[FIN] Time to Train

[Akira Midoriyama]

It was late in the afternoon and just after lunch when Akira decided to let his pokemon out. He didn't call upon it often, especially not since he had come to live in Camphoreon City. This particular day, though, had the young man thinking about all the dangers he'd heard from other trainers and the fact that he currently only had one pokemon to protect himself with. It wasn't one that had seen much battle, either; at least not as far as third-evolution pokemon went.

Picking an open area in front of a hotel lobby, Akira took note of a nearby fountain and the small patches of grass that were so artfully maintained. He doubted his pokemon would reject the area like it did on occasion since he'd introduced it to this city. The Serperior hadn't taken well to Akira's change in lifestyle. Part of the reason the grass-type spent so little time out of his ball was because when Akira did try to coax him out, the snake pokemon would often just retreat back into it as an act of defiance.

As low in power and ability as he was for a pokemon of his level, Akira was even lower in level as a trainer and they knew this. It wasn't so much that the 22-year-old was bad with pokemon, naive, or dispassionate about them as he had little actual experience with them. His allergies and previous role in his family had made certain of that.

Now, though, he was free to do as he wished. One of those things was to become a better trainer and to be worthy of his pokemon. It was time to start working at it. "Supercilious," he told the Serperior as the serpent inspected him wryly, unimpressed. "No more hiding away in your pokeball. You're going to start carrying your own weight, or so help me, I'm going to turn you out into the wild. I can't afford to keep a pokemon who doesn't do anything."  

[Tori Honoo]

With her errands run and calls made, Dove made her way down the sidewalk on her way back home, this time with a Ponyta at her side, her hand absently stroking his neck as they walked. Lovey had been tucked away into her ball, after pawing at the girl's leg and whining softly, clearly asking for a break, and though Dove missed having the spunky little eevee at her heels, she relented, reasoning that they had been up extraordinarily early that morning. Besides, Thierry needed to be out more, to be around people other than her, and as she stroked his neck reassuringly, the Ponyta had seemed okay with most of the small groups they had walked by, though the larger crowds had still made him anxious.

However, the sight of another pokemon-- one much larger than him-- made the fire type uneasy, and he stilled not too far from the fountain where the Serperior and trainer stood. When he stopped walking, Dove did too, looking first to the pokemon at her side, then the two in front of the hotel, before squinting to identify the trainer.

Oh!

With a smile, she offered a few words of reassurance to her companion, then led him forward again, stopping just at the side of the fountain before addressing the young man with the grass type. "Hey, you two! Enjoying the sunshine?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Both trainer and pokemon had just been busy glaring at each other when they turned as one to see Dove and her ponyta. Akira nodded in greeting. "Hey. More or less," he answered, "but neither of us are really the 'outdoor' type, so it's more a matter of necessity." He looked the fire-type over. "When'd you get that ponyta? Pretty nice."

The Serperior, with a roll of his eyes, haughtily slipped into the fountain for a cool, refreshing swim. If he was going to be forced out of his nice, cozy luxury ball, he supposed he could make the most of it.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove nodded, looking between the two, then shifted away as the Serperior slipped into the fountain, her brows furrowed in confusion at the stance it seemed to take against it's master. She set her questions aside, however, willing to answer his first. "Thierry? I caught him, not too long ago...We've been training for the past few weeks," she smiled, reaching out to run her hand along its nose. "He's my sweetheart."

At this the Ponyta shifted its weight, as if bashful at the attention she gave it, before butting her arm gently with his nose.

That said, Dove looked again to the Pokemon now in the fountain. "So...How's..." Her question fell apart when she realized she couldn't remember it's name. Shoot.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Thierry," He repeated thoughtfully. "Interesting name. How'd you think of it?" Staring at the flaming mane and tale of the Ponyta, he said, "That's good. Sounds like more than I've been doing."

Following her gaze to the fountain, Akira looked over just in time to see the serpent's tail disappear into the water. He groaned and slapped a palm to his face. "Here we go...Silly! Get out of there!" Looking back to Dove, he said, "Hey...I have an idea. You two have been training, right? How would you and Thierry like to help me knock some sense into that snob of a Serperior?"  

