Breaking from the Pack

Makoto's hope has come true. The ball wiggled around until a click was heard, barely. The Ghostbusters has to give Makoto a credit for doing their job.

[You forgot to edit my pokeballs again lol. Feel free to figure out some way to introduce Skitty and/or Teddiursa as my adventure progresses too.]

Lifting the ball, Roxas' sandstorm died down. He looked a bit scuffed up, and she knew that the ghost type was likely in no better shape. Groaning just a bit, she walked back into the Pokémon Center and healed her Pokémon...again.

Several hours pass, and Makoto once again finds herself en route to Eckruteak City. This time she had two new partners to accompany her, though they remained silent in their capsules as the girl travelled with her green ground type, Roxas. Now, she knew that she couldn't take on the Gym Leader there just yet, but after some research she knew Violet City, and Falkner would be her target. Roxas was a perfect match-up too, his rock type attacks would pelt Falkner's birds to the ground. She just needs to get there now -and maybe train a bit before putting too much on her plate.

Now that she thought about it, training now would probably be a good idea. She stopped her march, Roxas only taking a few steps before halting to look back at his trainer deep in thought. She broke from it, glancing about at her surroundings. It seemed whe was in a rather open environment, very little to work with. It would have to do. She had three Pokémon to train now, so she figured a friendly sparring match between two couldn't hurt as just training. After all, she was over half way to Eckruteak already.

-Training; Roxas and Cyndaquil-

"Alright Roxas, let's see how our new friend fares," Makoto said as she unclipped a pokeball from her waist. Tossing it out, the ball burst open in a radiant light which quickly reformed into the small blue fire mouse she had recently captured. She was still lacking a nickname, but Makoto figured she would think of one later when the two got closer. After all, it took her nearly a month to officially name Roxas! Anyway- the Cyndaquil looked up to her new trainer warily. She had recently been defeated in a battle with Roxas, yet here stood the intimidating Pokémon before her regardless. "Cyndaquil, you and Roxas are to have a sparring match. I don't want either of you using your full force. I want you to focus on dodging and speed more than anything this round. Try to avoid using your special abilities too, this match is purely sport!"

Once the rules were explained, Cyndaquil swallowed hard and tried to appear fearless before Roxas (to no avail, I might add). Roxas on the other hand was cool and collected, looking quite smug about this match. Makoto knew it would be a handful trying to keep him from using his moves, and wasn't quite sure about her new Pokémon just yet. "Ready? Begin!" She announced, dropping her arm as though this were a race -which wasn't a bad idea in retrospect. She would plan a race as a future training exercise.

Cyndaquil froze for a moment, Roxas' smirk turning dark as was so easy for the species. She shakingly went to move, quickly darting forward at Roxas as she attempted to throw her body into him. He easily side stepped, avoiding the attack and dropping his arm into her back in a faux 'pound'. She hit the ground, using her tiny arms to push herself back up. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Roxas going in to attack by kicking. She managed to jump back, skidding across the loose topsoil a few inches before swiftly lunging into Roxas, using her head to make contact.

Roxas' smirk quickly dissipated as he felt the ipact, and was knocked off balance a bit. After wobbling for a step or two, he regained composire but looked irritated now. The winds began to pick up, dirt starting to whip around. "Roxas, no! You aren't allowed to use Sandstorm!" Makoto reminded in a less than gentle tone of voice.

"Tar..." He said in a gruff voice, clearly irate but still willing to listen to his partner. Instead, he ran at Cyndaquil and mirrored her attack. He used the hard protrusion on his head to his advantage, attempting to cause her more injury with it. This was becoming less of a dodge match and more a hit for hit, as the attack landed sending Cyndaquil tumbling backward. She landed on her stomach, and looked very disappointed in herself, not even othering to oush herself back up before Roxas walked over and kicked her in the side. The force caused her to flip over and squeak a bit, Makoto flinching as she heard the shrill voice.

"Quil!" She shrieked each time she was hit. Still, she did nothing as Roxas beat on her. Makoto was quickly growing worried that this Pokémon's spirit had already been broken by that which was meant to build it up.

"Cyndaquil, you have to get up! You have to fight back, or else Roxas will never stop!" Makoto egged on, somewhere deep in her mind comparing Roxas to a school-time bully. A few more hits, and Cyndaquil's face went serious. It was obvious she thought about the words, and the pores on her back burst into heated flames! They were a symbol of her burning passion, as she quickly dodged the next incoming attack, then let a flurry of attacks on Roxas. She was quick, ducking and headbutting before Roxas could even notice he'd missed. Of course, she was being driven by adrenaline currently, but still.

A while longer, and Roxas was clearly being overwhelmed by the new tactic. Of course, it was the tactic that Makoto had wanted them both to use. Roxas was more a hide and strike than a dodge and strike though, apparently. "Alright, that's enough..." Makoto said, calling off the match. The two Pokémon halted a few moments later, tired but not completely exhausted nor too injured. With a smile, Makoto decided to let Cyndaquil travel outside of her pokeball for a while as reward. The three again began walking on towards Eckruteak City.

-End Training-

(Honestly, I keep forgetting to edit everyone's Pokeballs so how many should you have left by now? Thank you for calculating the training thing for me. Training topics are an ass to me and I suck at Math. :))

(She started with 5 and caught 2 Pokémon, so she should have 3 left. Ending topic and moving to Eckruteak)