06 - Motivation
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Chu awoke not long after sunrise, the half-open tent flap exposing his face to the sun's rays as the light sliced through the leaves above. Stretching leisurely, he rolled over to take a look at Eevee, who had been sleeping right next to him. His vision still blurry, he reached over to stroke at a small, curvy form which, in the dim light, he assumed was Eevee. However, two things seemed wrong with this situation. For one, she was a lot further away than she was the night before. Also, the form he was stroking wasn't furry; it was nylon, like a sleeping bag. Thinking nothing of it, he yawned loudly, shutting his eyes as he rested his head drowsily on his travel-size pillow. "How are ya, girl?"
The form stirred, and the next thing he knew, it felt like his nose was instantly, and forcefully, fused with a frying pan. Yelping in pain, Chu retracted his arm to clutch at his face as the Teflon-coated metal pulled away from his face, leaving a circle-shaped red mark stretching across both cheeks, and from his forehead to his chin. Utterly confused, he soon discovered why Eevee felt so weird.
The form reared up in it's sleeping bag, seeming much larger than he thought it was. A very angry Chenelle's face protruded from the top, which was also reddened, although for a different reason. "WHAT THE HELL are you DOING, you pervert?!" she raged, very barely containing her anger enough to not thwack him again.
Chu groaned, curling up into a ball, still in the sleeping bag, as he nursed his pounding head. "D-... dammit... I thought you were Eevee! No need to go all bitchy on me!" Groping blindly at the sleeping bag, he unzipped it as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his other hand. He looked around the tent and was suddenly very alert despite how tired he was. He couldn't see Eevee. "Chenelle... where's Eevee?"
She withdrew bag into the sleeping bag upon looking at her watch, grunting in a very ladylike manner. "How should I know? She was sleeping by YOU. If you kept her in her PokéBall like normal trainers, maybe she wouldn't have gotten kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?!" Panicking, Chu leapt out of the sleeping bag, slightly relieved at the fact he thought enough to sleep in his boxers and T-shirt, as opposed to nothing. Running out of the tent, he looked around the small clearing that they had camped in. "Eevee?! Eevee!!" There was no reply. He looked around on the opposite side of the large tree they pitched camp next to, but there was no sign of that other Eevee either; just the empty can of PokéFood that Chu had offered him the evening before. He assumed the worst - Dammit! That wild Eevee must've taken her! I shouldn't have been so trusting!
He ran through the dense brush to the road, looking back and forth frantically, yelling out her name over and over. He was getting no reply, just the steady trickling of the stream on the opposite side of their little camp. Sighing worriedly, he walked back the few yards back to the camp... to see Eevee just standing near the tree, her fur fluffed up and damp, looking up at him confusedly. He recognized her instantly as he own, and he breathed a sigh of relief, flopping down against the tree.
Noticing Eevee's look of confusion, Chu decided it was best to just calm down and keep her at ease. "There ya are, girl. I was wondering where you got to." He gave her a reassuring smile, which she mirrored. Padding up to him, she nuzzled against his bare forearm. Chu shivered a little as the wet, cool fur rubbing against his arm and picked her up, hugging her close. "You're all wet, Eevee... taking a morning bath were you?" She curled up in his arms, licking affectionately at his arm as he cradled her. Chuckling, Chu just held her gently, stroking back her fur with his spare hand.
He felt relieved that Eevee was finally back in his arms. They had only met three days ago, but being apart for two of those was too much for him to bear. Part of him was telling him that it was merely his trainer's pride that was at stake - how could he ever become a Pokémon Master if his first Pokémon went missing, all because of a low-level Rattata? But there was something more urgent that had tugged at his mind while he searched for her. He already felt a deep affection for her, and whether it was because of the experience they shared that first night under the tree, sheltered from the warm rain pattering around them, or if it was just the effect something so cute and fluffy had on him, he didn't know. All he knew, or cared about, was that she was safe, and apparently happy to be back with him.
