Paul and I received a quick dojo tour. The training room was also the common room, apparently, where the residents would relax and eat meals when not brawling with each other. A full kitchen sat on the side. A laundry room nested on the other. At least four bedrooms lined the hallway, with plenty of spare blankets, pillows, and space to accommodate two extra people.
After the tour, the others wanted to get on with the training right away.
"So, what exactly did you make us wear?"
Paul awkwardly tugged at his new outfit while Kyle struck the air beside him.
"It's the dojo uniform. Nice and loose. Good for striking and kicking."
Kyle and Terri gave Paul and me clothes to borrow while ours ran through the laundry.
"I thought we were Pokémon training," continued Paul. "Why are we in uniform?"
"See, a great way to learn alongside your Pokémon is to move alongside them. Be physically involved. As Fighting-type Pokémon Trainers, we often find ourselves mimicking the movements of our Pokémon to better understand their fighting style and their capabilities."
"Interesting." Beside him, Primeape bounced on the balls of his feet, pumped and ready to spar against the other tough Fighting-types in the room. "Are you ready for some close-combat training?"
"I sure am!" I cartwheeled over to them. Raichu attempted to mimic my movements, but instead, she rolled straight into the wall behind me! Luxray rushed over to help her out. "These uniforms are comfy. Thanks!"
"No prob. Glad you like them," replied Terri.
"I really like them." I found Paul locking me down with his eyes. "What?"
After a slight chuckle, he crossed his arms. "Not surprised you chose the yellow outfit."
"Says the one who picked purple! Now, Terri, who's that?" I gestured to the Pokémon clinging to her side: a small, light-purple creature with a brown lower torso and feet, and adorable eyes.
"This is Tyrogue." She pat his head. "He's a little shy, but he's a great fighter."
"That's the pre-evolution of Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, right?" Paul asked.
"Yep. There's a third evolution, too. It's called Hitmontop. Personally, I want Tyrogue to evolve into that one. It'll balance out the Pokémon we have here at the dojo, but I also really like the way Hitmontop moves."
Paul searched up both Pokémon:
"Tyrogue the Scuffle Pokémon, and Hitmontop the Handstand Pokémon. Hitmontop is an evolved form of Tyrogue. Tyrogue is always bursting with energy. To make itself stronger, it keeps on fighting even if it loses. Hitmontop spins like a top as it battles. The centrifugal force adds ten times the destructive power to its punches and kicks."
"Okay," called Sabrina as she and her Alakazam approached. "Ready to get started?"
"Yes, ma'am! How are we training?"
"My goal is for Alakazam to take on multiple opponents at once. If we take on that evil organization, there's no doubt we'll be outnumbered."
"How outnumbered do you want?" asked Paul.
"As many Pokémon as possible."
"Really?!"
"Taking down those crooks requires being outnumbered. If Alakazam and I can handle a bunch of you guys, then they should be a breeze." Sabrina and Alakazam retreated to the other end of the room. "So, let's get started already!"
"You heard her, Tyrogue," Terri responded. "Let's do this."
"You ready to go, Primeape? Kadabra?"
"You, too, Hitmonchan. Show 'em what you got," said Kyle.
"Hitmonlee, please, do your best," said Master Koichi.
"You as well, Machamp," said Master Junichi.
The two Pokémon bowed their heads.
"Raichu, you get in there!"
Everyone gave me weird looks.
"Do you not have a Fighting-type, Rosa?" asked Kyle.
"Nah. Raichu knows Brick Break, which is a Fighting-type move, but that's all. But regardless, we're not a slouch, and we don't plan to go easy. Hear that, Sabrina?"
She smirked. "The more the merrier! Send in Luxray while you're at it!"
"Will do!"
Everyone got into position.
"You ready Sabrina?" called Master Junichi.
"You bet! Give us your best shot, everyone!" Alakazam levitated in the air, eyes closed, two spoons out in front of him.
"Battle, begin!"
"Hitmonchan! Mach Punch!"
The attack landed. Alakazam resisted the hit, however, and remained in the air. "No surprise you started with a priority move, but you're gonna have to do better. Psybeam!" Even without opening his eyes, the Psi Pokémon attempted to deal some damage, but Hitmonchan easily slipped out of firing range.
"Nice try! Let's go for a second hit! Mach Punch again!"
"Reflect!"
