A/N: Well, well, once again we're gonna enter the world of Pokemon, yipeee. I'm glad that you guys enjoy the flashbacks, I do as well. But it's time to continue the present.
Maxie sat in his chair, feeling tense. He gripped the armrest with white-tight knuckles, his right foot tapping the metal floor rapidly, his lip bitten to the point of drawing blood, and his teeth ground tightly. Tense was an understatement. Tense could be removed with a massage. Maxie was enraged, livid, infuriated, a tight ball of tense nerves that not even the most skilled masseuse could untangle, let alone even loosen. He curled his fingers into a fist, cracking the knuckles as he went and uncurling them. He stared at the replay of the map on his personal monitor while the larger one with live updates played above. He reviewed Aqua taking out his position near Fallabor over and over and over, trying to figure out what game Archie was playing. It wasn't like him to be strategic.
"You sea loving bastard, what are you planning?" Maxie muttered harshly under his breath. Just then there was a small bing noise. Maxie looked up and saw Red dots encircle a group of blue dots and eliminate them. Maxie let out a tight sigh when a small alarm blared. He looked to the areas closer to Treefort and noticed a small pocket of red being wiped out. Maxie stared at this for another minute, watching the aftermath with morbid curiosity before his rage boiled over. "Damn it!" he stood, knocking his chair back, slamming his fist on the console. His breathing was heavy, his glasses askew on his face. He glared at the large monitor, as if he intended to shoot a hole through it. "Archie, what is your endgame!?" he screamed at the monitor, as if it would answer back. "ANSWER ME!" Maxie slammed the console again to no avail. He stood there, his breathing coming out in heavy pants as his glasses were hanging on to his face, but just barely. He suddenly heard a knocking noise behind him and jerked into an attentive stand, fixing his glasses and turning quickly to see a large figure in the doorway. Tabitha.
"Sir." Tabitha performed the Team Magma Salute, pointing his left elbow up and his fist at a downward angle, his right arm following that line and pointing to the ground.
"Yes, Tabitha." Maxie sounded as calm as he could after that outburst. "What is it?"
"I just come with word from one of our forward operating bases headed by" Tabitha held up a paper to his face "Davis." He finally spoke, holding the paper out for Maxie. The Magma leader walked up and plucked it from Tabitha's hand, reading it over. It gave calm reports nearer Lillycove despite reported high Aqua activity. Curiouser and curiouser. The troubles with losing ground while gaining ground going to the back of his mind. Aqua was reported to have higher activity near Lillycove, where Maxie assumed their base was setup. Apparently previous reports were falsehoods or…
"Send word over to… Davis" Maxie read the page again "and tell him to pull back, should there be Aqua in hiding. Send him and his cohorts over to the area by Treefort, we lost some ground there." Maxie handed the page back to Tabitha. "And I expect you to be by Meteor Falls soon enough, no?"
"Yes, sir!" Tabitha straightened. "If reports are to be trusted, then there's Aqua near there. I'll put together an elite squad, handpicked by myself." Tabitha's mouth formed a smug grin and Maxie raised an eyebrow.
"Then, Tabitha, may I make a suggestion for your group?"
"Um… yes sir, of course!" Tabitha was now confused, it seemed. Maxie didn't care.
"There's a young soldier here who's quite fervent about our cause, his name is Terra." Maxie went over and pulled up the grunt's file, his picture appearing on screen. He had stylised brown here that was slicked back but spiked up as it went, reaching down close to his shoulders. His expression was firm but steady with his blue eyes that of a person who had little remorse. "He's proven himself a good fighter, have him on the team, you won't regret it."
"Of course sir!" Tabitha nodded.
"That's all, you may leave." Maxie turned to see Tabitha perform the salute before he left. Maxie sat back down and glared at the monitor, wondering if he'd done something to deserve such karma. He wins ground, he loses some. It was almost immediate, and it had been happening for over a week. It was as if someone were coordinating with Archie, someone who knew of Maxie's plans. But who, if anyone? Maxie felt his eye twitch. He wasn't going to lose this war, not if he had anything to say about it. He returned to his little balls of tense nerves as he began mapping out strategies.
"Who's a good boy?" I heard to my left as I sat on the stump. I turned my head to either side, popping my neck in a pleasant way before I looked and saw Thalia playing with her new Pokemon, Electrike. It seemed happy enough, though I was too groggy to tell. Aron was nestled in my lap while Totodile was shooting water at trees. Torchic was just running around, provoking the Electrike. That wouldn't end well.
"You know, Aron" I spoke to the heavy little guy in my lap. "at least you're calm. You seem chill and that's what I like about you."
"brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrew." He replied sleepily and I chuckled. It was decently early in the morning, the sun was barely rising over the horizon but I figured a bit of morning exercise was good for the team. Keep them in fighting shape. I petted Aron's steel head which was like petting a car door but whatever, he seemed to like it.
"So Brendan." Thalia called over as she let Electrike chase Torchic around. When will that little guy learn? "What's the plan?"
"Um, well." I started, thinking. I needed a plan. Something to keep us on the straight and narrow, not perilous. "Well, the plan. The plan is…" I let my mind wander, thinking what could the plan possibly be? I could make something complicated or… "We go to Mauville." Excellent Brendan! Keep it simple. Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing specific?" she asked as Electrike nipped at Torchic, who chirped back.
"Not really. Keep it simple, enjoy the good things along the way." Which meant that we'd encounter nothing but the bad according to my luck.
"Could be better." Thalia commented to which I shrugged. All plans can be better. Says the guy with the terrible- look it's not like I can plan this out in minute detail.
"Thanks a bunch." I said, pulling my Pokeballs. "Should we get going? Get a head start on the day, so to speak." Thalia shrugged in response.
"'s up to you, really." Was her reply as she scratched Electrike's neck while Torchic kind of stood there.
