Chapter 25: Iron Fist
Koa's adventures on Iron Island are just beginning...
Echo (Male Crobat) {Ability: Inner Focus}
Hazard (Male Joltik) {Ability: Compound eyes}
Rascal (Female Tyrunt) {Ability: Strong Jaw}
Anubis (Male Houndoom) {Ability: Flash Fire}
Scrapper (Male Breloom) {Ability: Effect Spore}
Flurry (Female Spheal) {Ability: Thick Fat}
Koa jolted awake, opening his eyes as he sat up abruptly. Darkness greeted him. With a yawn, he glanced at his poketch and squinted at the time. Not even sunrise yet. He laid back on his sleeping bag and closed his eyes, but his thoughts kept racing. No chance of sleep. He crawled out of his bag and poked his head out of his tent.
By the faint light from the mouth of the cave, he could just make out five silhouettes of sleeping pokemon around the dying embers of the campfire. He blinked again, and rubbed his eyes.
Five? That wasn't right. Another frantic search still showed only five - Echo draped across Anubis' back, one wing covering Flurry; and Hazard nestled into Rascal's neck ruff.
No sign of Scrapper. Koa tensed. "Scrapper," he hissed. Nothing.
Echo's ears twitched and he looked up at Koa.
"Have you seen Scrapper?" he whispered, easing out of the tent.
Echo tipped his head towards the far side of camp, and flicked his ears towards a tunnel Koa hadn't noticed before. Frowning, Koa pulled on his boots, grabbed his flashlight, then headed towards the tunnel, shining the flashlight ahead of him. The tunnel seemed to be another of many pokemon burrows he guessed, and sloped up at a slight incline.
As he walked, his thoughts kept turning to Scrapper. He couldn't shake the image of rushing down that stupid alley, Scrapper ahead of him, and then the awful snap— Koa shivered and shook his head.
If only I'd paid more attention... No. He couldn't keep thinking like that. His only worry now was if Scrapper was okay.
Eventually the tunnel grew a bit lighter before flattening out and opening onto a wide overlook. Koa switched off his headlamp and peered out from the tunnel. At the far end of the overlook, he spotted the familiar silhouette of his Breloom, and heaved an internal sigh of relief.
Scrapper was facing away from him, practicing a series of rapid punches followed by swift kicks. A brief flicker of concern rose in Koa. Technically he was sure Scrapper was fine to train but he couldn't bear the thought of Scrapper hurting himself more. Besides, Nurse Joy had said he'd be ready
tomorrow, not today. Koa started towards him.
"Hey," he called. Scrapper froze and slowly turned around. "Scrapper, you should be taking it easy you know. I don't want you straining yourself too soon."
Scrapper grunted in response and went back to practicing, turning his back to Koa. Koa couldn't help but notice his motions seemed less smooth than before, and more stiff and erratic. Was he hurt, or just distracted?
"Is your leg feeling okay?" he ventured again. Scrapper nodded abruptly, then continued, his back still to Koa. He didn't appear to be in pain, at least.
After a moment, Koa spoke again. "Is... is there something else bothering you?" More silence. The Breloom's gaze had hardened and he shook his head. Without warning, he turned and drove his fists into the wall in a series of rapid strikes that dented the rock. Then he drew back with a grunt and seemed to hesitate for a moment, his arms dropping to his sides, scrutinizing his work.
Now that Koa looked, he could see a series of dents running all the way down the wall, starting at the tunnel's entrance. By the looks of it, Scrapper had been training for some time. Unease simmered in Koa. "Scrapper, come on what's wrong?"
Scrapper gave another grunt, then turned back to his training once more. The message was clear.
Nothing is wrong.
"Are you sure-" he'd barely finished the sentence before Scrapper paused his training and gave a frustrated bark.
I'm fine.
Koa withheld a sigh and nodded. He stared at Scrapper's back for another several seconds, torn. Maybe if he pushed more... He shook his head to himself. Perhaps it would be better to drop it. "Okay. I'm gonna go back to camp then."
Scrapper gave little indication he'd even heard Koa.
"Don't stay out too long."
Silence. With a sigh, Koa turned and headed back the way he'd come.
XXX
By the time he'd made it back to camp, the sun was already halfway up. It was far too late to get any more sleep, so he'd decided cooking breakfast would serve as a good distraction.
Koa poked idly at the breakfast scramble of berries, vegetables and eggs in the frying pan. His breath fogged the air ever so faintly, and he could barely make out the food in the dawn light. He couldn't help but think about Scrapper every time his gaze drifted to his team.
Why would he want to talk to someone like you? He wouldn't be hurt if you'd done better.
Koa's brow scrunched up and he jabbed at the pan harder than necessary. No. He refused to believe that. And he couldn't keep dwelling on his mistake. What
did Scrapper need? Time? Space? Or maybe extra training? He hadn't seemed to want to train with Koa like he usually did. Maybe just giving him some time alone would help?
Eager to distract himself further, he tried to turn his thoughts to legendary pokemon. He felt sure the Johto beasts weren't responsible, which meant they had to be some kind of illusion. But
why? He couldn't shake the sense he was missing something, that there was more to this than simply illusions and bad press. Maybe he could ring up Avis and see if she knew anything...
A slight acrid tang filled the air and Koa snapped back to reality. Swirls of gray smoke were rising from the frying pan. With a frantic yelp he pulled the pan off the fire and stirred it, groaning as he noted the burnt patches.
Great.
"Where's the fire?! Should I call the Squirtle Squad?" Kitto quipped, emerging from his tent with a grin.
Koa rolled his eyes. "I did that on purpose. It's the newest cooking trend, a real delicacy. Seared food."
Kitto chuckled. "Right, 'seared'. Well let's try your delicacy, I'm starving."
To Koa's relief, as he started portioning out the food, Scrapper emerged from the tunnel and took a seat in front of his bowl. Once Koa had finished, he took a spot for himself beside Anubis, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. He started to wolf down the food.
A few bites in, he paused, chewing slower. The food was... a bit plain, compared to some of the dishes Kitto had made. In fact, it was barely different from some of the bland pre-cooked trainer meals he was accustomed to. A twinge of disappointment filled him and he found himself longing for the flavorful twist of Kitto's dishes. Casting a discreet glance around camp, he saw his team eating their meals. It was hard to tell for sure, but he felt like their expressions lacked enthusiasm.
