The noises from out-front of the house ceased, as a glowing Lady Renard hopped inside, dragging a worn-out Charmander with her ribbons. She was pride incarnate, depositing the defeated Chad right beside his food bowl. “I swear, once I figure out Ember, it won’t be so one-sided,” he warned, or hoped- it was hard to discern between prophecy and the ramblings of a sore loser.
Chad sat up and delicately attempted to bring a food pellet to his bruised mouth, seemingly struggling with every slight movement. Giggling, the pink fox decided to weigh in, “He certainly has grown from the start, but a gulf remains before he'll be able to tackle his first gym challenge.” Chad almost seemed relieved to hear such praise, before wincing at some other remnant ache of his training session.
Placing three plates of breakfast on the table, Dianna beamed at Stanley, “By the way Stanley, I spoke with Calem's mother this morning, and she agreed that you two could have a study sessions slash play date later today. She also promised to help teach Chad some fire techniques if you manage to complete all your homework while you're there,” she informed, offering a challenge and potential reward to the youth. Inspired by the best of schemers, she brought her cup of steaming tea to her smile for a dignified sip.
The duo enjoyed a peaceful walk through town, this time without a random challenger, and a slew of friendly waves from others out seizing the day. Upon approaching Calem's family home, it was apparent that Grace still had several team members with her, as the cottage itself was modest compared to the overall property size. While the house was barely much bigger than Eric and Dianna's, the land surrounding it was easily ten times the size. And spread across it were a variety of distinctly fire-type pokemon, either practicing or resting in the mid-day sun. A woman appearing to be in her mid to late thirties with long smooth hair that shone a mixture of browns and oranges took notice of the duo and strode over from a pride of what could best be described as ‘fire cats’. Her white sundress had a stylized flame motif along the bottom edge, billowing in the wind to create an illusion of a low-burning brush fire.
Once Stanley was inside, Grace returned her gaze upon the small fire lizard. “Now, as I understand it, you could use a little help with lighting your spark huh? I can only imagine the sort of training Adrienne’s Sylveon is putting you through, so I bet you could use a little guidance from someone more encouraging,” she explained, leading Chad towards the open fields. With matching timing, a Delphox began to stride over to meet them, a litter of young Fennekin following in her wake.
The Delphox exuded grace with her measured gait, a powerful personality, and a confident charm; the spitting image of an experienced battle pokemon. She towered over the little lizard, with thick muscular thighs, toned muscles visible where her fur ran thin, and a predatory gaze to reinforce her place atop the pyramid of power. “This is Reine du Feu, my starter and team ace; if she can't teach you how to channel fire-type energy, then I best suggest you hope you're a regional variant!” The hopefully-a-jest at Chad's expense earned a giggle from the flock of Fennekins, but Chad merely stood taller.
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“It's nice to meet you Reine du Feu, I'll be in your care for today,” he responded, taking a short bow of respect towards the experienced fire queen. “Lady Renard has done well honing my stamina and instincts, I look forward to learning how to be a fire type with your tutelage.”
“Hah, he said Toot!” one of the little ones shouted, immediately causing everyone to laugh, except Grace, Chad, and Reine.
Reine raised an eyebrow, her smirk of confidence shifted to one of concern and suspicion. “Those are rather fancy words for a lad barely two months old. Words I hardly would expect to find anywhere outside of the humans' books.” Her stance shifted slightly, her guard up and aimed at the youngster who stood before her. The flame at the end of her baton perked up in response.
A few beads of sweat rolling down the back of his head, Chad attempted to stand even taller, “Yea, I can read their language, but I can't really explain why. Can't really explain any of it, but all I can do is move forward with my best,” he responded, muddying the waters even further. The three stood in a loose triangle while several decisions were made. Grace looked between the two, her face pinched in slight concern, while Reine appeared to be musing over a few things, before giving a slight wave.
“Fine, you may train with the little ones for today. If you fail to produce an ember before you and your trainer depart, then you shall not return here for any further guidance,” she explained, leading the Small Squad of fire starters over to a relatively empty area of pure dirt and rocks. “Your first lesson, children, will be to feel the fire energy that I place in your care. Fire burns, it destroys, but it also keeps us safe during times of cold, it allows us to eat things that may not otherwise. And you will need to decide for yourselves what kind of fire you wish to represent,” she lectures, as the kits and lizard spread out into a line before her. One by one, she gently lowers the tip of her wooden wand, creating a small candy-sized piece of fire and placing it before each student.
“Now, I want you to focus on this warmth; feel the simmering energy I have placed inside it. This is an example of how you may start a small campfire while traveling. With proper control, you may be able to use a fire of this size to warm yourself or your trainer up when it's freezing cold. Your first task is to control this small fire, and to keep it burning with your own willpower,” she clarified, as the small orbs began to flicker, leading one of the foxes to immediately bend down and try to blow on the struggling embers to keep it alight. The others glanced around, an edge of panic on their faces. Chad meanwhile simply sat down before the flame and focused on it. Over the course of a few minutes, the flames began to go out one by one, with Chad's holding out until the very end, fighting for its very life before vanishing into a wisp of smoke.
“Now that you have experienced the warmth, your next goal is to create a spark, the smallest of ignitions, and work to slowly grow it bigger and bigger. Feel that energy deep within, and urge it to move. Fire is always moving, never content to stay still. Follow your inner fire, see where it moves about your body, and guide it until it emerges.”
The following minutes stretched on as each youngling made their own unique attempts at unleashing their own fire. Varying from an intense gaze at the same spot on the ground, to something best described as a dance, but Chad merely sat with his eyes closed, hands cupped before him as the flame at the end of his tail began to pulse. The studious group was shaken as one of the Fennekin yipped in excitement, a new plume of smoke rising from before it. Excitedly, the other kits gathered around to provide congratulations and hype themselves up before returning to the task with fervor. With time, each fox attained success, leaving them all watching Chad with hope in their eyes.
Reine joined the small crowd, her focus entirely on the final student, “I can see the energy flowing through you, it just needs an outlet. Find the outlet,” she hinted, as Chad began to sweat from the effort. Then there was a brief mote of a spark, then another. As more and more sparks began to pop and fizz, Reine rolled her eyes, “Use your mouth, stop trying to force it out of your hands-” she scolded, just as Chad’s eyes bugged out and his cheeks puffed up. On the brink of losing his lunch, Chad released a loud belch, along with a sizable plume of fire closer to a flamethrower than a basic ember.
After a short stunned silence, Chad’s fellow students jumped with excitement, buzzing about how large his fire was, congratulating him while hyping themselves up to ‘do one even bigger’. Chad himself seemed frozen in a brief daze, shocked by his own success. “I did it, I actually-”
Chad rose quickly, “-did it…” he whispered, as the memories of the past day took root. With a sigh of defeat, he fell backwards onto the bed. Closing his eyes, Chad inhaled deeply through his nose, before slowly releasing the breath. “I kinda wish the time-skips were more… considerate? Can’t even celebrate my own victories,” he lamented in the darkness.
I’d suggest you buckle-up buckaroo, we’re about to have a montage.
Chad chuckled lightly, “mon-taaage~”.