Chapter 26 – Punching Bag!

Kay and Teppo stood there with wide eyes. Did they actually hear him right? THEY were going to be sparring with THEM? Those – with the lack of a better word - MONSTERS?!

But Kay convinced herself to laugh it off. "That's not very funny, Sodo…" she said. "For a while there I almost believed you… Ha ha ha…" But when she looked back up at him, all she could see was his smile getting wider and cheekier – so much so that she could actually see almost his entire face wrinkling. Kay, feeling somewhat alarmed, turned her head slowly the other way. "Y, You really should step out before Leader Dempsey gets down here…" But she could actually sense it: Sodo was only smiling more and more, and why was he stepping closer and closer!? "He… He might get mad…"

Fortunately, Leader Dempsey had just arrived at that time.

"L, Leader Dempsey…!" she cried out with joy. "Thank goodness you're here…! Sodo was trying to force Teppo and I to spar against him and his Machoke…"

"What are you talking about?" asked Leader Dempsey. "You ARE sparring against them."

Well… she thought his arrival was 'fortunate'.

"GYAHAHAHA…!" Sodo laughed, very loudly. "Be thankful, Kid…! Not a lot of people get the chance to spar against a Pokemon Trainer as great as me! Savor the moment…!"

His Machoke – either it was trying to show off or intimidate her – started flexing its muscles by doing various poses, but each one showed just how powerful and sturdy the Pokemon's body was. Just the sight of them turned Kay and Teppo pale.

"N, No way…!" flustered Kay. "Sodo and his Pokemon are ranks ahead of us! There's no way we're any match for them…!"

"Stop whining!" scolded Dempsey. "I'm not going to ask you to actually try to win against him…! Sodo's Machoke will be using some thick padded boxing gloves to soften its blows and it will only be throwing right hooks at your Pignite."

"Right hooks…?" Kay blinked. "Why?"

"Because apparently that's your opponent's Makuhita's finishing blow," Sodo pointed out. "But it also uses Focus Punch to make its hook even more brutal. Unfortunately, Champ doesn't know Focus Punch, but this should be enough. So come on and step up, pig! My Machoke's eager to knock your head off! GYAHAHA!"

Kay turned pale again. "This is actually happening…"

"It is as he said though," Dempsey added. "Iva Parish's Makuhita utilizes the Focus Punch to deliver a killer right hook. Considering the fact that your Pokemon tends to get into an in-fight, it will only make it an easier target for it. But! There's actually a weak spot."

Suddenly the old man bended his knees and actually got into a fighting stance. He backed his right arm a little and…

WOOOSH!

To Kay's surprise, despite his age Leader Dempsey actually managed to throw a flawless right hook! In fact, if Kay had actually stood in the way of that, it would have probably left a bigger mark than his slap on her back during her previous Pokemon Battle…

"Look," said Dempsey, slowly bringing his right hand to reach for his bearded chin. "Notice anything?"

Kay mused over it, and it hit her in an instant: if Teppo moved backwards to avoid the hook, it would give the Makuhita ample time to see it coming, and if Teppo moved sideways there was a chance the Makuhita could hit Teppo with its left; there was only one direction Teppo could go! The girl slowly crouched down, and then stared upwards towards Dempsey's thick beard.

There.

"The chin is left wide open…" said Kay.

Leader Dempsey smiled a little at that – he was hoping that she would catch on quickly. "That's right," he said as he straightened himself up once more. "Let me tell you something about the benefits of physical moves of Pokemon." He closed his eyes for a brief moment before starting: "There are three types of moves in a Pokemon Battle: 'Physical', 'Special', and 'Status'. Moves considered to be Special are moves where the Pokemon does not necessarily have to make contact with its opponent. Moves like Ember or Ice Beam are examples of Special moves.

Status moves, on the other hand, deal absolutely no direct damage at all, but instead causes status conditions like poison, sleep, or burns. Some Status moves can even manipulate a Pokemon's strength and speed. Finally, there are the Physical moves." He held up one finger. "Physical moves are by far the most straightforward between the three as they are simply moves that requires the Pokemon to make physical contact with its opponent to deal damage.

