Chapter 3 – A New 'Friendly' Face
The next morning, Milo awoke just as excited as he had been the previous evening. Azura lay calmly at the foot of his bed, and Blaze was curled up with a pillow on the floor. There was just one problem.
Where should he go next?
He got up and roused his Pokémon partners as he pondered this. As a Trainer, he would be expected to head off and gather Gym badges, of course, but he felt that limiting himself to just visiting the Gyms as fast as possible would be an injustice to the many other wonderful things to see in Sinnoh.
Feeling an overpowering need to be different, he made up his mind to head southwest from Sandgem to visit Twinleaf, for no other particular reason than because it was off the beaten path. Milo vaguely recalled there being a 'rival' trainer academy there, and he liked with the idea of visiting, to see how other young trainers prepared for their journeys.
He had been absentmindedly preparing his things as he thought, and by now he was all set. He checked out of his room at the Sandgem Pokémon Center and headed outside.
He decided that he owed one last thank you to Professor Rowan before leaving town, so he made his way to the lab, Azura and Blaze at his side.
When he entered, the lab appeared to be empty, and Milo's footsteps made echoes ring about the large main room.
"Professor Rowan", he called out, "are you here? I just wanted to say goodbye and thank you again! Professor?"
"Ah! Milo!"
The Professor's voice preceded the Professor himself, and soon Rowan emerged from a side door marked 'Computer Workspace'.
"Truth be told I was just reviewing the recording from your battle with Cynthia."
Milo's face flushed with an awkward mixture of pride and embarrassment.
"R-really? Umm, thanks…anything interesting?"
Rowan chuckled and replied, "Certainly, yes, but far too much to tell now. I suspect you are headed back towards Jubilife, and then on to Oreburgh for your first Gym battle? I'd hate to delay you, though I appreciate you stopping in."
"Actually, Professor, I was going to go down to Twinleaf town, just to see what it was like. I don't want to be the kind of trainer who is only concerned with badges."
Turtwig and Piplup came tumbling down the corridor, just like the previous day, and stopped short when they caught sight of Blaze, who was chasing Azura back and forth across the lab's main lobby.
Blaze stopped and shuffled his feet uncomfortably before offering an awkward wave and a half-smile. His wave was returned by Piplup cheerfully, though Turtwig made a dramatic show of turning right around and marching back down the hall and out of sight.
"Ah, these young Pokémon and their antics", commented Professor Rowan, "One of my favorite parts of this job is seeing them grow up to be strong and mature under the guidance of such excellent trainers as yourself, Milo."
"Thank you, sir."
"Don't mention it, my boy, I merely observe. I also commend your decision to detour to Twinleaf Town. It's a nice place, relatively quiet. They do have a Trainer academy, as I'm sure you know, though it's a small operation, especially compared to your upbringing in Jubilife. Nevertheless, if you keep up that attitude, you'll find many of Sinnoh's hidden gems, things most Trainers are too hasty to notice."
"I look forward to it. Now I think it's time I got going. Thank you for everything, Professor! Azura, Blaze, let's hit the road."
"Oh, Milo", called Rowan just before the young man left, "one last thing. I heard from Cynthia about the favor she asked of you. I am one of those privileged to have access to the BattleNet. Remember your promise; I am greatly interested in watching you progress in your journey."
"I'll do that, Professor. Goodbye!"
One last thing before I leave, Milo recalled.
He looked up and down the street until he spotted the PokéMart. After explaining himself briefly to the clerk he was allowed to purchase a Luxury Ball. He paid a bit extra to give it a Dark-type configuration and a paint job. Once he was outside he sat down on a nearby bench and held the new ball in his hands, offering it to Azura.
"Well, girl, last chance. I won't force you, but if you go in here, you're officially registered as my Pokémon, not wild anymore. If you want to go ahead and be captured, tap that middle button."
She didn't hesitate. She immediately bounced forward, her face wearing a massive smile, and pressed the button. Within three seconds the ball gave a soft 'ping' and was still. Milo exhaled deeply, overjoyed. He raised Azura's new ball and let her back out. She jumped into his arms and they shared a brief moment of celebration at making their 'official' beginning as Trainer and partner before setting their faces to the road once again.
