prancing around [solo]

Elodie wandered around. She had never been in a dungeon before, but she was beginning to question if this place was one. From the stories her parents used to tell, dungeons sounded like exciting places that had pokemon itching to battle in every corner, and there were apparently plenty of traps as well. At the memory, she found herself skirting around a few suspicious-looking patches of dirt. Something landed on her and she jumped, only to see it was an apple. She hastily looked up, hoping to spot a pokemon hiding in the leaves, but there was only nature.

She sighed. “Kind of a downer.” Though she supposed she set her expectations a bit too high for an area so close to town. This really was a beginner’s dungeon, and she silently hoped she would get stronger quick so she could move on to more exciting adventures.

Approaching the apple, she took a sniff and rolled it around with her paw. The fresh red fruit was pretty much the only exciting thing in this place at the moment. After verifying nothing had crawled onto or into it, she picked it up by the pit and stowed it in her bag. She could eat it later when she felt hungry.

Elodie moved forwards, breaking out into a run. Whatever pokemon needed rescuing in such a quaint little meadow must have been pretty weak and in need of help, or perhaps a greater danger awaited her further in. Either way, she was more than eager to find out.

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After wandering around in the quaint labyrinth for a bit, Elodie found the stairs leading to the next area. She stopped at its foot, brows knitting together before she turned her head here and there. “Already? Wait, I haven’t seen anyone yet!” She expected to encounter at least one pokemon before finding the stairs.

Elodie blinked, realizing this area had been pretty much barren. Had she not searched hard enough? Was she that sneaky? She gave it some thought before a grin broke out across her face. Maybe she was just that good at this! She made a mental note to write to her parents later and brag about it.

Climbing to the next floor, she found the area to be pretty identical to the previous; it was a vast, beautiful expanse of healthy grass, bushes, and flower patches, and the faint scent of dew. If that missing Elekid hadn’t wandered off, she should be able to find them soon. Hopefully safe and sound, but she doubted Elekids would be that heavy. If it came to it, Elodie was more than willing to carry that fella home herself!

“Hang in there, kid! Elo’s a-comin’!” She raised her front paws up, as though a ponyta preparing to gallop, before dashing forwards in search. Every now and again she would call out, “Eeeelekid!” in an effort to call for the missing pokemon’s attention. Considering this place wasn’t as dense as a forest or a jungle, her voice should be able to reach them.

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Elodie had been running fast enough that she couldn’t halt when her ears caught the whinnying sounds of her opponent. Her paws had barely landed back on the dirt when the Ponyta smashed into her, tackling her forwards.

She landed ungracefully on the earth, rolling twice before coming to a full stop on her side. She groaned, feeling pain bloom on her side. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a little. The ambush had caught her off-guard to the point she was having some trouble registering the situation. One moment she was practically skipping across the fields, and the next, she found herself lying here.

The adrenaline poured back into her as she heard the Ponyta’s steps. She scrambled onto her feet, wincing briefly and cursing at her inexperience. If she was used to this, it wouldn’t be such a hassle just stand up. Now upright, she shook her coat out of impulse, and eyed the wild pokemon. Her mouth was curled into a frown, her eyes lit with fury. “That wasn’t very fair,” she muttered.

Then all at once, her expression and body relaxed with a deep breath. She returned to her usual wide-eyed stare, as though the Ponyta hadn’t just utterly humiliated her on her first adventure. “I guess we got off on the wrong start.” She smiled gently, her voice lowered so as not to frighten. As she spoke, she was taking careful steps towards the Ponyta. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Was I being too loud? I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Oh, I know! How about I pay you an apple for your trouble?” She stopped a few paces away, moving to open her bag. “Wait, no, I’m sorry, it’s way past lunch now.” She raised her head and giggled. “So I guess I can only give you one thing.”

Her legs pounded against the ground, launching her up as she swung her paws hard at the the Ponyta. “DESSERT!”

It hit! And from the looks of it, she chose the right spot too. Elodie looked positively elated as she landed back on the ground, watching as the Ponyta reeled back in pain. “Yeah, how’d you like that?!” She called, feeling incredibly proud of herself for what was her first attack – that wasn’t while she was roughhousing with her siblings.

