Battling Pokemon Information:

{Charmander} 97% ; Healthy
September ; Female ; Level 15 ; Blaze
Scratch, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Ember
No Item

BC: 0/5
Healing: 0/2

--

Alastair was so involved in his work, and September and Potato so intent on playing, that no one noticed the Ralts approach the group. August gave a small snort at the little Pokemon but she was too focused on ripping up whatever plant life was around the camp. The Ralts walked up to Alastair and looked at him, then she tugged on his sleeve.

"Hm?" he hummed, still not looking up from his work. The Ralts tugged harder this time. Before Alastair could turn to look at it, and realize it wasn't one of his Pokemon, Ember had already hit the Ralts away. The sudden movement had Alastair jumping up onto his feet, the papers he was mulling over dropping to the ground. He took off his reading glasses and looked at the hurt Ralts.

"Ember!" he hissed at the Charmander. The Charmander didn't waste time and charged at the Ralts. The Pokemon got up and let out a growl, but shortly after it was hit with a metal claw. "Stop!"

Alastair yanked September up and held the struggling Charmander. He had to find out what was wrong with her, this was just ridiculous! The Ralts didn't even do anything! September struggled out of his hands and gave him a talking to in growls and hisses. Alastair put his hands on his hips, a firm expression on his face. "Don't sass me," he said. September rolled her eyes.

A powerful blast hit her back, but she didn't skid too far. The Ralts was pretty weak compared to September, and the Confusion had done little. Ember spun around and charged, hitting the Ralts with a scratch. The Ralts stumbled back from the hit and bumped against one of Alastair's bags. A pokeball rolled out and bumped the Ralt's foot. The Pokemon was dragged in and Alastair sighed. Sure. Why not?

--
Battle Recap:

Battled Level 8 Ralts!
Capture Attempted: Yes

Item Used: 1 Pokeball (left in bag: 3)

Previous Information:
Nothing to report.

Sometimes you have to run away! You live to see another day!

Battling Pokemon Information:

{Charmander} 57% ; Healthy
September ; Female ; Level 15 ; Blaze
Scratch, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Ember
No Item

BC: 1/5
Healing: 0/2

--

Alastair healed the Ralts, patching up her wound the best he could. What was he going to do with this Pokemon? He knew as soon as he got within range of a PC's signal she would be transported to the box, but right now this was just... he had no idea what to do other than care for her and keep her safe. He looked up and scanned the area. Where was September? She had just been there a minute ago, inspecting the newly caught Ralts. She couldn't have gotten far, considering Alastair had her pokeball with him. The most she could go was at least a hundred feet.

The sign of smoke told him all too well what was going down. He recalled the Ralts into her pokeball and rushed off to see what was happening. By the time he got there, he knew it was too late to calm down the situation. September had unleashed a smokescreen and was hiding somewhere in it from the upset Flaaffy.

The sheep looked around, spinning on its heels to try and find the Charmander. Before long a bout of embers came out of the smoke and hit the Flaaffy on the back. The smoke was then refreshed. The Flaaffy gave a cry and began to take in electricity, storing it within its fur, ready to unleash a powerful attack.

September came to a halt in front of the Flaaffy, who was still focused on charging up electricity, and let out another burst of embers. The Flaaffy shook itself out and then gave another cry. September darted into the smoke surrounding them in an attempt to dodge the incoming Thundershock, but it hit her right on the tail. September halted in shock at the pain and inspected her tail. The flame at the end grew brighter and she shook herself. It would take more than that!

The Flaaffy grabbed some of the cotton around its neck and threw it at September, gathering it around her in a thick blanket. September spit out flames and caught most of it on fire, basking in the comfortable heat as the cotton burned off. A few strands, covered in protective dirt, stuck to her legs and to the ground. It would effectively slow her.

The Flaaffy gathered up more electricity with another Charge and then let it out swiftly in another Thundershock. September growled and spun around, kicking up sand to help prevent part of the attack from hitting her. The majority of the attack slammed into her, but Alastair had to mention he was impressed. The earth was an effective tool to blocking electric attacks, even if a Pokemon wasn't a ground type. By using the dirt, September was able to avoid a little bit of damage. Although the majority still hit her, and it was obvious it hurt, she was still standing tall.

September tore off the rest of the cotton and shook herself free of it. Fire spouted from her mouth and she rushed at the Flaaffy, letting out a fierce ember right up to the sheep's face. The Flaaffy cried out and stumbled back. The sheep hesitated for a moment, obviously hurt after the battle and probably the part Alastair had missed. It gave September a glare before limping off. September stood there with a proud look in her eyes, her chest puffed out, but she had taken quite the hit. She faltered in her step when returning to Alastair, and her body had been burned slightly by the electrical attacks. Honestly, Alastair was surprised she wasn't paralyzed, but if he didn't treat her soon, she might be.

