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XIV : What's Your Rush?
It used to be that you could go on your trainers journey, and you would never need a grass type. This was true, until Wooper was discovered. Quagsire, Marshtomp, Swampert, Barboach, Whishcash, and Gastrodon, what do they all have in common? Four things, they have terrible speed, they have immunity to electric type, they are ultra-weak to grass type, and they have all become common on peoples teams.
Now, I would never use a water/ground type, since I don't being quadruple weak to any type. I would maybe use Swampert, but if we're doing water combinations, I'll use Kingdra. One weakness, good attack/defense/sp. attack and defense/ and good speed. But, this isn't about what I would do, so I'll get off of it.
Rush, as you know, is a Mudkip, and would one day evolve into a Swampert. He had mentioned earlier, that he had no interest in evolving, a view both he and Enfer shared. Now, I don't understand Rush's reasons for not wanting to evolve, and even though it sounds selfish, I didn't care. I was conflicted, me the person, and me the strategist.
Me the strategist knows that you can only go so far with an un-evolved Mudkip. It's attack can only get so high, it can only learn X number of moves, and it can't be used seriously later in your journey. I mean, would you leave Treecko un-evolved, when the only grass type moves it could learn are absorption moves? Or, would you leave Torchic un-evolved, where the strongest move is can learn is a half-strength flame-thrower? No, you wouldn't. I had always believed that stories like that sold news papers, but they couldn't be taken seriously.
At level 16, a Mudkip evolves into Marshtomp. Me the person, wants to help Rush never evolve. There are some advantages to remaining a Mudkip, they have the highest attack of any first form starter. Swampert have always scared me, and he wouldn't be one, so that would be an advantage. Least importantly, Rush would be happy (this could be a good thing or a bad thing).
Why am I ranting like this? Let's back to earlier this morning.
Every morning, Michael, Louis, me, Rush, and Enfer went to the restaurant run next door to our whore house hotel for breakfast. It was a rather grungy place, Louis said it was a greasy spoon. I believed it was a crack spoon, and I suspected the people here of being coke dealers. People would come in twitching, they would leave sniffling.
Enfer and Rush had been given poke-food, Michael was having eggs, and Louis was taking in all three food groups (alcohol, pot, and more pot). I was being nursed on a baby bottle still, since Eevee can't eat solid foods until they are two moths old. God, I hate being a baby, almost as much as I hate being dependent on the rubber nipple for food.
"Five weeks together Angel" Michael said, stroking my fur with the hand he held me with. I nuzzled against his chest, and he smiled. "Louis, today we need to go the trainers school here in Rustboro"
"Why the fuck would we do that?"
"They have a challenge. Beat two trainers, when the technical machine for the move Hidden Power" Michael smiled softly, and stroked the back of my head slower. "Angel only knows two attacks, and how she knows the second is beyond me. Having her learn a third can only be beneficial, especially since the next gym is fighting type, and hidden power can be psychic or flying type, among all other types except normal"
"That's fascinating" Louis pulled out a joint, and lit up. Michael grabbed it out of his mouth, and dropped it in his Bloody Mary. "Dude, what the hell?"
"No more pot" Michael said. "I don't know if you can get addicted, but I'm sure you need to detox from the abuse you've put your body through. No more booze, no more pot, and no more hookers/stripers until you go in front of a judge" Louis paused for a moment, mouth agape.
"What is this, a stupid contest? Because, ding-ding-ding, we've got a winner here!"
"Boy, this is a bad idea" Enfer said shaking her head.
"What do you mean" Rush asked.
"Have you ever seen Louis off of pot?" Both me and Rush shook our heads. "Boy, are you two in for a treat" Michael took the bottle out of my mouth, and sat me down beside Rush.
"God, I hate being nursed" I moaned.
"Well, you have to do it until you're canines grow all the way in" Rush said, "Some people call them fangs"
"Fangs? They're a half an inch long, and curve slightly"
"Yeah" Rush said sweetly, "but they look so cute"
"I may be a puffball" I said equally sweet, "But I'll still pin you down and kick the crap out of you"
"Louis, can I ask you a question?" Michael said, as he picked at his eggs.
"You dropped perfectly good pot in my drink!" Louis cried, "I need my pot/vodka mix to wake me up in the morning" Michael sighed.
"I was going to ask if you ever had dreams that seemed real"
"Dreams? What the fuck is this about dreams?" Louis pulled out another joint, and lit up. Once again, Michael grabbed it, and dropped it in his Bloody Mary. "Dude, what did my little joints ever do to you? They're my babies! Must you drown my babies? Before I get the chance to smoke them?"
