“Again,” Kora ordered for the umpteenth time and, once more, Cyndaquil obeyed with a loud squeak, despite his visible exhaustion. The fire-type raised his head as he drew in a deep breath and a small flame began to form inside his mouth. He held it there briefly, visibly struggling to maintain what little fire he could produce. With one quick motion, he spat the small glob of flames straight at the tree trunk a few feet away from it. The attack harmlessly dispersed along the wood, doing little more than singing the bark.
Cyndaquil wheezed and coughed as he looked at what little damage he did with disappointment, though Kora herself did see some differences already when she compared it to his first attempts. The various charred markings from his attacks were growing, though it did require the illusionary fox to focus a great deal to notice the minute improvements.
Still, it’s worth recognizing that there were improvements.
“You’re making progress,” Kora commented, finding the progress having been more than acceptable for the little amount of time they had invested so far, though it did little to help the young fire-type’s mood. If anything, Cyndaquil suddenly appeared even more downcast, as though her words were mere platitudes to console him.
It was as though he was expecting instant improvements. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh, which earned her a look from Cyndaquil, as though she had somehow confirmed his thoughts by opening her mouth.
Well, that bodes poorly. She had been aware that Cyndaquil would be somewhat difficult to train, given the differences between her kind and his, but she hadn’t been expecting him to be the one showing motivational issues. Then again, it was clear that the Pokémon had a skewed view of growth. Before they even began training this morning, he had passingly mentioned that he was looking forward to evolving. Given what she’s seen so far, a lot of work was going to be necessary to even reach near that point.
Probably. She didn’t really know how or when a Cyndaquil would usually evolve. Maybe he’d grow bigger after eating a shiny rock, like a couple of the odder Pokémon out there.
Still, it’d be a good idea to clear things up when it came to his ambitions. It was clear he wanted to grow, at least, she simply needed to make him view things more realistically.
“Hey. Listen to me,” she started as she bent down to her knees, bringing herself closer to the disheartened Pokémon. “Growing strong is always slow at first. But there is progress being made, even if you don’t see it.”
Kora was tempted to make a comparison between Cyndaquil to some of the young Zorua she had wrangled yet refrained from vocalizing it, recognizing it’d likely be a bad idea. If she were to compare them, though, she recognized that Cyndaquil was significantly behind even the youngest members of her pack, which was likely the result of being kept in a safe environment that allowed the fire-type to live a lax lifestyle. After all, there was a Turtwig that spent most of its time napping of all things at Professor Rowan’s lab, so she couldn’t imagine Cyndaquil had much reason to push itself, even if he did want to get stronger.
Not that she particularly blamed him. There was a slight appeal to lazing around all day, but given it came at the cost of obeying a human and living in a ball… She’d rather avoid it.
Despite her words, Cyndaquil remained dispirited and let out a series of squeaks as he sat down. His words made Kora contain a frown, the ghost-type not wanting to show her disapproval and further discourage him. Hm… She nodded her head. She could respect his desire to take a temporary break.
She straightened herself and eyed the Pokémon thoughtfully as he fell back first onto the forest’s grassy terrain. Kora frowned for a moment at the sight, though once more hid it once she saw Cyndaquil look at her.
Still… They hadn’t even gotten an hour of training in. She knew that he had low endurance, but at least he got a full night’s rest, which was a privilege he had over her. Kora herself hadn’t slept at all due to the ramblings of a certain mad man having made rest all but impossible. She had no idea what to do on that front, though a few thoughts did worm their way into her mind over the course of her restless night. Such as the fact that, if anyone could send her back to Hisui, it would be the One Above All.
She quickly tossed that thought aside, however, recognizing it as both foolish and arrogant. She was not important enough for its attention and, if anything, bringing Volo to it was a sure way to end up in Arceus’ bad graces.
Her time awake had not been wasted, of course. Instead of dwelling over things that would push at her already strained sanity, she began to formulate a way to help Cyndaquil’s growth. While her knowledge of fire-types left much to be desired, she did understand that she needed to push Cyndaquil to his limit and then some to help him grow to an adequate level of strength so he could be a threat. She had intended on making the mammalian Pokémon run and practice his moves until he was too exhausted to move, yet his desire to rest after just using a few dozen embers left her in an awkward position. Their time was limited, after all, as they wouldn’t spend the morning here and she didn’t intend to ‘train him’ while on the road.
She did know of ways that could motivate the fire-type to start training again, but she doubted it was a good idea to use them on Cyndaquil, as she doubted the Pokémon would respond well to how things were done in the pack. Kora also found herself somewhat hesitant to try to push the Pokémon too far, given nearby company.
She turned her gaze to the Togekiss watching from above them, the fairy-type having claimed a high-up branch as its resting place for the night. It had just recently woken up, yet it still hadn’t moved beyond stretching its wings, seemingly content to watch them train – or, rather, fail to train, now that Cyndaquil had stopped. The scowl it had been wearing was somewhat less pronounced than it had been yesterday, though its presence was still notable. Not that Kora blamed the Pokémon for being in a permanently foul mood, of course, as she’d be scowling all the time too if she were Volo’s Pokémon.
That wasn’t her problem, though. She had other things to worry about.
“Are you ready to continue?” she asked the fire-type, who remained unmoving beyond the slow shake of his still downcast head. Kora awkwardly looked around, eventually turning her sight in the direction of the still rising sun. “We won’t be able to practice much today if you keep resting, though,” she decided to point out, as it was likely they’d start moving the moment Volo was ready to set out.
Cyndaquil looked at her briefly before lazily rolling over and getting to his feet. He then slowly made his way over to her, though she sighed and stopped him with a gesture given the demotivated look on his face. Briefly, Kora let out a low hum as she tried to think of something to say.
Togekiss, still watching from above, let out an amused huff at Cyndaquil’s antics. Kora looked up at it with furrowed brows and some amount of annoyance. “Just going to comment and watch?” she asked, earning something akin to a shrug from the avian.
