"Hey, now that we're both in our second stage of evolution, have you been thinking what I have?' She asked him, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
"I don't think so. We can battle even harder?" He asked her obliviously. It earned a giggle from her; his nature hadn't changed with his body. She could think of one thing that probably changed, though.
"We can do something even harder, I'll say that. You're such a handsome grovyle, y'know," she continued, "not like those pudgy ones that you would normally see. You're so slender and fast, and I bet you could use that brain of yours for all kinds of things.
Glave started to feel uncomfortable. It wasn't a feeling of dislike, rather, it was the feeling you get when you're in a situation you've never been in. He wasn't sure what to say.
"Get to the point, Cindy. Beating around the bush has never been your style."
"I want you," she whispered in his ear. "I want you, and I've been waiting for you since I evolved. Surely you've noticed it too? Second stage evolutions... Our hormones are almost fully activated. This is the stage that we start wanting to mate. And. I. Want. You." She was trailing a finger down his chest in a snaking pattern, slowing down at the end of every word and skirting to the side quickly at the beginning of the next.
He quietly gulped.
"Are you nervous?" The charmeleon asked gently. "The man is SUPPOSED to do the work, but just this once I can show you how it's done. Not that I've ever done it before, but I've been picturing us for some time now."
Glave felt his reproductive member begin to unsheath itself. It wasn't the first time, but it was a very rare occurrence. He'd never had a female present herself to him. As shameful as it was for him to think about, he mostly got this way because of Circe. As a mother figure, she saw Glave as her child and wasn't bashful when it came to appearing in various compromising positions. Often times she'd be tending to household manners and bend over really far, unintentionally swishing her tail and showing off her treasure.
Cindy reached down and grabbed his emerging member. "This'll be fun," she said, licking her lips.
She started stroking him, but... he couldn't feel anything. He started to thrust a bit out of instinct, but nothing. Cindy didn't react. Glave sighed and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was looking at the roof of his room. He could hear spearow in the distance, crying out from beyond Advent Town's border.
[A wet dream? I haven't had one in ages.] He looked down at his retreating member.
Glave yawned and sat up. He heard footsteps outside his room and lifted a knee casually to cover himself.
"Glave, uh, someone has come to see you," Circe said awkwardly. It wasn't anything to do with Glave; she couldn't see what he was hiding.
Suddenly fire shot into the grovyle's heart, and he jumped up. He recoiled, but Circe had already turned around. Glave looked down and saw his penis had concealed itself before letting out a sigh.
When he went into the living room, he saw exactly what he predicted. Or, the gist of it.
Zero was sitting on a very low couch, clearly not intended for humans, albeit he showed no signs of discomfort. Volt was waiting near the door and the two shinx cubs were on either side of Zero, barraging him with questions.
"What's it like being a human?"
"Do you have a mommy and daddy? Are they as nice as ours?"
"Huh? Our mommy can get really mean..."
"I heard that!" Circe called from another room, making one of the shinx gulp.
"So what type of human are you? Our entire family is electric type! Well, big brother is grass, but he's cool so we let him stay."
Zero smiled warmly at both of them, not answering any of the questions. He didn't need to since they basically forgot about them as soon as another popped into their young heads.
"Glave, come outside with us. We have some things to discuss." Volt told his adopted son.
"There's no need. Well, I suppose to exchange details, but Glave knows the rest of it." Zero told the male luxray. Glave and Volt both looked at him with shock. That wasn't to say the shock was from the same source.
"What are you talking about?" Volt asked.
"Glave was outside the Mayor's office, as well as the assembly. Rest assured, he heard everything."
Volt set his jaw. He looked at Glave with conviction, who let out a half-yelp and hopped backward.
"It's too late to help now. Besides, it'll save time." Zero advised.
The three of them retreated outside. The details included the location where the training would take place. It was to be just outside Advent Town's perimeter. Glave wasn't to see any of his friends for the duration of the time. Having been said, the duration was intended to be an entire month, as Zero requested. He needed to get used to the human with as few distractions as possible. Once a week, a representative from the rescue federation would be sent to analyze Glave's progress.
Machamp guards would be stationed on the outer edge of the training field in case Zero tried anything. At that point, it was more of a precaution to put the people who despised humans at ease.
With little to his name, Glave didn't need to pack. The pair left almost immediately.
On the way, they ran into a charmeleon.
