To Be the Very Best

[RyuHll]

Leon saw Rose and Oz getting surrounded, Scythe joining the fray. He was quick to assist. Bulbasaur came out of his Pokeball instantly, Nido jumping from his head to prepare itself. "Bulbasaur, Vine Whip. Take out the Kabuto," he ordered quickly. With a single swipe, the Kabuto were thrown away, fainting soon after. Despite the status of these Pokémon, he knew enough about them. Kabuto were rock types. That made Bulbasaur superior to them in terms of type advantages. Nido quickly joined Oz, growling at the Omanyte surrounding them almost protectively. Bulbasaur, however, stayed protectively by its trainer, both vines out and ready to fight.

As the Pokémon squared off, though, he heard a scream. Turning quickly, he saw a building being ripped apart by the Aerodactyl. A large talon entered, coming out with a small girl before it flapped its wings and took to the sky. This caused a reaction from the man atop the Onyx. "Melanie!" he cried out, recognizing the girl. "Damn it! Get back here!" The Onyx reared around to give chase, but several Kabuto and Omanyte blocked its path. "Get out of my way!" A large swipe of the Onyx's tail threw the Pokémon aside before he charged forth. But Water Guns were striking it from the sides, Omanyte taking advantage.

"Bulbasaur! Take them out!" The vines were quick, sweeping in and striking the attackers quickly, throwing them aside. Razor Leaf was thrown next, taking out the farther ones. The man looked surprised to have the help, but gave a nod to Leon.

"Thank you. But you two should leave. It's dangerous here," he commented. "I'll have the Aerodactyl taken care of shortly."

Leon simply glanced back at Rose for a moment before smiling up at the man. "Can't really leave unless she does. But...and no disrespect, but I doubt you can take it on. Your Onyx is weakened from those attacks. Your other Pokémon are exhausted from protecting the citizens." He hesitated a moment before pointing to himself with his thumb. "I'll go after it. Aerodactyl's a rock type. Bulbasaur and Nido will be able to handle it."

"I...Thank you, but I can't allow that. As gym leader of this city, it is my duty to protect all its citizens. And as that girl's brother, I can't sit back and let someone else go," he said, crossing his arms. "Thank you for the help so far. But this will be my battle."

Leon scratched his head lightly at that. "That's kinda dumb," he stated bluntly, causing the man's eye to twitch in annoyance. One thing about Leon was that he was incredibly blunt. He didn't like to beat around the bush. "You're supposed to protect the city. There's only so much one person can do."

[Ace of Jacks]

Rose watched as the Aerodactly swooped by. The screams of a girl could be heard somewhere around her. Rose caught sight of a large serpent-like rock Pokemon, Onyx. Atop it stood a dark skinned man she could only assume was the Rock Gym leader, Brock. Leon's voice came from behind her, calling out to the gym leader. The two began to communicate as a thud came from beside her. Rose looked over to her right to see a cloud of dust disappear, revealing Oz's form. "Dammit Oz! Use Double Kick on those Kabutos!" she shouted amongst the chaos and screaming, pointing in the direction of the Pokecenter. A group of Kabutos had surrounded a defenseless Chansey with a cart of Pokeballs outside the Pokecenter"Scythe!" Rose called to her second Pokemon. "Help evacuate the Pokecenter!" There were still Pokemon trapped in there. The Grass Pokemon shot its trainer a glance. It was already irritated by the commotion of screams and incoming attacks. Nonetheless, it gave a quick nod and sprinted toward the Pokecenter.
Rose turned her attention back at Leon just as he mentioned to the man how he wouldn't leave without her, giving her a smile. She couldn't help but feel...extremely glad and happy about that. Her face turned scarlet for a second before she shook her head and cleared her throat. As she listened to the two argue, Leon began to get rather insensitive. He was right, just...rather blunt. Good 'ol Leon. He means well, of course. Rose let out a huff.
"Now's not the time to piss people off, Leon," she called back to him. "Either help or run."
She looked up at the name. "Take what you get, it won't do you any harm. Let us worry about the consequences of sticking around."

[RyuHll]

Leon gave a sigh at hearing that, glancing back towards Rose. Of course, he shouldn't be making enemies here. They had bigger problems to deal with. After a moment, he shook his head. "Either way, we're not going," he stated. "You can accept our help or we can follow you. Your choice." He crossed his arms in a show of defiance, not willing to let the man go alone. Aerodactyls were known to be deadly. And his Pokémon were tired. They'd have trouble keeping up with the aerial foe, even if they had a slight type advantage.

Brock looked down at him in annoyance, but, at length, he sighed. "Get on. We're going after it," he said, sitting down and waiting for the two to get on. "I suspect that it's their leader. We take it down, the attack should die down." Leon offered a nod, letting Nido move back to his side. With the Kabuto taken care of between the two of them, they were free to move for the moment. Bulbasaur joined them as well, moving with them as they approached the Onyx.

Leon offered one glance towards Rose, smiling a bit at her. "Welcome to stay if you want. It'll probably be safer here," he said. He knew there was little chance of that happening. But, in the back of his mind, he hoped she'd stay and keep herself safer. It was one thing with him endangering himself. He didn't want to worry about Rose getting hurt amidst the battle.

[Ace of Jacks]

Rose simply rolled her eyes, catching up to Leon. Once beside him, Rose punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Shot gun," she called, glancing at him for a second to shoot him a smile. As she approached the Onyx, Rose searched the purple nidoran. She caught sight of him fighting along side Scythe, the two of them teaming up to fend off the Kabutos from the Pokecenter. Scythe flitted through the automatic doors and came out within a few seconds, many Pokeballs between its bladed arms. It set them down in the overfilled cart with the Chansey and Nurse Joy. Oz turned to see Rose and Leon, as well as Leon's Pokemon approaching a large Pokemon. It turned to its ally and let out a sound. The bug Pokemon understood and gave a nod. The pair made quick work of the remaining Kabutos, as well as their reinforcements, first ensuring the safety of the Pokecenter's inhabitants before turning to return to their trainer.
Oz dashed to Rose and climber up the side of her leg, much to her displeasure. It entered her bag and popped its head out moments later, looking down at Leon's Nido. It chirped a greeting. Scythe walked up behind Leon, in no hurry to catch up to Rose. Even still, it she was glad they were okay.
Rose positioned herself behind the gym leader and let out a sigh.
"Don't worry, Leon's not too great at first impressions," she assured with a slight laugh.
"It seemed like it's north." She paused. "We'll bring her home."

[RyuHll]

Brock gave a simple nod, not saying anything as he patted his Onyx's head. The large Pokémon took off, charging off out of the city. The trip was made in silence as they entered the mountainous regions surrounding Pewter City. Brock didn't say a word as he sat atop his Pokémon's head. Leon, on the other hand, was tending to Nido and Bulbasaur, allowing Caterpie to come out of its Pokeball as well. He'd need all three to fight Aerodactyl. It was large and terrifying. Hell, even these three might not be enough to beat it. But he'd still try. He knew getting to it would be the biggest problem. Scythe could fly, but it would be weak against any rock-based attacks and it was still relatively weak with it's bug-like wings. He wouldn't be able to lift him up. Though, it could probably manage any of the other Pokémon in their party. Short of the rock-types anyway.

He didn't have much time to think about it. The screech of the Aerodactyl broke through the silence. "We're getting close," he said matter-of-factly. "Just get me close." He paused a moment before looking at Rose. "Do you think I could borrow your Scyther? I think I might be able to get the girl out before the fight starts between our Pokémon."