The lamp that was looming over the training grounds flickered as the morning fog of Saffron added to the atmosphere. It created an eerie space behind the train station, with multiple tracks clanking not too far away.
This noise was drowned out by the trainer and his Pokemon sparring. With another watching, holding a bag with its eyes staring lazily.
*Smack*
A [Low Kick] hits the trainer's leg as he smirks at his Pokemon's correct decision.
[POV: Sunny Haruto (Location: Saffron Train Station)]
"Good job, keep it up." I encourage Mankey seeing him hit my leg. Mankey who heard this got even more fired up and bounced around.
Right now we were heading somewhere before Sinnoh.
There was still 20 minutes before my train was here.
On the pig monkey's body, his arms and legs were glowing a brown hue which is what we were training. A battle style where I instruct him less on moves but more on timing as it wouldn't fit his temper.
So what was the solution?
Have him use [Low Kick] and [Karate Chop] in tandem.
This would give me more leeway when instructing Mankey. Fewer words are needed and better coordination for fighting. No hesitation when attacking being able to hit more than once, as this wasn't turned-based.
One could argue, what if fighting moves won't work.
But I'm not Ash or mentally deranged to send him out to a Pokemon he can't hit?
Mankey taking a quick step forward, goes for a [Karate Chop].
Swiftly taking a step back myself, I counter by kicking his leg. Mankey unable to dodge feels the hit and nearly falls. But he regained his balance as my palm was already before his face.
*Slap*
"Key!!!" He shouts, hitting the ground. The mad Pokemon getting straight up looked at me with a determined look.
Chuckling at this I signal him to try again.
Rushing forward to close the gap, he slows down as he looks at my stance. My guard was high up and my front foot constantly moving. Which was pretty stupid as the Pokemon was up to the pockets on my pants.
He was learning to take his time though.
This was the benefit of having a Pokemon who aspired to get stronger. None of that only training for a certain amount of time, he made it a responsibility to keep on going until he couldn't. This will create an environment for future team members to work hard.
Mankey after a bit opted to let me move first which I obliged.
Taking a small step forward, I do a basic sidekick. Mankey who saw this quickly blocked with his forearm. Seeing him about to move, a teep hits his leg causing him to pause.
Surprisingly he stood his ground and just moved parallel to myself.
Throwing a few strikes which some hit and others dodged, he finally used a kick that was blocked. Taking the chance I strike which he swiftly ducked, sending a strike of his own. Realising this I try to dodge but it nicks my jaw a little.
"Key!" He shouts in excitement to which I quickly sweep him off his feet.
"Haha, not bad!" I say observing the guy on his back. He was learning well with him starting to adapt faster to my hits. We haven't sparred much due to Pokemon battling being the priority, but Muay Thai's roots stemmed from this.
This wasn't about winning but more technique and reading the opponent. Only idiots with fractured egos try to "win" in a spar and hurt their partner.
Stopping the spar I let Marshtomp and Mankey go at it.
Helping Mankey up, I give him a big hug to rub my face into his fur.
"Mankey you should shower more often." I teased as the little guy looked at me in shock.
"key key, mankey! (No way, training for life!)" He shouts frantically.
Marshtomp handing me my bag, stood in front of Mankey. Soon after this, it was [Water Gun] aim training with the poor monkey as the target. This ended up being a very bad and good idea as the target could barely dodge most hits.
He would keep on getting hit and then stand back up, truly a training maniac.
The little guy now exhausted looks into the air breathing heavily. Seeing this I give him some Pokeblocks before returning him to his Pokeball. My ace just to my side seeing this gave me a sad look.
"Let's go Marshtomp." I softly say, bringing out some Pokeblocks which he happily grabs.
It didn't take long before we got to the terminal and sat on a bench waiting.
*This is a train to Celadon City*
A robotic voice announces as look at the arriving train. After it stopped and the doors opened, I brought over the ticket I bought which was only five dollars. It wasn't too expensive and pretty good.
Taking a seat, a notification appears on my phone.
Looking at it with a raised eyebrow, my face gets a shocked expression.
[Ash: Hey Sunny! What region's conference are you joining?]