Finishing off most of his meal, he looked up to see Kitto had cleaned his plate and was reading something in his pokedex. "Hey Kitto," he began hesitantly.
"Hm?"
"How come your food always tastes so much better? I tried to add some flavors and spice but it's not the same."
Kitto grinned but didn't look up. "Cause I'm a better cook."
Koa mock-scowled and flicked a piece of berry at him, pegging him on the shoulder. "Come on, what's your secret?"
"There is no secret, Koa," he said as he set down his Pokedex. "There's tips and techniques I learned, but I became good at cooking the same way you probably got good at pokemon identification or I got good at battling. Trial and error. Practice."
"Huh... Okay. Any tips then?" he asked finally. Somehow Kitto's point seemed obvious, but he realized a part of him had always assumed Kitto was naturally good at everything.
Kitto stared upwards, tapping his chin. After a few moments, he looked back down. "Here's an easy one. Always smell your ingredients before you combine them. If the scents blend well, the flavors probably will too. You can try a lot of unique combinations that way. And always use more seasoning than you think you should. Most people under-season their food."
Nodding intently, Koa made a mental note of everything. Now that he thought about it, he had only used a pinch of seasonings...
As Kitto started to gather up the dishes, he paused to look back at Koa. "Oh and, last thing. You can't be afraid to mess up. Experiment a lot and eventually you'll figure out what works. There's not a right or wrong, just whatever works and doesn't work."
Koa grinned. "Thanks." Kitto's words had set his mind running, already thinking about his next stop in at a mart to see what new things he could try. He set aside the thought and turned to his team, who'd finished their own meals. "You guys ready to train?"
A chorus of excited barks and squeaks greeted him, and Koa smiled as he rose to his feet. His gaze went to Scrapper first, but to his dismay the grass-type averted his gaze. He'd planned to try and train with Scrapper first but... maybe giving him space would be better. "Are you okay doing some group training, Scrapper?" Scrapper shrugged and nodded noncommittally.
Koa frowned. He considered pressing him, then decided against it. "So I was thinking we can try and work on tightening up dodging—"
"We're gonna work on dodging alright," Kitto's voice came from right behind Koa and he jumped, startled. "I'm gonna see how you've been keeping up with
your training. Let your pokemon train among themselves for a bit."
"Oh great," Koa groaned.
XXX
"Again!" Kitto shouted, his voice echoing through the cave and above the sound of the pounding rain outside.
Shortly after breakfast, a storm had rolled in with almost unnatural swiftness, forcing them to shelter in the cave to train instead of outside. Most of his team were further inside, save for Flurry who seemed pleased with the development. Every few minutes she would go a few feet out into the rain, splash around then return to the cave.
Picking himself up off the floor, Koa ignored his aching arms and legs. The training gloves they wore blunted the impact, but did little to protect his now bruised ego. He resumed the fighting stance Kitto had taught him, his gloved hands clenched into fists and raised in front of his face.
For the past couple hours, Kitto had done little but train
him how to fight, leaving their pokemon to work among themselves. 'You can't expect to improve as a trainer if you don't improve yourself as well' had been Kitto's words. Which had led to grueling combat training. On the bright side, it was much less boring than the coordinated punches he'd had to practice before. On the less bright side, it hurt. And worst of all, he'd barely gotten any proper hits in.
A brief flash of lightning lit the cave, followed by a peal of thunder. Koa's dream flickered through his mind and he pushed it away. He spotted Hazard at the cave's entrance, staring into the storm.
Focus.
Dancing lightly forward, he took in Kitto's stance, trying to find an opening. Zeroing in on his chest, Koa threw a sharp jab. Kitto brought his left arm down and threw a jab with his right hand, blocking the attack and delivering a strike to Koa's chest with an open palm.
Koa gasped from the impact and staggered back. Grimacing, he reached up and rubbed the spot. His pride stung more than the hit had. His frustration surged for a moment but he quashed it. He was starting to get sick of missing the mark.
"Remember," Kitto began. "Fighting isn't just about launching an attack, or defending against one. You have to strike a balance. If you attack, you leave yourself open to one, so you must be prepared to counter. And if you only defend, you can never defeat your opponent."
Koa nodded, clenching his jaw. Balance. Defense and offense.
Like you couldn't defend Scrapper? His throat clenched. Never again. He'd train as much as it took to be strong enough. His eyes narrowed and he studied Kitto's stance, a heat burning in his chest.
"Now, again."
This time, Koa didn't hesitate. He sprang forward and threw a hook at Kitto's jaw. When his strike was blocked, he was ready. As Kitto threw a strike of his own at Koa's face, Koa anticipated and jerked his head to the side. The glove grazed his cheek as he brought his knee up into Kitto's stomach, all his frustrations pouring into the attack.
His knee connected and Kitto gasped, stumbling back. Koa pressed forward, swinging for Kitto's face. Still disoriented, Kitto threw up a palm, narrowly redirecting Koa's blow from his face to his shoulder. Coughing, he staggered back.
Before Koa could try to follow up, Kitto held up a hand. "
Enough," he wheezed, annoyance coloring his tone. He doubled over, hands on his knees as he gulped for air.
Koa's eyes widened and he grimaced. "Are you ok?" He hesitantly moved towards him. A sinking feeling settled over him as it dawned how hard he'd probably hit him.
Kitto managed a nod as his wheezing slowly turned to normal breaths. He was muttering something to himself, his voice too low to make out.
"Sorry," he mumbled awkwardly, staring at the floor.
With great effort, Kitto spoke, forcing words out through still gritted teeth. "Take it
down a notch, will you? This is just training."
Shame settled over Koa and he backed up, giving Kitto space. Every movement of his body suddenly felt stilted, and his arms hung heavy at his sides. What was he thinking? He unclenched his fists and tried to force his body to relax. His head buzzed and he found he had to make a conscious effort to breathe.
"You need to learn control," Kitto said, once he'd gathered himself. Motioning to Koa, he led him further into the cave, away from their training spot near the entrance. "Anger should fuel your fists, not cloud your mind." He took Koa's gloved hand in his own. "The worst mistake you make in a fight is to fight angry. You get sloppy and drop your guard. Or do something stupid," he added pointedly.
