[attr="class","sinlyric"]undecided

[attr="class","sinlyric2"]but optimistic

[attr="class","sinbody"]Alceides was sure that Fred was going to deliver some stern, and yet useful, words for him after the fainting of his Aipom. However, much to his shock, he was actually incredibly causual about it. He praised him, corrected him, and advised him all within a single breath. Having such an incredible teacher around was great! He was even adapting to the boy, softening where he would've been sterner, or at least Alceides told himself that.

"Thank you, though, honestly...we've never really lost until now, so that really drove it home. I always go into battle hoping to win, and until now that's been enough..." he accepted the praise, but then internalized his comments as his thoughts poured outward.

It's not that he was unhappy that they lost, he already had the sense since Frederick had the aura of a superior trainer, it was more that they couldn't find a better rhythm despite how much they'd been battling together. Regardless, he eyed his own Nidoran and decided that they might as well continue battling.

The boy only had Slothy yet while, from what he could gather, he had reserves as well just the amount was what confused him. It wasn't easy to dictate the differences between an empty Poke Ball and a full one. The only ones who could do it easily were probably professors and Nurse Joy.

"Alright, you seemed like you wanted to join in...so all eyes are on you, Slothy!" he called out, as he tossed the ball and released his Slowpoke. Though he enjoyed the battle, it still seemed he had that infuriating attitude around him. He was so fired up watching, yet when he was forced to actually do the work he lost motivation.

Sighing, he gestured to his opponents, "You two can make the first move, this time, this guy won't be doing anything for a bit..." he sighed and told Frederick, wistfully.

Slowpoke - Slothy
Level 06 - Male - Oblivious - Water/Psychic
Yawn - Tackle - Curse

[attr="class","sinlyric"]undecided

[attr="class","sinlyric2"]but optimistic

[attr="class","sinbody"]Offering the boy advice once more, Alceides felt himself well with pride. He was making enough of an impression on Freddie to have earned praise without a negative, consecutively, and his Aipom had fainted anyway. He was feeling the rush of a battle, even if his Slowpoke wasn't. He was well aware of how a battle worked, so he simply beamed at the man as his Nidoran charged forth. What he didn't know was that his Slowpoke wouldn't put up a decent fight until it had been injured beforehand.

Charging forward with his horn aimed, glowing with a sickening purple hue much darker than the Nidoran itself, it was clear that the attack would also carry a poison effect. He couldn't afford to have another Pokemon affected by poison, but his Slowpoke wasn't nimble enough to dodge. He wouldn't be interested in an attack either, so he decided that the best course of action would be to rely on defense.

"Slothy, let's use Curse!" the boy ordered and his Slowpoke yawned but began concentrating his energy and glowing red as his attack and defense were raised meanwhile his speed was lowered.

Because Slothy was a slow pokemon, to begin with, speed was never an issue for Alceides. The Nidoran connected with his attack and drove his horn into the Slowpoke causing him to roar in pain. Thankfully, his Slothy managed to avoid being poisoned by the horn. Regardless, the damage had been dealt and his Slothy was now steaming and stomping his foot into the ground as he prepared for another round of clashes with the pokemon.

"My Slothy doesn't battle unless he's forced to, he's just incredibly lazy. So you taking the first move was really beneficial to me. Guess I can teach ya stuff too!" he said, grinning at Fred.

He didn't mean it in an arrogant way, in fact, he meant it in an honest returning-the-favor manner. He was really enjoying the day, and even if he ended up losing terribly, he'd continue to have a good time. A first loss was dissatisfying but for an optimist like him, it was just a bump in the road. Every bump made him stronger, and eventually, the bumps would evolve into hills and mountains. Life was a series of tribulations, or so he earnestly believed as if life was some fairy tale, but would always end well. Part of him was becoming a bit more aware of the world around him, Frederick's influence, but it was still too minuscule to become noticeable.

---

Used Curse
Remember heads or tails? t'was heads for no poison
uh I think that's it soz for the lateness

[attr="class","sinlyric"]undecided

[attr="class","sinlyric2"]but optimistic

[attr="class","sinbody"]In spite of all the praise earned, he quickly soured his friend's smile. He didn't like his last choice of words and voiced it explicitly. He ordered his Nidoran into action once more, apparently going to use his Pokemon to teach him a lesson. The horn jabbed into the Slowpoke once more, and he roared in pain, this time an angry growl his gaze changing upon the second hit. Even though he had been introduced freshly into the battle, he had been hit twice by a powerful technique and wouldn't hold up for much longer. Regardless, they had to put up a counter-attack because Alceides had something he had to teach the ranger.

