Pokemon Trainer Vicky

Chapter 17

We split up. Zelos marching off probably for Fuchsia, or Saffron city. Hopefully Ash will have dealt with Sabrina before she gets there.

But I walked the opposite way. After another call to my parents to let them know I was going to begin some more training. I headed into the mountains around Celadon City finding a good quiet spot that should last until the week is over, it’s not like we would be making lots of explosions like Draco Meteor this time.

Where before I had trained for power, without realizing that only half solved the problem, this time I was going to train my Pokemons skill.

Zelos had given me an idea with her target training. Forcing the Pokemon to create attack patterns that would be faster than just smashing through things. It honestly reminded me of sword training, learning forms so you can instinctively attack and defend.

My Pokemon needed that but more. After all! We were Team Legendary!

"So is everyone ready?" I called out earning firm nods from my team.

All four of them were in a square. Arcanine to Milotic. Milotic to Chansey, Chansey to Dragonair, and Dragonair to Arcanine.

Each had a target on their body. A cloth ribbon in different colors. Red for Arcanine, Blue for Milotic, Purple for Dragonair, and Pink for Chansey.

Chansey loved her little ribbon, and I had a feeling that anyone that even came close to touching her new bling was going to have a tough time, since the goal was for each Pokemon to only hit the ribbon of their opponent, without being hit in turn by their aggressor.

Dodge and accuracy training. Also a way to help them pick up different attack patterns with their moves, instead of just smashing everything aside. It was partially done under Gravity. Since it would be unfair for Chansey to have to split her focus, but I knew she would activate it whenever she could.

The Goddess of Gains would not be denied.

But there was one more trick to it. I didn’t want to totally rely on my team having to guess their movements. So I added one more idea that had only taken a short stop at the Celadon department store.

"Okay everyone! Follow the beat!" I called out as I hit the play button on the boom box.

The sound of music filling the clearing as my Pokemon began dancing. While attacking and dodging.

I giggled at how silly some of them looked, although I made sure to stifle it so they couldn’t hear me. Milotics bouncing snake dance I literally couldn’t look at or else I might laugh too loud and hurt his feelings.

What can I say, Coordinators had given me an idea. I think it was Serena in the anime that had a dancing Eevee. It eventually evolved into a Sylveon but more importantly, it was surprisingly difficult to hit in battle even as en Eevee. It’s dancing movements giving it a really unpredictable movement style.

I wanted my own Pokemon to have a more erratic movement in combat. A way of moving that altered the pace of their movement in ways the enemy would have trouble predicting.

Honestly it was sorta half giving up. If I couldn’t get my pokemon the skill because I was too dense to figure out good training program, I would just make it so Pokemon that were super skilled couldn’t predict my brawlers movement!

So this was Five training styles all at once! Power with Gravity! Skill by moderating their attacks to only hit the targets. Dodging with Music! Endurance. Because it was going to be tough to keep it up for long periods. And Counter Shield training, because the goal was to dodge or block the attack from hitting their target!

Thankfully Celadons department store had a ton of stuff to buy including all the food and vitamins my team needed. And so Fire blazed, Water swirled, Dragon power roared, and Chansey giggled.

Cause she was awesome.

And my team trained.

—--

Positions changed after every round. When my Pokemon needed a break I went to work. Chansey of course healed everyone, but that wasn’t all that they would need after such an intense training session.

Chansey and I would take each of them and run them through a medical check. Checking muscles, cooling them off, making sure they were hydrating, if their muscles were still sore after Chanseys healing I would even give them a massage to try and relieve any lingering pain.

Pokemon training was more than just yelling moves at them after all. I was checking Milotics fins earning a purring "Miiii!" From him at my attention after a few rounds. He had taken to using his fins to ’bounce’ him a bit on dry land, to add to his avoidance dance. It was a good idea, but it was definitely wearing him out. Despite his fins made for swimming, lifting his entire bulk over and over on dry land in Gravity was taking its toll.

"I’m not seeing any muscle issues Milotic. Looks like you are just stretching the muscles in ways you never had before. We will have Chansey give you another heal after, but she is resting. So just try not to use your fins. Rest them for now." I tell him as I rub my thumbs into his fin ears. Finding the muscle and trying to soothe it.

