In the early hours of twilight, the once-raging bonfire built by Abby had died away, leaving only chunks of black charcoal and a carpet of grey ash inside the fire pit. A cliff loomed over the dead fire pit, covered in a thick curtain of moss. Vines, tangled and long, hung down from the top of the cliff, stopping but a few inches from the ground below. Hidden behind the vines was a cave entrance, round and big enough to walk into standing tall. Deep within the cave was the camp Abby had made while she waited for Green to arrive. Three sleeping bags surrounded a small dead cook fire. While Abby and Jackson were fast asleep within their sleeping bags, Green was awake, wide awake.
While she had managed to get a few hours of sleep, her sleep had not come easy. Her night within the cave had been plagued by fears and doubts. Not her usual fears and doubts either. Her anxieties to do with sex and pleasure seemed quite trivial in comparison. Capture and battle were what tormented her utterly exhausted mind. Even in the little sleep she had gotten, she could not escape. Despite not knowing what this Tiberius looked like, his formless silhouette had invaded her dreams to mock her. Or was it a threat? Green did not know but either way, he had reached out for her with his large hand of dark shadow, reaching and grasping. She had run from it but she was not fast enough and it had wrapped its shadowy fingers around her body. She struggled as she was lifted but it did no good, the grip was strong. Inescapable and unbreakable. Is that was she was faced with?
"Get stronger," Abby had said.
But what use would that be?
Sure, she had defeated three gym leaders but only one the first time. The weakest of them all no less. Even then it had been in a controlled fight with rules, referees and guidelines. The fight was mock, not a real fight, Brock and the other gym leaders weren't trying to capture her. They only fought to protect their gym badges, things they had no real investment in safeguarding. Otherwise, they would have fought at full strength. She was little more than a rookie trainer. Green knew it well enough she wasn't a fool. How could she possibly hope to stand up to a seasoned ranger like Tiberius or any of the other Lieutenants Abby had reasoned would most likely be after them too? What were her two weeks of experience to their years, to their decades most likely?
"Red could, he beat a crime lord and he was five years younger than you," A voice long-suppressed mocked from the recesses of her mind.
A voice that had tormented her for years after Red's disappearance.
"He hates you," It had whispered, "Why else would he leave? If he valued the admiration you hold for him he wouldn't have left, or at the very least he would have said goodbye."
It had taken years of effort to force it away, to silence its taunts until only whips of its presence remained within her mind. Little inklings of doubt that had convinced her she would make a fool of herself if she ever tried to make friends, or try to flirt. It had taken her getting a dose of reality from Brock, from Misty, from Surge as well as Machoke and the others she had been with since her journey began to convince her otherwise. The voice was singing now.
"Give up! Go home! Leave Abby to deal with her own problems! You're not even real friends, just strangers who pretend to be! A burden, that's what you are! You slow her down and make things harder than they need to be!" It bellowed.
Green clutched the sides of her head and rocked back and forth with her knees tucked up to her chest. She took tight handfuls of her long brown hair, gripping so tight that it felt like she might tear it from her scalp. Her face tightened and scrunched as she fought off the singing bellows of doubt, as she had done many times before. By now it was easy as breathing to force that voice away, to put a muzzle on its pestering. Sure enough, the voice went away, partially lifting away the tight pressure in her head. Although no matter how hard she tried, her fear of fighting Tiberius and his rangers remained. If just a tad weaker now. Fending off the voice of doubt had given her just a tiny inkling of confidence again. A mere ember in an inferno but still, it was enough. Green took that ember of confidence and kindled it, keeping it safe so it might grow into ablaze. She wriggled out from her sleeping bag determined. As quietly as she could as to not wake Abby and Jackson, she reached for her pokéball belt. She fastened it around her waist over the top of her sleeping clothes. A brown, long sleeve top that rolled down over her hips and a pair of warm, white sweat pants. There was no time to change, not even enough to put her hiking boots on. Each moment she spent here was a moment she risked her ember of confidence fizzling and dying.
Green made her way down the long tunnel of the cave and pushed aside the vine hanging over the entrance. The morning air was crisp with a chill that seeped right through to her bones but Green ignored it.
"Get stronger," Abby's words rang in her head.
She pressed forward and hurried along the bare, barren ground that surrounded the cave entrance. The southern woods she had come from yesterday were too thick and cramped for her needs so instead, she headed to the northern woods where the trees were spread apart, leaving plenty of room for training. With only the pale, grey-blue light of morning twilight to guide her, Green entered the northern woods. The grass was short and lush, cushioning her feet like a natural carpet. She headed in a good way, wanting to get far enough away from camp so that the cries of her pokémon would not wake Abby or Jackson. Once she was sure she was far enough away, Green stopped to take in her surroundings.
The area was perfect for training. Lots of wide-open space with even flat ground and plenty of boulders, big and small. Trees spaced far apart with high branches that stretched along the sky above. Everything she would need to train her pokémon. Satisfied, she plucked Machoke's and Primeape's pokéballs from her belt and released them. They appeared before her, both still groggy from their sleep. Green wasted no time with pleasantries.
