First Day of Training [Training]

[Razmor]

It was a bright, shining day in the Sinnoh region. The sun was out and warming the area, the avian wildlife were taking flight overhead, casting shadows over the ground below, and the wind was letting a cool breeze flow across the grass. It was a great day for some training. It had been a few days after Felix had encountered the girl who had managed to teleport across regions directly on top of him; Eve Iridescence. He had seen how strong her Absol was and he and Shinx had lost to a very strong Heracross. They needed to get stronger, much stronger.

Felix and Shinx were walking together outside of Jublife City, looking for an open area to get some training done. Shinx kept close to Felix’s side, her eyes scanning for a clearing in the forest. Felix was wearing a track suit over a pair of shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. His combat boots still kept his feet safe. He had taken along his backpack and even filled it with some heavy weights for the events ahead. He looked down at his companion and smiled. “You ready Shinx?” Shinx returned the look and nodded. “Shinx!” She mewed in agreement. Felix finally spied a patch of open forest and walked into the clearing. He set down the backpack and began to stretch. “Go ahead and get stretched. We’ve got a hard day of work ahead of us.” Shinx nodded with a look of determination and started to stretch out her arms and legs, even whipping her tail around in anticipation for the upcoming training.

When they were done stretching, Felix started to jog in place. “Alright Shinx! Let’s go for a quick run to get all warmed up.” Shinx nodded and started to chase after Felix as he ran through the forest. The wind rushing through his hair, the feeling of the forest around him, and the sensation of running with his best friend. He ran through the unruly forest, where no path was clear and they just ran with nature guiding them. He ducked under tree branches, jumped over roots, and swerved around tree trunks. Shinx kept his pace and maintained her position at Felix’s side. After several minutes of running, Felix and Shinx came to a large cliff face and had to stop.

As both Felix and Shinx were out of breath, they paused and looked at the cliff. It was a rocky cliff side, with several crevices and gaps making it look like a rock wall instead of just a flat cliff side. Felix looked down at Shinx and exchanged a look of determination. “Up we go then.” Felix walked up to the cliff face and grabbed a solid hand hold. Then he pulled himself up, grabbing the rock to support himself as he went. Shinx starred at the wall for a moment or two before jumping up to a rocky platform, using Felix as a sort of springboard. Felix grunted as he continued to climb while Shinx jumped from platform to platform. Felix made sure to look over to make sure Shinx wasn’t too tired as she continued to leap up the cliff face. After a minute of struggling, Felix made it to the top of the cliff and dropped to a knee, trying to control his breathing.

He looked over at Shinx, who had also managed to climb the cliff and was now panting as she starred down at the bottom. Felix smiled and looked around to try and plot a way down to the bottom again. He thought about simply climbing back down to the bottom, but he felt like that wouldn’t help too much for endurance training. He looked around and found a pathway through the forest, leading back down to the bottom of the cliff. It was a long way around, but it was a way none the less. He slowly rose to his feet and looked down at Shinx. “Come on Shinx, we’ve got this. It’s just a run. We can do it.” Shinx got to her feet as well and gave a determined nod. “Shi…” She mewed as she followed Felix into the forest. They kept their jogging pace and kept each other in check; when one fell behind for some reason, the other would encourage them to keep up the pace and stay together. It was a good system for running with a partner.

Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the forest ahead of them. The duo came to a halt as they saw another human come through the brush. They were running too but they quickly stopped when they saw Felix and Shinx. A few moments of silence passed between the two trainers before both got a strong look of determination and got into a battle stance. “Shinx, you ready for a battle?” Shinx growled with excitement as she nodded and jumped forward, getting ready for battle. The other trainer smiled and got his Pokeball out. “Go, Kricketot!” He shouted as he threw the Pokeball and sent out the small bug type. The Cricket Pokemon narrowed its eyes at the Flash Pokemon as they both squared off. Both were a low level, but Shinx had her ace up her figurative sleeve; Fire Fang. The battle began with a single command.

“Kricketot, use Struggle Bug!” The other trainer shouted and the Kricketot responded by shaking a little before shooting out several small green energy dots at Shinx. “Shinx, dodge it and counter with Tackle!” Felix responded as Shinx was quick to react. She jumped and used the trees to move and avoid the Struggle Bug attack. When she was back on the ground, she dug in her feet and rushed forward, putting her paws forward in an attempt of tackling the Kricketot. The Cricket Pokemon was a little too slow to react and got hit squarely in the chest by Shinx’s two paws. After making the attack, Shinx quickly retreated back to her side of the field. She was tired from their run, but she was still standing strong. The only signs of her tiredness were her deep breaths and slightly shaking form. “Stay tough Shinx! We’ll win this and get back to the house in no time!” Shinx heard the cheer and toughened up, stamping her paw and letting loose a ferocious battle cry. But given her size, it wasn’t much of a roar as much as a meow.

