Ch. 13 A New Resolve

Inkay and I were laying down in my bed. Mitchel and I had gone back to the Center to get Inkay healed, which only took about ten minutes. The technology used by the Centers was known only to the Joy clan, meaning they had a monopoly on healing. I was just glad they were so kind and caring. 

I kept thinking about the tips Mitchel gave me before leaving for his second Gym Battle against Viola. He said it was more important for Inkay to get better at using at least two of his moves before doing anything else. I knew from the research I'd done that it was important to train moves, but I didn't realize just how fast-paced battles could be. His next tip was finding a battling style of Inkay.

I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it made me think of rpg classes. A classic warrior approach would be easiest with Inkay, but he was still young and unskilled. It would be easier to decide on a role once he was stronger and we knew his talents. 

The last tip was what had both of us laying on the bed for the last hour. Mitchel had insider information from his sister, who worked in one of the labs owned by Professor Sycamore. Apparently, Pokémon made faster progress when fighting against tougher opponents. It had something to do with Infinity Energy, though Mitchel didn't understand it enough to properly explain it to me. Instead, he summarized it with one simple sentence.

"Pokémon get stronger faster when their bodies are beaten and asses are kicked," I said out loud. Inkay shuffled around in bed before floating over my face.

"In," he muttered out, his eyes locked onto mine. We stared at each other for a few moments before Inkay looked away and I sighed.

"That sounds like it'll be a shit experience for you, doesn't it?" I asked, receiving an unenthused chirp in response. "Yeah, well, I don't think I'm up for watching you get thrashed around. But we need to do something if you want to get stronger."

Inkay waved a tentacle before floating over toward the TV. It seemed like he wanted to watch something instead of just lazing around. I gave him my permission to use the TV with a grunt, opting to continue thinking about what Mitchel told me. He was leaving after getting his Badge, so I wouldn't see him after he won. 

I unlocked my phone and searched up the Santalune City Gym, going through the website until I found a 'Battles' link. From there, I was able to learn about and watch previous and current battles. It included Mitchel's battle, which ended 20 minutes ago. I clicked on his battle, a 2-v-2 that lasted four minutes. There wasn't audio, but the video had a transcript of the moves and order they were used in.

Viola looked bored. She kept looking at the windows, her hands twitching while holding onto a camera hanging from her neck. Her Pokémon, a Scatterbug, also looked bored, though its… His? Her? Their? Their attention was on the ground. The little bug kept trying to dig out the little weeds growing on the battlefield.

Mitchel walked onto the arena with a confident look, though his arms were visibly shaking. He had acted so nonchalant this morning, so seeing the shaking was sort of surprising. He had dealt with Inkay in such a casual manner that I already knew I was nowhere close to fighting a Gym Leader. However, I wanted to see just how wide the gap was.

Mitchel released Dwebble, his alleged weaker Pokémon. Scatterbug focused his attention on his new foe. Viola was still looking for something in the windows. Without looking at him, Viola stated the rules of the battle. Two Pokémon each, no switches, no items, battle until one Trainer forfeits or both of their Pokémon are unable to battle.

A referee stepped up, wearing some sort of lime green jumpsuit. They raised their hand and slammed it down to signal the start of the battle. Viola's mouth moved and Scatterbug released a colorful cloud that spread throughout the field. The transcript read Stun Spore, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder. 

Dwebble alternated between sending a rock hurtling towards Scatterbug and spreading out sand to mix with the spores and have it uselessly drop down. Those were apparently Sand Attack and Smack Down. While Scatterbug was busy dodging the rocks, Dwebble hunkered himself down and drew in energy from the air, creating a soft violet glow around his rock. The transcript identified the move as Curse.

Scatterbug began to spew strings all over the field, using the rocks as anchors and using the… What the fuck? The strings just stayed in place once they reached the edge of the arena, almost as if there were invisible walls in place. Using these invisible barriers, Scatterbug created a jungle of strings. The entire time, Dwebble kept using Curse to strengthen his defenses and attacking power, slashing at incoming strings with glowing green claws. 

