A/N:
Pokémon: Nautilus - Inkay (Contrary/Infiltrator)
Moves: Peck, Tackle, Hypnosis, Psybeam, Payback, Pluck, Psyshock, Aerial Ace, Telekinesis, Protect, Disable, Rain Dance
Pokémon: Tetsu - Ferroseed (Iron Barbs/Anticipation)
Moves: Harden, Pin Missile, Metal Claw, Leech Seed, Protect, Gravity, Acid Spray, Stealth Rock, Spikes
Pokémon: Nova - Crocalor (Early Bird/Unaware)
Moves: Ember, Leer, Curse, Bite, Yawn, Incinerate, Crunch, Alluring Voice, Flamethrower, Protect, Slack Off, Disarming Voice, Dig
Pokémon: Swinub (Thick Fat/Oblivious)
Moves: Amnesia, Charm, Mud-Slap, Smackdown, Ice Fang, Substitute, Ice Shard, Take Down, Dig, Freeze-Dry, Bulldoze, Ancient Power, Trailblaze, Reversal
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"Croca-LOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!"
Nova's cream and rose body stood strong, though she was still covered in nasty bruises and numerous cuts. The little flame atop her head had transformed into a nest and small ball of flames that, together, resembled a sombrero. She stood on her two hind legs, singing and releasing dense waves of Fairy-Type Energy that slammed into Fraxure and sent them tumbling out of the clouded area. The group of Axew froze in place, staring in disbelief as Fraxure stabbed a claw into the ground and growled in frustration.
Nova's voice flooded the cave, dispersing the dust. Nautilus was gasping for air, several deep gashes in his mantle and one of his tentacles significantly shorter. I immediately recalled him, turning on the Stasis mode before turning back to the battle. Nova, now a Crocalor, squared up against the recovering Fraxure.
They charged each other. Just before Fraxure was close enough to attack with the readied Dragon Claw, Nova seamlessly dipped into the ground. Just as Fraxure realized she had disappeared, she erupted from the cavern floor and Crunched down on their tail. She flung the Dragon into the air and blasted them with a much stronger version of Disarming Voice.
"Frax!" the Dragon roared, swinging an Iron Tail downward to bring them down faster. Nova hunkered down with Curse before healing up with Slack Off. Fraxure sped forward but quickly backed away as a gout of flames escaped Nova mouth, the Flamethrower superheating the air around them.
As the fight continued, now heavily in Crocalor's favor, I spared a glance at the Axew. They glared at us, and Swinub, now entirely focused on them, snarled back as he prepared another barrage of Ice Shard. "Relax," I told him. "The fight's almost over."
We turned back to the fight and saw Nova Yawn Fraxure down, Crunching down on their tail and tossing them again as Fraxure's movements grew sluggish. Before they could actually fall asleep, Nova blasted them with another round of the stronger Disarming Voice, knocking them unconscious.
The Axew tensed as I walked closer to the downed Fraxure. I pulled out some Oran Berries, leaving some next to the wild Pokémon. With a Super Potion in my hand, I released Nautilus and sprayed the healing item over the worst of his injuries. He woke up, eyes struggling to stay open as they looked over my form. "We're okay, buddy. Thank you. I'll spray another Potion and let you rest in your ball. You deserve it."
Nova made her way toward me, a shit-eating grin plastered on her proud face. Nautilus scoffed, but I smiled back. "That evolution was unfortunate for Fraxure, but I'd be damned if it wasn't great for us."
"Cro, Cro Lor Co?" she asked, dropping onto her ass. Her tail gently swayed side to side as she looked at me expectantly. She and the squid stared at me as I explained.
"With your evolution, I know we'll get our third Badge easily. And Swinub joining us means we can apply to be an Ace Trainer immediately after we get the Badge. We're slowly moving up. And I couldn't have done it without either of you." I alternated my gaze between them. "Tetsu and Swinub look up to both of you. I depend on both of you more than you know.
"You're the strongest at the moment, Nova, but don't let that cover up that we're nowhere near the top of the chain. We still have to grow stronger. But we're on the right track, and I couldn't be prouder of the fact that both of you won against a wild, rampaging Dragon Pokémon. And a Fraxure at that. We're celebrating soon," I finished with a growing grin. Nova preened at my comment and immediately turned to Nautilus with the same smirk from earlier. Nautilus scoffed before clicking his PokéBall and returning himself. I opened my phone and scanned Nova, seeing her updated status page. Seeing Incinerate, Flamethrower, and Alluring Voice on there as newly learned moves made me forget to breathe for a moment. If I could replicate this, my team could be absolutely busted.