But Physical moves have a unique trait. Most Special moves, while usually very effective in attacking the opponents in long range, normally only go in a specific direction; Physical moves on the other hand, like your Pignite's Fire Punch, can change its course depending on the Pokemon's own movements, making them unpredictable. For example, a Fire Punch can be thrown straight just as it could be thrown from the sides. In the case of your opponent, her Makuhita uses a Focus Punch to throw a right hook. Do you know why this makes the move dangerous?"

Kay mused over it, imagining the situation: if she had been Teppo, she thought, what would make the Makuhita's Focus Punch right hook a threat? If she stepped forward to close their distance, getting ready to throw a Fire Punch….

"…!" Kay finally got it! "… there's a chance that Teppo won't see the hook coming…!"

"That's right," Dempsey nodded. "A hook comes from the side and at times that can be any Pokemon's blind spot. There's also the other fact that you're on your podium and may not see it coming either, making it difficult for you to warn your Pokemon. But… if we were somehow able to teach your Pokemon to anticipate the move…"

"…! … then Teppo will be prepared for it. And with the Pokemon's chin exposed… Teppo could duck and…"

Dempsey nodded again and tightened his fist. "It's a variation of your Pignite's Fire Punch that it has only used a few times so far: Fire Punch uppercut…!"

He was right: Teppo had used its Fire Punch for an uppercut several times, namely against Cole Hart's Heatmor and… Inez's Combusken. "A counter to the Focus Punch right hook… but why does this feel like this is one of those situations where it's easier said than done…?"

"That's why we're having this training!" snapped Leader Dempsey. "Now enough wasting time and get your Pokemon in the Battle Ring!"

She wanted to protest a little more, but she knew that there was no way of changing her Gym Leader's mind right now. "A, Alright, Teppo…!" She turned to face her Pokemon, giving it an encouraging smile. "Sodo's Machoke will throw a hook like this…" She mimicked the hook Dempsey did earlier, albeit awkwardly. "… and when you see it coming, you have to duck…" She crouched down slowly, with Teppo not taking its eyes off of her. "… then uppercut…!" Doing the best she could, she swung her fist upwards. "Got it?"

"NIte…?" The Pokemon tilted its head, however.

"Remember…" said Kay, mimicking the right hook. "This… then this…" Crouched down… "… then this! Ha…!" Again she threw her fist upwards. "This…" And she would mimic the entire pattern over and over again.

Soon, even Teppo was standing next to her, following its Trainer's movements.

Leader Dempsey gave them all the time they needed for the time being… and while Sodo allowed them to do the same… he had other motives.

Sodo watched Kay intently as she moved her body into that uppercut, and while he did like to see the Pignite learning quickly… his eyes drifted off from the fire pig… to Kay herself – especially somewhere below her head.

'Bouncy… Bouncy…' he thought repeatedly. 'Gyahaha… This is awesome…!' But that perverted grin on his face would not go unnoticed… WHAM! And suddenly the tip of Dempsey's cane thrust straight onto his forehead! "GAH…!" he cried out painfully, almost falling over backwards. "WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN?!"

"Where in Arceus were you looking at?!" scolded an irritated Dempsey. "Wipe that grin off your face…!"

"I WASN'T LOOKING AT ANYTHING…!"

Fortunately – perhaps – Kay and Teppo were oblivious to what Dempsey was mad at Sodo about.

"Looks like you got it, Teppo," smiled Kay. "Now remember to look out for that hook, alright?"

"Nite…!" The Pokemon cheered and started walking into the Battle Ring.

For now, Kay felt it would be best for her not to be involved and leave it to her Pokemon alone to engage in its spar against the Machoke. The same went with Sodo, who stood away from the Battle Ring. But, as soon as Teppo stepped closer to stand face-to-face with Champ, the latter suddenly came swinging! Teppo wasn't even able to react on time; the poor fire pig was literally knocked flying sideways – off its feet – until it turned inside and out!

"Pig…nite…" groaned the fire pig with swirls in its eyes.

"T, Teppo…!" Kay gasped. She then quickly ran to kneel over the Pignite, helping to raise its head up, before looking towards Sodo. "T, That was dangerous...! Champ could have really hurt Teppo…!"

