I wake up with a headache, which is more than a bit of a surprise. The headache isn't unexpected, but the simple fact that I'm still alive comes as a shock. I can't believe that the Golduck didn't catch up to me while I was out, and that's not even counting whatever surrounded us after Hana had finished her Shadow Sneak. From the rock digging into my shoulder, I know that I'm laying on the ground, but I can't hear anything that gives any clue to my location. I wait a few more seconds before opening my eyes to the night sky and then slowly sit up.
Ah, you're awake lass! You gave me a bit of a scare!
"Sorry," I mumble, looking around. Somehow I'm on the top of a tall hill, and while the ocean is still visible in the distance, it's not close by any means. My brows furrow slightly in confusion. While I was only conscious for a few seconds after the Shadow Sneak, I'm sure that we were still on the beach. "What happened? Did Hana move us again?"
No, she didn't have the energy for another jaunt, so I enlisted some nearby ghosts!
I turn around from the ocean and find that there are two Drifblim and a Drifloon floating a few feet behind me. Hana is next to them, but our escape must have taken a lot out of her since she's almost scraping the ground as she hovers off the ground.
"Oh. Thank you for your help," I say, inclining my head to them gratefully. I turn to Hana next and add, "And I'm sorry for freaking out, Hana."
It's no matter, no harm has been done! Now, I believe some introductions are in order. The Drifblim that helped you are Mathew and Joan. And as chance would have it, the Drifloon is none other than my nephew Ricky! It's truly good to see you again my boy!
"It's nice to meet you all," I say, but before the words are even out of my mouth, Mathew and Joan begin to float away. I watch them fly toward the ocean where the horizon is just barely beginning to lighten. They're heading straight for the spot where I'd found the Battlemaster, and I can see that there are Starly and Staravia beginning to flit around the shipwrecks. When I turn back around, I'm a bit surprised to find that Ricky isn't following them and is instead floating right next to Hana. "Can I help you with something? Some way to thank you?"
I believe the lad wants to come with you, and I can hardly blame him! I've barely known you for a half-hour, lass, and this is the most excitement I've had in two hundred years!
"Oh, um, sure," I answer uncertainly. I can hardly refuse him after he helped get me to safety. I just hope that he won't need my energy as well since I don't think I have any to spare. My fears in that regard are quickly assuaged as Ricky bounces up and down excitedly at my answer, seemingly having plenty of energy of his own. "Well, we should probably find somewhere to set up camp." The hill that I'd been deposited on has very few trees nearby, so we'll have to move a bit to find wood for a fire.
A wise decision, lass. This spot is too exposed for my liking. An alpha Staraptor could pluck one of us off this hill with ease.
With that new fear unlocked, I don't waste any more time and start to walk inland with more urgency than I'd had in the last two days. I've barely gone ten feet before I have to stop, realizing that Hana is already lagging behind. I turn around and, careful not to touch her tassel, pick her up by the sheath. The cloth lazily moves toward one of my hands and I jerk it away. "Later. I promise. We need to get moving now though."
After a second the cloth goes limp and sways at my side as Ricky and I resume heading inland.
The sun is fully visible in the sky when we finally stop at a suitable campsite. I start putting up the tent right away, but midway through, it suddenly occurs to me that I lost my torch when Hana teleported us. I immediately turn around to start gathering wood, but I'm surprised to find that Ricky is already ahead of me. He's carrying several sticks in his long ribbon-like arms and has already gathered up a number of downed branches and stacked them up in a neat pile.
"Thank you!" I quickly tell him and retrieve the flint and steel from my loaned backpack. I don't find immediate success, but just as I'm starting to get worried, I manage to make a spark that catches some of the kindling Ricky gathered.
I see the boy is as eager to please as always. I would take it as a personal favor if you took care of him, lass. I never forgave myself after he fell, and seeing him have a second chance at life, as much as this is one, is invaluable.
I don't know how to respond to the Battlemaster's sudden request. Aren't Pokemon supposed to take care of their trainers? I know that neither Hana nor Ricky are technically my Pokemon, but still, how am I supposed to take care of them when I'm not even able to take care of myself? I'm unable to refuse the Battlemaster's selfless request though and slowly reply, "I'll do my best."
