A/N: I own a copy of at least one game from every Generation, but that's about it.
SABRINA
"I'm telling you, there's something up with this kid." Sabrina hissed. "I don't like him one bit. He's nothing but a meathead, and he's making me look bad!" Across the table from her, her friends Misty and Erika rolled their eyes almost in unison. When their friend had called asking them to meet her in Saffron for a get together, they'd agreed on the explicit condition that Sabrina would not engage in one of her paranoid rants. They had, in their careful wording, unfortunately left a loophole that let her discuss something else: her annoyance with Trodaire. Maybe they should just tell her not to speak?
"I doubt he's that bad, Sabrina." Misty said. "Otherwise there'd be complaints. And after all, hasn't he expressly stated that he has no interest in competing with you for gym title hood? He doesn't get league funding because of that. Really, he's a bit crazy, if anything."
"I think Misty's right. You're probably overreacting." Erika said. "But if you're so determined to see how crazy he is, maybe we should go with you." At this Sabrina raised her eyebrows.
"Why? I can handle myself!" She said indignantly. Misty, however, had caught on to what Erika was insinuating and smiled.
"We know, Rina. But I don't know if he could handle three stunning women walking into his gym. At the same time. Together." She said. Sabrina had finally realized what they were getting at, and thus shared an evil grin with Misty. Erika just sighed and rolled her eyes.
Little did Misty know that this was precisely what Sabrina had intended them all to do. And they thought they were above her scheming and manipulations…
The Fight Club, 1:10 P.M.
It was going to be a piece of cake. According to the schedule, the place never had too many people during this time of day, so it was likely this Trodaire guy would be all by himself. From spying with Alakazam (who never ceased chiding her for her efforts), Sabrina had learned that the old man Paulie left from 1 to 3 P.M. to be with his wife for lunch and to help around the house. While Sabrina, Misty and Erika all thought this was adorable, they also knew this meant there would be no one to save Trodaire. It helped them that they had chosen to wear some of their more…revealing clothing. Then again, it took Misty a bit more convincing than Sabrina would have expected. Apparently, she really didn't want to have anything in common with her more provocative sisters.
To their surprise, when they entered the gym most of the lights were off. There was no one inside that they could see. But they heard something. It sounded like…wood being struck? Yeah, that was it. Something was striking a wooden surface. But this didn't sound like a hammer on nails. No, it sounded crisper, and hollower. It echoed off of the walls. It was almost a musical sound, coming in slow and steady beats at one point followed by sharp staccato beats the next minute. They followed the source of the sound to the back corner of the dojo. There was Trodaire, facing away from them. He hadn't heard them come in. He was…well, he wasn't punching that wooden dummy (that's what it must've been, with those two pieces of wood sticking out clearly meant to resemble arms)…but he was striking it. His arms seemed to be crisscrossing and slapping and striking, but it didn't look like fighting. It looked…like dancing? It was unlike anything the girls had seen before, and the fact that Trodaire had no idea they were there and watching certainly made it even more breath taking. For the longest time, Sabrina had looked down on Fighting as a meathead type of Pokemon and personality. Sabrina felt uncomfortably warm, and it wasn't because the gym was hot.
Finally, Trodaire turned around to see that he had an audience. His eyes widened in embarrassment, but then he quickly covered with a blank expression.
"Oh!" He said. "I, uh, didn't hear you all come in…Um, can I help you?" He asked. Sabrina quick glanced over at Erika and Misty, who had completely abandoned their original plan and seemed more content to just stare. So much for operation "coyly flirt with/embarrass the guy." So she spoke.
"We wanted to see what this place was all about." She said, trying her best to sound cold. Trodaire adopted a slightly bemused look, before throwing a hoodie over his shoulders to cover up his cut-off tee shirt. Sabrina could've sworn she heard a soft noise of disappointment from either Erika or Misty. Probably both.
