Chapter 21 – How (Not) To Train Your Tyrunt!

The good news was that, unlike the rough roads of Route 8 and beyond, the Kalosian west coast was a straight line north across the smoothest terrain possible.

The bad news was that it was still going to take Hiccup and Fishlegs at least a day to cross it.

Technically still classified as Route 8, as it ran concurrently to the high cliffs that led to the Kalos Canyon, the west coast stretched for miles before it reached Cyllage City, made up of equal parts rock and beach. It was both a popular tourist destination and a peaceful route for Trainers to take, evidence for which Hiccup and Fishlegs passed by when they started along its length – when they left behind the throngs of beachgoers that crowded the sands beneath Ambrette Town, the only signs of human life they saw were Trainers or their campsites.

By the time the pair was ready to settle down for the evening, they'd traveled quite a ways along the sea, and set up camp on a secluded portion of the beach that was framed on one side by a natural archway that extended from the cliffside to touch the water like a giant index finger. The water itself was speckled with large boulders and even sea stacks, tall towers that may have once been a part of the cliff, but had been separated by the same forces of erosion that had sculpted them. It was a relaxing sight, especially under the dusky sky – but as far as Hiccup was concerned, it wasn't time to kick back for the night just yet.

"Alright, that's the tent done!" he stated with great satisfaction, standing up and stretching his back after several minutes of crouching. "Fishlegs, how's it coming with the table… settings…"

His question faded away without need of an answer, as what he saw when he glanced over at the table was answer enough. Fishlegs had apparently finished and was now sitting on a nearby rock next to Meatlug, who had rolled over onto her side and was growling contentedly as her Trainer's hands rubbed her exposed underside vigorously. It was… definitely a sight to behold, especially as, when Hiccup got closer, he started to hear the mushy talk that completed the bizarre image.

"Who's the best girl in the whole wide world? Meatlug is!" Fishlegs was cooing as though his huge Rhyhorn was a baby Yamper. "Who has the softest belly? Meatlug –"

Hiccup coughed, and that single sound may as well have been an open flame held to Fishlegs' rear end for how quickly the Ingerman boy jumped off his seat. "H-Hiccup! Th-The, uh, table's all done, s-so I, um, figured Meatlug and I would j-just…"

"Don't worry, Fishlegs, I'm not judging you for loving your Pokemon," Hiccup chuckled, and reached down to give Meatlug a gentle pat on the snout. "Speaking of which, I just finished the tent, so I was going to head over to the rocks over there and do some training with the team."

"Ooh, Inferno's first training exercise!" Fishlegs exclaimed, clapping his hands gleefully. "If you want to know her moves, the Pokedex said that she knew Bite, Fire Fang, Roar, and Ancient Power! All solid moves, and with her Rock-type defenses, she's sure to be able to take anything the Cyllage Gym throws at her. Well, provided it's not Ice, Fighting, Fairy, Steel, or…"

"Yes, I get your point," Hiccup said. "I take it you want to come and watch? I could definitely use your advice, like how you helped me with Toothless in Santalune."

To his surprise, though, Fishlegs shook his head with a sad smile. "A-Actually, Hiccup… I was going to go off and do some of m-my own training for a bit."

His own training? Hiccup gaped at him, baffled by his denial. "Really? I thought you'd jump at the chance to be one of the first in millions of years to watch Inferno in action."

"Y-Yes, well, I'll have plenty of time for that later," Fishlegs replied, and held out a Poke Ball – the one that contained his newest partner. "Right now, I need to focus on Darkvarg. I'm going to get all his basic measurements, do some experiments with his diet, and then I'm going to have him and Meatlug spar for a bit. We need to be in tip-top shape for the tag battle tournament in Shalour!"

"That's… quite the itinerary," Hiccup remarked, bemused, and then stopped when one detail stuck out to him. "Wait, the tournament? You… Fishlegs Ingerman… are going to do battle training for the tournament at the Tower of Mastery?"

