ConstructCritical: *is wearing a paper bag, with crayoned armor chainmail* Hark! Tis' a tale of the great Sir Minccino of the Shiny Order! Henceforth, we rideth on thy quest for glory, and HONOR! *runs off, unsheathing a wooden sword*
DarkFoxKit: …. Crit? What the heck are you doing!?
ConstructCritical: Whom is this 'Crit' that you speak of, maiden? I shall slay the terrible beast and reclaim the glory of this doomed kingdom!
DarkFoxKit: …. *tilts head as if having trouble understanding him* What beast? What kingdom? This is just the stage for the AN! … Did you take too much medication again?
ConstructCritical: I have set forth on mine own quest to sa- … we… we're live… aren't we? *blushes in embarrassment*
DarkFoxKit: …. Yes, we are. What were you doing? Practicing for some play or something?
ConstructCritical: I can't help it if I'm naturally attuned to Shakespeare. I was just… uh… you know, practicing for my end of the year school assignment…
DarkFoxKit: Riiiiiight…. *picks up something* Look Crit, I have a corn dog!
ConstructCritical: Pfft, corn dogs are so last AN. Baklava is all the rage for third ANs. Have you been living under a rock or something?
DarkFoxKit: ….. *begins reading a dictionary* … No pastries for you.
ConstructCritical: *Ye Olde English voice* Nay, foul monster! Thee shall be slain by morning's first dawn, and the whole city will rejoice and enjoy delicious Baklava! *charges at Fox, tackling her*
DarkFoxKit: BWAH! *THUD*
Chapter 3: Training
Kit looked around, "Wow… I've never had the meadows as my… 'house' before, it's so weird… yet it's so cool at the same time. Look, there's even a berry bush growing over here." she looked at the berries. "There's Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Prisim Berries…" then she turned back to Crit. "I could get use to this."
Crit nodded. "Still can't get my mind off the subject of you sleeping with me. Do you want me to pile up some haystacks around you?" He said, apparently changing the subject from berries.
"It's fine… the haystack beds are decently far away from each other, so we're just roommates, nothing more and nothing less." Kit said, trying to reassure him. "Try to think of it as your pet dog sleeping with you instead of a person."
Crit nodded, but still, it was going to be a very awkward night. At least Pokemon don't change clothes. "Should we pick some berries for breakfast tomorrow? I think grown berries would taste better than something we could find at the cafeteria." He commented on the earlier subject.
Kit then looked a bit nervous, "There is one thing that bothers me… how will we use the bathroom?"
The boy-Pokemon stared at her for a second. "Err. I don't see any way other than the bushes. I'm sure everyone else here would be weirded out by our dilemma. It's natural for them. I'm kind of glad we're on a team together, it would be awkward saying 'I gotta go, I'll be right back' before diving into the bushes." He told her.
"Yeah… I suppose so. At least the bushes will give us some privacy when we need it." Kit said. "Okay… so now what? Do we just sit here and wait for our mentor?"
Crit nodded and sat down on the soft grass. "I wonder how they made grass inside a building."
"Maybe they grew them here, I mean I saw a lot of Grass types here too so maybe they did it." Kit said.
Then someone stepped into their 'room' and said, "Okay… Crit the Pikachu and Kit the Eevee, Team Evoshock, am I right?"
The two Pokemon nodded to the newcomer, which was a Lucario, to both of their surprises. The Lucario nodded, "Okay, you two are the newest recruits then, so I will go over some rules…"
"Um… s-sir?" Kit raised her paw.
"Hmm? What is it?" Lucario asked.
"I have two questions… one… what's your name? And two… what are Shadow Pokemon exactly?" the Eevee asked.
Her Pikachu companion nodded excessively in unison with the second question. They both had been wanting to know the answer ever since their first encounter with the Shadow Pokemon at the mouth of that cave.
Lucario looked at them and said, "You two want to know about Shadow Pokemon, eh? Well alright… We don't really understand a lot about Shadow Pokemon ourselves or where they originated from, just that they came out of nowhere one day and plagued the world. A Shadow Pokemon is a Pokemon that shut the door to its heart… or so they say, but there's more to it than that… these Pokemon were brainwashed, because some use to be our friends… and they get a dark purple and black aura around them, their eyes are lifeless and you can just feel the hostility in the air. They are vicious and fighting machines, they will not stop until you're either dead or become one of them."
