Training Days
The next morning after my ultimatum was far less tense than was expected. Probably because my Pokémon were too tired to think about it.
I woke them all in the hours of the morning before the sun had risen. I had them begin several laps around the large pond. At first, it seemed a simple run until a few laps turned into a fifty.
They all took the increased intensity of training in their own ways. Pan and Machoke had been unaffected by the mud hindering their run at first, but as time went on, they started to flag. Shimmer with her hooves and Blink having the dirt stifle his electric sprinting struggled far more.
Previously when I trained them, it was only a simple move combination or basic commands. Now that we all were committed to the path we were on, the whole team needed to be at an Elite level as soon as possible.
I would be putting the training of years into a few months. It wouldn't entirely put them at the strength of an Elite or Master level Pokémon. Any progress was positive. My only concern was burning them out. After everyone else had gone to bed, I pulled Crum aside to tell him my plan. He would be the one that held me back from going too far.
Based on the fact I could see steam coming off him, it was time for the first break. "Everyone that's good. Get some water and rest," I yelled out from my position overlooking the pond. I was proud to say none of them collapsed getting water. The crumpled in a heap in front of me instead.
Pan was heaving while laying on her back. Shimmer was laying primly with heavy breathes. Blink was putting on a stubborn face and refused to let his buckling legs give. As for Crum, he had taken a knee. He looked not as fatigued as the others thanks to his constitution, but it still showed.
Theses first laps were merely a warmup. It would only get harder from here. Thankfully all Pokémon had immensely high levels of recuperation. Medicines and Pokémon Centers generally were for immediate or extreme injuries. Bruises, and cuts commonly healed within a day. Some species could even regrow limbs at the cost of several calories.
"Good job, ya'll. I know that kind of training is more difficult compared to what we have had in the past. Now that we have a goal that is so dangerous, I needed you all to grow at a higher rate," I explained to my already recovering team. Understanding showed in their eyes as they accepted this new pace.
"These next two weeks will be harder than any other. When traveling, I can't afford to work you as I will be. So, I will be pushing every single one of you past your current limits. Every morning we will begin with these laps. Every morning we will add ten more laps."
I held back a laugh as they all groaned. They were not looking forward to the increased workload, but the tiredness my team had previously was replaced with determination once they heard the reasoning for it. Pokémon had an inherent desire to grow stronger and would go through most means to achieve this power. This was a reason why the Trainer/Pokémon relationship was seen as symbiotic.
I continued as I moved past their complaints, "Thirteen days. That's how long before we are sent on our first legitimate mission for Team Rocket." They all straighten up at this. "Not only do we have been as good as possible to accomplish it, but also be able to save any innocents that may be hurt. We can't let the Rockets know our plans and being more skilled than any others is our best option."
Resolve etched every individual face. Well, except Shimmer. I had her attention, so I figured that was all right.
"Each of you will have unique training regiments. Also, I will personally work with each of you for three days, one on one." Visible excitement shuddered through them. Advancements in technique were gold to most Pokémon. Any wild Pokémon could become stronger, but the ingenuity and intelligence of a human mind made caught Pokémon infinitely more potent than their wild cousins. Even Psychic-types with their massive intelligence were held back by their animalistic instincts.
I smiled as my Pokémon's excitement flooded into me. I was also looking forward to this training vacation. Such dedicated training always made me feel closer to my team. Despite how much pain I knew it would bring me in the future, I enjoyed my time with them.
"First three days will be Shimmer followed by Blink then Pan and finally Crum," I spoke as I relayed my plan to my team. Shimmer flared in excitement on getting first to go with me. Pan chittered while Blink stomped in a shower of sparks to show his approval. Crum looked more troubled than the others.
Likely he thought I was punishing him. We had reconciled twice over now. He needed to quit being so sensitive. For such a physically imposing Pokémon, he had a soft heart. A fact that I was proud of as his friend but annoyed by as his trainer.
"As I said, we will do the warmup laps in the morning. After a brief rest, we will separate. Whoever is with me will focus on techniques and increasing our functionality in battles. The others will work on the things I have laid out for you." I was answered with cries of approval.
