Chapter no.29: A Heart To Heart
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[ Back at the camp ]
Cynthia furrowed her brow as she questioned herself, "You think that might have been a little too much?" Preparing a concoction for Austin and his Pokémon, she combined several natural ingredients. The taste was a mystery, but the guaranteed positive effects were what truly mattered.
Cynthia couldn't help but contemplate Austin's recent actions. Time and time again, he'd thrown himself into danger without a second thought for his own life. This time, he'd narrowly avoided being scorched by a flamethrower to save her. And despite the pain she'd inadvertently caused him, he hadn't hesitated to shield her from Charmeleon's attack, using his own body as a barrier.
A flush rose to her cheeks as she grappled with her feelings for Austin. At first, it had been an attraction to a fellow trainer whose unconventional yet familiar battling style had intrigued her. Over the next week, her attraction had only deepened. He was defiant, stubborn, a natural tactician and battler, and most importantly, his love for his Pokémon transcended the concept of a mere team. The fact that she could converse with him while maintaining her anonymity had been a bonus.
Then, she had revealed her identity as the Sinnoh Champion, and everything changed.
Austin hadn't fawned over her like others tended to do. Instead, she'd noticed a mix of amazement and disbelief in his eyes. That night, he'd saved her life by summoning the King Dragonite to counter Mewtwo's wrath. She owed him her life.
Cynthia couldn't say she loved the ten-year-old, mature as he was. However, she undeniably felt a strong connection to him. That was why she'd chosen to spend her last vacation with him and no one else.
If only Austin would realize that he'd been talking to Cynthia, the Champion… and completely ignoring Shirona, his friend.
She liked calling Ash by the nickname Austin. It made her feel special since none of his other friends used it. It seemed to be their little secret.
But, despite her efforts, he had persisted in treating her as the Champion she was rather than just a friend. It frustrated her to no end.
And then, he'd saved her life yet again.
Cynthia added another ingredient to the concoction. When Austin returned with the Charmeleon, she'd have to ensure he drank it. The mixture would temporarily increase his body's rejuvenation abilities.
Her knuckles brushed against her leg, the memory of Charmeleon's claw sinking into Austin's chest still fresh. But she knew, after everything they'd been through, Austin would still treat her as Cynthia, the Champion, who just happened to be his friend, and not Shirona, his friend who just happened to be the Champion.
Glancing up, she repeated her question. "Garchomp? Do you think it was too much?"
Garchomp merely grunted, not overly concerned.
Garchomp's draconic senses were suddenly alert. The creature stared toward the right as a burst of dragon breath shot out of the wild, miles away from the forests near the volcano.
"Guess we know where they are now," Cynthia muttered, eyeing the draconic attack that emerged from the forest. Austin, that idiot! He couldn't stay out of trouble to save his life, she thought with a mixture of annoyance and affection.
"You think we need to help them get back here?"
Garchomp glanced to the left, observing Austin's Pikachu taking a beating from Rhyperior. The electric type had been tossed against rocks multiple times, only to get back up. At least they were persistent, Garchomp mused. She turned back toward the forest as another burst of draconic energy erupted, slicing through the trees, and sighed.
She grunted back, "Do it."
Garchomp extended her fins outward and pushed herself off the ground, soaring into the sky.
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Charmeleon had to agree, the Shiftry was fast. If not for his ability to leap high up into the sky, and jump off from tree to tree like he found himself able to do, he would be at a loss. Flame attacks or not, a normal Charmeleon would be able to do jack shit if he had to stand in the center of this all-encompassing forest with Shiftry able to jump all around and camouflage himself with the surroundings. Those leaf-tornado attacks, while not lethal, would have been pretty dangerous if he had to face them while standing on the ground, amidst all that shrubbery and everything.
Perhaps being an anomaly had its perks after all.
The draconian creature channeled energy through his claws and his fangs, calculating the distance between himself and his opponent, and sent two dragon claw attacks through the air, the slashes of draconic energy lacerating through the trees as Shiftry managed to barely escape it. However, the dragon pulse that had been fired just after the previous attack caught the grass-type off-guard, causing a direct hit. With an agonized whimper, Shiftry lost its footing as it fell downward.
That was all that Charmeleon needed.
He instantly leaped downward towards the ground, his maw filled with draconic energy as he belched out what was probably the most powerful dragon breath he had ever managed- slamming it directly into Shiftry's back, almost burning half of the stump that used to be its right arm or something, before tossing away the grass-type as the dragon breath made its way past the trees into the sky.
Charmeleon smirked. One done, three to go.
That was when he heard an ear-splitting scream, one that he instantly recognized, belonged to his trainer. Sniffing the air, and finding a faint scent, he leaped in the other direction.
It was now official. Arceus must hate him.
Completely ignoring the fact that there was a bleeding injury on his chest, and that the bones on his waist were still a little painful from Charmeleon's attack, Austin due to his workouts for the last month has allowed him to run his way through the forest, never looking back as he kept on trudging, running, falling on the forest floor, and continuing all the way all over again.
The Shiftries were amused by the fact that its prey believed that it could outrun them as they chased after Austin with amusement etched across their faces.
Now and then, he would find roots coming up from the ground, as he lost his balance and fell over them, hurting his knees as he managed to keep on running, yelling out Charmeleon's name in the wild as he did. For some reason, Charmeleon was still unavailable. Austin had nearly fallen into an Ariados nest (he couldn't even imagine what would have happened then), as he managed to keep on running. Hopefully, Charmeleon would be able to find him and stop this-
The thought died midway, as a Razor leaf slashed at his left leg, as he fell on the ground, face-first, and another fresh bruise on his left cheek, as blood began to trickle its way out of it.
The trio Shiftry turned around as three Leaf tornadoes combined into a giant leaf tornado that moved towards Austin.
In the face of impending doom, Austin could only scream in horror as he outstretched hands to at least protect him.
( ~ Boom ~ )
The dust cleared revealing a crimson barrier between Austin and the territorial Pokémon.
Austin felt extremely lightheaded as the crimson barrier around him began to break but from the tree tops Charmeleon landed in front of his trainer.
Austin sighed in relief and closed his eyes as he trusted Charmeleon to protect him.
Seeing his trainer injured and knocked out, Charmeleon had a murderous glow in his eyes as he combined Metal Claw and Dragon Claw into one before charging forward towards the territorial Pokémons.
