Pokemon Ether 04

Route 5, between Bolderton and Draughton

Finn, Poppy and Ember all woke up early the next day after a long day's travel. It turns out that a lot of aspiring trainers were dotted along the route, hoping to encounter a good battle. It meant that what would normally have been a couple of day's hike had turned into a long weekend of walking and battling. If nothing else, it had allowed Finn to train and get to know his new partner, Sneasel, a little better. According to their PokeNav, they were now only a solid day's hike away from Draughton. The route would take them through what is described upon the Nav as the Windy Valley, a steep rocky valley that slowly wound its way through the hills up towards the town of Draughton at it's peak. If there were no further distractions, they could potentially get themselves a warm shower and an actual bed by the end of the day.

Ember had been watching Finn as he battled the local trainers along their path. As exhausting as it was to constantly stop and start over and over again. She found herself intrigued by his battle style and the way that he and his pokemon moved during a battle. It was almost as if Finn took on some of the characteristics of his pokemon as they fought together. Seeing how strong his team was shaping up made her want to test herself to see where she measured up.

As the trio finished their oats around the campfire, Finn started limbering up for some training before they headed off. Ember removed her thick hoodie that she wore to stay warm when she wasn't hiking, unveiling her black lycra shorts and matching sports bra and asked him if she and Growlithe could join them. Finn tried his best not to ogle her sleek, toned body and agreed, telling her that he planned on going for a run first before doing some target practise for a cool down.

"Okay then, what's the route?" she asked as she warmed up her tired legs with a dozen knee lifts.

"We follow the path back down to the bridge we crossed last night and then head back up through the forest. I reckon it should be a couple of miles if you're up for it?"

"Sounds good, lead the way."

Finn whistled for Nuz to come down from whichever tree he'd been lazing in and released Sneasel from her poke ball. Ember did the same for growlithe. "Okay team, down the river to the bridge and then back up through the forest. Got it?"

All three pokemon nodded.

"Good, let's go!"

The small team set off from the camp, jogging slowly at first to wake up their legs. Growlithe raced into the lead, excitement clear on his face as he bounded through the long grass either side of the path. Ember watched Finn from behind and enjoyed watching his form. His footsteps were light and fast, almost as if he was expecting to have to change course at a moment's notice. She, on the other hand, felt heavy and clumsy by comparison, narrowly avoiding an exposed tree route that looked like it had been placed on the path specifically to trip her up.

"Do you and Nuzleaf run often?" she asked not quite out of breath. "You both seem to have great stamina."

Finn raised an eyebrow at the question, not only because he wasn't used to talking during a run, but because he didn't really see it as exercise. This morning's run was a warm up to get the blood pumping before target practise. "Not all that often to be honest. It's not often that Nuz actually runs on the ground. He much prefers to be up in the trees and that is a totally different movement. I suppose it's good to get him used to running on the ground for battles and the like though.

They reached the bridge faster than Ember expected, and turned off onto a winding path that followed the river through the adjacent woods, back up towards their campsite. Suddenly aware that it was uphill. Ember pushed hard to keep up with Finn and Growlithe.

Where were Sneasel and Nuzleaf? Ember thought to herself as she noticed the two pokemon had vanished as they entered the woods. A sharp gleam of light made her look up into the canopy of the woods to see two dark blurs moving from branch to branch at a quite ridiculous speed. Even Growlithe, with his seemingly endless newfound energy this morning, struggled to keep up. "Wow, they're fast!" she breathed.

"They're competing." Replied Finn. "But it looks like Sneasel is forgetting that she's in Nuz's territory now."

As he spoke, Ember saw branches falling up ahead as Sneasel used Metal Claw to scythe down some of the branches that Nuz was looking to swing to. Despite the nuisance, Nuz seemed un perturbed and carried on towards the end of the path, which was approaching fast. Growlithe, keen to join in sped up to keep pace with the two dark pokemon up ahead when he suddenly vanished.

"Woah!" Ember yelled, "Where'd he go?"

"Don't worry, he's just showing off his quick attack. He'll be waiting with a grin on his face at the end of the trail."

