Chapter 102; Mentoring a coordinator
"Alright Combusken! Double kick!"
"Com..busken!" Combusken struck with such might that the rock turned to dust.
"Excellent. Again".
Sonic then turned to aron.
"Aron metal claw".
Aron also struck at a rock, cracking it with ease.
"Very good. Defense training now. Raichu you ready?"
Raichu cried out as it prepared to attack.
"Quick attack".
Raichu charged Aron.
"Iron defense".
Aron's body glowed as its defense sharply rose. Raichu slammed into it with all its might, causing Aron to be shoved back.
Sonic counted the distance Aron covered as it was shoved back and smiled.
"Excellent little buddy. Half distance".
Aron cried out in joy. The training was paying off.
"Do it again. Try to cut this distance in half. Raichu you ok to continue?"
"Rai rai" Raichu cried out.
"I can do this all day" Sonic heard in his head with a smile. That was good.
Shadow wouldn't get them next time.
Leaving his pokemon to their training for a moment he approached Wally.
"How are we doing?"
"You won't believe it. Magikarp learned tackle".
"Really?" Sonic was surprised. He didn't even know Magikarp could learn tackle.
"Well that's good then. Have it tackle things more. Over time its strength will build enough to evolve into Gyarados".
"Do you think I will be able to control such a pokemon?"
"Gyarados evolved from Magikarp in the care of someone are extremely loyal. That's what I hear at least. So I think you will be ok" Sonic encouraged Wally.
Wally smiled, eager for that be the case and happen soon.
He wanted very badly to battle Ash. To assess his character himself. After all Blaze's assessment had been a little too practical.
"Any new moves on Ralts?" Sonic asked Wally.
"Nope. Same moves. Only confusion".
Sonic frowned.
"Unfortunate. You know I've been thinking. I conferred with my friend Tails last night and asked him to do me a favor".
"What favor?"
"Research the Ralts species. See what moves it has been known to learn, whether naturally or by tutoring".
"Wait, you mean…?"
"You're going to be stuck with confusion for a while right? Dark types could be a problem for you for all we saw yesterday. Spoiler, they are a problem".
"True. So can Ralts learn something on hand?"
"Yes. My Raichu's speciality. Thunder punch".
"You're joking!" Wally said in pleasant disbelief.
"No chance pal. So what do you say? Or rather what does Ralts have to say?"
Wally immediately knelt in front of his partner pokemon.
"What do you think Ralts? Do you want Raichu to teach you to use thunder punch?"
Ralts didn't even think it twice before jumping up and down in excitement.
"Let's get to work then" Sonic said as he turned to Raichu which was still practicing with aron.
"Time out guys!"
All three of his pokemon stopped and approached him.
"Excellent work so far. But we're gonna shift some gears now. Combusken, I want you to train with aron. You two are not that far apart in terms of growth so I want you to help aron with its defense training. Start with scratch then once aron feels confident enough, switch to double kick. You got this?"
Combusken's reply was a happy cry and then a sudden hug. Sonic was filled with warmth as well as awkwardness. Being hugged by a humanoid pokemon still felt kinda weird.
As combusken and aron got to work, Sonic turned to Raichu.
"Alright buddy. I want you to help teach Ralts thunder punch. You up for it?"
"Rai rai!"
"Let's do it" Sonic heard in his head.
Ralts and Raichu stood side by side as Sonic read Tails' research.
"Alright. It says here that usually pokemon can learn powerful moves like thunder punch once they reach a certain power level, when it comes to tutoring at least. However exceptions have been observed on pokemon that either have a growth spurt, meaning that their training is basically paying off and they're getting stronger, or that they have a very strong bond with their trainers. Pokemon at the first stage of their evolution line tend to have a hard time learning powerful moves".
"So what does that mean for me and Ralts?"
"I think we will find out soon. All three of these facts are true about you and Ralts. Ralts has two evolutions according to Tails' data so it's still very young in both power term and evolution term. But it also has learned a lot of moves in a short amount of time and I'm certain your bond with it is strong. The sharing of you two's feelings thanks to Ralts empath ability is a major factor for that. So I think Ralts will manage to learn thunder punch".
"That's great" Wally said before realizing he didn't know what to do next.
"So what now?"