Sandgem was small enough that it took Milo only a moment to find the west gate and within a couple minutes, he was breathing the fresh morning air on the road to Twinleaf town.
Route 201, it turned out, was not going to satisfy Milo's craving for adventure. It was dull and short. No trainers challenged him, and the only wild Pokémon he encountered were small and weak, and he felt no inclination to capture any of them. By the time he stopped for a picnic lunch around 11:30, he was at least halfway to Twinleaf already.
"Wow, Blaze", remarked Milo as the young Chimchar shoveled food into its mouth at an alarming rate, "you don't kid around when it comes to eating, do you?"
Blaze merely gave him a smile; his cheeks were too stuffed with food to speak. Azura, meanwhile, nibbled daintily at her food, and they wound up waiting for her to finish before continuing. Milo thought about stopping to train a bit, but decided he'd rather get to Twinleaf town first, to ensure that a Pokémon Center would be close at hand.
Nothing dangerous around here, but still…Better safe than sorry, he thought to himself, after all, I have to train my Pokémon, but I'm also responsible for their care and good health.
It was just about 1 o'clock when Milo and his small team strolled into Twinleaf town. Not really knowing what there was here, Milo simply walked into the middle of town and sat on a bench to observe. After a good morning hike, it felt nice to just sit and be quiet.
Well, as quiet as one could be with a Chimchar and an Umbreon chasing each other in circles. He watched his two friends playing together for about fifteen minutes before an elderly man came up to him with a stern expression and asked,
"Young man, shouldn't you be in school? It's the middle of the day, you know."
Chuckling to himself, Milo made sure to be respectful as he answered, "Well, sir, I'm not enrolled in school, I've just started my Pokémon journey. I'm a certified trainer out of Jubilife City."
At this the old man smiled, "Ah, Jubilife, eh? Then you are a graduate of the JPTA! Well, I'll tell you, young man, there's a couple star recruits at our own humble school who would love nothing more than to test their skills against someone of your repute. We don't have much here in Twinleaf, but we are mightily proud of our Trainer school."
Blaze and Azura had stopped to listen, and Milo grinned as an idea came to mind, "Well, sir, I'd hate to deprive them of a good challenge. Which way is the Twinleaf school?"
The old man was kind enough to give Milo a brief tour of the town and lead him to the front door of the school.
"Wait here, young man, I'll go tell them a JPTA graduate is here."
Milo flushed with sudden embarrassment, second guessing his earlier idea, "Oh, umm, well I'd hate to interrupt them if they're still in session…"
But the kindly old man was already halfway through the door as he laughed off Milo's sudden concern, "Oh, nonsense, my boy! I'm sure they'd love nothing more than to have you here to change up their routine for a day!"
Milo waited awkwardly just outside the school building. He assumed they were doing some kind of training session with their Pokémon, he could hear crashing and shouting coming from a ways behind the school.
Soon enough, a middle aged woman came out and greeted him, saying, "Ah, you're the young man from the JPTA who has come to visit our humble school!"
"Uh, yes ma'am, that's me…"
"We're so glad to have you!" She shook Milo's hand vigorously, "I am the principal here, Mrs. Podero. Now, I'm afraid school will soon be out for today, but we can certainly get you a room in the Twinleaf Inn for the night, which doubles as our Pokémon Center, and give you access to the school's training fields. Is that acceptable?"
Taken slightly aback by her unexpected generosity, Milo stammered, "Oh, uh, yeah, that's great, thanks!"
"Excellent. I do hope you'll come and train with our upper class students tomorrow, they'd love the chance to compare themselves to a JPTA alumnus."
"That's fine by me, Mrs. Podero."
"Perfect, perfect, thank you, young man! Now, please do come in, I'll show you to our training fields."
The exuberant Mrs. Podero ushered Milo quickly through the small school, Azura and Blaze following with their heads on a swivel, trying to look at everything. The students had, for the most part, cleared the fields and left school already, so Milo was alone on one of the fields after Mrs. Podero left him to his training.
