[No clever quote title this time. You'll see why. Also, SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT at the end of the Chapter. Also, part of this chapter was made around Halloween so things may get a bit gory. Y'all have been warned. Hope you all enjoy. Note: I do not own Pokémon. All rights to it's actual owners.]
[Characters within this chapter:
Flara (Braxian)
Ema (Emolga)
Tony (Monferno)
Spark (Pikachu)
Snive (Servine)
Dew (Dewott)
Tepper (Pignite)
Mr. Emboar (Emboar)
Sasha (Delphox)
Master Samurott (Samurott)
Chapter 19: Trifecta
(Cove Town Center)(No one's POV)
"*Snort* She grounded you?" Tony laughed.
"Hell yeah she did. Got my room on 24 hour guard. But I snuck out anyway." Snive continued her explanation. The two were currently relaxing and recounting the events of two days ago on one of the many benches that circled Cove Town center, yesterday being used as a resting day for the both of them to recover. "I'm an adult, she can't really keep me there. I should be truly free once the others get back, though."
Snive then reached behind her and pulled out a paper, handing it to Tony with the blank side up. "And I almost forgot. I got some news for ya."
Curious, Tony took the page and flipped it around. Upon seeing the picture and words, his eyes widened in shock.
"I'M BANNED!" Tony yelled out, gaining the attention of some of the Pokémon passing by but was soon ignored. Snive also began laughing at his reaction.
"Heh heh, yeah... She actually wanted to have you arrested but I managed to talk her into just banning you. She said she had to do something which is TS in my opinion. Sorry dude."
"Eh, it could be worse." Tony stated solemnly. "I thought I was a good boy..."
"Welcome to the rebel side." Snive joked. "It'll definitely be a fun story for when the others get back."
"Yeah, you're right. Speaking off, what do you think the others are up to? I got a text from Flara saying she got there and stuff but not sure about the others." Tony asked while looking down at his badge screen as he received another message. "She's about to start training with her mom actually."
"Who knows, probably some kind of training for Dew also. Prince and Spark most likely have some lovey-dovey stuff lined up." Snive said before yawning. She then smirked at Tony. "So...been texting her since last night huh?"
Tony blushes and groans.
(Unknown underground cave with lake)(Dew's POV)
*pant* *pant* This is brutal.
We've been in this cave all day, maybe night? I'm not too sure anymore since no sunlight got in here. It didn't really matter though since I was more focused on the training I was receiving. Right now I am doing a one-handed handstand on top of my scalchop which was activated in Razor Shell Buster Sword Mode. My face was covered in sweat and looked strained in concentration, this concentration coming from my need to be aware of my surroundings while also keeping my swords activated. Master Samurott was teaching me how to better my detection skills and he was not showing any mercy, throwing random objects at me from random directions as well as attacking me on occasion.
For a guy as big as him, he's surprisingly stealthy.
If I didn't block, I got hurt obviously and we'd have to start the exercise over again. Same thing if I deactivate my Razor Shell and fall. He already got me a few times but this time around was the longest I went without getting hit and I intend to go all away this time.
*whistling heard from behind Dew, noise growing closer*
Now!
I quickly turned around to see a rock flying towards me. Reacting quickly, I activated Iron Tail on my free scalchop and smashed it to pieces. Immediately after that, several other rocks were thrown at me. I had to quickly maneuver around to smash them. The ones I couldn't smash I had to dodge, something that proved difficult because I had to stay in place.
Remember, dodging requires too much energy, and you need to avoid doing that and block. I kept telling myself. I heard another listening sound from above and looked up to see Master Samurott flying towards me, shell sword out and water wrapped tightly around it. Coming in too fast with too much power, can't block, need to dodge this time.
With a quick lean, I was barely able to dodge the downward slash, causing it to slash into the ground, kicking up rocks and dirt as it did. Master Samurott was quick to recover though, quickly bringing his sword back up to strike me. This slash was less powerful than the one before so I was able to block and parry it with my scalchop in Razor Shell Mode. Master Samurott didn't waste time on continuing his attack, rapidly jumping around and delivering attacks with me parrying as much as I could.
*pant* Can't keep this up...but I can't fall now!
After a few strikes, Master Samurott delivered a quick and powerful strike, forcing us into a blade lock and a fight for power. My face got even more strained from the effort and I felt my body shaking, about to give up on me.
"Fuuuuck!" I yelled, willing my body to keep going but it was obvious that I was about to fall. Right before I did though, Master Samurott jumped back a bit, breaking our blade lock and just stared at me with a powerful intensity. Panting heavily, I still kept my blade up and kept my eyes on him, expecting him to try something again. Instead, he deactivated his Razor Shell and sheathed his sword before smiling at me.
"You may now rest my son." Dad said with a nod. The second he said it, both of my swords deactivated and I crashed to the ground, right into the puddle of water that my sword made, now trying to regain my breath and composure.
"*Hard exhale* Arceus." I exhaled, flopping onto my back in my tired state with my eyes shut. I also heard a chuckle which caused me to crack an eye to glare at my master. "You're enjoying my suffering, aren't you?"
"It is for your benefit, my son." Dad stated with a smile before walking up to me and extending a hand. I took it and he helped me to my feet. "Now come, time for dinner."
(One hardy and much needed dinner later)
After eating at our campsite in the cave, Father and I settled into a comfortable silence. Father settled into a meditative sitting position, eyes closed and in his own thoughts while I casually practiced activating different modes on one of my scalchop. I was currently on my Fury Cutter form when I glanced back up at my dad and saw him staring down at me. "Uh...is something wrong father?"
"Trust me, nothing is wrong." He stated before smiling. "I'm just proud of the progress you've made. You've grown into a great warrior."
The praise caught me off guard, making me feel a bit embarrassed and causing my face to heat up.
"Dah, well, I had an awesome teacher so how could I not grow?" I stated sheepishly while scratching the back of my head. "It's great being able to do all these things but I know I still have a lot to learn."
"That is true, and I will gladly teach it to such a worthy successor." Father stated, making me feel even more embarrassed.
"Dad..." I groaned, embarrassed but also happy with the praise.
"*chuckles* And it's not only with combat training that you have grown." Father said before smirking at me, confusing me as I began to drink water from a cup we brought with us. "So tell me, how are things going with Snive?"
As soon as he mentioned her name, I did a huge spit take in the opposite direction, already feeling my face turning red. This also got a laugh out of him.
"Why do you ask?" I nervously asked with an equal nervous smile.
"Just curious about my son's life is all, want to make sure things are okay, especially with the princess who he has admired for so long." He said before gaining a serious expression. "Are things okay?"
"Well...Snive is Snive. It's hard but I'm not giving up on her. The others told me to keep pushing and I don't intend to stop. She's a tough nut to crack." I stated, gaining a smile on my face now with her on my mind. "Just need to figure out a way to properly talk to her about this stuff."
"Heh, much like her mother..." Father said offhandedly.
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" I asked before gasping and lowering my voice down to a whisper. "Did you two..."
"Oh heavens no. We weren't compatible in the slightest. We were friends once but our lives grew apart." He stated. "My eye was on your mother when I was around your age..."
"Oh..." I said quietly. A silence spread between the two of us as we both thought about the same thing. Mom was a touchy subject for us, my dad more so. As much as I know it probably hurt to talk about, I couldn't help but ask. "What...was she like?"
Another silence came about, Father's face showed several hurting and conflicting emotions that made me feel guilty for asking.