"Ralts will need to observe Raichu carefully. Tails says that pokemon power comes from within therefore the power is already inside of Ralts. Observing Raichu and focusing on performing the attack will likely allow it to conjure the power to perform the attack" Sonic explained.
"You can do it Ralts" Wally encouraged it.
Ralts cried out in joy.
"Raichu ready?"
Raichu let out a battle cry and delivered a powerful thunder punch at a boulder, smashing it with ease.
"Great. Again. Ralts, observe Raichu carefully".
Ralts did just that, observing Raichu, paying all the attention it could, slowly beginning to covet the power.
After a few repeats, Ralts started performing the hand movement of thunder punch while crying out with each repeat.
Wally observed anxiously, standing frozen in place, wondering if Ralts would manage to perform the move.
Sonic on the other hand walked up and down calmly, with his hands behind his back, almost looking like a sensei observing their apprentice's effort and whether those efforts would bear fruit.
And then, without any warning, with a confident cry, Ralts' arm conjured electricity and struck at a rock. The rock wasn't cracked but merely shoved back. Yet it didn't matter to them.
"You did it Ralts!" Wally rushed to hug it, overjoyed at the success of the process.
Sonic smiled, feeling a sense of pride for having helped Wally and Ralts.
Maybe there wasn't only darkness in him after all.
After breaking their hug, Wally excitedly announced he was going to buy some pokeblocks for Ralts so they could celebrate the achievement. He asked Sonic to observe the training while he was away to which the hedgehog graciously agreed.
Wally left their camp and headed for the open market, having noticed a shop selling both pokeblocks as well as ingredients and recipes for pokeblocks the previous day.
He contemplated buying the recipes as well as he wanted to try and learn to make the pokeblocks for Ralts, Magikarp and any other pokemon he would catch in the future. He deeply desired to treat them, maybe spoil them a little bit too.
"Wish my parents would treat me the same way" he thought sadly for a moment before letting go of it. He didn't want it to bear down on him.
Reaching the shop, he allowed his desire to prevail and bought many pokeblocks as well as a couple of recipes for sweet pokeblocks, which he knew Ralts would love as it loved sweet food.
Right as he turned to leave Wally came across a familiar girl dressed in red.
"Oh hi" he greeted, identifying May but not remembering her name.
"Hi" she greeted back "Wally right?"
"Yes… sorry if this is offensive but could you remind me your name?"
"Don't worry. It's ok. I'm May".
"Oh right. Silly of me. How have you and your friends been since yesterday's brawl?"
"Holding up ok. It wasn't the first time we ran into team Magma. But that guy who captured Sonic… him we have never seen".
"It wasn't our first time running into him. Sonic has gotten the best of him twice already" Wally said.
May was impressed. The enforcer had such a powerful presence and of course enough power that the Magma grunts didn't even bother arguing before retreating.
And Sonic had really bested him twice?
"Has he been ok? You know after getting captured?"
"Yeah. He has been through a lot worse than that. His words not mine. That's why I admire him so much. He just feels so…"
"Unstoppable?"
"Exactly. And resourceful too. He helped my Ralts learn a move only a while ago. His Raichu helped my Ralts learn thunder punch!"
May was deeply impressed. Ralts wasn't known to be much of a physical fighter. Sure it could be but Ralts and its evolutions didn't learn physical moves that easily.
And Sonic had achieved that in a day?
"You know I just realized, I didn't ask you how come you're here in the market?"
"Oh I wanted to buy some pokeblocks for my Beautifly. I want to give it a good treat before the contest".
"You're entering the Slateport contest? Like, you wanna be a coordinator?"
"More like I'm trying out something new but yeah".
"Oh I see. I'm here for kinda the same reason. Just wanting to give my Ralts some treats".
May then perked up, remembering the chance she was looking for.
As the two were walking towards the exit of the market, May seized her chance.
"Is Sonic available?"
"What do you mean?" Wally asked her in surprise, having heard from Sonic that he was still getting over a girl he had messed up with in Johto.
"I would like to talk to him… about the contest. Maybe he can help me".
"Oh. Sure I don't think he will mind. But do you have time, the contest starts soon".
"It's ok. I got like 2 more hours. Plenty of time".
Wally nodded and asked May to follow him.
The two walked through town, talking about random stuff though more often than not the discussion ended up shifting towards Sonic and Ash's complicated situation.