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[ Some hours later ]
Austin woke up from a troubled sleep, the contusions on his cheeks and abdomen feeling suspiciously benign, almost as if the entire pain had vanished. A little more widening of his eyes got him staring at the somewhat unfamiliar green tent all around him, followed by the realization that he was, once again, wrapped up in bandages all over, though this time, it seemed to be limited to his chest-region and on his trousers, though there were a couple of band-aids on either cheek to cover up the bruises as well.
Crap. Not again.
He turned towards his side to see a wide assortment of potion jars, leaves, and berries on the makeshift wooden platform, with several bowls and pestles on it as well. Someone had not only bandaged him but also treated him back to health. He was just entertaining that line of thought when the covers of the tent on the left were lifted, and Cynthia stepped in.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, her countenance filled with concern.
"I'll survive." Austin returned. A part of him couldn't help but feel slightly… annoyed at the way Cynthia had treated both him and Charmander back then. Of course, he hadn't hesitated to protect her at the cost of his own life, but that didn't mean that he wasn't annoyed by her actions. Whatever her intentions had been, she had been quite cruel to Charmander, and a slight miss from his position could have cost her, her own life.
"Garchomp told me how you were attacked by the territorial Shiftry," Cynthia muttered, sitting on the floor beside Austin to prepare some antidotes for him. "The injuries you had, it was…"
"As you predicted?" Austin interrupted.
"I was going to say horrible. I never expected that to happen." She scowled.
"I seem to remember telling you not to do that," Austin grunted back, before looking away. "Your treatment towards Charmander was… wrong."
Cynthia looked up but didn't retort back. "I didn't expect him to attack me like that. It was simply a way to get him to shed his fear of-"
"He did." Austin interrupted again. "I'm not questioning your intentions, Cynthia." -said the girl inwardly gasped at the cold tone her friend was using—"I'm simply questioning the execution of it all. Your Garchomp, she could have killed Charmander."
"She didn't."
"Doesn't matter. Charmander could have died out of excess usage of his inner flame."
"He wouldn't." Cynthia challenged.
"And how do you know that?"
Cynthia was now losing it. "Because I have trained a Charizard from a Charmander too. Just so you know, as you keep pointing out, I am The Sinnoh Champion, and that means I have a lot of experience under my belt, which includes training the Charmander species. Their tail flame wouldn't go off just out of over-usage of fire-type attacks, or throwing them into a water body."
"But-"
"Unless you plan to poison Charmander and then keep him frozen with continuous ice beams on his body for hours, he is not going to die because of his tail flame going off."
Austin opened his mouth to retort, but then looked away. Of course, as a Champion, Cynthia probably knew more about training pokémon than him ten times over. But in his heart, he still felt that Charmeleon was with him the longest, he knew him the best. And risking him was not an option. But Cynthia was also his friend, wasn't she? And he valued his friend's opinions greatly. But choosing one among them was not something he wanted to do. Not now. Not ever.
But does that make her blameless?
Silence pervaded the two for minutes.
"Austin ?"
No reply came to the question.
"I know you are going through a lot of stuff with the passing of Raticate and I am sorry for whatever happened but I did what I thought was necessary."
Still no reply.
Cynthia looked away, silently working on the antidote she was preparing. "You should ingest this concoction. It will treat your injuries faster. I'll… I'll be outside, training your pokémon."
She waited for a couple of seconds, before she decided that she wouldn't be receiving any reply, and got up to get out of the tent. She had just crossed the threshold when Austin began speaking.
"You know… Charmeleon thought of himself as a monster. He believed himself responsible for my injury and blamed himself and his evolution. It took me a long time to convince him that your intentions were for his betterment and that it was just a part of his growing up."
Cynthia turned around, only for her hopes to fall to dust again. Austin hadn't turned back, but that hadn't stopped him from replying.
"When I found him as a Charmander back then, he was there, sitting on the rock on Route 24, his tail flame flickering dangerously, with a single leaf over him, in the middle of a thunderstorm. A flock of Spearow was attacking him from all sides, tearing into his flesh, and yet, he did nothing." Austin paused. "I and my friends got rid of the Spearow and tried to bring him down from the rock. Charmander fought us. Do you know why?"
He turned around to face her. "Because his trainer told him that he would be back with medical supplies to treat him. The same trainer, who had simply treated with callously all the time he had been with him, and then deserted him in the middle of nowhere… just like that."
Cynthia simply stood like a statue, not sure what to say.
"He somehow managed to somehow stick through and survive the night before and if I hadn't dragged him to the Pokémon center, he would have died."
"I—I didn't-"
"Of course, you didn't," Austin replied in an emotionless tone. "When Charmander finally gave himself a chance with me as his trainer… he was so scared. He thought that I'd discover how… weak, he was, and desert him. That I'd call him useless and dump him in the middle of nowhere as Damien did. Of course… I never made him feel that he was any different than any other Charmander, and tried to give him a feeling of normalcy."
He paused, looking squarely at her face. "Maybe that was… wrong. Maybe I was being over-protective with him, and maybe you are right. However… that doesn't justify your behavior with him. You may have had experiences with raising a Charizard, but your Charizard wasn't my Charmeleon."
Cynthia opened her mouth, but no words came.
Austin looked away. "Maybe I am being incredibly naïve. I wouldn't know if I was. I'm not an experienced trainer, or even an Ace… and certainly not someone of your position and power, but… I do know my pokémon better than you, or Steven, or anyone else in the world can." He paused.
"Austin, I-"
But Austin wasn't done speaking. "The same holds for you. I know that I saved your life back at the ship, and sometime… anyway, what I want to say is, I didn't do it because you are a Champion and I need something in return. When I tried to help you on the ship, it was because you were my friend, and a Champion… someone far more important than myself to the world. I didn't do it with any reciprocation in mind."
"Austin-"
"The same is true for now as well. I took the attack head-on because you were my friend. Because I knew that your intentions were for Charmander's good. Because I…." He paused, unsure of what to say.
"I know that," Cynthia muttered, her voice low.
"I didn't do it for any kind of reciprocation. All this…" He pointed towards the bandages all over himself. "I am grateful that you treated me and healed me, but trust me, if you try to do something like that…. one more time? I won't care that you are a Champion, or what monsters are part of your team." He paused as his eyes turned crimson meanwhile Cynthia felt pressure crash on her shoulders.
"You and I… will come to blows."
Cynthia looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock. But Austin had already turned away.
"I'm sorry for my weakness and my frail self. I will be ready for whatever instruction you have for me and my team come early morning."
The Sinnoh Champion did her utmost to hold back the lone tear that threatened to fall off her left eye, as she turned around and sped away.
