With a vague path to finding his first mom finally in mind, Robb was more determined than ever to become a trainer. And the best way to fulfil that determination was to train with Kang. With how worked up the younger Kangaskhan was, like a kid in a candy store already going through a sugar high, in no small part thanks to the high-level match that they just witnessed, he had no trouble convincing her to do join in on his scheme.
Their mothers were where the trick of the matter lied.
"Can Kang and I go outside and play?" Robb asked Catelyn. She had quickly returned to her office after the televised match, Kaiser and Chansey hot on her heels, and immediately began to furiously type something into her computer. Probably having to do with Lickitung and Lickilily.
Or maybe it was a vacation plan? Robb hoped so. She deserved one.
"Of course you can," Catelyn said, waving the question away. "Just wait for Kangaskhan come back to supervise you both. She'll be done soon enough."
Robb and Kang both grimaced, though their annoyance had nothing to do with Kangaskhan's vanishing act. Kangaskhan disappeared into the wilds at the tail end of the Whitney's battle without anyone being the wiser, off to handle her business. The business in question being that Kangaskhan needed to pee.
Possibly poop.
For a monster of extremely violent potential, gentle giant though she was, Kangaskhan was very particular about where she did her bathroom do's. If she wasn't in a totally private environment, in which any and all distractions couldn't bother her, she would hold it in until she found one such place. The only exception to her rule was with Kang herself. And even then, it still seemed to bother Kangaskhan something fierce.
It was unfortunate that she was too bulky for human bathrooms. Kangaskhan would have been well served if she could just squat down on a closed-door toilet and be done with it all. In place of that, she had the habit of trekking half a mile or so away from everything to let it all out. Sometimes she would go even further out.
Not that Robb was complaining, mind. Her peculiarity was actually to his benefit.
The reason Robb and Kang grimaced was not being Kangaskhan needed to pee. That would be a particularly stupid thing to get annoyed at. In truth, it was because Kangaskhan really didn't like it when Robb and Kang trained together. She didn't like to envision any future in which Kang was no longer her baby, and seeing her actively trying to grow stronger went harshly against that rose-tinted view of the world.
Every time Robb and Kang attempted to train together, be they simple exercises or even just going over basic punching forms, of which he knew her species was capable of using many, Kangaskhan would appear, seeming to have a sixth sense. Whenever Kangaskhan was able to catch wind of what they would get up to, it was to be interrupted without any further fanfare. One moment Kang was sussing out different bodily motions, the next she was stuffed into her mother's front pouch.
Kang loved her mother dearly. She was her everything, in a way. The 'mon that birthed her, raised her, and whose belly just-so-happened to be wear she slept even to this day. Kang also loved Robb dearly, who was her best and only friend in her life. In those rare moments where Kangaskhan would interrupt their fun was one of the few and far between times that Kang would be genuinely mad at her mother, and brave enough to call her out to boot. Kangaskhan, unable to accept that her little girl was talking back to her, would thusly view Robb as a bad influence, and consciously worked to separate them until she felt that Kang had learned her lesson. Essentially, she had enacted the Kangaskhan version of grounding, only instead of taking away internet or television privileges, Kang's Robb Stark privileges were taken away in their place. The longest this had happened last for nearly a month.
A very sucky month, it should be said.
From then on, Robb and Kang were careful. Whenever Kangaskhan supervised them, they played their standard games. Tag, hide and seek, hopscotch, slappers, checkers, connect four. Nice, simple, wholesome activities that were within the bounds of expectation between children. Activities that Kangaskhan approved of wholeheartedly, to the point that she would occasionally join in on their games, should the mood strike her.
Whenever one of Catelyn's other Pokémon supervised them though… That was when the pair did what they really wanted to do.
Robb looked over at Kang. She was vibrating in place, eyes thin like pricks, looking ready to bolt, such was her desire to not be looked over by her mother right now. She wanted to train. "I don't think we can wait that long," Robb said, jerking his head her way.
