Eleyna reached the clearing and readied her Pokeball, but was surprised by the Charmander's introduction of himself.  He sat down, and for a long moment Eleyna was frozen, arm half raised to throw the Pokeball. She lowered her arm and looked back up the hill to where Aisha was, unsure why exactly the Charmander had followed her down the hill.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"Uhm... hello."</span>She said to him, turning the Pokeball around in her hand. She wasn't sure it was wise to introduce the two. She had never released the Growlithe near another Pokemon and wondered if doing so was wise.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"I'm going to talk to this Pokemon now... alright?"</span>She showed the Charmander the Pokeball.<span style="color: blue"> "He's very mean so be careful."</span>What else could she do but offer the meager warning.<br/><br/>She threw the Pokeball, starting the process again, replaying its course in her head from all the many times before. This time would be different, she told herself. This time would be different.<br/><br/>Growlithe appeared, paused for a moment, collected his surroundings, saw the Charmander and cocked his head, not sure what to make of this change in the formula. Then, in a flash he was up, paws planted firmly, head lowered, teeth bared ready to attack.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"Hey! Stop!"</span>Eleyna yelled, stepping in front of the Charmander, planting her foot firmly on the ground and squaring off with the Growlithe.<span style="color: blue">"You look at me, do you understand me? Me." </span><br/><br/>Growlithe glanced only briefly.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"You want to be free?"</span>She asked. He paused.<span style="color: blue">"Then we make a deal!"</span><br/><br/>He glanced at her again, eyes darting as he retreated a half step, not sure what to make of this new tactic of Eleyna's.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"You help me catch a Pokemon, I release you! You understand me? You fight for me once, win get me a Pokemon and that's it, we're over, got it? That's the deal. One Pokemon!"</span>She yelled at him, she lied to him.<br/><br/>Growlithe gave her a look, looked back at the Charmander on the defense, expecting at any moment that the Charmander act on this ruse. He looked at her again, unsure.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"One Pokemon."</span>Eleyna said to him firmly.<span style="color: blue">"Deal?"</span><br/><br/>Growlithe looked at Eleyna, then Charmander, Eleyna again. He took a step back, his taught body relaxing slightly. He blinked at her, regarded her long and cool. Eleyna stared back, daring him to agree.<br/><br/>He lifted a paw in that way he always did when he was about to bolt, stopped, his eyes never leaving hers. He slowly set his paw back down. He watched Charmander suspiciously for a moment then looked around, spotting the flock of Pidgey. He gave Eleyna an inquisitive look. Eleyna understood.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">"Fine. You battle for me, catch me one of them and we're done." </span><br/><br/>The Growlithe gave a short nod and began running toward the flock. Eleyna felt a skip in her heart, a sudden surge of adrenaline and elation. This was it! All she had to do was get him to battle with her, then he'd see how great a trainer she was, then she wouldn't need to release him, he'd want to stay! All he had to do was see how good a trainer she was, that was all, and they would be ok. She ran after him, set Growlithe's Pokeball beside the three she had set on her belt and ran after him, her hair bouncing and flying beneath her hat as she sprinted to keep up with the Pokemon, the distance between her and the camp growing rapidly.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>