Chapter 39: Blazing Drive

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This chapter is the conclusion of the short arc detailing Combusken's evolution. I hope you enjoy it! Next chapter will be the official start of the Provisional License Exam proper, so you can look forward to that. Enjoy!

"Let's try it one more time," Hando said. Izuku nodded and turned to Combusken. "Okay, remember what we learned today, Combusken. Focus…" The Young Fowl Pokemon took a deep breath before jumping up as flames began covering his foot. However, just as he was getting ready to strike, the flames dissipated. Once again, they failed to execute Blaze Kick.

Combusken fell to the ground and slammed his foot down in frustration. "Hey, calm down, Combusken. Let's just try again. " The pair had been trying for nearly six days now to properly execute the move, but they were unsuccessful every time.

Both masters had already given plenty of tips and lessons. Proper form and posture, controlling the flames, and more, yet somehow, they were never able to properly do it. It was very frustrating, and they were running out of time. "Let's try again, but remember to keep your foot up until it's completely covered in fire," Izuku said, only to get an annoyed cry from Combusken. It was already doing everything they had learned, yet nothing was happening.

"Hm… from what I've seen, you've already got all the basics of the move down. You should be doing everything right." Hando said, placing his hand on his chin.

"Maybe you guys should've started him off with an easier move?" Itsuka said as Kogeki's Hitmonchan blocked a Zen Headbutt from her Medicham. "I mean, isn't Blaze Kick supposed to be a notoriously hard-to-learn move for Combuskens? I've only ever heard of Blazikens learning them."

"It's not impossible for a Combusken to learn Blaze Kick. I've seen it happen first hand." Kogeki said as Hitmonchan threw a Mach Punch right into Medicham's stomach, pushing her back. "Plus, Midoriya's already successfully been able to teach a new move to Combusken using what he's learned, right?"

Izuku nodded in confirmation, but that only made their current problem more confusing. "If we managed to learn Fire Spin perfectly fine, then why can't we do the same for Blaze Kick? You said we're doing everything right…"

"It's just as Kendo said. Blaze Kick is a very difficult move for Combuskens to master." Kogeki let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "Looks like the things we taught you aren't enough, and there isn't anything specific we can teach you to fix that," Hando said, getting a shocked expression from Izuku and Combusken. "W-Wait, you mean there's nothing we can do?!"

"I didn't say that." Hando corrected the young boy. "What I mean is, there isn't any concrete lesson like how we taught you proper form and posture."

"No, instead, what you two are missing is something to drive you." Kogeki continued. "Something to… drive us?" Izuku questioned. "Yes, something to drive you. Something to, let's say… motivate you! It's not as simple as just wanting to learn a new move. Like with everything you do, you need something that pushes you forward."

"As I said, we can only do so much when it comes to that. For the most part, your gonna have to figure that out on your own." Hando said. "But I promise you, with the little time we have left, we'll figure somethin' to help you out."

With that, Itsuka and Izuku's penultimate class had come to a rather… unsatisfactory conclusion. "Something that drives us…" Izuku looked down at Combusken's Pokeball and let out a sigh. How was he supposed to figure that out in just a day? His last class with the dojo brothers was tomorrow and while they had taught him valuable lessons, he still felt like he hadn't made enough progress. He was given a single goal to accomplish by the end of their week together and he felt like he had hit a dead end.

The next day, before heading to the dojo, Izuku asked Itsuka if they could train a little together in the TDL. "Okay, go for it! Blaze Kick!" Combusken jumped up and held his leg up high. Flames began forming around it, only for them to disappear a second later, causing Combusken to fall to the ground.

Izuku let out a sigh and helped Combusken up. Itsuka walked up to them and frowned. "Still nothing, huh?" She asked. The boy nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't figure it out! What drives us? How am I supposed to figure that out?"

Itsuka laughed and leaned against the wall. "Yeah, the masters like to give cryptic clues like that. They say it's so that you can figure everything out on your own." Sounds like someone he knew.

Izuku let out a sigh and sat on the ground. Combusken, feeling terrible for his trainer, pat him on the back which was much appreciated. "Kendo, what do you think their advice means?"

