9: Challenge

I awoke to silence. No hint of movement, no sign of life.

It felt… Peaceful, like I was back on Mount Coronet, holding out in my cave the morning after a blizzard came through.

Only I wasn't going to spend the next two days fasting as the berry bushes were uncovered.

And I didn't have to go out and search for trainers who didn't heed my warnings.

But I would have to find out what has Nion in a mood worse than a horny Machoke.

It was for times like those I was happy I knew some psychic attacks.

I picked at my breakfast, cringing in fear for when I would hit the orange dot of awfulness. But once more I was almost thankful for the humans for developing such medicine.

There's nothing worse than trying to warn a trainer of an incoming storm or avalanche, when all their pokémon could think about was getting their dicks wet.

But it wasn't like Shay had made this place completely unlivable. He'd given me a warm place to live, a soft bed, plenty of food, a decently sized stone for me to care for my blades and a grooming device that felt more satisfying than slicing cleanly through a berry-laden tree-branch.

I glanced to my right, straight into the sun from Shay's room.

The only thing that needed improvement was the company.

Not that I wasn't used to going, as the humans would say, months without speaking to another pokémon. But, that didn't mean I-

I coughed in disgust. I had found the medicine.

"Oh how much I hate these things." I said aloud, biting my tongue and swallowing the whole thing at once. One curse to stop another.

"I'm sure you'll get over it." I heard from Shay's room.

Nion was actually talking to me. Considering his mood the previous day, I found it quite odd.

I stood up, moving into Shay's room, taking Nion's comment as an invitation to join him in the sun. "Like you'd know what it's like. To have every pokémon on the mountain know exactly where you are all day and night."

Nion chuckled lightly, resulting in a slight purr. "And I never will, but I do understand the suffering you've endured."

It was my turn to laugh now. "You, understand my suffering?" I sat down beside him, staring out the window into the sun. "This I'd like to hear."

The Luxray stretched his limbs, forcing himself into a seated position. "No."

"No? What do you mean-"

"I mean that I won't tell you. You don't deserve the answer."

I stood up and faced my blade towards him. "I don't deserve the answer? And yet you can make these wild claims about understanding and show no proof whatsoever of the fact!" I growled low, wanting nothing more than to attack Nion. But the threat of being forced into the white prison that was my 'ball' stopped me.

Nion simply turned to face me, and lay down in the sun, completely ignoring my threats. "I don't have to prove anything to you. But I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "This weekend is the city's amateur battle tournament. And Shay was invited to be a judge. If you can avoid threatening me, and act peacefully without resorting to threats of violence, then I'll answer any and all questions you have. If you can beat me."

I cocked my head, I could find out everything about them. Shay's past as a trainer, Nion's so-called 'understanding' what happened to his other pokémon… And all I had to do was beat him in a fight? "Why are you doing this?" I asked, standing myself up above his relaxed form. "What's this going to prove?"

"It will prove a number of things. Firstly, it'll prove that you can show restraint, when something you want is within reach. I know you probably have hundreds of questions about us, and if you can prove to me you're patient enough to wait for answers, then I'll tell you everything I know." Nion rolled onto his other side, facing away from the window. "And I know that you've been wanting to prove yourself against me since we met. So I figured I'd give you that chance.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want anything out of this. If I beat you in our duel, you have to stay with Shay and I. You won't ask about or attempt to leave us to try and return to the mountain. This becomes your home, we become your family."

"That's not exactly a fair deal, the answers I seek versus the rest of my life living here with you?"

"Well, yes, you're right. But it's not my place to say that anyway. And although you have your… quirks, I really do enjoy your company." He paused for a bit, opening his eye to glance at me. "When you're not threatening me anyway."

"So that's it then. Either I play nice, and I get the answers I seek. Or I get nothing."

"Yep. I mean, even if I win, I'll still tell you everything you want to know in time. Just not all in one go."

I bristled at that revelation. "Then why hold this over me at all? If it's all just going to be an excuse to force me into playing nice until the-" I paused for a moment, wracking my brain to think of when he'd act on this plan. "What is a 'weekend'?"

Nion almost broke down in laughter. Stupid human terms. "Today is Wednesday, the tournament is on Sunday."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Luyo, that, after today, you have three more days to wait."

I growled under my breath. "Then why bring this up now?"

He grinned. "Because a lot can change in those three days."


Stupid Nion and his stupid plans to have a stupid fight!

I drew my blade against the stone, getting no satisfaction in the slicing sound today after my conversation with Nion.

What right did he have anyway? Hiding what I would call basic background information about himself and Shay behind an arbitrary reason to be nice.

