[Rui Sasaki]

A chorus of squeaks and leathery wing beats drew Rui's attention to the sky. Through a break in the trees, she saw a colony of Woobat with a few paired Swoobat fly overhead, momentarily blocking out part of the dusky sky. Was it that late already?

One of the Woobat slowed to a stop behind the rest of her group, chirping curiously. After a few seconds of sending out ultrasonic waves to examine her surroundings, she flew down toward Rui. She stopped in front of the human with an excited squeak and twirled mid-air in greeting.

"Oh!" Rui exclaimed. "Hello, there."

The Woobat chirped in response before bobbing back and forth in mid-air, chittering. She looked down at Clarence, who had floated forward a bit, and lurched forward in a feint. Rui took a step back, but Clarence didn't seem bothered; perhaps he could sense that the Woobat had no truly hostile intent?

"You... want to battle?" Rui asked, composing herself. The Woobat squeaked in response, which Rui could only take as a yes. "All right, then. Clarence, please step back." Clarence nodded and floated back so he was next to Rui, who took Raijin's Poké Ball and tossed it in front of her. "Raijin, go!"

Raijin emerged with his usual vigor, sparks already flying from his cheeks. The Woobat chirped excitedly and spread her wings, causing a ring of psychic energy to surround her. The Confusion attack dissipated and then reappeared around a surprised Raijin, causing him to flinch back.

"Raijin, quickly, use Thunder Shock!" Rui shouted louder than she'd meant to.

Raijin shook his head back and forth and, with a squeaky battle cry, sent a jolt of electricity at his opponent. This same exchange—a Confusion from the Woobat and a Thunder Shock from Raijin—happened again, and it quickly became clear that Raijin's type advantage was giving him an edge in this battle. Yet the thought of type advantages made Rui reach for an empty Poké Ball. It would probably be a good idea to have a Flying-type with her, given her issues with Grass-type Pokémon...

"Raijin, stand down," Rui said. The Pichu looked up at her, confused and almost offended, but before he could protest, Rui threw a Poké Ball.

---

Party Status:
Clarence - Lv 7 Phantump - 3 Energy
Raijin - Lv 4 Pichu - 3 Energy (-1 from current battle)

Rui uses a regular Poké Ball!

[Jae]

Go, PokeBall!

One... two... and...

kt5pqUCtp_


The Wild Pokemon broke free!

p_
Woobat Fled! 

p_
...And the Pokeball broke!
One Pokeball has been removed from your inventory.

··

[Rui Sasaki]

The Woobat shrieked as she burst forth from the Poké Ball and flew straight into the air, wobbling a bit in her weakened state. She stopped several yards up and turned in several directions, using her echolocation to figure out which way her colony had gone, and then flew past the tree line and out of sight.

Rui watched this and looked down at the broken Poké Ball on the ground, all with a frown. "Maybe that wasn't the best idea..." she murmured. Raijin let out a disgruntled squeak and crossed his arms. Clarence watched the Pichu for a few seconds before, to Rui's surprise, letting go of his trainer's hand and floating over to him. He murmured something in that haunting voice of his that Rui could barely hear (not that she'd be able to understand him, anyway). Raijin looked at him for a second before uncrossing his arms and nodding, though still looking a bit peeved. Clarence nodded back.

"All right, let's keep going," Rui said, trying to brighten the mood. She recalled Raijin back into his Poké Ball and took Clarence's hand before continuing along. She could see Maple City on the horizon; it wouldn't be long now, she hoped.

---

Party Status:
Clarence - Lv 7 Phantump - 3 Energy
Raijin - Lv 5 Pichu - 3 Energy (+1 Level from battle)

Raijin learned Tail Whip!

[Jenesis]

What's this? You've found...

Luxury Ball!

A Luxury Ball!

[Rui Sasaki]

There was a glimmer in the fading sunlight. Rui turned toward it to see the sun perfectly shining through the leaves to illuminate something black and orange. As a precaution, she focused, but she couldn't feel any sort of malevolent presence around her. Next, she looked around for any more physical presences, but this part of the route was quiet save for the sound of the rustling leaves and the distant chattering of various Pokémon. She dared to step forward until she could kneel down and pick up the object. It was some kind of high-end Poké Ball; the exact name escaped her at the moment. Who could have dropped something like this? She stood up and looked around, but still, nobody was around.

Well, she supposed she could hold onto it. Maybe she would find its owner nearby.

---

Party Status:
Clarence - Lv 7 Phantump - 3 Energy
Raijin - Lv 5 Pichu - 3 Energy

[Jenesis]

A wild Fomantis has appeared!

What will you do?

	Fomantis Lv8
		5 Energy
	Average	Lax
	Leaf Guard
MOVES
Fury Cutter, Leafage
NOTES
N/A

[Rui Sasaki]

What Rui thought was just a large flower growing near a fallen tree began to stir. Its petals closed up, and a pink-bodied figure stood and opened its eyes, revealing itself to be a Fomantis rising from her slumber. She stared at Rui and Clarence with bleary eyes. Rui and Clarence stared back, Rui bracing herself for another attack and being reminded of how little coverage she had against other Grass-types... or was this one a Bug-type? She looked like a bit of both, but Rui didn't want to distract herself by fumbling with her phone to open her Pokédex app and check.

Luckily, though, after several seconds, the Fomantis yawned and climbed over the fallen log behind her. She fell to the other side and out of sight, and Rui heard the grass rustle as she headed in the opposite direction. Rui let out a relieved breath through her nose and kept going.

---

Party Status:
Clarence - Lv 7 Phantump - 3 Energy
Raijin - Lv 5 Pichu - 3 Energy

[whimsae]

Rui Sasaki

A wild Scyther has appeared!

