Can You Feel My Heart
Raising his arm to block the incoming blow, Red cringed as the metal rod made contact with his arm. Another sharp strike came down on him. He couldn't keep his balance and toppled onto his back.
"Gah!" Red rubbed his bare arms covered in variety sizes of bruises.
"Is this your limit? Are you going to let an old man like me pummeled you so easily," Brom scoffed bringing his staff to the ground.
Red took the taunt and rolled back onto his feet. "Why don't I get the whipping stick this time and see how you fare against me?" Red retorted.
"This is not my training exercise, but yours. Now, try to learn the technique." Brom restated.
Red groaned getting back into position. The sun was at its highest baring down on Red determined to burn him alive. He reminded of himself on what the purpose of this training was.
I need to try and release my aura into my veins and that will create a powerful defense boosting technique, Red told himself again. Having mastered this, I will be able to easily learn other Aura techniques!
"Come on! Once more!" Brom raised his staff. "Remember, if you are the descendant of Sir Pallet, then you should be able to learn all three basic types of Aura."
That's right. I need to learn the first type of Aura Enhance. Red released his Aura powers guiding it to his arms. He lifted one arm up to block as Brom came after him. His arm was struck but this time Red felt only a little pain. A light glow has taken over his right arm as well as his left.
Brom smirked under his gray mustache. He lifted his metal rod and brought it down on Red with all his might. His student tried to block it with his other arm but a second before the blow could connect, the aura disappeared from his arm. Red was thrown onto the ground from the strong hit.
"Don't lose your concentration," Brom noted Red's mistake.
Red cringed on the ground. He rubbed his new bruise the size of Pokeball trying to eradicate the pain. Brom paused for Red to recover but this time he took more time than before. Red sat there on the ground contemplating on something. He took a look around him.
Red's Pokemon were all outside training as well. They were all trying out the new moves that Red gave them or a new combo that Red came up with. With Brom's help, Red distributed the unused TMs that he has kept for quite some time. Each one was giving it their all to train. He felt the rush of emotions from their auras all feeling the need to accomplish their tasks.
They will give it their all just for me, Red thought on the topic. And they are expecting the same from me? He squeezed his arms feeling soreness take over them. He turned back to Brom who patiently awaited Red with his staff in hands. Red squinted under the harsh sunlight wishing he had his hat now. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he looked up to Brom.
A grin spread across Red's face. "I will get it this time!" Red rejoiced jumping onto his feet. Brom smiled as he took his stance to attack Red once more.
From the side of his eye, Charizard watched Red continue his Aura training. An unnatural cry brought Charizard's vision forward.
-"Blarrgh!"- Gabite vomited his new fire move from his jaws. He made an unnatural face as he tried to burn his sparring partner. Charizard retaliated with his own Flamethrower overcoming Gabite's own with little effort.
-"Don't act like your throwing up,"- Charizard instructed his pupil for the day. –"You got to let it out like your naturally breathing out."-
Gabite gasped for air looking up to his fire master. –"Oh great Charizard. Teach me your ways!"- He wailed making Charizard roll his eyes.
-And here I am stuck with babysitting,- Charizard thought annoyed. He was tasked to teach Gabite how to use his newly acquired technique, Flamethrower. Once Gabite was able to freely use it, he had to learn the combo that Red thought of.
Gabite unleashed another torrent of flames. He felt it escape his throat much easier than trying to vomit it out. Charizard countered it with his own. Charizard lowered the power to evenly match Gabite's. Seeing it was evenly matched, Gabite decided to try the new combo.
-Look as I surpass my master!- Gabite narrated the scene in his head. Claws outstretched, Gabite activated his Dragon Claw.
-What is he trying?- Charizard thought. Red never told him what the combo was so he had no clue what Gabite was attempting.
Gabite suddenly rushed forward still spilling out fire. Charizard looked alarm as his Flamethrower was being pushed back towards him. He quickly increased his flames yet did it with such haste that the fire overtook Gabite and engulfed the Dragon type.
Jumping from the fire, Gabite lunged at Charizard with a determined look that Charizard only saw once in his lifetime and that was when Gabite barely evolved. Fire swirled around Gabite's large claws as if it were a fire punch. Gabite slashed the unprepared Charizard across the chest with both arms crossing in an x-pattern.
