First of all, Happy New Year, everyone! Let's leave all sorrows behind and move forward with determination in your heart. Apologies for updating so late. I am not able to find much time for writing, but still aim to continue and finish this. Let's just have a small two-part filler before we move to Kalos for new adventures. A little thing I have spiced up by having Ash train May's Pokémon here, and maybe continue to do so and vice versa.
Location: Ash's manor, Mount Silver.
They lay spent in the afterglow, bodies entwined, not wanting to leave each other's warm coital embrace. The sight of her naked body in the aftermath excited him. Staring deep into each other's eyes, they lay for a while. They were dishevelled.
"That…was…amazing…." May struggled with a breath, as Ash pulled himself out of her, and rolled over messily next to her, catching his breath.
"Yep…that real…really…was…(pant)…in…(huff)…intense…" Ash finished, swilling down, emptying the bottle totally. "Phew!" he wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Man, I feel like we are getting better each time. If we keep at it, maybe we can co-author a few pages of the Kamasutra, know what I'm sayin."
"Sure, my name on a sex manual. Huge publicity in the Contest Circuit," May scoffed, tiredly lolled her head into the pillow.
"Yeah, doesn't sound too appealing," Ash joked, "Oh, I almost forgot!" his brows shot up as he twisted, and reached for the night stand. His body ached mildly upon stretching his hand.
"What have you got there?" May asked with a little built curiosity, however, she was too exhausted to raise herself up.
"Here!" Ash flashed a goofy smile, revealing a glossy rosewood veneer necklace box. "Something I picked up from Sinnoh last week."
May incredulously looked at the box, as she leaned herself against the bed rest. Pursing her lips, she lifted the lid of the box, and a blast of sparkle met her eyes. The box sheltered a pendant, the symbol of virtues interwoven. The necklace featured a heart-shaped crystal in a stunning shade of blue, reminiscent of the ocean, faceted to create a sparkling and dazzling effect when light reflected off of it. The silver chain was polished to a high shine adding to the overall elegance and sophistication of the design.
Ash smiled as wildly as he could at May, who silently kept staring at the jewellery, but didn't utter a word. Sensing something was wrong, his smile shrivelled in a downward curve.
"You don't like it?"
Realizing she was zoned out, she flustered, denying the assumption, "No, no. That's not it. It's really gorgeous!"
"That's okay. If you wanna exchange it, I've the receipt." He placed an assuring hand on her shoulder instead. "For now, how about I just give you some cash instead?"
Shooting him the dirtiest look that was last used against Team Rocket, she clenched her teeth, "I'd rather keep the gift instead."
"Then what's eating you up? You used to be so hyphy when I bought you something."
"I am kinda wondering about it too, you know." May hung her head, admiring the pendant one last time before closing the lid, "Maybe because you bought me so much expensive stuff, I just lost the buzz of being excited anymore. Anyways, what's this for?"
"Don't tell me you don't know." Ash puffed a cheek, insensitively hurt, "This is the 100th time we had did the dirty deed."
May rolled her eyes, arguably defeated. "Ash, babe. Again, you don't have to buy me stuff every time we fuck."
"Well, forgive me for thinking 100 is a special occasion! It's an achievement of our love!" Ash debated.
"Well, thanks for putting milestones in our relationship," May chuckled, elbowing him playfully. "Must have been expensive, right?"
"Couldn't help myself from buying that, ya know." Ash gave a passionate grin on his visage, propelling himself on the bed on an elbow. "I like pampering my woman." He pinched her cheek.
"I kinda deserve to be pampered, don't I?" May placed her pride on her nose, snickering contemptuously.
"It's not just a gift you know. It's my way of showing you how much I appreciate you in my life." He reached for her hand, placing his over hers.
"And you also make me feel bad for not returning the appreciation…" May charged.
"Well, on the contrary, you do…"
"No Ash." May cut him off, placing a hand over his running mouth, "Please spare the dirty talk. I can't go another round again!"
"Kinda hard to suppress when you are stark naked with me here." He quipped, lifting the covers to take a peek.
May yanked the covers down with a puckered lips. "Okay can't blame any of us for that. But since we are on the matter of the subject and recovering…," the volume of her tone stooped. "Do you ever wonder what are we gonna do about us?"
Nonplussed by the question, Ash answered in a way that would best avoid a confrontation, "My best guess that comes after an engagement is a happy marriage, stronger commitment, starting a family, and then an early retirement…and lots and lots of sex!"
"There!" May held up an accusing finger at him, "See, sex is the main problem here!"
Ash knitted his brows, a little dumbfounded, "Well, sex is a little necessary procedure to start a family, May."
"That's not what I am talking about, Ash," May moaned, beginning a rant. "Ever since we have started dating, it's been the same thing over and over. Every time we stay at hotels, we wanna have sex. Every time I buy new lingerie, we wanna have sex. Every time you win a battle, I get all horny and wanna have sex. OUR Pokémon learns a new move, we celebrate with sex. We can't even tie our shoelaces in front of one another! It's becoming a part of routine now."
"Hold on," Ash retorted, "Sex after my battles was your idea!"
"I know!" May shook her head, "I am not exactly regretting it, but I think we should slow down. I mean don't you think we are having sex too often? Like, have we been too promiscuous with one another?"
Ash's pupils climbed up, and he lost himself in a train of thought.
Flashback #1: May placed the fresh whites from the drier into the basket and turned around, only to be startled and drop the basket on the floor, making the clothes litter out. She was greeted by a fully naked Ash, leaning himself against the doorframe.
"I just sent Henry out for some supplies. We got an hour! I'm gonna take you right here on the washing machine!"
Coyly smirking at the idea, May leaped at him, unbuttoning her blouse.
Flashback #2: "Man! I hate management meetings." Ash exasperated, opening the door with a laptop in hand. A swoosh rung in his ears, before he found his neck wrapped in a thick rope of a whip, the hilt of which was held by May, dressed in black latex slinky romper bodysuit, with fishnet tights.