What do I work on first? How do I want to build my team?
"Alright, you two, listen up, please."
Azura and Blaze sat obediently in front of him, ready and excited to work.
"I want to focus on speed. Both of you have good speed, and I think we can base our fighting style around that. But to do that, your good speed needs to be great speed. We should also work on endurance over time, because that'll help us in longer battles. Got it?"
"Br-r-r-ee!" Azura barked and crouched down low, as if she were about to pounce. Her furiously wagging tail told Milo she was totally on board.
"Chim! Char! Chim!" Blaze began jumping back and forth as quick as he could, to warm up.
"Alright, then let's do this. I'll train right along with you guys. I would never ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself. Time for some running!"
Milo led his small team through a series of sprinting and agility drills. He purposely kept going as long as he could, to make sure that both he and his Pokémon could maintain effort and focus after they became tired. Finally, after an hour and a half of this type of conditioning, Milo called a break, all three of them were gasping for breath;
"Alright guys – let's take a break. That was some really good work."
He got out some water for himself, Azura, and Blaze. After a fifteen minute reprieve, it was time to go again. He wanted at least a bit of battle training before the daylight was gone.
Milo sat on a chair and explained his ideas to his Pokémon, who listened attentively;
"Alright. In a real battle, I won't have enough time to tell you how exactly to get out of the way, and that means you have to be able to dodge for yourselves. What we're gonna do is this; one of you is going to launch an attack and the other has to dodge it. Then we'll switch. Okay?"
As the two Pokémon lined up on opposite sides of the field, a girl walked up to the outside of the fence surrounding Milo's training field.
"Hey! You're the JPTA kid! The one Podero told us about when school was letting out. It's Milo, right?"
Milo actually jumped in surprise at the voice; he'd thought he was alone.
"Y-yeah", he began as he walked over to the fence, "that's me. Who are you? Are you one of the students here?"
The girl was both short and very skinny, which made her already baggy clothes look even bigger. Her long, straight black hair reached all the way down to her abdomen where it stuck out from her dull, red-grey hoodie, which was old and tattered. Her too-long grey sweatpants had rips and holes, especially where they dragged the ground when she walked. The only thing on her that looked new was her large pair of black headphones. Her face was rather blank and disinterested, but had a quiet intensity. In fact, everything about her radiated self-confidence and power, almost daring someone to challenge her. Her sharp, blue eyes completed the aura of implicit rebellion that really made her whole look click, despite her ratty clothes and inscrutable exterior.
She scoffed at Milo's inquiry, and replied with a derisive chuckle, "Pfft. Yeah, technically I still go here. But not much longer, I'm about to graduate and finally hit the road with my Pokémon. I'm Amaya. Those your only two Pokémon so far?"
She gestured at Azura and Blaze, who had jogged over to see what was going on.
"Yep", Milo felt oddly at home talking to her. He could relate to her no-nonsense attitude, "I've just got Azura and Blaze right now. Better two real partners than a team full of random Bidoofs and Starlys off the route, right?"
"I hear you", answered Amaya, "Hey move back a bit."
Without waiting for him to comply, Amaya stepped back and ran up the fence, flipping herself easily over the top to land neatly on the inside.
"You don't mind if I watch, right? I've always wondered what you kids up at Jubilife learn."
"Sure, I guess. Azura, Blaze, it's okay if she stays, right?"
They both smiled, which Milo took to mean they didn't mind.
"Okay, then let's line up, we're losing daylight."
Amaya walked silently over to the sideline and sat down to watch. Milo re-explained the drill to his two Pokémon partners and before long the attacks were flying back and forth. He made sure the attacks were at full speed, but with minimum power, to avoid any unnecessary injuries.
Milo was initially worried about his choice of strategy, as both Azura and Blaze had trouble dodging the first few attacks. But Azura soon got over her nerves and was able to dodge even chained series of attacks from Blaze.
Blaze, on the other hand, had some more prolonged issues.
He's got the speed, Milo thought worriedly, as the Chimchar went spinning across the dirt after taking yet another direct hit, he just panics and can't act fast enough. His instincts aren't there yet.
