For anyone wondering what Scyther's moveset is, I'm kind of going with a mash up of multiple Generations for convenience. Sorry if you don't like it.
P.S. I tried a new format for this chapter, let me know if you like it more.
"Ready, and begin!"
Mudkip took the first move, dashing towards me with its gullet filling with liquid, an incoming Water Gun.
"Quick, Up!" Alexa called. The energy of Quick Attack built up as my wings flew into action. I held still for a moment until I saw the water begin to spill from Mudkip's mouth, and in that moment I shot off, gliding up and over the stream of water that shot out. Directly above the Mudkip now, I shot at the blue Pokémon and landed a solid kick onto its back. It let out a cry of pain as it tumbled and I had to stop myself from flinching as I hopped away from them. You didn't take it too far. This is normal. Mudkip started to stand back up as I advanced on them once more.
"Cut away!" Alexa cried, a grin plastered on her face. The bug energy built in my blade quickly, and I went for the slash.
"Give them a wide spread!" Birch commanded as Mudkip readied its tail to swipe the now moistened ground. I got one Fury Cutter off before I had to back up, and while the Mud Slap had missed, it had its intended effect of driving me away. The Mud Fish was quick to begin shooting off Water Guns. I dodged quite a few with a couple Quick Attacks before Alexa gave me my next command, however the ones that hit managed to hit hard. How does that little blue thing pack such pressure in its mouth?
"Quick Attack! Go!!" Alexa yelled. Once more I charged up a Quick Attack but didn't waste any time this time around, instead dashing straight towards Mudkip.
"Counter it!" Birch called, but as Mudkip prepared to give me a face full of mud, I stopped abruptly in front of the Mudkip and kicked off the ground, wings fluttering again as I flew above the wall of mud. Above the Mudkip once more, I stopped flying and fell straight down onto him, Fury Cutter prepared. It dodged to the side, dodging my legs but not the glowing green slash from my blade. I cut into it once more, blinking away visions of the past as it tucked its head into its chest. I only had a moment to realize it wasn't recoiling in pain before it slammed into my knee. My leg buckled under me as it erupted in pain. How hard is that thing's skull?! I recovered from the blow and returned with an even stronger Fury Cutter, which staggered the Mudkip backwards with the force. Just one more...!
"...p and quick attack!" Alexa commanded, but I only heard the last half, my adrenaline dulling my senses. I pulled back my blade and poised it for a Quick Attack thrust, and as I launched myself at them, my vision became clouded with brown. I felt myself connect with the fish, but my eyes began to sting terribly. I rubbed them best I could, but continued to look forward. It was then that I realized that Mudkip was gone.
"Mudkip can no longer battle! The winner of Round 1 is Alexa and Harvest!" the referee announced. Blearily looking forward, I saw Birch's hand extended holding a Pokéball. I… I did it! I could hear Alexa cheer behind me, but I knew the victory would be short-lived. I returned to my side of the arena while wiping the pain out of my eyes. This can't go well, I can hardly keep them open long enough to see.
"Are both challengers ready?" the referee asked. I raised my claw in answer. Alexa and Birch both voiced their affirmations. When did he release Taillow from their ball? I stopped rubbing my eyes long enough to see that Taillow was ready right in front of me. The sting in my eyes dulled as adrenaline kicked in. I'm ready now. I think.
"Ready, and, begin!" Me and Taillow both shot off, my wings carrying me upwards and her Quick Attack shooting at where I was.
"Cut 'em!" Alexa cried as I remembered our strategy. I dropped down onto the small bird as my claw quickly glowed green and slashed at her wing joint. It barely did anything, but the point wasn't the initial hit.
"Peck and get out!" Birch called. Taillow's beak shined a light blue as they drove it into my foot. They then opened their wings and used Quick Attack to clip me on their way out. The pain from the peck was immeasurably worse than Mudkip's Water Gun. Not to mention how hard their Quick Attack hit, clearly stronger than my own.
