8. Sparring Partners

Andre walked down the hall silently, not bothering to really talk with any of the people passing him by at the moment. He couldn't get himself to, not since what happened moments earlier with him hearing the other Smashers talking behind his back about, well, him.

Lucario and Roy. Andre gritted his teeth slightly at the two talking about him. If they had a problem with him not faring well with throwing roses as darts, why didn't they just say it to his face in the first place? And they were even talking about his sister, too! Sure, it was of admiration, but still, he didn't find it all very nice for people to go talking about him and his half-sister behind his back. It reminded him of those days, when those stupid, stupid people-

"Andre?"

The blond-haired Eccentric turned to face Peach, a concerned look on her face. She paused, before speaking again.

"You don't look too alright, Andre. Is there something wrong? You can talk with me about it over tea if you want."

He nodded once, before responding quietly. "Tea would be most needed for me right now, as well as bit of venting, I suppose. I thank you for now allowing yourself to be a venting post to what I'm going to tell you about."


Xeraphina let out a quick gasp of pain as she hit the ground for probably the twentieth time. She slowly got up, and quickly rolled to the left before a Psybeam attack could hit her. She grinned a little as she brushed one of her blue locks of hair out of her face, to look up at her sparring partner.

"You're remarkably more agile than I predicted." She spoke as Mewtwo readied a Shadow Ball. "Then again, I should have noticed, considering that you have psychic powers and the like." She rolled out of the way, dodging the Shadow Ball attack easily, before rushing towards the psychic Pokemon.

"I didn't really think you were almost as fast as Sonic." Mewtwo responded as he sidestepped a punch from Xeraphina. "And really, those rainbow-coloured arms you can conjure out of thin air-Ack!" The last part was because a rainbow-coloured arm slapped him in the face once. "...They're very...Impressive." Mewtwo finished lamely, before socking Xeraphina in the stomach with a Mega Punch attack.

Xeraphina staggered backwards, hesitating once as her eyes widened in shock, before suddenly speeding of sight. Mewtwo didn't understand her sudden look of panic, until he was suddenly tackled down by the Eccentric. A bullet sailed over their heads as they landed on the grassy ground. Xeraphina rolled off Mewtwo before helping him up, and the two turned to see Lyndon, pointing a gun at the both of them. He didn't look too happy, and Xeraphina let out a sigh.

"What is it now, Lyndon?" The blue-haired Eccentric asked, crossing her arms. "Are you just bloody mad that I got to spar with Mewtwo?"

"Oh, I'm not just bloody mad. I'm pissed." Lyndon responded, still pointing the gun at them. "Though, I might forgive you if I get to join and become a permanent sparring partner to Mewtwo. I need to keep up my practice, even if I'm not a working assasin. You know that, Xeraphina."

Xeraphina turned to Mewtwo. "I'm going to suggest that if you don't say yes, things will get very messy. And you don't want that." She spoke.

Mewtwo just gave a quiet nod to Xeraphina before turning to Lyndon. "Show me the extent of your power then, Lyndon. If you win, we'll be sparring partners. If not, you'll have to search for someone else."

Lyndon's once-upset facial expression turned into a smirk. "Game on."


Andre sighed as he sipped his cup of tea. "I can't believe they would talk about me and my sister behind my back like that." He finished. "I find it quite troubling, and a nuisance."

Peach, sitting across him at the small table, gave a quiet nod before responding. "I understand your frustration. A lot of the Smashers ridiculed me at first for using a frying pan in battle." She started. "I don't think Lucario and Roy meant any harm to you or Amelia through their words. It's no wonder you don't like it considering that people back where you came from did that so much and so negatively; but anywhere you go, everyone has their opinions about pretty much everyone. It's unavoidable, Andre. I'm sure the other Smashers will warm up to you and the other Eccentrics eventually and start treating you more like equals. It just takes time and patience, and effort, too."

Andre nodded once, looking downwards. "Perhaps I should apologize to Roy and Lucario for my unruly behaviour earlier. It wasn't in my place, and it never should be." He murmured quietly, before sipping his tea again. He then paused before asking, "You use a frying pan in battle? Did I hear that correctly?"

"Yes." Peach responded, smiling a little. "I know it's really weird, but I've actually done a lot of damage to enemies with a frying pan alone. I won't lie about that."

"I find it interesting. I never thought at all in my life that any cooking utensil besides a cleaver would serve as a decent weapon. It's quite innovative." He responded.

"I don't know. A boomerang top-hat certainly seems to be far more innovative than that, as you demonstrated in your match against Link." Peach responded, and the two chuckled at the thought.

Andre then hesitated, before speaking. "Peach, do you know if Zelda and Link are...Together? In a romantic sort of sense? I'm just wondering..."


Xeraphina watched the two spar, over and over again. She wasn't sure how long it took for them to eventually weaken and collapse onto the ground, but the two pretty much collapsed at the same time. Both looked completely exhausted, and she knew that they were too tired to battle anymore.

"Crap. Dang it..." Lyndon breathed as he looked up at Mewtwo. "You're good."

"You're just as good." Mewtwo responded, also taking a deep breath before continuing. "You win."

"No." The former assasin murmured as he stood up. "You win. You inflicted more damage on me."

The psychic Pokemon sighed. "Can we just call this a draw?"

"Fine." The two eventually stood up, exchanging similar glances.

Xeraphina just smiled a little. Things seemed to be looking up, and even though she didn't really get to fight against Mewtwo since Lyndon intervened, the two were becoming good sparring partners if not completely accquaintances/friends at the least. It was progress.