Categories > Anime/Manga > Pokemon > Made of Stone
Pride and Loyalty
0 reviewsSometimes we fight for others, and sometimes we fight for ourselves. Which will prevail when fire meets grass? Rated PG-13, if I could only figure out how to change the rating for an individual cha...
2Original
Okay, huge character development in this chapter, mainly on the part of the pokemon. Plot foreshadowing. Lots of good stuff. This chapter is longer, by the way, but not as long as I thought it was. And the rating on this chapter is PG-13 for battle violence. Both bulbasaur and Corazon fight until near death. As always any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. I love hearing from you.
~~~
"Well, I suppose our battle is next, Drakan," Alex addressed Matt, Corazon stepping with him as he walked to the bare patch of turned up earth.
Matt nodded, moving stiffly to the other end of the mock arena, his bulbasaur following, glaring with heated intensity at the charmander. She didn't like fire types in general, or the attitude of this one in particular, and the trainer.
Corazon, for her part, wanted to prove how good she was. She was worthy of being Alex's pokemon, and everyone would know it. She had wanted to go against the squirtle, for proving herself superior against a grass type was a little too easy. However, she felt up to the challenge.
"Growl!" Matt told his bulbasaur.
"Tail whip," Alex countered.
The bulbasaur held her ground, as Corazon came nearer, growling, her muscles bunching under her skin as she formed her own strategy. Corazon was slightly daunted by the menacing sound. However, she advanced, whipping her blazing tail around, heading for the saurian face.
The green pokemon leapt in a tackle, missing the burning tail by inches. She could feel the heat coming up to roast her stomach as she pushed the charmander to the ground. Corazon struggled to rise, spitting out dirt, but the heavier, more compact plant was on top of her.
"Bulba?" the grass pokemon growled in her ear. "Ba saur."
"Roll and scratch!" Corazon could hear her human calling. She would be loyal, and do her duty.
With a contemptuous "Char!" she touched the burning tip of her tail to her opponent's green hide. The bulbasaur jumped away in pain, her left hind leg scorched and blistered.
Corazon rolled away, before bouncing upright, and running back to deliver a tentative scratch, testing the bulbasaur's reflexes. The grass pokemon was caught across the face, and a tiny line was opened up across her nose, where a sticky pale green sap began to ooze.
The green saurian tackled Corazon in return, rushing forward with her head low to the ground to catch the charmander in the stomach. Corazon doubled up in pain as she staggered backward.
Her head came up a second later, however, and aggressive gleam in her amber eyes. She moved forward, using her natural agility against Matt's bulbasaur, not waiting for Alex's instructions as she swiped a clawed paw against the mottled green hide.
The bulbasaur spun as pain erupted on her right side, catching Corazon with her blocky head. The fire lizard was tossed back, her side bruised by the brute force of the solid grass type.
Another thin line of sap was making its way out of the tough green hide, as the bulbasaur faced Corazon for another charge. The thin lizard rose, screeching her defiance with an emphatic "Chaaaaaaaar!"
The bulbasaur rushed at the orange target of Corazon's soft underside. The charmander stood her ground claws at the ready, her breathing heavy.
"Tail whip!" Alex yelled, as the bulbasaur bore down on Corazon.
The fire lizard whirled, burning tail heading for the bulbasaur.
"Turn!" Matt called frantically, knowing exactly what that burning tail would be able to do to his grass type if it hit her.
The bulbasaur put on the breaks, skidding as she angled her weight to the right, trying to rotate. A black scorch line followed Corazon's tail over the grass pokemon's left side, as the pokemon skidded away.
Finally, the bulbasaur came in a full circle. She was panting heavily, and her right hind leg was obviously not very useful now, with the charred skin, and extra strain of the fast turn having ruined it. However, expression didn't show a hint of backing down.
Corazon was bruised and battered. The fire in her eyes was burning stronger than the one on her tail, and she was covered in scratches. The places where the tough ground that she had been plowed into so many times by the grass pokemon's charges were dirty smears on her once clean hide.