"Hey Blaze", said Milo with a sudden idea, "try picking a direction to dodge before the attack comes. That way, at least for now, you'll be able to get over your fear, and gain some confidence. Okay, ready to go again?"
Encouraged by the assistance and consolation of his new trainer, Blaze leapt up eagerly and toed the line, with a brave and determined expression on his small face, "Char! Chim Chimchar!"
"Excellent, that's the kind of spirit I like to see, Blaze! Okay, pick a direction, then signal Azura when you're ready!"
Miraculously, the idea worked. After a second or two of thought, Blaze took a deep breath and waved his hand at Azura, who shot a Shadow Ball at him. Time slowed as Milo watched in apprehension. He saw Blaze's eyes go wide as the panic struck again, but then watched him grit his teeth and cry out as he jumped to his left, somersaulting to land gracefully on his feet, unscathed.
Pure joy leapt across the young Chimchar's face as he realized what he'd done.
"YES! Good job, Blaze! Now keep it up, Azura give us a string of attacks, try as hard as you can to hit him. Come on Blaze, you know you can do this!"
Even Amaya, who had been watching silently, stood up in amazement at the sudden change. Three, four, five Shadow Ball attacks came in quick succession, but Blaze was suddenly untouchable.
"Wow", called Amaya across the field, "How'd you know that would work?"
"Truthfully, I wasn't sure. I knew he had the speed to pull it off, he just needed the confidence. This was the only way I could think of to get him out of his own head enough to realize what he was capable of. What do you think, Blaze?"
Blaze acrobatically leapt over a Quick Attack from Azura before flattening himself to get under a Shadow Ball follow up attack.
"Chaarrrr!"
His meaning was clear from the huge smile he wore. He was ecstatic.
Amaya stood up with a smirk, "Well, dodging is all well and good, but he still doesn't hit very hard. If you can't hit hard, all the speed in the world will just make you lose more slowly."
"So", countered Milo, "you prefer raw attack power to speed?"
"Of course! Even if dodging is your specialty, all I have to do is hit you hard enough once and it's over."
"Not if we wear you down first", Milo countered, "If we're fast enough, two things happen. One, we dodge your big hits, because larger attacks are not as fast to use. Two, we wear you down with smaller hits and frustrate you. This means we either whittle you down with a bunch of small attacks or we see an opportunity when your guard is down and land a big hit."
Amaya stared at him for a few seconds, trying to prove him wrong. Then, casually brushing her hair away from her face, she chuckled,
"Alright, fair enough, Jubilife boy, you're smarter than you look. But I still think raw power with good defense trumps that, so I'll stick with my way and you do your speed thing."
Milo grinned, "Works for me, Amaya. Hey, do you have your own Pokémon yet?"
"I have a Milotic that I raised from a Feebas I caught in the lake. Her name is Coral."
Milo was duly impressed, Milotic were very rare, and raising a Feebas to evolve one was a very laborious and time-intensive process.
"Dang, really? A Milotic? Nice."
"Thanks", she replied shortly, "Hey, your Umbreon and Chimchar look like they've had about enough, do you want to come to my house for dinner? My parents won't mind, I'm sure."
"Hmm, I'd love to, but I think they have just a bit more left in them. The best way to get stronger is to keep pushing your limits. Ready for just a bit more, you guys?"
Azura and Blaze stood up from their short break, still tired but eager to continue. Blaze especially was still pumped about his mental breakthrough and had energy to burn.
Milo himself joined back in as he and his team did some more basic speed and agility drills. Then he resumed sideline command as he directed his Pokémon to send attacks at one another, this time in spurts, to train their battle reflexes, intelligence, and awareness.
After another 45 minutes or so, he finally called a halt. Both Azura and Blaze were happy with their own progress, but looked tired enough to fall over on the spot.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon, Milo walked back over to Amaya and said, "I'll take you up on that dinner offer now, if that's still alright."
"Sure, let's go", she answered with a shrug; "By the way, I can see how seriously you take training. That's really cool, I respect that."
"Thanks."
Just as she had predicted, Amaya's parents didn't mind a guest in the slightest and were more than happy to feed Milo and his two Pokémon.
