Icirrus Arc: Efficient Training
After a while, Jacky made her way back to the Pokémon Center, but before she could enter it, she encountered Laslow. Alone. "Oh. Hi," he greeted her and she smiled when she saw him. "Hi.",
"I thought you guys had already left.",
"We were going to, but... well, there was an incident...",
"An incident?",
"Yes. We took a detour to Dragon Spiral Tower because we had something to do there and we were attacked by some wild Noivern... Mari was injured in the process. Jayden already took her back to the Pokémon Center while I was sorting out the situation... I don't think we'll be able to go to Opelucid today.",
"I see... That sounds bad." Laslow gave her a worried look. "Was the injury serious? Is she okay?",
"I'll hear about that... But I think it could have been worse.",
"It always could have been worse in the end. Sounds like you guys got lucky.",
"Definitely... You're leaving now?",
"Yes. I want to minimize the risk of running into Aria again.",
"Haven't you seen her since yesterday?",
"No, and that kind of gives me a bad feeling...",
"Why?",
"I don't know. My gut feeling is that this wasn't the last time she's going to give us trouble..." He sighed and held his forehead, grinding his teeth softly. "I let her go too far and now, her obsession has reached a point where it can be dangerous.",
"This girl really needs to get some help, doesn't she", Jacky grumbled.
"...that's a little too harsh, don't you think?", he scolded her lightly. "When you're going through a phase like that, you sometimes end up doing some stupid stuff...",
"But this kind of stupid stuff? There's something seriously wrong with her. She is absolutely crazy, Laslow, and like you said, it can be dangerous. But it's not your fault she is like that. You just have an iron patience that I envy.",
"Wrong." He shook his head. "It is my fault. I should have said something earlier... If I had, it probably wouldn't have gotten so bad",
"But you did!",
"Not loud enough apparently... I never meant to hurt her feelings like that.",
"Laslow..." Jacky looked at him and bit her lip. He had lowered his eyes, looking dejected. His eyes seemed distant, as if the whole situation had triggered something inside him.
"...Is there something that... t-that I can do for you...?" she wanted to know. He shook his head. "You've done enough... Thank you. It's not the first time something like this has happened to me...",
"What do you mean?",
"If... you're like me... others mostly tend to only pay attention to your looks. And then, that's all you get limited to. People don't see you as who you are, they just... see you. And then, when you try to show them who you are and when it doesn't match their expectations... you inevitably offend them in some manner. I don't like being put on a pedestal by others, yet they seem to see someone in me they wish to see... A person that is perfect to them, that they can admire, but that's not me... And I know they would be disappointed finding out I am not much different from them. At school, many girls ended up having a crush on me because of the way I looked and I found... plenty of letters in my locker. It sounds silly, and Chris and Kuraiko made fun of me because of that... But it never sat right with me, I just ended up getting used to it. Those girls just had awkward childhood crushes that they ended up getting over really fast and that they wouldn't talk about ever again after they graduated. It never was anything serious, after all. It's just that... none of them went off the deep end like Aria did.",
"So you never indulged them...?",
"..." He was quiet for a moment. "I... I had... other things on my plate at that time... I was... sick for quite some time, so I didn't feel like it.",
"That sounds... awful", she mumbled and didn't know what else to say to that. He shook his head. "I'll just move on. Nothing of value was lost...",
"But you're sad despite it all.",
"Who wouldn't feel horrible after hurting someone like that..." He finally lifted his gaze and looked her in the eyes. "Even if it had to be said and done, it never feels great to tear someone down. I just hope Aria will be able to realize the error of her ways and move on to become a better version of herself. That's all. No ill will or hard feelings on my part.",
"You're a kind person, you know that?" Jacky smiled. "I wish you all the best. Until we meet again...",
"...You don't have to compliment me to make me feel better. But... it's appreciated." He smiled back at her.
"H-Hey, I meant what I said!",
"... I know, sorry. I... just wanted to say you don't have to comfort me. I'm okay, really. Wish Mari a good recovery from me, alright?",
"Will do. Goodbye." She waved at him as he left and went inside to check on her friend.
