Chapter 13- Route 203 2

  Skorupi wakes up to the sight of a human in a red cloak sitting on the roots of a shady tree, eyes tracking something in the stream.

  The rage burns in Skorupi’s mind at the sight of this human. He raises his tail and lets out a threatening chitter, ignorant to his own slow movements and pain, he lowers to the ground, ready to pounce.

  “Gible!” A pokemon’s voice echoes from the bank and makes Skorupi remember how he ended up waking up here. He was defeated. He wasn’t as fierce as he once assumed.

  Anger abates for shame. Skorupi’s stance crumbles as he realizes how tired he is and how terrible the fight had turned every single time the human gave orders to his pokemon. How he lost control every time the human spoke. How no matter how many hits he landed they were never debilitating or did serious damage. How maybe he deserves to be beaten and alone.

  “You seem to be overly concerned about something there. Would you try to share with me your burden?” The human speaks in a calming tone, snapping the Pokemon out of his spiral.

  This time, the anger does not overwhelm Skorupi, but his distaste is evident in the dismissive “Skorr!” that comes in reply.

  “I see you are still not fond of my presence here. Though I do say, I’ve been waiting for you to wake for so long Sever started playing in the river.”

  “Gible~~” Sever cheerfully interjects before the man continues.

  “It did give me time to think. About why you attacked me the way you did. Usually Skorupi are more territorial than most pokemon based on the strength of their species, but that’s not it because if it was you would have proudly proclaimed your presence and try to scare any intruders away. Instead, you ambushed me.”

  Skorupi’s eyes are knitted together as he tries to figure out what this human is getting at, any threats in the environment, and if he can run away safely.

  Still, Erdd continues speaking “So in my pondering I have come up with a question for you. Do you hate humans?”

  The shock on Skorupi’s face is answer enough. He is stunned enough to continue listening to the mad man’s ramblings instead of making a break for it.

  “I now know why I was drawn here to you. I wish to help you in any way I can. So would you please stay and talk with me?”

  Skorupi considers this human’s offer. During the fight he tried multiple times to communicate but was ignored. He didn’t use overly vicious methods, sure the Sand Tomb was painful but at that point it didn’t drag out needlessly. More importantly after the fight and he was unconscious, the human stayed to watch over him instead of abandoning him to the wild pokemon of the Route.

  “Skorupi..” Hesitantly the pokemon agrees.

  “Well, I’m glad we’ve gotten that out of the way. My name is Erdd, and that is Sever, my first Pokemon partner.” Erdd introduces himself.

  Skorupi is unimpressed and paws the ground impatiently with his claws, telling Erdd to get on with it.

  Erdd begins his series of questions “To start, I wish to know more about you. Is it ok if I ask you some questions? Feel free to bring anything confusing up to Sever and just nod or shake your head.”

  Skorupi nods.

  “Are you a native of this route?”

  Shake

  “Are you native to The Great Marsh? The wet lands covered with mud on the other side of Mt. Coronet.”

  Nod

  “Did you travel here on your own?”

  Shake

  “Were you captured by a Trainer?”

  Nod

  “Were you captured willingly?”

  “Skor!!!” He nods but is offended at the mere thought he could be taken by force. Erdd ponders this reaction before speaking again.

  “Did you leave your trainer?”

  Shake. Skorupi flexes his claws, as if sharpening them on a stone, imagining something.

  “Your trainer released you of their own choice?”

  This Skorupi can’t stand, he jumps up in fury letting out a clangor of clacks and hisses, in what Sever can understand as a furious tirade of curses, presumably targeted at his previous trainer.

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  Even when Skorupi is stomping and making a fuss, Erdd never looks away from the pokemon. He is only looking at the fire burning in the Poison's eyes.

  “Then he was a damn fool!” proclaims Erdd, stopping Skorupi dead in his tracks.

  Erdd was looking before, but now Skorupi looks back at him. There is a moment of connection and fondness between them as Skorupi realizes the human’s passion more than matches his own.

  “Join me.” The human says, “It is my goal in life to lead pokemon to break past their limits and reach their true potential. I believe you have the power to reach that peak.” The human reiterates “Join me.”

  Revulsion.

  The connection between the two of them is lost as Erdd’s words cause a face and memories to flash in Skorupi’s mind. He leans back on his haunches, preparing to pounce on that vile, weak being that now he sees instead of Erdd.

  Only Sever wrapping Skorupi’s feet in the earth prevents him from lashing out at the human. “Gib! Gible!” Sever barks harshly, causing Skorupi to stay his hand, opting to charge his tail with Bug power as a warning not to go too far instead.

  Skorupi shakes his head, refusing Erdd’s offer.

  “You don’t trust me to do this thing I promised you.” Erdd says, but is not willing to give up. “What if I can prove it to you with my actions rather than words?”