If he wanted me to play nice with him then he should be more forthcoming with what I wanted to know! I would ask him something and then he could ask me something else! A fair exchange of information.

I pulled my blade back across the stone again, focusing on honing the tip more than profiling the blade. I really did need Shay to help me with this considering the lack of movement I had around the stone.

I felt across the edge of my blade with a forepaw. Growling loudly in frustration. Why isn't Shay here when I needed him?

But at least I could sharpen my tail completely. Even if it wasn't going to grow back before my fight with Nion, I could have it sharp enough to attack with if I had to.

The biggest mistake some of the pokémon I've fought against make is limiting their options. Like there was a Swampert I'd fought just after the dragons came who could only use Mega Punch with his right arm.

Certainly made it easier to dodge every attack anyway.

I started honing the edge of my tail, since I'd already shaped the blade all I needed to do was sharpen it. Sure, I had three days before I'd be able to use it, but I wanted it to cut cleaner than my claws, and that meant it had to be perfect.

There was something oddly relaxing about filing and sharpening my blades. It was almost cathartic in a sense, having to clean up the edges used to hunt or fight others.

Not that I got to spend much of my time hunting, usually just to get those Sneasel out of my territory.

Stupid berry thieving Sneasel.

Not that I ever had to worry about them ever again. I glanced towards Nion's bed, seeing him curled up, probably asleep. Instead, now I had to worry about a temperamental Luxray who can't decide whether or not I was a mistake to stop and let escape.

But for all the problems that have arisen, living under Shay hasn't been an entirely bad experience.

The only thing I really missed was the freedom.

I sighed heavily, finishing up with the right side of my tail. I lay down on my side, leaning over to get my tail into view. It looked mostly sharp, I licked the side of the blade clean, removing any residue from the rock finding it smoothed to a fine point at the end.

I ran the top of a claw across the edge, not feeling any resistance from an imprecise cut. A slight groove proving to me I'd honed the edge nicely from one side. Now I just needed to sure up the left side.

"Are you sure having it that sharp is a good idea?" I heard muffled from behind me, Nion not having moved at all from his position. His entire body between us as his head was buried between all four of his legs.

I found myself confused once again. "How can you tell what I'm doing when you've got your head buried like that?"

Without even moving, I could tell Nion had opened one eye. The bright yellow of his eyes shining through the gaps in his fur. "It's a Luxray thing."

I growled in frustration. That's just what he does, like how I sense danger coming. As if on cue, there was a roar from above us, putting me on the defensive. It sounded a fair distance away, but was certainly draconic in origin. "What was-"

"Shut up for a second." Nion growled, he closed his eyes for a moment only for them to be opened twice as brightly as before. Almost like his eyes were giant spotlights, I could see the light shining straight into the ceiling. But as magnificent as the sight was, Nion immediately turned out the lights and I caught him shuddering on his cushion. "Did not want to see that." I just heard as he buried his face back how I'd found him.

"What's going on up there?"

"A Sliggoo a Dragonair… And something I do not want to remember."

Another, slightly less aggressive roar echoed from above, telling me more than I wanted to know filled the building.

And I immediately started working on the left side of my tail to distract myself.


What had felt like eternity later, or as Nion filled me in was closer to an hour, the sound of the two dragons thankfully ended.

I hope Nion can work out how to tell Shay to make them stop.

Or maybe Trish was already sorting out the problem.

Another one of the very few fleeting moments when I wished I was a psychic type. Telepathy would certainly make things easier when it came to having a trainer. I ran my blade against the stone one last time, prompting me to inspect it like last time.

Cleaning off the dust left me with an almost shining blade, strong and sharp enough to slice through Torkoal shell. Definitely a worthy blade until I could get my scythe done properly.

"As I was so rudely interrupted last time." I looked over to see Nion staring at me. "Are you sure having it that sharp is such a good idea?" I pushed myself upright, channeling a Night Slash into the blade. Nion immediately stood up, forcing himself onto defence. "Luyo, what are you doing?"

I smirked before leaping into a twisting back flip, slicing through the peak of the stone behind me, a quick gust of wind later and I was back on my feet, my tail no longer glowing with the attack and Nion still worried about my actions. "Just testing it out, I need to know my blades will work before actually fighting with them."

"Except for the fact that you didn't actually do anything."

I merely laughed before turning around and facing the stone. "For a pokémon with such sharp eyes, you certainly missed this." I placed both my forelegs against the stone, stretching up with my maw to pick up the loose peak I'd just cut through. I placed the cleanly cut stone on the floor besides the rest of it, turning back to find Nion staring in disbelief.