"Momo, is an excitable Aipom who hates to stand still. She loves mischief, and she loves testing herself against others in any environment. She derives her strength from the rush we feel when we compete against others, that's our bond." he explained, before pointing toward his current battling partner.

"However, Slothy is someone who hates to do any work. If he could, he'd spend every day sleeping. He was passive even when we first encountered him, but not only did he resist with a battle, he actually broke away from my initial Poke Ball throw. Ever since then, I've never demanded anything extra of him save calling him into a battle. I've never asked him to try harder, or disparaged his personality," he explained, before exhaling a long sigh and taking a deep breath. He wasn't in the habit of talking excessively, but the man had pushed a certain button on the boy.

Flourishing his arms in a bow toward his Slowpoke, he finished up by explaining just what the point was. "You insulted us just now when you called his personality crippling. Regardless of the exact way you put it, we felt the meaning. My Slothy derives his strength from the absolute faith I have in him despite the fact that he's incredibly lazy. He might slow us down, literally, during travels or eat all the food but my faith doesn't waver in his abilities and he knows that. You call him indifferent, I call him unfocused."

Despite the fact that he spoke with a smile and appeared generally unfazed, there was no doubt that the fire was seeping through. It wasn't a wrath, so infuriating it threated to explode it was a calm fury that welled within. He accepted all of his advice thus far, but there was a line to consider crossing when you spoke of another's pokemon. He was going to show them that, even if his Slothy was in bad shape.

"Slothy, use Tackle!" he ordered as the Slowpoke slowly beginning a gallop toward the Nidoran in order to ram him with his curse increased charge.

---

TL;DR - Slowpoke was hit by Poison Jab
Slowpoke was badly poisoned!
Alceides used Speech
Slowpoke used Tackle!

Slowpoke's HP -

[attr="class","sinlyric"]undecided

[attr="class","sinlyric2"]but optimistic

[attr="class","sinbody"]The two males refused to back down in their individual opinions, one based off of ideals and the other based off of truth. It was interesting to say the least, but Alceides was finding himself at a frustrating crossroad. He liked Frederick, a lot, but he wasn't agreeing with his outlook on things in the least. He considered the Slowpoke lazy, unfit for battling, unwanting to even. It might be true, the last part at least, but if his Slowpoke truly didn't want to battle then the boy was sure that he would have shown him some sort of sign by now. The youth honestly cared for his partners and believed that they felt the same, sharing opinions whenever they wanted. If Slothy was against battling, then he wouldn't even enter battle. He would refuse any order given and do what he wanted.

"No," was the sole word he said, as his Slothy charged into the Nidoran to prove his point. He didn't want to sour their meeting, but the boy wasn't the type to hide his thoughts and emotions. He was an open book, made worse by the fact that he often voiced things himself.

He wanted Fred to understand the strength of their bond and what it could become, but at this very moment, he couldn't. But that wouldn't always be the case, right? Having slumped in negativity for a moment, his back straightened up quickly as the Nidoran closed in on his partner. He wanted nothing more than to return his Slothy to his Poke Ball before the attack connected, but this had to be a hard lesson for the both of them.

The rest of what Frederick was saying was lost on his deaf ears, however, he did agree that they weren't strong enough yet. The keyword in that statement was "yet", and that one word fueled immense determination. The mellow rage within him was still flowing, as the Nidoran drove his horn into the Slowpoke a final time. Even if Slothy was able to hang on, the poison that was ailing him swept him off his feet almost immediately. A ball was immediately thrown, retrieving the Pokemon with urgency. The most important thing, right now, was that his Pokemon got the proper care they deserved. But there was something that needed to be said before he could make his leave.

"Sir Fred, I like you, a lot. You've given me some useful advice. You feel like what a brother should be to me and, for that reason, we're going to sharpen our fangs until we reach you and show you the power of our bond. You're my rival now, no matter what path I decide on. And Slothy and I will make you take back calling him a pet."

Despite the serious nature of what he was saying, he still gave the man a friendly smile and wave before he departed. He would help Fred if he called or if he saw him in trouble, but now he had a reason to get strong.