Hitmonchan's fist crashed into a wall of light.
"Wow! Alakazam works fast!" I gasped.
"Psybeam!" Surprised at being stopped so fast, Hitmonchan failed to dodge Alakazam's second Psybeam attempt. He received the super-effective attack at point-blank range and smashed into the wall behind us.
"Oh, man," cried Paul as Hitmonchan fell to the floor, "that's some power."
"Sure is." When I looked back at Sabrina, her expression told me that she had many more tricks up her sleeve. It excited me. "Of course, being a gym leader, I didn't expect Sabrina to be too easy to beat."
"That doesn't mean we can't win with a decent strategy. Primeape use Night Slash!"
Primeape attacked with a Night Slash, but Alakazam's Reflect halved the damage.
"Damn. Reflect is going to make things tricky."
"So, let's try multiple attacks at the same time. Machamp use Karate Chop!"
"Tyrogue use Tackle!"
Both Tyrogue and Machamp charged at their opponent.
"Shadow Ball on the entire room!" Alakazam used Shadow Ball—and shot at all eight opponents simultaneously! Anyone who had already attempted to attack Alakazam took a powerful hit to the face: Machamp, Tyrogue, Primeape, and Hitmonchan.
The others dodged.
"Apparently, it can handle being outnumbered. This'll be tough if we don't stop it right now. Double Thunder, go!" Crackles filled the room as my two Electric-types launched their attack.
"Focus Blast, Alakazam!" Eyes snapping open, Alakazam dropped his feet onto the ground, pulled back his arm, and sent a vicious ball of energy hurtling across the room. The attack tore through Thunder, and through the gym floor.
"Protect!" Kadabra shielded my Pokémon.
"Thanks, Paul."
"Don't mention it."
"Don't give them any recovery time. Shadow Ball again!" Focus Blast left behind a debris cloud in its wake, so Alakazam waited for it to clear before launching his attack. However, he waited just a second too long. Using the debris as cover, Hitmonlee moved in close and suddenly appeared in Alakazam's blindspot.
"Whoa! When did Hitmonlee get there?!"
"Behind you!" screamed Sabrina.
"Jump Kick!"
At the last possible second, Alakazam used Double Team to avoid the hit. Thus, since he failed to land the attack, Hitmonlee smacked the ground instead and suffered some serious recoil damage.
"Get payback with Psybeam!"
My nerves forced me to cry out: "Get out of there, Hitmonlee!"
"Rolling Kick!"
Apparently possessing well-honed reflexes, Hitmonlee performed a quick spin. His legs lashed out to deflect Psybeam and also propel the Kicking Pokémon a safe distance away from his advantaged opponent.
Hitmonlee's ability to move left me in pure awe. "Hitmonlee's amazingly fast."
"Comes from our many hours of training together," said Master Koichi from beside me. I turned to look at him. "Hitmonlee is the fastest kicker in the world, which warrants having strong and flexible legs. In other words, a good foundation." He peered at me. "Practicing will get you that foundation."
"Foundation, huh?" I stared back at the battlefield as more attacks were exchanged between Alakazam and his many opponents. "A foundation shared with Pokémon?"
Master Koichi nodded.
Noticing Alakazam's movements and predicting his next ones, I gained the confidence to guess where my Pokémon should strike next. "My Pokémon and I are also sharing a foundation, one that we're improving together."
Hearing my words made Hitmonlee glance back at me.
When Tyrogue attacked Alakazam, he leaped backward to avoid the hit.
"Thunder Bolt, Raichu! Straight ahead!"
The attack scored a bullseye!
I pumped my fist in the air. "Yeah! First clean hit in a while!"
"And it went through Reflect because it's not a physical attack," added Terri.
"Right. Luxray use Swift!"
"Follow it up with Night Slash!"
Alakazam could avoid neither attack and dropped to the ground after taking both.
"Recover!" The Psi Pokémon used his psychic powers to make himself glow. The energy eliminated all the damage we had done thus far.
"Ah! All of our work was for nothing!" whined Kyle. His disappointment was justified.
"Now, Future Sight!" Alakazam raised his two spoons into the air. A light blue ball of energy appeared above them. Then, the Pokémon fired energy from the ball into the sky, which disappeared.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Not good," grumbled Paul. He and the others all looked incredibly worried. "We have to end this quickly. Night Slash, again!"
"Agreed," said Master Junichi. "Ready your Focus Punch, Machamp!"
"Rock Smash! You have to cover Machamp!" called Terri.
"Dynamic Punch, too!" called Kyle.
"Blaze Kick!" called Master Koichi.
Despite four Pokémon charging at her, Sabrina looked unfazed. "Kinesis, then Psychic."
Alakazam nimbly avoided all five attacks. Then, he blasted everyone with an incredibly powerful instance of Psychic. Primeape, Tyrogue, Hitmonchan, and Hitmonlee got thrown into Machamp, which canceled his Focus Punch.
When the dust cleared, Tyrogue and Hitmonchan were KO'd.
"HUH?!"
"Don't underestimate us!" called Sabrina, a vicious smirk now glued to her face.
"That's a gym leader, alright," I groaned, suddenly feeling the gravity of the situation as Terri and Kyle recalled their Pokémon. "And it makes this battle far more interesting. Raichu use Quick Attack!" Raichu slammed into Alakazam's Reflect without any trouble.
"We should stick to ranged attacks. Night Shade, Kadabra!"
"Counter with Psybeam!"
Kadabra's and Alakazam's attacks collided in midair.
"Now, Shadow Ball!" Alakazam fired another Shadow Ball barrage.
"Dodge!!" screamed everyone.
Raichu and Kadabra got hit from being too close.
Luxray was able to dodge and then charge at Alakazam. "Iron Tail!"
"Shoot it down!"
Luxray deflected one Shadow Ball after the other with his ironclad tail. When he finally reached Alakazam, he flipped around and smashed his tail into the light shield once, twice, three times, four times!
"Psybeam!" Alakazam moved to attack.
"Blaze Kick!" Hitmonlee leaped high over Luxray and sent his foot into the Reflect. It didn't budge, but it gave both Luxray and Hitmonlee a chance to retreat a good distance.
"We have to get rid of Reflect somehow," I groaned.
"Signal Beam!" Alakazam fired.
"Thunder, Raichu!"
"Kadabra use Shadow Ball!"
Raichu and Kadabra's attacks combined into one massive energy cluster to tear through the Signal Beam and strike the intended target. It knocked him to the floor, giving Paul the impression that he could safely attack.
"Night Slash!" Primeape raced forward while Alakazam was down. However, he snapped out of it after Primeape's fist crashed into Reflect and woke him up.
"Psychic, Alakazam!" Using his signature attack, the Psi Pokémon lifted Primeape up.
"Hurry and help with Fire Punch!" Machamp roared and sprinted ahead. Unfortunately, he couldn't move fast enough. Alakazam threw Primeape like a bowling ball, knocking both him and Machamp to the ground.
To make it worse, crackles filled the room. Two lights appeared near the ceiling. Two massive lightning bolts shot down from the lights, scoring a direct hit on the downed Primeape and Machamp. If they weren't knocked out before, they were definitely unconscious now.
"That was Future Sight," Paul growled as he recalled Primeape. "It's a high-level Psychic attack where the user calls upon an attack, and just a few moves later, it strikes the opponent and deals a shit ton of damage."
I shivered. "That's powerful."
"It sure is," added Master Junichi, sighing in defeat.
Alakazam used another Shadow Ball barrage.
"Dodge!"
Luxray, Raichu, Kadabra, and Hitmonlee all dodged; the four Pokémon who remained.
"Double Swift!" Luxray and Raichu attacked.
"Shadow Ball!" Kadabra also attacked.
"Double Kick!" Hitmonlee attacked, too.
Alakazam struggled to avoid the ranged moves. Reflect saved him from Hitmonlee.
"Future Sight!"
"We can't let that go off again," I murmured. "Let's try slowing Alakazam down. Raichu and Luxray! Double Team, both of you!" My Pokémon performed an alternating Double Team to hopefully slow Alakazam's thinking.
"Wipe them out with Psybeam!" Alakazam fired and spun in a circle to quickly eliminate the copies.
The originals avoided the attack, however.
"Iron Tail and Thunder Fang!"
"Shadow Ball, quick!"
Alakazam's Shadow Ball caught Raichu but missed Luxray.
The Gleam Eyes Pokémon charged forward with every intention to get revenge and strike down Alakazam with every ounce of his power.
"Be careful of Reflect!" warned Paul.
The warning was not necessary.
Like a glass window, Luxray's Thunder Fang caused the light shield to shatter into billions of tiny pieces. Then, Luxray kept going, and he clamped his powerful jaws down on Alakazam's arm. With a final tense of his muscles, the two became enveloped in blue electricity.
"What?!" Sabrina looked just as surprised to see Reflect get destroyed as everyone else.
"Reflect doesn't last forever, you know!" I laughed.
Even better, after Luxray cut off his electric circuit, yellow sparks spread across Alakazam's body.
"He's paralyzed now, too!"
"That was excellent," commended Master Koichi.
"Don't get comfy yet," laughed Sabrina. Her grin never wavered. "With Luxray holding on so tight, how can you escape a close-quarters assault?"
My breath hitched. Does Alakazam know physical moves?
"Dynamic Punch!"
Alakazam punched Luxray square in the face with full, concentrated power. My electric cat released his hold and jumped away from his opponent, struggling to remain standing on his huge paws. He closed his eyes to focus exclusively on his rapidly-building headache.
"Luxray! You okay? Luxray!"
Upon opening his eyes, Luxray began hobbling around as though he was dizzy.
"Crap! He's confused! Wake him up with Thunder, Raichu!" She had no problem turning to the side and firing a massive thunder bolt.
"Psybeam on Raichu!"
"You use Psybeam as well!" Kadabra's Psybeam met Alakazam's.
"Mega Kick, Hitmonlee!" The Kicking Pokémon raced forward.
Alakazam quickly threw up another Reflect just before Hitmonlee could make contact.
Fortunately, I noticed Alakazam moving a little slower than normal. The paralysis must be taking effect. Luxray was still confused, though, so I couldn't rely on my powerhouse at the moment.
"We need a combined attack!" Paul shouted.
"Right. Raichu, attack Alakazam now, with Thunder!"
"Kadabra use Shadow Ball!"
"Hitmonlee use Focus Blast!"
"Psychic!" Alakazam used Psychic to reflect all attacks back at their original senders.
Everyone took a hit, and then, on top of that, Future Sight activated, further damaging everyone. Raichu got knocked out from the consecutive attacks. However, the explosions brought Luxray back to reality.
"You ready to get some revenge for Raichu?" I asked as I recalled my electric mouse.
Luxray nodded.
Alakazam prepared another Future Sight, and then he launched Shadow Ball.
"Signal Beam!" Kadabra quickly responded to his trainer and retaliated.
"Ah. Wait. What if ...?!" I got an idea while watching the battle, so while Paul kept Sabrina and Alakazam distracted, I turned to Master Koichi. "Master. I have an idea, but I need to borrow Hitmonlee."
"Borrow?"
"Yes, please. I need his help for a team-up involving him and Luxray. Please."
He considered my plea for a long moment. "Well, I'm not the one you need to ask."
I looked at Hitmonlee. "I have an idea to beat Sabrina. I don't have much experience with Fighting-types, but I still want to win, so I want to try. If it's okay with you, would you please help me? Me and Luxray, both. I'm confident we can win this way."
After a moment, Hitmonlee nodded his head.
"Thank you."
Master Koichi gave a satisfied grunt and nodded his head. "Now that's the spirit I like to see in my students."
"I'm not your student, but thanks."
Just as I finished explaining my idea to Luxray and Hitmonlee, the sound of an explosion meant the most recent clash ended. It took out Kadabra.
"Dammit. Sorry, Rosa. I'm out," groaned Paul as he recalled his Pokémon.
"It's fine," I assured. "We'll take care of this battle. We'll take out Sabrina."
Sabrina gestured for me to bring it. "Show me what you got, Rosa."
"With pleasure. Thunder and Focus Blast, go!"
Luxray and Hitmonlee launched their attacks.
"Psybeam!" Alakazam replied in kind. The explosion provided a chance for Luxray to move in.
"Get in there with Spark!"
"Shadow Ball! Rapid fire!"
"Protect Luxray with Focus Blast!"
Hitmonlee's Focus Blast tore through the Shadow Ball. It allowed Luxray to get into Alakazam's close combat range.
"Iron Tail!"
"Dynamic Punch!"
Iron Tail and Dynamic Punch clashed at the center of the field. The collision saw sparks fly.
