Monday, July 25th
5:30 A.M. Route 48
Mentions: Naka (Merciless Medic)
Alright. Stay calm. Maybe pokemon reacted the same way animals back on his world did. Only....they were smarter than the animals back home. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. These birds were pokemon, right? Raising his hands in a defensive manner, Theo would point towards the Fearow “You're smarter than the average bird. You can understand me, can't you? The words I'm saying?” The Fearow cawed an angry caw at Theo, puffing his chest out and flapping his wings in an attempt to make himself appear more menacing...not that he needed it. Theo flinched backwards, his Shinx hissing an angry hiss at the birds. “Ok. Ok. I get it. I'm leaving. I just...I want to make a deal. I leave you some food, you don't attack me. Deal?” It wasn't the same as being able to help them get back to sleep, but maybe it would be enough to quell their anger anyway?
His offer was met with another angry caw from the Fearow, even Theo having a feeling he knew what that caw meant, given what happened next. Two of the four Spearow took off from the branch simultaneously, their movements wild and erratic. Not from having just woken up, but from inexperience. They were the weaker of his small flock, and Fearow decided they needed to get some extra training in for when they lead their own flocks. “That's a no.” Theo sighed, plucking one of the Safari Balls from his belt and tossing it in the air. If nothing else, he had read some of the study material Naka had linked him via texts.
Emerging from her Safari Ball and taking form between the would be attackers and her human, his Rapidash took form and neighed angrily as Shinx hopped on her back, baring his fangs and letting sparks of electricity flow between them in an attempt to <<Intimidate>> the would be attackers. The Spearow duo broke formation as a sudden gust of wind struck both Shinx and Eos, the pair freezing in place for just a second before their forms turned to red energy and were recalled to their balls. “Uh..wh--” Theo was cut off as two more balls on his belt opened of their own accord, both Krem and Ro taking the place of the once present Shinx and Eos. The two knew something was going on and were ready for combat, though they were both surprised to be paired up with another pokemon. Krem because he was still salty about the way the Riolu had treated him the day prior, and Ro because she thought she was enough to take on all of their attackers by herself.
Theo got the answer to his unasked question in the form of a cawing laugh from the Fearow in the background. It had somehow forcibly switched his pokemon out for others. How had it done that? “W̷̛̫̦h̵͇̩̀̚i̴̜͕͌͆ṙ̵̩ľ̶͇͈w̵͚̖̐̈í̵̜̙̒n̸̥̝͘d̶̜̉̈ͅ” the mechanical voice of his Rotom Phone answered, Theo making a mental note to ask the Rotom if he was part psychic type later. By now the two Spearow had resumed their incoming assault, one swooping down to strike Krem with a <<Peck>> attack while the other hovered haphazardly above Ro, trying to get a better idea of how to attack the fighting type. Head on didn't seem like a very good idea, but he'd have to get close eventually.
Looping in to an arc the Spearow folded its wings in at its peak to gain some speed, then forcing itself as far forward as hard as it could towards the bipedal water gator pokemon. Seeing it coming his way Krem wasted no time, not even waiting for Theo to give orders before firing off a <<Hydro Pump>> attack at the bird, but much like the first time the power of the attack was too much for the Totodile to handle, and so it was sent backwards and missed its mark entirely. It wasn't what Theo was going to order be done, but it did force the Spearow to have to spread its wings to avoid crashing in to the ground, Theo shaking his head to try and clear it. Hydro Pump was too much for Krem to handle all at once. Wait, maybe that was it. All at once.
“Krem! Use Hydro Pump, but in bursts. Like a Hydro Pump....rapid fire...somethingoranother!!” Theo called, The Totodile looking over his shoulder to the human, then looking back to the Spearow with a smirk. Maybe the human was better for more than just food after all. The Spearow's beak began to glow white with a light that lit up the surrounding area given the time of morning, Theo having to shield his vision from it. During the day it might not have been so bad. Right now? Different story. Firing off another <<Hydro Pump>> attack, the stream of this one lasting considerably shorter than before. It still sent him back a few inches, but not as much as the first attack had. It also missed, but not by as much as the first one. Firing again, and again, and again as the Spearow flew closer with its own attack, Krem was sure he had connected with that last one! Until he and Theo both saw that the Spearow that had been hit was instead one of the ones that had hung back, its form covered in streaks of white energy. It had used an attack Theo didn't recognize as a way to block the Hydro Pump for its younger companion.
