[X] My Assistant

[Living Arrow]

Travelling back to Port Barley after the events at the Petropolis Grand Invitational had been a long and gruelling affair for Lori. Well, it had involved public transport which inevitably meant sharing elbow room with all manner of undesirable and social reprobates. If she was not worrying about her bag being stolen from off of her shoulder, the young Trainer was replaying the events of the tournament again and again to find the moment that had made her act so foolishly.

*Who really thinks they can play the hero and go down some stupid hole to save random people they’ve never even met before!?* She demanded of herself for the fiftieth time as the stench of body odour from her latest ravel companion drifted her way. Holding back a gag, she politely turned her head the other way and cried inwardly. *At least Cesc smelled good!*

*Hey! Stop thinking about him, dammit!* Lori blushed in spite of herself, heat rising in her cheeks to decorate her skin with blotches of ruby embarrassment.

The coach pulled up to a stop at the edge of the town in the later hours of the sunny morning, a couple of miles from her final destination, and freedom announced itself as the coach doors clunked open.

*Close enough!* Lori told herself, springing up from her seat without a backward glance for the stinking hobo next to the window. Cuddling her bag close to her chest with one hand while squeezing the length of her intensely red hair in the other, she hurried to the front of the vehicle.

“Thanks!” She smiled and bowed her head politely to the driver (a sweet old man who she doubted spoke any English) and skipped down the steps to the sidewalk. The coach pulled away with the hiss of its brakes releasing to leave her drinking in the fresh air of the coast. It had been a while since she had been in Barley, and the town hadn’t changed a bit, but she felt like a different person to the rookie that had picked fights with bullies on her first day in the town.

*Never again, Lor.* She reminded herself of the boys that had threatened to cut off her hair when she’d defended another beginner trainer at the bus station. She shuddered at the memory, pushing those thoughts down to her toes where they couldn’t plague her thoughts anymore.

“Pipster,” Lori clicked open the green-capped Pokeball of her Piplup and grinned as he materialised in front of her, “we’re back in Barley.”

“Lup, Piplup!” His cheery reply was a welcome change to the dismal mutterings of the ‘people’ on the coach.

“And you know what that means, right?” She prompted him. A blank expression was her response. She rolled her eyes and pumped her fists energetically, the infectious enthusiasm of her naturally bold demeanour finding its way back to the front of her otherwise woolly teenage brain. “It means we get back on a ferry and go to Fidona! That Gym badge won’t win itself, y’know?!”

“Lup!”

“So, let’s go!” Lori cheered, breaking into a run down the final slope into the town with her Penguin Pokemon close on her heels.

[Kamaitachi]

Much to Tag's chagrin, no trainers had stepped up to challenge him, despite his open display of combat training. Perhaps he'd done too well? His Pokemon moved with sharpness, grace, and the utmost coordination. Their techniques exploded with ferocity, precision, and power. Combined with Tag's occasionally terrifying countenance, it appeared that the overall effect had intimidated challengers away from him.

It appeared that there were no self-proclaimed "Ace Trainers" running around in Port Barley.

Which...made all the more sense. Port Barley was the spot where beginning trainers stepped off on to begin their journeys. Tag, evidently, appeared to be promising the end of them.

He watched closely, as his Ledian flitted easily between the magical leaf barrage, despite their homing capabilities. As they got too close, a well timed Light Screen would appear, stalling them before Suzu flashed away.

"Suzu, Kyoko. Melee attacks. Close Quarters."

With determined cries, the Ledian and Bellossom threw themselves at one another. Electricity danced along Suzu's gloved hands, as she used them not offensively, but in defense as she parried Kyoko's incoming Leaf Blade attacks.

Nearby, Orin and Enka were still engaged in their long range exchange. His Froslass gracefully weaved through the air, spinning out of the way of incoming Electro Balls, Thundershocks, and even the super effective Power Gems, all the while retaliating with Ice Shard attacks and the occasional blast of an Icy Wind. Those two were more suited for the long-distance fighting, so it didn't make sense to switch into Close Quarters Combat with those two, but Tag figured they needed to be prepared too.

"Enka, Orin, switch to Take Down and Ice Fang, respectively." Tag ordered, watching as the two nodded wordlessly before charging in at one another.

Tonbo, meanwhile, was far too slow to be a melee fighter. The Slowpoke seemed quite unfazed at the oncoming Swift stars, while Razo, one of the newer members to his team, made no delay in showing off his acrobatic prowess in dodging the incoming water guns and water pulses.

As Tag prepared to issue the command, he noticed how close to the edge Tonbo was. Perhaps the Swift attacks had been pushing him slowly back, towards the water's edge. As he began to issue an order for Tonbo to move in, he noticed the Slowpoke lifting his tail.

Attached at the end appeared to be a Shellder, that had somehow managed to propel itself up and out of the water, to latch on to the Slowpoke tail dangling over the edge of the boardwalk.

"Slow?"

How long had it been attached, given that Tonbo had only now recognized the offending bivalve on his tail. Tag, about to ask his Slowpoke companion to rid himself of the passenger stopped when he realized precisely what was happening.

The jolt rang out, gathering the attention of a few more passers by. The few that had stopped to watch the training rose in anticipation as the confused Pokemon's blank eyes settled on the Shellder. It appeared that they, too, knew what happened.

Slowly, a white light formed from the point of contact, growing and expanding across both Pokemons' bodies. Even the other Pokemon on Tag's team stopped to watch, eying their comrade with amazement. Within the light, the faintest hint of shapes within appeared to be growing, expanding, as if Tonbo were sitting back on his hind legs.

Sure enough, when the light subsided, there sat Tonbo, looking confused as ever, with a rather large spiral conch attached firmly to his rear.

"Bro." He stated simply, looking over at Tag, the eyes still blank, as if it had not yet registered his change in physical form, or his newfound change in vocabulary.

Tag walked over, taking a knee before pulling his friend into a tight hug. The Pokemon he'd rescued from a cage had now taken the opportunity to evolve.

"Congratulations, Tonbo." He smiled, pulling back and examining the still adorable face before him. "I must say...you look magnificent."

"Slow." The Dopey Pokemon tilted his head slowly to the side.

"Slowbro."

Tag had grown accustomed to the thought-speak. And he'd heard tell of psychics who could communicate with their pokemon via telepathy. It appeared, now, that his Slowbro was capable of thought speak...but perhaps it was Tag's lack of experience or talent with anything remotely psychic that prevented full on communication. He only heard the words "Slow" and "Poke" before. Now, he imagined "Slow" and "Bro" would be the only words now.

Perhaps it was his perception that Pokemon only ever knew how to say their names? Was it this prejudice that kept him from fully understanding his Pokemon on this new and wholly intimate level?

Those were ponderings for another time.

"Tonbo, let's see how much more powerful you are now. Show me your water pulse."

With a gentle nod, Tonbo turned back to Razo. Another swirling ball of water formed in front of his mouth, as if Tonbo were using his psychic powers to shape the water gun into a bullet. It seemed smaller than before, but it rotated so much more fiercely, like Tonbo was packing more water into a denser package. Without warning, the shot fired off, bypassing Razo entirely, who had been too fascinated to even attempt to dodge. The attack lanced out towards the street, striking a building. The attack exploded in a wave of water into the air, which came crashing down on the street, dangerously close to a pair of girls with a Piplup, Poochyena, and Zubat.

Tag winced...he'd been looking forward to battling today, not to explaining to young people why he'd haphazardly attacked them.

* * *

Tonbo evolved into