First Encounter (Catching)

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

PASS

Despite his seemingly uncaring attitude, Treecko remained very much on alert as he continued to crawl along the edge of the roofop. Ryusuke wasn't wrong in that he felt very much at home between the hot sun above them and the salt in the air, the sound of the water off to their side beyond the docks. They'd traveled across a fair portion of Hoenn within the last year, but many of the bigger cities were very much like Eridani in that regard. Lilycove, Rustboro, Slateport.... even Petalburg had been practically within spitting distance of its own shoreline. Even back in that region, though, the wild Pokemon had presented their own dangers. Not, however, without a fair number of more harmless inhabitants as well, and it seemed that Eridani was no exception to that. While he and Ryusuke had ventured out looking for something of a challenge or perhaps even a potential team member, the first thing that found them was a very familiar sight indeed.

It was high, too far above either of them for the pair to consider engaging, but Treecko doubted that either one of them had any interest in doing so. Wingull had been a common sight back in Hoenn as well, by and large something that most simply accepted as a local resident. For the most part they didn't really do much to offend. Infamous for picking at trash and frequenting seaside restaurants, sure, but not particularly strong nor were they overly aggressive. Curious, perhaps, as the bird above them was beginning to circle above and drop a bit lower to get a better look at the green reptile crawling along the roof, but as Treecko kept an eye on the bird it would simply wheel off to investigate something else that had caught its eye in the next street over.

Yellow eyes briefly following the wild Pokemon, Treecko would soon continue on his way with Ryusuke still tailing behind on the street below.

New city, new region. Where to first?

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

PASS

Continuing to follow Treecko from below, Ryusuke nearly didn't realize that there was another wild Pokemon just around the corner of the building ahead... at least not until he heard the growl. That sound very quickly pulled Ryusuke's attention back to the street he was on and away from the Grass type exploring the roofs above and stopped the trainer in his tracks. Not quickly enough, however, to prevent the Pokemon living on the docks from taking rather personal offense to the intrusion and settling into a low defensive stance, sparks of blue electricity dancing over its fur.

Like the Wingull, though, it was one that Ryusuke was quite familiar with. The place that he'd found it, though, was very different from past experiences.

Generally speaking, Electrike tended to prefer wood and grasslands, and were actually quite common where he'd grown up. Common enough that Ryusuke had taken warning shots from them before and it was no experience he particularly wanted to repeat - moreover, that had been back before two of his limbs had been replaced by metal. Metal and electricity, not a good combination in safety, not a good combination with Pokemon.

"Eeeeasy, now. Not here for a fight. Not with you, anyways." Ryusuke started, voice low and as unthreatening as he could make it. His gloved hands were held in the air in front of him, right where the Pokemon could see them as Ryusuke started taking a step back - even that movement, though, caused more electricity to arc over the Pokemon and thus it was something he immediately stopped. Much as Ryusuke wanted to avoid a fight here, it wasn't the ideal situation. Treecko was still up on the roofs and quite possibly oblivious to the new development. He still had his dad's old Charmander, but he was temperamental under the best of circumstances and it was a neutral type match up which meant the Electrike was going to have a solid advantage if it got the first hit in, something practically guaranteed as Charmander was still in his Pokeball. And what about abilities? Was it Static or Lightningrod? What moves did it have? How strong was it in a general sense? All very good and very important questions, none of which Ryusuke had immediate answers to.

All of which quickly became a moot point, however. Something large and metal would crash down next to the Electrike from above, drawing in the reactionary blast of electricity before something followed it down. Landing on the other side of Electrike and legs buckling slightly from the distance, Treecko would immediately turn and run past Electrike as the vines from a stealthily dropped Leech Seed suddenly burst over the Electrike and began grounding the electric shocks. Seeing the opportunity to get out without an actual fight, Ryusuke didn't waste a moment sprinting past the immobilized Pokemon to catch up with Treecko.

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

CATCH

"Cut it a bit close back there, you know what happens when you go off on your own." Ryusuke said, words slightly drawn out by his breathing as the trainer sprinted after Treecko and away from the place of the Electrike encounter. For his part Treecko merely grunted back without slowing his pace. Despite there being something of a point to the callout, fact was that there had never been a time in all the years they'd known each other that the Grass type had dropped the ball in such a situation. Ryusuke knew it, Treecko knew that Ryusuke knew it thus neither one really took the words seriously. It hadn't come to that, though, and while it may've been flippant after cutting it so close Treecko was fairly confident that it never would.

