Chapter 39: The Flames of Battle

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This chapter is all original and it's part of a two-chapter arc explaining how Combusken evolved. Originally, this chapter was meant to feature Ojiro, but I wanted to give some of the spotlight to 1-B instead. I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out, and I'm excited to show you all what happens. Enjoy!

With his trip to the support studio, Izuku finally knew what he had to do to take him and his Pokemon to the next level. Rather than just solely focusing on developing All for One, he needed to focus on helping his Pokemon grow in their own strengths. This meant everything, well… normal trainers did. It was easy to forget with how skilled everyone was, but UA was made up of just regular trainers. Izuku needed to place himself in that mindset when training.

The problem was, he needed to do it fast. With less than 10 days until the Provisional License Exam, he needed to be able to catch up quick. "I'm not sure what to do," Izuku said as he sat down at the cafeteria table with Ochako and Tenya.

"I wish I could help, Midoriya, but I've got a lot of my own training to catch up with. Excadrill and I are still trying to perfect our ultimate move, and with such little time left, we don't have much time to spare." Tenya said as he sat down.

Ochako nodded sadly as she sat down beside Izuku. "Everyone's just so busy. Even the teachers have been having a hard time catching up with how fast everything's been moving."

With the Villain attack, the new dorm system, and the loss of the training camp, everyone had ended up having to work double-time to meet deadlines, including the students. This made it harder to find time to train with anyone outside of designated class hours.

Even All Might was busy. As the very recently retired number one Hero, he had a lot on his plate, not just in terms of work but mentally and emotionally as well. The last thing Izuku wanted to do was stress him out more.

"Hey, guys!"

Luckily for him, the answer he was looking for was here. Itsuka Kendo from Class B turned to them from the table beside them and waved. "Oh, hey, Kendo. What's up?" Ochako asked.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but listen to what you guys were talking about just now and I heard that you needed some extra practice for the license exam, right?" She said. "Mind telling me which Pokemon you're gonna use?"

"I think Combusken's my best bet for now." It actually took Izuku a long time to decide on which Pokemon to go with. Riolu was obviously his first option since, for one, he was his starter Pokemon and primary partner, but also because he was easily his strongest and most experienced as well. The only problem was that Riolu's skills weren't very diverse. He was good at hitting things hard, but in an exam where you aren't told anything beforehand, that might not be good enough. On the other hand, Eevee easily had the most versatility out of all of his Pokemon, being able to use the special Partner moves she learned. She was also incredibly fast and skilled at evading attacks, but it lacked the same raw power his other Pokemon had.

Eventually, he decided on Combusken. He wasn't quite as strong as Riolu or as versatile as Eevee, but he struck a nice middle-ground. His STAB Fire and Fighting moves provided a lot of power, especially with a One for All powered Flame Charge or Double Kick. Not to mention, he was incredibly fast and had a variety of other moves like Peck and Slash as back-ups. Overall, he was an amazing Pokemon that could work in most situations.

Itsuka smiled and nodded. "Great!" She said. "I've been going to this dojo that specializes in training Fighting-types for a while now and they have a special one-week course. If you want, I can call them up later and sign you up."

Izuku's eyes lit up after hearing that. This was the exact thing he was looking for! "R-Really?! I'd really appreciate that! Thank you, Kendo."

Itsuka smiled and nodded. "No worries. Plus, you'll be doing me a favor. The masters at the dojo have been pestering me non-stop to get more people to sign up." She said with a laugh. When are you free to start?"

The boy thought for a moment before answering. "I guess I can start tomorrow at the earliest." He said. Itsuka nodded and typed something on her phone. "Okay… wasting no time. I like that. I'll let you know by tonight how things go."

"Thank you so much, Kendo!"

That night, Itsuka texted Izuku giving him all the details he needed. After classes, they'd head to the dojo to get him officially signed up, and since Itsuka informed the dojo masters that they didn't have much time left, combined with the fact that nobody else had signed up, they could start that same day.

According to the Class B representative, the dojo used to be very popular many years ago. It was run by a black belt whose family passed it down through generations. Unfortunately, today, very few people even know about the dojo at all. The only people who work there are the two brothers who inherited the dojo from their mother, along with their wives. Not to mention that Itsuka had only seen about three or four other people there.