"After them! Don't let up!" Alexa commanded. Not that easy, lady. I lifted off the ground as I used my own Quick Attack to chase them, as they flew over their half of the field now. Their back turned to me again, I prepared another Fury Cutter as I spotted the previous slash mark I had left.
Fury Cutter is a cruel move that automatically targets previous injuries left by it, making the wound that much worse. Any minor cut caused by it can quickly turn into a deep gash. The shallower the cut, however, the easier it is to lose where you initially hit.
Swinging my blade, I was mentally locked onto where I had hit before, until the stinging in my eyes returned at the worst possible moment. I had to shut my eyes as I swung—and never connected. The inertia of the swing made me tumble in the air as I cracked my eyes open, seeing Taillow close in on me.
"Take advantage of his miss!" Birch shouted. I tried my best to dodge the flurry of pecks as Taillow dove into me, but only having partal vision didn't help.
This is it. My mind muttered. You've lost and there'll be no one to save you. You failed your trainer and yourself by going too over your head. My senses started to shut down as the pain overwhelmed me, but my pride screamed at me to not give up. I pushed my wings to keep from hitting the ground, and I cracked open my eyes to see red. All sensibility in me disappeared as I was dragged back to the lab. Don't let them kill you. The sterile white walls surrounding me. You won't die today. You need to get out. You need to see the sun. Your brothers and sisters won't mind dying for you—
"Come on Harvest! Hit back!" I snapped back to reality, my eyes opening with clarity. Taillow was still pecking away at my torso. I could see green blood begin to form on their beak as she pecked at my exoskeleton. I slashed at them, swiping them away from myself as I forgot to keep moving my wings and crashed into the ground, hard. The only thing fueling my consciousness was that underlying need to survive, and I was going to do it. I couldn't process any commands from my trainer as I felt the negative feelings inside me bubble up. Taillow was flying away to dive at me once more. I reached out my claw and a cloud of dark energy manifested in front of the retreating Taillow. They squawked in surprise as the vortex-like smog slowed them down—before slingshotting them into my direction. I sidestepped the collision course as they crashed against the ground, before slamming my blade onto them, a final cry emitted before they slumped and lost consciousness. My instincts yelled to keep going—to finish it—but the uproar of noise around me drew me from my hyper-focus. An embrace—no, an attack!—wait, no, my trainer wrapped their arms around me as they jumped into me, my legs buckling and my body falling. The last thing I felt as I slipped into unconsciousness was a sensation of overflowing success.
-.-.-
I awoke once more in the dark void of my Pokéball, any connection to a person unfelt. The events prior were slightly cloudy yet familiar. I could remember up to the beginning of Taillow's fight, but anything past that I could only remember having feelings of frustration and fear. Did we win? I thought, Wouldn't I be standing victoriously in the field if we did? I could hear some sounds from outside the ball. Where exactly am I? Suddenly there was the sound of a door opening, probably in the room I'm in, followed by steady footfall. It stopped just in front of me, and a clamp that was attached to me, which I never realized was there, released my ball from its grip. The hand of someone picked me up, and I couldn't recognize their connection's feeling. It felt muddled, like a stressful day or a frustrated outcome to an argument or deal.
They took me out of the room and past the room that discussion was being held in. I couldn't tell where we stopped, but he knocked on a door before announcing himself.
"Birch? The healing process is finished," the stressed male voice said. I couldn't hear the response, but the person carrying me entered the room. "I'm not sure if he's conscious yet, so—" He was cut off by me rolling my ball in his palm.
"Well I guess that answers that!" Birch heartily laughed. "You can just leave him there, his trainer will be here soon." She left? How long was I out? Is she going to yell at me? I was placed down onto a table, presumably around the middle of it. Almost like a sixth sense, I could feel Birch across the room, most likely behind his desk.
"I know you can hear me Harvest, and I just want to say good job," the professor started. "Your sudden use of Pursuit was excellent and unexpected, exactly what I was hoping to see from you." He's praising me? Pursuit? What is he talking about? Then it came back to me just as sudden as his comments were. That's right, I had gotten so frustrated that I felt like I was back in that sterile Lab. But in the end, I-I won. I won! Haha! 3-0 Taillow!
