Today's list was long. Coach squinted at the torrent of printed information.
His pen flicked and ticked names off his clipboard as he completed the day's checklist, and sighed. As he made one final check, he heard the sound of someone coming toward him. He lifted his gaze from the clipboard and noticed Suzuki approaching.
"Ah, Suzuki. What brings you over here?" he inquired.
"Uh, Coach...I need your help," said Suzuki.
"My help?"
"Well...not me, exactly. But Louis...and I guess Miguel, too."
"Miguel?" blurted Coach. "You mean Louis' father?"
Suzuki nodded.
"What's he doing here?"
"He's the new assistant coach here."
A spark of charisma ignited in Coach's heart.
"Oh! I didn't know the position had been filled," he smiled.
"There's a bit of a problem, though," Suzuki spoke. "He tried training Louis and his Pokémon just now and...he sucks."
Coach pondered for a second.
"Is it a new Pokémon to them?"
"Sort of," answered Suzuki.
"...well, that explains it."
Back at Suzuki's training field, Louis rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment for what had happened.
"You alright, Louis?" asked Taki.
The young adult sighed.
"Yeah. I just didn't think that amount of training would lead to...all this."
"Believe me, I felt the same way at one point," reassured Taki.
"Let me guess...with Cinderace?'
The Pokémon in question sat alongside the two humans.
"Yep," it said. "I mean, since I'm from Galar, and you and Taki are from Johto, there's a bit of a struggle."
"I bet there would be," said Louis.
"Like you, I'm not knowledgeable about Pokémon outside of Kanto and Johto," added Taki.
"Plus, unlike you, we didn't really get coaching lessons back in Johto...so, it was a bit hard to master my attack moves," continued Cinderace.
"...I guess," said Louis.
Unbeknownst to the party, Suzuki had returned to the training field, bringing Coach alongside him. The veteran staff member got a good look at the aftermath of the failed training exercise.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah... they really tore up the grounds..." said Suzuki.
In the distance, the musician, Roy, spotted his friend and Coach approaching.
"Coach is here," he said.
Once the two staff members were close enough, Louis explained to Coach how he and his Pokémon are interested in competing in the Battle Royale. The veteran staff member inquired if they were really sure of doing such a thing, where Louis responded with a nod.
"Look. I'm honoured, but it'd be impossible to be properly prepared for the battle royale in your current state," said Coach. "I'm not a miracle worker."
"You don't need to be a miracle worker," replied Louis. "We just need you to help us with getting used to my team's new attacks."
Coach was still unsure. Many possibilities came to mind, but he couldn't seem to work out a conclusion.
"Braix-en Braiiiix?" said Braixen.
"Braixen said...'Pretty pleeeease?'" translated Louis.
Miguel became a little surprised.
"Wait, he knows you can talk to Pokémon?" he questioned.
"Yep," the young adult answered.
After much consideration, and Braixen's words, Coach eventually came up with a conclusion to one of his thought-out possibilities.
"Aw, how can I say no to that?" the coach answered.
Not long after, Team Venus' training commenced. This time, with more success. Louis assisted Marowak and Staraptor with their attacks, while Coach helped the boy learn and master his Pokémon's attacks.
When the young adult was assisting Incineroar, with Coach watching on, the veteran staff member paid close attention to the delivery on Incineroar's Darkest Lariat attack. Realising that the fire Pokémon was letting its ferocity be the only factor in the delivery of the attack, Coach halted the bipedal cat-like creature before it could attack the sandbag again.
"Incineroar, I believe you're being too aggressive using this attack," he said.
"Cineroar?" said Incineroar.
"Just ... ease down, and think."
The veteran staff member stepped toward the sandbag and placed it upright again.
"Here, how about this..." he began. "Have a small amount of aggression when you're spinning toward this, but remain focused. If you lose even the slightest bit of attention to your target, it could backfire."
The fire Pokémon nodded. It took a deep breath, grinned, and began its attack. He spun straight toward the sandbag, where Coach was still holding it up. Before the attack could connect, Coach quickly moved out of the way. Thankfully, he dodged just in the nick of time, as Incineroar swung its arm at the sandbag with tremendous force, its contents spilling across the training field before it halted.
"Holy-!" shrieked Louis.
"Yeah! That's more like it!" cheered Coach.
Incineroar folded his arms and smirked. Miguel tapped Coach on the shoulder, getting his attention.
"I think Lucario needs help too," he said.
"What's he struggling with?" Coach inquired.