"How are you, Mari?" she asked when she entered her room. Her friend gave her a raised thumb. "Everything's fine, I'm still alive!",
"That's good.",
"So, what's the result?",
"Hmm..." Jacky smiled slightly. "Noivern didn't stay behind. I think its parents have accepted that it is fully grown now... and that eventually, the little ones leave their nests. So... it continues to travel on with me.",
"That's great!",
"I agree..." She looked relieved. She had been afraid that Noivern would actually stay in the tower, and that she would have to say goodbye to it. The thought had already made her heart heavy and sad the days before, but the fact that it didn't turn out the way she thought after all had made her breathe a sigh of relief. Jayden stood up. "Well, that settles it then," he commented, stretching his arms and back. "You'd better be a little more careful next time you're off into the unknown.",
"We will." Jacky nodded at him. "How are you doing, by the way?",
"Fine so far," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "As fine as I can right now, anyway...",
"I'm sorry about your family...",
"...Don't be. I don't like to make other people feel sorry for me. Let's not talk about it...",
"Okay...",
"Please make sure Mari gets enough bedrest. The nurse made her lay low until tomorrow. But to be honest, she doesn't strike me as someone who can keep her feet still...",
"Yeah, she definitely can't. She's bad at following doctor's orders", Jacky replied.
"I can hear you, you know!" the black-haired girl protested. "Stop talking about me like I'm not right here! I hear every word you say about me!"
Jacky chuckled. "Good. Then maybe, you will listen for once~",
"Pfft, not if you're acting all smug like that." Mari looked away with a huff.
"...you'll make it somehow." Jayden nodded at Jacky and then left the room.
Jacky settled down on one of the chairs and crossed her legs. "Well, I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to continue our journey. I didn't want it to be like this either, but it is what it is.",
"Yeah, yeah..." Mari sighed in frustration.
"By the way, I ran into Laslow when I came back. He's already traveled on.",
"Ah, really?",
"Yes. He said he wanted to avoid staying here longer in case Aria was still around...",
"Yeah, makes sense..." Mari leaned back. "That girl's out of her mind.",
"I agree. I just hope she leaves him alone from now on...",
"I don't exactly know how bad she was, but what I overheard didn't give me a lot of hope."
Jacky closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She thought back to the festival in Nimbasa, where she had witnessed Aria's behavior firsthand. "... She... was glued to him. Like a... limpet. And she was firmly convinced that they were a couple. Even though any idiot could have seen that Laslow wasn't remotely interested and kept rejecting her...",
"Oh brother." Mari rolled her eyes. "She's got a thing for drama, huh.",
"Absolutely. That's not normal anymore...",
"I'd be surprised if she lets go of him. Maybe for a while, but from what I can tell, she's going to become his stalker. I'm certain of that.",
"...Or she sees the light and comes to her senses.",
"Pfft. Yeah, sure. You don't honestly believe that, do you?",
"Laslow didn't deserve to be harassed by her like that. Especially because he really had a lot of patience with her... I hope for the best.",
"Me too, though my hopes aren't high."
"By the way...", Mari spoke up and leaned back a little, "...the next time Jayden and I meet, we'll battle one another. He challenged me, and I'm looking forward to it.",
"He dared doing that? How bold of him." Jacky chuckled and held a hand in front of her mouth. "But he's pretty strong, it seems. Make sure you don't lose to him in the end.", "Well... Even if I did, I wouldn't be mad. On the contrary, I would be kinda proud of him, not gonna lie. He came this far on his own. But, of course, I won't make it easy for him. It just means I have to train harder to take him on.",
"Train harder... Yes. I need to train with Scizor and Budew, as well. The battle with Laslow gave me a lot to consider, and it made me realize that there is still a bunch of stuff I have to improve on. He had cornered me so much that I panicked.",
"He made you panic? Sheesh. Did you lose?",
"No, I won. But only by a very, very narrow margin...",
"Hah, that sounds like Laslow alright..."
"Oh, on the way, Soleil called me and showed me her latest catch", Jacky remembered. "She was beside herself and did... well... what she does best.",
"You mean, talk?",
"Yes.",
"What did she catch?",
"A Phantump.",
"Awww, that's cute!",
"Yes, totally! She showed it in the video. Then, she did her enthusiastic talking for twenty minutes and hung up because it slipped away.",
"Oh dear..." Mari laughed and shook her head. "Hey, I'm... pretty okay right now. I don't need to be on bedrest the entire day, right?",
"..." Jacky raised her eyebrow at her. "Mari, we are NOT going to Opelucid today. We wouldn't make it before it gets dark anyway.",
"No, no, I know that! I'm not THAT unreasonable, you know! I just wanted to get some training done! I don't need my arm for that, do I...?",
"..." She crossed her arms. "Depends on the training.",
"I just want to let Combusken train with Medicham some more.",
"... Okay, fine. But at the slightest hint of nausea or dizziness, I'll drag you back to bed, you hear?",
"Yes, ma'am", Mari answered and suppressed the urge of rolling her eyes again.
