The Training of Butters and Hornet
Derek pointed at Psycho and yelled, "Use Poison Sting!"
"Dodge and use Water Gun!"
Dustox went in for the attack while Psycho simply looked confused. It looked as if Psycho was in trouble until…
"Ouch," Jet winced as Dustox was hit by a torrent of water at point blank range. Jet still had memories of being hit by a Water-Gun attack, and felt a bit of sympathy as Dustox was knocked into a nearby tree.
"Keep it up, Psycho!" Natalie cheered. Psyduck sent out another Water-Gun as an answer. This time though, Dustox dodged it.
"Alright," Derek called, "now bring it around and use Stun-Spore!"
Dustox flew in between the torrent of Water-Gun attacks and started to release a yellow powder from its wings. Natalie quickly told Psycho, "Hold your breath, don't breathe that powder in!"
But Psycho looked back at Natalie confused. The powder fell over Psycho and made him sneeze. When he went to inhale to catch his breath, he became paralyzed.
Natalie yelled, "Psycho, no!"
"Alright Dusty, now finish him! Use Confusion!"
Dustox's eyes began to glow. Psycho suddenly started yelling in pain while shaking; evidently his body was trying to fight off the effects of Stun-Spore.
Natalie yelled, "That's it! Fight it Psycho!"
But Psycho simply cried out and grabbed his head. Derek grinned and said, "It's over; your Pokémon is finished!"
Natalie, however, smiled, "It's not over, asshole; it's just getting started. Psycho, show them what a real confusion looks like!"
Psycho stopped yelling as his eyes began to glow. All of a sudden, Dustox started screaming in pain. It was then slammed to the ground by the force of Psycho's Telekinesis.
"Dusty!" Derek yelled, but to no avail. Dustox was being slammed into trees, the ground, nearby rocks, all while screaming from the pain of Confusion.
"Psyduck has strong psychic powers," Jet began, "but they are usually dormant. Their powers start to show when they get headaches, and they release all that pent up energy in the form of powerful psychic attacks. This particular Psyduck is very talented at using multiple psychic attacks at the same time."
Derek watched in horror as his Pokémon was slammed side to side. "Two attacks? At once?" He tried to tell Dustox to fight back with confusion, but to no avail. Jet continued talking.
"That's bad for your Dustox, who is Poison type. When you had your Pokémon use confusion on Psycho, you basically just threw the match. A common mistake for novice trainers," Jet added with a bit of a smirk, "So don't beat yourself up about it."
Derek gritted his teeth and yelled, "Dusty, don't give up! Fight back!" But poor Dusty only screamed louder. Derek called to Natalie, "Ok, I give up! You win!"
Natalie looked over at Psycho and said, "That's enough. You did great!"
Dustox fell to the ground, bloodied and beaten. Natalie could see that one of its wings was broken from Psycho's attacks. Natalie walked over to Psycho and handed him a Sitris berry from the ground.
"You're one tough mother fucker, you know that?" Psycho took a seat and ate his berry with a slight sense of enthusiasm. Derek crouched down next to his Dustox.
"You should recall it," Jet said, "There isn't much these berries can do for it. Recall it and shrink his ball. Don't enlarge it until you get to a Pokémon center. That Pokémon needs medical care."
Derek didn't look at Jet or reply, but did as was suggested. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Here, take your fucking money."
He handed Natalie five twenties. Natalie smiled, "Pleasure doing business with you!"
Derek however, turned his back on her and walked away. Jet frowned, "Do you think every dude we battle is going to be as sore as this douche bag?"
Natalie shrugged, "Psycho did break one of his Pokémon's wings. I'd be sore too."
Natalie wanted to rest at the Sitris tree to give her Psyduck time to recover from the effects of Stun-Spore. Jet agreed and decided he would get a head start on training for the day and catch more Pokémon later.