I won't give up, /she thought desperately. /I owe it to my human. His trust in me was not misplaced. I. Will. Not. Lose!
Not giving the bulbasaur time to think Corazon charged, her claws coming around for one last scratch.
"Jump!" Matt commanded.
His starter responded almost instantly, using the same trick she had opened her battle with, ploughing Corazon into the ground. However, unlike the first time, she did not trust her ability to withstand another stab by the burning tail, so she backed off immediately.
The bulbasaur was sizing up the charmander. One more hit, and the fire type would be down, however, it was the same story for her. The lizard was only still conscious because of her conviction in the human she had chosen, and the bulbasaur knew she didn't have that kind of motivation.
Matt was alright, as humans went, and she felt some kinship for him, but he was still alien, and she didn't want to rely on anyone. She had only her pride to keep her going. It was enough to keep her from giving up, but not enough to keep her from ignoring the pain of her right leg, or the burn on her left side. Certainly, Corazon was father gone than she was, but Corazon might stubbornly hang on until the very end. The grass pokemon smirked. After all, it was what she would do.
The crowd of humans and pokemon by the tree was silent. The tension was too much for the spectators to make noise. The squirtle was looking straight at her. Seeing her almond eyed gaze fall on him, he nodded slightly. Probably it was his idea of rousing encouragement.
The bulbasaur dug in her hind legs, ignoring the flare of pain from the right one, and began to move, slowly at first, but building up steam as her legs moved like pistons. The momentum she was building up would be the real force behind the attack. She would not lose to some arrogant, bleeding heart charmander and her arrogant trainer.
Corazon rose painfully, her breathing labored. Her vision was swimming. She saw the saurian bearing down on her and felt anger surge. This could not be allowed to happen. She didn't have the energy to side step this one, or even to scratch the jade pokemon. The bulbasaur was a grass type for crying out loud! Corazon had the honor of her trainer to defend! She couldn't lose her first battle!
Her tail flared, sending a jet of flame into the sky. Automatically Corazon's mouth opened, and the heat she had taken for anger was unleashed. Fire poured out of her mouth, hot embers crackling as they consumed the air around them. The audience watched in amazement as they roasted the on coming bulbasaur alive.
Tears began to flow down Matt's face as he watched his starter run into the inferno. There was no way that she could have stopped herself. He hadn't even given her a name.
The flames burned merrily on the bare earth for a moment, before bulging outwards toward Corazon. The bulbasaur erupted from the center of the blaze. Corazon looked on in amazement, as the blackened plant bore down on her. Fire smoldered on the tip of her bulb, and her face was streaked with soot and charred hide. She looked like something which had walked through Hell.
Corazon didn't even move as the bulbasaur bore down on her. She just blinked, and then was tossed into the air as the saurian rammed into her stomach. She landed at Alex's feet unconscious, as the fire that she had created died.
Alex knelt down, a potion ready, as he carefully felt Corazon's body for broken bones. Mel rushed onto the field with the burn heal that Raindancer had teleported out of her pack, and a potion for Matt's bulbasaur.
The bulbasaur was still standing, and didn't move as the burn heal was sprayed over the burning bulb. Her eyes were glazed, and she didn't react when the potion was forced down her throat.
She's in too much pain, /Raindancer announced, as Matt rushed to his pokemon, trying to comfort her, and help in anyway he could. /She needs an actual healing, not makeshift potions. That skin won't regrow without electronic regeneration. She'll be able to snap out of it once her body stops feeling like its being burned alive, but until then her mind is happily somewhere else.
"I'll take her to the Lab," Alex volunteered, sounding deeply regretful. "It was Corazon that caused the damage, and I should make amends."
"No you won't!" Matt snarled suddenly, returning his bulbasaur to her pokeball. "She's mine! Accidents happen in battles. It's my responsibility to make certain she's alright. Don't you dare take that from me!"
"I didn't mean," Alex began.
"You never mean. Stay out of my business!" Matt said defensively. "You can't run the world! A little sorry doesn't change anything!"
"Guys, seriously," Chris said, stepping between them, "calm down. Your starter isn't going to get better by you yelling at everyone."
