Pokémon: The Renegade Trainer

Route 206...

A young boy in white jacket was biking with a girl whose green hair flew with the wind.

"Ah, the wind feels so good."

Iizumi appreciated the breeze, smiling widely as they pedalled through the cycling bridge. They spent 3 hours travelling until they stopped for lunch.

Maguro, however, had a meeting with his Pokémon under the perfect weather.

They were stationed at a riverside as usual. All of his Pokémon were sent out and gathered together.

"Alright. So far, we have been progressing rapidly. But as much as I want this to last, everyone's growth, except Gyarados and Rotom, will start to stagnant once they reach level 40 except.

"This is why from now on, we will begin specialized training. Our average level as a team is still 37, but it's better if we did this earlier."

The Pokémon listened attentively to their trainer, while one sly crow smirked.

'Finally, no more painful battles for me.' Murkrow was laughing internally. Back during it's hunter days, Murkow specialized in scouting. And now that it's trainer would implement that system, they would be split into non-combatants and combatants. Murkrow was all in for the former of course.

Still, its trainer seemed to have read Murkrow's mind as his eyes turned to it. "And no matter whatever specialization you decide, do not expect that it'll be easy."

The trainer raised his fist "We're gonna be the strongest!"

Everyone was pumped, except Murkrow who smiled wryly. 'I hope this ominous feeling is just an illusion...'

One by one, Maguro listed each of his Pokémon's specialization. He would recommend what he thinks suited them best, but it was ultimately their decision.

The list goes as;

Murkrow: Scout (Non-combatant)

Torterra: Bulky offense (Combatant)

Mareanie: Bulky Support (Combatant)

Gyarados: Offense (Combatant)

Rotom: Speedy offense (Combatant)

It was just about what he'd expect. Though Maguro tried, he was unable to coerce Murkrow into a battle Pokémon.

'Unwillingness is a bigger hindrance than weakness.' he mused, there was no point forcing it. And although Murkrow wouldn't be getting as much resources now, it didn't mind that at all.

After sorting this out, Maguro would begin sorting out a new and more tailor made training plan for each of his Pokémon.

But before that, he announced to his team "From this point on, we'll be aiming higher. Our first gym battle was fun, right?"

The Pokémon nodded in affirmative, except for Murkow who kept silent.

"Then we'll make it more exciting. I decided that instead of 3 on 3, let's challenge the next gym leader in a full team battle!" Maguro grinned.

They all seemed hyped until Murkrow raised its wing: "caww! Caww!" (But you have two empty slots, how can you pull that off?)

"Buddy, don't forget our original occupation."

"Cawww!" (Yeah,yeah) shrugged Murkrow before turning back. Even though he sounded confident, it took Maguro over a year to hunt down two Black potential Pokémon.

He either needed to luck out or settle for less, and the latter was not an option to the ambitious trainer.

"So with that matter settled, I will brief you all for our next hunting trip," opening his notes, Maguro continued,

"This time the stage is Mt. Coronet. And for our target, it is a Beldum!"

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Mwnawhile...

Iizumi was foraging for possible fruits or herbs that she could add for lunch. She was going through the lush green foliage.

"Ah, Oran berries..."

She spotted a tree with blue spherical fruits hanging. Without delay, Iizumi picked some and placed them to her basket.

But just as she was about to return to their camp, Iizumi heard a cry at a distance. Curious, the trainer took off and checked the commotion for herself.

Beyond the thick grass, Iizumi found a small quadrupedal horse-like Pokémon with a flaming mane. The Ponyta had an injured leg, and was being harrassed by a trio of Spearow.

"Bronzor, let's help it!"

Opening it's Pokéball, Iizumi commanded the Steel-type to scare off the bullies.

"[Confusion]!"

Without warning, the bird Pokémon started to be imbibed a mystic purple as their bodies lost control. These scared the Spearow, and they fled the scene.

But not before intently eyeing their attacker with grudge...

Iizumi immediately got down and treated Ponyta's injury. And although it slightly hesitated, the flaming horse ultimately sensed the human's sincerity and trusted her.

