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Description
The sun had just risen on Saturday, and Ruffles was wide awake. He'd not slept a wink that night, instead spending the entire time pacing back and forth next to the barn. The Charmeleon's tail flickered in the dim morning light, passing by his trainer's window at regular intervals. His feet, though tired, weren't nearly done wearing the earth down. A frustrated growl escaped the lizard's jaw as he thought about the Elemental Tournament. There were better, stronger, more trained Pokemon in the yard! Why on earth would anyone choose a Charmeleon unable to conjured flame? Was he supposed to Growl the competition into submission? Ruffles dropped onto his stomach and whined quietly, paws covering his snout in shame. He was the weakest Charmeleon in existence... and he was going to battle tomorrow.

None of this went unnoticed. Breeze, a small, pinkish Spearow, had watched from sun down to sun up, mesmerized by the Charmeleon's tail fire. Ruffles was her team mate, and she had intended to be a comforting presence. She was not very effective. With Ruffles down on the ground lamenting his own weakness, the tiny bird knew she'd need to fetch someone more motivating. Perhaps... Yes! Breeze dropped off the roof and darted off into the sunrise as fast as her tiny wings could carry her.

Minutes passed, and Ruffles managed to roll onto his back and continue moping quietly. A short gust of wind and a thump on the ground nearby caught his attention - it was none other than Angelus, the Charizard that Breeze flew off to fetch. With a satisfied chirp, the bird flew off again, leaving the dragons to talk. Angelus padded closer and grabbed Ruffles by his ruff - if only to lift him from the ground. While they growled at each other, many other Pokemon from the farm gathered to watch. Even Henrie snuck into the barn to watch the two.

Not that it did her any good, Henrie can't speak lizard.

Ruffles expressed his concern about the competition: his lack of experience and practice, the inability to run away, the worry that something really big and really strong was going to sneak in and squash him. By the time he'd finished, the older Charizard could only laugh. Or roar. That thing dragons do when amused. Ruffles snorted, feeling mocked. He would soften soon, however, as Angelus seemingly spoke reassurance. She'd seen all sorts of things in her time, and even recalled a story of Ruffles defeating a much stronger Absol - by dumb luck, but a victory is a victory. She went on the make fire seem really unimportant. It was not by flame that one should measure a Charizard, but Spirit. She growled at the Charmeleon some more, and softly, so that even the Pokemon would be left in the dark. Ruffles looked puzzled by what he heard.

Not a minute later, the elder dragon had grabbed the smaller lizard and taken to the sky with him. They flew out of sight - towards the constantly active volcanoes around Cinnabar. On these rocky, flaming hills, the Charmeleon was to learn what it meant to be a strong dragon like Angelus. They began with the simple things, like slashing away at burned-up brambles. Though it was a silly task, Ruffles stuck to it like glue, cutting through the dried up brush even when his arms began to tire. The small petrified trees were next - and they stopped the lizard in his tracks. He howled and roared at them, but his scratching proved ineffective. Just as he was about to preach the impossibility of it, Angelus swung with one mighty paw and snapped the tree in two - for a dragon's claws are tougher than stone.

There was but one tree left to topple, and Ruffles clawed at it relentlessly. Smoke poured from his nostrils with the effort, and his flame burned fiercely as he worked on the wood-turned-stone for hours. With a desperate roar and a final swing, the pillar cracked. More fractures followed, and finally the petrified tree succumbed to the weakness and crashed to the ground. The Charmeleon stood over his fallen enemy, claws burning hot from a combination of friction and his own excessive body heat. Angelus rumbled, as if pleased, but she wasn't done with the young student yet.

