Pokemon - Solo's Strange Journey

Narrator-POV:

'Yesterday was amazing!' Are the thoughts that go through our hero's mind as he wakes up the next morning.

'I got my first human kiss and I got a decent training plan worked out for Buneary.'

Swole Solo is excited... For the day to continue.

When Swole and Dawn have returned to Lucas, he was also over the moon because he managed to defeat and capture Buizel.

Swole was partially happy for his friend, a little jealous for his own loss of opportunity but mostly, simply riding his previous high.

Chimchar had just barely won against Buizel. He was very close to passing out, and ended up out of commission for the rest of the day.

With two party members unable to continue fighting, the group agreed to stop for the day.

Buneary and Piplup were unable to spar against each other today. Piplup was knocked out and needed the sleep.

Buneary and Swole did their usual workout and move-training instead.

Dawn watched on in impressed silence, as Swole sweated the afternoon away.

In response, Lucas gave his cousin some grossed out looks on occasion.

And then the group has ''set up'' their self-building tents. They are a bit smaller than normal tents but far more convenient.

Modern trainers are living very convenient lives on the road.

Within the final hours of waning daylight, Swole finally got around to studying Buneary's species book in greater detail.

The previously unknown move, 'After You', as Swole found out, is an amazing attack for double-battles.

Professors have not yet figured out how it works, but the move can super-charge another pokemon. 

The other pokemon can then move very quickly and instantly charge their next attack.

'If I had a second pokemon that knows the move Wrap, then I could start a double battle by instantly wrapping the opposing pokemon up, with no way to counter it.'

The options for the move are just tremendous... But they all rely on actually getting a second pokemon first.

Another thing he read up on are Buneary's abilities. 

Abilities, along with natures, are brand new research topics that have recently been discovered.

When comparing pokemon of the same species with each other, they always have 1 out of up to 3 special abilities.

The Buneary species has either Run Away, Klutz or Limber. 

Swole easily concludes that his Buneary, has neither Run Away or Klutz. 

She is far too aggressive for Run Away and far too proficient in close combat for Klutz.

It must be Limber, he figures.

An ability that grants complete immunity to paralysis. Stun Spore, Thunder Wave, unlucky electric hits, they all become useless against her. 

And it is fairly simple to verify too. All he needs to do, is ask Zoey to use Thunder Wave when he sees her.

But eventually the sun passed the horizon.

The air cooled down.

The Buneary laid herself to sleep on top of her trainer.

And the trainer fell to the clutches of sleep, where he dreamed of pretty girls and cute, furry faces kissing him at the same time.

...

...

...

The next day, in the morning, Piplup, Chimchar and Buizel were all fit for travel again, and they made a decent distance with the occasional wild pokemon battle. 

Dawn and Piplup have taken the lecturing to heart and finally pulled themselves together.

On the second day of travel, they started fighting safely and with much less waste. 

One day, Dawn will be a real force to be reckoned with.

They traveled until midday and then reached their goal. The cliffs, overlooking the wilderness below.

This is where the group set up their camp for the rest of the week. 

They plan to spend every day training, as well as battling any pokemon that decides to approach them.

A good foundation is everything and this way, they can focus on the basics some more.

Battle experience is important too, but for now, new moves and better physical performance, are simply much more important.

But the biggest reason, why they decided to set up camp here for the rest of the week: The view around the campsite is pretty nice.

No.

The view is absolutely phenomenal. Picturesque and awe inspiring even.

The location is about 10 meters above the wilderness' canopy and they are camping right beside a waterfall.

For most of the day, rainbows can be seen forming from the mist of the waterfall. 

It also gives the area a permanent smell of petrichor: The pleasant, earthy smell left behind after rain.

Up here, there is a wide clearing in the forest with lots of wild flowers and wild grass growing. 

There are bees and other mundane insects, so Combee and Cutiefly can be expect to be found, if they just wait long enough.

Today is also one of the few days where Swole is not unhappy about living in Sinnoh. 

The sun has been shining for the whole day, the air has heated up to a pleasant 14°C and the plants are in full spring bloom.

It is almost warm enough to consider bathing in the river.

Except, the water comes from glaciers and is freezing cold.

The water crashes down below into a small lake. The area below the waterfall is surrounded with a small clearing. 

The trees are partially growing into the lake and the lake has a run-off that goes further into the south.