"Then Iva Parish's Makuhita had already defeated you." Those words came from Leader Dempsey, and it struck both Kay and Teppo hard. "Sodo's Machoke might be holding back its punch, but it should be about how powerful the Makuhita's right hook would be… No, actually, considering the fact that Champ is too tall to deliver an effective hook against Teppo… the Makuhita's right hook might actually be stronger. And that's without the power of a Focus Punch."

Kay gulped at that. "It's… It's that bad…?"

"So for the whole month until your next Pokemon Battle… we'll be teaching your Pokemon how to dodge that hook. If your Pokemon can successfully dodge it even once, then the training is over. Is that understood?"

Kay's expression hardened and she nodded firmly.

Teppo was raring to go again as well, and was already standing back up on its own despite having that bruise on the left side of its face.

"This is going to be difficult, Teppo…" said Kay. "But are you ready for it?"

"Nite." The fire pig responded confidently.

And yet Teppo walked out of that Gym with its Trainer with its whole face very much swollen here and there.

"N, Nite…" groaned the fire pig.

"Are you alright, Teppo…?" asked Kay. "You really shouldn't push yourself to walk. Here." She took out its Pokeball and recalled it back in. Even Teppo, who didn't exactly like going inside there, couldn't muster up any enough energy to protest. "Sorry, Teppo…" whispered Kay to Pignite's Pokeball. "Just rest for now, okay? Tomorrow, I'm sure we'll definitely get it right…!"

WHAM!

Champ nailed the right hook!

WHAM!

Champ nailed the right hook again!

WHAM!

And again!

And finally, Teppo was lying upside down against the back of its head, completely battered around the face. Sodo's Machoke, on the other hand, was flexing its muscles triumphantly and cockily.

"Gyahaha!" laughed Sodo. "This is actually a good stress reliever for Champ! Why not just quit being a Pokemon Trainer and just have your Pokemon be my Machoke's personal punching bag?! Gyahahaha!"

"Teppo…" groaned Kay, who was already sitting by her unconscious Pokemon's side – though also visibly annoyed by Sodo's insulting words. "There must be some way to get through this…"

"There must be some way to get through this…"

Even when Kay and Teppo were back at home, Kay, while carrying a bundle of grass for the farm's Miltank to eat, was still pondering whether or not there was something she could do to better prepare her Pokemon for those right hooks. Sure, Teppo was starting to get the gist of it and was slowly avoiding getting hit directly in the face, but… '… he's still getting hit. At this rate, Teppo might get head trauma before the Pokemon Battle itself… Is Champ REALLY holding back…?'

"Kay!" Her father's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Sorry to bother, but could you come over here for a bit?"

"Alright, Dad…!" Kay gently placed the grass into the Miltank's feeding box, and rang a nearby bell to catch their attention. Once she made sure all the Miltank was on their way to eat, the girl nodded gladly to herself and turned to join her father. "What's the matter, Dad?"

"Ah, Kay… Well, actually…" He turned his head towards the fence behind him. Normally there would be at least four planks nailed horizontally into the wooden posts, but Kay quickly caught on that some of them were either loose or came off completely. "The Tauros rammed itself against it… and as you can see it's a wreck… Any more and the farm Pokemon could just walk out of here. Could you stand and keep watch here while I go get my tools?"

"Sure, Dad." She waited for her father to leave, and then turned to look at the fence herself. "I wonder if it's because we didn't nail it properly…? This one…" She looked at the one where all - but one - of the horizontal planks were missing. "Anyone could come through here if we're not careful." She frowned to herself before crouching down in front of it. "They could just duck under and-…"

Suddenly, her eyes snapped wide open.

She quickly lifted her head and stared at the single plank suspended over it. "This is…" Then she beamed. "This is it…!"

And just when her father just returned:

"Dad…!" she suddenly called out. "Dad, do we have any more extra wood we used for the fence?"

Thomas blinked, puzzled.

Tessa was not at the Gym today, and like most days where she wasn't around, that meant she was off helping her family's business: a Pokemon Salon.

