Utter pandemonium was the only word Kriesh could use to describe the events of the hour after the battle.
It only took twenty-five minutes for half a dozen Pokemon Center Emergency Responders, teleported by a Wigglytuff, to appear in the center of the clearing. They instantly fell to taking care of the injured. Kriesh reluctantly gave her consent for them to use Pokeballs on the unconscious Spearow after they promised to release them as soon as they were healthy.
Ten minutes later, they all teleported back to the Pokemon Center, and everybody began hustling about, calling orders. Marcus only added to the pandemonium by explaining that the Archeops was Grant's.
Surprisingly enough, Kriesh hadn't taken too much damage during the fight, and a single spray from a Potion was enough to cure the wounds she had sustained. She knew it would have been much worse if not for Meditite, and if not for that Manectric's insistence on talking.
Fifteen minutes later, another Wigglytuff teleported Grant into the Pokemon Center. Marcus at once began apologizing for allowing Archeops to be injured, but Grant seemed more concerned about Team Flare, especially what Pokemon they'd had.
And Marcus had scarcely began answering those questions when yet another figure teleported in.
This Trainer, Kriesh immediately could tell, was an authority figure, from the way many of the Pokemon Center employees paused to glance at her and the way that Marcus stared in undisguised awe. She was dressed in all white, with a curly head of hair, and a bright white coat that fluttered out behind her as she glanced around the Pokemon Center.
A Gardevoir stood by her side, radiating Psychic energy from the teleportation.
"Champion Diantha," Grant greeted. "I'm glad you could come on such short notice."
Diantha sighed. "I'm afraid this was not the only attack," she said. "Four other locations were hit, all around Kalos. Passersby dealt with another one; a pair of Ace Trainers happened to be near another. But in two locations, they got in, got what they wanted, and got out before anyone could stop them. At least sixty Pokemon were taken in total."
"What kinds?" Grant asked.
"Seems like any Pokemon they could get their hands on," said Diantha. "Everything from absurdly common Bug-types to a pair of Sliggoo. But here's the thing; they never took a single member of any species. They always took at least two."
"For breeding," Grant guessed.
"We have to assume so." Diantha sighed. "I'd hoped Team Flare would be just a group of easily-dealt-with nutcases. But today proved that it's much worse than that. At this point, I'm officially declaring Team Flare a Rocket-level threat."
"I'll alert Viola and Korrina," Grant said, his face paler than usual.
"See that you do," said Diantha. Then she turned to Marcus and Kriesh. "Are you the Trainer who dealt with the Team Flare attack here?"
"Um…" Marcus stammered, still clearly awestruck. "Y…yes, I did…I mean, I am…"
"Good work," Diantha said. "And I presume this is your Fearow?"
"Uh…still working on that," Marcus answered.
"All right," said Diantha. "Gardevoir, if you please?"
Gardevoir glanced at Kriesh. "Would you be willing to submit to a fully comprehensive Class 3 hippocampus examination regarding the proceedings of recent times?"
Kriesh blinked. "I'm sorry?"
Gardevoir sighed. "May I read your mind? I'd like to scan your recent memories to gain a better picture of your battle with Team Flare."
"Okay," said Kriesh, "but no further. And…will it hurt?"
"Not in the slightest." Gardevoir closed her eyes. "Trace: Mental Scan, starting one hour ago."
Between Kriesh and Gardevoir, a three-dimensional representation of a brain came into being as though drawn, little neon lines crisscrossing to form the shape. Gardevoir reached up and brushed part of it aside, then peered closer.
"I see," Gardevoir intoned. With a wave of her hand she dispelled the model. "Thank you for your time."
With that, Diantha turned back to Grant. "We will alert the Gym Leaders and Ace Trainers," she said, "but aside from that, everything continues as normal. Lance didn't need to shut down all of Kanto to deal with Team Rocket; I'm not shutting down all of Kalos just to deal with a group of copycats. Gardevoir, Teleport."
The Champion and her Gardevoir disappeared in a flash of light.
Finally, an hour after the battle, things finally began to slow down. Marcus's team, Archeops, and Kriesh's flock were in their Pokeballs and being treated. Marcus himself was taking a nap on the row of blue-cushioned chairs he was on. Kriesh remained where she was, perched over Marcus and watching the Pokemon Center employees do their work.
Again, her mind flew back to Ripper's words, and to the state of her flock. She already knew she could not protect them anymore, but if she couldn't, who could?