"Now, Hitmonlee! Just like we planned." Hitmonlee nodded and closed in on Alakazam.
"Psybeam!" roared Sabrina.
"Light him up with Thunder!"
With a vicious roar on Luxray's end, electricity exploded around the two opponents.
It had Alakazam good and distracted.
"Hitmonlee, you're up!"
Like a baseball player dashing for home plate, Hitmonlee charged at Alakazam with a glowing fist!
Sabrina noticed, but she didn't seem to worry too much. "Did you forget your physical attacks are useless against Reflect?"
I held back my laughter. "Not this one."
Sabrina went pale. "Alakazam, give Hitmonlee everything and give him Psybeam!"
"Too slow! Luxray!"
Luxray dramatically increased the voltage to keep Alakazam rooted in place and unable to fend off Hitmonlee. The Kicking Pokémon threw his fist into Alakazam's light shield and destroyed it.
"Alakazam! Get out of there!"
"Finish with Hi Jump Kick!"
Hitmonlee got right up in Alakazam's face, crouched, and then sent his knee into the opponent's chin. With a spin and flick of his strong leg, Hitmonlee flung the Psi Pokémon into the far wall.
The battle was finally over.
"Alakazam is unable to battle!" called Master Junichi.
I pumped my fist in the air. "Yeah! We did it!"
Luxray bounded over and tackled me to the floor.
"Yes, yes, nice job, Luxray! You're not as light as you used to be, though..."
He backed away so I could stand up.
Hitmonlee joined my side, too. "You did great, Hitmonlee! Your Brick Break was just what we needed. Thanks for your help!" We exchanged an enthusiastic high-five.
"That was a good strategy," said Paul as he and Eevee walked over. He set a hand on Luxray's head; Paul's way of saying "good job" to someone. "Forcing Alakazam to pay attention exclusively to Luxray so that Hitmonlee could get close."
"I thought that if Hitmonlee could just get through Reflect, one final blow would be enough to take down Alakazam. And it sure worked."
"Dammit, it sure did," cursed Sabrina as she helped Alakazam to his feet. "You alright, pal?" He nodded.
"There is still some work to be done," said the dojo master.
"I know, I know. We've gotten better at handling multiple opponents, we just need to maintain our focus a bit more."
"Still, I think you did pretty well," I said. "Alakazam's strong, and fast, too. Don't forget: you got most of us."
"Yeah, took us out right at the beginning. Darnit!" whined Terri.
Sabrina and I couldn't help but laugh at her pout.
"Thanks, Rosa," smirked the Gym Leader.
"Sabrina, may I ask how you evolve Alakazam?" asked Paul, who had resummoned his Kadabra.
"Why?"
"Sorry if it's a random question." He looked over to Kadabra, who met his gaze. "I just think it'd be a good thing to know so that we have that option. What do you think?" Kadabra liked the idea.
The Gym Leader smiled. "Well, in order to evolve Kadabra, you have to trade it."
"Trade?"
"You know how Pokémon Trainers can trade Pokémon between each other? Well, certain Pokémon evolve only by trading. Kadabra is one of them. Machoke also needs to be traded if you want it to evolve into Machamp."
"Really?" I asked while Machamp placed me on his back and performed several one-handed pushups.
Hitmonlee got a little jealous. Wanting my attention and praise, he began doing one-handed pushups as well. He couldn't quite manage the way Machamp could, but he possessed the spirit.
"Graveler also evolves by trading," continued Sabrina, "and I believe Haunter, too."
"Haunter?"
As though on cue, Haunter appeared from his Poké Ball and spooked me. I fell off Machamp's back from the shock.
"I told you not to do that ..."
He laughed.
"Hey. If both Haunter and Kadabra evolve by trading," Paul helped me back up, "we should trade with each other and see if it works."
"Yeah? Are you guys up for it?"
Kadabra and Haunter looked at each other. They nodded.
"Well, so long as they're cool with it. Do you guys have a trade machine here?"
Terri brought us to a small office just off from the main room. Inside, we found the dojo's trade machine.
"This is here mainly for Trainers who want to evolve a Machoke into a Machamp. It is a fighting dojo, after all. Go ahead and place your Poké Balls there."
"Okay."
Paul and I recalled both Haunter and Kadabra. Then, we placed the Poké Balls into slots at opposite ends of the machine.
I put my hand on the lever. "Ready?"