The only reason she found out about the dojo in the first place was through her father who was a good friend of the brothers. Apparently, despite being a renowned Pokemon Martial Arts, or PMA, competitor, the brothers were skilled enough to nearly beat him in single combat.

The reason why the dojo had become so hidden was because of a mix of a lack of marketing, as well as a very dated-looking training facility. It stood out, but not in a good way. Izuku searched up the place and found some… less than appealing pictures. It was a traditional wooden Japanese dojo, but the place seemed to be falling apart. He could see the wood had been chipped away at and some of it was even rotting. It was especially apparent with the more modern-looking buildings beside it, so it was no wonder why most people overlooked it.

Still, Itsuka insisted that the masters at the dojo were truly skilled teachers. She was sure that the boy would get the training he was looking for there. Despite his first impressions, Izuku decided to trust Itsuka. While he may not have known her very well, he knew she had good judgment, so he decided to just go with it.

The next day, after a long day of training, Izuku and Itsuka met up to head off to the dojo. According to the girl, it wasn't too far away. It was only a quick train ride from the station near UA. Itsuka took that train ride to give a few warnings to the boy, though.

"When you meet the masters, they might seem a little… weird, at first, but don't let them mess with you. Just… listen to everything they tell you. Trust me, they know what they're talking about." She said in a much more serious tone than how she spoke to him before. "When they're training you, they'll probably give some really weird advice, but they mean well. Don't let them discourage you and stick with them until the end."

Izuku nodded. He had been in a situation like this before. It sounded exactly like his experience with Gran Torino. Though, while his time with the old Hero was very beneficial, it wasn't exactly very pleasant. Still, this was the kind of training he was looking for, so it was too late to start complaining now.

After a short walk from the station, they arrived at the very decrepit dojo. Somehow, it looked even worse than what the pictures showed. The building looked like it was ready to fall apart. Izuku could've sworn he also saw a few Rattatas scurrying into a hole on the bottom of the building as they arrived.

Itsuka took the first step and gently slid the dojo doors open. Izuku was surprised to find the inside somewhat clean. Obviously old and still falling apart, but at least not rotting as the outside suggested.

Inside was a woman working at a table. The woman seemed a bit on the older side, about her early 30's, but it was clear she took good care of her skin. She had long blonde hair, and she wore what seemed to be pretty fashionable clothes.

"Hey, Mia," Itsuka called out. The woman looked up and smiled. "Oh, hello Kendo! Glad to see you made it here safe." She said as she stood up to greet them. "And you must be Izuku Midoriya. It's nice to meet you. I'm Mia Kogeki."

"Thank you for having me, Master Kogeki." Izuku bowed, and the woman shook her head and smiled. "Please, you can just call me Mia. Master Kogeki is my husband." She sat back down and opened a file on her computer. "You're signing up for the 7-day course starting today, right?" She asked.

"Right. I'll be doing it with him." Itsuka said, much to Izuku's surprise. "I just… don't think he can handle the masters on his own." That wasn't particularly reassuring, but having Itsuka there would at least give him a little comfort.

Mia laughed and typed a few things onto the file. After asking Izuku a few more questions, she smiled. "Okay, I'll get everything settled on my end. For now, why don't you two get dressed?"

"Get dressed?" Izuku asked. Itsuka nodded and pulled out a white Karate Gi and a black belt from her bag. "Yup. This is the official uniform of the dojo. They should have a size for you here."

They stepped into the dressing room and spotted another woman folding a few shirts. This one had shorter brown hair and wore more casual clothes. "Ah, Kendo. Good to see you." She said, sounding somewhat tired. "Nice seeing you up at this time, Aki." The girl said as she set her bag on the ground. "I heard we were having a new student, so I had to be up." The woman, Aki, said.

"Aki's the one who works the nightshift here. She and Mia pretty much just help out with making sure everything's up and running here in the dojo." Itsuka said to Izuku who smiled at the woman. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Izuku Midoriya." He said.

