Hoofing It [OPEN]

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

Ruth wandered along a road, face deep in a large map, obscuring her her view from anything and everything that laid ahead of her. We're not too sure how she got here, still far, far away from home, but luckily for this narrator, neither did she. For all intents and purposes though, thank goodness for friendly trainers who've helped her along, guiding her towards semi-functioning means of public transit, whenever she insisted NOT riding on their Pokemon. She was a girl on a mission, with no intent or means to capture Pokemon or battle, allowing others to help if not out of kindness, then out of pity. But enough about the before. This is the now. And now, as Ruth walked along, Zivilyn, her Hawlucha, was pummeling and body-slamming Sevipers.

"Wow, the road to Pastoria City is a long one."

Au contraire. She's heading west of Hearthome City, bless her soul.

"At least it's pretty scenic...! I hear a waterfall and everything, Zivilyn!"

Her Hawlucha hurls a Seviper into a bush, then chirps as he leaps into the tall grass to grab another one in a headlock. Preemptive strike. With a few punches, he throws that one into a Psyduck.

"It sounds kinda far though, so it's probably over this hill..."

--Mountain side. Her Hawlucha pants as he tackles a Machop into the ground, then kicks it into another bush. He runs back, barely keeping up, offering a reassuring claws-up.

"But don't worry. We made it this far, Zivilyn! S-sure, we might be going through another cave, and it's probably full of even MORE freaky-looking Pokemon I didn't know existed, but with you, I feel like I can do ANYTHING!!"

Zivilyn wheezes and falls onto a knee. Chirpy chirp.

"Oh! Zivilyn! Are you alright--?!"

A WILD MEDITITE APPEARS!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

[KADE VICTORY]

She heard screaming.

That's what came first - screaming.  Her Ponyta whinnied in protest, rearing enough that the precariously-balanced Espeon fell off.  Kade held on, clutching the reins she had as she whispered calm words to her.  The Espeon - Lilac - had bolted off.

"Lilac?" Kade called.  The Espeon poked her head from some bushes and Kade gave a relieved sigh.  Lilac waved her tail like a flag, signaling she wanted to be followed.  Kade hopped off her Ponyta, guiding the Pokemon gently.  The Ponyta had no saddle, probably because Kade only needed the reins to hold on.  When Flame - that is, the Ponyta - first joined her party, she rode without reins.  And failed over and over again.  Flames are not the easiest things to grab ahold of...

But simply moving not too far ahead revealed a frightened human girl, an exhausted Pokemon, and a wild Pokemon.  Kade took a moment to come to the conclusion of what these Pokemon were:

The tired one was a Hawlucha, and the one in front of them was a Meditite.  Silently waiting for a response.  Oh, dear.  Kade glanced at Lilac.  The Espeon lept in front of the Hawlucha with a cry.  The Meditite's eyes flashed, looking at the Espeon's forehead gem in what Kade knew to be a psychic attack.  "Meditite!"  Mind reader.  She'd bet a dollar.  Kade grimaced.

"Okay, Lilac!  Let's do this thing - we'll start off strong.  Use your psybeam!"

Lilac nodded once and lept forward.  "Espe!" she cried, and a small flash of light hit the Meditite.  He blinked, shook his head, and then glared.  "Med!"  Kade crossed her arms unhappily.  She so badly wanted him to have been confused, but there was such a low chance with a psybeam.

The Meditite attacked.  "Med-med-medi!" it cried as it jumped in the air, spun, and then kicked out.  Lilac was hit, being thrown back into the Hawlucha.  But the Espeon recovered quickly, shaking her head.

"Time for future sight!"

"Espeon!" Of course it appeared that Lilac didn't do anything, but she did.  She did indeed.  "Medi?  Meditite!" cried the wild Pokemon as it ran and pushed its palm against Lilac (probably Force Palm.  Dangit!).  The Espeon was hit again.  She looked tired.

"Morningsun, Lilac, use your  Morningsun attack!" Kade cried.  The Espeon glowed briefly, feeling re-energized just as the Meditite used Swagger.

