7 A Good Oath
Similar to the day before, as the group walked, Noah would mark an indent on the trees, he figured this would prevent backtracking, and also help them if they needed to return the way they came.
.
Hearing the sound close now, Noah released his Rattata and nodded to the group to do the same, he then crept forward to get a better look.
Upon a freshly overturned tree was a large Rattata, it tilted its head up every so often showing off its two large buck teeth, and then released what Noah assumed to be a mating call.
Inspecting the creature for a few seconds, he quickly deduced some information.
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Rattata:
Type: Normal
Category: Mouse Pokemon
Gender: Male
Nature: Sassy
Abilities: Guts(Grows stronger while statused)
Holdings:
Level: 6/25 (beginner stage)
Exp: 16/30
Sublevels: 0/25
Potential: 1.2x (Very low)
Health: 5/5
Hunger: 4/5
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When Mark saw Noah had returned, he asked seriously, "How's it look?"
Noah shrugged, "This one looks stronger than normal"
Mark was interested, so he blurted out, "Stronger how?"
Thinking for a moment, Noah made something up, " It's a little bit larger than ours, and I suppose I feel a different kind of vibe from it."
Mark scratched the back of his head, "So, same plan then?"
"No, if it's alright with you, then I would like to attempt this one myself."
The two looked confused, but Mark spoke first, "Why? You said it yourself that it was stronger than normal?"
Mark thought for a moment on how to phrase it, then it came to him, "I think we may be going about this all wrong, I think our pokemon won't get stronger if we keep beating up weaker enemies, and even if my Rattata loses, I think he will be better for it."
He then added, after a moment's pause, "And, you two can support me if that happens."
Catching Ashley nod, Mark then relented, "I want to fight the strong Rattata too… but I'm okay with it if Ashley is."
Noah turned to his Ratata, while it, in turn, looked up at him and tilted its head, "Top, If you are ready, then go ahead, Nath and Sar will have your back, but here's some advice, when it takes in a deep breath to release its cry, that would be the ideal time to strike, and when you do, try to aim for its midsection."
Creeping around the foliage, Top waited patiently in the grass.
Noah knew Rattatas had good hearing, so he hoped they would get lucky and the sneak attack would be successful. He wasn't too worried, he reasoned the Rattata likely wasn't too much stronger, so what could go wrong.
As the three kids looked over, it suddenly happened! Just as the wild Rattata began to release another loud squeak, Top, while cloaked in white energy suddenly leaped towards the wild Rattata knocking him off the fallen tree. It hit the ground hard with a thud.
The large Rattata was about to release an angry shriek when it suddenly noticed it couldn't catch its breath, the air was knocked out of him!
Noah's Rattata wouldn't let this chance go, and after a second of gathering his energy for another attack, Top charged in, knocking the wild Rattata further away!
This time, however, the larger Rattata was able to mitigate some of the damage thanks to its elemental energy, which was unlike the earlier sneak attack.
Catching its breath, the wild Rattata smiled menacingly at its attacker, despite blood dripping from his lips.
He had broken ribs, but he wouldn't flee from a foe he thought to be weaker!
Just as Top gained momentum for another tackle, the wild Rattata too charged in, he was intending to show this upstart why it was the alpha in this part of the forest!
As the two Rattata were about to engage, Noah shouted, "Rattata, don't go head-on, use your superior momentum to dodge the attack!"
The sudden shout gave the wild Rattata a split-seconds pause, as Noah's Rattata ignored his trainer due to the adrenaline coursing through its small body, as it collided!
Due to the moment's hesitation, the two Rattata traded blows somewhat equally, eating away at each other's energy, but the next exchange didn't go quite so well.
After suffering a loss, Noah's Rattata stopped the attacks and sized up his foe, beginning to get cold feet due to the other pokemons larger size, while the wild Rattata was looking towards Noah with caution, and wondering if this human was a threat, "Rattata listen to me while you are still in better shape than your enemy! Stop attacking headfirst, you need to run around him, and let the injuries you caused to tire him out!"
Perhaps thinking the words reasonable, Noah's Rattata charged in again!
