Chapter 18: Memories

I was slightly apprehensive about my first training session. I didn't know what to expect, or how I should prepare myself for what was to come, but I hoped that by all means this training wasn't as torturous as Larine had made it sound.

Sometime after our lunch, we relocated to another clearing nearby, leaving our belongings behind in "camp". This one was more spacious than the last; at least two good battlefields long and completely void of any obstacles. I wondered why we needed all the space when there were only two of us around.

"This will be our training grounds from now on," she explained, gesturing around us. "We'll be using it to help you develop your basic skills."

"Why not use the other clearing?"

"Because that one provides better shelter," Larine retorted critically with a look, "and I don't want to wreck it."

I gulped. What, was she expecting to blow the place up?

"As for your first lesson," she went on, "you and I are going to have a little wrestling match to start things off."

"You want me to fight you?" I burst, dumbfounded. Larine hadn't appealed to me as someone who was capable of brawling—personality wise, anyway.

"Precisely. The goal of this lesson is to get you to use your aura on your own, and we're going to draw it out by fighting and you to your limits."

"Oh…okay." That didn't sound very promising. It wasn't what I had expected, but it sounded simple enough. I was somewhat skeptical about sparring with another girl, though; I'd never done it before.

"Not hard eh?" She flashed me a smile; it was almost demonic. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pass." She shifted into a readily position, still smirking as she said, "Have at me, Swift."

Adrenaline was already working its way into my limbs. The thought of brawling always got me pumped up, just as the thought of battling did, even though it was between Pokémon. I grinned with anticipation. I couldn't wait to see what kind of opponent Larine would turn out to be.

Without a moment's hesitation, I launched myself forward, clearing the distance between us in a single stride while simultaneously drawing my arm back. In the blink of an eye, Larine had moved, intercepting my blow with her forearm. I didn't falter, quickly positioning my other fist for an uppercut punch. To my surprise, she blocked it as well.

"Your reflexes aren't half bad."

Ignoring her comment, I jumped backwards to gain some time, only to jerk myself aside as Larine lunged at me, her fist grazing my cheek. I stumbled back a step or two, then promptly charged at my target once more. Somehow, Larine was inhumanely fast, and it would not be good to let her catch me off guard.

I soon learned that it was nigh impossible to land a hit on Larine. In fact, I was too busy defending myself to attack. She moved with the speed of a Ninjask and struck with the ferocity of a Gyarados. I received bruises from blocking and being struck by her blows, as well as scrapes from diving and rolling to escape from her wrath. I'd never injured myself so much from simply defending. Was there that much of a gap between our capabilities?

I didn't know how much time had passed, but I quickly tired from the rigorous pounding I had endured. My movements became noticeably sluggish, and I was able to evade less and less of the attacks coming my way. Larine, on the other hand, didn't appear to have broken a single sweat.

Finally, Larine aimed a swift high-kick at my head, and at that point my body was no longer able to react accordingly giving way to the force of her blow. Sharp pain erupted in my temples as I toppled over and hit the ground hard, my eyes swimming with colors and my skull throbbing like a herd of Tauros was stampeding around inside of it. My entire being protested with pain as I tried to get up and move. I was vaguely aware of Larine standing over me, her impassive, downturned face shadowed.

"Is that all you've got, Swift?"

Don't…insult me, I growled, but mobility was impossible for me; my body was petrified with pain. No matter how badly I wanted to get up and sock her in the face, I just couldn't get up.

"I'm not going to hide my disappointment," Larine said after a pause. My hands twitched, trying to get into a position to push myself up, but the effort proved to be too much for me and my muscles slackened. Larine sniffed in contempt and turned away. "I thought you could do better, Swift."

I froze. An image of a pair of sneakers on hard-packed dirt entered my mind as everything before me collapsed into a uniform, mottled gray, and I closed my eyes. I'd heard those words before—a long, long time ago...

"Swift Firestorm!"

I glanced up into the stern face of a shrewd-looking woman, her back slightly bent over my desk as she scrutinized me with her sharp eyes.

"Go down to the principal's office."

"What did I do?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Nothing," the woman said, straightening. She adjusted her frameless glasses idly, adding, "The principal would just like to see you."

About seven years ago, when I was still in Trainer School, I was called down to the principal's office for some unknown reason. Back then, I was a dedicated student, with good grades and exceptional battle skills for my age. The only drawback was that I was extremely quiet; I seldom spoke to my peers and pretty much had no friends, but that didn't bother me.