Seductively biting her lips, May pulled her prisoner towards her, tightening the grip on his neck, "I have been a bad kitty…"
"Shoot…I forgot to turn off the mic…"
Flashback #3
"I really don't think we are doing this correctly, May…"
Whack!
"Ow!"
"That's Professor May for you! First you cheat on the test and then you address me by name!" May crossed her arms across her chest, and held tightly to the cane in her hand.
"I am sorry, Professor. It won't happen again," Ash pleaded.
"I am sorry, but that doesn't change anything." 'Professor' May strictly denied. "It was your fault."
"Please, professor. I'll do anything. Please don't report me."
"Anything?" May snorted, "Like what?"
"I'll clean your room, or run your errands. Please anything but report me."
"Desperate, I see," May smirked, upping her glasses on her nose, "Very well," she rubbed the cane in her hands, "I won't report you, but I get to choose your punishment, Miss Ketchum."
Grumbling, Ash righted himself, "Do I always have to play the naughty school-girl, May?"
"Ash? Yes or No!" May shook his shoulder, perturbing the most vivid memories of his life. "Do you think we have been boning a lot lately?"
"Well, we were at 97 yesterday and we are 100 today, so I am gonna go out on a limb and say 'Yes'." Ash conceded.
"It's so weird that you are keeping count of this stuff." May grimaced, slapping his arm.
"How am I supposed to brag?" Ash whined.
"You are NOT supposed to brag about our sex life to ANYONE at all!"
"Well, too late. Now thanks to you, I have to look Brock in the eyes and lie. Hope you're happy!" Ash huffed, and crossed his arms, looking away from May.
May pressed her temples stressfully and sighed. "Okay, now I'll keep talking and you'll just agree. We really have a problem here. I think we have been banging each other a lot, like sex is the only entertainment in our relationship. If we continue like this, sex just won't be special anymore. I feel like we need to preserve our intimacy and do something that takes our minds off sex."
"You mean sex is off the table for a while?" Ash gasped.
"Sweetie, I really wanna keep having sex, but we really need to put this on hold for a while," May reckoned, hoping Ash would click on the idea, "We just need to find other ways for intimacy besides sex, at least until we evolve our relationship to the next level."
"Next level?" Ash gawked incredulously, "Since when has our relationship become a Pokémon?"
"Babe, this is really important. I am trying to preserve our relationship here. If we don't act on it, this will have a gruesome effect on our marriage," May inferred. "Can't you do this for me?"
"I guess you're right," Ash agreed with reluctance, "So how long you wanna postpone sex?"
"Maybe eight weeks?" May presented tentatively.
"Torture!" Ash cried; eyes widened enough to pop from their socket.
"Six?"
"I can't live that long without sex!"
"Four?"
"This is a very dumb challenge!"
"Two…"
"…"
"One?! You're horrible!"
"It's a like a decade for my penis!"
"Okay, hun. You gotta work with me here. Simply sex will effectively spoil our healthy relationship. We should just focus on something that brings us closer."
"Hello?" (Ash points at each other's genitals) "We are already there!"
"I am just proposing that we pause for a while, try to be more comfortable with our intimacy. Trust me, this idea will just make our sex life even better in the long run."
(after a long thought) "Well, I do trust you, and I have always been supportive of your decisions. And come to think of it, I don't think I can go 101 either. But that could be because I already came four times today."
"And you had to creep it." (May hangs her head) "Okay, first rule is that we don't talk about sex or use say stuff that makes us think about sex."
"You are making it hard for me!" Ash complained. "Oops, now I am thinking about sex."
"Honey, I know it's hard now, but the longer it gets the better." May whined, only for her to hang her head frustratingly "I am not exactly helping, am I?"
"Nope."
"Ughh…I don't know how can I make this any straighter!" she thumped her hand hard on the bed, "I am afraid we'll blow this."
"Umm…still in that zone, May."
"This is really huge for both of us, Ash. I alone can't do my part. I'll need you on this too," May pressed.
"May, I think it's so sweet that you try, but I get the picture, so you can stop. So, what do you propose?"
"We take out the calendar again." May beamed, "We haven't seen a movie in a long time. Or just go to the park. Or go hiking. Or tried something new."
"New? Maybe I can teach you driving…" Ash suggested.
"Hmm…it's a good start. I have always wanted to learn driving," May pondered, looking at the ceiling "And maybe, I can teach you blogging. I love that stuff."
"We could go see that battle in the Silver Conference!"
"And a Contest too!"
"We can go wine tasting!"
"And Ice skating!"
"We can have a couples photo shoot!"
"We can join a book club!"
"We can learn salsa!"
"We can play vintage video games! Hey, this stuff is growing on me!" Ash exclaimed "You know what would be really cool. For a week, I train your Pokémon, and you train mine!"
"We train each other's Pokémon, huh?" May hesitantly scratched her cheek, musing over the idea, "Not a bad experiment. Your Pokémon could use some of my combinations and my Pokémon could really get some tutoring from a Champion. And…let's set a hurdle."
"Hurdle?" Ash cocked a brow.
"Yeah, let's spice it up a little." May cozied against him.
"Ooh…" Ash rubbed his hands, "I like the sound of that."
"The restrictions may slowly come down if we achieve our hurdles, you know, like training each other's Pokémon , learning a new activity together, doing some chores together, maybe watch a movie together…" she whispered in his ear.
"And what if we achieve all the goals?"
"Then I won't be saying 'wrong hole' anymore," she pressed a kiss against his cheek.
"Oh! Now I wanna do that so bad! Alright!" he accepted, "Starting tomorrow, I train your one of your Pokémon for 10 days! And we can do the other stuff in the evenings!"