After spraying some potion on it, Iizumi wrapped Ponyta's leg with a bandage. It didn't take long before it could run again

"Hihi, that tickles." Yelped the young trainer as Ponyta caressed her face with its own as a sign of gratitude before it dashed of to the horizon.

She gazed and smiled at the horse-like Pokémon for awhile before returning to camp...

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Back at camp...

Iizumi was peacefully preparing the group's meal. Maguro and his team were still busy training, while Munna and Bronzor were chilling beside her.

She hummed while gently stirring a pot at a portable cooking station owned by the boy.

It was all serene and nice until her Pokémon perceived a disturbance. This caught Iizumi's attention as she turned.

"Bronzor..."

"Munna..."

It wasn't that the clouds turned grey, a sign of a heavy rainfall. She was worried because of a Spearow flock flying towards their way!

"Caww!!"

A high pitched bellow resounded, and the flock of bird Pokémon dived to attack her.

Iizumi tensed up, nervous but still calmed herself. "Munna, use [Protect] when they come near.

"Bronzor, [Metal sound]!"

Her Pokémon followed, and a sound wave travelled the Spearow flock. This did disorient the group, but it did not stop them.

Before the flock could collide with the Steel-type Pokémon, an Ethereal barrier of green stopped all of them at their tracks. It was Munna.

The Spearow cawed in frustration, and continued their attack once [Protect] went down.

"[Psywave] Munna, [Confusion] Bronzor!"

Iizumi wasn't out of tricks when she used a combo move on the group of birds.

A beam of Psychic energy was being enhanced and precisely manipulated to fly across the battlefield like a guided missile, causing the targets to lose concentration aside from dealing damage.

However, the Spearow still boasted the number advantage. And soonafter, one of the birds had used [Pursuit] on Munna.

And to add insult to injury, their move had ended. While there were some Spearow fighting amongst themselves, some didn't forget their true foes.

But just before they could begin to ravish the human's base, another trainer and his hungry Pokémon arrived at the scene.

And although they were exhausted from their training, Gyarados and Rotom still had enough energy to use [Rain dance] and [Thunder] to scare of the flock.

Maguro, who had opened an umbrella, walked over to Iizumi. She was trying her best to protect the food.

"Thanks, you did well." He smiled.

"That was, ugh. I'm starting to understand why you want me to train. This really is frustrating..."

Iizumi stared at her palm, balling it to a fist as her tone was filled with grimace. She looked back to Maguro, only for him to be staring at the vast plain before them.

"Look, aren't they coming here?"

All of the sudden, the ground tremble as the sound of galloping intensified. It didn't take long before Maguro and Iizumi were standing before a herd of Rapidash and Ponyta.

One of them had a bandage, and walked towards Iizumi.

"Neigh!" (Thank you, human)

The alpha Rapidash said. The entire herd also lowered their head in gratitude to the human who saved their leader's son.

Maguro could see, they were strong. 'They're at least Purple, and the leader is an Elite ranked. Very nice.'

He also saw the bandaged Ponyta, it was Brown potential. 'But there's more than meets the eye for this little one' he mused.

"Neigh! Neigh!" (I want to travel with this human) The young Ponyta was referring to Iizumi.

"Neigh?" (Are you sure?)

Its father seemed to be testing him, but Ponyta was resolute. "Neigh!" (I'm sure!)

The trainer was surprised at the abruptness of it all. But seeing them all, she smiled before taking a Pokéball from her pocket.

Ponyta didn't even wait and let itself inside the ball.

"You're impatient..." They laughed at the young Pokémon.

A soft smile formed on Rapidash's face. And after saying their goodbyes, the herd left.

Ponyta and Iizumi gazed at the backs of the herd as she caressed its head. Surprisingly, Ponyta could control the flames on its mane so it wouldn't burn her. It liked it's headpats after all...

Unknown to them, a certain hunter and his Pokémon had feasted on the meal she had painstakingly prepared for.

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[TO BE CONTINUED]