Both Crit and Kit gulped, they didn't like the sound of that.
"It's extremely difficult if not impossible to reason with them… once a Pokemon becomes a Shadow Pokemon they no longer know who you are anymore, they only care about their own kind and hunt down anyone who isn't." Lucario said. "To this day… only a couple of Pokemon were turned back from being a Shadow Pokemon, but they're treated as outcasts since many fears them, and fear creates hate."
"So what you're saying is that… if you become a Shadow Pokemon you're screwed, even if you are somehow saved, you'll be thrown out of society?" The normally cocky Pikachu asked anxiously.
"I know it's hard, but we're hoping to have the Pokemon accept them again. They have experience of being Shadow Pokemon and that intel could help us immensely, but… the problem is… they are too traumatized to remember much of their time as Shadow Pokemon, so they spend most of their time in Therapy with Dr. Hypno." Lucario explained.
"I… see." The Pikachu said, nodding slowly.
"That sounds scary…" Kit shivered.
"Yes, it is… and at the root of it all is the one who rules the Shadow Pokemon, but nobody knows who or what they are, just that they are powerful." Lucario said. "Now then… if you want to know my name, just call me Auro."
"Thanks for the info, Auro. Do you know how we can become the Normal Rank?" Crit asked quietly.
"Yes… you have to 'graduate' Training Rank. You do this by defeating three other teams in the Training Rank too." Lucario said. "But that's only for when the test starts, for now, let's go meet your fellow classmates, shall we? Who knows, maybe you two will find a friend or two."
"I doubt it." The Pikachu muttered.
"Well now…" Lucario flicked Crit's ear, "You're a very anti-social Pikachu I see. You'll never know until you try, now come on."
Kit couldn't help but chuckle while Crit was rubbing his ear. "Maybe you should stop making negative comments."
"Well I can't help it. It's odd making friends with Pokemon when I'm actually," His voice lowered significantly, being barely audible "A human."
"So?" Kit said quietly back to him, "Humans can make friends with Pokemon…"
Lucario stopped suddenly and opened a door, "Here we are."
The two saw six other Pokemon; a Bulbasaur, a Solosis, a Vulpix, a Pichu, a Totodile, and a very timid Abra, or maybe he was just sleeping in the corner.
"These are all the new Training Ranks too, so you two will fit right in." Lucario smiled at them.
Kit stayed behind Crit, she was very shy and wasn't sure what to say or what to do in new faces.
Crit glanced behind him. "Now look who's being the anti-social one. Come on out, I'm sure everyone will love a cute Eevee." He said, not really meaning cute in a romantic way.
"I just… don't want to… say anything until I know they actually like me…" Kit said nervously. "Last time I tried talking to someone I didn't know… they yelled at me to go away…"
Crit put his arm over her shoulder, a little nervously. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Kit. I never thought I'd be the one to encourage you to go and make friends, but, here we are!"
"I'm a loner." Kit said. "I may not remember much about my life but I know I was a loner."
"Well, you have a new body, so you might as well get a new lifestyle." He said. "Hey everyone! I'm Crit the Pikachu and this is my friend, Kit the Eevee." He said, projecting his voice across the classroom, gaining some odd looks from some of the students.
"What are you doing!? Don't announce yourself like that!" Kit hissed in his ears.
The Solosis was the first to go over to them… or rather floated to them. "Greetings, it is very nice to meet newcomers."
"We're both very pleased to meet you. What's your name?" The Pikachu asked, pretending to be social.
"I'm Cella, nice to meet you." The Solosis said.
The Bulbasaur slowly walked over to them too, sniffing them.
"Hello, Cella. I'm Crit, and this is my good friend Kit. She's very shy."
"I know who you are, you already announced yourselves." Cella said with a slight giggle. "Anyway… uh…" she looked over at the Bulbasaur.
"Normally I don't shout out like that, but I felt Kit here needed some extra… motivation to be friendly." Crit said with a sly smile.
