Markus POV

  We took our places on the field across from one another. On Takahashi’s side, Archie stood primed for battle, flames spewing from his mouth. Next to me, I heard my partner’s liquidation roaring out. I had a feeling that this lovely meadow wouldn’t withstand the onslaught it’s about to be subjected to.

  “So how should he do this?” I asked. “Are we going till knockout, or until someone calls it?”

  “It’ll be until one of us calls it. The Pokemon Center is quite far from here, and Archie is the only one who can teleport groups.”

  I nodded. It made perfect sense, especially after submitting myself to this so-called training. It would be awful to have to hike there.

  “I’m ready when you are!” I exclaimed, sending forth my partner with a flourish. Phobia joined in on the fun, doing some trick with his limbs. It reminded me of some sword taunts you’d see in games.

  Takahashi reached down for a rock on the ground, and sent forth his partner. Archie blurred into his spot on the field. “We’ll start once this hits the ground. Sounds good?”

  Again, I nodded, and with nothing else to exchange, he threw the rock. I held my breath in anticipation, waiting for the start.

  A soft thud was heard, and chaos erupted.

  “Trap it!”

  “Rush in with Liquidation!”

  We called out our moves, Takahashi being far faster than I. Immediately a tornado of fire sprang out around Phobia. The move was strong, as I could feel the heat from where I stood, and it was only getting stronger thanks to the red blur running around it, continually feeding the fire. It was a strong attack, but unfortunately for them, there was a slight flaw.

  A streak of water lashed out, separating the flames, as an angry purple spider slowly emerged, his water bubble reducing the fire’s effectiveness to nothing.

  Neat, didn’t know liquidation could do that.

  Archie had leapt back, trying to play keep away with my partner. He started to build up flames in his mouth, but Takahashi shouted out.

  “Fire doesn’t work, treat it like a Blackthorn!”

  And almost immediately, the building flames had shifted, going from an uncontrolled inferno to a ball of purple energy.

  I had a clue as to what was coming thanks to my in game knowledge.

  “Get ready Phobia, they’re using Dragon Pulse! Use Liquidation as a shield, and advance on them!”

  I looked at Takahashi, and saw a surprised expression from him. I just chuckled, and flashed him a grin.

  A purple dragon head rushed out from Archie, zig zagging its way toward Phobia. The beam was growing in power, and to my surprise, Phobia didn’t move to block. Instead, he pulled back one of his limbs as water began coating it. Before the beam could connect, my partner acted, spearing the Dragon Pulse. The beam lanced off of Phobia’s limb wildly, shooting off in multiple directions.

  I was wondering why he’d try lancing the beam instead of shielding, but then I saw what he was planning. While his one limb was busy combating the Dragon Pulse, the other was building up a Liquidation that looked longer than usual. Moments later, he lashed out with the whip-like Liquidation.

  Archie had been too busy pushing power into the Dragon Pulse to notice Phobia’s attack. It was thanks to Takahashi’s cry that saved Archie from the full blow. He cut off his beam early, and attempted to Extreme Speed away, only to receive a glancing blow for his efforts. Despite the attack not landing fully, it still packed a massive punch, sending the canine careening.

  I sent a glance to my partner, only to wince at what I saw. Phobia had blocked a lot of the damage, but he wasn’t unscathed. Burn marks littered his limb, and he was having trouble putting pressure on it. Despite everything, I could still see him rearing for a fight, his battle spirit overflowing. Still, I had to make sure.

  “Still good to keep going buddy?”

  “*Absolutely.*”

  “Then give them Hell, my Vessel of Terror!”

  I could have sworn I heard Phobia start chuckling, but it was quickly drowned out by the sounds of his Liquidation starting.

  Looking back to the battle, I saw Archie wobble to their feet before shaking off some water. He sent a glance to Takahashi, who just nodded. Immediately following that, a ball of light appeared above the Arcanine, and I grimaced, realizing my mistake.

  Arcanine had used Morning Sun, and I just sat here, and let it instead of pushing for an advantage.

  The Ranger must've noticed my face, because he started to chuckle.

  “Ah, you understand your error. I must say, I’m impressed you’ve done well thus far, but I’m afraid you aren’t at a pro level.”

  I huffed a bit before laughing a bit myself. “You’re right, I still have a lot to learn, but at least I managed to put you on the ropes old man!”

  Takahashi froze at my words for a second, before having a full belly laugh. He went on like that for a while, having to catch his breath.

  “Humble, yet cocky. Heh, you might just have what it takes to go big after all, upstart!” Takahashi exclaimed, putting as much energy into his words as he could. “But I think we’ll have to humble you a bit more! Archie! EXTREME WILD CHARGE!”

  At his call, Archie lit up like a lightbulb, with streaks of lightning arching off of his body. He went to take a step, only to blur out of existence as his paw hit the ground, leaving a charred patch where he once stood. A heartbeat later he reappeared, slamming into Phobia, and sending my partner sliding back.

