Soup 3.1

Aaron FulanPetalburg Woods, Hoenn Region

We remained in that grove for several days longer. In a nutshell, why would we leave? It was as good a place as any to train, with a bubbling creek only half a mile away I could fish in, several bushes of berries and wild vegetables dotting the grove, and the occasional wandering pokémon who didn't mind throwing down with my girls for a bit. Between physical conditioning, sparring, and repetitive practice to master their new moves, we felt moving on from the grove would only impede our progress.

And, perhaps a little irrationally, Artoria had begun to think of this grove as nearly sacred, a place of solitude and reverence where she'd found her treasured relic.

Truthfully, it was a good opportunity for me to train as well. I didn't think I'd ever reach the lofty heights of sword mastery found in Bleach or other shonen anime, pokémon-world aura just didn't work that way, but I couldn't afford to fall behind my cute student. And, even if I couldn't reach the stars, perhaps I could stand on the moon?

I held my bokken as my mind blended seamlessly with Artoria's. We stood facing each other, me on the forest floor and her on a nearby stump. Even with the stump to stand on, I still had a good head's height on her, but that couldn't really be helped. In her hands, her spoon glowed a deep blue-violet before growing in length.

'Ready?' I asked. I felt her search through my memories, her attention settling on the forms I myself was thinking of.

'Of course, my lord. Strike me with all you have!'

Despite her enthusiasm, we moved painstakingly slowly. An all-out spar wasn't the point, I'd lose that for sure. The goal of this exercise was to teach one another using our bond. We progressed through all nine kihon waza, a sequence of attacks, parries, and counterattacks. By watching me, submerging herself in my memories, and literally experiencing the way I moved, she was quickly soaking in the proper posture and technique of a sixth-dan kendoka.

The bond worked both ways. As much as she was soaking up my skills, I was doing the same. Except rather than focus on what she was doing physically, my attention was on what she was doing on the mental stage. How did a ralts use psychic energy? How did Artoria in particular infuse psychic energy throughout her body to strengthen herself? How did she enhance her weapon with Reflect? On a more basic level, what did psychic energy feel like from per perspective?

This training method was something I could only do with Artoria. It involved an absolute intimacy and trust that no one else, not even my family, had from me. And, bit by bit, my trust was rewarded with progress.

I could feel myself improving, getting ever so slightly stronger. Psychic aura suffused my muscles, stressing them beyond their natural inclinations. Although, that did make me wonder: At what point did psychic aura stop being "psychic?" Could I claim Artoria is a part fighting type now?

I doubted I'd get a straight answer. Only the medicham line and gallade blended psychic and fighting type aura in such a way. I made a mental note to ask Quinn next time I saw him.

Nearby, Jeanne too had taken her training to the next level.

On the way to Verdanturf, she'd started her training by building and maintaining as great an electrical charge as possible. She was so good at using Charge now that she did it all but instinctively. When she entered battle, she Charged. When she had a spare moment to breathe, she Charged. When she ate and chewed cud, she Charged. She could snap out a full salvo of Shock Waves in a split second, like Billy the Kid but fluffy and adorable. More than one greedy taillow found that out the hard way when they tried to poach Jeanne's berry stash.

Her firing speed was impressive, for a mareep. Her power too was impressive, for a mareep. Her physical conditioning, of course, was impressive, for a mareep.

But she wasn't going to remain a mareep for long. I could feel beneath her fur that her skin was becoming more elastic, almost rubbery as if gaining insulating properties. She was close to evolving and that meant moving on.

As per my training notes, the goal was to teach her Electro Ball, both to pair with Agility in the near future, and to get her accustomed to condensing large amounts of electricity outside her body for Zap Cannon.

"Mareep!" I heard her cry as the electric orb she'd been building exploded in her face. It didn't hurt, but the impact did tussle her fur and knock her on her haunches.

"You're doing great, Jeanne," I encouraged as Artoria and I transitioned to the fifth kihon waza. "That was longer than last time."

"Reep! Mareep!"

'She says she is hungry, my lord. Even though we had lunch three hours ago,' Artoria said disapprovingly.

"Go run five suicides across the clearing," I called, sending a pulse of thanks down the bond at the same time. "Then you can grab another berry and we'll rest for a bit."

"Reep!"

'You spoil her, my lord.'

'Do I? Her training is the most physically taxing out of all of ours at the moment. Isn't it natural she'd get hungry first?'

'I suppose… She still lacks focus.'

'She does,' I agreed. I couldn't deny that. Even after the ursaring incident, Jeanne simply lacked the single-minded dedication Artoria had. 'That's normal for her, and most electric types for that matter. They're not flighty, but their attention spans do tend to be a bit shorter than psychics.'

'That sounds like an awful state of affairs. I do not envy her.'

