Virbank Arc: Test of Strength
Mari decided that there was no use moping around and beating herself up. If she really wanted to make it, she couldn't avoid asking Jacky for help. She was already preparing for her friend to scold her for acting so stupidly. She had to live with it now. She picked herself up again and went outside. She was surprised to not find Jacky in the forest, but in town near the Virbank Complex. When Jacky noticed her, she looked up. "Oh, the victor returns." she remarked sarcastically. "Shut up..." Mari grumbled dejectedly, stopping in front of her. Jacky crossed her arms. "You lost, didn't you?",
"I got beaten up," Mari replied without enthusiasm. Jacky shook her head. "I told you so. But you wouldn't listen to me.",
"I know, I know..." Mari sighed. "I need your help. Please." Jacky nodded and sat down in the grass. Mari did the same. "...Roxie only needed one Pokémon to defeat me. Her Seviper... It had Glare and Screech. I was hoping to be able to do something with Skarmory, but it didn't end so well. No matter how fast it was...",
"Shouldn't Skarmory have to just close its eyes to avoid being affected by Glare?" Jacky asked and Mari stared at her. "... Uh..."
Jacky giggled. "You think way too complicated sometimes, honestly. Don't put obstacles in your own way."
Mari lowered her eyes. "I really didn't think of that... Is it really that simple?",
"Seems so." Jacky nodded. Mari was quite embarrassed now. She hadn't given a shred of thought to what she was doing. "... Okay, that was really stupid of me...",
"A fault confessed is half redressed", Jacky said. Mari nodded. "What were you doing there anyway? Was that a training fight?",
"More like exercises," Jacky said. Her friend tilted her head in confusion. "So... getting your bones broken by a fighting-type Pokémon is considered "exercise" lately? Didn't know you were weary of living."Jacky just smiled.
"How are Skarmory's wings?",
" injuries seem to have healed well enough that it's no longer hindered by them.",
"That's good. Hey, I'd have to look for a flying-type Pokémon too... A lot of trainers fly on them. I bet that's pretty cool.",
"I think so too... You'd have to walk less.",
"Aha. Not only grumpy, but lazy too.",
"I'm not lazy!",
"Yes you are.",
"I'm not!",
"Don't lie.",
"Well... a little maybe...",
"You're underplaying.",
"You're OVERplaying!",
"Okay, okay, stay calm." Jacky just shook her head. "Medicham and I have made progress, do you want to see it?",
"Sure, go ahead. Get yourself killed." Jacky stood up and groaned a moment later as her hip ached uncomfortably. "Ah!",
"You really got punched a little too hard, huh?",
"Oh, shut up!" Jacky exclaimed awkwardly, taking a breath. "That came from our dance fight training.",
"Excuse me? Dance... fight training? Do you actually have to combine everything with dancing?", "But that's my decision!",
"Of course it's your decision." Mari shrugged her shoulders. "Better be more careful next time, or better yet, really use a tree as a target next time. I don't want to be stuck here for six weeks or more because my friend gets all her bones broken with her weird training methods.",
"You're really mean." Jacky grumbled.
"You're welcome. Shall we head back? I think you should quit for today.",
"Sure." Jacky nodded and they made their way back to the Pokémon Center.
They passed a street performer with a Mime Jr. balancing on a ball next to them. "...I'll try again tomorrow." Mari then said. Jacky looked to her. "What?",
"The gym. I have to make it to prove what I can do..." Jacky stopped and turned to her. "...Didn't you actually listen to me when we had this topic earlier? I know you're optimistic and all, but without training, you'll never beat the gym leader.",
"I know, that's why I'm going to keep training. I can't afford to give up now.",
"Mari, I'm worried about you." Jacky just shook her head and kept walking again. "Why do you think I'm training with Medicham for so long? I don't want to make my partners fight for nothing when I know we've had too little training.",
"I understand you. But sometimes, you have to take a good beating to know what to build on. It takes courage. Courage is sometimes the only way to show you where your limits are.",
"That's not true!" Jacky shook her head again. "Courage is always good, but in your case, is it courage or rather recklessness?",
"Both, I guess..." Mari murmured. Jacky pressed her lips together and didn't answer. "But... I'm done being told I'm weak. Being weak is a state, but staying weak is a choice... so is being strong. Weakness is a requirement, you must've been weak once to know how to grow strong. I wanna promise myself to rise up and be strong tomorrow. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. Achieving your goals is just a matter of getting up, time and time again, when you struggle and fall."