And so both trainers set up camp and sent out their Pokémon. Sora and Thorn went hunting while Pugsly and Eevee ate Sitrus berries for lunch. This left Natalie to attend to Psycho, and Jet to Hornet.
"Ok, here's the deal," Jet began, "What me and my team are working towards is to be nothing short of the best. The training will be hard, the fights will be dangerous. I will do everything in my power to make you reach your full potential, but that's only if you are willing to work for it. If not, you can leave now and I'll find another Weedle who is ready to give it their all."
Hornet didn't move an inch, but instead looked at Jet with a sense of determination. Jet smiled and said, "Ok then. First thing's first, we have to work on your string shot. It's time for some strength training."
And so started the "web" training. Jet had Hornet shoot webs on multiple tree branches and then climb them. He would have Hornet jump from string to string, all the while timing his progress. "Too slow, do it again."
This training did not stop until Thorn and Sora returned. Both carried fish from some nearby pond. As they prepped and ate the bounty, Hornet was allowed to rest.
During the meal, a Caterpie waddled into their camp. "Oh look, Hornet!" Jet exclaimed, "Another friend to train with you! How lucky!"
And so Jet captured the Caterpie, (Courtesy of Pugsly). Caterpie was then christened "Butters", ("Do you even have a penis?" Natalie laughed.), and the web training commenced. Thorn supervised the training for regular training for Sora and Pugsly, while Jet had the newest members of the team pull boulders around the campsite using their String Shots.
"Too slow, that's another four laps!"
Two hours later, when everyone was exhausted, they all ate Sitris berries to regain their energy. Jet waited until they had their fill and said, "Now that you are all energized, training will commence in another five minutes."
Everyone but Thorn groaned, even more so as the training got harder. Jet had both Hornet and Butters get on high branches and made them pull their boulders up using string shot. "Let's go! Faster, faster! Hey Pugsly, keep those elbows in! Nice dive, Sora! Keep up the good work!"
At night time, Thorn and Jet kept watch while the other's slept. Jet watched the trees sway in the moonlight while Thorn chewed on a fish bone. Natalie came up to Jet and said, "Me and Eevee are going to relieve you guys. You should get some sleep."
Jet looked up and said, "Ok, thanks. Wake me up at day break so I can start training."
Natalie grabbed Jet's arm as he went to walk away and asked, "Don't you think you're working them too hard? I mean, I know they get more energy every time they eat those berries, but don't you think you might break their spirit if you keep this up?"
Thorn, who was chewing on a fish bone, snorted smoke and shook his head. Jet smiled, "That's kind of the point. I got to break them down to build them back up."
Natalie raised an eyebrow, "That's kind of harsh."
Jet shook his head. "Pokémon battles aren't exactly like they look on the videogames and on TV. You saw the match between Psycho and ol' Dusty today. You've seen what can happen. That actually happens more often than not. I work my Pokémon so hard because I care about them, and because I don't want to see that happen to them. So, I got to help my Pokémon get stronger than my opponents."
Natalie smiled, "I guess you're right. I'll get you guys up bright and early."
Jet kissed Natalie on the cheek and said, "Thanks for your concern."
As Jet walked away with Thorn in tow, Natalie placed her hand on her cheek where he had kissed her.
XXX
By the time the sun was up, everyone was back to strength training. Jet was sitting on a stump with a berry in one hand, and a stop watch in the other. Natalie sat next to him.
"You should get some sleep," Jet said, "I'm not going to be done the strength training for another hour."
Natalie rested her head on his shoulder and said, "No that's ok. I can't sleep anyway; every time I try I get the Rainbow Connection song stuck in my head."
Jet laughed, "What? Why?"
Natalie shrugged, "I use to sing that song to Eevee when he was a puppy."
"Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
And what's on the oother side?"
Natalie groaned and said, "You're not helping."
Jet smiled and said, "Damn it, now it's stuck in my head."
Natalie grinned and Jet said, "You should go get some berries. You're distracting me."
