For reasons that Hoshi didn’t particularly understand, he and his team were often the only people making use of the academy’s battle court.
It wasn't that they only came on off days, nor was it that the school was deserted in general; no matter the hour, there were always a few people walking the halls, and more occupied in the multitude of rooms. Scientists, grunts, janitors – who were probably grunts in disguise, Hoshi guessed – and other, less identifiable Rockets were never in short supply.
Maybe there actually is a second, better ground, and they just keep it hidden away from the newbies. That was the only halfway-sensible rationalisation he could make to explain why the battle area of their Pokécrimes-focused organisation was so often completely empty – including today, he found as entered.
“So!” the fat bast- the high-ranked gangster on Hoshi’s heel exclaimed as the group of six passed through the sturdy double-doors. “I was hoping to get to know you a little more, Senior Grunt! Tell me, how is it that you came to wear our illustrious colours?”
…Neither of us are wearing the uniform right now, Hoshi, again, did not say. “I… got picked up by a recruiter. Not exactly an interesting story, sir.” He took a deep breath. The lesson was fine, despite the instructor being Hypno. This will be fine, despite Kiribo butting in.
…As long as I don’t freak out.
“So, the training,” Hoshi changed the subject as the Rockets spread out. “Obviously I wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do, but do you think you could give Puce a few pointers with her slowpoke?”
“Her name is Bear,” Puce chimed in.
Kiribo’s eyebrows came together in thought as her comment drew his eye, and Hoshi frowned as the Rocket Hunter examined his subordinate. Ugh, he might look only a tenth as perverted, but that’s still enough to make my brain go to weird places.
“Hmm… I suppose I could give you some pointers, milady!” The tubby man reached under his greatcoat and pulled out a Pokéball in a pattern Hoshi didn’t immediately recognise; the bottom was the standard old-school white, but the top featured wavy stripes of light and dark green. Almost a bullseye, but not quite. I suppose that’s thematically appropriate.
He released his alakazam, drawing a gasp from Ryan. “That Pokémon! Is it..?!” Ah, here’s the ass kissing. The blond stepped forward, eyes shining. “I simply cannot ignore such a powerful being. Tell me, how did you evolve it? Or did you catch it as it is?”
“Doh hoh ho! My partner and I met as young men!” Kiribo projected. “Even back then, I was known far and wide for my talents as a hunter of rare Pokémon – and though we are now bonded together as tightly as the closest of brothers, we began as bitter enemies..!”
The man held his hand in front of his face, and his Pokémon – dressed the same as yesterday; a western ten-gallon hat and leather half-vest, with dual holsters on its hips – rolled its eyes. “You see, I was tracking an elusive scyther through Viridian Forest, and yet as I moved from the shadow of one tree to the next, I began to find queer tracks that failed to match the native Pokémon…”
Despite seeing it once already the alakazam, strange dress aside, was still intimidating. Hoshi found his attention drawn to it as Kiribo prattled on. Viridian Forest? That’s way west of where abra usually live – too many bug types. You must have been a fighter to have made it all the way there, huh? It certainly looked like it; despite the academic knowledge that the abra line had poor defenses, its darker brown exoskeleton gave it a sturdy, armoured appearance. He keeps saying ‘my partner’ – does it not have a name?
The Pokémon suddenly seemed to notice his attention, its – his, rather, given the immense size of his moustache – narrow pupils turning to meet Hoshi’s eyes.
There was a- a something, almost like a pressure on the inside of his skull, and Hoshi quickly turned away. Dumbass, don’t get smacked down by another hyper-strong Pokémon. Just… stay cool.
“…And what did I find, but that the quarry had already fallen! Beneath the branches of a mighty cedar squatted a figure with large ears and a bushy tail, one I recognised instantly: a kadabra, one of the mystical fox spirits of Kanto’s north! It brought its shining spoon down and, as though the dull silver edge was refined steel, cleaved the crest of our shared target from its head..!”