"However, we do have to work on your ability to follow your trainer's commands. There were a couple times during the fight that I don't think you heard most of or any of the directions that Alexa gave you." If I could look down then I would be. The one thing he tried to teach me to do, and I failed at it. "Now, Alexa should be getting here soon, so feel free to get some rest while you're at it. I would let you out of your Pokéball, but I feel that should be her privilege, and not mine." Birch fell into silent study after that. The emotions of the past day catching up to me, I decided that rest would be the best option I have. I was exhausted even thinking about how I managed to stay awake during that foght with Taillow.
.-.-.
I awoke once more to the sound of running outside the room. I already figured who it was. She didn't bother knocking on the door, and before Birch could get a comment in, she had already scooped me off the table. It wasn't until now that I realized how strong that connection I had felt from her the first time she picked me up had gotten. I could pick up more emotions from it—excitement and bewilderment, curiosity and… fear? What does she have to fear?
"Are you ready to adventure, Harvest?!" she exclaimed. Her excitement is overwhelming.
"Now, now, pump the brakes for a moment," Birch started, "You'll have plenty of time to celebrate after I get to talk to you both. But first, please let him out of his ball." Finally.
The release mechanism activated, and I felt my feet hit the floor. Looking down at myself, I eyed the large scar on my stomach, which has no new additions to my surprise.
"Healing Machine technology is quite something, huh?" Birch stated, "Leaves no trace of the previous injury. Unfortunately we weren't legally allowed to treat that previous wound of yours."I could feel the awkward silence building as Birch stayed silent and Alexa eyed the scar. It was broken as Alexa went to ask Birch, but then was interrupted when he said, "I'll discuss what I know. Harvest, if you could wait outside the room, please? I don't wish to bring you any bad memories if I am correct." I nodded at him, and headed to the door before realizing that I couldn't open the doorknob.
-.-.-
Alexa's POV
.-.-.
As I watched Harvest—my first Pokémon!—leave the room, I started to ponder what the professor could be assuming that could be so dramatic. Why make him leave? Professor Birch waited a moment after the door clicked, perhaps to gather his thoughts. Then, he spoke.
"You remember how Harvest had that name, H-457?" he began.
"Yeah, you said you found it on a tag on him?" I replied.
"Yes, well, it is most definitely an odd name, and definitely more likely to be a designation as part of an experiment or test," he spoke, not waiting for a reply, "I do believe that is exactly the case. His odd name coupled with his dislike of Pokémon Centers. Not to mention his extreme caution and fear when it came to real combat. I noticed how odd it was at the end of our fight that he managed to pull through that many Peck attacks from Taillow without going down. I think that something happened in that place he came from, not to mention the giant torso wound on him that would have normally killed something as inexperienced as him."
"What do you think happened, Professor?" I asked him. What could have possibly happened to you, Harvest?
"I can't say for certain," he sighed, "But I am certain that it could cause problems in the future. I'm sure you noticed that he didn't always hear your commands?" I nodded. "I believe he was experiencing some kind of episode, possibly related to that scar on him. It would also explain the sudden manifestation of a dark-type move in him, seeing as the dark type is the physical and non-physical manifestation of negative emotions." Oh, was that what it was?
"Do you mean that move that he used at the end of the fight? I was wondering what that was called." I curiously asked.
"Indeed," the Professor confirmed, "That move was a rather strong one called Pursuit. It creates some form of a cone-like vortex that builds up kinetic energy through movement inside of it, before releasing all of it. Essentially, it's a slingshot that works through someone trying to run through it." Huh, that could be very useful. I thought to myself.
"Sorry for sidetracking Professor, was there anything else that I should know? Or another theory of yours?" I sheepishly asked.
"Oh, right," he began, "Well… I believe I've covered everything important. I'll just recap. My theory is that Harvest, or H-457, was part of some laboratory's messed up experiment. He got in a fight with something, or someone, strong enough to pierce his torso and he likely has trauma from the whole experience. This may cause him to blank out or stop listening mid-fight, and he also dislikes Pokémon centers, or at least being alone in one." I've got quite the journey ahead, don't I?