Kora worked her jaw in thought as she looked at the Togekiss, whose beady eyes stared back down at her. While she had gotten a bit of an idea as to why the oval-shaped Pokémon was upset with Volo, she doubted it was just because it had been hit by Garchomp. While she could try to guess as to what made the avian so upset…
“Why are you still here?” she decided on asking, not understanding why the clearly unhappy Pokémon didn’t simply leave. Kora had little doubt that, out of any Pokémon of Volo’s, it had the best odds of escaping given it could just fly away. “Can’t you just go whenever you want, since you’re so miserable? I doubt Volo would be able to find you again if you tried hard enough.”
Togekiss furrowed its brows as it stared back at her with an offended look on its face, as though the thought of leaving Volo was simply outrageous. It then chirped out an angry and simple reply before flying off in the direction Volo had been camping in, not seeming to want to answer any possible follow-up questions Kora may have had. Which she did have, of course, as telling her ‘peace’ followed by calling her something rude didn’t answer much.
Either way, Kora could find her own answers about Togekiss and Volo’s other Pokémon, especially given she had free access to Hisui’s ‘Pokédex,’ which appeared filled with information about the various Pokémon of this world. Unfortunately, that information was locked away behind words.
Kora turned her thoughts to the books Yuzo had given her, having perused them at her leisure overnight and still not really understanding much of anything. She didn’t even know what the name of the pink cow was, which felt important given it was the protagonist of the first book. At least she assumed it was the protagonist, given it was in nearly every picture. Still, she knew learning the weird symbols would help her out in the long term, no matter how annoying it was.
Kora looked over to Cyndaquil, who had been staring at her and Togekiss. She briefly considered her options before sighing. “We’ll take a break for now,” she firmly stated, deciding it’d be better to push the fire-type in other ways while she revised her approach. Slowly and almost reluctantly, Cyndaquil nodded his head.
With a sigh, Kora accepted that training the fire-type was going to be a lot more difficult than she had originally anticipated. He’d need a more concrete source of motivation and, furthermore, she’d need to find a way to temper his expectations when it came to progress.
Still, she wasn’t going to just sit around. She’d use what little time she had to try to make progress on reading before they headed to Jubilife City while planning out what to do for the fire-type.
Hopefully, once they reach there, Volo wouldn’t be as blatantly insane in the company of other humans.
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Kora had been expecting things to be different in Jubilife, but not this different.
“Volo, I don’t think this place was built by humans,” she whispered as she stared up at the massive pillars in the distance, the duo currently walking down the paved roads in between box-like buildings with Cyndaquil in tow. Bright screens and signs were placed on nearly every building they walked by, each one seeming to advertise a product or service that she mostly failed to grasp. Unrecognizable Pokémon were almost always somewhere on the screens, as though they were endorsing it.
Beside her, Volo looked around with both awe and curiosity, the blond man eyeing the passing traffic that paid them little notice beyond a mere glance here and there, the people of this place seeming content to keep to themselves. “I think you’re right,” the man quietly offered back as he seemed to take in every detail, as though he were analyzing it to solve a puzzle which, given what she knew of him, may very well be the case. “I had been expecting a settlement much like Sandgem, if only much larger, but this is so much more interesting. This must’ve been something built by both man and Pokémon working together.”
Kora didn’t like the small smile that cropped up on the man’s lips, likely thinking this played into his distorted way of viewing the world. He was also likely happy no one had called him Cynthia as of yet, which was slightly disappointing. Some annoyance would help keep Volo’s ego in check, which seemed like a mandatory requirement given some of his ambitions. For now, however, she wouldn’t express her distaste for the lunacy he had shared with her, having no urge to go down that path anytime soon.
Who knows? Maybe if she never brought it up again, the human wouldn’t either, having thought he had just dreamt up that interaction. She really shouldn’t remind herself of last night, though, as nothing good would come of it.
Instead, she turned her attention to Cyndaquil, who was lagging behind them somewhat. She managed to get him to walk with them instead of being carried to help improve his endurance. It wouldn’t do much, of course, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. Kora was slightly worried by the number of people in the streets, but it seemed they mostly avoided the small Pokémon or he aptly moved out of the way, though she was keeping an eye on him to make sure nothing happened.
“I think they built those to house a Legendary Pokémon,” Volo excitedly shared as he looked to the tall pillars in the distance. It came to her attention that they were moving towards them, the imposing towers already appearing far closer. “I wonder which Pokémon the people here worship. If I had to guess, it would most likely be- “
“Please stop with the Legendary Pokémon. I’ve had enough for one lifetime,” Kora interrupted, not wanting to delve any further into that subject or ever meet one. Instead, she looked around, searching for anything interesting to turn Volo’s attention away from possible Legendary encounters. Finding something and needing no more motivation to change their current trajectory, she directed the man’s attention to a sign with the point of her finger. “What’s that?”
On the sign were two crossed swords – a laughably useless tool, in her experience – with a Poké Ball in front of them. Volo frowned as he eyed the small-printed words beneath the symbol. “The Battle Square. If I were to guess, it’s likely related to Pokémon battles,” the man translated, earning an exaggerated sound of interest from Kora. He furrowed his brows and turned to stare at her illusionary face. She altered her expression to appear intrigued, as any place was better than a place that might have a Legendary Pokémon.
Volo looked at her in uncomfortable silence, seeming to try to pierce through her illusionary mask with his eyes alone. “…Are you genuinely interested?” he eventually questioned, his doubt more than evident.
Undeterred, Kora nodded her head a few times. Likewise, Cyndaquil nodded a moment after he received encouragement from her foot against his backside once he had caught up to them, the Pokémon letting out a surprised squeak before following her lead once he understood what was going on.
Volo rubbed his jaw slowly in thought, his eyes moving between the tall buildings in the distance and to Kora herself as he silently considered things to himself. “Very well,” he eventually decided. “I’ll just visit the towers on my own later.”
Kora blinked. She hadn’t really expected that to work. Although he was trying to be her ‘friend,’ so it was only natural he tried to accommodate her every so often. Then again, even if he disagreed, she likely would have gone off on her own without him, so it wasn’t like she needed to convince him.
That said… given her tactic had worked, she might just be an exceptional manipulator. Indeed, she was one of the few Zorua that had evolved in the pack, a feat that only few could claim. Yes, it seemed much more likely that she was had somehow spun the man in her web of-
“And now you’re smugly smiling to yourself,” Volo drily commented, a hint of exasperation in his tone and disturbing Kora out of her self-praise. “Dare I ask what’s going on in your mind?”