It is a good 20 meter drop all the way down, from up here.

Far off in the distance are flocks of birds, mostly Spearow.

If it was not for the fact that almost all pokemon below, are bloodthirsty, then this would be a real life paradise.

The perfect place for camping and training.

---

Swole-POV:

Most of today was spent just training, sparring and giving each other tips and pointers.

Occasionally, wild pokemon appeared who wanted to fight with us, and we sent them all packing back into the forest after quick victories.

We get battle experience from it, so we don't mind it.

And the wild pokemon also get battle experience, as well as a chance to become the partner of a worthy human trainer.

It's a win-win for both parties.

Dawn and I let Piplup and Buneary spar against each other, while Lucas did the same for Buizel and Chimchar.

Since Buneary is so much stronger than Piplup, and since simply battling wouldn't help anyone a lot, we have put a few rules into our matches.

Buneary wasn't allowed to leave past a small circle around her.

I drew a circle with about 3 meter diameter around Buneary and if she steps out, she loses.

Dawn also drew a much larger circle ring of around 10 meter diameter where Piplup was not allowed to enter.

This forces Piplup to use Bubble, and to tighten the spread of the bubbles in order to actually hit Buneary.

Either that, or use Aerial Ace to skip past the forbidden zone.

Buneary on the other hand was forced to dodge and counter perfectly.

A bubble that can't be dodged must be deflected in a way that wastes as little type energy as possible.

I am trying to get her to master normal and fighting type energy that way, as well as improve her general reflexes even more.

And for her fairy type, she has to keep using Baby-Doll Eyes and Sweet Kiss during sparring breaks.

The training was intense for the pokemon. But I wasn't just sitting around and doing nothing.

No, I was also training. Push ups, sit ups, pull ups, basically every type of body weight exercise I could think of.

I caught both Dawn and Buneary staring a few times.

Buneary was probably just wondering how effective the training was but the combined attention still forced me to do a lot more than necessary.

And after seeing me work my ass off, Buneary decided to follow suit and give it her all in her move exercises as well.

In the end, we went through way too many berries and now I smell like roadkill.

Buneary, on the other hand, somehow smells very pleasant. Like candy and hazelnut.

"Oof! You need a bath!" Dawn tells me after she came over to check on Buneary and me.

Her face is scrunched up as if something punched her.

Our sparring and training is over for today because our pokemon and I are only running on fumes and berries.

"And the water here looks nice enough." Dawn continues. "I will join you. Piplup needs a wash too."

I check the water. I'm a little bothered by the flow speed but it shouldn't be too dangerous. "Alright. I will go get Buneary's bathing supplies and my trunks." I pant out before heading to our tent.

Buneary guards the tent entrance from outside while I get dressed into my swim trunks. Then I come out with a towel, Buneary's shampoo, my shampoo, her brushes and her fur oil.

Dawn's tent isn't see-through, sadly, but the light allows for her silhouette to be visible. "Nice."

Luckily, Lucas isn't around to catch me perving on his cousin.

The memories of the girls shopping for swimwear resurface suddenly. Does Dawn have a new bikini?

When she comes out... My disappointment is immeasurable. I mean, she is still pretty, but her swimwear is the same old yellow and orange top and her bottom half comes with a skirt.

She is showing just a little bit more skin than usual. Damn. "Why are you looking so disappointed, huh!?" She asks me.

"Sorry, I was just hoping to see you in a bikini... Fuck! That slipped out!-- I mean... uhhh... the weather could be warmer for bathing outside."

"Ha. Ha. By the way, this IS a bikini. Just not the obscene one that Zoey decided I should buy."

Obscene? I perk up at that. Did Zoey manage to make Dawn buy something good? She is a fellow enjoyer of the female form, after all.

"I bet it isn't as bad as you make it out to be. Zoey wouldn't make you wear something bad. You just need more confidence. It's an important trait for a trainer."

Dawn looks at me funny. Did I oversell it? "You just want to see me naked. Pervert."

Yes. "Whaaaat? No way. I'm just thinking of your future performances." That's when I notice Piplup walking out of Dawn's tent. "No way! He got to see you naked? I'm so jealous!"

"I knew it!" Dawn caught me in my flimsy lies. "And Piplup is too young to care about that. I'm more like his mother. Or his big sister." With that she picks up Piplup and heads over to the calmer part of the river.