"Might as well. We can eat lunch on the way." I returned Torchic and Totodile before putting Aron back in his ball to sleep. My lap felt colder, which was sad. I liked how cuddly the guy could get. I stood and stretched my arms up before putting Aron's ball on my belt. I grabbed my back pack and slung it over my shoulder. Thalia returned her new friend and did the same, slinging her bag from its place on the ground and onto her shoulders. I led the way out of the clearing and back onto the path we had walked last night. It was the same as before, a path with trees on either side, wide and beaten down from previous journeys. We set off as the sun was peeking out over the horizon, its rays shining down to signal a new day was upon the world. I stifled a yawn. I was never a morning person.
We kept walking for a couple hours, the path unchanging save for some breaks in the trees or the occasional bug Pokemon that poked its head out to see who was passing by. It was a boring, silent couple hours where Thalia and myself refrained from talking for some reason. Maybe we'd finally run out of things to say, maybe this, maybe that. Regardless the conversation topics weren't leaping out at us like wild fire. I didn't want to ask about her parents or her Team Magma life since she gets sparing with answers, I could tell that much. Contrary to popular belief, guys can catch on to things. It's just not much. Like if a girl likes us genuinely, in most cases the guy will be quite oblivious for one reason or another, generally it's another girl that doesn't want him. It's a perplexing thing, really.
"It's odd." I commented aloud at my own thoughts, drawing Thalia's gaze, her blue hair out over the hood of her uniform. She kept one gloved hand over the strap, as if to prevent someone from grabbing it right away. Actually that was probably the reason.
"What's odd?" she asked with little care in her voice. Perhaps she wanted a conversation just like me.
"Well I was just thinking how odd it is that guys will miss the signs that a girl likes him, for the most part, for a girl who doesn't want anything to do with them." I decided that this could make some form of conversation.
"Well I don't know why since I'm not a guy." Thalia started. "But in my experience I think going for the girl that doesn't like them is the challenge they kind of want. Like their brains want the challenge, to figure out how to please this one girl despite this other one ready to do the same for them. Actually, perhaps some girls are like that as well." Thalia put a hand to her chin in thought.
"Oh really?" I asked, now really curious as to what she meant. "I've never experienced that." I commented. Thalia made a noise and rolled her eyes.
"I doubt many girls were throwing themselves at your feet. Even if they were, I bet you were chasing after the ones that didn't want you." She pointed her gaze at me and sneered, forcing me to backtrack.
"Hey, hey. If I didn't notice that's-"
"Not your fault?" Thalia began smiling, this cold, calculating smile that held no sympathy.
"Yeah. I never tried to go for a girl in school. I gave up once I hit high school." I waved a hand dismissively in the air at her. "Figured I might as well not bother."
"Too many girls thought you were a pervert?" Thalia raised an eyebrow, her voice edged with curiosity.
"Yes." I sighed. "My nihilism in regards to the subject of a girlfriend wasn't helped by the fact that I kept up my antics. Much to Ethan's amusement. Krys got a laugh out of it as well." I replied. "Wasn't until I beat Roxanne that I actually slept with a woman."
"So you seduced the Gym Leader of Rustboro City after you beat her?" Thalia asked, a laugh creeping from behind the question, threatening to break out. "Why do I find that-"
"She seduced me." I answered before Thalia could start laughing. It didn't work, she busted out laughing anyway. Double over as we walked, her laugh echoing off the trees. A tear came to her eye and she wiped it away as she calmed down.
"Okay, hold on." Thalia held her hands up. "Hold on. Roxanne, the teacher Gym Leader, one of the sweetest women in the Hoenn League, seduced you?"
"Yes." I responded curtly. Thalia chortled before replying.
"I just find that hard to believe." She said, trying to contain the giggles.
"Well, I think she recorded it all." I thought back to after my Gym match. We got into the classroom, boned, then as I was leaving I saw a red dot against the far wall. But the room was dark so I wasn't able to get a good view.
"Oh really?" Thalia began giggling at the thought. "so what does she do, use it to get off in her spare time?"
"Oh YES!" Roxanne felt her fingers get soaked as she achieved orgasm, the video of her and Brendan playing on her classroom TV after class had finished.
"I dunno, maybe." I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know how Roxanne gets off. I mean it's not like she's registered in my-" suddenly my PokeNav rang with a call. Who could be calling me? I picked the device from my belt and checked who it- "Roxanne?" I wondered aloud. Thalia instantly closed in on me.
"I'm listening to this." She grinned. I pressed answer and I put the phone to my ear. On the other side was short, light, feminine panting.
"Hey Brendan, I know it's been a while." I heard that familiar voice on the other end. It was Roxanne. "Just wanted to ask if you'd like the video I took."
"So you did record it?" I asked, despite the answer being given before the question. Roxanne giggled.
"Yeah, if you don't mind." She sounded tired, as if she'd just done… oh Arceus. I could feel my face heat up.
"It's fine." I assured her. It was, as long as she didn't give it to someone who wanted to chase me down to abduct me or something.
"Good. I can send it to you over the PC."
"PC?" I asked, looking to Thalia who whispered
"Computer network. Every trainer has a PC login."
"Um, sure. But I don't know my-"
"Oh dear." Roxanne responded. "Okay, I'll tell you mine and you can send me a message and I can give you the video."
"Um, okay, sure." Roxanne gave her PC address and I quickly wrote it down with a pen and paper Thalia gave me. "Thanks."
"No problem, have fun on your trip." Roxanne then hung up, leaving me to wonder what in the hell just happened.
"Well." Thalia spoke, smiling. "Seems you were right. Or you have a good impersonator as a friend."
"No, that was legit." I checked my contacts. Yeah Roxanne was in there along with a picture of her. Same as Brawly from Dewford. That was odd.