"Milo-Milotic."

"Yeah I know it hurts buddy. You did great though. You really forced Dragonair to struggle just to get an attack anywhere near your scarf." I tell him earning another purr as he enjoyed my attention.

I looked up to see my team resting. Dragonair was siddled close by in the river, apparently enjoying the way the slow moving river ran over her sore muscles. Arcanine was completely passed out on her side snoring as her legs kicked a little.

Doggy dreams. How cute!

Chansey was resting her feet in the water as she lay back. Her poor feet must hurt from all the movement under heavy Gravity.

I guess having her jumping around in Gravity was a little much for her little feet.

Still I had seen amazing improvement in just the few days we had been doing this. It helped that we did it multiple times a day. I mean my Pokemon were eager for the training… Well Arcanine and Dragonair were. Milotic was perfectly content being a lazy fish. And Chansey? Well the Goddess of Gains was more than happy to both help and train. She was funny like that.

But Arcanine had been working herself ragged to improve. My poor girl had taken it a bit personally that she had been defeated in the gym battles. Aside from Cerulean.

Trying to explain that it was normal for Pokemon to not defeat entire teams of Gym leaders, top Pokemon hadn’t quite landed. She had refused to accept it. After all, my dog wanted to be Legendary. That is what I promised her after all.

It was kinda cute how much she was a battle junkie. I would just have to do my best to make sure she gets there.

Of course hiding outside Celadon in a forest, making lots of noise does eventually draw attention. As I continued stroking Milotics fins, I heard voices approaching.

I frowned. I really didn’t want to be disturbed right now. At least no one had seen the actual training. I continued soothing Milotic as I looked towards where the voices were coming from.

"Which way?" A voice called out and I frowned as a few moments later I heard a Pokemon reply and the ruffling of bushes.

My pokemon had noticed of course. Even Arcanine had stirred awake at the sound of unfamiliar voices and was sitting up looking focused.

You could take the dog out of the police academy, but not the police academy training out of the dog.

A moment later a Raticate slipped out of the bushes looking startled at seeing my team all focused on it. As it let slip a startled "Rat!" As it stilled. Getting the attention of its trainer. Two people slipped out of the bushes behind the Raticate looking surprised at seeing an array of rare pokemon.

All was quiet for a bit before the Blonde girl scoffed. "See! I told you the Arcanine tracks went this way!"

"Well I have to give it to you. You were right." The male agreed with a chuckle. "It only took us a few months." He seemed to joke at her earning a scowl.

"As if there is anyone else in Kanto that could track an Arcanine. You are lucky you are teamed with me."

"I suppose I am. So you are the one huh?" The man asked turning back towards me. "The Trainer that has an Arcanine."

"This is my team, yeah. I’m Vicky. Can I help you?"

"You might." The male called out with a laugh. "We’ve been tracking your Arcanine for a while now. Did you really have to lead us all over Kanto?"

"We?" The woman asked eyebrow raised.

"My lovely partner has been tracking you." He offers with a smile as an apology.

"For what? I don’t think I know you." I tell them something about the way they were looking at me… Yeah I didn’t trust these two. I patted Milotic on his head as I stood up, ready to battle if it came down to it.

What was up with these two that were making me so uncomfortable… I think I recognized them?

"You don’t know us yet..." The man said with a shrug as he reached at his belt and grabbed a Pokeball.

"Agreed. I suppose we will just have to introduce ourselves! Go Tentacruel!" She called out, as her partner moved at the same time.

"Go Cloyster!"

"Haha!" The two laughed as their Pokemon materialized and I readied for battle. My Pokemon looked suddenly more than willing to teach these two a lesson.

But then suddenly they shifted, grabbing the mountain hiking gear they had been carrying and throwing it aside.

Revealing a familiar dark outfit underneath.

"Prepare for Trouble!"

"And Make it Double!"

Ah that is why my bad feeling was. I grimaced and as my Pokemon read my unease as they gathered around ready to battle. As the two Team Rocket members both spoke the next line of the Motto. Arcanines growl a reverb backdrop as they continued.

"Here’s our mission, so you better listen!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We’re Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night."