[Tori Honoo]

"Oh, Thank you! It's.... from a book I read," she admitted, blushing. "It means 'ruler of the people' in French. from the way he's been training, I think he could be a good team leader one day," she added, smiling at the 'blushing' Ponyta.

When he snapped at the Serperior, she turned, having to stop herself from giggling at the young man's reaction. Thinking his question over, the girl stepped toward the fountain and looked up at the grass type, though she spoke to Akira. "I mean, I suppose we could... He's a little big for this fountain, after all."

Her brows furrowed a little at his verbal jabs, and she held out a hand to the Serperior, wondering if it would even acknowledge her. "Have you tried talking to it?" In a more gentle tone?  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Oh, really? What book?" he asked, curious. "That's cool."

Supercilious, detesting the shortened version of his name, ducked his head under water and resolved to stay there for as long as he could hold his breath. He was not going to answer to that name, particularly not in front of all these - these commoners in public!

"What does it look like I've been doing?" the young man asked Dove with a sigh. "It's not working."

Walking over to the fountain, Akira reached a hand in and grabbed the Serperior behind the neck. The grass-type's leaf-like hands pried at his grip weakly and he whipped around to try to bite his trainer. However, it was the wet whiplash of his tail against Akira's behind that caused the young man to let go.

"Yow!! Hey, I don't like this any more than you do!" he yelled, trying to assess the damage done and pull his shirt down over the wet spot now on his butt. "You want me to leave you here? Because I will!"

What? He would? Why hadn't he before, then? The serpent lifted his head up to peer over the edge of the fountain basin. The idea seemed kind of tempting, but if Akira wasn't his trainer any more, then...would someone else try to capture him? Someone even more unpleasant? So far this guy was a pushover, but what if someone really mean came along? Or even worse - no one? What if he was left to starve in this stupid fountain forever?!  

[Tori Honoo]

"I...don't remember the name right off..." she told him, watching the pokemon as it continued to disobey.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, the girl stood closer to the fountain, wincing as the long green tail snapped out against his trainer and his hold. Shaking her head, the girl put a palm to her own face. These two certainly weren't a team, that was for sure. She snapped her fingers once, trying to get the Serpierior's attention.

"What's his name, Akira?" she asked, her gaze still on the pokemon. Thierry watched hesitantly, unsure of how to react should the pokemon lash out against her as well. "Is he always so disobedient? I can't imagine him thinking these are proper manners."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Supercilious. I must have thought I was so clever to have named him that when I was younger, but then it just became a mouthful to say. So I just call him 'Silly'. Which he hates." Akira chewed on his lip thoughtfully, frowning at the snake pokemon. "Manners aren't his forte. It's being treated like a king that he's used to."

At the snap of Dove's fingers, Supercilious raised himself more out from the water. He turned his steady glare on the girl and swiftly began to move in her direction. Akira's eyes widened.

"Tori! Get out of the way!"  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove raised a brow thoughtfully at the name, sighing as she watched the snake. "A king, huh?" That sounded familiar, though at least the snake in her mind had pretended to have manners.

However, as it raised itself above her with a look that could kill, her eyes widened and she stepped back, and as it moved toward her, her hand snapped to her belt.

A flash of red and a blur of cream coat later and two fire types stood nearby, between the girl and the grass type, Sparky's roar at the offending pokemon loud enough to make her cringe. Thierry stood his ground, just behind the Typhlosion, eyeing the scene anxiously but willing to protect his trainer.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The Serperior reared back at the red light from the pokeball, not having expected the girl to react so quickly. He remained still as the aggressive Typhlosion emerged and roared at him, folding his leafy hands behind his serpentine body. Well, there went his fun for the day. Maybe he should just go back to the nice, cool pool...

As he turned around to return to the fountain, however, he found Akira standing behind him much to his irritation. The brunette was smirking. "Ah ah ah," he said. "No you don't. You started this fight; now you have to finish it." Pointing at Sparky, he ordered, "Leech Seed!"

Supercilious gave Akira a withering look.

"Hey, if you don't move first, he will. And he has a type advantage. You want that?"

The grass-type raised his head arrogantly, tilting his chin up in defiance.  

[Tori Honoo]

Once the young woman had regained her footing, she snapped the ball back to her belt, her eyes searching out the Serperior's trainer, shaking her head. Had it really just tried to attack her? Even as protective as Sparky was, the Typhlosion at least offered a fair warning, especially when the threat was human.