Itsuka placed her hand over her chin and looked to the ceiling in thought. "Well…" She needed a few seconds to come up with a response. "I don't think I've had to deal with anything as hard as a Combusken learning Blaze Kick. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe they're referring to your end goal. Try thinking about passing the exam or making an ultimate move?"

That made sense. After all, that's why they were training with the brothers anyway. That's why Izuku and Combusken were so determined to learn this move. "Okay, you heard her, Combusken."

The Fire-type nodded and took a deep breath. "Remember why we're doing this… we need this license." Izuku and Combusken mimicked each other's movements before taking a stance. "Now!" Combusken jumped up and flames began forming around his leg. Things were looking good! "Okay! Do it!" However, just as he got ready to strike, the flames once again dissipated, causing him to fall to the ground.

They tried again, and again, and again, and again, and nothing. Combusken and Izuku focused so hard on what they wanted. What they wanted was their provisional license! They needed it, yet no matter what, they couldn't learn this move! It was insanely frustrating. "Sorry, I really can't figure it out either." Itsuka apologized, but Izuku just shook his head and smiled.

"No, don't worry about it." He said. "We need to get going anyway. Even if we can't figure it out by the end of the day, I'm sure I'll figure something out eventually." Combusken smiled and nodded before pumping his fist

Izuku's determination was one of his most defining traits. He had pretty much thrown himself against this wall countless times now, yet he was still determined. It was clear that this had spread to his Pokemon as well. If anything, it was even harder on Combusken, failing to learn a single move for your trainer. Despite that, both of them remained optimistic, and that was something that Itsuka could appreciate.

"Anyway, we better get going now. We don't wanna be late!" Izuku picked up his bag and ran out of the gym, Combusken and Itsuka following close behind.

After getting dressed at the dojo, they entered the training room and found a familiar sight. Normally, the dojo masters would be waiting for them at the entrance, but this time, they were sitting down at the end of the room just like their first day. "Your final day of training is about to commence," Hando said as he and Kogeki stood up.

"I presume you've been thinking about what we told you, right, Midoriya?" Kogeki asked. Izuku nodded, but there was a look of nervousness on his face. "I've been thinking about why I'm here in the first place. I want to earn my provisional license. That's what drives me." He said, but the masters seemed unimpressed with that answer.

"What a shame…" Hando said. "It seems you haven't truly taken our advice to heart yet." He continued, shocking both Itsuka and Izuku. It seems that wasn't the answer they were looking for. "If what drives you is just to get your license, then you're very shortsighted. How disappointing." Kogeki said.

Their words were pretty harsh for people who gave such vague advice, though Izuku knew they were somewhat right. Even when he and Combusken tried to use Blaze Kick with the provisional license exam in mind, they couldn't do it. "But we only have one day left and no time to waste." Kogeki and Hando both smiled before pulling out their Pokeballs.

"There's only one way to speed up the process!" Hando said. "Through battle!"

"Again?!" Itsuka shouted. Last time, the students got completely wiped out by the masters. Even now, there was no way they were going to win. "Yes, again!" Hando said with a hearty laugh. "But again, this fight isn't about winning. Through battle, you'll be forced to make decisions on the fly." Kogeki said.

Izuku's eyes lit up and he turned to Kogeki. "Wait, so you're saying…"

"By putting yourself in a stressful situation like a battle, it pushes you to your limit. In other words, by participating in a battle, it could force Combusken to successfully execute a Blaze Kick in a way that simple training can't!"

Initially, Itsuka wanted to object once again, but Master Kogeki was making a point here. If they can't train Combusken to use Blaze Kick, the best thing to do would be to put him in a situation where it'd be forced to come out.

"Then let's go for it," Itsuka said. Izuku looked at her and smiled. The two nodded at each other before taking their side of the battlefield. Aki and Mia came into the room again, the latter serving as the referee of the battle once more.

Before they began, Kogeki whispered something to Hando, causing the man to smile and nod.

"I'll be going over the rules once more. 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!"

The four sent out their Pokemon and they all got ready. They each gave a signal to Mia, signifying that they were good to go. She nodded and held up her hand. "The battle will now… begin!"

"Hitmonchan, go for a Thunder Punch!"

"Hit em' with a Rolling Kick, Hitmonlee!"

The two Fighting-type Pokemon ran forward and attacked, but Combusken and Medicham quickly jumped to the side and avoided them. Unfortunately, this forced them into a bad position as they had been forced to separate. Combusken was forced against Hitmonlee while Medicham went up against Hitmonchan.