“Ha! Don’t count us out just yet!” The other trainer responded before pointing at Kricketot. “Kricketot, use Bide!” The Kricketot, which had apparently recovered from Shinx’s tackle, got to its feet and nodded. Then it stood still, its body ready for any incoming attacks. Felix saw this as their window to attack with everything they had. “Shinx, finish this up with Fire Fang!” Shinx’s mouth ignited into an inferno and she rushed forward, her speed having visibly improved since the last time they battled. She chomped down on the Bug type and caused a small explosion to nearly consume the Kricketot. She leaped back again to maintain distance as the Kricketot barely stood its ground. However something had changed. The Pokemon was now surrounded with a red aura and it had an angry look on its face. It was as if it had absorbed the energy of the attack. Felix wasn’t prepared to see what happens when the Kricketot decided to attack. “Once more, Fire Fang!” Shinx responded as quick as a wink and dash forward with her jaws open and roaring with flames. Once again she clamped her jaws down on the Bug type and caused another explosion. When she jumped back this time, the Kricketot was very weak and barely standing. But it was still standing none the less. “Alright Kricketot! Let ‘em have it!” The other trainer shouted and the weakened Pokemon responded. It rushed forward with incredible speed, too fast for Shinx to react in time. She was met with a hard headbutt as the force of Bide was unleashed in that one big strike. Shinx flew back, hitting a tree as she slumped back to the forest floor.

“Shinx!” Felix called after her. The Flash Pokemon slowly rose to her feet, stumbling a little but maintaining her balance as she got her footing. She glared across the field at the struggling Kricketot, who wasn’t in a better position than her. The next successful attack would determine the outcome of the fight. “Shinx, Tackle!” “Kricketot, Struggle Bug!” Both Pokemon moved to obey their trainers. Time slowed down. Shinx dashed forward with that same remarkable speed as the first time she struck. The Kricketot once again shook in place as Shinx quickly closed the distance. Right before those green energy shots could fire, Shinx planted her little paws on the Cricket Pokemon’s chest with a powerful final strike. It sent both Pokemon back several feet, with Shinx landing on top of the fainted Kricketot. Shinx quickly jumped off and slowly walked back to her side of the field. She was hurt; that Bide attack had taken a lot out of her. But she had stayed strong, like Felix knew she would. “Aw man! I can’t believe we lost!” The other trainer shouted in distress, but Felix raised a hand to calm them down. “There’s no shame in losing. You were a great opponent.” He gave a little salute with his hand and Shinx bowed low to the ground. “Thank you for the battle.” The other trainer managed a smile and returned the Kricketot to their Pokeball. After exchanging words of farewell and directions through the forest, the two trainers parted ways.

Shinx clearly struggled to walk, but every attempt to pick her up and carry her was met with a cold stare and that piercing look of determination. She refused to be babied; it was just a little pain. She’d walk it off and prove to Felix she was strong. They walked for a ways, Shinx stumbling every now and then but recovering her balance and carrying on as if nothing was wrong. Felix couldn’t stop smiling. She was his little ball of fluffy pride. And he hoped she stayed that way. Always pushing herself and proving that she was the strong one of the duo.

After walking for a ways more, they managed to turn around enough that they were once again at the bottom of the cliff face. Felix looked down at Shinx. “Let’s head home, okay?” Shinx looked up at him with a questioning look. She seemed to debate whether or not she wanted to head home before submitting and nodding. Felix smiled and scooped up his friend, hugging her close to him as she squirmed for a little bit. He carried her back to the clearing as he scratched her ears, causing her to purr loudly and generate small amounts of electrical energy. It didn’t bother Felix anymore; he had been shocked enough times that he simply didn’t care anymore. They made it to the clearing and Felix threw on his backpack, the heavy weights still inside. He carried both the bag and Shinx through the forest, even though he was a little tired from the running and climbing. Shinx had decided to doze off in Felix’s arms, her purring keeping the trainer smiling as he exited the forest and made his way to Jublife City, and back to his home.

They had trained hard, and they both deserved a little rest. Maybe he’d call Eve and see what she was up to? Or maybe he’d wait until they were even stronger before giving Eve a call. That was for Fate to decide.

[MegaAbsol]

(Just a note - there is as much training of Felix as there is of Shinx :p that won't really be counted, although it leads to a fair amount of character development (I myself had made a small, separate thread for char development) oh well~

I haven't counted the exp yet, but your next post should be enough for Shinx to evolve (darn early evolutions >>) so you can go on ahead and include evolution in your post. If not, all cool. I'll make a note of it as well as write out the excerpt myself~)