He scooped her up and carried her back to camp. He sat her down and started to slowly wipe away the dirt on her scales. "Aren't you just a little trooper?" he said to her. September gave him a playful growl but laid still. "Please don't wander off like that again. If you had gotten paralyzed, how would you have come back? Especially if I didn't come find you?"

He didn't expect an answer, but he knew September got the warning. Luck had a habit of running out.

--
Battle Recap:

Battled Level 18 Flaaffy!
Capture Attempted: No

Item Used: None

Previous Information:
Nothing to report.

Sometimes you have to run away! You live to see another day!

Battling Pokemon Information:

{Charmeleon} 57% ; Healthy
September ; Female ; Level 16 ; Blaze
Scratch, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Ember
No Item

BC: 1/5
Healing: 0/2

(note: she'll evolve via thread before she has another battle, that way it makes more sense, but all her stuff has been updated}

--

He scribbled down some notes in his notebook, working a little more before he had to get dinner ready. Tomorrow, he planned to head out and gather some actual field notes by observing his Pokemon and what they did if he gave them, more or less, free reign. If he found another trainer or two, then he would have to ask them to be in the study. Besides, battles were a good way to study bonds. But outside of battles was just as important. There was no doubt most of Alastair's Pokemon were somewhat obedient. Except for September. She always gave him the most problems. Especially recently. Her attitude has been border-line impossible to handle and right now it was even worse. She was scratching along rocks, yowling like she was in pain sometimes, and even picked fights with Tuesday. It got so bad that Alastair had to recall the gentle Lapras and forcefully recall September. Not that she stayed in her pokeball.

Alastair, being the researcher he was, started to take notes on her behavior. She wasn't sick, a quick exam told him that. She had nothing that might be causing her discomfort. No thorns in her feet or scratches. Her fire had gotten much hotter and so had her tail, but given the fact that she was so agitated he wouldn't have expected anything less.

"What is up with you?" he asked her. September wasn't listening. She had finally wore herself out and was sleeping next to him, her tail curled away from his body. Alastair had invested in some not-quite-fire-proof-but-better-than-the-other-stuff clothing a while ago, but she was still somewhat careful after the last few times. The only active Pokemon was Potato. He was out trotting around, head held high while he kept watch. Leap was sleeping next to Alfredo, the two taking most of the watches at night. Alastair felt bad for them, but with September acting out and with Tuesday being pretty damn useless on land, he had no other choice. He tried to keep watch himself but Alfredo would have none of it.

Potato trotted over to him and dropped a slobber covered object on the ground. Alastair searched in his bag for a cloth. He wiped off the slobber and inspected the item. Oh? A berry? "Where did you find this?" he asked. There were no trees near here. Potato gave him a whine. Fair enough. Alastair looked back over to Alfredo and Leap. Then over to August. She was laying on the ground, getting roughly the two or so hours she needed off of her hooves. September was still snoozing peacefully, too. "Go to sleep, buddy. I'll keep watch."

He got up and Potato took his spot next to September, laying his head on her. Alastair put up his notebook and grabbed some rations from another bag and sat down a little ways from the camp. He looked both ways down the canyon and sighed. It was horribly cold. He could see his breath. Alastair huddled into his jacket and looked up at the stars. What a clear night.

--
Battle Recap:

Battled Level ? here!
Capture Attempted: No

Item Used: None

Previous Information:
Nothing to report.

Sometimes you have to run away! You live to see another day!

Battling Pokemon Information:

{Poochyena} 96% ; Healthy
Potato ; Male ; Level 12 ; Run Away
Tackle, Howl, Sand Attack, Bite
No Item

BC: 1/5
Healing: 0/2

--

The morning had been hectic. First, Alastair was woken up by a fighting September and Potato. The poor puppy was rushing away from the Charmander, trying to keep his tail was catching on fire. Alfredo had gotten involved and September did not want anyone stepping in. The cat and the lizard fought pretty viciously before Alastair was able to tear them apart, getting quite a few scratches on his arms. Second, September wouldn't eat breakfast and was even more disobedient than she had been the day before.

Alastair was confused with her. His little Charmander was an angel sometimes, but then a demon other times. He was growing more and more concerned as the morning weaned on. Eventually, he decided to just deal with it and head out into the field. There was actual work to be done today and that involved looking for Pokemon or maybe lost trainers. Today was the day that data was gathered in battle.

