"Come on! Harder, you can do it!" Decidueye encouraged Riolu as he tirelessly punched the bark of the tree over and over again. His fists ached, his breath was ragged, and he was not feeling well.
But he knew he mustn't give up. Not until his teacher tells him it's enough! The Emanation Pokémon grunted heavily as he threw his punches, all of them connecting on the same spot and digging into the bark.
Decidueye stood behind him, watching him as he trained and tried his best. "Keep your knees bent so you won't push yourself back whenever you strike." He instructed the little student and walked from one side to another.
As Riolu continued to pound his fists into the hard surface of the tree, he could feel as the pain slowly subsided and his fists went numb. He was numb to the pain, but the occasional sting would bring it back.
There was nothing besides him, the tree in front of him and his mentor. But the longer his punches went on for, the more tired he was growing. He breathed heavily, grunting lowly.
Never did he stop, not even for a second. Even when his fists started leaving faint traces of red on the rough bark. He just went on, striking the tree with fierce power. "Straighten your back. That way, you can put more power into your punches."
Riolu began gasping quietly for air, with the never ending flurry of punches continuing to strike the bark. And just like Decidueye had said, once he straightened his back, he could feel as his jabs grew stronger in power.
But even the most unrelenting and robust heroes must stop. As he threw the final punch, he yelled at the top of his lungs, putting his whole body into the strike. Knees bent, back straight, shoulder turned with the arm.
He let his paw slip down the tree as he stopped completely, letting his body finally go limp and falling head first into the tree. Riolu put his forehead against the tree and breathed heavily, looking down at his bloodied fists.
"Good job today. Now come on, let's go eat something and rest for a bit. We're going on a run right afterwards." Decidueye said in a firm, yet gentle tone. To anyone who might have been passing by, he might've sounded like a harsh father. But to Riolu, it was the perfect mentor and friend.
"Yes, just...-" The little Emanation Pokemon laughed heartily and fell down on his back, laying down on the grass he was just standing on. His chest heaved up and down as he took in deep breaths. "Just give me a second."
Riolu laid on the soft grass, enjoying its prickly and pointed blades gently press down against his back. He smiled and laid there, hidden in the shade of the tree. He put his paws in front of his face and stared at the damages.
Thankfully they weren't looking all that bad. Just a couple of bruises, some scratches, blood staining his bright blue fur here and there... Nothing a little wash in the river can fix, so he didn't worry about his paws all that much.
After Decidueye flew him to the crossroads, he had lived with him in the treehouse hidden on top of the biggest and tallest tree here. It wasn't big, and it was hard to climb up the branches to reach it, but as time went on Riolu learned to accept that.
The first time he entered the house, he was shocked. There were books on the shelf to the left of the entrance, as well as tons of souvenirs on the shelf to the right.
Riolu recognised some of them, like the Mystic Water. He had seen many Water-type Pokemon having it tied around their necks, keeping it as a necklace. When compared to other Pokemon of the same species, the ones that held Mystic Water had their ability to control water greatly increased.
There were many things that he didn't recognise however, like the two small crystals, sitting next to each other. One glowing, one not. One was a rhombus, and the other was an orb.
The rhomb stone was dark green in shade, with a black symbol in the middle. The way it was shaped made no sense to the Emanation Pokemon, and the longer he stared at it, the more confused he was getting.
Turning his gaze to the other stone, and Riolu found a strange aura lurking around. That was the one that was glowing. Almost as if... enticing him to grab it. It was orange around the edges, with a red and blue spiral entwining in the middle.
Decidueye wasn't looking. It was his only chance to grab it, touch it, feel the shiny pearl in his tiny paw... He reached out, only to be stopped by a silent voice, by something telling him that it's probably a bad idea.
The aura around it dimmed down as soon as he took his arm back, making it seem like the pearl itself was disappointed. The blue furred Pokemon sighed quietly under his breath and continued looking around.
He was called back to reality as something hard hit against his stomach, landing on him and snapping him out of his daydream. Riolu swiftly opened up his eyes, looking up at his visitor.
It was Decidueye, and it looks like he grew tired of waiting for him to finally come and eat. He was proven right, as not long after showing up, he started talking about how bored he got while waiting for his student.