There was no time for another Hydro Pump as Krem took the Spearow's <<Peck>> attack to the face, the Spearow hitting the Totodile with the full force of his body weight behind the attack before pulling up so as not to be hit immediately with a follow up attack. It arched in a way that had Theo looking over to Ro, seeing that she was jumping in the air and trying to...catch? The Spearow that were attacking her rather than strike them. These two bird brains were nothing compared to her training back in the Safari Zone. One good hit and they'd be flying with a limp! Theo almost felt sorry for those two.
Back to Krem, Theo called out “That was a good shot, Krem! We'll work on that more later!” The Totodile smiled, feeling a warmth bubble up in his stomach. So this was a real battle. With real opponents and real battle scars to walk away from. This is what he wanted. This is what he could only have dreamed of. This was...he didn't know what it was, but he could feel it. Something deep inside him awakening, something making his reptile blood run warm. He had to keep the battle going. He had to keep this feeling alive. He had to.....he didn't know what, but he had to let it out! With a war cry like scream the Totodile jumped in to the air and let that feeling burst out from deep within, an explosion of purple energy surrounding him as he landed. The war cry was enough to make the other Spearow and even Ro look over to the Totodile. Well. Color her impressed. Maybe this young one had a bit of a fighting spirit in him after all.
“Whoa...Krem...that was awesome!!!” He wasn't even sure what it was. Was it the failed Dragon Dance from before? Was it something else? Whatever it was, it seemed to have woken something up inside Krem. Or was it the other way around? Either way, now was the time to use that newfound power. “Let's test this new power of yours out Krem! Hit it with your” he stopped for a second as he flew through his memory of what Rotom had said Krem's known moves were, settling on “Rock Slide!” Not wanting to let this newfound joy in battling but not entirely sure how to magically use the move his human had asked for, Krem instead opted to call upon the wisdom the female human had given him the day prior. Pool that feeling and imagine rocks, then send them shooting at the angry bird. He hunkered down to concentrate, which gave the Spearow duo time to recuperate and gain some distance between them and the Totodile, distance they would then use by flying in to the air before back at the water type once again using their <<Peck>> and <<Aerial Ace>> attacks.
Gathering that newfound power from the pit of his stomach Krem formed a ring of tiny white stones above his head, the stones doubling in size to about the size of shooter marbles before Krem thrust an arm forward, the stones traveling down the length of his arm before firing a stream of stones at the incoming Spearow, the two alternating positions to make themselves harder to be hit. The higher level, more experienced Spearow spread his wings to slow his descent speed without informing his lower leveled companion, who noticed only too late when he realized he hadn't felt his companion's presence behind him like he had until this point. Looking back was his biggest mistake, as it allowed Krem the chance to correct his trajectory and hit the distracted Spearow with the <<Rock Slide>> attack, the Spearow crying out in pain as it fell to the ground with a thud. The <<Rock Slide>> attack continued, Krem trailing after the second Spearow's position until he couldn't keep it up any longer, letting the attack end and his arm drop from exhaustion. The bird fled the battle scene, likely to get reinforcements. That was fine. Let them come. Krem hungered.
At the same time this was happening, Ro had determined just a few seconds in to her bout with the two Spearow that called themselves her opponents that she was far stronger than the two of them combined, but should battle them all the same to keep her own training in top form. She also determined that for all her superior strength over the two, it meant nothing if she couldn't actually land a blow on either of the bird brains. One would swoop in to get her attention, she would jump to land a hit, and then have to bat away the other one when it tried attacking her on her descent. After a few times of this she rationalized that if she wasn't here doing this much, the water gator would have no choice but to face the four birds alone. If her being here kept half that pressure off of him, then so be it.
