[ser] writings

It was a relatively peaceful day in the Clan territories. The blue-gray sky had towering clouds looming in the distance, a vague threat of rain to come at a later date. It was typical weather of Newleaf, after all. With the season’s showers would usher in an era of new growth and life - and, lively was RoseliClan that day.

A patrol consisting solely of some of the Clan’s apprentices was traversing through the rolling meadows that formed their Clan’s territory. The  apprentice all were carrying berries back to camp. They were also chatting up a storm of their own, filling the air with entertaining conversations. 

"So, yeah, my mentor and I were training together the other day," began Juniperpaw, a Whiskit with deep green fur full of tiny stars. "And, well, I finally figured out how to use Play Rough! I was struggling with it so much beforehand."

"Wow! You gotta show me!" exclaimed Snagpaw, a glitchy Eevee with dusky gray fur. 

Juniperpaw chuckled in response to Snagpaw's enthusiasm and replied with, "I mean, it'll have to wait until we bring these back."

"Aww, come on!" Snagpaw replied with a bit of a playful pout and a tiny paw tap on Juniperpaw's shoulder. "That's no fun! We can ditch the berries for a bit! I wanna see it, come onnnnn!"

"Ah, not right now, Snag," Juniperpaw responded, a tiny bit more of a serious tone in their voice. "Like I said, maybe after, alright? Plus... it's scary for me to do that in front of others!"

Snagpaw countered with a tiny huff. "Hmm, suit yourself, Juni! But, as soon as we get back to camp, you gotta let that Play Rough out!"

"Not in camp!" exclaimed Juniperpaw with shock. Snagpaw only proceeded to break out into a burst of laughter over that reaction, seeming to enjoy busting Juniperpaw's chops a tiny bit.

Meanwhile, the other three apprentices on the patrol were keeping pace, slightly behind Juniperpaw and Snagpaw. 

"Erm..." began Sweetpaw, a slightly anxious-looking Fidough possessing alien antennae and large, pitch-black eyes, wide with curiosity. "Why do you always sit on Jaggedpaw's back, Thunderpaw?"

"It's because I can't keep up with ya'll if I gotta run after you guys!" replied Thunderpaw, using one arm to gesture towards himself. "I mean - look at me! My legs ain't long enough for that!"

"Oh, right, sorry..." Sweetpaw apologized, glancing down at its own paws. "That makes sense."

"Don't worry over it, Sweetpaw, nothing wrong with asking a question," assured Thunderpaw, "Right, Jaggedpaw?"

The Dalfier fusion turned his head to look back at the two and gave a curt nod, unable to speak due to the berries hanging from his jaws. Not that Jaggedpaw was the most talkative type to begin with, anyhow. 

"You know," Thunderpaw began, "being small like this can suck sometimes, but, hey! It's not so bad! It makes what I'm able to achieve all the more impressive. Like, I couldn't even carry a Cheri berry when I first started training! Now look at me!"

To emphasize his point, the cyan-colored Pikpi held out the Bluk Berry in his grasp; it was a noticeable step-up size and weight wise. Sweetpaw's eyes grew even wider than before as she processed that, her tail wagging a bit.

"Woah... cool... Maybe one day, I'll be as strong as you and Jaggedpaw!"

Thunderpaw let out a chuckle. "Yeppers, just keep going at it, kid!"

Jaggedpaw looked back momentarily and rolled his eyes at what Thunderpaw called Sweetpaw, considering that they were all in the same general age range as one another. Sweetpaw noticed them do that and stifled a laugh.

"Hey! It's true, ya' know!" Thunderpaw exclaimed, causing both Jaggedpaw and Sweetpaw to giggle together at the Pikpi's sudden defensiveness.

Meanwhile, Juniperpaw was slightly ahead of them, still being teased by Snagpaw. The Eevee bounced besides vir friend as ve kept begging for a show.

"Please, Juni! I won't bother you ever again if you show me now, pleaaaase!"

"I told you, Snagpaw, I -"

Suddenly, Juniperpaw froze, a sense of dread washing over him. Their ears pricked, picking up a distant noise that was rapidly approaching. Juniperpaw's hackles rose in response. Claws slid out, signifying that the Whiskit was ready to battle if needed.

"Juni? Hellooooo?" asked Snagpaw.

