A lot might be asking Caden: Was that risky? Yes. Was that crazy? Yes. Is he out of his mind? Probably. Did he expected it to work? Nope. Was Pikachu even aware of the possible drawbacks? Considering the mouse grinned the same way, so yes.
'Okay,' Caden huffed as if he was out of breath, 'That was certainly an adrenaline craze right there. Is this how it feels to be in a Pokémon battle or is it just me? Probably just me. Good lord, I am not becoming a good trainer figure to Pikachu,'
Speaking of the mouse...
"Pikachu, return!"
Without hesitation, the Pokémon in question made quick pace on returning to the boy just as Geodude vanished in a beam of red light. Sometimes, Pikachu would wince a bit before continuing. Upon arriving to his trainer, Cade was already squatting down and checking the injuries on Pikachu, which the Electric Type finds embarrassing.
"Cade, I'm okay!" Pikachu says, trying to reassure his worrywart of a considered brother.
"Are you sure? Is your arm okay? Nothing broken, is there? No joints dislocated? I hope that stunt didn't make me force your body to tear a muscle,"
"Caden! I said I'm fine!"
On the stands, Misty watches with utter incomprehension at the boy. She just couldn't get a bearing of him. One second, he was acting like a nutty cackling power-high psycho, then started acting like a worried parental guardian.
On Flint's end, all he saw was the image of Brock checking to the crying Tilly and Billy if they got injured from accidentally breaking some plates while playing. It was at the time he was still too afraid to face his family, watching as Brock gives up his dream to look after his siblings while Flint himself was cowardly living and surviving at the outskirts of Pewter City. He could feel his hands shaking at those memories of his failures as a father, then shook those thoughts away and steeled his shaking arm. Despite being forgiven and accepted back, he, even now, still feels undeserving.
Pushing back the pang in his heart, he looked back at the boy - Ash Ketchum- standing up to his feet with his Pikachu now back on the boy's shoulder before looking at him with a determined look. Flint returned with a smirk.
.
"You got guts, kiddo. And a lack of preservation," Flint rolled his head around with a hand on his neck, "Then again, kids these days are crazy,"
Holding the next Pokéball, Flint pulls back the arm holding it as he yells out, "But don't think this will be any easier, squirt! Because you will now be facing my Rhydon!"
From the ball's light came out what many description entries would describe as a bipedal rhinoceros that has a 25% genetic mutation of a dinosaur. It has three set of claws on its hands while two sets were on its feet, a breastplate over its cream-colored underbelly, twin trails of small spikes going down on its back and up its head, a cream-colored drill of a horn on its big snout, and two ridges over its head that Caden is still trying to decipher if they were ears or not.
Other than that, Caden frowned at the opponent he was now facing while thinking of his second Pokémon for the battle. The two cocoon Pokémon were still under training with Metapod still getting used to his slow and heavy form and Kakuna being new to the team, and then there was Pidgeotto. He needs to know what in the world got her to this behavior. Which left Spearow and Rattata. Like he said, Spearow, while fully recovered, would need a few more days of giving his wing a bit more rest and some exercising (Not to mention falling behind on move sets). Looking through his choices, he also took an analysis of the battlefield which is littered in large chunks of stone and debris. With a nod to himself, he reaches out from his belt and picks his next Pokémon.
"Rattata, I-"
Caden heard one of the spheres on his belt popped open, and soon found himself staring at the Pokémon that released themselves to the field. Pikachu flinched at who came out, already feeling how things will go from here.
"Spearow?!" Cade looked in shock, seeing the avian out of his Pokéball.
"I'm your opponent," Spearow said in quick declaration, eyes trained on the Rock Type before him.
"Spearow, you just got recovered hours ago! What are you doing?!" Cade shouted, getting the avian's Pokéball from his belt and ready to return him.
"Cade, Spearow is choosing to fight because Rattata will not be able to do it,"
The boy stopped in his actions, before looking at Pikachu. The mouse can only nod without looking at his direction, feeling a bit queasy on the inside.
"But he-"
"I know!" Pikachu squeaked, before easing his tone, "We had a talk last night with all but Pidgeotto while you were asleep, about who will go against who. When it came to the talk of who to expect, Rattata shared she might not be able to face a Rhydon without being....reminded," Pikachu paused for a bit, seeing the realization starting to shine in the boy's eyes, "For better or for worst, Spearow vouched to face something like that for her sake, which surprises us at first. We told him he should not be battling despite such thing, but he didn't care....
"Because he believed you will be there to guide him in this fight," Pikachu ended softly, eyes staring to Cade's who was digesting all of this.