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

"Arcanine! Extreme speed grab! Milotic Ice Beam, slow them down! Dragonair! Dragon Rush! Chansey! Gravity!"

"W-wait! You can’t use so many pokemon that’s cheating!" Cassidy cried out as my team all began moving.

"Yeah! That’s our job!"

I ignored the peanut gallery.

Team Rocket. Pokemon Thieves and general pains in the ass. Did they think I was going to treat them like a Gym Challenge?

My Pokemon didn’t hesitate much to the Surprise of the two Rocket Members. Their Pokemon reacted quickly, even as Arcanine slammed into Tentacruel causing the two of them to break off from the fight. Arcanines teeth firmly gripped on tentacle as she started running. The sound of the Pokemon smashing into trees as Arcanine hauled it along only distracted me for a moment.

Cloyster had snapped shut as the attacks rammed into it. Ice building up along the ground freezing it in place keeping it from moving, as Dragonair slammed down with a little roar smashing it through the ice and then into the frozen ground.

Cloysters Shell making a harsh shrieking noise at the hits. Chansey though hadn’t aimed at the Pokemon. Gravity slammed down over the two Rocket members, Butch and Cassidys calls to their pokemon were stifled as they slammed to the ground.

"Don’t forget the Raticate! I called out to Milotic who switched targets from the Cloyster. Raticate had been hesitating not sure what to do without an order, but seeing Milotic focus on him, his fang began glowing bright.

Hyper Fang.

"Milotic Aqua Tail!"

Milotics Aqua Tail was an interesting move. It created a whirlpool of water around his tail when he attacks.

Before this, I had only really focused on his physical power with the attack, but with Zelos giving us advice we had changed that! Milotic had been training for the last few days on not just smashing through everything, but instead using his tail as a sword.

Hyper Fang wasn’t simply smashed aside, instead it was deflected Aqua tail hammering against it at the perfect angle that Raticate found itself redirected almost directly upwards.

The angle was a little off unfortunately. Milotic was still working on it. Unlike Serperior who could have launched it into the air and then had time to prepare a second strike as it fell. Raticate was knocked a bit too far away.

"Ice beam where it lands!" I called out with a grin, as the Rat landed with a crash only to be instantly coated in ice.

Dragonair was still smashing Cloyster, her shrieks of real anger entwining with the hammering staccato that echoed from Cloysters shell at her strikes.

Chansey on the other hand had instantly focused on the reall threat.

Both members of Team Rocket not only found themselves under heavy Gravity, but Chansey standing over them with her hands on her hips. Her face even bloated out a little as if she was puffing out her cheeks in anger.

So cute!

Of course Team Rocket didn’t think so when she raised her little hand up.

Which then glowed white.

"H-hey, we can talk abou-OOF!"

"N-Not the face! It’s too beautiful to be-OOF!"

"Double Slap." I couldn’t help but comment as both Rocket members now had massive imprints on each cheek.

Well that and a date with unconsciousness, because Chansey had just slapped the shit out of them both.

Nice.

The fact they were foaming at the mouth? Well I am sure they would be fine. I wandered over. And after a moment grabbing their Pokeballs I returned Cloyster, who almost looked relieved at being freed from Dragonair, and Raticate. Tentacruel took a little longer. Arcanine did eventually wander back into the clearing tail wagging happily as she dragged the Tentacruel that had long since lost consciousness around like a chew toy.

I returned it as well, and then helped Chansey heal Arcanine of Poison. Silly dog.

—--

"So these two tried to capture your Pokemon?"

"They called themselves members of Team Rocket." I tell Officer Jenny back in Celadon. The two idiots had woken up a few minutes after I started dragging them to Celadon. Their attempt to run had ended with doggy slobber. Arcanine pinning them down without much trouble. With Milotic and Dragonair wrapping them up we had all headed back to the city. Listening to the idiots blathering on and on about how I was a twerp and I would pay for this had gotten old quick.

Their Pokemon Chansey and I had looked over, the three had looked pretty terrified. I had even given them some food, just something tasty to help calm them down. They had been really hesitant at first, but giving them some food had warmed them right up.

The barked orders from Team Rocket to them had been ignored once Arcanine had started growling.