The rest of the patrol soon came to a halt when they realized that Juniperpaw had stopped moving forward, causing Thunderpaw to begin to complain.

"Hey, what's the hold up?!"

Juniperpaw tried to focus on where the noise was coming from, but was getting distracted by their Clanmates. He soon realized where it was coming from, and spun around to yowl out a warning.

"Watch out!"

Unfortunately for the whole patrol, they were unable to react in time before all five apprentices were knocked to the ground, letting out squeals and huffs in response. All of the berries that the patrol had been carrying tumbled all over the ground; some were even squashed from the sudden collision.

When the apprentices managed to recover from being knocked over, they all began to bristle and growl, getting into defensive positions. It was a loner!

"Wait!" the loner, a Noivern who looked like a piñata, cried out, trying to prevent the apprentices from attacking. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! I need to-"

Suddenly, another Pokemon appeared and tackled the Noivern to the floor, looking like a blur as they did so. This new loner, a Dragapult with the Snacks trait, bared their teeth as they held the Noivern down. They had squinted eyes full of fury. This Dragapult seemed to be alone; there were no Dreepy hiding in the holes in their horns, hence why it took to a more physical approach. Their ghostly wisp of a tail thrashed angrily. Before anyone could react, the Dragapult used Astonish on the Noivern, causing them to yelp out and flinch in pain.

Juniperpaw had quickly pieced together what was happening. The Noivern probably ran into the patrol because they were trying to flee from that crazed Dragapult! He turned his head to face the rest of the patrol, who all still looked dumbfounded. They were all frozen on the spot. Someone had to take charge of this situation, it seemed.

"Guys! It's time to battle! Get into formation!" Juniperpaw ordered, already racing towards the ensuing battle. He then leaped into action.

A flurry of attacks soon followed, all five apprentices barraging the Dragapult at once. They roared in response and frantically snapped their jaws back and forth, trying to aim for any one of the attackers. 

Juniperpaw was danging on the Dragapult's neck, making many furious swipes at it. Snagpaw and Sweetpaw were firing attacks at the floating beast's feet and hands. Jaggedpaw focused on the Dragapult's exposed stomach and Thunderpaw clung like a tick to its back, located in a place where he couldn't be knocked off easily. However, despite the distracting barrage, the Dragapult managed to snag one of Juniperpaw's legs and crunch down hard, causing him to yowl in pain. They dragged Juniperpaw forward and kept him there. 

Juniperpaw panicked a bit. He didn't know many moves that would be effective in this situation! Then, they remembered something... Juniperpaw's claws unsheathed, and he managed to twist himself to reach the Dragapult's face with the upper half of his body. Then, Juniperpaw unleashed a Play Rough attack, batting, scratching, and squeezing wildly at the Dragapult's head.

The Dragapult tried to pull away but was unsuccessful. They let out a bellowing sound as Juniperpaw's attack continued. That, combined with the four other apprentices also delivering blows to them, made the Dragapult extremely weakened. At this point, the Dragapult knew better than to fight a losing battle. They began to shake off the apprentices as best as they could and withdraw themselves from the fray. The apprentices all leaped back, with Jaggedpaw making sure that the miniscule Thunderpaw climbed on their back safely. The Dragapult didn't waste any time and hurriedly floated away.

"Is everyone okay?" Juniperpaw breathed out, panting a bit. He scanned the rest of the apprentices, checking for any wounds. Other than minor cuts and scratches, the rest seemed to be in good shape.

"I am..." Sweetpaw responded, "But...what about-"

"YOUR LEG!" Snagpaw cut off with wide eyes, "It's totally mangled, Juni!"

Juniperpaw did not even realize the extent of the injury until that moment. He glanced down at the affected back leg, noting that it was, indeed, covered in some blood. It still did not hurt, though. It would once the adrenaline wore off. He turned his head back to the two and gave a bit of a grin.

"Hah, oh, yeah, that. We should probably get back to camp and let the medics check me over, yeah?"

"You can lean on me, Juni!" Snagpaw offered, already running up to Juniperpaw's side before he could think to reject statics offer. Juniperpaw opened their mouth to protest but gave in and let out a sigh. 

