the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Exactly what Ryusuke had been planning to do as the other trainer approached he wasn't entirely sure, but that wasn't to say the blond didn't remain on guard as they closed to within punching distance. At the very least, though, the shorter trainer was making an effort to keep it less than completely obvious - unlike the little green knot of muscle currently clinging to his shoulder the most his stance and expression betrayed was mild annoyance and distrust as the stranger replied back and extended a hand in greeting. A common enough courtesy, but at the same time it was one that reminded Ryusuke of how it'd come to be in the first place - the idea being that by extended a hand to be shook you were proving that there wasn't a weapon being held by it. That aside, though, there were other, more personal reasons the blond was initially hesitant to return the gesture. His hands were gloved for a reason since people had all sorts of reactions (not all of them friendly or comforting) to prosthetic limbs in the place of the original flesh and blood ones, and glove or not it was the kind of thing you noticed when you took hold of the limb in question.

At the same time, though, pissing off someone who was likely to have more if not outright stronger Pokemon probably wasn't the best of ideas right now.

"Ryusuke. Minamo, Hoenn." Ryusuke responded, gingerly reaching out with his right arm to take hold of the offered hand. There was no way to know how Roy would react to the texture beneath the glove, but the appearance of yet another newcomer - this one decidedly not human - rather abruptly interrupted the exchange of greetings between the two trainers. While the Pokemon itself wasn't exactly common within Hoenn as a region Ryusuke had encountered at least a couple of them in the last year, enough to immediately recall what it was and what it could do. Not that it was exactly hard - Gligar were rather distinct in appearance as well as typing, and what Ryusuke could remember of them told him that it was not a good match up for Treecko. That was assuming it was even there to fight in the first place, but the taller trainer didn't exactly leave it much choice as he pulled a ball out and immediately released his Skarmory upon the much smaller Pokemon.

Well, if nothing else that action alone told Ryusuke a great deal about who he was dealing with. As the blond began to step back to allow a bit more room for the battle to continue, though, another sound behind him would cause the trainer to halt in his tracks, Treecko pivoting on his shoulder before jumping down and placing the Wood Gecko between his partner and the additional perceived threat. Turning around, Ryusuke was able to immediately spot the source as the purple rodent stood out in stark contrast to the vegetation around them, fur on end and gaze shifting between the Gligar, Skarmory and then the two humans.

To say that it wasn't the best impression was something of an understatement, although the Rattata's focus on the Gligar seemed to imply that the two were together in some sense of the word - and seeing her friend attacked had put the rodent on edge.

"Hey, hold on a se-"

Despite it being an attempt to defuse the situation the act of speaking directly to the Rattata was evidently the wrong decision to make as the Pokemon lunged forward using Quick Attack, apparently aiming for one of Ryusuke's legs. "Apparently" being the operative word, however, as Treecko used the exact same move himself to intercept the Normal type halfway through the lunge with his own Quick Attack, foot planting itself on Rattata's head and the Wood Gecko's body weight serving both to halt her forward momentum and redirect it into a rather painful faceplant instead. The added bonus being that where the foot was made fighting back a difficult proposition at best - face to the ground and with the adhesive pads of Treecko's foot glued to her face the rodent wasn't exactly able to build momentum again or reach the Grass type.

First rule Ryusuke had learned in the dojo as a kid, and evidently one that Treecko had picked up as well - if you controlled the opponent's head you generally controlled the rest of their actions as well.

Granted, that didn't stop the Rattata from trying as the pinned Pokemon attempted to get up and throw Treecko off balance, tail lashing forward in an attempt to beat him off of her with Tail Whip. Not good - Rattata didn't hit particularly hard but Treecko as a species weren't built all that tough, either, and with lowered defenses the slightly faster Pokemon stood a decent chance of doing a fair amount of damage given the opportunity. Ryusuke hadn't exactly wanted this fight but it was beginning to boil down to being a matter of self defense with the Rattata apparently beyond reasoning with. If they were going to end this it needed to be quick.