Koa grit his teeth and nodded. Kitto was right, but his words still stung. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so small and stupid. He'd lost himself. Forcing himself to focus, he zoned back in to realize Kitto was staring at him. "Sorry. I guess I've got a lot on my mind." He studied the rock wall of the cave for several seconds. "I'm... worried about Scrapper," he said slowly. "There's more to the story of what happened to him."
Nodding thoughtfully, Kitto gestured to a low plateau of rock and they sat down.
With some trepidation, Koa explained the full story. Losing; then winning against Maylene, getting attacked at the pokemon center, and then chasing the criminals and Scrapper getting hurt. "Scrapper is injured because of me. And I thought he was doing better but he's still not himself. Something is bothering him but he's being weird. Distant. I don't know what's wrong."
"You've tried talking to him?"
Koa shrugged then nodded. "I tried to. He acts like he's okay but I know he's pretending. The nurse at the center said he's fine physically. And he's training on his own so it's not pain, I don't think."
Kitto hummed in thought. "Clearly there's more to this then. Do you think he's afraid of getting hurt again?"
"No. I mean probably not, I don't think he's the type to be afraid of that." He tapped his fingers on the rock and stared at his boots. "Maybe he doesn't need my help. I should just leave him be."
"Don't be so hasty. Sometimes staying silent isn't the way. What—"
A loud shriek pierced the air, echoing through the cave, followed by a burst of cries and noise from outside.
Koa whipped around to face the cave mouth. The rain had died down and he could see the rest of his team gathered by the exit. Echo glanced towards him and called out with a nervous shree. Koa scrambled to his feet and started towards the exit, Kitto following.
As Koa stepped outside he spotted Scrapper taking jabs at a feathered reptilian pokemon he recognized a moment later as an Archeops. The Archeops had perched itself on a rock just outside hitting distance and kept hopping up into the air to avoid Scrapper. Scrapper kept throwing casual jabs at it and barking, trying to goad it into a fight. Archeops wore a conflicted expression, as if it wanted to fight him but wasn't sure.
"Scrapper!" he called in admonishment.
Scrapper turned to him and cried out demandingly. Koa eyed the Archeops curiously. Surely it had to be a trainer's. He'd never heard of a wild Archeops population, except maybe in preserves in Unova. His question was answered a moment later when a trainer came scrambling from over a ridge.
He moved across the terrain with a casual confidence, descending the hill with ease. His vest, turtleneck and olive hair looked slightly damp, and his boots were scuffed and dirty. No stranger to the outdoors then.
"Shale!" he called as he approached.
The Archeops gave a relieved squawk and swooped away from Scrapper to return to the boy's side, following him on foot.
Koa gave a wave of greeting, which the trainer returned as he approached. As the trainer drew near, Koa could see he looked around Kitto's age.
"Ho there! I see you met Shale," he said, once he was close enough to be heard. The Archeops landed beside him and squawked in greeting. "Nice Breloom you got." He held out his hand. "Name's Fossie, by the way." He cocked his head expectantly.
"Koamaru." He shook Fossie's hand, slightly surprised by his friendliness. "That's a weird name."
Fossie chuckled. "Coming from the guy called Koamaru?" he gave a wry grin before continuing. "It's actually a nickname though, I've used it so long it's all I go by." His gaze shifted over Koa's shoulder.
Kitto stepped forward and gave Fossie a light fist bump in greeting. "Kitto."
"Nice to meet you, Kitto and Koamaru. And what about you?" he smiled at Scrapper, who was still looking impatient for a battle.
"Scrapper," Koa said. "That's an awesome Archeops."
"Thanks, she's really a beauty. Looks like your Breloom was trying to get her to fight. You down for a battle?"
Koa grinned. "You bet. Is a one on one good?"
"Sounds perfect!"
As Koa moved to take up a position a little ways away on the plateau, Scrapper hurried ahead of him, bouncing in place and shadow boxing the air. Koa paused in front of Scrapper. "Scrapper... Are you sure you're read-"
Scrapper shot him a glare and nodded.
"Okay." He smiled encouragingly at him. "Let's win this then."
"Well? First move is yours," Fossie offered with a friendly grin.
Koa hesitated a moment. "Nah, you go first. We did take you by surprise after all." He swore Scrapper gave him an annoyed look, but Koa ignored it. Better to try and play safe for now.
Fossie shrugged, then smirked. "Your loss. Shale, let's speed things up! Tailwind!"
Regret washed over Koa as Shale shot into the air and summoned a swirling jetstream that washed across the battlefield. Wind whipped through Koa's hair and pushed back against Scrapper, who leaned forward to steady himself.
"Seed Bomb, rapid fire!" Koa shouted.
Scrapper planted his feet and fired a small barrage of green orbs from his jaws.
Fossie looked utterly unperturbed. "Sandstorm!" Shale reacted almost instantly, whipping her wings in a frenzy and summoning a swirling storm of sand around herself. The tornado of sand swallowed the barrage of seeds and almost completely obscured Archeops. "Now, Pluck!"
Koa hesitated. "Hold..." Scrapper tensed. From within the sand, a glow flared up. Archeops burst out, beak glowing, a blur of feathers. "Mach Punch!"
Energy flared around Scrapper's fist and he struck swiftly, meeting the Archeops attack with his own. Time stilled for a moment and Koa gritted his teeth. Then the collision of energy burst and the two pokemon skidded back a few feet. The tornado faded into a steady stinging storm that he could barely see through.
"Again!" Fossie called.
Shale shrieked as she darted forwards, beak still glowing with energy.
Koa reacted quickly. "Mach Punch!"
The two pokemon clashed, then engaged in a flurry of blows so rapid Koa couldn't track them. He saw Scrapper deal out a few solid blows, but he saw Shale's beak make contact more than once, each blow making Scrapper wince. Sand continued to swirl around the battlefield, eating away at Scrapper's stamina as well.
A grimace formed on Koa's face as he watched the two. Maybe playing cautious would be better for this fight, watch Shale more and not try anything crazy. There was the flying-type advantage to consider. Could he wait and try to counter if he got an opening?
Then Fossie shouted another command. "Rock Tomb!" Glowing boulders rose around Shale.
