Worn out but Worth it (open)

[Bradley Mandara]

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    Shadows of his Skarmory passed by him several times on the ground. The shadows themselves only disturbed from the dust kicked up by his heavy shoes walking on the ground. With his hoodie left in his dorm room, Bradley dressed in Black flats a white tank top and black shorts. His white top only darkened some by the sand that occasionally kicked up and blew onto him. He kept a pair of flight goggles pulled over his eyes and his light hair blew in the harsh winds.

    Sabishii followed his master loyally, stepping in his shoe prints, only stopped by bumping into the back of his leg. Bickering, he stopped when his master pointed. A group of Trapinch, with one wandering a little to far away from the group itself. Trapinch were dangerous Pokemon, known for digging traps. But that's where a Cubone had the advantage. Their eyes were exceptional when underground, and due to being ground type Pokemon, they also had exceptional digging abilities. Although, when it came down to it, Sabishii was nervous. He wasn't much of a fighting Pokemon, and his master may have always spoke of training him, but it was much scarier up close. The small Cubone looked up to his master, holding his bone firmly, but shaking a little.

    "It's OK Sabishii. Blitzkrieg and I have your back in this fight. Just do as I say, try your hardest, and no matter what happens, today will be a good day. I trust in your strengths." Bradley may not have been able to understand Pokemon like his sister, but he had the ability to keep violent Pokemon calm and had a better chance of them obeying him than any regular Pokemon. Looking to the Trapinch, he pointed to the stray one and gave a simple command. "Go and challenge it."

    With a somewhat scared nod, Sabishii ran out into the desert, stopping a couple feet away from the other Ground type Pokemon. Shaking his bone at it, he got in a battle ready position.
   
    Before Sabishii could react, the Trapinch charged him and Blitzkrieg land with a loud "Thud" in front of the rest of them, who had decided to charge as well. "Sabishii! Bone club!" The words of his master echoed out to him and instinctively, he took his bone and drove it onto the head of the Trapinch, making it shake it's head some. "Don't give it a chance to recover! Use Focus Energy then give him a Headbutt!" On cue, Sabishii did as told and delivered a head butt. The Cubone was a natural battler, but like any training session, the opponent landed hits. The Trapinch used bite on Sabishii's arm and before Bradley called out a move, Cubone was taken underground.

    Silence befell the desert once again. The rest of the Trapinch had ran away from Blitzkrieg's attacks, but Sabishii had been taken underground. "SABISHII!" Bradley called out helplessly, stuck standing where he was. Trapinch commonly made sand pits, and it would be much to dangerous to run forward, he could get stuck as well and that would just make the situation worse. "SABISHIIIII!" His voice echoed once again, helplessly. Silence stayed for what seemed like minutes, before being disturbed by a rumbling sound.

    Blitzkrieg turned his head some and clamped his jaw solemnly. His buddy just got sucked underground and he didn't know what to think. Flapping his wings, he lifted his self up from the ground and stayed there. Excitedly, he noticed the ground swell some and Sabishii came out.

    Sabishii used dig to free his self from the trap that the Trapinch had made and that same Trapinch had also fled when Cubone had continued the attack underground. A little worse for wear, he still held onto his bone, despite the bruises that formed.

    Bradley knelt onto the ground and called Sabishii over, and to his relief, the Pokemon charged over, jumping onto him and hugging him. He could sense that he was a little scared and decided to call it a day. His Cubone had won his battle and had earned a good rest. Picking him up, he carried him over to a rock facing, sitting down with him in the shade and pulled the satchels off of his Skarmory's back. Opening them, he pulled out some water and a bowl, pouring some for his Pokemon to drink. As ground and Steel types, they didn't really need it, but he figured it would be nice for them, considering that they had been behaving like good Pokemon as well as working hard. "I think it's time to call it a day." He spoke gently, petting the Cubone that had crawled into his lap, curling up.

    He laid back as well, both him and Blitzkrieg keeping an eye on the surroundings. Sweat poured down his back, chest, head and neck in the heat, wearing him down, but all rewarding when the wind blew, cooling him off some. The sun still sat high in the sky, and clouds were non-existent.

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Word Count: 842

[Azreal Sinbad]

The Desert. One of the most interesting places, yet one of his least to visit. Why? Because there wasn't any water in the Desert. If you were lucky, there was an oasis. But no, he didn't want his Pokemon to feel uncomfortable by being out when he went to the Desert. He had a reason to come to the Desert. Why? Much to his lack of knowledge around the school grounds, he was curious if there was an oasis here. He was also wondering that if there was an oasis, if it was possible to take Ylva there. Well, maybe not Ylva: she didn't seem very keen on water. But he knew what he would need to bring. He took a small backpack, filling them with canteens of water. He figured he wouldn't need any food this time around, since he would only go for a short amount of time.