  “Upi?” Skorupi neither nods nor shakes his head, waiting for Erdd to continue.

  “My proposition is simple, follow me to the end of this route, the entrance to the cave and see my worth as a trainer.” Speaks Erdd “There I will ask you again to join me, and it shall be up to you to decide based on what you have seen. In this are you willing?”

  “Koooorrr…” Skorupi mulls it over, thinking about the human he knew before, the pathetic thing, but also his fight with Sever and the talk with Erdd up till this point. For one reason or another, he comes to a decision.

  Nod.

  Sever cries out in joy and picks up Skorupi in a big hug while licking the purple boi with a coarse tongue.

  Erdd’s face is overcome by a pleased smile at his pokemon’s antics and his potential pokemon’s acceptance.

  Letting out a chuckle, Erdd says “Now now, Sever. Give him some space. We are still marching till dinnertime.”

  While Erdd and Sever were searching off trail they still were going in the correct direction across Route 203 so the search did not add much if any time to their walk to the next checkpoint because of how everything was on the way,

  While they walk, Erdd tells Skorupi of his journey so far. Moving and training along Route 204 and through the Ravaged Path, past Jubilife and to Sandgem town. Skorupi seemed to pay the most attention to the descriptions of training and battle, taking note of the progress Sever has made in his time with Erdd.

  It is near dusk when Erdd concludes his tale and declares the party of three set up for the night. They made good time and are once again at the base of the next set of stairs leading up the mountain.

  In the waning daylight, dinner is served. Erdd eats trail rations and Sever has his kibble and a few berries. Erdd did not pack any specialty Bug or Poison food so he simply gives Skorupi an assortment of different berries, taking care to observe what the pokemon prefers.

  After dinner it is time for a short training session so Erdd first tells Sever to resume his work in moving Dig quickly through the stone cliff, but Skorupi requires more attention.

  “The moves you displayed in your fight as far as I can tell were Poison Sting, which you can either use as a projectile and with your claws or stinger, Pin Missile from your tail, Leer, and some Dark move I wasn’t able to discern. Though I do have a guess.” Erdd begins to ramble, but is interrupted before he can continue

  “Skorupi!” The Bug snaps for Erdd to get to the point.

  “For now I want to figure out what that dark move was. What emotion you derived your power from can tell me. Did you derive your energy from your want for what was mine?”

  Shake

  “Not Thief then. Was it the thought I didn’t deserve the good things I had?”

  Shake

  “Wasn’t Knock Off either. Was it the fury at the prospect of being hit in battle?”

  Skorupi pauses, conjuring energy into his claws to double check the sensation before nodding.

  “Then it seems you used Payback, a move that grows more powerful when used after getting injured. Good for a brawler.” Erdd smirks fiendishly at his last remark before continuing. “I think I have an Idea about how to get some good exhaustion training in the time before sundown, and here’s how…”

  Skorupi is hesitant to go with the crazy man’s idea, but is convinced to try it. He stands at the cliff face and does his best to overcharge a Payback, truly drowning his claws in all the Dark he can muster, rending into the wall with a sharp scratching noise, making a small mark in it. He keeps on clawing at the wall about 10 more times before fully concentrating on his task and forgetting about the world around him, getting into a solid rhythm.

  It is also about that time when a small stone thuds off his head, breaking his concentration and stoking his fury. “Come on, focus on attacking. Harness the fury rather than be driven by it.” Erdd reassures while readying another stone.

  And so the practice continues with Skorupi attacking the cliff and Erdd occasionally throwing a rock to annoy him and break his concentration. Each time Erdd goads the Poison type it’s attack grows sharper, what was previously a viscous blob of Dark energy becomes jagged and starts moving like a sawblade and increasing in destructive power each time before losing focus after the next swipe expends that energy.

  At first Erdd throws a rock every ten seconds, then after a minute it’s every five seconds and after that as fast as he can dash around and pick up the nearest pebble and lob it. It doesn’t hurt Skorupi but it does annoy him.

  By the time the pokemon is exhausted and nearly falling over from expending his energy the cliff near him is a dinged up mess, while the initial attacks could barely leave a mark, the empowered ones chewed on the stone and left a criss cross of gouges in his wake.

  Before Skorupi collapses though, Erdd reaches and hoists the pokemon under one arm. Skorupi tries but is unable to escape due to exhaustion but stops resisting entirely when he is handfed an energizing Sitrus Berry. He falls asleep after the snack and his first day of intense training take him.

  Sever, noticing the attacks on the cliff ceasing, pops out with a dopey grin, satisfied with his work and the presence of his trainer. The three lay down in the tent, Erdd placing Skorupi on a blanket by his head while he himself snuggles Sever to sleep.

  And so the little man and his little monsters finally have rest for the day to come.