Koa hesitated for a moment, torn. Try to counter, or dodge? The moment cost him, and suddenly an array of boulders was hurtling through the air towards Scrapper. He saw the Breloom tense, then lunge to the side, narrowly missing getting hit.
As Scrapper landed, he whipped around and growled at Koa. Even without speaking human, the message felt quite clear —
stop messing around and fight.
But was that what—
"Koa!"
Koa turned at the sound of Kitto's voice.
Kitto was staring at him pointedly. He spoke one word. "
Again."
Slowly, a grin formed on Koa's face.
Balance. That's what Kitto had told him. "Okay Scrapper," he said, grinning. Clarity settled over him. "I hear you. Stone Edge!"
With a wild cry, Scrapper drove his fist into the rocky earth. Spires of stone shot upwards towards Shale, who hovered just above the ground.
At a quick command from Fossie, Shale beat her wings to rise upwards. Exactly how Koa expected.
"Jump, Sky Uppercut!"
Scrapper was already moving before the command finished, leaping upwards onto his own rocks and launching himself even higher. Shale didn't have a chance to move before Scrapper drove his fist into the Archeops' chest. She squawked and faltered as Scrapper fell back to the earth and landed.
Fossie grinned. "Not a bad combo. Shale, whip that sandstorm up some more!" Shale recovered, shaking her head, then began stirring up an even denser cloud of sand, almost completely obscuring her and the battlefield, pelting Scrapper with sand.
Koa grimaced. Shale was well hidden now, and he could only barely make out Scrapper. A second later, a deluge of rocks burst from the sandstorm, burying Scrapper almost to his chest in a tomb of rocks.
Scrapper screeched in shock and began thrashing to get free to little avail.
"Use Mach Punch to break free!" Koa called.
With his fists lit up, Scrapper began a fierce barrage of strikes on the rocks, shattering them. Before he could make enough progress to get free, Shale burst out of the storm and lunged beak-first for Scrapper.
The blow struck Scrapper in the chest hard, knocking him free. Scrapper tumbled across the ground and skidded before recovering, standing shakily.
Koa winced but didn't hesitate. "Seed Bomb!" Scrapper didn't hesitate either, managing to summon a decent showing of explosive seeds and firing them.
The barrage of seeds came down on Shale, exploding on top of her. Almost immediately, Scrapper charged in again. Shaking off the blow, Shale shrieked and charged at Scrapper.
The two clashed again, launching a flurry of blows. Koa did his best to call any openings he saw, or dodges he could. Despite his efforts, a clever feint from Shale gave her enough of an opening to deal a good blow to the Breloom, making him stagger.
Koa frowned. This couldn't go on forever. If he wanted to win, he needed to act now. His gaze darted between Scrapper and Shale.
Play the game. Anticipate. Maybe...
"Scrapper, another Seed Bomb!"
With a loud cry, Scrapper hopped back out of reach of Shale and fired the attack. As Koa had hoped, Shale dodged, using a powerful wingstroke to soar upwards.
"Great job! Now get back in there!" Fossie called. Shale gathered herself then shot down towards Scrapper once again, flying lower to the ground.
"Charge and dodge!" Koa cried. Scrapper gathered his legs and exploded forwards before leaping upwards at the last moment. Shale sailed underneath him and he landed, skidding forward.
"Rock Tomb, trap it!" Shale braked and turned effortlessly on a dime. Rocks rose into the air and with a flick of her wings she sent them flying at Scrapper. With no time to dodge, the deluge crashed down around Scrapper, pinning his legs. Fossie smirked. "Trapped you."
Scrapper's eyes widened and a glow began to form around his fists as he prepared to try and escape again.
"Wait," Koa called. He hoped Fossie might try the same trick again. Except this time he planned to give it a different ending. Scrapper shot him a confused look, but paused anyway.
Shale gave a resounding shriek, clearly triumphant and confident. Fossie gave a nod. "Finish it with Pluck!" Folding back her wings, Shale flew forwards like a bullet, aiming straight for Scrapper's head.
"Stone Edge! Protect yourself!" The confusion in Scrapper's eyes turned to understanding. With a cry, he struck the earth. Spires of stone surged up, knocking side the rocks and surrounding Scrapper just as Shale approached. They enveloped the Breloom almost completely, giving no avenue of attack. Shale backpedaled for a moment, easily avoiding getting hit by the outer spikes, and shrieked angrily as she rose higher into the air. Her eyes frantically scanned the makeshift shield for an opening.
Fossie tilted his head. "Not a bad defense, but you can't hide there forev-"
"Now Scrapper! Mach Punch the rock!" A glow shone from within the rocky prison. Scrapper threw his punch. A chunk of stone exploded outwards, shooting through the air and nailing Shale full-on.
As Shale spun through the air, dazed, Koa grinned. "Now use Sky Uppercut!"
Scrapper lunged out of his rocky shield, jumped, and slammed his fist right into Shale's head.
A garbled squawk came from the Archeops as she plummeted through the air then crashed to the ground. Scrapper landed as well, panting.
Shale shook herself, then slowly rose to her feet. Koa tensed for a moment. The strikes she'd landed had battered Scrapper quite a bit. If she kept fighting...
Archeops staggered a few steps, then collapsed and did not rise again.
A huge smile formed on Koa's face and he whooped. Scrapper raised his fist and let out a victory cry. Just as his call petered out, he swayed on his feet and then collapsed.
"Scrapper!" Koa rushed forward and dropped to his knees next to him.
The Breloom's eyes were closed, but he otherwise appeared fine. A second later, one of his eyes cracked open and he grinned, before pushing himself upright.
"You alright?"
Scrapper nodded eagerly, and Koa smiled, relief filling him. Some of the old fire was back in Scrapper, to his delight.
"Everything good?"
Koa looked up to see Fossie and Shale, looking concerned.
"Yeah," Koa said standing up. "That was a good battle. It really wore Scrapper out."
"I'm impressed, you're pretty strong to beat Shale." He stroked her neck. "She's one of my strongest team members in training."
Koa frowned. "Wait, she's in
training?"
Fossie nodded. "I've got a few pokemon that don't travel with me regularly. She's one of them."
"Awesome! What's your team like then?" If Shale was that strong...
"Want to meet them?" Fossie's hand was already at his belt before Koa could nod eagerly. Five flashes of light burst forth and an array of pokemon emerged.