A loud yawn came from the tent, and he looked over. He saw Chenelle, already dressed - albeit messily - and standing at the entrance of the tent. She looked him and rolled her eyes. She must have noticed the emotionally-overwhelmed expression on Chu's face. "I was just kidding about the kidnapping, you know..." She scratched at her self, in a very unladylike fashion, and walked over to them. Kneeling down beside Chu, she reached toward Eevee and gave her wet back a gentle stroke, apparently pondering something. Chu either didn't care or didn't take notice... He just cradled the small vulpine creature in his arms, leaning down occasionally to kiss between her two large ears.
After a few moments, Chenelle turned back to look at Chu - she had wandered over towards the tent to get the gasoline-powered stove going. "Say... Chu."
Chu started, as if brought back to reality, and blinked at the female trainer in surprise. "Uh... yeah?"
Chenelle was looking at him and his Pokémon intently, which kind of intimidated him. "Eevee looks pretty much healed, wouldn't you say?"
Chu blinked once more at the question, and looked down at Eevee's brown-furred body. She was right; the Potion Chu had sprayed on her the night before in her sleep seemed to be mending her wounds nicely, and he could hardly tell she was hurt. The only evidence attesting to that fact were two red marks that could be seen, if he was looking hard enough, on the surface of the flesh inside of her left ear. He nodded in agreement with Chenelle's question. "Yeah, she looks a lot better than she did yesterday." Eevee perked her head up at him and cocked it to the side inquisitively, to which Chu responded with a warm smile and a caring stroke at the back of her head.
Chenelle stood up abruptly. Reaching swiftly behind her, she produced a PokéBall and pressed the middle button, causing it to expanded do a size around that of a softball. "Then battle me, Chu Lorethian!"
Chu was taken aback. He looked for any sign of sarcasm or ridicule on Chenelle's face, as there usually was when he looked at her. But there was none. Her expression was set, serious, and by no means mocking. Chu drew Eevee close to him protectively. Thoughts of his last battle rushed through his mind. "But... but Eevee isn't strong enough to battle someone like Blaze... I need to train her m-..."
"What better way is there to train a Pokémon besides battling?!" Her lip curled up into a disdainful snarl. She seemed REALLY eager for this fight, for reasons beyond Chu's comprehension. "Besides," her snarl curled up into a smirk. "I don't think it's the Pokémon who needs the training here."
Chu snapped. He narrowed his eyes and stood up quickly, still holding Eevee in his arms. "Oh yeah?! We'll see who the better trainer is!" He looked down at Eevee, a short look of apprehension washing over his face. "...Whaddaya say, girl? You up for a fight?"
Eevee seemed to hesitate for a moment, distracted with something else, but she quickly made a decision. "Vee!" she exclaimed resolutely, hopping down out of Chu's arms and onto the ground. Her answer was obvious.
Grinning, Chu faced Chenelle fully, cracking his knuckles. "You're goin' down, Chenelle!" He managed to sound confident, but he was far from it. He was getting that same, nervous feeling in his gut as he did the last time he entered into a battle with Eevee. He was afraid that this time would be the same as back then - his legs would quiver, his mind would race, and he could never decide what to tell her to do in time. It was very frustrating for him to realize that although he loved the life of Pokémon Trainer (or, at least, what he had heard about it), he was failing miserably at two very important aspects; battling and caring.
Closing his eyes, trying to force these unconfident thoughts out of his head, he habitually reached around behind his head, groping around blindly. He then stopped as he realized his bandana, which he would tighten whenever he was nervous like this, wasn't there, and was back in the tent, along with his traveling clothes. Blushing a little, he noticed he was still in his boxers (which weren't incredibly concealing) and T-shirt. "..Just a second..." he held a finger out to Chenelle indicatively, and dashed into the tent, coming out after a few moments. His olive-green cargo pants covered his legs, and his red bandana clung tightly to his forehead. "Alright... NOW I'm ready."
Chenelle smirked and tossed the PokéBall on the ground, which bounced back skyward and popped open, shooting out a white beam of light which formed into a battle-ready Blaze within two seconds.
Then sun was now rising over the treetops, and shone more directly on the glade than before. The two trainers stood several meters apart, with their respective Pokémon between them. Chenelle grinned. "Since you're the newb, I'll let you go first."