"Hm? Gla-" Cindy's voice caught in her throat when she saw his companion. She looked at him with fear. He only looked back at her plainly.
"Cindy? Oh, I guess this is goodbye for a little while." Glave told her. He thought back to his dream last night.
"Goodbye? Wha-Why?!" She asked, suddenly unaware of anyone else's presence. Several Pokemon on the street looked at the scene. "Where are you going!?"
The charmeleon glared at Zero. "You! This is your doing, isn't it!? Answer me!"
Glave was stunned. This defied her personality completely. She always was so abraisive with him. What made this matter so much to her?
"Glave will be training under me for a 30 day period." Zero told her calmly.
"But WHY!?" She yelled. It was just under a scream. Pokemon began to whisper among themselves.
"Glave has been..." Zero stopped. No one needed to know about the rescue team until it was formed. "Glave wants to get stronger. I can make that happen."
"Like hell! What can a pathetic piece of shit hu-" She was cut off when a vine slapped her across the face. Hard. She stumbled back and fell to the ground.
Glave began walking by her. She looked up at him with tears falling out of her eyes.
"Zero fought beside my dad. And that was when he was still considered a child. To say those things about him means saying those things about my father. I'm glad to know that's how you feel."
Cindy's eyes widened. Glave knew good and well that she didn't mean it that way in the slightest, but at that moment he wanted to cut as deeply as possible. As he walked by her with Zero in tow, he felt relieved and conflicted simultaneously. On the plus, he didn't wanna fuck her anymore, but he'd have a lot to expiate for when he got back.
"Her mother. A charizard named Flara?" Zero asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah that's her. How'd you know?" Glave looked at his taller companion. Coming in at 2'10, an inch shorter than an average member of his species, Glave was just under half as tall as Zero. He squinted at the human. He must've been 6 foot exactly.
"Your father mentioned her a few times. They were friends back in the day."
Hearing him mention his father, Glave perked up.
"What did he say about her?"
"Well, they had a bit of thing before I met him. He actually had a faded burn mark on his back. If you saw a picture of it, it'd look like he got a tattoo of a dark-green flame."
"She... hurt him?"
"Word on the street, or at least word from him, was that he was flirting with her. That's when he told me about her blast burn attack."
Glave nodded. Not every Pokemon could use certain signature moves. Blast burn was exclusive to very powerful fire types and for the most part only specific species. Frenzy plant was the grass equivalent of blast burn. It took a long time of training before Glave could summon the stubby root that he could. The fact also testified to Sitrus's strength.
"Could you tell me about my dad?" Glave asked the question shyly. He'd been dismissed whenever he asked everyone else.
"I suppose, but not all at one time. I spent years with him, after all. Is there something you want to know specifically?"
"Yeah. What was his personality like, first?"
"Like yours." Zero stated. Glave smiled and was about to ask for more detail when Zero continued. "However, he was more outgoing. He laughed a lot and was very sociable. You spend your time thinking to yourself. He thought with others."
"I see... Well, what was he like in battle?"
"If you wish, I can give you an exact demonstration of his fighting style on the battlefield."
"Yes, please!" Glave was getting excited again.
"That's another similarity. While he was more familiar with excitement and could better contain it, Gla- uh, your father showed excitement frequently. I suppose that's true for most though." The last part of the human's words didn't make it to Glave's ears. He was being told he was like his dad, and that was enough.
"Oh, that lucario the other day. She used mega evolution, right," asked the Grovyle. "That's not an exclusivity, is it? Other Pokemon can do it?"
Zero took his eyes off the road and looked at Glave. "Where'd you hear about mega evolution? It's a power only accessible when a human and a Pokemon put their energy together. It's a beautifully synergized process."
"Oh! That reminds me- I know I said I didn't have any things, but there is something. Can we run by the department store?" Glave pleaded.
"We're right next to it."
Glave looked to his left, past Zero. Was he that caught up in his thoughts that he didn't know where he was going?
"I'll be right back!"
Running up to the roof, the grovyle burst through the door. He rushed over to a familiar tile, pulling it up and seeing his human history book. Retrieving the book, he tore back down the department store. He was out of breath after traversing 16 floors worth of stairs, but he came back to Zero.
Zero looked at the book. His expression molded into one of concern. There was something else in it, but Glave couldn't figure it out. "Where did you get that?" He walked toward Glave, reaching out his hand.
Glave recoiled at first but slowly held out the book. The human knelt, now with the book in both of their sights. He turned to a specific page.