After Krem's display of anger and power however, she realized that if she didn't keep on top of everything around her, she was going to end up falling behind the young gator, and so decided it was time to take matters in to her own hands. With her last jump she crouched, her feet both glowing white. She used the power of her <<Sky Uppercut>> to launch herself higher in to the air, then releasing that same energy that she had gathered in to her palms on to the two distracted Spearow. She hero pose landed with one leg bent beneath her, both arms outreached to either side as she stood at the same time the two Spearow hit the ground, her attention and Theo's going to the now visibly pissed off Fearow that had sat by and let his advance unit get pummeled by the likes of a human and his two smallest pokemon.
Fine. Papa Fearow always said if you want something done right, you had to do it yourself. It was just a shame the Spearow were still unconscious, or they might actually remember the most important lesson he ever tried teaching them. When in doubt, go for the human. With an angry caw that echoed and reverberated throughout the surrounding area, a caw that was also likely meant to call allies to come in addition to the Spearow that had flown off prior, the Fearow flew headlong at Theo. Compared to his Spearow underlings his movements were sleek and elegant, with no movement wasted. Every flap of his wings, every flex of his muscles pushed him forward, faster than either of the human's pokemon could react.
For Theo, it was as if time had slowed. He could see the Fearow coming, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't have super human speed to avoid it. He didn't have super human strength to knock it out of the air. And he certainly didn't have super human reflexes to dodge it at the last second. This was it. He was going to die. And there was nothing he could do about it. Instinctively Theo threw his hands up in front of himself in a defensive manner, hearing himself call out a loud “No!” but not remembering the words leaving his own throat. He stood there, waiting for the end...and when it didn't come, Theo dared to open one eye to see what was taking so long. Was the Fearow going to kill him or not? To his surprise, and the surprise of all of the pokemon present, between Theo and the Fearow there was a barrier of deep blue energy separating pokemon from human, the Fearow flapping his wings furiously to keep in place while he pecked uselessly at the barrier. “What th” he found himself starting again, shaking the thought away. No time for questions!! “Krem, Ro! Together!” The two pokemon looked to one another for a second before nodding, Krem hunkering down. Ro jumped backwards, using her <<Feint>> attack to close the distance between herself and the Fearow, then her <<Blaze Kick>> to knock the bird in to the air before it had a chance to react. Once it was airborne Krem would line up and launch another <<Rock Slide>> in to the air, keeping it in place until the Fearow's body connected with the ongoing attack and was knocked in to until we meet again distance.
Now that the threat had passed Theo lowered his hands, the barrier flickering before fading from existance. Once it had Theo stumbled back, panting lightly. What was that just now? Had he done that? And if so, how? It had to have been him, because he felt more tired than he had in a while now. But there was more to it. Whatever it had been had felt...good. And not in the pleasurable way, my dirty minded reader. More in the scratching that itch you didn't know existed way. He flexed his hands while Krem came back over, his head held high in triumph as he flexed his muscles. Chuckling, Theo knelt down to the two pokemon. “You two were amazing just now. Is that what it's like to be a pokemon trainer? Ro, you knocked that big bird thing around like it was a ragdoll! And Krem! You were all pew pew pew with the Hydro Pumps. We've gotta work on that more. That was” as each pokemon were praised they puffed themselves up, basking in the compliments.
With a flash of red energy both Eos and Shinx took form, the two shaking off that just released energy. Theo smiled “You guys were great too. I thought you were going to burn the whole forest down Eos. And Shinx, that with the electric teeth thing? That was amazing. Ooh I didn't know you could do that. I need to tell Naka about this.” And maybe while Esther was around. He didn't want to show off. He wanted to...wait. He wanted to impress her? Was that right?
Unbeknownst to Theo his Rotom Phone had once again detached itself from his person and had intended to snap a photo of its owner in a precarious position to shame him with in front of his friends later, but instead caught a still of the barrier appearing in front of Theo with the Fearow pecking at it furiously, the photo already in Naka's inbox and the Rotom Phone back in Theo's pocket. “But first, I think we should get back to town before more of those things arrive. And...I'm actually really hungry now. Maybe we can score you guys some extra food before the center starts serving?” That'd be a nice treat! Once he assured them all again that he was fine Theo would recall Krem, Ro, and Eos back to their pokeballs before heading back in to town, breaking out in to a sprint when he heard the echoing crying of the now familiar Spearow call behind him.