Leaving me and Buneary behind. I don't let Buneary see me change. Is it normal for pokemon to see their trainers nude?

... "Buneary, I..." I say and see Buneary's ears start fidgeting. "... How old are you? Like, are you a child pokemon?" She shakes and then kinda nods her head. "Kinda?" Now it's just a nod.

"You aren't a child or baby pokemon? And you aren't an adult either?" Another 'kinda'-motion. "No... Don't tell me you are around my age."

"Bun." She confirms my suspicions.

Being around my age is the worst age to be in!

According to the biology class, this is the age of a pokemon where hormones will start acting up, just like with humans.

Do I need to make sure there are no extra Buneary's hopping around someday?

This is awkward. "Let's pretend we didn't talk about... that... and just continue as normal?"

"Bun!" She says with an enthusiastic head nod.

"Just... don't do anything weird with strange pokemon."

"Bunnie! Buneary!" Buneary hits me in response before looking away and fidgeting with her ears.

Cute.

We head over to Dawn who questions us about taking so long.

"We didn't take long. You're just impatient to see me." That diversion managed to stop her questioning.

She blushes a little. Sometimes it seems like she has a crush on me... I'm sure it's just wishful thinking.

Then I wash, oil and brush Buneary and myself in the river, with the awkwardness from our first time bathing together in full force again.

For dinner, Lucas, Dawn and I use our field kitchen to prepare a creamy fish stew with asparagus. For Buneary and my portions, I also have to add some meatballs to meet Buneary's protein demands.

And then last but not least, we went to bed in our tents.

At first I wanted to make Buneary sleep beside me or within her pokeball... but before I could even demand that, I realized I couldn't fall asleep without her.

I need her too much.

We had decided to ignore that discussion anyway, so despite the awkwardness, I ended up hugging Buneary tightly to my chest again.

Tonight, I dreamed of pretty girls in obscene bikinis.

Buneary was also there, wearing an obscene bikini, but that just looked cute on her.

---

My eyes creep open and my feet are cold. It's a little frosty today, and from now on, I'm going to wear socks to sleep.

But my torso is being kept nice and toasty by Buneary. "Good morning." - ~"Yes. Good morning." As usual, she woke up a little earlier than me.

I gave her a few more pets over her back.

It must be nice to have fur. A permanent blanket. Perfect for Sinnoh.

~"Why are we still in bed?" She wonders why I don't start getting up.

"The air is too cold. And the others are probably still asleep. Let's just wait until the sun heats up a little." I explain while I slowly move my hand across her back and Buneary closes her eyes to relax.

It's a wonder that she lets me get away with petting her.

Skinship is important to increase the bonds between trainers and their pokemon, according to some... Dubious internet sources.

But she is just simply too cute to ignore, so the 'sources' get the benefit of doubt from me.

This goes on for quite a while.

Me, moving my hand down her back slowly, and Buneary, letting out light sounds of contentment and occasional purrs to let me know how pleasant my movements are.

She really dislikes whenever I accidentally brush against her fur's direction. And she purrs a little more, whenever I scratch the sides of her back during the petting.

But eventually, the fun is over. Buneary's ears twitch and she sits up. "Bune."

"The others are waking up? Alright let's get up too."

Lucas was first to get out of his tent and we started making breakfast together, while we waited for Dawn.

The occasional shout of anger could be heard from her tent. Supposedly, her hair is a mess.

Until, "Piplup, use Bubble."

Moments later, she comes out with glistening, perfectly styled hair. "Good morning guys and Buneary."

Lucas and I greet her back from our spots in the portable kitchen without interrupting our work. Buneary ignores her while she's lazing on my shoulder.

However, the scent of our cooking must have wafted into the surrounding area because Buneary hops off my shoulder and uses Defense Curl, before a nearby bush starts shaking.

It's our turn to fight.

Some sucker chose the wrong time to stumble into our camp. Buneary had a whole night of rest and is rearing for a fight.

"Dawn, can you take over the eggs?" I ask her as I get into position to fight with Buneary against this unknown pokemon.

"Buneary, are you ready?" The shaking of the bush intensifies and Buneary nods in determination.

Out comes a tiny yellow mouse-like pokemon.

A Pikachu.

A very popular, electric type pokemon. Can sometimes cause paralysis on contact.

He is a little battered already but Buneary is still taking him seriously as he shakes off a few leaves from his body.