Aki smiled back. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Izuku Midoriya. I'm Aki Hando, wife of, well… Master Hando here in the dojo." She held out her hand and Izuku shook it. Though, there was a small detail that surprised him. Mia and Aki were both the wives of the brothers, so…

"They have different last names…?" Izuku whispered to Itsuka. The girl nodded and laughed. "Yeah, we get that a lot," Aki said as she too laughed. "Hando's actually my last name. My husband took it instead of the other way around like with most people." She said.

"Anyway…" She walked up to the young boy and looked at him. "Let's get you a uniform," Aki said, turning back to the lockers behind them and pulled out three sets of clothes. "One of these should work. Just head into one of the fitting rooms and let me know which one fits you."

Izuku took the uniforms and stepped behind one of the curtains. He was surprised to find a black belt already among all three outfits. He didn't know much about martial arts, but weren't black belts considered the highest rank? If he was just starting, why did he have one? Maybe it was different here. After all, he was here to train his Pokemon, not himself. It wouldn't make sense for him to go up the rankings and not his Pokemon.

After getting into a uniform that fits, he stepped outside and met up with Itsuka, who had gotten into her own uniform, and Aki who had set aside a few of the shirts she was folding. "Okay, you two look ready to go! Just check in with Mia and she should have things ready for you to go soon."

"Thank you again for having me." Izuku bowed down, but Aki waved her hand and laughed. "There's no need to be so polite. You're part of the dojo family now." She said. The boy smiled and nodded. This place wasn't so bad after all. Aki and Mia were very welcoming and they had made the whole experience very pleasant so far… if only he knew what was coming soon.

Mia directed them into the dojo proper, and just as they expected, no other students were there. The training room itself looked like a very traditional dojo, similar to those seen in movies and games. However, one key difference was that instead of a mat at the center, the wood was carved to look like a Pokemon battlefield. It was shaped like a long rectangle with a Pokeball shape at the center.

At one side of the room were two men dressed in the same outfit Izuku and Itsuka were wearing, though theirs seemed significantly more worn out. They looked to be around the same age as Mia and Aki. One of them, the man on the right, had a full beard and short hair. His body resembled that of Death Arms or even All Might in his muscle form. The other one was shorter and thinner, though you could still see his muscles. He had much longer black hair, reaching all the way down his back.

The two men were sitting down before opening their eyes and turning to the two students. "We've been waiting for you. The trial before you has been set. Only a few have ever been able to walk down this path." The bearded one said. Itsuka scoffed and walked up to them before pushing the man on the head, causing him to stumble backward. "Yeah, sureee. Trying to act all cool and stuff… what time did you wake up?"

The bearded man sat back up and arched his back before laughing. "I dunno. Like, five minutes ago, maybe?"

"We stayed up all night last night preparing the dojo for you two." The long-haired one said. "It's been so long since we've had a new student, so we just couldn't help it!" The two men laughed as Itsuka sighed. "Midoriya, these are the masters of the dojo." She gestured to them and Izuku bowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, masters." He said, only to be greeted by a laugh from the bearded one. "No need to be so formal around us, kid." The man said. "You can call me Master Hando." He said as he pointed his thumb to himself. "Full of energy and always rarin' to go! I'll be sure you learn something in my class." He said with energy greater than even Denki. His voice was so loud that Izuku swore the whole room shook.

The long-haired one stood up and bowed. "In the dojo, you can call me Master Kogeki. Your name is Midoriya, right? I like that. Green, like the rolling hills and vast fields of nature." He said in a calm voice, though the statement did weird Izuku out just a little. "Where the flowers of Venusaurs and Vileplumes bloom."

Hando hit Kogeki in the head, causing the man to wince in pain. "You're gonna scare off the new student!" The taller brother said. "Well, perhaps you can be a little less violent." Kogeki adjusted his belt and turned away from his brother.

If he was being honest, Izuku was quite… put off by these two. These were the legendary dojo masters that Itsuka was talking about? "I did warn you." She said as if she was reading his mind. "They can get a little… carried away, I guess, but they're good people. I promise."

Izuku nodded. "I-It's fine! I don't mind. I've had more… excited teachers before. Plus, I trust you when you say they know what they're doing."

"Great!" Somehow, Hando appeared behind him and clapped his hands. "Then we'll start with a Pokemon battle!"

