With harsh sighs hissing through gnashed teeth, Trevor put all of his weight onto Rin's blade with an overhead swing using both of his claws. In a matter of seconds, he was flung to the ground once again, then began the process of heaving himself back upwards in preparation to attack once again. And so commenced Trevor's daily routine: clash, fall, rise, and repeat until the sun became consumed by the horizon.
Rin would travel to Aiden's house with his blades honed and ready each day, lackadaisically standing still as Trevor tried to knock him down over and over. As Rin continued to witness Trevor's earnest attempts towards progress, he slowly found himself becoming more talkative with each successive attempt.
"You're tensing up your entire upper body," Rin would note, "Stop doing that; put all your strength into your arm while relaxing your body to create momentum. Your movements should be like water: it should flow naturally. Aura's the same way."
Days turned to months as Trevor clashed against Rin's blades again and again each day. By the end of each training session, Trevor would be covered in a blanket of dirt and dust from his many failed attempts. Yet little by little, Trevor's attacks would begin pushing Rin backwards as his strength and ferocity steadily increased with each day.
"Aura's everywhere," Rin stated upon blocking a particularly forceful claw swipe, "It's what enables me to condense water to form my blades and boost in the air using Aqua Jet. It's what enables all of Aiden's loud fire attacks. To become a proper explorer, learning to master aura's a must."
Seeing Trevor pound the ground from each crushing loss as well as barely containing his elation upon knocking Rin backwards even a few centimeters further than his previous record instilled a certain sense of intimacy in the Dewott to the point where, after months of grueling training, even he began internally rooting for Trevor's success.
-
Trevor continued to train with both Rin and Aiden with every ounce of strength and willpower he could muster until one day, he stared down Rin's blades for what seemed to be the millionth time with eyes burning with ferocity. Even Rin could sense waves of thick tension emanating from Trevor as he stood still, shutting his eyes and taking several deep breaths as Aiden watched from the side in anticipation.
"Well? Don't keep me waiting," the Dewott nonetheless ordered dismissively.
Upon thrusting open his eyes, Trevor nimbly rushed towards Rin, his glowing, outstretched claws following from behind. In one swift motion, Trevor twisted his body, then clashed against Rin's blades using only his right claw.
"Only one claw? That's not nearly enough to knock me down. What's he doing?' Rin pondered to himself in bemused confusion. But before he had a chance to push Trevor away, the Meowth had already retracted his right arm and was already in the process of swinging with his left.
'Ngh- what?!' Rin grunted as Trevor continued his relentless assault, swiping with one arm, swiftly retracting it, then swiping with the other in one unending, rhythmic movement. Unlike his slow, predictable double-clawed attack from before, this new attack was swift to the point where Rin struggled to find an opening where he could successfully parry. The Dewott found himself taking multiple steps backwards as Trevor's claws collided onto his blades over and over.
'Was he purposefully keeping this technique a secret to catch me off guard?! Just how long has he been preparing for this moment?!' Rin frantically thought as his legs slowly began to buckle. With a strained grunt, he managed to firmly plant his foot on the ground and began pushing back against Trevor's barrage, his brow creasing as sparks emerged from his eyes. 'I'm not giving up that easily!' he shouted as his eyes began darting back and forth like a pendulum, slowly growing more accustomed to the rhythm of Trevor's movements. With a brief glance, Rin could see traces of fear and desperation seeping into Trevor's psyche.
"You got close, I'll give you that," Rin said with a sly smile as he steadied himself, "But I'm afraid it's back to the dirt for you." Exerting all of his force onto his left foot, Rin lunged forwards to intercept Trevor's right claw. "I've got his rhythm down," he assured himself as he built up momentum, "I'll parry his predictable attack, then knock him down once again. Easy."
Only, Trevor didn't swing, choosing instead to reflexively halt his attacks and sidestep Rin's counter. With a dumbstruck expression, Rin stumbled forwards and Trevor, sensing this moment of opportunity, let out an adrenaline-filled scream as he collided both of his paws onto Rin's blade with one final overhead strike. A resounding 'CLANG' resonated in the air as the Dewott was sent flying backwards, suspended in the air for what seemed an hour, before finally crashing down onto the dirt below.
The air remained choked in absolute silence for a moment, all three Pokémon momentarily stunned in disbelief, before Aiden began rushing towards Trevor while waving her arms elatedly. 'AAAAH! You did iiiit!' she screamed, locking Trevor in a great hug as the Meowth continued to stare outwards, completely stupefied.
'Whadda you have to say to that Rin?!' Aiden shouted triumphantly.
Rin didn't answer immediately, instead preferring to stare absentmindedly into the distance. Recollection flitted over his normally lifeless eyes.
"Uh, helloooo? You still with us?"
'Ah. Right.' Rin muttered as he snapped himself awake. With a resigned grin, the Dewott gave Trevor a hard slap on the back. "Congrats, you've just learned Fury Swipes."
"T-thanks..." was all Trevor could mutter as he allowed himself to fall onto his knees, a satisfied smile stretched across his face. Within seconds, his body lost all strength as he collapsed and faceplanted onto the dirt below. Aiden leapt in surprise. "Y-you alright?!"
Trevor's earthbound face flushed red from bashfulness. "S-sorry. I-It's just...receiving an actual compliment from someone as strong as you...I don't know what to say..."
Aiden chuckled lightly as Rin turned away with a sheepish smile. "Jeez, you're so embarrassing," Rin muttered while combing his ponytail backwards, "C'mon, let's get you up and inside already so I don't have to look at your tomato-looking head anymore."
Both Aiden and Rin helped in escorting a satisfied Trevor back home, where a massive feast of juicy Oran Berries would await them.
END OF CHAPTER 6
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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits
Phiêu lưu"All things... must eventually come to pass..." Trevor, a timid human turned Meowth, has been thrust into an unfamiliar world of talking Pokémon who view his kind as inexplicably tied to the looming, unseen threat which threatens their world. With n...