The answer to that question came with a random memory. Don't hurt Archeops too much. He's a gift, you see. And Skyla will freak if Archeops gets injured.
Skyla…she'd heard that name before, hadn't she?
Yes. Quinn had gone off to Unova to work with the local Flying-type Gym Leader, Skyla.
Kriesh made up her mind. As soon as he was awake, she would go talk to Archeops.
The last thing Meditite remembered before slipping into unconsciousness was the pain that had wracked both her broken arms. So when she awoke, she immediately glanced at both of them; much to her relief, they were mended perfectly, with no trace of ever having been broken.
Trainers' medicine really could do wonderful things. In the forest, an injury like the one Meditite had suffered would last an entire lifetime. She would have been a cripple, unable to properly use her arms ever again.
The next thing she realized was that she was in a Pokeball, a Pokeball that was moving.
Where was she?
She stopped and listened. Instantly, the sound that came was recognizable; the sound of many, many humans, walking and talking, mixed with the sound of a breeze, but no rustling of leaves.
Lumiose. It had to be.
It took ten minutes, long enough for Meditite to listen enough to conclude that it was definitely Lumiose, before the Pokeball hissed open and deposited her on a small patch of grass.
Meditite looked around. She saw Skorupi and Shellder standing near her, Marcus sitting on a bench nearby, and more surprisingly, Archeops, Kriesh, and Grant, all of whom were clustered in a circle some distance away. All seven of them were standing, sitting, or hovering over a small grassy patch in the middle of Lumiose, shaded by a tall tree that provided relief from the midday sun. Archeops was listening to Kriesh as the Fearow spoke, while Grant was watching and clearly trying to gauge what they were saying…
No, from the nodding of his head, he understood.
The reason for that became clear as Meditite saw a Lunatone hovering behind him. Somehow, it was translating Kriesh and Archeops's conversation for Grant, allowing him to understand what it was they were talking about. Meditite listened closer.
"…then it is settled," Archeops was saying. "Is that agreeable to you, Leader Grant?"
A pause, enough time for the Lunatone to finish translating. "Yes, that is agreeable," said Grant. "I'll call Skyla and ask her about this 'Quinn'. With any luck, the arrangement will be finalized before the day is out."
"That would be acceptable." Kriesh turned away. The Lunatone hovered in the air for a moment, translating that last sentence, and then floated some distance away.
"Marcus," said Grant. "A word, if you please."
As Marcus rose from his seat, Meditite glanced at Skorupi and Shellder. The two of them were looking around, their expressions somewhat fearful. Meditite winced as she recalled that the last thing they probably remembered was being thrown around by that massively powerful Ursaring.
"Are you two all right?" Meditite asked.
"Yeah," said Shellder. "That was…really scary. What kind of Pokemon was that?"
"An Ursaring," said Skorupi. "Ah saw one once before. They're bad news. An'…anyway, ah'm fine."
Meditite sighed. "Look, Skorupi," she said, "I'm sorry about what happened before the Gym Battle. You know…something's been bugging me about that."
"Ah bet," Skorupi grunted.
"Why are you so concerned with being friends?" Meditite asked. "For someone who claims that all he wants to do is fight, you seem awfully concerned with whether I'm befriending you or not."
Skorupi scoffed. "Ya know, yer right about one thing. Ah am here ta fight. But…ah guess that wasn't the only reason ah joined up with ya so willingly. Ah had a couple friends, ages ago. We'd meet up, share stories, an', ya know, just talk ta one another. But they left or got caught. An'...ah just kinda wanted that again. Fightin's just not as fun when ya don't have someone to share the experience with."
The Scorpion Pokemon sighed. "So, yeah, ah kinda wanted ta be friends with ya," he admitted. "An' when ya said that all ya were doin' was pretendin', it felt like ya were pretendin' about yer friendship with me. An' ah guess that hurt a lot more than ah thought it would."
"I didn't mean it like that, Skorupi," said Meditite. "And…I wouldn't mind being friends either. It doesn't feel right for us to be ignoring one another."
"Ah thought ya were plannin' to leave," Skorupi pointed out.
"Well-"
"Guys?" Marcus called. "I'd…I'd like to talk with you about something."
Meditite, Skorupi, Shellder, and Kriesh all turned to face Marcus. The Trainer was leaning awkwardly against the tree, looking between all four of them and yet making eye contact with none of them.
