June 21st, 10 Years Ago
Robert Dean, 10 Years Old
Pallet Town
With the way that the chase had been going, there would be no practical hope for Robert to actually catch the people he was chasing. Not only were they athletic adults while he was just a moderately healthy kid, but the thieves in question lacked any regard for people's possessions, whereas Robert made a genuine effort to attempt to avoid trampling over peoples' property. The thought of calling the police like a normal kid occurred to him multiple times, but the thieves seemed to stop in their tracks before he could actually use his phone to enact that plan. The fight had already seen a decent amount of progress, with the trainers bound by Sorrel's Tangela and the Charmander from before locked in combat with one of the grunt's Magnemite. This would leave Robert and Mith to handle the Grimer, who's foul stench forced the young man to cover his nose. Unfortunately, Mith seemed to be ill-equipped to fight the Sludge Pokémon, given that most of its attacks would do little to phase the Poison Type. Nonetheless, the two didn't come this far just to turn away.
"Mith, try to hit it with Metal Claw," After issuing the command to his Pokémon, Robert bit his lip while he waited for the results. The rounded bumps on Mith's forepaws began to glow with a silvery-white light, before emitting a trio of claw-like weapons for the Riolu to use. Once the claws manifested, the Fighting Type dashed towards the Sludge Pokémon to scratch it into submission.
"Aim Sludge at its feet," Though he was bound by an enemy Pokémon, the thief was still capable of giving orders to his. The Poison Type spat its Sludge at at the running Riolu, hoping to cause the Pokémon to trip. Unfortunately for the Grimer, his trainer failed to account for the possibility of Mith's reaction time, resulting in the Grimer getting a metallic claw raked across its face. Robert pumped his fist in relief, glad that he was able to do damage to the seemingly immovable opponent. Truthfully, the Sludge Pokémon was no worse for wear, only losing trace amounts of its grungy biomass, but it was irritated enough to retaliate without orders from its trainer, aiming a Poison Jab at Mith's chest. Upon noticing the attack, the Riolu quickly pivoted off to the side to avoid the attack, keeping its guard raised. After noticing this interaction, Rob realized that he would need to be more attentive on the battle.
"Keep at it, you're doing great!" Robert shouted encouragement towards his partner, confident that he didn't need to dictate his every move. As the two Pokémon brawled, the boy's eyes took a glance at the Bulbasaur he had seen chasing the thieves beforehand, noticing that the Grass Type had not moved since the battle had begun.
The Bulbasaur was...unsure why he was here. He saw the mysterious individuals take the papers and he knew that those papers couldn't possibly belong to them, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. Yet, the Charmander that he had become vaguely acquainted with called him to action, along with the Squirtle he was somewhat familiar with. Though the Seed Pokémon didn't know the Fire -Type for long, he knew that she was an aggressive creature, and that she would be all to eager to punish his refusal on her return. Now that the Grass type was faced with his opponents, he was beginning to reconsider how painful the punishment would be. However, he noticed the boy with the Riolu try to fight off the Grimer despite unfavorable odds, which re-inspired him to contribute. Knowing that his normal attacks wouldn't be very effective against the Poison type, the Grass Type fired a trio of seeds from his bulb, aiming for the ground between Mith and his opponent.
Mith was locked into an intense struggle with his opponent, having to employ swift maneuvers in order to avoid being jabbed by the Grimer. His focus on the battle at hand left him blindsided by the sudden appearance of vines that sprouted up to grasp at the Sludge Pokémon. The Grimer was just as surprised, but wasted next to no time in trying to dissolve the vines that took a hold of him. Robert glanced back at the Bulbasaur that had previously remained stationary with a confused look. After connecting the dots in his head, the red-haired boy smiled and gave a thumbs up to the Grass Type, which was returned with an awkward smile from the Seed Pokémon. Unfortunately, the Grimer was able to free himself from the vines to resume combat with Mith, who was starting to tire but was still able to avoid the Poison Jab. Robert and the Bulbasaur stared at the conflict, knowing they'd need to interfere but unsure when to do it.
"Hey, you think you could lend a hand in a bit?" Shouting out to the other trainer that he came with, Robert tried weighing the options in front of him as he watched the struggle continue.