May ended up confessing that the reason she wanted to talk to Sonic was that her training with Ash for the contest was just not yielding the results she desired. Ash just refused to train in any way that would resemble Sonic's way of training even to the slightest extent.
Lately he had even caught May having Beautifly and torchic training together. By this point Torchic had managed to grow the power of its ember and May was experimenting with the moves, trying to create a spectacle. Needless to say Ash was livid, accusing May of harming her pokemon despite her continuous protests that Beautifly didn't mind their way of training.
Eventually the two made up and apologized to each other but May was a bit frustrated because the clash of Torchic's ember and Beautifly's silver wind had managed to create a beautiful gust of embers and that was something she couldn't have figured out without sparring.
Ironically, Ash allowed his pokemon to spar but May didn't mind because the moment things were getting heated he stopped his pokemon, his thinking being that if they were being overwhelmed then the other's power was rising.
"And worst of all, he doesn't see any problem with it because he handled himself well in the brawl two days ago".
"That's nonsense. He battled average grunts" Wally protested "against the enforcer…"
"I know. He did admit that using Pikachu against Blaze and her Marshtomp was a stupid choice and he would have had a much better chance if he went with Treecko or Corphish. But still… he refuses to actively train his pokemon to get stronger. I even asked him to spar with me for this but he refused stating he didn't want to risk hurting my pokemon".
Wally remained silent for a few moments.
"In any case, that's his choice. But getting mad at you because you wanted to try a different style of training…"
"It's ok. Really. He is very supportive overall".
Wally felt there was more to that dynamic but refrained from pressing on as they had arrived.
Before Sonic could notice them, Wally made another mental note.
He wanted to have a chat with Ash one day. Try to explain his point of view and how training with Sonic and in a similar style had made him stronger and even if that didn't work just try to get Ash to leave May alone when it came to her training.
"May?" Sonic was surprised to see her there "what are you doing here?"
"I ran into Wally at the market and he told me how your training is paying off. So… I wanted to talk to you about it".
"About training?"
"Yes. But not the kind of training you think".
Sonic was intrigued.
"Very well. Tell me".
"Walk with me for a bit. It's a lot I need to explain".
Sonic nodded.
"Wally, Ralts is getting better with each repeat. Keep it up and when it feels ready, have it spar with aron. I'll be back soon".
"You got it. Thanks! Alright Ralts let's do it! Thunder punch!"
Ralts jumped and landed the punch on a rock, cracking it.
Sonic smiled proudly again as he followed May, walking along the coastline.
"So… what kind of training do you need help with?"
"Well here's the deal; I'm taking place in a contest in about 2 hours".
"Contest?" Sonic tilted his head in question "you did mention something about a contest when we were in Dewford island".
"Yes. I want to try out being a pokemon coordinator".
The answer only raised more questions for the hedgehog.
"You've never heard about pokemon contests?"
"No. Enlighten me please".
"It's like pokemon battling but it focuses on a lot more than pure power. A contest has two rounds. The first round is basically a display of a pokemon's style and moves. I have to work with my pokemon to perform great feats like for example playing catch with a frisbee but using their moves. The second round, if one qualifies is battles. But unlike normal pokemon battles it's not as much about knocking my opponent's pokemon as it is how we battle. We are given a number of points and the goal is to end the battle after 5 minutes with more points than our opponent. We can lose points several ways".
"Which are?" Sonic asked her.
"Plenty. When my pokemon get hit by an attack, when my pokemon's attack fails, when my opponent uses my move against me or when my opponent makes an appealing move".
"Appealing as in?"
"A stylish move that creates an impressive enough spectacle".
Sonic went into deep thought. Those were major differences from the battles he was accustomed to. But he could also see a couple of ways of training May could take to train for such a contest.
Ways that she wouldn't need to approach him to learn. Ways that involved simply sparring.
"Ash isn't helping you the way you need right?"
"… No".
Sonic sighed.
"And I'm the reason for it, right?"
"No you're not" she tried to assure him.
Sonic didn't fully believe her as he was aware the truth was somewhere in between. Regardless he looked at her.
"When did you say the contest is?"
"In two hours".
Sonic frowned. Two hours was nothing.
And with the limited training May had had so far, her odds were not good.