"Pika- Pikachu!" Shit! That's his battle cry! He's coming right at me.

"Buneary, Quick Attack into Pound!" 

While Buneary rushes in to save me, I retreat a little further away from the front to become less of a target.

Wild pokemon don't usually attack the trainer first.

But as expected, Buneary pulls through for me.

She barrels into Pikachu and stops the knock-back, by spiking him into the ground with a well-timed Pound attack immediately after.

The perfect setup for Double Kick.

"Double Kick." I ordered it, even though Buneary was already charging fighting type energy for it.

"Pika... chuuu!" All of a sudden, lightning erupts from Pikachu and flings Buneary away from her prey. 

Wait what? Huh!? How!? How was he able to charge Thunderbolt so quickly?

That shouldn't be possible! A pokemon can't use a special move while taking hits!

Buneary still manages to land back on her feet. Ready to get back into close combat.

Static electricity travels over her body before disappearing into the ground. 

Random static? Or the effect of Limber?

Anyway, Pikachu is very tough. I must take this a lot more seriously.

"Buneary, use Baby-Doll Eyes but stay prepared for more electric attacks."

We already went through some contingencies together for fights against electric types... Most consist of interrupting special attack moves in close combat.

But in range, if Buneary notices an incoming beam, bolt or wave attack, then she should interrupt her own attacks and use her environment to her advantage.

With luck, she can resume her prepared move and get out with no to little damage to herself.

"Pika! Pika Pikachu!" He shouts his battle cry again but nothing comes our way.

Mirror Coat? Or Counter? Either way, Baby-Doll Eyes is a status move and can't be reflected.

Ethereal eyes appear and weaken Pikachu's attacking power. "Quick Attack and Pound again."

Buneary quickly closes the distance to spike Pikachu back into the ground again.

This time, I'm looking more closely.

Pikachu's cheeks are crackling with electricity. He is preparing the next Thunderbolt.

Buneary strikes him with her Quick Attack.

Then the pound attack hits and Pikachu's cheeks shine a little more brightly.

I can't see it... What is his special trick!?

It's the perfect situation for Double Kick again...

But, "Buneary, Quick Attack to move back, behind the trees." I'm not risking it again.

The ground is covered in grass. We can't use the dirt to counter electricity.

Buneary dashes as quickly as she can back to the treeline.

"Pika- Chuuuu!" Another lighting strikes out of Pikachu, but this time it only manages to hit a tree and puts some serious electric burns into the tree bark.

"Again, Quick Attack and Pound." 

... Fuck. I shouldn't be overburdening her normal type.

But her breathing is mostly stable. The training must already be showing results in her endurance.

She runs in with Quick Attack but this time, Pikachu is preparing something else.

His tail is glowing with a bright white light.

Normal type energy?

"Abort! Switch to Double Kick now!"

Shit! Too late. Quick Attack couldn't be replaced in time and Buneary collides head first with an Iron Tail.

Both Buneary and Pikachu are flung away from the trade, both falling down and trying to get back up.

Only thanks to Defense Curl and Baby-Doll Eyes was it an almost equal trade off. But Buneary still came out worse from it because Iron Tail is simply a much stronger move than Quick Attack.

Pikachu lands close to a tree... I can take advantage of that!

He won't be able to hit us with any more Thunderbolts, if we can take the fight there!

"Listen up! Get in close with another Quick Attack and Pound!"

"Use Jump Kick instead." I whisper the second part of my order and Buneary starts charging fighting type energy as she runs.

As expected, Pikachu is using Iron Tail again. 

"Jump Kick, now!" Buneary is rapidly charging the rest of the move and smoothly transitions from her dash into Jump Kick.

Boom!

With both legs ahead, Buneary jumps into Pikachu's Iron Tail and crumples it under her pressure.

Pikachu is smashed through the air and hits a tree behind him. His eyes immediately turn into swirls.

Pikachu is KO.

Buneary wins!

Fuck yea! "Good job Buneary!" She holds herself up with pride and hops over to me in a limp.

I know that she wants to take her spot on my shoulder, so I give her a little lift. 

The other pokemon look in awe as she gloats over her win.

This Pikachu is a really strong pokemon... But he did go after me first... Is he safe to capture? 

I unclip the extra pokeball from my belt.

"Buneary, should I capture him?" I ask her for her opinion. She probably knows better than me if we can handle the dude.