"Um, ok? I, uh, don't really know what else I can, uh, say Miss Sabrina." Trodaire said. "Uh…what do you wanna know?"
Shit. Now Sabrina was on the defensive, and that clueless mutt didn't even know he had her there! Now she had to bargain.
"Well…" She trailed off, desperately thinking. "How has business been?" She asked, and then mentally smacked herself for asking such an asinine question. To her relief, he didn't seem offended.
"We have a few devoted customers, and one or two scheduled for private training." He said. He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, are you…asking to schedule an, um, appointment?" He said. "Because…I'd, uh, need some time to figure out your team's, um, strengths and weaknesses…" To the surprise of everyone, Erika spoke up.
"Actually, I'm considering looking into this place. However, I don't think that now is the best time considering I don't even have my team with me…So can I come back tomorrow to discuss it?" She said. Both Sabrina and Misty looked at her like she had three heads. But before they could say anything, Trodaire did something none of them expected: he laughed.
"Uh, sure! I'll tell Steven and Cynthia they can take the day off tomorrow so that his team can recuperate." He said, without realizing it. In a few moments, he regretted it.
Not because these gym leaders got angry, oh no. But because they (with the exception of Sabrina) launched into an in unison squeal of epic proportions.
"OHMIGOD YOU'RE TRAINING STEVEN STONE?" Misty asked breathlessly. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US IN THE FIRST PLACE?" She had a huge crush on the guy, but knowing that he was taken (for keeps, it looked like) she contented herself with hero-worshipping his girlfriend Cynthia. Erika's eyes were bugging out of her head in excitement. She'd never seen either of them, but had heard Lance speak respectfully of both at League meetings whenever the topic of Champions came up. Trodaire laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, uh, it's not that big of a deal. He just asked if I could help him out, is all." He finished sheepishly. Sabrina couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her master plan to embarrass and humiliate this Trodaire kid clearly was off to a fantastic start. Groaning softly, she cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Not to interrupt my friends here, but when will you be training Mr. Stone's team?" She asked. She felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Right now, I think." Cynthia said cheerily. Thankfully, the gym was poorly lit, otherwise everyone would have seen Sabrina's face as red as a tomato. Misty and Erika let out another series of in-unison squeals, and immediately introduced themselves to Steven and reacquainted themselves with Cynthia. Sabrina watched wistfully from the shadows, horribly embarrassed. Trodaire seemed to have forgotten about everything that had just transpired, and cleared his throat to get Steven's attention.
"Send out your team." He said. Sabrina noticed with wonder that any trace of his awkwardness had completely vanished. He was now clearly in control. Steven nodded, and sent out his six Pokemon. The four females quietly walked over to the side of the gym and took a seat at the table, where Paulie had come back with donuts ("Just so ya's don't starve watchin' my boy Troddie goin' ta work," the old man had said.) As soon every Pokemon was out and stretched, Trodaire whistled. There was the sound of grunting, and from the back of the gym came Bettie's Conkeldurr, huffing and puffing as it carried a pair of heavy bags over its shoulders. However, these bags seemed to be stouter-looking than the others. Grunting a little tune, the Conkeldurr attached the bags to their hooks on the ceiling, before ambling off to do something else. Trodaire walked up to the bag, and smacked it.
To the surprise of everyone in the building except Trodaire, there was a metallic clang beneath the padded surface. Trodaire grinned.
"That's right, gentlemen. It's been a month since we started working together, and in case you haven't noticed we're not exactly high in stock of regular heavy bags. Now, seeing as how it appears to be your favorite pastime to destroy my heavy bags after a workout," He looked at Excadrill, who sheepishly shrugged. "I figured it was time to give you all a bigger challenge. These are iron pipes encased in standard rubber padding. You want to really start measuring your strength as a fighter? An average Dragonite can render this thing a useless twisted husk of iron in three Mega Punches. Time to start building up your hurtin' bombs, boys!" He noticed the determined grins on Steven's team. They had really come to like that phrase, if nothing else but for the mental image it gave them of punching a Dragon so hard the damned thing exploded. Before Aggron could throw a shot at the thing, however, Trodaire got in front of him and waved his hands wildly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can't just start swinging at metal with bare knuckles! You'll break your hands, big guy!" He said. Aggron stared at the trainer confusedly, until Trodaire whistled. "Conkeldurr, bring the stuff in!"