Catelyn peered down and saw what he was seeing. Sighing, she reached down and withdrew a plain pokeball, from which her Persian came out. "Just don't get too scratched up. Persian will keep an eye on you two, and keep an eye out for Kangaskhan too. You know the drill. The moment he tells you to quit it, you quit it. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" "Kanga!" We said, saluting. It really was wonderful to have her on their side.
Everybody thought Kangaskhan was too anal about their training attempts.
"Khan~," Kang whined, wiggling in place.
"Hold still," Robb scolded, giving her a light smack to the shoulder. "I'm almost done. Then we can get started."
Grumbling, Kang settled down, her arms folded over her chest and her cheeks puffed out. Pouting.
They were stood in one of the many forested outcroppings of the Safari Zone, roughly a mile and a half west of the main office. It was a space primarily made up of flatland and bush brushes, wild and evidently untamed, roughly half the size of a standard campground. Robb and Kang came across clearing in the middle of the trees with Persian's help.
Coincidentally, Kangaskhan had gone east to relieve herself, a fact they determined thanks to Persian's enhanced sense of smell. That didn't factor into their choice of locale one bit. No sirrie. To claim such a horrible thing would be a grievous lie!
…Which in itself is a lie. Partially, at least.
Truth be told, the reason they chose this spot in particular for their training was all because of Persian. It was a good spot, Robb would not deny it, with plenty of space for Kang to do whatever she wanted. But it wasn't where they'd initially intended to stop. Robb and Kang had wanted to go even farther out into the forest, knowing they were perfectly safe. With Persian keeping watch over them, so long as they weren't foolish enough to enter any obviously hostile territories, they could have really gone out far. The farther away from Kangaskhan they went, the longer they could train.
Alas, with Persian being Persian, and Robb and Kang only being four years old, the big cat vetoed that hope, claiming the greater risk of danger and their lack of preparedness. A very reasonable counterpoint, it must be said.
Robb knew for a fact that was a lie, however. Persian was a powerful Pokémon in his own right, more than able to guard them from almost anything. More to the point, he would be able to notice anything that he couldn't guard well in advance of approaching it. The rejection had nothing to do with any risk of danger at all. That was just his excuse.
The real reason? Persian just liked this spot because it was perfect for a catnap. The tree branches were high enough up to catch the sun, but low enough to let him bound down in a simple fall, rather than requiring momentum from a tree trunk. The breeze was hitting it in just the right way to be cool but not so much that it made one feel cold. And he wasn't the only one that thought that.
Robb craned his neck up towards the tree line, easily catching sight of the cats in question. Cats. Plural. A second Persian was in the tops, one of the female persuasion. A female that was amenable to being approached by the very male Persian that Robb's mother owned. They were making very obvious eyes at one another, uninterested in anything but the 'mon in front of them, and their purrs had gone low, reaching a pitch that nearly matched with a bass note.
It was very obvious what was going on. Persian made them choose this clearing because he wanted to get laid.
And honestly? Robb couldn't blame him. He would have probably done the same had their positions been reversed. He'd never been a horn dog back on Earth, but when a chance at a hookup came up, and said hookup didn't mind that he lived in a van, all bets were off with what he'd been doing up until that point.
Thus, Robb and Kang contented themselves with the distance from Kangaskhan they had, leaving the cats to their rendezvous.
"Aaand done!" Robb announced, backing away from Kang. She huffed out a relieved breath, happy to be free from his grasp, before moving around experimentally with an obvious focus of difficulty centered at her tail. Robb had taken a climbing rope from the office, standard issue gear that at times felt more common than pens or paper in the Safari Zone lobby, and wrapped heavy rocks around the tail. He knew it was uncomfortable and further knew that it was not something Kang truly liked to wear.
But what came from the weight was worth all the suffering in the world.
"Do you remember what you have to do? I know it's been a while since we tried this, so I don't mind explaining it again."
"Khan-ka," Kang exhaled with a shrug, her face scrunched up in focus as she lifted her tail up. It trembled as it moved, the difficulty obvious to see. Even then, Kang trudged on, slowly waving her tail around, getting a feel for the added weight.
"Good, good. Now remember, you've got to imagine your tail as hard as a rock. Harder even."