Once they quieted down, I began to lay out their timetables. "Pan I want you to focus on using Dig to make more complex tunnel systems. In conjunction I want you to increase the speed in which you do this. I want efficiency out of you. Perfect Whack a Mole. I also want to see Magnitude be easier for you to use. Head over to that field and start," I ordered concisely.
Pan quickly rose and scampered to the open field by the pond. I hope she got Magnitude to the point where she could more easily shape the earth. Otherwise, we would be leaving a mess when we left.
"Blink now is when you perfect your Charge mode. I want you to be able to hold it continuously and without it giving you tunnel vision or hindering your mobility. Accomplish this by the time I get to you, and we should be ready to work on getting you evolved."
Not even his usual stern demeanor could be contained as he lost control of his stored electricity. Embarrassment quickly rose up in him as I couldn't help chuckling at him. Crum also began to let out chuffed sounds from his chest. Blink glared up at the Superpower Pokémon, but this was a mistake. As he turned Shimmer swopped in to give him a sloppy lick across his ear. He hissed and swatted at her.
As I pulled back on the enjoyment, I got from picking on my most surly child I began again. "I want you to head into those trees. You should be able to weave between by the time we have our one on one."
Blink quickly rose and headed off into the wooded area past the pond in a hurry, likely as much as a desire to begin training as soon as possible as to get away from us. I smiled as he ran away and faced my first partner.
"Sadly, Crum I don't have much for you," I told him as disappointment appeared on his profile. I cut off his sulkiness with my clarification. "Because you evolved a day ago. You need to get used to your new strength and the Limiter Belt."
Understanding washed over him, and he stiffened into a focused stance. I smiled up at him. "Before I had you punch trees without breaking them. Now that you are evolved, I can't have you chopping down the forest with your punches." He rewarded my joke with a toothy smile. I remember years ago he would roll his eyes at me, joking around. Leaving the Lab had eased him up a bit.
"So instead you will go into the pond. The water will resist your punches and kicks, but that just an added benefit to what I want with you. By the time I get to you, I want you to be able to throw a punch that can split the water as well as a punch that doesn't disrupt the water. Power and control. That's what you need to relearn with this body. I expect the same with kicks."
Crum smiled in anticipation and headed into the pond without needing even to be told. He waded up to his neck and threw a punch.
Shimmer cried as she quickly ran away as a wall of water rose up and crashed into where we gathered. Rain pummeled me as I fell backward. I reoriented myself as I got up from the ground and wiped the water from my face. I sent an unamused frown at Crum, who was sheepishly smiling back.
"Maybe focus on control first then power," I recommended. Crum dutifully nodded and much more deliberately started his submerged training. Large waves hit the shore from his actions, but at least the water stayed in the pond.
Suddenly I felt a rise in temperature. I turned and saw Shimmer was using her fire to dry me off. I began to stroke her muzzle. "Thanks, girl. I appreciate it. Let's get away from here. I doubt either of us wants to get soaked by Crum."
With a cheerful whinny, she followed into an open field to begin her training.
xxx
I felt terrible about the amount of time I had spent with Shimmer. I spent plenty of time outside of battling with her. She had also seen plenty of battles against the multitude of Trainers we had encountered on the various Routes. Unlike the rest of my team, she rarely received personal training. Part of it was that she wasn't as battle hungry as the other. Another was she didn't have the move set.
Ponyta, as a rule, grew slowly. As battling Pokémon, they were, but the natural moves they learned came late in their life cycle. The same could be said for their evolution into Rapidash. Raising a Ponyta was a commitment that I had initially wanted to avoid, but Shimmer had taken that choice from me when she refused not to be caught.
I was well off enough now that I could release her and not worry about the cost of the Pokeballs. By now though I had put too much into her. I also happened to have grown to like her simplicity. She was not an intellectual wonder, but she had a unique atmosphere of comfort about her. She reminded me more of a dog over a horse.
"All right, Shim. You are honestly difficult to plan for," I admitted to her with a hint of guilt. She tilted her head in a show of her lack of understanding.
