Within the chapel of an abandoned temple on the Derecha Mountains, Colin and Lenny moved to a sizable clear area behind the pews to have their sparring match. Karen would stand in the aisle to watch the match, anxious and ever-curious of how these two would do.
The two Pokemon would stare each other down as they awaited the first move. It didn't take long before Lenny took the initiative and went for a quick swipe toward Colin. The Buizel swiftly dodged that attack with a small jump back. Lenny would come in for a few more swipes, then Colin would sidestep to dodge each of those. Colin then quickly went in for a jab, one that was quickly dodged before he followed up with another. This was also swiftly dodged in a display of the Grovyle's impressive agility. After these futile strikes, Colin and Lenny would run toward each other and begin exchanging blows at close combat.
Karen gazed upon this action in awe. They're both so fast…!, she thought, They seem matched in speed, but… I feel like they haven't even really started yet…!
Colin and Lenny exchanged their last blow in their flurry before both leaping back, now trying to catch their breath. "Woah… you're pretty good!", Colin complimented.
"As are you, old friend…", Lenny responded, "But don't let your guard down!" With that, the Grovyle began to glow a bright green as he rose his right claw in front of him and then clenched said claw. Colin would glow a similar color just as Lenny rose his arm and when the claw clenched, Colin began to grunt and let out a yell in pain. After a few moments, the pain would go away and the glow would be taken in by Lenny before fading. Colin was catching his breath after that ordeal while Lenny seemed to be unscathed. Karen started to worry after seeing the Buizel suffer, "Collie!", she yelled.
"W-what was that…?", the weakened Buizel had asked.
"That, my friend, was my Absorb attack!", the gecko would smirk, "The perfect attack against a Water-Type like you! The best part is I get some of that energy you lost!"
Colin gritted his teeth, having now known that Lenny had such an attack in his arsenal. He knew this wouldn't be easy with the type disadvantage, but to be taken down such a peg from just one attack was a surprise to him. Colin slowly got up and regained his composure, readying himself before going for another rush at the Grass-Type. Out of nowhere, he shot out a sudden stream of water from his mouth toward Lenny, catching him in surprise. After being hit by the Water Gun, Lenny would begin to shake himself dry before Colin took the opportunity to land a blow on him with a swift Quick Attack. This knocked him back a bit, though the green Pokemon would stand firm, "Nice shot, old friend!"
The Buizel thanked his sparring partner before the two got into another flurry of exchanging blows in close combat. Karen was still watching, quite invested after seeing them show off the power of their moves along with their physical strength. Such power… Even at a disadvantage, Collie would still charge in like that..., she thought.
After the latest clash of blows, the two would leap back away from each other. Colin didn't waste any time and went forward at Lenny to shoot another Water Gun at him. This time, the Grovyle wasn't going to fall for it. He back-flipped to avoid the stream of water, "Too slow!", he roared before landing and clenching his claw toward the sea weasel Pokemon. This caused him to glow once again and let out another painful yell as his energy was being drained by yet another Absorb. He would grit his teeth at the gecko, short of breath after taking the brunt of a second super-effective move. Karen would express worry once more seeing Colin in pain like that.
"You look tired, Colin.", Lenny said with a smirk.
Colin was determined to give it his all despite all the damage, "It's not over yet, Lenny!"
"Heh, we'll see!", Lenny confidently replied before lunging toward the Buizel, his arm leaves glowing and congealing together to form a Leaf Blade. Just then as Lenny closed in on Colin and threw a swipe with his Leaf Blade, the blade was met with another. Colin blocked Lenny's attack with a what seemed to be a blade of his own, seemingly out of nowhere. "W-what!?", Lenny questioned in surprise. This weapon Colin was clashing with Lenny's Leaf Blade had a dark blue blade that was a bit curved with a light blue hilt and a gray cross-guard with a raindrop engraved on it. "W-where did that come from!?", Lenny was beyond curious, breaking the stalemate and both Pokemon leaping back.