Viola smiled as she finally focused on the battle. She gave out an order and Scatterbug disappeared. Mitchel looked surprised as well, and hurriedly said something. The transcripted identified Dwebble's Fury Cutter as he waited for the bug to show up. After a few tense seconds, Mitchel shouted something out and Dwebble turned to his right, slashing with a glowing claw. Scatterbug popped up from the strings, sending out a torrent of glowing leaves.

Magical Leaf, the transcript told me. Dwebble's claw slammed into Scatterbug and sent the bug flying away, rolling on some strings. At the same time, the leaves swept over Dwebble, somehow cutting into the rock despite looking as thin as normal leaves. Scatterbug dipped under the strings, and Dwebble readied himself for another exchange. Except, this time he was facing a barrage of seeds shooting out like bullets. Bullet Seed.

Dwebble tried to hack at them with Fury Cutter, building up his strength while doing so, but there were so many they began to overwhelm him. The first seed slipped through and cracked on his rock, doing minimal damage. Scatterbug kept up the attack while weaving through the strings, not giving Dwebble any time to breathe. Though each seed that hit didn't do much damage, he was getting hit by so many that the damage began to add up quickly. Dwebble slid under his rock, which seemed to be the move Withdraw.

Mitchel looked panicked and his mouth moved as he probably shouted out his orders. From within his rock, Dwebble sent out a Smack Down in the direction the seeds came from. Scatterbug quickly changed positions, as they had been doing the entire time, and continued the assault with barely a second of peace. Dwebble soon fainted and Mitchel released Pansear with a sigh. Scatterbug had stopped his barrage of Bullet Seed while waiting for the battle to start again. Once it did, Scatterbug began the assault. 

Pansear cried out after Mitchel said something and turned her head toward the seed. The tuft of red hair on her head began to shine and shimmer as it slowly went from red to orange to yellow. She aimed the tuft at the seeds, which burned on impact. She continued to do this, burning the seeds and reducing them to ash before Viola decided to switch her strategy. 

Scatterbug hid back in the strings, though Pansear just used an… Incinerate to begin burning everything. Each blast of fire swept over a large portion of the field and eventually hit Scatterbug, causing it to faint instantly. Pansear cheered for herself and made Mitchel smile before he focused on Viola again. She took nearly 30 seconds to choose, but eventually settled on her choice. 

She threw out a Pokéball and released a green and beige arachnid. Their eight legs were coupled and made it look like they only had four. Their black eyes were accompanied with two black protrusions on either side of their head. Connected to their chest was a white abdomen that looked like a spool of yarn. The Spidops walked around, holding white silky thread coming from the abdomen.

Pansear sent out another burst of flames that Spidops easily side-stepped. Pansear ran forward, using her four limbs to jump and swing over rocks and strings. She burned any string that was sticky enough to slow her down and sent out Incinerates to keep Spidops from focusing on attacks. Once she was close enough, Pan dashed forward with a readied Fury Swipes and Incinerate building in her maw. 

Spidops swiftly spun a layer of thread and used it as a shield, causing Pansear to slam her hands into it. Her hands got stuck and she struggled to pull them out. She released the Incinerate and burned the Silk Trap. Spidops Headbutted Pansear, who tried to retaliate with a Bite full of Dark-type energy. Spidops sent out a Sucker Punch, leaving Pansear in a momentary daze that Spidops used to tie her up with String Shots. Before Spidops could finish, Pansear sent out a large ball of flames that burst out everywhere and freed her from the strings. Mitchel, who had an intense look of pure focus, yelled out with a large grin on his face.

Spidops was too busy trying to clear his body of flames to notice Pansear build up another ball of flames, a Flame Burst. When the human spider finally noticed, it was too late. It was engulfed in another burst of flames and Pansear went in to begin a series of punches and kicks. Spidops put up a good fight and was able to last quite a while. For every punch the spider received, Pansear received a face full of String and attacks full of Dark-type energy. However, flames were the natural enemy of bugs and Pansear's super-effective attacks knocked the spider out after almost two minutes of them brawling. The video ended mid-celebration and froze on Mitchel's proud and sweaty face. 