"Machoke! Primeape! I want you two to spar, we have a lot of work to do!" She commanded.
It took a moment for the command to properly resonate with her pokémon as they yawned and rubbed the sleep from their eyes. Machoke glanced at Primeape with a yawn and shrugged.
"Ma," He agreed nonchalantly and got into position.
Machoke dismissive attitude whipped Primeape up into a sudden fury. He turned to face Machoke and slammed beat on his chest.
"Prime!" He roared.
Primeape's fists erupted with orange flames. Each slam against the shaggy fur of his chest sent orange sparks flying. Machoke raised his fists with a cocky grin. They too burst into orange flames, flames that crept up his forearms. The ember of confidence inside Green flared into a kindling flame for a moment as she stepped in between them.
"No fighting aura! This is about practising your fundamentals!"
Machoke and Primeape's eyes which were locked over the top of her head fell away from each other and focused on her. Machoke immediately conceded and extinguished his fists with a shake of his forearms. Primeape didn't, instead, he stared down at her un-moving with the same defiant look Green had seen before when battling Jackson. She turned to face him fully and took a step towards him.
"Extinguish, now!"
Although the flames weren't actual fire, they still gave off heat. Heat is more alike to a radiator than a fire, consistent in its temperature. Primeape huffed and shook his arms, snuffing out the orange flames and the heat they gave off. Green gave him a stern nod and took a step back out from between them, trying to calm her thumping heart. Once she was out from between them, Machoke and Primeape's eyes locked once again. Primeape huffed, blowing hot air from his snout and scraping at the ground with his foot. While Machoke simply rolled his shoulders with his fists raised, getting his muscles nice and limber.
"Alright, try and knock each other off your feet! But hold your punches, this is just sparring okay?" Green commanded, directing her command more at Primeape than Machoke.
Machoke nodded willingly and Primeape gave a reluctant half nod with a mutter for good measure. Green took a few more paces back, even if it was just sparring one stray blow would be enough to seriously hurt her. A weak punch from either of them was probably enough to bend steel let alone shatter her skull.
"Ready? Go!" She commanded at a safe distance.
Immediately, Primeape flew at Machoke with a lunging punch. Machoke swiftly raised his arms and absorbed the blow with his forearms. The impact roared like a cannon, blowing out hot air in all directions. Even so, Machoke did not stagger. He brought up his knee hard into Primeape's chest, lowered his arms and headbutt him for a nasty combo. Primeape did stagger for a brief moment but it was enough. Machoke used that brief window of vulnerability and punched Primeape hard right between the eyes with an overhand punch. Primeape cried out as he was sent sprawling onto his back. Green rushed forward and got in between them again before Primeape could get back to his feet.
"Okay enough! Stop!"
While Green knew next to nothing about the martial arts based on the Kanto fighting types, she did know enough about the two pokémon before her to see their weaknesses. During the fight Green had watched them like they were enemy pokémon, looking for weaknesses and gaps in strength to exploit. She began with Primeape.
"Don't fight like him," She gestured to Machoke, "You're not as strong as him."
That made Primeape flare with rage but Green didn't flinch as he jumped back to his feet and stomped the ground angrily.
"It's not an insult, it's the truth!" She yelled, staying firm, "look at him, his arms are twice the size of yours. Everything about him is bigger than you."
Green grinned.
"So exploit it! He's bigger but he's slower too!" Green raised her fists and punched twice, "you need to go in and out, hit him and then duck back. Watch for a counter, dodge it and strike in the opening it creates."
Primeape's hardened face of pure rage softened as he heard the explanation. His eyes went back and forth between Green's fists and Machoke. He grinned.
"Primeape!" He bellowed and punched twice, copying Green.
Green turned her attention to Machoke. She grasped both his thick forearms.
"He wants to whittle you down, don't let him okay? You did well to use more than your fists, keep doing that. With all his dancing in and out he's bound to make an opening for you, so if that means having to kick him rather than punching do it. One solid hit from these," she squeezed his forearms, "and he'll be down on the ground."
Machoke looked down at where Green was holding his arms and nodded. Gently, he pulled his arms free from her grip and took a step back away from her.
"Choke," He muttered thoughtfully as he stared at Primeape over the top of Green's head.
Green hurried back out from between them to a safe distance. No sooner had she pressed her back against the trunk of her tree than they were back at it again. Both pokémon raised their fists and approached each other, now with far more cautious steps. To Green's delight, she could see Primeape's eyes working as he studied Machoke. An eerie, quiet calm lingered in the forest as Primeape and Machoke circled each other, each step being taken with clear, cautious intent. Eventually, it was Primeape who made the first move. Machoke took a step and quick as a flash Primeape launched a flurry of quick strikes at him. The first punch hit Machoke's forearm, the second his shoulder and the third would have struck Machoke up across the chin if Machoke had not taken a step back out of Primeape's range. The third strike was one too many, it had opened Primeape up plain as day. Machoke noticed it too and swung a devastating underhand punch into Primeape side. Green shuddered as she watched the blow, even without any fighting aura to enhance his attacks Machoke was terrifyingly strong. A loud boom, like a cannon, roared out on impact followed by the sickening crunch of Primeape's ribs shattering. Although any pain that may have caused Primeape didn't slow him down. He howled furiously as he swung blindly at Machoke. None hit, however, Machoke stepped back out of Primeape's reach and blocked the punches he couldn't dodge with raised arms. In his rage-fuelled state, Primeape's punches were wild and far less effective. They left little more than red marks on Machoke's arms which quickly faded away.