"S-sorry, forget I asked. I know it hur-"
"It's alright my son. To be honest, I do genuinely want to talk about it and you of all Pokémon have the right to know." Father stated, cutting me off. "She was the one who wanted to take you in."
"Really?" I asked, surprised.
"Mhmm, we were young when we found you. Your mother was...energetic, compassionate, despite being the fiercest warrior I knew. The day she found you, she immediately took a shine to you and brought you to me. You can imagine how surprised I was, especially since both she and I are infertile."
"Oh, that would explain the lack of kids." I chimed in.
"I was skeptical at first, too focused on exploring and bounty hunting to even consider adoption. But that look in her eyes, I could never say no to her. Plus, I felt something seeing you in her arms, a life that I never considered and a spark of a potential coming from you." He explained.
"What life was that?" I asked.
"Fatherhood, family hood. And it's been one of your mother and I's greatest accomplishments." Father stated.
"Really? Greater than the many strong outlaws you've taken down?" I questioned.
"Far greater, and I thank you and your mother for that." Father said, making me feel warm and happy inward and out as seen with my bright smile.
"Thank you father. I'm glad that I can uphold your and mother's traditions and teachings." I said, getting into a cross-legged sitting position and bowing towards him in respect.
"She would have been proud of the Pokémon you've become." Father said sincerely.
"I miss her..." I said solemnly, rising from my bow.
"As do I, my son. But she is now in Arceus' care, most likely serving as His guard." Father chuckled, which I did as well.
"She really was a great warrior, huh?" I said.
"One of the best. Even beat me on occasion." Father stated, surprising me.
"No way." I said in disbelief.
"She had her tricks that even I couldn't overcome." Father stated.
"Tricks?" I questioned.
"Well, being a female and all..." He started.
"Woooah there, I got it. I don't need a mental image." I interrupted, waving my hands in front of me in his direction.
"I thought so." He chuckled.
"So if she was such a great warrior, how did she pass?" I asked, making him lose his happy expression. "N-no disrespect. I'm sorry for the way that sounded."
"It is alright my son. I know what you meant." He stated, quieting me. "As for your mother...even the strongest warriors aren't invincible..."
"What happened?" I asked.
"It was a normal bounty hunting mission. The dungeon we were in was much like this one. We found the outlaw at the end of it. I honestly forgot who it was since they weren't important enough to remember among...other reasons. Right before apprehending them...he appeared." Father said vaguely.
"Who's he?" I asked.
"Reaper, he's an infamous shiny Dusknoir mercenary, sells his services to the highest bidder to anyone, no matter which side of the law they're on. He's the type of 'explorer' that gives everyone else a bad name. He was a psycho as well..." Father started, my silence being seen as me listening and a sign for him to continue. "The outlaw hired him for protection, it must have been a pretty recent hire since there was no intel on it when we got the case."
"W-what did he do?" I asked, stuttering it out.
"He had the outlaw lure us into a trap and separated us with a special kind of Shadow Sneak that I only ever seen him use. He uses it to grab people and drag them through the walls or floor. It all happened so quickly that I could grab her in time. She was dragged into the floor and out of the room. She told me not to worry, it was nothing she couldn't handle, her confident smile on her face. I didn't think that those would be her final words." Dad continued, his frown growing as the story went on.
"Shit..." I said quietly, imaging myself there. All the emotions that had to come from that moment.
"I trusted her abilities and words, I made the mistake of underestimating Reaper's skills however. I quickly dispatched the main outlaw, they was more bark than actual bite if I remember correctly. With their capture, I tried to question them about your mother's whereabouts. I didn't have to wait long for an answer..."
(Sea cave dungeon)(Many years ago)(Master Samurott's Pov)
"Where was she taken?" I demanded darkly, my shell sword pointed directly at the outlaw's leg. I press the tip of it into the leg, pressing just hard enough to draw blood. "I'm usually more merciful but only when my targets are cooperative. Speak!"
"Trust me Master Samurott, the interrogation won't be necessary." An ethereal and polite voice rang out throughout the room. I soon began scanning the room, my eyes darting throughout the room only to find nothing. I frowned before knocking the hilt of my sword into the outlaw's head, knocking them out cold before I got into my battle stance.
"Show yourself coward!" I yelled out, my eyes still darting around the room.
"Please, the name calling isn't necessary." The voice sighed out. A few feet away from me a large figure of a shiny Dusknoir began rising out of one of the larger shadows in the room. I immediately recognized who it was.
"Reaper..." I said slowly and venomously as I pointed my sword at his rising self. "Should've known it was you by that Shadow Sneak. Where's Rya!?"
"Good to know my reputation precedes me, especially from famous bounty hunters like yourselves." Reaper said respectfully. As he rose up, my eyes widened in horror at the unmoving body of a female Samurott that he was holding by the neck in one of his hands. "Sadly...it seems that this one's reputation doesn't hold up."
"Rya!" I yelled out in rage and shock, refocusing myself on my opponent, trying to keep my composure despite seeing my love in such a bloodied and broken state.
"My apologies, that's rude of me to say." He stated before swinging her body in the air a little, letting it dangle around and further enraging me. "Whilst this one did not live up to my expectations, I can see where the feats of her stories came from."
Reaper then proceeded to show a large slash running down the right side of his stomach mouth, heavily bleeding out a purple blood. Whilst doing his best not to let it show, the strained look on Reaper's face gave a clear sign that he was in a lot of pain.
"She manages to inflict this ghastly wound to my body, as well as numerous other hidden breaks and bruises. Given my current state, I sadly am unable to fight you today and must depart."
"Like hell you are. You're not gonna walk away from this!" I yelled, activating my lethal Razor Shell.
"Unfortunately I cannot stay, you would certainly defeat me in my current state and I must be alive and well to continue my life's mission. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to you to fight me in this state. I'm happy that I was able to accomplish half of my goals today." Reaper stated. "Team Bushido was my true goal after all."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"The *waves hand dismissively and with disgust at the outlaw, giving them a demeaning look* ugh...weakling over there was just a cover. I wouldn't normally take a job from his type. The pay was abysmal to say the least and he was only a petty crook." Reaper said with disgust. "But he proved useful in a surprising way...getting your attention."
I gritted my teeth and glared at him as he continued, waiting for an opening to attack and save Rya.
"When I heard that the great Team Bushido was on this case, I was ecstatic! Finally, a fight with such legendary opponents. Opponents that would get me just what I wanted. Finding that petty crook was no trouble, and he immediately wanted my services. I had to hold in my tongue at the tongue on that bottom feeder but Arceus it was worth it. I must give my thanks to the almighty once I return home."
"Home is not where you will be returning. With authority of the Explorer Guilds, I place you under arrest!" I yelled, charging up an Aqua Jet at my feet.
"I'm sorry but as I stated before, I'm not fit to fight you right now." He said with a sigh of disappointment and his eye closed, shaking Rya's body around more again as I poured more power into my Aqua Jet. "This one made sure of that."
Without responding and seeing that he was now distracted, water quickly surrounded my body and I took off towards him with blinding speed, ready to quickly slash his head with my Razor Shell and grab Rya at the same time. With similar speed, Reaper threw Rya's body in one direction and strafed in the opposite direction, splitting my focus. I quickly turned to Rya's direction, catching her in my arms right before she hit the ground. I skidded on my knees to a halt and held her close, completely forgetting about my Dusknoir opponent.
"Rya! Rya, speak to me!" I yelled out, shaking her to wake her up but got no response. I placed my hand to her neck to check for her pulse, my heart dropping and tears beginning to fill my eyes upon not finding one. "Rya...no..."