What will you do?

	Scyther Lv7
		5 Energy
	Large	Mild
	Technician
MOVES
Vacuum Wave, Leer, Quick Attack, Focus Energy
NOTES
N/A

[Rui Sasaki]

That familiar rustling in the tall grass made Rui stop, and she was glad she did: A moment later, there was a blur of green in front of her that seemed to cut through the air itself. She followed it with her eyes but only saw the rustling grass it disappeared behind on the other side of the path. One hand tightened around Clarence's, and the other gripped Raijin's Poké Ball.

"Who's there?" she asked. This presence was a physical one, if her spirit sense wasn't mistaken.

The grass rustled again; this time, the green figure of a Scyther leapt from it, landed several feet in front of Rui, and crossed her scythes in an X. Rui took one step back in alarm, but much like with the Woobat, Clarence didn't seem terribly alarmed by this wild Pokémon. Upon closer inspection, Rui realized that the Scyther's posture was surprisingly relaxed; sure, her bladed arms were crossed, but her wings were folded against her back, and she stood with her legs closer together than Rui might have imagined for a battle stance (not that she was particularly knowledgeable on that subject, mind you). The Scyther looked at Clarence, her posture not changing, and the two watched each other for several seconds.

"Do you..." Rui began, not wanting to startle the other Pokémon, "want to battle?"

The Scyther nodded and widened her stance, scythes still crossed.

Rui nodded back. "All right." They were close enough to Maple City now that they could run if things got dicey, and this Scyther seemed like she just wanted a friendly battle. "Raijin, go."

The Pichu popped out of his Poké Ball, just as raring to go as always. The Scyther slashed her blades across one another and raised her wings. Rui assumed that meant she was ready to start.

"Raijin, use Thunder Shock."

The jolt of electricity had the Scyther wincing in pain thanks to her Flying type, but she didn't let that deter her from Leering at Raijin, who shuddered just enough to be visible as his defense was lowered.

"Raijin, use Charm."

But instead of standing and giving Scyther the cutest look he could muster, Raijin remained on all fours and shot out another Thunder Shock. Again, despite being clearly affected, the Scyther didn't directly retaliate, instead taking a deep breath and holding her scythes together like she was praying.

Maybe Raijin hadn't heard the command. "Raijin!" Rui tried again, louder this time. "Use—"

The Scyther's eyes shot open, and in a flash, she rushed forward at Raijin in a Quick Attack that sent him flying back with a cry.

"Raijin!" Rui called. Even Clarence, normally unshakable, called out.

Raijin landed on his stomach a few feet away. He growled and pushed himself up on shaky arms and legs, cheeks crackling.

"Raijin, that's enough," Rui said, reaching for his Poké Ball. But Raijin squeaked in protest, and before Rui could recall him, he shot out a spark... that dissipated a few feet away, completely missing the Scyther. The Scyther watched the electricity vanish and looked at Raijin... pityingly? Before Rui could really figure out what the look meant, though, with that blinding speed, the Scyther dashed forward until she was right in front of Raijin and raised a scythe.

"Raijin, look out!"

But instead of slashing, the Scyther reached down with the backs of her arms and patted Raijin's head while he braced himself for another strike. Raijin squeaked in confusion and looked up to see the Scyther smiling gently at him. He stared at her for a few seconds, dumbfounded, and then narrowed his eyes and squeaked in protest. The Scyther chittered at him in a gentle voice, saying something that made Raijin perk his ears up. The two turned toward Rui; Raijin looked shocked. Clarence warbled gently at the two of them. Whatever the two had said made Raijin lower his ears and eyes with a deflated squeak. He shuffled over to Rui and stood at her feet for a moment, staring at the ground. Then, he clasped his hands together in front of him and looked up at Rui with the biggest, most adorable eyes he could manage, squeaking out a "Piiiii~"

Rui's eyebrows darted up for a moment in surprise. She couldn't help but smile as she knelt down to pat her Pichu on the head. "Well, I did ask you to use Charm," she said. Raijin giggled and closed his eyes with a smile; Rui pulled her hand away when his cheeks started to spark again. Rui stood, and the Scyther nodded at her before turning around. Before she could vanish into the grass again, though, Rui called out, "Wait!"

The Scyther turned her head as Rui fished for an empty Poké Ball. "Would you like to come with us?" Rui asked, holding the Poké Ball out in her palm.

---

Party Status:
Clarence - Lv 7 Phantump - 3 Energy
Raijin - Lv 5 Pichu - 2 Energy (-1 Energy from current battle)

Rui uses offers a regular Poké Ball!

[Jae]

Go, PokeBall!

One... two... and...

ERUtsPSap_


The Wild Pokemon was caught!
One Pokeball has been removed from your inventory.

[Rui Sasaki]

The Scyther considered the Poké Ball in Rui's hand for a moment. She turned fully around and shifted her gaze to Raijin, who turned around to look at her and then jumped up and down, hands raised, with an encouraging squeak. She then looked at Clarence, who nodded. Seeming satisfied, she stepped forward and reached out to touch the button of the Poké Ball with the tip of one of her scythes. It sucked her in with a red light and shook in Rui's hand for a moment before clicking shut. Rui smiled as Raijin cheered.

"Welcome to the team, Kama," she said. It was short for "kamaitachi."

She looked to the west. The sunlight was falling behind the trees, but she could see the metropolitan lights of her destination just ahead.

---

THREAD END

(Does Raijin gain a level from the previous encounter, or did that count as a friendship capture?)

[Jae]

Congratulations!

Your thread is complete and now locked.

Rui Sasaki

Yes, that counts as a battle.
For completing 2 pages, you receive: 150 pen, 5 rare candy, 1 Dive Ball, 1 Timer Ball.