He had heard the struggle of a fight, and he had understood that there were lots of Pokemon around in the desert. He kept a watch on the Pokeballs close to his waist. He wore something...strange. He was wearing spandex shorts, black ones. He didn't really have any other shorts, other than his swimming shorts. He wore a white tanktop with a white undershirt. He wore this because this was the Desert that he was going to, and if he wore too much, he would sweat harder than her wished. He noticed the trainer and his two Pokemon, a Cubone and a Skarmory. Without a moment, Bane came out of his Pokeball, fur bristling as he started to bark at the Pokemon and the trainer. "Well, you look worse for wear. Get into a fight?" He told the trainer, noticing the Cubone and the Skarmory. Now, hopefully Bane didn't screw this up.

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Word Count: 303
Tags: Bradley
Notes:

[Bradley Mandara]

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    Bradley gave a curious look up when he heard the Pokeball release. Turning his head some, he finally saw why Blitzkrieg was getting so fussy. It was a Samurott, and a pretty nice sized one, but still very young looking. He didn't know, he wasn't a water type trainer, but he was an enthusiast of all Pokemon and Pokemon types... especially water.

    Although, now was not the time to get excited. The Pokemon was showing signs of aggressiveness and it was making Blitzkrieg bristle more than usual. Placing a hand on his beak, he uttered soft words, making the heavy Pokemon calm down some. Hoping that his ability would transfer to the Samurott as well, he looked to him and sighed gently. "We're not gonna attack you or your master. Although I can't understand you, I'm sure you can understand me. Please calm down, you're upsetting my Pokemon as well." Motioning downwards, he pointed out Sabishii, who was tired and frightened. As a ground type, his violent nature became a null void in the face of a water type, therefore, he cowered under a stronger Pokemon.

    Everything calmed down on Bradley's side though when he picked up the frightened Cubone. The Pokemon was much to young to take on a Samurott, and he knew that, and that only frightened him more. "Yea, we got into a battle for training. My Cubone here took out a Trapinch, barely, but I'm proud of him." Stopping, he blinked and turned his head. "Excuse me, I'm acting like my sister, where are my manners." With a small crack at his twin, Ylva, he chuckled and motioned towards his Skarmory. "This is Blitzkrieg, my Skarmory. This little guy is Sabishii, my Cubone and I'm Bradley Mandara. May I ask your name?" Curiously, he walked over some and held out his hand, hoping this person wasn't violent.

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Word Count: 313

[Azreal Sinbad]

Azreal gave a sigh when he saw Bane out and barking. Well, if it wasn't for Bane's first impressions. He could tell that the Skarmory looked like it was ready to fight, too, but Azreal started to pet Bane under his helmet. "Bane, easy now. No need to cause trouble." The Samurott was starting to calm down, mostly ignoring the words of the other trainer. Bane moved in-between the two boys, clearly still looking on alert. However, Bane wasn't barking anymore, so...maybe that was a good sign? "Sorry, Bane's like that. He's a bit...picky on people to trust." That was really the best way he could explain Bane's actions, other than being over-protective. It was a work in progress, but Bane had shown improvement with Ylva.

It seemed like the Cubone the trainer was holding was rather...scared? Perhaps it was that the Cubone was scared of Bane. Sure, Bane probably looked big and scary, but Azreal had control over him. Bane wouldn't attack otherwise. He raised a brow when the other said that he was like his sister, and introduced himself, as well as his Pokemon. "My name? It's Azreal. My Samurott is Heartsbane, though I nicknamed him "Bane" for short. My other Pokemon that I have in my Pokeball is named "Fins". He's a Mantyke." He started to scratch his head, still sweating a bit. "Hey, do you know if there's an Oasis around here? I figured there might be one where my water Pokemon can be more comfortable."

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Word Count: 254
Tags: Bradley
Notes:

[Bradley Mandara]

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    His eyebrows raised at the mention of a Mantyke. "Oh, those are considerably rare. I've only seen a few in my life, so you're lucky to own one." Smiling, he looked at Bane then back to the boy named Azreal. "Oh, it's fine. I've seen much crueler Pokemon, or much angrier... and defensive.. Ok.. I've seen a lot. I don't know how to stay out of trouble. When she's in trouble, I'm in trouble.. that's just how it works." He went off mumbling to his self, earning a respective -NUDGE- from the Skarmory behind him. "Ah, yes. Ok... now.. No... I don't believe there are any Oasis around here. Blitzkrieg hasn't led me to one yet and I sent him out to scout."

    With an unpleasant noise, Sabishii hid his face into the sandy tank top of his master, shaking some. Soft pats and gentle words calmed him though, making him feel as though he was in the arms of a Marowak again. Only to realize that he was with a human. A little saddened and confused, the tired Pokemon drifted to sleep.

    Blitzkrieg looked the Samurott in the eyes and set his claws steady. "You're in my kind of area... so don't try anything funny you overgrown conch shell." Flapping his wings once was enough to kick up some sand, showing off his wing power and how easy it would be for him to lift up and off of the ground beneath them.