Her celebration was quickly cut off as the Ponyta recovered, much faster than she had, not even leaving time for her to leap out of the way as it threw itself forwards for another tackle. She cried out, being thrown back in almost the exact same way as the first.

She cursed as she found herself eating dirt once more. That was even more painful than the first! How? At least this time she wasn’t as slow in getting back to her feet, though she teetered a little when the pain shot from her shoulder. The pain from her side was still very much fresh, but seeing as there was no broken bones – quite a feat for a tiny, inexperienced Eevee – it was slowly fading out.

But she was beginning to pant. Her body was to demanding for a break, as though more than half of her usual energy had been swept out of her so soon. She was beginning to sorely regret not having pushed herself harder when she trained back home, but was it really even training? It was more like playing than anything, seeing as her parents wouldn’t let anyone take their attacks too far.

She bit the bottom of her lip, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. It felt… heavy. Her mom had told her failing for the first few jobs weren’t uncommon, especially if you didn’t have team members, but that didn’t matter to Elodie. She wanted to be able to tell her parents she succeeded on her first mission all on her own. Besides, it wasn’t like she could lie—they could read her mind!

That reminded her of something. A little hastily, she closed her eyes, tightening the muscles of her little body in concentration. Dad was always kind of weird, prattling on about ghosts and gods, and Elodie thought he was either kidding or trying to scare them most of the time, but one trick of his never failed.

“Please, please, please…” She murmured quietly.

His voice sang, ‘Close your eyes and count to three, send a prayer to Jirachi.’

She opened her eyes as the sounds of galloping drew near. Her ears drew back, body still tense as she saw the Ponyta come closer and closer. This time, it wasn’t coming for an ambush, and it wasn’t moving too fast for her to watch. It was at least 2 feet taller than her, the muscles in its legs propelling it at such speeds that it was no wonder how each tackle was so painful. As it closed the distance, she could feel the heat from its flames.

The fur around her neck had stood on ends, causing her to look like a frazzled statue in the angered pokemon’s path. Unable to move her legs, Elodie closed her eyes and braced herself, hoping that her body could endure the hit. If she was lucky, maybe she could sneak in a few more attacks and make a break for it.

The hit never came. She heard the Ponyta’s hooves run past her, causing her eyes to spring open and her mouth to hang. She looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, the Ponyta had missed.

“I believe!” She rejoiced, only mentally adding ‘In myself’ for fear of inciting some ancient pokemon’s petty, and wasted no time in seizing her luck. She went after the opponent, pushing herself to catch up no matter how much her body protested. The adrenaline pumped through her veins as she chased, and she could feel the exertion in her legs as she propelled herself forwards. The placement wasn’t as good as the first attack, but it would have to do. She threw her paws at the opponent.

She felt her paw pads touch the ground, her legs shuddering a little under the weight and how they landed. Her mouth was open, puffing out breathes as she instinctively braced herself in case the Ponyta recovered quickly again.

She was planted to the spot as it toppled. Like a massive tree, the taller pokemon fell onto the path, finally no longer able to continue. Elodie was stupefied, her eyes wide like plates and her mouth hanging as though waiting for flies.

Her surroundings returned to their silence. The leaves rustled above, and a distant chirping accompanied the soft whispering breeze. Her mane had become horribly unruly from being thrown here and there during the fight, clinging to her chin and cheeks and sticking up in the air in weird angles.

“I won,” she said quietly, as though trying to tell herself. Her face broke out into a toothy grin, which looked ridiculous with her mane clinging to her chin like a beard. “I won!” She squealed, jumping, and then hopping herself over to the unconscious Ponyta. “How do you like them apples, pony-boy!” She said, wiggling her rear end rather distastefully at the fallen pokemon. She was about to holler for real until she shoved her paws onto her mouth, remembering. She couldn’t risk attracting another wild pokemon so soon.

She straightened herself, still somewhat unable to avoid skipping with each step, a wide smile still plastered over her face as she continued through the dungeon. Her victory had invigorated her, filling her with energy to continue on her quest. She still had that Elekid to find, but she couldn’t wait to share this story soon. Perhaps the Elekid would lend an ear on the way back.

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