"Uh-huh!" Fishlegs answered with an enthusiastic bob of the head. His response almost floored Hiccup – he'd never thought he would see his timid, studious neighbor so fired up for battle.

I guess the possibility of Mega Evolution secrets is a big incentive, he thought. Or this is a response to what went down at Glittering Cave… Regardless of Fishlegs' motivation, he couldn't help but feel fondly pleased at his friend's newfound interest in Pokemon battles, like watching a Squirtle emerge from its shell.

At last, he recovered from the moment of shock and gave Fishlegs a satisfied nod. "Okay then, let's both train hard to win. See you at the campsite in… an hour or so, I guess?"

"Will do, Hiccup!" Fishlegs began to dash off toward the archway, waving at him. "You know how I got Meatlug to rapid-fire her Smack Down against Team Flare? I got the idea to turn it into Rock Blast! And I'm gonna improve Darkvarg's moves too! Come on, girl, let's train!"

"Rhyyyyy!" Meatlug bellowed after him, and trundled away at a full gallop, leaving Hiccup to guard his face against the sand that billowed up in her wake.

Grimacing, Hiccup brushed the grit from his jacket and stared after their fast-retreating forms. "Well, that's certainly an exit…" he muttered before continuing to dust himself off. Only once he felt free of sand did he grab his Poke Balls and walk toward the sea. "Toothless, come on! Training time!"

The Bagon was standing on the table, arms out and leaning into the breeze that blew in from the water, eyelids shut serenely as though trying to imagine the sensation of flying. But his eyes snapped open at Hiccup's call, flapping his arms as he leapt from the table and scampered over in pursuit. "Bago! Bago!"

Hiccup led his partner over to a portion of the beach halfway between their camp and the tide line. Here, there were several boulders that stuck out of the sand, and part of a scattered group that trailed all the way down to the shallows. Hiccup had a training regime in mind for his three Pokemon, and here was where they were going to start their warm-up.

"Rise and shine, Skullcrusher and Inferno," he called out, lobbing their respective capsules. The Axew and Tyrunt emerged on the sand next to Toothless, the former staring with military-grade focus at his Trainer and the latter immediately turning around in fascination, distracted by the sights and sounds of the coast.

"Okay, gang, we've got only a short while to go before we hit our next Gym," Hiccup told them, his announcement prompting Inferno to turn around. "Skullcrusher, you've already done a bit of battle practice in preparation for this, but Inferno hasn't yet, so we'll have to make some good headway today and build on it tomorrow. The battle coming up is going to be tough."

"Tyyyyra!" Inferno barked fiercely and bared her teeth. Toothless and Skullcrusher both looked determined, but they didn't match the newbie's unrestrained zeal.

Aiming an encouraging smile at the Tyrunt, Hiccup went on, "So, here's what I'm thinking we do to start out. All of you are going to be training against these boulders – just like what Toothless and Skullcrusher did on Route 8. Toothless, you just learned how to use Bite, so focus on increasing its power."

"Bagon bago!" Toothless agreed, and chomped at the air to show that he was ready.

"Skullcrusher," Hiccup continued, and his mind drifted back to a conversation him and Fishlegs had had while traversing the coastline. "I think you should turn your False Swipe into a proper attack. Don't get me wrong, your fake-out combo is great, but since the move is known for being weak, people are going to start suspecting something if we keep using it. So work on powering that up, okay?"

After taking a second to mull that over, Skullcrusher ended up nodding. "Yew Axew."

"Good stuff," Hiccup approved. That only left Inferno, who was particularly eager to be given her instructions judging from how her eyes were glittering greedily. "Inferno, you're going to be training with me for now. I want you to show me your moves so I can see how powerful they are, and figure out how to improve them. But that's for later… just hit things as hard as you can, got it?"

"TYRA!" Inferno roared, a declaration of might that Hiccup, personally, thought was a little much for beating up nature's equivalent of a punching bag.

Still, he admitted with a mental shrug, can't say I want to ruin her enthusiasm.