"I am not yelling!" Matt screamed at Chris.
"Matt, let's just go to the Professor's okay," Scott suggested.
"Yeah, c'mon," Adam added. "Everyone kinda got off to a bad start. The only pokemon here who isn't extremely worn down is Lapis. We could all use the rest."
Matt turned and strode off, his face dark as thunder. The rest followed at a discreet distance, Alex bringing up the rear, since everyone was giving him the cold shoulder.
"You know," Scott said thoughtfully, "if anything, this only proves how dangerous it is for us to go off our separate ways. Look what's happened already, and we didn't even mean it to."
"If you think I'm not going to start my journey just because of one bad practice battle," Chris began.
"No," Melamine cut in, "I think Scott's right. When we separate we should do so in pairs. That way at least one of us could keep an eye on the other."
"Especially if that other is Matt," Adam said. "He's really taking things hard. Would he even know what to do on his own?"
Chris was glaze eyed as Rain dancer sat on his head while they walked. He spoke quietly now. "Alex isn't much better. He has too much potential to become ruthless. And look at the loyalty he inspires in pokemon. His charmander just evolved to learn ember way earlier than most charmander do. Someone has to keep an eye on him, too."
"Is this you talking, or Raindancer?" Adam asked, slightly uncomfortably.
"Raindancer."
Scott and Adam shared a look. Somehow they did not find this information comforting. Someone would be needed to keep an eye on Chris, as well.
"Look," Mel said. "We can all figure out who is going where, and work it out that way. I'm planning on heading to Pewter, and I'm pretty certain Matt will, too, since his starter has an automatic advantage there. Let's look at a map in the lab and plan everything."
"But how could we convince Matt and Alex to do what we want?" Scott asked.
"If you act like you know what you're doing and don't give anyone time to argue you will generally get your way," Alex said, stalking past the huddled group of four. "Oh, and talking behind their backs is always a good plan."
~~~
So, wow, yeah. Everything's getting intense. And Matt's poor bulbasaur is not going to be the same, and yes, she is going to get a name. I just don't want to give it away just yet. Hopefully that battle deflated Corazon's ego a little. So, who do you like more: Matt or Alex? Any other characters you particularly enjoy? Any thoughts suggestions, comments, are welcome. Next up is chapter 7: How Many Roads?
~~~
"Well, I suppose our battle is next, Drakan," Alex addressed Matt, Corazon stepping with him as he walked to the bare patch of turned up earth.
Matt nodded, moving stiffly to the other end of the mock arena, his bulbasaur following, glaring with heated intensity at the charmander. She didn't like fire types in general, or the attitude of this one in particular, and the trainer.
Corazon, for her part, wanted to prove how good she was. She was worthy of being Alex's pokemon, and everyone would know it. She had wanted to go against the squirtle, for proving herself superior against a grass type was a little too easy. However, she felt up to the challenge.
"Growl!" Matt told his bulbasaur.
"Tail whip," Alex countered.
The bulbasaur held her ground, as Corazon came nearer, growling, her muscles bunching under her skin as she formed her own strategy. Corazon was slightly daunted by the menacing sound. However, she advanced, whipping her blazing tail around, heading for the saurian face.
The green pokemon leapt in a tackle, missing the burning tail by inches. She could feel the heat coming up to roast her stomach as she pushed the charmander to the ground. Corazon struggled to rise, spitting out dirt, but the heavier, more compact plant was on top of her.
"Bulba?" the grass pokemon growled in her ear. "Ba saur."
"Roll and scratch!" Corazon could hear her human calling. She would be loyal, and do her duty.
With a contemptuous "Char!" she touched the burning tip of her tail to her opponent's green hide. The bulbasaur jumped away in pain, her left hind leg scorched and blistered.
Corazon rolled away, before bouncing upright, and running back to deliver a tentative scratch, testing the bulbasaur's reflexes. The grass pokemon was caught across the face, and a tiny line was opened up across her nose, where a sticky pale green sap began to ooze.