Thank you lass! Ach, I never got your name.
"Oh, it's Madeline," I answer, then busy myself with finishing setting up my tent in order to hide my embarrassment that I forgot to introduce myself again.
Madeline. Thank you.
I nod tightly, unsure how else to deal with his earnest thanks. Thankfully, he doesn't add anything else and lets me finish putting up the tent in silence. While I work, I worry slightly about what Ricky's addition to our group means. Adding a second Pokemon makes us more noticeable, and the Battlemaster had mentioned that Ricky didn't like fighting. Even if that wasn't the case, I don't think that having him fight off aggressive alpha Pokemon would count as taking care of him.
I'm not any closer to an answer as to what I should do when I've finished setting up camp and finished eating my light dinner. I still have a few days before I'm due to meet up with Volo again, and wandering around Hisui aimlessly sounds like a horrible idea. I'm not even sure if going to our meeting site early is a good idea. From what he said, it's a location that his guild commonly uses, and while he said that the others in his guild could be trusted, he also said that they trade with the Galaxy Team even more than he does. I absolutely don't want to get on the Galaxy Team's radar, so the fewer people that know about me the better.
I eventually decide to call it a day and head for my bedroll after calling Hana over. She moves to follow me quicker than I'd seen her since I'd woken up on the hill, clearly hungry.
What are you doing Madeline?
The Battlemaster's voice sounds more curious than anything so I shrug before I answer. "Hana needs energy," I say before grabbing her tassel. I instantly feel exhausted, making it clear just how much effort it took her to teleport us. Since her action likely saved my life, I don't pull away from the contact and allow her to take what she needs. I fall over on the bedroll with a large yawn and add, "And I… need sleep…"
I'm still undecided on my next steps when I wake up at sunset. Thankfully, Hana appears to be doing a bit better and she and Ricky have made a woodpile that will easily last us the next day if I decide to stay here. I start working on a quick meal, but I'm distracted when I notice that a purple flame has appeared only a few feet away from the campfire now that the sky has completely darkened. "Do you know what the wisps are? Volo said that they're souls and I should gather the ones I find, but I don't really understand what that means."
In life, I did not understand them either. Sometimes when a person passes away, they are too tied to this world to move on. Some, like Ricky and Hana, obtain new life as a Pokemon. Others, like me, end up as spirits who can communicate but not act. The wisps are the lowest form. They are poor souls who cannot do anything. I don't know what plan the Advisor and this Volo have for them, but anything would be better than their current torment.
I shudder at the thought of being stuck in one place for years. I quickly pop the last Oran berry into my mouth and stand up to walk toward the wisp. This time I don't hesitate before reaching forward to grab at the purple flames. I'm not sure if it's because I'm expecting it, but the chill doesn't seem as bad as last time when the soft purple light travels up my arm. I can once again hear indiscernible whispers for a second, but they quickly fade.
The Battlemaster's words give me an idea of something to do while I wait for Volo, but I know that I could easily run into another aggressive alpha like the Golduck if I went hunting for wisps. Counting on Shadow Sneak for another quick escape doesn't sound like a good idea, and I immediately discard the idea of having Ricky help fight them off either. I'm still far from thrilled about the idea, but I don't think I have any option other than to take my safety into my own hands. "You mentioned training yesterday… What would that look like?"
Are you sure? You said you didn't wish to fight.
"I'm not sure that I have a choice," I answer with a defeated shrug.
Hmm, I'm afraid that you may have a point. Well, if you truly want to learn, I could train you and Hana into an unbeatable duo. How about we stay here for the night and get started on the basics?
"Yeah, I guess that works," I say, then raise my voice so Hana can hear me where she floats over by the woodpile. "Hana, can you come over here? We're going to…" I trail off, unable to believe the words that I'm about to say. I still can't come up with a better answer, though, so I finish, "We're going to learn how to fight."
Hana turns her body to stare at me with her unblinking eye for a few seconds before slowly floating over toward me.