I turned aside her horizontal counterstroke aimed for my hands with a sliding parry. 'No, you just snuggle with her, brush her wool, and feed her the choicest fruits.'

'T-That is that and this is this!'

'Face it, Artoria, you're a doting big sister.'

'Hmph, and what about you, my lord? You even tell her bedtime stories.'

'I tell both of you bedtime stories. Don't pretend you don't like them.'

'Nonsense,' she sniffed, though her heart wasn't in it. 'She enjoys bedtime stories. I listen to the deeds of great knights to better understand chivalry and knightly virtues. We are not the same.'

'Of course not,' I said placatingly.

'I can see you grinning.'

'We all have our passions, Artoria.'

'We do. I for one will be happy when she evolves; perhaps that will mature her.'

In lieu of an answer, I sent her two memories. One was from last night, of me brushing her hair as she took her polishing cloth and gently caressed every inch of her newfound mega stone. The other was of Gollum and the One Ring.

'I AM NOT OBSESSED!'

X

When we finally set out, it was the first of April. Popular wisdom said I ought to go back for the mawilite and pidgeotite, but I couldn't justify devoting so much time to locating them, especially when Artoria could barely sense fae aura to begin with. She managed to sense a snubbull using Charm in a city, but in a forest with a far more chaotic layout and a larger pokémon population density? No chance.

I saw no point in being wasting time greedy when the single biggest reason for going to Verdanturf was sitting in my backpack already. If anything, there were plenty of reasons to not take the mega stones.

Mega stones were objects of incredible prestige and value. Their worth could not be overstated and only people like Steven Stone could afford to purchase them. That was if they were allowed to bid on them at all. Either you found one on your own, inherited from family, or you were both stupid-rich and had a conference championship under your belt. At minimum.

I wasn't the type to brag about my luck, but if it ever accidentally got out that I could reliably locate mega stones, or at least more reliably than most, it would be the equivalent of painting a massive target on my back. I wasn't ready for that kind of attention. Even when Artoria became a mega gardevoir, I didn't think I'd ever appreciate that kind of attention.

No, let sleeping houndoom lie. Besides, if I was right and destiny played a factor into relics such as these, then they'd fall into the right hands on their own.

As per routine by now, we trained as we walked. Jeanne had Artoria mounted on her back, with a burgeoning Electro Ball hovering between her horns like a light.

After a few minutes basking in her "the splendor of her knightly mount," Artoria's mind had drifted elsewhere. She and I were one. We were effectively playing a psychic version of I Spy, her picking out different pokémon and me doing some mental gymnastics to stretch my mind and feel what she felt.

'My liege?'

'Hmm?'

She pushed forward a mental image of the map of Hoenn. We'd certainly looked at it enough times already for her to have a clear-ish picture. 'Why are we going to Oldale? Should we not cut diagonally southwest until we hit Petalburg?'

'Eager for the second badge?'

'I am. Leader Maple is a man even my lady respects.'

'True. Since mom has no interest in the spot, he's the one who's most likely to take the Elite spot whenever Drake decides to retire.'

'I was told normal type pokémon are the most versatile in the world. I look forward to seeing it for myself.'

'You know he's not going to take us seriously, right?' I reminded her. 'This is only for the second badge. He'll probably have a zigzagoon. A linoone maybe. If he really wants to surprise us, he might bring out a zangoose. We won't be seeing his famous slaking anytime soon.'

'We will have to return when we are stronger.'

'We will,' I promised her. 'Once we have our eight badges, we can really start competing for rankings. Until then, we're probably not going to be seeing a gym leader's elite team.'

'Are they so much stronger than us? Lady Sharon is… Lady Sharon. Are they all so far above us?'

'No, not a chance in hell,' I snorted. 'Mom is… mom. Wallace Mikuri. Marcus Moore. Norman Maple. Wattson Tessen in his prime I suppose. These are the trainers who were, could have, or are being considered for Elite Four status. The rest are relatively young and haven't fully come into their power. Roxanne Tsutsuji only became a leader last year. Brawly Toki two years before that. They're strong, but nowhere near as oppressive as mom.'

'Can we expect to fight one of their main team then?' she asked hopefully. I reached down and ruffled her hair, the battle-nut.

'Not really? That's probably unlikely until you evolve and even then it's just a maybe.'

'Then I shall strive to get stronger.'

'We all will. Anyway, as for Oldale, we're going partly because I want to check it off the list and it's not too far out of the way. There's also a small contest hall we can hit up for Jeanne's first ribbon. I think she'll be ready for her win by then.'

'I see. Yes, she does love the stage and her control has improved greatly.'

'Right? I don't think there will be too many people in the audience, Oldale is even smaller than Verdanturf, but the first ribbon will help us advance to super-rank contests sooner.'