When she noticed Akira's smirk, however, she couldn't help but grin, and as the Pokemon seemed to wilt at his command, she stepped back, motioning for Thierry to do the same. Sparky looked entirely unimpressed as the Serperior tipped its nose up at his trainer's advice, still furious that it had attempted a move against his charge.

"Well, if it's going to behave like that... Why don't you show him a good time, Sparky?" Dove told him, crossing her arms. She certainly wasnt happy that it had moved to attack her, and if Akira was calling for attacks, it seemed a battle was perfectly acceptable.

The typhlosion seemed to smirk, now amused at his opponent's hesitation, though his eyes stayed narrowed.

"Flamethrower."

With little urging, the typhlosion craned his neck and released a blast of fire that shot in the direction of the Serperior.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I...don't think he liked you snapping at him," Akira told Dove jokingly behind a conspiratorial hand.

At the fire-type's blast of flames, Supercilious' scarlet eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe anyone would dare to attack him, especially while he was pouting. Quicker than his trainer realized he could move, however, he ducked the Flamethrower and glared at the one called Sparky.

He raised a brow. <What a stupid name you were burdened with,> he said condescendingly when the attack ceased and he raised his head once more. <I've always loathed mine, but now I have reason to be glad - at least it wasn't yours.>

He may have been at a type disadvantage, but the Typhlosion didn't scare the Serperior. They were both third-evolution pokemon, after all, and Supercilious was absolutely certain he had a great deal more brains than the brute who'd attack him without warning. All for the sake of his trainer. How revolting. Sparky was nothing more than a mindless slave of loyalty in the Serperior's eyes.

"That was close. Are you going to listen now?" Akira called to him. "Let's try this again. Leech Seed!"

The grass-type glared at Akira out the corner of his eyes, wishing he could turn around and strangle the young man. At the moment, though, he was a bit occupied and could not do such. How dare he order him around?! He wasn't any more knowledgeable at this battling stuff than he was - no, worse. He wasn't a pokemon. Why should he possibly take advice from someone who didn't know how to perform a single proper attack?

Concentrating on his opponent, Supercilious blocked out Akira's voice, extended a pair of vines forward, and lashed out with a Vine Whip instead at Sparky's exposed midriff.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove shrugged a little, watching Sparky's attack with pride as the burst of fire seared the air with a strength much stronger than the first she had seen from him when they had just begun to train together. When it missed, however, her brows raised, surprised that it had dodged such a high accuracy attack, but she snapped again, just for fun. "Supercilious get over it, I'm sure." Hopefully by the time the battle was over, if they were to have one, it would be so tired it wouldn't help but deal with her way of getting his attention. In any case, it had done the trick.

She did look to Akira, however, as Sparky settled back, wondering if he really did want a battle. She certainly didn't want to step on his toes--again-- just because she didn't like the way his Serperior behaved. The grass type wasn't hers to train, after all, though after a long look at it's attitude, she was more than willing to help him out a bit... Or have Sparky do it for her.

The Typhlosion looked evenly at the other pokemon as it addressed him, though his smirk remained intact. he replied cooly, obviously not seeing any value in the Serperior's taunts. silly that it fits so well. Loath our names as you will, but I daresay we both live up to their meanings, though I see no reason for you to have such a pride as your name suggest, nor do I see any reason for Toshiro to take pride in you. Perhaps it's just a reflection for this empty conceit you display so pompously.>

When Akira called to his pokemon with a command for an attack, Dove locked her eyes on the giant snake, her jaw dropping a little as it disobeyed yet again and attacked with a Vine whip instead. She grinned a little, watching as Sparky dodged the attack, then grabbed for the vines, already ready with another flamethrower and intent to hold the grass type in place.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The mention of his shortened nickname only infuriated the grass-type.

She did it again! That brat! That - that wench! Serperior couldn't stand it. Without bothering to consider battling rules, he lunged toward Dove. The fact that Sparky had him by his vines completely slipped his mind until the last moment.

"Ah! Supercilious!" Akira yelled, but he knew it was too late. He clutched his head in his hands, wincing at what he knew was to come. Well, it was the serpent's own fault for not paying attention and letting his temper get the best of him. Maybe their goals just weren't aligned as trainer and pokemon.