Kit blushed and looked away, embarrassed that he said that.
"I see… well this is my friend over here." Cella said, looking at Bulbasaur. "Go on, introduce yourself."
The Bulbasaur nodded and said, "Hello, my name is Venus, dudes!"
Kit blinked, "... Did he just call us 'dudes'?"
"Hello, Venus." Crit said simply.
The Bulbasaur glanced over at the Eevee. "You look kinda cute, Kit, was it? A beautiful name for a beautiful little Pokemon!" He told her.
The Eevee blinked and looked at him, "... Um… thank you…?"
Cella used Confusion to bring Venus away, "I'm sorry about that, Venus is a bit of a… flirty type. He does to just about every girl he sees."
Although he tried to hide it, Crit was jealous, and he wasn't sure why. Surely he didn't… like Kit, no that couldn't be it.
The Vulpix was next to introduce herself, "I'm called Starfire… that's it." she said.
Kit looked at the others who have yet to introduce themselves; the Pichu, Totodile and Abra.
As the Pichu walked up nervously, it seemed to be eying Crit. "Do you think I could become a Pikachu someday?" He asked shyly.
Crit glanced over at him, barely taking notice. After about a minute it finally registered that the Pichu had said something. His head darted to look at the Pichu, startling it a little. "Yeah. Of course you can." he told it, trying to hide his embarrassment from scaring the poor thing.
Totodile was hoping up and down, "Hello! Hello! Hello! My name is Chomps! It's very nice to meet you! Let's be friends! Let's work together! Let's play!" he was a little TOO hyper.
"Errr…" Kit backed away a bit. "Um… who's the Abra?"
Crit gripped her shoulder, trying to tell her to calm down. He quickly walked over to the Abra and poked it with his tail. The Abra seemed agitated for a second before disappearing. Crit looked around, seeing that he was now over on the other side of the classroom. "Cool."
"That's uh… Telek, he… doesn't say much, but he likes to teleport a lot." Cella explained.
Crit nodded. "Anyone up for a battle? I know we just met, but I want see how all of you fight."
"Not now." Lucario spoke up. "Don't be so eager, we're not here to battle each other right now. We're here to test your skills in an obstacle course."
"... There's an obstacle course?" Kit frowned.
Crit just crossed his arms and looked away defiantly. "Fine, let's go." He muttered.
Lucario lead them to the back of the room… where they saw a balance beam with spikes on the bottom, a tunnel… with some electricity sparking in there, a water filled with Carnavas, and a trapeze with a vicious looking Spearow.
"... Isn't this a little much?" Kit gulped.
The overly hyperactive Pikachu just ran around looking at everything excitedly. "Team Evoshock can't lose!" He shouted to himself.
"Will you get down from there!? You're making us look bad!" The Eevee hissed at him, who was standing on the balance beam.
Cella chuckled, "Talk about enthusiasm."
"You're just jealous because your little Eevee paws can't let you do Trapeze." He taunted at her teasingly.
Kit turned away, "... Mr. Auro, can we please do something a little less dangerous?"
The Pikachu got down from where he was and bounded over to Kit. "We'll be fine, we just have to, you know, not die." He said as if he was saying 'I'm going to take a walk.'
"Are you crazy!? Have you lost all sanity, Crit!? Look at those! We could die if we fall off that balance beam!" Kit hissed.
Crit shrugged. "I'll protect you." He told her, with a tint of red on his already bright red Pikachu cheeks.
Auro laughed, "Relax, okay? These things won't kill you. They're illusions, but if you fall or get hit, yeah it'll FEEL real, but it's not. You won't have any physical pain, but you will THINK you do, so try not to do too poorly."
"I still don't like this." Kit said, looking down.
Crit shrugged again. "We can do it together. The electricity in the tunnel won't bother me, plus, my Thundershock will do a lot of damage to the Carnavas and Spearow. We should be safe if we go together."
"You're not allowed to attack them, the point of this test is to dodge." Auro said. "If you attack, you fail."
"Trubbish. Fine." The short-tempered Pikachu responded angrily.