Glave furrowed his brow. "There are no page numbers... How did you know where to look?" He looked at Zero, unsure if he felt curiosity or suspicion. He looked back at the page.
By pure miracle, Glave felt, it was the page far ahead of his current progress. The one with the silhouette of a human on one side, and details of him on the other. Now that he looked at it, the silhouette wasn't a random pattern as he thought. It had several different colored quadrilaterals on it. It bore the exact same pattern as Zero's Mangekyo.
The human studied briefly before closing the book. He continued walking. Glave didn't put in for him to give the book back just yet.
"Hey, I've got another question."
"You may ask."
The grass type noted the growing formality in his partner's speech.
"At the town hall assembly, didn't you say that Mangekyo was forged in ancient days by Palkia and Dialga? I just think it's strange that none of us knew of it."
"That's right. And if you attended class like Pokemon up to the age of four used to have to here, then you do know it."
"Huh?"
Zero looked at him, cracking a tiny smile. He wasn't trying to be nice. Something amused him and he was trying not to show. "You probably thought it was super cool somewhere between 1 and 2, and forgot about it later. Its original name was," Zero cleared his throat, "The Twin-Continuum Transcending Summoning Sword." He looked at Glave when he was done.
Glave was smiling too now. "Yeah, I do remember that now. It's so ridiculous. But why is it Mangekyo now?"
"The two continuum Pokemon allowed me to change its name."
"Palkia and Dialga!? They let you do something like that?" Glave was in awe. He was going to train with someone personally acquainted with those two legends.
"That's right. They too felt the first name was too long."
"I see. Why did you name it Mangekyo?" At this point, Glave didn't know where they were going and was trying to make conversation.
"Similar to how every species of Pokemon technically speaks different languages, many human cultures speak different languages as well. In a language foreign to my own "mangekyo" means kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope is like a bunch of colors that make tons of different patterns. I think."
Glave raised an eyebrow. That was the most uncertain and unformal he'd heard Zero speak, and it was about his most prized possession. It was accurate though; his Mangekyo fit the description perfectly.
They stayed quiet after that for a while. Finally, they reached the southern gate. Advent Town was rectangular, with the North and South gates being closer to the center of the town than the remaining two cardinal directions. The town also had high walls, roughly thirty feet in the air. Glave was never sure what they were made of.
When they exited the gate, a machamp guard met with them. They began walking southwest. After about twenty minutes of walking, they came to a large rectangular clearing. Machamps were still busting down trees and moving space aside. There was nothing to resemble a place for them to eat or sleep.
Zero walked immediately to a spot five feet away from the center. He waited for Glave to mirror his position.
"So... what are we doing?"
"I first need to assess your offense and defense. Don't get frustrated; you will not succeed against me. I'll start by testing your defense. You may dodge, block, and counterattack. Do not initiate an attack. We'll perform this test first, seeing as the offense test will tire you and significantly affect your defense. Ready?"
Glave nodded.
Zero closed his eyes and took a breath. He slowly lifted one foot. Glave tensed up, getting into a fighting stance. And then it began.
The human's eyes shot open wide, and he slammed his foot down at blinding speed. A torrent of dirt, leaves, and rocks rose into the air. Glave stepped back, anticipating his opponent to emerge. He was caught off guard when he was struck from behind. He was flung into the rising natural materials, getting pelted with several rocks. He crossed his arms, trying to block it. That's when they all began to fall.
Glave reached towards the ground and a vine shot out of it. It reached his hand and he grabbed it, pulling himself out of the path of the falling debris.
He landed safely, but he was already panting. The entire transaction went down in five seconds. He realized too late that he had let his guard all the way down.
He turned around sharply, but no one was behind him. A kick to the side sent him stumbling forwards. Suddenly, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around his ankles. When they reached for his arms, he used leaf blade, swinging wildly with his energy-coated arms, cutting through all of his restraints and rushing away.
He looked to the other side of the battlefield. He could see Zero's neck and head over the pile of debris. Glave's eyes widened as he heard the sound of rushing waves.
"What are you-"
Surf collided with the pile of dirt and rocks, becoming a mixture of surf and muddy water. As it approached Glave, a calm set into his mind.
[Do you know who your father was? He was a prodigy, and you've inherited his talent. Now stay calm and show your strength before he changes his mind about working with you.]