"Alright. You said if your opponent's move connects you lose points right?"
"Yes".
"Alright then. We'll start there. Improving your pokemons' reflexes should do the trick for now. If your opponent can't land an attack, you can't lose points".
"What about the other factors?"
"With such a short amount of time it's the only thing we can work on so that there can be some semblance of result".
"Maybe if we worked on a little bit of everything…"
"Look" Sonic stopped her as they stopped to turn back "I want to help but I can't do a lot more for you right now. Multitasking is not the way to go. I know that first hand. Dodging saved my skin and that of my friends more times than I can count in our war with team rocket. So do you want my help starting with that or not?"
May considered it and decided something was better than nothing.
As they started walking back, Sonic explained his reasoning. Splitting one's focus reduced their efficiency in whatever they were doing. Contrary focusing on one aspect of the training at a time, not only yielded fruit but also opened unexpected possibilities for other aspects.
To prove his point Sonic told May a story of his, Tails and Knuckles' training near Olivine city. Tails, having only just started his journey of growing into an equal member of team Sonic, was pushing himself and his pokemon too hard, training disorganized and chaotically.
As a result his pokemon didn't show much growth during the first few days and Tails began doubting himself again. Seeing his peril, Sonic and Knuckles took Tails to town to get some air and some snacks.
Along the way the two asked Tails to explain his training plan and he admitted he didn't have a real one. All he knew was that he had to catch up.
Sonic then explained to Tails his own experience in Kanto and how at first he did try raising his pokemon in the same way, trying to make each and everyone almighty on its own until he realized that was impossible. Each pokemon had its own strengths and weaknesses and the only way to cover them was with his other pokemon. Working together and off of one another, all aiming for one goal.
With this in mind, Tails had had a conversation with his pokemon and they decided they would work on their strengths each while Tails would decide on how to cover each weakness through teamwork.
May was inspired by this story, realizing that dodging was only a small step of the training she would have to do. Though her pokemon didn't need so much endurance as actual battle pokemon did, dodging was vital. So was exploring combinations of their moves, learning to read their opponent and adapting to their actions and of course power to make their moves stronger and be able to create a greater spectacle.
By the time they had arrived back, everyone was on break, Ralts having gotten a pretty good grip on thunder punch and talking with Raichu to learn more about how to master it.
Sonic informed everyone that they would all be helping May with a training session in dodging attacks. That included not only his pokemon but Wally's Ralts as well.
Wally and Ralts were eager to help out, especially since he sympathized with May being restricted from blossoming due to her circumstances with Ash.
And so the session started. May revealed she was going to use her Beautifly at the contest, which Sonic was glad about. Having trained with Tails' butterfree, he had a pretty good idea on how to help May, especially since Tails also focused on dodging at first even before deciding he wanted to build power like his friends.
So as to not rough up Beautifly too much, Sonic went with aron first as it was the least physically strong of his 3 current team members. He ordered aron to fire mud slap at Beautifly. The attacks were slow but as Sonic explained, Beautifly needed to get acclimated to the training first.
Following up, Combusken took over by firing embers at Beautifly. This time around, Beautifly and May had troubled anticipating all of the attacks and were hit several times.
May quickly grew frustrated but was comforted by Wally and Sonic, telling her it was better to mess up during training than during the contest. May appreciated and they continued with Beautifly soon being more adept to dodging.
Ralts too had a go with its confusion attacks and Beautifly was successful at dodging.
Half an hour before the contest, May was beaming with confidence.
"Beautifly you're amazing! We're gonna do great!"
Beautifly cried out in excitement.
"Hey Sonic. Can we do one more attack before I go?"
"Sure. Combusken…"
"No. Use Raichu".
"Huh?"
"Come on I'm ready".
"Not sure Beautifly is ready for this, May. Raichu is too fast".
"Please. How can we learn if we don't practice?"
"The key word is gradually May".
"Please. Just once".
Sonic sighed and relented.
"Get ready".
Beautifly braced itself and focused to avoid the attack.
"Raichu! Thunder punch!"
Sonic was right. May had grown too confident.
Raichu moved with such terrifying speed, neither May not Beautifly even registered it.
Thunder punch connected, brutally knocking out Beautifly.
"Oh no Beautifly!"