They went outside and sent out their Pokémon. "Alright..." Mari nodded at Combusken, and smiled. "I won't be able to support you much today, but that won't stop us, right? Let's start off with Flamethrower.",
"Dodge and close the distance!" Jacky commanded. With a roll to the side, Medicham dodged the fire and then rushed towards its student. Combusken jumped back to escape a counter attack before fire surrounded its fist and charged at it. With a punch, it aimed for its teacher's arm, but Medicham gallantly blocked the attack with Psycho Cut. A subsequent punch missed and the next Fire Punch was knocked aside. "Now it's our turn!" Jacky shouted enthusiastically. "Shadow Shard!" Medicham launched it's modified stealth attack and Combusken that held its arms in front of its face to shield it. "Keep attacking!" Jacky ordered, and Medicham armed itself with Psycho Cut blades before attacking. Combusken dodged the blows and waited for an opportunity to strike back. "Fire Punch, go!" Mari shouted and Combusken tried to break through Medicham's defenses, but failed. Medicham blocked the strike successfully with Brick Break and retaliated, hitting it in the chest. It forced the air out of its lungs and it staggered yet refused to give in. Bravely, it struck back once more- and the flames that had ignited around its fists burned like never before as Medicham was hit for the first time. "Great, Combusken!" Mari praised it. "You've improved! Keep going with Peck!",
"Brick Break!" Medicham dodged to the side and then flung Combusken backward with a well-placed blow. It softly grunted before getting back onto its feet. Again, fire surrounded its fists and it attacked. Instead of keeping it at a distance with its shields, Medicham came right at it- A gesture to show that the two were eye-to-eye. Combusken whirled around and swiped at Medicham's shoulder, but the hit missed again.
They trained for some hours and Mari took the time to also practice some with Gardevoir. The fight against Skyla had shown her that a range-attack only fighting style would get them in trouble should the opponent manage to get close to her partner. She had to change something about Gardevoir's fatal disadvantage in melee combat, so she decided to try a few things. After a while and hundreds of tries, she came back to Jacky. "Hey, can I show you something for a minute?",
"Anytime." Jacky nodded. Mari looked at Gardevoir. "Okay. Aim at that tree over there. Let's show her what we came up with. Burst Strike!" Gardevoir charged towards the tree and uppercutted it so hard it almost fell over. "Whoa!" Jacky's eyes almost popped out of her skull. "What was that?",
"Well... You know how Gardevoir always concentrates its power and clenches it mid-air when it uses Focus Blast?" Mari asked.
"Yeah, I'm familiar.",
"We've practiced to gather this energy in its hands instead and release it upon contact. Meaning Gardevoir actually unleashes a Focus Blast attack upon hitting the foe directly. I know Gardevoir's gravest weakness is it's inability to defend itself in close-range combat. So I thought of a way to tackle that issue... and I figured, why not just yeet the opponent away with a hard slap? Gardevoir aren't known to be proficient in melee self-defense, so that's something no one would expect to happen...",
"That's... actually genius", Jacky thought.
"Heh... I learned this from you", Mari answered.
"...from me? What do you mean?",
"You have taught Medicham a different way of making use of its Shadow Ball attack to broaden up its range and make the opponent more vulnerable to a follow-up attack. So I thought I could try the same with Gardevoir and... practice using its own attacks in a different manner. That's not all. Let's show her the other attack we've invented." Mari nodded at Gardevoir again and cleared her throat. "Aherm! Shadow Jolt!"
Dark energy formed around Gardevoir's hands, releasing purple, crackling lightning bolts. Gardevoir performed an elegant spinning attack, slapping the tree hard with both hands as it did so. "That was a variation of Shadow Ball, wasn't it?" Jacky asked. Mari nodded. "Exactly! Cool, right?",
"I could have come up with an idea like that... Well, pity. Now it's taken. I think it's a really brilliant idea, no one will see that coming. So if Gardevoir ever really gets cornered because the opponent is going for close-range attacks, you can punish them for that! I would live for those faces!",
"Haha... Thanks for the inspiration, Jacky. You're a sweetheart~" Mari hummed proudly.
"O-Oh, uhm... Haha... thanks...?" She rubbed her wrist in utter embarrassment and blushed. "Well, I'd rate this training session as a win. We should call it a day so we might be able to leave for Opelucid tomorrow morning if you're fit enough. How are you holding up?",
"Better than ever. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. My injury doesn't hurt anymore.",
"Nice. We'll have you checked out one last time tomorrow and when the nurse says you're good to go, we're leaving!",
"Okay.",
"Now back to bed with you~ Get plenty of rest so you can be officially discharged tomorrow.",
"...yeah, alright, I gotcha." Mari said with a sigh and followed her friend back to the Pokémon Center.