That… That was way more intense than I thought a first Badge battle would be. Needless to say, Inkay and I were nowhere near close to ready for that. We would lose faster than Inkay's battle against Dwebble. There was so much to keep in mind. Scatterbug's alteration of the terrain with String Shot, hit-and-run tactics, Spidops' Silk Trap, the endurance of an evolved Pokémon, how tired my Pokémon would get… 

I needed more than just the simple training Mitchel told me about if I wanted to compete. And after seeing the battle between their Pokémon, which was not a life-or-death scenario like the Team Flare grunts and Pyroars, I knew that what I needed would not come easily. After seeing the sport of it, I knew I would eventually try my hand at it. 

But not now, I wasn't ready.

"Inkay!" I called out, causing the magical cephalopod to reluctantly turn away from the cartoon he was watching and turn towards me. He'd been super into a show about an outcast Trainer who bonded with a Ninetales that destroyed his village. It was super familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "I've decided that we'll eventually challenge the Gyms."

Inkay rolled his eyes and vocalized his disapproval. Yeah, I didn't think he would be a fan of going into battles and getting smacked around. 

"However, that'll come at a later point. First, I want us to get used to fighting in general. We won't always be holed up in safety, especially since we need to make money. If you want to evolve, I'll need to have a steady source of income to make sure I can keep you fed. And the best way to make money is to take up jobs, some of which require fighting experience."

Inkay grumbled at my words, but he understood. At least, I think he did. I had a much easier time understanding how he felt based on his face, tone, and body movements, but it was still difficult because I could never be sure.

"Hey, I know we haven't known each other all that long, but you're starting to grow on me," I told him. "Realistically, I'll never be able to protect you from threats that come our way. And I'm going to be relying on you to protect me from anything that attacks us while we travel. If we decide to go travel around the region. That's why I want to help you grow stronger." 

Inkay was staring at me with… It wasn't an intense gaze, but he was hanging on my words and paying careful attention. What I said next was probably going to affect him more than I'd want. "But if you don't, that's fine. I've been enjoying my days here thanks to you, even if I'm still struggling with my memories."

His eyes widened at that revelation. I don't think I ever told him about me. "That's right, you don't know. A little over a week ago, I woke up in the middle of the forest without any memories other than anything Pokémon related. I still don't remember much about myself, and Nurse Joy seems to think a Pokémon did this to me. I know I eventually want to go and find out what happened to me, maybe even get my memories back. The region of Paldea seems to be important for that. But I've been having a lot of fun with you and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't content with just doing odd jobs and continuing this lifestyle."

Inkay's expression changed from surprise at my amnesia to fury at the idea that a Pokémon messed with me, and rested on relief that I'd been enjoying myself. However, I could tell he was nervous about going to another region.

"Again, I'll never force you to fight or anything like that. And if you don't want to go with me if I choose to go to Paldea, that's fine. I'll let you be."

Inkay cried out, making it obvious that he wasn't happy with the idea of me just releasing him so easily. I raised my hand to quiet him down so I could finish. "I'm not saying I'll want to, but if you'd be happier than I will. I just want you to know that you have choices and you are free to choose whatever you want. I…"

I stopped for a moment before steeling my nerves. "I will eventually go and travel to get my memories. And I'll be training a team, a family, to make sure I can do so safely. And you are free to stay with us regardless of whether you'll fight or not." I looked him in the eye.

"But I want you with me. You're my first partner, and I'd be lying if I said I'd be fine without you. I think we can be stronger together, especially if we're pushing ourselves to get better. What do you say?"

The doubt and nervousness I had seen in Inkay's eyes were gone immediately. Now, there was resolution. I hadn't fully realized it, but Inkay and I had already bonded. We didn't do much except do what essentially amounted to chores, explore Santalune City, and eat. But Inkay had struggled to find any type of food before meeting me, and I had made good on my promise of making sure he was fed. I provided food and he helped keep me grounded in my situation. We were taking care of each other already. That wouldn't change if he didn't want to fight and grow strong.

"Inkay," he said, nodding and staring with a seriousness I wasn't expecting. 

He accepted.

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A/N: What did y'all think of the battles? Also, is this a hint that we're going on an actual journey? I guess we'll see ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )