one another, yet neither seemed to flinch. The boney reptilian immidiately took the nessesary steps back. She wouldn't admit it, but she was genuinely scared of the thought of being in their radius, afraid that if they miscalculated a move, she wouldn't be fast enough to dodge it. Another thought then occurred, Raze and Hidon, would they be upset with the fact that she was still all so new to this? Did they already know? Had Pilot already filled them in? She glanced at her feathery friend, smiling just slightly as his wings unfolded.

Mim's attention was then caught by the petite mouse standing beside her. She turned her head towards him mid sentence, conveying no expression until his little 'wager' came up. The slanting look on Mim's face showed her unwillingness to accept. The foreigner said nothing, but instead took a glance down at her rough, scaley skin. She tried her best to imagine them a flourishing pink, she really did. But the thought just made her cringe...

Them again, what were the odds of Pilot really winning? It wasn't like she thought her friend was weak, not at all. He defeated her once. But could his wits help him take down Hidon? She took amother look at Hidon, the determined look it his eye quite reassuring.

It was without a doubt that he'd come out victorious. And really, did Mim have a choice in a matter? She didn't want to appear too soft-skinned in front of her new comrades..

"Alright, sure. I accept, it's on, er-whatever." Mim turned back to the scene just in time to see Hidon preparing for the first move. "You can do it Hidon!"

Pilot smirked as Hidon charged at him, shaking his head in amusement. That's real typical of you, Hotshot... Wow, he's even easier to predict than I thought he was! The bird thought, letting out an excited cackle. He grinned, spreading his wings out wide, and took off just as Hidon came close. "Nnnnope! You're gonna have to be quicker than that! Maybe you should lay off the donuts, tubby!" He called down to the fiery lizard. Just like in their previous brawl, Pilot knew that he could take advantage of Hidon's hot-headed temperament to rile him up. Heh, this is gonna be a breeze! Now that I'm off the ground, all I gotta do is hit him with a Brave Bird! And if that doesn't knock him out, I'll just do it again! He decided, committing to his standard reckless strategy.

Realizing the possibility that Hidon could spit flames at him, the Taillow flew off, steadily gaining altitude and then looping around in a flashy showcase of his flight skills. Then, he let himself drop, accumulating a blistering amount of momentum. At the last moment possible, he leveled out with the ground, propelling him towards Hidon. "Yahhhhh!" The bird let out a high-pitched shriek just before impact, intending on throwing his opponent off.

Hidon thrust his fist forward, but he disappointingly met nothing but air. His Dragon Rush aura faded into nothingness as his attack failed to meet its mark. He scowled, Pilot's ridiculous cackling meeting his ears. Oh how he hated that stupid laugh of his! And of course, that was not the end of it. Naturally, Pilot had to start throwing out those usual taunts and insults as well. A small blush of embarrassment appeared on his face as a result, and he allowed a low, yet audible growl of frustration to escape his throat. "I told you to stop calling me that!" he growled angrily up at the Taillow. "I'm not fat and you know it, so stop!"

A moment later, Hidon opened his maw, ready to blast the Flying-type Pokémon right out of the sky. He unleashed a small barrage of flames, aiming to slam the Taillow in the chest as he flew around in the sky. After all, he had a long-ranged attack this time. Pilot wasn't going to escape him as easily as before! Or at least...so he thought. But as it turned out, Pilot was much too skilled with his flight. No matter how many flames Hidon shot, Pilot was able to dodge or rise above all of his attacks while showing off at the same time. This only continued to infuriate the Charmander, causing him to close his mouth at last and clench his teeth. He needed to hit him...but how was he going to do that? The guy was way too fast and too small a target...

At that moment, he heard somebody shout his name. "Huh...?" the Charmander murmured, looking over and seeing the Helioptile calling out to him and cheering for him. His frustrated scowl quickly turned back into that same confident smirk that he had been sporting a few moments ago. "Yeah, don't worry about a thing, I've got-" he started to reply to his new fan...when suddenly, a loud screech caused him to jump and turn his attention back to the fight. Just as Pilot had planned, the bird Pokémon's shriek threw him completely off. And because he'd let himself get momentarily distracted, it had been especially effective.