"Deal! Any questions?" May accepted his hand and shook it, before sliding her leg towards the edge of the bed.
"Ummm…" Ash raised an index finger, "Will we…"
"Kiss, yes. Shower together, no."
"Okay…a little hurtful…will we…"
"Hug, yes. Grope, no."
"Ouchie…but can we at least…"
"Walk around in underwear, yes. Wear each other's underwear, No."
"Okay, there's a knife in the first drawer of the nightstand. Can you just stab me a second time in the heart," Ash grumbled, blowing his bangs from his face.
Kissing his cheek, May rubbed her nose with his, "Glad that you understand, I'm just gonna go take a leak." May slid off the bed, trudging towards the bathroom completely naked. "You're staring at my ass, aren't you?"
"Just imprinting it in my memory!"
Day 1:
What better place to train or start something in fresh mountain air and lush rolling valleys of Mount Silver? It was totally worth waking up at the crack of dawn. Standing before the small storage room at a few meters distance from the house, Ash took a deep breath. Today, he was testing himself as a trainer. True to his profession, he had trained numerous Pokémon throughout the years, but their purpose shared with his. He was up last night framing new methodologies to train May's Pokémon . He couldn't put them through the vigorous training his Pokémon would go through, but maybe…a new kind of training would benefit himself.
Rolling a Poke ball from his hands, the capsule spilled the contents and morphed them into a ditzy little feline.
"Nyaa!" Skitty leaped out and began chasing her own set of tails in circles. It was a perfect time to play Skitty thought, however the chorus of other Poke Balls bursting never arrived. Strange! Ceasing her silly prancing, the cat curled her squinty eyes, finding no one but one man towering over her, sipping something from a cup. Where was her trainer? She wondered.
Watching the curiosity etch off her face, a low, fatherly chuckle passed Ash's mouth, "Don't worry about May, Skits. She's sound asleep." Placing a gentle hand over feline's head, the trainer assured her, "You maybe wondering why I brought you here, don't you?"
"Nya!" A frantic nod was the single answer, after Skitty licked his palm.
Retracting his hand, Ash cooed, stifling his laughter, "You and I will be training for a while now. May says there's big contest coming up and she wants you in it."
"Nyaa!" the cat beamed with excitement and intrigue.
"Yep, gets your juices flowing, doesn't it?" Ash stood back up, facing the glowing valleys. "You know, Skitty. There's something magical about sunrise here in Mount Silver. They say it brings rays of hope. Let's take it as a sign of good luck, shall we?"
"Nyaa!" the kitten nudged her head against his leg.
A symphony of golden hues unfolded as the sun drew nigh, painting the sky with an orange embrace. A gentle winds began whispering through the dew kissed blades of grass. Nature was stirring up with a sigh. A tapestry of beauty unfurled, and the duo's spirits soared with positivity, ready to thrive.
Ash exhaled with gratification, looking below at the Kitten Pokémon. "That was a real mood setter, wasn't it?"
"Nya!"
"Alright!" Ash took another sip of his coffee, "What do you say we begin our day by playing some games? You like games, don't you?"
Skitty bobbed her head furiously, nodding affirmatively in resolution.
"Alright!" Ash pumped his hand, turning it over to the small wooden room in front of them. "This is the storage room, where I keep all the toys. Why don't you go inside and see what interests you?"
"Nya!" Skitty nearly jumped in front of the wooden dooring, impatiently waiting as Ash opened the door for her. She bounced inside, as Ash flicked over the switch, bringing some light into the room, the orange bringing everything in the feline's vision. Squinty eyes searched buoyantly for a ball or any round object, but all she found was boxes of tools neatly stacked on shelves. Come to think about it, playing right at the kick off of the morning was seeming a little suspicious. Before she could confirm her suspicions, she heard a flick and the room was engulfed in darkness. A slam of the door followed!
"Nya!?"
Was she just deceived in a dark room?
"Don't worry Skitty," a voice came from the other end of the door, if she could locate where the door was. "This is Game one. You need to find yourself out of that room."
A game he says! What part of this sounds like fun? What's worse, her trainer isn't even up knowing what was happening!
She lunged towards the door, tackling it with all her might, but was rebounded back, toppling on her head.
"Nya…" the kitten whimpered, sniffling. She frantically looked around, but couldn't find anything helpful in the dark. She wasn't exactly nocturnal, but did have a little of excellent ability to see in the dark. She sniffed for something, but hammers and plunges weren't exactly getting her out of this situation. What could she do enclosed in such a small room? Her Assist could be self-injuring; and she couldn't freeze it with her Blizzard, not could she crisp the room with Thunderbolt.
Few minutes passed…as Skitty sat still, plotting for some ideas.
Though there was no light in the room, her other senses were peaked. She could hear the wind breezing outside. She could smell the fragrance of fresh soil. She moaned, nibbling the ground with her paw. What would have May done if she…wait a minute? The ground?! This sad room didn't have a floor?! Why didn't she notice it before?
Ash tried to calm his nerves, sipping the last of his coffee, closely watching the door of the storage room. Was it too harsh to trick Skitty in a dark room alone? The kitten was only so brave. He wondered if she was alright and hadn't been too scared. His hand dug into his pocket to pull out the key however, he felt a disturbance into the ground in front of his feet.
Softly surfacing from the hole, she proudly burrowed, Skitty's head poked up. "Nya!"
Shooting her a proud smile, Ash set the mug on the ground, and picked the kitten up in his arms, dusting her fur up, "I apologize, Skitty." He rubbed her back, "It wasn't a test, but a lesson."
"Nya?" the little one peered up at her trainer's fiancé, finding his frown to be quite a serious one.
"I just wanted to put you in May's shoes. It's imperative for a Coordinator and Pokémon to understand what's going on in each other's mind. Without that proper synchronization can't be achieved. If you hadn't gotten creative, you would have stuck there a little longer until I unlocked the door and let you out," Ash explained, "You know it more than me, Skitty, that contest battles are exactly like that. An opponent will try to push you to the end of your rope. It's all lost until you get creative at the last minute. You understand what I am saying?"
