The youth couldn't help but smile at her rephrasing of the way things had been proceeding for him. He was usually the optimistic one, even in spite of the odds, so it was nice to see that some form of him had rubbed off on the woman. She was more preoccupied with her phone at the moment, but he didn't mind it much. At times it could be reversed for the two, so he had no right to say anything about it.

"I should probably train a bit more, I've gone crazy with my catching habits! Plus, I usually let them tell me where to go," he admitted, more to himself than his companion in Ashley.

At the sudden question of his evolving his Vulpix, the boy froze in his tracks. Honestly, there was no reason he couldn't evolve the Vulpix at this point. He had procured the stone that he needed to use on her, but his trauma had mostly kept him back. No, kept them back. Eyeing the Vulpix, he suddenly felt guilty for making the selfish decision not to evolve her up until this point.

His impetuous nature kicked in, as he placed the Vulpix on the ground and began to rummage through his bag in search of a certain object. Pulling out the Ice Stone triumphantly, he gazed at his friend mischievously.

"Well, I guess now, and we're about to find out!" he mentioned, tossing it in front of the Vulpix to leave the final decision to her. Azure eyes met with brown for a moment, before a paw reached out and touched the stone. A glorious light enveloped the Vulpix as her body grew larger. The base forms were much different in comparison, however, when they evolved the Ninetales weren't actually that different.

"Woah...Cassandra...I didn't think you'd get even more beautiful..."

Despite the fact that he was the one who had hastily made the decision, he was the most astounded as he looked on with wonder and amazement. He knew that Ninetales was gorgeous, but this was simply beyond anything he had expected. Trilling in happiness, she trotted forward and he pets her fur delicately. Curious, he flipped open his Pokedex and allowed it to scan the Pokemon before delivering a summary.

"Ninetales the Fox Pokemon; they are an Ice and Fairy-type. Possessing a calm demeanor, this Pokémon was revered as a deity incarnate before it was identified as a regional variant of Ninetales."

Blinking at the mechanized explanation, he was left a bit dumbfounded - wondering if he had truly been gifted with a deity-like Pokemon. Before he could fawn over her form any longer, they were interrupted by the appearance of a small and familiar Pokemon. It must've been the same one they encountered before, having leveled up a substantial amount. It was clear that he wanted to challenge the boy, but he didn't want to use Cassandra just yet.

Excited for combat, a bit jealous that so much attention had been given to Cassandra instead of her. Flipping for a bit of bonus praise, Alceides catching on and clapping immediately, she didn't waste any time in getting into the action. Swiping her tail, a trail of stars burst forth and barraged the poor Riolu. Using Copycat, the Riolu learned the Swift and sent his own projectiles speeding toward the Aipom. Surprised, she attempted to dodge as many as she could but sustained as much damage as he had.

With incredible speed, he delivered a series of Bullet Punches smashing into the poor Aipom. Getting up, she swung her tail with chilly energy in a powerful Ice Punch. Expecting a physical attack, the Riolu used Endure before using Counter. Taking all the damage he had endured, he doubled it and returned it to the Aipom. With a loud cry, she bounced off the ground and struggled to regain her footing. Panting, she glared at the Riolu who was showing her up, as well. Her anger was reaching a boiling point, finally exploding at her trainer's command.

"Use your Fury Swipes!"

Her tail clenched and instead, she whipped around and smacked him with it twice, knocking the Riolu unconscious. That attack was clearly not her Fury Swipes and now Alceides was clearly confused, thankfully still holding his Pokedex at the least. Opening it and aiming the device at the Pokemon, he learned that the attack it used was Double Hit.

"But wait, isn't that-"

Interrupting him, triumphantly, the Aipom was covered in a familiar glow. Not wanting to be outdone by the Ninetales nor the Riolu, she had pushed herself to the limit and beyond. A single tail split, becoming two larger ones as the monkey grew in size.

"There's no friggin' way you're riding on my shoulder's still. But dang, you look badass! It's about time, too!" he teased his starter initially, before delivering heartfelt praise.

But it was true in a sense, Momo was way too larger to consider perching atop his shoulder any longer. Though, he wasn't going to be fitting Ninetales in his arms, either.

"What's with ya, Ash? Do you just like pump energy into the air around these Pokemon?" he teased his friend as she battled a...flaming chicken?

---

ASHLEY LEE // notes: evo x2 // word count: 869

[attr="class","Vgentemptitle"]A Wild Pokemon Has Appeared

[attr="class","Vgentempdiv"]

[attr="class","Vgentemptitle"]A Wild Pokemon Has Appeared

[attr="class","Vgentempdiv"]

"Hey, you're really on a roll today Slothy, huh?" the boy asked his Pokemon excitedly with both of his fists raised into the air, eyes sparkling with admiration. For a Pokemon who had originally only entered battle when attacked, it was odd to see him take so much initiative. Before he would have voluntarily left for a nap after fulfilling his responsibilities, perhaps the words spoken by Frederick had left deeper meaning than the boy had realized. He didn't want Slothy to be like this if it meant that he was going to suppress his own personality.

"Hey, Slothy? You don't have to try any harder for me, I've always adored you just the way you are. You've stuck with me through thick and thin, and you don't need to perform greatly or anything to receive my affection. You'd get that just being yourself," he spoke awkwardly, unsure if he should even directly mention what his teacher had said.

The usually dopey and spaced-out Slothy actually managed to look serious for once, biting onto his trainer's hand tightly. Howling in pain, he ripped at his hand before finally saving it from the pink hippopotamus. The youth was too confused about what his problem was, but gazing into his eyes he could tell that his words had disturbed the Slowpoke. Did he change for himself? Was he offended at the thought of it is because of another?

Reaching into his bag, he popped an Oran Berry into the Slowpoke's mouth in order to restore some of the damage he had taken, before bursting out in a fit of giggles at Ash's words. He could tell, just a bit, that the Magmortar wasn't exactly the loving type. It was nice spending time with both his best friend and his Pokemon like this, carefree and actually enjoying life.

"This was my first time fighting anything like that...but it was pretty friggin' awesome!" the boy answered in response to her remarks about the pair of Hitmon they had encountered. To his delight, though confusion, she had decided to use her Zoroark in order to combat them. It was a beautiful Pokemon, he just wasn't sure what kind of personality it possessed - his mind wandering briefly to the brutal Magmoratar.

"Hey, Ash, why'd you use Zoro? Wouldn't have been better to go with...Gya, or Medi?" he asked, curious over her disadvantageous decision.

Instead of the wild Pokemon coming to them, they were drawn to the sound of a large ruckus. Eyes twinkling, his imagination already in full gear, the boy's eyes pleaded at his friend long before any words left his lips.

"You won't mind, right? Let's go!" he asked, sure that she would humor the boy's request.

---

Battle Log (TL;DR)

Nothing yet

ASHLEY LEE // notes:  // word count: 456