Kageyama sat down on his bed and the two got down to business. Thankfully, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's racket had dropped. Hinata and Kageyama had ten days before the February Rendezvous. They had ten days to come up with a dual routine and perfect. Oh joy. Kageyama returned from Nurse Joy's desk with his and Hinata's PokeBalls. He gave back Oink and Nyta's PokeBalls to Hinata.
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It was midday, or around about. There was still plenty of time left in the day. Between Kageyama and Hinata, there was an unspoken agreement: they would go out and train. They didn't have a whole lot of time and there was a lot expected of them for this next Contest as it was literally something they couldn't do as soloists.
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'We need a plan first.' Kageyama said, despite the obviousness of the statement. He and Hinata had returned to their room. 'Mm, any ideas?' Hinata asked.
'I was thinking of you using Nyta first. We could use Oink and Prinplup in the Battle Stage because we already know they can work well together in a battle circumstance.' Kageyama rambled.
'Yeah, and you?' Hinata prompted.
'And that's as far as I got.' Kageyama replied.
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The two boys stared at each other; they sat on their respective bed. 'Maybe we should let Nyta decide?' Hinata suggested.
'Okay.' Kageyama agreed. Soon, Nyta and Kageyama's three Pokémon occupied the space between the beds. Unsurprisingly, the room now felt crowded.
'Who do you want to work with, Nyta?' Hinata asked.
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Nyta glanced around before trying to leap up onto Hinata's lap. Nyta attempted to nuzzle Hinata who tried to push her away. 'Not me, Idiot-Nyta' Hinata screamed jovially. Hinata got up and grabbed Nyta. 'Who do you want to work with?' Hinata asked and he tried to get Nyta to focus. 'Who?' he asked again. Nyta shook her Trainer's hands away from her and sized up her rivals. She "glared" at Kageyama and became staunch and protective of Hinata. Kageyama wondered why Nyta's body language had change so drastically: from fun-loving to knightly. He didn't realise it was because he was leering at Hinata.
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Hinata got off his bed and sat next to Nyta. He calmed Nyta down and she nuzzled against him in response to his affection. 'So, who do you want to work with?' Hinata asked for the umpteenth time. Nyta whinnied and stomped loudly. 'This isn't working.' Kageyama said and he returned his Pokémon. 'Let's go outside and work out who Nyta can perform with. It's more logical that way too.'
'Oh, okay.' Hinata said and he scrambled to his feet. He returned Nyta. He and Kageyama left their room and locked it behind them.
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They decided to train in Floaroma Meadow. It was a favourite location for Coordinators to practice. There were a few other Coordinators rehearsing there at midday too. Hinata felt a tad intimidated by the other Trainers because they seemed to be perfecting their performances rather than constructing them.
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He paused as he walked and Kageyama huffed. 'Come on, over here.' he said and Hinata scampered after his friend. The two chose their spot. It wasn't quite secluded but it was nice. They were surrounded by vividly coloured flowers and honey-scented trees. Shadows danced around them and occasionally cooled them. It was a good spot.
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'Jump out, Nyta!' shouted Hinata.
'Everyone.' Kageyama said. Four PokeBalls flew out and four Pokémon materialised.
'Okay, Nyta. You've gotta be a good girl for us.' Hinata pleaded with his fire horse who stared blankly, unpromisingly and unblinking. He didn't like that smart-ass look of hers.
'We all have to... get along.' Kageyama spat out to his Pokémon. They seemed willing to cooperate. None of them seemed like they were ready to bring the worst out of themselves.
'Let's start.' Hinata announced.
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The two boys organised themselves and their Pokémon. Kageyama stood next to Hinata. Nyta stood next to Prinplup. Nyta seemed unruly and Prinplup seemed capable; much like their respective Trainers. 'Okay, what if we tried to capture fire in bubbles. That'd look pretty, like lanterns, right?' Kageyama suggested and Hinata grinned.
'Sounds great! Ember!' Hinata shouted.
'Bubble!' Kageyama instructed.
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Nyta expelled a collection of fiery embers from her mouth and Prinplup blew bubbles. The bubbles knocked into the embers and popped. In turn, the embers dulled and fell gracelessly from the air. It was an ugly spectacle to watch. 'I don't know what I expected.' Kageyama grumbled.
'Let's try again.' Hinata encouraged, optimism sparkled in his honey brown eyes. Kageyama agreed.
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They tried numerous times to get the embers inside the bubbles but each time, they failed more miserably than the last. They tried various methods but each one grew more impossible by the minute. The Pokémon were trying their hardest but it seemed it wasn't possible.
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'Let's switch Pokémon.' Kageyama suggested. He recalled Prinplup and swapped her out for Staravia who fluttered onto Nyta's back gracefully. Nyta bucked and nipped at the avian. Staravia spread his wings and flew up when he realised he wasn't welcome to use Nyta as a roost.