My hold on Rya had weakened, causing her to drop a little as I sobbed. I also got a good look at her injuries. Her body was covered in burn marks and bruises.
Including physical attacks, a Curse was definitely put on her, damnit. But these marks...
I inspected her arms next. Her right arm was clearly bruised up but not broken, her sword wielding hand. The other arm however, was disfigured, looking like it was...chewed up.
"The hell..." I voiced out loud. I then heard crunching behind me. I quickly turned around and drew my sword after placing Rya down, now remembering the ghost in the room. What I saw when I turned around though, it horrified me. Reaper had just finished eating something, his stomach chewing and crunching on something. What I also noticed was that he was now standing where the outlaw once was, and that the outlaw was noticeably missing. I soon put two and two together upon seeing something red trickle down the side of his stomach mouth. I growled "You didn't..."
"They're in a better place now. A weakling like that will be better used as a direct servant to our Lord, once they've atoned for their sins of course." Reaper said devoutly in a 'matter-of-fact' tone. "I would've done the same to her but I felt that she proved herself to have a proper burial. *bows* You are welcome."
"You're welcome!? You fucking killed her!" I yelled angrily.
"That's the way of this world. The strong live forever by the grace of Arceus while the weak die to become servants of the Almighty. I can see you living on forever like me and I thought your partner would be the same but...she was just another weakling." Reaper stated with a casual shrug, further enraging me.
"Bastard!" I yelled out, quickly surrounding myself and my sword in water again and jetting towards the ghost. The ghost suddenly dropped into the shadow below him, making me miss my attack. I landed into a skid and quickly turned around, finding Reaper no longer in the room. I frantically scanned around the room, not finding a signal sign of him. "Where are you, coward!?"
"I grow tired of repeating myself." Reaper's voice ethereally rang out around the room, even though there was still no sign of him. "I. Can't. Fight. You. Right. Now. It's a tragedy for me too but you must blame your partner for that one. I bid thee farewell and I hope to meet you in the future. I wish your partner a pleasant funeral as well."
"You will not leave! I'm defeating you here and now!" I yelled out but received no response. I kept scanning the room for several minutes and turned up with nothing. My eyes soon fell upon my dead partner again. The gravity of the situation finally set in as I dropped my sword, lowered my head, and quietly sobbed.
(Present Day) (Dew's POV)
"That bastard..." I seethed, clenching my fist and trying and failing to control my anger.
"Son..." Father said simply, realizing I was losing my cool.
"I'm sorry Father, it's just..." I stood up and started pacing around, tears started to form in my eyes from the frustration. "What he did...why!? Just for fun!? He took lives just for fun!? Or to please Arceus!? What the fuck does killing have to do with that!?"
"DEW!" Father yelled out, making me quickly regain my composure and stand up straight in angered silence. With a sigh, Father spoke. "Take a seat son."
With that command, I returned to my seat in silence, tears still streaming down my face and sniffling every now and then as I gave him my attention.
"I understand that you're...upset." He said simply, causing me to scoff.
"Upset is an understatement." I muttered under my breath. I then saw the stern look on his face as I shrunk in his gaze. "S-sorry sir..."
"*sighs* It is alright. I'm not surprised that this is the reaction you would have. I would've had the same." Father stated.
"So what happened to him? Did you find him?" I asked, hoping to find some solace in his answer.
"No my son, it's like he vanished without a trace..." He said in a defeated tone, my look mimicking it. "Ever since that day, I have not stopped searching. Every sighting, every clue, it led me nowhere. I had slowed down my search once I realized I had something more important to do than taking revenge."
"And what could be more important than finding that bastard?" I asked in disbelief.
"Raising you." He said simply, shocking me. "I realize that your mother would not want me to neglect you just for her. She'd want me to raise and protect you even if she could not, and I feel the same way."
"O-oh." I said somewhat speechless.
"Raising you would also mean I could train you and bring out the greatness within you." Father stated before standing up. "Which is why we're here today. It's time my student, stand up."
"T-time for what sir?" I asked nervously, quickly getting up and standing at attention.
"For a new move, something I feel only you can learn." He stated.
"Wait, for real!? A move that only I can learn?" I asked excitedly with a huge smile on my face, forgetting my past anger.
"Yes, my son. When I told you that you were special, I also meant it in a genetic sense." Father stated, confusing me.
"Genetic sense?" I questioned.
"You and I are not the same in a way. I learned a while ago from the scientists from the Tech Area. It seems that you and I are a different species of our evolution line. Your line was thought to be long extinct and originated in a land known as Hisui." He explained.
"So...what does that mean? And what does it have to do with the new move" I asked.
"Well, if you can learn this move then the scientists will be right. I did some research on the evolution line and this move is a staple of that line." He explained. "Pull out one scalchop."
"Uh okay, why not both?" I asked, pulling out a scalchop.
"It'll be easier with one for now." Father stated before his demeanor changed. "Single sword stance. Make ready on that nearby boulder."
"Yes sir." I responded, crouching a little and holding a scalchop with two hands, a focused look on my face as I focused on the large boulder several feet in front of me.
"Remember how you felt when I told you about Reaper and your mother?" Master asked, catching me off guard.
"Yes..." I seethed a little, beginning to be reminded of the story and the anger I felt before slowly building back up.
"Channel that anger into your body, charge it within you. Much like you would when charging up one of your sword moves." Master continued, slowly pacing back and forth behind me. I kept building the anger within me, putting myself in my father's paws in what he felt at that time. The rage, heartbreak, and sadness that he felt flowed throughout my body, mainly within my muscles. Soon, black electricity started sparking around my body, surprising me.
"Yes my son, focus on holding that energy." Master order, helping me get my focus back. The black sparks soon started to appear more frequently and rapidly around my body. "Now, like when you use your other sword moves, pour your energy into your scalchop."
Like I usually do with my moves, I pushed out the energy to make a sword. The blade that came out shocked me though. And a single, sharp blade came out, being made of the black sparks. The energy of it looked uncontrollable as the blade was sparking and looked to be in a rage. I had to use all my energy and focus to keep it from disappearing.
"Hold it, hold it. Focus, my son." Master order. I shut my eyes in order to maintain my focus and keep the blade up as my breathing became heavy, causing me to start heaving. "Good, now charge the boulder and strike it!"
With his command, I opened my eyes to glare at my target, picturing it as Reaper. What I didn't notice was my eyes turning pitch black when I reopened them, black sparks coming out of them as well. With a scream of rage, I took one powerful step and launched towards my target, my blade raised into the air. When I was just a few inches away, I quickly brought my sword down, a large slash appearing on the boulder with several small pieces of my scalchop splintering into the boulder. I felt I wasn't done yet however, feeling the rest of my rage wanting to blast out of me. With another scream of rage and glare at the boulder, several more slashes appeared on the boulder even though I only slashed once, soon obliterating the boulder into dust. When the dust cleared, I just stood in a downward slash position, panting heavily and the rage left me and I stared at the spot the boulder once stood.
"It seems that scientists were correct. That was magnificent, my son." Father praised behind. I didn't have a chance to respond though because the fatigue from today's training and especially the new move got to me and I fell hard onto the ground, passing out cold.
(Master Samurott's POV)
"Hmm, well that's to be expected." I stated as I walked up to my passed out pupil, flipping him over to make sure he wasn't hurt. There were no noticeable wounds but what caught my attention was his scratched up scalchop and the splinters in the hand that held it. I picked and examined his weapon, quickly ascertaining that the splinters came from it. "This move is meant to be used by your evolved form after all. It also seems that Ceaseless Edge has a splintering effect. Further training is needed to make sure you don't overuse this move lest you break your weapon."