Eyes closed, an irritated noise thrummed out from Kang's throat. A vein started to bulge on her brow, such was her single-minded focus on her chosen task. Her tail began to glow.
"Perfect! Okay, hold onto that image." Robb said, squatting down in front of her. "Now's the tricky part. You need to condense that feeling down as tightly into your tail as you can. That's the essence of Iron Tail."
When Whitney took her sabbatical last year, she would visit home with some regularity and took to training in their back yard and the nearby park with her Pokémon. One of these Pokémon was her Tauros, one of the two that she'd forfeited in her battle with Wattson. Captured form the Safari Zone, Tauros was unused to working with a trainer and struggled to meet Whitney's expectations initially, thinking itself weak.
But Whitney being Whitney did not accept that thought process. She stressed to Tauros that it (she, Robb recalled. Whitney's Tauros was a female) was not weak at all. Tauros was used to running in a herd, where numbers made a greater difference than skill. But Tauros had an edge that very few Pokémon also had, an edge that could make her a genuinely dangerous foe if built up appropriately; her three tails.
From there, and with a fair bit of assistance from their father's Aipom, Tauros began to learn Iron Tail. Robb and Kang were witness to it all. They saw how Whitney trained, how she drilled concepts into Tauros' head to help her develop her moves, and how she implemented them. They saw how Tauros struggled for weeks to even get her tails to produce the smallest of glows, saw how she seemed to internalize the concept of Steel-type energy right before their eyes, and were witness to the first successful use of Iron Tail performed by Tauros, an act that felled a park bench made of concrete. Their mother had not been happy when she had to pay for the damage, but she'd been too proud of Whitney's progress as a trainer to punish her beyond a lack of desert that night.
When Kang saw the devastation of Iron Tail, starry eyed and for the first time realizing that her tail was not just an accessory on her body but a powerful limb all on its own, wanted to learn Iron Tail badly. Robb, future thinking as ever, also wanted Kang to learn the technique, though for a different reason. Kang wanted to gain strength, an instinct that almost all Pokémon held. Robb wanted to be the one to help Kang gain strength, to further increase the likelihood of her becoming his Starter. With proof of concept that they worked well together and that he actually knew what he was doing, Kangaskhan would have a harder time rejecting his request.
That was Robb's theory, at least. And he was in for it all.
"When Whitney worked with Tauros, she used a piece of paper to help her understand what to do." Robb softly said, trying not to break Kang's concentration. "Remember? She balled it up so tightly that she couldn't push it in any further, and it was so dense she couldn't cut it with her knife. That's the sort of feeling you need to chase. Think of that video we watched a few weeks ago, the one of coal being pressured down into a diamond. A soft rock turned into one of the hardest materials out there. Focus on the feeling of your tail becoming dense."
Grounding her teeth, Kang groaned. Her tail grew brighter with her single-minded focus, bright like a light glaring down on a metal roof.
"That's it!" Robb announced, shooting to his feet. It wasn't a proper Iron Tail, but it was so close. It was a great starting point!
He walked a good few yards away. "Now keep that feeling in mind and release it out all at once!"
"KANGASKHAN!" Kang shot forward with a roar, twisting her body towards a nearby tree. Her tail whipped out, bright and loud, though it unfortunately dissipated quite quickly when her eyes opened wide. The rope holding the rocks against her tail snapped, sending the rocks flying into a group of thick bushes, and Kang lost her balance without them. Tumbling headfirst into the tree she'd been initially aiming at, Kang rolled onto her back and started to beat her arms and legs against the grass, clumping it up and screeching her annoyance.
The Persian's above her snickered at her temper tantrum, and Robb pinched at his brow in consternation. Kang may have been his best friend in this life, but she didn't have his lifetime of experience to back her up. She was still a child and was thus prone to throwing fits when things didn't go her way.
Robb was normally inclined to let her let it out. It was better for her to tucker out than to bottle up. The problem was the link she held with her mother. Whenever Kang was in this sort of mood, Kangaskhan wasn't far behind, ready to calm down her daughter. Somehow, Kangaskhan could sense Kang's emotions when heightened. Robb theorized that this was a trait all Kangaskhan held with their daughters.
