30 New Discoveries (3/3)

[Words: 2053]

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Eyes bloodshot, Izan stared at the top of his tent as sweat dripped down his back. He blinked and then groaned in annoyance.

It happened again.

Ever since the Nidorino incident that was foggy in his memory, he kept having the same dream. Usually, he would be content to ignore it, but it kept happening again and again.

At this point, if it weren't a sign or something like that, he'd be pissed.

The fact that the dream wasn't finished was a huge part of the reason it was annoying for him.

All he could remember was a silhouette of a Pokemon punching a tree to no avail. Following the dream, he walked up to the Pokemon and put his hand on its shoulder. With a shudder, the Pokemon reared back and punched one last time, punching the tree into oblivion.

Yet each part of the dream was split up. Just him walking up to the Pokemon took a whole eight hours' worth of sleep.

For a while, he felt like an unreliable clairvoyant. Like each dream was getting him a closer vision of the future. But by the time he got the full vision, it would've already happened.

Beyond annoying.

Now, there were only two options about what this dream meant, in his mind. Three, really, but he didn't want to encourage the thought that he was crazy.

No, there had to be something real there. Either he was being pranked by a ghost or something, or it was a message of some kind.

A message that said what? To go blow up a tree with a punch? It was possible with his weird power, but it was…

Izan sat up. 'Wait.'

What if it wasn't a message, but a tutorial? Could he extend his odd strengthening power to his Pokemon?

His excitement at the thought vanished the moment he looked down. Nothing was there with him.

'Where the hell is Sandshrew?' She usually would be balled up, sleeping on his chest to stop him from tossing and turning.

Her weight wasn't enough to physically stop him, but her being close to him was calming enough. It was why he decided to let her stay on his shoulder 90% of the time.

His patience was usually paper thin. But she sat there, reminding him that he wasn't ever alone. It was comforting to have someone, even a Pokemon, always on your side.

And even if he did have friends, like Aurora, Pokemon were more trustworthy than people.

Izan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, a deep sigh if you will. His lips thinned as he grumbled to himself and pulled himself out of the tent.

Even if he was slightly irritated that he had to get up in the middle of the night, he was quiet about it. Lora's snoring was barely audible. Joe's snoring was unsurprisingly loud. And Robin's snoring was… not present.

And her tent was open. Did she…?

A flickering of his eyes confirmed she did not steal his Pokeball. For a second he was about to go apeshit that she took Sandshrew from him.

She still could've tried it, but Sandshrew would've raised hell if she did. The only person who even could rob him was Lora. Countering psychic abilities never worked that well.

Plus her bag was still sitting there. Robin probably just went out to take a piss.

But, if none of them did anything, then that meant Sandshrew was sneaking away on her own. And the only way she could do that is…

"I knew it." He muttered, staring at the small tracks she left in the dirt. With an amused huff, he followed after her trail.

She'd been trying to use the Silent Step to creep away, but her body wasn't that of a human's. Unlike a human, she had claws. Claws that made the tiniest divots in the ground and gave her away.

Izan often played willfully ignorant, but he wasn't that oblivious. Since she pretty much never went in her Pokeball, her presence was a constant in his life now.

And having her suddenly disappear in the middle of the night? Of course, he would notice that, even in his sleep.

So he let it happen. If she didn't return within a certain time, he'd let himself panic a little. But she always seemed to come back. Happier, and a bit dirtier, but she came back nonetheless.

Maybe she was nocturnal? That would make a lot of sense, now that he thought about it.

The sudden wildly swishing air and the thunks of tree bark broke him out of his thoughts.

"Shrew." Sandshrew cursed under her breath. At least, it looked like a curse. She backed up a bit from a tree she was staring at, preparing to do something.

'So she's been training in secret? This should be interesting.' Izan crossed his arms, content to watch for a bit.

In a burst of movement, she dashed zigzag toward the tree, her claws lighting up with a bright white. Each step she took was perfectly silent, leaving behind small holes in the ground.

She wasn't particularly fast, but it was much faster than you'd think an animal her size could go.

Reaching three, she slashed downward. Then to left with her other claw. Up. Right. Diagonal.

Using the momentum from her attack, she spun in the air and landed on the tree. Kicking off of it, she pushed herself into the air. Flipping backward, she spat out globs of glowing blue mud one after another.

The [Mud Shot] attacks hit dead center of where she slashed, denting the tree. But she wasn't finished.

"Saaaaand-"

Aligning her tail down, she purposefully shifted her weight to make her hit the ground faster.

"-Shrew!"

With a loud crash, she slammed her tail down, kicking up dust from the ground and whipping up a [Sandstorm].

It barely had any energy, so the storm dissipated after a few seconds, but it was a good idea. Her panting made it clear she didn't have much energy to give after all that.

She must've been trying out different attack sequences for a while now.

'Damn. Pokemon are way scarier than I thought. And did she figure out [Fury Swipes] on her own or is that just many [Scratch] attacks?'