"Alright… now let's see how best your time is for getting through." Auro said. "If you fall off too much or attack, you fail. Ready? Go!"
Kit yelped as the other Pokemon got on the balance beam right away, but she didn't dare move.
The Pikachu got behind her and nudged her with his nose. "C'mon, Kit! Don't get too far behind!"
The Eevee shook her head. "I'm still not very stable on all fours, let alone on a freaking balance beam with SPIKES!"
"Hold on, I'll help you across." He offered, holding out his paw.
Kit gulped but nodded, not wanting to be so pathetic that she couldn't cross the first of the obstacle course, she took the Pikachu paw and he helped her up the balance beam. Auro gave a secret smile as he watched Crit helping Kit across.
Crit normally would have dashed across, wanting to be the first on the other side, but he didn't want to leave Kit, even if he was last across, he wanted Kit to be there with him on the other side.
Kit looked at the spikes and trembled in fear, but the comfort of her partner helped kept her from falling and they jumped off at the end of the balance beam, heading for the electric tunnel ahead.
"I think my fur would attract those electricity…" Kit said.
"I can just absorb it. It can't hurt me. Come on." Crit said, grinning.
Kit hesitantly followed Crit into the tunnel, she got zapped a few times, but she was surprised it didn't hurt too much, it did sting a little more than static electricity, but not so bad. She wasn't sure if it was because she's a Pokemon or if Crit's really keeping the electricity under control.
They quickly made it through without very much trouble. "See, that wasn't so bad." The hyperactive Pokemon told her, still grinning wildly.
"Alright…" she sighed in relief. "So… what's next?"
The Pikachu sweatdropped. "The 'water tank'. With lots of deadly water-types."
The Eevee paled and gulped, "We are so screwed… I don't know how to SWIM in this body!"
Crit only nodded. "I'll distract them. You keep going."
"No!" Kit hissed, slapping him with her tail. "We are NOT splitting up! Besides, I would only sink if you left me alone."
The Pikachu sighed. Not swimming was a drag. "I can teach you, but that's for another day. I'll go below the water and keep their focus on me, and I'll hold you up so you can breathe. Sound good?" He asked her, a little nervous that he would be face to face with angry Carvanas.
"I'm going to try and jump on those floating things." Kit said. "Otherwise I'll be eaten." she jumped without waiting for Crit's answer, she wobbled a bit but didn't stop jumping.
"You can do it!" The Pikachu shouted encouragingly as he jumped into the water and started swimming to the other side, mostly avoiding any unwanted attention.
But then Kit slipped and fell into the water with a SPLASH! The Eevee shut her eyes and began dog paddling like crazy, hoping to swim to the other side before the Carnavas try to get her.
Crit started swimming as fast as he could. Kit was staying above the water, but she wasn't going anywhere, and a Carvana was swimming towards her at an alarming rate. He just hoped she would find the floaty thing a few feet away.
Kit's paw touched something solid, she opened her eyes as she felt a bit more reassured and jumped out of the water and onto another floating object, barely missing the Carvana. She sighed in relief. "Almost there…"
He looked up in relief as he saw that Kit was out of the water, and then in alarm as the Carvana now had his eyes set on Crit. Crit was a decent swimming, but he didn't know anyone who could match the speed of a Carvana.
Kit's ears perked up when she heard Crit's sudden cries, she turn back to see the Pikachu flailing about with a Carvana at his face. The Eevee gulped but she jumped into the water, trying to relax. Come on… just release that inner Vaporeon… just swim. She began swimming towards them.
Crit couldn't use Thundershock, so he could do nothing except pound his fists into the Carvana, which barely gained an annoyed glance from it. "Let me go!" He cried. He noticed Kit was coming over. "Go back! We can't use any attacks! Just get to that side!" He called, hoping she would listen.
Kit didn't, however, as she swam towards them faster. She then used her tail to tickle the Carvana's fin, causing it to start laughing and letting Crit go. "Swim!" she yelled at him.
Crit grabbed Kit's paw and dragged her through the water, hoping she would know to keep her head on the surface. "Sorry." He tried to say, but his voice was muffled by the waves hitting his face.