Excellent. Now, why don't you go ahead and show me your fighting stance?
The only frame of reference that I have for sword-fighting is the vague memory of a cheesy medieval movie that Gwen had made me watch years ago. I pluck Hana out of the air and do my best to mimic how the protagonist had stood as he faced down a fearsome Hydreigon, both hands on Hana's hilt with my feet firmly planted on the ground.
"Um, how's this?" I ask, but instead of a verbal response, I just hear what sounds like disgruntled mutterings in my head. "Battlemaster?" I hesitantly prod.
…this was much more fun when I had a body. Your stance is much too rigid. If I pushed your shoulder, and I would always do that to new recruits, you would fall right over. You need to be ready to act at a moment's notice! Be fluid! Be flexible!
I try to relax, though I'm not sure how effective my attempt is. The very act of holding a weapon is such a foreign concept to me that I can't help but tense. "How's this?"
Better, but not quite there. Widen your stance. Bend your knees. Relax your shoulders. And for the love of the guardians, take your left hand off the hilt! Hana isn't a greatsword!
I do my best to do what the Battlemaster says, but at the end of it I feel less secure than I had during my attempt at a stance. However, I have no doubts that he knows what he's talking about more than I do, so I take his suggestions as complete truth. I get a bit stuck up on the last one though and ask, "What am I supposed to do with my other hand then?" I drop my left hand to my side to find that Hana is surprisingly light and I have no issues keeping her steady with just my right. I suppose I shouldn't have expected a floating sword to weigh very much.
Use it to keep your balance. Or hold a shield. Or steady Hana in a pinch. Or to throw dirt in your enemy's eyes. You don't have the strength for powerful blows to win you a fight against a human, much less an alpha Pokemon. You must be ready to adapt to any situation instead of tying up both your hands simply holding your weapon.
I let the comment about my strength roll past me, not even dreaming of contesting that claim. I'm fully aware of my shortcomings in that particular department and, before this, it wasn't something that had ever seemed like a problem to me.
After taking a second to internalize everything the Battlemaster said, I take a deep breath and ask, "Okay, now what?"
There's almost a hint of glee in his voice as he responds with a single word.
Practice.
Practice starts out fine enough. He has me swing Hana in several directions, critiquing each of my moments. Frustratingly, the relatively simple task is made more difficult by Hana trying to help. She keeps trying to add a little more power to my swings, throwing me off balance, or else she expects me to move slightly differently and we end up fighting for control. Each time that happens, the Battlemaster doesn't waste a second stressing that we have to work in tandem and makes us repeat the swing until it's somewhat clean.
And then it gets worse. He has me string together a series of swings and movements into something that he calls a kata. It's fine at first, and after the first two times through the complete kata, I start to gain a minuscule amount of confidence and start to slightly speed up as I work through the motions. That immediately gets me metaphorically slapped down and the Battlemaster abruptly changes tactics. Every time I make even the slightest misstep, he stops me, tells me what I did wrong, and then makes me start the kata from scratch.
I'm fairly sure it takes me a full hour to get past the fourth movement.
"Is there something, anything, else we can do?" I ask after I hear the word 'again' for what must be the fifty-thousandth time.
Hmm. Deviating this early on is highly unusual. But I suppose we've long since passed unusual with me being in your head and all. How about a spar with Ricky?
A spar sounds heavenly compared to the horrid, repetitive kata. I stop short though and ask, "But I thought you said he didn't like to fight."
Like? No, he does not enjoy fighting. Is he capable? Absolutely. Back when I lived, I would not have stood for allowing anyone in our group, much less my squire and nephew, to be unable to defend themselves. And besides, I'm curious to see how he conducts himself as a Drifloon.
The slight glimpse into the martial-focused lives that my new companions had lived is fascinatingly different from anything I've experienced in my modern life. However, I suppress any questions about their past lives and turn to Ricky just in time to see him fly ten feet up in the air. He's been tending to the campfire the entire time that we've been practicing, but whenever he drops a new log on the flames, the hot air fills his balloon and makes him abruptly ascend.
