Training Isn't Just for Moemon: Platinum Star Ch. 5

AN: And now we're onto Chapter 5! So far, so good. I should mention why a PokeMMO Nuzlocke is so difficult. Firstly, Gym Leaders have a different move set than usual. Even if you have a counter to their type, you'd better hope you hit first and wipe them out in one shot. Too many have ludicrous moves to counter their counters. And, to make matters worse, there are level caps as you progress through the game. For example, for the first gym, your pokemon can't go over level 20. That being said, we haven't lost anyone yet, so let's hope that trend stays with us throughout the playthrough!

As I allowed the hot water of the shower roll down my body, I tried not to think of the way it was washing away the evidence of my time with Dawn.

Chrissy stood in the shower beside me, holding her hands over her eyes as I continued to soak. "You know I don't care if you see me naked," I told her.

She gulped nervously, cracking her fingers to look at me. When her eyes fell on my cock, she turned a deep scarlet and hid her face again. Guess she really was bashful.

"If it bothers you so much, why did you insist on joining me?" I asked. "You don't have to stand right next to me, you know?"

"Master seemed upset," she explained. "I wanted to make feel better."

Her answer was perplexing. I didn't think I was upset. A little disappointed maybe. Definitely off-guard. "Thanks, Chrissy. I'm definitely feeling better." If she was really that concerned the last thing I wanted was to tell her it was pointless.

She smiled under her hands. "Do you want me to help get your back, Master?"

"Can you reach?"

Her awkward silence was enough of an answer. As the disappointment rolled off of her, I sighed. I sat cross-legged in the shower, letting my Piplup gently rub my shoulders. "How's that, Master?"

"It's nice," I admitted. "Thank you again. You always take such good care of me, you know that?"

Chrissy beamed at me before throwing her arms around me and burying her cheek against my back. "I can't help it. I love my Master. You take good care of me, too."

Turning to regard her, I kissed the top of her head and together we stepped out and dried off. "What's next, Master?" she asked.

"Well, Dawn said she saw Barry at the Moemon Academy next door. Honestly, it could be a good learning experience for us to visit there anyway."

"I've never been to school before."

"No, I'd imagine you haven't. There aren't very many schools for Moemon themselves."

"Why's that, Master?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I guess moemon really didn't need to be able to read or write or anything. It wasn't as if they held jobs or anything, really.

Once we'd gotten dressed, Chrissy and I crossed the street. Sure enough, Barry was there scribbling furiously in a notebook. "Hey, Barry," I called to him.

He wheeled about, and after seeing me, he grinned. "Vulpus, you made it! I was wondering what took you so long. Have you done a lot of research yet? I already wrote down everything on the board if you want to borrow my notes."

I waved off the notion. "Actually, I have a package for you from your mom."

"My mom! Oh crap! I knew I forgot something! She's going to be so pissed that I haven't checked in yet."

I held up my hand to calm him down. "Relax, man. I explained everything for her. She's totally cool with it, and she told me to pass on that you should call her when you get a chance."

Barry slapped me on the back. "Thanks man. You really saved my bacon."

"Don't mention it."

Once I handed over his package, he tore it open, before pulling out a large roll of paper. "Oh, this is a town map! Perfect. I've been hoping that I wouldn't get lost, so this will really come in handy."

"I'll say. Maybe I should buy one."

Barry unfurled it before grinning. "Looks like I can pay you back early. Mom must have gotten two by mistake. Consider it part of my thanks for your help."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

As we both scanned our maps, my fingers rested on Jubilife. "So we're here. Which means that we need to go to route 218 East, and enter Oreburgh Gate. Then we'll reach Oreburgh City, where the first League Gym is."

"Good thing it's so close. Can you imagine having to hoof it all the way to the North just to start?"

"No kidding." After taking a second look, I nudged him with my elbow. "Hey, look at this. There's a fishing hole on 218 West, and they say there's some interesting moemon in the cave on 204. Want to check it out?"

Barry considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah. I'm kind of behind, honestly. I'm probably going to head to Oreburgh. If you've already caught a lot of moemon around here, I'll try looking somewhere else. Cover more ground, you know?"

"Sounds good. By the way, make sure you train your moemon up. The gym leaders are supposed to be super tough."

"Not to worry. I've got it all under control."

I'll admit, I had to admire his confidence. We waved farewell to one another as he left the academy, leaving me to begin my research into the different types of pokemon.

Fire beats grass, bug, and steel, grass beats water, ground, and rock. Water also beats ground and rock, as well as fire. The list seemed to go on forever. To make it more bewildering, some weren't more effective against another type, but that type was less effective against them. Some were even immune to others or weak to themselves. Still, I did my due diligence and managed to memorize as many as I could.

"Studying hard?" a voice asked beside me.