"Bun." Alright.

"Alright. Pokeball, go!"

I toss the ball, it arcs through the air and hits Pikachu head on. The ball opens up and a red beam comes out to envelop Pikachu.

Bzzt.

The beam dissipates and the ball lands on the ground. Still open.

What? "What the fuck? Not even a single wiggle?"

"Hey!" Lucas shouts to get my attention. He's munching on some sandwich.

"That's some trainers pokemon." What? No way. 

"It says so in the pokemart brochures. A pokeball prevents other pokeballs from being able to capture the owned pokemon. This is what a failed capture attempt looks like."

"Fuck! You're telling me, the only strong pokemon we found in 3 days, is already owned?" No fucking way.

"The 3rd day barely started." Dawn reminds me.

"That's still bullshit." My eyes go down to Pikachu again. Still knocked out cold.

Fuck me. "I probably have to heal him too, don't I?"

"Yep." Says Lucas.

"Oh! That's so fucking dumb!" I mumble some more profanities to myself as I pull a potion from my cargo pants pocket. Most of its contents go into healing up Pikachu.

A few more spritz go on Buneary's wounds and then the bottle is empty.

The wasted pokeball and the wasted potion go into the waste section of my backpack and a new potion and pokeball go into my pants pocket and belt clip.

250₽ down the drain.

Because some prick's pokemon ran away... At least we got some decent battle experience out of it.

Speaking of battle experience. I think I understand what Pikachu's trick was.

I think he has tremendous control over his charging. Interrupting his attack preparations, just before being hit, and resuming right after.

I can't imagine much else to result in those... impossible counters.

Good grief. The more I learn about battle, the more complicated everything becomes.

---

Dawn and Lucas have been watching our fight... Which means, breakfast must be finished.

Looking over to the portable kitchen, I can see plates filled with sandwiches of eggs, bacon, fried spam, cheese and lettuce. 

Arceus, that looks so good.

I pick up Pikachu, my camping chair and the camping table, and carry it all towards the cliff. 

I'm not stupid enough to sit right at the cliff, but from this position, I can oversee all of the valley.

The sight is amazing. 

With the cool night we had tonight, the valley has filled with mist. It looks like a vast lake of clouds with an occasional tree reaching out of it.

I put Buneary's and my breakfast on the table, and I place Pikachu nearby before sitting down, myself.

Buneary hops on my lap and makes herself comfortable. 

I hand her a sandwich first and then take my own, and then we both start digging in at the same time.

Sweet Mew! That is delicious! 

The saltiness of the spam and bacon fits perfectly together with the eggs and the sweetness of the white bread is rounded off nicely with the lettuce.

The bread has a little too much carbs for Buneary's diet but she is still too thin, so it doesn't really matter.

Actually, does she have some sort of disease? 

She eats as much as I do despite being so tiny. Maybe I should have a Nurse Joy check her over, next time I'm in Jubilife City.

"Hoot!" Some pokemon are fighting down below.

"Man, I'm glad that I'm up here and they are down there." Says Lucas between his bites. 

He sat down right at the ledge with his feet dangling down. Chimchar sits next to him and Buizel sits a reasonably large distance behind them.

"Does he realize how close he is to 'being down there' himself?" Dawn asks me with a stage whisper from behind. 

She and Piplup have placed their camping chairs down next to ours.

"Pah!" Lucas has heard her. "I won't fall off. Only retards and assholes do that." 

"But you're an asshole."

"I don't fall off, therefore I'm not an asshole."

I wanted to make another witty remark, but Buneary notified me of movement nearby. 

Two strangers have just entered the clearing from our blind spot.

"We have visitors." I tell the others before I scarf down the rest of my breakfast, and I get up to meet the strangers. 

Buneary follows my example and inhales her sandwich as well.

Dawn and Lucas are both joining me and we go up to the strangers as a group.

There are two guys and three pokemon.

The taller of those two is a tan guy with slanted eyes. He is probably from some arctic area considering his eyes are almost closed.

In front of him is a Croagunk. She is a dark blue, bipedal frog pokemon. Poisonous and about as tall as my Buneary with a mean look on her face.

Next to him is a kid around our age. He has black hair, wears blue cargo pants, a vest and a baseball cap with a pokeball design.