He clapped his hands and ordered, "Okay, guys, let's see some action! Take your position and start practicing!"

Toothless and Skullcrusher saluted and ran off, where they proceeded to start relentlessly biting and scratching at boulders on different parts of the beach. Inferno, wide-eyed and salivating, watched them get to work for a few moments, before Hiccup whistled to get her attention.

"That means you, too," he told the Rock-and-Dragon-type. "Come on, start by giving the rock in front of us a good Bite. Show me what you can do."

Inferno perked up at his command and whirled around, leaping at the boulder with a snarl. Jaws stretching wide and teeth glowing with power, she bit down with a crunch, carving a significant chunk off the top of the rock. When she landed, she let several crushed pebbles roll off her tongue and gnashed her teeth happily.

"Nice job, Inferno!" Hiccup said, clapping. "Now heat it up a bit. Fire Fang!"

This time, Inferno's jaws opened to unleash a crackling blaze, and tendrils of flame gushed out when she closed them on the boulder yet again. Another big chunk was bitten off the rock, and when Inferno spat out the remnants, they were charred black and dusty with soot.

"Excellent!" Hiccup kept up the compliments, wanting to see more. "Next, use Ancient Power!"

However, Inferno seemed not to have heard him. Instead of responding, she kept glaring at the partially destroyed boulder, smacking her tail against it and growling. She almost seemed… confused, and a little bit frustrated, an expression that Hiccup had seen far too often on Toothless' muzzle to not recognize. Back in the early days, the Bagon couldn't comprehend why he kept falling when he jumped off things, and spent a lot of time sulking.

"Hey, Inferno?" Hiccup asked, and the dinosaur turned to regard him. "How about it? Show me your Ancient Power."

"Tyra," she replied, less extravagantly than before, and a white glow enveloped him. While she stood still, the sand around her shifted, and medium-sized stones burrowed out of the substrate and levitated around her. With a swish of her tail, Inferno sent the stones hurtling in a simple arc toward the boulder – some drifted away from their mark and thudded uselessly in the sand, but enough struck the larger rock to crumble it a little more.

"Okay…" Hiccup mused, rubbing his chin as he assessed the less-than-accurate attack. "Maybe we could work on refining that. Inferno, let's try that agai–"

He was interrupted by a loud snarl, the sound of Inferno lunging at the rock in an outburst that surpassed frustration and went straight to annoyance. She smacked it with his tail again, then headbutted it, then gave another indignant cry and started gnawing on it. Whatever she was trying, it didn't seem to be working – and more importantly, it wasn't what Hiccup had ordered.

"Whoa, whoa, what's wrong, Inferno?" Hiccup asked, raising his hands in a futile bid to deescalate the unexpected tantrum. Inferno didn't answer in a very clear way – she barked harshly and tackled the boulder, causing loose pebbles to shower onto the sand, which she then proceeded to stomp on multiple times. That didn't calm her down at all, and she swung her muzzle over to Hiccup, growling as if demanding something.

What does she want me to do? I've already told her what kind of training we were doing… Hiccup frowned back at Inferno's scowl, baffled as to the reason for her frustration – let alone how to fix it. Inferno thumped the boulder with her tail again, causing a larger pebble to fall off and roll along the ground, to which she gave chase. When she pounced on it emphatically, everything suddenly clicked for Hiccup.

"I get it now," he remarked. "You don't want to hit a rock. You want an opponent."

Inferno whirled on him. "Tyra! Tyra!" she demanded in a petulant tone, smacking the rock several more times. It remained inert, as usual, and she growled at it in great annoyance.

A Pokemon that doesn't like my training methods? Okay, I can work with that… Hiccup thought. He gave Inferno an understanding smile and nodded, "Know what, you're right. You'd absolutely benefit from a sparring match. But I still need to get a better idea of your power level, so let's compromise – if you agree to practice your moves with me for a few more minutes, I'll call off the warmup exercise and you can fight Toothless or Skullcrusher. Good?"