With that I had turned over Team Rocket and their Pokemon to Officer Jenny. Hopefully their Pokemon would be released, or if they were stolen Pokemon returned to their owners.

"Well… You certainly cause a stir. Alright we will deal with them from here. Good job. Pokemon thieves are a serious threat, especially Team Rocket."

"Thanks Officer Jenny."

She patted my head causing my big sunhat to flop over my eyes as she headed back into the Police station.

Whew. I sighed, feeling my shoulders dropped. That could have gone way worse. I was really relieved that we hadn’t been blindsided.

Those two had just tried to steal my Pokemon.

My fist clenched, I might have some serious words with Giovanni in the future.

I shook out my fist, letting all the anxiety flow out of me. My team was fine, they were strong, and wouldn’t be taken easily, if at all.

A little bored of running off into the forest, I decided I would take a break from that for the next few days until Erika’s Gym was open.

I headed to the Pokemon Center, dropped off my team to get a checkup as I settled into a comfy one room suite.

A shower with clean water and not warmed river or Milotic water was exactly what I needed.

After that I took my team and headed towards the battle squares.

You would be amazed at how many kids wanted to battle their Pokemon that either were too young to have their Journey, or had come home to live a more normal life but still wanted to give their Pokemon some battles.

Many of them would try to keep their Pokemon in shape to run through the Indigo League after their first year, despite heading home to return to school.

So as I approached I could already see a ton of people hanging around the battle squares in a nearby park. Since we were in a big city they even had seating bleachers rising up around the squares where plenty of people were resting, some quite old as they enjoyed the battles taking place.

It still struck me sometimes just how integral Pokemon Battling was to this world. It was like all the sports fans in the entire world, only cared about one Sport. Pokemon Battling.

Not that other things didn’t exist. Contests were popular, if not hugely popular in Kanto. But Battling? Battling was eternal.

Walking into the square I wasn’t paid any attention at first, after all, the Ryhorn that was battling a Nidorina was taking up everyone’s attention. The two Pokemon battling it out, their trainers, both were probably a little older than me shouting orders.

It was nice. Everyone was cheering and enjoying the battle. And the Pokemon? I could tell right away they were having a blast. Ryhorn was practically smiling as it plowed the Nidorina with a tackle, while Nidorina was swift to jump back to her feet. She refused to lose.

It was great.

I took a minute to look around. Picking my first target. I wasn’t about to bully some pre-journey kid. But I was here to finally get some real battles under my belt. What better place than where everyone who had already done their Journey tended to gather?

My eyes instantly honed in on a group of punks. I smirked. They were all wearing dark clothes, and looked like they were troublemakers, but they were also older than me by at minimum a few years.

Better even? Everyone was avoiding them. That meant they had a reputation in battles, or just in general.

Perfect.

"Hi!" I chirped as I approached one of them, a guy who looked like every Dark Type Trainer. Which was hilarious since we had so few of them in Kanto. His big dark jacket and pants all matched in color, and his hair was spiky as if he was mimicking his Pokemon.

Considering he had a Houndoom on his jacket, and his hair looked like horns I could guess.

"Huh? don’t know you." He muttered loudly catching the attention of the group as they all turned towards me, with smirks after a moment.

"Nope. I’m an out of towner. Waiting for Erika’s Gym to finish getting repaired. Mind telling me what the rules are for battles? I want to give my team some exercise."

"Ho? This little kid wants to battle us huh?" I got a few nasty smiles, from his group, but a few happy ones too.

Everyone wanted to battle someone new after all. To test themselves, to win, to prove they were good trainers.

"You sure you shouldn’t be talking to the kiddy side?" He asked, pointing across to a smaller battle square where kids who hadn’t had their Journey were battling. Mostly with unevolved, or even uncaptured Pokemon.

Funnily enough City Pokemon would often hang around the battle squares looking for a fight. The fact that the kids that lost would often take the Pokemon to the Center where they would get healed and a meal out of it plus the experience in battling without having to worry about severe injury attracted a lot of the battle junky Pokemon.

Plus some would get attached to kids and be their starter. Not every kid got a Region starter after all.