"You are speedy, but you don't have muscle mass as a Ponyta to hit hard like the others can or will. I have plans to fix your available strategies, but I don't have the resources yet. However, I do have a few we can try out right now."
Shimmer pranced in enjoyment. I smiled at her joy. She truly deserved more attention than I had given her. "Also, you have been kept out of some important battles. That changes soon." She stopped hopping about and gave me her undivided attention. I grinned widely at her as she calmed down for once.
"The next Gym as of right now is going to be your time to shine. If we can swing it, it will be just you. After I'm done with you, I hope you will be able to blaze through anything," I resolutely promised her.
My little Ponyta threw her head back in an excited whinny. I continued to grin as I always did when I was with Shimmer. Everyone else on the team had a certain level of severity about them and while it was a good thing for professionalism, but it could be a bit tiring. Shimmer was the light of my team. In more ways than one.
I readied myself as I shifted into a more serious expression. "Now you have a limited move pool right now. I can fix that later, but as of right we don't have much to work with." Shimmer showed she followed along with a nod. "So, we are going to take a page out of Pan's playbook and combine moves to make pseudo versions of actual techniques."
Shimmer snorted in affirmation. "First show how well you can use your current moves. Quick Attack into Ember then Double Kick into Flame Wheel. Keep doing this until I say stop."
For the next five minutes, Shimmer did her move set. Despite my failures to guide her as I should have, she showed decent control of her abilities.
Eventually, I told Shimmer to stop. She huffed in exhaustion as she began to catch her breath. Ponyta could run for long times but using battle techniques always drained a Pokémon's energy faster.
"Impressive, Shimmer. Rest a bit while I explain what we are going to do," I called out to her. She plodded over and took a seat.
"First off, many people will recognize your base moves once they hear me call them out. With you and your teammates, I'm going to make signals for them. Understand?" I questioned in hopes she was able to catch my meaning. She answered in a snort that I assumed was a yes.
"From now on, I will use claps to stand for your moves. As you learn more moves, I will add signals, though none of them will be more complicated than a clap or something similar."
Another snort told me to keep continuing. "So, one clap for Ember. Two for Quick Attack. One whistle for Double Kick and two for Flame Wheel. Once you are ready, we will work on getting used to these signals. Then we do move combos."
Shimmer rose as to show she had rested enough and gave her a smiling nod.
We spent the next few hours, making sure she understood my commands. I changed up the speed and proximity to throw her off. At first, she stumbled trying to follow my orders, but after the first hour, she had little issue interpreting my orders.
I looked up into the sky and saw the had risen to its zenith. I reckoned this was an optimal time for everyone to take a break.
"Okay Shimmer lets break for lunch. Can you go grab the others while I go prepare it?" I asked. A weak neigh answered me as Shimmer walked away. It turns out a few hours of straight training could even wear out Shimmer.
I smirked at her and went to our camp to begin the lunch preparations.
xxx
It took awhile for my Pokémon to return. Crum was with earshot and was reluctant to leave the water until I called out to him. He looked annoyed by his progress as the pond's surface looked like it was in a storm. Control is hard to learn, but I knew Crum would get it. He hadn't quite perfected it as a Machop, but he wasn't that far at the time.
Pan slowly came after. Dust coated her as she fell against Crum. I craned my neck up to get a better look at Pan's training field. My eyes shot wide as I saw what a grassy field was once was now a craggy waste. I quickly placed a bowl of water in front of the Sand Mouse, who promptly lapped it up.
Shimmer returned before Blink. I raised an eyebrow to question why. She tossed her head behind her. Dragging himself from the tree line was Blink.
I rolled my eyes. I should have known he would overwork himself. Rarely had I met a Pokémon so dedicated to getting stronger.
"Crum could you finish preparing lunch. I'll go grab him," I said as I rose to pick up Blink. Crum nodded as he began to set the food bowls.
He didn't make much ground from the trees before I came up to him. He looked up with a harsh glare. "Don't give me that. You are the one that worked yourself into the ground. I want you stronger, not dead."