There was a grunt of pain, and the Conkeldurr lumbered back into view with what appeared to be a large cardboard box. Yet when it yet the thing down, the loud BANG the box made implied that there was a lot more inside than it appeared. Trodaire reached into the box, and with a sound of effort lifted up what looked like boxing gloves…well, that's what Sabrina assumed that they were. The truth was they were encased in…metal? No. There was no way that Trodaire had actually made-
"Boxing gloves!" Trodaire said proudly. "I made them myself, along with our old friend Paulie. Here, put them on!" He handed a pair that seemed to be fitted for Aggron. The Steel type put the gloves on, only to let out a surprised yelp as his arms dropped to his sides in reaction to the added weight. Trodaire offered a sneaky grin. "I may have forgotten to mention that these things are made from car parts and covered in rubber to prevent sparking…" He said. As Conkeldurr helped the other Pokemon who could use them (Armaldo and Excadrill) put on their gloves. Cradilly, Claydol and Metagross would be getting the day off to work on high repetition workouts with the regular heavy bags. As Paulie led the other three Pokemon off, Trodaire walked in front of Steven's three remaining Pokemon.
"Listen up, you three!" He said. "This might seem crazy, but I am willing to bet that you want to really beat up some dragons, am I right?" They all nodded vigorously. Trodaire smiled. "I thought so. The problem is that a Dragon's hide is really, really tough. We're talking tougher than rolling a Snorlax off of the side of the road tough. If you tried hitting one with one of your best shots…" He pointed to the big 5000 he had drawn on the wall all of those weeks ago. "It probably won't feel it, and will proceed to remind you why I wrote that big number on the wall."
"This is nuts." Misty whispered to Erika. "Is he teaching those Pokemon to hurt their opponent?" She was getting upset. Erika was a little more diplomatic.
"He's just being realistic. Steel-types like taking and dishing out punishment. It's nothing he's doing that's strange." She said sagely.
At that moment, Trodaire put on a pair of boxing gloves himself.
"Follow my lead, boys!" He shouted. He slammed the heavy bag five times with his left hand, five times with his right, and then threw a left as hard as he could. As he finished, he turned around and wiped the sweat from his eyes. "Five with your left, five with your right, and then let it rip with your dominant hand! Go!"
Aggron was the first to go, grunting with great effort as it tried to in no uncertain terms beat the bag into oblivion. Armaldo was next. It was much quieter than Aggron, but no less aggressive. Excadrill was last, and was way louder than either Armaldo or Aggron, but not quite as powerful. Trodaire stopped it from taking another punch, and shook his head.
"Do you want to beat your opponent, or do you think you can get away with just screaming at them?" He asked quietly. Excadrill sheepishly shrugged. Trodaire playfully smacked it on the back. "Focus on hitting the bag, and not on how you'll react when you've knocked a Dragon out." Excadrill sniggered, nodded, and went to the back of the line.
"I'd say he knows what he's doing," Cynthia said, no doubt attempting to assuage Misty's concerns. The red-headed water trainer wasn't too convinced, but she accepted it for now. She'd have to do her own testing, but for now she'd let her friends' explanations be acceptable. On that note, she glanced over to Sabrina, who hadn't said anything since they'd sat down. The Psychic could try being as aloof as possible, or as detached as she could be, but there was no fooling her friend: Sabrina hadn't taken her eyes off of Trodaire. Misty smirked, and filed this information away for later.
