[attr="class","pintag"]#wild

[attr="class","pinscroll"]still, the road remained quiet. if she pretended hard enough she could imagine herself in a world that had been infested by zombies. but the realist in her even blocked out the thought, let alone the possibility of it actually being true. the cacnea had similarities to the typical television-portrayed zombie: blank, vacant eyes with tiny irises, black holes for mouths, and the inability to run. or at least, she hadn't seen lugh run before. she just assumed he couldn't, which was a fair assumption judging from his round, ball-like shape.[break][break]

ava had managed to create some distance between her and the cacnea, which progressed naturally as the cactus pokemon moved at a much slower speed. letting out a frustrated sigh, she stopped in her tracks and turned around. "we don't have all day." technically, they did. lugh, with a worried look on his face, quickened his pace. he almost tripped over his own two tiny feet.[break][break]

as she watched the cactus pokemon try his best to catch up, she felt a sudden increase in pressure on against her shoulders. it only took her a second to react. out of instinct, she shifted her entire body weight and bent forward, reaching her hand up over her shoulder to grab at whatever had landed. it felt rough, like fur that hadn't been washed in ages. her grip tightened and she swung it forward, off of her and onto the ground.[break][break]

a mankey rolled against the ground, leaping to its feet before coming to an immediate halt. its nose flared, eyes glaring as it pounded its fist against its chest, rearing for a fight. it had its eyes set on ava, and charged forward to swing a LOW KICK. she avoided it by lifting her leg. the mankey amused her. she dodged attack after attack, long enough for lugh to arrive at the scene. he made his mark with a swift NEEDLE ARM, knocking the mankey back a few paces, enough to protect ava.[break][break]

chuckling, ava stepped to the side and allowed the cacnea to battle. "my hero." the mankey hopped along the ground, bringing its feet back before delivering a LOW KICK. lugh was swept off his feet, knocking his head on the ground on his way down. "don't use payback." while she had no real experience battling, she was educated in the art of it. lugh rose to his feet for another NEEDLE ARM, sending the mankey straight into some stray bushes off by the side of the road.[break][break]

the cacnea started celebrating, but ava knew the battle wasn't over. anger didn't dissipate that easily. but she kept her mouth shut. she wanted the cacnea to learn from his own mistakes. and sure enough, not four seconds later the mankey came springing forth from within the bushes, SCRATCHing away at lugh. crying out in pain, the cactus stood his ground, shutting his eyes as if it'd lessen the pain. when the onslaught was over, he retracted his arm back but quickly remembered ava's words. instead of going with his instincts, he went with what he was told. a NEEDLE ARM struck the mankey, into the bushes yet again, but this time for good (until it wakes up).[break][break]

[attr="class","pintag"]#wild

[attr="class","pinscroll"]the tension that lingered in the air soon dissolved. the bushes stopped shaking, and for moments, the only sound on the route was of the trees that swayed. ava's shoulders slumped as she exhaled. that cacnea had done a good job; she knew as much, but she still refused to acknowledge it. lugh rotated on the ball of his feet to glance up at ava. he clutched his arm and made soft sounds as if she'd understand him. she didn't, but judging by the tears in his eyes, she knew he was in pain.[break][break]

clenching her jaw, she pondered for a moment before sighing softly. she lowered herself to the ground, using one knee to support her as she reached around to pull something out of her bag. "come here." she waited for him to approach, which he reluctantly did; she wondered if he was intimidated by her. when he was close enough, ava gently held his arm and pulled him closer. as she held the potion in her hand, she hovered it over his arm but lingered for moments. "are you afraid of me?" she asked, looking down at him. but the moment the cacnea met her gaze, she flaked.[break][break]

lugh couldn't speak, but it was his eyes that spoke for him. it was always his eyes. she regained her composure and returned her gaze. "don't be. there's no reason to be." as she spoke, she knew there was no validity to her words. her actions told otherwise. she pressed on the trigger and sprayed cool healing liquid on the cacnea. she watched it seep into his skin, and immediately its effects kicked in. "i just don't know how to–" she gestured outwards with her arms, as if meant something to the cacnea. frustrated at her own inability to speak, she sighed. "just know that i don't hate you, lugh." to prove it, she wiped a stray tear away from the corner of his eye with her thumb.[break][break]

a different set of bushes shook this time, leaving ava to roll her eyes in annoyance. she remained knelt, only turning her head to the heracross that appeared. "are you ready? we can avoid it if you want." she almost rolled her eyes again, this time at herself. she hadn't been this kind in a while, and it had been so long that it felt foreign. she rose to her feet and dusted off her pants. lugh nodded and trot forward, shaking his injured arm as if to test it.[break][break]