It wasn't that complex of a combo, but she came up with it without any of his input. A fact that he would take full advantage of to create his long-term goal.

A self-autonomous fighting style for each of his Pokemon.

Everyone knew Pokemon had much better battle instincts than people. With a singular movement technique and a few moves, she already came up with the bones of a fighting style.

If he could teach her more techniques on top of some tactics, she wouldn't even need his input during battle. Or at least, it would be akin to the relationship between a boxer and their coach.

The boxer wouldn't need specific directions anymore. General advice like 'keep your guard up' would be the only thing necessary.

And unless she was an outlier, a kinesthetic genius, all his Pokemon would learn in the same way. His only job would be to provide techniques, attacks, and training methods.

It only made sense to him. Trainers trained Pokemon. They shouldn't have to tell their Pokemon how to fight during battle.

He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of a team like that. With a smile, he started clapping at her display.

Startled, she jumped before settling down upon realizing it was him.

"That was amazing, Sandshrew! I'm impressed," He complimented, crouching and putting his hand on her head. She leaned into it before he even did anything.

For all her ferociousness and pride, her one weakness, head scritches, would never fade.

"But… you have to stop training in the middle of the night like this." He lightly admonished.

He didn't have to make it a big deal. It was pretty clear early on that she took every word of his as gospel. As long as it wasn't something ridiculous like being released into the wild, she'd listen.

She nodded instantly, and only tilted her head afterward. If she was planning on listening to him as always, she was likely just confused about the 'why'.

"Well, it's not healthy for one. When you train, your body sort of hurts afterward, right? Like a burn that somehow feels good." She nodded, following along. "Well, that burn is your body ripping apart, and then building back stronger. The building process happens during sleep well, so you need to sleep to get stronger. ."

Of course, that might not apply so strictly to her since she was a Pokemon, but he wasn't taking chances. If Pokemon were like Saiyans, then she'd be pulling a Vegeta, and look where that got him.

Always second best, trying his hardest to catch up to Goku.

No, a good diet and a long rest after intense training were the way to go. Not torturing herself out of some misplaced sense of urgency.

She mulled over his words for a minute before she slumped with a reluctant nod.

Izan frowned. "Don't like that, huh? What, is there not enough hours in the day for training?" To his and her surprise, she nodded with a shine in her eyes.

That must've been the exact thing she was thinking about.

He shrugged though, acting like it was on purpose. "It's easier to guess what you're thinking as we spend more time together. Anyway, don't worry about training."

She tilted her head again. "Shrew?"

"Why? Because when I finish my ultimate training method, you're gonna wish you could sleep all the time." He gave her a very charming smile.

He would gracefully ignore the fact that she shuddered at him. Was it something he said?

"Anyway, I came out here for a reason. Do you think you have enough energy left for a [Mud Shot]?"

Her eyes blazed with curiosity, but instead of asking she took a deep breath before nodding.

"Good. When I say 'now' I want you to let one out with everything you've got right there, alright?" He pointed at the tree next to the one she just finished attacking.

Unquestioning, she glared at the tree in preparation.

Izan himself closed his eyes, focusing on the energy within. It bubbled in his gut, a complete contrast from its otherwise still nature.

Like flicking on a light switch, he hooked onto that feeling, forcing it to listen. Filling his body with a surge of something that he couldn't quite describe. A pleasant, yet painful buzz of energy.

It dulled the senses, blocking them all out to selfishly refill their spots with itself. Sound, smell, taste, and touch, all disappear one by one.

For a single exhilarating instant, everything ceases to exist.

And from that abyss of boundless power, there is light.

Almost instinctively, he forced all that churning power into the only outlet he can. A link between him and the Pokemon in front of him that he wasn't even aware of was always there.

His eyes snapped open with a piercing gold.

"Now."

Without hesitation, Sandshrew took a deep breath, rearing her head back in preparation. The sheer amount of mud causes her gut to bulge outward.

And in one swift movement, she opened her mouth and let out not a glob or a shot of glowing blue mud.

But a stream.

Ripping through the air violently, the stream rammed the tree with a loud crunch. After a second, the mud stream churned through the tree like a drill, tearing out the other side.

Slamming into another tree in the distance, the stream finally petered off. As it does, it left behind not only a hole but a dent in the second tree.

Izan stared, stunned.

Sandshrew staggers, but Izan's stupor breaks and he catches her before she passes out. That.. attack, truly took everything out of her.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Izan picked her up. Slowly, he stood up as a wave of fatigue hit him. It took everything out of him, as well.

Turning, he started his way back down to the camp.

"I… will think about that tomorrow."

A/N: Bit of a longer chapter. I feel like I messed up the pacing of the story. Let me know if you agree, but I don't think there's anything I can do about it. I shall just continue writing.

Random Question: I don't know if I've asked this already, but what's your favorite region? The only reason I'm writing a Kanto story is 'cause I know it back and forth down to the tiniest detail but my favorite is Unova.