I picked him up as he complained with soft mewls. "Oh, shut up. If you work like this without supervision, that means I can't let you go off alone." He quieted down with that threat.
"That's what I thought. You are done training today. You get to sit with me as I train Shimmer," I ordered at him while he groaned in my arms. "Tomorrow, I expect you to show restraint. Otherwise, I'll have to carry you everywhere, or I could have Crum watch you," I teased.
Blink hissed halfheartedly at me, but he realized he didn't have much choice but to listen to me. I placed him in front of his bowl at the camp while I fished out a ration bar for myself.
The bar tasted vaguely of chicken and sawdust. Full of all the nutrients I needed with none of the flavors. I chomped down as I examined our surroundings. When we arrived yesterday, there were several local Pokémon, but all our commotion had scared them off. Now a quiet hung in the air interrupted only by the munching coming from my Pokémon.
It was relaxing just being with them. As if no other world except this small one with just us was all that existed. A small smile rose on my face as I looked at my Pokémon. Then that smile fell as I remembered that this world wasn't mine. I didn't belong here and that I would have to give up these moments one day. I hated, but I couldn't be without my family any longer. The world of Pokémon was a dream actualized, but, my reality I had realized was far sweeter.
xxx
After lunch, we separated again and went back to our separate areas apart from Blink whom I forced to follow Shimmer and me. The three of us returned to the slightly charred field. The rest of today would be focused on getting Shimmers combo moves.
"All right Blink stay here. If you move you get to stay with Crum who's training in the pond," I warned the troublesome kitten. He huffed in annoyance, but my threat was enough to make him lay beside me. After making sure, he wasn't going anywhere I turned to face Shimmer.
"Thanks for being patient girl. You ready for the fun stuff?" I grinned at the aflame horse. Shimmer reared up in approval. I laughed out loud while Blink audibly pouted from the ground. I nudged him with my foot and rolled my eyes at him.
"Most of your physical moves mix well together. Ember with Quick Attack is essentially Flame Wheel, so it's a bit redundant. Ember will be a better suited as an opening salvo or distraction," I instructed. I felt both Shimmer and Blinks eyes on me. This was my realm, guiding the battles both before and during combat. They were my soldiers and me their General.
Continuing our strategy session, I expatiated on the topic. "Flame Wheel in conjunction with Double Kick or Quick Attack can make lesser forms of Blaze Kick and Flame Charge. To hide these from our opponents, we will give them codenames like Pan has."
A whinny told me she approved. "Excellent. The Double Kick variant will be Double Wheel. Quick Flame will be the other. Quick Flame will be simple in concept. Conjure up Flame Wheel while in Quick Attack. The trouble will be Double Wheel." Shimmer looked quizzically at me.
"To use it as effectively as I think it can be, you will need to focus Flame Wheel within your rear hooves. The concentration you will need to do is hard enough without being in a battle situation," I clarified. Shimmer nodded in understanding.
"For the rest of today, we will work Quick Flame. If you can get it to an acceptable level, we will move on to Double Wheel." Shimmer snorted and began to head into her training.
It didn't go that well. She struggled to pull up Flame Wheel while in Quick attack. She either couldn't keep the fire up or the speed. I would advise as we went, but there only so much I could say. Ultimately it was up to her to do.
We went back to camp once the night was in place. Shimmer hung her head in disappointment, which disturbed me. I had never seen her be anything other than jubilant. "Hey, Shim. It's okay. If it were easy to do, you wouldn't need me."
Shimmer rubbed against me for comfort, but she still hung her head low. I didn't know what to do. I thought she would struggle with Double Wheel, not Quick Flame. Simple but sophisticated, I guess.
Dinner was a quiet affair as the others caught onto the atmosphere. Crum was respectfully silent while Pan was more empathically so. Blink was the more surprising reaction. His silence was contemplative, and the knitting of his brow confirmed this.
Eventually, we went to sleep. It was earlier than usual as exhaustion caught up to my team. In the middle of the night, however, I was woken up by flashes of light. I rose up and saw electricity arcing in the night.