Turning, I saw a girl about my age with dark brown pigtails and a navy blue school uniform dress. It was a little short, but she also wore bright red stockings that went presumably all the way up. "Yeah. Some of this is kind of complicated, but I think I get it for the most part."

"That's good. Type advantage can make or break a moemon battle. Even if your moemon is stronger or more experienced, they can still end up dead if the moemon they're fighting uses a move they're weak against."

"So moves have types, too?"

"They use the same types that we use to classify moemon, but yes. For example, your Piplup is a water type moemon. She's weak to electric and grass type moves, but not necessarily to grass type moemon. For example, if you're fighting a tangela, but the tangela only knows normal type moves, then you'll be on about equal footing, assuming that you have the same level of experience."

"Wow, you're really good at this," I said. "I'm Vulpus, by the way. What's your name?" I offered her my hand to shake.

She took it. "Roxanne. I'm actually a guest here from the Hoenn branch. Believe it or not, I'm a gym leader myself. Rock type."

"Just like the Oreburgh gym leader. Any advice you can give me?"

Roxanne considered it for a moment before smiling. "Sure. But if you want it, you'll have to beat me in a moemon battle, deal?"

"What, here?"

"Of course. It'll be okay. We'll go to one of the empty classrooms."

As she beckoned for me to follow after her, I scooped up Chrissy and obeyed. I wasn't sure why, but this girl felt so familiar to me. She said she was from Hoenn, so maybe it was best I didn't mention my dad. Who knew what she'd think of me.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road. Go, Bidoof." Roxanne tossed a pokeball onto the empty classroom floor, summoning another of the mundane moemon I'd encountered recently.

"I thought you said you used rock type moemon." I sent out Chrissy for the fight.

"League rules," she explained. "When you move from one League to another, you can't bring your old pokemon with you and use them in the League. Otherwise, the champions would just bring their team and wipe the floor with the other Leagues."

"That makes sense. Okay, Chrissy. Use bubble!"

My Piplup inhaled before blowing large beach-ball sized bubbles that scattered around the classroom.

"Not a bad move," Roxanne complimented. "Bidoof, use Defense Curl and roll under the bubbles!"

The Bidoof curled himself into a ball before slowly rolling through the bubbles towards my moemon.

"Now, Tackle!" she added.

He sprung up from his defensive posture and pounced on Chrissy. As they tussled to the floor, Chrissy was starting to panic. "Don't give up, Chrissy. If he's near you, he can't endure your bubble straight on, remember?"

She nodded launching a large bubble directly in his face and popping it with great force. The Bidoof seemed stunned by the loud sound, allowing me to follow up.

"Pound! Don't let him regain his bearings."

Chrissy swung with a fierce cross that sent Bidoof spinning. As he lay there, with penguins swimming circles around his head, Roxanne recalled him into his pokeball.

"You're a natural! Next up, Starly!"

I went to reach for Theodora but stopped myself. Bad idea. If Starly knew a flying type move, she'd deal extra damage against Theodora for being a bug type.

Instead, I kept Chrissy out. "Bubble again!"

"Starly, quick attack!"

"Nice try. We've already seen that move before." Sure enough, Chrissy repeated her point blank bubble tactic, quickly ending the fight before it even began.

With our battle concluded, Roxanne smiled at me warmly. "Excellent work. I think you'll do just fine against the gym leader."

"Thanks. If it's all the same, I'd still like to hear your advice."

"Oh! Right. So, a lot of rock type pokemon shared the ground type as well. This means that they are immune to electricity completely. To make matters worse, they're pretty durable, and some can even shrug off an otherwise crippling hit. Be prepared to follow up your attacks if they get back up."

I rubbed my chin in thought. "So, water and grass would be four times as effective against most of them. But even if that's the case, I still have to be fast enough to land a second blow so they can't get back up."

"Exactly!"

"Thank you, Roxanne. You're a huge help."

"Don't mention it. What are best friends for?"

We both blinked in confusion. "Best friend?"

She was flustered as she tried to come up with an explanation. "Sorry. That must have been a slip of the tongue. This being our first time meeting and all, I meant to just say 'friend'. I really don't know where that came from."

"I don't mind," I assured her. "Honestly though, you probably recognized me from a picture or something."

"What, are you famous?"

I sighed and shook my head. "You know the gym leader Norman?"

"Yes...though I wish I didn't."

"He's my father."

Roxanne again appeared embarrassed. "And I just insulted him. I'm so sorry. It just…"

"Slipped out," I finished for her with a smirk. "Don't worry about it. I'm nothing like the guy, really."

"Well of course not," she laughed. "If you were, you would have probably bet me a blowjob or something on the battle."

The two of us shared a chuckle over the absurdity of the idea before finishing with a sigh. "It is weird though that you seem so familiar to me. Maybe you just have one of those faces."