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Austin opened his eyes, staring at the darkness on top of him. From the way it seemed, night had descended upon the island, and it was pretty close to midnight. Even from his bed, he could make out the snores outside- his and Cynthia's pokémon, Austin mused, as he lay upon the makeshift bed made out of the sleeping bag. There was a single lantern burning at a distance, the shadows creating a rather eerie effect on the green canvas on the tent.
After Cynthia had walked out of the tent, he had drunk the concoction (which tasted terrible) then had passed off within minutes of doing so as the medicine kicked in. This was the first time he had woken up after that.
A sight vanished the thought from his mind, as the shadowy figure of a sleeping Cynthia came into view. There she was, a little distance away from himself, sleeping in her sleeping bag, her lips having a disturbed frown. Austin decided that he didn't like that expression on her.
He pushed himself up from the bed, and doing his best to avoid making any noises. As he slowly stood up, feeling the lack of pain in his muscles, it seemed that the bruises had cooled down, as far as the stinging was concerned.
Some concoction that was.
He slowly paced out of the tent, doing his best not to disturb any of the pokémon sleeping within. Feeling the wild grass underneath felt wonderful. He should get himself a habit of doing this a little more often, he decided. A couple of yards away, the grassland ended prematurely into a tiny cliff with the waters of the sea touching the edges.
Sitting down, Austin looked up and stared at the stars absentmindedly. Remembering that his brother and he used to look at the stars every summer and the mysteries that he would taught in Astronomy. His brother, who had a bachelor's degree in Astronomy, would always tell him so many things about space and its innumerable mysteries.
" Clefairy !"
Clefairy said with confusion visible in his voice.
What is his human doing here ? Shouldn't he be resting ?
As if he had read his mind, Austin said," Why don't you join me on this beautiful night ? I like to think I am good company."
Austin ended his words with a chuckle causing Clefairy to smile as he hopped forward to sit beside his human.
Austin and Clefairy sat comfortably in silence as they saw the beautiful black painting of the sky covered in shards of light sprinkled all over it.
Suddenly the duo saw a streak of light flash across the sky. Austin and Clefairy's jaw dropped as more and more streaks of light covered the sky.
" I didn't think I would ever see meteor shower in my life." Austin absentmindedly said.
" Did you know, Clefairy that the meteors that made these beautiful streaks of light are mostly about the size of a pebble."
" Cle ?!"
" I am not joking; Clefairy , do you ever think if such small things could make something so beautiful, what are we capable of ?"
Austin said with a smile as he rubbed Clefairy's head absentmindedly while saying," You know people say that Clefairy is a Pokémon from outer space. Do you think Clefairy arrived on this planet by ridding on Meteors or did you have a spaceshio ? Come on, tell me the secrets of space, I swear I won't tell anyone."
Austin crossed his heart with his finger causing Clefairy to chuckle happily.
Clefairy was happy that while his human's mind had been burdened by a lot of things these past few days, his human hadn't lost his smile.
" Fairy !"
Clefairy said as he pointed to the sky confusing Austin.
" The stars ?"
Clefairy shook his head.
" The meteor shower ?"
Clefairy shook his head before wiggling his finger as the fairy Pokemon floated above the ground.
" You want me to fly ?"
Clefairy nodded.
" Sorry buddy but flying isn't for me."
" Cle ?"
Seeing Clefairy's intrigue, Austin said," When I was little, I had almost fallen off the balcony. Thank God my brother was there to save me. Ever since then I always feared heights."
Despite Austin's words, Clefairy pointed at the sky and then clenched his paw into a fist.
" Are you saying that I shouldn't run away from my fears ?" Austin asked while Clefairy slowly nodded even though he had said something completely different, his human's interpretion was much better.
Austin sighed as looked at his feet.
Yeah, Clefairy is right.
" Let's do this but slowly, please." Austin asked while he closed his eyes shut as the duo was whisked into the air with gravity.
Clefairy sighed in nostalgia as he remembered how his father would always take him and his siblings to fly without a care in the world.
While Clefairy was reminiscing about the past, Austin's heart was beating a hundred times faster as his couldn't feel anything below his feet.
" Clefairy ."
Hearing the soft tone of Clefairy, Austin felt a poke causing him to peek out.
Seeing the beautiful and ethereal beauty of the moon, the clouds, and the meteor shower over the ocean in had taken Austin's breath away so much so that he had momentarily forgotten about his fear.
" Clefairy !"
Clefairy smiled as he looked at his trainer who was left speechless.
This was why he loved to fly aimlessly in the sky. This beauty painted all around with was surreal.
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After an early breakfast, the next morning, Austin and his team were ready for their training for the day to begin. Neither Austin nor Cynthia had touched the topic of the previous day, behaving as if nothing of worth noting had happened. Though, Cynthia's enthusiasm had been replaced by the tactical battler that was the Sinnoh Champion.
"Charmeleon, because of his genetic constitution, can learn Draco Meteor. However, because of his recent genetic shift, it will be more… advisable to have him get a little more acquainted with his skills before we start his training."
Austin nodded and released Charmeleon, who let out a snort, seeing the Garchomp standing in front of him.
"The first exercise will be to work on his speed and physical attacks," Cynthia pronounced. "With his build and his proclivity towards quick attacks, he could become a good physical fighter in time."
Charmeleon snorted at that.
"Both of you," she directed her gaze at Garchomp and Charmeleon, "will be battling each other with only dragon claw. Use your speed and physical strength, and nothing else. The entire island and the sea are your battlefields. Let's see how it turns up after the next two hours or so."
The two dragons stared at each other, with Charmeleon letting out a challenging growl while Garchomp had a sort of laid-back attitude.
"Scram."
In a couple of seconds, Garchomp and Charmeleon were nothing more than a blur in the air, instantly leaping off from their positions as they raced towards the other side of the island, their sharp claws striking each other again and again as they hit, shot back, and changed tracks, all at fantastic speeds.
"If this is Charmeleon without training," Cynthia observed, "then I pity his opponent when he becomes a Charizard."
"What do you mean?" Austin queried.
"Charizards are specifically notorious for their immense strength and their ability to do so while flying, but their speed and flexibility are sacrificed at the altar of their overwhelming strength. Charmeleon the other hand… is much more nimble than anything I've ever seen. I could expect such nimbleness from a Gabite or a Garchomp, but not from a Charizard. Once Charmeleon learns to use his bulk to fuel his momentum alongside his speed, he will be one tough battler."
"I… hope it turns out that way." Austin muttered, more to himself than to others. "I just want him to be the best that he can be."