Walking into the principal's office, I was startled to find two other boys already seated in the available chairs: Lance Kumori and Riley Arum. They were much younger looking back then, of course (and shorter than me, if I might add), and I hadn't yet known them prior to that day. So it came as a surprise to me when the principal–a somewhat portly man with graying hair and a gentle voice–announced that the three of us had been chosen to represent the school in a nation-wide competition against other academies in Kanto and Johto. He explained that we had been picked because of our "excellent grades" and "talent" in battling.

Anyone in their right mind would've felt honored to be able to take part in such an event, but I, for one, was resentful. I didn't want to work in a group—I fought alone and only alone; I didn't need help. What's more, I hated the idea of competing against others of my skill level in a tournament that was bound to witnessed by quite a crowd. I didn't want the whole world to see me lose, if I did lose. Unfortunately, that was out of the question.

The competition was held in Vermillion City, where we received rental Pokémon along with information regarding the format of the tournament. Each battle would be in the odd format of three versus three, meaning every Trainer and Pokémon from the same school would be on the battlefield at the same time. The purpose of the layout was to get all the team members to work together to win.

"Heh, this'll be easy," Riley scoffed, eyeing the Poké Ball he had received with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He looked extremely childish, even for an eight year old. Meanwhile I simply stared down at the mechanical orb in my hands, beginning to dread what was to come.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay," Lance had said, butting into my thoughts. He was smiling, but not cockily like Riley was.

"How do you know?" I half-challenged, simply out of nature. Instead of looking hurt, his grin widened.

"Because we're friends, aren't we? We're here to help each other."

"Friends?" I'd never had "friends" in my life; what made him think he was my friend?

"Well, you're not my enemy, are you? So that makes us friends."

Lance's positive, good-natured attitude was something I couldn't fathom. I didn't understand how Riley could have such a big ego, either; to me, him and Lance were both just a pair of the strangest kids I had ever met.

The day of the first round was bright and clear, a stark contrast to the darkening storm cloud that I felt was looming over my head. The crowds were massive, but maybe they only seemed that way because of my delirium. Either way, it didn't help the situation.

Our first opponent was a school from Goldenrod City, represented by three boys. They looked ordinary—nothing about them stood out to me in any way. Even so, the thought of facing them gripped me with apprehension. What if I lost? What if I was too nervous to battle? It was too late to turn back now, though.

A fresh breeze blew into the battlefield when the battle began. The referee's voice was muffled in my ears, my hands trembling as I threw the Poké Ball to summon my borrowed Pokémon, a Poochyena. The fighting quickly became fierce, and my panicky mind made it tough to focus on the chaotic tangle. I could barely call out my commands, and by the looks of things, the battle wasn't going very well in our favor.

I had been facing a Magby the entire round, which quickly subdued my Poochyena with a few Ember attacks. The Dark type snarled in pain as it landed, burns covering its body. The Magby approached, a triumphant smirk on its face. I hesitated.

This is it, I thought. I'm really going to lose.

Just when I least expected it, a strong Water Gun arced through the air and struck the Fire Pokémon in the chest, blasting it backwards. I looked up and saw Lance's rental Poliwag, and Lance himself standing behind it.

"Having trouble?" he asked, grinning. I scowled, but then spotted a green figure leaping out from behind the Water Pokémon. It was a Bellsprout, whose vines were extended readily.

"Tackle, Poochyena!" I shouted. The Bite Pokémon lunged and threw itself up at the Grass Pokémon, sending it sprawling on the ground while the the Dark type landed neatly on all fours.

"Thanks," Lance said, as though I had done nothing more than pick up something he had dropped. I shrugged. "You know, that's what friends are for," he added.

I paused. "Friends…huh?" He nodded.

"Hey! We're not done yet!" Riley protested. "Don't make me do all the work!"

I later figured out that that was his personal way of asking for help. It might sound cheesy, but somehow on that day the three of us started to become friends. Even I, who hadn't had many friends in the past, had begun to open up. It was like we had been friends for years.

Our teamwork quickly paid off. We won the first round and swiftly progressed up the tourney tree, growing stronger seemingly with each victory. We were almost surprised to find ourselves at the semi-finals.

