[Gene Marshfield]

Gene was still attempting to familiarize himself with Gray Haven's campus, and had taken to wandering whichever direction happened to be clear whenever he had the time. Today it seemed his path had taken him to a stunningly gorgeous beach. He knelt down to feel the smooth sand, and let it run through his fingers.

"Can't get a view like this back home, huh?" Gene said to himself. Fletchling had been tired earlier and was currently taking a nap in his Pokeball.

"Hey, no reason to keep this all to myself." Gene thought, reaching for his second Pokeball. Holding it up to eye level, Gene and his new Chikorita eyed each other through the semitransparent upper half of the ball. 

"Do you want to check this out, Chikorita?" Gene said to his new partner. Unable to truly gauge her reaction, Gene decided to try his luck and see what she would do with free reign. He pressed the button on the Pokeball's face, expanding it and then releasing Chikorita from inside. Trainer and Pokemon looked at each other for a short while. Then Gene noticed that his new Pokemon looked tense, almost as if expecting an order.

"These Academy Pokemon must be so used to battling... I wonder if anyone ever really tried to bond with these starters they give out." 

"Well, what do you think? Pretty beautiful, huh?" Gene plopped down in the sand, gesturing out across the horizon. Chikorita looked confused for a long moment, glancing back and forth between her new Trainer and the waves in the distance. Eventually, she gave in. Sitting down next to Gene, she relaxed a little. While she didn't look that much less confused, Gene thought that maybe he had started a change in her view of things.

[Kitten4u]

Behold!



Species: Binacle
Gender: Female
Ability: Tough Claws
~Moves~
Scratch
Cross Chop
Sand Attack
Hone Claws

[Gene Marshfield]

As the two sat and relaxed, watching the sun make its way closer and closer to the horizon, Gene noticed a protrusion in the sand a little ways away. If not for the lengthening shadows, he might have missed it. 

"Hey, Chikorita, what do you think that is?" he said, nudging the small Grass Pokemon beside him. Brushing himself off, Gene got up and started walking over to what looked like a white seashell sticking up from the sand. 

Suddenly, with an eruption of sand, a Pokemon leapt out of the ground, raring to fight! 

"Chikorita, watch out, these Binacles can get really temperamental!" He had seen a few back home, whenever they would wash down the river and end up by his house. And they were almost always angry. Chikorita ran over, suddenly alert for battle. The Binacle reached down with one of its heads and launched a vicious Sand Attack at Gene and Chikorita! Both began coughing and rubbing their eyes, caught off guard by the move. 

As Gene managed to clear an eye, he saw Binacle tense up and jump at Chikorita! Looking over, he could see that she hadn't managed to clear her vision yet. 

"Chikorita! Look out!" He dove towards his Pokemon, managing to scoop up the Leaf Pokemon and mostly dodge the attack himself, Binacle's Cross Chop landing a glancing blow on his leg. Her vision cleared, Chikorita looked back and forth between Gene and the Binacle rapidly, bewildered. "It's okay, we're partners," Gene said to his Pokemon, smiling despite being in pain. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to."

Gene moved to get up, but as he put weight on his leg that had been hit by Binacle's attack, he stumbled and fell. Looking over, he saw the Binacle jump at him again, and braced himself for another attack.

But before the wild Pokemon could connect with another attack, it was intercepted by Chikorita! Landing a Tackle square on the Binacle's body, she sent the Two-Handed Pokemon flying directly into the sand, upside-down. "Chikorita..." Gene watched his Pokemon. He studied her stance. She still looked battle-ready as always, but there was something different. A confidence that hadn't been there before. She looked like she was fighting for a reason now. 

"You sure about this, Chikorita?" She stayed facing Binacle, but turned to look at him, looking almost reassuring. "Alright, if you say so...「Razor Leaf」!!!" The spinning projectile landed a hit directly on the Binacle, causing it to slump over, defeated.

"Well, that may not have gone as I hoped... But I think I understand you a little better now. Hopefully you get where I'm coming from, too. I guess we'll see. Either way, I'm glad to have you on the team, Chikorita."

Binacle... RETIRED