"Look," he said, "I screwed up. What I did to you…I took you all from your homes and your lives. I didn't even ask if you wanted it. And I…I've realized that it was wrong to do that. So…" Marcus let out an explosive sigh. "I'm going to ask you now. Do you want to stay with me?"
Meditite looked around at her three teammates, all of whom were staring impassively at Marcus. Even Shellder remained resolutely silent.
"Because…" Marcus finished, "if you don't…if I've failed you that much…then I'll take you back…and I'll let you go."
Meditite instinctively turned her gaze eastward, in the direction she knew her home was. Was Marcus really saying she could go back?
A few hours ago, she would have said absolutely, she would go back. She would much rather return to the forest, return to her life as a Wild Pokemon, than work under a bad Trainer.
Now she wasn't so sure.
A rustle of wings jarred her from her pondering as Kriesh stepped forward. "Look, Marcus," she said; Meditite noted that it was the first time she'd ever said his name. "I guess Grant probably told you that I've arranged for my flock to be taken to Unova. They'll…be safer there. There's someone over there that I'd trust with my life to take care of them. And he'd almost certainly do it better than me."
The Fearow gathered a breath, and then continued. "When I was a young chick, I learned that an aspiring Trainer wanted me to be her first Pokemon. I was so excited to become a Trained Pokemon. I wanted to become the strongest Fearow ever, just like my parents. And…that was taken away from me. I set that dream aside for a year and a half. Because of Team Rocket, and then because I wanted to honor my mother's last wish. But now…I guess that time's over."
Again Kriesh paused before resuming her speech. "I've made many mistakes in my life," she said. "But yesterday I made the worst mistake I've ever made. And I want to make up for it. I know I probably don't deserve it, but if you'll have me, I want to be part of this team."
Skorupi let out a disbelieving snort. "You're kiddin'."
"Believe me, I thought for a long time about this," said Kriesh, turning to face Skorupi. "I considered going to Unova with my flock; I even considered striking out on my own and seeing what happened. But…but this is what I want. I ignored it for so long…but this is what I've always wanted. To be part of a team, to grow with them, to watch as they became stronger than they ever possibly believed they could. So…" The Fearow turned back towards Marcus. "I want to stay with you. What do you say?"
Marcus hesitated for what felt like the longest few moments Meditite had ever experienced. Then he spoke. "Um…I didn't understand any of that. Nod for if you want to stay, shake your head if you don't."
Kriesh sighed exasperatedly. "Right. I swear, one conversation where a Trainer can actually understand what you're saying, and you instantly forget that all Trainers can't do that…"
Swiftly, she nodded up and down.
Surprise danced in Marcus's eyes. "Okay. Thank you, Fearow."
"Marcus?" Grant called. "Her name is Kriesh. She's rather picky about it, actually, and doesn't like it all that much when you call her Fearow."
Kriesh stifled a smirk as she side-eyed Grant.
Marcus nodded. "All right. Sorry, Kriesh. For…everything, I guess."
"It's fine," Kriesh said.
Marcus turned to Skorupi and Shellder. "What about you two?"
Shellder looked up. "I mean…being a Trained Pokemon is scarier than I expected. But it's still really cool, and I've been learning so much! And so…yeah, I'd really like to stay on this team!"
"Count me in too," Skorupi growled. "As long as the fights stay like they have been, I'm all for it."
Simultaneously, both of them nodded their heads yes.
Finally, Marcus's gaze swiveled to Meditite. "What about you?" he asked.
"What about me?" Meditite whispered. She glanced eastward once more, then back to Marcus.
"Yesterday, I thought you were a bad Trainer," she said. "And, to be honest, you kind of were. All you really seemed to care about was strength, and yes, you did take me from my home. And today…when you said you were confident you could handle Kriesh, I turned my back on you. I almost told Archeops to get me away from you."
Then Meditite smiled. "And then you changed. You were willing to set Kriesh free. You helped her against Team Flare. And now…you're asking us this question, and that proves you've changed."
Meditite pondered for a moment, then turned to the Lunatone that was still floating in the air some distance away. "Lunatone!" she called.
The Psychic-Rock Pokemon turned slowly to face her. "What is it?" it asked telepathically.
Meditite focused her mind and responded. The Lunatone hung in midair, processing the words that Meditite telekinetically communicated, and then swiveled to face Marcus.