"You're a moron" Michael said, "And I need some one to talk to, it has to be you. I had a dream about the day Angela died" Louis had put a third doobie in his mouth, but as soon as Michael mentioned me, it fell out of his mouth and into his Bloody Mary.
"Oh dude, I'm so sorry" Michael nodded.
"I saw she was in pain"
"Their was nothing you could do"
"Yeah, and I did nothing" Michael closed his eyes for a moment. I felt really, really shitty, and seeing Michael open his eyes without tears didn't help. "But, I'm getting over it. Let's pay for this, and get to the trainers school"
It ended up taking two hours, for Michael to destroy all of Louis's pot, especially considering Louis fought him for every moment. Finally, we were out the door, and Louis was acting, well, weird.
"Michael, you know what the greatest thing in life is? Better then money, or love, or religion, or power? Being able to nail a woman, and never having to talk to her again"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Me and Michael asked.
"Oh, this is philosophical Louis" Enfer said.
"Philosophical?"
"There are five versions of Louis, that happen when he goes off drugs and alcohol. Philosophical, followed by happy, crying, and paranoid Louis" Rush furrowed his brow, as he counted.
"Wait, that's only four!"
"I know" Enfer grinned, "No one ever gets to fifth Louis, they all crack" With that pleasant note, the five of us arrived at the trainers school. It was a rather blah-blah two story, brick building. Inside were some of the worst trainers in Rustboro. But, they had a TM, so it was worth it.
The doors opened automatically, and the cold air rushing across my fur was a blessing(fucking heat wave). The five of us walked to a counter, where a chirpy woman sat.
"Heeeeellllllllloooooo" The woman said.
"Um hi. I'm here to do the trainers challenge"
"Why do they do this?" Louis asked.
"Well, the trainers can win a technical machine, and the students get credit"
"No, I mean, what's the deeper meaning? What's in between the lines?" The woman just stared. Michael shook his head in shame.
"The, uh, trainers door is over there" The woman said, pointing. "We'll be with you in five minutes"
"Did you know Roxanne used to run this place" Louis said, as we entered the trainers side. In side was a miniature battle area, like the one at the gym, except with out the rocks.
"I wonder why she left?" Rush said. The rumor was that Roxanne had been thrown out because she had been caught having sex in the school. I didn't believe it, I mean it was crazy. Their was no way that any one could ever be drunk enough to do that rock-brained robot.
"Greetings, trainer" a man in a three piece suit said, as he entered the room. He was holding a clip board. "Are you Michael Luccelli?"
"That I am" The clipboard man nodded.
"Student 227, enter" 227? This schools motto was "Establishing a unique identity for all trainers" and they call them by number? A male student, in an idiotic outfit and square frame glasses, entered the room. He had one pokeball in his hand, that had the school logo engraved on it.
"Alright, the rules are simple. One on one, 227 will only speak to the school issued pokemon, understand trainer Luccelli?"
"Yeah" Michael said.
"This battle will be fun!" Louis exclaimed. "Happy! Happy! Happy!" Clap-clap-clap!
"Happy Louis?" I asked.
"Bingo"
"Angel, you're up" Michael said. I walked in front of him, waiting for my challenge.
"Abra, battle time" 227 said like an automaton. From the engraved ball, a sleeping psychic pokemon emerged. It wore a band around its arm, also with the school logo. The two trainers we would battle would use the same pokemon, both only using Hidden Power.
"Alright Angel, lets make it quick, shadow ball" Abra, keeping in line with its evolved forms, has no noticeable defense or special defense. Its defense was in fact so low, it has one of the lowest defenses of any pokemon. Even a fighting type can defeat it in one hit.
I opened my mouth, and fired the ball of black energy, only to see Abra vanish. Teleport is the only move it can learn naturally and it's a giant pain in the ass. Figuring he would be behind me, I jumped around, right as spheres as of glowing white slammed into me. It hurt, but not only did it hurt, it surged through my body.
"You're hidden power is fighting type?!" I screamed, as I fell on my back, "Of course it is!"
"Okay, no big deal. Angel tackle and flip around" I jumped up, and ran at Abra. As soon as it teleported, I jumped around. "Now shadow ball" I fired, as Abra re-appeared and used Hidden Power again. Since it was fighting type, it vanished as the shadow ball hit it, and the ball slammed into Abra full force.
Abra fell flat on its back, twitched once, and passed out. Lame, oh so horribly lame.
"Trainer Luccelli wins" The suit man said. "227 exit, trainer 418 enter" As 227 left, 418 entered. This one was a girl in a skirted version of the same outfit. It's going to take these people years to establish an identity.
"Alright, Angel you're out, Rush, you're up"
"Yay Rush is up!" Luis cried, clapping again.