The Emanation Pokemon turned his eyes over from the sharp beak over to the object that had landed on his stomach. It was a basket, full to the brim with different kinds of berries.
From those he could recognise, Riolu found Oran berries, Sitrus berries, even Leppa berries could be seen here and there. It was really a sight for sore eyes, and it made him shed a tear of joy as he stared at the basket full of food.
"Eat up, and we'll get going. The clouds are over Akala today, so we have about six hours of heat coming our way." Said Decidueye in a firm tone, looking down at his "son".
Though Riolu tries to deny it, the Arrow Quill Pokemon keeps calling him his son. It's not the fact that is unsettles the young Pokemon, more as it just doesn't sound right. A bird being the father of a Riolu?
And so, the Emanation Pokemon keeps referring to the older Pokemon by his name- Cain. That was the name Decidueye told him is his own. When questioned if there was any meaning behind it, he shrugged it off like the wind.
It was almost like he wanted to avoid the subject of his name as much a possible. Riolu returned to the matter some time later after the initial question, but to no avail. He acted like he had said nothing.
After time and time again, the blue furred Pokemon finally stopped asking, growing tired of the constant ignorance from his friend's side. But maybe it was associated with something that he would wish to forget? Only him and the winds know now...
Riolu put another Leppa berry into his mouth, sitting cross-legged on the grass and munching his food eagerly. The mix of all the different flavours fit so well with the soft texture of the small fruit, making it all the better.
Sometimes there was a tinge of spiciness, sometimes it was sourness... The taste was immaculate, and compared to all the different berries he had ever tasted, this one was by far his favourite.
He sighed in delight, swallowing the berry and putting a Sitrus in his mouth. Compared to the previous one, this one was worse by a long shot. It was bland, not as soft as Leppa berries, and had rough edges.
Riolu swallowed the berry after munching on it for some time, shaking his paws lightly as he felt the wounds on them heal. He stared down at the mending bruises and smiled. He then got up off the ground, turning around to face his guardian.
Decidueye continued to stare down at him with a piercing gaze, feeling judgemental in its own way. The Emanation Pokemon shuddered and nodded to himself. "Alright, we can go. Where to today?"
"I was thinking about visiting Maractus today. How does that sound?" The black owl asked with a gleam in his eyes, smiling gently and holding his wing under his own beak.
Maractus was a friend of his. If what they say is true, then they go way back to when Decidueye was still a Dartrix. Their friendship was the definition of best friends, and anytime they met, a happy and joyful aura flooded the surroundings.
"Maractus again? I swear, I'm starting to think you guys are a couple." Riolu snickered under his breath and ended up on the receiving end of a light smack, coming from the blushing Decidueye.
"We're just friends. There's nothing more to it." He pulled on the string-like feathers that hung down below his neck, tightening the cowl of feathers around his face and making only his eyes visible.
Though blocked by the feathers, Riolu still could make out that the Arrow Quill Pokemon was blushing heavily. Not wanting to push his luck, he simply shook his head and turned his back on his friend.
"Let's make a deal, Cain." The Emanation Pokemon asked, getting into a running position. "If I win, you'll answer one of my questions truthfully, no matter what it is!"
"Oh? Are you challenging me?" Decidueye swiftly got rid of the blush, turning his gaze over to his son. "And what if I win? What will happen then?" He asked and loosened the strings of his hood.
"If you win, I will..." Riolu hummed softly as he thought hard, unable to come up with anything. Eventually though, an idea came to his mind. "Oh! If you win, I will gather berries for a month straight!"
The black owl scoffed and looked the same direction as Riolu, spreading his wings and smirking gently. "Then you've got yourself a deal, kid. Brace yourself, as you are about to taste defeat!"
"Oh, I don't think you understand just how much I am going to humiliate you!" The Emanation Pokemon laughed and coiled like a spring, primed and ready to jump forward to start his run. He looked up at the Pidgey that landed on a nearby branch, preening its wings.
"Let that Pidgey be our timer- once it takes off, we start the race." He suggested, causing Decidueye to promptly nod in agreement. And so, they waited. And they waited... and waited...
But the Pidgey never left. It just sat there, staring into nothingness. Riolu yawned out of boredom before sighing audibly. "Scratch that, let's just both count to three." They both nodded and looked ahead once again.
