Forest of Secrets; A Pokemon Fanfiction

Chapter 2, Part 4

Loppily
The gray-speckled rocks shine dully in the afternoon sun. Like a wrecking-ball, Bright smashes though them. Punch, Shatter. I try my best to keep up with his pace, but my Dizzy-Punch and Bounce are no match for his Aura Sphere and Close Combats. I count the rocks I smash, one, two, three, four... Bright keeps track of his rocks, and the timer we set on a flat boulder shrieks at the 2-minute mark. We stop punching, and Bright shuts the timer off.
I breathe harshly, sucking in air. Bright hasn't broken a sweat, as usual. It's to be suspected that he doesn't try his hardest, to make me feel better. Despite that, he always wins.
"How many did you smash, Lopy?" he casually asks as he leans on an unbroken boulder.
"14. You?" I gasp.
"21."
A smile twitches on my lips. "You win, as usual."
Shaking his head, he remarks, "Nonsense. You're improving. That ought to get you some extra points." It's sweet of him to offer, but I can't take it. "No Bright, you win fair and square. The only points awarded are for smashing rocks, no bonuses handed out." If I ever beat Bright at this, I want to do it for real. Settling for the mediocre pace I'm at would be no better than giving up training altogether.

Sweat has beaded up in my ears, and I carefully shake them dry. Sensitive as they are, I like having them clean. They come in handy a lot, like now. I hear footsteps on the path heading towards the clearing. Light, definitely not Empoleon or Luxray feet. Can't be Queenie, or any of the fliers, because there's no flapping or quivering of wings. The steps aren't padded like Roku's either.
I twitch my ears up a little, so I can hear better. Bright is mindful of the posture, and whispers, "What is it? Do you hear someone?" I whisper back, "Yes. Hush, while I listen."
Alternately, I raise and lower my ears to get the best scoop on the sound. Someone is talking too, as well as walking. I detect the widethud of a Gallade and the tip-toe of Gardevoir. It's obviously those three younger ones, Dasher, Sparkle, and Psycho. I can't pick up what they're saying, and it sounds like they don't want to be overheard. Since I don't like to snoop, I lay my ears down and turn back to Bright. "It's just those three kids. You know, Twirla's, your technical niece and nephews."
Bright nods. He mulls over the information a bit, and asks me, "Do you want us to invite them to a Rock Smash contest?"
"Sure. I'm not sure that they'll accept though. They get kind of cagey about battling, you know?"
Bright fiddles with the timer's options some and glances at the area where the path leads to the clearing. "I know. Perhaps it would help them if they did try to battle more often. It would improve the way some of us think of them, certainly."
I continue to groom my fur and dry the sweat from me. "Spark doesn't like them. Behind both their and Twirla's back, she's always going on about what cowards they are, and how all they need a good few KO's to set them straight. It would most likely just make them hate battles more though. Personally, I don't see why anyone would hate to battle in the first place. Battles help test your mind and body's limits and capabilities."

Sagely, Bright nods again. Just now, the kids walk into the clearing. Sparkle chats to Dasher, slightly scolding him. Psycho sniffles a little in the rear of them, looking quite dejected. If I'd had to guess, Dasher was antagonizing him again. It's almost impossible to guess that the two would be twins, what with their polar personalities. It's also a wonder why Psycho even sticks around with him, Dasher pushes him around so much. Sparkle's less gullible, but it's not like she sticks up for Psycho either.
I can only hope they'll be up for a good challenge today.

Sparkle
"You really ought to be nicer to Psy though, Dash. Even if he forgets two minutes later, it's still mean. You're such a dream crusher."
Dasher doesn't take me seriously. "Heh, heh. I may be a dream crusher, but you're the Dream Eater. I still don't see how it's bad, if he never cares afterward. If you sleep through a day, and don't know you missed it after you wake up, does it really matter? Really, you are such a drama queen!"
"Ugh! I-"