"Your Meditite wants to know," the Lunatone told Marcus, "in the service of what goal did you bring this team together?"
Marcus turned to look at Meditite. Slowly, he nodded. "All right," he said. "I'm not going to lie; yesterday, after…after you-know-what, I told Grant that my goal was to grow strong and win the Pokemon League. And yesterday, that was the truth."
He looked at Grant. "But Grant told me something that I can't seem to get out of my head. He told me that that was not my goal, that was everyone's goal. And I needed to have a unique one. So I thought for a while, and I tried to figure it out, but I just couldn't. And then we ran into Team Flare. And…I was terrified. If Archeops and Kriesh hadn't been there, I…might not have even been able to fight."
Marcus sighed, and then continued. "I don't ever want to feel like that again," he said. "And I don't want anyone else to feel like that. I took all of you and I forced you to serve me; in that regard I was no better than Team Flare. So you want to know my goal, Meditite? You want to know why I want to get stronger?"
Marcus rose from his seat, looked around at Meditite, at the rest of the team, at Grant and Archeops, and took in a deep breath.
"I want to make sure," he shouted out, "that no one ever has to deal with that kind of fear again! That no Pokemon ever has to be taken away against their will, that every Pokemon and every human has the right to choose what they want to do! That's my goal, Meditite. So, what do you say?" Marcus looked down, finally locking eyes with Meditite. "Will you join me?"
Meditite didn't even bother glancing eastward. She looked straight up, deep into the dark brown eyes of Marcus, her Trainer, and smiled.
"Back in that clearing," she said, "I couldn't help but realize that if I'd stayed Wild, if I'd stayed where I was, I could have been in that same position. Anyone could have been in that same position. And so I'm glad that's your goal. Because now? That's what I want too. So, in that case…" Meditite inclined her head in a nod. "...I'll stay with you for as long as it takes."
And so Grant took his leave, taking Archeops, Lunatone, and Kriesh's Spearow flock with him. Kriesh and her flock shared swift, heartfelt goodbyes before Grant recalled them. The Rock-type Gym Leader promised that they would be taken to Skyla and Quinn before nightfall.
Grant left Marcus and his team with one final piece of advice. "Head to the Sycamore Pokemon Lab," he told Marcus. "I've arranged for a surprise there for you. Think of it as a reward for your help with Team Flare. And when you're there, keep the Pokemon out of the Pokeballs." He had winked at that last one.
So it was that five minutes after Grant's departure, Marcus stepped into Sycamore Pokemon Labs, Meditite, Skorupi, and Shellder at his side, while Kriesh, who had flown over Marcus for the journey there, stepped through the door behind him with wings tucked tightly.
The first thing that drew their attention was how clean it was. Everything about Sycamore Pokemon Labs seemed to scream 'organized'. The walls and floor were spotless, and even the coats of the scientists scurrying about had not a fleck of dust upon them.
The second thing was the elevator dinging in front of them. The doors opened and a tall man stepped out, dressed in a black-and-orange fur coat despite the hotness of the day, with a head of flowing, spiky orange hair that was quite clearly stylized.
"Ah," the man said, his eyes alighting on Marcus. "So you are the young Trainer the professor was speaking about. My name is Lysandre. I manage the Lysandre Cafe, on the street between Magenta Plaza and Autumnal Avenue. What is your name?"
"I'm Marcus," Marcus answered.
Lysandre's eyes scanned over Marcus's Pokemon. "You have a strong team," the tall man said. "Tell me. Do you believe Pokemon deserve a better life?"
"I'm sorry?" Marcus asked, clearly not understanding the question.
A flicker of irritation crossed Lysandre's face. "I have traveled far, all across Kalos and other places as well. And I have seen many Pokemon at the mercy of cruel Trainers. They are taken and forced to battle, or merely sold for profit. Do you believe Pokemon deserve better?"
"Of course they do!" Marcus protested. "I mean…it's not fair to them to have to deal with that. They should get to choose what they want in life."
Lysandre nodded at that, smiling. "I agree. Pokemon deserve much better than what many of them get in this world. I am glad you see things the way that I do."
With that, he brushed past them and stepped unhurriedly through the door out of Sycamore Pokemon Labs.
The (as usual, spotless) elevator dinged and the doors opened, depositing them at the second floor of Sycamore Pokemon Labs.
In an instant, Marcus and his team beheld another man. This one was dressed in a white lab coat, just like the rest of the scientists, but unlike the rest of the scientists, his dark hair looked as if he hadn't combed it in years.