To his relief, Inferno nodded, content with the arrangement. Though she grumbled when she turned back to the decimated boulder, Hiccup was at least assured that she'd cooperate.

"Good," Hiccup decided. "Now, use another Bite!"

They continued like this for a minute or two, Inferno cycling through her attacks while Hiccup assessed their strength – well, all except Roar, which wouldn't affect a stationary object. Between attacks, Inferno would glance enviously at the other Dragon-types, which Hiccup noted with approval were making good headway in their practice. Whenever he reminded Inferno to stay focused, he'd send his own glance over to check their progress: Toothless was chomping pieces out of his own rock with gusto, and the thin glow of Skullcrusher's False Swipe was intensifying into something greater.

"Tyra…" he heard Inferno mutter. He gave a start – while he'd been distracted watching the others train, Inferno had also started watching them, slacking on her own training to do so.

"Inferno, focus," he muttered. It was already starting to feel like he'd repeated himself a dozen times at this point. "Use Ancient Power, please."

For the briefest of instants, Inferno's eyes flicked, unenthused, to the boulder and then back to him. She didn't budge, instead remaining fixated on the other Dragon-types as they made repeated lunges at their own targets.

Of all the… Hiccup rolled his eyes and fought the urge to snort in irritation. I thought only Toothless could get this bad. Somehow I ended up with a Dragon-type with even worse stubbornness issues than he has.

He lifted his leg to step forward, only for Inferno's eyes to swivel toward him again, and this time the prehistoric Pokemon responded, dragging her feet back into position with all the motivation of a Snorlax. Regardless of her boredom, she levitated a new volley of stones nonetheless, letting them hang for a moment as though taking aim. Hiccup was just about to open his mouth to praise her…

…when, by chance, he saw Inferno's gaze wander back to the others. Something about the way she looked at them gave Hiccup a foreboding feeling, and without even consciously knowing why, he started to reach out, to get Inferno to stop.

His gut was proven one hundred percent correct when Inferno lobbed her gathered Ancient Power directly at Toothless.

The stones shattered as they bombarded the area around Toothless, several pummeling the boulder and crumbling it further, while others smashed harmlessly into the sand. Toothless himself saw the movement from the corner of his eye and quickly dodged, leaping out of the way and landing with a narrowed glare at Inferno. The Tyrunt huffed with an air of amusement, which Toothless… didn't take well.

"Bago!" he snarled in outrage, pawing the ground and lowering his head as his temper spiked at the drop of a hat. "BAGO!"

"TYRA!" Inferno bellowed back, the boredom instantly leaving her posture as she opened her jaws in a terrible grin and lashed her tail with renewed energy. She'd wanted this, and now as Toothless challenged her, she took it as an invitation to sprint at full tilt toward her fellow dragon.

Why? Why me? Hiccup was left to ask himself, emotional storm clouds rising to fill him with a simmering frustration. Why is it that every time I get a new Pokemon, they decide it'd be a good idea to fight each other?

By the time the irritated thought had crossed his mind, Toothless and Inferno were already going at it. The former blasted plumes of Dragon Breath, which all struck the beach and threw up curtains of sand with muffled booms as Inferno swerved around every last one, demonstrating frightening agility. Toothless cut off the blasts and glowed with the light of Dragon Dance as Inferno drew near, rolling out of the way of her opening Bite, which closed on empty air with a dramatic crack. Not deterred, Inferno chased after Toothless with predatory zeal, snapping her teeth and swiping her tail again and again as the smaller Dragon-type avoided each attack by a scale's breadth.

Hiccup didn't act right away. He was simply dumbstruck, too numb with disbelief to do anything but take in the appalling sight of one Pokemon bullying the other. In her thirst for combat, Inferno attacked with no foresight, no strategy in mind – she just leapt after Toothless with any attack she felt like using. Tail whips, Bites, Fire Fangs, and rocks tossed with Ancient Power; the Bagon had to dip, duck, and dive away from all of these in the moments it took Hiccup to compose himself.