A hulking behemoth of a Tyrantrum drew Koa's gaze immediately, its indigo scales shining in the sunlight. His mouth dropped open. Still in shock, he took in the rest of Fossie's team.
Perched a few yards away was an Aerodactyl, regarding everyone with a bored expression. Flanking him were a bright-eyed Kabutops and a cheerful Aurorus. Last of all was a pokemon he'd only read about in a scientific study - a Dracozolt. Only a few existed, thanks to some strange fossil restoration accident by an inexperienced Galarian scientist. The only ones he'd read about were staying at a nature preserve.
Kitto gave a low whistle. "That's some team." A blue-scaled Tyrantrum... It was
gorgeous.
Koa's own team seemed both in awe of and excited by the newcomers, particularly Rascal, who seemed enthralled by the Tyrantrum, gazing at it with a mix of anger and envy.
A touch of jealousy ran through Koa before fading. Fossie's team was incredible and probably the exact kind he would be salivating over just a few months ago. But now he wouldn't trade any of his team for anything, even a fossil pokemon. Even so, it was impossible to look away, especially from the Tyrantrum.
"I've never seen a Tyrantrum with those colors. Or a live Dracozolt! How'd you get them? I mean I've read about the restoration process sometimes affecting the color but I've never actually seen one. And how'd you get a Dracozolt, I thought all of them were in special preserves?" He couldn't help but ramble a little as he moved closer to the Tyrantrum and held out a palm to it. It lowered its huge head and huffed lightly, tousling his hair.
"Koamaru, meet Cobalt," Fossie said proudly, gesturing to the Tyrantrum. "Sidian is the Kabutops, Aurorus goes by Seraphi, and Dracozolt there is Tourmal. And of course, my faithful starter, Apex." He nodded towards the Aerodactyl, who tipped his head in acknowledgement.
"You guys are incredible," Koa whispered. He gave Cobalt a gentle rub on his snout. A second later, Tourmal almost bowled him over as it stomped up to him and headbutted him before holding out its chin. Grinning, Koa scratched its chin obligingly, surprised to find it covered in a fine layer of shiny feathers.
"So how'd you get a Dracozolt?"
Fossie seemed clearly delighted at the chance to talk more about his pokemon. "I help out a lot at labs and with researching fossil pokemon and helping to care for them. Tourmal and I grew close while I was interning in Galar. The head researcher there decided it would be healthier for her to stay with someone she was familiar with, and agreed she could accompany me. As long as I reported back with any observations."
"Sick..." Koa murmured.
"Take it you're a big fan of fossils then," Kitto asked wryly.
Fossie put his hands up. "You caught me. I've been fascinated with ancient pokemon ever since I was a kid. Anything and everything I could find about them. I was cave diving practically as soon as I could walk, begged my uncle in Paldea to send me all these Occulture magazines about weird pokemon, and I probably spent more time in school reading about fossils than actually doing my classwork. All the librarians knew me by name too."
The longer Fossie spoke, the more Koa found himself smiling. He wondered if he'd ever run into him at the Canalave library. Fossie sounded like the kind of person he would have liked to have been friends with. "Oh yeah, I spent hours in Canalave library when I was a kid."
Fossie's eyes widened. "Whoa you lived near there?"
"Yeah, I'm from Canalave actually!"
"Dang, lucky! Can't really complain though. I'm actually from Pewter City, so if I wasn't at the library there, I was at the museum."
Lucky indeed. Pewter Museum of Science was on his list of places he wanted to go if he ever left Sinnoh. "Nice." Koa hesitated for a moment, glancing briefly at the sky. Around noon, by his estimate. After another moment's consideration, he asked, "Hey, you want to join us for lunch?"
A flicker of something passed through Fossie's eyes. He glanced at his watch, then shrugged. "Sure, why not, I have some time. Only if I don't have to cook though."
Kitto cut in. "I can handle that."
"Count me in then."
XXX
With Kitto all too happy to handle all the cooking, Koa ended up passing the time by watching his and Fossie's teams hang out, and swapping stories. Fossie told him how he got trapped by a cave-in which inadvertently led to finding the amber he revived into Apex. Koa ended up sharing how he'd found and finally befriended Rascal on his trip through Mt. Coronet.
Lunch turned out to be a quick but tasty affair both their teams enjoyed thoroughly. Afterwards, Fossie lingered, which Koa realized he didn't mind. The fossil trainer was good company.
"Shale took a long time to get used to battling. I actually thought she didn't like it at first and I didn't battle with her as much. Turns out she loved to do it; she just really really hated losing. Any time she lost she'd practically throw a fit," Fossie said, chuckling. "Had to get her to realize nobody wins all the time."
Koa held back a bitter laugh. He couldn't help but be a little reminded of himself. Almost unconsciously, he found himself watching Scrapper for a moment as he casually sparred with Sidian. Was Scrapper worried about losing? He'd never seemed to be this bothered before though... "So what brought you to Iron Island?" he asked Fossie.
Fossie shifted, crossing his arms then leaning back slightly. There was a slight pause before he replied. "Training. Lot of good rock types out here for practice, and there's always a pretty strong trainer around. Yourself included," he added.
Koa chuckled "Thanks. Couldn't do it without such a great team. Are you training for the Sinnoh League then?"
"No... just training," Fossie said slowly. "I did a couple leagues already in Kanto and Johto actually."
"You've fought in league tournaments?" Koa asked in surprise. That meant Fossie was even stronger than he first thought.
"Ah yeah. Didn't place super high. Top 64 in Kanto and then top 32 in Johto. Everyone except Tourmal and Shale were on those teams. What about you? Any dreams of trying to beat the champion?"
"Hah... no," Koa said, shaking his head. "Just here to train too. I need to earn my gym badges for now. Byron is my next so I figured I could get some good training here."
"Hm." Fossie tipped his head, studying Koa for a moment. "Why the gyms then, if you don't mind me asking? You seem like you have more plans than just going home and putting your badges in a display case."
Koa swallowed, fidgeting slightly. How much should he say? He tried to catch a glimpse of Kitto in his peripheral vision but his back was turned as he worked on packing his backpack. "Well actually... I need 8 badges to be allowed to climb Mt. Coronet. I've always wanted to try and reach the Spear Pillar." He studied Fossie's face for any kind of reaction. Strangely, Fossie's amiable expression had become a mask, and Koa couldn't read him at all.