Chu growled. "Shut it! I've had enough of your charity!" Oddly enough, her goading was spurring him on. Maybe all he needed in the first place was a REASON to battle. He pointed at the Charmander on the opposite side of the clearing. "Eevee! Start it off with a tackle attack!" Giving a short squeak in reply, she bounded off towards her opponent.
Chuckling, Chenelle waved her hand dismissively. "You really think that'll work?" Blaze didn't even need to hear a command do dodge out of the way, and land a few feet away, causing Eevee to overshoot her intended target. Skidding to a halt, she whipped around and ran back at the Charmander. "Blaze! Scratch attack!" Splaying it's legs apart, Charmander readied his attack for just the right moment.
"Eevee! Look out!" but it was too late. Blaze didn't even have to move out of the way; his small, orange paw lashed out and struck Eevee across the face the instant she came into range, causing her to careen away at an angle almost ninety degrees to her previous trajectory. Landing on her side and skidding a foot or two, she quickly regained her composure, the attack not having done a whole lot of actual damage. "Good work, Eevee! Looks like we have to go about this differently. Uhh... how about..."
Chenelle cut him off. "You don't have time to think about things like this, Chu! Blaze! Growl attack!" Chu could do nothing but clench his fists in frustration as the fire lizard's sonic attack left Eevee visibly shaken.
Suddenly, Chu got an idea. "Eevee! He can't fight what he can't see! Sand attack!" Eevee's ears perked up, and she nodded. But she didn't seem to do what Chu was telling her to do... she was just looking around, rather frantically. "..Eevee?!"
Chenelle laughed at him. "Holy crap... What a novice! Where's the sand gonna come from, genius?!" She pointed at the desperate female Pokémon. "Blaze, send her flying with a tackle attack!" The moment the last syllable left her lips, Blaze ran at Eevee on all fours, headed straight on a collision course with her.
Chu got another idea. "Eevee! Dodge to the side and use Tail Whip!" obeying as fast as she could, she sidestepped out of the way of the attack, her still-damp tail latching onto the Charmander's face...
Causing him to slam head-first into the tree Eevee had fallen in front of. Blaze's limbs went rigid for a second as his body spasmed in obvious pain. "Blaze!" Chenelle cried out, angry at herself for not having noticed the proverbial matador's knife behind the cape. "Get up!" Struggling to comply, the Charmander shakily got up on all fours.
But Chu had already taken advantage of the situation, his previous uncertainty all but gone. "Eevee! Finish it off with a Quick Attack!" Not needing any further instructions, she leapt at Blaze's side, shoving him roughly to the ground. Blaze landed on his back, his arms and legs limp on either side of his body, mouth agape, his eyes spiraled out; he was obviously down for the count.
"Dammit Blaze! Get UP! I'm not losing to HIM so easily!!!"
Chu blinked, slowly taking it all in. The unconscious Charmander, the slightly battered but victorious Eevee, and the aggravated Trainer on the other side of the clearing... his brain slowly pieced together these new pieces of visual data. Can it be...? Did...
"...I win?" even as the words came out of his mouth, he knew it was true. "I win! My first official Pokémon battle, and I win!" He hopped up into the air once in excitement, a large, silly grin plastered on his face. "Yahoo!!" Eevee turned around, pleased at his obvious pleasure over her victory. Leaping up at him, she latched onto his chest, catching him off-guard. Toppling over onto his rear, he sprawled out on the ground, all the while laughing and hugging at the small Pokémon on his solarplexus.
Chenelle watched the two of them for a moment, managing to hide her amusement. Although she didn't show a lick of it, she was glad that Chu won. And seeing him, or more specifically, his Pokémon, so happy was worth losing one measly battle. Going over to Blaze, she pointed the PokéBall at him and called him back. "You make an interesting trainer, Chu Lorethian..." she stroked at Blaze's PokéBall thoughtfully. "...Very interesting indeed...