Cynthia spared a glance at him, before looking away. "He will. If you manage to keep him undergoing constant training, very soon he should be able to substitute as a fighting-type pokémon. I notice you do not have any of those on your team."
" I haven't had the chance to catch a fighting type."
" What did you have in mind ?"
" A Primeape."
" You are an ambitious trainer, you are always catching Pokémon that are aggressive and hard to tame"
Austin just shrugged as Cynthia asked," So did you talk to Scyther about if he wanted to evolve?"
" With everything happening so fast, I didn't have the chance."
" We will settle that later but for now we should focus on covering your weakness for example only Squirtle and Pikachu ,much to my knowledge, have terrain moves. We can teach Clefairy and Bulbasaur terrain moves along with giving some of your Pokémon power-ups moves like nasty plot, sword's dance e.t.c. and healing moves also have to be considered at this point..."Austin carefully listened to Cynthia's words as she listed off ways he could improve.
"Tell me Austin, what exactly are your plans for your pokémon?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, what exactly are your plans for the future?"
"I…" Austin began in a thoughtful tone. "I was hoping that, after I'm done winning the eight badges, I'd get myself some training… maybe on Mount Ember or someplace like this one, where I can train without a care in the world, and then… challenge the gym leaders once again, battle their original teams."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "That's ambitious. The gym leaders are chosen for their power and skill. Every gym leader is close to an Ace-level trainer, if not one. And then there is Koga, who is equal to Elite Four members. With Blue being a Champion level trainer. Winning against their standard teams is a difficult job. Winning against their original teams is… a laughable attempt for most."
Austin's eyes widened for a second at the mention of Blue.
'Does that mean Red is out there in the world ? Maybe on Mt. Silver ?'
"I cannot do with being part of 'most'," Austin muttered. "Whether I want or not, Mewtwo has something planned for me. Measuring myself to League standards isn't a luxury I can afford."
Cynthia frowned. "You do know right that when the time comes, you can always count on me to aid you?"
Austin's hands shook as his mind flashed to the final moments of Raticate throwing itself at him to save his life.
"I know, but I won't. If I fail, it will be me that suffers. Not anyone else." He looked up at her squarely in the eye. "Especially not you."
Cynthia widened her eyes, and her lips parted a little before she composed herself. "Austin, you do not have exclusive copyrights to battling Mewtwo."
"I don't. But the battle we are talking about, that's exclusive to me."
Cynthia opened her mouth to retort back, but no words were enough to describe the whirlpool of emotions in her mind.
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The next day, Austin and Cynthia ate breakfast before Cynthia reminded him of talking it out with Scyther.
" Scyther, can you come here for a moment?"
Hearing his trainer's commands, Scyther rushed toward his trainer.
Austin smiled and froze as he saw chips on Scyther's scythes.
' Why didn't I see those before ?'
[ Scyther has been training at night on the other side of the island ]
' Why ?'
[ He seems to be having similar nightmares to you. ]
Hearing Munna's telepathic voice, Austin's heart felt like it stopped for a moment before a tear escaped.
' How bad of a trainer am I? To think that I could forget that my Pokemon were not that affected by her death .'
Seeing his trainer tear up, Scyther moved closer with worry written on his face.
' Munna, are the others also suffering ?'
[ Yes but they all have their nightmares eaten by me as Bulbasaur was able to convince everyone except Scyther who doesn't want to even go to sleep ]
' Of course, he wouldn't, first, his trainer abandoned him for being weak and then he lost a friend and now he must be blaming himself for everything.'
Feeling Scyther's scyther, Austin looked up and with a sad smile said," I am sorry ."
Scyther immediately panicked.
Why was his trainer apologizing? For what was he apologizing?
" I am sorry for being so weak that I couldn't protect you all."
" Scy ! Scyther !"
[ He says that you are not weak, you're the best trainer ever if anything then they were weak ]
" I am weak, Scyther and so are all of us."
Scyther frowned but nodded at his trainer's words.
" You know what my father always said to me when I lost. "
Scyther attentively looked at his trainer as Austin said," Don't let defeat define you, learn from your mistakes and grow since the way to the top is always upward when you are down."
Scyther nodded as he heard those words.
" But can we go to the top if we don't look after our health ?"
Scyther looked away from its trainer.
Austin meanwhile just said," Scyther, can you look at me and say that you will take care of your health ... please ."
Hearing his trainer's tone of voice, Scyther's heart almost broke before Scyther looked at his trainer while outstretching his scythes.
" Scyth! Scyther!"
[ He says he will take care of himself if you start taking care of yourself ]
Austin took a deep breath and smiled," Then it's a promise Scyther ."
" Scythe, Scyther !"
" Oh yeah! Before I forget, Scyther I wanted to ask you something."
Scyther curiously looked at his trainer who took out a cylindrical metal coating from his backpack.
Scyther instinctively knew what the item in front of him was as Paul would always compare him with his brother's Scizor and he instinctively knew that he needed that item to evolve into Scizor.
" Looks like I don't have to explain anything but for your future pathway, Cynthia told me to ask you this. Do you want to evolve or not? It's your choice Scizor, if you want to evolve then touch it and if not then don't. To me personally, it doesn't matter if you evolve or not, I will always respect your decision."
Scyther hesitated as he wanted to become strong by being a Scyther. Maybe it was his pride or maybe he wanted to prove his previous trainer wrong but now after losing a precious friend, Scyther knew that if he wanted to get stronger to protect those around him, he would need to evolve.
His pride and his desire to prove Paul wrong, be damned. If he can gain the power to protect his family then he will gladly evolve.
Scyther will determination-filled eyes touched the metal coat.
Scyther closed his eyes as he waited for something to happen before he opened his eyes and he was still a Scyther.
Austin and Scyther stared at one another both equally confused.
...
Cynthia raised an eyebrow, her gaze flicking between Austin and the restless Scyther. "So, Scyther chooses to evolve?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.
"Yes," Austin confirmed, his frustration evident. "But he touched the Metal Coat, and nothing happened. He didn't evolve."
Cynthia sighed, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "That's not how Scyther evolves into Scizor, Austin."
"But you said we could evolve Scyther by just attaching this Link Cable to its Pokéball and giving it a Metal Coat," Austin protested, his confusion apparent.
Shaking her head, Cynthia pinched Austin's cheeks affectionately. "Sometimes, I forget that you don't know everything about Pokémon."
"What?" Austin mumbled, his cheeks still held firmly between Cynthia's fingers.
"You have to return Scyther to its Pokéball with the Metal Coat," Cynthia explained patiently.
Austin's eyes widened in realization. "Woops." He chuckled sheepishly, turning to face the impatient Scyther that clutched the Metal Coat in its scythe-like arms. "Scyther!" he called, pulling out the creature's Pokéball, to which a black cord - the Link Cable - was attached.
As Austin returned Scyther to its Pokéball, the sphere began to tremble in his hand. The Link Cable pulsed with a bright light, which engulfed the Pokéball in a radiant display. The gathered crowd turned to watch the spectacle, entranced.
With a flick of his wrist, Austin threw the Pokéball into the air. A beam of red light burst forth, and the luminous glow of evolution drew gasps from the onlookers. Gradually, the light subsided, revealing a transformed creature.
Standing before them was a human-sized, mantis-like being, its exoskeleton now a metallic red hue. Scizor's crab-like claws, sturdy and powerful, were capable of crushing the hardest of objects. Its steel-like body was adorned with black eyespots, each containing a yellow, pupil-like center. The newly evolved Pokémon stood proudly, its closed jaws betraying its newfound strength.
"Scizor!" it cried, its voice a triumphant declaration of its evolution.
Austin smiled as he gazed at one of his favorite Pokémons while pulling out the Pokedex.
" Scizor The Pincer Pokémon Pokemon.
At the north end of the Safari Zone is a long, winding path marked on maps as the Road of a Hundred Scizor, which terminates in the hideout of the ninjas who rule Fuchsia City, a secret capitol where issues of war and governance and nefarious deeds are determined. The road is aptly named, for any who travel on it are chased away by what seem like a hundred Scizor, although to be fair most are too busy running away to count them. At times, they have chased away whole armies, and even great heroes fear and avoid this road, for a Scizor's claws are sharp enough to cut the threads of fate.
In reality, there are nowhere near a hundred Scizor guarding this road, nor even in all of Fuchsia City. If there were that many, Scizor would be reported frequently in the foreign wars and internecine strife which makes up so much of that city's history, and Fuchsia would import massive amounts of the rare metals which make up a Scizor's coat in order to maintain such a large population. Most researchers believe there to be at most six Scizor protecting that road, and maybe even as few as one.
Why, then, have eyewitnesses reported massive swarms? Fuchsia pokemon are masters of illusion and Scizor skilled users of double team, and their bullet punches strike with such speed that it is impossible to identify the direction of the user, and difficult to even see the punch. Fighting one Scizor seems as difficult as fighting one hundred, and this holds as true in the Indigo Plateau as in Fuchsia City. This is especially true if one neglects or forgets their one weakness, for the only reliable way to defeat a Scizor is to set it on fire."
The Pokedex beeped.
"This Scizor is Male and the Ability is Technician. Currently, this Scizor knows Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Slash, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Agility, Fury Cutter, U-turn, Pursuit, Razor Wind, Swords Dance, Feint, and Bullet Punch. The Age of this Scizor is Four Years and Four Months."
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Five days had passed after that, and every single day had been the same as the previous one. After an early morning breakfast prepared jointly by Austin and Cynthia, mostly Cynthia since Austin had the cooking skills of an shounen anime character... absolute shit.
The two would then start with their training regimen. Until noon, it would be Austin's pokémon clashing against Cynthia's, and at times, with each other as well. Then they would all get freshened up and get a hefty lunch, and with all their excitement gone out, the next portion of the training would begin—the one in which Austin's pokémon would learn a new move or practice a previous one. Of course, the trainers weren't out of the rigorous training. On the very first day, Austin had had to cover five miles on the island, jogging with Cynthia, resulting in Austin laying on the floor sweaty and a complete wreck at the end of it. The next day, it had been a little better, and then on the third day, Cynthia had increased the distance to seven, much to the younger trainer's horror. Whenever she battled with Austin, she didn't stop until he was down with a humiliating defeat, after which, she would recite all the mistakes he had made, which he would diligently note down and thought about later after dinner.
The week was almost over, and Austin could already see the changes in his pokémon. Charmeleon for one had become extremely fast, able to switch from dragon-type attacks and fire-type attacks and back in the blink of an eye. His dragon-breath and dragon-claw attacks were now honed to maximum finesse, though that was no cause for any kind of relaxation. Under Garchomp's tutoring, he had been able to grasp the concept of Draco meteor and was able to use it, though he was still unable to use it to the efficiency that Garchomp had. Earlier in the morning, he had subconsciously activated Drought and used Flame Charge, instead of the Dragon-rush, and came slamming into Garchomp, charring the elder dragon in places. Of course, Garchomp had stomped her dragon rush into his abdomen with a powerful punch, an event after which the two dragons had decided to call for stalemate and set out the rest of the session.
Pidgeot, and Fearow after two consecutive defeats, the two avians had to bow down and begin learning from Braviary, something that had busied them for the next couple of days. Pidgeot had also progressed with Hurricane, though the move wasn't perfected yet. Meanwhile, Fearow worked on Hyperbeam.
The two had learned other moves like Roost, Giga Impact etc.
Squirtle and Krabby had made some positive improvements as well. The two water types had mastered their hold on aqua jet to a superlative degree. Usually, the two would be put against Spiritomb to increase their ability as physical battlers.
Scizor had made great progress under medicham as his speed and reflexes had improved to an amazing degree since he was a Scyther along with getting used to his new body.
He had also learned moves like Nightslash, Quick Guard, Roost e.t.c.
Milotic had Krabby and Squirtle learn moves like Scald, Aqua ring, and Waterfall while improving their mastery over their existing moves.
Butterfree was the unlikely one of the group as Cynthia had advised Austin on teaching it, Quiver Dance and without an instructor, it was struggling but making progress on other parts by learning from Roserade about Energy Ball and other moves and how to effectively use them alongside an agile body.
Bulbasaur had made incredible progress under Roserade's teachings by learning to be swift and agile at a moment's notice. Rather than working on Bulbasaur's speed, Roserade worked with Bulbasaur on improving its reflexes and reaction time.
The maximum amount of progress, surprisingly, had been for Pikachu. After absorbing the Light orb, he gained the Lightning Rod ability. Due to the Light orb, Pikachu had a hard time controlling its power, and the best mentor to have at this time was Rhypherior who was immune to electric attacks and could help Pikachu with a hands-on approach.
The occasional sounds of thunder that echoed throughout the day was a great indicator that Pikachu was progressing in control the extreme power provided by the Light Orb which had impressed both Cynthia and Austin.
The lightning pattern engraved onto the rocky terrain of Sulphur Island was proof of Pikachu's new power.
Nincada and Munna also progressed greatly but they didn't have the will and drive that the others had to push themselves to their limit.
However, despite the grueling training (and the benefits), a single thing had not escaped Austin. Ever since their quarrel on that day, he had only seen Cynthia being the superior battler, the Champion that she was. Of course, that had been extremely beneficial to him, but he hadn't been so oblivious as to miss the subtle changes in her. For one, she never smiled. Not like Shirona did. For another, she avoided any form of physical gestures or touches, something that Shirona had a habit of. Even when she was with him for the entire day, teaching and training side by side, he got the feeling that something was missing.
It had taken him five days to realize what it was.
He glanced back at her. Sitting on the grass, Cynthia was silently brewing concoctions for the pokémon, leaving Austin " to cook " lunch which mostly consisted of boiling a few eggs and heating a pre-made brew.
Even from a distance, Austin could see the solemn expression on her radiant face… a radiance that had been missing ever since he had asked her for training. It was almost like his friend Shirona had been completely replaced by Cynthia, the veteran battler, and Champion.
Is that not what I wanted?
Austin asked himself say.
But was it?
"Um… Cynthia?"
"Yeah?" The girl replied from her position, not looking up from her concoctions.
"I was… thinking of doing something different tomorrow, for a change. Go visit the town and everything."
Cynthia looked up, something that made Austin almost stop his breath. This was his friend, the person he had befriended on the ship, the one who was stupidly obsessed with ice cream, the one… who had surprised him at the party. This was the person who had gone out of their way to help him with his mental problems, the one who was there to comfort him when he was scared, scared of losing someone else. The one person he revealed his true name to which she had stopped using...
"Sure," she replied in a monotone. "I suppose you should talk to your friends so that they don't get worried. Your Pokémon should get them trained as much as possible before I have to leave anyway."
"This… time, that I am spending with you now… is possibly my last vacation before a busy year of work." Cynthia replied causing Austin's stomach to sink.
"Well, then shouldn't you be at home or with family right now?"
She gave Austin a blank stare. "Why would you say that?"
"Well, you just said that this is your last vacation. Shouldn't you spend it with… you know, people close to you?"
Cynthia stared at him as if trying to memorize his facial features to the Tee. "Sometimes I wish to have you dissected and examined."
' Why does she always say that ?'
Austin thought while sweating a little.
Why was she spending her last vacation with him of all people, choosing him over her family, and everyone else.
Then a realization hit Austin.
Cynthia chose to spend this time because she was worried for me. Worried how Raticate's passing would affect me, worried that I'll lose myself in my grief.
A sudden guilt washed over Austin.
What was I doing ? Throughout this whole week, I have been so indifferent to her because of what happened with Charmeleon. Even if the results justified Cynthia's actions, why did my anger persist throughout the entire time spent together.
It is my fault that Cynthia is spending her vacation time with an asshole like me who is treating her like a stranger.
How can I make this upto her ?
"Umm… Cynthia?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I… get the afternoon free? I need to do some stuff. Need to… plan up something for tomorrow's training." He replied awkwardly.
Cynthia looked up at him. "I thought I agreed to go with you tomorrow. Couldn't it wait?"
"No, uh, this is something I need to do alone," Austin stressed.
Come now, agree to it, damn it.
"Okay." The Sinnoh girl replied hollowly, before returning to the concoction.
Austin just stood there, stunned.
"Don't you need to go?" Cynthia replied after a while, absently noticing that he was still there.
"Yeah… I'll—I'll just see you tomorrow then."
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[ Birth Island - Starlight Town ]
" Pika ! "
" No, Pikachu I don't think Cynthia would like whatever that is as an apology gift," Austin muttered, as he found himself standing in the shopping district of Birth Island, as he checked his Pokedex to check his monetary finances. If what he had accounted for was correct, it should have dwindled out more than a bit, but then he supposed it was well-deserved. Then again, he had something around twenty-three thousand pokedollars under his name, a grand amount to be frank.
After his lousy excuse to Cynthia, he headed to his tent to make plans. Considering the mess he had made with his friend (his delayed realization hadn't helped matters either), it was now up to him to mend matters before things took a turn for the worse. In his excitement, he had completely ignored the needs and wishes of his friend, something that didn't sit right with him.
He had made the mess, and he would be the one to fix it.
After a somewhat early dinner, he had Clefairy teleport him to Island. Specifically, to the shopping district. He had gone ahead and gotten himself one of the storage caskets that held more space than they had any right to—an application of the Pokeball technology in the commercial world. The concept was the same as that of the trainer bag packs, only that these held some special refrigeration systems pre-installed, to keep food and medicines from getting spoiled. Sometimes the pokemon world baffled Austin since they could create things like this but there was no concept of the internet or anything in a similar vein. Either way, while it charged a hefty amount, it was nicely spent. Besides, he could use the contraption from now on to store more food, restore packs, and concoction ingredients—the last week with Cynthia had taught him a lot about creating medical potions.
It was past eight in the evening and already most people were returning to their homes, though most of the shops were still open. He had done with the first part of his secret shopping spree and as for the second part…. He would need to go to the other side of the district.
" Pika !"
" No, I am not getting you that jumbo-size Ketchup bottle."
" Pika ."
Pikachu's ears dropped down showing that Austin's words made him sad.
Falling on one knee, Pikachu outstretched his paw as he looked at the jumbo size Ketchup bottle like he had lost his love.
Austin rolled his eyes. "Stop procrastinating, and help me get all this stuff. We still need to visit the Pokemart, you know."
" Pika !" Pikachu jumped as he picked up a few items to help his trainer.
"Now the next thing we need is…"
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Austin and Pikachu had just finished their shopping when they stumbled upon a poster outside a massive electronics store. It advertised a new service called the Pokenet, which Austin was familiar with. He stopped in his tracks, examining the poster intently. Pikachu looked up at him quizzically, wondering why his trainer had suddenly halted.
Without a word, Austin made his way into the store, Pikachu following closely behind, still carrying the jumbo-sized ketchup bottle. The store was unlike any electronics store Austin had ever seen. Magnemites floated all around, lighting up the room with their bright, electric glow. The walls were lined with futuristic gadgets and devices, some of which Austin couldn't even begin to comprehend.
As he perused the aisles, a young man greeted him with a smile. "Welcome to the Poke-electronics store, what can I do for you?" the man asked.
"I saw the poster about the Pokenet services outside. I was wondering if I could get the service," Austin replied.
"Ah, yes. The Pokenet is a recent invention of the Devon Corporation. You can connect with people from all over the world and access an endless amount of information," the man said.
Austin didn't need a sales pitch. He knew exactly what he wanted. "Could you show me?"
The man reached for a box on the shelf and placed it in front of Austin. It looked like a carbon copy of a Nintendo Switch, but with more buttons and no joysticks. "This is H.A.N.D.," the man said. "It allows you to access the Pokenet from anywhere."
Austin was impressed. Finally, he would have access to the everyday knowledge of this world. "Is it secure?" he asked.
"Absolutely. It was made by the Devon Corporation," the man replied.
Austin wasn't convinced. "No, I meant is it secure from something like a Porygon?"
The man looked at him in confusion. "What's a Porygon?"
Austin realized that he had given himself away. "No, nothing. I was just joking around," he said quickly.
The man nodded, still unsure. "So, do you want the device ?"
Austin smiled, hiding the racing thoughts in his mind. "I'll take it."
As the man rang up the purchase, Austin couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. With this device, he would be able to connect with people from all over the world and learn about the culture and customs of this new world he found himself in. He would be able to access information at lightning speed, something that he had never been able to do before. He couldn't wait to start exploring the Pokenet.
The sound of the cash register brought him back to reality.
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[ The next morning ]
Cynthia got up from the bed, the alerts on her Pokenav more than enough to shed off every inch of sleepiness. Wondering what the matter was, she quickly checked up on the device. There were several messages from the Sinnoh league, especially from the Elite Four—something that she had begun associating with bad news.
Wonder what they need from me now…
The Elite had been very specific in their words. She was to be the one joining the SS. Anne along with the other Sinnoh trainers boarded the ship. The official reason was that it would allow her the opportunity to travel and make connections with the Elite of the other regions- what they had never really expected was the attack on SS. Anne and the aftermath after it. For the next couple of days, Cynthia had run herself ragged running from one place to another, making sure that she had accounted for everything- the survivors of the event, and the dead. Doing so gained her a lot of notice from the other Champions—especially Steven and the Elite Four of Kanto and Hoenn, something that had gone a long way in cementing her stature as a newly crowned Champion.
And now the Sinnoh Elite were getting more restless and wanted the challenges to begin immediately.
Yes, Cynthia. She told herself sardonically. Welcome to the life of a Champion.
After defeating the previous Champion in a six-on-six battle, Cynthia had been given the traditional vacation before the Champion duty began. A vacation whose first part had been spent on the ship, and taking care of the aftermath, and the second part… she had spent time training her friend. And now the Elite wanted her back to get started on the grill.
As soon as she would return to Sinnoh, she would have to answer challenges from the Elite Four as well as the Ace teams—whoever wished to formally challenge her that is- and defend her position. The maximum number of such challenges could not extend beyond fifteen and would have to be conducted within thirty days. Should she be able to maintain her position, the Elite and the Ace squad would then accept her superiority and follow her commands for one year. After cementing her position, she would be liable to accept two challenges per month for the rest of her term. It was tradition, and nothing personal.
Bollocks! Cynthia cursed inwardly. Nothing personal my ass. They just don't want to accept that a little girl has stolen their grandeur.
She sighed.
The last week had been nothing like she had expected it to go. After that sudden bout of misunderstanding between her and Ash, she had resigned to simply training him to the best of her ability. After all, she owed that much to him, if not out of friendship, then out of the debt of saving her life all those times. And debts must always be paid in full.
And yet…
"What are you doing, Cynthia? Why? What are you trying to prove and why does it matter?" She asked herself aloud.
The silent tent did nothing to answer her concerns.
Sighing, she got up from her sleeping bag, getting ready for another day of training—oh, no wait- Ash had wanted to go to the city today. Maybe she could get herself an ice cream. It always worked wonders for-
Wait.
She sniffed.
What is that smell?
She sniffed again before the familiar (and horrifying) dark shade of smoke slowly diffused into her tent.
"…ire?" She half-mumbled, and without bothering to change her pajamas, she searched for Milotic's Pokeball, rushing out of the tent. The situation outside was something she had never expected to be.
It was a mess. There were several caskets littered all over the place, and on top of everything, Austin was trying to prepare something. The keyword to be noted here was trying since all he had managed to do was lose control and create a big mess, literally burning the bacon that he was trying to cook.
"…. What the hell do you think you are doing?" Cynthia screamed.
Austin turned towards her, looking like a deer in the headlights. He glanced back at the flames that had gotten out of control, at the bacon that he had managed to burn, and at the horrible mess and smoke. He glanced at Charmeleon and Pikachu whom he had delegated the task of making sure the flames stayed at an appropriate level, but the draconic Pokémon had… made a mess out of it. Squirtle's water gun (despite his honorable intentions) had only spoiled matters and drenched him completely from head to toe. Thus, there he was, completely drenched, standing with a large piece of burnt, wet bacon in one hand.
He turned back towards her again.
"…"
"Well?" Cynthia demanded her hands on her hips.
"… let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
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"I thought… we were going to go to Birth Island today," Cynthia spoke softly, as the two trainers cleaned their makeshift kitchen in the aftermath of Austin's self-created disaster.
"Yeah, well I thought I'd just make something for you,"- Austin observed the sudden stiffness in her posture as he uttered the words—"you know."
"For… what? The training?" Cynthia asked a slight tinge of melancholy in her tone.
"Not… really. I just decided to make some changes today."
"I thought… as your tutor, you are supposed to run all the decisions through me." The Sinnoh girl muttered as she cleaned out a couple of plates.
"I'm allowed some lenience on my birthday."
"…"
"…"
Cynthia turned to face him. "Today's your birthday?"
"… Yeah?"
She looked at him blankly for a moment, gathering her words. "So… what exactly are these… caskets doing around here? And why exactly are you trying to burn half the island?"
Austin chuckled at her sardonic tone. "Um… because I wanted to spend the day with my friend?"
That stopped her short.
Austin sighed. "Look I'm sorry. I know what I said that day was kind 'of unfair on you, and I lost it in anger, and-"
"So this is your way of trying to patch things up?" Cynthia returned in a somewhat cold tone. "You think that I am angry at you, and for not training you properly? I assure you that I am not."
"No, No!" Austin waved his hands animatedly. "I just… look I'm sorry okay? I just… you know I never really got the time to even digest that you are you… and you are a Champion… and-"
"You could fool me." Cynthia deadpanned. "You remind me more of that fact than myself."
"Look," Austin was getting nigh uncomfortable now. He sighed. "You know what happened right? With the cruise and Raticate and Mewtwo and-"
"I fail to see the point."