The man’s narration style may have been melodramatic to the extreme, but Hoshi would be lying if he said there wasn’t a certain charm to the bombast – it was like listening to a little kid play samurai.
Except the swords are real, and they were definitely trying to kill each other, he thought, grimacing as the hunter lifted his tucked-in shirt to reveal a long, ugly scar painted across the front of his belly. Gnarly… Either he didn’t – or couldn’t – go to a hospital, or the wound was even worse than it looks. Despite modern medicine lagging far behind when it came to the treatment of humans, it was still leagues better than before the war – Hoshi’s scars from the incident four years ago were basically invisible, and his broken fist would probably be usable within a week even without further treatment. Yeah, reading between the lines… he must have patched himself up out in the wilderness.
That’s… Hoshi’s nose wrinkled as his distaste for the man’s personality battled the respect his obvious competence instilled. …A weird contrast to the posing and shit. Going after a scyther without any Pokémon – he must have been pretty confident in his sword arm.
The story continued, and Hoshi became even further conflicted; on one hand it was a damn good story, if inexpertly told, but on the other this was meant to be a training session, not Wiggly Theatre: Hobo Samurai Edition.
“…And so with the foe slain, my partner took his rightful spoils – and, in that very moment, clutching the twisted spoon to his chest, it happened! Oh hoh, I cannot even begin to describe the triumph of the moment, it was so profound – but you see the result before you!”
The psychic Pokémon rolled his eyes again, but gave a short bow as his trainer gestured towards him.
Ryan clapped, his hands coming together quickly and quietly. “Magnificent, sir! You know, I had been considering a kadabra for my team even before today; might you be willing to share a few more secrets about its proper care?”
“Well, if you insist-”
Then Hoshi clapped as well – though his was an interruption rather than applause, a single sharp sound to gather attention. Yeah, no. One long story was already enough for my Saturday, and Hypno’s was worth three. “I think it’s time we actually started.”
“Oh? I suppose it has been a few minutes… I suppose Sir Sampo’s query can wait.”
“Thank you for the story, sir, but we only have so many chances to get the group together like this, so we need to make it count – unless you’re bowing out, Sampo?”
With a scoff Ryan drew his Pokéball, turning away from the Psychic Hunter. “As if I could possibly back down from you. Kaneth, let’s trounce these lovebirds!”
“As if,” Hoshi repeated back, drawing Venus’s ball. “One each. No switches, to knockout.”
Kenny nodded absently, his eyes still pointed the alakazam’s way as he, too, pulled a ball from his belt. “Sounds good to me. We takin’ a minute to do strategy first?”
“If you need it,” Hoshi quipped, and started moving towards the opposite side of the field.
Casca joined, giving him a cocky grin as they placed themselves opposite their opponents. “Hey. You look better.”
Hoshi blinked. “I do?” I don’t feel better… Or maybe I do? “I’ll take your word for it. So…” He mirrored her grin. “I go low, you go high?”
She raised her chin sharply, tossing her hair behind her shoulders – she was wearing it ungelled, today, a look that was different from her usual, but equally attractive. “Can do. Candy is just a hair off from mastering Rapid Spin, I’m sure of it.”
“Me too, she’s been getting a lot faster.” Then Hoshi turned away from the enticing curve of his girlfriend’s neck, and back to where Ryan and Kenny were huddled. Ah, looks like Kiribo and Puce are starting too. That’s good. “What are they saying?”
Her blue eyes sparkled. “Hoshi,” she said, faux-admonishingly, “Cheating? For shame.” Her grin didn’t waver even a bit. “They’re going to try and snipe us to death – keep us away with…” She paused, eyes narrowing. “Damn, I think they talked about what moves the lickitung had before I started looking. Sorry.”
“No worries. Hmm, that means Ryan’s given his dragon a ranged move…” A bulky normal type will be child’s play for Venus. “We’ll focus the pink blob down first.”
