Pokémon Swirl & Spiral

Chapter 8: Chamber

A series of various trees, bushes, and flowers all came together to form a maze of different pathways. As Kairi and Zorua explored through the paths, both of them could hear Pokémon battling with the commands of other challengers in the background. Despite this, they appeared to be alone. Kairi wondered if Hazel had already entered by then.

Kairi let Zorua lead the way, and while he was hesitant at first, it was obvious that curiosity got the better of him. Investigating the plant life, she couldn't tell if they were artificial or not. There was a certain glow and hue to them that didn't seem natural to her.

"Zorua!" Zorua suddenly cried, stopping.

"See something, Zorua?" Kairi responded. Looking ahead, there was a set of bushes, rustling with movement.

"Goon!" A Pokémon shouted, before leaping out in front of them.

A wild Zigzagoon appeared!

"This is our chance, Zorua!" Kairi called to him, excited. This would be the first time they battled together. "Use Scratch!"

"Zor!" He leaped up into the air and scratched the Zigzagoon right across the back.

"Zig!" The wild Pokémon cried before receipting Zorua with a Tackle. Shaking it off, Zorua sprang back up.

"Scratch again!" Kairi exclaimed. To her surprise, the Zigzagoon dodged the incoming attack, fully scoring a Tackle that sent Zorua flying back toward her feet.

"Zorua!" She cried, kneeling down behind him. "Are you okay?"

He got up again, keeping his focus on the Zigzagoon. "Zorua."

"Alright. Let's switch it up now. Zorua, use Pursuit!"

Zorua connected again, with the Zigzagoon once again going for a Tackle in return. This time, it was Zorua who dodged the attack, even before Kairi said anything.

This brief exchange of battling was invigorating. Watching as her partner fought using the attacks she called, Kairi was overwhelmed by the feeling of it all. This was only a wild encounter. She couldn't wait to face other Trainers.

So this is what Pokémon Battles are like, huh?

"Zorua! Use Pursuit!"

Zorua hit hard, this time hitting right across its face.

Another hit later, the Zigzagoon collapsed on the ground, fainted.

Kairi picked up Zorua into her arms. "Our first battle, done! Awesome!"

"Zorua!" He responded, cheerfully.

She healed him, using one of the potions in her bag and kept walking with him deeper into the forest. For an hour later, they continued to encounter more Pokémon to battle. First it was another Zigzagoon, then there was a Metapod, Spinarak, Rattata, among others. While initially struggling to battle the more experienced Pokémon in the forest, Zorua was still able to successfully defeat his opponents, even doing it faster as they progressed. The more battles they had, the more experience they both gained. Every now and then, Kairi would stop and check Zorua's progress on the League Band. In the time they spent, he learned Fake Tears, and exchanged the move Leer for Fury Swipes. He was definitely getting stronger.

Kairi was hopeful that he was beginning to trust her more, and indeed he listened to every command she made. After a bit, she decided to give Zorua a small break, sitting down with him on a log.

"You're doing so well! And this is only day one!" She told him, smiling proud as she rubbed his back. He seemed to appreciate her actions.

Suddenly a flash of green whirled past in the corner of Kairi's eye. Turning in its direction, her vision landed on a wild Scyther. Looking closer, there was actually a group of them, consisting of five or six members. No doubt, Kairi and Zorua had traveled into one of the more advanced zones of the Chamber. Kairi slowly picked up Zorua, who was quiet. He had also seen them. Despite the type disadvantage, they had defeated multiple Bug Type Pokémon. They were not the threat that was only a few feet away from them. One critical X-Scissor and Zorua would be finished. Kairi slowly got up and backed away into another path.