It was time for something she had only seen done - though the Charizard wasn't about to tell the young one that this was all theory. The two hiked up the nearby cliff, scratching and clawing their way halfway to the top. The brittle cliff-face crumbled every so often and threatened to let the young Charmeleon plummet to his death. Angelus slipped once herself, but having wings, it wasn't any sort of a big deal. She had but to glide back to the cliff's face and continue on upward. They rested at the precipice of that mountain and watched the smoke roil from the nearby volcano. The mountain was alive with fire dancing around its top, and an ashy snowfall graced the two fire lizards from the perch. Alas, the pair had scaled the mountain for a reason, and that reason was not to huff volcanic ashes. Angelus got back to her feet and scouted around for jsut the right sort of rock. Ruffles could only sit and watch the dragon's actions with a puzzled look on his face.

At last, she found the stone. It was a piece of brown slate, several inches thick, but very much shaped like an over-sized dinner plate. With a mighty heave, she hoisted the rock into the air and held it over the Charmeleon's head. He whimpered, expecting something awful. Imagine his surprise when Angelus tossed the rock to his feet and told him to get on. There was some very brief and confusing instruction before the orange lizard hurled her pupil down the mountain-side. Ruffles held on for dear life, his improvised rock skid disintegrating beneath his feet, and several boulders trailing behind, having been knocked loose by the slide. The base of the mountain closed in with disturbing speed, and the skid completely shattered, it's pieces rolling down the mountain alongside a tumbling Charmeleon.

That might've been the end, had the instinct to live not kicked in last minute. Ruffles's eyes glowed blue as he stopped his roll and leapt into the air. The boulders that had been trailing him tumbled and crashed at the foot of the mountain, moments before the Charmeleon landed. He heaved air. After the shakiness left his body, he turned to glare up the mountain - and there was Angelus. Just watching. His entire body ached and trembled, but rage filled the young dragon's mind in that instant. He flew up the mountain with unprecedented speed. Angelus remained at the top, watching the young one struggle to get to her. He was making very good progress. ...But didn't seem to understand her intent. The Charizard surveyed the ledge and found several loose stones. It didn't take any effort to break them loose and roll them down the hill.

Angelus roared the lizard equivalent of "Get tough or die!" and hurled the boulders down, succeeding only at fueling the Charmeleon's rage. Ruffles batted smaller rocks out of the way with his bruised paws, and swung out of danger's way when larger ones barreled towards his face. Angelus ran out of stones before Ruffles ran out of conviction. And he was still scaling the mountain face. Just as he reached the peak, Angelus took flight and headed towards the bottom. Ruffles missed his chance by a second. He tried to pull some fire from his angry belly, but succeeeded only in producing a dark smoke and falling further behind his assailant. There was, however, one stone left. Slate, like the previous one he slid down on. It was still anchored to the earth, but with a roaring tackle, Ruffles took it down and began riding it down to the foot of the mountain. The volcano sent up a pillar of flame as he decended, mirroring his anger. ...Or was it elation? The trip down was short indeed, but Ruffles conquered it with ease. His slate skid disintegrated, much like the last had, but he found himself able to run down the hill at the same pace as the boulders. Angelus stayed airborne, watching her ward charge down the hill with a rock slide of his own design. She considered trying to teach the boy something else... Perhaps something less dangerous.

Nah.

Her plaything had succeeded at something she couldn't manage herself. He'd toughened his resolve, and stopped believing that he wasn't strong enough to succeed. Aaand he'd gotten really angry with her. Ruffles leaped from the collection of stones clustered at the bottom of the mountain and roared a challenge at Angelus. He was far too angry to be reasonable. Aaand far too stuck-on-an-island to get back home. And the sun was setting. Well. I guess not everything worked out perfectly. Whoops. Perhaps Angelus could find someone with wings that wasn't herself to fetch the boy. He'd still be on his pile of rocks. Roaring and throwing a tantrum like a good dragon. ...Well, minus the breathing fire part. Shame.

1548 words.
+15 XP for Angelus.
+18 XP for Ruffles.

Ruffles learned Rock Slide and Slash!
Angelus learned Rock Tomb!

Some last-minute training for a last-minute lizard.