Now Lilac was trying to shake off the confusion, looking around blearily - but Meditite found itself pushed back as Lilac's Future Sight attack finally worked.  The Meditite took a look at the Ponyta and ran off, deciding that even if it won the battle against the Espeon it would have at least one more Pokemon to face.

Kade came over and scooped her Espeon up, letting Flame snort in the Meditite's direction, stomping her hoof.  Now she could worry about the other two, since she chased off the Meditite.

"Are you okay?" Kade asked the human girl.  "Your Pokemon looks exhausted!  That Meditite must have come at a bad time, huh?  Do you need a ride to the nearest Pokemon center for him?"  She looked sympathetically at the human, worried obviously.

The confusion wore off, and Lilac hopped from her trainer's arms.  She went over to the Hawlucha and nudged him, offering the bigger creature a ride on her back.  Even though there was no way she could carry him.

[ZACHARY HAZEL]

try not to mistake

WHAT YOU HAVE WITH WHAT YOU HATE

Sinnoh wasn't exactly the professor's favorite place on Pokearth – not by a long shot – but when duty came a'knocking at his rotting door and he didn't feel like getting fired anytime soon, a trip to one region or the other wasn't always avoidable. This was, as one could tell, one of these cases. The long boat ride from Hoenn in the west had taken him to the ports in Canalave, an ever since, he had been alternating between flying on whatever flying-type felt like carrying him the most at any moment, or taking in the scenery on foot. Hearthome was the destination he had his eyes set on, seeing as he was supposed to meet up with a few other well renowned researchers and exchange ideas, report findings, and such. By now, he'd just gotten out of one of two major tunnels through the region's signature mountain range and the city was but a few cliff sides away. At this rate, he would be there within an hour or so on foot. It wouldn't take him fifteen minutes in air.

Zach was about to pull out a Pokeball with the intent to release Viento, his Pidgeot, to hitch a ride on her when a flurry of strange things happened and shot his focus to death. First: a scream; second: the sound of hoofprints swiftly approaching; third: a pale-haired woman on a Ponyta racing past him and nearly toppling him over in the process; fourth: the sound of a Pokemon battle just up ahead. Readjusting the sunglasses that had been knocked askew from where they rested on the bridge of his nose, the blond tried to gather his bearings for a moment before really doing much. It wasn't like he was going to be late for his meeting, or anything, so a few moments of... doing nothing weren't exactly going to hurt anyone. But curiosity – and, admittedly, a bit of anger from nearly getting knocked to the ground by a racing Ponyta – got the better of him, and he found himself making his way down the higher elevations in search of where the Pokemon battle took place.

Two girls. That was the first thing he noticed. Two girls – one with black hair longer than he'd seen on, well, anyone and the other with white hair tied up in a high ponytail – were conversing with one another in the wake of the battle that had taken place. And Espeon dazed. A Hawlucha about ready to pass out. A frustrated Meditite brushing past his leg as it absconded the heck out of there. Once again curious, he made his way down to the two just in time to hear the older of the two ask, “Are you okay? Your Pokemon looks exhausted! That Meditite must have come at a bad time, huh? Do you need a ride to the nearest Pokemon Center for him?” Coming up within conversational distance, he cut in. “I can get you there faster.” Eyeing the psychic-type who seemed to have just snapped out of confusion, then the duel fighting-flying-and-fighting-type who still looked about ready to collapse at any given moment, he added, “I've got some medical supplies in my pack, too, if you wanna give 'em something before it's falling over like some block tower made by a three-year-old.” The crimson-eyed professor then nodded to the white-haired trainer. “Nice battle. Didn't see too much, but ya' had that Meditite runnin' for the hills pretty good, so it couldn't 've been too bad.”

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

Are you okay, asked the white-haired girl, who battled the wild Pokemon on her behalf.

"Abbgaah--"

Your Pokemon looks exhausted, she then exclaims. The Hawlucha lets out a wheeze and raises a claw, as if signifying "I'm okay!" It climbs to its feet with the Espeon's help, and with some shakiness. The Meditite is brought up.

"THAT'S what it's called?!"