The boy took a few seconds to finally opening his mouth to voice his thoughts-
"Rhydon…Smack Down,"
-And immediately turned to the battlefield with a panic called out:
"Look out!"
Spearow, nimble on his talons, used his good wing and, to Cade's surprise, used Steel Wing as a shield barely in time to glimpse on a rock as big as him covered in orange light come barreling in front of his face. Despite this, the impact pushes him back before crying out in pain after being repelled by the following explosion like a fly being swatted. The avian tumbled literally next to Caden who crouched down to a knee and helped him up on his talons. Pikachu left his shoulder and landed next to them.
"Kiddo, as much as I do not want to use any of Surge-y boy's approaches, a trainer who hesitates in battle shouldn't be in a battle at all," Flint huffed, "What is the point of coming here if all you're gonna do is argue with a mindless animal and follow some pointless fantasies,"
Cade went still at the words, going silent for a long while. Pikachu's eyes glared towards Flint, scrunching his face in anger.
Finally, Flint thought, a proper reaction.
"Kid," Flint started again, "Be more realistic and just give-"
*Shriiiing!*
*CRACK!!*
"RHYA!!!?!"
Flint didn't get to finished what he was about to say....
Cade didn't get to cut the man off like he intended to....
Rhydon didn't get to have the time to react....
Spearow, already at the opposite side of the field, behind Rhydon, crouched down with a Steel Wing unfurled and stretched out from his side. His eyes shadowed over as they gleamed with an imposing stare. Behind the avian, Rhydon had stumbled a step back in shock, staring straight with a baffled look. Slowly, its eyes looked down to its horn...
Its broken, largely chipped off horn.
"Consider that a message for your human,"
Rhydon looked over to the Spearow, who had turned his body 90 degrees to his right to give Rhydon a glare through the same dark look, eyes looking with anger and vengeance.
"Nobody has any right tells me or my flock what we are," finally turning his body to fully face the giant Pokémon, Spearow bent down to a position where the head and back where horizontal, left talon forward, right talon behind, and the Steel Wing still stretched out, "I had seen what my human is capable of and how much he cares for us,
"I will do everything to repay him for accepting me despite where I came from, and to be worthy of whatever trust he had given to me," Spearow turned eyes to his trainer, who had the Pikachu to translate every word, then closes his eyes, "And if your human thinks he can bad mouth to our faces-"
There was a sudden kick of cloud of dust as the avian blitzed across the field on talons, further leaving everyone befuddled. The speed the Spearow before them shown is far above the average speed of a normal (if not, flying) Spearow.
"-then I will gladly respond,"
________________________________________
"What the distortion?!"
Zorua was left gaping as Spearow practically zooms to speeds that are impossible for the kinds of legs his species biologically carries. Despite the shock, Zorua finds himself grinning mad with excitement at the concept of a land-speeding Spearow.
"Oh wow! I never knew Spearows can sprint that fast!" beside the fox, Ash was enthusiastically beaming at the battle.
"That's because they shouldn't be able to," a third voice, wispy and beyond creepy, spoke between the two, causing them to tumble away in fright as the speaker stared hollowly and glumly at the pond. The speaker is a Corsola, which seems to be nothing to be frightened about.
Except for it boney-white color, ghostly transparent branches, eyes and a frowning mouth etching the expressions of hollowness, and yet hides something haunting.
Ash still has some fears when it comes to her.
"Dammit, Corry! I'm the one who's supposed to be the one giving everyone heart attacks!" the Zorua shrieked right at the peculiar Corral Pokémon, who blatantly ignored him.
"Please don't scream, Zorua...." the Corsola spoke, her monotonously empty voice sending shivers down Ash's spine, as she barely bats an eye off the projecting water, "I am trying to feel his soul,"
Ash forced himself to calm his nerves and turn his attention to the battle at the other side, watching as Rhydon was now radiating with Rage as it tries and somehow fails to land a hit on the slippery avian and further causing more damage to the field, "W-what are you looking for exactly?" he asked.
"You will see soon enough~" the white corral said in the most monotonous and spine-chilling singsong tone that Ash is still not used to hearing.
Ash will certainly, without hesitation, say that Corsola, only this Corsola, is the most haunting Ghost Pokémon out there.
'Why thank you, Ash~,'
Not even his thoughts are safe.
___________________________________________________________________________
"What the heck?"