In front of him is an Aipom, a small, purple monkey with a hand on the tip of his tail and on this kid's shoulder sits a Starly... I already don't like that guy.

"Who are you people?" I ask a little more confrontational than intended. 

Buneary is also growling a little bit.

"Oh. Apologies for barging into your campsite." Says the tall guy. "My name is Brock. I'm from Pewter City."

"And I'm Ash! From Pallet Town! And I'm going to become the pokemon Master!"

Ass? 

Pewter City? Pallet Town? Never heard of those places... And I thought the shorter guy was around our age. Turns out he is actually, like 10 years old. We didn't ask for your life goal, buddy.

"Your name is Ass?" Lucas asks and Dawn hits him on the arm. I thought I heard Ass too but I just assume I heard it wrong.

This manages to piss off Ass a little, he looks ready to start fighting. "No, my name is Ash." Oh, now I get it. Ash, like burnt stuff.

"Sorry about that," Dawn is trying to deescalate the situation. "My cousin is a little stupid. Anyway, what do you two want? You caught us a little off guard while eating breakfast."

Ash is too busy making a staring contest with Lucas to answer, so Brock replies. "My friends' Pikachu was almost stolen by Team Rocket and then he ran off in this direction. We also saw some lighting attacks that could be from him."

"That's convenient. We have found a Pikachu. Can you prove you're the owner?" I ask and my distraction makes Ash lose the staring contest.

I'm his next staring partner, and now he looks at me with this sort of constipated look.

I shoot my own glare back.

"You look a little familiar... Is your name Jimbob by any chance? And ... Uhhh. Yes! I have Pikachu's pokeball. But why would I need to prove that? I'm his trainer!" He says getting increasingly agitated.

The guy is suspicious. Or dumb. I'm not sure. 

And why does he think my name is Jimbob? That sounds like some really stupid made up name. 

Like some kind of autist had to make up a name on the spot.

"Do you have a pokedex too?" I ignore the name thing. 

He nods. "Then get it out to verify who you are, and the pokeball should have the trainer ID registered with it." I explain it to him. "And if you can't prove you are his trainer, then how are we supposed to know you aren't the ones trying to steal him?"

"Oh, right. That makes sense. Here!" He smiles brightly now and thrusts out his pokedex. 

It has a picture of him and his name 'Ash Ketchum'. I then scan his pokeball and the trainer ID matches. 

The scan also shows that the original trainer of Pikachu was Samuel Oak.

"You got your pokemon from Professor Oak?" Dawn and Lucas, who have started gossiping, refocus their attention on us.

Professor Oak's trainers are all pretty good. Some, like Gary Oak, Red and Blue are even world famous trainers.

"Yep. I got my partner, Pikachu, when I started my pokemon journey 4 years ago." 

4 years ago?!

Ah, right. He is one of these insane Kanto people who are sent out at 10.

"Alright. Well, your Pikachu is knocked out over there." I point over to my breakfast table where the small yellow mouse pokemon is still passed out, on the ground. "Buneary had to knock him out because he started attacking me."

Ash rushes ahead to pick up his Pikachu and the rest follows slowly.

Brock eyes our portable kitchen greedily. "Hey, do you mind if I use your kitchen? Ash and I haven't had breakfast yet."

Dawn, Lucas and I eye each other and we decide that it is alright. 

These 2 strangers aren't too bad after all.

They are just weird and a little childish.

Maybe being sent out into the wilderness with 10 causes a break in mental development?

---

After we introduce ourselves to Brock and Ash, Brock starts cooking their breakfast, and Dawn and I start our training for today.

Piplup has improved greatly since yesterday. His Bubble attack is now coming out in a much tighter cone, but Buneary can still easily dodge them all at that distance.

The few close calls that Piplup makes against Buneary are deflected with normal type energy, and while I'm doing my own workout, I wonder what normal type attack I should teach Buneary.

Pound and Quick Attack are useful together but Pound is just too weak. Dizzy Punch is really good, but her arms are too tiny before she evolves into Lopunny.

Buneary has not enough reach. And a complex move like Dizzy Punch will take forever to learn.

Or maybe Buneary can somehow combine her Sweet Kiss and Pound for Dizzy Punch?... Anyway, Dizzy Punch is not the best option right now.

If I could get a TM of it, I could have her train Return... but a Fire Punch TM should be higher on the priority list for the fire typing.