That said, considering one of the major reasons they went as far out as they did was to avoid Kangaskhan, he was not inclined to let her keep this act up for long.
"Hey!" Robb barked, catching Kang's attention. Good, he thought. The more she centered on him, the less she could act as a beacon for her mother. He jogged over to her and looked her square in her teary eyes. "Why are you crying?"
"Kanga!" Kang blubbered, waving her arm towards the rope remains. As if the answer should be obvious.
"You're crying because you broke the rope?" Robb clarified. Kang nodded shortly, covering her face with an arm. "It's true. You did. But do you know what else you did? You were closer to Iron Tail than you ever were before. I think you actually got it at one point!"
Kang sniffled. "Kaa?"
Smiling, Robb grabbed her free arm and pulled her up. Or he tried to, at least. Kang weighed over 100 pounds and no human child of four could even hope to lift that weight. Kang went along with his movement though, lifting herself back upright, standing taller than her friend, pawing tears out from her eyes.
"I know you know we're close," Robb said, pushing her hands aside. His were much gentler than hers, and as he reached up to wipe her eyes, Kang seemingly found it impossible to not look into his own. "So close. You have the power. You have the concentration. All you need is to really get the density part down and put it all together, and you'll have it! We've got time, Kang. All the time in the world. So don't cry from failure anymore, okay? The only tears you shed should be tears of joy from when you've finally learned Iron Tail. Got it?"
Mulishly, Kang nodded, wrapping her arms around Robb. Robb happily hugged her back, humming a nameless melody into her ear that he knew calmed her down.
Theirs was a calming scene. A kind one.
A scene that was almost immediately interrupted.
From where the rocks had been thrown, in that large patch of bush, a group of thick vines raced out, snagging around Kang's head. Wide eyed, Kang pushed Robb hard away from her, just in time, for the rest of the vines snaked around the rest of her body, forcing her down. Robb strained to breathe after the shove, landing improperly on his back as he did, and when air finally returned to his lungs, he righted himself up and focused his attention back on Kang, he saw what had attacked her.
A small Tangela, the vine covered Pokémon easily denoted by its odd eyes and bright red feet, walked out from the bush. Pulsing angrily at the top of its spherical body was a noticeably angry welt. Tangela were sturdy Pokémon, but even they took appropriate damage that was emphasized when they weren't expecting it, especially when blunt force was catalyst of their damage.
Such as the force of a rock beaming into it out of nowhere.
Robb cursed. This wasn't a wild Pokémon that attacked them out of nowhere. Tangela had good reason to be mad at them, and as he looked up towards Persian, Robb saw the old cat looking back down on him with a quirked brow.
"Persian!" Robb shouted into the treetops. "Help us, damn you!"
Lackadaisically, Persian shook his head. Rather than come down to help them, Persian instead lifted his tail, the flesh and fur lightening up with the familiar sight of Iron Tail. Robb gaped, both not having known that Persian even knew the move, and lost as to why he was doing so now.
Then Persian jerked his head towards Kang, struggling within the Bind of Tangela's vines. Robb forced his panic down and pushed the whole of his attention onto the scene before him. Though Kang was most assuredly caught, as was her unmistakable struggle to escape, so too was the fact that Tangela wasn't doing anything but using Bind, wherein the whole of its vine-body was holding Kang down. Bind was best used in conjunction with further attacks. That Tangela wasn't doing so felt…
Blinking, Robb noticed a critical detail he'd ignored. Robb had seen the species before, courtesy of a trainer wanting to enter the Safari Zone a few months ago, and compared to that Tangela, this one was tiny. Pokémon of different sizes existed, of that there was no doubt, but the disparity between that Tangela and this one was too great.
This Tangela was young. The younger a Pokémon was, the fewer moves they could perform. Robb didn't know much about the Tangela line, but he felt it fair to assume that, similar to Kang naturally learning Pound and Growl as she grew, Tangela learned Bind and Vinewhip as they grew, their move-pool primarily expanding only when they hit adulthood.