"Did they ask for your contact details?" Thalia questioned me over my shoulder.
"No. I guess… I mean it could be automatic with Gym Leaders. A feature the head of Devon Corp. decided not to share with me." I frowned before putting the device away. "Regardless, yes, Roxanne was my first." I looked to Thalia. "Should I give the rest of my sexual history since I got to Hoenn?" I raised an eyebrow. "From sex to eating a Magma Grunt out?" Thalia's face suddenly turned as red as her uniform and she turned away.
"That was a stress related issue. You just happened to be there." Was her reply.
"I see." I responded, deciding to drop the subject.
"So" Thalia started up again, her face less red. "Spit or swallow?" she grinned and I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Took one bit to the face, rest she swallowed." I responded.
"Not inside?"
"Nope. Only May and-" I stopped myself dead before I revealed about me and Anne and what we did. "No…" I put a hand to my chin in fake thought. "No it was only May who I finished inside. Adriana was the one that let me finish just above it." I hope I saved myself. I looked to Thalia who shrugged.
"Okay then." She responded and I sighed, careful to make it sound not relieved.
"So yeah. There's that." I spoke, noticing the sun was climbing higher. "Maybe we should stop for lunch in a bit?" I asked, turning to Thalia.
"In a bit, maybe." She sort of agreed with me. I shrugged and looked forward noticing a person bent over on the side of the road.
"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to the man. Thalia squinted her eyes as we came closer.
"I dunno. We probably shouldn't bother him." She sounded apprehensive.
"Well we might as well ask." I said, pushing forward past Thalia. I walked up to the guy. He wore loose white clothing like martial arts robes that the masters wore in movies. His hair was black and kept up in a short ponytail that spiked out. He crouched by the roadside as I approached. "Excuse me, you need any help?" the man turned and what I saw surprised me. Over his right eye and on his left cheek were dark scars. He was quite old, I gauged to be in his mid-forties or thereabouts. Despite the short ponytail his hair went down to the bottom of his neck while a part of his bangs hung down his face on the right. He had a moustache that curved down around his mouth just barely and a triangular little soul patch. He smiled as I approached.
"I suppose I could use some help." He chuckled. He had smile crinkles around his eyes. He seemed to enjoy his life. "I'm looking for a specific type of flower, one that grows in this area. But it seems to elude me." He stood, beating me a by a few inches in height. "Perhaps you can help me search for it?" he raised an eyebrow at me. I looked to my right, seeing Thalia just approaching.
"Sure, we can help." I replied, seeing Thalia frown a bit.
"You sure Brendan? I mean we should keep-" she was stopped when her stomach growled loudly. We hadn't eaten breakfast and I was suddenly aware as to how much my feet hurt. The man laughed lightly and smiled.
"Well, it seems you two are hungry." He stroked his soul patch in thought. "Perhaps I could let you two join me for lunch. I know Ventus would appreciate it. He likes guests."
"Well, if I may be honest, I won't turn down free food." I said, nodding. "Thank you sir."
"No problem. And call me Mark." Mark smiled warmly and headed off into the woods straight from the path. I looked to Thalia and began following Mark, waving her along. She rolled her eyes and followed along. Apparently Mark didn't like paths since we just walked between the trees. I noticed that the grass wasn't beaten down so Mark tended to go every which way. My guess at least. We kept walking for a solid ten minutes before we reached a small clearing that held a small cabin made of wood with smoke coming from the chimney. There were flower beds surrounding the cabin that were right up against the walls. The flowers gave the area an interesting scent, like many different perfumes had been sprayed in the vicinity. Except instead of strangling, obnoxious fumes, the smell was pleasant if not inviting. Mark exited the trees first followed by me. However once I set foot from the tree line I heard a sudden
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I jolted in place, looking around before an armoured metal bird suddenly stopped in front of my face and screeched again. I stumbled back, tripping on a tree root and landing on my ass
"Holy mother!" I stared at the monster. It was a round body, almost almond-like, with a thin neck and a similarly almond shaped head with a fin on top. Its wings were like metal shutters, fanning out with red undersides and silver tops. Its tail looked like an, admittedly, sick combat knife with the basic curved knife shape but a hole in it near the base, as if someone had taken scissors and cut out a section. Its yellow eyes glared at me as its mouth opened to prepare another screech.
"Now, now Ven, calm down." Mark walked up, placing a hand on the creature's neck, soothing it. It turned to mark, then us. "Calm down, they're friendly." Mark reasoned, a bit of steel in his voice. The creature, Ven, hovered back a couple feet before landing, its talons digging into the ground.
"Wha- What is that?" I pointed, still on my rump. Mark laughed and held a hand to me, which I took.
"That's my Skarmory, Ventus, or Ven for short." He explained as he helped me up. I looked and saw it stood up to about Mark's elbow. It glared at me.
"Skarmory?" I pulled my Pokedex and scanned it. I got an image but no dex number. The description read: Skarmory, the Armour Bird Pokemon. A Pokémon that has a body and wings of steel. People in the past used feathers fallen from Skarmory to make swords and knives. Brutal. Other classifications read that on average they were about 5'07''. I looked. Ven seemed about a foot shorter than that. "He's a bit smaller than the norm." I commented, putting my PokeDex away.
"It's true." Mark sighed, petting the head of Ventus. "I found him as a chick years upon years ago. We became fast friends and he's travelled with me ever since. He's always been smaller than his brethren but he makes up for it in fight." Mark smiled as if in a memory. "We even tackled the championship together." I felt my eyes widen.
"You fought the Champion?" I asked, a bit eagerly. Mark smiled and chuckled.
"We did, Ven and I. Along with some other friends who have since moved onto other ventures of their own choosing. Ven's always been by my side, however, and we're happy." Mark gave short little pets with his index and middle fingers on the back of Ven's neck and the bird instantly relaxed.