As they ate, Amaya's father asked politely about the JPTA, "What kind of training philosophy do they advocate these days in Jubilife? I've always heard that the JPTA grads were excellent strategists, but struggled to beat trainers who focus on defense."
"That's still very true sir, but I'm not exactly the perfect example of the JPTA battle mentality. I like to focus not just on Pokémon species and types, but on the individual Pokémon themselves. Not every Pokémon in the same species is the same, after all. I do rely heavily on strategy though, like you said."
"You know", the older man leaned forward with a smile, "I rather like that. I try to follow the major players in the Pokémon Trainer scene, and it frustrates me at times that many Trainers fail to respect the individualities of their Pokémon. I think there's a lot of potential to be realized there."
"I agree, sir, but that's not really why I chose to train that way. I want to focus on individual Pokémon because they deserve it. They aren't our tools, or even useful battling pets. They are our friends. That's always been my thought, and that's the kind of Pokémon trainer I want to be."
"Well, I can only hope our Amaya is as thoughtful about this as you are when she begins her journey in a couple weeks."
With an eye roll, Amaya spoke up for herself, "Dad, I'm sitting right here. And you know I care for Coral."
"I know, 'Maya, I know. I do worry that you rely too much on her raw power at times, though. I don't want you to overexert that marvelous Milotic. You know she'd do anything for you."
In a slightly softer tone, Amaya looked down at her plate and answered, "…I know that, Dad."
Conversation progressed smoothly, with Amaya's father picking Milo's brain a bit further before the talk transitioned to Twinleaf. Milo was very curious about how the Twinleaf school differed from his own experience.
Amaya's father was only too willing to discuss the intricacies of his daughter's school, "Twinleaf trainers tend to focus on how to get the most drive and power out of their Pokémon. They do less strategic work and focus a lot on having a strong mentality. It has its drawbacks, but overall it's certainly a viable battle mindset."
After a bit more talk and some dessert, it was deemed time to relax for the evening. Amaya took Milo to the Twinleaf Inn and he found his room. He spent the rest of the evening relaxing there with Azura and Blaze.
He perused basic information on Sinnoh's various Gyms, including his brother Marcus' Gym in Hearthome City. Marcus had only become the leader a few years ago, when Fantina decided that battling took too much time away from her love of Pokémon Contests, especially after Pokémon Performing became popular in Sinnoh, migrating over from Kalos. With Contests and Showcases to fill her time, Fantina decided that it was time to retire as Gym Leader.
Her choice of Marcus as her replacement caused more than a few raised eyebrows; he was more or less an unknown figure in the major Trainer scene. What really sparked controversy was Marcus' immediate announcement that Hearthome's traditionally Ghost-type Gym would instead become the first ever Dark-type Gym. So far, it had been successful, and since he was a popular Gym Leader, most of the fuss and discontent dissipated quickly.
With a sigh, Milo set aside his tablet and lay on his hotel bed thinking about what tomorrow might bring. He'd likely be able to get in quite a few battles, which would mean plenty of training for his team. Hopefully the school stocked potions and things to provide the essentials of medical care between bouts. It'd be weird to be at school again, even a different school. He changed aimlessly into something comfortable to sleep in, helped Azura and Blaze settle down for the night, and soon drifted off.
-o-
It was a particularly exuberant Starly that woke Milo up mere minutes before his alarm would go off. He was groggy at first, until a bolt of black and blue flashed across his vision and threw him backwards.
"Whu-aah! Azura…good morning."
He chuckled as he sat back up and greeted Blaze, who was seated on the windowsill looking about for the Starly that had caused the ruckus.
"Just about time for school, huh guys? This ought to be fun. Before we go, you guys won't mind if they want to battle, right?"
On the contrary, both of them looked like they were itching to put yesterday's training to good use. Milo called them back to their respective Pokéballs for the time being.
After getting dressed and stuffing his face with a quick snack in the Inn's lobby, Milo made his way to the Twinleaf School, still rubbing his eyes.