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Ugh... I'm really sorry it took me so long to update, you guys... I just hope my pitiful attempt at a battle/affection scene was worth the wait... More yiff action next time :3
Chu awoke not long after sunrise, the half-open tent flap exposing his face to the sun's rays as the light sliced through the leaves above. Stretching leisurely, he rolled over to take a look at Eevee, who had been sleeping right next to him. His vision still blurry, he reached over to stroke at a small, curvy form which, in the dim light, he assumed was Eevee. However, two things seemed wrong with this situation. For one, she was a lot further away than she was the night before. Also, the form he was stroking wasn't furry; it was nylon, like a sleeping bag. Thinking nothing of it, he yawned loudly, shutting his eyes as he rested his head drowsily on his travel-size pillow. "How are ya, girl?"
The form stirred, and the next thing he knew, it felt like his nose was instantly, and forcefully, fused with a frying pan. Yelping in pain, Chu retracted his arm to clutch at his face as the Teflon-coated metal pulled away from his face, leaving a circle-shaped red mark stretching across both cheeks, and from his forehead to his chin. Utterly confused, he soon discovered why Eevee felt so weird.
The form reared up in it's sleeping bag, seeming much larger than he thought it was. A very angry Chenelle's face protruded from the top, which was also reddened, although for a different reason. "WHAT THE HELL are you DOING, you pervert?!" she raged, very barely containing her anger enough to not thwack him again.
Chu groaned, curling up into a ball, still in the sleeping bag, as he nursed his pounding head. "D-... dammit... I thought you were Eevee! No need to go all bitchy on me!" Groping blindly at the sleeping bag, he unzipped it as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his other hand. He looked around the tent and was suddenly very alert despite how tired he was. He couldn't see Eevee. "Chenelle... where's Eevee?"
She withdrew bag into the sleeping bag upon looking at her watch, grunting in a very ladylike manner. "How should I know? She was sleeping by YOU. If you kept her in her PokéBall like normal trainers, maybe she wouldn't have gotten kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?!" Panicking, Chu leapt out of the sleeping bag, slightly relieved at the fact he thought enough to sleep in his boxers and T-shirt, as opposed to nothing. Running out of the tent, he looked around the small clearing that they had camped in. "Eevee?! Eevee!!" There was no reply. He looked around on the opposite side of the large tree they pitched camp next to, but there was no sign of that other Eevee either; just the empty can of PokéFood that Chu had offered him the evening before. He assumed the worst - Dammit! That wild Eevee must've taken her! I shouldn't have been so trusting!
He ran through the dense brush to the road, looking back and forth frantically, yelling out her name over and over. He was getting no reply, just the steady trickling of the stream on the opposite side of their little camp. Sighing worriedly, he walked back the few yards back to the camp... to see Eevee just standing near the tree, her fur fluffed up and damp, looking up at him confusedly. He recognized her instantly as he own, and he breathed a sigh of relief, flopping down against the tree.
Noticing Eevee's look of confusion, Chu decided it was best to just calm down and keep her at ease. "There ya are, girl. I was wondering where you got to." He gave her a reassuring smile, which she mirrored. Padding up to him, she nuzzled against his bare forearm. Chu shivered a little as the wet, cool fur rubbing against his arm and picked her up, hugging her close. "You're all wet, Eevee... taking a morning bath were you?" She curled up in his arms, licking affectionately at his arm as he cradled her. Chuckling, Chu just held her gently, stroking back her fur with his spare hand.
He felt relieved that Eevee was finally back in his arms. They had only met three days ago, but being apart for two of those was too much for him to bear. Part of him was telling him that it was merely his trainer's pride that was at stake - how could he ever become a Pokémon Master if his first Pokémon went missing, all because of a low-level Rattata? But there was something more urgent that had tugged at his mind while he searched for her. He already felt a deep affection for her, and whether it was because of the experience they shared that first night under the tree, sheltered from the warm rain pattering around them, or if it was just the effect something so cute and fluffy had on him, he didn't know. All he knew, or cared about, was that she was safe, and apparently happy to be back with him.