Cyndaquil likewise looked up at her, evidently curious about what’s going on. She merely shook her head and shrugged her shoulders to both man and Pokémon. “Nothing,” she verbally added, preferring to not share her thoughts. “Let’s get going.”
With a nod, Volo began leading them in the direction the sign pointed in. All things considered, it wasn’t a bad idea to see how other humans battled. It’d be useful for her to see what the average strength of their teams looked like. She imagined she’d see trainers that were actually normal as well, as opposed to the ridiculous kind Volo was or whatever sort Klara could be considered, as she highly doubted many people considered living garbage as a ‘cute and underrated Pokémon.’
If they did, she may need to reevaluate the scope of humanity’s intelligence.
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With one of its glowing green arms, the shaggy white furred ice-type monster punched the fat feline across from it in the jaw, knocking it off its feet with what she recognized as ‘Wood Hammer.’ Momentum forced the cat to roll backwards until it hit one of the metal walls surrounding the arena, letting out a hiss of pain before it slowly rose back up to its feet.
Kora winced. That had to hurt. She knew firsthand how dangerous an Abomasnow could be, having met the aggressive Pokémon in the wild on rare occasions and often opting to get as far away from it as she could. The mere fact that the other Pokémon hadn’t immediately fainted from the attack showed how resilient the ‘Purugly’ was. How a mammal could grow that fat made little sense to her, though it was clear it gave it some advantage.
That wasn’t the only fight that was taking place in Battle Square, of course, as the avenue had half a dozen arenas in it that were all occupied by a variety of trainers. Far too many people to easily count were spread out in the area, either content to watch the ongoing battles or looking for an opportunity to participate in one themselves. Humans were battle hungry, it seemed. Even their children, which was quite worrisome. Seeing the Abomasnow being ordered around by a little girl as though it were a toy and not a powerful predator was very amusing, though.
That said… This place did help solve the riddle as to where all the strong Pokémon were. It was likely humans had taken the habit of hunting down strong Pokémon and turning them into ‘professional’ battlers, or something along those lines. Though it was also true that humans trained up weak Pokémon until they were natural disasters, making her doubt she had a full understanding of the subject.
“Some of the Pokémon here are rather unique,” Volo offhandedly said from behind her, the woman-shaped fox looking over her shoulder before following his gaze, finding it fixed on a reptile with light-brown scales and a skull on its head, the Pokémon tossing a bone between its hands as it stared at the purple ape across from it. The ape in question waved the hand attached to its tail back and forth, seeming to try to elicit a reaction from its opponent. “Hm… I wonder what sort of evolutionary advantage it gains by wearing that skull on its head.”
“It probably just likes to bash its head against rocks or something,” Kora dismissively replied, not caring much for the Pokémon itself. “What I want to understand is why so many people are obsessed with battling.”
“Ha. Let me tell ya, that one’s ain’t hard to figure out,” a voice interrupted, Kora frowning as she looked around for its source. She found a lone, brown-haired man wearing a pair of blue shorts and a yellow tank top staring at her and Volo with a smirk from a nearby bench. Next to him sat a giant brown rodent with massive front teeth, its trainer idly running a hand along its back as it stared at them. “Being a trainer is where all the fame and money is at, after all! Everyone’s looking to make a name for themselves, and Pokémon are the easiest way to do it!”
“Is that so?” Volo asked, returning the man’s smile with a polite version of his own. Given the way his eyes had marginally narrowed, Kora was certain the blond was evaluating what he stood to gain by interacting with this person. “Should I take it you’re looking for the same thing as everyone else, then?”
The man – likely just slightly older than Klara, if Kora had to guess – scratched by the side of his mouth. “Can’t lie and say I’m not,” he offered back with an awkward laugh. “Though I’m more in it for the classic reasons, if you catch my drift.”
“Ah, yes. The classic reasons,” Volo repeated the man’s words for some reason, as though he somehow understood what he was saying. Still, he earned a few quick enthusiastic head bobs from the strange man and, oddly enough, the giant rat.
“Good! Had the feeling you two would get it!” the stranger enthusiastically said as he leaned forward, ignoring that she did not, in fact, get it. For a moment, Kora caught sight of yet another rodent hanging onto the back of the human’s neck, this one seeming to have a large fluffy tail and overly large cheeks. “Didn’t think either of you wouldn’t though, given the whole… getup, and the lab Pokémon with ya,” the man added while pointing a finger at Cyndaquil, who seemed confused at the action. “Sorry for butting into your conversation, by the way, just couldn’t help but overhear.” Drat, she’d need to be quieter in the future.
“I should probably introduce myself, though. I’m Joey, and this is my partner Raticate,” Joey said while pointing to the rodent next to him, who squeaked out its own polite greeting. “You also might’ve noticed Skwovet clinging to my back. He’s a little fidgety though, so try not to mind him too much.”
Kora turned to look at Volo with a raised brow, questioning the point of the situation. He gave no visible reaction to her, so she chose to play along.
“…I’m Kora, and this is Cyndaquil,” she finally added to the conversation, earning a polite greeting from both man and rat, who chittered out its own copy of Joey’s words to both her and Cyndaquil, earning a responsive squeak from the fire-type. Following her lead, Volo introduced himself and began to question the brown-haired man in what seemed like idle chatter but was most certainly a way for Volo to gather small grains of information.
All the while, Raticate attempted to engage in a conversation with Cyndaquil. The fire-type was clearly unsure as to how he should respond to the over energetic rat, though he did try to engage with it. Fortunately – or unfortunately, if you were Cyndaquil or Kora – the lacking replies did not dissuade the Raticate, who seemed all too happy to fill the silence Cyndaquil was leaving with its own chittering.
Some of the things went over her head, such as what it meant to be in the ‘top percentage,’ but it seemed the rat was content to brag about itself.
“So, what brings you all to Battle Square?” Joey eventually asked, bringing Kora’s attention back to him as his gaze alternated between her, Kora and Cyndaquil. “Just here to watch? Or are you looking for something a bit more… exciting?”