"You seem to have a way with steel Pokemon." I commented, my hand hovering over Aron's ball.
"I do." Mark commented. "I've liked Steel Pokemon. They're very stagnant, stubborn, but loyal and stable as well. If you befriend a Steel Pokemon then you've made a lifelong friend."
"I have my Aron." I replied, holding the ball. "Mind if I let him out." Mark simply nodded and I opened the ball, releasing my heavy little guy.
"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrew." He cooed upon seeing Ventus. The Skarmory leaned down and glared into Aron's big, blue eyes. Aron nudged Ven's nose with his head and Ven instantly seemed a bit happy. Aron trotted off with Ventus following him. Mark smiled wide.
"I've never really seen Ven so happy in a long time." He looked to me. "Seems I'm not the only one with a talent for Steel types."
"Well Aron's a bit of a softy with me." I admitted.
"No slouch on the battlefield though." Thalia commented, speaking for the first time since we got here. I looked to her but Mark laughed.
"I have no doubt. Aron are tough little guys. Though enjoy his little phase while you can." Mark had a twinkle in his eye, one that was mischievous. "They can get quite big."
"What's that mean?" I asked. But Mark simply turned to his cabin and began walking.
"You'll see in due time. However, lunch is upon us." He answered quizzically as he opened the door. I looked to Thalia who shrugged in indifference. I decided that that was all I needed and I walked into the cabin with Thalia. We saw a wooden bench that seemed to serve as a couch along with a mattress on the color that must've been Mark's bed. It was kept neat, pillows, blankets, the works. In front of the couch was a wooden table and beside both of those was a fireplace with a roaring fire, a pot hanging over it. Hanging on the fire place were a few oven mitts, one of which Mark grabbed and used to lift the lid on the pot and checked its contents.
"Cozy." Thalia commented, looking around at the place.
"It is, thank you." Mark replied. "I hope you both don't mind soup."
"That's fine." I assured him, resisting the urge to thank him too much. He was a nice guy. Genuine. I looked around the small cabin. The roof was low and the single room was square with the bed in one corner and a couple chairs in the opposite.
"Please." Mark motioned to the chairs. "Take one and have a seat." I went over and grabbed a chair, Thalia grabbing one as well, and we set them at the somewhat high coffee table and sat down, much to our relief.
"So, did you carve all these yourself?" I asked, curious.
"Not all by myself. Ven helped quite a bit. He got the wood and I just put it together. Took quite a while but in the end we made our own provisions, for the most part." He nodded to the bed. "Some things are better bought since wood is about the limit of my crafting skills." Mark chuckled. I smiled and then noticed something behind him. Leaning against the wall near the door was
"Is that a sword?" I asked, pointing. Mark raised an eyebrow before turning around and noticing.
"Oh. Yes, it is." He stood and walked over to it, pulling it from its sheath. What Mark pulled from that sheath turned out to be a massive claymore. The blade was long and straight with some leather wrappings near the base of the blade. The hilt went straight in either direction before it curved up on one side and curved down on the other. The handle was wrapped in leather and was obviously a two handed grip. Mark, however, held it low in one hand.
"Holy…" Thalia was in awe and Mark smiled, though it was a bit strained.
"Yes, I got this blade from an auction one time, long ago. It has a history and I've done some training with it. But nothing significant. It was an impulse buy so it mostly gathers dust." Mark sheathed the blade and leaned it against the wall once more before sitting down.
"That's interesting." I said, to be nice. I decided not to pry. "So how long have you been out here?"
"Oh, about twenty odd years." Mark answered, looking up in thought. "I came out here on my own a while after my attempt at the Championship."
"Out of shame?" Thalia asked suddenly, her arms crossed. I almost reached over and hit her when Mark laughed loudly, an airy but warm laugh.
"Oh no my dear, not shame." Mark replied once he'd calmed down. "I just felt that it was time I went out into the world in a different manner than the usual Pokemon trainer. I came out here, built my cabin, and trained alongside my Pokemon even as I let them go to pursue other ventures. By the time Ventus was the only one that remained he and I had become so in sync that we can almost read each other's minds."
"Wait, wait, wait hold on." Thalia held her hands up. "How in sync does that mean?"
"Well, my dear" Mark stopped. "You know I never did ask your names, did I?"
"I'm Brendan." I introduced myself, then motioned to Thalia. "She's Thalia." Mark nodded.
"Anyway, Ventus and I are able to battle without the use of verbal commands." Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a tick.
"You and Ventus are that in sync?" I sounded surprised and I was. I'd never seen a trainer so tuned in with their Pokemon like that, even Championship matches on TV. Hell, my father wasn't that synced with his Pokemon.
"We are." Mark smiled. "However, that was only after my loss at the Championship match. It put things into perspective, shall we say." Mark stood and checked his soup over the fire. Then he walked over to a small drawer and pulled three wooden bowls out with wooden spoons. "I hope you don't mind the wood." Mark made a sheepish expression as he went over and ladled soup into the bowls. "I never got metal utensils for some odd reason but wooden ones are easy enough to make." He handed myself and Thalia a bowl full of soup which we accepted graciously. I took a tentative sip of the broth and found it to be tomato-y. But really good. Taking a bigger scoop, I found noodles and chunks of meat galore. Thalia and I ate our soups quickly to which Mark was only happy to give us more. Another bowl full later and I was quite filled, as was Thalia it seemed.
"Say Mark." I asked when I was finished with my second bowl. He was about halfway through his first.
"What is it?" he asked, taking a sip.
"Would it be okay if you and I had a little sparring Pokemon battle? I want to see how good you really are." I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. "I mean it's fine if you don't want to but I want to see what you meant about things being put into perspective." Mark smiled at my offer.