Charizard roared as the fire enveloped claws scratched his chest. He jumped back clutching his fresh wound. Gabite landed with a goofy grin.
-"Burning Claw!"- Gabite gleefully shouted waving his claws in the air. –"I did it! I have combo just for me!"-
Charizard cringed, feeling the heat from the attack burn his gash. Panting heavily, Charizard couldn't help but feel remorse. How did I let that guy take me by surprise? – Charizard asked himself. –I wasn't fast enough to dodge or to retaliate. Damn, I feel so humiliated! And these burns aren't supposed to affect a fire-type like me. Charizard stood their bewildered and mortified.
Gabite's cry of achievement only caught Pikachu's ears. He quickly glanced over his directions.
-"Hey! Pay attention when you're fighting me!"- Pidgeot fired a set of Air Cutter at Pikachu.
Pikachu focused his attention back to Pidgeot just in time to release his new electric move. He fired in all directions with blue electricity yet he kept the range close to his body. The flashed of light danced around his body as Pikachu tried to fully control the energy. The Air Cutter sliced through the air but when it met the electric force field, the blades were torn apart.
Pikachu smirked. –"You saw that! I broke down your Air Cutter in a matter of seconds!"- Pikachu boasted.
-"Yeah, quite a clever use of Shock Wave,"- Pidgeot remarked surprised that it went so smoothly. –It wasn't only that weak move was easier to manipulate, but Pikachu's own skills to control it. After practicing with so many electric moves, he has gain excellent control over the element.- Pidgeot stated his observations so far.
-"I wonder what else I can do it with this electric field,"- Pikachu said taking step forward still producing electricity. He didn't feel even a little fatigue since Shock Wave required little energy at his level.
-"Can it stop this!"- Eevee launched several Shadow Balls.
Pikachu turned back to see the first Shadow Ball break apart in his barrier but the next few broke through his weakened defense. He was blown back by the exploding ghost matter. His Shock Wave momentarily stopped but Pikachu regained his standing posture and recreated the technique. He did got pretty scratched up the surprise attack.
-"Hey, you're getting much better,"- Pikachu praised with a confident smile. –"Being the newest member, you will have to train more to catch up with us."-
-"Thank you!"- Eevee jumped up and down excited.
-"But I'm not going to let you surpass me yet!"- he proclaimed getting onto fours. –"Come at me again with those Shadow Balls and I will soon be able to break them!"-
-"But try to do so with my Air Cutter flanking you!"- Pidgeot cried above Pikachu. The three continued their training.
Close to three sparring group was Nidoking, who was practicing his new move. Lucario stood directly front him in a defensive position. The Drill Pokemon rushed his opponent raising his giant claw that had a purple light surrounding it. He punched Lucario aiming for his mid section but the jackal-like Pokemon swiftly blocked it by crossing his arms.
-"Your Poison Jab won't hurt me since I'm a steel type,"- Lucario remarked.
-"I know which is why you were chosen as my partner,"- Nidoking said back reeling his arm back. –"So I can repeatedly clobber you with Poison Jab and not get you weakened by poison!"- He armed his other claw with a Poison Jab and with both, assaulted his steel foe.
Lucario began to feel back as he was hammered with punches that had enough force to break boulders. He wanted to get something out of this training besides being a punching bag, so he jumped Nidoking with a glowing paw. He struck Nidoking in the middle of his chest and sent a powerful wave from it. Nidoking was sent backwards sliding but he kept his stance.
–"What the hell was that?"- Nidoking asked shocked. He could have sworn that punch went right through his body and left a gaping hole. He touched the place where Lucario struck him still feeling it tingle.
-"That was Force Palm,"- Lucario answered bending his knees low. –"I force my own aura into your body to create a strong shockwave."-
-"Why are you attacking when I'm the one who needs training with his moves?"- Nidoking waved his arms widely like a maniac.