"Got it, thanks Professor." I gratefully said.
"Heh, anytime, Alexa," he chuckled, "And, uh, one more thing."
"Yes?" I asked.
"Be careful out there, you never know what can happen in the wild," he warned, with an oddly serious and straight face. That look does not fit him.
"Will do, Professor. And, uh… thank you. Thanks for everything you've done for me the past bit." I bowed at him in respect. When I looked back up, he had a warm smile on his face.
"Anytime, Alexa. Now go catch up to that son of mine!" And with that I turned around, and opened the door with a slowly growing grin on my face. I'm coming for you, Brendan!
-.-.-
Harvest's POV
.-..-.
After I had said my respectful goodbyes to Birch, me and Alexa had gotten on the road. It was an… interesting experience. The outdoors was an experience that it seemed like just as much I marvelled at it, Alexa was excited for it. I truly do not know if she stopped talking.
"—nd he started a few months before me, luckily not a full yea—gyah!" her current rant about some boy was interrupted by her walking face-first into a web that was dangling from a tree. This was the second time now, so her cry only slightly startled me, as I did the same thing as the first time and cut the string out of the tree. This one seemed to have a bit more thickness but it snapped apart all the same.
"Phew, thank you for that, Harv." Alexa said appreciatively. She had shortened my name down to Harv for most conversations. Is this what friends do? Should I think of her as 'Lexa'? Suddenly, my vision went black as something fell on top of my head from above. Did something fall out of the tree? My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain as it bit me.
"Harvest! A Pokémon fell on you!" I was quick to smack it off of my face and back up, making sure to put myself between it and Alexa. Don't forget your training. It was a small red wormy creature, which wriggled on the ground as it got back up onto it's many legs.
"Ugh, I hate Bugs…" I heard Alexa mutter. I looked over my shoulder at her and gave her a look. I'm a bug… "O-Other than you, Harv! I don't know if I could handle it if Birch gave me a Wurmple or Caterpie." I turned back to the worm on the ground, shaking my head at her antics. The small creature screeched at us, before suddenly spraying strands and globs of string at me. Something so small can produce so much web?! I cut a couple short, but a few stay on me or the ground around me. During the moment I took to cut myself from the ground, I looked up and saw it smashing its body into my face. I managed to not fall over—it didn't even hurt that bad, actually—and instead I quickly retaliated with a Fury Cutter, slashing it off of me, and before it could retreat I Quick Attacked after it and kicked it away. I prepared my blades for it to stand back up, but then I realized it wasn't even moving. Oh. I lowered my blades and walked over. Sure enough, it was knocked out cold. Huh.
"Woo! Good job Harv!" Alexa cheered behind me. That was barely even a fight, I mentally sighed. I heard Alexa walking up behind me as I lightly kicked the small thing with my foot. Is it even still alive? It twitched suddenly and I decided that was good enough of an answer.
"Eugh, oh well, let's get back onto the road." Alexa cringed after the Pokémon twitched. She turned back towards the path as I followed behind her. This is… an interesting experience. The thought just occurred to me of how much I've been trusting these humans. Why is that? There's been some descreet feeling ever since I've been caught that I can trust these people. But why? I've only known hurt from them and yet… and yet— The image of Joy hugging me, treating me as if I was someone important to them even though I had only known them for, as far as I could remember, only a few weeks. Unless I was unconscious for a long time. I can't remember if anyone had mentioned how long I'd been asleep. I suddenly ran into the back of someone, and when I looked up, I realized that I ran into Alexa.
"Are you even paying attention?" she quizzed, a pouty look on her face. Maybe those thoughts can wait. I chuckled at her in response. "Hey! Was that a laugh?! Don't laugh at me, you're the one who wasn't paying attention!"
-.-.-
The sun was starting to fall beyond the horizon and both Alexa and I were starting to get tired of walking. Luckily she had the materials to set up a "camp," whatever that is.
