"There it is, up ahead!" Asgard announced, to my relief.
We had spent a sizeable chunk of the afternoon walking from the city to wherever this dojo was. From what the Togetic had said before, it stood in the shadow of Ecruteak City, the official name for a neighboring city to the north. Brio and Aeris seemed unfazed by the mention of the city, but I had drawn a blank. My lack of distance travel experience had clearly showed, for not only did I not recognize the city name, but Brio's long explanation about the historical importance of the 'Two Towers' had not cleared up my questions about the city.
Fortunately, Asgard's announcement had snapped Brio from his increasingly long-winded explanation. I can hardly fathom how much time he must have spent studying the city in order to inform me about half the things he had. Asgard and Aeris had not contradicted him at any point, so either they couldn't be bothered or the Glaceon truly was the foremost authority among the four of us.
As we drew closer to our destination, I got a better look at it. It was another building, about the size of Brio's library, but wider and more sheltered by trees, with a winding dirt road leading us to the doors. There were faded stone steps leading to the ornate gate, and as we came nearer, the gates opened of their own accord, letting us access the entryway.
The interior was not as oppressive as the library, but it had a musty smell to it, and the stone walkway was lined by poles with a gentle flame at the top, providing just enough light to not be in absolute darkness. Asgard led the way, his body seeming to shine in the musty darkness. Aeris was next, happily humming to herself as she glided after the floating fairy. Brio and I walked side-by-side, Brio pausing now and then to admire the walls and pillars.
Like the library, I felt inclined to stay as quiet as possible, and my stomach churned a little with each step and turn that we took. Brio seemed more awed than anything, and Aeris seemed excited, so that left me alone to be nervous. I didn't really want to be here, but I couldn't deny that the offer of getting some battle training, however insufficient it had to be, was the best way to use our time until someone came up with a better plan.
Our companions paused at a four-way passageway, Asgard smirking slightly. "Careful now, you might get lost if you stray behind. This dojo's much bigger than it looks, and Mom really never bothered with electric lighting, so you either need me, Mom, or fire to get around easily.
"Wonderful. Lead us to the catacombs next, why don't you?" I muttered. Brio whispered something about a 'cask of something' (no, he did not say 'Something', I just didn't really catch the weird word he said), and then grinned in a genuinely unnerving way. I was going to ask, but thought better of it. Some facial expressions are better off not knowing what triggered them.
After another walk down a passageway, Asgard reached a large door: yellow with red tinges, and some sort of inscription directly above it. Brio took note of the writing, but didn't translate it for me. I would have asked, but Asgard pushed the door and it opened easily at the gentle touch, light exploding all around us like a Flash attack.
I cringed, shielding my eyes and latching one arm around Brio, using him to guide me forward. Fortunately, my eyes adjusted quicker than I had expected, and I could look around the new room. In sharp contrast to the entire rest of the dojo, this room was widely lit, and lined with several statues and glass boxes containing numerous golden objects of varying shapes and sizes. In the center of the room was a dirt field, marking with white lines. But my attention was stolen by the presence of a large, bipedal Pokémon making its way towards the group.
This Pokémon stood at almost twice my height, with flames erupting from a ring around its neck. Its underbelly was tan while the rest of the body was covered in dark blue fur. Fierce brown eyes studied us, and I could swiftly identify it as a female.
"Hey Mom!" Asgard chirped, reminding me of Aeris, an impression quickly supported by the Togetic diving towards the Typhlosion and wrapping her in a tight hug. The Typhlosion smiled and patted the fairy Pokémon once before he dislodged himself from her.
"Um..." Brio began, undoubtedly wondering the same thing I was. "You're his..."
"Adoptive mother," the Typhlosion answered, her voice stern yet not unkind. "A touching story, but for another time, I think. But I think introductions are in order."
"I'm Aeris!" the Gligar said promptly, waving a claw. The Typhlosion's gaze fell upon Brio and he flinched once.
"Brio," he mumbled.
"Speak clearly," the Typhlosion said firmly. The Glaceon nodded and quickly repeated his name, more clearly than the first time, but still quietly. She nodded and turned her gaze to me.
"Syren," I said. Again a nod from the fire type.
"You may call me Sensi," she said, pronouncing it clearly, the flames on her neck crackling loudly and her voice dominantly loud in the silent room. "This is the dojo that I run, as Asgard as likely told you by now."
"Ooh, question!" Aeris said, bouncing on her feet and raising her pincher high, all but flailing for attention. Sensi blinked once, but nodded. "Do any humans come here?"
"Yes, they do," Sensi answered. "I have a protective license to run this dojo as a business. My former trainer had it issued years back. For this reason, I can do business with humans and their Pokémon, as well as independent clients, like you. However, lessons here are considered expensive, and while currency is not necessarily the only form of payment, it is the preferred form."
"Can you toss them a freebie, Mom?" Asgard asked, moving nearer and whispering in the Typhlosion's ear. An awkward silence fell as the two Pokémon talked to one another in voices so soft that I couldn't catch anything. Brio's ear was twitching, but he was frowning, so I assumed he couldn't hear anything, either. Aeris was eyeing the room, and I was starting to worry that she'd interpret the gold objects as treasures she could make off with.
