The next morning, Eliana's entire torso protested the simple act of sitting up. The bruise was a ugly, mottled thing, a map of violence across her back. She moved stiffly, each breath a sharp reminder of the bat's impact. She ignored it, pushing the pain into a small, dark corner of her mind and focusing on the day's objectives.
She dressed quickly, her movements economical, and clipped her three Poké Balls to her belt. The Raichu's new ball felt different, heavier, full of untapped potential.
They left the sterile quiet of the PokéCenter, stepping out into Vermilion City's morning bustle. The sea air was thick with the smell of salt and diesel. Instead of heading for the city limits, Eliana guided them towards a small, secluded park nestled between two drab administrative buildings. It was a forgotten patch of green, overlooked by the city's busy populace. A few battered benches dotted a patchy lawn, and a lone, wilting tree provided sparse shade. Perfect.
"Alright," she said, her voice low. "Ralts, you and I have some work to do. Staryu, you and Raichu will be working together." She pointed to a clear patch of grass near the tree.
"Staryu, I want you to watch Raichu form a Thunderbolt. Study the way she gathers the energy, the tension before the release. Don't try to copy it yet, just watch. Raichu, start small, has Staryu how it's done."
Raichu nodded, her blue eyes bright with focus. She bounced onto her tail, floating off of the ground, her round body tensing.
A faint, yellow crackle began to gather around her cheeks, the smell of static filling the air. It grew stronger, the sparks coalescing into a tight, humming orb of raw electricity. With a sharp cry she unleashed it, not as a full-force bolt, but as a controlled stream that scorched a black line into the grass a few feet away. She turned to Staryu, her expression one of smug pride.
(¬‿¬), Ralts smugly projected, he was pleased he didn't have to do that right now. His unlucky, little sibling Staryu was going to be aching for days
Ralts nodded, his pink body shimmering. He closed his eyes, and another copy of himself appeared beside him. Then another, and another, until eight Ralts stood in a semicircle around Eliana, who's own eyes were starting to glow. They were all perfect, down to the last detail, but they were still. Like photographs.
"Good," Eliana said. "Now, move."
The central Ralts strained. He willed the copies to run, to scatter. Two of them flickered violently before dissolving into nothing. The remaining three managed a clumsy, shuffling step forward before their forms warped and blurred. The effort left him panting, the connection to the illusory selves stretched taut and snapping.
Ralts tried again. This time he started smaller, only creating five copies. As they solidified, he immediately pushed them into motion, pouring more of his concentration into the task. They ran in opposite directions, circling Eliana. Their movements were jerky, unnaturally fast, like a film played on fast-forward. But they were moving.
"Better," Eliana conceded. "Now, hold it."
For thirty seconds, the five Ralts images sprinted around her, a dizzying carousel of green and red. Then, the strain became too much.
One by one, they flickered out of existence, and the original Ralts stumbled, catching himself with a small cry of exertion.
(｡>﹏<｡), he projected, the feeling a jumble of frustration and exhaustion.
Ralts nodded and went back to his training, as Eliana turned her attention back to the other pair. Staryu had been watching Raichu intently, its gem core glowing with concentration. Raichu, for her part, was a patient, if arrogant, instructor. She unleashed another small bolt, then another, her body language screaming, See? It's easy. You're just not trying hard enough.
"Okay, Staryu," Eliana said, walking over. "Forget about the attack itself. Just focus on the feeling. That tingle in the air, the pull of energy. Can you replicate that feeling inside yourself?"
Staryu rotated, its central gem pulsing. The air around it grew warm, not with electricity, but with the familiar, heavy pressure of water energy gathering.
"No, not water," Eliana said, her voice firm. "Push that aside, think static, think about the air right before a lightning strike. Make your own core crackle."
Staryu went still. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, a single, tiny, almost invisible spark jumped from one of its limbs to the damp grass. It was faint, barely there, but it was real.
Raichu let out an incredulous chirp as if to say, Finally.
"See? You can feel it," Eliana encouraged. "Now, hold onto that feeling. Don't let it turn into water."
The training continued for another hour. Ralts's Double Team illusions grew in number and fluidity, though maintaining their movement was still a monumental effort. Staryu managed to produce a few more weak sparks, its control tenuous but present. Raichu grew bored, her attention drifting towards a Pidgey that landed in the tree, her tail giving an occasional, menacing crackle as she stalked towards it.
Just as Eliana was about to call for a break, a shadow fell over them. Two officers in the crisp, navy blue uniforms of the Vermilion City Police stood at the edge of the park, their hands resting near their belts. Eliana didn't turn immediately, instead she brushed against their minds to see what they wanted. Apparently they were going around, questioning any young girl to see if they had been involved in the recent gang exposure.
Eliana turned slowly, plastering a look of mild surprise on her face. "Can I help you?"
One of the officers, a stern-faced woman with her hair in a tight bun, stepped forward. "We're asking everyone in the area, miss. A disturbance was reported at the south docks last night. Some kind of gang activity. We're checking to see if anyone saw anything unusual."
"I heard the sirens," Eliana said, her tone carefully crafted to be that of a concerned, slightly naive civilian. "Was it serious?"
"They found three men," the other officer, a younger man with a nervous energy, said. "Banged up pretty bad. And a bunch of folks... and Pokémon... they'd been keeping captive. Nasty business."
Officer Bun's gaze swept over Eliana's Pokémon, lingering on the aggressive posture of the Alolan Raichu. "That's an unusual Pokémon you have there. Alolan, right? They're not common around these parts."
"I know," Eliana said, launching seamlessly into her pre-prepared story. "I found its trainer yesterday. A poor kid from Alola, got in way over his head with some bad people. They attacked him and his Raichu, but I managed to get it them to back off. He asked me to look after it until he recovered." She gestured to the bruise visible through her tank top.
The two officers exchanged a look. It was a clean story, plausible. It explained the injured girl and the powerful, out-of-place Pokémon.
"Well, you should be more careful," Officer Bun said, her professional skepticism softening slightly. "These docks aren't safe for a girl on her own."
"I will," Eliana promised, her expression earnest. "I'll be headed to Saffron City soon, it's probably safer there."
"A good idea," the younger officer agreed. "We'll let you get back to your training. Stay out of trouble."
Eliana watched them go, a small, triumphant smile gracing her lips once their backs were turned. Well her training day was ruined, time to head back to the PokéCenter to hide out for a bit.