"Okay, go for a Slash!" Combusken ran forward but even with their Full Cowling, he couldn't seem to get a hit in. Hitmonlee's movements were too fast and unpredictable for him to land anything. Even as he started going for Peck and Double Kick, Hitmonlee evaded his moves with ease. "Now, Mega Kick!"

Hitmonlee jumped back and stretched his leg using his spring-like limb, launching his foot right into Combusken and sending him flying. "Combusken, no!"

"Ha! That all you got! Pathetic!" Hando shouted. "You wanna be a Hero with a weak Pokemon like that?"

Medicham was fairing a little bit better, able to keep up with Hitmonchan's quick punches. However, with Combusken temporarily out of commission, she now had to deal with both Pokemon at the same time.

Itsuka wiped the sweat off of her forehead and smiled. "Okay then… let's show them our ultimate move, Medicham!" She brought her hands together and closed her eyes. Medicham nodded and imitated the movements of her trainer.

They felt the whole world around them begin to turn dark. However, they could still sense the presence of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. By combining Meditate and Calm Mind, they could achieve a new state of mind.

Hitmonchan ran forward and threw a Mega Punch, but Medicham simply moved to the side and evaded the attack with ease, quickly ducking to avoid an incoming Rolling Kick from Hitmonlee behind her.

This was their ultimate move. "This is our Sensory State!"

No matter how many punches and kicks Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan threw at the Pokemon, she managed to dodge them, even managing to get in a few Zen Headbutts and Drain Punches. Kogeki and Hando were both impressed with how far the girl and her Medicham had managed to take their ultimate move. Still, they weren't quite done yet. "Okay, how about we take this to the next level," Kogeki said.

He had his Hitmonchan quickly approach the Medicham and the two got ready to fight. "Now, Mach Punch!" With lightning speed, the Pokemon threw a punch forward using his right fist, but Medicham knew better. She knew she wasn't going to be fast enough, so she opted to block the hit instead, but they were all surprised to find Hitmonchan stop his fist just before making contact. Suddenly, his left fist came forward, getting a powerful Thunder Punch right in Medicham's face and knocking her out of her Sensory State.

"Shit…" Itsuka said to herself, causing Kogeki to laugh. "You're not the only one with a few tricks up their sleeve!" The dojo master said. The girl ignored the comment and took a deep breath. "Move back! Get out of there!" She commanded.

The Meditate Pokemon jumped back in an effort to get away from Hitmonchan, but little did she realize, Hitmonlee was there behind her, striking her with a surprise Mega Kick. "Medicham!"

Combusken was now beginning to slowly get up and he watched in horror as the two Pokemon continued their non-stop assault on Medicham. "What are you gonna do? Just stand there?!" Hando shouted. "Pathetic! How do you expect to do anything if you can't even help your partner!" Kogeki continued.

Izuku's fist tightened. What the hell has gotten into these two? It wasn't like them to pelt insults and taunts like that at him and Combusken. But still, rather than letting it bring them down, they decided to just let it fuel their fire! "We have to help Medicham!" Izuku shouted. Combusken nodded and jumped up. "Go for it! Blaze Kick!"

Everyone watched with excitement as an even bigger flame than before formed around Combusken's foot. "Let's do it!" Combusken and Izuku both yelled as loud as they could, but even then… it wasn't enough. Suddenly, the flames disappeared, causing Combusken's move to fail and him to fall flat.

Hando and Kogeki began laughing as Hitmonchan threw another Thunder Punch into Medicham's stomach, causing her to collapse onto the ground. "You two are weak! Midoriya and Combusken… what a disappointing pair you are!" Kogeki continued taunting.

"It's a miracle you even got into UA! At this rate, you'll never be a Hero!" Hando said, but by this point, Itsuka had had it. "That's enough!" She shouted. "What the hell happened to you two! You aren't acting normal! Can't you see? Midoriya and Combusken have been doing their best to master this move! You aren't making things any better!"

However, Izuku didn't see it the same way. No, he now understood why they were saying the things they were saying. He and Combusken looked at each other, and the Pokemon soon understood as well. They both smiled and nodded before turning back to their enemy. "No, they're right." The boy said, getting a shocked gasp from Itsuka. "Where I am now, I can't become a Hero."

