"Do you think he got a heart attack and died from the stress?" "No, he seemed way more capable than that. Wait...he seems to be waking up!" Percival, startled, jolted upwards, waking up in a panic. Although his vision was blurred, he could make out Kyra, along with someone else. As his vision began to clear more, he noticed the kid, slightly older than himself, had a Larvesta on his shoulder. With bright red hair, and a jacket imprinted with brilliant flames, the kid clearly had a bit of a motif going on. "Hi there, Perz. Strange name, but who am I to judge? My name's Orion."
"Sol here is responsible for all the flames from earlier. He's a helper at heart, although you may not know it from his appearance." The Larvesta clambered up the arm of its trainer as it was extended, the white fuzz around its head jiggling and bouncing. "There's something about the white fur, black face, red bits sticking out. You know, it's just a pretty aesthetic." Percival nodded, although he didn't really see it.
"Yeah, I know, it's kinda weird of me to think that. But beauty comes only in the acceptance of difference, not in the denial of it. There is no perfect, as everything is perfect in a different way, for a different reason. I hope you do agree with me." Percival shrugged, stating, "Well, there is a perfect, but it's impossible to achieve. There is always an imperfection in anything, really." "But can an imperfection be perfect at being an imperfection?" "No...?" "Then an imperfect imperfection...interesting."
"Speaking of imperfect imperfections, I think Kyra seems to be heading out." Percival watched as Kyra, almost out of view, waved to him in farewell, and held up her phone, pointing towards it. Clearly she had got his number while he slept, probably using his own finger to unlock the phone. He waved back, slightly unnerved at how willing she was to do that. He supposed she was just busy, and had to get back to training or travelling.
"So, Perz, if that's actually your name, I guess we might as well battle, since our eyes did meet." "It's Percival, by the way. I guess I never did extend a proper welcome. A pleasure to meet you. And by a pleasure, I also mean a battle." "That was not witty at all." "Did you have something better?"
"No, but Sol does. Now send out your Pokemon!" "Alright, come on out, Charles." The poodle Pokemon and the torchbug Pokemon stared each other down, ready to attack."Sol, Flamethrower!"
As Percival commanded for his Pokemon to dodge, Orion continued to press the attack, as flames spewed from the Larvesta at its canine opponent. "Now, Charles, let's get in a move: Headbutt!" Furfrou slammed his head into the Larvesta as fast as possible, sending the little bug flying, as it used its flames to shoot further away, rocketing away. Finally, a burst of flame emitting from its mouth struck the Furfrou, as the fiery blast sent the dog careening away. Grinning, Orion called for a String Shot, as Sol spewed web-like strands of silk from itself, catching and entangling Charles in midair. "Use Bite to cut the strings!" As Charles set to work biting up the strings, Sol was commanded to keep blasting at Charles with Flamethrower. "Okay, Sol, let's finish him off before he can escape: Flame Charge!"
Surrounding himself in flame, Sol hurtled along the last remaining string, which, just as it as cut, caught flame, giving Sol the cover he needed to slam into Charles, sending him hurtling backward, leaving the Furfrou barely standing. "While sure, Flamethrower may have been better in the short run, in the long run, the speed boost granted by Flame Charge will pay off, especially after we use another!" "Headbutt, Charles!"
The two Pokemon collided into each other, as Furfrou fell to the ground unconscious, with the Larvesta looking at its opponent with a jittery, giddy sense of both worry and excitement. As Percival recalled the poodle Pokemon, he asked, "2v2?" Orion nodded, taking the challenge, as Fluffles came out of his Pokeball.
Sol came in with another Flame Charge, as Percival shouted, "Tackle!" With a slam, Sol sent back Fluffles, who used the momentum to leap off one of the nearby stalagmites and slam into the Larvesta as retaliation. "Flamethrower!" "Dodge it!" Percival knew that Fluffles was at a disadvantage against a fire-type Pokemon, due to his ability, Fluffy, making his fur ultra-vulnerable to flame. As Percival glanced around, looking for a way to change the tide, he saw some of the stones igniting from the flame. "Pretty, isn't it, Percival. The red works so beautifully with the blues and yellows of the caves, right. Well, it was neat, but let's end this quickly. Flamethrower." As Larvesta continued to pelt at Fluffles with fire, the little bear scrambling to escape, Percival knew they couldn't keep running, with the Larvesta always zipping to wherever Fluffles was hiding, using its boosted speed to its advantage.
"Brutal Swing on the Stalagmites!" As Fluffles swung upwards, breaking off little bits and pieces of many of the stalagmites, he was struck by another Flame Charge, and sent flying. However, the plan had worked. Percival grinned, nodding at Fluffles, before shouting: "Payback!" As Fluffles aimed to strike the Larvesta, invigorated by the force of the blow struck against it, the Larvesta tried to leap away, only to trip on all the bits of rock, falling victim to the blow. As it hurtled back, Fluffles pounced, slamming into it with another Tackle, knocking it out.
"Well done, Percy. I think you would have stood a chance of victory if this was a 3v3. But it isn't. Come on out, Apollo!" An Espeon emerged from the Poke Ball he held in his hand. The pink feline Pokemon glared at its opponent, the red ruby in between its farseeing eyes glowing with power. "As a Psychic type, Apollo has the upper hand against Stufful, since Psychic moves are good against Figthing types. And believe me, it won't take us two shots to win, so no using Payback."
Percival nodded, grimly, as he prepared for the loss. "Fluffles...try to take it. We won't get to the Espeon fast enough, so we're going to need to go for endurance." The speedy Psychic-type closed its eyes, as its trainer shouted: "Confusion!" A Psychic wave seemed to surround Fluffles, sending him into a mental space that confused and blurred his mind, weakening his will as he slowly began collapsing. "Come on, Fluffles. Don't let it get to you! You're too cute for this!" And indeed he was, as the little bear began to glow blue.
"Wait a minute...is that what I think it is?" Percival nodded in response, grinning. "If I had known calling him cute would give him that extra boost he needed to evolve, I would have done it before the battle. Maybe the Confusion could have taken out the Stufful, but in his new Bewear form, I doubt it." As Fluffles emerged from the glowing blue light, he was in a new form. Still pink, he now stood upright, far bigger and more powerful than before, grinning at his new ability to give power hugs. And thus, he decided to start with a hug for the nice Espeon that had helped him evolve. Unknowing, he started channeling a Payback, and rushed the rest of the distance to the cat, whose trainer was in too much surprise to react, as the Espeon tried to dodge too late to avoid the powerful and massive arms of the massive bear. In one Payback, the combined power of type advantage (due to the move's Dark-typing) and the might of Bewear was enough to knock out the frail Psychic-type. An easy victory in Fluffles' new form.
"I can't even right now, Percival. That was quite the shock to both of us. Although, let's face it, if it weren't for that, it would've been an easy win for me. Either way, that was fun. I'm heading to Cunife City. Want to join me?
Pokemon So Far:
Fluffles (Bewear) - Moves: Tackle, Brutal Swing, Bide, Payback; Ability: Fluffy; Level: 27
Charles (Furfrou) - Moves: Headbutt, Bite, Sand Attack, Bady-Doll Eyes; Ability: Fur Coat; Level: 26
Unamed (Axew) - Moves: Dual Chop, Dragon Rage, Assurance, Scratch; Ability: Mold Breaker; Level: 25
AUTHOR'S NOTE - I hope Kyra left a good first impression! As you can see, we're basically working backwards on the generations with Percival's Pokemon, so expect a Gen 4 Pokemon next! This was a 3rd chapter that wasn't shorter, although with the long wait, it just wouldn't be right to give a mini chapter.