Everything was clear. Glave jumped over the twin beams of blue and brown water. He needed long-range, and vine whip wouldn't cut it. He NEEDED long range. He focused sharply. [I need it. I need it.] He reached the peak of his jump. [I need it NOW!]
He fired an energy ball at the enemy. Zero was forced to stop his attack to dodge. Glave landed on both feet, looking fearlessly at his attacker.
Zero rushed Glave, throwing up the dirt under his feet. He crossed the field in no time, now standing over the grovyle. He held his hand up in a formation that had all of his fingers straight, rather than a fist. Karate chop. Glave blocked, using leaf blade to do so. He felt unsure when he saw Zero pull his hand back and blood dripped to the ground, but that unsureness was his downfall. He took a burning kick to the stomach, recognizing blaze kick.
Even flying through the air, he kept his eyes on Zero. That is until he disappeared.
[Wha-huh!?] Glave whipped around and saw Zero before he disappeared again. He didn't have time to turn again before he was slammed to the ground.
Again, the process felt so long but it took no more than 15 seconds.
Glave got one foot under him and jumped forward, putting distance between him and his adversary. He turned slowly, just in time to at least know what hit him.
For someone who never got cold feet, it was ironic how cold the grovyle's feet were right then. He gasped and looked down. They were frozen to the ground by Zero's ice beam.
[This guy... He's the ultimate opponent. He can do ANYTHING.] Excitement boiled inside Glave.
Zero wasted not a moment, as he ran at Glave again. The Pokemon was ready.
When he was in range, Glave kicked with all his might. It hurt tearing his foot off the ground, but when he did, ice shards flew up. In preparation, Zero jumped early, spinning before kicking Glave.
Glave tried to dodge. He was forced into an unpleasant reality when he realized his other foot was frozen to the ground. On the bright side, that was changed when the kick hit his chest with enough force to remove it for him. The grovyle skidded across the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He looked at the approaching human.
Zero stopped before he got too close. Glave noticed cuts from the ice, as well as his opponent's bleeding wrist from slamming the grovyle's leaf blade. Glave felt accomplished. He had done that much damage, and Zero hadn't... even broken... his skin. His accomplishment vanished.
Adding insult to injury, while Glave gazed at Zero, the human radiated a soft green glow briefly. When the light retracted, tiny star-shaped particles flew off his wounds, healing all the damage the grovyle had done.
He was furious. Using recover in front of an opponent was commonly viewed as a taunt. He flipped over, jumping to his feet. Glave was just about to attack. He jumped forwards when he stopped himself, coming to a sliding halt.
Zero smiled. "That concludes the defense test. I was sure you'd forget my rule when I used recover."
Glave felt relieved. In the midst of that complete failure, he had done something right. The reason he stopped his attack was indeed Zero's command to not initiate an unprovoked attack. In addition, he exceeded Zero's expectations.
Zero walked over. He put his hands on Glave, and the grovyle felt his pain melt away. Vitality permeated his body, along with the presence of all of his lost energy.
"We only have a month. The offense test is next. I won't attack you."
Glave nodded and stood up. He bent his knees and got into a fighting stance. He needed to leave an impression. He wanted to show Zero everything he could do. This guy ran with his father. He needed to run with him.
He certainly had the running part down, as he dashed at Zero using quick attack. He jumped, slicing at the human with leaf blade. The attack made direct contact with the human's neck. Glave felt some resistance give way.
"What the-" His eyes widened when he turned around. Zero's body fell to the ground, something else hitting the ground further away. He was gonna throw up.
"Boo."
Glave screamed at the top of his lungs and jumped back. He had started to hyperventilate when he looked at the human that had startled him. "Zero- you- what-" He couldn't get his thoughts together. Zero frowned.
"That was a substitute," Zero told him while he walked closer. "I didn't think it'd bother you that bad."
"Why-why did it look like you? HUH!? Substitutes all look the same, so why did that look like you!" Glave was almost yelling at him.
The human knelt and put a hand on the Pokemon's shoulder. "Stop freaking out." He said sternly. "I'm alive. If I used a substitute and the enemy knew it was a substitute, they'd ignore it. If they think I'm dead they'll let their guard down. Listen to me, Glave. On a rescue team, you'll see Pokemon die. You have to be ready to cause that as well."
"But... why?" Glave looked at the ground when he asked, but he knew the answer.
"I lied. You don't have to."
Glave looked at him confused.