"What?!" Both Itsuka and Izuku yelled. "You can't be serious, Master Hando! He just got here! You don't wanna scare him off already, do you?!" The girl yelled, the statement definitely not instilling any confidence in Izuku.

"Oh, please. We won't scare him off. It'll be a simple double battle. Me and my brother versus you two. A war between two forces." Kogeki stepped forwards and brought his hands together. "We wanna get to know you better kid, and there's no better way to get to know someone than with a battle!"

The two men looked at each other and nodded. Their excitement and enthusiasm were not really doing anything to ease the fear Izuku was feeling, but they did have a point. A person's battle style sometimes could say more than being with the person themselves, so he was excited nonetheless. "Okay, let's do it!" He said enthusiastically, getting a shocked "Huh?!" From Itsuka.

"Are you sure, Midoriya? These guys are no joke!" She said, but Izuku just nodded. "They're right. Seeing a trainer and their Pokemon in battle is the best way to get to know them, and if I'm going to be learning from them, I wanna see what they can do first hand."

Hando laughed heartily and slapped the boy on the back. "Now that's what I like to hear! I like you already, kid!" Kogeki smiled and nodded in agreement. "I'm the same. That wasn't the response I was expecting, but it's not unwelcome either. Come, let us do battle."

Itsuka let out a sigh before smiling. "I shoulda known… this is Midoriya we're talking about. Okay, let's do it." She nodded confidently, Izuku responding with his own determined smile.

After settling everything, the two pairs stood on opposite ends of the battlefield.

Mia stood at the side, acting as the referee while Aki sat there to watch. "This battle will be a two-on-two double battle. Each trainer will only use one Pokemon for the duration of the fight. The battle ends when both Pokemon from a given side are knocked out. Now, please send out your Pokemon!"

"Let's do it, Medicham!"

"Come on out, Combusken!"

"Hitmonlee, I'm countin' on you!"

"Let's show them our power, Hitmonchan!"

All four Pokemon took to the field and readied themselves for the upcoming battle. "We've been training for this, Combusken. Let's show then what we can do!" The Young Fowl Pokemon nodded and brought his hands up, ready for battle, charing up their One for All: Full Cowling.

Itsuka smiled and she and Medicham imitated each other, taking their battle stance. "Don't let them get a hit in! Use Zen Headbutt!"

"Back them up with Peck, Combusken!" Izuku shouted.

Both Pokemon rushed forward, but Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan both reacted quickly and evaded the attacks with ease. The two men smiled as they pointed forward. "Hitmonlee, use Rolling Kick!" Hando shouted. The Kicking Pokemon intercepted the attack and did a spin before striking Medicham right in the stomach, launching her back.

"No!" Izuku yelled out, causing Combusken to stop and panic just for a moment. "Uh oh. Over here." Kogeki taunted. The Fire-Type whipped his head around, but he couldn't react fast enough to the quick Mach Punch from Hitmonchan, sending him stumbling. "Follow that up with a Mega Punch!"

"Dodge it!" With speed that none of them expected, Combusken narrowly avoided the punch, getting the two dojo masters even more excited. "Woah! Not bad!" Hando said before Hitmonlee jumped behind Combusken. This time, they once again didn't have time to react before the Pokemon used his attack.

"We're not done yet!" Itsuka shouted. Luckily for them, Medicham wasn't out of the fight just yet. The Meditate Pokemon dashed forward and struck Hitmonlee in the side with a powerful Poison Jab, sending the Pokemon flying to the side and slamming into the wall. Medicham quickly followed it up with another Poison Jab aimed at Hitmonlee, but the Pokemon managed to just barely dodge the attack. Fortunately, this gave Combusken the opening he needed.

Izuku smiled and planted his foot firmly into the ground. "Now! Go for Slash!" Combusken jumped up and slashed at Hitmonchan, letting Medicham run in and finally land the Poison Jab. This lets the two go back and forth, dealing blow after blow with Double Kick and Peck from Combusken, and Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt from Medicham.

Eventually, they backed Hitmonlee into a corner and Izuku raised his fist into the air. "Finish him off with an Ember!" Combusken opened his beak and pelted the Punching Pokemon with small flames, causing it to collapse onto the ground.

