Author's Note:
Methinks I'll be able to get one more chapter out before school starts up again. Then, an even slower pace of updates will occur. So, have some more apologies in advance.
Disclaimer:
Pokémon and any other referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.
Of Children, Men, and Monsters
Chapter Thirty-Two: End of a Trial
"… Are your allies all ready for combat?" asked Li some minutes after the end of the previous chapter, sounding both patient and ready, himself.
"I think so. You feeling better than before, Chikorita?"
An enthusiastic, if still incomprehensible cry.
"Right. So, you going to send out a Pokémon first, or me?"
"I shall keep up the pattern my juniors have created and send out mine first. Make as big of a dent in them as you can, Bellsprout!"
"Figures…" Marza mumbled, siccing Chikorita on the nth Bellsprout of the past hour or so.
Cue music – Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal Version soundtrack – Battle! (Trainer)
"Power up with Growth before engaging your opponent, Bellsprout," Li commanded, voice as calm as before the battle had initiated. The Bellsprout glowed for a moment before appearing to increase in size, letting out a cry as it did so.
"Not a whole lot else to do but keep upon doing what you've been doing, Chikorita!"
The Leaf Pokémon promptly ran forward, getting hit with a Vine Whip en route to her foe. She was unpleasantly surprised to find that it actually hurt, unlike all of the previous Bellsprout encounters. Speaking of, the Flower Pokémon took a pair of back-to-back Tackles before retaliating with another Vine Whip. The third Tackle put this one out of commission, and Li sent out a second Bellsprout.
Instead of opting for the same strategy as before, Li made Bellsprout immediately go to Vine Whipping. The pure Grass-type flinched each time the whip connected with her skin, but shrugged the pain off for the sake of victory, closing in with the predictable Tackle. Despite the Pokédex entry, it was hardly swift or even flexible enough to dodge, going down after another two Tackle-Vine Whip trades.
"Chikorita has proven its worth so far, yes… but can it stand up to being at a Type disadvantage? Finish this one off, Hoothoot!"
"Pokédex Number One Hundred Sixty-Three: Hoothoot, the Owl Pokémon. Typing: Normal-Flying. Ability: Insomnia. It has a perfect sense of time and always stands on one foot. The change between the standing limbs happens so swift and sneakily to the point where it's nigh-unnoticeable."
"Peck our foe, Hoothoot!"
The circular Pokémon closed the gap between them with a quick hop, mercilessly attacking Chikorita. She was only able to get off a singular Tackle before she was left incapable of even standing, lying on the ground, defeated.
"Alright, Chikorita, you're done. You took us quite far – rest assured that you did an excellent job."
She still let out a huff of exhausted frustration as Marza stepped on and carried her out of the battle. Marza wasn't too concerned about being close to an enemy's Pokémon – after all, the Hoothoot was hardly some brute that attacked anything near it.
… At least, that's what she hoped. She didn't really know the Owl Pokémon personally, so for all she knew, Li could be holding back its viscous tendencies. Regardless, she knew what she had to do next.
"Looks like it's finally your turn, Oscura."
Oscura had absolutely zero qualms with this command, eagerly stepping forward for combat.
"See how much a Peck will do, my friend!"
This didn't really amount to much, and Oscura, in turn, gave her opponent a Bite once she got a hold of it.
"This is not the best of scenarios to be in… Try putting that Larvitar to sleep with Hypnosis!" exclaimed Li, still tranquil despite the disadvantage.
The Hoothoot's crimson eyes glowed before they stared into Oscura's own, and, next thing either Marza or Oscura knew, the latter flopped over, asleep.
"What the – Oscura! Now is decidedly not the time to be falling asleep on the job, however involuntary it may be!"
Of course, the Rock Skin Pokémon didn't hear the lass' words, being asleep and all. Not knowing if physically getting involved in a battle was allowed, she restrained herself, becoming just as aggravated as she was getting concerned over this circumstance. Oscura thankfully waked quickly once she attacked, and, as the Owl Pokémon was too slow to retreat, bit down hard on her foe once she realized what just happened.
"Hypnosis again, Hoothoot! Don't let yourself be attacked if you can help it!"
'Rinse and repeat…' she exhaled in her mind with some difficultly checked frustration.
Just as predicted, a Peck later, Oscura woke and traded that damage with a third Bite. Both looked tired to some degree, though the bird-like Pokémon appeared just a touch more so.
Li, noticing this and wanting to capitalize, near-shouted, "Your opponent is weakened, Hoothoot! Go all-out!"
With no other practical options available, Marza dictated that Oscura do the same. "You're bulkier that Hoothoot! Take advantage of the fact that you to can take more hits that it can! Stand your ground and advance when you need to get close!"