I was resting against a tree while watching Alexa put together some sort of "tent" when she called out to me.
"Idea! How about you train while I'm setting this up?" she declared. That sounded like a decent idea, so I stood up and stretched my wings. Looking back at her she was back to working on her tent. Is… she going to tell me what to do?
"Trainer?" I voiced, though it probably just sounded like a Scy? to her. She looked over at me as I cocked my head to the side. I saw Taillow do this when they asked questions, hopefully it works.
"Oh, right, you're probably just as clueless as I am when it comes to training, uhh…" she trailed off, lost in thought. I looked around at the slight clearing we were in. Alexa had started putting together her triangular yellow tent she brought in the center of the small oval-shaped patch of grass, surrounded by trees and a boulder off to the right. In total the area was probably 25-30 feet in diameter.
"I know! How about this, not sure if it'll work but it'll be good practice," she pointed out a little but away, directly at a tree. "Kick one of those trees and watch for how many leaves fall out. Then try to cut them all before they fall down. Bonus points if you cut them down the middle!" After explaining she went back to working on her tent. What is a point and do I want more of them? I guess I could try. I looked off towards the tree Alexa pointed at and proceeded to walk towards this. Here goes nothing. I readied my blades and raised my foot up, the flat bottom of it pointed at the middle of the trunk.
Whack! Above me I heard the leaves rustle and stir, and before I knew it there were around six leaves floating to the ground around me. I reached up and cut the bottom third off of one before turning sixty degrees and slashing at the next two at once. One was cut apart as I missed the other, so I had to slash at it once more. Turning once more I realized that I was running out of time and swiped at the air blindly, hoping to catch some of them. Obviously I missed the blind attack, but as I watched the remaining three leaves land softly on the ground my adrenaline only grew. That exercise was… exhilarating! It makes me think fast but aim well while also using enough force to slash a leaf without over-extending and wasting time! I looked at the tree next to me with excitement. Again!
.-.-.
Alexa's POV
-.-.-
I sat there in wonder as this supposedly new-to-training Scyther repeated the exercise that I gave him over and over. This was probably his fifth attempt now, and the results were sporadic at best. The last tree he kicked he only got a single leaf out of the four that fell, but it was the only one so far that he managed to perfectly cut down the middle. I thought this would be a fruitless and frustrating exercise but it's turned out to be so much more! But how can I put this to use? Hmm… Right! It'd be best if I could watch how he behaves while put under a timing pressure with an unpredictable difficulty. I should make sure to watch how he fights wild Pokémon too. I crouched down and dug through my bag before pulling out the cream-colored notepad I stashed away for my travels.
Sitting cross legged now, I watched as Harvest strode towards the next tree and braced himself. It didn't take long before he launched his leg at the tree before looking up. I looked in the same direction and counted 4, no, 5 leaves fluttering down, a couple of them moving faster than the others. Harvest aimed his scythe-arms at his sides and swung in an upwards angle at one of the fast ones and slicing it as the momentum carried him upwards, which his wings used to flutter a foot above the ground. Now closer to the leaves, he cut one more before missing another one. He flailed for a second before finishing it off and turning around, looking away from the tree and in my direction. As he did the fifth leaf landed on his snout and he flinched back, before cutting it in a half-hearted swipe. He also noticed the second leaf that fell faster than the others, having been left forgotten on the grassy floor of the clearing.
He seems to have been surprised by the couple things that he didn't make sure to keep track of. That is understandable, but could still be troublesome, especially since he's my only Pokémon currently. We should probably come up with a system or something in order to make sure that he doesn't get caught off guard by a wild Pokémon's attack or anything of the sort. I jotted down a couple notes and ideas I had before looking back up to see Harvest staring right back at me, questioningly. He cocked his head before raising a claw at me—no, behind me. I looked behind me and realized what he was saying. I totally forgot about the tent! How am I supposed to be training him on keeping track of attacks when I can't keep track of what I'm doing?!
.-.-.