"Ricky, are you up for a spar?" I call up to him and decide that his answer must be a yes since he slowly floats down toward me.
Ricky stops his descent to float a couple of feet away from me and then raises his noodly arms in front of him. Seeing his thin appendages makes me rethink if this is such a good idea. "Are you sure this is going to be okay? I don't want to cut you." It's frankly a miracle that I've avoided accidentally cutting myself so far after all.
The lad will be fine. Your strikes won't hurt him as long as Hana does not imbue herself with spectral energy. And with her low reserves, I don't think that's much of a concern.
"Well alright." I'm still a bit hesitant but trust that the Battlemaster knows more than I do. I fall back into a ready stance and wait for Ricky to make the first move, but he seems content to just float unmoving in front of me. I stand there for a few more seconds before deciding to make the first move, taking an uncertain step forward while slashing Hana toward the balloon that makes up Ricky's body.
With insulting ease, Ricky raises one of his arms to block Hana while extending the other one to lightly tap my left shoulder. While he bounces up and down in the air, clearly pleased, I frown and lightly complain, "That's not really fair."
Fighting a Pokemon never is. A Pokemon will use every tool at its disposal in a fight, so you must do the same. Their bodies and abilities will almost always give them the advantage in a clean fight. That means that you must use your biggest advantage: your mind. Anticipate what attacks your opponent will use and plan your offense accordingly. Now, try again.
I take a deep breath and step back to my ready position while Ricky raises his arms back up. I stare at him, trying to figure out how I should try attacking him for my second attempt. I assume that he's not going to use any moves given how outclassed I already am, which means that for now I just need to watch out for those flexible arms.
When I feel as ready as I figure I will be, I give him a slight nod before stepping forward to repeat my previous attack. Once again he uses his left arm to block the strike and reaches out for me with his right, but this time I pivot, making his stab go wide. Drifloon aren't particularly emotive Pokemon, but I can almost see the grin on his face as his left arm suddenly changes from blocking Hana to wrapping around her.
Hana's cloth wraps around my hand with equal speed, making it so that instead of being disarmed me, my arm is jerked forward when he pulls. I don't feel a sudden wave of exhaustion at the contact, so I know that Hana isn't draining my energy. Even so, while keeping my hand on Hana is definitely preferable to dropping her, I'm not able to pull her free from Ricky's grip, leaving her effectively out of the picture. As Ricky continues to try to tug her away from me, I do the first thing that comes to my mind: I make a fist with my left hand and try to punch him right in the yellow x on his face. Unfortunately, my fist goes right through his body and I stumble forward onto the ground as I lose my balance. As I fall, Ricky's free arm tags me on the back.
Ha! An excellent attempt Madeline! That would have worked on most Pokemon that aren't ghosts, and given your Gift, I don't expect you to fight many of them! But keep your thumb on the outside of your fist next time. You don't want to break it.
As I return to my feet, I think that I'm not as sure about the efficacy of punching a Pokemon as the Battlemaster is. I doubt the Teddiursa or Golduck would have so much as flinched if I had punched them.
Ricky resets to his ready position again as I stand, but I shake my head. "Thanks, but I think I could use a bit more practice first." Ricky raises his arms in a semblance of a shrug before floating back to the campfire. I take a deep breath and then dive back into my kata.
My legs are burning and it feels like my arms are about to fall off when we finally decide to call it for the night. As if he had decided that I wasn't suffering enough, the Battlemaster made me switch to holding Hana in my left hand partway through the night. When I'd tried to argue that I was right-handed, he'd insisted, saying that you never know when it could be useful. I shake my head and plop down in front of the campfire, confident that I won't need Hana's help to fall asleep today.
While the idea of collapsing on my bedroll is welcome, I figure that I probably shouldn't go to sleep yet. It only takes a few minutes for the usual boredom to set in and I start looking for anything to keep my mind occupied. My attention quickly turns to the new addition to our campsite and I ask, "So what moves do you know, Ricky?" Shadow Sneak seems like a fairly advanced move, and Hana was able to use it despite being stuck in a pile of rubble for who knows how long. Since he's almost certainly been more active than her, I'm willing to bet he knows some good ones too.