Lucario glared at him. –"Because none of your opponents will be sitting there to wait for lumbering mass to reach them!"-
-"What? Are you calling me fat?"-
-"Enough of your spill and fight!"- Lucario charged his foe with another Force Palm ready. He ducked under slow punch Nidoking tried to attack with and notched him right under the jaw. The swift attacker jumped back to dodge a wild swing. –"Don't attack as a reaction!"- He scored another hit on Nidoking chest.
Staggering back, Nidoking shot Lucario a nasty scowl that didn't at all faze him. He shoved off the tingly sensation and outstretched both arms. Poison Jab ready to use at a moment's notice. Lucario charged him for another attack with a graceful stride.
Lucario's movements were closely monitored by two dark pupils. Nidoking didn't dare let him out of his sight as he prepared to swing. He unknowingly used Focus Energy which helped his accuracy. He tried to bring his scaly arm down on Lucario as he was swinging down hammer but the agile Aura Pokemon jumped to side at the last second.
-"Getting closer,"- Lucario remarked praising for Nidoking's improvement. He pounced on Nidoking bringing his paw down to strike at the skull. A flash of purple went by his face followed by a sudden pain in his gut happened before he could land the hit. He was thrown onto the ground with a hard thud.
Lucario immediately jumped to his feet not even being on the floor longer than a second. His hand drifted to his throbbing stomach. –"How did you land such a clean hit on me with such little time to react?"- Lucario demanded to know. He came to the conclusion that his foe must have had some assistance to do so.
Nidoking raised his glowing claw that docked his aura sensing foe. –"Easy, I just…uhh-to tell you the truth, I don't even know how I managed it?"- he revealed with an awkward smile.
-"Impossible! You must have done something because I sensed a sudden change in your aura,"- Lucario confidently accused. –"You managed to hurt me with a Poison Jab."- Lucario saw this was getting ludicrous.
-"Look, I don't remember anything but seeing things slow down like if it was using…"- Nidoking's face went blank. -"Like if I was using Focus Energy."-
-"I see now…"- Lucario muttered. –With that he can overcome his rather sluggish movements by still being able to land solid hits,- Lucario concluded. –"Plus, with his destructive power, one attack could be all he needs to take care of the.- Lucario rubbed his still aching gut.
-" I didn't expect to even damage you,"- Nidoking confessed seeing it did do some harm to his steel-type opponent.
-"It's because you hit me with enough force to break a castle's walls,"- Lucario barked back. He got into his usual stance. –"It's time I step it up a notch to challenge you a bit more. Extreme Speed!"- He vanished in a blink of an eye.
Nidoking shocked, desperately looked around to even catch a glimpse of him. His Foresight ability didn't even help him as he felt a powerful sent him few feet backwards. Dropping onto the ground, Nidoking placed his two arms to catch himself. He turned his back to find Lucario directly in front him.
-"If you can keep up with this speed then you will most definitely be able to handle the rest of the competition,"- Lucario said looking down at Nidoking.
Nidoking closed his eyes for second and reopened with a determined look. –"I will try my hardest to overcome this. Let get this training started!"- He had Lucario help him back onto his feet.
The entire group trained till the sun began to go down. They only took two 30 minute break during the entire session and even when the Pokemon decided to end it early, Red continued his training.
Jumping back, Red lifted his knee as new opponent Lucario came at him with a roundhouse kick. The Aura took over his leg to create the technique known as Aura Buffer. He didn't have the physical strength to stop himself from being launched into the air. He crashed onto his back but he rolled onto his feet not missing a beat. Having taken a kick that would have left a grown man crying on the ground, Red looked totally fine.
"Stop!" Brom raised a hand to discontinue the sparring. "Red, you have shown adept mastery of the technique. Any further improvement will have to come through experience on the battlefield, so we can't do much to help now." He slowly sat back down on his tree log.
Red understood and returned to the camp. He took his water bottle that Pikachu handed him and gulped down the last liter in it. He was sweating from every pore of his body contributing to his dehydration. He wiped off the sweat with the towel he had in his bag.
He plunked his tired butt onto the log and stretched out his sore limbs. He felt quite weak having used a lot of aura that day and grabbed some bread to get his energy back.
"It looks like you have a visitor, Red," Brom brought to Red's attention. He pointed with his staff to the gaping hole in the castle's wall.
Walking through the breach of defense was no other than Blue Oak. He blinked in disbelief when he caught sight of Red and his Pokemon Team.