Sonic was mortified. He had just done it again.
"M… May I..." he stuttered.
May quickly picked up Beautifly.
"We need to get it to the pokemon center quick!"
The three scurried to the pokemon center.
Nurse joy quickly got to patching up Beautifly. May was devastated at the fear of it being unable to participate in the contest.
"May I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen" Sonic tried to apologize, expecting a response like Ash's.
May teared up instead.
"No it's my fault. I went too deep. We were not ready and I asked you to do it anyway".
Sonic was taken aback at this.
Before he could comfort her however, the universe decided the situation had to get worse in the worst way.
Ash, Brock and Max walked into the pokemon center looking for May.
"May?! What's wrong?!" Max rushed to her side.
Ash was quick to notice the injured Beautifly getting healed.
His gaze was fixated on Sonic.
"What did you do?!" he asked angry.
"It was an accident. We were helping her train and…" Sonic honestly answered.
At the word accident, Ash lunged, Pikachu falling from his shoulders in the process.
Unlike Birch's lab however, Sonic dodged the first punch and blocked the second one, holding it back with his palm.
Ash tried to push through but Sonic was just physically stronger. Stepping back he looked at the hedgehog in pure hatred.
"Hurting Pikachu is one thing but Pikachu is adept to battling! Hurting an inexperienced pokemon like Beautifly is unforgivable!"
"I told you it was an accident!"
"I don't believe you! You cruel, heartless…"
"Ash stop!" May got between him and Sonic "he's telling the truth. It's my fault. I pushed too far when I wasn't ready".
"What are you talking about?"
"I… I asked Sonic to help me train for the contest. We were practicing on dodging and…"
"And he went too far again" Ash immediately assumed.
"No. He and Wally only used their weaker pokemon. I asked Sonic to have Raichu attack Beautifly to try and dodge. He warned me and I insisted. It's my fault" she said as she kept sobbing.
"W-why didn't you come to me for help?"
"I wanted to but… you wouldn't have helped me" she tried to speak before sobbing again.
Ash felt betrayed by the fact that she had sought out Sonic for help instead of coming to him but couldn't get mad at May in the moment.
"May it will be ok" he said, forcing the feeling of betrayal down "I'm sure Beautifly will be just fine".
The next few minutes rolled by awkwardly with Sonic and Wally keeping their distance for Ash and his crew as they tried to comfort May.
Eventually nurse Joy informed them Beautifly was fully healed and all set to participate in the contest.
May, utterly relieved, thanked her and recalled Beautifly.
"Thank goodness you're ok. I'm sorry I pushed you too hard" she had said before recalling it.
"We should get going May. The contest is set to begin in 10 minutes".
"Let's go then" Ash said as he moved to the exit.
"Good luck May" Sonic wished her as she went to leave also.
She stopped and looked at him.
"You're not coming?"
Sonic looked at Ash for a fleeting moment.
"You'll be ok without me there. You have trained well with Beautifly" Sonic encouraged her. He knew he wouldn't be welcome there "go. You'll be late".
May hesitated before following Ash and the others out.
The four left the pokemon center heading for the contest Hall.
Along the way though the tension was palpable.
As Brock and Max walked behind them, Ash tried to not voice his frustration with May before her big moment but was unable to.
"Why did you go to him? Did you want Beautifly to get hurt?" he eventually asked her.
May shot him an apologetic but also upset look.
"Because I didn't feel ready Ash. The training I had so far wasn't enough".
"But the power of your ember increased. And it did naturally".
"It's more than that Ash. A lot more".
"Don't you believe in your pokemon?You have trained a lot. You're going to be ok".
May shot him an even more upset look.
"How can you ask me such a thing?! You know how much I believe in all of them! Torchic, Squirtle, Beautifly! I believe in them from the bottom of my heart!"
"Then what is the problem?"
"It's not enough Ash! Just belief is not enough! I won't win with just belief! You know the rules of contests. I need to adapt to my opponent's moves. And how can I learn to do that, to read and adapt to the flow of the battle, if I don't spar with anyone? Just attacking rocks and trees isn't real training. And anytime I bring it up you get upset".
"I won't have you hurt your own pokemon. I can't allow you to become like him".
"Has your empty head even tried to consider what I and my pokemon want?!" May burst out, having grown tired of hearing this.