Green raised Primeape's pokéball and returned him. If she let him fight until the end, there'd be no telling how much damage he'd suffer. While his unflinching resolve was an undeniably valuable asset for battles, it was more of a nuisance during training. She decided to let him cool off in his pokéball, it wasn't worth the risk of catching a stray punch to the head while trying to calm him down out here. Instead, she focused her attention on Machoke. Green opened the small medicine pouch on her belt. Something Nurse Joy had helped her sow before Green had left Vermilion. She pulled out a small, purple spray bottle of healing liquid and offered it to Machoke.
"Your arms okay?" She asked.
Machoke bent back his elbow so that his hand touched his shoulder and peered down at the underside of his forearm. He has it a gentle rub and shrugged.
"Machoke," He replied neurally, then smiled at her.
Green spayed his arm anyway, even if there were no visible marks there could be internal damage she couldn't see and Machoke was too stubborn to admit to. Green studied him thoughtfully, recollecting the fight. The way Machoke had dodged back with each of Primeape's punches had revealed something to her she hadn't considered before. Spacing. Each pokémon has a range of attack from its immediate location. For pokémon like Machoke and Primeape, this was just how long their limbs were but for other pokémon, it was how far they can fling a rock or shoot a bolt of electricity. Managing the space between the range of attacks, Green now realised was very important. However, with this revelation came a new problem.
"What do we do when we're outranged?" She thought to herself.
No clear answer presented itself, which greatly troubled her. While teaching a ranged attack was definitely something she could do with cross typing, a cross typed attack was much weaker than an attack from the energy typing that comes naturally to a pokémon. Green spun the spray bottle in her hand as she thought. Her mind went back to her three gym battles. In each match up they had been outranged. Brock had rocks to throw, Misty had water to shoot and Surge had bolts to blast. Still, they had won. Was she giving too much attention to spacing then? Maybe, but Green couldn't help but feel it was important. She focused her attention back on Machoke and looked at him like he was an enemy pokémon.
"What would I do if I were Primeape?" She asked herself.
Suddenly, it clicked. All the power in Machoke's punches were at the end of his reach. When he had struck Primeape before he had dodged back so that the punch landed right on the outer limits of his range. To beat Machoke, Primeape needed to either be completely in or completely out, and the answer to countering that strategy was a lot clearer to Green.
"Your strikes have been great Machoke but you need to be using grappling as well. Instead of just dodging back and blocking, you need to try and grapple Primeape after you land a few hits. With your strength, you can get him in a hold and force him to submit!" Green instructed, getting pumped as she described it to him.
While she didn't know much about martial arts. She'd seen enough fights between fighting pokémon online to know that they used more than just strikes. More often than not they'd put each other in a leg or armlock to force the opposing trainer to forfeit the round. Machoke seemed to love the idea. He beamed at her excitedly and slammed his fists together.
"Machoke!" He agreed with a booming shout.
Green considered Primeape's pokéball cautiously.
"Here goes nothing," She thought before releasing him from the pokéball.
Thankfully, when Primeape materialised from his pokéball he had calmed down. He was sat on the ground, arms folded and a death glare on his face directed towards Machoke. That was about as good as Green could hope for from him so she approached him. Green knelt down beside him and parted his thick, shaggy white fur where Machoke had struck him. Primeape tensed at her touch, but only briefly. He let out a huff from his snout and relaxed. As Green sprayed healing liquid onto his broken ribs she looked up to get a read on his face. Without a visible mouth, reading the nuances of Primeape's emotions was quite difficult. He always appeared to be angry with his triangular eyes always slanted, as if there were furrowed from a scowl. Even when Primeape was obviously happy, his face still appeared to be stricken with rage. Green looked to his forehead, when Primeape got really angry a vein would cause the thick fur on his forehead to pulse. To her relief, she couldn't see any pulsing on his forehead.
"You did well to get the first hit in," Green decided she'd start with a positive to soften the criticism to follow.
The plan appeared to be working as the nostrils on Primeape's pink snout flared with pride.
"But, you need to keep your spacing in mind when attacking. If you just let loose with a barrage of attacks he's just going to step back and hit you hard. You either want to be right in his inner range or outside his range, letting him step back like that will put you in his outer range where his hits do the most damage." She explained gently as she healed his side.
Green raised up a fist and punched him softly on the chest.
"One," she punched again, "two, then out," she drew back her fist to her chest, "you gotta start dodging before he swings at you, be aware of the openings you make when attacking and move accordingly."
Primeape's eyes fell to her hand as she tapped his chest with her fist, making her flinch internally but she did her best to hide it. Primeape raised his fists and looked down at them, considering them.
