Pokemon - From the Brink

Chapter 8 - Ripples

"Gah-!" I staggered back, my link with Grovyle having been severed for what must have been the dozenth time that day. Shu and his Delphox knocked us down at every turn, and yet Kudou was adamant that we should keep going. This meant that my first day of training was effectively spent feeding Grovyle Revives in a seemingly fruitless effort to boost our ability to maintain our bond in battle.

"Ah..." I winced, the pain vanishing without a trace, though sweat still matted my fringe to my forehead as I watched Grovyle slump over once again.

Even Shu seemed uncomfortable.

"To be fair, you two are taking the full force of super effective attacks..." He said, still bonded to his Pokemon. "This is probably the hardest way to train for this..."

"But it's fine..." I straightened up, reaching into my pocket for another item. "After all, we can master this – or at least get better at it – eventually. You managed it, right? It's not impossible..."

"Right..." Shu averted his eyes and Delphox looked back at him with concern.

"Here, Grovyle..." I held out a Revive to his mouth and he chewed on it tiredly.

"Groh..." He shook his head and I helped him stand.

Just then, there was a high-pitched sound that floated across the pitch, catching everyone's attention. We turned to see that Nelly had blown a whistle that Coach Kudou had given her.

"All right, everyone." Kudou said, looking around at us. "Good work today. It's time we wrap up for the day. I don't want you to overdo it, especially considering that this is our first day since our flight here. Head back to the dorms and get yourself something to eat. We'll review your work and revise our plans tomorrow."

"Thank you, Coach!" A jumble of shouts came forth.

"Phew!" Hikaru stretched. "That went well!"

"I'm hungry..." Yu sighed.

"Better hurry or there'll be no food left!" Carmello joked, running off ahead, with the younger boy soon in hot pursuit.

"Delphox." Shu-ling said, calmly dismissing the link to his Pokemon with no backlash whatsoever. A few small embers flickered over the creature's body as its black tinge returned to natural shades of orange and the second wand in its hand faded to cinders.

"Thanks for training with us." I said, standing up straight with Grovyle.

"That's ok." Shu bowed slightly. "You did well."

"You think? I dunno, I don't think getting knocked out a bunch was very good." I laughed.

"Well, towards the end you started to look like you might withstand our attack with a bit more practice."

"Huh." I looked at Grovyle. "Like a pain tolerance thing?"

"Yes, I suppose." Our opponent smiled.

"Well, thanks. Do you mind if I ask how it is you came to get so good at holding your bond with Delphox?"

Something in Shu's face changed and he seemed uneasy.

"Rooo..." Delphox seemed concerned again.

"...I'm sorry. I would rather not tell that story..." He looked away.

"Oh..." I felt bad. "That's all right. Don't worry about it." I smiled.

"I'll see you." He bowed again and turned, returning his partner as he went.

"See you." I replied, watching him go, wondering what was wrong.

"He didn't sound too thrilled... What happened...? Well, I suppose it's too soon to go prying into stuff like that. I barely know the guy..."