"He's having trouble using Aura Sphere. He just can't seem to hit the target."
"Oh?"
"I mean, Lucario's close-ranged attacks are great, but his long rage...is not that great."
"I heard that!" called Lucario.
Coach placed his thumb and index finger on his goatee beard, pondering how to handle the current predicament.
"Well then, I'll give him some help," he declared.
Miguel and the veteran staff member made their way back to the aura Pokémon, who was still struggling with his attack.
"Lucario, I have an idea," said Coach. "Try to imagine that your target is twenty-feet further from where it is now."
Lucario became a little confused by Coach's suggestion.
"Go ahead, give it a try. "Aim through your target, just make sure your feet are following the plan!"
Lucario grunted and nodded. He closed his eyes, created a ball of aura between his paws, gradually increasing in size. Following Coach's advice, Lucario fired the aura sphere at the target. As a result of the attack, the target exploded, sending fragments of wood and cloth across the field. Miguel's jaw dropped.
"Wow!" he yelped.
"Yes! That's the way!" exclaimed Coach.
From the sidelines, Roy, Tracey, Taki and her Pokémon watched on, mesmerised by the scenes playing out before them.
"Whoa, look at them go," said Tracey, as he sketched away on his sketchbook.
"Reminds me of when he first started off here," added Roy.
Tracey paused, joining in the memories that flooded back while watching Louis and friends train.
Back on the field, Louis began to assist Braixen on her attacks.
"Okay Braixen, let's see your flamethrower," said Louis.
The fox Pokémon readied her wand. She focused on the target in the distance and pointed her wand toward it. However, instead of a large stream of fire, only small flames emitted from the twig.
"Huh?" blurted Louis.
The young adult jogged toward the fox.
"You okay, Braixen?" he asked.
"Uh...not really," answered Braixen.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm...I'm just nervous. I mean, it's been a while since I've used Flamethrower."
"...oh, I see," said Louis.
The young adult shifted his focus to Coach, who was busy assisting Marowak and Staraptor.
"Hey, Coach!" called Louis. "I need your help!"
Coach nodded. He spoke to Marowak and Staraptor before jogging toward the young adult and Braixen.
"What's the problem?" he asked.
"Braixen's awfully nervous," explained Louis. "Do you have any tips to help her with Flamethrower?"
Once again, Coach began to ponder the situation. Miguel overheard the predicament and walked toward the commotion. The man whispered in Coach's ear the idea he had in mind. Intrigued, Coach grinned before turning to Miguel and saying;
"You tell her that."
"Me...?" questioned Miguel.
Coach nodded in reply. Miguel swallowed the lump in his throat before turning to Braixen.
"Ok...here's what I think you should do, Braixen," he began.
"I want you to imagine a small fire in your mind. When you countdown from five, the fire grows bigger and bigger. When you reach zero, use your Flamethrower."
Still unsure, Braixen faced the target, closed her eyes, and followed Miguel's advice. She formed an imaginary fire in her subconscious and began counting down.
'Five...four...'
With the numbers descending, the fire grew larger.
'Three...two...one...'
The imaginary fire was now a raging inferno.
'...ZERO!'
Braixen opened her eyes, flicked her twig wand at the target...and a ferocious stream of hot fire, higher than the chain fence, launched at the target. The target burst into flames as it made contact with the stream of fire. All that remained was a large plume of smoke and charred remains of the target.
Louis, Coach, Miguel, and the other members of the group watched on, with dropped jaws and their eyes wide open. The young adult fell backwards onto the ground.
"Whoa...that was good advice," muttered Coach.
On the main campus, Zack was currently eating lunch with his group of friends and Pokémon. Then, they spotted the plume of smoke rising over the trees, coming from the distant field.
"What the hell was that?" he said, with a mouthful of food.
Zack's Charizard grunted, unsure.
After Team Venus had learned and mastered their attacks, Louis and his Pokémon lay exhausted on the field, breathing heavily. The members of the group that watched from the sidelines walked toward the recuperating team.
"How are you guys feeling?" asked Taki.
"I could rest for a while now," panted Louis.
"I'd probably need to cool down," said Marowak. "I feel like a Snorlax right now."
Taki chortled.
"I have to admit, I didn't think Braixen could blast a fire that big," complimented Incineroar.
"Neither did I," replied Braixen.
As they were breathing heavily, Staraptor raised her left wing.
"Hey, how about we leave it there for today?" she said.
"Agreed," replied Lucario.
:O ...kick...aaasssss! Whew! That was so awesome!
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