Kora eyed the man’s Raticate after his question, looking it over carefully. It didn’t look particularly tough, even though it had bragged about being strong. Still, she doubted Cyndaquil had much of a chance given his inexperience. Likewise, he seemed to come to the same conclusion, given the dubious way he eyed the giant rodent. Seeming to catch on to that, Joey laughed and shook both of his hands. “Not against me. Especially not against Raticate. No, I have a… friend in mind.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“A friend?” Kora repeated dubiously, noticing the man’s hesitation.
Joey rubbed the back of his neck as he gave her an awkward smile. “Ah, well… Maybe friend’s not the right word. She’s more of an acquaintance,” he corrected after a moment. He let out a slow sigh. “I’m watching over as a favor for someone else. I just think it’d be good for her to get some battle experience.”
Kora stared at Joey, finding the man’s proposal very vague. “I feel as though you’re leaving out a lot,” Kora replied. She noticed Volo eyeing her curiously, which made her raise a single brow before she promptly ignored him. Best to not worry about his blasphemous thoughts. “I’d prefer it if you were up front about the situation.”
Joey scratched his cheek. “I guess that’s fair. Full disclosure, then,” the man said, somewhat surprising Kora. She wasn’t expecting someone to just be honest because she preferred it. “She’s a new trainer that has a big sponsor, so she doesn’t really see the need to fight many other trainers. You know, money not being a problem and all,” he explained, Kora nodding her head slowly despite her lack of understanding. After a moment, Raticate nudged its head into Joey’s arm, prodding the man to continue. “…And she might have a few ego problems,” he added, and Kora sighed through her nose.
Of course. Every human seemed to have a variety of issues on their hands, so it was only natural that they make it her issue too. “Thank you, Raticate,” Kora told the rat, who chittered out that it was its pleasure while Joey awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “What sort of ‘ego problems’ should I be expecting, exactly?” she asked, deciding she should at least know what she’s going into before conferring with Cyndaquil on what he’d like to do, especially given that there might be an opportunity to help push the fire-type’s growth.
“Well, I don’t want to share too much about her and spoil the surprise,” Joey playfully shared, which sounded troubling and evasive. “What I will say is that she wants to be a dark-type specialist and fits most of the stereotypes down to a tee. Needless to say, that makes for a pretty troublesome kid.”
Oh? A dark-type specialist? Kora began to smirk before biting on her lip, as she had a feeling that smile was going to be a bit too inhuman. Regardless, crushing a dark-type’s dreams sounded very motivating for her, even if it was just a human hoping to specialize in them. Still… She looked at Cyndaquil, who had been quiet as he listened in on the conversation. “Are you interested?” she asked. While she was personally interested, she didn’t exactly want to force the Pokémon into doing things.
Cyndaquil seemed hesitant, especially once all eyes present turned to look at it for its answer. The shy Pokémon looked around with clear discomfort, eyeing both Volo and Joey, before turning to look up at her. His eyes locked with hers briefly, seeming to search for something. Before she could question it, he almost reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.
She raised a brow at that but slowly nodded back. “Looks like we’ll do it,” she spoke up, though she would likely need to talk to Cyndaquil about whatever was making him hesitate, as she had a feeling that he just agreed to try to please her. While she could speak up on it now… Well, so long as she asked about it after they beat some sense into a dark-type, there shouldn’t be any harm in it.
“Alright then! Just let me get in touch with her and I’ll get us set up,” Joey said as he pulled a phone out of his pocket. He turned away from her and Volo, exposing the Skwovet on his back to them. It briefly looked at them before crawling to the other side of its trainer’s shirt as he spoke into the device.
Volo looked at her with a considering look, though she chose to ignore him, opting to think about how she should fight.
After all, a dark-type wasn’t something that was going to beat itself.
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“You want me to fight her?” the red-headed teenager asked, giving a pointed look to Kora and Cyndaquil – who was currently in her arms – as though they were somehow lesser than her. “Seems like a waste of time. Neither of them look too impressive to me.”
“Come on, Elisa, it’s a lab trainer,” Joey countered, ignoring Kora’s growing scowl as she looked over the teenager, who was currently wearing a black blazer and checkered red skirt. If anyone here was unimpressive, it was her. “They always have a trick or two up their sleeve that make it worth fighting ‘em. When I was first starting out, I got my as- behind handed to me so many times by them, and it was the best learning experience I ever got,” Joey explain, though the girl – Elisa, apparently – didn’t seem convinced, merely raising a brow as she looked in Kora’s direction.
“Hmm? Is that so?” Elisa mused aloud as she looked over the illusion-clad fox, who was slightly confused by Joey’s explanation. Was she supposed to be an impressive trainer because of Cyndaquil? Kora glanced at Volo from the corner of her eye who, upon noticing her questioning gaze, merely shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I suppose I could give it a try since you’re being sooo insistent,” Elisa pressed on, earning a smile from Joey.
“Alright! Glad you finally came around to something! Just don’t use Houndour since- “
“Oh, I’m definitely using Houndour,” Elisa interrupted Joey as she eyed Cyndaquil with a mischievous smirk, the fire-type’s already clear discomfort growing further as he tried to curl in on himself to stay out of her sight. Joey, meanwhile, let out a long breath. “It shouldn’t be a problem, right? Especially since lab trainers always have a trick or two up their sleeve,” she argued, throwing the man’s words back at him.
Having no clue what a Houndour even is, Kora quickly looked to Volo for answers. Once more, he offered her a shrug at her questioning eyes, seeming to know as little as she did. All the while, Joey maintained eye contact with the smug looking teenage girl with an unimpressed look on his face.
The short-haired man eventually let out a loud sigh. “Fine, but you’re ruining the training experience for yourself. I’m also going to ask Toby for a pay raise if you keep this sh- crap up,” Joey let out before turning to Kora. “Just a heads-up, Houndour’s got Flash Fire,” he shared, earning a scowl from the teenager, which somewhat amused Kora.
Kora politely dipped her head at Joey in thanks for the warning before stepping closer to Volo, her eyes watching the teenager carefully as a few mostly unwise thoughts came to mind, given the bratty attitude the girl had. It’d be better if she kept those to herself, however. “I have questions,” she whispered to Volo.
“I don’t know what he means by Flash Fire,” Volo immediately whispered back. “If I had to guess off the name alone, it’s likely a powerful fire-type move.”