At the ding of the elevator, he spun around. "Ah, come in, come in," he beckoned. "I'm Professor Augustine Sycamore. You're Marcus, correct?"
"That I am," said Marcus.
"Oh, it is fantastic to see you!" Professor Sycamore turned to a nearby scientist. "You have the gift, right?"
"Right here, Professor," the scientist answered, pulling a small wrapped bundle from her pocket.
Professor Sycamore turned back towards Marcus. "I just want you to know, what you did with Team Flare was no small feat. You may have saved dozens of Pokemon from a terrible fate, not just that flock of Spearow."
With that, he held out the wrapped bundle. "Open it."
Marcus did so. Inside was half a dozen Pokeballs, but these were not ordinary Pokeballs. Instead of the traditional red-and-white coloring, these were colored orange and black, similar to what Lysandrew had been wearing.
"You may have bumped into Lysandre on the way out," said Professor Sycamore. "His company, Lysandre Labs, creates these Pokeballs. These are known as Luxury Balls, and they are designed to provide your Pokemon with the most comfortable experience possible while they are inside. You may transfer your Pokemon to them downstairs; my scientists will guide you to the machine to do it."
"Thank you, Professor Sycamore," said Marcus.
"Please, just call me Sycamore," said Professor Sycamore. "It was good to meet you, Marcus, and I hope we meet again in future. Good luck on your Gym Battles."
With more gratitudes and goodbyes, Marcus and a scientist were ushered into the elevator, and from there it was a quick ride to the first floor. The scientist, judging by how quickly she moved to a bizarre-looking machine over at the nearby wall, was clearly intending to get this done as fast as possible.
"Place the Pokeball containing your Pokemon you wish to be transferred in this slot, and the Pokeball you wish to transfer it to in this slot," the scientist explained.
Meditite sighed with anticipation as Marcus recalled her into her Pokeball. She felt it shift around her as Marcus placed it into the machine, and tensed, wondering if the machine would hurt too much.
A ka-chunk indicated the pull of a lever, and Meditite felt an odd sensation as she was instantaneously transferred between Pokeballs.
Oh.
Wow.
That was the only thing that her mind could muster as she felt her new surroundings. She'd never felt Pokeballs were uncomfortable, but compared to this…
The entire interior of the Luxury Ball was filled with a strange gel that immediately formed around Meditite, taking shape to mold perfectly to her posture. Experimentally, she leaned her head back, and the gel allowed her, remolding to almost instantly adjust to her new shape. The gel did not feel sticky at all; it felt soft, like a plush cushion, but rigid enough to hold Meditite up. And it felt as if it were the perfect temperature; not too warm, not too cold, just the temperature of a cool summer's day.
Compared to the inside of the Pokeball, this was bliss. It was so comfortable, in fact, that when she was released, for the first time in her life she felt a flash of sadness at being away from the Pokeball.
"How was it?" Shellder asked.
Meditite smiled broadly. "All I'm saying is, you have to try it."
The rest of the transfers only took five more minutes; one after another, Skorupi, Kriesh, and Shellder all emerged, sighing in comfort and clearly wishing they could have stayed in there longer. With that, the scientist ushered Marcus out of Sycamore Pokemon Labs.
"So," said Marcus as soon as they were outside, "we're going to need to rematch Grant. I'm taking Meditite and Shellder in, of course; just because we don't want to rely on type advantage doesn't mean we're not going to use it. That leaves Kriesh and Skorupi; which one of you would prefer to go in?"
"Ah've got some unfinished business in there, mahself," Skorupi answered.
"Fine by me," said Kriesh. "I'd rather…not return there, if you get my meaning."
The two of them turned back towards Marcus, and Kriesh gestured to Skorupi with her beak. The Scorpion Pokemon nodded in agreement.
"All right, then," said Marcus. "Let's get out of Lumiose and find a good spot to train. Because we definitely aren't going back into that gym without some preparation."
Training spots were plentiful just outside Lumiose, and in no time at all the team had found an empty field in which to practice.
Meditite was quickly tasked with refining the move she'd used to block Crusher's Giga Impact, which Marcus referred to as Force Palm. She preferred Fighting Strike. As Marcus explained, part of the reason the move had broken her arms the first time was that she'd had to muster an absurd amount of Fighting energy, and the uncontrolled discharge of that energy had done as much damage to her as the Ursaring's attack. So now the task was to control the amount of energy that she imbued into the attack, allowing it to do damage without shattering her bones in the process.