Sure enough, as the pair of runners reached the end of the trail that brought them back out to the clearing they'd camped in, they found Growlithe panting with a big happy grin on his face. Next to him, Nuz sat, laid back, fiddling with his whistle and Sneasel knelt, panting from exertion with an angry look on her face. It was clear, she was not used to losing.

"Great work guys. Sneasel, I loved seeing the inventiveness in our tactics to try and slow Nuz down, just remember, if you had focussed on out running him, you might have actually won."

Sneasel seemed to ponder his words briefly before nodding and sitting down to catch her breath. Finn walked over to Growlithe and patted the happy fire dog on his head, shocked at the comfortable warmth radiating off him.

"He didn't burn you. I think you've made a friend for life there Finn." Ember smiled. Truth be told, it was the first time she had seen Gru interact with another human that wasn't her parents. It made her feel warm inside. She took a moment to catch her breath before asking "What training did you have in mind for this morning?"

"I'm thinking that Draughton gym is predominantly flying types, so we're probably going to need to hone our ranged attacks if we're going to stand a good chance there. Give me a moment to set up and I'll come back.

Twenty minutes later, Finn returned to the group and ushered them further along the edge of the wooded area. He had set up a range of sorts with a number of downed tree trunks stood up to resemble targets side by side. "Okay, the aim of the exercise is to hone your range attacks. I'm not just talking about accuracy, I'm talking about power and strength of the attacks. The most effective ranged attacks have to knock the target off their stride or they become easier to shrug off. Sneasel, Nuz, to me."

The pair of pokemon jumped to their feet and rushed over to their trainer, each taking a spot just slightly behind him.

"Good. Now, Sneasel, I want you to use Icy Wind against the log on the right. Nuz, I want you to fire off a Razor Leaf against the log in the middle. Ember, have Gru fire an ember... that sounds weird to say out loud... at the trunk on the left. Everyone, give it your best shot, okay?"

Nuz and Sneasel nodded with their instructions as Ember and Gru raced into position. As soon as everyone was set, Finn gave the order "Let em rip, team!"

Growlithe excitedly jumped into action and fired it's ember attack at the trunk in front of him. Little balls of flame were fired from his open maw in an outward spread. The trunk, and the grass surrounding it, started to catch fire in places, but otherwise was unmoved by the attack. Ember rushed over to stamp out the small fires surrounding the trunk.

Nuz fired off a string of razor edged leaves at the tree that smacked the trunk with a sharp series of thuds. Again, the trunk didn't budge.

Finally, Sneasel took a deep calming breath and put all of her effort into her attack, sending a gust of frozen air at the trunk in front of her. The trunk was rocked upon initial impact but eventually settled back to its starting position as the ice crystals formed over some of the moss that had formed on it over time.

"Great work everyone. Ember, I think Growlithe might be close to turning his Ember attack into a Flamethrower. The power is there, but he needs to try and focus his attack to a single point on the target and put full effort into hitting it with as much force as he can."

Ember and Growlithe both nodded at the advice. Growlithe's goofy smile disappeared and was replaced by a steely look of determination. He took a deep breath and rested on his haunches, as if readying himself to pounce before leaping forward and firing more small balls of fire from his maw. This time, the balls were much more concentrated and peppered the trunk with small burns. It still did not move though.

Ember gave him a loving pat and ruffled his hair. "Great job, Gru!"

Finn refocussed on his charges. "Nuz, your Razor Leaf is getting stronger and is hitting with more bite, but I need you to focus on firing them off faster. That Rhydon could've been dealt with much easier if we could cause a bit more damage from a distance." Nuz nodded and fired off another salvo. This time, the leaves were fired off much closer to one another and the series of thuds sounded more like one hard smack. The trunk wobbled. "Great shot buddy!"

Sneasel didn't wait for Finn to come over and give any advice, she just took on board his ideas for Growlithe and tried to focus her attack. The resulting gust was visibly narrower and faster, blasting the trunk so hard that it jerked back over.

Finn smiled at her as Sneasel pumped her arm in celebration. A loud "Wooooo!" was shrieked across the range by Ember as she celebrated Sneasel's improvement. Finn called a halt to practice as he reset Sneasel's tree and made her take a few steps back and try again.