Hey, the fella called itself that. Who are we to judge, human. Then, the R-word is brought up. Ride. Ruth casts a glance at the possible means of transport: The Ponyta. A flaming ungulate. She pales. Her eyes shoot everywhere, checking if anything else was on fire while it was standing there. Especially the map she... Tore in half while screaming.

"UHH--!"

And lo, another stranger arrives, and offers something much more preferable to riding the inferno on hooves. Vastly more preferable. Ruth let out a huge sigh of relief as color return to her cheeks.

"Yes, please! Oh my goodness, thank you you two!"

The Hawlucha chirps, taking some offense to Zach's comment, and toddles closer to be treated. He casts a reassuring look to the Ponyta, and raises a hand to let it know that if Ruth's hesitance was sensed, there was no offense meant.

"I'm Ruth. Ruth Iegriyega...! Nice to meet you both, even if the first thing I technically greeted you with was 'aaaaaaaaaaaa', haha~ Wow, that must've carried... Let me tell ya, caves and screaming do not get along. Not like I TRY to scream in caves, or out in the open, but the more you know!"

Said Captain Obvious, as she offers her hand to shake both Kade's and Zach's.

[KADE VICTORY]

"I'm Kade," the white-haired girl offered cheerfully.  She wiggled her fingers in a little wave as the other stranger approached - this one older.  

The Ponyta huffed at the Hawlucha's attempt at peacemaking, but shakes her head.  She'd burn the girl multiple times before she'd get on anyway.  Her irritation is mostly faked and not at all serious.

Kade blinked as Ruth trailed on a bit, shrugging and accepting the handshake.  To the other stranger, she commented.  "Thanks, but I wasn't at the top of my game.  I think he was mostly intimidated by Flame here.  She can be scary."  Kade grinned and shrugged.  Lilac looked back at Kade and huffed.  Kade made a face.  "I wasn't at the top of my game.  My Espeon did wonderfully."  She put a firm emphasis on that comment, crossing her arms and making a face at the Espeon still trailing after the Hawlucha.  Lilac wanted to make sure her fellow Pokemon was going to be okay, and sometimes that meant making sure they weren't about to fall over.

"Okay, I also know that Ponyta are the fastest runners on the continent, so I'm guessing you have a flying type Pokemon large enough to carry people," Kade pointed out.  "Or more?"  The last part was a question.

She knew some trainers 'specialized' in Pokemon.  It was silly to her.  Yes, she liked her fire and psychic type Pokemon, but really that was because of her first two.  And ghost Pokemon, like her Litwick.  Speaking of.  Ruth seemed scared of Pokemon.  The first step was going to get the Hawlucha taken care of, and the second step was to accustom Ruth to probably Lit and Flame.  She noted her wish to make the human girl not be afraid.  Pokemon weren't scary.  They were friends.  She paused and glanced at the other person.

"I'll race you," she offered, "While you're flying Ruth and her Hawlucha, I'll go on my Ponyta.  It'll be a real challenge."  Then she looked at the Ponyta, rubbed the Pokemon's nose.  "Whaddya say, Flame?"  The Pokemon nodded her head.  Kade grinned.  "Looks like we just need your okay for a race," she said cheerfully to the blonde-haired boy.

[ZACHARY HAZEL]

try not to mistake

WHAT YOU HAVE WITH WHAT YOU HATE

“Yes, please! Oh my goodness, thank you, you two!”

There was something that always sat funny in his chest when he was greeted with appreciation for one thing or another. For starters, it didn't happen very much, even in his youth. He was used to offers and ideas being met with criticism or hostility, not a cheerful “thank you” that was spilled from this girl's mouth. Of course, Zach's line of business dealt more with conceited, old farts who did nothing but watch a Pokemon do nothing all day and act all high and mighty about it later. If he were region professor, he figured, like his aunt before him had strove to be, maybe he would have gotten to deal with a more pleasurable audience. Aw, well. He wasn't his aunt. She'd been one of the best researchers of her time, and even then, Mrs. Pine couldn't pick up where any of the other region professors left off.

