"Pikachu, use thunder bolt!" Ash commanded. The yellow mouse stood in the middle of our makeshift battlefield in a small clearing of the Kalos forest. The electric Pokemon was breathing hard, a heavy morning of training weighing on its shoulders. None the less, it listened to its trainer and sent out an arch of blazing lightening in my direction.
"Eevee, use protect now!" I yelled, praying my Pokemon was quick to react before the counter attack hit her. Luckily, Eevee created a glowing green wall around herself that easily absorbed the shock. After a few days and hours of training, Eevee was finally able to make her protect full circle. To say that the least, it didn't make Ash so happy.
The sun was emerging from the horizon line, indicating the break of dawn. At this point of the morning, most was quiet. Everyone els was still sound asleep as warmth started to roll over the tree tops.
Ash and I shared the same drive and need to battle. Training alone was never the same as it was with Ash. There was something about his toothy grin that made the experience so much better. Him and I both knew we had another long day of traveling ahead of us so time for training could only fit early in the day. Any day without a training session made me fidgety and unsettled. I noticed it in Ash too.
"That's great Eevee, you're getting stronger!" I complimented the feline Pokemon. Ash gritted his teeth at this, short of ideas to get around the shield. I smirked at his conflicted features. "Defeat is a bad look on you, Ash!" I shouted across the field to him.
"I'm not done yet. Pikachu use iron tail on the ground, right in front of Eevee!" He demanded. I was taken aback, now it was my turn to be idealess.
Pikachu's tail began glowing a hot white. It struck the ground with brute force, sending vibrations through the earth. Seismic waves rippled the grass, soil bursting through the cracks. My eyes widened.
"Eevee!" I cried in a panic. My Pokemon was sent flying into the air with the force of the earthquake, her body flopping like a rag doll. Although her protect fully covered her when she stood safely on the ground, it didn't cover underneath her. Now she was ten feet in the air, Ash had a clear shot at and there was no way to dodge it.
"Pikachu, electro ball!"
A spinning sphere of energy formed on the tip of the electric Pokemon's tail. I watched in shock horror. It wasn't often my mind stopped ticking. Usually, even at the most desperate of times, things clicked into place like clockwork. And ideas would pop into my head. But not this time.
The attack hit Eevee, sending her back with a swooshing sound. It made me cringe. My mindless actions caused my Pokemon to get hurt. Guilt started to well up inside me. Another thing that pushed me to be the best was that I hated seeing my Pokemon in pain. I hated the twisted look of agony in Eevee's dark eyes. Too me, nothing was worse.
The evolution Pokemon landed by my feet. Her snow colored fur was coated in dirt. Every limb wobbled and she struggled to stay on her feet. The rise and fall of her chest was unnaturally fast. And it pained me. That was my fault.
"Hold up, Ash!" I shouted at him, holding up a hand. Eevee desperately needed a break. Plus, I knew if we continued I would lose. And I had a problem with losing.
"What do you mean?" He asked confused. I huffed, he seriously didn't get anything. It reminded me of how difficult the task I had take on would be. Teaching Ash what it meant to be in love seemed impossible. I must of looked like an idiot for trying.
"No more attacking." I answered distracted. Gently, I kneeled in front of the feline Pokemon. My eyes traveled up her exhausted body. Her scratched paws and mud engulfed mane. I examined her injuries until my eyes met her dark orbs.
"I'm so sorry." I muttered to her.
"What's wrong Elaina?" A familiar voice said. He now stood behind me with concern. I liked the fact that he was concerned for me.
"I think we need a different approach to this." I told Ash, my eyes not leaving Eevee's. Instead of listening to the boy's response I began talking to my Pokemon. "That was my careless fault. I promise I'll be better next time, for the both of us." I cooed.
"Eev, Eevee!" It called in its high pitched voice. I nodded and scooped her up into my arms. Her fur was still soft from last nights brushing.
