More days had passed, and Cyndaquil still hadn't fully recovered from the Gym incident. Even so, she was still made to train, and she expected another bruise for failure. Just one look from Anonimo would make her flinch, but she knew if she wanted his respect, not to mention food, she'd have to be strong enough to win a battle. But how could she do that when she was constantly hungry and weak?
She and the others followed Anonimo up on the hill. They had no idea where they were headed, all they knew it was for training. Cyndaquil fell behind of her much stronger teammates, and out of all of them, she only spotted Croconaw looking back at her. He only kept going when he noticed Anonimo's disapproving glare at him. Moving forward, Croconaw noticed the glare being shifted to Cyndaquil.
As she ascended the hill, she felt worse than she'd ever been. Her face burned with fever, as if her flames had decided to burn inside her cheeks and forehead instead of exploding out of her back. Chills were running through the rest of her body, bringing to mind the ice water that she nearly drowned in at the Gym. She had trouble breathing through her nose, but when she breathed through her mouth, her throat felt like it had Beedrill constantly jabbing the inside of it. And lastly, her arms felt limp, and her legs felt ready to give out.
Can't I skip training today? she thought. I don't feel so good... She paced slower and slower, falling further behind the other Pokémon. She silently wished one of the others would turn back and carry her, but she doubted that it would happen, since Anonimo had them under his thumb. She knew she needed to rest, but the thought of yet another bruise from Anonimo and the foreboding lack of dinner if she didn't obey him. So she kept walking, even when she felt like collapsing.
When she caught up with the others, they had stopped at the top of the hill. She took the opportunity to fall into a exhausted heap, and finding the dirt oddly very comfortable. She panted, then she remembered having a sore throat, so she stopped gasping and put her paw to her neck. "All I want is a nap..." she mumbled, her vision blurring. She had just started falling asleep when she felt a painful jolt at her side. She screamed out in pain and her paw swiftly clutched at her side. She knew she had been kicked yet again, and she nervously looked up at Anonimo's face.
"That's for being slow and falling asleep," he snarled, pointing to a certain spot.
She pulled herself from her heap and walked to where he pointed. The throbbing pain in her side kept her from walking faster, and she was inwardly murmuring about how another bruise was added to her collection. She tried to sigh, but a raspy cough escaped her throat. When she made it, she noticed the others were holding stones. I think I should've got a stone... she thought. Then she noticed that Croconaw looked a little uncomfortable.
Anonimo paced in front of them, eyeing them one by one with the intensity of a drill sergeant."Since Cyndaquil here is having problems dodging, let's help it learn," he proclaimed. He pointed at the Fire Mouse, and growled, "Throw the rocks and see how well it dodges. We do want it to evolve, right?"
"Naw?!" Croconaw's large jaw dropped at Anonimo's suggestion, and he mournfully looked at the fragile Cyndaquil.
"QUIL?!" What?! She barely had time to react before a rock plowed into her forehead. Ow... She swiftly turned and felt the results. The area where the rock slammed into was beginning to swell, and from how it felt, it wsa like another addition to her bruise collection, if not the start of a bump collaction. Even softly touching it hurt. Then another rock hit her back hard enough to knock her over. She got up with trembling arms, and she swayed once she stood up. Before she knew it, another rock was coming at her. Without thinking, she sidestepped from its path, with the rock barely grazing her skin.
"Keep throwing! It needs to learn to dodge!" Anonimo shouted.
The Pokémon obeyed, and none of them even held back. Croconaw knew that a flimsy throw would get him in trouble, but he found another way to avoid being a part of Cyndaquil's pain. He purposefully missed her, certain that Anonimo wouldn't notice that he was trying not to hit her. However, if he could stop the others, he could, and sometimes a rock he threw would hit her. It pained him to see such a bright, young life reduced to a weak, miserable mess, thanks to her trainer and his Pokémon.
A shower of rocks came after her as it started to rain. Being a Fire Type, the rain stung her as she was dodging the rocks. Some rocks she evaded with ease, even in her sickness; but there were some that she couldn't avoid, and as such, there were more bruises and bumps appearing on her body. Some of the rocks were big, which could result in some serious injuries, and some of them were small, but could give her an acute pain if they landed on her. She was quickly running out of breath, and was reduced to painful wheezing, but had no time to rest. If she did so, she would get hurt. Either way, this exercise was hurting her.
It was an hour of this before Anonimo and the Pokemon stopped throwing rocks. The little Fire Mouse had emerged less injured than they thought she would. Croconaw breathed a sigh of relief, thanking his deity that Cyndaquil had survived. However, there was still the matter of her illness and the bumps, bruises, and lacerations that dotted her body. He had a gut feeling that her next battle was going to be awful.
Cyndaquil fell forward and caught herself, grateful for the end of that horrid exercise. She let out rasping coughs and breathed heavily, and spittle dripped from her mouth, concealed by the rain. Her arms were struggling to keep holding her up, visibly shaking, and she once again felt like collapsing. Anonimo walked toward her and stopped short of her. When she looked up at him, he chuckled.
"Well, well, well, it looks like you dodged most of them. I don't usually do this, but, have some of this." He held out some Pokémon Food, which Cyndaquil had been yearning for since her first loss. She happily took it and, even though it was soggy from the rain, devoured it quickly.
This time, Anonimo was battling a new trainer, who had just started his journey. The young boy was excited to be on a journey, as Anonimo could tell by his hopping. However, he was also nervous about his first battle. Anonimo had eagerly taken this easy prey, ready to crush him within a few seconds. The boy took out a Pokeball, which was probably his only Pokémon.
"Come out, Chikorita!" the young boy said. Out came a perky creature, light green with buds around its neck and a large leaf on it's head. It opened its large eyes, revealing red-colored irises. It had a huge smile on its face, eager for adventures that it was sure that it will have with its trainer.
"Chiko!" it replied.
This time, for sure, Anonimo thought. "Cyndaquil, it's time for you to battle!" he yelled, throwing a Pokeball. Out came the Pokemon, ready to battle. At least that's what she thought.
The boy and Chikorita stared for a moment, trying to comprehend the horror before them. They had never expected to see a Cyndaquil that was so bruised, so broken, and so undernourished that it looked ready to keel over. While the Fire Type was trying to put on a fierce front, it was clear that this Pokémon was not fit to even battle a rookie. The boy stepped back.
"What's the matter?! Afraid to lose?!" Anonimo taunted.
The boy shook his head. "No, I don't want to battle." he replied. Chikorita shook its head, signifying that it didn't want to battle either.
"Why not?!" Anonimo snapped.
The boy swallowed and said, "I can't battle a Pokemon that is sick. It won't be fair."
Chikorita nodded, obviously agreeing. Cyndaquil tried to keep herself ready for battle, but she was wavering. "Do they really need to argue? I'm a Fire-Type, which means I can beat you!" she said, acting tough.
Chikorita wasn't convinced. "Cyndaquil, my trainer's right. It won't be fair if a completely healthy Pokemon beats a sick Pokemon!"
Cyndaquil wouldn't believe it. "I'm not sick!" She knocked Chikorita a few feet away. Chikorita quickly got up and stared at the angry little Fire-Type. Cyndaquil sure didn't want to give up. Or was she just trying to please her trainer?
Anonimo smiled. "Cyndaquil, use Swift!"
Cyndaquil followed suit, releasing a barrage of stars from her mouth. Chikorita took the attack, its trainer not saying a thing.
"Cyndaquil! Don't you see he's not treating you right?" Chikorita cried out in vain. Anonimo called for Cyndaquil to tackle, and she tackled Chikorita, though in her state, she didn't cause much damage. Chikorita simply shook it off, and bit its lip. Cyndaquil looked incredibly frustrated, and attempted to tackle again.
"Hey! Make your Chikorita attack! This isn't any fun!" Anonimo yelled at the boy.
"No! Neither of us want to battle!" the boy replied.
Cyndaquil kept attacking Chikorita, who never attempted a single attack. Chikorita took the attacks, and Cyndaquil was confident that she would win. Meanwhile, Chikorita was beginning to worry for Cyndaquil's health and sanity, and took bits of open spaces to openly glare at Anonimo. Even a newly-obtained starter Pokémon could see that the dark-haired trainer was the abusive kind.
"You're afriad your attacks won't work, huh?" she taunted.
"No, I just think you need a little more rest between battles!" Chikorita answered.
The boy knew he had to stop this battle. If Chikorita's words to its opponent wasn't working, he'd have to take action to stop before the little Cyndaquil killed herself trying to attack. So, with a crack in his voice, the new trainer called, "I forfeit!"
Anonimo snickered. "I don't think so. This battle will not stop until one of our Pokemon is down! And if you think of returning yours, I'll make sure you never battle again!"
The boy lowered his head. He could tell from the tone of the older trainer's voice that he was serious, and that the poor boy would have to deal with a stalker that was seven years older than he was. He looked at the Cyndaquil. She looked like she could be defeated in one attack. Even though it pained him to actually win this battle, he didn't want to be stalked by the creepy teenager. With a pit in his stomach, he thought, I guess I have no choice. "Chikorita, use tackle!" he shouted.
Chikorita turned its head and stared in disbelief. It shook its head. I won't do it!
"We need to stop this battle, Chikorita. Just do it!"
Chikorita could sense its trainer's pain, and then nodded solemnly. Reluctantly, it slowly turned its head, closed its eyes, and ran.
Cyndaquil laughed at the attack that was called. "Do you think that'll beat-" Chikorita slammed into Cyndaquil, sending her flying. Chikorita didn't expect its tackle to be that strong, but remembered how sick poor Cyndaquil was. Both trainers and Chikorita watched and Cyndaquil landed in a heap on the ground, unconscious. All stared at the defeated Pokémon, the boy and his Chikorita frowning in shame, and Anonimo in wide-eyed shock.
"NO! How-?!" Anonimo started.
"Cyndaquil wasn't feeling well, so it was knocked out more easily," the boy said. "You shouldn't have used a sick Pokémon to battle us; in fact, why didn't you take it to the Pokémon Center?!"
Anonimo stormed toward the boy and grabbed him by the shirt. When the two were face to face, the older trainer snarled, "Do not tell me how to train my Pokémon. It's none of your business whether I take Cyndaquil to the Pokémon Center or not!" He threw the boy on the ground, and continued, "Now, you train your little Chikorita your way, and I'll train my Pokémon my way; you got that, twerp?"
While the slacked-jawed boy gazed in horror at the threatening teen standing above him, Chikorita sorrowfully looked at Cyndaquil for a moment, then turned its head away, a lump forming in its throat, whispering, "I'm sorry."
Cyndaquil was tied to a tree again, sleeping out in the cold night. No food for losing, again, and for a reason she couldn't understand, sleeping out in the open, on a cold and cloudy night. She shivered and sneezed, and then wiped her nose. She felt like crying, but from what she learned, crying was for the weak. She didn't want to seem weaker than she already was, but her track record of losing indicated otherwise.
Why me? she thought, picking at the rope around her neck. She couldn't eat, she couldn't win a battle, she couldn't play; she couldn't do anything! And during this night, she couldn't sleep.
The dream she had when she had attempted sleep wasn't a pleasant one. She was flying through a dark forest, being chased by humans in funny machines. She dodged every tree that came her way, and when she almost hit a tree, she dodged just before hitting it, looking into the eyes of a Noctowl hanging out in it. She momentarily paused while floating over a hill, and she took that moment to gaze at the forest in front of her, look up at the bright half moon, and hear heavy breathing coming from behind her. Then, for some reason, she screamed, and then started flying again into the other half of the forest. When she came to another opening, she sprang forward, and fell down a cliff that seemed to magically appear there. She tried to grab the ledge, but missed, and she fell into the deep fog, looking up at a shadowed figure reaching for her. With one glance to where she fell, there laid a boulder, and she was plummeting toward it at high speed.
She leapt forward and screamed, and was suddenly back in her campsite. Her sudden reaction had shifted the rope wrapped around her neck, and a choke and a burn was her next unpleasant sensation. She plopped back onto her hindquarters, rubbing her eyes, and before she knew it, a clump of dirt hit her in the face.
"Be quiet! I'm trying to sleep!" Anonimo roared. He was peeking out from his tent, with a cranky expression and a head of messy hair. When Cyndaquil nodded to him to assure him that she'll be quiet, he slipped back inside, grumbling, and presumably fell back asleep.
Cyndaquil sighed and shifted her in her spot against the tree trunk. She whimpered softly when looking around in the dark forest, and trembled at the thought of a larger wild Pokémon coming out of nowhere and eating her. Biting her lip to keep herself from crying, she wiped her eyes and looked up to stare at the clouds.
There was an opening that showed a cluster of stars. She pointed at them, to count them, counting about thirteen stars in all. Bored, tired, and yet unable to sleep, she connected them into a shape, and found that the shape looked somewhat like Croconaw, but bigger. She remembered a time when Croconaw had told her what he evolved into. So, she thought to herself...
Is that a Feraligatr?