The pair across the dirt field broke apart, and Hoshi took that as a cue to do the same. “Venus,” he whispered down to the expanded ball gripped in his off-hand, a quick trio of steps bringing him across from Kenny. “You’re fighting two opponents; the staryu in an ally. Start with Leer on the salamander and the dragon, then close in for a Scratch attack.” Probably a bit too complicated for her first battle, but who knows? Maybe she’ll get it.
“You ready, Mutsu?” Ryan yelled across the expanse, and in response Hoshi wound up to throw. “As you wish! Kenny, count us down?”
The man blew out a sigh. “Fine. One, two…”
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As a growled “Three,” reached Hoshi’s ears, he threw. For a moment he was afraid he’d misjudged the force, but the ball sailed right where he’d been aiming; Venus and Candy came out on the far right of the field, Kenny’s side, and he saw the grunt’s eyes narrow. No doubt he was wondering why they’d decided to attack the slower, weaker, but bulkier ‘mon.
“Water Gun into Rapid Spin!” Casca yelled, her words mixing with their opponents own orders.
“Jormungandr, breathe!” “Savage, Defense Curl!”
As his mankey glowered at the duo, causing both them and the humans behind them to shudder, Hoshi clenched his teeth. Damnit, that’s a straight counter! “Dodge, Venus! Stay Low!”
Ryan predictably sent his attack at Hoshi’s Pokémon, and the nimble monkey easily skipped to the side as a tight beam of blue fire cut a line into the dirt. Holy shit! You fuck, that has to be a premium disk! “Good girl!” The lickitung can just counter Leer over and over – not sure if going for it is still the right move..! “Use Leer again, while closing in!”
Savage took the Water Gun to the face, but it didn’t seem to do much – Oak’s analysis had been spot-on; the thing was durable. It’s probably closer to a fully-evolved Pokémon than a baby, at least from that angle. Hoshi’s eyes narrowed. Slow as shit, though. “Get behind it! Box it in, girl!”
Venus dashed forward as Candy leapt into a spin, the staryu becoming a blurred disc cutting through the air in eerie silence. Another blue beam intercepted her – either Jorm had spontaneously learned to lead his shots, or more likely it was just a lucky hit – and Casca swore.
But Candy kept going, Venus circling in from the side, and as his Pokémon started to be double-teamed Kenny was forced to change his order. “Lick! C’mon, listen this time!” he bellowed, and Hoshi’s jaw clenched so hard he saw stars. A massive tongue extended from the ‘mon’s mouth, and Candy struck the gooey length of muscle – and stopped, her momentum gone.
The staryu’s gem blinked with visible confusion despite its complete lack of a face. “Huh-uh?” she grunted, weakly attempting to shake herself free, and Hoshi’s vision tunneled as the lines of battle tangled together.
“Low Kick! Knock it down!”
“Candy! Use Water Gun!”
“Keep it up Jormungandr!”
“Supersonic! Back, double time!”
Damn it! Why the fuck does a swamp lizard have Supersonic?! Venus smashed her foot into the lickitung’s knee, the Water Gun splashed out at the same time Candy took a second Dragon Breath, and the stumbling Savage nonetheless managed to keen with its mouth full of tongue. Hoshi’s vision went from a tunnel to a kaleidoscope as the addling waves of sound penetrated his eardrums. Fuck! This is so much worse from the other side!
Then Candy managed to unstick herself from the diluted saliva, and he felt a seed of relief sprout in his chest. “Casca, the thing has to have taken damage! Keep attacking!”
“Not so fast! Jormungandr, Fire Fang!”
Venus missed her second kick, her eyes unfocused from the sonic barrage, and the little dragon charged.
“Candy, block it! Harden!”
Fuck, Hoshi repeated in his head, fuck, fuck- this is a worse matchup than I thought it’d be. On paper both our Pokémon should be able to run rings around these fucks, but this fucking mound of bubblegum will Lick us to death the second we let the pressure off! “Get in there and kick it! It’s gotta go down before we can do shit!”