About ten feet away, Marcus was working through Kriesh's large list of moves. So far they'd been through Earth Impact, Claw Impact, Beak Impact, Multi-Beak Impact, Flurry Impact, and Sky Impact, and were now looking at Beam Impact. (Meditite couldn't help but wonder what the theme of Kriesh's attacks could possibly be.) Kriesh was easily the strongest of the team in terms of raw power, especially with Beam Impact, which she'd clearly practiced enough that she could fire off quite a few of them. But the Fearow was also somewhat lacking in the endurance department; as Meditite had seen during Kriesh's fight with Ripper, if she couldn't end a fight quickly she rapidly tired.
Of course, as Meditite had to shield her eyes from another Beam Impact that struck a nearby boulder hard enough to flip it over, Kriesh was fairly good at ending fights quickly.
Beyond Kriesh, Skorupi and Shellder were practicing a mock fight. Shellder was working on Icicle Spear, a move that had come to him quickly and naturally. Ice Flurry, as the Shell Pokemon called it, allowed Shellder to fire off a burst of Ice-type projectiles in a similar fashion to Skorupi's Pin Missile. Indeed, the two of them were firing off Icicle Spears and Pin Missiles at one another, dodging or withdrawing to avoid the others' attacks. As Meditite watched them more closely, Skorupi hurled herself out of the way of an Ice Flurry and lunged. "Rend," he growled, jaws glistening with Bug energy.
Marcus was insisting that Skorupi learned how to imbue his attacks with Bug, Poison, or Dark energy interchangeably, giving the Scorpion Pokemon more versatility in his battling. In Meditite's mind, versatility was a rather strange way of putting it considering Skorupi's entire fighting style remained the same regardless of what type of energy he used, but she wouldn't argue with Marcus on that front.
As Skorupi lunged with jaws ready to pierce through Shellder's shell, the Shell Pokemon screwed up his eyes in concentration. "Impenetrable Shell!" A barrier that seemed to take the form of a larger version of Shellder's shell sprang up between Skorupi and Shellder. Skorupi slammed straight into the shell and bounced off with a small crackle of energy. He managed to roll over in midair and landed on his feet, letting out a snarl before lunging again.
That move was something Marcus called Protect, which, as he described it, took a different form for whichever Pokemon used it. But, regardless of form, Protect had the same function for every Pokemon that knew it; to serve as a nigh-impenetrable barrier that could block attacks from even Pokemon vastly stronger than the user.
Protect was odd in that a skilled Pokemon could easily work around a Protect from an unskilled user, but a Pokemon skilled in the use of Protect was very hard to even touch. At this point, the only thing Skorupi could do to get past Shellder's defense was to maintain offensive pressure. Protect was a brilliant defensive move, but it was also quite draining, and throwing multiple Protect barriers up in quick succession was immensely difficult even for an experienced, well-trained Pokemon and flat-out impossible for most.
Meditite tore her attention from the fight and focused back on her task. A small pebble sat in front of her, its gray exterior shining in the sunlight.
"Fighting Strike." Meditite drew back an open palm, gathering Fighting energy into it, and struck forwards, slamming her palm into the pebble.
"Gah!" She stumbled backwards, cradling her wrist and glaring at the pebble. It was shattered, several pieces of ruined rock lying limp on the ground.
Too much power.
Meditite sat down, clutching her wrist as the pain began to ease; thankfully, no bones had broken this time. When the pain had mostly gone, she stood up, walked over to the stack of about a dozen pebbles sitting nearby, plucked one from the top, and set it down in a new spot.
She glanced around at the eight other ruined pebbles strewn about the field, some broken like the most recent one, others with small, hairline cracks that were not nearly what she was looking for.
Why was this so difficult? She'd mastered Fighting Trip without too much effort. Though, come to think of it, Fighting Trip was much easier; it was merely a tripping attack with a little Fighting energy thrown in to more easily propel the opponent's legs away. This, on the other hand, was meant to be a brutal, devastating strike that used as much Fighting energy as Meditite could muster without breaking half the bones in her body in the process. It was a balance that was proving very difficult to find.
"Meditite!" Marcus's voice called from the other side of the clearing. Meditite glanced around to look at the Trainer. "Can you and Kriesh duel? I'd like to gauge how that works out."