"M-Midoriya…"

"But I'm sorry, Masters, you're wrong. I WILL become a Hero!" He and Combusken took a stance as they got ready to fight once more. "I made a promise… a promise to someone very close to me. I promised them that I'd… no, we'd become great Heroes!" Combusken smiled and nodded. "We have to declare to the world that we are here!"

Combusken ran forward, but quickly stopped and avoided an incoming Blaze Kick from Hitmonlee. "Now, Fire Spin!" Combusken jumped up and shot out a spiral of flames, creating a fiery vortex around Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, separating them from Medicham. However, Kogeki and Hitmonchan had the perfect counter-attack.

"Use Ice Punch!" The Punching Pokemon slammed his icy fist into the ground, creating a huge blast of air around them that easily dissipated the flames. "You'll need more than just tricks, Midoriya!" Hando shouted, but Izuku just smiled and shook his head. "I just needed to distract you for a second." The boy said.

Now, Combusken was truly ready to finish this fight. He jumped up and focused as hard as he could, focusing all of his power into his right foot as flames began forming around it. "You wanted to know what drives me? It's simple. Our goal as trainer and Pokemon is to become a Hero, and we will do that, no matter what it takes!"

Suddenly, a faint white light began covering Combusken's entire body. Everyone watched in awe as his form changed. He grew taller, his legs became longer, and his hands formed from just claws into proper talons. Then, when the white light disappeared, a new Pokemon emerged. "Blaziken!" Izuku shouted.

Flames covered his foot, and this time, he was successful. He landed a devastating kick into both Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, sending them flying into a wall. "You did it, Combu- er, Blaziken!" The newly evolved Blaze Pokemon nodded and got ready to strike once more, but Kogeki and Hando ran forward and stopped the battle.

"That's enough!" Hando shouted as he returned Hitmonlee to his Pokeball. "Sorry we said all those things, Midoriya. We didn't mean them." The man said as he let out another hearty laugh.

Mia let out a sigh of relief as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Seriously, that wasn't like you at all!" She said. Aki laughed and nodded in agreement. "I'll admit, I was getting a bit worried." Itsuka crossed her arms and shook her head in disapproval. "I was getting pretty mad with the shit you two were saying."

Kogeki nodded as he returned Hitmonchan to his Pokeball. "We were just trying to help you see what drives you, and it seems that it worked! Much better than any of us were expecting."

Izuku smiled and nodded as he looked up at Blaziken. "Yeah, I kinda got that idea." He said with a small laugh. "I realized that my motivation for doing all of this isn't just to get my license but to become a real Hero. To do that, I need to get stronger, and if Blaziken and I can't master Blaze Kick, then there's no way we can do that."

Hando slapped Izuku on the back and smiled. "That's what I like to hear! Trust me, kid, you keep thinkin' like that and you'll be a great Hero!" Kogeki pat the boy on the head and gave him a thumbs up. "This is a big achievement. We're all very proud of you."

The two masters turned to Itsuka as well and gave her a pat on the back. "Thank you as well, Kendo. Sorry for dragging you into the training of Midoriya like that." Kogeki apologized, but the girl only laughed and shook her head. "No, I learned a lot from what you guys taught Midoriya too. It made me think about why I'm here too. I wanna be a Hero too, and I'll keep getting stronger, just like you." The two looked at each other and nodded. Blaziken and Medicham smiled as well. Just like that, a new friendship and rivalry had formed.

Blaziken and Izuku were far from mastering Blaze Kick, but the mere fact that they were able to execute the move successfully was a big stepping stone.

"It was good having you here, Midoriya," Mia said as she and the others escorted them out the door. "We'll be watching your growth. I'm excited to see where you go." Aki smiled as she handed him his bag.

Kogeki shook the boy's hand and bowed. "If you need any help with anything, you know who to call." Hando slapped the boy on the back and laughed. "You're family now, kid! We're gonna be here for you, no matter what."

Izuku smiled and bowed down. "Thank you so much for everything, everyone! I'll continue working hard for all of you!"

And that's the story of how Combusken evolved into Blaziken. Now, Izuku knew he and his Pokemon were as ready for the Provisional License Exam as they could be.