"Three..." They both started, the high pitched and the much lower tones mixing and mashing together. "Two..." They counted down in unison, their bodies tensing as they felt the other doing the same.
"One!" The duo said together, mere moments before starting their little competition. Riolu felt his leg muscles tense up and let go simultaneously, as he pushed himself forward off nearby trees.
Decidueye, on the other hand, shot up into the air like an arrow, opting to fly overhead and above the treeline. Riolu scoffed as he watched his friend whizz past him at immaculate speed.
To that, he began jumping forward, pushing himself off of trees the flew past and kicking the roots further into the ground as he hopped from one to the other. And slowly but surely, he was catching up.
Never in their races had he ever even matched Decidueye's speed. And there he was, running faster than he could fly! His breathing got ragged and heavy as the trees in front of him seemingly stretched out forever.
Riolu noticed a pair of Pokemon on his road, jumping over them and rolling forward to save momentum. "Out the way!" He yelled back at them, briefly before disappearing further into the forest.
When he thought that that minor setback was enough for the black owl to race past him, he noticed a golden opportunity arise. Roots of a nearby tree, sticking out of the ground and making a sort of staircase leading upwards.
Without even thinking, he jumped from root to root, climbing up to the top and finding himself in the crown of the tree. He looked up, noticing his friend flying right above him. He smirked and laughed loudly.
"Why are you laughing?!" Decidueye asked him, not slowing down in the slightest. "I'm about to win!" He was met with another laugh from Riolu.
He could feel his legs beginning to give out, and as means of a last resort, he noticed another opportunity arise. He knew he had one last jump in him, he just had to time it right. Steady, steady... And... Now!
The Emanation Pokemon jumped high up, stretching his paws out and grabbing the talons of his friend, who looked back in apparent confusion. "Hey! Get off of me, that's cheating!" He shook his legs, trying to shake the little Pokemon off.
"Nothing in the rules said you can't grab on to others!" He laughed loudly again and climbed up on top of Decidueye, standing on his back and riding him like a surfboard. A Spearow flying right past his head reminded him that maybe it was a better idea to duck down.
And duck down he did, getting low to the torso of his friend and sitting with his legs on his shoulders. They were rapidly approaching Maractus' tree. Only a hundred metres or so. Riolu grinned to himself, a plan already forming in his mind.
Without so much as a single thought, he put his paws on the Arrow Quill Pokemon's head and placed the soles of his back paws on his shoulders, priming himself like a spring once again. And it wasn't long before he jumped...!
The force his kick made was enough to slow Decidueye down significantly, as well as making himself be propelled forward with speeds faster than his friend could ever reach.
He slammed head first into the giant tree in which Maractus resided in, causing the hollow inside to reverberate and echo a loud "BANG!".
Slowly at first, he began falling down to the ground, a mixture between his laughter and screams could be heard as he did so. After a moment, he started picking up speed as gravity dragged him down.
Decidueye finally caught up with him, catching Riolu on his back and gently floating down, using his wings as parachutes. He sighed in defeat.
The moment the duo found themselves on solid ground, the Emanation Pokémon jumped off the back of his friend, laughing heartily and joyfully.
"Yes! I win!" He shouted and put his fists up into the air, celebrating his victory. His celebratory voice was soon stopped by Maractus rushing out of her house.
"What on earth are you two doing?! What was that sound just a second ago?!" She yelled at them, which prompted them to look at each other and laugh in unison.
"Nothing, don't worry about it!" Decidueye said with a grin, putting his wing on top of Riolu's head to hide the bump that formed from his impact with the wall.
Maractus sighed, putting her arms on her hips and shaking her head. "Whatever... Come on in, I've just began making tea. You might as well join me."
The Arrow Quill Pokémon stared as she retreated back into her house, making him sigh and look down at Riolu. "Well kid? What's your question? You won fair and square after all."
This was it- the moment that the little Emanation Pokémon has been waiting for ever since he met Decidueye. The question he always wanted to know the answer to!
He could have asked anything, from the darkest and most secret of secrets all the way to the most obvious things, like who Cain is exactly.
Riolu eventually took a deep breath and looked up at his friend, a stern gaze embedded on his face. "What is your story?"