The principal, Mrs. Podero, ushered Milo to a classroom that was just beginning to fill with students around Milo's age, he guessed they were the more advanced students. His suspicions were confirmed when Amaya walked in.
"There you are, Milo", she waved, "Glad you made it!"
"Oh", Mrs. Podero was pleasantly surprised, "you already met Amaya, did you?"
"Yes, ma'am, she watched me train yesterday, we talked."
"That's wonderful. Now, class is about to start. I've told the instructor about you and the plan is for you to simply follow along with class today until he gives you further instructions, closer to lunchtime. Any questions?"
Milo thought for a minute. He was still unclear, but he couldn't formulate any specific questions, so...
"Umm, no, I don't think so, ma'am."
"Then I'll just be going. Your instructor's name is Mr. Kalu. Hmm, here he comes now…"
Mrs. Podero left, casting a clearly disdainful look at whoever was coming down the hallway. Evidently Mrs. Podero and Mr. Kalu weren't on the best of terms.
Milo took an empty seat right next to Amaya who leaned over and whispered, "Everyone knows Podero and Kalu used to date when they were younger, but he went off to Alola for training instead of staying with her and she never got over him. She would fire him if she could, but the previous principal hired him, and she has no valid reason to get rid of him. He's awesome, though, you'll love him."
As she was wrapping up this confidential tidbit, a large, muscular man walked in who was everything one would not expect of a teacher. Tan skin, bright eyes, an unbuttoned tropical shirt with a white undershirt, and brightly colored shorts with flip flops. Mr. Kalu definitely carried a presence about him.
"Hey kids, how's it hangin'?"
As a chorus of jovial and joking answers came back at him, he smiled and threw a bright blue folder onto and already untidy desk before flopping down in a rolling chair in the front of the room.
He surveyed his students briefly, as if unsure where to start, before Milo caught his eye.
"Oh, hey dude, you in the back! That's right, I forgot! Welcome to Twinleaf, my man! Come on up and give us all an official intro!"
Milo quickly decided that as nice as Mrs. Podero was, Mr. Kalu was his favorite Twinleaf citizen. He made his way to the front of the room, and gave a brief introduction of himself. He was a bit nervous; public speaking had never been his strong suit.
"Hey…I'm Milo. I, uh, I'm here visiting. I just started my official Pokémon journey. I graduated from the JPTA. Um, anything else?"
Kalu gave him an encouraging nudge from his chair, and asked "What kinds of Pokémon have ya got, Milo? You came through Sandgem so you at least got a starter, yeah?"
Milo began to warm to his new surroundings; he would gladly show off his Pokémon team.
"I'll show you."
Two flashed of light revealed Azura and Blaze, eliciting a round of oohs and ahs from both Kalu and his students.
Kalu stood and offered a handshake to Milo, who accepted before returning his Pokémon and sitting back down, blushing from the attention.
"Sweet", Kalu spoke up to get the kids to focus again, "thanks for that, Milo. Let's get back to where we were last time; Pokémon Trainer History."
Strangely, nobody seemed upset about studying such a boring subject. At the JPTA everybody would've rolled their eyes and sighed as they rummaged for their notebooks. Here, the kids opened their books, and looked expectantly up at Kalu without a single groan.
Kalu leaned back in his chair as he again perused the room before asking his first question,
"Can someone remind me what we talk about when we reference the Trainer Paradigm Shift?"
Amaya called out immediately, "That's all about Ash Ketchum. He was the first one to really make it big using the philosophy that Trainers should train along with their Pokémon. He wasn't the first, but he was the first to get as famous as he did without using the old 'Trainer as a Coach' mentality."
"Great, Amaya. How long ago did he get going?"
Amaya's brow furrowed, and Milo tried to help by leaning across and mouthing the answer at her. She didn't get his signals, but Mr. Kalu saw them.
"Looks like our guest has got that answer, huh Milo?"
"Oh. Umm, yeah, he first got his Pikachu fifteen years ago."
"Yup. On the dot. Say, Milo, my man, doesn't his mom, Deliah Ketchum, teach up at the JPTA?"
Milo blushed again, but smiled at recalling his favorite teacher ever, "Yeah, she does."
