[center][h2]Henrietta Durand[/h2][/center]
[center][h3]Arsenic Island[/h3][/center]

Regarding the Nidoran with curious eyes, Henrietta watched as the little Pokémon tried to steel itself for something. It was still afraid, probably more than ever now that her knight had been defeated, but there was something else in its eyes now that hadn’t been there before that caught the trainers interest; a kind of muted determination hidden underneath the fear, that existed in spite of the fear, that was different from the grit and spirit the male had shown her. The Nidoran took a tentative step forward, or tried to at least, only to turn and run without making it any further as her courage failed her.

Had it been her imagination, or were there tears in the little Pokémon’s eyes are it turned away? Perhaps she should have felt bad about that, for scaring her and for capturing her friend, but battling and catching wild Pokémon was what a trainer did; she would raised and care for the Nidoran she had caught and that was the best she could do. Maybe she could have caught the female as well so that they would not be separated, assuming there was anything ties between them in the first place, but the fact of the matter was she didn’t have a need for a Pokémon who was too fearful to battle.

That might have been a cruel stance to take, that certain Pokémon were worth less to her if they weren’t able to battle, but wouldn’t it be equally cruel to force a Pokémon into a life of battles and training and challenges if they weren’t suited for it? The male she had caught was a fighter, she could tell, and would likely adapt well to being a trainer’s Pokémon. The timid little female would not.

But perhaps she would surprise Henrietta in the end. That look in the female Nidoran’s eye before it had fled, the spark that was not quite determination or courage but was something close to it; perhaps she would see the Nidoran again before she left this island and perhaps Henrietta would catch her after all, if she had found her spirit by then.

But these were thoughts for another time. She had but a week to prepare for her upcoming Gym challenge and she had four Pokemon to train now if she included her new friend; there was no time to waste if she wanted her team to be battle ready and capable of winning against this islands Gym Leader. [color=f7941d]“Come on Atlas. I want to fight a few more battles before we stop for the day; let’s see what we can find.”[/color] Turning away from the bushes where the Nidoran had disappeared, Henrietta began to walk away with Atlas at her side. She would travel deeper into the forest and see what she could turn up that wasn’t a Flying type or a Grass type that would serve as a good opponent for her current team.

[@Sho Minazuki]