The semi-final match was especially difficult. Our opponent was a team also composed of two boys and a girl, and was just as skilled as we were. The battle must've dragged on well past half an hour. My Poochyena was thrown out of the fray, and while I waited for it to get to its feet, I saw an opening that would allow us to win: the enemies were clustered so tightly together that it would be easy to take them out with one, strong blow. The problem was that Lance and Riley's Pokémon were deeply engrossed in the knot as well; if I took the opening, I would have to hit them too.

I mulled over the decision. I didn't want to betray my new friends, but at the same time, I wasn't the kind of person who just sat there and let opportunities pass by. When I fought, I fought to win. When I attacked, I went for the kill (not literally, of course).

"Poochyena, use Take Down, full power!"

I knew I had made the wrong choice almost as soon as the attack was executed. Every Pokémon that was hit was too exhausted from the drawn-out fight to endure it, and fainted after being thrown into the air. Even my Poochyena blacked out after we were declared the winners.

"What was that for?" Riley exploded. My gaze was fixed downwards on his feet, too shame faced to look him and Lance in the eyes.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, angry with myself.

"Sorry?" Riley spat. "I thought you could do better, Swift." He stormed off the battlefield without a second thought, enraged. For a moment, Lance and I stood by ourselves, unmoving.

Then: "Why?"

"I don't know."

"There has to be a reason."

"I thought…I thought it was the only way to win." I confessed haltingly. There was another pause.

"Why did you want to compete in this tournament?"

My first answer would've been that I didn't want to compete in the first place. But that wasn't entirely true. Over time, I had come to want to stay in the tournament. Why? Because of Lance and Riley. If it weren't for them, I would've given up after the first round. Realizing that, I really began to hate myself for what I had done.

What were my friends for, if I was just going to turn on them like that?

Larine had asked me why I fought. The answer had been so difficult to come up with just a few days ago, but now I realized that it was so clear and simple: I didn't fight just to win, or just for the heck of it. I fought for my friends. I fought for them because they had always fought for me. Had I been too blinded with the desire to become a Trainer to see that?

I really am pathetic…aren't I? I thought.

Then get stronger. A voice argued. Get stronger so you can be a better person. Isn't that what you want?

Yes…but only for my friends.

Energy suddenly suffused my body. My eyes flew open as power burned its way into my blood, its strength so intense that I felt that I would simultaneously combust if I didn't release it somehow. I sprang to my feet, like wings were attached to my ankles.

"It's not over yet, Larine," I growled, rushing forward. Larine whipped around, her face contorted with shock for just a brief second before I slammed my fist into her gut. It was like punching a stuffed animal. She flew a good thirty feet before hitting the base of a tree, rolling reflexively away as I punched downward, splintering the bark like glass.

"Swift, STOP!" Larine shouted frantically, raising an arm in defense as I drew back for another blow. I hesitated, and then lowered my arm. For a moment, we both remained motionless, panting. Then Larine grinned. She seemed to be smiling at something I couldn't see.

Automatically, I looked down at my hands.

A white glow had almost completely receded from my skin; taking along with it the fiery energy that I felt was leaving my body.

"Now that is what I'm talkin' about," Larine said.

Author's Note: A month and a half later and we finally have Chapter 18: yay! After all the writer's block and school work I've gone through to get this chapter up, I hope it came out better than my other drafts. :) I also have a few couple I'd like to ask:

In regards to the storyline so far, how well do you think the plot is developing? Is it too slow? Too fast? Too confusing? Too boring? That's something I'd really like to know so that I can try to imrpove where I can.

Same question with characters: how are they developing? Are they too dull or shallow? Do they seem to lack a personality of some kind? Character impersonization (I think that's a word) isn't something I'm entirely great with, so I really need feedback on that too.

I've also got a few things to say: first of all, I'm sure I'm not the only author on whose updating speed will be slowed by school. For some reason, I keep getting projects and reports one right after another, so unfortunately, I'll probably only be able to update about once a month. Knowing me, though, I guess it's not much of a difference since my updating speed is irregular anyway. xD

Second, in relation to the first point, I don't think I've ever said that in the past and even now, all my chapters have been written on paper first before getting typed up and edited on . Now that I think about it, that may be why it takes me so long to update (not counting all my writer's block and stuff), and may consider just typing all my drafts on the computer to begin with. The thing is, I'm usually not inspired to write on the computer, and it's inconvenient because I can't really take it with me to work on in places where I don't have computer access. I'll have to think about it, but if all goes well, we might be seeing some faster updates. (;

Whoa that's a big author's note o.o Well, leave a review if you'd like, and until next time, let's hope for a swift update. :) Have a great day!