'If I can get a Slash TM for Nautilus, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, and Lunge shouldn't be too hard for him to learn.'
Shaking the thoughts from my head, I released Tetsu next. Swinub immediately ran over, excitedly catching her up on everything that happened. As they talked, I observed Tetsu.
She was still young, only about three months old. Most Pokémon were battle-ready quickly in their development cycle, usually around two weeks. I took my time with Tetsu but then started with some intense training when I felt she was ready. Now, watching as she her eyes continuously scanned the environment, always stopping on Fraxure's unconscious form for several seconds. She'd never experienced such wild violence, nor had she been so close to death. It was her first time feeling truly helpless.
The group of Axew slowly inched over to Fraxure's slumped form. Swinub tensed up, but I called him and Tetsu over to me to give the Dragons space. Tetsu kept glancing over to the group, fidgeting in place.
"Cro Cro. Ca Lor Ca Cro," Nova chided her, a derisive sneer now marring her previously joyous face. She might as well have blasted Tetsu with a Flamethrower with how hard she flinched. I smacked the back of Nova's head, getting a grumble out of her.
"Listen, you slightly larger shit. It's not her fault that she hasn't experienced anything like that before. She's still young."
"Calor?"
"She was born before we left for Lumiose. At most, she's like three months old. Three MONTHS." I took no small amount of pleasure in seeing shock run through Nova's body. Tetsu was younger than Nova and Nautilus, but she was already starting to close the gap in strength between them. I left her to stew in the information.
"Tetsu," I called out, earning the attention of both the ball of metal and ice pig. I also kept an eye on Fraxure, noticing the Axew relax further as they ate some of the Oran Berries I left for them. "I know how terrifying Fraxure's aura felt. Feeling your own death be only moments away…"
I shook my head. "We're weak, Tetsu. But we can't give up. If we can't stay calm and rely on our own strength, then we will die. I'm not asking you to immediately not feel anything next time we come across such a strong Pokémon, and there will be a next time. I just want you to understand that as scary as it can be, we need to be ready to act. Even if it seems pointless to do so. Those moments where we don't know whether to fight, run away, or give up are the most important in an emergency. The faster we can decide and act, the more likely we are to survive. Do you understand?"
She looked at me with swirling in her eyes, but she nodded. "Good. Next time, I won't return you to your PokéBall. You'll be out with everyone else, and you'll be in charge of protecting me, okay?"
"Seed!"
"Perfect. Swinub!" I called out just as he was about to rush the Axew. "Leave them alone. They're not bothering us."
"Nub! Swi Swinub!"
"Yeah, I left all the Oran Berries for them to eat. If you want some, just ask me."
"Swinub?"
I clicked my tongue. "Yeah, here's two." I pulled out two Cheri Berries for him, which he promptly devoured with glee. He started sniffing my bag, confused about where the Berries came from. I gave him another before turning to Alex, who was still on the floor where I left him.
"Alex, we're going to rest for a bit. Are you hungry?"
He didn't respond, but he did get up and walked over to us, his eyes staying on Fraxure the entire time. I passed out some snacks I'd prepared last night, letting everyone munch as the quiet permeated the cave. I released Nautilus so he could eat as well. As we ate, one of the Axew approached us. The avoided Nova and Swinub, preferring to interact with me or Nautilus.
"Inkay Inkay. Kay Inkay, In Kay," he told me.
"Ah, he recently evolved and went wild. Well, I'm glad we were able to stop him."
"Axe, Axe, Axew?"
"In Inkay."
"Xew! Axe Axew."
"Inkay Kay," my squid responded. "Ik Ink, Inkay Inkay."
Nautilus turned to me, worry in his eyes. I couldn't understand the Axew well, but I heard Nautilus say something about humans in green, a fight between them as they dug through the cave's floor, and some of the people in green killing those that tried to run.
'It seems like some Flux grunts don't like what they're doing. That's not good.'
I nodded, and Nautilus turned back to Axew. As they talked, Swinub tried to sneak over and steal one of Nautilus' dried Berries. Without turning to look at him, Nautilus used Telekinesis to slap the pig Pokémon away.
"Axew?"
"Swi!" he shouted, rushing at the small Dragon. Nautilus held him in place with his Psychic abilities, much to his vocal displeasure.
"Alright, your name is Boaris, you little shit!"
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Sorry for not posting last week. Both jobs have been extremely busy and stressful, which left me completely unable to focus on writing. However, this weekend was my last weekend at the bar, which means I should have more time to write. Unfortunately, my girlfriend and I will be moving across the US, again, at the end of June. We'll be busy with cleaning, packing, the whole shebang. I'm sorry if I don't consistently post over the next month.