Author's Note: I wanted to write something cute to make up for the last couple of downers. Look at these adorable children. I'm sure nothing bad will happen to them, ever.
Training
Claire watched as Leaf and Jack leaped over a pair of rotted tree trunks nearby. It would be a while until the next meeting, and Michelle had made good progress on their Time Gear investigations, so they'd all decided it was time for a break. The three of them had chosen to use their free time to play around a little bit, and they were in a small clearing not too far from home.
"I think I jumped higher than you did," Jack said proudly. "What do you think, Claire?"
Leaf merely huffed and folded his arms, and Claire couldn't help giggling at the Treecko's indignant expression. Then, she carefully looked between the two, tapping her chin and pausing for dramatic effect.
"Hmm, I think you were equal," she replied. "You better do it again, just to be sure."
The two of them nodded, and they took a few steps backwards. Then, they dashed forward again and jumped over the stumps. When they landed, they paused to catch their breaths, and the two Pokémon eagerly looked at Claire.
"Well, that time, it was definitely Leaf," she announced.
Leaf grinned in satisfaction, and Jack sulked in response. However, the Growlithe perked up soon enough. It seemed an idea had occurred to him, and he quickly spoke up.
"Oh, I know! It's not fair if we're the only ones who have to train," he said. "I mean, you gotta defend yourself, too, right? So you need to do something, Claire!"
"Come on! I'll be okay as long as I have you with me, Jack. But…hmm…let me see…"
Claire stood up and looked around. Then, her eyes fell on a few sticks floating just above the ground. She walked over to them and picked one up, examining it closely. Finally, Claire grinned and tossed it at Leaf.
He jumped, just barely catching it in time. Then, Leaf tossed the stick back at Claire, and she had to lean over to catch it. Leaf had thrown it in a rather wide arc to make up for the height difference, but she managed to grab it nonetheless. She nodded as she looked over at Jack.
"How about that? Leaf and I can do this to make sure I'm fast enough!"
Jack whined lightly. "But Claire! If you guys keep throwing that, I'm gonna wanna chase it!"
Claire giggled. "But this was your idea! You wanted me to train, too, so you have to deal with it!"
Even Leaf cracked a grin at Jack's additional whine of protest. The two of them continued tossing the stick back and forth for a while, and Jack flopped over and glared at them. Still, his tail swished lightly as his eyes locked onto the stick, and Claire laughed again when she snuck a glance over at him.
She rarely went out of her way to tease people, but she had to admit that was amusing. And the stick-throwing really was helpful, too; she felt like her reflexes were slightly faster by the time they were done. They needed to do this more often, Claire thought.
And, finally, she threw the branch off in the distance—Jack barked eagerly as he chased after it. He proudly fetched it and brought it back, and Claire scratched him on the head as his tail wagged happily. …Well, they could probably stay out for a little longer before Michelle got worried. What the heck. Claire leaned down, grabbed the stick, and threw it for Jack one more time.
As he dashed off to fetch it, Claire decided they were all fine. They could have training sessions that were more on the fun side every now and then.
She was sure that nothing would ever happen to her or Jack, so they may as well relax as much as they could.
