[attr="class","smdbody"] the wild pokemon slowly came into view, its round form passing her by at a sluggish pace. her gaze remained fixed upon the sight of it as she tried to recall the name of its species. 

'it's at the tip of my tongue...' 

she snapped her fingers, eyes widening a fraction as it suddenly came to her.

"a numel!" 

the pokemon's ears would twitch before its partially lidded eyes shifted to take her in. it expression was stoic, and it continued to remain plain-faced as it openly peered at the young woman. eventually, its head would cock to the side, a hint of bemusement creasing at is simple facial features. 

'looks kinda slow - both in body and in mind.' 

she chuckled in amusement, moving to stand before plucking a capsule from her belt. 

"let's see how strong you are." 

ash introduced her phanpy, who blinked in reaction to the sight of the lumbering fire-type. 

"bishop, i want you to use rollout." 

the pokemon moved to obey, lunging himself forward as he furled into a tight ball. he managed to gain an astonishing amount of speed in the span of several seconds, kicking up clumps of dry earth as he rushed forward. the numel was knocked back, but it remained firmly planted upon its four feet. 

'i was hoping that would make it fall,' she thought, scowling. 

it responded by releasing a gout of flame, the ember harshly impacting the presently unfurling ground-type. 

"phan!" 

the little elephant released a pained noise, dedicating a moment toward quickly rolling upon the earth to snuff out the fire that had stubbornly clung to his tough skin. 

"keep it up with the rollouts." 

the numel met the attack with a surprisingly powerful tackle, causing the two to meet and then immediately recoil. from what she could discern, the numel was likely a physical attacker, its body solid and powerful despite how plump it appeared to be. but each consecutive rollout grew in intensity, which inevitably whittled down the wild pokemon's ability to remain standing. 

"s-shit. is that earthquake?" 

the fire-type had stomped upon the ground with a shout as it teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, causing the earth below to shake and nearly unbalance both ash and her companion. 

"finish it, bishop!" 

the pokemon slammed himself into the numel once more, the force behind the strike managing to finish off the wild creature then and there. 

[attr="class","smdbody"] a dull roar reverberated throughout the route, catching both ash and her bestial counterpart by surprise. such a frightening sound would be followed by the harsh impact of large feet against earth. she was granted a few precious moments to react, her head swiveling in the direction of its source before she threw herself to the ground. she just barely dodged being utterly destroyed by a wild rhyhorn's charge, the pokemon grinding to a halt to examine the limp form of the numel. it offered the felled creature a sniff and nudged it, rumbling quietly as it did so. 

'oh.' 

ash struggled to stand after the rough fall, shivering lightly as she stared at the pokemon. her phanpy wisely retreated a step, a wary look in his eye. the rhyhorn would shift to face them after examining the fallen 'mon, pawing at the earth with a low snarl. 

"was that your friend?" ash inquired. 

the woman chuckled, her eyes round as she met the rock-type's gaze. 

"that's too bad." 

she shook her head lightly from side to side. 

"it barely gave us a challenge," she said. "i wonder if you can?" 

while it could barely understand her words, her tone of voice prodded at it the wrong way. it snorted, eyes alight with what appeared to be rage. 

"return, bishop!" 

just before it lunged, she would have her mawile take the place of her phanpy. the fairy faced the enraged beast, eager and willing to partake as her mistress commanded her to strike. 

"use iron head!" 

mawile rushed forward, covered in a gray blanket of energy. her form rammed into that of the rock-type's, causing it to stumble and blink rapidly. but its recovery was surprisingly swift, the pointed tip of its horn nearly skewering the fairy's middle. the brunt of its attack still hit despite her best efforts, and queen's expression would grow worryingly dazed as she reeled. 

"stay focused, queen. and watch out for that damn horn!" 

her pokemon danced away with obvious difficulty, the mawile's hands raised to clutched at her head before she defensively postured herself. her maw would snap open wide, releasing a gurgling roar as it dribbled lightly. the rhyhorn flinched away for a moment before releasing a dismissive huffing noise and summoning forth an orb that rammed directly into the steel-type. it exploded on impact, causing the mawile to release a pained and startled squeal in reaction. 

"iron head, again!" 

queen grimaced and forced herself to move, her body slamming into the rhyhorn's skull. it released a truly terrible cry before hastily responding with another horn attack. the tip of its natural weapon scraped at her side, leaving a decently sized wound in its wake. 

"keep going, queen. until it's done!" 

her pokemon just barely made it, struggling to force the rock-type into submission as she was dealt blow after blow. once it had fallen, its form collapsed and blessedly still, queen fell to her knees and panted. ash released a sigh of relief once she was certain it was over, quickly recalling the fairy so to grant her a moment's rest. 

[attr="class","smdbody"] she had suffered a few scrapes from her fall, and had only just now taken notice to the state of her arm. there was a thin trickle of blood that sluggishly flowed from several recently opened wounds, and ash would return to her pack to tend to them. after cleaning the formerly dirt-encrusted area and slapping a few bandages onto it, she experimentally flexed the limb.

"oh, that smarts." 

ash winced slightly in reaction before releasing a quiet sigh. 

"but i should be good to go." 

ash shouldered her pack, adjusting the straps a bit before pressing onward. she intended to make it to the next town over before the sun dipped below the horizon. she'd rather rest someplace decent tonight, for she craved the cushioned surface of a bed that was covered in fresh linen.

'i should almost be there. i've been walking for a few hours now.' 

she maintained a pace she considered to be decent, and kept an eye out for creatures whom might have claimed the route as their home. it didn't take her terribly long to discover one of its many occupants, for a single houndour moved to plant itself in the middle of her path. 

"i'm going that way. mind letting me pass?" 

the canine bared its teeth in reply, giving her its answer. it was a lightly scarred, appeared to be on the scrawny side, and was very much alone. ash was aware that canines tended to run in packs - especially houndour and their evolved counterparts. 

"a loner, huh?" she questioned. "good. good." 

she'd rather not fight against an entire pack of the fire-spewing mutts, especially since two out of her three companions had been severely worn down. 

"rook, try to make this quick. i want to get out of here." 
 
her meditite was released from the confines of her capsule, standing at the ready as she faced the snarling dark-type pokemon. 

"it has a natural weakness to fighting-type moves," ash informed. "so we're gonna try to make use of that force palm of yours. alright?" 

"medi," rook replied, nodding. 

the fire-type would lunge forward before ash could utter a command, its mouth agape as it moved to deliver a fierce bite. it successfully latched onto the meditite's thin arm, breaking skin as its canines dug deep. 

"use force palm on its head." 

rook, whom's expression had tightened into a pained grimace, would effectively deliver the blow. and it was truly significant, for the fire-type released its grip upon her arm with a strangled yelp. its eyes were wide as it struggled to recover from the single blow, spewing out an ember in a desperate attempt to retaliate. fire licked at the meditite, and she temporarily lost her focus as she retreated several steps with a grunt. 

"make it pay for that."

her companion moved to do just that, responding to the ember with the use of hidden power. it was surprisingly effective, the houndour recoiling and releasing yet another noise of agony. 

'looks like i have the advantage here.' 

ash's grin grew increasingly wicked as she bore witness to the fire-type's attempt to remain upright. its limbs were quivering beneath its weight, the whites of its eyes flashing. 

"finish it with another force palm." 

the wild pokemon was effectively dispatched with such a move. once it had crumpled with a faint whine, she returned her pokemon to its capsule.

"good luck making it out here, yeah?" 

she eyed the limp creature before shrugging and passing it by with a satisfied look upon her face.