The next day, Cyndaquil came to Chino respectfully and quietly.
"Hey Cyndaquil, is something up?"
Cyndaquil seemed to blush as he avoided Chino's eyes. "Br - Brree broop... Breeop?" *I want to get stronger... Can you train with me?*
The question was a surprise to be sure. Cyndaquil always seemed happy enough around here when the old man Dunc was about. Then again, old man Dunc took Cyndaquil out to play a lot more, whereas Chino was happy enough lazing about. Well, she was 10 years old now, so it was the ideal time to start becoming a trainer, but...
"Breeiiii?" *Please?*
Chino looked up at the pleading Cyndaquil. "Ah, Cyndaquil... Okay, we can do some training!"
Chino got together all of her belongings. Except the bed roll and base decorations, of course. The only reason she really took everything was that most of it was in her bag already. She planned to get back the same day, and basically just see if they could beat a couple of the local wild critters here on route 1.
First, they encountered a Lillipup. It wasn't the first time Chino had been up close with a wild Pokémon, but it's the first time she tried fighting with her own Pokémon against it.
The foe was clearly small and not too strong, but its bite would surely hurt Cyndaquil if it managed to land.
"Keep your distance from him, Cyndaquil! Try using a flame attack!"
Chino felt a bit silly not knowing the proper names for Cyndaquil's moves. She'd have to check Dunc's Pokédex later.
After exchanging some light singes and scratches, Lillipup is looking a bit scared and Cyndaquil is confidently letting its guard drop.
"Dodge! Dodge! Cyndaquil!!"
Watching a fight without getting involved was so frustrating. Cyndaquil was getting hurt and it was its own fault, but Chino cannot just sit and watch it happen.
She whips out her baton and beats on the Lillipup which is latched on to Cyndaquil's leg by the teeth. The Lillipup whimpers and scurries away.
"Breoooo..." Cyndaquil appears to be crying.
"Look, you need to focus on protecting yourself, more than hurting the other guy! I've only got three potions, an... And... I don't like going to town for things..."
"It's ok, Cyndaquil. It's important to keep you safe though okay?" Chino applies one of the three potions in her possession, and Cyndaquil is looking a lot healthier.
"Let's go back and find out more about the moves you can learn."
---
Here is where I rolled for Cyndaquil's gender - a boy
---
After getting their bearings regarding fighting, Cyndaquil and Chino set out for their second attempt to defeat a local mon. This time, Cyndaquil was a lot more careful about dodging, and still managed to get some attacks in. After a tense few minutes, the Lillipup fainted.
"Way to go, Cyndaquil!"
"Breeee!!"
Although he wasn't too hurt, she wanted him to be feeling okay so Chino gave him another spray of potion, leaving only one left. "Okay, Cyndaquil... I've only got one potion left. And I don't want to go into town. But I have a better idea." She started grinning. "See that rich looking trainer over there?" Chino points to the main path through the route, from her spot with Cyndaquil in the bushes.
"I bet he has a ton of potions. I'm going to go beat him up. We can't risk a Pokémon battle, so I'm just going to go in there, and you stand with me and look tough, got it?"
Cyndaquil's eyes glowed with excitement, but he managed to contain his flames to maintain their stealth. Not that it mattered, because Chino jumped straight up and towards the trainer, as Cyndaquil jumped on to her messy head of hair, flames blazing.
"Oi! You! Umhnhmmm.. guh... Umm..." Chino found her confidence completely drained by the way the kid watched her... Oh no, this was a mistake. She felt sick from his judgmental stare.
"Potions..." she said awkwardly, waving the baton in a threatening way but failing to make any impact on the kid due to her obvious unease and total avoidance of eye contact.
The rich kid stomped on her bare toes and ran off.
"Aaaaahhhgggnnn!!!! F-- ggghhnn..." She fell to the ground and rolled about, clutching her sore foot. She remembered what the kid looked like, from a distance at least. She never got a look up close. But the pink and green cap was pretty exceptional. She'd definitely get her revenge.
Cyndaquil, however, had no such fear of humans, and was prepared to shoot fire at the kid next time he came anywhere near this route.