Paul placed his hand on the lever as well. "Yep."
"Push on 3," I said, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach when Paul's fingers brushed mine. "One ..."
"Two ..."
"Three!"
We pushed the lever together.
A screen showed the status of both Pokémon. The Poké Balls disappeared for a moment, and the Pokémon on the screen swapped sides. The balls appeared in the same spots, except the Pokémon inside had been switched.
We took the Poké Balls and tossed them up. Our Pokémon came out.
At first, nothing happened.
"So, what now—?"
Suddenly, both Pokémon started glowing. They evolved.
"It worked!" Terri cheered.
"Kadabra's an Alakazam now, and Haunter is a ..." When Paul looked over at me, his face fell. "Shit."
The instant the light faded around Haunter's body, I realized that I had spaced what his evolution would yield. Now a Gengar, he stared up at me, stuck his tongue out, and began cackling.
I staggered back, eyes wide with horror. "Haunter's a ... a ... G-Gengar ... now."
"Rosa?" peeped Terri, wondering why I looked like I'd just seen my worst nightmare.
Tilting his head, Gengar reached out to me.
"Eep!!" I flinched, lost my balance, and fell down. Both arms covered my face. "Don't come any closer!"
Gengar recoiled a little, looking sad.
"Hey, that's not very nice, Rosa. You're gonna hurt Gengar's feelings if you—"
Paul threw a hand right over Terri's mouth. "Do not say another word."
Terri eyed him and slowly nodded.
With the other hand, Paul rubbed Gengar's head. "It's not personal. You know that."
The Ghost Pokémon blinked.
While Luxray reminded him of the situation, Paul slowly approached me. He watched me tremble like a leaf, arms still shielding my face. He wanted to know why I started shaking the instant I spotted a Ghost Pokémon. He demanded to know what happened to incite so much fear.
However, before figuring that out, Paul knew he needed to help me first.
"Hey. Girlie."
Paul's hand on my shoulder showed up like a blinking light in a pitch-black tunnel.
"It's alright. It's just your Pokémon."
I found his soft voice through my tears. "Paul ..."
"Come on. Stand up." He grabbed my hands and tugged me onto my feet. "You'll be just fine, so snap yourself out of it. You're not going to let all that hard work you did with Haunter go to waste, right?"
"N-No ..." My gaze inched over to Gengar. "No ... You're, you're right! I've been working hard at my fear of ghosts."
"Exactly. Now, make sure to remind him of that."
I stepped over to Gengar, hoping he didn't notice the tiny tears lingering at the corners of my eyes. I dropped and threw my arms around him. "I'm glad you evolved, Gengar! Good job, and I'm sorry! It's not personal. I hope you know that."
Gengar hugged me back, easily forgiving me.
"Thank you." Relaxing with a shaky sigh, I stepped back and made a fist. "S-So, any new attacks?"
Thinking for a moment, Gengar stood back. A purple-outlined, black aura surrounded both of his arms. Taking the form of claws, Gengar used the aura to slash the air, leaving behind light purple trails.
"Shadow Claw? Awesome."
Gengar made a peace sign.
"What about you?" Paul asked Alakazam.
With a wave of the spoons in his hands, Alakazam used Double Team. Then, all at once, each copy made its fist glow red and punch the air, creating a neat spiraling effect as the copies spun around.
"Double Team and Dynamic Punch? You must've been watching Sabrina's Alakazam very closely."
"Maybe Sabrina can teach us some new things," I said, turning to lead our Pokémon troop back to the common room. "Let's get back in there and test your stuff, guys. What do you say to another round? Maybe an even one this time?"
Paul and Terri followed behind.
Out of earshot, Terri tapped Paul's shoulder.
"So, what was that all about?"
The boy gave a deep sigh and frowned. "To tell you the truth, I don't have a clue. All I know is that she's afraid of ghosts."
"I mean, I can understand being afraid of ghosts. I'm scared of them, too, but not like that. That's not just fear."
"What...?" Paul stopped. "What do you think it is, then?"
Terri felt sickly as she turned to him: "I think it's trauma."
His eyes widened.
Trauma?
As they went back and watched the training session continue, the word spun round and round in Paul's mind. His worst fears had been somewhat realized. Trauma is the reason that anyone would have such a violent reaction to anything, so it would make sense.
What happened to you, Girlie?