However, just as they were letting their guard down, Hitmonlee jumped in and used Low Sweep to knock both Medicham and Combusken to the ground. "Forgot about me?" Hando smirked and crossed his arms. Hitmonchan stood back up and joined the rest of them on the field as well, seeming perfectly fine. "What? You didn't think that those weak moves would take us out, did you?" Kogeki said.

The two brothers looked at each other before giving their biggest battle cry. "Hitmonchan, go for Thunder Punch!" Kogeki's Pokemon ran toward Combusken with his electric charged fist, but Medicham ran in and took the hit. Unfortunately, it was so powerful that it sent Medicham flying into a wall, knocking her out.

With speed comparable to even Combusken's, Hitmonlee jumped over Hitmonchan and was ready to strike. "Now! Finish this with High Jump Kick!" Combusken tried to avoid the attack, but he wasn't fast enough. Hitmonlee's kick crashed into the Pokemon with so much power that it managed knocked out Combusken.

Aki walked up to Combusken, and after confirming both his and Medicham's knock-outs, she raised her hand in the air. Mia nodded and held up her left hand in the direction of Kogeki and Hando. "Combusken and Medicham are no longer able to battle! The winners are the dojo brothers!"

And just like that, the battle was over. It was an incredibly quick battle too. That just went to show how powerful these two trainers are. Izuku walked up to Combusken and pat him on the head before returning him to his Pokeball. "Thanks, buddy."

all six people met up at the center of the battlefield where Izuku bowed down and apologized to Itsuka. "Sorry, we weren't able to win." Itsuka laughed and shook her head. "Ah, don't sweat it. I wasn't expecting us to win anyway."

"You two went too hard on them!" Aki tried to hit Kogeki on the head, but he moved to the side and avoided the hit. "Couldn't you two hold back? They're students!" Mia crossed her arms and let out a sigh, but Hando just laughed.

"We don't hold back! What kinda teacher would I be if I don't show my student what I can do!" He said, Kogeki nodding in agreement. "True. A Poliwag can never grow in its pond if it never sees a Poliwrath in its true power."

"That's just… factually untrue," Aki said, but Kogeki didn't respond before turning back to the students and smiled. "But you two did surprise me, especially you, Midoriya. Your Combusken truly has a lot of power."

"But that's the thing. You may have the power, but your Pokemon doesn't have the moves to back it up. No wonder you can't think of any ultimate moves. What are you doin' running around with Peck and Ember?"

Izuku hadn't really thought of that. He never really went out of his way to teach his Pokemon new moves. The only time he could think was when he had Combusken learn Protect as a Torchic for the Sports Festival. More often than not, the new moves that he relied on were the ones his Pokemon learned via level up, just like Riolu's Counter back when he was training to get One for All.

"That's why we need to assign you a goal for this one-week course. All of our lessons will contribute to this one goal. Brother, care to show it to them?" Kogeki asked. Hando smiled and nodded before pushing in a stack of five cinder blocks. Hitmonlee stepped forward and took a deep breath. "Now, Hitmonlee! Show them your Blaze Kick!" The Pokemon jumped in the air and covered his foot in flames before slamming it back down and shattering all five cinder blocks.

Izuku was astounded by the sight. The sheer power behind that kick created a small shockwave afterward. "Over the next seven days, you'll be focusing on helping your Combusken learn Blaze Kick. This will provide you with the fundamentals you need to learn and practice new powerful moves in the future."

The boy looked down at Combusken's Pokeball and gripped it tight. He was determined to do this right. "Okay, I'm ready. Teach me everything, please." He looked at them with a look that sparked something inside the two men. The determination in this boy… he was really something else.

"As for you, Kendo. We'll keep doing what we've already been doing. All we need to do is develop your ultimate move more in time for the exam." Kogeki said. Itsuka nodded and smiled. "Sounds good to me." She said.

Hando took a step forward and looked at the two students. "Above all else though, we're expecting you two to work together. You two can learn a lot from each other, and if you help each other grow, then we have nothin' to worry about."

The two masters smiled and returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs. "That's all for today. We'll see you tomorrow."