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Hinata faced Kageyama with half a giggle. He thought their Pokémon's interactions were a little bit funny. 'What do you want to try now?' Hinata asked. 'I trust you one hundred percent.'
'Okay.' Kageyama said. He felt a pressure on his shoulders. He felt like he was carrying Hinata's weight. Since when did Hinata trust him "one hundred percent"? He didn't want to betray that trust despite its gravity.
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Kageyama composed himself and tried not to work out why Hinata had said such a peculiar thing. 'What if we tried to simulate "Flame Wheel" on Staravia?' Kageyama suggested.
'Woooow! That'd be so cool.' Hinata said and Kageyama explained to him what he would like to see happen. They explained the basics of what they wanted to their Pokémon who seemed to comprehend what was happening. Both Hinata and Kageyama had more faith in Staravia than Nyta.
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'Flame Wheel!' Hinata said and Nyta began to concentrate. The flames along her back began to grow fierce and bright like the flames of a bonfire. The more energy she spent, the more they ignited. Staravia was hesitant to fly into the flames but he did so anyway. The flames licked over him but he couldn't tolerate the heat much longer than two seconds before panicking and flying away. 'No, we're not doing this anymore.' Kageyama barked and Hinata nodded. Everyone could smell barbeque and burnt feathers. It wasn't pleasant.
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It was back to the drawing board but they hadn't utilised all the potential that Staravia brought forth. They let the bird heal and the Trainers discussed ideas. Hinata had an idea this time and he shared it with Kageyama. He explained it poorly but from what Kageyama scraped together between nonce onomatopoeias; Hinata's idea was as follows: Staravia would initiate its move "Quick Attack" and then Nyta would follow up with "Ember" and "Flame Wheel" which would trail after Staravia making it look like Staravia had achieved Mach speeds. Kageyama liked the idea so once Staravia had stopped smelling singed and was moving as per normal, they began to practice it.
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'Quick Attack!' Kageyama instructed and Staravia gave a quiet caw. It launched itself into the air and silver trailed from his tail feathers.
'Flame Wheel!' Hinata yelled. Nyta began to focus again and her flames grew. However, they didn't achieve the desired effect. The flames only went upward, rather than following in Staravia's wake.
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They tried numerous times to try and remedy the problem but nothing seemed to work so eventually, they gave up. 'You're doin' well, Nyta.' Hinata said and he scratched behind her ear. She whinnied happily although she did look weary. Kageyama held out his arm and Staravia perched on it.
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The two stared at each other. 'You're doing well too.' Kageyama mumbled before his arm gave way underneath Staravia's weight. He returned the avian and swapped Staravia's PokeBall for Ralts'. 'Let's hope Ralts has the answer.' Hinata smiled. He wasn't giving up and Kageyama tried to smile back. He appreciated Hinata's determination, it bled over to him. 'Bakageyama, please stop glaring at me.' Hinata deadpanned and Kageyama's nerves puckered.
'Ralts!' he yelped.
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Hinata giggled. Kageyama was hesitant to look at him but he did anyway. Ralts tugged on Kageyama's pants. 'I think he's hungry.' Hinata said. It was beginning to get dark and lunch felt like it had been eons ago.
'He's always hungry.' Kageyama growled. He picked up Ralts without struggle and lifted him up in the air, like a father plays with his child. 'I have no clue how Ralts and Nyta would work, honestly.' Kageyama commented and that's when Ralts struggled out of his grip.
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Ralts then took to teleporting. 'Where did he go?' Kageyama panicked. He turned around and he saw Ralts on Nyta's back. Nyta dug at the ground and tried to shake Ralts off of her back. Kageyama wondered if this would look more fairy tale-esque if Nyta and Ralts were both fully evolved. 'I think Ralts has an idea.' Hinata joked but it turned out he was right.
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The two Trainers watched as their Pokémon played. At first, Nyta didn't like that Ralts had taken control and she tried to convince Hinata to do something about the problem but he remained oblivious and allowed it. Ralts was eventually knocked off of Nyta and the two seemed ready to fight. But before the two Trainers could step in, the two began to fight like they would have in the wilderness. But the result wasn't as expected. It gave both Trainers a flash of inspiration which was likely to work based on what they witnessed.
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'Ralts is a genius.' Kageyama breathed and his eyes were wide.
'They say Pokémon take after their Trainers.' Hinata joked and Kageyama blushed.
'Dumbass, don't say those kinds of things.' Kageyama growled. He knew it was unintentional but Hinata reminded him of things said about him when he was still reigning as the tyrannical king. 'Let's go home and have something to eat, huh? Continue training tomorrow.' Hinata suggested and Kageyama nodded.