  I tried to call out anything, but Archie was just too fast. Before I could get out a word, he had slammed into Phobia yet again.

  Phobia tried to guard against the assault, summoning his Liquidation, only to be slammed from behind. Each hit felt overwhelming, and Phobia was struggling to withstand it.

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  I was trying to find a solution to get in an attack, but it was just too much, as Phobia was slammed into again. It was then that I noticed something. When Archie backed off of the hit, he had slowed down considerably, the strain of both moves was coming into play. I called out to my partner, knowing this will be our Hail Mary.

  “Phobia! Can you take one more hit? I’ve got an idea!”

  My partner slowly stood, wobbling as he did so. It looked like he was on his last leg. He shot me a look, and nodded. I grinned, knowing damn well what he meant.

  We were determined to see this through, and like hell we’re done here.

  “That’s right! We aren’t done yet! Prep a Liquidation, and get ready to launch!”

  Phobia readied himself, letting the water roar across his limbs, as he drove four of his legs into the ground. He was putting his all into this last attack.

  Archie blurred once more, crashing into Phobia. The thwacking sound that echoed from the attack was bone rattling, and I winced when I saw my partner get pushed back, carving grooves into the ground. After the attack ended, Archie reappeared on the other side of the field, breathing heavily, slowed to a snail's pace. This was our chance, and I called out, “NOW!”

  And Phobia launched, an avalanche of dirt, mud, and grass flew from where he once stood. He rocketed towards the Arcanine, ready to end the battle.

  The world seemed to slow moments before impact. Just as Phobia was about to swing down with his Liquidation, the exhaustion of the battle hit him, and he faltered.

  The meadow grew quiet as the battle came to an end. I had already been moving to my partner sprawled out in front of Archie before either of us could call the match. When I got close, I could see just how much damage he’d withstood, and I winced. There were multiple electrical burn spots, and dark colored welts on his purple carapace, and the water bubbles around his head and joints were spent.

  As I knelt down to my partner, I felt a hand grasp my shoulder. When I looked up, I saw Takahashi standing over me with a small smile, handing me a bottle.

  “I nearly forgot how new you are to this. Here, use this on him. Should get him back in functioning order. Just pour it onto the bad looking spots, then we can get Joy to check him out.”

  I nodded, and muttered out a thanks as I took the bottle. It was tan, and filled with a green liquid, reminiscent of the full restores in the games.

  The process was quick thanks to Takahashi’s help, and soon enough, I could see Phobia start to stir.

  “Hey buddy, you did amazing! How are you feeling?” I whispered to him, slowly running my hand across his back.

  Phobia looked at me, and smiled, weakly raising one of his limbs into a salute. I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling.

  I seriously need to learn who taught him that.

  After some final inspections, I returned Phobia, and made my way over to Takahashi. He was finishing up his inspection of Archie, so I waited. A few moments later, Archie was returned, and Takahashi turned to me.

  “He’ll be fine, but I’m not going to risk him teleporting while in his state. Are you ok with flying?”

  I gulped, and nodded. I had been fine on airplane rides, so this shouldn’t be so different.

  Right?

  ——————————————————————

  ‘I couldn’t have been more wrong,’ I thought, curled into a ball in the lobby of the Pokecenter, shivering after expelling all of my soul. When he asked me how I’d do with flying, I expected something like an airplane ride from my old world, but no, what he meant was a Mach 2 joy ride with me hanging on for dear life.

  ‘Fucking adrenaline junkie. Could have given me a warning,’

  Above me was a frantic Nurse Joy trying to get any information from a cackling Takahashi. I didn’t make out much, besides “Builds character” or “He’ll be fine”.

  With the dizziness wearing off slightly, I groaned as I rose to my feet. “Do you have anything for nausea?” I pleaded with the nurse. She nodded, and briskly turned back into the center.

  “You really aren’t good with any form of travel, eh Markus?” Takahashi jokes, moments after the nurse had left.

  “Maybe I’d be better if you weren’t going Mach 2, you maniacs,” I whinged back, playing up the petulance a bit. My efforts were rewarded with a tsk from the Ranger, followed by some chuckles.

  The Nurse Joy from earlier returned, holding a tray with out Pokeballs and a pill bottle. I thanked her, before immediately popping one of the pills. Almost instantly I felt relief.

  “Yet more Magic Pokemon Healing Bullshit,” I muttered under my breath while rubbing my once broken arm. I must have accidentally said that aloud, as I noticed Takahashi giving me a side eye as we left the building.

  “Was your world’s healing that bad?” He asked, sending me a concerned look. I sighed and shook my head.

  “It’s a long story, and one I’m not wanting to go into. Oh, this isn’t going to cost me, right?”

  Takahashi shook his head, and I let out a sigh of relief.

  Thank fuck for that. Last thing I need is to go into Pokedebt.