"Of course, Brendan. We'll have a harmless sparring match. But the thing about my circumstances was that I came back from a major loss, a battle I went into with too much gusto and confidence. I came out a defeated and angry person." Mark set his bowl down, finished. "I spent who knows how long stewing in my own anger before I'd met with the Champion at the time, who came to see how I was doing. Obviously seeing my anger over the situation he proposed something to me: head out into the wild."
"The Champion told you to head into the wild?" Thalia asked, curious. Mark nodded.
"Yes, he did. So I decided that if the person who'd beaten me was giving me advice to beat him, why not take advantage. So I got my things and adventured out. After a month was happier than I had been in a long time. After six months I had decided this would be my knew home. After a year, I decided to help those who came across my path." He motioned to the cabin around us. "Ever since then I've lived here simply living. In the early years I trained quite a bit to simply keep myself up. Nowadays I do training every week or so just to make sure I'm still with things." Mark smiled. "That's how it all happened."
"Wow." I scratched my wrist as I let the story sink in. "So will you help me?" Mark nodded.
"Of course I will." He stood and I stood, alongside Thalia. Together the three of use exited the small cabin back out into Mark's small clearing. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "This area should do." He turned to me. "I'd suggest getting your Pokemon out." He spoke before he put his hand to his mouth and blew, making a high pitched whistle. Not a second later we heard the metallic screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech of Ventus as he flew in, around the perimeter of the clearing, and around us before landing. The bushes rustled and Aron came running out as he jumped to me. I caught him in my arms much like one catches a heavy rock. He was a hard guy to lift but Mark was right, he was stable.
"Ready to do some sparring?" I asked him and he nodded eagerly. Mark moved to one side of the clearing while I remained on my side. Thalia stood out of the battle area and to the side.
"If she's willing" Mark spoke up "Thalia can referee."
"Yeah, sure." Was Thalia's response as she crossed her arms, fiddling with one of her gloves.
"Okay then." Mark smiled. "Let's start off easy." I prepared to give an order when Mark did something odd. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, holding his hands, one on top of the other, in front of him, left above right with both palms down. Then, lightning fast, he turned his right hand up and did a light clap. Ven shot forward, low and fast.
"Harden!" I ordered and Aron stabilised himself as Ventus hit with a quick attack. Aron held his ground but Ventus hit hard, the metallic thunk of steel Pokemon colliding echoing through the clearing. Ven flew up after hitting Aron as Mark placed his thumb and middle finger together and snapping. Ventus suddenly leveled out above us and flapped his wings, sending a rippilng wave of air at Aron. "Harden!" I ordered as Mark suddenly clapped twice in rapid succession, his arms moving at odd angles, like those relaxation martial arts, but faster. Ven flew down, once again low and fast but he didn't aim for Aron. I was about to say something else when the blasts of air slammed into Aron, gouging out chunks of earth around the little guy. Ven flew around Aron in a circle, building up speed as he went. He must be using Agility.
"Brendan…" Thalia spoke to me with concern in her voice when Mark suddenly clapped once and stomped the ground with his foot, the sound of metal rings colliding echoing in the area. Ven suddenly broke from his Agility and slammed into Aron wing first, knocking the little guy a couple feet away from me. My mind was reeling. How can I counter this? I have to think of an order, Mark can just clap and stomp and suddenly his Skarmory knows what to do.
"Aron…" I muttered while Thalia raised her left hand in Mark's direction.
"Match is done, Mark wins." Ven landed by Mark's side as the man pet him. I walked over to Aron, who was having issue getting up. I turned him over and Aron seemed fired up, but in a good way. Competitively.
"As you can see." Mark started, drawing my attention. "Some training in this fashion goes a long way." Mark still had his kind smile so I couldn't be mad at him, however…
"Wasn't that a bit rough, the Steel Wing?" I asked and Mark laughed.
"Trust me Brendan, if Aron's stability isn't something you're aware of, simple brute force won't move him, even with his size. No, Ven just blasted a gust of air under him, enough to get him off the ground so he didn't have any stability. Then the Steel Wing came after and sent him flying."
"How did you-"
"A trainer must become knowledgeable about all Pokemon so as to learn their strengths and weaknesses so you can plan around them." Mark lectured. He gestured to Aron "The Aron line is known for stability, able to withstand many attacks with little effort. To subvert this, one must attack from below to knock them off balance, an admittedly tricky thing to accomplish, especially in the later evolutions." Mark patted Ventus's head. "I did a little tricky thing and used air to get the right leverage I needed." Mark smiled and tapped his temple. "Think outside the box."
"Okay. Another go round?" I asked and Mark nodded. Aron and I got into position as Mark readied himself.
"Go." Thalia said, now curious. Okay, so he knows that Aron has incredibly durability and stability. So, a way to make that more applicable, to get Ven in close and mess up. Mark snapped his finger and Ven flew at Aron, going in circles for Agility. I considered telling him to use tackle but that would send Aron flying again. Harden was my best bet for defence, but how to turn it into offence? Mark clapped twice in succession and Ven shot up, sending down those waves of air before he snapped his finger again, for Agility.
"Harden!" I ordered and Aron braced himself for the impacts, which hit but didn't knock him down. Ven went back to circling. I licked my lips. I might have it. "Tackle!" I called, looking at Aron as he ran in Mark's direction until he was close to Ven. Ven was circling around and I could almost see it in slow motion. Aron making his way into Ventus's path as he circled around. I looked to Mark who had raised his foot up to stomp. "Now Harden!" Aron braced himself just in the nick of time, Ven's wing hitting Aron's stable body which sent him careening to the side at such high speeds. I expected a face full of dirt for the metal bird but it recovered by levelling out as Mark stomped and then threw his sleeves back, showing metal bracelets on his wrists. He brought his arms in a motion, his right going up and his left going down, as the bracelets hit each other to make a slight ringing sound. Ven shot up while sending a couple of those air waves at the same time that hit Aron right at the legs, unbalancing the little guy. Right then Ventus arced sharply down and came up right beside Aron, beak first. He got under Aron and lifted him in a mighty push, tossing Aron a few feet in the air before the little guy landed to the side by Thalia.