"Nya!" the kitten mewled, licking Ash's paw.
The co-owner was right! She never comprehended the pressure May would go through those five minutes.
"And a second lesson you might wanna know, is that it's not always the Coordinator pulling the strings from battle spot. Sometimes, a Pokémon needs to call the shots too. If May trusts you completely, she'll trust your judgement as well." Ash taught, setting the kitten down, "because in a battle, a Coordinator and a Pokémon's spirit become one. Winning and losing won't matter then."
"Nya!"
"Alright!" Ash cheered, the memories of him training his Pokémon returning to full force, "Now, do you like Ping-Pong?"
7:30 am
Two Pokémon, one on each side of the large poorly carved rectangular slab of wood, were going full steam in a singles match, hitting the sphere back and forth with their appendages.
"Ten-zero! Match point!" Ash cockily announced, making Skitty look much less confident. Swellow on the other hand, spanned its wings and chirped buoyantly.
Ash tossed the ball on the table again on Skitty's side, as she served the petite ball with her tails, tapping it across the table. The avian simply slapped it back with a hard wing, smashing it to the opposite end. The feline gawked, missing her chance, and ball blazed underneath her side easily.
"Match!" Ash exercised his verdict, dropping a hand towards Swellow's side. The bird pecked its beak into the tip of her feathers and cawed, while Skitty mewled disappointedly. This was the fourth game. She wasn't getting anywhere with Swellow. Come to think of it, how did Swellow ever become an expert at ping pong?
"Don't be so down, Skitty," Ash assured encouragingly, "You can't be an expert at Ping Pong in a day, but you can definitely learn how to play the sport. You wanna go another round? Let's just have the match for one point, alright?"
"Nya…" the feline tiredly picked herself up, swaying her tail. She batted the ball hard to kick off, both Pokémon exchanging hits at impressive pace, neither showing any signs of slowing down. Ash watched the match with meticulous eyes, studying every bodily movement of the pink kitten. Finally, after dozens of back-and-forth hits, Swellow struck the ball at a calculated curve, the little sphere flew past Skitty's eyes, winning the battle for the Flying-Type.
"Swell!" the bird beat its wings in triumph.
"nya…" the kitten whined, tired of Swellow's consecutive celebrations, and peered over at Ash, who fought back a smile. This game wasn't half the fun she thought it would be…
"I know," Ash held a bright smile, "You probably frustrated, aren't you?"
"nya…" the kitten hung her head low.
"I see the excitement of the game has left you," Ash eagerly stepped up towards her side of the table, taking a seat on it, and driving a hand to stroke the kitten's head, "Maybe because all you can think of is how you can beat Swellow, isn't it?"
"Nya…" the kitten shamefully agreed.
"Exactly the rookie mistake I expected you to do," Ash chuckled with a parental grin.
"nya?" the normal type raised her head up at the trainer.
"Your mind should only focus on the ball, not the one who's on the other end of the table," Ash calmly explained, "You have to learn how to read the ball, where is it coming from, which side of the table will it land, and precisely when do you strike it. You see, Skitty, Contest Battles are a lot like Ping Pong. The table is the Stage, the player is the Coordinator, and the paddle is the Pokémon. In both games, there needs to be a coordination between the mind, eyes, and the body. On a stage, your opponent will try to throw everything at you, and there, you can run or hit back with your power. Come on," Ash stood back up energetically, "let me help you up on this one." He took a place behind Skitty's end, ready to coach her.
"Nya?"
"You ready?" Ash offered an encouraging smile.
The augmented kitten turned towards her opponent and looked ready as ever, feeling determined. Ash swung the small ball towards Swellow with precision, and the readied bird batted it back with a swift hit.
"That could be an Energy Ball, Skitty. Time's ticking. The whole crowd's silent. Behind you, May's nervous. The opponent is leading on points. If that Energy Ball hits you, it's over. What would you do Skitty?" Ash whispered softly behind the kitten.
The kitten frowned, her squinty eyes narrowing. Her legs bounded off from the table, her tail was coated with the power of Double-Slap. She acted on Ash's timing and swung hard with her might, expertly slapping the ball back at the table which bounced off towards Swellow.
Ash smirked approvingly, eyes noticing the small dent created on the table.
Swellow's swift hit came quickly towards Skitty, and the cat easily shifted her posture and returned the strike, whereupon the bird redirected it back with a wing. They exchanged hits for a few minutes, until Swellow delivered a smashing hit that blazed past Skitty.
"One-zero." Ash said.
But this time, Skitty no longer whined and was instead riled up. The second rally again turned out to be in Swellow's favour, and the match began to fly after that, eventually landing Swellow with a 7-0 lead. But she had found her stride by then, and was quickly adjusting to Swellow's speed and movements. She was quickly adapting to the ball, and not to mention was enjoying different hypothesis Ash was putting her in.
"The opponent has read you completely, Skitty. She knows every one of your moves. She's countered them all and struck back. One minute left on the clock Skitty. The only way to win is knock your opponent out. Your body is changing, your power is surging, you just learnt a new move! Now what are you gonna do?"
Sweat poured down Skitty's forehead as her toughened tail smashed the ball hard, driving forth its velocity. The clack echoed through the surroundings as the ball bounded off the table, blazing the ball underneath Swellow's wing.
"Swel?" the bird dumbfoundedly blinked, watching the ball tumble to a stop on the ground.
Overwhelming pride being the only emotion registered on Ash's face, he decided to hold it back and announce the call, "Seven-One. Match Point."
"Nya?"
Ash's eyes flashed open. His eyes fell on the kitten who looked like she was processing something in her mind. Did she figure it out?