"Hey, guys?" interrupted Sweetpaw in a timid tone, causing the two to turn their attention to her. Sweetpaw then tilted and slightly jerked its head to the side. When they all glanced in that direction, they saw the loner Noivern once more, cowering and lying in the grass. They were staring back with an awestruck expression.

"Wow..." the Noivern breathed out, "That was incredible... You really are Clan Pokemon!"

"That we are!" verbally toted Thunderpaw from his spot on Jaggedpaw's back, putting his hands on his hips proudly. However, Jaggedpaw ignored their Clanmate and padded over to the loner. The Noivern shrunk back a bit in response. Jaggedpaw simply got closer and began to lick the loner's wounds.

"Hurt," Jaggedpaw simply stated as he cleaned the loner up, causing them to relax a bit.

"He's right. You look injured," Juniperpaw mewed, noting all the scratches and bruises that the Dragapult had left on them. "Why don't you return to camp with us, and we can get a medic to treat you?"

The Noivern's pupils dilated in response, their jaw practically dropping. "Really?! Are you sure?!"

"Of course!" Snagpaw cut in with an excited reply, hopping a bit in response.

"It would be wrong to reject someone in need," Juniperpaw added.

"Yeah... and maybe we can get Juniperpaw checked out, too," muttered Sweetpaw.

"Come on!" Thunderpaw encouraged, leaping on top of Jaggedpaw's head and peering up at the towering loner. "Whatcha got to lose?"

The Noivern seemed to hesitate, but then nodded their head. "If you'll have me, then... I can't say no!"

"Great! We can help you get back to our camp," Juniperpaw planned with a nod of his head. With that, Jaggedpaw and Sweetpaw got on either side of the Noivern, allowing them to rise to their feet and rest their wings on their backs. Thunderpaw dodged out of the way and then scrambled up to the Noivern's shoulder, choosing to stand there now rather than on Jaggedpaw.

"Let's go, guys! We gotta tell Cherrystar about this!" 

With that exclamation from Snagpaw, ve and Juniperpaw began to lead the group home, the latter leaning on the former for support. The rest followed suit, being very careful with the loner. Once the two were a bit more ahead, Snagpaw began to shower Juniperpaw in praise.

"That Play Rough was awesome!" Snagpaw stated, her tail wagging in delight. "You gotta do it again sometime!"

Juniperpaw let out a little chuckle in response to Snagpaw's enthusiasm. "Maybe once my leg is given the all clear..."

"Oh, right! My bad!"

The two bantered some more. Meanwhile, Thunderpaw was starting up a conversation of his own, wanting to know more about the loner whose shoulder he was currently standing on.

"So, then, what's your name?"

"My name?" the Noivern echoed. They gulped and replied sheepishly with, "My name is... Skypaw..."

Thunderpaw looked a bit taken aback. "Ain't that a Clan n-"

"I know, I know it is," interrupted Skypaw. "I gave myself a Clan name because... I always thought the Clans were so cool and... and I wanted to be part of one when I was younger..."

"Then why didn't you ever try joining?" Thunderpaw asked.

The Noivern shrugged. "I was worried I wasn't cut out for it..."

Thunderpaw closed his eyes and shook his head. "What nonsense! Any Pokemon is cut out for Clan life - you just need to put in the work! Being a Clan Pokemon isn't about blood or anything, it's about spirit! Right, guys?"

Jaggedpaw nodded, seeming to agree with this ideal. Sweetpaw hesitated, as if confronting their own inner doubts, but ultimately also nodded.

"Sometimes, I don't feel like I'm really a Clan Pokemon," Sweetpaw confided, opening itself up to both the loner and its Clanmates. "But, after battling that other Pokemon... And working with you guys... I think I really do belong here. I just gotta do what Thunderpaw says, work for it."

"Yeah!" Thunderpaw agreed. Then, he decided to switch subjects. "So, why did that Dragapult attack you, anyhow?"

"It's... a long story," replied Skypaw, looking off to the side, a bit ashamed. 

Thunderpaw just did a nonchalant wrist flick and said, "Ahh, we have the time! Go on!"

"Okay..." Skypaw breathed.

With that, Skypaw told the story as they all headed back to camp, engaging all the apprentices. Once they got there, both them and Juniperpaw were ushered to the medic den to be treated. The patrol of apprentices was excited to have won an exciting battle - and to have possibly brought a new member back to RoseliClan!