The Eevee took his paw and said, "Come on, we're at the other side, there's just the trapeze left."
The Pikachu nodded, as they finally got to the other side. They were the last two, and it was kind of embarrassing, because everyone else got out unscathed.
"We suck…" Kit grumbled, seeing they were indeed the last one. "But whatever… how are we going to get passed this one?"
"Hopefully the Spearow won't know that this is simply an obstacle course, and it'll stay away from me and my Thundershock, but I think that's asking too much." He hung his head sadly.
"You COULD use your ability you know… Static… to make yourself look like you're going to shock him." Kit suggested.
Crit nodded, but kept his head low. "Yeah, but, I might hit you with Static..."
"I'll be fine, okay? There's plenty of Cheri Berries I can eat to cure the paralysis, but we can't get past this course if the Spearow attacks us. I… don't know if I can even swing on them with my paws…" Kit said, looking at her paws.
Crit nodded. "I hope you just don't fall off. I guess we better get going." He said as he ran up to the start of the trapeze course with newfound energy.
Kit watched as he prepared himself, the Spearow cawing threateningly. The Eevee gulped as she braced herself. "Okay… don't be scared… you'll be fine…" then she yelped. "I don't know if I can do this! What if we fall!?"
He glanced at her. "Then you should hope you land on me, then, huh?" He told her. "Just don't look down and we'll be fine."
The Eevee nodded and said, "F-fine, let's just h-hurry and do this before I T-Torchic out."
The two of them nodded as they both jumped and grabbed onto the swing.
Crit had to be careful to put one hand in front of the other, and to swing in perfect sync. As soon as he thought he got the hang of it he heard an unhappy sounding 'Caw!', and the fierce Spearow dived at them.
The Pikachu quickly started charging up electricity in his cheeks, acting like he was preparing to launch a Thundershock at it. At the last second the Spearow hesitated and flew off, preparing to come at them from a different direction. "A-Are you okay, Kit?" He asked the now-paralyzed Eevee.
"My fur… is fluffy… and static…" Kit said, twitching. "H-help me… get on… the next… swing… can't move… or feel… my paws…"
The hyper Pikachu bit his lip. This is why I didn't want to use Static. He thought to himself. He held onto Kit with one paw and used the other to swing. And it's not easy to swing on a Trapeze with one paw.
Kit then began licking her paws a bit, trying to move them. "C-Crit… can you… try to take back your own Static off me?"
Crit had never tried to take back an electric attack before. Maybe he could use his ear as an antennae?
"T-try… try your tail… a Raichu's tail absorbs and dish out… electricity… a Pikachu's tail… could do that too… maybe… hurry." Kit said weakly.
Crit felt bad, he was hoping that stupid fake Spearow would leave them alone after this. He quickly stuck his tail into her soft fur. Half of him wanted to let go of the bars and just dig his face into the fluff, but the more logical part of him advised to make this quick. He quickly started trying to absorb the electricity. He wasn't sure if it was working, so all he could do was hope.
Kit blinked a few times and smiled, "Hey… I'm starting to feel a bit better…" she was able to get a better grip on the swing. "Hey! Here comes that Spearow again! Don't worry, I'm sure we can dodge it this time!"
The Pikachu nodded, and started swinging from side to side as he went from bar to bar, hoping to get the Spearow off their trail. "Just about 5 more bars and we'll be at the end." He said. His arms were getting tired, and they were about ready to let go.
"Don't let go!" Kit suddenly shouted as she wrapped her fluffy tail around him just before his paw slipped out of the swing. "I-I know you're tired… and because of me you used up a lot of energy… but we're almost there, just hang on!"
Her encouragement was really all he needed (Although he wasn't complaining about the soft tail) as he swung the last several feet, before dropping himself onto the floor of the wooden finishing platform, heaving heavily.
"There… we made it…" Kit said, panting a bit. "How… do you feel?"
Crit glanced at her, out of breath. "Tired." He said, while still trying to get his breathing down to normal.
It was then Venus came over to them, and Cella.
"You two are the slowest Pokemon ever." Cella said.