"Giga Drain!" Ryusuke called out. It was only two words, but it was all that needed to be said - Treecko was typically smart enough to battle on his own with minimal input while Ryusuke served as a second pair of eyes and ears watching his blind spots, but there were times when he needed to know certain things. In this case, not to hold back. The opening move had been a defensive one intended to impede rather than actually cause any degree of harm but allowing the Rattata to continue fighting back wasn't the smartest move. Still focused on the Pokemon in question, though, the order didn't go unheard as Treecko lurched forward to use the Normal type's face as a stepping point again, momentarily pinning her face to the ground as the Wood Gecko climbed atop her back and clung with all four limbs - and as he did so the Grass type would use Giga Drain. Not the weakest of Grass type moves by far, and the Rattata definitely felt her strength start to leave the moment the attack was used. Enough to cause the Pokemon to begin panicking, but by that point it was too late. Treecko was in a position that he couldn't be easily hit from, and even as Rattata began rolling and squirming to try and dislodge her attacker any damage that could've possibly been done was healed almost immediately by another use of Giga Drain sapping her strength.

A third time was all it took to knock the rodent unconscious, the Rattata falling limp with Treecko now underneath her after the struggle.

"You alright?" Ryusuke said after a few more seconds of stillness, to which the Wood Gecko's immediate reply was an arm raising straight up in the air, mimicking a thumbs up. Enough to tell Ryusuke that it was safe enough to approach as Treecko began shoving off the unconscious Pokemon, the blond crossing the short distance quickly enough to reach down with his right hand and simply pick up the Rattata in question. Dusting himself off as he stood up, the Wood Gecko's attention shifted almost immediately from Ryusuke to the other pair behind them, still locked in battle but seeming to near the end of it as the Gligar made mistake after mistake. If Treecko had been poorly matched against Gligar the same was just as true for Skarmory - it was impossible to be sure if she had Sturdy or Keen Eye for an ability but the ineffective Sand Attack seemed to imply the latter, and trying to use Poison Sting on a Steel type was an exercise in futility. Getting back up to his feet Ryusuke would make a point to gently place Rattata off to the side of the path, far enough into the brush that she was unlikely to be found until she was conscious again.

"We're fine. I'm guessing she's new?" Ryusuke replied, trudging back out of the bushes as the other trainer called out to him - the blond's comment relating to the Skarmory in question as he nodded to the bird. They weren't uncommon to Hoenn or Johto, but Ryusuke had a bit of a leg up over most people when it came to evaluating them. His mother had all but specialized almost exclusively in Steel types, and while Skarmory hadn't been her primary means of getting around that wasn't to say she hadn't made heavy use of one, either. Peck, though, wasn't exactly one of their best moves, but by that same token Assurance wasn't one that they naturally learned on their own, either.

"Why pick a fight, though? Can't be sure why the Gligar was here but it was hardly a threat with a Skarmory in your pocket. I don't think Treecko would've had to fight the Rattata at all if they'd just passed by." Ryusuke continued, his attention now on the second unconscious Pokemon that had been left rather unceremoniously in the dirt path.

---

Treecko - Level 7 (5 -> 7). Overgrow. Quick Attack, Giga Drain, Agility, Detect.

Wild Pokemon: 1/3

@tag

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

That.... wasn't the conclusion Ryusuke was hoping the other guy would reach. The particular reasoning for that had nothing to do with the guy or the shorter trainer's impressions of him in the least, though. As a rule Ryusuke tended to prefer the company of Pokemon over people for a great many reasons, although the first and foremost was that they didn't tend to talk unless they needed to. He wasn't generally the type of person to start a conversation unless something something needed to be said, and the problem with most people was that they were more than happy to talk just for the sake of making noise, or at least so it seemed.

"Wouldn't know anything about that, there weren't any plans for Enju itself nevermind after I got there." Ryusuke replied, mentally shrugging off the comment about the nearby mountain as he made his way back onto the path, Treecko once again on his shoulder. Admittedly one of the other reasons he needed some time alone with Treecko as they needed to figure out what they were even doing in the region. There'd been a few reasons for the pair to travel there but there was no real goal or objective, and not much thought had really been put into what would come next once they were actually there.