"It's only a requirement if you want to save yourself and your friends. If you wanna let your friends die and save yourself, I guess running away works too." Zero had made his point.
"What about your allies? How will they know the difference?"
"Finish the offense test, Glave."
He looked at the ground for a few seconds and nodded.
He jumped back, collected himself, and charged forward once more.
Zero had several cuts across his body. His clothing was torn in several places. Drops of blood were all over Glave. Having been said, both wore a straight face. Glave was exhausted, but Zero was barely breathing hard.
"You, *pant*, you're around eighteen, right?"
"Yes, I am." Zero replied. Glave noticed him looking around.
"I don't understand... How you could learn so many moves in such a short time." Glave stopped talking and tried to calm his breathing.
"For what it's worth, almost all of them are variations of another. Learning ember just means you know how to use flamethrower. Those who shoot water guns will one day roar with hydro pumps. Even frenzy plant carries the same pattern as vine whip."
"I never thought about it like that..." Glave said thoughtfully.
"Listen, take a break. You're tired. The hut that the machamps built should have some food in it."
"Hut?" The grass type was suddenly impressed; the machamp guard had built a hut during their training. It was very small, implying that not many were meant to stay in it.
Zero started jogging away. Glave called after him, but the human started talking to a machamp.
"My bio mods are about to trip. Please, you have to let me into the wild." Zero pleaded with two of the guard members. They both felt awkward. They were briefed on the situation of Zero's effort/lust balance, but they were also not supposed to let him go anywhere.
"Well... I guess we'll let you go. But if you don't come back, your life will get a lot harder." One of them said, sounding stern at the end.
Zero only nodded before he disappeared through teleportation. He landed further away from Advent Town, deep into the forest, just in time too. He gripped his head and started growling.
[Try-ugh, try to suppress it first- arrRGH!] Failure.
Zero fell onto all fours. He took off through the forest, moving similarly to a wolf. He was sniffing violently, focusing on detecting life forms.
[Found one!] He internally growled.
Running by a thick tree, Zero turned sharply. A ninetails leaped up, turning to see what happened. The next part played out in slow motion. The ninteails bared its fangs and glared at the intruder upon its territory.
Zero was sliding by on all fours. His hair covered his eyes at first. Still sliding, it moved out of the way. The ferocious look on his face changed the fire-type's attitude completely.
It turned and tried to run, but Zero pounced. He landed on top and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. The helpless Pokemon whimpered, and he lifted it in the air. Rather than looking at the front, he lifted its tails, grabbing all nine at the base. He pulled the pokemon up by them, putting its delicious pink vulva nearly at eye level with him.
He dropped the Pokemon. She tried to scamper away, but he leaped forward and grabbed her hindquarters.
Then he dug in. The smell of her pussy was delightful. His cock was fully erect. Two inches past the tip were poking through one of the tears in his clothes.
She tried kicking him, but he changed his grip to grab her back thighs, holding her legs tightly. When she tried to turn, he growled and tightened his grip.
He was sucking her pussy violently, even harder, as well as occasionally nibbling, on her clit. Even while she was whimpering, her body continued to supply fluid to her cunt, lubricating it out of false instinct.
Tired of being bent over, Zero stood. She tried running again, but he grabbed her tails. Pulling her up by them, also causing her to cry out in pain, he raised her high enough to grab her legs. When he did, he opened his mouth and fired icebeam, sealing her feet together.
He summoned his Mangekyo, stabbing it through the ice between her feet. She whimpered and closed her eyes. He walked her over to a thick tree and embedded the sword in it. Her legs were now stuck in the air, and her body still upside down. Now that he didn't have to hold her, he put his hands on either side of her pussy, digging in once more.
He licked and slurped away at her pussy. She was delicious, and he wanted more. He reached his tongue deep inside her entrance and used phsycic powers to pull her clit a tad roughly.
She had yet to moan in pleasure. She groaned in pain or discomfort occasionally, but that was the extent of her noises.
Zero quickly grew bored of not feeling anything down below. He deeply wished to thrust his cock into her tight throat, but he knew better than to put his cock between a wild Pokemon's teeth.
The Mangekyo disappeared, and she fell to the ground with her legs still trapped. She looked back, not trying to run anymore, but still not accepting the situation. Her eyes widened.
His lower half was completely exposed, the clothes tossed off to the side. He got on his knees and grabbed the middle of her body on both sides. He looked down, the sight covered by her tails.
