Training the Future King and the Angry Bug

Axel and Cyrus stood side by side, once again in that little clearing they had found a while ago. This time, however, they did not sit on the stump; instead, they stood facing it. In Axel's right hand was the Pokeball that contained the Scyther, Horus. This would be the first time since their battle that Axel had released him, and the Trainer was a touch worried at how Horus would react to no longer bring free. Of course, the young man was sure that, over time, he would be able to befriend the Pokemon... And then the ball was in the air, and a beam of red light shot out. With an angry buzzing, Horus appeared. The first the he did was to look around as if searching for his opponent... And then the Scyther saw Axel and Cyrus. Horus raised his scythe-arms menacingly before dropping them. A faint snarl was heard, and then the green bug launched himself at Axel. The Trainer made no move to defend himself, instead allowing Horus to tackle him to the ground.

Axel looked up at the seething face of Horus, and Horus glared down at Axel. And then Cyrus headbutted the Scyther, sending Horus off to the side a little bit. The little Nidoran then jumped on top of Horus, and both Pokemon took place in the glare-off of the century. Axel dusted himself off, walked over to the pair, and picked Cyrus up so he could face Horus. "Hey... I know you aren't happy about this. But look... I know a lot about training Pokemon. I have befriended Pokemon with grudges far greater than your own." Horus snorted. "Trust me. If you were to be caught by any Trainer... You'd want it to be me. I want you and me to have a good relationship, Horus." At the sound of his new name, the Scyther snarled. "Look... I don't know how we're going to do this. I awesome you respect power, right? Then why don't you go take a seat over there and watch me and Cyrus work our poisonous magic?"

Horus scratched his head silently, and then picked himself off the ground. He reluctantly sat down on the aforementioned stump, and then glared at Axel and Cyrus. "Well, Cy, we have an audience now. We can't disappoint now, can we?"

"All right, let's see... How should we do this, Cyrus?" Axel asked, having sat upon a nearby log to ponder what to train Cyrus in. The move he had decided upon was Poison Jab, which would be a very lovely attack for Cyrus to know... But then there was Horn Attack, which could prove to be a stepping-stone to Poison Jab. "Cy, can you attack things with your horn already?" the trainer asked. The Nidoran nodded, resulting in a twitch of his ears. "Okay... Can we try this first? Coat your horn in those toxic spikes." Nidoran concentrated for a moment, and, at first, seemed to succeed as his horn glowed purple. But then the rest of him glowed as well. "Ah. Oh well, I'm sure you'll get it soon enough. Horus!" Axel called out, and the Scyther grudgingly made his way over to the duo.

"All right, Scyther... What moves do you have?" Axel muttered, and pulled out the one thing he had brought with him from his past journey; the Hoenn Pokedex, complete with updated database to include all known Pokemon. The screen displayed the moves Swords Dance (no surprise), Pursuit (again, no surprise), and... Wing Attack? Axel was a little surprised at this one, but found himself grateful Horus had it. The Gym was a Bug one, and that move could make or break the upcoming battle. But there was one more move that Axel felt could help... "Horus... I think you'll like this move." The Scyther snorted. "Slash. It'll put those big scythe-arms to use! What do you think?" Horus responded by shrugging, and then sat himself down beside Cyrus.

"Horus, Swords Dance! Cyrus, Toxic Spikes! Please aim them only at our enemies feet this time." Axel boomed, more loudly than necessary, as was his wont. The poorly conceived team had just encountered two Bidoof, and Axel thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to train everyone up a little. Horus responded first, crossing his arms reluctantly in front of his chest, emitting that faint glow once again (upon closer inspection, Axel saw that in the golden glow were various swords from throughout the ages, all crossed). Cyrus responded second, shooting the glowing purple spikes towards the Bidoofs' feet. The Bidoofs responses next, showing their vast intellect by stepping on the spikes, pulsing purple once, and then kept running towards Cyrus. Cyrus once again displayed his athleticism as he jumped over one, and then was hit in the chest by the other. Axel smiled at this, as Cyrus fell nimbly back to the ground. The Nidoran hadn't been badly hurt by the attack... It was just a little irritating to him. But nonetheless, this battle was now personal for the little Poison type.