"I’m sure! My team is pretty strong. I’ve already got three badges you know!" I say, purposefully sounding childish. The first battle would inevitably be a curbstomp. Especially since I was planning on focusing on one of my team to get her some experience.

"Hah! Alright. C’mon kid. Let this Senior trainer show you what’s what!" He chuckled evilly, but I grinned like the sun had just come out of the clouds.

"Perfect!" I chirped happily. Earning a confused look from the punk. His Houndoom jacket kept amusing me. His Houndoom wouldn’t do much against Dragonair. She was so used to fighting Arcanine, it wouldn’t even be a fight.

We waited for the battle to end, the Rhyhorns trainer pulling off an amazing Pound attack that flattened the Nidorina and left the two trainers wandering to the Pokemon Center. Before anyone else could claim the square. My new friend sauntered out every inch of him screaming punk.

It made me laugh. He was way too silly looking to really pull off the dangerous look.

"Alright kid. Let’s do this! Don’t think I will accept you backing out!"

"Same! Fight me with everything you have! My Team needs some exercise!" I call out happily earning a scowl and a few laughs from his people at how little his attempt at intimidation worked.

"Go Houndoom!" He cried out his evolved Doggo landing in a flash, its dark flames causing my nose to crinkle at the smell. It howled long and loud. The fact that the kiddy square Pokemon all jumped at the noise and backed away told me that this guy might have abused his experience a bit more than I expected.

Well good thing I was basically using Prison Yard rules.

Well I moved my hand away from Dragonairs Pokeball. I had intended on giving her the battles first. I wanted to give her more experience in battles, maybe pushing her towards an evolution.

But you don’t send out a Canine type to challenge my team without facing the Alpha Dog.

"Well stop hesitating! Just send out your Starter or something I want to get this over with!" He called out and I nodded. Grabbing Arcanines ball.

I could literally feel her perk up inside as I chose her, her eagerness almost causing the Pokeball to vibrate.

"Go!"

See. Just like Mightyena. Houndour and Houndoom didn’t really live in Kanto. They were Johto Pokemon, and there again was a reason why they didn’t live here. Growlithe would be their main competitor. Unlike Poochyena, and Mightyena though. Houndour’s advantages meant they weren’t wiped out. First they had an easy evolution. Hounddoom like this one, would be a bit much for a Growlithe to take out. Which gave the Johto dogs an advantage, second?

They too fought in packs.

Both species had probably been competing for areas as long as they existed, but there was a reason Houndooms had never managed to wipe out Growlithe from Johto. It wasn’t that Intimidate knocked out Houndooms Attack, leaving them mostly their Special Attack. Because Growlithe were just as likely as Houndoom to have Flash Fire, meaning both Canines could be immune to fire attacks.

It was because for as rare as they might be. Arcanine exist. Just that. Their mere existence meant Houndoom would never be the top dog in the Kanto-Johto regions.

Of course Arcanine had heard the howl. Had listened in her Pokeball to another dog, daring to claim dominion.

The moment I threw the ball. My hands were already covering my ears.

"HOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLL!" Arcanine howled thankfully not the move, just pure noise a roar. The battle square felt like it shook at the length of her howl. I could see every Pokemon and Trainer in the area jerk towards the battle, even those that had just been walking down the street were suddenly very focused on what had just happened.

The poor punk across from me, looked like someone had just killed his dog.

Don’t worry! I will make sure Arcanine doesn’t!

Just a little light battling!

Arcanine finished her howl, bending down low, her mouth opened, as she exhaled fire, her fur nearly lighting up with flame, her Counter Shield training had been actually enhancing her fire abilities a lot. She still wasn’t as amazing as she could be, but her fire was getting stronger. She glared at the Houndoom, which was looking anything but confident.

I hadn’t really noticed it, but Arcanine had been getting a lot bigger over the last few months. Constant battle training, and good eating had earned her a good bit of extra height.

And weight of course, but that was all muscle. All of it. Every inch.

"Hey you ready? We are in a battle!" I call out cutely, diving the dagger in even further by laying my cheek on my palm. "Unless you don’t want to get this over with like you said?" I teased.

My cute confused look turned sinister as I smiled all teeth matching the look of my dog as we grinned sharply. "But don’t worry… I won’t accept you backing out." I call out as Arcanine nearly burned with energy just standing there ready for the order.