After about another hour and a half, Trodaire blew a whistle, and gathered the six Pokemon together. He was sweating just as much as they were, which was saying something. Steven was also a bit worn-looking, as Trodaire had finally convinced him to ditch the classy blazer while in the gym and wear something more suited for exercise. (It didn't help that Paulie had suckered him into taking boxing lessons with his team) As soon as everyone had gathered around him, Trodaire smiled.
"Okay, you guys are looking good today." He said. "You're gonna take the day off tomorrow, rest up your hands and be smart about what you eat. Listen to Steven, he knows how to take care of you. I'll see you bright and early on Wednesday. I'll have something special thrown together for you!" He said with a mischievous grin. Steven's team all whooped and hollered, before Steven calmed them down and returned them to their Pokeballs. As Steven and Cynthia prepared to leave, Trodaire felt a tug on his shoulder.
"Excuse me, Mr…" Erika began, unsure of how to properly address him. Trodaire managed to sound somewhat non-flustered.
"Uh, Phoenix. It's Trodaire Phoenix." He said. Erika smiled.
"Okay, Mr. Phoenix. Would you be available to look at my team tomorrow? There's a contest coming up and though I'm confident in their presentation it's the battling segment that I'm worried about. Do you think you could look into it?" She asked. Trodaire nodded.
"Of course!" He said. "Stop by tomorrow as soon as you can and we'll get started. In the meantime, why don't you go talk to Paulie over there to set things up." He gestured to the older gentleman, who was already getting out the proper forms necessary for Erika. The Grass-Type leader smiled politely, and walked over. As soon as she did, Trodaire turned around only to bump into an indignant Misty.
"I want in." She demanded. Trodaire gulped.
"Well, uh, sure! What's your reason?" He asked her. She narrowed her cerulean eyes.
"I'm signing up for basic training, and before you say anything I want to make something abundantly clear. I have a deep and personal connection with my Pokemon. If they tell me you made them cry, I will make you cry. Understand?" She asked menacingly, drawing out a mallet from the middle of nowhere to emphasize her point. Both to her surprise and minor disappointment, Trodaire just nodded.
"Understood." He said.
SABRINA
"I cannot BELIEVE you two!" Sabrina yelled, red-faced and teeth gnashing. "We were supposed to humiliate him, NOT start up a membership!" Erika looked over at her and shrugged.
"What's all this about a 'we?' You didn't sign up for anything, Rina." She pointed out. Misty nodded, which only made the Psychic madder.
"Gah!" She yelled. "What do you want me to do? Join up too?" She asked. There was a long, awkward pause. Sabrina's eyes narrowed in realization. "You have got to be kidding me." She managed to say this in a completely flat and deadpan tone. Erika shrugged.
"It'd probably be easier for us if you did. That way we have a place to go to relax after an exercise." She said. Sabrina had to admit, Erika did have a point. This would also allow her to have another set of eyes to spy on Trodaire. She knew that the kid was planning on taking her gym membership, she just knew it! She rolled her eyes in defeat, and turned to Misty and Erika.
"Wait for me in my office at the gym. And if Alakazam asks you if you'd like to hear one of his old jokes…do yourself a favor and don't. He's got the mind of a supercomputer and all he can think of are painful puns." She said, storming off to The Fight Club.
She was expecting Trodaire to be calling it a night. Maybe even locking up the gym as she approached.
She certainly didn't expect to see and hear a commotion of this magnitude as she entered the door. There was Trodaire, hiding in the rafters of the gym desperately trying to ask what had happened. Paulie and the Conkeldurr were desperately trying to rein in a ball of red hair, rage, and raging tears. Sabrina recognized her as Whitney, the gym leader for Goldenrod City. Why was she here? She must have taken the train. But before Sabrina could ponder what was going on, Whitney was lunging at the poor Trodaire again.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She shrieked through the tears and anger. "YOU DID THIS AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Well, this was unexpected.
A/N: What do you think Whitney is so mad about? Tune in next time to find out?