Quickly replying to the guy with Sinnoh. He proceeds to talk about how it was a good coincidence as his cruise is taking him there as well. My messages must of fired him up as he told me Pikachu was already doing push ups.
But dont team rocket target Pikachu very soon?
It seems like everything was going as in the anime.
The train ride ended up taking over 45 minutes as Marshtomp slept on my shoulder.
...
[Time Skip - 1 Day (Location: Route 16)]
It was currently the middle of the afternoon and the thick trees surrounded the area. There weren't any tracks that could show any hint of humans being in this part of the forest before. Thankfully I had a GPS and could go back anytime.
But right now there was something, or more specifically a Pokemon.
Just a few hours ago, we left the Route 16 Pokemon Center to rest for the night.
"Mankey use the tree to hide!" I shout.
The pig monkey who stared at the Raticate and a few Rattata in front of him, nodded and used the tree as cover. Raticate who charged forward hit the tree and was stunned.
Not wasting the opportunity a quick [Karate Chop] hit the Pokemon and soon after a [Low Kick] sent it flying back and fainted.
"Forward now!" Charging forward Mankey carefully watched the closest Rattata's eyes.
As the three attacked at the same time, the pig monkey easily dismantled them his his superior experience.
Seeing this, I pull out some basic Pokemon food and my phone.
"Marshtomp ask them." I intruct which made the mudfish nod.
"Tomp marshtomp- (Have you seen this guy anywhere?)" The Rattatas and Raticate after waking up, quickly complied after getting free food. They saw the photo and frantically nodded pointing in a general direction and telling us to follow them.
Nothing like food to tame Pokemon easily.
Unfortunately, a Raticate wouldn't fit my future composition.
After a bit of conversation which I just silently waited, Marshtomp was able to get a general direction with one of the Rattatas leading the way.
Letting Mankey follow them with enthusiasm, Marshtomp was to my side protecting me at all times. This still wasn't too far off the route so any Pokemon too strong from my ace are far off for now.
After a couple of minutes, we arrived towards an open field. It had a lake just a few minutes away which made it the ideal place to set up camp.
It had a dead tree in the centre with another flat tree stump which was smaller. The place was completely empty aside from the occasional Oddish which ran away as soon as it spotted us.
'There were about a hundred of them in the episode.' I grumble to myself.
It was a shame though because it should have been a few years since that time, but only time will tell.
Mankey was now my guard as Marshtomp was on combat duty.
Not too long after but still staying somewhere near the dead tree, two Doduo showed up and quickly became aggressive.
"[Hydro Pump] now."
*Woosh!*
The concentrated water cannon aimed straight at the left one directly hit it. Causing it to crash into the nearest tree. Crying out loud the other Doduo rushes forward with both of its beaks glowing a bright blue hue.
Watching this my head wanted to use a super effective move.
'I need the flat land to camp out for today.' I thought shrugging that off.
With this another [Hydro Pump] was sent which shot the poor guy. Helping them up with some more Pokemon food the same strategy was applied to get some help searching for my next team member.
A few hours passed as the search team grew.
Raticate and its family, two Doduo, an Oddish and a Grimer were scouting the area out. They were instructed to head to me as soon as any hint of the Pokemon was close.
"Alright let's do some training," I announced which got both my partners cheering.
"Tomp! (Hai!)
"Mank! (Yippie!)"
Wild battles while raw and better for stimulation, were extremely unfair. While a misconception, most wild Pokemon didn't attack using a real move. Most would just try to hit you with their body parts which by no means is weak.
Even then, they haven't trained their moves over and over again.
So against a trained move, it's basically finished.
Of course, this is null if there's a massive level difference.
Unfortunately due to this place not exactly being a safe zone, they both had to switch between training and guarding me. This wasn't too much of a problem though as Marshtomp helped with setting the tent up.
With a four-man tent, both my Pokemon who were shorter than me could easily fit.
...
Mankey who was off to the side, had a macho brace on while running laps across the circular wide field. Right beside him was me.
"Do you feel tired!" I shout which rilled the Pokemon up. "Don't you want to be strong like Marshtomp? The way he easily tanks your hits."
