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Melty was the name of her Litwick, right? Wayne wasn't exactly the best with names but the pokémon that melted was probably called Melty. Unless Henrietta was batshit insane.

"Really? Like what?" Wayne gestured over to Petilil who looked at Henrietta fearfully. Unlike Wayne, she'd noticed the bruising; this woman must be violent. Like Solosis. "Petilil's been learning how to use Synthesis. Once she's mastered Magical Leaf as well, we're gonna go challenge the gym leader."

"Huh, I don't think I've heard of those before. Sound pretty cool though," Wayne knelt down to look at Melty a little better. Meanwhile, Petilil had seen all she wanted to; that flame, that sinister glower. Melty was as if the devil had cometh.

"You don't look too dangerous," Wayne trailed off, "Then again, my dad always said not to mess with Fire types."

He stood up, his jeans a little bit drier in the sun, but still retaining water. Like, one level above being damp. "So the Striaton gym leaders always play to your disadvantage. Sucks that we can't double battle them; Petilil could cover your water weakness and Melty could beat down the fire monkey thing."

"Whoa!" Wayne jolted back, watching Melty carefully. When he didn't do any more, Wayne said, "A Steelix? I can believe it. That's pretty cool though, Steelix are evolved pokémon and they're pretty tough. They're weak to fire since they're a steel type though, so that probably helped."

He looked over to Petilil, who was shaking like a leaf. Deciding that Melty was probably too much for her to be around, the trainer recalled the grass type and put her ball back into his pocket.

Wayne put his hands behind his head, slouching to the side casually, "You don't see them much in Unova. Was it a trained pokémon or...? It'd probably have to be, right?"

"Yeah... Figured I'd take a break though, see what you were up to," Wayne put his hands in his pockets and overlooked the lake, "Glad to see you're training though. To be honest, I half thought you were gonna give up being a trainer all together."

He looked back to the girl, eyebrow cocked, "That's why I got so mad at the gym leader yesterday. Way things were going, he was out to crush your confidence; once that's gone it's tough to stay active as a trainer. Confidence and spirit are important, I guess."

"Well, I wet myself," he said, gesturing to his water-logged jeans, "but it's a sunny day so it should dry off quick."

He grinned and winked, putting his hand in his pocket and pulling out Petilil's pokéball again, "Though I just had an idea. Wanna have a battle? Pitting Petilil against Melty is good experience for her fighting Fire types and you could use the extra practice."

Wayne spun the pokéball on his finger tip and then flicked it into his palm, snatching it down and to the side, where it rested next to his hip. A little pokéball trick to show off.

Was that a look of determination? Alright. A smirk shot to the corner of Wayne's mouth and he gave a quick and casual salute before running back to put distance between the two trainers. With a throw of her pokéball, Petilil was sent onto the grass battlefield, materialising in a flash of light.

Petilil shook herself out as she opened her eyes. When they set upon the eerie Litwick in front of her, the bulb pokémon span around and shot Wayne a look of anguish and betrayal. He just frowned and sighed, putting his palm to his temple.

"Relax, if it gets too scary I'll bring you back, okay?" the trainer said and Petilil continued to stare, managing to work up some tears in her eyes. Wayne's face dropped slightly and his arms fell to his side while he hung his head, "Just try. Please?"

He looked back up and Petilil nodded slowly, quivering as she turned back to face her opponent. Wayne grinned and stood more confidently, calling over to Henrietta, "Sorry for the delay. Ready when you are!"

{Hmm nice post Tro, anyway I had a question I wanted to bring up before I have to disappear for classes. Can we make up places along the road to towns and such like a cave that isn't there in the game or something like that?]

Everything came crashing down at once. Seriously, everything. To say Petilil had confidence issues was one thing but she was scared of her own shadow. And since everything that scared her was way too much to visualise individually, that was how Night Shade manifested. As a shadow. A big, black, scary shadow.

Petilil could do nothing but quiver as she was swamped before she could move. It did damage, feeling something akin to a cold burning sensation all across her body. She cried out but couldn't hear her own voice. And still everything was black.

"Hey, Petilil," Wayne's voice echoed from behind her and she unscrunched her eyes. Looking around, she could see the trainer's silhouette amidst the black; coloured white. He seemed to glow and the longer she looked, the more defined he became. "Use Synthesis!"

Her body reacted automatically. Petilil's leaves began to absorb sunlight, filling her with warmth and cutting back the darkness and fear. The inky black dissolved like mist and Petilil could see the light again.

To the outside looking in, this took place over a few, frantic seconds. To Petilil it was calmer, more enticing. She was getting the hang of the situation now. As her body repaired itself, she settled into her own. She could hear her trainer's commands like a clear bell ringing through fog. Even with the combat situation, it was calm and steady, and it made her feel powerful.

"Let's do this!" Wayne roared, stepping back, hand a fist at his side, the other thrust forward as he made his command, "Petilil! Keep your distance and use Growth!"

The pokémon moved like a shot, her Chlorophyll ability activating in the bright sun, enhancing her speed. She darted to Melty's right, arcing around him and keeping a steady, safe distance. Her body began to glow with a green light, getting slightly bigger and much more powerful. In Sunny Day conditions, Growth increases the user's attack and special attack by two stages each. Or in other words, Petilil's power doubled.