Description
The sun had just risen on Saturday, and Ruffles was wide awake. He'd not slept a wink that night, instead spending the entire time pacing back and forth next to the barn. The Charmeleon's tail flickered in the dim morning light, passing by his trainer's window at regular intervals. His feet, though tired, weren't nearly done wearing the earth down. A frustrated growl escaped the lizard's jaw as he thought about the Elemental Tournament. There were better, stronger, more trained Pokemon in the yard! Why on earth would anyone choose a Charmeleon unable to conjured flame? Was he supposed to Growl the competition into submission? Ruffles dropped onto his stomach and whined quietly, paws covering his snout in shame. He was the weakest Charmeleon in existence... and he was going to battle tomorrow.

None of this went unnoticed. Breeze, a small, pinkish Spearow, had watched from sun down to sun up, mesmerized by the Charmeleon's tail fire. Ruffles was her team mate, and she had intended to be a comforting presence. She was not very effective. With Ruffles down on the ground lamenting his own weakness, the tiny bird knew she'd need to fetch someone more motivating. Perhaps... Yes! Breeze dropped off the roof and darted off into the sunrise as fast as her tiny wings could carry her.

Minutes passed, and Ruffles managed to roll onto his back and continue moping quietly. A short gust of wind and a thump on the ground nearby caught his attention - it was none other than Angelus, the Charizard that Breeze flew off to fetch. With a satisfied chirp, the bird flew off again, leaving the dragons to talk. Angelus padded closer and grabbed Ruffles by his ruff - if only to lift him from the ground. While they growled at each other, many other Pokemon from the farm gathered to watch. Even Henrie snuck into the barn to watch the two.

Not that it did her any good, Henrie can't speak lizard.

Ruffles expressed his concern about the competition: his lack of experience and practice, the inability to run away, the worry that something really big and really strong was going to sneak in and squash him. By the time he'd finished, the older Charizard could only laugh. Or roar. That thing dragons do when amused. Ruffles snorted, feeling mocked. He would soften soon, however, as Angelus seemingly spoke reassurance. She'd seen all sorts of things in her time, and even recalled a story of Ruffles defeating a much stronger Absol - by dumb luck, but a victory is a victory. She went on the make fire seem really unimportant. It was not by flame that one should measure a Charizard, but Spirit. She growled at the Charmeleon some more, and softly, so that even the Pokemon would be left in the dark. Ruffles looked puzzled by what he heard.

Not a minute later, the elder dragon had grabbed the smaller lizard and taken to the sky with him. They flew out of sight - towards the constantly active volcanoes around Cinnabar. On these rocky, flaming hills, the Charmeleon was to learn what it meant to be a strong dragon like Angelus. They began with the simple things, like slashing away at burned-up brambles. Though it was a silly task, Ruffles stuck to it like glue, cutting through the dried up brush even when his arms began to tire. The small petrified trees were next - and they stopped the lizard in his tracks. He howled and roared at them, but his scratching proved ineffective. Just as he was about to preach the impossibility of it, Angelus swung with one mighty paw and snapped the tree in two - for a dragon's claws are tougher than stone.

There was but one tree left to topple, and Ruffles clawed at it relentlessly. Smoke poured from his nostrils with the effort, and his flame burned fiercely as he worked on the wood-turned-stone for hours. With a desperate roar and a final swing, the pillar cracked. More fractures followed, and finally the petrified tree succumbed to the weakness and crashed to the ground. The Charmeleon stood over his fallen enemy, claws burning hot from a combination of friction and his own excessive body heat. Angelus rumbled, as if pleased, but she wasn't done with the young student yet.