The green saurian tackled Corazon in return, rushing forward with her head low to the ground to catch the charmander in the stomach. Corazon doubled up in pain as she staggered backward.
Her head came up a second later, however, and aggressive gleam in her amber eyes. She moved forward, using her natural agility against Matt's bulbasaur, not waiting for Alex's instructions as she swiped a clawed paw against the mottled green hide.
The bulbasaur spun as pain erupted on her right side, catching Corazon with her blocky head. The fire lizard was tossed back, her side bruised by the brute force of the solid grass type.
Another thin line of sap was making its way out of the tough green hide, as the bulbasaur faced Corazon for another charge. The thin lizard rose, screeching her defiance with an emphatic "Chaaaaaaaar!"
The bulbasaur rushed at the orange target of Corazon's soft underside. The charmander stood her ground claws at the ready, her breathing heavy.
"Tail whip!" Alex yelled, as the bulbasaur bore down on Corazon.
The fire lizard whirled, burning tail heading for the bulbasaur.
"Turn!" Matt called frantically, knowing exactly what that burning tail would be able to do to his grass type if it hit her.
The bulbasaur put on the breaks, skidding as she angled her weight to the right, trying to rotate. A black scorch line followed Corazon's tail over the grass pokemon's left side, as the pokemon skidded away.
Finally, the bulbasaur came in a full circle. She was panting heavily, and her right hind leg was obviously not very useful now, with the charred skin, and extra strain of the fast turn having ruined it. However, expression didn't show a hint of backing down.
Corazon was bruised and battered. The fire in her eyes was burning stronger than the one on her tail, and she was covered in scratches. The places where the tough ground that she had been plowed into so many times by the grass pokemon's charges were dirty smears on her once clean hide.
I won't give up, /she thought desperately. /I owe it to my human. His trust in me was not misplaced. I. Will. Not. Lose!
Not giving the bulbasaur time to think Corazon charged, her claws coming around for one last scratch.
"Jump!" Matt commanded.
His starter responded almost instantly, using the same trick she had opened her battle with, ploughing Corazon into the ground. However, unlike the first time, she did not trust her ability to withstand another stab by the burning tail, so she backed off immediately.
The bulbasaur was sizing up the charmander. One more hit, and the fire type would be down, however, it was the same story for her. The lizard was only still conscious because of her conviction in the human she had chosen, and the bulbasaur knew she didn't have that kind of motivation.
Matt was alright, as humans went, and she felt some kinship for him, but he was still alien, and she didn't want to rely on anyone. She had only her pride to keep her going. It was enough to keep her from giving up, but not enough to keep her from ignoring the pain of her right leg, or the burn on her left side. Certainly, Corazon was father gone than she was, but Corazon might stubbornly hang on until the very end. The grass pokemon smirked. After all, it was what she would do.
The crowd of humans and pokemon by the tree was silent. The tension was too much for the spectators to make noise. The squirtle was looking straight at her. Seeing her almond eyed gaze fall on him, he nodded slightly. Probably it was his idea of rousing encouragement.
The bulbasaur dug in her hind legs, ignoring the flare of pain from the right one, and began to move, slowly at first, but building up steam as her legs moved like pistons. The momentum she was building up would be the real force behind the attack. She would not lose to some arrogant, bleeding heart charmander and her arrogant trainer.
Corazon rose painfully, her breathing labored. Her vision was swimming. She saw the saurian bearing down on her and felt anger surge. This could not be allowed to happen. She didn't have the energy to side step this one, or even to scratch the jade pokemon. The bulbasaur was a grass type for crying out loud! Corazon had the honor of her trainer to defend! She couldn't lose her first battle!
Her tail flared, sending a jet of flame into the sky. Automatically Corazon's mouth opened, and the heat she had taken for anger was unleashed. Fire poured out of her mouth, hot embers crackling as they consumed the air around them. The audience watched in amazement as they roasted the on coming bulbasaur alive.
Tears began to flow down Matt's face as he watched his starter run into the inferno. There was no way that she could have stopped herself. He hadn't even given her a name.