The group kept practicing for the next hour, until Finn noticed them starting to tire. By the time they had called an end to the session, Sneasel had managed to knock the trunk over from ten paces further back and Nuz had managed to increase his razor leaf strike to twelve leaves at once, but had yet to topple his trunk from the starter distance. Gru had continued to improve the focus of his attacks and had moved back a few paces but had yet to knock over the trunk. As their breathing started to deepen, Finn called time on training for the morning.

The group returned to the campsite, where Poppy and Chansey had put together a nutritious breakfast for trainer and partner alike. As they all took a seat around the camp fire, Poppy retrieved the two extra poke balls from her belt and called forth her other two pokemon. As the light faded from their release, Finn was shocked to see a Bagon and and Eevee step up to their bowls and tuck into the grub Poppy had prepared for them.

"Poppy, you have a Bagon and an Eevee? They're pretty rare over in Paese, how did you find them?" Ember asked, equally surprised by the development.

"Oh, er, they were my dad's before... you know." Poppy's father had been arrested and imprisoned as a result of some of the experiments he had conducted on pokemon in his eugenics studies. "As his pokemon had lost their trainer, my mother took care of them until I graduated from NPPA an could look after them properly."

"Do you battle, Poppy?" Ember asked with interest.

"I'm not really keen on the idea, if I'm honest." she replied, somewhat gloomily. "After what happened to my dad, I tried to focus on helping and healing pokemon, rather than making them battle. I guess besides the mandatory battle classes in the academy, I've never really battled at all."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, Finn is a great teacher." she smiled.

"All three of your pokemon could evolve into powerhouses if trained just right." Finn added. "But that's not anyone's call but yours."

Finn shovelled the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and thanked the chef before making his excuses and heading for the river for a wash. Shortly after he had jumped in to the arctic stream, he heard a splash and turned to see Ember paddling towards him.

"I just wanted to thank you again for this morning." she said. "I had forgotten how therapeutic training could be, especially when you can see progress in front of you."

"Hey, no problem. Training is always more fun with other people and other pokemon. If I learned anything from EPPA, it's that there is always more than one way to skin a meowth. Training with others often offers incites into methods and styles that you may never learn on your own. Take advantage of it while you can."

"You know, for an 18 year old, you talk an awful lot like my grandpa!" Ember laughed before splashing Finn in the face with a handful of water. The resulting retaliation led to both young trainers soaking wet and frozen to the bone on the shore of the river.

"Tell me" Finn asked as he lay down on the shore of the river as Ember wrapped herself in a towel and joined him. "Why do you want to join the PPD?"

"Honestly, I've never fully understood it. I just know that it is what I was born to do. To help people and fight injustice however and wherever I can."

"Wow, I wish I had your sense of purpose and direction."

"You're training for the Pokemon League, right?"

"For now, yeah. But beyond that, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Honestly, I'm kinda hoping inspiration will strike while I'm on my travels."

"I'm sure it'll come to you in time. Speaking of purpose though, I need to put some thought into my tasks for this exercise, otherwise, this will all have been for nothing."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that. What were your tasks?"

"Number one was to win a gym badge."

"Well, with a bit more training, I don't see that being an issue. Any idea where you'd want to challenge? There's only two gyms between here and Camford Town."

"I was thinking Pupaton would make more sense. With it being a Bug type gym, Growlithe should be at an advantage."

"Makes sense. So that's off down the road, what else?"

"The next item on the list is to find a Fossil?"

"A pokemon fossil?"

"It doesn't specify, strangely, but I would have thought so."

Finn rubbed his chin in thought. "There are tonnes of caves and mines up in the Windy Valley, maybe we could look there?"

"I'm game to give it a go. Archeology is not my strong suit!"

"Professor Fir got me into it when I was a kid so I'll help out where I can. What else is on the list?"

"Erm," her cute brow furrowed at the thought. "Vine whip."

"Just vine whip?" Finn repeated. "Nothing else?"

"Nope, that was it. I guess I just have to catch a pokemon that knows the move, or teach it to another of my pokemon. Maybe one of the stores in Draughton might sell TMs. I'll take look when we get there."

"Any more?"

"This one is a little bit less cryptic. Make a team of four."

"So catch another 3 pokemon. Got it. Make one a grass type with Vine Whip and you're golden. Any more?"