Zero growled and several vines came out of the ground. There were nine in total, and each grabbed the tip of a tail and pulled them towards the front of her body, fully presenting her rear.
Not putting it in yet, he started grinding his bare cock against her pussy. He didn't get a blowjob, so it wasn't very wet. He considered the situation and decided that was fine. For being so uncooperative, she needed punishment. He thrust his half-lubed cock into her unwelcoming cunny. It wasn't a painful process; her insides were already wet. There was plenty of friction, however.
He began rutting her out, thrusting into her doggy-style. He reached his hands under her and grabbed at her chest area, running his hands around.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to do with her. He couldn't kiss her, and she was so furry he didn't want to bite her. Finally, he came to a conclusion. He flipped her around, keeping his dick in her while he did which gave him more pleasure. Now that she was on her back, he bent forward and continued fucking her at an angle.
That wasn't what he was going for though. Three more vines shot out of the ground. She looked at them fearfully. He grabbed her maw and forced it open. When he did, two of the vines wrapped around her top and bottom jaw. The third vine snaked its way down her throat. She gagged, but he didn't pay any attention. He was now fucking her tight pussy while he forced her to deepthroat a vine. She wasn't a virgin, but he couldn't care less as long as her cunny was squeezing his member.
The look on her face was priceless, but he wanted more still. Another vine came out of the ground slowly. It too went towards her mouth. She shook her head pleadingly as it approached.
Zero grinned a cruel grin and shrugged while he thrust his cock into her pussy once more. The vine in her throat retracted, covered eight inches in saliva. The newest vine shot down in its place. She started gagging again; at least she had gotten used to the other one once it was wet.
Zero moaned as he kept fucking her. When he put the new vine in, she tensed up and it made her wet pussy even tighter. The wet squelching sounds were delightful to him, and he could smell the scent of her wild pussy.
The vine that she had previously sucked off didn't merely disappear. It went around to where he was constantly hilting himself within her sacred spot, but her pussy wasn't the target.
Thrusting forward, the wet vine filled her anus with all eight inches of its lubricated length. She tried to cry out, but the vine in her windpipe stopped it, shooting even further down her when she widened her throat.
Zero was surprised she wasn't crying. She had started moaning, but they were all involuntary.
The human looked down at the sight of his soaked cock rushing in and out of her tight hole, the vine below mimicking the movement in her tighter hole. Parting his lips a tiny bit, Zero shot a small, concentrated stream of water gun. His aim was perfect as it consistently hit her clit. The bitch ninetails screamed out as she came. It wasn't a horny orgasm, so not many fluids left her body, but her inner vagina convulsed and constricted regardless. The feeling was enough for Zero.
He shot his cum deep inside of her, rope after rope connecting different spots in her womb. He pulled out and slapped his cock on her vulva a few times, earning three more shots of cum to fall on her stomach.
Calmness set into the human. He stood up and looked down at the sight before him. Snapping his fingers, all of his clothes were replaced with new ones that lacked tears.
A whimper from below caught his attention. Zero looked on in curiosity at the ninetails presenting herself to him.
"Looks like you waited too long to come around," he sighed. Looking her in the eyes, he used hypnosis and she fell asleep. He ran his hands over her body to revitalize her, and afterward he departed.
A machamp jumped out of shock and gasped at the human's landing. Zero looked at him.
"What? Did you change your mind about me coming back?"
"So what kind of training will this month bring?" Glave asked his new partner.
"Hopefully all of it. I want you to learn every possible grass type move at least. Grass specifically is a very versatile type, capable of binding, long-range, powerful close range, and it's strong against some fearsome types. My biggest hope is that you're using dragon breaths like they're nothing when our time is up."
"You want me to learn all that so fast?"
"If you think you can't tell me."
Glave felt a flow of determination. "I've got this."
"That's what I like to hear. Say, does it bother you not being able to see your friends?"
The grovyle shrugged. "I only had a few. And if this means I can protect them, then no it doesn't bother me at all. I kinda wish I could change some stuff I said to Cindy earlier."
"Well, give it about, I dunno, a month, and she'll forget all about it." Zero gave his apprentice a half-smile.
A week went by with little trouble. Luckily, long-range was expected to be the hardest thing to get Glave broken into, and he mustered an energy ball on the first day. After that. bullet seed had been nothing. They were going to work on leech seed next.