"Prime," he jabbed with his left, "Ape," he jabbed with his right and then brought them both back to his chest, "Primeape," he muttered.
He looked back down at Green and she gave him a reassuring nod.
"Exactly, but bring back your whole body either straight back, left-back or right-back depending on where your opening is. Move so that opening moves out of his reach the quickest of all your body."
The healing liquid had finally healed his broken ribs so he rose from the ground.
"Prime!" He jabbed with his left, "Ape!" He jabbed with his right, two quick punches and then he hopped backward on a diagonal to the left.
Green marvelled at the surprising amount of agility he had. She thought he had lost some with his evolution but it looked like he was just as, if not more agile now than he had been as a Mankey. She laughed and applauded.
"Yeah, exactly like that!" She encouraged gleefully.
Beneath Primeape's white shaggy fur, Green swore it shifted where a smile ought to have been. Green tucked the healing bottle back into her belt's pouch and hurried over to her tree. Before she had even turned around to face them, Green heard the pokémon start up a new round.
Primeape had opened quickly this time, wasting no time and lunging straight at Machoke. Machoke stepped back out of Primeape's reach for the first one but blocked too low for Primeape's left punch and caught a sharp jab to the jaw. The punch turned Machoke's head, causing him to stagger slightly. Still, even as he staggered Machoke swung an underhand punch to the same place where he'd broken Primeape's ribs previously. It missed as Primeape had already dodged back to the right out of Machoke's reach. The miss, combined with the hit to the head left Machoke disorientated, letting Primeape lunge back in to hit two quick strikes. His right struck Machoke in the temple, directly where the previous blow had struck while his left came up in a sweeping uppercut to strike Machoke in the jaw. Apart from a grunt or a huff here and there, Primeape was deadly quiet. He wasn't bellowing, he wasn't howling, instead, he was silent with concentration.
Machoke staggered as the uppercut caught him, making him stagger and come dangerously close to falling. His arms flailed as they feebly tried to counter and block's Primeape's attacks but Primeape was one step ahead, always either out of reach or on the opposite side to where Machoke swung. Machoke's leg shot out behind him and stopped him from toppling backwards. As Primeape readied another attack Green called out to him.
"Centre yourself!" While the sparring was good training for her pokémon, it also served to help Green practice her shot calling.
The command helped, snapping Machoke out of his confusion. His eyes locked onto Primeape as he lunged again. Machoke swung as Primeape came at him, slamming his fist into Primeape's forehead as Primeape's left fist hit him in the mouth. Both pokémon staggered back from the dual hits, recoiling from the respective impacts. Machoke recovered before Primeape and with blood leaking from a split lip he struck Primeape in the belly with a knee. Primeape buckled forward with the blow and Machoke clasped both fists together, raised them above his head and slammed them down onto the back of Primeape's head. The devastating blow erupted with a loud crash and managed to disorientate Primeape for long enough to let Machoke push him back off his knee and tackle him to the ground. Primeape fought and struggled but Machoke's raw strength overwhelmed him, getting Primeape into a brutal leg lock. Primeape pounded on Machoke's back and thighs with his fists but it did no good, Machoke twisted Primeape's leg and he howled with pain.
"Alright enough!" Green called out.
Machoke let go immediately and got to his feet, taking a few steps back away from Primeape. Green readied Primeape's pokéball, expecting him to continue fighting. But, to her surprise, Primeape stayed where he was. He sat up and glared at Machoke but made no move to attack. Green lowered the pokéball and cautiously approach them.
"That was good you guys," She assured as she gingerly stepped in between them.
Primeape got to his feet with a huff. While there was no obvious damage to his body Green wasn't taking any chances and sprayed him down with healing liquid, before doing the same to Machoke. Once she was sure she'd covered them both in healing liquid Green tucked the bottle back into the pouch and fastened it shut. She then unclipped her belt, plucked Graveler's and Elekid's pokéballs from it and handed the belt to a puzzled looking Machoke.
"You two keep practising what we've been over, can I trust you to heal yourselves while I work with the other two?" She asked.
Machoke took the belt, understanding now. He nodded with a grin.
"Machoke!" He shouted reassuringly and made his way over to the tree Green had watched their fights from.
He placed the belt down by the base of its trunk and made his way back over to Green and Primeape. While he did Green turned to Primeape.
"Remember, it's just sparring okay? Are you gonna behave?" She asked, folding her arms.
Primeape huffed and kept firm eye contact with her.
"Primeape..." He muttered begrudgingly.
Green decided that was as good of an answer as she was bound to get so she left them to it. She walked a few paces away from them over to an area littered with small, knee-high boulders. The rocks were perfectly round, like grey stone cannonballs. They were embedded into the ground roughly halfway, so they appeared like round humps of rock in the ground. As Machoke and Primeape began their next round of sparring, Green released Graveler amongst the rocks. He materialised curled up into a ball, still fast asleep. The boom of one of Machoke's punches woke him up with a fright. His four stone arms and two flat feet sprung out and flailed as he rolled onto his back.
"Grav!" He exclaimed fearfully.
Green giggled and grasped one of his flailing hands.