That is the question resonating to all their minds as Spearow blurs all around the angry Rhydon and constantly assaulting and dodging without missing a beat. Rhydon, who was once too shocked to do anything moments ago, was now blindly lashing around with a look of vengeance. It was in the species' nature that they pride their horns along with their tough body. Suffice to say, while Rhydon is an open minded and chill talker, he wasn't well in control of his emotions and pride once his horn got broken. And rubbing more salt to the wound, Spearow is doing effective damages to the hulking brute. All its focus is on the frustrating attacker.
Even Flint is struggling to command it.
"Rhydon, stop this at once!" Flint shouted, but the words fell to deaf ears as Rhydon continues stomping.
Cade, on the other hand, was sweating at the sheer strength that the angry Rock Type was showing. He needs to remember that Pokémon, no matter the size, can be very powerful and can do more than harm anything and anyone. And right now, he's very concern for his Spearow. Sure, Spearow is wiping the floor Rhydon is standing on, but his amazement is currently being undermined by his anxiety.
"Cade, snap out of it!" Pikachu burst him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.
The boy closes his eyes as he tries to put his mind into focus on calming his heart and mind and how to help Spearow. He took some breathing exercises as the beating of his pulse starts to mellow down, but not enough to get one thing away.
Spearow has trust in him. Spearow puts all his trust into Cade....
But does Cade have trust in Spearow?
Does Cade have any trust in himself?
Caden looked at his hands, contemplating those questions. He then looked up to the battle, seeing the flickers of brown, beige, black, red, and silver as the flightless avian uses the rocks to gain more height in the battle.
'"What is the point of coming here if all you're gonna do is argue with a mindless animal and follow some pointless fantasies,"' the words repeated in his head. Words that filled his vigor with righteous anger that levels with the ones fueling Spearow's own soul.
Pikachu was the only one to notice the glow of gold shining from his trainer's irises, as well as the only one seeing a new chain now forged to solidity. Through the connection, he could feel a shared stand and defiance. However, it was apparent that the connection is still not in full, but it is close.
Something just needs to be spoken out. One last barrier needs to be taken down.
Then Rhydon started throwing Ancient Power around.
______________________________________________________
"Hmm...such a shame. But I guess it is not the right moment," Corsola said, eyelids once quirked up by two millimeters, furrowed down to its dormant height.
Ash and Zorua are able to notice this, sweating a bit. An emotion-expressive Corsola always spells doom even for the Dark Type, even if it's just the eyelids.
Trying to ignore this, they focused their attention onto the pond.
____________________________________________________________
Misty took cover behind the railings just as a safety measure as the battle went from a rampage to a mother-freaking storm of flying giant rocks! Misty is really having second thoughts of having joined Ash in this journey. Because how in the distortion is he training these Pokémon!?
A loud screech of pain echoed through the gym, and it all soon ended. Misty peeked over and saw a sight that made her wince.
The entire field is totaled, stones of all shapes and sizes were literally embed on the walls and outside the grounds. She also took noticed of the battleground littered with craters and dents, looking like they were caused by meteors.
In the center of it all, two figures stand. One was Rhydon, who had calmed down and was looking about to buckle down.
Spearow is another, panting heavily, lying with his belly on the ground. His wing, his good wing, had lost some feathers and looked worst for wear with how it seems to be bruised.
Spearow growled as he tries to get up, but found his legs couldn't even move to do so. He had overexerted pass the capacity his talons can physically run on land, not to mention the amounts of boosting he had constantly poured through his body.
"You...did good, young Spearow. And annoyingly at that,"
Spearow turns his head up at the towering shadow of Rhydon, glaring at the calmly towering behemoth. Spearow knew he was done for, but wanted to show one last look of defiance.
Rhydon lets out an impressed chuckle, "Even at the face of defeat, you did not want to give your opponent the satisfaction, eh?"
Slowly, Rhydon raises an arm as energy starts condescending his knuckles. Spearow remained unwavered at it as the arm glows brighter.
Then-
"Return!"
-Hammer Arm manages to hit nothing but dirt as Spearow disappears from a flash of red.
Cade sighed in relief, bringing up the Pokéball onto his forehead and whispering his appreciation to the mon inside it.
"You did well, Spearow. More than you've ever think. I thank you for that...and I want to say sorry for not showing much trust in you," Cade said with a soft voice, knowing he still has more to talk with him.
Putting the Pokéball back, he looked down at Pikachu and nodded. The mouse nodded back and took the field, going down to all four and staring up at the opponent before him.
"Pikachu, shock him,"
Flint raises an eyebrow and snorted at the idiocy of the words, wondering if after all that, the boy had finally lost his sense-
*BOOM!!!*
Rhydon fell down all covered in soot after one Thunderbolt, much to the bafflement of everyone.
Misty justified for the others by responding:
"ASH, WHAT THE FU-"