That had been the plan in Glave's head until a lucario approached their training area early that morning.
"Hm? Beat, is that you?"
The lucario crossed his arms and smiled. "Glave! You look tougher already. Must be getting used to having the shit beaten out of you. Don't worry, I'm here to show you that Zero's not the only one that'll flatten you this month."
"What're you- oh, that's right. You're the representative from the rescue federation for this week?" Glave wasn't expecting a member of Team Ultima.
"That's right. I'm ready to see how you're coming along whenever you're ready to get smacked down." His cocky attitude increased with every sentence.
Glave and Beat stood at either side of the center while facing each other. Zero stood on the side of the field.
"Ready... Begin!" He commanded.
Glave rushed forward, intending to get the first hit, but to his surprise Beat's first move was jumping back. The grovyle fired an energy ball rather than closing the distance. To his dismay, it was absorbed in an aura sphere that was quickly approaching him. Vines shot from the ground to form a net and catch the ball. It tugged at them and was quickly working on disintegrating their molecular components, but Glave was already underground by then.
When the aura sphere tore through the net, no one was revealed to be past it. However, no one was on the other side of the field either. Underground, Glave bumped into something that he couldn't dig through.
"What the- is there a mineral deposit here?" He asked himself aloud.
"Ha! You wish," spoke his adversary lucario. There wasn't enough time for Glave to cry in surprise before he was smacked hard, breaking through the ground above him with a deep tearing sound. He flipped around so he could land on his feet. There was a miniature sinkhole where he'd been knocked out. From it, a bone came spinning through the air.
With nowhere to go, the bone would have hit Glave's chest had he not crossed his arms. He didn't have time to use leaf blade like he would've liked to.
Glave was knocked back a bit further in the air. It occurred to him that Beat still wasn't on the field. When the grovyle landed, he quickly jumped again, slightly to one side. The lucario burst out of the ground, confused when he hit nothing. The confusion ended when something, specifically a thick root, hit him. Hard.
Glave's frenzy plant was a bit longer than it was before he started. He could also swing it now, instead of just breaking it out of the ground. A grunt from his opponent was all it earned him this time though. Beat skidded back and pulled back both his arms. By the time he had thrown them all the way forward, two long bone-shaped pieces of energy were speeding towards Glave.
This time he used leaf blade, slicing through both. Beat tried jumping forward but smacked his face against the ground. He looked back in confusion to see vines around his angle. When he looked back up, Glave was falling towards him, an energy ball in each hand instead of in front of his mouth. The lucario focused before getting hit with both in the back. The ground had cuts in it from the wind that the force whipped up.
Glave fell to one knee, both of his hands still on the lucario's back. With no warning, both legs were swept out from under him. Glave took a powerful kick to the chest that sent him to the other side of the field. Bouncing a few times, the grovyle flipped before he landed on his feet.
He tried shaking it off and charging forward once more, but his body locked up. Wincing in pain, the grovyle let out a growl.
[Why can't I move-] He thought, troubled by the sudden dilemma.
"I take it that human is actually worth something if he's been teaching you the mechanics BEHIND certain moves. For instance, that moves that are typically used from one part of the body don't NEED to be. For instance, a grass type using energy ball from its hands instead of its mouth. Or, if you want another situation, a lucario using force palm in the form of a kick." Beat smirked.
That smirk became a laugh when the lucario saw the stricken look on Glave's face. He had lucked out with the paralysis kicking in, quite literally.
"In the wild, this would be the end for you. But hey, your speed has always been good, as well as your head. And it looks to me like you're only gonna get sharper for now. I'd continue the fight to see the results, but I've already gotten enough information to report back to HQ. Later, kid."
The lucario began walking away. Once he was almost out of sight, the grovyle finally broke free, panting from the exertion of forcing his body to move.
"From the way that looked, I don't take it you've ever sparred with him?" Zero asked, walking up to the grovyle in training.
"No... We don't really 'spar' around here. Besides, I don't think you realize what it means to battle someone in Team Ultima. They are the best, after all..." Glave said, looking dejected at the last part.
"If they're the best then my hopes just increased dramatically." Zero replied.
"Hmm? How come?"
"Did you not see your own battle?" Zero inquired. "Because frankly, that looked pretty even to me."
"You don't think he was holding back for the test?"
"Perhaps. Forget I said it, we've got work to do."
The two looked at each other and nodded, walking to their respective spots on the battlefield before clashing once more.