But this Tangela was using all of its vines on Kang. If it didn't, Kang would probably be able to break free. It was only using Bind.
Robb understood what Persian was alluding to in that moment. This was a chance at something greater.
"Kang!" Robb shouted. Kang looked back towards him, eyes puffy and scared, though she was not crying. Robb felt his heart burst with pride at that. "Close your eyes and concentrate on my voice! I have an idea!"
Kang breathed out shakily and did as bade, groaning in pain as Tangela's grip on her tightened even further.
"Focus on the feeling of the vines one you! They're tight against your body, they aren't moving, they aren't letting you going anywhere. What does that feel like?! Put that tight feeling into your tail, make it heavy, and try to make it your own!"
Understanding where Robb was going with his directions, Kang slackened her struggle against Tangela. The vines constricted around her body even tighter, wrapping so overlymuch around her form that Robb could only barely make out a few small patches of the purple of her skin. Tangela kept noosing its vines over Kang, anger evident in its eyes.
C'mon, Robb thought, his foot dancing in worried impatience. You've got this.
He spared another look up towards Persian. The big cat was being evidently distracted by his female companion once more, though Robb saw him sparing the occasional glance towards Tangela and Kang. Should things get too bad, he'd be down to save the day. The thought brought Robb no small amount of peace.
His eyes quickly trailed away from Persian when a pale metallic light sourced from inside Tangela's vine. Tangela's eyes opened wide, and this time, it was the one on the back-end. A loud, hoary sort of noise echoed from within the Bind, an almost primal sound, and in one swoop of energy, the Bind was slapped away by Kang, who stood up with a shout, barreling her fists into her chest, her tail lit up in a fuse of Steel-type energy.
The smile that wormed its way onto Robb's face felt almost unending. Pointing his finger at Tangela, he said the only words that seemed to matter in that moment. "Use Iron Tail!"
"Khan!" Kang bellowed, rushing forward. Tangela, panicked, started to whip at her, changing its strategy from Bind to Vine Whip, but it was too little too late, and Kang was too close for the Vine Whip to gain the appropriately needed momentum to deal greater damage. In a feat of agility Robb had never seen from his friend before, Kang rushed forward and performed a front flip, Iron Tail meeting Tangela's body with a loud clang that ringed out through the trees.
Tangela was essentially punted backwards with a warbled cry. Hurled into a tree outside of their clearing, Tangela stood woozily, barely hanging on, before its eyes watered over and it ran away crying.
Kang, huffing, beat at her chest some more, before falling to the ground in exhaustion. Robb raced over to her, exhilarated. Though it was quite short at the end of the day, this was their first battle together, and they won.
"You did it!" Robb crowed, hovering over her. "Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need any help?"
"Gaskhan!" Kang denied, shaking herself off. There were a few painful looking welts and some lined over bruises beginning to form over her body, but Kang's eyes were wide and delighted when the reality of what she'd just accomplished set it. She stood up once again, craned her neck around, stared at her tail, and happily howled as it lit up into the signature sight Iron Tail.
Grabbing Robb tightly, Kang lifted him into the air and twirled around the clearing joyously, rag-dolling her friend and seemingly unable to care, such as her happiness. Robb laughed along with her, hugging her back tightly.
When Kang finally set him down, her exhaustion caught back up to her and she took a knee, making her and Robb at an eye level. Adrenaline surged through Robb as they locked eyes, and without any concern for the future, without any consideration for the problems that may occur, Robb allowed his heart to speak before his brain could mediate.
"Become my Pokémon, Kang." Robb grinned, holding his fist out.
Kang met his grin with one of her own, appearing both vicious and excited, and bumped her own fist against his happily.
Hope you all liked this one! Not a ton happened, but we are starting to get into the more meaty aspects of Robb's progression in particular.
The next chapter will be uploaded in two weeks. I'll be out of town all of next week and will be beginning a new job the week after that. So. Y'know. Busy.
If you liked this chapter, please Favorite/Follow and don't forget to Review!