Can't Forget

My name is Markus Cross. My name is Markus Cross. My name is Markus Cross. My name is Markus Cross. My name is Markus Cross. My name...

"...is Markus Cross," I said for the hundredth time.

Even Ivy didn't seem convinced. He just stared at me as we walked.

"Oh, come on!" I said. "That woman was just crazy."

"Naaaa," Ivy said, shaking his head slightly.

I rolled my eyes. "She's just trying to get in my head. I don't know what her plan is, but she's insane. Crazy." Ivy didn't respond.

"I mean, she was waiting in a dark forest in the middle of the night. That just screams 'wacko' to me."

Ivy shot me a quick glance, but said nothing.

"No, I'm not talking to myself! I'm talking to you!"

Ivy was not impressed. I was about to yell at him some more, when something rustled in the trees up ahead. I couldn't tell what it was from this distance; the sun had set a couple of hours ago, and I was relying on the moon and stars for light.

"Get ready, Ivy," I said. "I think something's coming!"

Something sure was coming. You see a ripple in the grass. As it moves towards you, the trail of grassed behind it is left dried out and yellow. Finally, it peeks out of the opening. It's a Firant! It seems to be just on its way. Will you let it go or are you ready for a fight?

[4] :firant: [Male] [21]

I paused for a moment to consider my options. Ivy might have been stronger than the Firant, but the Firant had the type advantage. It would be risky to send Ivy into battle.

But then again, I wasn't the one who got to choose, was I?

"Ivy, do you think-"

When I looked up, Ivy was already waddling forward, gurgling. He lifted a vine, prepared to lash out at the enemy with a pound.

Ivy hit Firant with a might Pound, but Firant had a reply up his sleeves. Or rather within his thorax. He spat out Acid all over the Venap. Ouch! This burning sensation. What could it be? It burned through Ivy's plant material like fire, so that's what it had to be. Ivy flailed around, trying to get rid of the invisible fire that had covered its body. While he didn't succeed in stemming the pain, he did succeed in whacking Firant several more time, dealing much more damage than he had done with the initial blow.

[6] :venap: [Male] [22/28]
[4] :firant: [Male] [8/21]

"Good job, Ivy!" I yelled out as I wiped some of the acid off of my shoes. It didn't seem strong enough to burn a hole through to my socks, but it did leave a stain. "Keep 'em coming! Use another pound!"

Ivy let out a raspy battle cry and charged forward to engage the enemy once again.

Ivy managed a hard knock to the head of the fiery ant, nearly taking it down for the count. But this little ant wasn't done yet as it quickly retaliated with a blast of toxic acid. It stung Ivy even more, and wore its way through Ivy's tough outer layer, leaving him a more vulnerable.

[6] :venap: [Male] [16/28] [Sp. Def -1]
[4] :firant: [Male] [2/21]

Ivy was beginning to look a little tired, but I didn't let it bother me. If I worried every time Ivy took a hit, we wouldn't be able to make it very far.

"Quick! Finish it off with a pound!" I yelled.

OOC: Is it alright for us to request our Early Bird Promo Pokemon here? Because I'd like to claim a Grific, but I was hoping that I could battle it first.

OOC: Yes you may. Things that make the game harder are generally allowed I think. I'll let you do whatever story you like with it to begin with

Donk! Ivy hit the Firant on the head and it fainted.

[6] :venap: [Male] [16/28] [Sp. Def -1]
[4] :firant: [Male] [0/21] [Fainted]

Ivy gained 27 EXP!

I petted Ivy on the head for his success, and he let out a gurgling purr.

"You hungry?" I fished out some of the Pokemon food I picked up earlier. "You seemed to like this one." I opened a can of brown sludge and handed it to Ivy. He took it in his little arms and dumped it on the ground, covering it with dirt, before he began scooping it up with his vines and shoveling it into his mouth.

I watched in disgusted awe for a moment before I noticed that my own stomach was growling. I pulled a sleeve of crackers and a jar of peanut butter out of my backpack. The breakfast of champions. Actually, more like the midnight snack of champions, this late at night.

As I opened the crackers, something swooped down from the trees, snatching my tasty snack.

"Hey! Give those back!" I shouted. Squinting my eyes, I followed the bird's movement until it landed on a branch of a nearby tree. "Those are mine!" I sternly informed it.

"Caw," it replied, staring straight at me. It then very carefully removed a single cracker from the sleeve, tilted its head to one side and... CRUNCH.

"Oh, that's IT!" I yelled. I looked at Ivy, who had just finished his meal, and pointed at the enemy Grific. "Make it pay for its thievery! Ivy, use pound!"

Grific was faster than Ivy expected. Though Ivy was snappy and made aggressive motions, the intelligent Grific, dodged backward for the moment, fending Ivy off with a Growl. Ivy was strongly affected. He shook his head, and moved once more towards Grific. However, just as he made his attack, the fright he had received softened his blow a bit, making his attack less effective.

[6]:venap:[Male] [28/28] [-1 Attack]
[5]:grific:[Male] [19/23]

"Come on, Ivy! Don't let him scare you! Intimidate him with a leer!"

Venap got ready his attack, but was totally taken aback when Grific smashed him with a furious assault of his beak. Venap's crisp plant cells snapped and gashed with each strike, and Venap was very weak after the assault. Even then, he still managed to leer menacingly at Grific, unnerving him and making him more vulnerable to attacks.

[6]:venap:[Male] [14/28] [-1 Attack]
[5]:grific:[Male] [19/23] [-1 Defense]