"Spear Pillar? You mean the place Team Galactic was trying to reach?"
Ice shot through Koa's veins and he shivered even through his jacket. His fingers dug into the fabric of his pants. His voice wavered. "I just want to get there is all."
Lies. "See if I can reach the top."
"Sounds cool!" Fossie shrugged, some of the mask fading again and his cheer returning. "Too cold for my taste but I've heard the views there are beautiful. Or well, used to be," he added with a humorless laugh. "Cursed now and all, but I'm sure you're ready for it. I bet it'll be one amazing hike if you can do it. And after that?"
The words came out before Koa could stop himself. "I'm actually hoping I'll get lucky and see a legendary someday. Maybe not Palkia or anything but I hope I get to—"
"You're kidding, right?" All the jovial friendliness had vanished from Fossie's expression, his jaw set and his eyes hard.
Koa tensed, and he felt a heat rising through him. "Excuse me?"
"Haven't you paid any attention to the news? You seriously want to see a legendary?" Now Fossie was leaning forwards, and there was a distinct challenge in his tone.
"Yeah, I do," he retorted. "The news isn't even accurate, the legendaries wouldn't even do that."
Fossie snorted and folded his arms. "Great. You're making excuses for them. Legendaries are
dangerous. People should stay away from them, and they should stay away from people. They cause enough trouble without trainers like you trying to 'seek them out' or whatever."
Koa snapped to his feet. "How can you say that! Legendaries aren't dangerous, they're protectors! They're—"
"Hah! Like they 'protected' Amity Square?" He glared evenly at Koa, utterly unflinching. "Like they protected Celestic Town? Like they protected the Snowpoint Temple? Or the Brass Tower?"
"But that wasn't them!" Koa's voice shook and a knot formed in his chest. His mind scrambled to find words. Fossie spoke before he could.
"So it's all coincidence those things from Johto are everywhere lately while Sinnoh is being attacked? Legendaries are dangerous, powerful pokemon who only cause problems."
Around them, Koa could see his team had moved away from Fossie's, each eyeing the other trainers' pokemon defensively.
Koa glared at Fossie. "That's not true! It wasn't them, it was something else!"
"Oh yeah? What was it then?"
Behind him, his Aerodactyl snorted and leveled a demanding glare at Koa.
"A mirage or illusion or something," he blurted out. He hated the way his voice trembled, the way he struggled to keep his hands steady through the haze of anger in his mind.
"Or something?" Fossie gave him a dubious look. "What, is that your expert opinion? Okay, let's pretend for a second you're right, they
didn't do it. Well, if they didn't
exist in the first place, there wouldn't
be anything to fake and there wouldn't have been a fire at Amity at all." Finally, he rose to his feet. Even though he was only a few inches taller than Koa, he suddenly seemed bigger than that. "So no matter which way you look at it,
they're the issue."
A buzz filled Koa's ears. "Are you kidding me? You can't possibly blame the legendaries for someone using them! Evil people are the problem! That's not their fault!"
In his peripheral vision, he saw Kitto had stopped what he was doing and stood nearby, arms folded.
Fossie took a step forwards, still infuriatingly calm. "Oh yes it is. Legendaries are the problem. If legendaries didn't exist, Celestic Ruins would still be standing. If legendaries didn't exist, there wouldn't be some freaks in secret labs making clones and there definitely wouldn't be any Team Galactic trying to destroy the entire freaking universe."
"I think that's enough," Kitto began, tone quiet but firm.
Red clouded Koa's vision. He stepped forwards, glaring at Fossie. "Shut up!" he snarled. "You're wrong! I was there at Amity and there was a second Entei! You're an idiot if you think the pokemon are to blame for evil people! We wouldn't even be here if Giratina hadn't stopped Galactic!"
Stupid stupid stupid. He never should have said that. A threatening rumble came from Anubis.
Fossie paused for a moment and blinked. "I don't know what absurd blog you read that rumor on but even if that were true, it still wouldn't matter if legendaries were around. They should either be locked up or stay away from humans permanently. That's the only solution."
"What?" Koa practically shouted. "You're a monster! You're no better than groups like Team Rocket."
"Excuse me?" Fossie stepped forward now, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Apex rumbled a growl, and Cobalt tensed, lowering his head.
Anubis began to snarl, embers flickering in his jaws and Rascal had risen to her feet, glaring up at Cobalt.
"I think that's enough." Kitto's stern voice broke the tension.
Blinking, Koa turned to see Kitto standing beside him now, arms crossed and eyes glinting dangerously.
Kitto continued, his voice like cold steel. "Responsibility for evil is on the ones who commit the crimes. Not the innocent."
Heavy stillness settled. Fossie glared between Koa and Kitto for a moment before shaking his head. "Naivete is a dangerous trait. Stay out of my way, Koamaru." Fossie gave him a final, reproachful glare. He silently returned his team. Then without another word, stalked up and back the way he'd come, disappearing over the hill.
Koa glared after him for several long moments after he'd gone, fists still clenched and a buzzing still filling his ears. Finally, he turned to Kitto. "Can you believe him?" he raged. "How dare he say that! It's not legendaries fault if people—"
Kitto held his hand up. "I know, I get it."
"It's wrong!" His thoughts still raced and the boiling heat in his chest wouldn't go away. He paced back and forth, aware of his team, especially Echo, watching him. He almost wished he'd slugged Fossie when he'd had the chance but he also figured he would have regretted it. Knocking his lights out probably would have felt good but it wouldn't have changed his mind. "I hate it! It's not fair." His voice echoed loudly across the clearing. "They don't deserve to have people hate them for things they didn't even do, just because they exist. Why can't people give them a chance? They didn't do anything wrong!"
"Koa-"
"They're trying their best but that's not good enough for anyone and now it's happening again and everyone is blaming them for something they didn't do! And I can't even
do anything yet. I need to show everyone that things can be better. That legendary pokemon can trust humans but I can't do anything right! I can't even get my stupid gym badges!" He breathed hard, suddenly painfully aware of how quiet it had gone, and everyone's eyes on him.
Where was a Dugtrio hole when you needed one?