I then looked down at my sleeping son, smiling at the peaceful face he had.
"For the rest of today, rest my son. Continue to make your mom and dad proud." I stated contently.
(Further away on the same continent, mountain region. In the middle of a pine tree forest covered in snow in a small, circle clearing within the forest. Earlier that day.)(Flara's POV)
"FLAME CHARGE!" Tepper yelled, stomping in place as he let flames build around his body before rapidly charging at our dad, with him crossing his arms together to defend against the oncoming attack. To the surprise of Daddy and the spectators, which were Ema, Mom, and I, Tepper suddenly leaped into the air, using his speed boost to get up high, before flying down with his fist clenched and a smile on his face. "Hammer Arm!"
Despite his surprise, Dad soon smiled and recovered, reeling his fist back and launching a Hammer Arm of his own. The two clashed, sending out a blast of air from their punch as the two struggled for power. It was obvious who had more power though, as Dad began pushing Tepper away. Tepper seemed to use this to his advantage though, pulling his arm back and letting himself fall into a Headbutt right into Dad's face. The two smiled crazily, losing themselves in the moment right before Dad pushed Tepper away and uppercutted a Hammer Arm right into Tepper's stomach while he was still in the air, causing him to double over and spit up and us spectators to wince. Tepper then landed roughly onto his front, coughing a bit as he struggled to sit up as he clenched stomach in pain.
"Okay." Mom clapped her hands once as she stood up. "I think that's enough training for you two for today."
"What? The boy can keep going. He's got the heart just like his old man. Right son?" Dad said, bringing everyone's attention to the still struggling Pignite trying to stand up.
"*cough cough* Hell yeah! *dry heave* I can do this all day!" Tepper heaved out, pumping a fist into the air before quickly bringing it down to the ground to avoid falling over in pain.
"Yeah, I think Mom's gonna win this one today. Sorry Daddy." I stated, standing up as well.
"Yeah...as much as I love seeing you fight your heart out, I also hate seeing you get hurt so much. So no more fighting for today." Ema ordered, having floated over to a struggling Tepper and patting his back to comfort him, Tepper giving a reluctant agreement.
"I guess it would be right for him to rest up. It'll help you later on when we train again. Ema, make sure he rests, you seem to know ways to keep him down." Daddy jokingly ordered.
"Yes sir!" Ema jokingly responded, standing up straight to give a salute before going back to help Tepper up.
"In the meantime..." Dad started, suddenly turning his attention to me, unnerving me a little.
"Uh, Dad?" I said, slowly backing away. Suddenly, he lunged towards me in an attempt to bring me into his infamous bear hugs.
"Looks like you'll be training with me nex-what the?" Dad started before noticing that he didn't get a hold of me. He looked at his arms before looking up to see me floating in the air, a pink aura surrounding my body.
"Sorry honey, but..." Mom started, her wand in her hand with the tip having a bright pink light on it. "I got this one."
"Right...we can train her together!" Dad said excitedly.
"Actually..." I started. "Mom and I thought it would be better for me to just have Mom train me...for now at least. Sorry Daddy but you tend to get a little..." I continued, turning my attention to my hurt brother who was slowly walking back to the tents with help from Ema. "...intense."
"I-I see. Totally understand, just thought you'd want your old man to teach you a thing or two..." Dad said with a bit of exaggerated sadness shown in his tone and face. I sighed but smiled at his behavior, Mom having floated me to one side of his face while she took the other. We both then gave a light kiss on his cheeks, rapidly calming him down and bringing a smile to his face. With that, Mom put me back onto the floor and happy to see that he was okay, Mom and I began to take our leave into the forest.
"Make sure that boy of ours stays resting until his wounds heal, and same with you." Mom said before stopping and pointing an authoritative finger at him. "I mean it, no more training for today."
"Yes ma'am." Dad said with a salute, earning a giggle from me. Mom then gave a wink and a sly smile at his reaction, raising a pink aura covered hand to her mouth and blowing a kiss at him. A pair of pink, translucent, sparkling lips came from Mom and were blown right into Daddy's lips, bringing him into a lovestruck daze and he gave a drunken thumbs up in response before we soon continued our walk. Mom has seemingly always been able to make psychic constructs with her powers and I hope to learn that power too. Not for blowing kisses mind you...
Tony might like it though...
"Don't worry honey." Mom suddenly said, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I'll be sure to teach you tricks like that. It'll help you in your explorations as well as your...Monferno predicament."
This got a blush out of me as she clocked onto my feelings before she continued.
"Trust me, there's a lot more things you can do to him than just blow kisses." Mom said slyly.
"Ah, ew, TMI Mom." I complained, my face heating up further, Mom laughing in response.
(Few minutes of walking in the forest later)
"So mom..." I spoke up.
"Hmm?" She responded.
"Not complaining or anything but...how much longer are we going to be walking? Where are we going?" I asked, not even sure where we were anymore as I looked around in the endless sea of trees.
"Just taking precautions. I wanna test some things." Mom stated before we stopped walking all of a sudden. With a hand on her chin, she pondered as she looked around at our surroundings, confusing me. With a nod, she spoke up again. "Mhmm, this should do."
She then turned to me. "Alright young lady, I want you to take aim at one of the trees over there and hit it with a good Psybeam. Give it all you got."
"Um alright." I said a little hesitant. I knew how much power I usually put out when going all out and it wasn't much, especially in comparison to other Psychic and Fire type Pokémon and most especially compared to my mother.
Then again...this new wand might have changed that. I won't know unless I give it a shot.
"I believe in myself." I said quietly to myself, pulling my staff out of my tail and getting into a stance where I had the front end pointed to a random tree in the distance I'm front of me. I took a deep before I began pouring my Psychic in my staff. Unlike with my old wand, I felt more power pour out of me into the staff, the front end quickly being covered in a pink, magic aura. The aura got brighter and brighter and the power soon became too much for me, my arms shaking as a result. "Uh, M-mom?"
"Keep it up honey. You're doing great. Push out as much as you can." Mom encouraged, helping me to continue even though I also felt myself quickly losing control.
"I don't know about thi-" I was cut off by Psybeam firing, the beam quickly shooting out of my staff. The force knocked me back, making me yelp and the beam itself propelled me backwards into a tree behind me. I winced as I hit the tree and my attack stopped, the beam firing towards the tree I was pointing at before ripping through it and causing a small explosion behind the now broken and fallen tree. When I looked at the damage after rubbing the back of my head and coming to my senses, I was shocked.
"D-did I just do that?" I asked in disbelief. I never made an attack that powerful before. It still paled in comparison to what my mom could dish out but still.
Was this from the staff?
"That was beautiful honey!" Mom yelled excitedly, breaking me out of my thoughts as I noticed came up to me. She knelt down and extended a hand to me with a proud smile on her face as I accepted her hand and she helped me up. "That was one of your first attacks and you managed to output so much power, even more than me when I was your age."
"Wait, more than you?" I asked in disbelief.
"Mhmm, I had a feeling you had a lot of untapped power within you, both in your psychic and fire moves. That staff unlocked a lot of potential in you. Ah, just wait till you master it. I'm sure you'll be, as your father would put it..." Mom then brought an arm up to her side and pretended to flex it. "A powerhouse."