She slowly shook her head. “Not that,” Kora replied, though it was one of the questions she had. The fox pointed one of her illusionary fingers in the direction of the brat talking to Joey. “I wanted to know if all human children are like that.”
Volo hummed to himself as he rubbed his chin in thought, seeming to consider his reply carefully. He remained quiet for a few seconds too long, raising Kora’s suspicion.
“Why yes, now that you mention it, all teenagers are like that,” he eventually settled on. After staring at his face, Kora noticed the faintest twitch of his lips.
“Are you teasing me?” she asked, earning no reply. At that, she turned to Cyndaquil, who seemed slightly anxious as he kept staring in the direction of the two humans. “Is he teasing me?” she repeated to the Pokémon to turn its attention off whatever thoughts it was having. After a slight stir, the fire mouse looked up at her before turning to Volo. He leaned forward to get a better look at Volo’s face and, after analyzing it, nodded his head a few times.
Volo raised his hands. “I apologize. Couldn’t resist,” he admitted with evident amusement. “Although I was only somewhat exaggerating. It’s not uncommon for someone that age to go through a phase of some sort, at least to my limited knowledge. They don’t all behave that way though.”
“I see…” she trailed off for a moment. “Do you know when your phase will be over?” she decided to ask, earning a far less amused reaction from the blond. Ah, well, if that upset him, he could just not go do stupid things, like chasing after divine plates. Still… Kora turned to look at the red-headed teenager, who was currently talking to Joey and, given the exasperated look on the man’s face, likely exhausting him. “I do feel bad for the man,” she shared, changing the subject.
“I don’t. At least he’s getting paid to put up with her,” Volo replied, which Kora was certain was supposed to be a jab at her, yet she couldn’t identify why. Regardless, no amount of ‘money’ would make her put up with someone like that. Especially since money only seemed useful for food, at least as far as she could tell.
Unless Joey was allowed to correct Elisa by hitting her on the head, much like the Alpha did within the pack when a brat misbehaved, her younger self included. She doubted that was the case, though, at least given what she knew of humans so far.
“So, are we going to do this before I waste any more of my time standing around here?” the teenager yelled out in Kora’s direction, the illusionist turning her gaze down to Cyndaquil, silently questioning him.
He looked between her and the teenager with evident hesitation yet, after a short amount of quiet, he let out an affirmative squeak after being prodded for one from here. “Looks like it,” Kora answered as she gave a reassuring pat on the fire-type’s back.
Hopefully, bullying whatever a Houndour was would make Cyndaquil more confident around people.
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A small crowd had remained around the edges of the arena they had claimed after a short wait, most of the people seeming to naturally gravitate away towards the battles with larger Pokémon after they spotted Cyndaquil.
Regardless, both trainers spread themselves out on opposite ends of the dedicated field until they each stood in the dedicated trainer boxes before sending out their Pokémon partners. Cyndaquil hopped out of Kora’s arms as Elisa tossed out a Poké Ball, releasing a small four-legged canine with short black fur and white bands along its back and near its feet.
The ‘Houndour’ took a moment to gather its bearings before focusing on the fire mouse ahead of it. Its back immediately arched up as it began to growl in Cyndaquil’s direction, who let out an uncertain squeak as he stared back at the dark-type with worry.
Well, that was a bad way to start. Kora knew how effective intimidating one’s opponent could be, so it was already looking like an uphill battle from here, given Cyndaquil was already frightened.
“Are you sure you’re willing to fight?” Kora asked her Pokémon after a moment’s hesitation, recognizing this may not go the way she hoped. The Houndour looked slightly experienced, which was already giving it a significant lead. Cyndaquil turned back to look at her before averting his gaze back to his opponent, seeming to consider his choice. Despite his evident fear, Cyndaquil nodded his head.
Elisa’s loud and impatient voice piped up, drawing attention back to the girl. “Oh? Afraid your little Cyndaquil will get hurt, lab trainer?” she asked in an odd tone. Kora felt as though she was trying to mock her, but she failed to see how.
At her lack of a reaction, the red-haired teenager frowned momentarily before trying again. “Well, I suppose it’s only natural to worry when you have such a weak looking Pokémon,” she tried and, once more, Kora found herself perplexed. From the way she was speaking, it sounded like she understood her worries perfectly.
Was she trying to comfort her somehow? That’d be unexpected from someone aligned with dark-types, though.
“She’s trying to insult you,” Volo helpfully provided from his position next to Joey at the side of the arena. Joey himself seemed to be getting a great deal of amusement from whatever was going on along with his Raticate, given the way it was chittering along with its trainer. Kora creased her brows as she thought, trying to understand how any of that insulted her.
At her continued confusion, Volo sighed before once more speaking up to clarify for her. “She’s implying you’re a bad trainer by saying your Pokémon is weak, Kora.”
Ah, now that makes sense. Sort of. If anything, she was insulting Cyndaquil, who either didn’t care about the slander or was too focused on the Houndour to pay attention to its trainer’s words, given the way he was staring intently at the black canine and its aggressive stance.
“Oh? I’ll have to offer my sincerest apologies,” the teenager added with a smug smirk. “I wasn’t aware you were slow.”
Kora furrowed her brows in confusion. How did any of this mean she was slow?
“Stop burning bridges the moment they show up, Elisa,” Joey chimed in before Kora could try to get an explanation on what the girl meant. “You’re here to get some battle experience, not to start another witch hunt against yourself.”
Elisa hummed consideringly to herself. “Very well. I suppose it’d be a waste to put in too much effort here,” she said as she moved a hand to her hip while gesturing to Joey with the other. “Start us off then, rat-man.”
With an exasperated sigh, Joey stepped forward and raised his hand. “On go, alright?” he loudly asked, earning an instant nod from Elisa and a delayed one from Kora. “Ready, set…”
There was a brief pause as the man turned to look at each trainer, eyeing them and their Pokémon, before he quickly lowered his hand in one swift motion. “Go!” he yelled.
“Get up close, Houndour!” the blonde girl instantly ordered, her mutt obeying hastily. It dashed forward in Cyndaquil’s direction with its teeth bared, earning a worried look from the fire mouse as he quickly glanced back at his trainer before turning to look at the approaching dog.
