A level 5 Treecko appeared!
With surprising speed, the wood gecko pokémon jumped at Mareep. It flipped through the air and fell toward Mareep, its thick tail coming down on it for a Pound. There was no way the significantly slower sheep could dodge the attack.
Raine saw the wood gecko pokémon descend and cursing, dashed forward in an attempt to save her mareep. However, Luce had lagged too far behind, and before Raine could save him, took a hard blow from the treecko’s tail.
“Darn it, I was joking!” Raine shouted, watching Luce struggle with wild treecko. She had thought she would have been a little more prepared for her first battle. Instead, Raine found herself fumbling through her bag for her pokédex to get a read on the treecko’s data. “Luce! Get a grip! Tackle it!” she called, just as she managed to get the pokédex open.
The treecko flipped back from Luce, and started to jump away to avoid the oncoming Tackle, but found itself unable to move. Luce's Static ability had kicked in when so much of the gecko's body made contact with it. Now paralyzed, treecko was unable to avoid taking a full on Tackle. After taking the full force of the attack without being able to defend itself at all, Treecko found itself much weaker, and with its speed advantage gone, the best the Pokémon could was give a threatening Leer to lower Luce's defenses, then brace itself for another attack.
Raine saw Luce visibly cringe under the paralyzed treecko’s leer and shouted, “C’mon Luce! Don’t back down now, growl!” The mareep tried very hard to comply, but Raine couldn’t help but feel that his growl was more adorable than menacing.
Meanwhile, her pokédex had scanned the treecko, and a voice droned out, “Treecko, the wood gecko pokémon. It has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that it uses to climb. It ferociously guards its territory, and never panics. It uses its thick tail to attack and sense humidity to predict the next day’s weather.”
“Well that was helpful!” Raine mumbled sarcastically, but eyed the treecko carefully. Should she catch it? It did seem pretty fast, and knowing the next day’s weather did seem rather useful. After some quick deliberation, she called out, “Luce, use tackle again, but be careful!”
If the treecko endured this, she would try to catch it. The pokémon had successfully interested her, and Raine felt that a little cool and confident influence would do Luce some good. She hoped that the treecko wouldn’t faint.
The treecko dropped its guard a bit at the adorable growl from Luce, allowing the sheep pokémon to get in a good tackle and weaken the treecko's counterattack. The treecko went down on one knee and put its little green hands on the ground, trying desperately to keep standing and continue the battle, but having little success. It was visibly tired and bruised, and the static of its paralysis crackled lightly around it as the determined little gecko struggled to keep on.
As soon as Luce's tackle hit, Raine's hand latched onto one of the empty pokéballs at her belt. "Okay, Luce - stand back! Let's give this a try!" she called as she expanded the pokéball. The mareep slowly tottered back from the treecko, and Raine flung the pokéball at the weakened pokémon. If there was one thing Raine was confident in, it was her aim... amongst many other things.
She watched the ball make contact with the injured treecko, and merely watched in anticipation. There was little more she could do.
The ball hit the Treecko and popped open, capturing the Pokémon in a flash of light. The center glowed as the ball wiggled once... twice... three times... the settled with a satisfying click!
CONGRATULATIONS! The wild Treecko was caught!
Level 5 Treecko
Gender: Male
Nature: Hasty
Ability: Overgrow
Moves: Leer, Pound
Held Item: None
Raine ran up to the sealed pokéball on the ground, and gave a wide-eyed grin to a equally startled looking Luce. Picking up the treecko’s pokéball, she pumped her fist in the air and whispered an excited, “Yes!”
Then concern crept its way into her conscience. “You actually battered it up a bit, didn’t you Luce?” she mumbled. The mareep bleated uncertainly, and Raine experimentally tossed the pokéball to release the newly caught treecko.
She bit her lip when she saw it battered, tired, and still visibly stunned from Luce’s wool. Crouching down, Raine cautiously asked, “Hey, are you alright?”
Her pokédex had been right when it said treeckos stayed calm. Despite being unable to move, it looked at her with contempt before glowering at the ground. “Look, we’re sorry,” Raine said, fumbling through her bag. Fishing out a cheri berry and an oran berry, she placed them both before the wood gecko pokémon. “These will help.”
She noticed the treecko eye the berries, seemingly hesitating. It gave a glower to Luce, who squeaked and hid behind its trainer’s legs. Seemingly amused by the mareep’s change of attitude, the treecko took the cherry berry, quietly chewing at it. As soon as its paralysis subsided, it snatched up the oran berry and munched on that as well.
While the treecko ate, Raine asked Luce, “Are you going to eat that too?” gesturing at the oran berry he was holding. The mareep shook his head – he planned to save it for when he really needed it. His trainer turned her attention back to the treecko and asked, “Look. I like you. I want you to travel with me – will you?”
Not that it really mattered because she didn't plan to let this one go, but she didn't really want to force it either. To her relief, the treecko nodded slightly, albeit a little begrudgingly. “Alright then,” Raine smiled. Then she thought for a moment – she couldn’t think of a name for it. “You’re male, right?” she asked. Seeing as treecko had little physical discrepancies between genders, she was basing the deduction on the treecko’s behaviour. Another slight nod verified it.
Smiling again, Raine took the treecko’s pokéball in her hand. “I’ll give you a nickname later. I think you’ll want to rest for now,” she said. Seeing the treecko stand up and ready, she returned him to his pokéball and placed it back at her belt.
Wanting to express her excitement, she scooped Luce up in her arms and shouted as quietly as she could, “Luce! We’re one step closer to – ” stopping, she murmured, “whatever we’re going to.” Raine hadn’t thought about it before hand, so she wasn’t sure what she planned to do. Gyms sounded interesting, and contests seemed kind of fun, but neither seemed to fully catch her interest.
“I wonder if there’s anything a little more thrilling out there,” she said aloud, earning a curious glance from the mareep in her arms. Noticing his stare, she scowled and muttered, “I’m carrying you until you get a little more nimble on your feet. We’ll get attacked by every wild pokémon out here at your pace.”
The mareep bleated sheepishly and lied limp in Raine’s arms as she walked onwards along Route 4.