I smiled a little at her actions but soon started overthinking again.
"Are you sure it wasn't just the staff's power..?" I asked in self-doubt.
"Oh honey...you know I always speak the truth when it comes to your skills. You must believe in yourself. This is your power." Mom explained.
"But..." I began, looking down and away from her.
"Honey, let's take a seat for a second." Mom asked. We both soon sat cross legged in front of each other on the snow covered floor. "I told you this before but you need to stop comparing yourself to your brother and the others, Flara."
"H-how did you-" I stuttered, being caught off guard.
"Flara, I'm your mother and half Psychic type. I pick up on these things, especially since I raised you." Mom explained. "It is important that you build up your confidence. Not just for your mental health but also for your training, more than you realize. You want to be as strong and powerful as I am?"
"Of course, you're amazing. But what do you mean about it being important to my training?" I questioned.
"Well, like many Psychic types, our psychic abilities are tied to our emotions. The more control we have in our emotions, and in connection the more confident we are in our abilities, the more power we can put out and control. And with us being Fire types as well, the same thing rings true for our Fire abilities." Mom explained. "You have and I'm sure will always be a very emotional young lady Flara. You may see it as a bad thing sometimes but it can be a good thing in the long run. You'll be able to use your happiness, anger, sadness, and possibly love in your power."
"I guess but..." I started, my head falling down as I remembered a lot of the times in my life where I let my doubt and sadness take control of me whenever something happened in my life, whether good or bad, ranging from Tepper achieving feats that I couldn't dream to accomplish to Cassidy stealing away another boy that I liked and beating me in every battle. I unconsciously gripped my staff harder.
"Chin up honey, I told you we won't be doing that today." Mom scolded me a little. I looked back up at her and saw that she was giving me a comforting smile, which I returned with a smaller one.
"Sorry." I responded.
"It's okay honey. Growing confidence takes time. I actually used to have confidence issues just like you when I was growing up." Mom admitted, surprising me again.
"What? Aside from Ema, you're the most confident Pokémon I know. I honestly can't see you like that." I stated, Mom giving a chuckle in response.
"Believe it honey, I used to be a scared and shaking mess when I was your age." Mom admitted.
"Woah, then...then how'd you grow out of it?" I questioned, sitting up a little more and hoping to find a way to improve my self-confidence.
"Well...it was mostly because of your father." Mom stated sheepishly, looking away with a dreamy look on her face as she scratched one of her cheeks with a finger lightly, a small blush growing on it.
"Huh?" I said, a bit confused on where she was heading with this.
"Your father was and will always be...oh what's the word...passionate, for whatever he does. Whether it be training, fighting, running the guild, and most of all, supporting me and soon raising you and Tepper." Mom explained. I stayed silent but gave my full attention and interest to her story. "Ever since we met, he always pushed me to be the best I can be. He did that with everyone but he seemed to take a special interest in me given my self-confidence issues. He never gave up on me and soon I wanted to train myself to make not only him proud but my family proud. There was one day that I managed to win a tournament against a foe who was more likely to win. It was thanks to him that I was able to gain the confidence and strength to use my powers to their full potential at the time. Heh, he was so proud of me that he ran up, grabbed me, picked me up, and kissed me, right in front of the crowd. Shocked the both of us but you know where that led to."
"Woah." I responded simply, thinking about and feeling how cute and heartfelt it must have been at the time despite it being my mom and dad.
"I love that man but while he was a big help, I know for sure that most of my growth was because I believed that I could grow and get stronger if I pushed and believed in myself. So I did." Mom stated. A certain fire monkey soon popped into my mind when she said that, causing a smile to appear on my face as I looked away with a dreamy look on my face along with a slight blush. I didn't notice that my mom caught my reaction and smiled slyly. "And...I'm sure that you got a new supporter now, much in the same way I have."
When she said this, I was snapped out of my thoughts upon realizing what she was talking about. My blush soon grew as I started stuttering again. "I, well, I mean, I-I don't know if it's exactly the same..."
"We shall see. I can see and sense the same qualities in him as I see in your father. I do hope he's a keeper. You two would make some beautiful grandchildren..." Mom stated slyly.
"M-Mom!" I cried out in embarrassment. Just the thought of having children with him sent me down a rabbit hole of thoughts.
Would we have cute kids? I mean, that would be nice... but having kids with him would mean that he and I would have to...Arceus damnit Mom. My face felt so heated that I thought I was gonna have a nosebleed at this point and I ended up breaking my cross legged sitting position briefly when I snapped my legs closed. Mom laughed at my response which caused me to pout and glare at her. Unknowingly, my staff had also begun to heat up.
"There's those strong emotions again. I'm kidding, Flara. It is great that you have a supporter like him by your side though. Use him as a motivator to push yourself to greater heights." Mom stated. Thinking back though, I feel like I already do that. "But you must also remember that at the end of the day, you yourself have to be your biggest supporter. Tony, myself, and the others can say all we want but it is you who must put in the work."
"Yes mom. I'll do my best." I stated, giving myself a brief mental pep talk. I believe in myself.
"That's the spirit. Now then, let's continue our training." Mom said standing up and offering me a hand which I took and was helped up. "We've yet to see your fire abilities and I really want to see how much you can dish out."
"Heh, you're starting to sound like Daddy." I laughed a little as I walked a few steps ahead of her but kept my attention on her.
"Oh stop, can't have him rub off too much on me." Mom stated with a smile, giving off mock embarrassment and a hand wave. "Now, you ready honey? Let's see what you got."
"Ready Mom." I stated confidently, chanting my motto again as I couldn't wait to tell Tony about the progress I was making. I got into my previous attack stance and was about to charge up an Ember before I began to...sense something.
"M-Mom?" I said nervously, breaking my stance and holding my staff close to me as I turned my attention to her. I soon noticed that she had a serious look on her face as she scanned the area.
"Yes Flara, I sense it too." She stated seriously before turning to a specific direction, my attention following hers. "We're not alone."
"Hello ladies!" A voice yelled from the direction we were looking. Soon, a pack of around 10 Sandshrew looking Pokémon appeared out of the woods with a Sandslash looking Pokémon leading them towards us. Differing from normal Sandshrew that I've seen, these were covered in ice with the Sandslash's back and head covered in sharp icicles. They all gave varying looks of glee with some licking their lips which made me uncomfortable. "Looks like we hit the jackpot boys."
"Odd, last time I was here there were not any wild Pokémon roaming these lands. Did you all just get here?" Mom questioned.
"As a matter of fact, we did. We're somewhat new to the area and have made this place our home. That means you two are trespassing." The Sandslash stated before pointing behind him to the damage that my Psybeam had caused. "Not only that, you just blasted a hole into it. Now that's just rude."
"Oh, sorry about that. We honestly had no idea someone was now living here. The last thing I want to do is destroy someone's home. We can leave if you want us to." I apologized sincerely, bringing the unknown group's attention to me.
"Oh it's quite alright. It was a useless bit of land anyway. You two lovely ladies can stay as much as you like too." The Sandslash stated with a smile.
"Oh we wouldn't want to intrude." I stated sincerely, honestly just wanted to get out of here though I didn't notice that Mom glared harder at the group.
"Oh we certainly don't mind, right boys?" The Sandslash asked, receiving various agreements from his group. "Though, it would be better if we got a little...compensation for this little trespass."
"What kind of compensation?" I questioned in suspicion.
"I think you can guess~." He responded in a sultry tone, looking at me up and down as I soon began to feel that uncomfortable feeling again. "You see, me and the boys here have gotten quite lonely up here. Not many prospects for mates out here."