The cat kept gazing at the bird at picked up the ball with its beak, and was ready to serve it again. With all the hits she had exchanged with the bird, every one of them were batted with the right-wing when the game entered its critical moment. The left-wing was only being used to serve, but as speed was picking up, Swellow mostly used its right extremity. That could only mean…
Swellow brought up its left wing and tapped the ball towards Skitty, and the two players exchanged several hits for five good minutes, before Skitty whirled around and slammed the ball across the table with good measure of Swellow's left side, forcing Swellow to react quickly. The bird paddled the ball back but at such at angle, the ball simply flew out of bounds without any bounce.
That confirmed Skitty's theory. Swellow's left side was indeed weak. Finding the dent in her opponent's strategy, Skitty mewled, once again chasing her tail.
Watching over the rejoicing kitten, Ash grinned with overcoming pride, "So she figured it out…" His hands drooped down in judgement, "Seven-Two. Match Point."
The two Pokémon executed their strikes, continuing the rally for well over two dozen turns, before Swellow hit the ball that was barely touched by Skitty's tail, ultimately flying out of bounds, without bouncing on the table beforehand.
"Eleven-Five! That's the match. Swellow wins."
Of course, a little less elated than Swellow, though knowing she was perfectly okay being defeated. All that matters was she was having fun. She hopped off the slab, eager to fetch the ball, and go another rally.
"I think that's enough for today, Skitty," Ash stepped up in front of the kitten.
"Nya?" the Normal Type lamented. Why did this man have to be a joy-killer?
"I know you wanna play more, but you won't be able to win it all today," Ash gently smiled, picking up the kitten in his arms, and turned her around to glance at Swellow, who looked like it was catching up breath, "You figured out Swellow's weakness and even pushed him to his limits. Great job for day one."
"Nya!" she glanced up at the man, finding the comfort in his words and broke into one of her jolly smirks.
"Hmm…let's take a break for now." Ash offered to let the kitten ride in his arms, "Maybe a wash and then some breakfast."
8:30 am,
"Oh, that's right…" Ash's lips pursed, and his head tilted in realization upon hearing the growl emanating from Skitty's mouth, as they approached then small but tranquil lake. "You don't really enjoy dips, do you?"
"Nya…" the kitten shook her head, walking as slowly as possible.
"You gotta freshen up though, after that workout. Not to mention you burrowed out of the ground before." Ash urged. May wouldn't appreciate a dirty coat on her Pokémon. Though she was a pretty Contest star, Skitty's grooming skills didn't require as much as attention as Glaceon did. A bath once in ten days with excessive brushing was all that it took to make Skitty shine.
"Nya…" Skitty still fretted to go into the water, hiding behind Ash's leg.
The other mob of wild Pokémon engrossed themselves in their own activities.
Ash twisted his lips in a frown. Skitty was stubborn, no doubt about it. That was one thing he could expect from the kitten. If she didn't want to, she wouldn't, but…what if she needed to?
Ingenious mind had an ingenious idea, as Ash grinned, leaning down at the timid kitten. "Alright, if you don't want to, I won't force you. Wanna play something instead?"
The feline's face lit up. Ash already had her at play. Frankly, even a battle sounded much better than a wet coat. She hopped chivalrously.
"Alright then," Ash smiled, a little proud of his negotiation. Now for phase two of the plan. Slugging a capsule in the air, that rolled over the grass, it popped open.
"MUUUKKKKKKK!"
The mass of sentient sludge appeared, and oozed its nasty liquid all over the green pastures. It's stench did cause a few Pokémon to scatter cursedly away from the lake. All they wanted to do was enjoy a peaceful bath which doesn't happen with a rancid fetor nearby. Sheepish, Ash rubbed the back of his head and tossed Oak's pill that would intern Muk's smell.
Skitty confusedly tilted her head and blinked at the large purple goo. She had to play with him? And why was it slowly slinking towards them?
She shrieked, fur raising, leaping out of the way, as Ash happily let himself in a wholesome hug, consumed by Muk's grime.
Her fur bristled, as she took a few steps back. What are you doing, you fool? Don't you dare touch me with those disgusting hands now!
"I'm fine, Skitty," Ash laughed as Muk slid off. He straightened up, all the grime cascading down from his lap. "That's just Muk's way of howdy. I'm gonna take a soak anyways, so why don't you guys play catch or something?"
Skitty growled. She detested such a ridiculous idea.
"MUUUKKKKKK!" The poison type chirped, or what could be a happy moan coming out of those parted jowls, as the big sludge pool lunged to capture Skitty in a tight embrace.
"Not in your dreams!" Skitty cried frighteningly, before leaping out of the way.
Resting his elbow on his knee cap, Ash smiled. The plan definitely seemed to work. Skitty's face twisted in horror as Muk buoyantly chased her in a game of catch. She kept scurrying, maintaining a good distance. Well, at least someone was enjoying.
The chase was leaving substantial amount of gunk behind, as Muk passed over. With confidence, Ash found the idea he was looking for, leading to a wide grin on his face. Throwing his hand out, he issued a command to the poison type, "Muk, Mud Bomb!"
What does my trainer see in this man?! The kitten wailed, running from a fate to get contaminated.
"MUKKK!" the sludge monster stopped the pursuit, Muk began to pelt Skitty's trails with a blast of wet earthly energy. The orb exploded right behind the kitten, sending the Normal Typing leap away at a safe distance.
"She does have a good reaction time." Ash mused, massaging his chin.
Skitty grimaced taking notice of the dirt on her paws, and a few grams of muck on her triplets of tail. She scowled at a grinning Ash. "You trickster! There better be an explanation for this!"
Her fur straightened as her pupils caught sight of another mass of mud heading her way. She mewled, hopping back, scared of a splash of brown puddle.
With no Coordinator behind to command, she pressed her paw on the grass, and concentrated. Like a fallen soldier prayed for strength to finish the battle, she chanted and released a shimmering green sphere: Venusaur's Energy Ball.