"Morning buddy," She laughed and pulled him back onto his feet.
When Graveler saw her standing over him he immediately calmed down and greeted her with his hoarse, gravelly voice.
"Graveler!"
Green squatted down so their eyes were level and patted the top of his head, getting her hand muddy in the process.
"You ready to do some training?" She asked.
Graveler beamed at her touch and shook his whole body back and forth in a nod.
"Great! Now, you're ground attacks are coming along great but I want to focus on your rock type attacks today," She gestured to the round rocks around them, "I want you to practice using these rocks to both attacks and defend okay?"
Of all Green's pokémon Graveler was the only one with two natural type alignments, rock and ground. If they were going to get stronger, getting Graveler practised with using both was a big step in the right direction. While he could make some basic structures from the rock in the ground, using slabs to make walls or catapult opponents, Green knew that was only scratching the surface of what rock types could do.
Before Graveler could roll-off to get started, Green stopped him by grasping his arm.
"Also, I want you to work with Elekid," She added, holding Elekid's ball up to him.
Graveler gave another rocking nod and gazed at the ball with curious anticipation. Green took a deep breath before releasing Elekid. He was possibly her greatest challenge right now but Green was hopeful that losing to Jackson's Golbat had made him just a little bit more humble and willing to listen. She pressed the button on his ball and released him between her and Graveler.
"Elekid..." He buzzed groggily and rubbed his eyes with his cylindrical hands.
When his eyes met Green's he scowled and turned away from her.
"Eleki-" He started to grumble before coming face to face with Graveler.
Graveler smiled at him pleasantly.
"Graveler," He said with a wave.
Elekid's eyes widened with fear.
"Elekid!" He exclaimed and scurried behind Green, cowering behind her leg.
Graveler looked utterly baffled by the reaction.
"Graveler?" He asked gently and took a step towards Elekid, reaching out a hand to him.
Elekid gave a shrill, buzzing scream and buried his face into the back of Green's thigh.
"Elekid!" He cried.
Green could his body trembling. She turned around, squatted down and picked him up which to her surprise, Elekid allowed her to do with no resistance.
"It's alright buddy," She cooed, "he's friendly, I promise."
Green couldn't help but be a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst of fear. She knew it was natural for pokémon of opposing typings to be wary of each other but she'd never seen a reaction like this before.
"Elekid..." Elekid grumbled and peered over Green's shoulder at Graveler with narrowed, weary eyes.
Green turned back around to face Graveler, standing up as she did. She felt Elekid spring up attentively as he was met with the sight of Machoke and Primeape sparring behind her.
"Don't mind him okay? Let's get started with your training," She assured him, noticing the hurt look on Graveler's face.
It only made sense Green supposed. Graveler had always been so busy fearing others he'd never actually had anyone fear him before. He took one last glance at Elekid before tucking up and rolling over to the stones. He raised his hands and ignited them, along with his eyes with brown flames. A brown aura enveloped a few of the surrounding rocks and they floated up into the air, hovering around Graveler in slow circles.
"Alright, let's start with offence!" Green instructed, "try using the rocks to knock some of the branches off the trees," she pointed to the thinner, higher branches of a nearby tree.
Graveler followed her point and gave a grin. He curled the three fingers of his upper, right hand and thrust that arm forward in the direction of the branches. One of the boulders hovering around him shot through the air like a bullet and crashed through the base of a thin branch, snapping it like a twig. It spun through the air and crashed down to the ground, splintering on impact. The boulder circled back around the tree and resumed floating around Graveler. Green applauded approvingly.
"Nice work! Try a thicker branch now," She instructed.
She was glad to see that Graveler had no issue with manipulating the rocks. He was moving them as if they were an extension of himself.
"Graveler!" He agreed and took aim at a lower, thicker branch.
This time he used his upper, left arm. A different boulder shot towards the thicker branch. This branch was about as thick as Green's arm. The boulder crashed through the base of the branch with the same precision and ease as the previous branch. Again, this branch spun down towards the ground and crashed into the earth. It didn't splinter but did snap in a few places. The commotion awoke a few resting Pidgeys in the tree. They squawked unhappily and took off into the air. Green laughed at that and considered Graveler. Perhaps branches were too easy.
"Nice work again! I want you to try hitting the trunk of the tree this time!" Green instructed.
Graveler turned and looked back at her unsure.
"Graveler?" He asked.
Green nodded and gestured towards the tree.
"Go on, give it a try!"
Graveler looked back at the tree and cautiously moved his upper, right hand again. One of the four boulders hovering around his head moved up as he took aim. He thrust the arm forward, shooting the boulder at the tree. In the blink of an eye, the boulder crashed into the trunk, embedding itself into the wood. Green considered the boulder thoughtfully.
"Try again, this time move the boulder back so it gets more of a run-up," She suggested.
Graveler pulled back his upper, right hand, moving the boulder back out of the tree and back a couple dozen feet through the air. Green took a few steps to the side, just in case. Graveler thrust his arm forward and the boulder whizzed through the air past Green, over Graveler's head and straight into the trunk. With an explosion of wood, bark, sap and shattered rock, the boulder punched a hole right through the tree. Shards of shattered rock were left embedded in the trees behind. The brown aura enveloping them flickered off. Graveler flexed the fingers on his right, upper hand and moved a new boulder to replace the broken one.