Meditite shuddered slightly even as she walked over, remembering how Kriesh had beaten both her and Skorupi last time they fought. Then again, in that fight they'd been trying to take Kriesh on in a straight power struggle. Kriesh had been in control of that fight from the very start.
This time, Meditite knew how to fight her.
Kriesh rose up, flaring her wings. "I won't-"
"Yeah," said Meditite. "Don't."
"Begin!" Marcus shouted.
"Flurry Impact!" Kriesh opened up her beak and fired off a pair of rays of Dark energy, swirling in midair as they arced towards Meditite.
Kriesh hadn't used Flurry Impact in any fights before this; Meditite had only learned about the technique from watching her and Marcus practice only a few minutes ago. It was obvious the Fearow preferred the raw power of Beam Impact over the more difficult-to-avoid but weaker Flurry Impact; the fact that she'd led off with the latter over the former was a sign that Marcus had already found something for Kriesh to work on, despite the Fearow's greater experience.
"Psychic Dodge!" Even as Meditite lunged forwards, flipping over the rays as they streaked under her, she knew that would not throw them off. Indeed, the rays arced backwards and flew at Meditite's back even as she rushed Kriesh.
Pursuit, the name Marcus gave the technique, was for once a very accurate name for it, compared to many of the Trainers' weird names for techniques. Skorupi had it too, although he stylized it as No Escape, but he could only fire off one ray at a time, whereas Meditite had seen Kriesh manage three at once.
Meditite grunted and began pouring Fighting energy into her right hand. She drew a hand back, not imbuing it with Fighting energy just yet, lunging for Kriesh even as the Flurry Impact closed in on her.
"Sky Impact!" Kriesh responded in kind, gathering Flying energy around her body and hurling herself forwards.
Meditite now closed her eyes. Force Palm was not the only thing she'd been working on; for a few days now she'd entertained the possibility of combining Psychic Dodge with Psychic Calm, the theory being that with Psychic Dodge her mind instinctively allowed her to shift out of the way of an attack even as Meditite focused her psychic power and improved her mental stamina with Psychic Calm. Meditite focused, hearing the air shift from both front and back as Kriesh and her Flurry Impact closed in on her.
"Psychic Avoidance."
Meditite felt her body jink to the side, felt a rush of air as Kriesh landed next to her. Then the Flurry Impact struck her, and she felt her mind jolt uncomfortably as the Dark energy ruined her mental focus. Gasping, Meditite opened her eyes again.
Psychic Avoidance had worked, at least partially, but without all of her senses dodging all of Kriesh's attacks had been too much for instinct alone.
Kriesh did not let up, twisting to face Meditite. "Multi-Beak Impact!" she cried, stabbing her beak forwards as she did so.
Meditite at once was forced onto the defensive once more, blocking the strike with a single fist. Kriesh pressed, stabbing again and again and again with her beak. Each strike Meditite barely blocked; she could feel her hands aching from blocking that sharp beak, but she knew that if that beak hit her directly it would hurt a lot worse.
But Meditite also knew that sooner or later, Kriesh would find a way past her guard. So, even as she swatted another stab of Kriesh's beak away, Meditite drew her other hand back, imbuing it with Fighting energy. "Fighting Strike!"
Kriesh stabbed forwards again, and this time Meditite met the strike with her own. A crack sounded, loud enough for Skorupi and Shellder to pause their fight and look over. Kriesh recoiled, shaking her head to clear the sharp pain shooting through her beak, but Meditite had to step back as well; again, she'd poured too much power into the strike, and her wrist was loudly protesting that.
Despite the pain, Meditite took the opportunity to fire off a Psychic Blast at the staggering Kriesh even as she cradled her hand and waited for the agony to subside. The attack struck true, eliciting a pained grunt, but now Kriesh snapped her head up, eyes flaring with rage.
"Beam Impact!"
Again, Meditite slipped into a meditative trance. With only one attack coming at her this time, her new combination should work.
"Psychic Avoidance!"
She felt the heat of the blast pass inches from her face, but the fact that she wasn't immediately tossed like a leaf in the wind proved that the technique had served its intended purpose.
She opened her eyes in time to see Kriesh leaping towards her again. "Earth Impact!"