Oscura heeded her tactics, taking the attacks that came to her. The fact that she could actually brace for the pain, unlike when she was asleep, assisted her quite well in weathering the damage that she took. One Bite connected before Hoothoot felt it prudent for its survival to retreat. Oscura didn't give it the chance to perform another Hypnosis, closing the distance with all due swiftness, grabbing it, and giving it one last Bite.
Li sighed as Hoothoot was withdrawn, patting the Poké Ball containing it as he said to Marza, "You and your partners have succeeded in the trial. Well done on your efforts."
"Thank you, sir."
"Now, your prize for this feat – besides tightened bonds and greater power, that is – comes in the from of this: a Technical Machine for the Move Flash."
From a pocket nor some such beneath his robes, he pulled out a we stark white disc not too dissimilar to discs that are put into most computer models.
"And this does… what, precisely?"
Li's brows furrowed in a curious manner, as if he were (justifiably) bewildered, but he quickly regained his stoic expression. "Well, all you have to do is put the disc to a Pokémon's head – or, to be more accounting of certain Pokémon, a point close to its brain – and it will learn the Move on the disc near-instantly. I do not understand the technicalities myself – you will have to ask a professional of someone like that for such information."
'Sounds like magic to me. Then again, with all the stuff I've been seeing as of late, something like this really shouldn't surprise me…'
Li continued, "What I can tell you, however, is the fact that it's not exactly a Move that every Pokémon can learn. Off of the top of my head, I remember only Hoothoot, some Electric-types, and, of course, this tower's Bellsprout being capable of learning Flash."
"Understood. So, is there any other wisdom that you want to impart on me, or are we done here?"
Li harumphed before answering, "As it so turns out, no, I don't. You may leave now."
Marza felt a touch of distress at his tone and huff, and, to soothe her own conscience as well as Li's, apologized. "Ah… Sorry if I seemed rude, there. Watching my tone is one of my weak spots…"
Li scanned her for a second or two, probably attempting to find a would-be bluff. Not finding one, he said, "Apology accepted. Now, go. I believe you have some potential as a Trainer, and time spent here at this point is time wasted in your journey to the top."
'Or, in this case, sleeping,' she amended his word son the inside. Hoisting Chikorita up, the three exited the room, getting a bit weirded out when the monks that she passed bowed to her. She resisted the temptation to ask them not to, realizing before evening opening her mouth that it would be pointless – they had A) already bowed before Marza had the chance to ask, and B) it would get on Marza's nerves to ask the same question more than half a dozen times.
She exited Sprout Tower, reward in pocket and injured Pokémon in hand, noting how the crowd some time back had now left. The lady at the entrance was also gone, oddly enough.
'Was she just a tour guide dressed to match this place's standards, then? Another question for later, methinks – that is, assuming I even see her again...'
She moved on, thoughts not disturbing her pace in the slightest. She headed to the Pokémon Center, making true on her decision to go to sleep as early as possible...that is, after Nurse Joy healed up Oscura and Chikorita.
"Did you challenge the Gym, or Sprout Tower's trial?" the nurse promptly inquired when Marza and company entered the building, not looking too annoyed in spite of the somewhat late hour of the trio's re-arrival.
"The second. Would you mind doing your thing on these two?"
"Well, it's less my thing and more the machine's, but alright."
As they waited for their first patient (Chikorita, for those who were wondering), the Joy fairly member attempted to start a conversation. "… So, how did it go? Judging by how the Larvitar is still conscious, I assume your attempt was a success?"
"Uh-huh," answered Marza, not particularly caring for the conversation at the moment. Nurse Joy noticed this not-so-enthusiastic response, and thusly chose to let the time pass by in quaint silence, much to Marza's appreciation.
A speedy four minutes later, and Marza collapsed onto the plush bed on the second-floor room, her two non-human companions following suite. She didn't even bother changing to her pyjamas, and closed her eyes, fully prepared to head off for Dreamland. Before this, however, she remembered something that she should've been done with by this point: coming up with a name for Chikorita.
'Well, procrastination usually isn't something I'm a fan of, but I need my rest…' Marza concluded drowsily.
She slipped under the covers and fell asleep fairly quickly. Chikorita had done the same before Marza went to sleep. Osura, on the other hand? She was feeling inexplicably wary. She could feel something watching them, but she just couldn't put her would-be finger on it.
Eyes narrowed, she clambered onto the window sill, peeking out and cautiously looking out for some movement near her. After some minutes of this, she found nothing of suspicion, awkwardly closing the window panes for security's sake (with a bit of struggling – her stubby little hands, if they could even be called that, could only do so much) and reluctantly plopping down near the side of Marza's legs that wasn't occupied by Chikorita. She went to sleep almost as quickly as her two companions did.
Little were any of them aware of not one, but two key events happening just after this: the pair of comically large eyes that resumed gazing at the three from the window, and the shaking of the egg within the container. The entity in possession of these eyes took notice of this the moment it began to happen, and quickly got to plotting a rather devious plan of action…