"Damn..." Green muttered to herself.
All though she'd seen what pokémon could do her entire life, their power still never failed to amaze her.
"Great job Graveler! Keep it up, try manipulating more than one boulder with each hand!" She called out.
Graveler beamed with delight at the praise and gave her a determined nod.
"Grav!" He exclaimed and began whirring all four boulders around him, shooting them out at branches all along the length of the tree he punctured.
Green felt Elekid start to jostle restlessly in her arms.
"Elekid," He whispered.
He was focused intently on Machoke and Primeape. His eyes gleamed with what Green assumed was admiration. Each time a punch was thrown and hit, his ears would twitch and spark. Green cautiously scratched the back of Elekid's head, not entirely sure if she'd get a shock. Thankfully, she didn't but Elekid did. At her touch, he jumped with startled fright and leapt from her arms. He landed before her and looked like he might have shocked her if the sound of Graveler cracking the trunk of a nearby tree with a rock hadn't made him come running back to her with tears in his eyes. Green accepted the sudden embrace he threw at her, completely bewildered by the roller-coaster of emotions on display.
"It's okay," She whispered, stroking the thin layer of yellow fur over his otherwise hard and rigid body.
Green carried the terrified Elekid away from the rest of her pokémon, finding a somewhat secluded area. Well as secluded as she could get in the open forest. A large boulder, twice her height blocked Graveler from view. Only his boulders arcing up to strike branches could be seen over the top. After a few more moments of cowering Elekid suddenly came back to his senses. He struggled free of Green's grasp and leapt back to the ground.
"Elekid!" He exclaimed angrily.
Yellow electricity sparked between his tall ears as he scowled at her. Green folded her arms and scowled back.
"What?" She challenged, "you either hate me or you don't buddy, pick one."
Elekid huffed and turned away from her, kicking at the ground with a yellow, round, toe-less foot. Green sighed, knowing that getting angry wasn't going to help. She approached Elekid slowly and crouched down beside him. They stayed like that for a moment, Green crouched waiting expectedly and Elekid staring down at the dirt beneath him. Only when Elekid glanced at her did Green speak.
"You like fighting, right?" She asked, gesturing over to Machoke and Primeape with a nod.
Elekid's eyes shifted over to them, watching as Machoke knocked Primeape onto his back with a hard punch to the stomach. He grinned and gave a small nod.
"Elekid," He agreed softly, glancing up at Green again.
Green smiled.
"Well, why don't you let me train you then?" She offered.
Elekid's brow furrowed sceptically. He looked her up and down with a scowl.
"Elekid..." He muttered.
Green gestured to Machoke and Primeape again.
"You think I just found them that strong? I promise, if you let me, we can work together to make each other stronger."
Elekid didn't react for a moment. Instead, he just stared at her with his narrowed eyes. Again, he considered her, looking her up and down before plopping back onto the ground. He sat there before her and gave a small nod.
"Elekid," He agreed, still sounding weary of her.
Even if it wasn't a full commitment, Green would take what she could get. She joined Elekid on the ground, sitting cross-legged before him. She'd have to choose her words carefully here, the untrusting look on Elekid's face let her know that.
"When you fought Golbat, you had the right idea," She began.
Green held up her fist to him.
"Your thunder punch is a strong move, especially against a flying type like Golbat but it lacks range. You're an electric type, you have the advantage of having both close range and long-range attack options. If you want to get stronger you'll have to learn how to use both kinds of attacks," Green explained.
Elekid seemed resistant to what she was saying at first, scrunching up his face into that usual scowl of his but as he listened, it softened. When she was done, Elekid help up his own hand and closed the three claws into an approximation of a fist. As his cylindrical hand clenched, it sparked and became enveloped in a veil of yellow electricity.
"Elekid…" He muttered, staring at his sparking fist.
His voice was neutral, giving Green no hint at what he was feeling or thinking. Green watched his fist curiously and decided to take a risk, based on nothing more than a hunch.
"You like punching don't you?"
That got a grin out of Elekid and he nodded enthusiastically. Green grinned back at him.
"Well, how about you show me what you can do then?" She suggested.
All around them were the same, small round boulders that Graveler was using to smash tree branches. Green pointed to one.
"Reckon you can smash that?" She asked.
Elekid hopped to his feet and enveloped his other fist in sparking yellow electricity.
"Elekid!" He declared and ran over to the boulders with surprising speed.
He slammed his sparking fist into the rock, shooting out yellow sparks on impact. The boulder cracked and fell apart in big chunks. Now Green was on her feet.
"Oh come on, you can do better than that! Concentrate on your electricity, feel it flow through you and make it surge even stronger as you punch!" She instructed.
Elekid accepted the challenge and to Green's delight did as she said. He closed his eyes, raised his fist and channelled even more power into it. Huge bolts of yellow lightning whipped around his fist, arcing and sparking furiously. Elekid punched another boulder and this time it exploded with a loud boom. Green covered her face with her arms as shards of rock flew everywhere. When she lowered her arms she found Elekid grinning ecstatically at her.