Muk, a veteran compared to the kitten, spat a barrage of mud bullets that bombarded into the natural energy, and everything burst into a rain of brown water.
Skitty growled, as the pursuit somehow led her towards the bank of the lake. She could already feel her legs burying into the wet moist soil, as she hesitated to take another step backward. At a good twenty-yard distance, Muk spurt waving at her, moaning something encouragingly.
Skitty cocked an inquisitive brow.
"Okay, the stage is set then!" Ash clapped, taking a spot next to the bewildered kitten.
Nya?
"Yep, it is what you think it is!" Ash chirped, kneeling down besides the pink kitten. "Another training drill!"
"Nya! Nya! (I wasn't thinking it at all! Get me out of this mess!" Skitty whimpered.
"I know you aren't in the mood to sully yourself today, Skit. But you won't be getting a pass on a Contest Stage, will you?" he grinned, corruptively.
"Nya…(I hate it when you're right…)" Skitty's scowl softened. He was right. An opponent wouldn't care less about Skitty's hygiene.
"I know you like being in the zone, Skitty." Ash's voice took the role of a mentor, "But if you wanna grow stronger, you need to start fighting those things that make you a lil, iffy. You know," he took a seat on the wet ground besides her, "A few years ago, Snivy had evolved into a Servine right here. Man, she hated being muddy. And that's when I trained her the same way. We created a battling style of our own, so that she doesn't need to worry about stains in a fight. I'll train you the same way…" he brushed Skitty's back.
"Nya? (Really?)
"I'll teach you how to battle without getting soaked, scruffy, or scarred. Your looks are important to you, then I'll teach you to fight like your hygiene is on the line. How does that sound!"
"Nya! (Then I'll do whatever you say!")
"Alright!" Ash cheered, poking her forehead. The duo turned towards Muk, garbling happy chants at them. Wonder what kept the poison type's juices flowing.
"Now look up straight ahead," he revolved a finger in front of Kitty's eyes and directed them towards Muk, something unnecessary but serving the purpose of emphasis. "There's your opponent. Long range attacks won't work on him, so you are left with close combat. There's a road ahead filled with mud. Your opponent is a giant body of sludge. How will you get to him?"
"Nya…(Isn't this the part where you come in?"
"Skitty," Ash lips broke into a coaching smile, "In those five minutes, a Coordinator always asks herself that one question, 'How will I beat my opponent?' rather than 'How will I beat my opponent?" He stretched behind, placing his hands behind him, continuing to smile down at the puzzled kitten, "Both questions are the same, but the different is in the attitude. The first question worries you; the second question prepares you for the fight to give it you all."
Skitty blinked. This man was a Champion for a reason. There was cognition in his words.
"So Skitty, on a Contest Stage," With the clutch of just one hand, he picked up the small kitten and faced her, "it's really you who needs to answer your own question." Without warning he slung her on the muddy path, making her land perfectly on a poorly patch of clean land. She hissed horribly at the cunning man. He really was a Nickit in human form.
She rubbed her paw, licking it. She took a gander at the track ahead. On the end of a single path, Muk stood there leaking nasty stuff. The road to him was filled with puddles of stinky mire and gunk, but there was also some areas where the Mud Bombs hadn't inhabited. The land where she was standing on was also clean. If she wanted to avoid getting drenched in mud, all she had to do was hop on another clean land. Maybe the trainer behind her was on to something.
She gasped, cautiously hopping on another neat land, and collected herself. It was like a game of hopscotch. Skitty scanned the area and leaped towards north west on another land, stumbling but avoid herself from falling into the mud. Why was she being tested today? This takes out all the fun of the game.
"You're doing great, Skitty!" Ash encouraged, "But don't forget. You need to speed up to attack you opponent with Double Slap. In an actual Contest, this will only cost you points!"
"Nya…(Gee…You think I don't know? At least let me get used to your eccentric training drills!"
Three more skips on an erratic pattern made her regain her momentum, filling her with the optimism that she could do this. She dreamed into an actual Contest, and in an actual Contest, the time ticks. There is no time! She hurried, making a beeline, throwing herself one whatever neat land she found. She forgot to factor that one important thing: experience and ultimately lost to her own self-control when she slipped, falling face-first into the disgusting mud and filth. She lifted herself, and whined, examining herself. Her finely brushed fur as covered in dirt.
Gross!
"Are you gonna stop?" Ash cocked a brow.
Skitty dissed, fangs baring as she zipped to the starting point again. Ash furrowed his forehead, a fond smile forced on his lips. Skitty glowered but immersed into the practice, correcting her mistake again. She leaped and skipped where she should, studying the pattern of her flit behind. But the error of judgement is not easily triumphed. She lost her footing in each trial but never made the mistake of giving up. What more was to lose? The luscious pink coat was now brown. Just like Muk, she too was leaking brown, stinky stuff.
And then, on the twenty-third segment, she perfected her approach, landing poised in front of Muk, but rather than a scowl, somewhat of a proud smirk could be made out on her dirty visage. A proud smirk that mirrored on the man's face. Skitty didn't attack, she wasn't tempted to anymore. It was never the part of the plan. The test wasn't to attack Muk, it had always been to find a way to attack Muk without being hurt. And she failed today, but the prospect of keying out the details worked like a charm. She knew she had to repeat the next day, and she was gonna be ready for it.
Skitty turned back, squealing at the trainer.
Caught between satisfaction and relief, Ash smirked, "Looks like you figured it out."
Smirking proudly, the kitten strolled towards the lake, and took a catapulting nosedive, sinking into the cool shallow-waters. A refreshing submergent followed, and the kitten popped up, slowly blinking her eyes, rejoicing that her vision was clear again.
Pulling out a bottle of sparkling yellow gel, Ash offered, "How about some shampoo?"