"Aww, big bad Pokémon trainer is getting distracted by little ol' me? How will you ever be able to concentrate in a real battle if you can't even resist my charms?"
Jet looked at Natalie's devious little smile and said, "I hate you."
Natalie kissed him on the cheek and said, "You love me, admit it!"
XXX
After strength training, Jet decided he was going to start Butter's and Hornet's technique training. "First thing is first, I'm going to teach you guys Hidden Power. It's an attack in which you draw energy from deep inside yourself, and release it in an outward, short ranged burst of power. The attack varies in power and type for each Pokémon who uses it."
Jet called Pugsly over, "How about a demonstration? Use Hidden Power!"
Pugsly took a deep breath and began to glow. He then let out a burst of brown energy that spread one meter out in every direction. Jet took the TM from inside of his bag and called Hornet over.
He placed the TM on Hornet's brow and waited. Sure enough, the TM reacted to Hornet's natural energy and began to glow. Hornet's eyes started glowing as the knowledge of how to perform Hidden Power was being imprinted on his brain.
Jet did the same with Butters. He watched as she too gained the knowledge necessary to use Hidden Power. After both Pokémon learned how to use the attack, it was time to practice it.
"Alright, Hornet, try it out."
Hornet took a deep breath and began to glow. It took a lot longer for him to build up the power to use the attack then Pugsly. When he did, the range was smaller. It was also purple.
"That's ok, don't be discouraged. Whenever learning a new attack, it always takes a while to get use to it. Ok Butters, your turn."
Butters' Hidden Power was clear, and its range was slightly bigger than Hornet's. Deciding it was best if they all practiced the attack, Jet had them space out and try it out one at a time.
"Take your time. In this case I'm not looking for speed, but rather trying to have everyone get a feel for this attack. It isn't very powerful, but it may come in handy if you're in a tight spot. Just take your time with the technique."
After an hour of practicing Hidden Power, Jet had them start sparring. Natalie wanted her Pokémon to spar with Jet's, so they paired up. Pugsly was teaching Psycho how to take a proper fighting stance and block a strike. Thorn was sparring with Eevee, who was trying his best to keep up with Thorn's speed. Jet had Hornet and Butters working as a team to go against Sora, whom Jet told not to take it easy on them.
For the most part Jet watched the battles, but stopped every now and then to add input on their techniques.
"Why do you think we spent so much time developing your string shot? Use it to escape into a nearby tree. Don't look at it as just a way for you to slow down your opponent. Use it for offense and maneuverability as well as defense."
Most of the day was spent either sparring or experimenting with different techniques. The next day was much of the same. They spent three hours doing strength training and the rest of the day technique training. Instead of sparring, however, Jet and Natalie went out to battle wild Pokémon and test their Pokémon's progress.
"There you go Butters, use your web to catch the opponent and slam it against the ground. It's a lot easier than moving all of those rocks, isn't it?"
By the end of the third day, both Hornet and Butters were at level eight. Hornet knew Poison Sting, Tackle, String Shot, Hidden Power, Horn Attack, and Poison Tail. The last attack Jet wasn't nearly as powerful as it should've been, but Jet focused on getting Hornet to learn the proper technique and worry about power later.
Butters learned Tackle, String shot and Hidden Power. Butters special attack was a lot higher than Hornet's, so his Hidden Power was definitely becoming an effective weapon.
In addition to these traditional attacks, Jet had taught them three custom moves that utilized their web abilities for offense, defense, and maneuverability.
The first of which was called Cobweb. This was a move in which the user builds up a web in their mouth, and releases it on their opponent. It takes a few seconds to build enough web fluid but the result is a sort of net that traps the opponent. It's actually a kind of charged version of string shot.
The second move is called Web-slam. The user simply catches its opponent with String shot, and uses the web as a tether to throw its opponent. This attack is very effective due to Jet's strength training methods.