I could see the boy swallow, before shaking his head. Trying to un-psych himself.

"That’s right. It’s on! Houndoom! Dark Pulse!"

"Counter Shield." I called out, watching as Arcanine nearly blurred, the energy beam passing beside her as she both dodged the attack, and hammered at it with her flame, weakening the attack as it was forced to push against the flame.

"Extreme Speed!"

I didn’t even need to add anything special to it. Arcanine blitzed, and Houndoom who was building up a second Dark Pulse had a moment to realize it was about to be in for a load of pain as Arcanine tackled it.

The Houndoom yelped as it was bodied, landing with a roll nearly at the feet of his Trainer before managing to scramble to its feet.

It already looked wrecked. It was breathing heavily and had the look of someone that was about to ask for the number of the train that just hit them.

"H-Houndoom! Nasty Plot! Then Dark Pulse again!" I watched as Houndoom suddenly surrounded itself in purple energy looking furious and dangerous, and then a dark pulse began building, but it was much larger than it was before.

"Dodge practice!" I called out and Arcanine knew what to do instantly, as the Pulse of power ripped across the field I wanted to whistle. The Houndoom wasn’t a pushover. That was a strong Dark attack the energy seemed to sear the ground as it passed, maybe a special move? I thought, A mix of Dark energy and fire? That was interesting.

But it never even came close. Arcanine had spent most of a week working on dodging incoming attacks. The black beam that erupted out from Houndooms mouth was avoided in an absolutely beautiful side flip.

She bounced to her right, literally doing a complete flip in a single easy motion as casual as I would do a skip, and the beam ripped past her missing entirely. The whole crowd went wild at the sight.

"W-what?" The punk called out shocked. It had been so fast that Arcanine had been a blur as she dodged.

I grinned, skill training had definitely helped! We still had a long way to go of course, but Arcanine especially had managed huge improvements on her battle skill. Mostly because even Dragonair didn’t have the same determination to battle and improve that Arcanine had.

My doggo was an adrenaline junkie!

"Smog!" The Punk yelled out, and immediately, purple smoke began trailing out of the Houndooms mouth as it made ready, but that wasn’t happening. I didn’t want to deal with a poisoned pup!

"Flamethrower! Burn that smog away!"

Arcanine exhaled a long blast of fire. Unlike how we usually train she wasn’t narrowing the blast at all. Simply expelling it all to burn the growing purple smoke that was erupting from the Houndoom.

"Now!" The punk yelled out to my surprise. A moment later through the fire and smoke came a streak of dark power.

Dark pulse! Sneaky! He definitely had some experience! He used the blocked view to charge up an attack and didn’t even say it.

His Houndoom was certainly well trained.

My Arcanine was a Legend.

Even as the pulse burst through the flamethrower, Arcanine was gone. Vanishing in a near static like blur as she moved. Jumping high into the air. It might as well have been fly. The pulse blew through her previous location, and as the smoke and fire from the attacks cleared no one could see where Arcanine was.

But I knew.

I grinned. "Extreme Speed! End it!" I call out earning surprised looks, as the punk told his Houndoom to dodge.

It didn’t matter. How could your Pokemon dodge a move that could carry Arcanine across the entire arena in a blink?

She landed suddenly behind the Houndoom, the slight click of her paws the only noise the Houndoom could hear, nearly face to face with the punk before she vanished right before his eyes.

Houndoom cried out as it was struck, once more rolling and skidding across the ground before ending up almost at my feet this time.

Exact opposite of where it had been.

The crowd was quiet. Everyone was watching Houndoom, wondering if it would get up, but as the moments passed it didn’t.

It was definitely done.

"I think your Houndoom is done." I call out earning a jerking jump from the punk who definitely looked shocked.

"Right." He finally said returning his Houndoom. "Didn’t expect that." He finally said simply giving me a nod as he turned and walked over to the Pokemon Center.

Of course that meant the attention all turned to me.

"I’m more than happy to battle anyone that wants!" I call out, earning plenty of eager challengers.

Of course to their disappointment I returned Arcanine.

Until I threw out Dragonair anyways.