"Inferno, stop!" he shouted, to no avail. The Tyrunt was obviously past the point of listening to him, too engrossed in chasing her new target. So Hiccup switched tactics, addressing a different Pokemon: "Skullcrusher! Separate the two of them!"

The Axew, until now, had been standing warily on the sidelines, unwilling to get involved though ready to spring to his own defense if Inferno forced his hand. But at Hiccup's command, he saluted and forced his way in between Toothless and Inferno, using his tusks to keep them both at bay and chirping furiously.

Neither paid him any heed. Inferno lunged with jaws open, and when Skullcrusher sidestepped by reflex, she kept going toward Toothless. The dragonling darted aside, then came back with a vengeance, his Headbutt slamming right into Inferno's chin to send her reeling.

Words weren't going to work anymore, Hiccup realized, not with the conflict escalating this quickly. Force was going to be necessary. "Okay, Skullcrusher! Help Toothless get Inferno under control!" he yelled over the melee. "Get her attention with your False Swipe!"

"AXEW!" Skullcrusher cried, successfully drawing Inferno's ire before the latter could retaliate against Toothless. The gleam at the tip of his tusks spread along their edges, outlining them with white light as he readied himself to swing.

Provoked by the light and battle cry, Inferno jumped forward to meet him halfway, a Fire Fang bursting to life as she slammed her jaws down on Skullcrusher's intended weapon. Growling, the Axew tried to pry himself free, but Inferno had the strength to back up her size, and flung Skullcrusher away with a toss of her head.

Sorry, Skullcrusher, but just hang in there and distract her…! Hiccup thought, and turned to give his next command to Toothless. "Go, bud! Dragon Breath!"

"Bagawwwww!" Toothless unleashed his dragonfire as a stream this time, pushing Inferno back and searing her scales. The Tyrunt wailed and staggered against the force of the torrent, twisting her head around to gnash her flaming fangs uselessly.

Hiccup looked toward Skullcrusher – the Axew was getting to his feet, and met his eyes with a determined gleam. Reassured that he wasn't out of the fight yet, Hiccup yelled, "Toothless, back off, and Skullcrusher, Dual Chop!"

As soon as Toothless' Dragon Breath faded, though, Inferno spun several times with a furious roar, Ancient Power rocks pulling themselves from the sand and sailing in every direction with each rotation. Toothless was forced to swerve around the projectiles as he retreated, and Skullcrusher, already charging back into battle, couldn't destroy them all. He fell to his knees when two struck him in the head and chest.

"Toothless, Bite!" Hiccup shouted, sweat sliding down his temple as tension pressed down on him further. Inferno's way out of control now… we need to subdue her before somebody gets hurt.

That happened faster than he could've believed. Ducking under several more flung stones, Toothless raced at Inferno and sunk his glowing teeth into the larger Dragon-type's leg. Already driven wild by the battle of her own making, Inferno reacted violently to the pain and thrashed Toothless off her, then struck with her own Bite. It was a devastating blow – her jaws large and strong enough to lift Toothless' body off the ground, Inferno shook her head like a dog Pokemon with a chew toy before hurling her opponent away. Toothless struck the side of a boulder and then landed with a splash, barely moving.

The sound of the splash struck Hiccup's heart like an arrow – he hadn't even realized that the battle had moved so close to the shallows. "Toothless!" he cried and, unable to stand being on the sidelines for any longer, ran toward the water to reach his fallen partner. "Skullcrusher, use Dual Chop on the ground!"

While Skullcrusher sprayed Inferno with sand to temporarily blind her, Hiccup rushed into the water and scooped the drenched Toothless up in his arms, uncaring of the water soaking into his sleeves and chilling him. He glanced up, scanning the beach with frantic eyes – where was Fishlegs? Surely he would've heard the racket and come running by now, and Hiccup could really use the backup…

With no-one in sight, Hiccup set his jaw and reached into his pocket, his fingers closing around the round shape of Inferno's forgotten Poke Ball. "Okay, I've had about enough of this," he bit out to himself. Toothless tucked under one arm and the other holding the Poke Ball, he aimed it at the writhing theropod and pressed the button. "Return, Inferno!"