"There…all clean again," Ash drove the final stroke of brush on Skitty's shiny fur, releasing the kitten of all the frustration. But she couldn't deny that the bath in the pure, mountain water was totally refreshing and stole all the stubbornness of the kitten. Whiffing off the new scent emanating from her body, it drove the petite feline to intoxication as she chivalrously chased her own tail.
A twin calls of squawks issued a smile on Ash's face as he raised his head in the sky, sighting Staraptor gliding towards them, safely holding to a wicker picnic basket in his beak.
"Looks like the breakfast is here," Ash cheered, standing up, helping the bird to locate his trainer by the lake. Ash waved his hands with gusto, excited at the prospect of uncovering the secrets that basket carried. "Staraptor, over here!"
Skitty squinted, watching the bird land in front of its trainer and place the basket by his feet. The hard expression of the avian broke into a happy chirp as Ash ruffled its crest or what Skitty could make out, was probably the bird's hair. With a saluting spread of wings, the lofty bird was off into the skies again.
"Let's gain all those calories we burnt, Skitty," Ash called out to the kitten, rummaging through the contents of the basket, a carton of potato mash in hand. "I hope you like Quiche."
10:00 am,
"So far you are doing extremely good, Skitty." Ash praised, painting the feline's face in joy. She rolled over on the grass, lightening her mood. Giggling down, Ash continued, "How about we just play with a bigger ball this time, kay?" Ash simply flipped a Poke Ball in the air, and a shadow flitted out from the device as something landed.
Skitty gasped, surprised by the sight of something so unfamiliar. At the very least, she could tell that it was some kind of monkey, its fur black and white with broad muscles. What looked like two green leaves were sticking out from the back of its head as it crouched down, sprouting from a helmet on its head, the protective covering seeming to have been made from a coconut shell of some kind. Most importantly, however, were its orange eyes, staring at Ash, challenging him. "Passi! Passimian!" it cried, flexing powerfully before flinging it's round object straight at Ash, who caught it with practiced instincts.
The lemur broke into laughter, chattering happily.
"I am sorry about that, Skitty," Ash chuckled, "My Pokémon have an unusual way of greet."
"Nya…"
"Oh yeah. You, me, Passimian and some friends are gonna play some dodgeball." Ash beamed, replaced the held berry in hand with a real orange, rubber dodge ball. "Now Passimian, Double Team."
Like flashes of light, multiple copies of the ape circled around the duo.
"Looks like we have enough players," Ash smiled, tossing the ball to a clone who chuckled sadistically. The Pokémon buzzed with unbridled enjoyment, circling around the human and the new face: the confused little kitten.
"You and I are on the same team, Skitty," Ash laid a comforting hand on the pink kitten's back, "All you have to do is avoid getting hit by the ball. We can take them after that."
"Nya…" the cat too distracted to be motivated, bit her lip, watching Passimian, who pressed hard into the ball. His taunt was smug and boastful. Panic began to rise inside her, as she desperately tried to formulate some strategy to avoid the impending disaster.
Without hesitation, the ape threw the ball with a mighty heave, cursing as it missed Skitty by an inch. She scrambled frantically around the surrounded field, her pleas stirring up again. Ash ducked left to avoid a ball, picked it up from where it fell and tossed it back. He gave a cheer of victory when it hit a copy of Passimian, making it burst into the cloud. The next two Passimian immediately closed the gap, one of them picked the ball up and shot the ball at its aim.
Skitty timidly dodged the flying projectile, completely convinced this was not her game and balls aren't as much as fun as she thought they were. There was a dangerous side to them. She danced awkwardly as not to be pelted. Ash was doing beautifully, already having eliminated four clones.
"You are doing great, Skitty! Just keep-" Ash couldn't finish as a bright orange ball lobbed in his way at an alarming rate, it's path directed at his back.
"Nya!" The kitten threw her full weight at the man in a flash of pink, both of them crashing down on the ground, with the ball harmlessly flying over them.
"Nya!" the kitten nuzzled her face into his abdomen, as he corrected his posture. With an appreciative smile, he patted her head. "Looks like you are getting the hang of this game. Now if you excuse me-" With surprising stealth, Ash picked the ball up and threw it with deadly accuracy, sending a Passimian explode away from existence.
"Damn," Ash frowned. "Another clone."
Another ball sailed from one of the lemurs, and another target missed, making Ash and Skitty a beautiful team. Ten minutes passed. Player after player struck out by the ball thrown by the embattled apes and Ash. Soon, only four Passimian remained standing, surrounding an exhausted Ash and Skitty, all baring their teeth at one another.
A Passimian hissed, sailing a ball, narrowly missing his opponent. Skitty grunted as she ducked away in the nick of time. The ball bounced off and right into another lemur's hand. She kept dodging as they kept coming, but Passimian was a cunning ape. They disregarded Ash and solely focussed on the frightened kitten, granting her no time at all to plan her moves.
And then, the precise moment the ape was waiting for arrived: Skitty lost her footing and skid on the ground, making her an exposed target. With a triumphant smirk, the ape pulled his arm back, and thrust the ball forward, sending the ball with furious speed. Skitty closed her eyes as the danger approached, the ball met something. A curious glance met with Ash's smirk, rubbing his right shoulder. He winced, "We are even now, Skitty. I am out, but give em hell."
Skitty felt a stirring of emotion. She crawled back up, watching Ash make his way outside the circle of the lemurs. She was left all alone, but with twice the determination to win the game. She stood gallantly, eyeing into the orbs of the lemurs. She won't be lacking effort anymore. She quickly smacked a ball with her tail, which was slammed into a Passimian's stomach, and it dissipated.