Kora thought for a moment. Their options seemed limited here, especially given Houndour was most likely a fire-type based on what had been shared with her. “Quick Attack into it,” she decided. It’d be best to get the first hit in and try to dictate the pace of the fight from there.
Cyndaquil froze briefly, clearly not eager to approach the oncoming hound. Yet, despite that fear, he did follow her words. The fire-type ran on all four of his limbs as he dashed towards the Houndour. Once near, He tucked his head towards his body and threw his weight towards the Houndour’s face, eliciting a yelp of pain from the dark-type.
A small smirk formed on Kora’s lips. From here, they could keep the pressure up and-
“Well, that was stupid,” Elisa commented, pulling Kora out of her strategizing as the Houndour tried to shake off the pain from the hit it took. “Bite him,” the teenager simply commanded, the hound stilling itself before looking at Cyndaquil with glee. Cyndaquil began to slowly back away from the Pokémon, clearly having no desire to be near it.
“Quick attack away!” Kora tried but was too late, Cyndaquil’s fear giving the other Pokémon the brief window it needed to jump on him, which was promptly taken by the visibly larger Pokémon. Houndour’s mouth opened wide and, with a snap of its maw, it latched onto Cyndaquil’s shoulder, earning a loud squeak of pain from him as sharp teeth dug into his flesh.
Kora frowned as she considered her options, not liking the way things were already going poorly. Cyndaquil should’ve been able to avoid that, but his lack of proper experience made him freeze in fear.
“Push him off with Ember,” she decided to try. Even though it was a fire-type move and extremely weak at the moment, it should at least dissuade the Houndour off Cyndaquil and give him the chance to create some distance. From there… Well, it was going to be hard from there.
Cyndaquil let out another pained squeak as he turned his head towards Houndour’s. Cyndaquil took a long and deep breath, pulling in as much air as he could. To Kora’s delighted surprise, the largest flame he had managed to manifest yet appeared in the Pokémon’s maw as he stared at the Houndour, who had slightly narrowed its eyes in confusion. A feeling of pride welled inside her as the fire-type tossed its attack at the dark-type’s face.
And then the flames washed harmlessly over the hound’s face and body, doing nothing to change Cyndaquil’s predicament.
No, if anything it looked like it had somehow worsened his predicament, as Houndour seemed more… Energized, or something along those lines. It was as though the Pokémon had done something to deny the attack from harming it.
She didn’t have much time to think over it before the hound bit down harder on Cyndaquil’s shoulder and flames gushed out of its mouth; the Pokémon releasing its own fire-based move in retaliation. Unfortunately, Cyndaquil was hurt by that attack, the fire-type letting out a loud groan in pain.
Kora furrowed her brows, unable to understand what had just happened. Was Houndour cheating, somehow? That attack looked like it would’ve been enough to make her wince from it, she was certain, so she doubted the dark-type could just brush it off. The laughter from the girl across the field drew her gaze off the fight, finding a possible source that might’ve explained what had just happened.
“Oof. Warned ya that Houndour’s got Flash Fire,” Joey unhelpfully provided from the side as Elisa continued to laugh. “Going to be a rough battle from here.”
“Oh, Joey, how right you were! She’s obviously a brilliant strategist!” the teenager let out in a mocking voice, to Kora’s irritation and Joey’s confusion. “Oh? Do you not see it? She’s trying to make me laugh to death. Truly, this innovative strategy will take the league by storm,” she laughed as she turned to stare at Kora, clearly having spotted the fox’s irritation. “You don’t even know what Flash Fire is, do you? I was only kidding when I said you were slow, you know.”
With a seemingly content sigh, Elisa turned her eyes back to the ongoing battle. “Look, to make things fair, I’m not even going to bother putting effort into this. Houndour, go wild,” she dismissively ordered, earning a wide grin from the dark-type.
Before Kora could properly digest her anger, the black canine jerked its head back and forth, earning her attention once more as it shook Cyndaquil side to side, eliciting a pained squeak from him. The much larger hound then carelessly launched the fire mouse a few feet away.
Kora froze, not having expected that level of brutality. Thoughts began to roll inside her mind as she stared at Cyndaquil’s downed form, uncertainty about what she – in her human disguise – was supposed to do here.
Slowly, she turned her gaze to the hound. For but a moment, she caught sight of a mix of blood and fur on its teeth before the evidence was promptly licked away by the Houndour’s tongue.
It was enough. She briefly considered intervening and correcting the mutt and its human, but… She eyed the downed form of Cyndaquil and the few people watching with various expressions, some seeming to disapprove while a few were entirely unphased. She needed to be rational and not expose herself. Not here, anyways.
“That was a bit too far, Elisa,” Joey commented from the side, earning a shrug from the girl.
“I gave two orders the entire fight, one being to just let Houndour do what it would naturally do. You can’t blame me for someone else’s missteps,” she defended, seeming to lack any concern about things. “It’s up to the trainer to know what their Pokémon can and can’t do.”
“We’re going to have a talk over this,” Joey firmly said, which seemed to satisfy a few of the watchers. Yet it did not satisfy Kora, though she wouldn’t outwardly say it for now.
She briefly considered speaking up but stopped herself once she saw Cyndaquil shakily rise to his feet. His chest heaved with each breath, yet still he stood there, glaring at his canine opponent, and earning a growl from it as it took a step forward.
“You might want to recall your Pokémon,” the teenager piped up once more, seeming intent on being as much an annoyance as she could be. “Houndour gets a bit rough when I’m not giving him orders. It’s only a matter of time before he starts playing with his food again.”
Kora frowned at the woman’s analogy and suggestion, wanting to ignore it for sheer spite. She hated the idea of ‘giving the win’ to her, yet... She turned her gaze to Cyndaquil, who had an intense expression on his face as he stared at the slowly approaching Houndour. The expression he wore was one Kora knew intimately, the fox having worn it more than a few times.
That was a look of pure rage. Yet even with that rage motivating Cyndaquil, Kora could tell he’d only hurt himself more if he continued to fight.
Kora pried opened the bag at her hip and pulled out Cyndaquil’s Poké Ball. Briefly, she hesitated, not enjoying the thought of using a Poké Ball. Still, she pointed it at him and returned him to it, recognizing it’d be the safest option here.