"Elekid!" He cried happily and started smashing more boulders.
Although she had to shield her face, Green laughed along with him. Something about seeing Elekid indulge in pure, innocent joy filled her with happiness.
"Alright! Alright!" She laughed, "That's enough!"
Elekid smashed one more boulder before running back over to her, arms still sparking. Green lowered her arms from her face as she addressed him.
"Smashing boulders in the ground is easy, moving ones though," She gestured to the boulders Graveler was sending arching up into the air, "that's a real challenge don't you think?"
Elekid looked up at the flying boulders nervously.
"Elekid?" He asked.
His tall ears drooped to the sides slightly. Green gave him a reassuring grin.
"It's okay if you get hurt I've got this," Green held out Elekid's pokéball to him
Elekid stood up on the tips of his round, toe-less feet and peered at it curiously.
"If you get hurt I'll return you to this, it'll put you into stasis until I heal you. You won't feel any pain I promise," Green assured him.
Elekid considered the ball, glanced at the boulders flying through the air and then up at Green.
"Elekid…" He agreed cautiously and began slowly making his way around the large boulder to Graveler, taking small cautious steps.
Green walked ahead of him, stepping around the boulder where Graveler was. He now had eight boulders whirring around him, two for each hand. Broken branches lay all around him, splintered and snapped amongst a newly formed carpet of fallen leaves. The tree that had once been covered in long branches that reached out far and wide from the tall trunk was now bare. A tall stick covered in stumps where branches had once been. The hole that had been punctured through the trunk now had three more accompanying it above and below, all leaking thick sticky sap.
"Graveler!" Green cried out to him and waved.
The boulders stopped moving and hovered around Graveler as he turned to face her, waddling on his large flat feet. He beamed at her, his eyes full of brown flames.
"Come over here, I need your help with something!" Green waved Graveler over.
He gladly obeyed, waddling over to her with his eight hovering boulders. She felt Elekid clutch at her leg, cowering behind her as Graveler approached. Green moved in between the two pokémon, crouching down so their eyes were roughly at the same height.
"You two are going to work together to practice your abilities okay?" She explained, "You're going to stand a good distance apart, at least ten feet. Graveler, you're going to shoot your boulders at Elekid okay? Not too fast now, slow enough that he has a chance to hit them out of the air with his thunder punches."
Both pokémon seemed wary at the suggestion. Elekid stared at the boulders floating around Graveler fearfully, while Graveler shot Elekid a concerned look.
"Elekid! – " "Graveler? –" they both exclaimed at once.
Green placed a hand on either of them and give them a reassuring smile.
"You'll be fine, I promise. You want to get stronger, don't you? For real fights?"
The words made Green's chest tighten with fear. She'd almost forgotten about the impending threat looming down upon them. The joy of working with her pokémon, figuring out their weaknesses and strengths, seeming them grow. It had distracted her from the reality of why they were training her in the first place. Green gave them both a firm look.
"We need to get stronger, okay?" She more instructed than asked.
Both pokémon seemed to sense the sudden hardening of her resolve. Graveler gave a quick, sharp nod of his body before quickly waddling away into position. He moved back a good few feet and readied himself, raising all four arms to make the eight boulders whirr around him. Elekid stared at Green with a curious gaze. It wasn't fearful nor was it angry, the gaze seemed to convey admiration. At least that's what Green got from it in the few moments she had to study it before Elekid ran off to stand on a larger boulder a good distance across from Graveler. He clenched his cylindrical fists and enveloped them in yellow electricity. Green stood up and watched them with a wild grin.
"Alright start slow Graveler, give him some time to get used to it!" She called out.
Graveler gave a nod of his body.
"Grav," He grunted and narrowed his eyes as he took aim.
"Ready Elekid?" Green asked.
Elekid slammed his electrified fists together.
"Elekid!" He declared.
A bolt of yellow electricity arced between his tall ears. Graveler took at that as his cue and hurled one of his boulders at Elekid. He did as Green said, keeping it slow. The boulder flew as if being thrown by arm. Elekid's whole body tensed as the boulder flew at him. He raised a sparking fist, took aim and swung. His fist slammed into the boulder, bolts of electricity ate through the rock, splitting it apart into large chunks. The chunks flew past Elekid's head and embedded into the ground behind him, smouldering and red hot. Elekid had kept his eyes tightly closed and they stayed that way for a moment. When he slowly opened them, his eyes fluttering open, he looked around and pumped his sparking fists into the air triumphantly.
"Elekid!" He celebrated, looking over at Green with gleeful joy.
Green giggled and gave him a thumbs up.
"Great work!" She congratulated, "let's try a faster one now okay?"
Elekid gave her an enthusiastic grin and slammed his fists together again. Green nodded at Graveler.
"Alright, faster this time Graveler but not full speed still."