"Mark wins again." Thalia called as Aron managed to get up.
"Good thinking Brendan!" Mark complimented me. "I was almost worried you had gone soft on me!" Mark smiled and Aron ran over to me. I gave him some pets as I looked to Mark.
"Ventus is good at getting out of situations isn't he?" I asked.
"Oh yes. Ven's quite used to being knocked off balance in the air since I trained him that way. Now he can recover better than other Pokemon I've seen." Mark walked over to me and knelt down, as I was, and gave Aron a pet. "He's a fine little Pokemon." Mark spoke warmly, his smile genuine as with the rest.
"How did you manage to get to that level of compatibility with Ventus?" I asked, really curious now.
"It took years of practice my boy." Mark sighed and stood. I stayed down. "Ven and I had to deal with a lot of anger and frustration. But soon enough we managed to learn bit by bit. It was only after dedicated practice and perseverance that we came to be so compatible."
"Hate to sound iffy" for lack of a better term "But with your skills with Ventus there, why not challenge the league again?" I raised an eyebrow. "I mean you've more than a match." Mark, however, shook his head.
"I gave that up some time ago. I still encourage the pilgrimage, however, I'm content with simply aiding trainers." Mark walked back over to Ven. "I have no desire to win, just to simply teach but in my own fashion. Make any sense?" strangely enough, it did. A lot of sense. Mark had his chance and he didn't make it. Instead of sulking or becoming bitter, with some encouragement, he took the opportunity to become more of a teacher who could aid troubled trainers having issues. A simple classroom wasn't enough, Mark had to go to the bare essentials and train constantly to gain his level of skill.
"It does." I answered.
"So, another round?" Thalia asked but I shook my head.
"I need a lot more training if I want to beat Mark." I spoke while thinking about how if I could become that in sync with my Pokemon. "Though I could use a bit more wisdom if he's willing to spare." I smiled and Mark laughed.
"Of course Brendan." Mark smiled as Ven came over and nudged Aron, inciting play. Aron went after Ven and I pulled Torchic and Totodile's balls and let them out.
"I was wondering, what is the methodology behind your way of fighting?"
"Oh Arceus." Thalia rolled her eyes. "How in depth is this gonna get?"
"You could use it too Thalia." I smirked. "Instead of fist fighting your way through Team Aqua." Thalia's face turned red as Mark raised an eyebrow. "Believe me, you should've been there." I spoke, trying to suppress my giggles.
"I swear, Brendan, if you-"
"Regardless" Mark chuckled a bit "of fist fights or not, the methodology is quite simple: becoming one with your Pokemon in a sense." He looked down to Torchic and Totodile, noticing Totodile's eye. He knelt down and looked at it. "Some Pokemon might be resistant to it at first or might go with it with the wrong intentions." He rubbed Totodile's snout. "For instance, these two, while strong Pokemon I can tell by simple appearance, they harbour some less than ideal goals."
"Pokemon can have goals?" Thalia raised an eyebrow and Mark nodded, standing.
"Much like people, Pokemon have goals and dreams. Many coincide with their trainers for, say, winning or peace. Your Torchic is prideful, arrogant."
"That's not news." I commented, to which Mark nodded.
"Torchic needs to learn some humility, to balance things out within him. He must become more humble. He wants greatness but thinks he has achieved it already. Torchic must learn to strive for greatness within reason. To become great while remaining humble." Mark looked to Totodile, who was now glaring at him with his one able eye. "Your Totodile. He wants revenge."
"Revenge?" I looked down and noticed how vicious Totodile was looking. I felt a bit unnerved I'll admit.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say you found him like this?" Mark asked.
"Yeah." I answered, now a bit nervous.
"He harbours feelings of vengeance against the trainer or Pokemon that wronged him so." Mark looked to me, now quite serious. "Brendan, if I may suggest, you must find a way to quell these feelings in Totodile or else he will become a danger."
"A danger?" I suddenly felt defensive. "But Totodile's harmless. Except in a battle."
"Thing has a vicious jaw." Thalia commented to the side.
"Brendan, if I may" Mark sounded like he was stepping on fragile glass. "I think it would benefit Totodile to have some peace and training." Mark swallowed, as if he were preparing himself for this. "If you would like I could train him myself for a time." What?
"I'm sorry?" I was a bit stunned.
"I could help Totodile get rid of what he feels. Before it's an issue, before it becomes noticed." Mark reasoned. I looked between Mark and Totodile. Then, suddenly, Totodile walked behind me, grabbing a hold of my leg. Whether that was for affection or fear I wasn't sure. I sighed.
"Listen, Mark." I started. "I know you mean well but…" I looked down to Totodile. I took a deep breath and sighed. "I just think I'll take care of him for now. If he does become a problem then I will make sure he can get to you, your skills I have no doubt about." I didn't, I did believe Mark was sincere and not malevolent. Still… this was my Totodile. "If I can somehow get him to become calmer then that's what I'll do. But I just want to give it a try instead of just leaving him. He's been thrown away by his previous owner, I don't want him having that issue with me." Mark closed his eyes and nodded.
"Of course, I understand." He opened his eyes and smiled once more. "But, while we're here, I can help you and Thalia with syncing with your Pokemon."
"Of course, that'd be great. Right Thalia?" I asked and she shrugged.
"We're losing time but sure. I could use it." She answered somewhat irritated and I glared at her. She frowned at me but Mark intervened.
"Well if we want to start, let's get out Pokemon out." He spoke and Thalia's shoulders fell in relenting.