"Finally, I found you," he said sounding relieved. He stuck his hands into his pants as he approached the group. "What have you been up to all this time?" he forcefully asked.
"Blue? What are you doing here?" Red asked in a surprised tone. He was the last person he thought will come and find him.
"Since you went and gone missing on this little expedition, Gramps asked me to go look since I happened to be there. Tch, Imagine me sent on a mission to find your idiotic ass," he shook his head with a cocky smile. "Though, I see you look just fine, so why didn't you come back?" He eyed Brom for a split second.
Red turned embarrassed for he completely forgot about his mission. "You see, I was looking for the strange rock your Grandfather sent to find but it so happened to already belong to someone else." Red pointed to Brom's staff where the prized sphere stood upon.
Blue fully faced Brom with skeptic look. "And who exactly are you, old man?"
Brom's eyebrows furrowed. "Have all youth lost their respect for their elders. I'm the Aura Guardian Brom."
"Aura-Guardian?" Blue felt confused the by the words.
"Yeah , an actual Aura Guardian who offered to help train me!" Red enthusiastically replied.
"Why would he train a fool like you?" Blue rudely asked.
"He is a boy from the Pallet Bloodline," Brom boldly stated. "It is my duty to train the descendant of Pallet."
Blue's face read a mix of emotions. "Impossible! Red can't be related to the guy who was named after this castle and town!"
Red enjoyed the look on Blue's face a little too much. "Believe it or not, Pallet is my ancestor."
"How can you be so sure?"
Red got up from his log and walked up to Blue. Pointing to his stomach area, he said," punch me in the stomach with all your strength and don't even to hesitate a little."
"Woah, I don't want to hurt you to realize you have Pallet's blood in you," Blue raised his hands defensively as he was just asked to kick a baby.
Red frowned. "I'm giving you the one chance to punch me and there won't be any charges pressed on you and you pass? Is it because you are afraid to hit me?"
"No I'm not! It's just that I'm afraid you'll cry like a wimp," Blue crossed his arms defiantly.
Shaking his head, Red replied, "If you're not that worried of getting hurt, then hit. Give me your best shot and I won't cry!" He lifted his arms high to show Blue he wasn't going to try and block it.
Blue bit his lip thinking but shook his head.
"Alright, I believe you're Pallet descendant! Happy now?"
Red smirked. "Well, not really since I was waiting for you to feel hurt," he said lifting his shirt up to reveal a glowing abdomen. "If you struck me, it would have felt like hitting a brick wall."
"Tch, that's why you wanted me to hit you with all my strength you jerk," Blue said not looking at all amazed by Red's ability. "And you have been training here just to control some special power? How is that going to help in any Pokemon battle since you're the one getting trained?"
"Hey, my Pokemon have been working hard as well!" Red retorted.
"Really! Then let me test one of your guys," Blue challenged.
"You're on Oak!"
Blue took out his Pokeball. "Go Blastoise!"
Blue released the final evolution of his Squirtle. An enormous blue turtle with the same shell only larger and had two openings on the back. It stared back at Red with a confident look that made Red felt it could do anything it put its mind to.
"Blastoise: the Shellfish Pokemon. A brutal Pokémon with pressurized water jets on its shell. They are used for high speed tackles. It deliberately makes itself heavy so it can withstand the recoil of the water jets it fires."
"An amazing Pokemon, but has it gotten better than my Charizard?" Red asked putting up his Pokedex.
-Oh god why did he had to choose me to battle?- Charizard thought dismayed. He quietly made his to Red's side.
-"I see we get to fight once more my friend,"- Blastoise remarked with a warm smile. –"Let's both give it our best and make this a great match."-
Charizard gave him an uninterested look. –"Yeah, let's get this over with,"- he dejectedly replied receiving a concerned look from his childhood friend.
"I can assure you Red that this won't be like last time," Blue claimed raising a finger at Charizard.
"Show me how much you have improved," Red smiled getting pumped up. He forgot the soreness his body felt and let the euphoria that comes with an exciting body flow through him.
"Blastoise, Skull Bash!"