  Instead of calling out his Pidgeot or Arcanine, Takahashi started walking towards a nearby store, gesturing for me to follow.

  “Oh? What’s up?” I asked, having to jog to catch up.

  “There’s a couple of things,” Takahashi replied. “For starters, you need new clothes.”

  I froze, looking down at my current attire. I had the startling realization that I was still in my work clothes, holes and all. Embarrassment flooded through me as I fruitlessly tried to cover any spots that were too revealing.

  “You’re fine Markus, you know how many times I’ve seen trainers walking around looking like you are now?” Takahashi said casually, not even breaking his stride. “Newbies who don’t prepare enough or Aces who just need to get that one strong Pokemon they saw? Far too many times. Now come on, we’re burning daylight.”

  I had started fidgeting as I followed behind. I always had an issue with handouts like this, and I had already bothered them enough as is.

  “It’s fine, I’d rather not,” I said. “You’ve helped me out so much already, and this is a lot.”

  “Kid, you’re a Faller. Not only do you need all the help you can get, but when we finally send our report, all expenses will be paid by the association.”

  “Oh! We’re making the Government pay! Next time lead with that!” I quipped, and that got a snort from the older man.

  And for the next couple of hours, that’s exactly what we did. I had chosen a couple of outfits, but what I wore now was a red and black flannel hoodie with a somewhat generic black Pokeball undershirt. The look was complemented with a pair of ripped jeans and fingerless gloves.

  We were currently relaxing on a bench on the side of the road after finishing up with our shopping trip. At some point, Takahashi had picked up some ice cream, and was busy digging into it, while I was distracting myself with people and Pokemon watching. I rolled Phobia’s Pokeball in my hand, thinking about my new life, and what I knew about what was to come.

  “Alright Markus, I was wondering how you felt about our battle earlier,” Takahashi said, snapping me back into focus. I pondered my response, looking deep into the Master Ball in my hand.

  “I could have done better,” I eventually got out. “I was too slow to act, and it resulted in our loss. Still, it was a great battle, and I had a lot of fun!”

  I looked over to Takahashi, and saw him nod along to what I said.

  “You’ve got the makings for a great trainer, and I could see the hallmarks of one in our battle. You’ve got nowhere to go right now, at least until Watcher sends in his report. Until then, I’d like it if you stayed with me, and I can help hone you into a better trainer. What do you say?”

  “Well, I don’t see a better offer than this,” I responded almost immediately. “Hopefully it won’t be as bad as today was.”

  I looked over at the Ranger, and a chill ran down my spine, as I looked over to Takahashi, a horrid grin plastered on his face. I could only pray that the devil ranger would be merciful upon my wretched soul.

  ——————————————————————

  For the next several days, my life became nothing but training. In the morning, we would work my body to the point of exhaustion, and by noon we’d battle. I still have yet to win, but I can see improvements.

  “Alright Phobia! L-Whip!” I shouted out, and Phobia acted, calling upon his Water Type energy to lash out at Archie. The normally short ranged move had gained a significant increase. We had been practicing with the versatility of Liquidation, and we learned that we could shape it quite easily.

  Unfortunately, it hasn’t given us the advantage, as Archie jumped over our attack, and slammed into Phobia with yet another Wild Charge, ending our battle for now.

  We were busy cleaning up, when I heard a chime similar to the one I heard my first day here echo through the meadow.

  “Withdrawal is now ready.”

  Finally.

  I whipped out my Switch, and sure enough, the countdown had ended. In its place was an indication showing me how many withdrawals I had available.

  I excused myself in order to find Watcher and Green. They had wanted to be there when I used the Switch again for their report, and I was planning on using it immediately.

  It wasn’t hard to find the two thankfully, as they had been slumming it up with Takahashi as well. They had been in the middle of a game of cards when I burst in, interrupting the game.

  “It’s ready,” was all I said, and all I needed to say apparently, as the two dropped what they were doing. They made their way to my side with pens and paper in their hands.

  “Which Pokemon are you planning on taking out?” Watcher asked nervously, to which I responded with a smile.

  “Oh nothing serious, just someone who’ll help me immensely in the future. They’re not a Legendary, so no need to worry!”

  This seemed to calm the two, and they went back to scribbling on their notes.

  I brought my cursor over to the Pokemon I wanted. This week had taught me a lot, like how ill prepared I was to go out into the wilds. Without food, medicine, or a safe way to travel, I’d be a sitting duck (ducklett?). I had been lucky that both the Pokemon Centers and Takahashi had been kind enough to help with supplies so far, but I couldn’t keep relying on them. It’s why I was confident with my choice.

  I pressed the button, and confirmed my choice. A couple of moments later, and a quick chime to remind me the withdrawal was successful, there was a Luxury Ball resting in my hand.

  ‘Well, no time like the present to show off my newest friend,’ I thought, smiling down at the Ball.

  “Come on out, Sunny Side!”

  Thanks for reading!