Anger rose up in me as I figured Blink was so blatantly disobeying me. I left the camp quietly so as not disturb the others. As I got closer and got close enough to see the Shinx, I saw electricity become replace by fire.
I stopped and crouched down so as not to be seen. I was surprised by seeing not just Blink but Shimmer practicing. Blink wasn't training; he was teaching her.
Blink would go into Charge and run forward. Very quickly, he would drop it and face Shimmer. After watching Shimmer would try to copy him with Quick Flame. While not as effective as Blink was, she still improved exponentially compared to earlier.
I smiled as my Pokémon worked together. I sneaked back to camp and went back to sleep. Pride filled me as thought about how they had come together. Didn't stop me from running them just as hard in the morning.
xxx
By the end of the second day, Shimmer had achieved Quick Flame. She danced about once she finally did it. At dinner, a far happier Blink, who had been allowed to train again, had his mood ruined as Shimmer showered him with kisses. He complained and batted her away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him hide a pleased smile.
Shimmer struggled with Double Wheel as I predicted, but unlike her previous failure, she seemed more determined to succeed. I congratulated her on our final solo day. I told her to continue practicing once I went to the others. She answered by trying to eat my hair again. I assumed that meant yes.
On Blink's first day he stood proudly among the trees. I stood in front of him with crossed arms. I assumed he had accomplished his task in completing Charge Mode. Charge Mode had been a long time cunning. Luxray while fast was not the quickest thing in the world. They were ambush predators. With Charge Mode Blink could become the fastest of his species.
"Well go on. You seem pretty sure of yourself," I spoke with an amused smirk. Blink hadn't completed Charge Mode. He had perfected it.
Without even needing a run to build up his electricity, he became a black and yellow blur that weaved through the trees. He turned and pivoted through the forest floors. Then to my surprise, the blur rose and began to jump from tree to tree like a pinball.
After ten minutes of showing off, he landed in front of me in as a heaving mess. Even with his heavy panting, he wore a victorious smirk.
I picked him and raised him with an exclaim "That was amazing, Blink! I couldn't have asked for better. I've never been prouder of you." Usually, Blink would be against be grabbing him as I did, but he was happy to take the praise over being prickly.
"All right I promised you an evolution if finished Charge Mode. I believe its time I honor my part of the deal. Rest up because we are going to battle every wild Pokémon out in these woods." He answered me with a hungry grin.
While he rested, I conveyed to the others. For the next three days, Blink, and I would be going deeper into the woods to battle to the point which he evolved. I left Crum in Charge with enough food to last for our departure. Not that any of my Pokémon needed it. They all could hunt and graze quite well.
The next three days consisted of Blink and I traveling the woods attacking any Pokémon we could. Our problem was that the local wildlife was far below Blink in strength. I had never figured out if evolution was based off experience like the games or emotion like the anime.
Crum technically fit both, and I had read articles defending both. Many Pokémon scientists took one side or another on the experience vs. emotion issue. Years ago, when I asked Sam, he simply shrugged and said, "I dunno." Truly the greatest mind of his time.
Blink and I greatly enjoyed the alone time. We were very similar in personality as well as experiencing living off the land. I surprised him with how capable I was with both striking Pidgey out of the air with stones and cleaning them. While never much a hunter in either life, a good ole country boy still had some knowledge of living outside of society.
By midday of the third day of his personal training Blink was increasingly agitated at not evolving. He was showing all the signs of a Shinx evolving. The ability to produce electricity without kinetic powering of his paws. Growth of a small mane along with higher muscle mass. All Shinx needed was the actual evolution to finish the transformation.
I frowned as I checked the time. We would need to head back soon, and Blinks unease showed he knew this. I was disappointed because I had wanted to keep my promise. This was outside of my control, in any case.
My inner reflection was interrupted by Blink bounding up a tree to Spark a Pidgey. He lounged in the branch while he chowed on the bird. I shook my head at him. Id let him finish his lunch before breaking the bad news.
Before he could take another bite, a screech filled the forest. We both quickly looked up to see a Pidgeot charge at Blink. A Pidgeot was far beyond Blink despite the type advantage.