Double Hit would also be a good option... She will probably have the easiest time learning that, since she already knows Flail and Double Kick.

And Double Hit is an otherwise straight forward move.

I've decided.

"Hey, timeout!" I call out to Dawn after finishing my push up reps. 

And after one last Bubble salvo, I am free to make my way to Buneary.

"I want you to know, you are doing a good job." I tell her and gain her full attention. "And I know now, which move you should focus on learning during this exercise."

Her ears are now both pointed to me. Plain dodging must have started to become boring.

"The move is called Double Hit. It's a move similar to Double Kick, except it's using normal type energy."

I add a little pause for the words to fully sink in. 

When it comes to instructions, she is just a little slow sometimes. 

"For the move, you need to charge energy into your hands or ears and then attack the same way you do with Double Kick." I say while boxing with my own arms to get the point across.

"You got all that?" Buneary looks a little unsure but nods her head... If I'm reading her right, this could mean yes or no with an equal probability.

Good grief. "Can you try to use Double Hit?"

She charges normal type energy in every limb, like when she uses Flail, and then shadow boxes like I showed her how... Close.

I take both her hands into mine. 

Her ears are struggling to remain focused on me and I realize what I'm doing. 

I start blushing too. But I persevere. Her training is more important than being a little uncomfortable.

"Let's only charge energy in your arms, alright?"

After a short while a strange buzzing feeling washes over my hands and I can see white light coming from between my fingers. Her ears are still twitching but no light is gathering there.

"Good. Remember this, alright?" I let go of her hands. "Now punch with each arm."

Her tiny fists go forward, 1 - 2. Each strike, dissipating the energy into the air and creating a little bit of wind in the process.

"Awesome! I think that was already a successful Double Hit. The energy would just uselessly fizzle away if the move failed, so it must have been Double Hit."

"When you deflect Bubbles against Piplup try to only use Double Hit from now on. If you do it properly, I will add an extra Tamato Berry for your food today." That deal seems to speak her language.

Her motivation to improve is clearly visible and I too, get a boost in my motivation to work out.

We both go back to our places to resume training, but before we could start, Buneary's ears have spotted another intruder into our camp!

... Intruder? 

I meant a stranger...

---

Narrator-POV:

The newest interloper of the clearing turns out to be Paul. Also known as Asshole.

With him are his angry looking Elekid and his timid Chimchar, flanking him on both sides, as well as a Starly who is flying above him.

"The losers have teamed up, I see." He says as he walks closer to the camp of our heroes and their new acquaintances.

"I see you found your Pikachu but the weakling is still too tuckered out for our fight." Paul is looking for a fight.

Just yesterday, he stumbled upon Ash and Brock who were looking for the wayward Pikachu. And Ash, with his contrasting ideals, challenged Paul to a battle.

Paul wanted to fight a 3 versus 3 style fight. He claimed a 3v3 is the only real way to determine a trainer's worth.

They have postponed their match until later to let Ash find his pokemon again.

Now, he has stumbled upon Ash a second time, but Pikachu is still unable to battle.

"Grrr, you!" Growls out Ash after jumping up from his breakfast. "Were you following us?! I still have 2 pokemon to battle with, if you aren't too afraid of a challenge!"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh." Paul says with a calm and collected voice. "Your Starly can barely be called a pokemon. It doesn't even know Aerial Ace. You wouldn't be much of a challenge."

Paul continues his way closer to the ledge leading down to the wilderness. "And I wasn't following you. I was just on my way to the wilderness."

"So you are afraid." Ash taunts Paul. "That's why you insist on a 3 versus 3. Because you know you would lose."

His taunting is that of a child at best, but it has the desired effect.

"Alright." Paul turns back around to face Ash. "If you want to lose this badly, then I can give you a beating. Go, Starly. Prove that you are worth keeping on the team."

"If that's the case, Starly, I chose you!" Shouts Ash and both their Starly square up against each other.

Brock volunteers to be the referee.

"A 2 versus 2 fight?" He asks the contestants and they both nod in agreement. "You have both selected your first pokemon, are both participants ready?"

"Get on with it." - "Yes!"

"The battle begins!"

Brock starts the fight and both participants hurry to get their orders out.

"Starly use Quick Attack / Aerial Ace!" Ash and Paul shout out at the same time.

Ash's Starly starts picking up speed while Paul's Starly stays in place and gathers a faint blue glow.