"He's scarring me a little" Rush said, as he took his place. The suit man went through the rules again, and 418 let out another Abra. "Let's have fun with this, right?" The Abra began to snore.
"Rush, water gun" Rush fired a stream of water, but the Abra vanished. Since this battle wasn't for any reason other then a TM, it wasn't difficult to win. Rush just jumped, fired a second water gun, and knocked out Abra as he re-appeared. "It was nothing. Wasn't it fun Rush?"
"Kip!" Suddenly, Michael's pokedex began to beep rapidly, as Rush began to glow.
"He's evolving!" Enfer cried.
"Oh fuck" Several things ran through my mind at once, I only had seconds, how do I stop this. As Michael pulled out his pokedex, the answer hit me.
"What're you going to be Rush" Michael said, excited. I fired a shadow ball, right at Michael's hand, causing him to drop his pokedex. The moment it his the ground, I pressed the little green button, next to the identify button, marked with a B.
I had learned in school, this button fired some kind of radiation, that actually stopped pokemon from evolving. Which was exactly what happened, as Rush started to get smaller and stop glowing.
"ANGEL!" Michael screamed, "What did you do!"
"Rush didn't evolve" Louis moaned, "I-I'm soooo soooo saaaaaaaaaadddddd" He broke down crying.
"Angel, do you have an idea what you did? Can you imagine how Rush feels?" Rush came over, and nuzzled against me, licking me friendly on the tip of the muzzle. Michaels anger vanished instantly. "Rush, are you happy?"
"Kip!" Michael smiled. He sat down, and picked up both of us.
"Alright, so Rush stays a Mudkip. It's okay, so long as he's happy. You knew this would make him happy, even when I didn't" He sighed. "I wish I understood you guys"
"Um, not to interrupt this emotional moment" Suit man said, "But could you please collect your TM and get out?"
"This hidden power is flying type, huh? Machine set" Michael said, twenty minutes later. He fastened a CD like device, with a part to attach to a pokemon's head. It had a button in the center of the CD. "Let's go"
The CD began to spin, and my head was liquefied. Oh God, this is a terrible feeling, the feeling of some one drilling a hole in your skull, and literally forcing information in. My head was filled with images of hidden power, I know that doesn't make sense but it's true. As the CD quit spinning, Michael removed the machine, and I began to sway a little bit.
"Oh God, the world is spinning. Oh boy I'm tired" Enfer and Rush were in the room with us, and they both leapt onto the bed beside me.
"So, super champ" Enfer said, "How does it feel to use your first TM?"
"I'm so tired" I said.
"Angel, are you okay?" Michael asked. He pulled me onto his lap, and stroked my fur. "I promise, it's just to make you stronger. I wouldn't do any thing to"
"THE TANNINS" A voice from the hall screamed. That would be Louis, paranoid Louis. "THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME" Michael let out an exasperated cry.
"I give!" He sat me down, and rushed out the door. "Booze, we need booze!" Rush came over, as I fell on my stomach. He laid in front of me, smiling.
"So, how are you?"
"My head feels like a stick of dynamite went off in side of it" I said. Rush laughed.
"Thank you, for stopping me from evolving. I don't know how I can thank you" Now I was smiling.
"Don't worry, it was nothing" I whispered, as I closed my eyes. Enfer came over, and looked at the now unconscious me.
"It was a nice thing she did"
"Yeah, I know"
"Rush" He looked up, "Why do you not want to evolve?"
"I'd rather not say"
"Rush, I saw you having a nightmare about it. If you tell me, it'll probably make you feel better" Rush nodded.
"Well, if you tell me your story, I'll tell you mine. Enfer, I'm older then you physically, but you're older then me emotionally. How is that?" Enfer sighed.
"I-I can't tell you. I just, I can't" Enfer said, "I can tell you some of my story though"
I awoke an hour later, but my eye lids were so heavy, I couldn't lift them.
"Well, now you know" Rush said. "And I a little bit"
"Can you understand why I feel sick?"
"You did what you had to do Enfer. And Angel never has to know" This caught my attention. My eyes shot open, as the door opened, and Michael dragged in a very plastered Louis.
"Hey boys and girls" Louis said, "Guess whose baaaaack?!" He laughed, and passed out on the floor. Michael nudged him twice, and sighed.
"I guess I know what we're doing today" I said. "Watching that fat loser sober up"
"Eh, he's not that bad" Enfer said. Michael sat down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. "Five more days in this city, how are we going to make it?" I wondered the same thing, but I was more curious about Rush and Enfer. What did they know, and what did I miss.
Now, nothing big happened the rest of the week, until the day Louis went to court. That was also the day Robin came, and watched the three of us, but that's another story for next time.