Jacky conceded defeat. She knew it was a waste of time to argue with Mari. She was as stubborn as a petulant Skiddo.
"I want to train with you later." Mari looked at her. "I can't do it alone, I need your help." Jacky nodded. "Fine, fine by me. After dinner, okay? I'm hungry.",
"Your moon needs to be fed", the black haired girl commented, earning an elbow in the side. "Hey, stop that! It's not funny!",
"You said yourself your stomach is bigger than the moon.",
"That's what my mom said, not me!" Jacky objected.
"Your mother, then. Doesn't change the fact that someone said it and it's obviously true.", "You're really horrible.",
"I'm not horrible, I'm just realistic.",
"Not true at all, you just like to argue others!",
"If you engage into it, it's not my fault." Mari winked and Jacky sighed. She was right about that, unfortunately...
After dinner, both trainers met back at the same spot. Mari had retrieved her Pokémon from treatment. Jacky sent out Medicham and Mari released Skarmory from its Poké Ball. "You're welcome to start", Jacky said.
"Okay. I'll do my best." she announced. "Agility, Skarmory." Skarmory's body glowed, then it flapped its wings and rose into the air. "Now Aerial Ace!" Skarmory folded its wings and attacked. "Just like we practised! Brick Break!" Jacky commanded. Medicham executed a spin to the right that was more like a dance step, hitting Skarmory from the side. Skarmory narrowed its eyes in irritation. "Agility again!" Skarmory accelerated itself even more. It began to draw circles around Medicham in flight, before using Aerial Ace on Mari's command and hitting it. Then it sought distance again; flying higher and out of Medicham's range. "Concentrate!" Jacky demanded as Meditalis held its shoulder, staggering. "Steel Wing!" Mari shouted. Her Pokémon folded its wings again and shot downward at a rapid pace. As it did so, its left wing shimmered slightly. There was no chance to dodge. "Protect!" Medicham stretched its arm forward and a shimmering green shield built up in front of it. Skarmory's wing crashed against it ineffectively. It screamed in frustration. "Psychic! Hold it down!" Medicham's eyes began to glow, and Skarmory was unable to move. On a physical basis, this was bad, because Skarmory preferred direct attacks. Now, however, Mari had to change tactics. "Swift!" she shouted. Skarmory opened its beak and sent a hail of sharp-pointed stars at Medicham. "Block them with Shadow Ball!" Medicham returned a Shadow Ball and sent it against Skarmory's attack, making both of them collide and cause a huge-ass explosion. Swift was such a precise attack that is was hardly able to miss. The distraction allowed Skarmory to move again, as Medicham had lost his focus. "Time for some more speed!" Mari shouted. "Agility, and then follow up with Aerial Ace!" Skarmory increased its speed even more and then shot down at Medicham. The attack found its target and Medicham gasped, but it managed to use Psychic once more to hold its opponent down, preventing Skarmory from flying up again. But just as the fighting-type Pokémon was about to launch a Brick Break against Skarmory's chest, it once again used Swift and fired a swarm of stars at its opponent, this time unrepelled. Medicham's legs gave way and Jacky rushed forward to support it before it collapsed. "That was too much for us", she mumbled and withdrew her partner. "Huh... We were only practicing techniques for close combat, not for opponents in the air. Thanks for the thought, Mari." She nodded gratefully, yet a bit bitterly. This was the first time Mari had won against her, and she was kinda frustrated about it. "I was thinking too narrowly. I guess I need to sit down and think again." Skarmory flew back and landed in front of Mari, spreading its wings. "You did a good job", she praised it. "That was just a training battle, but I won it. Against Jacky, that's something..." She smiled and petted its beak before withdrawing it.
"Sometimes, you have to take a good beating to know what to build on. It takes courage. Courage is sometimes the only way to show you where your limits are."
-Mari Sentaku
"Being weak is a state, but staying weak is a choice... so is being strong. Weakness is a requirement, you must've been weak once to know how to grow strong. I wanna promise myself to rise up and be strong tomorrow. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. Achieving your goals is just a matter of getting up, time and time again, when you struggle and fall." -Mari Sentaku