Ricky finishes dropping a few more sticks onto the woodpile and then turns to me with a slight tilt of his balloon. His eyes slowly shift from black to purple and then start cycling through various shades of violet. I watch curiously until my eyelids start to feel heavy and my head begins to droop. It takes me a moment longer to realize he's using Hypnosis and I quickly look away, violently shaking my head to keep myself from dozing off.
"I didn't mean on me!" I exclaim, refusing to look at him.
I believe the lad only wanted to help. He's seen how Hana helps you in that regard.
"I'm not ready to go to bed yet, I was just curious!" I wait another couple of seconds before peeking at Ricky and sigh in relief when I see that his eyes are back to their normal color. However, I also notice that his balloon is slightly deflated so I quickly add, "I'm not mad. Thank you for trying to help."
Ricky's eyes turn downward and I'm afraid he still thinks that I'm upset at him. I open my mouth to try to reassure him more but close it again when he starts waving his arms at the pile of wood. After a second, a miniature tornado forms, and the sticks lift off of the ground to start flying in a tight spiral. I clap appreciatively and his balloon swells to the largest I've seen it. Next, he stops spinning his arms and turns his attention to the campfire, once again pausing for a few seconds to concentrate. This time, he pulls his arms close to his balloon before splaying them out toward the fire, and a small purple flame shoots out of his mouth. When the flame hits its target, the campfire turns purple and grows slightly before returning to normal after a few seconds.
"That was really cool!" I exclaim, the sight reminding me of the times that I'd seen Fantina's Drifblim perform. "Do you think you can combine them?" Ricky pauses and then turns away so that when he creates another Gust it doesn't hit anything. His arms make a weird jerky movement as he tries to use both attacks at the same time, and while he's successful in creating another purple flame, it sputters out as soon as it hits the Gust.
What are you attempting to accomplish Madeline? Even if Ricky is able to perform the maneuver, I don't believe it would be as effective as either move individually. And that's to say nothing of his willingness to do so against a foe.
For only the second time since I came to Hisui, I laugh. Of course someone called the Battlemaster would immediately look for something's combat potential. "It's not meant for fighting. It's just supposed to look pretty. Where I'm from, people and their Pokemon compete to show off what they can do and then the judges vote on who had the best performance." I don't mention that there are also some contests that do involve battling since I never paid much attention to those. Though for some reason, the thought of a battling appeal suddenly sounds a bit more interesting than it ever had before.
Look! I believe the lad has it!
I refocus my attention on Ricky and am astonished by his quick progress. While I'd been distracted, he's managed to create not one but three purple flames and is successfully swirling them around his Gust. The flames grow and shrink as they're battered by the winds, but that's just me being overly critical. I clap enthusiastically and exclaim, "That's amazing Ricky!" My applause appears to distract him and the flames extinguish, making me feel slightly guilty. Ricky doesn't seem put off in the slightest and immediately jumps into another attempt.
I'll admit, it is quite the wondrous sight. And he's jumping into it with more gusto than he ever did with his training!
I ignore the Battlemaster as he chuckles in my head, struck by what he said. The whole time that we'd been training today, I'd been thinking of working with Hana as purely something for combat, but seeing Ricky work gives me another idea. "A kata is like a performance, right?" I ask, my voice tinged with excitement at the thought. The Battlemaster stops chuckling and doesn't answer right away.
…I've never viewed it as such, but I suppose it could be.
I can't help but grin at the thought. The flowing moves that I'd worked through earlier today suddenly seem less like something that would be used to hurt someone and more like working on an appeal with my Pokemon partner. I'm fully aware that the end goal is the former, but reframing it in my mind to the latter suddenly has me much more eager to continue to work at it. I'm still too sore to jump back into it tonight, but now I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's practice.
I spend the rest of the night watching Ricky with a contented smile on my face.
A/N: Thanks to Star (quarknova on this site) and Cavik for betaing. Next up is Chapter 5: Fearsome Foes