"Yeah, maybe," Roxanne agreed. "Anyway, I've got a class starting soon. Good luck on your gym battle, okay?"

I nodded, before heading back out into the streets of Jubilife. No sooner had I stepped outside though, that I was approached by a man.

"Hello, trainer! Do you have a moment?"

"I might. What do you need?" He offered me a flyer for a PokeWatch, abbreviated to Poketch. It looked like a typical smart watch, stylishly attached to a leather wristband. "It looks cool, but I'm afraid I don't have any money right now," I said.

"That's the beauty of it. I'm willing to give you one, absolutely free."

"Free?" I repeated skeptically. "What's the catch?"

"Well, this is part of our marketing promotion. You'd wear the watch, and tell people where you got it."

"That's it?"

He straightened his tie. "Well, not exactly."

Figures.

"There are three clowns in the city, passing out vouchers. All you have to do is find them and answer a question. Since you just got out of the Academy, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Fair enough. Answer three questions, come back here."

"That's it."

The clowns weren't difficult to find, and the questions were laughablly easy. True or false: Pokemon and moves both have types. True. Stupid things like that.

With tickets in hand, I returned and received my new shiny blue pokewatch. Strapping it to my wrist, I ensured it was working properly and headed North to go check out the cave I'd seen on the map.

It would also serve as a further opportunity to train up Chrissy. While Theodora wasn't a bad fighter, my time at the school revealed to me that Chrissy, more than Theodora, would be best to use against Roarke.

When I left the city, I was stunned by how quickly it went from the crowded metropolis to the tranquil countryside. Birds were chirping, the wind rustled the grass, and the small ponds on either side of Route 204 were gleaming in the afternoon sun.

I was so wrapped up in it, that I accidentally bumped into a young woman who was trying to take a snapshot of the lake. "Hey!" she protested, turning on me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have been lost in my thoughts," I tried to tell her.

Upon seeing me, her anger faded quickly. "Oh, it's okay," she murmured, blushing slightly.

"Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I'm okay. Honest."

"Right...well, okay then. I'm glad you're not hurt." As I tried to go around her, she stopped me by grasping my arm. "Something else?"

"So, umm...are you busy?"

What a weird girl, I thought. "Not particularly. Why do you ask?"

"It's just...you're kind of cute. I thought maybe we could grab a movie or something."

Now I was the one blushing. "Like a date? I'm afraid that I'll have to decline. I really need to train for my gym battle."

She considered it for a moment before pulling a pokeball from her hip. "Battle me, then. If I win, you have to take a break and see a movie with me. Deal?"

"You're not used to hearing 'no', are you?" I asked. "Very well."

"What do you want if you win?" she questioned.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure? I mean...if you won, I'd have to do anything you asked me to. Fairs only fair, right?" Her insistence was tempting. I'd already been burned by the girl I was into, but I wasn't going to give up chasing Dawn just yet.

"I'll think about it," I lied. In truth, I'd already made up my mind. Once I beat this girl, that'd be the end of it.

"I'm Sarah, by the way."

"Vulpus."

"I'm not going to lose to you, Vulpus. I'll get that date from you no matter what!" She tossed out her pokeball, causing the light to reveal a girl dressed in a blue blouse with a short black skirt. Two large blue ears rose from her shaggy teal hair, and she had a tail like a lion with a star at the end of it.

"What is that?" I questioned, pulling out my pokedex. The readout displayed that this moemon was called a Shinx. An electric type. This could be trouble. Bruh wasn't strong enough to fight against this thing, and Chrissy and Myra were weak to electricity. That left only Theodora, but she was still weak from our earlier training session.

Just as I contemplated trying to use Bruh anyway, I heard a an adorable yawn beside me. Distracted, I turned to see the ground next to my foot had begun to burst open.

Like a zombie rising from the grave, a young girl glad in green wearing a matching swirly cap suddenly sprouted up. "What's all that racket?" she whined. "Can't you see someone's trying to sleep here."

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. I hurled an empty pokeball at her, much to Sarah's shock. With a ping, it sucked her into the command matrix.

"Wh-what are you doing?! You're supposed to be battling me," she complained.

"I had to make sure our fight didn't get interrupted, didn't I?" I argued.

Flora came in clutch.

Species: Budew Level: 3 Met on Route 204

Adamant Nature, Ability: Poison Point

Moves: Growth, Stun Spore, Worry Seed, Absorb

"Go Flora!" As the freshly captured Budew appeared, Sarah seemed even more bewildered.

"And you're using her in battle? This really doesn't feel fair."

"I'm hearing a lot of complaining. I thought you weren't going to lose to me."

"Grr. I'm not! Shinx, Thundershock!"

Electricity arced from her moemon to strike the plant-like girl. Flora cried out, before jamming her hands into the earth, dispersing all of the electricity into the ground. "Is that the best you've got?" she asked.