Not to be outdone, the other charged in too, although its broken ribs slowed it down. Just as the energy of the tackles reached their zenith, Noah's Rattata suddenly diverged from its trajectory and ran right past.
Pokemon have the innate ability to transcend all language barriers, and the wild Rattata brought up what the human had just said, and gritted its teeth, it would have to try something else, it no longer wanted to win, it wanted to hurt his foe enough so he couldn't be pursued.
When Noah's Rattata came for another run by and threatened to land a tackle if his foe didn't call his bluff, the wild Rattata came to meet the charge, but this time things changed, and Noah had noticed it, the glow of the wild Rattata seemed different, purer, so he reacted immediately, "RATTATA, COME BACK, DON'T TRY TO FAKE HIM OUT!"
But, Noah was once again ignored in the heat of the moment.
That's when it happened, Noah's Rattata ran to the side to sprint past, but the Wild Rattata suddenly sped up, he was twice as fast as before!
Top's eyes went wide as the Wild Rattata was about to impact him, so he mustered as much elemental energy as he could in his defense, but it was nearly nothing.
With a shrieking yelp, Noah's Rattata was flung like a frisby with great momentum. He did not stop flying until a tree put an end to his flight, but that was more than ten meters away.
"Shit!" Noah then began sprinting forward, "Ashley, Mark, I NEED YOU NOW!"
Meanwhile, the wild Rattata was panting, that last attack felt good, and he knew just how heavy that young upstart rattatas injuries should be, but executing that move had cost him quite a bit of energy, and now a human was running towards him screaming, so instead of finishing its foe off, he then decided to flee.
Seeing the wild Rattata divert course, Noah breathed an inward sigh of relief.
.
While Ashley and Mark chased after the fleeing Rattata, he had more pressing concerns, " I hope he's alright."
A Rattata could be seen inhaling more than exhaling, it wasn't even able to see anymore. It was currently incapable of understanding where it was, or able to remember what happened, he just shivered and gasped.
A voice then came from somewhere, "It's going to be alright, stay with me"
The Rattata flinched as something cold suddenly touched much of its broken body, but the call of sleep was now overbearing, all it wanted to do was sleep.
.
"Shit, he's not waking up, are these potions useless? But what else can I do?!"
Noah was racking his brains to think, he knew that with the way his Rattata was breathing, it was obvious a broken rib must have punctured a lung, and by now Top was drowning in his own blood.
As top closed his eyes, Noah shouted loudly and shook him, "DON'T FALL ASLEEP!"
"SHIT, I DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE I CAN DO!"
Uncorking another potion, he sprayed the entirety of the contents over Top.
After a few minutes, Ashley and Mark came back to Noah hugging a small bloodied Rattata.
Opening his eyes, he found himself bound by something, he struggled for a moment, when he heard a voice, and something wet dripped onto his face. Opening his eyes, Top looked up, and found Noah wiping his eyes, then heard his voice, "I'm so glad you are okay, I had thought my recklessness just sent you to your death."
Earlier, and after the fifth emptied potion, Top had begun puking out blood, then his broken body began to heal at a visible rate, and as the remains of the potion depleted, the punctured lung was mended, and the broken bones were corrected which were due to the influence of the potion and his own elemental energy reacting, although as a result, Top was now much thinner.
Top had been captured when he was newly born, and he had lived captive in an enclosure until now, but he felt it wasn't so bad. At first, he was content to live his days just like that, but, despite getting food and shelter, he soon felt himself yearning for more.
One day the humans offered him a choice, he would be let out of his cage and see the world, but in exchange, he would swear to obey.
Unlike humans, oaths were not to be sworn lightly, because he as a pokemon was bound by them.
On that day he was happy when he found himself outside his cage, but when he saw the trainer he would serve, he began to regret making that oath.
The human child that called himself his trainer didn't seem quite right at first, as a pokemon he was able to much more easily see through falsehoods, and Noah seemed fake like he was wearing a mask. It made him uncomfortable, but now he felt there was something warmer under that fake smile he wore.