"How is-"

"Are you sure you want to fight me again Nion?" I quickly cut him off, practically glowing at his lack of an answer. He stammered once or twice while I practically strut past him, waving my tail back and forth behind me as I went into Shay's room and jumped onto his bed. I certainly felt good about today with our battle coming up. And I couldn't say I was not looking forward to it.

And after having spent over thirty moons without using a proper attack, I certainly felt good about that one.

I heard Nion get up, and move towards me, but stopping short of jumping onto Shay's bed. "Luyo?" I grunted in response. I still didn't like the name, but as Nion said, I had no choice in the matter. "I've fought some powerful pokémon over the years. But for you to slice through solid stone like that, leaving a completely smooth surface behind… I am beyond words to describe how that looks."

"So are you just going to tell me what I want to know now and forfeit our battle?"

Nion hesitated. I heard him shuffle his paws. "No, I'm not going to forfeit, but." He sighed heavily, forcing me to turn around and face him to see what the hold up was. "What kind of battle do you think we're having?"

"What are you talking about? You challenged me to a fight, I'm preparing for one."

Nion sighed heavily. "Luyo, what I meant was-"

"It doesn't matter what you meant, Nion. You can't just challenge any pokémon to something like that without thinking things through." I stood up on the bed, glaring at the Luxray standing in the doorway. "Before my father left I was challenged by an Abomasnow who'd trespassed into our land. He wanted somewhere to take his family and I wanted to keep my home safe. And so I did what I had to do." I sat down, and clenched my forepaws, feeling the nubs that were my right claws just reach the soft bed. "In my first round of attacks I'd taken off one of his arms and left a huge gash in his chest. And you know what he did?" I jumped off the bed and stood proud before Nion as he shied away. He looked visibly disturbed by my story, but I wanted to prove a point. "He begged me to let him go, that he would take his family elsewhere and wouldn't bother me again.

"And so I turned away, left him to his own devices, hoping that I'd put him in his place, taught him that Absol are not to be messed with. But he didn't accept my mercy. Before I'd even managed to turn around, he almost froze me to death with Blizzard. I saw his mate and child standing behind him, cheering on the act of betrayal." I placed my blade against Nion's chest. I could feel his heartbeat through my sensitive blade. "And I didn't hesitate when I cut his throat, doing the same after I'd run down the other two."

I jumped back up onto the bed, feeling the fleeting bits of warmth from the morning sun ebb away under my fur. "Y- you killed them all?"

"When one stronger than you offers you mercy, you take it, or you die. Besides, a pokémon who goes against their word like that deserves nothing less. There's no honour in striking someone from behind."

"This was never meant to be a fight to the death you know!"

"And it won't. There's no pride striking down a beaten opponent. And there's no shame in accepting mercy when facing death."

As if he'd just forgotten my story from before, Nion stood tall, doing everything he could to catch my gaze. "So you won't be holding back?"

"I would rather die."


"Nion, Luyo, I'm home." As was typical of Shay's arrival every evening, I heard him drop several items before stopping around Nion's bed in the main room. "How've you been buddy? Did you have a good day?" He remained in the main room for a moment, muttering softly to Nion before I heard him groan slightly and head further towards me, his bag bouncing on the bed beside me, forcing me up to pay attention again. "Hello Luyo." He reached towards me with his palm out, kneeling at the side of the bed putting him eye-level with me. "Will you let me pat you today?"

I watched his hand move closer. Oh how I wanted nothing more than to turn away once more. But since I needed his help filing down my blade, and because of how good his brush the other day felt, I couldn't think of a reason to deny him anymore.

I reached forward, pushing the top of my head into his palm, at least hiding my neck from his reach. But instantly, I knew I was mistaken all along.

If the brush was ecstacy, this was a very close second. The difficulty I always had scratching the back of my neck was only surpassed by the small of my back. But his dexterous digits found their way over itches I didn't even know I had. I turned my head under his ministrations, guiding them to exactly where I needed them to go. After an eternity in bliss, I pulled back slowly, shaking my head clear of any loose fur before immediately noticing and large mass of white fur staining the bed below me.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it Luyo?" Shay stood up, I could almost feel the smug radiating off him, I knew he was right.

And he knew that I knew it.

I pushed myself upright, stepping towards Shay and offering my back for him to scratch, and he was more than happy to oblige.

I take it all back. This was ecstacy.

"See what happens when you just trust him Luyo?" I heard Nion from behind me, but I didn't care. Maybe I was entirely wrong about living with a trainer.

I certainly didn't have any fears about it any more.