"Horus, Pursuit. Aim for the annoying one who missed Cyrus! Cyrus, I want you to pummel the one who hit you with Double Kick." Axel said, loudly, but quieter than before. In his anticipation at the obvious victory, he spun his wrench in his right hand like a baton. Horus once again responded first, launching himself in the air with his legs, stayed at the peak of his ascent for a second, and then aimed himself at the Bidoof who was his target. The Bidoof hardly saw the attack coming, such was his pain with the poison running in his veins. As such, Horus's attack hit it dead on, sending the fainted Bidoof sprawling against a nearby tree. Before he touched the toxic spikes, Horus pulled up, and swooped back to where he had been standing before.

Cyrus faced the Bidoof for a moment, snarling with anger. The Bidoof tilted it's head in mock surprise (or stupidity) as the Nidoran jumped off in the direction of a tree. Cyrus hit the tree with one forepaw, and then launched himself again in the direction of the Bidoof, both back feet outstretched. The attack hit dead on, sending the Bidoof crashing into the other one. Axel grinned, tossed his wrench in the air, caught it, and then walked forward as Cyrus cleaned up the spikes. "All right! Now, they didn't stand a chance... But still. Good work everybody. Great team effort."

"Next targets acquired." Axel said in his best robot voice, his hands over his eyes in an imitation of binoculars. Horus looked left at Cyrus, as if asking if this was a normal thing for his new Trainer to be doing. Cyrus responded by not responding at all. Axel looked over at his Pokemon, and then charged out of the bush they had been hiding in. A shocked Bidoof and Slakoth stood in front of Axel, but quickly found themselves confronted with the menacing Horus and the smaller, but still scary, Cyrus. "Horus, Swords Dance! Cyrus, Toxic Spikes!" Horus and Cyrus were already in action, following what was sure to become a ritual in their training. The Slakoth slowly made it's way towards Horus, who simply flew up a little bit to evade the now-poisoned sloth. The Bidoof charged Cyrus, who sidestepped the tackle.

Axel couldn't help but grin. These opponents were ridiculously easy, but still, they provided the vital experience Cyrus and Horus needed for the upcoming Gym battle. "All right, Horus. Let's get some practice in with that Wing Attack, shall we?" Horus responded by throwing himself at the Bidoof, arms at his side. When Horus got close enough, he extended his right arm, which glowed faintly sky-blue, and then swiped at the weird beaver-thing. The Bidoof fell over, but slowly managed to pick itself up again just as it pulsed purple once again. "Hmm. Well, there's goes the one-hit knockout plan... Cyrus, Double Kick that Bidoof!"

Cyrus jumped up, and then, aimed at the Bidoof, began his ascent. Time to try something a little different. As he neared the dumb creature's face, Cyrus outstretched only one foot, and, when that hit, spun quickly, putting the other foot into the Bidoof's eye. The Normal type was sent careening, and failed to pick itself up again. The Slakoth, meanwhile, had meandered closer to Horus, but failed to attack. Axel raised an eyebrow, but dismissed his confusion as he remembered Slakoth's laziness.

At Axel's order, both Horus and Cyrus charged the Slakoth, who just lazily stared up at them, and then yawned. Axel's grin was broken as he watched Horus stop mid-flight to yawn before resuming his Wing Attack. Despite the temporary delay, Horus still reached the Slakoth first, and there his scythe-arm swiped down, again glowing sky blue. The Slakoth didn't even attempt to dodge the attack, instead allowing itself to take the full attack. Cyrus flipped into his first kick, and then spun before the Slakoth could be kicked away, putting his right foot into the Slakoth's belly. 

Axel smiled, and then opened Horus's Pokeball. The beam of red light crackled like a bolt of lightning, enveloping the sleepy Scyther, and then zoomed back to the ball, which closed as the beam retracted fully. "Sorry Horus... I had to dispel that Yawn." Axel whispered. The ball shook violently, and then Axel popped it back open. Horus growled softly, but was content to merely cross his arms in mild disgust. Axel took this as a good sign; already, Horus was beginning to develop a grudging respect for Axel. Excellent!