As the Hawlucha hobbled over – looking a bit more grumpy as though his words had stung it somehow – he started fishing through the small pack slung over his shoulder. Back in the day, his aunt had taught him what all sorts of berries did on their own, and what they did when mixed together. She'd also smacked him upside the head with a book if she caught him going anywhere without the most essential ones for first aid. Nowadays, seeing as he never did much fighting and when he did, the battle was over before the opponent could blink an eye, he never had any need for the berry pastes, yet habit kept him from removing any of the plastic bags he contained them in. They were a little old by now, but the only difference it would make had they been fresh was a better taste. Opening up one that would heal minor cuts and scrapes and one to help with exhaustion, he handed them both to the fighting-type to feast on.

“I'm Ruth. Ruth Iegryega! Nice to meet you both, even if the first thing I technically greeted you with was 'aaa', ha ha!” the raven-haired girl greeted. Hardly a heartbeat was skipped before the older of the two introduced, “I'm Kade.” With that, a hand – Ruth's – was extended both their ways, and he waited until his turn before saying, “Professor Zachary Hazel. Just call me Zach.” To his compliment, Kade replied, “Thanks, but I wasn't at the top of my game. I think he was mostly intimidated by Flame here. She can be scary.” When the Espeon made a face and the trainer commented about her Espeon doing wonderfully, it was hard to not let out a snicker.

“Okay, I also know that Ponyta are the fastest runners on the continent, so I'm guessing you have a flying-type Pokemon large enough to carry people. Or more?” The small smile that had accompanied his half laugh from earlier faded as he raised an eyebrow at her, curious as to what she was getting at. She was right, though; coming from Fortree, specifically a line of family who specialized in raising only the strongest and most fit bird Pokemon, he had more than enough flying-types to ride on. “I'll race you. While you're flying Ruth and her Hawlucha, I'll go on my Ponyta. It'll be a real challenge.” He paused. It had been a while since the last time his Pokemon had been in any competition of any sort, and he didn't exactly take loosing well. Of course, when he thought back to it, they hadn't lost any type of contest since the days of his youth. Such was the fate of a team breed and raised by a long line of bird masters. And, even if he lost, it'd just be something he could mope over with a bag of Doritos when he got back to the lab for a couple of minutes. Shrugging, the blond accepted, “Sure. Why not? before releasing both his Pidgeot and Altaria. While Pidgeot were not the fastest birds at there, she had been trained since the day of her birth to be a high speed flier, and did not disappoint. Ventus, the Altaria, was mostly there to provide a comfortable ride for Ruth and her Hawlucha, given they accepted. While not as speedy, she would still be able to keep up for the most part.

“Get on her,” Zach commanded, pointing to the dragon-type. “Tell her where we're heading and she'll get you there before you can finish a game of tic-tack-toe.”

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

The Hawlucha sniffed Zach's berries to see if his eyes were deceiving him, then proceeded to scarf them down. They're not like the berries back at the orchard, especially since the Pokemon had them as fresh as they came, but who was he to turn down an invigorating snack? Zivilyn turned his head towards Ruth, checking up on his trainer. Though, the subject matter at hand led to him worriedly anticipating Ruth's reaction.

"W-w-wait, f-flying...!?"

Suddenly, Ruth's relief in avoiding a ride on one of the continent's fastest Pokemon disappeared, and replaced with another fear. Zach called out his Altaria, making Ruth flinch at the big blue bird encased in cloud. The next bit she exclaimed more to herself, than to the trainers deciding to race.

"Where even are your wings!??! You are part cloud--!"

Before Ruth could get her answer from the Dragon-type though, Zach was already telling her to get on the Pokemon.

"Sh-she flies FAST too!?"

Repeating what he said isn't going to change the answer, Ruth. Trust him; He's a professor.

"I-It's okay! I-I can walk! It's nice of you to offer though! I can stay down here, and watch you guys race! Follow you two from behind! _{Waaaaayy behind...}"

...Or not.

[KADE VICTORY]

"Great, now I feel like I've lost my manners, but my last name is stupid as all get out, so I'll keep it to myself, thanks," she said at Zach's introduction, rolling her eyes.  But there were things to do!  And she stared at the bird pokemon, moving towards the pidgeot to see if it wouldn't mind if she pet it.  Friendly competition was full of emphasis on the friendly, at least this time around.