    "Now Azreal? Was it? My Pokemon are well adapted to this environment and we would be more than happy to walk you through the Trapinch tunnels.. if you need water that badly. Nine times out of ten, Trapinch holes or any burrows in a desert like area will lead you to a source of water... it will be underground more than likely as well.. but it would be cave water.. meaning it would be clean." Bradley let out a small sigh and looked at him. "But I'll be honest.. I'm not as... well.. the word isn't dumb.. but it's pretty close... I'm not as dumb or daring as my twin sister, but I would be willing to lead you around underground if you ever come into serious need of water out here. You see.. I have special mining gear that allows me to see underground somewhat... and they just so happen to be these goggles. I got them while living in the mining town and also use them for flying on Blitzkrieg... I'm sorry.. I seem to be rambling... but I hope you see what I'm saying... and haven't drifted off yet."

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Word Count: 438

Notes: Bradley.. why you gotta ramble like dat?

[Azreal Sinbad]

"I suppose "Lucky" is the right word. I won him from a carnival battle arena. Didn't expect a Pokemon would be my prize." He chuckles a bit, thinking about when he won that tournament with Bane. It was a fighting tournament, where he had to fight five people in a row. He and his Samurott won all the battles, expecting to get paid some money. However, the prize was a Pokeball instead. Baffled, he took Bane and himself to the beach, releasing the Pokemon from its confines. The Pokemon seemed to splash around in the water, and Azreal considered it lucky that he got a water type Pokemon. Since then, the rest had been history for the three. The other boy seemed to start rambling, which Azreal had a hard time paying attention to. In fact, he was mumbling so much, even the trainer's own Pokemon were not pleased with his rambling. At least, the Skarmory was. However, his question finally got answered, the trainer saying that there weren't any Oasis around here. "Well, good to know. I packed extra water if that was the case. Never really like the desert, but I need my Pokemon to train in harsher conditions. Also, ranting shows a lack in confidence and ability. You should work on that problem."

Bane barked deeply at the Skarmory, still not trusting the bird. "Do anything to Azreal and I'll make your steel rust, Bird Brain." He growled, his fur still on it's end as he hit the bird with an uncalled Water Pulse. Bane was not in the mood for threats, and if he was being hit with sand, he may as well hit the bird with water. He looked to Azreal before laying next to Azreal, panting a bit from the heat.

"Bane! Return!" He returned Bane to his Pokeball, seeing that Bane hit the bird with water. He put the Pokeball to his waist, thinking that would ease the environment. He could tell that Bane would need some training. "Sorry about that." He then listened to what the boy would say, but really only wanted the important parts. Like where the water was (which was apparently underground). He then started to talk about leading him underground, saying that he had special mining gear. Wait...Mining Gear? Didn't Ylva say something about mining. "Then...are you Ylva's brother? You two are very...different."

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Word Count: 399
Tags: Bradley, Bane
Notes:

[Bradley Mandara]

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    Bradley shook his head and gave a gentle chuckle towards Azreal. "No no. Both my sister and I share a great issue with rambling and going off topic. While I may be the book smart one, I'm still prone. Just as she's the better battler, same with her." Not taking offense to anything Azreal said or did, Bradley found it hard to get angry or offended with this stranger. It was when the Samurott lashed out that Bradley bristled a bit, frowning. For someone who talks so highly of his Pokemon, the Pokemon seems to definitely make his own decisions. Worried some, he looked back to the bird, who had taken a hit to the chest. While kicking up a little sand was unnecessary, a blast of water to a bird's chest was very much uncalled for. With an uneasy look, he eyed the ball on Azreal waist. "For someone who tells a trainer that he lacks confidence, your Samurott sure just made you a hypocrite."

    Blitzkrieg had ruffled his feathers, but he still wouldn't attack out of turn, not without his master's permission. Despite his aggressive nature, he had a large amount of respect for the boy he saved. Flapping his wings, he gave another sharp metallic clang from his beak before backing behind his master.

    Sabishii squealed when he heard the water splash and jumped out of Bradley's arms, running behind his leg. A gentle pet from his master made him feel a little better, but still scared. With a respective swat to the master's hand, the Cubone let Bradley know that he was OK, but was still trying to look tough.

    Looking back up, with a wary glint in his eyes, he frowned some. Bradley was normally the nice guy, but he was protective of his sister, even though he was the younger one. (Considering they were both protective of each other and would always argue who would take care of who, usually leading to a fist fight.) "Yea.. she's my older Twin... how do you know her?" Blinking slowly, he made a bout of eye contact with the other male, and a long one at that. "Yes.. she's anti social, I'm not. She's the battler, I'm the smart one. I calm down violent Pokemon, she talks to Pokemon. She's a girl, I'm a boy." With the last one being sarcastic, he stood still, even in the gusting wind and blowing sand.
    The outright Pokemon attack had broken Bradley's trust a little, and he couldn't get to relaxed knowing that a Pokemon who was brave enough to attack another trainer's Pokemon, was one who could be brave enough to come out of his ball and do it again.

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Word Count: 453
Notes: Nope. Bradley's upset. How did this happen?