Murmurs broke out among the students, who were stunned that Milo knew someone that close to the almost legendary Ash Ketchum.
Milo continued, "She taught us Pokémon care, though, not training. Actually, Ash did visit once, to see his mom. I saw his Pikachu. That was cool."
Another round of wonderment swept the students, and Kalu joined in;
"No kidding, huh? That's great! I battled the guy once in a tournament. That Pikachu wiped half my team before Ash switched it out on his own. I stood no chance, that thing is on another level!"
Class continued in this way; Kalu would raise a topic of interest related to some advanced Pokémon training concept and one of his students would answer his question, usually Amaya, before conversation began to flow. The class debated their favorite types, how to build a versatile team around one particular type, the advantages of trainers who journeyed in multiple regions, how to take advantage of Pokémon abilities in battle, and all sorts of other things. Milo found he had a lot to add to the conversation, he was perhaps the only one more knowledgeable than Amaya – besides Mr. Kalu, of course. Kalu seemed to know it all, and could speak from personal experience on every topic he brought up.
After a few hours of unexpectedly scintillating class time, Kalu called a halt,
"This has been some sick discussion, guys, but it's time for the daily filling of bellies. When you come back from the café, head straight for our class practice fields, we got a special afternoon going on. Milo, can I talk to ya real fast, brother? Everyone else, get on out of here, go to lunch."
Now my special performance is coming up, I bet, Milo concluded as he walked up to Kalu to see what he wanted.
"So after lunch I was going to have you battle a bit, show us your stuff. But I won't do it if you'd rather not be put on the spot. You cool?"
"Yeah, I'm fine with that. Thanks for asking."
"Sure thing, man. Have a good lunch!"
The cafeteria was abuzz with students, far more than just Milo's temporary classmates. He made his way quietly through the lunch line, ignoring the odd looks cast at him from the younger students.
"Milo", called Amaya from a table with a few of her friends when she caught sight of him with his lunch tray, "come over here! Sit with us!"
There was some giggling as Milo approached, and one of Amaya's friends whispered louder than intended across the table, "Dang! Do you think they train them all to be that cute in Jubilife?"
Amaya shut her down, "Cassy, shush. Geez, that's really awkward. Anway, Milo you can sit here", she gestured to an empty seat next to her, and grinned, "Loudmouth over there is Cassy".
Cassy, now wearing a massive blush and a poorly concealed smile, could only wave, as Amaya continued, "and this is Jessine, Madi, and Rila."
They all greeted him politely, and wanted to know, as most people did, all about the JPTA and growing up in the big city.
Judging by how many people greeted them and stopped by for brief chats at their lunch table, Milo decided Amaya must be the queen bee of the 'popular girls', though she certainly didn't look or act the part. Most likely she earned her top spot on the social ladder by being the smartest, the strongest, and the most confident. That was how that kind of thing usually went, Milo had seen it before.
When their 30 minutes for lunch was spent, Milo followed Amaya and her friends to the same field he'd used for training the previous day.
Most of Mr. Kalu's class was already assembled, including the man himself, so they got underway.
"I'm sure you've all guessed what's up here, so I'll just lay it out. We're gonna have one of you battle Milo using the practice Pokémon as usual. Also, the rest of the school will be out to watch, in about…well, right now."
He gestured to the field gates, where dozens of younger students and their teachers were filing out, looking both excited and awestruck.
Oh man, they're making this a school-wide spectacle, thought Milo.
"Okay", Kalu clapped his hands together excitedly, "Milo versus who? Any takers?"
The older students, seeing the whole student body gathered to observe, were all hesitant and shy, except for one;
"Count me in", said Amaya confidently, a determined smile on her face, "I'll use my own Pokémon, too."
"Perfect!" Kalu couldn't hide his joy at the matchup, "Our strongest student taking on our honored guest! Let's get this going!"
-o-
"What do you say, Milo?" Amaya turned to face him, a determined smile on her face, "Just one on one, me and you?"
Milo considered this. Amaya's Milotic would necessarily require him to choose Azura, as Blaze would be laid out flat in no time by a fully evolved, high powered Water-type. Could Azura take that kind of firepower?