And at the moment she was brushing the fur on the head of a happy-looking Growlithe, with its owner – a woman dressed in expensive-looking clothing – standing nearby.

"Uh… sure?" said Tessa, holding her mobile phone against her ear with her shoulder. "That's… really good to know, Kay. Anyways, I'm sort of busy at the moment so I'll talk to you later, okay?" Tessa then allowed her phone to drop off of her, and right into her hand. Skillfully and swiftly, she hung up before putting her phone down on the table nearby. "Sorry about that; someone from the Gym called."

"Oh, it's quite alright, dear!" chuckled a woman. "You're doing marvelous work with my Growlithe's fur as usual!" She cheered when the Growlithe barked with glee in response. "Oh, also, I saw your last Pokemon Battle – congratulations!"

"Thanks," Tessa chuckled weakly, recalling that her last Pokemon Battle wasn't exactly one of hers and Parker's best performances. 'But what the heck was Kay talking about…?' she thought. 'I could barely understand her… Something about… building with wood… to help Teppo to dodge a hook punch…?' Tessa's expression hardened. 'What sort of incredible thing could Kay have built… and knowing her she most probably meant every word…!'

"Ah, Tessa dear...?"

"Hm…? AH…!" She realized it too late: she was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize she kept combing the Growlithe's fur non-stop – so much that the fur on its head was now straight down its face and covering half of its face. "S-Sorry…!"

"Actually this looks good too…"

"… really…?"

Finally, thought Kay. The finishing touches were done!

And what stood in front of her… was a fence. It looked a bit like the one surrounding the farm, if not a little higher. However, for each of the three columns there was only one plank nailed horizontally into the wooden posts. The first plank was nailed highest; the next plank was nailed lower; the final sideways plank was nailed the lowest.

Kay's hands were roughened up and there were even some signs of bruises on her head; it took a lot of adjusting, but it was worth it. "Alright, Teppo!" she called out to her Pokemon. "Remember to do how I showed you…!"

Teppo was standing at ready facing the post with the highest plank, quickly getting into its fighting stance where its fists were held in front of the face. Teppo then gave Kay a nod.

"Alright, go…!"

And Teppo dashed forward before quickly stepping to the side of the first plank. And it remembered. On the first day, it tried to duck under the first plank and failed, hitting the side of its head hard.

Not today.

But the second plank always got to it for the whole week.

Not today.

Then there was the third one.

The third one had left the fire pig dizzy for weeks; it was the lowest of the planks and the height always got to Teppo. Sometimes Teppo actually managed to duck sideways and managed to get to the other side, but not without hitting the back of its head along the way. Even Kay found it difficult, despite the fact that it was not for someone her height to begin with.

But no matter how much its Trainer hit her head, she kept on smiling, and kept on encouraging Teppo to do better.

The Pignite weaved its whole body towards the final plank!

But in its eyes it saw the Makuhita's shadow, aiming that killer right hook as low as possible.

WOOOSH!

"….!" Kay gasped silently, and her eyes marveled at the sight: Teppo did it; it avoided the plank! "You did it, Teppo!"

The girl literally jumped for joy, and so did her Pokemon, who looked almost in disbelief itself. Unfortunately their celebration had to be cut short as both of them quickly fell backwards from exhaustion.

They just remembered that was probably the twentieth attempt that day.

"Let's rest up for now…"

"Nite…"

A few days later, at the Gym…

Champ swung its mighty fist at the incoming Pignite, hitting…!

… thin air.

"…!?" Everyone in the room went still.

And much to the Machoke's surprise: Teppo actually ducked from the hook!

"WHAT THE…?!" gasped Sodo.

"YEAH…!" shouted Parker. "YOU DID IT...! NOW GO AND KNOCK THAT COCKY POKEMON DOWN…!"

"IT'S A CHANCE…!" shouted Tessa. "DO IT!"

"PIIIIG…!" Teppo tightened its right fist, and it ignited it in flames! The Machoke's chin was exposed! "….NIIIITE…!"

Champ hesitated!

But it quickly struck Teppo back down onto the floor with an elbow to the face.

"GAH!" Parker cried out. "Hey, it used its elbow! That's not fair!"