The final move isn't so much of an attack as much as it's a way to move around the field quickly and effectively. It's a technique called Web slinging. As its name suggests, it was inspired by Spider-man's ability to move through a city by swinging from web to web.
It took a while for Hornet and Butters to get this technique to be effective, but once they learned it their evasiveness rose dramatically. Both caterpillar Pokémon were able to take down wild Pidgey in single combat using these three techniques.
On the third night, Jet and his Pokémon went to get some rest as Natalie and her Pokémon took the first watch. Psycho had fallen asleep in the first half hour. Eevee however, was wide awake and getting his belly scratched by Natalie.
She sighed into the night. Jet's Pokémon weren't very powerful, but their training allowed them to take out stronger opponents using superior technique. His Charmander was three levels less than her Eevee and yet Natalie got the feeling that its stats were much higher.
Natalie knew she couldn't fall behind, she needed to catch up. She hadn't even found a decent bug Pokémon yet. All they have found so far were caterpillar Pokémon and Pidgey. What she really needed was a Pinser. That would keep her in the competition.
Natalie heard a rustle of leaves and saw something big crawl by fast. She got out her flashlight and pointed in the direction of the intruder, and squealed when she saw a large Spinarak. Natalie backed up against the tree as the Spinarak crawled towards her, but Eevee got in between them and growled.
"Oh wait," she suddenly realized, "this is just what I need!"
She turned to Eevee and said, "Use Quick-attack!"
Eevee struck fast and hard. Spinarak was knocked into a nearby tree. It recovered quickly, however, and hit Eevee with Stringshot. Eevee growled, and Spinarak used the web to toss Eevee into the rock next to him.
"What the- that's one of Jethro's moves!"
The Spinarak then shot a web above it to a nearby branch, and climbed it to get the height advantage. "This thing moves just like Jethro's Pokémon except better, but it doesn't have any training! It's just that naturally gifted! I got to catch it!"
Spinarak started spitting barbs at Eevee from its mouth. Natalie said, "Dodge its Poison Sting and head-butt the branch it's on!"
Eevee easily dodged Spinarak's attacks and knocked it off its branch. Natalie then said, "Get it with Takedown!"
Before Spinarak had a chance to react, Eevee's attack hit home.
Natalie said, "Finish it off with Hidden Power!"
Eevee began to glow, and it let out a strong, blue pulse of energy that hit Spinarak at point blank range. Spinarak had frost on its face from where the attack hit. Natalie threw a Pokeball and Spinarak was sucked in.
The Pokeball moved around six times before it broke open; Spinarak wasn't caught. Natalie gritted her teeth and said, "Use Headbutt!"
Spinarak tried to dodge, but was too exhausted from escaping the Pokeball. Eevee knocked it out with Headbutt.
Natalie threw another Pokeball. This time, Spinarak was captured immediately. Natalie picked up the Pokeball and grinned. She heard someone clapping and turned around to see Jet.
"Wow," he said, "Now that's how you catch a Pokémon."
Author's Notes:
Just in case you're wondering:
-Eevee: Level 18, Hidden Power; Ice
-Psycho: Level 17, Doesn't know Hidden Power yet.
-Spinarak: Level 13, Doesn't know Hidden Power
-Thorn: Level 15, Hidden Power; Fire
-Sora: Level 11, Hidden Power; Wind
-Pugsly: Level 10, Hidden Power; Fist
-Butters: Level 8, Hidden Power; Wind
-Hornet: Level 8, Hidden Power; Poison
When Jet first got the TM for Hidden Power, He taught to all of his Pokémon, and to Natalie's Eevee upon request. I originally intended to write that in, but I forgot.
If you have any questions about the Pokémon's abilities or attacks, just ask in a review. I do actually keep track of who knows what. I don't make this shit up as I go along.
I originally planned for Natalie to catch a Pinser, though. I think Spinarak suits her more though. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!