Another few minutes would continue to pass as the pair put more and more distance between themselves and the last Pokemon until Treecko suddenly came to a stop, Ryusuke nearly stepping on the reptile before realizing the change in pace and doing the same himself. Initially unsure as to the reason why the blond would start to turn his gaze downwards only to suddenly see the reason why - although that itself was fairly confusing in its own right. Treecko himself seemed slightly unsure how to handle things as their path was blocked by a Pokemon roughly the same size that he was - clearly a Water type, although not one that Ryusuke was overly familiar with. Whatever it was, though, the Pokemon's stance was clearly aggressive even if it hadn't made any moves against them yet. Rather, it would begin speaking instead, words clearly directed at Treecko rather than Ryusuke.

("Saw what you did to that Electrike back there. Care to try again?")

Blinking for a moment, Treecko didn't immediately respond as he took a moment to glance back at Ryusuke instead, the trainer more confused than anything else at the exchange. To be completely honest Ryusuke hadn't understood a single thing that the Water type had said - truthfully, based on the stance he had been expecting it to immediately attack once it had their attention, and while Ryusuke got enough out of the Pokemon's tone to gather that a challenge was made it was impossible to be sure without Treecko's input.

Input that Treecko wasn't apparently willing to give or elaborate on, either because there wasn't any need or because he assumed Ryusuke got whatever the Grass type had out of that. Moving to stand on his hind legs, Treecko would take several steps away from Ryusuke to prevent any wayward attacks from hitting the trainer, the Froakie's eyes following the Grass type the entire time. While it probably would've been safe to assume that he held a solid advantage under normal circumstances, Treecko was unusually on guard as he took that moment to size up his opponent. He had to assume the other Pokemon knew their typing and had to assume there was a reason it felt confident enough to challenge him as it evidently saw what happened to the Electrike earlier - and while Treecko himself was many things, making blind assumptions wasn't something he did often. Another moment would pass as both Pokemon waited for the other to make a move.

("Grass type, aren't you? Scared of the big bad Water type?") The Froakie jeered, getting a clear sense of enjoyment out of the fact that Treecko was showing a clear sense of caution. With that, however, the amphibian took the first move.

Mouth opening wide, Treecko was already moving as a stream of bubbles suddenly foamed up and was projected at the Grass type in a semi-solid stream. To be frank, the Grass type was already surprised at the speed of the attack - the Froakie didn't look like it was any further along than Treecko himself was, at least as far as evolution went, and it was a very rare occurrence to find another Pokemon like that able to match him for speed. The thought was only further reinforced as Treecko nearly lost track of Froakie behind the mass of foam as it suddenly rushed him, little hand clenched into a fist that would land a clean hit on the Grass type's face with Pound a moment later. Any sense of self restraint that he might've had before was suddenly replaced with a sense of burning irritation, and Treecko didn't try to disengage and put distance between himself and his opponent. Hands instead finding their way to the Water type's shoulders, Treecko's feet would likewise come up to the other Pokemon's stomach as Treecko fell back from the punch. Giving a wordless yelp of surprise, Froakie would go right with him as the Grass type's adhesive fingers and toes were now latched onto his opponent - and just as quickly as that happened the Water type would realize that something was very wrong as he felt his strength suddenly leaving him. Tumbling to the ground in a mass of flailing limbs, Treecko wouldn't waste a single second repositioning himself atop his opponent's back and shifting one arm around Froakie's neck, the second arm pinning the Pokemon to the ground beneath him as the reptile continued to keep Absorb going. It might not have been the most conventional means of dealing with an opponent and not a method really viable with Pokemon larger than Treecko was, but here and now it was ideal and made the Pokemon glad he'd attended his trainer's classes back in Hoenn as the Water type beneath him continued to struggle, letting out a number of more colorful words and expletives that didn't warrant any sort of translation or response.

Several more seconds would pass as Treecko continued to drain his opponent's strength, the Froakie's struggles growing weaker and weaker in the process. Eyes flicking up to Ryusuke, Treecko would let out a sharp bark - not one that Ryusuke entirely understood word for word, but enough of the intent came through to tell Ryusuke that he was to be ready for something. Hand dipping down into his bag, the blond fished around for a moment before pulling out an empty Pokeball, and the moment that Treecko's eyes locked onto the orb Ryusuke knew he'd interpreted the Pokemon's message correctly. Waiting just long enough for the trainer to get his throw ready, Treecko would suddenly jump clear of Froakie with a disorienting kick to the already weakened Pokemon's head. Dazed and barely having enough energy to move, the Water type never stood a chance as Ryusuke threw the ball, the orb bouncing off of the Pokemon once before sucking Froakie inside. Dropping to the ground next to where Froakie had been a moment before the Pokeball would begin rocking in place, red light blinking.

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