In the split second before the collision, Paul's Starly vanished from sight, reappearing behind his bewildered opponent in a display of true, faster-than-light teleportation.

Paul's Starly smashes into Ash's, landing a clean hit in the process.

"Peck / Wing Attack!" Ash and Paul order their pokemon at the same time.

Paul's Starly has gained the initiative over the battle and his Wing Attack was ready, much quicker than his opponent's Peck.

Ash's Starly had just failed a move and had to recover from being hit in the back.

The difference in readiness causes Peck to only be charged halfway for the trade with Wing Attack.

Both moves clash midair but only Ash's Starly is being flung back from the trade-off.

"Follow with Quick Attack!" Paul orders his pokemon to continue the relentless assault, to keep the initiative.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash orders his pokemon into a retreat, to regain momentum.

The two bird pokemon chase each other through the air using their increased speed... Until Paul's Starly runs out of energy first.

Then, shortly after, Ash's Starly runs out of energy too.

"Use Tackle / Use Growl." Ash realizes that he is on the defensive and orders his pokemon to gain advantage in the fight, while Paul realizes his pokemon has worse endurance and reduces his pokemon's power output.

Starly!

The Growl connects first and then Tackle nearly smacks Starly out of the sky.

If the attack power was not reduced in power, then the hit would have ended the fight already.

"Good, now use Wing Attack!" - "Don't disappoint me, use Peck."

This time it is Paul's Starly who holds the disadvantage.

His power is reduced and he has just come out of an attack, while Ash's Starly had only used a quick status move.

Ash's Starly overpowers Paul's Starly easily and comes out as the winner of the trade.

His opponent is flung away and both trainers eye each other.

They know the battle won't last much longer.

"Quick Attack!" They both shout out at the same time and the pokemon speed up to crash into each other.

Boom!

The pokemon smash together and start falling down.

They smack into the ground at the same time and kick up some theatrical dirt despite the overgrown grasses on the ground.

Brock leans in closer to get a better view past the carnage.

Both their eyes are swirling.

"Starly and Starly are both unable to continue fighting." Brock calls out.

"Please return your pokemon and call out the next."

"You did well, Starly." Ash returns Starly to his pokeball in a beam of red light. "Get some rest buddy."

"Hmpf. You would better not disappoint me again." Paul looks at his pokemon in disgust, before returning his Starly too.

---

"Are you two ready for the next round?" Brock asks the contenders.

"Aipom, let's go!" - "Chimchar. It's your turn." Paul and Ash call out their next pokemon.

While Aipom walks to battle in confidence, Chimchar does it with visible fright.

They both give Brock a verbal signal to continue the fight, and Brock calls out the start of the second round. 

"Begin!"

"Chimchar Flame Wheel." - "Aipom use Focus Pun--, no, just dodge the attack!"

Chimchar encases himself in a mantle of flames and jumps into a somersault, but instead of landing, he just keeps spinning and gaining speed across the battlefield.

The spinning motion helps increase the airflow and heats up the attack for greater damage.

As Chimchar tries to roll into his target, Aipom uses his tail to push himself to the side. 

He easily escapes the fiery attack.

"Now, use Sand Attack!" Ash orders as the Flame Wheel loses speed. 

Aipom digs his tail into the ground and uses ground type energy to manifest loose, dry sand.

"Chimchar use Flame Wheel, again."

Aipom is too fast. The fine sand hits Chimchar in the eyes, causing his move to fail and he crashes into the ground, scratching and tearing at the burning pain of sand in his eyes. 

He is unable to see.

"Good job, now use Focus Punch!" Aipom slowly starts focusing a massive amount of energy into his tail and slowly walks to his target. 

He is trying to time his arrival with the charge of his attack.

"Shit. Chimchar, use Dig to get out of there."

Chimchar tries to gather ground type energy. His claws are just barely shimmering in a yellow glow, but it is of no use. 

He cannot break through the hard ground surface. The Dig move has not yet been trained to proficiency.

Aipom approaches, ready to end the fight in a single hit with a powerful punch...

Boom!

With an explosion a massive cloud of smoke envelopes the whole battlefield as well as the bystanders. 

The humans and their pokemon start coughing immediately. The smoke, irritating their lungs.

"Bad news Jessie..." A male voice comes from somewhere above. "Looks like we have some extra weight and can't take off!"