"Shut up!" Sodo snapped. "It's not against the rules…!"

Tessa jeered along with Parker. "Your Pokemon was supposed to just use hooks…!"

But while those three Trainers went into one of their usual arguments, Kay quickly moved to her Pokemon's side… but seeing that smile on its face made Kay crack a smile in return. "Congratulations, Teppo…" said a proud Kay. "We finally did it…!"

Despite the obvious pain on its face, the fire pig continued to smile.

Leader Dempsey and Charles watched on from the sides, both now with relieved looks on their faces. "It seemed almost impossible…" sighed Dempsey. "I don't know what exactly that Kid did outside of the Gym, but it paid off."

"Let's hope all this will prepare them to go up against Iva Parish and her Makuhita in a week…" said Charles. "I'm just worried about all those punches Teppo took from Champ this whole time."

"Hmph, those will heal quicker with the use of the Pokemon Center." Dempsey's expression hardened after that. "But you're right: all we can hope is that all this will prepare them for their next Pokemon Battle. Good luck, you two…!"

Finally, it was the day of the Pokemon Battle, but there was still the last day check-up to go to in the morning. Kay and Teppo had arrived first, but Leader Dempsey and Charles had to arrive a little late to finish up some last minute business back at the Gym. Dempsey arrived, and as usual, Charles was the one who drove him there.

"Kay should be in there already," said Charles. "Hope she's not too nervous going in there on her own."

"That Kid definitely needs a mobile phone one of these days…" sighed Dempsey. "Come on; we should still be able to properly greet our opponents." With that, Charles handed him his cane and the two of them walked through the Battle Stadium's entrance, heading to the usual room somewhere in the back.

It didn't take them long to arrive, and fortunately their opponents were still there. Gym Leader Lacy was standing by next to her Trainer's Makuhita as it was looked over by the nurses' Audino. Strangely, the Makuhita's Trainer was not around…

"Oh… she's over there," pointed Charles.

Outside of the crowd, Iva Parish was seated down on the bench, wearing her usual white t-shirt and sweat pants – her expression alone made it look like she didn't even care about being here. An obvious frown was plastered on her face the entire time. "Where is that person with my water…?" she grumbled. "I asked for one five minutes ago…!"

"So she really does behave like that…" chuckled Charles weakly. "She definitely wore that same expression on her picture…"

"Ah, there you are!" Once the Makuhita's check-up was done, Leader Lacy walked along with it to greet Leader Dempsey and Charles. "I'm Gym Leader Lacy of the McKnight Gym." She gave Dempsey a smile and extended her hand to him. "I hope our Trainers will have a great Pokemon Battle with each other tonight."

"Mmm," nodded Dempsey. "I feel the same way."

"Hey, Iva…! Come over here and greet them, alright?"

"Hah…?" Iva raised an eyebrow, herself looking irritated. "Alright, alright…" However, someone finally squeezed through the crowd, holding onto a bottle of water and hesitantly making her way to her. "There you are! What took so long?" But she turned her back to the person anyway and stood up to face Dempsey and Charles, but turned her eyes away not long after. "Anyways… I'm Iva Parish; good to meet you and everything."

"I, Iva…!" flustered Lacy. "Do it more properly…!"

"Hey, I can't help but feel all this being done prematurely," said Iva, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides, their Pokemon Trainer isn't ever here yet! Shouldn't I be greeting her first or something?"

But Dempsey and Charles – with awkward looks on their faces – slowly pointed forward, to behind Iva.

"Hm…?" Iva Parish turned her head to look behind her… and it turned out it was actually Kay that she sent to get that bottled water! Quickly realizing this, Iva backed away in surprise. "W, What…?! THIS plain-looking girl is Kay Planer?!"

Kay could only stand there and smile awkwardly.

"Y, You idiot…!" scolded Lacy, quickly pushing Iva's head down. "Quick, apologize…! How could you make your opponent into an errand girl…?!" Though Iva tried to resist, Lacy kept pushing her head and her own down repeatedly. "W, We're very sorry…! She tends to be like this…! We're really very sorry…! Come on, Iva! Apologize…!"

"She didn't say anything…!" Iva retaliated. "It's partly her fault too…!"