The red beam lanced out, but in a stroke of bad timing, Inferno cleared her eyes of sand and jumped aside. The light hit the sand without effect, and Inferno was already going after Skullcrusher again. Hiccup could hear the Axew's rasping breaths as he tired, his measured dodges from Inferno's attacks becoming slower and sloppier. And, with the two Pokemon constantly on the move, Hiccup couldn't aim the Poke Ball correctly.

"Skullcrusher, try to hold her in place! Scary Face!" he commanded.

The frightening illusion flew toward Inferno with a chilling howl, and she stopped dead with shock at its appearance, frozen in mid-attack. It was the opportunity Hiccup had been waiting for, and he hurried to activate the Poke Ball before Inferno could start moving again.

Except that Inferno didn't need to move to attack. She sucked in a breath, widened her gape, and – "TYYYYYRAAAAAOOOOO!"

The Roar manifested as a powerful sonic wave that swept across the beach, disturbing sand and causing the water to churn in its wake. Skullcrusher, at the epicenter of the cacophony, struggled to brace himself against the wave for only an instant before he transformed into energy and flew back to his Poke Ball. Hiccup was also caught in the shriek, his hair and jacket flapping in the wind, and the weight under his arm disappeared as, before his dismayed eyes, Toothless vanished as well.

He cursed himself – he'd forgotten all about Roar, and what it could do. Now there was no-one between him and the wild-eyed Inferno, who was spinning in circles as if frantically trying to figure out where her opponents had gone. Realizing that Inferno's confusion had given him a chance, Hiccup aimed the Poke Ball for a third time, and…

…success. The beam struck Inferno just as she spotted it, turning her into energy and drawing her back inside. Hiccup sighed, slowly coming down off his anxious high, glad that the chaos had been dealt with.

For all of two seconds, anyway.

He shouted in shocked dismay when the capsule abruptly popped open in his grasp with a bright, startling flash. His mother's words about Pokemon being able to break free of their Poke Balls with enough willpower echoed through his mind as Inferno, indeed still frantic with battle fever, manifested to stand on the beach once more. He was out of options: no Pokemon to bring the Tyrunt down, the Poke Ball proven ineffective…

Inferno spotted him, the only living thing left on the beach, and pawed at the ground with a snarl. Hiccup stiffened, his heart sinking and face paling when he realized that he'd just become Inferno's latest opponent. Oh, Tauros dung…

His own Pokemon charged straight for him, and, a bolt of panic flooding his system, he whipped his head toward the empty campsite. "FISHLEG–"

SPLOOOOOSH!

Suddenly, water filled his ears, nose, and mouth as a deluge swamped him, knocking him prone. Spluttering and soaked to the skin, Hiccup wiped the salt out of his eyes and scrambled half-blind to his feet, squinting through his dripping hair for any sign of Inferno… there! The Rock-and-Dragon-type had also been upended by the freak tidal wave, spitting out water as she glared wildly around in search of whatever, or whoever, had done that.

Come to think of it, there's no way that wave came naturally, is there…?

A high-pitched giggle interrupted his thoughts, and both Hiccup and Inferno whirled in the direction of the sea. Amongst the offshore rocks, a small blue creature had appeared from beneath the surface – only its spiny head was visible, the corners of its wide eyes crinkled with laughter while giggles continued to bubble from its nozzle-like mouth. Then, in a spray of water, it jumped clear and landed atop one of the nearby rocks, revealing a single fin on its back and a coiled tail.

That's a Horsea, Hiccup identified it immediately as the pre-evolved form of a Dragon-type called Kingdra. Knowing what it was, though, only answered one question. Did it send that wave at us? Its bravery is impressive… but why'd it appear?