"I'm coming to that." Austin nearly yelled. Gosh, this is difficult.
"My point is, with all that happening and you offering me to train my pokémon, it influenced me to think that-"
"Oh, so this is my fault," Cynthia replied, her expression choleric.
"Will you allow me to complete it?" Austin yelled uncharacteristically, shutting her up midway.
Silence.
"Well?" the Sinnoh girl demanded after a moment.
"I miss my friend," Austin confessed. "And I know that it is because of my stupidity. I didn't really care about you being the Champion, but when you offered to help train me… somewhere in that, I forgot about my friend Shirona and I just focussed on the training, and I completely ignored the fact that you chose to sacrifice your vacation for me and,"—he gulped seeing the dangerously calm expression on her face, "—and I will just shut up now."
A second passed away.
Another second passed away.
Cynthia's expressions remained inscrutable.
"…. Umm… you aren't going to kill me now, are you?"
" ….. "
" ..… "
Finally, her lips parted. "I did not sacrifice my vacation. I chose to spend it with you."
Austin swallowed. All right, at least this was better than the silent treatment. "Cynthia… I'm sorry."
"For what?" The cool, cynical reply came.
"For ignoring my friend. I… I overreacted about your treatment with Charmander, and I completely ignored that my friend chose to spend her vacation with me, and that means that I should not ignore her, just like she doesn't ignore my own need for training. I just…" he paused, "—I just feel like I've been behaving like an asshole completely and I wanted to make this vacation special for you and I even brought you some ice cream, and I—mmmmh!"
The last words remained unsaid as Cynthia pushed a finger against his lips. "Anybody ever tell you, that you talk too much? And you can mention that my actions were wrong with my treatment of Charmander, for that an apology is necessary."
" I don't think I am the right person to apologize to."
" Then do you want me to go apologies to Charmeleon?"
" Yes."
A little grin spread across the girl's rosy lips. "Alright, I will apologize to Charmeleon however, you and I are going to spend this day having fun and nothing else. Is that understood?"
"Uh-hmmm."
"Good." Cynthia's lips twisted into a grin. "Now I need to go back in and change into proper clothes"—Austin just realized that she was still in her pajamas- "and then we are going to celebrate your birthday together. Is that understood?"
Austin gulped. "Crystal."
"Good." She turned away, a spring visible on her every step. She took a few steps towards her tent, before she stopped and spun back, a sublime expression on her face. "What did you mention about ice cream again?"
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Austin felt uneasy as he stood before Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. She was dressed in a two-piece swimsuit, which accentuated her curves, causing Austin to blush and look away awkwardly. He, on the other hand, was dressed only in his swimming trunks and felt incredibly self-conscious.
"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, you know," he said hesitantly, trying to hide his discomfort.
Cynthia rolled her eyes, clearly unfazed by his apprehension. "You wanted to have fun, so this is my idea of having fun," she replied with a grin.
The two had just finished indulging in Austin's entire stash of ice cream. He had gotten all thirteen flavors, unsure of her preferences. However, it had hardly helped matters when Cynthia took over thirty minutes to decide on just one flavor - a triple cone of chocolate, strawberry, cookies, and cream. It was an ordeal that had left Austin feeling both exasperated and relieved when it finally came to an end.
Now, Cynthia had an even more adventurous idea - surfing on the back of her Milotic in the sea. And she wanted Austin to join her.
As Cynthia pulled Austin's arm towards Milotic, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. "Hold tight. It's going to get messy in a while," she warned him.
Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Austin held on to Cynthia's waist tightly as she held on to Milotic's red hair, which protruded from its temples all the way down to the ground. Cynthia pulled the hair backward, almost as if pulling a Ponyta's reins, and Milotic let out an enthusiastic warble before shooting into the waters at unbelievable speeds, literally parting the sea on two sides as it moved, with water spraying upwards all over and drenching Cynthia and Austin. Cynthia laughed uncontrollably while Austin screamed like a little girl.
"Are you having fun?" Cynthia yelled above the noise.
Austin held on tighter, wondering why he had subjected himself to this torment. Cynthia laughed. "We can stop by for a moment, and then continue if you want."
"Don't stop," Austin yelled back. "Once I get down, there's no way I'm getting back up on this."
Milotic let out another warble, and shot ahead, if possible at even faster speeds. Another hour later, an overwhelmed Austin and an excited Cynthia got themselves off Milotic, who let out another warble before leaping into the depths of the sea, vanishing from sight.
"She loves doing it," Cynthia chirped. "Did you have fun?"
Austin muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. Cynthia laughed. "It's an acquired taste, Austin. Just try it, and you'll love it," she said, pausing for a moment. "On second thought, maybe we should try that out," she added, smirking mischievously.
Austin took a step back, horrified. "Uh… Cynthia. You know I'm sorry, right? Please don't punish me anymore."
Cynthia's grin only turned wider. "It would be fun, but… some other time, I suppose," she said, letting out a giggle.
Austin sighed with relief. "-after lunch, that is."
His eyes shot up in horror, wondering what she had in mind.
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[ Omake Paragraph: Tales of the Ketchup Addiction ]
As trainers go on their journey, they learn many new things about their partners which makes them into who they are but for some reason, all Pikachu trainers' have noted that a strange addiction falls upon their furry little friends.
This has caused a few trainers to make a few thinly defined rules but there was one rule that stood above all else. Stay away from Pikachu's ketchup otherwise, your body will be torn apart and you will be sentenced to eternal torment.
Every meal that a Pikachu had would be drowned in ketchup. To put it simply, Pikachu was a ketchup addict and what the trainers had seen so far was a Pikachu will never try to fight its addiction.
A trainer from the Johto region once tried to cure his Pikachu's addiction by using twelve easy steps.
Step # 1: Proving Ketchup's power over Pikachu, which had resulted in the poor Pikachu being held by a psychic type while he was tormented as the spoon full of the nectar of the Gods was brought closer, ever so close to his mouth and then the devil ( trainer ) would take it away.
The night after the trainer was found by a couple of his friends who were horrified by what they had seen.
The unspeakable things that Pikachu had done to the young man with a spoon, a handkerchief, and a ketchup bottle had sparked an international debate on the issue with some input from Professor Oak about it since Ketchup contained a chemical that caused the Pikachu line to experience a sense of euphoria.
The international debate had resulted in absolutely nothing like all international debates actually but one thing is for sure, ketchup and a Pikachu had resulted in the traumatizing of multiple young men and women on that fateful night.