Only one way to know for sure. Even if we lose, we'll learn something.
"Alright", he answered, "let's do this. I'll use Azura."
They lined up on opposite sides of the field, as the rest of the students sat around the edges. Milo let Blaze out to watch as well, and the young Chimchar stood himself in Milo's trainer box to observe and learn and do his best to support his new trainer.
"Just so we're clear", Milo called across the field, "one-on-one, I won't switch out. Okay?"
"You got it, Milo. Alright, come on out Coral!"
Amaya flung a Dive Ball and sure enough, a wonderful Milotic emerged onto the training field, ready to fight, bringing cheers from the assembled students.
"Azura, let's go to work!"
Azura sprang out on the field, the prospect of a good battle running like fire through her veins.
"Let's get it started", yelled Amaya, "Coral, use Twister!"
Of course, thought Milo, she's gonna hit as hard as possible and try to beat us down quickly with raw strength. She'll have to hit us first!
"Azura, let's move! Use Pursuit to dodge and then Shadow Ball!"
As the large Water-type created a sizable tornado to fling at Azura, she jumped into a crack in thin air and popped out swiftly behind Coral, a Shadow Ball already forming at her jaw. The Shadow Ball struck the unprepared Milotic and it fell forward and skidded across the ground from the impact. Some of the teachers nervously pulled their students a bit further away from the field just in case.
"Get up, Coral! Give me a big Hydro Pump!"
Hydro Pump? Milo's brow furrowed, That's one strong Milotic.
"Don't stop moving, Azura, get out of the way!
Ingeniously, Azura began running in circles around her opponent, who fired several Hydro Pumps, each as inaccurate as the last. The speed drills paid off, Coral couldn't keep up with Azura's pace. Finally, Milo noticed Amaya's Pokémon pause, trying to figure where Azura was going next. It was the small opening he needed.
"Azura, Dark Pulse! A big one!"
The same massive, dark wave that had creamed the kids on the route to Sandgem washed viciously over Coral the Milotic. But Coral was stronger by far than your average Bidoof, and didn't go down.
"Coral, Ice Beam!"
Milo, slightly surprised that Coral was still going, didn't react fast enough, and Azura took the Ice Beam counterattack directly. Now both Pokémon were breathing heavily.
Time to disappear, Milo thought with a smirk. He and Azura had worked on this on the way to Twinleaf.
"Azura, Night!"
Just as she had done against the three kids a few days ago, Azura coated herself in a dark aura, and produced a sort of explosion of thick darkness, completely obscuring the field. Soon came the familiar burst of supernatural sensory power into Milo's brain and he could "see" the rough outlines of Coral and Amaya on the opposite side of the field.
"What?" Amaya was flummoxed, "What the heck is going on? What kind of move is that?"
"The kind of move where we don't get hit! Azura, Shadow Ball, and keep moving!"
Murmuring came from the students and teachers alike who were assembled to watch. Nobody had seen anything like this, even from the battles they saw on TV.
A yelp could be heard from Coral as the Shadow Ball struck home, but Amaya was clever.
"Alright, let's make them quit hiding. Coral, Recover!"
"No you don't! Azura, Dark Pulse!"
The Night cloud dispersed, revealing Azura, as a colossal outpouring of Dark energy struck Coral before she could activate Recover. She was down, unconscious.
Mr. Kalu, acting as referee, called out, "Coral the Milotic is unable to battle! The match goes to Milo and Azura, from Jubilife!"
Author's Notes:
Chapter 3 Thoughts: So Milo takes a detour and meets another standout Trainer. Rival? Companion? Love interest? Some combination thereof? Time (and more chapters) will tell. I really enjoy writing Amaya, her dry/blunt style is really good for me to shake things up, in my opinion.
This has been retouched a bit, nothing huge. I'd love to hear your thoughts, any thoughts at all! If you've got questions, ask away! I obviously don't own Pokémon, just my OC's.
If you like it, keep reading, and feel free to follow/favorite. That way you can keep up to date with Milo and other people will be more likely to find this story! Thanks for reading! Cheers, all!