There was a loud snap and a flash of light as the young Machop was released from her pokeball. She must have dozed off because she could not remember how long she had been inside, but the injuries she had sustained from the trainer battle seemed to have all vanished. In fact, she felt amazing! She took in a deep breath and curled her toes to find lush grass beneath them. When she opened her eyes, she was met with a flood of sunlight so bright, she had to shield her face while her eyes adjusted. This must have been far away from her original home in Dark Cave.

"There you go, girl. You just relax and enjoy yourself for now."

The Machop spun around to find two young, human girls standing behind her. One was the trainer from before! The Machop's memory was still fuzzy, but she could remember how this girl and a massive grass pokemon had subdued her and trapped her in that tiny ball. The Machop was angry, if only because of the indignation of being caught after living in the wild for so long. However, there was a touch of respect for how she commanded her pokemon with such speed and accuracy. Still, she wasn't about to give this human any slack for taking her away from her mountain-home.

The Machop huffed, folding it's arms and turning away from the girls. "Chop!"

The other girl laughed, "Uh oh, I don't think she likes you Mira!"

Mira smiled warmly and spoke like she was addressing both of them, "I understand. I've taken this little girl away from her home and she's still a little upset. But I really saw something in this Machop and I think she's got some true potential."

Machop was surprised to feel the human's hand resting on her shoulders. She turned around to look up at Mira and saw a caring, motherly look on her face. The Machop had met with many trainers in her years, but it was the first time she saw such a caring and genuine expression on a human trainer.

"We'll start training later. For now, just enjoy the ranch and have fun with my other pokemon. I'm sure they'll be anxious to meet you. C'mon Gwen, I need to go get some more Carbs from the shop..."

Their voiced trailed off as the two girls walked away, leaving the Machop alone in the field. Or at least, she thought she was alone.

<Well, well, well, what do we have here?>

The Machop jumped as the voice seemed to echo from nowhere. She looked around but there was nobody nearby.

<Oh, did I scare you?>, the voice said with a haunting tone. The Machop stepped back, frantically searching for the source of the voice.

<Show yourself!> the Machop shouted.

<You want to see me? Very well, little one.>

The Machop couldn't believe her eyes as a cloud of darkness began to form around her. The voice began to cackle as the darkness grew deeper and deeper, the Machop straining her eyes to see anything in the void.

Suddenly a face shot up from the ground directly in front of the Machop with a big devious grin, lit only by the light of a cigarette burning in her clenched teeth.

<Hello there, pet.>

The Machop screeched as she threw a wild punch. Her fist swung through the face like mist but caught the cigarette in it's teeth and knocked it out of her mouth. In an instant, the cloud of darkness disappeared and the Machop found herself standing in the same grass field with a Gengar directly in front of her. The Gengar frowned as she leaned over to put out the cigarette.

<Why'd you have to go and do a thing like that? Mira doesn't give me nearly enough, you know.> The Gengar produced another cigarette and placed in the brass holder which was still clenched between her teeth and then flipped out a lighter. She took a deep puff as the cigarette glowed and released a long, relaxed sigh, blowing a cloud of smoke into the Machop's face. She coughed and frowned.

<Such a disgusting habit!> the Machop exclaimed. <Those things will kill you, you know.>

The Gengar took another puff and exhaled through her teeth. <The beautiful thing about being dead is that you never have to worry about something killing you.>

A loud, booming voice came from behind the Gengar, <Maria Devo, stop scaring that poor little thing! You'll give her nightmares.>

The Machop crooked her head to look around the Gengar and saw the huge grass pokemon that had subdued her before.

<What a surprise, Ivy is here to coddle the new girl!> Maria teased. <Surprising that you're the one defending her when I remember this one giving you a nasty fat-lip.>

Ivy laughed loudly, her wide, Venusaur mouth filled with sharp teeth. <And that's why Mira wanted to catch her so bad! I haven't seen a Machop move like that in a long time. You've got real potential!>

The Machop blushed at the compliment. <Thank you, Miss Ivy.>

<Oh, and she's so polite! You could learn a thing or two from her, Maria.>

Maria sneered with a grin, eying the little Machop, <I'm sure there's more than a thing or two I could teach my little pet.>

Continued at: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4066250/