There was a tense moment of silence after that – or perhaps Kora imagined it. “Well, looks like the winner of this fight is Elisa,” Joey announced after a few moments with a lack of enthusiasm, which only caused the Houndour’s trainer to smirk widely.
“Never had a doubt,” Elisa smugly said as she walked forward. “I’ll also be taking my winnings now,” the girl quickly added, as though she wanted to pour more salt into the wound.
Kora, recognizing it’d be a bad idea to be near the girl, quickly made her way towards Volo, the baneful fox taking long and deep breaths with every step as she tried to keep herself from doing something everyone else would regret. “You deal with her,” she firmly told the blond man.
He paused consideringly and, for a moment, Kora thought he would argue against her. “Very well,” he replied, recognizing it’d be better for everyone present if he took things from here. “Please don’t do anything stupid while you’re out of sight.”
Kora considered the request before agreeing to it. She wouldn’t do anything stupid because of a bit of anger. Probably.
“I’m going to go find a Pokémon Center,” she informed the man, earning a nod before he went off in the direction of Elisa, who perked a brow but didn’t use the opportunity to verbally harass her, which was somewhat surprising. While she didn’t enjoy relying on humans, at least she knew Volo wouldn’t put her through anything unnecessary… Probably. Last night definitely felt unnecessary, so perhaps his views on what was important were simply twisted.
She could focus on that another time, however. For now, she was going to use the opportunity to finally have an important chat with Cyndaquil.
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Finding the Pokémon Center would have been difficult were it not for the fact that Joey – and by extension, his Raticate and Skwovet – had decided to follow after her. While unexpected and unwanted, he did point her in the right direction while helping her avoid some of the ‘tourist traps’ of Jubilife. When prodded as to why they have traps in the city, Joey had given her a weird look, as if she were odd for questioning it.
Fortunately, he had eventually laughed at her ‘joke.’ Unfortunately, that didn’t explain much of anything. She hadn’t pressed the issue, not wanting to appear even odder. Besides, she’ll probably figure it out when she sees one.
Still, she did not appreciate the company, for all the time it did save her in finding her destination. Especially given that the whole battle had only really happened due to Joey’s suggestion. Fortunately, he had mostly stayed quiet upon receiving lukewarm answers to any queries he had.
Once she had made it into the Pokemon Center and, after reluctantly handing Cyndaquil’s Poke Ball to the nurse – a peculiar woman that looked nigh identical to the one in Sandgem Town – Joey spoke up. He had waited all of five seconds after she sat down on one of the provided seats in the building’s lobby to try and open up a dialogue.
“So… Thought I should say sorry, first of all,” Joey sheepishly offered, earning a raised brow from Kora. “I read your entire situation wrong. I was guessing you’d have a bit more experience under your belt than Elisa, given the whole look, so I was hoping you’d be able to humble her a bit. Y’know, make her realize there are other trainers starting out to watch out for.”
Kora eyed the brown-haired man silently and the rat that took a position beside him, both taking a seat near her, while his ‘squirrel’ climbed along the back of his seat. While she wasn’t happy with the man, at least he had the foresight to apologize, for what little good it did. Still… “The whole look?” she asked, pushed by her curiosity. Was there something wrong with her look?
“Ah, yeah. The wild hair, the kimono, and a bit of everything else you got going on,” he quickly explained, earning a quick nod from the rat next to him and a frown from Kora. “Made you stand out a bit with your Cyndaquil. I just figured you were a clan prodigy or something just starting out or with a new Pokémon, especially since…” the man paused for a moment, as though unsure if he should continue.
“Especially since…?” she pressed, though she was also questioning what was wrong with her hair. It resembled how she normally had it.
Joey looked around before leaning closer. “W-well, I didn’t want to bring attention to it, but… that was Cynthia in disguise with you, right?” he whispered, and Kora furrowed her brows, uncertain how to reply. At her lack of an answer, Joey continued. “The stubble that looked like it was growing out threw me off, but it’s gotta be her, right?”
Kora thought for a brief moment. She was still upset about the whole battle, but… A bit of mischief might help improve her mood. She leaned forward slightly and made a show of looking around before gesturing for the man to lean closer. “It is her,” she whispered, as though letting the man in on a conspiracy. “However, you can’t say you know or that I told you.”
Joey rapidly nodded his head a few times, as did the Raticate that sat next to him, the giant rodent chittering excitedly to itself. “My lips are sealed,” Joey said while making an odd motion across his mouth. “That stubble looks way too realistic. Props to whoever did her makeup job.”
Kora placed an illusionary hand over her mouth to hide her smirk. Hopefully, the man wouldn’t tell Volo she had told him. Especially given the rat seemed extra excited about the possibility of getting to ‘battle the champ.’ Of course, if he did share, she’d just argue it was some sort of trust exercise if Volo took issue with it.
“Anyways…” Joey started again, earning a slightly miffed look from Kora. “I just wanted to make sure we’re cool, y’know?” he shared, to Kora’s confusion. “You don’t look like the type that gives up easily, but…” he trailed off as he turned to look at Raticate for a moment. “I guess I just don’t want to turn someone off battling after one bad experience.”
Well, it felt like there was a lot there. “We’re ‘cool,’” she replied, deciding that would likely satisfy the man. Even though she had no idea what cool meant despite it being prominent in Klara’s vocabulary, it would likely stop the man from pestering her.
“Alright then!” he let out as he made to stand up, though he did leave an arm on the back of his seat. After Raticate made a whistling sound, the Skwovet promptly climbed up the man’s arm and positioned itself along his shoulders. “I can tell you’d like to be left alone, so I’ll leave you to it. If you ever need anything, though, I sort of owe you one for this.”
After a short goodbye from her, Joey walked away, his Raticate joining him. “Can’t believe she got back from Galar so quick,” he muttered to himself on his way out of the Pokémon Center, earning a nod from Raticate as he stepped out the sliding doors.
Her…? Ah, right. Cynthia. It was possible Kora had just tossed a large problem in Volo’s direction, but she’d let it be his problem.
She had more important things to focus on, after all.