'Right… Say, my lord?'

'Yes?'

'Wasn't there a set of ruins near Oldale? I remember reading it in the travel log.'

'Now that you mention it, yeah. It's nothing special I don't think? I'll have to see if I can find the page again, but I think everything's been cleared out already. Just a bunch of old carvings there.'

'Can we visit?'

'I suppose we can make a day trip, but why?'

'The pictures in the guide looked nice and I would like to see what they're like in person,' she said.

I blinked, then smiled happily. 'Of course we can. You know, I think this is the first time you've expressed an interest in anything that isn't training. Or food.'

'I am not a glutton,' she huffed.

'I never said that, but if you heard it, well, that's your guilt.'

'Hmph.'

'I'm glad you're interested in the ruins, Artoria.'

'It's not the ruins necessarily… The stories you told me from your past life... Tales of legendary heroes and ancient secrets… They make me want to learn more about the heroes of our world. Surely our world is not lacking in valiant protectors?'

'It's not. When we stop for the night, I'll tell you about Sir Aaron, or Sir Arion if you want to use old Rotan.'

'I think I know that one. Tell me while we walk?'

'Nope. Jeanne will want to hear it too and I don't want to distract her.'

'Hauu…'

X

"Kirlia, kir-la. Kir."

"Mar. Mareep."

"Kirlia."

"Reep."

"Kir…"

I watched bemusedly as my two pokémon bickered back and forth. They really were opposites, but they could be alike in the strangest ways. We'd made camp for the night and, as promised, I settled into my sleeping bag next to the fire to tell them the story of Sir Aaron of Rota.

Except, they didn't join me. As far as I could tell, they were arguing about whose pillow was whose. Both pillows were a leafy-green, but apparently, one was fluffier.

Fuck if I could tell the difference, they looked exactly the same to me, but they swore there was one so… ehh…

I sighed and spoke aloud. "Girls, it's just a pillow."

"Reep!"

"Lia!"

"I have no idea what you said."

Seeing this was getting nowhere, Jeanne approached the pillow and licked it. "Mareep. Mar," she bleated smugly.

Disgruntled, I yanked it out from beneath her. "I don't need pokéspeak to know you just claimed it. Licking things is not how you claim ownership, Jeanne."

"Reep."

"Kir! Kirlia!'

"Artoria, in plain common?"

'She says it is hers now because it smells like her!'

I sighed and wondered how mom would deal with this. She would… Have Alice hypnotize everyone into taking a nap for a few hours… I buried my hands into my face, probably not a good parenting strategy.

I looked at my sleeping bag. Being thirteen, I was a short, slim kid and there was plenty of room in the sleeping bag. I tossed the pillow I was using Jeanne's way and flipped the one she licked onto the other side before laying down on it.

"Mine. Now neither of you get your favorite pillow."

"Ma-Mareep?"

"Yup. Mine."

"Reep?"

"Don't know what you said. Don't care. Now come to bed."

"Reeee…" she slumped but flopped onto my stomach. One way or another, she'd get her pillow apparently.

"You too, Artoria," I said, patting my right.

She sighed and dragged what used to be my old pillow until it was partly submerged in the sleeping bag. Then she crawled in so her ruby eyes were level with my own.

'I suppose this is one way to end the matter.'

"Don't pout, you two. I'll still tell you about Sir Aaron."

"Reep."

'We are not pouting.'

"You are and it's adorable. Now shush. This takes place in the tiny kingdom of Rota, more than one thousand years ago…"

X

I woke up to more of the same bickering from last night. Like the teenage siblings equivalents that they were, they'd somehow decided that the pillow was worth arguing about even now. I knew from Tate and Liza; the pillow was no longer the true subject of their quarrel. If anything, it was an avatar, a representation of their rivalry. Possessing it was now a matter of pride rather than comfort.

Exercising the better part of wisdom, I ignored them both and went about preparing breakfast. For breakfast, I decided to go for oyakodon, a rice bowl with chicken braised in eggs, soy sauce, and mirin. Sure, it wasn't really "breakfast food" according to tradition, but I was fond of the comfort food so fuck tradition.

I chowed down on my delicious, eggy rice and watched as the two stomped over to a nearby oran bush. They then turned over to me, giving each other competitive side-eyes all the while.

'My lord, would you care to count us off?' my starter spoke in my head.

'Care to explain? You can't possibly care that much about a pillow anymore.'

'It's the principle of the matter. We are having a berry eating contest. The victor shall claim the good pillow and eternal bragging rights.'

'Artoria…' I stared at both of them. They shuffled in place nervously but neither seemed like they'd back down. Or, they would, but would likely start this mess again as soon as I wasn't paying attention. Really, I had the feeling that these two were enjoying themselves in their own way. I glanced at the bush full of plump, blue berries and figured, what the hell. "Fine. The first ever team berry eating contest begins in three… two… one. Go!"