Because of that, Hidon stood no chance. The Taillow's Brave Bird struck clean and true, delivering a powerful blow to his torso. "GRAH!" Hidon cried out loud in pain, getting hooked on Pilot's attack. His body was thrown mightily through the air, his back eventually crashing into a nearby tree, resulting in another grunt of pain from him. He then proceeded to fall forward, sinking to his knees. He coughed hard, slightly winded from the powerful blow to his gut. He folded his arms across his stomach.

Knowing how he must look, though, he knew that he couldn't let Pilot get complete satisfaction of that hit. "Ergh...w-was that the best you could do...?" he called out, somewhat unaware of how pathetic that sounded coming from a Pokémon on his knees. Of course, he was far from out, but even he couldn't recover very quickly from such a devastating blow to his midsection....

Energy: 0 (Poisoned)

It would be the biggest lie if Raze was focused on the fight at all. In fact, he was already lost in another daydream, just staring at the confrontation with an empty gaze. In fact, the details didn't really matter when it came down to who ended up on top, right? Why would he really care about the sparring match if he wasn't in it? Pfft, I still think that Pilot's got this in the bag, no doubt. Still... it would be pretty cool to see Hidon win for once. Heck, if he followed my little bit of advice, he might actually stand a chance! the Minun thought with a smirk.

No matter how much the Electric type really wanted to interfere, he still wanted this to be a legit reason to continue as soon as possible. The moment one of them loses, Raze was ready to just leave and take down the outlaw as soon as possible. Out of the sake of boredom, the mouse tuned back into the battle. Hidon was already on his knees? "Really?! I just spaced out for a few seconds and you already fell down? Heh, guess I picked the right Pokémon to bet on!" he taunted with a grin. Now that he was actually paying attention, this was going to be fun. If he kept up the taunts, at least, Hidon would be too distracted thinking of comebacks to even hit Pilot once!

The scrawny little slink watched on, shocked as her familiar was abruptly thrown off his feet. It took several seconds for her to process what had happened, before Mim shamefully brought both her hands up to her face, sealing any further encouragement behind her narrow mouth. Despite her mistake, surely Hidon would survive? It was only the first attack after all... "Heh...You think he'll hate me for that?" The Helioptile would ask the rodent by her side, unable to pry her eyes away from the heated wager.

She focused on the fearsome Tailow as he began to recover from his move, appearing to be in a much better better condition that his fiery opponent. The longer she inspected the Charmander, the thought of lying about her lack of poke to pay for the dye became more...considerable. Still, she wasn't just going to give up on her competitor, she had to let him know that she was still with him behind this bet.

In hopes he would look her way, she mouthed a hasty sorry before giving him two hesitant thumbs up. It was honestly the best she could think of.

After tumbling for several meters, Pilot came to a skidding hault, a bit dazed by the recoil of his own attack. Still, he managed to jump back up to his feet, and hop over to his opponent, who was still recovering from the blow. A cocky grin stretched across his beak as he waited patiently for Hidon to get off of his knees. Somehow, the bird's silence was more insulting than anything he could have said at the time... At that moment, he looked oddly comfortable, sporting a relaxed posture, as if he were already assured of his victory. Yeah, this won't take long... He thought, dusting himself off. And judging by his other partners' comments, they seemed to think the same thing.

The Taillow chuckled when his foe attempted to downplay his Brave Bird attack, despite still struggling to get up. "I mean, I guess I could've hit you a little harder... But I didn't want to give you a concussion before the mission. That doesn't mean I won't knock you out, though~!" He chirped, suddenly rushing at Hidon with a Quick Attack aimed at his gut. It was a reckless move, sure, but he wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. If it dragged on for too long, he'd be too exhausted to help take that outlaw down!