Graveler nodded and took aim. Both pokémon narrowed their eyes at each other, pausing for a brief, still moment. The brown flames in Graveler's eyes flared as he thrust an arm forward. Another boulder shot at Elekid, much faster this time as being pitched at full force by an experienced arm. Elekid swung his fist again, reacting just quick enough to shatter the boulder with an explosion of yellow lightning. The burst of electric energy was considerably stronger this time, creating what sounded like a clap of thunder on impact. Elekid's body sparked for a few moments as it absorbed the powerful current. The yellow lighting between his ears thickened and shone blue for a brief moment. Green applauded, laughing with pure euphoric excitement.
"Amazing! Both of you!" She called out.
Behind her the ground shook as Machoke slammed Primeape down, grasping him by his sides with both hands, lifting him overhead and throwing him into the dirt with all his natural strength. Primeape gave a frustrated grunt and was back on his feet quickly, ready for another round.
"Ele-kid! Ele-kid!" Elekid sang, hopping from foot to foot happily.
Green chuckled and folded her arms.
"You wanna try full speed buddy?" She asked with a smirk.
Elekid shot her a confident grin.
"Elekid!" He declared.
Green shrugged and gave Graveler a nod.
"Alright, you heard him Graveler. Full speed."
Graveler grinned a cocky grin and took aim. He raised a hand way up above his head and closed it shut into a fist. Elekid readied himself and held up his fists, ready to strike. Again, a brief moment of stillness fell over them until the thrust of Graveler's arm interrupted it. The brown flames in his eyes flared fiercely, erupting high above his head as he shot the boulder at Elekid. Like a cannon, it shot with a loud sonic boom and slammed into Elekid before he could even start to move his fist. Elekid was sent hurtling back and slammed into the trunk of a tree behind him. Green gasped and scrambled for his pokéball. Graveler had gotten considerably stronger in the small amount of time she'd left him alone to train. She ran over and pointed the pokéball at Elekid. The boulder had shattered on impact but had also shattered the bones inside Elekid's head. He was a mess of red and yellow. Green quickly returned him, putting him in stasis within the pokéball and breathing a sigh of relief. As long as he was inside the pokéball he wasn't at risk of dying. He would remain in a state of pure energy, free from any pain or harm. Once she placed him within the healing machine, it would use the blueprint of his body stored inside the pokéball to restore his body back to its original healthy form. The extent of the damage determined how long this would take but nearly any damage could be healed by the machine. Everything, all the way up until death. If dead pokémon were placed inside a healing machine no amount of time could restore them.
Green cursed herself.
"Idiot!" She screamed at herself internally.
Killing a pokémon was the worst thing a trainer could do. That's why forfeits existed in official matches. As well as referee veto. Professor Oak had drilled that into her since she was little. Every lesson, lecture or study session he'd remind her of it. Green squeezed Elekid's pokéball and turned on her heel with a huff, fuming at herself. She was about to storm back to the cave to get her healing machine when she saw Graveler staring at Elekid's pokéball with a horrified look. He had dropped the five remaining boulders, the brown flames around his hands and his eyes had extinguished. Green felt a twang of guilt and rushed to comfort him.
"Hey, no, no it's okay. That wasn't your fault, it was mine," She assured him and caressed the top of his head soothingly, "he's okay though, a few hours in the healing machine and he'll be good as new."
Graveler smiled wearily and gave a small nod of his body.
"Graveler…" He muttered and looked down at the ground.
Green stood up and gestured for him to follow.
"That's enough training for today, let's go get the healing machine okay?" She instructed gently.
Graveler nodded and followed her, waddling behind her as they made their way back towards the cave. However, they didn't get very far.
The latest round of Machoke and Primeape was reaching its climax. They traded fearsome blows, right hooks to the head, uppercuts to the jaw and gut punches so hard that it made their whole bodies heave. They were dodging too, blocking as well. Neither was giving up and both seemed, for once, evenly matched. Primeape landed a blow, clocking Machoke across the jaw. He dodged back, avoiding a powerful counter that would surely knock him onto his ass. Primeape went back in. A right hook to the head, smashing Machoke's temple, followed by a swift hop to the side avoiding a counter left hook. Primeape countered the failed counter slammed his left fist into Machoke's forehead. The blow cracked like the roar of a cannon and sent Machoke staggering backwards, swinging blindly. Primeape didn't let up and persuaded him. He undercut his belly with two swift blows, headbutt Machoke in the mouth and uppercut him for a brutal combo. Finally, for the first time, Machoke balance faltered and Primeape sent him falling back over his heels. He crashed into the ground with a thud and a defeated groan. Primeape stood above him, slightly baffled as he processed what he had just done. When the realisation of his victory struck him he let out a bellowing, victorious roar. His furrowed, angry eyes met Green as she watched them with astonishment. She would have congratulated him, if he hadn't begun to rush at her, hopped up on a high of adrenaline and testosterone. Primeape shoved Green back up against a tree with a powerful bump of his chest. He loomed over her and blew hot air from his snout into her face.
"PRIIIIIIIIIIIME!" He shouted into her face, making her and the tree rattle behind her.
Green wasn't exactly sure what happened next in the few moments that followed but she found herself with a fluttering heart, shaking hands and down on the ground. On her knees.