"That's quite enough." Mom suddenly spoke up, cutting the Sandslash off. "We will be taking our leave. Goodbye."
Mom then looked down at me. "Let's be on our way honey. We'll train elsewhere."
"R-right." I said as we turned our back to the unknown group and began walking away. I had a feeling I knew what they really wanted and knew that it would be best to just get out of there.
"Aww, leaving so soon? But we haven't even gotten to know each other yet." The leader spoke out playfully before changing to a serious tone. "Surround them boys."
With that command, the snow in front of us began growing and soon, half of the Sandshrew popped out in front of us, the other half along with their leader coming behind us and soon circled us. I turned and Mom and I were now back to back as we scanned the surrounding group.
"Crap." I stated simply, realizing the trouble we just got ourselves in.
"*sigh* Well I guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way since you two are being uncooperative. I wish women were more submissive but we can change your attitudes after a few rounds." The Leader sighed before addressing his group. "You guys can have the old hag. I'll take the young one for myself."
"Alright!" Yelled out a few Sandshrew in excitement before they got ready for their attack.
"Old hag! Why you little..." Mom started, her wand igniting in a hot flame before she composed herself and addressed me. "No, this will be a good training opportunity. Flara, you get to take on the leader."
"What, me!? But he..."I started, looking at the Sandslash who slightly licked his lips and threw a wink at me, making me cringe in disgust.
"Don't let his words and actions fool you. He's just as much a weakling as his goons. You'll be fine, you just have to believe in yourself." Mom stated, helping me clear some of my doubt.
"O-okay, but what about you? You're gonna be fine handling all these other Pokémon?" I questioned in concern.
"Honey, I love and thank you for the concern but who do you think you're talking to?" Mom responded jokingly, lightening the mood a little. "These boys will be no problem for me."
"Attack!" The leader yelled out, his goons throwing out a battle cry or cheer before they rushed towards my mother.
"Good luck honey, show me what you got." Mom stated with a smile before running fearlessly towards a group of Sandshrew with a confident smile on her face. I stared at her in awe as the rest of the Sandshrew ran past me and towards her.
One day, I'll get to her level. I thought before I suddenly remembered that I was in the middle of a battle. I quickly turned around to my opponent only to get a hard Iron Head to the face, forcing me back a few feet and causing me to fall on my back. I quickly sat up and rubbed my hurt cheek. "Ow, okay, I deserved that. Gotta pay attention."
"I think it would be better for you if you just accepted your fate. I'd rather not damage something that I want to use." The Sandslash stated as he strolled up to me confidently while his claws began to shine in a metallic sheen.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna let that happen." I said as I quickly got up before he got to me, getting into a defensive stance as I held my staff tight. The leader then charged at me, quickly closing the gap between us before slashing out at me. I dodged the best I could but I got slashed a few times on my legs and face, causing me to wince as I received shallow cuts on my body. I also notice a red aura appear on his body, making him smile maliciously as I caught on that his attack was raised. I then began to stomp my feet a few times in between dodges, causing me to get cut up a bit more as I couldn't fully focus on dodging, but my body was soon covered in flames. "Flame Charge!"
I lunged my body forward in hopes to tackle him with my flames but he ended up just sidestepping to dodge, causing me to fly past. Whilst dodging, he brought a claw down towards my leg, hooking it and tripping me. This caused me to flip forward and fall hard onto my back and despite feeling a bit faster now thanks to Flame Charge, falling on my back had knocked the wind out of me slightly. I looked up to see the Sandslash with the same malicious smile on his face as he brought another Iron Head down onto my face. I only barely managed to roll out of the way before his attack hit the floor, causing a bit of snow to fly into the air. I quickly got up before he recovered, pulling his head off the ground and looked towards me.
"Wow you're a feisty one! Weak, but feisty. You're gonna be a lot of fun, I can tell." He stated as he got up, unnerving me a little as his words began to take a hold on me.
"Weak..." I said quickly out loud, my hands beginning to shake in doubt.
"Believe in yourself honey! The fight's not over!" Mom called out to me. I looked in her direction to see her smiling and giving me an encouraging nod before casually shooting a point blank Flamethrower at a Sandshrew that she had been nonchalantly holding in her hand, their screams being muffled by the flames.
"I believe in myself." I chanted to myself before slapping both sides of my face twice with both hands to clear my head.
"The fight might as well be over. I never had such an easy fight before." The leader mocked.
"This fight isn't over!" I yelled out, full of determination as I pointed my staff at the leader with both hands and began charging up a Psybeam, not noticing that my eyes began to turn a bright pink.
"Oh~, girly got some backbone now. Can't wait to fuck it out of you." The leader said happily, angering me as his claws gained a metallic sheen again. "Come at me."
"Psybeam!" I yelled out, launching a full powered Psybeam at him. Like before, I still could handle the force of it and despite me trying to keep my footing, I was soon launched backwards, flying back first into a tree again. The hit made my attack cease like last time but the beam flew quickly at the Sandslash who just stood there and put his claws up. I was about to start mentally celebrating upon seeing that I got a direct hit, the Psybeam hitting his claws and forcing him back a bit, before seeing him push his claws out and disperse the attack, laughing loudly as I looked shocked. My eyes had also returned to normal.
"*still cackling* Really? A Psybeam? That shit won't work on a steel type like me!" The leader gloated, clanging his arms together as I got back up to my feet. "And if you're only Fire move is that weak ass Flame Charge..."
The leader then hopped into the air and began to fly down towards me with the same malicious smile. "Then this battle is a sure win!"
He then curled himself into a ball and began his Rollout attack at me.
Alright, I could dodge, or... I thought while glancing at the tree behind me. Despite knowing how risky it was, I pointed my staff at the Sandslash and began to charge my flames into it at full power, a ball of fire soon building up at the top of it as my eyes turned bright red. Let's see if I still know it.
"Ember!" I yelled before launching a barrage of ember balls at the Sandslash. Like with Psybeam, the force was too much for me and I was pushed back again. Luckily, I was already by the same tree that flew into and used it as leverage to hold myself, though it took all of my focus and strength to keep my staff steady while pouring power into it. The barrage hit the Sandslash directly and soon began slowly down his descent towards me. Right before getting to me, I managed to halt his attack and soon pushed him away from me. He broke out of his ball and landed hard, face first a few feet away from me. Before he could begin to get up, I began to stomp my feet to let the Flame Charge build around me.
"Ow, motherfucker that hurt! Of course she would fucking know that move. Why the fuck did it hurt so much though?" The Sandslash questioned, growling as he pushed himself up. He winced as he looked down at his right arm and saw that it had a bit of a burn on it. He frowned. "And the bitch fucking burned me. Maybe I can break her a little."
"Flame Charge!" I yelled out as I began quickly charging at the leader, soon gaining his attention.
"*scoff* This shit again..." He laughed a little before getting into a defensive stance with his claws shining like metal again. "Let's do this again."
"Not this time!" I yelled before I changed direction and began running in a circle around him, raising up my staff with just one hand holding the middle of it. I soon began charging my heat into it and soon a ball of fire appeared at the end of it.
"Oh~, trying something different? Let's see the weak shit you got this time." He said mockingly but I kept my cool. I soon launched out the ball of fire, shocked to find that the power was much more manageable this time. The Sandslash put his claws up in defense but soon found out that nothing was hitting him. He uncovered himself and saw that instead of me firing a barrage of fireballs with Ember, I was instead firing out a stream of fire that fell non-threateningly in front of him. He soon began laughing as I kept firing the strand of fire onto the floor around him. "Bahahaha! Oh Arceus you are something! That old hag really had hope in this?"
