Painted Ghouls

Chapter 27

WARNING: violence

Throwing a single kick at the air, the Blaziken staggered just a bit, before quickly catching her balance as she held her leg in the air. For a few moments she stood still, before placing her foot back onto the ground. Ever since she had gained this new form, she had been practicing her kicks, hoping to become better with them. After all, Zachary and Zeke were both excellent in terms of kicking, so why shouldn't she be? Plus, Blaziken were known for their powerful kicks. At least, that was what her brother said.

Ever since the incident with the Armaldo, both her and Lucas have been more cautious when walking around the ruined city. They haven't seen the strange ghoul in days- chances are, he either got eaten by some large Pokémon, or ran off. Both options sounded good to the fire-and-fighting type, honestly, but a small portion of her wished that the former idea actually did happen. That way she wouldn't have to put up with the plate Pokémon and his water type attacks.

Shuddering, the blaze Pokémon recalled the wound that the Armaldo inflicted upon her leg. Although the injury had mostly healed by now, her leg still felt a little sore in that area. Luckily, she won't be gaining a scar anytime soon, so she should at least be a bit positive for that. Lucas, too, received nasty injuries from the barrage of x-scissor attacks the rock-and-bug type used, but none of them were to become scars, either. They walked away lucky from that fight.

If Lucas hadn't shown up, she could've very well died that day. The water type attacks that were used against her drained away a good portion of her energy- all the Armaldo needed to do was land a single slash on her, and then she would be dead. Thankfully, the aforementioned Latios showed up and knocked him away before he could do such a thing. Hopefully the strange creature had learned his lesson.

Lashing out with another kick, Athena would stagger just a bit once more, but managed to regain her balance more quickly this time. For a few moments she held her pose, her taloned toes flexing just a bit, before she lowered her leg once more. Thanks to evolving, her muscles have increased in strength, and her stamina appeared to be more reliable as well. Her speed, too, had significantly increased, partially thanks to her now longer strides. She wasn't sure if her defense had improved or not- that was something she'll have to figure out eventually. It would be ideal if her defense did improve, considering she would be capable of facing stronger opponents without worrying about losing from the first attack.

Looking around, the fire-and-fighting type idly blinked, noticing that Lucas had yet to return from his duties. Well, they weren't so much duties, more of him just floating around and surveying the city, hoping to find something worthwhile. Either way, that was to be expected of him. There were some nights when he returned awfully late, unfortunately with little information to give about the land- or Pokémon- around them. Nothing about the Armaldo was included in any of his words. The creature was gone.

One more kick. This time, she managed to not flail about as much as the other times when she practiced this simple move. Her leg dangling in the air, she would move it about just a bit, before lowering it once more. Her stomach tingling with hunger, she sighed, crouching down to pick up Brendan's cap. Unfortunately, it didn't fit her head that well compared to when she was a Combusken or even a Torchic. The strange antenna-like feathers that jutted off of her head made it difficult for her to put the hat on; thus, she resorted to simply carrying it about. Thankfully, with her claws now being more finger-like and controllable, it wasn't too hard to carry the accessory around.

Sauntering throughout the leveled city, Athena raked her blue irises over the surrounding premises. Everything seemed slightly smaller now that she had evolved. Her height had certainly doubled due to her change in form, allowing her to be a little taller than some of the Pokémon she may now encounter. She couldn't help but wonder if Brendan was around her current height; strangely enough, she had a feeling that even she surpassed him in terms of height. After all, he wasn't the tallest of humans, but when she was a Torchic, he did seem like a giant. Interesting.