The Rockruff stood warily against the Surskit. It was rare for it to come out of the water, especially when faced with a Rock-type such as his Rockruff, but then again, there always was a possibility that it did not know what species was his Rockruff was. They were not endemic to Johto after all, and even Kyle wouldn't have known if he had not researched on the internet about him. There was also the fact that the Surskit was a wild Pokemon and wild Pokemon do not usually think with their brains, but rather, with their instinct. Either way, Kyle appreciated its guts on facing his Rockruff in a battle.

The small little bug released bubbles in the Rock-type's general direction. The first instinct that the Rockruff made was to stand its ground against it. He liked the sentiment, but it surely wasn't the correct play in that moment.

"How about you protect yourself?"

The little Rockruff turned to his trainer with large round eyes, nervously nodding before getting back to the action. Thankfully, the bubbles moved slow enough for all of it to transpire before it hit him. The Rockruff summoned Stealth Rocks around him, the small sharp pieces of hardened earth floating in front of him, popping any bubble before it came at him. The Surskit's attack was honestly not that scary in terms of appearance, but then again, his Rockruff was young and inexperienced and his perspective may differ to his.

"You're going to want to go on the offensive now."

Rockruff gathered what little rocks he could within the vicinity and bunched them all together for a Rock Slide attack at the Surskit. It may have been weaker than what Kyle was used to, but it was enough to knock the Bug-type out of commission. His Rockruff trembled at the sight of the retreating Surskit afterwards, with Kyle wondering if it was having mixed opinions on the matter.

MADE BY NOVA

Just as when they were about to celebrate for the win against the Surskit, a few needles managed to hit the Rockruff from the same direction that the Surskit came from. He would investigate directly, but even Kyle knew not to wander in and face check a bush when an enemy was clearly in it. Grabbing a pebble, he threw it in its direction before getting a cry out from the wild Pokemon and then the sound of the pebble hitting the surface of the water right afterwards.

"I did my part, now you should do yours."

The Rockruff approached the wild Pokemon reluctantly, turning to Kyle once before fully committing, only for his trainer to motion for the Rock-type to go in further. Left with no choice, he ventured further. The footsteps of his trainer following closely behind him reassured him at least.

A Tentacool had awaited the duo from the other side, floating by its lonesome on a rather large body of inland water with one of its tentacles rubbing the side of its head that Kyle could only presume had been hit with the piece of rock he threw earlier. As soon as it saw the Rockruff though, the Tentacool got ready to defend its little territory and shot another barrage of Poison Sting at the Puppy Pokemon.

"You still got rocks with you, right?"

Rocks floated on the Rockruff's command with a bark, rising in the air and effectively blocking the attacks. They remained afloat afterwards, serving no other purpose in the field whatsoever. The Rock-type then readied a Rock Slide, bombarding the Tentacool with rocks so much that it practically forced it to stay underwater. It didn't come back up to the surface afterwards, perhaps learning its lesson that the Rockruff was not to be trifled with.

"Good job, good job."

MADE BY NOVA

Kyle peered through the water's edge, finding nothing beneath the surface but rocks and mud on the bottom of the pond. He wasn't sure how a Tentacool got in there, but it fled away for now, never to be seen again. He decided to leave the questions behind, knowing that answering them won't change anything besides giving him a headache for thinking too much, before focusing back on his young Rockruff, who just managed to fend off the wild Pokemon.

"It's gone now. Do you want to go back?"

The Rockruff responded with a gleeful bark indicating the yes. The occasion was interrupted by the appearance of a Gulpin unfortunately, bringing a certain smirk back on his trainer's face. "How about one last practice before we do that?" The dreaded words came to the ears of the young pup, unable to do anything but comply to his trainer's words.

He whistled for the Gulpin's attention, managing to get it easily and accidentally provoking it to attack them. He supposed it should be fine since he was planning on having his Rockruff fight it anyways.

A dark blob of liquid was forced out of its system and thrown at the Rockruff, which the canine managed to dodge narrowly by backing away, painting the grass in front of him in an ugly black color. The Rock-type stared back at its trainer afterwards, forcing Kyle to scratch the back of his head and state the obvious. "You retaliate after that, dummy." And so did the Rockruff performed another Rock Slide.

A bunch of rocks sprayed all over the Gulpin, squeezing its body and getting it to release its Poison Gas. Alerted by the colored gas it emitted, Kyle prompted his Rockruff to start cleaning things up. "Fire Fang!" The canine rushed off amid the Poison Gas and sunk his teeth on the Gulpin's rather soft skin. The gas burst into flames, but thanks to his typing, the Rockruff was fortunately unscathed by the event.

"That's it, we're going home." Quickly returning his Pokemon back, Kyle pinched his nose as he stomped away from the scene. His Rockruff needed a bath whether he liked it or not.

MADE BY NOVA