That's right, keep laughing while I... I soon completed my circling, the two ends of the fire strands connecting before I hopped back and waited for my move to begin, my Flame Charge disappearing as I gained another speed boost. I smiled at my work. "Done."
"Haha, done with wh-" He was soon cut off by my Fire Spin, quickly activating and spinning around him. He soon began shouting out curses at me whilst the Fire Spin hurt him greatly.
"And just so you know..." I said before spinning my staff around, grabbing it tightly with the front of it now pointed at the floor. I then crouched a little. "I'm..."
I quickly charged up a full powered Psybeam, soon firing into the ground below me. I hopped into the air and the power of the Psybeam launched me up into the air, making me fly towards the top of my Fire Spin. "Not..."
I soon made it to the top and I canceled my Psybeam. I glared down into the opening of the top of my Fire Spin, now seeing a shocked and scared Sandslash. I then swung my staff up into the air before charging a full power Ember attack, soon swinging my staff back down at him with the front covered in flames. My eyes began to glow a fiery red as well. "WEAK!"
With that yell, I fired my Ember attack, the force holding me in the air as I rained fire into the Fire Spin funnel. Small explosions appeared inside the funnel before one big explosion erupted, creating a cloud of smoke where both attacks were. My Ember soon ceased but I clumsily fell onto my back since I didn't think of a way to land, my eyes returning to normal. I sat up whilst rubbing my back before looking at the spot where the Sandslash was. When the smoke cleared, I saw that he was now standing there covered in burns but most importantly, he had swirled eyes and soon fell forward onto his front, knocked out cold. Before I could fully comprehend what I just did, I was soon picked up and hugged by Mom who spun me around excitedly.
"Oh my Arceus honey, that was amazing!" Mom yelled out excitedly while I was still too stunned to speak. "The way you used your excess power to launch yourself up was genius! I'm so proud of you!"
"Wait." I said, finally finding my voice. "I really just did that?"
"Believe it honey. Oh just wait till I tell your father and the others." Mom stated excitedly. I soon remembered something though.
"W-wait, what about the rest of the-" I started before wincing at what I saw. Right where Mom was fighting were the burned and fainted bodies of the Sandshrew that had also attacked us, some of them twitching a little in pain. I looked back at Mom and saw that she was unscathed. "How did you-?"
"Those guys were nothing." Mom said with a passive wave. "I told you that they wouldn't be a problem."
"Sasha! Flara! Are you ok-woah." Yelled a familiar voice from the direction of all the fainted Sandshrew. Mom and I looked in that direction to see a shocked Dad, Tepper, and Ema staring at the scene before them. I got out of Mom's grasp before both groups made their way towards each other, Dad speaking up first. "We heard the sound of a battle and we came to see if you two were okay."
"From the looks of things though, it seems we had nothing to worry about." Ema laughed.
"Mon, I can't believe I missed it." Tepper stated solemnly.
"I'm sure you'll have another chance next time honey." Mom said while walking up to him and patting his head to cheer him up. "For now though, let's head back to camp, we have a lot to discuss, mainly about Flara's amazing performance in that battle."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear." Tepper stated excitedly.
"Wait, what about those guys?" Ema questioned, bringing our attention to the bodies of the fallen group. I looked towards the fainted body of the leader and began remembering the comments he made to me.
"They'll be fine." I said simply, not bothering to give him any more attention than he deserved as I began leading everyone back to camp and away from the enemy group. Behind me, everyone except Mom looked between each other before shrugging and following me.
(Back at camp, night time)
"Yo, does that mean you can fly and stuff like me now?" Ema asked excitedly, standing up on the log that she was using as a seat at the time. Currently, we made it back to the camp safely and rested until late night where we decided to have dinner together. The dinner was a simple but delicious soup that was cooked in a pot we brought that was cooking on top of a fire pit that we had going in the center of us as we sat around it.
"I don't think...wait, actually." I said the last part to myself as I gave the idea some thought. While the idea was kinda ridiculous, with the right psychic abilities...
"Sis, you gotta teach me how to launch myself like how you did. Just think of the moves I can pull off." Tepper said excitedly.
"Sorry bro, I think this one is gonna stay a trade secret of mine." I stated happily, feeling good that I had something else that makes me feel special.
"Good idea honey, hone those skills." Mother stated.
"Well we at least have to have a match soon. I still wanna see you in action." Tepper stated.
"Sounds like it'll be worthy of using the Crag Area arena. What do ya say little one?" Dad stated proudly.
"Woah woah woah, too much too fast Daddy. Maybe when I practice a bit more..." I said sheepishly.
"I got a maybe! I'll take it." Daddy stated happily, making me feel more happy as well.
"*yawn* Well I believe we should start heading to bed. It's gonna be a long journey going back to PokéPark and we're gonna need the energy." Mom stated as she stood up and stretched her arms out.
"Your mother is right, everyone. We're gonna be leaving right after dawn so get plenty of rest." Dad stated before Mom grabbed his attention, bringing his head down to whisper something to him. Whatever it was, I didn't get but based on Mom's sly smile and Dad's excited grin, it was probably for the best that I didn't catch it.
"Anyway..." Dad started before suddenly picking Mom up and carrying her bridal style, much to her excitement and glee. "Goodnight everybody."
With that, Dad turned around quickly and race walked back to his and Mom's tent, presumably to do unspeakable things to each other. I shuddered at the thought.
"Well, it would probably be best to get some sleep-" I started.
"Hey Flara..." Ema said, getting my attention. I turned her way to see that she and Tepper were now really close to each other, Tepper looking away and both with apparent blushes on their faces. I clocked on immediately.
"Oh come on, the both of you too?" I said, slightly annoyed but not surprised.
"It was kind of the plan for the whole trip..." Tepper stated sheepishly.
"I'm so sorry I have to ditch you on our last night here but..." Ema said sincerely. I waved her off before she could finish.
"It's fine, you're not ditching me. Go have fun you two. Please don't be loud." I said half jokingly.
"No promises~." Ema stated before waving bye as she and Tepper quickly made their way towards the forest, giggling as they went. That just left me with my thoughts.
Of course everyone had to choose tonight to get off. Never thought I'd be a fifth wheel on a family trip. I thought with slight jealousy and now starting to feel a bit pent up myself. With a huff, I trudged into my shared tent with Ema and flopped onto my sleeping mat. I looked towards my explorer badge next to and thought about texting Tony to see if he was up but soon thought against it. Actually, nevermind. Probably not the best idea when I'm like this. I wouldn't be able to keep a straight conversation.
Upon thinking about Tony, I was brought back to my mom's comment about grandchildren and that now brought up thoughts of...things that would lead to that.
"Arceus damnit." I said quietly to myself, Turing to my side as I rubbed my legs together to try and avoid doing what I was thinking of doing. I stretched my arm out and accidentally bumped it into my staff, bringing my attention to it.
Maybe...
"No." I said to myself even though I still grabbed my staff and brought it closer to me. Soon, my thoughts got more heated and I accidentally poured a bit of psychic power into the staff, causing it to shake a little. I was surprised a little by this and tried pouring a bit more power into it, only using one hand to do it rather than two and finding the flow way more controllable. I couldn't think about that part straight as right now with my distracted mind, I was more focused on the slight tingle that my psychic power was giving the staff. I bit my lip.