Blastoise tucked his head back into the safety of his shell but not the rest of his body. Lowering his entire body so his head was directly pointed at Charizard's abdomen, Blastoise recklessly charged. Charizard showed little concern for the wobbling turtle heading his way.
"Charizard!" Red raised his hand. "Earthquake him!"
Charizard did a small hop to send a powerful shockwave that he focused to his foe. The ground beneath Blastoise shook with tremendous force and cracked under his stubby feet making him lose his balance.
"Charizard, into the air and Flamethrower!"
Without a second thought, Charizard jumped into the sky. He stopped once he was twenty meters above ground to let loose a stream of fire onto the helpless Blastoise. The flames engulfed the massive turtle lighting up the darkening area with vivid light. The roar of the fire also stopped Blastoise from hearing Blue's commands.
Blue tried to issue a command again once the flames died down. "Blastoise, I know you are not hurt by the light roasting so Water Gun the bastard out of the sky. Foresight first!"
Blastoise's head popped out of his head and with glowing blue eyes, he pinpointed Charizard's location while he circled around him. He revealed a new part of his body which happened to be a freaking huge cannon that looked like it belonged on the turret of a tank extending from the rigid hole of his shell.
"Charizard, watch out!" Red warned.
Even with Charizard increasing his speed to make him a difficult target to hit, Foresight was able to keep up. Blastoise slightly adjusted his cannon before firing a single blob of water at mach 2 speed. The condensed Water Gun turned into a deadly missile that struck Charizard. The flying dragon dropped like a jet with a failed engine and crashed into the ground.
"Great job! Now, get back onto your feet!" Blue cheered.
-What an amazing shot? Red thought forgetting for second about his Charizard. His starter Pokemon lay on the ground barely moving.
"Charizard, come one. We got to pull through!" Red tried to motivate his Pokemon.
Letting out a snarl, Charizard rudely replied, -"Why don't you try taking a missile to the stomach and get up a second later!"- He clutched his right side where the Water Gun struck him and gently got back up.
-"Come on, Charizard! You still got this!"- Pidgeot yelled from the sidelines. –"You have been in much worse situation-!"- Charizard shot him a nasty look making him stop.
-"What's wrong with him?"- Pikachu asked low enough to not let Charizard hear. –"He has lately been in a pissed off mode. Has his power gone to his head and thinks he doesn't need our support?"-
Lucario approached the young trainer's team. –"He is dealing right now with much difficult foe than any opponent he has ever fought,"- Lucario said to bring light to Charizard's situation. –"He is doubting himself."-
Nidoking was taken back. He has always known Charizard since his met him as a guy who always believed in his strength, never second guessing himself nor his friends. –"We got to tell Red about this! He we knock some sense into Charizard."-
Lucario cocked his head towards the battling trainer. Red seem quite worried as he observed the battle from his side. –"He already knows the pain Charizard feels in his heart. Red is trying his best to help his Pokemon regain the confidence he once had. There is nothing we can do but have in faith in Red and Charizard."- He said the last part with a hint of somber. He stood there with the rest of Red's Pokemon as they silently watched the match unfold.
Red clenched his fist as negative emotion passed through his mind. He switched over to Blue's and Blastoise's aura who emitted enthusiasm and confidence. Shutting off all connection with the spiritual world, Red pressed on. He needed to win this battle in hoped of somewhat helping Charizard.
"Go in for a Mega Punch!"
"Aqua Jet!"
He surrounded himself in a torrent of water that launched him forward. At a blinding speed he smashed into his foe's protruding stomach with full force. He earned an audible grunt from him.
"Great, now Rapid Spin in place!" Blue eagerly ordered.
He began to spin in place still surrounded in water to increase the overall damage. Charizard's face clenched in pain as he tried to push back the massive turtle with his skimpy arms. The force was too great for him to handle and it pushed him onto back, which lead to him tripping over his own tail and fall backwards. Blastoise toppled onto him, squishing his foe.
"Get him off of you!" Red shouted desperately.
-"You-have gotten-quite heavy."- Charizard wheezed under the pressure. He tried to push him once more but to no avail.
-"Hey, it's not like I was going to be light a feather when I evolved,"- scoffed Blastoise still hiding in his shell.