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After what felt like a long wait, Kora finally had Cyndaquil’s Poké Ball returned to her. She also acquired a room key, knowing that the dedicated rooms for trainers would offer an ample amount of privacy for her needs, as she’d like to keep her conversation between herself and the fire-type.
Once she had identified and entered her designated room, she did a quick search to verify there was nothing unexpected inside the room which was surprisingly like the one she had in Sandgem. In fact, everything about the building felt very similar to the Center in Sandgem, which wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Hm… Perhaps humans designed it to be familiar so Pokémon would always have somewhere familiar to rest.
She stopped her search after finding nothing, much like the times before. With a sigh, she made her way to the bed and stood by it while she pulled out Cyndaquil’s Poké Ball, palming it slowly. She stared at the red and white device carefully, worried she might’ve upset the Pokémon by forcefully pulling him out of his fight on top of leaving him in his ball for what felt like hours now. Even if he had once said he was okay with it, she still had issues with the whole thing.
Well, there was only one way to find out if it was a problem or not. With the press of a button, she released Cyndaquil onto the bed, the Pokémon looking around in momentary confusion at the sudden change in environment before focusing on her. He then slowly looked at the familiar room with a slightly perplexed expression.
“We’re in a Pokémon Center in Jubilife,” Kora quickly explained, in case the fire-type had thought they were somehow back in Sandgem Town. The city did apparently have multiple Pokémon Centers and, with a frown, she suddenly realized it might be difficult to find Volo again.
Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to find the man, given his resemblance to a prominent trainer.
Cyndaquil nodded in understanding before carefully sitting down. She caught a glimpse of a small patch of fur missing where he had been bitten, though she could just barely see that the bite marks from earlier were already healing. Well, at least the damage did appear relatively minor, for what little good that did.
“…How are you feeling?” she tried to start with, feeling rather awkward as she lowered herself to his level to meet his gaze, which meant sitting on the floor in front of him.
At her question, Cyndaquil wiggled his nose and furrowed his brows. He then squeaked out that ‘he was fine,’ which, unfortunately for him, didn’t particularly convince her.
She sighed, which made Cyndaquil slightly uncomfortable given the way he turned his gaze downwards, as if he had done something wrong. “Why did you agree to fight?” she decided to ask directly. Though she did have an inkling as to why, she still wanted to hear his answer rather than risk guessing things.
Cyndaquil remained silent, seeming to hesitate on his answer before he eventually slowly squeaked out that ‘he didn’t want to disappoint her.’ She frowned at that, which made the fire-type visibly worried.
“I’m not upset or disappointed with you,” she said almost immediately, which made Cyndaquil momentarily relax. Awkwardly, she scratched at her fur with a paw as she thought, which likely looked odd with her illusion. “No, if anything, I think I’m disappointed in myself,” she added after a moment, Cyndaquil tilting his head in confusion at the statement.
“I’ve never made it clear to you where we stand, have I?” she asked and, after a moment, Cyndaquil slowly shook his head from side to side, though he did seem slightly confused. “You don’t know much about my kind, so it’s only natural you don’t know how we do things. Back home…” Kora briefly paused before continuing, not wanting to parse too deeply through what emotions came up when she thought too much of home. “We live in packs, where trust between packmates is absolute. Every member is assured safety and acceptance so long as they offer the same to others,” she tried to simplify, though the words felt… Insufficient, to say the least. Still, they were sufficient for her needs.
She also shouldn’t mention that they only trusted each other and hated most of everything outside the pack, as that would likely be a touch too difficult for the fire-type to understand.
Cyndaquil, so far, appeared interested, at least, the young Pokémon staring at her with curiosity. She could talk more about home, but… “There’s a lot I could say, but to keep it brief and simple; I see you like a young member of my pack,” she told him, deciding it’s best she leave no room for confusion. “So long as you don’t reject me, I won’t reject you, regardless of whether you want to battle or not,” she explained as clearly as she could.
At that, Cyndaquil seemed slightly surprised. He squeaked out a simple ‘really?’ to which she nodded, hoping to ease the fire mouse’s worries. His gaze turned downward as he contemplated the information she shared, though he did already appear to be in a visibly better mood than when they first started speaking, the Pokémon growing slightly more animated.
Of course, she had a feeling there was something else on his mind.
“So now that you know that I also want to ask… Are you upset?” she asked, earning a confused look from the fire-type due to the sudden change of topic. He quickly shook his head side to side. “You aren’t? Because you should know that I am. I am furious,” Kora added as she made her way back to her feet, which made Cyndaquil gain a slightly worried expression. “I am furious at that dark-type specialist and her Houndour that dared to harm you. Had you fainted, I would have made them regret it then and there,” she told him, though she had the feeling Volo would’ve stepped in had she tried anything that he deemed too stupid or risky.
“I intend to get revenge on them for what they did,” she admitted, Cyndaquil furrowing his brows as he stared up at her. “I saw the way you looked at Houndour at the end of the fight. I could tell you wanted to get even with it.”
Kora leaned forward, bringing herself slightly closer to the very interested Pokémon. “If I were you, I’d be furious too,” she stated, earning a small frown from Cyndaquil. She narrowed her eyes somewhat, sensing a reaction growing there. “You’re angry, aren’t you? Do you hate Houndour? Does merely thinking of that dark-type make you mad?”
The fire-type stilled at her questions, seeming to not know whether he should answer or not. Hesitantly, he nodded once, followed by a few quicker and more energetic head bobs as he agreed with her words.
Kora allowed herself to smirk. “Good. You showed an interest in gaining an aura of your own, right?” she brought up, Cyndaquil’s building anger fading somewhat as he nodded his head, slightly confused by her off topic question. “Spite is how I earned mine. That’s my secret to my strength. Those feelings you have when you think of Houndour? Use them if you want to grow strong. I won’t force you to fight, of course, but this is the path to my strength, and I can show you the way. All you need to do is ask.”
Cyndaquil stared at her with a considering look. A slight frown appeared on his face, Kora briefly worrying he was upset with her and her slightly abnormal proposal. Before long, however, Cyndaquil squeaked out a simple question about whether it would really make him stronger than Houndour.
A feral smile grew on her face at that line of questioning. Cyndaquil was no Zorua, but he most certainly had promise. After all, spite was always the best motivator, especially when it came to growing strong.