If the last few minutes were any indication of the potential trip ahead it was highly unlikely either of them would get much chance for thought, especially as another pair of Pokemon arrived with the intent to investigate the sounds caused by the last few fights.

While Ryusuke wasn't all that familiar with the first Pokemon and the one that Roy chose to take on with his Marshtomp, the second Pokemon was another story entirely. Small, pink and huddled up a short distance behind the first Normal type was a Whismur of all things, and quite possibly the last Pokemon that Ryusuke would've expected to encounter this far from home. As far as he was aware they were supposedly more or less exclusive to Hoenn as a natively occurring species, and more to the point they tended to favor caves and other dark places until they evolved and could defend themselves. What one was doing out in an open field like this Ryusuke hadn't a clue, but aside from being an outright unusual sight the fact that it was effectively a piece of home struck something of a chord in the blond.

The other fights had been self defense and while Roy and his Marshtomp could handle the other Pokemon just fine... this was going to be a bit different.

"Treecko, up for a capture instead?" Ryusuke said, eyes locked on the other Pokemon and a fact it seemed to only just then become aware of as it turned to look at him - and, reacting accordingly, turned again with the intent to run. Kicking off into a dash himself Ryusuke ran in a wide arc around the other battle as it was happening, closing enough distance to give Treecko a good head start as the Wood Gecko once again leapt from his shoulder. On hitting the ground, however, the Grass type would suddenly outspeed both the blond and his opponent as he surged forward in a blur of movement, Quick Attack instantly closing the gap as Treecko started the fight off dirty with a yank to Whismur's rear leg which caused it to faceplant in the middle of it's attempt to flee.

Unlike the other Pokemon, Whismur was a known quantity, and frankly one that Treecko had plenty of experience fighting in the past. Enough that he knew to immediately leap back again as the air visibly distorted around the Whismur as it wailed in response, a use of either Echoed Voice or Uproar. Hard to tell, but there was a reason Treecko had done what he did - face first in the ground, the sound was muffled and had neither the range nor power it would've had in ideal conditions. The trick now was going to be to keep hitting her before she could recover and get another attack off. Dashing off towards his opponent again, Whismur nearly ended that chain as she suddenly pushed off from the ground and attempted to lunge at Treecko with Astonish. A move that would have worked had it not been for a last second use of Detect, the Wood Gecko's eyes carefully tracking his opponent as he neatly sidestepped the lunge and began moving past Whismur only for that motion to carry his fist into a simple punch aimed for the center of the Normal type's chest. No fancy or powerful moves, but a simple strike picked up from watching Ryusuke's own days at the dojo as a child.

Lessons, however, that the Whismur in question could not have possibly benefited from.

As the gut punch struck the Pokemon without warning the wind was suddenly knocked from her chest, and whatever counter the Normal type had been thinking of was replaced by a burning need to breath. Not even close to done with his opponent Treecko was ruthless in exploiting the opening, continuing to step forward with the arm that had been used to punch Whismur now pressing her back as the matching leg hooked behind his opponent's - the second move bearing an immediate result within the same second as the first as Whismur was suddenly thrown onto her back, worsening the breathing problem and stunning her in the process as Giga Drain was applied just in case she managed to recover. All in all the series of moves had taken a grand total of maybe two seconds from the point Detect had been used, and while Ryusuke had known what to expect he still had trouble following exactly what the Wood Gecko had done.

"Right, that's enough!" Ryusuke called out, coming to a stop a handful of feet away and reaching into his bag. Treecko, glancing up at the sound, would quickly step back as the blond spoke and just in time for the thrown Pokeball to land on Whismur, snapping open and sucking the stunned Pokemon inside.

---

Treecko - Level 9 (7 -> 9). Overgrow. Quick Attack, Giga Drain, Agility, Detect.

Wild Pokemon: 2/3

@tag