"Don't taunt her Flora. Just use Absorb."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay." Flora's cap unfurled to release a bright crimson light over the Shinx. Nutrients within its body began to drain from it, restoring the burns on Flora's body from the electricity.

"That's bullshit," Sarah grumbled. "Well, if electricity won't work...Shinx, tackle her! Don't let her get a good aim with her beam."

The Shinx raced towards my Budew, falling to all fours.

Flora smirked opening her arms wide and catching the girl in a rather sweet looking embrace. Until spines erupted from her body impaling the young lioness like an acupuncture session gone wrong.

The Shinx cried out in pain as my Budew's toxins flooded her veins. "Go, Budew! Use absorb while she's stunned."

As light engulfed the Shinx, my Budew healed up fully. Flora dropped the Shinx indignantly on the ground, leaving me and my new moemon the victors of this scuffle.

Sarah recalled her pokemon, stunned by the development.

Just as I was about to congratulate her on a well fought match, my vision shifted, like static on a TV screen. The image went from her standing before me, to her on her knees.

My cock was out, and I had a rough grasp on her hair. As I pistoned in and out of her mouth, I could see her struggling to wiggle free, but I was being far too rough.

I was so stunned, I tried hard to stop, but I couldn't move. It was as if something else was controlling my body. A voice, my voice, spoke, "That's right, slut. You lost so now you're going to suck me dry. Don't worry. By the time I'm done, you'll be begging to do it all over again."

Her eyes watered, causing her mascara to run down her cheeks as she stared up at me. Her expression was so pitiful...I mean sexy...I mean sad…

More static filled my mind as I wrestled back and forth with the conflicting feelings the scene was giving me. Gripping my head, I shut my eyes tight and screamed as loud as could, "STOP!"

And with that, the static vanished, causing Sarah to look at me in complete shock. "Geez man. I was just asking for your number. What the hell?"

A cold sweat dripped down my temple. What the hell did I just see? "Something is very wrong with me," I murmured.

"I'll say. If you weren't interested, you should have just said so," she stated. Scooping up her pokeball, she brushed past me muttering to herself. "Really dodged a fucking bullet there."

Once I'd taken some deep breaths, I managed to calm myself down. I didn't know what had just transpired, but it was all in my head. Maybe it was just one of those things, like puberty or hormones or something. It probably didn't mean anything.

Cautiously, I advanced further down the route. I was too jumpy to face any more girls in moemon battles. There was one kid I fought who's Dad had given him a Magikarp. Honestly, I felt bad beating him. It was kind of like getting into a fist fight with a paraplegic.

It wasn't long before I reached the Ravaged Path. True to its name, the cave was littered with rubble. Though the walls and ceilings had been reinforced in later years, it was still pretty heavily obstructed thanks to large boulders that blocked the path.

Well, so much for that bit of training. As I turned to head back the way I came, I found a young girl in a yellow hoodie just staring up at me with a blank expression on her face.

"Uhh...Hey there," I greeted.

She said nothing, eyes wide and mouth agape as she stared up at me. It was honestly kind of unsettling. Did she get hit in the head? God, I hoped she wasn't having a stroke or something.

I waved my hand in front of her gaze, causing her to blink for a moment before gasping and jumping back from me. "A trainer?! Where did you come from?"

"I've...been standing here the whole time. Are you okay?"

She shook her head 'no'.

"What's wrong?"

"I keep seeing things," she murmured. I took a sharp breath. "There's a man. He looks like you but, his eyes aren't as kind. But then I see you, and you're nothing like him. Something is very wrong."

"Tell me more," I pleaded.

Her eyes glowed purple as her body rose from the ground. "I sense that you have only begun your journey. It will be fraught with peril and you will be tested of your ideals. Beware the man of blue." With a zap, the psychic energy burst out of her, causing her to fall towards the ground.

I dove and managed to catch her just in the knick of time. Here eyes fluttered for a moment before she looked back up at me.

"What happened? Did I black out again? I have a terrible headache."

So she didn't remember what she just told me. There's only one thing to do. I'd have to bring her with me. If she thought of anything else, it'd be good to hear what she had to say.

"C'mon. I'll take you to a pokecenter. They'll patch you up right as rain."

She blushed as I held out my pokeball. "Oh. Okay...that sounds nice."

Without another word, she touched the ball and vanished inside.

Becky has begun the prophecy!

Species: Psyduck Level: 6 Found on Ravaged Path.

Lax Nature Ability: Cloud Nine

Moves: Water Sport, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Confusion

I still wasn't very sure about what was going on. I knew now though that what I'd seen wasn't just some weird daydream or chemical imbalance. Something was very wrong, and I'd have to find out what.

Still, we had responsibilities. Our next stop: Oreburgh City. It was time to take on our first gym.

(Game Saved. To be continued…)