"Okay then." She said, letting out her Zubat, Mightyena, and new Electrike. Torchic and Totodile remained by my side and Mark eyed the last Pokeball on my waist.
"Seems you're missing one." He commented.
"My Gyarados." I replied, looking around. "There's no water and he can be…" what was the word? What's a good word for him? "Volatile." I swallowed, hoping Mark would be kind enough about it.
"For the best then." He sighed. "Gyarados can be incredibly testy, even at the best of times. They can bond with their trainers and I've known more than a few to become quite close with theirs. But that's a long road of which I have no experience." Mark chuckled slightly. "However it's not impossible."
"I have no doubt." I replied, cracking my knuckles. "So are we going to get started or what?"
"Oh yes!" Mark started and he got me and Thalia to stand somewhat side-by-side. "Now what you're going to need to do is start with breathing." He said, eyeing all of us.
"Hold on, what about Aron?" I asked.
"Oh, right." Mark was now somewhat distracted. He put his hand to his mouth and whistled loudly, the sound echoing into the woods. He stood, waiting for several seconds. Thirty passed before he frowned. "Something's wrong." He spoke, turning around, looking to the trees for Ventus.
"What is it?" Thalia asked.
"Ven never takes this long unless something or someone is around who shouldn't be."
"Maybe Team Aqua." She commented, sneering when Mark looked at her and seemed to notice her uniform for the first time.
"You're from Team Magma." He realised. I swallowed. Oh no if he had a prejudice against the teams…
"Now, hold on." I stepped forward when we heard it: the fwoooooooooooooooooom of flames being shot at something. We looked to the sky behind Mark and saw a plume of smoke and fire rise up followed by the familiar screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Then the trees rustled and Ventus shot out with Aron in his talons. Ven set Aron down and the little guy his the ground running as he ran behind me. He was shivering a bit. I knelt down and patted his head. "Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay." I looked to the trees and heard… fighting.
"Get em!" I heard one guy scream followed by a girl yelling in rage.
"How dare you!"
"This isn't good." Mark spoke quietly and looked to Thalia.
"Hey, not me." She held her hands up. "Brendan's just taking me to Sootopolis, I don't have anything to do with what's going on there. It might not even be-" then two Mightyena broke through the bushes followed by a Magma grunt and an Aqua grunt. The Magma grunt wore a different uniform than what I had seen. Instead of bare skin his body was in what looked like a turtle-neck like onesie. The uniform was now primarily red instead of a red and black combo. He had loose red pants with red shoes and a red short jacket with a hoodie with horns. The Aqua lady had long, curly red hair with a skin-tight blue and white striped shirt with tight shorts and a sort of half-back skirt and a black bandanna on her head. Like what Anne wore.
"Piece of shit!" the girl yelled, throwing a punch into the guy's face as the Mightyena kept fighting, teeth sinking into one another.
"We've gotta break this up." I said to Mark, who nodded. Thalia seemed apprehensive and stepped back. Whatever.
"Okay Brendan, Thalia. Crash course." Mark spoke with severity, the two grunts not noticing us. However we heard more around us. "First, begin breathing in time with your Pokemon. This is step one and can take days to get the hang of. Try so now." Mark closed his eyes as a Numel was forced from the treeline by a Corphish, the two duking it out viciously while the two grunts controlling the things were engaged in a fist fight. I closed my eyes and concentrated as much as I could, listening.
Surprisingly I could hear them with my eyesight being blocked. They were out of sync, their breathing. I took a deep, loud breath and exhaled. Suddenly their breathing was syncing more with each other. They had been given a signal. Plus this was a time for need. I took another breath, hearing the chaos around me. I took another, this one more in sync. It wasn't much but now wasn't much of a time for practice. My eye flung open to see a Mightyena baring down on us.
"Torchic, Ember! Totodile, Water Gun!" I barked and the two responded faster than I had remembered, sparks of fire and a blast of water both hitting the wolf in the face, letting another tackle it away. A screech was heard as Ventus flew in and around the fights, pushing both sides apart.
"Corphish, Bubble!" I heard and a Corphish looked at us, venom in its eyes. The Numel it had been dueling with was on the ground.
"Aron, Headbutt!" and Aron shot forward, nailing the Corphish in the body, sending it flying.
"Hey!" A Magma guy called. "That was my win!"
"That was my Corphish!" an Aqua guy yelled. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink! I heard, looking to Mark, who had crossed his bracelets. Ventus flew around as fast as he could, slashing the ground between Magma and Aqua with blasts of powerful air. However, separating them wasn't the issue. Suddenly a couple guys, one from each team, pointed and their Mightyena bound toward us, barking and baring teeth.
"Guys!" I called to Totodile and Torchic, who began firing. Torchic lit the grass and Totodile shot water in their faces but they weren't slowing down much. "Aron!" Aron ran up and tackled one of them, tripping it up and sending it sprawling. Just then a Numel came from the pushes and blew a stream of fire at us. Ventus swooped down and blasted the flames away, allowing me to point. "Totodile!" Totodile shot a water gun at the Numel and sent it back into the bushes. Torchic hit the feet of the Mightyena bearing down on him and it jumped back, avoiding the pain of fire. I looked around and saw Aqua and Magma were now ignoring each other in favour of us for having interrupted their fight. Around us was a group of about twelve or fourteen, I didn't count. Another Mightyena neared Torchic but the little guy wasn't quite strong enough. I kicked the dog in the face and sent it back to the slowly closing ring of Team members.
"Brendan!" Mark whispered, his wrists close together. He looked to me and in his eyes I saw that he was planning something. Then his eyes moved to Ventus, who was circling above, silently, having escaped the skirmish. Then I got it. No wonder he made it to the Championship match. I nodded and looked back to the ring. I lowered myself to a slight crouch and I whispered to Torchic. "Listen buddy, gonna need you to shoot a lot of fire soon. Can ya do it?" Torchic chirped quite a bit and I took to fully standing. I looked down to Totodile and the little guy nodded. Okay, we were on the same page.