Forcing his fists to unclench, he let out a slow breath, then took another. Without thinking, he started to talk, words he wasn't even meaning to say at first. "I
know I'll get there one day. But Fossie isn't the only person who probably thinks like that. What if it's not enough? What if I'm too late."
Silence lingered, and he glanced toward Kitto from the corner of his eye, half expecting to see him look exasperated or annoyed. Instead he mostly seemed thoughtful. After several seconds, he met Koa's gaze, then spoke carefully. "I have no idea what's really going on with all this. But legendaries have been around for centuries, right? Wanting to do something good is good, but they can take care of themselves"
"Yeah," Koa admitted. He stared at the direction Fossie had disappeared. Kitto was right. As far as he knew, legendaries existed since the beginning of time. They'd be fine. Even so, Cynthia's words to him rang through his thoughts.
Everyone must uphold their responsibility. No matter how small. This was something he
had to do. To make right.
After several seconds he turned back around to Kitto. "Is this what the person behind all this wants? Are they trying to make legendary pokemon look bad?"
Kitto sighed, then shrugged. "Honestly Koa? I'm not sure. But there's no denying it's not helping legendaries either way. But..."
Koa narrowed his eyes.
"Remember what I said during training?"
Rolling his eyes light heartedly, Koa nodded. "Let anger fuel my fists?"
"So you do pay attention," he said, nudging Koa. "Anyways, that applies here too. If you let your anger overtake you, you can't think clearly. It makes it easy for people like Fossie to get you riled up."
"Yeah yeah, okay." He glanced upwards, noting a few gray clouds on the horizon. "Might as well train some more before another storm starts." His gaze dropped to his team, who'd settled down somewhat with Fossie gone. He singled out Rascal and grinned. "How about it, Rascal? Want to get ready to beat that Bastiodon?"
Her loud roar was more than enough confirmation for Koa.
XXX
The afternoon passed by sluggishly as Koa alternated between training team members. Only an hour in, another rainstorm started, forcing them to shelter once more in the cave. Scrapper and Jackie picked up some training, while he did his best to work on what he could in the cave.
As the rainy day wore on, he couldn't help but notice Hazard, constantly watching the cave entrance. Twice he missed an easy dodge and got nailed by Flurry practicing her Brine. Finally, almost some hours after it began, the storm finally subsided.
"Finally," he said, ambling towards the exit. As much as he enjoyed caves, he couldn't say he was overly fond of being stuck in one because the weather decided to get freakishly stormy. He stood outside the cave and stretched, enjoying the sensation of sunlight before moving further onto the plateau. Unsurprisingly, his stomach began to rumble.
He glanced at his poketch. Too early for a full dinner, but maybe time for a quick bite. Koa nodded absentmindedly to himself before he started to turn back towards the cave. He stopped short, his gaze catching on something on the muddy ground beside the cave mouth. Squinting, he took a few steps closer.
"Huh..." he muttered, staring. A set of pawprints. Pawprints were a bit odd somewhere like Iron Island, considering it was mostly home to rock, steel and ground types. He studied them curiously. Somehow they felt familiar. Feline, three toes, and narrow. Three distinct holes at the tip of the print marked the claws. Maybe a Luxray...? Some instinct told him otherwise.
He'd taken a basic pokemon identification course for his Trainers License exam, and they covered a few types of prints, but his memory of that was fairly foggy. Still, something nagged at the back of his mind.
Still puzzled, he wandered over to a drier bit of ground (which really, was only slightly drier and rocky instead of muddy) and laid out his waterproof blanket. He was halfway into eating a small sandwich when it clicked. Swearing, he nearly dropped his sandwich.
Kitto looked up from his own food, confused.
"Zeraora!" he exclaimed. Koa's team stared blankly, save for Hazard, whose eyes widened.
"Zera-what-a?" Kitto asked, looking around.
Koa scrambled to his feet and rushed back over to the print, Hazard hot on his heels. The sun had nearly set and he had to pull out his flashlight to see it properly. Two individual prints, side by side. Three toes, three claws. Hazard stood by the print, which was as big as he was, and stared at it, a strange shine of excitement in his eyes. "It's
biped!" he nearly shouted.
"What is?" Kitto asked as he came up beside Koa. The rest of Koa's team squeezed around him to see what he was looking at.
In a breathless rush, heart beating wildly, Koa continued. "That's what I was missing! It's biped with protracted claws. That's why I
know this print, it's not a Luxray or something, it's a
Zeraora!" he looked up to see Kitto staring blankly at him.
Undeterred, he pressed on. "I studied all the different tracks of legendary pokemon. Zeraora is a legendary pokemon. Or well, mythical I guess? The distinction is weird but it's really rare and..." his brow furrowed. "...definitely not native to Iron Island."
"So... a mythical pokemon is on Iron Island?" Kitto said slowly.
Koa nodded, beaming despite his confusion. "Yeah... Yeah it looks like it," he said breathlessly. His whole body felt as if it were tingling and he felt as if he could run a mile. Even despite his encounters with the strange beasts of Johto, and his glimpse of Ho-Oh, the idea of meeting a mythical pokemon was exciting. Especially if it was a real one. "But why?" he mused out loud.
Still deep in thought, he snapped a photo of the print, then headed back to his blanket and sat down. Kitto followed, looking intrigued. "So Zeraora is a powerful electric type."
Koa held out his phone to show Kitto an artist's rendition.
Kitto studied it, fascinated. "So what's the story with this Zeraora?"
"Nobody knows for sure where it's from but there's a myth that an Entei and a Zapdos fought over territory. Or a Moltres and Raikou, depending who you ask. When they clashed at the peak of a volcano, Zeraora was born. Realizing they were stronger together, the two stopped fighting. They say Zeraora is considered a protector of wild pokemon. It roams across Kanto and Johto, but also its been seen around Alola and sometimes Kalos."
"But never around here?"
"No," Koa said, shaking his head. "I don't even think there's confirmed sightings in Sinnoh. Much less way out here on Iron Island. It's got to be here for a reason." His thoughts drifted as he stared down at the ground, puzzling over it, wracking his brain for any connections between Iron Island and Zeraora but coming up with none.
Finally he shrugged and shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to keep an eye out."