"Interesting," Sensi said, drawing my attention back to her. She examined the three of us with a stern expression. "I should warn you, that I expect full respect from those I train, and that I accept no excuses or slacking. Asgard feels you should receive the benefit of his friendship with you, but if you are not serious, leave now. I will not waste my time for free."
The bluntness of the statement stung me more than I expected it to, but none of us moved, not even Brio, who had been the most reluctant to come in the first place. The Typhlosion continued to gaze at us before nodding.
"Then, we'll get started at once. I have a paying client coming in an hour, so I can cover the very basics until then. Asgard will help coach you."
"Awesome!" Aeris squealed, displaying typical enthusiasm.
Sensi's idea of the basics was not anything to do with battle at all. She had Brio run laps around the field, and for me to run back and forth in a line. Aeris was given an entirely different test of her strength, which had something to do with moving from side to side on reflex. She did not give us a number of laps to do, just to keep doing them.
Needless to say, neither Brio nor I lasted too long, and Aeris herself got pegged a few times when the Typhlosion tested her reflexes. I couldn't tell if the Typhlosion was unhappy or not; her expression was completely serious and stern.
"Go wash up. We'll resume later," she barked and turned away, disappearing from the room. My chest felt like it was on fire, and Brio was panting as if he had just run a marathon, which frankly, he pretty much had. Aeris was wincing a little and rubbing her chest where the fire-type's paw had struck. Asgard flew over to us, grinning.
"That went well," he said, gesturing for us to follow and leading us to the back of the training room, where a second set of doors stood.
"Are...you kidding?" I panted, massaging my stomach with one paw. Ugh, if I have to walk too far, I'm going to die.
"No, it went great," Asgard chuckled. "You guys have no serious battle experience at all, do you?"
"I guess not," I admitted grudgingly. The hall the Togetic led us down was much brighter than the entranceway, and he showed us to a room with a bathing tub.
"That's okay, you still did pretty well," Asgard said brightly. "Okay, here we go. Use this to wash up, and Aeris?"
"Yes?" the Gligar asked enthusiastically.
"Um...Mom's pretty big on cleanliness, so you might want to bathe twice," the Togetic said, in a completely serious tone that seemed to emphasize that he wasn't trying to be mean, but he wasn't kidding, either. Strange type of tone, really. The bat Pokémon frowned a little, but nodded. "Great. When you're done with that, come down this way, and you can find something to eat."
With that, the Togetic exited the room, leaving us to work out bathing arrangements. Due to the general agreement that Aeris needed to spend the most time washing, and Brio wanting to use the least water possible, we had her wash last, with the two of us verifying whether she was clean enough.
It didn't take us long to relocate the Togetic in the neighboring room, where a table covered with a spread of fruit and vegetables stood in the center of the room. Aeris squealed at the sight and flopped down, digging in without any prompting whatsoever. Asgard shook his head, but didn't protest.
It was uncomfortably quiet while we ate. Asgard didn't seem to have much to say, although he complimented how nice Aeris looked with all the dust cleared off. Her normal coloration no longer covered by the dusty brown layer, she seemed almost shiny under the light. Brio and I had taken the time to really scrub her good, and it was great to know it had paid off.
"Can I ask something?" I spoke up, nearly starting the Togetic host when the silence was shattered. He gave a quick nod. "Why did your mom give us free training? What did you say? And for that matter, why did you want us to receive training at all? We just met."
Asgard shook his head. "Mom's doing it because I asked her to. I'm not telling you more than that. And for your training...well, you're at a disadvantage, both with this self-imposed mission and overall. If you don't have battle experience, you don't have a chance against real threats."
"This training can't possibly be enough to beat Huntress," Brio noted, furrowing his brow. "We don't have enough time, and she's had to have trained much longer than we have. She's a Servine, so she's evolved once already."
"So have you," Aeris noted with a giggle.
"Not from training," I corrected dismissively. I paused for a moment. "Wait, how did you evolve?" Even though I knew an Eevee did not become a Glaceon from training in the same way a Buizel became a Floatzel, which still left a location-based mystery that Brio and I had never discussed.
"Not meaning to interrupt, but we're getting sidetracked;" Asgard cut in. "There is something else that factors in. When I first saw you, Aeris, you had one of the Plates, and it's clear now that you are researching them to some extent."
"Only since this morning," I said, shrugging and helping myself to another piece of fruit. I had no idea what the Togetic was getting at.
Asgard heaved a small sigh. "Well...it's too early to explain, I think. Mom should be able to cover it better anyway, and the training room is going to be occupied, so I can't really satisfy your curiosity yet."
Something on the wall chimed and Asgard flinched, glancing at the circular device. A moment later, his attitude shifted and his words came out more rapidly.
"You should rest up. When she's finished with the current client, you guys are back on the roster, and it's no good if you're still drained."
He rose up and floated towards the door, pausing for us to get up and follow.
"I'll show you to your room. This way."