Love in the Time of Traveling

Chapter 18: A Trigger

There's something about writing for Pokémon that manages to increase my wordcount. This would be considered long in my original stuff. Oh well, Chapter 18 time!

Chapter 18

A Trigger

"Raboot, Bounce! Chewtle, let's focus on long range with Water Gun!"

"Sobble, avoid the Water Shuriken!"

The sounds of training echoed across the bluffs, the sound of Galar's eastern waters rising with the surf. Raboot jumped high into the air, to a height that almost made Rookidee envious, and as he soared back down, Chewtle was firing her Water Gun, each attack grazing Gloria's steadfast Fire type. He was close, and to the side of them, Sobble could be seen flipping out of the way of the ninja stars.

"Okay, Chewtle, take it head on!"

"Chew!" Raboot's foot crashed into Chewtle's head, but her solid stance prevented her from taking too much damage, a fact that made Gloria smile. She clapped, too, proud of the progress from both of her partners. Raboot's speed and strength, and Chewtle's resilience; though they had both fallen against Nessa, she knew they would be ones to rely on for the upcoming rematch with Kabu. Rookidee on the other hand, was preening, clearly confident in himself off his victory, and staring at Applin, who remained stock still whenever the bird's gaze would find her. Gloria wasn't sure if it was from fear or some attempt to seem strong.

"All right, Sobble, let's wrap up and try some Water Pulse! Greninja, show him how it's done!"

"Gren!"

"Sahb!" The pair of Water types brought the attention to them, each taking a similar stance to one another. While Greninja didn't form any sort of Water Pulse, his stance produced the watery shuriken that he was known for. Sobble, on the other hand, was starting to bring together the liquid orb, only for it to burst in his hold, splashing upon him and turning his body invisible. "Sobble sahb!"

"Hey, it's okay! Sobble, calm down." Ash located Sobble in seconds, the Pokémon sniffling while his trainer rubbed the top of the lizard's head. "You have a start. We just gotta keep going with it."

"Sobble?" Ash grinned at Sobble and Gloria heard Chewtle call for her friend, encouraging him to take the stance and try again, invisibility fading. Sobble wasn't the only one emboldened.

"See, Yamper? It's just about keeping it going," Serena said, patting her dog on head as he yipped. Pikachu and Sandshrew were at his side, the trio looking like big brothers to the dog with too much excitable energy. "Right. So, you have no problem keeping the energy going, so what we need to do is find a safe outlet for that energy. You have plenty of fur, so let's work on trying to ground it. Pikachu, could you help out?"

"Pika!" Pikachu's tail flattened, sticking itself into the ground while Yamper watched, his tongue wagging out. Sparks flew from Pikachu's cheeks, but Gloria watched as they were channeled into his tail and down to the ground. Yamper barked, narrowing his tiny eyes as his own static was funneled into his fur and his paws, aiming towards the dirt.

It was only minorly successful, and Serena backed away as the electricity burst out, shocking both Pikachu and Sandshrew. "Well, it's a start. Like I said, we keep working."

"We keep working, too!" Gloria said, facing her team with an air of importance. Rookidee fluttered down, landing atop Chewtle with pride. "Our goal is simple: revenge against Kabu! We'll keep working until we make it!"

"App!" The sharp cry of Gloria's little apple made her look further down, the Grass type rolling against her feet as the green petals looked up. "Lin lin app!"