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“Um… hello. I’m Puce Gracile. It’s nice to meet you, Mister Kimigawa.”
The large man waved his hand. “Please, there is no need for formality. Simply call me, ‘The Psychic Hunter!’”
The urge to giggle clawed at Puce’s throat, but she swallowed it down; he was so sincere, it would be terribly rude to laugh. “Of course. Um- oh, I haven’t let Bear out, let me…” Face reddening, she released her slowpoke. The pudgy-looking Pokémon appeared, her pink fur lightening as the red flash disappeared.
Bear blinked, staring intently at nothing in particular, and let out a low groaning “Ohhh…”
And Mister Kimigawa made another silly gesture, smiling. “A paragon of its kind! Now, what did you wish for our training session to consist of?”
Puce froze. Oh. I didn’t think about… Uh… What would Nerine want her to say? “I’m trying to specialise in defense. Could you help with that?”
“Of course! But before we begin; tell me, what moves does this stout Bear know?”
Again, Puce froze. Oh, come on. I stared at the Mini-Dex for so long this morning, trying to make it stick..! She was sure that if she hadn’t been asked she’d be able to rattle them off no problem, but under pressure…
Her thumbs moved, imaginary buttons clicking. Come on, don’t look stupid in front of someone new..! “Tackle, Water Gun… Growl… And… Curse?” The last word came out as a question despite her best efforts, but if Mister Kimigawa noticed he didn’t show it.
“Ah, wonderful!” he said, clasping his hands. “Its line must have cross-bred with a Johtonian slowpoke at some point. If it already has Curse, then the next step would be Amnesia!” He nodded, and Puce forced herself not to cringe as she asked a question.
“Sorry, but, what does Curse do? This is my first time training after catching her…”
He blinked, mouth flattening. “Ah, I suppose that’s understandable.” Another gesture, chopping forward with the edge of his hand like he wanted to split a stack of boards. “Curse is a rather complicated move, which uses the power of, as the name implies, a curse.” Complicated? Oh no… “When used by a ghost Pokémon the full power of its malevolence is unleashed, causing a terrible sickness in exchange for some of the user’s own vitality. But as your slowpoke is not a ghost…” He clasped his hands again, quickly enough it was only barely not a clap. “Its curse lacks the proper strength to reach an opponent.”
“And, uh, what will that do, then?”
“Is it not obvious? It will simply curse itself.”
Puce frowned. “That… doesn’t seem useful?”
“It is very useful, for certain Pokémon!” He gestured yet again, pointing to his partner – which was off to the side, staring at nothing much like Bear was. “My partner would find it quite useless and so does not know the move, and so I cannot demonstrate the effect for you – but you will find that Curse greatly increases young Bear’s attack and defense.” His finger moved to the slowpoke. “The effect is one of stagnancy; when at full power, it slows the heart, causing sickness and death. When directed inward, by one whose malicious intent is merely mortal, it instead becomes something that makes change difficult – including both the change caused by an enemy’s attacks, and the change of your own attacks stopping.”
He nodded, crossing his arms. “Of course, this lowers normal movement as well, but your Pokémon will not be engaging in the subtle dance of a warrior; he is a brick wall, not a ballerina.”
Puce nodded back. So it makes him slower, but… more durable? That’s good! That fits perfectly! “Thank you, Mister Psychic Hunter. Um, so what does Amnesia do?”
“Much the same! It is an intentional blanking of the mind, a form of self-hypnosis that protects one from outside interference.” His smile widened. “It is something your Bear will learn naturally as she grows, but we can hurry it along with some effort.”
Oh, like Nerine helping me teach Potato to turn Smog into Clear Smog! “That sounds great!” She inclined her body in a proper bow. “Please teach me! Or, um, please teach Bear!”