"Wait a sec." one of the Magma grunts said, looking past me and Mark. "Thalia, 's that you?" I looked back for a second and saw Thalia's expression had gone dark with her hood up.
"It's none of my business, Jet." She spoke evenly with a slight deadly undertone. "I'm not a part of this fight."
"Fine, suit yourself. Just wait til Maxie finds out."
"Wait til he finds you and Aqua working together."
"Common enemy." The guy, Jet, talked back. I heard a jangle and my eyes shot to Mark, who nodded. Jet saw and looked to Mark. "What the hell are you-" he started when Mark clashed his bracelets together, stomping his left foot and everything went into slow motion. Ventus shot down towards the part of the loose circle nearest Mark. I pointed at Ventus just as the bird was flapping his wings while pointing my other hand towards the people around us. Totodile shot a water gun at the legs of the grunts around us, knocking them off balance with the high pressure Totodile could get. Thank you Ethan. I leaned down and picked Torchic up with my hands, his warm body nice to hold in the moment, as he inhaled and exhaled a nice breath of flames at Ventus. However it wasn't going to hit Ventus. Just as Ventus flapped his wings, creating a blast of air to start a whirlwind, Torchic's fire hit as Ventus shot around the area in a circle, bringing the flames with him. Soon Ventus was flying around in a circle, making a whirlwind of flames the Torchic blew, shoving the circle back. Totodile kept watering down anyone who dared to get close enough to try and brave the flames. It was an incredible sight, the swirling flames around us as Ventus flew, the stream for Torchic's beak as he blew the fire.
Then, just as quickly as it had started, it ended. Ventus flew up with a small trail of flames behind him that dissipated before he shot down and landed at Mark's side. Around us was a small circle of dying flames and a bunch of stunned members of both teams. I felt kind of proud, setting Torchic down to my side. I grinned, expecting them to flee. Then I heard the bark. I turned just in time to see a Mightyena closing in on me, its teeth bared and ready to bite. It leapt up at me before Torchic came from nowhere and slashed at its eye with his tiny little talons, sending the hound off course. I heard more clanging and clashing from Mark, sending Ventus to push the members back as I watched Torchic fight this Mightyena. It landed away from Torchic and snarled before charging again.
"Totodile, I need-" I turned and saw Totodile get blasted away by a shot of fire from the Numel he had hit. It ran forward towards Totodile, getting in close where Water wouldn't matter too much and head butted him. "No." I turned back and saw Torchic jump and slash at the legs of the Mightyena. "Aron." I said but then another Mightyena came and tried to snatch him up in his jaws. However Aron weighs a good amount so the Mightyena wound up hurting its own teeth. I looked back and saw… oh no. Torchic tried to shoot fire but this Mightyena side stepped and shot forward, lashing out with its paw and slapping Torchic right to my feet. "No." I knelt and reached for Torchic as he tried to stand. "It's gonna be okay little guy, just-" I looked and the Mightyena was running for me again, ready to strike. I held on to Torchic with my left hand, readying my right to punch it, for all that would do, when Torchic wriggled from my grasp and shot out towards the hound baring down on us. "No!" I lunged for Torchic but he managed to get just out of my initial reach and he ran at the Mightyena. I landed on my front and scrambled to get up with suddenly, Torchic glowed with a bright light. Blinding, even. I had to shield my eyes, worried what was gonna happen.
Yelp! I heard from the Mightyena. I opened my eyes, seeing the light had died down. The Mightyena had been swatted aside by a new Pokemon that stood before me. At least double Torchic's height, it had longer legs with sharper talons with a couple around bits that were its thighs. From the waist up it wasn't orange but more a beige colour with long, lanky wing-like arms that had sharp claws at the ends. The head was somewhat long with a small plume of three orange feathers on its head. It let out a high pitched screech and the Mightyena backed away, its face badly bruised up.
"What in the…" I scrambled for my Pokedex and scanned what was before me.
Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokemon, evolved from Torchic. It lashes out with 10 kicks per second. Its strong fighting instinct compels it to keep up its offensive until the opponent gives up. Evolved. From. Torchic? I looked and it hit me. Not literally. Torchic had evolved. Into..
"Combusken." I said to myself. I looked behind me and saw Totodile beating back the Numel with Ventus shooing the Magma and Aqua grunts back with wind. But they weren't really staying back. I looked back to Combusken, who turned to face me. He looked serious now, but then I saw a small glint in his eye. He still had that cockiness about him. I grinned. "Okay, Combusken. Let's start the party."
After that it was pitiful. Combusken moved way faster than he had as Torchic, kicking Pokemon and trainers alike back at least a few feet with Ven diving in and blasting them back. It wasn't long before both sides. Left the clearing leaving me and Mark exhausted. I was about to collapse, the stress of the situation suddenly hitting me. I felt a hand clap my back and Mark laughed.
"Well now Brendan!" he exclaimed. "I never thought I'd see your Torchic evolve!"
"Thanks." I breathed, smiling.
"Well, now that that's all said and done. How about we rest up. If you need, you're free to spend the night."
"Thanks for the offer. Um…" I looked to Thalia, who had at some point returned her Pokemon.
"It's fine, Brendan." Mark said. "She can stay, she's your travelling partner. I don't have an issue. I was just surprised to learn her affiliations." The he lowered his voice. "Though don't be surprised if she possibly leaves them."
"What?" I asked but Mark just pulled back.
"Come on, let's get some rest. And hope they don't return." He walked to his cabin, Ventus following, leaving me to gather up my Pokemon and for Thalia to follow us in.
A/N: Boy oh boy, longest ES chapter I think. Hope you guys enjoyed the fight! Read, review, follow, and favourite.