"Shhh…! Know your place, girl…!"

But Kay merely chuckled – albeit awkwardly – it off. "I, It's really alright…" she assured, waving her hands to them. Of course… in the inside she felt pretty embarrassed.

"Alright! Kay Planer's Pignite is in good condition to battle!"

Eventually Teppo and Kay returned to Dempsey and Charles' side, with Iva, her Makuhita and Gym Leader Lacy waiting as well. "I wonder if I'll ever get used to these last day check-ups…" said Kay with a weak smile. "People are always staring at us…"

"You will in time," said Dempsey. "For now, just try to not make it obvious. Especially not in front of the ones you and your Pokemon will be battling against." He stepped aside, revealing Iva and Leader Lacy still standing there. "Go on."

"Y, Yes, sir…!" Kay stepped forward along with Teppo, and the two bowed in greeting. "Good morning… I'm Kay Planer from the Dempsey Gym, and this is my Pignite, Teppo."

"Pignite." Much like its Trainer, the Pignite greeted politely.

"It's good to meet you all," Kay continued, straightening herself and extending her hand forward. "I hope we can have a great Pokemon Battle tonight."

While Iva didn't look all too impressed by such a simple greeting, Leader Lacy on the other hand… 'W-What a polite young girl…!' she thought, her eyes sparkling. 'Even after what happened earlier… Why couldn't she have joined my Gym instead? Someone here definitely could learn a thing or two from this one here….' Of course, her eyes shifted towards Iva Parish's direction.

And finally Iva Parish stepped forward, and accepted Kay's handshake. "Yeah…" she said. "May the best Trainer win."

But Kay started noticing something: Iva was actually tightening her grip around Kay's hand. Not that it hurt her or anything, but she definitely felt it. Teppo and Iva's Makuhita also shared a handshake of their own, but unlike Kay, Teppo actually squeezed the Makuhita's hand in return when the latter did it first.

Dempsey and Lacy saw all that.

After a while, Kay, Teppo, Dempsey and Charles finally walked out of the Battle Stadium.

"What do you think were you doing buying a bottle of water for your opponent?" asked Dempsey.

"I, I wasn't sure what to do…" said Kay, lowering her head in guilt. "She suddenly pushed me into doing that… I was feeling nervous there to begin with too."

"But that was pretty interesting back there," commented Charles. "Iva Parish and her Gym Leader seemed like two very different people…" Then he looked at both Kay and Dempsey before chuckling a little to himself. "Kind of reminds me of some people I know."

"What do you mean by that?" scoffed their Gym Leader. "Well, in either case, now we just need to focus on the Pokemon Battle tonight, so get what rest you and your Pokemon could until then." Kay and Teppo nodded to that. "Still… back then during that handshake… that girl, Iva Parish…" She stroked his beard a little. "She didn't look it… but squeezing your hand just now was pretty bold of her. Looks like she's really fired up for tonight's Pokemon Battle."

But…Kay blinked at that. 'Fired up…? I wonder…'

Meanwhile, walking alongside Gym Leader Lacy, Iva was recalling what had happened back then at the Stadium.

'I really hope she didn't find out how nervous I was…'

Author's Note: Wow, September's been a very slow month for me. Lots of things kept popping up here and there, and I wasn't able to finish this chapter as soon as I had wanted to. I wonder if it's the weather...? Anyways, anyone pumped up for the new Pokemon game for the 3DS? I know I am! I hope we get to customize our character a lot more than the previous game too. I mean, I know a lot of us have that dream of creating our own fan Trainer characters; heck, if I could, I'd create Kay Planer! That reminds me though... Perhaps I should one day show all of you how I picture Kay to look like, and perhaps if I'm lucky, I could show you all how some of the other characters look like in my head.

And by that I mean the characters I made for the story, not the OCs submitted by others unfortunately - I might be picturing them differently than you all do.

But that's just a 'maybe' and not a promise - haven't drawn a lot for a loooong time.

Anyways, see you all in the next chapter!

Please leave a review to tell me what you think of the read!

Also, I just realized that for the first three chapters of this story, I called them 'episodes' instead of 'chapters'. Weird.