"I shouldn't..."
Look at it as a reward for your effort today.
"I shouldn't think of him that way..."
It's perfectly natural. He does the same thing. Maybe he does it thinking about you...
I felt my face heat up further at that thought and before long, I groaned and gave up.
"...fuck it." I stated before 'fully' grabbing hold of my staff and letting my fantasies take over.
(The Next Day)(PokéPark: Tech Area Train Yard.)(Spark POV)
"Man, I can't believe boss man made me do this delivery before I clocked out. It's really cutting into our time." Prince stated, annoyed. "And it just had to be all the way in the Tech Area. I didn't even know that we delivered this far."
"It's alright babe. It's just one delivery. We'll be done with it and get along with the rest of our day. Plus, I get to still spend time with my favorite Water Type so it's a win for me." I said, looking up at him and giving him a smile. He cutely blushed and looked away.
"Yeah, you're right. You're awesome, you know that hot stuff?" Prince stated, looking back down at me as I sheepishly looked away.
"You tell me all the time but you know that I can never get tired of hearing it." I stated sincerely. With that, he grabbed my hand and we continued walking past the trains in the yard in order to get to the residential area of the Tech Area, falling into a comfortable silence while we enjoyed each other's company. Both of us knew that after today, things would get a lot busier for me now that I'm a part of an official exploration team. We've talked about this topic immensely already and while I voiced my concern about how I felt I was ditching him and everything we've been through, he immediately gave his thoughts that this would not come in between us. He wants me to do this because he knows how happy it makes me and how this path in life basically called to me and he reassured me that he would still be with me for the long run. Hell, he said he might tag along from time to time if he can. With a side glance at my boyfriend, I smiled again and felt that I was the luckiest Mon in the world to have someone like him. I gave a slight squeeze to his fin which he returned as we continued our walk.
*scream of terror*
"What the?" Prince said, both of us were surprised by the sudden scream coming from within the train yard.
"Let's go." I said with determination, quickly running into the yard with Prince trying to keep up behind me. Cries for help were soon being called out which helped us in locating the source. We soon came across the source, a Spoink on the floor crying for help and missing her signature head pearl. I got in front of her and got her attention.
"Spoink, what happened?" I asked concerned but staying calm.
"Spark! Oh my Arceus. They took it. They took it..." Spoink panicked in tears, rocking back and forth as I helped her up.
"Who? Where? I'm here to help." I said to comfort her. She then looked up and ahead of us.
"Th-they're up there!" She yelled out. I followed her gaze and found an unknown, bipedal Pokémon running away on top of the trains. I couldn't tell what Pokémon it was cause they had a cloak on that covered their whole body. I then turned back to Spoink.
"Don't worry ma'am, I'll get your pearl back." I stated with a comforting smile. It was at that time that Prince finally caught up. "Prince, stay here with Spoink until the authorities arrive. I'm gonna handle this."
"You got it. Be careful." Prince responded before I walked a few steps away from the two and locked my sight on the retreating Pokémon.
"Alright, so you wanna play Chase?" I said as I got on all fours.
3
"Let's..." I tense myself.
2
"Fucking..." My cheeks began to crackle with electricity.
1
"Play..." My body soon became covered in electricity.
GO!
I flashed off in pursuit of the petty thief, determined to get Spoink's pearl back.
(Prince POV)
"W-will Spark be okay? I'd hate to see him hurt because of me... That thief was terrifying." Spoink stated.
"He'll be alright. He's made for this kind of stuff." I stated with a smile as I looked toward the direction that Spark flashed off too. "In the meantime, what can you tell me about that thief? If it's not too much to ask."
(Spark POV)
The Chase had been going on for about a few minutes now. Even though I had to bob and weave around train cars while the assailant effortlessly hopped and ran on top of them, I was still able to keep up with the thief thanks to Snive's training and my powers.
Arceus damn they're fast though.
"It's only a matter of time before I catch up!" I yelled up to them. They then hopped to an adjacent train car, forcing me to have to cut through a gap in the cars. While still looking up at the thief, I made the turn and soon felt a lack of friction and stability in my paws and found myself sliding. I was about to voice my confusion but was cut off by sliding face first into the train car they were on. I recovered and stood up, holding my face in pain as the electricity in and around my body diminished.
"Ow...what just happened?" I questioned out loud as I looked to where I slipped and saw that the floor was covered in a layer of thick ice. I then heard laughter coming from the top of the train car. I looked up and over to the thief who, instead of making her escape whilst I was recovering, decided to laugh at me in a mocking tone. From the tone of the laugh, the thief sounded like they were a female. She then lifted an arm out of her cloak, revealing a white hand with three claws that was tossing a ball of ice in the air before catching it repeatedly.
"Risking capture just to gloat? You're pretty full of yourself." I stated with a glare.
"Well when you're as good as I am, I don't have to worry. Especially when I'm dealing with an amateur like you." The disguised thief mocked. She then crushed the ice ball in her claws, opening it to reveal three sharp ice shards. "Catch."
With trained power and precision, she quickly launched them at me. I hopped back twice to dodge the first two while charging up an Iron Tail. For the last shard, I spun around and smacked it with my Iron Tail right before it could hit me. When I spun back around, I saw that the thief had taken off again. I sucked my teeth in frustration before charging up my electricity again and running after her.
"Let's see how you like this!" I yelled, a ball of electricity appearing and soon covering the end of my tail. I jumped and spun around in the air before launching the ball towards the thief, making sure to aim it just ahead of her for a sure hit. "Electro Ball!"
"Huh?" I heard her say. She turned her head just in time to get hit in the side by my attack. "Fuck!"
As she yelled, she was knocked off balance and slipped off the train onto the other side.
"Awesome, direct hit. Gotta be quick." I said to myself as I charged up more and used the power to boost my speed. I ran up to the corner of the train. When I made the turn however, I had to skid to an abrupt halt to avoid running into a hulking Pokémon holding a girder in his arm.
"Hmm?" Gurdurr sounded before turning around. Upon seeing me, he smiled brightly and fully turned around, slamming his girder into the ground to stand upright next to him and extensively blocking my path. "Spark! It's been a while. I've been looking forward to a rematch. How's about having it now?"
"Ah, Gurdurr, now is a really bad time." I said in a panicked tone, actively looking around him for a way past. "On exploration team business here and-"
"Oh that's right! How's the guild been treating ya kid? I've been meaning to get in touch with you about-"
"Gurdurr, I'd love to talk but," I started as I found an opening and ran between his legs. "There's a thief that I knocked down and I need to catch-"
I cut myself off upon running around the train to see the lingerings of a bright yellow light where the thief should have landed. I looked around frantically for any place they could have run but soon came to the realization that they got away. I fell onto my butt in exhaustion and looked down in defeat.
"Arceus damnit."
[So, special announcement. Because I feel like adding to my ever increasing workload, I'm thinking about posting another story. Whilst writing this and a separate Pokemon story about Team Skull (which you should check out if you haven't already), I'll put out another Pokemon related story but a bit different. Can't give out too many details because I'm still figuring things out but it'll be an anthology type of thing that is a part of this story's canon. Like this chapter, it'll be a bunch of small stories about the many characters within this story. I'm making it because I have a bunch of ideas that I want to write about all these guys but I feel these stories wouldn't fit properly into this story in the direction that I'm writing it towards. These stories would be canon though. Hopefully I can start it soon and get it to you all. I hope you all enjoyed. Anyway, onto the outro
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PEACE]