"Ooh, a pidgeot?  Taking pity on me are we?"  Kade grinned - both at the Pidgeot and Zach - to show she meant it as a joke.  For further emphasis, she added, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding.  Pidgeot may not be the fastest but they're way speedy when trained right, I know that much."  Though Flame seemed a bit more put out about facing "only" a Pidgeot - she snorted and tossed her mane in indignation.  Kade frowned at the stubborn horse Pokemon, but didn't bother to verbally scold her.

Meanwhile, Lilac attempted to steal one of the Hawlucha's berries, wanting a taste too and figuring that she deserved a treat after such a tough battle.

Of course, the girl was then a mess.  Not wanting to ride on the flaming Ponyta was one thing; but she'd heard that the Altaria would offer a comfortable ride.  Kade just stared at Ruth in disbelief.

"I hate to be rude - but this is ridiculous.  Ruth, Pokemon shouldn't be feared - even the dangerous ones can be our friends.  Respect, give them plenty of that, but fear - come on.  My Ponyta is trained well and clearly his Altaria is too, it's not exactly going to be a problem."  The girl crossed her arms, frowning at Ruth with a studious look.  It was rather ridiculous of her to be so, well, frightened.

Lilac stopped her desperate attempts to get a berry - whether she got one or not was a different matter - to look at the Hawlucha with a look that spoke volumes.  'Are you kidding me?  Is your trainer really this much of a wimp?' could be a good summary of her expression.  Lilac of course shared Kade sentiments (then again, she was also a Pokemon, reason would dictate that she wasn't scared); she respected wild Pokemon but was completely unafraid.

Heck, trained Pokemon listened to their trainers.  More dangerous in a battle - two minds are better than one, after all - but harmless outside of it.

Well, mostly harmless.  Kade eyed Flame before she grabbed Ruth's hand, "helping" (forcing, really) the girl to touch Flame.  "Burn her and no treats for a week," she warned the Pokemon, "We're trying to cure her of her fear, not make it worse."  Okay, maybe not the best idea to mention that in front of Ruth, but nevertheless she needed to get the message off.

Flame's flames (hehe...) stayed cool to the touch, though the Ponyta eyed Ruth warily.  One wrong move...

That was, of course, if Kade actually managed to fully and thoroughly force Ruth to touch the Ponyta.

[ZACHARY HAZEL]

try not to mistake

WHAT YOU HAVE WITH WHAT YOU HATE

Zach couldn't help but raise a questioning eyebrow at Kade as she spoke, a roll of her eyes accompanied by, “Great, now I feel like I've lost my manners, but my last name is stupid as all get out, so I'll keep it to myself, thanks.” He hadn't meant to be rude or anything – really, he wasn't going to call her by anything but her first name, so last names were irrelevant, anyway – but, evidently, introducing himself by his full title had come off as such. Maybe it was a little mean, but if he was being honest, he didn't really care one way or another how she reacted, and wasn't going to bother trying to console her, or anyone else, for that matter, if he accidentally offended someone. He never prided himself on being the nicest guy around, anyway. Even his “kind-hearted” favors were to be taken with a grain of salt. Birds in his possession, however, were another story; as the pale-haired female moved to pet it, it eagerly ducked its head and let out a friendly chirp of encouragement. Honestly, he didn't know where they got it. Definitely not him. Probably his aunt.

“Oh, a Pidgeot? Taking pity on me, are we? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Pidgeot may not be the fastest, but they're way speedy when trained right. I know that much.” The professor just nodded, not even paying much attention to the light-hearted teasing and finding her words to be true. Viento was his fastest flier, so if he wanted to beat the world's supposed fastest land runner, he'd be wise to chose her as his stead above all others. While the normal-type had been well received, unfortunately, Ventus was a different case. “W-w-wait, f-flying?” A blink. Another blink. Many more following that. Afraid of heights, was she? “Sh-she flies fast, too? I-it's okay! I-I can walk! It's nice of you to offer, though! I can stay down here and watch you guys race! Follow you two from behind! Way behind...” Not just a fear of heights, then, if he had to assume. A single eyebrow was raised at her and he was about to offer that the Altaria stick close to the ground and ride slow so they at least didn't have to walk when the third of the trio beat him to the punch.