A loud yawn came from the tent, and he looked over. He saw Chenelle, already dressed - albeit messily - and standing at the entrance of the tent. She looked him and rolled her eyes. She must have noticed the emotionally-overwhelmed expression on Chu's face. "I was just kidding about the kidnapping, you know..." She scratched at her self, in a very unladylike fashion, and walked over to them. Kneeling down beside Chu, she reached toward Eevee and gave her wet back a gentle stroke, apparently pondering something. Chu either didn't care or didn't take notice... He just cradled the small vulpine creature in his arms, leaning down occasionally to kiss between her two large ears.
After a few moments, Chenelle turned back to look at Chu - she had wandered over towards the tent to get the gasoline-powered stove going. "Say... Chu."
Chu started, as if brought back to reality, and blinked at the female trainer in surprise. "Uh... yeah?"
Chenelle was looking at him and his Pokémon intently, which kind of intimidated him. "Eevee looks pretty much healed, wouldn't you say?"
Chu blinked once more at the question, and looked down at Eevee's brown-furred body. She was right; the Potion Chu had sprayed on her the night before in her sleep seemed to be mending her wounds nicely, and he could hardly tell she was hurt. The only evidence attesting to that fact were two red marks that could be seen, if he was looking hard enough, on the surface of the flesh inside of her left ear. He nodded in agreement with Chenelle's question. "Yeah, she looks a lot better than she did yesterday." Eevee perked her head up at him and cocked it to the side inquisitively, to which Chu responded with a warm smile and a caring stroke at the back of her head.
Chenelle stood up abruptly. Reaching swiftly behind her, she produced a PokéBall and pressed the middle button, causing it to expanded do a size around that of a softball. "Then battle me, Chu Lorethian!"
Chu was taken aback. He looked for any sign of sarcasm or ridicule on Chenelle's face, as there usually was when he looked at her. But there was none. Her expression was set, serious, and by no means mocking. Chu drew Eevee close to him protectively. Thoughts of his last battle rushed through his mind. "But... but Eevee isn't strong enough to battle someone like Blaze... I need to train her m-..."
"What better way is there to train a Pokémon besides battling?!" Her lip curled up into a disdainful snarl. She seemed REALLY eager for this fight, for reasons beyond Chu's comprehension. "Besides," her snarl curled up into a smirk. "I don't think it's the Pokémon who needs the training here."
Chu snapped. He narrowed his eyes and stood up quickly, still holding Eevee in his arms. "Oh yeah?! We'll see who the better trainer is!" He looked down at Eevee, a short look of apprehension washing over his face. "...Whaddaya say, girl? You up for a fight?"
Eevee seemed to hesitate for a moment, distracted with something else, but she quickly made a decision. "Vee!" she exclaimed resolutely, hopping down out of Chu's arms and onto the ground. Her answer was obvious.
Grinning, Chu faced Chenelle fully, cracking his knuckles. "You're goin' down, Chenelle!" He managed to sound confident, but he was far from it. He was getting that same, nervous feeling in his gut as he did the last time he entered into a battle with Eevee. He was afraid that this time would be the same as back then - his legs would quiver, his mind would race, and he could never decide what to tell her to do in time. It was very frustrating for him to realize that although he loved the life of Pokémon Trainer (or, at least, what he had heard about it), he was failing miserably at two very important aspects; battling and caring.
Closing his eyes, trying to force these unconfident thoughts out of his head, he habitually reached around behind his head, groping around blindly. He then stopped as he realized his bandana, which he would tighten whenever he was nervous like this, wasn't there, and was back in the tent, along with his traveling clothes. Blushing a little, he noticed he was still in his boxers (which weren't incredibly concealing) and T-shirt. "..Just a second..." he held a finger out to Chenelle indicatively, and dashed into the tent, coming out after a few moments. His olive-green cargo pants covered his legs, and his red bandana clung tightly to his forehead. "Alright... NOW I'm ready."
Chenelle smirked and tossed the PokéBall on the ground, which bounced back skyward and popped open, shooting out a white beam of light which formed into a battle-ready Blaze within two seconds.
Then sun was now rising over the treetops, and shone more directly on the glade than before. The two trainers stood several meters apart, with their respective Pokémon between them. Chenelle grinned. "Since you're the newb, I'll let you go first."