"do your best, lugh."[break][break]

this time, that cacnea was the first to attack. a smart use of COTTON SPORE limited the heracross' movements just enough to allow lugh to close in, swinging his arm wildly for a NEEDLE ARM. while it connected, it was clear that it hadn't done enough damage. the heracross grunted, bringing its head down low before swooping forward with its horn for a HORN ATTACK. lugh swiveled, protecting his injured arm from incurring more damage. he took a step back to help brace the impact, and used the momentum gained in reverse. he lunged forward, throwing his entire body into the heracross for a PAYBACK. his spikes dug into the bug-type, inflicting damage.[break][break]

when the two pokemon separated, ava noticed the indents on the bug-type lugh had managed to create with his attacks. she knew the cacnea was at a disadvantage, so she'd offer her help just this once. "focus on its body; hit the same place." she didn't need to yell to clearly articulate her words. lugh understood, acknowledging by raising his arm up.[break][break]

the heracross LEERed, and closed the distance for another HORN ATTACK. the cotton spore had started to seep deeper and deeper into the bug-type, rendering his movements slow. lugh was able to dodge, and he wasted no time to charge at the heracross. he swung an arm for another NEEDLE ARM, hitting the same bruises on its body. and again, with another NEEDLE AMR. heracross cried out in pain, trying its best to retaliate with a HORN ATTACK. lugh took the brunt of it, but remained on his feet. he finished the battle with a final PAYBACK.[break][break]

[attr="class","pintag"]#wild

[attr="class","pinscroll"]the cactus had heart. it had spirit. qualities which brought a smile to ava's face. a genuine one. not knowing how to comprehend it, she turned away and crossed her arms over her chest, buying her enough time to allow her lips to thin into a line. lugh waved both arms in the air, performing some sort of celebratory dance. he was ecstatic at his recent wins. he never thought of himself as a fighter, but with ava, he was starting to feel like one. he felt strong. "good job, lugh." some form of praise wouldn't hurt, she thought. and with that, the two continued on the route, determined to get through it before noon.[break][break]

it was funny how there were clear borders separating the routes from their adjacent cities. this one, twenty-nine, for example, had a visible line where the road switched materials, from dirt to gravel, which meant the end of the route and the start of the city. she could see the different colors even from a distance. the number of trees started to thin, giving way to brighter sunlight that soon overtook the route. just as soon as they neared the border, their last encounter (she hoped) sounded.[break][break]

the sound it made gave it away. the low, but loud croaks that rung through the air. a croagunk stepped out from behind the bushes and immediately lurched forward for an ASTONISH, catching both ava and lugh off guard. lugh recoiled from the attack, but the pain was manageable. he leaned forward and regained his footing only to be hit by a MUD-SLAP. instinctively, he raised his arm to shield his eyes. once the onslaught was over, he didn't attack yet. he didn't look back, but ava knew he was waiting for orders.[break][break]

"you have to slow it down, outlast it; your attacks won't do as much damage." she didn't need to say much else. lugh summoned forth a cloud of COTTON SPORE, coating the poison-type in it. it coughed and tried its best to wave the cloud clear. by then, lugh had already closed the distance for a PAYBACK, utilizing the damage he had taken before. the poison-type croaked even louder, angrier, turning to return a MUD-SLAP. exhaustion started to influence lugh, but he held on, and braced through the damage. one more PAYBACK, one more NEEDLE ARM, and down went the croagunk.[break][break]

and with that, the route was complete.[break][break]