I settled back into my comfy camping chair and watched as the two of them turned their ravenous hunger onto the bush. That poor bush just wasn't ready. Artoria grabbed a berry by the stem and shoved the whole thing in her mouth before, with a suction-like sucking noise, she slurped up everything but the pith.

"Kirlia!" she cried, tossing the seed at her feet. I didn't need her to talk to me to tell she was counting.

Jeanne wasn't far behind. She scorched her first berry with a well-controlled Shock Wave before crunching down on the blistered skin with a happy bleat. She was a marvel to behold, and if I were to be honest with myself, a little disgusting.

Sheep chewed cud. It was just what they did. They did this for most of the day, so long and so often that the act of chewing was a semi-autonomous action, much like breathing. Translated to an eating contest, and it meant Jeanne's jaws worked like a machine, breaking down the berries going in with mechanical precision.

Morbidly, I wondered, if a cherim were to watch her eat now, would it liken Jeanne to the ursaring?

I sat back and decided to let them pig out. Worst case scenario, we'd stick around this campsite for a day while they puked from overeating. They'd likely learn a good lesson today and seeing how it wasn't likely to kill them, I was happy to let them learn the hard way.

Besides, this contest wasn't entirely random on their part. Artoria likely suggested something other than a straight spar knowing, rightly, that she's have an overwhelming advantage against Jeanne as things stood. She likely considered such a battle unfair and unchivalrous of her.

I wondered just how many these two could eat when they put their minds to it. I finished up my own breakfast and packed up camp. When I returned, they were still eating… for a given definition of the word…

The answer, as it turned out, was more than I'd expected.

Those two gluttons had stripped almost the entire bush bare, though they were admittedly carrying on through sheer force of will and competitive drive at this point. Watching these numbskulls savage that poor bush was more fun than watching the Superbowl.

Competitive eating fans… I understood now…

Alas, the contest was put on hold as a loud screech filled the air. Four taillow hovered overhead, shouting down at them. It didn't take a genius to gather what they were upset about.

"Ah… This is their bush, isn't it?" I mused. I dug in my pack and picked out two large hondew berries. Each were as large as a soccer ball and were this world's equivalent to honeydew melons. I held them out to the four taillow. "Hey, sorry about eating your bush, mind if we call it even with these?"

"Taillow! Taiii!" the leader screeched.

'He claims he is owed greater compensation, my liege,' Artoria translated. 'He wants you to leave the bag entirely.'

'Well that's obviously not going to work. It has your mega stone in it for starters.'

That did it. Artoria switched gears from playfully competitive big sister to protective knight in a split second. She drew her spoon and brandished it towards the small flock of bird pokémon. 'No, we cannot have that.'

"Kirlia, kir-lia. Kirlia."

"Tai-taillow!"

"Kirlia!"

"Taillow!" the leader screeched before sinking forward into a poorly telegraphed Quick Attack.

Artoria scoffed before blasting off with a combination of Mana Burst and Mana Edge. Adding on the taillow's own momentum, he struck her spoon with a loud crack that resounded throughout the clearing. I doubted he'd be waking up again anytime soon.

Artoria did a pirouette in midair before teleporting to my side.

I was going to order another attack while we had momentum, but she immediately collapsed onto her knees, holding her hands over her mouth.

"Kiirrr…" she moaned pitiably. 'Urrppp… That… Perhaps that was not a good idea…'

'You've got to be shitting me…'

'My sincerest apologies, my lord…'

I looked a ways and saw that Jeanne was no better. Thinking quickly, I withdrew Jeanne and snatched up Artoria under my arm before booking it out of there while the three other taillow were distracted by their crumpled leader.

I heard enraged screeching and knew they'd give chase soon.

'My lord, I think I'm going to-'

'I swear to Arceus, Artoria, if you barf on my shirt, you're in so much trouble!'

'I-I can't…'

I groaned as I felt a trickle of warm, oddly chunky fluid trickle down my side. Still, I kept running, no way in hell could I hope to match three flying pokémon with just my bokken.

'So… much… trouble…' I thought back at her, promising vengeance. I didn't know what I'd do, but there would be much suffering in her future. I swore it.

Author's Note

Kihon waza literally means "foundational techniques." You can find "kihon waza" in every martial art, ranging from karate to jiujutsu. In kendo, it's a series of attacks, parries, and responses in which the teacher always strikes first and carries out a set form.

Why a berry eating contest? I don't know. It seemed appropriate. I've definitely done stupid shit like this with my kid sis back in the day.

Who said being a trainer was glamorous? Sure, you can be the Champion, but sometimes, you gotta wring kirlia-vomit out of your shirt in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. All part of the experience, you know?