Not everyone was willing to give the matter thought, however. Finally recovered from her impromptu dip in the sea, Inferno tracked the sound of Horsea's laughter to its source and launched an Ancient Power barrage with a furious roar.

Whatever concern Hiccup had for the small Water-type was erased by what it did next. Its tail uncoiled like a spring and catapulted it off its perch, the Ancient Power falling into the water in a series of splashes, before it landed on the rock nearby and continued to giggle. Hiccup trailed the Pokemon's trajectory with his gaze, impressed despite himself. With movements like that, its confidence was justified.

A quick spurt of Bubble Beam suddenly struck Inferno on the flank, which drove her rage to a new height entirely. The Tyrunt screamed and rammed herself into the rock with Bite, sending its fragments and occupant tumbling into the sea. But when she turned to take her ire out on the insolent Horsea, it had vanished… only to pop up behind her and spritz the back of her skull, sending her into another frenzy.

Forgotten entirely by his disobedient Pokemon, Hiccup had the luxury of watching this game of Meowth and Rattata go on, with increasing bemusement, for a whole two minutes. Whenever Inferno would charge at the Horsea with violent intent, the Water-type would disappear underwater and blast her from a different angle, only hard enough to provoke her. Inferno spun and snapped, whirled and writhed, but like a Herdier chasing its tail, she hadn't a hope of catching her tormentor. Eventually, the Horsea stopped attacking from the water and started hopping from rock to rock, goading Inferno into smashing her head into them, her movements becoming more sluggish with every impact.

It was fascinating to watch the Horsea toy with her – though Hiccup did feel sympathy for his Pokemon as she was humiliated again and again.

Finally, when Inferno was so tired that her Ancient Power conjured only a single rock that missed its mark, the bored Horsea delivered the coup de grace. "SEE-HEEEEE!"

For its grand finale, the water underneath Inferno roiled and then exploded into a great waterspout that carried her high into the air. It was a Twister, a Dragon-type move, and Hiccup was so in awe of its size and strength that he was still gaping by the time it dissipated… at which point Inferno came plummeting back to earth in a surge of salty spray. He looked around, surprised – the Horsea was gone, vanished as if into thin air, leaving the unconscious Tyrunt alone to lay half-submerged in the calm waters.

As much as Hiccup would've loved to spend more time wondering about the Horsea and why the heck it had shown up in the first place, he shunted it from his mind. His priority was to his Pokemon, and it was with significant haste that he ran to Inferno's side, holding her head up above the water and inspecting her for significant damage. Finding none, he sighed and, resignedly, returned Inferno back to her Poke Ball.

"That's enough excitement for you for one day," he murmured. The comment was supposed to have been made in jest, but it came out dismally. There was nothing to laugh about – Inferno's rampage had hurt Toothless and Skullcrusher, and only been ended by an incidental stranger, in a most embarrassing fashion.

And that was disregarding the fact that it had happened at all.

Light flashed as Poke Balls opened, and Toothless and Skullcrusher emerged with dazed expressions to look up at their Trainer's sad smile. "Sorry, guys," Hiccup sighed. "I had no idea that Inferno would attack you like that… but still, it's my fault you two got the brunt of it. Are you two okay?"

Their replies were light-hearted and reassuring, which lifted Hiccup's spirits a little. But all it took was a glance at Inferno's Poke Ball to bring on a wave of doubt and confusion that dragged them right back down. His initial impression of Inferno had just been "difficult" – someone that he felt he could get through to with effort despite the rough start. Now, though… how could he train a Pokemon so self-centered that she would rather attack her own teammates and Trainer than listen to orders she didn't like?

That's right, Hiccup realized, a memory springing to mind. She rebuffed my usual bonding ritual, too. Does that mean that Inferno just doesn't trust me? Is there something I can do to fix that? If I can't even get her to accept me as his Trainer… then how will I ever work with her in battle?

"Hiccup! Omigosh, what happened?!"