As the sea weasel Pokemon caught his breath, he would gave a slight grin, "Well, old buddy, this is something I call the Buizuken!", definitely having caught the Grovyle's interest, "It's a water sword I can conjure up when I need it!" Karen would think in a bout of amazement, I heard Collie talk about this thing, but I never seen him actually use it before!
Lenny was impressed, though he started to notice that Colin's panting was getting heavier ever since he had the blade out. "I see… it looks like it's taking a lot out of you to maintain it." Colin wasn't exactly thrilled that Lenny had already noticed the toll it was taking on him. Colin then charged after the Grovyle, causing the gecko to ready his Leaf Blade in retaliation. The two then began a flurry of blows once again, this time with their blades. With each swipe and clash, the toll this weapon was having on Colin was becoming more apparent. At one point, the two weapons clashed in a stalemate. The two Pokemon would put their all into the stalemate, gritting their teeth as they stared each other down. Just then, the ever-exhausted Colin began to let up. This allowed Lenny to break the stalemate and knock Colin's Buizuken away, causing it to evaporate in thin air.
Lenny then aimed his Leaf Blade down at Colin, who was knocked on the ground. He looked up at the green Pokemon as he got wide-eyed and was panting heavily. "It's over, old friend. You lost.", Lenny declared as he looked down on the defeated orange Pokemon.
Colin hung his head for a bit trying to catch his breath, then looked up at Lenny as he let out a bit of a nervous laugh, "Eheheh… I guess you're right…"
As soon as Colin sat up, Karen rushed to him, "Collie, are you okay!?", she asked right away.
"Yeah… I'm alright…", the Buizel assured, though he was still quite short of breath.
Karen then closed her eyes and put both her paws up toward Colin before a glow lit up about the Buizel. He was flooded with a soothing sensation as the light enveloped his body. This immediately caught Lenny's attention. After some time, the glow would soon fade before Karen put down her paws with a smile. Colin's breathing was softer now and any pain he had from the battle seemed to be gone. "Thanks, Karen.", the Buizel thanked the Pachirisu, sporting a slight smile.
"What did you do?", Lenny asked Karen.
"O-oh, that?", Karen was kind of flustered, "Hehehe, I'm just kinda studying on healing magic. I only know the basics right now, though!" The Pachirisu went to the Grovyle, "Do you need any help?"
The green Pokemon just put up his claw, "Nah, I'm alright. No need to go out of your way."
"You suuuuure?", the squirrel Pokemon asked.
"Yes. The Absorbs during the battle were more than enough. I'm alright."
Karen cutely grins, "Alrighty!"
Having recovered from the battle, the three Pokemon would then sit on the pews. It was then that Lenny would muse, "I couldn't help but notice… you two are here, but… where's Merton?"
"Oh, well Cuz is over at his hometown.", Colin answered, "Him and Uncle Morton haven't visited in the past 5 years…I really miss them..."
Karen blurted out, "Hmph… I guess I miss the stinkball too, but… he still owes me an Apple!", she said in a huff as this was clearly bugging her.
"Karen, you're still thinking about that…?", Colin remarked, thinking this was kind of silly.
"He owes me, Collie! He promised!", Karen was really not having this. It seemed like she was serious about things when it came to promises about Apples.
Lenny thought this was all funny though. He just sort of chuckled, "Well, it looks like things haven't changed much after all!"
Colin nervously laughed, "Eheheh… yeah…", while Karen just sorta looked the other way.
"Well… how have you two been all this time? It's been a long 5 years…", Lenny asked, attempting to break the ice of the previous tension.
"I've been training with my father here and there.", Colin replied.
"Ah yes, the great Cobalt.", Lenny recognized, "You were pretty good with fighting close quarters. Your father no doubt helped hone those skills."