This was the final nail in the coffin for the guy.
He gasped for air but with a happy expression went even faster than me. Seeing this a warm smile goes on my face as this was around lap five with a brace that is 8kg spread throughout his body. This pace alone was still light work for me but unlike Mankey.
I didn't have any Pokeblocks to increase my recovery time to train more.
While this was happening Marshtomp was off to the side.
The mudfish currently sunbathing had one of the premium chairs and was looking into the sky with a relaxed expression.
Seeing this my mouth twitched.
'This guy isn't guarding anything.' I chuckle inwardly.
"Marshtomp you're almost next, start to warm up by stretching!" I shouted which got his attention. He immediately got up and did his routine which wasn't too surprising.
He was my Ace after all.
His move set and battle style were more basic and standard than Mankey's.
Marshtomp had hard-hitting moves that needed to be thought out well. Making his battles more of a chess game or straight-up winning with one well-placed hit. Just like against those Doduo beforehand.
After an hour, Mankey got to rest and eat his fair of food as his macho brace was given to Marshtomp. Who without any complaints started to do laps around the camp without any expression change.
As night started to come by, he was able to finish 13 laps with myself joining in for half of it.
"Good job Marshtomp." I gasp out, taking big breaths.
Both of us who had sweat going down our faces got ready to wash ourselves. Mankey who didn't want to go, couldn't escape Marshtomps death grip as he held him over his shoulder like a ragdoll.
Seeing this I laughed as the pig monkey looked flustered.
"Mankey mank! (You better wait until I evolve!)" He says making Marshtomp bonk him in the head.
...
Ten minutes later it was now time to sleep, with this everything besides what we needed to sleep was now packed up.
Lying in my sleeping bag with the tent flap closed, I started to drift off. My eyes started to haze a little as the exhaustion took me. Marshtomp and Mankey were huddled up to me with their own pillows and blankets.
[3rd Person's POV (Location: Outside the tent)]
Crickets sang softly in the grass and some faint rustling of leaves came from the wind's breeze. Marshtomp who was outside, sat with his arms behind his head. He was relaxing while still keeping an eye out.
For a while it was silent, but a noise got his attention.
"...I want to become the strongest fighter in the world," Mankey declared a little quietly to not wake up his trainer.
Marshtomp hearing this, turned towards the guy with a curious look.
"Not just strong, the best. I want other Pokemon to look at me as if I was a force to be reckoned with." Mankey clenched his fists. "Trainer man taught me how to properly fight and for the first time, I felt like I could win any battle as long as he was there. So I'll help him become the best."
Marshtomp who heard this just nodded and thought. 'Trainer man?'
"I get it." The mudfish simply states.
Mankey looked at the Pokemon who initially defeated him. "What about you?"
Marshtomp was quiet for a moment. His initial lax posture started to move a little to make it easier to speak.
"I was told early on," he softly says, "That whatever my trainer wants to achieve, their hopes and dreams become mine. So if Sunny wants to become the Champion then I'll believe we'll reach that level."
Mankey flinched at these words. "Do you really believe that. Is that all?"
"My purpose is to support him. If he takes a hit and stands back up... then it's natural that I do too." The mudfish responds with a faint smile. "It was what I was born to do."[1]
The only three things Marshtomp wanted in this world was for Sunny to achieve his goals, receive lots of cuddles and finally pats.
There was a long pause between the two. Just the silent brushing of the wind hitting their skin.
"You're a weirdo." Mankey simply says which makes the mudfish chuckle.
"Weakling." Marshtomp taunts.
Surprisingly Mankey only squinted his eyes in contemplation.
'Not bad, if I said those words back then he would have tried to attack me.' Marshtomp thought satisfied with Mankey's efforts to get stronger. The tension in the air didn't last long as Mankey was still tired from training.
Leaving the Marshtomp to keep watch, the pig monkey walked into the tent and snuggled up to Sunny.
[1] I believe that starter Pokemon were conditioned in this way.
Proof of this would be the multitude of abandoned starters which kept on believing that their trainer wouldn't abandon them. The sheer blind belief is staggering.
A wild Pokemon would just gladly run away.