"So very thoughtful of you to say." Crit grumbled. He was tempted to say You weren't carrying another Pokemon halfway across that mess you call a Trapeze but he didn't.
"So it seems you two are a bit slow…" Auro said, coming over to them. "But… you impress me with your teamwork."
Crit wanted to say something like I try or All in a day's work but he didn't want to look boastful in front of Mr. Auro, even though the exhausted Pokemon wished someone would say 'Good Job' or something.
"Good job, Cella and Venus. Your cruelty tactics are unmatched." He muttered quietly, only loud enough for Venus, Cella, and Kit to hear.
"Um… so now what?" Kit asked. "Do we do more training?"
"Yes, we also need to work on your attacks. But for now, you can rest and mingle while it gets set up." Auro said.
Kit groaned, "This is going to be a long day…"
DarkFoxKit: *was bandaging her nose* Why did you charge me into the spiky wall for!?
ConstructCritical: *head low* I-it's not my fault you installed it! You wouldn't let me have Baklava, so naturally I had to attack you. I mean, isn't that what all shiny Minccinos are supposed to do when they aren't allowed to have their Baklava? *shows Fox a magazine* See?
DarkFoxKit: You just scribbled on here that Minccinos want Baklavas. And you're the one who installed the spikes when Mew suggested what to add for a Mew Game! When did you get so crazy over a pastry anyway? I knew you had too much sugar!
ConstructCritical: *looks up from what he was doing* What was that? *continues stuffing his face with sugar*
DarkFoxKit: ….. Oh dear… *slowly gets some goggles and picks up an umbrella as if a huge storm is about to pour on her head.*
ConstructCritical: *eyes get really big and gasps* FOXFOXFOXFOXFOXFOXFOXOFOX! Guess what? YOU HAVE AN UMBRELLA! *grabs it* WEE! NOW I HAVE AN UMBRELLA! WOOOOOOOW! *runs around, knocking over furniture* WEEEE! FOX! I'M GOING FAAAAAAAAST~!
DarkFoxKit: I hate it when he gets sugar rush, as if he wasn't hyper enough as is already! …. Crit! DON'T TOUCH THAT 3DS! Don't break it!
ConstructCritical: FOXFOXFOXFOXFOX! You know what I've always wanted to do? Fly like a bird! *grabs Fox's paw and jumps out the window and starts flapping his arms and flies… for a few seconds...* WEEEE! LOOOK FOX! I'M FLYIIIIIIIIING!
DarkFoxKit: STOOOOP! WE CAN'T FLY! WAAAAH! *they faceplanted on the ground… or rather Fox did, Crit landed safely on top of her.* … Pain… need… hospital…
ConstructCritical: Sorry! I'm going to Mehico! Or however they pronounce it! *dashes off and is back a few seconds later wearing a Sombrero* FOXFOXFOXFOXFOXFOX! I had guacamole!
DarkFoxKit: …. I'm going to kill you.
ConstructCritical: *eyes become normal* ...Fox? Uh, what happened to you? Oh, I just remembered! I have to go watch the latest episode of My Little Pony! You want some soda? No? Okay, uh, well, since you said you're going to kill me, I probably shouldn't call 911, so, uh, have fun! *starts walking away*
DarkFoxKit: …. FUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE!
ConstructCritical: What was that? YOU'LL MAKE FUDGE? YES! *calls 911* Yes, uh, a girl tried to jump out of her window and fly, but, she somehow broke a lot of stuff. She also is making me fudge. *they hung up* Uh… hello? Sorry Fox, guess they're too busy.
DarkFoxKit: Please… someone… give me some medicine to make the pain stop!
ConstructCritical: Medicine, huh? Well… uh, nope, I don't have any. But I do have some baklava, if you're interested.
DarkFoxKit: ….
ConstructCritical: It's also out of date. So that means it has magical healing properties, right? *stuffs a bunch of baklava into Fox's mouth before she can protest*
DarkFoxKit: *starts choking before…* X_X
ConstructCritical: *checks for a pulse* … Well… uh… MEW! I FOUND A RANDOM PLUSHIE OUT HERE! Definitely not DarkFoxKit and if it was I didn't kill her… just like I didn't those last… six… ty… times...