His arrival heralded by a shout and a series of frantic splashes, Fishlegs was suddenly there, wading through the water to reach Hiccup and his two remaining Dragon-types. Meatlug and Darkvarg came with him, though they skidded to a halt beyond the water line and eyed the waves uncomfortably. Sticking out a pudgy arm, the Ingerman boy hauled Hiccup to his feet and immediately began inspecting him for damage.

"I-I thought I heard you shout f-for me, but I w-wasn't sure… then I come back to the c-campsite and find th-this!" Fishlegs stammered in a rush. "Y-You're all soaked, Toothless and Skullcrusher look like they were t-trampled by a Mudsdale… a-and where's Inferno?"

"In here: she's on time out after she turned on the other two," Hiccup answered the last part snidely. As Fishlegs' mouth fell open, he went on, "Long story short, I thought we were going to get along, but all Inferno wants is to battle, and she forced Toothless and Skullcrusher to defend themselves after she lost interest in move practice."

"No way!" Fishlegs gasped, appalled. "I-I've heard that it's not uncommon for P-Pokemon to sometimes rebel against their Trainers in the period immediately f-following capture… b-b-but this is worse th-than I ever imagined!

Almost as soon as he finished, he suddenly cried out in horror. "Oh no! Y-Your Gym battle! You were planning on using Inferno at the Cyllage Gym! But now you c-can't!"

"Thank you, Fishlegs, I wasn't aware of that," Hiccup snarked without thinking. Catching his friend's wounded expression, he grimaced and backtracked. "Sorry, I'm just… wound up. But as for the Gym… I'm going to have to give Inferno a rest until I can figure something out."

He grinned at Toothless, his attempt at cheeriness far too strained to be convincing. "I guess that means I'm going to be using you as well as Skullcrusher, bud."

"Bago." Toothless, like Hiccup, was barely able to muster the enthusiasm.

Fishlegs glanced between Hiccup and his Pokemon, shuffling his feet, made nervous by this new, distressing situation. "W-We should… um… probably get back to camp," he implored at last, gesturing gingerly up the beach. "We can eat and, ah, g-get the Pokemon patched up… except for maybe Inferno? I-It's probably best if we d-don't aggravate her and leave her u-until we get to the Pokemon Center…"

"Yeah… good call," Hiccup agreed tiredly. He didn't like the thought of Inferno going hungry and untreated until tomorrow… but at the same time, he didn't think Inferno would tolerate him bandaging her up. Then again, she probably wouldn't care for being handled by total strangers, either. I suppose it's a good thing for Nurse Joy that she has a Fairy-type for an assistant…

With a groan, he reached down to carefully grab his Pokemon and cradle them in his arms, mindful of their bruises. "Come on, Toothless, Skullcrusher… you heard him. I'll do some first aid, then we can fill our bellies and sleep."

The two of them uttered mournful sounds as Hiccup carried them toward the campsite, Fishlegs and his Rock-types following. He sent a backwards glance at their practice field, laying in ruin, and stifled an exhausted sigh. He'd wanted to make the most of their downtime to practice for the Cyllage Gym, but for now, their training would have to wait.

AN:

With Team Flare out of the picture for now, Hiccup getting a new Pokemon is the perfect way to introduce more conflict. Whereas Toothless has caused some problems before with how stubborn he can get, Inferno is the true "rebel" Pokemon that tends to crop up in every series and every journey fic. Conflict between Trainer and Pokemon is a great way to help the characters grow because of how it forces the Trainer to adapt, so now Hiccup has to do the same and get Inferno in his corner.

For now, Hiccup's still stuck with Toothless and Skullcrusher as his only allies, so we'll have to see how he plans to handle the next Gym. And perhaps we might see that seemingly random Horsea again? There's no way it was just a one-off encounter with no further significance, was it? Hmm...

Cyllage City awaits in the next chapter, so please send reviews in the meantime, and thanks as always for reading!

Next time: Taking Things for Grant!