Ash stared at her incredulously, "She knows how to dodge but her timing still lacks perfection. But most importantly, I think I can make her an awesome team player." He continued to muse, factoring all the Tag matches Skitty was used in. In fact, he was up last night, studying all of Skitty's battles. In singles, her Assist became a huge gamble which May reconciled with selected teams, but in Double Battles, Skitty didn't bring complete effort into coordination.
The kitten managed to duck, the fastball scraping her head before bouncing off the ground, and the orb was almost quick the second time. Skitty dodged again, and again. And her evasion was getting Ash's attention, making him smile all the way.
"Keep going Skitty! That's exactly what you need to do to lower your opponent's points! The more you dodge, the less the points the losing side has!" Ash coached. "Maintain the rhythm!"
The tussle of the game continued until there was only one Passimian remaining. She dodged and smacked, her fear of being hit was greatly washed over.
It was the ape turn. He balefully sized the small kitten; ball being switched in hands. Skitty was getting worried. The Passimian wouldn't stop until it dealt a satisfying finishing blow, which needed to be avoided for Skitty to get a good mark. One wrong move, and it's all over. She refused to let it happen. She stood on guard, studying the ape's hand movements. There was no shield, no balls, nowhere to run.
And after a torturing wait, the ball was fired, faster than before. There was only one thing to do. Using Assist, she jumped high into the air, probably could have been Beautifly's Aerial Ace. She ended up higher, a good five feet higher. Ash sat gaping, as Skitty flipped into the air. Her tail thickened as she angled the extremity and with an extra dose of force, she swung the ball hard, knocking it right into Passimian. The ape coughed, and stumbled a few steps back, as the ball toppled off and rolled on the ground after the hit. Passimian had lost.
Skitty smiled wearily on touching the ground. Though it was a fluke, she had won. With her heartbeat becoming steadier, she mewled.
"That was really amazing, Skitty." Ash laughed, walking towards the exhausted feline, and placed a bowl full of water in front of her as well as the tired lemur. "You both did great. Drink some fluids, and let's take a ten-minute break."
"Pass!" the lemur drove his entire face into the bowl, slurping the water, while Skitty softly licked it, regaining all the hydration.
"You really are a quick learner, you know that?" Ash grinned, taking a cross-legged seat across the kitten. "And we made a great team back there."
Skitty managed half-a smile, licking the dew of water dropping from her whisker. Her face was dusted with a red faint.
"The motive here was to see how fast can you dodge. Just like this game, on a Stage, you will always find yourself paired with one your friends. Blaziken or Glaceon or even Wartortle, but from where May stands, she has to control you both, which also means, she won't be fully focussed on either of you. That's a divided attention, isn't it?"
Skitty nodded in agreement.
"That's why, you have to give your hundred percent when it comes to Tag Battles. You'll have to race your own mind. As a trainer, I have plenty of Tag Battles myself. But even I can't always bring out the chemistry between any two of my random Pokémon. Hawlucha and Gigalith, or Melmetal and Venusaur – I'll have to go through a lot of process to perfect their teamwork. A Coordinator always knows which two Pokémon she'll be using in the Battle Round, so all the planning is already done in the back of her mind. What remains is the execution on the stage. Sometimes, May's attention will be shifting to your partner, who's in trouble. You'll need to do what you did back there for me. Save your partner and keep him out of trouble."
"Nya!"
"Similarly, there's a good chance you might be facing both opponents all by yourself, and that means twice the pressure on May's shoulders. You'll not just have to play from the heart, Skitty, but also." Ash touched her forehead with two finger, "from here as well. Trust me, that's will be a huge load off from May. You do understand what I trying to say right?"
"Nya!"
"Great," Ash smiled genuinely, watching Passimian finished the whole bowl, "Now, for the next lesson. Let's see you try to get the ball from Passimian this time."
"Nya!" she chirped, hopping in front of the trainer.
Once again clones of Passimian spawned in a full circle around Skitty, who was no longer daunted by the multiplication of her opponent. One of the simians lifted the ball, and challenged her to come take it from it.
"Just keep your eyes on the ball, Skitty!" Ash tutored.
She leaped at one of the lemur, who expertly arced the ball to one of its copies, creating the first failed attempt for the kitten. Snickering from the apes followed, but not enough to weaken her resolve. Another Passimian dribbled the ball in his arms, and the kitten shot forward at him, the ball quickly switched hands. Now it was edging into mockery for the kitten. She leapt at whoever held the ball, eliciting an early pass.
For past fifteen minutes, she hadn't even touched the ball. Clearly this plan wasn't working out. If she kept chasing to whoever held the ball, it was only going to burst in her face. It was hard to predict whom the ball would go to next. These monkeys were surprisingly fast, and quite adept with the game, not to mention that with impeccable teamwork, even though the original was hiding somewhere among them. Skitty had hardly proven to be a challenge when it came to this game. She scowled; she wasn't planning to be so humiliated today.
"Not just from your heart…but from here, too." Ash's words echoed in the mind.
She deciphered it. If the heart didn't work out, the brains definitely will. She stationed herself at the centre of the circle. Ash's eyes widened. The kitten opened her mouth and sang a beautiful, charming cry. The pink soundwaves blasted out, slightly larger than normal to account for the passion. One by one, the clones wailed and broke, leaving the real Passimian push back by the force of the sound.
Sighting her opportunity, Skitty hopped and claimed her goal, childishly rolling over the ball.
Ash was amazed. He smirked, crossing his arms. "That was incredible, Skitty." His eyes pooled with passion, "Good work, indeed." He raised a hand, and returned an expressionless Passimian into the Poke ball.
The blush on the kitten's face darkened. She was loosely able to see that in every game the man offered to play, she was learning a whole new side of herself. Maybe this is what true training was about.
I'll resume in the next chapter, and probably publish it by mid-Jan. It will just be an extension of the present date in the story. Exploring some training ideas for Skitty. May is also training one of Ash's Pokémon and it'll be a surprise. Please do let me know if you have any ideas.
Thank You and see you next time.