"Thank you for understanding, Eevee. You deserve a good rest now. I want to be better for you. That way we'll be able to do anything. Does that sound good?" I scratched behind her ear, just the way she likes it.
"Eevee!" She gave me a single nod. I smiled brightly at her before returning her to her Pokeball. After a flash of red light, my arms were empty again.
"Elaina? What do you mean 'a new approach'?" Ash tapped me on the shoulder and I finally averted my attention to him. The raven haired boy looked distraught for answers.
"I'll admit it, you have great strategies Ash." I winked at him, it was rare I ever gave a compliment. Especially to Ash.
"Thanks, it means a lot coming from you." He beamed at me. I just playfully rolled my eyes at him.
"To be honest, I'm not sure why you even asked for my help with this. My theory is that you were just searching for a new rival. Usually we see rivals as a bad thing, but often we find ourselves making them." I pointed out.
"You've been a prime example of that." He chucked at me. I gave him a stern glare.
"Anyways, your tactics should not be the focus of your training."
"What do you mean?" He raised a curious eyebrow at me.
"I think you need to pay more attention to your opponent. Being able to read the challenger and getting an insight as to what they are thinking can be a real help in battle."
"And how do you expect me to do that? Mind reading?"
"No. Often people show what they are feeling through their words and actions. I can teach you how to read and pick up on these things. You never know, you could learn a thing or two about yourself." I smiled mischievously at him.
Although it seemed like I was going to teach him this to improve his battling, I had other intensions. Basically, I was tricking him into figuring out his feelings for Serena.
"I'm confused."
"You'd be surprised how much people mask the feelings that they really have. But if you can figure out what those hidden feelings are, you can make predictions on how they will react in battle."
"How so?" He scratched his head. My face dropped. This is going to be harder than I thought.
"Say, for example, your opponent is rather confident. He's probably going to take a bold approach with risky moves and be blind to strategic thinking. Whereas, someone who is nervous will probably be more conservative and take time to over think things. See, makes it easy to pin point a weak spot."
"Oh, okay. I get it." Ash nodded. Finally!
"Alright, time for lesson 1! Why don't we start you off with the basics. Something obvious like...facial expressions. That's about as basic as it gets. Now if I scrunch my face up like this, what would you think..."
And that was when I started to teach Ash to love.
*. *. *. *.
Team Rockets POV:
The trio of Pokemon thieves were perched in the thick undergrowth of the Kalos forest. Their eyes were all focused on a particular prize. A small yellow mouse that was sitting on the shoulder of a familiar jet haired trainer. They were trying to establish their next plan to capture Pikachu. One that was undoubtedly going to fail, but you could admire their consistency.
"There's three new twerps." Meowth stated as he balanced a pair of binoculars on the bridge of his nose.
"And they lost the annoying blonde ones." James piped, observing the two trainers they were currently watching. One of them was new, a golden haired girl with large teal-green eyes. The other was a twerp they had been following for an awfully long time. They were currently occupied in an intense conversation, despite it being early in the morning.
"Enough about the twerps. We need to focus on capturing that Pikachu." Jessie spat as she hit the two team rocket members around the head.
"Y-yes Jessie. And how do you suggest we do that?" James pondered as he rubbed the new sore spot on his head.
"Lucky for you, I remembered to bring the electricity proof nets. Plus, while we're at it, we can capture that twerpett's Eevee too." Jessie gloated, taking two small devices out of a duffle bag.
"That girls Eevee did fair pretty well against Pikachu. That must mean it's strong." Meowth noted as he watched Jessie setting up the nets.
"It would be a great asset to team rocket!" James said excitedly.
"You two just stay focused on the job at hand. We capture those Pokemon then get away on the hot air ballon, got it?" Jessie demanded.
Her eyes narrowed at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and with one last glare, she threw the devices. Once released, they expanded into large electric proof nets. And within a split second, one had encased Pikachu.
"Jackpot!"
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Gotta love team rocket! Anyways, I figured since this fanfic is based of the anime, I have to include team rocket. And what would the anime be without team rocket?