Ash was taken aback.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that my pokemon and I want to explore the role of a coordinator! And to do that we need to practice! And that practice includes sparring!"
She looked down trying to calm herself.
"I'm your friend and I understand your feelings of anger towards Sonic. But I need you to also be a friend to me now. I need you to understand that my pokemon and I want this. I need you to understand that I went to Sonic because he was willing to give me the kind of help you refuse to!"
Ash didn't know what to stay.
"You don't have to spar with me if you don't want to" May continued "but for the love of goodness Ash, stop trying to dictate my and my pokemon's training based on your distaste of Sonic!"
After a moment she added "please".
Ash allowed her words to sink in.
She was right.
He hadn't heeded Brock's warning in Littleroot town and instead had allowed his distaste of Sonic to sour his friendship with May.
"Get to the contest Hall. I'll catch up" he said before racing off, leaving May and passing by Brock, Max and Pikachu who had spent the entire walk from the Pokemon center on Max's shoulder.
"Ash the contest is starting in 5 minutes!" Brock called out to him but he was too far away to hear.
Hoping Ash would indeed catch up, May, Max, Brock and Pikachu arrived at the contest Hall.
May went backstage while Brock and Max found seats. As she got ready she exchanged a couple of banters with a rival coordinator, Drew, before
The contest began shortly after and May observed the first few participants performing, including Drew.
"Will I be good enough?" she kept wondering "what if I'm not ready?"
"Who knows ready?" Sonic's voice suddenly reached her ears.
May took the words in. The voice was right.
She couldn't know that. All she could do was her best.
And just as she reached that conclusion, it was her turn.
"Go get them" Sonic's voice was heard again, only more distant. As if it was coming from…
"The stands!" May whispered, quickly turning.
Ash had returned. And he had brought Sonic and Wally along.
Overjoyed and encouraged, May took the stage.
Ash, his group, Sonic and Wally observed the contest as peacefully as they could for the rest of the evening, watching May perform incredibly for her first time. Although her score in performing her pokemon's skills wasn't the greatest at a mere 24.9, she was able to qualify to the second round where she lost to Drew after a great battle during which her training with Beautifly in dodging shined, though in the end, Drew's greater experience prevailed.
May was saddened by her defeat but got over it quickly as she joined her friends in the stand.
"How is this possible?" she immediately asked Ash, obviously referring to Sonic's presence.
Ash shrugged while smiling.
"You asked me to be a friend to you. So I did".
Her response filled her with joy. Him bringing Sonic here for her was a very touching gesture.
She gave him a big hug which he reciprocated.
The two teams then watched the rest of the contest with May taking it all in, trying to get any inspiration for her future contests while at the same time talking with Sonic about how well she did and what she could to do improve.
Eventually, the contest ended and with it, the time for Sonic and Wally to leave also came.
May once again thanked Sonic for the training to which Sonic encouraged her to keep training and aim as high as she desired to go.
May, Brock and Max then headed off, leaving Ash and Sonic alone as Wally stepped a little further away to give them some space.
"That was very kind of you" Sonic complimented him "she is lucky to have you as a friend".
"Yeah. Whatever. Don't think this changes anything".
"I didn't expect it to. This wasn't about me or you. It was about May" Sonic said nodding and turning to leave.
"See you around Ash" he waved goodbye as he left to join Wally.
Ash watched Sonic leave before catching up to his friends.
Later that night as the four friends were preparing to sleep, Ash and May got into a conversation about possible ideas to incorporate into her training to prepare for her next contest.
"There are so many possibilities" May said, positively overwhelmed by them "I can't wait to explore them".
"And I will help you explore them. And don't you worry, I won't strike as hard as Sonic".
May's eyes widened, realizing he was offering to spar with her.
She smiled, feeling blessed.
"Thank you for being my friend Ash".
"You're welcome. And sorry we got to this point. I will try to be better. You, Max and Brock shouldn't have to be affected by my animosity towards him".
May smiled and then went to bed.
Today was such a win in so many ways but also made her wonder about what the future had in store for all of them. After all, Ash tolerating Sonic's presence for her and even accepting her desire to use his advice to practice was a big step.
"Does that mean there is hope? Could Ash manage to forgive Sonic in the end?" she asked herself as she fell asleep.