“I hate to be rude, but this is ridiculous. Ruth, Pokemon shouldn't be feared; even the dangerous ones can be our friends. Respect: give them plenty of that. But fear? Come on. My Ponyta is trained well, and clearly his Altaria is, too. It's not exactly going to be a problem.” Eyebrows furrowed, this time, as one girl grabbed the hand of the other and forcibly moved it toward the horse's side. While he made no movement to stop her, not figuring it would do much good, anyway, Zach called, “You're doing it wrong. Yelling at a person and forcing them into bad situations only cures fear in movies. You might just be making it worse.”

Of course, what did he know about overcoming fears?

He couldn't even conquer his own.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

The Hawlucha allowed Lilac to have some of his berries, though, it may be more because he was too surprised by Kade's reaction to stop the Espeon from taking them from him.

"UHH--!"

Ruth didn't even know where to begin. She's never been reprimanded for being afraid of Pokemon before! Her neighbors were nice! And at most, her brother would be disheartened, yet still supportive! And before she could explain... Well, okay, maybe WHILE she was explaining, Kade was already grabbing her hand, and drawing it towards Flame.

"NononononononononoYOUDONTUNDERSTAND! INEVERLEFTMYHOMEBEFOREANDIMLOSTANDIKEEPRUNNINGINTOPOKEMONIVENEVERSEENBEFOREAND-- AAAAAAAA!! AAAA!11 AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Zach's comment was definitely on the money. Ruth dug her heels into the dirt, and trying to yank her hand away, heck, doing pretty much ANYTHING to get away from the fire pony. FIRE = BAD. HOW HARD WAS THIS TO UNDERSTAND!? Lilac's look to Zivilyn barely registered in the Hawlucha's mind before he leapt into action to quell the shrieks of distress. Ruth's fingers got lightly tickled by the tips of the Ponyta's flames until suddenly...

A Noivern exploded between all of them. Ruth's Noivern, to be more specific, since Hawlucha ran up to jab one of her Pokeballs. Wings and limbs, everywhere. Noivern's legs slammed into the Ponyta, the scruff of his neck was in Kade and Rude's face, Hawlucha was beneath the Noivern's belly, his wings and tail flailed in every general direction, perhaps even in Zach's too if he was in close enough vicinity, and all and all, it was like opening an airbag in a car, or a life raft in a plane. A parachute in a classroom. So on, so forth. The Noivern was just as confused and in pain as everyone else likely was, should he have surprised Flame, and was roaring in discontent.

[KADE VICTORY]

Lilac was surprised by all the yelling, and started in with noises of her own.  "EEEESSSSSPPPPPEEEEEEOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNN," the distraught Pokemon wailed.  Kade cringed, feeling part of her sleeve burn.  Luckily, Ruth wasn't touching Flame as Flame got startled by the Noivern coming out of the Pokeball.

The girl bit her lip to try and draw the Ponyta away, ignoring the burning - and the smell of things burning - to stop the disaster that had already started.  She managed to shove Flame to a comfortable distance before collapsing against the Ponyta, the flames cooling almost as soon as she was no longer distressed.

Lilac, realizing what was happening - finally - tried to pull the Hawlucha away from the Noivern, headbutting it in frustration.  Finally, the frustrated Espeon cried, "Espe!" as she used a psybeam to - hopefully - scoot the Noivern away, without hitting either Ruth or Zivilyn.  Chances of that?  About fifty-fifty at this point.

"Lilac, I know you are not mentally slow, the hell you think you're doing?" Kade snapped at the Espeon as she used her psybeam.  In the mid-attack, Kade moved over to direct Lilac's attack to a seemingly empty area, hopefully not hitting anything.  Lilac protested, loudly and with biting.  Kade cringed.

"Enough, already, brat!" Kade cried.

Yeah, it was a disaster.  It was all Kade's fault, but really there was no way she was going to admit it.  She'd blame the Hawlucha for - actually no, she'd never blame a Pokemon.

She'd blame Ruth for being scared.  And that would be that.