The flames burned merrily on the bare earth for a moment, before bulging outwards toward Corazon. The bulbasaur erupted from the center of the blaze. Corazon looked on in amazement, as the blackened plant bore down on her. Fire smoldered on the tip of her bulb, and her face was streaked with soot and charred hide. She looked like something which had walked through Hell.
Corazon didn't even move as the bulbasaur bore down on her. She just blinked, and then was tossed into the air as the saurian rammed into her stomach. She landed at Alex's feet unconscious, as the fire that she had created died.
Alex knelt down, a potion ready, as he carefully felt Corazon's body for broken bones. Mel rushed onto the field with the burn heal that Raindancer had teleported out of her pack, and a potion for Matt's bulbasaur.
The bulbasaur was still standing, and didn't move as the burn heal was sprayed over the burning bulb. Her eyes were glazed, and she didn't react when the potion was forced down her throat.
She's in too much pain, /Raindancer announced, as Matt rushed to his pokemon, trying to comfort her, and help in anyway he could. /She needs an actual healing, not makeshift potions. That skin won't regrow without electronic regeneration. She'll be able to snap out of it once her body stops feeling like its being burned alive, but until then her mind is happily somewhere else.
"I'll take her to the Lab," Alex volunteered, sounding deeply regretful. "It was Corazon that caused the damage, and I should make amends."
"No you won't!" Matt snarled suddenly, returning his bulbasaur to her pokeball. "She's mine! Accidents happen in battles. It's my responsibility to make certain she's alright. Don't you dare take that from me!"
"I didn't mean," Alex began.
"You never mean. Stay out of my business!" Matt said defensively. "You can't run the world! A little sorry doesn't change anything!"
"Guys, seriously," Chris said, stepping between them, "calm down. Your starter isn't going to get better by you yelling at everyone."
"I am not yelling!" Matt screamed at Chris.
"Matt, let's just go to the Professor's okay," Scott suggested.
"Yeah, c'mon," Adam added. "Everyone kinda got off to a bad start. The only pokemon here who isn't extremely worn down is Lapis. We could all use the rest."
Matt turned and strode off, his face dark as thunder. The rest followed at a discreet distance, Alex bringing up the rear, since everyone was giving him the cold shoulder.
"You know," Scott said thoughtfully, "if anything, this only proves how dangerous it is for us to go off our separate ways. Look what's happened already, and we didn't even mean it to."
"If you think I'm not going to start my journey just because of one bad practice battle," Chris began.
"No," Melamine cut in, "I think Scott's right. When we separate we should do so in pairs. That way at least one of us could keep an eye on the other."
"Especially if that other is Matt," Adam said. "He's really taking things hard. Would he even know what to do on his own?"
Chris was glaze eyed as Rain dancer sat on his head while they walked. He spoke quietly now. "Alex isn't much better. He has too much potential to become ruthless. And look at the loyalty he inspires in pokemon. His charmander just evolved to learn ember way earlier than most charmander do. Someone has to keep an eye on him, too."
"Is this you talking, or Raindancer?" Adam asked, slightly uncomfortably.
"Raindancer."
Scott and Adam shared a look. Somehow they did not find this information comforting. Someone would be needed to keep an eye on Chris, as well.
"Look," Mel said. "We can all figure out who is going where, and work it out that way. I'm planning on heading to Pewter, and I'm pretty certain Matt will, too, since his starter has an automatic advantage there. Let's look at a map in the lab and plan everything."
"But how could we convince Matt and Alex to do what we want?" Scott asked.
"If you act like you know what you're doing and don't give anyone time to argue you will generally get your way," Alex said, stalking past the huddled group of four. "Oh, and talking behind their backs is always a good plan."
~~~
So, wow, yeah. Everything's getting intense. And Matt's poor bulbasaur is not going to be the same, and yes, she is going to get a name. I just don't want to give it away just yet. Hopefully that battle deflated Corazon's ego a little. So, who do you like more: Matt or Alex? Any other characters you particularly enjoy? Any thoughts suggestions, comments, are welcome. Next up is chapter 7: How Many Roads?
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