His teeth were actually not very white, but the intense look he got as he smiled made her think the word flash anyway. “As you wish! Unlike Curse, my dear partner does know Amnesia. As he demonstrates it, why don’t we speak? Tell me, what style of leadership would you say characterises your senior, if you had to put it into words..?”
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The battle was a grinding, miserable affair. And it's all thanks to that fucking lickitung. Arcus, I’m starting to wish I’d pulled rank to capture the fucking thing, it’s infuriating.
The little monster had revealed a psychic move, completely upending the relationship between it and Hoshi’s fighting type. Then a second – or maybe third – Defense Curl had sent it outside the realm of an easy knockout for either Venus or Candy, and the continuous stream of Licks and Supersonics turned them into gently bobbing psyduck for Jormungandr’s fangs.
It was only Candy’s Harden and fire resistance that were keeping them in the game, and as the battle passed into its fifth minute Hoshi finally gave up – his Pokémon was battered, singed, and feeling the effects of multiple coats of paralytic saliva. No reason to drag it out; we aren’t learning anything from this anymore.
“Sorry, Casca,” he hissed, both furious and conciliatory. “Looks like we lost this one. Venus, come back.”
The laser connected and drew his mankey back into her ball, and a moment later Casca did the same to her staryu. She sighed, staring at the disguised tool in her hand. “Blah. Really thought I’d do better from all the battles I’ve been through this week…”
“No, you were definitely the MVP on our side; Venus got nearly wiped from the one headbutt.” Am I going to have to shell out for another disk..? No, don’t make a decision right now, not when you’re pissed off. “Too bad the MVP of the match was on the enemy team.”
They turned to said team, watching as Ryan gave a tepid high-five to the more enthusiastic Kenny. Then, with a resigned frown, Hoshi started forwards.
“A splendid battle!” Ryan exclaimed as they approached, brightening as he took in the annoyance on Hoshi’s face. “It seems that your teamwork needs a bit of polish, hm?”
“Fuck yeah! Fuckin’ get it!”
A muscle in Hoshi’s jaw jumped. “Yeah, I guess.” Before his traitorous hindbrain could decide to override his good sense he extended his hand, first shaking with Ryan, then the wildly grinning Kenny. “Good match.”
A few minutes later the two groups had reassembled, and though Hoshi’s chest still pulsed with the heat of loss that feeling was receding. Suck it the fuck up. It’s training. Venus got a lot out of that; winning or losing the actual fight didn’t matter.
To anything except his pride, that is.
“So, what’s next on our agenda?” Ryan asked, still glowing from his win. “Split up in the usual groups with the Psychic Hunter replacing Nerine?”
“Eh, I don’t- wait, before that.” Let’s make sure she’s actually something. “Puce, Hunter, you guys get along all right so far?”
Puce nodded while Kiribo spread his hands and chuckled. “Oh ho, of course! There are few more personable than I, Senior Grunt! My scholarship is that of the battlefield, and the studies I pass down are marked by the edge of the blade!”
“…Okay. You keep on doing… that, then.” Hoshi turned to Casca and the other two participants of their battle. “I’ve got no idea what our next assignment is, or when it’ll happen. So… free-for-all, I guess. Do whatever.”
Kenny nodded. “Sure thing Boss. Another battle later?”
Hoshi nodded back. “Sure.” I wanna see if Venus does better in a one-on-one. But for now… “I’ll be working with my three for a bit, get them more used to each other. Casca, you alright with these lugheads?”
“Oi.”
She gave him a thumbs-up. “Yeah, I think Quake might be too standoffish for your girls still. Kenny and Ryan’s guys are a little more durable, and I’m looking forward to knocking some heads with a fully-evolved earthquake machine.”
“Oi.”
Hoshi snorted, then turned away – only to nearly bonk heads with the Psychic Hunter, who was, for whatever reason, standing uncomfortably close. “Erk-!”
“Senior Grunt,” the man said, his voice slightly more… indoorsy than usual. “Might I have a word?”