Blaze became active as the fire tried to push off over 85 kilograms. With a snarl, he pushed up the shell by a few centimeters. Struggling he felt a rage of fury grow inside of him. Without warning, he let out an ear piercing roar that deafened the retracted turtle.
"What is going on?" Blue asked alarmed as a raging fire began to stream out of Charizard's body.
Red had to shield himself with his arms as the raging fire grew brighter. It felt like he was in a furnace as he squinted to try and get a look at the two battlers. The fire engulfed both fighters but he could still feel their aura. A worried and confused Blastoise lay on top while a furious Charizard emitted negative energy. The flames seem as they emitted feelings that represented Charizard's mood.
A second roar broke Red's thoughts as the fire grew to the size of a large truck with the intensifying heat. From the fierce flames a figure was shot out into the air. Red realized it was Blastoise as the round silhouette came crashing down. From fire emerged a totally different Charizard not in the sense of physical appearance but personality wise.
Looking beyond pissed, Charizard let out a roar in anger. The fire around him quickly spread like a wild fire with its own conscious. Red jumped back when the flames nearly caught him.
"Charizard, stop this right now!" Red shouted.
Charizard turned back to Red with an evil glint in his eye making Red shrink back. Not paying attention to his opponent, he wasn't able to dodge the incoming water attack that struck with the force of semi truck. The flames instantly disappeared the moment Charizard collapsed on the ground knocked out cold.
Red stood their motionlessly in shock. He tried to register what happen to the flames that just vanished into thin air. Blue's joyful cry brought Red to reality. He looked up to see Blue congratulating his Blastoise, which was something that Red never saw him do.
"That was quite an intense battle. Your Charizard put up a good fight for a Pokemon with type disadvantage," Blue commended Red. "The flames at the end did a number to Blastoise." He pointed to the nasty burn marks littering Blastoise.
-"I felt like I was at the center of the sun,"- Blastoise remarked.
Red nodded and quickly returned his defeated Charizard. He looked pitiful as he stared at Charizard's Pokeball but stiffened up when he notice Brom get up.
"Did you know what was that move that Charizard tried to do at the end, Red?" Brom asked looking at the trainer straight into the eyes.
Red's gaze moved away from the judgmental eyes that Brom had when he questioned him. "I don't know that was but I've seen it happen a few times before when he was about to faint."
Brom nodded his head. "Didn't you feel anything strange from those flames that he emitted?"
Red's face scrunched up. "Well, now that you mentioned it…I thought it was my imagination but it was almost like I could feel life coming from the fire itself."
"Hah, that impossible. Fire is just a form of energy," Blue intruded to dispute Red's observation. "There is no way you could sense life from it."
"It is not entirely impossible," Brom replied with authority.
Blue raised an eyebrow. "What are you playing at old man?" he asked.
"Simply that it was not a fire attack," Brom revealed.
"Huh, how is that so?" Red asked back.
Brom's eyes wandered off to the burnt ground. "Your Charizard was using the aura based move Blast Burn. A moved easily confused to be fire but it's really just the user releasing their aura that is so intense that it takes the form of fire. An attack that is hotter than normal fire so it can burn things that it could normally not," Brom explained.
"My Charizard is able to use his aura because of having an Aura Guardian as a trainer?" Red asked next.
Brom shook his head. "Having an aura guardian as a partner does increase the chance of the Pokemon learning it but a Pokemon doesn't require it. They could learn it just as easily," he answered. "But it seems your Charizard tried to use it with its emotions which is quite dangerous as you have witnessed."
"Yes, I have seen what it is capable of if not kept in check," Red lowered his head feeling ashamed.
Brom straightened his back. "But don't fret for I will help your Charizard control this incredible power."
Red's head perked up. "Really? Can you really help him?"
"This falls into my expertise in aura so I'll be to manage it," Brom gently smiled.
-"And I will assist,"- Lucario joined in.
Red clenched the Pokeball. He felt there was hope for his Pokemon. The aura Charizard transmitted from the Pokeball was still negative but it wasn't angered but saddened. Red knew his Charizard was mourning for his lost in the battle.
I promised that I will help you pal. I haven't and will never give up on you, Red vowed in his mind.
