19th Move: New Installation

19th Move: New Installation

Ilex Forest, Johto.

Ever get that sinking realisation that you might’ve left the stove on back home while being miles away? Not the cliched, petty excuse you might toss in the middle of an uncomfortable conversation, but the genuine article. A sudden spike of fear meeting your spine, and a deserved palm smacking your forehead. Made worse when your unsure unease evolves into downright despair upon reentry into your home. 

My nose curled in derision when I sniffed. Mere fishiness didn’t warrant that response, but the wooded area we’d been training in practically reeked of cooking gas. One struck match, and it’d explode like a powder keg.

Brock was in genuine danger of blowing us all to kingdom come as sparks almost flew from the friction of his knees skidding across the ground. “Do not worry, my lady. Allow this one to guide you to salvation - or my arms, if you’d prefer.” Evidently Brock learned a priority move before any other Pokémon could.

“Oh! How kind of you! I shall humbly accept your offer, young man.” With the practised ease of someone who’s spent a lifetime dealing with unwanted advances, the gallivanting geisha gently grabbed Brock’s extended hands, melting him into a puddle of goo. 

Misty was quick to hose him off, butting him out of the way and dousing water all over his burning loins. “Don’t mind him. He thinks he’s better looking than he is. But he is right. We’ll take you back to town.”

“Aww, man! Training was just getting good, too.” Ash was the final member of the crew to approach our guest.

I chose to keep my distance.

A sudden unexpected arrival of a damsel lost traipsing through the woods. The fortuitous, coincidental presence of a group of intrepid heroes in prime positions to lend her aid. This wasn’t happenstance; kimono-clad beauties don’t just randomly run into any world’s protagonist. 

All the main ingredients for a troublesome, unavoidable central conflict were being laid out across the chopping board. Which meant my head was bound for the chopping block.

I could practically hear the plot thickening as the cosmic deity stirred its pot from up on high.

Fuck me if I was gonna be part of that recipe.

Ash, who was still pouting at having to cut training short, was going to be my excuse. Plot? What’s that? Storyline? I’m allergic. “No reason we need to interrupt ourselves. C’mon, Ash, Cyndaquil’s almost got the move down pat. Surely you don’t wanna stop when we’re so close, yeah?” 

Four startled faces jerked in my direction once I’d reminded them I was here, too. I ignored Brock’s unreadable eyes, Misty’s reddening head, as well as the geisha’s striking white surprise. Instead, Ash’s blossoming grin was where I focused most. 

“Yeah, you’re right, Uki. Cyndaquil, Pikachu, let’s go!” He raised his fist, ran off, and juked Misty clutching at his collar. “Sorry, guys. We’ll head back to Azalea as soon as we’ve got the moves down. Promise!”

“Ha! Yeah right! You still haven’t even replaced my charred bike yet.” Despite Misty’s valid protest, however, Ash and his two Pokémon were already three sheets to the wind sprints. 

“Oh, please! Do not fuss over me. Your concern is more than appreciated. If I am obstructing your training, pay me no mind. I shall be able to forge a path alone as long as I am pointed in the correct direction.” When the geisha selflessly absolved us of any obligation towards her, I almost regretted taking such a hard stance against her. But I knew, for the sake of my own peaceful existence, it’d be better to see the back of her figure-hugging kimono. Wouldn’t be an unpleasant view by any means.

Then Brock had to ruin it by making an innocent suggestion. “It’s okay, Misty. Pineco’s learnt Accelerock - as long as he practices it, it’ll be usable. I can do that by myself without Uki’s help. Why don’t you guys stay back, and I take our lovely lost guest to Kurt’s house?”

But Misty had a nose for ulterior motives and shot him down instantly. “Not a chance. Traipsing lost in the woods would be safer for her than roaming around with you. No. Either we all go back together or no-one does. And I say we go. Not only is it the right thing to do, but the quicker we escape this bug-ridden jungle, the better!” 

Folding my hands behind my back, I cuffed myself in my own grip so that I wasn’t tempted to tear off Misty’s spiky ponytail for thwarting my plans. 

I had to think of something faster than even the moves I was training. “You know… if it’s the crawlies giving you the creeps, doesn’t it make more sense to stick around? I mean, think about it. They’ve already cleared off since we’ve taken over the clearing today. But tomorrow, when we return to polish off our training… who knows? Do you really wanna risk another day in the woods instead of just finishing the task and putting this insect infested forest behind us?” I squinted my eyes and smiled with all the false modesty I could muster. Buy it, buy it, buy it!

Just as I thought my begging and praying was gonna go to waste, it was Misty’s own Poliwhirl who wiped the suspicious gleam off her face and ultimately clinched victory. “Poli!” Thrusting his fist out as he voiced his determination, the Poliwhirl stared directly at his trainer to let her know he wasn’t prepared to leave without learning his new move.

Unable to bear the scrutiny, Misty relented. “Ugh! Fine, fine! Don’t look at me like that, ok? Go ahead and continue - I’ll wait ‘til you’re satisfied. But not a moment longer, so hurry up!” She then turned to the geisha. “I’m sorry. Would you mind waiting for us to take you to town?” 

“So polite! Of course, not. It is always a treat to witness trainers who truly value their Pokémon. Had I not the fortune to encounter you all, I may very well have been sleeping in the forest - I am content to wait as long as you need.” Knees together, spine straight, she began to gracefully bend down and make herself comfortable on the grass.

As she did, Brock, the consummate simp that he was, reached into his backpack. In the blink of an eye, a checkered blanket rolled out, a tray-table unfolded, and a thermos of steaming tea was uncapped. 

He had the geisha sipping on matcha before a single speck of dust could stain her kimono as she sat in seiza. “In the meantime, allow me to keep you entertained, my lady!.”

“Please, call me Naoko.”

I’d let him have his futile attempt at romance. He was a wonderful speed bump. “Hey, I’ll take over Pineco, okay?” 

Not bothering to wait for his affirmative response, I partnered Pineco and Pikipek together. “Pineco, I want you to run the suicides again, but only using Accelerock. Tuki, keep a keen eye, study the aura, and do your best to keep up.”

Unfortunately, however, I was a victim of my own competence. Tuki proved herself to be a clever cookie, and not half an hour later, “Accelerock!” she’d mimicked the move and added it to her arsenal. 

Most move tutors would celebrate their success, but not me. I glanced around the clearing and spotted Cyndaquil and Poliwhirl sweating it out in a haze of steam from their respective fire and water auras flaring and clashing. Well aware that they were both on the cusp of pulling off their own moves, I knew any concentrated attention from me would only expedite the process. Since I was aiming for a (morally) toxic stall, I instead shifted focus on to Pikachu, who was struggling to keep pace. 

“Hey, Ash! I don’t normally do this, but let me borrow Pikachu - I’ll teach him a new move as a freebie.”

“But I thought you said only one ‘mon each?” He asked, but still urged his partner Pokémon to scamper towards me.

I shrugged. “I’m in a generous mood.” More like nervous that I hadn’t wasted enough time yet.

Plan B was becoming a necessary prospect. Kurt had adequately primed me in the basics of ball manufacturing, and I was confident I could craft my own. If I wanted to see those skills and potential earnings see the light of day, it was imperative that I outline my exit strategy from Azalea before shit really hit the fan Rotom. 

Which is actually why I’d requisitioned Pikachu. Both he and Tuki dutifully sat on their haunches as I considered them for a moment. “Ok, here’s how the rest of today’s gonna go. You two are gonna play tag. Pikachu, your job is to build and store as much electric energy inside your body as you can. You can run away with Quick Attack, but you’re only allowed to attack with your body, or physical electric moves. Tuki, Accelerock is the only way you’re allowed to move, too. Keep in mind, though, that you have wings - don’t restrict yourself to the floor, use the move mid-flight. Here’s a tip: when Pikachu clips you with an electric move, slam your rock aura coated wings into the ground. Ready?”

“Pika!”

“Piki!” 

“Then hop to it!”

Both of them tossed each other a challenging glare and immediately shot off while wreathed in their respective type energies. 

During the course of my instruction, Naoko had quietly snuck her dainty way over to my section of the clearing and began hovering over my training session. “May I inquire as to your methods? I do not fully comprehend them.”

Stupid of me. I should’ve realised my exotic looks would’ve posed too much of a temptation to any woman. Brock really couldn’t compare, and now she’d wandered next to me after abandoning him to his tea party. Her attention was the last thing I wanted, but maybe if I gave a boring explanation, she’d leave me be.

“Take a look.” Jerking my chin towards the game of tag, we watched as Pikipek and Pikachu danced around each other.

Blades of sheared grass fluttered as Pikachu barely avoided Tuki with a quick attack. In the brief second he lost line of sight of my ‘mon, and anxiously swivelled his head while simultaneously drawing in and containing the bolts of electricity skimming over his fur.

Suddenly his ears twitched, his head tilted up, Naoko and I followed his gaze to see Tuki gliding overhead. Coated in rock type aura, Tuki angled her beak down, tucked in her wings, and disappeared in a blur of brown. There wasn’t any time for Pikachu to strafe. He barely lunged out of the way and was blown back by a massive plume of dirt.

He tumbled across the floor, righted himself, and faced a recovering Pikipek with a frustrated growl. Maybe it was being outdone by a flying time, or just the sheer adrenaline, but that was the impetus Pikachu needed to suddenly blitz in Tuki’s direction in a shockingly bright, yellow version of quick attack. Tuki, lacking the space to maneuver, heeded my earlier advice and met Pikachu’s awakened move head on.

Hardened feathers dug into the dirt. Zaps of paralytic electricity dispersed into the ground. Two heads collided in a meaty thwack! No aura, just physical force giving two ‘mon a guaranteed headache tomorrow morning.

“Oh, my! How very brutal, but I cannot deny the effectiveness.”

Nodding at her assessment, I relayed my game-plan. “Pikachu’s already a master of his electric typing and quick attack both. He just needed to use them close enough together to forcefully meld it into one move. Tuki, on the other hand, trained his battle effectiveness. She’s still gonna feel the aftershocks of any electrical attacks, but grounding mitigates the damage enough to prevent any one-hit- KOs. Chaining moves like this also comes naturally to the Pikipek line, so it’s best to take advantage.” The skill link ability had various uses, but that was a conversation for another day, and hopefully, far, far away. “Bugsy won’t know what hit him.” Which meant I could get the hell out of dodge the second I got the badge.

Despite my dry and verbose rhetoric, Naoko’s gaze turned predatory when she looked at me again. “Such an unconventional, yet wonderfully creative technique you have.”

“No, no, no, I’m sure I’m nothing special compared to the average move tutor.” Calm was getting increasingly difficult to feign. I tried to wave her off.

“Fufufu.” She just laughed at me. Her hand demurely rose to cover her mouth, but she couldn’t hide the terrifying set of teeth bared at me. “You, dear boy, are definitely someone worth keeping an eye on.” 

The kids cheering in the background, rejoicing over the other Pokémon also getting a handle on their moves, ironically sounded like my death knell.

“… Guess we’re done here.” And I’m done for!