Chu growled. "Shut it! I've had enough of your charity!" Oddly enough, her goading was spurring him on. Maybe all he needed in the first place was a REASON to battle. He pointed at the Charmander on the opposite side of the clearing. "Eevee! Start it off with a tackle attack!" Giving a short squeak in reply, she bounded off towards her opponent.
Chuckling, Chenelle waved her hand dismissively. "You really think that'll work?" Blaze didn't even need to hear a command do dodge out of the way, and land a few feet away, causing Eevee to overshoot her intended target. Skidding to a halt, she whipped around and ran back at the Charmander. "Blaze! Scratch attack!" Splaying it's legs apart, Charmander readied his attack for just the right moment.
"Eevee! Look out!" but it was too late. Blaze didn't even have to move out of the way; his small, orange paw lashed out and struck Eevee across the face the instant she came into range, causing her to careen away at an angle almost ninety degrees to her previous trajectory. Landing on her side and skidding a foot or two, she quickly regained her composure, the attack not having done a whole lot of actual damage. "Good work, Eevee! Looks like we have to go about this differently. Uhh... how about..."
Chenelle cut him off. "You don't have time to think about things like this, Chu! Blaze! Growl attack!" Chu could do nothing but clench his fists in frustration as the fire lizard's sonic attack left Eevee visibly shaken.
Suddenly, Chu got an idea. "Eevee! He can't fight what he can't see! Sand attack!" Eevee's ears perked up, and she nodded. But she didn't seem to do what Chu was telling her to do... she was just looking around, rather frantically. "..Eevee?!"
Chenelle laughed at him. "Holy crap... What a novice! Where's the sand gonna come from, genius?!" She pointed at the desperate female Pokémon. "Blaze, send her flying with a tackle attack!" The moment the last syllable left her lips, Blaze ran at Eevee on all fours, headed straight on a collision course with her.
Chu got another idea. "Eevee! Dodge to the side and use Tail Whip!" obeying as fast as she could, she sidestepped out of the way of the attack, her still-damp tail latching onto the Charmander's face...
Causing him to slam head-first into the tree Eevee had fallen in front of. Blaze's limbs went rigid for a second as his body spasmed in obvious pain. "Blaze!" Chenelle cried out, angry at herself for not having noticed the proverbial matador's knife behind the cape. "Get up!" Struggling to comply, the Charmander shakily got up on all fours.
But Chu had already taken advantage of the situation, his previous uncertainty all but gone. "Eevee! Finish it off with a Quick Attack!" Not needing any further instructions, she leapt at Blaze's side, shoving him roughly to the ground. Blaze landed on his back, his arms and legs limp on either side of his body, mouth agape, his eyes spiraled out; he was obviously down for the count.
"Dammit Blaze! Get UP! I'm not losing to HIM so easily!!!"
Chu blinked, slowly taking it all in. The unconscious Charmander, the slightly battered but victorious Eevee, and the aggravated Trainer on the other side of the clearing... his brain slowly pieced together these new pieces of visual data. Can it be...? Did...
"...I win?" even as the words came out of his mouth, he knew it was true. "I win! My first official Pokémon battle, and I win!" He hopped up into the air once in excitement, a large, silly grin plastered on his face. "Yahoo!!" Eevee turned around, pleased at his obvious pleasure over her victory. Leaping up at him, she latched onto his chest, catching him off-guard. Toppling over onto his rear, he sprawled out on the ground, all the while laughing and hugging at the small Pokémon on his solarplexus.
Chenelle watched the two of them for a moment, managing to hide her amusement. Although she didn't show a lick of it, she was glad that Chu won. And seeing him, or more specifically, his Pokémon, so happy was worth losing one measly battle. Going over to Blaze, she pointed the PokéBall at him and called him back. "You make an interesting trainer, Chu Lorethian..." she stroked at Blaze's PokéBall thoughtfully. "...Very interesting indeed...
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Ugh... I'm really sorry it took me so long to update, you guys... I just hope my pitiful attempt at a battle/affection scene was worth the wait... More yiff action next time :3