It was time for something she had only seen done - though the Charizard wasn't about to tell the young one that this was all theory. The two hiked up the nearby cliff, scratching and clawing their way halfway to the top. The brittle cliff-face crumbled every so often and threatened to let the young Charmeleon plummet to his death. Angelus slipped once herself, but having wings, it wasn't any sort of a big deal. She had but to glide back to the cliff's face and continue on upward. They rested at the precipice of that mountain and watched the smoke roil from the nearby volcano. The mountain was alive with fire dancing around its top, and an ashy snowfall graced the two fire lizards from the perch. Alas, the pair had scaled the mountain for a reason, and that reason was not to huff volcanic ashes. Angelus got back to her feet and scouted around for jsut the right sort of rock. Ruffles could only sit and watch the dragon's actions with a puzzled look on his face.

At last, she found the stone. It was a piece of brown slate, several inches thick, but very much shaped like an over-sized dinner plate. With a mighty heave, she hoisted the rock into the air and held it over the Charmeleon's head. He whimpered, expecting something awful. Imagine his surprise when Angelus tossed the rock to his feet and told him to get on. There was some very brief and confusing instruction before the orange lizard hurled her pupil down the mountain-side. Ruffles held on for dear life, his improvised rock skid disintegrating beneath his feet, and several boulders trailing behind, having been knocked loose by the slide. The base of the mountain closed in with disturbing speed, and the skid completely shattered, it's pieces rolling down the mountain alongside a tumbling Charmeleon.

That might've been the end, had the instinct to live not kicked in last minute. Ruffles's eyes glowed blue as he stopped his roll and leapt into the air. The boulders that had been trailing him tumbled and crashed at the foot of the mountain, moments before the Charmeleon landed. He heaved air. After the shakiness left his body, he turned to glare up the mountain - and there was Angelus. Just watching. His entire body ached and trembled, but rage filled the young dragon's mind in that instant. He flew up the mountain with unprecedented speed. Angelus remained at the top, watching the young one struggle to get to her. He was making very good progress. ...But didn't seem to understand her intent. The Charizard surveyed the ledge and found several loose stones. It didn't take any effort to break them loose and roll them down the hill.

Angelus roared the lizard equivalent of "Get tough or die!" and hurled the boulders down, succeeding only at fueling the Charmeleon's rage. Ruffles batted smaller rocks out of the way with his bruised paws, and swung out of danger's way when larger ones barreled towards his face. Angelus ran out of stones before Ruffles ran out of conviction. And he was still scaling the mountain face. Just as he reached the peak, Angelus took flight and headed towards the bottom. Ruffles missed his chance by a second. He tried to pull some fire from his angry belly, but succeeeded only in producing a dark smoke and falling further behind his assailant. There was, however, one stone left. Slate, like the previous one he slid down on. It was still anchored to the earth, but with a roaring tackle, Ruffles took it down and began riding it down to the foot of the mountain. The volcano sent up a pillar of flame as he decended, mirroring his anger. ...Or was it elation? The trip down was short indeed, but Ruffles conquered it with ease. His slate skid disintegrated, much like the last had, but he found himself able to run down the hill at the same pace as the boulders. Angelus stayed airborne, watching her ward charge down the hill with a rock slide of his own design. She considered trying to teach the boy something else... Perhaps something less dangerous.

Nah.

Her plaything had succeeded at something she couldn't manage herself. He'd toughened his resolve, and stopped believing that he wasn't strong enough to succeed. Aaand he'd gotten really angry with her. Ruffles leaped from the collection of stones clustered at the bottom of the mountain and roared a challenge at Angelus. He was far too angry to be reasonable. Aaand far too stuck-on-an-island to get back home. And the sun was setting. Well. I guess not everything worked out perfectly. Whoops. Perhaps Angelus could find someone with wings that wasn't herself to fetch the boy. He'd still be on his pile of rocks. Roaring and throwing a tantrum like a good dragon. ...Well, minus the breathing fire part. Shame.

1548 words.
+15 XP for Angelus.
+18 XP for Ruffles.

Ruffles learned Rock Slide and Slash!
Angelus learned Rock Tomb!

Some last-minute training for a last-minute lizard.