"Heheh, yeah.", Colin let out a nervous laugh, "It's been a while since I last seen him, though. I wonder how he's doing..."
Lenny then faced Karen, "It's certainly interesting that you're taking up something like healing magic... what made you decide that?"
Karen suddenly got really nervous, "I-I...", then after a bit of a pause, "I decided to try something new! ...Y-yeah, that!"
"Well, it certainly will help in your travels!" Lenny then thought a bit, "Hmm… a fighter and a healer… Haha, you two complement each other so well, how cute!", Lenny grinned while Colin and Karen would start to blush. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?", a flustered Colin blurted out. Karen would stay silent, though it was rather obvious by her blushing and shifting eyes that she wouldn't necessarily deny such an implication. "Oh nothing, hahaha!", Lenny chuckled at Colin's response, "You should see your face, haha!" The flustered Buizel said nothing and a bit of an awkward silence followed. Lenny would then break the silence not long after, "Well, anyway... It's nice that you two are traveling together with such abilities. A good combination, to be sure!"
"Y-yeah…", Colin blurted, still half-flustered. "By the way… Why are you up here? Did you light all those torches?"
"Yes… I heard about an old temple up here in my travels… It seemed relevant to my interests, so I wanted to check it out.", Lenny responded. "I wanted to light the torches to get a better look around, you see."
"Ah, that makes sense.", Colin said.
"By the way… what are you two traveling for? What's this journey about?", Lenny asked.
"We're going to the Wigglytuff Guild!", Karen exclaimed.
"The Wigglytuff Guild?", Lenny questioned, "I'm surprised you didn't head to the Skuntank Guild right here on the Coriola Continent.", then Lenny would think on it a bit, "Then again… without an experienced guide, that would be near-impossible…"
"Yup… if only Merton was with us…", Colin lamented, then further explained, "But that's not the only reason! We believe we'll find the answers we need there. We want to find out more about who attacked our hometown 5 years ago."
"Hmm… What do you know about them so far?", the Grovyle wondered.
"All we really know is what they said when they delivered their message that day… and their name."
"What was their name...?"
"Team Tempest", the Buizel answered in a more stern demeanor. Lenny got wide-eyed for a bit. "Do you know anything about them?", Colin asked Lenny, noticing his reaction.
After a pause, the Grovyle answered, "Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."
"Dammit.", the Buizel cussed.
"Though… with a guild like that on your side, I bet you'll no doubt get the answers you seek!", Lenny assured, "The intel of that guild is second-to-none!"
This made Colin feel better, "Yeah, that's right!"
"The Wigglytuff Guild is on the Treasure Continent quite a ways to our east across the ocean.", Lenny started to explain, "Derecha Town, a town on the Derecha Coastline on the other side of this mountain, operates ferries. I don't know the hours they run but if you catch a ferry, you'll be on your way to the Guild!"
"Woah, really? Thanks for the info, Lenny!", Colin was happy to get directions.
"Yeah, thankies!", Karen reinforced the gratitude.
"Not a problem, old friends!", the green gecko Pokemon happily replied before going off to a corner of the room, the two other Pokemon following close-by. He pushed a loose space in the wall, which caused the adjacent section of the wall to lift up and reveal a passageway. "The exit of this place is through this passage. You can continue your journey from there, you'll eventually find yourself on the Derecha Coastline. Derecha Town will be straight ahead!"
"Thanks again, man!", Colin thanked his Grovyle friend again, "It was really nice to talk to you after all this time!"
"Same here! It was a pleasure, Lenny!", Karen said.
"The pleasure is all mine, my friends! Good luck on your journey!", the Grovyle happily waved.
"Thanks! See ya around, Lenny!", the Buizel said as he went through the passageway, followed by a "Bye bye!" from Karen before she followed her companion in.
Lenny would then gaze into the passageway as he seen them leave. "Team Tempest, huh? I see…", the Grovyle hung his head. "It seems our next encounter… may not be a nice one…"
