Chapter 12: Justin

I crashed on the beach, gasping for breath. Blue's training required me to train just as much (it not more) than my little Swablu. It was super hard too. I'd thought the temple program was difficult enough, but Blue took it to the next level. For a brief second, I wondered how lazy Vince was doing.

"Okay, break's over! Let's see you run up and down that mountain! And no Jedi tricks either, just running!"

"Yes master!" I replied as he wanted me to after every order. Not doing so resulted in extra work and training, and believe me, I didn't want any more of that this second.

I jumped up, and proceeded to run straight up the mountain. I tried to only use what strength I needed, avoiding large rocks and ditches. Thank goodness coming down would be easier.

I finished my run, nearly falling over the final rock into the sand. Blue was standing with his back to me, facing the tiny waves of our cove to the ocean.

"You're done? Good. It's time for you to catch your next Pokémon. Go ahead and get in the water. I don't care if you get your clothes wet," he said, raising a hand to my objections. "After a while, a Pokémon will come up, and you'll use Swablu to hurt it just a little. Use this Pokéball to catch it."

And there I was, holding a little red-and-white ball with Swablu overhead, literally being forced out to sea under the weight of Blue's stare.

I waded for quite a long time in the still, salty water, doing my best to keep it away from my shorts. Swablu just played, from time to time landing on my shoulders or head. All the while, Blue stared at me, waiting.

Finally, I had enough of it. "Don't you have something better to do?"

He just kept staring silently as a huge wave toppled me over. That wasn't natural for sure. I hopped back to my feet, clutching the little ball tightly, ready to catch whatever it was. Swablu was also poised for action right above my head. Several bubbles appeared farther out in the ocean, so I reached out with my mind towards them, trying to see what it was. I thought I found its consciousness, so I jerked hard on it. Instantly, a bubble-like thing with red bubbles on the sides came up, splashing water all over me. Any attempts on my part to keep dry had been completely wasted – twice.

"It's a Tentacool." Blue said, ever so calmly, as if I didn't have a chance of getting hurt. "I believe the closest creatures to it in your world would be called a jellyfish."

"Great, so I've got a really mad stinging thing after me now."

"That's just about right." I almost heard a hint of a smile there, but I didn't waste my time turning around. I'd never been to the ocean before today, so I had no idea what to do with a jellyfish. Fortunately, I knew enough about Pokémon from home, that I only had to tell Swablu to attack it, then throw the Pokéball in my hand at the Tentacool.

"Okay, Swablu! Use peck on its other side, and try to push it over to shore!" Swablu flew off immediately. I really loved how obedient he was.

I waded out of the water, and carefully walked away in the sand, keeping a close eye on Swablu in case he needed help. However, he seemed to be doing great, goading the Tentacool in the direction I wanted it. Blue, as usual, stared.

The Tentacool was almost to shore, one tentacle banging painfully against the sand. I clapped my hands over my ears and called out to Swablu, "Sing!"

I hummed loudly to myself while his melody tried to break through to me, not by any fault of Swablu's, it was just meant to be heard by everyone. Soon, the song ended and the Tentacool was fast asleep. I glanced over at Blue, but he was still awake. I'd half hoped that he'd fallen asleep too, because I'd never managed to catch him sleeping. Ever. It was as if he never slept.

I turned my attention back to the sleeping blob, aiming carefully at it. The ball flew through the air, and the blob vanished in a flash of light. Swablu caught the Pokéball and gracefully handed it off to me.

"Very good," Blue said, walking over to us. "A good strategy, and well carried out by Swablu. Your aim is fine, although we could work on it more if we had time. But what we need is for it to evolve now, so you can cross the ocean to complete the rest of your training. So, get to work."

And just like that, I was swimming across the cove with a more docile Tentacool and my Swablu.

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