"Only one. It's pretty vague. 'Find the instrument that moves sleeping giants.'"

"Wow!"

"Right?!"

"You know any sleeping giants around here?"

"Nope. Know any loud instruments?"

"My mother made me learn to play the ukulele when I was younger, that count?"

The pair laughed together as the morning sun dried their skin.

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Route 5, between Bolderton and Draughton

The young trainer's Beedrill crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. It's thin, wirey limbs splayed out in all directions.

"Beedrill, no!" The young boy cried out as he rushed to check on his fallen companion. He wiped a tear from his eye and returned Beedrill to it's poke ball before standing to face his opponent, giving him a short bow. "Well battled. Your Pinsir is really strong."

"Thanks kid." Trey replied. "You too." Trey didn't even try to keep the condescension from his voice and face. He could see the hatred in the young boy's face, and he revelled in it. This is what it felt like to be powerful. Not necessarily thrashing youngsters, but seeing the hatred in the eyes of an opponent, the resentment at how much more powerful he was. It was delicious.

He recalled Pinsir and turned to leave. Looking at the trainer one last time, he asked, "Hey, kid? Did you see a guy my age travelling with a Nuzleaf not long ago? Like in the last day or so?"

"Who, Finn?" The trainer perked up with a smile. "Yeah, him and his friends passed through here yesterday. His Nuzleaf is the coolest! I think he might be the strongest trainer I've ever faced."

Trey's face swelled with anger and unintentional insult. He just wiped the floor with the kid and this little nobody thinks Finn Drayton is stronger? Give me a break! "They say where they were heading?"

"Yeah, Finn's going to challenge at the Draughton gym. Natalia doesn't stand a chance!" the kid beamed.

"Draughton? Okay. See you around kid!" And with that Trey left the battle area and carried on the road to Draughton. He may have a 24 hour head start but he knew he was already catching him up. Wouldn't be long until Trey Barnes got what he wanted. He always got what he wanted!

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Route 5, Windy Valley

Finn, Poppy and Ember stopped next to a large decrepit sign that read 'Welcome to the Windy Valley'. Flakes of paint and chunks of wood had long since fallen away from the once pristine advertisement for one of Paese's more unforgiving landscapes.

A large poster had been haphazardly stuck to the base of the sign. It depicted a pair of pick-axes behind what looked like a large chunk of rock. As Finn walked past, a word jumped off the poster and grabbed his attention. He scrutinised it a little closer and saw that it read 'Windy Valley Mines Fossil Festival'. "Hey, Ember, look at this!"

The copper haired cadet bounced over to the sign and regarded it with interest. The poster stated that any contestant that found a fossil would also win a prize. "Is there a date on this?"

"It says it's on all this month while the mining season is closed." He looked at her smiling face. "What do you say? Want to go digging?"

"Absolutely!"

"Hey? Do I get a say in this?" Poppy yelled out. "I'm not exactly dressed for subterranean adventures!"

"I'm sure you packed something that will do." Finn teased. "Besides, Ember needs to do this for her exercise. You wouldn't want her to fail, would you?"

She huffed and fiddled with her backpack, keen to move on. "Let's go then."

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Undisclosed Location

A strange stinging sensation rang through Doug Fir's body as he crawled back to consciousness. His limbs felt heavy and sore, as though he had just completed a marathon before having his nap. He willed his arms to rub his sore legs but found that they were not responding. He tried to open his eyes, eyelids themselves feeling heavy. What he saw when they opened was not at all what he expected.

Doug found himself in a small, dark room, illuminated by a red light somewhere off to his right. He looked down over himself to find that he was lying on a bed, on what felt like satin sheets. He tried to roll over onto his side to get a better idea of where he was but found that he was still unable to properly move. He looked at his right hand and saw that it was manacled to the metal headboard. Quickly checking his other hand and feet, he found each limb had been similarly restrained. Looking down his body, he was relieved to find that he at least had a pair of boxer shorts on, though strangely, not one of his pairs. What was going on?

He looked around the room for clues to his predicament. The walls of the room were dark and featureless, all except for one. The wall to his right had a large mirror surrounded by a red light that seemed to pulse like it was alive somehow.

Doug had seen enough detective movies to suggest that he was probably lying in an interrogation room.