"Blink down. We need to run," I ordered with fear. Blink snarled in defiance and activated Charge Mode. Like a bullet, he launched at the Pidgeot. He sank his fangs into its neck. The Pidgeot cried out in pain as Blink held onto its throat.
Like a flying rodeo bull, the giant bird tried to shake off the electric lion. Blink held on, but he was losing his Charge. I looked on in horror as Blink began to lose hold and the Pidgeot began to rise higher.
As the electricity dissipated a bright light illuminated the forest. I cheered as Blink finally evolved into a Luxio.
With the sudden increase in weight, the Pidgeot fell to the ground. With brutalist intensity, the newly formed Luxio tore out the Pidgeots throat. With a gurgle, the Pidgeot lost the light in its eyes as Blink stood triumphantly above it.
He stared back with a smug pride at me as he placed his paw on the bird's head. I rolled my eyes as I called back at him, "Yea yea. I shouldn't have doubted you. As a reward for disobeying me, you can carry your kill back." He huffed but proudly picked up the Pidgeot and followed behind me back to camp.
xxx
Blink and I came back to the main camp with cheers and congratulations. The girls crowded Blink and fawned over him. The usually antisocial cat absorbed the attention with smug satisfaction. Crum even gave him a congratulatory pat on the back, though judging by the buckling of Blink's legs Crum may have put a little more force into it than needed.
I asked Crum if anything had come up. He shook his head and then withdrew into himself. I took this as evidence that he was still struggling in his training.
I could only hope he progress more in the three days he had left. I needed to focus on Pan now.
Crum was a good taskmaster based off the ease the Pokémon, that remained behind Blink and me, ran their laps. Blink struggled a bit since he lucked out in getting a few days off, but his new physiology carried him through.
Shimmer and Crum were told to continue their previous regiments. Blink was advised to use the next three days to get used to his new body. He was by no means to use Charge Mode. So of course, he would overuse it to the point he collapsed again. He didn't appreciate my keeping my threat of throwing him into the pond with Crum the next day.
Pan had already had similar training to what I had done with Shimmer in preparation for Surge. Unlike Shimmer, I hadn't been as strict or demanding with the Sandshrew since time was short. She was fantastic in making what little time we had as efficient as possible.
Now I was making sure Whack a Mole and Pseudo Roll were as clean as possible. Pan had done well in doing precisely this. Her Dig was faster than before. Her Poison Sting more rapid and accurate. Rollout was a little shaky above ground, but from what I could observe, her tunneling system mitigated the issue.
I rarely planned to have Pan above ground. She was not fast enough on the surface to be a threat. She would always be a hit and run tactic fighter. Even when I could use a TM to teach her Earthquake, she would come up short against most other high-level Pokémon.
If we couldn't beat our enemies with outright strength, we would outthink them.
Now Magnitude was another issue. I had hoped to train Pan to the point which she could control the quakes so to use the larger possible Magnitude at will.
However, I had to accept defeat on this. This move was simply the way it was. Some moves were so volatile that they couldn't be modified. This was why Earthquake the superior move. It was essentially why some Pokemon learned to control the Magnitude more finely. Sadly, the Sandshrew line didn't learn Earthquake naturally.
Pan was not a big focus on this trip, so I was happy with what we accomplished. On her second day, we spent time learning my new signaling system. Unlike Shimmer and Blink, whom I taught on our sojourn in the woods, I also add stomps for when she was in the ground. Since she couldn't always hear my claps, I substituted stomps for the usual signals. I wanted her to know still my standard signs in case she was unable to Dig. It was not possible to do inside of a building.
If Pan was saddened by the fact I wasn't as in depth with her as the others, she didn't show. That was what I liked about her. Crum would sulk. Shimmer would go off the rails. Blink would do both. While Pan just was; which was why she was my favorite. Not that I'd ever admitted it.
When I finished Pans third day, and we went back to camp for dinner Crum refused to come in. I was a bit perturbed by this, but he seemed adamant on continuing to train. While contradictory to what I did with Blink, I had more trust in my partner to not overwork himself. At least to his detriment.