There was no time to go back into her meditation. "Psychic Dodge!" Meditite cried, hurling herself into the air as she did so. Thankfully, her body and mind complied, sending her over Kriesh as she ripped through the earth. Meditite landed on her feet. "Psychic Blast!" she cried, sending another wave of Psychic energy at Kriesh.
But the Fearow rounded on Meditite faster than she'd expected. "Flurry Impact!"
Three beams of Dark energy poured from Kriesh's beak. They soared directly into the Psychic Blast, reducing it to nothingness, and then burst out in three directions.
Meditite was already rushing towards Kriesh, knowing the beams would converge on her, and knowing that she had very few ways of dealing with them; even Psychic Dodge would run out eventually. An idea had come into her head with that last Flurry Impact; it would be difficult, but if Meditite aimed it just right…
"Sky Impact!" Again Kriesh rushed Meditite. Meditite grinned as she felt the beams converging on her back, beheld Kriesh lunging straight at Meditite, in the air this time to give Meditite a worse angle.
"Psychic Dodge!"
Meditite slid forward, ducking smoothly under Kriesh as the Fearow landed on the ground. And, exactly as Meditite had planned it, Kriesh landed right in front of her own Flurry Impact.
Three successive impacts sent Kriesh reeling. But Meditite was now beginning to feel the strain of all those quick Psychic Dodges; even if combining it with Psychic Calm helped a little, doing so many within only a few seconds of each other was still taxing.
And though Kriesh looked tired and injured as she spun to face Meditite, she still looked battle-ready. "Beak Impact!" she cried; it was clear from the near-opening her beak did before she charged that she'd been planning another Beam Impact, before remembering at the last moment how that had failed her last time.
"Fighting Strike!" Meditite gathered Fighting energy into her palm again. She had to get this stupid technique down.
Then Kriesh smirked. "Sky Impact!"
All of a sudden, Kriesh was up in the air, wings beating strongly. Meditite's Fighting Strike hit empty air as Kriesh sailed over her head. Then, with astonishing speed, Kriesh flipped over and came back down, aiming right for the small of Meditite's back.
"Psychic Dodge!" Meditite screamed, but even that was not entirely enough. Meditite felt Kriesh's beak rip a line down her back as the Fearow arced into a smooth landing, her claws tearing into the earth as she skidded several feet.
"Beam Impact!" Kriesh cried, rounding on Meditite again.
Meditite grimaced; Kriesh had outplayed her. Another Psychic Dodge or even a Psychic Avoidance so immediately after this first one would run the risk of overtaxing her already strained mental abilities, and Meditite could see that Kriesh was already gathering for another charge that a Psychic Dodge would put her right in the path of, but there was no other way to dodge the stream of energy coming at her.
"Psychic Endurance!" Meditite cried, bracing herself for the explosion of pain.
It didn't come. "Shellder, Protect!"
"Impenetrable Shell!"
Energy burst against energy, and the Beam Impact ricocheted off harmlessly into the sky. Meditite and Kriesh both stopped completely, staring at Shellder as he dispersed the Protect.
"I'm not planning to push you to the brink of unconsciousness just for a practice battle," Marcus remarked. "The fact that you were forced into doing that told me all I needed to know about how the rest of the battle would go; either you took out Kriesh with Bide, or she'd easily finish you off with your Psychic abilities neutered."
Meditite nodded reluctantly, though as she looked over at Kriesh, she was cheered up by how badly Kriesh was panting; if Meditite had been able to last for just another few attacks, she might have actually had a chance of winning that fight.
"Kriesh, good adaptation," Marcus complimented. "You're getting better with Pursuit and at chaining attacks. And Meditite, that was excellent dodging and improvisation on your part. Shellder, Skorupi, come over here, please. I'd like to see your dodging capabilities…"
Meditite allowed herself a few more seconds of relief before she turned back towards her stack of pebbles. Where had she placed that last one?
"Did you need to use Psychic energy to dodge all those attacks?"
Meditite turned back towards Kriesh. "No," she admitted. "I could probably have dodged a couple of those without using Psychic energy. But I can't strengthen my mental reserves if I don't push them to their limits."
Kriesh nodded in acceptance. "I should go back to practicing myself," she said, moving to do that very thing.
"Kriesh?"
"What?" the Fearow asked, not turning around.
"I just want you to know," said Meditite, "that I'm glad to have you on the team."
Kriesh allowed an honest smile to come to her face. "Thank you," she said, and it seemed to Meditite that the Fearow moved a little more smoothly as she returned to her solo practicing.