"Maybe he likes rocks," Kitto suggested with a grin. Despite his light tone, his eyes betrayed a glimmer of worry.
Koa chuckled, but he couldn't help but feel vaguely unsettled as well. What if there was something worse going on?
XXX
For the few remaining hours of light, Koa did his best to focus on training again and put all the events of earlier out of his mind. Which proved easier said than done. Between Fossie, Scrapper, and Zeraora's prints he found himself thinking about everything
but training. Particularly every time his thoughts circled back to Scrapper.
Even as Koa watched him train with Jackie, he could see Scrapper was not himself. He was too focused, too frustrated, too tense. But every time Koa wanted to talk to him, his thoughts went to that morning. Scrapper refused to open up. Maybe pushing too hard would only make things worse. Doubt lingered in his mind. Something told him whatever was bothering Scrapper wouldn't resolve itself.
Winning the battle earlier had lifted his spirits slightly, but he was still troubled. This was about more than losing and yet... Scrapper was
pushing himself. Trying to get stronger, battle better.
Why? This was more than a pokemon's natural inclination for battling; this felt like obsession. The question nagged at him for his entire training session, which ended up being less productive than he hoped.
"So you're cooking tonight, right?" Kitto teased as they were resting, sitting against the rock wall of the cave and sipping water. "Given the lovely lunch I made."
"Yeah, but I made breakfast," Koa pointed out.
Kitto elbowed him. "Not a very good one."
"Ah, but I did make one. So that makes us even."
"Fine, then we both cook?"
Koa sat forward and blinked.
Experiment... "Actually..." he frowned, an idea forming in his mind. "I think I
will cook."
"Oh?"
Koa grinned as he stood up. "Yeah. I've got an idea."
"Be my guest."
XXX
Five minutes later Koa had set up a short distance away from his team and from camp, and brought Scrapper's pokeball with him. He'd told the rest of his team to stay at camp for his idea. It was only a vaguely formed idea in his head, but it was better than nothing. He sent Scrapper out, who emerged and eyed the array of berries and vegetables Koa had set out.
He grunted and looked at Koa questioningly.
"You're gonna help me cook. If you want," he added.
Scrapper deliberated for a second before shrugging and nodding. Koa beamed.
Time slipped by as Koa worked with Scrapper in relative silence, cutting and chopping. "Kitto told me you should always smell the flavors and spices together to see if they fit." He took a Tanga berry he'd saved, sniffing it next to a few different spices before stopping on a clove of cinnamon. The cinnamon and spice flavor blended together in a surprisingly aromatic way he wouldn't have thought of. He handed it to Scrapper. The Breloom sniffed the two, then nodded enthusiastically.
Koa added the food to the pot.
"Kitto also told me that in cooking, you'll always end up making mistakes, but that's how you learn." Scrapper stared quietly at the pot, but Koa got the impression he was listening. "It took me a long time to figure that out. I mean to
really get it. I thought I knew what I was doing but I was still letting my mistakes get to me. I think part of me wanted..." he paused, trying to find the words, his throat feeling tight. His mind flashed back to his battle against Byron.
"I guess I wanted to be perfect. To do everything right, all the time. I kept thinking if I tried hard enough I'd never make a mistake again. But that didn't help me get better or improve. I got so hung up on thinking I could be perfect it just made me mess up more."
Koa stopped stirring the soup and turned to look at Scrapper. The words he wanted to say felt almost silly, but he hoped Scrapper would understand. "You don't have to be perfect for me, Scrapper."
Scrapper's gaze shifted and he tensed, uneasiness seeping into his eyes. He pulled away, the mushroom on his head wilting ever so slightly.
Steeling himself, Koa pressed on. "I've seen how you push yourself in training. I know you're working really hard to get strong again. But I can tell you're still mad about getting hurt. You want to get back to the way things were before."
Scrapper huffed and crossed his arms, and tilted his head up in challenge. Koa could tell exactly what he meant.
What's so bad about that?
"Nothing. I'm glad. I love that about you, the way you always try your hardest and push yourself. And me." Hesitantly, Koa reached out and took one of Scrapper's claws in his hand. He knelt down and peered into his dark eyes. "Listen. This isn't about how hard you train. I just... I wanted you to know you can make mistakes." He felt Scrapper's claws tense and then felt the tug as he tried to pull away. Koa held him firmly. After a moment, Scrapper stared at him, hesitant. Guilty.
His suspicion was true then. Scrapper was
mad at himself for getting hurt. Not just mad, he didn't feel worthy anymore. "You can lose matches and mess up and get hurt and I won't care about you any less. So... so if the reason you feel like training so hard and pushing yourself is because you feel like you have to make up somehow... you don't. You don't have to earn my love or my respect or anything else from me by being good enough. You're my friend, that's never going to change."
Scrapper's grip on his hand tightened, and he gave a small nod. Yet something almost like fear or hesitation shone in his eyes. As if he almost wasn't sure he believed Koa.
A lump formed in Koa's chest. He couldn't help but remember how he'd first met him, all those weeks ago, in the Safari Zone. And why he'd been out there in the first place. Always wanting to be strong enough, good enough. Pushing himself for his first awful trainer. Abandoned. All because he wasn't strong enough.
Acting on instinct, he pulled him into an awkward hug. "I love you, Scrapper."
Something almost like a squeak of surprise came from him. Then he relented and accepted the embrace. The knot of worry in Koa's chest unwound and he cleared his throat and sat back. "I'm glad I met you."
Scrapper's eyes widened and he frantically pointed to the pot of stew. Dark smoke had begun to rise from it.
"Oh shoot," Koa yelped. He turned around and quickly started stirring it. To his relief, it wasn't completely burned yet. "Phew..." A few minutes later a delicious aroma wafted through the air.
"Ready to eat, Scrapper?"
Flashing a smile, Scrapper nodded.
Koa smiled back. He had a feeling everything would be okay.
AN: It would not be okay.
Also the cooking tips in this are real! Sniffing seasoning helps a ton.
I had a lot of fun with this chapter. I wanted to do something tender and meaningful after the troubles arising in the last chapter, and I felt like Scrapper's troubles weren't quite resolved yet. There was more to say with him and this was the perfect cap off for him after his injury.
Look forward to chapter 26 next week, in which More Things happen and Koa encounters something rather unexpected...
