Author's Note:

Well, sorry for not getting to finish this yesterday, I was busy. For starters, I had to plan out more of my stories. For seconds, I had (and still have) family over. And for finals, well, yesterday was MLP:FiM's 5th year anniversary (see my Okam story for details on how I got into that), and, well, let's just say that they went and did something that absolutely NO ONE thought they had the balls to ever seriously do...

I also saw the trailer for the new Gamera movie. It looks f*cking amazing, go check it out if you love giant monster movies.

Anyways, read and review (please do, please do)!

-RGGodzilla, out!


Chapter Fifty:

A Test of Training


Morning (10:57 A.M.), Vivir Town

A week had passed by since BraveStar announced their new training regimen, and still they participated in the new training, which now took them to just outside the guild.

"HAH!" Lloyd leaped at Victor, delivering a powerful slap with his Iron Tail that knocked the Emboar away.

"GWAH!" Victor cried out, zapped back further by Romsca's Thunder Shock, and then hit in the arm by Stream's Ice Beam, "Dang!" he gritted his teeth, his arm now frozen solid, "Hmhmhm," he chuckled before breaking his arm free from the ice, "You're definitely getting better, that's for sure," he nursed his arm and muttered, "...That actually hurt a little..."

"Well, that's good to hear," Lloyd sighed, flexing his steel-silver tail fin.

"Aye, I'd like to see that Desperado take us on now!" Romsca clenched her fists, but it was an empty gesture, as all three knew that that would still be a fight not in their favor. Besides, of the three, only Stream had learned a new move, replacing her Water Gun with Water Pulse.

"We still have a long way to go before then, I'm afraid," the Ducklett looked down.

"Hehe, you'll get there, Rainy Days, trust me," Victor smiled.

"Hi, Victor, hi, Rainy Days!" a voice called, and they looked over to see Drench the Venonat waving to them.

"Shh!" Vice silenced him, leading her team past the three as they left the guild and headed out, "We have a mission, Drench," she looked forward, with a proud yet smug-looking smile.

"What? There's no harm in mingling," Lezah crossed her tendrils and pouted.

Stream blinked after Team Vice had left, "What's with her?"

"Hmhmhm," Victor chuckled, "Well, just to let you know, BraveStar went and gave her and her team a special mission to compete in a tournament,"

"Hmm?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow, and asked, "I take it that that means they found another crystal there?"

His allies widened their eyes in surprise while Victor just laughed, "Hahahaha! You're a bright one, you are. As keen and sharp as an Aegislash's blade,"

Lloyd smiled. I take pride in my observant mind, or, at least, that's what I remember.

"Really?!" Romsca crossed her arms, upset at this development, "Why didn't we get this mission?! I mean, we found the last two of those!" And now there's a third one?! She and Stream both thought, wondering just what they were.

"Enh," Victor shrugged, "That doesn't really matter since we already know the specific location of the crystal, which is the prize for the winner, along with 25,000 Poké."

"Ooh, that would be nice," Stream smiled at the thought of the prize money.

"Y'know what? I say we go and compete too!" Romsca clenched her tiny fists.

"WHAT?!" Stream went white-eyed, "B-B-But BraveStar gave the mission to Team Vice! A-And he told us not to go! Doing so would break the rules!"

"Hey! The Guildmaster gave no such orders saying we couldn't participate!" Romsca argued.

Stream stammered, "B-B-B-But-"

"-Actually, she has a point," Lloyd interjected, eyes closed in contemplation, "All BraveStar said was that he was going to send a single team after the next crystal, nothing that prevents us from going out on our own, so we're free to join and fight in the tournament,"

"I... I..." Stream stared at him, then to Romsca, who stared at her expectantly, "I... I can't argue with that logic..."

"Good," Lloyd smiled, taking pride in his skills of argumentation, "!" he paused, however, to look up at Victor, who all three had forgotten about in their little argument. The Emboar looked down on them with crossed arms and narrowed eyes, "Uhh..." Lloyd gulped, backing down from the Emboar, his tail fin (henceforth to be referred to as his caudal fin, to use the technical term) curling around his body in that timid gesture of his, "I-If that's okay w-with you, that is? I-I mean, having more t-teams in the tournament would increase our chances of g-getting the crystal, and-"

"-HAHAHAHA!" Victor cut him off and startled him with loud laughter, "Sure you can go!"

"REALLY?!" all three gasped in surprise.

"Of course, what better way to see how far your training has brought you?" he continued, to their surprise, holding out his hand, "Don't worry about a thing, you'll probably be gone a few days, but me and my lovely Hula will cover for you guys."

"Th-Thanks, Victor!" Romsca grinned, taking his hand and shaking it, or, at least, he let her shake it, given the massive size difference in their hands.

"Your efforts are much appreciated!" Lloyd beamed, uncovering himself from his caudal fin. Anything to better our chances of getting the crystals, and getting me home!

"Y-Yes... th-thanks..." Stream frowned, looking down. We're going to get in such trouble for this, I just know it...

"Yeah, as second-in-command of the guild, I have access to almost as much information as BraveStar does," the Emboar boasted, to which Lloyd gave the slightest of twitches. D-Does that mean... does he know about... me?! N-No, BraveStar promised to keep my secret... right? "The tournament will be held in Lucha Town, about a quarter of a day to the northwest of here. It'll be hosted by Keene, quite a zealous Hawlucha. The battles will take place in a ring in the center of the town, but you'll need to register first. Just ask around for the place when you get there," he paused in his explanation to give a worried grimace, "And, uh, be careful over there, okay?"

"Why?" Romsca blinked.

"W-Well," he scratched behind his head nervously, "Aside from any other possible dangers, you'll probably have to compete with Vice and her team at some point. While I'm not exactly worried about her teammates, Vice can be a bit of a..."

Rude and arrogant egotist? Lloyd thought, but didn't say.

"Cocky and snobby bitch?" Romsca said, but didn't think (through).

That too. Lloyd rolled his eyes while Victor and Stream looked away at her lack of tact.

"I... guess you could say that..." Victor swallowed nervously, "She has a bit of a respect for authority, provided it's in her favor, but... well, it takes a lot to get to her good side from her cold exterior," he looked to the direction Team Vice had taken, "And I'm afraid you seem to be continuing to dig into her bad side,"

"It ain't our fault!" Romsca protested.

"I-I know, it's just... just..." Victor trailed off, and sighed, "Look, just be careful around her. She's not the most... stable..." he turned to the guild, and walked away from them, "Take care, Team Rainy Days! And be back as soon as your mission is done, alright?"

"Of course!" Stream waved, her teammates following suit. When the Emboar had disappeared into the guild, she sighed, "Well, let's get this over with..."