While the rest of us slept, he continued to push himself. When we woke up, he was ready to begin the morning warmup. He stayed up the entire night but still set the pace for the others during their laps.
Once they finished and we separated I stood quietly at the water's edge. I kept a cool gaze on Crum. He knew that if he couldn't reach my expectations that the training trip would be cut short. If he couldn't control his power, then there would be no point on working techniques. If he didn't get it now, it was over.
Calm radiated from him as he stepped into the water. He only went waist deep and took a stance. He held up a fist and released a breath.
Faster than even Blinks Charge he released the punch. At first, I thought he was showcasing his control, but then a rush wind blew me back.
In almost slow motion the pond was split down the middle. The water didn't rise higher than the previous waterline but still was held up as if by a string. I clenched my fists in excitement.
Crum hadn't just learned to control his strength and maximize it, but he had combined them in a matter I didn't think possible for a newly evolved Machoke. He faced me again with more exhaustion from that single punch than anything I had put him through.
Finally, everything caught up to him as he collapsed on the bank. I sighed as I waded in to make sure he didn't drown. He would probably lose a day, but he had proved something to me today. Whatever I gave him, he would surpass it.
Crum was easy to train. Well, not easy more impossible. He had surpassed my knowledge of how to teach him. Fighting-types needed masters. Sometimes they were another Pokémon. Sometimes it was a human. All I had was a mix match of techniques from the real world that he could use, but I never had proper training. I might know a flying knee was effective, but that didn't mean I knew how to utilize it properly. While I wasn't capable of such techniques, Crum had an instinctual skill to take the most basic instruction and break it down.
He now had my entire repertoire in memory. Embarrassingly he had far greater ease with using than I ever did. His Pokémon techniques also didn't broker much for combinations. One move could lead to another, but he did so naturally I hardly needed to give any input.
This quickly became apparent to both of us. So instead of training, I would bounce strategy and plans off Crum while he engaged in katas and exercises. Some of my make and others his. We spent most of the days doing this.
I think in the long run this was better. It was a return to normalcy. We would tease and pick at each other. We would have a one-sided conversation that mostly filled the silence instead of having anything of worth being said. Every night we retired though our happiness was evident to the others.
Shimmer was always the empath and became more energized for it. Pan cuddled into Crum who stroked behind the ears. Whatever their relationship was, the two were incredibly close. Blink did his best to act disgusted, but as always it was merely an act.
By the time we reached our final night, I felt we were closer than ever before. I almost didn't want to leave, but we needed to go towards Cerulean and our future. So to reward them, I pulled out the bacon and veggies I had hidden away for a successful trip. My backpack was designed to hide scents from wild Pokemon so unless they shoved their noses into it like Shimmer did, so it was a surprise to my Pokemon. We stayed up late carousing about as I told stories about Crum as a grumpy Lab Pokemon. The others tittered while the Machoke smiled good-naturedly. He got the last laugh, however, when he responded with stories about me. Judging off their reactions, they found them far funnier than mine. One by one they fell asleep until it was only Crum and me staring at the stars.
We had done this before back at the Oak Ranch. Whenever we had an observation to do at night, we would always look back up at the stars. The stars were still beautiful, but the constellations were wrong. It was one of those things that didn't match the real world. My melancholy mood would seep into Crum, and we would sit in silence.
Now, there wasn't any sadness. I was happy while we looked up at a now familiar sky. I had my Pokemon. We had a plan and were all joined in its success. Crum patted me on the shoulder and shuffled off to bed.
I stayed a little longer. Eventually, I got tired of trying to match pictures to constellations i couldn't remember to the night sky. When i turned to go to bed, I saw a heartwarming sight. Crum was sleeping in a crosslegged position that he adopted as of late. Curled in his lap was unsurprisingly Pan. My surprise was seeing Blink curled into Shimmer. The embers of the fire had died down and to find warmth the big cat had cuddled into the walking warming pad. In the morning, and I expected he would act as it had never happened.
I settled into my sleeping bag and let sleep take me. Tomorrow we began anew.