After getting everything ready and saddling August, Alastair was off, leaving only Leap and Alfredo behind to watch the camp. The Beldum was a very good watcher, and he didn't sleep often. That and Leap was one of the only Pokemon on Alastair's team that was fine with the heat but was also rather comfortable just moving back and forth, over and over again. Alfredo, on the other hand, would make sure everything else was fine.

September and Potato were both coming with Alastair, along with Tuesday, but the Lapras would remain in his pokeball. September would be battling today, or, Alastair assumed she would be. If only to help her relax and release her pent up energy. Whereas Potato was there for support and to continue fighting if September no longer could. That was the plan.

Plans never worked out, not in reality. Half way into their travels, Potato had reacted to a scent. He jumped off the saddle and began to chase it. Alastair turned August and followed. The Duskull was hard to spot at first, hidden in the shadows of part of the canyon wall.

Potato kept barking at it, luring it out of the shadows. The golden puppy seemed bent on fighting the ghost type, but September was already charging in there. She spat out embers at the ghost, but the Duskull slid to the side. The Duskull shivered and the shadows grew slightly longer around it, before a dark pulse shot out at September. August let out a loud call at September, the little Charmander struggling to withstand the constant force of the attack.

Alastair was about to call it quits for her, a hand already on her pokeball. That was, until September gave a steadfast cry and took a step forward. Her claws moved down, finishing off the Duskull's attack. She was changing. The first thing Alastair noticed was the glow--well, who wouldn't? The second thing? Her tail got longer. And so did her legs, and her arms. Almost as fast as it had started, that mystical glow that confused scientist around the world faded, and a Charmeleon stood in the Charmander's place. The fire lizard let out a cry, her voice deeper and stronger than before. Alastair was sure she was going to rush the Duskull, to settle the score, but Potato beat her to the punch.

The wounds on September's arms from blocking the Night Shade was all too obvious to the little puppy. The speed at which those little, stubby, golden legs moved was enough to surprise the Duskull, giving Potato enough time to latch onto its face with a firm bite.

The Duskull gave a screech of pain and reared back, shaking the dog off of it. Potato hit the ground hard, but got up and shook out his fur. He gave a loud bark at the Duskull. The ghost type was quick to use Night Shade, but the move only knocked Potato back a little bit from force. The puppy stared at the Duskull, a wicked look in his eyes. Dark over ghost, that was the way of nature. The Duskull, now realizing its predicament, seemed a little more hesitant and nervous. Potato rushed it again, biting the ghost right before it fled into the canyon wall, leaving to lick its wounds in peace. Potato barked at the rock wall for a solid minute, before he turned and trotted over to September. He gave her wounded arms a lick and wagged his tail.

September grumbled something to him and made her way over to Alastair, a look of sorrow and embarrassment on her face. Alastair sighed. Well, that was one mystery solved. Maybe she just couldn't wait to evolve? That primal nature to fight in order to grow stronger in her?

"Good to have you back, you know," he said to her, leaning down from the saddle to pat her head. September gave a happy gurgle and nuzzled into his touch. "Now come on, we need to get to work. You guys moved too fast for me to take any notes. You also didn't even let me give any orders."

The two whined up at him. Alastair shrugged. He personally didn't care. Pokemon had been fighting for millions of years and they had been changing and evolving for so long, they knew what to do when it came to a fight. The only time he would be really upset was if they were in a trainer battle. Pokemon under human command were a little different than under their own. For one, battles tended to get very heated very fast. Humans weren't good at much, and they weren't that smart, but they knew how to see things that might be missed in the heat of the moment. Pokemon knew how to use themselves and their elements to the best of their ability. The combination was something fierce.

Humans and Pokemon... amazing how creatures that were so strong and so powerful and so intelligent listened to humans. Why? Pokemon could break out of their pokeballs, smash the pokeballs, and even kill humans if they damn well pleased, but the majority of them didn't. Alastair was not a believer in the idea that pokeballs forcefully tamed a Pokemon. He wanted whoever came up with that idea to meet a Zebstrika called "Kickin' Your Ass". That Zebstrika was vicious when it was captured and it was vicious in training and racing. Alastair still had back-aches.

Regardless, he could learn a lot from his own Pokemon. He had stayed up late last night after being on watch developing a little test and he couldn't wait to put it into action. He just had to find a good time to do so.

--
Battle Recap:

Battled Level 10 Duskull!
Capture Attempted: No

Item Used: None

Previous Information:
{Charmeleon}; BC: 1/5, Healthy

Sometimes you have to run away! You live to see another day!